Christmas has come and gone and the new year is upon us.

Kate's in Maine and I'm so proud of her!  She's gotten her first teaching job (freshman science) and is getting into the swing of things with her classes.  The challenges of being a new teacher!!!  And starting a new life as an adult...not that she wasn't one, but she's moved her things, has her first "regular" job, and her room is empty.  She now has her own home!  I miss her!

With her room empty, it's going to become my sewing room.  I've cleaned up the bit that was left, and Michael shampooed the carpet yesterday.  Much to my dismay, her french provincial dresser is still in the room.  I don't know where it's going to go, but it has to GO!  I thought that I was going to use two pieces of modular furniture that we had gotten for the kids' bedrooms when Kate was an infant (to go with two others that I already have filled, LOL,) but Tim walked off with them - also much to my dismay.  I'm pondering what else we have that I want to use in there.  Tim offered his plastic drawer sets - I may take him up on one of them, but the room is south facing, so I'm concerned about fading.  I'll have to see.

Today, I'm going to hit Kmart and get some Christmas storage containers.  I  was out it the attic a couple of times during the past two weeks, and was bothered by the disorganization of the Christmas "stuff" - mainly the collection of boxes, gift bags, and wrapping paper.  Today and tomorrow is the time to fix it.  In addition, I know that Michael's going to want to take down the Christmas tree in the next few days so I think I'll get some tubs to get the decorations organized in.  I'm not sure if this year is the time, but we also need to think about putting together collections of ornaments and maybe some other decorations for each of the kids.  Time has passed so quickly - some of the decorations the kids made almost 20 years ago.  They've grown up!

Besides all of the moving/organizing plans, I'm looking forward to getting to sewing someplace besides the dining room table!  Dawn got the quilt that I worked on over the summer quilted and now I'm looking forward to getting the binding on and it on the bed!  I can't wait to see it on the bed and be able to snuggle in it!!!  In addition to finishing this quilt, I've also got three others that are at the quilt and/or finish the binding stage.  I'd like to get them finished in the next couple of weeks.  That will make a big dent in my UFO collection.  Back in June, I set a goal of finishing a dozen UFO's by the end of May, 2013.  I'll have to tally them up, but I've made a significant dent - with winter here, I've got to really get moving before I want to be out in the garden instead!!!

Have a most loving, caring and healthy New Year!

Christy

Today, it was off to Newtown and Reed Intermediate School for Booth's annual book sale and today was $5/bag day!  I love to go through the books and find prizes that I can enjoy and that I can use or give to kids at school!  I surprised myself and came home with only two bags!

Update on the market bag:  I've finished the lace sides and now it's time for the top border!!!  Maybe I'll get the knitting finished tonight!!!

'till next time!
Christy

New Project!


Friday, I spent the night with my friend, Mary, who had surgery on Thursday and shouldn't have been alone.  Knowing that Mary wouldn't be doing much, I wanted to take something that I could work on while sitting with her.  So..........I started this knit market bag that I'd gotten materials for when I was in New Hampshire last month (that's another story in itself!).

This bag is a design by Marly Bird.  The bottom is a forest green wool (Cascade 220) and the lace knit side is a sage green cotton (Cascade's Ultra Pima).  I've got the side about half done now and it will be topped with a border with knit in handles made from the forest green.  When the knitting's finished, I'll felt it so that the bottom and top borders will be felted wool with cotton lace knit sides.  I'm so looking forward to finishing it and using it when Michael and I are off to Maine next week!

Right now, I'm having fun knitting while listening to American Quilt Radio past broadcasts, starting with one of my favorites, Bonnie Hunter!  This afternoon's broadcast will include Jackie Kunkel, of Canton Village Quilt Works!  I'm looking forward to hearing her!

Have a great day!
Christy

March 18, 2012

It's been a number of years since I posted my first blog entry and a lot has happened during that time. As this blog is named Shead at Woodycrest, I'll bring you up to date on that front first.

Shortly after I wrote that profile and blog entry, Shead was diagnosed with bone cancer, centered in his left fore leg. As it was in one of his fore legs, amputation was

not an option. We decided to not treat the cancer, but to keep him comfortable and watch his quality of life. He did well until the beginning of June when he started to refuse to get off the couch and go outside to do his business. He never had an accident in the house, but his refusal indicated that the pain level was not acceptable. The indication that his time had come was his refusal to take his medication. Up until this time, I would bury his meds in peanut butter on a cracker and he would almost "inhale" it! Suddenly, he refused to eat the cracker+. Over that weekend, Tim called Mike, Shead's former owner and updated him on Shead's condition. Mike came to visit and Shead just about turned himself inside out to see Mike. They had a great visit but it wore Shead out. Tim and Michelle were going away

to celebrate their birthdays, at the end of the week, so Monday, Tim called the vet and made arrangements for euthanizing. Michael, Tim, Michelle and I took him in late that afternoon. After an examination, he was put to sleep while surrounded by those who loved him so. Probably the most cathartic experience was burying him. The four of us brought him home, with tears in our eyes, dug the hole and buried him with Sonny and Buddy at my brother, Jack's. Shead, rest in peace. We love you!

One morning, just over two short weeks after Shead's death, Tim was looking on Petfinders and found a 8 1/2 month old chocolate lab puppy that people in Oxford had given up to Oxford Animal Control. He called and made an appointment to see the dog . Apparently it was a very popular posting because the listing was down before noon! Michael, Tim and I went to see "Rex" and he was an about 3/4 grown chocolate lab with tremend

ous energy! According to the animal control person, in addition to needing extensive exercise, he had developed a number of "bad habits" resulting in his owners deciding to give him up. We all took a turn walking him around with Tim taking the final shift. When he was finished, we all stood talking to the woman with "Rex" sitting quietly right next to Tim. The next morning, after a call to our vet, Tim received a call telling him that "Rex" was ours if we still wanted him. The decision was a no brainer - of course we still wanted him!!! So began our almost last three years with a chocolate lab, now named "Seamus", who we love dearly even though he presents us with new challenges almost every day! He is "my dog"!

Seamus is now 3 1/2 years old, still into mischief and goes to the dog park almost every day. He is still a dog who has a very high exercise quotient! Oh! His name! We went from Finn to Boy O to finally Seamus - he has the glint of the devil in his eyes! He really does fit the name!!!

I think that's about all for today - I tried to add a couple of pictures, but wasn't successful. I'll have to talk to the kids and see what I'm doing wrong!!!LOL They are both so much more technically savvy now than I am - boy is that a turn around!!!

Till next time! Aim for the moon - if you miss, you'll be among the stars!!!

Welcome to my blog!  

No, I'm not Shead, though he is the inspiration for this.  In case you don't know, Shead is our seven year old Rottweiler.  He is the darling of our lives, but more about him another time.

Today is my first blog post and I'm very excited!!!  I've read may blogs that my friends, acquaintences, and affiliated organizations have written, and now would like to try my hand with it for a couple of reasons.  I'd like to do this for myself and my friends, and I'd like to try it in anticipation of asking my students to try their hand at blogging.  I think that it'll be a rewarding experience for all of us!!!

What's going on -

• This weekend is the overnight for GS Camping Adventures.  There are 11 leaders in this group - mostly from a service unit that will be having their camporee in May.  The weekend should be interesting, as should any CA weekend, but this one especially because even thought it's not a winter camping training weekend, we'll be having high temps in the low 40's with a breeze and a 50% chance of precipitation.  In my opinion, it's absolutely fantastic training weather!!!  Almost any weather they have for their first outing with their troops will be better than this!!!  The old "if you can make it through this, you can make it through anything" philosophy!!!  I've reviewed layering, hats, gloves, extra wool socks, rain gear for equipment and from the menu side, substantial food.  In other words -skip the salad and prep the "wet" ingredients at home.  I'll let you know how they do and maybe I'll even have pictures!!!

• At school, I'm a reading tutor working with 5th grade remedial readers. This week, we're finishing up working with the cause and effect text structure, and we're getting ready to start working on inferencing.  I thought the timing was perfect - I did a push-in to a classroom yesterday where the classroom teacher was introducing the inferencing concept.  One of the huge advantages of my job is that I get to observe classroom teachers on a regular basis.  This gives me the opportunity to see both the great and not so great lessons that students receive.  Yesterday's inferencing lesson, or at least what I saw of it before I had to leave for a pull out group, was very good.  She asked me to participate and I gave students some examples.  I then went on to tie to their writing.  The "don't tell me, show me" principle(dtmsmp)!  This morning on the way in, I was thinking about inferencing and the "dtmsmp" and came up with "in writing, we tell you to show us what's going on instead of telling us, and in reading, the author doesn't tell us - he shows us and we have to figure out what's going on."  I know that the classroom teacher was going to share some examples of good "showing" with the students.  I connected this with a presentation that I was on the program at the Literacy Conference that I went to over the weekend (more on this later) where the presenter was going to share an author's work with students, the students would analyze the work for author's craft and then compose their own piece of writing in the style of the author using the tools that the author did.  I'd like to put together a lesson(s) to go with an inferring unit where students wrote inferences modeling them after an author.  I'll have to give it some thought.

• The Literacy Conference Saturday at Central Connecticut University.  This was the 3rd year that they've held it, and I've attended all three.  I've found it to be a worthwhile use of time and money (relatively inexpensive).  This year David Berliner was the featured speaker - statistics don't show success for NCLB.  I attended three sessions - a presentation on using blogging for student discussion of literature and wikis for publication of student work.  I found this extremely interesting because I sat through the presentation working out in my mind how using blogging and wikis could be incorporated into the social studies unit the a group of us have put together using MVP by Douglas Evans.  We've used the literature circle operating format with text specific jobs.  We're about a week in to the book and students are having a fantastic time.  They love the idea of reading a work of fiction in social studies!!!  Back to the conference - the advantage of using a blog for student communication is that it appears to bring more equality of participation to the group discussions.  A wiki could be used for an end of unit project with students publishing maybe a book summary, author biography, along with supporting pages for various topics of interest tied to the book- in this case, currency, points of interest, time zones, modes of transportation, etc.  We'll look to see if we can incorporate this for next year.  The second presentation was on using art and having students do a detailed analysis of what it's showing.  The presenter worked with AP students and three of his students shared their interpretations of three different pieces of artwork with us.  I found it interesting to see what upper level students were doing with this because Susan (the reading specialist that I work with) uses artwork by Norman Rockwell to introduce the concept of inferring.  "What do we know by looking at the picture?"  The third presentation was on collaboration for teachers.  Bill Farr from UConn went through a portion of a research project that he had done following two pairs of teachers as they implemented collaboration.  A couple of important points that came out of this research was that all adults who have anything to do with the students in these classes need to be part of the collab process, and that time needs to be provided and committed to by all involved including administration for the collab process.  I connected this to what I know about what's coming up with RTI and how imperative it is for all of us to be on the same page!!!  Though some of of the presentations seemed to be more immediately valuable than others, they were all worth the time spent.

I think that I'm going to stop here for today.  Tonight I'm going to watch the Martha Stewart episode that aired yesterday morning and is being rerun tonight on FLN.  Lion Brand Yarn is supposed to be a feature on the show.  Also, IT'S TUESDAY and that means BIGGEST LOSER!!!  Michael and I'll both sit down for that!  

Until next time!

Christy