29 years????? how can that be????

Puck and I celebrate our 29th today as we have for almost 12 years... Tearing down or setting up a rugs at the art fair in Spring Green WI.

Had a reasonably good show. Still need to tally up todays receipts, but sold a few rugs and wool balls today. Sold a ton of balls yesterday so will need to be felting a lot for the rest of the summer. Maddie even sold some of the balls she designed so made a little money too.

It was a little drizzly yesterday and I only had four hours sleep so was a little punchy on the way home. Spring green is an hour and a half from home and the drive is a little winding.

Puck and Maddie always shop for my birthday at the show. I don't know what Puck got me, but Maddie bought me the most beautiful piece of pottery. It is celedon green with white magnolia blossoms. Small and highly decorative. Very pretty

Had a good visit with friend Michael who got way too drunk on Bloody Mary's on Saturday and had to go back home to bed... poor boy :(

Today it started to cloud over about a half hour before the show was supposed to close and we all started to get a little antsy. Puck grabbed the bags for the rugs... I was not looking forward to packing up a wet inventory of 200 soggy rugs and tags. Got the rugs in bags and on the way to the van just as the rain really started to come down. By the time we got everything else out and tent closed up it was pouring like crazy.... Puck loaded the sopping tent into the van and the rain stopped....typical... we all were wet... Thank goodnes for Maddie and Michael helping to get everything loaded up quickly and without complaint.

It is good to be home. Puck has to bartend tonight and Maddie has to dance in the morning.. I am sooooooo sleeping in for my birthday... That would be 52 this year. Michael turned 52 a couple weeks ago so I always rub it in how much older he is than me Hee hee

Thank you Spidey for always remembering my birthday!!!

Show tomorrow

All I have done this week is weave. I have cut rags and and sewed rags and woven rugs and tied knots, but that is about it. My biggest show of the year is tomorrow in Spring Green and I am not so flush with product. In fact I really have no clue what colors I am low on so I warped up with blue after finishing off the green left from last year.

Blue is a pretty safe bet and blue jean rugs are still fairly popular. I need to price them today and we need to find all my crap an load up the car and still figure out what time I need to get up. I think 5:00 should do it, but I need to double check.

Maddie got her first real job in the Deli at the Piggly Wiggly, but needed a work permit so will probably not start for another week. I hope it does not conflict with her choreography job. All the things that young people need to start from the beginning at. I sure wish I could just do it all for her, but how would that help?


Any how my back is killing me and I need to go price the ding dang rugs. Sometimes I think I am stretching myself a little too thin

Cleaning Cleaning Cleaning

Had a good trip up to my sisters despite spending 10 hours in the car. My second sister would not let me drive. I did not press the issue. Her boys are older now so we did not have to censor our language, which was rather liberating. The older boy is quite witty and will do well in life. He wants to go into biochemistry, but I think public relations would be more his speed.

It rained for the party and my third sister Kris was a little frazzled. Her daughter was the graduate and she has been rather a trial for her parents. I think it bugs her a little that I have had such an easy time. I know it would bug the hell out of me. Katie is my God-daughter and actually is quite a bit like me. She is a lot more rebellious, but she is artzy (quite talented) and a very good sewer. She has been making alterations for all her friends and I told her she should start charging them soon.

She also loves Goodwill and Savers (how could I not love her) She is going into photography and art. She designed her graduation card and it is quite professional looking. She showed me some of her work and I think she definately has potential. My sister Kris is very scientific and straightforward and I think she just never really understood the angst her daughter has.

Kris never went through that whole "the world is horrible and I am so depressed and everyone else is wonderful blah blah blah" thing. Her husband confided that he felt life would be much smoother with Katie living away from home. I am certain they will get close again soon with distance.


Stayed one more night with Ellyn and drove home one Sunday

I bought an all in one scanner, printer, photo copier at Office Max. They were sold out so I had it delivered. I had specifically asked the sales associate how it would attach to the computer and he told me via the usb port. So they ship me the thing and it arrives pretty quick. No USB cable is included with the scanner. I call Office Max and the slick talking salesman (Not the guy I talked to) tells me that normally they are not included. I said "fine, but couldn't someone have told me so that I would not have to make a special trip back " He said yes and I grumbled a little more.

I wish people would make life a little easier. Do they think we have cables lying all over the house? I don't buy these things every day. grrrrr

The rest of the week has been spent cleaning. Our friend Jodi who we have not seen in at least 10 years is supposed to be visiting this week. She called a couple months ago to find out if we were going to be home and was going to email or call about specifics. We have not heard from her since, but are still assuming. Pucks dad and sister are coming to stay June 31 too so we have been doing some deep cleaning. We have not seen his sister in almost the same amount of time. Interesting they both live in Washington State. One in Tacoma and the other in Renton... only a few miles from each other.

I hate deep cleaning because you work and work and it takes so long to make any visible progress. Maddie and I got pictures put in albums, I sorted through years worth of papers. We cleaned off bookshelves. Washed curtains. I got Maddie to clean her room well enough for company to sleep there. That was no small task

Amidst all this I ordered warp, which came and needed to be put away. I also worked on wooly balls since I have a show on the 24th. I went up to weave off the remainder of the warp that is on the loom and found a problem which I had conveniently forgotten about. I had to unwind and rewind the warp twice to fix the dang thing, but it is ready to weave again. I need to get busy on that too. I am feaking out a little.

We hauled a whole mess of crap up into the attic. That needs a great deal of attention. There is just so much stuff to get done. I figure since Jodi lived with us for a couple years she can handle a little mess and we can do the real intense cleaning before Puck's family comes. They are pickier anyhow LOL

So that is what I have been up to and why I have not been blogging

last day of school

yesterday was the last day of school. We got through it just fine. I was in charge of handing out the ice cream which is a plush job and went off without a hitch. After school I finished cleaning out my room. Rehearsed our blues number for the "last supper" and also rehearsed another song that was developed out of frustration with the firemarshall making us take down all the hall decorations for the Biomes project

the chorus went
We are Code Breakers
Risk Takers
Fire makers
Putting shit up in the halls

and so on... it was pretty dang funny and we all did Supremes actions as the backup singers to the Choir teachers main vocals.

After that we retired to the FCE room for a rousing game of truth or dare spoons. It got pretty silly. I would never take a dare with those people and stuck to truths. Apparently it is surprising how many times I have gone skinny dipping. I was more surprised at how many had not :)

After rooms were checked and all the teachers were excused we took off for the Decoy Traditional bar spot for end of year for all the schools. Just enough out of town so that we don't run into students too often. The game continued and we found out the bra size of the 6th grade math teacher, the special ed teacher kissed the pricipal and the FCE teacher ran around the building. The funniest moment came when the 7th grade social studies teacher's husband was asked if he had ever been arrested. After a little bit of thought he said "Yes" and she said quite loudly "when?????? and for What????"""" we laughed and laughed,but never did find out the answer. They have only been married for a couple years and each was married before so apparently they still have some things to learn about each other.

At another table they were playing a drinking game of spoons and the got my husband totally blotto. I took him home to sleep it off.

I am on my way up to minnesota to another graduation party so Bye for the weekend

Wrapping up school

Tomorrow is the last day of school. It has been rather quiet in here, but kids with not much else to do are trickling in. The library has been junking a lot of things so I have been collecting props. A very old and large camera that could pass for a newsmans on stage. A filmstrip projector with a group of strips about Egypt. One of those library rolling step stools to give to the theater.... very useful for scooting around and using to paint and such. I need to re-glue the skid to the top, but otherwise it is very nice. Oh and the little green typing table that my friend Jean worked so many years with. They dumped the selectric typewriter so didn't need the stand.

Been busy trying to get Maddie a job... She put in applications at several places in town here, but got handed a job on a silver platter. She was asked to choreograph for a theater workshop in Janesville. They are using Schoolhouse Rock and Maddie needs to make up some dances and teach the moves to the kids. I hope she is up to the task, but it is quite a feather in her cap to have become a "professional" already. They also asked her to do the same for a girl school group later in the summer. If she doesn't hear back from the applications she will take on that job too. Although it will not mean quite as much money I think in the long run it will help her perhaps in getting scholarships. At any rate it is great for the ego

I am feeling worn out and ready for the year to end. Need to practice our blues song after school today. Hope it goes well.

that is about it ... I need to get into weaving mode pretty dang quick. I have a show at the end of the month and it is fast approaching

My cranky Life

All week the lab has been busy. End of year online Reading level testing SRI this then determines their lexile level. They were all tested at the beginning of the year, mid year and now at the end to see whether any improvements occured. Interesting the only marked improvement happened with the eighth grade class. I think this was because their teacher told them that the scores would be sent up to the High School and it made them pay more attention to the questions and give a more realistic result.

Did a little work scanning old pictures of our principal and band director for the last day. Helped write a blues song which I will help sing for the last day as well although I think I only got asked because I was standing around.

We had our retirement party for those two on Thursday after school. The day was beautiful and attendence was pretty good. Location was lovely, right along the Rock river. The food was blah.... Hamburgers, chicken breasts potato salad and someone opened a tin of baked beans and heated them up.

I had to leave fairly early because Maddie was taking her SAT in the morning. I am feeling a bit sorry for myself. I don't seem to be able to make anything other than superficial connecections with my co-workers. Last year my good friends retired and I have struggled this year to re-connect. Most of the staff is fairly young and I am often busy with play stuff. At the party lots of plans were made by various groups for fun stuff, but I was left standing on the outside, never feeling connected. The Band (Our teacher rock and roll band) was performing on Saturday night and I was not able to go to that either. They did ask if they could borrow my red shoes... Ah Well

Maddie and I got up early next morning and found the testing place. I killed four hours doing a little shopping and reading and then we were off to Sparta for my nephew's graduation party and my sister's 50th We drove the 3 hours up there, already running late and missed the exit.... had to drive another half hour out of our way and got there just as most people were leaving... just had time to hug my other sisters and visit for an hour or so then sister Ellyn (her party) was off to another party and Maddie and I got the bum's rush. Another notch in my personal pity party

Maddie drove most of the way home ... she still does not have her license... and we actually got back in time for me to have gone to see the band, but I was too tired and did not want to drive anymore. I am going back to Ellyns next friday to drive with her to my neices graduation party so lots of travelling for me... I would rather just stay home I think

and that is the end of my crabby week