Losing Fluffy (1995-2012)

We had to put our 17 year old cat Fluffy down today as she's in complete kidney failure.  She's had a great life, we got her and Chocolate in 1995 and have had so much fun.

She liked watching the mouse on the screen, sometimes jumping up to catch it!

 We always snuggled together in bed on the weekends, she used to crawl down to the foot of the bed and would attack my toes.

 Her favorite spot to get scratched was right under her neck on the white patch, guaranteed to get a purr.

 "Forget the book, pay attention to me!"

 She would sit up on her post observing the activity in the family room and kitchen

 Any warm body was a perfect place to take a nap

 She was a fan of boxes, and wanted to come back to JMU with me

 She even warmed up to Gma as she got older (Fluffy, not Gma)

 When she was little she was scared of going outside, but eventually she began going outside more, stalking bugs in the garden and sitting among the flowers

 Lap cat, err, arm cat?

 With Fluffy on her post

 Playing with her worm toy, Christmas 2011

Found a warm spot on Alex, now getting scratched and loving it

Watching TV with Alex

Sleeping on her last day, she was having trouble walking and eating :-(

We love you lots Fluffy and hope that there are lots of mice to chase, tunafish, cantaloupe, and comfy cushions and warm bodies to snuggle with.  I'm sorry I couldn't be there for the end.  Know that I love you and will miss you!

Pinterest Challenge

One of the blogs that I follow called Young House Love (DIY Home re-do) challenged readers to actually make something that they had been eyeing on pinterest.  I had been trying to figure out a way to organize the mail for us 5 roommates, rather than spreading it out on the counter or the dining room table, but hadn't seen anything in stores that I liked.  My friend Amanda got me started on pinterest during my trip out to Chicago, and I found an idea that I could replicate in a smaller scale!  Challenge accepted!

Here's the pin that I found, (originally from Remodelaholic) it's a wall mounted storage unit that they use for their kids socks.  Great idea!  However, it's too big for the area that we want it and proportions aren't right for mail.  So...I did a little sketching and took it home to get Dad's help.

We got wood from Lowes, 1/2" pine boards rather than 1" boards and set up in the basement.

 First task was to figure out the sizes.  We decided that the box should be about 11" wide so that a standard envelope will fit in it, and then the front board should be about 3.5" tall, again to fit an envelope, which means the real height of the box is 6".  Because there are 5 of us we decided to make 6 boxes, one for each and then another for our landlords/junk mail/catalogues/takeout menus, basically what ever we need.  This meant that the total height would be 36" tall.

We started by cutting the bottoms of the shelves to 11", setting all of them up so that we could have equal cuts, and then cut the fronts to 12" so that they can be attached onto the side walls, not into the side walls.  We used a circular saw, but for future remembrance, use a table saw so that your cuts are perfectly 90º angles.  A few of the bottom boards ended up different lengths by a millimeter, which ended up not making a difference, but it could have been a problem!

 Then the tricky part arrived in cutting out the side panels which are angled so that the boxes are on an angle.  This involved some math (luckily Dad was there!) in order to figure out the angle.  Once we marked where the bottom boards would attach to the sides we measured halfway (or 3") and then out 4.5" and drew our angle lines.  Not the easiest thing to describe!  But you should be able to see the faint zigzag line on the boards in the picture above.

 We then clamped the two sides together to make sure that the cuts would be symmetrical, and Dad started to cut using a jig saw.  He's better with the saw, so he did the cutting.

 Progress with half the side boards cut into their shape.  Is this starting to make more sense?

 Two sides cut!  Now to add in the middle boards and the fronts...

 We laid everything out on the workbench to make sure that we cut everything right.  Success!  Can you see it coming together now?

 Next step was the nail in the bottom boards between the two side boards.  We actually drilled little holes where the nails would go to make the nails go in easier, with a little space left at the bottom for the nails to stick in.  A quick sanding to smooth all the sides and drill holes and then Dad lined it up and I nailed it in, working on one side first before attaching the other side.

 After the frame, we attached the front panels, again using the drill and then nail technique which made life so much easier!

 Finished product!

 Demonstrating it's proper placement on the wall.  Next we used wood filler to seal the nails so it's a flat finish, let the filler dry and then sanded it down smooth.

 I then gave it a coat of primer that Mom and Dad had in the basement to help seal them and cover any markings that we made.  We had a perfect piece of cardboard so I could spray it outside with minimal grass coverage.  I sprayed the back first to get all the inside covered, and then flipped it over and painted the front

After letting it dry outside and then in the garage, it was transported south to VA where I gave it a coat of yellow paint, attached the back panel and hung it on the wall last night!  Next step is to find labels, something that you can attach and then slip a piece of paper into so that each roomie has a box.  I'm not completely thrilled with the yellow, which looked great outside, but is blah in some lights against the wall.  Maybe adding a blue paint stripe to frame the future name labels?  Any suggestions?

And we have mail in it already!  More pictures to come when I decide on how to completely finish it.

Early antibiotics may have been the problem?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/19/science/studies-of-human-microbiome-yield-new-insights.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Mom and Dad sent me this article from the NYTimes about how our bodies are huge micro biomes and  it mentions how children develop their immune systems and when they are given lots of antibiotics at a young age it can lead to later cases of asthma and allergies.  I had lots of ear infections when I was 7 months old which meant lots of antibiotics back in the late 80s, and today I have asthma and lots of allergies!  Makes sense because genetics can't be an answer (no one else in my family has allergies).

Biking troubles

Drivers- please be very careful of bikers on the road!
Bikers- please be very careful of drivers on the road!

Last Friday night my mom was biking home from work around 7pm and crossing a street got hit by a car.  She's OK for the most part, but broke her left tibia, just under the knee.  Other than that, not a scratch.  It's amazing nothing else was hurt!  Originally we thought she'd have to get surgery to fix it, put a pin or two in place, but after the orthopedic appointment yesterday we found out that with a millimeter gap, she can avoid weight on that leg and keep it immobilized for 4 weeks.  Every 10 days they'll x-ray to make sure that it's healing and not increasing the gap.  Mom will be on crutches for about 6-8 weeks, which changes the summer a bit, but hopefully she'll be getting back as we go to the beach.  We can deal with the accommodations for an injured leg, I'm just happy nothing else went wrong!

May update

May was a crazy month, both at school and at home...

My AP kids took their test on the 11th, and they said it was easy so I'm hoping that they did really well.

Alex came to visit on the 12th-13th weekend and we had fun watching the Caps game with some of his friends and getting dinner with Uncle Jim.

My friend Evan and I went to our friend Danielle's wedding in Pittsburgh on the 19th.  We had a great weekend, got to see the Avengers in 3D, Danielle got married to a great guy, and Evan drove both ways so I could get essays graded!

SOL testing started on the 20th - a week of high nerves throughout school and only two of my students failed the exam.  Not bad for a first year teacher!

At the same time that week I was moving from my small room in the house into the bigger room upstairs!  Easy move right around across the staircase, and while it's more expensive, it's a much larger room (almost 2x the size) and i have my own bathroom.  Didn't realize how much I missed having my own bathroom!  It took a couple evenings, but I finally got everything moved in before heading to Ithaca.

First night: bed, dresser and clothes moved in

Very large desk moved in next

Bookcase and hanging pictures last!

Headed up to Ithaca on the 28th to see Alex get his Master's and finish his time at Cornell.  The whole fam was there, we rented the same house, had lots of family time, ate some good food, went out in the evening with Alex and his friends, sat in the sun for commencement, orchestrated a surprise visit from Andy and Katie, ate more good food, and flew back to DC.

Pictures will be added...Done.

Confusion

Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood." 

--Henry Miller

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom and Gma!!!

Testing Time

AP Testing began this week and in 2 weeks our state tests (SOLs) will begin.  I had half a class of juniors this afternoon as most were taking the AP Psych test, or had gone home after the AM test.  I really get this feeling that my kids aren't studying for their History exam on Friday and it's making me nervous for their results!  Not to mention that several students have become chronically absent, some due to personal issues, some sick, some anxiety.  Great timing life, that's just what they needed.  Hopefully they'll pull through soon.

Lots of lazy sophomores right now, we'll see if reading quizzes rather than completion grades helps that...probably not good to start getting mean/tough at the end of the year, but it's all I can do to not yell at them when 3/25 turn in a homework assignment.

1 month and 13 days left.

Memories from the G-rents (Gpa)

Grandpa's memories about the 1960s events:

What was your first impression of Elvis and Rock and Roll?
I did like early Elvis records but did not spend a lot of time listening to popular music.
A lot of rock and roll developed when we were in Puerto Rico - but there was a lot of Salsa on the radio and at a party house within hearing distance of our home.

What was your first impression of JFK?
I was very impressed by his speeches. He (or his writers) had a great turn of phrase. He was also young, dynamic and I mostly agreed with his policies. I learned about Kennedy's assassination when a group of three scientists from Oxford came down to P.R. to do a study on monkeys. They stopped at a gas station before getting to our lab and the attendant came over and expressed his deepest sympathies about the death - the Brits were perplexed and wondered what he was talking about. They then learned that Jack Kennedy had been killed and were so impressed that a complete stranger expressed so much concern - he was almost crying.
Another part of the Kennedy story is me going to the lab (actually like a field station) to listen to the funeral on the short-wave radio. That was the only place to hear it in English. We had only access to local stations and I was concerned that my primitive Spanish would not be good enough. It was one of the most moving experiences I have had with radio. The broadcast came in and out and was occasionally masked by static. Much like in the WWII movies when the spies are listening to broadcasts from London. An experience not to be forgotten.

What was your experience with the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Weren't you in Puerto Rico then?) 

 Yes, we were in Puerto Rico from August 1962 to August 1965 and the crisis was a tense situation for us. Our state-side families were very concerned for our safety and we briefly considered having Barbara and the kids go back to the States. But we stayed.
I was with the U.S. Public Health Service (NIH) at the time working on rhesus monkeys. We had a lab in San Juan and a field station on two islands off the southwest coast, near La Parguera. About once as month I had to fly up to SJ for meetings, or lab work. I flu in a 4 seater "Carib Air" plane. I recall that on one such trip after the crisis began flying into the San Juan Naval Base was quite exciting. The harbor was filled with Destroyers and other warships. We had to go through tight security to get off base to go to the nearby lab.
Another item: About 10 miles up the coast from our monkey colony was a SAC base (B-52's probably with nuclear warheads).

 I remember two things about it: (1) They had rescue helicopters that flew regular missions over our monkey island. One day one of them dropped out of the sky and landed on our island. They claimed that they were low on fuel but they really wanted to know what we were doing there. We spent an hour or so describing our project and had a great time with the crew. When they were ready to leave they could not get the engine started - dead battery. Fortunately we were ready with a gasoline generator and a recharger. In an hour or so they had enough power to start. The pilot was very worried that he had to explain where he was for those hours. I would love to know what he told his commanding officer. Studying monkeys, right!
(2) One of our friends, a couple from NJ retired to Puerto Rico to run a charter boat service. One of their friends (a rich guy) wanted a Chinese Junk. So he had one built in China, disassembled, sent to San Juan and reassembled. He then had to get the junk from San Juan to La Parguera (about 100 miles around the north and west sides of P.R.) Our boating friend from La Parguera went along as crew. They ran into stormy weather along the way and tried to get to a local harbor. Too bad it was "Crash Boat Beach" right in front of the SAC base. As they came into the bay their junk was were surrounded by military vessels and boarded. After a long negotiation they were released the next day and went on their way. Can you imagine the fuss there must have been on the Air Force base when a Chinese Junk pulled into their harbor in the midst of a crisis.

What was it like moving to Raleigh in the middle of the Civil Rights era?
We were so busy with family and work that we did not play a role in the civil rights movement. We supported it as the right thing to do but were not activists. There were remnants of Jim Crow laws in Raleigh. The railroad station had separate water fountains and bathrooms for Blacks and whites.

Did the Freedom Riders attract a ton of attention in Raleigh or were they ignored?
Largely ignored by most people. The university folks followed it closely and were supportive

What was your impression of MLK and the Washington March?
MLK was a spellbinder of an orator. I don't have many memories of it other than reading about it.
One thing I do remember occurred later, when Martin Luther King was killed. We were in the process of building a house and one of the workers, James Marshall, a Black man, and I became friends and we hired him separately to help out. He called me on the night MLK was assassinated and said he was afraid for his family - The rumor in the Black community was that white gangs were gong to kill more Black people. I didn't know what to say but suggested that it was likely just a rumor but, to be safe, he should make sure everything was locked up at his house. Fortunately it was just a rumor but it showed the depth of concern within the Black community.

What was your experience with the Vietnam War? Did it really affect you that much?
I had a distant experience with the Vietnam war - mostly from newspaper and TV coverage. Other than thinking it was stupid of us to go into it, I did not get involved.

Memories from the G-rents

Teaching about the 1960s in class and I emailed my grandparents to ask about their memories of certain events. Here's what I got from Grandma:

What was your first impression of Elvis and Rock and Roll?
I loved the music. It was very romantic in a different (from the 40s) sort of way. Elvis was not controversial in my family although I expect my Mother was more accepting than some. He became popular late in my teen years. When the Beatles became popular we were living in Puerto Rico. I remember another woman and I driving to San Germain to see their first movie. Can't remember the title.

What was your first impression of JFK?

 Being an Irish Catholic, I was very impressed with him:) It was an immensely proud time for my family to have an Irish candidate. We were in PR the day he was shot. I was standing on a corner waiting for the car which was bringing your father home from preschool when a friend told me the President had been shot. The Puerto Ricans were stunned. They loved him. We went to an evening Mass in his honor at the local church and when we walked in (we were the only mainland citizens in town) the people made us sit in the front instead of the back of the church (we had 2 children under the age of 5 so we always tried sit in the back of the church and not to be too disruptive). The day he was buried Grandpa went to his lab to listen to the ceremonies over the "wireless". He can tell you more about that experience.

That was the first election that I was eligible to vote. Grandpa and I argued all the way to the polls. He was trying to convince me that my vote was diluted because he was voting for Nixon. As you know he has since changed his philosophy and I still have strong opinions:)

The thing that was so riveting about JFK (and horrible about his death) was the energy that pervaded the country with a young candidate, young family and the promise of new ideas etc. Plus, they were so intelligent and could represent the US with any leader in the world. We had had good Presidents but they were older and the young people of this country really "took to" a younger man.
During the Cubin crisis his presidency was sorely tested because Russia thought he was weak but he proved to be determined.

What was your experience with the Cuban Missile Crisis? (Weren't you in Puerto Rico then?)
We were in PR. The atmosphere was tense. There was a big SAC (Strategic Air Command) base in Arecibo and of course they were on high alert (maybe more). Grandpa will have more details since he was in contact with the Federal office in San Juan. I remember trying to ease my Mother's fears for us by saying that we were safer in PR than she was in NJ, probably not true.

What was it like moving to Raleigh in the middle of the Civil Rights era?
At the time we moved here (1965) NCSU had a wonderful Chancellor (Dr. John Caldwell) who worked with student organizations to keep the atmosphere calm in Raleigh since students were generally the source of the protests. As a result they did protest but not riot. I took David and Mike to Sears to buy school clothes and they got thirsty. The closest water fountain had a sign "Coloreds only". I purposely took them over there to get a drink. Having grown up in the North I was not accustomed to that type of open discrimination although the North was prejudiced in many ways as well. At that time we had two school systems, the county system and the city system. The county schools were more integrated because of the rural nature of the student body. The city schools had black and white schools. As the city got predominantly minority students they came up with a plan to combine the two systems and thereby dilute the minority and poor population and creating high poverty schools which research shows are detrimental to student achievement. It has worked well because they instituted a system of magnet schools which draw white students from the suberbs into inner city schools. Unfortunately the last School Board overturned that plan and we are now struggling with a "choice" plan. We are going back to the 60s.

One of my best feelings about the era was the interest in social justice on the part of many people. Letters to the editor, protest at civic meetings and the role of the Catholic church (Nuns and Priests protesting, sermons with a social justice theme, books and magazine articles.) I wish the churches cared as much about the poor and disadvantaged these days. Fr. Daniel Berrigan's (Priest-author) assistant stayed with us one weekend when we lived in PR and he was there for some reason. We felt a part of the "movement".

Did the Freedom Riders attract a ton of attention in Raleigh or were they ignored? 

 My memory of the freedom riders is that they did not attract as much attention locally as they did nationally. It could be that the press had a "southern" approach to the issue. I'm not sure about that. An excellent documentary about the period is "Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement 1954-1985." Another one is "February One" which discusses the Greensboro sit in. It is about the college students who sat in at the Woolworth counter in Greensboro, NC and might be very relevant to your high school students. We saw these last year.

What was your impression of MLK and the Washington March? 

 I have very little remembrance of the event. it is interesting to note that at that time we were both so busy teaching and raising a family (along with a LOT of school volunteer work) that national action was not on our radar. i try to remember this when I get frustrated that more parents don't speak up at School Board meetings. In general it was a time rich in social protest and we were proud of efforts locally to encourage integration. When I was denied a job teaching at a local church kindergarten because I was a Catholic, I joined a new group called "The Panel of American Women". We gave presentations to a variety of groups (churches, civic organizations etc.) about our experiences with discrimination. As can imagine it was a very interesting group of women.

What was your experience with the Vietnam War? Did it really affect you that much? 

My main connection was in having my brother Bob serving in the Navy on a patrol boat on the rivers. The protests were strong here based I expect on the draft which took a lot of college students.