Halloween At School

Every Friday before Halloween, we dress up at school and have a parade. Everyone is invited, even parents and children too young to attend. This year we have a new principal. He dress up as a nerd. Very authentic, with the high water pants and the thick glasses and even some special teeth. He danced a bit and put in a bid for candy. I think his humor was extraordinary, but I am sure it went way over the kid's heads. His wife, a former teacher/boss of mine is the lady in the home made taco outfit. It was a perfect match.

Warmness of Fall

It is amazing to me how warm it can get in October. Thank goodness we didn't have any winds or fires this year. But in the hundreds is still a little warm for me. Bring on fall for crying out loud.

Just Lovely

What a lovely way to use pumpkins after October. Paint them off white, splatter with brown, make the stems gold. Very nice I say.

Smart? Really?

All I could do was laugh.

Change the dressing please

Waiting for the nurse to change the dressing. I will spare you the pictures from under the bandage. They are not that bad really. One small incision about 3 inches long and 3 small "holes" from the arthroscopic instruments. Some swelling. Mostly he is just a grump.

Baaaaahhhhh

My favorite plate.

Saggy Bottom, Boys

When I saw this car at a stop light I thought, what did they do to the Corvette back end? Then I thought, no wait, it's the new Camero. But what is all that stuff hanging from the bottom? Did they loose their bumper? No it's the way it was designed. One must always look to see if ones tail end is as nice as their front end!

New Space

Being placed in a new class was a change that took me a few weeks to get used to. The former occupants of this room are legendary in the district and it felt kind of wrong to change anything. I soon found out that the more I made this space my own the better I felt about coming to work. So how does one replace greatness. Very slowly I am realizing. Trying to take what works and allowing myself to merge into the space. It has been a growing year indeed for me and we are only 35 or so days into the new school year.

Coffee Girls

Every Wednesday morning when we girls emerge from the coffee shop, after the sun has risen and our cups are empty, We see our cars lined up next to the curb. It makes me sad because I know that work will begin soon and close up friendship sharing time is over until next week. I hope the line will get longer but know that it most likely will not. You see, these 3 girls have fewer issues going on than the rest. Some day it will change.

Nature In The Median

My plant is growing thanks to a very rainy day. I wonder how tall it will be when it begins to bloom. I wonder if it will bloom. I wonder what it will be. Will it be a flower or a vegetable? It makes me smile every week when I turn left to go to class.

Surgery

My Haggard Prophet had knee surgery. He had torn his ACL and the meniscus was obstructing things as well. He was full of anxiety for weeks before this. The process was a bit too long for his liking. He made it through with flying colors. It was a long day and we are both glad it's over.

New Lunch Box

I was in need of a new lunch box and found this beauty at Target. I like it because it holds all sizes of containers and keeps them very cold. I have a little box inside to hold my extra stuff, like a toothbrush and a compact and things like that. I don't take a purse to work and this bag is large enough to hold everything I need. It's made by Thermos.

Grow Old With Me

I have been away. Overwhelmed by life and tasks at hand. I will attempt to update this blog and then keep on track until the end of the year. I wont go away forever but maybe in the future I will post at least once a week.

So, the last post was on my anniversary. 28 years with the same man. We have beaten the odds and are in a new place in our relationship. Because of the events over the past 2 years, we have had to redefine who we are. I am happy to say that we are still friends and we have a deeper understanding of each other. I love him and he loves me. Do we need more? Quit possibly, but for now this works. When I think of our vows over 2 decades ago, I am amazed that one line is oh so true. "Grow old with me." That my friends is here and now. I don't feel old until Friday. But other than that, I'm holding steady.

Games Go Bye Bye

My sister came down for a couple of days and we had a wonderful time. She is an enormous help when it comes to organizing and that is just what we did. We got my crafting room in order, once again, and then we dove into the game closet. I now have two empty shelves in my hall closet and it feels great. All of these games are on their way to a garage sale in North County. Don't worry Special K, there are no vintage ones in the pile here. Jr. Clue and Mouse Trap circa 1990's. I did think of you and decided to make sure you didn't gasp in fright when your wifey read the blog. XO

Stupid Computers

My computer is about to die forever and I have had a hard time getting on long enough to check an email, let alone post on the blog. It seems to be having a few good moments for now so this is as good as it gets...

Horse Lovers

I went to coffee twice this week. On our usual Wednesday, one of us couldn't make it. 2 of us sat at the counter and we shared a pumpkin scone. It was delish and helped the coffee go down. When I looked up, I saw this funny sign and it made me think of Mrs. Don't. I snapped the picture and sent it to her right away. There are lots of quirky signs in the shop. Most make me laugh.

Road Side Greenery

When I drive out to Rancho San Diego once a week, I have to stop at a red light almost every time. I have noticed this plant by the sign in the middle of the road. It seems to be growing extra fast. Just 2 weeks ago it was just a sprout with 4 leaves. Now look at it. I wonder what it is? I will try and capture it from time to time and we will discover together what kind of plant it is.

Squared

Tuesday night class and I got 3 squares done. I think I have one row completed...I am having lots of fun putting together different values of black and white. Enjoy the process with me wont you?

Pink John Deere

My friend made every inch of this John Deere costume. It is the cutest little thing I have ever seen. The little girl is the daughter of a potato farmer. Perfect right? Corduroy wheels, all done in foam, light weight, so very original. I can only hope to sculpt things like this in the future.

The Penny Pan

Loaded up the new pan with pork chops. Served mashed spuds and home made applesauce. Very yummy dinner and the new pan worked great. And it only cost me a penny. By the way, I got the small fry pan as well. Out with the old and in with the new.

The First Block

Here is the first block of the quilt I cut out at class on Tuesday. It's going to be mostly blacks and whites with some color thrown in for fun. If you think it looks a little crooked, you are right. I think I like it that way, but may have to redo the block. The idea behind this quilt is random colors around the center block. I don't do well with random. I try but I always seem to establish a pattern. I am working on that too. Should be fun to see it unfold. I will post more blocks as I get them done.

Fall Apples

I took today off and tried to get some chores done before the weekend so I could sew with no guilt. The school is on minimum days this week and work has been crazy and my back is feeling every bit of it. I love fall and apples. I have been buying several every week. Making home made apple sauce to go with pork chops. Eating one every day with lunch. Maybe a pie this weekend. I even have one of those air fresheners in the scent of apple. Thanks to my neighbor at work. She got me hooked. I think it's time to get out the fall decorations.

Peter Rabbit

First Thursday of the month and here we are tying quilts. Someone donated a large amount of quality fabric to the ministry and some of the ladies got right on the task of sewing some quilt tops. This is a Peter Rabbit design. We have one in blues too. There were only 9 of us this time but we managed to tie 4 quilts and sew bindings on and organize the parts and pieces for the craft day at church next weekend. I so enjoy this group of women and the hands on work we do.

Streamline

Getting organized at work, trying to streamline the changing area. It feels great and helps me to take ownership of the class. I have felt like I was just visiting and hesitated to put my touch on anything. It's my classroom too and I need to be a part of it. I have finally settled in and look forward to working with the children.

Cutting Class

Cutting strips and squares so I can sew this weekend. I got a lot done and can't wait to see how this quilt comes out. I have never done one with so many of my ideas as to the placement of the fabrics. Getting over the fear of failure is a big step.

Bug In My Yard

I am greeted every day by my son's latest project. This little bug says hello to me when I pull into the driveway. Maybe some day soon she will have wheels and be able to make it up the drive to the street. It is a rainy day here today and the sky is one big cloud. Love this bug in my yard.

Top 5 Finish

I don't like my weekends any more. They are too short. I would like them to be 3 days long. By Friday, I am exhausted but push on after work to do some chores. Lately it has been grocery shopping. I try to sleep in on Saturday because it's my only day to do so. I'm up by 7 to get a good breakfast and start with some chores. I did laundry and picked up as well as throwing tons of junk mail and expired flyer's away. Putting things away, all the way back to where they belong takes most of the day. I now can see my table top and my side board buffet. Sundays are for church and NASCAR and more chores. All of the floors are free of pet hair and dust bunnies. Stove is clean and dishes are done and put away. Clean sheets on the bed. Tomorrow I get those bathrooms done. I'm pooped. But, back to the race cars...My favorite guy, Smoke, aka, Tony Stewart, lead most of the laps today and finished 4Th. He didn't move in the points standing. Disappointing for such an awesome race today. If you don't get the thrill of turning left for 3 hours, I'm sorry. But it makes me smile and I love it when my guy does well.

Warts and All

I promised myself that when I started this blogging thing that I would try and be as open and honest as I could be. I edit my posts not out of humility but concern for others. Others who read it, are in it, or adversely affected by it. You will never see a post on how I hate my kids...I don't but they read the blog and it would be like yelling at them in public. I wont do it.

So, when I went out to dinner with girls from work, I took a picture and this is what I got. I thought, great, I can't post that. It was supposed to be of all of us sitting at the table with lots of empty dishes. We went to a buffet. Then I thought, remember you said, warts and all for this blog. I like the effects of the moving camera don't you? Oh well, after 9 months of taking pictures with a phone I should know how this all works. When I was a kid the phone didn't even leave the kitchen, where your mom always was, to hear everything. Now I can take pictures with it in a restaurant.

GATOR

Upon arriving at my local grocery store, I spotted this creature and instantly thought of my friend igirl. She lives in Florida now and when I see a gator, I see her. I sent her this picture and told her that California kids pay to play with gators. I miss my igirl. It's been a few weeks and I can no longer pretend that she is out of town or too busy to see at church and other functions. I am thankful for the computer and fancy phones. It makes the pretending easier. That goes for Mr. and Mrs. Don't as well. Happy October everyone. Let Fall Begin...for crying out loud in a bucket...