how many ways to stall??

another just popped up in junk mail: "click here to see how YOU resemble long-lost family members around the world"... or some such no-doubt lying junk.
the only time i saw ppl who "looked like us" was at a tribal summit some years back in coastal orange county (the only summit i've managed to get to). there were many yellowish-looking people with weak-colored eyes & limp hair, kind of mixed & weird-looking folks like i am & like some of my immediate family members are, too... i liken my sister's and my looks compared to our parents to the actress amanda plummer, interesting but never a beauty, not one bit, & her father, christopher, who was quite handsome in his youth. i just don't know what happened to us visually bc mom & dad were quite good-looking young people... but really, this kinda stuff matters less & less as the years erode everything about this human suit...
i am supposed to be working on school, so instead this weekend i deep-cleaned the whole house (including... james's quarters... the black hole of doom...) took penny for a slow jog (if i don't move my hip, it doesn't hurt), put latches on screen doors, watched MST3K (did you know incredibly strange creatures who stopped living & became mixed-up zombies was filmed in large part at long beach's long-gone beloved amusement-park-by-the-sea, the pike?? that was a definite highlight in an otherwise dreadful dog of a movie!!), feverishly researched tiny houses with hopes to install one on the back slope for mom & dad (latest obsession), walked across town (1.5 miles) & met christy & corey for breakfast, walked penny & corey's sweet dog mama at the park w/corey & adorable maya, continued cleaning, did the dishes, started proofreading dad's book, moved 5 wheelbarrows of dirt from the slope to the driveway...
i want to work, but i am afraid. i want so badly to do a good job this year. i have a very small class at this point. i guess part of me fears i will work hard, yet fail, anyways. i've had so little of that in my life. in my youth, i succeeded at everything i tried (except, near-fatally, over & over again, love relationships).
well, here's getting to it. the kids deserve it!!

no time, no blog!

yes, james got food, too: one of many vacation hog-outs

i haven't blogged in some time because well, i've been busy! it's also a big pita (teacher acronym for "pain in the a*s") to have to log out of my work account, log in to this "junk" account, scroll down, ahh: luxury problems! but not only hasn't there been time, it's not seemed important! however, here's a great blog that deserves more attention & time than i have currently; however, maybe you who read this will: nerds
we had a lovely family vacation. lovely! it was super-fun beginning to end. the gias, the bennetts, the pages... what fun! i could write & write about it! but... no time.
school has resumed. i have a tiny class. i love them! it will be a good year. the class is so small, i should be able to differentiate much more effectively. i've been able to identify the enrichment as well as at-risk kids already. i am hopeful i can help them mucho!

3 school bus stops are right across from our house: we
just gotta have one of these!

one of the highlights of vacation, just to quickly mention, was dumpster-diving with sister near the troll sculpture in seattle. we scored! all new stuff! rich people's trash is the best! another highlight was jog/walking (hip still injured) to a meeting where a nice man at the alano club counter purchased & said a prayer over a sobriety chip he then gave to me (i told him i was waiting for my family to arrive with my purse so i could buy one for myself). on the way, i saw a woman picking berries.
the northwest u.s. has the greatest biomass in the world. the area was suffering a dry, hot patch while we were there, one of the extremes characterizing the world's climate change, but everything still was so dark green, green, green! i was haunted by uncle ralph's backyard; you step out of the house to a cathedral of soaring, silent, majestic forest... dumbfounding! humbling! our backyard of stretching scrubby mountains brings my heart peace; these startling giants made me cry! so beautiful! how does a person have a backyard  like that & go on with their workday???? it was staggering.

gilded bowl i was gonna "swap meet" but can't part w/yet!

james & doug became such buds on the trip, so funny & loud together, funny & quick as any comedy team you can imagine; people even took video & pix of them as they walked around portland & seattle, doing their thing... the next week doug came to visit up here & as i took out the trash, i could hear them roaring & exchanging verbal patter: so funny! they don't do it for others, but for their own enjoyment! i hope their bromance continues for many moons to come...
i gotta run to bako to get groceries & stuff for school. check out the link!

"dancing doug" at uncle ralph's w/his archie mcphee appendages...
damn! the video doesn't work! oh well; believe me, it was
hilarious, doug dancing to me banging out st louis blues
on uncle ralphy's neat old piano...