Christmas vacation

Christmas vacation starts this afternoon and I am glad for it. The last few days have been grief-filled and difficult, as we digest the news of the Sandy Hook, Newtown elementary school massacre.

The children have been all right, thankfully, but we have heavy hearts but we are smiling for the children. And each other.

It's a good long break. We go back to school on January 7. So that means I have a long time to write my blogs, study the bible, scan for new shows to watch on Netflix, read books, and play with my cats. It may not sound like a lot to you, but it is enough for me.

December blossoms

We have had some warm days. It was so warm, a steady several weeks of in the 70s, that the tree in front of school began to blossom.

Since then, we had a few nights of frost, which likely killed the blossoms. But the days rebound to the upper 60s. This is why I love Georgia. Even when it's cold...it's not.

This morning I watched Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in the newspaper yarn His Girl Friday. The repartee was hilarious. In one quick fire set of dialog, the newspaperman was summing up the murder's situation, saying that after the killer lost his job he hung around the park listening to 'soapbox spellbinders.' What a marvelous turn of phrase. I love good writing.

I've been taking it easy this morning. Cook and eat breakfast, watch a movie, do some chores, listen to a sermon, study a little. Easy does it. I wouldn't want to go too fast and startle my sensibilities and faint or something.

Now that I've cleaned out the fridge and washed all the dishes I think I'll cook something and mess up all the dishes again. Anyone feel like washing dishes is a pointless exercise?

Perhaps roasted vegetables will be on the docket, and maybe some kind of soup. What kind, I don't know yet.

But first, I'll pray for the families of the babies that were killed in Newtown yesterday.

It's a kind of Farmer's Market Saturday

I am so glad I live in a place where the Farmer's Market goes all the way until the end of December. I am headed out this morning to pick up some winter greens, and blueberry bread, then to the store to buy my Christmas cards, and come home to coffee, warm blueberry bread, and write out my cards.

I love when I come out the front door in the morning there are roosters crowing next door.

I love having only a 10-minute drive to work in the morning, past fields and farms, cows and donkeys.

In the main town of the county, the county seat, there was a meeting as to what to do with the only  intersection where there is the only stoplight. They decided to put in a rotary (called roundabout here). The mayor said, "This is probably the biggest decision Danielsville has made in 50 years," and I think that is wonderful. How great to live in a small town like this! I just love it.

When I go to the store I'm also going to buy ingredients for a green bean casserole. Something about the cooler weather makes me want to roast vegetables and make casseroles. This weekend I want to make the casserole, roast a variety of veggies, bake some Asian-marinated tofu, and maybe make oatmeal-craisin cookies.

The guy next door has put up his Christmas lights. Now the space shuttle can see us, lol. I always love the lengths he will go to decorate his home, and it is certainly colorful when he is finished.

As for my own decorating, I put only a white light in each of my windows. In the bedroom, I hang a sphere studded with white lights. In the living room there is a glass block with white lights inside, with a bow on top. It's pretty. In the kitchen window is a simple white candle. At the front door I hang an angel that lights up white. I leave the other bedroom window bare so that my cat Bert is not bothered, because that is his looking-out-at birds-spot. If I put something there he would likely have a nervous breakdown at the change. Plus, the next door guys' house is that direction and there is no way anyone driving by would be looking at my lights, lol.

It is the Christmas season. Merry Christmas!

End of vacation, almost

I have today and tomorrow left on my lovely week-long vacation. I've really enjoyed being home. The cats have too. They follow me everywhere and cuddle up on cold nights. I've been enjoying the peace and quiet. Today I made a huge batch of ratatouille, and a fresh fruit salad. I'm listening to discernment lessons, doing dishes, reading. My kitties love to have me at home. I am a celebrity, with an adoring fan base of two.

My car is under the weather so I have stayed home all week, except for church and one trip to the Dollar Store to get kitty litter. I have stayed busy by dong the above and also by watching Netflix. I'm not so enamored of the selections on the Netflix instant download, because it seems that every movie I type in is not available on instant download. Instant downer, if you ask me. But there's enough to keep me limping along with non-graphic content that is devoid of commercials.

I am daily getting more sick at watching television. Just the sheer number of commercials is outrageous, but the subject of them is atrocious. In attempting to watch even the most innocuous of shows, a quiet cooking show called Chopped, the ads in between the show segments made me sick. In successive turn, I saw an ad for vaginal mesh, male enhancement for more fun in the bedroom, and a housewife pole dancing around an upright vacuum. I turned the TV off.

Fortunately I have Netflix to watch Frasier, or Andy Griffith, or a fifties movie like Dial M For Murder. Sitting around the house all day watching movies or reading online can't be good for me physically. But it is oh, so good mentally and emotionally. And 2 out of 3 wins.

Ways to be happy

How many ways can a person describe happy?

I have time and energy to clean my apartment really good, and do laundry and to put it all away. I even spent time arranging all the coverlets so they are evenly hanging. (This is a comfort to an Asperger's person).

I miss a bloom or a blossom, and I scoured the yard for something alive I could bring into the house. I found one fading rose (or gardenia) and some morning glories. In the other bud vase I put holly leaves and berries.

The day is warm and sunny, hitting 63 degrees even so early. I turned off the heat. I am having tea and listening to a sermon. I am awake and not tired at all.

This alertness translates to being able to read a hard book, such as several chapters of John MacArthur's "Christ's Prophetic Plans". At night, I read Farley Mowat's "The Siberians." My eyes are not tired.

My laptop is fixed and so is the wireless.

I watched several episodes of Columbo. (His first name is Frank). I wrote a bunch of blogs on the other blog, and read the bible. It is quiet, and I cuddle with the cats.

Happy!

Vacation and pictures of hay

I'm home for Thanksgiving break. It is such a relief! In our school District we have the week off. We do not go to school on Monday and Tuesday, so that's that.

I particularly like Sundays when we have a holiday weekend or vacation. On a regular weekend, Friday night feels great because work is furthest away. Saturday feels great because I have the whole day to myself. Sunday morning is for prayer and then Sunday School and then Worship service. When I get home I make a midday meal, and then usually conk out. So it is mid-afternoon when I come to and that is when I have to start getting ready for the week ahead. I cook meals for the week, do a load of laundry, pack a lunch. Then around 5pm I sit on the couch and watch a rerun of the police show The Closer, and before I know it, it is dark out and evening has arrived and in a few short hours I go to bed and then get up and go back to work.

Weekends go by fast.

But not the week-long vacations! Those are great!

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the hayfield next door. For some reason I really like taking pictures of hay.

Hay, a Hawk!

As I neared my driveway on the way home from school today, a huge hawk flew in front of my car, and landed on this hay roll. The pasture is next to my house. I lurched the car to a stop in the street and jumped out to snap it. I'm glad I did, when I drove into the driveway and jumped out again to look for him, he was gone.

A frosty morning

As I drove to work Thursday morning, we had our first frost. It was just a few days after the time change too, so there was sun glinting off the frost and bouncing off the changed leaves. It was spectacularly beautiful.

I only drive up one road, a straight shot that takes 10 minutes. There is no shoulder and no place to really stop to take a picture. So I just stuck up my camera and snapped, lol. This was the result.

Barns, pastures, and frost:

At first, I almost deleted this photo. But I looked at the side mirror and decided I liked the contrast of the frost in front and the rising sun in the rear as reflected in the mirror. It was a golden, reddish sunrise that day. Pretty.

The fields and woods across from my school

The sun reflected against the bricks of the adjoining High School with frost on the ground

My school. On Tuesday there was a stiff wind storm and a large and colorful patio umbrella blew in and rolled around on the football field. On Thursday, a frost grew underneath it.

The ground fog is lifting as the sun rises

I love where I live!

My day

My day:

7:00-3:00
Run, run, run. Work, work, work, Laugh, laugh, laugh.

3:10-3:30
Vote. Clothespin not included


3:50-5:30
NAP! EXHAUSTED!

5:45
Dinner, Mexican salad: black beans, Spanish rice, spicy tomatoes, Romaine lettuce, avocado, sour cream. V8 Punch for beverage and a macadamia nut cookie for dessert. Surf Twitter & Facebook while eating.

6:30-8:00
Study bible, write blog.

8:0009:30
Watch Columbo.

9:30
BED

Hey, it's a day. Could be worse, It's actually pretty good.

Oh, crap! I said crap again!

I had a good time at recess today. I had the duty, along with another teacher and we stand out there and watch so they don't get hurt, or wander off, or that unauthorized people don't walk onto the playground etc.  The biggest portion of our duty is that we mediate their squabbles.

So two boys come running up. One of them is a quiet man type and another is all boy. Boy, is he all boy. So the quiet man is about to tell me what terrible deed all-boy did but all-boy gets a word in first. He yells, "I SAID I was sorry!"

I said, "What did you do?"
"I said crap. I didn't mean to say it, but I said crap."
I looked at quiet man and asked if he wanted me to pursue it or if he was cool. He said he was cool, and ran off.

All boy turned to me, now all smiles, and said,
"There's a big doo-doo over there. A huge turd!"

I am dying laughing inside myself because now he's actually said crap four times in the space of 30 seconds. I said,

"Ok, thanks for letting me know."

"When they get old they turn black. Want to see?"
"No thanks. I know what they look like."
"Okay," he said, giving me a look like I was crazy to pass this up. "Bye!" He ran off.