Dear Family and Friends,
Lots of things went on last week in my life, as well as in yours, I'm sure. Let me tell you about mine.
The Light Weigh group met in my house for the second time last Monday, and the numbers diminished greatly. I'm wondering if people decided on the first night that the program was not for them or whether some people just couldn't make it last week. I guess tonight we'll see what happens. A smaller, more intimate group would be my preference anyway, so if that's what happens, it will be good, I think. I continue to keep my eating in check by waiting for hunger signals, and it's working very well for me. Praying for someone instead of reaching for some kind of snack is also becoming commonplace for me. This is an interesting turn of events. Now if I can just get myself back to Curves regularly again with this week's schedule. I need the exercise, too.
Tuesday Ted Baker called me with the exciting news that Flavin Realtors had let him know that someone is interested in the Cleveland House property that he's getting ready for sale for me. I hope this comes to fruition. This is such an excellent time for someone to get involved so that they can pick out paint colors and cabinet counter tops, etc. We'll see what happens. Besides that, I didn't need the services of Ted in the last week, and that's got to be a first. With rents coming in over the past several days, though, a few requests have come in--nothing that's an emergency. Ted will be doing some handyman work for me in coming days. I have plans, once another Mesothelioma settlement comes in, to continue the process of repairing rotten wood and painting houses, but for now, I'm in a holding pattern with the rental business.
My job as a teacher is also very fulfilling and going well. My eight young women are proving to be exceptional in all aspects of my course. Last Tuesday, we discussed "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien, a story set in Vietnam about a young lieutenant who blames himself for the death of one of his command because he was obsessing over a love interest back home. The story is written in a style that includes sections of things that the men carried over in Vietnam--literal things with weights and also less tangible things like the secrets they carried. We discussed this story through motifs. The girls were broken into pairs to create a poster tracing one motif or several parallel ones through words and symbol. (See Photos #1, #2, #3) They did presentations, explaining their thinking about the physical and emotional things the soldiers in this story carried, and I put the posters up in the hallway, in preparation for Open House next week. With the addition of creative thinking strategies in my teaching, I've got lots of things to display on the wall. This is a big change in my course this year. I'm so excited, and I was able to share this excitement with Glenda Williams, our new Academic Vice Principal one day last week. She suggested that this year I come up with posters advertising AP English for next year, and I plan to get the girls to help me with this after Christmas. I'm sure they can come up with something good.
Other activities in my classes this past week included introducing the syntax paragraph for the style analysis unit. Syntax scares people for some reason, and I'm hoping this year I've done a better job of alleviating those fears and overcoming the negative fall-out from thinking that syntax is too obscure or scary for anyone to understand and write about. We'll see this week if the essays the girls write about a story called "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros show signs of true understanding of this aspect of style. The girls also completed drafts of their Literary Analyses for their semester project, which will be due on November 16. I've been moving them through the individual pieces of that project, and we're just about there. Tomorrow they have to show me their creative cover sheet and biographical timelines. There are just a few more pieces of the project to complete, and there's plenty of time to polish everything up. I'm so excited that I only have eight of these 30-page projects to evaluate over Thanksgiving break this year. It will give me a longer holiday, which I'm looking forward to.
My students also completed the war section of our short story unit by comparing what they learned about war from the four stories we read and shared and analyzed. They did this in class on Friday, and we will move into the end of the short story unit in the next two weeks. I've chosen two stories that are about mother-daughter relationships. With a group of girls, these stories should really pop into life.
Wednesday was Halloween, and for me, that mainly meant that I dressed in orange and black and dropped by my church to photograph the Trunk or Treat outreach that is done each year to invite our surrounding community into our church. I know Ray would have loved to have been a part of this endeavor. He so loved dressing up in costume, and he would have really loved the whole idea of it. But I don't have the heart to decorate my trunk all by myself. I'm doing well to just get myself over there to see how much fun everybody's having. I especially loved Joe and Barbara White's costumes this year. Aren't they hilarious? (See Photo #4)
From this party, I drove over to Central School for the Arts and Humanities and attended a live radio Louisiana Crossroads concert. Doyle Bramhall, C.C. Adcock & Friends were performing. It was soooo good! I only stayed for one set, but it's the kind of music I love to kick back and listen to, and I wished that my brother Scott could have been there with me. I'm wondering if he is familiar with these artists. I can't believe how fortunate we are here in Lake Charles to have this kind of entertainment just a few blocks away from my house. There's no traffic; it's easy to park; the entertainment is topnotch. I feel like I've gone to heaven in a sense.
Thursday was a different story when I drove over to Reeves Uptown to attend the monthly Profit and Loss luncheon. Ashley Smith, the hostage hero of Atlanta, was the speaker, and because she is famous, I guess, the place was a mob scene. I opted not to attend and turned around as soon as I saw that my usual parking spot was unavailable and that I would have to walk a couple of blocks to get to the door. I figured the tables inside would be overwhelmed, too, and I just wasn't interested enough to go through the experience. Hopefully, next month things will be more usual.
Friday the students got out of school by noon, and the teachers had in-service in the afternoon. There were two sessions--one on the computer to learn some shortcut methods on GradeQuick, our gradebook on the computer, and another on security plans that should be in place in our building for intruders on campus and other possible crises. They were both good, but I'm sorry that my being tied up on this particular Friday meant that I missed getting to see my son Will on his way to Mississippi. I just missed his call when I left the building that afternoon. He wasn't able to stop evidently on his way back to Texas yesterday. Hopefully, I'll see him soon in another capacity.
Saturday night I had the treat of attending a dance at the VFW hall with two friends from choir. Ruth Lucius invited Ellen Smith and me to go listen to our choir director's band. (See Photo #5) Chris Miller's Bayou Roots plays all kind of Cajun waltzes and other dances, and there were actually some single men in the crowd who asked us ladies to dance. I also got out and tried this version of line dancing and was successful. The evening was a lot of fun.
Chris reminded us that because we didn't have choir practice on Thursday night, we needed to meet in the sanctuary at 10:00 Sunday morning to practice our song for an hour before service. I was running a little late, but I got there in plenty of time to enjoy experiencing "The Morning Trumpet" with a live trumpet player from McNeese State University. The congregation actually clapped for this performance later during the service. It was just beautiful and so appropriate for All Saints' Sunday and communion.
Later after lunch, I had made an appointment with Liz Mueller from my school to have a photo shoot again this year for my Christmas card photo. She picked me up before two, and we went over to my church grounds for some photo opportunities. I wore the tuxedo white shirt and black slacks that I'd found the night before at Talbot's, and the photos came out very well. I especially love the ones that were taken in the church sanctuary. By chance, Lois Ferguson was dropping off a friend when Liz and I were trying to see if the doors to the church were open, and she was able to let us in for some beautiful photos. The light was coming in the stained glass and shining down upon me. They came out great. Liz also ran me over to St. Louis and took some shots of me with the line of oak trees that line the bayou. I had tried to get the perfect photo the week before in Nacogdoches but wasn't really satisfied. One of Liz's shots will be the one for my cards this year.
The Women's Circles joined forces on Sunday afternoon to get bags of candy ready for the upcoming Christmas parade. (See Photo #6) Schedules with the Advent and Christmas celebrations at our church were stapled to the decorated bags, and people of all ages helped with the preparations of these. I wished I'd brought my own stapler. I could have gotten more accomplished if I had, but at least I was able to take pictures, as usual. And I enjoyed the personal visiting that went on during this activity.
I met John and Diane Pelzer at Logan's at 6:00 p.m. (See Photo #7) They just got back from a two-week cruise through the Panama Canal, and they had many stories to share. It sounds like they had a fabulous time traveling with John's brother and wife. In Costa Rica, they found a necklace, bracelet, and earring set made out of nut ivory for my birthday gift. (See Photo #8) I just love it and can't wait for the opportunity to wear it.
I've heard from both my friends in Dallas about my upcoming trip later this week. Little Anna Zhulan is looking forward to an "all day good morning" when I come visiting. I so look forward to seeing things through this little Chinese girl's eyes. I will be spending time with both Barbara Corry and Cindy Wood. The only thing that I wish I could also do during this time away is pet my cat. (See Photo #8) I have Carole Chavanne coming to see her each day while I'm away, but this little cat has become such a loving little baby. I just wonder if she cries when I'm not here for those special times she curls into my lap each day. I'm hoping she spends lots of time in this special spot on the camel saddle, curled up with Ray's chemo quilt.
Life, the universe, and everything seems to be in good order on a day like today. The weather's beautiful. I have no emergencies in my life going on. Teaching and the rental business are fulfilling and going very well. I hope your life is also in a good place. God bless you...
With love, Linda
"Whatever you do may seem insignificant,
but it is most important that you do it."
--Gandhi
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