Howdy! Well, it is Dec. 24, and in a little while I will be going to finish my Christmas shopping! Nothing like waiting until the last minute! No choice, actually, as every minute of every day has been filled to overflowing! I am keeping my "cool" though, and not freaking out. I thought I would write this first, and then go out. I'll go to the mall that is very close to our house (a mile) and hopefully will find everything I need there. Only need a few things yet.
Actually I am really relaxing so far this break. DH and I went to Appleton yesterday and we bought some things for ourselves. Got a few presents, too. =-) We had finished shopping for DGD on Thursday night after picking up my car at the garage.
Oh yeah, my car... I got in my car to go to work on Wed. and I couldn't turn the key to start it. I called DH and he came to get me to take me to school. Thursday (first day of vacation) I waited for a tow truck to come get my car. The guy who came used a ball-peen (sp?) hammer to tap my key farther into the ignition and was able to start it to back out and get it in line for the tow truck. I had to pay for him anyway, so I just let him take it in rather than drive it and have to take the shuttle home, etc. It cost almost $300 to fix and cover the towing. I needed a new "tumbler" unit for the ignition. At least it works now and I keep telling myself, "It's cheaper than car payments. It's cheaper than car payments." I really do love my car! I'll keep it as long as it works and isn't costing me too much money to upkeep. I will probably buy a new car right before retirement. I still subtract the car payment money and hopefully will be able to pay for a new car and not have car payments then. We want to also have our house paid off by retirement. I am paying extra on that, too.
Tonight DH and I are going to have a fire, sip Bailey's Irish Cream, open presents and just relax and have some quality time together. That will be a nice way to spend Christmas Eve. =-) Tomorrow we will go to church and later in the afternoon travel to my sister's house for a family get together. We have a few things scheduled for next week, but basically it will be "go with the flow." I hope to be able to do some quilting!
My first day of break, besides waiting for a tow truck, I finished making some bracelets for Christmas gifts. I needed another hobby like another hole in the head, but I sure am having fun! It was people at the campground who got me going on this. I jumped in with both feet, too! The funny thing is, I don't usually wear a lot of jewelry! But I love the bracelets I have been making. I took a photo of some I made recently. Not sure how well they will show up, but will post them as soon as I have time to put the phots into the computer.
I want to get back to scrapbooking, too! I have photos to do a book for DGD about our disney trip (almost 2 years ago!), and bought a book to start to redo my sons' photos from childhood. I think that will be fun! I originally put them in magnetic page books, which are totally falling apart. Also, I put every picture in, no matter how bad it was. Like my finger is in the picture... LOL! So this will be fun to fix up for them.
Well, if I don't get off of the computer I won't get anything done, right? So I will end for now.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Angel
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
I wonder if I will ever catch up...
Does this sound like a continuous lament? Well, it is! I had grades due yesterday. Friday some special education kids gave me late/missing work, and since they are spec ed we have to accept it. So I was up until 1:00 Sunday night correcting it. I was too busy the rest of the weekend, Grrrr. At school I finished posting the grades and added comments, and finished just in time. Then I started to correct Geography Bee tests and finished those at 11:00 last night. Today I gave the kids a test, and while they tested I was correcting another assignment (Egyptian Coffins designed especially for themselves. The kids love it). I still have two classes papers to do, and I haven't even started the tests yet. (Take a deep breath!) So, I have decided that tomorrow they are seeing a video! I can correct while they watch. It's not the most exciting video, but hey, it'll give them something to do while I catch up! Ancient China, our next topic. I came up with some new activities to try. We are on a big literacy kick, so have lots of new ideas. Good, too.
Speaking of the "literacy kick," my partner in crime and I prepared today for our staff development presentaion on vocabulary activities after school today. We present on Monday after work hours. We have one more time to present this year yet, in February. I don't know why I keep agreeing to do these things! We DO get paid, so that is a good thing.
A magazine did an article on DH and his carving. A reporter came recently and interviewed him. The reporter hardly wrote anything down, but most of what he wrote was correct. It is pretty cool to see it. DH really is good at carving. He is down in the basement carving right now. Just a few more Santas... He isn't going to sell carvings after this year. He wants to be able to carve what he wants to carve, and let it be a hobby again instead of a job. He also will get at some things around the house. After 5 years he is finally going to wire the basement. Wooooo Hooooo! Then he'll insulate it and we'll have wall board put up, and also the bathroom down there will be put in. My sewing room will be moved down there after that. Hopefully that will be early this summer. I'll have twice the amount of space as I have now. We'll also have a guest bedroom again (my sewing room now). Our granddaughter asked if we could call it HER room! LOL
I came home tonight already exhausted. I am soon going to go and unpack a few Christmas boxes to decorate. We'll do the tree this weekend. Over the weekend we did the outside decorating. Good thing, too. This morning it was -2 degrees when I was driving to school. I HATE BEING COLD!!!!!!!!
Well, time to go deck the halls and fa la la la la and all that! Jingle your sleigh bells! Angel
Speaking of the "literacy kick," my partner in crime and I prepared today for our staff development presentaion on vocabulary activities after school today. We present on Monday after work hours. We have one more time to present this year yet, in February. I don't know why I keep agreeing to do these things! We DO get paid, so that is a good thing.
A magazine did an article on DH and his carving. A reporter came recently and interviewed him. The reporter hardly wrote anything down, but most of what he wrote was correct. It is pretty cool to see it. DH really is good at carving. He is down in the basement carving right now. Just a few more Santas... He isn't going to sell carvings after this year. He wants to be able to carve what he wants to carve, and let it be a hobby again instead of a job. He also will get at some things around the house. After 5 years he is finally going to wire the basement. Wooooo Hooooo! Then he'll insulate it and we'll have wall board put up, and also the bathroom down there will be put in. My sewing room will be moved down there after that. Hopefully that will be early this summer. I'll have twice the amount of space as I have now. We'll also have a guest bedroom again (my sewing room now). Our granddaughter asked if we could call it HER room! LOL
I came home tonight already exhausted. I am soon going to go and unpack a few Christmas boxes to decorate. We'll do the tree this weekend. Over the weekend we did the outside decorating. Good thing, too. This morning it was -2 degrees when I was driving to school. I HATE BEING COLD!!!!!!!!
Well, time to go deck the halls and fa la la la la and all that! Jingle your sleigh bells! Angel
Sunday, November 27, 2005
I'm awake!
Right, I'm awake. It is just a little past 3:00 and I have been awake since 1:00. I've been thinking about making things. I started a mitten/hat/scarf set for DGD today. Will check the fit of the mitten tomorrow. I am adapting the patterns I made for myself. I started knitting it in the car on the way to Milwaukee today. At one time I had the four needles all there in front of me (double pointed) and thought about how if we had to stop fast for an accident I could kill myself with those buggers! But then I kept knitting anyway.
My CT scan showed nothing. I have a nasal spray, and I am also getting a new mouth splint from my dentist for wearing at night. I hope that helps, because I don't feel any better. I still have an earache. =-( Both the Dr. and the Dentist told me that it is likely a combination of things causing the problem, because it is all connected. My dentist told me that if this doesn't help he will refer me to an oral surgeon for the TMJ. Ther is another kind of splint that you can wear during a flare up that helps a lot more. Sigh!
I have been so very busy. I've been spending a lot of home time correcting essays for my 8th graders. Many have passed the first time. Some are revising. I have things home to correct this weekend, too, but haven't started yet.
My mom had a pace maker put in. We've been running (well, driving) down there a lot. She wasn't recovering as quickly as she should have been. She is still very weak and her lip quivers a lot. She says it is all nerves. She is trying to keep her life stress free. At least as stress free as possible. She has only gone out to go to the Dr. She didn't even go to my niece's wedding! She is finally starting to feel a little better now. She still looks like she is sick.
We had DH's sister, husband, son and two granddaughters, plus our son and granddaughter here for Thanksgiving. I got up and threw the bird in the oven (well, I did put it in a pan wrapped in foil) and let it cook. DH and I cleaned like crazy that morning so the house was clean by the time they arrived. It needed the cleaning! DH washed the floors this time. Usually I do it but my back was hurting so much it would have been extremely difficult for me to do it. It is the first time he did it since his back surgery. He didn't complain about his back hurting, so hopefully it was OK. Men are pretty big babies when it comes to pain, I think. If they had to give birth Homo sapiens sapiens would have become extinct long ago! Anyhow, we had a nice day with them.
Friday was my niece's wedding. I had gone to a shower for her last Sunday. It was at a wine bar, and my sister had purchased a number of bottles of wine to have served. I didn't take any though. I drank water all night. There was fancy food, which doesn't impress me all that much. I ate a plate full of snacks and felt I hadn't eaten anything. I sat with another sister and we were pretty bored. The high point of the night was going around and telling how we knew the bride and telling a story about her. I *almost* would have rather played the stupid games!
Showers sure have changed since I was married. The kinds of gifts she got were what we would have gotten for a wedding gift. At my shower people chipped in and together they all bought me a blender (avocado green, I might add). The rest of the gifts were a recipe and one of the ingredients for it. We played games and the prizes were things like a glass measuring cup or a kitchen towel. I gave my niece a crystal bowl and that was what I gave her sister for a wedding present 9.5 years ago. This was only a shower gift this time! I got her something she registered for as a wedding gift, and let me tell you, I have never spent that much for a picture frame in my life! I certainly don't have anything like that for myself. Of course, I wouldn't want it, anyway. I'd rather have the "black painted with some rubbed off" look myself.
The wedding was beautiful. The bride sang a song to her husband. It was nice that their minister knew them so well. That made the ceremony very personal. The reception was at a huge resort on a lake. It was really something. Fancy everything. We drove there in a snow storm with the roads being horrible. It stopped snowing for a while, but then started again so we left early. (But first we danced.) It was a long ride home, too. We had our son and DGD in the back seat. They were snoring away before we had gone 5 miles! When we arrived at our house our DGD asked to stay over night. She went to lay on the couch and was asleep again in about 2 seconds. We got her a pillow and blanket and that is where she stayed, in her dress and everything!
This morning she woke DH up telling him, "It's 7:00 already! I only have three hours left to be here, so you have to get up and be with me!" LOL He told her to be quiet and not to wake me, but she had other plans. She let me sleep about another 15 minutes, though! It was DH's "turn" this time and he had to tell her stories.
After our DS came to get her we finished cleaning ourselves up and left for the big city. There is a craft and gift sale at State Fair Park every year and we have gone to it numerous times with some friends we have known for over 30 years. We had arranged to meet them there today. We walked around, mostly just talking, but I did buy a few things for myself. I got a picture with a house and willow trees to put in my bathroom. I got a sign for the laundry room that says, "Laundry Room. Drop your pants here." =-) I also got a Jim Shore Snowman which was incredibly inexpensive compared to Halmark. DH bought some Chai tea. DH picked out a snowman picture he liked and we got that, too. After we were finished going through the sale we went out to eat supper. Then we drove home. By the time we got home it was 9:00. I got ready for bed and read a few minutes and fell asleep. But here I am, awake in the middle of the night. Probably due to caffeine. I had a big soda today. Not used to all that caffeine!
We will be getting boxes out of the attic to start decorating for Cmas tomorrow. It is supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow so we will get the outside lights up. Then we'll start inside. I doubt that the tree will go up until next weekend though, since DH is the one who puts it together. He has been carving, and still intends to make one more batch of larger Santas. He turned away two big buyers this year. Big in the sense that they purchase a lot. He felt really bad because they have been such loyal good customers for years, but he just didn't have that much time to do it this year, and he has decided that it was becoming more a a "job." He wants to take the time to carve more of the things that he wants to carve instead of production carving. That's fine with me!
Since he won't have to start carving right after Cmas for next year already, he is actually going to wire the basement! After it is wired and insulated, we will have someone put in wall board. Once it is finished, along with storage cabinets all along one wall, that will become my sewing room. I will have a lot more room, but it still will be crowded with all my things! Especially if I buy a quilting machine. I would buy a hobby size, but it will still take up space. I am eager to move down there. DH and I will both be down there then, instead of in two separate places in the house. The present sewing room will become a TV room, and the present TV room will become a guest room again. We'll put our old bed in there with a new box spring and mattress set.
I hope that the Cmas season goes well for me this year. I would really like to enjoy Cmas again. I haven't enjoyed it for quite a few years now. It just feels like work. We don't have that many gifts to buy any more. I already have some done and will get things out in the mail soon. Sons are done and we just have our DGD and a few smaller items to get. We don't know what to get each other, so we are going to go buy our own present and give it to each other to give to each other! LOL I don't think we'll need to wrap the presents. We will always get a little something that will be a surprise, too, though. I don't even know what I want. I have so much already. I will probably go to a store with things for my house and buy something without having to feel guilty about it. LOL (Actually, I rarely feel guilt. Usually I feel I deserve it!)
Last weekend we had gone to the community theater play. We have season tickets. They are so inexpensive that we bought 4 tickets this year. This time we asked some friends to go along as our guests. We had a great time, even went to Perkins for pie afterwards. =-) This play was called "Ethan Claymore," and it was very good. We laughed and laughed, which is ALWAYS a good thing!
Well, I have been writing for over an hour now. I'm sure that this is "more than you really wanted to know!" But, it helps me sort out my thoughts. I don't dare put every thought down though! At least you, my friends, get to find out what I have been doing that keeps me from writing to you individually as often!!!! I am also starting to get cold! The heat is way down for the night time. I have a hooded sweatshirt on, but am still cold. Oh, how I dread winter coming!
Hugs for now!
My CT scan showed nothing. I have a nasal spray, and I am also getting a new mouth splint from my dentist for wearing at night. I hope that helps, because I don't feel any better. I still have an earache. =-( Both the Dr. and the Dentist told me that it is likely a combination of things causing the problem, because it is all connected. My dentist told me that if this doesn't help he will refer me to an oral surgeon for the TMJ. Ther is another kind of splint that you can wear during a flare up that helps a lot more. Sigh!
I have been so very busy. I've been spending a lot of home time correcting essays for my 8th graders. Many have passed the first time. Some are revising. I have things home to correct this weekend, too, but haven't started yet.
My mom had a pace maker put in. We've been running (well, driving) down there a lot. She wasn't recovering as quickly as she should have been. She is still very weak and her lip quivers a lot. She says it is all nerves. She is trying to keep her life stress free. At least as stress free as possible. She has only gone out to go to the Dr. She didn't even go to my niece's wedding! She is finally starting to feel a little better now. She still looks like she is sick.
We had DH's sister, husband, son and two granddaughters, plus our son and granddaughter here for Thanksgiving. I got up and threw the bird in the oven (well, I did put it in a pan wrapped in foil) and let it cook. DH and I cleaned like crazy that morning so the house was clean by the time they arrived. It needed the cleaning! DH washed the floors this time. Usually I do it but my back was hurting so much it would have been extremely difficult for me to do it. It is the first time he did it since his back surgery. He didn't complain about his back hurting, so hopefully it was OK. Men are pretty big babies when it comes to pain, I think. If they had to give birth Homo sapiens sapiens would have become extinct long ago! Anyhow, we had a nice day with them.
Friday was my niece's wedding. I had gone to a shower for her last Sunday. It was at a wine bar, and my sister had purchased a number of bottles of wine to have served. I didn't take any though. I drank water all night. There was fancy food, which doesn't impress me all that much. I ate a plate full of snacks and felt I hadn't eaten anything. I sat with another sister and we were pretty bored. The high point of the night was going around and telling how we knew the bride and telling a story about her. I *almost* would have rather played the stupid games!
Showers sure have changed since I was married. The kinds of gifts she got were what we would have gotten for a wedding gift. At my shower people chipped in and together they all bought me a blender (avocado green, I might add). The rest of the gifts were a recipe and one of the ingredients for it. We played games and the prizes were things like a glass measuring cup or a kitchen towel. I gave my niece a crystal bowl and that was what I gave her sister for a wedding present 9.5 years ago. This was only a shower gift this time! I got her something she registered for as a wedding gift, and let me tell you, I have never spent that much for a picture frame in my life! I certainly don't have anything like that for myself. Of course, I wouldn't want it, anyway. I'd rather have the "black painted with some rubbed off" look myself.
The wedding was beautiful. The bride sang a song to her husband. It was nice that their minister knew them so well. That made the ceremony very personal. The reception was at a huge resort on a lake. It was really something. Fancy everything. We drove there in a snow storm with the roads being horrible. It stopped snowing for a while, but then started again so we left early. (But first we danced.) It was a long ride home, too. We had our son and DGD in the back seat. They were snoring away before we had gone 5 miles! When we arrived at our house our DGD asked to stay over night. She went to lay on the couch and was asleep again in about 2 seconds. We got her a pillow and blanket and that is where she stayed, in her dress and everything!
This morning she woke DH up telling him, "It's 7:00 already! I only have three hours left to be here, so you have to get up and be with me!" LOL He told her to be quiet and not to wake me, but she had other plans. She let me sleep about another 15 minutes, though! It was DH's "turn" this time and he had to tell her stories.
After our DS came to get her we finished cleaning ourselves up and left for the big city. There is a craft and gift sale at State Fair Park every year and we have gone to it numerous times with some friends we have known for over 30 years. We had arranged to meet them there today. We walked around, mostly just talking, but I did buy a few things for myself. I got a picture with a house and willow trees to put in my bathroom. I got a sign for the laundry room that says, "Laundry Room. Drop your pants here." =-) I also got a Jim Shore Snowman which was incredibly inexpensive compared to Halmark. DH bought some Chai tea. DH picked out a snowman picture he liked and we got that, too. After we were finished going through the sale we went out to eat supper. Then we drove home. By the time we got home it was 9:00. I got ready for bed and read a few minutes and fell asleep. But here I am, awake in the middle of the night. Probably due to caffeine. I had a big soda today. Not used to all that caffeine!
We will be getting boxes out of the attic to start decorating for Cmas tomorrow. It is supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow so we will get the outside lights up. Then we'll start inside. I doubt that the tree will go up until next weekend though, since DH is the one who puts it together. He has been carving, and still intends to make one more batch of larger Santas. He turned away two big buyers this year. Big in the sense that they purchase a lot. He felt really bad because they have been such loyal good customers for years, but he just didn't have that much time to do it this year, and he has decided that it was becoming more a a "job." He wants to take the time to carve more of the things that he wants to carve instead of production carving. That's fine with me!
Since he won't have to start carving right after Cmas for next year already, he is actually going to wire the basement! After it is wired and insulated, we will have someone put in wall board. Once it is finished, along with storage cabinets all along one wall, that will become my sewing room. I will have a lot more room, but it still will be crowded with all my things! Especially if I buy a quilting machine. I would buy a hobby size, but it will still take up space. I am eager to move down there. DH and I will both be down there then, instead of in two separate places in the house. The present sewing room will become a TV room, and the present TV room will become a guest room again. We'll put our old bed in there with a new box spring and mattress set.
I hope that the Cmas season goes well for me this year. I would really like to enjoy Cmas again. I haven't enjoyed it for quite a few years now. It just feels like work. We don't have that many gifts to buy any more. I already have some done and will get things out in the mail soon. Sons are done and we just have our DGD and a few smaller items to get. We don't know what to get each other, so we are going to go buy our own present and give it to each other to give to each other! LOL I don't think we'll need to wrap the presents. We will always get a little something that will be a surprise, too, though. I don't even know what I want. I have so much already. I will probably go to a store with things for my house and buy something without having to feel guilty about it. LOL (Actually, I rarely feel guilt. Usually I feel I deserve it!)
Last weekend we had gone to the community theater play. We have season tickets. They are so inexpensive that we bought 4 tickets this year. This time we asked some friends to go along as our guests. We had a great time, even went to Perkins for pie afterwards. =-) This play was called "Ethan Claymore," and it was very good. We laughed and laughed, which is ALWAYS a good thing!
Well, I have been writing for over an hour now. I'm sure that this is "more than you really wanted to know!" But, it helps me sort out my thoughts. I don't dare put every thought down though! At least you, my friends, get to find out what I have been doing that keeps me from writing to you individually as often!!!! I am also starting to get cold! The heat is way down for the night time. I have a hooded sweatshirt on, but am still cold. Oh, how I dread winter coming!
Hugs for now!
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
I love my home computer!
I just spent over 3 hours putting an order in for supplies at school. I got home at 8:30 PM. It is one of the new duties I have with being the new department head. I was trained a few weeks ago, and haven't found the time to order, so I finally decided to stay until I had it done. Now, part of the three hours was due to my inexperience, but most of the problem was how S...L...O...W... my school computer is! Seriously, I was waiting 30-40 seconds after each thing I put in, and each item required me to put in 5 things. I actually was reading a book while I waited. My computer is so noisy when it is doing something, that all I had to do was half listen so when it was ready (the noise stopped) I could look up and put in the next thing. I REALLY appreciate my fast computer at home! I came home and I am drinking whiskey and diet coke. Pretty bad when a chore drives you to drink! I need to RELAX!
My mom was transferred to St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee today. Tomorrow she is having a pacemaker put in. She will stay overnight, and then Dad will take her home on Thursday. Two of my sisters will be there, so I won't go. We are doing WKCE tests tomorrow so it would freak out my principal if I couldn't be there. My sister will call tomorrow and let me know what is going on. I have a long day tomorrow, too. School all day and then I will go to Curves and then I have book club tomorrow night.
This morning I went in and had a CT scan done of my sinuses. I have been having problems since July. It is doing a thing to my ear, where I can hear my heart beating. It hurts, too, sometimes. I was on antibiotics for a month. Didn't work. Then I was on sinus rinses and a nasal spray. That didn't do it either. So now it was time for CT scan and we will see if they can see infection. If they can, I go back on antibiotics. If not...??? It could be from my TMJ. It could be from allergies. Guess I'll wait to hear what the Dr. says. Hopefully he will call tomorrow.
The CT scan was interesting. I had one in '99 and this was so different. It was a machine where I lay on my back and it moved me into a chamber and took the scan. Then it took me out again. I went into the machine twice, but it isn't as close as an MRI where you feel claustrophobic. I just relaxed and kept my eyes shut. It was over in less than 5 minutes. So now I wait.
and wait...
My mom was transferred to St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee today. Tomorrow she is having a pacemaker put in. She will stay overnight, and then Dad will take her home on Thursday. Two of my sisters will be there, so I won't go. We are doing WKCE tests tomorrow so it would freak out my principal if I couldn't be there. My sister will call tomorrow and let me know what is going on. I have a long day tomorrow, too. School all day and then I will go to Curves and then I have book club tomorrow night.
This morning I went in and had a CT scan done of my sinuses. I have been having problems since July. It is doing a thing to my ear, where I can hear my heart beating. It hurts, too, sometimes. I was on antibiotics for a month. Didn't work. Then I was on sinus rinses and a nasal spray. That didn't do it either. So now it was time for CT scan and we will see if they can see infection. If they can, I go back on antibiotics. If not...??? It could be from my TMJ. It could be from allergies. Guess I'll wait to hear what the Dr. says. Hopefully he will call tomorrow.
The CT scan was interesting. I had one in '99 and this was so different. It was a machine where I lay on my back and it moved me into a chamber and took the scan. Then it took me out again. I went into the machine twice, but it isn't as close as an MRI where you feel claustrophobic. I just relaxed and kept my eyes shut. It was over in less than 5 minutes. So now I wait.
and wait...
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Too tired to move...
All last week I was going, going, going. We're giving WKCE tests (Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam). I give to a group of 23 8th graders, about half of whom are my students. The tests go all morning, so I lose my one planning period of the day. I have been taking work home and doing it at home at night. One night I stayed up almost until midnight correcting papers. I have a sack full home this weekend, too. The weeks before were parent teacher conferences so I had 12 hour days and also having to prepare for the conferences. All under a very stressful deadline since we find out who is coming the same day as they are coming after school. I had some parents angry at me because their children didn't do all of their work and I didn't notify them immediately. Right, I have about 175 students every day and I have time to call every parent of every student who decides not to do an assignment. uh huh. When does it start to be the child's responsibility? I always tell the parents that it is part of my job to get these kids ready for high school, and in high school the teachers will not be calling home. In fact, when I worked in high school I remember standing next to a teacher in the hall while his class was coming in and a student asked to go back to his locker to get his assignment for the day and the teacher told him, "No. You will get a zero today, and maybe next time you will be more responsible."
That all sounds a bit negative, and I guess in a way it is, but I am tired of being the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in the world. When do teachers get to be respected again?
New subject.
I had my yearly mammogram on Friday. I was supposed to go the week before when we had off from school, but they called to tell me the doctor was going to a conference and I had to reschedule. (When I actually went in, his medical assisstant told me they were on vacation so I guess that "a conference" is a euphemism for a vacation.) At any rate, I had to change it so I had to take a day off of school on Friday to get my physical, lab work and the dreaded mammogram.
I did the lab work first, then the physical. I'll get the results of the lab work early next week. We get the results of the mammogram before we leave the hospital though. So I went in for my mammogram, and came out with my poor smashed, but normal, boobs. I always worry I will pass out during the test, and have visions of myself hanging from the machine by my boob while I am unconcious!
Off that subject. In better times....
This weekend I have been knitting like crazy. In fact, my shoulders are really sore. I must hunch them, hold them up, while I knit because my shoulders were killing me last night when I went to bed. But... I have a pair of mittens and a hat finished, and a scarf started (See photos). These are done on size 15 knitting needles. I got the pattern and the double pointed size 15 needles from a friend after she made a pair of the mittens. She made a pair that were Packers colors. She thought there was enough yarn for me to make a pair, too. I made one mitten and ran out of two of the yarns (you use four strands together). I might go to the store she bought the yarn at and see if I can find the yarns, but I'll bet they are long gone since she gave me the yarn from last winter. So I sit here with one Packers mitten! Anyway, I loved the thick warm pretty mitten, so I went and bought yarn on Friday and I knitted Friday night and all yesterday, not even getting dressed. Then I went to sleep early. Today I am catching up on e-mail, and I think we will head down to see my parents. My mom went into the hospital yesterday afternoon with her heart in fibrillations again. She might have to get a pace maker. I don't know if she will still be in the hospital or home, but we will go down to see her. As soon as I get off of the computer and take a shower. Hey, I can maybe finish the scarf on the way down in the car. I'll have to push my shoulders down while I knit!
Monday, October 10, 2005
I blew it with a Pizza
It was a "party" weekend. Some friends came up and we went to Door County to check out a couple of things. We went to the Pumpkin Fest in Egg Harbor. Mostly food! Wasn't TOO bad, but then we came home and drank and then the next day we picked up Papa Murphy's pizza and it has been sooooo long since I have eaten my favorite food that I overdid it. It is discouraging, since I am trying to lose weight and tonight I go to weigh in. =-(
I had fun while it lasted, though! I tend to do this to myself... blow it and then regret it. Sigh.
I was just trying to get to the web based site for doing my grades and I can't get in. I keep getting the message that they can't find the server. Grades are to be done tomorrow, so I am freaking out here. I CAN'T TAKE THE STRESS ANYMORE!!! Where's the booze?
I had fun while it lasted, though! I tend to do this to myself... blow it and then regret it. Sigh.
I was just trying to get to the web based site for doing my grades and I can't get in. I keep getting the message that they can't find the server. Grades are to be done tomorrow, so I am freaking out here. I CAN'T TAKE THE STRESS ANYMORE!!! Where's the booze?
Friday, October 07, 2005
Is it summer yet?
I was at school until 6:15 tonight, trying to catch up on correcting. I didn't do it all, but at least I put a dent in it! Tomorrow 5 of my 6 classes will be taking a test on the computer, for Language Arts. In a Social Studies class, go figure! We (social studies teachers) take our classes for three tests, Reading, Language Arts and Math. They are tested in both fall and spring. I guess they feel that Social Studies doesn't teach much so it is OK to pull kids from our classes constantly. It is really BUGGING me! I never have enough time to do what I want to do! Well, as they finish at all different times, and some even go into the next class period, as kids come back to my room they have a study hall, so I will get a chance to finish my grading. Then I have to get the grades into the computer because I have to have grades posted for the first 6 week grade period by Monday.
My co-worker and I have been doing our archaeology lessons in our 5th period classes, and I will be glad when it is over. I would do some of it again, but only if I could do it in all of my classes, and do it the way I feel comfortable with. I love my friend dearly, but we are very different in fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants comfort level. I freak out a lot easier. Tonight I wanted her to show me how you grade the stuff that she came up with and she is ending up correcting it for me instead of trying to get what she does through my thick skull!
Speaking of archaeology, I am late with a journal entry. I am usually so punctual, and I don't even care!
Today I had a horrible headache and I felt like I was going freaking insane! When will I learn? I want to be such a good teacher and I push myself so much. I do a lot of things other teachers don't do, but it makes so much more work for me. I guess I couldn't teach like those other people though.
I haven't had any time to quilt, which is driving me over the edge. Tonight I went to quilting and wotrked on two DJ applique blocks. Finished one and worked on another. I still need to get things QUILTED! Now that we won't be going to the trailer every weekend (we closed it last weekend) I will have more time to do things at home. Maybe I'll even clean my house... I usually clean and change decorations every month. Well, I still have 4th of July stuff out, which tells you when I cleaned last! We have company coming this weekend, but they are such long time friends I don't even care what the house looks like! Maybe I'll get fall/Halloween things out next week. Oh yeah, and clean, too.
I was on antibiotics for a month (three different ones) for a sinus infection and went back to the Dr. again on Monday since I am still not feeling better. My ear is "plugged" and I hear noise in it all of the time sort of like putting a shell to your ear and hearing the ocean (heart beating). It is because of the Eustation Tube having pressure on it from the sinuses. I had to go off antibiotices because my plumbing was starting to leak, oh, about 12 times a day... Now I am on a nasal spray and irrigation and hopefully that will help, because if it doesn't I have to have a CT scan. Oh, I don't wanna have to have the sinuses drained. Gross, huh?
Guess I had better get to bed!
My co-worker and I have been doing our archaeology lessons in our 5th period classes, and I will be glad when it is over. I would do some of it again, but only if I could do it in all of my classes, and do it the way I feel comfortable with. I love my friend dearly, but we are very different in fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants comfort level. I freak out a lot easier. Tonight I wanted her to show me how you grade the stuff that she came up with and she is ending up correcting it for me instead of trying to get what she does through my thick skull!
Speaking of archaeology, I am late with a journal entry. I am usually so punctual, and I don't even care!
Today I had a horrible headache and I felt like I was going freaking insane! When will I learn? I want to be such a good teacher and I push myself so much. I do a lot of things other teachers don't do, but it makes so much more work for me. I guess I couldn't teach like those other people though.
I haven't had any time to quilt, which is driving me over the edge. Tonight I went to quilting and wotrked on two DJ applique blocks. Finished one and worked on another. I still need to get things QUILTED! Now that we won't be going to the trailer every weekend (we closed it last weekend) I will have more time to do things at home. Maybe I'll even clean my house... I usually clean and change decorations every month. Well, I still have 4th of July stuff out, which tells you when I cleaned last! We have company coming this weekend, but they are such long time friends I don't even care what the house looks like! Maybe I'll get fall/Halloween things out next week. Oh yeah, and clean, too.
I was on antibiotics for a month (three different ones) for a sinus infection and went back to the Dr. again on Monday since I am still not feeling better. My ear is "plugged" and I hear noise in it all of the time sort of like putting a shell to your ear and hearing the ocean (heart beating). It is because of the Eustation Tube having pressure on it from the sinuses. I had to go off antibiotices because my plumbing was starting to leak, oh, about 12 times a day... Now I am on a nasal spray and irrigation and hopefully that will help, because if it doesn't I have to have a CT scan. Oh, I don't wanna have to have the sinuses drained. Gross, huh?
Guess I had better get to bed!
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
What's with the comments?
Jeez, I am tired of junk mail, spam, whatever, and now the comments on this are some kind of junk stuff, too! (Except for yours, Tina!) I can make all this money, etc. Yeah, sure!
I'm just pissed off tonight! I have firewall, virus protector, spyware scans, all that stuff and they still can find me. I guess it is just one of those things you have to put up with when you use a free service like this.
Had a meeting all day about vocabulary teaching. Well, it just seems I've been doing it wrong all these years. Oh well, I can be flexible and try new ideas. I think that some of the things we are focusing on will really help the students do better on tests. Maybe they will start to take things more seriously about the testing. I sure hope they do, since that is what "they" (politicians) judge us on, but we can't MAKE the kids take it the way we want them to. We can't make them do anything. They have to want to do it. We are finding students to be lazy and they don't want to THINK. It is frustrating as hell!
Well, I guess I should stop since I am in a bitchy mood. I am just tired!
I'm just pissed off tonight! I have firewall, virus protector, spyware scans, all that stuff and they still can find me. I guess it is just one of those things you have to put up with when you use a free service like this.
Had a meeting all day about vocabulary teaching. Well, it just seems I've been doing it wrong all these years. Oh well, I can be flexible and try new ideas. I think that some of the things we are focusing on will really help the students do better on tests. Maybe they will start to take things more seriously about the testing. I sure hope they do, since that is what "they" (politicians) judge us on, but we can't MAKE the kids take it the way we want them to. We can't make them do anything. They have to want to do it. We are finding students to be lazy and they don't want to THINK. It is frustrating as hell!
Well, I guess I should stop since I am in a bitchy mood. I am just tired!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Is it good to be crazy???
I haven't updated since Sept. 6. Today is Sept. 27, so that is three weeks later. I have not had the time to do this. When I clean my house, I change the decorations around. I have snowmen for January, hearts and angels for February, etc. If you came to my house today you would see Fourth of July things... which tells you how long it has been since I cleaned... OK, I have picked up a bit, but there is probably enough dust to write in at the moment. Could be fun!
I am teaching an overload this year (6 classes). I am also the new social studies department head. And I am doing the special class with the archaeology stuff. So I am going CRAZY!!! But... I am feeling good, and I am happy. Stressed, yes, but also happy! =-) I have some great classes this year. The students actually are GOOD!!!!!!! There are some who don't do their homework, but that is every year. Many are in special ed, so I will get some support from their resource room. It is hard to get everything done during the day. I take work home, which I knew I would have to do. It is keeping me from doing what I want to do for fun, though. I was going to do postcards, but I just couldn't get at them. I DID do the Halloween swap, with three sets of six and one of each for me, but it was only because the swap mom was sp patient and let me send them late. Now I am waiting to see what I get back for myself. And I still have to finish one of my own that I messed up and have to cut out a piece again.
Tomorrow I have a meeting downtown to be trained for more staff development for literacy developing lessons. Then I will be doing staff development classes at my school. I work with my best school buddy and we only have to do two classes so it isn't too bad. What was hard was planning for the sub for tomorrow. I have two classes doing testing, three that will be going over questions they had to answer, and one doing a lesson for archaeology. Hopefully I left enough notes so that the sub won't freak out! I'd hate to do that to her because she's a good sub and I don't want to scare her away!
My DS#1 will be here for supper with my DGD in a little while. It is always fun to see her. She'll walk in and say, "Come on, Nana, let's go see what Mama Monkey and the kids are up to." And we'll play with the stuffed animals. I always do Mama Monkey. She is a driver who speeds all of the time and takes sharp corners and stuff. Nothing autobiographical or anything! haha The kids always are driving her nuts, too, because there are so many of them. But we have fun. We'll also have to go grocery shopping tonight and DGD likes to come along and go to the play area. When she turns 8 she can't do that any more. Now she goes and plays with littler kids and reads to them, etc. If she comes into the store with us instead, then she wants to buy 10 things every 10 feet. LOL They are just getting here now.
DS#2 will be here this Saturday from Florida. He's coming up to go to his 10th high school class reunion, but we get him for the day. I am looking forward to seeing him! It's been too long. WAY too long! We are thinking we might go visit him in Florida this Christmas. As long as we are back in time to have DGD over for New Year's Eve. She is already talking about it.
We have been spending our last weekends at the trailer. We'll go close on Sunday. In some ways I am glad because then we will stay home and I can do things at home. Last weekend we had some rain, but it was still a good weekend. The weekend before I had some kind of "bug" and spent the weekend either sleeping or running to the bathroom. UGH! That's what happens when you have all of those kiddies breathing on you, and coughing on you, and hacking things up around you... A lot of the students have been out with the same thing.
I made a list of what I want to do at home. I ought to be able to finish it by 2026 or so... LOL Really, if I have a list I tend to get things done. That's me, the list maker. Hey, it WORKS! I need to finish all the baby quilts and then do some of my bigger ones. I NEED to finish some things!
I'd better get going before Mama Monkey takes off without me. I love riding with her when she drives. Lots of excitement! Like I don't have enough of that in my life already.
I am teaching an overload this year (6 classes). I am also the new social studies department head. And I am doing the special class with the archaeology stuff. So I am going CRAZY!!! But... I am feeling good, and I am happy. Stressed, yes, but also happy! =-) I have some great classes this year. The students actually are GOOD!!!!!!! There are some who don't do their homework, but that is every year. Many are in special ed, so I will get some support from their resource room. It is hard to get everything done during the day. I take work home, which I knew I would have to do. It is keeping me from doing what I want to do for fun, though. I was going to do postcards, but I just couldn't get at them. I DID do the Halloween swap, with three sets of six and one of each for me, but it was only because the swap mom was sp patient and let me send them late. Now I am waiting to see what I get back for myself. And I still have to finish one of my own that I messed up and have to cut out a piece again.
Tomorrow I have a meeting downtown to be trained for more staff development for literacy developing lessons. Then I will be doing staff development classes at my school. I work with my best school buddy and we only have to do two classes so it isn't too bad. What was hard was planning for the sub for tomorrow. I have two classes doing testing, three that will be going over questions they had to answer, and one doing a lesson for archaeology. Hopefully I left enough notes so that the sub won't freak out! I'd hate to do that to her because she's a good sub and I don't want to scare her away!
My DS#1 will be here for supper with my DGD in a little while. It is always fun to see her. She'll walk in and say, "Come on, Nana, let's go see what Mama Monkey and the kids are up to." And we'll play with the stuffed animals. I always do Mama Monkey. She is a driver who speeds all of the time and takes sharp corners and stuff. Nothing autobiographical or anything! haha The kids always are driving her nuts, too, because there are so many of them. But we have fun. We'll also have to go grocery shopping tonight and DGD likes to come along and go to the play area. When she turns 8 she can't do that any more. Now she goes and plays with littler kids and reads to them, etc. If she comes into the store with us instead, then she wants to buy 10 things every 10 feet. LOL They are just getting here now.
DS#2 will be here this Saturday from Florida. He's coming up to go to his 10th high school class reunion, but we get him for the day. I am looking forward to seeing him! It's been too long. WAY too long! We are thinking we might go visit him in Florida this Christmas. As long as we are back in time to have DGD over for New Year's Eve. She is already talking about it.
We have been spending our last weekends at the trailer. We'll go close on Sunday. In some ways I am glad because then we will stay home and I can do things at home. Last weekend we had some rain, but it was still a good weekend. The weekend before I had some kind of "bug" and spent the weekend either sleeping or running to the bathroom. UGH! That's what happens when you have all of those kiddies breathing on you, and coughing on you, and hacking things up around you... A lot of the students have been out with the same thing.
I made a list of what I want to do at home. I ought to be able to finish it by 2026 or so... LOL Really, if I have a list I tend to get things done. That's me, the list maker. Hey, it WORKS! I need to finish all the baby quilts and then do some of my bigger ones. I NEED to finish some things!
I'd better get going before Mama Monkey takes off without me. I love riding with her when she drives. Lots of excitement! Like I don't have enough of that in my life already.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work I Go
Some good news! My Dad went home from the hospital on Sunday, although he had a rough first day at home because of a plastic IV needle bending and ripping his arm open enough to have him bleeding like a stuck pig (he won't like that analogy...)! Hopefully things are going better. He is doing really well, actually. My DS was to be coming home from the hospital today, so that means she has made a lot of progress, too, although she will be in pain for awhile yet.
And I am back at work. I have an overload this year so I have 6 classes. It is really hard to fit everything in with that one less planning time. Of course, today was the first day that we actually had an entire day that was normal, without shortened schedules due to homeroom things, and also picture taking during all of my classes. I think I will be doing a lot of working lunches this year! Also taking more home. Well, I knew that when I accepted the overload, but never having done it before gets you into things without realizing the extent of it. I'll live, but I sure am tired! And that is even without the Dept. Head stuff! Most of the students seem really nice. Only a couple of boys I will have to watch (I know who to separate now!)
I did go to the Dr. last week. Most of my problem was "an acute flare-up of TMJ." I am on anti-inflamatory for a month to take care of that. He also said I probably had a bit of sinusitis, so I am also on antibiotics. He told me it wasn't "catchy" BTW.
I had a big fight with my niece. She called my dad's room when I was there and asked for sn update on her mother. While I was talking to her I mentioned that I was going to go to the Dr. the next day and she flipped and told me I had to wear a mask if I went into her mother's (my sister's) room. I thought that, OK, I'll ask the nurse about it and that if they thought I needed to do that, I would. But then she started badgering me to "promise" her I would wear a mask. I told her that I would never do anything to hurt my sister, and not to worry about it. At one time she even had the gall to say, "Do you understand how much stress my family is going through right now?" (I wasn't aware that (1) I wasn't part of the family, and (2) I was under as much as she was, and she doesn't really know what real stress is!) Well, she kept it up so finally I said, "YES!!! I PROMISE!!! NOW ARE YOU HAPPY?" A few minutes later another sister went down to see DS and a nurse ran up and asked her if she was me. He then told her that the niece had called (immediately after I hung up from talking to her, apparently) to tell them I was not allowed to go in her mother's room without a mask. See, she didn't get it. The problem wasn't wearing the mask, the trouble was her condescending attitude toward me, insisting I "promise" like a child, and also the fact that she doesn't trust me. I am still pissed off about it. It really upset my mother and dad, too. I left to go home right after, without visiting DS, and I haven't been back since. I call about dad about every other day, and have called DS once. I just don't know what sparks will fly when I see my niece again. If I call her a self centered, controlling bitch do you think she will get my drift?
We took our DGD to camp with us this weekend, and had a really nice time with her. Our DS came up on Sunday and stayed overnight, and Labor Day with us, too. We were at a big Labor Day party across the way from our trailer on Sunday. Everyone in our "loop" was there. Fun! Then the next day, those of us who know them well, because we live right there and do lots together, were invited for an "eat the leftovers" meal. It was good then, too! We have such a nice group of friends there. We are lucky to have wound up where we did in the park, with so many nice people around us. I can hardly wait for the weekend again!
And I am back at work. I have an overload this year so I have 6 classes. It is really hard to fit everything in with that one less planning time. Of course, today was the first day that we actually had an entire day that was normal, without shortened schedules due to homeroom things, and also picture taking during all of my classes. I think I will be doing a lot of working lunches this year! Also taking more home. Well, I knew that when I accepted the overload, but never having done it before gets you into things without realizing the extent of it. I'll live, but I sure am tired! And that is even without the Dept. Head stuff! Most of the students seem really nice. Only a couple of boys I will have to watch (I know who to separate now!)
I did go to the Dr. last week. Most of my problem was "an acute flare-up of TMJ." I am on anti-inflamatory for a month to take care of that. He also said I probably had a bit of sinusitis, so I am also on antibiotics. He told me it wasn't "catchy" BTW.
I had a big fight with my niece. She called my dad's room when I was there and asked for sn update on her mother. While I was talking to her I mentioned that I was going to go to the Dr. the next day and she flipped and told me I had to wear a mask if I went into her mother's (my sister's) room. I thought that, OK, I'll ask the nurse about it and that if they thought I needed to do that, I would. But then she started badgering me to "promise" her I would wear a mask. I told her that I would never do anything to hurt my sister, and not to worry about it. At one time she even had the gall to say, "Do you understand how much stress my family is going through right now?" (I wasn't aware that (1) I wasn't part of the family, and (2) I was under as much as she was, and she doesn't really know what real stress is!) Well, she kept it up so finally I said, "YES!!! I PROMISE!!! NOW ARE YOU HAPPY?" A few minutes later another sister went down to see DS and a nurse ran up and asked her if she was me. He then told her that the niece had called (immediately after I hung up from talking to her, apparently) to tell them I was not allowed to go in her mother's room without a mask. See, she didn't get it. The problem wasn't wearing the mask, the trouble was her condescending attitude toward me, insisting I "promise" like a child, and also the fact that she doesn't trust me. I am still pissed off about it. It really upset my mother and dad, too. I left to go home right after, without visiting DS, and I haven't been back since. I call about dad about every other day, and have called DS once. I just don't know what sparks will fly when I see my niece again. If I call her a self centered, controlling bitch do you think she will get my drift?
We took our DGD to camp with us this weekend, and had a really nice time with her. Our DS came up on Sunday and stayed overnight, and Labor Day with us, too. We were at a big Labor Day party across the way from our trailer on Sunday. Everyone in our "loop" was there. Fun! Then the next day, those of us who know them well, because we live right there and do lots together, were invited for an "eat the leftovers" meal. It was good then, too! We have such a nice group of friends there. We are lucky to have wound up where we did in the park, with so many nice people around us. I can hardly wait for the weekend again!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Does it ever end?
I can't believe everything that has happened since I last wrote. I went to my Technology Academy day and learned a LOT! I now know how to use the "Inspiration" program software to create graphic organizers, how to do lesson plans on Excell, and I have a web site for school, and also know how to keep the department web site updated since I'm now the dept. head.
The next day I went down to a friend's house and she taught me how to paint on fabric. It was really fun to do, and she has me hooked. I created three pieces of fabric to use in a challenge quilt for the Ladies of the Lake quilt show at an art gallery. There is a watercolor painting that we were to use as inspiration and do something to interpret our own vision. I will be doing the November sky at sunset, over Lake Michigan. Now, we face East to the lake, so the sunset is behind, but the sky can be absolutely beautiful over the lake to the east. I have wanted to do something with that for many years, and this challenge seemed to fit. I made three pieces, one for "sky," one for "water," and one for "land." I need to make a new "water" though, as I feel mine is too blue. It needs to be more steely gray. My friend is so talented and I felt honored to experiment with her. WE also did some sun painting, which is putting something on the fabric as it dries. Whereever ther is something on it the image appears as lighter on the finished piece. Way cool! We tried some fern fronds that I brought down. I stayed over night and we went to her church for a salad supper (yum!) and then I helped her clean up, along with others. A woman, who was in the group who put on the supper, had died and her wake was that night. We helped so others could leave and go to it. I washed and/or dried dishes for a couple of hours. My good deed for the day. =-) After we got home we watched the weather since we found out that there were tornadoes heading towards us. It kept heading right at us until right before it got there and then it turned south and missed us. Pretty scary. We were prepared to go in the basement, but didn't have to, although her two daughters went down there for awhile. The next day there were shingles all over the neighborhood. This was probably from houses in a sub division that was demolished in Stoughton. Debris was dropped all the way north up to Appleton!
When I got home DH and I went up to our trailer and had a relaxing weekend. Even though it is relaxing, I am not home to do anything! I haven't been able to get at my machine quilting! I do make DJ blocks up there, and last weekend I made a bracelet with beads.
I've been doing things at school. I spent a day at a "data retreat," which sounds like fun, but it isn't. It is a day to look at test scores and also at the questions that many students got wrong to see what kind of questions they were so we could give them more practice on those. Most were analysis questions where they either had to read a passage and answer questions based on it, or look at a graph, chart, timeline, or map to do the same. Hmmmm, sounds suspiciously like WORKSHEETS!!!!! See, you drop somethig for more creative teaching and it comes back to bite you in the butt! I also met with my co-worker (and friend) to work on our presentation for the inservice day. I had a haircut one day, and I saw my therapist whom I still see once in a while to keep in touch about my depression. We had our inservice day on Friday and it went well. I felt a bit less prepared that usual, but it was still god. I think I felt that way because I have had so very much going on this summer and can't spend as much time on anything I do, and also feeling a bit nervous due to stress.
Friday night we went to the trailer again. I was so tired that I went to bed early. Sat. I got up and made a bracelet with beads! My first one. This one was using jump rings. They were pretty much a pain in the butt, but I did it. I still have to put a clasp on. I left it up there because I want to show the other up there. I also cut some fleece bead mats to give to the beaders up there. One camper showed us how to do the bracelet the week before, but I didn't have any supplies till I went to buy them last week. We also had Halloween at the campground last weekend. It was fun. Our "loop" of seasonals all got together and had a pot luck, and we wore costumes and then gave out candy. Two campsites went all out. One is the parents of the wife in the other one. They had stuffed "bodies" with gruesome masks on, and at the one right across from us they dressed up and sat or stood among the fake people and when someone would get close they would move, or talk and scare them. So many kids walked by us and never saw us because they were looking at the site across the street... or were running away screaming! We resorted to yelling, "We've got candy! We won't scare you!" Next year we will sit at the next campsite down! It was fun though. Only one child was led away crying and they felt bad about it because they hadn't seen that there was a little one there. Most were older kids who were having fun being scared. One adult sat with a "head" with candy in and stayed really still and kids would go take the candy out of the head bowl. Every once in a while she would yell, "Not that one!" and the kids would scream. They were laughing though. We just brought up some pumpkin lights and a scarecrow to put out. No time for anything else!
We left the trailer Sunday morning to go to a surprise 70th birthday party for DH's oldest brother. Hard to believe he is that old! But, I guess we are all getting there... it is better than the alternative! After the party we went down to Sheboygan to see dad.
Last Tuesday Dad had his knee replaced. I had been going down quite a bit to see him, and help mom if I could (at least with moral support). When I was down there last week dad was really out of it. He kept falling asleep and he was talking nonsense. Finally they took him off of that particular drug and now he is lucid. He was really scaring me last week, because he also had blood in his urine. He looked SOOOOOO much better yesterday. He is doing pretty well, and was even able to walk to the end of the hall with his walker and get his feet up on the bed by himself. Such an improvement!
When we went to see dad, however, we got the surprise that one of my sisters was also in the hospital there, one floor up! DS had fallen down her basement stairs, when she mistook that doorway for her bedroom in the middle of the night. She somehow dragged herself up those stairs and called her daughter. My niece took her to the emergency room and right now she is in ICU. She has a broken collarbone, three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a bleeding spleen. They are watching her to determine if they need to take the spleen out. They used to automatically take it out, but now they only take it out if they determine that it will not heal itself. It looks like maybe the blood in there is old blood and that she has already stopped bleeding. In that case her spleen will heal along with her broken bones. She is in really bad shape and she is in so much pain. It feels so frustrating to see her like that and not be able to do something for her! I will be going down there later today.
Toiday was going to be my quilting day, I promised myself last week. Well, the best laid plans... You never know what will happen. I hope to spray baste some baby quilts this morning before I go down to the hospital. That way at least they will be ready to quilt when I can steal the time.
I called for a Dr. appointment this morning. My right ear has been bothering me for over a month (when we were in North Carolina and Virginia). I don't know if I have an ear infection or a sinus infection, or if it is my TMJ, or any combination of, or all of the above! I had put off calling because I have been so busy, and also it hasn't hurt THAT bad, and I kept hoping it would go away! Alas! It didn't! I couldn't get in until tomorrow at 4. It is our first teacher workday, so I'll be attending meetings and working in my room all day and then heading over to see the doctor.
Well, I guess I had better get going if I am going to get anything done!
The next day I went down to a friend's house and she taught me how to paint on fabric. It was really fun to do, and she has me hooked. I created three pieces of fabric to use in a challenge quilt for the Ladies of the Lake quilt show at an art gallery. There is a watercolor painting that we were to use as inspiration and do something to interpret our own vision. I will be doing the November sky at sunset, over Lake Michigan. Now, we face East to the lake, so the sunset is behind, but the sky can be absolutely beautiful over the lake to the east. I have wanted to do something with that for many years, and this challenge seemed to fit. I made three pieces, one for "sky," one for "water," and one for "land." I need to make a new "water" though, as I feel mine is too blue. It needs to be more steely gray. My friend is so talented and I felt honored to experiment with her. WE also did some sun painting, which is putting something on the fabric as it dries. Whereever ther is something on it the image appears as lighter on the finished piece. Way cool! We tried some fern fronds that I brought down. I stayed over night and we went to her church for a salad supper (yum!) and then I helped her clean up, along with others. A woman, who was in the group who put on the supper, had died and her wake was that night. We helped so others could leave and go to it. I washed and/or dried dishes for a couple of hours. My good deed for the day. =-) After we got home we watched the weather since we found out that there were tornadoes heading towards us. It kept heading right at us until right before it got there and then it turned south and missed us. Pretty scary. We were prepared to go in the basement, but didn't have to, although her two daughters went down there for awhile. The next day there were shingles all over the neighborhood. This was probably from houses in a sub division that was demolished in Stoughton. Debris was dropped all the way north up to Appleton!
When I got home DH and I went up to our trailer and had a relaxing weekend. Even though it is relaxing, I am not home to do anything! I haven't been able to get at my machine quilting! I do make DJ blocks up there, and last weekend I made a bracelet with beads.
I've been doing things at school. I spent a day at a "data retreat," which sounds like fun, but it isn't. It is a day to look at test scores and also at the questions that many students got wrong to see what kind of questions they were so we could give them more practice on those. Most were analysis questions where they either had to read a passage and answer questions based on it, or look at a graph, chart, timeline, or map to do the same. Hmmmm, sounds suspiciously like WORKSHEETS!!!!! See, you drop somethig for more creative teaching and it comes back to bite you in the butt! I also met with my co-worker (and friend) to work on our presentation for the inservice day. I had a haircut one day, and I saw my therapist whom I still see once in a while to keep in touch about my depression. We had our inservice day on Friday and it went well. I felt a bit less prepared that usual, but it was still god. I think I felt that way because I have had so very much going on this summer and can't spend as much time on anything I do, and also feeling a bit nervous due to stress.
Friday night we went to the trailer again. I was so tired that I went to bed early. Sat. I got up and made a bracelet with beads! My first one. This one was using jump rings. They were pretty much a pain in the butt, but I did it. I still have to put a clasp on. I left it up there because I want to show the other up there. I also cut some fleece bead mats to give to the beaders up there. One camper showed us how to do the bracelet the week before, but I didn't have any supplies till I went to buy them last week. We also had Halloween at the campground last weekend. It was fun. Our "loop" of seasonals all got together and had a pot luck, and we wore costumes and then gave out candy. Two campsites went all out. One is the parents of the wife in the other one. They had stuffed "bodies" with gruesome masks on, and at the one right across from us they dressed up and sat or stood among the fake people and when someone would get close they would move, or talk and scare them. So many kids walked by us and never saw us because they were looking at the site across the street... or were running away screaming! We resorted to yelling, "We've got candy! We won't scare you!" Next year we will sit at the next campsite down! It was fun though. Only one child was led away crying and they felt bad about it because they hadn't seen that there was a little one there. Most were older kids who were having fun being scared. One adult sat with a "head" with candy in and stayed really still and kids would go take the candy out of the head bowl. Every once in a while she would yell, "Not that one!" and the kids would scream. They were laughing though. We just brought up some pumpkin lights and a scarecrow to put out. No time for anything else!
We left the trailer Sunday morning to go to a surprise 70th birthday party for DH's oldest brother. Hard to believe he is that old! But, I guess we are all getting there... it is better than the alternative! After the party we went down to Sheboygan to see dad.
Last Tuesday Dad had his knee replaced. I had been going down quite a bit to see him, and help mom if I could (at least with moral support). When I was down there last week dad was really out of it. He kept falling asleep and he was talking nonsense. Finally they took him off of that particular drug and now he is lucid. He was really scaring me last week, because he also had blood in his urine. He looked SOOOOOO much better yesterday. He is doing pretty well, and was even able to walk to the end of the hall with his walker and get his feet up on the bed by himself. Such an improvement!
When we went to see dad, however, we got the surprise that one of my sisters was also in the hospital there, one floor up! DS had fallen down her basement stairs, when she mistook that doorway for her bedroom in the middle of the night. She somehow dragged herself up those stairs and called her daughter. My niece took her to the emergency room and right now she is in ICU. She has a broken collarbone, three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a bleeding spleen. They are watching her to determine if they need to take the spleen out. They used to automatically take it out, but now they only take it out if they determine that it will not heal itself. It looks like maybe the blood in there is old blood and that she has already stopped bleeding. In that case her spleen will heal along with her broken bones. She is in really bad shape and she is in so much pain. It feels so frustrating to see her like that and not be able to do something for her! I will be going down there later today.
Toiday was going to be my quilting day, I promised myself last week. Well, the best laid plans... You never know what will happen. I hope to spray baste some baby quilts this morning before I go down to the hospital. That way at least they will be ready to quilt when I can steal the time.
I called for a Dr. appointment this morning. My right ear has been bothering me for over a month (when we were in North Carolina and Virginia). I don't know if I have an ear infection or a sinus infection, or if it is my TMJ, or any combination of, or all of the above! I had put off calling because I have been so busy, and also it hasn't hurt THAT bad, and I kept hoping it would go away! Alas! It didn't! I couldn't get in until tomorrow at 4. It is our first teacher workday, so I'll be attending meetings and working in my room all day and then heading over to see the doctor.
Well, I guess I had better get going if I am going to get anything done!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
WOW...I am actually home for a couple of days... but
...tomorrow I have to go to a technology day because since I am the new social studies department chair I am in charge of the dept website and also I am doing one of my own.
I have been doing so much... way too much... I need to learn to say ,"No!"
Last night I got 2.5 hours of sleep. I was working on my homework for my archaeology class. I had to have everything in today (we upload to a web site). I was up doing that, and then had to get up to take DH to the Dr. for his colon thingie today (ugh). I read 2 quilting magazines while there waiting, and then took him to Perkins for breakfast. I dropped him off at home, and went to school because I had worked on a lesson in May for archaeology class and I had forgotten to e-mail it home. I went and picked up my keys and then did my mail. It was a good thing I went in, too, because there was an e-mail there telling me they lost all of my information for the technology thing tomorrow due to a "computer glitch" so I had to re-register at the web site. Then I ran to get cat food (well, I drove my car, actually), and then I came back and worked on homework again. Then, all of a sudden I realized I had DJ club tonight and I hadn't prepared anything for it (I usually prepare it a couple of weeks ahead, but I would have had to be home to do that... with no homework, too). So I whipped out something for that, too. (pant, pant). It went fine. I came home after and made two phone calls so an hour later here I am.
Last week I was at my class, and Thursday night (my last night there) DH called me and told me he was losing vision in an eye and lots of floaters and flashing lights. So here I am, 4 hours away, without a car (my friend drove) and it is 9 PM, and he calls me about it because he doesn't know if he should do something. So there I am, 4 hours away, remember, freaking out telling him his retina might be detaching and he needs to go in right away. He went to urgent care and the Dr. there didn't know diddly squat. She couldn't "see" anything (so nothing's wrong... even though in order to see the retina etc. his eyes would need to be dilated and she would actually have to know what she was doing). She wrote he had floaters and told him to call an ophthalmologist in the morning. Well, lucky for her he didn't totally lose his sight. He does have a "separated" retina, which when I looked it up on the internet said it was the same as detached, but there is no tear with vitreous fluid leaking, so he doesn't need surgery... right now. He has to go back in a couple of weeks, and I am writing him a list of questions to ask because he never asks anything and it drives me nuts!!! Whew. Now that's out!
One of my phone calls tonight was to a friend to thank her again and again for helping me on Thursday night. After I got DH's call I was freaking and didn't know what to do so I called a good friend and she and her husband went out to see if they could find DH and eventually found him at home. They made him promise that if anything happened he would call them and they would come to help. I was concerned about him driving himself to the Dr. with failing vision, even if it was only one eye. He still has reduced vision, with tons of floaters, both large and like pepper. He drew me a picture of what he sees and it must be awful. Eventually his brain will learn to see through it, but it is bad right now. I have floaters, too, (doesn't everyone who is older?) but his are a lot worse.
We went up to the trailer on Saturday, and I practically slept the whole weekend. DH had to work on Sat., so we couldn't go until late Sat. afternoon. I was able to work on some homework on Friday night and all day Sat. so this was a good thing. So on Sat. we got there, and I took a nap. We sat at a neighbor's fire for awhile that night and went to bed early. I slept late Sun. Got up and sat at friend's trailer for a couple of hours, and then went and took a nap. A bunch of us went out for dinner together on Sunday night, and then came back to our campfire because DH had made dessert. He had made it to take to carving on Wed. and messed up and doubled the recipe so we took the extra up there where we never have to worry about getting rid of anything! We all crashed about 10. I woke up late on Monday, got up and sewed on some DJ blocks. Then I ... you guessed it... took a nap. Then we came home and I started more homework. So it is a good thing I got all that sleep over the weekend or I never would have made it through today. Time for bed now! Yawn! Have to go get some sleep before my head explodes, or I have to get up at 5:30, whichever comes first!
I have been doing so much... way too much... I need to learn to say ,"No!"
Last night I got 2.5 hours of sleep. I was working on my homework for my archaeology class. I had to have everything in today (we upload to a web site). I was up doing that, and then had to get up to take DH to the Dr. for his colon thingie today (ugh). I read 2 quilting magazines while there waiting, and then took him to Perkins for breakfast. I dropped him off at home, and went to school because I had worked on a lesson in May for archaeology class and I had forgotten to e-mail it home. I went and picked up my keys and then did my mail. It was a good thing I went in, too, because there was an e-mail there telling me they lost all of my information for the technology thing tomorrow due to a "computer glitch" so I had to re-register at the web site. Then I ran to get cat food (well, I drove my car, actually), and then I came back and worked on homework again. Then, all of a sudden I realized I had DJ club tonight and I hadn't prepared anything for it (I usually prepare it a couple of weeks ahead, but I would have had to be home to do that... with no homework, too). So I whipped out something for that, too. (pant, pant). It went fine. I came home after and made two phone calls so an hour later here I am.
Last week I was at my class, and Thursday night (my last night there) DH called me and told me he was losing vision in an eye and lots of floaters and flashing lights. So here I am, 4 hours away, without a car (my friend drove) and it is 9 PM, and he calls me about it because he doesn't know if he should do something. So there I am, 4 hours away, remember, freaking out telling him his retina might be detaching and he needs to go in right away. He went to urgent care and the Dr. there didn't know diddly squat. She couldn't "see" anything (so nothing's wrong... even though in order to see the retina etc. his eyes would need to be dilated and she would actually have to know what she was doing). She wrote he had floaters and told him to call an ophthalmologist in the morning. Well, lucky for her he didn't totally lose his sight. He does have a "separated" retina, which when I looked it up on the internet said it was the same as detached, but there is no tear with vitreous fluid leaking, so he doesn't need surgery... right now. He has to go back in a couple of weeks, and I am writing him a list of questions to ask because he never asks anything and it drives me nuts!!! Whew. Now that's out!
One of my phone calls tonight was to a friend to thank her again and again for helping me on Thursday night. After I got DH's call I was freaking and didn't know what to do so I called a good friend and she and her husband went out to see if they could find DH and eventually found him at home. They made him promise that if anything happened he would call them and they would come to help. I was concerned about him driving himself to the Dr. with failing vision, even if it was only one eye. He still has reduced vision, with tons of floaters, both large and like pepper. He drew me a picture of what he sees and it must be awful. Eventually his brain will learn to see through it, but it is bad right now. I have floaters, too, (doesn't everyone who is older?) but his are a lot worse.
We went up to the trailer on Saturday, and I practically slept the whole weekend. DH had to work on Sat., so we couldn't go until late Sat. afternoon. I was able to work on some homework on Friday night and all day Sat. so this was a good thing. So on Sat. we got there, and I took a nap. We sat at a neighbor's fire for awhile that night and went to bed early. I slept late Sun. Got up and sat at friend's trailer for a couple of hours, and then went and took a nap. A bunch of us went out for dinner together on Sunday night, and then came back to our campfire because DH had made dessert. He had made it to take to carving on Wed. and messed up and doubled the recipe so we took the extra up there where we never have to worry about getting rid of anything! We all crashed about 10. I woke up late on Monday, got up and sewed on some DJ blocks. Then I ... you guessed it... took a nap. Then we came home and I started more homework. So it is a good thing I got all that sleep over the weekend or I never would have made it through today. Time for bed now! Yawn! Have to go get some sleep before my head explodes, or I have to get up at 5:30, whichever comes first!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Back to the Grindstone
I am sitting here today wishing that I could stay home! But, alas, I have to leave for LaX today for another week of archaeology. Even though it is interesting, and I am glad I am doing it, it is hard to go today after what I did this past week. I just returned from four days of sewing and laughter at a quilter buddy's cottage, with quilter friends. Couldn't get much better than that! I feel like I got so much done! I finished putting borders on a "Garden Pathways" quilt that I started THIRTEEN years ago! Now I have another top in my rubbermaid tub. Well, on the stack of quilt tops that is in the tub... it is a foot higher than the tub at this time. Oh My! I also put a binding on a small Christmas quilt. I made that one around the same time. I still have to hand stitch the binding to the back. I am going to take it along for the ride to LaX, since I am not driving this time. I worked on some more bookcase blocks, too. I have two sets finished and one partially done. One set this time I just made books all the way across. You can't have something on EVERY shelf! The second set has books along with a bug in a jar cut out of a panel. The perfect size! They are so cute! The third set has books and a bowl with fabric scraps in it. I have that one 3-D so scraps are falling out (stitched in with the sewing that anchors the bowl fused applique. I just ironed them right in there and stitched over them.) I like how they turned out. I will take photos and post them when I return. No time now... in fact, I should be in the shower, and I still have to pack. It is always so nice to go to the cottage with friends. We realized that this was our 5th year. What a nice time! I don't go outside much, and enjoy the lake, though. Since I only have so much time to sew, I get obsessed with that, and ignore the beauty around me. The first day we were there it was incredibly HOT and HUMID and we were all dripping (or was that MELTING?). After that a storm came through and it cooled to a perfect temperature. We have so much fun together, and my friend is such a good hostess. We all bring food, and try to help, but I know she works hard to have us there. What a wonderful time! That's what makes it so hard to have to go back for archaeology class! I will be OK once I get there, but I wanna stay here to QUILT!!! Waaaaaaah! sniff
My co-worker and I are going today so the drive is over and we are ready to go tomorrow. We are taking an extra day and are going to see the SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota tomorrow. I know we will do other things, but not sure what. We will be going to Iowa Monday night and meeting our class at Effigy Mounds National Monument on Tuesday morning. That night we'll be back in LaX watching one of our teacher's slides from Egypt, while having a pizza party. Wednesday we will be back out at the site. We'll see what the second group of teachers did at our feature (and the others) and we are also "walking the creek" to see if we find any more mastodon bones washed out. The found an ulna there a number of years ago, and don't know where it washed out of, so every once in a while they walk the creek hoping to see where it came from. Another thing we'll be doing is testing an area looking for a burial. The brothers who own the farm were using a small bull dozer to make a road in to another site, and pushed the soil they took off into a big pile. A young boy who was visiting picked something up from the pile and it turned out to be a human skull! So we will be looking for the rest of the burial so that it can be protected from further disruption. We'll also be having a picnic with the brothers that day. They are 81 and 78 years old; I think I mentioned that in a previous post. We'll have a day of school talk, as well. On Thursday we'll meet in groups and share our overviews of how we will be implementing this into our classrooms. My co-worker/friend and I have a 16 day unit planned that will begin the 3rd day of school, which we will do only with our 5th period classes. We'll be trading classes some days so these students will have both of us. The rest of our classes will be learning things the "old" way so that we can compare test scores. I know that the other classes will be jealous, so I will have to do some of the activities with them later in the year. Friday we will be driving home. Then it will be a weekend with DH at the trailer. I am hoping to be able to sew on the following Monday and Tuesday so I can quilt some baby quilts that are overdue. I can't believe that summer is almost over. Sigh. I want to do so much and the lack of time can be so frustrating!!! Better get packed so I am ready when my friend arrives to pick me up. I hope I can stay awake today. I didn't fall asleep until 5:30 AM last night (this morning). Now today I am drinking coffee so the caffeinne keeps me going. I keep typing double letters and having to go back to edit. =-) Oh, I almost forgot... I found my DJ journal, and added the blocks I had made since my last entry, and found I had 99!!! So I took one that I only had two little "melons" to stitch on yet, and finished it. So now I am at 100 blocks! I'm a Jubilee Jane! Yahooooo!! Off to PACK now; I have to go as much as I'd like to stay! Stay tuned for the next episode of "Adventures in Overbooked Land!"
My co-worker and I are going today so the drive is over and we are ready to go tomorrow. We are taking an extra day and are going to see the SPAM museum in Austin, Minnesota tomorrow. I know we will do other things, but not sure what. We will be going to Iowa Monday night and meeting our class at Effigy Mounds National Monument on Tuesday morning. That night we'll be back in LaX watching one of our teacher's slides from Egypt, while having a pizza party. Wednesday we will be back out at the site. We'll see what the second group of teachers did at our feature (and the others) and we are also "walking the creek" to see if we find any more mastodon bones washed out. The found an ulna there a number of years ago, and don't know where it washed out of, so every once in a while they walk the creek hoping to see where it came from. Another thing we'll be doing is testing an area looking for a burial. The brothers who own the farm were using a small bull dozer to make a road in to another site, and pushed the soil they took off into a big pile. A young boy who was visiting picked something up from the pile and it turned out to be a human skull! So we will be looking for the rest of the burial so that it can be protected from further disruption. We'll also be having a picnic with the brothers that day. They are 81 and 78 years old; I think I mentioned that in a previous post. We'll have a day of school talk, as well. On Thursday we'll meet in groups and share our overviews of how we will be implementing this into our classrooms. My co-worker/friend and I have a 16 day unit planned that will begin the 3rd day of school, which we will do only with our 5th period classes. We'll be trading classes some days so these students will have both of us. The rest of our classes will be learning things the "old" way so that we can compare test scores. I know that the other classes will be jealous, so I will have to do some of the activities with them later in the year. Friday we will be driving home. Then it will be a weekend with DH at the trailer. I am hoping to be able to sew on the following Monday and Tuesday so I can quilt some baby quilts that are overdue. I can't believe that summer is almost over. Sigh. I want to do so much and the lack of time can be so frustrating!!! Better get packed so I am ready when my friend arrives to pick me up. I hope I can stay awake today. I didn't fall asleep until 5:30 AM last night (this morning). Now today I am drinking coffee so the caffeinne keeps me going. I keep typing double letters and having to go back to edit. =-) Oh, I almost forgot... I found my DJ journal, and added the blocks I had made since my last entry, and found I had 99!!! So I took one that I only had two little "melons" to stitch on yet, and finished it. So now I am at 100 blocks! I'm a Jubilee Jane! Yahooooo!! Off to PACK now; I have to go as much as I'd like to stay! Stay tuned for the next episode of "Adventures in Overbooked Land!"
Monday, August 01, 2005
Whirling Through Life
Whew! I can hardly believe that my life is this busy! We got home from our vacation, and spent the next few days cleaning and catching up on appointments, etc. The first day back I had two Dr. appointments, plus I did DJ Club at the quilt store. (Luckily, I had prepared for it when I prepared for the June date.) Then, besides cleaning, I went to have my car mirror fixed the next day. I'm embarrassed to say that I hit the edge of the garage door with my mirror and broke the mirror. Because I have such a fancy-smancy car with a memory type mirror, it was over $400! And, that was because they gave me the wholesale price on the mirror and only charged for labor besides that. The next day I had a haircut, and, oh, did I mention that I did cleaning? That's what happens when you aren't around to clean for two months! The next day was Friday, and I cleaned. Saturday I got up very early, and I drove to Naperville, IL, near Chicago. I met some QuiltChicks there for quilt store shopping and lunch. On my way back I stopped at a store I like for buying things for my house, and then got to a surprise birthday party for one of my sisters' 60th birthday right before the birthday girl. After the party I met my DH at our trailer get-a-way. Monday morning I was back at cleaning. The next two days I went to a training session so I will be one of the leaders of my school's first day required inservice. One of those days I came home and fell asleep, the other one I came home and cleaned my refrigerator. The ice making machine part had stopped working. DH looked at it, took it all apart and put it back together again, thinking that maybe a circuit board needed to be replaced. I don't know if thawing it out did it, or something DH did, but the ice machine started working again! We are both claiming we fixed it! Thursday I went to lunch with some friends who used to teach Family and Consumer Ed. when I did. We get togeter every couple of months, and call it networking. Only three of us made it, bu we had a great time sharing stories of our summer. One has an active 2 year old who must be sort of like the Tasmanian Devil... he gets into more trouble than I do! haha After lunch I drove down to the birthday girl's house for a four sisters slumber party. We had a good time being together and talking. We can't stay up as late as we used to, but we did OK. I stayed Friday so I could have dinner with everybody. During the day my DB, DSIL, DN, DNDW, and DGN arrived, too. I got home really late. We didn't go to the trailer because DH had to work this weekend. I was lazy Sat. morning, and totally forgot I had signed up for a beading class for that morning until it was already over. DRATS!!! Maybe they will let me take it at another time. I signed up for it in May. DH got home earlier than we thought he would so we went up to the trailer for the rest of the day and night. I had started reading the latest Harry Potter book on Friday, and read it part of the day on Saturday, and finished it on Sunday. I also worked on some DJ blocks. Between the last two weekends I have made 8 blocks. I think that puts me in the 90's. I can't find my DJ journal so I can add these. It's driving me nuts, because I know that it is right here, somewhere! I'll look for it again as soon as I post this. Today I got up early so that I could go get tickets for my nephew, his wife and their baby to tour the Packer Stadium, or should I say, the "shrine." They spent some time with me before and let me hold the baby. She is just as cute as a button! She sure smiles a lot. I can tell she isn't going to stop once she gets moving! =-) So, now I am going to finish cleaning up my sewing room and SEW today. I think I will work on quilting a baby quilt. I have three left to do. One is quilted, and I have a label ready to go on it. I'll sew that on and then get it ready to mail. Hey, I may catch up a bit and then I'll stop procrastinating. I keep putting it off since I don't feel like doing the machine quilting... but my big tub of TOPS is sitting here waiting for me! I have to take advantage of today to sew, because tomorrow my friend is coming over to work on our units and the rest of the work we need to do for our last summer week for Archaeology. I have to get it all done tomorrow because on Wednesday I leave for a friend's cottage with some quilting buddies, where we will have our own retreat for 4 days. Saturday night I'll be coming home so I can pack to go to my class for a week. Pant, pant, pant, can I breathe yet? On to sewing.... Heigh Ho Bernina, Awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Monday, July 18, 2005
A memorable trip
Our last day of vacation... This afternoon my brother will be taking us to the airport and we'll fly home. With the free tickets we had to take what they gave us, so today it will be three different flights to get home. We'll get home quite a few hours later, past our bedtime! Tomorrow DH will be back at work and I have 2 appointments, so it's full speed ahead. Even though we had a great time, I am ready to be at home. In all, I have only been home for 4 days since school was over for the year. I need some home time!
We spent both of our weekends here at my brother and his wife's house in the mountains of Virginia. They have a beautiful place there and we spent a lot of time on a screened porch, relaxing and talking. My brother taught me a few things about my camera (I never have taken the time to really read that directions book!), so I am excited to experiment some more with that. I got some good photos during the time we were here, so I'll have to post them on my photo website. I'll let you know when they are there.
During the week while my DB and DSIL were working, Rich and I took off and went to Williamsburg, VA. We spent 3 nights and 2 days there. We saw as much as we could of the buildings, went on a couple of night excursions (ghosts...BOO!), and also had a fabulous meal at the King's Arms Tavern. We also hit a Nike outlet and bought shoes, and a pottery outlet and bought a few pieces of salt glaze pottery for my "collection," Thursday was our long day driving, as we went from Williamsburg to Asheville, NC. We got there at night and the next day went to Biltmore Estate. Wow, that was incredible. It is hard to believe that someone actually lived there. What an interesting day! The gardens were beautiful, too. No pictures there. I left my camera in the car rather than carry it around all day since we couldn't take any photos in the house.
The time spent at the mountain home was so relaxing, but we also did some things while there. We went to BBQ fest, but it rainned a lot that afternoon. We still had fun. We also went to some antique stores.
It'll be good to be home though, so I am looking forward to our last leg of this trip. Great times, fun and memories, but as it says in my favorite movie, "There's no place like home."
We spent both of our weekends here at my brother and his wife's house in the mountains of Virginia. They have a beautiful place there and we spent a lot of time on a screened porch, relaxing and talking. My brother taught me a few things about my camera (I never have taken the time to really read that directions book!), so I am excited to experiment some more with that. I got some good photos during the time we were here, so I'll have to post them on my photo website. I'll let you know when they are there.
During the week while my DB and DSIL were working, Rich and I took off and went to Williamsburg, VA. We spent 3 nights and 2 days there. We saw as much as we could of the buildings, went on a couple of night excursions (ghosts...BOO!), and also had a fabulous meal at the King's Arms Tavern. We also hit a Nike outlet and bought shoes, and a pottery outlet and bought a few pieces of salt glaze pottery for my "collection," Thursday was our long day driving, as we went from Williamsburg to Asheville, NC. We got there at night and the next day went to Biltmore Estate. Wow, that was incredible. It is hard to believe that someone actually lived there. What an interesting day! The gardens were beautiful, too. No pictures there. I left my camera in the car rather than carry it around all day since we couldn't take any photos in the house.
The time spent at the mountain home was so relaxing, but we also did some things while there. We went to BBQ fest, but it rainned a lot that afternoon. We still had fun. We also went to some antique stores.
It'll be good to be home though, so I am looking forward to our last leg of this trip. Great times, fun and memories, but as it says in my favorite movie, "There's no place like home."
Monday, July 11, 2005
In Virginia
We have just spent the weekend at my brother and his wife's mountain home in Virginia. It is just beautiful here! So relaxing, and so pretty. It has been really nice to be able to spend some time with DB and DSIL. My nephew came up Friday night with his wife and their new baby. We were lucky to be able to spend some time with them and were happy to be able to meet DN's wife at last. Their daughter is a little doll! Tomorrow we will be going back to North Carolina and picking up our rental car, and then we head for Williamsburg, VA.
Yesterday we went to see Maybry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is fairly close to where they live. In fact, their house is right off of the Parkway. I got some great photos. I'll post one after I get home. Today we went to two antique stores in Fancy Gap. I bought two things...QUILT TOPS! One is a Dresden Plate, which has feed sacks in it. In fact, I think the background squares might be feedsacks (plain unbleached muslin, anyway). With the colors and fabric I am guessing it was from the 30's. The other one is all plaid fabric with squares for most and then it switches to smaller rectangles on one side. I have no idea how old it is. will have to look at fabric books to see if there are any fabrics that can be identified. It is kind of a funny looking thing, but I like it. Now, the best part, I only paid $35 for the Dresden Plate, and $10 for the plaid one! I was thrilled to find them for that amount. Cooooool! Will have to write more the next time I can get to a computer. Oh, how I wish I had a laptop!
Yesterday we went to see Maybry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is fairly close to where they live. In fact, their house is right off of the Parkway. I got some great photos. I'll post one after I get home. Today we went to two antique stores in Fancy Gap. I bought two things...QUILT TOPS! One is a Dresden Plate, which has feed sacks in it. In fact, I think the background squares might be feedsacks (plain unbleached muslin, anyway). With the colors and fabric I am guessing it was from the 30's. The other one is all plaid fabric with squares for most and then it switches to smaller rectangles on one side. I have no idea how old it is. will have to look at fabric books to see if there are any fabrics that can be identified. It is kind of a funny looking thing, but I like it. Now, the best part, I only paid $35 for the Dresden Plate, and $10 for the plaid one! I was thrilled to find them for that amount. Cooooool! Will have to write more the next time I can get to a computer. Oh, how I wish I had a laptop!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
My "Quilty" Day!
.jpg)
I should have been doing laundry, etc. since we leave for vacation tomorrow. I have all day though, since our plane leaves at 7:40. I did do lots of errands this morning, oil change and tires rotated, picked up a Rx, went to the credit union, picked up AAA books and maps, and went to the Quilt Shop to copy a page of handouts for the DJ club and also to buy more fusible for applique. Whew! All that before noon! Then I came home and worked on my bookcase blocks, and a block I need to mail out for a baby quilt. I'll post a photo of my bookcase blocks, and also I thought I'd post a photo of the postcards that I made for the exchange. Tomorrow I will be finishing laundry, paying bills and also cleaning. Hope the time away will be relaxing, not ALL go, go, go! Better get some sleep, sleep. sleep!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
I'm still tired!
I just finished the last of my homework for the Archaeology Field School. Yawn... There is a lot of work to these classes! I thought I'd tell you more about the 2nd week of class. It was MUCH better. Our group finally had a feature to dig. It is amazing that you really can tell where a feature is once you get below the plow zone, because the soil is a different color where the organic material decayed. It creates a "stain" in the soil. Sometimes they are very subtle, but they are there. Back to the dig... We only got down 5 levels, which is 25 cm. You only take 5 cm at a time, with a trowel unless you find something and then you use bamboo picks and paintbrushes to brush off soil. We found fire cracked rock, pottery sherds, ash, charcoal, some stone tools, and a lot of waste flakes. So, we know we had a garbage pit (a gold mine for an archaeologist!). We ran out of time to excavate any more so we had to leave it for the next group to continue to excavate. We already had a piece of pottery sticking out of level 6. It was hard to give it up, especially since it took so long to find a feature in the first place. I couldn't believe all of the paperwork involved with the dig. You make a plan map (where you will dig), based on a datum point you put in the highest part of the feature. You use that to make a level floor at each part. You take a sample of soil in the top of the level, which is analyzed back at the lab looking for tiny things that you would otherwise miss. These would be things like seeds that were preserved because they were charred in a fire. Then you start using a sharpened mason's trowel to take off a tiny layer of soil at a time. You do this over and over until you reach the bottom of a level. Anything you find in that level gets put in bags with the number on the bag that was assigned to that level. All the soil you trowel is also sceened through 1/4 inch mesh to find the smaller things that you may have missed. You think you are being thorough and finding everything, and then you screen the soil and find more. Once you reach the bottom of a level you photograph it with a sign board giving information about the feature number, level, etc. and you draw another map. These maps can change according to what you find in the feature. Ours got smaller. Sometimes you think your feature is bigger because of rodent runs and earthworms mixing the soil. Ours looked bigger at first because of this, but then under the rodent runs was sterile soil so we wereable to better define our feature. In August when we go back we will find out what they found under where we stopped. I enjoyed it so much more when I was doing something other than DIGGING!!!!
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Postcards
I'm experimenting. I have a photo of the postcards I received back from my postcard exchange and I am going to try to post it here.
woooo hoooo it worked! Aren't they cool?
Not working too hard!
I have been working on my homework for my Archaeology class, and need a break. I need to do one more lesson, and I think I will avoid it and do it Tuesday, since it is due by midnight that day. That way I can leave and go have some fun. Camping for the weekend. I'll be taking sewing along. Friends who were supposed to be coming can't come so it'll be a more quiet time. I miss my hubby since I haven't seen him for 6 days, so it'll be good to see him.
ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz
I'm home from my dig. I am exhausted. This week I at least was able to dig on a real feature. It is a garbage pit. We found broken pots, "points", lots of ash and charcoal. It was very interesting. The paperwork takes longer than the digging. Everything must be recorded with great acuracy. After bringing it back to the lab you have to wash it, and then catalog it. Every artifact gets its own number, which is painted on the back of it. Pots are glued together if you can find pieces that match. I took tons of pictures and will be posting on my Kodak site. More later.
Angel
Angel
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Weekends are for relaxing, aren't they?
Ohmigosh it was hot all week at the dig. It got worse each day. Every evening I would thank God for air conditioning! I drove home from La Crosse yesterday. Rich went up to the trailer and left me here to do homework. I worked continuously until I realized that it was 4 AM! It still took me time to unwind in order to sleep. I did one of my two required lessons, my reflective journal assignment, and also worked on a PowerPoint as my "scrapbook" due next Thursday. I haven't used PowerPoint that much so I had to play around to figure out how to get the whole picture to show up on the slide. I had to edit the pictures to fit the screen. Finally I figured out what to do. Whew! I did that this morning, so now my scrapbook is as far as I can take it so far. I have to add to that, do another lesson and also do next weeks reflective journal by the end of class. Now I am going to go leave for the trailer and spend a night there. Tomorrow morning I come back here and pack again and go back for week two. I hear it is going to be in the 90's again all week. More when I can
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
The quilting part
I typed the quilting part twice. I finally posted a part of my post that I hadn't lost... Try number three!
The retreat was great. I was able to finish some lolly pop flower borders for a mock hand applique quilt I started in 1992! =-) They are still not quite finished. I have to soak them yet and take out the freezer paper that is in the flowers and leaves by cutting open the backs of them. Maybe I'll try that tonight later. Time is slipping away though. I might need to get to bed soon!
I also got the rows sewed together from the "Row By Row" quilt I did with my Thursday night group a few years ago. Have to add some borders and then it will be ready to quilt. I hope that I get a chance to do some of that this summer. I'm pretty booked! (No, I wouldn't do something like that, would I???)
I'll write again when I can.
Angel
The retreat was great. I was able to finish some lolly pop flower borders for a mock hand applique quilt I started in 1992! =-) They are still not quite finished. I have to soak them yet and take out the freezer paper that is in the flowers and leaves by cutting open the backs of them. Maybe I'll try that tonight later. Time is slipping away though. I might need to get to bed soon!
I also got the rows sewed together from the "Row By Row" quilt I did with my Thursday night group a few years ago. Have to add some borders and then it will be ready to quilt. I hope that I get a chance to do some of that this summer. I'm pretty booked! (No, I wouldn't do something like that, would I???)
I'll write again when I can.
Angel
Oh... my muscles hurt
I just spent 20 minutes typing an entry and then LOST IT!!!!!!! This is new to me. This is the first time that I have been able to use a computer since I have been here. We started the archaeological dig yesterday after getting some basic instructions. First you remove sod, then dig down further with a spade and then scrape it smooth with a flat shovel and then use a trowel. You need to get down to the bottom of the plow zone, where things are undisturbed. Lots of people found artifacts in the plow zone and some found a stain indicating that there is a feature there. A feature might be a hearth, or a place they stored things and later used as a garbage dump pit. Do you remember the old Charlie Brown Halloween cartoon where all the kids are trick or treating and they tell what they got, like, "I got a sucker!" or, "I got a candy bar!" and Charlie Brown looks in his bag every time and says, "I got a rock." Well, that's how I've been feeling. I got a rock. If it would have been a fire altered rock, that would have been great, but not my luck. So, I keep digging and digging and digging and that is where the sore muscles comes in. Ouch. I am not in shape for this!!!! Now I know why they call this a dig. I am going to try to post this before I lose it again!
Thursday, June 16, 2005
What a Day!
I am almost ready to leave. Getting ready to go to a quilt retreat and then directly to my archaeology field experience (dig) has been quite a task. Rich looked at my pile of stuff this morning and said, "You're going to fit all that in your car?" LOL Actually, I am not finished putting it all in yet, but I still have room in my trunk! I am packing a very different type of clothes for each part.
For the retreat I am taking two UFOs along to work on, my row quilt from my Thursday night friends' group (Seamster's Union) and one from quite a long time ago, Garden Pathways, for which I am working on the lollipop flowers border. I also am taking my DJ block things. I have knitting, too. Mittens, fluffy, furry Packer color mittens. I got the pattern from my friend Gail. I got the yarn from my friend Diane who made a pair and had enough left to make another. She gave me the knitting needles needed, too. I may work on these nights at the motel during the dig. That is, if I am not so exhausted that I fall directly asleep.
I am wondering how the dig will be. It could be interesting, or it could be hot, dirty and boring. Maybe it will be hot, dirty and interesting though. I hope so. They always give us so much to do and also not enough direction so we know what we are exactly supposed to do. I'm getting used to them though. I keep telling myself that this is 12 free graduate credits!
Better finish packing and get going! I still have to pick up some prescriptions, some envelopes and some food. Oh yeah, and MONEY. Have to buy fabric during the retreat, you know. Oh, and food and stuff for the retreat and next week. We have a motel room with a refrigerator. Bye for now.
For the retreat I am taking two UFOs along to work on, my row quilt from my Thursday night friends' group (Seamster's Union) and one from quite a long time ago, Garden Pathways, for which I am working on the lollipop flowers border. I also am taking my DJ block things. I have knitting, too. Mittens, fluffy, furry Packer color mittens. I got the pattern from my friend Gail. I got the yarn from my friend Diane who made a pair and had enough left to make another. She gave me the knitting needles needed, too. I may work on these nights at the motel during the dig. That is, if I am not so exhausted that I fall directly asleep.
I am wondering how the dig will be. It could be interesting, or it could be hot, dirty and boring. Maybe it will be hot, dirty and interesting though. I hope so. They always give us so much to do and also not enough direction so we know what we are exactly supposed to do. I'm getting used to them though. I keep telling myself that this is 12 free graduate credits!
Better finish packing and get going! I still have to pick up some prescriptions, some envelopes and some food. Oh yeah, and MONEY. Have to buy fabric during the retreat, you know. Oh, and food and stuff for the retreat and next week. We have a motel room with a refrigerator. Bye for now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
