Time To Get It Together!!!

July was really a long month, when you think about it.  I mean that in the actual sense of the word as opposed to that feeling that a month is going on forever and ever with no end in sight.  July was truly a respectable length as months go.  It had 31 days and everything.  It even came with an extra Friday/Payday in it and that is kind of a nice thing to happen during the summer vacation.

(My district holds back a certain amount of my wages in order that I might receive equal paychecks year-round.  Hence, I do still draw checks during the vacations rather than have to figure out a way to not spend my money all willy-nilly without adult supervision.)

In spite of being a month that anyone would be proud to know and with enough days in it to merit bragging, I still managed to put off a great deal.  I've mentioned it before and will probably continue to mention it right up until next summer when it's time to do it all over again.  And, as I always do, I swore to myself that August was not going to be a month of messing around.  This time, by God, I was going to catch up!

Of course, the first week of August required a little bit of rest.  That much was my due.  My parent's 50th anniversary party came at the end of the previous month and, for reasons that don't entirely make sense, I found myself kind of anxious about the whole affair.  Basically, I managed to lie awake night after night worrying that no one was going to come and that I would go down in the history books as The Worst Daughter To Ever Walk The Planet And How Dare She Show Her Face What With Her Utter Lack Of Parental Appreciation!!!

Seriously.  A literal month of tossing and turning.  With that refrain playing over and over in my head. It was great for staying up and knitting, though.  Except for the part where I knit a forty five inch foot on a sock because who can pay attention with unfounded angst going on like that?

So, as you can plainly see, a week of lounging about for the first week of August was something I needed.  It was therapeutically necessary.  Any doctor would have said the same.  Not mine as she was on vacation at the time, but any other.  I'm certain of this.  And I used my time well, thank you very much.  I used it to plan what I was going to do starting the second week in August because the time has come to stop fooling around.  This may be summer vacation, but there are things I put off, darn it.  Things that have resulted in my living in squalor and with possible smells in my near future should I hesitate any longer!

Let's get it on, housework!  Let's do this thing!!!  The insomnia is gone and I'm rested up somethin' fierce!

I overslept this morning.  But I rallied!  I managed to drag out a bag of trash and get the shower curtain liner changed before lunch rolled around.  Once I hit my stride, there was little to stop me.  I took a moment to survey my domain and determine what weighty task would next be crossed off my list!

Then I spent the rest of the day playing computer games...

SA

WNBP: August Is The Cruelest Month

August is here and, from this educator's perspective, it has arrived far too soon.  This is the month that truly marks the end of summer vacation.  While I still have plenty of days left, I can no longer avoid checking my school email and it is highly likely that someone is going to want me at a meeting at some point over the next couple of weeks.  I also have to start reviewing those lessons I tucked away in June for future reference to see if I can remember why on earth I thought they were such a grand idea for the kids.  Then there is that dreaded trip into the classroom to put it all together and finally admit that it is really and truly over.

I miss July.  July is the month where I get to avoid thinking about all that stuff.  However, since there is nothing I can do about it at the moment, I will go ahead with the Wednesday Night Bullet Post.  Bullet points are ever so festive and distracting, after all!

*The weather has taken a truly delightful turn.  So cool and pleasant!  Such a nice change from the heatwave!


*Of course it is also a reminder of the autumn temperatures to come, but I think this is a sacrifice I am willing to make after what this summer put me through.


*Guess who shouldn't have complained about not making much progress on the sock?


*That'd be me.  


*Knit the foot an inch too long and now must rip back lest I have socks that don't feel exactly the same.


*Socks must feel exactly the same.  Must.  


*I go crazy if they don't.


*Guess I was making more progress than I thought...


*Left the stupid, non-conforming sock at home today so I could go do my weekly Visit With The Vegetables.


*I am making salsa tomorrow.


*I have already peeled and chopped the 'maters because that is the job that makes me want to leap out the window.


*Messy.  Pulpy.  Slimy.


*Don't feel like making salsa after that.


*But, if it's already done, then I am simply giddy about the making of the salsa!


*I have enough for three pints which seems like very little product for all that tomato goo on my counters but I enjoyed having homemade salsa last winter so I'm going for it.


*I like it in scrambled eggs.


*I also liked my homemade relish but I don't need to make that again because I already did it.


*No reason for mentioning that.  I just felt like telling someone that I made relish again this year.


*I have mixed feelings about not taking any of the celebratory cupcakes home after my parents' anniversary party.


*We had leftovers.  They were good cupcakes.  


*I miss those cupcakes.  


*But I think I did the right thing in leaving them behind.


*Sometimes I hear them crying out for me, but that might just be a cupcake delusion.


*My parents took the cake top home so no comments about stealing confections from them!!!


*God...the more I say, "cupcakes" the worse the compulsion gets!!!


*Need to think about something else.  Like the awesome fresh onions I picked up today.  


*And the summer squash I got last week but didn't eat.


*Should eat that instead of cupcakes.


*Would be nice to not have to buy an entire new wardrobe for school this year...


*The phone just rang.  Was hoping it was the doctor's office since I am out of meds and she is on vacation this week.


*Need that prescription.  They are working on getting it together for me.


*Has to be on paper.  Can't be called in per order of the government.


*I guess I should have thought about people taking vacations in August.


*Isn't everyone thinking about work right now????


*Not the doc's office.  Just someone who wanted to hang up on me.


*With few days left as a full-time reader, I am doing my best to put away the pages.


*Finished The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.


*Bad people come to a bad end.


*That is as it should be even if you maybe found yourself cheering for them a little bit over the course of the novel.


*Quiet cheering that no one else could hear because, well...they are VERY BAD PEOPLE!


*And they are not alone, it seems.


*Johannes Cabal the Necromancer is not very nice either.


*Yet, every once in a while you see this little glimmer of hope for him and you get all excited.


*He never seems to be able to stay the course for long.


*Apparently, I was firmly entrenched in some sort of anti-hero thing for a while there.  Besides, the poor guy has issues and maybe even a good reason for why he is how he be.


*Johannes Cabal the Detective was unavoidable.


*In spite all the character flaws, once can't help but love this guy.  I'm a sucker for a witty cad, it would seem...


*Now I'm reading The Magicians: A Novel.


*Here's a book where you can almost literally see the author waving to you gaily from the corner of the page as he shouts, "Hi!  I blatantly ripped off Harry Potter and the Narnia books and have no guilt about that whatsoever!  Enjoy!!!"


*And you know what?


*I DO enjoy!  It was a best seller for a reason and this adult version of YA novels works brilliantly.


*No.  There is no Hogwarts.  And I've yet to see the appearance of a magical wardrobe.  It's not that much of a carbon copy.


*But the influences are clear and the book is all the better for that being put right out there.


*Am hoping to read The Magician King: A Novel before the curtain closes on this summer vacation 'o mine!



Yes, it is time for me to start cranking through a lot of the stuff I wanted to get finished this summer.  It is going to go faster from this point on, if past years are any indication.  I honestly don't know how that happens but it does.

Part of the cruel plan, I think...

SA

A Long Time

It's been a Long Time since I've finished a knitting project.  It's not that I'm not knitting...I am.  I've been stitching away whilst riding the little exercise bike in the mornings, but it isn't really getting me any closer to a pair of socks, it seems.

The bike rides seem to be taking a Long Time, though!

Now that August is here, I can't help but start thinking about how Long the school year is and how short the rest of my vacation looks by comparison.  It is time to start thinking about lessons and the floor plan for the classroom so I don't end up doing it all ten minutes before the kids get there.  Again...

I had a dentist appointment on Friday morning and that seemed to take a very, very Long Time.  In truth, it wasn't any longer than any other dentist appointment, but they always seem endless.  Of course, it is worse when they find a cavity and there is less time between saying, "good-bye" to the dentist and, "hello again." I suppose I should be grateful for the six month reprieve.

I left my dentist appointment to meet up with my sister-in-law and great niece.  Since my niece and her family moved out of state, it is a Long Time between visits with the kids and I was giddy to have the opportunity to spend some time with at least one of the young 'uns.  Furthermore, I always love visiting with my Bonus Sister.  However, my arrival at her house heralded the beginning of two very Long Days there.  Busy days fraught with phone calls and shopping and measuring and chopping and more dragging of tables than is really necessary in anyone's life.  Those two days were about three hundred hours in total and that is a very, very Long Time indeed.

I don't always do well with things that take A Very Long Time.  Frankly, I think we have all gotten a little impatient nowadays and A Very Long Time just isn't something that is really appealing anymore.

Some people are still pretty good at it though.  It's rare, but a truly amazing and wonderful thing to behold should you be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of skillful time wrangling.

I wasn't able to be there the first time two hands came together to grasp a silver handle and celebrate that first day of the that first year.  This, I suppose, is one of the drawbacks to not having been born yet.  There wasn't much to be done about it at the time.

However, I was privileged to be present on Saturday when those hands touched that same silver fifty years later.  A Long Time isn't so bad, really.  In fact, it is sometimes something to be celebrated.

Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy Sheep!!!

SA

WNBP: Heat Beat...Almost Sweet!

I honestly meant to drop a blog line sooner and let everyone know that I survived the heatwave, but I was too busy trying to recover and time got away from me.  I'll have to catch you up in tonight's Wednesday Night Bullet Post!

*I do not have air conditioning.


*There are reasons for this so please...no suggesting that I go get an air conditioner.  


*I am fully aware of their existence and have never before wished so hard that I had one as I did last week.


*103 degrees.  94 in my living room.


*On Friday afternoon, it got even better.


* The power went out at the height of this nightmare for myself and 14,000 of my friends.


*Up to that point, I hated the people with air conditioning but then I felt sorry for them.


*I have strategies for dealing with the heat without frozen air.  I plan for it.


*The exact words out of my mouth when the fans fizzled were, "Oh my God.  This is when people actually start to die..."


*I was giddy to have plans Friday night.  I normally prefer to stay in, but there was air conditioning out there in the world and I wanted my share of it.


*Heat wave is over.


*I don't miss the heat wave...


*Raging insomnia has taken over my life.


*I've had some trouble sleeping for a while now, but it's really out of hand at the moment.


*Weird...Blogger seems to be having some trouble saving tonight.


*Let's hope I can publish this thing...


*Where was I?  Oh, yes.  The insomnia.


*I know what you're thinking.


*"But, Sheepie!  You don't work in the summer.  It is OK to be awake all night.  You can catch up later and not have to worry about poor performance in the workplace!"


*You are very correct.  Very.


*I am grateful that the worst of this is happening during summer vacation.


*But still incredibly irked that I can't do any of the things I want to do because I am so utterly exhausted.


*Can't sleep in.  Awake by 6:00 at the latest every morning.


*No matter what.


*Can't seem to nap during the day.  20-30 minutes tops.  If I'm lucky.


*I am, for all intents and purposes, non-functional these days.


*Summer is short.  I have a lot of stuff I want to do.


*Stuff I put off or promised myself I could do once school was over.


*Spinning, knitting socks, painting the living room...


*Makes me crazy that I can't focus enough to do any of it!!!


*I lie awake at night thinking about how crazy it makes me!!!!


*I toss and turn and grit my teeth over the matter!!!!!!!!!!


*You can see how the whole situation is fraught with irony and other thematic stuff I can't quite manage to describe with my limited brain functioning.


*I'd do all that stuff I wanna do at night while I'm awake anyway, but I never seem to think of that until I'm too loopy to actually pull it off.


*In spite of my fatigue I managed to find my way to the Farmer's Market today.


*String beans, basil and summer squash.


*None of which I've been able to do much with but it made it to the house so that's a win.


*Blogger is still not saving.  It seems to be panicking a bit over this fact.


*I'm not too concerned.


*I've copied.  I can paste later if need be.


*Apparently, there is a small part of my brain still functioning.


*Deadliest Catch is done for the season.


*Not quite as good as last year, but let's face it.


*That was a pretty powerful season and not something easily lived up to.


*Have had a few bumps in the Reading Road of late.


*There's a couple tomes not even worth mentioning.


*A few I should, though.


*Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.


*Not what I thought it was going to be and that threw me.


*But worth looking at if only for the fantastic period photography.


*And a better story than I'm giving it credit for.


*I read Graveminder.


*Melissa Marr also wrote the Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely (Quality)) series.


*This was really quite good and apparently her first adult novel.


*Now I'm reading The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.


*Fair warning:  this book is not for the faint of heart nor for those who flinch at the rampant use of profanity.


*The brothers are not good guys.  Not at all.  They are very, very bad guys.


*But they have that Anti-hero-you-can't-help-but-love-'em sort of vibe going on, too.


*They are funny fellows if you can get past the flagrant killing, cultural ignorance and general lack of social responsibility.


*However, they are living in a rather rough period in history so I suppose it wasn't exactly easy to come by etiquette lessons.


*I'm on the fence with this one.  One minute I love it, the next I don't.


*Overall, worth the time.


*Poor Blogger.  It just keeps flashing error messages at me.  It seems almost embarrassed now.


*Maybe it's not sleeping either.  I'm beat.  I can understand how it feels.


I honestly don't have anything else at the moment.  Even if I did, I don't suppose Blogger is going to publish it right now so it's not really a crisis.  I have time to think of something else.  In the event that I don't, this will have to suffice.  Here's hoping that tonight's cool temperatures and brain-busting fatigue will conspire to put me out like a light.

If not, let's hope there's something good on TV...

SA

WNBP: A Brief Respite

I am currently enjoying what looks to be the last of the cooler temperatures for a while.  Today was moderately warm with bearable humidity, but the next few days are not going to be so kind.  We are talking high 90s and air so thick you can drink it with a straw.

Not my most favoritest thing...

Since I plan to be lolling in front of the fan for the foreseeable future and probably insensible with the heat stroke, why don't I get the Wednesday Night Bullet Post up for all to enjoy?  I'm guessing anything I post after this will involve a great deal of whining and complaints about my hair melting.  No one is going to benefit from that, really.

*After weeks of being decidedly unimpressed with the Farmer's Market fare, I was finally rewarded for my patience.


*I have actually not been patient.  Not at all.


*My weekly Visit With The Vegetables has been fraught with tension and very bad words directed at the local produce.


*I had a good feeling today, though.  


*Even stopped for extra cash before heading over.


*The string beans were there!


*And the wax beans!


*And carrots!


*And more basil to replace that which I already ate or froze!


*Why, I was so pleased with the bounty I made a point of visiting every single vendor.


*Except the Overly Happy Jewelry Ladies.  I like jewelry.  


*Just can't eat it.


*Heck, I even went to visit with Crazy Organic Guy and bought some itty-bitty garlic just because I was feeling good about locally grown produce in general.


*I have nothing against Organic People.  I like organic stuff as much as the next gal.


*Crazy Organic Guy is a little over-the-top when it comes to his new career path, though.  


*He's happier than the jewelry ladies and I simply cannot bear that level of job satisfaction.


*At least the Garter Stitch Scarf People weren't there today.


*I happen to love a good garter stitch scarf and have no issues whatsoever with the sale of garter stitch scarves to the public.  Not everyone knows how to knit and they should have the same rights to garter stitch scarves as those of us who comfortably wield the sticks.


*But it is wicked hot in July and I hate having to squint through the haze of the scorching parking lot to see woolly scarves.


*Giddy about the beans.  I didn't think I liked canned beans.


*I do like canned beans.  At least the ones I can myself.  


*So tender...so flavorful...so delightful to eat on a cold winter's day when summer and inappropriately placed wool scarves are just a memory.


*Let us not discuss how early I am going to have to get up to can beans if I'm gonna beat the heat over the next few days.


*I read some stuff.  


*I finished Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, Book 1).


*Then I read A Local Habitation (October Daye, Book 2).


*And, of course, An Artificial Night (October Daye, Book 3).


*I'm almost through Late Eclipses (October Daye, Book 4).  Should have it wrapped up tonight.


*These are what I like to call Fun Books.  Fun to read...Fun, fun, fun!!


*I am only reading them because I read Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1).


*Same author, different name...very different book.


*It is not a Fun Book.  


*It starts off as an I-Don't-See-Why-Everyone-Says-This-Is-So-Great-Book.


*And fools you into thinking you know exactly what is happening.  


*Until the unthinkable happens...


*And you're left sitting all teary-eyed in a tub filled with water long-since cooled.


*Had to read Deadline (Newsflesh, Book 2).


*Not nearly as powerful, but heartbreaking in its own way.  And moves the story in a direction that maybe takes away a little of the first novel's impact.


*But I'm OK with that.


*It's a trilogy so I'll be looking for the next one.


*While I continue looking for zombies because, in this universe, EVERYONE is the potential zombie.


*Yup.  Everyone is infected.  Not a spoiler warning.  It's pretty up front.


*A few people commented on my having to get my car inspected.


*It's a state requirement.  Your car has to meet certain standards in order to be considered worthy of a sticker.


*No sticker=ticket.


* I was a month overdue and there is no way on God's green earth my car should have passed.


*Or maybe it was fine and I have no idea what "passing" entails.  I don't care.  I drove around proudly today with my shiny new sticker.


*For what its worth, Maine does not require emissions testing.  We thought about it and almost did it.


*Then we said something like, "Clean air is for wimps!!" and dropped the whole idea.


*We like working blinkers and brake lights.  We are, apparently, not so concerned with what is being spewed from our tailpipes...


*Probably contributing to global warming.


*Which might explain why I'm bracing myself for the next few days and the searing heat...

So that was today.  All in all, I was pretty pleased with the whole deal and the amount of beans currently in my home.  I have a goodly amount of canning ahead of me and will probably hate every single one of those beans while they are being processed, but it will be worth it in the long run.  And besides, the heat won't last forever.

Summer is kind of brief when you think about it...

SA

Even When I Brandish Bald Truths!!!

"Hello, is this Mrs. Sheep?"

I sighed.  Sometimes it's just not worth pointing out that I am not Mrs. Sheep.  Mommy Sheep is Mrs. Sheep.  My Sister-in-Law is Mrs. Sheep.  I am Ms. Sheep, but that was going to take more time than was really called for.  Besides, I knew who was on the other end of this phone conversation.  I'd dropped my car off for the first round of what promised to be a lengthy series of long-awaited repairs and this was obviously my homegirl from the service desk calling to tell me that they were ready for me to come pay them some money.  Might as well get on with it...

"Your car is ready, ma'am," she confirmed.  "And you'll be pleased to know that they were able to put the inspection sticker on it today."

"WHAT? It passed???  But I supposedly had a brake light out.  You aren't supposed to pass if all the lights don't work.  And what about the wipers?  Those were all tattered last time we looked.  Are you seriously telling me this car passed inspection?"

My homegirl paused, clearly flummoxed by someone who would be so blatantly honest about why her car shouldn't get its past due inspection sticker.  Most people would have just said a quick, "thank you kindly" and grabbed their keys before anyone noticed the error.

Not me.  I've learned a bit about karma over the past 12 months.  Just when I think things can't get worse, something else blows up.  I've killed a coffee maker.  I've blown up a television.  I've crashed two laptops.  Why just this past weekend, a random power surge took out half the outlets in my kitchen.  One of them happens to run my refrigerator.

I know from karma.  There is no avoiding it.  Trying to do things the easy way or pretend that everything is fine is not going to end well and I'll throw hard facts at people until they can prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that all is well.  I continued my campaign when I went to pick up my car and met with a new service representative.

Sheepish Annie:  OK.  So we are no longer freaking out about the excess play in the left front sway bar, right?  I don't exactly know what that is, but it sounds like something that might kill me later and I want to have some warning on that.

New Service Rep:  (flipping through paperwork) Err...I guess it's OK.  I mean, it wasn't enough to keep you from getting a sticker so you should be all right until your next service visit.  Wait...does this say you're here today because you ran over a trash bag?  Seriously?  You didn't really do all that damage by running over a trash bag.  It's just not possible!

SA:  That is history and a matter of record.  There is even a picture of the killer trash bag at the service desk if you care to ask.  I know because I've seen it.  We have bigger issues now.  How about that chip in the windshield?  That thing has grown into a crater over the last year and I'm betting someone noticed it.

NSR:  Well, yeah.  Frankly, none of us are really sure how you passed inspection.  It's all any of us have been talking about and the guy who did it won't look any of us in the eye right now. But you did pass and since it's 5:00 and the cleaning crew is coming in and there are still three people behind you...

Good enough.  I took my car and brought it home.  The left turn signal is still kind of wonky but that's OK.  And I supposed that "excess play" thing is something I should be looking into soon, not to mention the ribbon-like wiper blades.  But the biggest part of the work is done and my car is inspected so I'm not going to poke the bear any longer.  I'm going to sit here, knit my socks, and accept that the car people believe my vehicle is going to run for another few days.

But I kept a transcript of the conversations just in case karma needs proof of my honesty.

SA

WNBP: Cool As A Cucumber

The humidity broke last night.  I don't know exactly when since I somehow drifted off into something resembling sleep but it wasn't there when I woke up at 5:30 so I assumed breaking had occurred.  In spite of the mercury climbing into the high 80s, it was a much more bearable sort of day and one that makes for a much happier Sheepie.

Let us celebrate with the posting of bullet points as is our Wednesday night tradition!

*The weather people are suggesting that I put an extra blanket on the bed tonight.  


*They are concerned that I might catch a chill.


*That is nice of them, but I am rather looking forward to having a chill.


*At the moment, I am chillin' with a whole lotta rain.  It sort of snuck up on me while I wasn't paying attention and you won't believe the amount of water that came in.


*That is supposed to be "outside" water.  


*"Outside" water is different from "inside" water.


*"Inside" water is the stuff in the sinks and toilets and that is perfectly OK to have in your house.


*"Outside" water has no business in my house.  Or on my rugs.  Or running down my walls.


*I am out of paper towels.


*Can someone remind me to put that on the shopping list for tomorrow?


*I went to the Farmer's Market this morning.


*The Weekly Visit With The Vegetables.


*Except I remain unimpressed with what I'm seeing thus far.


*I think it's because I got to thinking about string beans and now I don't want anything else.


*Peas are in.  No string beans.


*I bought some cucumbers because I hate to make the trip for nothing.


*Now I wish I'd picked up some new potatoes because I love new potatoes.


*They are better than old potatoes.


*All tiny and tender...dang!  Why didn't I get potatoes??????


*I'm planning on making some relish at some point in the near future.


*I like homemade relish.


*It was cool enough to knit today.  I managed a few sock rounds before I lost interest.


*Figure I'll have me a nice pair o' socks sometime around next summer...


*I finished Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate).


*Such fun! 


*In this installment, Alexia doesn't "walk" anywhere.


*She toddles, waddles and wobbles.


*It's fantastic!!!


*Then I read Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum Novels).


*I meant to read it a long time ago but it was kind of spendy when it first came out so I decided to wait.


*I didn't remember that until I said the same thing about Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel.


*Apparently I say this a lot.


*I am assuming that we will be having this same conversation when #18 hits the stands...


*Next up: A Discovery of Witches: A Novel.


*I love it when smart women write novels.  It challenges me.


*And Deborah Harkness is a very, very smart woman.


*An excellent book.  The "smart" is fairly leaking out all over the place.


*Sure...it's another vampire book and I keep saying I'm totally over those, but this is a "smart" vampire book!


*See?  See how that is different????


*It felt like it was running a bit long towards the end, but that is more on me as the reader than the author.


*Guess I've been indulging in more of the "quick fix" type books of late.  I've kind of forgotten how to stay true to a story.


*Totally worth the time, though.  I loved this book!


*Now I'm reading Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1).


*Because I have to.


*Post-apocalyptic zombie world.


*I don't like the looks of things, people.  Twenty years have passed since the rising of the dead and no one really seems to have learned much from this event.


*But bloggers rule the world and the tech has gotten pretty sharp so I guess it's not a total washout.


*I'm definitely going to read Deadline (Newsflesh, Book 2).


*Seems like the right thing to do and you never know what zombie fighting tips can be unearthed for future reference.


*I wonder if there are enough cucumbers for me to eat one now and still have some left for relish making later.


*Warming up to the cukes, I suppose.



I guess I should probably sign off now and see where we are with the "outside" water and whatnot.  I should probably also look into another blanket for the bed because I'd hate to wake up in the middle of the night freezing to death.  It is best to be prepared.

But I still maintain that being cool is every so much better!

SA

Hot Topics

It is currently four thousand degrees here in the manse.  I almost couldn't blog tonight because I got stuck in the kitchen when the vinyl flooring melted and I wasn't quite willing to give up my sandal to escape.  Then, just as I manage to extricate myself, the living room carpet spontaneously combusted, forcing me to battle the raging inferno before I could sit down at the computer.  Just when I thought I was comfortably settled in front of the fan and ready to share with the world my thoughts on the weather, the sun exploded and added another ten degrees to a situation already completely out of control IMHO.

OK.  So maybe I'm exaggerating just a little bit.  But I still maintain that it is very hot here and that I don't care for this.

Ever the optimist, though, I like to think that I learn stuff from my trials.  For example, I already knew that I was averse to knitting during this sort of weather, but now I am absolutely certain that the idea of working on a wool sock does not appeal to me at all once the mercury hits 90.  It's good to be sure of one's self.

I have also observed that the length of one's cats is directly related to the temperature.  A cat curled up in a ball indicates anything from a chill in the air to normal temps.  A cat stretched out in excess of three feet means you should are edging into a more tropical situation.

Early in the day.  Only around 88 degrees or so and the humidity was still bearable.  Not at full stretch yet.

Full on crazy heat.  Cat won't even fit in the shot.  His feet are out in the hallway.

Sleep is an interesting thing during a heat wave.  You stay up late, you get up early.  You do these things because that it when it is cool enough to think.  The rest of the time you lay around in a stupor, half conscious and wondering idly if it is possible to live inside the freezer or if all those stories you heard as a kid about there being a killer troll lurking in there are true.

Maybe it's just me who heard that.  Either way, I've chosen to not live in my freezer.  That, I suppose, is really for the best.

I also learned that dumping two packets of hot chocolate mix and ten ice cubes in the blender will result in an interesting concoction.  First, you get this grainy stuff that you have to spoon out and you despair until you taste it.  Then you realize it is cold and chocolaty and you don't much care what it looks like.  After a while, it melts a little in the staggering heat and you have a really nice slushee.  Before too long, it melts down enough to drink with a straw.

I happen to like it in all its incarnations.  I accidentally put in in some of those dried out little marshmallows that come in the packet, but it all worked out OK.  I've been smashing up chocolate ice cubes on and off for most of the day.

I hear good things for tomorrow, however.  It seems as though tonight's weather is going to be just a bit more comfortable and then things are going to take a turn for the better.  A little rain should do the trick nicely.  I look forward to being able to breathe normally and not having to keep a fire extinguisher close to hand to deal with the stupid flaming carpet situations.

I'll miss all the fascinating insights, though...

SA

WNBP: Things Are Heating Up

So yeah...I'm still trying to adjust to the vacation schedule.  Just when I think I have handle on it, I wake up in a cold sweat thinking that I have to get ready for work AND OMIGOD AM I LATE???  It takes a few minutes to remember the actual state of affairs.  Of course, there are certainly worse problems a person could have than remembering they get to stay in bed, but it was a rough school year.  That minute of hypertension is enough to age me prematurely.

I guess that is why the weather has suddenly taken a turn for the scorching.  Mother Nature, dear lady that she is is wants to help me get back on track with the schedule.  While I appreciate the gesture, I'm not necessarily thrilled with the 93 degrees.

I think I shall plant myself more comfortably in front of the fan and do the Wednesday Night Bullet Post.  That'll take my mind off the heat, at least for a little while.

*I went to the Farmer's Market this morning.


*That is a very summery thing to do and really helped to solidify the season for me.


*There wasn't much to be had, though.


*Since vacation started so much later, I guess I got it in my head that the growing season was a little further along...


*It could also be that I didn't get there until 9:00 and all the early birds beat me to the veggies.


*Got my first new garlic of the summer, though.


*And basil.


*I dream about this stuff all winter...


*I didn't think the day was very hot right up until about 2:00.


*Then I suddenly realized that it was, indeed, very hot.


*Crazy hot.


*93 degrees with rising humidity.


*Bleh!!!


*I didn't can any potatoes like I'd planned because who can can potatoes in 92 degree heat???


*I put up some chicken yesterday and that is good enough for now.


*I got such a kick out of eating my way through the summer produce last winter that I am determined to do more of it this year.


*So far I've done very little.  I blame the Farmer's Market and how they only had beets.


*OK.  They had more than beets.  But not much...


*They are also open on Saturday. I should go on Saturday.  They always have more on Saturday.


*But half the thrill is going on Wednesday when I should be at school teaching America's Future.


*They have redone the road leading over to the Market.  And the pet store is under new ownership.  Big changes went on while I was toiling in the salt mines!


*I think that things should stay the same unless I have been notified.


*Preferably in writing, but an email or quick call would suffice.


*I get all distracted by the new look.  


*And spend $45.00 at the new pet store on stuff I totally don't need...


*Da Boyz love the new chicken treats.


*Have I mentioned my love of fresh basil and mild, new garlic?  


*Mmmmmm...


*Lots to report on the book front.


*Since the cats keep getting me up so danged early, I get a bit more Reading In Bed time.


*Torment ((Fallen)) came out not long ago.  There's a sequel I've been waiting for.


*I forgot I was waiting for it, but then I remembered.


*Actually, I saw it and said, "I remember that one!!"


*Either way, that is remembering.


*And now I know what's been going on in the world of fallen angels and the girls who love them.


*And the Nephilim.  Sometimes they don't get the face time they deserve...


*I was stumbling around the online bookshelves and happened to notice The Map of Time: A Novel.  I was intrigued.


*It wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be and, at first, I saw some problems.


*Most notably the author's tendency to write in a very old and happily abandoned style.


*That of Breaking The Fourth Wall.


*In vogue many moons ago, it went something like, "And now gentle reader, I must pause to share with you such facts as only I, your humble scribbler and modest omniscient being, can know."


*Very jarring during a good read and really only suited to stuff from the days when a lady knew what side to put a bustle on.


*However, this is truly an amazing piece of literature.  Seriously.


*Modeled on The Time Machine.  And H. G. Wells plays a starring role.


*I was fascinated by this novel.  It put into words some of the very deep and convoluted inner debates I've had with myself over the nature of time and my place in the continuum.


*Yeah.  Deep thoughts.  I haz them.


*By the end, I'd even forgiven the whole fourth wall business.  It served a purpose.  


*Highly recommend.  Highly.


*And then...it happened.  The thing I've been awaiting for months.  I didn't forget to remember this one.  I've been watching.


*Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate) is out!!!!!!!


*Kids, if you want a good old fashioned romp through Victorian England and the best treatment of werewolves and vampires EVER...this is the series for you.


*You'll want to corset up, grab your parasol and tilt your plumed hat to a jaunty angle.  


*I laugh out out at points.  I can't help it.  


*Series starts with Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate).  That one is great.


*And it only gets better from there.


*The Cheerful Teaching Assistant is now addicted to this saga!


*I'd even suggest it for people who don't necessarily like the horror or steampunk genres.


*Alexa's exploits went a long way towards taking my mind off the heat today, lemme tellya!



Well the good news is that it looks like the heat is about to break.  The bad news is that it is going to break courtesy of a massive thunderstorm.  The rumbles have already begun, hence I think it is time to wrap this up.  I trust that you all had a marvelous Wednesday and that your Thursday will be even better.  If you need me, I'll be over here in front of the fan and awaiting the cold breezes.

Still glad it's summer, though.

SA

We Grit Our Teeth And Celebrate

This is the latest I've ever started my summer break.  I remain eternally grateful that I chose a career which affords me summers off, but it's still kind of rough to have to wait on it.  I think I've finally found my groove, although I have to admit that there has been an ongoing snag.

I got to sleep until 7:00 yesterday.  That is something of a miracle considering the state of things around here.  While I have made a serious commitment to the whole "being on vacation" thing, the resident felines are still not completely on board.  They continue to wake me at what anyone would consider unreasonable hours.

Said "hours" have ranged from 4:00 to 5:00 in the omigod-are-you-kidding-me morning and the strategies are really quite inventive.  I have been pounced upon full force by the Very Complicated Kitty.  I have opened my eyes to find the same cat an inch and a half from my face just waiting for me to be ready to receive a rousing yowl.  He has raced in and out of the room and all about the manse until I get out of bed in what can only be described as self-defense.  Good thing, too.  At least once the knitting was discovered to be in dire peril.

And it's not just the VCK.  No, the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty has done his share to keep me from getting the rest I need.  I started from a deep sleep the other morning to find him perched on the bookshelf next to the Betta bowl and looking at me as if to say, "Look what I found!  When did we get this?  I had no idea we were growing our own sushi!!!"  He has launched his gi-normous self up to the top of the dresser and begun hurling items down upon his brother's head.  This very morning, he chose to embody the concept of "path of destruction" and I now have to rehang a few pictures in the boudoir, not to mention find all the decorative pebbles he kicked out of the equally decorative bowl in the salon.  The manse is in a veritable shambles.

It has been a trial.  And no.  I am not exaggerating.  I would know if I was exaggerating and don't try to tell me that that lack of sleep might cause me to see things as being just a wee bit worse than they are.

Yet in spite of it all, I still raised a glass of Mountain Dew and dispensed lots of sloppy kisses on July 3rd to acknowledge the anniversary of the day we all managed to be in the same place.  It's been a year since Da Boyz become official brothers.  To my utter shock and delight, they bonded within minutes and were sharing window space like they'd always done so.  I took this picture not long after the VCK settled in:

July, 2010...the cuteness spans the many months and can still knock you right over with its mighty strength.

And they're still sharing window space, as happily as they did back then.  The magic hasn't worn off.

Sometimes it isn't easy and requires a certain amount of give and take, spacewise.

But they make it work...

Yes, I am getting up far earlier than anyone on vacation should ever have to but I guess it's a small price to pay for being in the presence of such brotherly love.  Who am I to question the fates?

I'll just consider the early awakenings as an opportunity to spend more time basking in their glow...

SA

WNBP: The Other Side

It's hard to believe it's been a week since I waved goodbye to the last of my students and sent them home so for the summer.  By my internal clock, at least a month has passed.  However, I can't ignore the laws of time and space so I guess I must admit that a mere seven days have passed.  And five of them have been very, very busy.  It's over now, though and I've made it through to the other side with naught but a little fatigue.

Let's take advantage of the Wednesday Night Bullet Post format and review the highlights.

*I could have pared down the three days of teacher workshops and two days of committee meetings to something a little more palatable.


*Two days of workshops and maybe a day or so of meetings.


*That would have been nice, save for one thing:


*The mandatory restitution that comes from working over one's contracted schedule.


*Was it worth it?  Really?  Can I honestly say that the amount of work I've had to do during what should have been the first week of my summer break was an acceptable trade-off?


*Oh, yeah.  When you tally the numbers and factor in that the extra monies don't require the removal of insurance payments and whatnot...yeah.  It works out.


*To the tune of an extra paycheck this month.  


*I don't actually get "paid" to take the summer off, but I do still get checks.  They just divided up my ten month salary over twelve.


*An extra paycheck in the summer is a very good thing.


*Especially considering the upcoming auto repair bills.


*I knit furiously through Days One and Two of workshops.


*That was the Sit And Listen While We Impart Words Of Wisdom Unto Thee portion of the festivities.


*Day Three was a work day.  Since I didn't really have a group to work with, I got a lot done.


*The other humans distract me.


*Days One and Two of committee meetings were not good for knitting.  I had to sit next to Mr. Principal and didn't want to appear anything less that totally engrossed.


*Knitting would have helped.  To say we lost focus once the lunch hour passed each day would be an understatement.


*We got to work in the library, though.


*One of the few air conditioned spaces in the building.  That was nice.


*Plus they turned off all the filters on the interwebs so Facebook and Twitter were working quite handily.


*And I've gotten a whole bunch of free lunches.  Real lunches, not the cafeteria kind!


*I have been awake at the crack of dawn-thirty every day since school let out.  


*Not necessary since all the meetings started later than the regular school day.


*The Very Complicated Kitty, however, does not understand this.


*He has stuff to tell me in the morning.


*Very important stuff, by the tone of it.


*I answer him with gurgles and grunts that I imbue with interest but I honestly don't have a clue what he is saying.


*Although, if I had to guess it's probably food related...


*I finished my last meeting today.  Celebrated by buying myself a new label maker and some fancy metallic labels.


*I shall now pause for a moment so everyone can giggle and make "geek" references.


*No harm, no foul there.  I get it.  I think it's geeky, too.


*I like to label things.  


*And buying a sports car was not in the budget in spite of the extra pennies going into the coffers this month.


*I can maybe make a label that reads, "sports car" and stick it on my existing bumper.  That's about it.


*The work schedule hasn't allowed for much reading lately.  Mostly revisiting some old stuff.


*But I did pick up Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest.


*She wrote Boneshaker (Sci Fi Essential Books).


*This one doesn't have any zombies in it.  And it's not at all Steampunk.


*I happen to love a good ghost story, though.  And there are few settings more suitable than the American South.


*Very, very well done story.  Classic for the most part, except in the middle where the tone gets a bit lost.  But then it comes back.


*Highly recommend this one if you like that genre.


*Best Line(s) Of The Week Courtesy of Mr. Assistant Principal:

You want to show me more baby pictures?  Fine.  You can have three.  That's it.  I'm done looking at baby pictures. All anyone does is show me Baby's First Photos these days. Yup.  That's nice.  He's cute.  Next!  I can't see.  Tilt the monitor.  Oh...OK.  I'll give you that one.  Adorable and worth the glance.  You get one more and then I'm done because my kids are 14 and 17 and I shouldn't have to do this anymore.  Yeah...you should have stopped at the second one.  I'm finished now.

*C'mon.  Admit it.  You've always wanted to say that.  At least once!


*Our school is big on baby pictures whether we like it or not.  


*I am not anti-baby, for the record.  I just sometimes think I should have a choice rather than find my inbox full to the brim with JPEGs.


*Yesterday's meeting was interrupted for fifteen full minutes while some participants discussed how loudly their babies pooped.


*ACK!!!!!


*I offered to show Mr. Assistant Principal pictures of my cats.  He laughed at that.


*And promptly declined.


*I respect him more than I ever have now.



tellya!  I don't know for sure just what the plan is at this point.  Yes, I have finished the Index Cards Of Summer Organization and I think I know what I'd like to accomplish.  At least in a vague, general sort of sense.

For now, though, I am just kicking back and thinking like a Vacationing Person.  It is going to be hard to switch gears, but fear not.  Somehow, I'll manage...

SA

Too Many Cooks Spoil The Workshop

I did pretty well right up until the last half hour of today's teacher workshop.  I thought I might actually make it, but then I couldn't take it anymore.  Before I could stop myself, I spun around in my seat, glared at my neighbor and hissed, "STOP IT!!!"

She was obviously startled.  I could tell by the way she jumped, looked guilty and muttered, "Er...sorry.  I was just trying to copy the thing."

It's nobody's fault, really.  My school district is switching a lot of our applications over to Google.  They've done about a million trainings, most of which have been poorly attended.  Today's workshop was pretty heavily dependent upon Google Docs.  To make sure that all went well, they started the day with yet another crash course in how to use it.  This happens to be a very handy application and one with which we should all be more comfortable.

I do not claim to be a tech savvy person.  I will also admit that I haven't made it to any of the classes they've offered.  I have, however, used the application as part of a smaller committee upon which I serve and I suppose that this gave me an edge over some of the other participants.

Yet, even without this slight advantage, I like to think I understand the basic meaning of the word "shared."  I learned all about it in Kindergarten.  If something is "shared," it is not mine and mine alone.  Others get to use it.  Hence, it is unwise for me to get all proprietary about this thing and ignore everyone else waiting their turn nicely.

For example, if the crayons are to be "shared," you cannot stick them up your nose or break all the green ones because you hate broccoli.  When cookies are served and you are told to "share," you can't lick each one until you find your favorite.  It's basic pretty basic stuff for most five year olds.

So how is it that a group of fifty adults can't get their heads around the idea that a "shared" document is visible to everyone?  Or that being given viewing privileges don't necessarily translate to editing rights? I can understand how it might be a little confusing at first, especially if you've never worked with a shared document before.  But three hours in, people were still randomly highlighting stuff, taking notes and remaining blithely unaware that everything they were doing was showing up on everyone else's laptop, not to mention the big screen at the front of the room.  Sometimes they even changed the name of the file so that the presenter couldn't find it.  Even better, each time they did something to a doc, the program helpfully identified them by name so that we all could see who was messing with the text.

I mean, good lord!  If a document is "shared" and you don't know what you are doing, take a page from Sheepie's book:  Sit on your hands and touch nothing.  Save yourself the embarrassment until you can figure out how to make it all work.  And Sheepie figured this out in a small meeting where she would only have humiliated herself in front of six people.  Sheepie didn't need to have her sins put up on the big screen for all to see.

There were little colored tabs everywhere, random alerts letting us know that stuff was being changed and sometimes full sections being highlighted as people attempted to make copies so that they didn't do exactly what was driving me utterly insane by that point.

 When the lady sitting next to me attempted to highlight and copy the final document for her own editing purposes, I probably could have held my tongue.  I'd made it through the whole day on very little sleep and somehow kept myself from having an episode.  But I just couldn't take it anymore.  I guess I should count myself lucky that it was a person with whom I have a pretty good working relationship instead of a total stranger.  That is the sort of thing that lends itself to restraining orders and whatnot.  As it was, I merely flung down my knitting and showed her how to make a copy.  I knew how to do this because they went over it at the beginning of the workshop, but I didn't bother pointing this out and that is how I know I have amazing self-control.

All other evidence to the contrary...

Sure, you could point out that maybe 56 people having access to one document is a little extreme and that maybe Google Docs isn't the best way to go about handing out training material.  Or that using shared documents in a training with people who don't have much experience with them is certainly going to take away from the actual content of the presentation while everyone figures it out.  It might even be suggested that a group of teachers forced back to school on the first day of their summer vacations is not the most focused of audiences.  They are highly unlikely to recall certain important details from the first hour of a very long day.

All valid points. But I still can't help but wonder if maybe we should have had a different agenda for the first day of training.  Perhaps Day One should have been right out of the kindergarten teacher's manual...

SA

WNBP: Excuses, Excuses!

I have multiple reasons for not blogging in a week.  Actually, they aren't so much "reasons" as they are "excuses that I intend to put out there until someone takes pity on me and tells me it's OK."  Given the day and the nature of the post, I think it will all work rather nicely in Bullet Point Format.

*Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: Today was the last day of school.


*Hallelujah!!!


*It is not so much the last day as it is the last day I have to teach kids since there are a week of workshops coming my way as of tomorrow, but we take what we can get.


*We are bidding a fond farewell to the following characters in my little cast: The Boy With The Bass Booming Earbuds, (The Boy Who Is) Dark And Disturbed and The Boy For Whom All The World's A Stage.


*Each of them left before the last day for varying reasons, all of which were in their respective best interests.


*It has been very, very quiet in my classroom over the last couple of days.


*You seriously won't believe how much teacher stuff I can get done without extra students...


*My great uncle passed away on Monday.  He was 93.


*This was sad, but I think I'm maybe more sad for those of you who didn't get to know him.


*Truly a gentleman from another era.


*A better one, some might even say.


*His memorial was Saturday and it was as moving as any I think I've ever attended.


*He was a man who believed in service to others, the importance of ongoing education and the value of hard work.  He was what you might call an "old school gentleman."


*And he liked to blow up cans with fireworks on special occasions.


*Which was a contradiction in the most awesome way you can imagine.


*I'll be startled every time I remember that he isn't here anymore for a very long time.


*I was very sniffly at the memorial.


*Which was understandable.


*The fact that I remained sniffly the next day at Daddy Sheep's Father's Day lunch was not so understandable.


*It is June.  I don't get sick in June.  That is silly!


*Allergies.  Yup.  That's what I figured it was.  Allergies.


*Best Student Line Of The Week Courtesy of Spunky Girl:

You can think whatever you want, but I'm telling you right now that is NOT allergies.

*It is not allergies.  I have it on good authority from an actual 6th grader who knows.


*Full-on cold, complete with laryngitis and nasal drippage.


*I missed the 8th grade promotion ceremony.  I think that Mr. Principal was mad at me for that until he saw me this morning.


*It was suggested that I consider going home.


*I did not go home.  It was the last day of school and I'd already ordered my Super Special Last Day Teacher Lunch Of Chinese Food. (which is almost free)


*I am so totally not missing my SSLDTLOCF (wiaf)!!!


*I was talking with the Literacy Coordinator about a student this morning.  I was half-way through a brilliant observation when she threw up her hands and cried:

That's it!  I can't talk to you anymore.  It's too much!  You're just so...I mean...my God!  It's THE PLAGUE!!!!!

*She then proceeded to walk away flapping her hands in a warding off gesture and I could hear her warning others to stay as far away from me as possible.


*So, I guess I have the plague...


*I took some cold medicine last night.  The sleepy kind.  Went to bed a little after 10:00.  Read for a while.


*Woke up at 3:19.  I know this because I could see the clock and it was a very odd time to be awake.


*Then I thought, "Gosh, I can sure see that clock clearly.  Oh, silly me!  I left the light on!"


*Then I thought, "Hey...I can see that REALLY clearly.  That's weird."


*Still had my glasses on.


*Then I thought, "You know what else is odd?  I shouldn't be looking down at the clock.  It should be at eye level."


*I was still sitting up in bed.


*With my ereader in my lap.


*And no recollection of what I read.


*Sleepy time cold medicine, indeed!


*I settled myself into bed like a proper human and slept through to the alarm.  And then some.


*Still considered a plague carrier by my colleagues...


*For the record, I wasn't reading Dark War: A Matt Richter Novel (Matt Richter Novels)


*Because I finished that already.  


*Fair Warning:  Don't try to read this one if you haven't read the others in the series first.  You will be lost.


*Further Fair Warning:  Fans of Simon R. Green (Something from the Nightside (Nightside, Book 1)  should know that these books are a quarter concept away from being in a total copy-cat situation.


*But that doesn't mean I don't love them because a zombie private detective is just too cool to ignore.


*I wasn't reading that when I dozed off, though.


*I was reading Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8).  


*Werewolf DJs are cool, too.


*Not cool enough to fight off the effects of NyQuil, but I don't blame the books for that.


*If I ever get to the point where I can be on summer vacation, I envision some hard core reading in my future!


*But I have to get my plague-ridden self through five days of workshops and meetings first.  


*I'm packing up my knitting tonight.  


*I think I'm going to need it.  It's hard to pay attention when all the sneezing kicks in.


*Plus no one is going to want to sit with me and I'll need something to do...



So, as you can plainly see, I have had a lot on my plate over the past week.  Between finishing up the school year, family obligations and attempting to spread the plague hither and yon, I've barely had time to think.  It's been a whirlwind, I tellya!  I'll try to do better now that we are in the home stretch and heading into summer vacation.  Meanwhile, I must dash.  I have some leftover Chinese food that smells like it's just about heated through and I suffered through a snuffly last day of school to get that!

So much to do, so little time...

SA

WNBP: Soldiering On

Back when I first started teaching, we would sometimes joke about school years that lasted longer than others.  "At this rate," we'd say, "we'll be going until July!"  Then we'd laugh and laugh because that was such a silly thing to even consider.

This year, when you factor in the extra student time, the snow days and the mandatory trainings, I will literally be going to school until July.  This is just my little reminder that you shouldn't joke about stuff that isn't really funny unless you enjoy a firm and painful smackdown.

I am just going to stop thinking about it and do the Wednesday Night Bullet Post.  I honestly can't think of anything else to do at this point.

*Last night was cold.  Crazy, not summery at all cold!


*How do I know this?


*Well, first of all...I was cold.


*And I was wearing wool socks to bed.  


*And I had the electric blanket on.


*And the Absurdly Gi-normous Kitty was snuggled up to me in bed instead of keeping to his own side.


*And sometime around midnight a gigantic, furry cannon ball landed on the bed, causing both of us to panic and make garbled choking sounds.


*It wasn't a cannon ball.  It was actually the Very Complicated Kitty coming in for a landing and demanding snuggle space.


*He never sleeps in the bed but, last night, he was there for the duration.  He is a whole lotta feline.


*I woke up contorted around cats and with far less bed space than I think I deserve.


*It is warmer today so I'm assuming I will be back to the One Cat Sleeping Program again.


*My Other Favorite Librarian had to come to the room today to deliver an overdue slip.


*Not for a kid.  For the Cheerful Teaching Assistant.


*At that moment, I revealed my inner Library Nerd before I could stop myself.


*I do not have overdue library books.  My books come back in a timely fashion or with a heartfelt apology should they be late.  The library is for all of us and we are darned lucky to have it.  We should regard it as a privilege, not some sort of God-given right!!!


*The school librarian loves me.


*But even she acknowledges that I'm a little bit geeky.


*Speaking of books, I'm still powering through the Kitty Norville series with great gusto.


*Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand (Kitty Norville, Book 5)...done!


*Kitty Raises Hell (Kitty Norville, Book 6)...done!


*Kitty's House of Horrors (Kitty Norville, Book 7)...not done.  But close.


*These are quick reads and the character seems to be getting a bit better developed as I go along.  


*Plus they are great time killers while I wait out some of the books the publishers keep promising they will deliver.


*Kitty Goes to War (Kitty Norville, Book 8) is up next.


*Unless I get sidetracked by Dark War: A Matt Richter Novel (Matt Richter Novels).


*Good old fashioned dark humor and might be a nice distraction from the werewolf drama for a while.


*Can't help but think of summer reading at this point, but I hate to let myself start dreaming about that.


*Still have a ways to go.


*Best line of the week thus far comes to you courtesy of Mr. Assistant Principal.  One can assume he is as done with his staff as we are with the school year.  I don't think this little slice of my day requires any further explanation:

"I am hanging up now."

*I don't blame him.  I'd hang up on me, too, if I were the boss of me.  I'd probably never even take my call in the first place.


*Second best line of the day, also courtesy of Mr. Assistant Principal:

"I am TOO paying attention!  I am looking right AT you!"

*He was not looking right at me.  He was looking right through me to Mr. Principal who he wanted to join him in signing promotion certificates so he could finally leave the school and not have to pretend to pay attention to needy teachers such as myself.


*I do not think I was wrong to point that out but others may have differing opinions.


*This is a very long school year...


We are all just doing what we have to do to get by, I guess.  Apparently, I've chosen to do this by becoming the Commander In Chief Of The Righteous Library Brigade and annoying the man who could get me fired with just a few well-chosen words.  I'm not sure how this is working as a coping strategy, but I can't really think of anything else.  It will have to do.

And rest assured, I will never joke about going to school until August...

SA