Sewing Journey

On today’s adventure of learning how to sew a skirt I learned: 

1) you really need to mark which piece is the front and which piece is the back

2) there is a difference between a regular zipper and an invisible zipper

3) I am not good enough at sewing from a pattern to improvise

A Day in the Life of an Elementary School Library

Today I read one of my favorite books (Mercy Watson) with a 2nd grader for 20 minutes, had a book club with 5 2nd grade girls (we're reading The Chocolate Touch), helped a 3rd grader pick his first chapter book (graphic novels are a hard habit to break for some), and received a drawing of a library from a kindergartener- with the addition of a chimney "so Santa can come bring you more books."  

Beltline Biking

This afternoon, we biked nearly the entire Beltline trail. We started heading north (counterclockwise) for about 7 miles, stopped at Wild Heaven to read for about an hour and a half and then biked another 7 miles home to complete the loop. In total it was about an hour and 20 minutes to ride the whole thing. 

It was a really pleasant ride, especially because the weather was so nice. 

Wrestling and Dropout

Tonight the 3 of us went to see Deep South Wrestling (we’ve gone a few times before) but we were extra excited because there were hints and rumors that tonight’s show was going to have ties to DropoutTV, our favorite streaming platform. As soon as we walked up, we saw Jacob Wysocki (actor and comedian from Dropout). He was so nice and it was really cool to meet him. 

Not only were the wrestling matches very fun, it was super interesting to watch as Jacob was filming his show. We’re all really looking forward to seeing the show and it was such a fun night. 

Open Windows!

We had our windows open all night and it was glorious!

Hoodie!!

It’s been so unbearably hot for so long. We’ve barely had a day that didn’t reach 90 since early May (over 4 months!) but today… it’s currently 63 degrees and the high today is only supposed to be 74!  Korra and I are thrilled to be wearing our hoodies this morning!  While we’ll be back in the low 80s after this, I’m hoping this little glimpse of fall will sustain us for a bit longer. We’re so ready for the season change. 

Library Intern

One of my school’s former students reached out recently to request an internship as part of her senior year of high school. She comes for about 2 hours on Wednesday and I put her to work with lots of shelving, copies, and book processing. It’s a little awkward (is it me? her? Both of us?) but I think I’m getting better and figuring out what she can help with. I’m just not sure what she’s hoping to get out of this and so also unclear if I’m meeting her expectations (so far she’s expressed very few expectations or clear objectives despite me asking). 

Today she did a read-aloud to her former kindergarten teacher’s current class, ripped apart some old books for recycling, and shelved a whole cart full of books. 

CMA Bike Drama

After months of back-and-forth (including getting the board to vote on an exception, which was denied), we've been told that- effectively immediately- Korra can't keep her bike locked up at the bottom of our stairs anymore.  We can either carry it up and down the stairs for her each day, or we have to lock it up at the community bike rack where it is totally exposed to both elements and possible theft since it's near the front gate.  UGH.  I hate both options so much, especially since our neighbors have said repeatedly that they don't mind her bike being downstairs, and since the CMA refuses to make the community rack more secure and covered.

Skirt

High on the success of my quilt project, I decided to try making clothes from a pattern again. It's something I have only done a few times and it's been frustrating and disappointing every time, so I'm feeling really intimidated. But I'm determined to make some quirky skirts and try things that are challenging, so here's to starting!

Ice Cream Date

Korra and I biked to Jenni's for an ice cream (Nate's at a concert tonight). If it's going to be incessantly 95 degrees and humid, you might as well enjoy a cool treat. 

Crayon Breaker

When it was time to clean up and leave the library, one of the kindergartens refused to stop coloring. When I took away his coloring sheet, he looked me in the eyes, held up his crayon, and snapped it in half. 

It kind of felt like the glove slap of a duel challenge. 

Nate's tshirt quilt

For the past few months I've been working on a t-shirt quilt for Nate. I used 20 squares from his tshirts (all backed with iron-on interfacing) and 4 of his dress shirts, plus some fabric he picked out. The back is a true patchwork quilt. I did all of the top-stitching by hand, first around each square and then by adding accent stitching around the designs on the shirts. 

This was one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever worked on, and I'm so proud of the result. It's so Nate. 

Lead Climbing

On Sunday Korra went to a different climbing gym to learn how to do lead climbing. That's where you clip your rope in as you climb. It's cool that she has the opportunity to learn such a cool skill and I'm so proud of how much she's grown in her confidence. 

Weak Coffee

I brewed an entire pot of coffee... but forgot to put in the coffee grounds. Good thing I'm not in a hurry this morning. 

Puss Caterpillar

The kids found a couple of these venomous caterpillars on the farm today.  Cute but potentially dangerous!

https://www.gpb.org/news/2022/09/07/despite-its-innocently-furry-appearance-the-puss-caterpillars-sting-brutal

I want that

I want this so bad

Used Bandaids

I don't know what's happening around this school, but I have picked up so many used bandaids in the library this week.  It's disgusting.  

Coffee by Myself

At my school, we are allowed one late day per week- a day when we can come in 45 minutes later than our usual time. Today I took my late day because I had a 7 AM dermatologist appointment, but I didn’t know how long it would take. The appointment only took 10 minutes so I decided to spend my remaining 30 minutes of time before I had to be at work at a café, enjoying a blueberry muffin and a latte and my book. It was a lovely start to my morning. 

Restful Long Weekend

 Over the long weekend, we went to the Dragon Con parade, went swimming with friends, and then had lots of quiet downtime.  I finished a 1000 piece puzzle while listening to an audiobook and took 3 naps.  It was exactly what I needed.

Tree Branch

A bad storm blew through last night and while we watched on our balcony, on the other side of our building a big branch fell, just missing the AC units, cars, and neighbor’s windows.  

Coloring Dad’s Tattoos

Korra got a set of temporary tattoo markers for her birthday. She’s been coloring Nate’s tattoos since she was little, but these have upper her game. 

"Reverse Scavenger Hunt"

We've had inside recess the last few days because of the extreme heat.  Two 5th grade girls came by and asked if they could do more of the library scavenger hunt that we did in class.  I said, "what if we do a reverse hunt? I'll give you a book and you show me where it should go."  They did this for 20 minutes and told me it was the best recess ever.  And all my books got shelved :)

Birthday Measurements

Today is my girl's 14th birthday.  

Since she was 2 years old, we've measured her every 6 months and every 6 months, she's consistently grown 1-1.5 inches.  Not this time though.  Since March, Korra's only grown half an inch.  Guess the pediatrician was right when she told us Korra was probably about her adult height.  She's currently just shy of 5 feet tall.

iRobot Customer Support

Twice in the last week, our new robot vacuum has become disconnected and won't reconnect.  Both times I filled out the "contact me" form on their website and waited 3+ days before calling the phone number and then waiting on hold for over 30 minutes only to have them suggest a factory reset.  Yes, it has fixed the issue both times but I would prefer not to have to do a factory reset once a week.  This robot vacuum is supposed to save me time, but it’s currently doing the opposite. 

CMA Drama

Over a month ago, we decided to have Korra's birthday party at the neighborhood clubhouse.  Because we're renters, we don't have access to the portal. The CMA (community management association) insisted we needed to go through our homeowner, who lives in Maryland, is 75 years old, and who is caring for her husband who has dementia. Yeah, not going to happen. A neighbor said she would do it for us, so she started the process on the portal and then sent me the paperwork. I filled it out, scanned a copy to her which she uploaded, and then I mailed the print copy along with the check to the provided address. 3 weeks later, CMA emailed her that they had not received payment. I checked with our bank and they had already deposited the check.  How they could deposit a check that was wrapped in the application, a check that had our name and address and the date of the reservation all on it and somehow not know what it was for... it's confusing.  They then sent a confirmation of the keycard number that will unlock the clubhouse.  It was not the keycard number I provided on the form.  Nope, they ignored that completely and went to the trouble to look up our neighbor's keycard number.  When she requested they change it, they refused (so why send the email asking to let them know if the card number was wrong?!)

Thankfully, everything went smoothly on the day of the party but I'm dreading some sort of follow-up email that we didn't scrub the toilet with a toothbrush or something.