Goodbye 2012

Stole this from J.S.C. on FB. I don't know where she got it. 

You weren't a bad year. There were some really good times, some great trips and fun with family and friends. Looking back I didn't share as much of you with the blog as I did with 2011 and 2010. Sorry about that, but it felt as if I was really busy, but I didn't have much to say. I shared more with my scrapbook albums instead.

Looking ahead to 2013 (which begins in less than 90 minutes on the West Coast) I can hope for health and wisdom. Beginning the year with a broken foot seems to negate that first wish, but I look forward to ditching the crutches by the end of January. Wisdom takes many different forms. I have some tentative plans which, God willing, will come to fruition. If they don't, then....we'll see what 2014 brings.

Christmas

Here's a few photos from our holiday.

Christmas on Crutches

Yep. One last outing for a few last-minute things, trip over a curb and spend 3 hours in Urgent care yesterday. The final verdict after peering at the x-rays: a small fracture in my left foot. That means crutches for the next 4-6 weeks. It's not painful, but it's really, really inconvenient. I hated crutches 20 years ago, and I hate them now!

What I know to be true.....

Tonight I was blog surfing, and one link led me to another, and another and finally I found this:



Sarah Kay performed her spoken word poetry at the 2011 TED Conference. It's well worth the 18 minutes of watching time. But for those who don't wish to/or don't have time to watch, Sarah is a poet and a teacher. She assigns lists to her students, and those lists become poems.

So....This is what I know to be true right now:

Teaching middle school is hard.
I don't think I'm very good at it.
I'd go back to teaching high school in a heart beat.
Winter Break will be too short
January is a crappy month
I don't want to have a birthday in February.
I don't want to be "that" old.
Life has not gone according to plan
That makes me sad.
I'm working on acceptance.
Maybe someday I'll get there.

Tree 2012

It's a little bigger than last year. Okay...a lot bigger than last year.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is the official holiday season kick-off for our family. From here until New Year's it pretty much full throttle with plans activities.

Mom and I spent Wednesday making desserts. I found a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake, which turned out really well. Then we had the traditional pumpkin pie, apple pie and cocoanut cream pie.

Thanksgiving dinner was at my sister's again this year. We had a great afternoon: family, food and football. It's always nice to catch up and not worry too much about what comes next.

Black Friday actually began on Thursday. We were coming back from dropping my aunt and uncle at their home, and since some of the stores were open, we stopped and picked up a few things. We then caught a couple hours of sleep and were back at it by 4:30 am. Some of my shopping is done! And since we didn't want left overs for dinner, we had Chinese.

Saturday the weather was crummy. It rained, so we stayed home and watched football. The Civil War game was disappointing, but enough about that.

Sunday, we bought our Christmas trees! It's the third year we've bought them from my 8th grade math teacher. His prices are very reasonable. And somehow, I ended up with a much larger tree than I anticiapted.  I really had to rearrange the furniture in my living room to make it fit.

Election Beef

I hate the media coverage of election returns. In my opinion it's really stupid to speculate if someone has won an election when only 2% of the precincts have reported. Seriously?!

In addition, I think the electoral collage is out dated and useless. Maybe I would feel different if the electoral votes weren't cast until after a state's popular vote is reported. That would at least make sense. But if the electoral college is going to be the deciding factor of the presidential election, why do the people bother to vote? Maybe 223 years ago this was a great idea, but realistically most voters in 2012 are well informed and are perfectly capable of letting their vote speak for themselves.

October Birthdays: Mom & Lys

My mom's birthday occurs (usually) when my dad is off elk hunting. This year was no different. We celebrated with cake and presents just before he left. Dad made spaghetti and the cake. Sometimes we forget he really can cook!

A week later, we celebrated Lys' birthday with pumpkin ice cream cake from Cold Stone. 

Walnuts!

Once upon a time my father brought home an English walnut seedling. It was bird planted off of my grandparents' tree. That little seedling grew up over the next 30+ years and every year at this time it drops nuts. Lots of nuts.

Walnuts are messy and they require some work. On Sunday, Mom and I gathered, washed and put out to dry almost 6 gallons of walnuts. They were added to the stash my parents had already gathered. And this will keep going for a another week or two. Luckily, the family likes walnuts, and Mom will used almost all of them.

Central Oregon

And one last weekend of sun. Our warm Indian summer is over here in Oregon, and the rain blew in. The family spent the weekend in Sisters. We ate our last meals alfresco, and played in shirt sleeves.

I am Franklin....

I'm particiapting in a 31 day Monster Smash event. Smash books are a new memory keeping thing. You can buy special Smash Books, but I made my own out of a composition book, some ribbon and duct tape, the pretty colorful rolls.

Anyway, this creative endeavor is posted on Kristin's blog. One of the challenges was to discover which Peanuts character is most like you. You can find the quiz here. Bottom line, I am most like Franklin. Who knew?

Around Here....

Last week Ali Edwards urged her 52 Creative Lifts newsletter readers to think about what's going on "around here." So I thought I'd give it a try.

Loving.. taking yoga at 8:00 pm. It's been a great way to wind down and I'm finding that on those nights I'm sleeping better and much more energetic the next morning. Next week, the late class goes candlelight. I'm really looking forward to trying that.

Pondering... how to keep myself motivated at school. Fall can be difficult and this is yet another year of changes. I'm in the same building, same classroom, but we've changed the schedule and while I'm enjoying shorter periods with the kids (I've picked up my teaching tempo), adding another period to the day really wears me out.

Transitioning... my wardrobe. I left for school today in capris, sandals, and a coat. You have to love the fall days in Oregon with temperature swings of 40 degrees. But seriously, I do love this weather, and I'm going to enjoy it as long as possible.

Planning.... some time spent with my mom this weekend; family and friends during the next couple weeks. And if all goes according to hopes, a little road trip before the crazy holiday season kicks in. I'm also looking ahead to next summer and the trips it will bring.

Enjoying.... the reemergence of creativity. This year I've attempted to get back on the creative band wagon. For too long, I've been stuck in a rut. I've was really into Project Life before being gone for a month and since then I've lost my focus. I had a great time at the crop last weekend. I need to schedule those more often even though the time to put together kits and layouts takes time. If I don't do that, I take way too much or way too little with me.

Contemplating.... some life changes in the next year. With a birthday coming up in a few months, I want to make some changes. There are so many possibilities. And isn't that a cliffhanger.... :)

Watching... TV. I'm happy some of my old favorites are on (NCIS, CSI: New York, Sons of Anarchy to name a few) and checking out some of the new shows (Elementary, Last Resort). I've also still have so much recorded on the DVR that needs to be watched. Plus, it's College Football Season. Go Beavs! Go Griz!

Eating.... apples. Mom and Dad had a bumper crop of apples this year. I've made applesauce (three times), apple salad, apple cake, and on Monday Mom gave me an apple pie. I've tried to scale back my Pepsi consumption. I'm missing that, because I really love it. But it really isn't a breakfast food, right?

Remembering.... a former co-worker from the bookstore days who has passed away. She was smart and funny. And she God called her way from her husband and little boys way too soon. RIP Nat G.

Currently... it's past time I should be heading to bed, but the Kitter is sacked out on my lap and I can't move without waking him up.

First Day of Fall

I spent the first day of Fall in a meeting. It was a good meeting, but the weather was gorgeous and I would rather have been outside.

This meeting was held in Hood River, and since sitting a meeting would be followed by sitting in the car for a couple hours, I took the time to stop at Multnomah Falls on the way home and get a little walk in.

Multnomah Falls is the fifth highest waterfall in the United States. And up until a certain casino was built, it was the number one tourist destination in Oregon. It's still incredibly popular. Today I took time to walk to the bridge before having an ice cream cone. Someday I need to go back and climb all the way to the top.

Week 3

Of school has begun and I'm really missing silence. Eighth graders are noisy, and I'm noticing that this age group is not comfortable with silence. If I had to hypothesize why, I'd guess that it has a great deal to do with living in an overstimulated world. I understand it's the world we live in, but I can't help but sometimes miss the unplugged world that I grew up in.

Music Festival

I spent this past weekend at the Willamette Country Music Festival. This year's lineup was awesome! We saw...

Pam Tillis

Rodney Atkins

Sugarland

Lee Brice

Billy Currington

Martina McBride

Jana Kramer

The Band Perry

Trace Adkins

Solo Boston - Day 2

Today was my second solo day in Boston. I decided to take it easy, and sort of made it difficult. I didn't plan very well, so I spent some time retracing my steps.

I slept in so my day started a bit later than yesterday. I took the T into the city and walked over to the Paul Revere House. It was interesting, and they have big plans for the future. As I was walking back down Hanover street I stopped in for lunch at Piccola Venezia where I had cheese ravioli with marinara sauce. It was very yummy.

From the restaurant I wandered over to the King's Chapel, then the Granary Burial Ground. Boston Common, and then into the Boston Public Garden. I decided to take part in a Boston tradition, and rode the Swan Boats and took pictures of the Make Way for Duckling statues.

My next stop was the Boston Public Library. It's beautiful.

I had planned on walking the Black Heritage Trail, but only made it part way. I got a bit sidetracked when I ran across the sign for Louisa May Alcott's Boston homes. And at that point my feet were done, and back to the hotel I did go.

Solo Boston - Day 1

I padded this trip with a couple extra days to do some solo exploring and that is what I did today. I started with an early trip out to Brookline to visit the John F. Kennedy Birthplace. The Kennedy's lived in this house from 1914-1920 when they were expecting their fifth child. Jack was three at the time. The house tour was very interesting, and really gave some insight into the family dynamics.

From Brookline I took the T back into Boston and walked through Boston Common before it got too warm. Then I wandered back to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market for a slice of pizza. Then I caught the water shuttle near the aquarium out to the Charlestown Navy Yard.

The Navy Yard is the home of the USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides"). Since the ship is still an active military vessel, you have to present photo identification and walk through a metal detector. When I got there in the early afternoon, it was a fairly quick process. When I left, there was a rather long line.

The ship is pretty cool. She's the oldest ship in the Navy, having been commissioned in 1797. Her service in the War of 1812 is being commemorated until 2015.

After touring the ship I visited the USS Constitution Museum. It's really good, and has some great hands on activities for kids.

Then I took a ranger led tour to the Bunker Hill Monument. It was really interesting, but I declined to climb the 292 steps inside the obialisk. It was just not going to happen in today's heat and humidity. Instead I booked back down to the harbor to catch the boat back to downtown Boston.

I then spent some time wandering the shops to haul stuff home for the family, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Quincy

Goodbye to Concord. I hauled my bags to the depot and took the train back to Boston this morning. The weatherman predicted rain, but it didn't happen.

Since I arrived at my hotel too early to check in, they were happy to hold my bags so that I could do some exploring. I walked back to the subway and took the red line to Quincy Center where the Adams National Historic Park is located. I have to say I have visited many NPS sites, but I really liked this one.

At the visitor's center I paid for my tour, but had to wait for about an hour. There was plenty of time to wander across the street to the United First Parish Church (Unitarian) to see the crypts of John & Abigail Adams and John Quincy & Louisa Catherine Adams.

The trolley takes you out to the birthplaces of both presidents. John Adams was born in this house.

John Quincy Adams in this one.

The trolley then takes you to the Old House, where John & Abigail lived at the end of their lives, and was occupied seasonally by family members until 1926. When it was turned over to the government in 1946, it was left intact by the family.

One of my favorite things about the house was the library. Unfortunately, you can't take photos inside. This was built specifically for John Quincy Adams' books. It's not an "official" presidential library only because the Adams' papers are not stored here. They are at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Last Day

Today we visited the Old Manse, home to both the Emersons and the Hawthornes (at different points in time). Aside from the house tour, we spent a time discussing another revolution; that of the 19th Century authors who were centered in Concord.

I had the opportunity to play (just a bit...I don't play often and have very little memorized) an 1860's vintage Steinway parlor grand piano that was owned by the Emerson family.

We then treked to Sleep Hollow Cemetery. I'm glad I visited earlier. It was a bit crowded with all of us.

This afternoon many of us visited Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott and the place where she wrote Little Women. Louisa had a very interesting life. I'm going to have to go back and reread her books.

Minute Man Park - Day 2

We returned to Minute Man Park again today. The most interesting part was a discussion and tour led by Brian Donohue about the landscape in the Battle Road Farms area. It was really interesting to see how the colonists rearranged and managed the land and water resources to work for them.

We revisted the Hartwell Tavern for a writing workshop and historical investigation. That was really good.

This evening we had an 18th Century culminating meal at the Noah Brooks Tavern accompanied by 18th Century music. They were fabulous, and dinner was really good.