“No matter what comes your way, ENDURE. Don’t freak out, don’t flip out. Rise above the challenges and keep fighting for what you believe in.”- Cleve Jones, Founder of the Names Project (AIDS Quilt), adviser to Harvey Milk, and International Hero.

I had forgotten about birds flying around in the grocery stores here.

The first two days of school went very well. Today was a shopping trip to the Costco like store. I bought a new vacuum cleaner and various office supply stuff. Also, another plant.
In the afternoon Isobel and I took a couple to another store. It was nice getting to know them.
It has been very hot during the day here. Next week is suppose to be more in the 60's.

Thanks to my co-worker friends, the color purple has officially been changed to Karrie Purple!!!

Students start school tomorrow. I am somewhat ready. Tonight I spent an hour in the art room sorting thru art posters. It was a mess and I don't want to deal with it this year. It should be much easier to find what we are looking for.
There is still a lot to put away. Someone finally came in and put the bookshelves and tables back in order. Now it is just putting stuff back in storage that was taken out (by someone else!!!). I asked that my room not be painted yet it was painted anyway. They also were putting in some wiring for something so everything got moved around.
I was looking forward to teaching 10 year olds this year. They are a good bunch of kids for the most part. I only get one group of 10 year olds and one group of nine year olds. It would have been less work to teach the same ages again. I will teaching 6, 7 and one group of 8 year olds instead. So I need to write new lesson plans. I was looking forward to just tweaking what I already had.

Today Isobel and I got together. I made us blueberry muffins. We walked down to get her phone set up. We then sat in the park and talked. The weather was perfect.
Tomorrow we start work. Students start on Thursday. Enrollment hasn't dropped; we are at 700 students.
Last night I took a sleeping pill and was able to sleep thru the night. Tonight I'm not taking drugs.

The creative person is both more primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person.
Frank Barron

FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL

At about 5 million trillion trillion strong, bacteria and their cousins, the archaea, vastly out number all other life-forms on earth.

There are always more on the way. Pseudomonas natruegens, an ocean-dwelling baterium, can go from birth to reproduction in 10 minutes flat. In five hours a single cell could theoretically give rise to more than 1 billion offspring.

Your body has 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells.

Whipping their tails, E. coli can travel 25 times their own length in 1 second, equivalent to a horse running 135 miles per hour.

from Discover magazine, December 2008

I can't get my sleeping pattern adjusted! It is very frustrating!!!
Yesterday Patty and I went to Mega market to pick up groceries. We also stopped at a corner stand and bought veggies and fruit.
I bought three new plants; an orchid, a bromeliad, and a unique sansevaria. Patty gave me a bonsai to try and save.

Ahhhhhhh, the idiosyncrasies that are Kyiv; and how I hate most of them!!! Such an attitude!!!

I went to work and got my classroom keys. My classroom is a disaster. They painted it when I asked them not to. I can't get to my new supplies till next week. It is a sign that I am not suppose to be there yet.

I need to indulge in some retail therapy!!!

Remaining cocooned in my apartment prevents the outside world of my altered reality from existing.

Right?!

Yeah, well, I need to get some groceries so I will be leaving my protective cocoon. Damn.

I woke up at 6 this morning, went back to bed around 11 and slept till 4:30. So much for getting used to the time change.

I am back, safely! I had a smooth return trip except for the drive from the airport. It is unbelievable how people drive here!
I only threw out two plants. I think that is great odds. Even my tomatoe plant survived.

An Alien spotted in New Mexico.

Linda and I went to Munsinger Gardens. We have known each other since first grade.

A tree frog on the bean plants. It was there for over 6 hours.

While in Denver, Beth and I drove up to Pike's Peak. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
We did not, however, see Big Foot.
The following pictures are from driving up to Pike's Peak.

Graffiti in a snow band.

This is Beth who I visited in Colorado.

Views from and on top of Pikes Peak.

Can you see the two faces in the rock?

"I'm not having a hot flash; I'm having my own mini tropical vacation!"

Cold beets in yogurt sauce with mint. Fabulous!!!

This is Ralphie.

Cucumber tendrils.

One of my daylilly plants.

A view of the farm where I grew up.

I love the lines and form.

"A lawn was (is) nature under culture's boot heel.
from SECOND NATURE by Michael Pollan

Mother weed

She who steers the wheel, drives the car.