The house is quiet.
1970 made for TV movie streaming on YouTube. Apparently Stefanie Powers was in every single one. Today's selection is called Paperman and is about credit card fraud.
Dog is resting up against me.
Atlanticus baby blanket ready to be attended to.
Quiet until it's not. Here's what arrives on the 17th. We'll have him for breakfast. Which will be easier when it's no longer vacation "how can I help make this memorable" mode.
Summer, that is. We've had a hitch.
Grandson of greathusbandbob has been making poor choices.
Last month he was taken to the ER unconscious with alcohol poisoning (3.38) after a hazing ritual that he very willingly participated in.
He has always been quite willful. One needs only to revisit summer vacation posts on this blog to get a hint of what it's like.
I am fairly certain his way of being would at least register on the anti-social behavior spectrum. Blood relatives say he's making poor choices. After knowing him for all of his 14 years I think it's pretty safe to say that he's not terribly interested in making good ones. But I wisely say nothing and wait for what happens next.
In an effort at rehabilitation, he alone will be returning with us after the week at the beach. It is under the guise of "helping grandfather" but really is just to give him (and his family) a break and a city with nothing to do and nowhere to go (except the occasional AA lead) seems the right thing to do.
He'll be staying for a month which leads right up to when school resumes. It's not a matter of wanting or not wanting to do it. It's what we have to do.
That being said, greathusbandbob naively believes that his explanation of the situation (helping grandfather) and the incentive of money sent home for work well done will be all that's needed to straighten him out. I, on the other hand, have begun to steel myself for the fireworks I believe are on the way desperately hoping to be proven wrong. (And knowing that if I visit my GP with this added to my list it's a guaranteed Xanax script)
On the up side, there is sure to be a good blog post or two out of the whole experience.
In other news, the humane society has been less than humane in handling our special needs request of a new kitten for cousin. Greathusbandbob points out that many of the workers there are doing court ordered community service. Each encounter has someone saying "it will be approved and you can come in,,." Only to have to call the director this afternoon and have to explain the situation yet again because the repeated story never made it to her. I should have expected that when I saw the county probation officer hanging out in the front hallway.
As for summer plans- Zumba continues. Walking has stalled but there was a MONUMENTAL moment in Spanish this evening. Fear of the Walking Dead had many English subtitles for the Spanish spoken in the show. I easily recognized the words that matched the English translations. Not to the point of not looking at the subtitles but to the point of "oh yeah, that IS what he said."
Short back story- we play a watching TV game where we try to get the next line before the character speaks. Bob is the master. I don't do as well because I don't concentrate hard enough and rarely think ahead,
On the episode we watched this evening a sentence began "si habla.." (if you talk) and the character proceeded to list the consequences. There was a dramatic pause and in it I thought "si no habla..". (If you don't talk...) and I was totally right. It was awesome. But I never said it out loud. It felt kind of showy offy. BUT I CAN TOTALLY PLAY THE GAME IN SPANISH!
Prior to studying the language I used to joke that I hoped one day I would wake up and be able to speak and understand Spanish. In a Jesus kind of way. Now it's happening only it's mostly studying and not so much Jesus.
Tomorrow we go forth in search of chairs so that three people can sit comfortably in our sitting areas without invading one another's personal space (hey ma, you just visited too early-the next time you conme you'll get a comfy chair!)
One of my school bff's. We know she's one of my friends when just before she starts down the aisle she panics and says "someone take my gum." It was such a lovely wedding and I was truly happy to be there which, when I thought about it hasn't happened all that often.
The other bonus of the day was hanging with my true school bff secretarysandy
We have excellent smiles because when I held up the iPod touch at first I looked at the screen and said "where are we?" It looked like this
Then I found the switch it button. You know it's the best bff when you can look at the people in the world, look at each other and know just what the other is thinking. It's one of those unspoken mmmmmhmmmmm's.
The rest of the evening was some mandala crocheting with yet another yarn. I think this is the one.
And finally there are two people that I know that I adore having babies this late fall so I will soon be on the baby present hunt.
If you keep doing the right things, there will be something to take a picture of. A double rainbow on the way home from Zumba.
A treat sent by greathusbandbob's number one son. Husband wants to hear everyone chatter about how they are as excited as he is about vacation. He doesn't really say it that way but it's what he does. We are a month out and had a mini crisis in that I didn't have the right phone number for the stop on the way hotel. All was resolved. Point being, he is so excited.
There was this to be proud of today. Just trying to push things forward. There have also been four days in a row of a 6:00 am/7:00 am walking. Humidity hampered the distance earlier in the week but I've kept on getting up so there's that.
Item one- investment tip. Go for the cooling businesses. That global isn't going to stop warming anytime soon.
Item two- walking has occurred three days this week but curtailed by half this morning. See above
Item three- "what are you doing this summer?" As per my list a few posts ago, I've changed my plans. I'm recovering and relaxing. Who says I have "to do" even after a week or three. Plans are "to be." And study Spanish.
Item four- new friend named Nicole at knit night last night. An youngish odd bird who rode her bike to knit night. She started conversation by asking "how do you drink your coffee" which led to chats about beverages of choice, coffee snobs (which we are not) and top shelf liquor snobs (which we are). She has been a nurse in NICU for some years and is taking a break to see if that's where she will stay. She loves math and wants to take a test to become an actuary. She was very interesting and I hope she comes back.
Item five- item number three leaves this post lacking and I haven't taken any pictures lately. There is a wedding to go to this weekend of first grade teacher friend. There is some knitting that is progressing nicely. There is Orange is the New Black for when a break from politics is required.
Time to be.
Item the one- pay the damn bills. For so long there was so little money that I haven't gotten past dreading it yet. Also it's so much easier than in the past. Do you remember checks and envelopes and stamps!
Item the two- was a valiant attempt at extended napping that did not happen because I had not yet done items one or three.
Item the three-write and send an appeal to an insurance company over a $7000 bill. My hope is that the rehab center just failed to submit properly. There was so much wrong about that place.
Item the four- 54 day streak on DuoLingo and some work on Babbel. I remember a lot but I'm afraid if I go too fast, I'll forget.
Item the five- is a non item. It was raining this morning and I did not take the three mile walk I took the last three days. I wasn't mentally ready this morning anyway but am looking forward to tomorrow's so that's a good thing.
Item the last-I'm undertaking a grand yarn project that will span across several days. I am frogging all of my incomplete stashed projects. I feel like I should have gone with before and after pictures as an artistic statement on process. What I really can't believe is all of the lace projects I've never finished and the degree to which I did finish them. I frogged the beautiful today. Part of this activity will also be taking stock so here are the pics.
I love yarn.
Next year I will be adding high school music appreciation to my schedule. It's what happens when you teach in a rural area.
One of the ideas suggested to me in a music teacher group had students pick five songs that have the most meaning to them, create a PowerPoint slide/collage for each one and give a presentation on them.
Yesterday, on the first day of summer vacation I started my version to have as a model. I thought about songs that I have "binged" on as well as those that seem so sacred to me that I save listening to them for some imaginary special time that doesn't really exist.
What I wasn't expecting to find were overarching big picture life connections. Once I started to think about how to represent each song these connections surfaced.
Barber's Adagio for Strings is the ultimate in sorrow. I can remember sitting on a floor for hours and weeping. It may also be the most comforting release for the clinically depressed. Andwhile I realize now that it was Samuel Adler and not Samuel Barber that I met in college, this encounter brought to light the fact that the composers are a separate entity from the music. Maybe it's not so much we want to meet them as we want to be them, or in some cases we feel we already are them having experienced their music.
In contrast, Carl Orff's Street Song is the ultimate in joy. I have never been happier than when I got to play the timpani part in my level 3 Orff training. Also, that training has made me who I am as a teacher and there is no doubt some connection in the joy and sense of accomplishment in that moment and throughout my career.
The Littlest Birds speaks to humor and friendship. Knitnightdrjustine brought this one to me and while,they are really singing "the littlest birds sing the prettiest songs", when I first heard it I thought they were saying "the little assed birds sing the prettiest songs" and even when I found out the real words, I stuck with my version and laugh and laugh every time I hear it. One time I listened to only that song over a three hour drive. I'm a big fan of the repeat option.
The last two will be Blackbird and the South African song Shosholoza. I've already come to some realizations about thos pieces but I will save them for when the sleeping res are done.
