Lovely Springy Sunshine

I can't believe how lovely it has been this week. Sunny every day. Temps in the high 60's (and not humid yet!). The itty bitty purple crocuses (croci?) are popping up all over people's front lawns and along side the roads. Buds are starting to form on the trees. My little lemon tree is all decked out in luscious smelling flowers. I think I'll bring along some east coast spring to mingle with the west coast spring next week when I travel to my homeland.

Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to do much with gardening this summer. I realized that I could plant seeds and grow seedlings, build beds and set it all up, but will be gone so much out west that I wouldn't be around for preening, pruning, cooing, picking and enjoying the fruits of my labours.

What to do next year

"What are your plans for next year?" he asks.

I don't know. I guess I've been in denial that there will be a next year here. The thing is, I don't know how long we'll be here at all. That makes it hard to plan. If I do go through with the tedious and expensive tests that I still need (3 of them for CT), and get my credential here, is it worth it? Will we move in 2 years, or 3 years or 4 years? Do I want to go through setting up a classroom (the time, energy and expense) for just a year? or 2? Then have to do it all over again wherever we end up in the long run?

I can't stay at home being a craft mom/substitute for much longer. I'm getting bored. I'm going to deplete my savings at some point. There are days when I don't see any other humans except Chris.

Could I even get a teaching job if I tried? If I don't, then my skills as a teacher are also diminishing and I'm becoming less and less attractive to my future school settings. I'm just not at all invested in Connecticut. Any aspect of it. Waaaah waaaah.

Home Sick

Have been quite home sick for California and friends for the past few days. But I'll be there for an extended visit soon enough. It really helped to have dinner and play a game of Settlers with some new friends (a husband and wife who like mountains and traveling and crafting). Why does it seem that all people with whom I connect are from the Bay Area?

Today was a bread making class with two women from Chris' lab. I liked them too. And FINALLY maybe we'll get some decent bread (home made may be the ONLY place to get whole wheat crusty bread).

An excursion to the Bahamas

The hummer we were searching for. I got to be the photographer this trip! Fun! This little guy was a good model.
Fancy hummer in a lovely setting. The island we were on was amazingly colorful. The weather spectacular. The food delicious (when I could get things besides seafood). Here are a few shots . . .Really, Jozz, you should get on FB to see many more photos! These are only a couple.

Subbing Isn't Half Bad.

It's only 1/3 bad. Not much adult human interaction. Teachers, at least the ones here, aren't very interested in getting to know subs. Or maybe it's the plethora of little gold crosses dangling from most necks that puts me off so as not to attempt to get to know them. I don't know, but the actual subbing is much better that I'd expected. I kind of like that I don't have things to take home. I like that I can leave school at 3:45. I like that I can get up one day and say, "I don't feel like going to work today!" and not go, and not have any consequences.

Schools in CT seems to being doing something right. It sort of reminds me of when I went to school. Most districts are NOT using a (horrible, awful, uninteresting, cumbersome, ineffectual) standardized text for reading/writing/math. They actually still have P.E., music, computers, science, and recess, AND still have time/money to cover the basic academic cores. They even still have school nurses and libraries!

What is throwing me off (or should I say "uuuuuooff"), is the awful CT accent that even the littlest kiddies have already acquired. Too bad, they were so cute until they opened their mouths!

Boston!

We went to Boston for Halloween weekend.

Spurred on by the prospect of Morris related festivities in the Boston area, we headed north. I dropped CC off with his friends from Berkeley, and I headed to an unknown morris gathering in Somerville. Red Herring and, uh, another group, did a Samain dancing, complete with Halloween type songs, some familiar dances/tunes, audience inclusive dances and a silent labyrinth walk (after an "anti-morris" walk led by a horse head and dancers in silent blacks). Kinda interesting to see a silent morris dance. Still, I have permanent bells in my head, so that accompanied the visuals. They invited me in on a stick dance I'd not done before, and also the mass Tinner's Wabbits. Fun! Inclusive! Groupy! Morrisy!

After, we all did a Mummers play for a mile or so, tromping through the fabulous mounds of Autumn leaves, past the kiddies in scary costumes and the very festivility purveyed houses (made those words up I think), all under the haunting full moon.

But that's not all! The evening continued with song and food. The Single Malt Song Society invited me along (I partaked in the song, but not the SM). And we sang beautiful and fun and harmonious songs like at home! Though I didn't actually know most of these songs, I joined in as best I could, and even sang Sheap Shearing before I left (some there knew it and helped me!). Though I was the only one to do the Abigail harmony part . . . it was fun, though I still didn't feel like a part of the group.

I DO like that Boston has a variety of morris teams, and they are social with eachother, doing fun morrisy things. Boston is a bit far though, 2+ hours is kind of far to drive on a regular basis.

Sunday was Boston proper. Oooooollllddd cemeteries, churches, Charles River with sailboats a float, funny accents, people playing Quiddich in the Boston Common park! and Leaves!! everywhere. see some pretty photos. I made leaf art too. You know, I LOVE walking, more like frolicking, through the deep crispy crumply fluffy piles of leaves!

Such beautiful friends

Thank you!
I love the photos.
i love the earrings.
i love the wooden egg thingys.
I love the buckeye.
I love the persimmon seeds.
I love the naked people postcard.
I love you guys!