I'm Baaaaaack!

I've been in a blogging funk. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I've gotten sucked into the national sour mood. I'm fortunate to be employed in a job I love, but unless you've been under a rock, you know that education has been a hot topic in the news these days. The message is that public schools are bad, public school teachers are lazy and don't give a shit about kids, charter schools are good and the Teach for America volunteers who agree to teach for 2 years with only 5 weeks training will save America's schools. I read that I my job performance should be evaluated by the gains in test scores of elementary kids who have no incentive to do well on said tests or who face no consequences for not doing well. There are those who feel that my salary should be determined by those same test scores. Given that I teach in a school that is 92% minority, 65% free and reduced lunch, and at least a third who don't speak English, I find the rhetoric to be depressing. Those of us who do what I do understand that this is all about political spin, saving money and ultimately privatizing public education. Hopefully no major changes will occur in my district until I retire in 2016. Our state superintendent, however, has other ideas. Keep in mind that this is a woman who probably hasn't been in a classroom in 40 years. The legislature is keeping her in check however and some major decisions now rely on the governor to make some choices. Hopefully he will use basic common sense and read some research pertaining to the issues he has to decide on.

Enough of my rant! I've been busier than ever at school as I lost a planning period and gained another class which is a new prep. However I have this to look forward to:

Mmmmmm. . . . MadelineTosh!

The green merino light is currently being used for a sweater. The brown on the left will be another sweater. The two singles--blue merino light and red sock will be shawlettes.

Speaking of shawlettes--Here are the two I recently finished:

 The first one is called Fan Dance and it is knit in Sanguine Gryphon Kypria which is a merino/bamboo blend.  It's simply delicious to knit with!  The second one is called Ruffle My Feathers and it is knit in Wollenstudio Sock yarn in Blue Bijou.

Here's another silly little project:

 

I loved the little iron on transfer so I decided to add it to a basic black tee!  

Other news--the kids have moved in together in the first floor apartment in Ems' building.  Her building is a gorgeous large house built around 1900.  They have the whole first floor and they enjoy some neat architectural details like oak paneled walls, ornate fireplaces, stained glass windows, 12 foot ceilings etc.

Kitty news--Samantha was diagnosed with cancer.  She had a little growth between 2 toes which we had removed.  The biopsy revealed it to be a slow growing cancer in the skin so in order to remove enough clean margin, she had to go back in to have half of her hind foot amputated.  She seems completely back to normal and hopefully we've seen the last of that!

Holiday time is fast approaching and I decided that my furry friends outside needed some help so I hung our squirrel feeder on the tree in the front yard.  The squirrels are rather comical to watch.  Sometimes there are 4 or 5 of them out there but only one at a time can get to the feeder.  They sit on a perch and open the top lid to get the food.  When the food gets low, some of them will go inside the feeder and when they hear a noise, the lid pops up as they poke their head out to investigate.  Well, apparently word has gotten out because the other night, a new friend was visiting:

 

DH was bothered by our new visitor and thought we should take the feeder down.  You know me--I thought he was cute and I welcomed him.  He cleaned out the feeder but he hasn't returned.  Perhaps he's found a better feast elsewhere.

This will be the first Thanksgiving without Jeremy.  He has to work Wed. night and Friday morning so he can't make it from the Burgh.  Ems is in the same situation so she may not make it either.  We're still waiting to find out.  I do have a good friend coming.  We hope to go see the new Harry Potter movie after dinner Thursday.

I plan on staying in on Black Friday.  I can think of no sale that would be worth putting myself through that madness.  That's what Ebay and Overstock.com are for!

I hope to be better about keeping up here.  I have a new blog project, however.  I was so depressed after the midterm election that I decided to try my hand at political humor.  You can find my alter ego at The Fake American.   Enjoy and be sure to leave comments!

Kitty Cam: The boys have been throwing hints with the weather getting colder.  They love the fireplace.

 

More on the way!

I wouldn't mind all this snow if MD had the manpower to keep up with it! Here are two pix from this morning. First the front porch (with is covered) after I shoveled 12 - 18 inches of snow off of it:

The snow on the ground is level with the porch which is 3 large steps up! It has melted a couple of inches because the snow stick is snowing a couple of inches!

Next is Big Green--our huge 1978 Mercury Marquis which sits at the back of the driveway. The raised deck is even with the snow.


One of my work colleagues posted this photo of our school:

The area to the left of the building is our parking lot--only you can't see it! Another storm is in the forecast starting tomorrow which is supposed to bring us 10 - 20 inches! Apparently it will bring blizzard conditions as well! Honestly I don't know why my school system doesn't just say that school will be closed the rest of the week. The neighborhoods aren't plowed yet! It's insane!

Meanwhile, I made it out to Trader Joe's to get more soy milk and cold cuts. I also picked up stuff to make broccoli cheese soup and managed to get another pound of espresso at Starbucks where the manager spotted me my venti latte for free!

We've held off on building fires during all this bad weather because we don't have a lot of wood left. There were a lot of power outages during the last storm on the weekend, many of which are still not fixed. We've been lucky but we figured we'd save the wood in case we lose power and need to heat our home with it. The wood burning stove insert in our fireplace puts out a lot of heat!

Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Kitty Cam: Samantha discovered my duffle bag before I could put it away.

Be careful what you wish for!

So I've been wishing for a nice snow since Thanksgiving. However this is not quite what I had in mind. I woke up to this:
About 10 inches or so. By 6 pm we had about 20 inches or more: The snow covers the first rail on the split rail fence and the cars are completely covered. I hope we can get it pretty well shoveled tomorrow. Unfortunately it is too deep for the snow blower.

I'm hoping that our school system has the courtesy to tell us Sunday night whether or not we will be closed on Monday. I suspect we may be closed all three days next week. Montgomery County is the worst about clearing local roads and the school system is the worst about being considerate of their employees. That's the way it goes! I planned ahead however and I packed my book bag with everything I would need to plan for Monday Jan. 4 just in case. I hate going in to school not being prepared it makes for bad lessons and bad student behavior. So I am always over prepared! I bugged out in a hurry on Friday because I needed to go to BJ's before my 5 pm massage appointment. We were out of kitty litter! I got the litter and some over the counter meds and I stumbled across this on one of the aisles:This will come in handy now! I had been looking at full length down coats last year when a friend of mine got a Michael Kors one at Filenes. Hers is a little more stylish but this one is by Anne Klein and it was only $59! I like that it has a 2 way zipper and has side zippers so I can loosen it up at the bottom. I typically don't wear down coats unless I 'm going to be outside for an extended time because I get too hot in them. I have outside bus duty and it gets pretty cold so this will come in really handy!

I've been a lazy slob today--staying in my pj's until dinner time. We had our traditional snow day dinner of Pasta e Fagiole with Parmesan Pepper Baguettes. Good stuff! Nothing like homemade soup on the stove on a cold day. I finally watched the 4 hours of "Sing Off." I'm typically not into the talent shows on TV but I couldn't resist one with a cappella groups! They've all been really impressive!

Gonna watch the Caps game and do a little Christmas knitting. Tomorrow we hope to decorate the tree!

Kitty Cam: Greg finally cooperated for his Christmas portrait!

It's that time of year!

Back to school! I will be a total wreck for the next two weeks. Don't get me wrong--I like my job for the most part. It's just that I am a total night owl! Typically over the summer I get into the habit of staying up until 3 and sleeping until 10. I was better this year. I was usually in bed by 1 and I got up between 8:30 and 9. That felt great. Now I have to get up at 6 am. The problem is that I will still end up going to bed around midnight. I just can't seem to break myself of that habit. It's worse in the winter when it's dark in the morning. My body rebels against getting up when it's dark! I'm thinking that I will alter my morning routine a bit this year. I tend to be a little leisurely in the morning, taking the time to check my email before I leave the house. I think I will just go to school and get there a half hour earlier which will allow me to leave a half hour earlier in the afternoon. The next trick will be actually leaving school on time. I think if I make myself leave on time, I won't waste a single minute at school. I'm getting too old to continue to work hours and hours of unpaid overtime. We gave up our cost of living raise this year and our workload increased so I'm thinking that I'm not feeling very compelled to donate more of my hours. People have come to expect us to do that and my profession has gotten in the habit of apologizing when they can't work additional hours for free. No more! I'll do the best job I can do, but when my day is over, I'm going home! That is my plan!

In the meantime, I've been trying to catch up on my summer wardrobe--now that summer's almost over! I made a silly little 50's style circular skirt with a Day of the Dead skulls print!


It's fun! I was going to line it, but there was just so much fabric that I didn't need to!

Last night I finished a dress. This is the same vintage pattern that I used for my red silk dress. I love this pattern so much that I decided to use a cotton for a dress I could wear to school. I did end up fully lining it with Bemberg Rayon.

I actually have 2 pairs of shoes that match this--the green ones in the photo and a pair of blue sandals with kitten heels.

I've already moved on to my next dress. I have 3 more to make. This one will be out of some vintage fabric that I found in my Mom's house. I believe my aunt brought it to her from some of her travels. It has hula girls, ukeleles etc. It took some planning to cut it out properly because the motifs are so large that I had to make sure they were placed appropriately. Who wants a large hot pink flower right on certain parts of one's body? If you know what I mean!

Other news--My secret pal sent me a package which was waiting for me when I returned from Boston. I thanked her privately but I wanted to thank her publicly. She sent me one of the books on my Amazon wish list. There are some really cute projects that I can use all my cotton scraps for! She also sent me a notions bag with a funny VanGogh keychain, some very nice stitch markers (can't have too many of those!), some note cards and--best of all--some fingerless mitts that she made!

Check out the mitts! I absolutely love them! They will go with so many of my clothes! I wear a lot of 3/4 length sleeves in the winter and these will be perfect with all those greens and browns that I wear!

I don't know what yarn she used, but it is incredibly soft and I simply love these mitts!
Thank you again, Secret Pal! You're the best!

Ems got a new tat! Check this out:

Is she her mother's daughter or what!!!

That's it for now! Sorry to be so brief! I have to attempt to get myself mentally prepared for the next 10 months!

Kitty Cam: Greg has been very clingy now that Mikey is gone. He inches up onto my lap whenever he gets the chance!

Is it June yet?

There's not a teacher in American who isn't asking that question! I've been feeling that way since February. I burned out earlier this year--probably because the current economic situation has vastly affected my job. Secondly, because the school system I work for is terribly misguided in many ways. That's another lengthy post for another day.

Now it is time to catch up! Hockey playoff season kept me busy--at least through the second round of playoffs when my beloved Washington Capitals were eliminated by the reviled Pittsburgh Penguins in game 7. I guess it just wasn't meant to be this year--but I would have preferred any team to the Pens. And now it looks like the Pens may win the Eastern Conference Championship which means I will actually have to cheer for the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup finals! That will be a first. DH says that you cheer for your conference. This is true unless my conference is being represented by the Pens! The DC area has some long lived rivalries. In football--it's Redskins vs. Cowboys. In baseball--it's the Orioles vs. Yankees. In hockey--it's the Caps vs. the Pens --with the Flyers being a close second! I will say that I was impressed with the class that the Caps fans showed in game 7 which was a home game. The final score was 6 - 2. All the other games had been close but this one was a total blowout. Still during the last minute of the game, the fans were on their feet cheering "Let's Go Caps!" They then gave their team a standing ovation at the end of the game. This is quite a contrast to the New York fan who threw trash on the ice when the Rangers lost a game. The Caps gave us a great ride this year! It can only get better!

I did very little knitting during the last few weeks. I have to finish my 2nd Musica mitt then I have a summer project that I hope to start:


I knew the minute I saw the cover of the newest Vogue Knitting magazine that I had to make that! I am also working on Sylvi which will be a very long term project --at least until I get to the back. All that seed stitch blows!

I also participated in a sewing swap! It was a pincushion swap where you were to make a pincushion and include some other goodies for your swapee! I chose to make a theme--gardening--specifically bees! I made these pincushions:




The beehive is made out of felted wool and the flower pincushion is made from a bottle cap and craft felt. The bee pins were done with a craft punch and shrink plastic. I also made a little bee bag:
This was adapted from a pattern in the book Omiyage. The original design was a cicada so I made a few changes! I also made some bee stitch markers and included some wildflower seeds and other goodies! I also received a lovely package from my swap partner:


I love the pincushion she made! It has a center compartment with all the little necessities--seam ripper, scissors, needles, and measuring tape. I decided to keep it on the end table in the family room which is where I do most of my mending.

I've been planning some summer sewing projects. I have a great piece of vintage fabric that I unearthed at my Mom's house when I was cleaning it out:

The fabric screams to be made into a 50's style halter dress. I had a pattern like that but decided that I wanted something I could wear to school. I will make the bottom right view but I will change the skirt. The pattern has a pleated skirt which doesn't work with this fabric in my opinion. I will do gathers and probably make it a little fuller. I will also fully line the dress.

The next project is another dress:

I will be making the bottom right view. The dress will be made with the black fabric. The little modesty panel and the skirt lining will be in the gingham.

The last dress I have planned is this:

I love this pattern and I have a similar vintage dress which doesn't fit. I fell in love with the Beatles fabric! I will probably add black piping to the bodice seams to bring out the details.

I need to get out in the garden. I've done nothing in that department. I hope to put some flowers in my front urns and get the hanging planters and deck planters done in the next week or so. My spring concert is this week so that will be keeping me extra busy!

That's about it for now!

Kitty Cam: This one is from Ems--Chelsea sits still long enough for a picture:

Bad Blogger!

I've been really bad! Funny how life just gets in the way sometimes. The last time I wrote anything was the day before my birthday! As I mentioned in that post, DH took me to a Caps game the weekend before for my birthday. On my real birthday we went to Timbuktu's for some famous Maryland Crab Cakes. He also gave me these:


Believe it or not, this was all I really wanted for my birthday! I mean, what do I need? For some reason, lately I've become really sensitive to onions, which I happen to cook with a lot! I only buy Vidalia onions, which in the past never bothered me. Now, my eyes burn and water and I end up looking like a raccoon with eye make up smudged all over my face. These suckers really work!

Friday of spring break, my friend Cat and I went to Annapolis where we walked around and browsed in all the neat little shops. We ate lunch at the 1747 Tavern on Church Circle. It is a tea room and it is quite lovely.


Easter weekend we ended up visiting the kids in the Burgh. Saturday evening we checked into the hotel then headed off to the Sharp Edge Creekhouse for dinner. Bird was working the bar and he waited on us. Unfortunately, we were missing the Caps game and we had to watch the Pens instead, relying on the updates during the intermissions. After dinner, we headed off to Sonny'swhere Ems was bar tending. She now has the Saturday night bar tending shift there. Sunday morning we went to mass at the Duquesne University Chapel with the kids and Joan. We met up at Bird's house where I was able to at least get a shot of Ems and Joan:


Note the college boy decor on the mantel! We then went to the Double Wide Grill in the Southside, one of our favorite places, for brunch. We headed home after spending a little more time with the kids.

Tuesday it was back to the old grind. I am totally burnt out this school year. The burnout comes earlier and earlier these days. There is so much pressure to improve test scores that nothing else matters. Kids are not getting a well rounded education anymore and when you teach poor kids, with limited life experiences to begin with, you really deprive them of some of the most valuable learning experiences. With the current economy, we have given up raises for next school year and we have been given a lot more work to do in the same amount of time. I've decided that I am going to more or less work to the rule next year. This means that I'm not staying late anymore. I will bring some things home, but I'm not working hours and hours of unpaid overtime. It galls me that that teachers are actually expected to do that.

Things are getting interesting around here. DH was laid off last week which is a major bummer. He will get 4 weeks of pay after which, we will find ourselves exhausting our savings. I'm just hoping that we won't have to go into our retirement accounts which have already lost about 40%. Needless to say, I didn't attend MD Sheep and Wool Festival this year!'

The high point for us has been the Caps! Not only are they in the playoffs, but they are now in Round 2! It is ironic that they are playing the Pens in round 2. They've never beat the Pens in any playoff round. Game 1 was yesterday and the Caps won! This series is really being hyped up. If you are a hockey fan, then you've read about the Ovechkin vs. Crosby rivalry. To that, I say this:


Kitty Cam: Mikey is on the Caps bandwagon!

The week that was. . .

This has been a crazy busy couple of weeks. First I had to get stuff together for the Homespun Yarn Party. Then ended up being a fun event! Even better was the fact that it was at Savage Mill which is right down the street from my house!

Also--My Etsy Shop is up and running. Right now I have listed all my project bags. These came about because I made some for my own personal use and then started giving them as gifts. People started asking for them. I have all my projects in their own little bag. They are perfect for small projects, but I find that I can fit an entire top down sweater along with a skein of yarn in mine so they are really quite versatile. I will be adding coordinating gadget rolls which is like a mini needle roll with 3 sections to hold your stitch counter, cable needles etc. I am also working on some cable needles which can be worn as pendants. I have designed one with a kitty shape (what else!) and the tail forms the cable needle. I hope to make a few out of bronze to see how they go as it is cheaper than sterling silver. I will expand to sterling and gold fill with gemstones.

I did finish my Opulent Raglan and I absolutely love it! Here's the photos:




Here are the details:
Pattern: Opulent Raglan by Wendy Bernard, from Knitscene Fall 2008
Size: XS
Yarn: Bristol Yarn Gallery King George in Chocolate
Needles: KnitPicks Options Size 5 and 6, Addi Turbo, size 6
Modifications: I had to add rows due to the fact that my row gauge was way off. I also added 4 stitches to each sleeve then added two addition decreases along with additional rows on the sleeve flounce.

I'm really happy with this sweater and I'm glad that it is cold enough this week that I will be able to wear it!

Today I will swatch for Sylvi. I am making it in bright red like the model in the photo. I will add pockets to the front and instead of buttons I will make leaf shaped frog closures. The front is just plain seed stitch and I think it needs something that ties it to the design on the back.

I chilled last night in front of cable TV. DH was at an SAR function. I finally saw Sicko. All I can say is "wow!" It's criminal what happens in this country in regard to healthcare. It was quite an eye opener to see how Canada, England and France manage to provide for everyone. One statement by a French official particularly struck me. He said "People pay according to their means and receive care according to their needs." Everything is paid for with taxes and one gets health care without paying a cent. Taxes are quite high in France, but college is free, healthcare is free, daycare is free. All workers get at least 5 weeks paid vacation and are granted additional paid vacation for life events such as marriage, moving etc. Full time employment in France is 35 hours a week. They still have rich and poor people as they are not a communist country. Another statement that I found interesting was "In France the government is afraid of the people. In American, the people are afraid of the government." Apparently the people protest publicly there and the government is terrified of that so they do what they can to prevent it. No wonder they are so laid back there? What was really upsetting was to see that in some places in our country, poor people who cannot pay their hospital bills are sometimes loaded in a cab and dumped on the street near missions in the ghetto where they may get a little help. How can this be? I could go on, but I won't. If you haven't seen Sicko, then by all means do so.

We have been in the throes of MSA testing last week and this week at school. Everything normal grinds to a halt. I've been helping with the testing in the 3rd grade and some of my classes were cancelled in order to do so. All non classroom teachers are pulled to help with accommodations for students who need them. I won't bore you here with my thoughts on this whole thing, but basing a school's performance level on grueling standardized tests are simply wrong. Some kids aren't able to show what they know in this particular format. It's just wrong.

Other news--Ems will be in the Roller Derby. She's psyched! She says it's like playing hockey except she can wear fishnets and make up! Here she is in her skates:

Spring arrived Friday at 7:44 a.m. according to our local meteorologist! So I will spend today putting away my snowmen and putting out bunnies, ducks and chicks! I have two weeks until spring break. We will probably visit the kids in Pittsburgh on Easter since they are working on Saturday.

That's about all for now!

Kitty Cam: Harley always finds the one little sunny spot to bask in.

There are a few good things about George Bush . . .

Is that the cutest thing or what? I've known that the Bush's had Scotties but the black kitty was a surprise. Unfortunately their kitty who was 18 years old died this week. I never pegged George as a cat guy. I think the kitty was more for the girls. There was a site that had a pic from Jenna's wedding with the girls holding kitty as well as several pics of Laura holding kitty. That Valentine photo is just dear. Here's another one that I found cute:


I also have a thing for Scotties. I had one for 16 years and they've always been my favorite breed of dog.

Today was a day for comfort food. I made meat loaf. My mom always made meat loaf, but I never liked it. Mom did not like highly seasoned food and she didn't cook with salt. I don't cook with salt, but I love a lot of seasoning. This meat loaf recipe has been a favorite in my family since I can remember. I got this recipe from a Sears Microwave cookbook from the 1970's. My parents were the first people I know that bought a microwave. The book that came with it had some good stuff! I've modified the original recipe a little by using ground turkey.

Our Favorite Meat Loaf

1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. cracker crumbs
2 pounds ground beef (I use turkey)
salt and pepper to taste (I omit the salt)

Combine tomato sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine meet, egg, onion, cracker crumbs, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture and blend thoroughly. Shape into an oval loaf and place in an oblong baking dish. Make a depression in the top of the loaf and pour the remaining tomato sauce over the top of the meat.

Cover with plastic wrap, leaving a corner to vent and cook at 60% power for 25 minutes.

If you prefer to cook the meat loaf in a conventional oven, you may cook it at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

This meat loaf hit the spot. I served it with Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes and fresh organic broccoli florets.

So I finally tried on Silken Scabbard to see how many hip increases I will need to do. It fits quite well and is really stretchy so I don't think I'll need to do as many increases as normal. I need to get crackin' on finishing it. Here's what I have so far:


I'm still adjusting to being back at school. The next few weeks will be quite busy as I have a winter concert coming up on the 29th and the grading period ends on the 23rd. My time will be consumed by grades and rehearsals.

Time is getting short for these:
Bushism of the day:
"Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." --George W. Bush, Charlottesville, Va., July 4, 2008

Kitty Cam: Harley is making his winter nest. He pulls down my bath towel and kneads biscuits on it by the radiator!