Carrabba's world

Seussitis!

2011-12-28T19:04:00.002-06:00

What I did today!

In the library this morning, I picked up a biography of Dr. Seuss. This (of course) started me thinking about reading lessons.
I just finished posting my newest DonorsChoose project for books written by Dr. Seuss! Since a number of his books are more than just silly story books, I realized that I could use them to expand my reading lessons into other areas. It is awaiting approval from the DonorsChoose elves. (They are finished with Christmas, so the elves work their normal year round job at DonorsChoose!)

Also today, I finished my lesson plans for Foreign terms and began my lessons on propaganda devices.

I managed to get out to the bank and the salon (to have my hair trimmed). I also ate lunch at my favorite local restaurant!

Otherwise it has been a quiet day here in the Carrabba household.

What did you do today?

2011-12-27T22:06:00.005-06:00

Today, I finished my Poetry lesson plans for next week. It is a short school week, so we will not read a story in Reading class. Thus, I can do something fun with another reading skill. Next week, we are reading a variety of poems. We will learn about poetic elements, different types of poems and will spend time reading and analyzing them. It will also serve as a review of other types of figurative language that we have already covered.

Today, I finished my English lesson plans for next week. I really do not like the English textbook much and in the second half of this year, I plan to focus more on how to use the language. So, next week, we will be learning how to write an outline and conduct research. The students will have two assignments given. The first is their career speech for the 4-H public speaking contest in January. Since it fits with the standards Tennessee says the students must accomplish, it is always an assigned project. The students will also have a chance to choose a different research topic from the various Time for Kids news magazines we have in class.

Today, I created two study guides for Reading stories we will cover in January.

Today, I finished the laundry for the week.

Today, I washed the guest room linens and cleaned the guest room. I also gave Vince instructions NOT to clutter that room again.

Today, I made a batch of dishwasher detergent. I found a container of Citric Acid in the pantry and remembered that I purchased that so that I could make my own detergent, then forgot to complete that task. So, I found this recipe at DIY Natural and decided to give it a try. My first load is washing now. More information to follow.

Today, I finished marking the small pieces of Rob and Izzy's wedding quilt.

Today, I vacuumed the house (again!)

Today, I finished reading a book: At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks.

It never ceases to amaze me what I accomplish when I sit and make a list. When I think about it I always feel like I did not accomplish much, when actually I do.

What did you do today?

Summer ends. School begins.

2011-07-22T18:45:00.002-05:00

This picture shows how I feel right now...dizzy with all I am doing and trying to do! My summer is ending and my school year begins in another week.

While I spent a lot of time getting my Language Arts lesson plans put together, I am not through all of the chapters yet. I do have the lessons for the first half of the year though!

Yesterday and today, I acquired several children's story books that I plan to use with my lessons. I then discovered that I do not have copies of some very simple stories. I need Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears! I find it funny that with all the books I do have, I do not have these three!
So, tomorrow I will be checking out the Goodwill Store to see if I can find these!

My reading corner for my classroom is all set. I purchased some large colorful pillows to go with the ones from last year,along with an area rug and a colorful floor lamp. Once I paint the new (old) bookcase to match my other one, I will have a neat area to read in.

Today, I also dropped a quilt top off at the quilter's. Chris will do a phenomenal job as she always does!

More Summer Progress!

2011-06-22T18:24:00.003-05:00

I purchased the fabrics for this quilt top last June and have been working on it since then. Finally it is finished! I love the brights against the black background fabrics. Now I need to figure out if I have fabric for the back and I can get it off to Chris for quilting!

Three years ago, Elizabeth left me to return to Texas. I sent her off with her own Eric Carle quilt, created with fabrics designed around his book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". I had fabrics left over and since I will be teaching Reading next year, I decided to make my own! Here it is! I even have the backing fabric all ready to go! Nothing new purchased for this project!!

I have also created 4 tote bags from fabric left over from my Balloon Race quilt, and 3 tote bags from some canvas my mother-in-law gave me.

The stash of fabrics are slowly being used.

On the funny side: I took this sticker off a shirt this morning and stuck it on Narnia's forehead. She has left it there all day. Silly Dog!

Health Goals

2011-06-17T17:28:00.002-05:00

As I get older, I am more aware of my aches and pains. It seems that every year I work to improve my health, but as I get older, I am less and less successful in maintaining the life style changes that are necessary.

I know that there are some of you who can relate to this and I also know that there are those of you who know me and are saying that they have heard this refrain from me in the past.

What makes this year different? Perhaps it is knowing that I have probably lived more than half my life already. Perhaps it is knowing that half of those years have been spent overweight and over tired. Perhaps it is knowing that my son will be getting married in a year. Perhaps it is all of it.

Since January, I have been working on a few health issues and those appear to be under control now.

Since school let out in May, Vince and I have been eating better and getting more exercise by working around the house.

Since school let out in May, I have lost a bit more than 12 pounds. I am not sure of the exact number as I have one of those dial scales---not a digital one! Regardless, I am seeing numbers I have not seen in a year!

I took my measurements last week and at this point, I have lost 2.5 inches. Again, making strides in the right direction.

I am aware of what I eat and drink. I make sure that my caloric intake varies from day to day and that I do not drink empty calories. I have eliminated my between meal snacking and have been much more active.

When my son gets married, I would like to be a single digit clothing size.

Short term, I would like to be a total of 20 pounds lighter by the time school begins in August.

There it is folks. My goals for this summer!

Summer Progress!

2011-06-09T11:51:00.008-05:00

Today is another in and out day! Vince is continuing to work on the garden shed and had already advised me to be ready to assist him! (That is the OUT).

I finally repotted this plant that we brought back from my mother-in-law's house in Alabama. I can only hope that it survives!

I spent the day in my working studio, finishing up those UFO's of a variety of types! Yesterday, I finished Jena's quilt, well more accurately, Maurice's quilt. Earlier last week, I did the quilting and put the binding on. Yesterday, I put the final stitches in the binding and here it is:

I also finished 4 sets of Car Club placemats that will be door prizes for next year's Bunny Run Car Show. These were pending from Last Year! I never finished them. So, I decided they needed to be completed this summer and be available for next year's show. Here are two sets:

I was also working on using up the fleece and ribbons I had laying about. So, I put together more of ribbon blankets that I have been successful selling and using as baby gifts.

I had a lot of red and blue fleece so many of the blankets have a patriotic theme going on. The flannel I used was a yard sale rescue and left over pieces from other flannel projects. As always, I work to reuse or rescue fabric and make them into a new creation!

My goal for today was to finish these up. Yay to have met that goal!

Summer Break--what I do!

2011-06-01T18:14:00.005-05:00

Everyone always thinks that it is wonderful that Teachers get the "ENTIRE SUMMER" off work.
Those of you who know me know that this is not actually true.
Yes, I do not have a strict schedule for work.
Yes, I can sleep in and stay up all night.

But.....

The school system schedules in-service (training) and meetings during the summer so that we can prepare for the next school year.

I clean out my classroom of items I did not use in the past two years. This year, because I am teaching a new subject, I shared a lot of my math and history items with other teachers. I also acquired a number of Language Arts items.

There is always one BIG project for my classroom, this year it involves Vince (as always), but will not be as time consuming as the prior years' projects have been.

I also work on lesson plans and activities that I have thought of and want to use next year. I also revise lesson plans that did not work out well the prior year.

This year, I am working on learning my new subjects (English and Reading--collectively called Language Arts). I am really excited about teaching Language Arts! I have been going through the lesson plans of my fellow teachers and working my own twist on them. I have been reading the stories and coordinating the grammar and writing with the standards for the 6th grade.

I located this nifty website called Web English Teacher that has lesson plans for some of my favorite authors (Dr. Seuss, Chris Van Allsburg, Patricia Polacco and more!). I love using children's storybooks to encourage my 6th graders to write. I am glad that I will now be able to do these activities and they will actually be in the subject I am teaching.
Last week, Vince and I went to Alabama to close up my MIL's house, and then I went to St. Louis to visit Rob and Izzy. So, my first week of summer break was a little work and a little relaxation!

This week, I have been working--cleaning up the house and putting away items we acquired from my MIL's House, freecycling items Rob and Izzy gave me that they did not need, and sewing. We also sold the old water heater, Vince's golf clubs and a purse I did not like. It has been a good week to get tasks accomplished and begin the annual summer PURGE!

Look for updates!

Abundance

2011-05-15T19:38:00.005-05:00

–noun

1. an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.

2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.

3. affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance

So, it appears that living an abundant life means that you have more than what you need to get through life. I suspect that initial thoughts go to material items in life, perhaps even actual monetary worth.

I spent the day contemplating whether I was living an abundant life and I decided that I was getting there.

My life is abundant in love and friendship. I enjoy my work and the comfort of my home in a spiritual as well as physical sense. I am working towards having more peace in my life, moving away from the Type A personality that I have developed over time.

How about you? Are you living an abundant life?

Studio Changes!

2011-05-14T14:52:00.006-05:00

Vince and I (mostly Vince) have been hard at work on the current household construction project.

The intent is to convert my original studio into a second guest bedroom. So, Vince finished the utility room so that it would be a small working studio. The photo above shows my threads in their new home on the wall.

Here is where I sit and sew:

I can open my curtains and get natural light in there, plus I have SUPERB overhead lighting. My original studio had very poor lighting.

I also have lots of shelf space for my doo-dads and what-nots.....Did you find Barbie's Head yet?

The original studio is gutted: Wall paper removed, ceiling removed, carpeting removed, wall mirror and paneling removed!
The door you see in this photo leads to my working studio:

This is facing the wall that use to have mirrors on it.

What we found very entertaining was that there use to be a door in this wall. It was the original basement of the original house, so there was a doorway into the cellar.
When I was explaining this to Rob, he asked how there could be a doorway there when that part of the house is below ground level. We decided that the best way to describe what the outside door looked like was to say that it was one of those old-fashioned basement doors...like in the scary movies!

SO, we have quite a bit of work pending here.

When it is finished, it will have a Murphy bed on the wall with the scary basement doorway, a larger closet for my storage of fabrics, shelves for Barbie, wood laminate flooring, florescent lighting in the drop ceiling, a ironing board that lowers from the wall, shelf space for books and plenty of floor space for me to set up a large cutting station. YAY!

Farewell Bell!

2011-04-04T17:27:00.005-05:00

Today it was Bell's turn to be adopted!
In the midst of a horrendous day of storms, Bell had to contend with thunder, lightening and rain! For most of the day, she was snug in her little dog house.

Until the wood standing next to the house fell over and scared her out of the doghouse and around the corner of the house. Vince found her huddled against the side of our house, shivering and wet.

We brought her into the house and dried her off and comforted her.

Then, unfortunately, put her in the car and took her to her new home!

Farewell Bell and I hope you have a happy life. It was fun having you and Ranger here to visit for this short time.

Farewell Ranger!

2011-04-01T21:48:00.002-05:00

Today we found a new home for Ranger! It was a tearful goodbye for all of us!

Ranger and Bell and I took a ride, as the family wanted to meet both pups before making a final decision. The little girl liked Ranger best, perhaps because he was the smaller of the two..who knows. Regardless, Ranger left with his new family and Bell and I went shopping.

Only for dog food.

When I returned to the truck, Bell was making herself at home on the rear seat of the truck, having hopped over the seats from the cargo section!

She road home with her head hanging down between the seats...perhaps out of loneliness, perhaps out of curiosity. She was a bit mopey at first when we arrived home, but seems okay now.

This will be her first night alone in quite some time.

We HAVE become foster parents!

2011-03-23T06:36:00.006-05:00

These two puppies have made their way to the base where Vince works. They were scrawny and obviously had been abandoned at the airport. The crew members have kept them outside (not allowed inside the base!) but have been trying to fatten them up a bit with food.

Now, we need to find them homes!

The lighter one is a girl, the darker one a boy. They are believed to be brother and sister and get along quite well. Vince said they play together and sleep together and are just adorable!

We will probably be their foster parents until we find them new homes. They cannot stay at the base, so when Vince leaves work today, he may have some company!

UPDATE: The pups are officially here. Their names are Bell (the female) and Ranger (the male) after the helicopter that Air-Evac flies. They are very energetic and playful. They will bark when Kashmir and Narnia bark, but they do not bark incessantly for no reason. They are eating well and often as we try to fatten them up a bit---their ribs are still showing a bit too much.
There is no sign of any illness or problem-- ears and eyes are clear, poop is normal!
Right now, they are sitting outside the window peering in at me, hoping I will take pity on them!

Something Old.......

2011-03-05T16:45:00.011-06:00

In January, my friend Jena asked me if I could do some repairs on a quilt of her husband's. We met for lunch and then she introduced me to her husband's quilt. It was made by his grandmother and he now wants to preserve it.

I looked at this and I knew that there was no way to repair it. The back looks bad, too.

I told Jena that I would probably have to salvage large blocks out of the quilt and create a new one from these blocks.
When I got it home, and really looked at it, I realized that it would be hard to do.

I did manage to salvage 5 Twelve inch blocks from the quilt. It was hard working around the extensive damage and paint splatters. The original top was one solid piece of fabric. The original quilter used what looks like a thin blanket as batting (nothing at all like any batting I know of) and then a solid piece of fabric for the backing. I wanted to keep as much of the original quilting as I could in the blocks, and given the fragile state of the quilt, I left the three layers together when I cut my 12 inch blocks.

Then I searched and found three fabrics that would complement the colors in the quilt. Today, I finished putting the new quilt top together!

Letters from Ireland, December the 14th

2011-02-25T19:56:00.003-06:00

"Dear dauter rose i sit down to ancer your letter i am glad to here from you that you and your fameley are all wel we are all well at precent thank god wel rose i have good news to tel you the govrment has granted a penshion tow all old people of seventy years of age i am getting my book this day for to lift my penshion on the first of the new year 5 shillings a week giving as long as we live i will be an hold penshionor now all old people that is seventy years of age is geting it i now nothing about the Barkeys now more than your self cince the old tinker went back to them the are all a bad party I got now etter from john yet i think he must be dead or sick i rote a letter to lysey money she did not ancer it yet let me know how is your ant roe and amy megill we did not here a word from that girl cince she said she would gow to see you we had no letter from Mary gun this 3 months we now nothing about her we have very cold wet weather wel rose my health is middling thank god but i am afraid that i will not live long tow lift the penshin it will be 12 pounds a year and its all a wanting you may put on a penny stamp will your letter it is oney a peny here rite sown and let me know how you dowing john be dead or he would rite wel rose Johny Bulick has bout the farm of Besy and he has bilt a new house and there is great changes all round her i have nothing more to tel you we all going in cending our love to you husband and fameley all our children cends there love to your childer know more from your mother ann smith rite sown again know from your mother"

Translation:
Dear Daughter Rose,
I sit down to answer your letter. I am glad to hear from you that you and your family are all well. We are all well at present, thank God. Well Rose, I have good news to tell you. The government has granted a pension to all old people of seventy years of age. I am getting my book this day for to lift my pension on the first of the new year. 5 shillings a week given as long as we live. I will be an old pensioner. Now all old people that is seventy years of age is getting it. I know nothing about the Barkeys, no more than yourself since the old tinker went back to them. They are all a bad party. I got no letter from John yet, I think he must be dead or sick. I wrote a letter to Lysey Money, she did not answer it yet. Let me know how is your Aunt Rose and Amy Megill. We did not hear a word from that girl since she said she would go to see you. We had no letter from Maryann this past 3 months. We know nothing about hr. We have very cold wet weather. Well Rose, my health is middling thank God, but I am afraid that I will not live long to lift the pension. It will be 12 pounds a year and it is all awanting. You may put on a penny stamp will your letter. It is only a penny here. Write soon and let me know how you are doing. John be dead or he would write. Well Rose, Johny Bullick has bought the farm of Besy and he has built a new house and there is great changes all round here. I have nothing more to tell you, we are all going in sending our love to you, husband and family. All our children send their love to your children. No more from your mother, Ann Smith. Write soon again, now from your mother.

************************************************************************
This letter references the Old Age Pension Act that was passed in 1908, and became effective in 1909. So, this places the letter date as December 14, 1908.

Letters from Ireland, October the 12th

2011-02-23T16:24:00.007-06:00

"Well dauter rose i sit down to ancer your kind and welcome letter which i long wached for i was draming every nite about you i am onley very midliying my self i am going down fast but wat can i espect i can wach none now breth tow blow out a candle i could not be better cared any plase as i am where i am i have nothing to dow nor cant dow any thing i keep the children out of the fire for she is bysey carying in and caring out feeding pigs and cattle she is erning her bread hard patrick is working very hard in the place he cant gow to ern a shiling any plase there is now money here he will get it very hard to put on he has a heavy burthen a big fameley now help yet we all can take a bit if we get it i dow not know how he will get them rared the are as find locking childer as you would see maryan is at scool every she is in the second book she is like you and has hear lick yo roseellen is like myself her hear is white briget he are is black and we call it ehe black bird i had know letter from johny cince i rote to you before wel rose i am sorry that your coff is stiking to you sow long i cof myself every morning till you would think i would dy i get a we drop of tea it dose help i get my breakfast in bed every morning the best in the house mary gun is going to gain her huband hold property tow hundred pounds it is in law she was to days at law in Monaghy her and Patrick she had the best of the law she will gain all in three months we had harvet we lost a lot of corn we have good weather for the potaes now there is skanges let me know did your ant rose get much of insurence or how is she give my love to mis any megill patric mrs and all childer sends there love to there little cousins hoping the are all keeping well after there visit we have three good children now since any more yet she has not time to bread any more let me know did you rite to john yet we all goin in cending our love to you and husband if you come home bring your husband with you we woud lick to see him patrick is taking to gow to see him and johny he wants to now has be big pay the money is carse here now know more from your mother wite sown again the children cends kisses a pice to co XX kisses"

Well, Daughter Rose,
I sit down to answer your kind and welcome letter which I long watched for. I was dreaming every night about you. I am only very middling myself, I am going down fast. But what can I expect, I can watch none now, breath two blow out a candle. I could not be better cared for any place as I am. Where I am, I have nothing to do, nor cant do any thing I keep the children out of the fire for she is busy carrying in and carrying out feeding pigs and cattle. She is earning her bread hard. Patrick is working very hard in the place. He cant go to earn a shilling any place. There is no money here. He will get it very hard to put on. He has a heavy burden, a big family, no help, yet we all can take a bit if we get it. I do not know how he will get then reared. They are as fine looking children as you would see. Maryann is at school every. She is in the second book. She is like you and has hair like you, Rose. Ellen is like myself, her hair is white.Briget hair is black, we call it the blackbird. I had no letter from Johnny since I wrote to you before.
Well, Roses, I am sorry that your cough is sticking to you so long. I cough myself every morning till you would think I would die. I get a wee drop of tea, it does help. I get my breakfast in bed every morning. The best in the house. Maryann is going to gain her husband's whole property, two hundred pounds, it is the law. She was two days at law in Monaghen, her and Patrick. She had the best of the law she will gain all in three months. We had harvest, we lost a lot of corn, we have good weather for the potatoes now. there is changes. Let me know, did your Aunt Rose get much of insurance or how is she? Give my love to Miss Amy Megill. Patrick, Mrs and all children sends their love to their little cousins, hoping that they are all keeping well after their visit. We have three good children now since any more yet she has not time to bread any more. Let me know did you write to John yet? We are all going in sending our love to you and husband. If you come home bring your husband with you. We would like to see him and Johny. He wants to know has he big pay. The money is scarce here now. No more from your mother. Write soon. Again, the children sends kisses a piece to co XXX kisses.

Letters from Ireland, September the 9th

2011-02-21T06:43:00.003-06:00

"dear dauter rose i sit down to rite those fue lines to you you mos be dead or sick you never ancred my last letter you would not think it worth your wile we are all wel at present thank god i hope those fue lines will find you the same let me now did you get my letters from john i got none cence chrismas from he he has forgot me i think wel rose we here that there si two of john mceniff sons home tow Barny and awn we never seen won of them lysey an burk has left old robesin and he is home loged in nublis he left her and the child in that country he is going to cend for her we had a very hot sumer and all wet now we will get it very hard to get the corn saved i would have rotw sowner onley i was not able i am a little better you may excuse my bad riting i cant mind any thing i cend my love to sister rose rite as sown as you get let me know how all the childer is all and let me know how is lysey Money and famely is i will rit her a letter sown rose let me know how is your coff or is it any better or how is your health i coff every morning till you would think i wid dy i am not able for to down any thing i will sown dy i am a hold woman
Patrick and famely cends there love to you and all the fameley i send my love to any Megill and rose now more to say at precent rite as sown as you get this letter know more from your poor mother Ann Smith rite sown and let me know are you alive"

Translation:
Dear Daughter Rose,
I sit down to write those few lines to you. You must be dead or sick, you never answered my last letter. You would not think it worth your while. We are all well at present, thank God. I hope those few lines will find you the same. Let me know, did you get my letters? From John I got none since Christmas from him, he has forgot me I think.
Well, Rose, we hear that there is two of John McEniff's sons home too, Barney and ...(cannot read name).. We never seen one of them. Lysey Ann Burke has left old Robesin and he is home lodged in nublis. He left her and the child in that country. He is going to send for her.
We had a very hot summer and all wet. Now we will get it very hard to get the corn saved.
I would have wrote sooner only I was not able, I am a little better. You may excuse my bad writing. I cant mind any thing.
I send my love to sister Rose. Write as soon as you get. Let me know how all the children is and let me know how is Lysey Money and family is. I will write her a letter soon. Rose, let me know how is your cough or is it any better or how is your health? I cough every morning till you would think I would die. I am not able for to do any thing. I will soon die, I am an old woman.
Patrick and family send their love to you and all the family. I send my love to any MeGill. and Rose, no more to say at present. Write as soon as you get this letter. No more from your poor mother, Ann Smith. Write soon and let me know you are alive.

Vanilla Extract time again!

2011-02-20T17:54:00.005-06:00

Just under 2 years ago, I made my first batch of homemade vanilla extract. I have a little left, but realized that I needed to get the next batch started so that I did not run out entirely!
So, here I am today:

I purchased my vodka yesterday as part of my month grocery shopping trip to Jackson, and here I am all set up to begin.

The beans were a little harder to cut up than I remember from the first time, so my hand was tired by the time I finished! I actually have beans left over, so I guess I will be buying another bottle of vodka!

Here is the finished product. In about 4-6 weeks, I will have a jar full of vanilla extract! This jar is larger than the one I used with my initial batch, and it took the full bottle of vodka.

Letters from Irelend, August the 12th

2011-02-20T13:52:00.004-06:00

" dear rose i take up my pen to rite those fue lines to you hoping to find you wel we are all wel at precent thank god wel rose casy Mcenif is to call to see you i cent a shall and a pipe to your husband there is a dauter of andy mccabes with her it is in her box we has to put it and the are to give it to you all rite i was short takikng i did not know the war was going of sow sown i onley got up the nite before the went a wy and the wid not let me home for a week katey is mrs meghay now wel rose i have now nues to tel you mor we are all wel at precent thank got i hope your asre all the same wel rose i will be watching for a letter we all goin in cending our love to you and husband and children i am watching for you to cent me your husbands likeness and your own and the babys to i hope yor coff is better we had a great wack the 15 of augst patrick and briget and the children all going me cending there love to you now more from your poor mother wite sown a keep mice rose for all nues with come home soon"

Translation:
Dear Rose,
I take up my pen to write those few lines to you hoping to find you well. We are all well at present, thank God. Well, Rose, Cacy McEniff is to call to see you. I sent a shawl and a pipe to your husband. There is a daughter of Andy McCabes with her. It is in her box. We had to put in and they are to give it to you. All right, I was short taking I did not know they were going so soon. I only got up the night before they went away. and they will not let me home for a week. Katey is Mrs. Meghay now. Well, Rose, I have no news to tell you more. We are all well at present, thank God. I hope yours are all the same. Well, Rose, I will be watching for a letter. We are all joining in sending our love to you and husband and children. I am watching for you to send me your husband's likeness and your own and the babies too. I hope your cough is better. We had a great week the 15 of August. Patrick and Briget and the children all joining me in sending their love to you. No more from your poor mother. Write soon and keep nice Rose for all news will come home now.

********************************************************************

Each letter seems to mention my G-grandmother's cough. I know she died in 1909, perhaps from a lung condition.

Letters from Ireland, May the 18th

2011-02-20T13:38:00.003-06:00

The penmanship of this letter is much worse than the others I have read so far, and after reading the letter, it appears that my G-G-Grandmother was quite sick and lying in her bed to write this letter, which explains the handwriting quality!

"dear rose i sit down to rite a fue lines to you it is time after a long wate i got a terable cold the wether was very wet ther was now won tow help me we had 3 horses the weather was do bad i cut twelve bags and i never she will cut a nother never got it is hard i am not out of it yet you would i would gash every minet i cannt say much for myself if itg is a ...that i never rite home a leter bydy with news that now from john since before christmas something must have hapend excuses me for not witing to excuse my pen and hand if i mend i will rite a long letter i have scrible this lying on my bed know more from your mother mrs smith the prist bes with me often the are doing all they can for me"

Translation:

Dear Rose
I sit down to write a few lines to you, it is time after a long wait. I got a terrible cold, the weather is very wet, there was no one to help me (I am not sure what is said here). The weather was so bad, I cut twelve bags and I never. She will cut another. I never got it is hard, I am not out of it yet. I would guess every minute I cannot say much for myself. yet if it is a .....that i never write home a letter by dy with news. I had no letter from John since before Christmas, something must have happened. Excuse me for not writing to excuse my pen and hand, if I mend I will write a long letter. I have to scribble this lying in my bed. No more news from your mother, Mrs. Smith. The priest has been with me often, they are doing all they can for me.

Letters from Ireland, May the 16th

2011-02-19T17:40:00.004-06:00

"Dear Dauter Rose i sit down to ancer your kind and welcom letter which i was long watching for i thout you were sick be my draming about you wel rose i am sorry about your children being sick keep them warm and the will be all rite i hope wel rose i am got a little better but keeping very stiff and weak not ble to wach i cut all the spuds and we have all the crop in we were verry bysey all spring a very nise spring well rose the Burks is ceting sale the sixteenth of gune and if you gow to see them you will have to gow quick and i wont you if it lise in your power to bring your husband with you to see them i would be very proud of them seeing him dont let them now anything you care about gow in the best stile you can go in to them Patrick wants your husband to send him a pipe the are going to stop in a fue month here i had now letter from john cince before chrismas give my love to your ant rose adn to amy megill and uncle alick let me know how is lisey money well rose you may let the Burks now that there father can entertane them well his house is lick a cassel gratley in proved the are all earning plenty of money wel rose i mite live for another year and your chilren will be strong and you and them and james can come over to see as houle hard tile you have a big purs Patrick Briget and the fameley all going cending our love tow excuse my bad riting i cannot mind to letters after other give my love to your husband cend me his picture and your onn dont for get i have know more news to cent you at this time give my love to your thre children we have only three here now sine if any more we have anof write as you get this god be with you all fare well"

Translation:
Dear Daughter Rose,
I sit down to answer your kind and welcome letter which I was long watching for. I thought you were sick. Well, Rose, I am sorry about your children being sick, keep them warm and they will be all right I hope. Well, Rose, I am a little better but still very stiff and weak, not able to walk.

I cut all the spuds and we have all the crop in. We were very busy all spring, a very nice spring.

Well, Rose, the Burks are setting sail the sixteenth of June and if you go to see them, you will have to go quick. I want you, if it lies in your power, to bring your husband with you to see them. I would be very proud of them seeing him. Don't let them know anything you care about. Go in the best style you can go in to them.

Patrick wants your husband to send him a pipe. They are going to stop a few months here. I have had no letter from John since before Christmas.

Give my love to your Aunt Rose and to Amy Megill and Uncle Alek. Let me know how is Lisey Money.

Well, Rose, you may let the Burks know that their father can entertain them well. His house is like a castle, greatly improved. They are all earning plenty of money.

Well, Rose, I might live for another year and your children will be strong and you and James can come over to see us............

Patrick, Briget and the family all joining me in sending our love too. Excuse my bad writing, I cannot mind to letters. Give my love to your husband, send me his picture and your own. Don't forget. I have no more news to send you at this time. Give my love to your three children, we have only three here now since if any more, we have enough. Write as soon as you get this. God be with you all. Fare well.

*********************************************************************
If my great grandmother had three children when this letter was written by her mother, then it would put this letter prior to 1907 which is when my grandmother was born, the last child.
So, this letter dates from sometime between 1903 and 1906.

Perhaps after I have transcribed all of these letters, I will be able to put them in actual date order. Right now, I have organized them by the months they were written.

Letters from Ireland, April the 12th

2011-02-16T16:20:00.006-06:00

"Dear Datur rose i sit down to rite you those fue lines to let you now that we are all well at precent thank god we were all a bad cince crismas all coffing with a bad cold there is some of them better but for myself i will never wil mend much i got my age from doublin out of the cences book i am age seventy three years of any old people seventy will get the penshion as long as they live i am geting 5 shilings a week it keeps me of very well i am not able tow gow for it but i got a line from the docter and i sine my name to my check and bydey gets it and bings it home to me we have got now ceop in yet with rain i got now letter from jhon yet he must be dead or he wid have rote to me wel rose i must let you know that there is a large fameley here and will sown be more she is work very hard rose let me know is your coff any thing then det or it there any of your children coffing let me know did you here any word of the Burkes there is not a word about them here know more than if the woi dead matthew celley got maried to a cathlick man and he is ded and she is a real cathlick now let me know how is lysey and ant rose give my love to any Mcgill and sister rose we all sends our love to and fameley Patrick and BrMary ann rose Briget ghon gosefit all meney is as used a part scald i can rite home know more from your mother ann smith we have the best children in the world know more rite sown if you know any thing about johny tel me he must be dead rite sown."

Translation:
Dear Daughter Rose,
I sit down to write you those few lines to let you know that we are all well at present, thank Got. We were all bad since Christmas, all coughing with a bad cold. There is some of them better, but for myself, I will never mend much. I got my age from Dublin out of the census book, I am age 73 years. Any old people 70 will get the pension as long as they live. I am getting 5 shillings a week. It keeps me up very well. I am not able to go for it, but I got a line from the doctor and I sign my name to my check and Bydey gets it and brings it home to me. We have got no (unknown word) in yet with rain. I got no letter from John yet, he must be dead or he would have wrote to me.
Well, Rose, I must let you know that there is a large family here and will soon be more, she is working very hard. Rose let me know is your cough anything or is there any of your children coughing. Let me know. Did you hear any word of the Burkes, there is not a word about them here no more than if they were dead.

"Unknown female name" Celley got married to a Catholic man and he is dead and she is a real Catholic now.

Let me know how is Lysey and Aunt Rose. Give my love to any McGill and Sister Rose. We all send our love to any family. Patrick and Br Maryann, Rose, Briget gone goes fit all Memey is as usual a hurt I called, I can write once I know more. From your mother Ann Smith. We have the best children in the world. Know more. Write soon. If you know anything about Johny tell me, he must be dead. Write soon.

**********************************************************************
I bolded the line "From your mother, Ann Smith" because it is the first time I knew her first name.

*******************************************************************
According to the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908, The Act provided for a non-contributory old age pension for persons over the age of 70. It was enacted in January 1909 and paid a weekly pension of 5s a week. So, it is possible that this letter was written in April of 1909.

Letters from Ireland February 2

2011-02-15T18:02:00.003-06:00

This is a series of letter written to my Great Grandmother, Rose Smith Warrington from her mother who resided in Ireland.

I will attempt to transcribe them exactly as Great Great Grandmother Smith wrote them. She did not put years on her letters, so I ordered them according to the months that they were written. Her handwriting is difficult to read, her spelling and grammar are poor, and it appears to be one long run-on sentence! Below, I will attempt to translate her letter!

" Dear Dauter Rose i cit down to rite those fue lines to you Hoping the may find you well and all the fameley Dear Rose we are all well at prescent thank god onley my self and i am onley midling my self but what can i expect i am not able to gow any where now i get my bread and tea in bead every morning then i rise when i lick we have a very rof wedt cold winter now sow it is a winter for berring the dead we had four corps in the chapple on towdays a gow Mary gun is well where she is she cends her love to you she is not going to that country she could not live out of the cassel we are going to have a lething now we are geting ahome rule. Past wel rose i must let you now Burks girles is riting home a nod time lysey ann is maried and has a young son and she cent home to flamen shirts to her boy. Mary Jane cays she will be an old made if she dose not get a man licke lysey anns man he is sow good the are coming home agan sumer to live a drum he has a cssel there the done you now good any way i had a letter from johny before christmas and to Pounds in it he is not forgeting the hole time he is a good boy to his mother. Patrick and Bydey is good she is working very hard feding pigs and children thee fine girls there is now cine afany more yet nor it is not much loss this country is gone to the bad. Bydey Mccernin has got her tow legs in to the ritches now willey to ole the acts all is bydes now she has her name on the sind bord now dont you tel the clarkens the will here it time enof the sisters would her it dont you spake of it she s a poor locking crature she will sown have another young man. Patrick Briget and all the children cends there love to you all and in pertular to your husband give my love to your ant rose and all the girls and to by sey money tell hir to rite me a letter i am sorry of mrs costiken how many children has she or is the old man alife rose et me know dose your nose be any trouble to you or dow you coff hard or are you got anny fatter rose it want you to cent me your husbands picture and your own in the won card till i se you towgether before i dy know more from yor mother my blessing and gods blesing be about you allrite sown and let me know how you are"

Attempt at a Translation: (Even this is not good!)

Dear Daughter Rose,
I sit down to write those few lines to you hoping they may find you well and all the family. Dear Rose, we are all well at present, thank God. Myself, I am only middling, but what can I expect, I am not able to go anywhere now. I get my bread and tea in bed every morning, then I rise when I like. We have had a very rough, wet, cold winter now, so it is a winter for burying the dead. We had four corpses in the chapel two days ago. Mary Jane is well, she sends her love to you. She is not going to that country. She could not live out of the cassel (castle??) We are going to have a lething (??) now we are getting home rule. Past well, Rose I must let you know Burkes' girls is writing home another time. Lysey Ann is married and has a young son and she sent home two flannel shirts to her boy. Mary Jane says she will be an old maid if she does not get a man like Lysey Ann's man. He is so good, they are coming home again summer to live at drum. He has a cassel there. Anyway, I had a letter from Johny before Christmas and Two Pounds in it. He is a not forgetting the whole time. He is a good boy to his mother. Patrick and Bydey are good, she is working very hard feeding pigs and children, three fine girls. ............(cannot figure out what is being written about here).......... This country is gone to the bad. Bydey McCernin has got her two legs in to the britches now willing to
Patrick, Briget nd all the children send their love to you and in particular to your husband. Give my love to your Aunt Rose and all the McGills and to Lysey Money, tell her to write me a letter. I am sorry of Mrs Costiken , how many children has she or is the old man alive. Rose let me know, does your nose be any trouble to you or do you cough hard or are you got any fatter. Rose, I want you to send me your husbands picture and your own in the one card till I see you together before I die. No more from your mother, my blessing and God's blessing be about you. All write soon and let me know how you are.

Warrington Genealogy

2011-02-14T22:12:00.004-06:00

This is a transcription of a handwritten letter from Thelma Waddell 1988.

This information is what I have collected from family Bibles, family members and some research.

William Warrington I of Yorkshire England Born 1773. Do not know month or day of birth. I was told William ran away from home and joined the British army at a very early age. William served in India for some time. As of now, i have not been able to locate William's discharge papers. My mother, Nellie Waddell, Aunt Frances Balleo and Uncle Harry told me that had seen these papers but did not know where they went to. After William's discharge he came to Canada and married Frances Martin Cunningham Young. Frances Cunningham first married Robert Young and they had one son, A.J. Young, born October 27, 1829. Years ago, A.J. Young lived in Plattsburg, NY.

Frances Martin Cunningham of Glasglow, Scotland, born October 19, 1798., came to a cousins in Canada at age 15 in 1813. Was told Frances' father was killed in coal mine in Scotland. I believe Frances M. Cunningham Warrington died in 1882. I know she died in Newcomb, NY and is buried in old Methodist Cemetery in Newcomb. There is no date on her stone, only Mrs.Warrington. There was a very rich man who lived in Newcomb some time ago and I was told he had headstones put up for those with no markers.

William and Frances Warrington had one son, William II born Sept 11, 1838 near Solomon River in northern NY state. Also one Daughter, Elizabeth born March 17, 1840. Elizabeth died at birth. William and Frances wanted to live in the United States, but British Government would not give William his pension unless he moved back to Canada. William and Frances and son William moved to Hemmingford Province of Quebec.

On September 20, 1983, I went to Hemmingford with Vivian Warrington and my sister, Gladys. We went to the town clerks office looking for information but office was closed that day. I saw minister and he sent me to St Andrews United Church of Hemmingford. I found this record of William Warrington I recorded like this: "William Warrington I Pensioner of township of Hemminford died on 29th and was buried on 31 day of Oct 1866 age 93 yrs. James Patterson, minister of Scotland, Witness Donald McFee and Ruth Gregg. Signed Frances M. Cunningham."
After death of William Warrington I, his son William II went to Hemmingford and brought his mother Frances M. back to Olmstedville, NY to live with him and his family.

William II married Harriett Burnell, daughter of Louis and Mary Cordelia Burnell of Olmstedville, NY on April 25, 1865 in town of Schroon at old Leland Hotel. Witness Isace Bristol and Matthew Tannahill. Harriet wore a fawn colored dress, cape and bonnet trimmed in blue. Cape and bonnet were lined in blue. Harriet and William went to Plattsburg, NY on their honeymoon.

Harriet born May 5, 1849 at what they called Upper Iron Works at Tohan NY up near Newcomb. Harriet died Oct 11, 1924 at Lake Placid, NY. William II died March 28, 1911 at Lake Placid, NY. William died of influenza. Harried died from myocarditis with articular fibrillation. I got these records of their deaths from death certificates Vivian Warrington had.

William and Harriet Warrington Children:
Alexander William---May 4, 1866
James Henry--------June 10, 1868
Frances Martin----- June 5, 1870
Elmer Louis --------May 26, 1872
Harriet -------------May 7, 1874--called Hattie
Robert Fenton ------April 7, 1876
Nellie ---------------June 15, 1878
Emma Sophia -------Aug 24, 1880
MaryJane-----------May 30, 1884--called Marie
Addie---------------June 17, 1887
Harrison Edward---May 20, 1889--called Harry
Ross Everett-------January 6, 1892
Ernest-------------Sept 27, 1897

Some had middle names and some did not. I got names and birth from Family bible.

Thelma W.

Failure to become a quilt

2011-02-09T19:28:00.005-06:00

In June of 2007, when I was in Pennsylvania with Sherry, I purchased a quilt pattern which was a variation on the Card Deck, and used Log Cabin Blocks. I had seen it several times that weekend and loved the pattern.
The following summer, when Cat was visiting, we purchased the rest of the fabrics so that I could start this quilt.

I did start it, and right now, I cannot find the photos I took of the quilt progress I had made.
I did manage to get all of the log cabin blocks sewn and the colors were wonderful!

The problems arose when I had to cut the log cabin blocks on the diagonal and then sew them together with background fabrics.

I had mountains and valleys in my quilt! I took it apart several times, repinned, trimmed, and stitched this quilt attempting to make it do what it was supposed to do.

All to no avail.

Finally, I just decided it would never be a quilt. I took what I had left and remade them into two nifty totes and several small purses!

These are presently being gifted to several friends.

Actually Izzy has just claimed the tote with the pink handles!

So, the moral of this story is: "When fabric does not go your way, make something else!"

William Warrington marries Frances Cunningham

2011-01-27T20:28:00.007-06:00

In conducting the ever evolving history of my family, I stumbled across this document. It is the record of my great great great grandparent's marriage in 1871. From what I can decipher of this rector's handwriting it says:

"On this thirty-first day of August
in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty one
were married by Banns.
William Warrington, bachelor, farmer
& Frances Young, widow,
both of the ? of Cape Magdalen."

So I went in search of the Cape of Magdalen and came to the Magdalen Islands in Canada. They are actually a province of Quebec, a tiny group of islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence.

The reference citation for this marriage record mentions that the protestant church is in a town named Trois-Rivieres. So off I went in search of that town. The map shows a neighboring town of Cap-de-la-Madeleine. (Cap-de-la-Madeleine is located on the north shore of the St Lawrence River at its confluence with the St-Maurice River.) Since this is so much closer to Trois-Rivieres, where they were married, I suspect that Cap-de-la-Madeleine is correct.

Of course, further research may show which is the actual residence of my ggg-grandparents at the time of their marriage.

Green changes made in 2010?

2011-01-01T06:44:00.013-06:00

I would have no idea where to begin my list! I have made many changes in my lifestyle in recent years, what a lot of people call "going green". These were lifestyle changes made for specific reasons: personal health, economics, and environmental to name a few.

1. I stopped using conditioner on my hair, liquid shower gels, liquid laundry detergent and laundry fabric softener. I wanted to reduce my plastic consumption, as well as the chemicals I was exposed to and that I was exposing the environment to. Plus, it saves me money to buy less!

2. I stopped taking plastic grocery sacks to the store. I collected and made my own reusable totes that I now keep in my vehicle. I worked for months to remember to use them and have achieved success! It probably took me 6 months to get in the habit. The occasional plastic grocery sack that ends up in my home gets reused over and over again until it falls apart and then gets recycled.

3. I use a different version of Luna Pads (that Cat talked about) from Many Moons Alternatives. I even managed to make my own so that I have plenty in supply for those light days!

4. I use a homemade deodorant powder or a mineral stone instead of commercial deodorant. Not every day, because summertime in Tennessee while I am in class is painfully hot! So, right now, it is a weekend, vacation and winter weather option for me.

5. I wear mostly cotton clothing. As items needed to be replaced, I purchased cotton. I gifted away a lot of my non-cotton fibers.

6. I compost. Anything that can be composted, is. I save scraps in a bucket in the freezer until I carry it to the compost heap as it saves on smells and potential bugs!

7. I stopped using paper towels and paper napkins and paper tissues. I have fabric for that!

8. I switched to a 100% recycled toilet paper that is wrapped in paper (no plastic there!)

9. I replaced my incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones. It was a challenge to find the globe style bulbs I wanted for my bathroom fixtures, but I did!

10. I stopped using Brita Filters for my water. I found that the water quality here was fine and that it tasted fine as well. I use aluminum or steel bottles to carry my water.

11. I am more diligent about requesting paper packaging on any item that I have shipped to my home. Companies are wonderfully agreeable in most instances!

12. I canceled all magazines, eliminated junk mail and catalogs that are sent to me.

What have you done?

End of year purge

2010-12-29T08:00:00.004-06:00

Now that the end of the year has arrived, it is time for that final household purge. I have boxes of items in my garage that have been tagged for removal, but either they have not been taken, or I never had time for that yard sale! So, they have been posted on Freecycle for a 'come and get it' opportunity.

During 2010, I purged many pounds of items from my house: fabric (some scraps, some yardage), baby bibs, quilts (small ones that I sold, gifted or gave to charity), tablecloths, glassware, dishes, clothing, Barbies, toys, puzzles, games, videos, DVDs, computer games, books, a TV, DVD player, hospital bed, wheelchair, entertainment center, tables, board games, as well as assorted household knick-knacks, in addition to recycling glass, cans, paper, and plastics.

I was just reading Katie's blog "Making this home" and she has wonderful thoughts that mirror my own: "I think we introduce a lot of unnecessaries into our lives. It makes everything more complicated than it needs to be. Our lives are overwhelmed and cluttered. Somehow, we find ourselves decluttering again and again. Criminy! This is a cycle I don’t want to be a part of. Now I am the only person on earth who can control how I live my life. You are the only person who can control yours.

Be true to yourself, not your stuff." (Katie at Making this Home)

At the start of 2010, I had a list of 10 tasks to accomplish in 2010. While I did not make all of them every month, and in fact I stopped blogging about them somewhere around the time school started, I did make progress overall. One of the items on that list was to "reduce my personal belongings"; that was the one that I know I managed to accomplish!

No, I am not going to make another list or resolution for 2011. I would like to keep track of what I purge from my life in 2011 though and how I accomplish that.

I often talk to people about my lifestyle and they ask how I managed to get to the point where I have very little, if any, junk mail. Or they ask how I manage to remember to bring reusable bags with me shopping.

My answer is always the same. One step at a time. It takes days, weeks, months to accomplish a change in behavior and attitude. It does not happen overnight and a lot of people get frustrated with themselves when change does not happen immediately.

So, slow down, take one day at a time and think about one change you want to make.

I am already in a mindset of reducing my personal belongings so this will be a manageable task.

Christmas Break, Day 11

2010-12-27T14:28:00.010-06:00

Yes, I know I skipped days 9 and 10, but I was busy!

Day 9 was Christmas Day. Vince and I spent a wonderfully quiet day together. We exchanged our 'under the tree' gifts and had many laughs.

For a little background information:

For our anniversary this year, Vince and I redid the main bathroom. We retiled the floor, painted the walls, replaced the curtains and rearranged the art work. The 'curtains' are actually crocheted runners that my great grandmother made. I washed and bleached them, then stitched them end to end to create a long piece that I looped over the existing curtain rod. The walls use to be a mustardy yellow and are now grey. It looks very clean!

For Christmas, we painted the outside of our house (completed during Fall Break),
upgraded our alarm system,
and purchased a new water heater.

So we agreed to go easy on the actual presents under the tree this year.

Apparently I finally dropped enough hints and Vince purchased an automatic car starter for me!
I know that some of you Northerners may be thinking "What does she need that for?" Well, it does get cold here and it does get hot here, so heating or cooling my vehicle before I get into it is a wonderful idea!

Of course, Vince has to install this for me.

Then I received two rather interesting items: a light fixture identical to the one already installed in my studio and a package of ceiling tiles.

Vince and I have discussed plans to create a more functional space for me but it is always delayed because of more pressing matters.

Before the end of next year, we do plan to have the deck painted, the garage repainted to match the house, the utility room finished (which includes the installation of the new water heater), the master bedroom ceiling repaired and the pantry finished.

Then Vince is supposed to work on the restoration of his 1957 Chevy.

My in-laws arrived yesterday so we spent the day in preparation for their arrival.

We had dinner and then opened our presents to and from my in-laws! Mom actually bought me a full set of stainless steel cookware! Not what I was expecting. I am thrilled! They are washed and ready for tonight's meal.

Christmas Break, Day 8

2010-12-24T08:26:00.003-06:00

“Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,

Was singing! Without any presents at all!

He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming!

IT CAME!

Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?

It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

It came without packages, boxes or bags!”

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.

“Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!”

(Seuss, page 44-46)

Christmas Break, Day 7

2010-12-23T15:30:00.015-06:00

After a day spent at home yesterday, I was ready for an outing today. I started off with a home cooked breakfast with Vince when he arrived home from work.

Then I was off to the bank. I had checks to deposit! They are usually few and far between thanks to direct deposit, but we had 4 of them this time. Must be the end of year check issuing situation! No complaints here though.

After the bank, I went to McDonald's to hand off some Freecycle items to Valerie. There were even a few extras in there that I knew she and her girls would enjoy.

Miller's Big Star had a few of the items on my shopping list, but not all. I had to check at Fred's and Piggly Wiggly and still left with NO Thomas' English Muffins for Vince. I did manage to pick up everything else.

I was off to lunch at Southern Oaks with my friends there. We had a great time over lunch of Turkey, dressing and green beans. Michelle even gave me a fancy dish of Ice cream to eat!

Home is always a welcome place to come back to, especially when it is clean! I finished a baby gift for a friend:

Then Vince and I put up the Christmas tree. I laughed over many of the ornaments on the tree, especially the ones that Robert made as a child.

I know that I tell the same stories each year as we decorate the tree, but my wonderful Vince puts up with me!

There are some ornaments that have strong childhood memories attached to them, like the red bells and the owl.

I remember putting these on the tree as a child and my mother making a big deal over her 'red bells'. Yes, they are pretty and they are very special to me now. As a child, they were just another ornament. How times change.

I hope you all are having a great holiday season, however you celebrate.

Christmas Break, Day 6

2010-12-22T09:38:00.012-06:00

First order of business today was to disconnect my land-line. I called AT&T and spoke to Miss Cooper. She was very pleasant and very helpful. When all was said and done, I received a lower rate on my monthly charges for the land-line, and the internet services. My bill is half what it was before and lower than if I had canceled the land-line and just had the internet service. So, while we are not going to use the land-line any longer, it was cheaper to leave it connected!

I am happy with that!

Since the end of the calendar year is upon me, I went in search of a project on DonorsChoose.org that I could donate to. I remember the thrill of receiving the email from DonorsChoose that informed me that a project of mine had been funded. I wanted to give that thrill to another teacher this year.

If you check out my Giving Page, you will see a number of projects from Tennessee that have just a few days left to be funded before they expire. Some of the projects only require a small amount.

Bing has joined up with DonorsChoose again to help fund projects. If you go HERE you will be able to request a $$5.00 code from Bing that can help fund a project. One per email address!!
I used my $30 in codes and a little of my own money to fund a project in Knoxville TN!
( I think my own heart skipped a beat when I funded the project-just knowing how the teacher will feel!).

With my in-laws arriving tomorrow, house cleaning was accomplished. I dusted, washed, wiped, sorted, picked up items, took out compost, took out recycling, took out freecycling and vacuumed (although that was after Vince woke up!)

I also made a set of cotton produce bags! These were 4 simple fat quarters this morning. A friend had brought them back from Hawaii for me and while I loved them, I had no idea what to do with them. So, here they are in their new life! There are two large ones, each is a fat quarter folded in half. There are 4 smaller bags, those are fat eighths folded in half. (Or half of a fat quarter folded in half!!) I used cotton twine that I had left over from another project to make the draw string ties. The tare weight on the big bags is 1 ounce, while the smaller ones vary from 0.5 of an ounce to 0.6 of an ounce. The heavier ones are the black batik bags. I like them and now can use these for my produce instead of my small tote bags that don't close nicely! As a bonus, they all fold up and fit inside one of the smaller bags.

The final crafty activity for tonight was putting the bells on the evergreen wreath that I purchased earlier this week at Duncan's Christmas Tree Farm.

Until tomorrow, have a good night!

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it. Groucho Marx

Christmas Break, Day 5

2010-12-21T18:45:00.007-06:00

Today was a Gleaner's House day. It has been several months since I worked there, and I was missing the place. I had three items that I was bringing in to donate, which is good, since I did bring home a few items!

One was a one cup coffee maker...I broke the last one and really did not want to buy a new one. I am not sure if it works, but we will see in the morning! I also brought home a large box of paper and damaged books for a Jackson High School Senior who is saving papers for their Project Graduation fund raising.

I also brought home this item to test and make sure it all works.All is well with this LeapPad! Back to Gleaner's it goes next week.

We had a great lunch at Jack's, full of fun and laughter.

Then it was off to visit with Mom for a while, stopping at Ada's country store on the way back for a few herbs.

I spent part of my evening so far finishing these puzzles! It was wonderful to declare them done, but a bit sad to see a few pieces missing. Nevertheless, here they are!

Now, they are back in their individual bags, ready for the next owner!

Christmas Break, Day 4

2010-12-20T19:46:00.008-06:00

Well, plans for Clarksville were canceled due to illness (not mine!).

Since I had errands to carry out in Jackson, I was off early to begin.

There was surprisingly little traffic and the stores were not very crowded! YAY for that.

I managed to return one item at Bed, Bath and Beyond, give the Grinch and Max a new home, ship my 7 boxes of trash to New Jersey, complete all of my grocery shopping, and arrive back home by 1:00!

My Christmas activity for today was to make cookies! A few months ago, while visiting my MIL in Alabama, I purchased this cookie press for $1.25. Since I make these cookies only at Christmas, I had to wait until now to use it. Here is what I started with...several new cookies shape choices!

I made my cookie dough...not using my mother's recipe, but one that I found that I like the consistency of better. I also use almond extract to make it taste a bit more interesting!

As a child, I remember spending what seemed like hours decorating cookies with all sorts of decorations: sprinkles, M&M's, chocolate chips, red hots, probably more.

I typically use M&M's and colored sugars.
Mostly because they make the cookies look pretty. I don't like a lot of sugary candies on my cookies. They don't take long to bake, so by the time the first tray is finished baking, I have the other tray ready to enter the oven.

Each recipe takes TWO sticks of butter, so they are very rich. I make a double batch each time, and I manage to get 4 trays of cookies, about 8 dozen cookies.

One of my favorite traditions as a child was that if any of the cookies broke when we took them off the tray, we could eat them. I think my father may have started that one!

Of course, there were a few breaks this year (as always), so I had a chance to test the cookies! YUM.

I also remember my mother baking numerous batches of cookies in the weeks before Christmas. She would always 'hide' them from my father. They were always stored in the old Tupperware cake container (upside down like a bowl with a lid). It was Dad's mission to find the cookies and eat them before Christmas!

Christmas Break, Day Three

2010-12-20T07:46:00.003-06:00

"Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Man"

We have all heard this sentiment especially at this time of the year. What does it mean?

Yes, it is a wish that everyone wants to come true.

Is Peace the end of all wars, murders, thefts, lying, cheating, and hatred? Do we have to wait for Peace?

Peace on Earth would be wonderful, but one person cannot do it alone. However, Peace on Earth starts with one person. Is that person you or me? Perhaps.

I alone cannot stop violence on a widespread basis all at once. I can, however, show kindness to everyone I meet. A smile; a wish for a Merry Christmas; holding the door; giving an item that is needed; wanted or that will bring a smile; a phone call or a card. There are many ways to be kind, but is that Peace?

Peace starts within. If I am at Peace with myself, then I can spread Peace to others. This has been a year of reflective thought for me. I think because I take an hours drive each Sunday after church. All of that alone time causes me to think! In the past, I never allowed myself that luxury. Even now, that is the only time when I am not multitasking.

Take some time, sit and think or meditate or pray, whichever suites you.

Find your Peace. Share it with others. We may not be able to bring about Peace on Earth worldwide, but we can bring about Peace to our little corner of the world.

Peace.

Christmas Break, Day 2

2010-12-18T14:14:00.008-06:00

Even on my 'days off', I am up early. Today it was 5:30 AM. At least I was able to accomplish something productive!

I wandered downstairs to where I have the jigsaw puzzles set up. Yes, I did mean to say PUZZLES in the plural.

This was my mother's puzzle set, as you can see, there are three puzzles in one box. When she finished with them, she put ALL of the pieces together in the box. Without bags to separate the puzzles.

So, I have been working to separate the puzzles and that requires me to put them together. Over the summer, I did this with 4 puzzles that she had mixed up. Those, at least, were very different puzzles so it was not as difficult! Here is my progress so far on one: So, that was my early morning wake up activity. After Vince arrived home, I left for school. Whitney and I scheduled today to get our grades in the system, plan our lessons and finish cleaning up our rooms so that we would not have to do much over break.

So, Whitney and I sat and worked for about 3 hours on school matters. I boxed up all of my Terracycle items and labeled them. Those are in my truck for drop off on Monday.
I finished putting all of my grades in the system. Averages are pretty good. I also laminated the posters for my next series of bulletin board activities and decided to follow Whitney's lead and do my lesson planning with the form that our principal wants us to eventually start using. Her theory is that she will have the lessons in her computer in an electronic format and it will be easier to change and update next year. Good idea. So, I started with that and will finish tonight.

We had lunch at El Ranchitos and then I went to McDonalds to drop off some items to Valerie and pick up more Terracycle recycling. I also dropped off a box of items at Susan's house for her future use. Then I brought Frito and Burrito home with me for the break (Whitney's class pets).

I made my (grocery) list and checked it twice. That is Monday's activity at the commissary on Ft. Campbell.

Lisa came by and picked up her freecycle items {glasses, plastic Christmas goodie bags, a large plastic dog treat container (great for storing small toys!) and 8 refillable plastic/metal ornaments}. Her friend looked at the 4 ceramic crocks that were in front of my garage and asked if I was interested in selling them. I have been for a while and said "YES! $5.00 each." and those left as well and I am richer in many ways.

Now, I get to watch a little TV since dinner is over and the kitchen is clean.

Christmas Break. Day 1

2010-12-17T15:21:00.005-06:00

Well, it is official.

School is out. I had a partial day today. The annual Christmas Party was held. We ate breakfast in class as I work hard to make sure we are not eating tons of sweets and other junk foods. At least there was fruit and sausage balls to balance the diet.

The kids were great and fun and we all had a great time. I was out of there by 11:00.

I then proceeded to the post office to mail off my Christmas Cards for the Angel Card Project, my son's and his fiancee's Christmas Gifts (only some!), and a package for my sister.

Southern Oaks was next on the list of places to visit. I rarely get there anymore with my hectic schedule. I visited for a while with Debra and had a few laughs.

Upon arrival at home, I unpacked my haul of gifts from my students (a reasonable amount and nice items too!) along with the mail from two days.

Our new water heater was delivered today, I woke Vince up to handle those arrangements. We purchased a GE GeoSpring water heater, which will save us money yearly on heating water, plus we get a tax savings for this year. It looks rather futuristic. We have named it R2.

I also cleaned out one kitchen cabinet and posted some glasses on Freecycle, along with several other items. I did post ads on Craigslist as well for some Barbies, and a decorative Christmas plate we no longer want.

Now that my studio has been rearranged to facilitate the delivery of R2, I really need to get in there and clean it up.

Drunken Santa??

2010-12-10T20:10:00.000-06:00

Many years ago, my brother and I were shopping for a Christmas gift for our Nana. We spotted this great little Santa figurine and decided that it was perfect for Nana because Santa was holding a bottle and appeared drunk.

I am not sure how Santa eventually ended up back in our house, but he did.

I am not even sure when Jim and I finally figured out that Santa was holding a BELL and not a BOTTLE!

Of course, we never looked on the bottom of the figure to see that the title of this piece is "Ringing in Good Cheer"!

Drunken Santa now resides with me and every year when I take him out I reflect back on when Jim and I first purchased him and what our thoughts are and chuckle to myself.

In honor of Jim's recent request for a new photo of Drunken Santa, we gave him a few more bottles for his holiday cheer:

Merry Christmas Nana and Jim and all of my friends and family!

The Purge.

2010-11-21T16:39:00.012-06:00

The Purge. It is like a dormant virus that awakens every few months. It strikes me at odd times during the year, causing me to look at my belongings and figure out what needs to find new homes.

The problem is, I am a saver. I do not like items to be "thrown away" (because there is no 'away') when they can be reused, recycled or repaired. I am also the person many others come to when they have a useful item that they believe I can find a home for or use in some fashion. My friends also save their 'trash' for me to send to Terracycle for upcycling.

Thus, I always seem to have a number of items that are on their way somewhere else or waiting for me to use in the creation of a more useful item. Some are big, some are small, some are many, some are few. Some actually end up in the house or my studio, others remain in the garage, sometimes never leaving the back of my truck.

Whenever the Purge shows up, I enter a frenzied state where items get posted on Freecycle, Cheapcycle or Craigslist at a rapid rate. I also tend to send emails to friends and family if I think they may have a use for an item I no longer can use. I then resort to the waiting stage of the Purge as I religiously check my emails for that elusive request for my items.

With a little spare time on my hands this weekend, I have given in to the Purge's urge. I have collectible Barbies, books, household items, craft items and more that I have posted ads for on Freecycle and Craigslist. Now am wondering when I can get them to their new homes!

I am thrilled with the organized state of my garage right now. I have put all of my "Purge" touched items in boxes that are neatly labeled. The boxes neatly line the walls of the garage, along with several other items that are being stored for the winter season.

I have been receiving emails from friends and freecyclers most of last night and this morning. Several items have found new homes. Wilda showed up to pick up a set of decorative Christmas blocks and a roasting pan and left with a jigsaw puzzle, a rug, and a bag of fabric! Thanks Wilda!!

Camera Woes

2010-11-21T16:22:00.005-06:00

The other day in class, I was attempting to take photos of my students' 4-H projects and I was receiving an error message on my camera...a memory stick error. We shall see what the ultimate solution to this issue will be!

So, today, I am making sure I have my photos removed from the camera (I sometimes forget some and leave them there!)

I found these two interesting items:

This is a potato (Obviously). I liked his face!

This is a leaf (obviously) who only had eyes for Vince!

Ancient Egypt and our Donors Choose Projects

2010-09-20T19:45:00.002-05:00

Sounds like a weird combination of topics, I know. I am using the Ancient Egypt project as an opportunity for students to use all of the materials from both projects.

We have the standing desk assembled and the students used it for the first time today. Our stools are ready to go and I just need to adjust the table for their use. The two boys who used the standing desk today really liked it!

The students begin their Ancient Egypt project this week and will be doing research and working on a written paper as well as a visual model or PowerPoint. Students who work on their projects in class using computers will be able to save their work to the new flash drives to protect them and bring them to be reviewed and printed. I realized that flash drives are a hard item for students to be excited about, so incorporating them into our research project will enable the students to see their worth.

Our class is so fortunate!

2010-09-12T07:02:00.004-05:00

Once again, Sonic completed my project! Although they were not the only ones who contributed to the funding here. There were individual donors (like Sherry and Deborah and others) as well as everyone who participated in the Bing promotion earlier this summer.
The funding of this project truly shows that it takes many people to successfully educate the youth of our country.

So, now onto the next phase of our project. Before we actually put them into full use, we have to thank our donors. Once all of the materials arrive, we write thank you notes and take photographs of the students using the materials from the projects.

Permissions slips have been sent home and I have quite a number of them back already. These are required before I can take pictures of any student and publish them on DonorsChoose. The students are all required to write a thank-you note, which fits with our education standards which require them to know how to write a friendly letter. Each student is required to write a thank you note, as they are graded! Some think that if they do not return the permission slip, they do not have to write the notes! Wrong.

I have already received the materials for the "Save Me!" project: These arrived on Friday. The kids were a little underwhelmed by them, but once they understand what these items will do, they will be more excited.

Our Standing Desk has been purchased, I am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I have already warned Vince that he may be needed for assembly!

Limeades for Learning Update

2010-09-05T06:38:00.004-05:00

A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for "Save Me!" during the first week of Sonic's Limeades for Learning promotion.

I received notice on Friday that "Save Me!" has been funded by Sonic!

Well, actually, I was on the Limeades site, checking to see how many votes the project had. I did a search and only one project showed up in the search results. I was confused and then had that little thrill that told me that "maybe" the project had been funded.

Sure enough, when I checked my school email in-box, there was the notice!
http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/projects/view/396383

I did the happy dance
And then proceeded to let everyone on Facebook know that we had been successful!

I know that without everyone's help and votes, this project would still be pending. I am glad that I have wonderful friends and family, and that my friends and family have wonderful friends and family! I know that it takes more than one person to educate a child. Together we all make a difference for our children's future, which is our future.

So, this is a very heartfelt Thank You to each and every one of you who voted last week and who are still voting this week. My other project "Sit,Stand or Lounge?" http://limeadesforlearning.com/projects/view/395955
is at 137 votes and counting. Thank you for voting for my projects.
I hope that once my projects are funded, you will continue to vote for someone's project. If Limeades For Learning reaches 1 million votes before the end of September, they will make another $100,000 available for public school teachers. So, while I will have benefited already, there are thousands of other teachers who will benefit as well.

Thank you.

Limeades for Learning

2010-08-31T18:14:00.005-05:00

Yes, folks, Sonic is once again running their Limeades for Learning promotion!

All you need to do is go to the Limeades for Learning site, and vote for your favorite project. I (of course) trust that you will vote for mine!

When you get to the site, do a keyword search for "Chester Co, Tn" and my two projects will pop up.
or go here: Save me!
or here: Sit, Stand or Lounge
You can vote once a day for each email address you have.

Sonic works in conjunction with DonorsChoose.org to help public school teachers obtain supplies and equipment for their classrooms. I have had a lot of luck in getting my projects funded through a variety of programs run by DonorsChoose and their partners. I am endlessly amazed that the generosity of individuals as well as larger corporate sponsors.

Earlier this summer, Bing ran a special Teacher's Appreciation program. During that program, you could make a comment about how a teacher inspired your or affected your life. Bing then sent you a gift card to use at DonorsChoose! FREE! My project Sit, Stand or Lounge was partially funded through that promotion.

Now with Sonic's Limeades for Learning, I am working on receiving enough votes to get both Sit, Stand or Lounge AND Save Me! funded.

SO, I am asking for everyone's help! Go to Limeades for Learning, vote for my project.
Vote every day! If you have more than one email address, vote with each one!

As of right now, Tuesday, the top project has 243 votes. Sit, Stand or Lounge has 15.

Together, we can make this happen.

Thanks

Where does the time go?

2010-08-29T14:53:00.005-05:00

Every once in a while, time runs away on me. I do not know where it goes, but I know that I am not getting everything done that needs getting done!

Since the start of the school year, I have been desperately trying to catch up with myself. I have made lists, I have canceled my netflix subscription, I have stopped getting on facebook as much.
Nothing worked.

I spent the past week working harder than ever to get caught up and organized.

I think I am just about there.

This weekend I managed to redo the borders on my Pieces of the Past quilt that were originally too wavy for my long arm quilter, Chris, to quilt nicely.

I finished the 12 large tote bags that were originally intended as gifts for the staff at the assisted living residence mom was at. I do not know what I will do with them now, but they needed to be finished.

I matched threads to felt to create the felt food that I plan to use as part of my Mustang's display at car shows. I also made a donut and a hamburger patty before I ran out of stuffing material.

I did some piecing on the quilt that I purchased the pattern and fabric for at my quiltaway weekend in June.

I also cleaned off the large cutting table in my studio by accomplishing all of the above.

I finally photographed and posted a number of finished items for my Etsy Store.

I needed to review and revise the social studies notes for my class. I finished chapters 1 through 5 today. I also finished my grading and lesson plans.

Last weekend, Vince asked me what gift I had gotten him for our 13th wedding anniversary. We do not normally exchange gifts, but I told him that on Sunday we were going to Lowes after church to purchase new floor tile for the main bathroom. We did,along with the grout, caulking and paint to finish the job. Last weekend, we tore up the old tiles, removed grout and caulking and cleaned. Vince started the floor last weekend and only has a small portion to finish. Yesterday, I finished repairing small holes in the walls and painted the walls in the bathroom. Tonight, I need to clean out the linen closet and remove the small piece of carpeting from the floor so Vince can finish the floor at the end of this week when he finishes his work shift.

Once again, I have a garage full of stuff for the inevitable yard sale. It seems that I gather up items no one else wants, sometimes items I do not want, and since I do not want to consign them to the landfill, they are hanging out in my garage until I find them new homes.
While I continually post items on Craigslist and Freecycle, I still have more stuff to get through. Vince and I are exploring the possibility of setting up a table at a flea market south of here in Crump. We plan to explore it next weekend.

So, that is were we are...some items finished, some moved along, some just a bit more organized.

One Week Down!

2010-08-10T20:46:00.003-05:00

Well folks, we have made it through the first week of school. Yes, school here in Tennessee started on August 3rd with a short but sweet half day that permitted the teachers and students to get use to each other.

I have an absolutely fantastic group of 23 students in my home room class and another absolutely fantastic group of 23 students in my team class. Since I teach primarily Math and History, I get to experience two groups of 6th graders every year.

For the most part, they are well behaved, smart and funny. I have enjoyed each day of the past 6 days of school.

We have encountered the typical issues for the beginning of 6th grade: not remembering which books to bring to class, not remembering pencils or binders or paper, not doing homework, doing homework but not remembering to bring it to school, not listening to directions or reading the directions and doing the quiz wrong (which requires them to re-do the assignment), not using pencil in math, using their index cards (Which are intended to become flash cards for studying vocabulary words) to write their vocabulary words and definitions five times each, not knowing how to multiply or divide, not knowing how to add and subtract large numbers, etc.

At the same time we have encountered these issues: fun and laughter, jokes, stories from summer vacation, cartoon drawings, entertaining journal assignments, smiles in the morning, "have a great afternoon, Mrs. Carrabba" as they leave the room at the end of the day, hugs.

I love teaching. I am so thankful that I found my way into this profession. I never thought that this was part of my destiny, but here I am.

New Old Cookie Press

2010-07-27T18:14:00.003-05:00

Yay! I found this lovely at the Christian Mission Thrift Store in Enterprise Alabama!
I am not certain if it works yet, but I could not resist the EXCELLENT price.
It was marked $2.50 which is wonderful, but when I checked out,
I found out that it was HALF PRICE!
This means I paid a total of $1.25 for this treasure.

Terracycling up for a New School Year!

2010-07-16T09:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, we had our Back to School Store at our church. The women's group organizes this entire event, which helps provide back to school supplies for about 100 students in our local community.
My favorite part is meeting all of the students and sometimes seeing students that I have had in the past! I had a chance to talk with more than 6 of my prior students, some parents and some possible future students! It was a wonderful day and the kids left with backpacks full of school supplies and stomachs full of home made cookies!

The night before, when we were setting up, I noticed that volunteers were putting cookies in small snack sized Zip-Loc bags.

Of course, my "trash-radar" went up and since I could not avoid the baggies, I could gather them and send them to Terracycle. So, I prepared a box with a sign asking for the empty baggies to be put in the box.
While I still had to raid the trashcans, there were many baggies put in the box! (mind you I had to take baggies out of the 'plastics' recycling can and cardboard boxes out of the 'plastics' recycling can!)

While I was helping to clean up and gather these baggies, Judy asked me about everything that I collected. She said that she really did not like to throw items in the trash as she understands that there is no "away" when an item is thrown away! So she wanted to know if anything that she had saved was something I collected. So, she will be bringing me her trash on Monday! I also sent her a link to my original blog post on what I collect with the brigades! Through the Terracycle Facebook page, I often find out about changes to the brigades or clarifications as to what is acceptable. The only recent change is that Terracycle now takes the Straws from the Drink Pouches. This is the comment from the Terracycle FB page:

"This is because we also now turn the drink pouches you send to us into pavers, bricks, fence posts and more. Through this melting type process (please excuse my lack of technical knowledge on the subject, but do see... See more the video in our video tab called 'From Flavia Fresh Packs to Pavers' to learn more) we are also able to use roughly 4x more drink pouches then before, which is really great for everyone. For example, a large juice pouch tote bag uses 26 juice pouches, but one paver stone uses at least 100! Happy TerraCycling."

Remember, the idea is to reduce the packaging that we put in the landfills. There are many ways to accomplish this.

First--really consider the items you purchase: do you really need it? how is it packaged? can the packaging be reused, composted, or recycled?

Second--look at what you are considering putting in that trash can: Can it be used by someone else (yard sales, thrift stores, freecycle, craigslist!!) Can it be composted or recycled? can it be remade into some other useful item?

There are many people out there who are successful at living life to the fullest while reducing their impact on the environment. It takes time and patience with your self. Our habits did not develop overnight, so it will take more than one day, one week, one month or even one year to change.

Take that first step.

Make one change this week.

Hmmm.....Summertime "To Do" list??

2010-07-10T20:37:00.004-05:00

I was meandering through my old posts and came across my Summertime "To Do" list, and thought it would be interesting to see what I actually finished!

Here is the original list with updates in GREEN

1. Finish the following quilts:
Jennifer's baby quilt (finished)
Peacock (top finished and delivered to long arm quilter)
Spinning Card Deck (this has been given thought and is being remade into a different design)
Skyward Nines (background and border fabric purchased)
Log Cabin (from the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics I bought as a kit at the 2009 Paducah Quilt Show!) (nothing done with this project!)
2. Finish the fabric rug I started 4 years ago using the Locker Hook method! (no progress here!)
3. Finish baby bibs for Etsy store. (finished as of today!)
4. Photograph items for Etsy store. NOPE
5. List items in Etsy store. NOPE
6. Yard Sale in June! Rescheduled for August 7
7. Clean out school filing cabinets (done!)
8. Decide on and organize Math Stations for RTI (Response to Intervention) method that will be used in school next year. (this one is a biggie!!) DONE! This started with an inventory of what I already had. I found that I had a number of perfect activities and all I needed to do was organize them. I created instruction sheets for each activity, listing supplies needed and making sure the activity parts were organized. I had to create little drawstring bags for some activities. I still have TONS of items that need to be cut out from cardstock and organized into folders, but I have help planned and a date arranged for next week.
9. Organize school cabinets DONE
10. Re-hang signs in classroom. (done!)
11. Repair entryway rug in classroom. DONE
12. Put 2009-2010 scrapbook together. I purchased the scrapbook and extra pages just two weeks ago.

Additionally I completed these activities:
Dyed and sewed new curtains for the window and the shelves in my classroom.
Spray painted the bookshelf in my classroom
I finished the Readers are Leaders quilt and the Prairie Schooler Quilt.
I added a hanging sleeve to the Hot Air Balloon quilt
Vince hung all three of these quilts in my classroom
Vince made and hung new pegs for the students' backpack and coats.
I finished the binding for the Snow Crazy Quilt.

So, overall, I made progress and had a busy summer! I am glad it is not over yet.

Donors Choose and Sonic: Partners Again!

2010-07-10T16:49:00.004-05:00

Last August, Sonic partnered up with DonorsChoose.org in the Limeades for Learning promotion.
I was fortunate enough to have two projects funded through that promotion!

Starting August 30th, drinks at Sonic will have voting codes on them. It is very easy to then go to the Limeades for Learning site and vote for your favorite Public School Teacher's project!

I have created two links on my blog to aid you in finding my projects when you vote for your favorite!

All I am asking is that if you patronize Sonic, know anyone who patronizes Sonic, knows someone who works at Sonic, or want to go to Sonic because you want to support public school teachers, please pass the word along and help out a teacher!

Bells of Sarna

2010-07-05T17:19:00.004-05:00

I have this small brass bell that belonged to my father. It, along with a second bell, were in our house in Manalapan for as long as I can remember.

Today, I was looking at the bell and noticed that it was marked "Bells of Sarna" on the inside of the bell.

Curious, I did a bit of research to find out what that meant. I found this article at the American Bell Association's Bell Talk site: http://americanbell.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=656

Sarna is not a place in India, but rather the name of the man who imported bells from several locations and resold them here in the states. The Bells of Sarna began in the late 1930's.

PILLOWS for the Classroom!

2010-07-03T16:20:00.003-05:00

Finally I have finished this project!

I now have two HUGE pillows to use in my classroom for the upcoming school year!

These pillows were created using reclaimed stuffing and fabric! The outer covering that you see is an old fabric shower curtain. The inner pillow forms were created using fabric I purchased at the thrift store (quite unattractive fabric if I may say so!) very inexpensively. The stuffing was reclaimed from several unwanted bedpillows and throw pillows. It took a while to wash and dry the stuffing materials, but it was worth it!

Measuring about 30 inches square, they will sit on the floor for students to use instead of sitting at regular desks. They will have to earn the right to sit on the floor pillows, of course!

Resolutions: June Update

2010-06-30T14:36:00.002-05:00

June's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. Okay, lesson held for this month!

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. I found that I am in need of tops for school. Searching the thrift stores but no luck so far!

3. Save the savings. Over $48 saved at Kroger!

4. Reduce my personal belongings. Hmmm....check out these boxes of 'stuff' that I have freecycled. I also purged all of my quilting magazines and freecycled them. I scanned and saved electronic copies of the quilt patterns I liked in the magazines and was able to give the magazines to another quilter.

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
How to Think like Leonardo DaVinci!

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. Progressing nicely

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. No idea how many steps, but Lenita and I have been walking three mornings a week!

8. Reduce my fabric stash. Okay....I did purchase fabrics to back two quilts (which are at the quilters already!) and fabrics to create items for the Car Show next year. I also purchased fabrics to make another quiltaway quilt!

9. Make time for ME! I did have my quiltaway weekend. Loved spending time alone as well as with Cat, Sherry and Marita! We had loads of fun, laughter and quilt experiences! My other 'me' time was interspersed with working on school related items and normal household tasks!

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. Done Early!

The Treadle Sewing Machine

2010-06-27T19:56:00.002-05:00

My Singer Treadle Sewing Machine has been sitting on the sidelines for far too long. Tonight, I decided to get the new belt on it and figure out how to use it!
While Vince was getting the tools necessary to cut and attach the belt, I looked up the model and age on-line.
According to the Singer site, this machine was made on November 30, 1917 and is a model 127.
It, along with all of my other singers, is from the Elizabethport factory in NJ. Cool.

The manual that was with the machine was for a model 66 treadle. There could be a problem here!!

Unfortunately, the book does not match the machine! As you can see, the model 66 has a drop in bobbin with a bobbin case.

My machine does not have a bobbin case or bobbin!

My machine comes with these items:

So, it appears I have a machine that has a vibrating shuttle and bobbin. So, I was back on-line to find out how to work this! I found that the model 127 came with a vibrating shuttle and bobbin and I was able to download the manual from the Singer site.

Now, I am back to work!

There are Peacocks Here!

2010-06-06T07:59:00.004-05:00

Yesterday morning, I started to piece together this Peacock quilt. I had worked hard getting the individual blocks put together, and the piecing the sashing.
Here it is laid out on the floor in my studio.

My goal yesterday was to get the entire top stitched together, borders and all!
I was diligently working on the top when I received a call from a friend who told me about a piece of furniture that would be perfect for my new classroom arrangements. So, I finished the seam I was working on, changed my clothes to ones with less threads and headed to Jackson.
Fortunately, I arrived at the yard sale in time to see the piece of furniture and decide it would work very well. Unfortunately, it was being held by another lady who had already purchased it! I tried to buy it from her, but no deal. SIGH.

So, it was off to North Jackson to Hancocks to purchase fabric to replace the curtains in my room. I did not find anything inexpensive enough that I liked (I needed over 10 yards!) So, I bought muslin and will be dying it teal. Then I checked out Hobby Lobby for some wide ribbon that I will be able to use as bulletin borders (instead of the cardstock ones that have to be replaced every year!) I also bought the ribbon in teal! (sense a theme here?)

Up the drive home, I realized I had not finished my Sunday School lesson on the Thessalonians. So, I had to do my reading and research so that I can impart a little knowledge in class.

Then I was able to return to my borders! Here is the finished product. It covers the top of my king sized bed nicely.

Here are some details on the 3 of the 12 individual star blocks.

All in all, a project finished. I purchased the fabrics and pattern in March 2009. I will purchase backing fabric while in Pennsylvania and then get it to the quilter when I return!

Carrabba Turtle Rescue Retreat!

2010-06-05T08:08:00.009-05:00

We rescue turtles. We find them trying to cross the road, and to save their lives, we stop and pick them up and bring them home to our pond. Most of the turtles are water turtles.

We have the occasional box turtle that is brought home and given a new residence in our woods.

The other day, as I was leaving, I spotted a turtle trying to cross my road. I stopped and brought him back to our property, leaving him at the edge as I was on my way to a meeting.

I am fairly certain this is the same turtle!

The dogs were barking up a storm, so I went to investigate and found this guy on the other side of the fence.

They were trying to dig under the fence to get to the turtle:

I think he may stay awhile, even though his neighbors are noisy animals who play rough!

Ah, Summertime!

2010-06-04T18:23:00.003-05:00

Well, it seems that no matter where I go, the bugs get me!
I work in the garden, so even with bug spray all over me, I get bit...I guess I sweat off the bug spray! I walk to the pond to feed the wildlife, I get bit. I walk in the woods, I get bit.
Now, I know what you are saying...DON'T GO OUTSIDE! You are a mosquito magnet in the mosquito environment.

However, those bloodsuckers even get in the house..so I sit in my living room, I get bit!

Resolutions; May Update

2010-05-30T20:05:00.002-05:00

May's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. Urk. Soda is not fun. I had another glass from another bottle that Vince brought into the house. It did not sit well with me. Will I EVER learn my lesson??

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. New undergarments, but no new clothing!

3. Save the savings. Shopping early in May at Kroger yielded a savings of $20.13 and a later trip yielded a savings of $25.49 (that is already stashed in the secret money safe!)

4. Reduce my personal belongings. Caroline mentioned a yard sale, so I am saving items for that June activity. I pulled out two lightweight sweaters. Plus I cleaned out my classroom, removing two boxes of items that can find new homes, along with several items that found their way home with students! We also freecycled 14 5 gallon containers of floor primer that had been left here when we moved in.

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
Still on hold!

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. Progressing nicely

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. Ah, Lenita and I finally connected and started walking in he mornings. I have worn my Pedometer for the past 2 days!

8. Reduce my fabric stash. Well.....I did go shopping for fabric. So, technically I added 20 yards to my stash. HOWEVER....the fabrics are for my mystery quilt and to finish my Skyward Nines quilt.

9. Make time for ME! Quilting would be the Me time this month. With nasty storms the weekend of May 1st, there was no car show, so I quilted. I finished several small quilts! Melody LOVED her green strings quilt. I also finished a Red/White/Blue quilt and a small brightly colored quilt that will probably go to charity. Jennifer's baby quilt is also quilted and awaiting its label. I finished quilting the Prairie Schooler quilt, put on the Prairie Points, the label and the binding.
AND...I finished piecing the star blocks for the Peacock Quilt I purchased in March 2009 when Vince and I drove through PA on our way to pick up my mom in NJ. I have cut out the sashing strips and the goal is to have the top finished before my Quiltaway weekend in June.

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. Done Early!

Project Status!

2010-05-27T07:12:00.005-05:00

I am one week into my summer break! I do have in-service training for the next two days though, so very little progress will be made on home projects while I think about school!

However, I did manage to finish the Red/White/Blue quilt. It was made with a technique called "Stack a Deck". I use scraps of fabrics I had laying around...the blocks have been here for quite some time! It is a nice lap sized quilt.

This "Prairie Schooler" quilt I found in a magazine, I believe it was a 2007 magazine. I liked it and purchased the fabrics that the pattern featured, so this one has been around since 2007. I worked on it in bits and pieces since then. The only fabrics I purchased were the letters and the scrambled letter fabric. I used scraps and my stash for the remainder of the quilt. It was my first quilt with prairie points and I think they turned out well! I do need to finish the binding on this one, but otherwise it is complete, label and all!

This quilt is one for a friend of mine who is having her second child. I decided on the "I Spy" design because then the older brother could play with the younger brother! This one is complete except for a little bit of binding and the label. I wanted to wait and put the baby's birthdate on the label!

And finally: I finished one of the pillows that will grace my classroom this fall. This is one of two pillows that I am creating from items that no longer have a life on their own. I used a discolored fabric shower curtain, and the stuffing material came from an assortment of stained pillows. I washed the stuffing material (Fun stuff!!) and created an interior pillow form (again from re-claimed fabric). I did purchase two zippers so that the outer colorful cover could be removed and washed as needed. Here is a link to my classroom "alternative seating" project that these pillows are part of: Sit, Stand or Lounge?

Terracycle Brigades!

2010-05-24T21:54:00.005-05:00

Terracycle works hard to keep their Brigadeers updated on items that are collected and that credit is given for. The list is continually expanding and for that I am glad. This past school year, we earned over $200. That money will go towards upgrading items in my classroom, fixing some of the broken items and towards a new pencil sharpener (the students burned out my new one during TCAP week!)

I know that some people will buy and consume items that are packaged in plastic regardless of the impact (health, environment.....) There are also people will buy and consume items packaged in plastic and tell themselves it is okay because the packaging is recyclable.

I like the Terracycle program because the company strives to keep items out of our landfill and upcycle them into other products. I do encourage my students to recycle items for this reason. I tell them that they SHOULD NOT purchase items simply because the packaging can be recycled, but if they already use those items, then please work to give the waste new life. So, for those of you who are helping me collect items, or are interested in helping me collect items, here is a detailed list of what is acceptable into the brigades that I belong to. You can either pass the items off to me, or email me and I will send you a label to attach to your box or envelope of trash!

DRINK POUCH BRIGADE - Any Brand, Must be the foil juice pouch (we will not accept the cardboard juice boxes)

CANDY WRAPPER BRIGADE - Any Brand, We do not take the candy boxes you might find in the movie theaters. A good way to determine if it is accepted is if the wrapper's material closely resembles the same material Mars candy wrappers are made from (i.e. Starburts, M&M's, Snickers)

COOKIE WRAPPER BRIGADE - Any Brand, We will not take the plastic cookie trays, only the wrappers (and no cardboard boxes, only plastic wrappers)

CHIP BAG BRIGADE - Any Brand, As a rule of thumb, you will know it's an accepted bag as long as the bag in question is made from similar material that a Frito-Lay Bag is made from (Pretzel bags are also acceptable, even if they have a clear window on the front)

ENERGY BAR WRAPPER BRIGADE - Any Brand, as long as it has a foil inside. This includes Rice Krispie Treat wrappers.

KASHI PACKAGE BRIGADE - ANY Kashi packaging, including boxes, wrappers, linings and trays.

SCOTT BRAND BRIGADE – SCOTT BRAND ONLY, Any outside wrapper plastic, from Paper towels, napkins and toilet tissue.

HUGGIES BRAND BRIGADE – outer wrap plastic Packaging from ANY BRAND diaper/pullup product, this also included feminine products.

AVEENO BEAUTY BRIGADE – all personal care plastic tubes

SCOTCH TAPE BRIGADE - ANY BRAND Tape dispensers and cores

MALT-O-MEAL CEREAL BRIGADE – ANY BRAND plastic cereal bags, including those inside cardboard boxes!

GUM PACKAGE BRIGADE – ANY BRAND individual gum wrappers and multipack bags, to foil packs and clear cellophane exterior wrappers.

WRITING INSTRUMENTS - Any Brand and any pens, markers, highlighters or mechanical pencils.

ELMERS GLUE CREW - Only Elmer's brand glue containers

NEOSPORIN TUBE BRIGADE - Only Neosporin brand & only the 0.5 ounce & 1.0-ounce tubes are accepted

STARBUCKS COFFEE BAG BRIGADE - ANY BRAND coffee bags are accepted. Only coffee BAGS are accepted, so please no plastic containers.

LUNCH KIT BRIGADE - Only Oscar Meyer brand Lunchables are acceptable and we are accepting the plastic tray and the peel back film only, not the cardboard packaging

COLGATE ORAL CARE BRIGADE - ANY BRAND toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, and packaging

SPREADS BRIGADE – Any containers from spreadable butter products. (I can’t believe it’s not butter, country crock)

YOGURT BRIGADE - ANY BRAND-- The yogurt cups must stack neatly (the top must be wider than the bottom)

HOME STORAGE BRIGADE - ANY BRAND plastic baggies or re-usable containers (that are no longer re-usable)

♪ ♫Summer Time, Summer Time, SumSumSummertime.♪♫♪♪

2010-05-21T06:01:00.003-05:00

Yes, my summer vacation has "officially" begun. I do have several days of In-service training scheduled, but I plan to (once again) catch up on those unfinished projects.

I do have to say that I managed to get more projects finished this school year than last year, which is probably good as I have a lot more school projects for this summer!

My "To Do" list for this summer (as of today's date):

1. Finish the following quilts:
Jennifer's baby quilt
Peacock
Spinning Card Deck (this needs serious seam ripping and thought!)
Skyward Nines (all of the nine-patch blocks are finished!)
Log Cabin (from the beautiful hand-dyed fabrics I bought as a kit at the 2009 Paducah Quilt Show!)

2. Finish the fabric rug I started 4 years ago using the Locker Hook method!
3. Finish baby bibs for Etsy store.
4. Photograph items for Etsy store.
5. List items in Etsy store.
6. Yard Sale in June!
7. Clean out school filing cabinets (done!)
8. Decide on and organize Math Stations for RTI (Response to Intervention) method that will be used in school next year. (this one is a biggie!!)
9. Organize school cabinets
10. Re-hang signs in classroom. (done!)
11. Repair entryway rug in classroom.
12. Put 2009-2010 scrapbook together.

I am sure there will be many more tasks accomplished, but these are the ones I am determined to do!

Plastic baggies!

2010-05-19T07:09:00.007-05:00

As a school teacher, I often have a need for many small bags that will close. Thus the "Zippered" baggie. It can hold a wonderful assortment of items and at a glance, I can tell what is in there. I use them over and over again, saving them until they are as unfunctional as possible.

Once their usefulness has expired, the question is: What do I do with them?

I do not want to just toss it into the non-existent land of "Away". After all, we all know there is not "Away" !!

Nor do I want it to become part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Thankfully Terracycle and SC Johnson & Company (ZipLoc Bags) have devised a way to keep these bags out of our landfills, our forests, our streets, our oceans.......

Every time you use a Ziploc® product - any type of bag or container - you can help save it from being discarded into a landfill by sending it to TerraCycle.
You all know that I have been working with Terracycle for more than a year now, and my class in school works hard to collect items that Terracycle Upcycles into new products. I am glad that I was accepted into their Home Storage Brigade (which is open only to schools)

Some key points about this brigade:
1.) Only schools can join this brigade and since I have joined, you can save the baggies for me and I will send them in.
2.) They will take any brand baggies or storage containers and in any condition (peanut butter residue included!)
3.) Participation in the Home Storage Brigade™ is completely free - there are no sign-ups fees and all the shipping is covered by the program.
4.) Also, for each approved bag or container received, 2¢ will be paid to my school.

I have requested a product created from this brigade to review and blog about. I will then create a giveaway for that product. Watch future blogs for information about that!

Elephants!

2010-05-10T06:02:00.001-05:00

I was in my favorite thrift store, The Gleaners House, looking for some items my students could use as costumes for their Mythology project.

I did find three items that may work for some of the students. However, the most exciting item was this:

It is a vest decorated with elephants! The thread work is all hand crafted with colored strings shot through with a metallic gold thread. The elephants have dull gold sequins stitched on.

I have no idea what I am going to do with this, (it is a bit too tight across my shoulders to wear comfortably), but I had to own it!

Early this morning

2010-05-08T16:06:00.003-05:00

Early this morning, Vince was getting ready for work. Since it is Saturday, I did not have to awaken early. I usually do, and once Vince is off to work, I (and the dogs) go back to sleep.

This morning, when I entered the kitchen, this is what I saw:

Army Boots, Two Eggs, Shaving Cream, Razor. All placed neatly on a piece of newspaper.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Of course, I stood and looked at this odd collection of items for a while, trying to figure out their connection.

Could it be some weird way of polishing the boots?

In my sleep fogged brain, it did take me a while to deduce what this meant. Fortunately I figured it out before Vince arrived in the kitchen to make fun of me!!!

Resolutions: April's update

2010-05-08T16:05:00.002-05:00

April's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. Vince did bring in a bottle of Pepsi for Pizza night early this month. I was tempted and poured myself a glass the following day. I found that I did not enjoy the taste, the fizz or the bloated feeling I had after drinking it. I am better off without soda!

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. Temptation was here! I was out with friends and visited the NEX (the department type store on the Naval military base in Millington) and was looking at summer skirts. I do not wear shorts because I really am uncomfortable in them, so I like skirts in the summer. I do not seem to have any casual ones, so I was looking.....but did not like the colors. Then I realized that I have some fantastic fabric in my studio that will make wonderful skirts! Unfortunately, I never found the time to whip up a skirt....I guess my motivation left me. At least I did not buy anything new!

3. Save the savings. Okay, I had very few coupons to use in the grocery store, so my savings was $1.00. However, I did save 10% on my batting order at Jo-Ann Fabrics because I am a member of AQS. All together, I saved $8.20 this month.

4. Reduce my personal belongings. More progress! I freecycled the electric fireplace logs that have been sitting in the utility room for more than a year. I also freecycled the hanging lamp that we removed during our renovations.
The large blue area rug that we have not used since we lived in Clarksville has finally left the building!
That is three large items that have left the house!

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
URK. I have not moved along on this resolution at all this month. I did read several novels, but nothing that required much thought. I may bag this one until the summer gets here. My pile of books is growing faster than I have time to read!

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. I realize I need to put my school purchases receipts in the folder. (Now....I wonder where they are????)

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. I have not worn the pedometer this month. Sigh.

8. Reduce my fabric stash. Okay. I counted my stash during Spring Break. The unfortunate part is that I have almost as much fabric as I did when I initially counted my stash. However, I did reduce my stash by 3.5 boxes of scrap! But those scraps were not in the original yardage count.
The weather did keep me away from Paducah, so I did not purchase any additional fabrics for my quiltaway weekend in June. I still need to do that, so the count will increase when I make the journey to Memphis in May.

9. Make time for ME! Ha. This month, with being sick, I had a lot of 'me time' to rest and read.

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. DONE!(a little late, but DONE!)

Stormy Weather!

2010-05-01T20:01:00.002-05:00

When it rains, we have rivers that run down our property into our pond. Every summer, the level of the water in the pond drops dramatically, but in the spring the level is at its absolute highest. In fact, the water will overflow the pond and run over the dam (the far side of the photo below).

Our Toaster

2010-04-30T06:16:00.003-05:00

Many years ago, when Vince had first purchased his dome shaped home in Clarksville, I sent him a house warming present which included this toaster oven and several packages of English Muffins (One of his favorite food items).

Earlier today, after using and unplugging the item, Vince commented that the toaster has been with us a long time. Based on my calculations, the toaster has been our companion for for 13.5 years.

It is a great toaster and we use it for many small meals, not just toast!

My blog was inspired today by this blog: Saying No to New I found that Nicole's comments mirrored my own thoughts on purchasing new items. I hope that our trusty toaster lasts longer as I dread searching through GoodWill or Gleaners for another one!

It is hard to break the cycle of buying. It is hard to resist the pull of new items and more stuff. Stuff is part of our lives.

We do need to rethink our purchases. Every one of them. There are many times that buying used is a viable option. It does take more work, however.

To shop at a thrift store, for example, means that I may not find exactly what I am looking for the first time. That usually means that I will rethink my purchase and more times than not, I realize I do not need what I was looking for.

Since I also do not like to throw usable items away, there are many times that I have what I need right here in the house.

We are in the INDEPENDENT!

2010-04-22T05:57:00.000-05:00

Middle school class earns cash for trash.

Photo by Holly Roeder, Independent
Colette Carrabba’s sixth-grade class is earning cash for their school by collecting items otherwise thought of as trash – used drink pouches, candy wrappers, and more. Many of the products are sent to TerraCycle, a company who ‘upcycles’ the items, making reusable items and sending money back to the school.

With hundreds of students eating lunch every day, sixth-grade teacher Colette Carrabba of Chester County Middle School used to see a lot of used drink pouches, cookie wrappers and chips bags get thrown away. Now the school earns two cents for every one of those wrappers or pouches Carrabba and her students collect and return to a company, TerraCycle, who uses their non-recyclable waste to make affordable, eco-friendly products. The enthusiastic students at Chester County Middle have diverted over 12,000 pieces of waste from the landfill and earned nearly $250 for their school.

“I believe that it is important to teach the younger members of our society the importance of reducing our waste, reusing everything we can and recycling what is left over. With TerraCycle as my classroom partner, my students have fun collecting trash and are learning why it is important to keep these items out of our landfills,” said Colette about her experience with the program. “I love that TerraCycle has partnered up with public schools to teach about the importance of recycling and reducing our trash. Our children need to learn this lesson from every possible perspective.”

Carrabba’s class collects chip bags, cookie and candy wrappers, pens, markers, glue sticks, diaper packages, Lunchable boxes, tape dispensers, cereal bags, and energy bar wrappers, as well as many other recyclables in addition to the TerraCycle ‘upcycling’ items. The project has proved very successful largely due to her students’ involvement.

“The earth isn’t going to get crowded up with junk, so we’ll be able to live longer on it,” explained student Sarah Sells.

“I don’t like the idea of living in trash,” added Aspen Gray.

Malcolm Poe stressed that recycling helps the community, and was supported by Hannah Richardson, who pointed to financial gains for the community as a result of recycling.

The students further explained that trash leads to pollution, which kills trees, which are vital for our survival.

Chester County Middle School is part of a free nationwide program called the ‘Brigades’ that pays schools and non-profits to collect non-recyclable waste that would otherwise go to the landfill. Now the programs are coming full circle back to Henderson through an exciting partnership with local Walmart locations.

TerraCycle uses waste material to make a wide range of products like Seed Starter kits made from yogurt cups and pencil cases made from drink pouches, which will be sold for the first time in honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day this month.

In fact, for a limited time Walmart is selling the widest range of TerraCycle’s ‘Upcycled’ products ever. For the month of April, TerraCycle’s products will be sold right next to original items, so tote bags made from Frito-Lay wrappers will be sold with bags of Frito-Lay chips and backpacks made from Capri Sun drink pouches will be sold next to boxes of the popular juice! This will help educate consumers about resource conservation and drive participation in TerraCycle’s program.

Nationwide, over 50,000 schools and community groups have signed up to help collect over 25 million used pieces of packaging. Through the TerraCycle Brigades school and non-profits will earn close to one million dollars this year!

Any interested organizations can learn more or sign up for free today at www.terracycle.net.

Terracycle in the Classroom

2010-04-19T21:53:00.002-05:00

Our class received an exciting surprise visit from a reporter from the Chester County Independent Newspaper.

Terracycle had apparently sent a press release to the Independent and this press release had my name on it. Being the good reporters that they are, they contacted me to find out more about how Terracycle impacts our classroom.

The students were very excited to talk to a reporter and to talk about what they collect for Terracycle and how recycling impacts their classroom, their community and their world.

In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, Terracycle has put their new products in Walmarts across the United States for the month of April.

So, go and check out the Terracycle products at your local Walmart.

And those of you who are local to Henderson, check out my class in the Independent this week!

Spring Break Day Seven

2010-04-16T10:57:00.006-05:00

Ah, slept in again until 6:30! What ever will I do when I have to return to work on Monday?

Spent the morning in my studio, cutting batting and basting quilts. I also finished stitching the baby bibs and turned them right side out.

Additionally, I stitched the 3 small ribbon blankets that will be in my Etsy Store!

I picked up lunch for mom and I and spent the afternoon with Mom, playing Scrabble and celebrating Lauren's departure. Lauren is a student who is receiving her degree and did a practicum at Southern Oaks. She is finished now and will be getting married next weekend. So the folks threw her a small party! We had cake and punch and sang songs. It was fun.

After leaving Southern Oaks, I traveled to Jackson to pick up markers for a project we are doing in school after TCAPs. I had some recycling credit at Office Depot, so I went there to buy my new markers.

Upon arrival home, I got to work on the garden. Yesterday it was tilled and composted and organized into nice rows. Today I put in markers to remember where plants are to reside in the future and I put some of the seedlings in. Each yellow marker is made from cut up foam trays.

You cannot see the seedlings well, but I have corn, cucumbers, beans, and zucchini planted. The potatoes are in as well (but they are completely underground!!)

That was enough gardening fun for me, so I watered them, and watered the seedlings still in the greenhouse and called it a day.

Tomorrow I will get the soaker hoses in place and plant marigold seeds.

Now for a nice cool shower!

Spring Break Day Six

2010-04-16T10:43:00.006-05:00

Day Six---I know it was yesterday, but I was in such pain yesterday evening, that I just went to bed with the heating pad!

It started out well, sleeping in until 7:00!!!

Then I spent the day in the studio, working on the Green String quilt. I finished the top and the borders...it needed a little TLC to flatten out, working with those diamonds and bias edges is not an area that I excel in. So, I had to re-do some seams! But it looks good now! (Photos will show up in the Day Seven blog later today!)

I had some left over batting pieces, so I pinned several baby bibs that are destined for my Etsy Store. The store is empty right now, so I am working on some new additions.

I also COUNTED MY STASH! I am embarrassed to say that it is right back to where it was when I initially counted my stash! ACK! I did not count any of the backings or fabrics that are designated for the following quilts (as they are in the basting/quilting stage of completion):

Green String quilt
I Spy quilt
Pumpkin Floral string quilt
Patriotic Stack & Whack quilt
Prairie Schooler quilt
Bright Girl quilt

In the afternoon, Vince tilled the garden, and I went and worked with the soil...I worked in compost and pulled out roots and weeds. I straightened the rows and that is when I gave in. My lower back was tighter than it has ever been and I could not straighten up well. I figured it was a good time to revisit my garden plan.

I have been researching various ways to improve my garden for this year, and will be planting certain plants to protect others....keeping certain critters out of the corn! I also have a border of lovely marigolds to help with pests and critters. Since part of my garden does not get full sun I have to consider which plants will tolerate partial sun. Also, since my garden still slopes a bit, I have to consider which plants will tolerate more water!

I think I have a plan now!! But by the time I had finished that and we ate a late dinner, I was finished! I heated up the heating pad and went to bed with a good book.

Fortunately this morning, I awoke feeling good!

Spring Break Day Five

2010-04-14T21:49:00.003-05:00

This morning was spent with my dear friends Caroline and Deb. We traveled to Millington, to the Naval Support facility there. As military folk, I can get on base to shop at the commissary, which usually has good prices on groceries.

More importantly, we look at it as a day out. We love each other's company and the ride gives us time to catch up with each other. The ride is filled with laughter!

The only slightly upsetting aspect was that I found out that my military ID card had expired! Now Vince and I need to find time to travel to Millington during a weekday so that I can obtain a new card. I guess that will be a June activity!

I was also able to stop in Oakland to drop my quilts off to Christine Ballard.
She will creatively and beautifully quilt my Pieces of the Past and Snow Crazy quilts. I do not have a delivery date, but I know I will get them back sometime this summer so that I can finish those two this year! I hope that by the time she has these two quilted, I will have at least 2 other tops to give her for quilting!

When we arrived back home after our adventure, I was amazed that I had the entire afternoon ahead of me! I spent part of it digging the compost out of the bin to spread on the new garden area. Vince will (hopefully) till the garden tomorrow so that I can get the seedlings in the ground soon!

I spent a little time working on the Green String quilt--I have the rows pinned together into a top and will stitch them together in the morning. Then I can get the borders on it and declare the top finished.

After dinner, I barely beat Vince at Scrabble (689 to 680). Our games are not always that close..so it was nice to have a challenging game tonight! We play Super Scrabble, which has a larger game board and twice the tiles. It is a lot more fun and a lot more challenging to play!

Spring Break Day Four

2010-04-13T21:59:00.003-05:00

The Gleaners” by Jean-François Millet

To glean is to gather grain left behind by reapers or to gather bit by bit.

This morning I awoke with the dawn to begin yet another day of my spring break! I started with my studio, working on the Green String quilt. I laid the pieces out and stitched them into rows, then became distracted.

I pulled out the white fabric that I plan to use in the Mustang quilt and then paged through all of my DMC flosses to find a red that I liked. Then I washed both the fabric and the thread, to determine if the red would bleed onto the white. (Many hours later I checked the fabric and the thread, and there was no red on the white!) Then I sat and used my marker to outline the line drawings of the Mustang. I also determined the size of the white blocks that I will need to use.
The quilt design is similar to the Snow Crazy quilt. I am embroidering pictures of my Mustang onto white squares. The crazy quilt blocks will be different red fabrics.

After an hour and a half of quilt fun, it was time to leave for the Gleaner's House. I loaded up my vehicle with two boxes of paper and an 8' x 10' area rug that I was giving to a freecycler.

I headed downtown to Gleaners, first stopping at the bank to cash a check I have had since February! I also stopped at the City Drug store to make a copy of a photo of my father (the one where he is standing by the Chickaloon Bridge in Alaska) and pick up a package of razor blades (to remove the expired military stickers from my windshield).

At Gleaner's we sorted, cleaned and priced the goodies that local folks donate to the thrift store. It is always a real experience! I love that we get to shop there as well! I brought home a 24" tall Elmo doll for the puppies!

Lunch with friends was at Jack's, a local fast food eatery that is actually better than McDonald's or Burger King!

The rest of my afternoon was spent giving a rug to a freecycler (Yay! One more item out of my house!), getting my hair color touched up and visiting my Mom. I also made some time to piece together the rows on the Green String quilt, that was a bit of a challenge. Matching seams on diamond shaped pieces takes some time. They are finally all pinned and some are sewn together. The rest is a task for another Spring Break day!

Spring Break Day Three

2010-04-12T07:13:00.003-05:00

AH! I slept in this morning! I woke up to the sounds of Narnia barking outside my window. It was about 5:45.

I spent the day visiting my friend Lisa in Clarksville, TN. I had a chance to see the Wickham Statues! There had been an exhibit at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Museum a number of years ago ( I am not sure if it was while I lived in Clarksville, or afterwards!) and since then I have wanted to go. We were a bit confused when we arrived there...all those twisty turny Tennessee back roads! We did find several statues, and the Wickham cemetery.

When I returned home, I studied the website a bit further and concluded that we came upon the middle of the displays of statues. If we had turned around and headed the opposite direction, then we would have seen the ones we missed! Ah well, that will be an excursion for the next visit!

While in Clarksville, I also attempted to find fabrics to coordinate with my focus fabric for the June Quiltaway in Pennsylvania. No luck. The Hancocks in Clarksville was really low on cotton fabrics. In fact it was downright depressing! Since the quilt store in Clarksville was closed today, I had no other options!!

Lisa and I headed over to Books-a-million for some light reading and coffee.

Then we headed back to Lisa's house so that I could pack up the trash she had been saving for me---all that Terracycle stuff! and I headed home.

All in all, a fun day with a dear friend!

Spring Break Day Two

2010-04-11T13:11:00.006-05:00

Since Vince is working days this week, I am up by the time he leaves the house (5:30 or so). Today was no different!

So, since I was up earlier than I planned, I figured I could spend time in the studio! I worked further on the Green String Quilt and put borders on the I Spy quilt (yes, I know it is not the same quilt I was working on yesterday!). Here is what I accomplished on the Green String Quilt...I cut and sewed the background diamonds. I made a few mistakes along the way before I got them the way I wanted...so I did not work much on this quilt today.

The I Spy quilt is for a friend who is having a baby in June. It is all ready to go and I have the backing fabric in the washer as I type this!
Then I went to church and Sunday school. I had lunch with my dear friend Caroline at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. We are going to have a yard sale together with some other folks in June! YAY!! I love yard sales...Now I get to clean out the house and price items and then get rid of them!

I spent some time at Gleaner's House Thrift Store before visiting Mom. At Gleaner's I scored a great 2" 3 ring binder, and some letter and number tiles. The tiles sort of look like oversized Scrabble tiles. I believe I can create a station activity with those! I also picked up a broken keyboard (for that as yet unknown craft idea!).

My visit with Mom was interesting...she had previously asked me to bring her a Catholic bible as the one she had was not a Catholic one. So, I brought her my parent's bible and she spent our visit paging through the bible, making comments about snippets of sentences she read. At least she was reading the bible!

I stopped by my classroom on the way home to pick up a box of used paper (for Inez's grandson's baseball fundraiser), the box of chip bags I need to send to Terracycle, and my large dry erase eraser.

I also gassed up the truck and washed it!

Upon arrival home, I sorted through the stuff in my truck and loaded up the 3.5 boxes of fabric I am bringing to Diana tomorrow. I also collected all of the newspapers around the house and from the recycling bin to bring to Lisa tomorrow (for the birds!) Then I collected up the loose 2-liter plastic soda bottles that had escaped the plastic bag they were in! I boxed the bottles as they will be used at the end of the school year for the 6th grade end of year water fight. (At least if it is still scheduled to occur!)

When I came back inside, I emailed Chris about dropping off two quilts on Wednesday, and then proceeded to my studio so that I could iron the backings and make sure I had batting. I have a piece for the Snow Crazy Quilt but need to buy batting for the Pieces of the Past quilt. One out of two is not bad! My last post on these two quilts was back in June of last year!

Here are the finished tops for Snow Crazy, this is almost a full sized quilt.
And here is Pieces of the Past, this one is a king sized quilt.

Now I am finished for the day. It is dinner on my own (Vince had a late flight), and then off to bed to rest up for my Clarksville trip tomorrow!

Terracycle Products hit the stores!

2010-04-11T12:37:00.005-05:00

Most of you know that I am a huge supporter of Terracycle. I collect items for them to upcycle into new and exciting products. They in turn help keep these non-biodegradable items out of our landfills and help support education.

They have recently opened a pop-up shop in New York's Port Authority which features a number of really cool items from Terracycle and several other unique vendors.

Terracycle has also put many new products in Walmart stores for the month of April. While I know that some people will not shop at Walmart, I do agree that it is a good idea for Terracycle to team up with them to promote their products. A LOT of people go into Walmart and A LOT of people shop there. This is an excellent way to get their products seen an a mass market level.

I have actually considered going into Walmart to see what the products look like as there are no other stores here in my corner of Tennessee that carry Terracycle products. These new products are available nationwide at Walmart stores for the month of April in honor of Earth Day's 40th Anniversary.

So, check out the new Terracycle products, visit Walmart to see them in person or shop on-line at: shoponlygreen.com.

Spring Break Day One

2010-04-11T06:13:00.005-05:00

One my first day of Spring Break I woke up at the same time I usually do. So much for sleeping in!

So, I decided I should make the best of it and stay busy.

I started with the laundry! Then cleaned up the kitchen, scrubbing the counters and clearing off all the clutter that accumulates there. I did manage to finish all of the laundry, get it folded and put away! (normally the laundry sits in the basket for a week--folded of course--but not put away!)

Then I wandered into my studio where I am working on two quilts simultaneously. I have one that I am making for a friend that needs to be finished before the end of school. I finished all of the string pieced diamonds using only scraps of fabric that I had in my stash. The "Green Scrap" box is now EMPTY! I just need to find a background fabric that compliments all that green! Here are my diamonds:

This is a diagram of the pattern I am working from for this quilt:

The other quilt is a neat quilt using nine-patch blocks. The blocks are each 3" square. A few years ago, when I still belonged to the Jackson Guild, I joined a block exchange and then realized I would NEVER have the time to complete the required blocks each month, so I resigned. Of course I had a bunch of nine-patch blocks already sewn so I did need to find a quilt to use them in! Fortunately, I found one I loved and saved the pattern with the blocks. Well, it is one of the quilts on my list to complete this summer so I started making some additional blocks now. I finished another 45 blocks yesterday and cut a few more. I need a total of 148 nine patch blocks. I need to search the stash for a background fabric for that one as well. Here are some of the nine patch blocks with the picture of the Skyward Nines pattern I am working from. Since so many of my blocks have blue in them, I am thinking of either a gold or gray background.

I also responded to a freecycle request for fabric! Last year someone gifted me a ton of cotton fabric scraps that I washed and sorted and then stored. I used a little of it but most of it is still sitting in boxes in my studio, getting in the way. I looked at this ad as a sign that I should part with some of this fabric so that it can be used! I now have 3.5 boxes of fabric on the couch waiting for me to deliver it on Monday. (I guess that counts as a stash reduction!)

Of course my dogs and I wandered down to the pond to feed the fish and turtles. We also walked through our 'orchard' and noted that all of our trees have leaves and some have flowers! It looks like we did a good job with the initial planting! YAY for fruit!

That was my day one!

Upcycling at its best!

2010-04-08T17:53:00.006-05:00

I wanted to share our latest upcycled project!

This will be our second year with a vegetable garden and because it is going to be larger than last year's garden, I wanted Vince to build me a small greenhouse to get the seedlings started in.

So using concrete blocks that we removed from our driveway's edge and one of the skylights we removed from the house, Vince created my greenhouse:

Inside the greenhouse is more evidence of reuse going on: all of my little veggies are growing in old egg cartons:

As you can see, I have had some success with the little green darlings!

Here are my cucumbers, corn and beans:

Here are some tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower!

I encountered a small issue with watering the babies. I do not own a watering can and pouring water from a jar or pitcher put out too strong of a stream of water for the babies. So, using our stash of non-recyclable stuff, Vince created my very own watering container:

He drilled a series of holes in the lid so that the water sprinkles out on my little green babies!

I hope we can get the garden tilled this week as I am on Spring Break and it would be a great time to get these darlings in the ground.

I also have marigolds growing in abundance in several pots around the house so that I can keep some of the critters at bay!

Quilt Bling!

2010-04-05T16:01:00.004-05:00

Cat and Sherry had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Lancaster at the American Quilt Show. They took great photos of the quilts on display there and I am sure that they were very motivated and inspired by what they saw. Of course the vendors are always a favorite place to spend money!

I was thrilled today to receive an envelope containing my very own QUILT BLING! I love that Cat and Sherry thought of me on their quilting weekend!! I plan to wear my bling when I go to the AQS show in Paducah Kentucky at the end of April! YAY!

Resolutions: March Update

2010-04-01T15:58:00.002-05:00

March's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. Hmmm..No soda this month! I do think about Pepsi from time to time, but have not purchased any single serve bottles (thus one less plastic item) and have not consumed any from what Vince purchases! Nor have I caved in and taken my reusable cup into the Shell station to fill up at the soda dispenser! I may have achieved success here!

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. Nothing here. I did purchase a skirt at the thrift store. It is new, so would that qualify as buying something new.?? I did buy it at a thrift store! So, technically it is a second hand item.

3. Save the savings. Huh. No grocery shopping trip this month. My shopping trips were small, and nothing saved! We are actually planning our shopping trip for tomorrow morning.

4. Reduce my personal belongings. Did well here. I gave my rubber duck collection to a friend of mine who is going to Nicaragua on a mission trip. She also received my mini-beanie baby collection that I have not used (although I did try to find a school use for them!) I also freecycled a plastic water bottle with an insulated sleeve, and a candy thermometer (it was an extra one!)

I also freecycled two loads of styrofoam packing peanuts and bubble wrap.

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
URK. I have not moved along on this resolution at all this month. I did read several novels, but nothing that required much thought.

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. Things are filling in nicely here. We even have our 2009 taxes filed and the check ready for mailing. (Yes, we owe money again this year!) I did put our receipts from the accountant into the 2010 file.

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. I wear the pedometer every day that I am not home. I have been wearing it around the house more. I am still averaging 7,000 steps a day. I took a walk with the puppies the other day. We walked through the woods...up and down small hills....I am sorry to say I was tired when we finished! I also planted the flower bulbs I purchased last year.

8. Reduce my fabric stash. Hmm..after looking at last month's status in this category, I am disappointed to see I have not sewn a stitch since them! Perhaps the illness I contracted has affected me more than I thought!
I did go through my scraps and boxed them up and posted them on freecycle. No takers as of yet.
I also acquired more fabric! The lady who took the styrofoam pieces gifted me a huge bag of fabric in exchange! YAY for fabric!!
Oh wait. I am supposed to REDUCE MY STASH! Guess I did not meet my goal this month! I can say that in April I will again increase my fabric acquisitions....the Paducah quilt show is fast approaching and I am headed up that way to gain inspiration. I also plan to purchase some fabric to finish the mystery quilt fabric requirements for my June Quiltaway.

9. Make time for ME! Ha. This month, with being sick, I had a lot of 'me time' to rest and read.

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. DONE!

Sunrise in New York

2010-03-31T17:46:00.004-05:00

When I was living in New York, I started working on the Thimbleberries block of the month quilt.

The year was 2005.

The program used 12 blocks to make 2 lap quilts. I finished the first set of blocks to make the 'Sunrise' quilt and since I was still in NY at the time, the name of the quilt became "Sunrise in New York". Only the top was put together.

Its sister quilt (Sunset), which I finished in Tennessee, became "Sunset in Tennessee".

I moved to Tennessee in the end of 2005.

Sunset in Tennessee was machine quilted by another quilter for me and finished in 2006.

Sunrise in New York was partially machine quilted by me. I finished the label and the binding and then I planned to hand quilt the 6 large blocks myself. I usually have one quilt that I am hand quilting, so I can work on my skills.

Here is the finished quilt:

Here is a shot of the label I put on the quilt when I finished the machine quilting of the sashing and borders.

Please note the date of March, 2006. Yes, I know it is now March 2010. Yes, it seems to have taken me 4 years to hand quilt 6 blocks.

All I can say is that I enjoyed the journey!

Surface Area

2010-03-25T16:10:00.003-05:00

Teaching Math is truly a challenge. While I like Math, I know that not everyone else does. Especially 6th graders!

Last week we learned how to calculate the Area of squares, rectangles, triangles and circles. We had to learn all of these new FORMULAS !!! (You remember these: A = lw, A = 1/2 bh, A = r²⁾Some of the kids got the hang of this right away, others were just trying too hard. I told them that sometimes you have to just accept things on faith, other times you have to look for a deeper meaning.

Just accept these formulas on faith. They are right and they will work.

I managed to get this through to the kids and we moved onto formulas for calculating Surface Area this week.

I started with showing them how you can take a three-dimensional figure and flatten it out into a net. This is one for a square pyramid:
To find the surface area for a square pyramid, you just find the area of all of the flat shapes: one square and 4 triangles.

The formula is based on the formulas for each individual shape, added together.
So the formula for finding the surface area of a square pyramid is: lw + 4(1/2 bh)

Each problem gives the kids the measurements for the length, width, base, and height.

We practice picking the correct formula for each problem (as we learn 3 different shapes and their formulas).

Then we go through the steps to solve this problem.

There is the BIG PROBLEM!

I realize that a lot of the kids do not want to follow the steps, write down what they should be doing, stay organized, pay close attention to what they are doing, or double check their work.

It does not seem to matter how many problems we solve independently, as a group or on the boards. Some will follow the steps and find success. Others will ignore what their classmates and I are doing and continue to try it their own way.

Vince says that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Yesterday, I had one class talk about tips on how to work these problems and get them right every time. What did they tell their classmates? Follow the steps, check your work, stay organized, use the right formulas.....the same advice I have been giving. I thought that perhaps if it came from their classmates it would have a greater impact.

I was wrong. I still had some of these kids today ignoring everything we spent the past 3 days on.

But we need to move on.

Next hurdle...formulas for Volume.

Mucus and Tissues

2010-03-16T17:26:00.005-05:00

Having just recovered from a two week illness, I realize that I spent a lot of that time thinking about mucus.

Yes, it is not the most pleasant of topics, but one that I want to discuss briefly.

As I used up hankie after hankie attempting to rid my sinuses of this stuff, I wondered why (and how!) I could produce so much in just one day.

I found this article on eHow.com: How Does Mucus Production Occur.
and found out that 'adults produce around 4 cups of mucus each day just from the sinus cavities and nose. It is also produced in other parts of the body. Mucus flows from the nasal passages down the throat, to the stomach."

Yuck.

And that is under normal circumstances.

"Also, as one of the roles of mucus is to remove particles, mucus production is stimulated by airway infection and irritation." So that hayfever, or allergy, or cold will allow your body to increase its mucus production. As long as there is irritation, there will be excess mucus.

Well, I found it difficult to bring enough hankies with me to school, so I resorted to a box of tissues. I have not purchased or used tissues in more than a year so I had to search for a box that I knew I had hanging around in my car. It was rather crushed, but the tissues were quite serviceable.

Unfortunately, I used that box up in a day. The next day, I raided the classroom stash of tissues and worked my way through that box.

At night, I used my Seventh Generation Toilet Paper until I washed the hankies. Unfortunately, my nose did not like the TP. After half a roll, I had a rather sore nose. I did a load of hankies and since those are much softer than my TP, my nose was a bit happier.

I realized that I love my hankies much better than my TP for managing my mucus. I also am now in a situation where I no longer have a spare box of tissues hanging around. I wonder what will happen when the next excess mucus producing event occurs!

Resolutions: February Update

2010-03-04T17:01:00.003-06:00

I spent last weekend nursing my cold and so I did not get to post this update! However, with a month filled with Snow Days off from school, I have had time to make more progress on some of these resolutions!

So, here we go, February's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. I had one glass of Coke from a bottle that Vince brought home. I did not actually enjoy it and found that I was drinking it very slowly while working in my studio.

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. One pair of jeans purchased!

3. Save the savings. This month's grocery shopping netted a whopping $1.75 in coupon savings!

4. Reduce my personal belongings. Four paperbacked books went to Gleaners. I did purchase 6 new books though. Two of them are for my Professional Development resolution, two were fiction and two are for school. I also donated 4 pairs of shoes to the Soles for Souls collection our class did.
5 pairs of jeans/pants left as well (although I did bring in one pair of jeans--unfortunately I needed a bit more room in my jeans!) These jeans along with 2 shirts are up on Freecycle.
I found a home for the Tupperware sifter (Thanks Cat!) that I had replaced with a metal one in December.

I also found a home for the extra Tupperware Quick Shake container (Thanks Sherry!)

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
I am still reading "Differentiating Math Instruction", in fact I may have to start over as I have become lost in the technicality of some of the material. It focuses on a new teaching technique called Response to Intervention (RTI). My brain keeps shifting to how to apply this in the classroom as I am reading about it. I need to focus just on reading the book through before I focus on how I am going to apply it.

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. Things are filling in nicely here.

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. I wear the pedometer every day that I am not home. I do not wear it around the house as I know right now, I am not walking very many steps at home. Once the weather warms up I will be out and about while home.
I am still averaging 7,000 steps a day.

8. Reduce my fabric stash. I finished the Car Club projects (that used up 10 yards). I also finished the Cat in the Hat baby quilt for Amber (who loved it!). I started a baby quilt for Jennifer (using hexagons that I already had, and fabrics for the background and borders that I already have in the stash!)
Janice gave me some leftover fabrics that I stitched into a small girlie quilt. I used a yard for the backing. That quilt is basted and ready for quilting.
I put borders on a patriotic stack a deck quilt (1/2 yard) and located backing fabric for that one.
I pieced a backing for the Prairie Schooler quilt (2 yrds). That quilt is basted and ready for quilting.

So total used: 13.5 yards!
PROGRESS!

9. Make time for ME! Reading and quilting were this month's activities! I finished two of the books I received for Christmas. I also started the first book in a 12 book series of which Rob bought me the most recent one for Christmas. I am one of those people who cannot remember what happened in a series (especially one this long!), so I re-read the series from the beginning when the newest edition comes out!

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. DONE!

Words of Wisdom from a Seventh Grader

2010-02-26T05:09:00.003-06:00

One of my students from last year stopped by my classroom yesterday to visit. I asked what advice a Seventh Grader could pass onto a Sixth Grader to help them prepare for Junior High School.
Here are some of the tidbits:
Study your grammar. Teachers in Junior High School expect you to be able to write. You have to write a book report every month and the book has to be at least 100 pages long.
Pay attention to your teachers. Teachers in Junior High School expect you to listen in class.
Take notes. One teacher lectures and expects you to take notes, and then quizzes you on the information.
Do your homework, every time. In Junior High School, they are much stricter about that.
Don't be late to school. You can get ISS (In-School Suspension) for being late.
Obey the Dress Code. They are strict in Junior High School.
Keep your locker organized. Then you can find what you need.

I am sure there were more words of wisdom, but what I enjoyed was hearing my own comments come back to me. I wish I could arrange for some seventh graders to come back and talk to the sixth graders. Then maybe they would understand why I do what I do!

DonorsChoose Project has been FUNDED!

2010-02-11T16:53:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, as I was checking up on my DonorsChoose projects, I found that both projects has qualified for a "Double Your Impact offer". That means that half of the funds needed for the project are provided by an organization once other donors fund the remaining half. That was EXCITING!!!!

Then earlier today, I found out that in honor of Presidents' Day, the Pershing Square Foundation is funding history, government, geography and civics projects down to $98--on the condition that citizen philanthropists take these projects across the finish line.

The offer is the first in a new series called "Almost Home," made possible by a $1 million grant from the Pershing Square Foundation. Over the next four months, funding will be implemented as five site-wide "Almost Home" offers, each pegged to a specific theme day. For a limited time each month, "citizen philanthropists" will be challenged to activate matching funds from the Pershing Square Foundation by completing the funding on classroom projects meeting the theme day's criteria.

I thought WOW! So, I planned to arrive home and spread the word!

Upon arrival home, I received an email that one of my projects had been fully funded! My class will be receiving three different news magazines for use in our classroom! FANTASTIC!!!

My other project: What did He Do to Become Famous?, also qualified for the Pershing Foundation Offer.

I only need $97 worth of donations to make that project a reality too!

SO, here I am , spreading the word! If you are interested in supporting a classroom, or know someone who is, please help us out! It would be wonderful to be able to take advantage of the Pershing Square Foundation's generosity!

Thanks!

UPDATE!!!!
What did He Do to Become Famous? has been FUNDED!

Made in the USA

2010-02-06T20:25:00.004-06:00

I teach Ancient History to sixth graders. On a daily basis, I work to relate what we are learning to real life. We were discussing the history of Ancient China and one student commented about the number of items we buy that are 'made in China'.

This lead to a discussion of why it 'costs' less to make items in China (and other places) and why Americans will buy cheaper products. Most of the kids were nodding their heads in agreement about saving money on cheaper items. We also discussed why items made in the USA can sometimes cost more.

We then discussed an item's 'lifetime'. One student observed that sometimes cheaper items do not last long, they break or wear out quickly. Good Observation there! Of course, the comment was also made that because kids outgrow clothing quickly, the clothing does not always wear out before they outgrow it. Another good point.

This comment then lead to their weekend homework assignment. They are to go through all of their shirts and pants that they own and make a simple tally mark chart to indicate if the items were made in the USA or in another place. I did not ask them to specify where the clothing was made other than USA or non-USA for simplicity's sake!

This lead to a few exclamations about the amount of work that would involve! In clarifying that I only wanted them to count shirts (not sweaters, sweatshirts or jackets) and pants (not shorts or skirts) they were a bit relieved. I did comment that if they thought that they had too many shirts and pants to go through in one weekend, then perhaps they had too many articles of clothing!

I too, will be going through my shirts and pants for this assignment. It will be interesting to see what the class results will be. Look for a graph later this week.

Remember: if you must shop, shop locally, shop USA made products! http://www.madeinusa.org/ and http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/
Thanks!

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 12, 2010
My students brought in their results yesterday and we were not surprised at the outcome.

Here are the results:
Shirts: Made in the USA: 133
Made somewhere else: 645
Pants: Made in the USA: 233
Made somewhere else: 570

Please note that this is a class of 27 students. While the fact that most of the clothing was not made in the USA did not surprise me, the fact that these students own so many clothes did!
There was one student who had 95 shirts and 65 pairs of pants! That is just amazing!

We talked about how we could change these numbers. The students talked about buying clothing that was made in the USA. I challenged them to find clothing in physical stores that was made in the USA. I believe that they will have a hard time finding clothing easily that is made in the USA. Since it requires more effort to shop American, most people will not do it. In order to make an impact, not only do we have to increase awareness of the situation, but we have to act on it. Even one more person taking action makes a difference.
The difference is you.
Can you do it?

Snowy Day Projects

2010-02-02T14:30:00.003-06:00

As I mentioned in my January Status on my new year's resolutions, I was working on the Car Club items for their show in April.

Well, I am pleased to announce that they are finished! They are all placemats, so it was easy to work on. There are three different fabrics used, all which will appeal to owners of Classic Cars!
I did purchase the car fabrics last year, but I used fabrics from my stash on the backs. I would estimate that I used up 10 yards of fabric from my stash! YAY!

1939 Woodies!

Muscle Cars!

More Muscle Cars!

I also finished the baby quilt I was making for a friend. I used fabrics that I purchased on January 1st to finish this quilt as I had NOTHING that went with the focus fabric in my stash!
As you can see it features the Cat in the Hat! This fabric is no longer manufactured, and I had a rough time finding the piece I did find....I had all but given up locating any fabric that I could use, when I stumbled across a piece at an indoor flea market in Corinth, Mississippi!

So, because school has been closed for these past two days, I was able to finish these two projects and make some progress on a Block of the Month kit I purchased last March. It has 12 different blocks and I have finished 5 of them so far.

Resolutions: January Update

2010-01-25T06:06:00.004-06:00

Well, while not perfect, I made some progress! Initially, I was angry with myself for not being more diligent, but then I realized that change takes time! I am happy with the progress I am making and as the month progressed, I improved!

So, here we go, January's update on my Resolutions

1. Cease drinking soda. I did (unfortunately) drink Two 2-liter bottles of Pepsi this month. It is here in the house and I drank it because it was here. I DID NOT purchase any Pepsi to drink in school, I DID NOT purchase any single serving bottles of Pepsi, and I DID NOT purchase any other sizes or types of soda. So, while I did drink soda this month, I did manage to avoid purchasing any new soda to consume! So, a little progress.

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. Messed up here too. The school had a small supply of polo shirts and sweatpants with the school mascot on them (Eagles). I did not need another polo shirt nor did I need a pair of sweatpants, but I bought them because they had the Eagles on them.

3. Save the savings. The grocery shopping yielded over $35 in savings. That is now tucked away in a special place!

4. Reduce my personal belongings. I did well here!! I took a copy paper sized box of items to the Gleaner's House Thrift Store. That took care of getting rid of one item per week. (There were 7 items in there). Included in that box were 5 shirts and a pair of sweatpants (so that takes care of getting rid of an item for each new item brought in---see # 2!) along with a sweater, and several knick-knack type items. I also Freecycled the ceiling light fixture we took out of my studio when Vince installed the new lighting fixture he got me for Christmas!

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
I am still reading "Differentiating Math Instruction".

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. I have the envelope labeled and several items in there already. I do need to put individual envelopes in there for the various categories and label them.

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. I had to purchase a new battery for the pedometer. I wear it every day, but sometimes forget to put it back on after changing out of my work clothes. I have been averaging 7,000 steps per day.

8. Reduce my fabric stash. I did go shopping on January 1st for fabric. It was a one day 50% off sale. I am pleased to announce that I purchased coordinating fabrics for a baby quilt that I am working on and had purchased the focus fabric for in December. I also purchase red fabrics for my Mustang quilt. That is all. So, I only purchased fabrics for specific projects! Otherwise, my stash is about the same. I started the Car Club projects for their show in April, which will reduce my stash by several yards, but since they are incomplete and still here, it does not count yet!

9. Make time for ME! I think I watched 10 movies this month! With Vince's work schedule and the lighter paper work load from school, I have had more time. Plus it is cold downstairs where the studio is and I tend to stay upstairs, so I watch movies on my computer!

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. DONE!

10 items or less!

2010-01-23T20:43:00.003-06:00

It is not such a tough concept. We all learned to count to ten in Kindergarten or younger. However, I often encounter those adults who seem to have failed this lesson.

Today in Target, I was buying a bag of dog food, a loaf of bread and a bottle of Pepsi (for Vince!). Since I had 3 items, and that qualifies for the Express lane (10 items or less), I stepped up to the queue.

I was behind two other customers, and there were two behind me. Not a bad line for a Saturday.

The first customer finished up and the customer in front of me stepped up the the cashier. The customer told the cashier "I have a few more than 10 items".

Hmm. I thought about that, and realized that I have had times when I was in the express lane and realized I had 11 or 12 items. I usually made the same comment as this customer in front of me did. And the cashier responded as I have had heard myself: "It is okay".

I did not pay close attention to what was occurring in front of me after that as I was chatting with the customers behind me. Soon, however, I realized that the customer in front of me was STILL TAKING ITEMS OUT OF HER CART. There were two bags of items already checked out by the cashier.

This customer had more than 40 small items in her cart! Small containers of cat food, gift wrap, bows, cards, small toys and toiletries....the list goes on.

As I continued to watch, more stuff came out of the cart.

I had had enough.

I pulled out of the line, and moved my cart to the endcap. I went to find a manager.

I found one right away. I told the manager what was occurring and why it annoyed me. It annoyed me because the cashier should have checked the customer's cart and sent her to a different line. There were other customers in the line who were following the guidelines.

I told the manager I was not shopping in the store today.

I left.

There was not a single item that I really needed to buy at that time in Target. I only went in because I was at Office Max recycling Printer cartridges. This is the second time I have had an issue at the checkout lines in Target.

I purchased my food items here in town at the Piggly Wiggly. I had no line to wait in, and I even had time to chat with my friend in the bakery department. Overall, it was a much more pleasant experience.

I will have to reconsider any future shopping trips to Target.

Less Plastic!

2010-01-22T20:52:00.004-06:00

I love to shop on-line because it is easier, more comfortable and less aggravating for me.

I can find what I like without searching stores, dealing with crowds, driving to the next town, and it saves me time.

What I don't like is the plastic packaging that most companies use when they ship their items to me. Beth at Fake Plastic Fish has been my inspiration and motivation in reducing my plastic consumption. {I have eliminated plastic shopping bags from my life and have a lovely collection of tote bags (thanks to Gleaners House Thrift Store and my own sewing abilities) that live in my truck or home for handy use, along with other improvements}

I usually forget to ask companies that I order from to package my purchases in paper as opposed to plastic packaging materials but I am happy to announce that I have been remembering to ask! Not only that, the companies are complying!

I blogged about my wonderful Buckwheat pillow from the Buckwheat Pillow company, who packed my pillow in paper.

I recently ordered jigsaw puzzles for a gift and requested that the company not pack the puzzles with plastic or styrofoam packing material (after all they are in boxes!) and the puzzles came to me padded with shredded paper! YAY!

Buckwheat Pillow

2010-01-14T19:27:00.004-06:00

My sister commented about buckwheat pillows a while ago, which prompted me to do a bit of research into that item. At first, I thought that it would be crazy so try and sleep on a pillow stuffed with buckwheat hulls.
After all, these are the stuff that is left over. The buckwheat plant has a rather pretty flower:

The inside kernel is used to make buckwheat flour. It is not a cereal and when the hull is removed, the inside kernel is similar to a sunflower kernel.

So, now I have a pillow made from the leftover hulls from this plant!

I ordered it from the Buckwheat Pillow Company. They use American, organically grown buckwheat. I liked their website.

When I ordered my pillow, I commented that I preferred no plastic packaging when they shipped my pillow. Gail emailed me back that same day and informed me that while they usually shipped their pillows in a plastic bag, she would be happy to wrap it in paper if I preferred. Since I did, I emailed her with that request.

When my pillow arrived, it was nicely wrapped in paper, inside a sturdy box. I did notice that it was incredibly HEAVY!!!

The pillow also came with a small lavender sachet to insert into the pillow. I like that I am able to open up the pillow to remove or add buckwheat hulls if necessary (I actually removed about 1/4 of the original hulls already). The lavender is a nice touch, too. It is not overwhelming and I like the scent when I am getting ready for sleep.

The best part? NO MORE NECK PAIN! I have not awoken with neck pain since I started using this pillow. I feel like I sleep better, too.

Yay for buckwheat!

Tennessee SNOW!!!

2010-01-07T11:31:00.003-06:00

Well here they are, our snow pictures!

You can see that our pond is almost covered in snow, the rest is frozen over.

However, the snow was not deep enough to cover the grass!!
It is very cold for Tennessee, and that is the major concern, of course it is difficult to drive in snow when you are not use to it! It is dangerous for those of us who know how to drive in snow to be on the road with drivers who do not know how to manage snow!
So, the smart ones stay home!

Getting Ready for School!

2010-01-02T16:20:00.005-06:00

I spent my Saturday at school, attempting to get organized for at least the first week back!
Over my break, I planned my lessons and graded papers. Those were the usual weekend homework activities!
I also did these activities:
Put grades into the computerized gradebook so that report cards can be printed.
Tallied up the discipline and homework slips for each student in my homeroom (that information is put on the reportcards every marking period)
Checked the class computers to make sure they would play the internet Math games I have planned for the class to use in Stations.
Created vocabulary quizzes using the Math state vocabulary list for this year.
Made Answer Keys for these vocabulary quizzes (that also allows me to check for accuracy and helps me to remember what the words mean!)
Copied the vocabulary quizzes and activities.
Copied Math Activity sheets using Graphs for our lessons this week.
Typed up instruction sheets for the stations we will start using in Math class.
Created, copied and laminated the charts, graphs, forms and accessories for the stations.
Created and laminated the poster the class will use to know which station their group is assigned to.
Sorted all of the station instructions and accessories into binders according to the specific station.
Went shopping and purchased a variety of school supplies and a few Math manipulatives, using the gift cards my students gave me for Christmas and the Lighthouse Keeper allotment.
Dragged all of those purchases to my classroom and put them to good use or found places to keep them!
Rearranged the desks and tables in my classroom.
Cleaned the boards!
Threw away the nasty dry erasers that make more of a mess than anything!
Unwrapped my NEW, LARGER dry eraser that will make my life easier!

I also thought about my resolutions today...I purchased a new battery for my pedometer so that I can begin wearing it and tracking my steps.

I played around in my studio, sorting through projects and deciding what I will work on first.

I also have a box of items ready to send to the Thrift Store!

And I am glad to say I have not had any CARBONATED BEVERAGES since December 26th! It is easier than I thought, but I am suffering through a caffeine headache today.....I need to find another source of caffeine!

My New Year's Resolutions. 10 in 10.

2009-12-27T21:49:00.016-06:00

1. Cease drinking soda. Not only will this eliminate one more plastic item from my life, but it will improve my health!

2. Do not purchase new clothes for one year. I really have enough clothing to survive work and play without any new purchases.

3. Save the savings. Every penny saved when shopping for groceries will be physically put aside.

4. Reduce my personal belongings. I own way too many items! My goal this year will be to reduce the excess by at least one item a week! Of course, I will also remove one item for each item that I bring into the house.

5. Read at least 3 books to improve my teaching skills.
I am currently reading "Differentiating Math Instruction", so I am off to a good start on this one!

6. Keep my tax records more organized for 2010. I do manage to keep the majority of my receipts in one place in preparation for my income tax returns, but there are always a few items that slip through the cracks. I will keep better records for 2010.

7. Walk 10,000 steps each day. This is probably the easiest one on this list as I walk A LOT during the week. I have found in the past that keeping track of my steps with a pedometer motivates me to exercise more. So, I have dusted off the pedometer and will keep track of my steps.

8. Reduce my fabric stash. This is one that I often start and then it gets away from me. I never want to see fabric go to waste, thus I save every scrap and accept every box of fabric someone else wants to give me. (That is how I ended up with 5 boxes of fabric scraps last summer!) So, this year, I will NOT purchase any fabric that is not for a specific project. All of my projects MUST have some fabric from my stash incorporated into them. I will also make charity quilts from my stash to speed the reduction in my excess fabrics.

9. Make time for ME! This is a full category, as it can include any activity that is geared toward 'me time'. I initially wanted to say something about spending time quilting, or watching the movies I have stacked up to watch, or reading the books I have piled on the bookshelf. Then I realized that I could lump all of these activities into one category and call it 'me time'. I know that I am re-energized when I have a sense of accomplishment and that includes accomplishing an activity for myself.

10. Blog about these resolutions every month. Then I will be accountable and I will be able to see what I have managed to accomplish!

Preparing Your Life

2009-12-21T12:00:00.004-06:00

I was watching a movie in which this quote was used:

God will send the rain when he's ready.
You need to prepare your fields to receive it.

I decided that it was a good place to start my New Year's greeting to all of my friends and family.

The reason I liked this quote is that it can apply to anyone's life. Ask yourself what you are doing with your life. Are you just going through the motions or are you building and creating something wonderful? Each and every day should be looked upon as a new adventure, as one tiny part of your entire life, but holding an immense amount of value. It should not be wasted. In our society today, there are so many issues struggling for our attention, for our time. We often forget to take time for ourselves, and in so doing, forget to give time to others. Our focus is sometimes off kilter and needs to be readjusted from time to time. Take the time to adjust your focus.

Some people make New Year's Resolutions. I normally make one every year and work hard to keep that one. My resolution is one that will improve my life or someone else's life.

Give thought to where you are, where you are going, where you want to be. Then lay the groundwork to get there. Prepare your fields. If you are ready, it will happen. This year, I will be making plans (resolutions, if you choose) that will simplify my life as well as improving it.

What will you do?

Dry Erase Markers

2009-12-16T05:50:00.003-06:00

One of the best inventions for a classroom is Dry erase boards and markers. They are neater than chalk boards, clean up somewhat easier and you get to use a huge variety of colors!

The biggest problem I have with them is that the markers are PLASTIC and not recyclable! It was only the other day as I was throwing yet another marker away that I realized what a huge amount of waste is created by these markers!

I did a bit of research on the internet and found EcoSmart markers, which state they are made from recycled material, are recyclable and most importantly are REFILLABLE!!!

I am awaiting my Terracycle recycling credits so that I can order the starter kit.

Yay!

Cold weather, Warm fires.

2009-12-15T20:15:00.005-06:00

Now that winter has arrived in Tennessee, it is time to stoke the fire in our woodstove to heat the house. Daily, wood is brought into the house and piled in the metal washtub to keep it off the floor (thus preventing SOME of the dirt from reaching the floors!). Vince is best at starting fires in the woodstove, but I am learning (or should I say 'relearning') how to start a fire.

It never fails that I will be watching Vince start the fire and the Chicago Fire song pops into my head. You know the one:

One dark night
When we were all in bed
Old Mother Leary
Left a lantern in the shed

And when the cow kicked it over,
She winked her eye and said,
"There’ll be a hot time
In the old town, tonight."

"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

I believe I learned this song at Girl Scout Camp!!

Nevertheless, I sing it a lot during the winter months and Vince really doesn't enjoy it, but he laughs anyway.

I did a bit of research and found these expanded lyrics

I also liked this essay about the O'Leary Legend. It provided a lot of insight into the history of Chicago at that time and the evidence that supports that Mrs. O'Leary's and/or her cow was responsible for this devastating fire.

Saturday Fun!

2009-12-06T00:16:00.002-06:00

My day started off a little mundane. I traveled to the 'big city' of Jackson to drop off some of the printer cartridges one of my student's parents gave me this week. They are the large laser printer cartridges and I have FOUR LARGE BOXES in my truck. The local office supply store only takes FIVE a day, so I gave my five cartridges and left to complete the rest of my errands in Jackson.

I spent a very little bit of time in Hancock Fabrics as I needed a piece of fleece for a project. Fortunately, I found a lovely dark blue one in the remnant section and then had to brave Target for dog food for the puppies. Fortunately, I managed to find a check out lane with NO LINE and was out in no time!

Then I traveled south to Henderson, and visited with mom for a while. I hooked up her computer and got her connected to the internet. When I left, she was happily browsing the internet.

Off to home to have lunch and visit with my hubby for a while before heading off to a wake and then dinner with a friend.

I have watched the movie Fireproof, graded papers and rinsed out all of the drink pouches from this week's collections.

I then remembered that I needed to get my holiday bibs into my Etsy store. I had to take photos and so I set up the rocking horse near the stairs. This is the photo above. I took the pictures and returned upstairs to post the bibs.

While I was working, Narnia told me she needed to go out. So, I opened the door and called Kashmir to go out. Not really paying attention, it took me a while to realize she was not running upstairs to go outside. Then she started barking. Well, Kashmir rarely barks. I would say that she saves her barks so that when she does bark, it must be VERY IMPORTANT!! Kashmir was downstairs barking, and Narnia became confused and she started barking outside, and then ran inside and barked inside.

Only then did I realize that I had left the rocking horse at the bottom of the stairs with the panda bear sitting on it wearing his santa hat.

Apparently Kashmir had her own opinions on my scenery! It took her about 3 minutes to gather her courage to run past the terrifying panda bear on the rocking horse (or perhaps it was the Santa Hat!).

Life is never boring here!