escaped teachers

the problem with teaching small children is the limited intellectual and social interaction. don't get me wrong--marvelous things can happen. there are those aha moments. but still. my sis had a working supper for summer school staff. as i was putting away the dishes and food after supper i noticed that even though it was supposed to be a meeting and meetings usually have an agenda and a leader--every one of the 6 teachers were talking at once. that would never happen in their classroom. and they stayed after them meeting to talk more. i think it was because they were not under the restraints of a formal at school meeting and the absence of small ears to hear. it is just nice to talk on an adult level after a day of ' small talk.' (even though the small talk is very important to small people)

old men and uppity coffee shops

when you read books written about small towns, there is always a cafe where the old men gather to drink coffee and gather gossip. Only they would deny the gossip part. In Shelton, where I lived for four years, all the cafes had closed, so the old men were forced to have their coffee in one of the two mom and pop gas stations. the stations had a little corner with 3 or 4 tables and the usual pour it yourself coffee stations you usually see in gas stations, only several years older than the coffee stations you see in interstate gas stations.

moving to belle brought better coffee shops. there were two stand alone drive through coffee places and two coffee shops. plus, they actually had several cafes....truck stop variety...where those old geezers gathered for their coffee while the ladies and not old geezers used the nice coffee shops. my personal favorite is the Tin Cup which is in an old house. they have great coffee...20 oz for a buck...and little decorative items, purses, and jewelry for sale. that is probably enough to scare the geezers off. well, by the grape vine i heard they raised the price of coffee at one of the truck stop cafes, don't know about the other, but the other day when i stopped in for my coffee there were 4 old geezers drinking coffee and gossiping about whatever. i think they were just trying to get back at the cafe which also went non-smoking the same time they raised the coffee prices.

i must say it was quite a shock to see old men in boots and jeans in a boutique coffee shop.

just didn't quite fit.

the shop always offers a limited menu lunch of 5 dollars which includes soup and half sandwich.


ps. there are quite a few gas stations on the way through belle. i went from living in a place that had 100+ trains going by (about a block from my bedroom) in a 24 hour period to a town with over 600 trucks going through town on any given day (semi's). thankfully, i live at least 14 blocks from the highway. there is a train track that carries bentonite about a mile from my bedroom, but since i am partially deaf, i don't hear it often.

so very wrong.......

went to the movies with my sis and her son and daughter-in-law. there are movies that are somewhat historical like a man for all seasons, one of my favorites. some use history as a starting point and then imagine the rest. some are for just entertainment, some for deep thought. and i have to admit i like almost all kinds of movies. on the bottom of my list, however; are the inane and sophomoric ones. sorry!

i don't know exactly where to to put 10,000 bc. the majority of the viewers seem to like it but it strikes me wrong in so many ways. each item by itself is not necessarily a big thing, but put all those little stickers together, and i am unaccountably fiery angry. it seems to want to be all racial inclusive....but the hero and heroine appear increasingly whiter during the movie while everyone else stays the same. and the trudge from siberia to the deserts of africa without aging one bit and returning with out becoming lost....first time journey for everyone....is incredulous, never mind everybody being so friendly like. it jumbles all sorts of folk tales and religious stories together with the finesse of an ax. it is just so wrong and so impossible. while some may be able to take it as just entertainment, all those little things just infuriate me.

full utilization

in order to help with global warming, my sister and i have learned to use space and utensils to their fullest.
notice the puzzle being glued, the orchid just ready to be repotted, and the noddle machine (not electric) on the table--the dinner table, i might add. on the the island we have home made noodles drying and the cookbook being held open by the drill. the ladder is for reaching the light fixtures, which we painted a coppery color instead of buying new ones; we thought the fixtures were truly ugly. you can find that particular model in any light store--it is the bottom of the line. we took off the gold rims around the bottom of the glass and covered the cheap gold finish with brownish acrylic paint. if anyone truly likes the gold they can just wash the acrylic off. also, notice we are using energy saving light bulbs. the drill is for the ceramic pot that was made without a drain hole. orchids do not like wet feet, so i drilled holes in the pot (out on the deck waiting for another hole to be drilled).

cozy company

sometimes it is hard to get up and finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher, or put clothes in the dryer, or even go to bed. the good side is the warmth provided on a cold evening and the comfort of purrs. my buddies.

"station wagon" promise

when i was in high school, station wagons were just the coolest thing. but i promised myself i would not ever have a station wagon, it just represented mundaneness and suburbia....not for me and evidently a lot of other people felt the same way (except for my sister who had one when her kids were growing up and seemed to have a lot of fun with her station wagon.).

i was reading magazines in the tire place (what else but a car magazine) and came across an article about ....station wagons... they are making a comeback only they are no longer called station wagons--the mere name means a death knell for any such named vechicle. well, i got to thinking about what makes a station wagon. hmmm.... fold down seats to make more room and the back opens up to put things in the back.... damn! i have a mini station wagon! (truthfully though, it is a lot snappier than the old ones. it is a mini cooper)

dreams of the sea

i was doing a little work with rocks for the after school program and as i was gathering samples, i ran across a little shoe box tied in ribbon. inside were mementos from a trip to the washington coast. i was there with some students and we spent time at rosario beach, padilla bay, and guemes channel. i am pretty sure most of these stones came from a beach on guemes island. the mud flats at padilla were awesome, but very smelly. there is a rock in the middle of the picture that looks like an egg, but isn't!

winter in belle

i feel so blue,
i wonder if it could be true,
the weather tunes the soul,
the clouds take their toll.

i need a fireplace,
i need sunshine on my face.
the calendar is my hope
no matter how changed by the pope.

theme supper ala "Mrs Bouquet "

i not sure what possessed us....but sis and i got started on putting together a theme dinner. she had been requested to make hot beef sandwiches ala the truck stop variety. since i usually set the table up for her meals i thought the good silver and our "best" china were probably not appropriate. to make the sandwich, put a slice of generic white bread on your plate, put down a slice or two of roast beef and top with another slice of white bread. cut in half diagonally, spread apart. Then pile mashed potatoes in the middle and cover the whole thing with gravy. that's it. tastes good, but not exactly really healthy. so i bought some cowboy cloth--neither one of us were willing to buy plastic--we each bought dollar plates that looked like truck stop plates. notice that the table has the ketchup and mustard dispensers (we bought those too), napkins in the middle with a fake flower and those slide back tops for dispensing cream. we had a good time. no beer was served. the only person who requested it was underage.

new toy

i bought a new printer with the intention of scanning and putting all the old photos on disc. haven't quite mastered it yet. i don't think the resolution is as high as i hoped. but probably will still do it.

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

it has been very cold for the past two weeks. according to the farmer's almanac my sister picked up, we are not in for a break until march. brrrrrr. when it is really cold--below 30--i warm my bed up with the electric blanket before climbing in. i also have to wear a sweater under my robe and socks to keep warm while walking around the house in the evening. you know it is cold in your house when butter stays firm. we try to keep the thermostat upstairs at 60 and the one downstairs at 50. the plants don't seem to mind, although our christmas catus is confused and after blooming profusely at thanksgiving, it seems to be getting ready to bloom again. dennis, my cat, who came from the desert as a kitty, wants to sleep under the covers or under the blanket i put on my legs when i watch tv.

light polution

this photo was taken from a nasa site.

i was reminded of the map the other night when i couldn't sleep and was walking through the house.

in my room there is the light from the smoke detector, the powers strip, printer, cd player, computer. in the rest of the house--more smoke detectors, power strips, my sister's computer, the bathroom night light, stove , tv , tuner, dvd player, and sometimes the battery operated candles we have in the front room windows (sometimes we forget to turn them off). The house is never really dark unless the electricity goes off.

trip to zimbabwe

my son called me last night informing me that he was going to africa. i thought at first that he was joking, but he wasn't. this will be the second time he as been to africa. the first was to camaroon for six months to help with networking the campus. actually i think he networked the campus of our college in younde. now he is going with his boss and some other staff to network the campus at solusi university in bulawayo, zimbabwe. he said he would be there about 2 weeks, or less. i think the group will probably be taking extra food. the university is in danger of having to send its 4000 students home as there is a shortage of food. sadly, i don't know the history or politics behind the problem.

another day in the banana belt

well, they say this area is the banana belt--ie-- usually warmer than other parts of south dakota, but it was stock show weather to me (National Western Stock Show-Denver). it almost always gets near zero when the stock show rolls around at the end of january. i miss being able to zip down and see the draft horse show and the pull. i was truly surprised to find that there are not horse pulls around here.

i think i will probably get more calls for subbing now. it is the time of year when people get the blues and cabin fever, plus little kids --and grownups-- seem to get sick. i subbed again today, half day for a different teacher whose little boy got sick. her classes were really well behaved. it was a pleasure.

so my sis and i spent an old lady evening in front of the tv with robes and blankets. trying to keep our heating bill down by keeping the thermostat at 60. i am really getting used to the temperature. feeling really english. (we didn't have hot cocoa or tea!)

i loaned my sis "That Old Ace in the Hole" which she really liked. i think she was surprised. i love that book. we are trying hard to not spend money wildly on books, but rather to use the local public library. spending money on books is a hard habit to break.

day of surprises

the cats decided that they needed to play at 6 in the morning--which isn't early for working folk--but if you are retired, it is too early. sam and cc were playing and dennis was asleep at my side. cc chased sam onto the bed where he landed on dennis who promptly awoke with a start and managed to claw my lip. and i just had changed the sheets; now there are little blood spots. my lip is swollen and i should probably get a tetnus shot.

then just as i finished my tutoring session, the secretary at middle school called. a teacher's little boy had become ill--could i come in. so i dashed out of the house in with just a sweater as it was 45 degrees out. the kids were pretty good except for a few seventh graders who KNEW EVERYTHING! left notes for the teacher. poor teacher; she had to come back after school for play practice.

when i went out to drive to my afternoon job at the after school program at the elementary, it was a little colder and a little bit more windy. by the time i got to the middle school it was snowing. when i finished at the elementary school an hour later it was really cold, snowy, and windy. my sweater didn't quite keep me warm.

i knew a cold front was coming, but i thought it would be polite and wait until evening. yeah right!

surprise present

i knew i was getting a present from my daughter and son-in-law, but i did not know what it was until i opened the mail box the other day. it was a copy of Print magazine! i really love that magazine even though i am not a professional graphic designer. i have dreams though. if ---that word!--- i had been born in a different era, i think i would have been some kind of graphic designer or interior designer.

on the other hand, they say you are never too old. maybe i should get busy.

at the movies

well it just too scary. we went to see the second installment of national treasure--partly because the first was good, partly because part was filmed in the black hills and at sylvan lake where our parents honeymooned! and partly because it was a movie date with my sister's son and his family.

while we were waiting--we drove down separately to do some schnopping (snooping through stores without a specific shopping goal in mind)--we decided to take pictures with the waterhorse display.

what is really scary is how much we look alike. i always thought my sister was so different thanme because she was darked skinned, had dark hair, and an oval face while mine was square; which made her much better looking than me. but in our older years i may be catching up with her. how, i don't know. genetics!

christmas

i had this post all typed and mr dennis jumped up and landed on the keyboard and my hands where typing and the whole thing disappeared!

my sis and i had a relatively quiet christmas. we went to one of her sons for christmas eve and had home made noodle soup with butterballs (some sort of dumpling that is rich enough to give you a double heart attack). christmas day we went to her other son's wife's family for christmas dinner. so we didn't have to cook.

however, my sis made springerle and sunflower cookies. her middle son came over with his son on sunday and they all worked on making lefse. my sis bought a ricer for the potatoes. it is really cool. i think it will get used a lot. i made a small batch of pizzelles to give as house gifts.

since i am retyping this i am going to leave out the part of about excess of gifts for kids and tying to simplify my clothes closet (not a walk in like tv).

tech help

tech help comes from the strangest places, even when you don't realize that you need help.

my sis's cat--cc--assisting with printing documents.

my real tech help is pictured on the wall behind cc.

griswald family christmas

my nephew and his family dress up every year for a viewing of the griswald family christmas. if you have seen it you can pick out the characters. my newphew showed up in a short bathrobe wearing black socks and shoes. totally funny. next year my sis are going in pajamas as there are several scenes where everyone is out on the front lawn in their jammies. the box is the box with the cat in it.