First, I saw my therapist (yes, I see a therapist...for depression, anxiety, and some OCD) and she reminded me that I need to make myself take fifth- and sixth-grade sub jobs even though I know I don't remember everything and I'm afraid of looking stupid. (Don't I always try to tell the kids I *do* sub that there's no stupid question?? Physican, heal thyself!) Anyway, I subbed a great GT third-grade class after we were through. They were so well-behaved, helpful, and attentive. I was so pleased.
When I got home, I pushed myself out the door to take a 40 minute walk. I got to pet a few neighborhood dogs and chat with a boy who goes to my daughter's school. It was a lovely day. I just had to try to side-step the lawnmowers (because of my allergies). No job for tomorrow yet. I certainly could use the time to work on my paper if nothing comes through...
WELCOME TO MY WORLD!
This is a photo of one of our hamsters.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Driving
There was close call at my daughter's bus stop this morning. One of the parents who
allows barely enough (and sometimes *not* enough) time to drive her boys to the bus stop nearly hit the car of another parent. Now, I'm always careful to watch for this lady, because I know she arrives (driving carelessly) right at the nick of time for her boys to get on the bus. This morning, though, she almost took out the woman parked in front of me. Just as this woman began to pull away from the curb, the mom of the two boys sped over to pull in front of her at the corner (where there was *no* parking place, by the way). Fortunately, the woman in front of me was able to stop herself in time, but it must have been frightening! I'm wondering if it should be brought to the attention of Neigbhorhood Watch or something... This woman is an accident waiting to happen!
Other car things I don't like:
I don't like it when people cross streets or parking lots without looking for cars before and during their crossing. Indeed, they have the right of way, but the right of way won't matter much if they're hit and seriously injured or killed.
People talking on cell phones (or texting) while driving. They drive more slowly or too fast, because they're not paying attention to driving.
People who don't use their turn signals. How hard can it be to do this?
O.k., I'm off of my soapbox now...
allows barely enough (and sometimes *not* enough) time to drive her boys to the bus stop nearly hit the car of another parent. Now, I'm always careful to watch for this lady, because I know she arrives (driving carelessly) right at the nick of time for her boys to get on the bus. This morning, though, she almost took out the woman parked in front of me. Just as this woman began to pull away from the curb, the mom of the two boys sped over to pull in front of her at the corner (where there was *no* parking place, by the way). Fortunately, the woman in front of me was able to stop herself in time, but it must have been frightening! I'm wondering if it should be brought to the attention of Neigbhorhood Watch or something... This woman is an accident waiting to happen!
Other car things I don't like:
I don't like it when people cross streets or parking lots without looking for cars before and during their crossing. Indeed, they have the right of way, but the right of way won't matter much if they're hit and seriously injured or killed.
People talking on cell phones (or texting) while driving. They drive more slowly or too fast, because they're not paying attention to driving.
People who don't use their turn signals. How hard can it be to do this?
O.k., I'm off of my soapbox now...
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Quiet Sunday
It's been a pretty nice Sunday. First, I received a call from a good friend and we chatted for quite awhle. She was as excited as I was about my mother's new duplex. You see, my friend and I have known each other since our first years of high school, so we have a lot of shared history. I was there when her mom died of cancer, she was there while I struggled through the after-effects of my abusive childhood (She met my dad on occasion, but he managed to put on his "company" face), we were there for each other's marriages and we shared the joypain of parenting our chldren. Occasionaly, we meet for breakfast and catch up. I've been pretty bad about staying in touch, though, so I was glad to hear from her.
I stumbled across another couple's blog today (http://wwwnewbohemians.blogspot.com/) while googling for coffee shop info. (again) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't read all of it, but I like the writing style, and it seems we have kids around the same age. it reminded me that I hadn't posted that my 16-yr.-old daughter just picked up her provisional driving license last week. She's not overwhelmed with joy, though (and that may be a good thing), because she knows I'll drive her places and that we're going to wait awhile before we let her drive without my husband or me in the car. Our funny drive-along parent experience with her came when all of us piled into the car and let her drive us to the home of one of her friends. Everything seemed just fine until we asked her to parallel park in front of the house on the other side of the street. Well, she parked alright! She managed to knock against the mailbox and flip open the mailbox door at the same time - then she broke out in laughter! (Silly girl! :-)) It turned out that the mailbox wasn't damaged, but she had to endure ribbing from for awhile after that. I told her she should get a job driving in front of the mail trucks to make the mail carrier's life a bit easier. lol I still remember my mom crying, "Take it out of first!" when she taught my younger brother to drive on my volkswagon. The poor transmission!
I had two wonderful thrills of victory today. First, I forced myself out the front door for another 40 minute walk (sounds of a cheering crowd) and I found another great story about coffee groups. You can read it in the newsletter at this link: http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/publications/winter2006.pdf The participants played a game called "Honest John" to decide who gets to pay the bill (sound of the cheering crowd again!). I enjoyed my walk. I tried to communicat with a squirrel I saw, but he wasn't interested. When I was in fifth- or sixth-grade, I named the squirrels I saw outside of my bedroom window. I think it's funny that our family pets (since I've been married) have been gerbils and hamsters (similar to squirrels). I had cats and dogs while I was growing up. Someday, I'll tell the story about how I snuck the gerbils into the house culminating with quite a few aquariums full of gerbils. My husband, you see, is allergic to cats (and doesn't want a dog), so I've had to make do with the smaller pets. Otherwise, I'd get another cat in the blink of an eye. When I was little, we had one cat - a silver tabby - that was so gentle that I liked to think of her as my grandmother (come back to visit me). At least, I get to visit my mom's cat Penny whenever I go to Florida and my sister-in-law's cat Socks when we stop by there on the way to Michigan.
Y'know, I don't wish anyone harm, but this duplex Mom just got seems like it was meant for her. It seems like poetic justice that she got this duplex after a foreclosure (Thankfully, the man had bought it as extra property to try to buy and sell) since she lost the home she loved the most when it was foreclosed on because my dad hadn't paid the mortgage. We were essentially homeless for awhile - living with relatives, running up a bill we couldn't pay at a hotel... So, you can see where it sort-of seems like poetic justice to me...
I stumbled across another couple's blog today (http://wwwnewbohemians.blogspot.com/) while googling for coffee shop info. (again) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't read all of it, but I like the writing style, and it seems we have kids around the same age. it reminded me that I hadn't posted that my 16-yr.-old daughter just picked up her provisional driving license last week. She's not overwhelmed with joy, though (and that may be a good thing), because she knows I'll drive her places and that we're going to wait awhile before we let her drive without my husband or me in the car. Our funny drive-along parent experience with her came when all of us piled into the car and let her drive us to the home of one of her friends. Everything seemed just fine until we asked her to parallel park in front of the house on the other side of the street. Well, she parked alright! She managed to knock against the mailbox and flip open the mailbox door at the same time - then she broke out in laughter! (Silly girl! :-)) It turned out that the mailbox wasn't damaged, but she had to endure ribbing from for awhile after that. I told her she should get a job driving in front of the mail trucks to make the mail carrier's life a bit easier. lol I still remember my mom crying, "Take it out of first!" when she taught my younger brother to drive on my volkswagon. The poor transmission!
I had two wonderful thrills of victory today. First, I forced myself out the front door for another 40 minute walk (sounds of a cheering crowd) and I found another great story about coffee groups. You can read it in the newsletter at this link: http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/publications/winter2006.pdf The participants played a game called "Honest John" to decide who gets to pay the bill (sound of the cheering crowd again!). I enjoyed my walk. I tried to communicat with a squirrel I saw, but he wasn't interested. When I was in fifth- or sixth-grade, I named the squirrels I saw outside of my bedroom window. I think it's funny that our family pets (since I've been married) have been gerbils and hamsters (similar to squirrels). I had cats and dogs while I was growing up. Someday, I'll tell the story about how I snuck the gerbils into the house culminating with quite a few aquariums full of gerbils. My husband, you see, is allergic to cats (and doesn't want a dog), so I've had to make do with the smaller pets. Otherwise, I'd get another cat in the blink of an eye. When I was little, we had one cat - a silver tabby - that was so gentle that I liked to think of her as my grandmother (come back to visit me). At least, I get to visit my mom's cat Penny whenever I go to Florida and my sister-in-law's cat Socks when we stop by there on the way to Michigan.
Y'know, I don't wish anyone harm, but this duplex Mom just got seems like it was meant for her. It seems like poetic justice that she got this duplex after a foreclosure (Thankfully, the man had bought it as extra property to try to buy and sell) since she lost the home she loved the most when it was foreclosed on because my dad hadn't paid the mortgage. We were essentially homeless for awhile - living with relatives, running up a bill we couldn't pay at a hotel... So, you can see where it sort-of seems like poetic justice to me...
Saturday, April 26, 2008
A beautiful day!
I just returned from a reasonably long walk - a victory for me since I seldom exercise (and I need to do it, because I'm 30-40 lbs. over my ideal weight). Next time, though, I should take my allergy medicine, since everybody is mowing the lawn now and the grass irritates my eyes. But it's a beautiful day. I heard children laughing down a street and it made me smile. I saw a couple on my court - at different times as they drove by in separate cars. When I got home, my husband was doing some trimming outside. The first time he realized I was going for a walk was when he heard the front door close. I imagine he was pretty surprised.. He probably would have declined if I'd asked him to come along, though, since he went bike riding earlier today - and he walks much faster than I do. Anyway...one small victory...
Friday's folklore class went well. Actually, I'd goofed off on the readings (and studying) a bit over the past week (thinking, for some odd reason, that the next quiz was still another week away), so I was very happy when the Prof. laid a very short multiple choice quiz in front of me (the last quiz was essay). Add to that the fact that he gave us three more questions worth extra credit, and I'm very happy. I think I did alright... The first part of the class was spent watching a folkstreams.com video called (I think) "Land of the Blues" and discussing outlaw ballads. I've signed up for a Shakespeare/comedies class for the fall.
I am extremely happy to report that my mother and older brother have finally found a duplex they like and they've bought it. It's been a rough few years for my mom. After her boyfriend had a sudden heart attack, my older brother (who is disabled) moved to Florida to try to help her out. Unfortunately, the trailer on her property in which he's been living has been falling apart. (They prefer to live separately (yet close enough to help one another) so he couldn't/wouldn't move indoors. It's probably best that he didn't anyway, since he smokes and she doesn't. ) And she can't sell her property because nobody would want to buy the old house (even though it's alright for renting) *and* it's due to be rezoned (eventually...when the powers-that-be get around to it/they refused to do it any sooner) for business. Of course, she couldn't afford to pay to have it rezoned or to have the building razed for a business and residents on the street are divided anyway about whether or not they want it rezoned. Soooo...it's been a big headache for her (and I've worried about her, of course). After all, she's in her 80's now (but functioning very well).
So the good news is that she and my older brother now own a condo in Cape Coral. The feral cat my mom tamed (Did I mention that she is good w/cats, dogs, foxes, raccoons, feral cats, etc. - it's amazing!) will move with her to the new place. Somehow, she and my brother will have to coax the cat that belongs to the neighbor across the street to go home instead of hanging out there anymore. Even if that cat didn't have it in for her pet feral cat, that cat would never be happy as an indoor cat and he just couldn't roam at her new place. The homes are much closer together. I'm sure she'll miss all of the nature that surrounds her at the place she's in now, though. She has tall trees and a good-sized piece of land there. She loves to watch the birds feed just outside of her window. Oh well, she'll still have good memories. She lived with her boyfriend (whose wife died of cancer) for nearly 17 years (I think) and they performed in bands for dances down there until it just became too much for them to cart the organ and drums around. I'm hoping that my older brother will meet some women his age at the new place, too (shh...don't tell him). He has debilitating back problems, but he's really a nice guy - and he's only three years older than I am).
Soooo...that's the good news for today. Oh! And I loved, loved, loved subbing the second-graders last week (because they were such sweet and well-behaved kids), but I did not like getting red mud all over my nice black suede shoes during the field trip. I still have to find a brush around here and try to get it off. It may not come off, though, because I wet my shoes and wiped them with a paper towel after I returned to the schools.
Friday's folklore class went well. Actually, I'd goofed off on the readings (and studying) a bit over the past week (thinking, for some odd reason, that the next quiz was still another week away), so I was very happy when the Prof. laid a very short multiple choice quiz in front of me (the last quiz was essay). Add to that the fact that he gave us three more questions worth extra credit, and I'm very happy. I think I did alright... The first part of the class was spent watching a folkstreams.com video called (I think) "Land of the Blues" and discussing outlaw ballads. I've signed up for a Shakespeare/comedies class for the fall.
I am extremely happy to report that my mother and older brother have finally found a duplex they like and they've bought it. It's been a rough few years for my mom. After her boyfriend had a sudden heart attack, my older brother (who is disabled) moved to Florida to try to help her out. Unfortunately, the trailer on her property in which he's been living has been falling apart. (They prefer to live separately (yet close enough to help one another) so he couldn't/wouldn't move indoors. It's probably best that he didn't anyway, since he smokes and she doesn't. ) And she can't sell her property because nobody would want to buy the old house (even though it's alright for renting) *and* it's due to be rezoned (eventually...when the powers-that-be get around to it/they refused to do it any sooner) for business. Of course, she couldn't afford to pay to have it rezoned or to have the building razed for a business and residents on the street are divided anyway about whether or not they want it rezoned. Soooo...it's been a big headache for her (and I've worried about her, of course). After all, she's in her 80's now (but functioning very well).
So the good news is that she and my older brother now own a condo in Cape Coral. The feral cat my mom tamed (Did I mention that she is good w/cats, dogs, foxes, raccoons, feral cats, etc. - it's amazing!) will move with her to the new place. Somehow, she and my brother will have to coax the cat that belongs to the neighbor across the street to go home instead of hanging out there anymore. Even if that cat didn't have it in for her pet feral cat, that cat would never be happy as an indoor cat and he just couldn't roam at her new place. The homes are much closer together. I'm sure she'll miss all of the nature that surrounds her at the place she's in now, though. She has tall trees and a good-sized piece of land there. She loves to watch the birds feed just outside of her window. Oh well, she'll still have good memories. She lived with her boyfriend (whose wife died of cancer) for nearly 17 years (I think) and they performed in bands for dances down there until it just became too much for them to cart the organ and drums around. I'm hoping that my older brother will meet some women his age at the new place, too (shh...don't tell him). He has debilitating back problems, but he's really a nice guy - and he's only three years older than I am).
Soooo...that's the good news for today. Oh! And I loved, loved, loved subbing the second-graders last week (because they were such sweet and well-behaved kids), but I did not like getting red mud all over my nice black suede shoes during the field trip. I still have to find a brush around here and try to get it off. It may not come off, though, because I wet my shoes and wiped them with a paper towel after I returned to the schools.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Fun kids! Fun day!
I had the best second-grade class today! The kids were great - on-task, courteous, friendly - just the best group of kids. I'm so glad I took the job. I'll be returning to the same class tomorrow to accompany them on a field trip. I'm more of an indoors type of person, so I have a natural reluctance toward subbing on field trips for that reason (I'm the type of person who sort-of needs to be kicked out of the door - and then finds I enjoy it), not to mention the added stress of having to deal with parents and keep track of the kids. I'm sure everything will go well, though, and we'll have a good time. One of the girls was precious. She said, "I wish you *and* Ms. So-and-So (her teacher) could come tomorrow, because you're both nice." :-) Didn't I tell you that they're nice kids?!
If you belong to a coffee group, don't forget to answer my questions from my earlier post. Look for it below.
If you belong to a coffee group, don't forget to answer my questions from my earlier post. Look for it below.
Another day! Subbing Second-graders today...
I'm off to substitute teach second-graders today. Along with subbing music and drama, subbing second-graders is my next favorite thing to do! They are at the age where they don't complain so often about each other and they're excited about learning. They're more independent and eager to please, too. I subbed drama at one elementary school last week. The kids in one class were especially misbehaved, but I had fun anyway. I watched as the older kids used a box of props to do improv., and I led a younger group in acting out a story (They were fantastic!). I had one class try a game called "The Liars Club" where three kids were sent away from the group to share a mutual experience (their Thanksgiving, for instance). Then the group had to choose one person's story to try to pass off as their own when they returned to the group. The first time I subbed drama for these kids, we acted out a bus. Each child had to climb onto the bus in character (as an old person, an animal, or in some other type of character). The kids enjoyed that a lot. It's good for kids to learn drama, because it enhances creativity and it teaches them how to focus. I love subbing music most of all, though. How hard is it to have a bad day when you get to sing? Usually, I don't get to teach the kids how to read notes, though. I'm assigned to read a story, show a video, or play games with the kids. When I have my choice of games, I have the kids play Music Ball, My Gold House Key, Conductor, Freeze Dance, Concentration, or Musical Staff Bean Bag Toss. My knowledge of composers and musical genres isn't all that good, but I've been known to plumb the school library before classes start to find supportive material to use. The older kids showed me a new game the other day. Now I just have to scrape through my sub bag to find the piece of paper on which I wrote the directions for it...
Good memories I have from my childhood: looking for books at the school bookfair (My favorite book was "Up the Road Slowly"), swinging on my swing (I felt like my feet could touch the sky! I sang while I swung, too.), cutting out "people" from the comics and having them interact with each other, riding my bike and feeling the wind rushing through my hair (Of course, I advise my own kids to wear helmets - as my husband and I now do), lying under our cherry tree with friends (like Tim, a kid I knew when I was little), climbing in our apple tree, playing jacks (yes, with the old metal jacks...lol), getting my Chatty Cathy and Thumbelina dolls, going to Brownie meetings, visiting my grandparents at their place on the Rappahannock River and playing croquet, enjoying poetry with my other grandmother, and going rock hunting with my mom. I loved my dad, too, but I can't remember many fun times with him. He was a tortured soul - bipolar and alcoholic. It took me a long time to realize the difference between someone saying "I love you" and somebody showing it. I feel bad for kids in similar situations to the one I was in while I was growing up.
Things I love today: All kinds of animals. We have two hamsters. Our littlest one (a back dwarf hamster with bits of white) is our oldest hamster, amazingly enough. He has finally gotten to the point where he'll allow me to pick him up and nuzzle him a bit. It's been a long time coming! Sometimes I'll ask him for a kiss and he'll slightly nip at my knuckle (I'm still not brave enough to offer my finger to him!). He's adorable. Our other hamster is a regular-sized one. He is a golden color, and squirmy. Somehow, though, he'll nestle comfortably in my daughter's arm - but not for too long. :-) Our hamsters appear to be on different time-tables. While the regular-sized one sleeps during the day, the smaller one sleeps at night (I think). I'm hopeless when it comes to talking to animals, though. When I subbed a classroom with tadpoles in it the other day, I "talked" to the tadpoles when nobody was around. Hmmm... I love seeing birds appear in our backyard. I'll always say "hello" to them. My favorite pets are cats (I had cats - and dogs - for pets while growing up), but my husband and son are allergic to them. We wouldn't even have hamsters if I hadn't slipped in some gerbils a long time ago when the kids were smaller (and then the gerbils mated and...well, that's another story).
I call my mother the animal-whisperer. She is good with all types of animals. She even tamed a wild fox who visited the backyard of her home in Florida! (Of course, I wouldn't recommend this.) She's tamed a few feral cats, too. One now lives indoors with her and is very affectionate. We had cats and dogs for pets when I was a child - beautiful tabby cats. One, the silver tabby, was the sweetest thing. I imagined she was my grandmother - come back to life in another form to look over me. She was so gentle. She even mothered a runt kitten my mom brought home. I tried to adopt and tame a wild country cat once. It didn't work very well. He had a pretty bad attitude. Of course, some of that could have been because I named him "Sir Pork Chops and Bacon Grease." (He looked like a little pig when we got him...or so I always said.) I suspect the real reason for his bad attitude, though, was the fact that he had a tumor. Let's see...we had one cat with an even worse disposition...and another cat that pee'd in the toilet! It's funny. My mom thought my brother was using the bathroom and forgot to close the door. When she called to him and realized he wasn't in there, she took a look and saw the cat! One mentally-ill neighbor stole our cat for awhile. That was pretty sad. I'm not as fond of dogs, although I loved the dogs we had when I was little. Sometimes I think I might do more walking if I had a dog to accompany me. I have to get more exercise. The pounds really *do* creep on fast as we age.
My kids are sick today - stomach virus of some kind - so my husband is going to stay home from work to be with them. They're teens, so they're old enough to stay on their own, but my son was vomiting last night and I told my husband I'm concerned about him being alone today. I know I'll feel much better at work, knowing that my husband is looking out for the kids. In fact, my husband said that *his* stomach isn't feeling all that great either. I hope I don't catch this thing...
My favorite type of music...I love musicals. If I had the money to attend musicals (Broadway, off-broadway, local...), I'd go in a heartbeat. I love the music from Phantom of the Opera, and I sometimes listen to a Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers cd while driving in my car. I've always loved Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and I liked Doris Day a lot, too. Julie Andrews, of course, has a phenomenal voice, and I was so thrilled to see her singing again (even though I know her voice will never be the same) in the Princess Diaries movies. I sang in chorus, choir, Madrigals, and some musicals in high school (and a select group in Jr. High), and then later with a local community group. It was so much fun. Then - one day - I just got tired of performing and stopped. My daughter (who inherited my voice) and I sang together for my a wedding anniversary celebration for my parents-in-law, though. I'm back to trying to find a voice teacher for my daughter again, too. Like I did from the time I was a little girl, she has a lovely soprano voice. Unlike me, she is a crackerjack at math. My son is good at science - also unlike me. My son is good with English - like me - but he doesn't care much for it. My daugher says that my son has a nice singing voice, too...but he won't sing for me. He's at that teenage stage where most of his replies are grunts. :-) How was school today? Uhhh. What did you do? Uhhh. Who's on your x-box earpiece? Uhhh. Well, usually he'll tell us who he is talking to online, but he guards his cellphone directory with his life. lol
We just upgraded our cell phones. My son and I got Chocolate phones, and my daughter got an enV phone. Of course, she has text-messaging and my son and I don't. I'm not sure the Chocolate phone was such a great buy. I've read some reviews online that indicate the screen sometimes suddenly goes blank. I'm still trying to figure out how to load music onto my phone. My son managed to put songs onto his phone, but he bought most of his songs from itunes. Most of the songs on my computer are the ones I downloaded from cds I own. I'd *love* to play games on my phone, but I'm not willing to pay for air time. We're trying to stay away from accessing the internet via the phones, too. In short, I guess I'll still end up using my phone mostly for emergencies - and to check the date. Whoop-de-doo... Well, we have to cut costs somewhere... I have an ipod, but I seldom get around to charging it, so most of my time listening to music is in the car.
If you belong to a coffee group and you haven't yet read and replied to my post about it, please do so. Thanks!
Good memories I have from my childhood: looking for books at the school bookfair (My favorite book was "Up the Road Slowly"), swinging on my swing (I felt like my feet could touch the sky! I sang while I swung, too.), cutting out "people" from the comics and having them interact with each other, riding my bike and feeling the wind rushing through my hair (Of course, I advise my own kids to wear helmets - as my husband and I now do), lying under our cherry tree with friends (like Tim, a kid I knew when I was little), climbing in our apple tree, playing jacks (yes, with the old metal jacks...lol), getting my Chatty Cathy and Thumbelina dolls, going to Brownie meetings, visiting my grandparents at their place on the Rappahannock River and playing croquet, enjoying poetry with my other grandmother, and going rock hunting with my mom. I loved my dad, too, but I can't remember many fun times with him. He was a tortured soul - bipolar and alcoholic. It took me a long time to realize the difference between someone saying "I love you" and somebody showing it. I feel bad for kids in similar situations to the one I was in while I was growing up.
Things I love today: All kinds of animals. We have two hamsters. Our littlest one (a back dwarf hamster with bits of white) is our oldest hamster, amazingly enough. He has finally gotten to the point where he'll allow me to pick him up and nuzzle him a bit. It's been a long time coming! Sometimes I'll ask him for a kiss and he'll slightly nip at my knuckle (I'm still not brave enough to offer my finger to him!). He's adorable. Our other hamster is a regular-sized one. He is a golden color, and squirmy. Somehow, though, he'll nestle comfortably in my daughter's arm - but not for too long. :-) Our hamsters appear to be on different time-tables. While the regular-sized one sleeps during the day, the smaller one sleeps at night (I think). I'm hopeless when it comes to talking to animals, though. When I subbed a classroom with tadpoles in it the other day, I "talked" to the tadpoles when nobody was around. Hmmm... I love seeing birds appear in our backyard. I'll always say "hello" to them. My favorite pets are cats (I had cats - and dogs - for pets while growing up), but my husband and son are allergic to them. We wouldn't even have hamsters if I hadn't slipped in some gerbils a long time ago when the kids were smaller (and then the gerbils mated and...well, that's another story).
I call my mother the animal-whisperer. She is good with all types of animals. She even tamed a wild fox who visited the backyard of her home in Florida! (Of course, I wouldn't recommend this.) She's tamed a few feral cats, too. One now lives indoors with her and is very affectionate. We had cats and dogs for pets when I was a child - beautiful tabby cats. One, the silver tabby, was the sweetest thing. I imagined she was my grandmother - come back to life in another form to look over me. She was so gentle. She even mothered a runt kitten my mom brought home. I tried to adopt and tame a wild country cat once. It didn't work very well. He had a pretty bad attitude. Of course, some of that could have been because I named him "Sir Pork Chops and Bacon Grease." (He looked like a little pig when we got him...or so I always said.) I suspect the real reason for his bad attitude, though, was the fact that he had a tumor. Let's see...we had one cat with an even worse disposition...and another cat that pee'd in the toilet! It's funny. My mom thought my brother was using the bathroom and forgot to close the door. When she called to him and realized he wasn't in there, she took a look and saw the cat! One mentally-ill neighbor stole our cat for awhile. That was pretty sad. I'm not as fond of dogs, although I loved the dogs we had when I was little. Sometimes I think I might do more walking if I had a dog to accompany me. I have to get more exercise. The pounds really *do* creep on fast as we age.
My kids are sick today - stomach virus of some kind - so my husband is going to stay home from work to be with them. They're teens, so they're old enough to stay on their own, but my son was vomiting last night and I told my husband I'm concerned about him being alone today. I know I'll feel much better at work, knowing that my husband is looking out for the kids. In fact, my husband said that *his* stomach isn't feeling all that great either. I hope I don't catch this thing...
My favorite type of music...I love musicals. If I had the money to attend musicals (Broadway, off-broadway, local...), I'd go in a heartbeat. I love the music from Phantom of the Opera, and I sometimes listen to a Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers cd while driving in my car. I've always loved Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and I liked Doris Day a lot, too. Julie Andrews, of course, has a phenomenal voice, and I was so thrilled to see her singing again (even though I know her voice will never be the same) in the Princess Diaries movies. I sang in chorus, choir, Madrigals, and some musicals in high school (and a select group in Jr. High), and then later with a local community group. It was so much fun. Then - one day - I just got tired of performing and stopped. My daughter (who inherited my voice) and I sang together for my a wedding anniversary celebration for my parents-in-law, though. I'm back to trying to find a voice teacher for my daughter again, too. Like I did from the time I was a little girl, she has a lovely soprano voice. Unlike me, she is a crackerjack at math. My son is good at science - also unlike me. My son is good with English - like me - but he doesn't care much for it. My daugher says that my son has a nice singing voice, too...but he won't sing for me. He's at that teenage stage where most of his replies are grunts. :-) How was school today? Uhhh. What did you do? Uhhh. Who's on your x-box earpiece? Uhhh. Well, usually he'll tell us who he is talking to online, but he guards his cellphone directory with his life. lol
We just upgraded our cell phones. My son and I got Chocolate phones, and my daughter got an enV phone. Of course, she has text-messaging and my son and I don't. I'm not sure the Chocolate phone was such a great buy. I've read some reviews online that indicate the screen sometimes suddenly goes blank. I'm still trying to figure out how to load music onto my phone. My son managed to put songs onto his phone, but he bought most of his songs from itunes. Most of the songs on my computer are the ones I downloaded from cds I own. I'd *love* to play games on my phone, but I'm not willing to pay for air time. We're trying to stay away from accessing the internet via the phones, too. In short, I guess I'll still end up using my phone mostly for emergencies - and to check the date. Whoop-de-doo... Well, we have to cut costs somewhere... I have an ipod, but I seldom get around to charging it, so most of my time listening to music is in the car.
If you belong to a coffee group and you haven't yet read and replied to my post about it, please do so. Thanks!
Monday, April 21, 2008
friends
I have to tell you that I am so lucky! I hadn't been back to imvu for awhile -just so busy and, frankly, tired. Anyway, I stopped by my homepage there tonight and my friends had left me such sweet and warm thoughts. I felt so good after reading them.
O.k., I need to get back to doing my massive amount of reading for my folklore class. I need to read more about corridos and such. (I enjoyed studying about Jack tales a lot more.)
O.k., I need to get back to doing my massive amount of reading for my folklore class. I need to read more about corridos and such. (I enjoyed studying about Jack tales a lot more.)
Heaven on Earth! Mackinac Island...
Dreaming about Mackinac Island in the Michigan U.P. today! While one side of the island consists of hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, fudge shops, souvenier shops, a French fort, and absolutely beautiful homes, the other side is practically deserted except for a rocky beach that's great for stone skipping! No cars are allowed on the island - only pedestrians, bikes, horses, and horse-drawn carriages. You can rent bikes and horses, and the horse-drawn carriages are for hire. You'll have to take a ferry over to the island and back. You can buy tickets for it in Mackninac City. Don't forget to visit Alice's while you're in the city (great caramels and caramel corn!).
Pictures (l. to r.): My son skipping stone on the island's rocky beach, Fort Mackinac, and the view from the porch of the Grand Hotel on the island of the swimming pool Esther Williams used in a movie ("Somewhere in Time? Can't remember the movie's name...).
COFFEE GROUP QUESTIONS - Can you spare a minute?
I'm working on a paper about the folklore of coffee groups (y'know, the ones where old (usually retired) gals and guys gather to sip coffee and shoot the breeze...) for an American Folklore class I'm taking and I need your help! Kindly, answer the following questions for me about your coffee group:
- How long has your coffee group existed, where did it start, how many members belonged to it then and of what gender, and please tell me the number of members, gender mix, and (not required) location of your coffee group today. Do your family members sometimes visit the group?
- Tell me about the folklore of your group, i.e., games you play (often to determine who pays for the coffee or the tip), lingo/jokes/stories/pranks (often told and easily recognizable) of your group. Some groups collect money to donate to good causes. If your group does this, tell me about it.
- Is there folklore surrounding where your group meets or people in your group, i.e., one group I know meets at a "haunted" hotel, while there are ghost stories involving the general store where yet another group meets.
- What is the significance of the group for you (what does it mean to you to have it available to you?). Do members check on each other when people don't show up? Do they help each other outside of the group?
- Can you direct me to any published articles about your group, or do you have photos to share (that I could use in my paper)?
My father-in-law belongs to a coffee group in Alma, Michigan, and I have a great photo of the guys (hands upraised) playing the quarter game, but I can't post it here w/o their permission. My FIL's group has been meeting for quite awhile - enough so that the original members are long gone and their current group is dwindling in number, making it fearful that the group will die out altogether. Do you share this fear about your group? Do you have methods you use to increase membership? The ROMEOS (http://www.romeoclub.org/chapters.htm) have little to fear, because they've made a website for their groups so others know meeting locations and times - making it so fresh blood will never be a problem. Another well-known coffee/breakfast (and other activities) group with chapters is the Red Hat Society. Yet another large group can be found here: http://sir1.org/index.html.
Read below to see how my FIL and his cronies play the number game and the quarter game:
"This group gathering with accompanying game play is a long-standing tradition in Alma, Michigan, having out-lived many members of the group over the course of forty to sixty years and progression through three different restaurants in town (being bumped to another restaurant after each one closed). Over time, the number of members has grown from three or four to as many as twenty. My father-in-law says the original group played only one game – the number game. Someone picks a number and writes it down (usually on a napkin). Everyone already understands that the number falls somewhere between one and 100. Another player guesses the number and the original person says whether the guess is high or low. For instance, the secret number might be 23 and the next member guesses it is 17. The original person announces that 17 is too low, so another member guesses a number and so on until someone is stuck with guessing the exact number and has to pay for everyone’s coffee. Now coffee has become so expensive that the members of the group must play the number game three times to determine three members who will be stuck paying for the coffee.
Then each member puts a dollar into a pile and tries to determine who gets the pile of dollars. Before they start that process, though, they flip coins to see who is going to put in a dollar on behalf of somebody else in the group. After that, they flip coins again to determine who is going to be the beneficiary of that dollar (so he won’t have to put his own dollar into the game). After that, it’s a simple coin flip (someone cries out “heads” or “tails” and the others in the group must have whatever that person ends up with on his coin toss to stay in the game) to decide who gets whatever is on the table. Usually, the winner subtracts and leaves a tip for the waitress(es) from his winnings, pocketing the remainder. Some members create a partnership, i.e., if one wins the pot then he must split it three ways with the other members of his partnership. "
More online articles about coffee groups:
Arcola, Illinois: An Amazing Little Town with a Heart! “Arcola Celebrates Sesquicentennial in 2005” (Reprint) Arcola Record-Herald 7 July 2005) http://arcola.govoffice2.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7BBFC9FF33-23F4-4F61-B591-D806F5EC56C5%7D
Allen, Lee. “The Coffee Crew” Tucson Weekly http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=oid?3A65268
Barker, Barbara. “Packers Coffee Klatch Been Huddling Since ‘47” Newsday http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/ny-spbarb205545378jan20,0,1111856.story
Baxter, Annie. “Co-ops Help Keep Rural Towns Alive” Minnesota Public Radio 4 August 2004 http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/08/06_baxtera_indycafe/
Bruner, Betsey. “Like a Fading Star, Flagstaff Astronomer Giclas Dies at 96” The Arizona Daily Sun http://news.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=148886&syr=2007
“Café Owners Say They are ‘Worn Out’” The Bismarck Tribune 13 August 2007 http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/08/13/news/state/137695.prt
Dennis, Brady. “End of an Era at Barb’s” St. Petersburg Times 30 March 2001 http://www.sptimes.com/News/033001/Pasco/End_of_an_era_at_Barb.shtml
Clever, Dick. “Coffee Talk and County History are Fixtures at the Big Rock Grocery” Skagit Valley Herald 17 February 2008 www.goskagit.com/search
Frommer’s “Rooney’s Northern Lights” Review http://www.frommers.com/destinations/print-dining.cfm?r_id=48986&destID=1731&p_id=
Gallob, Joel “Coffee and Class” Ravalli Republic 1 February 2008 http://www.ravallirepublic.com/articles/2008/02/01/news/news01.prt
Garrow, Hattie Brown. “50 Years and – Still Talking At With [sic] the Oceana Coffee Club” The Virginia-Pilot http://hamptonroads.com/node/310001
Goldblatt, Jennifer. “The Coffee Club.” St. Petersburg Times 18 February 2001 http://www.sptimes.com/News/021801/Pasco/The_coffee_club.shtml
Henning, Sarah. “The Daily Grind” Lawrence Journal-World & 6News 9 March 2008 http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/mar/09/daily_grind/
Isern, Tom. “Plains Folk: Web (Sites) of Activity” NEWS for North Dakota 09 September 1999 http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/newsrelease/1999/090999/13plains.htm
Juillerat, Lee and Baksys, Gerry. “Coffee, Lies and Gossip” Herald and News 30 July 2006 http://www.heraldandnews.com/articles/2006/07/30/news/local_news/local1.txt
Lutey, Tom. “Small Town Tries to Keep the Feeling” Spokesman Review 24 September 2006 http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=151251
Pastor Jeff Higbie, Northern Expositor “The Numbers Game is Rigged!” 28 August 2007 http://northernexpositor.blogspot.com/2007/08/numbers-game-is-rigged.html
Robertson, Robbie. “Birthday No. 34 Will Certainly Be One to Forget” The Newton Record 1 February 2006 http://www.thenewtonrecord.com/archivesearch/local_story_032113210.html
Robertson, Robbie. “It’s Not Hard to Find Good People” The Star-Herald 9 May 2007 http://www.starherald.net/columns/local_story_129145100.html
Squires, Chase. “Neukom’s Ready to End an 80-Year Tradition” St. Petersburg Times 8 March 2001 http://www.sptimes.com/News/030801/Pasco/Neukom_s_ready_to_end.shtml
Terry, Don. “Spring Comes Back to Greenbay” The New York Times 3 April 2008 http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=Spring+Comes+Back+to+Greenbay&srchst=nyt
Weiser, Kathy. Legends of America 1 April 2008 http://legendsofamerica/AZ-Weatherford.html
Williamson, Elizabeth. “As Coffee Brews, City’s Old Guard Stirs Up Memories” Washington Post 17 April 2005 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59652-2005Apr16.html
http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/publications/winter2006.pdf
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This blogging stuff is still relatively new to me. Maybe I'll post about how much fun I have substitute teaching little kids...or maybe how much fun it is to have my own teenage kids...or maybe just about the joy of being in a loving, supportive marriage after having grown up "walking on eggshells" around my alcoholic, abusive father. Don't know. I guess you'll just have to wait and see. ;-)
Oh! By the way, I'm counting down the days until the new season of Monk! I love that show! It's so sad that the actor who played the psychiatrist on it passed away not on t.v., in real life). I thought he was quite good.
Some fun internet places to visit:
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