It is so hard for photographers.. my immediate art group to realize that once they have bought the camera and the printer and the paper that they need to continually add to their art materials without a sense of economic return. They need to take a million photos to find that special one.
I think that this is a companion concept to my sister's blog on people investing in art for the purpose of profit.
In the art world of creation, new materials are always coming out. Artists are stretching and finding a style that they can live... growing in a new skin. Its interesting that the old watercolor designation has turned to water media since new tools are out there to integrate watercolor with acrylic and other constructive materials. Many artists must however stick to the transparency model within the watercolor framework. NO white paint shall even be on my palette. I have been playing with some very high quality watercolor crayons and pencils recently. They leave a water soluble wax on the paper. Some colors just like the tubes run and dominate the painting, while others have to coaxed and mixed and layered.
Am artist must continually upgrade the materials that they have. So who pays for this upgrade? The investor.. no most art is not for sale. Art as a form of communication and the passion that it forms powers the purchase of new materials.
Some art for sale is made to go in a particular color arrangement. There are painting that just "go with the couch." This draws the ire of many artists. When art is sold it is often fits into the category.. it will go a certain place in my house. Art for investment.. is shown in galleries down on the Embarcadero in San Franciso. And anyone that has take a cruise in recent years is bombarded with promotions for reproductions of art that are framed up and sold as "investments." Original art is different than reproduction art.
If an artist invests in his or her art they do so to expand the ability of the artist's ability to communicate. If it works then it is a good investment. If it even has a chance at providing this it is a good investment.
There are all grades of investment. One of my gallery friends is a fractal artist. He makes paintings on the computer with equations. He has even had some of his work in the California State Fair. He has talked the good folks in his local Starbucks to exhibit some of this work. He sells some of it. Now he has a series of photos of Yosemite in the winter that are pretty cool. Are they investment material? I don't know. They are pretty good wall coverings for a Starbucks. He would have been stuck with his fractals if he didn't invest in his art. Fractals along with Magic cards have a limited audience.
This same person is stuck often with the collector's bug. He was bought some paintings that are not signed but in his mind clearly represent a particular California artist's work from an earlier era. He thinks that if he can prove they are from the same artist, that he will have a gold mine. The same thing is true with his pursuit of presidental election buttons, and propaganda. Do they fit in the same gallery space with original art.. no it doesn't fit.
Hope you have a good day.. and get out their and make some art! Invest in YOUR art. Become passionate artists!
: ) Pat
A written expression of a 65year old plus retired Speech and Language Specialist in the Central Valley of California.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Check out the snow sledders
At the end of my blog there is a direct link to the webcams of Western State College. If you choose the cupola hill one you may observed the top of the stadium has a great hill for sledders to slide down the hill. Today they seem to be sliding! If your connection is fast enough.. you may also see the cars poking around town..
As for Kelly's question about Wherever you go is where you are at.. I think it was in bedtime for bonzo? I am pitching our my VHS.
: )
As for Kelly's question about Wherever you go is where you are at.. I think it was in bedtime for bonzo? I am pitching our my VHS.
: )
The First Shot at a New Years Resolution
It is getting close to New Years. The various religions around the world use this Winter time for atonement, reflection, and or goal setting.
I think that the Boy Scout/Girl Scout pledge may encompass many of my goals this year.. or at least get me started toward them.
I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my Country and to obey the Boy/Girl scout laws. Some of those include thruthful, kind courteous, helping others.
Throw in prepared, organized (a new one) responsible and supportive. Also I will try to be more fit.
This morning the walk was good. It was a little warmer out. I added the 20minute extension. I found Donna Ave and so it didn't become the 45min. extension.
I was listening to the podcast from PRI To the Best of Our Knowledge. It was concerning travel. The segment was<"Wherever you go, there you are." Podcasts are really nice to listen to as you walk if you are in a quiet neighborhood. They are maddening in high traffic zones. Podcast are usually free and they download through your Itunes store. You can also download to your computer and load them into ITunes.
This morning's was about travel. One of the program parts was about a book by Jason Roberts on James Holman. The book is A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became the World's Greatest Traveler. He was a turn of the century blind world traveler James Holman. He was the first blind man to climb Mount Vesuvius during an eruption. He was sort of the anti tourist traveler. He always traveled without an entourage and found that people would provide more information to a blind man that what the tourist could see.
I hope that you can get into some podcasts.. : ) Pat
I think that the Boy Scout/Girl Scout pledge may encompass many of my goals this year.. or at least get me started toward them.
I promise to do my best to do my duty to God and my Country and to obey the Boy/Girl scout laws. Some of those include thruthful, kind courteous, helping others.
Throw in prepared, organized (a new one) responsible and supportive. Also I will try to be more fit.
This morning the walk was good. It was a little warmer out. I added the 20minute extension. I found Donna Ave and so it didn't become the 45min. extension.
I was listening to the podcast from PRI To the Best of Our Knowledge. It was concerning travel. The segment was
This morning's was about travel. One of the program parts was about a book by Jason Roberts on James Holman. The book is A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became the World's Greatest Traveler. He was a turn of the century blind world traveler James Holman. He was the first blind man to climb Mount Vesuvius during an eruption. He was sort of the anti tourist traveler. He always traveled without an entourage and found that people would provide more information to a blind man that what the tourist could see.
I hope that you can get into some podcasts.. : ) Pat
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Las Vegas Jobs and Lotteries
In my reading today from the New York Times.. I sometimes borrow a used copy from the Starbucks to read as I contemplate my cappuccino a couple of interesting facts were published about Las Vegas and its growth.
Its seems that the growth rate in LV has slowed this year. The reason.. no new casinos were made. No new hotels that support the casinos were started either. Southern Nevada depends upon the hotel growth and everything that goes with it for new jobs. For every new hotel room constructed, one and half new jobs can be directly tied to the the growth. In addition, one other job is created by extension.
I guess one can conclude everything that happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.. eh eh eh..
They had an interesting breakdown on who gambles with the lottery. Some states are tying out new higher priced scratchers. The highest priced one is now 50 dollars. The gambling companies want higher payoffs with less going to the middle and lower payouts, While the people that are wanting bigger participation of lower income people want more "chatter." or middle payoffs and more of them. Most of this information is closely guarded and not part of the public eye. Only in Texas is it extensive information on who is gambling to support the state is this information published.
The reports that by race, the afro american is more likely to spend more money with the lottery gamble than the Latino or White persons. No mention was made of Asian gamblers. The higher the education level of the player the less they will gamble as well. The article made reference to the fact that gambling may occur in different forms for more well to do patrons. Some more wealthy people have no problems betting on every hole in golf they are playing, but would not engage in a lottery draw.
The idea that lotteries can cease is not very practical in modern life. The religious right has been fighting for the elimination of gambling since 1991 in Texas.
The use of lottery funds throughout the country is interesting too. California uses its lottery money to support schools directly. It was originally supposed to go to support things like materials for the classroom tech.. etc. Instead, early on, it went to support heating and cooling costs.. under the guise that those monies for classroom materials would have to decrease if the heating and cooling costs of the classrooms were not covered. In Colorado the lottery money goes toward recreation facilities. In Loveland there is a public sculpture acquisition grant that some of these monies are used to buy sculpture in and around the parks of Loveland. Grand Junction may have also done the same thing. Colorado has constructed side by side pathways for bikes to travel off the interstate in places like Glenwood Springs. In the mean time its been difficult for Colorado schools to continue funding its education system. You can't have it both ways.
: ) Pat
Its seems that the growth rate in LV has slowed this year. The reason.. no new casinos were made. No new hotels that support the casinos were started either. Southern Nevada depends upon the hotel growth and everything that goes with it for new jobs. For every new hotel room constructed, one and half new jobs can be directly tied to the the growth. In addition, one other job is created by extension.
I guess one can conclude everything that happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.. eh eh eh..
They had an interesting breakdown on who gambles with the lottery. Some states are tying out new higher priced scratchers. The highest priced one is now 50 dollars. The gambling companies want higher payoffs with less going to the middle and lower payouts, While the people that are wanting bigger participation of lower income people want more "chatter." or middle payoffs and more of them. Most of this information is closely guarded and not part of the public eye. Only in Texas is it extensive information on who is gambling to support the state is this information published.
The reports that by race, the afro american is more likely to spend more money with the lottery gamble than the Latino or White persons. No mention was made of Asian gamblers. The higher the education level of the player the less they will gamble as well. The article made reference to the fact that gambling may occur in different forms for more well to do patrons. Some more wealthy people have no problems betting on every hole in golf they are playing, but would not engage in a lottery draw.
The idea that lotteries can cease is not very practical in modern life. The religious right has been fighting for the elimination of gambling since 1991 in Texas.
The use of lottery funds throughout the country is interesting too. California uses its lottery money to support schools directly. It was originally supposed to go to support things like materials for the classroom tech.. etc. Instead, early on, it went to support heating and cooling costs.. under the guise that those monies for classroom materials would have to decrease if the heating and cooling costs of the classrooms were not covered. In Colorado the lottery money goes toward recreation facilities. In Loveland there is a public sculpture acquisition grant that some of these monies are used to buy sculpture in and around the parks of Loveland. Grand Junction may have also done the same thing. Colorado has constructed side by side pathways for bikes to travel off the interstate in places like Glenwood Springs. In the mean time its been difficult for Colorado schools to continue funding its education system. You can't have it both ways.
: ) Pat
T.C. Construction
We are almost ready to move back into our old house.. except it isn't really the same house. Each room has been retextured and painted.. first with primer and then with semi gloss. We have different colors in each room. We have a new master suite and bathroom which includes a generous shower and a Jacuzzi bath under a large glass brick window. Beside it is a new room for the washer and dryer. It has a cabinet with a soak sink as well.
All new windows are e-glass and a new more efficient air conditioner/ heater has been installed. A new gas vented fireplace replaces the old wood burning zero tolerance heat o later one.
The dining room has been expanded to occupy the old dining room and the old kitchen. The new kitchen extends the house an additional 14 feet into the backyard. It will have new stainless steel appliances and a porcelain tile countertop. Throughout the house, the cement based ro tile has been replaced with oak laminate floors. This also holds true for the kitchen. In the center of the kitchen is an eat/prep island.
The kitchen is lighted with two banks of recessed lighting. All of the popcorn has been removed from all of the existing rooms. The roof line has been re-engineered to strike a new angle provide a seamless roof line and interior space. A new art room has been made with shelving to occupy the space between the kitchen and the bedroom. Universal design (allowing for handicap access) has been followed.
The contractor for all of this work is Tony Cervantes. He owns T.C. Construction. In talking with him he was relaying all of the difficulties that contractors are facing. There are very few new houses being made. Remodeling, like ours has become more competitive and many contractors are going out of business because they cannot keep their crews. The public sector has a few bids. This was the bread and butter of TC construction in recent years. Within the three county area of Stanislaus, Merced and Madera, there were 14 to 20 rework or building projects a year. Tony used to do well because he could underbid bigger construction jobs because he took less profit. With more construction groups in the bid, and contractors trying to keep their crews employed, it is harder his last quarter to get these jobs. Where there used to be 6 to eight contractors bidding now there are 20. In the last bid, he lost a bid by 2,000 dollars. When the building boom was on in the valley, he was two years behind starting projects. Now his hoping he will have work for his crew in March.
As for quality,he does great work and will not let a project go that does not reflect his standard of quality. His crew of 4 can do roofing, tile and vinyl floors, patios painting wood fencing and remodels. We paid him also to work the building permits. He works with a draftsman architect. Our plans were about 1600 dollars.
Tony's cell number is 658 3124. He said that he will work on bay area homes if their is at least 4 days of work. In February his has some work planned for a doctor who needs some work at his home on Pebble Beach. Wouldn't it be nice? Sometimes Tony is a little hard to understand because his first language is Spanish. He grew up in Livingston California where Spanish is still king.
Have a great day. We are starting to move back into our house today. No appliances we be ready until the 2nd of January and the stove will be delivered on the 9th. Still need a little work with the cabinet color.. all oak cabinets are being installed.
: ) Pat
All new windows are e-glass and a new more efficient air conditioner/ heater has been installed. A new gas vented fireplace replaces the old wood burning zero tolerance heat o later one.
The dining room has been expanded to occupy the old dining room and the old kitchen. The new kitchen extends the house an additional 14 feet into the backyard. It will have new stainless steel appliances and a porcelain tile countertop. Throughout the house, the cement based ro tile has been replaced with oak laminate floors. This also holds true for the kitchen. In the center of the kitchen is an eat/prep island.
The kitchen is lighted with two banks of recessed lighting. All of the popcorn has been removed from all of the existing rooms. The roof line has been re-engineered to strike a new angle provide a seamless roof line and interior space. A new art room has been made with shelving to occupy the space between the kitchen and the bedroom. Universal design (allowing for handicap access) has been followed.
The contractor for all of this work is Tony Cervantes. He owns T.C. Construction. In talking with him he was relaying all of the difficulties that contractors are facing. There are very few new houses being made. Remodeling, like ours has become more competitive and many contractors are going out of business because they cannot keep their crews. The public sector has a few bids. This was the bread and butter of TC construction in recent years. Within the three county area of Stanislaus, Merced and Madera, there were 14 to 20 rework or building projects a year. Tony used to do well because he could underbid bigger construction jobs because he took less profit. With more construction groups in the bid, and contractors trying to keep their crews employed, it is harder his last quarter to get these jobs. Where there used to be 6 to eight contractors bidding now there are 20. In the last bid, he lost a bid by 2,000 dollars. When the building boom was on in the valley, he was two years behind starting projects. Now his hoping he will have work for his crew in March.
As for quality,he does great work and will not let a project go that does not reflect his standard of quality. His crew of 4 can do roofing, tile and vinyl floors, patios painting wood fencing and remodels. We paid him also to work the building permits. He works with a draftsman architect. Our plans were about 1600 dollars.
Tony's cell number is 658 3124. He said that he will work on bay area homes if their is at least 4 days of work. In February his has some work planned for a doctor who needs some work at his home on Pebble Beach. Wouldn't it be nice? Sometimes Tony is a little hard to understand because his first language is Spanish. He grew up in Livingston California where Spanish is still king.
Have a great day. We are starting to move back into our house today. No appliances we be ready until the 2nd of January and the stove will be delivered on the 9th. Still need a little work with the cabinet color.. all oak cabinets are being installed.
: ) Pat
Friday, December 28, 2007
Western State College Blogs
Today I came across some blogs written by current Western State Students. You may plug into their activities if you Google Western State College Blog. One student in on a Semester at Sea program. One is a "townie" coming from Gunnison and going to Western complete with a dorm experience. The common thread to all of them seems to be they were chosen to be counselors at Freshman Orientation. They are a pretty alternative and outdoorsy folks.
The lady at the door of Costco told me that snow and rain was predicted for the valley tonight. I just got back from feeding the boys (on foot) and it had started to rain. I think that it is too warm to rain tonight. Even though it is cold. The cats are doing better. Our wild interloper has a new name. Sue has declared him blackjack instead of what we were calling him.. blacky. He is long and sleek and has an apple shaped head instead of the long oval head of Nigel. Nigel also has long hair, being a Main coon cat like Churro. I think those main coon cats like mufasa, Nigel and Churro make the most people pleasing cats. They have some great adaptability genes. I also think they are pretty smart.
Tonight I had to do the old Irish trick on Nigel. He has a tendency to follow me home.. to the apartment. Usually I wait and feed him just before I leave and then he is more interested in eating then following me home. This did not work on Thursday. He followed me home and I had to take him back in the car. He got to the apartment after he stalked me and then ended up under a truck crying out. So what is the old Irish trick. Tonight when I headed home he was outside and was following be home. I circled back and opened the door to the house. He always wants to be the first one in. He came in. I closed the door in front of me and did not reenter the house.
Don't ask me why this is the old Irish trick.. Dad might be able to enlighten us on its origin.
Have a good safe night..
Love
Pat
The lady at the door of Costco told me that snow and rain was predicted for the valley tonight. I just got back from feeding the boys (on foot) and it had started to rain. I think that it is too warm to rain tonight. Even though it is cold. The cats are doing better. Our wild interloper has a new name. Sue has declared him blackjack instead of what we were calling him.. blacky. He is long and sleek and has an apple shaped head instead of the long oval head of Nigel. Nigel also has long hair, being a Main coon cat like Churro. I think those main coon cats like mufasa, Nigel and Churro make the most people pleasing cats. They have some great adaptability genes. I also think they are pretty smart.
Tonight I had to do the old Irish trick on Nigel. He has a tendency to follow me home.. to the apartment. Usually I wait and feed him just before I leave and then he is more interested in eating then following me home. This did not work on Thursday. He followed me home and I had to take him back in the car. He got to the apartment after he stalked me and then ended up under a truck crying out. So what is the old Irish trick. Tonight when I headed home he was outside and was following be home. I circled back and opened the door to the house. He always wants to be the first one in. He came in. I closed the door in front of me and did not reenter the house.
Don't ask me why this is the old Irish trick.. Dad might be able to enlighten us on its origin.
Have a good safe night..
Love
Pat
Lindsay's Birth
Lindsay was born about this time 25+ years ago. The Colorado grandparents came out before Christmas to be with us and to be there when little Lindsay was born.
It was a very foggy year, unlike this year. I went down to pick them up at the airport and despite the fact that airport was reported as clear, by the time I got down there it was socked in to the degree that I could not see the exit signs clearly. In town the streets were a little better. After the 2 1/2 hour trip to get down there, the airport was officially designated closed. They would get the people that were on the plane in by bus from San Francisco the next morning. I did not want to travel back home so I got a room at the Holiday Inn at the airport and waited until they arrived the next morning. It was so foggy that I could not easily figure out how to get out of the airport. they arrived the next morning by bus and I picked them up. The fog lifted and the drive was only one hour and 20 minutes home.. and a whole lot less intensive.
Back at home.. We were not sure that she was going to be a girl. But we were sure that she was going to be big. Mom had to stay home in bed because of the beginnings of toxemia. That is a very dangerous complication. She was teaching resource and special day students in a pull out program El Nido school. El Nido is 12 miles south of Merced on the way to Los Banos. Heather was going to school there too. She could hardly wait for the baby to come. We bought her a little baby of her own prior to Lindsay's arrival. Her name was Martha.. or as she said, Marfa. It was a very life like baby totally soft to the touch with life like features of a mature newborn.
As the waited and waited, Lindsay was due right after Thanksgiving.. but alas she did not come and she did not come. Grandma and Grandpa were both working at the time and had to delay plans to return to Colorado multiple times.
When the call came out for Sue to head to the hospital, Heather and Grandma were shopping for sweaters in downtown Merced. Heather still remembers Candy discussing with the bus driver as to whether she should be charged for Heather or not and if she was charged should she be charged the adult rate of 50 cents.
When she arrived on January 2, the doctor had to interrupt his office party at a downtown Mexican restaurant to deliver her. At first they did not want me to be in there with Sue. I had to convince them that I had taken the La Mazz training to be there with her. Sue argued too.. so they relented and I was able to help with the breathing prior to and in the delivery room. Lindsay was born over 10 pounds in weight and over 24 inches in length.
When Lindsay was born she had born with a full head of red hair. She was a sensation at the newborn nursery because they were mainly used to seeing Latino babies born. One of the big red headed nurses publicized it too all the hospital staff to come up and see this big red headed baby that was born. Linzi was not the first baby born for the new year, but she was close.
Both Grandmas and Grandpas Aunties and Uncles and a cousin were able to see her soon. Heather was disappointed that she could not hold her right away. Two days later, when Lindsay came home she was very happy that the new baby was a girl.
Happy Thoughts .. Pat
It was a very foggy year, unlike this year. I went down to pick them up at the airport and despite the fact that airport was reported as clear, by the time I got down there it was socked in to the degree that I could not see the exit signs clearly. In town the streets were a little better. After the 2 1/2 hour trip to get down there, the airport was officially designated closed. They would get the people that were on the plane in by bus from San Francisco the next morning. I did not want to travel back home so I got a room at the Holiday Inn at the airport and waited until they arrived the next morning. It was so foggy that I could not easily figure out how to get out of the airport. they arrived the next morning by bus and I picked them up. The fog lifted and the drive was only one hour and 20 minutes home.. and a whole lot less intensive.
Back at home.. We were not sure that she was going to be a girl. But we were sure that she was going to be big. Mom had to stay home in bed because of the beginnings of toxemia. That is a very dangerous complication. She was teaching resource and special day students in a pull out program El Nido school. El Nido is 12 miles south of Merced on the way to Los Banos. Heather was going to school there too. She could hardly wait for the baby to come. We bought her a little baby of her own prior to Lindsay's arrival. Her name was Martha.. or as she said, Marfa. It was a very life like baby totally soft to the touch with life like features of a mature newborn.
As the waited and waited, Lindsay was due right after Thanksgiving.. but alas she did not come and she did not come. Grandma and Grandpa were both working at the time and had to delay plans to return to Colorado multiple times.
When the call came out for Sue to head to the hospital, Heather and Grandma were shopping for sweaters in downtown Merced. Heather still remembers Candy discussing with the bus driver as to whether she should be charged for Heather or not and if she was charged should she be charged the adult rate of 50 cents.
When she arrived on January 2, the doctor had to interrupt his office party at a downtown Mexican restaurant to deliver her. At first they did not want me to be in there with Sue. I had to convince them that I had taken the La Mazz training to be there with her. Sue argued too.. so they relented and I was able to help with the breathing prior to and in the delivery room. Lindsay was born over 10 pounds in weight and over 24 inches in length.
When Lindsay was born she had born with a full head of red hair. She was a sensation at the newborn nursery because they were mainly used to seeing Latino babies born. One of the big red headed nurses publicized it too all the hospital staff to come up and see this big red headed baby that was born. Linzi was not the first baby born for the new year, but she was close.
Both Grandmas and Grandpas Aunties and Uncles and a cousin were able to see her soon. Heather was disappointed that she could not hold her right away. Two days later, when Lindsay came home she was very happy that the new baby was a girl.
Happy Thoughts .. Pat
Hitting the big 2 K
Thanks everyone for logging in and getting this blog up to over 2 thousand views in less than 6 months. This is a very nice way to have an extended conversation with you.
We are able to do this through your comments. Kelly and I were comparing notes during Christmas. She has a wonderfully illustrated blog. We found that there was less supporting information we had to provide in our normal face to face conversations due to your viewing of the blog. Its great that dad is starting to share through his blog some of his lifetime experiences.
There are some people that would not get it. These are the people that hate to read long Christmas letters. I could never understand why anyone would not like to read what people have done over the year. I suppose they don't like the bragging aspect that sometimes shows up in these letters. I am always amazed at the interesting paths that people take to get where they are.
We heard once again from our professor at Western that taught speech and was the debate coach. He and his wife have moved from Denver to Hot Springs South Dakota. He eventually had followed his dream to be a correctional officer. Now he is driving a bus for the assisted living home in the area. His name is Joe Ferro. He was always happy to see Heather when she was a baby. They had no children of their own. He always liked to drive.
I wish you all the greatest day today. Love Pat
We are able to do this through your comments. Kelly and I were comparing notes during Christmas. She has a wonderfully illustrated blog. We found that there was less supporting information we had to provide in our normal face to face conversations due to your viewing of the blog. Its great that dad is starting to share through his blog some of his lifetime experiences.
There are some people that would not get it. These are the people that hate to read long Christmas letters. I could never understand why anyone would not like to read what people have done over the year. I suppose they don't like the bragging aspect that sometimes shows up in these letters. I am always amazed at the interesting paths that people take to get where they are.
We heard once again from our professor at Western that taught speech and was the debate coach. He and his wife have moved from Denver to Hot Springs South Dakota. He eventually had followed his dream to be a correctional officer. Now he is driving a bus for the assisted living home in the area. His name is Joe Ferro. He was always happy to see Heather when she was a baby. They had no children of their own. He always liked to drive.
I wish you all the greatest day today. Love Pat
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Sammy,Bozo, and Lady
Grandma Campbell seemed to always have some little dogs often Chihuahuas to keep her company. I am not sure that they were pure bred Chihuahuas but they were close... (I think that Kelly was after me spelling Chihuahua in my blog one way or another..but alas with google even that isn't hard).
One year this little dog hung out in my room. I think it was Sammy. It got bored and started chewing the buttons off my shirts. Mom and Grandma's only comment was.. you need to keep your clothes off the floor after you wear them so she won't get them.. In fact its a good idea to do that anyway. A frequent comment to me,during this era was... when I could not find a particular item .. look under your bed.. 9 times out of ten that is where it was.
So for the duration of their stay at our house I hung my shirts on a chair. Sometimes she would even pull it down from the chair and chew off the buttons. Unfortunately I did not change my habits and my clothes are still on the ground at the end of the day.
When Grandma and Grandpa lived and worked on his 30 acres of peach farm in Palisade Colorado, Grandma got her first Chihuahua. Her name was Bozo. She thought she was a big farm dog because no one told her she wasn't. After they moved into town and Grandpa retired they got a replacement pooch named Sammy. Sammy was a yipper. In their final years at the house in Colorado and in South San Francisco they had "lady." He was a terrier mix. She was a black and grey mop. I think that she came from a little of her hairdresser's. She became the ears and eyes for Grandma. She would alert her to anything that wasn't right. Mom kept her after Grandma went into the nursing home. She was mom's companion for a number of years after Grandma passed away.
Traveling on Amtrak in those days.. in the 60's required all dogs to be muzzled. Trying to find a muzzle for a Chihuahua was an interesting quest without the web. Then what about the job of getting the Chihuahua "used" to wearing a muzzle. Sammy adapted to this and was allowed to come.
According to Kelly's blog.. the pink phone has been found.. by mom. Yeah!
Find for the day: Walgreens has its Christmas candy for 50 percent off like everyone else.. but it also sells panitone and it is 50 percent off. It is from Brazil instead of Italy.. but it is the same recipe. So a big round loaf is only 2.50.. enjoy!
Have a great day.
Pat
One year this little dog hung out in my room. I think it was Sammy. It got bored and started chewing the buttons off my shirts. Mom and Grandma's only comment was.. you need to keep your clothes off the floor after you wear them so she won't get them.. In fact its a good idea to do that anyway. A frequent comment to me,during this era was... when I could not find a particular item .. look under your bed.. 9 times out of ten that is where it was.
So for the duration of their stay at our house I hung my shirts on a chair. Sometimes she would even pull it down from the chair and chew off the buttons. Unfortunately I did not change my habits and my clothes are still on the ground at the end of the day.
When Grandma and Grandpa lived and worked on his 30 acres of peach farm in Palisade Colorado, Grandma got her first Chihuahua. Her name was Bozo. She thought she was a big farm dog because no one told her she wasn't. After they moved into town and Grandpa retired they got a replacement pooch named Sammy. Sammy was a yipper. In their final years at the house in Colorado and in South San Francisco they had "lady." He was a terrier mix. She was a black and grey mop. I think that she came from a little of her hairdresser's. She became the ears and eyes for Grandma. She would alert her to anything that wasn't right. Mom kept her after Grandma went into the nursing home. She was mom's companion for a number of years after Grandma passed away.
Traveling on Amtrak in those days.. in the 60's required all dogs to be muzzled. Trying to find a muzzle for a Chihuahua was an interesting quest without the web. Then what about the job of getting the Chihuahua "used" to wearing a muzzle. Sammy adapted to this and was allowed to come.
According to Kelly's blog.. the pink phone has been found.. by mom. Yeah!
Find for the day: Walgreens has its Christmas candy for 50 percent off like everyone else.. but it also sells panitone and it is 50 percent off. It is from Brazil instead of Italy.. but it is the same recipe. So a big round loaf is only 2.50.. enjoy!
Have a great day.
Pat
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Aftermath of the Party
First before I continue, will all the participants look through their jetsome and floatsome and see if you can find Kelly's cell phone. She lost it during the excitement and it contains her life.. as we know it. She checked throughly at Grandmas house and it has taken wings and flown away. She claims it was last in a pink case so please be on the lookout.
The Christmas party was a great success from all accounts and descriptions. There was great variation in the gifts and not a grumble could be heard.. Some gifts, including mine traveled among the group. Others found their home right away and success was achieved. Among the many were some real innovations. A booksafe was created. Two wonderfully framed photos of Colorado were up for selection from Ken and Wanda Brown. I refinished an Asian influenced coffee table of solid oak. It had a decidedly 70's dark finish on it just waiting to be liberated. The top now has a wonderful sparkle depth that only honey oak can provide. Some Fornby's and some steel wool revealed this beauty. The tung oil semi gloss finish completed its look. Some one remarked when it was revealed that I had raised the bar on gifts. That pleased me. It was first selected by Linzi.. who had seen the thing before it was refinished and was very curious as to how it finally turned out. It was reselected by Reza who has a secret plan for it. I am pleased since he comes from a family that trades in furniture in Germany.
The menu was appetizers and desserts. In my opinion the turkey and or the ham was not missed. Bobs meatballs were wonderful. We brought all sorts of lovely fruit and tasty treats. I made some roll ups using hot peppers, black olives, pimentos and cream cheese rolled up in a tortillas and sliced cross sectioned. I think next time I will use just a little of the canned pepper and not the juice or maybe use just a quarter of the can. The traditional shrimp and cocktail sauce and cream cheese was also a hit. We celebrated Reza's birthday with a big rum cake.
We spent the night at the Ramada Inn and it worked out just right. This morning we headed up the 101 to Ikea and bought some new furnishings for the house. The traffice was rough in the Livermore valley and again in Tracy. Sue wanted to stop at the Mall in Modesto to see if that par of sweatpants was still there. It was and she bought them at a ridiculously cheap price.
The valley has turned vicously cold and windy tonight.. Hope you all stay warm.
Love
pat
The Christmas party was a great success from all accounts and descriptions. There was great variation in the gifts and not a grumble could be heard.. Some gifts, including mine traveled among the group. Others found their home right away and success was achieved. Among the many were some real innovations. A booksafe was created. Two wonderfully framed photos of Colorado were up for selection from Ken and Wanda Brown. I refinished an Asian influenced coffee table of solid oak. It had a decidedly 70's dark finish on it just waiting to be liberated. The top now has a wonderful sparkle depth that only honey oak can provide. Some Fornby's and some steel wool revealed this beauty. The tung oil semi gloss finish completed its look. Some one remarked when it was revealed that I had raised the bar on gifts. That pleased me. It was first selected by Linzi.. who had seen the thing before it was refinished and was very curious as to how it finally turned out. It was reselected by Reza who has a secret plan for it. I am pleased since he comes from a family that trades in furniture in Germany.
The menu was appetizers and desserts. In my opinion the turkey and or the ham was not missed. Bobs meatballs were wonderful. We brought all sorts of lovely fruit and tasty treats. I made some roll ups using hot peppers, black olives, pimentos and cream cheese rolled up in a tortillas and sliced cross sectioned. I think next time I will use just a little of the canned pepper and not the juice or maybe use just a quarter of the can. The traditional shrimp and cocktail sauce and cream cheese was also a hit. We celebrated Reza's birthday with a big rum cake.
We spent the night at the Ramada Inn and it worked out just right. This morning we headed up the 101 to Ikea and bought some new furnishings for the house. The traffice was rough in the Livermore valley and again in Tracy. Sue wanted to stop at the Mall in Modesto to see if that par of sweatpants was still there. It was and she bought them at a ridiculously cheap price.
The valley has turned vicously cold and windy tonight.. Hope you all stay warm.
Love
pat
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Day
Grandma and Grandma Campbell often came out to see us during the Christmas Holiday. Usually they came by train. Grand Junction, is right on the train route and by using the California Zephyr.
When I was about 10. Grandma and Grandpa came out and on Christmas Day I had received a wonderful watch for Christmas. It was a wonderful thing with a cadmium blue face and a steel band that didn't quite fit. We took off for the day to Muir Woods. I remember playing with the watch band all the way up. The big caution was do not.. I mean do not.. over wind it. If you do you will break the spring and the watch will be useless.
I was also playing with some rubber bands on the long drive up. I was a very good shot at shooting rubber bands.. judging their trajectory and the speed.. So in the backseat I was playing around and accidentally shot by Grandfather in the back of the neck with the rubber band as we were traveling down the road.
I didn't know what to expect would happen. He acted like it didn't really happen. Man what composure.
Merry Christmas to all
Love Pat
When I was about 10. Grandma and Grandpa came out and on Christmas Day I had received a wonderful watch for Christmas. It was a wonderful thing with a cadmium blue face and a steel band that didn't quite fit. We took off for the day to Muir Woods. I remember playing with the watch band all the way up. The big caution was do not.. I mean do not.. over wind it. If you do you will break the spring and the watch will be useless.
I was also playing with some rubber bands on the long drive up. I was a very good shot at shooting rubber bands.. judging their trajectory and the speed.. So in the backseat I was playing around and accidentally shot by Grandfather in the back of the neck with the rubber band as we were traveling down the road.
I didn't know what to expect would happen. He acted like it didn't really happen. Man what composure.
Merry Christmas to all
Love Pat
Monday, December 24, 2007
National Forest Permits
Our first Christmas together we spent in the trailer in Gunnison. We wanted a christmas tree. Believe it or not, there were no tree lots in Gunnison. Why? For 3 dollars, one gets a permit to cut down one in the National Forest. The permits clearly define where you can cut. You pick the size and cut away. Usually the one you get is too tall and has to be resized.. as our did. We went up on the Taylor River above Altmont and six miles into the National Forest it was free grame for any tree you wanted. We found one just as we crossed into the snow laden road up on a slope. We brought a tree saw and hacked it off. It was great. We tagged it with the permit plastic tape and we were in business. It was fresh cut and lasted forever. We added some cute little lights and we were the only trailer with a tree in the park.
The year we were in Monte Vista Colorado.. about 60 miles south of Gunnison, we did the same thing. We got the permit and off we went. We were off in the 1962 Chevy pickup truck that Grandma and Grandpa Campbell had given us. About 20 miles up the road from Del Norte, the road was completely covered with snow and started to get icy. We slipped off the side of the road and got stuck. Sue and I thought we were goners. It was quiet and pickup truck was not going to get us out. We had not seen any traffic on this road the entire time we were on it. We were desperate and thinking about how we were going to survive.
When all hope was given up, we heard this loud rumble from seemingly nowhere. It grew louder and louder as it seemed to come near us. It was a road blade. It was clearing the snow and the operator was happy to throw a chain around our axle and haul us up on the the sturdy pavement. We thanked him and proceeded right on home without a tree. We were happy to live through this tough moment. We have not gone looking for a tree in the National Forest since. : ) Pat
The year we were in Monte Vista Colorado.. about 60 miles south of Gunnison, we did the same thing. We got the permit and off we went. We were off in the 1962 Chevy pickup truck that Grandma and Grandpa Campbell had given us. About 20 miles up the road from Del Norte, the road was completely covered with snow and started to get icy. We slipped off the side of the road and got stuck. Sue and I thought we were goners. It was quiet and pickup truck was not going to get us out. We had not seen any traffic on this road the entire time we were on it. We were desperate and thinking about how we were going to survive.
When all hope was given up, we heard this loud rumble from seemingly nowhere. It grew louder and louder as it seemed to come near us. It was a road blade. It was clearing the snow and the operator was happy to throw a chain around our axle and haul us up on the the sturdy pavement. We thanked him and proceeded right on home without a tree. We were happy to live through this tough moment. We have not gone looking for a tree in the National Forest since. : ) Pat
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Please Don't Let me Give it away
This afternoon I worked continuously on my Christmas gift.
I can tell you this.. it cost 8 dollars at the thrift store in Modesto. It took the rest of the 25 dollars to remake it. My hands look like a mechanic's that could not find some gloves. It had to be worked on outside because of the fumes.. so it is still there under a tarp. My, its going to be fun to enter it into the Christmas bonanza.
Sue has hers done except for a quick trip to Michaels. It has two parts as does mine.. wow what fun.
Bring it on... Love Pat
I can tell you this.. it cost 8 dollars at the thrift store in Modesto. It took the rest of the 25 dollars to remake it. My hands look like a mechanic's that could not find some gloves. It had to be worked on outside because of the fumes.. so it is still there under a tarp. My, its going to be fun to enter it into the Christmas bonanza.
Sue has hers done except for a quick trip to Michaels. It has two parts as does mine.. wow what fun.
Bring it on... Love Pat
Friday, December 21, 2007
Modesto's Charley's
This afternoon we went up to Modesto to the Fabric Store. This place is something else. It specializes in upholstery fabric in the 54 inch wide or better rolls. Most fabric is under 10 bucks a yard.. of course we picked one out that was 13 bucks a yard. We also got some really neat rugs. They have a ton to pick from. We bought two that were 6 by 8 feet in size, identical. We bought some curtain lengths and some material for valences. We think at this time we want to get some wooden blinds for our windows. We have kind of had it with the thin metal sort.
We also did some last minute shopping.. my the mall is crowded.. it took twenty minutes just to get on 99 from the mall because of the traffic. Before we left, we had some sandwiches at the mall food court. Usually this is not high on our list of good places to eat. We were both so very hungry. We happen to choose Charley's steak sandwich place. Sue was actually happy with her philly steak sandwich. She said that she liked it because the sandwich was very plain. I was afaid of the onions on it. They grilled them for her so she was satisfied. I had about the same thing.. called an italian. It had some salami or peporoni on it as well as the steak. It also had some green pepper and a little vinegar. Yum.
At the home tonight was a package from Vermont with some tasty homemade marshmallows.. they came from Barry and Hannah and Tory. Sean's mother and stepfather and sister in Vermont.. what a surprize!
Love
Pat
We also did some last minute shopping.. my the mall is crowded.. it took twenty minutes just to get on 99 from the mall because of the traffic. Before we left, we had some sandwiches at the mall food court. Usually this is not high on our list of good places to eat. We were both so very hungry. We happen to choose Charley's steak sandwich place. Sue was actually happy with her philly steak sandwich. She said that she liked it because the sandwich was very plain. I was afaid of the onions on it. They grilled them for her so she was satisfied. I had about the same thing.. called an italian. It had some salami or peporoni on it as well as the steak. It also had some green pepper and a little vinegar. Yum.
At the home tonight was a package from Vermont with some tasty homemade marshmallows.. they came from Barry and Hannah and Tory. Sean's mother and stepfather and sister in Vermont.. what a surprize!
Love
Pat
Swapping Out the Heater and Air Con
Today the Martinez Air Conditioning and Heating company is installing our new 5 ton Heater and Air Conditioner. On top of our house.
They brought in a big crane from Turlock to do 15 minutes of work. To haul out the old one and bring in the brand new energy efficient one. Because of our front patio, they had to use the neighbors drive way. Luckily they were not at home and the big truck did not leave cracks on their driveway.
Even though we are going to a newer and a better mechanical set up, I don't expect to see a drop in your utilities. We are adding 700 more square feet to the house and some cool goodies like a whirlpool bath.
The tile for the countertop wasn't in at the place we checked in Turlock. It was there in the summer but now now. The contractor is going to check to see how long it would be to order it. I think that construction supply companies are reducing their inventory now that the housing market is bust. We may have to change some choices to a more local source that may cost more..
So it is on the homefront. I am headed downtown to get some replacement mask parts for the sleep machine.
Have a great day..
Love
Pat
They brought in a big crane from Turlock to do 15 minutes of work. To haul out the old one and bring in the brand new energy efficient one. Because of our front patio, they had to use the neighbors drive way. Luckily they were not at home and the big truck did not leave cracks on their driveway.
Even though we are going to a newer and a better mechanical set up, I don't expect to see a drop in your utilities. We are adding 700 more square feet to the house and some cool goodies like a whirlpool bath.
The tile for the countertop wasn't in at the place we checked in Turlock. It was there in the summer but now now. The contractor is going to check to see how long it would be to order it. I think that construction supply companies are reducing their inventory now that the housing market is bust. We may have to change some choices to a more local source that may cost more..
So it is on the homefront. I am headed downtown to get some replacement mask parts for the sleep machine.
Have a great day..
Love
Pat
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Back to the rain cycle
This morning it rained fairly hard in Merced. Yesterday was the only stop in the pattern. There is a chance that it will get clear today.
The cabinets came in yesterday at the house. Just the skeleton from which doors and tops will be installed. I am afraid that Sue will not be happy that they are not as darkly stained as she wanted them.
I was remembering today in my walk about the first trip we took to Mexico on the ship. We all assembled at various times during the night before and woke up in predawn hours to board the expedition and all of its luggage to Anaheim for a day at Disneyland courtesy of Kelly and Reza. We ate breakfast at a little fast food spot in Sanger, just south of Fresno. The wheelchair was lashed down by the resident engineer.
We arrived in Disneyland in time for our reservations at the Blue Bayou. What fun. That night it rained in Disneyland and we all looked for something warm to wear. The boat was waiting for us in San Pedro the next morning. We boarded the Vision of the Seas and found our cabins in the bottom of the ship. We had a cabin in the center of the boat cabins. Our cabin was set up for four people. It had two sets of bunkbeds which is really unusual for an inside cabin. Kelly and Reza had a cabin similar to ours on the same deck.
I banged my nose in the middle of the night and had a nose bleed that scared all the kids. It was okay with a little pressure.
We had a great time in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. High Seas followed us home. Reza had a great time on eco island excursion, Linzi and I had a great time to Concordia and the French Mexican search for gold and silver mines. Kelly and Sue got to see the big dance show and the hanging fliers and bought some hand made coffee cups. We did a lot of hanging around and relaxing.
It was a great trip and a welcome change over weather like today.. rain rain and more rain.
It is however easier to be off like I am today than when it rains and class needs to be taught, so it is okay.
Pat
The cabinets came in yesterday at the house. Just the skeleton from which doors and tops will be installed. I am afraid that Sue will not be happy that they are not as darkly stained as she wanted them.
I was remembering today in my walk about the first trip we took to Mexico on the ship. We all assembled at various times during the night before and woke up in predawn hours to board the expedition and all of its luggage to Anaheim for a day at Disneyland courtesy of Kelly and Reza. We ate breakfast at a little fast food spot in Sanger, just south of Fresno. The wheelchair was lashed down by the resident engineer.
We arrived in Disneyland in time for our reservations at the Blue Bayou. What fun. That night it rained in Disneyland and we all looked for something warm to wear. The boat was waiting for us in San Pedro the next morning. We boarded the Vision of the Seas and found our cabins in the bottom of the ship. We had a cabin in the center of the boat cabins. Our cabin was set up for four people. It had two sets of bunkbeds which is really unusual for an inside cabin. Kelly and Reza had a cabin similar to ours on the same deck.
I banged my nose in the middle of the night and had a nose bleed that scared all the kids. It was okay with a little pressure.
We had a great time in Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. High Seas followed us home. Reza had a great time on eco island excursion, Linzi and I had a great time to Concordia and the French Mexican search for gold and silver mines. Kelly and Sue got to see the big dance show and the hanging fliers and bought some hand made coffee cups. We did a lot of hanging around and relaxing.
It was a great trip and a welcome change over weather like today.. rain rain and more rain.
It is however easier to be off like I am today than when it rains and class needs to be taught, so it is okay.
Pat
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Creation of a Day to do Grades
One year when the district had no money, two important contract changes were made to facilitate a contract agreement.
One of these was a paid day at the end of each semester to work on grades. Today is the such a day. The other important part of the contract change was the establishment of professional day. This allows teachers to do their school homework at home. If there are no students at school to be served, or a meeting scheduled (cannot be abused) then teachers are permitted to leave campus and do their professional work anywhere they want. There is no "you must not check out by a certain time." or "you must stay until a certain time." This was a reason why I switched over from county service to high school service. Along with in service and computer possibilities the high school teaching group looked more appealing than the cramped position the county schools are continually face.
The adoption of the Aries grade book for many teachers has mitigated the acceptance to this professional day. Teachers must be hooked up to a school computer to enter grades. They cannot do this at home because of the lack of protected servers of sufficiant speed to do this. Weekly as well as end of the quarter and semester grades. This means that teachers must check in with their grades today or the first day back to school to meet the computer deadlines for entering grades.
Another mitigating element is the use of district wide finals. In many subject matter areas there are now district adopted finals. Edusoft is the company that produces the software that allows the district and the ability to disaggregate which questions are difficult for students within a given classroom and withing a given school or within a given district for the purposes of focusing on those areas that need to be supported. Right now each student's final is scanned and graded by a program that enters each answer into the districts computer. There are over 10,000 students in this district and growing. Add this to pacing calendars and state and district objectives and you have a whole different animal in the district teaching core that occurred just a few years ago. Is it better? I don't know.
The district is hellbent on changing our contract to reflect these changes. And the teachers' responsibilities to accomplish these activities. We are reluctant to change because it institutes No child left behind and that could and should change significantly when cooler heads prevail. We are losing many students a dropouts due to an uninteresting curriculum, the loss of elective classes and focus on passing the test. What is the social cost of that? Does it matter that in an impoverished area like ours, we have not developed work habits for life long learning? I have a feeling that our freedom to make oneself better has been thwarted by such lofty academic goals. How many students do you have in AP classes? One school has 600 out of 2700 students. Will we have a glut of engineers and a dearth of teachers electricians and plumbers? What since can be made of this? Is this what we want? Do wee need to get everyone literate? That might be a better goal. Even some of them may not make it. We need to understand that too.
Too many questions not enough time.. Pat
One of these was a paid day at the end of each semester to work on grades. Today is the such a day. The other important part of the contract change was the establishment of professional day. This allows teachers to do their school homework at home. If there are no students at school to be served, or a meeting scheduled (cannot be abused) then teachers are permitted to leave campus and do their professional work anywhere they want. There is no "you must not check out by a certain time." or "you must stay until a certain time." This was a reason why I switched over from county service to high school service. Along with in service and computer possibilities the high school teaching group looked more appealing than the cramped position the county schools are continually face.
The adoption of the Aries grade book for many teachers has mitigated the acceptance to this professional day. Teachers must be hooked up to a school computer to enter grades. They cannot do this at home because of the lack of protected servers of sufficiant speed to do this. Weekly as well as end of the quarter and semester grades. This means that teachers must check in with their grades today or the first day back to school to meet the computer deadlines for entering grades.
Another mitigating element is the use of district wide finals. In many subject matter areas there are now district adopted finals. Edusoft is the company that produces the software that allows the district and the ability to disaggregate which questions are difficult for students within a given classroom and withing a given school or within a given district for the purposes of focusing on those areas that need to be supported. Right now each student's final is scanned and graded by a program that enters each answer into the districts computer. There are over 10,000 students in this district and growing. Add this to pacing calendars and state and district objectives and you have a whole different animal in the district teaching core that occurred just a few years ago. Is it better? I don't know.
The district is hellbent on changing our contract to reflect these changes. And the teachers' responsibilities to accomplish these activities. We are reluctant to change because it institutes No child left behind and that could and should change significantly when cooler heads prevail. We are losing many students a dropouts due to an uninteresting curriculum, the loss of elective classes and focus on passing the test. What is the social cost of that? Does it matter that in an impoverished area like ours, we have not developed work habits for life long learning? I have a feeling that our freedom to make oneself better has been thwarted by such lofty academic goals. How many students do you have in AP classes? One school has 600 out of 2700 students. Will we have a glut of engineers and a dearth of teachers electricians and plumbers? What since can be made of this? Is this what we want? Do wee need to get everyone literate? That might be a better goal. Even some of them may not make it. We need to understand that too.
Too many questions not enough time.. Pat
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
E Windows
We have new windows in our house. Here is the skinny on the reasons..
Low-E glass
High-performance Low-E insulating glass lowers energy costs, helps homes stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, prevents fading of interior furnishings, and reduces condensation. Windows and patio doors with Low-E glass are also ENERGY STAR® qualified, which means they exceed the minimum energy efficiency criteria for the climate region you live in (by as much as 40 percent).
Its raining but I am walking. Blew the diet on a Mexican buffet yesterday for lunch.. homemade tamales.. man.
Love
Pat
Low-E glass
High-performance Low-E insulating glass lowers energy costs, helps homes stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, prevents fading of interior furnishings, and reduces condensation. Windows and patio doors with Low-E glass are also ENERGY STAR® qualified, which means they exceed the minimum energy efficiency criteria for the climate region you live in (by as much as 40 percent).
Its raining but I am walking. Blew the diet on a Mexican buffet yesterday for lunch.. homemade tamales.. man.
Love
Pat
Monday, December 17, 2007
First Day of Finals Over
Today we had half days with longer periods to accommodate finals. My printer is not set up to the students had to do more writing.. oh well.
I start the day with a list of 16 words and explained their meanings. I then game them choices to make from a list of 16 definitions all mixed up. For most of the students it was not difficult. Some were there not to do the final and had to be warned. Then I put a spider of association for one of the movies up. I then explained it and then they wrote from the cue on the board. I did that for the second movie, Flicka. It took each of the classes the entire time to get down and do this kind of work. They were a little short when it came to the 2nd movie.. although those that were trying were clearly different from those that were just getting by.. same old story.
The classified settled for Cola on Friday. 4.54. They were a little apologetic about settling. There were advised by their pro to get out what you can and health care cannot be made retro active.. So they traded down and up the number. We will have to consider where we are since money hasn't really been to the table yet. I am hoping that teacher safety can be adressed first. Our next session is January 10th.
We were supposed to get our first walk through for moving this afternoon. It didn't happen. The manager didn't show or leave a note that she wasn't coming. Of course Sue and I have been cleaning up the digs for her to come through.. It needed it anyway. We are hoping to be back in the new old house by January 12. Still need some cabinets and a new heating source. Bathroom and the laminate are almost complete. They still need to take my office apart and the blue room. The mural is finally going to go.. no more sun. Its really cool that we have new e-glass windows throughout the house.
Take care
Love
Pat
I start the day with a list of 16 words and explained their meanings. I then game them choices to make from a list of 16 definitions all mixed up. For most of the students it was not difficult. Some were there not to do the final and had to be warned. Then I put a spider of association for one of the movies up. I then explained it and then they wrote from the cue on the board. I did that for the second movie, Flicka. It took each of the classes the entire time to get down and do this kind of work. They were a little short when it came to the 2nd movie.. although those that were trying were clearly different from those that were just getting by.. same old story.
The classified settled for Cola on Friday. 4.54. They were a little apologetic about settling. There were advised by their pro to get out what you can and health care cannot be made retro active.. So they traded down and up the number. We will have to consider where we are since money hasn't really been to the table yet. I am hoping that teacher safety can be adressed first. Our next session is January 10th.
We were supposed to get our first walk through for moving this afternoon. It didn't happen. The manager didn't show or leave a note that she wasn't coming. Of course Sue and I have been cleaning up the digs for her to come through.. It needed it anyway. We are hoping to be back in the new old house by January 12. Still need some cabinets and a new heating source. Bathroom and the laminate are almost complete. They still need to take my office apart and the blue room. The mural is finally going to go.. no more sun. Its really cool that we have new e-glass windows throughout the house.
Take care
Love
Pat
Its Warmer before a Rain
It got down to only 43 last night. This morning the wind was scooting dried leaves across the sidewalk as I made my 5:15 walk .. making a crispy harmonic. As I was nearing home and after I said hello to Nigel at the corner, the sky started to spit. The paper says that it will be cloudy today with a chance of showers all week. Probably due for some rain. We don't have any rain all summer so we need to catch up in the winter.. So far not much this year.
Today is the first day of finals. Minimum day.. just two classes for me today..but... 80 minutes long. No parties allowed or movies.. they are part of my curriculum so there might be some part of a movie shown today as an integral part of the final test. I didn't have a printer set up.. so we have to change how finals will be done. Its amazing that we are at that point. We have a semester under our belts.. but statistically and realistically we started when it was very hot.. August 13th. So it is about darn time.
Hope you can stay dry and keep working those Christmas presents! I have been really good about not revealing mine.. unusual for me.. I am hoping for some time off to complete it!
Love
Pat
Today is the first day of finals. Minimum day.. just two classes for me today..but... 80 minutes long. No parties allowed or movies.. they are part of my curriculum so there might be some part of a movie shown today as an integral part of the final test. I didn't have a printer set up.. so we have to change how finals will be done. Its amazing that we are at that point. We have a semester under our belts.. but statistically and realistically we started when it was very hot.. August 13th. So it is about darn time.
Hope you can stay dry and keep working those Christmas presents! I have been really good about not revealing mine.. unusual for me.. I am hoping for some time off to complete it!
Love
Pat
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Pruning and Peaches
The most basic info on pruning... backyard style
1)One third of the tree has to come off to maintain.
2) Everything you cut will either branch at that point. If your cut the whole branch it will not come back. In most cases this is okay.
3)Summer pruning is needed to maintain the size of a tree (if you plan to keep it small and it is a full size or a semi full sized tree).
4)Summer pruning will not effect the crop that forms as this usually occurs in the Fall or late Summer.
5) Don't prune plums or pluots in the winter.. as this will effect the crop.
6)California lets more smaller branches stay...because of the longer season.
7)Never prune pomegranates without some gloves.. they might be related to bougainvilleas. Big spikes!
8)Now is the time for pruning and spraying. One spray period each for each holiday .. Thanksgiving (petal drop) Christmas (complete dormancy) President's Day (pre flower). At if you get at least two of these will reduce the dreaded peach curl. Spray can have lime and oil components. Dad uses a separate sprayer (one gallon) for just this purpose.
9)Mistakes in keeping too much tree and not pruning hard enough can be somewhat mitigated by ruthless thinning. The thinner should not allow peaches to remain on the tree closer than a fist apart.
This weekend I pruned all my little peach trees. 7 peach trees occupy our front yard. Also I did a once over with the two pluots and the pomegranate.
We have had some serious hours of cold this year already. This is what is required for peaches to produce. Some varieties require as many as 700 cold hours. When we have a really wet Fall sometimes we don't get the cold that these trees require.
I expect a comment from dad on how this guideline could be improved.. Ha!
Pat
1)One third of the tree has to come off to maintain.
2) Everything you cut will either branch at that point. If your cut the whole branch it will not come back. In most cases this is okay.
3)Summer pruning is needed to maintain the size of a tree (if you plan to keep it small and it is a full size or a semi full sized tree).
4)Summer pruning will not effect the crop that forms as this usually occurs in the Fall or late Summer.
5) Don't prune plums or pluots in the winter.. as this will effect the crop.
6)California lets more smaller branches stay...because of the longer season.
7)Never prune pomegranates without some gloves.. they might be related to bougainvilleas. Big spikes!
8)Now is the time for pruning and spraying. One spray period each for each holiday .. Thanksgiving (petal drop) Christmas (complete dormancy) President's Day (pre flower). At if you get at least two of these will reduce the dreaded peach curl. Spray can have lime and oil components. Dad uses a separate sprayer (one gallon) for just this purpose.
9)Mistakes in keeping too much tree and not pruning hard enough can be somewhat mitigated by ruthless thinning. The thinner should not allow peaches to remain on the tree closer than a fist apart.
This weekend I pruned all my little peach trees. 7 peach trees occupy our front yard. Also I did a once over with the two pluots and the pomegranate.
We have had some serious hours of cold this year already. This is what is required for peaches to produce. Some varieties require as many as 700 cold hours. When we have a really wet Fall sometimes we don't get the cold that these trees require.
I expect a comment from dad on how this guideline could be improved.. Ha!
Pat
Its 27 degrees this morning
On the way to starbucks this morning I slipped on a little over watered lawn that moved out on to the sidewalk. It reminded me that I need to be a little more careful about where my feet are going when it is this cold. I did not fall to the ground.
A beautiful sunrise awaited me this morning.. as I was a little late for the walk. Delicate pinks going into lavenders were in the sky with contrails headed west for a change. This is the first time that I have seen sunrise contrails of jets headed West. Most of the time the contrails are headed South.
Coffee was too foaming and not creamy this morning. When my female Asian baristas make my Cap I often get this. Its a variation that I liked at one point in my Cap carreer. A cap should be 1/2 espresso and 1/2 mild frothed.then poured into the cup with frothed milk on top. I like mine dry which meas that little of the espresso is diluted with the coffe and most of it sits as foam on top. I add a packet of splenda and a spoon in a to stay cup and I am set. It was very quiet this morning at Starbucks. No one was there as customers except for me. A couple of people came in and got it to go but no one was there to drink on premises. Yesterday there was a line at with at least 8 people ahead of me waiting for their cup of joe or single latte nonfat with oragnic nonfat etc etic....
Have a great day : ) Pat
A beautiful sunrise awaited me this morning.. as I was a little late for the walk. Delicate pinks going into lavenders were in the sky with contrails headed west for a change. This is the first time that I have seen sunrise contrails of jets headed West. Most of the time the contrails are headed South.
Coffee was too foaming and not creamy this morning. When my female Asian baristas make my Cap I often get this. Its a variation that I liked at one point in my Cap carreer. A cap should be 1/2 espresso and 1/2 mild frothed.then poured into the cup with frothed milk on top. I like mine dry which meas that little of the espresso is diluted with the coffe and most of it sits as foam on top. I add a packet of splenda and a spoon in a to stay cup and I am set. It was very quiet this morning at Starbucks. No one was there as customers except for me. A couple of people came in and got it to go but no one was there to drink on premises. Yesterday there was a line at with at least 8 people ahead of me waiting for their cup of joe or single latte nonfat with oragnic nonfat etc etic....
Have a great day : ) Pat
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Shep and the Bunkhouse and Ice Under the House
Shep made the bunkhouse in a smaller trailer than we had. Ours was 8feet wide by 30 feet long. Shep rented a standard trailer at the trailer court. It was 12feet wide by 22 feet long.
Shep was my friend in college. He was the second son of the third of five families of Dr. Elkind in Denver Colorado. He had to scramble and dance for everything he had in college.
Shep was the consummate entrapenuer. He rented the blue and white trailer about three spaces away from us. It was one that burned down on the night that we were all in the trailer. He took the space of the bedroom in the back and divided it into two spaces in each space he made a 2x4 bunkbed.. The front livingroom area had room for the piano, he played by ear but could read music and could get a job almost anywhere as a piano bar player. He used the piano to practice what he would play that night at the Western Bar, a bar and grill on the South Side of Tomichi Blvd. That was a job he had during this era. On top of this, he bought a dog he named Aerie that was half German Shepard and half St. Bernard. The dog weighed in at 175 pounds. It curled up on the kitchen floor. It was a very cozy set up.
Roommates bought into the project by the month and he had a going concern. He was a landlord of a property he rented. A few of his roomates stiffed him and he was out of the sublet business.
Shep was there to help dad "remodel" our little trailer one summer. We got a plywood bench table to replace the plastic dinnete and the flopper couch. The Couch was replaced by an elegant plywood bench where a single bed couch cushion of bright green and blue held its own at the end under the birch cabinets. The plywood couch and the table all came out of a single sheet of 3/4 inch plywood.
When the bunkhouse trailer burned down I think that he was long gone from the trailer and no one was renting it at the time. The landlord was the lady that owned the trailer complex.The fire department that come to chop into the roof was all volunteer. So they had at it with major enthusiasm. They chopped into the roof and got the last ember. They could not believe how packed in it was.
The firs in this trailer was in the grease trap hood. Extreme cold weather and grease do not mix.
Some years later we had some problems with our trailer. The water pipe broke coming up to feed the trailer. It was way under the trailer and just below the washing machine. Over the night it produced a huge iceberg. The plumber had to be called to turn off the water feed. They used a blow torch to cut through the ice to turn it off. They said that they would be back when the ice melted so that we could have water again.
We called up Dad and he said you better get to a motel. The 50 high had a room for us and we moved in temporarily at 8 dollars a night. It was warm and had an actual black and white television in it. We stayed there for 8 nights.
I bought a cute little norelco electric heater with a fan. I hooked it up to the electricity and ran it 24 hours for 2 days. It did not phase it. The ice was as large as before. I called up the plumbers again. They said that the only thing that would work would be to go get a kerosene space heaters with a blower from the rental shop. These are those gig round jet looking things that you see in really cold football games along the benches. They said be careful not to burn down your trailer in the process.
It took 3 hours with the space heater and the ice was gone. It cost 45 dollars to rent the heater. I called the plumber up and they hooked us up again. I wrapped all of the pipes with tape that had an electrical heater in it and we okay the rest of the winter.
In the mean time added 4 more blocks to our walk to school in 30 below zero weather. Our method was to walk with our faces covered as best we could.. there is a real reason for a ski mask. We would take it off and dust off the ice from our breath as we made it to Blackstocks, 10 blocks away. After we got a little warmer with warm air trapped inside of our coats we would walk to the corner of Chipeta Hall and repeat the same procedure. Once on campus we could then button up and get to Taylor Hall or any of the other classroom buildings before we needed to do that again.
Stay warm this weekend. Love Pat
Shep was my friend in college. He was the second son of the third of five families of Dr. Elkind in Denver Colorado. He had to scramble and dance for everything he had in college.
Shep was the consummate entrapenuer. He rented the blue and white trailer about three spaces away from us. It was one that burned down on the night that we were all in the trailer. He took the space of the bedroom in the back and divided it into two spaces in each space he made a 2x4 bunkbed.. The front livingroom area had room for the piano, he played by ear but could read music and could get a job almost anywhere as a piano bar player. He used the piano to practice what he would play that night at the Western Bar, a bar and grill on the South Side of Tomichi Blvd. That was a job he had during this era. On top of this, he bought a dog he named Aerie that was half German Shepard and half St. Bernard. The dog weighed in at 175 pounds. It curled up on the kitchen floor. It was a very cozy set up.
Roommates bought into the project by the month and he had a going concern. He was a landlord of a property he rented. A few of his roomates stiffed him and he was out of the sublet business.
Shep was there to help dad "remodel" our little trailer one summer. We got a plywood bench table to replace the plastic dinnete and the flopper couch. The Couch was replaced by an elegant plywood bench where a single bed couch cushion of bright green and blue held its own at the end under the birch cabinets. The plywood couch and the table all came out of a single sheet of 3/4 inch plywood.
When the bunkhouse trailer burned down I think that he was long gone from the trailer and no one was renting it at the time. The landlord was the lady that owned the trailer complex.The fire department that come to chop into the roof was all volunteer. So they had at it with major enthusiasm. They chopped into the roof and got the last ember. They could not believe how packed in it was.
The firs in this trailer was in the grease trap hood. Extreme cold weather and grease do not mix.
Some years later we had some problems with our trailer. The water pipe broke coming up to feed the trailer. It was way under the trailer and just below the washing machine. Over the night it produced a huge iceberg. The plumber had to be called to turn off the water feed. They used a blow torch to cut through the ice to turn it off. They said that they would be back when the ice melted so that we could have water again.
We called up Dad and he said you better get to a motel. The 50 high had a room for us and we moved in temporarily at 8 dollars a night. It was warm and had an actual black and white television in it. We stayed there for 8 nights.
I bought a cute little norelco electric heater with a fan. I hooked it up to the electricity and ran it 24 hours for 2 days. It did not phase it. The ice was as large as before. I called up the plumbers again. They said that the only thing that would work would be to go get a kerosene space heaters with a blower from the rental shop. These are those gig round jet looking things that you see in really cold football games along the benches. They said be careful not to burn down your trailer in the process.
It took 3 hours with the space heater and the ice was gone. It cost 45 dollars to rent the heater. I called the plumber up and they hooked us up again. I wrapped all of the pipes with tape that had an electrical heater in it and we okay the rest of the winter.
In the mean time added 4 more blocks to our walk to school in 30 below zero weather. Our method was to walk with our faces covered as best we could.. there is a real reason for a ski mask. We would take it off and dust off the ice from our breath as we made it to Blackstocks, 10 blocks away. After we got a little warmer with warm air trapped inside of our coats we would walk to the corner of Chipeta Hall and repeat the same procedure. Once on campus we could then button up and get to Taylor Hall or any of the other classroom buildings before we needed to do that again.
Stay warm this weekend. Love Pat
Dr Appts and on to Finals
Our Doctor appointments went well. Our blood looks great. My walking has netted some gain in the good HDLs. Its kind of hard to do since the lipitor is nailing both kinds of cholestrol. No more urinary concerns for me.. must have been caused by exercise. We had a talk about health care. The next appointment in March will be the complete physical for each of us on separate days. He is not too excited about the weight we are carrying and talked about a plan to reduce carbs by one third in every meal we have.
My students are having a time getting through December. Some are accused of promoting fights. Some are just trying to find a friend on campus. One has taken up with trying to get adult friends instead of student friends. Not a good idea on a high school campus. I think that this might have been more permissible in junior high. Trying to get many of them to take the other side of the conversation is difficult. We have been picking up hidden language cues in movies and reactive language. In many ways they don't have the memory to pull what they learned into new situations. I was listening to some of the Mind Institute podcasts coming out of UC Davis. Susan Bookheimer lectured on the abilty of the brain to make distinctions regarding emotions on the face. The non autistic brain has non cortex brain activity for face recognition that is moderated by the frontal cortex when the person labels or categorizes it. In the autistic brain there is little dampening of that area by the frontal cortex with a label. This is why it is so hard for my autistic clients to read faces and make the right decision as to proceeding or retreating.
Thanks to my sisters that responded to the Gunnison snow memory.
Love Pat
My students are having a time getting through December. Some are accused of promoting fights. Some are just trying to find a friend on campus. One has taken up with trying to get adult friends instead of student friends. Not a good idea on a high school campus. I think that this might have been more permissible in junior high. Trying to get many of them to take the other side of the conversation is difficult. We have been picking up hidden language cues in movies and reactive language. In many ways they don't have the memory to pull what they learned into new situations. I was listening to some of the Mind Institute podcasts coming out of UC Davis. Susan Bookheimer lectured on the abilty of the brain to make distinctions regarding emotions on the face. The non autistic brain has non cortex brain activity for face recognition that is moderated by the frontal cortex when the person labels or categorizes it. In the autistic brain there is little dampening of that area by the frontal cortex with a label. This is why it is so hard for my autistic clients to read faces and make the right decision as to proceeding or retreating.
Thanks to my sisters that responded to the Gunnison snow memory.
Love Pat
Friday, December 14, 2007
Dr. Appt. and Gunnison Snow Memories
This morning Sue and I are off to get the once over by our doctor. Weight will be taken. Blood will be sucked, and urine will be tested. Oh my!
I am glad to hear that my neice Acaccia is doing better. Home for the holidays!
One year in college I did not come home. The family piled into the International Travelall and headed to Gunnison to see me. It was a year with an epic snowstorm. Just like last week, more than 6 feet of snow dropped on the city and the ski slopes within one week. The Christmas in the snow had dad doing a "Brodie" a complete 360 turn in the intersection on purpose. Mom had a problem with that. The streets of Gunnison Colorado are wide enough so that plowed snow could be piled up in the center and not have to be hauled away to a nonresidential area. This made it available for a classic controlled spin.
There was so much snow that a couple of ski areas were not open because they could not get people up to pack in the the snow. We climbed half way up on Cranor hill outside of town and skied down. I was early in my ski career and I thought that all skiing was moving through this delightful powder and seeing your rooster tail of falling snow stream out behind you. One of the big issue was keeping your feet straight so the they did not cross and trip you up as you could not see them under the snow. If only all skiing was like this.
Linzi tells me that skiing has completely changed and the shorties have allowed more people to get down more difficult ski slopes sooner.
Have a happy Friday. : ) Pat
I am glad to hear that my neice Acaccia is doing better. Home for the holidays!
One year in college I did not come home. The family piled into the International Travelall and headed to Gunnison to see me. It was a year with an epic snowstorm. Just like last week, more than 6 feet of snow dropped on the city and the ski slopes within one week. The Christmas in the snow had dad doing a "Brodie" a complete 360 turn in the intersection on purpose. Mom had a problem with that. The streets of Gunnison Colorado are wide enough so that plowed snow could be piled up in the center and not have to be hauled away to a nonresidential area. This made it available for a classic controlled spin.
There was so much snow that a couple of ski areas were not open because they could not get people up to pack in the the snow. We climbed half way up on Cranor hill outside of town and skied down. I was early in my ski career and I thought that all skiing was moving through this delightful powder and seeing your rooster tail of falling snow stream out behind you. One of the big issue was keeping your feet straight so the they did not cross and trip you up as you could not see them under the snow. If only all skiing was like this.
Linzi tells me that skiing has completely changed and the shorties have allowed more people to get down more difficult ski slopes sooner.
Have a happy Friday. : ) Pat
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sometimes you Just Can't Guess
I thought today's session was going to be about safety and money. It turned out to be about staff development and staff development plans.
Should a teacher that have a life credential have to worry about a staff development plan? In the district's proposal they did. We argued successfully that having them do so was a significant change in their work. They can be encouraged but they should not be required. We were engaged in working through the aftermath of the state requiring 150 hours of professional development in a three year period in order to maintain credential status. These professional plans were often neglected and not developed with any semblance of accountability. The district wanted to push the accountability of this without changing the requirements or being required to pay for such growth. So they would take over the role that was previously held through the state in the form of credential renewal. We have a stake in in service for our members in that it could train teachers so they would be less vulnerable to lawsuits that the district would get and therefore decrease the money available for raises.
The long and the short of it.. we got life credential teachers exempt from it. We also got the professional development away from evaluation. We also were able to make it primarily teacher driven and maintained. All are wins for us wrapped in a tentative agreement for this part of the contract.
We did give the other side our concepts of teacher safety and they had some limitations I think that we can live with when it push comes to shove. The financial person had some bad news from the Sacramento from the district advisors that there may be a significant shortfall this winter so that a state of economic emergency would be called and the money that we were to have this year could be recalled. Our district is still in growth this year with an enormous balance in a catchall carryover account. We told them that too.
I just thought you might be interested in what is happening at the battlefield.
Love
Pat
Should a teacher that have a life credential have to worry about a staff development plan? In the district's proposal they did. We argued successfully that having them do so was a significant change in their work. They can be encouraged but they should not be required. We were engaged in working through the aftermath of the state requiring 150 hours of professional development in a three year period in order to maintain credential status. These professional plans were often neglected and not developed with any semblance of accountability. The district wanted to push the accountability of this without changing the requirements or being required to pay for such growth. So they would take over the role that was previously held through the state in the form of credential renewal. We have a stake in in service for our members in that it could train teachers so they would be less vulnerable to lawsuits that the district would get and therefore decrease the money available for raises.
The long and the short of it.. we got life credential teachers exempt from it. We also got the professional development away from evaluation. We also were able to make it primarily teacher driven and maintained. All are wins for us wrapped in a tentative agreement for this part of the contract.
We did give the other side our concepts of teacher safety and they had some limitations I think that we can live with when it push comes to shove. The financial person had some bad news from the Sacramento from the district advisors that there may be a significant shortfall this winter so that a state of economic emergency would be called and the money that we were to have this year could be recalled. Our district is still in growth this year with an enormous balance in a catchall carryover account. We told them that too.
I just thought you might be interested in what is happening at the battlefield.
Love
Pat
Thursday and its all about Safety and Money
Today we have a full day scheduled at the negotiation table.
We need to discuss teacher safety. Teachers have been assaulted (threatened) and some teachers have been battered (pushed around). The contract says that the district will provide a safe environment for the teachers and that is it. We need to have it more specific.
As for money... the state has provided the district with 4.45. The district is growing in student population. Additional money comes in when a district has growth. The district needs a great salary to attract the 50+ teachers that put in for retirement this year. Its a golden handshake year. They also would love to have part of the teacher salary increase to provide for technology and new school preparations. Our gas cost has gone up significantly this year and so has theirs. We are paying more than a dollar a gallon more for gas this year. The district has hired more administrators at higher rates than ever before. Our part of the budget has declined yet we are where the rubber hits the road.
We shall see.
: ) Pat
We need to discuss teacher safety. Teachers have been assaulted (threatened) and some teachers have been battered (pushed around). The contract says that the district will provide a safe environment for the teachers and that is it. We need to have it more specific.
As for money... the state has provided the district with 4.45. The district is growing in student population. Additional money comes in when a district has growth. The district needs a great salary to attract the 50+ teachers that put in for retirement this year. Its a golden handshake year. They also would love to have part of the teacher salary increase to provide for technology and new school preparations. Our gas cost has gone up significantly this year and so has theirs. We are paying more than a dollar a gallon more for gas this year. The district has hired more administrators at higher rates than ever before. Our part of the budget has declined yet we are where the rubber hits the road.
We shall see.
: ) Pat
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Holiday Music
That restricted time of holiday music is upon us. As Cammie cautioned with her Christmas compilation last year please play responsibly.
With this caution I bought two wonderful holiday music collections at Costco. One of them was the Christmas with the Rat Pack. The other is Noel by Josh Groban.
Both of these collections are worth it.They represent different genres. The Josh Groban is more religious and classic and the Rat Pack Christmas is more pop.
One of Sue's criteria with holiday music is that it has to have actual singing on it. She is never one for the instrumental collections. Over the years this was difficult as Kenny G and other seemed to sneak on the collections. There is also some deep prejudice against overtly country Christmas pieces. Twang and Christmas just don't mix.. this holds true for the juxtaposition of Christmas music and Hawaian music.
The orchestration is considerably dated on the rat pack collection. There is nothing however as smaltzy as the rat pack in their hey day. This collection represents the best of that era.
Joah's Noel is very classic. And yes fans of my previous Christmas collections, there is an Ave Maria on it. Soem European carols are on this collection too.
Have a great day.. and play your holiday music responsibly.. Pat
With this caution I bought two wonderful holiday music collections at Costco. One of them was the Christmas with the Rat Pack. The other is Noel by Josh Groban.
Both of these collections are worth it.They represent different genres. The Josh Groban is more religious and classic and the Rat Pack Christmas is more pop.
One of Sue's criteria with holiday music is that it has to have actual singing on it. She is never one for the instrumental collections. Over the years this was difficult as Kenny G and other seemed to sneak on the collections. There is also some deep prejudice against overtly country Christmas pieces. Twang and Christmas just don't mix.. this holds true for the juxtaposition of Christmas music and Hawaian music.
The orchestration is considerably dated on the rat pack collection. There is nothing however as smaltzy as the rat pack in their hey day. This collection represents the best of that era.
Joah's Noel is very classic. And yes fans of my previous Christmas collections, there is an Ave Maria on it. Soem European carols are on this collection too.
Have a great day.. and play your holiday music responsibly.. Pat
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
M Vick
The Atlanta Falcon's quarterback was convicted in Federal Court this week and sentenced to 22 months in jail. The crime involved transporting dons across state lines for the purpose of dog fights. He also had a kennel for raising dogs for the purpose of dog fights.
The crowd at the lunch table discussed the sentence today at length and to its crazy directions. My opinion is that in light of at least 85 percent of the sentence would have to be served, it probably was correct when taken in the context of other celebrity sentences. The Paris Hilton slap on the wrist and the multimillionaire that got 7 years and the Martha Stewart incarceration. It was of the opinion of some of the folks that this would be the end of a football career for MV. If there is a gym in the fed system, MV could return. The sad part of it in my mind is in the support for this character. Some players on the field had an MV tee shirt under the uniform and other had it inscribed on the cheekbone paint. Free MV is not an appropriate response to the problem. People that do the crimes need to do the time. Celeb status should not come into play. But it seems to be with the sentencing.
So what should happen to Barry Bonds when his day in court is through? Is is time to incarcerate him for obstruction of justice and lying to the court? What is the appropriate sentence for that? Does anyone in the US still think that he didn't do it? What will it do to the game? The are still fans that haven't gone back to baseball since the strike. If steroids are found to be rampant in baseball and other sports does that change the interest in watching? What value is that?
Where does this fit in the equation that the fed government has lied to us about the existence of a nuclear bomb program in Iran. Whoops that takes out bombing in Iran as a viable strategy .. finally. All the republican candidates endorsed the get tough with Iran policy of the Bush administration with possible bombing and troop involvment and so did Hillary. Whoops.. another Weapon of Mass Destruction fiasco. Its got to hurt.
As you can see I have more questions that answers today. Pat
The crowd at the lunch table discussed the sentence today at length and to its crazy directions. My opinion is that in light of at least 85 percent of the sentence would have to be served, it probably was correct when taken in the context of other celebrity sentences. The Paris Hilton slap on the wrist and the multimillionaire that got 7 years and the Martha Stewart incarceration. It was of the opinion of some of the folks that this would be the end of a football career for MV. If there is a gym in the fed system, MV could return. The sad part of it in my mind is in the support for this character. Some players on the field had an MV tee shirt under the uniform and other had it inscribed on the cheekbone paint. Free MV is not an appropriate response to the problem. People that do the crimes need to do the time. Celeb status should not come into play. But it seems to be with the sentencing.
So what should happen to Barry Bonds when his day in court is through? Is is time to incarcerate him for obstruction of justice and lying to the court? What is the appropriate sentence for that? Does anyone in the US still think that he didn't do it? What will it do to the game? The are still fans that haven't gone back to baseball since the strike. If steroids are found to be rampant in baseball and other sports does that change the interest in watching? What value is that?
Where does this fit in the equation that the fed government has lied to us about the existence of a nuclear bomb program in Iran. Whoops that takes out bombing in Iran as a viable strategy .. finally. All the republican candidates endorsed the get tough with Iran policy of the Bush administration with possible bombing and troop involvment and so did Hillary. Whoops.. another Weapon of Mass Destruction fiasco. Its got to hurt.
As you can see I have more questions that answers today. Pat
Monday, December 10, 2007
Monday Morning Blues
Its Monday. Just 7 more school days to vacation. It can't be all that bad. Its cold. Not as cold as Colorado or New Mexico. As Heather said, these people do not know what cold is. Its snowing in Crested Butte. Last week it snowed 8 feet. It looks like a wet winter for Colorado. Last week we got the first major rain of the year. It was less than the 2 inches that we needed to keep up with the usual part of the year.
I added the 20 minute loop to the walk today. I was on the road at 5am. The sun was just coming up in the East when I finished. There is no fog in Merced today, so the frost was there. Nigel, the Maine coon cat greated me as I walked through the to get the papers. He is always hoping there is canned food to be had, but alas, I am steadfast to get them canned food only at night. The consequences of a morning canned cat feed are huge. Cats will wake you up in the middle of the night to have you open the precious delight.
Bebal Gilberto, the Nova Sensation is on the walk today, along with the latin aerobic beat oriented mix to get it started. I worked up a sweat so that is good,
Dad called me this weekend to remind me that Christmas is coming. Check his blog when you get a chance. Its a easy way to catch up with him.
Love pat
I added the 20 minute loop to the walk today. I was on the road at 5am. The sun was just coming up in the East when I finished. There is no fog in Merced today, so the frost was there. Nigel, the Maine coon cat greated me as I walked through the to get the papers. He is always hoping there is canned food to be had, but alas, I am steadfast to get them canned food only at night. The consequences of a morning canned cat feed are huge. Cats will wake you up in the middle of the night to have you open the precious delight.
Bebal Gilberto, the Nova Sensation is on the walk today, along with the latin aerobic beat oriented mix to get it started. I worked up a sweat so that is good,
Dad called me this weekend to remind me that Christmas is coming. Check his blog when you get a chance. Its a easy way to catch up with him.
Love pat
Saturday, December 8, 2007
New Blogger Widget update
Just a note to those of you that are blogging too. There is an update (I am using it now) that can be used in the dashboard. It publishes and makes it easy to add new information to your blog. It doesn't spell check or provide a way to enter photos.
Two DVDs
I have been watching a couple of good stories on DVD this weekend. The Illusionist, and A Good Year. Both of them are love stories, my favorite category.
A good Year with Russell Crowe is a great post card from Provence,France. There is not much of a climax to this movie. Russell Crowe, the star of Gladiator, plays a stock broker who inherits his uncle's villa in France. He his merciless with business but has to reconsider his life and his history when this property becomes his. There is a romantic interest in a strong willed woman that he met as a young boy. The french beauty, played by Marion Cotillard, wraps his heart and he has second thoughts of selling the villa. Its good movie overall.
Chance encounters in youth are also a factor in the second movie, The Illusionist.
The Illusionist, is a period drama set in Europe during the horses and carriage era. Edward Norton Paul Giametti star in this twisted tale of jealously and love. The illusionist, played by Edward Norton, meets a traveling magician in his youth. He learns some of the trade. His father, a furniture maker, and he an apprentice, provides furniture pieces for the wealthy families in Prague. On one such job he meets a girl of the wealthy family. Later, the illlusionist grows up and so does she. He travels throughout Europe doing stage shows while she is courted by the crown prince. The plot thickens when she and the crown prince attended one of the stage shows and she is volunteered as the subject by her crown prince boyfriend. The illusionist and the girl recall their childhood attraction and the show continues. The crown prince is jealous and his spys reveal their secret meetings. There are some interesting plot twists in this movie. It is filmed primarily in a dark setting so you need get well rested before you pop this into your DVD player.
: ) Pat
A good Year with Russell Crowe is a great post card from Provence,France. There is not much of a climax to this movie. Russell Crowe, the star of Gladiator, plays a stock broker who inherits his uncle's villa in France. He his merciless with business but has to reconsider his life and his history when this property becomes his. There is a romantic interest in a strong willed woman that he met as a young boy. The french beauty, played by Marion Cotillard, wraps his heart and he has second thoughts of selling the villa. Its good movie overall.
Chance encounters in youth are also a factor in the second movie, The Illusionist.
The Illusionist, is a period drama set in Europe during the horses and carriage era. Edward Norton Paul Giametti star in this twisted tale of jealously and love. The illusionist, played by Edward Norton, meets a traveling magician in his youth. He learns some of the trade. His father, a furniture maker, and he an apprentice, provides furniture pieces for the wealthy families in Prague. On one such job he meets a girl of the wealthy family. Later, the illlusionist grows up and so does she. He travels throughout Europe doing stage shows while she is courted by the crown prince. The plot thickens when she and the crown prince attended one of the stage shows and she is volunteered as the subject by her crown prince boyfriend. The illusionist and the girl recall their childhood attraction and the show continues. The crown prince is jealous and his spys reveal their secret meetings. There are some interesting plot twists in this movie. It is filmed primarily in a dark setting so you need get well rested before you pop this into your DVD player.
: ) Pat
Friday, December 7, 2007
What do they call the event that Represents the Greatest Pain?
A root canal conjures up great feelings of pain in a short period of time. The actual pain occurs long before the oral surgery. First there is the call to get into see the dentist. You need to be persuasive. Then there is a referral to the endodontist. An endodontist charges about 1100 dollars to to one hour of work on your root canal.Thank goodness for Delta Dental. The pain of the surgery is tough...sometimes. Sometimes it is totally painless because your adrenalin has kicked in and is centered in that one spot.
At 6:30 this morning Sue had surgery for her root canal. We went to see the dentist yesterday at 4. I got to school about 15 minutes late. The office called for me to get a para to cover my class until I could get there. Everything worked out well. We are starting Fly Away Home.. about the girl and the Canada geese. If you ever want to know why they are called Canada goose or geese and not Canadian Goose or Geese check out the Gray seminars. First period I had a girl in my class that could not stop telling about what was going to happen next. I had to stomp all over her glory and tell her in no uncertain terms that there a things that you have to hold to yourself and not blurt out. She told me that is why she wanted to get out of my class. I wouldn't let her say what was the truth... oy! It did not hurt my feelings. She needs to be in my class for this and a half dozen other things she is not getting in other classes or at home.
I was scheduled to go to a workshop on health care this afternoon. I wanted to make sure that there was someone that would take my class.. and since it was only an a half a day, i waited for her to come. She arrived and I made sure that she could fire up the computer and run the movie from that. I headed down to the county schools office and joined about 35 others in learning about hospital rating systems and web resources to check to see which hospitals have low mortality rates and do the most of one procedure or anther. It is pretty fascinating. Often the hospitals that cost the most have the poorest records.. This sort of thing can empower the consumer and if we all ask the right questions then health care should improve.
It made for an very interesting Friday.
Pat
At 6:30 this morning Sue had surgery for her root canal. We went to see the dentist yesterday at 4. I got to school about 15 minutes late. The office called for me to get a para to cover my class until I could get there. Everything worked out well. We are starting Fly Away Home.. about the girl and the Canada geese. If you ever want to know why they are called Canada goose or geese and not Canadian Goose or Geese check out the Gray seminars. First period I had a girl in my class that could not stop telling about what was going to happen next. I had to stomp all over her glory and tell her in no uncertain terms that there a things that you have to hold to yourself and not blurt out. She told me that is why she wanted to get out of my class. I wouldn't let her say what was the truth... oy! It did not hurt my feelings. She needs to be in my class for this and a half dozen other things she is not getting in other classes or at home.
I was scheduled to go to a workshop on health care this afternoon. I wanted to make sure that there was someone that would take my class.. and since it was only an a half a day, i waited for her to come. She arrived and I made sure that she could fire up the computer and run the movie from that. I headed down to the county schools office and joined about 35 others in learning about hospital rating systems and web resources to check to see which hospitals have low mortality rates and do the most of one procedure or anther. It is pretty fascinating. Often the hospitals that cost the most have the poorest records.. This sort of thing can empower the consumer and if we all ask the right questions then health care should improve.
It made for an very interesting Friday.
Pat
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Life on the Conference Trail
Marie's idea is to develop a team of experts that can be called upon to consult throughout the district for Autism based issues. To this end, 18 teachers, psyhologists, speech and language, and paras embarked upon a two day conference in South San Francisco. The convention center is a lovely facility that can house a huge number of people in various conferences at one time. It is very 21st century with a beautiful glass brick forcade and some ballrooms at least as big as the Marriots in downtown San Francisco.
In one of the these rooms at least 2000 attendees (10 to one women) watched as the two presenters entertained and instructed on the nuances of the spectrum. The new spectrum is the "perspective spectrum." Clients can be grouped within their ability to relate to others. Taking the other's perspective is an diagnostic rubric for services. Mixed into this mix are the therapies for these needs. Gray is working with Social stories now in video form. She also uses comic booke stories to work through the issues of her clients. Winner is more connected though the social interaction model. The main focus for her is social interaction and using eyes as a measure of thought. This paragraph is probably a gross simplification of the methodologies.
Unfortunately I think that much of it was lost in our groups. The RSP teacher of math that was a couple of my student's case load manager felt that they were trying to sell their products more than show how their therapies work.
Sadly most of our group left before they got into the really good stuff relating to high school/college jobs and transitions. Also a very important part about how to develop friendships/intimacy for high school students. It as offered after 2 pm on Wednesday. Our group felt they needed to get home eariler to beat the rush.
Granted we had a heck of a time getting out the Bay Area after 5 and after we dropped off Heather.
Heather came down and did Tanforan Shopping Center with Mom on the last day. The first day, we went out ot Tong Kings on Geary for a lovely dinner of dim sum, lemon chicken, and mu shue pork.
Overall for us it was a great time. Staying at the Holiday Inn on South Airport was great.. 55 dollars a night. Access to the conference (right next door) was wonderful.
Overall it was great.
Sorry for the break in posting!
Pat
In one of the these rooms at least 2000 attendees (10 to one women) watched as the two presenters entertained and instructed on the nuances of the spectrum. The new spectrum is the "perspective spectrum." Clients can be grouped within their ability to relate to others. Taking the other's perspective is an diagnostic rubric for services. Mixed into this mix are the therapies for these needs. Gray is working with Social stories now in video form. She also uses comic booke stories to work through the issues of her clients. Winner is more connected though the social interaction model. The main focus for her is social interaction and using eyes as a measure of thought. This paragraph is probably a gross simplification of the methodologies.
Unfortunately I think that much of it was lost in our groups. The RSP teacher of math that was a couple of my student's case load manager felt that they were trying to sell their products more than show how their therapies work.
Sadly most of our group left before they got into the really good stuff relating to high school/college jobs and transitions. Also a very important part about how to develop friendships/intimacy for high school students. It as offered after 2 pm on Wednesday. Our group felt they needed to get home eariler to beat the rush.
Granted we had a heck of a time getting out the Bay Area after 5 and after we dropped off Heather.
Heather came down and did Tanforan Shopping Center with Mom on the last day. The first day, we went out ot Tong Kings on Geary for a lovely dinner of dim sum, lemon chicken, and mu shue pork.
Overall for us it was a great time. Staying at the Holiday Inn on South Airport was great.. 55 dollars a night. Access to the conference (right next door) was wonderful.
Overall it was great.
Sorry for the break in posting!
Pat
Off to Conference
Tuesday and Wednesday Sue and I went over to the South San Francisco Convention Center for a conference on Autism. Winner and Gray were sharing the platform the first day. The second day was Winner alone. I heard Gray last January. I have never heard Winner. She runs a clinic in San Jose. She used a student that I have served as an example.. he was about 7 years old then. He is 16 now. The parents don't want him interrupted from his schedule to be seen now.. so..
More on this later..
Pat
Pat
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Girls Day
Linzi and Heather came over to Merced this weekend.
I picked up Heather and her big cat Tyrone at the Dublin BART on Friday night. She had booked three nights at our local Motel 6 for her cat and herself.
Linzi rented a car and came down 99 to spend the night with her sister and to spend the day with us. She had a cold from her trip to Chicago but was on the upswing.
We went to Micheals to get materials for our Christmas gifts. There are going to be some really cool things up for the Christmas gift give.
We also made the requisite trip to Target for socks and lunch at Heather's favorite, Pizza Hut. Apparently there are no Pizza huts in the fisherman warf area. Its probably a good thing since she is allergic to the gluten that is in the pizza.
Food allergies are such a cruel thing. You cannot reshape the world around your allergies but it is tempting to judge from them.
With Sue it is avocado. Every time she eats it she gets really sick. Her mother's food allergy was kiwi. The sad part is that you will not know until you become sick from eating the food. You may outgrow your allergies that you have when you are little.
Have a great Sunday..
: ) Pat
I picked up Heather and her big cat Tyrone at the Dublin BART on Friday night. She had booked three nights at our local Motel 6 for her cat and herself.
Linzi rented a car and came down 99 to spend the night with her sister and to spend the day with us. She had a cold from her trip to Chicago but was on the upswing.
We went to Micheals to get materials for our Christmas gifts. There are going to be some really cool things up for the Christmas gift give.
We also made the requisite trip to Target for socks and lunch at Heather's favorite, Pizza Hut. Apparently there are no Pizza huts in the fisherman warf area. Its probably a good thing since she is allergic to the gluten that is in the pizza.
Food allergies are such a cruel thing. You cannot reshape the world around your allergies but it is tempting to judge from them.
With Sue it is avocado. Every time she eats it she gets really sick. Her mother's food allergy was kiwi. The sad part is that you will not know until you become sick from eating the food. You may outgrow your allergies that you have when you are little.
Have a great Sunday..
: ) Pat
Friday, November 30, 2007
Qualifications on the Cake
The reason that I said that the Matiz cake is not for Kelly (previous blog) is that it is chuck full of Walnuts and Kelly has a real problem with her mouth swelling when she eats pistachios or especially walnuts.
One Christmas party I came into a real deal. A member of our church was selling walnuts from her grove for 50 cents a pound.. already shelled in perfect shape. I got a a bunch of these for the Christmas party. Along with the handy dandy Blue Diamond walnut recipe guide, I made mountains of three different kinds. One of them was chocolate, another, caramel and the third white chocolate. I put them on a tray and we headed to the party in San Francisco. Kelly drew the walnuts. No one traded her away. She ended up with walnuts that she could not use. I saw the publication as a warning that this cake was full of walnuts and dates. The walnut part was the worrisome part. Sorry Kelly for not clarifying the caveat that this cake would not be for you.
One Christmas party I came into a real deal. A member of our church was selling walnuts from her grove for 50 cents a pound.. already shelled in perfect shape. I got a a bunch of these for the Christmas party. Along with the handy dandy Blue Diamond walnut recipe guide, I made mountains of three different kinds. One of them was chocolate, another, caramel and the third white chocolate. I put them on a tray and we headed to the party in San Francisco. Kelly drew the walnuts. No one traded her away. She ended up with walnuts that she could not use. I saw the publication as a warning that this cake was full of walnuts and dates. The walnut part was the worrisome part. Sorry Kelly for not clarifying the caveat that this cake would not be for you.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Matiz
What the heck is Matiz? Our Raley's has a shipment of this stuff.. and I bit. It is not for Kelly : (. But for the rest of us it could represent the ultimate natural sweet. It is very very dense Date Bread. It comes from a particular part of Spain called extremedura.. right there it got me. All place named Extremadura cannot be half bad. It is made of dates and walnuts. It is very sweet. It sweetness comes from dates not sugar.. wow. once you get into this you will eat the whole thing. The drawback.. and why it will be in Merced for the entire holiday season, A six by four inch half round is 5.99.
Here is a little history of this area:
Extremadura is far removed from Spain’s crowded costas – both in terms of kilometres and character. It’s one of the country’s most sparsely populated regions, roughly the size of Belgium, and its distance from the coast has kept mass tourism at bay.
Relatively few tourists, Spanish or foreign, venture to this western region of the Iberian Peninsula sandwiched between Portugal and the central plains of La Mancha. It has little appeal for the package holidaymaker but for anyone seeking a real “Spanish experience” off the beaten track Extremadura offers an unforgettable journey of discovery.
The landscapes and richness of Extremadura
It’s an unspoilt land of lush forests, majestic mountains and vast agricultural plains peppered with towns and hamlets seemingly frozen in time. With its wealth of World Heritage sites and protected nature reserves teeming with wildlife, Extremadura is a place which beckons history buffs, explorers and the curious wanderer determined to dig deeper into Spain beyond the golden sands of the Costa del Sol.
The region is divided into the two provinces of Caceres in the north and Badajoz in the south. The fascinating Roman city of Merida is the regional capital though Badajoz is the biggest city in terms of inhabitants. A visit to both is a must for those interested in the rich history and culture of a region once regarded as a great prize by the Roman empire as well as by Moorish sultans and Christian conquistadors. Evidence of Extremadura’s turbulent past oozes out of the walls of countless castles, palaces, medieval monuments and awesome aqueducts which have weathered the many man-made and heaven sent storms of centuries.
Extremadura, a place full of history
Merida is home to some of the world’s most important Roman remains including a magnificent bridge with 64 granite arches (the longest bridge ever built in Spain by the Romans). Other must-see sights include the five-mile aqueduct, the amphitheatre and the theatre where summer plays are still staged, more than 2,000 years after it was constructed under the orders of the Roman general Agrippa.
The beautiful walled city of Badajoz, near the Portuguese border, is also well worth a visit with its mighty Arab citadel and wealth of museums and historic sites. Extremadura’s many other historic treasures include the walled city of Caceres, founded by the Romans in 34 BC, and nearby Trujillo with its Moorish castle, glorious central square and monument to its famous son Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru.
Extremadura´s natural environment
Beyond the fortified walls of these historic cities you’ll find vast tracts of unspoilt countryside which attracts flocks of bird lovers from all over Europe and beyond. One of the most extraordinary sights in the whole of Spain is that of the region’s large population of storks which build their huge nests on top of everything from palaces and telegraph poles to church spires and convent roofs. The region is believed to be home to more than 11,000 storks along with many rare and protected bird species which flourish in Extremadura’s nature reserves.
Monfrague National Park is one of the important raptor reserves in Europe and is the best place in Spain to go for a glimpse of black vultures and the rare Spanish Imperial eagle. The park is a hikers’ paradise and has been declared a protected zone by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) because of its rare flora and fauna, including the endangered Iberian lynx.
Here is a little history of this area:
Extremadura is far removed from Spain’s crowded costas – both in terms of kilometres and character. It’s one of the country’s most sparsely populated regions, roughly the size of Belgium, and its distance from the coast has kept mass tourism at bay.
Relatively few tourists, Spanish or foreign, venture to this western region of the Iberian Peninsula sandwiched between Portugal and the central plains of La Mancha. It has little appeal for the package holidaymaker but for anyone seeking a real “Spanish experience” off the beaten track Extremadura offers an unforgettable journey of discovery.
The landscapes and richness of Extremadura
It’s an unspoilt land of lush forests, majestic mountains and vast agricultural plains peppered with towns and hamlets seemingly frozen in time. With its wealth of World Heritage sites and protected nature reserves teeming with wildlife, Extremadura is a place which beckons history buffs, explorers and the curious wanderer determined to dig deeper into Spain beyond the golden sands of the Costa del Sol.
The region is divided into the two provinces of Caceres in the north and Badajoz in the south. The fascinating Roman city of Merida is the regional capital though Badajoz is the biggest city in terms of inhabitants. A visit to both is a must for those interested in the rich history and culture of a region once regarded as a great prize by the Roman empire as well as by Moorish sultans and Christian conquistadors. Evidence of Extremadura’s turbulent past oozes out of the walls of countless castles, palaces, medieval monuments and awesome aqueducts which have weathered the many man-made and heaven sent storms of centuries.
Extremadura, a place full of history
Merida is home to some of the world’s most important Roman remains including a magnificent bridge with 64 granite arches (the longest bridge ever built in Spain by the Romans). Other must-see sights include the five-mile aqueduct, the amphitheatre and the theatre where summer plays are still staged, more than 2,000 years after it was constructed under the orders of the Roman general Agrippa.
The beautiful walled city of Badajoz, near the Portuguese border, is also well worth a visit with its mighty Arab citadel and wealth of museums and historic sites. Extremadura’s many other historic treasures include the walled city of Caceres, founded by the Romans in 34 BC, and nearby Trujillo with its Moorish castle, glorious central square and monument to its famous son Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru.
Extremadura´s natural environment
Beyond the fortified walls of these historic cities you’ll find vast tracts of unspoilt countryside which attracts flocks of bird lovers from all over Europe and beyond. One of the most extraordinary sights in the whole of Spain is that of the region’s large population of storks which build their huge nests on top of everything from palaces and telegraph poles to church spires and convent roofs. The region is believed to be home to more than 11,000 storks along with many rare and protected bird species which flourish in Extremadura’s nature reserves.
Monfrague National Park is one of the important raptor reserves in Europe and is the best place in Spain to go for a glimpse of black vultures and the rare Spanish Imperial eagle. The park is a hikers’ paradise and has been declared a protected zone by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) because of its rare flora and fauna, including the endangered Iberian lynx.
A Sense of Entitlement
Every generation has complaints about the previous generation. It was so bad when I was growing up they even coined a term for it, It was called it the generation gap. We boomers were definitely different from our parents. We challenged our institutions to be relevant and worthy.
What my lunch group was discussing today was the change in students today in their attitude of entitlement. My students feel no compunction to taking facial tissue from the teacher's desk without request. The school district does not pay for tissue. This comes our of our pockets, even though this is a small expense it is assumed that it comes with the classroom. I am concerned about this since every room that I am in I am borrowing from a teacher who teaches more classes in it than I do. They are taking tissues from from a teacher they do not even know.
Ron, the phototgraphy teacher at one of the high school has noted this too. I student came up to his desk and demanded some tape. As all of us do, he asked how the student planned to use it. She replied, to close my m and m bag. He said no, not a proper use. She immediately reached down and grabbed a piece of thinly cut duct tape that he uses for his film cassettes. He told her that he had to write her up. Her friends said give him back his tape, She did and he did not write her up. Granted this was really not a good hill to die on (*see my previous posts.) It does represent this new sense of entitlement that students are now exhibiting.
Another teacher, told me that she goes through a little routine every time a tissue is desired off her desk. The student comes up and asks, "Do you have tissue?" Her answer is yes. Then there is a period of pause. She then asks, "Do you need tissue?
The student answers,"yes." Another long pause. She then asks," You need to ask for some." Another long pause. Student says, "oh, may I have some tissue." This still doesn't get down to the issue that students expect you to have tape and tissue for their uss because you are teaching them.
I was appalled at an adult since of entitlement too. I was shopping at my local Raley's and as I approached the check stand, a lady who was another shopper just like me pulled up to the check stand and used the phone to call home without permission. I wouldn't have dreamed of doing this.
Have we reached a point in our civilization where what is yours is mine and what is mine is yours and you can have anything of mine because it is exposed or assumed? Is this a fight we should be having with our students?
Love
Pat
What my lunch group was discussing today was the change in students today in their attitude of entitlement. My students feel no compunction to taking facial tissue from the teacher's desk without request. The school district does not pay for tissue. This comes our of our pockets, even though this is a small expense it is assumed that it comes with the classroom. I am concerned about this since every room that I am in I am borrowing from a teacher who teaches more classes in it than I do. They are taking tissues from from a teacher they do not even know.
Ron, the phototgraphy teacher at one of the high school has noted this too. I student came up to his desk and demanded some tape. As all of us do, he asked how the student planned to use it. She replied, to close my m and m bag. He said no, not a proper use. She immediately reached down and grabbed a piece of thinly cut duct tape that he uses for his film cassettes. He told her that he had to write her up. Her friends said give him back his tape, She did and he did not write her up. Granted this was really not a good hill to die on (*see my previous posts.) It does represent this new sense of entitlement that students are now exhibiting.
Another teacher, told me that she goes through a little routine every time a tissue is desired off her desk. The student comes up and asks, "Do you have tissue?" Her answer is yes. Then there is a period of pause. She then asks, "Do you need tissue?
The student answers,"yes." Another long pause. She then asks," You need to ask for some." Another long pause. Student says, "oh, may I have some tissue." This still doesn't get down to the issue that students expect you to have tape and tissue for their uss because you are teaching them.
I was appalled at an adult since of entitlement too. I was shopping at my local Raley's and as I approached the check stand, a lady who was another shopper just like me pulled up to the check stand and used the phone to call home without permission. I wouldn't have dreamed of doing this.
Have we reached a point in our civilization where what is yours is mine and what is mine is yours and you can have anything of mine because it is exposed or assumed? Is this a fight we should be having with our students?
Love
Pat
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Movies and the Holiday Tradition
When I was growing up we often went to the movies as part of the holiday tradition. Football as promoted did not have such a presence in our lives.. especially considering that we grew up. Our favorite was Babes in Toyland. We used to go to the outdoor movies sometimes when the fog didn't roll in. The advantage to those shows was the multiple film opertunity. We had fun playing on the swing set in front of the outdoor screen and then we would promptly fall asleep in the car all bundled up.
My favorite childhood star sweetheart was Haley Mills. She was blonde and very spunky, sometimes a tom boy (as in Polyanna) and sometimes just the sweet girl that you would like to go out with (as in Summer Magic).
This holiday weekend we saw American Gangster. Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. Many times in the movie you had to pause and say why am I rooting for the gangster? (Danzel). It is based on a true story. The participants became friends in real life and the gangster that was the drug dealer helped the police track down all the crooked cops that were taking bribes to keep the empire in place. The acting and the writing is very creditable and overall movie is great. We missed the first 10 minutes of the movie however, and I understand that it was a dozy. Niece Cammie has seen the movie too and does not recommend it for her parents because I suppose the first 10 minutes of the movie.
I always wondered how the heroin drug explosion occurred. I also wondered how it could be maintained. Both of these question are answered in this movie.
I am interested in how the rest of the world that has seen this movie liked or disliked it. Please weigh in with your comments.
Thanks
pat
My favorite childhood star sweetheart was Haley Mills. She was blonde and very spunky, sometimes a tom boy (as in Polyanna) and sometimes just the sweet girl that you would like to go out with (as in Summer Magic).
This holiday weekend we saw American Gangster. Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. Many times in the movie you had to pause and say why am I rooting for the gangster? (Danzel). It is based on a true story. The participants became friends in real life and the gangster that was the drug dealer helped the police track down all the crooked cops that were taking bribes to keep the empire in place. The acting and the writing is very creditable and overall movie is great. We missed the first 10 minutes of the movie however, and I understand that it was a dozy. Niece Cammie has seen the movie too and does not recommend it for her parents because I suppose the first 10 minutes of the movie.
I always wondered how the heroin drug explosion occurred. I also wondered how it could be maintained. Both of these question are answered in this movie.
I am interested in how the rest of the world that has seen this movie liked or disliked it. Please weigh in with your comments.
Thanks
pat
A New Blogging Member of the Family
Check out the links at the bottom of the page. A new one for the family is Ken Brown's. He has always been an advocate of sharing life stories. We all learn from them. He now has a forum for his. If you would be so kind to add him to your bookmarks.. he would love it. Also a comment or two is what we bloggers live for... ha ha.. so do that too.
Dad just found out that he is going to need some catarack surgery in order to keep driving. You might want to reassure him to do this also.
love
Pat
Dad just found out that he is going to need some catarack surgery in order to keep driving. You might want to reassure him to do this also.
love
Pat
9th Grade Miracle of Post Thanksgiving
Every post Thanksgiving a miracle occurs. The 9th graders calm down and suddenly "grow up." This happens across the board with all kinds of students. There is little horseplay that occurs after Thanksgiving. The Mexican shadow boxing guys seem more interested in football than play boxing with each other. The females are looking at which friends are friends and made it through the vacations with out getting too upset at each other. On top of all of this, the weather is cooler.. much cooler and more clothes are worn.. Maybe that is the key.
We are looking at under 4 weeks to finals for my students. Some of the freshmen are going to get leveled when the hour and half tests in each subject start the last two days of school before vacation. I hope that most of them will still be there and not off chasing to where we all want to be.. sunny Mexico.. where the breeze checks in at 82 degrees.. wow
Love
Pat
We are looking at under 4 weeks to finals for my students. Some of the freshmen are going to get leveled when the hour and half tests in each subject start the last two days of school before vacation. I hope that most of them will still be there and not off chasing to where we all want to be.. sunny Mexico.. where the breeze checks in at 82 degrees.. wow
Love
Pat
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Contrails Sky
In recent days the morning sky when clear has been streaked by contrails from jets. The ice crystals from the jets condensation streak the sky. Almost all of them are headed south. Its easy to understand that LA and south is a bigger draw then SF and San Jose. It may be because the jets stay higher as they pass over going south than West.
Some mornings like today there are no contrails. There is a layer of high clouds above us. This layer of high clouds allows the temperatures to be a little higher.
No rain is sight. The Fall has been a dry one for us in the Central Valley. More importantly the snow has not been coming to the high country. We are worrying about a drought once again. This is not the case the Rockies. Last week brought them some serious snow. Just ask Heather. Her extended weekend in New Mexico was very cold with snow on the ground everywhere she went.
Best to you this Tues Am.
: ) Pat
Some mornings like today there are no contrails. There is a layer of high clouds above us. This layer of high clouds allows the temperatures to be a little higher.
No rain is sight. The Fall has been a dry one for us in the Central Valley. More importantly the snow has not been coming to the high country. We are worrying about a drought once again. This is not the case the Rockies. Last week brought them some serious snow. Just ask Heather. Her extended weekend in New Mexico was very cold with snow on the ground everywhere she went.
Best to you this Tues Am.
: ) Pat
Monday, November 26, 2007
The Druands Youth Group Leaders
Back when I was in junior high and younger, there was a group that I met with every Saturday. A couple who had no kids of their own put together an archery club for kids. They were German and talked with a bit of a German accent. Eric and Lee had a very nice home on a hillside in the unincorporated part of South San Francisco-San Bruno.It was a large Spanish Style split level house with about two acres behind it.
Every week we met in their garage and paid our 10cent dues. The basic premise was to teach the yut (youth) to be good people and to always tell the trut (truth). We had a governance with round table assistants, a president and a vice president. Safety was the number one factor and sportsmanship followed close behind. There were as many girls in club (lady marions) as there were robin hoods (boys). After our meetings we shot arrows according to our age and ability.
Every year there was a gigantic sleepover and tournament held on the grounds. We asked for donations from merchants and they were happy to donate items that did not sell or looked important. We learned how to ask and how to be polite when items were provided.
On the day after the sleepover, the parents were invited to a large potluck were a lamb was spit roasted (the first time I ever ate lamb) and a huge picnic ensued.
The donated gifts were layed out upon tables and the archer with the highest scores got to choose first and the second got to choose second.. on down the line. There were enough prizes for every archer. At one time this was about 150 kids. There was also a huge turkey shoot. A contest for trophies was also run. A perpetual trophy was awarded to the highest score for that round. Trophies were also awarded for 2nd place and third place. Surprisingly, an unknown archer would get his name of the trophy because the favorite would get too nervous to score well. The final part of the competition was the turkey shoot. At first fresh turkeys were hung on a post and awarded to the winner. In the final years the turkey was frozen. A couple of large salamis were also awarded to the 3rd and fourth level winners.
We always marched in the San Bruno youth posey parade. All flowers just like the rose bowl parade.. except on a smaller scale. We had uniforms. sweatshirts with hoods dyed at home with forest green dye and vests made from felt. Green pants completed the uniform. We made a float. We all marched beside the float with our bows (no arrows) We had such fun. It was such a significant time and energy donation by people that did not have kids.
I am sure the are gone now. They were at least 50 back in 1959 to 64. While the kids managed the club, the watchful eyes of the sponsors made sure that no one was taken advanted of. I was the president, the first time I held political office in 1963. I rigged a campaign with my sister Mikie Sue where we put vote for pat stickers on every member that would take one. The election wasn't even close.
Our turkey shoot was on the week after John F Kennedy was shot, November 22,1863. I gave the speech that commemorated the loss and opened the turkey shoot contest. That was 44 years ago. I have been in local club politicas since then.
It is hard to give back these days. We need to do it however. People like Eric and Lee Druand remind us that we need to teach our yuts to get along with each other, and to always tell the trut. Sportsmanship is important. And having a good time was important too.
Hats off to the adult volunteers that gave so selflessly of their time and energy.
Love Pat
Every week we met in their garage and paid our 10cent dues. The basic premise was to teach the yut (youth) to be good people and to always tell the trut (truth). We had a governance with round table assistants, a president and a vice president. Safety was the number one factor and sportsmanship followed close behind. There were as many girls in club (lady marions) as there were robin hoods (boys). After our meetings we shot arrows according to our age and ability.
Every year there was a gigantic sleepover and tournament held on the grounds. We asked for donations from merchants and they were happy to donate items that did not sell or looked important. We learned how to ask and how to be polite when items were provided.
On the day after the sleepover, the parents were invited to a large potluck were a lamb was spit roasted (the first time I ever ate lamb) and a huge picnic ensued.
The donated gifts were layed out upon tables and the archer with the highest scores got to choose first and the second got to choose second.. on down the line. There were enough prizes for every archer. At one time this was about 150 kids. There was also a huge turkey shoot. A contest for trophies was also run. A perpetual trophy was awarded to the highest score for that round. Trophies were also awarded for 2nd place and third place. Surprisingly, an unknown archer would get his name of the trophy because the favorite would get too nervous to score well. The final part of the competition was the turkey shoot. At first fresh turkeys were hung on a post and awarded to the winner. In the final years the turkey was frozen. A couple of large salamis were also awarded to the 3rd and fourth level winners.
We always marched in the San Bruno youth posey parade. All flowers just like the rose bowl parade.. except on a smaller scale. We had uniforms. sweatshirts with hoods dyed at home with forest green dye and vests made from felt. Green pants completed the uniform. We made a float. We all marched beside the float with our bows (no arrows) We had such fun. It was such a significant time and energy donation by people that did not have kids.
I am sure the are gone now. They were at least 50 back in 1959 to 64. While the kids managed the club, the watchful eyes of the sponsors made sure that no one was taken advanted of. I was the president, the first time I held political office in 1963. I rigged a campaign with my sister Mikie Sue where we put vote for pat stickers on every member that would take one. The election wasn't even close.
Our turkey shoot was on the week after John F Kennedy was shot, November 22,1863. I gave the speech that commemorated the loss and opened the turkey shoot contest. That was 44 years ago. I have been in local club politicas since then.
It is hard to give back these days. We need to do it however. People like Eric and Lee Druand remind us that we need to teach our yuts to get along with each other, and to always tell the trut. Sportsmanship is important. And having a good time was important too.
Hats off to the adult volunteers that gave so selflessly of their time and energy.
Love Pat
The Big Boys Babysitting 2
As Sunday arrived, it became obvious that no one was going to be able to get the cats into the crate and haul them off to the kitty kennel. I talked to Heather and she agreed to come home on Monday (today). The tickets had dropped dramatically in cost from Sunday night (the traditional return date from Thanksgiving to Monday.
She will fly from Albuquerque this afternoon and be with her two black babbies tonight. I hope that the diabetic cat won't be too far out of blood sugar to get back into shape.
In the mean time she has been enjoying her trip to Taos and Santa Fe. Her friend Micheal and Boo have enjoyed having her along. They stayed overnight at a hostel in Taos and got a chance to hear from the locals about living conditions. Many of them were there to ski the ledgendary slopes of Taos. One guy had left everything he had in New York and made it to New Mexico and never went back. Its been two years now. No regrets. Heather said there doesn't look like there are many jobs in the area.
I left her apartment Sunday about 12:30. Sue was happy to see me home. I listened to the 49er game as I drove. Traffic was not bad. Later that night I am sure that was awful coming back from the mountains. I watched the end of the game home as well as the overtime. The 49ers actually beat the Arizona Cardinals. Trent Dilfer finally has a team. The Raiders actually won too. They were losing against KC when I was leaving the city.
Have a great Monday.. Pat
She will fly from Albuquerque this afternoon and be with her two black babbies tonight. I hope that the diabetic cat won't be too far out of blood sugar to get back into shape.
In the mean time she has been enjoying her trip to Taos and Santa Fe. Her friend Micheal and Boo have enjoyed having her along. They stayed overnight at a hostel in Taos and got a chance to hear from the locals about living conditions. Many of them were there to ski the ledgendary slopes of Taos. One guy had left everything he had in New York and made it to New Mexico and never went back. Its been two years now. No regrets. Heather said there doesn't look like there are many jobs in the area.
I left her apartment Sunday about 12:30. Sue was happy to see me home. I listened to the 49er game as I drove. Traffic was not bad. Later that night I am sure that was awful coming back from the mountains. I watched the end of the game home as well as the overtime. The 49ers actually beat the Arizona Cardinals. Trent Dilfer finally has a team. The Raiders actually won too. They were losing against KC when I was leaving the city.
Have a great Monday.. Pat
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Baby-sitting the Boys
I will try to write this without any emotional coloring. I know that is not usually my style.
Heather left the day after Thanksgiving for a well deserved vacation in a place she has always wanted to travel. High in the mountains of New mexico, the land of Enchantment are the three cities of Albuquerque (thanks spell checker), Santa Fe, and Taos.
It has significantly snowed in New Mexico and there is substantial snow on the ground.
She flew their to join her long time friend Michael who is traveling and working on the road with his dog Boo and a teardrop trailer.
Everything was going as planned, she made it to New Mexico and life was good until she received a call from her cat sitter. The cat sitter said that she would no long sit the cats. Roone the bigger of the boys was growling at her and she countered with water in his face. Rone is a cat that needs a shot twice a day for diabetes and has to have a special diet. Normally she leaves her boys at Linzi and Seans. Everything is great. Linzi is off to see some friends in Detroit this week... so that would not work. We are in a serious remodel and living in a very small apartment with a crotchity old lady cat that won't let our other two cats near. So over to Merced wasn't going to work.
There is a place in San Francisco that will take the boys.. feline wishing and caviar dreams.. a cool condo kennel just for cats. My goal yesterday was to get them there.
I met the person who had the key to her apartment at the appointed time.. 4 pm. When I arrived in the apartment, both boys were under the bed. She said I hope you have some gloves. I had some.. hoping that I would not have to use them.
I knew they were there because I arranged the drapes and I heard a loud hissing and growling.
We missed the last of the check in times at 6pm. They finally came out put were still growling and snarling. I got the usual attack on my feet and as I lowered my hand to get the food pan out, I was hooked in the pointer finger with a claw. I have been talking to him so that he is getting used to my voice. Our first check in is at 12 oclock today. Sunday. Right now it doesn't look like we are going to make that either. He is not approachable with out a lot of consternation.
I re-parked the car out of the garage. and found a parking place by the school. I had a nice walk through the hub bub of fisherman's wharf. I had a super bowl of chipinno in a restaurant in the cannery. Also I had a great gelato style ice cream .. Italian vanilla (light lemon) and a tart strawberry toper. Yum.
That is where we are this Sunday AM.
Love
Pat
Heather left the day after Thanksgiving for a well deserved vacation in a place she has always wanted to travel. High in the mountains of New mexico, the land of Enchantment are the three cities of Albuquerque (thanks spell checker), Santa Fe, and Taos.
It has significantly snowed in New Mexico and there is substantial snow on the ground.
She flew their to join her long time friend Michael who is traveling and working on the road with his dog Boo and a teardrop trailer.
Everything was going as planned, she made it to New Mexico and life was good until she received a call from her cat sitter. The cat sitter said that she would no long sit the cats. Roone the bigger of the boys was growling at her and she countered with water in his face. Rone is a cat that needs a shot twice a day for diabetes and has to have a special diet. Normally she leaves her boys at Linzi and Seans. Everything is great. Linzi is off to see some friends in Detroit this week... so that would not work. We are in a serious remodel and living in a very small apartment with a crotchity old lady cat that won't let our other two cats near. So over to Merced wasn't going to work.
There is a place in San Francisco that will take the boys.. feline wishing and caviar dreams.. a cool condo kennel just for cats. My goal yesterday was to get them there.
I met the person who had the key to her apartment at the appointed time.. 4 pm. When I arrived in the apartment, both boys were under the bed. She said I hope you have some gloves. I had some.. hoping that I would not have to use them.
I knew they were there because I arranged the drapes and I heard a loud hissing and growling.
We missed the last of the check in times at 6pm. They finally came out put were still growling and snarling. I got the usual attack on my feet and as I lowered my hand to get the food pan out, I was hooked in the pointer finger with a claw. I have been talking to him so that he is getting used to my voice. Our first check in is at 12 oclock today. Sunday. Right now it doesn't look like we are going to make that either. He is not approachable with out a lot of consternation.
I re-parked the car out of the garage. and found a parking place by the school. I had a nice walk through the hub bub of fisherman's wharf. I had a super bowl of chipinno in a restaurant in the cannery. Also I had a great gelato style ice cream .. Italian vanilla (light lemon) and a tart strawberry toper. Yum.
That is where we are this Sunday AM.
Love
Pat
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Clover Coffee
I just came across this interesting article in the Economist about the new machine called Clover that makes coffee. I was wondering out there in lurkerville if any of you have had a cup of Clover coffee? Here is a partial from the magazine article.
Near the hard-working espresso machine at Ritual Coffee Roasters, a cafe in San Francisco, sits a stainless-steel about the size of a desktop computer. This box, the clover, produces a cup of coffee with a spectacle of steaming water, whirring motors, and an ingenious inverse plunger. Zander Nosler, the industrial designer who invented the Clover nearly three years ago, seems to have done the impossible; attracted a cult following for the new coffee machine that is both slower and vastly more expensive than other machines and requires the undivided attention of a trained operator.
Coffee has been stimulating innovation ever since it was first extracted with water hundreds of years ago, but developments in the cafe had reached their previous acme with the invention of the espresso machines in the early 20th century. That device, made to speed Italian commuters along with fresh individual doses, now rules cafes worldwide. Most developments have focused on convince. Nestles Nepresso system, for example, uses disposable capsules. This obviates grinding and packing and makes cleaning effortless, but because capsules are proprietary it also locks users in.
Even so, says Mr. Nosler, "the hardware side of the business is woefully behind the times." He cites medical devices, one of his other areas of expertise, as an industry with a far higher rate of technical progress. But unlike a blood pump, the Clover has social attributes as important as the coffee that it makes. It was only after Mr. Nosler modified a fully automated prototype to allow its operator to control almost every aspect of brewing that the Clover stuck a chord with cafe owners and coffee drinkers.
In the past decade changes in the way the finest coffee is produced and traded have given roasters unprecedented access to small lots of exceedingly good beans, spawning artisanal roasting and wine like focus on terroir. These coffees are at their best in a lighter roast, and served as single origin brews-neither of which works well with an espresso machine. Yet brewed coffee is a neglected stepsister in most cafes.
What do you think?
Pat
Near the hard-working espresso machine at Ritual Coffee Roasters, a cafe in San Francisco, sits a stainless-steel about the size of a desktop computer. This box, the clover, produces a cup of coffee with a spectacle of steaming water, whirring motors, and an ingenious inverse plunger. Zander Nosler, the industrial designer who invented the Clover nearly three years ago, seems to have done the impossible; attracted a cult following for the new coffee machine that is both slower and vastly more expensive than other machines and requires the undivided attention of a trained operator.
Coffee has been stimulating innovation ever since it was first extracted with water hundreds of years ago, but developments in the cafe had reached their previous acme with the invention of the espresso machines in the early 20th century. That device, made to speed Italian commuters along with fresh individual doses, now rules cafes worldwide. Most developments have focused on convince. Nestles Nepresso system, for example, uses disposable capsules. This obviates grinding and packing and makes cleaning effortless, but because capsules are proprietary it also locks users in.
Even so, says Mr. Nosler, "the hardware side of the business is woefully behind the times." He cites medical devices, one of his other areas of expertise, as an industry with a far higher rate of technical progress. But unlike a blood pump, the Clover has social attributes as important as the coffee that it makes. It was only after Mr. Nosler modified a fully automated prototype to allow its operator to control almost every aspect of brewing that the Clover stuck a chord with cafe owners and coffee drinkers.
In the past decade changes in the way the finest coffee is produced and traded have given roasters unprecedented access to small lots of exceedingly good beans, spawning artisanal roasting and wine like focus on terroir. These coffees are at their best in a lighter roast, and served as single origin brews-neither of which works well with an espresso machine. Yet brewed coffee is a neglected stepsister in most cafes.
What do you think?
Pat
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving this Year
We had a dozy of a Thanksgiving this year. Bob and mom put on a great show with the turkey and the ham, mashed potatoes and dressing. The rest of us contributed as well with cowboy beans from us and Kelly's outstanding cheese tray. The meatballs from Cammie were wonderful and the sushi from Kelly and wonderful English blue cheese and cracker plate were wonderful. Cammie also brought her famous mushroom caps.. wonderful in all its glory. She also brought a green bean dish to die for. Dana and Jim brought mountains of green goup. otherwise known as the Watergate salad because it became popular throughout the country at the same time that the Watergate scandal was revealed. We also brought at gigantic Chocolate cake from Costco that had a wonderful reception. It was also a celebration of Heather, our eldest daughter's birthday. We also enjoyed the pies that mom made. Pumpkin and apple. The apple pie is always special. Acacia always looks forward to mom's pumpkin. She was not disappointed.
Sue put together a wonderful looking table arrangement. The cleanup crew needs some kudos for their fine work. We had 15 people in all!
Jim and Dana joined our usual party. Dana is Bob's sister. Jim and Dana retired about 7 years ago. Jim worked in a company that made heating and air conditioning structures for commercial buildings. They have been on the road in a huge Rv since that time. Their heart is with the Salvation Army. They donate a major part of their time to the cause. Dana showed me some wonderful photos of the Alaskan cruise they took in September. They left out of Seattle with Jim's mom and her sister and kids. I could relate to the places that they went. Southeast Alaska is something cool. Jim played his B flat horn for us after dinner. He had a couple of nice songs with a taped accompaniment. We enjoyed it immensely.
The daughters were all there. Both Linzi and Heather were there and enjoyed their cousins Cammie and Acacia.
After dinner
A and a rousing game of bocci on the front lawn mom reintroduced the subject of the Christmas party.
Some stakeholders in the party had some concerned regarding the rules of the party gift give. Some of the concerns were:
Some people had already purchased gifts for individuals.
Some people felt that they were left out of the decision making process. Not that they were against the idea.
Some people felt they would have a difficult time finding time to make something.
Some people felt that that their gift would be more meaningful if they knew name of their recipient.
All of these concerns were discussed in open forum. It was wonderful to see that we could do this without anyone (that I know of) getting their feelings hurt.
We established that side gifts to individual other members of the family would be permitted.
That the gift give creative item should cost less than 25 dollars to make. The people could opt in by bringing a gift or opt out by not bringing a handmade gift. That Ebay and Salvation Army/Goodwill secondary economy pieces and parts could be used, but not necessarily.
The discussion finally centered upon whether or not to draw names for the event or to pick numbers on the day of the even for the gifts that people bring.
In a close vote, the group voted with invisible ink on single piece of paper to pick numbers not names. Assessment will be made with a June party to investigate the pick name variation for the next year.
All present seemed to be happy with the process.
Love : )
Pat
Sue put together a wonderful looking table arrangement. The cleanup crew needs some kudos for their fine work. We had 15 people in all!
Jim and Dana joined our usual party. Dana is Bob's sister. Jim and Dana retired about 7 years ago. Jim worked in a company that made heating and air conditioning structures for commercial buildings. They have been on the road in a huge Rv since that time. Their heart is with the Salvation Army. They donate a major part of their time to the cause. Dana showed me some wonderful photos of the Alaskan cruise they took in September. They left out of Seattle with Jim's mom and her sister and kids. I could relate to the places that they went. Southeast Alaska is something cool. Jim played his B flat horn for us after dinner. He had a couple of nice songs with a taped accompaniment. We enjoyed it immensely.
The daughters were all there. Both Linzi and Heather were there and enjoyed their cousins Cammie and Acacia.
After dinner
A and a rousing game of bocci on the front lawn mom reintroduced the subject of the Christmas party.
Some stakeholders in the party had some concerned regarding the rules of the party gift give. Some of the concerns were:
Some people had already purchased gifts for individuals.
Some people felt that they were left out of the decision making process. Not that they were against the idea.
Some people felt they would have a difficult time finding time to make something.
Some people felt that that their gift would be more meaningful if they knew name of their recipient.
All of these concerns were discussed in open forum. It was wonderful to see that we could do this without anyone (that I know of) getting their feelings hurt.
We established that side gifts to individual other members of the family would be permitted.
That the gift give creative item should cost less than 25 dollars to make. The people could opt in by bringing a gift or opt out by not bringing a handmade gift. That Ebay and Salvation Army/Goodwill secondary economy pieces and parts could be used, but not necessarily.
The discussion finally centered upon whether or not to draw names for the event or to pick numbers on the day of the even for the gifts that people bring.
In a close vote, the group voted with invisible ink on single piece of paper to pick numbers not names. Assessment will be made with a June party to investigate the pick name variation for the next year.
All present seemed to be happy with the process.
Love : )
Pat
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thanksgiving Eve Traveling to Fort Collins
After we graduated from Western State College, I took a job in Monte Vista Colorado. There were only two places that offered my interviews when I graduated as a Speech and Drama major with an English minor and a Secondary teaching credential. One of them was Monte Vista Colorado. They thought that I would do since I went to a college that had the same winters as they endured. They offered me a job for 6,100 dollars a year.
We found an apartment which was a converted garage of the mother of the bookkeeper of the school district. It was priced right at 80dollars a month and that included all utilities.
Thanksgiving eve we loaded up the Chevy pickup and headed to Fort Collins. We had to travel though Alamosa, over the Le Vita pass and into Walsenburg. Walsenburg was futher south than Tinadad and Pueblo and of course Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is over 120 miles for Fort Collins. It was quite a trip and took more than two tanks of gas and a lot of endurance. The front range driving was extremely boring. The total trip was around 400 miles.
It was particularly tough since the teaching job was not going well. I was teaching without a syllabus and teaching what I thought the students needed. They were into arguing but did not develop units of proof needed to develop their arguments to persuasion. They also wanted me to get the students to diagram sentences. I still feel that this is a total waste of time.
The students were 80% Mexican American with Indian mix. They came from very poor backgrounds. It was difficult to motivated them. They were 8th graders. The principal was out on medical for his bad back. Most of the teachers were growing hogs during the summer to make it through the year economically.
They were going to charge me with 21 counts of insubordination. We told him to improve the discipline in his class and he hasn't. We had a teacher's meeting (communicated by word of mouth down the hall) and he didn't attend.
On the day before Ash Wednesday (I still can't go through that part of the year without some pangs) I asked to be relieved of my assignment for personal reasons. I took the 500 dollars that I had contributed to my retirement account and headed for California to start in state the Speech and Language program at Cal State Stanislaus. Five years later going full time I was ready to start work for the Merced office of the Superintendent of Schools. My first job there I doubled my last income at 13,400 per year. Heather was 5 years old going to kindergarten in Turlock.
Because of the stupid charges and the lack of support from any union, I made up my mind that I would become involved to support teachers from that kind of attack. You have to be careful about how you treat employees they may become huge union activists for life.
The next year in Monte Vista was a tough one. They replaced me with a Mexican American teacher because they last a civil rights case and the students erupted around Thanksgiving and put a rock through each of the plate glass windows in the downtown area. School was suspended until they could get a grip on the reasons for the violence.
We found an apartment which was a converted garage of the mother of the bookkeeper of the school district. It was priced right at 80dollars a month and that included all utilities.
Thanksgiving eve we loaded up the Chevy pickup and headed to Fort Collins. We had to travel though Alamosa, over the Le Vita pass and into Walsenburg. Walsenburg was futher south than Tinadad and Pueblo and of course Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is over 120 miles for Fort Collins. It was quite a trip and took more than two tanks of gas and a lot of endurance. The front range driving was extremely boring. The total trip was around 400 miles.
It was particularly tough since the teaching job was not going well. I was teaching without a syllabus and teaching what I thought the students needed. They were into arguing but did not develop units of proof needed to develop their arguments to persuasion. They also wanted me to get the students to diagram sentences. I still feel that this is a total waste of time.
The students were 80% Mexican American with Indian mix. They came from very poor backgrounds. It was difficult to motivated them. They were 8th graders. The principal was out on medical for his bad back. Most of the teachers were growing hogs during the summer to make it through the year economically.
They were going to charge me with 21 counts of insubordination. We told him to improve the discipline in his class and he hasn't. We had a teacher's meeting (communicated by word of mouth down the hall) and he didn't attend.
On the day before Ash Wednesday (I still can't go through that part of the year without some pangs) I asked to be relieved of my assignment for personal reasons. I took the 500 dollars that I had contributed to my retirement account and headed for California to start in state the Speech and Language program at Cal State Stanislaus. Five years later going full time I was ready to start work for the Merced office of the Superintendent of Schools. My first job there I doubled my last income at 13,400 per year. Heather was 5 years old going to kindergarten in Turlock.
Because of the stupid charges and the lack of support from any union, I made up my mind that I would become involved to support teachers from that kind of attack. You have to be careful about how you treat employees they may become huge union activists for life.
The next year in Monte Vista was a tough one. They replaced me with a Mexican American teacher because they last a civil rights case and the students erupted around Thanksgiving and put a rock through each of the plate glass windows in the downtown area. School was suspended until they could get a grip on the reasons for the violence.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Happy Birthday Heather!
Heather was born on a Thursday. It was Turlock and it was foggy.
The night before she was born, Sue and I hosted a homemade pizza party for the college youth of the Methodist Church at our house. One bachelor student asked her when she was going to have the baby, she said, tonight. This totally shocked him. How could you be so calm etc.
We had to wait until after midnight to go in.. if possible. If we waited until then, we would only be charged for the day that we came in and not another day (the night before).We had an old 1962 chevy pickup that Grandma Nellie and Grandpa Bayard had given us when our 1962 Dynamic 88 Delta oldsmobile was consumed by the cold in Gunnison. Mikie Sue (my sister) and Bob lived three doors down in the same apartment buliding on Star Avenue. Bob lived upstairs and Mikie lived downstairs under him. They were not married yet. Dad always teased them about cutting a hole in the floor of the top apartment and installing a fire pole to get to the bottom.
We all wrote down our estimates as to how much the new baby was going to weigh, We were not sure what sex she was going to be. My guess was the most accurate. I guessed 6 pounds 4 oz. She was 6 pounds 8 oz, and 21 inches long.
At 1:45. Sue tried to wake me up to go. I was a little reluctant. She called Mikie to help. I finally got awake enough to drive the truck with Sue and Mikie to the hospital. Bob to this day is put out that I didn't wake him up too.
We were lamazing until the morning sun came up into the fog. I was wearing a button down shirt and Sue had a solid grip on it. I called into my classes that day. I was supposed to go to Los Banos to do some hearing screening. We had done a preschool on the far side of Dos Palos the week before. Luckily she didn't come then.
Heather came and she was a fighter. Mom and Dad came over for Thanksgiving at Mikie's place. I watched the Thanksgiving parade on Sue's hospital TV with her, two days later. Thanksgiving was very early that year. It is very early this year too.
When it came time to take Heather home we needed 250 dollars to get her out. Granpa Ken helped us out with this cost. He even loaned us the new/used buick to bring her Heather and mom home.
Bob and I were sharing a job at the corner gas station at the time. We worked minimum wage. Dad and mom helped out with tuition. Our rent was 125 per month. Mikie had a weekend job at the pizza parlor in San Francisco. Sue tried to do the same, but only lasted two nights. The smells of that place took her out.
So.. Happy Birthday Heather.
Love
DAD
The night before she was born, Sue and I hosted a homemade pizza party for the college youth of the Methodist Church at our house. One bachelor student asked her when she was going to have the baby, she said, tonight. This totally shocked him. How could you be so calm etc.
We had to wait until after midnight to go in.. if possible. If we waited until then, we would only be charged for the day that we came in and not another day (the night before).We had an old 1962 chevy pickup that Grandma Nellie and Grandpa Bayard had given us when our 1962 Dynamic 88 Delta oldsmobile was consumed by the cold in Gunnison. Mikie Sue (my sister) and Bob lived three doors down in the same apartment buliding on Star Avenue. Bob lived upstairs and Mikie lived downstairs under him. They were not married yet. Dad always teased them about cutting a hole in the floor of the top apartment and installing a fire pole to get to the bottom.
We all wrote down our estimates as to how much the new baby was going to weigh, We were not sure what sex she was going to be. My guess was the most accurate. I guessed 6 pounds 4 oz. She was 6 pounds 8 oz, and 21 inches long.
At 1:45. Sue tried to wake me up to go. I was a little reluctant. She called Mikie to help. I finally got awake enough to drive the truck with Sue and Mikie to the hospital. Bob to this day is put out that I didn't wake him up too.
We were lamazing until the morning sun came up into the fog. I was wearing a button down shirt and Sue had a solid grip on it. I called into my classes that day. I was supposed to go to Los Banos to do some hearing screening. We had done a preschool on the far side of Dos Palos the week before. Luckily she didn't come then.
Heather came and she was a fighter. Mom and Dad came over for Thanksgiving at Mikie's place. I watched the Thanksgiving parade on Sue's hospital TV with her, two days later. Thanksgiving was very early that year. It is very early this year too.
When it came time to take Heather home we needed 250 dollars to get her out. Granpa Ken helped us out with this cost. He even loaned us the new/used buick to bring her Heather and mom home.
Bob and I were sharing a job at the corner gas station at the time. We worked minimum wage. Dad and mom helped out with tuition. Our rent was 125 per month. Mikie had a weekend job at the pizza parlor in San Francisco. Sue tried to do the same, but only lasted two nights. The smells of that place took her out.
So.. Happy Birthday Heather.
Love
DAD
Monday, November 19, 2007
Going Crazy over.. Barbed Wire
One time when we were in Fort Collins for Thanksgiving. It was a cold blustery day. Earlier that week it had snowed and 2 inches of snow remained everywhere. The real issue was not the snow but the wind. Woody could hardly wait to get the meal done because he had a new hobby and he wanted to get out and collect some barbed wire.
He had become a collector of antique barbed wire. There were certain requirements for specimens of barb wire. Each had to be 18 inches long. There was a book that became the barb wire collectors bible. In this book each varieties patent was listed and the dates and location and purpose for its manufacture was listed. Some 18 inch pieces were worth 50 to 80 dollars.Each piece had a collection number. Most pieces were worth 3 to 8 dollars. Modern barb wire is all made from the same design and patent. If I remember correctly it is the Crandall form. In the middle 1970's there were many fences that had old or odd forms of barb wire.
Woody would drive down some old road that was not traveled by many, stop his little car, get out and verify the type and snip out the old piece and replace it with a new piece of cradall.
Right after Thanksgiving dinner all the guys piled into his little car and headed to Sterling Colorado (about 90 miles away on the plains) along the back roads looking for changes in variation of barbed wire. Old barn wood was also a prized find as well. The barbed wire was then mounted on plywood panels covered with burlap and trimmed out with old barn wood. The patent information was noted and the number from the book was listed. We found 2 pieces that Woody didn't have in his collection and we were able to cross off the numbers that were left to find.
When he was down visiting us in the San Luis Valley, We found some woodblock pieces. These are barbed wire with thin pieces of wood in them so that the animals will know that there is a fence with barbs on them and not get scraped up with the fence. They were made in the late 1800's and still had the original pieces of wood in them 70 years later. These were worth between 50 and 80 dollars per piece. A collector in the Alamosa gifted us with some of these pieces as a result of some conversation we had. Woody didn't have that number so we was really happy to get some of those pieces.
Woody was happy to share with me the extra pieces that he collected. They moved to Turlock California with us when I started grad school and Heather was about to be born, and were sitting outside the apartment when the landlord correctly identified them as a hazard. He stored them up in Ceres and when he moved and we moved, I never collected them back to be mounted. Now that is the last thing that I would want on my walls. Its funny how time changes your taste.
He had become a collector of antique barbed wire. There were certain requirements for specimens of barb wire. Each had to be 18 inches long. There was a book that became the barb wire collectors bible. In this book each varieties patent was listed and the dates and location and purpose for its manufacture was listed. Some 18 inch pieces were worth 50 to 80 dollars.Each piece had a collection number. Most pieces were worth 3 to 8 dollars. Modern barb wire is all made from the same design and patent. If I remember correctly it is the Crandall form. In the middle 1970's there were many fences that had old or odd forms of barb wire.
Woody would drive down some old road that was not traveled by many, stop his little car, get out and verify the type and snip out the old piece and replace it with a new piece of cradall.
Right after Thanksgiving dinner all the guys piled into his little car and headed to Sterling Colorado (about 90 miles away on the plains) along the back roads looking for changes in variation of barbed wire. Old barn wood was also a prized find as well. The barbed wire was then mounted on plywood panels covered with burlap and trimmed out with old barn wood. The patent information was noted and the number from the book was listed. We found 2 pieces that Woody didn't have in his collection and we were able to cross off the numbers that were left to find.
When he was down visiting us in the San Luis Valley, We found some woodblock pieces. These are barbed wire with thin pieces of wood in them so that the animals will know that there is a fence with barbs on them and not get scraped up with the fence. They were made in the late 1800's and still had the original pieces of wood in them 70 years later. These were worth between 50 and 80 dollars per piece. A collector in the Alamosa gifted us with some of these pieces as a result of some conversation we had. Woody didn't have that number so we was really happy to get some of those pieces.
Woody was happy to share with me the extra pieces that he collected. They moved to Turlock California with us when I started grad school and Heather was about to be born, and were sitting outside the apartment when the landlord correctly identified them as a hazard. He stored them up in Ceres and when he moved and we moved, I never collected them back to be mounted. Now that is the last thing that I would want on my walls. Its funny how time changes your taste.