What's that you say? You actually finished something?

Yes, I did. I did indeed. I finished my Tweedy Vest. I think I must be the slowest knitter on the face of the earth. Some people crank out sweaters in what seems to be a month. I can barely do a vest in a year. The vest looks really good when I'm not wearing it. I had to stand very straight for this picture because the vest clings in places I really don't like. I don't know how to do shaping of any kind or if shaping would even solve that problem.

I started my waterfall rib socks over with the Cherry Tree Hill yarn. I wasn't happy with my inability to do short-row heels nor the length of the cuff. I don't like anklet-type socks. I either want footies or a 7 or 8 inch cuff. The cuff was just too short for me.

The kids and I had a good Easter break. Thursday the kids went to Granny's to color eggs with their cousins. Granny has them over every year and then the three families split the eggs.

Here's G1:


Here's G2:


Here are all the cousins together:

Friday we went to Columbus to the Ohio Historical Society Museum. The kids liked it a lot. Then we went to Build-A-Bear where G2 goes when he has some money burning a hole in his pocket. He is crazy for stuffed animals. The choice of animal this time was the Happy Chick for Easter. We had lunch at my brother and dad's favorite pizza place Massey's.

The break was short. We didn't get to see "Horton Hears a Who." Maybe next weekend.

Seven weird things about me

This meme has been going around. I guess it's my turn now. Some of these things aren't exactly weird, just interesting.

1. I was born in Australia but moved to the US when I was six months old. My dad was stationed in the Navy there.
2. I am terrified of insects, especially beetles and anything that flies like moths, cicadas, grasshoppers, butterflies, etc. If I go outside at night, porch lights have to be turned off. If porch lights are on and moths have gathered, I'll find another door to go in. If I go camping, I will not stay still too long in one spot with the flashlight.
3. It really bothers me when a toothpaste tube is squeezed in the middle. I have to start from the bottom and work up the tube.
4. It also really bothers me when people put a roll of toilet paper or paper towels on so that the paper comes out the bottom instead of over the top. The pattern is on one side for a reason.
5. I can bend my arms backwards a little at the elbow. I can also twist my arms so that the elbows are turned all the way out.
6. I've been to France three times. I lived in Tours for four months while studying abroad. I love France and the French language.
7. I hate clothing that has any ruffles, eyelets, embroidery, appliques, or anything else old womany. Add to that polyester pants.
8. When I sleep, I absolutely cannot sleep on my back. I have to sleep on my side with one knee up to my chest.


We took the kids to see a local high school production of "Fiddler on the Roof." Two of my students were in it. One student was G2's teacher's son. The other was my kids' babysitter. It was very good. The lead actor had a full beard and an accent. We could tell he really practiced for the part. My kids did very well. The play was two and a half hours long. They got a little restless toward the end. However, this being their first play, they did a great job.

Early Intervention for Failing Students

We're starting a committee at my school to come up with a process to prevent kids from failing. Possibilities are regular phone calls home and a student-teacher contract. One of our assistant prinicipals asked any interested teachers to participate. Only 4 out of about 45 responded.

Does anyone out there have some sort of schoolwide process in place to prevent student failures? Our administration encourages us more and more to make sure all of our students pass. Trust me, that IS my goal. However, obstacles prevent that from happening. Obstacles such as laziness, stubbornness (SP?), lack of caring, etc. I printed out lists of missing work for all of my students and gave them some time in class to work on them. None did. They told me that as long as they are passing, they don't care what their grades are. Two of them are only passing because I round a 69.5% up. What are we teachers supposed to do about students like that?

In other school news, we only have one more day of the OGT left. The reading test is Monday because school was cancelled this past Monday. I think the break over the weekend will be good for the students because today's social studies test seemed long. I heard many times how tired the kids and teachers were today. One boy I had in my room during the test actually fell asleep!

Latest reads

I recently finished Blaze and Duma Key by Stephen King. I felt these two books were very much like his books from way back when. Back when I read his books voraciously. Back when I was in high school/college. I haven't been crazy about many of his books in the last ten years or so.

I have a student who loves Stephen King and read Duma Key right before I did. What he told me of the book made me think I wouldn't like it, but I did, especially the ending, even if it was (SPOILER ALERT?) sad.

The book I'm reading right now is Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. I teach To Kill a Mockingbird and I find it fascinating that Lee has remained so private, never granting interviews, and was such good friends with Truman Capote, a very odd person. I enjoy the way the book is written. The author, Charles J. Shields, uses a conversational style that is engaging. Many times I find biographies dry, but that's not the case with this book. I recommend it, especially if you like To Kill a Mockingbird.

Catching up

It seems every time I post, it's been a long time since my last post. I'll admit I haven't been doing much knitting. I stopped on my Boogie Vest because I'm out of yarn and haven't ordered more for fear the new won't match. I stopped on the Tweedy Vest because I don't want to seam it up.

One thing I haven't blogged about is our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. My boys earned their badges--Webelos I and Tiger Cub. We had our cake auction. Bob made the Webelos cake.

I made the campfire cake. It was fun!! We had "The Blizzard of 08" over the weekend. I don't think I'd call it a blizzard. We got out of school early Friday and ended up with 8 1/2 inches of snow on our back deck. I think Kacie should be living like in Minnesota or Alaska or somewhere more snowy than it is here. She absolutely loves the snow. She runs like this endlessly. Sometimes she does it in the house. She gets a crazy spell and will just start running back and forth. In the house, she fishtails off the back of the couch. She's funny to watch. Outside, she loves to have snowballs thrown at her so she can try to catch them.