Happy Ground Hog's Day

Happy Ground Hog's Day. Old Phil saw his shadow, so we are in for 6 more weeks of winter-which is fine by me, because I don't mind the winter. I do wish we would have more snow. The ice and slush from Friday is really useless winter material. Snow gives one so many more possibilities. I believe I am in a minority here, so I will cease and desist with the snow talk.

Last night we did get to the movies to see The Bucket List. It was a good movie, with some laugh out loud moments. We have not put together our "bucket list" yet, but it is food for thought. If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend it. 

Today I went to my spinning class and I was so excited for class number two because class number one went so well. I tried a different wheel this morning and it was like I had never spun before and was the most uncoordinated person on earth. I was so frustrated after an hour of yarn spun way too tightly, or yarn wrapped in places it shouldn't be wrapped, or a wheel that would not go in the correct direction that I was almost in tears. The teacher was very patient and helpful, and when I really analyzed what was going on I realized that the problem was the different wheel. I could not treadle the wheel so that it maintained a consistent speed and went in the right direction. The teacher, Deb, let me try another wheel and voila! I was back to spinning like I had last week. The second wheel I used this week was a double treadle and very pleasant on which to spin. I was a bit frustrated that I spent so long trying to get the other wheel to work, but it just reinforced the idea that there is a reason why there are so many wheels available. I once again will be looking forward to next Saturday's class.

 

Both Tucker and Corey called us this afternoon and it was great to talk to both of them. Tucker called from Durango, CO where he met up with a college friend who was in Durango with the women's hockey team he coaches. Tucker was going to see the game and then hang out with Kevin and the hockey players. Tucker said he was going to have to be on his best behavior because he was a bit afraid of these 30 year old women hockey players!!!

Corey called from Yale University, where he was was running in an indoor track meet. He ran the 3000 meter race in a time of 8:27.91! A time he was very pleased with! This time qualifies him for the Big East Indoor Track meet later in February. 

We went out to dinner with Bob and Sally tonight. We went to the Garland House in Brockport. T & C this is the place we ate after my Master's degree graduation ceremony. I had one of the specials, which was a piece of broiled haddock with a spinach/feta cheese/bacon stuffing on top. It was sooooo good. We had a lot of good conversation over drinks and dinner, but I didn't take a photo to document the event. 

My photo for today is to show the progress I am making on my sock club sock. I spent a good amount of time knitting today and got the heel turned. The pattern used a technique for the heel that was new to me, so there were some mental gymnastics as I worked through the directions. I think that the hardest part of the sock is completed, but I may have just jinxed myself my writing that!

Tomorrow I have to get my grocery shopping, ironing, and work-out in before the Super Bowl. We will have dinner with Gram and GrandDad and watch a bit of the game at their house. I am in a Super Bowl pool at school and am hoping to recoup some of the money I lost in the weekly pools that I did pretty poorly in. 

Go Patriots! Remember, you can still vote for your favorite team until the start of the game.

Hope all is well. 

More Crazy Weather

Sleet, freezing rain, snow, regular rain-we've had it all in the last 12 hours! On Wednesday we were helping students off and on the buses because of high winds and today we had to help again as the sidewalks were so slick and the custodial staff could not work fast enough to keep the walks safe. The freezing rain/sleet was falling so fast that a minute after the custodians cleared an area of the sidewalk, it would be covered with ice again. As far as driving goes, the main roads were OK, but the side roads were covered with an icy slush. I am glad that I only live 3.5 miles from school.

A couple of updates. First, I misspelled Sue's new granddaughter's name-it is Amelia. And we thank Sue for sending a photo-I was right, she is a beautiful baby with a beautiful big sister (and a beautiful mother and beautiful grandmother)!

Second, we ended up not having overnight guests on Wednesday night. Maw called about 7 PM to say that Porge refused to leave their house so they would be staying put, in spite of the fact that their house was 50 degrees due to a power outage. Jim went over to their house to get them to come to our house, but Porge said "NO" in no uncertain terms. Fortunately, their power was restored at 11 PM. 

I am hoping we go to the movies tonight to see The Bucket List. The advantage to living next to a movie theater is that bad weather shouldn't keep us from going there. I'll have to see what Jim's thoughts are on a movie tonight when he gets home.

Last night we went to Mr. Dominic's for dinner because a student gave me gift certificate to this place. It is usually quite busy on the weekends, so we decided to try a Thursday night and had a nice meal with no wait.

Tomorrow is my second spinning class and I am looking forward to it. I have done some research on spinning wheels and tomorrow will try a different wheel and see how I like that one. One of the decisions one has to make when thinking about purchasing a spinning wheel is whether you prefer to treadle with one foot or two. Some wheels are more portable than others and some are prettier than others. Also, the kind of yarn you think you will be spinning will influence your decision. Lots to think about!

It is Super Bowl weekend (I guess you knew that!) so let's do a poll. In the upper left hand corner of this blog is a chance to vote for who you will be cheering for. Voting will end just before kick-off. Please only vote once. Please note that the question is about who you will be cheering for, not who you think will win! There could be a difference!

Hope all is well.

Catchin' Kids

We awoke to howling winds this morning, and now, at 6 PM, the winds are finally dying down. Gusts were recorded at over 60 mph and the concern first thing this morning at school was how to get the kids into the school before some of the light-weights blew away. All the staff had scary stories about trying to get from the parking lots into the building so we knew we had to help the children. As each bus arrived, it drove to the end of the bus loop where there was a door directly into the large gym about 10 yards from the loop. My PE colleagues and I joined the teaching assistants who normally manage the bus arrival process, and we all grabbed onto the smaller children as they unloaded from the buses. Some of the gusts literally lifted our little ones off the ground! We were catchin' kids! After 35 minutes of this, we were glad to get back into the building and thaw out our hands and feet. At the end of the day we had to help the kids to the buses and we had the added challenge of blowing snow added to the mix. It was an exciting day.

We are having overnight guests tonight! Maw and Porge have been without power all day and will spend the night with us. I wonder what the temp was in their house when they left to go have dinner at church and then head over here. One of the benefits to us is that we will turn up the heat a few degrees for them!!! 

I've knit about 3 inches on my Rockin' Sock Club sock and I like it! There is a one inch cuff of ribbing and then a lace pattern starts. The yarn is very comfortable to knit with so I imagine it will be comfortable on my foot. 

Hope all is well.

Yoga Fiasco

So, I have been taking this yoga class at the J&J gym once a week for several months now. It starts at 4:30 PM and is an enjoyable 70 minutes. Yesterday I convinced Jim that he should try yoga as a way to support his running. Tonight he came to class and was doing great until we started to do some backbending. Once a month we do yoga with those big exercise balls and today was that day. We were laying backwards on the balls and reaching over our heads towards the floor. To me, it was a wonderful stretch. To Jim, it gave left him with such a nauseous feeling, that he was unable to do much more for the last 20 minutes of class. We have been home for 2 hours and he is still unable to eat and feels yucky. The instructor said that she has heard of some people who have this reaction to backbends, so I guess if Jim decides to try yoga again, he will have to avoid doing backbends.

I came home to a message on my machine from my friend, Sue, saying that her daughter, Laura, gave birth to another girl very early this morning. They named the baby Emilia Grace-such a pretty name, for what surely is a beautiful little girl. Congratulation to the whole family. I can now sew the buttons on the baby sweater that I knit, since I know the sweater is for a girl. 

There are more little flag markers in our front yard, so the new storm sewer work may be in the works in the near future. 

You may remember that a while back there were a bunch of thefts from my school, including the iPod that I use in the gym. Right around that time, I had applied for a technology grant and was awarded the grant. I contacted the grant people and explained how my iPod was stolen and that instead of getting a video camcorder as requested in the grant proposal, I would really rather have my iPod replaced. They agreed to this and today my new iPod was delivered. Tonight I will load all my school music onto it and be set for tomorrow's classes. 

Good News-Jim just got up and went to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich! He must be on the road to recovery!

Mild weather day here. Big winds in the forecast for tomorrow. 

Hope all is well.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Last night we had Sherri, Terry, Jean and Dave here for dinner and we had a fun time with them. It was relaxing and enjoyable to spend time catching up with what our families have been up to. We have known these families since our oldest kids were in elementary school. Jean and Dave are going to be San Diego when we are there, so we are hoping to meet up with them at some point.

  

Today we went to SU for a 2 PM basketball game. We met Corey at the Carrier Dome and had seats behind and above one of the baskets. This was a different perspective from the other 2 times we've been to games and it was good. For the first half we had the SU offense coming at us, and then we got to see the SU defense in action during the 2nd half. It was a good game and SU beat Providence. SU was ahead most of the game, but during the last five minutes they let an 8 point lead slip away and were behind by a point or 2 for until the last minute or so, when they opened up another 8 point lead. The last game we went to, just before Christmas, was went school was on break, so there was no band or cheerleaders. Today's game had it all, including 23,000 fans. I will have to check the SU schedule to see if there is one more game we can get to this season. 

After the game, we took Corey out to dinner and then dropped him off at his dorm. We left him with half a grape pie and half an apple pie, left over from last night's dinner. He also had my leftover pizza from my dinner tonight, so he was a happy camper!

Our drive to and from Syracuse was easy and the weather cooperated. I knit on the way over and since it was dark when we came home, Jim said I had to drive since it was too dark to knit. 

Hope all is well.