Post gluttony...

So the last two security words I had to type to post comments were: fedici and glytene. One is vaguely Italian, the other is vaguely scientific chemical compound-ish. What does it mean?

Certainly not that the Thanksgiving dinner with the Italians yesterday was scientific, that's for sure. Yet another holiday where I have felt under the gun to defend the measly salary I make and the time off I get. But I guess showing up to work at 6.15 am and leaving anywhere between 3.30 and 5.00 pm on a regular basis when my hours on paper are 7.30-2.37 - and the fact that I am not the only teacher doing this - doesn't matter. The fact that I have a Master's Degree, exhibit my own art, constantly keep up on developments in my field, make sure my students learn and grow, try to be an example to them... well, I deserve to be paid peanuts and I certainly don't deserve a raise and absolutely get too much time off! Right dear aunts and uncles? Oh, and I guess the fact that I check work e-mail on a daily basis - including summertime - and that considering my level of education and years of experience teaching and in photo-related fields I still make peanuts...

Sorry, just bugged that it seemed I had to defend the fact that I even get a raise. All this while my poorly paid social worker husband has to take a pay cut and raise freeze. But, I dare any parent who complains about us "lazy" teachers to take their kids out of school and home school them for a year. And follow the district, state and national mandated curricula and standards. I dare you... I don't know if any of the PV parents feel this way. But I have many relatives who do and I see letters in the local papers around home that are in that vein...

And that's why I mean it when I say being in the classroom is the best part of my job. Because the students don't belittle us. They appreciate us and are thankful every time they learn something new. I just love my students!

Sniff...

Funny how much I like smells... whether it's the photo chemicals, oil paints, pumpkin pie. These are today's smells. Another great day with the classes... this job would seriously be a trial if we didn't get such super people taking the class... Now if only the Photo 2 people would take the plunge and try the view camera...hint hint...

After a somewhat downer of a faculty meeting - why can't people in government just agree to fund schools as would best serve the students? - I get home to wonderful, mouthy Millie....and bake my famous pumpkin pie.

Now I can't divulge the recipe but suffice to say, I do not use that canned stuff. This is real pumpkin, baked and pureed yesterday. Smells good down there and Millie has been yelling for me...so I must go...

Ben Gay is my friend...

Incredibly tired and incredibly sore... this year is wearing me out and I feel I can't give enough to my Photo because of yearbook. I have truly grown to be a grumpy ole gal when it comes to that thing... but I am not sorry.

I have a pile of reading - zines, magazines, books - and at 8 pm Friday I was reading the same line over and over... not comprehending... you know what that means... bed time. AT 8 PM!!! Jeez...

Had Main Street volunteering to do starting at 9 the following morn... we were replacing the mums in the 50 or so urns with Christmas greenery. Last year there was a florist/designer doing that while we had an assembly like thing going getting the branches ready... well, this year, I was the one to do the urns. Yikes! I thought I would just be trimming and doing helper stuff. My dad helped by trimming the pine and putting the white birch in. I did the rest. The whole town sees this stuff and this is the kind of thing that get more merchants to join our organization so lots of pressure. Apparently I did a good job... and the red wagon from school came in handy. Then I was tying a light up caroler to the tree in front of the library and ... riiip... cut my arm on a real jagged broken bulb. Last time I ended up in the ER with cellulitis, this time I bleed profusely. All in a day's work....

But three hours of cutting, bending, shoving branches in peat and I could barely walk. And I had to drive Sparky to New Hope for dinner with the Vasa's since Spiffy is in the shop! But I made it... I am just delighted that this is a short week.

Oh, and cleaned out two pomegranates and cut and baked the pumpkin to prepare for making pie. I need a break...

ps: Sparky is the name of the Prius... hubby's car is Spiffy...

Antenna!!!

Tonight is a very special night...we get to watch Masterpiece Mystery on PBS tonight! Since the digital conversion on the 12th of June, we have not been able to watch channel 13 and watching NJN has been a trial of our patience and balance. We did not have an antenna on our roof and always relied on rabbit ears on the TV. Oh, and did I mention we have no cable? So watching NJN all summer required us VERY carefully positioning the rabbit ears and making sure we did not move an inch during the programming. One night my thumb went numb from holding the antenna in position on the floor...

Well...

Nearly $250 dollars later and we now have an antenna in the attic and reception. And just in time to catch an episode of Foyle's War on PBS. We are thrilled and I plan on making myself a cup of green tea - or perhaps a cup of the tea Dr. P gave me - and settling in for some good old-fashioned murder!

I can barely contain myself...

Ick...

Worked on the new pictures of the pins for the etsy shop. For some VERY annoying reason, I just cannot get the images to be as crisp as I want. The pins are just too small to shoot close. Unbelievably annoying... but it's not like anyone is dying to buy my stuff, so I have time to reshoot...AGAIN!!!

Tried a couple of test shots for a project I have been thinking of. Liked them so far, but obviously to do what I want, digital will not cut it. I have to do it in the darkroom or with the super old Ektar I received from my sister. I just love the colours from that film! Have three rolls to send to a lab in Kansas...cheaper than Duggal and it will not break the bank.

London update... hubby can go! Woo hoo! London in April... I cannot wait. I think I want to go to Hungary in the summer... finding where to go so I am not totally lost without knowing the language is daunting...perhaps I should look for a class to learn Hungarian...

Oh, and on the 30th I go to A.I.R. Gallery's new Brooklyn location to drop off a piece for their Generations VII exhibit. It's an invitational biannual show and all items are up for auction to raise money for charity. This is the second time I have been invited. Super excited! But not thrilled about rushing to B'lyn after work. Can't take the day off for a number of reasons. My metro card is getting a real workout the past couple of months! The piece I am putting in is a sculpture form my two woman show at NJCU this past spring. I will post a picture of it sometime soon...

Ugh...

Have been planning to return to London in April...but the hubby may not be able to take the week off...one of the reasons teaching calendars stink...very limited.

So...

I am now scrambling to find a creative trip to take by myself...spent hours this morning looking up trips to Easter/Central Europe. There is a lot to do with photos, but much of it is cheesy. Maybe I will just do something up at Maine Workshops or ICP? But I really want more stamps in my passport!

Now up to the attic to shoot...

To do...

Finished grades for all Photo classes...not yet done with yearbook...procrastinating perhaps?

Charging camera battery and have things all set up in the attic for shooting later today. Ended up with a cool idea when I went up there to get things set for photographing my pins. I will post the results...if they work.

Icky weather makes me want to sleep but I have $5 in Borders Bonus Bucks to use today, and I have to baby sit Gimpy tonight....

I need a nap...or more coffee...

DC fun...

DC was a whirlwind of art, food and fun. I brought 4 cameras - digital, lomo fisheye, canon rebel 35mm and a maroon plastic medium format. Had to respool 120 in a makeshift changing bag - my jacket - outside the BR in the National Gallery of Art! On the way to Georgetown from our hotel, who do we see going to the drug store? Steve Nash! Holy cow - just one of may favourite basketball players! He's short, Canadian, and not a jock! Went to the Corcoran for free courtesy of a super nice rep I met at the AENJ conference. Saw a great exhibit at the NGA on photographic processes pre-digital. Great thought provoking work by some super photographers at the National Building Museum. There was a row of Trabants outside the Spy Museum to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall. Then there was First Friday in Dupont Circle when all the galleries are open late. And there were tons of photo exhibits in and beyond Georgetown for Foto Week. Whoa!

And we ate at two new places and had dessert at Teaism in Dupont and walked past the future home of Wagamama!

Was going to go on an overnight shoot for Foto Week, but by the evening on Saturday I was pooped! I really wish I could have been down there for the whole week considering all the workshops, lectures and shows I didn't get to see. Alas, work beckoned.

Baltimore on the way home, of course. Shopped at Double Dutch and Atomic in Hampden and went to Red Emma's for reads and the best and biggest biscotti I have had in a long time. Discovered dipping biscotti in tea is quite nifty.

Traffic once we got into Jersey. What a welcome home! Bright spots about the ride home? Going home to see Millie and reaching 52.7 MPG in the Prius. Her name is now "Sparky" for those who care...

DC!!!

I completely forgot to look up the DC Foto Fest stuff. I registered - free - and looked up events and such. There is so much going on! Gallery shows, portfolio reviews, talks, and even a nighttime photo walk! I have three cameras ready and may even bring my grandpa's Argus twin lens! Oh joy! Then on Sunday, Baltimore. I know I just spent a ton mail ordering from Atomic Books, but I think I want to go to see what new goodies they have. Then on to Red Emma's for eats, coffee and reading? Guess we'll have to...

Totally excited to get new project ideas this weekend...just wish I could live in the DC metro area...sigh...

Running out of time...

Took a bunch of things home to grade but had too many things to do to do the grading. Did some volunteering on Sunday. Power washed a building on Main Street. Disappointingly, the years of grime merely laughed at our wimpy cleaner. Sigh...

Guarded the house Friday night... we were neither egged nor TP'd. Thank goodness. Our neighbour was TP'd though...

Gloomy weather for Halloween...only two groups of kids and one solo...we have a lot of leftover York peppermint patties and Hershey's special dark. Oh darn...

Lots of work on the computer researching town codes for my volunteer job (and rewriting those codes hoping to get them passed!), checking student blogs and working on my own. Had to learn how to unzip a file and take the eons it takes to download the program - though I have Vista, I cannot find the unzip software that supposedly is standard with it! Go figure. So I changed the template for my school blog and opened a new one as a stand in for a website - not ready to make the monetary commitment to that yet. Thanks Jericho for showing me that there are so many wonderful templates out there!

There's just not enough time in the day and it's no wonder I fall asleep at 9.00 pm... I am shooting for 10.00 bedtime tonight!