Go figure.

I looked back to the last blog post and realize little has changed.

Aunt is still requiring supervision, it's still not a very cold February, and I'm experimenting with another lunch this week. (Shredded steakums cooked with green peppers and mushrooms to be reheated, cheese added and placed in a hoagie roll.). Given last week's disaster of "apples," it has to be better. I did recover with a giant eagle pot pie on Tuesday.

In the adulting saga I can report that all material ties of aunt to her former city have been severed. We sold the house in September. Last week we closed on the lot next to it with the neighbor on the other side. Last night I met with the house emptying auctioneer for the final transaction. She wound up ahead but not by much and the most valuable piece in her house was a card table that had barrel chairs. Go figure.

It's uncertain what's to come ahead. We are going to contact an ElderLaw attorney for help and to make sure we make appropriate financial decisions. Who knew there were attorneys specifically for that? Go figure.

This week is "teach knitting to kids after school" week. They took what was a four week deal and squeezed it into four days, one week. Two of the kids are former participants-the ones who insisted on calling me knitting sensai so there should be some laughs. Go figure.

The psychiatrist says I need to get a sledgehammer and smash some shit. I haven't done it yet because mostly thinking about it makes me feel a little better. Go figure.

Just now in an effort to make this a more interesting blog post I switched nouns and verbs around.

I sold apples, brought barrel chairs for lunch, took a sledgehammer to some knitting kids and knitted an attorney. Go figure.

Tricking trickers.

Today the weather was over me. Or I was under it. Flashy hot chills and sweats. Minor voice loss. Teacher crud. I taught my six half hour classes in a row and came home and went to bed-missing the school Valentine's Day activities. I did score some skittles, chocolates and a notebook paper valentine before coming home. If it's any indication as to how weary I felt, I left the treats at school.

Tricky tricker number one. The last minute valentine lesson plans that do everything you plan on doing with much more complicated regular lessons. Oh hey, let's find some note to add to the roses are red poem. Oh hey, let's add another pattern to it. Oh hey kids, you walked into class with just a poem and now it's a thing. A big cool sounding thing.

Tricky tricker number two. While waiting for my ovaries to spontaneously combust I was in and out of napping. Greathusbandbob did a grocery store run, came home with a sweet note in a card (even though he actually said the opposite of what he meant suggesting that he wasn't happy - he forgot a word or two but I didn't tell him because I knew what he meant and that's how good valentines are- so I guess that is actually tricky trick number two.) Tricky trick number three was when he brought a big bouquet of roses after I thought the valentines card was the surprise. I've photographed and photoshopped it to hide the cluttered state of the kitchen table.

 

Tricky trick number four. Aunt isn't working as hard at her apartment as she did at rehab. Maybe she can't. I don't know. Based on the number of hours they had to spend with her she now has a 24 hr. private aide. She is also asking about denture replacement which will require sedation and the removal of 8 teeth. Neither the nurse nor I think her body is ready for that so tricky trick four is that when she is strong enough to be aide free, we will make the dental appointment for her. Also we will get her doctor to explain why it can't happen right away so she doesn't think the facilities nurse and I are in cahoots.

Tricky trick number five- winter and February is a cold month and dirty dog lying wooly worms. I don't really care if I get snow days. I'm ok with school this year. I just want cold fresh air waking up my face and body. Stupid global warming.

Tricky trick number six and the thing that made me think of the tricky trick theme in the first place. Tricky tricker phone call solicitation. Last night the phone rang. Greathusbandbob answered and said hello. No response. He's always curious so he *69's it and retrieves the number. (At this point if it were me and I didn't recognize the number I would cease to follow any path of inquiry). He calls the number and is told via standard recorded message that this number is no longer in service but if he would like to hear an important message, press 5. Again, curiosity and a higher tolerance for annoying than me, he presses 5 and is asked "do you have car insurance?" That's a pretty high end tricky tricker. Curious cats beware.

Not on the tricky tricker front but instead the sometimes I really like kids front; It's betweeen classes, my door is open, I am quietly playing an EZ but lovely arrangement of Moon River on the piano-like keyboard. A fifth grade boy peeks his head in, gives me the thumbs up and says "Get it, Mrs. Terry." Bwah ha ha ha! Although that could possibly be tricky tricker number seven if I actually made him think I had madd piano skillz.

 

Worth 1,000 words.

I finally made a lunchtime contribution that I didn't end up hating.

 

The 4th and 5th graders in my school are working with our online music textbooks on their chromebooks. It has never been so silent in my room.

 

I was cranky on Monday and secretarysandy brought ice cream for lunch on Tuesday. I might have looked like this.

 

I knitted 18 hats for pre-school plastic bottle snowmen,

 

Knitnightdoctorjustine's dog, Eddie, can play the ukulele.

 

O.k. Not really but this picture is the best.

It's snowing at night and it looks like this outside my bedroom window. And I can't sleep because I want to keep looking at it.

 

Aunt has returned to her apartment but requires new glasses, an aide to assist her 12hrs/day, a special fitting for shoes that will fit her swollen feet and 8 teeth extracted if she wants her dentures replaced. We are not rushing into the dental portion of those needs.

Liza continues to pathetically limp. Most often when she's been sitting on her leg for a time. She's under a doctors care to resolve it.

Everything else is status quo with the hope of a snow day tomorrow.

 

Some K funny

We left songs about trains in kindergarten today, moving on to boats. After we sang Row your boat I asked them to pretend that I got fired from my job for having too much fun with kindergarten. Then I moved close to the ocean. Then I had to get a job. What jobs could I get? Top answers- lighthouse keeper, cruise ship captain, go into a shark cage and take pictures.

My goal was to get them to fisherman so we could sing Charlie over the ocean. I asked "what's a food that there is a lot of near the ocean?" The obvious answer, "ice cream." Hmm. Maybe something you might have for dinner. A tiny voice bleeps "shrimp?" Yes oh yes! How do restaurants get shrimp? "From the ocean." What, do the fish walk up out of the ocean and tell the chef "hey I'd like to be dinner?" Finally we got to where I was trying to go. Whew. Hilarious.

In other news- a finished bunny with clothes for a soon to be big sister. I'm making two. One for her and one to share with the baby sister when she's old enough to play. And as many clothes as possible before March 1st.

 

In other other news- the sticker chart.

 

I started on the 12th so I've scored about 70%. Which is better than last month which was 0%. I didn't start February well but the sticker chart seems to help get past the days I feel defeated. No weight change but my hip joints are no longer as stiff as they were in December. I allowed stickers for 15 minutes last month. Trying to go to 25. It may be what's holding me back. If so I'll go back to 15.

Aunt has left rehab and is back in her apartment. She'll have an aide until she gets a little stronger. She's tired but happy.

The vet prescribed some anti-inflammatories for the puppy's knee. Of course she wouldn't limp while at the vet.

Other than cute k-ers, children have been a little more dreadful than usual. I'm reminded of my lack of patience at the end of last year. But maybe also my plate is full and the kids are in a temporary growing plateau.

Mushroom Philly cheesesteaks and corn dip on Tuesday and Wednesday. Egg salad tomorrow and Friday. Every time I fear we've run our fun lunch gamut, we manage something else.