Purging Junk!

Since I'm on Spring break, I've been inspired to do a little spring cleaning this week. I'm also getting the house clean and getting out the few Easter/Spring decorations I have. I started going through some cupboards I have in my living room that have become a catch-all for a lot of various junk. I'm a first class saver, but when I get in a mood like this I don't have trouble pitching things that really need to go. A few of the precious things I've been throwing out- Christmas cards from people I no longer remember, pamplets from various vacation destinations, boy scout paperwork, old notes etc. etc. Seriously, why this stuff has been taking up space for years is beyond me.

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Looking at Jeanelle's old books a few days ago inspired me to get some of mine out for part of my spring decor. I have some old books I get out for Christmas, Halloween, and the 4th of July also. These kind of go with my Easter theme, so I'll leave them up for awhile. I also have a lot of embroidered dresser scarves, table clothes, etc. that look rather springy, so I ironed several of them today and put them out. I'll do some close up shots of some of them another day.

Gratitude

I was getting tired of looking at those puppies every time I pulled up my blog, so I decided I'd better get busy and get something new posted. I go to my blog first when I'm visiting around to other blogs, so I've been looking at them for several days. I still haven't gotten around to adding any new blogs to my list even though I've got a few in mind. I'm a little hesitant to do anything that will lead anyone I know back to my blog, but maybe I'll have to get over that. I guess I need a little self confidence when it comes to putting my thoughts out there. Of course there isn't usually much in the way of thought on this blog and I guess I intend to keep it that way, so it probably doesn't make much difference. Anyway, back to my topic...gratitude. I was given a gratitude journal in the beginning of Lent and have written in it exactly two times. I need to really buckle down and give it a good try. When I have written, I think about it throughout the day and it makes the bad stuff seem less important. If I can come up with so many things to list in my gratitude journal, things can't be all that bad, right? It also helps me to remember that others have so much more difficult things in their lives. Not all of my gratitude journal entries are "at least I'm not" or "at least that's not happening to me", but I can't help but have some entries like that. If you haven't tried it, think of some things you are grateful for, make a list of at least three at the end of every day and pray about it if you want to. Try it for at least a week and see if it makes a difference in your everyday life. I'm on Spring break this week, so I should have no excuses about giving this a try. You should try it to! It will be an automatic blog topic for next Sunday afternoon. I'll try to write some kind of a deep and thoughtful commentary on my findings at that time.

Puppies

Okay, so this is going to be kind of a weird post, but here goes...I know I'm not the only one to write about dreams they've had. Anyway, the other morning I had this dream that our dog Sammy, who happens to be a boy, had four puppies. They looked very much like the ones in the top picture. It made me remember how cute Sammy was when he was a puppy. We got him when he was about 8 weeks old and looked like the other two puppies in the picture above. Let me tell you, there is no window shopping when you go looking at puppies with three little kids. How could anyone resist such a cute little puppy? We've had Sammy for more than 11 years now and although he's showing signs of age, he's basically doing okay. What made me think he would have puppies is beyond me and I know my Biology enough to know it's impossible. DH said I hope you're not thinking about getting a puppy to which I replied "No Way!". Sammy will be our one and only dog I think and when he's gone that will be that.

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I had to get up early this morning to take TB to take his driving test. He passed and now is a licensed driver! I'm happy he passed on the first try and he will be able to drive himself to some of his baseball practices.

Three Days and Counting.

Three more school days left until Spring break!! Today was a pretty low key day with an assembly to chew up a lot of time this afternoon. Tomorrow I'm covering in the office most of the afternoon and we don't have school on Friday or the entire next week, so I think I'll survive. I really like parts of my job. I like getting to know the kids and working with them one on one, reading with small groups, even correcting papers, but there are parts I really detest at times. I don't like disrespectful kids, naughty ones who make life miserable for anyone who has to work with them. Fortunately we only have a few at our school, but enough to make recess and lunch duty miserable this time of year when we are tired of it anyway. I wonder if their parents realize that their children are the ones that most of staff dislikes. I know I'd feel horrible if that were the case, unfortunately with most of these kids their parents are the source of the problem. Of course their are some kids with rotten parents who turn out okay, so who knows? Anyway, I'm in need of a break. Working at school you get used to the pattern of periodic breaks, weekends off, etc. Sometimes I think about getting a different job, but I'd really miss those breaks and having the same days off as the kids has always worked out well. In a few years, fewer than I care to think about, all of my kids will be out of school. Then I guess it would make a lot of sense to get a different job. I've been thinking a little lately of a career change, but I don't really know what I'd do. Hmmm, something to think about. The thought always comes back to feeling like I'm too old to do something really new. It would have been smart to do that 10 years ago or even 20 before my poor brain shriveled up too much. I heard the other day that the human brain starts to decline starting at age 27. Great, huh?

What I've been doing...

Here's a wall hanging quilt I made for one of my friends for her 40th birthday. She has also been my kids' piano teacher, so it was partly for that reason also. Several of us got together for dinner at a nice restaurant last night and then went to another friends home afterward for cake and ice cream. It was a fun evening and she liked the quilt despite it's flaws. I have some leftover pieces I'm going to try to work into something for myself today. I used the same pattern basically that I used for this runner. It's called disappearing nine-patch and it's really easy. Then I added the half square triangles around the edge. If you're not a quilter, you would be surprised to know that I didn't cut out a single triangle or a single rectangle or a single square smaller than 4" for this quilt. It's all in the magic of planned seams. I didn't actually have a pattern for this one, just a picture to go by, so not everything turned out perfect and since I finished it 45 minutes before the party, that's how it had to be.

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It's been nice to have some good weather this week and we're down to just a few piles of snow in the yard. TB apparently has made the baseball team, there were no cuts at his level since there were a few boys that didn't go out this year. CS has been on break all week, not doing a whole lot but catching up on rest and relaxation. Now that I can see the yard again I've been thinking about what a lot of yard work I'll have to do before SD's graduation party. Her 18th birthday is June 15th, so I've been thinking about combining the two into one party. We only have 4 days of school before our spring break, so I'm anxiously awaiting that and I hope I can catch up on some things then.

A Nice Weekend

It's been nice to have a weekend with some beautiful weather and schedule that's not as jam packed as usual. I stayed home from work on Friday with a nasty headache that miraculously cured itself after a 2 hour nap. I think I had wrenched my back a little on Thursday resulting in some back pain and the eventual tension headache. After I was feeling better I slowly accomplished some things around the house. The kids had an early release from school and TB wanted to have some friends over in the evening. Some of these friends turned out to be girls, so I did a little more in the way of cleaning since they notice these things. All went well with his little gathering and I was able to watch the hockey game that evening. Saturday I went and picked up CS for his spring break. DH was working, so I went alone. CS and I went out for lunch after I picked him up and chatted most of the way home, so it was nice to catch up on what he had been doing. Today we had to sing in the choir at the early service, so we were out of the house early. It's a beautiful day here, in the 50's and sunny and I saw some robins hopping around in the back yard. I'm considering a walk later this afternoon. Tomorrow is a sure sign of spring, TB starts baseball try-outs. Our high school is so big that they usually have to cut some kids that try out for the team, so I hope it will all go well for him. More later if I get that walk in.

Paper Route Comes to an End!

This week marks the first time in nearly 8 years that one of my kids has not had a paper route. CS started when he was about 12, then the other two followed and we had two and a half routes at one time when they were about 11,13, and 15. TB will be starting baseball again next week, so he decided to give the route up this year as his sister didn't want to sub for him again and I don't blame her. She has a job of her own for one thing. I can't say enough about what a good thing having a route has been for my kids. On the one hand, it has been a grind, 6 days a week for 8 years is no small responsibility. But other that a few times when DH or I have filled in and drop off help on Saturdays, it has been their responsibility. As a result, I think they've learned a good work ethic, some problem solving skills, as well as how to earn and handle money. We've never given them an allowance and I can honestly say never restricted how they spent their paper route money. As a result, they are really very frugal and spend very little of what they have. They've used part of their money for the trips they have gone on every summer with scouts or church youth group, many of which we wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise. TB will be without a job for awhile, but he'll go back to his lawn mowing this summer which has worked well with his baseball schedule and is really pretty good money. SD has a couple of choices for summer jobs and CS has his job at school to fall back on if nothing else works out. Now if things were just as certain for DH and I.

Got It!!

Here's Wilbur checking out the squirrel we caught from the fireplace. We caught him shortly after yesterday's post when I changed the bait to dry roasted peanuts. Surprisingly, both were very calm and after awhile, Wilbur even started rubbing his chin on the cage. We took the squirrel for a ride and dropped him off by a farm on the edge of town. He ran away and seemed no worse for wear. I hope he'll be happy there and not return to my fireplace. The animal control lady said that their range is 16 miles when DH went to borrow the cage. I really don't believe he could find his way back though.

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I'm paring down my blog list a little, in case anyone notices. I'm grouping some in a different place in my computer, so not deleting entirely. I'm probably kidding myself that anyone will notice or care, but I'm always worried about offending someone. I'm going to try adding in some new blogs that I've been looking at recently, and maybe some with a little more local flavor. I've been looking for some local blogs that I like and I've found an interesting phenomenon. There are several where their entire group of friends and family must have blogs since there are so many in their sidebar. It would be a fun way to keep in touch. I still haven't told any of my friends or family about my blog. I kind of enjoy keeping it personal and anonymous and let's be honest, I'm always worried about what people will think. Hopefully I'll get over it someday!! Incidentally, I am on Facebook and have a grand total of about 13 friends!

Squirrel on the Loose

Finally something blogworthy; a squirrel has taken up residency in our basement fireplace for the last few days. I hope that it is not making itself too much at home or planning on raising a family within the walls of my home. I'm a little nervous about the amount of insulation that is showing up in the fire box. I'm envisioning the thing burrowing around within the walls of our house. Anyway, DH went to animal control today and borrowed a live trap so we can do a catch and release. This has happened about 4-5 other times since we lived in the house, so we've been through it before. We had a chimney sweep come, but even he wouldn't go up to put a screen on our abnormally high chimney. The first two times we actually had an animal control officer come to the house to take out the squirrel. The guy we had the second time wasn't too bright and got bit in the process nearly releasing the little offender into the house. Apparently they keep a record of these things, so lately we've been taking care of it ourselves. I hope to post a picture of the captured squirrel very very soon!!!

Back on the Grid

I admit to falling off the blogging band wagon for the last couple of weeks. It seems like when I've had time to sit down at the computer, I've been doing "work" related things, reading a few blogs without commenting, and going on my way. I've also been very busy, as most bloggers are, but I haven't felt an urge to post about any of the goings on. Anyway, here's a brief update on the good, the bad, and the ugly that has been my last two weeks:

*CS home from college for the weekend (two trips to "the cities" to get him)
*Youth silent auction fundraiser at church (frantic sewing, staining, and varnishing to finish projects)
*A new temp. job (coordinating soup suppers at church to serve roughly 200 each Weds. night)
*Pets (Cleaning up a variety of things expelled from a variety of places-YUK)
*Quilting (several projects finished, a class attended, some corners that matched)
*Work (Mud, cold, naughty children, a few hugs, some perfect spelling papers, sweet 3rd graders)
*Money (Actual the lack of it due to the economic situation and its affect on our finances)
*Family (Sicknesses, wellness, science fair, basketball, rock climbing, movies, friends, card club, choir and bell practice, pep band, piano lessons, paper route, driving practice, etc.)
*Church (meetings, phone calls, services, etc.)

I'm sure there's more, but I've got to get to work now. Check back for (hopefully) some more interesting posts, pictures, commentary, etc.