Taste a little of the summer.
A week or so ago I wrote a gigantic and extremely boring post, mostly for my own benefit because it certainly wasn't going to benefit anybody else, all about our process of transforming our yard from disappointing and tiny to still tiny but much more satisfactory. Live Journal, always looking out for the good of the common people, repeatedly failed to allow me to post it. So you are all very lucky. Not that anyone would have taped your eyeballs open and forced you to read it, but still.
But since it wouldn't let me post that one, I will now be long-winded and boring on other topics. Awesome!
Today was the last official day of the regular school year; graduation was earlier this week and was as magical as our graduations usually are, but even more so. The school I teach at being an extremely small alternative school, various staff members always "speak for" each of the graduating seniors, telling a little bit about what makes them special and stuff like that. This year, for the first time, the option of speaking for students was open to the child care staff as well, and I got to speak for one of the moms who I've gotten closest to over the past couple years. She actually was one of the students that her class had elected to give a speech at graduation, and she shocked me by speaking directly to me by name in her (really excellent) speech, and talking with touching sincerity about the bond that I have with her little daughter, who has been in my class for almost two years. She had already made everybody in the room bawl long before, but I was just a big soggy mess after that. And maybe it was because of her honoring me in her speech, or because people liked the speech I gave, or maybe it was just because I was the only child care staff member who elected to speak, but that night was the first time I've really felt completely welcomed and respected by the academic staff. Really a cool night.
Today was what you call a non-student contact day, meaning that we teachers had way too many meetings and poked around pretending to do useful things in our classrooms. We did get to tour the U of M state model child care facility in the morning, which was cool, and held one of our meetings at the beautiful little house of one of my coworkers. So it was overall a most un-workshoppy workshop day (a good thing, to say the least). But the co-worker's house has got me dreaming and plotting of finally getting our house completely unpacked and decorated, so I think it will give me a kick in the arse on that front. Think I'm going to go garage saleing tomorrow morning.
Speaking of which, we had a sort of home furnishings coup the other day. I got sick with a cold over the weekend and spent much of Sunday lying on the couch, developing a fever late in the day (while watching Spirited Away for the first time, a combination I do NOT recommend). It culminated in me actually throwing up, which I thought really strange for the otherwise garden-variety cold that I had, and it got me thinking about my b-day weekend, when I threw up after what seemed like just a bad sinus headache. I had thought that was weird, too. So then a couple nights ago when I was completely over the cold, I was knitting on the couch and started feeling nauseated again, and was feeling pretty fed up with the whole thing, especially since the smell that has emanated from our area rug ever since we got it (brand new, I might add) was not helping matters any. And then everything just clicked into place: duh, the rug made me puke. The smell it gives off has always bugged me, and the similarity between the two times I threw up unexpectedly was that I was sick with other symptoms and so spent hours at a time convalescing on the couch, right on top of that rug, and getting more and more nauseated. So the guilty rug is now in the basement, at least until we can give it a good cleaning. I'm a little sorry about it, because it was a very nice housewarming gift from my mother, aunts, and grandma, but it does mean we can now use the second of the two rugs we got off of Craig's List that match our paint colors eerily well. And I'm really hoping we'll still be able to use it in our office once we shampoo it.
We got a flier in the mail yesterday detailing the events of Kaposia Days, our newly adopted home town's little summer townie celebration. I'd already been warned by a former resident that some of the festivities would take place practically on our doorstep, but it was a little jarring to see that "Food Court" was listed for Friday the 22nd as being at the intersection where our house sits. The parade will go right past our street, too, and the fireworks on Sunday take place at the high school, a couple blocks up. Haven't decided how I feel about all this yet; it will definitely be an experience, especially as new residents of the town, and of course won't be nearly as bad as it is for those poor souls who live right by the State Fairgrounds. But it might be interesting getting to and from our house that weekend. Oh, well. We also found out that the farmer's market, which starts up in July, will be only a block and a half away. Hooray! Especially since I'll be getting an MPR farmer's market organic canvas tote bag (ooohhh) as part of my thank you gift for renewing my public radio membership. (Hippie? Or geek? You decide!)
See? This is what happens when I'm not allowed to post exactly when I wanna! It just all gets bottled up for later.
Ahhhh. Today was one of those almost unbelievably perfect days, weather-wise. The breeze coming in the window is lovely, I should go outside and read. Plus we grilled a much anticipated salmon-steak for dinner tonight (I bought it a week ago and had to freeze it, as we haven't had many evenings at home together) that completely lived up to the hype I'd given it, so my tummy is pleased, too. Yay, happy summer night.
But since it wouldn't let me post that one, I will now be long-winded and boring on other topics. Awesome!
Today was the last official day of the regular school year; graduation was earlier this week and was as magical as our graduations usually are, but even more so. The school I teach at being an extremely small alternative school, various staff members always "speak for" each of the graduating seniors, telling a little bit about what makes them special and stuff like that. This year, for the first time, the option of speaking for students was open to the child care staff as well, and I got to speak for one of the moms who I've gotten closest to over the past couple years. She actually was one of the students that her class had elected to give a speech at graduation, and she shocked me by speaking directly to me by name in her (really excellent) speech, and talking with touching sincerity about the bond that I have with her little daughter, who has been in my class for almost two years. She had already made everybody in the room bawl long before, but I was just a big soggy mess after that. And maybe it was because of her honoring me in her speech, or because people liked the speech I gave, or maybe it was just because I was the only child care staff member who elected to speak, but that night was the first time I've really felt completely welcomed and respected by the academic staff. Really a cool night.
Today was what you call a non-student contact day, meaning that we teachers had way too many meetings and poked around pretending to do useful things in our classrooms. We did get to tour the U of M state model child care facility in the morning, which was cool, and held one of our meetings at the beautiful little house of one of my coworkers. So it was overall a most un-workshoppy workshop day (a good thing, to say the least). But the co-worker's house has got me dreaming and plotting of finally getting our house completely unpacked and decorated, so I think it will give me a kick in the arse on that front. Think I'm going to go garage saleing tomorrow morning.
Speaking of which, we had a sort of home furnishings coup the other day. I got sick with a cold over the weekend and spent much of Sunday lying on the couch, developing a fever late in the day (while watching Spirited Away for the first time, a combination I do NOT recommend). It culminated in me actually throwing up, which I thought really strange for the otherwise garden-variety cold that I had, and it got me thinking about my b-day weekend, when I threw up after what seemed like just a bad sinus headache. I had thought that was weird, too. So then a couple nights ago when I was completely over the cold, I was knitting on the couch and started feeling nauseated again, and was feeling pretty fed up with the whole thing, especially since the smell that has emanated from our area rug ever since we got it (brand new, I might add) was not helping matters any. And then everything just clicked into place: duh, the rug made me puke. The smell it gives off has always bugged me, and the similarity between the two times I threw up unexpectedly was that I was sick with other symptoms and so spent hours at a time convalescing on the couch, right on top of that rug, and getting more and more nauseated. So the guilty rug is now in the basement, at least until we can give it a good cleaning. I'm a little sorry about it, because it was a very nice housewarming gift from my mother, aunts, and grandma, but it does mean we can now use the second of the two rugs we got off of Craig's List that match our paint colors eerily well. And I'm really hoping we'll still be able to use it in our office once we shampoo it.
We got a flier in the mail yesterday detailing the events of Kaposia Days, our newly adopted home town's little summer townie celebration. I'd already been warned by a former resident that some of the festivities would take place practically on our doorstep, but it was a little jarring to see that "Food Court" was listed for Friday the 22nd as being at the intersection where our house sits. The parade will go right past our street, too, and the fireworks on Sunday take place at the high school, a couple blocks up. Haven't decided how I feel about all this yet; it will definitely be an experience, especially as new residents of the town, and of course won't be nearly as bad as it is for those poor souls who live right by the State Fairgrounds. But it might be interesting getting to and from our house that weekend. Oh, well. We also found out that the farmer's market, which starts up in July, will be only a block and a half away. Hooray! Especially since I'll be getting an MPR farmer's market organic canvas tote bag (ooohhh) as part of my thank you gift for renewing my public radio membership. (Hippie? Or geek? You decide!)
See? This is what happens when I'm not allowed to post exactly when I wanna! It just all gets bottled up for later.
Ahhhh. Today was one of those almost unbelievably perfect days, weather-wise. The breeze coming in the window is lovely, I should go outside and read. Plus we grilled a much anticipated salmon-steak for dinner tonight (I bought it a week ago and had to freeze it, as we haven't had many evenings at home together) that completely lived up to the hype I'd given it, so my tummy is pleased, too. Yay, happy summer night.