School Assemblies

I was expecting an assembly this afternoon because our Lady Stars are going to Red Lodge tomorrow to play in the regional basketball tournement. So when the announcement came down at 2:30 for everyone to go to the gym, I thought, "That's way too long for a pep assembly. "( We're dismissed at 3:45) But we had a surprise guest. Matt Light, the aforementioned football player had come back on his way home to stop by and speak to the kids about a football camp his foundation is sponsoring in June. The listened well until he started his stay in school and off drugs and out of trouble speach. How was he to know we've already heard that speach about 10 times this year. Well, he cut his loses when they got restless and went to a Q & A. One of the kids asked how far he could throw a football. "Oh, I can't throw a football at all. I never go near the football," he said. Another kid asked if he cried when they lost the SuperBowl. "No, I didn't, " he said. "I didn't cry. I bawled." He seemed like a genuinly nice guy and it was a nice break from classes. He may even have inspired our basketball crazy guys to try out for football next year.

But the real fun started after he left and we got our promised pep assembly complete with skits that embarrass the teachers. I got wrapped up in toilet paper which wasn't bad compared to the teachers who got their faces covered in peanut butter and then had popcorn thrown at them. Somehow the coach made it all tie into the big game, but it was really about humiliating the teachers.

GO LADY STARS!!!

I almost forgot.

OK? By the time I got home I had almost forgotten what had happened this morning. Not that it was a bad day; it was rather ordinary. But this morning started with the coach asking me if he could use the library, 3rd period, for a meeting of local coaches. OK. He neglected to tell me that the meeting was about a football camp this summer. OK. He also neglected to tell me that a celebrity would be there. Anybody ever heard of Matt Light? Well, I never did before today. I googled him when I got home. He's football player for the New England Patriots. OK. He wasn't the only one who showed up. There was a video cameraman, a microphone carrier, and a still shot camera woman. There were a few other people standing around, a couple of vans worth of people at least. They were all VERY polite and friendly. At one point a guy returned a pen he had borrowed from my desk and said, "I hope you don't mind?" I pretended like it was a big deal and then said, " No problem." So he walked away and came back with a Tshirt and said I could have the Tshirt since I'd let him use my pen. OK. So I now have a white Tshirt that says New England Patriots and has a signature scribbled under it. It looks like it says BEN? But who can tell? I'll ask coach tomorrow who BEN is.

Any PAT fans out there?

Semester Wrap Up! Maybe this time?

Last week we had a 2 hour long poweroutage. We were 15 minutes from sending the kids home for the day when they power was restored to the elementary school, the admin building, the tech building and hopfully the rest of the town, but we still had no power out at our jr/sr high school. But the other school didn't know we were without power and they turned on the servers for our SIS(student information system). When the rest of the power was restored, the server got zapped and we lost 2 weeks worth of data. It took an entire day to get it straightened out with our tech support. We got the end of the semester grades restored, but I still have to re enter all the corrections I'd already done. I'm hoping to get it fixed by the end of Q3 in the middle of March so I can then concentrate on whatever mistakes I'll be making then.

In another note, I fell a nasty fall on my left knee yesterday when some ice appeared out of no where. It was a beautiful sunny day; it felt like spring in fact. I was thinking I'd wake up this morning to a stiff, painful knee but it wasn't any worse than yesterday. No better, but not worse.

Montana. . . it's not for wimps.

The day started out to be a real bad day. Not 100 yards from home I got stuck in a liliputian snow drift. Really, it was barely a curbsized drift, but my Honda is a wimpy car. After my husband pulled me out of the drift, I made it to work just as the first bell for class was sounding. Then I was trying to get caught up from the crash last week which resulted in us losing the last 13 days of data. It was an "early out day" so the students left at 1:45 and we had a guest speaker who talked about suicide prevention. Not quite the most cheerful topic on a good day, and it wasn't a good day. In between classes I had been dismantling the hallway bulletin board which was still decorated for Valentine's Day. For some reason I find holiday decorations left up past the holiday really depressing, so I felt that if I could get it changed for spring I would feel a little better, and it worked a bit.

Then I made it home without getting stuck and the day was looking up. After dinner I crammed for my online course test. It was the first test of the semester and I didn't know what to expect. I took the test and it was automatically graded and I got a 95%. I'll take it. And now I'm going to post this and take a look at the end of the lunar eclipse. It has actually been a clear sky so we could enjoy it. HOpe you all got at least a glimpse.

Welcome to the Family

I just looked at some of the pictures of the wedding. I don't think I've ever seen a happier groom or a more radiant bride. One of the great things about my great brothers is the wonderful new sisters they've brought into the family. Another great thing is all the great nephews and nieces they've delivered, and another great thing is what fathers and uncles they all are.

So welcome to the family, Suzanne.

Semester Wrap Up! (I hope)

So our first semester ended on Jan. 17, 2008. Today is February 8, 2008. I may have just finished wrapping up all the problems I caused when I wrapped up the end of the semester. The software program we use at our school (Student Information System) is a mine field in hell. One wrong step and the whole thing blows up in your face and you spend the next two weeks wondering why you thought you had figured out how it works.

Of course I though I had it all fixed two days ago when the school counselor who brought a transcript into me and showed me a student who had been dropped at the beginning of the second quarter and was still showing a credit for English class, and an A to boot. Ooooops!

On the plus side, the Excel 2007 class I'm taking online, makes the job infintesimally easier.

Winter Blahs

I was going to write that not much has been happening to write about so I have ignored my blog for a while. Then I got to thinking and there's been a lot of little things. Our first semester ended and the second began. That's ordinarily a busy time, but now that I'm involved with the the Student Information System and have to help with report cards and course changes, it's been even busier. And to add to the stress, we had a snowfall just at the transition between semesters. It really wasn't a bad snow, but the wind made the drifts bad, so I missed a day of work. My little Honda is a great road car and I put 250-300 miles on it a week, so I need good mileage and it delivers. But it just doesn't handle the snow the way the old Subaru with AWD. We talked briefly about trading in the Honda for a Subaru. The Impreza looks good, but I don't know if I'm ready to sacrifice the outstanding mileage of my Honda.

I've started taking an online course on Excel 2007 from MSU-Billings and so far it's pretty easy, but I'm thinking it will get complicated real soon. I'm not as comfortable working with numbers and formulas as I am around letters and words.

World Wide Words

Woot! I've seen a couple of family bloggers use this term so when I saw it on one of the nonfamily blogs I read from time to time, it caught my eye. If you click on the title of the post, it will lead you to that site, if you like to read about words.


W00t is spelled with a couple of zeroes in the middle but it’s said as “woot”. It’s a small cry of joy, perhaps after completing a task, after besting an opponent, or for no reason at all. Merriam-Webster says, “It became popular in online gaming as part of what is known as l33t (‘leet’, or ‘elite’) speak, an esoteric computer hacker language in which numbers and symbols are put together to look like letters.”

Its origins are disputed. Some say it’s a blend from the cry Wow! Loot!, one that might be uttered when a Dungeons & Dragons player came across treasure; Merriam-Webster notes that it has been said to be an acronym for we owned the other team (meaning that our team bested them utterly); others argue that it derives from the Scots hoot!, which really is a bit of a hoot, since the Oxford English Dictionary describes that as an “ejaculation expressing dissatisfaction with, or impatient and somewhat contemptuous dismissal of, a statement or notion”, which hardly fits the context.

Weather UPdate

I read the weather report for today and it said "80% chance of winter precipitation." What???? Not snow, not sleet, not rain or hail, just WINTER PRECIPITATION?" I found out what that meant today. It started raining, then turned to pouring slush, then snow, hail and sleet and ending up with snow again. That about covers it for precip as far as I can tell. What's missing?

What are the Odds?

So this week has been something of a challenge. Maybe a better word would be my worst nightmare come true. I have an English class for high school seniors called Fundamentals of English. I'm suppose to teach reading and writing for practical, day to day uses. Someone, not me, decided that the students need to learn how to balance a checkbook. "So do I," I thought. "But I've got the teacher's manual, so I can struggle through, maybe, if I really have to, and I guess if the students need it; I really have to." So we do the first entry together and I tell them to do the rest on their own. How hard can it be?

"Mark writes check 101 to Lacey's Department store $39.56 for sheets. Write the check and put it in the outgoing mailbox. Write the amount in the check register and calculate the balance. Get form 202 from the back of the documents and forms section of the work book and find Mark's paycheck from Antwan's Car Parts and endorse the check and fill out the deposit slip and put it in the outgoing mailbox; be sure to record the transaction in the check register. Mark needs dishes and writes check 102 to . . .. . . "

I was busy helping one of the students and didn't realized that none of them really knew what do to until they had already messed up their check registers until they looked like mine. Time for part deux of the nightmare. I haul out the whiteboard so that I can demonstrate for the whole class as we try to make sense of the checkbook register. I hate writing on the board in front of the class, the memory of a brave sixth grader's voice saying, "Ms. Taylor, we can't read your writing," is always in my ear when I write on the board, even though I have made a conscious effort to improve my handwriting. Chalkboards were bad enough. The dust was everywhere and your hands and clothes got covered with it. But whiteboards are worse. The markers have an odor that leaves me literaly speechless. It causes my throat to close up and if I have to write too long, I lose my voice altogether. Today wasn't too long so I had enough voice to say, "Good Job, Guys."

Thankfully, we all got our checkbook registers straighted out, looking nothing like the teacher's manual, but miraculously all balanced.

One of the students spoke the truth when she said, " I hate this. Debit cards are so much easier!"

Braided Rug

I went to the Christmas crafts fair in Colstrip yesterday and got to spend some time with a few friends while starting my Christmas shopping. To tell the truth, the main reason for making the trip was to see my friends. I didn't find too many Christams gifts, and if I did I could hardly mention it here, could I? I did find a new braided rug for the kitchen. I want to make it clear that I'm not replacing an old rug, it's just that I finally found a rug I like at a time when I remembered that I wanted a rug to put in front of the kitchen sink to stand on when washing the dishes. It's got the right colors for the kitchen and it really is cushy to stand on.

It was a nice winter day to drive somewhere. It was snowing just enough to look wintry but not enough to make the roads slick. Today is clear again and with a dusting of snow it is starting to get me in the holiday spirit. Putting up the Christmas tree helped a little too. Things will start getting hectic at work, not because of the holiday season, but because of the basketball season. Basketball is taken very seriously where I work and students who normally don't care about their grades will suddenly care about little else, except for the aforementioned basketball of course.

The Truth of "Old Sayings"

Remember the old saying that doctors make the worst patients? Or how about a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client? A car repairman who fixes his own car gets it right the first time? A psychiatrist who analyzes himself is always schizophrenic? I don't know how much truth there is in these old sayings, but I can say unequivocally after having spent the whole day in a classroom with a bunch of teachers in a training session that TEACHERS MAKE LOUSY STUDENTS! or maybe THOSE WHO CAN DO, DO and THOSE WHO CAN'T DO, TEACH!

Stress Reliever??

Click on the words "Stress Reliever" above and see if it works for you. Be sure to have the sound turned way up.

Autumn Cactus

I repotted this cactus earlier this fall and it's bloomed for the first time in years. I'm not even sure if they are supposed to bloom every year so I don't know if it's a coincidence or because I repotted it, but it is pretty.

Movies

39% Movie Freak? Must be a movie geek. I thought I was more of a movie freak than this. I guess I'm either watching the wrong movies or just not paying attention.


39% Movie Freak

Lucy in the Sky. . . . with diamonds

I've just had the most surreal day. I had an appointment to see an optometrist in Billings at 1:00. I had the day off work and I could have slept in, but knowing that I wouldn't be able to, I left the house at the usual time of 7:00 am. I had Morning Edition on the radio, my usual morning routine, and they were talking about a transportation strike in France and then about fact that there are members of the black race who aren't black anymore? It seems that members of the poor black race are disowning the rich members of the black race? Anyway, at 9:00 the news ended and classic music came on. Now I like classic music well enough, but not when I'm driving so I started pushing buttons on the radio to see what programs were on. I had one hand on the wheel and both eyes on the road, just pushing buttons. A talk radio show came on. It was Sean Hannity. Talk about surreal. He has no facts at all on his show, just his loud mouthed opinions. And when people call in to talk, he cuts them off and rants. One guy who was disagreeing with him started "breaking up.", but "thanks for calling." He ranted about how all media is controlled by the liberals. He doesn't seem to realize that he's media as well. He said over and over how slanted and bias the media is. If he's not media, is he smallia? Around noon I met my dad and brother for a delightful lunch and the only non surreal part of the day.

Anyway I got into see the eye doc and he wrote me a prescription for a new pair of "computer" glasses so I can sit at the computer and not have to either tilt my head up to see through the bottom of my bifocals or take my glasses of all together and squint like I am now. The very last thing he did was dilate my pupils for a look at the back of my eyeball. After the exam, I picked out a new pair of "outrageous" frames and finished my shopping. I figured that I would walk around the store and let my pupils get back to normal. But when I finally left the store and stepped out into the bright, sunny afternoon, I could hardly see my way to the car and my lovely, wraparound sunglasses. The sunglasses did the trick though and I felt confident that I could drive safely. I stopped in Hardin to fill up for gas, it is $.34 cheaper in Hardin than in Ashland. By that time it was dusky and people were turning on their headlights and surreality took on another dimension. All the headlights, reflectors and traffic signs looked as if they had been special effected by a Disney cartoonist on LSD. Huge, spiky halos surrounded every light. The halos were so broad that they covered both lanes of traffic and so bright that I couldn't figure out how many cars were lined up in the other lane. I eventually figured out that if I squinted really hard, I could focus much better. I made it home OK, but I will never do that again.
Moral:
Always take someone with you when you go to the eye doc. Or don't let him dilate your eyes.

Famous Last Words

Add to the famous last words, "The check is in the mail, " Everything is set up for the rest of the year. " I started taking over the duties of the Powerschool coordinator last week, just when report cards had to be printed. It felt like jumping into the pot of boiling water to get away from the flames. But it really wasn't that bad, it just felt like it because I realized that I know next to nothing compared to the people who've been working with the program for so many years. I had to set up some classes for grades and attendance for a new teacher and the report card template was misplaced for a few minutes, and then there was the honor roll panic, but actually, after some reflection, I didn't do that much. I emailed and called the lady who resigned and talked to the various other people in the district who work with the program and things ultimatly got done.

Maybe this week will feel a little more relaxing, at least after my formal job evaluation is done on Monday! Monday!!! What a perfect day for a job eval! What could go wrong on a Monday???

Check in Tuesday to find out.

Remember the 5th of November!

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.

Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Family Trees

We found this picture of one of my husband's ancestors. It appeared in the local newspaper and the captions was, "Local Scientist discovers comet."

Storytime Chair

Here is the original storytime chair that I used at Ashland Elementary School. They were getting rid of them and replacing them with plastic stacking chairs. I got this one and refinished it. Perfect height for reading stories. Even with kids sitting on the floor they could easily see the pictures, and since my feet were flat on the floor, I could read for hours.

My favorite storytime story is about telling a story at Halloween. The library was darkened with blackout curtains and paper over the windows. The lights were out and the only light was a candle glowing from a ceramic jackolantern. The kids were in second grade and as contentious a group as I've ever had. They were whining and loud and obnoxious as usual but I wanted to tell a scary story. So I kept talking slower and softer until they finally had to shut up to hear me. They were creeping closer and closer to hear the words and some of them were resting their hands on my lap. I could see their eyes shinning by candle light and I was finally in control of this class for the first and only time that year. The story was "The Golden Arm." When I reached the final "Who has my golden arm?' I was in full scary voice and slowly building to a crescendo with the repetition of "Who has my golden arm?" Barely able to contain my laughter, I reached out and grabbed the nearest kid and shouted "You've got it!" They all screamed and jumped up. One of them ran out of the room and all the way down the hall. Some of them wanted to cry but didn't. One of them said, "You didn't scare me, Ms. Taylor. " Of course not!

The only other triumph of story telling was getting one kid to tear up during "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble." I hurried up and finished before he actually cried. He was a sweet little kid and I felt bad.

The glory days.

Weekend Update

Not too much new going on actually. I had my first day on the "new job" Friday. The previous Powerschool worker had her last day on Thursday. Friday was the end of the quarter, but she had almost everything set up before she left. I did have to add one new teacher to the roster and add his courses. We'll see how it works next week. I've also got to keep the school's website updated and I've alread found a broken link. We'll see if I can fix it tomorrow.

Saturday we went to Miles City to look at sofas. The one in our living room is looking a little shabby. Still comfortable and functional, but shabby. It's a handmedown from mom and dad and I had put a slipcover on it. Now the slip cover is getting ripped, so maybe sometime in the next year or so, we could update. Not in any hurry, mind you, just looking. I did find a chair that fit me perfectly though. It's hard to find one that fits my stubby legs and lets me reach the back of the chair and my feet reach the floor at the same time. I spent most of high school either slumped down in my chair so my feet would reach the floor or sitting up straight and letting my feet dangle. Maybe that's why I miss the elementary school so much. I always sat in one of the kids' chairs for story time. A chair that fits is truly rare. Now to search for a bowl of porridge that is neither too hot nor too cold and a bed that is neither too hard nor too soft.

PowerSchool Geek

Well, it's been an interesting week. I talked to a friend in the tech department on Monday and she told me that she'd resigned her position to take a job that had better benefits and was closer to home. I've worked with her over the past 8 years and she's taught me a lot about using our school's grade book/attendance program, PowerSchool. I've also learned a lot about how our computer network runs since I have a dozen computers in the library.

Anyway, a little later in the day, the head of the tech dept. is in the building and I say, "I hear that you are losing your sidekick." "Yeah," he says. "I'd think I'd like her job, " I say. Before the end of the day, he and his sidekick decide that I'm going to take over. She does a lot of other things, but her main job is setting up the grade book/attendance for each year and trouble shooting through out the year. I figured if I could do that from my computer in the library, I could at least do that part of her job. After all, she's got the whole year already set up. I'd be able to do some on the job training before I'd have to do anything next year. And she's just an email away if I start to get in over my head.

So to make a long story short (I can give you the long version in person if you really want to hear it) I started training to use the PowerSchool program on Friday and will continue to train until she leaves on Oct. 26.

Wish me luck. It is a beast of a program and if I make mistakes, it affects the whole district!

Is this a GOOD thing?

255 WATTS Body Battery Calculator - Find Out How Much Electricity Your Body is Producing - Dating

JustSayHi - A Free Dating Website

Some Blogger

I must have exaggerated on my addiction to blogging quiz because it's been at least a week since my last blog. I do read them a lot though. Anyway, I had a beautiful weekend. It was a perfect autumn day.... if you like drizzly rain. We drove to Billings and met our son's girlfriend and her mother for a couple of pizzas before the big football game. His girlfriend and her mother went to the game (they lost :( , we went up to my dad's house and visited him and my youngest brother for a little while until the game was over. Family and friends, like I said a beautiful weekend.

Ouch!

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Fog

I had taken my camera to school one morning so that I could take pictures of the fall colors on my way. That morning there was heavy fog on the "flats." I stopped and took this picture. Then I edited it in Adobe Photo Shop which I had purchased to use for the photography class I signed up for. I never have liked the software that came with the camera so I'd been using Paint Shop Pro7 but it wasn't letting me download pictures from my camera, a Kodak EZ Share. I bought the new software and I like it so far.

The irony is that I dropped the photography class. I didn't have any time this week to take pictures and I realized that I really wasn't looking forward to taking any regardless of class assignments. Then I thought about it some more and I realized that I have an EZ camera for a

reason. I like setting the auto feature and just pushing the button and getting a picture out of it.

Only Slightly Dorky???

I'm willing to be that there is at least one person out there who can out NERD me !

Computers #@!%^*# - Part II

I just finished the worst afternoon I've had for years. All thanks to computers. Mind you I wouldn' t go back to cataloging and checking out books on 3x5 inch cards, but it was bad enough to make me wish I had the day off. Either that or I could cuss out loud without being over heard by me students. It's much better now. I fixed it before I left so I could enjoy the weekend without worrying about it.

It is a beautiful autumn day. Clear blue skies and trees showing traces of yellow in the leaves. I'm going to have to close the window before too long, the breeze is just a tad chilly.

Me TOO!

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Ready for Your Closeup?

I signed up for Intro to Photography today. It's being offered by a local tribal college but being taught in Ashland. The course description says we will be using digital cameras so I've already got my equipment. More than likely I'll be posting some of my successes to this blog, so be prepared!

We're Having a Heat Wave!

After a cool spell, we're back to 100 degree afternoons, tempered by 60 degree nights. I wasn't aware of the heat wave until I stepped out of my school Friday afternoon. My building is air conditioned and the library is generally cold enough to "hang meat." After hunting season starts I tell the maintence guy that if he gets his deer he can bring it into my library. This usually accompanies a request to adjust the thermostat, a request that usually results in either a laugh or a comment that "so and so's room is like a sauna and I shouldn't complain. " After this weekend I think I'll just bring a sweater.

The first week is over and I need to spend the holiday weekend planning lessons because, as they say in our business, "The honeymoon is over." Now we get to start the hard stuff. We ususally get a good number of students after Labor Day, but they won't get the honeymoon, just the hard stuff.

We are going to start a "rotating" schedule. Each week we will start the day with a different class period. Next week our first class will be the one labeled 2nd period and we will end with the one labeled 1st period. It should be interesting. I'm very insecure the first weeks of a new semester because I don't know the schedule very well. Now I will never know what's going on schedulewise without looking. It's either going to be fun or nervewracking. I'll let you know which in a few weeks.

Kelpie Core! Baltimore!

Wood type: apple Length: 13½ inches Core: Kelpie Hair get your own wand!

Back to School

We had our first day of school today and it was a great day. I have a good feeling that this year will be the year we finally get the school going in the right direction. I had been dreading the first day, but it turned out OK.

Blogger's Prayer?

I read this in a blog I regulary check out. He said it could (should) be the blogger's prayer. I agree. It's perfect. He said he found it at a blog that credited it to a 17th Century Nun. I guess people really haven't changed much.

Secular Franciscan Life. http://www.sfolife.net/

Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject & on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out every-body’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches & pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of other’s pains, but help me to endure them with patience.

I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility & a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint-some of them are so hard to live with-but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, & talents in unexpected people. And, Give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen

First Day?

Yesterday felt like the first day of autumn. I know we're technically a month away from the "real" first day, but at the end of the day I found myself thinking, "This is what autumn feels like."

After clearing out his closet of clothes that no longer fit, my husband found that he needed a few items for "back to school clothes" and since our freezer was finally empty from all the food that sheltered in ice chests during the "great broken fridge" episode this summer, we took off for Miles City to do some selective shopping, the last payday having been in May and the next payday a week off. On our way to town we passed great sections of blackened grasslands that recent fires had left. The western part of our state is still burning, but here the fires have died down. I fear it may be the first day of winter before all the state's fires are gone.

We found all the necessities and in addition to what we needed, we found a new pencil box, a new lunch box and a "stapleless stapler," back to school shopping at its best. After filling up with gas, which BTW was $.32 less than in our town, and washing the car, we headed home. Since we'd been in air conditioned places all day, it was a bit of a shock to step out of the car at home and realize how hot it was. But by the time we got the car unpacked and everything put away, it was cooling down. The day ended with a slight thunderstorm accompanied by enough rain to wet everything down, but not enough to register. For the first time all summer, we fell asleep without the sound of the fan in the window and had to pull the blanket up over the sheet. The first sign of autumn's approach. Mind you, the second day of autumn may be in October, but I'm calling yesterday the first.

Where There's Smoke

Believe it or not that small dot over the trees is the sun coming up this morning. The smoke is so thick that you can't even see Cook Mountain between the trees in the topmost picture. Not complaining mind you, I'm not close enough to the fire to post pictures of flames. Many people in Montana aren't as lucky.

Let the Sunshine In

Who would think that such a little window would make such a big difference? It does.

Windows Are Your Eyes to the World

New Window
Old Window

In Loving Memory

Look Pa, no cavities. . .

just necrosis. .. Well, I had my yearly checkup at the dentist today (more than once a year is just pretentious, unless you have genetically rotten teeth, don't you think?) Anyway, he said things were just fine and asked me if I had any concerns. I told him about a dreadful toothache I had last winter. I mentioned that the same tooth had given me grief a few years ago and my former dentist hadn't found the cause so I didn't bother calling this dentist. He poked around and asked a few questions and said it might be "necrotic." Whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt more than every couple of years,I won't loose any sleep.


Before the dentist visit I had luch with some friends who live in the area. We keep in touch via email, but nothing can beat a lunch and a gab with your friends. I sure do value their friendship and miss the daily lunches we had together when we all worked together at the same school. That daily contact kept me grounded and sane. Thanks!

Google the Earth

We were planning on taking a trip up to Bozeman to visit our son some time this summer and this weekend turned out to be the time. He recently moved,however, and we needed to find his new address before we left home. It wouldn't be a problem he assured us, as he could find it easily on Google Earth, a free downloadable program which displays maps of the entire earth with a wealth of information, more than some of us actually want displayed; our house shows up quite clearly on the maps! Anyway, in preparation to go to Bozeman, I tried to find his address and failed miserably. I checked Google Maps, Google Earth, Microsoft Streets & Tips, Mapquest and even an old-fashioned fold up and stick in your glovebox map we picked up on our last trip to Bozeman. NO LUCK! My husband went into search mode and checked out realors on the Internet and finally found a lead on the location. Later, our son called and he and his dad both got on the Google Earth map and zeroed in on the location using longitude and latitude. After taking road construction projects into consideration, they mapped out a route and we got to his house with no problems at all. It turns out that he lives in a brand new subdivision that shows up on the Google map, but only as building foundations. None of the street names were in the database so we couldn't search the names, but our son could find it because he knew right where to look, now we do too.

Later, my husband was able to locate the ship he served on while in the Navy. It has been turned into a Museum at the Naval Museum in Buffalo, NY.

Google On!

Sorted - Hufflepuff

Loyal. Dependable. True. Just.
What an honor to be sorted into Hufflepuff! The house based on values and virtues over simply deeds. Not that the Hufflepuffs don't do anything worthwhile, it's just that here importance is based more on who you are, not what you do. Hufflepuff is all about acceptance. Since when is that a bad thing?

Could Be Worse.

In case that's too blurry for you, it was 91.2 degrees in the house and 113.7 degrees outside today. But it really could be worse. Last time we were in Billings we got lucky and picked up one of the few remaining air conditioners in town. It's just a small one, but we put it in the bedroom's east window and when the temp inside gets close to 90, we turn it on, grab our books and camp out in there until it cools down some. The cat finds it comfortable too.

I'll Take Temps for 100, Alex

What is, "Yes it is hot enough for me."?

Family Weekend

I just got back from a family weekend in Billings to help my dad and youngest brother paint the basement bedroom. It had been many, many years since it had been painted and was looking rather dingy and very pink. It now looks clean and minty fresh. They decided to paint it green with white trim and my brother had definite rathers for a green that wasn't olive or too yellow-green, so a light minty green was chosen. We all agreed that we wanted a light color as the room has small windows, being in a basement and all and we didn't want dark and dreary effect. I think the color may have been called "Wintergreen." You know how paint stores and makeup companies like to make up names. Anyway, by the time I got there on Friday the room had been cleared and ready to paint. So we got started and by late Saturday afternoon, with everyone's help, everything was painted and the bed was moved back in so dad could get a good night's sleep again.

My oldest brother showed up Friday on his way to a jazz fest in Wyoming and Friday night we had a nice dinner out and got a ride in his "new" car. Nice ride.

Sunday morning, after church, we went to the Summer Fair at North Park and looked at all the goodies for sale and had Gyros for lunch. I was the only one tempted to buy anything and I bought a pair of "fresh water" pearl earrings. I hung out at the air-conditioned mall for a little while before heading home again.

I didn't bring my camera, but pictures were taken and may show up on another family blog, so keep in touch.

LakeFront Property

While fixing pictures of the tree cutting day I found a bunch of pictures I took during our flood last month.

Cutting Down Trees

Here are a few more pictures of the tree cutting day.

All Done!

Red Letter Day

I had a very eventful day today. First I went over to Lame Deer to turn in my signed contract for next year and visit with a few friends about their summers. When I got home, Bill told me that the tree service had called and they would be there after lunch. So from about 1:30 to 7:00 the guys were nonstop cutting down trees, cutting them up and trimming the dead wood off the standing trees. It looks quite different to us, although most would not notice the difference except for the piles of cut logs. All in all, three trees were downed and 7-10 trees were trimmed of dead wood. It looks quite nice, although the impetuous was to "fireproof" the area and make it safer from falling trees not just improve the appearance of the yard.

There was a breeze blowing which kept the heat down and consequently I got a little more sun than I should have while standing outside watching and taking pictures.

Just Chillin'

In spite of the 104 degrees we reached today, it was a happy day. Our new refrigerator came today and as I write, it is chilling down, waiting for the shopping spree I'm going on tomorrow. At the top of my list is ICE CREAM !

The delivery guy had to take the doors off the new fridge to get it through the door, but it did fit, we measured before we bought it. And he had to take the doors off the old one to get it out the door, but it's gone. It will take a little getting used to as we lived with the old one for 25 years and it had a split door, with the freezer on one side and the fridge on the other. Our new one has the freezer on the bottom and the fridge on the top. I like it better already and it isn't even 1 day old.

I Am A Prophet?

I took the same test as David, and these are my results. I have a hard time picturing Lucy as a prophet. I might believe Linus, but not Lucy.

You are a Prophet, a crusader with a kingdom spirituality. You experience God best through serving others. You value competence and knowledge, and are good at leading and influencing others. Prophets are devoted to their causes, often becoming assertive and aggressive as you implement a vision of the world as God's kingdom on earth. You are our heroic change agents and we admire you for that. Single-minded and deeply focused, you aren't content until society has been transformed.
Prophets are the least represented spiritual type in the general population. You also are the hardest spiritual type to be around, mainly because you make the rest of us feel guilty for not having the same zeal for change that you do. We admire you for sacrificing your personal life for your hope of the kingdom realized on earth, but we are uncomfortable around martyrs.
You have a courageous and sturdy idealism that takes responsibility for change. But, your passion for transforming society can lead you to become impatient with congregations and their perceived lack of concern. You fit best in a hospitable, like-minded community that shares your vision.
Nevertheless, be careful not to become so involved in your cause that you neglect your inner life. Attend as much to your inner life as outer life. One will nourish the other.

Famous Prophets:
Mother Teresa, Ralph Nader, John Calvin, Lucy (Peanuts), Rosa Parks, Dorothy Day, Joan of Arc, Monica Geller, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jeremiah, Malcolm X, Ghandi, Indigo Girls, Gandalf, Oprah Winfrey.
Read about some Saints who were Prophets

Lucky 7.7.07

Happy 25th !

Mom's Recipes

This is a copy of a recipe I found in one of mom's homemade cookbooks. A few months after she died I brought the cookbooks home with me, planning to look through them and copy them for every one. They are a series of small photo albums that have clear plastic pockets in which you can insert a photo, or in this case a recipe card. I'm not sure if any of the recipes were used at work or just for home. Along with her handwritten cards are many, many recipes cut out from magazines. I think I'll just copy the handwritten ones. If you click on the picture, you should get a larger image that you can more easily read. This one appears to be for Orzo. I'm not even sure what Orzo is or if mom ever made it, but the card caught my eye. Anyone who knew her could imagine her noticing the little girl in the picture, and admiring it wanting to use it for something. This one made it to the recipe book. Other pictures would decorate small boxes or even get framed.

Some of the recipes are copied onto "recipe cards" and many others are copied onto the back of an envelope or a scrap of paper that has other notations made. This one is on the back of a postcard. I couldn't make out who the card was from as that part had been trimmed off.

I've copied them as both jpgs and PDFs because I wasn't sure which format would be best for sharing. If you have any ideas about that let me know. The project will take a while, but when I finished, I can burn them to a CD for anyone who would like them.

Did someone ask about our weekend?

So last week was a lazy week. It is vacation after all. I played my video game, A Bard's Tale; read my book, The Yiddish Policeman's Union; exercised, not enough; did a few spring cleaning chores, weeded my bookcase; and took a few naps that I really needed since our cat is on sidereal time, he wakes us up at sunrise no matter the season.

On Sunday night I got ready to make some sugar free Jello for desert. We're both trying to lose weight this summer by changing what, how and when we eat. Jello isn't ice cream, but we can pretend it's desert. Anyway, to get to the point, I was getting some ice out of the freezer to speed up the jelling process and I noticed that the ice was melting! Then I noticed that all the meat in the freezer was thawed out! I turned up the thermostat for the freezer, made sure the door was closed all the way and hoped for the best. The food was still cold, but not frozen, and the food in the fridge side didn't seem as cold as usual. We dusted under fridge and hoped, not really, the we would wake up to frozen food in the freezer.

We have a dentist appointment in Billings tomorrow that can't be rescheduled, so today we drove to Miles City and bought a new refrigerator/freezer. We've gotten appliances there before and know that they deliver and it's cheaper than delivery charges from Billings. I'd read that replacing a fridge made before 1990 is a real energy saver, so we're not as upset by that as we are by the timing. The salesman said, " You're in luck. We can deliver it tomorrow."

Since we won't be home tomorrow, dentist appointment, it will be at least a week before it will be delivered, and next week is the week of July 4th, so who knows?

Right now, we've got the meat in coolers and packed with plenty of ice. The fridge is still cool, not cold, just cool so we'll keep an eye and a nose out to be careful of spoilage. The meat is packed in the coolers with plenty of ice.

Could be worse.

That was our weekend; aren't you glad you asked?

What Punctuation Mark I Am

I am a SEMICOLON

You scored 15% Sociability and 76% Sophistication!
Congratulations! You are the semicolon! You are the highest expression of punctuation; no one has more of a right to be proud. In the hands of a master, you will purr, sneering at commas, dismissing periods as beneath your contempt. You separate and connect at the same time, and no one does it better. The novice will find you difficult to come to terms with, but you need no one. You are secure in your elegance, knowing that you, and only you, have the power to mark the skill or incompetence of the craftsman. You have no natural enemies; all fear you. And never, NEVER let anyone tell you that you cannot appear in dialogue!

It's called Yucca

Kitchen Fini !

Last summer I finished painting the kitchen and yesterday I finished painting the hallway where the washer/dryer are, so now it's FINI !

Happy Father's Day

Oyate

I just returned from a trip to Billings to visit family and attend a conference hosted by our Montana Office of Public Instruction and OYATE. The Office of Public Instruction has finally received funding to implement the Constitutional mandate to educate every student in Montana about the history and culture of its first residents, the Native Americans. Hopefully we can educate a generation of children away from the prejudice and ignorance that many residents have about Native Americans.

The conference I attended was for school librarians and was directed towards criteria for selecting quality children's literature that will accurately portray the past and present lives of Native Americans. In the process, we learned of many things we ourselves were ignorant of and at times it was intense as our favorite books were exposed as frauds and the actions of our country against the Native Nations was exposed. As an example, use Google to find out about the Osage Reign of Terror.

http://www.aspalta.cbc.ca/deaddog_asp/aininfo.asp One of the things we were cautioned against was any use of make believe Indian names or Indians getting names in phony ways. This website is so blatantly random and goofy that everyone was laughing and having more fun with each name. I think the winner of bad "Indian Names" was Evangeline Exotic Biscuit. Mine's Eileen Crinkly Aracnid.

You can link to the title of this post to see their website if you're interested in more info. If you look on the left hand side, click on RESOURCES and read about the Myth of Thanksgiving.

After the Rain

Soggy Drought

The forecast called for rain yesterday so Bill went out early and mowed the yard. It hasn't mowed for several weeks now but it has been too wet out to mow until yesterday. So about an hour or so after he finished it started raining. If he hadn't mowed yesterday it would be another couple of weeks before he could because it rain 3 inches in less than 12 hours. A few weeks ago, when it was warm and dry, we took the storm door off leaving just the

screen. That way when we leave the door open we get a beautiful breeze and lots of fresh air. But because the storm door is not there, the rain beats against closed door and leaks under the door puddles and soaks the carpet. So I stick heavey towels under the door to prevent flooding the entire hallway. I've had to replace the towels and dry them out to reuse.

The sun is starting to come out now, but the forecast is for more rain. We may be in a drought, but it is the muddiest, soggiest, puddliest drought I can remember. This field below our house is flooded this morning, after the rain stopped. The two pictures were taken less than 2 hours apart and it still hasn't started raining again. This is just water that is flowing down from the surrounding hills.


PS I've looked over my previous posts and realize how many times I've posted about weather. I need to get a good hobby.

High School Graduates

When I got Larry's graduation picture, I remembered a project I had planned. I was going to try the "Scrapblog" program I had seen a few months ago and create a scrapbook of all the graduation pictures I've recieved from nephews and nieces. After several frustrating hours I gave up and went back to Picassa. So here they all are, with plenty of room for future graduates.

I realize that it doesn't seem like a big deal that we have all graduated from high school, but I work in a school where it is a big deal. Some of the graduates are first generation graduates and some have taken a lot of trouble to make it to graduation when it would have been easier to just quit, so I know that it is a big deal. Parents who get you to school and encourage you are the most important thing of all, so thanks to all you parents, including mine, for "making" us go to school.

SCHOOL'S OUT!

. . . but not forever.

I checked out and picked up my final check for the year. Our union is still in negotiations for next year's contract and I hope they settle soon. There's no reason not to settle soon, no big issues or anything.

Addictionary

In case you haven't seen this website yet I thought I'd post the link here. It's called the Addictionary, for people who are addicted to words. Here's a couple of examples. Just click on the title of this post to find more of the same.

Carcophony
the din of arguing or playing children in the back of the car
Flapjackulous
Of or related to the sensual deliciosity of the pancake eating experience

bAnAnAs Anyone?

So a few of us staff members were sitting around the teachers'
"lounge" this afternoon. I had a rare break from my library since the library was full of juniors having a "skip day." They were in there playing video games or watching movies. I called it the official skip day, sanctioned and in the library, since most days they just hang out in the hall when skipping class. "It's a tradition," they told me when they asked if they could use the library. I was wary about it since I didn't want to clean up after them, but I thought I'd better give them a chance so I could refuse next year's juniors when this year's left a mess. But they surprised me. When they left, it looked exactly like it had when I walked in the door this morning, so I guess it's a go for next year too.

Anyway, we were sitting around yakking about what went wrong this year and who was coming back next year and the little 7th grade girl who sneaked into the office of the suspended jr. high principal and used a phone to call her mother in South Dakota to come and get her and "take her home because she hated it here with her dad and step sisters, and the principal who was suspended and the new superintendent who was already demanding more in benefits than the CEO of Microsoft; when the cook walked into the lounge and left a small bunch of bananas on the table and said, "Help yourselves." A little while later the counselor walked into the room and asked, " Whose bananas?" I couldn't help myself, it's been a long, rough year. So I said, " Who's NOT?"

We all chuckled and went back to work.

Lame Deer/Ashland Divide

If you live in Ashland you call it the Lame Deer Divide. If you live in Lame Deer you call it the Ashland Divide, but where ever you live, there was snow this morning, May 23, 2007, the latest I've ever personally seen snow without being in the mountains.

Do I Hear $4.00 ?

This is what we're paying for gas on May 23, 2007. I'm betting the price will go up this weekend as it always goes up on Memorial Day. Anyway I'd thought I'd post it so you all could say, "At least we don't have to pay what she pays." Consider it a public service. If anyone is paying more, let me know so I can say, "At least I don't have to pay THAT much!" . . . yet.

Graduation Time

Well we've got one graduation down and one to go when the 8th graders graduate next week. 8th grade graduation used to be quite a big event in Lame Deer before a public high school was built. It was the last time the kids would be in a Lame Deer school since they would have to be bussed to a nearby high school. Now that they have their own high school, the 8th grade graduation has been scaled back a bit, but I think it serves a useful purpose to mark the end of childhood and the beginning of "young" adulthood.

The high school ceremony had just started when the thunderstorm that had been building outside finally broke loose. We were in the gym, which was quite full, when all the lights went out. The emergency lights went on immediatly and we watched the seniors get their scholarships in the soft glow of what could have been candle light. The main lights came on again eventully and the rest of the ceremony went off just fine, except for the valedictorian's speech. The valedictorian was the shyest girl in the school. We were all waiting to see if she would be able to give her speech, actually we were wondering if she would be able to make it to the stage to recieve her diploma. She did get her diploma, but the crowd just overwhelmed her and they just skipped over her speech. Really, she is so shy that it was painful to watch her answer the roll call when attendance was taken. She was a library assistant 1st semester and it would have taken me another couple of months to reorganize the library without her.

The ceremony began and ended with a short prayer in Cheyenne, offered to the creator. I think I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating. Cheyenne prayers are so quiet that only the Creator can hear them. They are not the loud prayers spoken so loudly that the person in last row can hear. As long as the Creator can hear them, what does it matter who else does? And they are offered in Cheyenne, a language that few Cheyenne speak anymore, but what does that matter if the Creator can speak Cheyenne?

New Blog

Well we finally got our Internet back just in time for me to get an email from Andrew and the address for his new blog. I've added the link to my family blog list. He's in the same blogsphere as Russ, so if you signed up to read Russ's blog you can just use the same signin for Andrew's.

Internet Upset

Our internet connection has been very unreliable lately. I'm trying to read all the emails, blogs, etc, but if I don't respond right away, it's not you . . . really. Just the Internet Upset.

Happy Mother's Day

According to the back of the photo, this was taken in 1964, back when the world was analog B&W.

Win/Lose?

Well, my opponent got 4 more votes than I did ! So I don't have to sit on the school board this year. Maybe next time!

Montana Monsoon?

It's been a gray, dreary weekend. It started raining yesterday around noon and today, around noon, it's finally stopped. The wind is gusting now and will help dry things out, so hopefully, going to work tomorrow won't be like jet-skiing down the road. The yard is looking as green as I've ever seen it and I'm not sure, but I think I saw some moss growing in some spots. I guess a dreary weekend is the price we pay for a green spring.

This has been one of the longest school years I can remember. I was thinking about last fall when I was reorganizing the library and it seems like it happened a decade ago instead of a year ago. All the crisises at work, big and little have just sort of blurred together and we just get through one day at a time. We do have a new superintendent and probably 2 new principals next year and I know that it will make a difference; I just hope it is for the better, because if it's not better, I may be looking for a new job next spring.

Rereading this makes me think the dreary weather is getting me more morose than I thought, so I checked the weather forecast for tomorrow: Sunny. Now would be the time for everyone to break out into a rousing chourus of "Tomorrow." I know that you all know the words, don't be shy. "The sun'll come out tomorrow...."

Campaign Ad

This ad appeared in yesterday's Powder River Examiner, a weekly paper. According to dad, it's a loose / loose situation, so by Wednesday morning I should know how badly I lost.

Grackels in the grass, alas!

We came home the other day and there was a horrendous sound coming from the trees around our house, a truly awful sound and the trees were full of birds that looked like this, we got out the binocs and looked. I didn't take this picture, though, I found it on the web. Anyway, we got out the trusty field guide and looked it up. As soon as we saw the name we knew what it was, it sounds just like the name GRACKEL!

Springtime in the rockies

Hopefully in a few weeks that dead tree will be gone. It looks picturesque and all, but mostly it looks like a matchstick to me.

Candidate for School Board

I decided a while ago that I should put my name on the ballot for the next school board election at Ashland Public School. We live in the district and for the first time in a while neither one of us is employed there. Since the election is coming up soon, on May 8th, I put a few flyers up around town announcing that I was in the running, and I just finished sending off some emails to the local newspapers to place an ad in the two newspapers that serve the two counties that make up our elementary school district. I think that there is someone else running for the one open seat, so I'll let you know on May 9th how things turned out.

55!

I finally got to open my birthday presents from my husband when we got back from a visit in Billings. Dad cooked us a great birthday dinner and we had Birthday Blackberry Pie and sang "Happy Birthday to Me!" Anyway, when I opened my presents, I knew immediatly why he picked them out for me. This is one of a pair of shiny aluminium bookends with my name all over it, my initials at any rate. I just was wondering though, how many people are there with my initials?

Spring Spruce Up

We wandered into Miles City yesterday to get some information about what we can do to "upgrade" our house. First we stopped by the local heating place to find out if we can put in a new heater and central air conditioner. The guy who does the work was out on call yesterday, so he's going to call this morning to get some information from us so he can make an estimate. Then we went to a couple of lumber stores to price new windows, no point in getting a new heater/cooler if we're going to loose all the inside air to the great outdoors, right? Then if we can afford it, we might improve the roof, maybe just an inspection and repairs if needed.
Retirement is closer with every year, so we're thinking to get the house in shape while we still have paychecks coming in.

Speaking of retirement, we're taking off for Billings today to visit and to celebrate my 55th birthday tomorrow. What does that have to do with retirement? Well, now that I am getting closer to retirement, the next time things at work get too stressed out. . . I may be able to relax and tell myself, "I don't have to do this! I could retire!"