I know, I know, long time--no hear from. Oh well. Things, shall we say, have been hectic. But.....I did have an absolutely lovely day yesterday in Fort Worth with my best friend. We talked for a while then had a delicious, yummy, fantastical lunch at Lucille's. We both ate the intensely flavored, marvelously creamy, I'm-hungry-just-thinking-about-it, lobster bisque, accompanied by fresh, hot bread. It was heavenly. Then we topped it off with decadent desserts. She had key lime pie with an oreo crust and I had a truly gigantic slice of deep, dark chocolate cake sprinkled with walnuts. (Hungry yet?)
Best friend lives in the arts district of Fort Worth, which is my absolute favorite part of town. So many lovely restaurants to sample, so many world-class museums to visit, so many tiny shops to explore. Arlington is truly boring by comparison, so I go to visit her rather than inviting her over here. I love Fort Worth. Downtown is also wonderful, just for moseying (that's a good Texas word, don't you know) around. Dallas is too East Coast for my taste; give me jeans, boots and the friendly faces of Cowtown any day. Plus, you gotta admit, some of those cowboys look mighty fine in their jeans and boots........
It was a hectic, stressful week at school, but I've learned more about who is reliable and dependable and I truly appreciate those who are dedicated to the kids and go above and beyond the call of duty to help our students. The ELA department put on a "carnival" of games in the gym this week to help kids review for the upcoming math, science and social studies tests. Several teachers were there both days, working diligently, cajoling kids into participating, making sure we did our best to help them. I so appreciate their dedication and am in awe of their devotion to kids. Our students are truly blessed by some of their teachers. I only wish I had a better way to express my appreciation. I have a couple of ideas, but I need to ponder it some more.
I also appreciate those who stepped in when I was overwhelmed. They kept things running and moved us from chaos to success. What great people to work with.
This week should be a slow and serene one, but next week we'll spend most days administering the dreaded TAKS tests. You cannot imagine how boring it is to watch people take a test. Teachers must "monitor" at all times, so we cannot read or write or use the computer or do anything even remotely interesting. We must watch the kids to be certain they do their own work. This goes on for hours and hours.......zzzzzzzz...... Sorry, dozed off for a minute......
I would so much rather take the fool tests than watch the kids take them. Not my favorite week of the year, needless to say.
Lauren is in Provo this week to participate in BYU graduation. I wish I could have gone, but I'll be here keeping the twins so that Julie can go (I'm also funding Lauren's trip, so I guess I'm doing my part). If only BYU had commencement in December, I could have been there when I went up to help her drive home. But, nooooooo. They only have it in April and August, so she had to go back up to walk and, as I can't afford for all of us to go, I'm helping her and Julie. I've been promised lots of pictures, and I'll try to post some when she returns.
We were thrilled to spend a couple of weeks with Josh when he had R&R recently. He looks great and seems to really enjoy his work in Iraq. I'm so proud of him for serving our wonderful country, and also proud of Julie and the boys for dealing with his absence so well.
Speaking of the boys, you've got to hear this one: Kelly and Shannon have let Julie and Josh know that they want a baby sister (they already each have a brother, you see). This conversation apparently led to Shannon's concern that Julie doesn't have any brothers (only the two sisters). So, his solution to the problem? "Grammie can have another baby!" Good thinking for a seven-year-old, but there will be no more babies for grammie. Sorry.......
I've been reading lots of wonderful books. Just finished a trilogy by Sharon Kay Penman on Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. (When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chance, and The Devil's Brood) It was so totally absorbing that for a while there I lived in 12th century England and France (the books are about 700 pages each). I learned a lot, while enjoying a great read. If anyone wants to talk British history at any time, I'm ready and willing (and mostly able). Now I'm reading a young adult novel called "The Goose Girl" for a book group I'm thinking of joining. It's pretty good and a very quick read. We'll see if I fit in to the group; I think it's mostly much younger women and they may not want an old lady like me......I do love books though.
Don't know if I mentioned that I LOVED Willa Cather's book Death Comes for the Archbishop, and I've bought several other books by her that are now on my "to read" list. I also want to read Victor Frankl's book Man's Search for Meaning. I've heard really good things about it and I want to check it out. So many books, so little time.......
Not much else to talk about today, so I'm off to bed.
