ROAK'D!

Hello fearless readers,

Sorry for the lag time in posting. I was involved in the school play, and ended up spending a lot of time memorizing lines, and even *gasp* rehearsing. One of our super-fantastic Drama teachers (a playwright in his own right) put on Up The Down Staircase. In it were parts for a number of teachers, including yours truly. I got to play Ella, a Guidance counsellor who believes passionately in Personality Profiles, and very little in anything else.

The play was fun, but exhausting. I had only a bit part - I can't imagine how the director felt. Poor man was likley tired nigh unto death. As a result of the tiredness, I hadn't posted. This is the May Two-Four weekend, for those of you not Canadian, "The twenty-fourth of May is the Queen's Birthday. If we don't get a holiday we'll all run away" - we celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria - may she rest in peace- with...well..mostly beer and fireworks and a long weekend. I thought I'd relax and start posting again on Tuesday.

However, I was RAOK'd (random act of kindness'd) by Maryellen at Garrison's Garret . She sent me an adorable card with a cat on a green background, and a nifty piece of origami. She also mentioned that she was afraid that the kids with faces covered at my school were participating in a new teen trend. Then she looked at the pictures and realized how many of my students are Muslim.

But that got me thinking: 1)What crazy trends did you participate in as a teen? 2)What trends do you see happening around you, and how crazy do you think they'll become? 3)What imaginary trend, made up by you, can you convince at least one other person to try (and be photographed doing)?

Best answers to each question (most creative, most fun, most logical, best picture posted on your blog as proof) will receive a small prize from yours truly. You may enter in each category, but please explain clearly what your intended category is.

I'm going to wander off and start thinking of neat prizes.

Hmm...So I CAN do it

Just walked 5.2 km in 70 minutes. For those of you who are not metric, that's about 2.67 miles an hour. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I think I'd like to finish the race in under an hour. That seems do-able without being too high.

Baby blanket number one is 2/3 finished, coming up quickly on 3/4. I like big needles and yarn.

You Spin Me Right Round (or, i'm not at the Maryland Thingy Either, but I Don't Mind)

Yay! Today I finally learned how to use my spinning wheel. With the extensive aid of the kindly and proficient Elizabeth Watt, I learned to spin.

Nope, you can't see pictures; the camera is at school. however, I will tell you that I love love love my Louet. Elizabeth was wise and made sure that our spinning class had the opportunity to try different wheels than our own. After trying a few double treadles, and a castle wheel, I returned gratefully to my own.

I must admit to being a little wistful that the Sleeping Beauty style wheel didn't feel as good as it looked, but at least I don't have to buy one now. Well, maybe not. I think. It really depends on what my dear wife decides SHE enjoys spinning on. Oh, yes, and on us getting a house.

We're coming to the conclusion that it's about a year before we can truly afford a decent house. That's another year of a one bedroom, quite small, apartment containing a yarn stash, a cat, a 36 inch Leclerc floor loom, and a spinning wheel. *grin* We're cozy and warm all the way through winter.

Before I continue, thank you for kind comments and emails. That grotty day was cheered immensely by your words, EVERYONE'S words, not just Stephanie's. Although I was tickled pink to get an email from Dear Wife saying "Harlot reads YOU", I was equally tickled that Elizabeth, the lovely spinning teacher lady (who wore her Yarn-A-Go-Go shirt today), and "dyke", whose Downward Facing Life I read religiously, and Sara, who I think is in Great Britain and whose life makes me put everything in perspective, also commented. Hmmmm...and the English teacher writes yet another run on sentence. Ah well, it's true.

In other news, I've almost finished the first of 9 baby blankets. Yep. Nine. Why nine you ask? Well, because that's how many people at work are having, or have had in the last two months, new babies.

As for the walking/running. I can walk 5km. I can't run. Not at all. So, having accepted this, I'm going to aim for being able to walk the 5km fast this time, and register for one in fall to run. I'm not giving up. If Terry Fox can run a marathon a day on one leg, I can get off m'arse and walk. (great pep talk, eh? note the lack of off-arsedness? Shhhhh)

So happy cheerful me is back, on top of life again, and signing off to tackle the mountain of dishes that occurred when our apartment's water supply was suddenly non-existent. We have water, and spinning, and knitting, and life is good good good.

May you all be well.

Bride and Groom, meet destiny in the form of a slightly befuddled Anglican minister.

The most gorgeous smile in the world belonged to Tammy on her wedding day. (please note, ONLY that day. The rest of the time MY wife's smile is nicer, but last Saturday, the angels themselves looked rather shabby)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Last Saturday my best friend, Tammy, whom I’ve known since we were about 8, got married. She had a fairy tale wedding, with a tall handsome groom, a confection of a wedding dress, bridemaids who adored her, a perfect dance with her dad, and a wedding cake baked and decorated by her mom.

Tammy is one of those people who make me believe in goodness, morality, honesty, and decency. As long as people like her exist in the world, it’ll be OK. Better yet, her new husband is the same sort of person. I hope they have passels of kids, all of whom recognize and inherit the inherent decentness and pleasantness of their parents.

Congratulations, Tammy and Andrew.

Yikes

Reader Warning: not my usual chatty optimistic self. Kinda a downer of a post. Tune in soon for Cheerful Me. Today I can't muster the energy.

26 days to get into shape. Hurt my back earlier this week, and am back down to 1km a day, and that's walking, folks, not running. Have decided I'm doing the race come hell or high water, but that I'm wakling the whole thing. I may run the last ten steps if I'm feeling perky.

Marking is less than fun. Principals from other schools are wandering all around, making my life jumpy, since I'm having a seriously incompetent day. I'm having a "wife tells you to check your pants pocket for your keys after you spend almost 15 minutes turning the house upside down for them, bought milk on the way to school but it was sour, long meeting after school, TV to show class movie on is broken kinda day. so, of course, what I need is principals wandering in to watch me be incompetent. Made worse by the fact I sincerely respect my own principal, and want him to look good.

Knitting is coming along slowly. About 15% through a baby blanket. Seems like everyone in the entire universe is pregnant except me. Trying desperately not to feel crappy and paranoid and depressed about this fact. Failing.

So, yeah. Sorry to burden you folks. Kudos to those who read this far.

D