Too pooped to ____________.

You insert whatever you want there. Last night came and went and I met 15 out of 19 of my students and their parents. I brought my own kids home and went back to school for a couple more hours. I think I have already logged about 40 hours this week. It is only Thursday. I am going to bed and it isn't quite 10.

Tomorrow night. FUN. Going to a place called Sock-em-Dog to hear the Little River Band. Can't wait.

Tired but wound up.

I worked hard today. I went to school this morning and hit the floor running. My room is looking good. I get better at the set up process every year and I have even weeded out a ton of stuff that I will not use. That feels good. Tomorrow evening the kids and their parents will be there to meet me, so I should be in bed asleep, but I am wound up and felt like writing a little.

I must say that there is a guy out there who is the best friend I could ever ask for in addition to being just the best. Thank you again! You know who you are.

I was putting up a bulletin board, which is one part of my job I could do without. It takes too much time. I went to the workroom and cut out the letters to say "welcome to fourth grade". It takes more time than you would think, and I got them done and went back to my room. I had to put them down to go be on an interview team, and when I got back they were gone. I looked everywhere I could think of and they were nowhere to be found. I thought that the custodial staff had done an extra thorough job of cleaning up the area, becuase it had become the dumping ground for a couple of storage rooms that were cleaned. I laughed a bit as I stamped back down the hall to recut the letters. When I got back I put up the board and was admiring it as I moved a box to throw away. Right there were the letters. All 20 of them. I felt like the biggest doofus. The sadest part is it wasn't the first time and it won't be the last.

I am now starting the big fade. I have unwound and can hardly hold my eyes open. Good night and sweet dreams.

Work

The first day back has come and gone. It went pretty well, but I have the panicked feeling that I will not get everything done on time. I worked until 7 this evening and could go back, but I think I will wait until tomorrow. I am looking forward to the everyday routine starting and getting to know the kids. That is what makes my job doable. The kids.

Campbell slept well. The shades worked. He didn't wake up until after noon today.

Claire is amazing. She made a big NC county map for me and did it much faster than I ever could. It looks great.

Now I am off to do something quite humbling!

Using the Fabric

I worked on Campbells shades today. I didn't like the way they looked the first way I tried to sew them, so I took out the stitching and tried something else. I think it is going to work much better. Claire has four windows, so I am glad that I did Campbell's first. They have a good bit to go, and are now thumbtacked to the window becuase the light from the neighbors yard was bothering Cam. Hopefully he will sleep soundly tonight.

Summer Vacation is Over!

Tonight is my last little bit of summer. Tomorrow at 8 I will be at school sitting in the first staff meeting of the year. When that starts, the chaos will begin. There is a lot of anticipation about how this year will go. We have a completely new administrative staff. I am anxious about what new things will be implemented and how it will affect us. The waiting is over. We hit the road running in the morning.

My room is turned upside down, as most of our stuff was pulled out of storage for cleaning and left in the hall for us to deal with. I know it was needed, but the timing was terrible. We will have parents in there on Wednesday afternoon to meet us. Sorting through years of junk and deciding what to keep and what to trash is a lot to add on to the normal rush to get the room ready for "Meet the Teacher" and being ready to teach on Thursday morning. It will get done, but that's all that will be done for the next few days.

One of the last fun things that we did was go to the lake to swim. Claire was with the church youth group at lake Keowee and Campbell, Sam, Rusty and I joined her there The dogs loved the water. Sam just sits in the edge, or wades around and drinks. You would never know that he is a Lab and has webbed feet. Rusty did inherit the webbed feet, but he is a but skittish about the swimming. Campbell managed to coax him out and when he realized that he was actually swimming, he would turn around and head for shore. He was on a leash and Campbell would stretch out and body surf behind him as he swam. It was hysterical. Rusty is a very fast swimmer. I hope he will get so that he enjoys it as it is great exercise for him.

Better get to bed. The alarm clock has to be set and I have to get up in time to make lunch. I don't want to be grumpy and tired.

Goodbye summer...

Mystery Canisters

I have started storing some of my photos on Snapfish and they have bombarded me with new member perks. When you sign up you get 2o prints of digital photos free and they send you a mailer to process a roll of film free. I started looking around and found a couple of rolls of film in a basket with my unexposed rolls. I filled out the form and stuck them in the envelope and sealed it up. Since one is free the cost will only be $2.99. I figure that is pretty reasonable to find out what in the world I shot. I don't even know how long ago I took them. So the mystery canisters are going out in the mail this afternoon. I will be anxiously checking the mail to see what I thought was important or beautiful or inspiring at some point in my past.

I have been using my digital camera pretty exclusively, but this made me want to get my 35mm out and play with it some more. I love to take photos. I wish I were better so that I could make some money with it. I have thought about putting some of my better shots up for auction on ebay and seeing what happens. I guess I am afraid of rejection or something. I need to just take a big breath and try it. What can I loose?

Fabric Shopping with Kids

Tonight I went to a fabric store with my kids and my parents. My dad sat in the car the whole time. He was very patient and hopefully enjoyed the peace and quiet. Claire and Campbell went in because we were looking for fabric to make shades for their windows. We suffered through the torture and they actually found something that they seemed happy with. The objective was to match the fabric to the color that we just finished painting their rooms. That greatly limits the available choices, but after lots of "Yucks!" and " You have got to be kidding. That looks stupid." we came to a consensus. Campbell will have dogs on his windows. He is disappointed, however, that there was no yellow lab in the group, but we will add those in somewhere else. Claire, who has a very interesting sense of style, chose an opera goer theme. The colors are stunning and it is pretty cool. I think both will look good. Now I have a great excuse to pull out my sewing machine and loose myself in the rhythm of the needle going up and down. I would love to find a way to sew something that would be the next big hit and make me millions of dollars. If you have any great ideas you can send them my way.

Happy 40th Birthday Donna. This is what you looked like exactly 35 years ago today. I hope you have the best day ever! I love you tons. Remember, no matter how old you get, take comfort in the fact that you will always be younger than me. 

Yet again, another rainy Sunday.

Claire commented the other day that this had been the longest summer of her school career and it had rained every day. She isn't far from the truth and today is no exception. It is one of those Sunday afternoons where nothing seems better than a nap. I haven't given in to it yet, but the temptation is almost overpowering. Daisy has been overcome. She is lying on the bed, curled up with her tail over her nose. She is almost in a perfect circle and seems quite happy.

I just talked to Dan on the phone. He was burying himself in the covers of his bed with a kitten purring and making biscuits on his arm. He did manage to tell me that he saw the ducks this morning. There were a few weeks that we didn't see them at all and we feared that something had happened to them. Thankfully, they are fine. They are as big as mom now but continue to swim in a little floatilla. All five youngsters made it. They all look like females, however, there may be some boys in the bunch. I am not sure when they start to differentiate in color. I will have to find that out.

I am off to the store. Daisy needs food. She only has a few bits left in her bowl and her container is bare. Poor poor kitty!

Going to the Movies

One thing that I enjoy is going to the movies. Yesterday Claire, Campbell, Dan and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It met and exceeded my expectations. When we left the theater Dan and I both looked at each other and at the same time said, "That was wierd." Claire and Campbell sat behind us a few rows and every little bit I heard Claire laughing out loud. Go see it. I think Roald Dahl would be pleased. I thought it was interesting that his wife, Felicity Dahl, was the executive producer. The movie is some different from the book. The ending is quite different in fact, but not at all disappointing.

Here is another place that is fun to go. Dan and I love to poke around in here. It is a in downtown Greenville and it is called Venti. It is a very modern interior design shop and while you are there you are invited to open the cabinets and drawers to discover all kinds of fun surprises tucked inside to be taken home. My problem is that the stuff I have at my house is all so old and junky that if I did get something from there it would make what I have look stupid. So, I just go and enjoy looking and there is nothing wrong with that!

Speaking of shopping. Claire handed me our fall copy of the LL Bean catalogue with the pages dog-eared and objects circled in black sharpie with size and color marked. She is so funny. I could spend a couple of thousand if I were able to order everything she liked. Not to mention adding in the things I would like to have from there. We could go bankrupt! I do think that a couple of back-to-school items are doable.

And, speaking of shopping again. I am off to find a birthday present for my awesome sister, Donna. She is the best! This year is a big one for her. 40!!!!!! (I beat her there 20 months ago.) Her birthday is this Wednesday and I need to get it in the mail. What shall I find? There are all kinds of possibilities out there...

Uncle Hughie always plants a row of sunflowers in the garden.. The birds love it and so do we!  

Here are Mom, Aunt Janice, Claire and Campbell hiking through the woods near the Snipper Snapper Hole.  

This is my good friend Debbie. This weekend she is singing a Tribute to Patsy Cline at the Arts and Crafts festival in Burnsville, NC. She has an amazing voice.  

Just Like Home

I walked by the Snipper Snapper Hole this week. It is so grown up that you can't even get to it, but I am sure that there is a huge snapping turtle, or worse, still there just waiting to snatch me up as I scamper by.

We were at the farm this week. I had the pure enjoyment of staying with my Aunt Janice. She is one of the best eggs ever. She had been here staying with my mom the week before and the kids, Mom and I took her home. It was great to be there. It is one of those places that even though you have never lived there it feels just like home. There is no cell phone reception, so it is like being tucked away from the world for as long as you want to be. We swam in her little pool and ate watermelon and tomatoes that were just picked from the field. By the way, do you ever buy a watermelon and not have room to put it in the fridge? Before you cut it just lay it on an airconditioning vent. It keeps it nice and chilly. I was amazed! Good thinking Janice!

Anyway, one of the mornings we took a little walk through the woods near the Snipper Snapper Hole. It is very sandy and boy was it hot. That afternoon it peaked at 103! We were scouting out a piece of land that Mom owns to see where she could someday build her retirement house. Campbell was impressed with a very old piece of metal that had come off a wagon wheel a long time ago. There is no telling what else you could find there if you dug around in the sand. It was quite fun. We heard lots of stories of things that happened when Mom and Janice were kids. One in particular was of a time when Mom was a teenager and was carrying a basket with a flower pot in it from Janice's, who was married and had moved to the place where she is now, to her parents. Rumor had it that the graveyard at the church was/is haunted. Just as she was walking by the pot shifted in the basket and made a noise. She said it scared the heck out of her until she realized what it was. I have never seen any spirits around there, but you never know.


I also got to spend some time with my cousin's children, Emma and Sarah. Sarah is not quite one and Emma is four. We had a great time. I hope that Emma continues to be the bright beautiful girl that she is and that Sarah never looses her belly laugh. She already has a wonderful sense of humor.

I hope that we will always be able to go walk by the Snipper Snapper Hole. I hope that there will always be family there to share it with. I am one of the luckiest people in the world to have a family who loves me. There are too few.