Saturday, September 28, 2013

Falling For My Fall Garden

In recent years, I've discovered that September is a booming month for my garden and sometimes, it goes right on into October or even November.

This fall has not disappointed so far.

I had a very disappointing garden for most of the summer because it just didn't produce any vegetables early on.  As always, I started my seeds in the greenhouse and planted nice and early and then everything just took all summer to grow.  The leaves grew, the plants grew and eventually, the flowers came.

Except for the cucumbers.  I had more than a plethora of cukes and they did extremely well.  So well that I will grow these Japanese kind next time, no doubt.

I planted this wall of beans way back in May and they only just started producing at the end of August.  Now, I am pawning off my beans on anyone I can because I've frozen quite a bit of them and they are still coming.

I planted these same climbing beans last year and saved the seeds and knew they took a while, but really, May to August????  And I swear I spaced them well, but they are so close and overwhelming I can't even see half of the beans.

Next year, I must find some early producing bush beans as well as these.

All it takes is the right catnip and you can grow your own cat.  It took her all summer to discover this because there were sunflowers in there and the catnip wasn't too big.  Once they came down, it grew like crazy and she thinks she has died and gone to heaven.  Surprisingly, she forgets about it and doesn't spend all day and night out there, eating it to smithereens.

And she plays it very cool when she gets caught.

This is the only pumpkin that grew.  It's not a bad size and it's currently ripening in my greenhouse, but I'm not sure what I will do with it.  I don't like to eat it, I can't put it out because squirrels immediately ruin it and jackolanterns aren't really my thing.  I think I grow them because it's fun to see what will come of it.  How big will it get, where will the vine travel to in my garden, etc.

One of the most successful plants this summer was my hedge of zinnnias.

I find them extremely easy to grow and they look wonderful.  I have grown a tall version in the past but I liked these because they were more compact with a million blossoms.  They are still going strong.  If I deadheaded them, I bet they'd be even more awesome.

You might think they are kind of in a strange place, right down the middle of the garden.  I expanded my garden to twice its former size and these are planted where they old line was.  I think I thought I was doing it to help fill in the holes from the fenceposts that I moved so I wouldn't fall in the hole.  I don't know what I was thinking, but the bees were thrilled.

Because of the a-hole known as the squash borer (a caterpillar that gets into the base of any zucchini, squash and sometimes pumpkin plant), I have had issues with squash for the past few years.  Last year, I did an early crop and got quite a bit before they ate them, and then I did a later group that was fine.

I did a lot of research and short of using chemicals, or God help me- wrapping each stem with duct tape to keep them at bay, a lot of what I read said to just plant them later because the moths will have gone by then and won't be laying eggs.  July was supposed to be the month that they went away.  Eventually, my sources say, they will get annoyed that there is no food in the early summer and they won't come back.

So, rather than let them munch an early crop and continue to have these buttheads, I waited until mid July to plant my squash.  I did have a pretty good season of zukes, though the summer squash wasn't great and my winter squash vanished.  However, when I look at the base of the plants I am certain that they have been chewed by the caterpillars, so I don't know how the plants have survived.

They even had a rebirth about a month ago


and started producing even more after a crazy rain we had.  I was sure they were done but out popped some more and even today, there are new flowers.

I am not a big fan of zucchini but I do like it sauteed when it's small, so I've been using it.  I have yet to find a zucchini bread recipe that actually pleases me. 

Mammoth sunflowers are always fun for me to grow because I love to see how tall they will get and how big their heads will be.  Unfortunately, the squirrels have finally figured out that they can just rip the heads off before they start to wilt and totally ruin everything.  I had some good sized sunflowers and some kind of demonic squirrel that ripped and shredded the heads the night of the first opening blooms.  Left the remains right there below the stalks.

These in the garden that they didn't touch bowed down very quickly and I'm sad about that.
They spend all summer growing like crazy and then just keel over after they've been open for a few days.  It makes it all too clear that summer is over.  I don't know if I will grow them again next year for just that reason.  They are pretty but it's so fleeting.

I've been planting new seeds for my winter crops in the greenhouse.  Last year, I started them really late and they grew but all winter, they  just kind of sat there.  If they get a better start now, I think I'll be able to harvest some broccoli, beets and maybe carrots this winter.

I'm also trying to grow spinach again and it's impossible.  I got 2 successful seedlings in the spring before they got too hot.  I thought maybe I was on to something with this different variety but I've tried again now that it's getting cooler and they just won't start.  I've got one measly little plant.  I've asked people around here if it's hard to grow spinach and they all say no.  This is one plant I've tried every year for about a decade with very little success.

I suppose I should start cleaning up what has passed in the garden to make it ready for winter.

Oh, who am I kidding?  I do no such thing.  It's all part of my gardening by the seat of my pants charm.

I'll trade you some beans for something delicious....

Linking here:

http://thefrugalgirls.com/2013/09/chic-and-crafty-party-926.html
http://mommifried.com/ladies-blog-share-link-party-fall-air/
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/09/lets-get-social-sunday-40.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/09/clever-chicks-blog-hop-54-with-two.html
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://www.cherishedhandmadetreasures.com
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/10/its-fall-yall-10-12-13.html#more

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Well, This Gave Me Pause...

"This spray bottle was proudly assembled by the mentally and physically challenged people in Michigan."

Ummm, no, it was not.  It was ASSEMBLED by me.  I poured in the liquid and screwed on the spray top, thus assembling it.

I am neither mentally nor physically challenged and I do not live in Michigan.  And I was not at all proud that I was able to screw on the top.

And another thing.  It implies that all of the people in Michigan are mentally or physically challenged and that it took all of them to assemble this.  When I was in college, being politically correct was en vogue and we were told that you no longer could say things like "the blind" or "the deaf" because it was demeaning to people who are deaf or blind or otherwise disabled.  Wow, we probably weren't supposed to say disabled either, I can't remember.

Instead, we were told to say "people who are blind" or "people who are deaf" because somehow, that made it less demeaning.  I can't tell you how one is better than the other, but being new to the education scene, I embraced it and made sure to never refer to disabled people as "the disabled" but instead, "people who are disabled". And then I met a "teacher of the deaf" and I was like WAIT, you can't say that anymore!

I guess that was just a Vanderbilt campus pip dream because the rest of the country was and is still saying such demeaning things as "the blind".

What a nice derailment that was of my train of thought...

Maybe it should read "This spray bottle was proudly (choose one) manufactured by/packaged by/designed by some people in Michigan who are mentally or physically disabled."

Anyone want to hire me to write their tagline/byline/slogan?  It could be as awesome as the one I just wrote!

Linking here:
http://www.2justbyou.com/2013/09/meet-greet-blog-hop-44.html?utm_source=Meet
http://www.myturnforus.com/ 

Saturday, September 21, 2013

700 Hundred Posts

700 hundred posts!  700 hundred posts??   Did she really write 700 posts?

Read it in a Disney character's voice.   Especially a frantic one.   It's funny.

That's right, mes amis, this is my 700th post.  It's really remarkable.  I've have over 600 things to tell you in 3 years.

It's really not all that remarkable if you know me in real life.

I guess I have a lot to say.

However, I seem to have nothing clever, creative, fascinating or even funny to say today, on my 700th blogiversary.

I do, however, have a picture to share from the old days.  I read somewhere that people only want to read posts that have pictures in them.  Enjoy the view.



I've told you all about my super tiny bladder.

I've shown you my creativity and my craftastrophe.

I've told you why I might need glasses.

I ranted about Verizon (and I'm still mad about the same situation).

I took you to Paris with 14 students, to the National Zoo, to a wedding or two, out snowblowing with k-ster and mowing with me, and the list just goes on.

What does one say after 699 conversations with the internet?  Have I run out of things to say?
Fear not!  I don't think that could ever happen.

I have nothing new to say today but I will remind you about my all time favorite post because the scene is still so fresh in my head and just so funny to me, even right now.

Linking here:

http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/09/lets-get-social-sunday-39.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/
**********************************************************************************
Please visit this link to vote for my sister's ABC Shawl Collar Dress.  And look at my super cute niece! 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Time To Get Glasses?

I think I need some help.

I keep looking out my classroom window and when I see this rock:


I think it's a sheep.

Every.  Single.  Time.

Linking here:

http://www.2justbyou.com/2013/09/meet-greet-43.html?utm_source=Meet
http://www.myturnforus.com/2013/09/freedom-fridays-72.html

**********************************************************************************
Please visit this link to vote for my sister's ABC Shawl Collar Dress.  And look at my super cute niece! 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Let Me Introduce You To A Pumpkin

It's official:  fall isn't even here yet and the obsession with the pumpkin is in full force.  I see them everywhere.  I hear about doing this, that and the other thing with your fall pumpkins.

I think Americans are a little over obsessed with pumpkins.  Not many other countries make such a big deal about them and put them out for fall decor like we do.

It could be that I'm a little bitter that I can't put out the pumpkins I grow because the squirrels come and decimate them in a matter of hours.

And God help me, everything is pumpkin spice flavored.  Drinks, foods, soaps, lotions.  I can't get away from it.

The fake pumpkin spice flavor that is in everything in the fall is one of the most offensive smells on earth.  It's probably the cinnamon.  I've developed a serious issue with the smell of cinnamon in the past few years.

Or it could just be the syntheticness of it all. I really can't deal with any smells that are manmade.

Now, some of you might not realize this, so I'm going to tell you a big secret:  pumpkins taste NOTHING like the pumpkin spice flavor.  NOTHING.

Have you ever actually tasted pumpkin?  It's not sweet.  It's not cinnamony.  And it's not something many people just choose to eat because it tastes good as is.

Remember, it's a gourd.  It looks like this when it's growing.

It's not even orange until long after it has reached its size and the vine has died back.

I used to really like pumpkin pie.  And then someone must have overdone it with the spices, so I'm all done.

But even pumpkin pie tastes nothing like actual pumpkin tastes.

And do you know how I know that?  Because one Thanksgiving, my grandmother made a pumpkin pie and forgot to add all of the spices and all of that crazy amount of sugar we put in to make it taste like "pumkpin pie".

It was the most shocking pumpkin pie we ever ate.  A table full of people ready for dessert, with a mouthful of something that looked like pumpkin pie but definitely wasn't.  All trying to decide what to do with that mouthful.

Because pumpkins are vegetables.  It was like vegetable pie, but for dessert.  Like a getting a spanking when you thought you were getting a puppy.

I've read lots of recipes for using pumpkins as a main dish, so one year, I bought a pumpkin and brought it home.  I scooped it all out and I must have steamed it so that the flesh was cooked enough to scoop it from the center.  I forget, exactly.  I used some of it with the rice and I forget what else that I was supposed to stuff it with.   And then I put it all back into the pumpkin to finish cooking it.

It was so cool when it came out and we ate right out of the pumpkin.  Until we tried it.  The most bland, blah, yucky thing I might ever have made.  We threw it out.  Nothing could jazz it up. 

I bet even the raccoons wouldn't touch it that night.

I know my sister a-ster is getting all defensive because she cooks pumpkin and does something that she says tastes good with it but I'm all set.

So, the next time you get a pumpkin spice item, think about what you just read.  It's all FAKE, FAKITY FAKE FAKE.

Don't believe me?  Go look at how much sugar you are supposed to add to a pumpkin pie.  See?

When you're making jack-o-lanterns, keep some of what you cut out and cook it up.  You'll see what I mean.

And please, extinguish all pumpkin spice materials long before you get near me or you might have to listen to this rant out loud.  And you can't just close the laptop to shut me up if I'm there in person.

Linking here:
http://mommifried.com/ladies-blog-share-link-party-halloween-bash/

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Sneaky Pete- Evil Genius or Lazy Susan?

When people get married, I make them quilts.  I've been doing it since college.  My mother does and it sounded like a good idea, so I jumped on the bandwagon.  She sends hers out to be professionally quilted but I use the old fashioned method of tying or, for a while, using the quilting machine that just made me swear a lot.

I've made more than I can remember.  I don't go to a  lot of weddings, but somehow, I've made quite a few wedding quilts.  That's weird because why would I give them a quilt if I didn't attend the wedding?  How would I get it to them?   I've never mailed a quilt.  And if I wasn't invited to the wedding, then I probably wouldn't be excited to make quilt for them....

Maybe I've been to more weddings than I realize.

I used to work really hard to try to create the quilt in colors that were on the bride's registry.  I understand that nothing is more foolish than getting something like a big quilt that's in some hideous color that you'll never want to look at it.  And not everyone has a guest room anymore, so you can't just say "oh we'll put it in the guest room".

Then people stopped putting sheets and towels on their registries.  Or, they just put white or cream.  No colors.

So I was left to imagine what they'd like.

I made several with colors that look like the beach:  cream, green, blue, yellow.  I really liked those but I have no idea what the people thought.

Then I decided that maybe a queen size quilt isn't the best gift.  I don't use a quilt, I use duvets with covers that I wash every time I change the bed.  No top sheets, no tucking in sheets.  I would never use a quilt if someone gave one to me.  And I don't have a guest room.  And it's probably kind of presumptuous to give someone something so large if they didn't pick out the colors or pattern.  I would want to pick out the colors and pattern of a quilt if you were making one for me.  But don't because I won't use it.

So I've started making smaller quilts that can be throws in the living room or bedroom.  They could possibly even pass as twin size.

My favorite pattern is the What Knot pattern.  It's not hard to do and I like the way the colors twist  in the knots.

When I made the two quilts in this post, I gave the blue and yellow one to a couple right then.  But I didn't have anyone to give the green one to, so I put it on my etsy.  Lots of people have liked it, but no one has bought it.


I have a wedding to go to soon and I have never met the bride.  I've known the groom since high school.  It's a little weird that I've never met her.  I met most of his other girlfriends and somehow, this one has never been around.

I've been debating what to make for a quilt.

And then I remembered the green quilt that isn't selling on my etsy.  Hmmm, is it cheating to give them that?  I didn't make it especially for them, but does it matter?  I made it.  I didn't mess it up or anything, it's quite nice.

And it would save me a lot of time, not making a new one right now.

I'm playing fast and loose and leaving it on my etsy for a little longer to see if it sells.  I'd like to sell it because, well, it's nice to sell things, isn't it?  And I could whip together a new one if I had to before the wedding.

So, am I cheating?  Does it mean less because I didn't think of this couple while I was making the quilt, as I usually do?

Linking here:

http://www.thejennyevolution.com/friday-flash-blog-no-35/
http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2013/09/lets-get-social-sunday-38.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/09/clever-chicks-blog-hop-week-52-one-year.html
http://www.skiptomylou.org
http://fabulous-farmliving.blogspot.com/ 
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2013/12/wow-me-wednesday-132.html

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Welcome to My Billiards Room

When k-ster created the patio, I didn't realize that what he was really doing was creating a billiards room or man cave.  Last week, this appeared on the side of the house.





K-ster started playing darts last year.  I didn't know much about it except that I had no interest, but k-ster though it would be fun, so he joined a team.

For a "sport" that is meant to be played in a bar while everyone is drinking, the whole league thing is pretty serious and they actually have organized games every week and then play offs.  I spent last year during both "seasons" amazed that they actually got everyone on the team to the right place at the right time each week and they actually won!

There are many different levels of teams and it's all very complicated when k-ster starts trying to explain the points system and the kinds of games to me.  There's lots of vocabulary that I can't remember but tons and cricket are two that I remember.  Cricket as an actual sport is pretty mind numbing, so combining that with darts, an equally mind numbing game just does nothing to entice me.  Scoring is different depending on which type of game you are playing.

And somehow, they all keep it straight, even while there's a beer in their hands.

They even have a serious schedule:

Where games are hosted by different bars each week.  At the end of the season, they have finals and playoffs and then winners are declared.

The whole process continues to boggle my brain.





K-ster was some kind of darts natural and won just about every game he played.  Both seasons.  In fact, I think his whole team won the first one and came in 2nd for the second season but I could be wrong.  I get very confused when he talks about it because there are individual wins and team wins.

Again, they all keep it straight with beer in their hands and I can't keep  it straight when I'm totally straight.

He always played out in the garage but out of nowhere last week, he decided it would be fun to play right on the patio.  That way, he said, he can play while I read.  Hmmmm.  Intriguing.

He knew if he said I could read, I wouldn't complain about an ugly dartboard on the side of the house.

Now he gets the added challenge of playing in wind, which they never have in the bars.

Once in a while, I throw some darts to see if I'm any good.  I think it's the most tedious thing I've ever done.  It's very boring.  And when you play for real, you only throw 3 darts at a time and then you have to walk up and get them and start over.  K-ster gives me 6 to throw and even that is like super boring because after 6 throws you have to walk over and get them.

And did you know, you're not always trying to hit a bull's eye?  Can you believe that?  Some games have nothing to do with the bull's eye.

Definitely not my thing.

Oh, and their team name?  The Dirty Hos.  Because they play for a restaurant called the Land Ho! as in when you're on a ship and spy land and the mate yells "land ho!"  A lot of the teams have weird name.  And then they get shirts with the names on them.  Except on the shirts, they spelled it Ho's .  Like the dirty hos are owning something.  Like when they wear the shirts, they are stating that they belong to the dirty ho.

No amount of correcting it gets through.

And if you win the tournament, you get what looks like a bowling shirt with your own name embroidered on it.

I never thought the day would come when k-ster would don a bowling shirt and go out for the evening.

Linking here:
http://www.2justbyou.com/2013/09/meet-greet-blog-hop-42.html?utm_source=Meet
http://mommifried.com/ladies-only-blog-share-link-party-the-plus-one-event/ 
http://www.myturnforus.com/

Saturday, September 7, 2013

What's A Schedule And Who Put Me On One?

I realize my posts have been of a school nature recently and that's because a) it's the first week of school and b) I have a new job and therefore the newness and the stress of the big change are on my mind 24/7 so you get to hear all about it!  If you're new here, I don't usually talk much about school except to relay hysterical episodes.  Just bear with me a for a few more posts and then I'll be back to talking about my butt.

Anna at MyLifeandKids wrote a great post about how exhausting it is to have kids that are school age.  She, like me, was surprised that putting your kid in a classroom every day can somehow be as exhausting as having a newborn at home.  She goes on to say that the busy schedule and the constant email updates and the papers and forms to sign just do a number on the brain.

And I got to thinking about what I thought was a horrible disease that hit me 5 years ago during the first weeks of school.

Like many teachers, I do not work a 9-5 job in the summer.  Like many teachers, I do odd jobs that require too much explanation.  They are often just a few hours at a time and I can do them when I want.

This leads to a dangerous path.

Because during the summer, like many teachers, I get to do what I want when I want.  I can go to the bathroom any time I feel like it.  Instead of waiting for the moon to line up with Venus.

I can eat whenever hunger strikes.  Instead of shoveling in food during the one moment I have free during the day.

I can wears shoes.  Or not.  And when I do, they are mostly flip flops or they are on for like 2 seconds.

I go to bed and get up at mostly the usual times because k-ster still works, but there's no rush to get out of the house before noon.

And not once during those months of bliss, do I have a single child biting my ankles.  No one gives me attitude.  No one comes up with excuses for anything.  No one demands anything of me.  No administrator plans sneak attacks to see if I'm reading the daily announcements.

And then, just like that, it's time to go back to school.  It's time to get up and actually get out of the house by 7:30, completely ready for the day.  Dressed in respectable clothes and shoes.

Where I don't get to go to the bathroom when I want.  I must eat at prescribed times or go hungry.  And not once during the day do I get a period to sit in my hammock and "chill".

It comes out of nowhere.  One day, I'm doing what I want, the next I'm sitting with my colleagues in the auditorium listening to the superintendent tell us that our lanyards are backordered and the next, swarms of kids are in my room every 50 minutes and WE'RE OFF!!!!

All of that dramatic change in schedule and behavior can really send the body into panic mode.  When I first started teaching, I never noticed.  And then one year, after the second week of school, I came home exhausted.  And then another day, I came home exhausted.  And I thought "great, now I have a disease.  I'm suffering from complete exhaustion."

But by October, I had recovered.  And it hits me every year now.  All that change in schedule makes one a very tired person.  So does talking.  I realized I don't talk a whole lot during the summer.  And certainly not all day, Monday through Friday!  It's exhausting to move your mouth that much!

Having to be and do can really take its toll!

Linking here:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/09/clever-chicks-blog-hop-51-with-egg.html
http://www.thewonderingbrain.com/

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Can I Get An 8th Grader For Just One Second, Please?

After just 2 days with 4th and 5th grade, I am liking the change of pace.  It's a very different way of life that my very high strung self needs to learn to live with.

No bells.

No rush.

Kids get escorted to and from my class.

It's all very blase.  The teachers apologize for being late but they know there's nothing I 'm going to do.  Most are afraid I might speak French to them so they quickly flee.

It's all got me very off kilter, all this easiness and cooperation.

Today, however, I wanted an 8th grader for just a second.  Because today, I discovered that when you give a 4th or 5th grader a pocket folder, you must be sure that it is facing in the exact direction it should be so that when it opens, it opens like a book.




Because when you give them one haphazardly, and tell them to write their first French sentence (my name is....), they get so excited to write a) with a marker instead of a pencil and b) in FRENCH that they just write on it. Just the way you put it on the table.

Some came up in a panic that theirs was "broken" because when they opened it, it opened left to right because they did it BACKWARDS or UPSIDE DOWN.  Could I give them another?

Sorry, I have one for each student (all 510, thankyouverymuch) so you will just have to live with it.  One girl was fascinated that I simply turned it right side up and it opened right to left, just like a book!  It wasn't broken at all1

I have all manner of Je m'appelle Olivia (I am DONE with that name already) all over the cover.  Top, bottom, on the back, you name it.

No 8th grader would ever do that.  And if they did, they would quickly fix and never tell me and hope I never noticed.

So, for just 1.5 seconds, I wished I was in 8th grade so I wouldn't have to see so many names on the wrong parts of the folder!

But then I heard a rumor that a 5th grader whispered to her teacher "this was FUN" and I remembered why I want to be with these kids.  They think French is FUN!

Linking here:
http://www.myturnforus.com/

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Back To the Funny Farm

Today was the big day- back to school for students.  Now that my room is mostly situated (still waiting for a cabinet and at this point, I can't even talk about it) I'm finding my way.  I had 5 classes of 4th and 5th graders come and go and nothing is amiss.

That might be the biggest difference between middle and elementary school.  At the end of the day in middle school, it looked like a cyclone had gone through my room.  Even though kids got up and moved around today, they didn't manage to knock anything down, open things they were supposed to open or steal anything.

No one drew a single dirty picture in a book and no one wrote any swears.

And the best part?  Not one attitude all.day.long.  Not one!

Not even when I had my crocheting enrichment with 24, yes that's 24 kids.  Can you imagine one person trying to teach 24 kids how to crochet.  From step one?  Yeah.  That might happen by January.  I helped one table full of girls today.  Baby steps...

But the rest dealt with it and were like "you're one person, we'll just have to wait".

It was a very Twilight Zone kind of day.  I've been familiar with the auditorium in my new school since I took ballet because that was always where our recitals were.  I'm working with people I've always worked with because 4 of us got moved together.  So weird that our names all start with the same letter!

We had a meeting with the whole school in the auditorium and I was sitting with 2 of the teachers who got moved.  I'm back to working with a former principal, and as she was talking, it was just so surreal.  I looked over at the other two teachers and thought "this has got to be a dream".

It's like someone said "ok, here's a funny little joke.  I'd like the 4 of you to go over to the 4th and 5th grade building and pretend you know what you're doing.  You'll work with old colleauges, you'll see siblings of former students, hey you might even see children of former students.  We'll let you know when you can come back."

Except, this is our new fate.

One of the biggest differences I noticed is the lack of frenzy.  There are no bells going off every 45 minutes where if kids are late, there's hell to pay.  No one is in any kind of rush.  This drove me a little nutty when a couple of classes arrived late, but I tried to go with the flow.

This year will be a great test of my patience and my ability to slooooooooowwwww down.  Elementary kids are in no rush.  They'll get there when they get there.

I had a class arrive with one student carrying a can of pencils and the teacher frantically reminded me to make sure that she got them all back.  That made me laugh.

One teacher brought her kids with not only their homework folders like I asked, but also their agenda books.  You can tell she just came out of the middle school where kids are not allowed into a room without their agenda and it's always a really big deal to make sure you write everything in it.   She will be the only one who makes her kids take their agenda books around.  The rest of the teachers will laugh at her because they are so laid back.

Despite the fact that I did the same lesson 5 times, it was a good day.  I still have to do it 20 more times before I get to move on to a new lesson.  I guess I'll really know what I'm doing by the 25th time!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

How Do You Deal With Thunderstorms?

The worst thunderstorm I've ever experienced in my life was not so much the severity of the storm, but the location.  K-ster spent his childhood summers on a beach where you can drive out for up to 3 days if you have a camper.  And they did this every weekend and then some.  There were a bunch of families that would go and stay out there for a few days.

I never did anything like that, so it's not something I was too excited to do.

This is not the beach that is down the road from me, but one that is on the open Atlantic and you have to drive about 30 minutes to get there. And then drive out on the beach.  I hadn't ever done it before, so I didn't know what I was getting into.

It's quite a process, driving out on the beach, and it's very time consuming.

It was a 4th of July weekend and I had heard that it was going to rain but he said we'd be fine with the camper.  I wasn't thrilled about going in the first place, especially if I had to sit in a camper because it was raining.  Something about the dampness of the beach with the dampness of rain and an old camper just didn't appeal to me.  Can you imagine?

We got out to the beach and it was sunny and fine and then it was night time.  We set everything up, took out a ton of things from the camper like chairs and tables and a portable toilet (the one in the camper didn't work) with a tent around it.  There were lots of people there and everyone was having a good time. 

Except me, but I was trying.

And then it started raining.  People who didn't have campers left, but we went inside.  And then it rained some more.  And the tide was coming in, much higher than expected and ever closer to the truck.  I really wasn't having fun.

As it rained harder, k-ster said we should move up higher on the beach.  We started packing things back into the camper and then it rained even harder and then lightning came.  And we saw two bolts of lightning at the same time and k-ster decided that was two bolts too many, so we starting throwing stuff into the camper, anywhere we could find room.

We could not get off that beach fast enough.  Somehow, the appeal of staying out on the beach overnight completely turns my stomach nowadays!

When my sisters and I were little, we were really afraid of thunder and lightning.  I remember coming downstairs with my sisters, sitting on the couch in front of the slider (to watch the storm??) and crying about how scary it was.

I also vividly remember the last night I did that, thinking this is so ridiculous!  Why would I get out of bed, come downstairs and watch the storm when I could just watch it from my bed?

So, I didn't bother going downstairs when it thundered anymore.

I seem to remember a lot of thunderstorms in the summer when I was little, but I'm sure I must be making that up.

My friend's dog gets so upset about thunderstorms, she actually breaks through screens to get out of the house and hide in the woods.  Recently, the dog was home alone when it thundered and she broke through a screen and didn't come home.  She found her the next morning, about 2 miles from home, at her barn!  I can't understand why she would leave a place where she is happy (she has another dog) and run into the woods when she's so scared!

I remember it thundering once when we were in school, maybe around 3rd grade, and I was afraid I'd start crying because I didn't like thunderstorms.  I remember wondering if everyone else would do the same thing.  I don't remember anyone actually crying and we didn't lose power, so I guess no one  was scared.  I know it didn't last long.

We had a wild thunderstorm last night.  So wild that at one point, I was sure someone was just standing outside, waving a big, floppy metal sign like they used to do for sound effects in the movies.  I was absurd how loud the storm was.

And more absurd, I actually went back to sleep in the middle of it and slept like the dead. No getting up and watching storms for me!

Do you like thunderstorms?  Do they scare you?  Do you like them?

Linking here:

http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2013/09/wednesdays-adorned-from-above-link.html