Our Week

We've progressed from wind to rain here.  I'm trying not to think about it being dark and drippy from now until March.  I do much better with the sunshine.  

Over the 5 day weekend last week, I read an entire Susan May Warren trilogy, and started another one.  I was lamenting that I wouldn't hit my Goodreads goal this year, but I forgot that I tend to do a lot more reading once the weather gets yucky.  I may make it (or come pretty close) after all.  

I took this picture to remind me to make a shelf marker to divide the biography section from the Dewey section in picture books.  I've emptied out yet another tote this week in the library, and finished processing the October books I ordered last month, and received a bag and box of donated books.  All that to say that the additional book volume necessitates some adjustments to our shelves.  I'm getting close to having enough room for another half sized bookcase in the library, under the white board.  --Not that I *have* another half sized bookcase, but one can hope.  

Miss Fiona had to check out the empty tote I brought home.  Grumman considers such antics beneath him.  

The middle school flag football team had a scrimmage game against the high schoolers.  Having kids on both sides, we didn't really care who won, so it was fun to watch.  I somehow missed getting a picture of Katie in her uniform. 

So here's a picture of the uniform in the laundry.  She's got 2 games coming up this week.

Jack Jack lost his glasses at a shoot last summer, and we didn't manage to get him in before school started.  Getting both Jack and Hannah into Costco optical center was Top Priority for fall break, and this week the glasses were ready to pick up.  

Hannah's new glasses are about an inch wider than her old ones (which she broke a couple days before the new ones were picked up).  

I did guided spider web drawings with a couple classes in the library this week, and thought it would be fun to do them with the girls over the weekend.  At home, we used black paper and paint markers.  

Our Autumn Break Week

There was no school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, due to teacher retreat, so the kids and I had a nice 5 day weekend.  

We decided to make spooky pretzels for Katie to take to school for Monday's party.  

Like my high tech double boiler?

When I was a teen, my step mom had a fancy wooden chocolate stirring implement in the kitchen.  We just use a chopstick.  

Double duty, as it both stirs the chocolate and picks the pretzels out.  

This was super simple, literally just pretzels, chocolate chips, and eyeballs.  

But we had fun, and hopefully the kids at school will like them.  

I love biographies, and we have a biography bookcase in the library, but we also have a little section of biographies in the younger kids' section, and I finally got around to putting up a small sign to designate that.  

We received the book Camp Max from author Penny Reeve!  She's even got coloring pages and teaching notes for it on her website.  

This was one of the books I picked up at the book fair last weekend.  I think I'm going to do a space theme in January.  

I've been setting aside all the Autumn/October/spooky books and now that we're through Fire Safety Week and Indigenous Peoples' Day, I put them all out.  

I'm now starting to set aside the Thanksgiving/Christmas books as I run across them.  

Acting on a hot tip I got from a librarian Facebook group, I picked up some new books and stuffed animals at Kohl's.  They sell for $5, but the clearance ones are only $2.50, and that makes me happy.  

Grumman and Fiona have come to a grudging acceptance of one another.  There's still a lot of chittering between them, and the occasional hiss or swat, but they can both hang out on my bed at the same time now, which is huge progress.  

Those tiny dots in the field are the middle school flag football team.  Katie has practices 3 days a week now, so I'm getting some extra time in the library while she does that.  (Although I stayed in the car and read a book one day.)  They have a scrimmage soon, and they're going to be playing a school a couple towns south of us after that.  

Unfortunately, a couple of Katie's team mates are immature middle school boys who made comments about Katie being "as fake as her leg."  I'm planning to have them read Molly The Pony and Winter's Tail this week.  

It's turning into space heater weather here, and Fiona is a fan of it.  

Our Week With a Scare

It's possible we'll get to find out what happens in our partially solar household when the electricity goes down.  Northern California is having a "wind event" right now, and PG&E has warned they may preemptively shut down power to 25,000 homes.  Lack of rain, dry vegetation, and strong winds are the scary recipe for horrific fires, so people are going to be a little on edge until the wind dies down.  

In other news... last week, I did candy pumpkin catapults with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.  

This is my example catapult, fully loaded with pumpkin candy.  I'm glad I did a test one, because I discovered that rubber cement wasn't strong enough to hold the bottle cap, so I used E6000, a glue I discovered in Cricut groups, for the rest of them.  (I did pre-glue the lids at home, but the kids did all the rest of the work on their own catapults.)  

See the flying orange projectile?

I did not do this activity with the high school students, but Jack wanted to "borrow" mine one morning before school started.  I told him he could, if I could take a picture.  

I was taking out the used Kitty Poo Club litter box, and saw that the neighbor's morning glories were growing under the fence.  This made me happy, as morning glories are one of my favorite flowers.  

I've emptied out 2 totes in the library!  You know, the buckets and boxes I have squirreled all over the room?  I've processed 2 whole bins, and started on a third.  I'm finally hitting my stride in there.  

These Highlights magazines were an interesting find from one of those totes.  They go back to 1977.  I kind of hate to toss them, as I feel like they're *so* old that someone must want them, but it's not me.  I'm going to leave them in the teachers' workroom and hope they disappear.  

The city had a book fair!  It seemed like a very librarian-y thing to attend, so I stopped by while I was out doing errands.  

It didn't occur to me to take pictures until I was leaving, so I got a shot from the parking lot, essentially to remind me to blog about it.  See the blue tent?  There were about a dozen in a line behind that one.  Friends of the Library, a local club, local authors, the youth symphony, and the literacy foundation were there.  I picked up some bookmarks, bought a book, and brought home about half a dozen new acquisitions for the library from the Literacy Foundation's free table.  

I also, finally, received my book order that shipped mid September.  It took just under 3 weeks to get to me.  I was really bummed, because I ordered October books, and had hoped to have them all processed by 10/1, which has not happened yet.  

Fiona is looking contrite, and for good reason.  She gave us quite a scare!  Someone didn't latch the front door, and she went exploring.  She was gone for over 24 hours, and I'd put up posters and checked the shelter website and notified the microchip people.  I was very relieved when she reappeared.  

Speaking of cats, Grumman likes to hang out under long skirts and dresses.  

I was a little afraid to move when I took this picture.  I happen to be wearing that leaf print.  

All's well that ends well.  

Our Week with a Birthday

How is it October already?  School *just* started!  

Jack helped me take the cats to the local pet store on vaccine clinic day.  

Grumman was Not Having It.  As little Jack Jack used to say, "It froke him out."  

They both did okay, though, and we got Miss Fiona microchipped while we were at it.  

She was being very photogenic one day, so I snapped some pictures.  

Other times she just sort of sprawls.  

Having taken a dozen or so shots of Fiona, I look over and see Grumman watching.  

"Okay, Grumman, I'll take pictures of you, too.  Look at me.  Grumman."  

"Hey, Grumman!"  :kissy noises:  Nope.  

Not going to look at you.  :sigh:  Turkey.  

I've started making coloring pages to go along with the books I read aloud to the preschool-2nd grade classes.  It gives the first ones that check out something to do while they wait for the rest of the class to check out their books.  And I'm hoping it will help the parents see what the kids are getting from the library.  

Fire Safety Week is this week, so I pulled all the fire related books and put them on display.  Yes, the kids are absolutely allowed to check out display books.  In fact, I often go around after a class leaves and pull more books to put on the easels because the kids usually take the books where they can *see* the whole cover instead of just the spine.    

The bulletin board over my desk got an autumn upgrade.  

My October Notable Events bookcase.  As these get checked out, I'll replace them with autumn/pumpkin theme books.  In fact, I ordered a box of October books last month, and they shipped on 9/17, but they aren't here yet.  Grr.  Not happy about that.  But I'm hoping they come today, since they made it to California a few days ago.  

Someone had a birthday!  

Paul made her cake from scratch.  It was quite tasty.

Still not happy about the way they keep growing up.  Katie's birthdays always hit me a little harder than the other kids' because she's the baby.  I've never had the baby be so old before.  Every year, it's a little more letting go of parenting children.  Now it's mostly adults, with a couple teens and a tween.  

Speaking of adults...  Heather took time off after Kasen was born, then when she had to go back to work, Zach took time off.  The package I sent arrived safely, there's Kasen in the bib I Crikey-ed.  Now it's time for Zach Zach to go back to work, and Kasen is off to daycare.  

I'm a little sad, wishing I was close enough to offer to watch him.  'Cuz he looks like a cool lil dude that I'd enjoy hanging out with.  

Ugh.  Fuel prices are crazy.  

Milestone for Matilda!  She hit 10,000 miles on this morning's school run.  Took over 17 months, so that's one upside to the pandemic.  She definitely still feels like a new car.