Rain Storm

I have a blog friend, named Ellison (hi, Ellison!) who says it rains in Houston like a cow pissing on a flat rock. He has a point:

I wanted to post this on June 6, but somehow, Blogger was having troubles that day, and then... I forgot.

We're mostly cloudy today, with lots of big, white, fluffy clouds that promise only short, intense bursts of very scattered rain showers. This one, on June 6th, was somewhat isolated, in that only a small area ( where we were!), was affected. However, in about 45 minutes, we got about 2 inches of rain.

We were stuck in an Ace Hardware store, and at one point, tho we'd parked within about 12 feet of the front door, we could not see our red van.

Yep, our friend, Ellison is right.

Cow, meet Rock.

Work

Here at work, we've been working summer hours. For us, that means longer hours, as the students are out of public school and want courses during the day. The good news is that I'm working longer hours, so that's a little extra money.

The bad news is that our enrollment seems a little down from last year. Yah, actually.. this is bad news. A lot of our students are traveling this summer. With the US dollar down, their money is going farther and they're going farther and longer... A lot are also visiting Korea this month. Ah, well, there's always next month.

Good news is that we're still getting one or two new students every day. (We'd like to get 5 or 6, but we'll take what comes..) Another piece of good news is that we've got some super new tutors. They know their stuff and are working out well with the students. We've got a super new math tutor and two new Reading/Writing tutors who have taught SAT courses.

We'd like to expand our SAT courses, and want to do it with some quality teaching. SAT course preparation is big in the community we serve and if the older child in the family is enrolled, we can get the younger child in, as well.

I never took the SAT...I took the ACT. I'm not sure, given the amount of stress involved with this test, and how VERY important it has become in determining which schools a child can get into, that I didn't get really lucky. There seems to be some advantages to being born in the middle of the 20th century....

There are a lot of good online sat prep courses, that use real teachers and lots of practice. I'd sign up for them, if I didn't know a good real life tutoring center. I suspect, given the emphasis on performing well, I'd probably sign up for both the online courses and real life courses. Any way that you can address as many modalities as possible for learning has got to be to your benefit.

Have I mentioned, however, that I'm glad I don't have to take the SAT? And I LIKED taking standardized tests!

A Present from My Youngest Friend

I have a very special web friend. She's 6 years old and I've known her since she was just born. A couple of years ago, we began to chat online. She has red hair, like me!

I love her very much.

A Brief Reflection on 50 years

Yep, I'm 50, today.

Dang. Somehow, I'd always thought of OTHER people being 50, never me. Though, now that I'm here, it doesn't feel all that different from ....49.....

I'd like to see another 50 or so, just for curiosity's sake, if for no other reason. Probably won't make it there, but it's a goal. I'd like to ride a horse again, I'd like to go camping again, I'd like to...

Well, so many things, I'd like to do again.

I'll manage some of them.

What will you do?

Fighting the Good Fight

Yep, it's a good fight, and one we're usually on top of. Not this year. A combination of busy and sick meant that the morning glory vines got ahead of us in the side yard. I will also confess to a little neglect. I was working on the front yard and ignoring the back, partly because of priorities, and partly because...well...after we found Spitty Kitty in the backyard, I just didn't want to go there for a time.


I think there's an empty pot under that bump in the vines... they're running over what is usually a clear little decomposed granite floored sitting area. It's carpeted with the morning glory vines.


These have just about engulfed a hose caddy. At least they're having the grace to bloom, too. Also under there are hibiscus...that aren't coming back this year. I've been holding out hopes.. but I think they are gone, killed by the unseasonably cold winter this year.


The good news? Monster is coming back and may be the only plant with enough vigor to overtake the morning glory vines. He's still a shadow of his former self, but is getting there.

'Pup and I are fighting them back. I'll have an after picture if we win.....

Presents

As I've mentioned several times these last couple of weeks, I've a milestone birthday coming up. I think turning fifty is a milestone, isn't it?

So, as I probably won't be getting many presents from anyone but maybe my mom and 'Pup... I thought I'd go shopping online and have some fun choosing some things I'd get for myself...if I weren't saving for a trip.

For example, I think I would like a spy pen. Why? Oh, now...remember, this isn't necessarily practical or anything.. it's just kinda cool. I'd have loved to have had one of these as a teacher, though. I could have videoed little "Johnny" and SHOWN his parents what a little .. oh well.. dang!

My practical side keeps finding things with USES! I need unusably frivolous and hedonistic! Awww heck. I think I'll just limit my self to anything I WANT, useful or not.

Now, some of the things I'll be looking at in the next week are going be sale items, but not all. I'm going to go all out for myself and have some hedonistic choices mixed in with my (usually) practical and pragmatic preferences. I'm hereby giving myself permission to be unabashedly and thoroughly acquisitive. Don't judge.. play along! What would YOU buy for yourself if money and practicality were no object? Seriously.. put it in the comments. I'm taking suggestions, too!

Communication

I wonder, sometimes, how we managed. Nowadays, we have almost instant communication through the Internet with friends, enemies, acquaintances and outright strangers. Yet, at only 49 (almost 50!), I can remember learning about the post office and how it was a marvel for getting letters and packages to us from far away in only a few days. When how to write post cards and letters, how to type, how to make a long distance call was part of the lessons at school. And the telephone, oh the wonder of it all! You could pick up the phone and call anyone. It was a marvel to my great grandmother to speak to us, with her in one city and us in another.

Now? A lesson in how to place a phone call would get a funny look from even first graders. I dare say, most of the younger elementary students have never HEARD of a typewriter. Indeed, many of the high school kids I have worked with are hazy about what one would look like. A grammar book I was using had a picture of one and the student asked where the monitor was. When I explained it didn't have one and that a person was responsible for making the the machine print directly on the paper (I didn't even try to explain "keys"), she looked at me as if I HAD to be kidding her...

Post cards are another thing the kids have almost never seen. Oh, they're made, and there are even sites online where customized postcard printing is offered. I even get some post cards in the mail from companies offering deals on things....and I suppose, that's where post cards are, now...a new part of the junk mail that feeds my compost pile. (I just love a good shredder.)

What'cha gonna do? I can't begin to predict where all this is going. I just hope to be around long enough to enjoy the journey...

Froberg's Nursery

I forgot, in my post about Froberg's Farm, to mention the nursery the family opened in November. It sells mostly fruit trees, with a concentration on citrus. The trees were very healthy and a good size to plant. Their prices are very reasonable and the selection is great. I found a couple of trees I'd like to have, a Mexican lime (to replace one I lost this winter) and a variegated pink lemon. I didn't buy them, as I'm running out of places to put them and well.... money is tight right now, as I'm saving up to go to Blogher in New York this summer.


They've got some peach, pear and plum trees...


Lots and lots of citrus,

and even a variety of avocados!


The avocados are the most expensive, at about $50 dollars a tree, but they're healthy and not all that common to find around here.

It's worth a trip out there again, later this summer, when I've a little more money (work hours in the summer are longer), and maybe I'll get that variegated lemon after all....

I Miss My Kitty

I miss Lady SpitFire. She's left a gap in the household. You wouldn't think an 8 pound kitty would take up that much space, but the memory of her is still with us. The places she loved to sleep are still there and, in one place, I've just not had the heart, yet, to fluff out the imprint, the little depression on the back of the couch she left. It's hard to put my hand down, and not have her there, and she's missed when we come home, as she's not there to say hello.

I think even 'Pup misses her. The other Saturday, he picked up his brother after leaving me off at work, and instead of going into his office, the two of them went to CAP (Citizen's for Animal Protection). CAP is where we've gotten our dogs, and we drop by their thrift store sometimes. So, the two of them went and while the bro-in-law went to talk to the dogs, 'Pup ended up snuggling the kittens. Seems the people at CAP welcome anyone who wants to come and snuggle kittens. There are never enough hands to help socialize the babies so that they can be adopted.

I hope the two of them do this more often. I think the bro-in-law needs to feel useful (he is mentally challenged), and would do good as a dog walker. 'Pup isn't so good at walking, the doc is rumbling about replacing one of his knees, but he's a champion kitty snuggle-r.

If we end up with another kitten (NOT something I'm pushing for with two dogs in the house), I think it will be because he decides to bring one home. If he does, I hope it's not a calico. Lady SpitFire has the calico shaped hole in my heart just now. I think....a tabby...or perhaps a kitten that looks like it's wearing one of the tuxedo shirts and white spats... I've always had a weakness for tuxedo kitties...

It would be good to have a kitty outside in the garden again. They're companionable souls, garden kitties. They give you time to work, but stay close enough to keep you company. They rarely dig holes and do their bit to keep your garden squirrel and mole free.

I do miss you, Spitty-Kitty. I hope you're waiting, with your momma BrainDog, at the Rainbow Bridge.

Stuff and Such

It's almost my birthday. It's funny, this is the first birthday I've had in a long time that seems to make much difference to me. I guess the number, 50, is a milestone. Half a century...is a long time. It has been a very long time since I was a little girl... and that throws me a bit. It just doesn't seem that long.

'Pup and I have been talking about what we'll do for my birthday and our 10th anniversary. The celebrations will be modest...neither of our families seems to make a big fuss about milestones for either of us, so we're pretty much on our own.

I'll be looking for a good sale on something 'Pup needs for his present. I suspect it will be something electronic related. Personally, all other things being equal and if we have the money, I'd like to get the two of us a Droid. (Y'all, I've told you before I've a strong streak o'geek in me.) Barring that I suspect it will be something along the lines of some extra data storage. Our current phones are working just fine( tho they've begun to show signs of stress), and use the same micro cards that are in the link above.

Oh well..one can dream, can't one?

Froberg's Farm

Listening to talk radio can be instructive. On one show, here local, I heard about Froberg's Farm. They have a facebook page, they have both the pick your own and a fruit/veggie store, and there is also a small store that sells smokehouse meats.


It was easy to find, even if it is off the main highways. It was about 40-45 minutes from our house up here in NW Houston.

When we got there, we went right to Greak's, and got some sliced beef sandwiches, potato salad and some water. It had been a long trip. The potato salad was excellent, the sandwiches were tasty, but the meat was a bit tough and fatty. I'd try it again...we were there late in the afternoon, and I think they'd been busy.

I'd been hoping for some ripe tomatoes. It's a bit early, but hope springs eternal...and I've been hankering. My tomato plants had been trashed this winter, so I don't have my usual early spring tomatoes. I want tomatoes, and not the ones in the store. Froberg's didn't have them either, dang it.. just some from Florida. They'd had blackberries from local sources, but they were sold out. There were some vegetables, mostly onions, cucumbers, etc. I bought some and am happy with their quality.

I did ask about the tomatoes.. it's going to be a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to June.


I think we'll be going back.

You Bet Your...

When I was a little girl, there was a man named Mr. Humphries in our neighborhood. He owned two horses, a retired police horse and another horse he'd rescued from a very bad situation. They both needed exercise and the rescued horse needed lots of riding. Being only one man, and not a young one, he needed help.

His solution to his problem was to enlist the neighborhood kids. With our parent's permission, he let us ride on the horses. One behind him, and two on the horse he led. Nowadays, he wouldn't be allowed to do that, as the insurance implications would be dire...and he'd be (quite wrongly) suspected of base motives. It is a real shame that things have changed so.

Thanks to Mr. Humphries, kids in my neighborhood had a chance to learn to ride a horse. Most of us wouldn't have had much of a chance to do so, otherwise. Though, I got to do it at Girl Scout camp..and the lessons really helped me there. I went from a beginner rider one year to "most improved" the next because I'd learned how not to be nervous around a horse.

Well, it did help that the first year I'd been assigned a HUGE horse (about 18 hands) on the basis that his name (Big Red) showed he was appropriate for me, but the next year I'd been fortunate enough to have gotten a pony. I was a short kid. With the first horse, they'd had to shorten the stirrups as far as they'd go.. and even then, I was riding by tiptoe. I hated it. The second year, with the pony, a cantankerous beast, I felt confident enough to take control and actually get the critter to do what I wanted him to do. I was still pretty small, but you can bet your breeches I wasn't going to take any guff from him. After dealing with a giant the year before and having spent most of a year taking almost daily rides with Mr. Humphries, I wasn't taking any guff from a pony.

Mr. Humphries has passed away long ago, but I remember him and thank him for being patient with a neighborhood full of baby-boomer kids, for rescuing a horse that everyone else had given up on, and for giving me confidence. I am very sorry that somewhere, out there, there is probably another Mr. Humphries that is being prevented from doing something for other kids by fear of what would probably never happen. Kids today don't have things better than we did, not by a long shot.

The Functionality of Dogs

I have a private student, an adult, that I tutor 2 or 3 times a week, depending on his schedule. We work on writing, grammar, and conversation. He's a good student, and an interesting person to speak to... we've learned a lot from each other, and I like watching his progress. I tutor his son, too, at the tutoring center I work for in the evenings. His son is also bright and funny. I've now taught or tutored every member of the family, having had the mom as a private student and the daughter occasionally at the tutoring center. They're a good family.

Culture is another one of those things we cover in the class...why to write direct, concise, yet polite sentences in the emails, rather than long, elaborate ones... and also....some family life. One of the things he has an interest in (in a somewhat horrified way, I think) is the fact that 'Pup and I have pets that live IN the house with us. He, personally, does not touch animals. He just never has, and they make him uncomfortable. The fact that I not only touch them everyday and have touched things like horses, cows, birds, reptiles, goats...is outside his experiential base, and we talk about it.

He understands that one of the reasons we have the dogs is for protection. Chucky the Wonderdog may be a sweet puppy, but he is protective of me. He doesn't like strangers getting too close to me and puts himself between me and any stranger he doesn't like (mostly men). Butchie wouldn't bite anyone if they put their hands in his mouth and tried to close with their other hand...but he's got a formidable presence (70 lbs of dog will get your attention), and a huge mouth full of very sharp, white teeth. He could chew through the front door if he wanted to, I think.. but wouldn't think to do it. Not while he could get to the bedroom to sleep, anyway.

However, as driveway alarms they are without par. No one comes on the property without us knowing it, even when both dogs seem sound asleep. And, frankly, I encourage them to bark when someone comes to the door unannounced. I WANT strange men to hear loud barks. 'Pup didn't understand that at first. He was afraid that it would seem rude. I don't care. I like feeling a little safer, and the sight of a door to door salesman (usually trying to sell me a satellite I don't want or a security alarm) stepping back with a cautious look on his face makes my heart warm. I give the boys a ear rub and a doggie biscuit if they've been nice and loud.

To tell the truth.. I don't THINK the boys would bite a stranger, but I'm not sure. I think Chuckie would, if he thought I was in danger...and that's worth a little dog fur on the clean clothes now and again.

Bark Park

Pretty place, isn't it? It's a Dog Park, aka "Bark Park" near our house. The Pups had been good so we took them there the other day.

Butchie preferred to just hang out looking cute when he wasn't singing with a couple of kids we met there. They thought it was hilarious that he'd howl with them. This trick is much more charming when done at the bark park vs at home. Take my word for it.


Chuckles the Wonder Dog preferred running around like a mad man, reading all the bulletin boards aka the trees...


'Pup preferred to enjoy the shade and Butchie's company. All in all, a good trip to the park.

That Time of the Year

I'm looking at new phones. Not that my phone doesn't work perfectly well... but I have this strong streak o'geek in me, and the new technology is calling to me. Why? Well, functionality, of course, I mean, the new ones just do so dang much. Now, unless the iPhone starts to be sold by Verizon (a distinct possibility, I've heard), I will probably get something like a Droid..if I get anything at all. Still might get a Droid, even if the iPhone IS sold by Verizon. Still, that barcode app for iPhone is tempting. I hate not knowing what something costs, and baring buying a Symbol LS2208 for my very own, an app is going to be what I'd use to price check something.

Now, to wait for my birthday. Did I mention, I'm going to be 50 on June 7th? I don't know whether to be freaked out, or to just go with the flow. The later, probably. Just wish I could have a party, but that's not likely.

He Lives

A late Easter blessing from Mrs. Who. Yes, it's past Easter, but is there ever a time that this message is not appropriate?

Uhmm...the answer to that is...No.

Oil Spill on Louisiana Coast

The deep water oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last week is causing some problems. The spill is a big one, and threatens some sensitive coast. There are a lot of endangered and threatened wildlife species that hang out in that area.

The shrimpers and other fishermen on the Texas coast are threatened too, as the water in the Gulf moves from East to West...which brings the oil straight to us. It's going to be a sticky summer on the beach. They're doing what they can to ameliorate the situation, but there's only so much they can do.

What a disaster, on so many levels... loss of human life, ecological damage, economic damage...all are likely to hurt us for a long time.