This Is How Cold It Is

This past week it has been getting colder and colder. Harvey and Pearl no longer see me off at the gate when I go to work. They used to jump and wag their tails as I rode away, spying on me with one eye looking through the crack in the wood fence. Now they do all of the above from the couch as I walk out the door of the RV. It is really cozy and warm in there so I can't blame them. Harvey will still do the morning 5:30 walk, but Pearl has given-up on that one too. This morning I thought it may help if I put on her pink snowsuit and carried her to the end of the driveway so she could be inspired by the lights of the other units. But when I put her on the ground she scurried like a squirrel back to the RV. So I popped her into the belly of my jacket and we kept going. I guess that is the beauty of being only 8lbs. In comparison, at my weight, if someone were to carry me I guess they would have to be the size of Andre the Giant...or Jehovah God. :-) Anyhow, it is getting colder but it is pretty here. The morning walks are beautiful. I noticed this morning though that Harvey and Pearl's outside water bowl was frozen over though, so shouldn't be long before snow falls.

Okay, have a great day! Love to all,
d :-)

One of Those Weeks

I think all of us at one time or another, put our head in our hands and wonder why we are in the line of work that we are. I thought I loved teaching but then this week began to question that idea. On one hand I have the serious students that saved every penny to be in college or uni and dive into any task set before them; on the other hand I get the lazy students who are spoiled and told to study by their parents and act as if they know everything. The latter tax my brain and heart at times and make me contemplate the possiblity of working in an office or some secluded cubby-hole somewhere. Mind you, then there are the students that somehow give me a little hope and pull me out of my lulls. Like Sultan. He is Saudi. He came here six months ago. He is STILL in level one but won't give up. He went to his teacher last week and told him that he wants him to start teaching him to write everyday "like teacher Darci did" for him because he wants to learn and not have learning just be easy (I taught level 1 for a month, and I harp about hard work). For a student that has to almost walk backwards uphill to learn that is quite something. New alphabet, new characters, right to left. So now I feel good again. I guess it is all about feeling like one is making a difference in someone's life. Therefore now I don't feel like working in a dark room with a computer as my only companion. :-)

We had a fabulous Special Assembly Day on Sunday. Brother McEwan came out from Bethel to deliver a couple talks. I liked his points. Not only did he have a good sense of humor, but his perspective on matters was different than how others had said it before, and I appreciated that. He made an interesting point about not judging others by looking at what they are doing, because there is so much going on behind the scenes in peoples' lives. The key: take a personal interest in others. I have to look at my notes again, as he mentioned a few other good things to think about.

Harvey, Pearl and I are house-sitting Otto this week as Dad and Mom are down at the coast. Will be great. With all the rain up here lately H&P can have loads of fun playing with Otto in the basement.

Okay, must run, time to teach.

love to all,
d :-)

My Cargo-Mobile on Two Wheels

Harvey and Pearl have been riding instead of walking these days. There have been a few days of rain here. Pretty cold actually. Harvey and Pearl will not walk in the rain but I decided they should get out for some fresh scenery regardless, so I loaded them into the bike trailer and took them for some pushes around the park. Good for them and good for me. :-) I discovered something wonderful at the dollar store this week. Mostly for Harvey. It is a long arm of a thing shaped like an ice-cream scoop that is used to throw balls far for dogs. I usually go to the dog park shortly after 5:30am with Harvey and Pearl and I was trying to think of how to get Harvey more exercise. My throwing is kind of whimpy and he doesn't get much of a run when I throw, but when I use this thing I can wing the ball clear across the field. By the sixth time I wing the ball, Harvey is so pooped out he just picks it up and goes and stands by the gate waiting to go. Exactly what I want. :-)

I am getting closer to finishing off the skirting on my trailer. I am trying to do a little each night after work. There was a man moving his unit a few weeks back and I offered him $100 for all his skirting. He was in a rush to get everything together for his move so he said yes. Now it is just a matter of cutting it to size and reassembling it under my unit. So far so good. Has taken my afternoons and evenings, but coming along good. And I do notice a difference in the heating and cooling of the unit. Doubly, it has been good exercise but I will be very happy once it is finished because there is some more winterizing stuff I would like to get done before the cold and snow eventually arrive.

There are a couple of items I had to pick up for the RV; winterizing items. I was looking for some carpets for the flooring and curtain rods. I went down to the thrift store and found some beautiful lined curtains. The theory is that once it gets colder a lot of heat will go out the windows so if I have lined curtains I can draw them and keep the heat where it should be - inside. Well I found all these great items at a sale at WALMART yesterday. So I bungyed them to the back of my bike. It was kind of comical seeing the look of people faces, but mission accomplished; I got it all home. On my way home I had to make a pitstop at the doctor's for an appt. I obviously couldn't leave everything on my bike while I went in so I carried it all with me. The nurses COULD NOT BELIEVE IT, and were amazed that I could tie that much to my motorcycle. ...on another note I have to say that a nice advantage to living up here is that there is a lot less traffic, so it seems no matter where a person goes it is not difficult to find parking...and it's usually free! Much different from the big city. :-) I included a pic of a motorcycle loaded down. No, it is not me, but it gives the general idea of what is possible.

The motorcycle is still doing good for getting me around as you can tell. My goal is to use it for commuting right until November 12th....so NO snow before then I hope! I have to say though it is getting a bit nippy in the mornings riding in. I am now using my balaclava to protect my neck and ears and chin. But I am very thankful regardless because this saves me about $250 per month in vehicle costs. I took my truck off the road completely a while back, because between insurance, and gas, I was putting about $300 to $400 per month into it. Too much. But this week I will start wearing my heavy duty winter gear while riding.

I took the students at the school to see the salmon run in Mission Creek park. It was actually pretty cool. There were not as many as the Adams River, but definitely enough to see what was going on . We were only able to stay there a couple hours though because a bear and her cubs came into the park, and we all got kicked out by the parks people. At least they know for sure that there are bears around, and they have to be careful.

Okay, I must run and get ready for service. Everyone have a great week.

Love,
d