Parties, Plumbing and Pickens County Museum

First the party. Last night the team I work with at school was invited over to one of my best friend's house to a cookout. I am lucky to work with the coolest people in the world. We had a ball. The night was cool, the food and drink were great, and we talked about everything from movies to music to real life ghost stories. We are going to try to get together every couple of weeks just to let off steam.

Campbell and Claire stayed home to spend time with their dogs, and when I got here they had been practicing their instruments together. Claire had been teaching Campbell some tunes on his trombone. They said they had been playing for about an hour and a half. I could almost recognize the tune Campbell performed for us. He will be good if he keeps practicing.

The Pickens County Museum is second. Yeah Dan! He just got a job working at the Pickens County Museum. I haven't heard him this happy since I met him. He is so glad to be out of Lowe's with the horrible schedule and the brain numbing monotany. He is very talented and will add experience, creativity, and great planning and problem solving to the organization. He has a lot going on right now and this seems to be perfect timing. I am selfishly excited that he will have a regular schedule and consistant days off.

Last, the plumbing. I have had a flooded basement and was piddling around with the bathtub pipes when the spout came out in my hand. Question answered and hopefully a pretty easy fix. I wonder if it was ever glued when it was put in. It was only a couple of years ago that I had a new one installed. I wish that I could tear the whole thing out and put in a shower and build some shelves in there, but I just can't afford that right now. Claire is downstairs cleaning the basement shower so that she and Campbell can use it. I took some pictures of what I am dealing with so that I can show it to Dan and he can help me plan my attack.

I am going to print my pictures, take a shower, fold some laundry, work on a job chart for my class and get myself cleaned up. I need to run by school and feed the class fish and take the kids over to my parents. Dan's dad and his wife are taking us out to celebrate the new job tonight at the Cliffs. I haven't been there before and am looking forward to it. It is a beautiful fall day. The windows are all open in the house and the crisp air is refreshing. A great day to be in Western North Carolina.

Thankful for little things

My dad has chronic lukemia and he went to the oncologist today. His white blood count had been going up for the past few visits, but today the count was down 1000. A little thing that is a big thing to be thankful for!

Also, as I was watching the news and looking at the lines of cots and air matresses being inflated for hurricane victims, I was very thankful for the comfortable bed I have to sleep on each night.

There are way too many to name, but everyday the little things we take for granted add up to a multitude of reasons to say thanks.

I wanted the font to be in a pretty fall color because that is what it feels like today. It is my favorite time of year. I love September and October. The leaves are just beginning to show a hint of color and the sky is the most brilliant blue. The mornings are chilly and you need a long sleeved shirt, but then in the afternoon it gets really hot. By the time the sun goes down the chill is back and you can sleep with the windows open and snuggle up in your down comforter. It is the best!

It has been a while since I wrote anything here. I have been so busy with school. I have worked almost every single night to get ready for the next day and haven't even cut the computer on here at home. A lot has happened. Hurricane Katrina hit southern LA, MS and AL and has flattened communities. There are so many people that need help and I feel so helpless. I hope that somehow I will be able to do something to make a difference. In the meantime I will keep on doing what I do each day. I will teach and love the kids I have.

My daughter, Claire, got braces today. She is doing surprisingly well. She has a hard time chewing and sounds like she has a mouth full of bb's, but she looks cute. The front bands are green. Boy, how things have changed. You can pick a color for your braces these days.

Campbell is doing well adjusting to middle school. Now I have no idea what either of my kids are doing. When they were with me at Brevard Elementary I could check up on them easily. Now I just hope and pray that they do the right thing and are responsible for what they need to be. I was talking to someone today and said that of all the great things God has done for me, giving me two great kids was up at the top of the list. I don't have to worry about them too much.

It is only 7pm and I am about to crash. Last night was one of those that didn't produce much sleep. Just a lot on my mind I guess. It took a double dose of coffee at school today to keep me going.

Speaking of school, it is going well. I got an assistant today and she is going to be great. It made the day much easier. There were no discipline problems to speak of because having an extra set of eyes deters the acts. I think we got more done than we have so far this year and even finished our math a bit early. Most of the kids even got their homework done in class.

I think Claire wanted me to help her study for a Social Studies test, so I will get on that. I also need to do some laundry and a few other tasks. So TTFN.