Sights that made me happy today

This coolant leaking dehumidifier outside rather than in and no longer causing dizziness and light-headedness.

This bench/headboard once at the foot of the bed and likely the cause of puppy's ongoing knee pain. (She used it to jump up to the bed.)

 

The best seltzer there is on sale 12 bottles /$7. The first time I've seen it at the local box store.

 

A stack of aunt's tax documents ready for a meeting with a new tax accountant who does understand email and returning phone calls.

 

Lo Mein for lunch with NurseShelly tomorrow. She's going to make crab Rangoon!

 

Flowers delivered to aunt put together by a former student starting a business at half the cost of online non-personal florists.

 

The puppy (husky/pit) that stopped by aunt's room this afternoon while I was visiting.

 

The women and men who were out in full force yesterday.

 

 

Thoughts but no title

I said it before and I'll say it again-  the best night ever is the Sunday night before a Monday day off. Especially when the laundry is done and the meals are planned.

Last night we had broccoli and shrimp and my goal was to produce a white sauce.  The sauce in a jar tastes, as Aunt puts it, medicinal.  I also think it is strong and stomach churning.

Enter this low fat, low sodium option from the food network.  The pasta water they suggest to add made it a little runny- without it, it was perfect texture and flavor.  Light, creamy, smooth subtle.  We may have found a winner

Finally, I fear that global warming may take its toll on the knitting community.  With temperatures like this, who needs wool sweaters?

And finally another day of decluttering.  I find myself decluttering the same area over and over again- the yarn room.  I need to spend some time being mindful of what is causing the clutter so this ritual can end.

And really finally. The upcoming inauguration worries me so.  It's chaos as can only be created by a narcissistic sociopath with chaos as the final goal.  I hope those senators and congresspeople elected to represent us will do the right thing when the time comes.

Crack me up

Maybe the blog is a coping mechanism. Maybe it's a catalyst for coping mechanisms. As in "I'm going to do this for myself now so I can blog about it later."

Either way-

Yesterday and today I woke up early and did some cardio. Not a ton. Not 10,000 steps. Just five minutes worth of belly dancing so I could feel my hips again and eight minutes of cardio to be sure my heart could still beat.

I went to the teacher friends who are intense worker outers and post about it on the book of face and said "hey thanks. Also I'll be reporting to you each Friday"

Then I went to the pre-k aide Zumba teacher and asked her to make me a sticker chart. She looked at me, tilted her head sideways and then said yes. Later she brought this and I was allowed to choose the kind of stickers I wanted (frogs, stars, smiley faces)-

 

She's the best. Lunchtime nurseShelly asked what my reward was going to be if I earned all my stickers. I paused, puzzled, then said the stickers ARE the reward.

In the category of care taking, greathusbandbob has pneumonia. Lizajane is gimpy again-same leg. Aunt is a getting in and out of bed and in and out of her room step away from leaving rehab and going back to her apartment and the cousins bedbugs have been declared exterminated by Terminex.

Here's a little secret that I don't want going too far. I haven't hated my job lately. It's been a year of adoration and appreciation from kids. Some make it a point to give me a hug in the morning as they enter the building. Others beg for fist bumps and high fives as they are standing in lines in the hallways, and still others wave goodbye in the evenings. They see me and I see them. Being seen is important.

 

Make new friends.

15-20 years ago I taught a couple of kids. Their mom put together the yearbook. She would oft forget my name and I'm fairly certain it was some time before I knew hers. She called me MusicLady. I called her YearbookLady.

She is an amazing seamstress and one year made me one of those fabric stuffed bears with MusicLady embroidered on it. It's the best teacher gift I'd ever gotten up to and since then.

Kids grow. People do stuff. Facebook happens. I attach myself to the generations of the family, adoring the grandbabies, scolding the grown daughter when she makes fun of her mother, loving each other's pets from a distance and exchanging laughs on bad drivers license pictures and menopause.

Last week she messaged and said "I have some of those giant knitting safety pins from my mother, would you like them?"

She has stitch holders. Not really a hot commodity when they are easily replaced by some extra yarn but still. It was a reaching to be friends gesture. Even more so when instead of dropping them off she invited me to her home to get them.

Today I did that and stayed to chat a while with her and her husband. When you aren't originally from the rural community where you teach, it's easy to feel like an outsider. It takes nearly a full generation of being there and knowing the families before you can really become an actual part of the community.

Zumba at the town hall helps. You also realize that when they say "where do you go to church?" They aren't condemning you when you say you're a heathen. It's just a question that's asked not unlike how many siblings do you have. After about 20 years they see that you're not using their lovely community as a stepping stone for a "better school in town" and you, along with them, believe that you are already at the best job in the county.

I'm not idealizing these little communities. I realize that in some instances these are the WV DJT voters. What I did appreciate today was, as someone who's never really felt like a "fitter inner", every now and then you get a little surprise to find out that there are people who would like to invite you over for dinner some time and you are a part of a whole you hadn't considered. And you find yourself smiling the whole drive home.

Happy Birthday to Her

Prime rib at Hot Rods. White almond raspberry birthday cake. And a google chrome book to watch funny cat videos. Best Birthday Ever, she says.

 

 

When you let go of stress...

Your brain finally loosens up enough to crack you up and you find time to-

Take goofy pictures of the dog and post cleverly on Facebook.

 

Make absolutely ridiculous memes using a former students facebook post.

 

And after "the kids" send pics from their NYE celebration,

 

Take pictures of the tv where you are currently binge watching The Tudors and are back in time about 500 years... and yet it seems unsettlingly familiar.