I'll explain later....maybe :)

More Random Than Usual

After Frank's walk last night, we came up the stairs and came face to face with this little guy. Isn't he (or she?) a cutie? I love those eyes! He (or she?) seemed just as interested in us....kept following us around that post for us to take pictures. :D
For your viewing pleasure, a picture of John's newest socks that I knitted for him. I love the colors in this yarn, but next time I will use smaller needles for a less floopy knit. :)

Here, a picture of the rainbow that I saw tonight in the middle of a thunderstorm. There was actually a double rainbow at one point, but it was so faint that it didn't show up in pictures very well.And in mom news, she has actually been taken off of hospice care now. What does this mean? Well, we don't really know except for the plan is no longer for her to lay around and die. :D She has now moved into an assisted living home....I think this will be great for her. She has spent a long, long time being confined to her home for the most part. Now she can kick some people's butts in bingo and go shopping. :)

Okay, that's all of the randomness for today. Now that life is finally smoothing out a little bit, I hope to update more frequently.

Socks, Postcards and Adventures

Here's the newest creation spawned from my summer knitting frenzy....they look a bit baggy here, but that may be because they're for John and I snagged them for my little feet in this picture. :) I'm now working on a little sweater for Anna to wear this winter....pictures to come soon. :D

In postcrossing news, this is one of my favorites that I've received so far....it was mailed from Finland. I love the picture! From the back of the card, I've gathered that the artist is Martta Wendelin, but that's about all I can figure out. Tricky languages that I don't speak or read cause difficulties like that. :D
And on to the adventures....John, Grace and I went to the aquarium in Atlanta last Saturday. All in all, a fabulous place, but I would suggest going during the week. The weekend crowd was a bit suffocating at times. I would love to share some pictures from our visit, but I was too silly to remember the camera, so there are none. :( But just imagine whales and whale sharks and sea otters, oh my! Last Friday, I went to the planetarium in Chapel Hill (also no pictures)....good times, but the really exciting part was the loot! :D We got Grace a prism (because every kid should have one), a microscope that hooks up to the TV for super viewing and Grow Snow. Nice. :D Can you tell what this is.......
That picture was taken from a TV screen, so I apologize for the oddities in focus and whatnot. ;)

Our adventures for this week include a zoo/picnic trip with my dad and more time hanging out at my mom's knitting. Her health situation continues to baffle doctors, nurses and family alike. More tests are being run to see if someone can make some sense of the inconsistencies. For now, who knows????

Socks and Eagles

As I've mentioned before, I've had lots of time to knit so far this summer....here's my newest creation: socks for Olivia!














They look funny laying in the chair, but I promise that they're the same size and shape. No worries, Olivia, you're not going to need any strange foot surgery to get into them. :D


This morning, John, Grace and I went to see an eagle be released back into the wild. The eagle, Liberty, had been injured in a territorial dispute, but recovered nicely from her surgeries and was ready to go back into the world. I did not get any good pictures of the release....she took off in a hurry! My camera couldn't keep up. :) I did get a decent picture of a golden eagle that was also at the event (for moral support???).



As we were returning to the car, John spotted this treasure/misfortune:

A tiny bird's egg with a tiny crack in one side. We looked for a nest that the egg belonged to, but did not see one. Too late for this one anyway, but it sure is a pretty little egg.

No news on my mom....things seem to be going about the same. I'll be back at her house on Monday. I've decided to start splitting my time between home and her house as long as things are maintaining.

The Knitting Continues

While spending most of my time at my mom's house while she is in hospice care, I find that I have a lot of time to knit. This is a sweater I whipped up for John:
Now, I'm working on a fabulous pair of socks for Olivia. I have a gazillion projects lined up in my mind....two new pairs of socks for John, thigh high socks for me, a new sweater for Anna, a new sweater for Grace....I'll never run out of things to knit. :)

I, of course, have quite a lot of thoughts about watching the death process with my mother, but those are for another day. I will share them on the chance that they could help someone else in the same situation, but give me a few days to put some order to them. For right now, my mom continues to decline. :(

Life Interferes

I will be continuing to update the world on the plight of the NC education system and general Chihuahua Grande life soon, but, for right now, my focus is on my mom. She is currently in the hospital, having had quite a lot of fluid removed from around one of her lungs and her heart. She also seems to have developed pneumonia, but we're hoping that she is on the mend. I'll let you know how things are going. If all goes well (which I'm sure it will!), I'll be back to my regularly scheduled ranting and rambling soon. ;)

Save the Literacy Coaches

This is an excerpt from the NCAE Daily Political Briefing email from 5/20/2009.

7,000 teachers cut, 5,000 teacher assistants slashed, 2.5% cut from educator salaries and five instructional days lopped off the end of the calendar. With a tax revenue system that is based almost exclusively on an unpredictable sales tax, an emaciated manufacturing industry and a bygone agricultural economy, the state appropriation chairs were forced to present an education budget with 20% less revenue from a year ago.

"Educators, parents, students and communities need to brace for something the state has not done for generations if this proposal becomes real: eliminate thousands of jobs and cut out five days of school from the 180 day calendar," said NCAE Government Relations Manager Cecil Banks. "I've heard people complain that they don't understand how government affects their lives. They're about to find out."

Under the House plan proposed this afternoon, school will be eliminated the last week of school: no teachers, no students, no administrators, no buses and no money allocated to pay for those expenses during that week. That's a 2.5% cut for educator pay and that's if they're fortunate enough to hang on to an educator job.

Many will be given pink slips under this plan. 7000 teachers overall and another 5000 teacher assistants in the 3rd grade will be out of work. The teachers will be the victims of increased class size of two students and the teacher assistants will be eliminated altogether.

"These 12000 educators are people with families who need this income and they live in communities that need their employment," Banks said. "They teach children who need them in the classroom as well. Today is a nightmare for North Carolina."

The nightmare doesn't end there according to reliable sources at the General Assembly. Early childhood programs like More at Four will be slashed by 10%. The popular Teacher Academy program will lose all of its literacy coaches and absorb a 15% across the board cut. The Teacher Cadet program is cut by $60,000 (or 15%) and nearly every nonprofit contracting with the state has been eliminated completely.

NCAE Executive Director Scott Anderson sent out a dire warning to NCAE members. "The storm is here and we need all hands on deck," he said. "If North Carolinians want an educated citizenry, then fight with NCAE."




Now, the number of things going horribly awry in the education system (some of which are outlined in this email) is astounding, and they all deserve commentary, but, for right now, I'm going to focus on the red bits.


I'm afraid that people outside of the school systems are not aware of what a valuable program this is. The Literacy Coach in the school where I work is such a valuable resource that our school will certainly suffer without her....I'm certain this is the case in schools across the state. Literacy Coaches provide staff development for teaching strategies, help to plan engaging lessons in all subject areas, co-teach with teachers to model strategies and supply materials to support teachers in all curriculum goals. Don't be misled by the title "Literacy" Coach....this position supports all subject areas.

All of the pictures in this post are of kick @$$ activities inspired by our Literacy Coach. :D

If you are as concerned as I am about ensuring the improvement of our education system in NC, please, please, please contact your local House Reps and let them know that this is NOT okay....our students should not have to pay the price for poor government choices! You can find your local House Rep contact info here ... http://www.ncleg.net/House/house.html If you are outside of NC, I'm sure it couldn't hurt to let our local government know what outsider opinions are. ;)

Thanks for sticking with me through such a long post. :D

A Break From Ranting....

for postcrossing! Here are some of the cards I've gotten recently that I'm really fond of....

From Philadelphia:
And from China:

It turns out that I enjoy quirky postcards more than tourist/landscape ones. Of course, any of them are cool, but the stranger ones appeal. Speaking of strange, I found some fabulous postcards over the weekend....can't wait to send them. :D

In other hobby news, today was International Plant a Letterbox Day. I honored this tradition by launching the first in a new series....Frank's Hello Kitty World. Hehe. I wish I had taken pictures of the box's contents before I put it out in the world. It's one of my favorites that I've made so far - complete with swanky temporary tatoos for the first finders. :)

And, because I haven't mentioned it recently, please remember that John and I would really appreciate any support you can give for our Avon Walk for Breast Cancer fundraising efforts!!!!

http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/emilywatts
OR
http://info.avonfoundation.org/goto/johnwatts

One more fabula-tastic bit of news....I'm going to go see They Might Be Giants!!!! And Amy and Jonathan and sons will be there, too! Woot! :D

Okay, off to bed....need my sleep so I can fully enjoy seeing Olivia, Bryan and Anna tomorrow. :D

My Inner Math Nerd Weeps

The other day I ranted a bit about this new math test requirement for teachers in Massachusetts. To briefly recap: WHY, WHY, WHY would there be elementary school teachers who can't do elementary math?!?! That is insane! And depressing.

Well, now we have an update. In the NEA MorningUpdate from 5/20/09, there is a new blurb (info taken from the Boston Globe) about this topic. To summarize the summary, 75% of aspiring teachers in that state FAILED the math test. (Was that an embolism I just heard?) How is that possible? These are college educated people. I find it pretty hard to believe that the test includes any quantum mechanics word problems or the application of abstract algebra to cryptography type stuff. What I'm trying to say is this: Elementary school math is not rocket surgery, people!

How do you escape the confines of formalized education without being able to do basic math? Maybe it's because the teachers of these aspiring teachers ALSO didn't know elementary math and caused irreparable damage? Perhaps it refers back to my post from a few days ago...the one about the disparity between science/math and language education?

Once again, I maintain that language education is crucial, but we have to shed the concept that it is the only crucial subject. Because, in reality, this "progress" notion that we all hold dear will not happen without math and science. Period.

(Dismounting high horse now.)

We're Testing Who? For What?

So, I get this email everyday from the NEA with short updates about a variety of stories regarding education. Today, this email included a blurb (info pulled from an article in Education Week) about elementary school teachers in Massachusetts having to take a math test in order to get (or keep) their certifications. Huh? Are we saying that currently there are elementary school teachers who can't do elementary math??? I sure hope not. To further dumbfound and amaze, they are also planning to give a "three year grace period" to any teacher who has trouble with this math test. WHAT?!?!??? How about escorting the knucklehead who can't pass an elementary level math test directly out the door? Do not pass go and, for goodness sake, do not collect $200! How, in the name of all that makes sense, can a teacher teach math to these students if he/she cannot accomplish the task? What about the kids who are getting sub-standard math education during this three year grace period? Are they just supposed to catch up later when they have a competent human standing in front of the room? Well, it doesn't work that way. If we're going to compete globally, education is going to have to do a hell of a lot better than that. Shame on any state who doesn't assure that teachers are knowledgeable in the areas they are responsible for teaching. And shame on any teacher for standing in front of a group of children with the promise of education on your lips when you can't pass a 5th grade math test. I am disgusted. :/