We are still juggling things with power. This issue haunted us through most of the winter, and it apparently did not get resolved over the summer when it might have been. At this point (5:00 pm) I have not yet been home to see whether or not we have electricity in our house. It is still light well into the evening, but without the juice, we will not have heat or the ability to cook. As long as the power stays on at the school (which is running on its generators), we will have water pressure, although we will not have hot water. I'm definitely glad that I chose to do laundry last evening. By the way, the power did go off at the school yesterday morning, which meant no water pressure for coffee or morning showers.
The end of the world? Definitely not. Annoying and inconvenient? Definitely. We have to think about the 25 salmon fillets that we just put up in the freezer, as well as all of our food. I could bury totes full of food in the snow last winter. I don't currently have that option.
Tomorrow is the last day of the week, and the last day before the Labor Day weekend. I hope that a resolution is in sight soon...
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Please, Turn on the Juice!
We are back to having power issues here. The town generator is apparently struggling again, and repairs or replacement is apparently in the offing, but not very soon or specifically. The school is also running its generator to help with the situation, but ours is not up to snuff either. Ah....
More as it becomes clear.
More as it becomes clear.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
More Fish!
We have been gifted beautiful fish on two occasions within the past week. The freezer is full right now...
On Wednesday last, our friends called to tell us that their was a boatload of fish coming up the river, and that some of them had our names on them. We went over, and there was a wagon load of enormous silver salmon. Longer than my arm. Bigger around, too. It was late, at least for us, so we took the load over to the school and stuck them in the refrigerator in my wife's classroom. On Thursday, we had a fish-cutting party. Our neighbor and our babysitter joined the festivities.
This afternoon, my boss knocked at the door with an offer of more fish. We gladly took a couple more, and I did the honors while wife and baby watched. We now have 25 good sized salmon fillets in the freezer for the rest of the year. We usually get multiple meals out of each fillet, so we are well set.
I am grateful to the Joekay family, and to my boss, for the generosity. Tonight's dinner had been swimming up the river earlier today!
On Wednesday last, our friends called to tell us that their was a boatload of fish coming up the river, and that some of them had our names on them. We went over, and there was a wagon load of enormous silver salmon. Longer than my arm. Bigger around, too. It was late, at least for us, so we took the load over to the school and stuck them in the refrigerator in my wife's classroom. On Thursday, we had a fish-cutting party. Our neighbor and our babysitter joined the festivities.
This afternoon, my boss knocked at the door with an offer of more fish. We gladly took a couple more, and I did the honors while wife and baby watched. We now have 25 good sized salmon fillets in the freezer for the rest of the year. We usually get multiple meals out of each fillet, so we are well set.
I am grateful to the Joekay family, and to my boss, for the generosity. Tonight's dinner had been swimming up the river earlier today!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Very Happy...
First week update. So far, very good. We got our class design finished, and it is a good one. Credit goes to the kids for a job well done. They seem to be rolling well with the changes that I have made in instruction, and I have maintained a positive mindset, which seems to go well in the classroom. Some credit here goes to Alice, because she makes me think more creatively about stuff. I think that is bleeding over to the older kids.
Next week will see a tighter focus on academics, and we will see how that goes. I have inherited two students from other classrooms. One is in my math class, and will only be with me for 90 minutes each day. The other will be around longer, and will be more challenging. I will see if we can overwhelm her with niceness. Hope it works, because I like our chemistry, and I would hate to see it disturbed.
We have a full weekend "off," which means that I only have some lesson planning to do. We are focusing on trying to use full weekends for full family time. Another experiment whose results shall be seen over time.
Now, I have to finish filling out a spreadsheet, and get on with enjoying what looks like a sunny, beautiful day. Time for an Alice walk...
Next week will see a tighter focus on academics, and we will see how that goes. I have inherited two students from other classrooms. One is in my math class, and will only be with me for 90 minutes each day. The other will be around longer, and will be more challenging. I will see if we can overwhelm her with niceness. Hope it works, because I like our chemistry, and I would hate to see it disturbed.
We have a full weekend "off," which means that I only have some lesson planning to do. We are focusing on trying to use full weekends for full family time. Another experiment whose results shall be seen over time.
Now, I have to finish filling out a spreadsheet, and get on with enjoying what looks like a sunny, beautiful day. Time for an Alice walk...
Monday, August 12, 2013
It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood...
Rain, rain, rain...but, again, it is the rainy season here. I know that it is an essential part of the balance of things and all, but, still, there is something about a sunny day.
It was beautiful here after the better part of a week of overcast skies and rain. Too good a day to spend inside. Because we had a work day, we were simply required to come in at whatever time we wished and put in the allotted amount of hours. I took the "early" shift, so I got out at 3:30. That gave our baby sitter the chance to make it to the post office before 4:00, which is closing time.
What to do with a beautiful day and a baby on my hands? Get out the stroller! Alice got her first of two walks around the village. Fresh air and sunshine produces a prodigious appetite, and little Tac'aq did not disappoint. Oatmeal with applesauce added, as well as some mommy milk makes for a full and happy baby.
Now, we have all had our dinner (except for the little dog, who dines continentally late), and it should be bed time for some little people around here. Problem is, it's still pretty light at 9 pm. It was a lot easier getting her to go down in Alabama, where this time of night means darkness. Oh, well, it's not as if she has to get up and go to work in the morning.
Tomorrow is another work day for us, which gives me the chance to finish lesson plans, which are proving a little more resistant than I would have hoped, and to figure out what shape I want my classroom to be in when the little tykes arrive on Wednesday morning. I am seriously thinking about leaving the desks in their summertime stacks, and assign the students the design problem of arranging 24 desks in clusters of four in a space that is probably too small for them. The next task will be coming to consensus on classroom rules and expectations. Then we will actually do some rehearsal, so that we know what all of these things look like when applied in a real setting. We have a morning assembly, so this process could take up a decent amount of the balance of the day.
But first, I have to get things ready...
It was beautiful here after the better part of a week of overcast skies and rain. Too good a day to spend inside. Because we had a work day, we were simply required to come in at whatever time we wished and put in the allotted amount of hours. I took the "early" shift, so I got out at 3:30. That gave our baby sitter the chance to make it to the post office before 4:00, which is closing time.
What to do with a beautiful day and a baby on my hands? Get out the stroller! Alice got her first of two walks around the village. Fresh air and sunshine produces a prodigious appetite, and little Tac'aq did not disappoint. Oatmeal with applesauce added, as well as some mommy milk makes for a full and happy baby.
Now, we have all had our dinner (except for the little dog, who dines continentally late), and it should be bed time for some little people around here. Problem is, it's still pretty light at 9 pm. It was a lot easier getting her to go down in Alabama, where this time of night means darkness. Oh, well, it's not as if she has to get up and go to work in the morning.
Tomorrow is another work day for us, which gives me the chance to finish lesson plans, which are proving a little more resistant than I would have hoped, and to figure out what shape I want my classroom to be in when the little tykes arrive on Wednesday morning. I am seriously thinking about leaving the desks in their summertime stacks, and assign the students the design problem of arranging 24 desks in clusters of four in a space that is probably too small for them. The next task will be coming to consensus on classroom rules and expectations. Then we will actually do some rehearsal, so that we know what all of these things look like when applied in a real setting. We have a morning assembly, so this process could take up a decent amount of the balance of the day.
But first, I have to get things ready...
Friday, August 9, 2013
Back Home Again
I am sitting in our first district-wide in-service this morning. We have returned to our home for a new year with students. We got here after traveling from Alabama to Alaska. What a trip! Alice proved to be an excellent traveler, but I think she is still a little jet-lagged at this point. I think we all are. Well, maybe not the dogs...
The summer was hectic and characterized by movement. We spent the first month in a rental house, which gave us a little stability and meant that things were actually put away in drawers. All bets were off as of June 30. We spent a week staying in our old house, which we sold and closed on, a week with my parents, and two and a half weeks with my in laws. The last involved driving from Michigan to Alabama and back to the Chicago area, from which we departed to Alaska. I think that we were all pretty tired of living out of suitcases (or totes and space saver bags and kennels) by the end of it.
We knew that the summer would be an experiment. We learned that we want a little more stability for next year. We plan to stay in one place for the summer, in the hopes that it will give Alice some more time to play at the park and the beach. We will still go back, because we want her to spend time with her family in Michigan, as well as in Alaska.
Our lifestyle will shift here, as well. We are buying a used car, so that Alice can go to appointments and we can shop for groceries in Bethel more easily. I hope to have it by the time that we go to Bethel for the district wide in-services after Labor Day, so that we can drive ourselves around town.
For years, we have lived in two worlds. We seem to be shifting to a different model. We will see how that works out in the future.
The summer was hectic and characterized by movement. We spent the first month in a rental house, which gave us a little stability and meant that things were actually put away in drawers. All bets were off as of June 30. We spent a week staying in our old house, which we sold and closed on, a week with my parents, and two and a half weeks with my in laws. The last involved driving from Michigan to Alabama and back to the Chicago area, from which we departed to Alaska. I think that we were all pretty tired of living out of suitcases (or totes and space saver bags and kennels) by the end of it.
We knew that the summer would be an experiment. We learned that we want a little more stability for next year. We plan to stay in one place for the summer, in the hopes that it will give Alice some more time to play at the park and the beach. We will still go back, because we want her to spend time with her family in Michigan, as well as in Alaska.
Our lifestyle will shift here, as well. We are buying a used car, so that Alice can go to appointments and we can shop for groceries in Bethel more easily. I hope to have it by the time that we go to Bethel for the district wide in-services after Labor Day, so that we can drive ourselves around town.
For years, we have lived in two worlds. We seem to be shifting to a different model. We will see how that works out in the future.
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