So . . . without further ado:
1. 3 pretty intense weeks of school. Third quarter ended, report cards, and end of year planning begins. April vacation seemed so far away, and now it's over. Last day before vacation was crazy with a schoolwide community service day. All 3 grades (approx 400 students) spent the last 2 hours of the day out and about our town, cleaning up litter, sweeping asphalt playground and sidewalks, raking, weeding, etc. Thank goodness it was a nice day or that could have been a disaster.
2. I've been dealing with some hand issues. I have apparently overused my left middle finger (no, I don't engage in rude gestures!) and after a couple of dr visits, and an x-ray, it appears that not only do I have arthritic joint in my fingers, but I've got an angry tendon. My middle finger has spent most of the month swollen up to 3 times it's normal size, and it's been very painful. After a short course of predisone and taping, it's much less swollen, and while there's pain, it's not constant. I have been banned from knitting for a few weeks too, which is almost as agony-inducing as the finger pain! I've got arthritis in both hands too, so both are benefiting from rest.
3. We enjoyed a wonderful vacation in California this past week. We first went to Los Angeles to visit our son and his girlfriend. Although the weather was cloudy and downright cold for California (50°'s and 60°s) we managed to have fun. We went one afternoon to the Kodak Theater to see Cirque de Soleil's Iris. We had fantastic seats --- 3rd row, center stage--- and the show was wonderful. We ate well too --- I heartily recommend Rock Sugar at the Westfield Mall which is just around the corner from our son's apartment, Cafe Chez Marie on Santa Monica, right next to my son's office at CESD, and The Bazaar. This last place is where our son's significant other works. It's very trendy, very high end, and not a place we would ever dream of going on our own. We received VIP treatment in their bar -- and enjoyed some incredible tapas and adult beverages! One rainy-ish day we visited the Walt Disney Concert Hall. What an amazing building. I wanted to go because in my ELA class we read an article about the architect, Frank Gehry. I'm always looking for ways to enhance curriculum, so I took lots of pictures of the stainless steel building.
Next we traveled to Catalina for a few days. We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel The Avalon. It's the yellow building. This was very comfortable, and very inviting. Because it was off-season, we were able to get a special deal which included the round trip ferry ride, a sumptuous continental breakfast, and the taxi service to and from the ferry landing.
The first day there was still cloudy and showery, but it eventually cleared away and we enjoyed the island very much. This is a view from our room balcony on one cloudy morning.
This island is not cheap ---after all everything has to come by water. Few cars are allowed on the island, but golf carts serve as primary means of transportation. The unexpected thing was how few of the carts are electric, so there was more noise than I expected. We took an inland tour which was fun, and we rented a golf cart one morning where I got some great shots of the harbor.
4. And now it's Sunday afternoon, and tomorrow it's back to school. . . . I need a vacation from vacation!
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