Monthly Archives: September 2020

Garden news

Posted on by
1

We have been busy with the gardens this summer. Back in April we planted some Hostas and a rose bush, all donated by kind friends. In May we added some Morning Glories to the garden. The goal was that the Morning Glories would fill in the gaps between the Hostas, but instead they took over the garden!

The Hostas got pretty buried and didn’t do much growing. I have faith they grew roots though and will grow bigger next summer!  We even got three roses on the tiny new rose bush! I was shocked and thrilled. :)

Last weekend Eve and I decided to add a tree to the collection. The oak tree that the landscapers planted years ago died the first year and we have been thinking about a replacement ever since. Eve started asking for a cherry tree, and I love cherry trees, so we finally got around to making it happen!

We took our Tesla and went to the nursery, joking about who brings a Tesla to buy a tree, other than a Christmas tree, of course :)  When we got there, we saw another Tesla in the parking lot. LOL.

We found a Meteor Cherry Tree, the guy bundled up the roots and branches, and slid it right into the car! When we got home Eve went to work digging the hole and planting the tree. She was so confident that I went to the grocery store and let her plant the tree! She did a great job.

She named it George.👆🏻 Laurens supervised.👇🏻

Last week we had a few cold nights and frost took the Morning Glories, so over the weekend Eve decided to clean out the garden. Today we added some mulch and “put the garden to bed.”  :)

Eve is a great garden partner (as long as the spiders stay away). We almost got a free Meyer Lemon tree this week too! A lady was giving it away on a local listserve. I have always wanted a Meyer Lemon tree, so I was super excited when I saw it, but someone beat me to it. Oh well. I’ll be happy with George and the sleeping Hostas. :) Mostly I’ll be happy with my awesome green thumb daughter.

Saturday

Posted on by
Reply

We had a lovely autumnal Saturday today. Alan came down and we all got flu shots together. It was a drive-thru deal, so quick and easy! The nurse even commented on how far we’ve come as a family in the flu shot department. :)

Then we went to our favorite apple orchard for some apples, animals, and donuts.

The annual flu shot flex photo. :)

The forecast said sunny and 80s, but it ended up being cloudy and 60s. Perfect apple picking weather!

A paparazzi shot of my kids eating apples! :)

This sheep has a nice sweater.

The little one was adorable and really enjoyed that stick.

Eve’s new friend Laurens came along to help chose some Halloween pumpkins.

We spent the afternoon watching funny tv, doing jobs around the house, and playing a little Minecraft. A good time was had by all.

Teacher of the Year!!

Posted on by
3

Wha, what?!

Every year in the spring teachers in the building nominate someone for Teacher of the Year. We all have a chance to nominate, then there is a vote, then the winner is announced at the District-wide Back-to-School Breakfast at the beginning of the year.

This year, Covid-19 hit and all norms went right out the window! I maybe thought about Teacher of the Year briefly when I realized we weren’t doing the District Breakfast, but that was about it.  I assumed we were not doing it this year due to Covid.  There is A LOT we are not doing this year because of Covid! But you know what they say about assuming…

At our first official staff meeting, held virtually, of course, the principal announced the two longevity awards (for teachers who have been in the district for a long time) and then said this:  Video

I had no idea! If I even suspected, I would have done my hair and not been eating an apple! :)  The one day I woke up late, threw my hair in a ponytail, and tossed some random foods in my lunch box… turns out to be the day the whole school is looking at me!  LOL.

I feel pretty dang appreciated though!

Later in the evening I logged into the high school performing arts department’s Welcome Back zoom meeting for parents and students. When the music teachers pulled up the website to show parents, they also gave me a shout-out for all the work I’ve done on it and how awesome it is.

I work hard, for sure, and I never feel taken advantage of, but it is pretty nice to get the accolades!  And the plaque!

First day of school — corona style!

Posted on by
2

Students returned to school today for the first time since March 17th! Teachers returned for in-service three weeks ago, which seems like a lot of time, but boy did it go fast! There is a lot to do and even more decisions to make when you are opening school during a pandemic! But things were done and decisions were made and today we welcomed kids back with smiling eyes and lots of air hugs! It was weird and good and crazy and hard. Kids were on their best behaviors, for today, as we all navigated this new world together. I hope that behavior continues, though I’ve been around long enough to know that’s not a realistic hope!

On the home front, Eve has decided to participate in the fully-remote option and Lex has decided to do the hybrid options.  This meant that today Lex went to school and Eve was home. I made a deal with a neighbor friend that she would bring Lex to school and I’d pick her kids up with Lex at the end of the day. It was very weird leaving this morning and hoping that my kids would both get themselves to “school” on time. We did lots of prepping and planning, and it all paid off! Both kids got where they needed to be, did what they needed to do, and reported back that they had good days.  Whew!

First day photos are a little weird this year.  In hindsight, I wish I had made a #2020 or #coronatime (or something!) sign that they could have held with the pictures, but I didn’t.  Oh well.  I think Eve’s outfit says it all though. :)

We need to work on our group selfies. :)

I tried to take a picture of how exhausted I felt at 7pm, after a full day of school, kid pickup, and then an hour Remote Academy Zoom call (I’m running 4th grade for Remote Academy this year!). My phone decided to do portrait mode. I think it couldn’t handle my exhausted face! LOL.

2020 – the year when school supplies included masks, thermometers, and tick tweezers! 😲😱