Let it all Hang Out

I have to give credit where credit is due:  CBS Sunday Morning presented a  segment yesterday (July 12) on various grass roots organizations that have sprung up in order to promote outdoor clothes drying.  I heartily approve!

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5153411n&tag=contentMain;contentBody 

Thanks to the Lyman Orton of The Vermont Country Store, outdoor clothes drying has a thriving local family business promoting The Right To Dry. 

Visit these sites :

http://www.laundrylist.org/

http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2009/02/right-to-dry-movement.html

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/browse/Home/Orton-POV/Right-To-Dry/D/80000/P/1:300:3040:300230?endecaid=HPXXXXRBCS01

If You Can’t Stand the Heat……

 

 

Get out of the Kitchen!

I love this phrase and “I Gave At The Office”

Both sentiments describe my current  outlook on being an educator.  In the public school world, it is often true that expecations for students and teachers are completely overly- ambitious.  (Wouldn’t it be nice if….???)  12 months of standards, goals and expectations are crammed into 9 months.   Summer comes and exhaust sets in.  July is the month of not looking back or forward.  ( Go to the beach and look at the sky, feel the sun, waves and sand, read a bunch of trashy novels~~~~~~and put life back in focus.)   August is the reality check.  September is the “I can’t catch my breath month” etc etc etc.  And September is the catch-up month for finding out what students “forgot” over the 10 week long summer “vacation”.  Reteach- reteach-reteach~~~~~and so on.  May is the OMG- I didn’t finish teaching everything that I was expected to teach regardless of behavior, discipline, office referrals, faculty meetings, recertification courses, mandatory in-service workshops and “committees” ~~~~~~~etc etc.!!!!

I have a curiosity about when our public schools will go year round and what will it take to facilitate this change in our non-agrarian society???   The Raleigh, NC has optional year round schools and it has been quite popular; waiting list etc etc.   Would someone please do the research on this and publish a readable report for the general public?  We need “data”  people!  Year round school options need to be revisited over and over and over again.

If we are truly living in the Change We Can Believe In Era, then I propose that forward thinking educators and politicians continue to find creative ways to brainstorm about this option.  It is an allowable discussion.  Please do not be afraid of new alternatives.  YES WE CAN.   Our young people need the adults to find creative ways of promoting educational gains during the 10 week long summer “vacation.”  WE CAN DO IT!

National news tidbits- CNN July 9, 2009

From CNN~~~~~ Thursday July 9, 2009  (You will need to Google this most likely.)

 

Severed-head piñatas decorate library     (ElPaso, TX)

(Art is not decoration..it is supposed to evoke emotion or awareness.)

 

Man dies after falling into vat of chocolate    (New Jersey)

(What a way to go~~~~~~~)

Zeitgeist

I love this German word meaning:  the spirit of time- general trend of thought.  A local free newspaper uses this term to head a weekly column rating events in our city and state.

In this regard I will make several carefully chosen comments following my rule of thumb..  “If you don’t have anything nice to say…don’t say it at all”

40 th anniversary of Woodstock and products=  NO COMMENT

MJ= NO COMMENT

sarah palin= Go Away

mark sanford= Crawl under a rock and stay there.

Al Franken= thumbs up!!

Have a nice day!

Closing Rest Areas !!!!#$%^&*?????

As a budget cutting measure, our “wise” state has decided to close a certain number of rest areas on July 21.   If you really want to irk people, this is the way to do it.  Hit us where we live.  Make nature’s call an inconvenience.  And make us suffer.  Personally, I’d  rather see cable TV taken out of the prisons and that type of budget cutting measure.  Bump the upper eschelon of “educational administrators” into early retirement.  But  nobody asked my opinion.

Enough said?

Wii Bowling

The man in my life finally coerced me into trying Wii Bowling.  It was amazingly fun!  Thank you Boo!

Over the weekend we had a variety of  fun and relaxation opportunities plus working on the moneypit homestead.  In addition to his birthday celebration, visiting with friends and family, we had a few quiet moments too.  We also celebrated RAIN and cooler temps~~~~ aka no AC!  I love to have the windows open.

We finally watched MILK.  I am not often a Sean Pean fan, but I have to say that he was excellent as Harvey Milk.  If you have not seen this documentary about the beginnings of the gay activism movement in SF, it is a must see.  There was so much history that I was totally unaware of and shamefully so, I must say. 

Alice created a lovely and delicious Trifle for her dad’s b-day yesterday.  I might go eat some for breakfast right this minute!  Yummy!  We have no milk  ( no pun intended) in the house~~~~ oh well~~~ the milk went into the pudding and into the trifle!  I love lady fingers!  So dainty!

Pink Panty Pulldown (PPP)

Does this remind you of a certain Gov. from SC?  Argentina?  Well, this post has nothing to do with politicians.  Aren’t you glad?

I took Kelly and Simon to her bookclub while in MS recently.  The lady of the house was serving a drink I had never heard of and frankly still get the giggles thinking about.  Pink Panty Pulldowns have pink lemonade and vodka.  I was driving so I had to pass.  Ice water sufficed.  Liquor passes right through me but I was tempted in a silly way.  Maybe someday soon at a party I can walk home from.

The sky is looking gray here and we have some outdoor home fix-it projects going on.  I welcome the rain and temps cooling down.

While at my new favorite fabric store I purchased an Indigo tie-dye kit.  In a few minutes I will go out into the backyard to put the white t-shirts and onesies into the mix.  Can’t wait to see the results!  Several items will be dressed up for July 4th and given as gifts while others will be worn around the house.  Some have inappropriate bulls eyes.  Lots of rubber bands involved.

I am keeping up with my online homework assignments for Bongwood University.  I am looking forward to attending class for 2   &  1/2 days.  The people seem really nice and the cameraderie is exceptional.  I have applied for a public library job.  Couldn’t get a refund for this class and so I go.  Getting edumacated never hurt anyone did it?

It’s time to perk up and be patriotic!  I feel it more than ever; now that the former “current occupant” is back in Texas where he belongs.  “Don’t Mess with Texas!!!”  Have a Happy July 4th!

Observations at the end of June

Well, I went to clean out my school office today.  Thought it would be a good idea to start July off with a bang. ****!!!!!  I was able to gather things and not be sad at all.  I feel RELIEVED!  Whew~~~~~and I made a graceful exit with many hugs and well-wishes.  I didn’t cry either.  Stopped at my new favorite fabric store on the way home.  Started a new project and watched a Hallmark movie from Netflix. The star was Kevin Bacon!!!!  It doesn’t get much better than this for~~~~alone time.  Regrouping~~~”re-calculating!”

While driving down 1-95, I had two funny “encounters”/observations that I wish to share.  Hopefully you will laugh too.

I saw an adorable UPS driver in shorts with a tan line.  Why do they let these people drive with their doors open on a major highway?  Over the years many elementary teachers I have worked with have lusted after the UPS delivery men.  How desperate can you get?  I guess if you are single and stuck inside an elementary school all day~~ your thoughts wander.   Well, today, I thought I’d sneak a peak… and I wasn’t disappointed either.  hubba hubba

As I was getting ready to exit the hwy, a large woman (shall I call her Big Mama?) was slowly driving a Redskins-mobile in the far right lane.  It was decorated to the hilt with …you guessed it…Redskins “stuff”.  It had big font decals on the back window…”Don’t worry …my parents have money.”   She was busy texting.  That’s all I’m gonna say.

And last but not least~~~~I spotted this license plate on a dk blue Mini-Cooper convertible:

OMG  2QT

Home Again

It’s wonderful to be back home,  reading mail, catching up with people and sitting in my pj’s at the computer until I feel like getting dressed.  Our elderly dog has perked up and is close by my side.  I love her new buzz cut and no longer feel guilty for providing her with a summer shearing.

We are new grandparents.  It is great!  I don’t want to steal my daughter’s thunder and so I will say with a big smile…Grandparenting is a joy; an extra added bonus of the best kind!

While in the hot deep south I essentially became a vegetarian.  I am looking forward to cooking this week for my sweetheart and probably will continue with the trend.  I am happy he has a 4 day week and we can celebrate his b-day  in person.

I have had the pleasure of reading for fun these past few weeks.  Just started  A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. I love “foodie” books!  The stories and recipes are so inspiring.  Can’t wait to attempt the Blueberry Raspberry Pound cake- maybe for Boo’s b-day!

BKB aka Boo purchased a Wii Fit for our anniversary while I was gone.  He couldn’t wait to introduce me to it yesterday.  As I seem to have technology overload issues since becoming a librarian, I patiently tried it out.  Interesting concept but not my most desired type of exercise at the moment.   However, I will hang in there and see if it grabs me.

I am taking a graduate class later in July at (B)Longwood U in Farmville.  Part of the class in online and so I have to get back into the swing of assignments now.  I love this aspect of the class; Blackboard is how assignments are given and received.  There is also a social networking aspect;  students are asked to introduce themselves to each other online  before we meet in July.  I had some trepdiation/embarrassment concerning my employment status.  Thanks to the use of euphemisms, I no longer am worried about that silliness.  Thanks goodness I can laugh at myself.  The new buzz word in K-12 education is 21st century literacies.  Notice that I didn’t capitalize it.  It is already overused and feels vomitus.  Sorry.  It’s true.  TMI?

I have a librarian’s lunch to attend today and will clean out my office tomorrow.  Looking forward to starting July with a clean slate.

I had the pleasure of visiting a local yarn shop while in MS.  I am back at knitting full swing.   Now I am into cotton!  Love it!

Summer Solstice

Along with Father’s  Day being this Sunday, it is also Nude Hiking Day in celebration of the Summer Solstice.   I don’t know about you,  but I might rather eat some raw chocolate chip cookie dough from Nestle rather than venture out to the Appalachian Trail this weekend.  Things could get out of hand. That is all I am going to say on this subject.

Keep America Beautiful.  Please wear clothes.

Happy Father’s Day too!