Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Junk machine
I was at a public place today for an "information session"and couldn't figure out how to work their pop/candy/chip machine. I spent two loonies hoping to get a Diet Pepsi and got a Twix Bar and Peanut M and Ms. I finally did get my Pepsi with my third loonie.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Rain
Its my day off and its raining. I love that. I had all sorts of yard things planned for today but now I can't. It's like ANOTHER day off! I also love rain - the sound of it on the roof, the way the flowers look cheerier. (For all you BC people, I love occasional rain, long periods of it - not so much.) I wrote my gardening piece for our church paper on rain. Seems appropriate to post it today.
-------------------
Rain.
Sweet, slowly falling, soaking the soil rain filled the puddles in the back lane and cheered up the tulips gradually unfurling in the front bed. We’d all been waiting for it, even during the first bright warm days when we celebrated spring by wearing polo shirts and sandals. We loved it but knew everything would be just a bit calmer, greener and a lot less dusty if only we had a long spring rain.
Yesterday, while I heard weather announcers on the radio apologize for predicting a wet weekend, I smiled and settled down with a good book while I watched the droplets dance in the puddles and the grass turn green before my eyes. It felt as if I should let go a long, contended sigh and savor these last few gentle moments before the scurrying begins.
Rain means I can now work in the yard. While the dust and the mold spores lingered in the leaf litter, I have to stay indoors and watch others doing the clean up. When you have a different raking philosophy than the one who is cleaning up the yard, it is very hard to watch. After a good soaking rain, the things that cause my allergies are floating in the gutters and rivers and I can go out and get my hands dirty at last.
The trees and grass and perennials poking through the beds seem to be feeling the same way. They now have everything they need to grow and bloom and are just sighing, relishing the strength they feel. They are waiting for that next day of warm sunshine and suddenly the world will spring into bloom. There will be leaves colored a gentle green on all the trees, the early plants will shoot up and the lilacs and other flowering bushes will burst into color. The warm smell of rain will be replaced by the subtle scent of flowers. Then the garden shops will be flooded with bedding plant seekers, lawn ornaments will appear and it will be time for iced tea on the deck.
But for now, as it seems so often with a garden, we wait. It will be a short wait and even in this time of holding back there are things to do, pots to clean and plans to make. Our spirits have been lifted, though, because the rain has given us renewed hope for the seasons to come.
-------------------
Rain.
Sweet, slowly falling, soaking the soil rain filled the puddles in the back lane and cheered up the tulips gradually unfurling in the front bed. We’d all been waiting for it, even during the first bright warm days when we celebrated spring by wearing polo shirts and sandals. We loved it but knew everything would be just a bit calmer, greener and a lot less dusty if only we had a long spring rain.
Yesterday, while I heard weather announcers on the radio apologize for predicting a wet weekend, I smiled and settled down with a good book while I watched the droplets dance in the puddles and the grass turn green before my eyes. It felt as if I should let go a long, contended sigh and savor these last few gentle moments before the scurrying begins.
Rain means I can now work in the yard. While the dust and the mold spores lingered in the leaf litter, I have to stay indoors and watch others doing the clean up. When you have a different raking philosophy than the one who is cleaning up the yard, it is very hard to watch. After a good soaking rain, the things that cause my allergies are floating in the gutters and rivers and I can go out and get my hands dirty at last.
The trees and grass and perennials poking through the beds seem to be feeling the same way. They now have everything they need to grow and bloom and are just sighing, relishing the strength they feel. They are waiting for that next day of warm sunshine and suddenly the world will spring into bloom. There will be leaves colored a gentle green on all the trees, the early plants will shoot up and the lilacs and other flowering bushes will burst into color. The warm smell of rain will be replaced by the subtle scent of flowers. Then the garden shops will be flooded with bedding plant seekers, lawn ornaments will appear and it will be time for iced tea on the deck.
But for now, as it seems so often with a garden, we wait. It will be a short wait and even in this time of holding back there are things to do, pots to clean and plans to make. Our spirits have been lifted, though, because the rain has given us renewed hope for the seasons to come.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
The future is here........
When I was a kid (a pretty long time ago) we loved the spy shows like Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Get Smart. They always had phones where you could see the other person and we'd say, "Someday there will be real phone like that." Well, tonight Scott and I hooked up via iChat. COOL - yet very strange. I visited with Margaret too - but we decided there should be some sort of etiquette for telecommunication like this. How do you greet someone, how do you signal its time to go. We kept feeling that we should wave like you do when you are being video taped. Its a cool technology and I'm sure it will become just another part of our lives soon enough.
Another irritating point of technology - I think some fax machine is calling our number. It happens about every hour. Sure hope it isn't programmed to call all night.
Another irritating point of technology - I think some fax machine is calling our number. It happens about every hour. Sure hope it isn't programmed to call all night.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Special needs
The joy of my school year has been one little boy. He is severely disabled but because of strict privacy laws in Manitoba I have hesitated to blog about him. But he is such a big part of my life right now that his name rolls off my tongue that Ryan, Kayla or Scott. Every once in awhile a student "gets in." That means, they get into my heart. I truly love kids and have real affection for the students I work with or help plan for. But with these special needs kids, sometimes it goes deeper than that. And that is how it is with him. His parents are wonderful and I am in awe of the life they have maintained with the intense therapy he requires and the stress he brings. But the greatest thing is that the work we are doing at school - and its a lot - is making a difference in the family's life. He is making huge gains in just being able to live in a community.
He is also teaching us a lot. Once a month we have something called Home Groups where we mix up the students and have a multi grade time of devotions and sharing. My group was laughing at some of the equipment we have for this little guy so I started to tell them about why we needed it and a little bit more about him. They all know who he is and were open and caring when asking questions. I threw out the suggested lesson plan and spent the 20 minutes on this. When it was over and we were getting ready to go to the gym for singing, a boy from Grade 2 who makes you smile because he is Dennis the Menace-like said, "It is a really good thing that >>>> is at our school."
Yeah, it is.
He is also teaching us a lot. Once a month we have something called Home Groups where we mix up the students and have a multi grade time of devotions and sharing. My group was laughing at some of the equipment we have for this little guy so I started to tell them about why we needed it and a little bit more about him. They all know who he is and were open and caring when asking questions. I threw out the suggested lesson plan and spent the 20 minutes on this. When it was over and we were getting ready to go to the gym for singing, a boy from Grade 2 who makes you smile because he is Dennis the Menace-like said, "It is a really good thing that >>>> is at our school."
Yeah, it is.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Two of my favourite bald guys.
The weather is so beautiful here right now. 20C which is 68F - warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt. But I have not been feeling great because of my usual spring allergies. The new thing this year is that I have been really short of breath which is a bit scary but also annoying. Even if I walked at my normal brisk pace to the staff room to get something from the printer, I was puffing. I was pretty sure it was asthma - my friend Nanci wanted to come over and give me her inhaler on the weekend. So I have been sitting inside a lot. Just when you really want to get outside and rake the flower beds, take long walks, ride your bike - I have to stay inside to avoid the snow mold. So I found myself on the grumpy side for the past few days.
Watching the sad news stories about Virginia Tech added to my feeling of general malaise. (I've always wanted to use that phrase.) So I decided I had to take action. Today I saw my doctor and she gave me a steroid inhaler for my inflamed lungs. I should be breathing better in a few days. I went for lunch at McNally Robinson's with Kayla who was extremely perky today (Was it the purple shirt?) and I got Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season Two as well as several other books from the library. That should do the trick but if it doesn't I always feel better when I look at my screen saver. Its two of my favourite bald guys. They always bring a smile to my face.
Watching the sad news stories about Virginia Tech added to my feeling of general malaise. (I've always wanted to use that phrase.) So I decided I had to take action. Today I saw my doctor and she gave me a steroid inhaler for my inflamed lungs. I should be breathing better in a few days. I went for lunch at McNally Robinson's with Kayla who was extremely perky today (Was it the purple shirt?) and I got Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season Two as well as several other books from the library. That should do the trick but if it doesn't I always feel better when I look at my screen saver. Its two of my favourite bald guys. They always bring a smile to my face.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Sunshine, birds and the sound of kids
It is one of the first glorious spring days we have had so far. The sky is a beautiful blue and the neighborhood has come to life! I noticed the pair of hairy woodpeckers across the street and one of the downies was in our elm last night. I heard phoebes calling to each other, robins singing and the scratching of the nuthatch on the elm's bark. The migrating finches will soon be here. And the cheeky little red squirrel chased away the ugly gray one AGAIN.
Tulips are poking through the ground and leaf cover in the front bed and a lot of the perennials are slightly green. They made it through the winter. One of the front cedars doesn't look great but the lilac has buds. Everything seems to be resting in the sun and waiting for the chance to burst out.
I spent a couple of hours washing the inside windows of the sunroom, vacuuming all the edges and washing down the furniture. Its ready for a bbq with the Jory's tomorrow and for us to move into there for the next six months or so. YEAH! I sat down in it with lunch and a PD James novel as a reward but kept stopping to listen to the kids screech as they raced their bikes up and down the street. Spring just makes you smile.
I know that in other places you get this weather earlier but after the long dark cold of winter, I think you appreciate the lightness of the air and the joy of the sun so much more.
Cheers!
Tulips are poking through the ground and leaf cover in the front bed and a lot of the perennials are slightly green. They made it through the winter. One of the front cedars doesn't look great but the lilac has buds. Everything seems to be resting in the sun and waiting for the chance to burst out.
I spent a couple of hours washing the inside windows of the sunroom, vacuuming all the edges and washing down the furniture. Its ready for a bbq with the Jory's tomorrow and for us to move into there for the next six months or so. YEAH! I sat down in it with lunch and a PD James novel as a reward but kept stopping to listen to the kids screech as they raced their bikes up and down the street. Spring just makes you smile.
I know that in other places you get this weather earlier but after the long dark cold of winter, I think you appreciate the lightness of the air and the joy of the sun so much more.
Cheers!
Friday, April 6, 2007
Keys found!
My school keys had been missing for almost two months (see Feb. 21 post on my blog). Yesterday one of my EAs who is also a good friend came to me begging for forgiveness and handed them to me! They had been in the pocket of her jean jacket since then! It felt so good to have them back - they jingle in a certain way that the replacement set just didn't. I am also glad to have my trade mark wooden apple back.
She begged me not to tell the rest of the staff that she had them but most people have figured it out. There is a goofy home made trophy at school for staff who lose things and I think I will present it to her.
She begged me not to tell the rest of the staff that she had them but most people have figured it out. There is a goofy home made trophy at school for staff who lose things and I think I will present it to her.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
