Where I Live

I think we all take our homes for granted. Some of us grow up somewhere and end up staying there forever. We didn't like the cold and decided to move south. We aimed for North Carolina, but missed by a few states and ended up in Florida. It was strange at first to see all the palm trees and live so close to the ocean, but we adjusted. Before long it seemed pretty normal to us. Occasionally though, it hits me that I live in a place that other people visit on vacations.
Anna had a field trip on Monday to the "river". That is what we call the local estuary for reasons I don't quite comprehend. She was so excited when she talked about taking the big giant net into the water and listed off all of the critters they caught. Rather nonchalantly she mentioned that while they were there, an airplane flew overhead carrying the space shuttle back to the cape.
Tuesday I was watching our school announcements when they had a special segment on the surfing club. They took lots of footage of curling waves and sandy beaches. It is odd to think that as I sit in class I am only a few miles away from all of that. I used to look at houses next to the beach and wonder how they could ever get anything done with so much sun and surf outside their front doors.
Today it was rainy. I thought it was regular rain, but then on the way to work they said it was the remnants of hurricane Fred. I missed that hurricane I guess, but it was a nice soaking rain. As I stood in car line for my duty, I looked on to a huge double rainbow. By lunchtime it was 90 and sunny.
I still have a couple of days left in the week. I wonder what wonders they will bring?

Recalibrations

I was going to write a post about how crazy busy everything was around here and that I haven't had time to do anything quilt related lately. Then I read Amy's post (check out the margins) and realized that my days are pretty calm and peaceful by comparison. Up at 6, kids to the bus by 7. Fortunately the bus is Kurt's job so I try to get to school not much after 7. Students are in for morning help and make-up work by 7:30 and school starts at 8. My mornings are full with one Anatomy followed by two of Chemistry. Then it is lunch and two of Biology in the afternoon. It is a nice flow actually, with the same classes grouped together and a lunch break to switch gears. The schedule rotates, but I have two blocks of planning time somewhere in the afternoon. Where I try to get enough done that I won't have to work all evening on school. Students are in again for help in the afternoon, or on Tuesdays we have meetings.
My kids have decided they would like to be picked up by 4, and most of the time I am able to do that. We have developed a habit of stopping on the way home, at the produce stand or the library, or just at 7-11 if they think they have been good enough for a treat. We are home around 4:30 with a few minutes of down time and checks of homework, reading logs and emptying of backpacks. Home nights are peaceful with baths and stories and time to play.
Right now I wish there were more home nights, but I'm sure that will change. Sydney has gymnastics on Thursday until 5, so that pushes things back a bit later. Ryan has football practice at least twice a week at 6 and a game thrown once a week. Those nights we try to get home earlier so he doesn't end end up eating dinner in the car. Scouts are only every other week, but the leader meetings fill in the off weeks. Ice Skating and chess happen on the weekends, so things are spread out pretty well. I think the balance is reasonable, although now Anna wants to do the ice skating show for Christmas, and that may tip things the other way. I'll be taking her up to skate while Kurt takes Ryan to his football and poor Sydney will be baggage for one or the other.
Like anything else, it is a balancing act. There is an ebb and flow as I go where I need to go and get done what needs to get done. Rarely is there so much to be done that I don't feel like I can accomplish it all. But rarely is there idle time when I look for something to do. I have a quilt sitting in the other room waiting patiently for a last border, and between the birthday parties, play dates and weekend chores, it just might happen one of these days. If not, I'll pick it all up again before the scouts come on Tuesday and start all over again.

Coming up for Air?

It is hard to believe how long it has been since my last post. It is too easy it is to fall out of a routine when new commitments start pulling on your time. I have only added one extra class to my schedule, but the switch from part to full time has taken over a much larger proportion of my day. It is all going well and my days are full of lots of good things, but full they are. The kids are still loving their time everyday in aftercare. They are signed up for lots of extra lessons and activities and still don't want me to pull them away from the fun too early.
We were able to make it to Georgia this weekend to visit with family. It was great to have all of the cousins together with plenty of time to play and talk and just hang out together.

Zach is doing very well right now. He is happy and getting into everything. The oxygen is still a constant reminder of his health issues as is the feeding tube, but there is still hope that those might go away eventually.

It is great to be close enough to family to see them on a long weekend. I know Mom would love for us to live even closer, but it is good to be able to make the drive on a somewhat regular basis.

Obviously, activity on the quilting front has been slim. I took the Tea Rose Sampler for Paige to have on her new bed and she took to it right away. It hasn't made it onto the bed yet because she is too busy snuggling with it. I hadn't specifically intended that quilt for her, but until the Whirly Giggles comes together, it seems to be making her happy. I took the Sister's Choice up with the materials to put on the final border and get it layered and sized to the bed. I managed to get two of the four sides on, but couldn't make much progress with everything else going on.
Next weekend seems calm so far. Maybe I'll be able to find some quality time with my machine and finish up a little bit of something. Maybe.

Little Walking Petri Dishes

It took 7 whole days after school started for the germs to get to me. Everyone is worried about the swine flu, but I have been overcome with a common head cold. Usually I would tough it out and go to work anyway, but showing up sniffling and red nosed would probably not go over so well right now. So here I sit with my tissues and orange juice, doing very little of anything at all.
The first week of school was good. My kids are settling in nicely and are happy with their teachers. My classes are good. The new prep is taking a lot of time, but I like the material and the students. Juggling the three classes is fun, and I'm never bored.
On the quilting front, I finished up the first border on Mom's Sister's Choice quilt. It needs to be ironed so I can get the last border measured up. I'm going to try quilting it in two sections. Although I've never done it that way, Amy does all her quilts that way and swears by it. I'm hoping I have some time to get it all layered up this weekend.

First Day of School

The first day of school has come and gone.

Brand new outfits. Freshly sharpened pencils. Backpacks stuffed to overflowing.



So many mixed emotions flowing through us all.

Funny story. The kids are in aftercare this year for the first time. I worry about them because that is what moms do. I thought I would let them go and get signed in yesterday, but not make them stay too long. So I rushed through my own work and dashed to the school to pick them up as soon as possible. They didn't want to go home. Sydney stomped her foot and demanded to stay longer because she hadn't had enough time to play with her friends. I couldn't drag her out the door until after I promised to pick her up later today.
My own students return tomorrow. I think everything is ready and waiting for them. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I haven't spent much time lately looking and commenting on everyone's blog. I'm sure I will have time to catch up again when everything settles into a normal routine. I hope you are all well and still enjoying your own vacations.

Julie and Julia

I had promised the kids I would take them to see Aliens in the Attic this morning. Last week I took them to G-Force on the spur of the minute and as soon as we got home, Anna's friend Sierra called to see if she wanted to see it (again). Because Ryan had gone the night before with two of his friends, that meant that two of my children saw the same movie twice in a very short period of time. So this time, I planned ahead and asked Sierra if she wanted to join us. Her mom is my friend Meisje, who also volunteered to come along so I would have grown-up company. At that point I started to feel bad that we were both going to have to sit through the same silly kids movie. That is when the plan started to form. Instead of sitting with the kids through two hours of Aliens, we would settle them into their movie and then go see Julie and Julia, which just happened to start five minutes later. What a brilliant plan! Julie and Julia was absolutely delightful. I would highly recommend it, especially to anyone that has a blog. In case you haven't seen the previews, it is the story of a woman who decides to work her way through every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking during the course of a year while blogging about her progress. It is, of course, about more than just cooking. After the movie we went out to Jason's Deli for lunch and then popped into the book store on the way home. It was an excellent way to say goodbye to summer. The kids hop on the school bus bright and early in the morning for a brand new school year. Crisp new backpacks, freshly sharpened number two pencils, gleaming white notebook paper, empty folders awaiting possibilities. What could be better than a brand new start? I truly think that one of the best things about teaching is the ability to start new and fresh every single year. How many jobs offer that?

Ends and Beginings

I'm off to school for the day to try to get a head start on my own work before official meetings commence tomorrow. I'd like to print out a syllabus, year long plan, student learning plan and unit 1 lesson plan for each of my three preps. I also want to print out the same for the classes the new teacher is taking on. If the copiers are open, I'll also copy the day 1 handouts.
I couldn't rush off without trying to get a final picture of the green and purple star quilt after finishing the binding last night. It is going to be called Twilight based on a suggestion by Quilt Pixie who thought it looked like a sunrise.

The kids called last night to let me know how their visit with the grandparents is going. Sydney said they were coming home from a baseball game between a gray team and a green team but nobody got any points. They ate ice cream though, so it was a lot of fun. They are both having a lot of fun with Sunny who is Nana's new labradoodle. I have a feeling that I am getting closer and closer to losing the puppy battle. Kurt was on line last week looking up shelter and rescue pugs. Maybe I can convince everyone that next summer would be a good time. Big sigh, I was looking for a new hobby and feeling like I don't clean up after enough mess makers, right?

Woohoo!

Just finished the quilting on the blue and purple star quilt. Quilt Pixie suggested Sunrise as a name for the purple of the sky and the green for trees. To me it looks more nightimey. So how about Twilight? I'll sleep on it. I'm trying hard not to stay up until all hours, so I'll put on the binding in the morning. I did a basic meaner in the middle and put feathers in the borders. The thread matches exactly, so they don't show up at all. Probably best, a chance to practice on a real quilt and not see all the mistakes. Anyway, I used washable marker to sketch the general shape, so I'll have to throw this one in the wash as soon as the binding is done. Quilt Penguin has posted the UFO for August, it is number one, so for me that is my Elm Creek Quilt. It is just in need of hand quilting, so that is a good project for August which will be busy with back to school.

Productivity

It is amazing how much can be accomplished with absolutely no interruptions. I kept peering over my shoulder all day, expecting somebody to need something, but it was just me and a sewing machine all day long. I got the borders put on the purple and green star quilt, pieced a backing, layered, basted, and am now about half done with quilting. I'm taking a dinner break and then I think I'll go finish it up. Tomorrow there are errands that need done, so I'll see what I can finish up today.

Dinner for One

My entire family has abandoned me for the week and flown to North Carolina to visit family. It is strangely quiet in my house right now and I think I am enjoying it. Kurt usually has to take vacation time to stay with the kids during preplanning so this year he decided to actually go on a vacation. I'll be back at school next week getting ready for classes to start. I went in to school this morning for a couple of hours and again this afternoon. In between I made 5 more blocks to add to the purple and green star quilt and put it all together. It doesn't look so bad from a distance, but when you get up close and personal it show off truly shoddy workmanship. Still, finished is better than perfect, and I have learned oodles since I started this quilt 7 years ago. Now that I look at the picture I am bothered by the asymmetry, but I'm trying not to think about it. I'm going to add a wide blue border and get it all layered up likety split. Then I'll go see what the August UFO is and move on with my life. Does anybody have a better suggestion for a name than purple and green star quilt?