Jolly Good Time

On Friday Randy and I made the long trek to A2 for my annual mammogram. I'm not shy to admit that I am keeping up on preventive medical care. Anyway, after the big squeeze, we did a little shopping and went out for dinner.
First stop was Shoe Carnival where I found the funniest Skechers, which will be perfect to wear Oct 31 - Nov 2 during Dia De Los Muertos or The Day of the Dead.
In Mexico the people remember the dead as still enjoying life on the other side. To keep at the front of your mind that your loved one is dead the deceased are represented as skeletons, but they are doing activities that they might have enjoyed while alive. I plan on doing some art like that done by artist Jose Posada. My shoes will be jolly fun to wear during those lessons. Also, I really don't like Halloween but these will get me in the mood.


We passed by the little October fest downtown. Randy said he wasn't eating there if it was just beer and brats. That's all they offered so we went for Indian food and had dinner at Shalimar. The food was sooooo good we came out with busting guts, and we split a meal! I had a mango margarita, hulwa for desert (warm carrots puree with cardamon and honey) and the other foods well . . . I couldn't pronounce the names, but we made excellent choices and we can't wait to go back. In fact I'm sure we'll have one of those craving attacks for Indian food. FYI Shalimar is a girl's name and it means "garden of flowers."
Then we went to the fair trade store and I bought a little beaded ring and then we went to the comic store. I was looking for a comic about Hell, Michigan out of curiosity, but they didn't have any copies (flying off the shelf when they did have it last year) then I started thinking about my English students and asked about a school age appropriate superhero comic. I found Spider Girl, but it wasn't rocking my world. While the clerk and I searched, I found Glister. He said it is new and has received an excellent review. Glister is a young girl who is a magnet for the weird and unusual. One day in the mail she received a haunted teapot!
The vocabulary in the comic is perfect! Recently I have been encouraging my students to watch Word Girl on PBS Kids, to boost the their vocabulary. But Glister is better because you have to read. Reading, now there's a concept. Inside Glister there are words like: nonetheless, wretched, educational facility, exceptional, intention, worst, luxury . . . Also, the illustrations are cute.


Aren't I a fun teacher?

Our Queen

Well, last night was homecoming and Kadie's last year on court.
She didn't win the title of "Queen," but she and Hector got to cruise in the sweetest ride made available. Too bad the owner wore that dorky hat.
Doesn't Kadie (and her dad) look so pretty?
The whole family came out for the event, Aunt Susie, Grandpa, Grandma O, Jeff, Jake and family, and Arianna. I had to take the picture of Jeff and Arianna because it is always remarkable to me to see him holding a baby. She looks pretty serious in the picture, but she loves her uncle. It's all games when he's around. Great-grandpa had some laughs with her too.

Anyway, Kadie was back to being herself today. Her frou frou moment was cleansed away by a gutsy attempt at concrete busting. She's not too girly to try something that requires some umph! and sweat. I like that about her.

Hope your allergies are doing better then mine.

Inspired Candy

Last week I found Razzberry M&Ms at the deli. I bought two packages, gave one to Melissa, and then went back the next day and bought five more (three for Mel, one each for Jeff and Kadie). Today I went back for more, but they were all gone. BOO HOOO1
Great news! Walgreen is carrying the large bag 11.80 oz, but for a limited time because this is a limited edition candy.
Also, Reese's has an Elvis Banana Cream peanut butter cup. It's pretty good too.

Outside the realm of candy I did see a funny Canadian movie, "Everything's Gone Green." Sadly it is marketed as some pot smoking comedy, but I don't recall seeing anyone smoking. I rented it to hear the sound track (Excellent). The movie is really about the love of money and selling out on your dreams and principles to get some. Mind you it is a funny film, but I love how it dealt with the troubling issue of getting ahead and what we might do to get to reach some "financial nirvana" that exists only in our minds.

More art stuff

I saw the work of my old teacher, John Leyland, at Flatlanders. There was one new piece that made me weep it was so lovely. It was a soothing blue. Too bad I don't have picture. John was my metals teacher. He could make me laugh. He loves to talk and he can be outrageously funny. I ran into him not too long ago in A2 . . . wearing his signature hat. Here's an image of one of his pieces.

Also, Adrian had hosted Art-a-liscious. Too bad it was so cold, but I got to see my old buddies Em and Star (Em is in the middle Star is on the right and Em's friend is on the left, I'll call her Jessica cause I forgot her name).


There was great art at the show, the things that inspired me was the girl who crocheted the hearts. She dyed and cut the fabric, then she crocheted the strips into a free style heart.
I love Gregorio's prints, which I equate to poetry. Poetry uses a few words with such precision as to evoke strong emotions in the heart and vibrant images in the mind. Printmaking is the poetry of art. Simple tools and materials evoking powerful feelings.
And lastly Carlos Tobar's paintings. So beautiful. So, so beautiful. His new stuff stunned me. It was almost too much for me to take in. He is so happy with his art. (as he should be). It is made of the stuffs that swirls at the center of my life . . . the magical realism. He was showing me the different images and how they were all things from his life, but he unveiled the magic that is the essence of those objects.
For those of you that really get me . . well I am Verklempt - overcome with emotions. The mastery in skill and the mastery in expression displayed in this art . . . of someone I know . . . and to have captured the ideal I function under. I can barely breath.
Go see his work in October at the LCVA and see if you can grasp my awe.

Hello it's me!

I have been away for too long. I have been busy trying to get into a routine and keep up on the demands of daily living. I'm doing okay, but I always want to do better.
Life has been full. Too full maybe. The good news is I have been keeping up on my running. I am grateful for the cooler weather which has improved my performance.
Things I've been up to . . .
I saw the Andy Warhol exhibit in Toledo. Excellent!

Here's a picture of Beverly and her sock knitting machine. She said Canada issued these during WWI as a cottage industry and as a way to knit socks for the soldiers.

I made great vegetarian dish of orzo, tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh oregano and parsley, zucchini, parmesan cheese, and goat cheese. Yumm.

Where a Day Can Go

The day started out good today, but then things turned on a dime and I found myself "under the bus." %*&@! I hate when things go DOWN! Why???????
Since my cosmic shift I have been full of a frustration that has manifested into an obsessing, swearing, overwhelming urge to throw and break stuff. Good thing the chiropractor understood my stress, he did a 'Jedi move on me." He said, "You WILL have a good day tomorrow."
I feel the force Zenning away the "DARK Side" as I write.
Apparently it was just my time to look like an incompetent fool. $%^(*&! "You WILL have a . . ."
*sigh*

God is Good.
I know His peace.

Teachers in black

Today was the first day of school. It was a little ironic that 90% of the staff was wearing black. I da da-ed the funeral march "da da dada da da da da da da da." "Good bye summer we loved you."
Still, today was a beautiful day. It was nice to see the kids and feel the possibilities for a great year.
Yesterday was Jeff's first football game. His team lost, but Jeff played well.
Our dryer broke down so we had to use the clothes line. The line stretched under the added weight, but Randy went to the garage and dug out the grooviest clothesline props given to him by his mom. What a charming antique, aye?