Well, it's been a while. What can I say? I've doing the whole school thing. You know “nose to the grindstone” = lots of reading, projects, etc. and the blog got put on the wayside for a bit. But now I'm back and I've still got my nose to the grindstone – only this time it's work for pay! Yay!
Bolstering the bank account is just one of the things I plan to work on this summer. This is chiefly being taken care of through work for: my Aunty Carmyn and abercrombie (the kid's store). While working for Carmyn can be a drag, I just keep reminding myself that she is paying me $10/hour and it's not all that difficult most of the time. For instance: clean the kitchen/bathroom, wipe the baseboards, vacuum, go through financial stuff like receipts and collate.
I'm also tutoring my cousin Jesse for her which is ridiculously easy and he usually winds up taking a good hour and half to two hours to get things done. I plunk him down a table at the local library and we don't leave until he's all done with every single piece of homework I can find for him to do. Recently, this has been a slight problem because he lies about not having any homework or “forgets” it at school. I finally quashed that habit the other day by starting a regimen to keep him accountable. This involves a daybook/journal he has to write all of his assignments in and then get the appropriate teacher to sign. If he doesn't get the signatures or he forgets the book somewhere, Jesse has to write 15 sentences of “I will not forget my homework” for every signature he can't prove he acquired. Funny thing is, the 15 sentences (which I didn't think would be that much of an incentive, seem to be doing the trick). The first day we tried it, both Carmyn and I were sure he would forget about it and wind up writing sentences. Instead, as he hopped in my car after school and I asked him about his signatures, he not only had his homework written out, but he had also gotten at least one of the two signatures required. I sent him back to get the other one because I didn't think he really wanted to write sentences. Not only that, but he completed all of the math worksheet in record time as well as a science worksheet his mother found in his binder that was incomplete.
Abercrombie continues dull and predictable although I've been learning some new skills. The latest of these is how to build closets and prepare an example, hang-out shirt. Building closets turned out to be depressingly easy – all you need to be able to do is count to 6 (or so), insert the widgets, and lift the shelfs (in order to readjust them). Hang-out shirts are even simpler – requiring the ability to measure twelve inches down a shirt, place one vertical sidesticker ending at the twelve inch mark and then gather about an inch below the sticker a couple of inches of shirt material and bull clip it. It's frustrating, though, because I've only been scheduled to work about 4 times since I've been home and I'm not scheduled at all next week. It's a good thing Carmyn is employing me the rest of the time!
Hmm . . . and now onto other things. I bought a new 36 X 36 inch counted cross-stitch of a ballerina. It's beautiful and much more complicated than my last one (a 6 X 8 of a zebra) but continuing fun for the summer and next school year I'm sure. I need to just consistently sit down and work on it every day for a little while so that I can make some progress. Unfortunately, the other day when I sat down to work on it, I realized that I'd messed up a whole section (it was one hatch too low in relation to the other part I'd been working on) and I had to rip the offending threads out. This is one of my weird little things I like to do.
Another one is my continuing hope for another veggie garden this summer. Mommy has Alex (our contractor) working on building raised beds with screen on the bottom so that rodents won't eat the plant roots. When those are done, we have 40 bags of potting soil to dump in and then planting will begin in earnest. I'm hoping that if we plant early enough this year, I'll actually be able to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor, unlike last year. Last year, I did all of the planting and hard labor only to have everything blooming and fruiting while I was away at school and Mommy got all the fresh produce. I'm mostly inspired by a series of mystery novels by Ellis Peters (The Brother Cadfael series) to plant this garden every year. Brother Cadfael tends a garden in his monastery (mostly herbs, but some vegetables, too) and it always seems like such a pleasing occupation in the books that I find myself outside doing the same thing. I definitely think that the work is rewarding and it can be very pleasant indeed.
The Brother Cadfael series is kind of the extent of my reading at this point. I do have a couple wonderful cookbooks, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and a James Thurber, but that's about it for the moment. The cookbooks are probably the most fun. I mostly read while Jesse is working on his math homework or other homework he doesn't need me to keep him on task all the time. I find myself reading with an intensity that I normally reserve for school required reading these days which makes it difficult to relax while I read. I'm working on it though.
Other favored activities this summer for me include cooking and baking, of all things. I'm finally hitting my stride in the kitchen, again. It normally takes a couple of weeks for me to remind myself that cooking for me is infinitely more pleasurable than having set options and someone else cooking. So far, the new recipes I have made include: Vintage Lemonade, Lemon Curd, Country Gazpacho, and a recipe for Spanish Double-Mashed Potatoes. I also made home-made applesauce the other day which turned out beautifully and a batch of boiled down lemon juice and chocolate mint for ice cubes.
Newest favorite movie is the 2009 Star Trek starring Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Bruce Greenwood, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Eric Bana, and Simon Pegg. I'd say that Zachary Quinto steals the show, with Chris Pine giving him a definite run for his money. As much as I'm loath to admit it, Quinto is probably the inspiration for me getting this up and running again. He's got one he keeps up from time to time when things more than moderately interesting are happening and I thought I should keep one up, too. You know, document days in the life of . . . and so on. Quinto's blog is pretty engaging and an easy read and I'm a fan, which probably makes it all the more interesting for me.
I've discovered I have this urge to take care of people. I'll just leave it at that. Don't ask me to elaborate more. I just want to make sure people are happy and fed and generally worry free. I know, impossible task. But it's what I try to do about ½ the time I'm home. The other half I'm stuck at home while everyone else is off having adventures, so I'm by myself with no one to take care of.
New exercise regimen is also starting up this summer as well. I'm trying this 45 day beginners work out designed by an old navy SEAL. It starts off easy and works to improve all-over body strength, endurance, and health, but it's not over-the-top, kill-yourself-every-time-you-work-out style. This, I find immensely attractive, and I started the regimen today. I upped it a little bit because I'm not so totally out of shape that a brisk walk for 3 minutes is going to wind me, but I did enough to be stinky and tired. The funny thing is, I feel like I have tons of energy and my attention-span right now is a beautiful thing. I'm not starving because I'm eating every three hours or so, drinking plenty of liquids and I'm eating right. It makes a big difference!
Well, that's it for now. Caroline out!
