A new nickname

We just returned from celebrating Thanksgiving (American, obviously) with my sister and her family and had a delicious dinner, sampled some parks, chased some squirrels and had some fun times with Settlers of Catan/Seafarers of Catan - a game, I might mention, that my brother and his wife totally hooked us on. Just when you think you've got a strategy, the numbers go against you and, well, sometimes it's not pretty. But suffice it to say I actually WON once so life is good. (It's sort of like golfing that way.)

However, board-game triumph not withstanding, my favorite memory of the trip was a new nickname given to me by a preschooler. We'd been talking about fairies and costumes and magic and she decided I should have a new name and told me what it should be. At first I thought I might just be misunderstanding her but she was adamant.


So you may now all address me as...

"tinkerval"

Flying pigs

I have a collection of flying pigs. Ever since my first picture book (When Pigs Fly) was published, I have been building an odd assortment of flying pigs - some given to me, some I purchased, some wrangled out of unsuspecting people by enthusiastic friends. The collection ranges from clocks and blackboards to rubber stamps to jewelry and clothing. Some are hysterical, some adorable and some totally tacky.

So the other day, it caught my eye when Rick at Organized Doodles posted this gem:


Isn't he great?

Dentist shoes

I don't know what your dentist is like but in my experience they have always been male, usually wear those white lab coat things and and have a brisk sort of humor-you-through-the-chair attitude (except for the dental hygienist that used to come to my elementary school with the SERIOUS cigarette breath and no sense of humor. Maybe that's the reason I've been seeing male dentists lately...)

Anyways, I took my children to a new dentist the other day and she was - well - a she. Good - I thought. Maybe she'll be a little more realistic about the whole experience. I mean, it really can't be a fun job but a number of pediatric dentists I've encountered have zero flexibility on their policies about accompanying your child through the appointment. But before I go into a serious snit mode, just let me say that this dentist surprised me.

Why?

Well, my child and I had been chatting, the hygienist had done her thing and then I heard a "click, click, click" coming across the floor. So I looked over and saw...a pair of really cute strappy silver sandals (slides, if you want to be really accurate) and a toe ring.

Yep, that was the dentist.

So I may have immediately graduated to middle-aged old broad. She's cute, stylish and has a great sense of humor. She also seems to be a very competent dentist. But my first thought was "Sandals? It's November!" And the part that scared me the most was the "Young lady!" sort of tone that came in the middle of that thought.

Ack!!

I ran home and checked through my shoes for something not-too-old to wear to a meeting later that night. And sighed as I pulled on some warm socks and a pair of dress boots.

It's November, after all.

Title trouble

This is a blog that first appeared on my other blog but I know some of you that share my sense of humor will get a kick out of it anyways.

Or at least let out a refined snigger...

They say the title is one of the most important things you will ever write for your new manuscript - though probably the query letter still ranks a little higher. There are definitely some titles that catch the imagination or pique the curiosity. Some of my favorites include: How Are You Peeling?, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, A Bag Full of Nothing, Mr. Pinkerton Finds A Body, No More Dead Dogs, And God Created Squash, and the list goes on...

We'd been talking about titles in the residency I'm currently teaching (I'm done at the end of the week so will stop talking about it eventually) and doing some brainstorming about what should and shouldn't be in a title. Some kids had a snappy option right off the cuff, others just stared and shrugged. (I think I could tell which ones have more AR points.)

I got home with a head full of titles and then saw this sitting on my kitchen table:


Maybe it's just because I was hanging around with 9-year-olds but doesn't this strike you as possibly being an unfortunate choice? I can't imagine a parent walking into a book store and asking for the book "Things to Do with Pooh."

(Okay, actually I can. And I can also imagine the look on the staff member's face when they hear the request. I mean, if you didn't know it was connected to Disney's version of A.A. Milne's classic bear, what shelf would you start looking on?)

Needless to say, it's gotten some mileage around our house, and it's served as a caution to me too. Our titles need careful attention.

Not quite what I expected

So today I was teaching again in an art residency and it was a painting day (as opposed to a writing day or a sketching day or a "dummy" day). The students are usually pretty excited about it. We've done all sorts of water color techniques including the highly popular spattering.

But today, one child wasn't quite ready to enter in to the process. Instead he threw up.

Fortunately, it was only a few minutes to recess time, so the teacher rounded the class up and took them to the playground while a parent volunteer shepherded the poor child to the office and the custodian came in to clean up.

And there I sat, torn between a parental sympathy for the student and thinking "Wow - that wasn't the reaction I expected at all!"

Love the classics

The last couple nights have been full of tedious tasks like cutting large sheets of paper into smaller sheets of paper. Yeah, for this I have 10 years of post-secondary education.

To help me not notice how time is dragging, I like to throw in a favorite movie. I have a list you can see on my profile of some of the top-most-likely choices but tonight it's Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night's Dream as interpreted by Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart and the host of delightful actors they have together portray it. It's a pretty lush production and the fact that one of my favorite plays is being performed by some of my favorite actors mean it will continue to play over and over again at my house.

The only other performance I've seen to match it was when the Saskatoon Summer Shakespeare festival acted the play in traditional text but set in the 20s, Brooklyn accents, flapper costumes and all. It was marvelous!! And, of course, another great Shakespearian rendition is A&E's "Much Ado About Nothing." Tops them all, actually.

Anyways, it's back to my paper trimmer as Pyramus and Thisbe move once again to their prescribed fates...

I need a laugh :)

Just a flower...

Getting the day off

So, of course, tomorrow is Veteran's Day (or Remembrance Day if you're in my homeland). And also, of course, there is no school.

I appreciate that it is still a national holiday to honor those that have served (and still serve) to preserve our freedoms. So many holidays seem to have become a token acknowledgment of their origins. Or are only an excuse to take a long weekend because the actual holiday falls close to a Saturday or Sunday. It's an important thing to remember the sacrifices made on our behalf.

But there is a very tiny part of me that says, "Of course. Nobody told me." So now my kids have the day off and I didn't connect 1 + 1 to make 11 so I'm juggling my schedule again.

God bless our veterans who served so that my biggest problem tomorrow is having to have lunch with my kids.

Hats off to...

I was teaching again today and it was the end of the week and I was near the end of my energy. I'm feeling alright but still get that lead-boot feeling towards the end of the day. So while the students were out at recess, I readied the room for our next activity and then sat down ("plunked" might be more accurate) to rest a bit.

The host teacher walked in, I sat up straight and we chatted awhile. Very pleasant man that seems to really enjoy his work. Then he reached into his desk and asked "Would you like a cookie?"

Oh, okay.

It wasn't just a cookie. It was a small pack with TWO Harry and David's melt-in-your-mouth fruit-filled gallettes. I thanked him and as I was savoring the yummy confection, he went to collect his class. As he left, he tossed over his shoulder, "You looked like maybe you needed a pick-me-up."

I don't know which was sweeter: the cookie or the concern.

So today it's hats off to Mr. Snyder and everyone else that understands the value of a cookie.

Back in the saddle

Well, so much for being sick. Don't have time anymore.

Good thing I never found that sign because it's too late to use it. Today it was back to 3-4th grade classrooms for more art and literacy fun.

I actually had a great time today. In spite of the pouring rain, and stir-crazy classrooms, the fact that my supervisor came into the rowdiest class of the bunch to "observe", and the hassles of arranging several different arrival/dismissal times and putting more miles on my shoes in a single day that I usually do in a week, it was a good day.

Why?

Well, I got to paint. Sure, it was small squares of test patterns for the kids to model but it was paint and water and soggy paper towels and all the gear that go into making magic happen on paper. Masking tape and toothbrushes, too. A few water cups got dumped and a couple kids are going home with extra spots on their shirts but a few kids really got it and only 1 really didn't.

All things considered, I'm looking back thinking I'm pretty happy with this day.

It's just cool...

Still having pillow envy but thought I'd share this - my kids get all excited about it and it is pretty cool. It's amazing the places creativity jumps up...

Clip art I just don't need to see...

I went hunting today for some clipart to let you know that I wouldn't be posting today because I'm still sick. Not deathbed sick, but definitely want-my-bed sick. I was thinking maybe an "Out of the Office" sign or something like that.

I didn't exactly find what I was looking for.

I found clip art for hemorrhoids.

Not just a cutesy pic of someone sitting on a donut cushion or wincing dramatically when looking at a wooden chair - an actual cartoon (although anatomically complete) drawing of a hemorrhoid.

Now I really don't feel so good.

I think I'd better go lie down...

Go Fish - Mom song

So I'm at home doing a typical mom thing - I'm sick and I'm staying home to look after a sick kid who, incidentally, has a lot more energy than I do right now.

They never put that in the brochure.

Yesterday, I was healthy (or at least not smart enough to recognize the signs of impending misery) and spent the day on Christmas drama stuff - trying to organize seamstresses, painters and an art display. It was a full day and to keep us motivated the director put on a Christmas CD called "Snow".

All I can say is "WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD OF THIS BAND BEFORE?"

The group is called Go Fish. And in doing a little more digging, I came across one of their songs. Instant fan!!

A Fishy Story Indeed

This is something I wrote a while ago for a writing challenge. The theme was "What is character?"
__________

Character is what you are when no one is looking. It’s also what you are when it’s late and you just want to go to bed.

Several days ago, we picked up a 10-gallon fish tank. It was free and the ad read,

“Includes fish! Plus: tank, gravel, filters, heater, even a cute little thermometer. Fish are a catfish, a hiding shark-like thing, an eel-type thing (a loach?), and several orange striped fish...”

To transport the tank, we unloaded the tank water into various buckets while netting the fish into self-closing bags. But we couldn’t find the hiding shark-like thing. We drained some more water and re-searched the tank. Nothing. So we loaded up and brought the whole kit home.

It was late when I started reassembling the tank, but by eleven o’clock, I had almost finished. As my last task for the night I was standing at the sink, scrubbing a seashell when – PLOP - something slimy drops into my hand! I yelp, it slips through my fingers and my brain registers "shark-like thing?” just as it slides into the garbage disposal! Now what do I do? Do I look for it or do I run the disposal so it doesn't suffer?

But I’ve been told some amazing stories about fish survival so I leap into action. I can’t see into the disposal properly, so I start running around the house – I CAN’T FIND THE FLASHLIGHT!! Instead, I grab a decorative lamp shaped like Noah's Ark and pull the shade off of the 7w bulb.

Now how to reach the fish? After several faulty attempts, I grab a pair of aluminum tongs (the kind you see in salad bars) and start hunting. My progress is slow and every time I spot the fish and gingerly try to pick it up, it promptly panics and thrashes out of sight among the remains of a nice Alfredo casserole. At this point, I'm talking to the fish, sounding like a bad ER movie ("Stay with me now, we're gonna make it buddy"). And still at the back of my mind is the execution switch - just run the disposal and it will all be over and you won't even have to tell the kids.

But I can't do that. Where there's life, there's hope, right? I have to remove the fish’s hiding places. I grab some peas, some pasta, a piece of tomato, spinach, some more peas...and there’s the fish lying in the sink among the peas! Before he can slip away again, I scoop him into a spoon and whisk him over to the fish tank. Heart hammering, I hesitate a moment - Do I float him first? What about the temperature shock? Duh - he can't breath! - and in he goes.

The fish was in the drain for at least twenty minutes. But he is doing fine...except for a tendency to hide under a shell every time I come near the tank. Apparently he thinks I’m a suspicious character.


______________

Incidentally, it won the challenge. But the fish didn't seem impressed...