NO AC AT THE MN LIBRARY

Went to work today to find out that the AC was out all weekend, Here I am sweltering in 90 degrees,,,then we get to go home.

Can't work or serve the SJSU patrons in that heat!

:-)

What did we do in DC before air?

.....sweat

Summer School

Summer school starts on Mon. with teachers workshops on Thinking maps.

next week the kids come.

Only a month.

I can do that right?

But why do I want to?

The library is calmer....

Yessica helps

6/20

Picked Yessica up to spend the night at midnight and we prepped and painted. She, going into 6th grade just jabbered like a magpipe till 2 when we had finished 2 walls of the family room.

I've known her since 1st grade from biblioteca (the library). Her sister Brinanda have had friends over to camp out in the back yard and I took them to Big Sur camping. Some exposure to things they wouldn't normally have and things to do and for me a little "parenting" and a peek into a culture I only see the outside of. I went to her mom's baby shower....really different and interesting...there were more kids than mom's!

They now have a little sister Adrianna, now 2.

Their mom speaks only Spanish and it's been interesting to watch her grow up.

I was a chaperone for her class to SF Mission Delores last year.

We watched a movie till nearly 3 and finally passed out.

It's been so hot we have to paint in the morning or given my propensity to be a night owl, in the middle of the night.

Painting

Finally painted the LR fireplace wall the mango. cantaloupe color, It looks good. Don't know now what took me so long.

The I painted the DR wall to match. That was nervy. I think it looks o.k.

and then the FR wall too. see pictures to follow!

The door to the house comes next sanded and red!

Recovery

6/10

Took me a week to recover from the school year!

Just finished Robert Parker's new book Blue Screen. I liked it.

Finally got ot in the garden and started getting it under control.

I'm looking at plans to head to NYC in Dec. for Jennifer's do and April to Williamsburg for Michaels.

Hope my friend from H.S. can join me in VA. The Wren building should be beautiful.
On Sunday we can go for brunch or tea sat the Williamsburg Inn. I

Great America/School's Out

6/8
So happy! Couldn't take another moment.

Took the little angels to Great America. One ran off with her boyfriend and we sat on the bus for an hour calling the police, mom, dad, home, cell, principal, the park with 100 kids before we could go.

Another boy got arrested for shoplifting.

I was so sore the next day.

Can't see I missed anything waiting 26 years to get to the park.

I went on two rides, one water one and one whirl thing nothing above a 3 for me.
I don't do rollar coasters so let the kids do the others Survivor and Top Gun.

Gas Prices 5/9/06

Well I had to fill up my Honda Accord today for the first time in a while. The gost per gal. is $3.25 or so and I spent over $31.00 without being totally empty. I'm glad my commute is only a mile and I don't do too much driving. I've always tried to group my trips together but I sure will now.

Testing is over for the kids today. I have 2 more days of sick leave to take before the end of school 6/15. Guess some long weekends are in order. The weather is 80 today.
I just started The diary of Anne Frank with one of my classes today. I really want to show then Schlindler's List but it's R rated so I'll selectively skip some sections. They don't have any grasp of the Ayran race and ethnic purification.
I tried to prepare them today to imagine what 3 years of hiding at their age with their family and 3 strangers in a tiny space might be like.

I remember being horrified and shown footage day after day in social studies the realities of WW2.
I'm not sure these kids have social studies. (Except a select few or art) I know they don't have science. The tests were difficult. I sure didn't know the answers to the comparative religion questions. Science was today and they didn't know that water turned to gas as it was heated. (the sample)

Back to normal tomarrow. I'm watching War of the World today.

The Monday after....5/8

The dinner party was a success. What turned out to be Mexican instead of Chinese consited of:

Menu:
Chicken Enchilladas
guacamole
salsa
4 color salsa
chips
flan
tacos
Enchilazana or Chaquillas A tomatillo, jack, garlic, onion, cillantro sause with chicken and layered corn tortillas like lazagna.
and a big salad
dinner for 6
I had one vegetarian and one diabetic so I had a lot of low fat things like turkey tacos with corn adn black beans!
(blastfamy!)
What a lot of work, my feet hurt. Maybe if you take it in stages of an hour or two you can do it. Even with the food processor it was a lot of standing and chopping.

Karen came over on Fri. and helped with some prep too. It was great to get some one on one time with her. I was pooped.

I started on Friday making the stock chicken and the green sauce.

We had a good time. It's always nice to be with friends.

I don't know how Peggy does groups 25 and up my limit may be 10. (except for family) ((not that I have any here, so my friends are family)

On Sunday, we saw the play, The Cook. It was good. I prefer night, not Sun. afternoons. I feel I've wasted those Sundays and they are precious.

Boy, did I sleep.

I'm reading Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods.

I'm getting a new crown today. The other one was removed. These things are expensive!
After picking up the paint yesterday, Eric, the scamp didn't show, nor was he in school today; nor did his mother. Here I am trying to help these people out and they did me.
It's a good thing I really wasn't depending upon him. He promised up and down he would do it today.

After looking at the color, I think that I will to a faux finish. The dark color alone would be too much, but mixed and wiped with yellow and honeysuckle it should be ok for one wall. It's not that big a space with a fireplace and a window and two high triangle windown on that living room wall. It probably won't even use up 1/2 a gal.
Now with company coming I have all the space preped. Oh well, I won't take it down and do it again we will survive. 8 for dinner now. Couldn't find blue corn tortilla chips.

Cinco de Mayo

It's not Independence Day but you ouldn't tell it here! Flags are waving are music is playing. The French who lost the battle in Puebla might not appreciate it though.

Discovered Goldfish PhysEdibibles, baked lemon animal crackers yum .9 ox is 120 cal. better than rice cakes!

May 4th Almost Cinco de Mayo

Just watch A day without a Mexican and watching Tortilla Soup. I've got to keep the kids quiet after testing and we give them 3 hours. today was math. There are only so many word searches and so much reading they can do. Tomarrow they are bringing "Charlie and the Chocolate factory" or "Water Boy". The library can help but they have seen my copies of Jurassic Park and " The Horse Whisperer."

Today the painting of the living room fireplace wall takes place with one of my students doing the work. His mother cleans for me. His dad is a Gardner and they did my spring cleaning in the back yard. They need the money and stupidly his dad bought a new truck yet he doesn't have enough money for a $25.00 lawnmower part.

May 3rd a play "The Cook"

Going to see a play at Teatrovision at the Mexican Herritage Plaza on Sunday. Its about the cook who keeps on cooking her favorites in pre and post Castro Cuba while the Senora is runnning around, packing and trying to get her stuff together. The cook is the keeper of the hacienda once she leaves and the caretaker as well. A la "Water for Chocolate", she keeps the traditions alive through the food.

Boy was MAy 1st a big deal here. Once of my classes had only 8 kids. There were pictures of huge lines of people running more than a mile and more than a million. I really didn't see any difference except some of the kids were out. Fine with me.

April showers

I'm tired of the rain here in San Jose hopefully this week we'll get back to normal. It has been great for the plants. My orange and lemon trees are in bloom, the primroses and geraniums are flowering and the grass is growing.
The freesias smell good, roses are abloom and the paper whites have run their course. Now all the flowering plum trees are in bloom and the lillies.
I've had the gardener come once to clean the back dow to cut the 1st grass of the season. Its finally dried out so I planted some poppy seeds and sunflowers.
My tomato seedlings are sprouting too. Time to put them outside once it gets to those 80 degree days scheduled for this week.

Its so great to see Clare Rena's picture's as she grows on gwen's blog. Was fun to see the pictures of Tina's wedding too. I have some of Jonathan's NY NY I should post from April last last.

I heard from Lynn. She and Walt are doing well. Can't believe Alexa is 16 and a Jr. Brandon is at my almamater, JMU and her other son working on his MBA.
NOt too sure my MBA ever helped me but it was interesting.

Only 7 more weeks or so of school. The kids are all getting antzy. They are never easy though.

Just got a laptop.

It helps to play bridge and for those sleepless nights.

This morning I was up at 4 and did a document for my class and had time to get it run off before school.