Thursday, May 29, 2008

My techno buddy is BACK!


It was a scary thing that happened about 3 weeks ago... my computer DIED! Not gradually, no advance warning... just died! And I saw myself parting with an old friend and panicking over files I had failed to back up properly. (Note to all my readers: ALWAYS BACK UP your files... you never know when this can happen to YOU!) But today, with great rejoicing and thanks to a good friend... my Mac is back up and running... with a new hard drive and fully recovered files! (Hallelujah!) and NOW everything is backed up! (in two places!) I hadn't realized how much I counted on my home machine (since I do so much on my school laptop) until I didn't have it available! It's good to be reunited!

Monday, May 26, 2008

A Big Day at LHS

For some of my readers this will seem a bit like a trip down nostalgia lane. Yesterday was graduation day at Lutheran High School. All morning the weather looked dismal and it looked like the kids' festivities would be swampy and miserable. However, about 2pm the skies magically cleared and the sun (and thus the humidity) came out. So by 3 pm it was gorgeous and until about 7:30pm it remained that way! All 95 kids had a grand day to celebrate. Parents were proud, teachers were proud, students were FREE! All in all, a good day! Below is a shot of them on their senior retreat last September. They are off to 39 different colleges and garnered over 1.7 million dollars in accepted scholarships. Not a bad way to end a school year! Hats off to you, class of 2008!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Thoughts on the End of a School Year

Tomorrow I will finish my 26th year of teaching school. Sobering thought for late on a Thursday night. It's been a good year and it's taught me things about myself and as well as (hopefully) teaching things to my students. I've worked really hard this year to be as positive as I can be and to not let the "little nagging things" of life get to me. And for the most part, that's helped me a lot! I've done more reading than I have in years past and somewhat more writing (albeit a good deal of it in an online/electronic form). My students were fun and I will miss most of them. (also a good thing to be able to say at the end of a year.) Funny, I have been connected with school and teaching so long that my year always feels like it ends in May and begins again in August regardless of what the calendar says about Jan.1st. And those 2.5 months of bliss in between? Ah.. my friends, those are the Elysium Fields of education; SUMMER! The pool is open, the ice tea is made, and I say, "Bring it on!"



Friday, May 16, 2008

Cousins Get Together

Asher gets to be more fun each day!

Rhylah is into her toys now that she can sit up on her own.

Sydney is still little enough to watch all the goings on and wonder what it's all about.

It's Stroller Time!

Moms and kids head for the park! Roll em, roll em, roll em!

It's been a wonderful week here! Kate arrived on Tuesday for a 5 day visit. Asher and Rhylah came along... Gabriel had to stay home with his dad so he wouldn't miss school. The weather turned more spring-like this week so the when the sun managed to shine it was delightful! Kate watched Sydney for Gretchen on two of the days she was in town. Both moms had fun swapping notes on what the babies were up to and taking the kids out in the strollers. We got to spoil them each night when we got home from work! All in all, it was a wonderful week for being a grandparent!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

How Knitting is like Life


As most of you know, I love to knit. I love it for a variety of reasons ranging from the smile I get from a grandchild the first time they try on a pair of new wooly mittens all the way to my inability to snack and knit at the same time (which makes TV watching a safer dietary activity.)
I knit in the car, I knit in the park, and I knit pretty much any place I can. All this knitting also allows me time to think and unwind... or unwind and think... whichever is less stressful at the moment.

Knitting is a great deal like life... sometimes the going is smooth and the stitches come out beautifully, and other times the pattern is confusing and you find yourself having to back up and start over. (I must say that do-overs are a bit easier in knitting). Finding your work has flaws can be a painful thing... especially if you've gone several rows PAST the error before realizing you've made it. The colors of the yarns usually relate to the mood you are in... or the special person you are knitting for... so in that area, knitting makes you a bit more sensitive to others. Life is that way too... it doesn't always go smoothly, it finds ways to teach us patience and awareness, and making mistakes is a painful lesson sometimes.

I have this theory that if more people in higher places took up knitting, the world might be a different place. I suspect it might; they might have more time to ruminate on things before acting or making big decisions. Hmmmm... I wonder if Hilary or Barak or John ever picked up a pair of needles?