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Tag Archives: Life is good.
Not Suitable for Social Media
Sometimes, it’s just wiser to keep hands off the keyboard. It’s not that any of these posts were bad, just that they were rather dull and at times, whiny. And really, folks, in the big picture, I get over it. But sometimes, just once in a while, a blog is a good venue in which to rant and complain. Because, I said because, releasing tension makes for a better night’s sleep.
I am tired and sore and even a little cold and shivery today. Maybe going out to lunch yesterday was a little too much for my energy level. Solution: double blankets, couch, nap. Between naps, rest. And if Amigo sneaks into my spot on the couch while I’m in the shower – I’ll get even. I’ll grab my blankets and a pillow and tuck myself into his bean bag chair.
The daily injections of the anti-clotting drug seemed to be going fine – until I realized I’d given myself a bruise every time. As long as I’m getting the meds injected and they’re getting absorbed properly, I’ll put up with a tummy that resembles the surface of the moon. I mean, really, I’m not a low-rider jeans or bikini babe type, even in the best of weather. But allow me to feel a little disgruntled. Jabbing myself in the tummy with a needle isn’t a happy thought even on the best of days. Maybe I should plan the landscape as I choose a new spot each day. I could connect the dots with multi-colored Sharpies.
If I start posting updates like this, it’s time to take my laptop away and hand me another blanket. Coffee or chocolate might help. I wouldn’t turn down a big bag of fast food popcorn, either. If I post a picture – well, then take my camera and hide it. Now.
On the positive side, Buttercup the service bunny seems a little less worried about me. She attached herself to my side when I came home from the hospital by establishing a spot under a chair next to the daybed I’m using. I came back from a bathroom trip that night to find her standing right next to the door, staring at me disapprovingly (trust me, she does this well). She doesn’t give me the evil eye any more when I’m out of bed. She must know something is going well.
So now comes the big question. If these are posts I will refrain from sharing on social media, should I share the link on Facebook and Twitter when this post goes live?
Planned Overs
Chuck had the week off and spent much of it in the kitchen. He goes back to work next week on a normal workweek schedule. As normal, that is, as normal can be in an NFL market not represented in the Big Bowl in the Jersey Snow.
Meanwhile, back at the O.K. Chorale, Amigo and I will be tasked with cooking our own meals. I will still have limitations to what I can do in terms of lifting and bending, so we’re thinking and planning ahead.
Tip number one: Chuck is making extras. When we make leftovers on purpose, it’s called planned=overs. Amigo and I will be able to slip a leftover into the microwave and call it Lunch.
Tip number two: Chuck and Amigo will make a trip to the corner meat market six blocks from home. Their task: bring home chicken pot pie and/or pre-made lasagna. If anything else jumps off the shelf or out of the freezer section, I could be in a positive frame of mind toward anything that Amigo can cook. I’m willing to offer help, as long as he handles the bending and lifting.
Tip number three: Chuck and I picked up several pantry basics such as beans in many colors, soup mixes (not cans), and chili fixins. If the pantry is full, a pantry raid supper is a simple plan.
As Baby Boomers Age
Oh, the memories. My dear darling husband was in terrible pain with what turned out to be kidney stones. The Emergency nurse asked all the perfect scripted triage questions, and he answered what he could through the haze. “Where is the pain?” He pointed. “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most severe, how would you rate your pain?” “ELEVENS!”
Fast forward to my recent visit to the nearby surgical center. The RN found what she called “good veins” and set up the IV quickly and (nearly) painlessly. Chuck complained that it wasn’t fair, really. The last time he’d needed an IV, they’d searched all over and the nurse eventually sat on the floor next to his dangling arm to get an IV into him.
Then it dawned on us. We had turned into the dreaded generation: those with conversations consisting of comparisons of our various hospital visits. My pre-op nurse stepped out, ostensibly to check with the anesthesiologist, but we think she really had to leave the prep room before she broke out laughing and appeared unprofessional.
I learned that hospital food has come a long way in quality since I worked part time in food service at this very hospital. The menu was nice and the process was rather personal. And when I finally developed an appetite of sorts, the food was delicious. I think they should rename their transition or bland diet to call it Comfort Food. If I served Baked Mac & Cheese, tomato soup, herbal tea, and a little cup of raspberry sherbet for dessert, the family would call it comfort food and pronounce it good. My supper tray was good, too.
Back to the aging cycle. My hometown is a somewhat small city. My hospital room was on the sixth floor of a tower wing that hasn’t been around long. From my window, I could see the snowy and icy horizon far enough to recognize the large insurance company building that keeps a fair number of locals employed. After dark, the night lights identified another large building, one that didn’t exist when I was a volunteer in a striped pinafore: The Far North High School, La Petite’s alma mater.
I felt more like myself the next morning – less dizzy, able to walk to the bathroom without a walker, and feeling capable of making irreverent comments. That leg massaging thing? The one designed to help prevent clotting? This is a handy dandy little gadget. Someone should develop a non-medical version for cubicle workers. That list on the whiteboard? The goals I need to reach before I can go home? I call it my IEP. All too soon, I mastered the tasks on the board, signed my discharge information, and followed Chuck through the bitter cold to his Subaru and then, finally, home.
You might see:
I’m home for a while, resting and healing from a major fix (i.e. surgery). While I’m here at home with my pillows and blankets, you might expect posts along these lines.
- Closed Captioning errors. I plan to watch some mindless TV (is there any other kind?),and I’ll share more humorous errors with you. A few minutes ago I heard Chuck laugh out loud – the captioner had typed “she was out of termites” instead of “she’s out of her mind.”
- Pictures of Buttercup, the sweet big bunny. She adopted me last night and spent the entire night under a chair at the foot of my temporary home, the daybed in my office. When I got up to use the bathroom, she waited at the bedroom door for my return. I could see it in her big eyes: “Mom, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She is a sweet and caring bundle of fur. Or maybe, just maybe, she wants to make sure someone is healthy enough to feed her.
- Book reviews, or at least book lists. I loaded my Kindle and browsed Paperback Swap dot com to prepare for this lengthy leave.
- Stories. I still haven’t decided how much needs sharing with the blogging world. If I start hearing “TMI! TMI!” in my subconscious, I’ll hit delete. Promise. Probably.
- Progress reports – mine, not my students’. I expect the healing process to be steady and proceed at a substantially faster pace than my last medical leave of absence.
And off we go, folks, into the next six weeks at the O.K. Chorale.
Political Parties – an encore post, mostly
My students have been learning about the Articles of Confederation and the events and debates and compromises leading up to the writing and ratification of the United States Constitution. I’ve been correcting their tests lately, and the essay questions and their thoughtful or not-so-much answers have kept me thinking. I share with you an encore post, and I promise I plan to collect this year’s responses and form a new post.
I can’t post the specific question, but I’ll just tell you that they were discussing the creation of the Constitution and interpreting George Washington’s warning against the destructive nature of political parties.
Actual student answers:
-“I think Washington wanted people to be happy and to work as a team.”
Can this student run for office some day? Please?
-“They would disagree on things because they would have different opinions and they would argue a lot.”
Run-on sentence aside, she was predicting the future with amazing accuracy.
-“It creates tensions and the good that could be done is lost in the arguments of each party’s plans.”
Another candidate for office someday – governor, perhaps.
“Washington knew that if the country split into political parties, then the country would be more split up and there would be too many disagreements.”
Politicians, stand warned. This student and others like him will be voting before you know it.
It’s time, it’s well past time, to start cooperating. Bipartisan collaboration would be a good start, but in all honesty, nonpartisan cooperation would be even better.
I’m sure George would agree.
Now back to the gradebook to grade the section on Shay’s Rebellion.
The Chicken Soup that Wasn’t
It’s outrageously cold outside. We are on our second day of school closings due to dangerous wind chills. I decided to make chicken soup.
Readers, you know me. Nothing goes exactly right at the O.K. Chorale.
Let’s start at the very beginning. A vegetarian librarian I know (everyone should know a vegetarian librarian) suggested a cookbook of vegetarian foods. Through my sources for used books, I found a well worn copy. You know it’s a good cookbook if the binding is worn and there are a few spills here and there. As I paged through it, the old paperback started to fall apart.
A Well-Worn copy of Fast Vegetarian Feasts
No problem. I set aside the pages I wanted, drew circles around recipes with potential, and crossed out anything I didn’t need. Project one: jalapeno cornbread. Result: delicious. Next time: don’t be shy about adding a second jalapeno pepper.
Project two: garlic soup. “Chuck” and I decided it looked delicious, but we didn’t think we’d serve just the simple garlic soup. We were more likely to use it as a base for something else. Chicken, I thought. Garlic soup with chicken and rice or noodles. Yum!
So I mixed up the broth and got it started in the slow cooker. Did you want the details? Okay, here’s the basic recipe with my Daisy changes.
6 cups water (I had beef broth handy, so I used that)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
8 to 10 large cloves garlic, minced or put through a press (I couldn’t find our garlic press. #@*!)
1 teaspoon dried sage (I used fresh)
1 small bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme (I used fresh)
Later, the recipe calls for bringing the soup to a boil and adding 2 beaten eggs. I might do that – or not. But chicken: I went downstairs to find a package of chicken breasts. It was gone. Chuck had cooked it last week.
Now what? I had a great garlic broth simmering, smelling wonderful, and no chicken. The wind chill was in the area of 40 below zero, so I did not feel disposed to going out to the nearby meat market. I dug through our own meat drawer and found – jackpot! a container of browned ground beef intended for tacos one of these nights. A-ha! Cheeseburger Soup with a garlic base!
I grated a few potatoes into the already-aromatic garlic broth. Late in the afternoon, I will rouse myself from my blanket and add ground beef, leftover corn, and anything else that occurs to me. Finally, when it’s time to serve, I’ll top each bowl with croutons and shredded cheese.
Nothing goes exactly right at the O.K. Chorale. But who needs perfection? All I need today is a heavy blanket and a warm and savory soup. Stay warm, friends. Relief is on the way.
And while you’re in your own cozy cocoon, what suggestions do you have for this garlic soup? Chicken? Ground beef? Egg drop? Anything else?
Prepping for the Cold
Be Prepared! It’s the Girl Scout Motto. It’s also part of what we do in Wisconsin and other Northern realms of the U.S. Let’s see how this played out so far.
Friday we heard the forecasts. Minnesota’s governor ordered the entire state’s schools to close. I won’t go into the responses circulating our office or the Internet regarding the likelihood of our anti-education governor actually doing something positive for children. Oops, I just did. At first the smaller, rural districts announced they would close Monday. Then the Big Cities of Madison and Milwaukee announced they planned to stay closed through the dangerous wind chills starting Monday..
The vast geography of Packer Nation started calling out “Ice Bowl II! Ice Bowl II!” Ticket holders and the intrepid people who work on the sidelines stocked up on long underwear and fleece lined jeans. People who could stay at home stocked up on – milk, bread, and eggs, along with a bottle of wine or a case of beer if they didn’t get any for Christmas.
Facebook was full of calls for more schools to plan ahead. Local papers ran Internet polls asking “Should schools close on Monday?” Families sent letters pleading for at least an excused absence should families decide to keep their children safe from frostbite and hypothermia.
Survival comments from Wisconsin and Minnesota ran like this —
- There’s nothing about this weather a box of Triscuits and can of Easy Cheese won’t remedy.
- Cabin Fever is already in full swing for me, and we have only just settled into winter. It’s going to be a LONG winter!
- Lawrence University in Appleton ranks as one of the top 20 coldest colleges in the country.
- Sage advice from a ski patroller and stagehand re: frigid cold. Take this very seriously. A person can go from fine to needing an ambulance ride in a few minutes.
- Today will consist of Netflixing Dexter & making warm things out of yarn.
- Grocery stores are packed as people prepare for the frigid temperatures that are set to hit.
- I have plenty of coffee. Bring it on!
- I am ready for the deep freeze. I have tomato soup & fixings for cheddar/swiss grilled cheese sandwiches.
- We’ve got more warm gear than you can imagine, though. We’ve got common sense. Together we’ve got over 100 years of experience with Minnesota weather.
There are those who panic, and those who make fun of those who panic.
Here at the O.K. Chorale, we’re a bit calmer. We took precautions, stopped off at a grocery store, charged the phones and laptops, and then we settled in. Well, Amigo and I stayed home. Dear darling “Chuck” put on his fleece lined jeans and headed north to work (with a visiting crew from San Francisco!) at the NFL venue known for good reason as the Frozen Tundra.
Tell me, readers. Did you need to prep for the storm or the cold? How did you handle it?
Back to School – January Edition
Going back to school, ending a break of decent length, all of that starts today. I’ve checked in on my school mail account(s) a few times because I have ongoing plans and commitments pending. I have not, however, graded any work during break. Progress reports will be at the top of my to-do list all too soon.
I looked back to posts from a year ago. I expect much of the same, mostly. Mainly. I think, probably. For example, I have a blanket and several pair of fingerless gloves at my desk.
The pair on the left is warmest. The pair in the middle goes with everything. The pair on the right goes with nothing. I’m set for any occasion.
I know I’ll be getting envelopes decorated like this:
Some envelops will look like this, so overloaded that they’ll need duct tape to seal them.
As I was browsing, I saw last January’s post titled “Notes to Teacher Self.” I pulled it up, of course, and found notes that are still relevant to my teacher self a year later. Here are the highlights.
- Note to reading teacher self: When a student doesn’t have her book, always ask why. Why? One of my middle school struggling readers didn’t have her copy of The Cricket in Times Square because (drum roll) her 16-year-old brother had picked it up and was reading it. Ah, I love this job.
- Note to PR-loving self: It’s okay to say no. When approached about an interview with a local rag that has been notoriously anti-teacher, No is a valid response. Feel no guilt.
- Note to role model self: Smile, don’t laugh, when a student struggles in writing to a prompt because “he doesn’t know anyone with a disability.” If they don’t remember I’m hearing impaired and it’s a disability, I’ll take that as a compliment. It means my disability doesn’t interfere with the way I do my job.
And that, teacher self, is one to remember.
And on we go, into 2014
Yesterday I described a few highlights and lowlights to what I’m now calling the Year of Survival, 2013. To follow up, I’ll address the other part of the challenge: What word reflects my intentions for 2014?
Many of my ongoing projects got set aside in the mess that was 2013. The manuscript for the book Educating Amigo is still in limbo, and sending out submission packages became less of a goal than learning to walk well and handle stairs without a cane. The book project is back on a front burner now, and I hope to reach out to a another potential writer/editor for guidance.
I wrote a few short grants at work, none successful. I don’t mind losing the grants; I learn a little every time I do the research involved in any project funding request. Looking ahead, my grant applications will still focus on our goals of increasing family involvement and improving reading skills. I might reach out to more grantors who have the same mission, rather than more general resources.
In a post on my employer’s national blog, I suggested setting goals in the form of a 3-2-1 summary. 3 good habits to keep in place; 2 bad habits to break or leave behind; and finally, 1 positive change. Let’s see how that looks in my own life.
3 good habits:
- Put my health first. Reach out to health professionals as necessary.
- Eat local, cook from scratch, and preserve (can and freeze) to keep the family’s menu healthy and delicious.
- Rest. Make sleep a priority.
2 bad habits to leave behind:
- Stop putting my health at risk by putting off routine care – this is a dangerous route to follow.
- Don’t sweat the small stuff; keep the big priorities on top of the to-do list.
And in conclusion, 1 positive change to put into place:
Get my home office in shape and use it – for book work, possibly for summer school, and also for privacy, peace, and quiet.
Back to the first question: What word reflects my intentions for 2014?
Reach. Reach out to those who can help keep me healthy and keep my brain and body functioning properly; reach for resources that can help with grants for my work and help with the publishing process; reach for the sky, but keep at least one foot on the ground for balance.
Readers, how about you?