Well, I just don't like the fabric my Venezia creates when using the 7s or 8s that are recommended. It's much better on 6s, but I'm thinking it will be best on 5s. I'll swatch tomorrow, just to be sure. I don't have any patterns for vests that use 5s or 6s. For that matter, I have very few patterns for anything that use needle sizes below 7s or 8s. I'm not a tiny needles person, although I have knit with them (I have needles down to size 1, for that matter, even though I can't remember what I knit using them). Guess this means I'll be doing a pattern search through my rather extensive stack of knit magazines.
The Venezia is a dream to knit, however. It's 50% mohair, but it behaves like it was silk, instead. Just glides off the needles. (Frogging the swatch wasn't as easy, however, but considering the mohair, much easier than it could have been.)
Tomorrow will be a day spent dreaming. I'll haul out the pattern books, and encounter all those sweater patterns I marked as "someday"s, and wonder what in my stash would work for them. I'll encounter patterns that didn't impress me back when I bought the magazine or pattern book, but suddenly catch my eye now, and wonder what in my stash will work for them now. I'll start going through my stash to answer those questions, and find things I didn't know I had. And return to the pattern books and mags to see if there's a pattern there to work with that fabulous yarn I just found.
Thank God I actually have a few errands to run, or I would spend the entire day running back and forth between my stash of patterns and my stash of yarn, and get nothing concrete done.
And, just to prove that my good intentions about knitting from my stash were just so much smoke, I dropped in on Webs today, and ordered 22 balls of yarn to add to my stash. Half of them, at least, are for that darling little girl's dress I mentioned, that my niece will love. In a purple she'll love. In a washable wool that her mother will love.
The other half are Laines du Nord Cash silk, just because. Webs is having its year-end sale, after all. I mean, cashmere and silk, for $3.99 a ball? I just had to, you know?
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
A Book Review (a yarn book!)
I just finished reading The Knitter's Book of Yarn, by Clara Parkes. What a joy it was to read. I learned things about yarn I didn't even know I wanted to know, but am passionately glad I do now know them. She writes in an engaging way about the stuff yarn is made of, the effects of plying, dying, twist, and special effects. She includes patterns that are designed to show off the qualities of the yarn she's just discussed. She talks about washing handknits, and felting (on purpose). She provides guidelines for telling how a yarn will perform, before you buy 20 skeins of it for entirely the wrong project. For once, I feel as if I truly understand why a particular yarn will tell me what it wants to be, and why some yarns just don't speak to me at all. I heartily recommend this book. It makes for great reading! (This book was a Christmas present to myself, one I'm really glad I got.)
In other news, I haven't knit a single stitch in days. I did come across a beautiful girls' dress that caused me to eye my stash a bit (I have a niece who would love it if I knit it for her), and I'm still pondering what to do with my Lang Venezia in that lovely royal blue. I'm almost sure it wants to be a vest, but I'm still waiting to hear if it wants to be a cabled pullover type, or a patterned, button-up type. I don't go back to work or school until Jan. 7th, so hopefully, we'll have made up our mind by then.
I did receive some new yarn from my favorite online yarn source, Elann. I picked up some Austermann Inka, in a sort of faded mulberry color. This is an alpaca blend, and it's incredibly soft. It came, with 11 balls of Inka, with a pattern I quite like, and may even make out of the intended yarn (not a common occurrence for me). Or not. I never know.
I frightened myself while I was eying my stash, looking for a yarn for that girl's dress. I have wayyyyy too much yarn. Seriously too much. I may even have to commit to knitting from my stash for a while or so (or move to a bigger place). A long while, even. Years. (If I retired today, and lived another 30 years, I honestly don't think I'd *have* to buy another skein of yarn, and would be able to knit every day.) Of course, having to buy yarn, and wanting to buy yarn are completely divorced feelings. Is there a Yarn Junkies Anonymous out there somewhere?
In other news, I haven't knit a single stitch in days. I did come across a beautiful girls' dress that caused me to eye my stash a bit (I have a niece who would love it if I knit it for her), and I'm still pondering what to do with my Lang Venezia in that lovely royal blue. I'm almost sure it wants to be a vest, but I'm still waiting to hear if it wants to be a cabled pullover type, or a patterned, button-up type. I don't go back to work or school until Jan. 7th, so hopefully, we'll have made up our mind by then.
I did receive some new yarn from my favorite online yarn source, Elann. I picked up some Austermann Inka, in a sort of faded mulberry color. This is an alpaca blend, and it's incredibly soft. It came, with 11 balls of Inka, with a pattern I quite like, and may even make out of the intended yarn (not a common occurrence for me). Or not. I never know.
I frightened myself while I was eying my stash, looking for a yarn for that girl's dress. I have wayyyyy too much yarn. Seriously too much. I may even have to commit to knitting from my stash for a while or so (or move to a bigger place). A long while, even. Years. (If I retired today, and lived another 30 years, I honestly don't think I'd *have* to buy another skein of yarn, and would be able to knit every day.) Of course, having to buy yarn, and wanting to buy yarn are completely divorced feelings. Is there a Yarn Junkies Anonymous out there somewhere?
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Merry Christmas!
I know I've been a very bad blogger, but life has been so much more hectic this year than ever before. Finally, today, my Master's program class is over, and my work has ended for 2007, so now all I have left to do is wrap presents, buy a couple of presents I still haven't found, and wrap presents. I got my nephew a telescope for Christmas, and I don't know what I was thinking (that maybe it would need assembly?), but it arrived in this huge box, and when I opened it, there was this HUGE package inside. Maybe I should have read the telescope's dimensions, eh? At any rate, I still need to find wrapping paper for it, since none of the rolls of the stuff I have are enough to cover the box. Maybe they don't make wrapping paper big enough for it? Ah, well. The paper won't last long, anyway, so if it's a bit patchwork, who will care?
My sister in law wanted crochet hooks. She has lost the bundle of hooks she had (she has a daughter, 8, who loves to play with them), so I got her a set of eight with ergonomic handles ~ I don't crochet much, but after holding these, I'm going to have to buy myself a set of them! Then I went looking for a case to put them in, something bright that would be hard to lose, and couldn't find anything. Oh, I could find cases, but all of them came filled with cheap crochet hooks, the slots weren't big enough, and they weren't very bright. I finally settled for a needle case in black and fuschia, which is rather bigger than I planned, but that should just make it harder to lose, right? I also found a neat crochet booklet on Ebay, which I snapped up for her. Oh, and the latest Kinsey Milhone mystery (I got her addicted to these). She's an OR nurse, and works two jobs, so her gifts are all about leisure time, which she doesn't have enough of.
I still need to find something for my former teaching partner. She's rather hard to buy for, and I just haven't found anything that says "Betty" yet. But I still have two days, right? Piece of cake! (heh)
I hope this holiday season brings you joy and laughter, love and hope, and all the good things you'd wish for yourself and your loved ones.
My sister in law wanted crochet hooks. She has lost the bundle of hooks she had (she has a daughter, 8, who loves to play with them), so I got her a set of eight with ergonomic handles ~ I don't crochet much, but after holding these, I'm going to have to buy myself a set of them! Then I went looking for a case to put them in, something bright that would be hard to lose, and couldn't find anything. Oh, I could find cases, but all of them came filled with cheap crochet hooks, the slots weren't big enough, and they weren't very bright. I finally settled for a needle case in black and fuschia, which is rather bigger than I planned, but that should just make it harder to lose, right? I also found a neat crochet booklet on Ebay, which I snapped up for her. Oh, and the latest Kinsey Milhone mystery (I got her addicted to these). She's an OR nurse, and works two jobs, so her gifts are all about leisure time, which she doesn't have enough of.
I still need to find something for my former teaching partner. She's rather hard to buy for, and I just haven't found anything that says "Betty" yet. But I still have two days, right? Piece of cake! (heh)
I hope this holiday season brings you joy and laughter, love and hope, and all the good things you'd wish for yourself and your loved ones.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Alive, on Ravelry, and the funk is beginning to lift!
My cold has finally said goodbye (yay!), parent conference week from hell has ended (double yay!), I got my invite to Ravelry, and started listing my stash (I need pictures, and a Flickr account, but it's a start, anyway), and I do believe my knitting funk is beginning to ease up. I've been eying some gorgeous royal blue Lang Venezia, wondering what I can make with just six balls of 130 m each. It says it knits 18 sts/4" on 8s, but I haven't swatched yet, so I'm not sure. It's 50/50 mohair/acrylic, and it feels incredibly soft against my skin. Maybe a pullover vest?
I don't wear scarves or hats, or mittens or gloves, for that matter. I mean, this is SoCal. Not much use for those sort of things. (Not much use for wool or mohair or alpaca, either, but that's never stopped me. I just wear them to work, which is air conditioned on the cold side.)
My Masters program is eating up a lot of time. It's crazy, to be honest. This is just the first course, one course! ( A 6 unit course, but still), and it has 2 to 4 assignments each week, as well as 3 to 5 required discussion posts, and feedback requirements for those posts, as well. Seems like a lot to me, considering this is a program for working adults. But I haven't been a student in a long time, so maybe this is normal, and I'm just out of touch. I have about 500 -1000 pages of reading each week, which has to been done before assignments and/or discussions, and I'm finding that I have to give up being online much at all in order to complete the readings, as well as having no time for recreational reading or blogging. With this past week being conference week, and me never being home before 7 pm, it was a very tough week.
A week ago Friday I had a personal disaster. I walked outside to go to work that morning, and my car was gone. I immediately thought it had been stolen. Talk about panic! When I called the police to report it, however, they assured me it hadn't been stolen. It had, however, been damaged in an accident very early Friday morning, and they had towed it to a towing yard. When I called there, they would only confirm that they had it, but couldn't be bothered to tell me what condition it was in. He just worked in the office, you know? I scrambled to write emergency lesson plans and emailed them to work, scrambled to call in for a substitute when none of the numbers we'd been given for the new system worked (I finally logged into the new website, and was able to request a substitute, but no one ever showed up. My kids were taken by a 4th grade teacher all day ~ that woman deserves a medal for coping with 35 5th graders on top of her 35 4th graders!), and then finding someone who would give me a ride to the police station for a release, and then to the towing yard. Where I found out my car wasn't just damaged, it was totaled. Completely. Whoever hit it (I'm still waiting for the police report, so I have no idea who, or how many, hit my car, or whether they were insured), after smashing the backend into my backseat, flipped onto the roof, crushing it, blowing out the back window, and fracturing the front, which held in place a million fragments, but leaned inward onto the steering wheel. The roof was resting on the seatbacks. One rear wheel was parallel to the ground, instead of vertical, and the front driver side wheel tilted at a 45 degree angle. The driver side passenger door was bent badly enough not to be able to be opened, and that window was also gone. The front end was crumpled, but not that badly considering the rest of the car. It's a total loss
I had the towing yard tow the car to my mechanic, who agreed that it was a total loss. I had my ride drive me to a car rental place, where I was able to rent a car for the week (and now a second week). I drove (the same car like I had, in a different color) home, went inside and threw up. I was a bit stressed, I think. Then I just sat down and cried for a while. My insurance company won't do anything until I get the police report (10 days, they say), and we find out who hit me and if they're insured. (Please, God, let them be insured. I need a break!)
So, my life has been a little strange lately. And it's likely to continue being strange for a while longer. But after all this, my knitting funk is beginning to lift, and that makes me feel hopeful. Something I haven't felt in a while, and have missed, greatly. Now, if I can just find the perfect project for that Venezia!
I don't wear scarves or hats, or mittens or gloves, for that matter. I mean, this is SoCal. Not much use for those sort of things. (Not much use for wool or mohair or alpaca, either, but that's never stopped me. I just wear them to work, which is air conditioned on the cold side.)
My Masters program is eating up a lot of time. It's crazy, to be honest. This is just the first course, one course! ( A 6 unit course, but still), and it has 2 to 4 assignments each week, as well as 3 to 5 required discussion posts, and feedback requirements for those posts, as well. Seems like a lot to me, considering this is a program for working adults. But I haven't been a student in a long time, so maybe this is normal, and I'm just out of touch. I have about 500 -1000 pages of reading each week, which has to been done before assignments and/or discussions, and I'm finding that I have to give up being online much at all in order to complete the readings, as well as having no time for recreational reading or blogging. With this past week being conference week, and me never being home before 7 pm, it was a very tough week.
A week ago Friday I had a personal disaster. I walked outside to go to work that morning, and my car was gone. I immediately thought it had been stolen. Talk about panic! When I called the police to report it, however, they assured me it hadn't been stolen. It had, however, been damaged in an accident very early Friday morning, and they had towed it to a towing yard. When I called there, they would only confirm that they had it, but couldn't be bothered to tell me what condition it was in. He just worked in the office, you know? I scrambled to write emergency lesson plans and emailed them to work, scrambled to call in for a substitute when none of the numbers we'd been given for the new system worked (I finally logged into the new website, and was able to request a substitute, but no one ever showed up. My kids were taken by a 4th grade teacher all day ~ that woman deserves a medal for coping with 35 5th graders on top of her 35 4th graders!), and then finding someone who would give me a ride to the police station for a release, and then to the towing yard. Where I found out my car wasn't just damaged, it was totaled. Completely. Whoever hit it (I'm still waiting for the police report, so I have no idea who, or how many, hit my car, or whether they were insured), after smashing the backend into my backseat, flipped onto the roof, crushing it, blowing out the back window, and fracturing the front, which held in place a million fragments, but leaned inward onto the steering wheel. The roof was resting on the seatbacks. One rear wheel was parallel to the ground, instead of vertical, and the front driver side wheel tilted at a 45 degree angle. The driver side passenger door was bent badly enough not to be able to be opened, and that window was also gone. The front end was crumpled, but not that badly considering the rest of the car. It's a total loss
I had the towing yard tow the car to my mechanic, who agreed that it was a total loss. I had my ride drive me to a car rental place, where I was able to rent a car for the week (and now a second week). I drove (the same car like I had, in a different color) home, went inside and threw up. I was a bit stressed, I think. Then I just sat down and cried for a while. My insurance company won't do anything until I get the police report (10 days, they say), and we find out who hit me and if they're insured. (Please, God, let them be insured. I need a break!)
So, my life has been a little strange lately. And it's likely to continue being strange for a while longer. But after all this, my knitting funk is beginning to lift, and that makes me feel hopeful. Something I haven't felt in a while, and have missed, greatly. Now, if I can just find the perfect project for that Venezia!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Apologies
Okay, so I'm not much of a blogger. I'm sorry. My life has been so hectic lately, I've had no time to do much of anything blogworthy. My Masters program has started, and I'm knee-deep in reading, writing, and researching for that. I just got made the PTA president, when the former president unexpectedly resigned. I'm on the Leadership team at school, and am responsible for researching and recommending a new vocabulary program for our school. Parent conferences are coming up in a week. I've had the cold from hell for the last two weeks, and it hasn't yet shown me it's leaving.
I haven't knitted a single thing in weeks. I haven't even thought of knitting anything in weeks. I have added to my stash (Webs had their sale, you know, and it's sacrilege to ignore it, right?), but even that hasn't inspired me to pick up a needle, or even search through my voluminous supply of patterns and stitch dictionaries. I'm in a funk, and I don't know when it's going to end. And with the amount of work my Masters program seems to be generating, even if the funk ends, I may not have time to do anything about it.
So, I apologise to any readers who may have noticed my absence. I have no FOs or even UFOs to share. I have no knitterly advice, no knitterly questions, no knitterly progress. I just have way too much to do, not enough time to do it all, and no knitting mojo at all.
I haven't knitted a single thing in weeks. I haven't even thought of knitting anything in weeks. I have added to my stash (Webs had their sale, you know, and it's sacrilege to ignore it, right?), but even that hasn't inspired me to pick up a needle, or even search through my voluminous supply of patterns and stitch dictionaries. I'm in a funk, and I don't know when it's going to end. And with the amount of work my Masters program seems to be generating, even if the funk ends, I may not have time to do anything about it.
So, I apologise to any readers who may have noticed my absence. I have no FOs or even UFOs to share. I have no knitterly advice, no knitterly questions, no knitterly progress. I just have way too much to do, not enough time to do it all, and no knitting mojo at all.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Random Thoughts
Well, someone obviously had a talk with the weather ~ Thanks! It's cooled down, and life has returned to almost normal. This is my crazy month, with school beginning, parent nights, reorganization (we just got told we have to pick two kids to move to a combination class, teacher unspecified. Like I can choose two of my kids to move! I am already very attached to all of them, and I don't want to lose any of them, dammit. I might be okay giving up the kid who just started on Friday, but I can't give him up, since Friday was only his second day in the US, and he doesn't speak any English ~ well, almost no English)
My partner 5th grade teacher and I had our Back To School night on Thursday (while our principal sat in his office writing the surprise memo about reorganization and didn't tell us in time to alert the parents). Our BTS is about 3 weeks earlier than the official one. Who ever heard of waiting 6 weeks to have a BTS? About half my parents showed up, so I guess the other half are content to wait the 6 weeks. Or do I really have half a class full of parents who don't care enough to come to BTS? Yikes, I definitely hope not.
This week we have the official meeting for our DC trip. The travel company rep comes down with all the info for the trip, including the price (which I think is going up $100, but we added a day so that's really reasonable), and will answer all our parents' questions and concerns. And then I have a PTA board meeting this week, too. I'm the Programs chair.
I'm also getting ready to begin my first class for my Masters degree, which begins in October. I just checked my university bookstore, and the books for just this one class are $185. For one class. I think there are 8 ~ 10 books listed, but they're all required. Looks like I'll be doing a mountain of reading in October. I downloaded the syllabus for the class, and that's on my reading list for later today. September is so busy for me, I'm trying not to look ahead too much, but it's hard.
I finished the vest from Classic Knits, but it's still sitting here staring at me, not sewn together. I really should get that done, because it's wearable now (if the Weather Gods don't have a really twisted sense of humor, of course), and it turned out to be pretty cute. I haven't even thought of knitting this past week, what with all the work related craziness. I do want to get back to my mohair/cashmere comfort sweater, though. Hopefully, I'll do a little work on that this evening, as I wind down from all the school paperwork and planning I'm doing today. I passed up an all-expenses-paid trip to the Fair today, to work on school stuff (and finish up the paperwork on my Masters program), so I'm feeling virtuous (or is that just "sorry for myself"?) The LA County Fair is the largest county fair in California, and possibly the country. I usually go for all the crafts, and the animals. I've never yet seen a sheep shearing, but I did see, and fall in love with, angora goats one year. They are so cute!
Ah, well. Time to get back to lesson plans and creative activities for 10 year olds.
My partner 5th grade teacher and I had our Back To School night on Thursday (while our principal sat in his office writing the surprise memo about reorganization and didn't tell us in time to alert the parents). Our BTS is about 3 weeks earlier than the official one. Who ever heard of waiting 6 weeks to have a BTS? About half my parents showed up, so I guess the other half are content to wait the 6 weeks. Or do I really have half a class full of parents who don't care enough to come to BTS? Yikes, I definitely hope not.
This week we have the official meeting for our DC trip. The travel company rep comes down with all the info for the trip, including the price (which I think is going up $100, but we added a day so that's really reasonable), and will answer all our parents' questions and concerns. And then I have a PTA board meeting this week, too. I'm the Programs chair.
I'm also getting ready to begin my first class for my Masters degree, which begins in October. I just checked my university bookstore, and the books for just this one class are $185. For one class. I think there are 8 ~ 10 books listed, but they're all required. Looks like I'll be doing a mountain of reading in October. I downloaded the syllabus for the class, and that's on my reading list for later today. September is so busy for me, I'm trying not to look ahead too much, but it's hard.
I finished the vest from Classic Knits, but it's still sitting here staring at me, not sewn together. I really should get that done, because it's wearable now (if the Weather Gods don't have a really twisted sense of humor, of course), and it turned out to be pretty cute. I haven't even thought of knitting this past week, what with all the work related craziness. I do want to get back to my mohair/cashmere comfort sweater, though. Hopefully, I'll do a little work on that this evening, as I wind down from all the school paperwork and planning I'm doing today. I passed up an all-expenses-paid trip to the Fair today, to work on school stuff (and finish up the paperwork on my Masters program), so I'm feeling virtuous (or is that just "sorry for myself"?) The LA County Fair is the largest county fair in California, and possibly the country. I usually go for all the crafts, and the animals. I've never yet seen a sheep shearing, but I did see, and fall in love with, angora goats one year. They are so cute!
Ah, well. Time to get back to lesson plans and creative activities for 10 year olds.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Someone Tell the Temperature God That I Give Up!
I have nothing knitterly to report. SoCal has decided to become an oven, and it's been hell waking up to an apartment that is close to 100 degrees, even at 5:30 am. When I am home, I'm sitting in front of a fan that simply blows hot air on me, or in the shower letting cold water run over me. Mostly I've been not home, since home is hell.
I've gone back to work, officially. (I actually went back to work on August 13, but I don't get paid for any of the setup work my classroom requires, so it's not "official"). A useless day of inservices on Monday, a (boring) staff meeting on Tuesday, followed by "meet the teacher" bits all afternoon. And the news from our principal that first, for some unknown reason, all of us have to teach 10 45 minute lessons from an anti-drug/violence curriculum before 9/14. So, during the first 3 weeks of school, when I normally focus on rules, policies, getting to know my students, instead, I'll be force-feeding them interminable lessons from a program most of us find ineffective and cumbersome. Good idea, badly done. And then, I get the news that I'll be out of my classroom 2 consecutive days, on the 12th and 13th, for yet another inservice on a writing program that's good, I suppose, if one wants to produce technical writers.
Finally, on Wednesday, my students came to class for the first time. Well, all except one girl, who was still in Mexico, until Friday. I have 35 students. So does the other 5th grade teacher (yes, we're a small school, and there are only 2 5th grade teachers. And 2 4th grade teachers, as well). And we have a waiting list. As usual, back in June, our district decided that our enrollment would be down in September (from 298), so we had to let one teacher go. So, our enrollment in September? 348, with a long waiting list for every grade, except 4th. (Until the first day of school, both of us in 5th grade had 38 students on the roll. Fortunately, 6 of them moved.) While I don't like having 35 students (It's way too many for me to be really effective with them, no matter how hard I work), I do like all 35 of the kids I have. They're cute, they respond well to direction, and for the first time, they all seem to be okay with turning in their homework (or the stuff that passes for homework, the first week of school).
I had to rearrange my plans for this week. First, to accomodate the above-mentioned drug program. Next, because of the weather ~ I don't think it's healthy to do outdoor activities in 110 degree heat, so several activities have been postponed until SoCal returns to livable conditions. If it ever does. Thank God all our classrooms are air conditioned, and all of them seem to be working (which is generally not the case the first few days of school).
Because of that blessed a/c, I'm going to spend some time in my classroom today and tomorrow. I could do most of the work at home, but with this heat, I feel completely sapped of energy, and it's hard to work with multiple pieces of paper with a fan blasting you, so I'm heading to my classroom to get things done in blissfully cooler air.
I may also spend some time wandering around Lowe's, looking for a small a/c unit that won't overload my already full circuit board. (I live in an old building, and it was never designed for a/c, window style or otherwise.) But I live in hope. Besides, Lowe's is airconditioned, too, so it's just one more place I can spend time avoiding the heat.
Wow, we're having an earthquake! Not a major one, of course, but my bed just started shaking, and my computer monitor was dancing a bit, and it went on too long for it to be a reaction to some heavy truck on the road outside. I guess life is never dull in SoCal!
I've gone back to work, officially. (I actually went back to work on August 13, but I don't get paid for any of the setup work my classroom requires, so it's not "official"). A useless day of inservices on Monday, a (boring) staff meeting on Tuesday, followed by "meet the teacher" bits all afternoon. And the news from our principal that first, for some unknown reason, all of us have to teach 10 45 minute lessons from an anti-drug/violence curriculum before 9/14. So, during the first 3 weeks of school, when I normally focus on rules, policies, getting to know my students, instead, I'll be force-feeding them interminable lessons from a program most of us find ineffective and cumbersome. Good idea, badly done. And then, I get the news that I'll be out of my classroom 2 consecutive days, on the 12th and 13th, for yet another inservice on a writing program that's good, I suppose, if one wants to produce technical writers.
Finally, on Wednesday, my students came to class for the first time. Well, all except one girl, who was still in Mexico, until Friday. I have 35 students. So does the other 5th grade teacher (yes, we're a small school, and there are only 2 5th grade teachers. And 2 4th grade teachers, as well). And we have a waiting list. As usual, back in June, our district decided that our enrollment would be down in September (from 298), so we had to let one teacher go. So, our enrollment in September? 348, with a long waiting list for every grade, except 4th. (Until the first day of school, both of us in 5th grade had 38 students on the roll. Fortunately, 6 of them moved.) While I don't like having 35 students (It's way too many for me to be really effective with them, no matter how hard I work), I do like all 35 of the kids I have. They're cute, they respond well to direction, and for the first time, they all seem to be okay with turning in their homework (or the stuff that passes for homework, the first week of school).
I had to rearrange my plans for this week. First, to accomodate the above-mentioned drug program. Next, because of the weather ~ I don't think it's healthy to do outdoor activities in 110 degree heat, so several activities have been postponed until SoCal returns to livable conditions. If it ever does. Thank God all our classrooms are air conditioned, and all of them seem to be working (which is generally not the case the first few days of school).
Because of that blessed a/c, I'm going to spend some time in my classroom today and tomorrow. I could do most of the work at home, but with this heat, I feel completely sapped of energy, and it's hard to work with multiple pieces of paper with a fan blasting you, so I'm heading to my classroom to get things done in blissfully cooler air.
I may also spend some time wandering around Lowe's, looking for a small a/c unit that won't overload my already full circuit board. (I live in an old building, and it was never designed for a/c, window style or otherwise.) But I live in hope. Besides, Lowe's is airconditioned, too, so it's just one more place I can spend time avoiding the heat.
Wow, we're having an earthquake! Not a major one, of course, but my bed just started shaking, and my computer monitor was dancing a bit, and it went on too long for it to be a reaction to some heavy truck on the road outside. I guess life is never dull in SoCal!
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