October 14th--Vlog

Nice slow Saturday.  Gideon and I Vlog:

link -IKEA -link

Saturday happy things:

• The weather is still mild-short sleeve weather.
• Work was short-I kept expecting to get a call or email to redo a job and it never came.  :) 
• Foliage.
• Fluffy clouds.
• My drawers for the new bed are built and in the bed.
• Slumber party.

Friday, the 13th of October

The earth lights were on dim when I left for work on a fog covered world.  I drive over a rise and the fog is gone.  As I near my destination the sky lightens and the sun rises until I need to lower the visor in my car.  I am listening to the audio book of AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller.  AWOL is Mr. Miller's trail name and he thru-hiked the AT in 2003. 

It was again a work both my jobs day so I am going to sleep instead of write more.  My eyes keep closing so it is time to climb into my new bed.           

Thursday, October 12th -- short

Today was busy.   School was good.   The students made slime.  Yesterday we painted rocks and today those rocks got placed aside a trail to an obstacle course area.   The students also put a project that the entire class worked on into the glass display case by the office.   After that job I had a meeting with a financial consultant.  I'm broke,  but I knew that already.   😄  Then I worked job #2 the rest of the day until close to 10.  Needless to say I am again too tired to feel like I should even be writing. 

Watching the kids make slime was fun and is my happy for today.

Sunrise

Pumpkin slime

The 11th of October

This new position as a para-educator can be rewarding.  I can't discuss it, but I think today was a good day and I hope that things that I did today influenced the students in a positive way.  I suppose I hope that every day, but today I feel good about.  I started thinking about becoming a substitute someday... then found out that they don't have any benefits.  This is something that I should have realized but hadn't even considered before.  There goes that idea.  I'm liking this job so far though, that could change, but I hope it doesn't.  I even greet people with a smile and cheer in my voice. 

The sunrise this morning was bright and flame orange on the clouds.  I wonder what it would have looked like from the inside of a tent.  When I began this version of the Blog and called it The ATventure I had figured that by this time this year I would be close to or finished hiking the Appalachian Trail.  Things happen that move our lives in ways we don't expect.  The trail will hopefully still be there next summer.  A month on it may be all I get next year.  This job has changed many things for me.  My feelings of wanting to do the  trail all at once are still very strong.  I like this job and will be doing a bunch of soul searching in a few months to decide what to do.

This may be using too strong of a word, but I will use it any way.  Today I feel a bit of gratification with my new job.  Let's just say I got a pat on the back and that will be my happy for today. 

A little it of drive by foliage.

The 10th of October

At school this week almost all of the 7th grade are away.  There were 5 students, a substitute and me today.  The teachers tried to plan fun activities for the kids left behind but the substitute and the paraeductor (me) had some random problems with the technology needed to perform some of these tasks.  By the end of the day we had done at least a little from every subject as well as make cookies, carve pumpkins and go outside with another teacher for some cooperative play.  The substitute and I participated in some of the outdoor activities too.  The day pretty much alternated between lots of fun and sleepiness for me.  I was exhausted from yesterday and that didn't help any.

So, last night and the bed construction did not end as we had hoped.  It took long enough that we didn't finish.  I was too tired and the giddy me turned into the frustrated me who couldn't hold onto a screw, so we quit for the night and went to sleep.  That was close to 1 AM and I got up at 5 to get ready for work and didn't sleep well on the couch.  After school I took a short nap and then did my other job.  Then my son-in-law and I finished the main part of my bed.  In a moment I will be happily dreaming on it.

My happy for today though will be playing with the 7th graders today.

From last night...

From tonight... 

New bed, same old sheets.

Happy October 9th --Short

Where I live they call today's holiday Columbus Day.  I am not going to discuss anything about that here except that I didn't have to work at school today and chose not to do my other job.   We went shopping at IKEA with family.  I am 52 years old and bought my first bed on my own today.  Not that I didn't ask for advice from others,  but the decision and money was all mine in the end.   Now my daughter, son-in-law and I are going to go put it together.   There is my happy for today... time with family and buying a bed.

Pictures from the passenger side for a change.

The Eighth of October-Sunday

Well I got to sleep in today.  Perhaps I shouldn't have, I was tired all day.  Gideon and I still got out for a walk.  We visited Franklin Pierce's grave and got some subs.  Our jaunt around town totaled a little over 3 miles.  There was no complaining of sore feet from Gideon until about an hour after we got home.  The walk is today's happy.

We made a Vlog tonight and here it is:

Here is a link for Robot Turtles.

Red Tree!

 The resting place for the 14th President of the United States.

145 years to the day after his death.