View From My Window

I may have mentioned that our school is located in a wonderful wooded area. This beautiful fellow was right outside my 6th grade classroom window. The quality is not great because this was taken with a camera phone, but you get the idea. He has a rack (antlers); the kids told me he was a 4-point. It is amazing to look up and see deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and birds on the other side of the window glass. It certainly makes for many teachable moments.

KNITTING

I have finished one of the Jitterbug socks and have started the second. I am using a simple toe-up, stockinette foot and k2,p2 ribbing for the leg and cuff.

I must begin to work on the christening gown again. Baby Girl #2 will be here in about 6 weeks. Her mom has once again changed her mind about a name for the baby. Amelia has suggested Iguana, but she didn't like her daddy's shortening it to Iggy. She told him that was not a pretty name. Apparently she thought Iguana was.

Teaching Little Knitters

Tomorrow will be the first meeting of the year for our school knitting club. I have no idea how many kids will show up for our 8:00 A.M. meeting. I am prepared, though. I purchased some Wool-ease Thick & Quick and some large size needles for the children who may not have had time to get their own.

I really enjoy helping these young ones learn to knit. Sometimes we even get parents who want to learn. One of the moms is bringing muffins and juice (although I will probably need coffee) for an early morning treat.

Back Again

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I had a somewhat rocky beginning to the school year. I spent countless hours trying to come up with plans to accomodate a special needs child into our school, but it was all for nothing. He was sent to a public school before I could implement the plans. I hope the poor little guy is able to make a smooth transition. I don't like admitting defeat!

There has been some knitting going on, and I even have a picture for you today. Here is an almost completed sock with the lovely and colorful Jitterbug yarn in the Mardi Gras colorway.



No, that is not a picture of me holding the sock, that is my daughter Shelly. Oh, if only I were that slim and trim!

No Time

Just a quick post to say that I am still around. The opening weeks of school have kept me very busy. We have a child with special needs this year. I have been very involved in trying to find ways our school can accommodate this child. I will post more when things have settled a bit more.

WOW!

WOW! Susan has nominated me! My students occasionally tell me that I rock (usually when I refrain from giving them homework), but I don't think I have ever had another adult say it. Susan also gave me some encouraging words which I also greatly appreciate.

Now it is my turn to nominate someone. I choose Marete (Knititch). She lives in Denmark and knits glorious, complicated looking Nordic sweaters (among other things). She is also a teacher and has begun a new job this year. Rock on, Marete!

Easy Come, Easy Go

Last Tuesday I received insurance benefits from my mother's death last year. I had planned to use some of it to pay off a home equity loan that she and I had taken out in the 1990's. Then I was looking forward to having a little cushion of money, just enough to keep the wolf from the door. Right.

I payed the remainder owing on the loan on Wednesday. On Friday, my poor old car began to make a strange knocking sound. The diagnosis: an almost thrown rod. In short, the knocking was a death rattle. Now, the car has been a good one. I bought it new in December of 1995. It has taken me many places with no major repairs. It owes me nothing.

My daughter and I walked from the car repair place about a mile to a local car dealership where we spent my small cushion of money on a down payment on a nice used car. After all was said and done, even though my cushion dwindled to $32.82 (yeah, we really cut it close!), I was grateful that it happened this week instead of last week -- we would have been stuck with no transportation. I think my mom is still looking out for me! By the way, she would have loved this car. It is a lovely dark blue Chrysler Sebring with all the bells and whistles, including a sun roof. And it has a working air conditioner!

Knitting News

I have finished the front of the christening gown (Oh, we now have a name; the new baby will be Charlotte, so Amelia talks about Baby Charlotte, instead of Baby Whosie). I am very pleased with the way this pattern is turning out. It is very pretty without being too frou-frou. I am still waiting to get a cable so I can show you pictures. Maybe I can do that later today.

I have started a short shawl for a dear friend who has been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemo. I wanted something truly soft and warm and comforting like a hug from a friend. I found some perfect yarn at Jo-Ann's. It is their Sensations brand Bellezza Collection Dolcetto, a wool/nylon/cotton blend, that is wonderfully soft and lofty. I am using a very simple pattern in garter stitch. I hope to have the shawl finished before she has to go for her next chemo session. Isn't it a comfort that we can put our hopes and prayers for a friend into a tangible item?

Playing Catch-up

I have been neglecting my blog lately. This is the week that I had to come to terms with my attitude about returning to work in this state, instead of in Colorado, where I want to be. The nature of teaching requires that the teacher be one who has a positive attitude and can instill that attitude in his/her students. Therefore it was time for an attitude adjustment on my part.

I now have two classrooms to decorate and prepare for the opening days of school. The music room is no problem - it has no bulletin boards. I hate bulletin boards! They just sit there with their blank faces staring accusingly at you until you finally cover them with something. There are FOUR bulletin boards in the room that will be my homeroom.

I went to school yesterday to work for a little while, having first stopped at a teacher supply store. I purchased some bulletin board border and a few posters and a wonderful fabric pocket chart for attendance. I had not been there long when one of the other teacher's children came in to ask if they could help me. I was delighted to let these great kids work on the bulletin boards. They finished three of them, and the boards look wonderful! So, thanks Livie, Adam, and Katie!

KNITTING

I certainly hope that the old adage "Third time's charm," is true. I was working on the socks with the Jitterbug yarn using a toe-up lace pattern. It was coming out well. I had worked about three inches of the lace pattern on the instep. Then I decided that it would really bother me to wear a sock with this much patterning on the instep. I am not fond of pattern on the foot part of socks as the pattern part can be uncomfortable to wear. So, defeated once more, I ripped the whole thing out again! Now we are going for a plain foot with maybe some lace on the leg. Maybe. I make no promises! Too bad I haven't taken any pictures, so that you could see all my many sock boo-boos. I will be posting more pictures when we get a new USB cable for the camera.