It's Over..........

If you ever read any teacher blogs, you'll note that in April they get cranky. By May they are permeated by a certain giddy excitement. During June and July they become very eclectic. But by August they should all be bordered in black. Our summer days are ticking away, today is my last.

I really do enjoy my job. I feel lucky that I get up every morning to spend my time with congenial staff and a principal I like and admire. When I think of people who spend 8 hours day trapped in a cube doing something repetitive, meaningless and boring I realize that I am fortunate indeed.

But it's the structure that I dread. During the summer my days are like custard, sweet, slippery and willing to take any form or format I wish. During the school year they resemble crackers - neatly divided into tight little squares with no wiggle room. Like crackers, if something unexpected comes up (broken car, illness, friend in town) the day falls apart and crumbles beyond repair.

No rolling over one more time after the alarm goes off, no lingering over coffee, reading an extra chapter in my book, lingering in the store, having a leisurely lunch with a friend.

Nope, it's back to split second timing, dumping in a load of laundry on my way out the door, hitting the grocery store during the 5 o'clock rush, flinging dinner together and dashing upstairs to pack the E-bay books. Always watching the clock and trying to grab the minutes as they slip way. And never, ever quite being all caught up.

Oh well, it's only 4 months till the Winter break!

Back in the Saddle Again...

Vacation is over... not officially, as in "the contract says we have to be there" , but as in "off the clock in-services so I can get my flex days and my required non contract hours" . Most professions require continuing education but doctors always seem to be jetting off to exotic locations to learn the latest tricks of the trade. Lawyers get sent to seminars during the work day, ditto accountants. Teachers not only have continuing education on the clock, we have to get additional hours off the clock on our own time. Oh well, nobody ever said life was fair.

The 4 day class I'm taking is quite interesting, I'm learning a great deal but I'm also having to sit a great deal. I'm not used to sitting. In the library I'm on my feet most of the time and during the summer I'm not one to sit around and eat bon-bons.

You know, sitting around all day is very tiring!

Becoming Invisible

My friend who is ill has a broken leg and a broken arm and can't drive so I've been her chauffeur. Kroger offers electric go carts so we headed there to replenish her pantry and larder.

She got herself situated and off we went, she did the steering and me following with my own cart. My job was to get the groceries from the high and low shelves - grocery stores aren't made for people who shop sitting down.

They also aren't made for people who aren't ambulatory, but for some reason they are made for people who can't see. I don't see how anyone can ignore a go-cart but my friend (who is not the shy, mousy type) suddenly became invisible. We chanted "excuse me" , "please move", "Beg pardon" , "I'm sorry", "No, you need to move your cart too" (Texans are very polite) while traversing aisles 1-6.

By aisle 7 we cut to the chase "move".

By aisle 8 I wondered if Kroger carried bazoka horns - the kind the clowns use in the circus - we could have used one.

By aisle 9 friend contemplated rapping people on the ankles with her cane.

The kicker came as we left. Car was in the handicapped section. Standing there, blocking the way to the car and the door were 2 woman with their carts gossiping. One of them had a toddler which both of them were ignoring. We approached and it was pretty obvious we needed access to the car they were blocking. They ignored us.

We tried the loud cough approach. Didn't work.

"Excuse me" Didn't work either".

Finally resorted to "You have to move, you are blocking our car".

They moved - all of 2 feet and blocked the trunk. Toddler continued to run up and down the rectangle created by our car, an adjoining car, us and the gossip monglers. My friend couldn't maneuver the cart down the ramp for fear of running over him. I couldn't bring the groceries down. The ladies kept talking, the kid kept rambling about and we kept staring at them.

Finally we snapped out "Get your kid and move. We need to get into the car you are blocking."

They looked mildly put out that we dare disturb them and went on into the parking lot. Where they continued to stand. And talk. And ignore the child. I fully expected to the see story on the evening news "Child run over in grocery parking lot, film at 11".

Houston Never Ceases to Surprise

In many ways, Houston is a very tiresome city. The weather is ghastly - right now going outside is akin to walking directly into a 6 foot high damp and moldy sponge. The traffic is worse. There appears to be a little known law that makes it illegal to ever complete a freeway. It's about the only traffic law Houstonians adhere to. And then there is a our complete and total lack of zoning which has resulted in an "anything goes" form of city planning. In Houston you'll find a gas station next to a McMansion with a convenience store round the corner.

This lack of zoning results in a constant tearing up and redoing of buildings, parks, streets (hence the freeway law) with nothing ever staying the same. Much of the time this is very depressing, with historic buildings disappearing right and left. But sometimes the changes are exciting.

Herman Park is our equivalent of Central Park. Over the years it had gotten scruffy and down at the heels from over use. Houston has a habit of building grand public spaces but never budgeting enough money to maintain them properly.

I was a bit early for an appointment near the park and since it was early and not yet to steamy I took a walk. I hadn't been there in years, not since my girls outgrew the going to the zoo stage.

It had recently been redone and the changes were amazing. New plantings, new paths, some areas were wildscaped, others landscaped. The lake had new borders and benches and some very happy ducks. The trash was gone and grass green and lush - nice change from the hard brown, trampled vistas of old. The old statue of Sam Houston astride his horse now frames a stunning vista of relection pool from one side and the city skyline from the other.

The view

That's what makes Houston bearable, you turn the corner and discover something new and suprising.


Sam on His Horse

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Drove my friend, who is very ill to the Cingular store so she could get a new phone. Ernest young salesman carefully explained the differences between the one year and two year plans. Simultaneously we look at each other and burst into gales of laughter. The salesman looked most perplexed.

She explained the reason- she'll be lucky to have another year, much less two.

The salesman took in stride and was most helpful, a distinct pleasure after some of my previous encounters with folks in the service business.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh, even it's not really appropriate. It beats the alternative.

Warning - Rant Ahead...

When did the service industry decide to ignore the word "service"? There seems to be an epidemic of "the customer be dammed" lately.

Last week, lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, the server ignores us in favor of the adjoining table which is 100% male. Once we do get her attention she bungles our order and then manages to further ignore us and avoid all eye contact , while being most attentive to the table next to us. The hostess is to busy flirting with yet another man to address my complaint. Letter of complaint in the mail within 24 hours.

This evening I stop at a Starbucks, lots of folks at the tables but there is no line. 2 Baristas argue loudly over who is going to wait on me. I like feel like an intruder and does not give me a warm, fuzzy welcome feeling. E-mail fired off to corporate within 24 hours. And isn't Barista the most pretentious word in the world? No matter how you slice it and dice it, Starbucks is a coffee shop!

I'm in the service biz myself - a good school librarian is at the beck and call of every teacher in the school since our job is to support theirs. I have very high standards for myself and consequently expect the same when I'm on the receiving end.

Perhaps they are to high?

I'm Not Wild About Harry

Will everyone else who is NOT reading Harry Potter #6 please sign in? I tried love the books, but I wasn't able to get through the first one or the second one and when it came to the third one I didn't even try. I just don't like fantasy. Never have, never will. The list of fantasy books I've never been able to finish reads like a who's who of the genre. The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Narnia Series, The Redwall books, The Chronicles of Merlin, The Robert Jordan books. Nobody can say I haven't tired.

I buy them for my school library, I recommend them wholeheartly to the kids and I'm delighted that J.R. Rawling has made reading "cool". I think there way to much hype and that some parents have turned the books into the Cabbage Patch Dolls for the new millennium. "See what a good parent I am, I stood in line at midnight to be sure little Madison (who is all of 4 years old and really prefers GoodNight Moon) had a copy on the first day". But such is life.

But every now and then a child returns Harry and when I ask what they thought of it whispers "I didn't like it". And I whisper back "I didn't either". And both of feel like we are no longer "the only ones".

All Grown Up

In May both my girls graduated college. It was a strange feeling, knowing they were really done with childhood and were now "young women on their own". The younger is going to graduate school so she still has one foot in childhood and the other in adulthood. Though not entirely, since she's financing her own higher education.

The elder leapt into adulthood feet first and landed safely. Within 3 weeks of graduation she'd moved to Los Angeles, found an apartment and a job that is somewhat connected to her degree. With benefits no less. Mom, who has been paying very high health insurance premiums for years is delighted.

And she's off to London and Hamburg for 2 weeks - on business. She's always wanted to travel and she's over the moon with excitement.

All grown up and flying high. Mom's so proud of you!

Bigger isn't Always Better

This is Texas, which prides itself on having the biggest everything. We had an Ikea, it was big but it wasn't BIG ENOUGH. So they acquired the adjacent lot, built a bigger one and tore the old one down for a parking lot (and no, they didn't pave paradise in the process).

Went there today to help a friend bring a chair home home. Early in the morning, not especially crowded but I swear it took us 30 min. to find it , haul it to the cash register and leave. Friend knew exactly what chair she wanted. The 30 minutes were spent following their rabbit trail from entrance to exit. One cannot nip in and out of Ikea, one must stroll / meander/ power walk/ through the entire store.

I like Ikea, I really do. I appreciate the fact that they produce well designed furniture & household items for a reasonable price. They don't feel the need to add tacky plastic "carvings" to their headboards or make fake Louis XVth chairs. It's all clean lines, muted colors, and blond wood. Hip, stylish, trendy but not passe by years end.

But it's overwhelming. I think I'll confine my Ikea shopping to their catalog, call ahead and have it waiting for me!

Rare Venture into Politics

Not being a political animal, I rarely comment on current events but the bombings in London cry out for a comment. Everything that can be said, has been said by those who are more elequent than I.

This website says it all. If we give in to the terrorists then they will indeed win.

Time abhors a Vacuum

Ever notice that just when you think you might have nothing to do LIFE rushes in and ensures that your cup once again overflows? It's summer, I'm not working the girls are living on their respective coasts and I should be a lady who lunches. Right? Wrong!

My summer is fast disappearing. Of course I did put in a week of my own time cataloging the math manipulatives. I don't think there is an elementary school librarian in the country who cares for Marilyn Burns. She may be a great math teacher but a pox on her base ten blocks, pattern blocks and tangrams.

Redid the E-Bay office, since the books were spilling out into the hall. We have kittens again, so I'll put in a day trying to trap them so I can get them spayed. Devoted a couple of days to serious thrifting and 2 days to library sales that proved to be not worth the trip. But you don't know that till you try. Stuffed books into my auction program in the hopes they will sell once the Holiday buying season starts again.

All teachers schedule their doctor appointments during the summer, as well as any 8-5 sort of things that normal folks can do on their lunch hours (teachers don't get lunch hours, we get a lunch break). A friend is very ill and I've been helping her out by taking her meals and running her errands.

Our first "official" day back is August 1, but the last week of July will be taken up with semi mandatory inservices, so that leaves me just 2 weeks.

And once again, another summer slips away................

The Events Continue

Whatever planet it is that governs how well things work is most definitely retrograde at the moment. Not only did we have a Series of Unfortunate Events at our B& B we have also have an equally Series of Unfortunate Events with our car. The back window got stuck in the “down” position. In true Southern fashion we Gerry rigged a fix of sorts using a cardboard box and duct tape. My sister in law informed us that the car has now found “its inner mullet”. It made quite an impression on valets at the Grove Park Inn, since not many of their guests drive cars held together with duct tape. At least the cardboard box once held 12 very nice bottles of wine, which gave it a bit more class than say, a Moon Pie carton.

Then heading home, down I-59 from Tuscaloosa, directly into the path of Tropical Depression Cindy the windshield wipers gave up the ghost. At least there was a dealership in Tuscaloosa, the cell phones worked and best of all the dealership has wireless internet to keep us amused while the car was fixed.

At this point we are holed up in a motel in Louisiana, where I am musing on stealing the shower curtain so we can upgrade to plastic.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

This weekend is my family reunion - it's not a big wing ding, being there are 3 of us, our respective SOs, my mother, her twin sister and 3 grandchildren. But we live all over and every 5 years my mothers calls in the chips and we all trek to North Carolina.

This year, we were to convene on a B&B in Tryon, a small & charming town on the NC/SC border. My mother and brother (I come from a family of compulsive planners) checked the place out but somehow between then and now it went through not 1 but 2 new owners.

Our first inkling that something wasn't quite right was when we couldn't find the B&B , despite having printed the map from their web site. Seems 2 highways converge through Tryon, and they got a tad confused as to which highway they were on. Rather odd that they managed to do that since they smack dab in downtown Tryon and only one highway runs through the strip of stores and coffee shops.

Second inkling - We ty to call the inn and and can only get an answering machine.

Third inking - we finally find it, no proprietor is to be found. Assorted loud coughs, "hellos", knocks and ringing of a bell finally produced a barely legal to work teenager who doesn't know the Goth look is passe. Her attire goes with the rather dim and gloomy lighting - I swear there isn' a light bulb stronger than 20 watts anywhere on the premises. We understand why later.

Fourth inkling - the door knob comes off the door to our room as we try to open it. We learn this is a regular occurrence as they drop off every other door in the place over the course of the weekend. We are told the building is "very old". That becomes the catch phrase for every other problem we incounter.

Fifth inkling - the room odor is something between wet dog and musty closet. My beloved points this out to Miss. Goth, 2005. "Oh yea" she responds, it usually doesn't smell to bad, but it's been so hot lately. Turn on the AC and it should go away".

We go to lunch with the family and pick up a few candles just in case. 2 hours later candles & AC have lost the battle and wet dog is triumphant. My Beloved's allergies are out in full force (they love this place) and it's very apparent we can't stay there. Tryon is not large and it's 4th of July weekend. Not a lot of options. We call the Minosa Inn, a B&B we'd passed in our fruitless search and they graciously take us in. Place is clean, door knobs know their place and it smells like warm cookies and hot coffee.

All is well, My Beloved plays golf and I hang out with my family at the B&B, AKA the summer home of the Addams Family where we start a football pool as to whose doorknob will drop off next. The entire family goes out to dinner in a near by town. Much food, much, much wine, it's late, it's dark and it's raining and we head back.

Only to find that the electricity is out in half of the Addams Family Manse, they don't know why (so that's why all the lamps were only 20 watt). No lights, no AC, no flashlights, no candles and no clue as to when an electrician can come out and fix the problem.

And we have 2 ladies in their 80s who need a place to sleep without worrying about falling and tripping in the dark. We call the Mimosa and not only do they answer their phone, they graciously drop everything and prepare beds for the weary travelers.

We then face to task of packing suitcases sans light. We discover that, in a pinch, cell phones can double as flashlights. Luckily, we have 3 teenagers in the group so we have cell phones aplenty. We grope our way about the rooms aiming the phones at bureau tops, bathroom counters and closets while we try to gather everything up.

My girls go spend the night with my brother, my brother and nephew opt to rough it at the B&B since their room is the half of the building that does have lights - and door knobs. We stuff the family matriarchs in our car and head for Minosa.

We arrive to find the lights on, the beds turned down and all's well that ends well. And we know where we are holding our next reunion!

Delicious Irony

We're on a road trip..while .driving through Hattiesburg, Mississippi we pass a Blue Bell Ice Cream truck. The featured flavor, proudly displayed on the back panel? "The Great Divide". Half Chocolate, Half Vanilla, divided down the middle so that never the twain shall meet. Not, rippled, not swirled, but divided.

Urban Renovation

Our neighborhood is changing before our very eyes. We live in the west end of the Houston Heights, a area that is currently "hot" since it's close to downtown. Since Houston traffic is what it is (at a total standstill) many people are willing to pay a premium to escape gridlock. Our section, which in the days of segregation was the only section of of the Heights where African Americans were allowed to live is last to experience a building boom. Most of the homes are very small and range from needing a coat of paint to needing to be torn down. Years and years of absentee landlords and benign neglect have taken their toll.

We bought our lot 7 years ago. This was and still is the view from our front porch.

7 years ago all the houses on the street were in similar if not worse condition. Now our street looks like this.


There is still lots of substandard housing

but more and more blocks are looking like this:





But the neighborhood still hasn't totally flipped, the stores within walking distance cater to the original inhabitants.


And shopping carts are still abandoned beside the bus stops, as carless residents shuffle their groceries homeward.

Houston We Have Kittens - Again

Last fall we had a kitten explosion when several semi- feral cats had litters under the house. We ended up keeoing one Mama and her sole surviving baby, which pushed our inside population up to six. Then, thanks to S.N.A.P & their Free Feral Cat Neutering program we went on a kitty tube tying spree. I've been monitoring the back porch rabble and I thought our colony had stabilized.

But, always expect the unexpected when it comes to cats. A wild as a hare long hair calico showed up every now and then to eat. He/She ran whenever we saw her/him and I thought it was just passing through.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

This morning it was lying on the table on our patio accompanied by 2 white and tabby kittens. And it is definitely a she. The kittens are shy and skitty and run when I open the door. They are beginning to eat solid food and I think they are about 2 months old. They are big - Mama has been eating well on our back porch and look healthy. And of course cute, but what kitten isn't?

I've already called S.N.A.P and reserved traps for their next Feral Cat Spay/Neuter weekend.

Some jobs just never end.

Where's the Lysol?

Normally I love comments - who doesn't since it means something one wrote connected with another soul out there in cyberspace. But I got an odd one yesterday. The poster alluded that we'd meet at a convention (rather odd since I avoid conventions at all costs). I clicked on his name & discovered the guy blogged so he could troll for folks to swap and swing with. Not my cup of tea at all, never has been, never will. Yuck!

Made me want to spray my blog with Lysol but I had to settle for deleting his comment instead.

Well Deserved Slugdom

My Beloved had an 8am T-Time (only golf would willingly get her out of bed at such an early hour). Of course, I was the appointed the snooze hitter and chief prodder so I got up too and followed her to the driving range. Hit a bucket of balls - felt good, it's been way to long, what with being sick and it being so hot. Put in 20 minutes of putting practice. I was thoroughly hot so I decided to get my walk in too. Put in 35 minutes of walking round the jogging/ walking track.

Interesting people watching. People who jog are focused with a capital F. No eye contact with others, no looking around, just grim jawed running and sweating. The walkers are a little more mellow and willing to nod and smile. The thinner the person, the less clothing. . Short shorts and crop tops went with washboard tummies and bouncy pony tails. The older, more overweight folks wore way to many clothes for the 90+ temperatures. Long sleeves, long pants, I saw a couple of women in sweats. I guess they aren't comfortable bearing their knees and thighs to the eyes of the world. Very sad, to be that uncomfortable with one's body. Especially on a public park jogging park, which is a pretty nonjudgemental place.

It was 9:30 and I'd practiced by golf and gotten some exercise. I felt virtuous. I rewarded myself with a latte and a leisurely perusal of the morning paper at Starbucks. If you are a fellow Starbucks junkie, check out ExpressoNinja .

The most delightful part of summer break (which is half over!) is not having to watch the clock and being able to linger.

Then homeward bound to hole up in the air conditioning and continue the never ending project of culling the dogs from my E-bay and Amazon inventory.

45 Minutes of Golf Practice - sore muscles
35 Minutes of Brisk Walking - sweat dripping in your eyes
Being a slug without feeling guilty - priceless

Uptown Girls

Yesterday evening we dined among the thin, well dressed and chi-chi. Past 4 -5 months I've mostly grabbed a bite in Tex-Mex restaurants or fast food places. Both places tend to attract the hefty hiefers, the broad of beam and the fashion challenged. Toss in the fact that I spend most of time at an elementary school -visualize schoolteacher embroidered denim jumper frump and thrift stores - visualize stretch pants, gold lame heels and a crop top in size 24x. About the only time I see high fashion is when I watch the L Word and reruns of Sex in the City.

So, friends suggested we meet for dinner at Uptown Sushi -yeap that's really the name of the place!

Uptown Sushi

Mother of pearl sushi bar, tri-level seating so you could see and be seen. They don't take reservations and the bar / waiting area has little seating since they want to create a "buzz" -plus make sure you can see all their multiple martinis in multiple colors. Excess yards of cloth covered the walls, , high ceilings, dramatic low level lighting, elegant lamps, striking art. The food was equally elegant. Presentation is always a big part of sushi but this place took it to new heights.

Not being part of the chi-chi set, we arrived early for dinner and the place was only about half full. We were seated promptly and concentrated on food and conversation since it had been some time since we'd seen each other. Service was very slow, which didn't bother us a bit (this is not the sort of place you dine at if you are in a hurry). Food was excellent & innovative and they went beyond the tired and true when it came to the sushi rolls.

By the time we left the place was full to overflowing. Trim young woman, with $200 highlights, pouty lips (was it nature or was it collagen?), perfectly made up eyes, flirty, summer dress with short skirts and high heels to show off long, tanned legs. Many were there with girl friends, enjoying the food and scanning the crowd with a predatory look. Most of the men; who all had that up and coming accountant or lawyer look to them were there with dates. Freshly dry cleaned and starched Ralph Lauren shirts, chinos, Cole-Hahn shoes. Why there were so many single girls on the prowl baffled me since the single guys were more likely to be at the very expensive steak house next door.

But then both places shared valet parking so perhaps they were hoping to score while waiting for their car!

VIB - Very Important Books

Garnet passed this meme on to me – anyone ever noticed how many of the blog memes center around books?

Total number of books I've owned: To many to count. Right now I think I own less than I ever have. I’ve been in a paring down of things mode. I only keep books that I know I’ll re-read. One time books get passed on. I’d say I have about 500 in my personal collection and 1000+ in my Amazon / E-Bay inventory.

Last book I bought: I buy books almost every day (always looking to add inventory). Last single book I bought for me was The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry. I bought it at the Duluth airport when it became apparent we’d be sitting around waiting for our plane. This is another “history and ficiton” mixed book, the sort of thing the DaVinci Code has popularized, very readable and lots of fun.

Last book I read: Back From The Land: How Young American Went to Nature in the 1970s and Why They Came Back by Eleanor Agnew. History but reads like a novel. Much to my amazement I found some quotes attributed to someone I once worked with, some 25 years ago!

Five books that mean a lot to me: Hard to narrow this down. And books mean different things to me at different points in my life.

The Betsy Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. I read these as a child, have re-read them on a yearly basis ever since. Betsy and The Great World went to Europe with me last summer. No matter what stage of life I’m at, these books always speak to me. And through them I’ve made friends, been places and started my book business.

The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. Read this when I was in high school and haven’t read it in years. But it’s the book that made me realize that I could have a career and didn’t need to aspire to a “Leave It to Beaver” sort of life when I grew up.

Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – I identified with Francie from the first chapter onward. Yet another book I read on a yearly basis. Made me realize I wasn't the only lonely, bookworm out there.

Katherine by Anya Seton. This one, a historical novel set in Plantagenet England awakened my lifelong passion for history.

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (and another of her books, The Secret Garden). I wanted to be Sara Crewe. And it was the beginning of my love affair with all things English.

Which Blogger am I passing this on to? Not sure, it’s made the rounds and I’ve seen it on many of the blogs I frequent. I think I will send it to the first 5 people who post a comment and indicate they are willing to adopt it!