The Girl on the Train

I read the book, Girl on the Train, and thought it was fun and suspenseful.  Then the movie came out and the reviews were horrible.  So I didn't see it for awhile.  Yesterday we saw it, just for the heck of it.  Come to find out, it was fun and suspenseful, just like the book.  Husbandman gives it a 3 on the fist of five, and

adds, "I was surprised.  I thought it was going to be a one or a two."  I give it a 5. Good job, Emily Blunt.

The Socks

It's Socktober, so we're collecting socks and soup for the Community Kitchen.  We've got 167 pairs of socks and 122 cans of soup.  All three third grades are part of Socktober.  There are still a few days left in October.  If you want to give socks to somebody, do it ASAP.  Don't let Socktober slip away.  

We saw a good movie this week and it is called Don't Blink.  It's a documentary about the photographer Robert Frank.  This guy is creative and he is fascinating and he is inspiring.  You should see this movie if you feel like it.  I am thinking about buying a little tin roof shack somewhere near the ocean somewhere in Northern Canada.  I need a new setting to get my creativity going in full gear.

Have you carved your pumpkin?  A few years ago, a Thirdlander gave me some great roasted pumpkin seeds.  They were fantastic.  This year, I teach her brother, and I'm thinking about dropping a hint about the pumpkin seeds.  Seems like they would remember on their own that I liked the pumpkin seeds so much.

The KickStarter

I'm thinking of starting a kickstarter or gofundme account.  But in my account, people wouldn't give me money.  They would give me heirlooms for my Heirlooms Gone Awry Gallery.  The gallery would be filled with heirlooms that didn't quite make the mark, stuff people gave to you that were special to them, but to you they're just things that you have to have around your house for the rest of your life.  The heirlooms have to be passed down at least twice to be in the museum.  This might be hard to get going, but there's potential for glory somewhere down the line.  FYI: This idea is still in the development stage.

The Greatness

3 questions for you.

1.  Did you see the Hunter Moon last night?   It was a super moon. What do you think of this awesome photograph I took?  Good, right? FYI:  Next month we'll get to see an even super-er moon.  So get ready.

2.  Did you see #theAccountant yet?  Ben is just a marvel in this beautifully made, emotionally moving film.  Check it out ASAP. We saw it yesterday.  Husbandman gives this ground breaking heart wrenching film a 3 on the fist of 5 and calls it "watchable."  Not sure what he means by that, because the film is a 5 from beginning to end.  I suspect that Ben will be picking up another Oscar for his incredible performance.

3.  Question 3. Did you walk around talking about a cool school board candidate and our district referendum any time recently ?  I did this yesterday with Judith and it made for quite a pleasant afternoon.  People were happy to talk about the elections and seemed to appreciate getting the literature. As predicted, Judith talked and I stood by, recording which homes we visited.  I'm very happy to say that in this great town of ours, most people we talked to wanted to make it clear to us that they were going to vote, that they were interested in our school board race and they also threw in for good measure that they were NOT supporters of the republican presidential nominee.  SCORE!

Bloomington, Indiana.  The only place in the world where you can see a super moon, watch a fantastic movie, and talk about a phenomenal school board candidate all in the same day.  Go B-TOWN!

The Walk

Heading out to talk to some voters about our district's referendum.  I'm wearing a referendum t-shirt and I have a referendum yard sign up.  Judith is the one who signed up and got all the materials.  She told me about doing this civic duty last night while we were enjoying some beverages and some jazz under the moonlit starry sky at Scenic View.  I said, "Oh, I'll go with you!"  I didn't really think it over, just blurted out that I would join her.  Smart move?  Who can say?

We all know that I'm not big on talking to people I don't know, but probably Judith will do most of the work.  I'll just walk with her, wearing the VOTE YES t-shirt.  My hope for today is that in between houses we can focus on sundry chit chat. Chatting with Judith is a ton of fun.  Maybe I can pass out some flyers about this blog while we're walking the vote.  Multi-task, so to speak.
My biggest hope for this civic outing is that everyone likes the referendum and reassures us that they plan to vote YES.

I'm just not in the mood for negativity today, people, so let's get our act together and support public schools.

The Proof

Huddle up, Peeps, I've got to tell you something.  I hate proofreading.  I don't have a ton of little pesky errors because I read everything over 50,000 times as I'm writing, but I do have many sentences that don't sound quite right.  And I have many headings that don't perfectly match up with the corresponding content. I have photos that need interesting captions. I also have a Table of Contents that needs to be adjusted for the thousandth time.  It's all making me a nervous wreck so I keep checking in on our democracy, which adds more to my hideous stress.  What we've got going is a truly vicious cycle.

But here's some good news.  #1 Son came home at 2 am.  We had lunch together.  He's here for some musical performances aka gigs.  And here's the other good news.  I only have one more chapter to proofread and it shouldn't be too bad.  Maybe. The proof will be in the pudding.  Whatever.  I'm sick to my stomach just thinking about proofreading it.  Don't even get me started on fixing the Table of Contents after I'm done with that. Please. I beg of you. Do not get me started.

The Return

Wedge Rock.   Glaciers had their hand in all of this.

So here I am back in action on the blog. WAY TO GO, ME!!!! Forward Ever, Backward Never!  

So what's been going on?  In the past two weeks, I've been doing a lot and I'm now presenting my activities in the form of a bulleted list.  If you've seen me around, you know I've been:

• proofreading the book, line by line, finding and fixing, fretting over each and every sentence
• toiling away at the nonsensical report cards that I dislike, but have accepted as my reality
• picnicking at Turkey Run State Park 
• chuckling at Jessie Eisenberg and Todd Barry at the Comedy Attic
• thinking about #1 Son and Twenty Something
• worrying about my mom who fell recently
• loving the fall weather
• refereeing four square games
• learning about global citizenship
• getting involved in sundry antics with Husbandman
• trying to stay away from five thirty eight

Life is good.  And like DT, there's zero percent chance that I'll back out of this blog.  So don't worry about that my friends. We're #strongertogether, so keep reading the blog and never doubt that there will be another post sooner, rather than later. 

The News

Good news:  I finished that book I've been writing for over 3 years.  I finished it this morning.
Bad news:  Soon it will go to the editor and she'll say to revise it more, but let's just focus on the good news right now.
More Good news:  We're going to dinner with #1 Son tonight.
Bad news:  He's going back to New Orleans tomorrow. Rats.
Good news:  This week is Banned Book Week.  I like talking about Banned Book Week with the Thirdlanders.
Bad news:  People ban books.  Think it through, Book Banners.
Good news:  I took this excellent photo of a hawk this morning.
Bad news:  I'm not sure what kind of hawk it is, but I think it's a broad winged hawk.  I'm bad at hawk identification.

The Mightiness

This is Mighty Brother.  They're roaming around these parts, singing their songs.  They live in New Orleans, but they're on a tour of the Mighty Midwest.  We'll probably have a house party soon and book them as our main act.  I'm trying to think of a good opener for them.  I could polish up some of my own compositions.  Come to the Rug.  Folder, Folder. Let's not forget Cut and Glue That's What We Do. The songs flow in Room 200 and I need to start getting them out there.

The Peace Day

Wednesday is International Peace Day so let's do some peaceful stuff.  The whole world is having a moment of silence at noon.  Try to do that.  Quite a few people are making peace poles to place hither thither and yon around town. That could be good too.  You can make some origami cranes or have a ceasefire of sorts, making peace with someone.  You can sing the Peace Day anthem with some friends.   You can get acquainted with the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.  I'm going to remember to wear my peace sign necklace that Judith gave me. The point is, let's spread the word about International Peace Day.  This will be the first time I'm celebrating Peace Day, so I hope I do a decent job with it. I want to do it right.

The Miracle

Mitzker's going to Israel soon and I've been trying to think all morning of the name of this restaurant. 20 Something ate there with us when she visited us in Israel. Is it near Megiddo?  It doesn't matter.  There are so many beautiful places to visit there that missing this one won't be a game changer.  But I still wish I could remember.

Yesterday was a busy day in Room 200.  I'm not sure why, but the Thirdlanders were quite active all afternoon and some might even describe them as rambunctious.  They're 8 so we're going to chalk it up to Friday Frenzy and move on. We got through the afternoon and left the school site for greener pastures.  When I got to Kathala's house, I hopped out of my car, ready for some fun and friendship.  Imagine my surprise when I noticed my phone contentedly sitting on the roof of my car.  I guess I put it there when I was putting my backpack in the backseat and then just drove happily away.  It's nothing short of a miracle that my phone was still there after the drive.  It's also a testament to slow driving, which is the way I roll.  I wonder if my phone enjoyed the ride, kicking back on top of the car, gazing at the clouds and blue skies overhead.  Don't get used to it, Phone.  Sorry Charlie, but you're on a tight leash for awhile.