Welcome to the Dark Side, Granddaughter

Last night, during a marathon call, my oldest granddaughter brought up Twilight. (She knows me so well.) She's never exhibited any curiosity about the book or movie; on the contrary, she couldn't be less interested. Last year she was irritated because her teacher was in love with the series and talked about it a lot in class. This time, though, she had some questions.

"Lots" of girls in her class are reading the series. She could even name three of the four books. She doesn't have a clue what Twilight Girl's name actually is, but she wanted to know if TG ever gets bit and turned into a vampire. I said, "Do you really want to know?" "Yes!" "But if you ever decide to read the books, it's spoiled for you." "I'm not going to read them. Does she turn into a vampire?" So I told her yes, she does.

"Which book?" "Breaking Dawn, the fourth and last book." "So why are all these books named night names? What do they have to do with anything?" I told her that I'd read about them but didn't remember what I'd read (note to self: research this), but I thought that they all have to do with the fact that, in other vampire stories, vampires couldn't go outside during the day because they'd burn to ashes if the sun touched them. In the Twilight series, that's not the case, because they can go outside any time they want to, but their skin sparkles in the sun, so people would know something weird was going on. And no one could know that there are real vampires.

Also, I told her, the names of the books seem to represent the story's progression, with Twilight being the one where Bella (or Twilight Girl) meets Twilight Boy and they fall in love. In New Moon, they're separated by Edward's misguided but heartfelt belief that Bella is better off, and safer, without him, and she goes into a deep depression, represented by the darkness of night during a new moon.

"What about Eclipse? Isn't that about the sun?" Well, it can be, but here it's the bright shining ring of moon around the dark shadow the sun throws onto it, representing the reunion of Bella and Edward and their happiness. And Breaking Dawn is the book that ends the story, with everything coming together and the dark of night giving way to the bright sunrise.

Damn. If I do say so myself, I'm impressed. I just pulled all of that out of my ass without any thought. It may be totally off-course, but it really does sound good.

I told A that I'll send her Twilight if she ever wants to read it; I have no problem with a 10-year-old reading the first three books in the series. (I told her she can't read Breaking Dawn until she's 16, which may have been the wrong thing to say.) She said she doesn't want to read it since I can tell her all about it.

But today I ordered Twilight from Amazon to be delivered to her house with the note: "A, you don't have to read this book now, or ever, if you don't want to. I've had so much fun talking to you about it that I want you to have a copy of one of my favorite books." Maybe eventually she'll read it, maybe not. It doesn't matter.





I may or may not have also ordered New Moon the Movie and a Pocket Edward™. We won't discuss that.

I got nothin'

My brain has checked out for the day. I couldn't even begin to come up with a catchy title.

I started knitting The Wedding Stole again last night. I got through 8 entire rows, one who repeat, before I messed up. You see, on that eight row, I thought, "I really should run a lifeline now," but I didn't listen to myself. As usual. Halfway through row 9, I was off by one stitch. One. Stitch. How can one stitch mess things up so much?

I'm trying the Spring Tulip stole on Ravelry, at least, I think it is. It looks very elaborate, but it's just a series of 8 rows of the same 8 stitches over and over and over. I was even starting to memorize it last night. I'm still listening to your suggestions and printing the patterns (when they're free) because I'm fairly certain that I'm going to mess this one up beyond tolerance too.

If I end up knitting something other than one you've suggested, I'll just use the ol' random number generator to chose a winner. I'm not going to put a deadline on it yet because I'll continue to mess them up for another month or so.

Another real estate agent toured the homestead today. We weren't very taken with RE Lady #1. She didn't seem to anxious to get things going. RE Lady #2 said not to replace the carpets, they're in good shape, just declutter and get stuff out of the house. We are having a 10' x 10' deck built on the back of the house, which will make it look a little more finished. We'll still paint, but not a whole facelift. She'll send comps tomorrow. I'm interested to see if her price range is the same as the first one.

I hope we sell this fast. We really want that house in Big Pine Key (one of these days I'll put up some photos so you can just how insane out of touch with reality anxious we are to get started fixing it up. I mean, how long will The Bank allow it to sit there, rotting away, with the value dropping by the second? The asking price dropped $45K during the four weeks we were in the Keys. Perhaps they're getting antsy to move it before they have a real environmental hazard on their hands.

The xerographic module for Bad Copier arrived, but I wasn't notified because no one seemed to notice that big box with Xerox written on it and my name in bold letters on the label. I stuck that sucker into the machine and I've been fighting with the copier ever since. It still wants to jam frequently. It's now making an awful groaning sound as it drags paper through its belly. It was nice and quiet last week for the half hour it's worked this school year. I'm caught up, but I'm exhausted from the battle.

B2 started public kindergarten yesterday. He'd had two years of church preschool under his belt, but I don't think that's equal to the task of molding him into a productive student. He's got his own ideas about how things are run and he is not afraid to insist. Authority figures don't scare him any. He loves the principal of the school, and he was introduced to the in-school suspension teacher and loves her, which really isn't in his best interests, but he doesn't know that yet. His first day went fairly uneventfully, as far as we know so far. He did have a littttttllllleee trouble being quiet while in line, which we expected.

His teacher just happens to work part time at Disney, and she just happens to have the job that B2 aspires to: tour guide on the Backlot Movie tour at Hollywood Studios. I'm sure now that he's convinced it's a match made in heaven. He's quite a talkative child, and I expect him to monopolize many of the school lessons--or attempt to.

A loves her teacher (4th grade) and her year started well. She had a bit of trouble staying quiet in kindergarten, but she's not the chatterbox that B2 is. It amazes me how much she's matured over the last six months. She now writes some long emails that make sense; she's writing a book of stories. She's learned to text (but not how to put spaces between words). She's a whiz at computer games and loves to read.

Forty-five minutes and I can go home. Can you tell how much I want to retire and leave work forever?

2 days down, 178 to go. This year.

What is it with copiers?

Do they hate me? Is it my electric personality? Street lights frequently turn off as I pass them....

The tech guy was at school all afternoon Friday and took both copiers apart. Supposedly all was well. Until I turned them on this morning, then notsomuch.

Within an hour I called Xerox again because one of them was jamming constantly. It'd waste 4 pages for every one it successfully copied. And it's not like I really need two copiers running this time of year or anything.

I'm just glad that school didn't start today, just the teachers (and their copying needs) are back.

This afternoon the tech again took apart the bad copier and thinks he found the problem. I hope he's not only found it but fixed it. He said he's pretty much rebuilt it. I vote for two new copiers to replace the two that are broken more often than they're working.

And don't I just love people who need 40 copies, front, back, and stapled, at 1 p.m. and hand me the original at 12:45. You just then realized that you needed those copies for the meeting that was scheduled weeks ago?

My daughter and her family are here; they decided Tuesday night to fly up on Wednesday. I met them at the airport in Richmond and we got back to town around 1 a.m. Stayed in a hotel and went in to work late. They spent Thursday night with us; only A has been here before. Yesterday B2 was baptized along with two of his cousins at his grandma's church, and my son and his family came to the church too. We went out to eat and spent the rest of the day together. It's so seldom that my kids and their kids are all in the same place at the same time, and I enjoyed it.

Knitting? Did I mention that I want--n0, need to knit a shawl for my sister to wear at her daughter's wedding? I don't remember, and I'm too lazy to look. I've started several patterns many times with two different yarns. I keep messing up. No problem, I still have less than three months to finish it.





This is the latest incarnation of the wedding stole. It may get knit. This is yarn I bought on ebay; cashmere/silk for $5.99!

One day I'll get some photos on here of our Florida summer, the houses we like, etc etc etc. They load very slowly here at home and they're on my laptop, so I can't upload them at school unless I put them on a bunch of dvds first. Lazy.



And my oldest grandson says, The End.

I'm lazy

Or maybe I should be kind to myself and say I've been unmotivated to blog.

Nah. Lazy is the correct word.

Let's see what I've actually done in the last week:

1) Spent a couple of days online comparing cell phones and plans. I am done with Ntelos and their non-customer-service service. I've finally decided on a Blackberry Bold, whatever that is. It seems to have good customer reviews and it can be tethered (through AT&T) to my laptop (for an extra $60 a month) when we travel, and I don't have to keep that tethering for a two-year contract. The monthly plan includes unlimited internet access with the phone and--the big draw, besides being able to access the internet with the laptop when desired--Geez. I got interrupted and I cannot remember what the big draw is. *sigh* Oh yeah, AT&T's minutes roll over if they're not used. I rarely use even 200 minutes a month, and my current plan is for 600 minutes, and if they're not used, they're gone. Forevah. The new plan will include 450 minutes, which will be more than plenty.

2) Read a lot. I finished Stephenie Meyer's The Host. It was really really difficult to get interested in it, but after trying several times (and having nothing else within reach that I wanted to read) I finally got into it. It's an unusual story that I won't even try to explain. It's defintely not Twilight (many would say that's a good thing).

3) I won a contest! Barbara Bretton (if I were at my own desk I could link you, but I'm not so I won't; you can google her name and find her website) chose me as one of her winners and sent me two signed books. One is her last one, Casting Spells, which is about a town of--get this--vampires, werewolves, fairies, and all kinds of supernatural beings (there's even a screaming banshee) and the half-human owner of the best yarn shop in New England for two years running. What could be more appropriate for me to read after being caught in Twilight's spell? I've only read the first few chapters, but it's a light-hearted, fun book. The second in the series (this woman has written tons of books) is due out in June and is about the same town and people and knitting store. I'm looking forward to it.

The second book is Just Desserts, which sounded so familiar, because I already own it, but written by someone else. I guess there's no copyright on titles.

Barbara has several websites, one of which is this one; I think another one is here. You know my memory. I hope that you'll check her, and her books, out. Free books are one of the ways to my heart!

(Hmmmm. It looks like those links will work; if not, blame my brain.)

3) What else have I done. Oh yes, we went to my oldest grandson's first race on Saturday night. First race driving with the big boys, that is. He's 9, the youngest ever to race at that track. One man in his class is 66--how he got into that tiny car is beyond me.

B is an impressive young man. He's been driving in go-cart races since he was maybe 5, and he's quite good. He's done well practicing with the older guys. Fortunately we got there a little too late for his qualifying run; I called my son when we pulled into the parking lot to see where we were supposed to go, and B's brakeline had failed. Failed. As in no brakes. He's 9 years old. What did he do? He calmly zig-zagged around a few cars and aimed the car into the grass, where it stopped on its own.

I would have freaked (both as the driver and the grandmother watching this happen). K said it scared the piss out of him. My boy is eloquent, like him momma. But not B. He handled it well and moved on. I'd still be shaking if I'd done that.

Also, when they first got to the race track, his car wouldn't start. No problems during the practices, but on race day, they came in multiples. They got it going again, then the brakeline blew out.

So the races started (and, thank you, God) it was the first race of the evening. 25 laps, approximately 23 seconds per lap. B started out in the back of the pack since it was his first race, but by the time his clutch burned up on the second lap, he had moved up two spots.

I mean, poor kid! He very calmly aimed the car into the pit area and talked over his headset (this is like professional racing, with full burn-proof gear, the works) to his dad who told him to stay in the car until he could get over to him. B was devastated, but he didn't show it other than being very subdued.

It was just as well that he didn't finish the race; the whole thing was under the yellow flag except for a lap or two, with one car spinning into the wall and the rescue squad and wrecker heading out on the track; fortunately the guy was okay; then the race was called five laps early because it was starting to rain.

We left after B and his mom and dad came back over to the grandstand (and after paying $30 to spend an hour or two there, but some things you do because it's your grandkid even though it scares the crap out of you). Let's just say that I'm not a racing fan. My ex, the bastard, loved racing, and the last one he took me to (over 20 years ago) he told me how "disappointed" he was that he'd gone to the trouble of taking me out and all I did was sit there and read. Instead of being grateful that I'd agreed to go to something that bores me to tears, he was "disappointed". Well, guess who took a book and read this time? Tom, that's who, while I knitted. So HA!

(Yes, I'm childish and vindictive and still hold quite a grudge, thankyouverymuch.)

4) Then Sunday it was pretty and sunny and I spent some quality time in the sun. Ahhh, the warmth of the sun. I know it's not good for the ol' skin and I'm looking like my grandmother much sooner than I think I should, but it's something that I crave.

5) I'm turning the heel of my second Buckeyes/Eclipse sock. I'm loving the yarn.

6) One of my prescriptions finally showed up today. One. There are two or three more that haven't arrived.

As you can see, I've been terribly productive lately. And interesting.

I need to get a life.

Is it Prozac or Florida? OR Why am I feeling so great on a Monday?

I wish I could bottle this feeling.

I feel completely at ease (notice how well I'm ignoring stabs of anxiety), like I've finally been able to exhale. Remember that book, Waiting to Exhale? I knew exactly what she meant by that. I've spent most of my life waiting to exhale. Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Chronic Depression will do that to you.

After spending 8 glorious days in Florida, I am relaxed. I even feel rested. I have a touch of color (I know that sun is bad for the body, but it's so good for my soul.). (Even though an ignorant male teacher told me that it didn't look like I've been in Florida. The soul doesn't show.) If my soul has a color, today it is the serene turquoise of the waters off the Florida Keys.

We got home yesterday morning around 5:30 and went straight to bed. I slept until 7:30 p.m., got up for a couple of hours then went back to bed. I slept wonderfully. Tom is still on "driving straight through the night" time and didn't sleep as well.

I last reported in on Wednesday while we were in Ft. Lauderdale on a little hotel on the beach, with its picture window overlooking the ocean. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there; less than 24 hours, but it's a place we'll stay again. It was clean, comfortable, and had a wonderful pool area. We ate at the Yacht Club that night; Tom's daughter's boyfriend's father is the Commodore there. Good company, good food. Beautiful boats.

Donna and James took us to Marathon in the Florida Keys on Thursday morning. James' family owns a couple of condos there that overlook the Florida Bay. It's incredible; it has a wraparound screened lanai that faces the water (and palm trees and light house); I'd live on that porch if I could. We spent most of the afternoon there, reading and looking out at the view.

Donna helped Tom cook dinner while I took a nap. That's such a luxury for me now; I used to nap after work, but now that I have to get up so early, I can't afford it. But it was so peaceful at the condo that it lulled me to sleep.

We ate dinner on the lanai, watching the sunset. Tom and Donna cooked shrimp, basmati rice, and snow peas. It's a wonderful meal any time, but it was especially good eaten while surrounded by the Florida Keys.

Friday morning I slept late (as usual). (Donna sleeps later than I do, but it has to be noted that she doesn't get off work until 2 a.m. and has a reason to sleep later. I just need sleep.) We left for Key West around 10 or 11; it's just an hours' drive southwest. We ate lunch at Pepe's. We've eaten there before and like it. I had a BLT which for some reason I was craving; even that seemed exotic in Key West.

We split up and spent the afternoon wandering around Key West. I l0ve Old Town. Of course I asked for directions to the knitting shop (they finally have one! Used to only have a needlepoint shop with incredible handpainted canvases; it's still there, too.) I know my way around Old Town that I was able to find the shop without any trouble at all. That, in itself, is a miracle. The shop, Knit Wits (I think) has a wonderful selection of yarns, all organized by color, and even had that yarn crack (or so I hear, since I've never touched it before) Malabrigo in such an array of colors. It wasn't as expensive as I'd expected, but wool, for some reason, wasn't calling to me that day after walking in the hot sun. I chose some coral silk (my vacation yarn) to make a little scarflet. There's a bead store next door, conveniently joined by a walk-through, so I chose some beads to add to the silk when I knit it. Yes, I know that silk that is already beaded is available; I bought a hank in Sonora, CA last summer, gorgeous stuff, but $39 as opposed to $14 plus beads didn't speak to me right then.

I also bought some red, black, and clear beads to use with the "Bloodlust" All That Glitters that yarnlust (etsy) has specially dyed for me. I've decided to make Shipwreck with it. I know that I'm totally crazy to even consider it; I remember how much I moaned and bitched about The Never Ending Test Knit. I won't put any 5000 beads on it, either; I'll probably use only 1000 or so, spreading them a little thinner than the pattern calls for. The clear beads have sterling silver inserts in the holes; I bought slightly bigger ones to use on the silk I bought there. I'd thought of using only sterling silver beads on it, but they're just ridiculously priced, although I think they'd look spectacular. They'd have to have a clear coat on them; I can just see me polishing thousands of tiny beads. (Not.)

We stopped for drinks at Louie's Backyard, a place I've read about in many Florida noir novels. It's right on the beach, with Dog Beach next to it. Key West is very dog-friendly. We enjoyed looking over the ocean as we refreshed ourselves before heading back to the condo.

That night we ate at a nice little restaurant, then packed our stuff in preparation for leaving at 8 the next morning. ( I personally think that anything before noon should be banned.) We picked up our car in Ft. Lauderdale then drove to J.'s house to pick up little Marie, A.'s kitten. We brought her back to have her spayed before taking her back to A. in the summer. She was a wonderful little traveler.

Tom wanted to drive through again, so we got home at 5:45 Sunday morning. We didn't unpack the car, just went straight to bed.

All of my photos are on my laptop, but you can be sure that I'll upload some when I can. I know you can't wait.

I finished sock 1 from the Twilight sock yarn. I forgot to put the hearts on the top of it, so I put one on the top of the foot. I got the second sock right and knit 3-4" before it got too dark and I could turn on Twilight. The laptop won't turn up loud enough for me to hear it, but I could see it juuuuuuust fine. It's still not a well-made movie, but I like it just fine. Still reading New Moon too, even though I took several other books with me. I am doomed, I tell you.

But I'm happy. That counts for a lot.

Spring Break!

Thank God for the institution known to educators and students as "spring break". This year it's particularly late for my system; it's been a long time since Christmas Winter break.

Kids were really squirrelly at school last week. A fire alarm was pulled as a prank and we all spent about 15 minutes outside in the cold rain waiting for the fire department to arrive and give us the "all clear" before we could go inside, rumor spread through the school that a gunman in camo was running wild through the school, and ambulances took a couple of people to the hospital after they suffered stress-related symptoms.

It was with infinite relief that Tom and I left Friday at 2 p.m., heading to Florida to visit our daughters and grandkids.

Tom likes to drive straight through; it's a 14-15 hour drive, and for some reason I can no longer sleep in the car, even when it's been 22 hours since I slept last. Fortunately he's able to stay awake and alert better than I am ("alert" being the big difference between the two of us), and we practically flew down the interstates through Virginia, NC, SC, Georgia, and Florida. In spite of many piss pit stops, one stop for gasoline (we got 519 miles to the tank, which is pretty good for a 10-year-old Camry), half-hour break for supper at a local barbecue place (good food at good prices), and 1-1.5 hours in stop and go traffic in a road repair area, we got to Davenport (just SW of Orlando) at 5 a.m. Saturday.

We were both dead by that time; I was practically swooning from lack of sleep. We checked into our Super 8 $45-a-night room and slept for 6 lovely hours. (Note: I've had some good luck using Hotels.com, but in this case, it was cheaper to go through the Super 8 website.) It's not the Ritz Carlton by any means, but it was clean and the a/c worked. Kinda noisy, but my white noise machine took care of that.

A. and her best friend were in a small pageant in Deltona that afternoon, so we drove back to see them compete. My daughter, J., made the dresses for both girls and "did" their hair and makeup (minimal makeup). They look enough alike to be sisters, even fraternal twins. Some people asked J. if she's sure they aren't identical twins. Honest.

This was a tiny pageant, typical of the South, held in a fraternal organization's building, maybe 15 girls total. All were cute as buttons; some were perfectly comfortable on the stage, but some others weren't as fortunate. Me, I'd have been a basket case if I'd tried that at any age, much less 9.

This was K.'s first pageant. She's heard A.'s accounts and really wanted to try one herself. She did beautifully. She walked out as if she owned the place, full of poise and confidence. Fortunately she's a year older than A. and was in another age division, so they weren't competing against each other.

What none of us had expected was that two mother/daughter teams who appeared on the series "Little Miss Perfect" would be competing (and frequently it is the mothers who are competing, as well as the girls). One set I've known for a few years, but the other was unknown to me before the show.

This one told me horror stories about the shooting of LMP. The tv team spent the entire 48 hours before the pageants with the families; after a while, you kind of forget that there are cameras and mics in your face. They also twisted things to make it look like rich girl/poor girl and even suggested that the "poor" girl wear a boa constrictor as part of her "wow wear". Her mom emphasized that it was the producer's idea, not hers, and when she was talking on the phone to her husband, actually no one was on the line; it was all fake. They showed the "rich" girl's mom spending thousands on this pageant alone and the "poor" mom buying her daughter's clothes at Good Will, not telling that the mom wanted the girl to dress up like Miley Cyrus and was actually going for the Salvation Army-clothes look.

Anyway, that aside, it was a fun afternoon. The girls really didn't care who won; at least, A. and K. didn't. They both were first runners up in their age divisions, which they thought was pretty cool. The little girl who won A.'s division was a LMP winner; strangely, one of the judges for this pageant had "done" hair and makeup for the girls at LMP.

But sweet little A. R., the LMP winner, tried her best to give A. her crown after the pageant was over. She really meant it, too. When A. wouldn't take it, she tried to give A. her sash. That type of thing isn't all that typical of pageant winners.

I have a cute video of the three girls talking and cutting up while waiting for the judging to be finished, but I won't post it. I don't want to put their faces and names all over the internets. Suffice to say that they had a good time goofing off, dressed in their finery, and entertained others who were waiting.

I've attempted to upload photos from the pageant, but my internet connection is too poor to allow them to show up.

So, onward and upward.

On Sunday, Tom and I took A. and B2 to Homassassa Springs Wildlife Refuge. I have always been fascinated with manatees, and this is the place to go to see them. There are 6 or 7 manatees who live there year 'round, and there's also a small zoo. We enjoyed the manatee feeding show.

We didn't do much on Monday. That afternoon we took A. to Costco to buy her first pair of glasses. The poor child is near-sighted, as I am. She chose a cute pair. I don't remember having much input when I got new glasses as a child, until I was in the 10th grade or so. I thought it was important for A. to choose glasses that she likes; she's more likely to wear them and have confidence wearing them if she has some say in the matter.

Tom, A., and B2 prepared dinner (vegetarian spaghetti) that night. B2 had never handled a knife (except the time he took one out of the kitchen drawer a couple months ago and cut his leg) and was kind of tentative using it, but he managed. A. had helped Tom cook dinner three years ago and is an old hand at it. B2 didn't eat much, but A. made up for it.

Yesterday, the first chilly day (high winds, cool temps) Tom and I took B2 to the Reptile Farm (I think that's what it was called) at St. Cloud. We love old Florida-type places like that. Later I'll put up photos of all these things, but not with this internet connection. B2 had a good time feeding the turtles. The man who ran the place told me that B2 is a true gentleman. He shared his turtle food with a little girl.

This morning we got up and left for Ft. Lauderdale at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. I wasn't aware that there is a 7 a.m. in Florida. It was around 40 degrees when we left, but Ft. Lauderdale is warm with a nice breeze. We're staying in a hotel (it calls itself) across A1A from the beach. You should see the view from our picture window. (You would have if the internet connection wasn't so crappy here, or if Ntelos had allowed my crapcam photo to be posted.) Tom, his daughter, and I spent an hour by the pool, soaking up the rays and enjoying the peace and quiet of the nice little courtyard. You'd never know that we were on a main thoroughfare.

Tonight we're going to the yacht club for dinner with Donna's boyfriend's parents. Tough life, huh? Good thing I packed some Chico's Travelers Collection clothes. Tomorrow we're heading for Marathon for a couple of days in the Keys.

(Clothing note: I packed my Chico's denim capris that I haven't worn since September, and they're all too big for me. I really have lost weight!)

I'm off to take a shower and get gussied up for the yacht club. Ta-ta!

(I won't rub in how beautiful the beach looks from our room, and how warm it is here today, and how the breeze is just enough to keep one from baking while lying in the sun. I wouldn't do something like that, now, would I?)

(I would.)

I'm off!

Totally off. Really.

I hear there's a soul-sucking cold wave coming through Florida that will turn the place into cold wet and nasty.

I refuse to believe it.

Up and down

A little while ago I took a drive across town. My former boss is sick and at home, so I offered to take her calendar and laptop to her. It was a great opportunity for me to get out and feel some sunshine.

It's 75 degrees! Real Indian Summer. I even dragged her trash can and recycle bin up her (steep) driveway because it felt so good to be outside.

When I'm in my office, I can't tell if it's night or day, rainy or sunny; it's just flourescent lights, two copy machines, a fan, and an Ionic Breeze with Germicidal Protection. (No. I don't think it keeps the germs from making their way to me, but somehow it feels right.)

It was so great to get outside for a while; I felt like I was playing hookey. I called my daughter and chatted with her on my way across town, and that was nice, too.

Down--gas prices. Mostly $1.99, but I saw one station that was selling unleaded for $1.95. Isn't it sad that it's so exciting when gas falls under $2??? I guess that staycations are responsible for a lot of the price drop.

Whatever. It's all good.

P. S. I have to brag. A is in the 3rd grade, is reading at a 4.6 grade level, and is making all A's. She's in the top 3rd grade class (of either 6 or 8 classes of 3rd graders) and at the top of her class. This is after all the trouble at her old school, where she tested well but J was told that A was in the "lowest 4" readers in her class. From kindergarten through 2nd grade, she was consistently in the lowest classes until January when suddenly her grades shot up; the teachers cited "maturity". Uh uh. I'm convinced that it was that school's way of dealing with Florida's rating system. It was an A+ school, and they needed to have kids improving drastically each year to keep their rating.

Her new school was a D, then a C, and now it's a B. They try harder. When they saw A's transcript from her former school, they told J that A would be in the top class. A told me last week that her school has SmartBoards and she loves them; she said that it's so much easier to learn things with cool SmartBoards. She said, "My old school spent so much money on making the school building look good. My new school spends money to help make the kids smarter."

Pretty good assessment for an 8-year-old.

Long time no post

What happened here? I've been remiss.

I actually blocked one of the big-ass wraps and it came out so nicely. I love the drape. I still need to do the finishing work and find buttons, and I want to get some glass beads and do some simple embroidery on the ends of the wrap. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I picked up the socks I'm working on and finished one of them and started the second. Yesterday while giving the SAT, I finished a good bit of the leg. I'm looking forward to wearing these deep red and grey socks. They're plain vanilla socks, and right now, that's what I need.

We've had three beautiful days here in the mountains. It's been 65-70 degrees, sunny, with a bit of a breeze that didn't feel chilly till the sun went behind some big old clouds today. I've thoroughly enjoyed the more pleasant weather.

And I won a prize! I joined a knitalong, http://carefreeholiday-ornot-kal.blogspot.com/, and by sending in photos of the big-ass wrap in progress and finished, I won a book of sock patterns! So cool.

After I finish talking to A (who's off inventing a game for us to play over the phone; I've got to get that webcam working), I'll try to remember to take photos of my socks and the blocked wrap. You may need to remind me.

Has anyone used Skype

or another video calling thingy? Bitsy has a webcam that I want to use to visit my grandkids.

Speaking of which, I have a trip booked to Orlando in about 3 weeks! Five days in the warmth of Florida. I'd have been happy with two or three full days there, but thanks to Airtran's booking procedures, my free trip wasn't available on the dates I wanted, so I took what was available. I need some warm sun and some grandkids' loving.

Woohoo for getting a free trip to Florida!!!

The boy, again

B2 is going to be a box for Halloween. J wrote,

"Yep, I'm going put some straps on a box and write on it. "Yes, I chose to be a box for Halloween. I am 4 years old. I think outside of the box." Even though he is actually inside the box... people will get it, I hope. He'll be thrilled... unless it rains."

He entertains me.

And--

"I think he just ignores people he doesn't like, anyway. he seems so strong- not at all like A. For example, HalloScream Horror nights are now going on at Universal. They have ghastly commercials on all the time, and the billboards are everywhere. A is scared out of her mind- doesn't even want to look in a mirror at night because "Bloody Mary might come" to her soul!!! I hate those damn commercials. They should not be allowed to be aired during children's programs or during the day, for that matter. They freak me out. On the way home from Preschool today, B2 told me that he wants to go to Universal and stay at their hotel and go to HalloScream. I said, of course, "Are you out of your mind, child???!!! That's scary. I'm not going there." He said, "Well, I want to go." Weirdo. People under 18 can't even go. When the commercial comes on, B2 screams with delight, and laughs, while pretending it's just sooooo scarey. A screams "TURN IT OFFFFFFF!!!" So, who knows, it's probably just the attention he gets from A.

Sigh."

Grandma bragging rights

I have to brag.

A started a new school in August. They moved in July, still near Walt Disney World but not in Orlando. J was going to homeschool her (her experiences at her first school were not..... shall we say, positive?), but after moving a week before school started, she visited the new school and was impressed enough to enroll A, who is in 3rd grade this year.

So far it's been a very different experience, a good kind of different. A was put into the class with kids who make similar grades, and she's shining. Her first three years, she was "at the bottom" of the class until the second semester, when she suddenly "matured" and reached the upper levels. That was an A+ school, and they were going to keep that rating no matter what.

This is a B school, having come up from a D to a C to, this year, a B. They try harder. The administration is friendly and open to parents. A loves her teacher and the librarian. They've done so much to make her feel welcome. And A has 100% averages in all classes but reading!

Reading is a B because she blew the first test of the year. Other than that, the teacher says that her only concern is that A reads with "too much drama"! She's grown up with adults reading to her with "drama", not monotones, and her pageant background has taught her to recite with "drama". Her teacher said that she doesn't want A to lose the drama, just tone it down for class.

What a difference.

B2 is attending the same preschool he went to last year. At first he was in the afternoon class and didn't have his beloved "Miss M" as his teacher, and he was really depressed about it. But the afternoon schedule didn't fit well with A's school schedule, so J changed him to the morning class three days a week. "Miss M" is his teacher again and B2 loves preschool and he loves "Miss M". Poor "Miss M". She probably thought she'd dodged the bullet this year. He's doing well, possibly because he loves poor "Miss M" so much.

The kids are going to schools in different counties and therefore have different vacation schedules. But they're both happy in their schools, and that makes all the difference in the world.

*sigh*

Okay, video not working. But it's at www.cnn.com/video, How Old Are China's Gymnasts?

Once J emails me the details, I'll have a little expose' of CNN's "Keeping Them Honest". Tsk, tsk, Mr. Anderson Cooper.

A's on CNN!

My baby girl was on CNN last night in a story about the questionable ages of the Chinese female gymnasts. There's a stupid commercial first, of course.

She's the cute willowly long-haired brunette wearing a blue unitard with USA on the front; may have been why they chose to show her three times.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to save the video to a dvd, and I'm all set. How exciting this is for a grandma!

Last night in California

We've had such a wonderful time, but it's definitely time to go home. To take my little girl home (to a new home, at that; they've moved while we've been away!), to earn more money to pay for all we've spent, and to sleep. Ahhhh, to sleep! I'll have maybe two unencumbered days before I have to go back to work, so I'll have to sleep fast.

And there's so much to look forward to: a trip to visit my parents and sisters, then on to a Neil Diamond concert with my sisters, and then my new job, although I'm not anxious for that to start. Summer just got going well, and it's over for those of us who have to work in schools.

Oh well, it's certainly time to go home, no matter what! For a little girl who's never been away from mommy and daddy for more than one day, it's been a long two weeks, but she's never gotten homesick. Thank God for cell phones!

Elisa and Deedee, it was such a pleasure to meet you two. I'll write more when I have time; it's almost midnight and I have to go to bed.

Like I said earlier, jet lag is going to be a bitch, but with luck I'll get over it before school starts up again. A's lucky; she usually starts school two weeks before I do, but now that she's being homeschooled, that's no longer a problem.

And we're going home to new hardwood floors in the living room and hall. What a treat! The carpet was pristine till I moved an elderly Lhasa-terrier mix in, and in her final months, she pretty much destroyed the lovely berber. I'm so looking forward to new floors!

A meets the Pacific Ocean

It's a little colder than the 90 degree Gulf Coast of Florida beaches that she's used to. But I think she had fun.

Buzz Lightyear Space Rangers

Yeah. She routinely beats me.

Back to reality

You know, real life isn't so hard to deal with when it's warm and all of summer is ahead. I had a great time in Orlando with my daughter, J, and her family. A totally unexpected, unplanned week in Florida was just what I needed. I think that J appreciates that I flew down so quickly after she saw the doctors, and I appreciate the school that I work for, for letting me go to my daughter when I needed to.

So I'll work all of June. I did that last year, so it's no big deal. I won't get much extra pay since I have to work off those 5 days I missed last week, and probably a couple of sick days, but I don't mind. It's so nice to work here when everyone's gone (except the summer school people, but they won't be in this hall too much); we got so much done after school was out last year.

And it is hot; yesterday was 96 at one point. But it wasn't as humid, and it felt good when I was outside; the school building, as I noted before, is so stinking cold all the time. Oh well. I can deal with it.

It's summer.

I'm mommy

There's been a flurry of activity here since Thursday night when my daughter, J, called me with some scary health news that I won't go into here so as not to embarrass her. Anyway, the scare seems to be simply that, and things are okay, and she wants her mommy.

And I need to hug my daughter, so with the help of extremely low last-minute airfare from one of the upstart airlines, I now need to pack my bags so I can catch a flight to Orlando. Eight days in Florida. What have I been whining about for months? Florida. And I'm going there today.

Medical miracles, airline miracles, and the miracle of the internets. Pretty decent life we have here.

Not to mention the incredible principal I have who told me to "Go. She needs you." I'll be working all summer, but who cares?

Honor roll girl

Yesterday was the awards ceremony at A's elementary school. She got the spelling award--A, who has always been a creative speller, got the spelling award. J said that her reading has improved dramatically; maybe the spelling has too.

And--tada--she's on the A-B Honor Roll for the whole year! After being in the lowest 4 in her class at the beginning of the year (I think I've written about this before), she's on the honor roll for the entire year. That means--Disneyland!!! Two weeks in California with MomMom and Tom!

And--homeschooling for the next year or two, at least. She doesn't know it yet, but she and I are going to keep journals of our trip this summer. That's a start on the portfolio J will have to keep in case FL officials need documention that the child is learning. I'll have her do some research (love wireless laptops!) on Eleanor Cameron who lived in the Monterey/Pacific Grove area (Mushroom Planet series) and we'll once again attempt to find where she lived in Monterey (we failed four years ago). Maps drawn, journal, research--hahahahahahahaha we'll be learning while having fun!

Who'da thunk that a fun trip would become a homeschooling field trip? I bet A hasn't thought of that yet!