knitting a life

This past weekend S and I were in Denver

for the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA).  This is one of the largest conferences I attend; AERA has something like 10,000 members, many of whom make presentations and attend sessions where they can talk about current issues in educational research and policy (among other things).

This year the meeting was particularly interesting (for people in the field of education, that is) because of upcoming changes in federal legislation related to education and because of the considerable national attention focused on the preparation and evaluation of teacher performance and student learning.  These are topics that I spend a lot of my professional life thinking about and the meeting provided me with a chance to hear from educational leaders who are hoping to influence those policies.

The trip also gave me a chance to reconnect with old friends and colleagues, visit the newly renovated Denver Art Museum

and eat out (too often and too much I am afraid!).  All of the food we had was great, especially the meals prepared by the friends we stayed with, of course.  Of the meals we had out, three stand out — both for the company and for the food.  First, we had a lovely dinner with our friends P, J, M and N at Duo, a neighborhood bistro in the rapidly developing and chic Highland neighborhood.  The Sweet Pea Fritters and the Halibut Carpaccio were particularly tasty.

We also had a great lunch at Bistro Vendrome on Larimer with P, K and T.  I loved my chicken salad sandwich (I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it was very good) and the wine, a 2007  Champalou Vouvray imported by Kermit Lynch, was exceptional.  Finally, we met our friends J & M for brunch at Rioja, another place on Larimer that really lived up to it’s reputation as one of the best restaurants in Denver.

All in all, it was a good trip.  As usual, though, I am glad to be home.

*Note:  none of the photos in this entry are my own.