Break Time

Break time. So I sit at the computer to read blogs and maybe ramble a bit on my own. Of course part of that is the fact that I'm having my second cup of coffee of the morning and I enjoy reading blogs while I do so. So far this morning I've spent 15 minutes in Squirrel's room, 15 in the kitchen, 15 in the pantry and 15 doing laundry. 15 minutes may not sound like much but it seems to work well for me - a large job is far less overwhelming when I know I have a timer to get as much done as I can then I leave it and come back later. (It is also easier on both boys when they are helping me to know that they only have to do it for a specified time span before they can go do something they want to do). In other rooms/areas 15 minutes is enough to finish the job then I have the satisfaction of a job completed. Sometimes I wonder if the reason we have so much attention deficit is because of so many things that are broken down into short time spans like that. Having said that...I know that I can spend longer than 15 minutes doing something I enjoy. And since I am not a particularly organized person I can only do some things for short time spans - mainly things that require deciding what to do with stuff. I am a dreadful pack rat - courtesy of moving so very many times I'm sure so that makes being organized much more difficult. The biggest challenge now is the ability to keep focused all day. I usually lose my focus around lunchtime.

The crawl space is completely poured on the addition for B's house - including the slab for the 3 season room. Windows and doors are ordered, kitchen cabinets will be ordered this week probably. Soon there should be some progress on the actual construction - I'm looking forward to watching it come together.

B asked me last night how many chicks I had lost of the 25 new ones I got this spring. At that point only one had died and that was due to it getting too cold one night because it got out of it's box one evening. This morning Stretch told me that we have another one dead! I am very very eager for the new ones to start producing eggs - think my older layers are not laying regularly anymore as I'm only getting 2 eggs - from 5 hens - a day. I am not really looking forward to butchering day as I have vivid memories of plucking chickens as a teenager. However that is part of the purpose of this - to have some meat that I raised myself - in addition of the eggs. So we will see how things go.

Pictures on the computer are slowly getting organized - it's definitely an ongoing process. We've had a few strawberries off my plants this year. I'm getting pictures chosen for a couple of scrapbooking projects - and journaling one that needs finished up. That's kind of fun. I hope to make more jam this week - love doing that though it's hot work. Probably next month there will be wild blackberries to do. Thankfully I've had no poison ivy reactions this summer - think eating fried dandelions might have something to do with it.

Better go - coffee is finished and it's almost time to get back to work. I do enjoy these summer days when schedules are a little lighter.

Short Update

One batch of strawberry jam was made the other day with strawberries for a second batch prepped and put in the freezer. (I am so thankful to have a freezer that works) One strawberry shortcake was made and demolished with great enjoyment. I would have really liked to try my hand at making strawberry pie filling and canning it but there weren't enough this year.

I am down to cutting the last few quilt pieces out - rotary cutters are very helpful tools. I've left the two biggest pieces of purchased fabric and the shirts to the last. I hope to get those done this next week while Squirrel is at church camp.

Other than that...not too much is going on. I'm finished with my 2nd cup of coffee so had best scoot for now. We are going to B's sister for a Father's Day cookout tonight and I'm way behind on my day. Eventually I'll get pictures posted but not today.

Slow Starts

I'm getting another slow start this morning - though I've been "up" since shortly before 7:00 am. I had time for oatmeal and coffee then headed out to try to get some strawberries. Now I have 5 quarts sitting on my kitchen counter to take care of. I'm hoping for a nice strawberry shortcake and at least one batch of jam out of them. Strawberries are hard to come by this year - I pulled up the place where I bought mine - there were 10 quarts sitting out for sale. Within a minute of when I pulled up there were 2 other customers also wanting some. The one gentleman didn't end up getting any this time.

Dipstick is here today. B dropped him off sometime before 6:40 this morning - I had set an alarm so I could be awake and still missed him. Being as I didn't sleep well last night I guess it's understandable though. The plan is for me to have Dipstick 1-2 days a week while B works. I'm not really wanting them to be back to back so we will see. I am going to send Squirrel and Dipstick outside for a bit before it gets too hot. Squirrel is finally recovering from his latest "sunburn" - he didn't look red at all but was all swollen and itchy on Sunday. We've been doing antihistamines since then. I blame myself for this one - he asked if he should wear sunscreen Saturday night to the birthday party and I figured that since it was after 5:00 pm he wouldn't need any. So now we go for sunscreen all the time - even when I don't think he needs it. Next week at church camp should be interesting for him - he'll be outside a lot. However our youth pastor - who is going along as counselor - knows the situation and has promised to keep an eye on him.

I've been sorting through stuff - papers, etc mainly and getting it put away. Don't feel like I've accomplished a huge amount since summer started but guess I will be doing baby steps. I have got the quilts started - as far as cutting out pieces. Think that when I try to work on that later today I will attempt to use the kitchen counter as it's higher and easier on my back. I'm excited about them and hope to have a lot of progress done. I've got a couple of calendars I need to make - have pictures for one pretty much together.

Guess I have rambled on long enough and it's time to get going on stuff. Laundry is doing, strawberries are waiting.

Wooohooo

Woohooo.... School is now officially done and summer break can begin! I just got home from turning my bus in to the bus shop. The driveway is empty again and looks extremely big.

My morning started with a phone call offering bus washing services which is something I normally have to do myself. However apparently there are several people working community service hours at the shop cleaning buses. Being as I find it takes a lot of time and is somewhat stressful I was happy to accept.

Summer Break

1st day of summer break! I'm not sure yet that I really feel like school is out. Of course part of that is probably that I haven't got the bus cleaned out and turned in yet. Stretch and I spent close to an hour working on that this morning. The insides of the windows are cleaned and my "personal" stuff is cleared out. I had hoped to get the roof washed down and the junk that gets stuffed down into the seats cleaned out. However I found that I'm out of rubber gloves - and while I'm not usually really squeamish this is one area that I draw the line at. So we were satisfied with the progress we made and stopped. I also was able to get the chicken coop cleaned out before I figured it was time to come in for awhile. It's not too terribly hot this morning - just gray, overcast and muggy. Now the goal is to get the chicks all moved from the barn into the chicken coop so I can clean the barn out. I am still at the point that I have to physically put the chicks into the coop at night. I'm not sure how to solve that - probably will have to evict them from the barn and make sure it stays closed tight so they don't have a choice.

Squirrel is still away - he's due home sometime tomorrow afternoon. I think the first couple of days were hard on him - I haven't heard from him nearly as often since things started. He's had the chance to be at the Odyssey of the Mind World Championships
Charlie picked him up Thursday night about 11:00pm and took him with him. (Charlie is my best friend from OK's husband - she was with the team as the coach). It was very much a spur of the moment trip/opportunity that involved trying to get a hold of his teacher as he would be missing the last 2 days of school. Most of the people here that I've talked to have had no idea what Odyssey of the Mind is as there is no teams here in IN so it's been educational for me as well. Thankfully his teacher did and she said he would learn much more there then he would at school for the last couple of days. I really struggled with him leaving - he's my "baby" and this is the first time he's been that far away from me without a family member with him. I trust who he's with implicitly but at the same time I felt like he should still be wrapped in swaddling blankets in my arms. However this is a necessary part of him growing up - for both of us.

Stretch and I leave for Chicago tonight - we aren't going all the way. We will be meeting his aunt on this side of the city - having supper together. Then Stretch will go on to spend the next two days there watching his cousin while I come home. I am looking forward to the time alone - hoping to get the house cleaned so that it's just mainly maintenance for the rest of the summer. That way hopefully I will be able to work on some other major projects that have been waiting to be done. (Stretch just walked in from his run - did a PR according to his time keeping. He's dripping with sweat.)

Guess I have rambled enough for now - it's probably time for me to get off here and get some other stuff done. I have a couple of stops planned for our trip to Chicago - stuff that I either need (cat food, chicken feed) or a visit to the photo store that I wouldn't make a special trip for. That last requires some preparation as well.

Ponderings

Yesterday morning I had an hour or so to simply sit and journal. It was wonderful as it had been a while since I did so. I got the time because my internet access was down and I was having my coffee - can't do other chores and drink coffee at the same time. Anyway...there are some things I've been pondering lately and would love any insight you all want to give me.

First off...the least involved question. What ways are available to fight allergies - worst in the spring when tree pollen counts are high - that do not involve drugs that cause drowsiness as a side effect? Most over the counter allergy stuff either does very little to help or knocks me out sleeping.

Secondly...what realistic ways have you found to cut your gas usage? With gasoline at $4.00/gal (I was thrilled to pay able to pay $3.89/gal Thursday night - that's just wrong!) I'm looking for ways to cut back. The challenge is that Stretch is in Gospel Choir so is out every Sunday while Squirrel takes TaeKwonDo classes at least twice a week. Squirrel can - until school lets out - ride a school bus and get dropped off for class. I still have to go pick him up. Stretch has to be both dropped off and picked up every time. Biking is not really an option simply because he is in dress clothes. For Squirrel it's an 8 mile bike ride which I'm not willing to have him do yet - not to mention that he's got a large equipment bag that goes with him. We live in the country which normally is wonderful but there is a minimum of a 2 mile distance to anywhere for us.

Third and final question...what are some realistic ways to make one day of the week an actual "rest day" that does not involve a mountain of chores that don't get done other days? Being a single working mom I find it a challenge to say the least. Also what does a "rest day" look like? Is it simply "no chores" - vegging out in front of the TV or is it more - Doing something fun as a family, having time to be "creative" - with beads, scrap booking, cross stitch, "playing" in the dirt, simply having time to journal or to sit and read? I realize that each individual and each family will have different ideas of what is restful...how does one balance those differences? For me...a huge part of a rest day is not having to cook a huge meal and not having to clean the kitchen afterwards. I have no problem grilling or doing something really simple. That gets old sometimes though.

I am looking forward to reading your comments on this.

Squirrel

Squirrel is turning 12 today! In honor of that fact I thought I would recap some of what he's accomplished over the last year and what he's looking forward to for the next. I've always wanted to write my boys letters on their birthdays doing that and so far have never accomplished that. But here's a first attempt.

Son

I love you. I love the fact that you still want mom to tuck you in at night - and to spend a few minutes laying beside you talking over your day. Those are the few minutes that you generally tell me more about the day then you do at any other time. I love the fact that you come in and crawl in with me in the mornings - even when I'm not awake and sometimes grumble at you. I love the fact that you are so good at getting up and around in the morning cheerfully - with your alarm. I remember the days when I literally had to stand you up, get you dressed, and put you on the bus where you fell back asleep again for another hour or so. Thank you for cheerfully caring for the chicks in the mornings before school - and for still making it out to wait for the school bus on time.

You are finishing up 5th grade and excitedly looking forward to middle school and 6th grade. I think you are most excited about getting to learn to play the trombone. And it looks like you will be very gifted at it - it will still take hours of practice to do well but an aptitude helps.

You are old enough to start attending youth group at church. I pray that as you do you will develop a "fire" for God and grow in your faith.

You are having "puberty" talks - learning what to expect as you grow. You now tell me "I need to wash my face morning and night mom!" You are almost as tall as your mother - soon I will be the shortest in this family.

Last night you "closed" at Grief Group. You showed me your bag of rocks on the way home and seemed comfortable with the decision. Closing there does not mean that you will ever forget Daddy - it just means that you are healing and moving on. That's good and important and right.

You are working towards your black belt in TaeKwonDo and doing very well at it. You are excelling in school - which thrills me. I'm eager to see how you continue to grow and mature.You still hate to have pictures taken - would rather be the one taking the pictures. In that you are a true son of your mother. I hope though that you will allow me to take some this weekend.

Have a wonderful year as a 12 year old - your last year as a "child" before you become a teen.

I love you!
Mom

Today was a misty damp rainy cool day - with the kind of rain that is needed for crops and gardens to grow. The lilac bushes were bent almost double from the weight of the blooms and the water. On a work day it can be rather gloomy - it's a better day for being able to hang around home in pj's. However today was a work day.

The bus route has been rather peaceful this week - a very nice change from last week with problems both at the beginning of the week and the end of it. Two of my students that had issues at the end of last week have been suspended from the bus for most of this week. Another one has been out of school - not sure why. I am very thankful for that - and at the same time rather looking forward to the end of the year. Today one of my older students had a can of "Fart Spray" - something I had never seen before. He tried to tell me it had sprayed "accidentally" while in his pocket. So...more paperwork to do tomorrow.

The chicks are growing. I moved them into an area bordered by two boxes, covered in chicken wire that has litter down on the floor. There will be clean-up to do when they are big enough to move into the coop. However now they have a little more room to roam.

Squirrel and I are both fighting sinus junk. I know that mine is caused by allergies and I suspect the same for him. He is finishing up his major 5th grade projects - on his state that he had to do a report on. I am speckled in gray spray paint as a result of helping him. Tomorrow night he has his music program also. Stretch has pretty much finished up his major school projects. He still has a few concerts left but nothing else major. He has been learning to run sound for elementary school music programs and is enjoying that.

Tomorrow I'm likely to be incredibly busy. In addition to my regular bus routes, I'm on standby to drive a kindergarten trip in the morning. That will depend completely on weather as it would be a walking trip if it is sunny out. Then I would go straight from that to my shuttle and a short break at home. Then it's afternoon route, followed by Squirrel's music program followed by a trip to pick up the track team from Sectionals. I am to be in the town where they are held by 9:00 pm tomorrow night. There is no telling what time I will get home. It's looking like a long day.

Stretch is hovering waiting on his turn on the computer so I'd better stop for now.

Bus Route

Completely discouraged at the moment - mainly with my bus route. That incident I wrote about last time with the 5 kids and the broken arm? The students involved got nothing, nada, zilch! The parents got a letter sent home telling them that if there was any further discussion, threatening or arguments the student doing the threatening would be suspended. The story in the letter was different then the story I heard from the students talking - Kid1 was not the kid who supposedly broke Kid2's arm - it was either Kid4 or Kid5. However that makes no sense at all because Kid3 sits with Kid4 on the bus - and if it had been either Kid4 or Kid5 they would not be getting along with Kid3. Now that that's sufficiently muddled...I talked to my boss about it. He says that because the principal involved is retiring at the end of this school year, he's not going to fight her on it at all. All I can do with any bus incidents is keep writing them up and just live with them.

Also I know for certain that my route will be changing again next year. That's frustrating because I have worked with these kids all year...finally have them somewhat lined out and now will have to start all over with a new group next year.

Out of time for now...guess I will try to post a more cheerful post later today. At the moment I'm getting ready to go have a quick visit with a couple who were like 2nd parents to me when I was growing up. They are in town for a visit with Suz and this time of day is the only time for a visit. It works for me though.

ngStruggling this morning - yesterday I got a lot done early. I was able to enjoy having quiet time out on the deck, did laundry, dishes, picked up the kitchen and family room - even spent time mowing the lawn. I was cheerful and encouraged. This morning - not so much. Nothing much major happened except I thought I was going to have a fist fight on the bus. Kid1 is blamed for breaking Kid2's arm over the weekend. Kid2 is back to school today along with brother Kid3 and two friends Kids 4 &5. Kids 4&5 start making comments about Kid1 who gets upset and starts to threaten them - no one will be quiet and let things drop. So...kids involved are turned in to the school to be dealt with - hopefully at least one will be kicked off the bus for the rest of the year. He's had his limit of conduct reports and is at that step in the discipline plan. We will see.

I'm sure another one of my sources of stress is the fact that I've realized that I have somethi scheduled every night this week - all will have me out until at least 7:00 pm - some will have me out later. Unfortunately none can be rescheduled due to it mainly being stuff that's preparation for next year. I was earlier rejoicing that this would be a less hectic week than last week with the musical being over with. B has asked me to go to the parent meeting at Dipstick's middle school as he finds them overwhelming. That's tonight along with TaeKwonDo for Squirrel and praise team practice for Stretch. Tomorrow night Squirrel has an instrument fitting for band for next year and I have an overdue haircut scheduled. Thursday night is TaeKwonDo, Grief Group and a music program that Squirrel wants to go to. He won't be doing everything...it just depends on which one he decides to do. Friday night I was hoping to attend an introductory yoga stretching class led by a friend of mine - I need the stretching and exercise. Not sure at the moment if I will make it or not - we will see.

On a different note...the musical is over and done. I thoroughly enjoyed it - laughed a lot. I didn't cry even when Beth died...actually I didn't even realize that was what was happening in that scene. The girl who played Amy was amazing - perfectly cast. Stretch did a very good job as Professor Fritz - though he was told he had a awful German accent by our German exchange student. (I told him the exchange student should have stepped up to the plate to help him with that. ) He stayed for the "after party" - didn't get home until 4:00 am Sunday morning. It turned out that I knew the parents who were hosting it - that set my mind much more at ease. Stretch is back to running again.

Guess I've rambled enough...think I'm going to go outside and dig in my flower bed for a bit before having to head back to work. Still need to start laundry and stuff but need this more for my sanity.

It's been awhile since I've taken time to post - life has gotten decidedly busy to say the least. I hardly know where to start.

I now have 25 chicks in a large box in my barn. Most should be layers with about 5 roosters thrown in. They are now 3 weeks or so old and are getting in their permanent feathers. I keep two heat lamps on them at the moment as yesterday and today are quite cool. We are actually under a freeze warning tonight. I really really hope that it doesn't freeze as my trees are in bloom and I would really like some fruit off them this year. I plan to attempt to cover the shorter ones but that's not many. We will see.

Bus route - well it's easy to tell that the school year is winding down. The students are either really well behaved or really challenging - there doesn't seem to be much in between. I turned in my first conduct report in a long time on my "seatbelt" child - his resource teacher requested that. My middle school students are being their "normal" challenging selves - several will probably be suspended from the bus for a few days. End of year field trips are in full swing - I will be driving tomorrow most of the day with two more trips "on hold" pending my ability to find subs for my routes. Considering we hardly have any subs, that's a major challenge. My morning route and kindergarten shuttle are covered - am just waiting on a call back on my afternoon route for Friday. Squirrel has his only field trip of the school year Friday - he really really wants me to be one of the drivers for it.

Stretch is equally busy this week - he has his first performance of the musical tomorrow morning. (I am driving a bus to that - it doesn't involve my taking any time off my routes). Last night, tonight and Thursday night practice goes until 8:00 pm with performances Friday and Saturday nights. After his final performance he's asked to attend the "after party" for the cast - which will likely have him "out" until the wee hours of the morning. I am a little nervous about that but it's at one of the cast member's homes so hopefully will be chaperoned well and he will have his cell phone so can reach me if need be. We - B, Dipstick, Squirrel and I will be attending Saturday night's show.

The remodel at B's has not progressed much since we spent the time there hauling concrete. Some siding has come off and things are slowly getting packed up inside. Concrete for the crawl space is supposed to be poured sometime this coming weekend. However the electric has to be transferred to the new box, phone line has to be moved and the weather has to be "right" before that can happen.

I guess on that note, I had better scoot for now and get something in the crock pot for supper and hopefully measure out ingredients for a batch of muffins.

Stuff

This turkey shows up at B's house when there are people doing stuff outside. We think it was probably a pet.

I started a post yesterday and ran out of time to finish it - I'm determined to get this done today. Of course that means that I need to type fast. Squirrel is in school today - he stayed home yesterday since he fell apart just before time to get on the bus. He slept from when he went back to bed at 7:00 am until 10:45 - definitely not normal for him. I was able to pick up his homework and have him work on it later during the day - he got most of it done. I figured out last night that in addition to sheer exhaustion from the weekend, part of his problem was likely due to a reaction to the little bit of sun that he got over the weekend. It's time to get the sunscreen out regularly again. (These daffodils are in my back yard).

Busy busy weekend and week. I'm honestly not sure where to start...It is beautiful and mostly sunny out now. Yesterday morning we had thick fog during bus route time - it was like driving through a wooded desert where everything was muffled but there were eerie patches of woods that appeared and disappeared through the mist. Now it seems rather like trees and bushes have burst into bloom overnight. Daffodils and grape hyacinth are blooming. Forsythia are everywhere while lilacs have leaves on them and will bloom in a couple of weeks.

We spent a good part of Saturday at B's moving concrete. He's starting a big remodel at his place and we are helping. So far it's been fun to see the changes as things are torn off that need to come off before anything new can go on. It was a lot of work and we were all pretty beat by the time we got home. The picture below is just some of our chicks - Suz had 2 day old chicks (by the time they arrived) delivered to her place a week ago. 21 of those are mine definitely - I may take more just am not sure yet. (This was only one group of the chicks - she has them divided into 3 separate crates)

Sunday was definitely a rest day - made for a nice change. We went to Suz's for supper and the evening. The boys played outside while the adults were able to visit inside. It was fun to see how the chicks were growing. We played an old game B and I had never played before - Suz is great for board games. It was 9:00 pm before we got home so it was straight to bed for the boys.

Spring Break Part 1

First day back to school after spring break...the morning went well. Both boys were ready early and, in spite of not wanting to get out of bed, I did not run too late. It is a beautiful sunny morning - the greens are brilliant and fresh, leaves are peeking out, daffodils and crocus are blooming...spring has finally arrived.

Spring break just flew past - guess that two trips to Chicago will make it seem that way. We had planned on going to Chicago last Sunday afternoon (a week ago) and staying until Tuesday night. B and Dipstick were due home from CO Saturday night so that would have given us a chance to see them and then head out. However B called Saturday morning and told me that they were going to miss their train connection from Chicago to South Bend and wondered if I could pick them up. Of course I agreed...rushed around making phone calls and getting stuff together. Squirrel rode with me on the way up...he got to spend an extra 24 hours with his aunt, uncle and cousins. The benefit to that was that I had some one on one time with him on the way up as well as company for me on the drive. The train was over 5 hours late so didn't get in until 10:20 pm after which we had to locate checked luggage (which was already on it's way to South Bend- we still don't know how that happened), get ticket refunds, make restroom stops, etc before we could head back east. We had to stop in South Bend to drop another couple at their car and pick up luggage then we headed home. It was 3:00 am by the time I dropped B & Dipstick at their house. I did not get home myself until 3:30 am - was in bed and asleep by 4:00. (Stretch was home alone this entire time - he's old enough to appreciate the time and he was able to take care of the chickens and other animals.) Stretch did not wake me up Sunday morning - I woke up to phone the head of the nursery at church to let her know I was in no shape to hold babies that morning and went back to sleep. I didn't wake again until about 11:45am when I had 2 different phones ringing at the same time. B brought Stretch home from church, waited on me to get around and we went to lunch, did grocery shopping and basically ran around taking care of stuff. Stretch and I left for Chicago about 6:00 pm. Squirrel was very very glad to see us when we arrived - he ran and hugged us both.

While there, I got to have supper with a good friend that I used to work with - we usually get together whenever we are in town - her daughter comes along also - eat and yak for a couple of hours. Our older nephew had school during the day and his dad had to work - that meant that La and I got "girl time" with 3 boys in tow. We went and visited the cemetery - beautiful day for that - took rubbings of Mike's headstone as well as pictures. What was neat about that was that Squirrel was, for the first time, eager to visit there - he actually was more "enthusiastic" than his brother was. We missed our exit on the way there and got to drive past the airport - the boys were all excited about that. Excitement on the way home involved missing another exit, getting caught in traffic and not being home in time for school dismissal. J did not get the message that he was to walk to his babysitter's house with a friend instead of his mom picking him up - that message not getting delivered involved several phone calls while finding him. He eventually ended up back at school and was safely picked up and taken to the sitter's house. Tuesday we made absolutely sure that we were home in time for school dismissal. We ran around "shopping" that day - La allowed Stretch to drive her car while I drove the other two boys - we were going to drop her car off to get tires repaired and oil, etc changed. He did really really well coping with traffic and rainy misty weather - probably the most excitement he had was having a wide load pass him and another wide load ahead of him. We also took pictures of the 4 boys - that should have been done Monday as the weather was better that day. As it was, the weather was nasty enough that we had to do them inside and I didn't think they turned out as well. It was nice to be able to use the digital camera and see that day how they turned out. La and I had good visiting time - alone - with no kids Monday night late when she met me at a bookstore after supper and late Tuesday night after everyone else was asleep.

Wednesday we made a leisurely trip home - making stops at a couple of different places and generally taking our time.

Away

So many thoughts ... scattered, twisting... like leaves blowing in the wind.

In Chicago visiting. Enjoying the time with family and friends. Exhausted due to different schedules, different beds. As usual time goes by too quickly - trying to cram everything into 48 short hours. Looking forward to being back at home. Amazed at how the nephews have grown. Pictures, laughter, tears. Travel on spring break.

Fractured

Well I have officially fractured my finger. There is a triangular shaped chip visible on the x-ray that is consistent with a compression fracture according to the dr. The xray tech - on viewing the films before the doctor saw them says "yup" then came around the corner to ask if it was more comforting to know there was a reason or would I rather not? That made me laugh. It is now splinted with a different splint and buddy taped to the finger next to it. Pain has decreased immensely since that was done and I am relieved to know that there was a reason for it to hurt! Of course it makes every day life slightly more challenging having two fingers out of commission.
In other things - it's a beautiful sunny day - not too cold - spring-like. The chicken coop is cleaned with fresh litter, food and water. (The cleaning gets done every couple of months or so...food and water is daily) Bits and pieces of the house are getting done and we will soon head to town for the rest of the day. B and Dipstick left early this morning for CO - Dipstick is on spring break. They will be back next weekend.

O.k...time is up for now. More another time.

Spring is Coming

This morning on bus route we saw 5 blue herons - all in a group. To me it was amazing! I've never seen more than one at a time so this was an unusual treat. We also saw 4 deer and numerous geese. There are red-winged blackbirds around - spring is coming! The buds on trees are getting just slightly bigger daily.

The weekend turned out pretty good. My finger is not broken as best as I can tell - it is severely bruised and still sore especially if I use it too much - without the splint. I was absolutely amazed how much better it felt once I put an over the counter splint on it! The oven still works just fine - Stretch made a batch of cookies in it later on Saturday.

Saturday evening B and I had a date - he had called several of my friends as well as his parents, Jay and a couple of other people to meet us for supper at a newly remodeled cafe in town. He managed all of this without me knowing anything about it - I was much impressed. The food was delicious and I know I ate far too much! My closest friends and B and I closed the place down - we just sat and chatted after everyone else left.

Sunday after church we were invited to B's family Easter meal. Stretch and Squirrel were excited - they really really enjoy these get-togethers. Mostly the teens and kids played downstairs while the adults visited or fell asleep in front of the tv upstairs. Not everyone was able to make it but I at least had a lot of fun.

O.k....I gave myself 30 minutes this morning before I had to get moving and doing stuff around the house - it's rather a mess. My 30 minutes were up 5 minutes ago so it's time to get moving.

Reminiscing

Well today is shaping up to be an interesting day at least...I jammed my left index finger to the point that it's swollen, painful especially to apply pressure to and does not bend well. I can type reasonably ok but that's about all I can do. I've had phone calls with birthday wishes - that's been kind of fun. I am having a much more difficult time this year than normal - I suspect that it has something to do with the 5 year anniversary of Mike's death. 5 years ago today I was newly widowed (if 2 weeks counts as newly) and beginning to face life alone with my boys. We had just gone through 6+ years of dealing with cancer and now were having to come up with a new normal. Stretch was just finishing up 4th grade while Squirrel was in Transitional First. At that point every time the phone rang I wondered if it would be Mike calling to say he would be home soon or I would expect him to come walking through the front door even though it had been months since he'd been able to walk - or even gone anywhere alone. He had been sick for so long I did not expect the depth of grief - and the denial part of it to be so strong.

Since that time...much more has changed. I had carpet pulled and tile laid in our house in Oklahoma and we took a cross country mostly driving vacation. A year later we sold that house and made a major cross country move. Both boys were vehemently against moving and especially moving that far away. We have settled into our new home - the boys have adjusted to school and life here. Stretch, as a freshman in high school, is part of Gospel Choir at school, on the worship team at church, has a major part in the musical the high school is practicing for, is involved in the youth group at church and an accomplished runner. He's learning to manage his emotions and control his temper. He's got a strong growing relationship with Jesus and is beginning to look at colleges. Squirrel is a 5th grade student, is involved in TaeKwonDo, enjoys running and other sports. He also enjoys reading, music, Star Wars and Star Trek. He is strong willed and knows he has Jesus living in his heart.

I have had two different jobs since our move - both driving school bus. I love living in the country - having fruit trees to care for, room for a garden, chickens...the deer and other wildlife. I tend to think possums are some of the ugliest critters though. I am dating a very special man...I am told I look happy. There have been many many changes...I am not sorry for what I've experienced - both the good and the bad. I am very thankful for the upbringing I had - it gave me the foundation of faith that I needed to go through the cancer, moving and all of that.

I'm not really sure why I feel the need to put this down on "paper" except I think it's been percolating in the back of my mind for the last couple of weeks. I now am really beginning to look forward to the future - while I always knew that God had a good plan for my life I had a hard time articulating any dreams let alone looking ahead. I simply functioned day by day.

As far as the picture above is concerned I wanted to post a picture of me as a young girl but don't have the know how to make a slide post. This sunset picture was taken from my house one evening when I was playing with my camera and tripod.

Tractor Show & other fun

'It's already Tuesday and I'm just now getting to update here. I had basically no internet access over the weekend - no matter what I tried I could not seem to connect. Sunday afternoon I finally called repair and got it working. Turned out something was jammed between the router and the modem and nothing was talking. Frustration to say the least.

Friday night I covered a run for Suz - she had intended on doing it until her daughter was up sick with croup Thursday night and they had to make an ER run. Miss Jess is doing ok now though she is still at risk for another episode for the next week or so.
Anyway that had me out fairly late Friday night.



Saturday morning B and Dipstick picked us up about 8:30 am - we went to breakfast then headed north to a antique tractor show. It was smaller than I had expected it to be - not sure why - except that it was indoor - nice since the day was cold and gray anyway. I had a lot of fun wandering the aisles. I still don't have much understanding of tractors - am beginning to learn that each name (i.e. John Deere, Allys Chalmers, etc) has a corresponding color - green, orange, red, etc. So one can recognize the type of tractor by the color. There was also a "craft" section - nothing too spectacular or unusual. There were a lot of machine embroidered towels, shirts, etc for sale - mostly all relating to tractors. What was interesting was that one couple had their machines there - actually doing the embroidery. One was completely computer controlled - all you had to do was set it up and let it go. It was an industrial type machine. The other was smaller and required a little more attention. Squirrel especially was fascinated - he says I need to get a machine that will do that. We will see - some things would be fun but sewing is definitely NOT my strong point. And I prefer to wander with B at this point in time.

From there we had lunch then went to another museum that actually had 5 museums in it. There was a WWII museum with an amazing amount of stuff in a rather small space; a Corvette museum that we think we missed, a TV and radio museum that we skipped, another one that had things like the Batmobile, Knight Rider's car Kit, the A-Team's van, the General Lee...that was fun and one other that I think we missed. There was also a race car show that day in the main lobby. To watch the boys wander and look at all that stuff was wow!
By that time we were all tired but headed back west to a local Home and Garden Show. The boys grumbled a bit about going there but I'm glad we went. It was fun to be able to see and handle some of the different options to put in a house. The Garden part really wasn't much at all - that was a bit disappointing. And I would have liked to find a scrapbooking table at one of these events. We ended the day by supper at B's followed by a trip to the supercenter for milk and stuff followed by a movie at my house. Everyone except me fell asleep during the movie so no one has really seen the entire thing.

Sunday was spent recuperating (at least for me) after church. Emotionally I had a tough day - talked about foot washing in Sunday School class - the discussion brought back memories of high school followed by memories of Mike and the churches we attended in OK. Then B and I walked into service to "Because He Lives" being sung. That song is one that my dad has always thought of as "my song" because it's one I've loved for years - and I requested that it be done at Mike's memorial service as a testimony of how and why I could continue on after having gone through so much with his illness. There is no way that without God I could have handled all that. Being emotionally worn and physically exhausted I struggled with the house being a major mess that afternoon. Was able to get a nap and get some stuff done but I'm still way behind on house work.

Last night I "clipped" a deer - first one I've ever hit. I was rushing to get to B's house to ride along with him to pick up Dipstick from Boy Scouts - had just thought "I hoped no deer came out in front of me" when I crested a rise to 4 deer crossing the road. I thought sure I was really going to hit the deer hard but thankfully mostly missed it. The only damage to the car is the right front fog lamp needs replaced. No idea what happened to the deer. (I don't normally go to B's during the week - but needed a signature from him on some paperwork and knew he needed to be able to work in his shop so figured it would be better if I went there).

Guess I've rambled enough - not going to get a whole lot done around here today - have to leave early to go clean out my bus a bit - it's in the shop getting a window replaced. However I will probably be getting a different bus back.

This post was originally written on Thursday 3/13. However I started having major computer issues and it didn't get posted then.

Well today is not going as planned at all. I had intended on going up to B's this morning to clean a bit. Instead I didn't get home from my morning bus route until 10:00 am - had conduct reports to handle for several students. Most of those students will be off the bus for anywhere from 1-5 days. I went and did my K shuttle and was going to go after that - when I normally try to nap. However when I went out to the car to go I realized that I had another tire that was flat. It's not as flat as the one last week but it's down 20 lbs of air pressure and I didn't feel like it was safe to drive on as is. The nice thing is that I got my nap. However other than a little bit of picking up around here, I haven't accomplished much of anything else.

Squirrel would normally have TaeKwonDo tonight - he got up this morning and said he wasn't going - he wanted to come home after school. I asked him about Grief Group and he said he didn't want to go to that either! I considered going to pick up reprints after school but guess I won't be doing that either - at least not until I get some air in my tire. I guess I do need to see if someone can bring Stretch home this evening though - he's got musical practice. (Edited to add: Stretch was brought home on the bus by the afternoon shuttle bus driver. He had intended on walking the 2 1/2 miles but she said she would bring him home. What a riot to look up and see her snub nose bus coming down the road and backing into my driveway. B fixed my car that evening)

Stuff

Squirrel and Dipstick helped clean out the gutters on the roof last fall - I truly didn't expect to have to do it again until mid-summer or later. (I really don't want to post perfectly clear pictures of the boys - not to mention I don't have many especially not of Dipstick)

The snow is melting and it's a beautiful sunny day today. It is still cold out though it is supposed to warm up later. I think though that they are expecting another storm later this week - not sure if it will be snow or rain. Monday night I had intended to get out with the camera and go for a walk to see what sort of pictures I could take. Instead I ended up spending the evening clearing out ice blockages from the gutters - our porch roof was dripping as was the inside of the front door. :( I did most of the work - just from the stepladder. Stretch helped finish when he got back from his run. Squirrel helped steady the ladder - he was the one that drew my attention to the problem in the first place.

Last night - Tuesday was TaeKwonDo for Squirrel. It's been almost a month since he's been in class so he really needed to be there. I did not get to watch much of class as I went and did the grocery shopping - we were about out of milk. Squirrel felt like he still had the energy to play catch after class but by the time we got the groceries unloaded and put away, supper fixed and eaten and chickens cared for it was time to do homework and get to bed. Daylight savings time tends to make it much harder for me to get him to bed.

Tonight is Math Bowl for Squirrel - it was supposed to occur March 4th but was postponed until the 5th due to the weather. We ended up canceling school that day and missed it. As a result Squirrel's elementary school has set up another competition - they will be hosting it tonight. Two other schools who missed last week's competition will be there tonight. Stretch really really wanted to attend Wednesday night youth group tonight - that caused some conflict between the boys. I ended up phoning our new youth pastor (who had offered Stretch a ride) and expressing my concerns - Squirrel really wanted Stretch to be there to support him - he's attended many many of Stretch's events and has had very few himself. The youth pastor's position was that Stretch needs to be there to support his brother - church is important but in this case family is more important and it's more "spiritual" for him to attend the Math Bowl. I am so thankful for a supportive youth pastor who understands that family comes before church events and after one's relationship with God. He is going to call Stretch this afternoon to talk to him.

Busy Weekend

It was a busy crazy weekend with very late nights. I'm tired this morning though of course the fact that we went to Daylight Savings Time in addition to late nights has not helped at all. Friday night Stretch, Squirrel and I went to WinterJam. It's a music tour that comes only one night a year - usually has one or two "headliner" groups and several other "newer" groups that are not as well known. Tickets are not available ahead of time - it's a "first-come, first served" deal. This time the line wound around outside the building and through the parking lot. There were probably 10,000 people in attendance. We ended up sitting behind the stage - made for a very interesting perspective. Most groups did not travel to the back of the stage to relate to those seated behind them - a few did. It would have been nice if more had. Overall the music was very very loud and the screaming fans made it more challenging for both me and Squirrel to enjoy the evening. Stretch loved it! Probably during the first half of the evening the most fun part for me was to see the stage crew dealing with a fire that started on stage. One of the groups (a very hard rock group) had flames that shot up occasionally - along with fireworks mixed in. Apparently sparks from one of the fireworks got into an amp which then started on fire. I saw a stage hand go over to the amp, bend whatever was in front of it down and look at it a couple of times - rather like he couldn't believe what he was actually seeing. He left, came back...along with 2 others. Then a fire extinguisher showed up and was used. They pulled the amp out, set it down at the back of the stage then laid it down - I could see it was completely ruined - with a burnt hole all the way through it. They replaced the amp and then a stage hand stayed at the back of the stage watching throughout the rest of that group's time on stage. It was handled very professionally and I think that very few people actually noticed what was going on - especially since Skillet - the rock band - kept playing without missing a beat! I'm not at all sure that any members except the drummer who was right beside the area even knew something was going on. The mess from the fire extinguisher was not cleaned up until intermission when the entire stage was pretty much rearranged. The final group was "Mercy Me" - that was one of the main reasons that I wanted to go - they finished the evening doing several worship songs.
Squirrel and I spent quite a bit of time walking the corridors just to give our ears a break from the volume - he was ready to go home before intermission. One nice thing was that because we were in the closest in parking lot - it cost more - we were able to get out of the lot in 5 minutes once the evening ended.

Saturday night B and I took Dipstick and Squirrel on our "date" with us. We went to dinner at a favorite location for the boys and then went to a movie. We had wanted to see "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" but did not finish dinner in time. Instead we ended up watching "10,000 B.C." which actually was quite good. Stretch did not come with us because he had a youth group meeting - he only beat us home by a little bit.

On a different note...I picked up my glasses on the way to the Friday night concert. I think they are cute looking - B says I look cute wearing them. No one else has really commented. The only place I have trouble wearing them is while I'm at the computer - they seem to make it more difficult to see the screen then not wearing them. One other thing I accomplished this weekend was taking my tripod to the camera store to figure out why I couldn't make it rotate in all the angles I want it able to rotate. Turns out it is doable - I just need practice. I will save my pennies to get a mono-pod but am glad the tripod does not need to be replaced. O.K. enough rambling for now...got to scoot to get ready for my K shuttle and then I desperately need a nap!

Snow and Sunshine

We woke up to a beautiful sunny morning with several inches of snow on the ground. Again we went from nothing but what the snow the plows had left in piles to everything being covered. Currently the outside temperature is 14' so going out to shovel will be COLD. However it is good exercise so I am looking forward to that. And school is canceled again - yeah! I know it means we will have to go in June but still not as late as some of the other school districts in the area.

B dropped Dipstick off this morning - it's way out of his way to work but Dipstick's school was closed already and it makes a change for Dipstick. Also he is a great help when it comes to shoveling or other outside work. Right now the boys are all in the family room while I'm finishing up my coffee.

The bird feeders are busy this morning - I hope to get some good pictures today. And maybe find my tripods so I can figure out which works best with my camera and start using it.

Coffee is done so I'd better get moving. Soon I will, I hope, have a roaring fire going in the front room and be heading outside to shovel. Later there is cookies to bake, bills to pay and laundry to do.
This picture was taken from about a third of the way down our hill - after we had already shoveled quite a bit. It gives one an idea of what my driveway is like and why I have to shovel so much.

Edited to add: 7:15 pm There was between 7 - 71/2 inches this morning. We - Stretch, Dipstick and I took turns shoveling and got close to half done by lunchtime. I went out again to work on the bottom of the hill - instead one of the men from our church who is also the father of one of my kids on the bus - pulled in and pretty much finished it up for me. I put salt down on the hill and the remainder melted off by supper time.

We also found that one of the tires on the car was completely flat. B helped us get it off then Stretch and Dipstick put the spare on while B and I took the tire to get repaired. I will have to pick it up tomorrow evening. I found two of my 3 tripods but haven't got them working with the camera yet. Guess that will come with time - at least I know where they are at the moment. I'm going to go stitch for awhile this evening.

This last picture is Sally-dog. She is a mutt - purebred German Shepherd mother and unknown father. She has the shepherd coloring and great big feet combined with short little legs. She is standing in the path I shoveled to the back door - as you can see the snow comes up to her belly basically.

Well it's been snowing now since about 2:45 pm - not sure if it's just snow or if sleet is still mixed in. It started out sleeting heavily - interesting to listen to when one is on the bus. The ground is pretty much covered again with an inch or so. I went ahead and fed the chickens early and closed their coop up for the night. That way I don't have to go out again tonight. Radio is talking about how slippery the roads are tonight and many many places are canceling evening activities. Squirrel's Math Bowl was canceled for tonight - to my great relief. I really didn't want to have to be out late in this. It is currently rescheduled for tomorrow night but that assumes that we will have school. Personally I am rather hoping for another cancellation - I have several students that have been challenging my authority lately. A couple of days break will be a good thing. This afternoon did go much much better than yesterday and was even quiet at the RR tracks. Of course some of my students did not ride this afternoon which helped.

Other than that, not too much is happening. I got 5 eggs today. I spent some time watching the chickens before closing the coop for the night. It was really rather fun. (O.K...I admit it...I really am a country girl at heart!) I had given them some regular bird feed and some black oil sunflower seeds - they were very happy birds - busy scratching and pecking at the floor!

Picture Perfect Morning

An overflowing pond. Vivid emerald evergreens. Deep blue storm clouds. A weathered red barn against the barren trees. Scattered patches of melting snow. Occasional deer. All gilded by the golden rays of the morning sun.

This was the picture this morning as I was driving my morning bus route. By the time route ended the storm clouds had snuffed out the sunshine and it was raining lightly. We saw about 15 deer throughout route time - my students are starting to call out when they see them. That makes deer spotting much more enjoyable to me. The temperature is supposed to drop fairly dramatically during the day today - we are to have scattered thunderstorms today followed by sleet and freezing rain overnight continuing into tomorrow along with 2-3 inches of snow possible.

The weekend was a good weekend overall. Squirrel missed school again Friday - doctor confirmed that he is fighting the flu and says it could continue for another couple of weeks. He is at school today as he's not been running fever for the last 24 hours. I drove my morning route Friday and then took the rest of the day off - including my trip I was signed up for immediately after my kindergarten shuttle. I had planned to take just the midday stuff off and drive my afternoon route. However due to the fact that I fell on some ice on our driveway in the morning I figured I would go ahead and take the extra time. As it turned out...I would have had to take the afternoon off anyway due to the fact that the only time I was able to get an appointment at the doctor's was during afternoon route time.

Saturday afternoon B called and asked if I could please bring Stretch to help with cutting wood as he knew they were running out of daylight. I took Stretch up after he ran 1.5 miles and helped myself. We were probably outside 2 1/2 hours and loaded 2 pick-up trucks with split wood. Some of the time I was pitching logs and some of the time I got to run the log splitter. I also was able to take a few pictures - I figured that since I knew we were going to be outside I would take the camera along - got a beautiful sunset.

Sunday was a quiet day relatively. I missed class due to just not feeling well - actually I would have missed class anyway as I was scheduled to be in nursery. However I felt that whatever was going on I didn't need to be exposing babies to it. B and Dipstick came down for supper - that's becoming a normal Sunday event. It makes certain that except for cooking - which isn't particularly restful for me - I do rest otherwise.

Now I'd better get moving on my chores for today - have a LOT of laundry to fold and dishes to do. Also need to make a grocery list as we are almost out of milk and I want to get that before the weather turns really bad.

Just Rambling

It's very clear and cold this morning but thankfully it's also sunny. Last night we must have had close to 50 deer in the field across the road from the house - it was too dark when I saw them to get pictures and I knew I needed to take care of the chickens. Speaking of which...we got
the most interesting looking egg from them yesterday. It is only about a third of the size of a "normal" egg and is slightly rounder. I talked to Suz about it - she is rejoicing that I got the chicken that lays these tiny eggs - she says I will likely get one every couple of weeks or so. Hers were perfectly round and anywhere from the size of a dime to a half dollar - she said they only had the white in them. So I am looking forward to cracking this one to see what is inside it. I promised Squirrel that he could use it next time he baked anything.

Stretch is not feeling well again - it seems that it's probably because he is out of some of his allergy meds. I really need to figure out how to help with those naturally. Squirrel has been back at school all week - but he is definitely not feeling 100% yet. He fell asleep doing his reading last night - and this was a book he had chosen to read rather than something assigned. He's has requested not to go to TaeKwonDo tonight - we do have Grief Group to go to but I am thankful for the opportunity to have a wee bit of time at home. He will also miss TaeKwonDo again on this coming Tuesday because he has Math Bowl competition. He is excited about that and I think has really impressed his principal who is one of the coaches.

I spent yesterday all day with the bus - I took two groups of preschoolers to the local library in addition to my regular routes and kindergarten shuttle. It was fun and very easy. However during the day we had just enough snow to cover my driveway with a half inch or so. This made it impossible for me to get up the driveway - I ended up stuck across the road and had to be pulled up. This morning I drove up forwards instead of attempting to back up - I made it but not without really flooring it and some sliding.

Guess that is enough rambling...I have some other stuff to do yet on the computer and really want to at least get the kitchen counters cleaned - doing 15 minutes at a time.


This is one of my amaryllis plants in the family room - it's actually a result of a bulb off my original plant. They have been producing and blooming every year for the past 2 or 3 years. I even have ones to give away...it's really fun.

I don't Understand

Check out this story

I "know" this family as last school year I had the little boy on my bus. I remember getting a phone call from the mom of another student on my bus saying that her child was concerned that this little boy was being abused and wanting his address. I legally could not give it to her according to my transportation secretary. I also did not see any signs of abuse - his mom was always at the door of the trailer to see him off. She was very concerned about how he was doing on the bus - being as little as he was he had trouble staying seated complicated by the fact that he had some common health issues. I always found her very supportive whenever I contacted her. And I knew that she stayed in contact with the school as I often saw her at the school. I knew there were some cleanliness issues - clothes not clean, face not clean, etc. but I put it down to just the fact that I had gathered that the family was very poor. So to hear on the news that he had been living in such atrocious conditions and that his parents had been arrested for child neglect just breaks my heart. I feel a bit guilty for not following up more on him when the other student's parent approached me. And I ache for the turmoil the boy has got to be going through - being removed from his home and parents and thrown into a completely new situation. I also hurt for the parents as I am sure they are grieving. I don't understand how or why a parent can neglect a child's living conditions that severely - one would think they would ask for help somewhere.

Winter Wonderland

We woke up to a winter wonderland this morning - puffs of snow on the trees under which you can just about see bumps of buds that are getting ready to open. Just Sunday evening while out on a walk with B I found daffodil shoots coming up in one area. It is still snowing lightly and blowing. Soon Stretch and I will be heading outside to start shoveling the drive. I am sort of expecting my boss to come plow eventually but in the meantime I'm going to take advantage of the exercise and start shoveling. Besides I need to get to the chicken coop with fresh water for them and to collect eggs.


I have just about finished my project that I was working on for B. I am now to the point that I need to have him sit with me and go through stuff before I can completely finish it. That will be good to have done. I hope this week - and possibly even today - to get back to scanning slides for Mom and Dad. I haven't worked on that in some time and really need to get it done. Besides, going through those slides brings of memories of my childhood days and that's rather fun.

Squirrel is finally better though he still tires very easily. He went to school yesterday and stayed for Math Bowl practice. He put himself to bed early last night though and actually dozed a bit this morning after we got the call that we were closed for today. (I am really glad that we didn't start with a delay but just went straight to closing). Stretch is thoroughly enjoying play practice and so far is still fitting in time for a run afterwards. Dipstick was home sick from school yesterday. However this morning he seemed better - I think it was probably a 24 hour stomach bug. If they hadn't canceled he would have missed school but this way he gets the day to recover without having to miss one.

Well fiddle...now all my pictures are lined up on the right side! I hope that someday I will figure out how to line them up on alternating sides. In the meantime...this one was taken from the deck looking down towards the road. The middle one was out the back door looking towards the woods - notice the snow on the fence. The top one was out the front door - looking towards the fruit trees. We had NO snow on the lawn yesterday except for the bits that were in piles from being plowed earlier. Needless to say we got a fair bit.

Edited to add: According to my most "unofficial" measurements we got 6 inches. We measured in a couple of places on the driveway while Stretch and I were out shoveling. Between the two of us, we have about half the hill shoveled...the shoveled areas clear off fast but it's definitely hard work. And it was still snowing lightly though I'm not really expecting any more accumulation.

Wednesday Stuff

Well Squirrel is home from school today - running fever, headache and puking overnight. He's comfortably ensconced in bed with legos, movies, crackers, tissues and water. I on the other hand am desperately in need of a nap as I didn't get enough sleep last night. I am rather hoping that there will be a sub able to drive my afternoon route today...I've already got my kindergarten shuttle covered for the day. Of course I do have paperwork to do to get my Twinkie tossing student dealt with! Thankfully I now know for sure who it was as it was caught on video. And I caught the same student yesterday throwing a piece of pencil.

Other than that not too much is going on. It is much warmer today than yesterday...there is a dusting of snow on the driveway and the sun is shining again. Stretch had the first read-through of his script yesterday afternoon - brought the script and the soundtrack home so he can start learning it. Tonight we will hopefully install the new water softener and maybe install a hook on the top part of the chicken coop door so that I can make it stay open during the day. Sally dog is outside going nuts barking at something.

Time to go get ready to pick up my two Amish boys - since I'm not doing the shuttle I normally wouldn't take them. However Suz is not available today so I am going to take the car and go get them. At least that way I won't be gone an hour and a half - it should just be 30 min. or so.

Chickens & Musicals

9' this morning! Down from low 50's on Sunday! We have just a light dusting of snow on the ground and it's very windy though definitely less so than overnight.

On the agenda for today: blog, laundry - wash, dry and fold, dishes, work on a project for B - it has a deadline, edit pictures on the computer so I can get reprints made, figure out how to get some exercise...I am sure there is more but that's all I can think of at the moment. Last night I was out fairly late at B's working on a different project than the one I'm doing here at home. Sunday night I was out doing an evening run and got home late. Two late nights in a row adds up and I'm tired this morning.


We have chickens now - brought them home Saturday evening. We've had 4-5 eggs a day since. It's exciting for me. I just have to figure out how to get them to use their roosts rather than the nest boxes. I also still need to get cracked corn to supplement their feed and to encourage them to scratch more. Squirrel is excited to gather the eggs as well - I have hopes that this will encourage him to try eating them. Come this spring I will be getting 20 more as chicks - some will be Amerecanas that lay colored eggs.

On a different note - Stretch got the part of Mr. Bahr in the musical Little Women that the high school is putting on this spring. It's the part that he kind of wanted during try-outs. I'm thrilled for him though I know it will be an incredible amount of work. He is planning on continuing his running as much as possible in between practices.

This morning is a beautiful sunny morning - the sun is glistening on the snowflakes on the ground while more flakes fall lightly. The driveway is plowed though I shoveled some this morning yet before it got plowed yet there is already a very light dusting on the ground again. When the sun came up it was glorious - an arrow of light pointing towards the heavens from a reddish orange ball. Made me think of the Doxology:


Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Let it Snow!

Let it snow! Yesterday we were supposed to get snow overnight - possibly a couple of inches. However we only got a dusting - just enough to have to shovel the driveway before we left for school and bus route this morning. Stretch did a tremendous job after he got off the bus this afternoon - as it had been snowing all afternoon and we had another inch at least. I still got stuck across the road - which had not been sanded yet and had to call for help. My boss came out and was able to drive the bus up the hill - while waiting on him I spread ashes under the wheels and was able to get it mostly out of the road. I shoveled over an hour today - for now it's stopped snowing. We will see what the morning brings.

Other than that not too much is going on. Last week we had floods, lots of fog and very little snow. Then the temps dropped to below freezing over the weekend and now we have snow. The weather has been very very strange this winter.

Stretch is now running at home as track practice has started. He is not going to do track this year as he wants to try out for the musical that will be performed in the spring. This will be his first experience acting in a "real" play so it should be interesting. Squirrel, on the other hand, is now busier than ever - in addition to TaeKwonDo he is participating in the Math Bowl that the elementary school is involved in. They will have one competition in a month or so. In the meantime though he has practice 2 or 3 afternoons a week - on the days he doesn't have TaeKwonDo classes. Math is his favorite subject in school so he is enjoying that.


I was hoping to be able to capture the snow flakes as they were coming down. Unfortunately that didn't happen. However all the snow in the picture has fallen in the last 24 hours or so.

Strange Weather

Just got in from attempting to shovel the driveway again. It's not that the snow is exceedingly deep this morning - it's that the temperatures must have dropped so dramatically last night that everything - including the slushy snow we'd had in the space of an hour or so yesterday "flash froze". It was very strange - it went from rain to sleet to big heavy wet snow flakes in the space of an hour yesterday afternoon - just in time for afternoon bus route. Made the route very interesting at best - there were several very slick areas.

O.K. I started writing this this morning before I went on my bus route. The roads were all ice under the slight layer of snow - I was the last bus in to the elementary school this morning as I deliberately ran slow which made me run late. The weather this winter has been extremely strange. I am very glad that we had a scheduled 2 1/2 hour delay this morning - I would not have wanted to drive my route in the dark. (This makes 4 days this week we've gone to school late!) By Sunday we are supposed to be back in the teens temperature-wise - tomorrow they are predicting rain again.

Other than that not too much is going on. With the delays I really don't feel like I've accomplished much of anything this week - there's not been enough time at home and the house shows it. Even in the evenings we've been out running. I guess I had better scoot and load the dishwasher and swap laundry loads at least.

No Cancellation

It's 8:20 am and all the school districts around us have closed. We were on a 2 hour fog/flood delay but apparently are not going to close. The fog was so bad yesterday that I actually missed stops and got turned around on my afternoon route. Suz says that it's worse today. I am not looking forward to this. Around here the fog isn't too bad - Dipstick (who is closed again today) says it's pretty thick up by him. B is at work.

This weekend was wild - we were closed on Friday. Saturday the roads weren't too bad and we were able to get the driveway cleared. Sunday night we had another 3 inches or so of wet heavy snow - Stretch and I used our 2 hour delay yesterday to shovel it off. We had just finished the hill and were calling it quits when my boss showed up with his plow. He finished off the top - I generally leave that if I'm hand shoveling due to it being flat.

I now have a chicken coop at my house - it was brought down on Sunday afternoon. One door hinge broke but otherwise it traveled safely. Now it's a matter of replacing the hinge, getting feed, straw and nest boxes in. Then I will be able to bring the chickens home. I guess I will probably put a fence around it as well so they don't roam all over the place...not sure if I will fence the coop area or the garden to protect it.

I'd better scoot - just about time to run my bus route.

Edited to add: The bus route was definitely challenging this morning. North of the main E/W highway visibility was about 1/4 mile - better than yesterday afternoon but still not good at all. Also...after I picked up my first student I ended up having to back out about 1/2 mile of washed out dirt road to a place I could turn around at. There were no signs up warning one of a washout or deep water over the road so I didn't realize it until I was right there already. That had me running a solid 10 minutes late on the entire route. Fun times indeed! And sleet is predicted for tomorrow.

Snowed In Again

This is what I woke up to this morning - Stretch had made coffee and started a fire in the fireplace. We are off school today due to snow - I think we were one of the last districts to cancel. However when I heard that the police were requesting people to stay off the roads I knew we would. Snow now seems to have tapered off quite a bit - fizzled almost to nothing. I didn't think that was supposed to happen for another hour or so. We certainly didn't get the 11-15 inches that were predicted. I would guess that we probably have 4-6 inches but have not yet been outside to measure it.

La phoned this morning - she is also snowed in at home. We had a good chat. While we did so, the boys took Christmas ornaments off the tree and set them on the coffee table in the family room. The hope is that we can all work on putting them away while watching a movie rather than me doing it all on my own. (I know...I know...it should have been done a month ago but life has been busy. At least it's not March.) For me it's always enjoyable to remember who made the different handmade ornaments and when they were given to us. Both boys have a good collection of ornaments to take with them when they move out of the house - both handmade and purchased.

This afternoon Stretch and I will go bring in storage containers for the Christmas stuff. We will likely also work on shoveling the drive as I don't expect to get plowed out until tomorrow at the earliest. Squirrel will have to stay inside as he's been running a fever. I had him to the doctor last night - he's now on a z-pack. The nice thing about that is that he will only have 2 days to remember to take it once Monday comes - rather than having to take it 3 times daily for 10 days. While we were out we did our grocery shopping for the next couple of weeks. The stores were crowded and later in the evening when I went back with B to do his there were large empty areas on the shelves where the store was sold out of milk, bread and other staples.



Here's a view from the side door out onto the deck looking towards the road - you can barely see that the road is even there. It would probably be really nice sledding for the boys.

Lunch is over so I'd better head off to get bundled up to go outside. Stretch has been looking for excuses to put this off but it must be done.