It Flew By.

Last Week of School.

Just a quick check-in before the insanity of the last week.

I chaperoned the class trip to Magic Mountain.  I'm very lucky to teach where I do.  One of the kids' backpacks was stolen off a ride bay (phone, ipod, wallet with cash and season pass, etc.) and when he found me he had already been to lost-and-found, and then to security to report the theft.  When he found me, all he wanted was an extra meal ticket because his was stolen with the pack and he was starving.  I was pretty self-sufficient at fourteen, but I don't know that I would have handled that in such a mature manner.  The only other incidents were a couple of kids who learned the hard way that they suffer from motion sickness.  It was a hot day, but overall pretty nice because the kids are so terrific.

 At the back of the building is a shaded area with semi-comfortable chairs and tables.  I spent most of my day enjoying the fountain, the company of my colleagues and an occasional opportunity to read.  Could have used a piano, though.

Once we were back to school, I drove to my mom's and she treated me to dinner at our favorite restaurant.  I swear, this guy has the BEST wait staff in the state.  They are wonderful to her (and me) every time we go there to eat.  The food is terrific, too.  My favorite is the Western Burger (not many places will cook a burger medium rare anymore, so it's really a treat) with cheese, bacon and their fabulous fried onions.  I can only eat half a burger any more, but there's always my 6'6" son at home to help out with the leftovers.

Red's, Simi Valley, CA.  It took me a while but I finally noticed that his decor is very similar to my condo in Utah.

I spent the night at my mom's, then had a very relaxing (aka lazy) day with her and my sister, followed by another trip to Red's, this time for their tri-tip salad sans tri-tip.  Delish.

Today I've been catching up with grocery shopping, laundry and getting ready for the last week of school.

I'll have four days off after next week, then am excited to be doing something I always swore I would never do.  I'm teaching a summer session.  I had a financial need and the Universe supplied the opportunity.  When I read down the list of classes being offered, I had a little explosion of excitement when I saw Creative Writing would be offered in the Creative Arts Academy, so I updated my resume and submitted an application.  I got the job, and am having a blast pulling together ideas.  I'm basing my plans not on our formula-based writing program ("No, I'm not going to tell you how many sentences you need,") but rather on something Julia Cameron said.  The American system of education is not good for creativity because it's built on criticism (red pens for mistakes) rather than building work.  I'm trying hard to develop a four-week class (grades 4-8) that encourages creativity and builds confidence in writing.  Wish me luck.

The class is only in the morning, so I'll be free before noon for all the other things I've been dreaming of for the summer.  Gardening. Cross-stitch.  Writing (and reading). Sewing.

Must update on the hydrangea wall.  Nearly in full bloom now.

This cluster is about the size of a dinner plate and the color is amazing.

The droopy buds (needed water and OK now) are definitely going to be blue.  Just a few more days.

I've been treating a couple to help them turn blue, and it seems to have worked.  Here's the hydrangea in the front courtyard.  You can really see the blue.  Just a few more days.