A Morning of Regrouping

The sun is shining beautifully in my window this afternoon as I sit and write. I love winter days like this, clear and cool, not brutally cold. With just enough deceptive sunshine to make you believe that February will, in fact, give way to Spring and possibly sooner than one hopes.

Had the day off classes today in honor of President's day - one week early, so as to give the kids a midwinter breather of 5 days while we go to the METC (Midwest Educational Technology Conference) tomorrow and Wednesday.

So I have had a "breather day" - never a bad thing. Often such days are provided by the weather as snow days, but we have remained virtually snow free this winter. Nemo missed us (mercifully) and now the buds on my forsythia bush are actually starting to swell in the sunshine.

The best thing that happened today was that I discovered my mentor, Hamilton Salsich, is alive and well. Ham is an educator of 45 years who lives up in CT and is still teaching at age 71! He is a brilliant guy who reads widely and thinks deeply about a variety of things that inspire his classroom and life. I have been following his blogs for almost 3 years now, and today I discovered that he hadn't posted about his classroom since last Oct. I immediately became concerned... wondering if in my absence, Hamilton had packed his bags and headed for the heavenly classroom... but he appeared online in response to my brief and somewhat fearful query about him. Seems he's been writing on a different angle than just English and didn't think he should post it on the Ning where I usually read him. I felt relief and then became more thoughtful.

In this crazy digital age we are in, how easy it would be to lose a dear friend and not discover it for quite some time! We are bombarded by emails, status updates, blogs, tweets, and news bytes. It seems like the stream of words, words, and more words is never-ending. And for a moment I felt quite small. Then I realized that Ham's voice was one that sounded clearly to me in all the cacaphony of cyberspace... and THAT made me realize that I need to think more and write more than I have been. The beauty of this thing called the internet, is that our thoughts can have an almost endless shelf-life, if we BOTHER to put them out here. There is something wonderful about that. Something I will need to think a lot more about in the weeks to come.

And A Happy New Year

Wow, what a difference a month makes! When I last wrote we were getting into the Holiday season and so much has happened in the month of December.

First, and sadly the worst, we had to say goodbye to our "fur kid" Chas on the first Sunday in December. He was just a little past 12 years old which everyone tells us is quite old for a greyhound. His heart and health were getting progressively worse and he developed a tumor on his head that could not be treated. It broke our hearts to say goodbye... I held him tightly as he went to sleep. I still cry when I think about him (and as I write this) but can't bring myself to think about another dog just yet. Chas was one of a kind... and our first "empty nest" dog... one that just Ed and I got to spoil. The holidays without him around were quite different and very quiet. No first snow walks or having him at the door all wet and snowy and ready for a treat.

The family kept us quite busy the rest of the month. December included stalking Santa with Sydney who sat and chatted with him not just once, but THREE times! (Great fun!) She had no problem with him asking her repeatedly what she wanted for Christmas and we got some great photos of her each time. You have to enjoy these moments while you can since they don't stay little "Santa lovers" all that long!

School went on hiatus as of Dec. 20th and we looked forward to the long break of 17 days. Ed spent 12 of them run over by some sort of respiratory bug (flu? don't know) that came on within 48 hrs of him getting his flu shot - so of course, we blame that for it. But he pressed on and enjoyed all the holidays and the kids - just tried not to breathe on us all.

First EVERYONE arrived, all the kids, grandkids, Ed's sister, Leon's folks - EVERYONE. The houses filled up, and we got set to celebrate.

Dec. 23rd was the first big day. Leon was ordained as a Lutheran Minister at Immanuel Lutheran Church. Such a wonderful day for all of us. Followed closely by Christmas Eve and Day celebrations. We had SO many happy moments and loads of laughter together.

When everyone left on the 27th and 28th, the house seemed way too quiet. We spent a quiet New Years Eve - which is pretty typical for us. And here we are - it's a new year and 363 days lie ahead that seem filled with possibility. Wishing you and yours all God's blessings as we embark on it together.

Of Lincoln, Elections, and a hectic life

It has been a crazy 6 months or so since my last post. Started a new school year at LHS... keeps me very busy and time seems to fly ever more quickly as I plow through the weeks with my students.

It is our second year on this new (now not so new) 4x4 schedule and things are going along swimmingly well. We are still into iPads at our place although not so new anymore as many other schools are doing 1:1 with this remarkable tool as well.

Thanksgiving break was this past weekend and we had a quiet one. It was nice, restful, and probably about a day too short for me, personally. I am really finding it takes my batteries a bit longer to recharge than it has in recent years.

A highlight of the past weekend was a visit to the movies to see Spielberg's newest film, "Lincoln". A deeply moving account of our 16th President and all the valleys he trudged through in order to get the 13th amendment passed abolishing slavery. It struck me then as ever it does that this particular piece of our history is not all that far in the past. 160 years is not all that long a time in the grand scheme of things.... and certainly not in the lifetime of a nation. Seeing this chilling fact played out on the big screen was intense and made me come home and do some reading about the men on both sides of the issue.

Having just completed an election here in which there was much polarizing talk on both sides of the experience, I was struck by how it has ever been so to varying degrees in our nation. Democracy is an incredibly messy and boisterous way to run a country. It takes people of strong fiber to pull it off. We have never been a nation of weaklings in that regard and it is worth remembering leaders like Lincoln who had the courage to make uncomfortable choices that may not have been politically beneficial to them at the moment they made them. Interesting.... and a lot to think about.

Hope to be back soon.....

The Halfway Point

Here we are... the very last day of June.... and wow, as usual, summer has flown. Why doesn't the school year go as fast as the 10 or so weeks of summer.

Here's the list... and what is left of it!

Things I will do this summer (or would like to do)
1. Travel with students to Europe - Done! And it was a great trip, even though United Airlines did their very best to try and make me crazy and miserable!
2. Travel with family to Florida.  - Soon to be done... absolutely going to be the highlight of summer.
3. Visit grandkids in Mich. Doing in the next couple days! YAY!
4. Travel with Ed to some yet to be determined locale. don't know yet where that might be!  hmmm...
5. Clean the basement and PITCH stuff out.
6. Paint the house. Finished.... and I didn't really do all that much... Ed, however, painted the entire house, the tool shed, and the front door! It looks fantastic. My next door neighbor started calling him "Rembrandt".
7. Paint the "pink" room
8. Meet with the new yearbook staff - just learned I will HAVE one... so plan to hop on this real soon!
9. Knit - finished a baby sweater for Laina Maddick and a big girl sweater for yours truly!
10. Read at least 8 books. Done that too! LOVE my Kindle.
11. Bottle the 2010 wines.
12. Catch up on my sleep. - will I EVER do this? unlikely! :-)

So I am left with # 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 12 (?) That is half the list, and we have 1/2 of summer left.
It's been SUPER hot here for the past 10 days so maybe, all this indoor time will result in my knocking a few more thing off the ol' list!

Ahhhhh... Summertime!

It's here at last! That stretch of weeks where I can set the tempo of my days and work productively at my own projects without a bell ringing every 80 minutes to call me to the next thing! Summertime! Have been officially out a week today as faculty meetings wrapped up on May 31. Cleaned my classroom and shipped the last pages of the yearbook off to the publisher and then....

And then, I made a list and quickly discovered summer was going to zip by almost as fast as the last term did! Well, here's the list... see what you think.

Things I will do this summer (or would like to do)
1. Travel with students to Europe
2. Travel with family to Florida.
3. Visit grandkids in Mich.
4. Travel with Ed to some yet to be determined locale.
5. Clean the basement and PITCH stuff out.
6. Paint the house.
7. Paint the "pink" room
8. Meet with the new yearbook staff
9. Knit
10. Read at least 8 books.
11. Bottle the 2010 wines.
12. Catch up on my sleep.

I figure if I accomplish one thing a week, summer will be over before I hit #12.  Think I'll go take a nap.... at least it will count as #12.

Lions and Taxes and Bears.... Oh MY! (or why I wish we just had a flat tax!)

I am going out on a limb tonight, but the mood I am in is solely responsible. Tonight I finished the tax prep for our 2011 taxes. That is not to say my taxes are finished, but the data is now assembled and I will drop them off at my friendly accountant (I love you guys at Bredensteiner and Associates!) and they will magically be transformed into the forms that I send Uncle Sam each year.

So it's finished... and I am tired... and each year I think, "There HAS to be an easier way to do this!" Couldn't I just be asked to GIVE the government a chunk out of each paycheck and NOT have to file all the blasted paperwork? It seems to me that all the info about what I make is readily accessible via my filed W2's - why can't we just pay the feds a flat specified amount and be DONE with it? I would dearly LOVE never to fill out a tax form again. I am certain there are a myriad of reasons for why this isn't feasible... but each year when I complete the 3-5 day process of sorting, tabulating, calculating, and spread-sheeting all the expenses, deductions, etc etc. I just want to run screaming into the nearest IRS office and say, "Just take 15% and LET ME BE!"

I am willing to bet there are more people out there who feel like I do than who don't.... sigh... But at least I am finished for this year!

The Joys of Being a Learner

For the last two days I have been immersed in the Midwest Educational Technology Conference here in St Charles. the best part of it is that I get to be a "kid again"; that means I get to be a learner. I get to discover new things and I also get to find things I can bring back to school to share with my students! It has been a total blast and the PERFECT thing to spark ME back to life in the middle of the winter!

Right at this very moment, I am sitting in a session on blogging and got inspired to revive my AP Lit blog. It is called "Our Tip of AP Lit Iceberg" and there's a link to it in the sidebar. So give me a couple days to get back to class... And then come have a look at what my kids will be buzzing about.

A Gift of Snow

Today the snowflakes FINALLY fell for real in Missouri. It's been such a long, gray winter and we were about to lose hope of seeing ANY of the white stuff. However, today it arrived. It made one little 4 year old person VERY happy!

Syd is staying with us for a 3 day visit and she and I headed out into the white stuff just as soon as the grass was covered. We slid down the neighbor's hill, rolled in the snow, threw it at each other, and made the mandatory snow angels. She giggled the entire time and I have to admit, so did I! What is it about the magical combination of cold air and water that can make us drop our stress levels and just act like a kid? I don't know... but I am not about to question this wonder of meteorology! For a February snowfall- this was just right! Thank-you God - and any of your assisting snow angels as well!

When the Fairies Dance you have to Smile!

I had a delightful Saturday this past weekend. Got to spend it with 8 little gals all 4 and under who were at my daughter's house to help Sydney celebrate her birthday. Being four... wow, can't remember being four. That was, after all, in 1959, I think I got a puppy but I am not completely sure.

Syd, however, had a marvelous time. A highlight was when "the birthday fairy" arrived. One of the youth from our church is a high school junior who dances at the studio where Syd takes class. She graciously consented to come and fill the role! She was absolutely convincing as a fairy and the little gals fell in love with her! Kudos to Taylor Plodzien for being one very classy gal who made all those little people smile. The photos will tell the rest of the story.

Cards, wrapping, and Assorted Craziness

"the world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing...."

Sign me up for this kind of Christmas! It's been a hectic couple of weeks as I busily go about checking things off of to-do lists and wondering where I will find more time in the days to get things wrapped, posted, and so forth. 

I have always said I wished Christmad were more like Thanksgiving... A true holiday without too much excess busy-ness. Unfortunately, I have never managed to scale back my Christmas "have-to's" in order to achieve this. And every year at almost exactly this time, I ask myself "why not"? Part of me almost wishes I would be keeping the day on some in some faraway land that lacks a strong Judeo-Chrisitian cultural backdrop, say like Nepal, where no one would expect December to be filled with all this running about like a crazy chicken. That would be the essence of peace on earth to me. 

This year I keep saying to myself that what doesn't get done before Christmas will just have to get done after it. We shall see..... 

Knitting Update

I've had busy needles since my last post and as of today have sold 5 headbands and 4 wine totes! I've also managed to make headbands for both granddaughters and am working on more. It's been so much fun to see people excited about my work. I love how happy they are when they get excited to wear it!

Such A KnitWit

I have an addiction... yep...

My name is Claudia and I'm a knit-aholic. Can't walk past a yarn shop or craft store without sneaking down an aisle where I can put the squeeze on a few skeins of wooly stuff. Have two Rubbermaid bins FULL of the stuff at home too. My daughters pray that before I die I use it all up - but they have NO idea the extent to which I love to look at yarn. I bring it home with me from wherever I get to travel, I read magazines devoted to the hobby, and I am an active member of Ravelry.com which is like Facebook for knitters/crocheters (yeah, I do that too, just not as much!)




This past week, I finally opened my very first Etsy site and whether I ever sell anything or not, I love putting my stuff up there to showcase and hopefully attract a customer or two. I have several secrets dreams that go with this addiction... so this might be a good place to put them out there for real....

First, just like Ed has his winery... I dream about owning a yarn shop. Actually, a combination bookstore and yarn shop. I think reading, talking about books, and knitting go together quite nicely and it would be endlessly fun to own a shop.

My second dream is more bizarre than my first. If I couldn't own an actual shop, I would LOVE to own a few sheep and at least ONE alpaca so that I could learn how to spin my own yarn from my OWN wool source! Now this one would be pretty do-able if we ever were to build a house out at our vineyard.... I could easily keep a couple of sheep and an alpaca on the space we have.

Now that you know what a knitwit I am, I'll quietly go back to working on the hat I am making. Just had to post this out there... cos' today has been a perfect knitting day out at the vineyard. I have been sitting in the sun, knitting away to my heart's content, and yes, - RELAXING. I challenge any of you, dear readers, to pick up a pair of needles, grab a glass of wine or mug of coffee, and join me!

Back in the Saddle Again

We have been back to school since August 10th and what a wild ride it has been. If any of you have peeked at my classroom blog, you know we have embarked on a grand adventure at Lutheran High this year! We are doing a 4x4 intensive block schedule and are using 1:1 iPad2 technology as a tool in our classrooms. This has been QUITE an interesting 2 weeks! Kids are holding up well and so are the teachers. It's been rather fun to see all the collaboration that goes on when one or two people in a room need help. (esp. if one of them is the teacher!) While I can't say I am completely comfortable in my "new format" yet, I am definitely enjoying the ride! I like the way my students are tackling the new things alongside of the old, and it has reinvigorated my teaching... so as of right now, it's a thumbs up from this old teacher!

Summer seemed to slip away all too quickly this year, but it is STILL hot and the pool is still open and now that my left foot is pretty much all healed up, I am trying to enjoy every minute of it that I can.

Here I Go Again - Summer Surgeries Part Two!

Yesterday, I had my second encounter with a surgeon this summer. Had been putting off dealing with my left foot when it began acting like my right one had back in 2008. However, once I was involved in my May surgery, it seemed logical to do the other while the deductible for the year was satisfied. 

So yesterday, Dr. Kranzusch, my friendly podiatrist rebuilt and redesigned my left big toe. Not going to drag you through the gory details here, but I am excited about soon being able to wear any shoes I want without pain as the price! 

The upshot is that for the next few days I will be doing as little walking as possible and only with crutches. Then I move into "das boot" - for about 3 weeks. It will look like this.

It's Rumbley Outside AGAIN!

We have been enduring several days of unsettled stormy weather. It's been particularly bad at night. We go to sleep with one eye on the weather and severe storm warnings and tornado watches scrolling across the screen. Saturday night was horrible! The rain came down in deluges and we ended up scrambling into the basement at one in the morning to deal with a waterfall coming into our cellar from an overflowing window well. What a mess! We worked until 3 and then slept til 7. Then we spent all Sunday cleaning up and reorganizing the basement to be able to cope if it happened again. On the up side, it caused us to finally replace our long gone dehumidifier which should make for a drier basement longterm. On the downside- our pool has taken on so much rainwater that I don't know when we'll have it clear again!! I am grateful that we were spared some of the more severe results of this weather. There are folks in town who lost trees and have FULLY flooded basements. A little rainwater seems insignificant compared to that.

Wandering About Makes Home Even Sweeter

Ed and I have been Globe-trotting during the first couple weeks of the summer. We escorted a merry band of 20 students and 6 adults all around Italy. It was Ed's 2nd trip to that country and my 3rd. We started in Venice on June 5th and traveled all the way south to the "tip of the boot" in Capri by June 15th.

It was a great adventure and we made some wonderful memories, particularly because our daughter Gretchen was also able to travel with us. Seeing others experience a place for the very first time is a delightful thing. I will never forget watching my students' jaws drop at their first sight of the Duomo in Florence or the Coliseum in Rome!

In addition, I was able to see a couple of new things that I'd never seen as well. We got to stop on the island of Murano and see the master glass blowers at work and at Pompeii we got to see the amphitheater which is in amazingly well-preserved condition. I also stayed in a seaside town called Meta, just outside Sorrento, which made me a forever fan of the southern Italian Almalfi Coast region.

Now that I am home there are things that I find myself appreciating about life here as well. For example: our public toilets come with seats attached and you can find them easily and most come free of charge. Also, while not all American coffee is as good as cappuccino or expresso, it is FAR better than what Italians make when you request a "cafe Americano"!

Things about Italy I will miss include: lemon granita, gelato, canoli, prices that don't require the use of pennies, and the beautiful lilt of spoken Italian (complete with its often hilarious gestures!.
It is great to be home!

So Long, Farewell, Auf-whatchama-callit, Good-bye - and good Riddance!

Nine days ago, I posted a little note about my gall bladder, and I am relieved to report that the time bomb has been defused and REMOVED from my person. Went in for surgery yesterday morning and by 5pm I was home and recuperating. Amazing how what once was a six-week recovery type major surgery is now done on an outpatient basis!!!

I had the nicest nurse yesterday. Her name was Nancy and she helped me through the process all the way. Ed was there too, but Nancy kept us both calm and assured us that everything was going fine. I had a little trouble with the woozy urpy feelings as I came out from under anesthesia, but Nancy was right there being SO supportive.

Spent today quietly at home. Trying to move about a bit more as evening comes on. It's been a long day. The only downside of this... losing a gall bladder didn't cost me a single ounce on the scale! How unfair is that? LOL  Guess that's the way it goes.. you win some, you lose some... and this was one little green balloon I was HAPPY to lose!

Tick, tick, tick

The human body is a funny thing... and sometimes not so funny. This morning my particular model decided to wake me up rudely as it did 2 years (almost to the day) to a gall bladder attack! Now many of you have shared your stories with me about how this funky little organ has been the bane of your medical existence... and I quite agree. However, I wanted to keep mine as long as it was basically behaving itself. I am torn on this as I anticipate touring Italy this summer and don't want to spend any part of that tour visiting with Italian surgeons and their medical systems. So the question is, to remove or not to remove the ol' gb? I am leaning strongly toward parting with my kranky one. If it can't be nice, then it doesn't deserve to stay with me, right? So tomorrow I go see the folks in ultrasound to get the verdict... keep it or jettison it... time will tell. Feels a bit like I have a wonky little time bomb waiting to pop when I least expect it.

In Need of Spring

Today the sun came out, for a little while at least. I am finding I REALLY need spring to come soon! I am super tired of cloudy days and relying on caffeine to get me through the day. My students seem the same way... restless, draggy, bored with themselves and me. I am going to have to do something to shake-up the status quo... but that's a whole other post.

Missouri is a tough place to live in between the seasons. It's warm one day and very damp and chilly the next. I shouldn't be complaining, I know. At least we HAVE seasons, unlike those in the South and we don't have eternal winter, like those in the far North. But I LONG for spring. I need to go outside and dig in the dirt and see the flowers come up.

Maybe soon?

Bye-bye Big Box.... Hello Curry!

        Tonight we had an adventure... we found a really good new Thai restaurant IN ST. CHARLES COUNTY! There is a reason for the capital letters here. Generally speaking, St. Charles is NOT known for its diversity of eating establishments. If you want something beyond the standard Italian, Mexican, or Chinese assortments of eateries, you generally have to hop in your car and drive into St. Louis City to find that sort of eating adventure. But tonight... ta-da... we happened upon the Thai Kitchen at the Cave Springs exit in St. Peters and I had some of the best food EVER! All I was really craving was a good Spring Roll... but then I decided to try the Curry! Oh MY! This little international gem of a dining spot is going to become a new favorite, I am certain. Very nice decor, small, wonderful wait staff... and all around GOOD food! I think my taste buds will find many things to entertain them here on future visits.

Now to the bye-bye part of the post. As most of you know, Borders Books is in Chapter 11 and restructuring in hopes of avoiding a total bankruptcy. Well, our local Borders is one of the stores being liquidated. We popped in there tonight and the place looked as if it had been looted! It made me incredibly sad to wander around the shelves where I used to spend hours browsing and see things scattered here and there but most everything gone. Then I started to feel the irony of it all... Remember when Borders or its brother Barnes moved into YOUR neighborhood? Think back... it's been awhile since they became the big boys on the block. They pushed out almost all the little indy-booksellers and edged out all the competition as soon as they rolled into town with their flashy storefronts, cozy chairs, and delectable coffees and goodies. We all ran to them like crazy and the little guys were left behind. Isn't it incredible that the big box boys are being marginalized by something that comes in a little box? Welcome to the next era of books... and small booksellers. Now that we can get anything (practically) that we want on an e-reader; we may find ourselves having to go back to the little bookshops that are left when we want to buy an ACTUAL book! Now, THAT, my friends is irony! Excuse me now, I have a new book on my Kindle that I am dying to get started!