So here's the short of it, 
I'm liking Maxine today....

And here's the long

Are there really four more days left this week!  Looking back over my day, it doesn't seem like I should be as whipped as I am tonight. But I am really tired. I've got a long day stretching in front of me tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get myself to sleep sooner than usual.

Today I got one of those really great Maxine e-mails.  It was.  There were lots on it, but one of them particularly spoke to me today. There were lots of her pithy observances in the e-mail, but one of them fit my state of mind the last few weeks perfectly!

Of course, I have to figure out which things are the stupid things...

So here's the short of it, 
Where's the poop.....

And here's the long

Well, the story goes ---  when Sophie was a puppy and I was house training her, I was pretty sick and weak. And Liga was an amazing help by taking her out when she would come home after work and then getting up in the middle of the night to take her out one more time.  She was actually very easy to train, and had very few accidents.  Big problem - we taught her to poop in the back yard because it was much closer.  Well, this girl is a big dog and she makes big poops!  So this summer when a person would want to walk out in the back yard, it was difficult because it was covered with poop mines.  And Alan (bless his heart) was shoveling it up all the time.  I had to laugh when we had our first hard freeze.  He said he was really glad because frozen poop is much easier to clean up!

Well, yesterday, Alan bought some fencing - and this afternoon, he put it up and blocked off the back yard! Sophie is confused, and the way she's looking at Alan, it's easy to imagine that she's thinking "why are you being so mean to me".  The aim is for her to go up the back yard stairs and over to the back fence to make her poops.  When she gets into the habit of going up to do her business, we'll take down the fence and hope she's made the switch permanent.  I forgot to take a picture before it got dark.  I'll try to get one before dark tomorrow and put it on this post when I make tomorrow night's post.

Night all.....

 As promised - the "fence" picture.  Notice that the garbage can is securing it on the wall side!  So far she's not tried to go under it. 

So here's the short of it,
A lovely morning/afternoon with Liga --

And here's the long

I had a great Mother/daughter mid-day with Liga today.  We are working on a secret project, which I will share when the time is right, and today we had to go shopping to get the stuff - so we made an event of it.

First off, we hit JoAnn's for stuff.  And I found several things in my basket at check-out time that weren't on my original list! Of course, it's awfully hard for me to be in a craft store and not find something very cool that I just can't do without! After JoAnn'sWe stopped by and had a nice visit with Mommy Anne.  She was really glad to see us, and we were really glad to see her.  I shared the newest pictures of Max with her from my iPhone.  As usual, she kissed the phone when she saw them! It was a great visit.

Next we went to see Jeannie. We both had appointments for haircuts - but she talked me out of cutting mine! Liga had a trim, and I had a nice visit. It's been well over a year since I've had a haircut, and I had not been going to Jeannie for awhile. We had a good conversation about my hair, and she suggested that I just wait a bit longer for a haircut. As I suspected, Jeannie confirmed that my curl is just temporary. It's the same curl that I had when I was a baby, and when it's cut, I'll be back to the straight hair. And of course, unless I decide to color, it's gray. 

After hair appointments, we had a Five Guys lunch and then headed off to Earth Fare (oh the irony!) for a few things.


The rest of the afternoon was home. I was able to get my shoes and socks off and that felt great, I also spent some time with my foot up and iced both this afternoon and then again this evening. I also took some advil, which I had tried to do without. So all in all my foot is feeling much better this evening.

I'm headed to bed before midnight for sure, and my alarm for in the morning is off. I'll have plenty of time to do everything I need to do if I wake in my own good time.

So here's the short of it, 
My foot's swelling and painful.

And here's the long

I had a long day today that started early. There was a special service tonight at temple to honor Debbie Friedman who died earlier in the month. She was a very well know composer and singer of jewish - I guess what I would call folk-liturgical music. We'd been planning to go all week long. By the time I got home, my foot was swollen and hurting and Alan was in the bed. His neck was really hurting. I took Sophie out for her afternoon constitutional, although I only walked once around because my foot was hurting too much to walk much. I came in to get us a light dinner and get ready to go and Alan came into the kitchen looking pretty exhausted. We decided that it would be a better decision to just stay home. I got into my PJs before the sun was down and got into the recliner with ice on my foot in no time! It was the right decision.

I'm planning to get myself in the bed early tonight.

Now tomorrow - I've made an appointment to have my first haircut. Liga's getting a haircut too, so we'll go together. I'll have to get Jeannie to give me an opinion about whether or not these curls will be around awhile or whether this is just a chemo anomaly. We'll see what she has to say. And I'm giving some thought to how short I want to go.

So here's the short of it, 
A busy day, a pounding foot, and a really early morning tomorrow!

And here's the long

I'm sure glad that tomorrow is a Friday!!
I had a really good work day today, but didn't get nearly enough done. I just don't have enough daylight. Tomorrow starts really early, really far from the house, so I'll be struggling out of bed much earlier than usual!

My foot was really swollen and tender by the time I finally got home tonight. The pains were even shooting all the way up my leg and meeting up with the pains that I usually have shooting down from my lower back and hip. I took an Alleve and got out the ice pack as soon as I got home (nearly 9:00 o'clock), and now an hour and a half later it's feeling much better. Now I just need to work on getting sleepy!

I had a great phone visit with a colleague and friend that I only get to see every year or so.  It always brightens my spirit to talk with her, and gives me a sort of energy boost for my work.  Thanks for the chat Mollie. 

So here's the short of it, 
I nearly always enjoy Terry Gross on NPR.

And here's the long
Today I listened to Stirring Up 'The Feminine Mystique' 47 Years Later an interview by  NPR's Terry Gross.  Her interviewee, Stephanie Coontz spoke about Betty Friedan's book and its impact on women coming of age in the 60's.

As I listened to it, I tried to imagine why it wasn't resonating with me at any greater depth than it did.   
I haven't given this lots of thought, but I believe that I grew up in a different world than the one that was described in the Feminine Mystique.  I grew up in a home that valued women's contribution as workers.  It's true that there was a huge difference in the kind of work available to men and women, but I come from a long line of women who were partner contributors in the household, and who were respected by the men in their lives.  As children, we girls were encouraged to have more dreams than making dinner and babies! 


Maybe sometime in the future, I'll take a look at Betty Friedan's book.  I was a little young to read it in 1962, then a little too pre-occupied to read it in the 70's and 80's, and then I suppose between then and now, it just hasn't seemed relevant.  


For now though I'll have to say that I still (on most days) enjoy making dinner!

So here's the short of it, 
Waiting for the State of the Union Message. 

And here's the long

I had one of those work days - several things I had to do and they got all done. But there were lots of other things I needed to get done - so it was one of those days that needed to be about 18 hours long!  I get to start again tomorrow, but I've already got my calendar full for tomorrow and still have to get all those loose ends tied up!

I'm sitting on the recliner - all reclined with my foot up and iced.  It's still swelling at night, and it's still sore, and I'm still limping - especially as I get to the end of the day. Sophie is on the sofa (sopha would be more like it).  She is all stretched out with her head up on a pillow just snoozing away.  I'm waiting to hear our president speak about the state of the union.  I'm glad that our constitution requires the president to "from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."  Of course I know that the country is always divided about the State of the Union.  No matter who the president is, there's a faction who are not going to agree.  Sometimes I'm the faction that agrees, sometimes I in disagreement.  I'm already seeing the fissures from facebook postings. 

I'm particularly interested in how the shooting in Tuscon turned this into "date night" for our lawmakers.  I actually think it might make things a bit more civil to mix up the seating all the time!  I think we all should date people from the "other side" from time to time.  Of course that's not too hard to do when my family gets together, as we have people stretched out all along the continuum from pretty far right to pretty far left!  Oh what a wonderful family it is!

Yesterday, I posted about needing a good chicken crock pot recipe and one of my former students, Ty Lee, said he thinks there may be one in his family  - from his wife! I love it that Ty is married, and I can't wait to try his wife's recipe instead of another one from that crock pot blog.

He's coming down the aisle shaking hands.  I'm going to watch and listen. 

So here's the short of it, 
I need a really good crock pot recipe for chicken. 

And here's the long

Oh, today, today, today.   Nothing about work that I can share.  And I worked until after 7:00.

Home sweet home.  I'm sure glad to be here.  I made a crock pot chicken dish so Alan would have a hot dinner without me being home. I got it from the crock pot blog so I thought for sure it would be scrumptiuos.   But it was pretty mediocre - shoot - I was thinking it would be another go to recipe.  I'll have to try something different.  I think I'll give another recipe from that blog a chance before I give it up!

Tomorrow Alan has a steroid shot for his neck pain.  I've got a required training, so I can't take him. Mom is planning to take him and then bring him home.  I'm sure it will all be fine, but I'm wishing I could be the one to take him! 

So here's the short of it,
Sophie's the story for tonight. 

And here's the long

This weekend just slipped away! 

Sophie got an early morning bath today! She hadn't had a bath since before I broke my ankle, and she was a stinky girl.  She is difficult to get into the shower, but once I get her there, she's always pretty cooperative and doesn't seem to really mind getting a bath. Well, the bath made her start shedding like crazy. Alan's brushed her, I've brushed her, then Alan brushed her, then I brushed her again.  She looks like she's got feathers on her haunches!  Mom was up for dinner and told her that it was going to get cold again and she was going to wish she had kept that coat on!

We also discovered that Sophie has learned how to open the back gate. Last night when we got home, as we pulled into the driveway, she came out and greeted us and the gate was open. Of course we thought, we must have accidently left it open. This morning I looked out the front window and there she was shashaying around on the other side!  I said oh, no - she's learned how to open the gate and when Alan went back to check, sure enough it was wide open. We put a carabiner through the gate latch, and then Alan called her in. She had just gotten to Winston's house and they'd just started a romp through the bushes, but when he called her she came running.  I got a real kick out of that. I know she was thinking - "well, sure, I don't mind coming over to see what you want, because I can just go out the back whenever I feel like it."  And sure enough, she went right out to the back gate and spent some time trying to figure out why she couldn't get the gate to open! It was a bit funny - although I know not to her!

Sophie's a great dog!

So here's the short of it, 
I couldn't be any luckier - Gene Howard was my Dad.

And here's the long

Today Dad would have been 86 years old.

I am extremely lucky that Gene Howard was my Dad. As I think back over my memories of growing up with him, I can think of so many times that he was there in just the right way. I can remember riding on his shoulders as a small girl, and how he would tease me with snakes, and worms, and bugs. Mostly, I remember that he believed in me.  I knew that he believed I was beautiful, and that he loved me.  I also knew that he would always be there when I needed him. I remember when I first began to have opinions that I had thought about for myself, he was very proud of me - and I think that continued even though after I became an adult our opinions often differed. 

I know also that I'm awfully lucky that Mom and Dad moved here so that those last years I saw him much more often - and that now Mom is my almost neighbor. 

So here's the short of it,
 I haven't felt well today.

And here's the long

Well, we did not have any  Inclement Weather after all!  It sure did look yucky last night and at about 3:00, I was up and looked out the window - it was cold (I could tell by looking haha) but it was pretty dry. This morning when it was time to get up, I so wanted to have that phone call.  The one from Danielle our beautiful PR lady who says on the pre-recorded announcement "Hamilton County blah blah, blah no school blah blah".  No call came. I felt pretty bad; I'd gotten a bad chill so I decided to take the morning as a sick day. I got myself dressed and worked a bit from home. But I didn't go in until after lunch. That turned out to be a good decision.  

I do have a chill.  By the time I got home this afternoon, I was feeling worse. Supper's done.  Kitchen's cleaned - well sorta, I'm in my pajamas.  I'm going to bed really soon.  

Alan is having a whole lot of difficulty with his neck. He had an MRI today, and his doctor has already called.  He'll be having some steroid shots early next week. We were working on the plumbing in "this old house" kitchen, and he was the one under the sink. He probably "hyper extended" his neck.  No more of that kind of work for a long, long time. He's been miserable. Maybe the shots next week will work.

Here's a Pennie update.  She's home from the hospital, and at Brian and Julie's house for the time being. (Her oldest).  She will be going home with help in the next few days. 

So here's the short of it, 
I had a good work day and there's a possibility of a snow delay tomorrow. 

And here's the long

We have  a prediction of a little snow and some freezing rain.  Here's the announcement as it appears on our school's website.
-------------------

• 
• 
• 
• 

Inclement Weather Alert

Friday, January 21, 2011

The weather forecast indicates that a small system is moving through the Chattanooga area overnight, bringing the possiblity of light snow showers early Friday morning.

All indications point to the system moving through quickly with little accumulation on the roads. The exception could be the mountain areas. There is the possibility that buses will run snow routes for the Signal Mountain schools on Friday. Click here to see the Signal Mountain snow routes.

The Hamilton County Dept. of Education is actively monitoring the weather and may have to make a decision about delaying and/or closing schools early Friday morning.

Parents and residents are encouraged to monitor this website for updated information regarding potential school delays and/or closings.
--------------------------

I'm predicting that we'll go to school - maybe on a 2 hour delay. When I came home about 6:00 this evening there was already a light rain falling and the temperature was dropping and I know it's probably several degree. But our decision makers won't want to keep us home with so much more winter looming ahead of us when we've already used all or most all of our snow days. I actually haven't gotten word on that yet, I'll need to check it out tomorrow!

Good night - I don't have an early morning but I'm going to try really hard to get to bed at a decent hour and get up early.

Work was good today.  I went in with good vibes and left that way as well. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. 

So here's the short of it, 
I'm back "out front" with Sophie.

And here's the long

What a dog!  Sophie must have mind reading capabilities or something. She's been pretty patient about not having her outside time in the evenings since I broke my ankle. I let her go out "on her own" a few times - I don 't really like doing that, even though she's pretty good about staying in the circle.  And I was able to talk Liga and Valdis into taking her around the circle a few times. But going out with me especially when I take her "off leash" is the best. Anyway, she's been good about seeming to understand that I couldn't take her out.

I didn't get home early tonight. But as soon as I got in the door, she wanted to go "out front" - that's the command I use to let her know we are going out the front door to walk in the circle.  She was dancing around and behaving as though she absolutely understood that this afternoon was different and that there was no reason that I couldn't take her out for a walk. It was really pretty precious.  We went out - yes when I finally said "out front" she was SO excited.  And I walked for the first time since my fall. (oh except for that one time before I realized that I was not supposed to be really going for a walk in my boot).  I only made it around the circle twice.  I am so out of shape!  Sophie spent her time playing with Cutie Pie - her Labradoodle friend; Charlie, her golden retriever friend; Zoro, her very old beagle friend; and finally Winston, the young shepherd mix who lives in a yard with an invisible fence.  She goes into Winston's yard and plays very nicely with him.  They run around the bushes and into and out of the back yard.  Winston never goes out of his space and Sophie is really good to play with him. BUT she did not come home when I asked her to .... we'll have to work on that some more. But she and I are both really glad to get back into the routine of a good walk before the end of the day unless the weather is too wet.

So at the end of the day you can just know that Sophie and I will be "out front".

So here's the short of it, 
No Ace; No Brace!

And here's the long

Well I got great news from the Doctor this morning. Of course I was nervous that I had come out of the brace too soon, even though I was perfectly comfortable. And I got the very best news of all.  I don't have to wear the support bandage (my skin rash can finally begin to heal); I don't have to wear a brace (I can finally wear shoes besides the tennis shoes the brace fit into); and I can resume normal activities (Sophie will be so grateful to have her evening walks again!)

I am going to have physical therapy for strengthening, and gait training. A couple of my colleagues suggested that I go to one of our nearby schools and just do my gait training there where we have a student who works on that daily (so that I didn't have to miss so much). So funny! I probably have been needing these things anyway because of the continuing neuropathy in my feet. I was too busy to get the therapy set up today - but tomorrow I'll do that. 

And of course it turned out even better that I had wished for - I don't have to wear my Ace or my brace. Tonight, for the first time in ages, I'll sleep with a naked ankle - bare skin snuggled against the sheets!  I'm so looking forward to that.

I'm still icing that ankle. And I'm going to be very careful. Tonight as I left work, it was already dark, and the parking lot was wet from today's rain and still had lots of ice. I didn't need to be warned! 

Thanks to all who had me in your thoughts and prayers!  

So here's the short of it, 
Hoping that the ankle is OK.

And here's the long

Tomorrow I have an appointment first thing in the morning with my broken ankle doctor.  I really hope I'm not in lots of trouble. The boot that I have been supposed to be wearing was making my back and my hip hurt so much that I thought I would permanently injure my back.  And sleeping in that boot was an absolute joke - I wasn't resting well at all. Dr. Robertson told me when I first got the boot that I could take it off to shower as long as I was really careful. Well, I noticed  that I was getting stronger and stronger every day. So the first day that we were home from school because of the snow, I spent more of the day with my boot off than on.  Now, I was not on my foot very much, I was mostly sitting that first day. 

Then the next day or maybe it was the next, I went over to WalMart and found myself a Mueller Adjustable Ankle Stabilizer. It has two metal side stays and these two wrap around straps that make it even more stable.  The first couple of days - well nights - I only took off the boot to sleep and put it back on when I was on my feet. But I noticed that my back and hip were feeling much better when I wasn't using my boot. So I guess beginning about Tuesday or so, I started wearing it during the day as well - and being very careful for sure. And of course I'm wearing the ace bandage under it. It's actually not ace brand, it's the Top Care brand which is Bi-Lo's generic brand and is much better than the ace brand. I haven't worn my knee boot for several many days. I've been wearing the Mueller's Maximum Support Level Adjustable Ankle Stabilizer with side stays that are ideal for sore or sprained or strained ankles. (I know, I know it doesn't say anything about broken ankles as Alan has pointed out to me, and I've been hard headed since I was a little bitty girl, as my Mom has pointed out to Alan.)

I really haven't been stupid about this I think, but tomorrow I guess we'll see. I'm hoping that I'll get to graduate to just an ace bandage or maybe even a nothing - especially at night! I'm so eager to sleep with a naked foot and ankle.

Now, if you read yesterday's post, I'll have to tell you that I had to back up and re-do the spacing after almost every sentence. I hope that tomorrow I won't have to re-do so many.

So here's the short of it, 
 It's not two spaces!

And here's the long

The other day I was doing some work and I discovered an article that I thought I should share. Looking back over my blog, one will see that I'm firmly stuck in a pretty antiquated time. I put two spaces after my period when I'm "typing". When I learned to type, it was in that upstairs corner room at Pineville High School - I'm pretty sure it was the 67-68 school year. I think those two upstairs rooms were our vocational department - Home Ec on one side and Typing on the other. My teacher was Mr. Jones.  This picture of him just amazes me. When I was a high schooler, he looked much older than he looks in this picture now. I truly appreciate that class.  It has stood me in good stead over the years to know how to "type". Now, the rule when we learned in the late 60's was two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence. Apparently, that rule was never really the rule. And now that we have proportional font it is really not the rule. But since I've spent the majority of my adult life putting two spaces after every period, the memory is etched deeply in my fingertips and I'm going to have to really work on changing it.

Here's a picture of me when I was learning how to type.  And here's the article "Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period."   I wonder if Mr. Jones ever started to use only one space. I don't know much about Mr. Jones, but I'm sure glad he taught me to type, even if I am now going to struggle with relearning how to space after a period.

So here's the short of it,
We had a nice evening out.

And here's the long.

Tonight I went out for the first time since the snow fell.  We picked up Mom and went over to the Jewish Cultural Center for an interfaith dinner, discussion about the significance of light in religious practices. Our Reform Rabbi, an Episcopal priest (a woman) and a Seventh Day Adventist Minister all spoke and then there was a bit of time for questions and answers.

I certainly enjoyed the evening and got to see lots of friends and family.  It was really good to spend time with Mom and Alan as well.  And it was really good to get out of the house!!  I'm going to venture out in the morning and hit the grocery store for a few things.  I can hardly believe that I've got a holiday on Monday.  It seems like it's been forever since I've been to work!  I've already got a busy day going on Tuesday!  My first stop will be the doctor to take a look at my healed ankle - well, I'm sure it's healed.  We'll see what he says.  Then over to the main office for a busy and long day.

Good news from Pennie.  She was up and walking for a bit today.  We understand that she's still in considerable pain - so we appreciate continued thoughts and prayers!

So here's the short of it, 
Looks like the snow is leaving. 

And here's the long

Well, the snow is completely gone from the road in the circle.  Since I haven't been anywhere, I don't know how it is anywhere else, but I've heard that parking lots and side roads are still quite dangerous.  We are expecting warmer temperatures this weekend, so I'm pretty sure that by Sunday or Monday it will be gone.  We sure have had a long break from school.  And I've been housebound out of extreme caution not to re-injure my ankle.  I'm not even weary of it either!  I did venture out this afternoon.  I took Sophie out (off-leash) and let her play out front for a bit.  Her girldogfriend from across the circle, Charlie, was out and they had a really good time playing in the snow.  I didn't do any walking.  I took a pillow out and sat on the top step.  When Charlie came over, I walked down to the end of the front sidewalk, very carefully and talked to the girls for a bit.  I was really glad she got a chance to be out and extremely glad that there was another dog out for her to play a bit.

I heard today that the school board is going to discuss how we are going to make up days at their meeting next week.  I'll be interested to find out how that will happen.  We have several days "built in", which we hardly ever use, and I thought we were still in that window.  I suppose I was wrong about that.  We don't go back until Tuesday, because of the Martin Luther King, jr. holiday observance, so I've still got a long weekend to go before I even need to think about that.

Liga's headed back home tomorrow as well.  She and Dexter have been staying here since the storm so she didn't have so far to drive, and I know she's ready to get back to her own apartment.  We've enjoyed having her here, and it will be good to get back into our empty nest routine as well.

It's only 10:30 and I'm feeling tired and drowsy.  That's a welcome feeling, and I'm planning to take advantage of it and get myself under the covers.

So here's the short of it, 
Something's going on. 

And here's the long

Something is going on with my sleeping.  Now, I'm not complaining - I'm just saying. 

Last year while I was undergoing Chemotherapy, I slept so much.  There were many days that I think I slept 20 hours!  Then as I started to feel better, my sleep was all out of whack.  I had my days and nights mixed up! Even at the beginning of this week, I still had a hard time getting to sleep before midnight or sometimes later. 

For the third night in a row now, I've gotten really sleepy in the afternoon.  As a matter of fact a couple of days ago, I actually took a nap - the kind where you take off your shoes, get under the covers and purposefully go to sleep!  But even more interestingly, I have been asleep before midnight for 3 nights in a row, and tonight will make it night number 4!  I am really tired and eager to pull the covers up over my shoulders and snooze away the night.  AND I suppose the natural outcome of going to sleep so early, I am waking up much earlier and feeling at least somewhat more rested ---until the afternoon when I get SO sleepy. 

I don't know what to make of this.  I'm really not sure what is causing it, or how long it's going to last.  And I'm going to have to rethink my evenings.  But that's OK.  Maybe it's one of the changes that came through that portal that opened on 1.11.11 - at 11:11! 

I'm here to say this - I'm embracing this change and love the idea that I'll be able to go to bed much earlier in the evening

So here's the short of it,
It is winter here in Chattanooga!

And here's the long

In all the years I've been in Chattanooga, school has never been out this long.  Today we got the decision that Hamilton County Department of Education will remain closed Thursday and Friday.  It's not supposed to get above freezing.  The combination of the sand and salt, and the traffic has made most of the main roads passable --- well that's the report I have from Alan and Liga.  I wouldn't know since I haven't been out.  Well, I did got out for a quick minute.  Alan has a pathway shoveled off in the back so he can get to the car, and he had a couple of meetings today.  While he was gone, the recycle got full, so I tied up the bag and took it out.  I didn't go up the steps to the cans...I thought better of that.  But apparently the roads in much of the county and on the mountains, and people's driveways, and the parking lots at most of the schools are very icy at this point.  Anything that melted freezes over in the night.  It would be crazy to have buses and Moms and Dads delivering kids to school in all this -- not to mention those inexperienced high schoolers who have gotten their licenses and now drive to school.   No school for two more days is a good plan.  We already have scheduled to be off for the observance of  M.L. King, jr. Holiday on Monday, so we will have had 10 days of no school.  I've gotten several smallish projects tackled - and feel really good about it.  Let's see what I can accomplish tomorrow. 

I don't have cabin fever, but Mom hadn't been out much either.  Actually she's been out in the yard - front and back taking pictures of the snow.  And she told me she'd shoveled a pathway out to her mailbox.  But I still was worried about her being there at the house without any company since Sunday.  So late this afternoon on his way home from town, Alan stopped and picked her up.  She came up to the house bringing cole slaw and the scrabble game.  The two of us had a great game.  She was really trouncing me, and then I had this amazing space.  I had a Q and I had a U and there was a triple word open, and my word fit just perfectly, so I ended up winning just by pure luck!

The three of us had a great dinner and then Alan got Mom back home before dark -- well, we were aiming for before dark.  I guess it was a little bit after dark by the time she got home and got herself in.  I'm really glad she and Dad made the decision to move to Chattanooga.  I'm also really glad they found a place so close by.

So here's the short of it, 
Opening the Portal to Change

And here's the long.

So today is 1.11.11 - the alignment of those numbers makes us want to wish that there's some significance in that.  There are some who believe that it's a time when special portals are open for changes in ourselves.  I suppose it's good to focus on a time.  We humans certainly seem to need rituals to help us get from one place to another.  We do it with religious rituals; I've always felt some deep connection to the henges in England - I chalk that up to some genetic memory.  So my ancestors thought there was something significant when the sun or the stars lined up with the stones - they probably wouldn't have known about numbers like a month a day and a year.  So I'd say today is as good a day as any to stand in the portal and experience that change that comes to us when we believe and are ready. 

I'm going to bed soon, and at 11:11, I'll close my eyes and imagine that the portal to a more amazing world is opening.  In my amazing world, there's enough of everything I need - people in my life space work hard at living in a sustainable way - problems are solved by discussion, compromise, and true compassion - and any day, any hour, any moment can become a portal opening to a more amazing life.

So here's the short of it,

I'm loving being a teacher!

And here's the long.

Well, one of the advantages of being a "school teacher", as my Dad used to say whenever he spoke of my profession, is the unexpected break in routine which comes with a snow.

Here in Chattanooga, it just takes a few flakes for us to miss school.  In the city schools, county schools days, our city system missed far fewer snow days, because the mountains and the really rural roads were all in the county system.  And it was pretty easy for kids who lived in the city to walk to a bus stop on the "snow routes".  Now we all are out when it's bad.  And for those of you who are secretly laughing about what wimps we are, there are a few good reasons -  Nobody here in Chattanooga would spend the money to buy snow tires or chains - really bad investment!  We have some snow clearing machinery, but not very much at all and rely mostly on the big trucks to spread sand, salt, whatever de-icer they use.  And since snow comes so infrequently, no one who's grown up in the south has had enough experience driving in the stuff to be good at it.  So even if all our bus drivers could drive in the snow - and even if all the kids could get to a bus stop - and even if all the employees could get to their respective schools, it's just too dangerous, and no one in the school central office wants to make a decision which would lead to children being hurt.  So down here in Chattanooga, we play it safe when the snow starts to fall.

Of course, we got a lot last night and today!  Probably 6 - 8 inches before it started a bit of mix and melted the top layer a bit.  Alan says we probably won't have school all week because the temperatures will be too low for much melting.  We'll see.

I've had a lovely day.  Worked on some cluttered up bathroom shelves.  Puttered.  Good stuff.

So here's the short of it, 
Remember Pennie in your prayers. 

And here's the long

My beautiful sister-in-law, Pennie, needs your prayers, or your healing thoughts, or your love and light - whatever your persuasion, your beliefs.

Pennie is battling Metastatic Breast Cancer. She is a real warrior.  Last night she had a fall and broke her left shoulder and upper arm.  She's in the hospital in Tampa and surgery they are waiting to have the surgery scheduled.  Alan's talked to her a couple of times and I've talked to her tonight.  She sounds very upbeat.

So for all you who read this blog from time to time.  Please pray for Pennie.  Pray for her comfort and healing.   

So here's the short of it, 
We had a nice visit with Dan this evening.

And here's the long

Dan came back to Chattanooga on the same flight as Liga and he's been here visiting.  He heads back tomorrow so we went for dinner with him tonight to the Terminal Brewhouse and Liga was able to join us. 

I can remember when I first came to Chattanooga, this building was dangerous looking.  Alan likes to tell about growing up - working for his Dad and driving down to the railroad depot to pick up shipments - right across the street from here.  They've really done a great job of fixing it up!  It was really crowded tonight.  We ate on the second floor, so I got to take the outdoor elevator.  I'm doing a few steps, but I'm not very trustworthy on them.

It was really nice to catch up with how Dan's doing.  He's going to take a pretty heavy load for this coming semester, but he seems really interested in the courses.  His classes start on Monday, and he's flying out early in the morning.  There's a storm system headed in to Denver so he got his flight moved up to really early tomorrow morning.  Here's hoping he gets into Denver in plenty of time to drive back to Boulder before the snow hits. 

We are supposed to get snow sometime in the night on Sunday. Right now the weather site is showing a 100% chance of snow.  I'm guessing two snow days next week - Monday and Tuesday.  We'll see.  I'll have to do some work from home for sure - got something brewing that has to be attended to no matter if we have school or not! 

You know the teachers tell the children to sleep with their pajamas turned inside out to help make it snow.  I'll just bet that Sunday night there are lots of inside out pajamas around Hamilton County!

---------------

Today is my baby brother, Steve's birthday.  Check out Emily's memory of this day 54 years ago over at her blog - Emily and Gene

So here's the short of it, 
Purple Sky.....

And here's the long

Tonight I had an errand I needed to run after work before I headed home. It was about 5:30, the sun was going down, but still above the horizon and the sky was absolutely spectacular.  There were dark clouds in the east; the front was very visible overhead; there was a rainbow in the sky; and in the west the sky was luminous.  I walked out the door of the store as a woman was walking in.  She was looking over her shoulder as she came in and she remarked to me, "I've never seen a purple sky here in Chattanooga before."  I just said, "What do you think it might mean."  She said, "Maybe God's coming".  I looked at the sky and said, "God's already here".  But she had already gone into the store. 

The purple sky tonight was amazing.  As a matter of fact several Chattanoogans have posted pictures on facebook from various places around town with comments about the strange sky here tonight. 

Here are some pictures from my facebook friend and fellow educator Claire Lane.

So here's the short of it, 
I got a chill tonight...

And here's the long

I've got a bit of a chill tonight.  I couldn't decide exactly what to wear to work today.  Yesterday it was cold in my office, but I was going to be in a school and then in our main office all day today.  I ended up dressing in a pretty warm sweater - but I still ended up feeling chilled by tonight.  I finished up my round of antibiotics this morning.  I know it keeps working for a few days, and I hope I'll be feeling better by then. 

Work today was one of those, never a dull moment days!  I was glad to come home to a quiet house. 

I'm going to cuddle under the covers pretty soon and have a warm sleepy night.  If I could sleep without this boot, I'd add comfortable to those descriptors!  Night.

So here's the short of it, 

Dexter is going home tonight.

And here's the long

I am so tired.  I think as I get older it gets harder and harder to come back from vacation to work.  This is day 3 and I did fine, but it's just barely 9 o'clock and I'm ready to collapse!  Liga is coming by when she gets done with work, and I'll go right to bed as soon as she's gone.  Tomorrow is an early call!

Dexter is going home tonight.  He's just really beginning to get settled in and start being a good companion for Sophie and Lola, but he's going home tonight.  He's been really sweet and fun to have for a visit.  I'll miss his little fluffy self curling up next to me or sitting on top of whatever work I'm trying to do. 

On the other hand, Lola will be terrifically glad to have me to herself again.  She doesn't really see Sophie as much competition, but she's quite sure that Dexter is stealing my attention and her food and he also intrudes on her litter box space.  She will be a happy kitty in a little while.   

So here's the short of it, 
Maybe I was born a reader

And here's the long

Tomorrow kids come back to school and it's gotten me started thinking about being a youngster.  I liked books and learning about things.  Mom tells me that when I was a very little girl,  I always went to bed with my books.  It wasn't a blanket or dolls or stuffed animals or toys of any kind, but my books all over the bed with me.  As I got older I often read late into the night. And if Mom would come tell me to turn out my light, I'd just get under the covers with my electric blanket control which gave off just enough light for me to read.  That habit has continued with me through adulthood.  There's nothing like a good book at bedtime.  It often took me quite a long time to get through a book, because for a long time bedtime was the only time I had for leisure reading.  So at the end of a long hard day I'd go to bed and start reading and get through maybe 10 pages and then fall asleep with the light on and the book over my face.  Somehow the next night I'd only remember the first 5 of those 10 pages and have to back up to start...

But last year, I stopped reading.  Well, not really.  I read lots of articles about my cancer, about the drugs I was taking, about the side effects and how to manage them.  I read about what kind of food I should be eating, and how I could give myself a better chance of the drugs working to their best capacity.  I also read the things I had to read to stay up to date with work (as much as I could).  I read a few magazine articles.  I bought a book about dog training when we got Sophie, but I couldn't get reading it.  I read a children's book called Tear Soup, and cried and cried.  I read dozens of encouraging cards and notes, and really took courage and good things from them.  But I didn't really read any books.  I started a couple, and I couldn't sustain a long enough interest or thought process or whatever it is that makes us readers and didn't get very far. 

This vacation, one of the things that I did was do a final proof reading of my Dad's memoir A Name in the Sand.  Of course, proof reading isn't like reading at all, and I have read Dad's book several times.  Well, I haven't read it in the way that I read other things, and I still intend to do that, but I've read it for editing, proofing, suggesting, etc. 

After I finished that task though, I found that I was looking around for something to read.  Now that's something that I've not done in a long time --- Well, this Christmas, my sister-in-law, Betsy, gave me a book called The Art of Racing in the Rain.  For the first time in many, many months I had a good long read.  I was still on vacation - thank goodness or it probably would have really impacted getting up for work!

I got started reading this remarkable book, and I slipped into the story in just the way I used to.  Everything about me disappeared and there I was living the life of Enzo.  It was a very beautiful book. I stayed up until 2 in the morning reading.  I cried.  And then I turned out the light and went to sleep. 

So here's the short of it, 
First day back at work ...

And here's the long

ONCE YOU CAN ACCEPT THE UNIVERSE 

AS MATTER EXPANDING INTO NOTHING THAT IS SOMETHING, 

WEARING STRIPES WITH PLAID COMES EASY. 

                                                      Albert Einstein

Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble
Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (U. California, Berkeley) et al., and The Hubble Heritage TeamSTScI/AURA) (

So here's the short of it, 
Winter Break is over.

And here's the long

So Teacher Winter Vacation is over.  Tomorrow morning the sun comes up on a work day - and I haven't been out of bed that early (on purpose) since December 18th.  So tomorrow will be a task.  I did take care of getting the vehicle gassed up this afternoon, since it's such a project with this boot!  So tomorrow all I have to do is get in the car and get myself to work. 

It's been a good two weeks.  I had a whole long list of things I wanted to get accomplished.  Well, very little of it got done because everything is such a project with this broken ankle.  When I was on the knee walker, I could barely even get my personal stuff done - like showering and getting dressed.  It's taken me a few days to figure out how to get around with this boot.  I am not using the cane, and I'm not having any pain.  I was supposed to gradually get to the point of getting along without the cane.  I didn't do the gradually part, but I'm getting along OK.  I am really eager for the boot to come off.  I really want to sleep without the boot.  I'm willing to wear it longer, but I so want to sleep without it!  But even more than that, I want to get it well, so I'll keep it on til the doc tells me I can take it off! 

I'm looking forward to getting back to work and seeing what we can get accomplished this semester.

So here's the short of it, 
I'm still feeling pretty yucky, although the antibiotic seems to be working. 

And here's the long

I've got one more day to get myself well enough to go back to work on Monday.  The antibiotic is doing a good job of knocking out the sinus gunk.  I'm not nearly as stuffed up and am breathing much more normally, but I still feel pretty bad.  Can I have a virus and a bacterial infection at the same time? I never really considered that before. I'm not running a fever - yet, but I have the burning eyes and the tiredness that precedes a fever for me.

1/1/11.  I hear this is a very auspicious number and that this year we have much to look forward to.  I certainly am claiming that this coming year will bring health and purpose to our family, and that some of our dreams that may positively impact others will come true. 

Happy beginning of a new year and a new decade to everyone.