I finally closed the pool yesterday.   It was part procrastination, part peaches.  It was much easier retrieving peaches from the skimmer than from a dirty pool cover.  The peaches are done and the weather is now cold, so pool closure was due.  A sad day, but I must go on....

I also did quite a bit of garden clean up.  Amazingly, the phlox are blooming again.  The animals didn't eat all the anemone, so there are a couple of blooms there.  I think my muscari is coming up again.  That is not good.  They are bulbs and should be dormant.  They are clearly confused.  The pears are finally ripening.  If hubby thought I had a ton of peaches taking over the freezer and refrigerator, just wait until the pears come.  Tons of pears for everyone!

Since it was Sunday, I could not use the weed trimmer.  I trimmed the grass along the stones with my gardening scissors.  They are designed for righties - grrrr.   My right hand and fingers are getting stiffer.  Very quickly.  I couldn't finish the trimming.  There doesn't appear to be any swelling, but the stiffness and pain is incredible.  I can't even give the middle finger with the normal amount of speed.  I took my anti-inflammatory, massaged it, used joint rub, all to no avail.  As I type, there is a bit of a delay with the right fingers, so I keep making mistakes.  And there is a mystery bruise at the base of my thumb about one inch wide and three inches long.  It really looks and feels like I punched someone....  just without the satisfaction of having actually done it.

So on to work....  The AP kids resubmitted their artist's statements with corrections made.  I reviewed them again, made more corrections and suggestions and then returned them again. And - get this - no complaints!  I can't believe this!  I am used to griping about having to continue to make corrections.  Not this bunch.  Phenomenal.  They start large format photography today.  I have them doing still life or portraiture and they must assist each other with lighting, reflectors, and metering.  That takes care of the issue of having just one camera.  Photo II is making lithographic film exposures.  I have the two part developer mixed on demand and put into a large tray on the floor.  The kids all sit there, chatting and agitating while waiting for the image to appear since this takes many minutes for the latent image to come up.  It's just so cute.  I really love them.

And now... the news about the mishap.  Yes, another hole.  Someone bumped into the shelving behind the sink in the darkroom, stumbled, some kids tried to catch him, and the wall took a hit.  Well.... time to find another poster.  Sigh.....  Either we need better quality wall board or we should put more studs in the wall. Screw 16 inches apart...  Let's do 8 inches.  That will catch an impact better.  It isn't as if I can turn on more lights.  It is a darkroom.  Duh.