more of the same

I worked in my classroom today. It was HOT! in there. I got a couple of fans moving some air around but the sweat! Oh my goodness. I got more desks in the room. It seems more crowded, but there should be enough seats for everyone. The newly aquired desks really need to be cleaned, but at least there should be enough seats for everyone. I think I got most of the copies made that I needed. I wondered why people weren't in there making copies all day long, but the rizo machine wasn't even there until late in the afternoon, and I got there first.

So the preparations are at least at a satisfactory level. I haven't had the "I can't seem to find my classroom (or a functional restroom)" dream, but I have had other stress related dreams. That and the waking up every 10-15 or even 5 minutes to see if it's time for alarm to ring. And the students haven't even started yet.

hot and tired

Well, the first day went well. Of course, it was meetings, meetings, meetings. That's pretty much just what you have to expect. That's the good news.

I went into my classroom late in the afternoon. The switch on my swamp cooler said "high cool" BUT there was no cool at all in there. Not even the pretense of air movement. Yuck. Ugh. Blech. To say I sweated would be an understatement, and I didn't even do any rearranging. Tomorrow isn't looking much better, even though I did make sure someone knew about it. Please, please, please, oh please, let it be cooler in there on Monday...

nom, nom, nom, oops, eek, a dragon!

Dinner tonight was one of those that you eat making yummy noises with every bite. It was fabulous. Carl made an Indian dish with shrimp and mustard greens, with a coconut milk sauce that is out of this world. O.M.G. He took a picture of his plate, and I wanted to include it here, but it didn't come up on the memory card from the camera like it should have. It was lovely to look at and even better to partake of. Oops, you can't see it OR taste it, though, this time.

On the other hand, I got the major parts of the camoflage dragon assembled finally, and I took pictures of that and I could find those, so here they are. I did something different that I usually do with the assembly. I found some buttons and used them as ends to sew the arms and legs in place. This is the first dragon I've made with arms and legs that will move. He still doesn't have his back ridge on, but other than that, he's complete. He turned out rather well, too, I think.

take a moment

I had a hectic day today. It was chaotic and full, and - fortunately - reasonably successful. What do I mean by that? Well, I picked up and cared for and dropped of children as needed. Carl & I shopped. I got teeth filled. We made it to dinner at Grandma's.

My dentist experience gave me a feel for how it might feel to have had a stroke. The whole right side of my face was numbed, up to my eye, and including my ear. Its better now, and did not present a problem at dinner, thank goodness. I'm not used to getting shots, my last dentist used gas, but it did the job and the fillings were done quickly and I got to come home.

After I got back from the dentist, I finished cutting out the couple of things that I didn't get to yesterday, and added them to my stash. When we got back from dinner, I ironed and picked patterns for 3 more pieces. I even cleared out the living room so others could use it. WHEW!

Tomorrow will be hectic again, with my niece visiting, and I'll be picking up the kids at Grandma's so they can go to the pool. She'll be staying at our house tomorrow night as well, so I had to make arrangements for rides to splash camp and back to Grandma's for the rest of the week, since I'll be starting back to work on Thursday. It will probably be calmer, there.

prepare for fall

Sewing, that is. How do I prepare? Shopping for supplies? Patterns? Fabric? Nope... preparing for this fall's sewing (OK, and possibly beyond) means putting scissors to fabric around the pattern. In other words, I've spent a good part of today pinning pattern pieces to fabric, unpinning, moving them around a bit, repinning, marking bits, and - finally - cutting.

Why is that called preparing? Well, of course, I need something cut out before I can sew it. That part is obvious. I hope. But it isn't my favorite part, which I think I've mentioned before. My solution is to get all the stuff together and then just cut out a stack. Then I can pick from the stack to sew. If I feel like wearing something new, voila. Carl's birthday is coming up? No problem! Starting a Saturday sewing circle? Got it covered. See? Prepared!

Some people are content with a stash of fabric. Me, I need a stash of cut garments, ready to sew. I used to try to group them according to color of thread used to sew, and then get a production line going. I've found, however, that getting one project at a time out, and being able to finish it in a sewing session or two seems more productive and intrinsically rewarding while the production line is more overwhelming, and often sits. And sits. And sits... I think you get the idea.

I've got several things I would like to wear soon, so I hope I can cut some more tomorrow, but having the table out blocks the room pretty well, so I need to finish the lot soon. Then, it will be back to shuffling the patterns to the fabric, and procrastinating cutting anything out for a while.

mmmmm

When I was at the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, I picked up a couple of cucumbers. This afternoon, I peeled one, and I sliced it. Oh, it smelled wonderful, fresh and light. I bit into a slice, and all I could think of was, hmmmm this needs salt and vinegar.

My parents kept a jar or bowl of easy refrigerator pickles in the fridge almost all summer. People who came to the house would know they were there, walk into the kitchen and find crackers, pull them out and help themselves. My dad never minded, unless you forgot to make one for him. We never called them pickles, they were always cucumbers and onions.

The recipe couldn't be easier. Peel and slice a cucumber or two. (figure out what you want to put them in, then you can see how much you need, a bowl that will hold one cucumber is OK). Slice a small to medium onion, depending on how much you like onions. Put the cucumbers and the onions in the bowl. Sprinkle salt over them. fill the rest of the bowl with half vinegar and half water. Make sure your cucumbers are covered with the liquid. Shake it gently to mix the liquids, and mix in the salt. Put this in your fridge for a few hours. Buy more cucumbers so you can put them in the vinegar mixture when you've eaten the ones you just made.

These are a great light snack on a cracker with cheese, or in a sandwich. The can also hold up to a little cheese if you want or need to leave the cracker or bread out. And they are yummy with cottage cheese or just on the side of your plate with dinner.

All this realization and memory flooded into my mind with a bite of plain, farmer's market cucumber this afternoon... And yes, of course I pulled out a bowl and made some. mmmmmmm

morning person

I got up and got to the Farmer's Market this morning. Last year, Carl and I went almost every Saturday through the summer and fall and we really enjoyed the produce that we got. This summer it keeps passing us by. Today I was up, and I remembered, so I went and enjoyed. The tomatoes looked lovely. I found some little yellow ones, just right for popping into your mouth, and they were very tasty.

There was also a lot of gaming today. Ron and I played WoW, and then we went and played DnD4e. It has taken us a while to get the hang of these rules, and the way they've organized the powers and stuff, but we finally are getting used to it. Now if only our rolls would help us be awesome. But no. Not going to happen.

So, now I'm up late, after getting up early, so I'm pretty tired. I'm a morning person, and it definitely isn't morning now. Good night to you all...