So here's the short of it, 
I have a new hat!

And here's the long.

Just in time for the cold weather that's going to be here tomorrow!  I have a new hat.  I got home from work and there was a package waiting for me from my dear Aunt Joyce in Knoxville.

When I got it open I found the cutest hat.

It's a purple cat hat!

I just think I'll be wearing this hat as this cold weather slides through Chattanooga!

It's hard to see in the picture, but it even has ears!


Thanks Aunt Joyce!!

So here's the short of it, 
Wow - the weather was rainy and blustery today! 

And here's the long.

Early this morning, Aunt Joyce gave me a call to warn me of the awful high winds!  I went into work via the street roads instead of getting on the freeway.   While I was in the office this morning, the rain was just pelting against the windows and a couple of times the wind gusts were really strong.  But by the time I left for my afternoon appointments, the rain was barely coming down.

So apparently, tomorrow the temperatures will continue to drop and by Friday it's going to be much colder!

This crazy weather is --- well, crazy!

So here's the short of it, 
You Are Not So Smart -- neither am I apparently.

And here's the long.

Tonight I read an article about something called The Backfire Effect. Here's a link to the article in case you're interested.   It certainly explains the reason that Facebook has become the place for people to just continue to expound their own philosophies either in their "status update" or as a comment on a "friend's" status update.  It also explains the popularity of Fox News and MSNBC, and various shows that are "let me tell you one more way why you believe what you believe".

I'm planning to order the book that's recommended in this article You Are Not So Smart.  

"Whether you're deciding which smartphone to purchase or which politician to believe, you think you are a rational being whose every  decision is based on cool, detached logic.  But here's the truth: You are not so smart.  You're just as deluded as the rest of us - but that's okay, because being deluded is part of being human...

So I want to read more about how I'm not so smart, maybe it will make me smarter.

So here's the short of it, 
Remembering the Challenger today

And here's the long.

I was standing in the guidance office at Tyner High School.  I know that everyone else who is reading this can remember exactly where they were when they heard the news.  I remember the emotion as clearly as I remember the place and the time of day.  We could hardly believe that such a thing could have happened.

My colleague Jeannie Armstrong, was a finalist or semi-finalist for the teacher spot that Christa McAuliffe won. I can remember how deeply she felt the loss.

On the 25th Anniversary of the disaster, Steven McAuliffe, her husband said "I know Christa would say ... ordinary people can make extraordinary contributions when they remain true to themselves and enthusiastically pursue their own dreams wherever they may lead."

It's a somber time to be reflective and remember not only the teacher astronaut, but all the astronauts who were on board the Challenger that awful morning.  Our hearts are with you!

I touch the future. I teach

Christa McAuliffe

So here's the short of it, 
It's going to be a good week.  

And here's the long.

We are coming up on the end of January.  Everyone who is going to retire this year has until Feb. 1st to get all the little extra benefits so we should know soon how many positions we'll have to fill for next year.  I'm glad for that piece.  Of course, people will still be able to retire, but most people stick by that timeline unless a situation presents itself.

I'm not planning on being one of those people - in spite of the fact that people sometimes think I am.  Last year, one of my colleagues named Lynn, did retire, and lots of people thought that was  me.

This is a pretty busy week and after only working three days last week, I've got lots of catching up to do!

So here's the short of it, 
Today I went to a PEO luncheon with Mom.

And here's the long.

Aunt Frances has belonged to PEO for a long time in Lexington, KY.  When Mom moved to Chattanooga for the first time in her life she lived in a place where there was an active PEO chapter.  So Aunt Frances arranged for her to be recruited, and she joined.  I think not too long afterwards, Aunt Joyce joined a chapter in Knoxville.  So now all three sisters belong to the sorority.  They all seem to enjoy it very much.

Today was the founder's luncheon and all of the Chattanooga chapters were in attendance.  I was happy to go and take Mom.  The women who belong are such lovely people.

There's a lot of secrecy surrounding the organization, but their purpose of furthering the education of women is clear in everything they do.

It was nice to be at PEO, but even nicer that Mom and I had some time together.

So here's the short of it, 
What a teacher gift.  

And here's the long.

We had a weather day today.  I slept in and then got up and stayed in my PJs until noon.  I had a chance to clean off the kitchen counter, reorganize the baker's rack, and make a great pot of hearty soup for tonight's dinner.  Sophie even got a walk early in the afternoon!  She was a bit confused, but I was really happy that we had a chance to get a walk in before the rain started back up.

I also got a chance to get a head start on the weekend - which is a really good thing since I really have a lot to do. My yogurt for the week is made and a loaf of banana bread is cooling on the rack.  I'll have plenty of time to do granola tomorrow or Sunday!

There were icy roads in the higher elevations and in the northern part of the county.  Here it was just an awfully cold rain, and I was glad to be in the house - without anywhere I had to go.

So here's the short of it, 
So there's a weather situation here.

And here's the long.

It's close to freezing and there's a weather system making its way toward Chattanooga.  But right now there's nothing but cold air and anticipation for what might come. This presents a really difficult problem for our folks in charge of deciding about school.  Everyone is taking precautions.  We've already been getting a brine mix on the streets and seems like most people are getting in the obligatory bread and milk.

The problem is that we've already had two delays and a missed day when the weather sputtered around and threatened to be really bad -  and by the way was bad in some of the more remote parts of the county.  It we don't really get anything out of this system and school has been called off - oh my!

BUT  - before most of us at the office left work today they had decided to call it!  So I'm just guessing that they've been talking to weather people and it's pretty likely that we are going to get socked.

Ice - that's what they're saying.  Now, I sure wouldn't be wanting to make a decision to have children in buses on icy roads down here in the south where nobody can drive in winter weather and we don't have road maintenance like our more northerly neighborhoods do!

So here's my take.  I'm going to turn off my morning alarm, try to sleep in, and when I wake up just putter around the house for awhile.

So here's the short of it, 
Happy Birthday Dad.

And here's the long.

Today would have been Dad's 87th birthday.


Mom made the beautiful arrangement as she does for every holiday and special occasion.

We all remember you Dad.

You gave us such a rich inheritance!

So here's the short of it, 
Responding to Pastor Mark Driscoll

And here's the long.

Pastor Mark Driscoll, founder of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington had this to say today as President Obama took the oath of office for his second term.

"Praying for our president, who today will place his hand on a Bible he does not believe to                         take an oath to a God he likely does not know." 

President Obama was sworn in twice this year - once yesterday since that's the day that he's required to begin and again today for the public ceremony.

The Bible that President Obama used on Sunday was an heirloom from Michelle Robinson Obama's family. It belonged to Michelle's grandmother who was the first African American manager at a Moody Bible Institute bookstore.

In today's ceremony President Obama used two Bibles.  The first was the Bible that belonged to Martin Luther King - used as his traveling Bible.  The second, and smaller Bible was the Lincoln Bible - the same one he used for his first inauguration.

Historically the choice of which Bible a President uses when taking the oath of office is a personal matter often reflecting something about the beliefs of that person.  The values reflected by a family heirloom, a civil rights warrior, and the President who kept our country together during the civil war make a mighty strong triad!

And then there's this to think about.  President Obama of his own volition ended his Oath of Office with "So Help Me God".  These words are neither legally nor constitutionally required as a part of the Oath of Office.

I don't see much in any of this that points to a President who doesn't believe in the Bible, or doesn't know God.  I can certainly imagine that like many of the Christians I know, President Obama and Pastor Driscoll interpret the Bible differently and they may actually have a different "knowing" of God.  But I find the Pastor's comment, in spite of the promise of prayer, to be very troubling and purposefully designed to create divisiveness.

Then there is Pastor Russell Moore, Dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who also has his differences with President Obama.  However, his message read " Congratulations President @Barack Obama. Prayers for blessing, wisdom, direction, & health."

Pastor Driscoll and Pastor Moore had a choice today - a choice of how to respond to the inauguration of the President of our nation - a president they often do not agree with.  A choice of helping the country move forward or to continue to perpetrate the deep divides the minority of the very far right has helped to create.  They made extremely different choices. Pastor Moore - I applaud you for your choice today.  Tomorrow will be time enough.

So here's the short of it, 
Chinese Chicken 

And here's the long.

Tonight we had Chinese Chicken with Nuts and Vegetables for dinner.

When we were growing up, we might have been the only family in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky that regularly ate Chinese food -  with the exception of those who were wealthy enough to go to Lexington or Louisville and "eat out".  As Mom tells it, Dad came home from one of his business trips where the group had eaten at one of those restaurants bringing home canned chinese vegetables.  When she asked him what he planned to do with them, he said they were going to make Chow Mein.  There was a recipe on the side of one of the cans and so the experimenting began.  By the time I was old enough to remember, Chow Mein at the Howard household was a regular event.  Dad didn't cook our everyday meals until Mom went back to work, but he always was on hand for making special things, and Chow Mein was one of his specialties with Mom always right there as well.

So when I made it out into the world on my own, it was just natural that a bit of Chinese cooking would become a part of my repertoire.  I got a wok about the same time as Mom and Dad, back when they were very popular.  That was back when I lived in my little house across the Georgia line, and I had an electric stove with the old coil burners -- and then when Alan and I moved here we had a top of the line electric stove (well top of the line in the 50's when it was purchased)!  So we just woked along.  Then there was a time when the wok got put up on a high shelf, and any chinese stir fry got done in the skillet.  And then in due time, that top of the line electric stove got replaced with an electric stove with a ceramic top.

Well, tonight at the request of Liga, I decided to make an that old standby that Dad once described as an old recipe"handed up from the family" -- and I decided that I'd break out the wok.


The basic recipe for the dish comes from a cookbook I got years ago when I first got my wok.  I probably only cook two or three recipes at all from this cookbook, but the page for this dish is all spotted up with kitchen goodness.  Anyone who gets this book will surely know this recipe was used often.  Of course since I learned to cook from Mom, most recipes are just a starting place.

So even though woking ended up being a disaster (it has to do with the ceramic top according to my research afterward), and I ended up with a line of skillets to do the cooking, we all enjoyed dinner tonight.

Anyway tonight's dinner is a salute to my first, best teacher, of cooking and most of the rest of life, my Mom -- And to Dad who inspired my willingness to eat adventurously.

So here's the short of it, 
Got this down pat now.  

And here's the long.

So Liga came over today and helped me tackle a big project that needed doing!  She's a great help and keeps me focused.  We worked for about 3 hours - hauled out two bags of trash/recycle stuff, and consolidated lots of other stuff!  The little room looks great now -- well the part we got done.  She's going to come back next week and help me tackle the next layer!

The part I've got down pat is having her come and help me.  She's a great worker and keeps me focused on the job at hand.  So I'm lucky to have her close by and even luckier that she's able/willing to help!

A big thanks -- and looking forward to continuing this particular project.  Of course, I'll have projects of one kind or another as long as I have someone who can kindly prompt me along.

So here's the short of it, 
Long Day!

And here's the long.

Headed to bed now!

So here's the short of it, 
Weather 

And here's the long.

Well, this afternoon we got sent home an hour early.  And in the morning we have a 2 hour delay.

That's pretty good for no snow or ice in my part of the county.  Of course it is true that all the local meteorologists in the area were pretty confident that we would get enough icy, snowy stuff by late this afternoon that it would cause bus problems.  And as a matter of fact some higher elevations and outlying areas in the county did get some snow.  But here in Brainerd it was just cold and yucky.  So tomorrow we'll just be back in it.  I've got a project I need to get done tomorrow and a late meeting. So I'll just have to work extra hard to get everything done.

I've just kind of done the sloth bit this afternoon after I got home from work -- too much TV for sure!

So here's the short of it, 
Delay!

And here's the long.

It is so nice to go to work on a bad weather delay schedule! My colleague said to me, that she could really get used to going to work 2 hours later on a regular -  I'll have to say I thought the very same thing.  I got up this morning and even cooked a pretty nice breakfast for Alan and me!

The only problem I can see is that I still had all this work to get done, so I just tacked most of that time that I got on the front end to the back side of the day!  Joke is on me???

We are supposed to get snow tomorrow.  Some forecasts are calling for it by noon - others by about 4:00 in the afternoon.  Some are calling for accumulations on grassy areas - others for a small amount of accumulation.  Well - I've got a pretty full day tomorrow.  We won't have a delay and I'm guessing we won't have an early dismissal either - so I'll have all the hours I need to get it all done!

I just hope it isn't raining when I get home.  Sophie and I really need some good walking time together!

So here's the short of it,
Get the Boats!

And here's the long.

It rained all night long and it's rained all the day!  Sophie didn't get her walk this afternoon.  But again she went outside and when she saw that I wasn't coming and that it was raining, she came on in without her afternoon walk.  She is not nearly as calm and laid back tonight as she usually is after she's had a good long exercise time (or even a short one!) Maybe it will be cleared up enough for a walk tomorrow!

There were traffic accidents all over the place this morning! Slippery roads, pile ups, and people driving way too close to one another for this kind of weather!  It looks like we aren't getting any reprieve from the rain until tomorrow sometime late in the afternoon or night.  And Hamilton County Schools has a two hour delay tomorrow.  That's such a good decision.  None of us and certainly not the bus drivers need to be driving in the dark, not being able to see where the water is. There's going to be flooding and a puddle may turn out not to even be a puddle - but a creek out of it's banks!  Good deal for me too.  I'll sleep a little longer and get up in time to make a good breakfast and still get to work "on time", since on time will be so much later!  And I suspect I may be breaking out the canoe to get there!

So here's the short of it, 
Rain, rain, rain...

And here's the long.

Every evening Sophie anxiously waits for me to get home and take her out for a walk.  She is just not a happy camper if we don't go around the circle a few times.  She can be made to make do if we just make it twice around.  As a matter of fact there's probably been a time or two that we've only been around once and she was fine. This evening she was just so eager to get outside, she was so wiggly and jumping her big old self around. I gave her my "all finished" sign - it was raining like crazy and I sure wasn't interested in walking around in the rain.  She really wanted to go outside though.  I opened the door and told her to go on outside - I stood inside with the door open.  She ran out and stopped on the front sidewalk looking back at me as she was pelted with the rain!  It didn't take her long to figure out that I wouldn't be coming out with her and that it wasn't really much fun to be out in the rain.  She came back in without her walk.  I'm glad I let her go out to see what was going on - she seems to understand and hasn't spent the evening trying to get me to take her out.

Sophie, you'll get a walk just as soon as the rain lets up!

So here's the short of it, 
The end of another weekend is here. And the work week is calling.

And here's the long.

Family dinner was nice this evening. I made a beef stew and started it in the crock pot last night - - It was really tender and lovely - and a favorite of the crowd.  These days the potatoes aren't in the stew, but mashed so the stew can be poured over.  Seems that's a good change up.

But now, I'm sitting in the den.  Lola cat is snuggled on my leg - - Sophie is snoozing on the carpet nearby.  Now I'm getting myself ready for the covers.  Lola and Sophie will tuck me in and find their night time spots.  Then tomorrow morning I'll be greeted by the smell of coffee brewing and the gentle nudges of a kitty letting me know my alarm will be ringing in just a few minutes.

And there will be work to do.  I'm looking forward to all that we have to do this semester.

So here's the short of it, 
Thoughts of husbands...

And here's the long.

Today was the funeral for Tom Downs, the husband of a colleague.  I never met him; he must have been just a great guy.  It sounds as though he was a wonderful husband and father.  Tom was only 62 years old.  I can hardly imagine her loss. I'm grateful that she seems to be doing well.

I've spent the day being thankful for the life I've had these past years with Alan.  Like any two people we've had our good years and bad, but he's a great life partner.  I know that I'm a better person for having him in my life.

Now here's hoping I have many more years with him.

So here's the short of it, 
I met NAO today. 

And here's the long.

NAO (pronounced NOW) came to our staff meeting today.  "He" brought his human along since of course he's not allowed to drive.  We had about a 30 minute demonstration of all the things this fellow can do.  I'm quite impressed!

He won the Hall of Fame award as the best educational robot of the year. He's got some real world educational experience behind him working with students who have autism.  But I can imagine lots of educational applications for him. And he was loads of fun to watch.

I'm excited that he's Open Source.  He's compatible with PC, Apple, and Linox.  He's got really simple ways of programming that very young students can use, (some basic functions are programmed and can be "strung together") - he can also be programmed using C++ - in other words someone who knows how to program, can program new functions which can then be used in the more simple programming option! He speaks, he dances, he reads, and oh my! he entertains.

Here's the link to the company that makes NAO.  And here's a selection of videos that you can view to watch him in action.  So - go meet my friend.  For those of you who are young enough - you'll probably own one of his cousins one of these days!

So here's the short of it, 
Dr. John Medina, Just Wow. 

And here's the long.

This evening I had the great pleasure to hear Dr. John Medina speak.  He was brought in by Baylor School and worked with their teachers today, and then this evening he did a free lecture open to the public. It was designed to be a session that would appeal to parents.

He was just absolutely fascinating. Here's a link to information about him.  He raced through lots of studies and information and outcomes.  He was an excellent speaker and his ability to just talk about statistics was amazing.  His intimate familiarity with decades of studies on all kinds of things that impact cognition kept most of us at full attention!

So we left knowing that a stable home life is the absolute one most important thing in determining a child's success.  But as educators we didn''t learn what it is we can do for those students who don't have that stable home life.

What a great evening!  I'm ready for bed after having just gotten home - but am so glad to have spent this evening out.

Reading for the future: Brain Rules (New York Times Bestseller), Brain Rules for Baby 

Then maybe also these:  The Genetic Inferno, The Clock of Ages, Depression, What You Need to Know About Alzheimer’s, The Outer Limits of Life, Uncovering the Mystery of AIDS, and Of Serotonin, Dopamine and Antipsychotic Medications.

So here's the short of it, 
Today was a great in-service. 

And here's the long.

I got permission to be at the Social Studies in-service where Facing History presented to High School teachers in the morning and Middle school teachers in the afternoon.  In the morning session with the High School teachers the heat wasn't working and we were freezing, the sound system which had been checked out the day before wasn't working so it was very difficult to hear.  But we had the honor to have as our guest speaker Dr. Rip Patton, one of the Freedom Riders from Nashville during 1961.  It was a wonderful experience to hear this personal narrative.  I'm really hoping that sometime this year or next we'll be able to have him come back for students to hear.

He encouraged all us educators to watch the documentary Freedom Riders, as well as NBC White Paper, and one called A Force More Powerful.  I've seen parts of the first two, but I'm going to have to find A Force MOre Powerful.  His presentation reminded us that even though we have our students study the leaders of the historical movements and eras, what's really missing in our understanding of the history of any period is the knowledge of the "foot soldiers" - those with boots on the ground who really made things happen.

I'm glad I got permission to hear him - and in spite of the difficulties many of the teachers said this was one of the best in-service presentations they had been to in years.

So here's the short of it, 
It's back to work!

And here's the long.

Wow!  I got up this morning and thought - "I've really gotten used to that other lifestyle" - you know the one where you don't have to get up really early in the morning and the working world isn't waiting for you to show up and do your thing!

But once I got moving and got myself to work it took off and I got right back into the swing of things.  Tomorrow is another Professional Development day and I am really excited.  I've gotten permission to attend the session for the social studies teachers.  The Facing History folks will be here to do a full day! This will be a real motivator for getting up and going in the morning!

So for now it's off to bed so I'll be ready for tomorrow!

So here's the short of it, 
We had a lovely afternoon with the younger kids. 

And here's the long.

This afternoon Liga and Valdis and Kalie treated us to the movie Les Miserables.

After the movie we came home for Green Bean Chili - an absolute favorite for the family!

You know it's such a lovely thing -- our baby children gown up and being the ones to treat us to a lovely afternoon and then entertaining us by participating in grown-up conversation.

So here's the short of it, 
Thanks Liga!

And here's the long.

Liga came over and spent about 3 hours helping me out with a major declutter project today.  She really inspires me to get things done when she's working with me.  And today's project really makes me feel lots better!

One of the things I want to do this year is occupy myself with things other than the computer.  I don't want to spend as much time as I've allowed myself to.  It's really easy for me to go from one thing to another, to another, to yet another and end up spending way too much time on the computer.

We'll see how that goes.  I've got lots of ideas about things to keep me interested and busy.

So here's the short of it, 
Here's a good thought to start the year.  

And here's the long.

Thanks to my Canadian Cousin Tami Cormack for posting this on Facebook!

So for 2013 there will be more dancing and singing and story telling/listening.  And for sure exploring my own "sweet territory of silence.

So here's the short of it, 
Well, well, well.  Tomorrow is the last day of "real vacation" - not counting the weekend. 

And here's the long.

Today was a stay at home day except for my trip to see Kelly to get a massage.   I slept late because I stayed up really later than I normally do.  Then, I stayed in my PJs until almost noon!  Well, I did do some organizing in the living room and some detail cleaning that I don't usually get a chance to do. And I babied my houseplants a little bit.

The kitchen is pretty organized this vacation - that's feeling pretty good.  And I'm still really enjoying the loom knitting!  Right now, I'm headed to bed -- I'm not going to get myself out of sleep sync this close to going back to work, because I'm scheduled to hit the office on run next week.

So here's the short of it, 
Today was one of those wonderful vacation days. 

And here's the long.

This morning, I finally went to a yoga class.  One of my very dear friends has been going for some time and has been onto me to go.  This morning I went to the class that she goes to.  She is very fond of this teacher who is known for her gentle approach for folks like my friend and me.  I had such a nice experience that I think I may try to go to some of this teacher's classes again with my friend.

This afternoon Mom and I spent the afternoon together.  We had a nice lunch at Golly Whoppers - visited with Mommy Anne - and then had a shopping spree at Michaels.  We really did have a lovely time together. Then this evening after she got off work, Liga came over and we experimented with her new long loom.  I've been using the round looms for a couple of weeks now to teach myself loom knitting.  I'm really enjoying learning this new skill!  I actually never thought I'd learn to knit, but I really like the loom!



Here are some pictures of the looms.  These are from images online, so these are not the projects we are working on!

How fun to be learning something new!

So here's the short of it, 
Happy 2013!

And here's the long.

"I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world.  You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself.  Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes.  Make mistakes nobody's ever made before.  Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work, or family, or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever."

-- Neil Gaiman

I'm going to be better about embracing my mistakes in this year coming!

...and thanks to Cory Booker for posting this on Facebook so that I could find it and reflect.