Time Flies

Time just doesn't fly when you are having fun, it just flies. Now it is December, 17 days away from Christmas.

I have no decorations up, no tree up, nothing to indicate it is nearly Christmas except the wrapped gifts on the buffet in the dining room.

I have been busy at work, busy at home, just busy. Although I did get to go shopping at Ikea on Saturday which is like heaven for me. I love being there. I think I'd just like to move in, kind of like that movie where Natalie Portman's character lived in Walmart.

Sarah's bathroom, the project I started in July, is still not finished. Once I get home from work it seems impossible to complete much of anything. For one thing, when I get home from work I usually have more work to do.

Quick update on events: on July 23, on the way to David's and Melissa's house, I rear ended a car on I95 outside of Baltimore and totaled my dear little Subaru. So, no more Rufusmobile...after 230,000 + miles and 12 1/2 years. No one was hurt....I have to keep telling myself that that is the important part.

So, I was car-less until mid September, after Neal got a job. Now I have a Toyota Highlander. I love it, in theory, but I still pine for my Subaru.

On Sept. 29, on her way to school during a horrid rainstorm, Sarah hydroplaned and ran off of I85. She went down an embankment and wrapped around a tree. She broke her left femur and had other minor and not so minor fractures. More about the accident later, but the good news with that is that two months later, she was walking again without even a cane and hardly a limp.

We have had a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

Hospice

My mother-in-law has been in Hospice House for a week and a day now. She needs more care than she can get at home. I don't know how much longer she will live, but hopefully at least till Sunday morning, till Rachel can get home from Africa and see her.

Today I went to see her and took some decaf tea I made. While I was sitting there, she said "When I wake up in the morning, I think I am in my usual setting and then I remember where I am."

I almost cried over that. Just to think of how she must feel. I'm sure she knows she'll never go home again. She asked me today if her house was clean.

I'm glad I have had extra time to give to them while she has been there. She said I am a good nurse.

Mother-In-Law

I went to visit my mother-in-law today. She actually seemed to be doing pretty well. Jane had put a foam pad under her couch cushions to raise the level of the couch and she can actually stand up from the couch now.

Hospice is coming in and bringing supplies and providing some services. A lady came today and gave her a bath and the nurse will come tomorrow. The CNA will come three days a week and the nurse two days, I believe.

We helped her with some chores she needed done and she had us go through some photos and pick some out that we wanted. She had gone through pictures and had pictures of the family up in the den and she was very pleased with them.

Abandoned

Well, it seems I have totally abandoned this blog...

I was so busy prior to leaving on vacation, then didn't post while on Ocracoke. I came back two days ago, but have been pretty worn out.

So, a little update:

• Ocracoke was great, as always, but the weather wasn't so wonderful: gale force winds much of the time and torrential rain a couple of days. Most of the time it was impossible to go on the beach without feeling like you were getting sandblasted and the simplest task, like lighting the stove for coffee was a challenge. The old tent couldn't hold up under the rain and wind so we got a replacement tent at Walmart. We still managed to have fun, but it was not the restful and refreshing time we needed.
• Neal's mom is now out of the hospital and at home with Hospice care and someone who stays during the night. So, she doesn't have a lot of time left. I don't know how Daddy Joe will manage. He will want to stay in his home but he'll have to have someone with him.
• We leave tomorrow to go to David and Melissa's house. I realize that we may have to cut the trip short depending on Becky's condition. But hopefully she will live a while longer. I know Rachel will be very sad if she passes away before she gets home mid August.

I guess that is it, except for the break-up of a marriage in our family, which I won't say who. Even though no one reads this, it is public and the party involved doesn't want the news spread around just yet. So, mum's the word.

Day 4

I didn't get that much done today. I painted and Neal cut the plywood I needed to alter the cabinet. Tomorrow I should get that put together and primed, and hopefully, painted so I can put the counter top/sink on it and get the faucet hooked back up. Painting all of the trim is slow going though, but it needs to be done slowly to look good.

Played bass tonight with Ward Ring, Kirby Smith and Darrell Howard for the Lion's Club meeting in High Point. I didn't mess up too badly, with one exception, but they didn't seem to mind and the crowd didn't seem to know.

I had a good time and the playing I've done lately makes me want to get back into it some. Maybe we can have another birthday party for Neal in September, as long as we avoid the Hoppin' John Fiddler's Convention weekend!

Day 3

I didn't get that much done today but I did get to Lowes. I really overestimated the size of my car and found that the 4x4 foot sheets of plywood would not fit in.

A couple of guys in the parking lot saw me trying to put the plywood in and they came running to help. They quickly saw that it would not fit so they put them on top of my car. Luckily I had some rope in my car, although I could have gone back into Lowes and bought some.

They were so nice....they even offered to put the wood in their van and follow me home! They were Spanish speaking and the one who seemed to speak the most English told me he was from Peru. We talked about the world cup...he said he didn't like any of the European teams and that his little girl who is 5, cried when the US lost!

I got some paint on the cabinet and the window trim, plus a couple of walls primed and then one of them painted. I hope the primer is going to work to hide all of the white splotches I made on the wall with the ceiling paint. I thought that would serve as primer, but when I painted with the semi gloss, the flat paint absorbed more and it looked awful. Luckily I only did one small part, to see if it would work.

I didn't buy enough Kilz though so I need to get some more tomorrow.

Tomorrow is when I play bass with Ward's band. I sure hope I don't mess it up for the rest of them!

Day 2

This has got to be more than day 2...I am so achy and tired. Plus, I was working outside today for most of the time b/c I was priming doors and painting hardware. It was easier to do it outside than in.

But, I got everything on my list done. I wanted to go to Lowes but I'll do that tomorrow. I need plywood to alter the cabinet and I need more paint, since I decided to paint all of the woodwork to match the cabinet.

Tomorrow I plan to begin painting the cabinets and woodwork, make the changes to the cabinet (building up the floor and putting in the divider and shelf). I also need to sand one of the places I fixed today; it was under the previous towel bar and there was still wallpaper attached there. I had to wet it and peel...a little at a time.

Bathroom Remodel, Day One

Arghh....I am so tired and I have white primer all over my hands because I neglected to wear gloves while priming the woodwork in Sarah's bathroom.

I got a good start today; here's what I did:

• Took down cabinet doors, removed drawers, took hinges and knobs off
• Removed toilet paper holder
• Removed the two doors, removed the doorknobs and removed the hinges
• Filled holes in cabinet with wood putty and sanded
• Disconnected faucet pipes and removed top of cabinet and sink
• Removed shoe mold
• Sanded the woodwork and window
• Primed all of the woodwork including the cabinet, inside and out
• Removed the vent cover from the ceiling and took the light loose
• Repaired the sheetrock up on the ceiling and where the backsplash had been.

Tomorrow I plan to:

• Prime the doors and cabinet doors (outside so it isn't so stinky)
• Sand the sheetrock repair and prime the ceiling part
• Paint the ceiling
• Sand and spray prime/paint the door hinges and screws
• Maybe prime and paint the doorknobs
• If I have any energy after that, I may sand the woodwork in the bathroom.

I am also going to go get some plywood to build up the bottom of the cabinets and some wood to make a divider between some of the cabinet doors so that I can put a shelf in there and use baskets instead of having four cabinet doors; I'll only have two.

Now I think it is time to relax and hopefully get to sleep.

Happy Birthday Anne, Almost

Anne's birthday is Wednesday, July 7 but she wants to go to Asheville for it, so we celebrated tonight.

Thom and Melissa (who just celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary), John and Pat, Mom, Ben, Sarah's friend Scout and Anne's friend Kelly and her boyfriend Juan were here. Anne got a lot of nice presents and seemed to like them all. Now she, Ben, Kelly and Juan are on the patio with sprinklers and other toys doing God knows what.

Oh, and she is also wearing a pink flashing tiara.

Anyway, it was a successful birthday party.

Home Again

I got home late this afternoon and I immediately went through withdrawal pains from being at Amy's. She wants me to come up again in August, for the Fiddler's Convention and I just might do that. A rest before starting back to school.

Oh well....

Is "I Forgot" a Good Reason?

It is Friday and I haven't posted since Monday because, I forgot. Since Wednesday I have been at Amy's and I am having a splendid time. On Wednesday we went to the Independence Jam, on Thursday we went for a walk/hike in the morning and had a baby shower/Hen Party/Jam in the evening and today we went for a float trip on the New River with Eddy Bakeberg.

Now I am here by myself b/c Amy has gone to Abingdon to be with her hubby and I am planning to leave in the morning. So, I'll have this evening to relax and totally chill before heading home tomorrow. I'll do what I always like to do here...sit on the porch and read. The weather is so lovely. They have been having hot weather too, but this week has been marvelous!

Well, enough of this for now. I am going to finish the dishes and maybe fix a little something to eat and head for the porch, book in hand.

Baking

Baking and cooking in the summer doesn't seem nearly as satisfying as doing it in the winter.

I baked two Blueberry Buckles today; one for us and one for Tracy and Zac. He had to have carpel tunnel surgery again on his right hand; he had it a year ago, so I went to visit. He's doing well, but is bored staying in the house. He had photos from the surgery...it was really gross looking!

I also made a big macaroni salad and went to Aldi to get tomatoes to go in it. I didn't do much else today other than straighten up/clean up a bit, water plants and do some laundry. Tomorrow I am going to school at 9:00 to help Tami make up the class lists. Carissa says she is going to come by and visit too.

Dennie Ezzelle has a job at another school for the fall and Carissa has an interview for her job on Thursday. I hope this is just a formality and that she is really going to get the job.

Lazy Sunday

I didn't go to church today; I didn't do much of anything other than put up new blinds in my room and plant some things outside.

I planted the new plants I got in the new pot outside and also some plants in the yard. When I finished doing the planting my face was scarlet, I was so hot. I was drenched with sweat and I came in and took a very cool shower.

Sarah made some really delicious pasta for supper and now I am watching Law and Order, one that I haven't seen. So things are good.

It Is Harder Than It Seems

It's hard to let friends leave. It was bad enough that David and Melissa had to go back but after taking Tom and Barry to the train station today, I have felt really sad. I enjoyed their company so much and I think they enjoyed being here. They enjoyed taking Sam for walks too.

So I went to Lowes and Home Depot today and bought some plants; some plants for a big pot I bought on Eastchester Dr (they wanted 50.00 but I got 10% off) and also a dark purple butterfly bush. I also got two bales of pine needles for the bare dirt next to the sunroom. I came home and didn't do much of anything other than spread the pine needles.; it was so hot by then. I've been reading today and took a little nap in front of the tv.

Hopefully it will cool off some in the next few days; not tomorrow though; it is supposed to be 96.

Happy Friday

We had a nice day today. I went to the library and picked up a book I had on reserve and the Tom, Barry and I went to visit my mom. She had potted up some Rose of Sharon plants for me so I brought those home. After that we came home and had lunch. Then the three of us and Sarah went to Greensboro to Edward McKay Used Book store. I bought 68.00 worth of books, mostly for the classroom. I also got a 501 Spanish verb book and a dvd of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I mostly got board books with the intention of using them in the weekend take-home packets I am putting together for next year.

After the bookstore we went to Starbucks and then to the Andy Warhol photography exhibit at the Weatherspoon Gallery. T&B treated us dinner at the Thai restaurant on Tate St. The food was great and we had the whole place to ourselves b/c we ate as soon as they opened at 5:00.

Now we are watching the movie To Die For on tv and Sarah is upstairs reading. The guys have to go back in the morning; it has been such a great visit....I wish they could stay longer.

Home Again

We got home from Asheville about 7:30. We had a great time, although it was hot. I didn't tour the gardens at all this year and spent time on the veranda reading instead.

We did the rooftop tour this morning and there was a photographer up there who said she could take our pictures. She started to take a picture of a couple and the guy dropped down to one knee and produced a diamond ring from his pocket and proposed to his girlfriend. It was so sweet! It made me tear up, just to see how sweet it was.

So we came home to a stinky kitchen; either it was the dishes in the sink, the compost or the trash. We took care of all of that, plus feeding the animals and ourselves and we are all now ready to kick back and relax for the night.

Going to Asheville

Yesterday was a fun day even though it was hot, hot, hot. The high was 94 yesterday and is forecast to be 96 today. But we won't be here today because we are all going to Asheville to go to the Biltmore. The high is Asheville is supposed to be a few degrees cooler.

We picked Tom and Barry up at the train on Monday night and the train ended up being close to two hours late overall, so they didn't get in till 8:30, so we didn't eat at Panera but went to Rome Pizza since they are open till 11:00. We got a delicious pizza which we all four shared.

Yesterday I had to do some errands, like go to the post office, so they went with me so Barry could take a photo of the Big Chair and then we went to the Emporium and by my school. We came home and ate lunch. David and Melissa arrived in mid-afternoon and Mom, John and Pat came for supper. We had a very nice evening but John was feeling very tired. He said he was in a funk, but the weather could do it to anyone.

We'll come back from Asheville tomorrow evening. Neal is going to the Mylets and to Elk Creek so we'll see if he actually stays for the weekend or if he comes home early!

Today's Schedule

I am going to eat breakfast and then finish cleaning the windows outside of the sunroom. After that, I'll take a shower and go to school to release the bird I've been raising (yay!), go to the library, get my oil changed and go to the grocery store(s).

Back home, I'll put away the groceries, eat lunch and then do more cleaning; maybe a quick mopping of the kitchen and then start on my room.

As usual, there are two piles of Neal clothes in the room; I'm taking all of the clean ones and dumping them in the closet. It's either the closet or the front porch! And I don't want to mess up the porch that way!

The temperature is supposed to be in the mid-90's today, so that's why I'm up early for the outdoor work!

T&B's train leaves Baltimore at 9:45 and they are due to arrive in High Point at 6:49, so we will get something to eat before coming back here.

Still Cleaning

I'm taking a break from cleaning. I got up this morning just before 7:00, or 7:30...can't remember and then went to sleep on the couch till 9:00.

I finished hemming all of the curtains in the sunroom and it looks much better! With the curtains long it was not possible to see the nice tan and white trim underneath. Now I am ironing the comforter cover for the guest room and when I finish that I'll finish cleaning the sunroom, including possibly rearranging the loveseat and chairs.

Saturday

Another long day with a lot of work. I started out this morning by expanding the brick paver pad for the gas grill and followed that with planting some monkey grass around part of it until I was tired and dripping with sweat. Even though it was morning, it was about 80°, and humid.

I finished cleaning the couch and chairs in the sunroom and I also cleaned the rug in there. Boy was it all nasty. I cleaned the sunroom windows (all 14, plus the two doors) and started on the outside ones. And I hemmed some of the sheers as I was putting them back up.

I started by trying to measure, cut and hem them (with hemming tape) but that was proving to be too difficult, so I decided to hang them up, cut them off and pin them up while they were hanging. Much easier. I have 7 1/2 done. I say 1/2 because I have one pinned up, but I ran out of hemming tape. I know I have more upstairs, but I'm too tired to look for it.

That's pretty much it, I think. Except for some small things along the way.

For now, I think it is almost bedtime. I think I'll stay home tomorrow morning and get more done. Tom and Barry arrive on Monday, about 6:00 PM.

It feels good to be getting all of this stuff cleaned up and put away. Every time we have a major cleaning, I wonder why we just don't keep it this way all of the time, and I know, it's because it's too much work!

New Projects

When I went to Goodwill yesterday, I found this lamp for 4.00.

And I got this table for 2.00:

I am busy transforming them into a coffee table and a lamp for my front porch. I cleaned the lamp and disassembled the table, cut the legs off to make it shorter and cleaned it. The following pictures are what they looked like during the renovation. I hope to complete the project today.

Porch Furniture Finished!

I am posting photos of my newly painted porch furniture and also the willow furniture because Anne and I got new cushions for them. I want to put some plants on the front porch too, but the furniture looks great!

I am completely happy with it, only I wish I had used spray paint for the rockers. I used spray paint for the swing and it was done in one day, whereas it took a long time for me to paint the rockers a prime coat and two coats of green. I love the way it looks though and we found cushions on sale at Lowes....saving me from having to make some.

Slacker

Apparently I seem to have given up on blogging. I haven't really, but I keep forgetting to post. So, I think I'll try doing it in the mornings, at least while I am on vacation.

This week has been relaxing so far. I have finished painting the porch furniture and today Anne and I are going shopping to look for cushions for it. We are also going to Lowes to look for some kind of privacy screen panels/lattice/trellis to put between the driveway and patio. I love the patio but I don't like how it is just adjacent to the driveway; there is no privacy or anything to divide the two.

While at Lowes, I plan to buy some dark brown spray paint to paint the porch swing. When Neal stained all of the porch furniture, he stained them the same color as the house and while I considered painting it green like the other furniture, I decided it should be different, so I am looking for dark brown.

I have been putting some things away; did all the school laundry and I'll take it by the school and leave it in my room one day. I decided to put my school things on the desk in the front hall instead of having them on the dining room table, so I am unpacking in there.

Tom and Barry arrive on Monday for the week and on Tuesday, David and Melissa will be here. We'll go to the Biltmore on Wednesday, return on Thursday and then D&M will go home on Friday. T&B will stay till Saturday since they are taking the train.

I've been busy making plans for the rest of the summer. I'll go to Amy's on June 30th and stay till Saturday, July 3. Abby, Sarah and I are going to Ocracoke camping on July 13 for a week and then on July 23, Anne, Sarah and I will go to D&M's house for about a week. On our way back we may stop and stay at Rachel's apartment for a couple of days. It would be great if Jason were there by then.

I talked to him last night on Skype and he was applying for another job in DC. He has a connection for this one, so this might actually be the one. I hope so. He needs to be there.

Signing off for now....

First Vacation Day

Today was the first day of my summer vacation. I installed a new doorknob on the half bath door, sanded and painted one of the front porch chairs, watched tv, played a bazillion games on Facebook, read, made cookies, fed the bird over and over again and found out that my niece Ashley is pregnant.

Yes, pregnant. She and Ryan are going to move back here after she finishes her fall semester, in Dec. He'll get a job and she'll have the baby and then, I guess, go to school.

The funny thing is that Jenny doesn't know what she wants the baby to call her...she doesn't want to be Grandmother or Grandma...my suggestions is "middle aged lady desperate to hold onto her youth"....

Countdown

We get out of school tomorrow at 12:15. I think I'm ready.

Today we had our program/celebration. All three principals came for a brief time, which I think was very nice. The kids did well...everyone had fun. There was someone there for everyone except two children. I don't know if the little boy really cared or not, but the little girl was sad.

And I gave away both guinea pigs; two of my students took them, so now, I am guinea-pigless. I hope the kids enjoy having them for a pet.

All of my progress reports and stuff I am supposed to turn in is finished, I think, so Tracy and I will pretty much just have to pack up the room.

I know that I'll come back later in the month to help Tami with class lists, but after work on Friday, I am FREE. Yay!

Another Day and a Half

Tomorrow is our special program for our families. I picked up the cake from Walmart this evening; we will sing songs, then present the certificates and gifts; make the two special presentations for reading the most books and then eat cake, chips and punch.

One more day and a half....then a day and half to put all my crap away!

I really can't believe the school year is nearly over.

The Last Monday

This is my last Monday of working for this school year. I still have a lot to do; some progress reports to finish and translate; the photo cd's to make for my students; cookies to bake for Wednesday, and a little more stuff.

It will all get done, but it is such a busy time and I am soooo tired.

I had to go to the store I hate today to order a cake for Wednesday and I just did some shopping while I was there. I got a red geranium for my patio; I put it in an old rustic bucket, or some kind of container I had laying around. It looks good.

Lots to do before I go to bed.

Oh yeah, and did I mention the baby bird I am hand feeding????

Mount Airy

Went to the Mt. Airy Fiddler's Convention today. We walked around a lot and saw various people, chatted, listened to music, etc. Then about 3:00 we went up to where Chloe Mylet was camped and celebrated her high school graduation. Marianne brought tons of delicious food. Neal got to play a little with Tom and some people.

I gave Chloe 20.00 for her graduation. She is so lovely; she has beautiful skin and dimples. It doesn't seem that she could be 18.

So, on the way home we stopped at Lowes in Mt. Airy and I got a very unique and interesting pot to put on the patio. It looks like little river rocks glued together to make a container. It cost 50.00 but it was worth it. Here's a picture of it.

A Theme

I think I may go with a theme...too tired to post. I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday. But, it has been a busy week; the funeral home on Wednesday night then at school last night for Countdown to Kindergarten.

Today was the Parade of Excellence and although we don't march in it, we did go out to watch, and it was hot!

And now, I have a baby bird to nurse. He fell from one of the "death" nests in the courtyard. We thought the impact of the fall would kill him but he lived, and I have been feeding him.

Tomorrow Neal and I are going to Mt. Airy for part of the day, for the fiddler's convention, and it is going to be really hot there.

More news, but no energy to write it. Later....

TTTP

That stands for Too Tired To Post. But I'm going to do it anyway, because I am trying to be disciplined about this.

After a long and exhausting day, in which a certain child clearly did not have his medicine, and on top of that, acted like he got into someone's supply of crystal meth, I went to the School Readiness Program's graduation to see two of my students. It was so nice to be there and to see them walk up on stage and be recognized.

I'd like to be there when they graduate from high school too but I'll be something like 75 years old then. So, it's totally doable!

So now it is getting close to 11:00 and I think my usual, a hot bath and ibuprofen are in order. and then sleep!

Cleaning

Today I cleaned the second half of the front porch; I have scrubbed it from top to bottom; all of the railings, windows, trim, etc. I need to sand the furniture I primed and then paint the green paint that I bought for it. And, the more I cleaned the more I saw that needed to be done...the top rail of the porch is in really rough shape.

Isn't that the way it goes? You don't own the house...it owns you.

So Sad...

I just got the news that a fellow TCS coworker died yesterday; Donna Sink, whom I have known for so many years, died in a motorcycle accident.

She was the children's librarian at the library when my kids were little. I have photos of her holding Anne when she was first born, and also with Sarah.

She leaves behind a husband and a daughter who is around Anne's age. I am so sad to think of how quickly life goes away. It's selfish, I know, but at times like this, I think why couldn't someone bad die, instead of someone so wonderful.

A Lovely House

Would I love to have a house like this?

Yes, I would.

A Love Letter

Today after school Phalik (who is now in the second grade) gave me a letter he wrote to me. I'm typing it here exactly as he spelled it.

"Dear Miss Leonard you are so sweet
to me you are smart and butweful
I love your smile and your clothes
your precuos to me and always will be.

from Phalik (it had a heart drawn around it)

He also gave me two other papers with hearts on which he had written "I love you" and "Miss Leonard rocks". He told his teacher that May was going to be Mrs. Leonard month, next year in third grade and the next and every year.

Somewhere I have done something nice to deserve this. ♥

It's Only Tuesday?

Wow...it seems later than Tuesday. I guess it will just be this way now until the end of school...so much to do and so many things to do in the evenings, meetings, work to finish...

Tonight was Mr. Gatti's night. For a while I was the only one there handing out homework passes. I don't mind, really, but I couldn't help but think with all the teachers we have, no one but me could come? Then a little later Karen Hurley came...and she is retiring, and still she shows up to do extra things. April Willard did come and that was the first time she has come to Mr. Gattis and then some others came; John Lankford came and then ate his dinner with Neal, Sarah and me.

So now I've been checking email, etc. Got to finish planning for tomorrow and then it's bedtime!

It's Only Monday?

I didn't sleep well last night...SOMEONE was snoring....so I am tired.

After work I went over to Susana's house and she helped me correct the translation I had made of the Preschool Parent Survey. After that we looked at Charlotte's annual so I got to see some pictures of some of my former students that are in fourth and fifth grades.

Then Carlos told me about their pet box turtle. They keep it in the house and it doesn't use the bathroom on the floor or make any kind of mess. It only uses the bathroom when they put it in water or another humid place, like outdoors! And it actually hibernated last winter; about November it quit eating. Carlos thought it was going to die. They put it in a box with some dirt, and it made a hole/nest. It stayed in there till spring.

Carlos told me that he tried digging down and looking at it about February and it looked all sleepy and disturbed! Like it was saying "What are you doing? It's only February!" The turtle was under a couch while we were talking. That is so funny. I never thought of having a turtle as a house pet.

Sunday Morning

No post last night...too tired really. I went to bed at 9:00 and got up this morning at 7:00. I have been having some congestion, but I am faithfully taking my allergy medicine and with that and taking care of myself, I hope to escape any bronchial infections that otherwise would be looming.

I didn't do much yesterday but I did get some of my patio furniture put together; the serving cart, the two reclining chairs and one of the dining chairs. So that leaves that table and the other 5 chairs. I also need to sand and paint the porch furniture.

Normally I would enjoy these types of activities, but with feeling draggy and congested, it is kind of an effort.

The weather has been cooler and rainy/muggy. With a lot of mosquitoes. Anne was complaining yesterday that the bugs have been awful on the front porch and while I was assembling the furniture yesterday I killed about 4 mosquitoes trying to dine on me.

This morning is foggy. I always think about my grandparent's farm on foggy mornings. I have such good memories of waking up there when the mornings were cool and looking out of the window towards the creek. It was always foggy in the early mornings at the creek. It is so easy to go there in my mind. I can hear the cows mooing and smell the coffee and bacon smells from the kitchen. I spent a lot of time there when they were alive. My mom always took us for at least a month in the summer and when I grew up and had my own transportation, I went at least a couple of times a year. I am so grateful to my grandparents for the heritage they gave me.

Even now I feel a kinship with them. When I garden I feel a connection with my grandmother. She always gardened and canned/froze produce. It's funny that my mother did the same things but it is my grandmother that I think of. She also loved to read and that has passed down to my mom and also to me.

From my grandfather I think I got my love of making things. When my mother was young, he would repair their shoes. They only had one pair of shoes which they would wear until they were too small. When the shoes would begin wearing out before their time, my grandfather could repair them.

He also did his own blacksmithing work. He was a carpenter and a farmer. I think he was typical of a generation that made do for themselves and didn't rely on a lot of outside help. I remember when he found out that we had a mortgage on our house. He was a little shocked and cautioned me against owing money. I remember telling him that everyone had a mortgage now; you couldn't buy anything without one, but he felt like it was better to avoid it and just buy straight out.

In many ways my grandfather stood in for my father even though he wasn't as involved with me as a father would have been. But he was someone I could look up to, someone I could emulate, someone I could be proud to be related to.

My grandfather died in November 1987. Anne never got to meet him. The last time I saw him, I was pregnant with her. My grandmother died in August 1993, during the Galax Fiddler's Convention. I drove up for the funeral while my family was at the park and drove back that day.

I am lucky to have had people in my life who were decent and good, who gave me a good work ethic and who I could look to for role models. So many people don't.

I feel that I am a very lucky person in so many ways. Sometimes I think that I have been too lucky, but then in many ways, I think we make our own luck. So, I guess my good fortunes are a combination of both.

Rachel is doing well in Kenya. I called her yesterday and she called me today. She said a beggar kept asking her for money while she was waiting for a driver to take her back to her hotel from the city center, so she called me, thinking that if she were on the phone, they would leave her alone! Apparently she was right, because they did leave her alone. She took a lot of photos and she said that she'd post those on Facebook tonight. I'm looking foward to seeing them.

Friday Night

As usual on Friday night, I am pooped. I worked till seven tonight and that doesn't include doing my lesson plans, although I know what I want to do and have the books to plan my lessons. Also on Monday my class is going to tour Mrs. Mueller's Kindergarten class and then on Friday we are having water day. So with those special activities, I will have a couple of less circle times.

I think I may go either take a warm bath and then bed or just read a while. I don't have a library book right now; the two I checked out were not interesting to me, so I think I will peruse my own library to find one I haven't read in a while.

Enroute to Dubai

Rachel is somewhere up in the sky; probably over Africa now on her way to Dubai. It sure looks like a fancy airport. Imagine arriving to this:
Or this:
Or collecting your luggage from here.

Pretty fancy. There must be some money in oil, or that's what I hear anyway.

Ready to Go

Rachel called; she was in an airport bar in Charlotte, waiting to board her flight. She is pretty excited about the trip.

And I am ready to go to bed, I think.

Sarah cooked a great dinner of chicken, fabulous mashed potatoes with cheese and broccoli. I made strawberry shortcake with real shortcakes. It was so good, I had to resist the desire to eat a second one.

I put together the little side table for outside and it wobbles. I don't know if I can change some of the adjustment on the legs or not.

I guess that is all for now. I'm tired...worked then went to Walmart to do the shopping for mine and three of the other Pre-K classes. Tami met me there and finished up one of the orders, then I brought it all back to the school. After that I went grocery shopping for myself.

So, till tomorrow....

Dubai Bound

Rachel's flight got turned back last night just as I was going to bed; the Icelandic volcano spewed more ash, so the airspace over the British Isles and also over Amsterdam was closed. She was sent back to Detroit and then this morning she flew back to Charlotte.


Expedia says they will give her the entire fee back and she was able to book a flight tomorrow night (5/18) out of Charlotte to New York. Then she'll have to spend the night in New York and leave the next morning via Emirate Airlines to Dubai and then to Nairobi.


It's a long flight; 12 1/2 hours, but the airline sounds awesome! And lovely flight attendants too.


Went to the dentist today and had the filling replaced. I hate, hate, hate going to the dentist but it wasn't too bad. They told me not to floss this filling for tonight. I came home and had a milkshake then went to sleep on the couch for 2 1/2 Law and Orders. Once the numbing began to wear off my jar really hurt; I think it was from the pressure of them working on the tooth. I took some ibuprofen.


I had a really strange dream last night. I was at our apartment in Staunton and Mark and Jane were coming for Christmas. It was Christmas Eve and I hadn't done anything; I didn't have a tree, or any gifts, or anything. My mom was there too and she had all this junk everywhere and I was having to move it to the basement. She and I kept arguing about all of her stuff.


So I was incredibly anxious in this dream b/c Christmas with them is probably one of the most anxiety producing things that I do and I was trying to pull things together at the last minute. And the funniest part of the dream is that Christy Brandys was in the kitchen fixing rotisserie chicken!


I guess I was anxious about the dentist appointment and also I suppose I was thinking about Rachel, knowing she hates to fly. But when I woke up, it all seemed so real and I was in a bad mood first thing!


Hopefully I can sleep as well tonight as I did on the couch today.

Over the Waves

Over the Waves is an old-time tune but right now that describes Rachel. I am tracking her flight to Amsterdam (and then onto Nairobi, Kenya) on flightstats.com and right now her plane seems to be leaving the Massachusetts coast. I am looking forward to hearing about her adventures. This should be the most unique place she has ever visited.

So, we met Rachel and Jason at Mert's Heart and Soul in uptown Charlotte and had a good lunch. Then Mom rode back with me and we stopped at Ikea; I bought furniture for the patio. I'm anxious to start putting it together but I have to go to the dentist tomorrow to get the missing filling replaced. Yay. Not. I hate going to the dentist.

Just finished my lesson plans and now I am headed to bed to read for a while. There are 18 school days left. Wow. That is hard to believe. I have a lot to do before the end.

Tired

I stained the concrete on the patio today and it looks great. It doesn't look different really, it just looks as if the concrete is sparkling clean. I guess I could have gone slightly darker, but I wanted the color of the original concrete. So it looks great.

I primed my other chair on the front porch so now I can sand and paint them. I need to do the porch swing too, or maybe I won't! It's a lot of work. But, I am going to get new chains; the old ones are so rusty and gross.

I cleaned most of my bathroom....the fixtures, not the floor, and then I took a break from it to cook supper. Anne and Sarah have gone to Winston Salem so I don't think they'll be eating with us. I'm making catfish, mashed potatoes and peas.

Tomorrow we are meeting Rachel and Jason in Charlotte to eat at Merts before she leaves for Kenya. It's amazing to think of the places she has been. Places I'll never go in my entire life. I hope it all works out well for her.

This and That

Came home from work early and by 3:30 was on the couch. I watched (and dozed through some) 3 1/2 hours of various Law and Order programs, ate two bags of microwave popcorn, two cupcakes and two marshmallow Easter eggs.

I wrote to each of my state legislators asking them to fully fund schools, wrote this post and now I am going to bed to read.

Woohoo...if my Friday nights get any wilder I won't be able to stand it.

Lost

No, not the tv show...my filling. I ate an apple and had some of it caught in a space between my teeth...when I flossed it, the floss got stuck on a rough part and out popped part of my filling.

Drat...I so hate going to the dentist, and now I'll have to. It doesn't hurt at all though. Lucky, I guess.

I found myself wishing that I could go back in time to just before I yanked on that floss.....

Graduation

Tonight was Neal's "official" graduation. He got recognized for being a member of Phi Theta Kappa, having a 4.0 average and for winning the award he won last fall.

Pretty impressive for a guy who still can't send an attachment with an email unless we help him!

Really we are proud of him...he worked hard for all of his achievements.

Cool

The weather that is. It's cool. And it rained some today, and thinking that it may rain more I didn't try to apply any stain to the patio.

I just found out a while ago that Rachel is leaving for Kenya on Sunday! Yikes! That's not long. Got her a gift card to Starbucks for her birthday card because she'll be spending some time in airports, and what is in nearly every airport?

It's just about 7:00 PM and I am already thinking of going to bed. Yes, really. Guess I'll make some microwave popcorn and see if my favorite show is on tv. Can't imagine going to bed at 7:00. But really I'm too tired to do much of anything else.

Home Depot

Went to Home Depot in High Point after work to buy stain for the patio. The paint guy was very friendly. Told me he worked another job in addition to that one...

Anyway he recommended not buying the primer so that the concrete would actually absorb more of the stain. He said that unless it had been treated with a sealer before it should be fine.

I have a meeting after school tomorrow so if it doesn't rain (which we need badly) and if the meeting doesn't go too long, I want to get started on the staining after work tomorrow.

Sarah made yellow rice and delicious stir fried chicken and peppers for supper. And a yummy peach cobbler, which her Grandmother Becky told her how to make.

It's 8:38 and after I put in a load of clothes, I am going to bed. I didn't sleep well last night so I am ready to get a good night's sleep tonight.

A Productive Day

I went to church this morning and then Sarah and I went to Joe and Becky's house. Neal brought food from Shotos and Anne and Rachel both came. I know that Joe and Becky were happy to have all three of our girls there. I was too!

After that I stopped at Kmart and picked up some things I needed, mostly for school, and then came home and got started on sealing the brick on the patio. It doesn't look that different, but it looks pretty good.

I will probably go over to High Point tomorrow and get some stain for the concrete part of the patio. I am just not happy with the discolored parts and I want it all to look even.

So many projects to do! So little time!

I only planned lessons for tomorrow because I am just too pooped to do the rest of the week, even though I know pretty much what we are doing.

So now I think I will make a cup of tea and go relax in my comfy bed before falling into an exhausted sleep! Just kidding...about the exhausted sleep. I'm not that tired!

Mother and Daughter Banquet

Tonight I went to the Mt. Zion Wesleyan Mother's Day Banquet. I went for my mother. And that is the only reason. I quit going to that church more than 20 years ago and every time I go to something there, I remember why.

But, it was nice because Jenny, Abby, Sarah, Anne and I were all there. So, it was for Mom.

And now I am going to treat myself and go to bed.

Oh, I did get a sweet card from Aidee (and Coe). It was in Spanish, but still, I could read it. I love here...and miss her too.

Tomorrow Rachel is stopping by on her way back to DC. We are taking food from Shotos over to Joe and Becky's house for lunch.

I Want My Own House

I wish my house were paid for so I could just move out and go live in my own house. It would be so nice.

Had a not so nice conversation with Anne this evening. She may not make it home in time to go to the mother/daughter banquet she promised to go to with her grandmother and the rest of us. I won't go into why, but I was thoroughly ticked off.

I know that one day she and I will have a harmonious relationship, but right now we are going through what is like the teenage rebellion years....only she is almost 23 years old. I just want her to go to school, get a trade so she can get a job and get on with her life. She seems to feel that she is doing the best she can but I disagree. It seems that she has no trouble racing up to Asheville or anywhere else she wants to go and having a good time, but when it comes to keeping her word for her family, it's a different matter.

I am just tired of having to look after everyone.

On another topic, I had ice cream with Susana, Charlotte and Karla after school. It was my treat for Charlotte's birthday, which was more than a month ago.

Wow...April really went by quickly. Now we only have about 5 1/2 weeks more of school. I can't believe it. I have so much to do yet.

Work

I think my whole life is work. I worked till 7:00 tonight; we had preschool screening late, but Tami and I were the last to leave.

I had a huge compliment today from someone I don't even know. Tami said that the mother of one of the children we screened had asked to have me in her class. Her older child was in Sheryl's class and I assumed that her little one would be there too. However, she told Tami that she didn't want her child in Sheryl's, supposedly b/c of another child that she thought would be in there.

She asked if she could request a teacher. And Tami said yes, of course, and she pointed to me (I was on the stage.....that's where we were screening....) and she said that she'd like to have her child in my class. She said that she had seen me before and that she had watched me and really liked the way I interacted with children.

What a huge, huge compliment! I guess kids are not the only ones who are always watching.

And her little girl was just adorable...we will love having her in our class.

Tired

I was so tired after work today...our awesome Cinco de Mayo celebration and then tutoring after school, that I really couldn't muster the energy to leave until after 6:00.

I'm waiting for Law and Order to come on and then I am hitting the couch with popcorn, candy and soda (dinner).

Neal went to the mountains for a day or two; Glen gave him the key to the bunkhouse. I'm glad he went; he never does anything fun and he's going to the Independence jam tonight.

And I do look forward to having my room all to myself. :)

Building a Cake

I'm making a Tres Leches cake for tomorrow's Cinco de Mayo festival. I am waiting for it to cool enough so that I can put the milks on it and I'll have to get up super early tomorrow to frost it and get to school. It will be a busy but fun day.

Or maybe I'll just take it to school and assemble it there. That sounds even better!

Monday, Monday

Oh my...always so much work to do. It's after 9:00 and I haven't been home too awfully long. I got a new bulb and replaced my burned out headlight. I am working on school work and unless I wash some clothes, I won't have anything to wear tomorrow. Sigh....

Sunday, Sunday

Today was very nice. I went to church this morning and then stayed for some leftover hotdogs they had from a fund raiser yesterday. Sarah and I ate lunch with Pastor Johnathan and Austin Conrad.

After that we stopped by Ingles and then came home. Oh, almost forgot...I got a milkshake from Cook Out too.

This afternoon has been a combination of web-surfing, talking to Rachel on the phone, reading a book (Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenerger) and working on getting the mortar stains off of the concrete patio. I also worked on that yesterday and I may have overdone it a bit today with my hand. It hurts a bit.

I still haven't done my lesson plans. I will probably only show up with plans through Wednesday because some materials I wanted to use are not on my computer at home, and I think they are at school. At least, I hope they are. If not, I'll just have to re-create them.

We are celebrating Cinco de Mayo on Wednesday so tomorrow I need to go to the store and buy all of the needed supplies; avocados and ingredients for making guacamole; beans and ingredients for making tostados; a piñata and some candy in case I don't get any from anyone; plates, cups, napkins and some corn chips. Lots of stuff. It will be fun though. I think I may make a tres leches cake to take because Tracy's birthday is on Sunday, Mother's Day, so we may want to celebrate on Wednesday, since we are celebrating anyway.

I don't know what to get Tracy for her birthday. If I got her what she deserved, I'd have to sell my house and everything I owned. I am so lucky to have her for an assistant.

The Morning After

The morning after Family Fun Night and working a 14 hour day, means sleeping till 8:30 and having all kinds of crazy dreams because you are waking up a lot!

I dreamed that I had a doctor's appointment and I couldn't remember how to get there, nor could I remember the name of the doctor. Finally I did arrive but in trying to park my car I drove over traffic spikes....you know, the ones that go flat if you are going the correct direction but puncture your tires if you are not. So, the doctor's office was above a Sears store and I called and said that I was going to have to get my flat tire fixed first. It was so strange...a super anxiety dream. It took place over so many different locations, Staunton included.

So today is Saturday and Sarah and I may go to the Spring Daze , a mini-spring festival in Thomasville. They have plants and things for sale. Then our church has joined with First Lutheran in Lexington for Relay for Life and they have a big sale going on.

I'm still a little groggy....got my coffee and computer to help me wake up.

Hurt the Ones You're With, Part 2

So, tonight I told Neal to shut up at the table. We were talking about my plan for putting some trellis panels across the back of the house and he said he liked it then proceeded to pick apart every single thing about it.

I won't go into detail, but basically my husband is not able to visualize anything he hasn't already done before or that he has been shown.

After several minutes of this, I told him that it would be fine, so he didn't need to say anything else, and of course, he kept on. So I told him to shut up. Actually I think I told him a couple of times. But, he did.

The bad thing is...I don't even feel bad about saying it. After a point, you just get fed up with the crap that people dish out.

Hurt the Ones You're With

I said something to my daughter Anne this evening that really upset her. I did apologize for hurting her feelings because I wasn't intentionally trying to do it, but it was how I felt and I felt like I needed to say it.

In spite of being upset with me, she cooked an awesome dinner of breakfast for us...scrambled eggs, sausage, gravy, biscuits, sliced tomatoes and very delicious fruit salad. She didn't eat with us because she said she wasn't very hungry, but I suspect it was because she didn't feel that charitable towards me. Oh well....

The difficult part of this is that I have never recovered from my shock and sadness over the problems that she has had. At the root is my heartbreak over losing the daughter I thought I had. This person who took her place is a little like her, but not the same and I still can't adjust to it.

I know it sounds dramatic to say heartbreak, when my daughter is still here, walking around and breathing, when so many others have lost loved ones, but I am not being overly dramatic. At one point, while I was wondering, for the thousandth time, why I was so sad and why I was having such a difficult time dealing with it, I realized that it was because my heart had been broken. And that is the only way to describe what I felt...just absolute, complete sadness and feelings of loss.

So, yeah, she isn't the only one with issues...I have plenty. And, sometimes, the not so nice things I feel come out. But, hopefully she knows that I really never intend to say anything mean. My observations are, after all, my observations, and if it upsets her to hear it, then I guess either she'll have to grow thicker skin or I'll have to not be very honest with her.

On other home fronts, Neal took his mom to the doctor today for some bloodwork. She was so weak that he said she could barely lift up her foot to step on the curb. She is in very, very bad shape. I really don't know how she even makes it from day to day.

I think Anne and Sarah plan to go see her tomorrow. Sarah is actually going to call early in the morning and see if she can take her to her hair appointment at 9:00. In her shape, she shouldn't be driving, but I'm sure she doesn't want to give up her independence.

I heard a report on the radio this afternoon that talked about results from studies on Alzheimers patients. All of the things that we have heard that is good, like keeping mentally active, etc. apparently don't really show significant results.

Drat....I was really counting on getting my master's degree in middle age to stave off a few years of dementia!

Getting Nervous

I'm getting nervous because so far I haven't heard anything from Rachel about whether or not her boyfriend Jason has heard from the company he interviewed with last week. He felt pretty good about it but he was one of three they were considering.

I so much want him to get this job and be able to relocate to VA before Rachel goes to Africa. I'm really hoping I'll hear something good tomorrow. They told him they would let him know soon.....

Sunday Morning

I was getting ready to go to church but I was running behind, so I decided to stay home. Sarah was getting ready, but when I decided to stay home, she decided to stay home too. She's been working on a paper and I have been doing household chores; laundry, dishes and I am organizing my cd's to put them in the boxes I bought from Ikea.

So, all of my lesson plans are done. Yesterday. Almost a first for me, but I spent hours working on them. I made some flannelboard activities to use and laminated them...it took a long time. But, I'll have them the next time I do the same activity.

Yesterday I posted some views from houses on Ocracoke. Today I will post a couple of other photos. One is the exterior of my favorite Ocracoke house that is for sale. Prices have really gone down quite a bit, but they are still too expensive to do anything other than dream. Oh well.



I love the cedar shakes; to me this says beach, although I think I would put some grey stain on the railing. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths and 9' ceilings. I would love to live here. It is on the market for $595,000. Yes, more than half a million.

Here are a couple of other rooms.



The living room. I would hardly even change anything.



The master bedroom. Yes, I would paint it white or some equally appealing light color. I have had enough of wood colored walls to do me forever.


And lastly, the bathroom off of the master bedroom. I'd paint that too. I can only imagine how many hours I'd sit there in that tub. Ahhh...bliss.

Saturday Morning

I think Saturday mornings are the times I most think about living on Ocracoke. I'd like to wake up and sip my coffee while looking at this view:


Or even this view:



And, I'd even take this one:

But I guess that part of where you live is a state of mind, and right now, my mind is on Ocracoke, in the state of NC....

Unemployed

Not me, Neal. After he got home from his doctor's appt. today the temp agency called and told him that his working time had expired and he was not to report on Monday.

He, understandably, is very upset, and he has no idea why they chose not to keep him. He even left his tools there so he has to go back on Monday and get them. He would like to talk to his supervisor just to ask why they chose not to keep him, so maybe it can help him in future jobs.

I feel bad for him. He looks so sad. He was starting to enjoy working there too. I think it is very hard on a guy's masculinity to not be able to keep a job.

Sarah says she is going out after dinner to buy him some ice cream.

All Clear

I saw the doctor today and he said that my hand is doing just fine; the tenderness I have is normal. They gave me some therapeutic putty and exercises, but I am too tired to start on them tonight!

I had to go by the Surgery Center and get a receipt for the payment I made there on my medical spending card b/c I have gotten a letter from First Financial asking for verification of the charge. I am not going to get the account next year because this is the second time that I have had to send in a receipt verifying the charge. If it isn't the doctor or medicine copay amount, they want verfication and it is too much trouble.

So I talked to Rachel and she sounded a bit better. It seems she had a pretty good day and she was meeting a college friend for dinner.

Jason said he had two interviews today, one for 45 minutes and one for 30 minutes. He is one of three people apparently. Oh how I am hoping he gets it.

Ate a nice quiche dinner that Sarah fixed and did a little bit of school work. I am about ready for bed.

The Really Bad Part....

The really bad part of being a parent to a person with resistant depression is wondering if there was something different you could have done when they were little.

I know I was a good parent, but there is always that but...and the "I could haves'; I could have been more patient, I could have this or that. But, really, does anyone really know what to do and I certainly gave her many advantages, and much love and security. But it didn't seem to be enough. She's almost 30 and she is going to have to figure it out, but I hate for her to go through so much pain.

Tomorrow Jason has his next interview for the job and I am terrified that he is not going to get an offer. She needs him to be there so badly, even though she is taking off to Kenya for three months.

I don't like feeling so helpless, but I am. I can talk and listen when she calls, but I can't really help. And that is the bad part.

The Longest Amount of Time That I Have Gone....

Without writing, that is. Just put me in the total slacker category.

So tonight I met Bleasha at Mazatlans to eat dinner. I know we had to have been there for a couple of hours. I feel like I was talking her ear off, but I haven't seen her to visit in a looooong time. She had plenty of news for me too....heard all about some local scandals. Which shall remain unreported.

Bleasha's dad has had a reoccurance of cancer and was to undergo surgery to remove a tumor above his stomach. The doctor was unable to complete the surgery because her dad's condition was too precarious to survive the surgery. So now he has the incision and still has the tumor. He is still on chemo and Bleasha says his spirits are good. She is going to Chattanooga this weekend for a reunion weekend with college friends. She'll have a great trip.

A funny thing happened in school today. One of my students got a boo-boo outside but for some reason he was really upset, so Tracy put a bandaid on the (microscopic) injury. When we came inside, the little girl that he is head over heels in love with said to me, "Mrs. Leonard, I tell Kevin not to cry" (and I am thinking, oh how sweet!). Then she said, "I tell him, if you cry, your parents might think the teachers hit you."

I was pretty much speechless. I just said, "Oh, thank you for helping him." It's not everyday that a student can leave me speechless, but she did.

Festivals, Festivals

Yesterday at work we had the celebration for the award that our Child Nutrition Dept. won. The preschoolers had fun planting vegetable plants in our courtyard garden. We also took a fun hayride around the front of the school after we ate lunch.

Today was the Itty Bitty Kiddie Festival at the fairgrounds in Lexington. I went to help Tami; I offered; she didn't ask anyone else to come. She felt bad b/c we all had to work last Saturday. But, she had to work last Saturday too...

Anyway, we didn't hand out too much information, but we did a little and we made tons of tissue paper butterflies with kids. I had three of my students show up; Phalona, Kevin and Ja'Veon. It was a fun day and a beautiful day; warm but not too bad and breezy. Which made for a challenge holding down the tissue paper while making the butterflies.

Afterwards I went to Lowes and bought two ferns for the front porch. I want to spiff it up a bit, so I also bought a lovely shade of green paint to paint the swing and the wooden porch furniture. Too bad I didn't have the energy to start on the job by the time I got home.

This has been a busy, busy week. By yesterday evening my hand was killing me! I did overuse it this week so I have been trying not to overuse it today. So now I am going to get off of the computer and head to my bed and read for a while.

Work, Work, Work...

Big celebration at school tomorrow. Our Child Nutrition Dept. won a big award so the place is being spruced up. All sorts of dignitaries from Washington, Raleigh and Atlanta (why Atlanta?) are supposed to be there. The preschoolers are planting vegetables in our garden. There is an adorable fruit stand set up in the courtyard.

Earlier rumors were that Michelle Obama could show...not likely! But still...it's fun to think about.

The Taxman Cometh

We got to get our taxes done tomorrow. I don't know why we put this off for so long...we don't even have that much stuff to get together anymore. I hope we don't have to pay...I think it will be close this year.

Got my new camera today. Well, it's not really mine because it is the camera I bought to replace my school camera which I ruined when I dropped it into a puddle at the beach. I tried it out right away by taking pictures of Anne and Bryan cooking dinner. Of course they posed for me.

Well, I don't have that much more to say. I feel kind of tired. I will probably go to bed earlier tonight. The last couple of nights I have gotten to bed closer to 11:00 and I kept yawning all day today. Plus I am out of my regular 12 hour chlortrimeton and the stuff you take more frequently isn't doing enough to kick my allergies. The inside of my nose feels like....well, I was going to say a mine field...things constantly exploding, but I have no idea what that is like, so I'll just say it is feeling extremely allergic.

Gosh, I know why no one reads my blog! It's a good thing I don't expect to have any readers!

You Would Think....

You would think that I could remember to post something every day. I don't know why I forget. I read my blogs every day and I see this one first, so you would think that it would jog my memory. But no.

I have been busy finishing my assessments that should have been done by the end of February and writing the progress reports from said assessments AND having conferences. I had one today and I have one Wednesday AM...then I have several for the next two days.

It's Kindergarten screening time at our school. And I hate it. I hate it because the instrument they use only assesses vocabulary and some letter and number identification. And a little counting. And that is only three of the 50 goals and objectives we work on all year long. So, some of our kids, who are weak in the letter and number area don't look like they have learned anything all year long, when we know they have.

It's frustrating. Oh well.

Now on to my next task. Finishing up with assembling the tax info. We have an appointment on April 14, two days from now, to get them done. Nothing like waiting till the last minute. Only it isn't because the last minute would be Thursday!

Work on Saturday

Yes, today, Saturday, was a work day. It was a make-up day for one of our snow days. But it wasn't that bad. We only had 11 kids...I really thought we would have almost all of them...but we had a good day.

We planted more things in our garden today and just as we were getting ready to go in for lunch, Ms. Mixon came with her class to put their worm farm in the garden. So now our soil should be well-aerated!

My hand continues to improve...it doesn't hurt much now although it is still swollen and I do have limited use, but it is amazing how quickly it is healing! I think I am right on track.

Eating Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream...and then heading to bed.

A "No Brace" Day

I slept without the brace last night and decided to try going without it today and I think I am really ready to be rid of it. It was actually beginning to hurt me to wear it.

My hand is a little swollen though so I think I need to put an ice pack on it for a little while. The doctor said to let pain and swelling be my guide....hmmmm....that sounds like a good title for a book. Or a blog. Haha.

We have to work tomorrow even though it's Saturday. It's a make-up day from the snow. Then after work I need to hit the portfolio and progress reports really, really hard to get ready for conferences next week. And I need to finish getting tax stuff together.

Nothing like putting it off till the last minute. I guess it's more exciting that way. Or maybe I just work better under pressure.

Really Harder Than It Seems

I thought it would be so easy to write every day. But, it's not. I usually forget.

So, there is also the problem of what to write. There is news...usually not much of that. Health updates...well, there just isn't much to write.

So, I'll start with health updates. My hand has been hurting. Tracy says it is because I am using it more, so I guess she is right.

News. This is big news. Rachel is going to Kenya for the summer for an internship. I hardly know what to say...that is really far away. And such a different culture, but I'm sure it is going to be very interesting to her, and she needs the internships for employment opportunities post grad school. So, it will be interesting to see what her experiences there will be like.

I should be working on school work but I think I am going to go watch Law and Order and then try to do a little bit of schoolwork. I am totally not motivated, and, as I mentioned, my hand does hurt. So that makes me less motivated.

Post Vacation

I guess I could have written drafts for posting while I was at Hunting Island, but I didn't.

I did ruin my school camera by dropping it into a puddle of water, but fortunately I was able to get my pictures off of the card.

Now I need to replace that camera and also I might as well go ahead and buy a waterproof camera since this is the third one I have ruined.

I did have a great time on my trip though. It was so wonderful just to do as I wanted to, when I wanted to without concern for anyone else! The ultimate in relaxation.

My mom called me one night and said that she thought I might be lonely...nothing could have been farther from the truth! I was so happy and content!

New Job!

Not for me but Neal. He starts work on Tuesday at Fletcher Machine shop on Highway 64. The pay is not too good, but at least it is a start.

Got the car packed today for camping...now I have to do laundry and pack. I'll leave in the morning but I'm not trying to get up early to go or anything. It should be 5 1/2 or 6 hours tops. It'll be a nice day to drive.

Here is a photo of the campground; my site won't be this close to the beach. By the time I reserved one, I had to settle for a spot further back in the campground, but that's ok...

It's Gone!!!

The cast is off and the stitches are gone. They said it was healing nicely and I have to wear a brace for a while. I'm not sure how long they said to wear it; until the incisions heal I guess.

I go back in 3 weeks for a re-check.

My wrist actually hurts more now because it can move more now, but it is still ok. Not as painful as pre-surgery.

Spring Break Awaits

Or what there is of it, anyway. But I go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and hopefully I'll get rid of my cast and stitches. THEN, on Friday I'llgo to Hunting Island SP.

I have it all planned. Neal will load the heavy stuff in the car for me and I'll leave the food and cooler in there instead of unloading it. I'm not planning to set up the screen house anyway, so I'll just put the stove on the table and use my car for a pantry.

I can set up my tent and get my things into it.

I need to work on getting our tax stuff ready for H&R Block so we can go the week I get back. And I never have gotten the progress reports finished yet. But I am so looking forward to getting away and being by myself, just for a little while. It will be restorative.

Back at Work

People seemed to be surprised that I was back at work...I guess they are used to people that take a looong time to recover.

I am tired though....and my hand is kind of achy, so I think I'm pretty much going to call it a night.

Happy Birthday for Me!

Today was a very nice day! Sarah cooked lunch and Rachel was able to stop by and eat with us. She gave me the Joe Newberry cd that I wanted. Neal gave me a very sweet card and a portable flush toilet to take camping. It will be nice when I am camping by myself b/c I can just put it in the tent and I won't have to go out to the bathhouse in the middle of the night.

Oh and I got unfriended again! This tinme by Donnie Scott. I guess he falls into that category of people that only wants friends who think like he thinks. Oh well....

I got lots of Happy Birthday wishes from Facebook friends and emails too. My principal even called to see how I was feeling. Nice.

Flowers and Gifts

I had dinner tonight with Thom & Melissa (for my birthday). Thom fixed his wonderful grilled pork roast and Melissa fixed a lemon meringue pie. It was all delicious and it was so great that Anne and Sarah could go with Neal and me. I also got Barnes and Noble gift cards fro Thom & Melissa and Florence, Thom's mom. That was a surprise and really thoughtful.

Today I had a visit from all five of the Oliver-Martinez family...Mariela, Amanda, John Paul, Sr., John Paul, Jr. and Jean Renee. They brought me the lovely flowers shown here. All of this and my birthday isn't even until tomorrow!

Two Days After

Today I vacuumed some and did some laundry. I think I may actually be able to go camping after all because my hand is feeling great!

I can tell when I have overdone though.

Most exciting news is that I took a shower and washed my hair. Sarah helped me wrap my arm up in a trashbag and close it with rubberbands.

Here is a photo taken the day after my surgery.

Not Too Bad

I am not really having any pain. I came through the procedure very well and as a bonus, my OR nurse was Dalton Shaver! I hadn't seen him in years.

So now I have to figure out how to bath and wash my hair with one arm in a plastic bag!

I've had some visitors; Mom came and Carissa came with Braxton. Jenny called and so did Tracy. Tracy says she is coming tomorrow.

I've almost finished Alaska!

Can't type much though, so this is it for now!

Today Is the Day...

I don't know what this will bring...I am just hanging around, doing schoolwork, waiting. Trying not to dread it and hoping I don't throw up.

I wish I could have a cup of coffee or something to eat!

Surgery Tomorrow....

At noon. I have to be there at 11:00 AM. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight. I'm so tempted to stay up eating and drinking!

But actually I am kind of tired and I'll be going to bed soon. It's so nice that I don't have to hear the alarm for the next few days. What a pleasure! Not worth having surgery to get it though.

I feel a little anxious about it, but not that much. My main concern is the stuff I won't be able to do afterwards, like wash my hair or get dressed easily! Good thing I can stay in my jammies with dirty hair for a few days.

One More Day

One more day before I have carpal tunnel surgery.

My hairdresser says that it won't help and it will come back. Not sure where he got his medical degree, but he seemed certain about it.

I do have some anxiety about the recovery; I'm thinking I probably won't get to go camping, but I haven't ruled it out yet. I'm more concerned about things like washing my hair and that sort of thing.

Well, not much else to say. I need to put some pintos on to soak to cook in the crockpot for tomorrow and then get back to my assessments and progress reports.

So long for now!

PS-I don't guess I'll be able to do much blogging the first few days. So, even if I hadn't already broken my resolution, I would have to!

Goodwill Shopping

I went to visit Bob today and keep him company while Rachel and Ben were gone. He didn't really need me there, except I did help him put on his socks; they are compression socks, to prevent blood clots and he can't bend over to get them on. He really just didn't want to be alone all day in case he did have a problem or needed something that he couldn't manage. He's doing very well though.

Aaron came a little after 1:00 with some lunch so I left and went to the Lexington Goodwill. I didn't find that much except I did score another 100% cashmere sweater for unraveling as well as a pair of wooden candlesticks and a lamp. The candlesticks were very cute but were painted a yucky gold color so I sanded them some and they are in the process of being painted an off-white. I still need to put another coat on so I am letting them dry really well.

The lamp is a glass and brass lamp; it is not too terrible looking as it is but I may paint it white too, or maybe just the brass parts white. I'm not sure; I'll wait and see what strikes my fancy. But, it would look cute in Sarah's room painted white with a green checked lampshade out of her curtain fabric. Here is a photo of one that looks similar. I found this on the Centsational Girl blog.

Rachel's Paper

Rachel called tonight and we talked for a long time. I was trying to help her sound out ideas for a paper she has to write involving the Church and charity. One of the ideas I had was that that we know what the recipients get out of the charity the Church shows, but what do the vounteers/employees of charitable institutions receive?

Anyway, I hope that talking can help; it is good to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

Tomorrow I am going to help Bob C. for a couple of hours. He had a hip replacement a little more than a week ago. His wife and son will be gone for the day and he still can't do everything by himself, so I am going to help out.

And what am I getting out of that? The pleasure of knowing that I can help out a friend who needs me. I really believe that what goes around comes around and I am not expecting a return on my gift of time, but I just believe that by being helpful it creates positive energy in the world.

I really believe that all good things come from God and by doing good works, you are setting God's love in motion for the rest of the world.

And, it is good to feel needed. There has to be a balance because some people don't feel useful unless someone needs them. I am quite happy to not be needed most of the time, but I think that it is a sad person who never has any obligations or demands/requests for their time.

Speaking of demands for time, I am going to demand that I get off of the computer and probably eat ice cream for supper and then read and go to bed. I actually finished my lesson plans at work because I have so many assessments/progress reports to do over the weekend that I needed to at least get the plans out of the way before leaving work. BUT, tonight is mine just to read and enjoy myself.

So, goodbye and goodnight.

Pizza, Pizza and More Pizza

Today I ate pizza for all three meals.

For breakfast, I had some school breakfast pizza left over from last Friday. I didn't bring lunch today so I had to buy from the cafeteria and my choice was a corndog or pizza. I have never eaten a corndog and I'm not going to start now, so it was pizza...again.

Tonight I volunteered to do childcare at school for the ESL Family Night and they were serving....yep.....pizza! I even brought a whole one home as a bonus.

So, that is a lot of pizza in one day, and none of it too awfully good.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Today is my friend Bob's birthday; for so many years we had birthday parties together because we are the same age; only 11 days apart. Maybe we'll throw a big one for our 6oth in three years!

It's strange to see yourself and your friends getting old. For a long time I didn't really see myself aging very much. I mean, there were little signs; my skin wasn't as firm, I began to get those jowly things at my jawline, etc. But during my fifties, I feel like I have really gotten older.

But, I don't really care that much. I still feel the same as I did when I were a child. And if I feel that way, I think that probably everyone else feels that way too. We see ourselves as we feel and then we look in the mirror and it's shocking...who is that person looking back?

I know my gray hair makes me look older. There are certain people who will remain nameless who want me to color it; they are mostly my age or near it. I think by looking at me with gray hair, they feel older so it makes them uncomfortable. Or they just think that gray hair makes me look just OLD. But, this is the color hair I have and to color it it just a waste of time and money for me. And I'll have to admit; I hate gray roots! To me, gray roots are worse than any other kind of roots. It's like your secret has been exposed; you are not who you seem to be!

So, I'll stick with the gray hair, even though other people treat me differently because of it. Especially people who work in stores, etc. They don't look at my face; they just look at the hair and they see gray hair so they think "old person". I get called things like "sweetie" and "little lady" and (the worst of all) "young lady" by people who are often younger, but sometimes every bit as old as I am.

I would just like to say, "I know you are trying to be nice, but that just doesn't make me feel very good, so please don't call me young lady."

Or I could just slap them, but I'm really not the violent type. Most of the time.

Instead what I would like people to see when they look at a person with gray hair is wisdom and knowledge and all of the experiences that we have accumulated in our still too few years of life.

I'm patient, I have an incredible sense of perspective that I didn't have as a young person. I know that things will always work out, not because I am some unthinking optimist, but because I have learned that there is a solution for every problem and with time, it can be found.

I understand that people don't always tell the truth, not because they want to lie but because they are afraid for some reason. I've learned that even though people can do terrible things, inside they do not see themselves as terrible.

I don't feel the urge to "make every minute count", that it is okay just to be, to enjoy your life, to feel happiness for no reason other than that you are alive and that your day is full of potential. So having said that, Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy Birthday Bob.

Beware....

Today is March 15...the Ides of March. To be honest, I couldn't really remember exactly what it is except that I thought it had something to do with Caesar....so I did what anyone thinking person does when they want to learn more about a topic...I Googled it.

Okay, so I was right. This is the day in 44 BC that Julius Caesar was killed by Brutus and some other people.

So, in other news...

My cat bites look really bad. I am going to go take a bath and read AND soak my hand in the warm water before applying the peroxide, alcohol, antibiotic ointment and bandaids. And then, bed.

I hate daylight savings time. Really.

Oh, for other news. Amy told me today that her daughter Sarah is pregnant and due on August 8. She and her boyfriend have no plans to marry, not anytime soon and they are looking for their own place since they are both living with Austin and his girlfriend in the house in Galax.

Amy seems very happy. She said that she never thought she'd live long enough to see a grandchild born.

Cat Attack

I got attacked by my cat today. It was my fault, but really, did he have to bite me so hard??? And in so many places?

Here's what happened. Normally we keep Marmalade confined to the sunroom during the day because he and Styles do NOT get along and Styles spends a lot of his time stalking Marmie and then there will be a screaming fight with actual fur flying, etc. So, we just keep them apart.

I thought that maybe Marmie would like to trade places with Styles and let him be confined to the sunroom for a day, so Neal and I each got hold of a cat and traded places.

Apparently Marmalade was not happy with the arrangement because a short time later I walked into my bathroom floor only to find that he had peed all over it. It was back to the sunroom for him!

So, Neal and I cornered him in the dining room and I grabbed him. He promptly began to scream and struggle. I held on tight...and that's when he played his winning card and bit the crap out of me. On two hands! In multiple places.



And, to add insult to the very real injury, the worst bite was on my right hand...the one that is hurting day and night because of my carpal tunnel. The one that I will have surgery on in 10 days.

So, as soon as I could slow the bleeding down, I grabbed a towel first and we did it all again. He tried but with that towel thrown over him and protecting me, his efforts were in vain.

He is confined to the sunroom for the rest of his life. But isn't it hard to believe that this sweet, innocent looking cat could be so vicious?