strategic lawn watering seminar
My perseverance has met a new challenge this week: strategic lawn watering. M. spent hours and hours this weekend dethatching (had to look it up in wikipedia), seeding and fertilizing the huge expanse of lawn that surrounds our house. Most of the lawn went into hiding (i.e. dormancy) as temperatures hit 105deg F this summer, with little rain for week. Now, M. is determined to re-green those bare and brown spots by spring. I suggested we replace the whole damn lawn with astroturf (you know, the fancy stuff they use in football stadiums?) but this was not met with enthusiasm. So as my schedule has been more flexible this week, I have devoted hours and hours to the fine art and science of lawn watering.
M. was very specific about how he wanted the lawn to be watered. "This sprinkler goes here and needs to be on for 45 minutes to cover this arc of the lawn. This other sprinkler needs to be over there, and sprinkle for 45 minutes in this coverage zone." (Those were only positions 1 and 2). I had to draw a detailed map of our house and yard on graph paper with approximate locations for the designated sprinkler positions and time needed. (Some for 30-45 min, some for 20 minutes). "Maybe it will rain this week?" I suggested hopefully. "Nope, it's not in the forecast." M. replied.
So my first evening in charge, I managed to break one of the spike-type sprinklers, spraying myself with water and persevering too long to try to fix it with my mediocre mechanical skills. Then I realized I was running late for my personal training appt (for some reason, I have been late to these 75% of the time, which is strange because 1) I love the sessions, even though they sometimes hurt and 2)I'm usually pretty careful about getting to places early or on time. I'm just not that annoying always running late girl. Except for training appts. "Sure," joked the trainer lady, "that's what they all say." )
I went back to the hardware mega-store to purchase a new sprinkler, broken carcass of its predecessor in my hands. They didn't have the same sprinkler, but the gentleman in the orange apron assured me it was very similar. When I set it up, I realized it was fairly idiot-proof (necessary requirement for mechanical things and me) and even better at covering the lawn and easily adjustable to boot.
Spent most of yesterday morning ("Don't water at midday!" I heard M's voice echo in my head) perfecting my persona as the Savior of Seeds, the Benefactor of Bluegrass, the Lady of Lawns. I think I may have this thing down. Which is kind of weird, since the time I had to mow the grass (very badly) when M. broke his leg a few years ago, I have been banned from all lawn-care duties. ("It all ends up in the Gulf of Mexico!" I'd yell from inside at M. as he doggedly seeded and fertilized and herbicided the lawn.)
Other developments of the last couple of weeks:
Have been becoming "meaner" as a sub. I've had it with letting kids sense blood in the water (my hesistation, weakness, uncertainty) and going crazy. You have to be fair, but firm. Last week, when I was a pushover in study hall, which was really supposed to be sustained silent reading (they had a problem with the reading, but most of all had a problem with "silent") I was so ashamed of myself for caving to the 8th grade negotiators demands, I gave them a trivia question: "Why does Ms. Borg feel like Neville Chamberlain. Hint: What does appeasement mean?" That actually got them quiet and concentrating for the longest period of time during the hour. Most of them got pretty close (the Munich Conference, Poland being surrounded on all sides) from gleaning the Wikipedia entries, but none of them clicked on the "appeasement" hyperlink, which appears in the 2nd sentence of the entry on Chamberlain, which kind of surprised me. I told them to write
their answers on a card and check with the history teacher.
Also got to sub for a "gifted" class doing inquiry-based learning projects, which was pretty neat.
And I turned 30 on Monday. You might think this would be a headliner, but I was ready to play down the significance of the big 3-0. Since I've been trying to extend my adolescence indefinitely, it was a little of a wakeup call that I need to act like an adult. I think I'm plenty mature, but M. thinks "adults" are people who get up and go to work every day, and pay off their student loans.
Pshaw! I had a lovely birthday. The weather was gorgeous and went for a walk. M. unveiled his very nifty present (more later), brought me flowers and a cake (it's the thought, not the calories that count) and went on a birthday date! Also, everyone called/texted/FB posted voluminous birthday well-wishes (I felt so popular and loved!) I mentioned to my sister how this outpouring of affection surprised me, (even though FB tells people its your birthday, so they don't actually have to remember it.) She responded, "Of course they would! Everyone is crazy about you! You are awesome."
"Really?" I said.
"Yes," she replied firmly.
See, I didn't know this. Has my self-esteem always been this lousy? I know it declined precipitously as a result of law school, and then of working in the soulkilling depths of QDROland. But I thought it was getting better with teaching, and my work with the Mitzvah Garden. And honestly, I have noticed definite improvement this summer in self-image since I started WW, exercising, Mitzvah Garden. I think it makes me a better teacher (I'm less afraid of kids, less afraid of making mistakes, because i know I'll make them, and less afraid I'll bomb out), a better friend and a better spouse. I know that M. is not likely to offer unsolicited compliments, but since I've been feeling better about myself, I think I'm a lot more fun to be with. I have resolved to use this milestone birthday to reclaim my awesome (Thanks, spiritonparole!)
Anyway, M. gets me these birthday presents (Kindle, etc) that are fancy technogadgets which I would never buy for myself, but once I have them, love them. (How does he know?) He ordered a Galaxy Tab that mysteriously arrived via Fed Ex. At first, I was a little afraid of it, and kept in on the coffee table in the living room. "It's just a larger version of your phone," M. explained.
"No," I said, "I think the Tab and I need to take this relationship slowly. My phone (Galaxy Captivate) may get jealous." M. snorted. I was also afraid I'd break it. I started playing with the thingy(which needs a name), and discovered it was quite useful. It has a full Qwerty "Keyboard" that pops on its touch pad, instead of the "Swype" board I have on my phone, which is faster for notes/emails/documents etc. It also only operates on WiFi, but most places were I would be using it (Library, PittState, Home, Starbucks) have WiFi. I downloaded Skype for Android, but since the Tab 10.1 is running the most recent Android operating system (3.1), the Skype people haven't come out with a version update. You can run the software for earlier
versions to get voice, but not video calls. Hopefully, an update will be available soon.
Finally, I was the driving force behind organizing this coming week's mobile Mitzvah Garden Market fundraiser to be held at KI Synagogue. (We'll take your donations in exchange for produce from the garden). I think I may have sent out a gajillion emails/press releases/FB messages out into the ether, but I hope we'll get a good response. The only thing I'm a little worried about is that we won't have enough stuff to sell since garden productivity is starting to wind down. We'll always have zinnias (a huge hit at the last mobile market @ Beth Shalom nursery school).
M. was very specific about how he wanted the lawn to be watered. "This sprinkler goes here and needs to be on for 45 minutes to cover this arc of the lawn. This other sprinkler needs to be over there, and sprinkle for 45 minutes in this coverage zone." (Those were only positions 1 and 2). I had to draw a detailed map of our house and yard on graph paper with approximate locations for the designated sprinkler positions and time needed. (Some for 30-45 min, some for 20 minutes). "Maybe it will rain this week?" I suggested hopefully. "Nope, it's not in the forecast." M. replied.
So my first evening in charge, I managed to break one of the spike-type sprinklers, spraying myself with water and persevering too long to try to fix it with my mediocre mechanical skills. Then I realized I was running late for my personal training appt (for some reason, I have been late to these 75% of the time, which is strange because 1) I love the sessions, even though they sometimes hurt and 2)I'm usually pretty careful about getting to places early or on time. I'm just not that annoying always running late girl. Except for training appts. "Sure," joked the trainer lady, "that's what they all say." )
I went back to the hardware mega-store to purchase a new sprinkler, broken carcass of its predecessor in my hands. They didn't have the same sprinkler, but the gentleman in the orange apron assured me it was very similar. When I set it up, I realized it was fairly idiot-proof (necessary requirement for mechanical things and me) and even better at covering the lawn and easily adjustable to boot.
Spent most of yesterday morning ("Don't water at midday!" I heard M's voice echo in my head) perfecting my persona as the Savior of Seeds, the Benefactor of Bluegrass, the Lady of Lawns. I think I may have this thing down. Which is kind of weird, since the time I had to mow the grass (very badly) when M. broke his leg a few years ago, I have been banned from all lawn-care duties. ("It all ends up in the Gulf of Mexico!" I'd yell from inside at M. as he doggedly seeded and fertilized and herbicided the lawn.)
Other developments of the last couple of weeks:
Have been becoming "meaner" as a sub. I've had it with letting kids sense blood in the water (my hesistation, weakness, uncertainty) and going crazy. You have to be fair, but firm. Last week, when I was a pushover in study hall, which was really supposed to be sustained silent reading (they had a problem with the reading, but most of all had a problem with "silent") I was so ashamed of myself for caving to the 8th grade negotiators demands, I gave them a trivia question: "Why does Ms. Borg feel like Neville Chamberlain. Hint: What does appeasement mean?" That actually got them quiet and concentrating for the longest period of time during the hour. Most of them got pretty close (the Munich Conference, Poland being surrounded on all sides) from gleaning the Wikipedia entries, but none of them clicked on the "appeasement" hyperlink, which appears in the 2nd sentence of the entry on Chamberlain, which kind of surprised me. I told them to write
their answers on a card and check with the history teacher.
Also got to sub for a "gifted" class doing inquiry-based learning projects, which was pretty neat.
And I turned 30 on Monday. You might think this would be a headliner, but I was ready to play down the significance of the big 3-0. Since I've been trying to extend my adolescence indefinitely, it was a little of a wakeup call that I need to act like an adult. I think I'm plenty mature, but M. thinks "adults" are people who get up and go to work every day, and pay off their student loans.
Pshaw! I had a lovely birthday. The weather was gorgeous and went for a walk. M. unveiled his very nifty present (more later), brought me flowers and a cake (it's the thought, not the calories that count) and went on a birthday date! Also, everyone called/texted/FB posted voluminous birthday well-wishes (I felt so popular and loved!) I mentioned to my sister how this outpouring of affection surprised me, (even though FB tells people its your birthday, so they don't actually have to remember it.) She responded, "Of course they would! Everyone is crazy about you! You are awesome."
"Really?" I said.
"Yes," she replied firmly.
See, I didn't know this. Has my self-esteem always been this lousy? I know it declined precipitously as a result of law school, and then of working in the soulkilling depths of QDROland. But I thought it was getting better with teaching, and my work with the Mitzvah Garden. And honestly, I have noticed definite improvement this summer in self-image since I started WW, exercising, Mitzvah Garden. I think it makes me a better teacher (I'm less afraid of kids, less afraid of making mistakes, because i know I'll make them, and less afraid I'll bomb out), a better friend and a better spouse. I know that M. is not likely to offer unsolicited compliments, but since I've been feeling better about myself, I think I'm a lot more fun to be with. I have resolved to use this milestone birthday to reclaim my awesome (Thanks, spiritonparole!)
Anyway, M. gets me these birthday presents (Kindle, etc) that are fancy technogadgets which I would never buy for myself, but once I have them, love them. (How does he know?) He ordered a Galaxy Tab that mysteriously arrived via Fed Ex. At first, I was a little afraid of it, and kept in on the coffee table in the living room. "It's just a larger version of your phone," M. explained.
"No," I said, "I think the Tab and I need to take this relationship slowly. My phone (Galaxy Captivate) may get jealous." M. snorted. I was also afraid I'd break it. I started playing with the thingy(which needs a name), and discovered it was quite useful. It has a full Qwerty "Keyboard" that pops on its touch pad, instead of the "Swype" board I have on my phone, which is faster for notes/emails/documents etc. It also only operates on WiFi, but most places were I would be using it (Library, PittState, Home, Starbucks) have WiFi. I downloaded Skype for Android, but since the Tab 10.1 is running the most recent Android operating system (3.1), the Skype people haven't come out with a version update. You can run the software for earlier
versions to get voice, but not video calls. Hopefully, an update will be available soon.
Finally, I was the driving force behind organizing this coming week's mobile Mitzvah Garden Market fundraiser to be held at KI Synagogue. (We'll take your donations in exchange for produce from the garden). I think I may have sent out a gajillion emails/press releases/FB messages out into the ether, but I hope we'll get a good response. The only thing I'm a little worried about is that we won't have enough stuff to sell since garden productivity is starting to wind down. We'll always have zinnias (a huge hit at the last mobile market @ Beth Shalom nursery school).