Bi-Annual Visitor

I have written a lot about the beasties that share our lives,

but I tend to write more about the dogs.

Our most popular post of our blog since we began writing 

way back in 2008 was about our cat crew.

About once a week somebody does an internet search

and then clicks on 

Tryptophan Overdose.

This is Trey, one of Willowby's (now Mama Kitty) kittens

all stretched out after his indulgence.

He disappeared about a year ago 

and showed up in late July or early August.

We had decided that coyotes had gotten him,

but evidently he had found better digs elsewhere.

After a few days he disappeared again just as

quickly as he had appeared.

Two nights ago he popped through the pet door

as if he owned the place and had never been gone.

I have no idea who we are sharing ownership with,

but he seems content to let us know that he is still

alive and well.  

Student Intern

This year I am teaching 2nd and 3rd grade as I have done for the past few years.

To say that this class is a challenging bunch is an understatement.

It seems like there isn't enough of me to go around.

When the opportunity arose for me to have a student intern, 

I jumped at the chance. 

It didn't hurt that I've known said intern since the fifth grade.

This is Mrs. Fast on her first day with the kids.

(She's more proper than I am.)

We had spent the entire day on Sunday planning.

Then I recommended that she not touch anything school 

related until Wednesday morning when she began.

Believe it or not, she actually listened to me.

I assured her that she would start out nervous,

but after the first hour she would feel much more at ease.

I threw her right to the wolves.

She was reading to the kids the first day.

Today when I had a student experiencing a melt-down 

and I needed to work with him, she got right into the thick of things.

She has taken two reading groups on and is doing guided reading.

The kids just love her.

I expected her to be dead tired the first night.

I was.

I went home, made supper, had a glass of wine and crashed.

She stayed up past 10.

I hear there is news on the television at that time!

And yet she looked like this on Friday ....

 

..... at the end of the day!

Looking for a book? Just ask Confucius.

Confucius say ....

If you are in book store and cannot find

the book for which you search, you are obviously in the . . .

A friend sent me this and I just couldn't resist.



Two Thousand Twelve

New Year's with Sister Two

This is George, he is a cowboy at the feed lot

His family and friends are making us one of their favorite meals.
He started with a half of pig, cut and trimmed, salt, and some grease. There
could have been a little bit of beer added for flavor.

Stirring the pork with his board.
After it had cooked he melted and browned some sugar.
Then poured over the cooked pork.

The wives came in next with a huge bowl of pico de gallo,
green chili sauce, and dough for fresh tortillas.

She used a wooden press and turned the dough into flattened tortillas.

They placed the dough on a heated grill until the tortillas turned golden.

They worked hard for about an hour. While the rest of us enjoyed the New Year's feast.

Mean while Krista mixed up a pitcher of Cherry Limeade.
We enjoyed a great food, drink, and desserts.

Here is to a great New Year.

The Day After New Year

Today we spent the day at Brandon and Kristle's.

With our varied schedules we had not been

 able to get together to celebrate Christmas.

We had asked what we could bring and Kristle had it all under control,

 but humored us and told us we could bring bread and ice cream.  

On our way to their house we stopped at the

 Evil Empire and picked the two items up.

The first thing I heard upon entering the much

 despised big box store was,

 "Tttttrrruuuuddddyyyyyyy!" 

 I turned around to see one of my students grinning his mischievious grin,

and happy as all get out to see me.  

That alone makes all of the endless meetings at school bearable.

I quickly grabbed what we needed and then 

drove to Kristle and Brandon's new house.

They recently moved into a log cabin.

I loved their new place --- it was so cozy and homey.

Brandon, the boys, and I went out to talk about where he should 

put his garden next spring.

Talking with Brandon about gardening transported me back a year or two ...

surely it couldn't be more than that!

The day was beautiful and Nathaniel showed me his "King of the World" pose.

We went in and enjoyed chicken chili and then the kids opened their gifts.

We got Kaleb a dinosaur chair.

The dinosaur looked happier than the kid

but I managed to get a tiny grin.

The older boys were happy with building their heroes,

but the real hit of the day was Trinity's knitting machine.

Okay, so I lied.

The real hit of the day was playing with their new pups.