Filed under: blog, domestic | Tags: food, Dewey's, pizza, bacon, sausage, blogs
And I’m not talking take out or Dewey’s, which is my favorite restaurant pizza. I’m talking homemade with fresh crunchy vegetables and thick yeasty crust. Do you know what I mean? The kind of pizza that fills your home with the aroma of quality sauce and fresh basil.
So two nights ago we made that pizza and we couldn’t stop eating it. The itty bit that was left over was devoured the next day and we felt like there was nothing to eat in the house. Earlier today my daughter rushed to the store for more ingredients and now the house is filled again with that wonderful aroma. She wanted to add meat to her half, so she took fresh pork bacon and sausage from our summer hogs and tossed pieces randomly across the sauce. Delicious!
Here are a couple blogs I check in with now and then to see what’s cooking.
http://90saladsin90days.blogspot.com
http://noteatingoutinny.com
Filed under: blog, family | Tags: blog, Christmas, computer, mother, Not Alice, retirement, steak
Finally. It seems like forever since she’s been gone. No posts to read from Not Alice meant I had time in the morning for other things. It meant less computer time and more time to get ready for work, which meant I could leave earlier and arrive earlier and get more work done. I’m so glad she’s back.
On another note my mother signed the papers and will begin her new venture in the retirement home by Christmas. She’s finally ready to let go of all her possessions that have lost meaning over the years. Ready to live a simpler life with a few pieces of furniture and the 20% of the clothes that she wears 80% of the time. Her kitchen won’t be sending out the aroma of chicken and dumpings or steak or toast. Instead she’ll walk downstairs and eat in the dining room with new friends. It’s the perfect place for her. She loves to talk and be with people. Everyone she meets is a friend. The decision to move had hung over her head for years and it was never the right time. Finally, the time arrived, the decision made and she’s happy. So am I.
Filed under: domestic | Tags: computer, e-mails, files, trash, Wiliamson furnace
His large chiseled face hidden behind a tight white mask and hands tucked into blue latex gloves, Ed said not a word but diligently worked to clean out my very old Williamson furnace. He vacuumed oily soot and replaced filters and nozzles. Noticing that the belt was cracked and wrinkled he tried to replace it but there wasn’t one in his truck. Instead he told me the size and said if I had a handy husband he could buy one and replace it himself. I just nodded and smiled. Ed doesn’t need to know everything.
While he was cleaning, so was I. ’Your start-up disc is almost full. Please delete files to make more room.’ Daily this message smacks me in the face and won’t go away. I click the box that states, Don’t remind me again. But it does. I can’t download songs from iTunes or save lesson plans. So I uncluttered my computer. It was easy. Just click and drag to the trash. One of the biggest files I was saving was two years old and caused my heart to pound as I reread it. Mostly I skimmed the emails it contained because I knew their poison would seep into my brain and send me spiraling down. And then as quickly as I opened it I closed it and dragged it to the trash. Turning up the volume on my computer I sat back and enjoyed the crunch of the trash being disposed. Very freeing. Another step forward.
Filed under: school | Tags: Office Max, pencil sharpeners, school, Staples
Tonight I tossed 2 more pencil sharpeners into the graveyard of sharpeners in my classroom closet. I’ve given up on them. The latest one was purchased at Staples after a rave review from a colleague’s father. He sharpens her students’ pencils for her in his garage very evening. I love this man! I had noticed last fall how pointy and sharp the pencils became after a spin in this sharpener. And I wanted that for my kids. And me. I need really sharp pencils to write well. Just like Eddie. Last year he was always up and rooting through the sharpened pencils box to find the sharpest one. He was picky and I understood and always gave him this leeway. I can’t blame him. But alas this year after 3 months of school I can no longer get a good point on any pencil that I shove and twist into the hole of the sharpener. Instead I get the whine of dentist drill and dull tips. It’s time to bury it.
I’m also burying the one from three years ago. I hung onto it because the manufacturer promised me it was heavy-duty and could stand up to the rigors of sharpening 60 pencils a day. It promised to even sharpen the hard to sharpen colored pencils to a tip any illustrator would crave. The warranty was five years and really who could resist a sharpener named Workhorse? Even if it did cost $50. I was a fool.
My intern insists it sharpens better than the $20 sharpener from Staples. She’s wrong. I think she just likes it because it’s hefty and looks important. Both sharpen only to a round curve and stop. So tonight these sharpeners were tossed into the graveyard on the bottom shelf of my classroom closet along with several others from previous years. Sharpeners full of promises instead of shavings.
Maybe they need a rest. Maybe next year they’ll work better. But I can’t wait any longer. Tonight I was wooed by the hopes of $20 moderate use sharpener from Office Max. And tomorrow I’ll put it to the test.
The leaves are up after being blown, raked and sucked up. They’re now decomposing in a clearing in the woods near the old pine shavings from the chicken coop. Someday I’ll put them back into the garden to make that rich soil. But for now the yard is a clean sweep, ready for snow or whatever winter brings. This clean sweep uncovered all the mice hiding around the house. C.C. our best hunter cat, has littered the walkway with several dead mice and one rather large dead mole. You have to be careful where you walk. At least this week the mice all had their heads on. Last week we found mice heads in the food bowl. I guess he was sharing or shouting about his kills.
Filed under: Bearcats, fall | Tags: chimney, deer, fall, fireplace, hockey sticks, leaves, Mennonites
Most of the leaves are chopped up and now it’s time for the vacuuming and raking.
What’s left of the garden is still standing. Okay, it’s really just the hockey sticks I used for the tomato plants. The owl continues to keep the deer away.
My geraniums are in full bloom and love today’s sunny warmth.
The gutters are clean except for one last section.
The fireplace and chimney are waiting to be cleaned in time for the delivery of the new fireplace insert handmade by Mennonites. Coming soon.
Discovered where the dogs were getting out of the yard and fixed it.
Still need to cut back the hostas.
Only 50 papers to grade. Lesson plans are done.
Time to go outside!
Tonight the Bearcats play UConn. Go Cats!
Filed under: school | Tags: Borders, conferences, dreams, Starbucks, tea, writing
It was a long day yesterday. It was the day after an inservice day when I sat too much and listened too long. I guess the good news from that day would be that I talked less than on a typical day. Usually I’m talking or responding to kids’ thinking and actions practically nonstop. It’s good talk, but I need quiet by the end of seven hours. I need a long walk by the lake or a good run on the tractor.
So yesterday was conference night which meant I got to talk some more to their parents. It’s really one of my favorite nights. (And I get to do it again next week and in February). Parents arrive eager to hear of their child’s successes and to find out what else they can do at home to support my work in the classroom. I share their progress and their writing. Last night I discovered that a couple students are fabulous fiction writers who turned personal narratives into high drama. One boy wrote of a car accident that never occurred. He did this with convincing detail. Another wrote of saving his sister from drowning. I had suspicions about that one. There were lots of ellipses in his piece and then the word SAVED! We laughed and I asked parents to talk with their child about a real small moment they could tell instead of the fictional one. One former parent came toting fabulous news. Her daughter, now a 6th grader was soon to be a published author online. I remember her writing and how often I told her she’d be signing her books at Borders. Dreams do come true.
My seven o’clock conference brought me a Starbucks tea flavored with the hint of menthol. I think she said it was called Refresh. A teacher herself she thought I would need it by now to soothe my throat. Of course, she was right.
This morning it’s back to kid talk, my favorite kind of talk – always new, surprising and fun.
Really! Who asks a landlord if they can try out the apartment for a couple nights and three weeks later they’re still there with no sign of leaving? Squatters! This is exactly what happened to my mother. She kindly let the 60 year old couple bring in their blow-up mattresses and pillows and camp out in the apartment next to hers – without charging rent! They insisted on trying it our since the wife seemed to have a ot of allergies and things. Recently, or at least I think it was – the story was sketchy – they moved from a condo they still own because a nearby home owner was constantly burning and causing the wife respiratory distress. Neighborhood hotels were proving costly and then they spied the for rent sign in the front yard. Her husband was never home -working form 6 am till 11 pm and didn’t feel the burn in his throat like she did. This made her mad, too. She’s a homemaker and apparently was inside the house a lot. So when I kindly asked her her intentions after listening to her list of apartment complaints, she still didn’t have an answer. I suggested that her staying without paying any rent was causing loss of income to my mother. She didn’t want to hear this. Abruptly standing up she demanded her husband come into the room and help figure out this problem. He ignored her request and returned to his conversation. When she realized she was alone in this she announced they would move out the next day and pay a previously agreed upon price. I’m not sure whether this is true or not. I never did confirm it. The couple can afford rent. She wrote a check – twice – the first one’s written numbers did not match the numeric ones. This morning they drove away, blow-up mattresses in hand and I quicky cashed the check.
Tomorrow I’m calling the local retirement home to see if there are any rooms available. In her mid 80’s my mother should not be managing apartment buildings.
Filed under: stuff
and a long week at that. Report cards due by midnight. Sick kids return to their spots to make up work. Doctors appointments and smoother skin. Yankees win game two. Missed phone calls and crazy dogs. Whiny cats and decapitated mice. Leaves everywhere. I need a break.
Filed under: dogs, domestic, school, shopping | Tags: dogs, school, Starbucks
Waking up the household for school.
Cleaning up the dog poop from the new puppy.
Making a Starbuck’s run for a Pumpkin Spice and Vanilla Lattes.
Greeting, teaching, comforting, encouraging, eating, grading, observing, evaluating, planning, driving, cooking, eating, shopping, grading, reading, sleeping.
