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.

Tuesday:  Was at school by 10:00, set up my room and started to pull together the materials I need to send to the printer.  APPR meeting at 1:00 and then back to my room to finish the print order.  Oh no!  It is 7:00 and I’m just finishing. 😦   It was dinner on your own tonight!

Wednesday: Time spent doing school work, no I’m not ready yet!  The afternoon was spent at Maggie’s resort with friends in Roxbury.  We floated in the pool and discussed our latest read for about 10 minutes, maybe!  Then a wonderful dinner of pulled pork and salad at the Moriarty’s.

Thursday (Appointment Day):  O-town for a hair appointment.  I have to keep the roots from showing!  Then an appointment with Ryan’s truck that took alllllll afternoon.  But, now it is ready to roll, and sell! 🙂 Meaning; get it out of my driveway!

Friday:  Trip to Ohio to take Katie back to college.  Sad day!

The week was off to a good start.  Donna, Teagan, Katie, and I went to Saratoga to spoil ourselves for a couple of days!  We went to the races, had mani-pedi’s, and did some school shopping.

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This past week was spent at the charming Delaware County Fair.  We spent every day there campaigning.  Am I a good wife or what?  Here are a few pictures that include the six horse hitch, no not the draft hitch, the cute little mini hitch.  We also have the mime, he is always good entertainment and some pictures of Gary.  One is with the cute little Post girl and her calf.

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School work:  Sadly lacking for the week.  I only put in about 12 hours of school work this week. 😦

This deserves its own blog.  On Saturday we went to a showing of Michelle’s work.  It was held in a beautifully restored dairy barn located in downtown Andes.  From the view out the back, you would never know you were in town.  But that isn’t what is important.  The significance of this event is that it displayed the work of a beautiful, talented, and vibrant young lady killed by cancer.  Michelle was a gem, and this disease is hideous!  We are so sad for the loss of Michelle.  I treasure the memories of our times on Cape Cod and I value the piece of art that Michelle left me.  These bags are being sold to help support art scholarships for students in nearby schools, a very worthwhile endeavor!

Yes, yes, I know! I haven’t written in over a week (Thank you for reminding me Mary)! It has been a busy week:

Last weekend we had the Margaretville Antique, Craft, and Flea Market behind Freshtown. I bought two Kimonos’ for the price of one ($20.00). One needed a patch on the arm because of a hole but I found some fabric in my collection and you wouldn’t even know the difference. They will be great when we do units on Japan. After the market we went to a friends 60th Birthday party. They served lobster and steak for dinner, compliments of Mary’s Cooking. It was delish! The evening ended with Karaoke. It was a lot of fun and don’t worry, I didn’t sing!

Sunday was the Franklin Farmer’s Market to shake some hands, meet some nice people, and get some petition signatures so Gary can run on an Independent line for the Republicans that don’t like to vote for a Democrat. Reminder – THIS ISN’T A POLITICAL POSITION!!!!!!

Monday was spent watching the Olympic’s for a couple hours and doing school work for about nine hours.

Tuesday, Gary was on the radio (WIOX, Roxbury) and I spent the day doing school work and sewing Thank-you runners. Picture to follow!

Wednesday – More school work and sewing. Here is my outdoor workspace:

Thursday – Spent in Oneonta running errands. I did spend a couple hours in the evening doing school work but I am starting to panic. I don’t think I will be prepared. I have never felt quite this frantic. I’m still reading “Teaching Global History,” the going is slow since I’m not reading very much on a daily basis. 😦   Too many other projects!!!!

Friday – Sewing, a little school work (despite being frantic), and…. I painted the downstairs bathroom! It looks great if I do say so myself!

Saturday – Andes Community Day Parade and Roasted Corn! Yum, yum! The corn roast was done as a benefit for Gary’s campaign and cooked by a famous TV actress, Dorothy Lyman. A thank-you goes out to Mary Davis for organizing the booth. In the evening we went to a “Bon Voyage” party for Sally Davis. She is going to spend the next year studying in France.

Sunday – Not a day of rest for us! We went to watch the Jersey show at the Fairground and set up the Democratic booth. Looks pretty good if I do say so myself! 🙂

And… Our neighbor, Matt Gray, was Reserve Champion in the show today!