Prepping for in-person

A decision was made: In-person school starts for all students March 15th. Half the students who choose to attend will come in M/W and the other half Tu/Th. Any day (and anyone) not in school on a school day will attend online. Freshmen will have a chance to come in one day the week before to get used to it before the older kids join them.

Fridays will still be virtual for everyone. Which will continue to make things like holding office hours in the parking lot while Shane's at the dentist a possibility! Carrie was at Physical Therapy and I wasn't about to cancel again or shirk on my work.

After I drove Shane home, I went straight to school. I'd signed up for a classroom tech set-up once the in-person decision was made.

And of course, a couple weeks later the school system decided to rework our Friday hours and moved PLC meeting times to when I scheduled my tech set-up!

I wasn't about to reschedule. I started my PLC meeting on my laptop as I walked in to the building. You could call it 'tight' timing, but I call it 'masterful.' My team members got a virtual tour and Brooke even 

made me find a tall, rolling chair to stash in her room before I got to my room. 

Kelly, a librarian, was waiting and then the PLC team asked her a bunch of questions before I adjourned the meeting for the day. 

It was a little surreal being back in the room. There were old dates and scribbles on the board. The Tiny Island challenge for 3/12 was up and I'd written "Konigsberg bridges" as a reminder from where Scott and I were talking about a famous discrete math problem. 

Kelly gave me a USB dock, a webcam, and a set of speakers. 

There are a few tricks like "Leave audio" so that the computers in the classroom don't echo my real voice with an electronic one for the in-person students. Another librarian, Heather, joined the meeting from home to simulate people talking in the class while I talked with someone virtual in a breakout room.

I'm not overly worried. I'll adapt. I'll probably know exactly what I want to do by the end of the school year, and then I hope I'll never have to do it again! Ha!

It felt a little surreal being back in the building. The walls were all the same, but the desks were all arranged in a pandemic approved manner.

No group work for now. I'm going to stick with my same general plan as virtual school since everyone will be virtual at least half the time and there's the chance we could get sent back home. 

The Superintendent originally wanted in-person learning to resume on March 1st. From what I heard, they pushed it back due to manpower concerns. Too many teachers didn't want to return. We're all being required to pick up some extra 45 minute duties in our planning period (hall duty, bathroom duty, etc), but "It would've been over double if they didn't push back two weeks!" I would've returned to work without a shot, but it's sounded like I've been in the minority on that one for a while.

Speaking of shots, I was due for my 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine. There was a huge line of people when I parked at 1:30 PM!

It turned out that was the Moderna line. I had a longer check-in process, but was able to go straight in and get my shot once cleared. I read Wheel of Time for 15 minutes and was driving home (During a division PLC meeting as timing would have it, heh).  

Did I have any side effects? Yes, but mild. My body started to feel 'heavy' by 5ish. I didn't notice as much while I was bustling to and fro for barn chores, but it was there again when I stopped. Overnight, I had chills. It was the sort of night I know I must have slept, but it felt like I was awake for hours and hours. The 'heavy' followed me into Saturday and I even took an hour nap. I still did chores, but I felt like I was moving slow.

Sunday, I was back to normal....and hopefully COVID-proofed for going back to school!

But it was an ending...

I completed The Wheel of Time.

It took me a calendar year, but I read all 14 books.

The school librarian emailed on 2/26/20 that she'd checked the first book out to me.

Last night (2/26/21), I finished the last few hundred pages of the 14th.

What a ride. RJ is one of the monoliths of world-building. Sanderson did a good job with the impossible task of trying to wrap it up. 

Thoughts on the final book: To be honest, I had to push myself through the first half of the book at times. It's not that it was terrible, so much as I was overloaded and ready to be done. However, somewhere in the massive chapter that could've been it's own novella (216 pages!), the payoffs started coming and I found myself drawn in further and further. "Oh, that's a brilliant tie in." "Ha! Tricked me there." I started reading while waiting my 15 minutes post-vaccine shot and kept reading for the rest of the day. Shane interrupted me many times, but once he went to bed I read until past my bedtime to finish the book.

The ending was "exquisite."

Would I recommend the series to someone else? It depends. 

I enjoyed most of it. The world-building is top notch and I'm curious to see what Amazon does with the streaming series they're making out of it. If you like big, complex worlds of not cookie-cutter fantasy this could be your series.

However, there were times it felt like work to read. I had to push through some chapters (even books *cough, cough* Book 10! *cough, cough!). RJ knows how to do delayed payoffs like no other.....meaning he can make you wait for books before you hear hide or hair of a storyline. When he does reveal something it can be mind-blowingly awesome, but, as stated, it can take work to get there. Does the work make the payoff more powerful or does it drive you away from reading a series with millions of words? 

This was actually my third attempt to read the series. It really helped having a group to read through it. I met with book club at brewery for the first time on 3/16/20. Scott's on Book 14 now, but Mark is still back in book 7.

I'm glad I read it. Now if a book nerd asks me, "What did you do during quarantine?" I'll answer "I read the Wheel of Time!"

Moving Around More

I caught Carrie crutching down to the barn Tuesday. I was in class and she was halfway there by the time I noticed her out the window. It was a beautiful day, so I sent Shane down in case she needed anything.

I came down to check in after class ended. 

Honestly, it was a good excuse to get Carrie and Shane outside. Neither one gets much sunlight lately!

Carrie's supposed to take it easier, but she's not on strict couch rest anymore. Her first PT appointment would have been Monday, but it was moved to Friday when we went to the ER instead. 

I caught more pictures of Carrie in the wild Thursday. Heidi caught her, too, and ended up in one of the pictures!

That was the day we put Lilly and Maddy out with Abby. Carrie wanted to see how the integration went. I'll do a barn update post later that includes that story.

For now, I wanted to show off some Carrie approved pictures! Abby kept yawning and Carrie was nice enough to start yawning with her.

I'll show my students some of the pictures next week to update them on her health. I used the ER visit to say, "My wife went to the hospital Monday and I am thankful." 

I meant it, too. The worst didn't happen and the bumps on the road are great reminders to appreciate what you have while you have it. They add a poignancy to life. It was a good opportunity to be vulnerable and hopefully model an attitude of gratitude.

I, also, showed my 2nd and 4th block the screenshot with Shane in a mask, because it was funny. Everyone needs a laugh every now and then! Especially after being serious. I showed some pictures and gifs of Loki's love for the treadmill, because who wouldn't want to see that?

Lent 2021 (It started the 17th!)

Lent snuck up on me without being in physical church. It took me a few days to figure out what I was going to do or give up. 

I decided to forgo logic games.

Yes, those same games I mentioned not too long ago. They've been on my brain and the goal is to give something up you'll think about and transition to praise rather than giving up something you never bother with (There's a cost to love and where's the cost to that?). 

I've got a lot to do around the house, so giving up a distraction isn't a bad thing either. Maybe it'll make me update my blog more often.... 

Bucket's Back

The day after Carrie's ER visit, Grandma and Grandpa came by.

They checked in on Carrie and Grandma rearranged couch cushions that Shane left askew.

The checking in with Carrie was convenient, but the visit had been planned before the chest pains incident. Grandpa and Grandma got their 2nd dose of the vaccine and they were ready to get outta there! Fly the coop! Escape!

They had plans to go to Florida and Bucket needed a place to stay. "It's in the contract you all will take her back when we travel," Grandma said! 

Bucket's clearly lived the good life with them. She'd put on weight! 

Bucket will be with us for the next two months! After Florida, Grandma and Grandpa are going to help Chris and Rachel move their crew to California for Chris' new job. At some point, they will fly home and drive the family car cross country to California so that Chris and Rachel won't have to ship it! Beyond generous? An excuse to travel? Or both?

We barricaded Bucket into the office and everyone showed some interest.

It seems to have tapered off quickly. Max, Happy, and Loki all know Bucket. She's new to the kittens, but without any interaction there hasn't been any drama.

Some mornings, you can hear Bucket meowing through the door for company. Carrie makes Shane hang out in there some if he wants to use his tablet. 

Carrie went in to check on Bucket (and Shane) one day while he was in there. She sat down in the chair, and was shocked it made her butt yet. 

"Oh, she threw up on that chair," Shane said. "I put a towel on it."

Yes, Shane put a towel on top of cat puke in a chair. He didn't clean it off the chair and Carrie found smooshed puke under the towel she'd sat on!

That's my boy, right? 

ER Day

Monday morning, chest pain woke Carrie up. It was localized and it persisted. She said she woke up around 6 AM. It still hurt when I woke up after 7 AM (It was a 2-hour delay from school).

Chest pain was a possible side effect listed after surgery, so Carrie called the surgeon's office when it opened at 8 AM. They said, "Go to the ER." 

So we did.

A wintry mix had been predicted, but thankfully it was mainly rain and the roads weren't busy. Carrie was admitted quickly, but they wouldn't let Shane in the hospital. The security guard looked at me like I was crazy and shook her head for leaving him in the car for less than 5 minutes to make sure Carrie got checked in! 

2-hour delay or not, I thought to bring my work computer. Unfortunately, it was dead.

Thankfully, I had done most of the prep work for class the night before. I used my phone to make sure everything was live. I'd thought about staying up later Sunday night, but I felt moved that I might need a full night's sleep and went to bed instead (Thank you, God!). 

Shane didn't bring anything. We talked and such for the first hour, but then he started to get restless. There were some Calvin and Hobbes in the back of the car, but he refused to read any of them. Drawing was out, because I suggested it. So what do you do with a bored 10-year old in a hospital parking lot on a nasty day when you're not allowed in any buildings?

I drove to Wegmans. 

We had no idea how long Carrie would be in the ER, but I hoped it wouldn't be too long. We went to the hospital not in the city and it seemed empty. She was admitted right away (which doesn't usually happen in my experience).

Carrie had some pain prescriptions at the pharmacy we never picked up, so it seemed a logical time to pick them up and burn some time. I didn't buy many, but I picked up some of the frozen dinners Carrie liked to show we were thinking about her.

I really shouldn't have bought anything frozen. They ended up under the car.  

It was 33 degrees outside, so that was almost like a freezer.....(but not really).

Shane attended music class on my phone. He immediately told the teacher the whole situation (in elaborate detail with no pauses for her to ask questions and sounding more excited he had a story than worried about his mom!). 

My 1st block started at 11:30 AM. It really helped that it was a co-taught class with Marcel and only an hour long. 

 

Did you notice the mask over my shoulder? Shane found it in the back somewhere and decided to photobomb! 

It would've been much funnier if it was the only thing he did over the hour. I asked him to let me teach beforehand. I introduced him to the class for a few minutes and let him meet everyone so he wouldn't feel left out and asked him to lay low for half an hour. Instead, he got louder. After all the moans, complaints, comments, seat kicks, and warnings I cut him off from electronics for the day. 

It probably didn't help his case that I didn't have my normal morning caffeine and a withdrawal headache had started to bloom. 

The whole time this has been going on, I've been calling the hospital once an hour to check on Carrie. First, I heard she was doing well. Then I started to hear about blood tests and was told she should be released between 12 and 12:30 PM.

It didn't happen. I finished class and 'lunch' started. I passed Shane the phone so he could go to his class and took it back to start my 2nd block at 1 PM. Marcel texted me to see if I needed help, but I wrote back saying "Nah, I haven't heard anything and it's already underway."

Of course, 2 minutes after I did that the hospital called and said, "Your wife is waiting for you at the entrance."

I took a minute to tell the students what was up and excused myself, "Because priorities." Shane got the phone back to rejoin his class and we got moving.

I would've gone straight home from the ER, but Carrie demanded a diet lemonade from CFA. Shane was excited, because he'd hoped out loud several times that we'd get fast food for lunch. 

Didn't read all that? Let me sum it up: Carrie woke up with chest pains and we spent over 5 hours in the ER and car. Shane and I shared my phone to do our classes as best we could. Praise God, she was okay, but the ER wanted her to make an appointment with a cardiologist. 

Full Time Barn Manager for the Week

Currently, I'm working two jobs. There can be weather delays for one, but not the other.

The horses need to be fed regardless. 

It's been more work lately, because I've had to dump poop buckets by hand. This involves schlepping across the yard or the arena.

The arena is the easier walk, but I have to lift the bucket over and climb the fence. We own 30 feet off our fences, so the goal would be to 'throw' the poop further out......but that doesn't usually happen.

I go out until the brambles or the hill threatens and then I try to throw/dump everything in a way that the bucket's momentum doesn't carry me with it. 

I've trekked across the yard, but the tall grass makes the walk much more effort.

But why would I be doing this when there's a perfectly good spreader?

It started with stall cleaning. The bedding doesn't biodegrade as quickly and Carrie wanted pissy hay off where it was less visible. I've been doing that for months and months. 

The (heavier) buckets full of poop started sometime after we closed everyone into the dry lots. We collected and spread so much poop that the bridle path started to look like one of Shane's peanut-butter-Nutella sandwiches (but maybe with some greens mixed in!). Carrie put a moratorium on spreading. She didn't want the yard around the house to be oversaturated either, so she asked me to haul as much as I could (It was a lot).

I've started to use the spreader more now that I'm on a time-crunch now that Carrie's out of commission and I've doing everything, but the yard is filling up. We need nice weather to kickstart more decomposition and more grass growth. I saw someone offering to sell horse manure for gardens online and told Carrie we should put up an offer for "Free shit." So far, she's leaning more towards a designated compost pile.

Maddy came off of stall rest this week. She's been an unhappy camper and not afraid to show it. I've had to strip her stall every several days (bonus work...).

Carrie gave me the clear to move her back out to her dry lot once Pockets moved on. I started hearing a loud banging while I was scooping poop on the mares' side and rushed over to see what was going on.

Maddy went for a swim. I don't know if she was feeling playful or pissed. 

It made a terrible mess and she rolled right through all the mud.

She did it again when I was on the other side of the barn, too.

I wish I knew what was going through her mind!

I got some great pictures out of it. She stretched so much while she was rolling it almost looks like she tried to walk on two legs and slipped on a banana peel!

She sure seemed thrilled.

I was less thrilled about scrubbing out the mud and gravel. 

I set up the hose for a refill and then moved everything half under the electric lines. I was hoping it would allow her room to drink, but discourage kicking.

It didn't. 

Take two, I moved everything further under the lines. I've caught her drinking and I haven't caught her kicking since, so I'd call it a success.

Lilly's preferred her little lot to being in a stall, but just barely. She's pawed up the mats where I put her hay and knocked over her water bucket before. I tried to put her hay in a slow-feed bag and anchored it with a stake in the ground.

Carrie nearly had a heart-attack when I told her. "Fiberglass can break!" I figured the worst that would happen would be Lilly pulling up the stake, but I didn't want my couch-ridden wife to have a panic attack, so I went back out and undid it (Trial and error, right?).

It's a short commute to the barn, so it's not a big deal to walk back and forth. I've played fetch multiple times. Carrie hired a teenager to ride Eowyn for exercise and wanted to look over the saddle before she arrived one day. 

I fetched the saddle and held it so she could attach the stirrups and then brought it back down. I greeted the teenager and showed her where all the gear was, too.

\

I went back inside, but 15 minutes later Carrie wanted me to run down and close the far arena gate. The bridle path was submerged and Carrie wanted to make sure people knew it was closed!

I need to scoop up the hay around the boys' feeder. They've been wasteful lately. I've been hoping they'd eat more of it, but Ernie showed me that was a pipe dream. He stretched out and peed right into the fallen hay ("Fresh hay only, human!").

You'd think he'd show some gratitude after I had to run out and switch him to a heavier blanket one night when the temperature was supposed to near single digits.

I make Shane help out some. Mostly on Fridays and Saturdays. He's limited in what he can do, and sometimes it's easier not to manage him when I'm in a time crunch. Sundays boarders come, but I still have to go down to socialize, lift hay bales and dump poop buckets.

There were a couple of random tasks this week. Someone was in a hay crunch and asked to buy a few bales. 

There barn was currently on a quarantine for an equine related medial issue, so everyone wanted to minimize contact. Carrie had me stack 6 bales on the driveway and prop the gate open. 

Loki comes out most days, but it is a pain when the weather is nasty. I have to clean up him and corral him to dry whenever we come inside. Max seems to think of his pen as hers.

She's always had a thing for dog food, but I was surprised when she moved to claim his nasty towel! 

I'm happy to let her use it as a bed if it prevents Aria or some other cat from peeing on it. 

Anyway, lots to do! I took Sundays off from writing the blog to focus on other styles of writing, but I've been putting my energies into barn management instead!