don't let the cockroaches love on you!

***I MEANT TO POST THIS LAST WEEK***
i'm all over the place tonight-

we have a kindergartener at our school who sometimes requires an escort to her classroom, lest she get distracted. today, i was on duty. she explained how there had been cockroaches on the floor when she was going to the nurse yesterday...dead cockroaches. begin monologue: i don't know why people kill cockroaches. they're really friendly, they just crawl all over you because they just want to love on you. and they have babies. i don't know why people try to squish them. they could be pets.
 so...there was that.

later when i went by one of my teacher's classrooms, she was frustrated, because her kids were laughing about homelessness and not taking it seriously...so i may or may not have taken a moment to make it real for them. i took just a moment to explain how very few people are fortunate enough to never have to worry about the roof over their heads-i got to tell them about some of the folks my parents' church used to work with...from the white lady with the doctorate, who was great with numbers to the black gentleman who carried himself with more dignity than many homed people i know....they listened and got pretty serious. while i am not big on giving money to people on the corner, i do carry granola bars and water... i think it is so important to teach our kids that there is no one who is undeserving of respect and dignity.

i'm going to do everything i can to keep electric costs down this summer-the blower fan will help, and the bedfan finally came in!! i set it up last night, and i was amazed by how cool it was even on like 'super-low' mode! so i should be able to save $ this month that way... so the bedfan..i wish i had one of these at kamp-i probably mentioned that already, although now they have ac...i am one of those people who likes to sleep with a heavier cover over me-security? maybe it keeps the monsters out? i don't rightly know why... you know the lead aprons they put on you for dental xrays and such? well...is it strange that these have a soothing effect on me? no, i do not own one, but i do know how much they cost...if i could have a lead comforter...ok, maybe not.

 best way to save on electric, though? just not be here. check! HONDURAS, it'll be good to see you again! one of the details i just got wrapped up the other day? camera. i am going to need something better than my phone and the old olympus if i'm going to start visiting friends and beautiful places again! i should be able to pick it up on friday. woo hoo!!

a detail that i will have to work on is getting someone to go out to the garden while i am away because it should be going strong at that point! i just saw that the cucumbers are starting to come out, the pumpkin, watermelon and canary melon are starting to poke through and the tomatoes are starting to show! 

obviously these potatoes weren't quite ready-i accidentally uprooted them, but all of the other plants are much larger and getting ready!

 the other day when i took the boys for a walk, we came across someone with a yorkie, so we stopped to chat, and all was well at first, then chaco got territorial and so we took off and went to the dog park, and i told him that if he kept being snippy with other dogs, no one was going to want to come to play with him. well, that threat didn't work because he basically turned back and said, "don't care-i don't like any of them anyway! not one!" then he turned back and said, "unless reagan and thatcher come..then i'll play nice!"

so he's a little stubborn..spoiled...whatcha gonna do?

 time for bed-just so you know, i don't agree with little girl- i don't think cockroaches are friendly...

julie

curing garlic, tree art and a missing fan

it's thursday! woo! dang it...it's only wednesday, and just saying it's thursday doesn't make it so. boo.

the other day when i was taking the boys for a walk, bruno stopped for a minute and said, "hey! what's that person doing trying to climb into that tree??" 

hmm. it does kinda' look like someone getting sucked up into the trunk of the tree.. (if you can't see it, squint your eyes a little)

 and my passport came in the mail in record time (which was a relief, since i booked my ticket to HONDURAS in faith that there would be no hang-ups!) the guy who originally helped me actually did his job-even if he did look like an snl character-good job, passport office guy!

the new passports are sharp compared to the oldie i have from the late 80's! wow!

 and here's what's going on in the garden...i am hoping that pre-k, kinder and first can get some herbs going so that they will at least begin to sprout before the kids go on vacation! i got seeds in the mail for stevia and cumin. i'm hoping the stevia plant leaves are sweet-as that is where the sweetener comes from, and i am hoping that perhaps we can experiment to make our own little sweetener. and the cumin, well, hands down, one of my favorite spices! i use it in salsa and pretty much anything spicy to add a hint of the old taco scratch and sniff sticker smell. the carrots-yum...and swiss chard-which is one of my main staples for green drinks-

seed savers exchange if you garden, check out their seeds and varieties!

 we've also had some of our flowers come out-roses in fuchsia, yellow and off-white, the irises have come out as well for a short spell. i have loved seeing different groups in the garden for different reasons-the kids absolutely love it!

yesterday i harvested a bunch of the cilantro, parsley and mint, washed it, bagged it and put it out in the teachers lounge-it went fairly quickly. today i wanted to go back out and dig up the garlic-it was time. so i carefully dug them up, and while i was at it, i found a colony of fire ants...THAT CAME STRAIGHT FROM THE FIERY DEPTHS OF HADES. we must rid the earth of these ridiculous nuisances before we plant anything else in that bed. so, after i dug them up, i strung them up to let them cure-this could take a few weeks. in fact, garden betty says that it can take up to a month or two, depending on the humidity.

i hung them on the back side of the gardening shed because it is the most shade, least sunlight, and well ventilated...the only problem is that if/when it rains, they're going to get wet, delaying the curing process...i am tempted to 'make the shed more ventilated'...i will discuss this with the powers that be...plunge cut a small hole near the top overhang and install screen..no problem...

anyhoo, soon enough, there will be garlic! i'm a little obsessed.

for those of you who are wondering how the wen is going...I LOVE IT!

and i finally did go back to walmart to get that blower fan that i had previously asked about. i had to convince chaco that it was not a monster-by offering him treats in front of it, and showing him how he could sit there and let the wind blow through his hair and pretend he's a super model...or pretend he's in a convertible (neither of which he really aspires to, so that didn't last long). but in the meantime, i have been patiently waiting for ups to deliver a bedfan...i know, a what? look it up! anyhoo, as i tracked it, i was expecting it today, and it has not arrived, yet it says delivered. and signed for by E WADE. so...i may have jumped the gun and sent a 'firm' message about it, because no one in the office is named e wade, and it wasn't down there when i checked, so in my head, they delivered it to the wrong person...now i'm wondering if this E WADE person is someone who received it for ups at the docking station or something...not sure, but i may have told the lady down at the office that i was going to the other side of the complex to the other apt with the same number to have a heart to heart, because it seems kinda like kidnapping...ever seen TAKEN? enough said. i want my fan, or i might have to pull out a "particular set of skills i have acquired over a very long career..."

let's call it a night-
julie