We iz all done, folks. Well, almost. Rick and I will go up to my classroom tomorrow morning to box up everything so the maintenance peeps can move them around while they do, well, maintenance stuff. Then tomorrow afternoon at 2PM is Graduation, at which I will be playing the perfunctory Pompous Circumstance... I wonder what Elgar would think of the ubiquity of his little piece today?
I'm plumb tarred, though. Gimme a couple of days to put my brain on.
Since my surgery isn't scheduled for a long while, I may try to go get an evening job somewhere, just so -- as Rick so wisely told me -- I will have the regular opportunity to distance myself from The Children. Of course, you could shorten that to The Child and it would be more accurate.
Y'all pray for me. This could be a Hard Summer.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Approved!
The insurance FINALLY came through with an approval... although we still have to come up with a thousand bucks out of pocket. I guess it's better than twenty-thousand, right?
Any-hoo, the surgeon's office called today with my scheduled date: July 23rd. We had hoped they wouldn't take so long to give approval; I did NOT want to have to be laid up at the END of the summer rather than at the beginning. I am going to be barely recovered before I'm going to have to hit the ground running with my new yearbook staff and all the stuff that happens at the beginning of the year that has to be photographed and documented... plus arranging the signing party to distribute this year's book (which will likely arrive around the first of August or so).
But at least it looks like it will finally happen now. God knows what He's doing, and the details will work out.
Any-hoo, the surgeon's office called today with my scheduled date: July 23rd. We had hoped they wouldn't take so long to give approval; I did NOT want to have to be laid up at the END of the summer rather than at the beginning. I am going to be barely recovered before I'm going to have to hit the ground running with my new yearbook staff and all the stuff that happens at the beginning of the year that has to be photographed and documented... plus arranging the signing party to distribute this year's book (which will likely arrive around the first of August or so).
But at least it looks like it will finally happen now. God knows what He's doing, and the details will work out.
Rat Roundup
BBC News: Squirrel hunters set 1,000 traps
Conservationists in Cumbria are to place 1,000 traps along the border with Scotland in an effort to stem the northward spread of grey squirrels.Wouldn't shotguns be more effective and less expensive?
I'm just sayin', is all.
The Isle of Wight is a nice place because there aren't any grey squirrels
Dr John Jackson, chief executive of the [Royal Forestry Society], said: “Our day on the Island was fascinating. We were particularly interested to see the excellent condition of the woodlands, undamaged by grey squirrels or deer, unlike so many on the mainland.”
Quit feeding the squirrels, Tanopää!
"Squirrels run into the buildings through open doors, they nibble on the museum textiles and make holes in the walls," [Seurasaari museum building conservator Risto Holopainen] said.
Preventing Lyme Disease this summer
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, which normally lives in mice, squirrels and other small animals. It is transmitted among these animals — and to humans — through the bites of certain species of ticks.Squirrels continue to be the predominant menace facing Florida homeowners today, with the possible exception of property appraisers and insurance companies.
It seems to me that the federal government should be in charge of keeping Burmese pythons out of Florida. As it stands now, the federal government's main duties are confiscating my shaving cream at airports and raising the price of stamps. There should be some time left in its day to keep giant immigrant pythons out of Florida, which is already beset by so many problems I cannot list them here.
The only thing Burmese pythons have going for them is that they occasionally eat alligators, which are also as abundant as squirrels but far less cuddly. If the snakes and alligators can reduce their populations through a sort of tribal warfare, I think we would all benefit.
Heh™.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Curry cravings
I always hate to carry a curry dish into the teacher's lunchroom because I'm afraid the aroma might be disgusting to someone... but lately I just can't seem to get enough curry. Hot, mild, whatever... gotta have it. I've been experimenting with some ways to make curry soup for myself that assuages my Jonesing, and have had varying degrees of success.
I find that I can consume rice IF it is cooked soft and if it has plenty of saucy stuff. I made some rice in a microwave pressure cooker using Swanson's vegetable broth, a can of coconut milk, a bit of coconut oil, and a tablespoon of Patak's mild curry paste... plus a bit of salt.
Holy cow, that was good -- one reason why I'm blogging it, because I will be making it again and I want to be sure I include everything again.
YUM.
I find that I can consume rice IF it is cooked soft and if it has plenty of saucy stuff. I made some rice in a microwave pressure cooker using Swanson's vegetable broth, a can of coconut milk, a bit of coconut oil, and a tablespoon of Patak's mild curry paste... plus a bit of salt.
Holy cow, that was good -- one reason why I'm blogging it, because I will be making it again and I want to be sure I include everything again.
YUM.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Backy-laureate
Recently I spent time with an adult --I had assumed this person was educated, but now I'm not so sure-- who kept referring to Baccalaureate as "Backy-lory-ate"... and now I'm afraid I will never be able to think of it any other way.
This afternoon was the Baccalaureate ceremony thingy for the Ballyhoo High Screwel graduating class of 2008. I was asked to play the recessional; the moms who organized it decided to play Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" for the processional. [shudder]
I knew I could do better than that. Of course, I could've played something solemn and classical, but that would've meant ZERO to any of those kids... even less meaningful than Whitney Houston. And they DID tell me I could play whatever I wanted (what if that had been "Pour Some Sugar On Me"?) (but I thought better of that)... So as soon as the benedictory prayer was made, I broke into Five For Fighting's "100 Years".
It was perfect. :)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
One more week and I'm done!!!!!
Happy Caturday, y'all!
I can't stand it... I'm [index finger and thumb microns apart] THIS CLOSE to being DONE WITH SCREWEL FOR THE YEAR.
Sunday is Baccalaureate, which I'm playing for.
Monday's a holiday (PTL), then Tuesday's the last "normal" day, then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are semester exam days.
Saturday afternoon is graduation, which I'm also playing for. After graduation, I'm going to upload the last of the photographs, then I'm going to submit the book. I talked to my publisher rep and asked her if I turned the book in earlier than the scheduled day, would I get the books back earlier, and she said yes. This is GOOD news, because the earlier I can get the books delivered, the more time I have to put together a signing party.
I can't stand it... I'm [index finger and thumb microns apart] THIS CLOSE to being DONE WITH SCREWEL FOR THE YEAR.
Sunday is Baccalaureate, which I'm playing for.
Monday's a holiday (PTL), then Tuesday's the last "normal" day, then Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are semester exam days.
Saturday afternoon is graduation, which I'm also playing for. After graduation, I'm going to upload the last of the photographs, then I'm going to submit the book. I talked to my publisher rep and asked her if I turned the book in earlier than the scheduled day, would I get the books back earlier, and she said yes. This is GOOD news, because the earlier I can get the books delivered, the more time I have to put together a signing party.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Prettiest prom dress I saw this weekend...
It was elegant, classy, and well-fitted. There were lots of pretty dresses... a few not so elegant... a few not very classy... and a few that fitted very poorly. But this one seemed to bring it all together in a lovely way.Of course, it helps that it was worn by the girl who has literally been my right arm all year with the yearbook. I am grieving that it's her senior year.
Nonetheless, she looked positively splendid on prom night.
Taking a load off
GAH! I am WIPED OUT.
And a tad sunburnt.
I am far, far, far too old for amusement parks, particularly on 100F days.
But I got the pictures I needed, which I would not have gotten otherwise. And I *did* have a *little* fun.
I was very careful with my arthritic knees, so they're not screaming as loudly as I had imagined. The soles of my feet, however, are not happy. I need a pedicure in the worst way.
Haven't heard from the surgeon's office yet, so I suppose my insurance approval/disapproval letter hasn't arrived. I didn't eat anything today at Six Flags except a chocolate milkshake, but on the way home I had some coconut shrimp at a Chinese buffet. It was splendidly lovely, but I ended up yacking it all later. I think it was worth it; it tasted sooooo good and I only had a couple. It will be nice, I hope, to be able to eat again without yacking.
And since I'm griping, my eczema has flared again, leaving my fingers raw and weepy. This particular type of eczema (dyshidrotic) has been directly correlated with an increase in stress levels, and this seems to hold true for me. I always get a nasty outbreak a few days after a severe stress event of some sort. Late last week, Martha informed her teachers and friends that her parents beat her. We had to have meetings with the school counselor and principal, who had had to examine her for bruises (!!) and such -- which, of course, do not exist for the simple reason that we do NOT beat her. It seemed to have been precipitated by a pretty severe confrontation she provoked at home the evening before... and perhaps she decided that was a way to be important or special. At any rate, the counselor and the principal knew it was bogus, but of course had to investigate anyway. I told them that they're welcome to contact Child Protective Services at any time, and that they've got an open invitation to live with Martha for a few days. Removal of cell phone and computer privileges brought her back to Earth, at least momentarily, but she's rapidly becoming more and more difficult to deal with. We're seeking further professional assistance with her. Nobody can say we haven't tried everything we knew and a few things we didn't know... but there's a breaking point and it's getting nearer. I love her so much, and she has never made it easy for me to do so.
I have debated about how much to blog about our struggles with our oldest child, but keeping completely mum about it isn't helping. I need to talk about it. I'm not really needing advice, since that seems to abound until people get a taste of what it's like. I just need to unload. Hope you don't mind. Gotta keep it real, yanno?
And a tad sunburnt.
I am far, far, far too old for amusement parks, particularly on 100F days.
But I got the pictures I needed, which I would not have gotten otherwise. And I *did* have a *little* fun.
I was very careful with my arthritic knees, so they're not screaming as loudly as I had imagined. The soles of my feet, however, are not happy. I need a pedicure in the worst way.
Haven't heard from the surgeon's office yet, so I suppose my insurance approval/disapproval letter hasn't arrived. I didn't eat anything today at Six Flags except a chocolate milkshake, but on the way home I had some coconut shrimp at a Chinese buffet. It was splendidly lovely, but I ended up yacking it all later. I think it was worth it; it tasted sooooo good and I only had a couple. It will be nice, I hope, to be able to eat again without yacking.
And since I'm griping, my eczema has flared again, leaving my fingers raw and weepy. This particular type of eczema (dyshidrotic) has been directly correlated with an increase in stress levels, and this seems to hold true for me. I always get a nasty outbreak a few days after a severe stress event of some sort. Late last week, Martha informed her teachers and friends that her parents beat her. We had to have meetings with the school counselor and principal, who had had to examine her for bruises (!!) and such -- which, of course, do not exist for the simple reason that we do NOT beat her. It seemed to have been precipitated by a pretty severe confrontation she provoked at home the evening before... and perhaps she decided that was a way to be important or special. At any rate, the counselor and the principal knew it was bogus, but of course had to investigate anyway. I told them that they're welcome to contact Child Protective Services at any time, and that they've got an open invitation to live with Martha for a few days. Removal of cell phone and computer privileges brought her back to Earth, at least momentarily, but she's rapidly becoming more and more difficult to deal with. We're seeking further professional assistance with her. Nobody can say we haven't tried everything we knew and a few things we didn't know... but there's a breaking point and it's getting nearer. I love her so much, and she has never made it easy for me to do so.
I have debated about how much to blog about our struggles with our oldest child, but keeping completely mum about it isn't helping. I need to talk about it. I'm not really needing advice, since that seems to abound until people get a taste of what it's like. I just need to unload. Hope you don't mind. Gotta keep it real, yanno?
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
High school freshman girls are idiots
At least, it seems that the majority of this year's crop are.
Sexually-explicit notes being passed around... rumors and fights and threats... the hallway right outside my classroom door seems to be the main gathering place for this particular snitty crowd of girls displaying trailer-trash manners and the doofus boys who stand around watching it all go down.
This is BALLYHOO, for Pete's sake... the majority of the students here come from farming and ranching families who go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays... this new crowd has arrived to the dismay and bewilderment of us all. It's not that I don't know how to deal with kids behaving badly... it's just such a foreign thing here.
I took the group photograph of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) today for the yearbook. I'm pretty sure that about half the entire high school is in the FFA. This percentage is probably down quite a bit from past years. The yearbook photo is quite a wide-angle shot...
As for the yearbook, it's coming together well. [knock knock] My goal is to have it completely submitted as soon as graduation ceremonies are over; I don't want it hanging over my head if they schedule my surgery early in June. Technically it doesn't have to be all wrapped-up until mid-June, but I plan to get a jump on it. Maybe it'll mean that my books are done and back to me earlier than scheduled, but I won't be counting on it.
Putting the yearbook together has been an amazing, complicated, wonderful process. I have so many ideas for next year, I can't wait to get it started. I'm also excited to get my new yearbook staff put together and pointed in the right direction.
Sexually-explicit notes being passed around... rumors and fights and threats... the hallway right outside my classroom door seems to be the main gathering place for this particular snitty crowd of girls displaying trailer-trash manners and the doofus boys who stand around watching it all go down.
This is BALLYHOO, for Pete's sake... the majority of the students here come from farming and ranching families who go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays... this new crowd has arrived to the dismay and bewilderment of us all. It's not that I don't know how to deal with kids behaving badly... it's just such a foreign thing here.
I took the group photograph of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) today for the yearbook. I'm pretty sure that about half the entire high school is in the FFA. This percentage is probably down quite a bit from past years. The yearbook photo is quite a wide-angle shot...
As for the yearbook, it's coming together well. [knock knock] My goal is to have it completely submitted as soon as graduation ceremonies are over; I don't want it hanging over my head if they schedule my surgery early in June. Technically it doesn't have to be all wrapped-up until mid-June, but I plan to get a jump on it. Maybe it'll mean that my books are done and back to me earlier than scheduled, but I won't be counting on it.
Putting the yearbook together has been an amazing, complicated, wonderful process. I have so many ideas for next year, I can't wait to get it started. I'm also excited to get my new yearbook staff put together and pointed in the right direction.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The ultimate ethical meal
Grey Skwerl, of course. Duh.
"We put it on the shelf and it sells. It can be a dozen squirrels a day -- and they all go."
Their favorite? Skwerl Pasties. I'd copy the recipe here, but it's all in that goofy metric stuff and I don't really want to sit here and do all the conversion. You can visit the article and do the math if you're really wanting to try them. Their recipe has potato, rutabaga, bacon, onion, hazelnuts, butter, salt & pepper along with the diced skwerlmeat.
I'd be willing to bet that grinding the meat and putting it into Chinese dumplings would be particularly yummy as well. Besides, I've never been much of a fan of turnips and rutabagas... it's just a flavor I'm not fond of.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
What have YOU read?
What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian: a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes: a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States: 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake: a novel
Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood: a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers
------------------------------------
Meme picked up from Charles over at Dustbury.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian: a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes: a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States: 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake: a novel
Collapse: how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics: a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood: a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers
------------------------------------
Meme picked up from Charles over at Dustbury.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
At least he died happy...
In the stairwell of the Choctaw County Courthouse in Hugo, Oklahoma:
I first saw this when I was in the ninth grade at Hugo High School (way back in 1981) and we went on a field trip to the courthouse. Pat Prock, one of the boys in my class, pointed at it and guffawed, so we all looked at it and had a laugh.
Recently my sister reminded me of its existence and wondered if I had a photograph of it to send her; she had told her co-workers and they couldn't believe something like this actually existed. I hunted all over the internet and searched through Flickr, but found no photographic evidence of it. There was a news article containing a brief reference to it, but no picture.
This just screamed for intervention...
Since I was heading back in that general direction for my orthopedic doc appointment, I took a brief detour across the Red River into Oklahoma to grab a picture of this bizarre memorial.
Next week I'll be in the area for two different days, so I'm hoping to go back to Hugo and take some photographs of the circus cemetery.
No, I'm not kidding. Hugo is a wintering ground for a circus, and they actually have their own cemetery.
Watch this space.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
The job's not over 'til the paperwork's done
And the paperwork is DONE. I had my last visit to the surgeon's office today with all the requisite forms and assorted other crap required by the insurance company. Assuming they'll now approve my corrective surgery within a couple of weeks or so, I hope to be looking at an early June date to go under the knife YET AGAIN. I really hate surgery. I really do. After the last go-round, I swore I was never EVER letting anyone cut on me again... and I guarantee you that if I weren't truly miserable, I wouldn't do this. Recovering from being sliced stem-to-stern is unpleasant, to put it very mildly. Last time I wanted to die. And that was eleven years ago. I was younger and less crotchety back then.
Any-hoo, watch this space for (I hope I hope I hope) the good news of my insurance approval...
Any-hoo, watch this space for (I hope I hope I hope) the good news of my insurance approval...
Friday, May 02, 2008
A few more purty flowers from Miss Ruby's front yard
Miss Ruby's a teeny little lady around the corner who has impeccable taste in iris cultivars:
When I came to her door yesterday afternoon to ask if I could poke around in her flowerbeds, she was delighted but apologetic. "They were a lot better a week ago before the straight-line winds knocked so many of 'em over," she said ruefully.
When I came to her door yesterday afternoon to ask if I could poke around in her flowerbeds, she was delighted but apologetic. "They were a lot better a week ago before the straight-line winds knocked so many of 'em over," she said ruefully.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Critters
When we leave the front door open, Dude likes to lounge right in front of it and remind us of the need for better weatherstripping:
"Look how far I can poke my paw through the gap under the storm door!"
The baby birds (which I have identified as House Finches) are starting to look less and less like babies and more and more like former U. S. House Speaker Jim Wright:
Aren't they adorable? They grow up so fast... [sigh]
Pretty soon they'll be trying their wings... then one day they'll leave the nest forever.
[sniff]
"Look how far I can poke my paw through the gap under the storm door!"The baby birds (which I have identified as House Finches) are starting to look less and less like babies and more and more like former U. S. House Speaker Jim Wright:
Aren't they adorable? They grow up so fast... [sigh]
Pretty soon they'll be trying their wings... then one day they'll leave the nest forever.
[sniff]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)