R = Random

Really not much to say so some random thoughts ~ in autum Orange

Right about now, you may notice that the stores have finally caught up with my decorating style and are combining holiday styles. They are so yesterday, I had an Easter bunny candle in my china closet every Thanksgiving for years ~ Christmas towels in the kitchen in July ~ a Halloween spider web in the foyer in May. Now they decide to have lawn furniture on sale with Halloween decorations and Christmas ornaments. Sheesh.

Right out of the funny pages ~ or what the heck was I thinking??? We ordered new (as opposed to old, I guess) hardwood floors for our bedroom, living room and dining room. Sounded like a good plan until after they came and measured and we OK'd the purchase, then figured out that we have to completely empty three overstuffed rooms (translate 25 years worth of junk) on the same day so the installers can do their job. If we're going to change the floors, why not change the paint...the living room has a wallpaper border so that has to be scraped...if we're refreshing the walls and floor it stands to reason that the furniture is looking dated... trip to the showrooms and I still like my living room set, just not the fabric so pick new upholstery material...that means the curtains no longer will work...and so on it goes. Luckily we have one extra bedroom that right now has all the ''little stuff" (that means what I can move) pushed in there. Any idea how many clothes you can fit into a walk in closet? Even the built in ~ as in built on site ~ shelves/cubbies have to go along with the hanging rods since they are attached to both the floor and the wall. I should be embarrassed, but I have enough shoes to shod the third world, and every morning they all look like what I wore the day before, thus the need for more shoes, or clothes to match those I have, and so the saga continues.

Really having fun at work this year, who'da thunk that high school was the place to be. I love the kids and having two libraries is a little different but having a partner at one school is great, he's a good guy and then being alone at the other is a nice balance. Here's a shot of my little library as seen from the door, its so cozy, once the sofa arrives there is going to be a nice little reading area for the kids, too.

Retirement - thanks to my great new job, I'm not too worried about retiring in the near future, makes the news easier to watch, but my heart goes out to those who are in financial danger due to falling investments, not to those who are overextended.

Reality check - I'm about at the halfway point in my 80 hour training to be a volunteer for victims of domestic abuse/sexual assault and the statistics are mind numbing. Coming from a home without violence and being married to a pretty laid back guy I had no idea of what others are living with. I'm so glad that maybe I can help someone in need, but more thankful that I've had no personal experience in this. Amazing to learn that dv/sa is so prevalent, especially to learn that it's an under reported crime and that economics has nothing to do with the crime. One of the statistics in my text book is that those in high stress, high level careers are just as likely to be abusers as those who are in the lowest levels. Something to do with the stress of the workplace.

Real good time was had by all who attended Knitters Day Out last month, held at Central Pennsylvania College just outside of Harrisburg. Dave drove out and played golf while I knitted the day away learning all new neat things. We had a pleasant dinner with an old school friend who lives near Harrisburg and introduced us to Texas Roadhouse. A great place for casual food. I had the country fried steak, mouth watering.

Read enough? Though so, until next time, closing with a picture of the 'girls' in bed.

Q = quite a lot to say, as usual

Quite a lot has happened in this past week or so I can't think of a lot of Q's to use so I'll forgo it just this once

Moving to the high schools from middle school is one of the best things I've done, what a difference a few years makes! The kids are self-sufficient and the staff has a whole different attitude, they are no less caring for sure, but are more into making the kids independent learners rather than chasing after them as was done in middle school. As example, a kid leaves a book and papers behind in the library, in middle school we'd find the kid and return his/her belongings. In high school, the teacher takes the stuff and holds it until the next time the kid is in class or the kid comes to the teacher to find their own stuff. Little things like that make such a difference in giving the kids an opportunity to become responsible adults.

Since I'm once again building a library, I went to Donor's Choose to write a grant for chairs for the kids to sit in while reading. The library has tables and chairs similar to those in a classroom, but no soft seating to draw in readers. We found out that the first obstacle in getting usage out of the libraries is making them look appealing to the kids. Thank you, Rutgers! Pictures of the library will be up soon.

One of my good friends runs in lots of different charity events, taking her lead, this weekend, Dave and I are going to be in our first ever charity walk - not run - for the Heart Association we are going to be with a group from St. Francis Hospital. When they called for a donation we decided that participating and donating would be the way to do it. It should be fun.

Quitting for now, at least I got in a couple of today's letter :)

P = for perfect day!

Perfect day in the library! Today was the first official day for librarians and my first official day in the high school. I have a great partner, Greg is very knowledgeable and easy to get along with, it's going to be a great working relationship and I can't wait to see what we accomplish in the library.

Purple is the color of my new phone, I had a Razor but the battery was no longer holding a charge for more than two or three hours. The cost of a new battery versus the cost of a new phone was a no~brainer. It's cute. And I should be able to find it in my purse, maybe.

O is not for Oprah

O is our sponsor tonight

Olympics are ending tonight. as I watch the closing ceremonies, it seems that the press has really shortchanged some of the athletes. Seems we missed so many different events that the press deemed not interesting enough for the masses...not sure what the attraction to beach volleyball was but I wish that we had more glimpses into other sports


Only a few hours left and its off to school for the new year. Can't wait! Update tomorrow or maybe the next day or . . .

N = for Now where did the summer go??

No longer am I wondering where I'll be in the fall... got the call Thursday and its off to the high school library! Yeah! Can't wait to start. In the short discussion with my new principal, I learned I will be splitting my time between two high schools, the main campus and a satellite which houses the Medical Arts and Gifted and Talented programs. At the main campus I will be working with my mentor which should be so cool, he is a multi talented guy who is very computer literate, now I can stop bothering my Rutgers buddy who has been my go-to computer girl. At the Medical Arts campus I will have an aide (imagine that!) who will be in the library all week and I'll go over to do librarian stuff either one day or a few half days each week unless there is a project or something that would get me there a little bit longer. I am SO excited about building a new library (again) and getting a reading program going on the upper levels. I've been getting emails from my students, news of the transfer got around to them almost before I knew about it!

Here is the mural the kids did for my former library (how strange does that sound??) All Together Better is the motto of our superintendent. I hope that it stays for a while, over the summer I put about a dozen coats of varnish on it so it will not get too many finger prints on it.

Not having time to work with my former principal will be a shame, she just came to our school in June and has lots of enthusiasm ~ I hope the new librarian can benefit from her caring and continue to encourage reading with the kids.

'Nough of talk about school... summer is flying by so fast, we almost have gotten through my mom's house, she was a saver to say the least and there are things from the 1940's to the 2000's to go through. Not until we had taken bags of brand new clothes, stockings, purses, shoes and perfumes to a charity did we realize Mom had tucked lots of money into things. Hopefully when a person in need finds a few extra dollars inside a package of stockings or the toe of a shoe, they will think kindly on the world.

Now that Rutgers is officially over and I have all this extra time on my hands, I'm going to be training as a volunteer for a local women's shelter. By Christmas time, I will have finished the training and expect to begin volunteering early in '09. I had to fill out a huge questionnaire and am being interviewed at the police station on Tuesday morning. Can't imagine what the interview will be like, already heard from the police officer who was checking my background. It is going to be interesting.

Next on the list ... as of July 1st I became president of my chapter of the Columbiettes, the ladies arm of the Knights of Columbus. We are a charity organization with our main objective being raising money and things to give away. I've been vice president for 8 years and hope that the new vice president will want to move up lots faster that I did! Some of the charities we get involved in include

Ronald McDonald House... collecting pull tabs that they turn into cash for operating

expenses

Local Women and children's shelter... putting together shoe boxes with personal needs and also a few extra cosmetics

Nothing but Nets ... malaria netting for children in Africa

Snacks for Vets and their families ... as they wait for deployment service people and their families are able to have a cold drink and a snack

and other local, national, and international needs that we find out about

New puppy - Alan fell in love with a German Shorthaired Pointer who arrived two weeks ago, Lexi is a cute, laid back little girl who has fit in perfectly so far. Pictures soon.

Now its time to go...

M = for Mom

My Mom

May 28, 2008 - My mom went shopping, to the eye doctor and was getting ready to go to my sister, Terry's, house for dinner. I had called her to go shopping (so I could benefit from her senior citizens discount, she had said maybe later). My brother, Tony, was cutting her grass and she went outside to talk to him, it was about 6:30. As they were talking she said she didn't feel well and proceeded to fall down. Tony called 911 and then me and my sister. We all live next door so we were there almost immediately. As we waited for the ambulance we thought stroke and were just trying to keep her comfortable.

I was in the ambulance as we went to the hospital, she was communicating with the crew and paramedics. In the hospital she was following commands from the doctor and nurses. She knew where she was and they were telling her that she had a stroke, her speech was a little bit slurred but both arms and legs were equal, she held up the right hand and left on command. Then she told the doctor that her head hurt and almost immediately had a seizure. The doctor knew then that he was dealing with a serious aneurysm (experience I guess) and they wanted to put her on a respirator. I was standing right there and said absolutely notas did Terry, until they knew what was up. They ran with her to CAT scan and when they returned the prognosis was terminal. Now it was almost 8 PM, a life changed in an hour and a half. I cannot say enough about the the wonderful way we were treated both by the Hopewell Volunteer Ambulance Crew, the paramedics, and the emergency staff at Helene Fuld Hospital in Trenton. They put her on oxygen since she was breathing and gave her some medicine to calm down the seizures and keep her comfortable. The nurse asked if we wanted a priest and we said yes, they called the priest who had left our parish in December and he was there in less than 15 minutes.

At the same time, all 9 grandchildren were called and were nearby (surprising in itself) - all of them and their significant others showed up along with my mom's sister and brother... how did it happen that everyone was home at the same time is mind boggling to say the least. Anyway, Helene Fuld allowed all of us in the ER to attend Last Rites --- imagine a troupe of nearly 30 shell shocked people in a place where they are attending to other emergencies making room for us and not hurrying us at all. Father Dennis Apoldite stayed and talked and prayed with us, too.

The doctor said there were multiple aneurysms, blood would continue to fill the area and that the pressure on her brain would soon stop the heart and breathing. The decision was made to make her comfortable, by 4 AM it was decided to move her to a room (she was not following the normal course of events as the next three days would show, the doctor thought she would expire within an hour or two at the most).

By 5 she was in a room and my sister, brother in law and I were still there. In the morning a neurologist came in and confirmed the diagnosis, it was almost word for word that of the ER doctor. Her doctor came in a little later and said that he recommended hospice care since there was no hope. We agreed and the move was made later in the day (Thursday) to St. Francis Hospital Hospice.

The care she received there was so great, the nurses came every two hours to give her medication that would keep her comfortable, they did not give any needles but used a cream that they rubbed into her wrists, neck, or chest. Every time they did this they turned her, washed her face and combed her hair. Twice a shift they bathed and changed her gown, too.

The next two days turn into a blur, Terry and Jeff and I stayed, we washed up in the bathroom and shampooed under the faucet. Her grandchildren were there, we had tears and laughs, she was proud of her Polish heritage so polkas played in the background. Her friends had a chance to stop by and say good-bye. We discussed her life and had lots of laughs with her brother, sister and friends. Her sister-in-law, Linda, a nurse was our rock, she came and interpreted what was going on, she brought food, and magazines, we could not have made it without her. Terry and I discussed the plans with mom for the inevitable funeral and what we would do with her things.

Saturday, sheeesh its been three days, and she was hanging on. Her heart beat was finally under 12o (where it had been since Wed - what a strong heart). By mid afternoon there was a change and her fingers began to get blue, most of the family was there and calls went out to let those who were home know. We watched the space shuttle go up and told her to hitch a ride, before the TV coverage of the launch was over, mom was gone. Very peaceful.

Sunday, we go to the funeral home and make arrangements and the next few days are a blur there is so much to do, no wonder we have this custom for our dead, it makes it so there is no time for the living to think, we go on autopilot and have no time to feel sorry for ourselves.

Friends and family are wonderful, we are so thankful for the thoughts, cards, emails, flowers and fruits that we received. What a comfort.

Wednesday evening calling hours, we are overwhelmed by the crowds on a rainy night. There is a line all night long. Wow.

Thursday the funeral - after a short time at the funeral home we go to church and the priest is awesome, he quotes from Shakespeare, Schweitzer, movies and more. It is a very personal and moving service until he brings out the incense and sets off the smoke alarms. Not once or twice but three times! Knowing my mom, she would tell a joke and if you didn't laugh the first time, she would repeat it three times, we all knew she was there! The fire men and police could not have been scripted, she had the last laugh after all. We ended up assuring the priest that it was fine, it was Jean all the way, she had a sense of humor and it was just perfect. All of the grandchildren had a part in the service and were wonderful, too. Sr. Rosemary sang to perfection and when we came out of church it was a beautiful day, almost like signs from Heaven were all around us. Because of the delay with the alarms we came out at noon and all the town church bells were ringing.

Background, my mom used air horns at all the grand children's high school graduations from Hopewell Valley High - even though there were specific directions not to use them, she would bring one to each graduation and toot it. (8 of the 9 grandchildren have graduated from the same high school, the 9th is a junior there, too). Anyway, we found her cache of air horns in her pantry so we put one in the coffin and took one to the cemetery. Terry explained what she had done with the horns and the funeral director said that as everyone stepped up to place a flower on the coffin the horn would be there and feel free to toot. Everyone including the priest took him up on the offer, another fitting tribute that made a difficult time that much easier.

Afterward, we had people over to my house for lunch which lasted until 9:30 last night. Cousins came from Trenton, San Francisco, Chicago, Austin, Boston, Philadelphia and Morrisville. One, a musician played in Pittsburgh Wed night then drove straight to the funeral. We had a wonderful reunion, the first time we were all together since my grandmother's funeral in the early 80's. Plans were made to get together before the next funeral/wedding and lots of love was shared.

Mom, although we knew that someday this was coming, we didn't expect it this soon, but you did it with class, dignity, and fun. Thanks.

Jean A. Mokros

February 21, 1933 - May 31, 2008

L is today's letter

Lucky - I'm one of the luckiest people I know, I started out with the 29 day challenge of giving... I gave one of my 5th grade girls 5 t-shirts from Michael's (they were on sale no less) ... I got a note, written in pencil from the heart, saying its the first time anyone did anything like that for her and that she loves the beautiful t-shirts. Friday she had one on and today she was wearing another. I didn't give away, I got. What a great feeling.

Little ones - I also gave three backpacks full of school supplies and books for little kids in Haiti, one of our teachers went down over the weekend to deliver the goods to the school. She is really the hero here, she found out about the school by accident and decided that it would be a nice way to spend a weekend... the sad part, from our school of way over 100 employees, she received few donations.

Looking forward to meeting the new principal and one last giving, I promise, she is coming Thursday to meet everyone before she officially starts next week - one of our teachers sent around an email asking for donations to buy cookies and punch... again we only managed to get 24 donations... hmm a pattern??? are we all that burned out?? or self-centered?? or not aware??

Last of school (had to work in the L, sorry) graduated from Rutgers last week (another L!) it was bittersweet, there was a luncheon planned for lots of students and only 4 of us showed up. While the food was great and the company even better, I wonder what made people RSVP and not show. Especially those of us who are supposed to be 'educated.'

Looking forward to the end of school, only 18 more teaching days then five days without kids and summer, summer, summer! With no classes hanging over my head, the only concern is where I'll be next fall.... high or middle school. The transfer went in two months ago but HR has not yet looked at the requests. Love. Trenton. Take a deep breath and know that whatever happens, happens.

Leaving with a view of my little one....

Today is brought to you by the letter K

Keeping it short...Going to start off with an apology for slaughtering the language today, but K is not too easy! I'm brain dead from cataloging... last paper will be sent off today... yippee the degree is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kan it be? Mother's Day is tomorrow, that means June is not far off and summer will be here in a blink.

Kids - both boys are great, today I'm puppy sitting the grand-one. He's been barking non-stop for about 2 hours already. My dogs are not interested in playing his rough and tumble games. In a little while we will go for a walk.

Kudos to all the moms who have little ones, big ones, and part-time ones, too.

'Kay - I'm done.

Just Checking In

J for today

JCC - got home from seeing first time juvenile offenders, that really sounds harsh, kids who have made a mistake and been caught, there that sounds a little better. Besides it counts as my today good deed - been at it more or less for 20+ years (less because for a time there were no cases passed on) A worthwhile program that could use more volunteers

Just another week of standardized testing... in our school it seems that every time you turn around there is another round of testing or prepping for testing. This week 7+8 have their moment in the sun, next week 5+6 are up.

Jaunty fun in school tomorrow, its dress up day. Every month our art teacher sponsors a different school spirit day, we've had sunglasses, crazy hat, college/team day among others.

Just looking ... we were messing around in my pictures this afternoon at school and the kids got a big kick out of seeing me as a bride almost 34 years ago. Styles change, now Dave is wearing the glasses... OK stop laughing

well, if you have to laugh.... can you hear us giggling, too?

Joy! Until next time

In Case You Were Wondering

Today's letter is I

If you are a Bank of America card holder and want to visit a museum for free check it out! On the first weekend of the month you can go to select museums - and the Bronx Zoo for free!

In humble gratitude for those who have joined the 29 day giving challenge, yesterday I gave a set of Mark Twain and a set of Charles Dickens to a good friend. She was so excited that it was really a no-brainer and not much of a give away. Today I gave away so many books that were donated from a friend it was heartwarming to see the kids so excited about getting someone pre-read books, I've been telling them they are road tested and approved. In the bunch were a few on adoption which one of the teachers is in the process of, so she was gifted with the collection which was well received.

It's testing week for 7th and 8th graders, just hope that tomorrow and the rest of the week the kids are a little more focused on the prize.

In the knitting world, almost finished with a baby sweater for the nurse at school's grandchild due this fall. Made from baby alpaca it's got to be the softest sweater known to mankind. Alpaca is one of my favorite all time yarns, just wish it was easy care and not hand wash only.

In closing, April showers will bring May flowers and today should assure us of a brilliant showing by the end of the week :)

H = Holy cow where did the time go???

Hello!

Today is brought to you by the letter H

Happiness abounds... less than a month to go until the graduation walk at Rutgers. The last two classes are winding down, all of my work for Children's Lit to Movies is finished. Only part of a paper and part of the final for Cataloging and its done! This is the last degree, really. No. More.

Huge thanks to my Rutgers friend who hooked up our library --- the kids in our 'sister' school held a read-a-thon and collected $3800 in brand new books that I get to choose. That's more than my whole budget last year... whooo ya

Hugs to my exercise partners, we've been at it a month now and are managing at least 4 days every week. The surprise it that it's becoming fun! We each have our own box and are putting in any extra cash with the payoff being a trip to Las Vegas next summer, a reward for being healthy and should be free.

How about getting involved with me and lots of others in the 29 day challenge to give something each day for 29 days... you can give of yourself or things for whatever reason. Today is my first day, I gave my friends at Goodwill a bag of clothes and shoes, a few still have the tags on, hope someone finds a use for them.

G...

Good morning

Gosh darn it, yesterday we did some major spring cleaning and rearranging, poor Alan had made a beautiful Murphy bed as a high school project which was in his bedroom, when closed it looked like a book case, when open it held a twin bed. Anyway, he has since bought a queen sized bed and was going to move the other bed into the room Eric moved out of, long story short, it would not fit through the hallway ~ rather than just taking it out the of the French door in his room and putting it in the basement ~ Alan and Dave tried to take it apart and promptly cracked one of the side pieces which led to the whole bed being in pieces ready for the dumpster. How sad, it was so beautiful. Over the years, Alan has made end tables, a gorgeous mission chair, many different shelves and all kinds of bowls and other wooden items. By far, this bed was the crowning achievement of his ~ sigh.



Gearing up for school again, after a nice week off, its back to reality tomorrow. Checked my email and saw that the powers that be are pulling some of my requisitions and moving money from the library budget to anther line item since there is a major pigeon roosting problem in the building and they have to pay to have it cleaned up. The money has to come from someplace so why not take it from where it will directly impact the kids? I. Love. Trenton.



Get off the pity wagon, it is a beautiful day and there is so much to do... got to pick up the old folks and take them to church, then off to the grocery store and get some Rutgers stuff done.

Girls ~ notice Vickie's pearls, in the middle of the day no less, ahh fashion

Going Going Gone

F = for finally...

Finally, I'm getting my LibrayThing page up, if you're like me and love to buy books, but sometimes come home with the same book once or twice - maybe three times, this site is for you! You can start out for free with 25 books, or subscribe by the year or for the ridiculously low price of $25 for a lifetime subscription, you can check by phone to see if you already have that book that is asking to be adopted. Geesh, this sounds like an advertisement, but I really have no vested interest in the company, just like the idea.

Friends - went to the Poconos this week with two good friends, we had a real nice time, it was a nice way to spend some of the spring break.

Fitness - maybe we spent too much quality time together, but my friends will be here beginning Monday at 5pm to start an exercise program. At first Dave thought we were going to try to exercise at 5am, and gave it one day, then when he found out it was in the evening he's giving us a week or so, hopefully we'll get hooked on healthy (hey save that for another post!)

Farewell...

D = for duh

Darn it!
Discussion of marriage by Eric was so exciting that I skipped the letter D and went straight to exciting E; and don't you know, it was discovered by my dear friend.

Duty as in jury, went in to Trenton, caught the bus, stood in line, plead my case and thanks to the nice man who excused me (and checked out what I had to say, luckily he was able to see that I volunteer every month for the JCC) was able to walk back to my car and get on my way before 9am. Thank you judicial system!!

Done for today!

E = for Easter and..

Easter has come and gone, we had a nice house full of guests for brunch then the guys went to play golf and I got to babysit the grandpuppy for a while. Little (?) Lewis is a pug/Boston terrier mix that Eric and Maia got about 2 weeks ago, he is settling in quite nicely and is getting used to their schedule.

Eric has made hints that there will be a wedding in the future, he said that they've been looking at going to the Belgium Grand Prix for a honeymoon. hmmm. fingers crossed. They are Formula 1 Race fans, they've been to Canada and Indiana to see races and Lewis is named for their favorite driver.

Eyucky (it is E day after all).. Today I have the great honor of going to jury duty, not that I mind, but come on, I was just there in July for two days and now I'm going back again??? I'm the chairperson of the JCC for my area which means that every month there are a few hours of time put in for the courts, can't they find someone else?? Besides how lucky that every time I get called its on my vacation days. OK enough whining, well not really but...

Email from Rutgers last week, I am now considered a graduating student ~ I take that to mean that all is well and I'll have that piece of paper in May saying that I'm done, done, done.

Employment ~ Which leads to the job front, so far no high school positions have been posted in my district, but a school right around the corner from home librarian is leaving, I have an interview next week. Not sure what I'd do if the job was offered, no sense counting the chicks ahead of time.

Enough, until next time!

C = calm not chaos

Calm today will be a calm day. Very little on the schedule other than finding a place to eat with 10 inner city kids whose idea of a gourmet meal is Red Lobster. Thanks to friends I've met through Rutgers, our school has been adopted by her local schools, both elementary and middle. They have gone above and beyond, donating books to our kids both for the library and for the kids to have as their own. Originally we were going to visit during an assembly that was kicking off a read-a-thon but due to bus schedules we have to leave before the assembly gets going. My kids are so excited about meeting the suburban kids ... they have the idea that they are really rich (since they were told the school does not provide free lunch they've decided that these are super rich kids) anyway, they are expecting to see lots of big diamonds, gold, and high fashion (as determined by hip hop music), they are also interested in seeing students who can walk in hallways without escorts. It's exciting to think that maybe a glimpse into a school where kids are focused might just rub off a little.

Crochet - eeeks!! I am almost finished with a knitted shawl and the edging calls for crochet, I. am. not. a. crocheter. This will be a challenge to say the least.

Children - my son's girlfriend's mom, got that? had a surprise birthday party this week, her friends rented out a roller rink for the evening ... it was great fun, although the next morning I couldn't move my thighs. The last time I was on skates had to be at least 12 or 15 years ago, like a bike, you kind of remember, but the thought of falling must have kept the muscles a little tight.

Cheers until next time!

B means ...

Today is brought to you by the letter B...

Blood test today, I see the doctor on Tuesday. Expecting good news. Instead of taking a half day off, I just might take the whole day, with my schedule, I would come in to teach one regular class, have two classes checking out books and then my lunch and prep. It would be just as easy to ask the teachers to check out books on Wed. and get some Rutgers work done here in the morning.

Biographies... I found a roll of spine label graphics that show biographies, what a great way for the kids to recognize what they are looking for! So far I have the biographies up to the "c"'s done. It goes pretty fast, peel and stick the label, cover it with book tape to hold it there, back on the shelf.

Books... Monday is Read Across America Day, my Library Assistants are going to visit every elementary classroom first thing in the morning to read a Dr. Seuss book to the kids, those who are young or resource readers have a Rider University fraternity member assisting them. In the middle of the day, the superintendent is coming to read to two groups and at the end of the day more Rider guys and St. Francis Medical Center volunteers are going to read, too. It should be a pleasant way to spend the day both for staff and kids. And once its over, for librarians, too! It has been in the planning stages since November, there have been so many agreeing to come then pulling out, some how some way it will all come together - it always does.

Boucle - I'm knitting a nice shawl for my secret pal in a green and blue variegated boucle for St. Patrick's day - or I may end up buying her something green and keeping this for me, its so soft and cuddly.

Beautiful - the past two mornings the sunrises have been spectacular, the moon is out at the same time ~ if I wasn't driving I'd be standing outside in awe.

Bye Bye

A is for...

Taking a cue from Fluffy Knitter Deb, I'm going to use the alphabet on my posts and see how that works, this week, obviously, introduces the letter A

Absentmined - While filling the washer I was reading a new magazine and for some reason put the mag in the washer with all my dark school clothes. Don't try this at home, boys and girls! On the plus side, shopping!!! hmmm

A lot of fun - went to lunch with some my classmates from Rutgers. What a great time!

Great Friends!

Adorable - my puppies, 'nough said

Adieu

Baby sweater

Favorite baby sweater pattern, this one is on its way to California!

Catching Up

Rosie's ready to play, but Dolly still needs her beauty sleep!

the hat before and after felting, hope this one fits!

The Holidays

Wow, it's already a week into 2008, lots of news.

My cousin had an adorable baby girl a few days before Christmas. Her name is Marley and she is a little butter ball cutie. From the pictures, it looks like Marley has lots of dark hair and is way too cute ... she is in southern California so I hope to see her before she becomes a young lady :) I went out for Darcy and Rubin's wedding which was on Valentine's Day 2004, my aunt and I went and we had a ball. I made a little sweater before she was born, I hope that it will fit, it looks so tiny!

We had a nice anniversary, at the last minute, we went to Atlantic City and were comped with a suite, what a cool place, there was a whirlpool big enough for a crowd and a bed that had to be a double sized king, when we got back home, our king sized bed looked like a crib. Did manage to hit a small jackpot, which made the next day a great shopping experience! Love the outlets.

Christmas was nice, laid back, now that the kids are all older, we don't have a reason to get up at the crack of dawn. I kind of miss that part of the holiday.

Spent New Year's Eve at my sister's house playing cards with her and a few of the nieces and their friends. It was fun and I only lost $9 the whole night.

My niece, a Rugers alumni, went to the Rutgers game yesterday with her boyfriend, they had a sign that said castrate Ball State which made it onto ESPN. You can see it on UTube. This is the second year that RU has been in a bowl game, last year it was in Arizona and Heather went to that one, too. Now she is in grad school at TCNJ and no doubt by next year will be teaching somewhere and unable to travel for the team.

On the school front, the principal freed up some money and I am getting a new copy machine and printer along with some much needed non-fiction books! I was out one day in December and some one 'helped' out trying to fix the printer and broke it beyond repair. The copier is one that was a throw away about 10 years ago that we've been holding together with spit and bobby pins. He also found 6 working computers to replace those that no longer work. He is such a great guy, we are all hoping that he will stay with us for a while, he's retired and is just filling in, whoever takes his place will have large shoes to fill.

Friday two of my library helpers and I moved out all the broken computers, rearranged the tables and cleaned up the library. It looks so good, and once the 6 computers show up there will almost be enough for a class to use. Also wrote two mini-grants through Donor's Choose and one was fully funded, the other is almost funded. I love my job and can't wait until there is an opening in one of the high schools where I feel that I can really do more for the kids.

On the knitting front, I made a friend a felted hat that fit me fine, but was too small for her so I made her another. Hope it fits. Pictures to follow.

Until next time..