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Busy days, but lots of good stuff... come to hear the last poetry event, too, if you can!

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Yesterday's trip to Tilton was successful, and Holly was pretty good, considering she's four, gets bored watching adult women hem and haw about clothing, and in general, gets tired of not being the center of the shopping attention. That said, Meg got her quite a haul of nice, practical, and pretty cool clothes. And she won the backpack discussion: she got the clear plastic Hello Kitty one with the matching lunchbox. It won't last, I'm sure, but for now, she was pleased. She actually remembered them from when G and I took her with us to Old Navy weeks ago. For her, that was the whole purpose of the shopping trip. Who cares about clothes? Just wait... in a few years, I'm sure she'll be all about the clothes, and the battle will be over hemlines or some such stuff.  I managed to get two super-soft, fine-wale corduroy shirts, which were a true find. I like to have an over-shirt for warmth and to balance an outfit-- and these are lovely. So that was good. And I foun...
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Time is slipping...

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Downright chilly start to the day. I think we'll be unplugging and draining the pool on Sunday, to pick it up and bid farewell to the summer season. There's little chance it'll warm up enough for one more swim. I'm sad about it.  The apples and pears are approaching ripeness; soon, I'll be sorting, peeling, and simmering them into sauce to freeze for the winter months. And I will be making herbed butter quite soon, too. How did this all sneak up on me? I haven't even begun to relax into summer mode, really, and here we are.  Today, Meg, Holly, and I will head down to Tilton to do a little stock-up at BJs and school shopping for Holly. I already got her quite a bit of fun new stuff, but she needs basics. I can't imagine how she got so big so fast. She's an awesome little person. I'm glad she lives next door. I can't imagine missing one minute. Yes, I'm feeling nostalgic, not just for the season that slipped by me, but for a lot of things latel...
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Things are going along pretty well... Hwaet!!

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 Friday!  In class, we've started along the usual paths, with APLang starting to pop the hood on narratives (exigence! claim-evidence-rationale! diction!), and the sophomores are plowing ahead into Beowulf. All's well. Today is also my first payday since June. Again, all's well! The Sox didn't play last night, the Patriots might as well have not played (ugly, I went to bed just after the half), and Holly did get into the pool again for what might be the last time of the season.  Autumn is waiting in the wings.  I didn't get to see any of the celestial excitement last night due to rain. At least it wasn't a huge t-storm, just rain, which is pleasant enough. Maybe it'll help remove some of the ragweed pollen.  In short, things are going along as they do.  I hope your day is awesome--  C
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I can't teach a kid a standing back flip, but the rest I can manage...

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Thursday, and it's supposed to be 80 degrees with possible t-storms later on. If it doesn't storm, then maybe, just maybe, I can get Holly in the pool one more time before we drain it. It's a sad occasion, the draining of the pool. I didn't get in it as much as I'd have liked-- the water was always a bit too cold for me, since we had cool night temperatures and we had to keep refilling it due to the slow (and now, not so slow) leak.  We can't keep summer in our hands, can we?  That said, day one of the new school year went relatively well, with few hiccups (not mine, for once), and the kids were pretty decent. As always, the new ones (to me) have all heard I give a lot of work and I grade hard, that the class is hard... I don't know who tells this tale, but gee whiz. We started the day with a general chat, then moved to a fun activity-- tell me about yourself, but you have to use three paint color names in the description (I had paint chips that G brought ho...
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Day One...and a short series recommendation...

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Okay, today is real day one.  My computer issues are moderately solved, the room is ready, the books came in, and open house was sparsely attended (fine by me)-- in short, let's gooooo.  I have to wear shoes, sort of. That's a thing. I have new sandals, so they'll do.  This semester, it's Brit Lit and AP Lang. I have nine kids rostered in each class, so it's a really small but workable number. And the part that the heating/cooling/whatevering system is on order, so maybe we won't roast entirely. (Ahhh the woes of complicated systems that depend too much on tech-- I would rather just open a window, but hey...here we are.)  I hope your day is wonderful. I'll catch you all up later. And no, I didn't watch the Mary Oliver documentary yet-- I was too tired. I will, however, recommend a short (one season long, sadly) series on Britbox called Ludwig . It's awesome. =) I see that season two is coming in October-- hooray! Ciao for now, friends.  C
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Day 2A-- More to do... but there's Mary Oliver at the end of the day to look forward to!

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Yesterday was a long day. I had one brief meeting, and then I worked on things on the computer, then arranged the classroom furniture (including unloading a bookcase, moving it out of the way, and transferring all the books to a different bookcase), and then I tackled my bulletin board project. Up and down the step ladder. I can honestly say, the day was filled with hot, dusty, and exhausting work. And I will not do it again like this. Sore? O yeah. I'm all hopped up on painkillers and Tiger Balm this morning. And I'm super grateful we had the option of going in late today. We could either be there for 8, leave at 2:30, and come back for Open House at 5, or go in for 10am and stay until 6pm. I'm going option B. One, I'm sore and tired, and two, gasoline conservation.  I don't have much left to do in my classroom, and my plan book is done (in pencil) for the first month. My computer(s) are messed up, though-- we've migrated to a new network, and one will not spea...
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Day 1A-- here we go!

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Quick post this morning--cool, damp, but promising sunshine later.  I'm off to work in a few minutes. Today is a teacher work day-- meetings, classroom stuff, etc. And so is tomorrow, but I hope to knock out a bunch of stuff today. I have a syllabus to edit, a bulletin board to create (I hope), and maybe some books to put away. And stuff I stuffed into my meager closet to put back out.  I didn't get a new desk chair yet, either, so that's on my to-do list. Maybe next weekend? I want to go to the thrift store to see what they have.  And so it goes, eh?  On to year 40. EXCELSIOR! C
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