Beyond Average

I ran into a student on my way out of the building this afternoon. "We had a really good class today!" she told me.

I considered the compliment. She is in my largest class, which is also the last class of the day. We have a lot of big personalities in there as well, so things don't always go exactly as planned. Some days it seems like I have to do more than the average share of redirecting in there, but today, with the benefit of new seats and a fun activity, they had seemed pretty engaged.

"Thanks!" I said. "I'm glad you liked the lesson!"

She looked at me blankly for a minute, and then recovered. "Yeah!" she replied, "and no one got in trouble, either."

You Talkin to Me?

Our school leadership team received the following email this afternoon:

Colleagues,

Please note that if you did not use the YJP Protocol, or if you placed students before using the YJP Protocol, you must use the YJP Protocol before placing students.  Should you have questions about how to implement the protocol please, please see an administrator or Ms T.  It is imperative that we properly place students to ensure they are all getting the specific support they need. Thank you,

And to be honest? The process (not to mention this message) is so convoluted, that I'm not even sure if she means me!

Forward, Ho!

News today that our favorite grocery store is opening a location a little closer than the 20-25 minutes it takes to drive there now. Oh, it won't be open for four years, or so, and it's actually going to be built in the parking lot of what was favorite movie theater until about, four years, or so, ago.

I suppose there's a certain symmetry to that.

Chop Chop

4 oz liverwurst
8 hot dogs
12 ounces of cheese

For Lucy's agility class

4 pounds of apples

For apple-cranberry sauce

5 stalks of celery
7 small eggplant
1/3 of a large onion
1 green pepper

For eggplant gumbo

5 cutting boards
3 knives
1 tired ex-prep cook

on a Monday night

Smarts and Braves

All of our young pets experienced their first fire in the fireplace last evening. The day had been cold, even for November, and the house was a little chilly, too, when I knelt to light the tinder and kindling. Six eyes were riveted, first on me, and then on whatever that was behind the metal curtain. As the flames grew higher, their fascination did, too, until a pop made Lucy dance away. The warmth was seductive, though, and soon the heat drew both kittens. Lucy kept her distance, though, even as Tibby moved closer and closer.

"Lucy has some smarts!" Elaine commented.

"Yeah, she does," I shrugged, "But Tibby has some braves."

And that's why I love her!

No Good Deed...

Elaine tagged along this afternoon as we ran most of our weekend errands. As is our routine, at each of the stores we split up and meet again near the checkout. Our first stop was Target, and it was hard not to get sidetracked by all the early holiday magic they've got going. Cat litter was on the list, and to get to it we passed several winter wardrobe items for dogs. 

"Should we get Lucy a Christmas sweater?" Heidi asked.

"Nope," I replied.

She wasn't surprised-- she is well aware that I don't really believe animals should wear clothes-- but that wasn't the end of the conversation. "What about a plaid coat?"

"No."

The next two stops were DSW and Safeway, where fortunately for me, animal clothing is not carried. The final stop of the day was Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Heidi and I went inside while Elaine waited in the car, enjoying the heated seats.

"Look at this fleece jacket," Heidi said. "It looks so warm. Don't you think Lucy would like it?"

"No," I shrugged. "She's a dog, and they don't wear clothes. Let's get what we came for."

Once home, Milo and Tibby examining every package and bag strewn about the kitchen and dining room table, Elaine clapped her hands in delight. "I have something for everyone!"

The kittens received a bag of treats made with real tuna, which they enjoyed immediately. "Lucy!" Elaine said, "Look what I got you!"

It was a sweater of marled red. "It's for the holidays!" Elaine told us.

"Thanks!" said Heidi. "Let's put it on right away!"

Merriment Got in my Eyes

I was drinking coffee at the dining room table with my neighbor this morning, enjoying the day off when I reached down into my crate of vinyl LPs and pulled out a vintage Benny Goodman album. The kittens ran over to see what was making that sound. Milo quickly lost interest, but Tibby, drawn first by the wail of the clarinet, was immediately spellbound by the turntable.

Leaping onto the sideboard where it was, she cautiously investigated, jerking her head back every time her whiskers brushed the spinning disc. As brave of heart as she is, it didn't take long until she was gently swatting at the spiraling logo at the center of the record. When that approach did little to stop the turning, she leaned down and grabbed the edge of the album with her teeth, and tried to pull it off the player.

Oh, I should have made her stop, but believe it or not, it wasn't harming the record at all, and besides, we were laughing too hard.