(groans) What is this early morning hell? How much tea can I get into me before I start to teach? I didn’t even finish posting things for class yesterday. Why? Because I tried to spend a chunk of my weekend NOT being a teacher. Mis. Take. Well, not. But sheesh, this job. Last week. Deep breaths. I think I can get through the next two weeks. I’m gonna hafta.
Friday night, the Man had a show at the Music Box. Before that, I had made it home and was slumped on the couch, trying to decide what dinner might look like. Glad to say the boychild is a good cook, because he fed me…
Also luckily, the singer in the band, his wife had a table and let me sit at it, which is good, because I was exhausted. And they were the openers, so they only played for an hour. Much nicer than the four-hour show that’s coming up this Saturday.
Saturday morning, I crazily got up kind of early and took an online class from Nicholas Ball, who was in Wales…
At some point, he said, OK hold up your fish, and I had been diligently taking notes, NOT sewing. So I only did two and one has its fins in totally the wrong place (oops) and some people made like ten and I feel like a fish loser, but I will survive. Then I drove to Oceanside to drop off my piece for this show…
I’ll be at the opening on March 30. Hoping it’ll be a cool show.
Came back and persuaded the Man to go for a short birthday hike…
Three miles. But it was beautiful out. Spring has sprung.
And I love being able to make it outside like this.
Then boychild had the suggestion of San Diego Restaurant Week for dinner, so we picked a restaurant and navigated shitty parking…
That was in the bathroom. The food was good, different, which was nice. I drew a little, but the food came out too fast to finish.
Then we came back and I trimmed fabric pieces.
Sunday was full of all the normal get-ready-for-school-week things, but we ended the day going out to dinner with my parents…
And then I finished trimming everything.
On to the next step. I also shipped a quilt off to this show, opening March 24.
The Man is delivering another today for a local show. I have that announcement somewhere too. Sigh. I’m discombobulated. And buried. Two weeks until Spring Break…
I will have to speak to people unfortunately. Need to get the house fixed. And this will be the next two weeks…
Maybe not die…just internally die. I have books to read, though, and art to make. I should commit to making a fabric fish a night, and then I’d have 10. Except I can’t commit to that this week…3 out of the 5 worknights are going to be late and doubled up. Whoops. Oh well. No plans. Just wish teachers luck today. You know how tired YOU are? Imagine a bunch of 13-year-olds. Yup. It’s gonna be crap.
Hmm. I am drop-dead exhausted. Hoping I’m just fall-slowly-to-the-ground exhausted once I get this cup of tea into me. We should never do field trips on Thursdays. Coming back to teach on a Friday seems like a mistake for everyone involved. And yesterday was a doozy. Not violating any kids’ rights here by saying that. But if you see a teacher today, you should just spontaneously hug them and tell them it will all be OK. They may push you away and stare at you funny, but most of us would just lean into that hug.
When I think about teacher training, I realize how little of it actually helped me do ANY of the things I do now. I haven’t been trained on most of what I do. It’s instinct, or I figured it out by trial and error or with my teammates or coworkers. Some of it is common sense. Sometimes Mom brain kicks in (or caregiver brain for those who aren’t moms, because some people have that and it’s not because they gave birth) and we do the things to make things OK. Or not. We do the strict things that aim for OK in the future. I just know that I had planned to take my book to the gym yesterday after school and I did not. I came home and just sat on the couch, staring at pictures, for a good hour or so before I started working. Because I don’t want to work this weekend (I’ll have to anyway, but I’m trying to limit it).
So I graded one thing and fixed the final grades on another thing and then input them for the parent meeting later today, which may be contentious. Imma be chill. I hope. I don’t have a lot of filters at the moment. I’m trying to rebuild them by drinking tea. Nova is being very helpful, by the way. She is actually lying ON the gradebook. Which I realize is her way of saying, mom, stop working, but I needed to get that done. It’s OK. When I got up to heat up the 17th cup of tea (not really), she took over my spot.
Cute toes kitty. I won’t usually move her. She snores lightly. I just sat next to her and finished stuff. Hopefully I’ll have a prep period today to finish other stuff.
Art stuff: I finished ironing on Wednesday night…
It took a little less than 3 1/2 hours…for 313(?) pieces. Not bad. Then last night, I started cutting them out.
I’m probably halfway? I have a bunch of letters to cut out next. They’re time-consuming. I need to pack a quilt tonight to deliver tomorrow, and the Man has a show at the Music Box. Thank goodness he’s the opener, so I can be home at a decent hour…to collapse into bed, because I signed up for a quilt Zoom class tomorrow morning. Like an idiot. Like an idiot who wants to do fun things and not just work. So that is why.
Yesterday’s field trip was to the Midway, which is not my favorite.
I prefer animals to badly posed mannequins.
Although, if I were more of an abstract artist, that would be fun to make as a quilt.
I could have used this in the kids’ bathroom.
And this just made me giggle…
Mostly because I don’t know what a gimbal is. And it’s such a weird sign if you don’t know what the things mean.
It’s a military boat. It’s a lot of walking, lots of ups and downs. It’s not the most exciting thing. I had a group that would not stay together. I lost one kid and found him (well, he found us) and then lost three at the end, which was a problem. So I walked about twice as much as I needed to (knees held up), and then came back to school to a major issue that sucked. Still sucks, but less so. Wasn’t how I planned to spend the last 90 minutes of the school day, but whatever. It’s All in a Day! Perky smile and face and tone! Oh I don’t do those well.
I did read for about 45 minutes last night. I do love this character.
Ironically the same name as the cat who was lying next to me. Weirdly appropriate.
Here you go.
Anyway. Meeting this morning. Teaching all day, which will be hard, I’m sure. Probably talking to some kids/classes about yesterday’s events. Duty after school. Contentious parent meeting after that with principal and team. Then home to pack a quilt to be delivered. Then eat something. Then show…home…sleep? Maybe fabric trimming somewhere in there. I’m not gonna feel bad if that doesn’t happen though. It’ll be OK. It’ll happen tomorrow.
I don’t know what’s happening to the school weeks, but it seems like the first two days are the hardest. Tuesday nights, I’m like, WTF just happened. And why? Yesterday was a masterful example of that. But I made it through…and am hopeful that today has less stupidity involved. But probably not. I had to hand back last week’s homework and tell them to redo it. They hadn’t been explicitly taught by ME how to do it, but I gave them everything they needed in order to do it. They just didn’t use any of it. Not the notes, not the slides, not the genotypes I had them write on their paper and told them to use. Mind-boggling. So I guess the plus is that I don’t have to try to come up with another homework before break. I had two and needed a third. Otherwise everyone (but 6 kids) would have started the trimester with an F. I saw a teacher video about apathy the other day. Yeah. I care way more than they do about their grades. And promotion. And going to high school. Sigh. That’s not entirely true. Some of them care. Just not enough of them. And I realize as a parent that a lot of the dumbass behaviors we are seeing is precisely because some of these kids are worried about going to high school.
So less of that. I had a sex-ed curriculum meeting after school…the ‘last’ one until APPARENTLY WE ARE MEETING AGAIN NEXT YEAR? WTF. I did not sign on for all this. Ugh. I left early to go to ceramics class, which was fucking awesome because it was slab night and all we did was slam clay into the table. I needed that outlet. That was fun. I had an idea last week to try to make ceramic bases/forms that could pair with fabric, so this was the first idea…
It’s a box that hangs on the wall, but the body parts are on top. I’m imagining a little quilt hanging inside the box. I’m hoping anyway. We’ll see how that goes. I also made a tiny tray, just because I wanted to try the rollers…
Not perfect; I ran out of time. Next week, it’s make what you want…so I need to figure out what that is. And then I think we glaze. And then I consider whether I can pull off a membership here. I want to. We’ll see.
I did iron Monday night…
Almost done…just have a bunch of bugs and a bird to do, hopefully tonight. I’m borderline exhausted. Or maybe it’s just people related. We’re going on a field trip. My team is driving me bonkers. I just need consistency and that doesn’t happen. Plus the kids are whinier than heck about going. ‘My friend isn’t going so now I don’t want to.’ Your friend got suspended for hitting another kid from behind. You should pick better friends. I’m not redoing all the lists. You’re going. Shit. I think I have to redo the lists if that kid isn’t going. Oh crap. I’m out. Seriously.
FOCUS ON ART.
This year has been burning me out since September. A teacher friend yesterday said something along the lines of ‘oh yay, we only have one trimester left,’ but I’m like, I don’t think I can do another one. I just don’t have it in me. Next time someone tells me to call a parent, I’m gonna quote the district on self care.
I wish that were true, but it’s not. I always give a fuck. That’s part of the problem.
My meditation app decided to teach me German last night.
Luckily he didn’t talk in German, although it might not have mattered, because I stopped listening and just started counting the breaths. It was all I could handle.
Final picture of Nova conquering the scratching toy.
Oh wait! I have video of Kitten making her toothless face…
She is a good kitty. And I love her goofy face.
OK. IDK what to say about today. It has to be better than yesterday. Well, except that clay stuff was fun. I just came home and read my book. I couldn’t do anything else. Tonight is pilates and book club. Hmmm. Not sure I’ll be mentally aware for either of those. Tomorrow is the field trip. Yikes. We couldn’t get buses for Friday…that would have been better. Coming back for a Friday…ugh. It’s OK…I’m going to finish ironing fabrics tonight so I can get to the next stage of this little quilt, so I can eventually start drawing the big-ass crone quilt that’s growing in my head. That’s a plan.
IDK what happened this morning, but it’s already late and I’m not ready. Really, today, I’m sitting in my classroom while someone else does a presentation that will apply to maybe 10 of my students, if that, but it’s not MY decision to make, so I’m just going to use the time to work so I don’t have to do it all after school this week. Win maybe win? We’ll see. I know I need to put in a healthy chunk of time this week on work because I didn’t do it this weekend. I finished grades Friday night, then mostly blew it off for the rest of the weekend. I was busy with other stuff.
I went to my quilt guild meeting and worked on this…
Then went to a baby shower and handed over this…
Then went to dinner with this guy…
And drew this…
Friday night, I finished tracing this…
And Saturday night, I turned it into this…
And last night, it became this…
I had picked a background fabric, but I don’t think it’s gonna work. So I’ll need to pick another one.
This was me trying to finish grades Friday morning.
Thanks to our grading program. It eventually figured its shit out. Typical though. I also gave a quiz (it was one question) and then got to deal with this.
I guess. Huh. Fun times. Both A students. Come-to-Jesus moment for them. I guess.
I just now noticed Kitten had thrown up on the top part and under the keyboard. Sigh. Ugh. Cleanup is fun. And somehow I’m still late this morning. I wonder why.
Good explanation there.
OK. Sigh. This week. It’ll be fine. As long as the thunderstorms stay away from the field trip day and all the things work and nothing more breaks and maybe even some good things will happen, in between my boob hurting (still, apparently can for up to 4 months, shoot me now) and my stress levels. At least I have art at night and books on my iPad.
Lots of people ask me how I do art stuff every day (and I don’t…I’d like to, but…), and the reality is that I have a fairly hefty art drive that MAKES me make almost every day, and if I don’t, I start to feel off, cranky, bereft, pissed off, sad, ugh, growly etc. So I try to balance all the other shit I’m supposed to do AND make art every night, and one of the number one drives toward retirement is the way my day job has sucked all of that time away from me and just takes more and more and more. Since COVID in 2020, I can’t get that balance. I can’t get enough art time. And I just get more and more frustrated with the time demands. Beyond frustrated. Art Brain is like a little kid who was promised time to do something they really love (read a book, swim in the pool, go to the beach) and then it’s a no. And not a good explanation for why (because I have to work). So of course it pitches a fit. You would too. Right now, Art Brain is counting the days until Spring Break (21 days, 16 actual days in school) so it can do more fun things. I haven’t told it about all the house things we have to do, because we can’t afford a weeklong camping trip like we usually do. So yeah. BUT…I am going to start a big drawing between now and then (need to finish some art stuff first) so I have one going for the end of the school year. To get me through. To PULL me through, because I think that’s what it’s gonna take.
So all I’ve been doing the last two nights is sewing binding on (and grading shit because the trimester ends today).
I do like sewing binding by hand. It’s relaxing. And those two colors are fucking awesome. And it’s for someone I really love. So it’s OK. But I’m also glad it’s done. Well. Almost.
Nova is such a sweetheart. She bumps her head up and starts kneading the air (and sometimes me)…
She’d be ON me if I’d let her. But it’s hard to stitch when she is. So she settles for there. And when Simba is here, HE’S there. And those are good things. The quilt is done except for one area on the back where some stitches did something that I can’t quite figure out (looks like a knot), so I need to tease it apart, tie it off, and maybe requilt that bit. And THEN it’s done, which is good, because the baby shower is tomorrow afternoon. But when it’s done, I can do my own stuff. Well, sort of. Because I’m doing an interpretation of somebody else’s stuff first and trying to make it my own and I’m not at the point yet where it feels like mine.
I did have a mental aha moment Wednesday night when I realized how to combine the ceramics and the quilts. So I’m going to try that. The girlchild is also taking ceramics and we had a cool conversation by text last night about that stuff. I do appreciate the change in medium and want to try to continue. We’ll see how that works, if I can make the two work together. It’s worth a try.
In other news, it’s Friday (OMG THANK THE GODDESS). Stressful week…both in trying to get kids to think and do things, but also in trying to get stuff set up for the next unit and there’s a field trip that may or may not happen and OMG there’s some other counseling thing that they haven’t told us about yet. I just want to come home and read my book and draw for a bit and stitch for a bit and trace for a bit. And get some yardwork done before it overwhelms me (too late; it already has). And clean house things because they’re gross. And not feel like I’m not allowed to have the time to make art because the day job is so all encompassing…do it for the KIDS. Hate that. I do it for the kids all the time. On the daily. Constantly. Wake up to thinking about them, worrying about them, trying to figure out how to engage them and help them learn. Fall asleep to it. It’s never-ending. I need some time off from that. Also I need some time off so I can plan the next unit. Which is thinking about them. Ah well. Art. It calls. Loudly.
So. Midweek. Full school week. Not heavy on the meetings, unlike the next two weeks. I should enjoy that while it lasts. Not a lot of normal quilt art happening, for a variety of reasons. Grades are due in less than a week. I might actually have them done with a margin for once. If kids stop trying to turn everything in late. I had to rush to grade an academic assignment so I would be able to give them two days to fix it. Of course, you give them a deadline and they ignore it and try to resubmit for days afterwards. And then they tell you it’s HAARRDD and you show them that they didn’t even read what you gave them. It’s hard because of that. Not because, like they say, I didn’t teach it to them. They literally didn’t look at the information provided. That shit is always frustrating. I refuse to dumb down all the assignments for the post-COVID laze. It’s been a rough trimester. For all of us. I’m certainly looking at being 2/3s done with the year and feeling like I just can’t do another one. Another 12 weeks? Can’t. Uh uh. I’m so tired of the planning and the adult incursions on my time. The kids don’t really bug me this year. The adults? Ugh. Too much. Admin: Here do this. And this. And you have time for this, right? I took on one thing my team asked me to do (of the many) and they didn’t tell me it involved this Portrait of a Graduate thing the district is pushing, that I really don’t get, you don’t have buy-in from me, but all of a sudden I need to write an elevator pitch for it? I don’t have a pitch. Y’all haven’t inspired me INTO a pitch. Sigh. I have homework. I get paid for it, sure, but what I’d like is time to fix my house and make art and read my book. Ugh.
Yeah. So. Good times. Make shit up. Google it! Hey, I’m just like my students sometimes. I understand it. I don’t have the bandwidth at night, when I get home, to do homework. And I do so much of it as it is. Why did I agree to add more? Sigh.
OK, so in the art stuff, I’ve traced nothing in the last two days because I need to get grades done and that baby quilt done by Saturday. So the last two nights, after grading, I quilted.
Nothing fancy, although it’s for a baby girl, so I quilted a little woman power in there.
Both the woman power that’s gonna bring her into this world, care of my good friend…
And the power that’s been sheltering her for the last 8 months or so…
On the back…
I quilted her parents’ names into it too. Going for all the good juju. Anyway, I stayed up too late last night to finish the borders, so I could start binding it tonight. I should be able to get it done in time. Baby shower is Saturday.
It’s gonna feel good to have all these have-to things done so I can do my own thing, to be honest.
I went to my second ceramics handbuilding class last night…coiling. I love coiling. Although I did not use the extruder…I think I’ll try that in two weeks, when we get to do whatever we want.
I did ceramics in college quite a bit. But honestly, I don’t really think of what I do in ceramics as art? It’s more like what I do with embroidery. It’s a creative outlet and I enjoy it, but it’s more meditative relaxing process than creating something that evokes something for me.
I’m considering a membership at the studio. It’s reasonably priced and I can go in whenever. Sounds nice.
Then I think about my time and what little of it I have at the moment. I’m sacrificing artmaking and gym time for this. And it’s totally worth it and fun and I’m loving it…
But I’m not sure what to do with it long term. I might get a membership in the summer, if there are any available…
Or…I don’t know. I’d like to think I could carve out some time, but this school year has been so bad and I don’t think it’s getting better. Certainly not if I have to fit surgery in before the end of the school year. No call yet. Damn health carrier is getting a new scheduling system, so they’ve basically shut down scheduling completely until it switches over this Friday. Sigh.
Anyway. So there’s that. That pot is gonna slump some more. One of the issues of trying to build so fast in a short period of time. Normally I’d work for an hour and then let it harden a bit. Didn’t really have that option. Ah well. Not sure what I’m doing in there anyway, except playing. Which is fine. I’ll have a lot of pot shapes at the end probably. I’m not very good at the practicality of it.
Monday night, I stitched during book club. Kitten did not help.
Just stitching things down is about my head space at the moment.
OK, so today, my kids are making pedigrees about a genetic disorder using a genealogical history we reviewed yesterday. They got to choose their groups. I’m wondering if I should have done groups of two instead of four. I’m seeing some loser behavior going on. As usual. Sigh. Well hopefully they’ll do the things today and tomorrow and I won’t have to work too hard at getting them on task. Yesterday, all I did was talk really. I need a break from that. I’m trying to plan the next unit, but I need about three hours of blank headspace to do it. Not sure when I’m gonna get that. I really did spend most of yesterday explaining inbreeding and intermarriage. Fun times.
The pool pump died yesterday. Expensive replacement. How am I supposed to pay to fix the house when shit like that keeps happening? The fridge will go next. I’m surprised it hasn’t already. It’s been going for a good long time and appliances don’t do that any more.
Pilates after school, grading again, then making dinner. Hopefully getting that binding on that quilt. Dreaming of art stuff. I’ll get there…soon. My art drive is strong, always has been. 18 school days until Spring Break…not that we have anything planned. Sigh. Except stuff here. No money except to fix shit.
So in totally awesome news, even though we trimmed the shit out of the trees, the owls are back! I finally got the camera up and working and there they were! I was so happy. I thought I’d heard them, but not the young one I’d heard before for the last 9 months…that one left after the tree trimming. We would hear it every night, going out to hunt. This must be one of the original parents. Much quieter. The male parent last year was loud as hell too. But so far, these are quiet.
It’s the weird little things that make my days.
This weekend was rough…I don’t feel like I got enough of any one thing done, unfortunately. Crunch time for school plus a lot of art things going on. I got a little bit done on the piece I’m doing with a partner…just some tracing done on Friday and Sunday night…
I think I had a whopping 26 minutes last night…
I was speed grading before that. I’m in the 200s…just about 150 pieces to go. I could finish it tonight, but I have a baby quilt that needs to be done by Saturday. Ha! Well. Hopefully.
I put borders on it Friday, then pinbasted it Saturday morning.
I did a little quilting on Saturday after buying an insane amount of thread, because I didn’t have the right kind.
I didn’t get any more quilting done all weekend unfortunately. It won’t take long…I just need to do it. Hopefully more tonight. But grades are also due and that’s stressful. So yeah. I’m trying to do all the things.
Saturday was the pop-up opening of Collective Retrospective, a show with a current piece and a piece that’s at least 10 years old. It started on Instagram. I only had the old piece, and it will be 30 years old in October.
This is The Cold Cement Basement of Our Love from October 1994. It’s a screenprint that I then drew all over with Sharpie…some things never change. Lots of words and DNA and a cup of tea. And sciencey things going on in the body. Before I ever taught science. I did work in science though.
I absolutely sucked at pictures of this show…I do know this is Judith Parenio’s piece…
I got a picture of her speaking (there’s video of her rousing words on the Insta link above)…
Except this is before she actually talked. Cool things happened. But I was there for like 3 1/2 hours. Time. Sigh. There was a beautiful sky though…and friends came by to see me and my art.
The Man stopped by at the end to help me load my piece into the car and then we went to dinner…
He had a show the night before that I was supposed to go to, but he texted me while I was driving that they had stopped letting people in; the venue was full. So I turned around and went home and graded instead. He didn’t get home until almost 2 AM, so we’ve barely seen each other this weekend. Yesterday was two art Zoom meetings plus trying to grade.
Anyway. So I’m quilting this week, hopefully tracing, obviously grading and lesson planning. Listening to owls. Reading when I can. I’ve got my second ceramics class tomorrow…already have ideas. It’s coiling. I love coiling. Busy weekend coming up. Again. Lots of art going out, which is good. Wish I were making more of it, but it’s here. I’m getting there. After a staff meeting today, teaching pedigrees…actually, letting an assignment teach them. I did my part. It’s time for them to do theirs. Ha! Hopeful anyway. First full week of teaching since January…with holidays and COVID and doctors’ appointments. It will be weird.
My days are still off. Whatever. I think I know they’re off at the moment…certainly I chant the current day in my head over and over just as a reminder (THURSDAY THURSDAY). I’m kind of exhausted and braindead, but also getting stuff done, but really not all of it or enough of it. Y’all know how that goes. I know that my car key fob battery died yesterday, so I have to set the car alarm off to get in the car. That’s fun. I did it in the school parking lot, then went to one place to buy a battery (nope), set it off again, went to Pilates, set it off again, used the internet to find another place to buy a battery (double nope), set it off again, and then a third place (triple nope, the internet is a big bad fucking liar), set it off again. The Man says I can take his car today, which is good, because otherwise I would set it off at least four times that I can think of. Good times. I was so exhausted by the time I got home that I just sat on the couch for about an hour (reading and drinking tea and petting the dog) until I could deal with dinner. I had to deal with the trash and compost crap first when I got home. Not good times. At least I got to read. Always pro that.
It didn’t give me enough energy to work on the baby quilt, unfortunately. I got an email that I needed to meet today with the boss, losing another prep period, and I’ve already lost the other three this week, so I spent about an hour last night trying to make sense of (and find) all the assignments for the next unit. Trying to get my head around the logical story of it. Because the other (mostly newbie) teacher was like, oh yeah, I’m all over the place, and I’m like, hey how are your kids dealing with that? Hmmm. So yeah. Please ask me again why I don’t have time to do all the extras at school. So hopefully today and tomorrow’s prep-sucking meetings won’t take ALL my prep, so I can actually copy stuff and create stuff and make sure next week isn’t a clusterfuck. I mean, it might be ANYWAY. Yesterday’s assignment certainly threw them. Shouldn’t have. I blame Trimester 2 lazy ass didn’t do any of the work last week (so many blank papers). So I gave them more time (not a ton), and today we move on. Lots of blank stares. Lots of my reminding them that they have stuff in their folders that will help them. One kid is like, “so where do I find the answer?” and I gently touched his head. And nodded. Figure it out.
The next academic assignment will be easier.
ANYWAY. School. Fuck me.
Art though. Also maybe fuck me. All over the map. The kids and my ex gave me a ceramics class series for Christmas and I had my first class on Tuesday night. We started with pinch pots. I made a lot of random things. I didn’t have a plan (obviously).
I think I decided four of them were plant pots. That one on the right is too heavy on one side. It might fall over.
I can’t really explain any of it. I was just messing around. It was very meditative.
That’s definitely some sort of figure on the right. Anyway. Next week is coiling, which is my favorite, but they have an extruder, which I’ve never used before and am totally looking forward to messing around with. Woo! And I have to think about what larger project I’m going to do in Week 4. I might become a member. I don’t know. Maybe for the summer? It’s open 24/7 to members. I could go in there for three hours and build random garden ornaments.
I worked on this a little on Tuesday night when I got home. It’s cool. They need feet. Also they need to be a lot older for what I really want to do next.
But it’s a place to start. I tend to draw indeterminate/young age. I will need to practice old age. More wrinkles? Not sure.
And then I finished this one. Not sure about it.
But I numbered it. It’s small, but there’s 313 pieces (because I never know when to stop).
So blurry. Amazing photography. Really. I can start tracing tonight. No, I haven’t finished the baby quilt or the other art quilt, but this one is for a deadline, so I should do it first. Wah. Whatever.
I’m really proud of this. We have a certain publisher/author we use for all our homework assignments. They’re called thinking probes. But there aren’t many for the genetics unit. I made some other stuff, cobbled together from quizzes that were part of assignments I was giving (I don’t do a lot of quizzes), but I needed something for GMOs, and I’m sitting there staring at one of our thinking probes…I can do that. So I used AI to answer a question that AI created about GMOs, and then I used the names of the other science teachers as the friends…
Although one of them wants to change their answer to something about bringing dinosaurs back. Which I might change for next year, but I’d already copied them for this year. I’m so proud of this one thing. I was trying to use AI for a lot of things yesterday, because I don’t have anyone really helping with this grade level. AI is like a sort of competent and sort of knowledgeable friend. Not a great one. Either friend or competent or knowledgeable. Although it gave me a good BAD answer. ANYWAY. I did this one good thing yesterday.
Simba is stuck with just us this week with the boychild gone. We couldn’t find his lion toy when Katie was visiting…we hide all the toys because she eats them. But he found it and brought it to me the other night…
Wanted to make sure I saw it again last night…
DON’T TOUCH IT THOUGH. Yeah. I did.
I just don’t send it at that point. Really. Fuck that.
OK. Today. Is a lot. We have the district coming by to see what we are doing with literacy, which means a lot of outside during advisory with our kids, trying to get them to mingle and talk about the book so we can give them cookies. Sounds hard? You’d be surprised. Then I need to remember to do literacy in science (it’s been a rough month y’all…I’ve been slacking) so they can see it when they tour through, although if they don’t come in the first ten minutes, they won’t see it. So there. Then teach about pedigrees…next part of genetics. I revised a lot for this so they would have to do big chunks on their own. It’s my new thing. Less direct teaching, more putting them on the spot to do their own work. We’ll see how it goes. It helps me get the grading done, for sure. I just sit at the table with the kids who won’t get on task and grade…they are remarkably compliant then. Although some birdwalk like crazy. Whatever. So yeah. I need to make more tea and go to the place that exhausts me. Run errands after school. Hope my battery shows up so I can drive my own car tomorrow (my jellybean stash is in there). Zoom with stitching friends. On the couch. Stitching. Nice. SLEEP for fucks sake. Really need that. Start tracing that quilt and try to get my head behind it. Goalz.
I’m off again. What day is today? First day of work day. Whatever day that is when it’s not Monday? So yeah. I’m off. Brainwise. Blogwise. Not actually off work today. That I do have to do.
Let’s start with art because it’s nicer. I am drawing something for a FIG show that is based on a collage someone else did on a word (rights) that I assigned to them. They are doing something (probably digital collage type) based on a drawing I did on a word (unity) that they assigned to me. So I started with what they had…and drew a little…
I needed to let it sit. So I did. And last night, I did a little more…
I seemed to own a little more of the redo there. Still needs some stuff, so I’m not done.
I also did some straight up, just drawing…a little at dinner…
And more last night…
I have something I’m working on in my head. This isn’t really it, but it’s a place to draw until what IS it comes out. Drawing is good. I miss it.
In not-art, but still fabric news…I finished this beast…
Imma say no to things more this year. Seriously. It’ll get delivered this week.
And this one, which I did take on because it’s a friend’s baby…from fabric…
To blocks…
To a plan…
I sewed them all together and cut the borders. I have until March 2 to finish. Should be fine.
We walked the parental dog…lots of water at our local hiking space.
This is not a trail we normally go on, but we needed to go around the lake that went across the path.
My sewing machine doesn’t like to fill bobbins from the needle. So it was fussy, didn’t stop filling (so I stopped eventually), and that was too much for it.
Grrr. OK. Well Imma give up on filling it from the needle then.
I framed this piece I bought from @cedarhilljackie.
aka Jackie Bradshaw. I love her stuff and she was having a sale, so I bought one. Made me happy.
Legit concerns.
I just prefer not to hang out with a lot of them. Ironically.
Cool. So the doc called yesterday with superfast biopsy results. It’s not cancer (yay). It’s a complex sclerosing lesion (fun to say 5 times fast). So it probably still needs to be removed for a variety of reasons (feel free to Google it). So surgery. But not cancer surgery. So there are many feels and thoughts about that. I’m still processing. But in general, good news. As long as I don’t think about surgery. Yeah.
ANYWAY. Today is an interesting clusterfuck. Obviously I’m going back to work with a slightly sore, slightly bruised, and slightly itchy boob. Always fun. Plus a giant spider bite I picked up Friday night. In bed. On my neck. Hopefully it then crawled into my mouth and I swallowed it and dissolved it with my stomach acid. So there’s the teaching thing. What are the odds kids did the work on Friday? Whatever. Not my problem. Theirs, because we’re starting an academic assignment based on it today. Fun times. I did spend about 2 hours Saturday and 5 hours Sunday grading. Then Monday, I spent about 5 hours trying to get my head around the next part of the unit. I’d been seriously stuck on HOW to teach it and I had a breakthrough so I think it’s good. I’m actually planned out through Thursday, maybe Friday of NEXT week for once. Yeah. Exciting. Gotta copy some stuff today. Don’t know when, because I have to meet with the grade level I don’t teach. Plus do some learning management system meeting after school, and then I’m going to my first ceramics handbuilding class! The kids/ex gave it to me for Xmas and yes, I know how to do all the things already, but you have to take the intro class to use the studio, so I’m doing it. Con: I’m not sure when and how I’m eating dinner and I won’t be home until probably 9 PM and probably I’m still gonna have to empty the dishwasher because it’s ‘my turn’ but sheesh. I’m hoping someone takes pity on my long day and does it for me. Betting not, but whatever.
I’m realizing that on the days I don’t do anything art related, I feel shitty. I need to do the art stuff to feel OK. And right now, I have a bunch of things that I have to get done that are NOT art. I should draw this weekend. Maybe that will help. If I have the brainpower. Right now, not so much. Right now, I just want to pillow fort with a book.
It is Friday. Short week. I’m off today. Like off of work. Biopsy this morning. Not allowed to go back to work afterward. Will come home and work instead. Catch up on planning and grades. Because I’m behind again. My kids are apparently being jerks in class. I don’t have a sub; three teachers don’t have subs. I feel bad, but I didn’t want to wait three more weeks for an appointment. So I took the cancellation. I’m gonna leave in about 20 minutes, get a giant-ass needle inserted in my poor boob, wear a compression bandage for 24 hours, and hopefully get negative results in 3-5 business days. Which might not even be next week due to the holiday. It’s fine. Odds are with me.
I woke up too early, couldn’t sleep, did the work things I needed to for today. Worked on a doc with my team even though they were at school and I wasn’t. Technology is amazing. I thought I’d be able to get some grading done this morning, but the brain is not complying. Not surprising. It’s OK. I’ll get it done this weekend.
So instead of art, I’ve been trying to finish up this lap quilt for a friend. It’s taking much longer than I thought it would. Of course. I got the binding machine stitched on over the last two nights after finishing the quilting…
Then last night, I made it halfway around. I didn’t cut the binding; our other friend did, and it’s fucking tiny as hell! I only make quarter-inch binding on really small quilts, like 12×12″. This is a pain in the ass. Sigh.
Remind me not to volunteer for this stuff again. I think I was voluntold actually. But really. I’m making a baby quilt. I’ll finish my mom’s quilt because it was a gift (and it’s tiny). But that’s it. I’m done. I’m doing my own shit. I need the art time for my sanity. It’s not just the sewing or the making…it’s the sewing and making stuff that feeds my art brain.
That last one. Also Cleaning Things Without Being Asked. That’s a good one. I don’t see that one often enough.
No dress…I do need pockets in all my pajamas though. That would be cool. I notice men’s pajamas are more likely to have pockets. Like why? WTF?
Kitten is contemplating the movement of my feet under the duvet.
The duvet she vomited on at some point. So now it needs washing. I need that love language thing again. Apparently I’m the only one who knows how to strip the bed alone.
Anyway. I’m gonna go take my meds and pack up my book and get ready for the pokey shit. Happy birthday yesterday to my mom, who left me her dog (stinky) and cookies (tasty) for the weekend. May the rest of today go as well as it can. May the bruising be minor. May the compression wrap be less annoying than it sounds. May there be art in my future.
Kathy Nida 