Work Assignment Update

I just got word this afternoon that I am not going to be teaching at DNHS this year. The budget crunch is hitting us hard as it is everywhere in the state. I will remain at Crescent Elk in the morning but in the afternoons I will be servicing the English Language Learners at Smith River. One great thing about this is that when I'm done with my work day, I will be that much closer to home. Another fun side of this is that I will be able to communicate much better with the SR students as the majority are from Hispanic homes. I am actually quite fine with the change. I only would like to have gotten this notice a few days ago so that I would've had some time to get ready for the first day of school on Tuesday. I didn't even have a chance to pick up any keys to my new location so that I could setup over the weekend. :( I'll just roll with in on Tuesday.

All In About A Week's Time

I can't believe we packed so much into so little time. Here are just a few pics to document our happenings:


Catching up with the Brocks in Davis on our way to SF.



Nolan, Anna, John, & Anneliese at Great America.



Show offs


Hanging in there for dear life


Getting ready to hit the road to Fresno



Myles, the future architect, aided by Opa's cheap labor.



Chelsey and Susanne packing albacore. They canned about 180 lbs. and I got to help them. Wow, how nice of them. It took over 14 hours to get it all done but well worth the effort.


I'm thinking "99 jars of tuna on the wall, 99 jars of tuna, take one down, pass it around, 98 jars of tuna on the wall.

Embarrasement Plus

Oooooooh, I SUCK at bowling!!! Twice I threw the ball and my fingers didn't even come out of the holes. Ouch! I think my average tonight was 82.

Patience, patience

Oh, where have the last seven days gone? Last week at this time John and I were in Davis hanging out with the Brocks and attending a prayer meeting. The next day we drove to SF to meet up with Nolan & Anneliese. On Saturday we all went to Great America, compliments of Anneliese. John and I actually rode on roller coasters! I thought for sure that those days were over. I have to admit that we had a wonderful time even though my stomach got just a little queasy a few times. After church on Sunday John and I drove to Fresno to drop off a bunch of stuff that Nolan could not possibly take on his motorcycle. No sooner did we get there and we got a quick bite to eat and then drove back to SF with Anneliese in tow. She actually opted to drive down with Nolan in the 100 degree temperatures. Crazy!

Monday morning came much too soon. We left SF at 7:30 AM to drive back to our little nest in Brookings where we arrived at 3PM. Chelsey was waiting for us and decided to spend one more night with us before heading home herself. On the drive home I got a call from one of the admin telling me that they are not sure what my teaching assignment will be this year. WHAT? Not again. So now three work days have come and gone, tomorrow is an all day workshop and I still don’t have a clue what my assignment will be come Tuesday morning. I’ve unpacked my boxes in one school, packed some of my stuff up in another, and I don’t dare do anything else as I don’t want to make more work for myself later on. I guess it is a waiting game. I just don’t like it when I’m told that I’ll get a call by a specified time that day and then I go not hours but days without hearing. GRRRRR. Well, that’s it! I’m not going to school over the weekend to do any more work even if they call me tonight with an update. I have a life of my own. I will just deal with it on Tuesday and at this point I don’t care if admin likes it or not.

Speaking of a life of my own, my GREEN bowling ball arrived while we were on our road trip. Last night I went to the alley and had the holes drilled and played a couple of games. Boy do I suck! Tonight is our first league meeting so we get to meet our team members. I hope they suck at bowling too then I won’t feel so bad.

It's Official

Susanne's bowling ball came in and she asked me if I wanted to go with her to pick it up and maybe bowl a game or two. Do fish swim? I figured while I was there I'd check up on John and my waiting list status to join the winter league, and guess what? We made it! Our first meeting is next Thursday. The league actually starts the beginning of September, summer I in my book, but because it goes until May it is called a winter league.

So... now that I am a league bowler, I must have my own ball, and bag, and shoes, and towel, and.... And yes, so will John. Since there is no time like the present I went ahead and ordered all of the above while I was at the alley this afternoon. I will be all decked out on the first league night, September 3rd.

The manager wasn't very busy this afternoon so he came over and gave both Susanne and me some much needed pointers. I hope I'll remember all that he told me so that I won't have to unlearn before I can relearn later in the season.

Good Times

Wow. What a bunch of busy days we’ve had. I love all types of company and that is just what we got this week. Wednesday evening’s was very sweet. It was tender and intimate. It is so nice to be able to connect with friends on deeper issues. Friday evening Chelsey came home for the weekend. When she beeped the horn for us to come out to help her carry in her stuff, we were surprised with Heather and Myles being here as well. There is nothing like a toddler to keep you on your toes. We had soooo much fun especially the times when we ALL played in the kiddy pool. We ended up with a water fight of course. Myles and I had a lot of bonding time in the early morning as we spend an hour driving a shopping cart around FM. Myles love his cars and FM has some shopping carts that look like cars. He is as obsessed with cars as Teddy is with his balls and Otis with his bottles. LOL. It sure is nice when Chelsey, Heather, and Myles all come down together. I love having my nest full for a few days now and again.

On Saturday Steve and Linda came down for a visit. We BBQ ed some burgers and then we all went to the Festival of the Arts. There are some really good artisans, and I think both John and I saw many items to put on the “to purchase someday” list. In the evening John and I went to a Luau at a friend’s home. It was very nicely done. Some professional hula dancers were invited from the Medford area that put on numerous original dances and of course, they taught those who were interested in learning a few dances as well. It was fun getting to know some new members of the Brookings community.

Then, to top off the weekend, Carole, Millie, Chuck, and Brook & Dave came down for dinner this evening. In all there were 10 of us. We BBQ ed salmon which John has absolutely perfected. It was dddddddddelicious!!! Carole tried out her molten lava chocolate dessert on us and it was a true hit. We had lots of good laughs and did some reminiscing of the olden days if for no other reason to embarrass Brookieeeeee.

Family and friends… the most precious things we have!

Practice Makes...

...for improvement! Yes! I improved my bowling scores! Okay so you say they couldn't have gotten any worse. That's true. Nontheless I AM IMPROVING! Today I bowled a 77, 141, 95, and 138.

Rubbing Elbows

Today was one of those odd days when the weather could not make up its mind. One moment it was beautifully sunny, the next moment the fog was so think that you could not see your hand in front of your own nose. I spent part of the day nursing a headache as well as reading, and oh yea, I also did a lot of prep cooking for a Chicken/Rice/Curry dinner tomorrow night. Tomorrow promises to be a busy day as I go bowling again in the senior league and we are having company over for dinner.

This evening we had an engagement with the rich and famous. One of the people in the multi-million dollar homes in our hood has a party each August and somehow we got invited again only this time we knew many of the people AND we felt we fit in better… thanks to the Master Garden Tour article and picture of our pond. Everyone seemed to know us.

The relaxing pace of this summer has been so wonderful. I do feel so refreshed. The only problem is that I have to report back to work in just two weeks. Bah Humbug! I need to not think about it until I absolutely have to.

My Professional Opinion?

Definitely obsessive compulsive! No doubt about it. This afternoon we decided to hit the river, something we’ve talked about doing all summer. We took a couple of Mike’s Mango Hard Punch, a couple of chairs, our books, Da Boys, and plenty of towels. Our objective was some R&R and time to read while Da Boys entertained themselves. No sooner had we gotten there when I realized that I had forgotten the Chuck It and the balls for Da Boys.

Okay, so what could we use instead? I started out by tossing some rocks in the water. Otis, just having learned to swin this summer, lost interest in this game quickly as the darn things disappeared under water. Teddy on the other hand would dive down and come up with whatever rock he happened to touch first. Some were so big, the size of softballs, that he could just barely keep his head above the waterline. He would bring them to me begging to toss them again, and when I stopped he did nothing but whine. He is soooo obsessed with fetch games!!! I had to stop no matter how cute it was to watch…Teddy blowing bubbles through his nose while diving down. He is just getting over an ear infection that I’ve been treating with an ointment to dry out the canal. Now I'm really going to have to baby his ears the next few days!

Next I combed the river bank looking for nice little sticks that would serve the purpose, but I could only find one acceptable in size. The other was about three feet long, five inches in diameter, and weighed about 10 lbs. Wouldn’t you know, that’s the one Teddy wanted. I didn’t think Teddy could retrieve the waterlogged piece of hardwood but he did, and no doubt he must have swallowed plenty of water in the process. When he got close to shore he had to grab it by one end and drag it the rest of the way as the piece was probably close to half of his body weight. And then we would do it all over again, and again, and again,.... I finally stopped because I was concerned that Teddy was overdoing it. He is after all almost 8 years old. Otis is learning to love the water as well. What wonderful free entertainment we had! Thank you Boys! Too bad we didn't remember to take the camera. Next time.

Now I need to fix dinner. BBQ tri-tip, rice, veggies, fresh tomatoes, … Yum. The conclusion to a wonderful Sunday afternoon even though, thanks to Teddy, I did not get any reading accomplished.

Colorful Pictures

The last couple of days have been the classical lazy days of summer. I’ve washed and groomed Da Boys, I’ve gone out to lunch with The Ladies, and rented some Blue Ray videos to watch with my hubby in the evenings. Last night’s choice was The Duchess. What a sad, sad story! I don’t think I’d do well in that era.

Today’s local paper,The Pilot, featured a picture of our pond on last weekend’s Master Garden Tour. To see additional pictures of our home and garden check out our Picasa Web Album entitled Home Aug 09. Looking back at some of the older pictures of our home I decided that I really LOVE the new paint color even more than I thought I did!

Bowling 101

I was invited to substitute bowl in a Sr. league yesterday with some friends that fit into that elite age group. I wasn’t sure if they would have asked me if they knew just how I stink at this game. Apparently when you use handicaps it does not really matter how bad you are. We played four games and just to show you what I mean by saying that I suck at this game, here are my scores: 88, 95, 106, and 60. I should have quit after the 3rd game.

The most embarrassing part of the afternoon was when I knocked down 3 pins on my own but a fourth pin was scooted out of it’s place enough to where the machine could not pick it up and it was therefore wiped off the lane. The ladies I was bowling with insisted that the pin be placed back on the lane as that would improve my chance at knocking down more with my second ball. They called over the manager and had him walk, to his obvious agitation, all the way down to the back of the lanes to correct the seeming problem. Well, he should not have bothered. My next ball was a gutter ball. I returned to my seat and covered my face with my vest that had been draped over the chairs.

So, would anyone like me to substitute for them next time they need to be absent? I think not. Maybe I’ll improve with practice. I signed John and myself up for an evening league starting in September. Ha!

Hindsight

I had an interesting conversation with a friend a few days ago. We were discussing the aging process and when in this process we start looking back on our lives rather than looking ahead to what is still to come. I can definitely say that John and I are looking in opposite directions, although this said, because of our age difference I think I am starting to glance back some sooner than I might have otherwise.

This morning John and I were attempting to do a little of both, looking back and looking ahead. We found ourselves crying about the darndest little things: how much we love each other, the day to day ups and downs, the major life changing events in our relationship, the commitment we’ve had to our marriage, the travels we want to make together and with our children, the someday grandchildren to bop on our knees, how much we don’t want to do things without the other, the pros and cons of my working additional years after turning 55, the fears of being left behind when one of us has to stay in this world without the other, and the list goes on.

Conclusion? Boy do I love that man of mine! The only problem I have is that I want to be even closer to him than I already am. I want to burrow into him, crawl inside of his skin with him. If only that were possible! So, I am left just making the most of the time we have together, to laugh at the spats we occasionally have, and always remembering how deep our love has grown and continues to grow. I love you my love. OMG am I being mushy or what!


My love at work.

Sangria

Yesterday we celebrated Susanne Griswold’s retirement with a party at our home. The nice thing about that was that the yard still looked in tip-top shape from the Garden Tour the day before. A nice size group of people (about 30) were able to make it. I think Susanne had a good time even though she kept wanting to back out of her party… something about not wanting to be the center of attention. Too bad Susanne!

Besides the usual beer and sodas we also put together a Sangria recipe I found on line and boy was it good. It taste a lot like what I sorta, kinda remember from my youth. The recipe called for brandy and Cointreau. No wonder it was sooooo delicious.

And What Fun We Had

Yesterday was the Master Gardener’s Tour… the long awaited event. The presale of the tickets had not been what was hoped for so we were not anticipating a huge crowd. The artisans started showing up by 8:30 AM to set up their booths, the MGT workers showed up to set up the information and ticket both, and we were running around like chickens without our heads trying to snip of a few spent flowers here and there as well as get the snacks and the lemonade put out. And, let’s not forget the most important task to complete before the tour: picking up any doggy-doo!

No sooner had ten o’clock rolled around when the first cars started to pull up, and they never stopped until it was time to close shop at four PM. We had sooooo many cars that we had to get a parking attendant to direct where visitors could park. Wow. Everyone was very cooperative and so were the flowers that we’d had a chat with the night before. All the plants produced beautiful blooms on the right day including the water lily and the Mexican Shell flower that I’ve posted pictures of before.

It was so much fun to share our garden with everyone. We were able to answer questions about our pond, plant destruction from deer, identify plant species, show off our blueberry cage and fruit tree cages, as well as details as to what plants do well where and what kind of fertilizer we use and as well as what works for slug prevention. Needless to say we got lots of wonderful feedback.

Since the Da Boys would not have free reign of their yard, all the gates were open, we had to put them in the car in the garage for the duration. Of course, I let them out to stretch their legs every couple of hours. I had contemplated putting them in a bedroom and closing the door but I was afraid that they would try to dig their way out. They love the car so that was a safe bet.

As much as we have LOVED being part of the tour, we are glad it is over. John and I are in need of some R&R with no pressure to have every weed pulled, etc. I think we will just vacation this next week in our own home, after today’s event that is.