It's been a stressful summer.
My sister was finally diagnosed with cancer, which her doctors believe started in her lung. She's never been a smoker, but was around second-hand smoke earlier in her life. She's been taking chemo since the end of August. Right now, she seems to be stable. She had a CAT scan last week, so she'll know how effective her treatment is soon, I hope.
Lily continues to have seizures. In fact, I'm up early due to one at 3:55 this morning. She clustered again at 4:30. She had 36 days between her seizures, the last occuring on September 1. It's always difficult watching her struggle, but I was able because of practice to get her meds to her more quickly than the past. She was restless, though, despite their sedating properties.
Last week, my school was greatly affected by the UCC shooting. Since we're only an hour away from Roseburg, it felt like the events were unfolding in our back yard. Early Friday morning, I received a text from one of my students letting me know her dad was keeping her out of school due to a perceived threat made against schools in our area. By 9:00 A.M., the school was in chaos. People spread the false report on social media and soon we had frantic parents coming to the school to take children from the building. I think it upped the fear level when the district brought in a police officer and posted him in front of the vending machine. The only time we have police in the building is when someone comes to school drunk. Seeing him was equal parts reassuring and terrifying. It was undoubtedly one of the most stressful days of my teaching career. The 7th graders were terrified. One wept inconsolably all morning until she finally got on the bus for home. I'm so angry that the shooter had that power over my community. Since that time, several state and community colleges have received treats and closed campus for the day. Now the President is scheduled to visit with the families on Friday, and all the crazy people who do a poor job of hiding their prejudice, are jumping up and down mad that he's daring to offer his condolences. It's sickening and embarrassing, but what can you expect from an area where people run around with full-sized Confederate flags in the backs of their pickups?
Like I said, it's been a difficult summer.
My sister was finally diagnosed with cancer, which her doctors believe started in her lung. She's never been a smoker, but was around second-hand smoke earlier in her life. She's been taking chemo since the end of August. Right now, she seems to be stable. She had a CAT scan last week, so she'll know how effective her treatment is soon, I hope.
Lily continues to have seizures. In fact, I'm up early due to one at 3:55 this morning. She clustered again at 4:30. She had 36 days between her seizures, the last occuring on September 1. It's always difficult watching her struggle, but I was able because of practice to get her meds to her more quickly than the past. She was restless, though, despite their sedating properties.
Last week, my school was greatly affected by the UCC shooting. Since we're only an hour away from Roseburg, it felt like the events were unfolding in our back yard. Early Friday morning, I received a text from one of my students letting me know her dad was keeping her out of school due to a perceived threat made against schools in our area. By 9:00 A.M., the school was in chaos. People spread the false report on social media and soon we had frantic parents coming to the school to take children from the building. I think it upped the fear level when the district brought in a police officer and posted him in front of the vending machine. The only time we have police in the building is when someone comes to school drunk. Seeing him was equal parts reassuring and terrifying. It was undoubtedly one of the most stressful days of my teaching career. The 7th graders were terrified. One wept inconsolably all morning until she finally got on the bus for home. I'm so angry that the shooter had that power over my community. Since that time, several state and community colleges have received treats and closed campus for the day. Now the President is scheduled to visit with the families on Friday, and all the crazy people who do a poor job of hiding their prejudice, are jumping up and down mad that he's daring to offer his condolences. It's sickening and embarrassing, but what can you expect from an area where people run around with full-sized Confederate flags in the backs of their pickups?
Like I said, it's been a difficult summer.
- Current Mood:
anxious
Ack!
I have to post this somewhere, or I'm going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.
We have new neighbors, a family of four: mother, father, a teenaged boy and a younger girl. They seem nice enough. In fact, they were friendly at first. The former neighbors (a work friend of mine and her family) had sort of let their yard get overrun with stuff (trees of various sorts and kinds and other stuff). After the moving in period was over, the man has systematically attempted to eradicate most of the extra foliage. At first, this was met by approval from this side of the fence. It was nice to see someone take care of their property.
That warm and fuzzy feeling changed when he started to dispose of said foliage. I think the man is a secret pyromaniac. He has built three big bonfires in the backyard of his property. The first two bothered me, but in retrospect they seemed fairly controlled. Tonight's was a little different. Sparks started shooting up in the air about 9:30. I had a clear vantage point for the mini-explosion at 10:00 when he must have thrown something (gas) on the fire. A loud bang was followed by flames which shot up higher than the roof of their garage. Needless to say, my heart started pounding. The flames quickly died down, but my god! What is the man trying to prove?
Just now, there was a loud thump. I couldn't tell where the sound came from and came out of the bedroom to check on Lily. (I may not have posted that Lily has been having seizures since December). I turned on the kitchen light to check that it wasn't her. From the neighbor's backyard I heard the wife's goose-like laughter. Who knows? Maybe he fell off the deck in a drunken stupor?
I am not looking forward to July 4th with these folks in the neighborhood. They're going to be shooting illegal fireworks in the air and freaking out the neighborhood animals for sure.
The bad part is what can we do if he continues to be reckless into the summer months? He has a few more trees he could cut down. The craziness could go on past the time when burning in backyard piles is legal.
I have to post this somewhere, or I'm going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.
We have new neighbors, a family of four: mother, father, a teenaged boy and a younger girl. They seem nice enough. In fact, they were friendly at first. The former neighbors (a work friend of mine and her family) had sort of let their yard get overrun with stuff (trees of various sorts and kinds and other stuff). After the moving in period was over, the man has systematically attempted to eradicate most of the extra foliage. At first, this was met by approval from this side of the fence. It was nice to see someone take care of their property.
That warm and fuzzy feeling changed when he started to dispose of said foliage. I think the man is a secret pyromaniac. He has built three big bonfires in the backyard of his property. The first two bothered me, but in retrospect they seemed fairly controlled. Tonight's was a little different. Sparks started shooting up in the air about 9:30. I had a clear vantage point for the mini-explosion at 10:00 when he must have thrown something (gas) on the fire. A loud bang was followed by flames which shot up higher than the roof of their garage. Needless to say, my heart started pounding. The flames quickly died down, but my god! What is the man trying to prove?
Just now, there was a loud thump. I couldn't tell where the sound came from and came out of the bedroom to check on Lily. (I may not have posted that Lily has been having seizures since December). I turned on the kitchen light to check that it wasn't her. From the neighbor's backyard I heard the wife's goose-like laughter. Who knows? Maybe he fell off the deck in a drunken stupor?
I am not looking forward to July 4th with these folks in the neighborhood. They're going to be shooting illegal fireworks in the air and freaking out the neighborhood animals for sure.
The bad part is what can we do if he continues to be reckless into the summer months? He has a few more trees he could cut down. The craziness could go on past the time when burning in backyard piles is legal.
- Current Mood: distressed
Lily had a seizure today. She was home with Mom. Mom called in me at school in tears. I had to get someone to cover my afternoon classes, so I could take Lily to the vet.
When I got home, she looked a little sleepy but soon resumed her normal antics. The blood test didn't reveal any possible toxic reasons, so chances are, Lily may have epilepsy. The doctor said it may never happen again. It may happen every six months. If it happens more often, we'll have to talk about other options (i.e. drugs).
I really hope this is a one-time occurrence-or that Mom misinterpreted what she was seeing.
When I got home, she looked a little sleepy but soon resumed her normal antics. The blood test didn't reveal any possible toxic reasons, so chances are, Lily may have epilepsy. The doctor said it may never happen again. It may happen every six months. If it happens more often, we'll have to talk about other options (i.e. drugs).
I really hope this is a one-time occurrence-or that Mom misinterpreted what she was seeing.
- Current Mood:
sad
- Current Mood:
nostalgic
Oregon in October should feature crisp, foggy mornings with rain, rain, and more rain.
Today, we reached 89 with no relief in sight.
I know I'll probably be kicking myself in a few weeks, but I'm tired of the relentless sunshine. I'm a native Oregonian. I need a little bit of the wet stuff.
Teaching in the non-air-conditioned part of the building means my classroom is 10 degrees warmer than the remodeled part of the school. Something not quite right about that, I think.
Today, we reached 89 with no relief in sight.
I know I'll probably be kicking myself in a few weeks, but I'm tired of the relentless sunshine. I'm a native Oregonian. I need a little bit of the wet stuff.
Teaching in the non-air-conditioned part of the building means my classroom is 10 degrees warmer than the remodeled part of the school. Something not quite right about that, I think.
- Current Mood: hot
Since I don't live in the world of Supernatural, I knew this morning that when I heard knocking in the fireplace insert, we had a furry/feathery visitor of some sort. If I knew the visitor was of the feathered variety, I'd have no problem opening the door to try my hand at avian rescue. Problem is, I can catch a glimpse of it, and so far, there's no identifiable sound. I'm worried it could be a bat or rat or something a lot less cute and cuddly.
I've been waiting it out so far this morning, hoping against hope that it'll find a way out without me resorting to opening the door. I am not the most courageous woman, especially when it comes to rodents/bats. I don't see this ending well.
An equally distressing problem: hornets have decided the deck is the perfect place for a few of their decorative hives. I don't want to spray something that could harm the bees and other critters, but I definitely don't want a bunch of hornets flying around every time I water the plants.
I really hate being in charge.
I've been waiting it out so far this morning, hoping against hope that it'll find a way out without me resorting to opening the door. I am not the most courageous woman, especially when it comes to rodents/bats. I don't see this ending well.
An equally distressing problem: hornets have decided the deck is the perfect place for a few of their decorative hives. I don't want to spray something that could harm the bees and other critters, but I definitely don't want a bunch of hornets flying around every time I water the plants.
I really hate being in charge.
- Current Mood: anxious
Since I'm officially done with the school year, it's time to get to all those lovely household chores I've been avoiding. Cleaning and organizing the spare room is the current focus of my efforts. It would be easier to finish these efforts if it weren't for the distractions in the room. The computer, for one.
In an effort to speed along my organizing, I decided to rent the pilot episode of The Musketeers from BBC America. I know it sounds counter-productive. Usually it helps to have something to occasionally distract me from my task. In reality, this technique only works when the distraction is something I'm not really interested in, so I got very little cleaning done after my first episode downloaded.
Confession: I've always loved The Three Musketeers. I read the novel when I was in grade school, which even now surprises me. In fact, I was always a big fan of those dashing, romantic heroes like King Arthur, Robin Hood, and D'Artagnan. Watching the pilot yesterday felt a little like video comfort food.
I ended up buying a season pass for the thing, so I hope it holds up.
Mexican hospital to U.S. family: $50K to treat injured son - KPTV - FOX 12
This is a frightening story of a MP alumni.
This is a frightening story of a MP alumni.
Here's a small electronic token of my esteem.
Sorry I can't deliver this peony from Oregon to your door.
Sorry I can't deliver this peony from Oregon to your door.
- Current Mood:
optimistic
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Especially the last 30 seconds.