Early American Battle Tactics

It's probably apparent that I like alluding to things (usually movies) and seeing if anyone can figure it out. On occasion, however, I like alluding to things that my audience will not only never figure out, but also never notice that I've slipped something in.

Case in point: My letter to my new students.

In this letter I included some information about what books I am reading and what I like to do in my spare time. Can anyone figure out what I am subtly alluding to that none of my students will ever notice or figure out?

In my spare time, I enjoy reading all sorts of books. Right now I am reading a book about early American battle tactics and recently finished one about a teenage super-spy. I enjoy keeping up a blog so that my friends and family know what’s happening in my life. When I’m not writing blog entries, I like to quilt and play ultimate frisbee both of which are great ways to unwind. I also enjoy writing poetry and reading friends and family member’s blogs.

Pictastory: The day I fixed the dishwasher

Since it takes me almost a whole week to generate enough dishes to warrant using the dishwasher, I usually wash my dishes by hand. I still use the dish washer, but as the dish drainer. It holds a lot more and doesn't clutter the counter. I know previous roommates have had differing opinions on the process, but I like it.

There are time when there is justification for using this machine--as long as it is working. I don't remember what the occasion was, but some of my Utah roommates and I wanted to use the dishwasher and it wasn't working. The water would not drain from the bottom of the thing causing stinking standing water.

Not willing to pay someone else to fix it unless I absolutely had to, I undertook to figure it out myself. As you can see from the picture, I pulled out the washer and fiddled with the tubing underneath. I managed to unhook a bunch of things before discovering that the problem was a plastic tie that jammed the fan and could be removed without pulling the dishwasher out. Oh well. I'm guessing that the candles were there to alleviate the smell generated by standing water. Savvy, on the other hand, was no help at all. I tell you, cats these days!

It's a Wonderful Life

If you are a regular reader of this random blog, you will know that a couple of weeks ago my sister came down to visit and spent one afternoon and night at my place. (She stayed longer than that, but we all went to her in-laws place.) It's always wonderful to share my own space with someone, but especially with my sister and her kids.

After the initial hugs and kisses and moving things in, we all hopped in the car and went to visit the farm I farm-sat for. My niece had gotten to see all the pictures and videos when I posted them--if she drank all her milk for the day at least--and enjoyed them. It was even better in real life. We saw the baby goat who drank all her milk, the cows who make funny noises, the chickens and where they lay their eggs, the garden, the cats and dogs, and the pigs. (I never really talked about the pigs before because I didn't have to do anything for them since their food and water is automated.) We even picked black berries and beans--which were eaten on the spot--and tomatoes.

We headed home to dinner. My niece and nephew made short work of the living room and soon there were dominoes everywhere. They loved it. They got to take baths in Aunt Elizabeth's bath tub and climb/crawl up and down the stairs (it was my 10-month-old walking nephew's first experience with stairs he could use himself with supervision).

At some point in the evening, while my sister was doing something with the baby, my niece and I headed over to the small park in my development. The weather was perfect and had been all afternoon. As we were walking over, my niece said with complete awe in her voice, "This is a wonderful place." She said it a couple of times, actually.

I've thought a lot about that over the last few weeks. And it's true. I do live in a wonderful place. From her almost three-year-old perspective, it had been an amazing afternoon. I guess I had enjoyed it just as much as she did, but in my own way. It's just that in her innocent wisdom, she recognized what she had in all it's goodness and glory and said so. What an example!

So here I am, stating for the world that I live in a wonderful place. I have a wonderful life. I have more blessings than I can count and certainly more opportunities to serve than I take. The title probably doesn't count as an allusion since it's a title itself, but it is one of my favorite movies and illustrates the need to actively see and communicate the positive things in life.

Thanks to Jimmy Stewart and my niece for reminding me to see life in all it's wonderful glory.

Fastidious: excessively particular, critical, or demanding

Along with the new school year, a new principal, and a new curriculum, I am also getting a new classroom. You would think that I would be more concerned about the new Language Arts Enhancement class I will be teaching in addition to regular Language Arts, but no; it's all about color and walls.

In an effort to dress up my classroom, I have various blue and red patterned cloth swagged around the top of my classroom walls. I think it's fun and the star/solar system pattern works in nicely with our team's name: Stars.

My new classroom had two walls painted a very nice sea green; let me emphasize that correctly--a VERY NICE sea green. But sea green with a stars and stripes color scheme? I don't think so. I seriously lost sleep over the very thought.

The next morning I stopped by Home Depot for some color samples before heading to school to pack up books. On my way home for lunch, I picked up a nice light blue and with some help from a friend (Thanks Kristine!) I got a first coat on. Later that evening, the second coat went up and I was done for the week. It was my last week of summer vacation and I committed to stay away from school until my first contract day. Did I have a lot of work to do on curriculum? You bet! Did I do anything about it? No Way! But, my classroom will look great!

So here's the question: Does the title fit?

Oh where oh where have my dominoes gone?

No, I haven't lost my marbles, just the dominoes. My sister recently came to visit with my niece and nephew. They spent one night with me before we all headed down to her in-laws for the week. I don't have many kid toys--my collection includes one toy truck--so my sister pulled out the dominoes since they play with those at home, too. It was all good. My niece shared them with the cats hiding underneath the couch and made lines of them on the window seal. After the kids went down, my sister gathered them all up and put them away.

Later in the week, we ended up stopping by my house for dinner to break up the drive home from the beach. They pulled out the dominoes and had fun scattering them about. We ate quickly so we could be back for bed time.

The visit ended and I came back home where there were a few, but only a few, dominoes scattered around the house. I picked up a couple and went to put them in box, but the box was empty. Where were the dominoes? I looked under the couch where the cats had been hiding. I looked behind the chair where my niece had hidden once. I couldn't find them anywhere.

I continued on with my chores which included remaking the bed in the sewing room. There I saw this:
My niece had put the majority of the dominoes into the wooded basket (a gift from my brother and sister-in-law) and put it under the sewing desk.
The irony is that they were in the same place I found my missing box. From now on, I think I'm going to look under the sewing desk when I can't find something.

Pictastory: Cat in a Box

My cats are pretty silly which is a good thing considering how often I have to take cat hair out of my eye or clean up a hairball off the carpet. One of their antics is that they love getting into boxes, bags, baskets, anything that is small and confined. I bought them cute little cat tents and fluffy liners for boxes, but they seem to prefer the straight up box and one that's not intended for them. Most recently, Sambo decided to hang out in the empty pint jar box while I was working on tomatoes. Here's Savvy in a bag:

Sambo and Savvy hanging out in baskets:
And Sambo, hiding out in an empty water bottle box with the plastic still on.Thank goodness for the laughs!

Beans, Tomates, and Peaches

Between the two gardens I "sat" for I was able to pick enough beans to can almost two dozen pints. Now I know that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but for my first time canning by myself, I'm satisfied. I grew up helping my mom can doing things like snapping beans, pealing and cutting pears and peaches, juicing tomatoes, etc. What I didn't help with was the actual processing part. So when I got ready to can this summer, I had no problem with this part:
I watched Jane Eyre while I snapped beans. It brought back many childhood memories. When I got to this part:I was glued to the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. I did everything it said to. I started out with a small pressure cooker which holds three pints, but eventually made it to my large one that will hold seven pints. I had never used the large pressure cooker before and was a little nervous about it. Eventually, however I made it here:

I did have almost 5 pints NOT seal which was discouraging, but my rate of success did increase as I went along.

After the beans, I also juiced tomatoes to make juice and canned some whole ones for sauces. Through Freecycle, I picked up a juicer that had hardly been used. I couldn't believe my luck. I first used it to de-seed raspberries (see picture), but later used it to juice the tomatoes. I keep trying to get a water bath canner or a steam canner on Freecycle as well, but no luck yet. I was able to borrow a water bath canner until I can find one in my price range (i.e. free).
Next I canned peaches with my sister and her mother-in-law. My goal was to do those on my own also, but whose to argue when people want to help.

My next project is pears which are currently sitting in my fridge for the recommended time. My goal is to take them out of the fridge to let them ripen so that they are ready to can on Labor Day. Good luck to me on that one.

At the end of it all, no matter how many jars seal or don't seal (by the way, everything I've water bathed has sealed), I've learned something new this summer. It's exciting, refreshing, and a great boost to my self-esteem. If I can can beans, I can take on a new batch of 7th graders, right?