Last night we teachers were invited to meet our school board. We traditionally have had very few opportunities to interact with each other. Whoever had this idea, it was a good one.
One of our longtime board members owns a chocolate company. He brought boxes of mixed chocolates, which were separated out and put on separate tables. We went table-by-table talking with board members and filling our empty boxes with the chocolates at their tables. At the end of our conversations, we each had a pound of chocolates to take home. Mmm… I like board meetings.
I was surprised and delighted to see two board members who were 12th graders when I started teaching here in Baltimore. Jess was in my high school choir. Matt was not, but I still recognized his name. It made me feel like a long-timer. I have history here. Pretty cool.
Yesterday was Field Trip Day for the Middle School. I went with the eighth graders. We went to a place called Eden Mill to learn about freshwater wetlands ecology. It was really good. The naturalists were especially competent. They had a good balance between discipline and fun.
When we first arrived, I was with a group that went canoeing. I was laughing really hard at all the crashing into the bank of the river and the crazy zig-zag boating. We also learned a little bit about beavers and owls.
After our canoeing, we hiked a short trail and spent some time catching things in a wetland area. More learning, more fun. It got cold after canoeing though. Next time, I’ll have to wear more clothes. Or bring a heater.
Yesterday was the first day I wore a new jacket.
Here’s how I got it:
I was in Arundel Mills Mall, the giant mega-mall-plex south of here. I was just window shopping really. I used to never go into clothing stores unless, say, my blue shirt got a hole in it. Then I would go into a store, find a blue shirt, and buy it. Now I kind of like visiting clothing stores, but only for very short visits. While at the mall, I spied an Esprit store. I don’t even know how to pronounce that word, but I was curious about the store. I did notice there were some mens clothes, so I made a quick stop. While browsing through the clearance rack, I saw a jacket. I tried it on. It fit. It cost $30. It was normally $180. That’s 83.33% off. That seemed like a good deal to me. I bought it.
I like that it’s a darker color. It’s been cooler lately, so I’ve already worn the Rocketeer jacket a few times, but it’s a light tan color, and when I’m wearing light tan pants, I think it looks strange, so now I have a dark jacket for light pants days.
I used to have a ton of potted plants I took outside for the summer and brought inside for the winter. Now I have four. Two of them are still outside because they will eventually go in the kitchen, but I’m not done with the cabinet trim stuff. I thought I might finish last night, but instead I watched TV while eating buttered toast.
The other two are inside. I guard them carefully. They are precious to me. Here is where they reside during the warm months:
I bring the calamondin orange into my dining room. The windows there get a lot of light. And if it should happen to bloom (which happens more easily than you might think), the smell fills the downstairs. Mmm… orange blossom…
The arabian jasmine plant goes to school. It, too, has amazing-smelling flowers. The plant is currently covered with buds, but they’ve all stalled out because of the cool weather. They will most likely just fall off and I’ll have to wait a few months for new ones.
My church celebrated its 145th anniversary yesterday. It was very nice. Invitations went out, so there were lots of visitors. I even recognized some of the newer old members. I’ve been going to church there for 12 years. That’s longer than some people have been alive.
After the service, there was a small ceremony to dedicate the rose garden in the front yard of the church, then we all went to the fellowship hall for a reception. There were sandwiches and finger foods and cake and punch. I even talked with some people. George was back after having knee replacement surgery. I was glad to see him. He’s a great guy. It’s fun to listen to him talk because he’s originally from Boston and still has an accent.
Happy 145th, Immanuel Lutheran Church!
