Sidetracked

I've been sidetracked by life. No bloggee for 10 days. I did have a nice long paragraph written last weekend but when I navigated away from the page I lost my text. It was just too aggravating to start over. I did catch up on reading a few blogs last night. I'm sure my handful readers have given up on me.

The news is: classes and finals are over. I have one month without school which is a big relief. I am now wearing reading glasses, which my 25 year old co-worker gave me a chain for, so I can look like real old lady. I am coming down with something and losing 1/2 my voice. The water in our entire town is under a boil order for going on 3 days.

My young sports enthusiast, Boy13, who has been honing his writing skills this year (Writer of the Week X3) won a school wide essay contest on Jane Addams. This makes me especially proud because she was my childhood idol and reason I am involved with social work to this day. Illinois has named December 10th the first commemorative day for a woman in the U.S. (can that really be true?).

I have been playing Spider Solitaire (won only twice on level 2) and Free Rice vocabulary game regularly. Try free rice at www.freerice.com/index.php Learn new words and donate to a good cause at the same time.

Work is going great. I am helping people connect with jobs, winter coats, apartments, food and anything else they need to live more healthy and productive lives.

Madz, you are so insanely crafty. We don't even have a tree up yet and you are making button trees.

Ginnie, you are the most fantastic photographer and collector of unusual things.

Ragged, your button tree is antique-esque and very nicely done.

Now, I must tell a story that Ragged's cookie cutter mobile reminded me of. Here goes: Boy14 does get credit for starting his final geometry project a couple days ahead by mentioning something about making a gingerbread house. The assignment was to make a Christmas ornament (what if you are Muslim/Jewish/Jehovah Witness?)using 10 geometric concepts no larger than 5" by 5". It could be a mobile, which is what reminded me. So I was nice enough to pick up some graham crackers and frosting for the project. One evening, Monday I believe, I look in the refrigerator and see the ugliest, most un-geometric graham cracker house I've ever seen (I've seen 4 year olds make better ones). I take it out, call him over and start a beat down on him, tearing the mismatched walls off and cursing the lack of effort. Boy19 who is sitting nearby says, "Bro, I'll tell something I learned in 6th grade: never ever ask Mom or Pat for help with a school project."