So I have seen a kit which has gps for dogs so if they get lost you can locate them but text and email is also offered. Dogs texting? Please that implies my students and dogs are equal. This unit is on amazon.com, and it has a hefty dollar cost.
Actually the things advertised on television websites and paper ads abounds with things that attract but actually are not needed. As I grow older I find I am less prone to jump on the spend it, get it bandwagon. Too many things are in my house now that are not used. They hide in drawers and closets or sit on shelves gathering dust. So I am not buying such things anymore.
But I do have my buy it bug when it comes to books. Certain authors and series are must haves. So I own many books both paper and hard bound. My kindle fire is cutting down on the number of tomes on my shelves but not my addiction to books. Another buy bug hits whenever I see a yarn that calls out "knit me,Knit me." I am firmly convinced that true knitters can not exist without to knit stashes of yarn and a list of ufo's ( unfinished objects.)
Still truthfully I have never been one to play bigger diamond, bigger car etc. games. Things do not make anyone truly happy though they may give a sense of having that lasts only until the next must have comes along. Happiness comes from within from knowing yourself and being able to accept yourself and your place in life. I will never be famous or rich or flashy but I hope to be remembered with love. I am happy even when I am mad.

Spent a hour or two at yarnn knitting today and found my mind clearing. Knitting does that for me. If the pattern is simple (and this afghan is simply discloth squares),I can go into a fugue state of meditate,knit, knit meditate. Often a quandry that has been chasing the gray matters Poirot calls it settles down and is solved without thinking. I do not worry much as my life is pretty much let go and let god but I am coming to believe his answers come after prayer as I knit. Is that possible?

Planning of the Prairie Winds Writers Retreat for teens can go on. the funds have been found through the help of generous donation and a lot of pizza eaters over the weekend. I am really happy to see it go on.Students are all ready asking for flyers so here we go again. More on this later.

Today I was again reminded how different students are. One of my easy to anger non workers is in a local drama groups Jauary production and his writings are in for Pwinds. Creativity allows him to funciton with others. Still another is happy because he is in a relationship and another is doing nothing. NOt unusual on the high school platter. Yet the disturbing thing is talk of passing 5-6 cars at high speed and doing 100+ around s curves. So what bothers me most is one of these boys lost a brother to cancer earlier this year and now he is daring death. Does he want to cause his parents more pain? While these are not bad kids they are reckless even taking the stories with a grain or two of salt.

Yesterday two ex students stopped in.One is in the work world; the other in college after he worked a year. How he has grown up. He was saying how his fellow frosh skip classes and he was saying they can not believe he goes. His comment, " hey I am paying tons for it, i am going to class and I am passing the class." Maturity does indeed come to some.

Friday is here. The end of the first week back from vacation is always a settling in to the routine again. Students have to quell the excitement from vacation and reuniting with schoolmates and go back to a study routine. Teachers have to go back to planning and adjust to changes in student schedules. My impact class went from 6 to10. Adaptability is required on both sides of the desk but new challenges reduce the boredom.

My sock is started and without help. The feeling of accomplishment is great. So now I am beginning to believe there is hope for me to actually knit a pair. However I still need to attend the class. The yarn is interesting as I actually hand painted it myself and it is like a crayon box of color. The feet that get this pair will be noticeable. It is interesting to watch the color patterns emerge as the needles click.

Life is a bit like knitting a sock. We are the yarn and our decisions are the stitches that create the pattern of our life, My life like the socks I am making has been and is
colorful. Teacher, writer, news reporter, mother, wife, divorcee, only child Avon lady, 4H leader, dog trainer, drug and alcohol prevention worker and traveler all of these have made me what I am. when my life is done I hope the pattern shows as interesting, tolerant, and happy because I feel for the most part I am that. I also hope my pattern shows my interest in others and how that interest has also shaped and enriched me.

Classes at the college start in two weeks or less and life will speed up once again. There are to be truthful times that I wish I had the sense to say no. But also just as truthfully I would miss the teaching at this level. Is it not interesting that what we love most also intrudes the most on our routine?

So Holly is taking a scarf class at Yarn and I am going to go knit while she learns. Not much school work yet as this is the first four days back ergo no guilt. Actually I seem to get a lot done there if it is a tougher project perhaps because I know help is near. It works that way for students also. They seem to find a teacher who for them is a figure of secuirty or shared learning styles or similar likes and dislikes and they learn better in those classes.
My novel needs that a place or mentor that gives me a comfort zone in which to proceed.I get bursts of energy and write like mad and then it slows and so do I. Still progress is being made and I will share it here one day and hope for comments. You my readers may become my reason to write.
Dogs need grooming but have to get shots first. So Saturday at ten it is off to the vet and hopefully a trip to the groomers right after that. Either way I have a sock class to attend that day. Second time through the clas; I am a special needs sock learner but Andrea is a patient and kind teacher. Major accomplishment today, I got one started by myself of course a yarn shop angel was at the table with me.Thanks Shannon!! The learning together atosphere in that shop is unbeatable.
Prairie Winds Planning is in full gear. Trying to get writers and artist to say yes as the kids are pressing for flyers so they can sign up. Band kids leaveSaturday of camp but some think they may come and leave Friday pm so they can do both, Students crave such experiences ,but Kansas' cut of arts council is making it difficult to fund learning experiences. But the funding is there for this year at least.
Need to go knit with Holly. Morelater or tomorrow.

The New Year is now two days old and Work reenters my life. Guess I am odd but it makes getting up worthwhile. Tomorrow the kids return and hearing about their holidays will be great. I spent the last of the holiday in Belize with a group of teachers( most past 30) and was surprised not one felt unhappy with the students they see everyday. Of course, war stories could have been told but there seemed a magic ban on discussing those tales. The focus was on the joy our work gives or gave us.

Getting back to routine is not a bad thing either, I believe most of us find comfort in the daily rut . Knowing what is coming gives a sense of security and allows us to get on with the business of life. Change shakes us up, adds some spice ( though for some change is more of an earthquake) but eventually that change becomes routine. This seems to be the pattern of life. The Great Planner knows our need for security.

Speaking of routine i am anxious to get to Yarn and to have needles in my hands. Belize events lept me too busy to think about it uch but now I am ready for it. Change is even coming there as the store is changing locatioN. In fACT IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED ALREADY! Notice the caps as I am not sure if it has moved to its new location. Believe me I will know by the end of the day and I will adapt to the new site.

Saturday begins a new learning for me. Well, not really new a second attempt is a better description as I once again take a sock class. Andrea are you ready? I am determined to learn how to do this. Learning requires committment whether it is a language or a sock and believe me I am committed to this task. This skill when I have it will be in honor of Heather though not her favored magic loop method.

Time to end this ramble. Happy New Year with all it brings in terms of rut and change. They prove you are alive.

Ok it is the day after Christmas and in this electronic age I have seen pictures of my family and had a couple of texts but have not actually heard their voices. Sometimes I wonder if technology is such a good thing.
Packing for Belize is today's goal and I actually wonder if it is worth it. but I recall the richness of an even quicker over Thanksgiving Vienna sprint and am quickly in the mood again. Rides are arranged to and from the airport. Have to be there at 6 tomorrow in the am and return the first at 11:12 ( probably 11:30), dog sitting also scheduled( but i should call and see if I can get them into apple lane today get for shots and tags),money secured for the trip etc so I am prepared except for packing,which you can guess I am avoiding. Might run to CJBanks this am as they are having a sale.Maybe Something new may put me in the mood.
However unless a change rushes in the weather both end of the trip looks like good roads. At this time of year that is a really good thing. For Kansas one might even say it is a great thing! I HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN BLIZZARD PRONE STATES and to be truthful the change of seasons is something I find necessary. Seasonal shifts of only a few degrees would bore me silly.
Working on blanket project and decided to knit across by rows. so nine squares and then the next nine.
The colors are looking good. Shanon really guided me well. The squares are easy almost no think knitting but oh will I be a mattress stitch expert when it is all sewn together. Maybe I will knit it , store it and let the girls get it done when I have gone on. NOT!
Knitting and reading are my relaxation modes of operation. Am reading a Death at Pemberly now by P.D.James. Set six years after Darcy and Elizabeth wed it is a good read and mimics Austen's style of prose almost too well.Next up is Micheal Connelly's newest and hopefully not long after that the new Stabenow Shugak tome.Taking the Kindle fire on the trip and reading the freebies from Amazon I have loaded. Most of which are quite readable. Life From Scratch is an example of that genre.
Yesterday was an on demand day as I viewed Midnight is Paris, clever woody allen at his best and Sarah's key which could have been maudlin but wasn't. In fact I enjoyed it more than the book,
Well more when I get back because of course I WILL go. I DO NOT FEAR THE TERRORISTS that several pals have warned me about or plane crashes( much more likely than the other) as always God is in charge. His will is mine and he knows my future well.

So here I am drinking coffee planning my day. First up the furnance man.Oops need to put the pups up before he gets here.Done! No I am not out of warmth in the house or the heart but both are getting a check up this vacation. Furnance needs it and bonus he will change the filter too. Thanks Linda for making this possible today. Next phone shopping as Verizon has proven way too expensive for Dana and family so we are switching to Straight phone a no contract service. Miriam their exchange student has one and spends hours on phone longer than my daughter and her family with full web for 45 a month. Can not hurt to try it.

He has arrived , right on time. One plus sign for that company. How many times have I been given a time only to wait for hours and have a no show. Another thank you for Linda. She can pass the kudos to her boss. I hope he says it will last a while longer. I know a newer one would be more efficient but do not want to think about it until at least August.

Often the small things such as working furnace,good water, food to spare and decent clothes are overlooked. When I hear people yearning for a Coach bag or a fancy something or other especially when it is a teen who is expecting family to provide it with no part of it at their cost, I sit back and wonder why and how this sense of entitlement comes about. My childhood was not deprived as I was an only child of hardworking parents, but I do not remember the things I had. My memories are rich with the afternoons Dad I went to the movies together, the Sundays Mom and I raced to the finish of the crossword , of her meals and baking, Dad"s old spice( smelling that brings him back to me even today) and his cigars. I remember how I felt secure.loved and cherished because of time spent with me, talking to me and supporting me in my troubles and in my dreams. Now I sometimes wonder if I passed this on to my girls. I recall telling them we had just somuch money for lunch at Mickey ' dees but we had lunch.I remember making their clothes, holding their horses, watching them walk cows, play sports, going to state fair and state track. Then there are the meals in the fields with their Dad and the hired men. None of these really are centered on money though they did cost money. They are full of the pride I felt when they did their best and the warmth of time spent together as we showed dogs, baked for 4 h etc. This is the true richness of life and what warms my heart everytime something brings a memory to mind.

When I said old spice brought my Dad to the room , I meant that. I can actually feel his presence when I smell that aftershave or agua veleva.He was big man--- six foot or better with the bulk of it.
He had a temper and would often let us see it but his anger was never abusive physically or verbally. His love was his main strength; His women felt secure,safe and cherished. Mom was allowed her independence and I was never forced into a preconceived mold. Mom's spirit enters the room everytime I hear a joke I want to share with her and nearly 20 years later I often reach for the phone to call her and share it. NO, I do not dwell on their absence in my life but there are things or moments that make me recall all that they gave me.

Others are missed in much the same way. Grandma James knitting and her blue enamel roaster full of cookies, aunt mary's gardens,Aunt kate's laughter, Grandma shubert's spirit,Anamae's getle smile and spirit, aunt maggie's outrageous love of life and uncle ted enjoying it. Too many to mention but let me say at this time of year those memories are near the surface, They comfort and fortify me. It is my hope that my girls will feel I have left them such strong and happy gifts.

Time to get on with the day. Merry Christmas and happy memories to my readers.
















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