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  • Archive for May, 2016

    Welcome, Summer Break


    2016 - 05.17

    I realize I have not updated this blog in ages, and I think that now that summer break is here, it’s high time that I do precisely that. This year so far has been a bit of a rollercoaster. In February, I resigned my position at the high school. I won’t go into details about that, though I will say that it’s been pretty nerve-wracking to try to find another job. Thankfully, I got hired on at Greenville. It’s a much smaller district, but I am very excited to start there in August. I will be teaching 5th and 6th grade, and I actually really enjoyed that particular age group when I student taught this age level at Twin Rivers.

    The move to a new school couldn’t have come at a more critical time, however, as my dad had a heart attack and had to have emergency bypass surgery about two weeks ago. It was very scary, and I thank God every day that Dad lived. He is doing okay, but it will be a long recovery for him. My parents live in Greenville, so I will be able to visit throughout the week and bring them things from town if they need it.

    Today, the awesome Rachel Stiber and I celebrated both my new position and the coming of summer break by going junk storing and antiquing. Out at JP’s Bargain Barn, I found two Reader’s Digest collector books to add to my collection. We also visited some consignment shops and I got a pair of gray dress slacks for $6.00. We also had a lunch at Arby’s and then visited a couple of flea markets out by my house. I’m eyeballing another retro metal cake carrier that’s in really good condition, and I think I may go back next week to pick it up. I’m also wanting to get my hands on a stockpot and roaster I spotted, though I am not entirely certain whether the roaster will fit into my small wall oven, even with the extra rack taken out. Next week, Rachel and I plan to meet at her house and work on a nail polish pendant project we found on Pintrest. I wonder whether I can talk her into some Game of Thrones since I don’t have HBO and have not seen the new episodes… Hmm….

    One of the things I love most about summer vacation is that when I’m home for break, I am more able to keep the house clean and laundry kept up. I also tend to have more time for baking and preparing more balanced, home-cooked meals rather than fixing something out of a box or eating out. I have some things I wish to accomplish this summer, the most paramount being getting the carpets professionally repaired and cleaned throughout the entire house. My other goals are to go through my books in the storage unit and label the reading lexile for my new classroom (and maybe actually see my new classroom, too!). I’d like to see my closet in the back bedroom get cleaned out, and I’d also like to get an oak or comparable headboard for the queen size bed in our house if I can find one at a reasonable cost in some consignment furniture shop or flea market.

    One of my other goals, however, is to get even farther in writing my novel! Right now I must return to my characters and re-read each chapter that was already composed. I have to revisit my notes to see how I originally plotted it. During the school year, I had absolutely no time to work on or even consider the plot of my novel. I am hoping the move to the new school and a lesser work load will afford me time to write during the school year as well. Rachel is certainly looking forward to getting underway with her own novel, and I am looking forward to reading the chapters. I missed our weekly little “author’s luncheons” over the summer where we just discussed our stories and brainstormed ideas.

    Over the school year, she did write a neat little short story, but I will let her share that sometime on her own website. I personally have an idea for a series of short stories that is done in a Canterbury Tales style, except that the plot revolves around residents of a forgotten cemetery. The cemetery of my mind’s eye is an existing cemetery near my parents’ house that has long been forgotten since the 1920s. I want to hike out there to revisit this place so that I can take pictures for the purpose of describing my setting, but the problem is that I will be destroyed by ticks if I visit during this time of year.

    That is pretty well it for this evening. Hopefully, I will get around to writing more often and possibly posting more works in progress as I ease back into my book.