Grandson, Day Two

I woke up this morning to a little dude beside me in bed.  Dawn was just showing up, so I figured it was about 8:00.  I rolled over, and he did, too.  The end result was that we cat-napped until 9:00.

The only highlights of the day were returning Ryan Holly's "big brue van" and eating dinner at Chick-fil-A...which has a play place.  Ryan Heffelman was an angel through it all.

Efforts to find a place for Frodo the Wonder Dog have failed.  Places want her to have a shot for Kennel Cough.  That would requre a trip to my favorite vet before even taking her elsewhere.  The cheapest boarding I could find was $17 a day, but they would  be closed to exits and entrances from Saturday thru Monday.  The next best boarding was $23 a day,  Not good.  So,,,I am looking at leaving the pooch at home and asking the neighbors across the street to check on her twice a day.  Frodo deserves better than I can give her.  She won't be happy, but she will survive.

Ryan conked out on the couch again.  I took him to bed, still in his clothes.  He is such a sweetheart, with a little devil in him.  It appears that, without sibling stimulation, he can keep regular hours!

I honked off a dear friend tonight by suggesting that he read this blog to catch up on my escapades.  He was offended that I was passing him off to another venue.  I'm sorry for that...just am too tired to make it right.  I tried...

Talked to Meg via cell phone a few minutes ago.  They are in Tennessee, on their way to Florida.  Wish I were!

Taking the garbage out.  Does that count as vacation??

 

Heavenly Peace!

This has been a marathon few days for me.  Drove to Muncie last Thursday to deliver a day bed for Robin, and gathered up 8 baskets/tubs/garbage bags full of laundry.  (Meg's washing machine is on the fritz.)  Came back the same day.  Delivered half of the laundry to Nate's parents on Friday morning.  Did laundry like crazy.  Collected the laundered things from Nate's folks and drove back to Muncie on Saturday evening. 

IN THE MEANTIME, before leaving on Saturday, I noticed that I didn't have any hot water.  The pilot light on the gas water heater was out.  Got it re-lit and the burner going, but noticed a couple of hours later that the water wasn't hot.  Pilot was out again.  What to do?  I could go to Muncie and worry about it when I got back, but the holidays and timing were going to work against me.  Ryan Holly, KB9RAF, suggested that it was probably the thermocouple...so the two of us drove to Lowe's, got the part, and Ryan installed it.  Voila!  Hot water!  THEN I left for Muncie.

Sunday (Christmas Eve), Meg and Nathan took the children to see Santa arrive on a fire truck at a local fire station, while I did last minute shopping.  At 7:00 PM, we went to their church's Candlelight Service, which was very nice...then home to put the children to bed and wrap some presents.  (Believe it or not, the children were in bed and asleep by 9:30, more because of fatigue than lack of excitement!)

Guess what?  Santa came to their house!  Christmas morning, we opened our presents and ate Meg's yummy breakfast casserole, then made preparations to head to Plainfield for Christmas dinner with Nate's family, including his brother and sister-in-law.  The drive was lousy due to the rain and road spray which made visibility difficult, but we got there only 15 minutes past the ETA.  More presents!  More excitement!   Good food and fellowship, but then came the time to head back to Muncie.  (7:00 PM)  Meg wanted to drive around Monument Circle to show the children the World's Tallest Christmas "Tree", "since we have to go that way, anyway".  So we did.  We even stopped so they could get out and take a look.  Ryan got up on the steps of the monument and got scared, thinking the tree would fall over on him.  (It has to be pretty scary for a little guy to see something that tall!)  Back on the road, we encountered rain mixed with snow most of the way home. I was silently praying that the rain STAYED rain until we could make it back.  We encountered salt trucks around the Anderson area, which frightened me--but the snow held off until an hour or two after we arrived.  It snowed about 1 1/2 inches of really wet stuff.  A white Christmas, if you stayed up long enough!

Tuesday, we didn't do anything too exciting.  I kept the children's clothing separate from the rest so I could pack for them to come with me back with me to Plainfield to begin their respective adventures: Meg and Nate to leave for Florida, Robin on a flight to Atlanta with her other grandmother, and Ryan to stay with me to trek to Illinois.  I had a suitcase with Robin's things, and put Ryan's in a tub.  In an effort to find more children's clothing, I went to the garage (where the laundry room is) and sorted through some more unlaundered clothes.  I had a load of towels and a load of children's clothes to take home with me, along with presents, etc. 

I thought I had everything under control.  Got the children going and loaded the remainder of the stuff that hadn't been put in the van last night.  The grandchildren and I were on the road just a little after 10:00 and arrived in Plainfield about noon, after two short stops.  Started doing laundry instantly...and discovered, to my dismay...that I had left the tub with Ryan's clothing in it behind!!!  A quick sort through the children's laundry showed me that there were enough clothes for him for the week, even without what I had left behind.  Whew!  Got the laundry done.  Got the children fed and somewhat entertained.  Got Robin packed, and delivered her to her Heffelman grandparents for the trip to Indianapolis International.  Ryan and I went to McDonald's (with a Play Place) and ate fast food, and let him blow off some energy. 

On our way back to the house, I told him I thought I would just plunk him in the bathtub.  He was agreeable to that.  After his bath, I got him all dried and powdered and jammied, then let him curl up on the couch under Grandma's sleeping bag.  He asked for a "moozie," so I put in a Dora video, and he munched on black olives.  A few minutes later, I went back to check on him, and he was fast asleep.  God bless the little boy!  It was only 7:30!   If he stays asleep for the night, it will give me a much-needed chance to just sit back and breathe.  There is still laundry to do, and some things I have to accomplish tomorrow before I can leave for Illinois, but right now, all is calm; all is bright!

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.  The time just flies.  It will be 2007 in just a few days.  Hard to believe!

 

Whew!

The last time I attempted to post on here, it didn't save...and I clicked off too soon, so all was lost.  There is more to write now, so I will try again!

Last Sunday, I went to Muncie to attend the kids' church's Christmas pageant.  They go to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Muncie, had re-written How the Grinch Stole Christmas to make the Whos of Whoville to be the UUs of UUville.  The whole thing was pretty cute.  As with most churches, they find ways to include even the youngest children of the church, and my grandchildren were no exception.  They came in, at the appropriate time (with adults) with elf hats on their heads, looking quite adorable--but having no clue what was going on.  Ryan had a drum in his hands and kept beating on it at various times.  (I'm positive that wasn't in the script!)  The children all made their appropriate appearances, then were called back for their "curtain call," at which time the narrator called for a special guest to come in.  From where I sat, I could see Santa Claus stashed in a coat closet where the kids couldn't see him.  Ryan was standing right in front, and when Santa came in, his jaw dropped and his eyes got big in an amazed expression that he held for a few seconds.  It was so darned cute that the people all around us were chuckling at him.  It was funny!  Megan, of course, cried.  The appropriate Mommy response!

Monday was a full day.  Taught, then had school radio club right after school (with the good news that the Morse Code requirement for licensure has been dropped), then had to return that evening for a School Board meeting in order to show support for our bargaining team.  We accepted next to nothing over the last two years...

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were a blur.  We stamp out brush fires.  One student is suspended for stealing a cell phone from another student, changing the voice mail and calling her boyfriend...and thought no one would notice.  Another was suspended for smoking in the restroom.  It took exactly two minutes to catch her.  Once the smoke was smelled, a student stuck his head through a door and snitched...and the rest was history.  Another student was suspended for copping an attitude with a sub.  We have worked really hard to keep this kid in school, but he sabotages himself!  And lastly, another has been suspended for sucker-punching another kid at the buses at dismissal.  The kid that got punched has been diagnosed with a form of autism, so it doesn't go well...

So...at the end of Wednesday, when we were trying to provide fun activities for the kids, it got interesting.  Seventh and 8th graders were to sign up for one of five movies, or a basketball tournament.  I volunteered to help by showing a video in my room.  The 7th graders in attendance were good as gold, but my very own 8th graders were rotten.  It kind of tainted the occasion for me!  I hauled a couple of my young ladies out to the corridor and "helped" them.  It was better after that, but I'm thinking that we need to change things next year.

I was so tired last night that I went to bed and died.  Early this morning, I got up and prepared to head to Indy for an appointment with an attorney over old divorce matters.  Had to park in a parking garage...and soon found out that I had to stop and remove the antennas.  The were being scraped on the ceiling!  Okay...got that done.  Had the appointment.  Saw that the parking garage would take cash or check only...but the lawyer thought I might be hassled about a check...and I didn't have enough cash on me!  Okay...there was an ATM in the front of the building...but I soon figured out that my debit card was still in the car.  Damn!  I went up to the car in the garage, got the card, went back to the building, found the ATM machine, got money, went back to the antenna-less car, and found my way out.  Paid the attendant in cash.  Six $$ for an hour. 

It has rained all day.  Went to Indy in the rain, then had to prepare to go to Muncie in the rain...in a borrowed van.  Long story.  I took a day bed that I acquired accidentally, for my granddaughter, for free from a friend's daughter, and he volunteered his van to take it there.  From all that generosity, I made a 4-year-old pretty happy today!  And so did her other grandmother, who went up to make Christmas cookies with her grandchildren, having stayed up until 1:00 last night to make the dough.  The two grandmothers, combined, drove 6 hours just to provide for the children.  I brought home multiple baskets of laundry because the kids' washing machine in on the fritz and the part has just now been ordered.  Everyone is going separate ways just after Christmas.  Clothing is needed!

Robin, age 4, is going with her other grandmother on a plane trip to Atlanta to visit her aunt and uncle, and cousins Joey and Jackson (ages 4 and 9 months).  Ryan, age 3, is going with me to Illinois to visit his great-aunt Shari and great-uncle Roger...and their great-grandchildren (slightly younger).  Their parents are going to Florida.  When it is all over, I will be going to the Psych Ward!  There is not one single day in this "vacation" that everyone tells me I have that will be unspoken for. 

But I digress.  Tomorrow and Saturday, I will be here working.  Later on Saturday, I will return to Muncie where I will stay until Christmas Day, when we will all return to Plainfield for dinner, then back to Muncie.  The next time I leave after that will be to take my granddaughter to her other grandparents' and start being mommy to my grandson for a week. 

This won't happen next year, but for now...that's the story. 

I wish I could be there for all of my single friends who will be alone on the holiday.  There but for the grace of God go I.  I also wish my house were big enough to stand my ground and have everyone here.  That also won't happen. Still, I want everyone reading this blog to understand that, in spite of my complaints, I am well aware that I am blessed with the best friends in the world. 

My childhood sweetheart--happily married yet mutual friends after all these years--called to tell me that his very new stepfather has passed away.  God bless his poor mother!  She lost her husband of 50+ years about 4 years ago, found another love and remarried in her 80's, and just 8 months later is a widow again.  I ache for them all, but more for me because the service for him will be tomorrow and I can't be there.  I have loved that woman and her family since I was in 8th grade.  And that was a LONG time ago!

And now, it is time for me to go to bed.  Tomorrow, I will be doing marathon laundry, wrapping presents, and doing some last minute shopping.  I feel that I owe presents of gratitude to so many who have helped me through the year.  For now, they will just have to accept my meager thanks. 

God Bless my friends!  And Merry Christmas!

Bah! Humbug!

Okay...so I had a small list of Christmas gift ideas, and decided (after the failed SATERN nets this morning) to head out to shop.  It was about 2:00.  I had to go maybe 5 miles to get to Target, Kohl's, and Wal-Mart.  It was EASILY after 2:30 before I was parked!  So much for the Plainfield small town feel!  I mean, I don't exactly live in Chicago.  What's up with that??  I don't know if it is the road construction on 267 that has created the problem, the new Metropolis mall, or all of the new traffic lights that aren't properly timed.  All I know is that I noticed the problem before the Christmas rush.  I finally parked my buggy in the Target lot and WALKED to all the stores in order to avoid having to wait longer in traffic lines.  I planned my exit route, and even that didn't work.  Ended up having to turn right in order to go left.  Nearly got run over by emergency vehicles leaving the Fire Department.  You get the picture...

I had minimal success in finding what I wanted.  I did get some things, but only my sister has been crossed off the list of people to buy for!

I am going to Muncie in the morning to be part of their church's Christmas pageant that will include my grandchildren.  Will also take my carpet shampooer up, and bring back things to be shipped to Atlanta for Robin and the family down there.  Busy, busy!

Thank goodness that the weather wise nice today.  At least I didn't have to fight snow and cold in order to shop! 

Job Action

For at least the last 9 weeks' grading period, our district has been involved in failed contract negotiations with the superintendent and school board.  We are at impasse, which requires a mediator.  The teacher's association decided to take some minor actions to express our solidarity:  We dress in black on Mondays (heretofore declared at "dress for success day" by the superintendent.)  We wear black and green ribbons on our clothing.  There was informational picketing outside the last board meeting.  Apparently all of this has not pleased our administration.  They don't even like our color of choice!

So...my agenda for next week includes:

Colts Day on Monday.  One of our former students is a Colt--recently re-signed to take the place of the injured Stokely.  (I have to buy a shirt!)  In the evening, we will wear black to the Board meeting.  We have been denied a position on the agenda that night, but will be there, in spades.

Tuesday is "casual day".  I can legally wear jeans.  Wednesday, there is an activity or two that I will be expected to help supervise.  Just don't know what they are, yet!

Let's see...we have one who is suspended for stealing a cell phone.  She got on it and changed the voice mail, and called her boyfriend.  There are recordings.  Apparently, she didn't know she could be caught!

We have another who smoked in the girls bathroom just outside my classroom.  It took us probably two minutes to catch her.  She is also out until the new year.

Another youngster with whom we have worked forever just to keep in school copped an attitude with a sub today.  He is also gone until January.  Guess it's time for me to put my "No S. S." sign up again.  (S.S. = Stupid Stuff).  

And...tonight...the word has come down that the FCC has dropped Morse Code as a requirement for General and Extra class radio licensing.  This has been coming...and I am NOT looking forward to hearing the whining from the Good Ol' Boys.  I'm thinking that it will take them a few days to find out.  I'm going to lay low!!!!!!

Just Another Day in the Life...

Yesterday, my team of teachers (science, social studies, math, and me) had a planning day.  Subs were employed for us so we could get our heads together in order to plan for things such as incentives for academic achievement and behavior, and a cross-curricular unit, etc.  We spent the usual amount of time complaining about things and then got busy with the positive stuff.  Just after lunch, we were summoned to the principal's office.  It was clear there was something wrong, so we girded our loins for the meeting.  (I told the youngest of our team to get rid of his gum so he wouldn't get admonished AGAIN for his having contraband in his mouth!)  When the principal showed up, she closed the door.  (Not a good sign!)  Then she proceeded to reem us out for not supporting her on matters of discipline.  Clearly, one of us had crossed a line that she didn't like.  I knew it wasn't me...so I began to guess.  There was one person on the team that she didn't look at during the diatribe, so I knew it was he.  That was confirmed this morning.  Now I am trying to figure out ways to help him get over the obstacles in front of him...and there are several.  That's what team members do!

I am in survival mode to get through the next few days of school before I fall apart.  Typically, getting through final exams and the last days before Christmas break, is horrific, and the first couple of days of break are fraught with getting ready for Christmas and trying to come down from the stressed of teaching 8th grade.  This year is different.  I won't really have a break...so I am trying to make bargains with myself...finding ways to make it acceptable NOT to get things done.  I need to find babysitting for my grandson when I have to return to school...and someone to watch the dog so I can go to Illinois--if that is even possible.  Logistics are complicated. 

Yesterday, I got training in how to use the school's grade book software to calculate my grades.  I need to find a time when I am not so pooped at the end of the day to make it work.  I need to input the grades for it all to work.  There aren't enough hours in a day to get everything done!

Life goes on.  Just another day of life in the slow lane...

 

 

HCARS Christmas

My radio club had its annual Christmas dinner meeting tonight.  It's always good to see the families for the occasion.  Wives and kids usually come out for the dinner and for Field Day, and we don't see them much in between!

Tonight's meeting included our election of officers for 2007.  Same stuff, different day!  I will be President again for next year, but I have put everyone on notice that I won't do it another year.  I will never retire from the club, but I sure would like to retire from the responsibility! 

I stayed home this past weekend.  Went to dinner with a friend on Saturday evening, and another friend came over after his work on Sunday to clean out my gutters.  Thanks, Ryan!  I hadn't seen Ryan in a long time.  I really should have him and his wife over for supper some evening when we are all free.  (When is that????)  Meg wanted me to go up to Muncie for their church's Santa Lucia festival, but the gutters called...and I had been up there the previous two Sundays in a row.

I'm still trying to decide if I should finish decorating for Christmas.  I don't know if my family will even be here for the holiday.  I guess I will do it this week...just for my own traditions.  I do enjoy the beauty of a Christmas tree, even if I'm the only one here to see it!

School is just flying by.  Wish I could say I was ready for Christmas and ready for the semester to be over.  The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!

Happy Birthday, Dear Sister!

I called my sis this evening, who was on her way out to dinner with her family for her big day.  Medicare, meet Shari.  Shari, meet Medicare!  Seriously, I wish I were there to help her celebrate.  Haven't seen her in almost a year...

It begins to look like little Robin is going to be taking her very first airplane flight.  Grandma Judy is going to Atlanta to visit her daughter and other two grandchildren, and Robin has been invited!  This is part of a plan to allow Meg and Nathan time to go to Florida with friends.  If they do go, Robin will go to Atlanta, and Ryan will come with me to Illinois.  I'm not sure I can entertain an active 3-year-old boy for a week, but I guess I will have to try, if everything happens.  He will miss his sister and his parents.  (So will I!)  He has cousins in Illinois that he can play with if we visit...but that won't be good for more than an evening.  The bigger challenge will be keeping him from crawling through the doggie door and keeping his hands off my sister's "pretties".  We'll see!  Truth be known, I am absolutely green with envy that I can't be there for Robbie's trip on the airplane.  What an experience for a 4-year-old!

I can't believe that another week is down and that we are only 1 1/2 weeks away from Christmas break.  I have been emailing parents fast and furiously, telling them about opportunities for bonus points for their kids' flagging grades.  Wonder if I will have any takers?

It's cold out tonight.  I start my car about 15 minutes early every morning, hoping that it will start.  Have I mentioned that I hate cold weather??  We had a light dusting of snow this morning--just enough to set rush hour in Indy on its ear.  Right now, it is about 12 degrees outside.  I am snug in my little bungalow, doing nothing to set myself up for the weekend.  Tomorrow night is Snack and Craft evening at the church.  I should go and work on a project...but am I ready?  Noooo...  I also haven't decorated the house for Christmas and am now wondering if it is even worth the effort.  The verdict is still out on that...

Paying bills tonight.  Now, that's depressing!  Bah!  Humbug!

:)

Depressed!

The weather was decent today, but the bottom is supposed to fall out over the next couple of days.

I am tired of students who don't give a big rip about anything...and answering emails from their concerned parents about what "we" can do to help their kids.

I am scared about a lot of things transpiring in my world.

'Tis the Christmas season, but worry about things takes away the joy.  My daughter has a medical condition that she is doctoring.  (Hang in, Meg!)  Dear friends of mine are suffering a horrible setback in their lives at the hands of the judicial system.  (I'm praying for you, Major!)  My niece and her extended family are suffering from her injury.  And tomorrow is my sister's birthday, but I didn't get a card sent out!  Other than that, things are just ducky!

I've been playing phone tag with a couple of attorneys over some things that have been hanging for awhile.  I am supposed to get an hour of free legal advice from my Indiana State Teacher's Association membership, and then a discounted rate after that.  Well!  One attorney told me yesterday that it would cost me--at the discounted rate--$450-600 to make out a will!  Nope, sorry!  My situation is very uncomplicated.  I'm not going to go there!  I can only imagine how the other, more complicated, deal will go!  There is an attorney in the family.  I'll try him!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I attended an educational workshop all day yesterday.  Was looking for something new and special--but ya know?  I've been teaching since 1969, and there just ISN'T anything new in education!  We put new words on old ideas and pretend that it's innovative.  Yeah, right!

It looks like I will be Prez. of my radio club a third year, but I am making it clear that this is my last.  Someone else must step up to the plate, or we will have to regroup.  I'm done!

Just got back from a grocery trip.  $110 worth of grub and supplies.  I knew the cupboard was bare!

Weather, Weather Everywhere

(With apologies to William Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner.)

The other weather "shoe" has dropped, and we are now paying for those joyously warm days at Thanksgiving and after.  Thursday, it rained ALL day, with rain gauges throughout the state showing 1/2-to-2 inches of wet stuff.  Friday, the rain stopped, but the winds were horrific.  With gusts reading in the category 1 hurricane range, it truly was treacherous.  Semis were blown over on interstates; trees and limbs and power lines came down; and the World's Tallest Christmas "Tree" on Monument Circle in Indy went dark.  (Still is.)  And when the temperatures plunged as they did all day, it was brutal.  The ONLY thing for which we can be thankful is that we didn't get any snow or ice out of the storm.  That part totally missed us!  Today dawns sunny, dry...and cold.  At this point, I'll take it!

Went to dinner in Avon last night with a friend.  'Tis always pleasant to break bread in a nice restaurant.  We ate Italian.  Next time, Chinese buffet at our radio club's Christmas dinner/meeting.

No word on Laurie.  I called my sister before I left for dinner last evening, but she wasn't home...and when I thought to call again, it was kind of late.  I could have called her cell phone, but since I was only looking for a Health and Welfare report on their daughter, I decided I could wait until today.  Since Illinois is an hour behind us (all year long, now), I will call when I think they are up.  (Retired folks get to sleep in, you know...)

My daughter and family are in Fort Wayne with friends.  I encouraged them not to drive in the awful weather yesterday.  I trust they are still there...

Will check into the SATERN nets this morning, then plan the rest of the day.  I need to be thinking about Christmas!

God Bless Laurie

My sister called this evening to say their her youngest, my niece Laurie, was in a head-on crash this morning.  She is in surgery now to have her leg and ankle put back together, but is otherwise okay.  My sister reports that they are in a couple of inches of ice right now.  They were at the hospital virtually all day.  May God Bless my family!  Laurie Jean:  I pray for you.  Please, everyone who reads this, pray for Laurie and her family so that her family--children and grandchildren--may continue on successfully until she heals.  Thanks!

 

Where Did the Week Go?

It just occurred to me that I haven't posted here since the weekend.  No biggie.  I just haven't had all that much to say!  Nothing special going on at home and nothing special going on at school...

Yesterday, Megan dropped a bomb on me, that Nathan had just been notified that he was being laid off, as of today.  There are problems at the golf course where he works, but I thought everything was okay because he had been called by the actual owner and told that, no matter what happened, financially, he would still have a job.  (The place was being bought on contract, but was going to be foreclosed, going back to the owner from the buyer.  I'm not sure I understand it all...)  In any case, there are complications and this recent event isn't good news.  It makes me sick, actually...but I realize that I have no control over it and have to let the kids make their own decisions about whatever is to befall them.  I just hate it!

It has rained all day today.  I have missed the weather window to get the rest of the outside work done around here...back yard raked, gutters emptied, garage cleaned out.  The temperature has dropped 20 degrees today and is supposed to go down more, with a major winter storm headed this way (although I think Indy is supposed to miss all but an inch of snow).  Wind advisory for tomorrow.  I just look forward to staying snug in my little bungalow tonight!

 

 

Apple Butter Time

Yesterday, Meg informed me that she and her friend wanted to can apple butter...and did I want to help?  All of the canning supplies are here, so I thought I would just deliver them to Muncie and come back home.  Well!  It turns out that **I** am somehow the canning expert, and **they** really needed me. 

Got to Muncie a little after 1:00 PM.  Meg's friend never showed, so the two of us did the canning.  We did 26 jars in two hours.  It would not have taken so long if I had used a larger pan to boil the jars.  In any case, I told Meg to write down the specifics so we will know, next year, approximately how many apples make enough butter to fill so many jars. 

The TV/DVD combo that I bought for little Ryan for his birthday needed to go back to Wal-Mart.  I bought the silly thing back in August in Plainfield for his November birthday.  It went home to Muncie two weeks ago, only to discover that it didn't work.  I asked the kids to bring it down over Thanksgiving, but their car space was too limited....so when I was up in Muncie today, we decided to take it back to the Muncie Wal-Mart.  (I had the receipt.)  I missed the 90-day return policy by about 7 days, but the fellow at Customer Service allowed us to exchange it, anyway.  Hooray!  The new one seems to work, so Ryan is happy.  (He didn't want us to take his TV away.  I told him we were going to get him a new one.  He didn't WANT a new one.  He wanted THAT one.  So we told him that we were taking it to get it fixed.  He never knew the difference.)

I came home amid quite a bit of traffic.  Colts game.  Last day of Thanksgiving holiday.  Sunday home-commute.  Still, I got home in good time and safely.  The dog, who ate a big turkey drumstick behind my back today, was glad to see me.  (I turned my back on the drumstick for just a few minutes.  Silly me!)

Back to the humdrum tomorrow.  I had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday.  Hope everyone else did, too.

Thanksgiving

We came, we saw, we conquered the bird!  Megan and family arrived on Wednesday evening.  Nathan shampooed my kitchen carpet while I visited with the grandchildren and otherwise made preparations.  The children, both sick with colds and having napped in the car, were wound up...so when it became bedtime, we had to hog-tie little Ryan to get him to sleep.  The method is fairly simple:  take him to bed and hold him down, thrashing and crying, until he finally conks off.  Unfortunately, he was sleeping with his parents, so they took the brunt of that.  I think we were all probably asleep by midnight.

Thanksgiving Day was bright and sunny.  Robin and I were up early.  Eventually, she was responsible for getting the rest of her family up (her choice).  First, she let the dog in the bedroom and closed the door.  When that only resulted in someone letting the dog out because she was scratching on the door, Robbie got more aggressive by going in and telling them it was time to get up.  (It really was!)  We breakfasted, got the turkey in the oven, and went about preparing the side dishes and setting the table.  When the rest of the crew arrived at the prescribed time, the turkey wasn't done!  I turned up the oven...and continued to wait.  When we finally sat down to eat, it was at least an hour later than I had planned!  (Meg is convinced that my oven isn't hot enough, and she may be right.  I'm going to get an oven thermometer and check it out.)

The tardy food was good (and plentiful) so we didn't have to send out for pizza!  I sent as much leftover food home with everyone as I could.  (There is still way too much here.)  Full bellies retired to the living room for a little football and conversation while I started a load of dishes in the dishwasher.  This is when the children began to explore other areas of the house--and this is when the pre-school shenanigans began.  At one point, I found both Robin and Ryan in the half-bath.  She was filling little Dixie cups, making a waterfall out of them.  He was systematically putting a long string of toilet paper in the commode.  At one point, I found that Ryan had hooked my mother's REAL pearl necklace over the knob of my closet door and was tugging on them.  Ack!  The children LOVE to play with pillows and blankets, making forts and nests, and yesterday was no exception.  (All children like cozy little places!)  Still, they were playing together--not hitting or biting--so it was okay.  My task today will be to find everything and put it back where it belongs. 

My sister called shortly after the children left for Muncie--about 7:00.  She had everyone but her great-grandchildren and their parents.  They were playing Yahtzee and winding down for the evening. 

My only regret in all of this is that my house isn't big enough for much of a gathering.  I've never had what's left of my own birth family here for the holidays.  That is partly because my brother-in-law has major back problems and simply isn't comfortable in my furniture/guest bed--and partly because they have their own extended family to celebrate with.  It happens!

So, what is left to do today is to put the house back together, then relax a little.  Am expecting the plumber sometime today because the newly seated half-bath toilet is still leaking.  <sigh>

Hope everyone had a pleasant holiday.  It sure was a pretty day!

Turkey Day Prep

The bird is thawed.  It will go into the oven around 10:00 AM  tomorrow.  Once upon a time, I remember my mother getting up in the wee hours to get the turkey in the oven by 5:30 or 6:00.  That was usually a 25 pound bird in the days when we ate earlier in the day.  Our "boid" is only 18 pounds...

I found out this afternoon that my daughter and family will arrive tonight.  It will complicate things a bit, but it is a nice complication.  My desire to have everything perfect will give in to the bigger desire to have everyone happy.  These are memory-making times!

Meg put in a request for Mom's deviled eggs.  Just got them finished and in the fridge.  Twenty-four deviled eggs SHOULD be enough to fill eight people--yes?

I called my sister last night for her candied sweet potato recipe.  'Tis the one thing I haven't been able to replicate.  She is a good cook!

Tomorrow, the rest of the meal will be concocted.  Nathan's father is bringing pies.  His sister-in-law is bringing a couple of family favorites.  I am supplying the basics.  Hope we won't have to send out for pizza when we're done...

My mother, who was my best friend and confidante, died suddenly on the day after Thanksgiving in 1986.  It was a horrible time in my life, both before and after her passing, and I thought that the holiday would forever be ruined for me.  This season marks 20 years without her.  Interestingly, I no longer remember those dark days.  What I DO remember are the wonderful (and funny) Thanksgiving memories.

Thanksgiving always occurred at my grandparents' farmhouse outside of Streator, IL.  Because the meal was such a big deal, Mom didn't want to have to cook more than necessary, so it became a tradition that hors d'oeuvres were put out in the living room around noon.  Chips and California onion dip, pickled herring, raw oysters, shrimp and cocktail sauce, crackers and cheese.  We grazed.  It was enough to make Thanksgiving dinner unnecessary!  Along with the appetizers, there were martinis.  Mom made a snifter of dry martinis, and the parents and grandparents imbibed.  One before dinner would just about wipe out my grandmother.  Two would wipe out my grandfather.  Three would wipe out the cook--my mother.  One year, Mom had had her three (or so), and some of us weren't at all certain that dinner was going to make it to the table!  Another year, my grandfather had had his two or three, ate dinner, and went to the living room to nap.  When he awoke, he asked when the "boid" would be ready.  We informed him that he had already eaten the "boid".  He didn't remember it!

For a year or two after Mom died, the rest of us tried to take up the slack.  It was never the same, but we still had some good times.  At my sister's, we made the wine glasses sing by rubbing moist fingers around the rims and balanced spoons on our noses.  We ate too much, drank too much, smoked too much, and generally enjoyed ourselves.  The last time I ever was with my brother was at our sister's house in Springfield, IL, for Thanksgiving.  He had just acquired a curly-haired cat and was quite smitten with it.  That was many years ago.  My brother died last New Year's Eve. 

My little house isn't ready for the onslaught, but I am happy that the festivities will be here.  It gives me a little measure of control.  Didn't know I am a control freak, did you?!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends.  Christmas is just around the corner!

 

My Weekend

Friday, I asked another teacher to watch my 7th period non-class (long story) so I could leave for home during my prep period just one before that.  Packed and left for Muncie at about 2:00 or shortly thereafter.  When I got to my daughter's, no one was home, but their friend Daisy arrived with my grandchildren within five minutes.  Once everyone departed for the evening, I knew I would be trapped with the children, so I left for the grocery store to pick up a few things I noticed were absent from the house.  When I got back, Nathan was there.  He and Daisy left, and the grandchildren and I were left to our own devices.  (There is a story about where everyone went.  Suffice it to say that I expected them home, but very late.)

Robin and Ryan started talking the minute they hit the house and didn't stop for awhile.  We had soup and sandwiches and fruit for supper, then painted with watercolors.  We watched a video (Land Before Time)...and then it was pretty much time for bed.  When I go to their house, Robin calls it a "sleepover," and insists on sleeping with me on the living room futon.  When the parents aren't there, Ryan is usually invited to join us...but he has trouble settling down.  This time, I just escorted him to his room.  He cried for a minute or so...so I went in and rocked him.  He rested in my arms quietly the whole time, but those big blue eyes never closed.  Finally, I laid him in his bed and he was quiet.  I went out to join Robin on the futon.  We were going to watch a video to put us to sleep.  It wasn't long before a little blonde head kept peeking around the corner to see what was going on in the living room.  I ignored him (and so did his sister).  He sneaked onto the couch and sat silently watching the TV, but I don't think any of us made it past the opening credits.  When I woke a bit later, I got up and covered the sleeping Ryan on the couch, then went back to Slumberland, myself. 

In the morning, I was aware that the parents weren't home yet.  Hmmmm...  When the kids got up, I fixed breakfast for us...and Megan came straggling in about 10:00.  (Nathan didn't show up until much later.)    I went back to the store for more things, did some housework and laundry, bathed the children in preparation for their church's Harvest Feast, made a casserole to take...and finally, got myself ready.  Nathan's father came for that, too.  Very nice ceremony.  (And good food!)

Nate's dad, Phil, brought nectarines for the children.  Ryan, age 3, was calling them "neck-a-weens".  Robin, 4, correct him:  "It's not 'neck-a-weens', Wyan.  It's 'NECT-a-weens!'."  Too funny!

Last night, we all hoped to crash early.  Robin and Ryan had been wild and crazy after coming back from church.  They were showing off for Grandpa Phil by spinning in circles on the living room floor--out of control, but all in fun.  After he left, we all prepared for bed.  Ryan went to bed and right to sleep.  Meg and Nate hit the sack.  Robin and I turned in on the futon...but Robin couldn't settle down.  She thrashed around with pillows and stuffed animals and chair cushions.  I just stayed quiet and let her thrash while I dozed.  At one point, I opened my eyes to find all of the living room lights on.  When I asked Robbie why she turned on the lights, she said, "I couldn't see."  (Dumb question, Grandma!)  I turned them back off and admonished her to lie down and be quiet.  She thrashed some more.  She hit the window blinds a time or two with a pillow.  I admonished her again to stop playing with the blinds.  She told me, indignantly, that she WASN'T playing with the blinds, and whimpered a bit.  Finally, with chair cushions on top of her, she fell asleep.  It was probably midnight.

This morning, Sunday, I fixed breakfast and got the children ready for church.  (I didn't go.)  They came home bouncy!  We had a good dinner (which Robin corrected as "lunch") and then prepared to take the young'uns to get their portraits taken.  Grandma Judy supplied a couple of Christmasy outfits for the children.  The appointment at J.C. Penney's was for 4:15.  (Meg was chagrined.  That was when the Colts game started!  Never mind.  The Colts lost!)  The children were very good (although hard to get to smile for the camera!), and Grandma Peggy had promised ice cream at Baskin Robbins if they were...so we stopped for our treat before returning home, where Nathan had been cleaning.

By this time, it was around 6:00-something PM and past time for me to leave, but Meg reminded me that I had asked for her help with grades.  Oops!  (Our midterm grades are due by 9:00 AM tomorrow with only Friday as the end of the term.  Because this is a short week, we were asked to perform miracles!)  In short order, Meg made up a spreadsheet, and we were inputting the data in order to let the computer do the calculations.  It took a couple of hours...compared to at least four hours that it would have taken me to do it by hand.  Still, it put me on the road for home quite late.  I packed and launched in snow showers.  It was 7:50 PM.

The first third of the trip home...from Muncie through south of Anderson...was replete with nasty snow showers and slick roads.  After seeing two cars newly in the ditch, and only ONE salt truck (going the other way), I slowed down and decided I would get home when I got home.  Fortunately, south of Anderson was better, and south of Fishers, the roads were dry.  I got home about 10:30, amid snow just arriving in Plainfield.  I considered it good time, considering.

The ONLY thing this week has going for it is that it is a two-day workweek.  For the first time in my 35-year-plus teaching career, we get the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off.  I am having the dinner here for my family and part of Nathan's.  I look forward to having that extra day to prepare.

But now, it is time for bed.  I am finally ready.  I'm not sorry I missed the Fort Wayne Hamfest.  Just too much to do!

I think even the dog is happy to be back in her abode, sans kids.  She loves them, but they drive her nuts.  Heh heh. 

Nightie-night!

 

 

 

Grump! Grump!

When I got up this morning, there were new doggy piles to deal with.  Oh, joy!  Then, as I got ready to depart for school, I couldn't find my lanyard with house and school keys attached.  (I usually keep them in a central location for easy access.  Not so this time!)  On the way to school, something hit my car, hard, but it was still dark, so I couldn't look...and when I COULD look, it was raining.  I managed to find my way into the school sans keys, but had to prop doors open thereafter (a definite no-no).

Fortunately, my students were relatively well-behaved today.  I might have killed, otherwise!  I have picked up a sinus bug.  All I really want to do is stay home and meet my standards, but have to go to school and meet theirs!

The company that oversprayed polyurethan stuff on our cars at school has been at the district, working on vehicles.  The rain has apparently stopped the process because MY car hasn't been done yet.  I will have to replace my windshield wipers when they are done, but it is probably time to do that, anyway.

I've complained enought.  Good night!

It's Potty Time!

The last few days have been fraught with little surprises when I come home from school.  It seems that I live in Frodo's cesspool!  Somehow, her potty schedule is off, and I have been cleaning up messes.  It doesn't endear me to the dog!

In the meantime, the floor guys and plumber came this evening to pull the leaky toilet in my half-bath, install new vinyl flooring in there, and replace the potty on new wax seals.  The plumber also replaced the shut-off valve, which was drippy.  I am a happy camper!  I haven't been able to use that potty since it started leaking from the seals a year ago.  I had arranged for a friend to come and do it but had to cancel on THE day he was to come because of the death of my brother.  The project has been on the back burner ever since.  But now it is done (and nicely)--and when my grandchildren come, we will be able to accommodate wee ones who have to go RIGHT NOW, even when the main potty is occupied.  Small victories!

I looks as though I will be babysitting my grandchildren on Friday night in Muncie and going to the Fort Wayne Hamfest on Saturday, then to the Harvest Feast at Meg's church in the evening.  That will be several very busy weekends in a row.  Hope I hold up!

I could go on and on about the kids at school, but I won't bore my readers with details.  Suffice it to say that my patience is thin, and some of the things going on in their homes makes it a wonder that they even grow up at all.  Not good!  I have too much to do and not enough time to do it.  This Friday is the end of the midterm (again), so grades will be due.  I am going to have to spend some concentrated time getting papers graded if I hope to be ready for that!

Ever onward and upward.  Hump day tomorrow!

Pretty Nice Party for a Little Guy!

Ryan Eugene Heffelman is three!  (His real birthday is actually tomorrow, but as it happens, we decided to celebrate it today--which turned out to be a good thing because his great-grandmother's memorial/burial service will be tomorrow, which we didn't know was going to happen when we planned the party.)  We had a pretty nice celebration for our little guy!

Ryan's favorite person in the whole world is his Grandpa Heffelman.  Grandpa and Grandma H. got here before the kids did, but when they pulled in the drive, Ry saw Gwumpa's "big brue truck" and knew he was here.  Well!  When he came in the door, he dashed right past his other grandmother and me, straight to his buddy.  It was funny! 

There were twelve people to attend (in my little house)!  One couple and their 3-year-old daughter were later in coming, and that's the only thing that saved us.  We ate in two shifts.   I had a big pot of chili, corn meal muffins, hot dogs with fixings, chips, carrot and celery sticks, tater chips, olives, and apple slices with caramel dip.  Grandma Judy brought a yummy chocolate/peanut butter ice cream cake for the Birthday Boy.  All three of the children were good as gold.  People departed in shifts, too, so there was more space for the children to explore their new toys.  (Robin and Zoey each got something, too.)  I think everyone had a good time.  Ryan got a couple of things that he really liked.  One was a truck kit.  It comes in pieces, with a real power tool to put it together.  Wow!  He is REALLY into trucks...

All things considered, everything went well.  Friday evening was spent raking leaves.  Saturday, unfortunately, was somewhat lost to me because I developed what can be called the Green Apple Quick Step, and didn't feel good at all.  I did what I could but didn't stray far from the bathroom all day.  Today, all is back to normal, so I worked myself silly in order to get things presentable for the masses.  Whoever invented disposable dinnerware has my vote for President!

Back to the grind tomorrow...

Veteran's Day

Although Veteran's Day is actually tomorrow, our school district commemorated the occasion today with an assembly that included participation from all of our schools: elementary, middle, and high school.  It is the only assembly all year that is serious in nature and involves the students and members of the community--all in honor of those who have been in the armed services for our country.  The Cub Scouts brought forth (and retired) the Colors.  We said the Pledge of Allegiance.  We sang The National Anthem.  A student read a letter from the President.  The choirs sang, the band played, and a couple of select students read both original and published poems and essays.  The veterans on staff were all announced, as well as those community members in attendance.  The band played a particularly moving song Hymn to the Fallen.  (Shortly after our assembly, I was out on lunch break and heard that same song as the background to Greg Garrison's tribute to veterans on AM radio.)  Then there was a moment of silence, during which Taps was played.  It was in that moment that I silently told my father, who passed away in 1994, how much I was thinking of him at this time.  And, of course, I fought back the tears...  (WHY didn't I think to bring tissue??)

I have written tributes to my military family members before, but they don't do justice to how very proud I am of all of them.  My father, Commander Floyd D. Covill, USNR, was a member of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation, and the older I get, the more I appreciate all that they went through just to survive and raise their families with dignity and values in trying times.  May God continue to bless and protect our fighting men!

I came home from school exhausted today.  The kids are loud, and the particular combination of a couple of "rotation" classes that I have this nine weeks gives me a few challenging students twice a day.  UGH!  I note, with interest, that I am not the ONLY one burned out by the end of the day.  Even the younger teachers are tearing their hair out, so I have company!  Anyway, when I got home, I tried to nap.  (Once again, it didn't work.  My nap gene seems to be broken!)  Okay...so nothing to do but go out and rake leaves while the temps were still good and I still had an hour of daylight.   I raked some yesterday (wet leaves), and got a small section of the yard done.  Considering how much of the yard was left, I was feeling quite discouraged.  I raked and raked...and then, out of nowhere, came a young man (a neighbor whom I had never met) with a rake, asking if I wanted a hand.  I said, "Sure," but what I really meant was "Hell, yeah!"  We raked until we couldn't see anymore, and between the two of us, we got ALL of the front and side yards done.  I am ecstatic!  The fellow wouldn't take any money, but I will see to it that he gets a little cash gift in his mailbox!

And now, for the REALLY great news:  Nathan's boss, a man who has purchased the golf course where Nate works on contract from the owner, told Nathan a couple of weeks ago that the course was probably going belly-up, and that if Nathan got another job offer, he should take it.  Well...THAT'S obviously not the good news.  The good news is that Nathan got a call tonight from the actual owner of the course, telling him that even if the course goes to foreclosure, he will still have a job.  Hallelujah!  What an enormous relief!!!!  Megan cried.  I should!  Nate and Meg moved to Muncie a year-and-a-half ago, with Nathan's acceptance of a nice job at a nice golf course.  Then, with almost no notice, the course was sold, and Nathan was out of a job.  Miraculously, another golf course had an opening, and he was hired, with almost no loss of time or pay.  A close call...followed so closely by this one.  They will still have financial problems, but at least they won't be out on the street with no income!  God is good!

 

My Christian Journey

With the passing of my son-in-law's grandmother, the father of several former students, and the father of a current student at our school...along with my brother's untimely death at the very end of 2005, my faith is challenged.  All of which causes me to wonder about my faith!

All of my life, I have gone to church alone.  As a primary school student in Danville, IL, I went to the Central Christian Church with my friend's family, and was baptized there in third or fourth grade.  Then we moved to Japan, and there was no church to go to there.  When my family finally settled in the western suburb of Chicago--Oak Park--I started attending the First Methodist Church there with another friend.  I sang in the youth choir at the 8:00 AM service, walking the distance from my house to there alone; I became president of our youth group in high school.  My family rarely attended.  My parents--mostly my mother--were Christian, but unchurched. 

When I was married the first time, it was in St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church in Des Plaines, IL.  My husband's family was steeped in Catholicism, his grandparents coming from the Old Country (Belgium).  They were good people and good to me.  I took catechism and tried desperately to embrace Catholicism...but my husband was burned out on it, having been through 14 years of Catholic education.  In short order, he started attending Methodist services with me in Normal, IL--one each week, a particularly significant service to me. 

Then the bottom fell out of our marriage when he had an emotional breakdown (that had nothing to do with me).  Prior to this, I was religiously pure.  I prayed in my mind constantly.  Any impure thought would be banished from my mind, and everything I did was dedicated to God.  I dedicated my voice to singing God's praises and lived as I thought He wanted me to...

Then the challenges came.  Something immoral presented itself, and I didn't resist.  I was young and needy, and I thought what I had was ordained by God.  What fools we are when we are young!  I remarried and had a child (more than 9 months later!)...and it turned out that my husband had no desire to attend church with me...so once again, I went alone.  I sang in the choir and even was Youth Director for a year.  And then we moved to Indiana a mere two years after my mother's death.  It was ahorrible time.

Still, I felt that God was with us.  There were enormous challenges to overcome just to get here, but the road was smoothed ahead of us.  I established myself with the Cloverdale United Methodist Church.  Once again, I attended church alone.  My husband, principal of the local jr-sr high school couldn't be bothered, and Meg wasn't happy about going...so I just went by myself.  Before long, I was the choir director, just by nature of the fact that I was the only one who could read music!!

And then...my husband left our marriage for someone else.  He said I knew about it before it actually happened...but I expended an enormous amount of energy just trying to get him to talk about it.  I confided only in my pastor, but my husband thought I had blabbed to everyone.  In short order, I was being treated as if **he** were the offended party!  When it was time for me to leave Cloverdale due to the divorce, there were tears among my church friends and me.  I had no desire to go, but had no choice...

Meg and I moved to Plainfield, to a duplex right across the street from the Plainfield United Methodist Church.  I went to church alone...again...on a weekly basis.  I even joined the choir.  Seven months later, I bought a house (where I am now), but still maintained my status at the church.  Then my father became ill in IL.  I spent a lot of weekends there, so opted out of the choir...and my church attendance.  But I was still faithful.

Just prior to that, however, things happened to rob me of my faith that I have never been able to get back.  There was an attack on our school district by parents who didn't like OBE--Outcome Based Education--which is what has always been done, only without a label.  They were convinced that we were taking the New Age approach, against their Christian beliefs, and that we were brainwashing their children.  I was elected to a committee that met weekly from January to July, to help assuage the problems.  It was scary for awhile.  A local Baptist minister was behind the charge.  (He is now President of the Board of Education in our district.) 

During that time, I got a mailing meant for a previous owner of my house.  It was from the "Christian Coalition," requesting funds.  Their mission for the funds was to train people how to run for school boards.  Sound liberal. but bait and switch.  I was appalled!  Thereafter, I was ashamed to claim to be a Christian for fear I would be associated with that faction. 

I have never been able to get my unquestioning faith back.  I miss it, but I don't care about me anymore.  I just want it for my grandchildren--something for them to believe in.  Something greater than themselves so they can endure the hardships of life with some measure of assurance that they are taken care of by a power higher than themselves, no matter what. 

I am tentatively reaching out again.  Going back to church to look for what I need, with no promises. 

I am still a work in progress.  Praise God that He hasn't given up on me yet!                        

No time!

I know, I know....  I am sitting here writing a blog instead of cleaning house or doing schoolwork, and complaining that there isn't enough time to accomplish everything.  So sue me!  I'm old!  I'm tired! 

School wasn't too obnoxious today.  My classes were somewhat okay, largely because three of my "challenging" students were either in ISS (in-school suspension) or in OSS (out of school suspension).  Still, there are so many things to do that I get weird about everything.  My grandson's birthday approacheth (which will be held here); so does Thanksgiving (which will also be held here).  My son-in-law's grandmother died today, so I am looking at possible attendance there, depending on the day.

Busy, busy!  So why am I just sitting here?? 

Ha, ha!

I went to bed way early last night, which is a death sentence for sleeping in.  I was awake and thrashing by 3:45 AM, so figured I might as well get up.  I had to be out of the house on my way to Salvation Army Divisional Headquarters by 6:30, so I just sucked it up and went on.

The deal with TSA today was disaster training.  Didn't matter how much experience one had...just that TSA (along with every other disaster entity in the world) is requiring training and background checks.  Today's session had a lot of Fire Buffs.  SATERN wasn't in the foreground, but our involvement did come up, and I am extremely proud of my volunteers.  True to TSA events, we ate every two hours! 

When I got home, 4:30ish, I noticed that everyone in the neighborhood had been busy raking leaves...so I went out and gave it 30 minutes.  I hardly made a dent, but I do have a long line of leaves on the curb for the city to suck.  The city sucks!  Maybe I can do more tomorrow...

Next weekend will be my grandson's birthday party here.  My little guy will turn three.  Where does the time go??

Love to all!

Friday

My day began with a student telling me that turning on the lights in the boys' restroom also turned on the sink spigots.  He had to show me.  Sure enough!

Things went downhill from there. 

Every day, I go through an investigative situation with the dog...  Tonight, I found the case for the lunch meat on the floor, with the meat still on the counter.  Huh??

I'm tryiing to take care of business.  Help!

UGH!

The students were awful today!  I gave one kid a lunch detention for talking during silent reading (with fair warning), and he threw it in the trash.  So now he has an after school detention.  If he chooses not to serve that, I'll write the little turkey up for "failure to comply". 

Ya know, I'm probably the easiest teacher these kids will ever have.  I joke them out of their bad moods and try to accommodate periodic lapses of sanity...but I won't tolerate deliberate misbehavior...and that's what we were dealing with today.  (NOT just me!) 

When admonishing a student for talking, one of my "favorite" comments from him/her is:  "I wasn't the ONLY one talking."  That doesn't fly with me.  Another favorite, when I tell someone to stop a particular behavior, he/she says, "I was just doing blah, blah."  Huh?  I didn't ASK you what you were doing.  I told you to stop!  And my all time favorite from a student who has just thrown something on the floor and feels no responsibility for picking it up:  "That's what the janitors get paid for."  I ususally go off on that poor soul!

Yesterday, one of my students asked, "Ms McNary, do you get sick when you get drunk?"  I looked at the others in disbelief...and he followed with, "You look like a party girl!"  I asked if it was the weight, the wrinkles, or the gray hair that made him think so...

I really need to retire!

Blah

It occurs to me, from time to time, that I really don't have anything to post on here...and that posting anyway is a waste of cyberspace.  It's analogous to talking just to hear the sound of one's voice.  (I have students like that!)  I wonder if anyone could possibly want to read this...but I warned everyone.  After all, this blog IS called "Peggy's Ramblings"...

As I approach retirement--probably in two-to-four years--I realize that I don't have a plan.  At age 59, I am trying to invent myself.  I have spent so many years in survival mode that I have always had to be reactive rather than proactive.  And now, it all catches up as I try to figure out what will happen to me after I retire.  I guess it's not too late to come up with SOMETHING. 

Along with worry about me comes worry about my children and grandchildren.  Nathan's job is, once again, on the brink--yet another golf course that is probably going under.  I am just praying as hard as I can that there are answers.  Please join me!

 

 

 

 

Irish Prayer

"From ghoulies and ghosties and three-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Dear Lord deliver us!"

Another Halloween has come and gone, with varying degrees of success. 

When I left school today, I was aware that I had no jack-o-lantern, and no candy.  A trip to the grocery store fixed that.  I BOUGHT a lighted, fake jack-o-lantern, and enough candy to get through the evening.  When I got home, I realized that the resident dog had managed to get hold of yet another open can of dog food...and had already eaten her dinner.  (I have yet to figure out how she gets stuff out of the bottom of cans!)  Okay...back out to get some gas in my buggy and some dog food. 

As soon as I got back, Meg called, asking where I had been.  Darn!  I had only been gone 20 minutes!  She was in tears.  There were issues...the biggest one being that they couldn't find Robin's flower girl dress...and could I come up with a costume in the time they were mobile on the way to Plainfield?  God was with me!  I had Megan's baptism dress from age seven--too big for Robin, but just long enough to look like a wedding dress for her. They brought her veil and flowers, so Robin didn't know the difference!

Ryan was a cute spider, and Robin made a formidable bride.  They have departed for the other grandparents' house, and the dog has FINALLY stopped barking at strangers at the door.  Peace!

Today would have been my brother's 53rd birthday.  He didn't live this long.  I did my grieving on Sunday.  Today, I have managed yet another anniversary and survived.

I can go to bed when I hear that my children are home safe in Muncie...

 

Monday, Monday...

Yesterday was a busy day with the grandchildren.  We got up and went to church.  The children played in the nursery while I went to the worship service with their other grandmother, Judy.  (Grandpa was singing in the Men's Choir for the service.)  All of us attend Plainfield United Methodist Church, which is convenient!  Yesterday's service was a little unusual.  It was a day of remembering, in honor of All Saints Day (which is Wednesday)...we remembered our "saints"...those who had died in the past year.  It was a Communion Sunday.  When we went up for Communion, we were invited to light a candle for those we wished to remember.  Before I even left for the Communion rail, Judy just handed me a tissue.  Smart woman!

Of course, the Dearly Departed in my family is my brother, whose 53rd birthday would be tomorrow, if he had survived...so the service was very meaningful for me.  I took Communion and lit a candle, saying my brother's name as I placed it in the receptacle.  And, of course, there were tears...

After church, the children and I went to the other grandparents' for lunch and a short visit.  Judy said she would put the finishing touches on Ryan's spider costume while I took the kids to the park to play.  Thanks, Grandma J!  At the park, the children rand and ran and ran.  There was a kid in a yellow stocking cap that freaked out Ryan.  He was chasing the kids saying he was going to put them in jail, so they ran from him.  Ryan said the boy was "super mean," but I saw no signs of aggression--just play.  Before long, Robin said she had to go potty, so we headed all the way across the field to the restrooms, only to find them closed.  (I wondered why, but figured it out:  closed for the weekend through Halloween, in hopes of warding off Halloween vandalism.  Makes sense, but when you have a 4-year-old that says she has to "go," it's pretty inconvenient!)  I rushed the kids back to the house so Robin could do her thing.  And that was the end of the park.

Back at the house, Robin wanted to play with clay, and Ryan (who seemed pretty tired) wanted to watch a video on the bumpy bed.  I gave them snacks--popcorn and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--and let them relax while I gathered their things up to take them home to Muncie.  Both were asleep in the car before we even got to I-465!  When we arrived in Muncie, Ryan snuggled on his mommy's lap, while Robin stayed on her daddy's lap with her head on his chest.  Both seemed genuinely happy to be home with their parents after their weekend excursion.

Had a pretty decent day at school today, although I really wanted to be home in the warm temps so I could rake leaves while I still had some energy.  By the end of the school day, however, I was weary...so I came home to Dr. Phil, Oprah, and the couch for a snooze.  Surprisingly, when I woke up at 6:15, it was dead dark.  So much for raking!  Have to adjust to the new time...again.

Spent some time this evening putting the house back together after grandchildren.  It's just a matter of putting things away that were left out, etc.  The only real casualty of the weekend was the lid to my ceramic pumpkin, which I glued back together and looks no worse than it did before. 

Hey!  It just occurred to me that tomorrow is Halloween and I haven't carved a jack-o-lantern, nor do I have any candy!  Guess what I will be doing after school tomorrow!

Keeping Up With Grandma

A few weeks ago, my daughter asked if I would watch the children overnight this weekend so she and her husband could go to a Halloween party in Cincinnati at the home of a long-time bud of Meg's from middle school and high school.  Even though it meant extra driving and gas, I decided that I wanted the children at my house for the "sleepover".  So here is my day:

Up at 5:30 when the dog decided it was time.  Left the house at 9:00 to be at Sam's Club when they opened at 9:30 to pick up some meds for Meg.  Drove to Muncie.  Was there by 11:30.  Cleaned off their kitchen table and started a load of dishes in the dishwasher.  Grabbed the children and a basketful of dirty kids' clothes; was back on the road by 12:15.  Stopped at McD's to feed the children some lunch on the road.  Back in Plainfield by 1:45.  (Limped into the BP station on 267.  Was driving on fumes, and beginning to worry that the construction traffic there was going to cause the car to flame out...but we made it!)  Started laundry while the children watched a new Dora video and played.  (Did three loads--washed, folded, put away.)  Had a visit from Grandma Judy to deliver some things sent to the children from Cousin Joey in Georgia.  Made cookies.  Went to Wal-Mart to gather parts for Ryan's spider costume and some art supplies.  (The children were good.)  Came home and fixed supper (late).  Did supper dishes.  Bathed both kids and supervised tooth brushing.  (Robin said, "I haven't brushed my teeth in years.")  Read five little Halloween stories (from Cousin Joey).  Put a tape in the TV/VCR in my bedroom at 10:00 and placed both kids in the "bumpy bed".  By the second tape, Ryan was asleep.  Robin asked me to turn the TV off and close the door.  She conked out, too.  Thereafter, I laid out outfits for the children for tomorrow (church), cooked sausage for tomorrow's breakfast, and sat down to breathe for a bit before I turn in.  Looks like I'll be sleeping in the guest room tonight...

Could you keep up with Grandma??  I'll admit I'm tired.  I'll admit the living room has some toys strewn about.  I'll admit that the children were pretty doggone good 99% of the day.  But the laundry is done and the children are clean and so is the kitchen.  And we had some fun in the process. 

So, what's the big deal about taking care of two pre-schoolers?  Piece o' cake!

<Wink>

 

Homework

Yesterday and today, I fulfilled the first part of my homework, assigned by my friend.  I got my Teachers Retirement Fund number from the administrative office, and I called TRF today.  I told the person on the other end of the line that I didn't think I was getting my quarterly reports.  We soon found out why.  The address they had on file for me was in Cloverdale!  I haven't lived there since 1991!!!  Now I'm wondering if the reports have been being mailed there all these years, and the resident ex-husband never sent them back.  I will never know...  In any case, the beneficiaries will be changed.  (At least I didn't have HIM on there!)  Back then, since my daughter was still a minor, I had my daughter as primary beneficiary, and my sister-in-law and sister as secondary, in case they had to raise her in the event that I croaked.  And, back then, I hardly had any money in that account since it was my first teaching job in Indiana.  Getting all of that on track now!

I had a curriculum meeting today, so there was a sub for my classes.  I went in early to be sure she had everything she needed...and I got to meet her.  She seemed like a good gal!  The meeting let out early.  We went to lunch.  Then I came home.  What a nice deal to be home by 1:00 on a Thursday afternoon!  I still had enough energy left to do some laundry and sort through some things.  Good deal!

I will have the grandchildren with me this weekend.  Pray that I will have the patience for quality time!  I adore the children.  They just wear me out!

It's Been a Few Days...

I was just up from my afternoon nap yesterday afternoon when the dog started to bark.  She was persistent, so I figured someone was at the door.  (I don't have a doorbell.)  Sure enough!  It was my friend and colleague, Phyllis, up the hill from physical therapy for her hip, wanting to know if I wanted to go for dinner.  Yes, I did!  We went to a little Italian restaurant in Plainfield called Sal's for good food and conversation. 

Phyllis is a treasured friend.  I met her when I got my first teaching job in my current district, teaching fourth grade at Hall Elementary School, way back in 1990.  At that time, I was aware that my husband and I were going to be Splitsville (for reasons that soon became obvious to everyone).  I was, to say the very least, "needy".  Phyllis and the other fourth grade teachers became my cheerleaders, and Phyl had the particular combination of drop-dead common sense and inspiration that I needed.  Once upon a time, we met every morning in the summer (early) to walk 2 1/2 miles at Hummel Park.  We walked and cackled.  I told her of my life and heard about hers.  (And I lost 50 pounds in the process!)  Our kids grew up and moved out.  She taught at the elementary, and I taught at the high school (different schedules), and we lost touch, somewhat...but never "out of sight, out of mind".  One of the strengths of our friendship is that we always manage to pick up where we left off.  Still, I have always felt that I take more from Phyllis than I gave.  Still true!

While we were dining yesterday, the topic of retirement came up.  I told Phyl, who is very active in the teacher's association and understands the retirement gobbledy-gook, that I had no idea when/if I could retire.  She started asking questions.  I couldn't answer ANY of them.  In typical Phyllis form, she said, "Stop!"  And then she told me what we were going to do.  We were going back to my house to find some important papers, and then going to her house to get online to figure out where I stand in the scheme of things.  Couldn't find one important paper...in fact, don't think I am receiving them quarterly, as I'm supposed to...so she gave me my homework assignments.

Phyl is four years younger than me and a very dedicated teacher who has worked hard all her life to raise her boys with and without husbands.  What encouraged me is that she is tired of teaching...the same as me!  I could probably teach high school kids forever...but my transfer to middle school has just about worn me out.  I was gratified to know that I'm not the only one who comes home exhausted every day!

Yesterday, I became aware that one of my students...the one that I considered my "project"...has been removed from the foster--maybe adoptive--home where he was.  The parent conference of last week revealed a huge problem (more with the adults than the kid).  And now he's gone...sent off to yet another foster home (40-something to date) and my heart is broken.  No chance to help now!  At the conference, I tried to explain to the "mother" (who prides herself on being strict) that the only thing this young man has control over in his life is his behavior.  He is going to express himself that way because nothing else has worked.  His real mother signed him over to authorities in favor of an abusive boyfriend.  I've been down that road with students more times than I care to count.  So...another would-be good kid bites the dust.  I'll probably read about him in the papers in a few years.  I don't like it very much.

And so it goes...

 

Um...

As the date quickly approaches my late brother's birthday, I note (with interest) that the websites he maintained so well are still up. 

I miss him, but his essence is still around.  This gets weird....

Turn Grandma On

A couple of days ago, I discovered that my daughter had a webcam.  (News to me!)  In short order, we figured out how to transmit to each other.  Ryan (almost 3) put the microphone in his mouth and was hard to understand.  Robin (newly 4) did the "chicken dance" on camera for me.  When I was at school today, apparently Ryan kept asking his mother to "turn Grandma on."  Don't I wish someone could!!

I have started Romeo and Juliet with my honors class.  Should be fun.  They are excited!  The other classes are reading the play of The Diary of Anne Frank.  Keeps me busy!  I was somewhat honked off today by a youngster to whom I have loaned $2 for lunch money.  He was telling some other student that the other kid owed him money...which was my motivation to say, "And you owe ME money."  His response?  "I don't owe you anything."  That shut down the sympathy train for me.  He also failed, expectedly, to serve a lunch detention that I had issued him for another reason.  I'm done working with him!

I found out via email today that my niece, Laurie, reads this blog.  Hi, Laurie!  I really, really wanted to be with you all for Thanksgiving, but when I found out that Nathan's mother was going to be gone for the holiday (leaving that part of the "family" adrift), I knew that I had to do the dinner here.  I will see you all at Christmas.  Count on it!

The doctors want to keep Major Pat another couple of days.  He is quite inconsolable.  I told him that when he gets back from this, no stone will have been unturned by way of his health.  In that respect, he is lucky!  He is not so sure...

Time for bed, here.  I am blessed with friends to whom I owe so much.  Thanks to all who have stuck with me through the years, in spite of my stubbornness.

Nightie!

Cold and Dreary

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday was sunny and shirtsleeve weather.  I looked out this morning and saw a major leaf fall that wasn't there yesterday, due to rain and wind.  Yuck!

Because the sun was no longer shining, my energy level was lower than yesterday, but I still managed to get some things done.  It is never enough, of course...but better than it was!

I got up at 4:30 this morning.  The dog, who had been alseep with me, went to the bedroom door in the dark, crouched, barked and growled, and refused to leave the room.  It scared the you-know-what out of me!  Something scary was just outside my bedroom door!  It didn't take me too long to figure out the source of the problem:  the Vacuum Monster was in the hall by the door where I had left it last night.  Damned dog!

After my heart went back down in my chest from my throat, I came out and putzed around for a couple of hours, then went back to bed for a snooze, and got back up a little after 8:00.  It sure was nice to wake up in a clean bedroom.  It's been so long since that happened!

The lack of sunshine today somewhat sapped my energy.  I wasn't lethargic because I did get some things done, but I just didn't have the same amount of motivation that I had yesterday.  Although I am never happy until everything is all clean at the same time, I can say that my kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and guest room are spiffy!  <Patting myself on the back.>  I am now making lists of hot spots to clean and organize.  It would be nice to dispatch one of those per day...  Can I do it during the school week?  Probably not!

Speaking of "patting," I called Major Pat this morning at the hospital.  The doctors want to do a CAT scan of his lungs because of calcifications that show up on x-ray.  I heard from a SATERN friend who called him that his heart has been ruled out as part of the problem.  I will call him again before the evening is over, just to check up.  He wants out of there in time to drive to Chicago for a SATERN meeting, but I don't think he understands how weak he will be after spending several days flat on his back.  We shall see...

Next weekend, I will be babysitting with my grandchildren, either here or in Muncie, while their parents go to visit a friend for a Halloween party.  I haven't seen them since the Turkey Run wedding deal, and I miss them. 

School tomorrow.  Bleah!

Please Pray

I got a phone call a few minutes ago from my friend, Major Patrick McPherson.  Pat is the National Director of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Network (SATERN), and he is in the hospital with "double pneumonia".  They are also checking for heart problems. 

I have been concerned for a week or more when Pat told me that he went for a walk and almost couldn't get home because of coughing and things that were coming up from his lungs.  He went to his doctor who prescribed antibiotics (which apparently didn't help).  He was at Men's Camp last night when he could no longer breathe due to coughing and asked someone to take him to the hospital.  The doctor who checked his lung x-ray asked him how long he'd been smoking.  When he said he didn't, the doc asked when he had quit.  Pat has never smoked a day in his life! 

Pat is only 60 and needs our prayers.  He is diabetic and has stage 3 kidney disease.  He has worked to lose a lot of weight over the last six months and is now afraid for his life.  Major Pat McPherson is a very, very dear friend of mine.  Please pray for him and put him on every prayer chain you may have.  He is a minister of the Gospel and has done much good for "the least of these [our] brethren" in his work with Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services over a lot of years.  Now it is time for us to help him.

Thanks.

Idle Hands Are the Devil's Workshop

When I got up this morning, I decided to try to salvage some of my Fall Break by doing some cleaning/sorting...and I did.  Clutter begins to get to me after awhile, and my life was getting cluttered...and so was my house.  (Let's not even talk about the garage!)  One thing I have discovered is that the more I do, the more I find that there is to do.  Simple cleaning is never simple!  I need to start making lists of hot spots in the house--drawers and cupboards--that need attention, and do them one at a time.  There's a novel concept!  Then I need to do it at school, too.  Living alone has its pitfalls, and one of them is letting things go because I know I can "do it later".  Right!

The kitchen is clean (except for the carpet).  I even cleaned out one junk drawer.  The bathroom is clean (except for the floor).  I have found the top of the dresser in my bedroom that has been piled high with stuff for months.  Have knocked down a few cobwebs and picked up endless bits of shredded tissue (thanks to the dog).  I have washed some curtains and some linen, and have been looking for a place to hide the endless pictures that I have sorted and sorted but became victim to the grandchildren.  (Have to start over again!) 

Took the Frodog to be groomed yesterday at Petsmart.  When they still hadn't called after four hours, I called them.  Yes, indeed, the dog was done.  The gal "thought" they had called but couldn't get hold of me, but I was home the entire time.  The dog was delighted to see me!  The ONLY time she will jump up into the car on her own is when coming back from the groomer or the vet.  The rest of the time, I have to boost her lardy butt into the back seat so she can sit there and quiver.  (She never has been a good car rider.)   

Have finally decided on the location of my radio club's Christmas dinner.  (As prez, it's my choice.  That's the ONLY privilege of the job!)  We'll be going to a very nice Chinese buffet in Avon--something for everyone.  I'll try to make the tables decorative and supply some holiday cheer.  It won't be like last year, but I can't match that!

Back to work here.  If I work it right, I can have a totally clean bedroom and linen by bedtime.  Works for me!

Ahhhhhhh!

At a little after 11:00 this morning, I was turned loose to come home and be a human being again.  By 1:00, I was on the couch taking a snooze.  By 3:00, I was watching Dr. Phil, and at 4:00, watched Oprah.  Have done virtually nothing since. 

Got an email from KB9RAF indicating that, besides gout, he is now dealing with plantar fasciitis in one foot.  I can relate to that!!  I sent him my best tips for dealing with it, since I'm suffering from it now...but the downside is that it won't go away quickly.  It isn't a function of old age, Ryan!  It's a symptom of too many hours on one's feet!  Good luck!

I just found out yesterday that we will have the Wednesday before Thanksgiving off.  This is a first!  Because of that, I will probably trek to my sister's near Springfield, IL, for that holiday.  (Haven't been there since last Christmas.) 

It is balmy outside now but not expected to last.  I should have been working outside this afternoon...but I needed to rest.  Oh, well!

Don't know what the weekend will bring...

Parent Conferences, the Sequel

Kids went home at 11:00 today.  Teachers had a pot-luck lunch...then off to our rooms for conferences...slow in the beginning, but by 1:00, there was no end to the stream of parents.  At dinner time (provided by the district), I had to just close my door and leave or there would have been no supper for me.

For a couple of youngsters, mine was the lowest grade on their report card.  For those, I refigured the grade...but, unfortunately, the grades held.  No Honor Roll for them!  There are a number of students who have untenable home situations.  It's a wonder kids grow up at all!

I am extremely weary tonight, and I'm afraid it showed at the last of the conferences.  My make-up wore off sometime around dinner time...and my hair died long before that.  The parents who came late probably wondered if I need to retire.  For the most part, however, the conferences went well.  There are a number of parents who reported that mine was their kid's favorite class and I the favorite teacher.  What does it tell us when a fat, 59-year-old woman is the favored mentor?  Either I'm not strict enough, or the other teachers aren't dynamic.  Maybe both!

The dog was sure happy to see me tonight!

Parent Conferences

Grades for the first grading period were due today...and for the first time in my career, I just eyeballed the grades and submitted what seemed reasonable for each student (rather than calculate them all).  When that was done, I went back over all of the grades to make sure that no one's grade was strongly impacted...then went over them again, taking selected students in each class to calculate.  Guess what?  I was right on the money in every single case!  I guess when you've been doing this as long as I have, instinct takes over.  My grades were in on time without huge stress on my time.  No one got F's that didn't deserve them, and I could prepare for conferences with their parents, to start at 4:00 PM. 

In the four hours of conferences tonight, I probably had 10 students represented.  All went well.  Many of the parents who came tonight have had kids in my classes before and/or I have traded emails with, pertaining to the kids' progress.  This part was easy.  Tomorrow, the students go home at 11:00 AM and conferences go from noon to 8:00 PM...many of them by personal invitation from the 8th grade team of teachers.  We'll see how many of them show up!

At about 4:30 or so, the custodian in my room and I became aware of a helicopter flying overhead and some emergency vehicles pulling into the driveway of the elementary school behind the middle school.  Sure enough, the helicopter landed in the field between our schools, awaiting an accident victim to be airlifted to a hospital.  Apparently our field was the safest and closest place to land to get the victim.  A few of us stood in the cold wind and drizzle to watch.  It undid my "do" but I can't pass up an opportunity to watch something like that!  One of my colleagues suggested that I should turn on my "scanner" to listen to the air traffic, but my HT was in the car (although I'm almost certain that frequency is programmed in there). 

When I got back to my desk in my room, it soon became apparent that I didn't need my "scanner."  Dan Criswell was IMing me.  He was on the "run" that responded to the accident.  Within minutes, I knew that it was a single car accident on SR 39---ran off the road...29-year-old guy with suspected internal bleeding.  Sent off via helicopter toward Martinsville.  Ain't radio (and Internet) grand???

Note:  I have been suffering from plantar fasciitis in my right foot for a couple of months now.  (More commonly known as heel spurs.)  Yesterday, I just puttered around the house...and walked absolutely normally all day.  No pain because I wasn't stressing my feet.  Today, I wore my "good" walking shoes (highly stylish, I'll tell you!)...and managed MOST of the day without pain.  Maybe...JUST maybe...the foot is healing?  I still have to be aware of what I am doing to my poor doggies, but I sure hope this means there is light at the end of the tunnel.  This condition doesn't fix itself quickly.  Weeks to months and months...

Fall Break and Halloween approacheth.  I've got my punkins.  How about you?

Coats for Kids

I drove to the State Fairgrounds early this morning for the Coats for Kids distribution, sponsored by Channel 13, Tuchman Cleaners, and The Salvation Army.  They hadn't opened the doors yet when I got there, and the line of people waiting outside wound all the way around the building...and it was cold out there!

The coats are free.  Children have to be under age 18 and must be accompanied by an adult...and the children must be present in order to get a coat.  No one needs to prove poverty or anything else.  They just have to show up.  As in other years, ethnicity seemed to be equally divided between white, African American, and hispanic.  Unlike other years, the lines moved smoothly and somewhat quickly, since they had TWO coat shopping areas instead of just one.  We gave away over 5,000 coats today. 

One of my SATERN operators reported that she broke into tears when one of her children was acting stubborn about not liking any of the coats.  The woman said that she had fallen on hard times and had never had to do something like that before.  Her kids left with coats, nonetheless. 

Radio operators were there, helping with communications.  We were busier in the morning than in the afternoon, of course, but I don't know how they ever got along without us!  SATERN has been helping for the last 4 or 5 years, and we have made some friends just by way of being there and helping out.  One couple that joined us this year did a wonderful job...and the Salvation Army people loved the female half of the pair.  (I'm sure they liked the husband, too...but he couldn't stay all day like she did.  He worked the first shift of the event having been up since 2:00 PM the previous afternoon!  He needed to go home to get some shuteye.)  We all were invited out to dinner and a drinkie-poo with them afterward.  That's a first!  We went to the Broad Ripple Brew Pub, covering the clothing that identified us as associated with TSA.  (It would be tacky to be imbibing with TSA all over our clothing!)  Fortunately, I had an Indy native in the car with me who could get me around without getting lost (except for finding the Pub).  We came, we saw, we conquered.

Everyone went home full and tired.  My feet weren't too bad, but I wasn't walking as fast as I needed to.  Still, all of the bases were covered.  I'm sure there were a lot of families that went home happy today because their children have coats that will get them through the winter ahead!

Stuff and Nonsense

Drove to school in slight rain this morning, but somehow the windshield wipers sounded like they were sweeping over sandpaper.  It's dark that time of day and part of my trip goes through construction on SR 267.  Even a little rain causes headlights to reflect on the wet pavement and makes visibility difficult around the lane-divider posts...and I sure couldn't see well.  Got to school and heard from another teacher that anyone who parked out in front of the building (which I do) got some kind of stuff all over their cars--some overspray from whatever they were doing on the roof the day before.  Mystery solved!  Now I have to figure out how to get it off my windshield...

Today was one of those days where everything hurt.  Feet hurt, hips hurt, back hurt.  I think my students look at me sideways when I moan and groan.  Had to plan for a sub today because I will be in a curriculum meeting tomorrow at the elementary school.  I don't have to be there until 9:00.  No big rush in the morning!

I actually cooked tonight!  With the weather turning cool, I decided a bowl of chili would taste good, so I made a batch.  I even let the resident dawg lick the pot.  (That is something that Meg and Nate always let her do when they had her, and she gets her nose totally out of joint if a dish goes to the sink before going to the floor, first.)

Made a grocery run to Wal-Mart this evening.  Bought $60 worth of stuff, then came home and remembered the things I forgot.  That will have to be a trip for another day...

Meg has posted some wedding pictures on her website, with the "prettiest flower geel and rain bear" in them.  http://family.mamabeararts.com/photosX.html

We have a freeze watch for tomorrow night.  I need to find the ice scraper for my car and get it in there for the season.  <sigh>  The Covered Bridge Festival and fall foliage gawking starts this weekend in Central Indiana.  The leaves are pretty but certainly not at peak.  Whatever wind we had today brought a lot down--right on the walk in front of my door.  Nowhere else, it seems!  I just hate the notion of raking.  There has to be an easier way!