Just found out that my Wed post was posted to the wrong blog. It went to a blog that I share with my daughter. It was a good blog, too, and I'm sorry you never got to see it. Oh, well, I must have been having a senior moment!

The best news was that I lost 3 pounds last week!! After 3 weeks of just poking along, I got off of the plateau! I am now at -29.6 lbs -- plan to hit 30 lbs by March 31. (Really, I plan to lose more than the .4 lbs that I need to hit 30, but if that is what happens, ok, I'll live with it!)

Had a great class last week -- lots of laughter and learning. My students are really bonding.
We studied some current events and learned things like NCAA, Sweet 16, Final Four, etc.
They don't have any connection to these events so they are passing unnoticed.

Sweetie and I worked in the yard today -- it looks so great now. Mowed, edged, blown, etc. I cleaned out one flower bed. Needed to do more but was running out of time by that point.

After my shower I put Gracie in the shower and gave her a bath. She was really good. We took her for a long walk and she enjoyed that but was a little confused by having both of us at the same time.

We ate lunch at home and then we went to the Mall and shopped. I am seriously needing some new clothes because after my almost 30 pound loss, my clothing is really baggy! That was fun.
Later we went to the new "Rooms To Go" store/warehouse which was recently built west of Katy.
It is big and nice but we just looked and left. I did find a chair that I liked but haven't decided to get it. We'll see. Chairs are usually too big for me -- they aren't made for short people!

Hope everyone is enjoying beautiful spring weather the way we are!

Hooray! Doug is blogging again -- welcome back, Doug! We missed you.
Loved the pictures of the animals. Sorry about the camera problem. Is it a digital camera? Shutter notwithstanding, you are getting some color variations that aren't normal. Don't know enough about digital to offer any suggestions. When I got out of the field I was still shooting film!

Saw bluebonnets in bloom today! I'm expecting some beautiful spring color on our trip to Austin.

5-1/2 work days before Sweetie retires!

We have been enjoying some really beautiful weather -- It is wonderful to be out in the yard, cleaning up the winter junk. The leaves are gone and most of the dead vegetation. I've mowed the weeds and Sweetie used the weed-eater along the fence. We patched the holes in our old fence so Gracie can't wiggle her little body through them, and now we can put her outside to wander around. I think she enjoys being out and it frees me from the long walks that we had to take before the fence was patched (not that I didn't need the walk, but it wasn't always convenient.)

I took the camera out and took a couple of pictures of trees showing spring color. We see a lot of pear trees in bloom -- they are ornamental (non-bearing) and used for landscaping. They are always beautiful in the spring. The first picture is of a plant that is blooming for the first time in 3 years. I don't know what prompted it to bloom this year, but it is really pretty.

In our yard our Live Oak tree is putting out new leaves -- and pushing off the old leaves, which makes a mess. We have to rake leaves twice -- in the fall for the Elm, Water Oak, and Red Oak, and in the spring for the Live Oak.

From up in the office I can still see our "meadow" across the fence -- it is lush green right now.

Once the big trees in the back finish putting out leaves we won't be able to see the meadow. We need the shade the big trees provide so I just enjoy the view, whatever the season.

It is supposed to be wet, cold, and very windy tomorrow, so I'll probably be stuck inside. Perhaps I will sew! Or, go to a movie. Tomorrow, is, by the way, our 36th anniversary! We plan to eat at Tay Do, a favorite Asian restaurant, with some friends.

Sweetie has only 8 more working days before retirement. Today I'm going downtown to pick him up so he can bring his office pictures home. He has some nice pictures in his office and wants to keep them. (I think he is giving his plants away.) After we get back here we will stop for lunch -- Mexican, I think. Then we have to decide where we are going to hang the pictures we have brought home.

Speaking of picking him us, guess I better get busy getting ready. Happy spring to all of you, even those of you who are still enjoy winter's white blanket. That, too, shall pass!

English class...

We had a good class today. We are still working on prepositions and today we talked about prepositions of time and place. Of course, we who speak English from birth do not always have the rules of usage in our heads as we speak. (We also don't always know where to put the commas, as this sentence demonstrates.) Today I found a rule that I thought was especially interesting. We use the preposition "on" when we speak of small islands. Huh? Ok, let's see -- "We spent a week on Maui." Yep, that works. If Maui is a small island then what is a large island? Australia? We spent a week on Australia? Nope, that does not work. So I know that I automatically change the preposition when I change from Maui (small island) to Australia (large island). However, I have no conscious memory of ever learning that particular rule. Are there any Language Arts teachers out there who can comment on this?

About mid-way through the class two people came barging in and announced that they heard I taught an English class and could one of them join the class. I said, "No, sorry, this class is full and I will not accept any new students at this time." (We barely have room for the ones we have!) The librarian who supervises ESL classes followed them into the room. She escorted them out and enrolled the prospective student in a new class that is just being formed. I was happy to know that we have some new teachers -- we always seem to have more students that teachers to teach them.

Another activity was for the students to look at a picture of a family enjoying a fall picnic next to a covered bridge, and to describe it to me in English. They had no idea what the covered bridge was. That made me think -- are covered bridges a uniquely American thing? Do other countries have them? I'd like to know so I hope some of you will comment.

(Curiosity led to google "covered bridges" and I found that, indeed, there are other countries with covered bridges. I hope someone will comment and tell me about the covered bridges in your country.)

Lately I have noticed that M, who normally struggles, is showing more animation than she has shown in the past. I think the light has finally dawned. She seems to be excited during class. I LOVE it when a student finally begins to understand. The other students are always willing to help her even though they don't share a common language. This class is finally beginning to bond.

This past week has just flown by! We had lots to do -- Grandson came and dug up some variegated ginger, and stuffed it all in the trash in time for the Friday pickup. That stuff grows like weeds. We have those, also. I have been pulling a few when I take Gracie out for her walk.
Perhaps I will someday get them all pulled!

We've had more rain -- just soft -- no storms. We did hear thunder one day, but mostly just quiet rain. The ground is still soft so weed pulling will continue. I don't know what this stupid weed is but everyone has tons of it -- it will take a while to get it all out.

Gracie and I went to visit a friend yesterday -- the idea was to socialize her so that our visit to OD will go well (OD has 3 large dogs -- well, two large and one smaller) Gracie still doesn't like other dogs. Strange, since she spent her first year in a house with 3 other dogs. The visit went pretty well but we did get off to a bad start. Somehow, as she and I were entering the house, I fell. One minute I was standing and the next minute I was on the floor. I must have caught my shoe on the threshold. When the dust settled I was in the floor wearing one shoe and the other shoe was still outside. I expected to be really sore this morning but I'm not.

It was absolutely gorgeous today! Spring is definitely coming!!

We had a busy weekend -- our hill country friends came for a visit and we really enjoyed seeing them. It was good to sit and talk -- we didn't do anything special -- just caught up on the news about family and friends.

Monday was quilting day and then Tuesday I did my volunteer data entry at Katy Christian Ministries. I really enjoy doing that! It was a beautiful sunny day -- a little cold, but bright sunshine was a welcome sight. I took a walk after lunch and it was wonderful to be outside.

Class day -- today we studied prepositions and it was a good class. All of the students seemed to understand what was being said and they seemed to pay more attention than usual. I learned a lot about prepositions, also. It has been years since I actively studied prepositions and prepositional phrases. In preparing for the class I learned some new things. Interesting.

After our preposition study they unscrambled sentences. You know -- a row of words like
chocolate I cake like becomes "I like chocolate cake." This was difficult for some of them but they did pretty well. I gave them a second set of sentences to do for homework.

We also had cake -- I may like chocolate cake but that isn't what we had. I had made a jello poke cake for an event that was cancelled so I put on the icing and strawberries and took it to class. Everyone thought it was good. What we didn't eat I left for the librarians - I didn't want to bring any of it home -- even though it is a very "light" cake I didn't need it getting into my mouth!

After class I took my friend M to lunch to celebrate her birthday and then we visited a local hospital and a skilled nursing center to visit two friends who are having health problems. It made me really aware of how blessed I've been in the area of health!

This and That

There is something that I have not been sharing with all of you. I think I just wanted to get my head around it before I said too much. But, now, here it is!

I'm going to Weight Watchers! I am happy to announce that I have now lost 25.4 pounds!! What a wonderful thing.

Weight Watchers, in case you don't know, is a program that works! (if you do, of course.) I had been trying to at least keep my weight from increasing but it was a constant up and down, with 10 pounds coming and going. I got tired of that routine so I discussed the matter with my Sweetie and asked if he wanted to change his eating habits as I changed mine. He admitted he had gained a good bit of weight, also, and thought it would be a good idea. So, I signed up and have been going for about 18 weeks. Basically, I don't think of it as a temporary diet, but as a change of habits. I had developed some bad habits and just couldn't let go of them on my own.
Somehow, having to be accountable every week, and having the encouragement of my team leader and fellow dieters, the program is working! Sweetie has lost even more than I have, but men seem to have that advantage. Doesn't seem fair! Anyway, I decided that I would share this news with all of you -- I'm shrinking!

Class day again -- didn't realize it had been a week since I last posted. It has been a really busy week -- my car is in the shop so I have stayed home and cleaned --especially my desk. I am a paper saver. I hate to throw something away because I feel I might need it sometimes. Now understand that I am not a hoarder, but I do like to save certain things.
for instance I save greeting cards, especially those with personal notes and/or messages inside. This week I gritted my teeth and threw away 3 years worth of cards. I feel righteous! (of course, I saved some of them...they were special.)

But, back to class day. Today I had a full class -- we were sandwiched in like sardines! The lesson was mainly on the rodeo. No one in the class has ever attended an American rodeo so it was all new material for them. Around here, rodeo is a big thing and the preparations begin at least a week before the actual starting date. That is when the trail rides begin. There are 13 trail rides that start from different places in this area. The longest ride is the "Los Vaqueros Rio Grande Trail Ride," which starts in Hidalgo, TX, and travels 386 miles. This year that group started their ride on Feb. 6. It will take them 3 weeks to make it to Houston.
There are 8 rides that start locally and travel via back roads, ending up in Houston. All the trail rides end on Friday, and everyone camps in Memorial Park. Saturday morning all the trail riders participate in the rodeo parade. I don't know of any other rodeo that has trail rides -- do you?

Sweetie and I have friends who ride with the Salt Grass and Valley Lodge rides. One of our librarians rode with the Salt Grass Trail Ride on Monday. She stopped by the class and showed off her red boots. Even though the ride is only 90 miles long, it still takes 6 days to travel that 90 miles. The riders either ride on horseback or in vintage wagons. They ride for most of the day and then they stop and make camp for the night. The evening activities consist of meals cooked over camp fires, caring for the animals, visiting with friends, and sometimes music. (There may be as many as 100 people on a particular ride.) Our librarian only gave one day to the ride but many people take a full week (or more) of vacation in order to complete the ride. Entire families ride together -- what an exciting memory those children will have!

( A note added after this posting -- there was a story about the Salt Grass Ride on TV today -- there are 1300 people along with their assorted animals in this ride. The large group consists of 30 different smaller groups, each of which is responsible for their own food, camp, etc. That makes sense -- 1300 people makes for a lot of logistics!)


Along with the actual rodeo events, there is also a Livestock Show, and various events including competitions in art and quilting, a horse show, a championship bar-b-que cook-off, and a carnival.
The cost for this is quite reasonable -- each night the rodeo performance includes a major star in concert. We went to see Neil Diamond a few years ago -- our tickets cost $16.00. Can you imagine seeing Neil Diamond for $16.00? Plus, you get the rodeo performance and can tour the livestock show, also. We could have paid more but our seats gave us a good view and were as comfortable as the higher priced seats. Why pay more?

After the lesson on the rodeo, we talked about superstitions. That was fun. It was a good class!

Class day -- only had 5 students today -- We started out looking at the lead stories in the newspaper. I find that my students are isolated from current events due to their lack of English.

We practiced asking and answering questions in English. Have you ever seen a ..... horse? an elephant? etc. Have you ever been to.....Paris? China? Chicago? Answers had to be in complete sentences. Seems so simple but they found it hard, especially at first. Eventually they got more comfortable and wanted to change the questions around. M was more animated during this time than I usually see her. Lots of interaction between the students. Some of the words became a vocabulary study. Locations became a geography lesson.

I asked the students to tell about their favorite holiday so that generated some conversation.
We ended up talking about coming to America from other countries. One of the places/things from the questions was the Statue of Liberty. I told about visiting there and how moved I was by the museum telling about the immigrants. I spoke about our family members who had come here from other countries -- Denmark, Sweden, Korea... and friends from Finland, China, Guatemala, etc. We spoke about the difficulty of bringing children here where they go to school, American style, and the difficulty of then trying to return those children to their native countries. These children are not ready to go to school elsewhere. I asked each student if they ever planned to return to their native countries. M will never go back to Iran and M will not go back to Venezuela. A probably will not go back to France but probably will go back to Mexico, where she lived for over 20 years. F said he will probably go back to Colombia someday.

PBS had a show tonight -- Faces of America -- that deals with the genealogy of some prominent Americans. We could all have similar stories if we did the research. I know some of my lineage. I know a many times great grandfather was here with Washington at Valley Forge.
Early days -- he wasn't born here so I'm sure he came on a ship like thousands of others. It is interesting when we can trace our ancestors back -- to study the fabric that became our family.
Where did your family come from?