Newsy

First, my niece and her new husband live on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, near Honolulu. So they were about 150 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. No one has heard from them yet, not surprising since the islands are just about all without power or phones right now. A friend, I babysat her 30 years ago, lives on the big island. I don't know where, but that is where the quake hit. No reported fatalities. Erica, I know you are OK. I figure if Melan is not home then Daisy and Clancy are glued to you. If Melan is still in Asia, I'm more worried about him wigging out about you. (BTW, if you are bored and read further in the other posts, don't tell your dad about the afghan!)

Second, the shooters are off the mountain. Lyn called from Pleasant Plains. They are going to G&B's to veg in front of the TV with pizzas. Aaron and Scott will head this way Wednesday.

Daddy and Pauline, Mother's friend, came to see me Friday. Pauline had grown up close by in Leiper's Fork, so they were touring. We had lunch and then went to the church to see Lyn's murals. They were impressed. My daddy tears up very easily now. He positively puddled looking at her "names" wall. Lyn, I started with the clouds, then the graffiti, then the names.

I've read another 3 books. Revenge of the Barbeque Queens is an OK read. The recipes sound better than some of the plot. Read the latest Dick Francis. Always love the horse racing stories. Aaron says when he is a successful comic book author he's going to take me to the Derby. I used to love to go to the local races with my dad and uncle. He was an uncle no one particularly liked, but we had horses in common and so I was his favorite. :) Then, I read one out of order. I read the 3rd of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants since the second one wasn't in the local library. If you haven't read these, even if you are over 16 and not a teacher, you must read at least the first one. Have kleenex and oxygen handy. Ann Brasheres. Do read the first one first and do not judge the book by the movie. The movie is pretty good, but does leave out some key points, natch. It's a chick flick on paper.

Back to work tomorrow. I hope I left good lesson plans, because I don't have a clue what I'm doing with them. I am well rested and it is only about 5 weeks till we are off a couple of days for Thanksgiving. I do LOVE year round school. I recommend it for everyone. There are real reasons to reconsider going into the "management" side of education. Lack of 2 week breaks every 9 weeks for one. Some would think not dealing with seventh graders anymore would more than make up for that, but those folks just don't have my twisted sense of humor. Kids that age are Monty Python and SNL combined.

Good thing I go back to Dickson tomorrow. I am out of Nutella.