Iron Your Heart Out…

Still hot here. Today hotter. A/C still not working right in the classroom. I had three fans in there yesterday, but a state group is coming to inspect our school today, and ironically, it means I have to hide the fans (cords going across the floor, near water sources) to prove my room is safe (on a day when I have 700 lab materials out that could be considered unsafe if the kids weren’t following the rules, which they totally are). Plus the room will be too hot, so I’m not sure how the district will explain that shit on a day when it’s supposed to be 102 degrees. Whatever. Some of the shit teachers have to do (or are asked to do) is kind of mind-boggling. This inspection is mostly about textbooks, which is even funnier for science, because we don’t have any…everything is online. So then we have to teach the kids how to download a PDF to their Chromebooks that we never use. Just to make the state happy. It’s OK…I know this is holding districts accountable…just not for my A/C. The heat makes me cranky. It makes the kids cranky. The hot is going away by Friday, when we will get rain (!). I’m OK with that, even if the Man is not, because he has a show that night and there’s supposed to be a 1/2 inch of rain. Loading in and out could be complicated, but also, fewer people come to shows when it’s raining.

In good news, I got a piece into the Excellence in Fibers exhibit that will be in Fiber Art Now’s January issue, plus there’s a chance it will be at the San Jose Quilt & Textile Museum next year, which would be cool. I have one piece that will be there in October, but I’m juggling way too much that month, with my parents gone, a bunch of art stuff, the parental dog, the Man possibly taking off to hike for a couple of days with a friend, blah blah blah…at least it will be cooler! I guess I don’t have to go to San Jose for the opening…I could go another time just to see the show.

Ironing is slow but steady. I haven’t been starting until late. It’s too damn hot in here. By 9 PM, with two fans on me, it’s bearable. I got a bunch done on Monday night…

Finished the pelvic area…missing an ‘s’ on the ‘Property of’ label (those words will be inked or stitched, haven’t decided which yet. I like the Statue of Liberty’s head though.

Then I ironed the robes of the large Supreme Court figure on the left, but forgot to photograph it, and then detached it and rolled it up, because everything was getting too big and out of control. I started ironing the left big head down…well, at least the neck and the nuclear power plant that will reside on his chin…

Less than an hour last night, just. I had a stressful day at work, with science materials disappearing and reappearing, trying to get kids to move on to the next step (I’m so behind), then to the dentist to deal with my filling, which was a crown, and will be expensive, and will take more time than they are open, so trying to schedule it has been a pain. Plus the money. This month is not good for that…house insurance is due and it’s my first paycheck since the end of June. It’s always tight. I think we have solved it though…they may open on Saturday for me, which I really appreciate (although you wanna look at my weekends for the next 6 weeks? because there’s very few open spots). Sigh. Came home and graded some stuff, planned, put grades in the gradebook. I didn’t have to cook, hallelujah, that’s tonight unfortunately (so hot…), but I was exhausted. Kept saying “It’s only Monday”. Ha! Tuesday, y’all. It was Tuesday. And now it’s Wednesday. So today is trash out, empty dishwasher, empty sink, AND cook dinner. Hopefully those two grown men will help with the first three because it’s not my turn. Every morning this week is a student-related meeting on top of all of it. September is always a little hectic. Little is an understatement.

I need to get some boxes for shipping stuff too…if I have time before Pilates today, the store where I buy boxes is right there…but I’m usually kamikazing in at the last minute from school.

I didn’t sleep well last night. The heat…the noise and light from having the windows open…my brain doesn’t do well with either of those two stimuli. Plus this…

I work when I’m tired…but the art stuff suffers in the end. There are only so many hours in the day. I’m trying to lesson plan while kids are working on labs. I’m speed-planning during prep. I don’t feel like I’ve got a handle on any of it. Plus grading. I realized that all of 7th AND 8th grade will be turning in academic assignments at the same time. OK. It’s going to be busy for a while. Deep breaths (I do meditate every night). Be efficient…be be efficient. Then iron your heart out.