Day 38...make lemonaid

Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Peter just said that if we were on that flight we'd be getting off the plane in Sao Paulo. Yes, that's true.

Instead we're sitting in the Airport Westin Hotel. We had a lovely (but very expensive) breakfast $36!!! Can you believe it???

We're going to meet Art at the MARTA station in the airport in about a half hour. So bye-bye for now.

Day 36 When life gives you lemons....

Tuesday, July 30, 2013. I felt great when I got up and got to work. Got lots done. Then I told Lynda K. in the Head of School's office about my fall, and she asked me if I completed an incident report (I hadn't). She said I should, so the long and short of it is that I did. Jane B., the nurse in the Medical Center, made me go over to the care center in the industrial park to be seen by a physician since I was going to be away for vacation (and out of the country where the medical care, should something come up, may not be as good). That took an hour and a half of the time I was planning to get stuff done in the office, but I must say that the doctor (Dr. Anderson) was wonderful. What a nice person she was! I just have contusions.

I got back to the office, finished up a few more things and headed out a little after 1:00 (I had worked extra time on other days so I could leave early). I got home and Peter still hadn't taken a shower and he had 10 minutes left for his clothes in the dryer. What's up with that!!! Talk about waiting until the last half hour to get done!!!

As usual, Bob and Sharon got there early. I was so grateful that they could drive us to the airport.

Luggage: I have to talk about luggage. I always travel as light as possible. I was going to just take my carry-on (but have it put on the plane), but because I had to take a pillow, sheets, and a towel, I had to take a size larger. Peter, on the other hand, has two suitcases! Can you believe that?

We get to the airport in plenty of time. The Delta guy couldn't assign a seat for me, so I was going to take care of that at the gate in Atlanta. While we were waiting, I bought Peter and me hamburgers at Johnny Rocket's there in the airport. Well...I have to say that it was the worst hamburger I ever ate in my life. It was cold, I asked for extra pickles and got one, the roll was stale (so bad that I didn't eat it). Awful. Peter got some kind of double bacon cheeseburger and ate the whole thing, but it didn't look very appetizing to me. We also got a shake (strawberry at Peter's request) and it was so sweet that I didn't like it. Those three little things cost over $20!

Our plane boarded with no problem and we landed in Atlanta on time. We get to the gate for our flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and there was no room for me on the plane. They had overbooked the flight. Peter had a seat but we were waiting for me to get one. The girl at the counter handed me a boarding pass and we were on! We were so excited. The plane was full of kids, and I found out that they were going home from a school trip to Disney World. No wonder there was no room! I was standing by my seat when a woman comes up and says that this was her seat. I said, "No, it's mine." Well, the steward took our tickets and found that the name on my boarding pass was hers, not mine. So I had to get off the flight. Peter came off too because he wasn't going to leave me behind knowing how large the Sao Paulo Airport is and how no one speaks English there. Also, if there were problems with connecting flights, weather, etc. he would have no way of finding me (and I didn't have Josy's address or phone number, which wouldn't have worked anyway because my phone doesn't work in Brazil).

So, here we are. A woman whose parents were having a 50th anniversary tomorrow got Peter's seat (a good thing). I got some cash, a hotel room, and meal vouchers, which was good for me. Peter got nothing because he had a seat and chose to get off the plane. Delta was nice because they didn't charge him to get him on another flight. They said that was very nice of him not to leave me behind...what a nice son!

Peter was really fuming about this. He wants to be in Brazil at the right time and see Josy. I understand that...but being grouchy doesn't do anyone any good.

I felt bad for another guy who wasn't able to go on his business trip. He said that he didn't know that you needed a visa to go to Brazil. So, things can always be worse.

We went out to catch the hotel shuttle (we're at the Airport Westin Hotel (it's very nice). We got to bed around 12:30 a.m.

Day 35

Monday, July 29, 2013. And ordinary kind of day at work, getting all kinds of things done and feeling productive. Peter came over to have lunch with me. Then I thought it would be great to go over to the Cranston Building so he could see Tom O'R, who used to be Peter's Assistant Principal at Killingly Intermediate School (and he got a couple of detentions in those days!). So we go over to Cranston. The cleaning people were in the process of waxing the floors in the office but never put a sign up. So I went walking around the corner and fell flat...actually not on my face but on my right side. It hurt...my right arm, my hip...oh yeh, it hurt. I wouldn't let Peter lift me off the floor until I had a chance to get myself together and have a little cry. Then he helped me get up. The guy who didn't put up a sign ran and got Leonardo. I told them that I was okay.

So we went to see Tom, who heard me scream out and fall but couldn't check out what was going on because he was on the phone :). He was happy to see Peter and learn about how well he is doing.

The rest of the day was like normal. Melody and Jennifer were out, so it was just Jeanne and me taking care of business.

Just before going to my piano lesson, Jay tells me that he cannot take me to the airport tomorrow because he has stuff to do for work and can't get out of it. I felt dismayed for a moment and then called our friends, Bob and Sharon. They weren't there, so I had to leave a voice message. They called later and said that they would take us. I was happy about that :). My piano lesson was fun. Steve brought his guitar in and he played some chord stuff and I played (improvised) a melody above it. I wasn't as good as I would have liked to be, but it was lots of fun.

Day 34

Sunday, July 29, 2013. I woke up early and read for a while but went back to bed and slept until 6:30 or so.  We went to church, which was wonderful. Jay and Peter went to a priesthood meeting in Groton and didn't get home until 8:00...that was a late dinner. I kind of had a relaxing kind of day.

Day 33

Saturday, July 27, 2013: Got up this morning at 4:00. I will call this the day of many outfit changes. I showered and dressed for the temple (in a dress, of course). It is our day to work at the Boston Temple. Peter, Jay, and I left the house at 5:15 and got to the temple around 6:15. We watched the sunrise as we were driving east on the Mass Pike, and I couldn't resist taking some photos. And here they are:

Jay getting our stuff out of the back of his car.

The Boston Temple in the early morning.

We left the temple earlier than usual (11:00) so we could get home in time to go to our new ward picnic at Pulaski State Park. We stopped at WalMart to get a few things, got home and did change number 2: jeans. We went to the picnic and had a very nice time.  I had a hamburger and a little bit of cole slaw and some kind of potato salad. I had a wonderful conversation with a member who went to the big Gettysburg 150th re-enactment. He does the cooking. They were part of the Rhode Island group. They did everything super authenically. This is his last year doing it.

We had to stop at the Hallmark store and Crabtree & Evelyn Store to get a few things before heading home and for change number 3.

But here's a cool thing. Someone in Putnam made this giant "paper airplane" out of metal and stuck it in a tree on the side of the road. It's so awesome and Jay was so kind as to stop the car so I could get out and take a photo. Here it is!

Isn't this just the neatest thing? I love it!

Got home and changed into a skirt and top to go to Nate & Leslie's wedding reception (they were married out west a month or so ago, and this is their East Coast reception). We had a great time and I took a couple of photos:

Nate and his lovely bride, Leslie...or maybe it's another L name that's spelled like Leslie but it's not...

Bob L. (Nate's dad) and Ja talking...they're good friends.

The food was really good...all hours-dourves. Something I ate gave me a reaction...my throat felt tight and my tongue tingly...not a good thing. The moral? Don't eat anything that's mixed with stuff that you don't know what it is. The reception was at the fire house, and Bob took us out to see their truck bay...very nice. This little thing was out there, and I couldn't resist taking a photo:

Funny.....

We left the reception and headed home to change number 4, jeans again and off we went to Dayville...Jay to get gas and me to stop at the Dollar Store for containers and Aldi's for milk. Then home....and guess what: change number 5...my pink cotton dress...my comfy hang-around-the-house dress. I baked some bread for Jay (no eggs, no yeast, no gluten). It looks good. We'll try it tomorrow. I hope it tastes good that that Jay likes it. I also did a loud of wash and am watching a little TV. Jay has now disappeared. I wonder where he went. Oh, I found him. It's bedtime! Byeeee!

Oh, one more thing: the weather today was perfect! Clear, not hot, and now it's perfect sleeping weather.

Day 32

Friday, July 26, 2013. Woke up much earlier than I would have liked to and couldn't go back to sleep, so I read for a while and then couldn't wait to slip back between the sheets and into dreamland. I slept until the alarm went off and just didn't want to get up...snuggling under the covers was just so...what's the word? Nice. :)

I didn't leave for work early like I wanted to. I had to stop for gas on the highway (otherwise I wouldn't have made it all the way to work). Amazingly, I punched in right at 7:00. Yay! Got lots done in the morning and then went to summer school graduation at 10:00. I usually do the Pledge of Allegiance, which I did today. Seeing those students in their caps and gowns always chokes me up.

These are the grads saying the Pledge of Allegiance. You can't see me, but I'm up there. You can't see the rest of the audience, but it was a full house.

Mr. L gave the speech, and, like usual, it was really good. He talked about how people call him crazy, and how he always takes that as a compliment because who wants to be just "eh." His message was to live in the moment and enjoy everything around you and be happy.

This is me with Bryant S., the administrator over summer school, after the graduation ceremony.

Laura H., the Student Services Secretary who also does summer school. Nice young girl. :)

Nosa I., a wonderful man and a great math teacher.

This is Lisa W., Director of Student Services. She's very pretty, petite, and lots of fun!

Sofia and Robby came over at lunch and brought lunch from a nearby Mexican restaurant. By mistake, they took a bag that belonged to another customer (oops), but luckily for me, it contained the only food that I could actually eat! It was good to be together. The rest of the day flew by and before you knew it, it was time to go home.

I had made an appointment with Natalie D. to visit teach her on my way home. I really didn't know her or where she lives. She lives in a lovely house in the middle of nowhere.  The road to her home turned to dirt and you could see trail markers on the trees. This had to be a state forest. It was beautiful and lovely. I'll take a photo next time.

Natalie has two, sweet children (a girl and a boy). She showed me around her house and in the kitchen every available space on the counter and table was loaded with dirty dishes and pots and pans. She had cellulitis on her right foot and was on super-duper antibiotics and when she wasn't at work (elevating her foot in her cubicle), she was elevating her foot at home, with no chance to do the dishes. And her husband is not the dishwashing kind of guy. So, I rolled up my sleeves (hypothetically because I was wearing short sleeves), took my shoes off (for real), and started washing the dishes. Natalie dried and I washed, and two hours later we were done. As I was wiping down the counter, her daughter looked up at me and asked, "Can you help me clean my room now?" I just burst out laughing! I told her that I couldn't do that today, but I would next time I visited.

It took 45 minutes to get home and the Garmin took me through back roads. Here is a lovely photo of some kind of what I think is a foot bridge. Notice to stone tunnel to the right...lovely.

I think this is just so pretty. We live in such a beautiful world.

I was tired when I got home at 5:30, so I made hot dogs and beans for dinner...really easy. Relaxed a bit and now it's time to go to bed and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is going to be very busy.

Day 31

Thursday, July 25, 2013....woke up to a dreary kind of day, but the rain didn't start in earnest until 1:00 this afternoon, and then it was a deluge along with thunder and lightning. And it rained, and rained, and rained, so much so that Norwich had to close it's streets because of all the flooding. Getting out of town was a bit of a trick since the exit I use to get on the highway was closed because of the flooding, so I had to reroute and get on the highway by the loop-de-loop.

Work itself was good. I pre-registered two students and am working on the international students (who already have been pre-reged). I find my job very satisfying...it's going to be so weird when I retire.

With all the rain, I put Carrie's huge plant outside and also Jeanne's. They got well washed and watered.

Of course, I forgot about taking a photo until I was ready to leave, so I got Jen to take a picture of me in the rain :).

Singing in the Rain!!! Maybe next time I'll dance! It doesn't look like a ton of rain in this photo, but it was.

I stopped at Dideric's apartment on the way home to drop off some food for food storage. You just never know what circumstances could lead to being hungry...out of money, a storm outside, or a lockdown like the one in Watertown after the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Speaking of marathons, I got an email about a 10K in Brooklyn, NY in October. It sounds so tempting to me. Maybe I'll sign up and start training. 10K really isn't very far and the training would not be as rigorous as a half marathon. I think I want to do it!!!

Since I won't be here for the Attawaugan Fire District meeting in August, I went in and paid all the bills and finished my report tonight. This way my work is done and I can go to Brazil with a clean conscience. Speaking of Brazil, I was starting to feel a little apprehensive today...you know, I don't speak Portuguese, and the people there don't speak English. I speak Spanish pretty well...enough to get around, but not everyone there speaks Spanish. That's going to be the interesting part--the communicating. I'll be sure to keep you up to date with my big adventure!

Day 30

Wednesday, July 24, 2013: I woke up plenty early today (around 3:30 or so), did my usual routine...and by mistake woke Jay up. Today is Pioneer Day, and it's a holiday for him. I forgot to turn off the alarm, and he was not very happy with me, but he got over it. I went to lunch with Peter (at Dairy Queen)...I had the kid's lunch of a hot dog, banana, milk, and a butterscotch Dilly Bar. Then I had to work 15 minutes later because I took an extra 15 minutes for lunch. I got lots done at work...it felt very satisfying. I entered the ELL Academy and Step-up Program grades and part of the first semester of summer school grades on the transcript among other things.

I love this cover. This is the book I held up yesterday.

I thought it would be neat to take a photo at the fountain in front of the Cranston building, so we did. I laughed with Jen and told her that she won't be able to wait for me to retire. She'll be so sick and tired of taking pictures almost every day :).

This fountain is beautiful. How many high schools have something like this in front?

During Jay's day at home, he worked on pulling out the stump of the hemlock tree that he cut down a few weeks ago, but it's a major job. He said he was soaking wet from sweat, and the day wasn't as hot as others have been this summer. It's not out of the ground yet. Jay's looking for his big chain. He also planted the white dogwood tree that he gave me for Mother's Day. I love getting trees for special occasions. He bought me a red bud tree last year for a combination Mother's Day and birthday gift. I love it. It only had a couple of blooms on it this year since this was its first year, but next year it should look lovely. I'll be sure to take a picture.

I'm sure the dogwood is happy to finally be in the ground. All the rain we had has been good for it as it spent so much time in a pot.

It's hard to believe that in 1978 this was a tiny tree, no taller than a five-year-old child. Now look at the trunk and all those roots. There is a huge stone under those roots. One of the joys of New England...lots of rocks!

Jay had to go to his meeting tonight, so he's out. Peter got home late because he went out to eat. Monday is his last class. Today he had his English final. I'm glad that's behind him. It was a lot of work...he wrote about 60 pages (and a lot of editing for me).

Day 29

Tuesday, July 23, 2013. Woke up plenty early today (like 2:30 a.m.). Said my prayers, read my scriptures, played piano and just generally had a great morning. I felt great :). Had lots of off-and-on heavy rain on the way to work. At one point everyone was driving at 30 mph. Work was good; got stuff done that needed doing. At the end of the day, I got Jen to take a photo of me sitting on the student desk that's in my office. Then I took a picture of her so you all can see who my wonderful photographer is. :)

Those are books that were returned from a student who left NFA. I'm pretending to read Lord of the Flies. In reality, I have never read that book.

This is my photograph, Jennifer J.

I stopped by Game Stop to visit Dideric at work on my way home. He was busy but we had a moment or two  to talk. I'm going to stop and see him tomorrow on the way home from work because he's off on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm going to bring him food for beginning food storage. You never know when you need some food in the house!

We had a huge rainstorm about 5:00 or so that lasted a whole hour. The raindrops were huge and came down so fast. Everything was grey outside and I felt bad for people driving in that storm. When it ended, the sky had that yellow look to it.

Chris and Piper were supposed to come over for dinner but he sent me a message on Facebook to say that he was too tired (he works third shift) to come over. I understand that, and that was good with us. I made pasta primavera for dinner and we watched a couple of episodes of Glades (most of which I slept through) before going to bed.

It was an ordinary day, but it was a good day.

Day 28

Monday, July 22, 2013: I didn't wake up until the alarm went off, and I had to proofread Peter's paper...how can I get all this done? Took a quick shower and made the bed.  Jay didn't want any breakfast, so I made a pot of oatmeal for myself and proceeded to read. It took me until almost 6:30 to finish reading Peter's paper, which made me 15 minutes late for work. I don't like being late for work, but it's okay sometimes.

I got lots done today and have two photos:

This is a part of my office you won't see often. Those bobble heads on top there were given to my by one of the counselors, Faith T., when she retired several years ago. Allison T. gave me the lion, and another counselor (I don't remember who) gave me that flower girl.  Notice that big, tall plant behind me? I'm plant sitting for Carrie L. over the summer (she's a 10-month employee). I put it out in the rain a couple of weeks ago, and it loved it. I also fertilized it. There is new growth coming out on the top. Lisa W. (head of Student Services) calls me the plant whisperer! I take good care of all the plants for my boss, Jeanne, as well. 

This is Christina B.H., one of the counselors who is an administrative intern this year for Bryant S., who does summer school, so she's working the month of July.

I zipped out of work right away so I could get home in time to bake up the Strawberry Torte that didn't get baked yesterday, to practice piano before my lesson, and to notarize something for Kim McR. Then I headed out for my piano lesson with Steve E. I told him that I didn't have time to do much practicing, so he played his new guitar and I improvised on the piano. It was fun. Some of the chords were difficult for me to improvise with but Steve said I did well, and especially well on one song.

We had dinner with Mark and Linda E. They also invited Kurt and Victoria L. (with whom we spent time on the Cape on Saturday), and the Betty and Steve W. Dinner was yummy--chicken Caesar salad, garlic bread, fruit salad, and the strawberry torte. We played three games of dominoes (called Chicken Feet, I think). We had a good time. Before you knew it, it was after 8:00 p.m. and time for me to go home. Jay and I will relax a little before nodding off for the night.

Gail Simmons's Strawberry Tart

I found this recipe in People magazine and is the cake I made on Sunday morning and will bake tomorrow morning. It's ready in the fridge in the springform pan. This is the third time that I have made it, and it is consistently WONDERFUL! I think part of the success is really having the butter and eggs at room temperature and not softening the butter in the microwave.

If you google the recipe, you'll see photos of it.

Ingredients

1	c flour
1	t baking powder
	pinch salt
1	stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for coating pan
1	c sugar plus 2 T
2	large eggs, room temperature
1	t vanilla
8	oz fresh strawberries
	juice of half a lemon
½	t cinnamon Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 inch springform pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Using a mixer at a low speed, incorporate flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 20 minutes. 3. Arrange strawberries in concentric circles on top of dough. Pour lemon juice evenly over strawberries. Bake tart until edges are golden and center is set, about 45 minutes. 4. When tart is cool,run a sharp paring knife around the edge and remove the sides of the pan.

Day 27

Sunday, July 21, 2013: Woke up early and did a few things before getting ready for church. I made up a cake batter, but ran out of time to bake it. So, I poured it in the springform pan, and now it's sitting in the refrigerator until tomorrow morning when I'll bake it. 

On the way to church we saw many more trees and huge branches down, some of which were still blocking portions of the roadway. That must have been quite a wind that came by!

As usual, when I go to church really early with Jay (we were there at 7:30), I went to a quiet room to play piano (usually the Primary room, but today the Young Women's Room). After church, there was a linger longer. I would have been perfectly fine if I didn't eat that burrito. I think it had something in it that bothered my allergies because I didn't feel very good afterwards. I'm still not feeling 100% great, but it will pass.

Bob and Sharon came over for dinner and family home evening at 5:00. I made fish on the grill (it kind of got a bit dried out, but it was edible), a wonderful cole slaw, fruit salad, boiled potatoes with butter and parsley, fresh summer squash from the garden, and rolls from the bakery in Jewett City. Dinner was very enjoyable, especially ending with the blueberry pie that Sharon brought along (including ice cream, whipped cream, and caramel topping, which I didn't use).

Sharon and me relaxing after that yummy dinner...we both were so full.

Then Peter wanted me to proof read the end of his journal for his English class, which I did. I'm just about cross eyed now and just want to relax. It's been a busy Sunday.

Day 26 continued

I should know what a pain it is to try to type in text with a photo at the bottom. I've had this problem a few times in the past.

Anyway, after clamming, Peter and Victoria felt icky with dried salt water on their skin (that doesn't bother me), so they (with me in tow) drove to a fresh-water pond so they could swim and get the salt off their bodies. I just sat at the edge of the water and dipped my feet in the water. All the water was so warm because of all the hot weather we have been having. The we went back to their house and had clams, corn on the cob, etc. 

We left mid afternoon; and as we were driving home, there were huge areas of extreme rain. We only had to go through one such area, and the rain was such a deluge that you could hardly see the road and you had to be careful not to hydroplane. It didn't last long, thank goodness. 

We stopped at the Shell station to pick up my car (I had dropped it off on Friday afternoon for an oil change), and Jay and Peter went on ahead of me. They called to tell me that I needed to go home via Ballouville because a huge tree was down and blocking the road in Attawaugan. And as I headed north, there were leaves and debris all over the road. As I drove through Ballouville, I saw several large branches off a tree and on top of a garage. Amazingly, the damage stopped about a half mile from home.  We truly were blessed!

I did a load of wash, went to bed, and slept like a log.

Day 26

Saturday, July 20, 2013. We left the temple at 10:15, 10:30 p.m. or so. We stopped at McDonald's for a bite to eat because Jay was really hungry (he hadn't eaten dinner). We didn't get to Kurt and Victoria's until 12:30 a.m., and it was 1:00 when we got to bed. Jay and I slept in twin beds (I had the privilege of sleeping in the bottom bunk of a bunk bed). I woke up with a cramp in my leg and knocked myself in the noggin as I tried to get out of bed. I guess I forgot where I was. I slept until 6:30, and then I went with Kurt to the store to buy some milk.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, we went kayaking. I LOVED it!!! I have a picture of Peter in his kayak. I have to get downloads from his phone to show you me. We went around an aquatic bird sanctuary and saw osprey nests and several other waterfowl. I didn't want to turn around and go back. I could have kayaked for hours.

After kayaking, we went to a different beach to get clams. On the way to the part of the beach where we went clamming, we passed a couple who had two dogs, an older chocolate lab and a less than one year old German Shepherd named Mia. Jay threw her tennis ball for her, and here they are:

Jay and Mia playing ball.

I threw the ball for her, too, and she kept on bringing it back to me to throw again, and again, and again, and again....you get the picture :). I don't know why she wanted me to throw it for her so many times because I positively throw like a girl...it never went very far. But maybe that's not the big deal for Mia...the fun is in the chase. :)

Anyway, Peter got five clams on his first try...amazing! Jay and he were competing and wanted to do all the clamming. They both loved it. Here are photos:

Peter searching the rake for clams.

Raking the bottom, trying to get more clams.

Success!

Kurt looking on...

Jay's turn!

Is this a clam?

Day 25 continued...

Well, those photos didn't get lost. Here they are!

I help a lot of people on the phone. I always have my perpetual notebook and pen or pencil handy to write as I speak. I still use shorthand, which is a dead skill these days. Only us older people know how to do it. It's fun for me. :)

Filing...love filing...not. But it sure is important to do it correctly because when you need to find something, you have it find it!

This is Robbie pretending to need help. Lots of people come to my office for help and stand just as he is as I listen to what they need.

Day 25

Friday, July 19, 2013.  Dideric's birthday. And another hot day...into the 90s. Work was good. Got a lot done. But last night I woke up around 1:30/2:00 or so and couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up and read and then fell back to sleep. The next thing I knew, Jay was waking me up...it was 6:00! We had overslept. This is amazing, because I took a shower, got dressed, threw together something for lunch, and only punched in two minutes late! Yay! It is so rare when something like this happens.

Sofia and Rob came by to see me at lunch time, and I got her to take some photos of me doing various things in my office; and you'll never guess what. When I was importing them onto my computer, I selected one and then clicked to delete all the photos on my phone, and now only one photo imported. So, here is one photo of me in my office typing in honors tags:

We work in the temple tonight and then go to visit Kurt and Victoria at the Cape. Should be a fun day tomorrow, although thunder storms are a 50/50 chance in the afternoon. No matter what, it will be fun.

Day 24

Thursday, July 18, 2013. I slept like a log last night and didn't wake up until the alarm went off this morning. And when I walked into work...bam...some stuff went wrong. I refused to make it a bad day, though. Dumb stuff happens at work, and that's just the way it is. So I worked on a single project all day, and it's still not done (scheduling senior SSP - Student Success Plan - meetings for each student individually with his/her counselor). There are 550+ students in this class; that's a lot of appointments to schedule. You have to be careful not to schedule them during the afternoons on half days, etc. I want to get everything scheduled and the letters merged and ready to go so when I get back from Brazil, I can just send them over to the print shop to be printed and mailed.

I didn't take a picture at work again today. I have to remember to do that, and that's all there is to it. I think I'll get Peter to take a photo of me right now (not wearing a dress, though!!!). It was very hot and humid again today. When I went through Jewett City, the sign at the bank said is was 105 degrees Fahrenheit! I wonder if their thermometer was wrong. I kept my window open in my office all morning and it was not excessively hot in my office, but my car was steaming when I went out at lunch time.

The sister missionaries had dinner at our house again tonight because Dianne S. canceled and I didn't want them to be hungry. I made a chicken salad and put together a tossed salad to have with it. I picked up rolls and some yummy pastries for desert from the bakery in Jewett City. After dinner, we went and visited some people. A good night, indeed.

Just to make it not just any old photo, I decided I'd play piano for this photo!

Day 23

Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Today is Alexandra's birthday, and she left for Pennsic. Work was good. I pre-registered two new students and Jeanne gave them courses. Otherwise, a regular day at work. Of course, I forgot to take a photo, but I have photos from the fun night! I still haven't worn the same outfit for work since I started this back at the end of June. I didn't realize I had so many dresses/skirts. :)

I got home just in time to change and run over to Kim M.'s house. She was watching her grandson, and her husband, Bobby (the drummer) was playing with his band in Cranston. There were three brass instruments, guitar, bass, drums, and male and female lead singers. We had great seats and the music was AWESOME!

Kim and me at the show.

The bass player and Bobby on the drums in he background.

Little grandson, not even a year old, loves music. You should have seen him dancing around to the beat of the music. Bobby will have him sit down by the drums, and he'll hit them with the stick three times, and his little grandson with do the same. A little drummer in the making!

I didn't get home to the neighborhood until 10:00 p.m. and I was soooo hungry. So, I went through the drive through at Burger King and got a whopper junior (no tomatoes, no ketchup, extra extra pickles, extra lettuce, and mayo) and a value fries. That was my late-night snack. I don't like eating that late, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Day 22

Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Vacation Day! I woke up early (per usual), read my book (on my lovely Paperwhite Kindle :) for a couple of hours, and then rolled out of bed around 6:00 a.m. I went outside and cooked about 16 lbs. of bacon on a huge griddle on a huge grill. All of the fat dripping down caused a fire which the guys put out and then moved the griddle to the other side of the grill so the dripping fat wouldn't go where the fire was. A guy named Peter helped put the bacon on the griddle while I turned it and removed it when it was cooked. We had a good system going.

I only ate some of that bacon for breakfast (I didn't care for the scrambled eggs), and LuAnne and I finalized our Duty to God lesson, which we gave at 11:00. Those 11-year-old scouts were awesome. They were attentive and participated well. We left right after that, and I got home a little after 1:00 (I stopped at WalMart to pick up a few things en route home).

I vacuumed the house and did about seven loads of wash, hanging towels and sheets on the line. I made homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner and sautéd zucchini for a vegetable. I also cut up some watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries and adding blueberries to make a refreshing fruit salad. We had a nice dinner with the sister missionaries. Then it was relaxing time before bed. It was another really hot day.

Day 21

Monday, July 15, 2013. Vacation Day. I went to support the 11-year-old Scouts at Boys Camp. LuAnne and I got there by 7:00 a.m. to do the registration of the other scouts and then we had the day pretty much to ourselves.

Here I am, loaded up with all my stuff.

Unfortunately, LuAnne fell off the bench and jarred her knee, so our plans for hiking went down the tube, so I walked by myself down to the waterfront and sat on the floating dock. I dangled my feet in the water and enjoyed the water (the water temperature was perfect!) and the beautiful scenery.

Here I am, enjoying the day before the appearance of THE SPIDER!

Soon the boys came to work on their merit badges. Then all chaos broke look when one yelled, "A dock spider!" Well, it disappeared only to appear moments later on my white capris! Oh my goodness! It was huge, at least 2" in diameter! I brushed it off with a screech and then it appeared on the water near the dock. The boys splashed at it with an oar and it scooted further out. I stood up (of course) and watched that spider as it stood on top of the water, balancing so well as the ripples from the boys jumping in the water undulated underneath its feet. Then suddenly it dove (yes, dove as only a spider can dive) underwater. A few moments later, seeing the spider reappear on the dock, one of the boys squealed, "the spider!" and dove into the water. That's when I thought that it would be best to leave!

This is what the spider looked like, but I don't remember the big ball thing underneath, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't there. That spider was really big!

The rest of the day was uneventful. We helped the cook chop onions and just hung around. It was really hazy, lazy, hot, and oh so humid kind of day! I slept well, though, despite getting up three times to go to the bathroom (that was because of all the water I drank that night).

Day 20

Sunday, July 14, 2013. After everyone left last night, Sofia, a friend of hers from work, Alexandra, and I went to the Golden Eagle, a bar/restaurant at the Holiday Inn Express where Jonathan K. was playing his guitar and singing. He and Sofia were going to do a song together. They did a song called "Little Talks." Sofia did very well. The setup had the guitar way loud and you had trouble hearing the singing.  Sofia was awesome! We got home around 11 p.m. and then later on Alexander (from New Hampshire) came back after taking Micaiah home to Boston. Jay and I were already in bed.

My right leg and hip were really sore this morning. I refuse to accept the fact that I can't just dance like crazy and not pay the price the next day. I took a nice hot bath and applied a salve of comfrey. That stuff really works for muscle aches and pains. I also took some Arnica. Now I'm fine. :)

We all went our separate ways to church: Jay to Norwich where the new bishop was called (Jonathan S...what an amazing young man his is!). Sofia, Alexandra, Alexander, and a guy named Ryan from Rhode Island, went to the singles ward in Providence. I went to Scituate. It was all good. There was a linger longer, but I didn't make anything and didn't really feel like staying, so I went home, had a bite to eat, read some of my book and took a nap. Everyone else got home around 3 or 3:30 and Alexander played piano (he's taking classes at Berkeley School of Music) and guitar and he and Alexandra sang some songs together. They sounded really good. What a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.

Now Christopher M. and his daughter, Piper, are over for a visit with Alexandra. Sofia has gone home to her place, and Alexander has gone home to New Hampshire. And now it's quiet time....but not really because I have to pack for tomorrow. I'm going to Boy Scout Camp for a day and a half. It's gonna be fun!!!

Day 19

Saturday, July 13, 2013. This is Alexandra's "28 is the new 18" birthday party day. It was all about preparing for and having the party, which started at 3:00 p.m. I made a sourdough starter on Thursday, and made sourdough bread for the party. Here it is. Everyone loved it, but I felt it was too soft. I like mine more crusty. But it was a success. :)

Alexandra made chocolate, passion fruit, and raspberry lime mousse (mooses :)). She put them in small plastic cups and made five batches total.

The menu is this:
Rice
Lentils
Swiss Chard
Salad
Bread
Grated Carrots
Sliced scallions
And, of course, a lovely cake that Crystal A. won at a cake walk. About 30 people came. We talked, ate, the children played croquet, and some the piano, and most fun of all was dancing to music provided by Micaiah. That was so fun. Here are some photos:

We had water bottles, lemon aid bottles, and raspberry & peach teas.

Sofia made the labels for the bottles. She's so creative!

Sofia loves her Daddy. :)

Xavier playing piano. He doesn't read music, he just plays what his teacher has shown him.

We brought the sofa out and carpet. I loved the look.

What's left of that yummy cake, some mousse, and cherries, Alexandra's favorite fruit.

Friends from Camelot.

Love to dance!

Micaiah providing that fun music. Love to dance!

Crystal & Ethan, Alexandra, and others

Dancing to Cotton Eyed Joe. :) So fun.

Taking down the bunting...soon the lights will be down too.

And, of course, I was dancing, too. And sweating like crazy. It hot and humid. We were all sweating!