Good Schools Require Saintly Parents

Ages ago, when my daughters were babies, I knew a smart, inspiring woman with two young sons. Her boys were quite impressive, too, both in the way they carried themselves and in their accomplishments. I asked my friend where they went to school.

She told me the name of the Chicago Public School where they were enrolled. She then highly recommended the teacher/administrator who shaped the program there and later became a principal at another CPS elementary school. My friend added that if I wanted to find an excellent school for my daughters, I should find the woman and the school.

Which I did. One of my daughters attends that school, even though the (yes-it's-true) amazing principal has since retired. The new principal has retained much of her educational philosophy and most of her staff. But almost immediately, the new principal ditched the practice of assigning homework over Winter Break. Yay!

Still, my daughter occasionally gets an assignment that pretty much requires doing homework over the holidays. I suppose the quality of teaching developed under the former principal is too deeply ingrained. These teachers teach, after all. And so, this year, my daughter's group assignment - to film a 4-5 minute commercial having to do with the reading of Brave New World - is due Jan. 6th. School resumes Jan. 4th. Are you kidding me?

What do you think about that? I don't know anymore. On one hand I'm annoyed, because scheduling six 8th graders around family plans is tedious and difficult. On the other hand, getting six 8th graders together is socially fun, and I'm sure they all took something positive away from the experience.

The mom who hosted the event? I'm sure she took a gigantic headache away from the experience. After 6+ hours of dealing with technology issues and personality issues and the teenage stomach, this woman deserves public thanks, a hug, a beer. Or, maybe a get-out-of-chaperoning pass for the remainder of the year?

I Dream of Italian Cookies

This morning I woke up distressed by a dream in which I finally discovered my Grandma's recipe for pizelle, but I could not decipher the measurements. Instead of cups and teaspoons, she had jotted down a P or a Q. I didn't know what that meant, and then I woke up thinking "It's pints and quarts!"

So, should I mind my Ps & Qs today? Or get out the pizelle iron?

Now to spend some money in the iTunes store. . .

I'm adding Said the Gramophone to my blogroll. "More music" is usually on my short list of New Year's Resolutions (along with "more vegetables" and "more flowers").

But I'm also linking to it because of this fine post, a reaction to Vic Chestnutt's suicide.

Food for Thought

My dog likes tofu.

I wonder if that's okay.

Stormwater Management

We've been meaning to do this for a couple of years, but we finally got around to installing a rain barrel.

In Chicago, one way to get a rain barrel is to sign up and get your name on a list at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. And then you wait and wait and wait. And then you are notified when you can pick it up. The CCGT provides you with a date, and that's the day you pay your $45 and pick up the reserved rain barrel. We actually tried to get a city rain barrel through the park district before, and that list closed in about 10 minutes. Anyway, yesterday was our pick up day.

And now we have our own hideous bright blue rain barrel. Yay!

I think maybe our daughters should paint it. . . .

On the Low-Tech Theme

I guess I never considered that a pedicure wouldn't include soaking my feet in a high-powered mini jacuzzi for 15 luxurious minutes or so. . . .

My friend, who booked our reservation, warned us about the spa's different pedicure style - she lowered our expectations, you could say. But when they brought out a huge bowl filled with very hot, scented water poured over smooth stones, I stuck my tired feet in gratefully. I actually found the pedicure to be more peaceful without all that bubbling noise.

And it reminded me of a quiet summer afternoon many years ago, when my young daughters gave me a "pedicure" in our backyard. They gently poured cold water over my feet and then wrapped them in large leaves. Both experiences were very simple, gentle, and kind.

Too Cold to Seal the Deck . . .

. . . but not to mulch.

I haven't been in a gardening mood lately. I've been a little stumped with the whole layout.

Sometimes, when I'm letting the dog out in the morning, I just look at the garden objectively. And there are things I like about it. BUT SO MUCH I DON'T. Then I get a little epiphany - something I could do to make it all work! But as usual, there are other things in life that must come first, and my gardening plans will have to wait 'til next year.

So, today I will mulch. And put the garden out of my mind for a while.