Ta Da!!!!!

Holiday Stuff

I could have titled this post "Strange things on people's heads."



Or maybe "Where did all the other people go?"


Nope, I think I'll call it "We finally got everyone in a photo and no one is scowling."

Happy Holidays, Everyone!
From the Welfys

Winter Outing Worth the Drive

Ever since Anna has been in Logan we've talked about going out to Hardware Ranch to see the elk. Mike and I have never been out there. So last weekend we went up to see Anna and Tay and talked them into going out there with us. It's a half hour drive from their house up the canyon through Hyrum to the place they feed the elk. The drive was lovely, snow on the sides of the road, but none on the road itself. The air was cold but not windy. We found the visitors' center and bought tickets to go on the sleigh ride out to the pasture where they feed. You can see plenty from the side of the road if you didn't want to take the ride, though.

That day there were about 300 elk on the meadow - mostly cows and older calves with two or three bulls. The wagons were wearing their "dry" tires rather than their sleigh treads so it was a little bumpy. The ride is about 20 minutes long and the driver and guide both know lots about the elk, the ranch, and the horses that pull the sleigh. If you haven't gone out there it's a great little getaway. I bet all my friends and family with little kids would love it. I was surprised it only cost us $5 per adult and children are less or free if they're very young. They have a small dining area in the visitors' center where you can eat a picnic lunch (we stopped at Burger King before coming up the canyon) and real bathrooms - the kind with heat and air dryers. It was all in all a great experience.

Calliope!!!

Calliope arrived by plane on Tuesday. She remembered Sean and Mike a little bit and she seemed to remember the house. She walked right up to where the water bowl has always been to get a drink. Then I got home and she REALLY remembered me. I attribute that to the fact that I was "mom" and you always remember mom. I can't wait to see what she thinks of Anna. She's a well mannered, but playful, adult dog now and we're so pleased to have her. Yes, that's a string hanging out of her mouth from her tug toy. Sean and Andy will be taking her to live at their house eventually, but for now it's fun to have another big dog in the house. Besides, she's keeping my feet warm.

I AM A WINNER!!!!!!!

Final word count for this year's Nanowrimo: 52,617 words. Thirty days, one novel. I am amazed by how quickly those pesky novel characters took over the writing and told their own story. This is the first year I have been a winner. Two years ago I wrote until I got bogged down with the boring details of a regular life. This time I had a chance to work on the final twenty thousand words this weekend. Amazing that the story I was telling took almost exactly 50,000 words to tell. I can't decide if that's because I fudged it up or down, or if it's just how long the story was supposed to take.

Yes, yes. I'll be resting on my laurels for a while. Then I have to start editing as I am seriously considering trying to get this one published. It turned out pretty good, I think. I'm going to have Kimmi read it for a second opinion about that. It's hard to judge your own work.

Well cheers to all of you out there who didn't spend the last 30 days writing a novel. It feels really good to be finished. Sort of like not having a bus parked on your foot anymore. ;)

Back from Logan - AGAIN

I seem to spend a great deal of time lately traveling up and down I-15 between here and Logan. Anna is hanging in there as she feeds her kitty soft food every hour and a half. We got in some time for a meal and shopping, though. It will be good to have her here for Thanksgiving. She needs a break.

Goodbye and Hello

Anna is on terminal watch for her dear kitty, Rosy. She so wanted a kitten back when she was 10 that she called the pet store herself to make sure the cat people would be there, then dragged us over to help her pick one out. She pointed to Rosy and said, "That one," and the rest is history. Rosy has been a wonderful addition to our family and I missed her when she went to live with Anna full time. She's 14 now and we'll miss her when she's gone.

On the lighter side, we got a call from Guide Dogs about a puppy we raised. Many of you (are there even many of you who read this?) will remember Calliope was a cute little black lab puppy we had for nearly a year back in about 2005. She went on to another raiser for the last couple of months and then back to Guide Dogs where she was placed with a woman in California. We thought we would hear nothing more about her. But just after her placement she became big news when she saved a life by alerting her owner to someone in distress in the next apartment. Now her owner is in poor health and we got word Calliope is being retired. They wanted to know if we would like her back as a pet. You bet we would. Andrew and Sean are going to take her to their new house. Meanwhile she'll be hanging out at the Welfyhouse getting used to snow again.

Passing Notes

I don't usually talk much about what happens in class - or maybe I do. I haven't looked back through my posts lately. Anyway, the little girls in my room have decided this is the year to pass notes. Not nice wholesome notes "Johnny says he likes you." or "I'm having pizza tonight, wanna come over?" No, these are naughty, evil little notes "Sarah says she hates you. And so do I." "You are so mean and I'm never going to talk to you again." (Oh, but I'll write stupid notes to you...)

Anyway, I have talked to these young things over and over about how hurtful these kinds of things can be, but no luck. Still passing notes. So I'm putting it out to the universe. I know most of us passed notes in elementary school. Can you recall a really good solution or punishment you received? Or maybe a teacher handled it in an unusual or unique manner where you actually learned something. I'm pretty done with the whole note thing and made them stay after school tonight and write what they were going to do differently. But I'd like a real solution. We've had the meetings and the discussions but it's not getting very far. So help me out here, friends and family. It's annoying, messy, and distracting along with being just another form of girl bullying. I've never seen a group so wrapped up in it before. Let's think of something really useful to do with this situation, 'cause the bad ass in me wants to make them all write "I won't pass notes" 100 times on the chalkboard after school...

For my family who keep asking what I want for my birthday

This is the one I originally thought would be nice.

This is the one I found the other day and wonder if it would be better: http://www.amazon.com/T-Fal-FP4121002A-Emerilware-Food-Processor/dp/B001BHOWZK

Mike - I certainly don't want BOTH, and I really, really want to see both options before I buy. One is at Macy's one is at Dillards. Let's go shoppin'

Other items I would like to have:
These come in two sizes and you can sometimes find vintage ones that are new rather than used. Mine are becoming too roughed up to be safe - bacteria in all those little bubbled areas, you know. Anyway, ebay is your best bet and you can just search for Tupperware Mix & Stor (go figure) I'd rather have new or at least very nice used. (I already have very used.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Tupperware-8-Cup-4-Cup-Mix-N-Store_W0QQitemZ250505336422QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3a53481666&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I would also enjoy a digital food scale. Don't care which one.
It is kind of crazy that everything I've listed here is for the kitchen this time. Some non kitchen items might be tickets to a movie or a DVD of a movie we didn't get a chance to see. You guys always please me, so get what you want. Just having you around is a gift.

Can't Believe How Time Flies

My last post was over a month ago! Where have I been? Well, it's the start of the school year so I've been:
Making lists of students (over and over and over)
Testing every student in reading, math, reading, reading...
Attending meetings
Sorting through paperwork
Creating a homework system
Fighting with my grade level partner about lesson timing
Correcting homework
Correcting schoolwork
Correcting quizzes
Correcting grammar
Correcting spelling
Reading essays
Moving students around for better behavior
Talking to parents on the phone
Talking to parents in person
Writing notes to parents
Discussing behavior issues with the discipline team
Planning lessons
Gathering materials
Searching the Internet for resources

Well, you get it. I'm trying to get back to posting regularly now that the big hit at the beginning of the year is over. I have 27 students this year, up from about 22 last year. You wouldn't think that five would be such a big deal. But it's a big deal. That's another five of everything that has to be taken care of. I really do enjoy my job. It's just kind of daunting at the beginning of a new year. Makes me think I am getting too old to do this. I need a quieter, less stressful way to earn tons of money. Oh yeah, I don't make tons of money now. So maybe I just need a less stressful way of earning enough money. Have a great fall. It's my favorite season of the year. I'll try to post more often so come back soon, y'all

Time to be a B-- A--

Trying something different this school year. I'm kind of tired of being the only thing that must change. If only I get more training or change my attitude children living in abject poverty with parents who cook meth for a hobby will suddenly become able to overcome their circumstances and pass some arbitrary test, proving to all that they are educated. Well, students in my classroom ARE educated. And this year I am going to remember that fact when someone tries to pin all the ills of the world on my shoulders. Yup, I'm planning to be a Bad A - - this year. Nothing you can do, I'm just saying. Think I'm gonna get myself a pin with BA on it. ;)

Ouch!

Last day of vacation Lucas helped me down to the water with a kayak. He misstepped on the bottom stair and sprained his ankle. It ballooned up immediately - I hate those injuries where you just can't decide if it's bad enough to go to the emergency room. This one was a no brainer. We found out that the hospital in Florence is a fine place with very kind people working there. The doctor even called around and found us some "after hours" crutches that were delivered straight to the hospital for a total charge of $20. And he put all the x-rays on a CD so we could follow up with our doc here at home. Nice guy. Lucas is feeling a bit better after a week, but his ankle is still painful. It's a yucky shade of purple and yellow now and he'll be going in to see the doctor again next week. This is why we need national health coverage, people. He has no insurance because he isn't employed and can't get coverage because of his prior problems. So we'll be getting a final souvenir from Oregon later this month. We're just grateful it wasn't worse than it was.

Water Sports

Today was aquarium day. Anna had an appointment to visit with the director of membership at the Oregon Coast Aquarium near Newport. Mike's favorite part was when they fed the otters. He went back a second time to watch. Lots of normal aquarium stuff along with some pretty weird little animals in a rotating exhibit. We ate at the cafe and shopped the gift shop. Pretty touristy of us...

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day here. We headed into town about noon, took a wrong turn on the tiny, steep, scary gravel roads and had to back uphill out of a dead end. When we got to Heceta beach the sky was clearing with low clouds/mist breaking overhead. The ocean water is too cool and too wavy there, so we didn't do much more than wade. But we did get Grandma out to the shoreline, not too near the water, to sit on a big log and watch the kids play. Lucas hyperextended his knee and fell as he ran along. We got him a knee brace and some Advil at Fred Meyer and he seems better now. Later in the day we toddled down (a LONG way down) to the dock where I helped the girls get out in the two person canoe, wrenching my wrist in the process. Mike had me go out on the paddle boat with him. It's built for short people or something, because I kept getting a cramp in my thigh. We nearly ran into an overhanging tree because the wind was blowing a bit and the paddle boat wasn't going anywhere even though we were paddling as fast as we could. It's definitely a fair weather craft. Sean and Andrew set out in the two kayaks and went all around the area of the lake we can see from here. You can go to google maps and type in Mercer Lake Oregon to see the lake and surrounding area.
At some point the kids decided to jump off of the dock and go swimming. Sean has very good judgment much of the time, but he wanted to dive off the dock without first checking out the water below. Sometimes I forget they don't have much experience in outdoor things. I made him swim around there for a while before diving off. Turns out it's at least 10 feet deep. Kimmi and our friend Mike were afraid of the spiders on the dock. There were several of them, but come on! They are just spiders. At one point Anna said, "We are such city kids."
All in all it was a wonderful day.

Pretty Things

Some days I wish I had no pets and that the kids were living elsewhere. And here's why:
Yup, a cat or a goofy kid could transform a thousand dollars of elegant art glass into a small pile of pot shards in a matter of seconds. So even though we visited the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, we didn't buy stuff at their lovely, if a bit overpriced gift shop.
Instead, we watched a guest artist, Josie Gluck, create a glass watering can,


then walked across the Dale Chihuly Bridge of Glass.


Photos don't shatter, and they're free!

The Bluest Skies You've Ever Seen

Mike and I are hanging out near Seattle today. We drove through Mount Rainier National Park where the skies really are blue and beautiful, except over the mountain where clouds form nearly every day. We went to see a friend from the army band yesterday evening. He lives in Gig Harbor so we crossed over the Tacoma Narrows bridge. You may have heard of the bridge before. Back in 1940 it did a very creative wind dance before shattering into the sea below. The locals call it Galloping Gertie.
The bridge's gyrations inspired a young inventor to create a new way to utilize wind power to create electricity which you can see here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4224763.html
Even the worst disaster can have positive consequences. Lucky for us it wasn't windy the evening we crossed the bridge.

Just Another Sunny Day in Paradise

It's 92 degrees in the shade according to my digital thermometer - 72 in here, 79 in Salem and partly cloudy. Ahhhhh. I really loved the rainy weather this spring and early summer. I guess Oregon will be a good choice for people like us who don't mind dark skies and damp sidewalks. We'll see. Meanwhile, Anna just wrecked her little car - no one hurt but the car's a goner. Andrew was promoted at work and is thrilled, at least now, before the real work begins. And I have applied for a different job. I am not particularly likely to get it, but it's teaching science to sixth graders all day, every day. What a lovely thought. Again, we'll see. That's the news and weather from Welfyville. Happy Day, People!

They Make Me Feel Like Dancing

I didn't bring my camera last night as Mike and I watched members of the 23rd Army Band rock band play a concert in Tooele Park. I wished for it as we watched tiny children running, jumping, twirling and tumbling in time to the music - or not. There was a pair of little boys, maybe 5 or 6 years old, using a set of bleachers as a jungle gym. The smaller boy was agile and graceful. The larger child desperately wanted to keep up with his friend, but couldn't quite get the knack of skipping down four steps and jumping over the fifth to the grass. He would stand at the top and lean out like a baby bird contemplating its first flight, then take a staggering first step and stop, second step, stop, third step, fourth step, stop and consider whether the distance to the grass, and then a careful fifth step before hopping to the ground.
Speaking of baby birds - it's Peregrine falcon season in SLC. Good luck to "Early Bird." You can read more about him here: www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_12717742 (sorry, "insert link" isn't working for me today.)

Being Bored

Well, I'd like a day or two to get bored this summer. It's not happening. A list of things that I've done this summer so far - and recall that summer didn't start for me until June 10th.
1. Our washer went out and we had to go shopping for a new one. The old one was at least 16 years old. So we bought a new set which precipitated number 2 -
2. We had to change out the door to the laundry room because the old door wouldn't clear the new washer's door. That caused us to have to do number 3 -
3. Buy paint and paint a new door and door frame.
4. I went to the dentist for a cleaning where they cleaned off a gold crown. Literally. Now I need a new one. So I went in again for them to prepare the tooth and am still waiting for the final appointment.
5. Cory started having difficulty going up and down stairs. $750 later she is better, has about six fewer teeth, and does not have a herniated disk as we feared.
6. Kimmi, who has been in Spain on a semester abroad decided belatedly that spending an extra week in Madrid with two other young women from her class was a bad idea. She decided this after they spent several very late nights out drinking and gleefully told her just how much cheaper drugs were in Spain. I think she made the right choice, but it was too late to change her flight and send her home early, so we spent two days online with each other setting up a week in London for her so she could visit an old high school friend (who hopefully does not stay out past 2 am and do drugs.)
7. After two years I got word that the people at Qwest who provided a grant for our fifth grade now wants a report on how we spent our money. They wanted the report yesterday. I had to go back into work to find the materials I needed to make the report. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to Qwest for the money and we used it well. I just didn't need one more job right now.

Well, that's about it for my first quiet weeks of vacation. I'm looking forward to those boring days sometime in the future.

School's Out for the Summer

Isn't that a song? The kids left yesterday at about 12:45. Well, more like 12:40 since I heard the wrong bell and let them loose. This group bolted for the door and most didn't look back. I forget that when it's a hard year for me it's often a hard year for them as well. Meanwhile, my partner across the way spent fifteen minutes after school crying and hugging her group. Don't know which is worse - hating to see them go or having them hate to stay. Next year there will be only two fifth grade classes, so we each have about 30 students. That's a huge increase over the 18 I had this year. I'll miss the calm that a small class brings. The most rotten part is that the classes could get bigger and there would be nothing we could do. Once the number of teachers is set it takes an atom bomb to make the district change anything, even if it's blatently obvious something NEEDS changing. Still, I have a whole two months to recover (Yeah, it's the 10th and I go back on August 12th or so. Though school doesn't start for kids until later in the month.)

The Joy of No Homework

Try telling a roomful of fifth graders that we're having a "no homework" week. They just have to read every night for at least 30 minutes (hey, that's not homework) You'd think I gave them a million dollars instead of a break from math and spelling.

Off to Spain

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/oviedo.htm
http://www.ayto-oviedo.es/en/oviedoCityCouncilWebSite.php

Kimmi is off to Spain to complete her language requirement for her degree. I'm slightly jealous and a little nostalgic. She's traveling with two other girls and will spend a month studying the language, then another week or so touring the area around Oviedo and Madrid. What an adventure! She had to hug us all at least two times before she could bring herself to step into the line for security check. I knew that once she found her friends at the gate she would be fine, though. I remember winging off to England twice while my family stood at the gate wondering what the heck I was thinking - running off to traipse around some foreign country without them. I survived just fine and in fact recall both trips as life altering. I know most young adults get such an experience, and I'm happy as can be for Kimmi. She's come a long way. But I can't help but be a little jealous for the chance to shed other responsibilities to go adventuring in another country. Ah, well, retirement beckons and perhaps there's some adventure left for me down the road.

Faaaaabulous!!!

How fabulous can you get in a $6 thrift store dress? Do they know how to shop or what?

Another year - Another candle

(I'm sure she dropped me right after the shutter clicked.)
Happy Birthday, big sis. You're another year older whether you want to be or not. I'll always remember the things we shared as kids:
* We played horse in the backyard and I always got hurt. I would try to jump that d***ed broom between the lawn chairs and always got my feet tangled up in it while you just sailed right on over.
* We played horse in the house and I always got dirty knees. How yours stayed clean is a mystery to this day. If it's true you must crawl before you can walk we must be two of the best walkers in the world.
* We drew horses. Yours were graceful, lovely, and realistic. Mine were quirky, oddly colored, and not so realistic.
* We petted horses. They adored you. One tried to kick me, another bit me in the chest. What was that all about?
* We rode horses. You rode tall, graceful thoroughbreds and learned how to jump and do dressage. I rode small, nasty ponies and learned how to duck and fall off.
* We dibbsed (is that a word? As in "I dibs that horse.") horses on car trips. Since I generally sat in the middle I got a lot of brown horses that you didn't care to dibs.
* We went to Lynnleigh Farm where you groomed horses and fed horses and rode horses and I watched you. Oh, wait, we're still doing that. I'll be over next weekend to let Mom see you on Mother's Day. I guess we still know how to have a good time even if it does involve horses more often than not.

eMINTS

It's eMINTS night again. Gotta learn more about using technology in my classroom. I guess you can learn something new every day, but I'm sometimes at a loss as to what I can pick up that's new on this subject. I've done nearly two years in a masters program in learning and technology, then three - count them - three years in these classes essentially covering the same material. I love my classmates and enjoy visiting about what's new in our schools and our classrooms. But learning some new way to teach is getting more difficult. Then there's the exhaustion factor. While it's only 5:45 it feels a whole lot like 10:30. Why do I get tired just thinking of staying out past 6:00? I'm a late-evening wimp. Well, we have only two more classes before we're done for good. So here's to eMINTS may the next group find something new to learn each and every session.

Comcast Day

Comcast folks came to our school today to volunteer. They washed stuff, painted walls, and planted trees. It was strongly "suggested" that the teachers should show up too. I did, but worked mostly in my room rather than scrubbing hallways. I really appreciate all the volunteers did, I do. But this is going to be a very short weekend. As I get older I need a full two days to recover in time for the next week. Oh well, it was nice seeing so many people out caring for our school building.

Still Kind of a Kid

Sean's gift to himself for getting through another year of school. Don't ask how much it cost. Noah, if you see this, just hold out - he'll tire of it someday and it will all be yours (bwah haa haa haa)

Happy Birthday Anna

Yesterday was the twenty-fourth birthday of one of the great environmentalists of the 21st century. Most parents learn from their children. But generally that has to do with getting along on less sleep, or having less money to spend on luxuries. Anna, on the other hand, taught us more practical lessons. Here are a few:
1. Toddlers should wear their pants below their belly because they feel better there.
2. Grandma has better food (she had white bread and candy).
3. Only Mommy can be your Girl Scout leader.
4. People who wear banana costumes are scary.
5. Sometimes a person's just got to have a cat.
6. Guide Dog puppies and new carpet go together.
7. When you fall in love you accept quirks as part of the package.
8. Graduate school should be undertaken when you have a REASON for it.
9. Logan has some pretty good restaurants and a new Marriott.
10. Love can travel through time, space, and the Internet.

I love my daughter more every day. She has become the kind of person I value as a friend - loving and kind, intelligent and hard working. She is patient with everyone, even me. It's a real pleasure to spend time with her and I miss having her close. I am comforted by the fact that she is successful and happy and by this strange new world of electronic connections that allows us to remain close. Happy birthday, baby.

30th Anniversary

The first of April was the 30th anniversary of Mike's and my first date. I had invited him to bring his dog to dog training classes at the old Salt Lake Armory on Sunnyside where I was teaching. We both showed up that evening to find that the armory floor had been waxed and they weren't holding classes. He asked me if I wanted to go to dinner instead, so he dumped his dog at his house and followed me back to my house before taking me to Arrowpress Square downtown for dinner at Two Guys from Italy. He brought a bottle of wine with him as this was back in the day when you had to brown bag it if you wanted a glass of wine with dinner. It was the first time I had ever had a drink with dinner. He treated me like a grown up. And he had fabulous big blue eyes. I was intrigued. We only dated for about six weeks before becoming engaged. We were married July 28th only 4 months after our first date. So this will be a year of 30th's. I'm looking forward to a year of celebrating with my best friend.
This week we celebrated at Olive Garden because Two Guys is long gone. I'm glad Mike stuck around for 30 years. Here he is in first class where he truly belongs. I think I picked good.

The Big (not so) Easy

New Orleans is still alive and kicking. If nothing else - the restaurants are opening up and there's PLENTY to drink. I was able to keep a lid on things during the day and attend the science convention which was my excuse for being there. At night and on Sunday I got a taste of a fabulous city. Mike and I kept turning to each other and saying, "Why haven't we been here before?" What a wonderful place. It was sad to see the poorer neighborhoods that hadn't come back from the hurricane where the middle class and upper class ones had. And it was amazing to hear people tell us their personal stories of that time. It's an area of the country with great diversity and great beauty, and we'll go back.