January 2012

1) The start of a new year always generates a sense of starting over with resolutions, plans and dreams.

2) January 2012 seemed like an endless stream of snowstorms - one after another.  This is very unusual in the Pacific Northwest.

this morning required a great deal of scraping

my drive home

it's piling up in the driveway

continuing to come down well into the night

the next morning

toasting to a day off with a bit 'o Jameson

3) My students took on the role of forensic scientists as they attempted to solve a crime.  They also kept me entertained with their sense of style and humbled me with their kindness.

Mr. Deadman

paper chromatography to solve the crime

Kevin seems to take it in stride when I compliment his "bed head"

these girls invited me to a breakfast which they prepared

4) Teaching can be exhausting so I try to find inspiration in the simple things in life.

admiring all my hard work

enjoying some peace as I get work done in the beautiful downtown library

surprise gift from a co-worker

gorgeous sunset

beautiful blue sky and cotton clouds

Finnegan looking peaceful

Grady hanging out under the desk as I work

Skye looking so innocent

bird tracks encountered during a snowy walk

5) The month closed with the loss of a beloved member of our school community - Officer Stan Chapin.  I will share more about this in next month's post.

New Year's Eve

Well the year has come to a close.  It was an icy morning when I awoke so the cats were content to stay inside and play with their new catnip mouse.  I decided to bundle up and head outside to enjoy the sun.

Skye

Brigid

a rare occurrence - mother and daughter sharing

I love the sound and look of a flock of geese flying overhead

some vibrant color amid the ice

there was weird ice covering every puddle

a creative sign at the foot of the Sammamish Plateau - loved it

Bremerton Bust

Did you know there is a museum devoted to Pyrex right here in Washington state.  It's over in Bremerton and Holly and I had talked about going at some point.  It seemed like a great idea to head over there during our winter break.  If only the website had indicated that it would be closed between Christmas and New Years.  The trip wasn't a total bust.  We hit a few antique/thrift stores and walked through an art gallery. Had a pint and a salmon burger before heading home.  Guess we'll have to plan a return trip.

Art Gallery and Pyrex Museum Information

I love making homemade baked beans so I was totally pumped about the purchase pictured below.  This isn't just any old beanpot but an antique McCoy beanpot.  It's almost too pretty to use.

I'm always on the lookout for vintage picture frames and I found two nice ones today.  The gray one had a great photograph of a couple on a front porch (probably from the 40's).  Old photographs always make me a little sad because I can't help but wonder what happened to the people in the picture.

Christmas

Christmas morning began as usual.  Coffee, opening presents and the pets enjoying the wrapping paper more than the gifts.  Best present of the day - a beautiful (and soft) blanket from my sister and brother-in-law.

Brigid amid the wrapping and catnip covered rug

http://www.macauslandswoollenmills.com/

I feel blessed to have a core group of special friends, especially when my only immediate family member lives thousands of miles away.  We spent the afternoon getting caught up.  Dinner was relaxing and delicious.

A great meal to cap off a wonderful day

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve has typically been spent at my friend's home enjoying a traditional swedish smorgasbord. This year was no different.  After enjoying the buffet, we had great fun playing Bananagrams and Clue. Highlight of the evening was meeting the newest addition to the family - "Jack" the cat.  He's pretty damn adorable.

Tis the Season

My students were very generous this year as evidenced by all these Starbucks gift cards.

What's even funnier is this stack of gift cards/certificates from last year (or older) that I found in my desk. Hopefully, none of them expire.

Garage

Why is it that as the year moves from spring to summer and into fall, the garage becomes more and more disorganized.  The car is in the driveway so you keep pitching stuff in there willy nilly until you can't stand it anymore.  Here's what I'm currently facing.  This could take days.

The only organized part of my garage is the area with all the bits of free scrap wood for my wood stove - donated by my wonderful neighbor Jim, of course.

Ugly Holiday Sweater Craze

These things used to be a dime a dozen but not any more!  Just try to find one when you want it because it ain't easy.  Last year I hit the mother lode when I went to one of my favorite local thrift shops.  They had a whole rack of holiday stuff and I purchased TWO for about $10.00.  We've had a holiday sweater day at school for the past 2 years so it's nice to have a couple in my closet.  Today marks the first day of my holiday break.  I celebrated by sleeping in until about 8AM, relaxing during the day and once nightfall arrived, I headed out to the Annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Pub Crawl in Ballard.

Kelly's outfit included lights

Just a little video that captures the excitement as participants move from pub to pub...

https://vimeo.com/54263405

Work Related Holiday Festivities

We do have an awesome PTSA at our school.  I can't remember if this is the second or third annual cookie extravaganza but it doesn't matter.  Right before winter break, all those moms bake up an amazing array of treats. They bring them to school and set them up in the staff lounge along with take away (as my foreign friends would say) containers encouraging us to pick a dozen or so to take home and enjoy.  I've never been disappointed.

Just one of a number of tables. . .they continue all the way around the room

My selections

Oh yeah, we also had a staff party at the Gentes home.  These are always fun and I must admit I had a little too much fun. Moreover, I only took this one lousy picture with my phone.

Best Dog in the Universe

Grady never pushes any of the cats out of his bed.  He merely chooses to sleep on the cold floor NEXT to his bed.  The picture says it all.