long time no blog....

Ok. I know. It's time I posted something here before I risk going the way of my youngest brother-in-law's blog...

So, what has been happening since the end of August... since it very nearly the end of September....

First, the whole back to school thingy. Got everyone set... then started working on my own transition. Back to the public school.... this time, at the elementary school level... and this year, as teacher, not paraprofessional. A little shift from what I had been doing for roughly the last ten years. Prior to the students' first day... I had my first day in the classroom. A view from that first day...

After.... is above.. with one of my assistants in a rare moment without her young charge!

Another sort of "after" shot.. different angle.

Decisions had to be made about arrangement and getting equipment set in place and so on... not to mention, determining what, if any, materials were left for me to use. Soon, I will take an "after" shot to post... I had the camera with me several days in a row, but the opportunity to take a shot doesn't usually come til the end of the day, and that is usually the last thing on my mind at that point. :)

Since, then I have been making sure I have things ready for the classes I am teaching and modifying materials for other teachers who have a variety of students in the classroom, and facilitating the move to more inclusionary practices as much as possible. We are also using new software for annual paperwork and record-keeping, so I have learning that as well, so I am ready to present the new goals to each child's family as the meeting arise (my first one was last Tuesday). Another teacher, also new to the school, shares the room with me, and works half-days, in the morning. So, we are getting the routine set and who manages what in terms of students' paperwork.

The days go very quickly, which is not new, I remember this feeling from my days at the middle school level. I quickly remembering what worked and what didn't from those earlier days, as I establish rapport and trust with the troopers in my care.

Weekends have included a reception for a co-worker's daughter, a visit to an art fair primarily to see a former colleague's work, a retirement gathering for the doctor who delivered Kate, a book discussion (Einstein: His Life and Universe), and the 30th Annual AAUW Used Book Sale..where Kate and I spent two hours last night working and another three this morning arranging and re-arranging books... I designed the promotional posters and bookmarks, and got the Price List signs made and sent to the printer as well. The entire armory in town is filled with books and the profits provide scholarships for women and girls in the community. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year. Each year it is like this...

So as you can tell... life is never dull. :) There is always something to do or that I should be doing. I hope all is well with all of you.

Moving Day #2

Well..........in the 12 days since last posting.... we have put four layers of paint on the walls and ceiling of Kate's room. We had to use much primer.... Kate's walls were yellow and orange sponge paint... and the ceiling was dark blue, which had glow in the dark stars stuck to it. Then, since she is changing to a more classic color.... Vintage Mauve... we had to add two coats of that over the primer... the ceiling got Feather Gray.... BUT.. let's not forget the wine-colored accent stripe... which required an additional coat of gray primer... and FOUR coats of the apparently magenta paint (it turns wine-colored, I promise)... to obtain that Wine Tasting color. At the time of this writing, coat #2 has been completed. Sunday.. coat #3.... Monday... coat #4..... Meanwhile, Kate is preparing to return to the UW-W for her sophomore year. So, visualize this scenario. Except for the things safely behind her closet door, nothing is in her room. Her bed was in the middle of the living room floor... that's where she was sleeping. We moved it back into the room tonight and covered it with plastic, since I am only dealing with the accent line at this point. The office (Molly's room, guest room) has become the storage zone for most of those items, except for the dresser and bed frame, which are in our bedroom.

On the other hand, the kitchen had become the depository for All Things College. The list was made and double-checked and things added. Items in boxes and bags of all kinds began to accumulate on the table and the surrounding floor space. "Mom, it's only for four days.. you can handle it." (Tell that to my OCD tendencies.. :P )

Well.. those four days went rather quickly, given that my first "official" day of work at school was on Wednesday, but I (we) have been in the room getting things ready there, too, over the last couple of weeks.

So, this morning, All Things College once again filled the CR-V and the Tundra...and by 9:35 we were headed to Bigelow Hall to make numerous trips up several flights of stairs. Soon, the room was full of these things... electronics were hooked up and tested.... then Cousins for lunch and a grocery store trip ... and that was that! She and Amanda, her roommate, were arranging and re-arranging to creature their own unique room.

Charlie headed off to work for a while... and I headed back home... to paint another layer of wine.
Best wishes for a great academic year for all those returning to school this fall! Make it a great one.

Time to fly....

This past weekend, a small caravan of two cars and two trucks made its way from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to Menomonie, Wisconsin. Prior to earning her Associates Degree in Interior Design from MATC in May, Molly was making preparations to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts-Interior Design at UW-Stout. She was able to transfer many of her credits from MATC and UW-Oshkosh, which gives her a good foundation there. She was also able to transfer her employment to The Home Depot in Woodbury, so she will be able to continue that position as she settles into her new routine.
Back door of the old place by the balcony and the loaded CRV....


So, Molly, Kate, Charlie, Jamie and I packed up and loaded one apartment and one cat, Ella, early Saturday morning and headed Up North to another apartment and a new beginning in Menomonie. After unloading all of the stuff and making sure the cable and internet were functional, Charlie and Jamie were on their way back to Fort Atkinson and Waukesha by about 3:00 p.m. (Thanks, Uncle Jamie!) while Kate and I stayed overnight to help unpack, get groceries, and, as an added bonus, make a trip to Bloomington MN to the IKEA store and the Mall of America. Then, after assembling the microwave cart, and getting some ice to help the refrigerator/freezer cool down a bit faster, Kate and I headed back to Fort, getting home about 10:00 p.m. Whew!

Living room of the new place...

Like any transition, happiness and sadness accompanied this process, but I am confident that Molly will discover more about herself, and the town, including the beautifully restored theatre and Legacy Chocolate, and the people at her new school and workplace. It's time to fly!

In other news :-)

The Henn Family reunion went off without a hitch on August 10th, with beautiful weather and great food, especially the taco dip! Herkimer made he appearance, too, sporting a new red tam.

Kate and I are done with our summer of packing at the warehouse as of last Friday. Apparently we can't get enough of the packing thing, though...we continued packing as we helped Molly, and will do more of it as I move into my new classroom and role as special educator again, and as Kate moves back to her dorm room .... both prior to the end of August!

The 24-year marker...

Twenty-four years ago today, we were married and celebrated with a street-dance and pig roast...before heading on the westward roadtrip honeymoon trip. Now, our two flower girls have families of their own, and our own two "little girls" are following their dreams as they make a place for themselves in the world.

Time it was.... and what a time it was.... a time of innocence.... a time of confidences... long ago, it must be... I have a photograph. Preserve your memories.

Busy... busy...

This last week or so has been filled with lots of odds and ends. Since I last posted, Molly and I spent some time together on our beloved State Street in Madison looking at (and trying on) funky stuff in various stores like Little Luxuries, The Soap Opera, and Pop Deluxe. We ate our ice cream on the Memorial Union Terrace... watching the ducks and the sailboats.

Reading glasses. I am all too familiar with their purpose.

Then Kate and I went back on "overtime" which means starting work an hour earlier in the morning... 6am - 3:30pm. One hour... no big deal, right? Right.

Charlie and I took our vehicles in for various maintenance and cleaning, which involved pick up and delivery on a couple of evenings.

I had one book discussion about Eat, Pray, Live.... and will attend another one tomorrow on The Brothers K....

Charlie got to spend some days golfing... we celebrated my dad's 79th b-day..... I got to spend some time with a friend of mine and see his presentation at MathFest 2008...went with Kate and Charlie to Noodles, Target.. the pet store (no new friends)...

Then it will be back to work on Monday... which is our 24th anniversary. Soon it will be the Henn family reunion... and then moving weekend for Molly as she prepares to attend UW-Stout.

So, the summer is quickly fading I'm afraid.... which will bring all of us back to school in one way shape or form this fall.

Friends and a visit to Chicago.

This weekend, our friends David and Mary came to visit us from Ohio. We weren't sure they were going to be able to make it, but after a drive, two different trains and a ride in our car, they did. David is a former geography professor and Mary is a retired high school English teacher. I will also post a picture of Mary when I get those files.


While they were here, we went to Karina's Restaurant in Whitewater, which serves delicious Mexican food. David has a cousin in Lake Geneva, so we took a drive down there so he could visit her a bit. We also drove around the lake a bit to see some of the gorgeous houses, and stopped at Big Foot State Park. On the way home, we went to The Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago. Saturday night, we saw Mama Mia! What a fun movie!

On Sunday, David and Mary started for home and Kate and I decided to go the first part of the trip with them. So, we woke early and drove to Harvard IL to get the train there, which took us to the Ogilvie Transportation Center in Chicago. From there, we went to another station, so they could take the South Shore Line back to South Bend IN, to get their car and head back to Ohio. No one had to drive in Chicago traffic... or pay tolls... AND on weekends, you can buy a ticket fon the Northwestern Line for five dollars and ride as much as you want on Saturday and Sunday. Plus, there is a family fare, so for every paying adult three (?) children can ride for free.


After having lunch with us, David and Mary boarded their train, while Kate and I headed out into the city for a brief adventure. First stop was Millennium Park. The silver sculpture is the Bean... though I am sure it has a more formal name... it is reflective so all the people were taking pictures of their reflections ...

Then we went to the large projected fountain in the park as well before heading off to The Art Institute of Chicago to see the Renaissance Art exhibits which had been closed the last two times Kate had been there for Art History field trips. We also saw some of the photography exhibits, the modern exhibit...including a pile of paper in the middle of a wall.. hm.

Here Kate models the gilded glove... beware. We ended the day with stop at Navy Pier where a tall ship was docked that Kate got to investigate. She took some pictures and talked to the crew about what it might be like to live like Jacky Faber... Bubba Gump's Shrimp for dinner... then onto the free tourist trolley and back to Ogilvie.. to catch the train back to Harvard.

A great visit with our friends and an amazing day in The Big City. :-) What a weekend.

Overtime...

As the summer progresses and school districts release their requisitions for the 2008-2009 school year, the orders roll into the company where Kate and I are working this summer. When the summer schedule began on June 23, they went from one shift to two.... and now have added an hour onto each of those shifts. Since we are on first shift, our additional hour gets added at the beginning of our shift, which means we now report at 6 a.m. Second shift has to work an hour longer, ending their "days" at 1:15 a.m.... Today was the first day of "overtime" which will continue this week and into next most likely. After that, we'll have to see.... Just a little early on the summer days.

So, we continue packing orders for many many places across the United States.... some items we pack are more unique than others. :-)

P.S. Happy Birthday, Alice!!!