It’s back to work I go…..

But first, here are some pictures from our brief trip to the Finger Lakes:  Heron Hill Winery, bottle holder with “bling”, a waterfall in Glenora that is in someone’s back yard (wouldn’t that be cool?), a french chateau vineyard (can’t remember the name, and that was early in the trip), and, grapes on the vine!

Back to last week:

Monday:  School work in the morning, school starts and I’m starting to panick.  Will I be ready?  I then took the afternoon off to start working on signs for Gary’s campaign.  They are going to be sooooo coooooool!  Donna is the genius behind these.  I am simply the apprentice who “obeys” instructions.

Tuesday:  First day of school, a conference day.  It was nice to have Dr. Mack back, he has such a great sense of humor and is so warm and fuzzy!  We are going to need this with all the changes occurring:  APPR, SLO’s, Common Core, ….  Yikes!  The afternoon was spent pulling our rooms together, thank god!  I think I can do this!  Back at home, more sign work.

Wednesday:  School!  First day with kids, and all went well.  It was good to be back.  At home, working on the signs.

Thursday:  School again, good day, interesting students.  Finished the signs.  Yes!!!!

Friday:  School day, changed my plans a little and I loved the lesson – Why Is The World The Way It Is?  This is a good beginning, we are developing “Big Questions” to post around the room and answer as we go through the year.  I’m hoping this will connect the kids to the value of studying history.  The evening was spent with an old friend.  It was great!  I hiked it up to Cobleskill immediately following work and then had a chance to watch the Quarter Horse show before it was over.  My friend, Pam Scott, from Florida, formerly from Michigan, was judging.  When she was done, we went to dinner at the Tory Tavern in Schoharie and had a lovely meal and a great time reminiscing.  I haven’t seen her in about fifteen or so years, so we had a lot to catch up on.  Pam was my horse trainer when I was a kid and drove me all over the country showing horses.  I was a little pain in the ass, and she made me tow the line and taught me a lot.  Thanks in part to her, I am who I am!

 Saturday:  Spent campaigning at the Hanford Mills Museum, engine show.  A storm rolled in around 3:00 and closed it down.  The rest of the evening was spent recuperating from the week and learning to use the new Ipad I received from the school.  I can’t wait to use it in class!  This will be fun!!!!!

Final picture:  Sunflowers purchased from the Donnelly farm in Hamden.

It is back to school this week. Last week was, as usual, very busy. First we moved Katie back to college in Granville, Ohio. It is such a cute little town and here are some pictures of the street fair, Katie and Clay, a very cute dress made of newspaper, and one of the old inns in town.

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On the drive out to Ohio I did school work for about 3-4 hours.
Saturday: On to Michigan to visit the folks.
Sunday: Visit with grandma, she will turn 99 next month! Afterwards, we head for New York.
Monday: A night spent in the Finger Lakes touring the vineyards of Seneca Lake.  Too many wineries, not enough time!
Tuesday: Back home and a couple more hours of school work.
Wednesday: Preparing to go back. Dermatologist appointment in Kingston – must they always make you wait forever? Then it was a quick trip back to the Catskills, picked up Gary and arrived way too late at the Eckert Auction in Delancey.
Thursday: First official day of school! It was a conference day so naturally, it was quite boring and only somewhat productive. The community picnic to celebrate a year of survival after Irene, was held at the school. It was very well attended and Gary was interviewed at the following:  http://vimeo.com/48636557

Friday: Most of the day was time spent working, plus I painted Donna’s front door for her.
Saturday: We went to the Farmer’s Market, then on to Roxbury for a street fair. It was very entertaining and Gary shook a lot of hands. Dinner was at the Moriarty’s and Cleveland Chili was served. It was excellent! Look under “Skyline Chili” for the recipe.  Here is one from Cooks, but the beans are served on the side along with chopped onions, shredded cheddar, and sour cream.  Yummy!

SKYLINE CHILI (Original Recipe)

3 lbs. lean hamburger, don’t brown, chop up) 2 qts. water 2 lg. onions, chopped 2 (16 oz.) kidney beans 29 oz. can tomato sauce 1/2 tsp. allspice 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 1/2 tsp. ground cloves 4 tbsp. chili powder or more 2 tbsp. vinegar 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate squares 1 1/2 tsp. salt 4 drops Tabasco sauce In an 8 quart kettle combine hamburger, water and onions; simmer for 30 minutes. Then add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 or 3 hours, uncovered. Serve with steamed buns, hot dogs, onions and cheese or serve over spaghetti noodles, onions and cheese. Makes 6 pints.

Sunday: I spent a couple hours in the morning, once again, working on lesson plans then it was back on the campaign trail. The first stop was Bovina Farm Days. It was very nice and well attended. Then we traveled over to West Kortright to the fair they were holding. It was a great setting and a very eclectic group of people. Finally we turned back home for some rest and relaxation. Though there wasn’t much of that, Gary brush-hogged the side pasture and I, of course did a couple more hours of school work! Also, we spoke to all four kids today!  That has to be a record.