The End is In Sight

You know the end of the school year is approaching when:

• You look at the last set of concert tickets after your babysitter has canceled and don't start looking for a replacement sitter. Just too tired.
• Camp packets arrive (one with sheet music, one without)
• Religious school report cards arrive ("It's been a pleasure getting to know her not only as a student but as as committed musician and cyclist." and "I will truly miss him.")
• A certain Squidling starts thinking about the decorations on her birthday cake.

and our number one reason ...

• You can now use your fingers to count down to the end! 10 more days for me and 8 for the rest of them!

Saga of the Squirrel Bird

The new windows in school are great! They have more glass per square inch and less sashing overall. They are also relatively clean. It is this vast expanse of clean glass that led to a recent problem in the library.

***

Happily, I was minding my own business, and harassing young people about dress code, when I was hailed by a student. "Mrs. Squid, Ms. X needs you right now. There's a bird in the library."

I glance at the kid and think to myself "what am I supposed to do about it?"

Entering the library, I look around and see no sign of a bird. From past experience I know that they do tend to leave signs once trapped in a room. No such items greeted me here.

Having located Ms. X, I am guided to the bird. It is hovering at the top of a window, trying to get out.

At this point I must interrupt this tale to explain that the Library is an open space two stories in height with windows that start about 6 feet off the ground and go all the way up the the ceiling 20 or more feet above their start. They are big. And, they do not open from the top but rather open in the middle. This leaves the bottom and top rows of window panes solidly in place and immovable.


Not 2 feet below the bird is an open window. He cannot, however, seem to find it.

I calmly assess the situation and reach for a window pole. What I intend to do with this item is beyond me. Poking the bird seems to be a good idea. If I poke it, maybe it will fly elsewhere and discover the half dozen open windows in the room.

Hmm ... it's too high. Let's climb on a desk. Ah, much better. Poke. Poke.

At this point you must imagine the bird getting annoyed and flying off. To the top of another window. Across the room.

Off I traipse after it with a few young people in tow. Up on another table I repeat the poking.

Flit -- off to another window he goes. All of a sudden the bird sees a passing flock of ... you guessed it ... birds. He tries to join them but the window glass gets in the way. Poor bird.

Move another desk.

Poke. Poke.

Flit.

Wait! Is there another window pole in the room? Yes? If one person pokes the bird, the other can try to direct it to an open window.

Sounds good to us.

Poke. Poke.

Stupid bird flies to the one window in the room that lacks the ability to open.

Move another desk.

Poke. Poke.

The bird falls. Awww ...

Young man hoists himself up on to the window ledge and grabs the bird. Umm ... how is he going to get down with a bird in his hands?

Second young man hops up on the table and grabs the bird, first young man lowers himself to the floor and takes the bird from the second young man shouting "close all the windows."

Um ... 90 degree day ... nope, not going to happen.

First young man shows the bird around and makes a hasty exit from the back door to the sidewalk below. He looks around a bit and decides that it is too close to the school. Running off, he finally releases the bird into a nearby city park.

You can't make this stuff up.

Vampire?

We are debating whether or not Little Squid is going to turn into a Vampire. It seems apparent that he was bitten by a vampire while on a camping trip last week. There are two small scabs on the edge of his jaw very close to his neck. Obviously a vampire bite.

He, respectfully, disagrees. Seems that he can still see himself in the mirror and the sunlight did not kill him.

Hmm ...

Can Vampires go out in daylight if they are wearing sunblock?

And on into Testing

What do you get when you take two stressed out Assistant Principals and attempt to do simple math? A brief panic and a lot of laughter.

After my, relatively, minor issues with the advanced placement exams, I made sure to double and triple check our orders for the Regents exams. Every AP confirmed that I had, indeed, over ordered for every exam. So, why was it that the head of one department and I had a brief moment of panic yesterday?

Follow this conversation and watch where we went wrong ...

"How many rooms do I have for this afternoon's exam?"

A quick check (I have not memorized this data) reveals 19 rooms, each with the appropriate proctor assigned. "Phew" is the response,"it was looking like we needed more rooms."

"Well," I shot back in a sudden burst of fear "lets double check the exam numbers, just in case. I know there are 24 packets of exams in the boxes in the vault -- I doubled checked them just a few minutes ago.

You have 19 rooms. 19 rooms at 25 exams per packet is 475 exams. How many kids are registered?"

"498"

Gulp. "Can you double check that? How many kids per room?"

"About 28."

"Let's see, 475 divided by 28 gives us 17 rooms ..."

Yes, dear reader, you can see that I was very much impaired at this point. My counter part and I panicked for a while and prayed for absentees.

About half an hour later my brain finally kicked me in the rear and shot out "Idiot. 24 packets of exams times 25 exams per packet is 600 exams." Oops. More than enough for our 498 students plus some to spare for another school that did under order.

Only 11 more exam periods to panic over ...

Tired but Happy

My feet hurt. Has something to do with last days at school and constant patrols / events. Yes, even at 6 a.m., my feet and legs are still aching. And today is *really* the last day.

What makes a school administrator happy on the first of two *last* days of school? Rain at dismissal!!! Yea!!! No chance for last minute, well intentioned, hijinx when you are dodging raindrops the size of tea cups. Now if it will only do that again today at about 11:44 when we finally dismiss for the year. (Exams start this afternoon.)

I discovered that I have power in my gaze. Just a glance will get a kid to: take off a hat, cover a too skimpy top and put away a forbidden device. Makes me smile to be able to do that -- then they get confused as to why I am smiling at them.

You know what else makes me smile? My two most loyal knitters showing up for one last gabfest yesterday afternoon. Love those kids!

All this smiling makes half my face ache. Just the real, full face smiles. The fake smiles just invoke stiffness -- stiff smiles, stiff face, makes sense.

You know what else makes me smile? The fact that I have two great kids of my own -- who will never have to be told to put away their cell phones and who will hopefully never get so drunk that they pass out in the park on the last day of school. That just makes me cry.

Goodies!

Look at all these goodies from Isabelle! Yummy teas, pretty yarn and lots of Maine goodies. Thank you!!!

Messing With Their Minds

I'm messing with the minds of my staff today.

There was no intention of doing so when I chose what to wear this morning, but the result will be the same.

You see, a few weeks ago my Principal announced that she was taking another job, a promotion. The very next day, her position was posted on the DOE website and tonight the in-school committee interviews her possible successors. The identities of the candidates are secret.

Last week I had the privilege of giving each candidate a tour of the building. While I did so, the curious poked their heads out of classrooms and made snap appraisals. It got kind of silly from my perspective and I was tempted to parade random people around the building just for the mind-mess. (I didn't.) Today's suit, however is another story.

I am not one of the candidates. By choice. Didn't even open the on-line application -- just checked to make sure it was really there. Today, however, I am wearing my "cute" suit. How many people are going to think that I've been lying to them, that I really am interviewing tonight?

The suit, by the way, is because I am presiding over an induction ceremony tonight and want to look professional for the parents. I will not even be in the building when the committee convenes.

Time to start the week.

Prom NIght!

In 1984 the Senior Prom was not even a blip on my radar. I disliked parties and had no intention of going. It helped that I was not invited and did not hang out with the "prom crowd."

I discovered last night that my high school, now at least, does not have a "prom crowd" per se. 600 kids from a graduating class of 750 is a HUGE number of kids to have at a prom. At least from my limited prom going experience. There were 62 tables and only 3 of them held staff and spouses.

***

To kick off the evening, Mike first called my parents to ask permission. After throughly interrogating him as to his intentions, they granted it.

We primped (or at least I did, Mike forgot to shave) and had our oldest child take a photo since there was no parent available to do it.We then hopped aboard our limo and rode in airconditioned comfort to the Prom.Stuyvesant High School, as the elite school that it is, insists on having the Prom at the Waldorf=Astoria (yes, the equal sign is correct).
The Waldorf=Astoria is directly across the street and in direct juxtaposition with the slightly less expensive Intercontinental -- the site of our nuptual celebration many years ago.Once inside we were given our instructions (Mike was working, after all) and posed for yet another picture.


There are plenty of pictures of lovely looking, tastefully dress students but I cannot post them. I'm sure you understand. When one of the kids puts the pictures up on the school website, I will link to it.

I did stalk our babysitter a bit. She was lovely and her date was adorable. I even caught her on the dance floor once or twice.

Mike and I danced and one of his colleagues did a credible Michael Jackson imitation of the dance floor. We posed for a formal portrait (got to give it to the folks!) and finally left around midnight. Our limo home was of the more conventional yellow variety.

After sending our backup babysitter home, we tumbled into bed where ... oh, get your minds out of the gutter! It was late and we are married, we went to sleep! He did kiss me on the dance floor, however.
And there you have it. My first Prom. We are thinking that Mike may try to get invited again since we did have fun. I might even start attending my own school's Prom -- tho not this year, my date has to be elsewhere.

So Tired

It's been a long week. No, actually, this week is the same length as every other week, I am just wiped out. All the running around that occurs in June and all the things that have to be done, combined with some other stuff at work has all combined to rob me of my brain tonight.

Fortunately, I have a really good read, courtesy of Mary.Thanks Mary!

***

Looking for a contest? Hop on over to Jessica Z's and tell her why the owners of the apartment she wants are so eager to sell quickly. Make it funny for more points!

***

Little Squid suffered two migraines this week (they tend to come in clumps) and one of them was a "middle of the nighter" which is the only thing that causes him to take refuge in our bed. While he is suffering, he is a good snuggler. Once he finally falls asleep, however, he is a true squid, spreading his tentacles all over the place and using my back as a pillow. Little wonder that I am tired. The next night, Squidette needed some late night snuggle action against a scary movie that she saw. Then Little Squid woke up early suffering from something he ate the night before. Phew!

Next week doesn't look any better with an obligation for 3 of the 5 work nights and a promise to go to the UWS Knitters on a 4th night. When I promised that, I was not remembering the Scholar's Induction on Monday, Freshman Orientation on Tuesday and the end-of-term party on Friday. I'm still going, tho. Squidette will be out of town and Papa and Little Squid can monster without me for the evening.

***

Victoria asked if there was a pattern for the Sock Puppets. Here you go, in brief. (This makes more sense if you are well acquainted with sock and mitten knitting. If more detailed instructions are needed, let me know and I will try to reconstruct.

Knitting the big sock from the toe up:

Knit your favorite toe-up toe (I like the figure-8 cast on). The toe should be wide enough to span your four fingers.

Change colors and knit the "foot" until it reaches the base of your thumb.

Knit waste yarn into eight or so stitches on either side of the "foot" and then knit into the waste yarn for an "afterthought" "thumb"

Continue knitting the foot until it reaches your wrist.

Change colors and knit a short row (or your favorite) heel.

Change colors again and knit "leg" until it is long enough for your tastes.

Add in contrasting stripes if you wish. (I like the look it gives.)

Bind off.

Carefully remove waste yarn from one thumb, picking up the stitches. Knit the thumb round and round until it is long enough for your thumb. Knit 2 together, round and round, until reduced to 4 stitches. Break yarn and run yarn through remaining stitches.

Repeat for other thumb.

Embroider on face of your choice. Glasses are optional. I used picture wire and sewed them on where the earpieces would be.

The puppet's puppet is knit in the same manner but sized by "trying it on" the big puppet. It goes MUCH faster. The Puppet's puppet's puppet follows the same instructions again.

And, for some comic relief, a picture of my office.It is actually almost as bad as it looks here. I took this picture to show the contractor how, once again, their good intentions (installing my air conditioner) were accompanied by silly missteps -- not returning my furniture to its' proper locations. And the air conditioner, it had the wrong voltage for my power supply! So, now I have lost the use of one window and still have no cooling. I do not mind the lack of cooling but do mind the lack of openable window. (The bottoms are impossible to open and just serve as Squirrel doors anyway.)

***

Remind me to share my latest Squirrel story this weekend. It is, actually, a bird-in-the-library story.

Recursives in Squidland

Remember when I teased you with this picture?

No? Really?

How about when I kept mentioning a mystery project and promising to reveal it any day?

Not that either, huh?

Well that's because I was asked to make a very special, secret project that Papa Squid would then reveal in his classes. Unfortunately he never got around to it, despite my nagging.

So, after all that, I am finally revealing the secret project. Current Stuyvesant High School students are asked to swear an oath of secrecy and state that you will never reveal what you are about to see to any student in Z's classes next year. Let them mine this blog all by themselves or rather, be surprised when the items below are finally revealed.

And so, after putting enough words to fill in the space so that the secret has to be scrolled down to ... I give you ...

A sock puppet.
And the sock puppet's sock puppet.

And the sock puppet's puppet's puppet.
Rear view. Yes, they have heels.Have I mentioned how much I love my husband. That I would do this for him? True love, I tell you, true, everlasting love!

Prom Season

I was asked to the Prom! My dearest boyfriend called me at work and stuttered and stammered his way through an invitation. It seems that the dear boy never invited anyone to a prom before and that is fitting, because I've never been invited to one. Asked if I was going, yes, invited? no.

Seems dear Papa Squid was asked to chaperone his school's prom. Since his school is our high school alma mater, I can now honestly say that I was invited to my high school prom. And I'm going.

Childcare was briefly a problem since our main evening babysitter is the one who submitted Mike's name as a chaperone -- which means that she is going to the prom. We solved it, however, without resorting to her younger sister.

I am looking forward to this. His responsibilities are fairly simple and so for the cost of one prom ticket, this Saturday night I finally get to the Prom!

***

I have nothing against Proms but I was not in the "prom going" crowd as a teen and so I did not go. As a teacher, I have never been asked to chaperone.

***

Squidette's science fair was very nice. I found the "lessons learned" section of some of the boards to be hilarious. One of them was "don't let your younger sister care for the plants, she'll rip the leaves off." Another, "this experiment was interrupted when rats ate the plants." And my favorite line (paraphrased) from an experiment testing bacteria levels in subway stations (truly a NYC experiment), "we expected the station in the Bronx to have the highest levels of bacteria since the Bronx is the foulest of the boroughs." (or something like that) (All subway stations had the same levels of bacteria -- no, I did not actually read how they tested it. I skipped right to the conclusions on most of the boards to get a sense of what they learned -- always the teacher!)

Lace on a Balcony

Look! I have been knitting!The colors are better in the blurry picture but the clear one gives a better sense of the lace. I am nearing the end of the first ball of silk which means that I have about 3 or 4 weeks before I have to have the third ball plyed and ready to go. The piece now measures 14 cm (5.5 inches) and I expect to make absolutely no progress on it again until Thursday.

On the "let's keep June" hectic front, it turns out the Squidette's group qualified for the Science Fair, which is tonight, overlapping my own Senior Awards ceremony. I've figured out how to do this -- it involves making sure that I am put on late on the list of presenters at my school (for Health, Phys. Ed and my Scholars program). Then I can run down to Squidette's school, ooh and ahh over the projects, grab the kid and scurry back to my own school for the last 1.5 hours of awards. Yup, I expect to only miss half an hour of it. If I keep this up for the entire month, just how hard am I going to crash on June 30?

Tour de Brooklyn

Go Brooklyn! As a New Yorker, I have a natural affinity for Brooklyn even though I was mostly raised in Queens. Queens is very large and every neighborhood is very different so it does have it's charms but Brooklyn is ... well, Brooklyn. Home to the Cyclone and Coney Island. The Brooklyn Dodgers and U Bet Syrup. Junior's Cheesecake and Ebingers Blackout Cake. Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery.

Last year we rode in the 2nd annual Tour de Brooklyn and it was good. Not, however, as good as this year. In 2006 we were in the early stages of becoming Team Squid. Now we are a fully formed cycling squad and have our routines down pat. Schmeared with sunblock and donning sunglasses (and regular glasses that darken in the sun) we loaded the bikes. We now allways ride with a small first aid kit (our umbrella against minor wounds) and my knitting (the umbrella against major wounds). Four out of seven water bottles hold Accelerade on long rides (the other three hold water), and we have muffins, banana bread and granola bars in a panier (saddle bag). The only thing we lacked this time was toilet paper. Note to self -- toss a partial roll into the panier.

How does a properly equipped team of Squid get to the 3rd annual Tour de Brooklyn? They ride, of course! Thus upping the total mileage for the day to ... 35 miles.
Riding newly minted bike paths in Manhattan, we headed over the Brooklyn Bridge to Grand Army Plaza where we signed in and waited to ride. The wait was pleasant as we chatted with other bikers and compared bikes and sob stories about the 5 Boro Bike Tour. In the warm, balmy air we got rolling around 9:30 or so and after 10 miles, rolled into the rest stop around 10:30. We stopped once for about 10 minutes while the police cleared the streets ahead of us. No walking of the bikes, just solid riding. Sweet! After a brief rest and some bananas and PB and J, we rolled again and were in the saddle pretty consistently until we returned to Prospect Park.

Since we were rolling for almost the entire time, there is a paucity of photographs. What there is can be found here.

All in all, a very good day.

Quiet Morning

It is quiet here this morning. Papa is not working out, so the whirr of the trainer didn't wake us all up. I got up a regular school time leaving a sleeping Papa in bed. Little Squid wandered out as I was getting my tea and set himself up on the couch -- and promptly fell back to sleep. Squidette is still asleep. Just came out.

All that is about to change. Papa is up now and fussing around the kitchen. It is only a matter of time before the news goes on and we all get ready for the Tour de Brooklyn. See you all when we return!

3 Concerts, a Dance Perfomance and a Present!

It has been a busy week here at Chez Squid. On Wednesday, Squidette made her debut as first clarinet/concert mistress for the grade 6 A band. On Thursday, Little Squid made his concert debut on the flute in the 4th grade band and Squidette helped to beef up the 6 B band (it's smaller then the 6 A band and needed a few more players). Friday saw Little Squid strutting his stuff in this school's annual NDI performance. The dance totally suited Little Squid's frentic nature. Pre and post dance events also allayed any concerns I had about him being too introverted. As soon as we got to venue he took off after his friends in a manner that I can only describe as "totally boy." Today we caught him emailing a girl! My mother-in-law would be happy -- the girl is Jewish. *g* Hey, he's known her since age 4. Think this could go somewhere?

After returning from our late evening -- had to get dinner with friends after the performance -- I found a huge box on my doorstep. Inside were all these goodies from Sprite!
Yummy fudge and chocolate covered pretzels and candy and fuzzies and girly stuff and ... lots and lots of stuff. Some of it has been distributed to the shorter Squid ...
and some has been set aside for me! Thank you Sprite!!!

Dogs Not Allowed

While riding on Monday, we spotted several signs like this one. Um ... what lawn?
This was a breakfast ride, up to Fairway to get muffins and scones and then back toward home with stops in some newly opened sections of the Hudson River Park.

Just North of the Cruise Ship terminal, we found this.

We also found some tables on which to enjoy these. Yum! Like our tablecloth?South of the terminal we got a good view of the sole Manhattan docked participant of Fleet Week. Not sure why there are not more ships but it may have something to do with the Intrepid being out of town for repairs. The rest were in Brooklyn.

Just south of the ship terminal we discovered this wonderful public area. Water toys to play with,

and fountains to frolic in. We see this one as a good cooling stop on our way home from a long ride.

We also discovered this, a prototype to a raft that is being built with the aim of sailing the Atlantic. Sharp-eyed (usually oblivious) Little Squid spotted this gargoyle in a small garden. We like gargoyles!


Next up, three concerts and a dance performance! And ... Mama Squid gets invited to the Prom!!!

You Can't Buy Time

As the school year winds to a close I find myself being asked the eternal question: "Are you working summer school."

The answer, a simple "No."

The reason?

You can't buy time.

If I work during the summer, I earn more money but I don't see my husband

And I don't see my kids.

You Can't Buy Time

If I don't work I can take my kids to camp 5 days a week for 5 weeks.

Then I can spend the daytime hours with my spouse.

You Can't Buy Time

We can paint the apartment.

We can take long walks.

We can enjoy each others company.

You Can't Buy Time

In the evenings we can retrieve the kids and take long bike rides in everlasting summer days.

We can go for ice cream and listen to each other.

You Can't Buy Time

When camp is done we can travel and explore.

We can camp and we can visit.

We can be a family.

You Can't Buy Time

... And a Birthday

How do you make your Mom cry? Well first you get your baby brother married. Then you and your sibs surprise her with a birthday cake. Then the sibs revise a poem written by Dad for all of us and turn it into a Mom-specific poem. Finally, you put up sappy posts about your brother's wedding.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Bring on the Chupah

The following is a collection of pictures from the wedding. Only Squid and Squid siblings / parents are shown here to protect the innocent. There will be one more wedding related post and then you will be returned to your regularly scheduled knitting/family/biking blog. In future posts you can look forward to not one but two one skein wonders, an apartment in a bottle and the Hudson River Conservancy thinking that the river is a lawn.

Meanwhile I return you to my brother's wedding where you get to see how well the Squid clean up.

***

After a day of hard play, we all bathed and dressed and otherwise got ready.
Some of us had to repeat the process a few times. Little Squid was buttoned up for the pictures and as soon as we were done he unbuttoned the jacket ... and his shirt was untucked again. Like father, like son.Some of us found our toe nails being painted at the very last minute. Oops! Yet others needed a prenuptual drink. Or maybe some cereal.Look, all of my siblings at once! The man of the hour is in the middle. We are not, by the way, in age order. I'm not revealing where I fall in the mix but I am not the eldest.
Mother of the Groom. Doesn't Mom look great? Saw 5 kids through their teens and hasn't aged a bit. (We'll have some more on her tomorrow. Tee Hee!)

Got Little Squid on the dance floor ... his comment "o.k., you got me dancing but I still don't like it." Hence, no picture. Squidette on the other hand, discovered that she likes to dance ... and does it pretty well.Dancing with Daddy. Boy I hope someone got a picture of me dancing with my dad. These things don't happen that often.This is the third time they have danced at one of our weddings. Things just keep getting better and better, don't they. Yes, I got my husband tipsy enough that he not only danced with me but he enjoyed it!

May they be together for a long, long time.

Tomorrow, a belated birthday post for Mom and then a return to your regularly scheduled blog.

Festivities before the Festivities

My athletic brother and sister-in-law chose a site for their wedding where people could get outside and get physical.

Materials were provided for those who chose to kick and toss and hit.Wooded paths served the joggers and hikers. (Pictures of this are on Squidette's camera and have yet to be downloaded.)

A lovely lake placated those who needed to swim.Tennis and Lace anyone?Some softball.(Squidette at Bat ... she swings ... and she misses.)

Followed by Bride vs. Groom Kickball (the Groom's team won).

I was on the Bride's team with Mom and my nephew while the Squidlings were on the Groom's team with their grandfather. (Papa Squid was the official Kickball Photographer.)We will not talk about the fact that I missed this kick. Oops!And then there were strange faces.

And the view from our room.

When we arrived on Friday we were immediately instructed to put on our bathing suits and join my Dad and older sister at the lake. Being a good girl, I did just that. (Mike took a nap and hooked up his computer.) The kids frolicked with each other and then with their older cousin while my younger nephew hung out with us on the beach.

Swim time was followed by a bar-b-que where we spent quality time reconnecting with friends and relatives. The bar-b-que ended in a camp fire and s'mores. Yum!

Saturday dawned initially bright and clear and perfect for kickball and other outdoor activities. We all ran around in the morning and then we four took off to REI and my cousin's house so the second cousins could play for a while. (The visit to REI netted new bike shoes which work well with my handknit socks. They are also more comfortable to walk in.)

We hustled back to the Inn to shower and change for pictures and then the wedding. Tales and photographic evidence will follow in my next post. Consider this a cliff hanger ...