Basement Blog

A note from my dad

2009-02-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
From the book of Job, Chapter 1, verse 22 (b):
The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised."

Lu's mom, my mother-in-law, Kristi and Sheryl's grandmother, died this afternoon at about 3:00. Many of us were there at the time. The pastor of their church came for a brief service at noon. We celebrated communion and commendation of the dying as well as singing several songs in English and Swahili. She was able to give minimal response at that time. We have all been there much of the week. Lu, Kristi, and Sheryl helped with the necessary physical cares. Kristi cooked several meals. Lu's sister, Rachel, was able to stay much of the week and, with all of the sisters involved, the family was able to provide the "end-of-life" cares in their home. It was (allowing her to stay at home) a decision that we all concurred on but it was hard. Lu has said several times that it has been the hardest week of her life. We are, through the sadness of personal loss, rejoicing in her complete healing. We will have a family gathering at the funeral home tomorrow evening and a memorial service on Saturday.

"Grandma is dying, and it is not easy."

2009-02-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

I tried to sit and read the words of this hymn to her. I couldn't, I could only just read through them and pray them.

Precious Lord, take my hand,
Lead me on, let me stand,
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn;
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light:

Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near,
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall:

When the darkness appears
And the night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand

micro balance

2008-11-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

I just read an article that spoke of America's obsession with clean and what this may be doing to people's bodies. So in an effort to control my allergies and boost my immune system I will continue to adhere to the expectations of cleanliness that I do. At work in a food plant the company has (and we adhere to) high standards of hygiene and cleanliness. I have made every effort to balance this environment with my home environment. Therefore, Pene will continue to sleep on the bed, dust bunnies will continue to lodge themselves in the corners, and I will wash the floor when I am interested in seeing the original color again.

peppered 'paintings'

2008-11-02T20:55:00.001-08:00

back to Wisconsin

2008-11-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

Dad's John Deere went to NM with us and is now back again. It was a bit difficult to unload - the frost on the trailer didn't help anything..)

Even Pene was a bit paranoid. (Okay, Pen is often a bit paranoid)

Aragorn and Aerosmith

2008-10-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I've been rewatching the LOTR trilogy this weekend. I'm nearly finished with 'The Two Towers', but I'm going to go to bed and will miss the not-so-grand ending until tomorrow. To recap - Two Towers has the scenes of Aragorn and Arwen separating so that he can go off and save the world and she can go off and not be subjected to the nastiness of war, evil, and
despair. When I left the movie and came back in my room Pandora was playing 'Don't Want to Miss a Thing' - the love theme through the movie Armageddon - which also features Liv Tyler as the leading love-crossed gal. It was humorous and disturbing as my mind conjured up an all new music video for 'Don't Want to Miss a Thing' - featuring Aragorn and Arwen, Aerosmith, and all the grandeur of Middle Earth. Steve Tyler looks like he could belong in Middle Earth - probably not as Liv Tyler's father though - that would be coincidental to be realistic.

Until it's personal

2008-10-05T14:56:00.001-07:00

Standing in friends' garage I nearly hyperventilated as a meadow mouse scurried towards the center of the room and was consequently nearly stomped to death by one of the boys. I claimed that my massive intake of air had been in concern for the mouse and not in alarm at it's sudden appearance. It was of course explained to me that they are a nuisance as they tear out the insulation and they need to not live in the garage. I still didn't point out where the mouse had gone when he headed across the back of the garage a second time.

After lunch we worked with Sheryl and Mark to clean out the U-Haul.
We found that Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb had been there first and apparently, a bit longer. Our Fisher toys from the 1980s looked liked they had housed families of mice for years. I'm afraid that they interiors will have to be completely redone to rectify the damage. The little people themselves are going to be fine. I ran them through the dishwasher, and then ran all the dishes again just for good measure. Perhaps my soft heart for mice has to do with my pack rat tendencies, or just the fact that they are so cute. But I really don't think there is much in this world that smells worse than years of mouse urine. After today I think I may settle to post 'No Trespassing' signs and then let the mice fend for themselves- I'll be helping along the evolution of mice.

The upcoming Wisconsin holiday (deer-hunting season) is bringing another childhood 'friend' to the forefront of my mind. Which is a beautiful image - until I hit one with my car.

haycorns and hot cocoa

2008-10-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

Haycorn wars and repeatedly well-made hot cocoa. Family devotions and playing with hair. Good bye hugs and staying up too late. It is the little things of life that make life so worthwhile.

glue boards don't just catch crickets

2008-09-04T19:11:00.000-07:00

It took in excess of half an hour to free this guy from the glue trap that was supposed be trapping crickets at my door. I was certain that we wouldn't be able to get him off. He had wrapped his body around the trap, encircling it and then affixed a few inches of his tail as well. The upper portion of him looked like he was skinned - the skin was so spread out from the body stuck to the glue. I couldn't remove even his tail. With a lot of dish detergent (careful to keep any from getting in his mouth) and delicate persistence on the part of my Dad - he was off. (My job was to hold the freed portions of it to keep it from reattaching as it squirmed.)
I would've taken pictures in the trap - but I didn't think we would get him out and I was very upset about it. So I didn't want pictures to remember that I had killed it.
Mom even 'helped' in the process (having grown up in E.Africa - she's not at all fond of snakes). After it was freed I had to rinse it off for a long time - we can't have a fully functional but sticky snake. Mom held it so that we could smell if the detergent was rinsed without smelling my hands.
We think he's free, clear, and very clean.

I've never been so happy to hold a snake.

For those who are wondering - he's a fox snake, the most likely of the species of snakes in Wisconsin to be found in the house. The young snakes will eat insects (crickets obviously) and then move up the pest chain to rodents and such.
They are useful to have around. Completely harmless, even though they will rattle their tales when provoked - moreso when they are larger - it's more impressive. This is not the first time that we've interacted with one at the house.

supper had to wait

2008-08-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

but it was worth it

looking for a few good men

2008-08-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was a country girl traveling 800+ miles to the huge city of Toronto. I should've been a bit scared - cities aren't safe, bad things happen. But I looked around the Greyhound bus and I realized that it couldn't be that dangerous because there were all these people around. If anything happened or tried to happen there would be witnesses, someone would help - no one would dare attempt too brazen with all these people around. Pick-pocketing, maybe, but nothing life damaging or threatening.
This is what I thought until I talked to my roommate who was from Montreal. She said that stuff does happen, in broad daylight. No one helps. Someone may call the police, but generally they would not get there in time to be of any assistance to the victim. They may apprehend a suspect, but they won't be there in the crucial first half minute to a minute of an attack. I asked why no one would help. The answer was that there isn't anything that anyone can do, and others need to stay alive and protect themselves.
This country girl thinks there are things that can be done. Even unarmed, there are things that can be thrown, distractions that can be made - something. I would like to think that there is something that can be done and I would like to think that there are some people that are willing to take the risk, and possibly the injury for the wrongs that are done in this world. Someone could at least stand up, make some noise and let it be known that the bad things are being noticed and it's not okay and if they don't stop there's going to be consequences - painful consequences. Those who turn away from injustice are no different than those who encourage it.
I think the bad guys count on the fact that no one will step up. They don't expect retaliation, they don't expect Todd Beamer, they don't expect to be hit by flying luggage or a fire extinguisher.
There's something that we can do, even if we end up hurt too - it matters to say that some things are wrong - before someone loses their head.
In this country each of us owes our lives and our freedoms to the sacrifices of someone else.
Have we become so self-centered that we are comfortable enough to say
'I thought someone else would help',
'Who do you think I am - the cops?',
'What's done is done, that's their problem'
'There was nothing I could do'.

What does anyone try to do?

Sometimes heros aren't 'successful', sometimes heros get hurt, sometimes heros die.

The tinder story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25966835/

summer time

2008-07-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Summer has hit hard and fast - just like normal. This time it hit right at the point of my right shoulder, thereby dislocating the shoulder and stretching or tearing my ACL. The healing process has gone much faster than I initially thought it would. Prior to going to the doctor for my expensive x-rays I was certain that my shoulder was busted in at least three places. I don't find it nearly as impressive to say that I have a grade I ACL separation, although the bruising 'dripping' down the front of me may indicate some tearing of the ACL. (researching stuff on the Internet is so educational;) Sometimes, I feel, it's not so good to be impressive. I do find it a bit difficult to shift the car into fifth gear, but such is life.

The summer has brought enough news that I don't feel like I have the time to type it all in. I feel that I need to run off and attempt to keep up with the rest of the summer before it's gone.

In summation:
I was gone for all of July - "visiting friends in a large city located in North America" During this visit I was able to spend some time tutoring kids, learning to fix bikes, sewing with B. and learning about other cultures and religions of the world. I also learned that it is not politically correct to say that I have have little interest in politics and would rather not vote at all. I had hoped to come home and work on finishing the walls in the basement, but within 24 hours of my bus pulling into the McDonald's in Eau Claire, I dislocated my shoulder and put construction plans on hold.
So, I'm job hunting, and doing projects that do not require pushing, pulling, or repetitive motion. But, alas, these projects have yet to include updating my blog with photos.

kayaking

2008-06-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Kayaking along the lake shore is much prettier than I can get it to be in pictures. I took this shot and skedaddled out of there, the mosquitoes were so bad.

On the way to go kayaking I found a peacock feather along the road. I didn't know that they lived around here.

distractions

2008-06-10T15:16:00.000-07:00

Pene and I went walking down to the road to get the mail. We nearly stepped on this guy on the way back. Mom answered the barking and yelling and it was then at least half an hour of jumping back and pictures (it's hard for the camera to know where to focus when I keep jumping around)
and containment attempts.
And I wonder why I don't get everything done...

When we moved the bucket to the grass, the contained reptile easily exited beneath the edge. He's now on rodent control duty up at the sheds. And I am brushing through all the tall grass before I step down.

Pyro Technics

2008-05-10T20:59:00.001-07:00

Midwestern lights

2008-05-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

It's quite beautiful what a little bit of wire in the fire will produce. It would be a biti difficult to tell the metal ions present in this uncontrolled environment, but I think it would be safe to assume there is copper in those copper wires.

Ants vs. wildflowers

2008-05-08T20:44:00.001-07:00

While perhaps mildly entertaining at first, watching me lying on the ground taking pictures of flowers does not hold the kids' attention for long periods of time. While I was taking pictures of a violet, I was privileged to overhear a lively debate regarding the importance of ants and wildflowers. The importance of wildflowers (to me) had been firmly and rather fervently established, but the question of the importance of ants came up when Dani appeared to nearly squish one. Her brother was quick to point out that she ought not be squishing ants. (This coming from a guy who enjoys telling me of his deer hunting adventures and chicken butchering.) Dani quickly retorted that he had no right to be telling her not to kill an ant when he had been mucking about squashing wildflowers.
Josh explained to her, as gently as any knowledgeable, older brother would, that there is, indeed, a difference between squishing ants and squashing wildflowers.

She replied that there was no difference and they were both alive and neither should be killed - they were both important in the great processes of life and oxygen recycling and such.

Here Josh threw his trump card and stated that scientists had conducted an experiment in which they had 'boxed' an ecosystem to see if the process of recycling oxygen would truly work. It didn't. There was missing aquatic bacteria and everything died of oxygen deprivation. I think this ended up meaning that ants are more important than wildflowers. Dani replied that it wasn't fair that her science book didn't include such useful bits of information. Right at this point in the discussion Josh looked up and discovered that I wasn't actually taking pictures of wildflowers.

Which ended the discussion -

I really only wish that I had changed the setting on the camera so all the pictures of them would be in focus.

More Signs of Spring

2008-04-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

The 'ladybugs' have awaken and they want out. I have vacuumed up and released hundreds of them, but I think the insulation in the basement is even better with the addition of ladybug corpses.

I don't know why we have decided that lady bugs are so much more delightful than these 'Asian beetles'. Sure, the Asian beetles stink a bit, and perhaps pinch if rolled over on. But I think it's pretty cool that they have hundreds of different spot patterns and they turn yellow and tan when they are dead. I also like their faces with the big white spots. I guess when I live with hundreds of them, I might as well find something pleasant about them. I have also decided that they help with pest control on my houseplants. I have no proof of this, but it could give them some purpose in the basement.

Signs of Spring (?)

2008-04-01T15:33:00.001-07:00

April Fool's!!
We didn't have school today - snow day! We just thought that spring was comin'. Friends have new chickies, so that should mean spring is hatchin' somewhere, somehow.

One hundred and two chicks arrived at the post office on Saturday night - after 9 o'clock. What a delivery! Well, actually, they had to drive to go pick them all up. They spent the first night in the kitchen, but they now have their own trailer to live in outside. They are doing just fine in the heat lamps - haven't noticed the four inches of snow at all.

Spring Break to the Conservatory

2008-03-19T13:22:00.000-07:00

Woe is March

2008-03-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Personal update:
It's March.
I am not fond of March in Wisconsin.
There is mud and yuck and dirty snow and more yuck and mud.
It's icky to walk, but it looks sunny and beautiful and warm.
It's not spring because it's still 0 degrees.
It's icy.
I got my car stuck in snow drifts - on the lake. It is difficult to get traction to unstick a car that you stick on the lake. (You think I'd have learned this the last time.)
Ice that shouldn't still be all over the lake.
Spring break is coming, but there is little point -because there really is no spring.

But I cannot get depressed. It seems that part of my psyche is broken. I think I over-used the depressed areas of my brain.

But I will still refuse to enjoy the icy, icky mud.

I will sit in my little den and do needlepoint -
I will bring flowers into this world, even if it's with embroidery floss and hours and hours of Grey's Anatomy episodes.

Because it's March.
and I'm not fond of it.

(not to mention the time changed this weekend, which means that I should be considering heading for bed, but my body will not figure out that it's bed time for another 2 weeks.)

Sheryl's Birthday

2008-03-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mom needed to use up film at Sheryl's birthday supper. I realize the picture posted should be of Sheryl, but apparently I have gotten used to taking pictures with a digital camera and I am not as good with a viewfinder view as I maybe thought I used to be. I like this picture, so I'm posting it.

deep water

2008-02-17T11:43:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we had friends to the house for curry and Africa pictures. The conversations of the evening centered around Africa and photography. Dave, who has a good eye for a good photo, spoke of visual elements or pieces of a good photo that are at more than one visual level within the photo. These layers of interest contribute to the realism of a photo and the participation of the viewer with the photograph. A photo with visual story depth is also much more difficult to capture. It is often not even possible to set up a shot in which the background participates in the composition. It is more possible to set up a background that complements a focal point.
I think this shot, one of my favorites from the road trip in 1997, has some of the layers that Dave was referring to. The message of the photo is the moment at the beach and the captured past times of exploration, imagination, and enjoying the end of the day. Sher's silhouetted profile provides the focal point of the picture. There are several other details that I feel bring so much to the entire composition. Julie Ann is bending into the water, obviously looking for something - embodying the curiosity of kids. Ben has found something - it may be that his handful of gunk is about to be launched at the bending Julie. Catherine is heading up from the water, with the sunlight dancing off her hair. Others, outside the party of kids playing at the shore, walk or run along the edge of the water. The entire moment is kissed by the sun - sinking at the end of the day providing dramatic back-lighting for the whole. This photo reminds me of the whole of the road trip. The freedom to explore, to enjoy friends, to enjoy the end of the day.
But I could not have created this shot. I could only have my camera at a moment in life that this picture was the reality.
Beauty in life is the same. The elements of our lives which add depth, which makes the whole more real or true. As bits of our souls are connected to the depths of truth that are all that is, we become more truly real and in this, more beautiful reflections of the deep truths of reality. Shallow streams may be pretty for a time, but periods of dryness leave them empty, parched, useless, and without life. Turbulent, even painful times carve through the water-ways of our lives and leave behind a gorge that is beautiful and when filled with the love and reality of God and Truth, truly amazing. We had a chapel in school in which Doug also taught about the fact that as our relationship to and within God is filled and made deeper, the rocks and debris within our lives are covered to the point that the effects become minimal on the surface. We become like pools of still water, not stagnant, but at peace because of the depths to which we are filled.
I don't believe I give the impression of being at peace. I began a statement this week at lunch "and then I would worry about," and another teacher filled in "everything".
Ouch.
I don't think of myself as a worrier. God has provided. God has provided in ways that demonstrate His love and interest in what is truly good and best for me. But I still given the impression of worrying - discontent and uncertainty. I become distracted in knowing how completely I am capable of messing up my life and forget that the God of the universe has demonstrated His great love by making my life what is good. Then I go back and think, "Well, if you knew the class five that my life had become, you'd be properly impressed at what I am now." The carving of our souls is not to bring drama or emotionalism. It is to bring depth, contrast, and realism. It is to make it possible for the love of God to surge through our lives at levels that are deeper everyday. It make our lives a more perfect reflection of Him as the waters run deep and still.

sick and

2008-02-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

not tired.
I've gotten a cold. I didn't know that a sore throat could hurt this much. I was out of school yesterday and will be today as well. I wish I could have a more impressive diagnosis than 'viral cold'. I thought I would just go to school with my sore throat - since it's just a virus anyway. But that doesn't sound as logical to people who are more logical.
This cold isn't making me tired and it isn't making me not hungry. It is making it difficult to eat and inappropriate to be active. I'm attempting to tell my system that it's not hungry and that cough drops are food and I am tired because I'm sick - I must be.
So as it is I'm going a little nutty being home.
Today is my sister's 30th birthday. She is, thankfully, not sick and not nutty.
I did finish Sutter's Cross which is truly beautiful book. Beyond that I feel I have exhausted my movies.
I haven't seen Tremors in a while...

summer memories

2008-01-10T15:16:00.001-08:00

There is now no evidence of such tan lines.

We had an insanely territorial bluebird at the windows all summer.

happy elephant

2008-01-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

once upon some white water

2008-01-06T19:26:00.002-08:00

I think I may have still been finishing my solo-runs-with-a-senior-guide-in-the-raft, but it's still me at the helm. (I'm not sure the gal on my left looks to be thrilled, but she's still in the boat.)

I was looking for a very completely different picture and I found this one. The rivers and perhaps the surrounding wilderness and adventures are what I miss about the west.

rat snake boa

2008-01-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

We were making quite the fashion statement - with all that plaid. Sheryl's got some interesting 'bling' too.

(Sheryl often had some interesting bling.)

vacation west summer 1984

2008-01-05T20:29:00.002-08:00

Mullets can be adorable on the right person.

to this point

2008-01-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that to the experienced eye this looks like I can't decide how tense to be. I have been surprised at how 'forgiving' the product is. It seems that no matter how inconsistent I am, the scarf is coming out all right in the end. Could I then wish to be as flexible and forgiving as my scarf? or mightn't I be personifying the whole process a bit much?

a stitch in time

2008-01-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

takes me nine times as long as it does for anyone else.

I learned how to knit this holiday break. So far I know that it's all about tension. Since you can't see my tongue sticking out in this picture it's a bit hard to tell how tense. I have improved, my first practice piece was incredibly tight - it stuck out like a little flag in the wind - but with no wind.

As soon as I moved, Pen usurped my seat - and this is what she had to say about it.

Time after time

2008-01-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

The new year brings with it thoughts on time - the passing of time, the loss of time, the lack of time...
I pass a birthday milestone the day after the new year - another reminder of the years that are flying by. My grandparents are aging, and I realize that I suppose I will, one day, be 'old' too. With each holiday we spend with them, each conversation on the phone, there is the knowledge that there will come a day, more sooner than later, that our time together will be the last time this side of heaven. I'm not ready. I'm not ready to lose my own years that I will never get back. I'm not ready to lose people that I will no longer be able to be with, to talk to, to love - in person.
But to be 'in person' is to be 'in time'. To be outiside of time is to be in a realm of existence that we only partly occupy while we live on earth. L'Engle speaks of 'kairos' time and 'chronos' time in several of her writings. Until last Saturday I had thought that these time sketches were all her own. Kairos is time outside of time. It is where God lives. It is where eternity exists - not in its forever expansion of time but in the fact that it is all-encompassing and beyond time. What is evident in L'Engle's writing is that we can, at moments, be connected to kairos time. There are actions that bear significance in eternity and are therefore outside the bounds of time. Salvation, most prominently. But also 'walking with God'. Fellowship, meditation, prayer - all touch on kairos, they are moments spent beyond time.
While God is outside of time he recognizes our attachment to time. In Joel is the promise to repay the years the locusts had eaten. The promise is for renewed, regiven time - not the crop, or health, or wealth - but minutes, hours, years.
I spend so much of my time with kids that I often feel that I live in different years of 'me'. L'Engle points out that at any given moment we are ages 3, 6, 20, 27. (and even moments that we are beyond the chronological age that our bodies are) I spend hours being age 11 and 15 and lesser amounts of time feeling even remotely older. But apparently getting older is not something I have an option about. There is a promise to repay the years the locusts have eaten, but I will not wake tomorrow morning and be 22 instead of 32. I cannot understand how this promise is to be fulfilled, and perhaps it is not my promise to expect fulfillment. What I do know is that my life often catches glimpses of kairos. In this there is a depth to existing that is nothing short of a miraculous gift of time, or moments in eternity.

fire y ice

2007-12-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

I had too much air going into the stove and the resulting flames were easy to photograph. I thought it would be interesting to do some photo sketches in fire and ice since we were in the middle of a snow storm at the moment - which was why I had the air going through the fire too high. (It's usually because I've left the room and forgotten to turn it down.)
On the way to Eau Claire that evening the snow had blown in rather large drifts across the road. We attempted to plow through said drift and found ourselves off the road in the middle of the drift. A warm week had left softened snow that had frozen with this storm, resulting in slippery, difficult-to-get-traction berms and ditches. I quickly decided that when you ask before you leave the house if you should grab your boots (mittens, snow pants, real winter coat...) - the answer is a resounding 'yes' - and perhaps a shovel.

Dad dug out the car with the long-handled ice scraper, Mom kept the engine from dying, I sat back and took pictures of the hazards blinking on the snow. I laughed at the images of the firey snow. I had gotten both of the images I had wanted in one!
A truck-load of helpfuls showed up and helped us push. I found that I did much better standing in the snow (in my mother's boots) while I was leaning against the stuck car. After slipping several times I succumbed to the ice and gravity and found myself flipped boot-side top-side. I had a wet bum for the evening but wasn't nearly as chilled as Dad ended up being. I suppose in the right Little House episode this would all end in pneumonia and Mom keeping every one alive with lots of boiling water. As it is, it's just a few pictures on the internet and a disconnected muffler.
We weren't even late for our Christmas dinner. (Which was, by the way, amazing. My sister has been an incredible cook for years - lucky Mark.)

my grandmother has a parrot

2007-12-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Today for Sunday School, the kids ages Pre-K to fifth grade came together to practice for the Christmas skit. The organizer told the kids about their roles in the performance, the time requirements, and the upcoming practice schedule. She then asked if there were any questions. G.W. raised his hand, and when called on, asked, "Do you have any pets?" After a few additional points she again asked if there were any more questions. G.W., ever-participating, had another - "What are their names?"

('my grandmother had a parrot' is a line or a segment from Mike Perry's Population 485)

thoughts on toast

2007-11-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

I noticed tonight as I buttered my toast (supper was not going to last the night) that buttering toast while it is hot means that it will end up being higher in calories. I find it icky to butter toast when it has cooled to room temp, so it's lower in calories and unappetizing. (I find this is true of so many things - like dairy products and desserts)
I think this is the 'deepest' thought I've had all weekend.
It's gonna be quite a week.

the weekend

2007-11-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

At jobs I've had in the past, the big Friday celebration was the minute hand hitting the 5 o'clock hour which was then followed by a tiring commute home, making supper and finally getting to tucker down in front of a movie and try not to think of everything I had to jam into the weekend.
Yesterday I decided the epitome of the weekend is in the moment Friday night that I turn off the alarm clock for the next morning. Come what may, I won't be woken up for it (probably).
Not to mention that my alarm clock radio, which I've had for about 20 years, only gets in one station and I wake up every morning to raunchy radio. I know I should switch it to the beeper, but canned laughter stills beats the incessant beeping.

class assignment

2007-10-31T19:42:00.001-07:00

I joined in doing a class assignment. I liked my sketching better than I thought I would. I don't think I could quit my day job, nor am I looking to, but I like my drawering. More on the assignment later, but it was built on our initials.

slippery classroom management

2007-10-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Last week while reading Rascal to the kids I read (or attempted to read)- "Your bread is the best I ever ate." I mixed together the two 'b' words in the sentence and had the class rolling in the aisles. Those who missed the breast slip the first time have all now heard it numerous times from those who were paying attention.

Yesterday I asked the students to complete their workshits, rather than worksheets. Again, half the class were asking their red-faced, giggling neighbors what I had said. I could only follow up by stating that no matter what they thought of their homework, they would still have to do it.

I hope that the students will decide to listen up just to know first-hand why their teacher is changing color. But it may be that they will just disregard what I've got to say as a bit silly, or downright obscene.
For the record, fifth graders find breasts (especially in that sentence) more awkwardly funny than shit.

not quite clear

2007-10-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Of my photos, about 2/3 of them are actually in focus. Of those, another quarter are focusing on the wrong thing. So even if they are clear, they are clear in the wrong place. It may also be possible to have the focus in the 'right' place, but then I just shouldn't have been focusing on a slug at all.

The passenger door of my car is hard to close and it has a scratch along the length of it. Four years ago, I backed up a driveway and didn't quite clear the retaining wall that was behind me. It was a short wall and I couldn't actually see it, but I did hit it for quite a while.

Within the classroom, it is one of my biggest challenges to write instructions that are clear to all of my students. We don't all see things the same way and my expectations have to been seen the same way to each of them.

Last night I stepped over a chair in the den and didn't quite clear the arm of it. I caught my middle toe as I went. I hoped that the cracking, popping sound was just the knuckle, but it hurt more than it usually does to pop a knuckle. Last night it didn't swell much, but it hurt all evening. After a night of persistent, localized, sharp aching pain, I was a bit more that the toe may have cracked. The pronounced purple-rose color along one side of it was enough for me to confirm the cause of the popping sound.
I feel that I should attempt to learn to approach chairs from the front. It may also become necessary for me to clear my bedroom floor if I hope to keep from furthering injuring my poor toe. I also ask that people would refrain from stepping on my feet for the next 2-4 weeks. (4-6?)

*next day note* - I have rediagnosed my injured toe. It is now that it was dislocated. I didn't know that a dislocation could bruise the way that it did, but it is doing so much better that it can't be cracked. I still would not mind if people would refrain from stepping on my feet.

Wisconsin friends

2007-10-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

You know you've got friends in Wisconsin when the missed calls on your cell phone are all to invite you to see two dead deer.

Actually by the time I got there, I just saw the heads of the deer.

I didn't know how much I appreciate venison until I was told that the beef stew that I had last week (with the really tender meat)
- wasn't beef stew.

I've been invited to join in the fun, but I'm still not sure how I would handle the time between the first shot and the last breath. Best-case-scenario that's not a long time, but worst case and I would be worst-case too.

not without my dog

2007-10-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

The church is putting together on online directory. My picture would be incomplete without Penelope Lane.
It was a bit windy - hence the no bangs and Sir Didymus impression.

zoo of a day

2007-09-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

We had a grand time at the zoo. It was a bit cool, but we were there for such an abbreviated amount of time that we didn't miss anything due to weather.
Here are the pictures of our day.

Here are my favorites of the day.

warming trends

2007-09-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

There was a summit of world leaders focusing on concerns regarding global warming. The summation of a battle plan to combat the rising danger would be that something should be done and action is necessary. (This coming from the owner of how many Humvees?) It is ironic that the hypocrisy of Schwarzenegger making statements about acting against global warming is more obvious than the complete lack of an actual idea of what do about it. Pretty good summary of why I just can't get into politics and global meetings and such. Check out the graph

vs the news that doesn't get on msnbc.

This wouldn't conclusively prove that there isn't global warming either, but it certainly makes a person look twice at the data and wonder why this is all such a big deal. Apparently there were other things to worry about in the 30s.

teaching tunes

2007-09-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

You had me at hello.

You're like comin' home.

Teaching is like coming home. (and I think they 'had me at hello'.)
Planning is sometimes a pain (since I'm easily distracted and would rather do something else), paperwork is a chore (since I'm easily distracted and would rather do something else), but teaching is a joy. It's not just the reactions of the kids when they 'get' something or the amazing connections that they sometimes make. It's the whole of it. It's the love of learning and the daily marvel and glory of the curiosities of life on earth. It's the praise and adoration of the Maker of all that is who opted to put life's pieces together in ways that are simultaneously thought-provoking and beautifully simplistic. And it's spending days with people who revel in their own curiosity and quests for knowledge.

That being said:
We're going to the zoo tomorrow!

Fall

2007-09-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

This was a tree that we had to get through - we all made it.

Pene got a sticker, or at least she thought she did.

I didn't split this photo overly smoothly, but the right side is really washed out without doing something.

It was a beautiful day, in so many ways. Beautiful color, beautiful weather, beautiful family and a couple of good pictures.

He hath provided the lamb

2007-09-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

or sandwich meat in today's case. I had been wanting sandwich meat of any type to simplify the making of my lunch for school. Today when I came home, there was waiting for me - pounds of thinly sliced roast beef. pounds. Due to letting needs be known and a bit of luck, we had been graced with leftover meat that needs to be eaten ASAP. I can work with the 'as soon as possible part', and now have more meat than I will be able to consume before it takes on the roast-beef-is-past-prime-greenish tinge. I am laughing at this fortuitous event in light of scripture that states that we only need ask to receive or that God gives us the desires of our heart. I think about the things in my life that I do regularly and even with emotion ask God for that I have seen no evidence of His having heard the request and I have to laugh at coming home to more meat than I can eat. Perhaps it is that in not knowing my own heart as well as God does, He knows that roast beef is much more what I desire than all the rest.
Whatever it is, I'll take this beef gift and enjoy my supper - and lunch - and supper.

Give us this day our daily sandwich and teach me to be thankful for it.

lessons on the horizon

2007-09-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

The weather forcast extends further than my lesson plans do. Granted the weather doesn't take into consideration the needs of each of those it rains on, but still - I feel like I want to be ahead of the weather.

looking for adventure

2007-09-02T17:18:00.000-07:00

I found myself needing adventure today. I wanted to go out to the lake - but it's Labor Day weekend and that's not the type of adventure I'm thinking about. I also need to take Pene for a walk because she doesn't get out even more than I don't get out. So we went up to the tree farm. I don't know who maintains all these trails, but they are beautiful. I also don't know if Pene can be on them, but there weren't any signs with slashed out little dogs. We went on a picture hunt, looking for textures and ferns and little shots that tell a bit of a story. I found more texture than story, but it was beautiful, and life is good.

I began my camera sketching looking down - which I often do. I also really like this moss. The light comes through it and it seems to glow a bit at the tips.

pine cone in the mossy stuff

This is where we were going.

fern II

texture hunting

I neglected to bring a mirror with me on this adventure, so I was trying to use my camera to find the gnat in my eye. I didn't find the gnat (it was definitely there), but you can see the camera pretty well.

looking at the detail in the bark

forest decomposition

itty bitty beauty

sunlit birches

fern III

I couldn't bring myself to lie in the cut nettles to gaze up into the birches, but I could crouch, flip the view screen around and still get the picture. (I needed my wide angle lens though.)

I suppose technically this is a prickly fungus - that doesn't sound quite right.

no one can say that I didn't know where I was (and no one was)- I knew exactly where I was, there was a sign.

what it looked like

since I am always take pictures of my treasures 'in hand' - I was trying to get a picture of my feather treasure 'in pocket' - I had a bit of difficulty with the actually getting the feather part.

took this picture because I missed the back of me.

finally got what I was trying to get, still no indication of why I was trying to get the picture, other than being proud of my tail feather

this diagonal was intentional - doesn't make me feel like I am actually doing much when I get the same results whether I'm looking or not.

Pene is mostly patient with me, but she started thinking that she really needed a drink.

from under the ferns

And back again.

august of the peach

2007-08-29T09:19:00.001-07:00

In the last two years I have learned that I must be cautious about the fruits that I choose to eat. I have been learning that some of my health problems or debacles have been an adverse response to chemicals and various foods. It is to my own discomfort that I choose to eat pineapple, avocado, banana, coconut, cantaloupe, or strawberries. Through the summer this seems to be a bit of a cross to bear. This summer I have discovered I can eat peaches. I can eat peaches, smell peaches, and dream of peaches until all of life is, well, 'just peachy'. As Nicki noted while I sat in the yard smelling that morning's peach - "There is nothing like the smell of a ripe peach, the candles don't smell anything like 'em." (Candles, by the way, specifically most scented candles, are one of the chemicals that I react to.) So this month's sweet song of the peach is ending- just as all of nature ebbs and flows, so must my joy of having a fruit that I can enjoy with no fear of the consequences.

night before the night before

2007-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

From some perspectives teaching looks a lot like being a student. There was less stress being a student for a couple of reasons. 1)I had been one for a LONG time and I was pretty accustomed to it. 2) If I missed a deadline, assignment, or type-o it only affected me. 3)At this moment, chemistry is more familiar to me than fifth graders. After having met my class I am certain that fifth graders are ultimately more interesting and more fun - but at the moment they are more unknown.

improving the view

2007-08-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

There are some things that improve the view off the dock at Tainter. (referred to here)

Brook went back to Ohio for the school year more than a week ago. Sometimes I miss the most important pictures because by the time I get home from the family get-together I've forgotten that I took them.

bottoms up

2007-08-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm told that much of the art of teaching is finding new ways to look at things.
So I'm practicing.

series of today

2007-08-21T19:46:00.001-07:00

The wall was determined to be dry enough to put the book shelf back up. I needed to know where the the stud line was down the wall - hence the dangling potato masher. I suppose a slotted spoon would've worked just as well. The fish tank is back in place and hopefully I didn't siphon out so much gunk that I lose the biological filtration.
All in all I'm quite happy with it and now we figure that the basement is 1/10th the way done. But it's a tenth that I spend a lot of time in - my desk.

For the rest of today's series of photos please my 'Photo Files' - the link is under 'Other Folks' Blogs' (even though it isn't) on the right side of the screen. The pictures are posted today too.

points just for eating

2007-08-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

There have been a few meals that the appearance would seem to lead a person to believe that perhaps we should get points for being brave enough to attempt consumption.
Today I made a cake for the kids and when I Mom saw it cooling her initial and clearly verbalized reaction was "Oh, yuck." Upon further inspection she did feel that she was able to see a face (complete with large pink zit on the end of its nose) in the baked bubbles which made the swamp-monster appearance complete. The cake was kid-friendly when cut and tasted fine. (Due to a bit of forgetfulness on my part, the cake did not go to the daycare and will completely enjoyed by anyone we can find who will be willing to look past appearances.) I did not expect to be going to the daycare either and someday I will learn to be assertive and just say 'no'. (it was only meant to be for a couple hours and I was reacting to the drying paint at home anyway.)

Supper brought a surge of creative cooking which resulted in a meal that the dog refused to clean from the dishes. (Pene prewashes for the dishwasher - she is the not the final stage in the process.)
It didn't taste as bad as it looked, but she didn't seem to like the combination of cabbage and ketchup and worschshire. She was willing to clean the pan after Dad added his hot chili - maybe it covered the taste of the cabbage.

grace like rain

2007-08-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Midwest has been getting some much needed rain - some places too much. But at our house -

the birdbath runneth over.

Sprinkling continued inside as I textured the wall and was
dismayed to find that the spray would fly four or more feet from the wall. (and very much all over me) My room ended up looking like the houses in the movies that all the furniture is covered up while the family goes to live at their other huge house. I did not find it convenient to pack up and go live at my other huge house so I've opted to live in the midst of the painting.

beaten by ratatouille

2007-08-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

My claim to point supremacy regarding supper points has been short-lived. We have developed the formal point system with 2 points being given for each leftover used and 1 point for each vegetable from the garden. Even with my efforts to weight the leftovers, my Dad's ratatouille this evening surpassed my chicken/black bean/green chili stuff of a week ago. With three types of peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, and the leftover hamburgers from last weekend, Dad's 8 point concoction beat my 7 points. Dad probably deserves an extra point for his nod to this summer's Disney movie - but it's not going to come from me.

After the storm on Monday night, I collected a five gallon bucket of wind-fall apples from Grandma and Grandpa's. (wind-driven-into-the-ground is more accurate) We sat in front of Little House on the Prairie for over 2 hours peeling and dicing apples. We cried through each episode as it is only appropriate to cry at Little House. We laughed at the quaintness of mother and daughter sitting peeling apples and watching the Ingalls on the DVDs borrowed from the library.

This was a fraction of the apples - Grandma and Grandpa had already processed gallons and I loaded most of the storm apples into a 45 gallon trash bucket and two additional five gallon buckets because they were already most of the way to applesauce. I also got to pick up pine branches and drive around on the lawn tractor, this was only notable because I was wearing a broom-stick skirt. It turns out there is no lady-like way to drive a lawn tractor while wearing a broom-stick skirt.

long time comin'

2007-08-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Today was my last day at the daycare (again). I will be able to return and work in the summers if it is still owned by the same person. I know I'll be back to visit the kids when possible. The kids have been so end-of-the-summer nutty this week (power outage didn't help) that I may not be back to visit them until at least Wednesday.

Today my final paperwork arrived to officially show that I am certified to work at the daycare. (the certification is back-dated to the completion of the course, so I've been legally working)

Today my diploma arrived to certify that I'm done. I have a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Education and minors in Chemistry and English Literature. I suppose that may ultimately boil down to 'I like to read and when I'm cooking I know some of the chemistry - and can teach both to others'. But I'm glad that it's official that when I'm reading while cooking I know the chemistry- makes life (and supper) more interesting.

Regarding supper: a week ago I got a 'triple-leftover score + a zucchini' for making an edible supper that used three different leftovers and a zucchini. I was pretty proud of myself. I don't actually know how many points are awarded for such a meal, but we thought it was rewarding in and of itself. (or filling anyway.)

it's official

2007-08-05T18:43:00.001-07:00

The 'official' call has come in and I've been offered the fifth grade teaching position at the school associated with my church. There are so many reasons that I am excited about this. One reason is that I get to stay here - in this area with family and friends. I have memories at the farm and at the cabin on Tainter Lake from has far back as I have memories. Moving to Menomonie felt like coming home - I found that I did have roots somewhere. We have also been blessed to move into the established 'root system' that has been laid by Grandpa/Pastor Les and Grandma Ruth. It seems that he knows most the town and it is an honor to link myself to their legacy when I meet people who know them. Now I have friends at Taco Johns and the library - it's delightful to live in a small town.
On preparing to teach fifth grade: where could I start?
I've been reading books (that's my preparation for most things - that's how I have friends at the library) I am excited about getting to teach all subjects. I feel that history (especially Wisconsin) would be my 'weakest' area, but I do have more than 12 credits in history of some sort. I don't think that I have retained as much as I could've. (I do remember that the French Revolution began in 1789 - my prof said we had to know that date.) One of the books that I have says that all teachers should teach preschool prior to teaching any higher grades - so I've done that much prep already. When I student taught in the high schools I couldn't help but notice that a lot of reminders I was giving the students were the same there as at the daycare. ie. 'put your feet on the floor, keep your hands to your self, we don't talk to our friends that way.' The school is looking to have a portion of the day spent doing 'integrated lessons' - which is part of my teaching philosophy already. Life and learning are more interesting and makes more sense when applied and integrated. (in all areas)
At the moment I am attempting to finish portions of the basement walls before the school year is in full swing. This means that at the moment my desk in closer to the middle of the room than the wall and the fish tank on it is closer to the middle of the desk. My own learning curve is steeper than anticipated - I thought taping the walls would be a one evening project, then Dad mentioned that the layers of drywall compound should dry between applications. Maybe I could just use masking tape.
Maybe bare sheet rock doesn't actually look that bad. I've got enough photos up to cover the sap sucker holes from drilling around to find a supporting metal strip.
All-in-all it will be quite a finish to a whirlwind of a summer, come final painting touches or not. (the final color is expected to be remarkably similar to the background of this blog - go figure.)

Thank you to everyone for continued prayers and support through these last five years. The responsibility of teaching from the platform of truth that is possible in a Christian school is one that I do not take lightly. I would ask for continued prayer that I may teach well and grace-fully.

by His wounds

2007-08-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

The process of healing from the wounds of my life has been a long one, but the depth of the healing has been more complete than I had imagined possible. Through this process and the moments of wondering - 'where was God when I being beaten, bruised, and battered?' I had settled on the fact that Christ was there, ready to hold me, comfort me and help me to heal.

This morning I was able to see a bit more of the Trinity in understanding that it was the Holy Spirit who was ready to comfort me and help me to heal. It was Christ that took the beatings with me. He took even so much more so that when I chose to - I would be healed as well. I realize this is a truth that I have been taught since infancy. It was Mac Powell's 'By His Wounds' being sung during communion this morning that let me see the roles of each person of the Trinity in those moments of my life when there was no God. God the Father sent Christ to be wounded with me and the Comforter waited to heal me in the aftermath.

Church was a bit overwhelming today. (I have come to experience that 'overwhelming' does not only refer to stress or negative emotions - it also refers to gratitude, appreciation, and other such positive emotions.) The realization that the gift of the family that I have found will be a gift that I will be able to rest in and serve from within is so much more than I could have hoped for. There was also the reminder through the sermon of the risen Lazarus that I am living my second chance at life. I have no desire to live attached to the corpse of my past, but I am so often thankful for the gift of today and the fact that I am here to see it. So the prayer goes out for those who were once alive in Christ, but have 'fallen asleep'. I can only guess which are asleep and which are truly dead - but Christ says that it doesn't matter which they are because he has the Father's permission and command to bring both back to life.

jury's out

2007-07-25T19:48:00.001-07:00

I am at the moment waiting to hear from the administration/hiring team for a school in this area. If I am not chosen for this job - I am currently being offered a position in IA. This position could, of course, be filled by the time that I hear one-way-or-the-other for the job here.
But either way, in-any-case -
jury's out and I don't know what's happenin' next
until next Monday
or Tuesday.

Moving seems overwhelming - but I don't need to think about it.
until
next Monday
or Tuesday.

I suppose there may be some new weeds to take pictures of in Iowa. (you can look at my 'photo files' blog at the right for more photos of the weeds around my house.)

last light

2007-07-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

It really doesn't get any more 'done' than roses in shades of roses with water drops in the fading light of day -

but it's still pretty.

ironic weather and prayer

2007-07-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

I've noted that irony as a concept can be difficult to pinpoint - just ask Alanis Morissette. I got out on the lake this morning at 6:15. As I approached the middle of the lake I noticed that the going was pretty easy, but the water seemed a bit choppy. A bit further and I noticed that my hair was blowing forward and the waves were passing me from behind. Generally when a person has only had one good workout on the water - kayaking out with the wind at your back is not such a good idea. By the time I reached the shallows of the mouth of the Red Cedar, I was being blown up river. This seemed great since it was the direction that I was going, but I was pretty sure that I was going to have a tough trip home. I would be circling round, hugging the north shore of the lake. I began to wish that I knew someone on the north shore of the lake. The wind was coming from the northwest and there was going to be little lea along that shore anyway. While blown into the shallows, grounded on the bottom, I did take a few pictures. Having my camera with me makes me a bit hyper about the weather. I isn't an amazingly expensive camera - but since I am completely incapable of replacing it - it doesn't really matter how much it costs.
As I headed out toward the north shore I offered up this prayer - 'Lord, please give me the strength to get back. I don't expect you to cut the wind, it may be that this breeze is part of a weather pattern that is bringing rain to the farmers, and I don't need the wind cut so that I can cross the lake, but please strengthen me.' This attitude in prayer was strongly influenced by reading Yancey's book on prayer, in which he notes that truly persecuted Christians (like in China) do not ask for the persecution to end, just the strength to endure it. While in a America, Christians claim that God has granted them parking spaces when needed. I suppose I didn't need to worry about praying at all - I wasn't in a life-threatening situation. I only 'needed' to be back in time to meet up with family to head off to the Renaissance Faire.
I made it across the lake,with strength to spare. But I couldn't help but notice that as I reached the side of the lake that our cabin in on - the wind completely died down.
I was on the lake from 6:15 until 7:40 and it was windy from 6:30 to 7:30 - maybe I should've prayed for the weather to change. As it was it seemed to be set up to be breezy just for me.

I didn't see the purple flower until I got it on the 'big' screen.

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows..." Bob Dylan Subterranean Homesick Blues but I could've used a weatherman to tell that the wind was going to stop blowing so soon.

lucky sweet detour

2007-07-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

This post should be from Saturday. I wasn't in the mood on Saturday to get it done, so it wasn't.

I took Castillo's to the airport this morning and then had a day of 'adventures' planned detouring my way home. I was going to stop at the conservatory and take pictures of flowers, then go to Michael's and buy my missing embroidery floss, and finally jog through Stillwater to get salt water taffy.
The conservatory opens at 10 AM and it was busy by quarter after nine.

The flower pictures that I did take were relatively not-so-good. The light was too bright - a lot of feedback.
I did get to see a duck sitting on a lily pad, which I thought was pretty neat.

I found Michael's after much round-about through the neighborhoods. On the way to Stillwater (at least I told myself I was on the way) I stopped at one of those 'scenic view' stops. It reminded me of a set-up for unsolved mysteries and some place that someone was last seen. I didn't stay and enjoy this view very long - it didn't take long to absorb anyway.
The trip to Stillwater seemed straight forward until my road closed. Since I didn't really know how I was going to where I was going, detouring wasn't straight forward. (Many folks are aware that navigating the cities is not my forte - I have learned that 35W and 35E are different roads - this has saved some back-tracking.) I ended up lost in Woodbury/Maplewood/Lake Elmo for a bit - thankfully in that order. Upon arriving in Stillwater it was hard not to notice that everyone else had too. I still haven't adjusted to how crowded the Midwest is. One of the first times driving on I25 with friends, we merged onto the freeway and I asked Laura - 'Where's everyone going?' (I figured there must be some big sports event at 'the Pit' (or its equivalent). She thought I was kidding and then told me it was normal. Getting my taffy in Stillwater reminded me of going to Universal Studios - only there were more people in Stillwater. I did get my taffy and I have since decided that it was worth the trip.
I was then thinking that there are many things that the process seems so difficult and the outcome so sweet. From this thought I jumped to comparing the acquisition of my pound and a half of salt water taffy to child birth and become quite certain that I had taken the whole thing too far.
Saturday July 7, 2007 was a lucky day I guess - but I'll take the trips up the river on either side of it any day. (This is not in any way in reference to Trevor's Birthday which was also Saturday - I'm sure that he and his family had a much more worthwhile day than I did since children are worth so much more than taffy.)
This summer should be the fourth summer that I head off on an adventure by myself. (Someday someone will perhaps come with me, but for now they have been by-myself-adventures.) The first summer was Phantom of the Opera, the second Apostle Islands kayaking, the third was London. I realize I can't 'top' London, but it is not a matter of 'topping' anything - it's just a matter of going - and I don't know where. (The reason that Tanzania and Virginia didn't count is because there was someone there to meet me when I got there - that sterilizes the adventurous part of the adventure.)

seemingly insurmountable tasks

2007-07-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

The only muscles that don't seem to be hurting in my body at the moment are those that had atrophied to the point that are not capable of hurting due to their general lack of existence.

and I have to make my bed.

adventures up river

2007-07-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

Josh (we teach Sunday School together) and I went kayaking this afternoon. My left arm became quite heavy by the time we reached the bridge (essentially around the first corner). I think that was about 20 minutes into the afternoon. We found ripe raspberries and headed up river to find whatever we would find up there. Josh asked where we were going - but since I didn't know I didn't give a very satisfactory answer. Through the shallows Josh got out and walked, I think this was one way of letting me get ahead a little. I kept telling him that pet alligators had been released into that water or a snapping turtle would bite a toe off, he completely ignored both comments and kept walking along when he felt like it. These stories may, however, have something to do with the fact that I have a very difficult time walking in water where I can't see my feet. I was thankful that the hot day had become overcast and it was actually quite pleasant weather-wise. I have been dropped off at a boat landing up the way we were headed and I thought we may find that there were lots of alligators and turtles there. (I even released a turtle there that I had rescued from Hwy 25, but I have never heard of a painted turtle biting off a toe.) We eventually came across another canoe and when asked they told us that the boat landing was behind us. So at that point we were further up river than I have been before and that had been a one way trip. Forty minutes after I had begun to notice that my left arm felt like lead we headed up the Hay River against the current. Somewhere in there I decided that I had various parts of my arms, wrists and hands that hurt enough that we should head back. (Josh was able, this whole time, to paddle against the current fast enough to continue to move upstream not paddling more quickly than I was paddling. He was good enough to periodically paddle with his hands (when he wasn't walking) to let me catch up.) We floated gently and lazily back downstream and as we left the mouth of the river the fact that it had become overcast began to look more like it may rain. Getting a little wet while kayaking doesn't bother me. Sitting like a lightening rod in the middle of a lake during a thunderstorm bothers me. We 'raced' the storm back to the cabin. I really had no options regarding the speed I was going to be going. I was amazed I was still paddling at all. I must've looked beat because the boaters that we met on the way back asked about my arms. Maybe it was in comparison to Josh who still looked like he was politely waiting for me to eventually catch up. Crossing the Elk Point resort bay, the wind began to pick up. The sky overhead looked like the set for the movie 'Twister'. The encroaching black and green tinged clouds did serve as a bit of an incentive to attempt to keep going.
So we did make it. The neighbors were happy to see us back. Josh pulls boats in and stores them as intuitively as he does everything I need him to in Sunday School. If a person can be gifted in seeing what needs to be done and doing it - he is. (Maybe the skill will rub off a bit.) We made it to the car just as drops were beginning to fall. I dropped Josh off at home in a deluge of water. When I got home, there hadn't been any rain yet.
Tired arms can't compete with a family of ducks, a deer and Great Blue in the same bay and all the beauty of the river banks. Although 'keeping up' was never really an option, I wouldn't have made it as far as I did if Josh hadn't gone along - I can only be glad that he didn't know where we were going, he would've been there and back again before I left the bay.

it don't get better than this

2007-07-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

Today I started my day by heading off to work by 5:30. After watching kids until 9:ish - I went canoing with Mom and Dad. I rode in the middle of the boat - princess style. I was able to get a few photos and a bit of color on my calves. From the lake it was a quick shower and back to work. We spent the afternoon at work playing with the kids in the water. The afternoon flew by - we spent a good bit of time putting on sunscreen and changing into and out of water clothes. Coming home around 5:30 I stopped at the farm to dig up potatoes for supper. Snarfling (if you feel that snarfling is only with one's nose, I will state that I was using my hands) about in the dirt I found potatoes for supper and was able to pull a good bit of weeds in the process. New potatoes were added to bacon-wrapped steaks, fresh zucchini and mushrooms for supper.
Now to tea, left-over mint chocolate cake, and my book.
It really doesn't get any better.

Sunday afternoon

2007-06-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Pene and I went out to Tainter to take a walk and I wanted to kayak. It turned out to be too windy to kayak and Pene thinks it was a bit hot to be walking.

back to work

2007-06-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's good to be back to work. (Real, getting-paid-a-bit, not-for-family work) I made my re-entrance to the daycare with the foot of elephant for 'jungle week'. Nothing can make a person more popular with a seven-year-old than the severed appendage of a pachyderm. Two-year-olds, however, will have little to do with an elephant's foot - no matter how interesting a picture it may provide.
Both of them did wash their hands prior to eating breakfast.

karibu

2007-06-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Pastor Jack told of a door plaque which quips:

"If you're here to see me,
come right in;
If you're here to see my house,
please make an appointment."

I thought this was wonderful and I vowed to make such a plaque should I one day have a house.
Now I am facing the fact that not only have appointments been made - but we have invited everyone to come see the house (if I've missed you - let me know). This open invitation to our open house brings a whole new level to my definition of clean and presentable. After cleaning today for about five hours I was unsure of any difference in the amount that needs to be done - at this rate, by the 30th I will not be presentable, but the house may be.
All this stress is just funny in light of the fact that I do not, technically, have all of my walls. But I am bound and determined not to have spider webs inhabiting the sheet rocked and insulation packed corners.
I suppose the saddest possible ending to this tale would be sitting about on Saturday with no one coming - and not even a spider to talk to.

Written in the sky

2007-06-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

Two o'clock this morning I arrived home bleary-eyed and eager to fall into bed for at least 8 hours. Five-thirty this morning I was awake and wondering which part of me didn't get the sleep memo. I did get to share a bit of the highlights of the vacation with Mom and Dad before they left for work. I didn't have to be to work until 9:30 so I went back to bed, which didn't really work. I did get to work this morning after getting back to the computer - checking emails and deleting more than half of the hundred messages waiting for me and downloading more than 500 pictures from Virginia.
The week was wonderful. Grandma and I were able to spend hours in conversation. With no schedule (other than my wanting to eat about every 3 hours), we were able to sit at the kitchen table for hours and let topics come and go as whims took us. We talked about cousins, uncles, aunts, my Grandfather (whom I had barely known), teaching, theology, authors, American history, grammar, and our dogs. The entire week was a gift. It was a relaxing vacation, photo opportunity, and delightfully blessed time spent away from the demands of my existence. Blessings abounded in all areas. I was able to complete about an eighth of my new cross-stitch, have been 'commissioned' do make calendars of the farm for the family, and simply rest on all levels before the demands of the summer. I didn't realize how much is 'hanging over my head' around here until I returned to the house today to all that needs to be cleaned up, organized, filed, scanned, painted, or built, not to mention - swept, scrubbed, or dusted.
I will also be returning to work - where I can find it. I will being doing whatever I can at the daycare - painting, cooking, changing diapers (perhaps not in that order), helping on the farm, and hopefully finishing some of the basement. I have come home feeling that paint on the walls could be a nice addition - even set off my photos a bit. I only hope that I don't lose momentum. This evening's sky and the message therein.

school's out for summer

2007-06-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

School's out
just out
I'm done
All I have left to do is scan and load what I did so I can prove I did it and
it will only be confirming that
I'm done.

Grandma is flying me to her home to visit for a week and a half. I leave tomorrow morning early. So I should go to bed so in the morning I can remember what I've forgotten. I will not be remembering my computer or books about grabbing students by their brains, or how to talk to students so they will want to make the best of their educations, or teaching to change lives, or the hope of discipline or discipline of hope, or using love and logic to help children develop attention and behavior skills or strategies for all of the above.
These I have not forgotten, but I am not bringing them for just this week.

Did I mention?

I'm done

last day

2007-06-04T15:21:00.001-07:00

(click the picture to get a better idea of how photogenic they truly are)

This is the middle school class holding their final recycle projects. They did a great job with their projects, but I think they were in such rambunctious moods for more reasons than that. The true beauty of this picture is that their personalities are as present in this shot as they are in class. (Of the three shots I got - this is the only one that all of them are visible.) They were a joy to teach and if, on any given day, I thought I was tired at the top of the day I left that class energized (and hungry) and ready to tackle the rest of the day. They were challenging and thought-provoking. They forgave me for my shortcomings, misspellings, and miss-counting. All-in-all they were a wonderful group of kids to teach through an introduction to teaching. With an introduction like theirs - the whole concept could be considered worth it all. This last few weeks of school I have even ceased sweating up a storm (rather literally) through this class time. I don't know if I should thank Mitchum or the kids.
There are pictured in this photo the empty Mountain Dew bottles that they downed after checking half the items off of today's to-do list. I know that "sugar does not make kids hyper" but this statement is not based on observation or experience. In any case, I do not recommend sugar on the last day in the classroom.

loved anyway

2007-05-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Pene is special to all of us - in so many ways.

beautiful menace

2007-05-24T19:33:00.001-07:00

Perhaps 'menace' is a bit strong a word, but not good for the roses in any sense. Perhaps 'beautiful' is a bit strong as well. It sounded poetic though.

teaching in rural Wisconsin

2007-05-21T18:59:00.001-07:00

It is only teaching in rural Wisconsin that you would hear this,
"I spent all of last period blow-drying my squirrel."

For a week now the hallways have smelt of dead fish - compliments of the same taxidermy class that requires blow drying squirrels. I have been told that if you need the hair on your squirrel to stand up a bit, mousse works well.

We were encouraged in our university courses to time labs that emit delectable aromas for important advertising days like the day that students sign up for their next year's classes -
apparently the ag teachers aren't worried about declining enrollments.

Tanzania choirs

2007-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Choir in Mgori church where Mom grew up
The music and the people were both truly beautiful.

Another choir, this one with electic keyboard accompaniment.

Sheryl communicating with rutting wildebeest

2007-05-20T11:42:00.001-07:00

This is one of the photos that I took at the same time. We call it 'Wildeboost Peep'.

pillow weight

2007-05-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

"...If your pillow is six years old -- which is apparently about the average age for a pillow -- it has been estimated that one-tenth of its weight will be made up of "sloughed skin, living mites, dead mites and mite dung,"to quote the man who did the measuring." (Short History, pg 365)
So,if you happen to be sharing pillows I suppose the fraction of its weight that is comprised of biological matter could be considerably higher. (I do actually sleep on the pillow that is beneath the two top pillows - but it is much older than six years old.)

why I teach

2007-04-30T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a day that for every class I 'taught' I demonstrated another reason that I may not want to consider teaching as a career - it was just an 'off' day. So when I came home and had these pictures taken yesterday during Sunday School in my email, the timing was perfect. This is DJ and me. Every day that he is in Sunday School he encourages me with his answers to questions to the class. He is insightful and honest as only kids can be. He was also, this Sunday, helpful in letting me know that if I saw a black patrol car on the way to church it was definitely a sheriff's car. His mom told me later that he plans on working for the city police as well as the county and he is a bit concerned about where he will park all the vehicles.This picture looks good, even if I'm not looking at all. The class went out to the playground and we acted out our story for the day. (For reasons that will be apparent, we read the story prior to coming outside to act it out.)
One night after Christ had risen from the dead, the disciples fished all night, but with no luck. Many of the disciples had been fisherman before Christ had called them, so they were very good at it. But all night (according to the pictures in our book) they had caught only weeds and a shoe, but no fish. In the morning they saw Jesus on the shore. He told them to lower their nets on the other side of the boat. They listened to him and brought in a net-breaking haul. They had breakfast with Jesus and then went hiking up a mountain. From there he left them to rise into the air and go to heaven.
So we climbed up in the jungle-gym, our boat. We threw a laundry basket with ropes attached overboard and hauled up our 'catch'. It took us several tries and repositioning to the top of the boat before we learned how to haul up the 'net' without flipping it over before it could be reached over the railing (or under the platform). Because my helper, Josh, often seems to think on the same wavelength (or even slightly before the same wavelength) as me we also hauled up a shoe. Then Josh, with his great multi-tasking abilities, acted the role of Christ and stood on the shoreline. He told us to the throw the basket (er - net) over the other side of the 'boat'. I led the grumbling and the catty remarks that we knew how to fish and that if we had not caught anything all night it was not going to change now. We threw the basket and Josh changed roles again to load it up with the construction paper fish that we had made for the exercise. It was a windy day and many of our fish blew out of the net and had to be chased down. Somewhere in there I attempted to remind them to listen to Jesus even when it might not seem to make sense. Immediately following our grand 'catch of the day' one of the parents came and took pictures on our 'boat'. It was fiercely bright out (perhaps that is why the fish were not where we could net them), but I like the pictures.

from behind the daffodils

2007-04-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Just looking at this picture makes me feel ticks crawling all over me.

have you hugged a roly-poly today?

2007-04-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that it has been hypothesized that life began to leave the seas to escape an impressive, ever-increasingly-efficient predator - the shark. I now know why my sister is so completely terrified of sharks, it has to do with her ancestors' exodus to land.

And I learned that the first animals to make the journey to the land were not, as is often supposed, fish with lungs (like mud puppies) or amphibians, but pill bugs (or roly-poly-type critters). It would seem that we owe our existence as terrestrial beings to the roly-polies. This is also confirmed by the fact that Sheryl and I liked to play with them when we were little. I'm not sure that they enjoyed being played with, but we didn't ask. I am now certain that they deserve more respect than to be roly-polied and flicked about.

So I've also learned that sharks eat roly-polies - I had no idea. Pretty big day for me. Give me a few more thousand years and I'll get the entire evolutionary process figured out.

(Short History of Nearly Everything, p. 338)

bein' human not always a liability

2007-04-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

The days at school that seem to go the best are those days when I am so ridiculously human that we can all only throw up our hands and laugh. My whole aura of 'teacher-who-has-everything-under-control' is usually lost the first day when I stutter through sentences and deliver lines inverted and inside-out. I have also proven that an effective way of distracting the students from the fact that I am trying to remember all their names as I pass out their papers is to walk into desks and chairs and, if possible, trip over things that may or may not be there. Today I was asked to cut up leftover doughnuts into pieces small enough to provide a snack for a class of 20 students. I managed the cutting part of the task successfully - carrying the box of doughnut pieces into the classroom was not so successful. Turns out that the 30 second rule applies to all forms of pastry. (The students were well aware of the fact that I had dropped the doughnuts - there was no uninformed exposure to the possible germs on the floor.)
But for all my slip-ups and ample opportunities to bring smiles to the faces of those who happened to hear what I couldn't quite say - I graded the design class's first quiz/test today, and they have learned something. I can know that they learned more from lecture than the fact that when I was 7 years old I dressed up as Princess Leah (for Halloween) and paraded through town with braided buns on my head. (The link to class was that all the walls painted in colors that advance would make the room seem smaller - like the trash compactor in Star Wars.)

yeti poops

2007-04-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

It is a good idea to run trials of the recipes that the students will be making in foods class. Especially when I can't remember the last time that I beat egg whites - or if I have ever beaten egg whites. Tomorrow, to get practice for making angel food cakes from scratch, the class will be making meringue cookies. So this evening I got to make meringue cookies. I'm not sure what they are supposed to look like, but I have renamed them yeti poops. It would have to be a small yeti. But I think a small yeti is as likely as a large yeti.

wimps and machos

2007-04-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am now two and a half weeks into my second student teaching position in Bloomer, Wisconsin. Bloomer is a larger town than Boyceville, the jump rope capital of the world, and home to Main Street Cafe which makes really good pie. The drive is longer and coming home into the warm sunshine can be quite a challenge. If it weren't for the cost of gas and the fact that I am currently not working I would completely enjoy the drive. So far my car seems to be making an effort to keep me awake. I've had oil lights flashing, the cruise control resuming at will (not my will), and strange rumblings and bumpings in the suspension. Although I have appreciated the jolts back to wakefulness, I hope that the car perseveres past 250,000.

I am listening (during this lovely commute) to Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything (I heard the first chapter in January) and am learning a lot of terribly useful information. I now know (but may not remember next week) that there are subatomic particles called wimps and machos - neither of which may actually exist. There is a large crater impact in Manson, IA. Australia is sinking. You should not run around Yellowstone Park in the dark without a flashlight. Mount St. Helen erupted from its side. The catastrophic destruction of the earth is 'overdue' on several fronts (or faults, supervolcanos, or meteors showers). In the twinkling of an eye a landslide carried away the tent of the parents of a family, leaving the children sleeping and unhurt. Every year 30 000 metric tons of space dust land on earth. Scientists are now more certain about the age of the earth (~4.5 billion years) than they are about what causes gravity. (although there is ample evidence of its existence). It seems reasonable to assume however that in 4.5 billion years from now - we won't be here.

The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe is some sense must have known we were coming. --Freeman Dyson

changing gears

2007-03-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Come Monday I'll be student teaching at Bloomer Junior/High School rather than Boyceville. My cooperating teacher at Boyceville reminded me once that "the students don't like change". I don't know how much any of us like change. I know that I enjoy the challenge of being flexible with and for the students. In this sense I recognize that I need change, but at this point am not certain of my fondness for it. There is much I am looking forward to. The drive is beautiful and enjoyable. There are several sections of the road that remind me of riding in the back of our '75 SAAB 99. (The same car that facilitated an extended visit in Beach, S.D.) Sheryl and I would press the buttons that would control the roller coaster ride that my father provided as he straightened the curves and left our stomachs at the tops of the last hill. It was on the county back roads of Wisconsin that I may have first learned that sudden changes in direction and even altitude can be exhilarating and adventuresome.
I am only hoping that this next shift in direction is exciting and not the alternative - a bit nauseating.

try, try again

2007-03-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

I have received written confirmation that I am free to seek employment elsewhere. I didn't quite have all my eggs in one basket, it was just the first basket I've tried. So - on to new baskets.

I'm sure that often after graduation there are more basket options than a person could know what to do with.

afternoon with Penelope and Persephone

2007-03-25T14:14:00.000-07:00

Pene and I went walking out at the lake this afternoon. The abnormally warm breezes across the lake carried the anticipation and joy of new life and rebirth. The hum of the earth welcomed the moisture of the snow and ice melt as trees stirred to ready for the physical pronouncement of the waking woods. Above the surface of the still somewhat frozen lake the interplay of the cold air moving from the surface of the lake met with the surrounding air to make the same mirage effect that is normally witnessed above warm objects. (roads, radiators, desert sand)
The day felt like the fairytale rendition of first love's first date. There is only anticipation of what will be, what may be. All is right in the world for an hour, that hour.Upon arriving home from my blissful stroll, my dad reminded me that this is tornado weather. We do have a watch now, but I'm sure all this wind will just blow a tornado away.

letting go of limbo

2007-03-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have arrived at that moment of deciding that if there was a positive decision to be made, it would be made by now. I feel the only reason there is a delay is in stalling to communicate the verdict, or waiting on timing.
It is no coincidence that 'wait' is a four-letter word. 'Just wait' is even worse, there is nothing 'just' about it.I know if I could see the mountain, it may seem too tall, too steep, too large - too much. My next steps seem to be going into thin air - no mountain in sight.

(Lake Louise in the mist and rain, taken on the road trip that Sher and I went on in 1996.)

life in another's hands

2007-03-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

Limbo is defined as the in-between place. It is existing between realities. My limbo is being lived out (or through) checking emails and waiting for the phone to ring. The fork in the road is or isn't a fork based on the decision of someone else. I remind myself that regardless of the direction that my life will take (or can't/won't take), it will be 'good' either way. (Regardless of how much I want it to go in a certain direction.) The hardest time of the day comes when I come home from school and am able to check my email, after there has been a full day for a message to be sent. This is one of those times that I wish I could suspend free will and make someone do exactly what I think I want them to.
In my bible study this week, the question was posed whether we trust that God can and will work in the heart of an individual [who is currently making a decision that will affect our life] to bring about His plan for us. I was unable to see why this individual would have to head these promptings of God anymore than I would. It would seem to me that my life's direction would then be in the hands of an infallible individual capable of being wrong, misguided, or deliberately willfully opposed to God.
This ultimately defines the manner in which I understand the sovereignty of God. I do not believe that God will force the will of man. People have been, for all of history, lived in manners that are contrary to God. What I do believe is that whatever path my life is takes, be it of my will or that of another, God will be there for the journey. I only ask that I have the strength and fortitude to continue when the road doesn't fork the way that I want it to.

prolific cory cats

2007-03-03T19:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it has had anything to do with snow days and schedules being off, but my corydora catfish have spawned. I went to feed the fishes today and the tank has clumps of little round eggs scattered and stuck about. I did notice that the cories were acting oddly yesterday night, but I thought everyone has a right to strange behavior periodically. I enjoy my fish tanks and these cycles and dramas of life being played out in micro-habitats in the basement.

I do not enjoy taking pictures of my fish tank, I find it frustrating to not be able to get a clear focus.

potty pass

2007-02-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Days at school can be busy, or at least constant. Times to run to the bathroom balances out with the fact that there is also little time to be drinking a lot. After a large cup of tea before classes I got to the bathroom once this morning during first hour. When I got home from school today I noticed my zipper was down...
I certainly hope that the lack of giggling meant that my sweater was long enough.

snowflakes in Boyceville

2007-02-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

Through all these years as a student I have periodically wondered how a teacher could grade papers without comparing them to the other papers in the class. I didn't have any idea how possible this was until I read through my first set of papers (paragraphs) from the interior design class. The answers each stood as independently as the writers themselves. Attempting to compare them would be akin to comparing people's voice tones. There are standards expected - delineations in speech or grammar and answering the question, but beyond this their answers are as unique as the girls are. Their personalities, experiences, and knowledge are revealed in what they have (or haven't) written. Even their ease in expressing themselves in writing stands as a part of who they are as people and who they are within the classroom. I realized that this inability as a student to understand how a teacher grades impartially only points to my own inability to accept that simply because a person is or is not most comfortable communicating in writing or speech that they do or do not have any less to say. It is the fact that we each have something to say and others lives are enriched by the sharing of lives that learning to communicate effectively is essential to community. My life is richer because of the paragraphs the girls wrote - the pieces of themselves that they shared and the things they taught me.

These snowflakes were captured at SnowCrystals.com.

Too Cool for School

2007-02-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

It's like a sick day without being sick!
Schools are closed today, it's -20 degrees out there. All this talk about housing and the needs that it fulfills has me hoping that everyone is warm enough. I've had to move May-bird out from the wall. He would shiver and his whole cage would vibrate - can't be a good thing.

Swallowing Kyoto

2007-02-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

This is an ad posted in Christianity Today. I haven't pitched my tent on either side of the global warming/ human responsibility issue and I don't expect I will any time soon. I know it was just released that humans are most likely the cause of global warming - but I don't question the human contribution. There are a multitude of positive feedback mechanisms in place that are furthering carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere. (decreased albedo, increase in amount of water the air will hold (also increases greenhouse effect), carbon dioxide released from perma frost, increase in rainfall) Coupled with exponential population growth I don't see how any one could taut the theory that we can curb the carbon dioxide levels. The charts that are used to correlate the relationship between the industrial era and carbon dioxide levels also mirror the world's population. I suppose the response to this ad could be that there would be no reason to provide the world with clean drinking water if the world is going to be under water. This ad states that the answers to environmental pollution are in technological advancements. These technological advancements require wealth, which is why the United States could be a key player in addressing environmental issues. Rather than being the fat, rich nation that is the selfishly perched on the backs of the world's poor, the US has the opportunity to use its resources to attack these problems. But sadly we think we are a democratic country and if the people don't care -- policy and government won't either. If this is a part of a warming and cooling cycle that is natural, there is still no guarantee that this natural cycle will be a good thing for the human race. I thought it was interesting to think that an organism will often heat up (a fever is induced) to kill off a harmful bacteria. If the earth is viewed as an organism - what would be the bacteria? I don't doubt that the lump of rock that is our planet will survive this next millennium, perhaps scarred, but still in existence.

Teaching as an Art Form

2007-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

Aside from the headache that has persisted since 1:54 this afternoon and the stomach cramps that cropped up after supper - all is wonderful, or better. I don't think I have ever come to a Friday evening and felt that I didn't need a weekend. (Don't get me wrong - I'll take a weekend - I've got plants to water, and a headache to get rid of.) Granted, there are several factors contributing to this week; one being we had a conference on Thursday and weren't at school. This was a wonderful opportunity to find out just how difficult it is to plan for a sub. It wasn't planning the day for the sub that was the issue. It was planning the week so that the class would have the information that I wanted them to have before the sub got there. There is so much flux in the classroom that it is difficult to pinpoint where the class will be the next day. This 'flux' in my interior design class is the reason that teachers teach. The class is not only well-behaved, considerate, and polite - they actively participate in the class. The 16 member, all-female, jr/sr class are a 'dream class'. They are creative and willingly to share. My challenges have been 'keeping up' with them and making sure that we will have a topic to talk about. They willingly continue conversations after lecture or activities on housing topics. They are friendly in the halls and helpful in the classroom. I have spent enough time in classrooms (observing and subbing) to know that all of teaching is not striding atop mountaintop experiences in classroom bliss, but it is nice to be exposed to it. This mountaintop week has also been the result of hours of prep time - both last week and each evening this week. Because of the amount of time that has been spent in discussion as well as the directions and emphases that are presented by and through the students, my class plans have changed daily. The basic structure of the week and the course remain the same, but the ways that I can teach this class are wide open. I honestly did not expect to be this impressed with the high school students. I had expected more attitude and adolescent/teen-age issues, but it's been limited. The behavior that is 'inappropriate' is not beyond comprehension and is within the boundaries of the childhood/early adulthood limits and expected (mis)behaviors.
My supervising professor observed class today and I didn't lose myself because she was observing me. It has helped that the cooperating teacher is always in the classroom and has never made me feel that she is there for reasons other than support and contribution where there is more information or anecdotes to fill in. The supportive environment makes it far easier to do well. This is, of course, true for all areas of life and was the topic of today's health class. My supervisory team (including the school administration) actively work to establish an environment that creates as little stress as possible. In the midst of a day that I thought could have been one of my most stressful, chocolate arrived. One of the ladies from my women's study stopped by with chocolate cupcakes covered in fudge. It was a delicious reminder of the blessing of the interconnectedness of our lives.
Being in the classroom is being part of a living art form. I don't feel that I could think myself a classroom 'artist'; there are too many unknowns and each student is herself a contributing work of art. But there is a 'thing of beauty' that is created in each class, made up of the people who are present and only possible in that day's composition. It is an honor and a privilege (while being a challenge) to be a part of these pictures.
I could not say that I would like to be a teacher because I love kids. I love people. I am a teacher and with that there is the opportunity to love people by teaching. No matter what job I ever have, it is as likely that teaching will be part of my life as are reading, writing, or creating other works of art. (Reading is as essential to the art of the written word as visual perception is to a painting.) Teaching is not just an occupation or a title, it is a gift. And it is a gift for which I am grateful.

The "Price" of a Gift
To trust, to be truly whole, is also to let go whatever we may consider our qualifications. There's a paradox here, and a trap for the lazy. I do not need to be "qualified" to play a Bach fugue on the piano (and playing a Bach fugue is for me an exercise in wholeness). But I cannot play that Bach fugue at all if I do not play the piano daily, if I do not practice my finger exercise. There are equivalents of finger exercises in the writing of books, the painting of portraits, the composing of a song. We do not need to be qualified; the gift is free; and yet we have to pay for it.
~Madeleine L'Engle, Walk on Water

'Teaching' - first week

2007-01-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

Folks are asking how it's going. All is well, but it's not quite 'going' yet. I have been given the opportunity to prep for class and observe this first week of school. This has meant hours (perhaps too many - perfectionism strikes again) of making PowerPoint presentations and brainstorming for activities. (Sitting in the corner of the classroom, which has itself pricked some of the students' curiosity.) So I am still nervous. If there is no class discussion, we may end up sitting around looking at each other for half the class. There a couple of gals in the class that I may be able to count on for relevant input, and I realize that I have friends and family that are confident in my ability to carry a discussion all by myself, but it will largely depend on the atmosphere in the classroom.

The night before

2007-01-22T17:20:00.000-08:00

student teaching.
Tomorrow is my first day teaching. I feel I am more nervous than I would like to be, but I don't know how else anyone would feel about being nervous. It is common for student teachers to adopt one of the cooperating teacher's courses for the duration of the quarter. I will be teaching an Interior Design course for the time that I am at Boyceville. (3rd quarter) I took the primary course related to interior design the first semester that I was at Stout. My learning curve during the course of the class was evident. But the designing that has been done in my corner of the basement isn't so evident. I think I am going to have to provide more information than 'hang some pictures and get some plants'. (regardless of the fact that the walls aren't finished)

The course outline is built on defining Interior Design as a 'Functional Form of Art'. I can then use the definition as an outline - going from structural, to design, and topping with expression. I think I may need more than the five slides that I have ready for tomorrow. Every time I start thinking of interior design this is the picture that comes to mind:

During the celebration that we attended in the Masaai village, we were invited into this family's home to 'see what it was like'. It was gracious of this woman to allow us to come into her home when she knew that we were primarily curious. We couldn't see while we were in there. Most of my own understanding of the space has come from these flash photos. There was a smoldering fire in the center of the room and it was (to me) oppressively smokey. Like all the people that we took pictures of while we were in the village, she did ask that we would send her a copy of the photo.
I learned something about hospitality during the time in Tanzania. I don't know how many Americans would open their home to foreigners to allow them some gauk time. I also found myself questioning the excess of all that I have. I don't think I've been called to take a vow of poverty in the sense of abandoning a position (or potential position/job) in this society by abandoning the capacity to maintain it, but I also don't think I need as much as I've accumulated.

Whoa! That's Quite the Update!

2007-01-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is a posted copy of my 2006/beg 2007 newsletter.

Greetings from my ~~corner of~~ ~~half of~~ ~~the~~ basement!

This June, Grandpa took five granddaughters (Sheryl (my sister), Amanda (Bobbie/Matt’s), Caitlin (Paul/Laurie’s), and Sarah (Marilyn/Pete’s) to Tanzania for three weeks. My time was extended by about a week to complete some observation/interaction time for one of my courses at the International School – so I was there a tad over a month. The question resounding in my ears since then has been ‘How was the trip?’ The answer, ‘Amazing’ hardly covers the experience. ‘Remarkable’ may leave enough open for interpretation and more information, but ultimately there is still no simple answer to the question. The experience was exhilarating and exhausting; relaxing and adventuresome; inspiring and heart breaking. There were moments of great joy and great fear. There were times we got on one another’s nerves and we continue to thank God for the gift of our family, each other, and the time that we all spent with one another. The world shrank and grew at the same time. The doorway was opened to the ability to consider, dream, and love on a global level. We have been challenged to consider America’s influences on the global market and culture. We witnessed the influences of Western society while marveling at the vast differences between the worlds of the peoples that we met and spent time with.

Will I be going back? Hopefully, or at least ‘going’. My future is planned as far as graduation and after that I have only rough ideas as to where I will find myself. I do know that this trip and the brief exposure to a fraction of the global community coupled with ongoing contacts with missionaries and family abroad would play a role in the shaping of my teaching philosophy and focus.

The trip, after the rest of my family arrived, was divided into four 4-day trips. From our home base with family, we went on a Dorobo safari, to the beach at Pangani, back to portions of Grandpa/ma’s mission fields, and into Maasailand. Each of these short trips stood out in stark contrast to the others in regards to the things that we saw, the people that we were with, meals that we had, and the activities we did. The unifying factor throughout the trips was the time that we spent together. The vast majority of this time was considered quality and good time, while some moments were just considered a bit close. An 85-year-old mzungu (who speaks Swahili) and his five granddaughters stand out a bit in Tanzania. We met scores of people, learned what tribes they were from and what families they had. Scores of people met us and they (and we) learned which of us are ‘binti’ (single – Amanda, Sarah, Caitlin, and me) as opposed to bibi (mothers - Sheryl).

I am attempting to conjure up the paragraphs that would encompass all that has been ‘news-worthy’ over these past two years. I was violently ill the spring of 2005 – with about 10 days encompassing final projects and exams that I was unable to get out of bed. I have come through the ordeal much more careful about getting enough sleep and heeding warning signs about stress levels. Throughout that summer I spent hours every day kayaking Tainter Lake healing and recovering (or something like that). Mid summer I took off to the apostle island area to go on a guided kayak tour over a ship wreck. It was a beautiful trip and solidified my personal desire to take off on a bit of an adventure once a year. As it turned out, the next summer I ran around London for an afternoon. (and did see a lot of pigeons)

Also the summer of 2005 Sheryl and Mark moved to Eau Claire from Albuquerque. They married August 13 and the next day I ripped off the end of a finger. It was torn from the outside edge of my middle finger up, crushing the bone – I left a miniscule strip that was apparently large enough to house enough nerve to someday again have feeling. All-in-all it was an eventful summer. The finger has healed although it will never look the same – it is a continual reminder that no one else pays overly too much attention to the length of my digits. At the beginning of this December, one of the 5-year-old girls in my Sunday School class did pray that God would help me not cut off my finger again – I wholeheartedly agreed with her. Sheryl and Mark’s launch into married life has been much less painful or disfiguring and we enjoy their general ‘nearness’ and frequent visits.

I did end up cutting back on my class load that semester as it would’ve been difficult to type and keep up without being able to type. The injury healed as an open wound and it was months before I could go without the bandages. I did have the bandages off by the time my mother cut off the end of the middle finger of her right hand. She did a much cleaner job of it and hers now looks normal. She, however may have severed both bilateral nerves that service the tip of the finger and she seems to have less sensation than I do. With her excellent nursing skills; the practice that she has at work and had on my wound, she healed without infection as well. As is evident – it has been a bonding experience for us to discuss and compare sensations and phantom pains and such.

The spring semester of 2006 was difficult. My class load was heavy and I had courses to finish carried over from the semester that I was ill. Shortly after the New Year the dream was hatched for the Tanzania trip with Grandpa. Added to the deadlines were visas, passports and itineraries. Grandpa phoned much of the foot work in these areas and then family in Tanzania provided the needed (and more) support from the Tanzania side of the Atlantic. The first of June I flew out for Tanzania, elated and terrified. But not scared enough to stay in Heathrow Airport and miss out on London. I met a group of people at the airport and several of us hopped a tour bus and saw as much of London as quickly as possible. (My photos of London are on a CD that refuses to cooperate, so if anyone knows how to reach the unreachable, let me know.)

Africa is half a world, and now (amazingly) half a year, away. My final semester of classes flew by and I am now reeling at the thought of being done with university classes. I feel at home in a classroom, which at least validates the idea of teaching. I will be student teaching this spring in Boyceville (Grandma Peterson’s hometown) and Bloomer and will then be done with the degree. Come July, the sky’s the limit – or rather the job opening is the limit. I will be graduating with a B.S. in Family Consumer Science Education with minors in Chemistry and English Literature. Contrary to what I had thought, this will not enable me to be a licensed teacher (in a public school in the US) in Chemistry (or Lit). What all this will mean for a job, I have no idea. I am reminded that the degree is meant to open doors, but at the moment am not even sure where to knock. Luckily I still have a semester of teaching to focus on. There are multitudes of opportunities to teach English abroad and I am strongly considering various options in this area. With increasing numbers of students graduating with significant student loans, organizations are becoming more obliging to work with those who are in debt.

Launching:

I had, for quite sometime, been typing up thoughts, observations and such (with photo enhancement) as a word file. With encouragement and a name from my Dad, this habit became my ‘blog’ (web log or journal, “Basement Blog”, in May of 2006. The frequency of ‘posts’ (entries) is indirectly proportional to impending deadlines, but I enjoy the outlet nonetheless. My existence is expressed in a wide variety of pursuits and passions, certainly not limited to this blog. There is much more to life than the loss of half a digit (with lots of pictures), the chemical balances of my fish tank (with fewer pictures) or the cricket hordes in the basement (no pictures – yet). When I returned from Tanzania I focused on organizing and printing the hundreds of pictures that I (and the girls) took while there, but I did not get many of them posted on the blog. I intend to ‘back-post’ and share some of the best.

I find myself reaching the end of one significant stage in my life -- my degree (finally) completed. I’ll resist the temptation to claim that I am standing at the edge of a precipice and wondering in which direction to leap, but my emotions are somewhere in that vicinity. I would covet your (continued) prayers concerning strength for the final stretch and clarity of direction for the next step. I have stated that my life and direction are my Lord’s and I would only ask for the presence of mind and heart to head in the direction of the door that is open.

With Love,

Kristi

orchids and Rorschach

2007-01-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

Sheryl, Mark, and I went to the conservatory today. The company was delightfully invigorating. Conversing with the two of them challenges me to think.This is a rather small orchid. The background, as it often does, showed the physical structure of the greenhouse. I did a 'watercolor' effect on the picture with my photo image program. I would like to learn to paint someday, but right now it is only an expensive, time/space-consuming dream, so I'll make the computer do it.I think this reflection photo looks like the old Disney wolf is in it. I don't know what this says about my personality though. (The blue half moon to the right and low of center is his eye with his mouth going to the left and he's going to eat something.) The movement in the water is created by the curious koi mulling about near the surface. The black portions of the reflection are the beam structure in the sky roof.

I have leaned how to frame photos (click on 'photo frame') and have been enjoying the effect - boundaries can be a good thing.

"The artist doesn't see things as they are, but as he is." - Anonymous

Today I haven't seen myself as an artist, so I don't know where that leaves me.

Pene wears socks for school

2007-01-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

but she doesn't like to.

Our final assignment for Secondary Reading was to write an instructional booklet for our students. My Family Consumer Science group chose to instruct on the topic of basic survival skills for the fledgling young adult. I got to write the laundry portion. I enjoy doing the laundry -- to the extent that Sheryl has not 'let me' do her laundry as it seems a bit too odd. I think it is magical that dirty clothes can be put into a machine, buttons pressed and then largely ignored until CLEAN! (I say largely ignored because we have a front loading washer with a window in the door - Rainman knew what he was talking about.)
The first step of my laundry instruction booklet was to 'Find Clothes'. I think that any school assignment that allows you to throw your laundry about the house and then take pictures of it is a pretty fun assignment. The picture of Pene wearing my socks was a part of this 'Find Clothes' step. She looks about as happy as she was about the entire process.
The only possible secret in laundry is the sorting process. So I guess there isn't much magic in that. I realize knowledge is supposed to sap the wonder, but it remains wonderful to me.

Grades are in and are good. I had completely blanked on my Quantitative Analysis midterm, but did well on the final. Environmental Chemistry did answer my questions about the fish tank. Simply stated, the introduction of the oxygen with the underground filtration oxidizes the nitrites to less-nasty-for-the-fishes nitrates. Waste-water treatment plants have a similar step in their processes. I thoroughly enjoyed my environmental chemistry course. The direct application of the science was precisely how my head wants to think and anytime you can learn how to save a few fishes it's gotta be a good thing.

My next step is the direct application of my teaching skills. I enjoy teaching, but I am sure that I will have much to learn about the real-life application of planning, structure, and classroom management. I am thankful that I have been teaching my Sunday school class each week, but somehow doubt if classroom management of 4-year-olds will be the same as high school. At least the four-year-olds are smaller than me - standing up goes a long way.

After graduation - I don't know where I go. I am not the type of person who plans well (I am actually quite uncomfortable with set, long-term, binding plans). I hope to head toward an open door rather than a closed one.