Volunteering at My Neighborhood School

Last week I entered my neighborhood elementary school with a bit of trepidation. I had been away from schools for almost twenty years. I had heard the horror stories about disruptive, even violent, students. But I am tough. Even though I am petite, I would still tower over most of the K-5 students. Or at least that was my hope.

First I had to get through the door. I dutifully followed the instructions on the door to ring the buzzer and I would be admitted. I did and I wasn't. Fortunately, a student came along and opened the door. I slid in behind him.

The helpful, friendly office staff showed me how to sign in. I peeled off the name tag and stuck it on my shirt while she paged the teacher I was to report to for training.

The school is an open-classroom one. Or it was originally. Like most of these that were built in the 1970s, this one has varying partitions to separate the classes.

After a brief introduction to the remedial reading tools they are using, I was off to the first classroom to pick up my student. I was both relieved and disappointed that she was absent. I would have 20 minutes until my next student. I sat in the teacher's office listening to the class across the hall.

There were no blood-curdling screams or backtalk. Instead the well-mannered students were participating in a discussion. Once the teacher reminded a student to keep his feet still since they were impinging on another student's space.

The appointed time came for me to pick up my second student. J. was quiet and reserved. He stumbled through the reading but gamely "chunked" the words he did not know. Our half hour came to an end without a smile from J.

T., on the other hand, was all personality. Although identified as reading below grade level, he had no problems with the book we were using. In fact, he reads fluently and with expression. Perhaps he has testing issues.

Today I woke eager to return a second time. Again my first student was absent.

J. again seemed shy and reserved with me. Then I happened to ask him what his best subject was - math. And his worst? Reading. I told him that my worst subject was art. I saw his eyes light up. And then the floodgates opened. The school has just begun a project to turn the boring white acoustic ceiling tiles into works of art. J. explained that they were working in pairs to decide what their tile would look like. After this detour from reading, J. was more outgoing and expressive.

I was really looking forward to seeing T. again. Extroverts just naturally enjoy each other. Last week we began a book set in the 1880s. There were so many teachable moments. We covered ice boxes and kerosene heaters. I wondered what would come up this week. The book is about Milton and a blizzard. Today's reading contained a passage about Milton's imagining having a sled pulled by the neighborhood dogs. T. had never seen a picture of a real sled dog so he did not appreciate the humor of the illustration of an Irish Setter, an Old English Sheepdog, and the other assorted neighborhood dogs pulling a sled. Note to self: bring a picture of Alaskan huskies. When it was time to part, I said that I would see him next Tuesday. He was obviously disappointed, "Won't I see you on Thursday?"

Wonder how long the honeymoon period will last?

A Day Spent Outdoors

I am exhausted but happy that I was able to spend the day outside without gloves and snow boots.

Once more I was able to hang out the sheets since it was 53 degrees. Then I cut back the rest of the perennials, raked out the beds, picked up deadfall from the ivy, and cleared a space for the new garden shed.

Meanwhile Mike and John worked on the exhaust fans for the kitchen and second floor bath.

Benny the Mason re-built the front steps with the assistance of Reed. Benny had re-built the side wall of the porch last Wednesday. I hated the brick. We talked to Mike on Friday; he promised that he would be here Monday morning to figure out what we could do.

Mike arrived this morning with a different batch of bricks in the back of his Suburban. He decided that by not using the lightest of the three colors we would be closer to the original bricks.

Finally, a brick I can love

A New PBS Supporter

This evening as my Sweetie and I enjoyed Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air on PBS, our ginger cat, Six, decided to watch with us.







Given his natural inclinations, I think that Six would have preferred a bird over the DVD.

My Hero

The driver of the black Mercedes punched it as he began merging onto 422 West. Did he do two donuts before he slid into the fast lane right in front of us?

Thoughts went through my mind in rapid succession. We are going to broadside the black car. I don't want to go to the hospital. How many bones would be broken? Would we roll the car?

Neither of us said a word.

I remember cars sliding this way and that. At least two ended up in the grass on either side of the road.

Why is it that everything appears to happen in slow motion?

Before I could think another thought, my Sweetie, behind the wheel of our Highlander, had masterfully threaded the needle between the Mercedes and another car with only inches to spare.

He is my hero!

My Sweetie and the New Kitchen

My Sweetie is one happy man. He has his kitchen back. Yes, there are still things to be finished but it is functional.

It was wonderful to hear him preparing dinner while listening to NPR. I hadn't realized that I missed that.

One thing that is still missing is hearing my Sweetie talking to the cats, especially Callie. She isn't sure that she should come up from the basement yet. I'm sure that I can't do back down now that I have worked in the new kitchen.

We asked Mike the General Contractor today to give us a timeline for all the projects. As we say in our family thanks to our oldest grandson, "I want all done now, please!" (He would call out from his crib during "quiet time" when he thought that it had been long enough.)

Definitely it has been long enough.

Eagle for Thanksgiving?

If Benjamin Franklin would have had his way, the Turkey would have become the national bird. In a letter to his daughter he wrote:

For my own part I wish the Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

With all this injustice, he is never in good case but like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country...

I am on this account not displeased that the figure is not known as a Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the truth the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.

Would orange-cranberry relish complement eagle as well as it does turkey?

Electricity

In 1600, William Gilbert, a physician in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, coined the word electricity. Thank goodness those who came after persisted in harnessing this amazing power.

Brett the Electrician arrived this morning to connect all the appliances and some of the outlets. He apologized for not returning sooner. He is working on two large commercial projects: a tattoo parlor and a Turkish restaurant. He promised that he would return next week to finish connecting the rest of the outlets and to install the two remaining light fixtures in the kitchen.

Strangely, I ended up being the first one to cook in the new kitchen. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks.

First item made in the new kitchen

Dan the Cabinet Installer

Dan the Cabinet Installer worked from shortly after 9:00 this morning until almost 9:00 this evening.

There was one problem after another with the crown moulding. The old lady was just not cooperating. The kitchen and bathroom ceilings are not plumb.

After a phone consultation with Mike our General Contractor, Dan installed the crown in the bathroom. It would be up to Mike to build up the ceiling at the right side of the floor-to-ceiling cabinet to close the gap between the ceiling and the crown.

In the kitchen he was able to install most of it; however, he had to cede defeat to the ceiling on the west side. Mike will have to work some magic to get the crown to fit properly. Dan will make one more trip to install it and a few more pieces of trim.

I told Dan that we were so glad that we had decided to have them install the cabinets. I don't think that an independent installer would have been so meticulous and so solicitous of our opinions.

Would anyone else have spent so many hours making the installation as perfect as is humanly possible? I doubt it.

November 22, 1963

If you were alive on November 22, 1963 and not too young, I am positive you know exactly what you were doing at 12:30 PM Central Standard Time when you heard the news bulletin. I was at my boyfriend's house for lunch between college classes.

I could not believe that John Fitzgerald Kennedy had been shot. We sat holding hands, watching the shocked newsmen reporting the story. Looking back it seems so appropriate that most people were watching on black and white televisions. But when I saw the color photographs of Jackie in her blood-splattered pink suit, it was even more horrific.

There are other images which come to mind:


Jackie watching as Lyndon Johnson is sworn in as President

Jackie, Caroline, and John John watching JFK's coffin

John John saluting his father's coffin

Riderless horse with boots facing backwards

Jackie walking behind JFK's coffin



My family spent all our waking hours watching TV. I don't remember at what point we decided to drive to Washington from our home in western Pennsylvania. But I do remember the feeling that we had to go to DC to view his casket in the Rotunda.

JFK lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda

It was a long wait during a bitterly cold night. There were hundreds of thousands lining up. At one point the lines stretched 40 blocks up to 10 people across. The final estimate was that 250,000 people came and some waited over 10 hours.

I don't remember how many hours we waited because it didn't matter. What mattered was that everyone was there to show their respect and love for a man who we felt was the hope for the world.

I do remember how quiet the line was. I think that we were all in shock.

What would the world be like if he had lived?

November. Really?

Our high today was 61; that's 15 degrees above the normal for November 21.

But I am not complaining. We took advantage of our partly sunny/mostly cloudy day to dry the sheets outside, store the rest of the garden art, drain the hoses, paint the new clapboards on the garage, and rake/blow more leaves to the street in hopes that the city will pick them up this week.

Tonight when I walked into our bedroom, my Sweetie had his nose buried in the sheets. Ah, the simple pleasures.

Is She Still Alice?

Imagine being 50 years old and being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Lisa Genova's novel, Still Alice, was the springboard for this evening's lively discussion at our Salon.

After discussing the novel, conversation turned to what would we do if we had it. Would we end our life? Of course, just as depicted in the novel, we wouldn't remember when the time came. We decided that we would have a "Final Salon" at which we would get high on acid and run naked down the street.

Seriously, what a dilemma. When Alice was first diagnosed, she wrote herself a letter detailing how she would commit suicide if she could not answer one or more of the following questions: what month is it, where do you live, where is your office, when is Anna's birthday, and how many children do you have?

When the day arrives that she cannot, she goes to the drawer in her nightstand to get the bottle of pills. But they are not there. Her husband has found them.

In a particularly poignant scene, he comes to the bedroom to find Alice going through the contents of the drawer. He gives her a glass of water and a handful of her regular medications.

He took the empty glass from her and left the room. She lay down on the bed next to the former contents of the drawer and closed her eyes, feeling sad and proud, powerful and relieved as she waited.

Of the seven couples in the Salon only one had a friend with early onset.

This is not so surprising because only a small percentage of all people with Alzheimer's develop symptoms before age 65. Of the 5.3 million Americans with Alzheimer's, 200,000 people have the early-onset form of the disease. Although it can occur in younger people, it is more common in those in their 50s.

We also talked about how the baby boomers will spur research about the disease. In 2011, the first baby boomers turn 65. By 2029, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old, an estimated 70 million people aged 65 and older.

Let's hope that there is a cure.

Billy Elliot the Musical

Tonight it was Billy Elliott The Musical, the second show in the Broadway Series.

It was simply superb. The young man who played the title role in this touring company was as good as Laim Mower. Both of their fouettes were amazing.

I love this song because it conveys how I feel about dance. It brought back memories of my dancing around our apartment during Kimberly's naps. Oh, so many years ago.

Still Feels Like a Sauna in Here

The two Daves showed up this morning to try to alleviate temps in the mid and upper seventies tho the thermostats are set at 68. Actually I even turned one off in hopes that it might cool off.

As the Daves were getting ready to leave, the Derricks showed up to screen the floor and put the second coat on it. Again they complimented me on the aging (of the floor not me).

My Sweetie admitted today that he was really nervous when I started applying the dark stain. Yep, it could have turned out really ugly. So glad that we don't have to start over since that would require 4 days.

Tomorrow will bring the Derricks back to put the third and final coat on it. Then we need the electrician to finish installing the dishwasher, the toe-kick registers, and run electricity to the garage so we can actually use the new garage door openers.

Here is what wiring looks like when the Daves of HVAC fame do it in order for us to have heat. Or as it happens, too much heat.

Temporary Wiring

This was the same technique the electrician used so that our back door light would work until the switch was installed.

Floor Finishing

Last evening was hairy.

It was time to distress the new flooring to match the 93-year-old pine in the original kitchen. I needed to replicate the water stains and the oxidation from the iron nails.

There would be no retakes. Once I applied the English Walnut stain, there would be no going back.

I think it is looking pretty darn good.

Kitchen Floor

Running Water...In the Kitchen!

We're getting there.

Andy the Boss Plumber and Mike the Plumber arrived this morning. I heard Andy giving Mike his marching orders. Not only were the faucets in the kitchen and half bath going to be installed, the dishwasher and the range would be also.

I couldn't really remember what the dining room looked like without the range, draped with an old mattress pad, sitting in front of the buffet.

But first to get it into the kitchen. The first attempt was stymied by the swinging door between the dining room and the kitchen. Mike the General Contractor showed up just a little too late to prevent them from jamming the range in the doorway. He walked in as I was saying, "You are hung up on this side and it won't make it through."

Later Mike says to me, "What? Couldn't they have measured before they scratched the door." So there are two chips which will have to be sanded and repainted, probably by John the Carpenter or Mike. Since I am painting the rooms myself, his painting crew is not scheduled.

But Mike the Plumber did get all his work done. Frequently, I would hear him groaning and making other noises which led me to believe that he was having problems. When I told my Sweetie about it, he said that he thought that Mike was listening to talk radio. I had noticed his earbuds. Silly me, I thought he was listening to music. Thank goodness he used earbuds.

One of the coolest innovations we found was this.

Nifty Disposer Switch

It is on the left in the following picture. I have always hated the switch on the wall to activate the disposer. Invariably a guest or a forgetful homeowner flips it thinking that they are turning on a light. No more. Now a puff of air will activate the disposer.

Kitchen Faucet

Half Bath Faucet

I think the old lady likes her new "jewelry".

Countertops Are Installed

Today it was all about the quartz countertops. And they are as beautiful as I thought they would be.

And the old lady lived up to her reputation of never being easy. John and Bill the Countertop guys had to cut away the plaster in order to eliminate a bowed section of one wall. Otherwise the backsplash would have large gaps at both ends. Again I am amazed at the care and dedication to doing a job right.

Kitchen Countertop


Bathroom Countertop


Tomorrow the plumbers take over.

Dead Man's Cell Phone

Tracee Patterson as Jean easily steals the show in Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, the current production of Dobama Theater. The play is hysterically funny but also melancholy.

Jean is sitting in a cafe eating lobster bisque. A man comes in and sits with his back to the audience. A few moments pass and his phone begins to ring. Jean, a rather shy woman, first just glances over at him. She becomes more annoyed but politely asks him to answer his phone. After a few more moments pass she walks over to him and discovers that he is dead. She uses his cell phone (is she the only person in the US who doesn't have a cell?) to call 911.

While she is waiting for the ambulance, the phone rings again. She answers it and so begins her role in "fixing" his relationships.

Tracee Patterson's performance is not to be missed. The show runs through November 21. About a quarter of the seating is taken up by the set so sold-out houses will probably be the rule.

I suppose being dead is a legitimate reason for being rude and not answering your phone.

GroundWorks Dance Theater

By driving straight thru from Massachusetts yesterday we were able to take in GroundWorks Dance Theater's performance at Trinity Cathedral this evening. Of the three pieces we saw tonight I was most moved by Just Yesterday which is based on memories of the dancers' families.

It was an extremely moving piece since some of the memories were of the Japanese immigrants and their incarceration during World War II.

David Shimotakahara, the founder of the company, doesn't dance as often as I would like but tonight he was in two pieces. (David is the one in the long-sleeved white shirt.) One was a new duet based on the relationship he has had with Amy Miller, the artistic director. They have been dancing together since 1998. My Sweetie and I saw them in their first performance. Since she has moved to New York while her husband is in culinary school, this may be the last time we see her dance.

Enjoy.

Place Cards

For the last few years the grandchildren have been responsible for making place cards for the table. Each year as they get older, the cards become more creative.

This year they decided that they would draw a picture to represent each person and we would have to guess which one is ours. Most of us got into guessing all of them. Here are a couple of examples:


My Sweetie's Place Card Showing His Love for Chickens


Lise's Place Card Highlighting Her Law Degree, Her Children, and Her Big Black Dog



My Place Card with Many Images from My Wedding Ring

Turkey Day Continued

As our visit to New England draws to a close, I am so grateful for my loving, funny family.

Here we are this afternoon as Lise and her gang is getting ready to return to New Hampshire. Ken had to leave early this morning to go to work.


My Family

It has been a laugh-filled visit. One of the funniest events occurred last night, actually early this morning around 1:00. Kimberly, Lise, Ken, and I had been hanging out talking. We all decided to get ready for bed at the same time. When Kimberly came out of the bathroom, both Lise and I with toothbrushes in hand headed for the door. Lise tried to beat me into the bathroom but Kimberly bumped her out of the way so I could use it first. This brought on gales of laughter. We all held our breath, hoping that no one would wake up. Zan came out of the bedroom, gave us a bleary-eyed look, and headed downstairs to use the half bath. That brought on more giddy laughter.

After Kimberly went to bed, we heard her getting the giggles again which made us laugh even harder.

This morning we were astounded that no one heard us last night. We have sound sleepers in our family.

It is nice to know that my older daughter's instinct is to favor me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today our family sat down to a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. I only prepared two of our traditional dishes with the help of my granddaughter Rayna. One was orange-cranberry relish and the other apple-mallow-yam bake.

Because my Sweetie and I were coming to New England for Lise's admission to the Bar, we decided to celebrate Turkey Day while we were here. Then my Sweetie had the marvelous idea of having it catered. I googled caterers in the Greenfield area and came up with Gary Goss of Blue Moon Catering. Read about him here.

How delightful it was not to spend the whole day in the kitchen and to sit at the table laughing with the family while dish after delicious dish was brought into us.

I had asked that he prepare our traditional Thanksgiving meal and he delivered. His son Sasha helped him serve and did some clean up which was not included in the estimate. Gary also prepared a treat for us at no charge: homemade whole cranberry sauce. It was delightful.

When Gary was getting ready to leave, he told me that I have a wonderful family and that they so enjoyed listening to us laughing and talking.

I do indeed have a wonderful family.

Family Matters

It was a double celebration day.

On November 9, 1965, Kimberly was born at 1:48 PM.

I remember the first night home with her. I had been told to be prepared to wake up every two hours. I nursed her late in the evening, tucked her into her bassinet, and climbed wearily into bed.

I woke with a start at 6:00 the next morning. Had I slept through her crying? Was she still breathing? I covered the few feet between my bed and hers in a flash. I peered into the bassinet. She was sound asleep lying on her back with her two little fists curled by her head.

She was a loving, happy child. In every photo she is smiling. She started saying hi to people when she was 6 months old. Startled, they would say, "That wasn't her, was it?" When she was a toddler, she looked at my hair and said, "Your hair is like the dark."

**Here should be the photos I planned to include but that were left at home. They will be added later.

Happy Birthday, Kimberly. I am so glad that I was able to spend this special day with you.

The other family matter was Lise's admittance to the New Hampshire Bar. It was amazing to sit there and think about her and her family's journey to this day. And they were all there to witness it.

After the ceremony and a bite to eat it was almost everyone into the hotel pool for a celebratory swim.

Then we journeyed to Greenfield to continue the party with more laughter and more good food.

What a joyful day.


The promised photos:

Six Weeks Old


One year old

Icy Roads

It was fairly dicey coming up I 87 to catch Route 9 to Troy. I think I would have preferred a wooden horse.

We saw five vehicles which were not successfully driven through the ice storm. I was cautiously making our way through until I was tired of being alert. My Sweetie took over and in a few minutes we were out of the storm. Thank goodness!

Now we are waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive at the hotel so the party can begin.

On the Road Again

This time we are headed to New England to see Lise admitted to the New Hampshire Bar.

But where were all those other people going? I did not expect to encounter that many fellow travelers on the New York Thruway on a Sunday.

My Sweetie and I speculated that some were commuting to work in another city for the week; others were returning home after a weekend getaway; and others, like us, were off to visit friends and relatives.

What would Americans do without their cars?

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

When we left at 5:40 for dinner and to attend a dance performance with friends, we had no electricity.

We returned to a house ablaze with all the lights we had left on. It was a welcoming sight. We would have been a bit chilly tonight since the forecast calls for a low of 30.

Here are two of the dances we saw this evening. Enjoy!

The Continuing Search for the Right Stain

Wednesday Mike came by to see the stain samples; he didn't like either one.

He looked at the board that I used to try out different combinations of stains. He outlined an area that matched the old flooring and took it to Sherwin Williams to get a computerized match.

On Thursday he comes back with it, sands a small area, and applies the first coat. After waiting 15 minutes, he wipes it down. Close.

We decide that I will put on a second coat in 12 hours, leaving it on for 12 minutes. Closer yet.

Today the two Derricks sand the floor lightly and apply the first coat.

I hope that when we return, we all like the floor.

Callie Is Home; New Garage Doors Are Installed.

What a day!

Callie is back home and has a big grin on her face. Me, too. The x-ray showed less fluid around her heart.

The new garage doors were installed today. Bob the Garage Door Guy has had his own business for 20 years. On the side he does contract work for guys like Mike the General Contractor. And lovely work he does.

As we know, it is not easy adding anything new to the old lady. She is just rather quirky and walls can be wonky. But he persevered. He had to turn one part around in order to have enough clearance for the new 8-foot doors.

He was a tad upset that he was not told that he was installing two openers. So what with the added carpentry (another surprise) and the two openers, he did not finish and was mad that he was disappointing another homeowner whom he had scheduled for the afternoon.

And he had the best mix on his iPod. He was the first tradesman who had Carole King, Alison Krauss, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor, and Johnny Cash.

The new doors are probably close to what was on the garage when it was a carriage house since the original jambs have mortises for the hinges.

We think they look mighty handsome.

Callie Update

All of Callie's blood work is normal. This rules out both thyroid and kidney problems. Dr. Amy reports that Callie's breathing has slowed somewhat but that the x-ray tomorrow will be more definitive.

This from Dr. Amy's email: "Thank you for letting me keep Callie. She is doing fine here although she is a bit nervous --I'm sure that she'll be happy to go home soon!"

I am also a bit nervous and will be very happy to have Callie home.

A Furry Family Member's Health Revisited

Callie the Sweetheart


Yes, another chapter in the saga of Callie's health problems.

We took her in for a follow up for the lymphoma. The good news is that she gained 4 pounds and is in remission.

More good news is that she is not diabetic.

But the bad news is that she has fluid around her heart which necessitated our leaving her at the vet for a diuretic injection and observation for two days. This after I promised her that she would be coming home with us. Lesson learned: do not promise anything to any member of the family.

So Dr. Amy scooped her up, tucked her under her arm, and carried her away from us.

No word yet.

We Must Be in the South Pacific

My, but it is warm in our house.

Here are the readings from our thermometers. Living room: 75.4; dining room: 75; my Sweetie's office: 78.3; kitchen: 68; our bedroom: 71.2.

All this with the main thermostat set at 68 and the kitchen one at 67. Time to lower them again.

Dave the HVAC guy had promised that by installing the toe kick registers in the kitchen, the kitchen would no longer be 7 degrees colder than the rest of the house. We have had to augment the hot water baseboard heat with a space heater in order to be comfortable in it.

But no longer. And only one of the two registers is connected. I can't imagine what it will be like with the second one comes on line.

Bring me an ice cold drink.