Wonder Where I Went?

I haven't posted an entry since Tuesday and I don't think it is because I've been doing lots of wonderful things, the time just seems to fly by and then it is time to go to bed! 

Today we had company for dinner and that was fun! Bob and Joanie, along with Mike and Sharon were here for a Ponti's dinner, on their way home to Michigan from Jenny Lake. Bob bought the Ponti's (pizza and wings) and I made a salad and dessert (grape pie and/or ice cream with berries). We had a lot of laughs and got caught up on each other's lives. 

Today was a mostly rainy day, one of those good rains that waters the new lawn and flowers. It cleared by late afternoon and some of us were able to get a walk in after dinner. I rowed in the rain this morning, but it was a light rain and it actually felt good. 

This afternoon the 3 of us went to the Rochester International Jazz Festival to hear the Odyssey Jazz Band perform. They were playing at one of the free, outside venues and they sounded good. We got to see some Odyssey folks we haven't seen in a while. 

This past week at school has been crazy as I had extra responsibilities of putting out the school newsletter, doing report cards for 400 children and helping plan a retirement party for 2 colleagues who have done their time! Next Friday is Field Day, which means that I have another crazy week ahead of me. If you have any pull with the weather gods, I could really use decent weather next Friday or else I have to cancel Field Day and that would break my heart along with the hearts of 850 kids. See what you can do!

Corey made it home from his kayak instructor's course with his certification. He starts teaching next week. 

Tomorrow is Father's Day, which means one thing around here. Jim and Corey will be running in the MedVed 5K for ALS. Jim and either Tucker and Corey have won the Father/Son category at this race for the last 8 years. Tomorrow they go for win number 9. I will get to the race early so I can help with registration, a job that I have done for almost as many years. I'm hoping the weather is cooperative tomorrow because I would like to get a good bike ride in after the race. 

I am almost finished with the baby sweater I am knitting for a colleague whose wife is pregnant. I will most likely complete it tomorrow and will post a photo at a future date. 

Time to go to bed-another busy day tomorrow.

Hope all is well.

Cool, Cool, Cool

Phew, we survived the latest heat wave! Today we had a couple of good rain storms blow through and the afternoon one cleared the air and dropped the temperature by at least 15 degrees! Pleasant is now a word I would use to describe the great outdoors! We did not have the wild storms that have ripped through the mid-west and we are keeping all those folks who have suffered at the hands of mother nature in our thoughts. But we welcome a respite from the heat and humidity. 

Yesterday I did my spinning demonstration for the kindergartners and they were mesmerized by the wheel and the process of spinning! At the end, I gave each child a small piece of my washed fleece and they acted like I had given them gold! The kids came up next to me in small groups while I was spinning and it took all their will power not to touch my wheel! It was pretty funny! They were a great audience and later wrote the cutest thank you notes to me.

Later in the morning a couple of fourth grade teachers were walking by my office area and saw my spinning wheel and wondered why I had it. Their classes had just been to Genesee Country Museum and a couple of the homes they toured had spinning wheels in them. So the 4th grade teachers asked when I could do a demo for their students. So I gave up part of my lunch time to repeat my presentation to the older kids. Again, the kids were completely taken with the process of spinning and asked many good questions. It was a fun day!

Last night Gram and GrandDad were here for dinner and to celebrate Gram's birthday. Her birthday is tomorrow, but they were busy on all the other nights of their whirl-wind visit home. We had a nice time and sang Happy Birthday to Gram. So, Mom have a great day tomorrow (Wednesday)!

Tonight I attended the school board meeting with many other teachers on the second anniversary of the expiration of our contract. We were there to support the union president as he spoke to the board about some of the issues with the negotiations process. It was an interesting evening.

Time to go knit. I am working on a baby sweater for one of my colleagues and I need to spend some serious time on it.

Also in knitting news, through Ravelry (an on-line resource for knitters, crocheters, and spinners) I joined a "swap" for teachers who knit. I am going to be putting together a knitting related package for a teacher in Pennsylvania.  So this summer, while traveling, I will look for some unique things to send to her. My name was assigned to a woman named Ana who lives 7 time zones away from me! We looked up what countries that might include and I think she may be from Finland! She sent me a brief e-mail with some info about her (including the 7 time zones clue) and what she teaches. I replied to her e-mail asking where exactly she lived, but am waiting for a return reply. This whole swap should be fun. I look forward to shopping for a unique, special yarn to send to my swap-friend in PA (she likes bright colors, maybe red) and some other special treats. And I am looking forward to communicating with my swap-friend on the other side of the pond. 

Hope all is well.

Warm Weekend

It feels like an August Sunday afternoon, except for that re-occurring thought that I have to go to school tomorrow! We are in the middle of a deep summer hot, humid spell which makes doing anything more than sitting around, a sweat-inducing event. 

And speaking of sweat, I produced buckets of it today. This morning/afternoon I rode my bike in the Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure. In previous years, I have ridden the 40 mile loop, but as I prepare for RAGBRAI, I decided to try the 62.5 mile loop. It was hot and windy, but I did it, and I rode faster than I hoped. The wind was a bear, except when going east, then it was a delight! We got sprinkled on at one point this morning, but it wasn't enough rain to wet the roads, but enough to feel good on my skin. The ride started and ended at Mendon Ponds Park, so hills were part of the route. The biggest and nastiest hill was on the campus of SUNY Geneseo. I had never been on that campus and was excited to see it when I realized that the route went that way. However, I saw very little as I worked hard in my lowest gear to get to the top. Here is a photo taken by one of the many volunteers, shortly after crossing the finish line. 

When I completed the ride, lunch was waiting for me at the park, courtesy of Outback Steak House. I had a nicely grilled chicken br#%st (I do that so this blog doesn't attract low-life degenerates that look for those words in blogs), and a caesar salad. 

Since arriving home, I've taken a shower, but have had no luck taking a nap. I blame that on Jim watching Track and Field on TV and a starting gun keeps going off!

Tonight we are going out to dinner with Sally and Liz. We were going to their house for dinner, but I could certainly understand if Sally decided it was too hot to cook. 

Tomorrow at school I am doing a spinning demonstration for one of my kindergarten classes. Last week they went to a farm and saw some sheep so their teacher thought they would enjoy learning what happens after a sheep is sheared. So yesterday I continued preparing the fleece that I started washing earlier this past week. Having never prepared freshly sheared fleece, I got a couple of books out of the library and have read a lot on the internet. The washing process seemed to go OK and the next step was to card the wool. So, we went to a local yarn store and bought a pair of hand carders. Yesterday I tried my hand at carding and it worked! I made small rolls of fiber that was ready to spin! To be ready for the demo, I spun some of this fiber and it looks good. I am very encouraged to wash the rest of the fleece. That will have to wait until the temperatures cool off though, because very hot water is a key ingredient in the cleaning process. 

So I am excited about doing some spinning at school tomorrow. I will try to have the teacher take some photos so I can include them in a future blog. 

Corey is enjoying his time at his kayaking course, although I think he is a bit disappointed that he and Mike are the best paddlers there. I think he would have liked to see some better kayakers so he could learn things from them. 

Tomorrow Gram and GrandDad come home for a few days while Bob and Joanie are at camp. They will join us here for dinner tomorrow night and we will celebrate Gram's birthday a few days early.

Hope all is well.