Saturday, September 07

[karlinann]

Good morning Rounders! It's Saturday, trash and yard waste pick-up day. Our cans are fuller than they have been since we first moved here and I started cutting down trees and cleaning up this place. I have 2 full cans of yard waste and one overflowing trash can, but at least the lid still fits.

We do not have anything planned for today. I love going out in the mornings and listening to the birdsong, watching the butterflies darting from one bloom to the next, and watching the sun peak over the horizon. I can feel a definite change in the air and am looking forward to fall.

I have used the heck out of my non-stick fry pans that we bought at Aldi's back in the spring. They save the day on cooking time and you can soak up the fat with paper towels. I am amazed at how much fat comes out of just 2 hamburger patties!

I have learned a trick about planting things here in this hot, wicked sun. You need to give some plants a protective canopy or umbrella so they won't get fried by the intense sun. When it cools down late in the fall I will start planting ferns in front of my tender plants. I have plenty of ferns that I can move. I also have ground cover plants that I can move. The ground cover plants do a really good job of keeping the weeds under control as well as offering a sort of mulching and shading of the other plants.

I am really glad that I transplanted all those grasses because they are flourishing and they are excellent soil erosion plants, plus they look beautiful swaying in the breeze and I know they will continue to look good all seasons. Finding those volunteers was a win-win for me.

My Euphorbia's and Cacti, and Succulents are all doing great. This has been a good year for them. Now that I know I can bring the Hardy Poinsettia's out of the deep shade I will have lot's more of those around the garden beds. They look great at the back of an area because they are tall.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Peace & Plenty.

[bethina]

Good morning...Getting ready to walk to the grocery store for chips for the pick mic I am going today. I need a couple of cakes for lot Fam in the morning.

Today I am headed to a picnic. This evening I am going to the movies. The new alladin movie is at the dollar movie by my house.

[Paula A]

Becky and I went to that movie and rally liked it! Have fun!

[maxie]

Morning! Karlinann I love hearing about your garden and yard and appreciate all the work you do and joy you get from planting. You not only love the color but I think you love the work too! Wish I had your passion and could see your paradise.

But back home here the plants need trimming and the yard winterized. There is a different feel and sound in the air and yes, we can feel fall close too. Yesterday was hot and humid but today is suppose to be cooler. Next week it is predicted to be hot. Actually that is mid west weather...you don;t like the weather then sit and wait an hour and it will change!

Last night Drew had homework and ask me to help him get it done. Jon told him it was Friday he could wait but he wanted it done.....with grandma! Oh whooppee! So he knew how to do the math...teacher showed him and did a problem with him. She sat and watched him do #2. He told me how and I got it and followed how he did it then somewhere between problem #3 and 4 we lost it. Neither of us had any idea what we were doing. I mean we LOST it! But we finished and I am pretty sure they are wrong but when it was over he looked at me said thank you grandma. I said I am sure they are wrong but he said we did it and we finished it. I will never understand this new math..it is not easy and makes no sense. We have made so many mistakes in our educational system and our kids will suffer. Not every kid is brilliant or even bright ya know? Some kids are just average and some kids parents are just average and sometimes even their grandmas are just average and we have no chance in helping these kids because the system decided to change it. We called Sierra and sent her the problems and she didn't get it...said why aren't they just looking for the common denominator? Well why aren't they?

So we started our weekend off with math and then the Cardinals lost. Sierra called and wanted to know where her old dance tapes were so I looked for those. I could only find 2005 and 2006 and was going through drawers until it dawned of me she had stopped dance and went into gymnastics. We did not tape those events. There are pictures we took at the award ceremony's but they are probably packed away with the trophy's. Her dad would dig for them just to have them out of here!

Today I have a load of laundry and ironing. Yesterday I did floors and put the summer door wreaths away. Need to sort summer and winter clothes. I am going to need another pair of jeans and I know Andrew needs a jacket, Jon has a bday in a couple of weeks. Sounds like a shopping trip!

Enjoy your Saturday and do whatever makes you happy.

[JoGee]

Good morning.

Cooling weather is on its way here. While today will still be 108°, tomorrow will drop to 102, then we will see double digits for a few days after that. Who’da thunk we would consider the high 90’s “cool”?

Middle DD dropped off my prescription (for my upcoming procedure) after work. I went downstairs with her as she was leaving because I wanted to check my mail. A man got on the elevator and started chatting with us. He was on his way to Happy Hour, and with a twinkle in his eye invited me, mimicking drinking. It, to me, said too much. Darn daughter was encouraging it. So she left, and I waved the man off as I headed to my mail box. I’m sure the man noticed the buffet of snacks was closed when he got there, but he was obviously looking forward to his allotted 2 alcoholic drinks. The residents in that room were starting sing-alongs. I may go another time, but I’m not ready for that group yet. And if I drink, it’ll be lemonade or tea.

Today there’s not much going on. I’m going to reorganize my crocheting, as I have found a few unfinished items.

Maybe ill open another unpacked packed box or two, and see what I will find.

Hope you have a good Saturday. ☀️

Maxie, that new math always threw me way off. The kids’ school expected parents to help them at home, as they obviously they weren’t doing a good job of it. Their instruction sheet was gobbled-gook. The best thing I could do for my kids, was to teach them simple math as I was taught, and also show them how to check the problems using reverse math.
The teacher called me to complain about that.....I told her it was never taught in my school, so I couldn’t begin to teach it to my kids, only taught them what I knew. (They also taught the kids sight reading, so I taught them phonetics at home.). The teachers couldn’t fault my reasoning, anyway.

[maxie]

Many years ago when I was in the 7th and 8th grades we had a very old teacher who taught us orthography. No books so we spent the first 6 weeks copying it off the blackboard into notebooks and had a lesson a week. All suffixes and prefixes...I use it to this day to pronounce and understand the meaning of words. That has probably turned out to be the most used lessons I ever had. New is not always better but it will take someone else to figure that out. Some new genius who will decide one day to try something new... like the old way! All I see are kids needing math help at home and parents scratching their heads.

[Paula A]

good morning and to most of you good afternoon!
Jo, that was how my mom helped me with homework. and Finally, when I was in a college math class the professor mentioned a better way of teaching math called compensation (his term) but when he demonstrated it: it was the way my mom had taught me to subtract and borrow! I was the only one who knew what he was talking about and he put some on the board and had me tell the others how I did it...my mom was so proud! She waited a long time for that, but finally got her recognition.
My favorite story with our kids was Stuart getting a call form a friend asking about a math problem to which he replied, I don't know and my dad can't figure it out, either...then called to us, Dad, Bob Green is having trouble with that same problem! We all cracked up. It was 6th grade crazy math and both dads were college grads (and Gary a teacher, which was why the othe rdad told his kid to call Stuart) ah, the days of I can't do my homework!!! When I think of those long ago days I do not miss them!

I have normal errands and Becky is going to Sacramento for a single adult church conference/social. She is out of her comfort zone but wants to meet people in her age with similar situations. Not sure exactly what that looks like in her mind, but I know here, the friends she gets together with all married and mothers and when coupes get together they do not invite singles...so, I am hoping this goes well. She is just going for the afternoon activities and not staying for the dinner and dance.

Yard needs trimmed here, too. All the work my brother did in July is now in need again. I am so glad I bought the right tools and watched as he did some of it and did it under his direction, too.
The 80's are coming! Not the decade again, but the temperatures. It was cooler out this morning and the top layer of water in the pool is cool but swimming stirs up the warmer water so it is nice out. As the temps drop, so will the level of the cooler water. I figure if I can swim until Oct. I will be lucky. That is my goal. To tell myself I will swim after daycare is just not likely to really happen. Morning is when I have the energy and desire to move.

I decided to wear a new shirt tha tI was saving for cooler weather because it has long sleeves. I sure hope it was on sale because I was shocked at the tag: 59.95! It must have been one of the sale shirts I bought, right? and how does Macy's think that is ever an appropriate price for a long sleeved tee shirt!!! Buyer beware!

I have one birthday gift ordered and one was delivered yesterday for tomorrow's DIL's birthday. My kids all have birthdays between )ct and Dec and then Stuart's wife is in Jan and Spencer's is tomorrow. One grandson was born on the same day as our daughter who passed away in'94, so that is just adding a gift to a date I always planned for when the kids were growing up.

One of my errands is find a battery for my key to the car. It is a keyless push button ignition (never again!) and I realized I need to be ready for needing a new battery. Last week when we went shopping Becky let me out at the door to Macy's and as I got out the car was making a beeping noise. I thought it was HOnda's way of warning me to not take off my seatbelt...as she drove around the parking lot I realized the keys were in my purse and wondered if the car would just stop in the middle of driving; it did not, but we will remember not to do that again.
I sure hope the cars don't get much smarter while I am still wanting to drive!

Well, I have talked your ears off, I am sure and need to move along myself.
Jo, it sounds like there are a lot of things for you to consider to do there. Enjoy your day.
Karlinann, I wish I could see your yard also. Love hearing of all you do!
Beth, enjoy your day (yay for not working!) and the baking and movie.
Maxie, you have a great relationship with your grandkids and sons and that is what really matters! I think you all must have a great time together form the picture you paint!
Jostoy, hope you are enjoying your new house and being closer to family and friends.
Maye, I hope you and David are doing well and so glad you have some of your kids near and your CO son makes time to com out. As the one who travels, I know it is not easy to leave work and find time to fly for visits.
All of our Roundtable group is so special to me!
Hope you know it!

[JoGee]

Teachers! I think back to my school days.
In elementary school, our librarian used to come into the Kindergarten room to read to us. She picked lots of funny, happy stories. It turned out she was my mothers English teacher.
Middle school, aka Jr High, was 3 years of transitioning. New schools, classmates, teachers, friends, and responsibilities.
In High school, I had one older teacher who knew my mom from his classes. This teacher often dozed off in classes. He really couldn’t teach me anything about accounting....his method was to say “you have the problem, the answers are in my book. You can borrow my book and figure out how to get from the problem to the right answer.” Isn’t he supposed to show YOU how to get from one to another? Oh, I passed with a decent high grade, but only because he liked me
Another English teacher nodded off in class as well. She knew enough to give out a writing assignment, and she’s good to nap til the bell rang. She retired that year.
Those were the outstanding teachers I recall.