One Down and ??? to Go

Ray, the carpenter, and son finished putting in a new front porch beam around 3:30 pm yesterday. It was a job well-done. We think it looks beautiful and are really, really pleased. The differences in yesterday's views and today's are remarkable. All it needs is paint and that is scheduled for the end of this month.











One of our neighbors came over right after the workers left and commented on it. We had had a new roof put on last fall and he said, "I wondered after you had the new roof put on if you were going to do something about the porch. Looks good." I guess we can hold our heads up in the neighborhood again now.

While Ray and son were working outside, my husband was working in the kitchen. He's been putting in drywall, plastering the ceiling where there had been a repeated leak over the years, and preparing to paint the room before installing cabinets and appliances. Hard work! So when our son, Jon, invited us over for some steaks cooked on the barbie we jumped at the chance.
David relaxed in his own way:

And I proceeded to relax in mine, on my daughter-in-law's new hammock:

So far it's been a very good weekend!

Progress = Lots of Noise!

I have had a minor battle with a summer bug, but I am feeling much better today, and it's a really good thing, too. The noise level around here, inside and outside, is enough to make me take a vow of silence and retire to a cloistered convent.

The hammering, sawing, and other noises of construction (destruction?) are all in the name of progress on the house renovation. My husband is in the kitchen plastering and struggling with a ceiling light that someone else in the long history of this house messed up.

And we have two new members of the team--Ray, the carpenter, and son. Ray is an accomplished renovator who has a full-time job with a local construction company. Not sure about the son. Anyway, they are doing some small jobs for us as a side-line. Today it is the sagging front porch beam which is occupying their time. As you can tell from the views below, it is a project which is long overdue:

I am going to the back bedroom where it is quieter, listen to a book on tape (turned up loudly to block out other noises), and knit on an afghan. I can't be expected to participate in this work today. After all, I'm recuperating from an illness, right?

Let's All Celebrate!

I want to wish all my family, friends, and former students a very happy Independence Day. Tomorrow is the day Americans celebrate Life and Liberty. Check out the link on the title for a good article on the history of the 4th of July. This is our country's 230th birthday and we're still going strong, despite our economic and political woes.

We are so lucky in this country. Check here for some pictures that show the great diversity of the USA.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!

This Old House

We still have no working kitchen, so have been eating out often or microwaving frozen casseroles. I can't wait to eat "real home cooking" again. My husband has been very busy, and things are coming along well, just slowly. A few pictures to show our "progress" :

While he has been busy on the kitchen, I have been busy organizing my craft closet and knitting. My stash of yarn is so large, I had to promise myself not to buy anymore until I have finished a few of my works in progress (WIP) and started some more. Here is my supply of yarn:

And here is my most recent finished object (FO)--a blanket for my daughter's dog, Ladybug:

I'm going to work on finishing an afghan for my son next. Knitting is good therapy. It keeps me from worrying about finishing the house and then trying to sell it.

Puttering around the house

Who knew doing daily chores could be so rewarding? Since my husband's retirement I have done very little on a daily basis to care for our home environment. I haven't even done very much of the cooking, and I actually enjoy cooking and baking. I was so wrapped up in getting my master's degree and then adjusting to a new job as an ESL teacher that I didn't have the time or energy to devote to housewifely routines.

Today, however, I just puttered around the house doing chores like watering the plants, sweeping the front porch, and washing clothes. I felt satisfaction and contentment in performing these mundane tasks. Keeping my hands occupied in repetitive actions was very freeing--almost like meditation.

A perfect day in June

AND what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days. . .
---James Russell Lowell

The first day of summer and the first day of my retirement. Coincidence? Serendipity? Whatever it is, today has been wonderful. I woke early and went out to breakfast. Then I came home and worked in the garden for a while before it became too hot and humid.

After that I went to a friend's house for lunch and had a delightful time just chatting with her, and her husband, and young daughter. She is coming back next year to the school I just left, and I wanted to pass some teaching materials on to her. I have let some friendships languish because of the press of work and hope to renew old acquaintances and make new ones in the future.

This evening my husband and I went out to dinner (yes, another meal out) as a celebration of my new status as a retired person. It was absolutely delicious--Italian--and I am so full I don't feel, right now, that I will be able to eat tomorrow, but I know I will.

So far retirement is suiting me just fine.

Yahoo! The day has arrived

I was very worried about my impending retirement just a few days ago and spent many hours agonizing over whether it would make me sad, but today was my last day of work and I'm quietly happy. (Elation will most likely set in come September.) I would normally have 10 weeks off at this time of year, but with the certain prospect of a new year beginning again in September looming in the background it never felt completely refreshing and relaxing. Also, anybody who thinks teachers just sit around all summer sipping tea and reading novels has never known a teacher up close and personal. Every summer is spent going to school for recertification, or teaching summer school, or preparing lessons for the coming year.

School has been over for students for 2 days, but I had a student visit me today and I was very happy to see her. I didn't cry like I thought I might earlier, but undoubtedly I will miss her and my other students very much. So many of them have worked very hard this
year to begin an ESOL Club. The main purpose of the club was for the students to contribute something to the school and the community --very nicely realized through the tree planting activity, the knitting and crocheting circle, and the after school tutoring program. Many of them also developed leadership skills that will benefit them both in school and in the future.

A last look at my classroom, ready for summer cleaning. It looks a bit forlorn now, but I've enjoyed teaching in this room. Good memories were formed here and will continue to be formed here long after my departure.

One of the reasons I am retiring

Can you believe it? Two hours to get home this next to the last day I will be working! One of my teaching colleagues once said that it would not be the job that would cause him to retire. It would be the traffic on Interstate 95.There was a truck (of course) wreck which closed two lanes of traffic and tied everything up for miles. I managed to slide off the interstate, finally, and take the back way home. Commuter nightmares like that are one thing I will definitely not miss in retirement. Even listening to a book on tape to relieve the stress of driving doesn't work in occurrences like today. Thank goodness we traded in the manual for an automatic. Before, with the manual, I would get home after a traffic tie-up like today with my legs shaking. Stay tuned for news of my last day at work tomorrow.

More ESOL Club activities

In addition to knitting and crocheting and beautification projects, the club also sponsored weekly after school tutoring sessions:

Will post some more pictures tomorrow. I think this is as much as one post can handle.

A Break from the Countdown

As promised in my last post, more pictures of all those people I will miss so much when I retire. More student photos below from our various activities in the ESOL Club this year. I have promised to come back to school in September to see everyone and to help in getting the club activities started up again for the new school year. We really accomplished a lot in a short time this year.

Knitting and crocheting for charity:

Beautifying the school:

More to follow on a later post. Having some difficulty in uploading some of the pictures.

And then there were 2

If only moving my household items could be as easy as moving out of my classroom. I spent most of my day giving away items I felt I would not need in my new life, throwing away tons of paperwork, and packing a few items I just could'nt leave behind. The walls look bare and forlorn, but I still have more paper to dispose of and boxes of things to take home.

Today was the last day for students, but I will return to finish up some final details on Monday and Tuesday next week--then, at least for the present (you never know what the future may hold), my professional career as a teacher will be over.

Here are a few pictures of one of the main reasons I am a little sad in spite of all the happiness with my new freedom. Teaching these students has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life. They are the best!

More reasons for being sad, and more pictures next time.

3 more to go

I'm beginning to get emotional about retiring. My work has defined me for so many years, I'm wondering if I will feel empty when I don't have the familiar routines to follow. Locking up this afternoon before going home, I started to get a bit teary-eyed. Everything I do now has that feeling of "this is the last time I will do this." And of course, my students have to pick this time to be absolutely wonderful. I think I've hugged or been hugged about a million times in the last week, and I cannot count the number of times I've had my picture taken.

In addition to all this, I've been having trouble sleeping and I've done some really stupid things the last few days--stress? Yesterday, as I was getting onto the interstate, I managed to bump the emergency flasher button. Now, ordinarily this would not have been an earth-shattering occurrence, but the car I'm driving is new and I'm still trying to familiarize myself with where everything is on the dash. I must have pushed, pulled, and hit everything I could touch on the steering wheel, steering column, and control levers. No luck. The flashing continued. I began to worry that I'd have a cop pull me over, or I wouldn't be able to go into work because the flashers were still flashing and I'd run down my battery. Panic! I pulled off the interstate and into a closed gas station and called my darling husband (DH). He reminded me that the flashers are activated by a fairly large red button and suddenly there it was right in front of me. Whew! Back on the interstate and I even managed to get to work on time.

The countdown continues. . .

It's now 4 days of actual work left, even though the "real" retirement date is July 1, 2006. We had a luncheon today at school and all the retirees were honored by having a colleague speak about them. We then had the opportunity to say a few words ourselves. I had originally hoped to be spared this ordeal, but it was gratifying in the end. Let's face it, most of us enjoy hearing good things about ourselves and I am no exception.

Students are the people I'll miss the most from my work. Today, I got hugs, presents, cards, and notes on the board all wishing me a great summer and good luck in my new life. I really want to keep in touch with as many of them as I can. They have enriched my life for almost 20 years and I don't think I can let go of that cold turkey.

Countdown to Retirement

Well, it's 5 days and counting! I don't think it's really going to hit me until September when I would normally start back to work for the new school year, but I am getting rather excited now at the prospect of more freedom than I've had in about 40 years. It is a bittersweet prospect since I really like my work and the people I work with, but it is time. I didn't want to be a burnout, and I could feel that lurking around the edges of all I did this year. I've begun a list of "Things to Do in Retirement". So far, it reads like this:
1. Get healthy.
2. Read, read, and read somemore.
3. Knit and crochet up a storm.
4. Sell the house here in VA (which as you can see from the picture still needs a lot of work).

5. Move to the new house in AZ (which as you can see has yet to be started).

6. Travel and get out to see America.