A Tender Tennessee New Year

This is the end of my multiple posts about education and our family. The previous ones are:

On Tolerance, Part 1

On Tolerance, Part 2

On Education Rankings, Part 1

On Education Ranking, Part 2

On Awarding Mediocrity

On Parent-Teacher Conferences, Part 1

On Parent-Teacher Conferences, Part 2

On Parent-Teacher Conferences, Part 3

Since this is so long, I will review and cover the rest of the story differently than usual. (Thanks Reluctant Farm Chik for your help on getting my complaint to the school onto one page.)

We were in TN over the New Year. The first part of our journey was ice-covered highway in NM... in the dark. It is interesting to note that NM does not really get worse snow than other places, but they apparently don't get enough to budget snow removal equipment/supplies. Interstates close a lot here when the weather is bad; we were lucky it was not closed when we went.

Historical Facts (as seen by me and elaborated on in the above posts):

• We live in a region of the country in which education is not a top priority.
• At Chic’s school, she was one of few scholars.
• Chic attended a private, parochial school.
• Chic was ahead of her class in most, if not all subjects.
• Many in the class ridiculed Chic because she was “smart.”
• There was little/no teacher intervention regarding the ridicule.
• Chic has not been raised in a pop culture environment, thus she is “different” from most of the other students in her school, despite its parochial nature.
• Chic’s social structure for second grade has been difficult because a 4-some of friends turned into a 3-some, and Chic, being different, was the one usually left out.
• Chic’s teacher/s did not notice that her friend structure had changed.
• Parent-teacher conferences were not a place to get real information. Teacher/s usually took the approach of keeping parents happy without divulging any real information. Real issues were avoided.
• When real issues were addressed with teachers, the observations of the teachers changed. (From “she’s doing fine” to “she’s immature.”)
• Teacher/s were not demanding, teaching, or modeling life skills such as kindness and getting along.
• Teacher/s were allowing students to dictate classroom environment.
• Teacher/s punished tattletales inappropriately unless tattletales were pet students, in which case the behavior was encouraged.
• Teacher/s modeled disorganization and disrespect.
• Classroom/playground supervision was inadequate.
• Teacher/s were biased in analysis of students and their academic abilities.
• Teacher/s flip-flopped on significant educational plans. (“Your student should be placed in advanced classes for certain subjects” to “Your child is too immature to handle advancement.”)
• Teacher communication was ineffective and unprofessional.
• Prince Charming and I, as parents, are not perfect. Neither is Chic. We approached this for three semesters with an open mind realizing that not everything could go our way.

When in TN, our friends had a flying squirrel in their house. It had been there a while--behind the fireplace--but they couldn't get it. It came out while we were there. Very cute. (The foggy picture is because it was SO COLD, and this was taken when releasing it.)

Things we did about the above:

• Discussed concerns at length with teachers. (No results.)
• Discussed concerns with trustworthy, knowledgeable friends not involved in these issues to better ground ourselves and assure our objectivity. (A very few were unsympathetic saying that schools will always have problems–we realized that already. Most were shocked it could be so bad and made us realize we had put up with a lot more than we should have.)
• Discussed the issues with the school Principal. (This was ongoing. Many of the incidents did not seem “big enough” to report until more and more happened. The big picture was disturbing, so the Principal knew the whole story by the end of the semester and was extremely supportive.)

Things that could not change:

• The teacher/s could not be removed. Apparently though I have heard various complaints about Chic’s primary teacher for several years, there was no documentation. (This was the current Principal’s first year and without documentation could do nothing, though she had wished to remove a teacher before I ever talked to her.)
• The attitudes of the teacher/s. Apparently though counseled on specific behavior problems, issues addressed to them by parents, the Principal or School Board members resulted in: flat denials, blaming others and often subtle retaliation against students of specific parents.

Our Options:

• Send Chic to another school.
• Homeschool Chic.

We saw neither of these as viable options since removing Chic from school would be seen by other parents as a huge blow to the school. (Small environment.) We had no quarrel with the school or the Principal, but with specific teachers. The school is small and has financial difficulties, so any blow to it, large or small, could potentially end its life.

Although it was bitter cold for our visit, there were a lot of pretty skies. I was going to save many of these for SkyWatch Friday, but I thought they would go with this post.

Our Solution:

This was not our idea. It was Reluctant Farm Chik‘s. She is my educational/parenting mentor. She is SO with it in those areas. Most people think I am with it (except that I shield my children from a lot of pop culture which many think is cruel), but those people have not met Reluctant Farm Chik.

When she first suggested it (on my voice mail), I thought she was joking. She knew our reasons for not sending Chic to another school or homeschooling her. She said her idea was different.

On December 30, 2009, the four in our family and a minivan packed pretty tightly headed on a tw0-day trip east. On New Year’s Eve we arrived in the-middle-of-nowhere-way-out-in-the-sticks Tennessee. (It was overcast and we missed the New Year’s Eve Blue Moon.)

We spent January 1 and 2 in Tennessee and three of us left on January 3. We left just-turned-8-year-old Chic there to go to school for a semester. This is what I meant when I said in an earlier post that many of you may think we are unfit parents by the time we get to the end of this story. (Who leaves their 8-year-old two days drive away for five months?)

Why we did this:

• We did not think our options allowed for home school or a different local school. (That was not a permanent decision. We will not continue to let that stop us after this semester.) This option let us tell people that “Chic got this really great opportunity to live on a farm with a horse with great friends–something she’s always wanted to do. We couldn’t pass it up.” No damage to the school, although if we did not have thick skins, there would be a lot of damage to us from people who think we are absolute idiots.
• We have complete faith and trust in Reluctant Farm Chik and her family. They are treating Chic like one of their own. She has a new “brother” and “sister” (both older–a dream for her). She has 8 new cousins (one who realized he could not have a crush on her because she was “his cousin.”) She has a new set of grandparents and several aunts and uncles. She is in a loving, family environment.
• Although kids will have bad times in school and bad teachers (I had bad teachers from grades 4-8), the early years are too important in setting the stage for school satisfaction and learning. My first three years of school were perfect which is why I came out of 8th grade not completely despising education. Chic has had a horrible start which is crazy for someone who excels at school. She was starting to hate school AND hate learning. Something had to change.
• Chic is balanced and mature enough to handle it. (Despite what her teachers said.)

I tried to take pictures of these several times on our trip to and from TN, but going down the highway at 75 mph meant that most of them were not that great. My kids (living in a desert) were amazed by these. They look just what I grew up with in MO.

How it is going:

• Chic loves school. She is learning at her level in all subjects. She is a little intimidated that her math education here was so far behind that she’s only at the same level of her second grade class (and not doing as well as the 4th graders which is what she expects), but overall it is good.
• Chic had instant friends.
• Chic loves her teacher.
• We hate Skype. (Not really, but it usually leaves us feeling unsatisfied.)
• We miss her like crazy.  (We already have two visits under our belt.  Ahead are Spring Break and two more visits.)
• Chic has only cried a couple of times–when we left her, and when I left from a visit. She was fine both times right away.

What the future holds:

• We don’t know! I wish we knew! Chic will not return to her old school unless there are dramatic changes. (Probably two teachers would have to be gone for her to go back. It is a small school, so unless they are gone, she will have the same teachers next year. If they had major attitude changes, that would be OK, too, but so far they do not even acknowledge that there was a problem.)
• We might home school.
• We have even thought of moving. Someone asked if we were living in the right place. No, we are not. Well, I think we are in every way except social culture (which means little to me because I am too busy for much socializing, and we do have some very good friends here. I am referring to the society in general.) and education. We love it here otherwise. Also, Prince Charming’s job is here, and his job means I am a stay-at-home mom. That is why we moved here in the first place. But moving is not out-of-the-question, just not on the immediate horizon. (And giving up my skies would be a tough thing indeed!)

This was the favorite picture I took while on that trip. It includes the "Pondwatch" pond.

It boils down to we are responsible for our children. Our school is not. Our church is not. God forbid if society was! We will do what is best for them.

We are looking forward to May, but we do not regret a bit of what we did. It is changing all of us (mostly for the better) forever. All of us are growing. Experiences like this cannot be bought. And Chic is happy. (And I got the best hug she has ever given when I visited last month.)

So full of innocence and promise. We must take care of her, even if it means someone else is taking care of her right now.

 

On Education Rankings, Part 1

Note: The pictures in this post have nothing do do with the text. Chic turned 8 the day after Thanksgiving. These pictures are from her 5th birthday when her gift was a trip with me to Disneyland (including California Adventure). I think I can safely say it was one of the most fun times in both of our lives–just her and me. (Chicklet and Prince Charming are doing a trip for her birthday this spring.)

This is part of an ongoing series that has to do with some serious things going on in our family.

The first part is  On Tolerance, Part 1. The second part is On Tolerance, Part 2.

In 2007 New Mexico was ranked at #49 in academic achievement. When we moved here in 2002, I think it was ranked #51. (D.C. counts in these rankings, and they seem to try to keep that #51 spot.) This was really a good thing for me at the time because until we moved here, Prince Charming was adamantly in favor of public education, and I was adamantly opposed to it. When we moved here, he decided private (parochial) school or homeschool would be a good idea.

Homeschooling was never something in which I was really interested. In my little Southwest Missouri bubble before moving here, I was not impressed with most of the homeschooling parents I met. But when I moved to New Mexico, I changed my tune. I still did not really want to do it because my life is extremely active and busy, and I was pretty sure homeschooling would put a huge damper on that. However, I met several homeschoolers and their parents, and I could definitely see some benefits. The “they get no socialization” complaint is usually a bunch of garbage. There are plenty of ways for homeschoolers to socialize. What I liked about it was that the socialization can be more selective. I had homeschooled, teenage babysitters who listened to the same classical radio station I did and whose favorite books were similar to mine including many classics. It is not that this cannot happen in public school, but once kids go to school, it seems to me they become a product of their school and peers more than their parents. Homeschooling also allows great freedom in scheduling (trips and general life), and that appeals to me.

But alas, I did not choose to homeschool my children. Why? Mostly my schedule, but also because I believe strongly in my children having a Christian education (which I could provide, if needed).  But this also means I believe in the others of my faith having a Christian education, and if I chose not to support the local school with the enrollment of my children, that could be perceived as a knock against the school. So Chic started Kindergarten two years ago at the local church school and is now in second grade.

In the previous posts about tolerance I discussed the problems Chic is having because she is ahead of her class. Now let me be clear that I am not a “mama bear” type of parent. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I that is just not me. I am the type of parent that diligently tries to train my children to behave and be kind and be helpful, and if I hear a complaint about either of them, I ask them why they were not doing what they knew was right. I am also not one of those people that did not analyze everything I could imagine about being a parent before I did it. I never thought it would be “fun” or just something to enrich my life. I waited so long to have children because I knew the responsibilities would be great and my life would never be the same. So when the ridicule of Chic started coming up, I was totally unprepared for how to handle it. How can I explain to her the idiocy of fellow human beings and keep her humble and tolerant of those people? She was 7 when it became a strong problem. I have told her that sometimes people are jealous of those who appear to be more successful than themselves, but I really try to not put down the other children in the process so she will not think less of them. I do not really want to tell her that often people are afraid of those who seem superior in some way, so they try to bring others down. How can she care for her fellow human beings if I start telling her these things so young? (Sometimes I wonder if I am totally wrong in this approach.)

What I am learning, however, is that I do not think anyone is jealous of her. It never occurred to me that someone who is bright and successful in school and mostly well-behaved and extremely kind would be treated with disrespect. I noticed it early this school year on field trips. I am the only parent in Chic’s class that drives for every field trip. (Our school is small; we do not have buses.) This means my car gets crammed with 5 kids (including my two–Chicklet is not yet in school.) One of the extras pairs off with Chicklet, and the other two pair off together leaving Chic as the odd girl out. She doesn’t pout or whine or complain. Never a word, but I can tell it bothers her. She is not the type to force herself into a place, and her friends do not even pay attention to her. When there are even numbers of students, Chic has a friend, but when there are odd numbers, she is different and is the one left out.

How is she different? For one thing, she is not raised on pop culture. PLEASE understand I am not judging or condemning anyone who chooses to raise their children differently than we raise ours. We have to raise our children to the best of our ability in a way that works for our families. And I realize we are not “normal” in that aspect. We do not watch television. None. Not even the news. OK, this winter the girls and Prince Charming have watched a little football (gagging here), and sometimes when I am working in the evening, he will watch The History Channel with the girls. But that may be a twice-a-year thing. The girls do watch videos periodically, but mostly the television is not on. My girls know who Hannah Montana is, but that is from their friends, not from seeing her in our home. The same with High School Musical and whatever other similar movie was the latest one. Chic has no aspirations for being a reality TV star, but at the moment wants to be a marine biologist. (I really do not know from where that came.) So Chic might play somewhat differently than the other kids. But in my opinion she is quite imaginative in her play and would be fun. But she is different.

She is also different scholastically. She could read before she got to Kindergarten. (She picked that up on her own. Another reason I did not want to homeschool was that everything I tried to teach her seemed to fail dismally. But she later picked it up on her own.) At the beginning of second grade, her reading level tested at 6th grade level. No one else in her class is even close. Math is the same. (Not 6th grade, but way ahead of her class in ability to understand the concepts being taught.)

So I think about this and wonder why is she so far ahead? Is she really THAT smart? And why if she’s so advanced do the kids not like that?

To be continued on Friday…

 

On Tolerance–Part 2

For Part 1, go here.

These pictures are from three years ago when we were at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. Since we do not have piles of leaves in our immediate area, it was like an amusement park for my girls.

A short story about the half-Hispanic/half-Iranian boys from the last post. The girls were more rude to them than the other boys in class. The boys were not actually rude to them, but just avoided them. One day for their art class, most of their class was late except for the two boys I liked so much. As people trickled in, the seats filled up, and of course the last seats available were the ones by the two. The most obnoxious girl of all came in last, and there was no place for her to sit except beside one of the twins. She made a HUGE scene. Not being a “real teacher” and having little “teeth” last year to effectively manage problem behavior, I told her to sit down or go back to her class. But those nice boys got someone to trade with them so they were next to another more unpopular student so the mean girl could sit with her friends. I do not know if she thought about that, but I hope someday the memory is at least a small wake-up call.

Chic is the top of her class. Last year she was in 1st grade and was in a classroom with 1st and 2nd graders. She was ahead of everyone in reading, spelling and math. We knew long before Chic ever went to school she would be a star scholastically, so we have worked with her since before Kindergarten to help her understand that although she understands school subjects better than a lot of people and is ahead, she is not better than anyone. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and just  because she can do some things  better than most kids does not mean they cannot do some things better than her. She understands this. We have made every effort to assure her humility, and it seems to have been successful. But this does not mean other parents have done the same. Chic is mocked severely for being ahead of her class. This happened a little last year, but to a greater degree this year.

Although Chic easily overheats, she does not like wearing shorts to school because they show her muscular legs. She has not a bit of fat on her body, but her legs are bigger than all of the rest of the girls, and they make fun of her because she is different than they are.  Yes, she can run faster and jump higher than any of them, and she is chosen for teams right away, but because she looks different, she is fodder for derision. (And seeing other behavior in the children, I sometimes wonder if part of it also has to do with her pale skin and red hair.)

Forgive me for being irritated that I am doing all I can to raise well-behaved, good-mannered, kind and caring children who do their best to excel at whatever they attempt (at least the first one–the jury is way out on whether the second one will even care about excelling) when it seems like the parents of my daughters’ peers are not bothering to raise them much at all and are apparently modeling inappropriate behavior. As parents I feel like Prince Charming and I might have failed Chic because we taught her humility, not how to face the bullies. We wanted to make sure she would not be a bully. We never dreamed one so successful in everything she does would be treated with such disrespect. (We are diligently working on this now.  Should we tell her when people make fun of her legs to say, “At least I don’t have skinny bird legs like you!” No, that is not how we believe anyone should be treated. But it is difficult to teach a child  humility without putting them in a position of getting squashed in school.)

When I was in elementary school, I remember my parents talking about a relative who married an African-American. (Let’s go back more than 30 years to near the very center of the United States.) During the discussion these words came out of my mom’s mouth: “It doesn’t bother me what they do, but it’s the kids who will suffer.” That caught my attention. I said, “Why does it hurt the kids?” Both of my parents explained that they would be neither “white” nor “black,” so neither family or race would fully accept them. I asked why. They explained how people do not accept people not like themselves. I said, “But your making the statement in the first place shows that you think they are different.” I loved my parents, and I truly think there were not much better ones put anywhere in the world, but potentially a filter in what they said in front of my brother and I would have been wise at such a time. Statements like that in front of children would likely encourage children treat the “unfortunate” children differently in most cases. It is no different today.

My belief is that most parents — if they even think about it — want their children to be replicas of themselves; they want them to have the same opinions and beliefs. (Maybe deep down I want that, too, but if it happens, I want them to arrive there on their own, not because I told them to or showed them no other options.) Most parents in my realm (I can only speak for my small corner of the world) have not been educating their children to accept all people as I attempt to educate mine. Maybe in more cosmopolitan areas there is more tolerance for people not like oneself, but I have not seen much in the places I have lived.

But I am going to say that from my experience in Blogland, there might be tolerance for people who are different in ethnicity, but not a lot of tolerance for differences of opinion. No, not everyone is like that, but I really am amazed at the statements I see coming out of blogs with abject criticism of people with differing opinions–not just criticism of these opinions, but also of the people who have them. (And if you are reading this, you are likely not the writer of one of the blogs to which I refer.)

I am much too cynical realistic to think the lack of tolerance in the world is ever going to dramatically change. But I can assure you, it will not even budge if people cannot handle a viewpoint that is not their own without attacking (even mentally) the person who holds it. And if people cannot refrain from attacking people not like them, no matter in what way, I do not see a better future for anyone.

This is the end of my “tolerance” post. It was originally one, but it ended up way too long, so I cut it in half. There will soon be more on things that I believe relate to this topic and society in general and how all of that relates to our family.

 

A Tiny Glimpse of Portland, Maine — My World Tuesday

When I went on this last trip, I purposefully did two things to make sure I did not sleep in and hang out in my hotel room all day.  (Stay-at-home moms of young children are tired and the opportunity to do nothing is a strong call.) The most important thing was to not take a book to read. I really have no self-control whatsoever if I have a book. The second thing was to get some clues for letterboxes.

As I mentioned in my last post, my camera was not behaving as it should for a large part of this trip–including ALL of the Maine portion. Thus these pictures lack a bit to be desired. The problem was that it would not always take a picture when I aimed it unless I put it on fully manual which meant I could get nothing quickly, and there was a big foggy spot on the left side (or top for vertical pictures.)

Most of these pictures were from an early-morning letterboxing exursion. I found two boxes (out of two–that was exciting), and saw some places I would not have seen without this wonderful hobby.  (If you want a much better look at Portland, go here. She lives in the area and posts fabulous pictures all the time.)

This is looking over Back Cove a little after sunrise. I loved the skyline in the distance, but when I uploaded the photo, I was also enchanted with the tree in the foreground.

This is about where I was standing when I took the cove picture. This place was enchanting, too. Of course the sundial is nice, but I really liked the branch shadows on the stone bench.

I did not follow my clues properly and walked quite a distance up a street that wasn't necessary, but the view was worth it. There is nothing about this place, except the blue sky, that is like where I live.

I love quaint street scenes like this. (Sorry for the really fuzzy top.)

Another enchanted house. These hydrangeas (I think--they are bigger than I've ever seen) were all over.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

Nothingness (In More Than 1000 Words)

The photos below have nothing to do with this post. I had no pictures to put with the post, so I just took a series that I was pretty sure would never make it to SkyWatch Friday. This is a sunrise about 3 weeks ago. The pictures were taken within about two minutes and I think include the view from every direction from my house.

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Before I started blogging, I hesitated quite a long time to do it, even though pressured to do it by two of my cousins. The main reason was time. I  knew I did not have time. I still do not, as evidenced by my irregular posting and visiting. But another reason is that I thought it was a bit narcissistic. I thought WHO CARES about the daily happenings of anyone else.  Before I dove in myself, I spent several months reading other blogs. I realized they are not all self-absorbed. (I do not read the ones that I think are.)

However, I have been thinking about my blog lately because one fairly regular reader and commenter once said something like “whatever your blog is about.”  I laughed (I often laugh at his comments; he has a wonderful sense of humor whether or not he means to be humorous.) because it is true.  My blog has no theme. I knew it would not, but it is glaringly apparent when compared to the blogs I visit. Most could be categorized as something. Mine cannot. It is about me. It does not get much more narcissistic than that. And this post will probably be the worst yet. Thank you to all you who come here even though the topics are so varied and there might be three sentences one visit and an epistle the next. And for putting up with me.

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Today I did not really want to say anything about September 11 because so many others have. I also find it irritating how something so tragic that drew a nation together for a few days (or an afternoon?) is now often used in a political sense to tear it apart. (Certainly not everyone, but I have seen plenty of  “Remember 9/11, and be sure you remember why this event makes me right in my political opinions.” I have seen this from opposing viewpoints. Can we just remember a tragedy without being disparaging?) I rarely mention politics in  this space because I hate politics. I hate extremes. I think all sides have extremes. I think the extreme left and the extreme right both want to take away freedom–just in different ways that appeal only to them. (My viewpoints make both sides upset, so if I really got into this, I would likely alienate my entire readership.)  I hate statements that have little other purpose than to be inflammatory. I hate it when people can dish it out but cannot take it.  So I choose to avoid the topic entirely–most of the time. Which is why I was going to avoid any mention of 9/11.  But something compelled me to tell my part of that day’s story. I was pregnant with Chic. I was at work. The tiny television in the Conference Room was on for people to watch the horrific scene over and over. (I am personally not a fan of watching the same tragedy over and over.) Then the Pentagon was hit. Just a couple of weeks before that Prince Charming had been doing an internship at the Pentagon. (Leaving my pregnant self home alone much of the summer.) What was horrible before was real then. But real for me was not, and will never be, what real was for the people who lived and worked  in New York City and Washington, D.C. on that day or who lost someone. They know real. The rest of us just speculate.

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In my car today, on the way to drop off some stamps and to pick up Chic, I suddenly started crying about my mother. There is  nothing special about today in relation to her, but maybe I was thinking about the 9/11 loss. Chicklet was talking to me, and I could not even speak. When I started blogging, I thought I would write a lot about my mother. About her life. About her death. About her 10-year dying process. But I have written very little. Some days I want to just unload it all. But part of me is afraid. The few times I  have discussed her before, the reactions have not been at all what I expected. My reason for wanting to share her story has to do with lessons learned. It is not about me at all. I do not want sympathy or consoling words. I want people to understand what happened and why. I guess I do not know how to say it in a way to make people understand, or else I am not ready. But today, I missed her.

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Last Friday (or Saturday, I don’t remember when it went up) I did a post and said I would see you on Monday. I did not. The day had several totally unexpected things happen (I spent most of the day in front of the computer working on things for Art Class), but ended well (and also unexpectedly) with an afternoon/evening with our “gaming friends” playing Settlers of  Catan–Cities and Knights. (And have been behind blogging since.)

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Now for some more random (and hopefully lighter than the first two sections) things…

1– I  have decided I do not like cooking much right now. Nothing has changed, really, but I get SO. MUCH. ACCOMPLISHED on days I do not cook. I am great at multi-tasking, but I think I hate it. When I cook, I want to focus on cooking. When I cannot focus on it, I think I would rather not do it at all.

2– Our electricity has been flashing lately for every thundercloud that goes over. I realize this is common in some parts of the country (southern Missouri, for example), but it is not common here. And it is starting to get on my nerves because I am at a computer so much of the time.

3– I have two times a day when I can think–really think. Those times are when I exercise and when I cook. (And cooking might involve so many other things that it does not count.) But I am thinking about a post relating to my aerobic activity which is biking (usually to school, but sometimes in the neighborhood). It will mostly be a rant, but I cannot get it out of my head.

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4– My husband is gone. He will be gone most of the weekend at a seminar related to his position at church. I hate it when he is gone. (For many reasons not the least of which he is not here to have water boiling on the stove to add to my bath when it gets cold–because I do not like running water in the tub because the wait for hot water is too long.)

5– Tonight’s bath is scented with Black Amethyst from Bath and Body Works. I was not into that scent much during the heat of summer, but I am liking it a lot again now. (Have I told you how absolutely glorious September is in this part of the country?)

6– My biggest project of the week has been doing my taxes. No, not estimated quarterlies, but the ones that were due on April 15. The last few years we have filed for extensions (even though we always get money back) because I do not have time to do them (and Prince Charming, forgive me, is useless in this area). But they have NEVER been this late. If I were married to Daryl (which I think is impossible because neither of us are lesbians, though neither of us oppose them and their relationships, and who also has a wonderful 9/11 post today), she would have divorced me by now for how long this has taken. Prince Charming is just happy he does not have to bother with financial things.

7– I really, really, REALLY do not like word verification on Blogspot. Really.

8– When I grow up, I want to be her.

 

My Crepe Myrtle–My World Tuesdsay

I know, I know. You are waiting for pictures of my recent trip. But we just got back last  night. I am in the throes of laundry and unpacking. I have not even glanced at half of my pictures yet. There is plenty of time. Today must be quick, so I thought if my Crepe Myrtle bush was this interesting to me, it might be to you.

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We bought it three or four years ago. I thought it was a deep, medium-pink like the pink in the picture above. But it has always been red. (Also like in the picture above.) When it first bloomed I was slightly disappointed because I had something that I did not plan on  having. But I soon  warmed up to it because I like things unusual and different, and I have never seen another one with red blooms.

But this year the bush decided to put on a different kind of display. The  blooms, both pink and red above, are from my bush. But the one below is as well. Some blooms are white. After three of four years of only red, I have no idea what would make this tinting and shading happen, but I find it intriguing and quite pretty. (If you have an idea what causes this, please enlighten me!)

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My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

Last Day for Giveaway

To those of you who have already seen this, I apologize, but I wanted to remind everyone about my giveaway, and the last post had other things that were not exactly pleasant. (Cut finger.) So I thought I would just copy the giveaway part from that post and paste it here.

This is your last chance to sign up. I’ll be drawing winners tomorrow (Thursday) and hopefully do a quick post about the winners on Friday.  (But Prince Charming has Friday off work for the holiday, and we’re going to spend the day with our “gaming friends.”)

First, I do not like to do this to get more traffic or comments, so you are required to E-MAIL ME if you want to be entered! Just e-mail louisestamps at aol dot com and let me know you want to enter. (Please put “giveaway” in the subject line.)  There will be two winners. Prince Charming will draw names, and the first one has first choice of what s/he wants.  The other person will get what is left. (But I do not make slouchy things, so I think that is OK, and it is free, OK?)

Here is an idea of the prizes:

1) Handmade cards. There will be these four, but I will probably throw in a couple of others for which I did not immediately have samples. (I have already made two others to go with this pile.)

2) A Banner. But not this one or one even like it, but you get the idea. I have not made it yet, and I decided to wait because the winner can pick the colors (within reason). It will be a “SUMMER” banner (NOT “MERRY”). It is a home decor item–large enough to fit over a double window or in a hallway. Each pennant is about 6″ wide and 9″ long. (I did not measure, but am doing this from a memory. I am too lazy at the moment to get out something to measure.)

You have through TODAY, Wednesday, July 1, to e-mail me. If these things do not interest you, but you think they might interest someone you know, consider entering to give as a gift.

I am also thinking of adding a third prize, but you can tell me if you would be interested. I am not a great photographer. I take some very good pictures, but I do not edit them (other than occasional cropping when I am not too lazy) and I have still not figured out all the manual settings on my camera. I hesitate to do this one because I am so small in a big photography world. But I know a few have really liked some of my pictures. So I could also make a set of cards from my pictures. If you want to enter and that interests you, let me know. It could be a “Louise’s choice” thing, or the winner could choose from pictures I have posted.

OK, I think that’s it for today. But I forgot to tell you THANK YOU for hanging with me for a year. I went back and read a few of my first posts, and many of my readers are the same. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that you come and read the drivel things I write and look at my photos. If it were not for you, I know I would have quit blogging entirely the couple of times I have had to take extended breaks due to my crazy schedule. YOU keep me coming back! Thank you.

 

What’s Going On

To my wonderful, loyal, faithful readers. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate you!

The Art Show last week went well.  It was combined with a recital. (1st and 2nd grade did a group recital with recorders, grades 3-5 a group recital with violins, grades 6-8 a group recital with guitars, preschool-Kindergarten sang a song or two–Chicklet was invited to participate with them which was a fun surprise–she was smashing, and individual piano recitals–Chic’s first.)

But my life is no slower, and I do not see it getting that way until mid-June when summer is here and we are back from our semi-annual trip to Missouri (which is going to include a side-trip to North Dakota this year.) You know I am behind at visiting you, and obviously posting. I will try to get a thing or two up here, but no promises. My life is scheduled to the maximum second, and right now there are many, MANY other things take up the “spare” time I have never had. (The Art Show is an example. I am the art teacher, and I am the only one who made it happen.  I had absolutely no help, which is not necessarily bad, but it might give you a tiny insight into my time limitations. This week I have to disassemble it all, among other things.)

So I will be visiting My World and Sky Watch since I am on the team for those memes, but no commenting because I do not want to encourage return visits to the current nothingness of this blog. I will make efforts when I can to visit you, but it is likely I will do what I do not wish and “mark all as read” on everything before this is all over with.

I do miss you. And I apologize. But when I have a few extra minutes on a weekend or evening, I need to spend it with my family right now.

So I will see you around. Hopefully soon, but I just do not know.

Again, thank you for your faithfulness. I never forget these things, even if I do not have an opportunity to respond at the moment.

Louise

 

The Sky is Falling — SkyWatch

click photo to enlarge

To see LOTS more terrific sky pictures or to find out how to participate in this meme, head to the SkyWatch blog.

 

What We’re Doing Tonight

I should have posted this sooner, but I did not have time. I hope it’s not too late for someone who did not know about this already to participate.

And what are you doing tonight from 8:30 till 9:30 pm? I plan to be home in the dark. (But that does not mean I will be sitting around, bored, with nothing to do!)

Each year, individuals, governments and businesses around the globe are encouraged to switch off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an Australian initiative that began in Sydney in 2007 to help combat climate change. In 2008, Earth Hour involved between 50 and 100 million people in 370 cities and towns around the world, including Chicago, Toronto, Copenhagen, Dublin, Atlanta and Bangkok. Earth Hour 2009 takes place on Saturday 28 March. By turning off our lights, we can send a message to the world’s leaders that strong action needs to be taken to combat climate change.

For more information go to: http://www.earthhour.org.

One more thing. I am not the type of person to participate in something like this just today, and not every day. If I were not already doing most everything I can to conserve resources, I would not do this unless I planned to start now to make this a daily part of my life. It is not that difficult to turn off the lights once in a while, or even reduce their use every day. (Granted a little tougher with kids in the family who just do not learn to always turn off lights, but they can be trained to do better,  and we can get more exercise going here and there to turn them off after they have left them on.)  If conservation is not your way of life, try to think of some things you can do to head in that direction. If it is your way of life, maybe there is one more thing we can do.  I am just not into one-day changes about anything.