Early Release Day

There were only a few light flakes of snow when I drove home from work this afternoon.  School was let out early in anticipation of the storm.  I am not sure how the weather progressed there, but where I live, I am fairly certain they put in a full day.  After parking my car at the long term lot I had a nice, chilly walk home where I fell asleep on the couch.  Even so I am really tired tonight.

Gideon and K are home but Z's company pays for him and some other employees to stay at a hotel so they can make it to work when there is a storm.  We had a quiet afternoon of movies, video games and reading.  Last week I got the movie Hidden Figures from Netflix and I watched that today.  I had seen bits of it at school before break and am glad I was able to watch is all today.  I was able to get the audio book of Hidden Figures through Audible last week but I should finish Cosmos before I start a new book.  I'm mostly enjoying Cosmos, by Carl Sagan, but it does have some parts that I am finding more slow and so they are harder to listen to while driving.  

A few weeks ago I was observed in class by the Special Education Building Coordinator as part of my yearly review.  Today we sat down and discussed how that went.  There wasn't anything that I would consider negative in the review.  We also discussed areas that I feel I could use more training.  This all went really well and is my happy for today.

Buds and some last year's berries? still clinging to the tree.

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Weather Rambles-short

Tomorrow's forecast calls for snow starting in the afternoon and school has already called an early release so I will be out early.  Thursday's forecast is a bit more iffy.  I heard that the snow would be over early afternoon and then I heard early, early morning.  It could also turn to rain.  If it turns to rain there may be school on Thursday.  I'm kind of hoping for no school.  One of the problems with not living too close to the school is that the weather could be much different at home than it is at school.  In this case it could mean that home has 18 inches of snow and school has rain.  Ah, spring in New England!  😀

My neck and shoulders are stil bothering me.  It has been a few weeks now.  My chiropractor helped, but it didn't last.  I think it is mostly muscle tension in nature.  Before dinner tonight K rubbed my neck and shoulders and put some Tiger Balm on them.  That is my happy for today-massage.  🙌

Morning Sky

I was told my hair looked really nice-I don't see it! 

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Back to Work. short

The day back from vacation and the students didn't want to be there.  This was no surprise and they did become better behaved as the day went by and the routine started coming back.  So many tired people.  Monday is Dungeons and Dragons Club after school.  It is fun, but loud.  The teacher was able to get donations from a gaming store of some dry erase gaming maps and a bunch of dice.  Most of the kids are having a blast playing after school.  It brings me back to when I used to think about having a place where people could come to and game.  It is an idea that I've had and never done anything with and now others are doing it.  Some day I hope to act on an idea I have and profit from it, at least a little.  😉

After work I went for a walk with my friend from work.  It was a nice but cold day and we walked over 3 miles.  Home and I am exhausted.  I am unable to hold onto a thought before starting to drift off to sleep so I am going to try to do that,  My happy for today is student laughter.  😜

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Maple Sugar Time

The last day of vacation and I was out of the house for most of it.  A few chores were done and then I headed out to SCA fighting practice.  This one takes place about an hour north of home, in the White Mountains.  There were only 2 fighters and the marshal that were there to practice fighting today.  There was also a spouse who is hoping to take up fighting soon and 3 kids running around.  Until going to this I forgot that I used to enjoy going to practices.  It has been years since I have gone to just a practice rather than a tournament.  Tournaments can be fun, but I like the stop and teach moments that happen more at a practice.  I don't like the part that can happen where people get hurt, that can happen in any sport.  After I was there a bit another person showed up to watch.  I had been trying to undue a rather large knot of silk and she offered to help.  Soon the 3 of us were deeply engaged in untangling and talking while the 3 fighter types practiced and taught and the 3 boys ran around (away from the fighting) playing.  It was a lot of fun and I hope to make it up there to another practice soon.  Maybe next time I will think to take pictures.

On the way home I stopped by a friends house for a visit.  I hadn't seen him since last year when he had a few friends over for his 50th birthday and I got to go with him as he cared for honey bees.  Today he was busy doing the first run of maple syrup.  We stood in the sugar shack and talked for about 3 hours.  I met his lady and her mom and a few other friends that stopped by while we visited.  Nice people.  I feel like I smell like the maple steam, but K and Z don't smell it on me.  I'm so glad that I happened to pick today to stop by.  So many memories of my childhood and tapping trees with my dad, getting to eat the little bits of frozen sap first thing in the morning off the tap as a kid and the smell of it cooking in the kitchen.  We didn't have enough trees to have a shack, just enough for a family and some precious memories.  Also, so many memories and just catching up with my friend in that 3 hours.  I have some absolutely fantastic friends. 

So many happy things for today:  Friends, old and new; memories; mountains, and that smell of maple sap as it heats up and starts to turn into maple syrup.  🍁 😋

Rocks and mountains, because they are pretty.

Maple Syrup Cooker. 

☮☮☮☮

Earrings-short

For the majority of the day I was visiting a friend who had a craft day at her house.  This is a friend from work, not an SCA person.  It was rather nice to be able to work on something and not have to concern myself with whether it would be medieval or not.  There were other people from school that she (and sometimes me) works with.  This is the first time I really met them to spend time with though.  It was a nice day.  She has an older yellow lab that reminded me of my dog, Hunter.  Almost a year later and I still miss him.

After I left the craft day I went to the gym.  I had been sitting down most of the day and really wanted to get my step count in for the day.  Another friend of mine has started a challenge through Fit Bit.  This one is a virtual loop through Yosemite.  The app supplies pictures at certain scenic sections along the virtual hike.    

My happy for today is making the earrings:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Social Day

Today was supposed to be lunch with a few cousins and my aunt from my mother's side of the family.  The weather didn't cooperate and some folks couldn't come.  We are hoping to reschedule that group in April, during school spring break.  K, Gideon and I did meet up with my aunt and her grandson, who turned 31 today.  The pictures on the news are showing some major flooding and damage by the coast so it is probably good that the original plan to meet near the beach was canceled.  We went to one place for lunch and then across the street to Friendly's for ice cream dessert. 

After that we went and visited an aunt on my father's side of the family and my cousin and her husband.  Another nice visit and I got my Christmas present from my aunt.  She is so good to me.  She is also my Godmother.  While we were there, they heard about someone nearby that had a tree fall on their home from the wind (no one hurt) and then the power went out.  I took some back roads part of the way home and we had no problems. 

This evening I walked to craft night across town.  The wind is not as strong anymore and the rain has stopped here, at least temporarily.  The drawn work embroidery that I learned about at the event last weekend, I worked on a bit tonight.  I showed it to a friend that embroiders professionally and he said I seemed to be doing it right.  We talked a bit and I told him I was thinking of doing something with it for modern clothes, not SCA and he brought down some books to look at.  I have ideas and hope to actually do and complete them. 

To end the evening I have been happily chatting with a friend from almost 30 years ago.  We have seen each other at events now and again but haven't had lots of time to talk.  I had questions that I thought he might have ideas for and we have been messaging most of the evening.  Hopefully I haven't taken him from his family time too much. 

All-in-all a very good day for us despite the weather.  Hopefully the damage has been mostly superficial.  Today was a happy day.

Lunch time!

 Gideon is reading his menu through the IPad.

River pictures 

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Mud Season

Sleep evaded me last night.  I drifted off while writing yesterday's Blog for a short time and then was awake until 5 AM.  Waking up around 9 I was full of energy and spent the morning cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen.  Sitting down to do things on the computer didn't put me to sleep but I expect that it will tonight so I am writing before dinner and will post before bed.  We got some grocery shopping done and then I headed out for a walk. 

It was a beautiful spring like day out and I decided to try a trail that I haven't been on before.  This was probably not a good idea.  K dropped me off at the trail head and I set off.  What I didn't realize was that parts of the trail were just for skiers and I was supposed to keep to the multi-use trails which started out marked alright but didn't remain so.  There were snowy areas, but not enough for skiing.  There was quite a bit of melt off and I should have worn a different pair of boots since the ones I wore aren't waterproof.  This didn't really bother me too much, just noting that I could have been more prepared.  The trails went around a large hay field but eventually the signs went away and what seemed like trail before seemed to become soggy hay field instead.  It made sense to continue to follow it around, that was how I remembered the map, so I did.  When I got to the far side I noticed blue blazes on trees just after the field ended and there appeared to be a trail there.  There was also a spring time stream between the field and trees.  Eventually I found a place to cross.  I wound my way along what sometimes seemed like trail and other times not, crossing over streams and through what was probably once a homeless camp or party area, but always heading toward the road that never left my hearing.  I had looked at the map a few times but, confident that I couldn't get too lost, I didn't take the time to truly orient myself with it.  Eventually I got to the road and waked home from there.  It was probably just a little over a mile before getting to the road.  That was today's mud season adventure! 😀 At home I checked for ticks and thankfully didn't find any.   The walk totaled 3.5 miles.

Fields

The road.

 Tunnel to the other side

Pretty colors as the sun got low on the opposite horizon.

That fresh air feeling and smell that is still lingering on my senses is my happy for today.

☮