The Tumult

Yesterday was Carnival Night at school. I had a shift at the Bouncy House, but come to find out, the Bouncy House collapsed before I got to my shift.  FYI:  No one was hurt.

I heard about the collapse and joyfully headed to my car.  But here's the thing.  There was also a Bouncy Slide, and I guess I should have been there for that.  I got a text from a colleague asking me if I was skipping my shift, and basically, since I was already home having an adult beverage, the only answer I could give was "Yes."

It felt a little bad to skip my carnival shift.  I actually enjoy doing jobs at Carnival, but I don't really enjoy walking around chatting to people all that much.  Everyone is great, but mostly the only thing I can think to talk about is how I'd rather not be at Carnival if I could possibly avoid it. A lot of parents are right there with me with this line of talk, but still, it's probably better to be positive.

The good news is that next year I'm just going to sign up for a bunch of shifts at the Bouncy House and just stay there directing kids all night long to make up for abandoning my shift and shirking my responsibility in 2019.  Damn it, I'm a team player, and everyone who knows me knows that. Also, I love my school, so don't be judging me about bailing on my Carnival shift.

The Travellers

We have now returned from a weekend in Florida, celebrating my dad's 90th birthday.  It was warm down there and sunny.  Husbandman and I squeezed in a swim at Indiana Rocks Beach.  We returned home to our chilly, wet, grey Hoosier home.  In short, a weekend away is quite pleasant.

We didn't see any dolphins or manatees, but we did see a bush full of these gregarious grasshoppers in the front yard of our airbnb.  They're called lubbers.

The Fyre

Have you seen the documentary about the FYRE music festival? It's about people who wanted to put on a music festival, but they weren't that experienced and they weren't that honest, and they ended up ripping a lot of people off.  They inconvenienced people as well.  They eventually became laughingstocks and prison inmates.  (Spoiler Alert, in hindsight). I thought it was quite compelling, but Husbandman thought everyone involved was an idiot and everyone got what they deserved.  Two perspectives on one film.  But it is only I who thinks you should see it if you feel like it.  

Popcorn Press and the Costly Choices

We wrapped up our How We Organize Ourselves economics unit.  We called the unit COSTLY CHOICES.  We learned about wants and needs, supply and demand, carbon footprint, fair-trade, going local, and quite a few other relevant topics. We wrapped rocks to honor Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Surrounded Island project, simulated an apple market, made tiny house models, created a FAIR TRADE bulletin board and a Go LOCAL bulletin board to spread the word about these important economic choices.  We toured the Mathers Museum exhibit called Hungry Planet and studied the global photography of Peter Menzel. A  dad/law professor from the university taught us about the purposes of markets through a fun candy trading activity. We also learned about the ways economic choices across time damaged the Nashua River, using Lynn Cherry's classic book, A RIVER RAN WILD.  We studied our creek and wrote creek reports.

To wrap up, we decided to research KIVA loans.  We wanted to sponsor a loan for someone whose project connected with the ideas we had been talking about.

In order to raise the money for the loan, Popcorn Press sponsored 2 Zine Read-Ins.  We invited two classes to come to Room 200, enjoy a snack and silently read zines with us. (FYI:  It's a thrill to be in a room with over fifty people, totally engaged in reading silently). Each reader signed a post it on the back of a zine when they finished reading.  I pledged 20 cents per signature, up to 100$.  The Thirdlanders proudly added up their readers.  We had a little over 450 signatures on our zines after the 2 Read Ins, so we rounded up.  We had 100$ for a Kiva Loan.

We read about many people around the globe with projects that need funding on the Kiva site.  We ended up donating to Maximilla's Group in Kenya.  Their loan will help "smallholder farmers purchase seeds and solar lanterns."  The Thirdlanders loved the idea of the solar lanterns, since we had read about reducing our carbon footprint.  They also loved that a woman was a group leader on this project, and that she lived in Kenya, since we had read about another amazing Kenyan, Wangari Maathai.  Maximilla has seven kids and profits from the project will help her send her kids to school.  After reading about this loan, The Thirdlanders were shouting, "This is it!"  "Yes!" and "This is the one!  This is the one!" One Thirdlander added wistfully, "If I had seven kids, I'd be exhausted."

It was good to re-visit our loan the next day to discover that Maximilla's Group's loan was fully funded.  We have just a few weeks left of school to work on our Sharing the Planet unit.  Excited to get started this week.

The Malaise

Husbandman thinking he's so great because he's reading a book

I'm not that in to going to work today.


I asked Husbandman if he would bring me a latte to school, because I don't have time to get it myself because I'm having so much malaise.  He said he would.  Had he declined my offer to bring me a latte, I probably would have just walked out the door and kept walking north, until I found the Canadian border.  I would have found a trail through a forested, unmonitored section of the border, and then entered a homeless shelter in Toronto or Quebec to live in for a few months or years.  But the good news is, Husbandman said he would bring me a latte, and I'm actually starting to perk up a little bit now.  I suggested to Husbandman that next year, I should get vouchers for 5 latte deliveries.  He just kept reading his computer and mumbled, "Five.  Good number." So it looks like we have the makings of a plan.

   Maybe I'll do something awesome with the Thirdlanders.  Only time will tell.

28. The End of the Thirty Day Blogging Challenge

So, I didn't quite make my goal of 30 blog entries in April, but what difference does it really make?  At least I tried.  And 28 is pretty good, a 93% which is an A, in anyone's grade book.

But what have I learned from doing this 30 day challenge?  I've learned that I really do love blogging, and that it doesn't matter if the blogs are good or bad, it's fun to write and share out with pals.  Thanks  to Miscellaneous Missives and One-Woman Adventures and WordSavvy for joining in and to anyone who actually read this blog in April.

I've also learned that I'll probably wait for June for another 30 day challenge.  I don't feel like challenging myself during May.  Enough already with the challenges.

27. The Healthy Water? On it.

There are some surefire steps to find out if your backyard creek or stream is healthy.   I've galvanized into action to integrate these steps into our latest Costly Choices economics unit.    I'll now tell you how to judge your creek's health and then comment on how Thirdland is going to undertake these various ecological directives.

1. Check out the pH of the water?   Not going to be a problem because I have ordered pH measuring strips and they'll arrive tomorrow.

2.  Determine the level of nitrates in the water?  Come to find out, we're not going to do this one because I don't really care about the nitrates in the water.

3.  Calculate the rate of the flow?  I borrowed stopwatches from our gym teacher, so this shouldn't be a big deal.  All we have to do is divide the distance an object flows by the time it takes to travel that distance.  (Let's face it. That's probably going to be a flop).

4. Examine the clarity of the water?  Obviously, easy to do.  Doesn't even merit discussion.

5. Determine quantity of bacteria hanging out in the creek?  Hard pass.

6.  Identify the biodiversity around the creek?  We can look for bugs and birds as well as the next class. Not going to be an issue.

Going to throw in another test, which is 7. temperature.  I have borrowed the submersible thermometers and they're ready to go.  Not sure what the temperature of a creek should be, but is accuracy the point of this enterprise? Not necessarily.  We're out there to act like scientists and increase our appreciation for the world around us.

26. The Syndrome

I'm pretty sure I have Stockholm Syndrome.  That's where a hostage feels connected to their captor.

Case in point---Husbandman left for a week and I basically stayed right here at home, even though I had plenty of opportunities to escape.

Stockholm Syndrome isn't really a big problem for me, because I've developed such strong feelings for Husbandman over the years.  He captured my heart decades ago and it's all worked out great.

25. The Leafy Hair

Photo Credit:  @DailyRos

Woke up this Saturday morning after ten solid hours of sleep.  I ran my hand through my bedhead as I sat up, my feet searching for slippers down at floor level.  My hair felt weird, as if I were pulling my hand along a leafy hedge.  Sure enough, I looked in the mirror to discover my head covered with green waxy leaves, growing every which way.  I should have been startled, but come to find out, I thought I looked great. The leaves were actually a huge improvement.  I headed downstairs for coffee, feeling special and unique, perhaps even extraordinary. I mulled over Alice in Wonderland's words when she was swimming in her own tears, "....everything is queer today." Coffee at the ready, I opened my tablet to read some print journalism. My heart sank when I learned there was nothing special about my situation after all.  A lesser headline, toward the bottom of the screen, announced, "Treelike Tresses Bloom Atop Human Heads Across the Midwest."

"Damn it," I whispered.  My phone dinged suddenly.  Then it dinged again and again.  It was time to face the music and accept that I was just one person in a sea of people with leafy locks. I took a breath and decided to relax. I resigned myself to getting comfortable with being one of the peculiar plant-headed people of Peoria.

24. Inquiry into Incubation

We're watching the Cornell Lab Bird Cams again.  The Barred Owls have two babies.  They're feasting on snakes, bluejays, mice, chipmunks, shrews.  Every day new snacks arrives in the box. A living snake was in there earlier in the week.  Crazy.

We're waiting for the hawks to hatch.  Every day, a Thirdlander asks, "How long does it take for hawk eggs to hatch?"

I answer that I don't know.

And every day someone says, "You should look it up."

And I say, "You should look it up."

And then the whole cycle begins again.  Today I finally looked it up.  28 to 35 days.  But the Cornell Lab Hawks usually hang out on the eggs for 40 days.  No one knows why.

23. Shades of Blue

We pass my house when we go on field trips, because, come to find out, I live and work on the exact same street.  I always point out my house to the kids sitting near me on the bus. Recently we painted our house blue, but as we drove past on the way to the museum, the Thirdlanders asked, "The purple one?" I ignored it because The Thirdlanders are often off base with their commentary.  Then on the way home, I sat with a different crew of Thirdlanders.  Pointed out my house again.  Again, comments about the purpleness. I started to wonder about this.  Is my house actually purple and not blue? 

If you're a local reader,  drive by sometime, give it a gander.  I'm curious to learn what you think. If you're reading from afar, look at the pictures of my house and comment on the color if you want to.