Miscellaneous Missives

I am reading the Maud Hart Lovelace books. This is a Minnesota children's and young adult book award. Our students are encouraged to read at least three from the list of nominees and vote for a winner at the end. Each summer I ensure that I have read every book on the list. Today I have started reading my last book from the list. The book by Susan Pfeffer is entitled Life as We Knew It . Currently I am only on page 20 of 337, but I had to stop to post because this made me laugh out loud... no context is necessary. "Should I try Fox News?" I asked. Mom shuddered. "We're not that desperate," she said. Enough said. Enjoy your day.

Today I joined the coalition for Meat Free Mondays. Paul McCartney, backed by the beautiful Chris Martin of Coldplay and other stars such as Sheryl Crow, has suggested that one way to help the environment would be to go meat free for one day a week. Statistics say this will help save water and fossil fuels. I'm not sure if the statistics are true, but I don't think it's a bad idea. Supposedly cutting out meat one day a week would have more benefit on global climate emissions than not driving a car one day a week. True or not, I am willing to give it a try.

Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chilliest land And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. Although I'm not necessarily a huge Emily Dickinson fan, this poem resonates with me. Sometimes it seems easy to find hope. This morning hope was found as I watched three toddlers naturally congregate from opposite sides of the room. Their wonderment, laughter and smiles brought them together as their parents hurried to get them back to their seats. Finally the parents gave up and let the children enjoy each other. Hope can be found in the natural inquisitiveness people share.

Each and almost every Saturday morning I weigh myself. When I weighed this morning, it had been two weeks since my last weigh in. Basically, it's a bit depressing to weigh in when one is not working out. At the end of school, I was five pounds from my target weight which actually might be three pounds too high, but I like to end in five. Today I was eleven pounds over the target. Since I've been on a cookie diet after making cookies on Monday, this shouldn't have surprised me. To put it in perspective, yesterday I ate one dozen cookies. Yes, I ate twelve chocolate chip cookies. It seems having them in the basement freezer does nothing to stop me from eating them. Obviously walking down and back up the stairs does not counterbalance the cookie diet. The good news about weighing in this morning is that I had no desire to eat a cookie today.

A couple of weeks ago I posted the trailer for Food Inc. Tonight I went to see the movie. Everyone who eats food should see this movie. Most of the content did not surprise me, but it did reinforce my beliefs and values surrounding food. For example, I knew Monsanto was evil, but I didn't realize the extent of the evilness. For the most part I am a fairly good food consumer. My major downfall is fountain Diet Pepsi. This probably won't change, but it's good to remain informed and vigilant. I did leave the movie realizing that I need to be a better citizen and keep my government officials honest. Although I spent a little time at the movie website, I need to spend more. Sometimes I don't know where to begin; the website offers suggestions . Go see the movie and/or visit the website!! Now showing at the Lagoon and a theater near you.

According to my brother (and others), celebrities die in threes. Today Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson joined Ed McMahon to make three. Although I didn't watch Ed McMahon and Johny Carson, I did watch Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. As I told my brother about the poster they showed of Farrah Fawcett on the news and commented that most boys had one in their rooms, he reminded me of the playing cards we used to buy of Charlie's Angels. Michael Jackson is a different story. He was the first black musician on MTV, and his music is legendary. Unfortunately, his legacy will also contain many absurd incidents. Maybe today is the day to remember him as an artist and an icon.

Since I already had the AC running yesterday evening, I decided to take advantage of it and bake cookies. After all, I have a new freezer to fill. Keeping cookies in a basement freezer has to be safer than keeping cookies in a kitchen freezer (refrigerator). Amazingly I didn't eat any while I was baking. I did, however, realize several things while baking the twelve dozen cookies. 1) Baking cookies gets boring after four dozen. 2) Baking cookies is messy. 3) The worst thing about baking cookies is it smells up the entire house... YUCK! 4) The smell even gets in my hair. 5) I have an oven light which is awesome. 6) I have ancient cookie sheets. 7) It's difficult to take cookies to a neighbor who isn't home, but it does disrupt his puppies. 8) It's a challenge to find something to cool cookies on when one doesn't get a newspaper or paper grocery bags. Maybe I need a cooling rack.

Yesterday I purchased a new freezer. My Dad helped me pick it up, and we placed it in the corner of the garage. The timing was perfect since Dad was taking his truck "up north", and my plan was to pick strawberries this morning. I find this super exciting since I ran out of berries by January. Now I have a larger freezer and can pick more berries. Currently my first round is freezing on numerous cookie sheets (layered to the bottom) and various other pans (garage and kitchen freezer). When they're frozen, I'll be able to bag them and start on the next round tomorrow morning. The major problem seems to be the dirty footprints (from walking in the garage and strawberry fields) on the white kitchen floor. Perhaps I'll wait and clean it when I'm done with berries tomorrow.

Goodbye to the Cottonwood by Margaret Hill McCarter On the cottonwood tree rests the shadow of doom, The useless old tree with its feathery bloom Blowing widely adrift like the scattering snow. Falling mutely in heaps, wind-swept to and fro, The hardy old tree, The pioneer tree, Through years that are gone It waited a hand To conquer the land, And its people in triumph lead on, ever on.... I love the line "blowing widely adrift like the scattering snow" from this first stanza of Goodbye to the Cottonwood. This spring as I my garage, my screens, and my sinuses have been attacked by the white fluff, I been perplexed at its existence. Where does this come from? People tell me it's the cottonwoods. Until today I didn't quite know what a cottonwood looked like. As I took my dad's dog to the far end of my parking lot for a respite, I saw the origin of the mess. This massive tree towers at the end of the lot. Since I usually exit the other end, I d...

This weekend has been a weekend of firsts for me. Yesterday I swung a pickax for the first time while helping Dad dig a water line ditch. I also mowed his back yard. Although I'm not positive, I think this may be the first time I've mowed a yard. Today, after finishing the water line, we drove to Spirit Lake (the lake not the town). As strange as it may seem, this is my first time on this lake. It was quite peaceful. BTW- Mowing the lawn, helping with the ditch, and detailing Dad's car where Dad's Father's Day gift. Happy Father's Day!

This morning I awoke to find the KK was not at the foot of the bed. I found him intensely looking out the window. When I arrived at the window, I saw at least twenty-five birds feeding on the grass below. This is a view he is not accustomed to seeing. Later the birds began to roost near his perch. He was disappointed when they all left around 8:30.

Am I the only one that thinks PETA goes overboard? According to NBC they are going to send Obama a more ethical way to manage the fly problem.

This morning I arrived at the golf course early since it was my first time playing in the morning women's golf league. Since I wasn't sure how it worked, I asked a couple women who looked friendly. They explained that it's a small group, and I should go off first with Judy's group. Judy wasn't pleased as she stated, "We have a fourth person going with us." At that comment Judy and the other two headed for the first tee. I sat and tried to converse with the other women, and they assured me I would find a group. Did I mention I am at least ten years younger than most (all?) the women? Finally one women pointed at the group of three and said, "They only have three today. You should go down and play with them." Another woman commented, "Good luck." I walked down to the three and asked if their fourth was coming. "It doesn't look like it. You just as well play with us," one of the ladies sighed while Judy (the only l...

When I moved in last July, the electricity went out one of the first nights I slept in my new home. As the summer progressed, this seemed to happen at least once or twice a month. Last night the power went out for the second time this summer. Again, it did not coincide with a storm. Excel Energy was here (outside my window, with motor and/or backup lights) from 12:30 am to 4:30 am. As I was lying in bed contemplating this abnormality (or normality for this neighborhood), I decided it has to do with the crazy people who are already constantly running their air conditioning. Maybe it's current reading material ( Ecological Intelligence and Hot, Flat, and Crowded )that brings this to mind, but I think we have an energy crisis that most people don't want to face. How else could one explain these strange outages? I try to be careful with my energy usage. Perhaps my neighbors could do the same, or perhaps they could find a way to replenish my four hours of missing sleep.

"Want a degree, but can't quit your job?" This is a pop-up ad I received today as I was thirty minutes into an all day meeting. At this point I was thinking seriously about leaving and calling it quits. My frustration stemmed from my co-chair "doing jack" all year and the off task behaviors of committee. Although I know I should "stick it out," I also know that it drives me insane. I didn't walk out and quit yet thought about it several times throughout the day. My pop-up should read, "Want to resign from a committee without quitting your job?"

This afternoon I started getting a headache around three o'clock. Instead of reaching for the Advil, I drenched myself with cold water thinking it was from my time reading in the sun. At six o'clock my headache remained, so I decided to drive to Sebastian Joe's to get ice cream and quit reading to alleviate the headache. It is now seven o'clock, and my head hurts too much to indulge in the ice cream. Instead of eating the Oreo ice cream from Sebastian Joe's, I am partaking in another glass of cold water and two Advil. Maybe I should have done this four hours ago.

As I peruse news reports of the recent Iranian election, I can't help but think of the 2004 United States election. Ahmadinejad rejects the idea of voter fraud. Does this sound familiar? Do you remember Florida? Maybe it's pathetic that I am concerned about the results of the 2004 presidential election, but it seems fresh in my mind as I view news footage. According to NPR, "U.S. officials reacted cautiously. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs issued a statement saying 'like the rest of the world, we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians. We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities.'" I wish U.S. officials would have reacted a bit more cautiously in 2004. More importantly I wish the U.S. citizens would have reacted more like those Iranian citizens who have taken to the street in protest. Democracy is important to those protesters. ...

Today while I was sitting on my deck I noticed something hanging from the railing. It looks like some sort of cocoon, but I don't know what it is or what to do with it. My guess is I should remove it. I'm looking for advice: 1) What is it? 2) What do I do with it? 3) How do I remove it? 3) Is this a bad thing? Please feel free to e-mail any/all advice to me. I'm fairly certain it's a bad thing that has to do with insects or other creepy things. HELP!

Michael Pollan (Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) come together to help with this food documentary. It opens at the Lagoon on June 19th. I'll be out of town from June 19th to June 21st but I would love to go on June 22nd. Anyone want to join me watching Food, Inc. on Monday, June 22nd (day or evening)? Let me know.

The Sun by Mary Oliver Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful than the way the sun, every evening, relaxed and easy, floats toward the horizon and into the clouds or the hills, or the rumpled sea, and is gone— and how it slides again out of the blackness every morning, on the other side of the world, like a red flower streaming upward on its heavenly oils, say on a morning in early summer, at its perfect imperial distance— and have you ever felt for anything such wild love— do you think there is anywhere, in any language, a word billowing enough for the pleasure that fills you, as the sun reaches out, as it warms you as you stand there, empty-handed— or have you too turned from this world— or have you too gone crazy for power for things? Although the official start to summer is later in June, I am excited to begin my summer vacation. When I saw the weather forecast for today (cloudy/rainy), I thought it would be great since I had small tasks to accomplish. Instead ...

Today was my last day at work, and thanks to a helpful friend, I was out of work by noon. While playing golf tonight, the guys asked if I had any summer vacation plans. Of course I have no major plans, but I have plans for tomorrow. I explained that I am going to sleep until I wake up, by myself without an alarm, in the morning. My first day of vacation will be used to run errands that I don't typically take the time to do: get a new driver's license, change my furnace filter, buy new decorative knobs for my door, check into a gym membership at the Y,make a grocery list... Of course this is boring, but it's stuff that needs to get done and the weather is crummy. After all, I have the rest of the summer to do fun stuff. Later in the round I was asked if I could play in a scramble on Monday. "Sure. I'm on vacation!" I exclaimed. Next I went to put it in my calendar only to realize I have to work on Monday. Yes, I knew I had quite a few days in June I...

I typically questions petitions such as this one and wonder if representatives pay attention to them. After listening to Representative Keith Ellison the other day, I am confident that he does pay attention to petitions such as this one. Since I also recently listened to Hot, Flat, and Crowded , I think it is crucial that the United States makes a move on clean energy standards, and it starts with us. Can you sign this petition to Representative Keith Ellison today? Eighty thousand MoveOn members have already signed. We need to double the number of signatures by Wednesday—that means we need 338 more signatures in Minneapolis. MoveOn members will personally deliver this petition to many congressional offices the next day. Click here to add your name: http://pol.moveon.org/cleanenergy/o.pl?id=16315-3191461-BvIFtTx&t=4 The petition says: "We need a stronger energy bill to fulfill Obama's vision of a clean energy economy. Congress should strengthen the clean energy standard...

As part of my seventh graders’ final, I asked them to write a paragraph to their eighth grade teachers. The topic was their expectations for eighth grade. I explained that once the teachers knew each student's face, they would be able to attach the writing to the face. One of the guidelines of the paragraph was to use TOXIC (topic sentence, organization, examples, interesting, conclusion) which our language arts team invented. These students have used it for two years (6th and 7th). While my second class was writing their paragraph, I started looking at the first classes’ paragraphs. Two of them started out, “Hi, my name is...” What? Obviously this is not part of TOXIC. This is something I’ve addressed all year. Imagine my dismay when the same paragraphs used i instead of I. I realize it’s the last day of classes (activity day tomorrow and workshop on Wednesday) and frustration easily arises, but I thought I had accomplished something this year with their writing.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck is an idiot, but I think most people already knew this. I'm surprised no one on The View argued with her. Even though I will officially start my summer vacation Thursday morning, I don't think I will spend my time watching.

This last week was super busy (two evenings playing golf, two book club meetings, plastic surgeon, and attorney). Last night I sat down with a glass of wine to unwine (unwind... get it?). I talked with a friend on the phone for a couple of hours. It seems she didn't know the entire dog bite story, so when I mentioned waiting for over an hour for the plastic surgeon, she said, "What?" Maybe I needed someone who had not heard the story to talk to about the dog bite, but it was a long conversation. To help with the conversation I continued to fill my glass of wine and was assured she too was drinking. By the end of the story I finished the bottle of wine... all unwined.

Today was insane. I left school early to go to my 3:00 plastic surgery appointment (dog bite-- facial plastic surgeon). Since I left in a hurry, I forgot my book. The doctor finally saw my at 4:05. This caused problems in my schedule because I had a tee time at 6:00. The doctor was in Eagan and my golf clothes were back home, so I couldn't merely drive to the golf course. With some careless driving and speeding, I was able to join my golf party on hole one. In the midst of this craze I thought I had inadvertently thrown my credit card away, so I called to report this. When I arrived at the golf course, I realized it was in my golf bag (from Sunday). After quickly calling the credit card company, my card (not in the trash is working). Playing golf was somewhat pathetic; then again my day was a bit tense. When I returned home, I turned on Olbermann while I checked my e-mail and thought about tomorrow (really thought about my five days left of work). I turned on Olbermann ...

First, I would like to know the difference between an attorney and a lawyer. Today I met with my attorney concerning the dog bite. I will admit I was hesitant, but I left our three hour meeting feeling that I would no longer need to worry about it. As according to my plan, I left everything "in his hands." Besides, I kind of like him. He seems like the type of guy who would be interesting to converse with over an alcoholic beverage. His added personal stories made me feel more comfortable. As I was signing the final papers, I couldn't help think about the Coleman/Franken senate race, some mention of the supreme court. I mentioned this, and my attorney had some wonderfully negative things to say about Norm Coleman. This may have been "the icing on the cake."

With a little more than a week left of school, the kids are "popping" all over the place. When I arrived at school today, I posted grades. Since many of the students decided not to participate in the last two major projects, some of the grades were dismal. My first class is typically a particular tough group, but one of the toughest students has been working diligently on the last two projects. Her grade is an A. She was honestly surprised and excited when she saw her grade speaking rather loudly, "I got an A. I got an A. This is my first A." Of course I didn't believe she had never had an A, so I questioned her about it. It seems she's never had an A... I still don't really believe; my guess is it is her first this year or in language arts... Regardless, her excitement was the "high point of the day." Did I mention there is only seven days left?