Field trip today with the kittens, I mean kids.  Some photos.

We went to the the greenhouses on the college campus.  So we learned a lot about planting media and the disappearing peat bogs of Canada and how vermiculite is volcanic or something and so is the other one that I can’t remember the name of but starts with p. There was talk that we were supposed to see plants that butterflies like but instead we saw tropical plants and cacti. I didn’t know this was an orchid, but I do think the bambooey stems are mighty cool.

Also discovered that aloe smells like Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.  I didn’t know I disliked that smell until today when kids encouraged me to sniff their piece of aloe and then I had to stand next to several branches while somebody talked about something.  I have no idea what this is, but isn’t it incredible?

We also had a picnic and ice cream at the college creamery.  Even though I had to have vanilla instead of Peachy Paterno, it was still yummy.  The ice cream anyhow.  While the kids were burning some energy, I saw this fab tree.  Huge.  I’d love to know how old it is.

Then we took our munchkins to the art museum on campus.  This part is my favorite, don’t you know.  I like the American masters that they usually talk about, but the changing part of the exhibit is the coolest part.  We saw this photograph . (the one of Sarah Bernhardt done out of toys. much cooler in person) Amazing. I wanted to show you the shoe sculpture too, but you might as well see two of the others.  (especially since I liked the chick in the high heels doing construction) So here.  I didn’t take many good pictures.  But I do totally dig this sculpture (@bels_kaylar).  I forget the name of it, but it has something to do with a prisoner.  Love it.

This present was hiding in the corner of a stairwell.  I think it’s purty. In a kitschy way.

So. There you go.  My day.

I apparently butt dialed my friend’s phone.  And this made me think of Cotton Eyed Joe. The song, you know.  And there’s a good reason for that.  A reason anyhow.  Because this is the ring tone she has for when I call.  One evening this summer we were sitting on her porch which kinda overlooks a nice creek, a lovely location for the things we like to do, which is talk about deep subjects giving them the appropriate seriousness.  Anyhow.  She asked me- I don’t even remember why- “where did you come from?”  and well, I just had to.  I said “cotton eyed joe”.  Which sent us into gales of appropriate seriousness and prompted her to give me a ring tone of my very own.  Just thinking about it makes me laugh.  For those of you who didn’t use to hang out a country bar,

And I’ve been thinking, even just a little bit, about where I’m from.  In class the other night, we kinda wrote our own versions of “Where I’m From”. The original is HERE.  I’ve seen this poem used before in another class in which an English teacher wrote a soul-baring version of it that she shared with her high school class to encourage them to be brave and open with their writing.  I didn’t share mine in class.  Which is no surprise to anyone who’s heard me talk about how I don’t talk in class.  This class is the worst, in fact, of me not talking in class.  For some reason, every time I open my mouth in this class something incredibly stupid comes out.  I’m not exaggerating.  Even.  Anyhow. 

Then I got to thinking that I don’t generally think about where I’ve from or where I’ve been because I’m always wondering about where I’m going.

Which is how I ended up with Diana Ross and the Theme from Mahogany.  Makes perfect sense, right?

Which reminds me.  The other day, I was contemplating the half empty/half full thing.  And I wondered if you were just a little bit of a pessimist, if the cup was 1/4 empty.  What about 3/4 full? Does that make you a little bit of an optimist or does 1/4 full make you the rosiest of the rose colored glasses? And why don’t we have a scale on this?  There are changing scales for every other thing.  Why is the optimism/pessimism thing just 1/2?  This is what I need to know.  The kinds of things that occupy my brain cells.

Speaking of half a brain, I heard the Pina Colada song on the radio the other day.

And now I’m going to see about acquiring some orange juice, some good drugs, and a nap.

Incidentally, one year as promisesunshine. It’s been fun, Xanga.

Update.  No more caterpillar poop for me.  The last crawlers croaked and all the others were hanging out in green.  Except we now have had 4 butterflies emerge and today let them go.  This is one of the most fun things.  Really.  The kids are excited- big ones too.  I took my phone out to take pics.  However, one of the butterflies thought my camera hand was a good landing spot.

They also liked the butterfly garden that the primary division plants and takes care of.

And completely unrelated, the last rose of the year.  By far the prettiest one too.

College homecoming parade tonight and the first home high school football game since they condemned the home bleachers.  The field was built on a sink hole.  No rush to fix that.  I’m glad to see the end of this week.  I’m mildly hopeful that before the weekend is over I’ll finish the things I was supposed to do by yesterday.

#whimsh 23. Write a HAIBUN ( 4 pts)

It’s a day ending in “y”, so I had some interaction with school personnel.  Today’s gem was an email reporting LLO’s “conduct referral”.  I logged on to the computer to get the full picture, since an itty bitty phone report wasn’t going to fully capture the thrill of this report.  First thing I see is that she has been referred for “unacceptable language/ gestures/actions”.  I don’t know about you, but seeing that particular grouping of words all grouped together in a group (of words) unleashed the imagination of just how horrendous this could have been.  I’m imagining a tirade of expletives in her regular voice (which is louder than most PA systems) and a couple matching gestures and stuff.

Would LLO care about being banned from the library?  This I cannot say.  One day in a recent summer I was desperate to get us out of the house and into a place with air conditioning.  I suggested the library.  LLO said, “Why would I want to go to the library?  There’s nothing there for me.”  I wept, I tell you. Last spring, I saw LLO walking home from school with her nose in a book, I grabbed Spawn and we held hands and did the dance of joy.  It was that kind of miracle.  Frankly, I was ok with the concept of her reading only Series of Unfortunate Events books for months, because she was reading.

Back to the scene of the crime.  This is what was said about her unacceptable language/gestures/actions: “During book selection in the library they were running around the stacks, hiding from each other and playing instead of selecting books appropriately; disturbing both staff members in the computer depot and the library.”  And she’s the OFFENDER.  I read this and felt like letting loose an unacceptable language.  I mean really.  You are going to write up a pair of 11 year old kids under that charge for that offense? 

I’m all kinds of aware that this behavior is uncool.  And so is LLO.  I just have to laugh about the “both staff members”.  I suspect that the filer of this felony report probably meant more than two people,  but the way it’s written makes me think that two people were chit chatting on facebook, drinking afternoon coffee and were annoyed that they had to get up out of their chairs.  Did I mention that this offense happened on early Friday afternoon?  Why am I hearing about this on Monday morning?  Seriously, I would have said some different things this weekend had I known my kid was on the fast track to an alternative lifestyle with the state.  Today I don’t care so much.

And then there’s Spawn.  Whose love interest just got back to school after being SUSPENDED.