Survival

My sister-in-law survived surgery today. She suffered a massive stroke on May 9 following open heart surgery. She has been in ICU or rehab ever since. They had to remove a section of skull over the affected area and today they put it back. The surgery took about 4 hours. I had no idea it was such a time consuming surgery. At this point she is in recovery and in another 45 minutes or so her husband will get to go up to see her. He has been with her every single day since this happened, fortunately he works in education and was just coming close to his big break of the year, summer. I don't know when we will be able to breathe a complete sigh of relief, but she made it through this day's surgery. Now her brain is safely covered with bone instead of a helmet. whew.

Something Beautiful

I was stopped by a train on Friday, something interesting and kind of striking was going by --I finally realized the gigantic sculptural forms were blades for wind turbines. Each one lay on one and a half extra long flat cars, car after car after car. When they are mounted in the distance, they just don't look that big.

August 1

The countdown really begins today, on my birthday. One from eighteen equals seventeen days until the first day of school. We get a really nice invitation to a mandatory teacher meeting on the first day. Then we spend the afternoon at our own building having a faculty meeting then some time in our classroom. I always find the invitation somewhat hilarious. I signed up for a workshop on "boys in Crisis" pm the 14from 9 until noon, I can still swim before that, so my summer isn't ruined! I think the topic is very improtant, even critical.

I got home from my swim and a little stop at panera's to read and have a late breakfast, followed by the tiniest little bit of shopping at TJ MAXX. I found Henry a new set of extra long sheets for his bed, they're covered with tiny alligators or crocodiles and of course they are blue to go with his decor.

The dog had wrapped her cable around the tree and so could not come back to her water. I stupidly went out without another leash to loop around her neck and ended up tightly trapped against the tree myself with the cable cutting into my bare ankles as she was determined to knock me down and probably lick me to death. In her great happiness, she clawed my arm and it is quite the bloody mess. I am considering keeping it that way until the dog's daddy comes home, but I can't stand the smell of dog on me so I am going to have to wash up. My brand new white T is also splattered, I buy these t's to splatter at WORK! and not feel badly about it.
I will probably be able to get the blood out. Walmart special.

My arms and shoulders are so tired from last night's workout, but in a very good way. I didn't even know with the beta blockers I take that I could even get my heart rate up into an aerobic zone, but I can. I guess that is what I need every week. I wear myself out on the elliptical, but with my knees, I don't really raise the heart rate, though I do sweat plenty and need lots of water afterwards. I have a book around here on aerobic weight training, and I had a sample last night, I liked it.

WORKOUT!

I was the only person who showed up for class tonight. So for my $20 a month, I had a true personal trainer. I always come in early and do a half hour on the elliptical and tonight I really raised the resistance for me and worked those legs. Then the weights were mostly for the back, I literally worked to failure on every one of them, my heart was definitely in aerobic space, I can barely lift my fingers to type now. whew, now that was the end of what I call my movie star day. You know how they workout all the time? I swam for two hours this morning, had a haircut, followed by a massage, then home for a bit and off to my evening workout. I don't feel like a starlet right now, I feel like some one who is going to be 61 tomorrow, but her arms are getting more muscular in there. I almost didn't go, I told myself if I could get my swede-o brace on my ankle and my shoes on, by 4:30, I'd go. Lacing that thing up takes time, but I made it and am I ever glad I did!

Just my opinion

TV has really done enough saving power, how long have they been shooting dramas in the dark? Courtrooms, police stations, operating rooms, really. I am watching The Cleaner, what I can make out visually, all dark, dark, dark and not just metaphors. Sometimes there is some of that golden yellow light outside bathing the scene of addicts outdoors--golden light, as per CSI Miami, the rest is chiaroscuro. I have actually been in some operating rooms waiting for the two second trip from awake to total blackout--there is a bright 1000 watt light right over you and even the ER is very very lit up. So give me a break, turn on a couple of lights. OK, one place where they could turn out the lights, the news, the annual flu shot news stories--do you have to show a needle into the arm every damn year? I can't take it. I don't look at my own shots, let alone want to see somebody else's, and I give bood, that's a whopping big needle, but I don't want to LOOK at it. That goes for any vaccination story-- I don't want to see the needle going into an arm, a spindly starving arm, a plump baby arm.

an addendum days later, The John Adams series on HBO, shot darkly--that was good, it certainly pointed out how people lived in those days before electricity. By the way, that is an amazing series, I almost said asesome, but I am tired of that word.

Writing

Writing has really fallen off this summer, having fallen under the spell of twitter where short mundane sentences are just right. I just went out and ran the mower over the dog's park, it used to be a yard, now it is an obstacle course of sticks, holes and bowling balls stuffed under the fence to keep her in. That is no longer necessary as she can now sail blissfully over the fence without having to excavate. She is so sweet and loving that all kinds of neighbors return her home and one even put her in the kennel after she leaped over the fence. That is how we know she can jump the fence. I think one girl even has our phone number memorized by now.

I have been reading Jen Lancaster, hilarious, Joyce Carol Oates, Amy Guth, and believe me, after Amy, Joyce is no longer the most out there writer I have ever read! Go Amy. I am waiting with bated breath for the next Guth.

oh my gosh, I was just thinking of going to Menard's and maybe checking out a fire pit for the dogs sticks, that's legal--in the city, burning sticks in a fire pit, just not on the ground, but Barack is going to be on Meet the Press for a full hour....hmmm. Too bad Tim isn't around to do this.

I was down at my favorite local cafe this week and one of the nephews, aged 29, not fat, but a smoker, had a heart attack and a 100% blocked artery. His little brother, 6ft64 lanky Jon, had a collapsed lung from smoking last winter, come on boys, --things are happening to the very young that oughtn't to be happening.

Just consider this a very long twitter, but I have to fight the urge to take a lawn chair and go sit in the yard at Sister's, missing home the most in the summer time. The swimmin' hole filled in over time with silt, and I am sure modern farm chemicals have really ruined it anyway, but still, I miss it.

The art teachers are getting together at the first local coffee shop in town, we have been going there since the girls were 15 or 16, so it isn't new anymore. It came under new management and they managed to improve it so much and yet retain the true coffee shop feel of the place. Better chairs and better coffee machine, and better supply of baked goods baked on site by the owner/wife. This get together is a big blaring signal that a teacher's summer is coming to a close, we go back to school August 18-- OMG-- did we ever really wait until labor day? 43 years ago I graduated on May 17-- My son's birthday used to fall outside the school year on May 25, and now we start mid august and go until at least June 1-

Another Class Down

I have completed my 6 hours for relicensing and my license is up in one year. It was a grueling week, and not because of the work, the work was interesting, fun and helpful, but I am not made to sit for 8 hours with few walks...I am not a big walker, but in my own classroom, I do not have to sit still, and I don't. I didn't realize how much freedom I have in my little kingdom. Even the young teachers were in pain, backs, necks, we were practically head down on Friday from the sitting. I felt vindicated cause it wasn't just me. I cannot wait to jump in the pool in the morning. We went to the prairie yesterday to help the children with a drywall problem, well, DH did that, I just got to play with the 3.5 year old. He has an imagination on full throttle and it is more fun than ever. We can pretend, pretend, pretend. We took the dog and she played well, though she did some of her landscaping under the neighbor's fence. Not appreciated. I hope when she goes to live there, the great increase in attention and exercise will help her overcome that problem. She and the preschooler can run in great looping circles like a team--it is a sight to see.