Quilt Part Two

Last week I picked up my quilt, and this week I completed the binding. I tried to lay it out to show the end result, but I always have help when I put projects on the floor. I'm also attaching a close up of the 'quilting'.....I asked for swirls, and I love it. This quilt is for my room....now I just have to clean my room to make it worthy of the quilt. I really like the colors. I already have my next project bought and ready to sew, but I'm going to retire for awhile and continue to work on scrapbooks....one quilt a year is enough.

Culture

This Friday I went out with a group of church friends to dinner and then an event called "Late Night at the Museum"....the concept was cool, there was free Starbucks, a live dj/dance, live bands, lute music etc throughout different parts of the Modern Art Museum...the usual exhibits....and there was a special in town-Vesuvias....I read about it with my 6th graders in their reading book, it was pretty cool to see ancient roman art, buried for years under volcanic ash and lava...but one thing I will say about the experience is the museum was packed, which may have been a contributing factor to the general mood, but the employees were pretty rude....ick....but other than that....it was a neat experience.....I haven't been to the museum in awhile....the longer I teach and relearn along with the students, the more I actually am able to connect with culture....though I still can't appreciate some modern art....flickering light bulbs, lint specks, crumbled road signs, gigantic room size canvases with one small square painted on it......

#2 Pencils

Ahh....school....it's creeping up...one thing I've learned about my new position is that it requires even more time than my last position. I'm not sure of the impression I have made thus far with the new department I'm working for....I may be a little too '6th grade.' I've now completed two of five presentations I'll be making. The first was a group of pretty grouchy specialist, you could tell they had been around for a long time...seasoned teachers are the worst to present for....the second one was a group of 'new teachers'....my very favorite group to present for....they aren't 'broken' just yet....though there are a few bad apples (ha ha-teaching pun) in every group. Next week I have a really fun one on Monday for my school, I know that will go well-you can stink up the place and your friends will always support you (they'll wait until your back is turned to share the negative ;o)). The last presentation falls under the category "What I did over my summer vacation." Somehow I have fallen in love the curriculum we have been able to write for SS, BUT it's just another thing to add to a teacher's plate....I mean, if you eat too much, no matter how good dessert looks, there just isn't room for it. I wish I could just say "Don't shoot the messenger."....I'll survive, I always do.....and thus completes a week in the work life of Christy :O) The morale of the story-I'm glad I'm not in the classroom full time, I know it'll still be busy, and hard, but it'll be a different set of complaints....the old ones were even starting to bore me :O).

Puppy Play Date

Today Max met Ella Grace (Amber's new puppy) at the dog park. He's more into his ball and the people who might potentially throw it to him, and he's now limping from the experience, but in the end, it makes him happy, even if it makes him a little sore! While Max was playing I chatted with my friend Terry (one of about four friends who share this name) who rode up on her bike (and who usually meets me with her dog Cassie) and Amber. I happened to have my camera for another evening activity, so of course I took a picture. I have a few of Max as well, but he already had his summer blog spot. Dog parks are a good thing!

Wild (???) Raccoons and Tyler, Texas

I spent my weekend at Tyler State Park. I spent MOST of the weekend avoiding the fish and floating on a float in the swimming area (just fyi, snapping turtles really like to frequent the swimming area in the mornings before most of the people arrive). The lake levels were (not surprisingly) very high. The dock featured in this picture is usually about three-four feet out of the water and there are steps that lead down into the water, and this is a month after the daily rain we had been getting! The one thing I always remember when I go to Tyler are the raccoons! When I was younger we used to tent camp at Tyler (now we usually stay in the shelters, which are just concrete slabs with wooden walls, but we don't have to pitch a tent). So pre-shelter days when our coolers stayed outside, the racoons got into them a couple of times-they ate a steak dinner, ran off with a bag of m&ms and we used to listen for the trash can lids clattering because it was a nightly hobby we could count on at the park. Last year the raccoons climbed the tree to a trash bag, so this year we got smart and threw our trash away before going to bed, but as we were sitting at the picnic table last night chatting this little one walked right up....it was begging for marshmallows....literally it stood on it's hind legs at one point and walked too close for comfort! I was just glad it posed for about 8 pictures before I finally ran inside the cabin worried the friendly animal would ask to go home with me, or at least want to snuggle up with me throughout the evening.