Summer Satellite Sewing

Like a branch library or a Summer home, I've begun moving my sewing down "South" to the dining room. Several summers go when I was exiled from my Sewing room because of the heat, I used my mechanical Bernina. It was mid-July so there wasn't much extended sewing time left since school starts for us the first week of August. Yesterday, I moved my computerized (Heavy) Bernina out of the sewing cabinet to the dining room table. There's still five weeks of glorious Summer vacation remaining. Today, I'll probably bring the computer chair and the floor Ott light, too. It's kinda fun sewing in the dining room. Like being on vacation:)

Back in the saddle Again......

Well, I hope this is true about my blog. It's just been a bit crazy here for the past two weeks. I'm missed you, my blog friends! Here's hoping that things have settled a bit.

Summer is coming to an end for me. Yes, I know it's still Summer on the calendar and hot as can be here in Atlanta, but the school bell rings for teachers in my county this Monday morning. I'm rested. I've played. I've sewed lots. I've spent wonderful time with other quilters.  I'm missing the people that I work with, but more so I'm missing our kids. our students. It will be wonderful to interact with them again. Come Monday morning, it will be like hitting a brick wall. Back to the alarm at 5:00 a.m. and non-stop all day long. C'est la vie!

Ride, Ride, Ride

One of my favorite things to do in the Summer is to go for an early morning walk before it gets too hot and humid. This past year I've had problems with my right hip and lower back. Walking especially long distances is a real problem. I started physical therapy about three weeks ago. Last week, they started me on a stationary bicycle. We have one at home so I thought that was a great plan. I can ride the stationary bike, watch some TV or listen to my Ipod. Well, I remembered that I owned a regular bike. We rode in the evenings when we lived in Houston ten years ago. Atlanta terrain and Houston terrain are totally different. Atlanta, especially our neighborhood is down right hilly. We quickly sold those bikes when we moved back to Atlanta  and purchased new ones with gears. I rode my new bike once or twice. It has lived in the basement hanging from the ceiling since then. Last week, I had this brain-storm. I could ride my regular bike in the mornings. I would be outdoors and getting excercise without hurting my back/hip. I had my son take it out of the basement. He had to oil it and add air to the tires. It looks abosolutely brand-new. There is still some sticky stuff  where the price tap was on the handle-bars. Yesterday morning, I did my stretches and then headed out on my bike (Pee Wee Herman here I come)   I did great. There is one hill in my neighborhood that I just couldn't get up. I'll have to do it first thing next time while I have the energy. I had to push my bike up the hill. I was feeling very successful. I did a cool-down lap in my cul-de-sac. As I was turning into my driveway (My brother from Louisiana calls it Mount Rabalais. It's really steep.) the plastic fender jumped into the front wheel and I threwme  onto the street. I'm hoping that my neighbor across the street was not at the window. She definitely didn't run out to help. Glory, do I ever had some bruises. My wrist hurts a bit since I landed on it, but it doesn't sting as much as my pride. My hubby or my son will have to remove the offending fenders, but I will ride again:)

A Mini Vacation at Home

The weather this past couple of days has been absolutely perfect. This is Georgia weather at it's best. We stayed home for Memorial Day. Our boys were away with friends for most of the weekend. My husband and I just enjoyed time together. We spent lots of time on our back porch. We had it built about two years ago. It's wonderful to sit on the couch and listen to the birds and other neighborhood sounds. We are eating most of our meals out here. It will get too hot and humid (this is the South) soon and we will have to choose the times to be out on the porch. I've been saving handwork and pinning of my Orange Crush blocks until evenings. I can visit with Marion and just enjoy the outdoors. These past couple of days with few demands are just what I needed. We are doing appointments this week - dentist, eye-doctor, hair, etc. but I've spaced them throughout the week. Hope that everyone is enjoying this beginning of Summer.

Celebration!!!

Wednesday, our last day with students, our fifth grade students walked through the halls with the younger students cheering them on. We played Celebration by Kool and the Gang over the intercom (yes, dear Media Specialist friends, we had a legal school purchased copy:)   It is a neat tradition from the previous school our students attended. I've not seen it at any other school.  I love my students, love my school. I have the best administrators on earth, BUT it is fabulous to have some "free" time. The past two Summers have been super busy. My husband had open-heart surgery, two Summers ago. Last Summer my teenage son had his tonsills out. I worked lots last Summer because I had transfered to a brand new elementary school. There were lots of meetings and decisions on setting up a new media center. It was a fabulous experience. I am blessed to have had this opportuity, But this Summer I plan to take it easy. We don't have any big trips planned (not at the price of gasoline) I've already cleaned off the dining room table. My sewing room is upstairs. It's hard to keep it cool during the daytime, so I plan on sewing downstairs in the dining room. I already miss our fifth grade students. I will miss my co-workers, but we do plan to meet for lunch. Meeting for lunch during the Summer, a perk for being a public school educator.

A Mini Get-Away

It was wonderful! My family had the opportunity to just get-away. Our friends, Mike and Lynn have a lake house at Lake Hartwell (on the Georgia-South Carolina border). Lynn and I taught together my first year in Georgia over 21 years ago. For the past 17 years, our husbands have worked together. We drove to Hartwell after work/school on Friday. We even packed our dog Rusty :) Their lake home is

quite beautiful and spacious. It was just wonderful to look at the water 

while sitting on the porch eating breakfast. Later during the day on Saturday, other families from our husbands' work group joined us. Wow! The food was fabulous. There was smoked pork, beer-can chicken, boiled shrimp, salads, beans, pound cake. The cooks did an outstanding job.

Three weeks of school left or rather 15 contract days left in this year. I love my work, but it will be wonderful to have a different pace - to sleep a bit later than 5:00 a.m.

Not alot of sewing this past week. With all the activities of the next couple of weeks, it will be difficult to get much sewing done, but I'll try. I did work on Step 2 of Orange Crush after laundry and cleaning this afternoon.