Rimrock Registration

Today I had the opportunity to help the PTO with registration at Bailee's school. Once again, I was impressed by how the school is run, the fantastic PTO, and the terrific custodial staff that has spent countless hours preparing the building for our students. I was also impressed by the majority of the parents and their children. There will always be a few bad apples in the barrels, the complainers, and the impossible to please ... but as a group - you could not ask for better. Bailee is excited about fifth grade in Mrs. Cook's class. In fact, I noticed that most of the students were excited and looking forward to the new school year. That's pretty high praise.

Diana is starting to work on putting her room together. She has a lot to do this year, as she had to pack up everything last spring so they could replace carpeting and paint. I can see that we will be busy at Hillview for the remainder of the week. She is looking forward to the new school year.

As for me ... I have decided that they must be renaming my school Area 51 Elementary. No information, no admittance, and now - teachers' e-mail has been done away with. We are no longer authorized to use it. I am beginning to think that most of the above caution applies, and I'm starting to feel a bit stressed (okay - I am making plans for a full out nervous breakdown). Being a teacher is a real kick. I love teaching, but the other stuff - not so much. Here's hoping that things will get better.

Today, I am Homesick

Today I heard that they were selling the old KPRK Radio building in my hometown of Livingston, Montana. The station itself is now broadcasting from Bozeman. That just seems so WRONG! At any rate, this strange little piece of architecture was such a huge part of my past! It was the first building you saw coming into town from the east and the last you saw going west. Every summer, as we traveled on the train to visit my grandparents in St. Paul, Minnesota - this was the touchstone for hellos and goodbyes. It was our towns only radio station, and I remember it being on at our house throughout the day - the soundtrack of our lives. When I was in high school, some of my friends worked there as D.J.s (yes, it was a small town). I still remember listening to it on my round transistor radio (do you remember those?). The songs, the football and basketball games, it is all there - tucked away in my thoughts. I know that change is usually inevitable, but I hate to see this icon pass away into memory.

Thinking about the radio station got me thinking about home - and I found myself feeling a wave of homesickness. I was fortunate to grow up there. It was a beautiful place and I had a wonderful childhood. I am so grateful for that! This photo of Livingston at night was taken from the hill where we lived. I saw this scene every day of my life. Dang, I was lucky.

What follows are some snippets from my memories. Special places that hold a place in my heart.

This is a photo of The Sleeping Giant that presided over Livingston. Locals said that the Giant resembled Christ. I can't think of anyone better to watch over us. Watching the snow melt at his heart was one of our summer traditions. We always wagered on whether or not the snow would still be there on the 4th of July.

This was taken at the 63 Ranch. It just doesn't get more breathtaking than this.

This little souvenir shop was a favorite when we were kids. They had the strangest stuff - from jack-o-lopes to rubber tomahawks!

My dad loved to fish, and Dan Bailey's was THE place to go if you were a fisherman. My high school shop teacher did the fish for the sign.

Mark's In-And-Out with its famous BEEFBURGERS sign was one of THE Livingston icons. My dad would walk over (when it was Mart's In-And-Out) and get my mom milkshakes from there when she was pregnant with me. After we graduated, my friend Mark purchased the business.

One of the big treats of our summer was when we got to go up to Chico to swim. It was great! Imagine swimming in a pool surrounded by mountains.

I spent a lot of time at Sacajawea Park with my friends. We'd walk along the river and the Lagoon (which is shown in the picture), play frisbee, and do all manner of teenagery things (like playing in the kiddie wading pool). This is also where I was first exposed to Shakespeare, thanks to the Shakespeare in the Park program.

This is the Depot, from which yearly vacations to Minnesota were launched. It is also where my Dad worked. He was a communications specialist for the Northern Pacific Railroad. We loved riding on the trains, because all the porters and conductors knew him and took great care of us. I was always so proud of my dad, the railroad man!

Downtown Livingston. Today they call it historic, but we called it Hicksville and Hooterville when we were in high school. We loved it though, despite its small size. Who else gets to shop in such surroundings?

This is just outside of Livingston, on the way to Yellowstone Park. The valley is called Paradise Valley. How appropriate. It was a favorite place for a Sunday drive.

Snake River Roaring Youth Jam

Bailee has spent the past three days dancing at the Snake River Roaring Youth Jam. It's a yearly festival held down by the river with all types of activities for young people. Bailee's dance group, Studio One, performed there. The first two days the weather was pretty good, but today was miserable. It was SO cold! It also didn't help that there was a light mist of rain falling. That made the stage rather treacherous. I'm surprised none of the dancers ended up on their bums. If you're interested in dance, check out the studio website at www.studioone-dance.com

While our neighbors were on vacation,Bailee got to play mini-farmer. She fed their chickens, gathered eggs, and fed their dog. Most of her time was spent in hot pursuit of the tiniest chicken "Sweetheart," who proved to be a master of escape and espionage. Bailee tracked her all over the yard. Sometimes she was in the corn, sometimes the honeysuckle bush, and sometimes in the wheelbarrow. That little chick did get around, but Bailee loved their games of Hide and Seek.

Oh Crap

Sometimes there is just no other way to describe something. I'm a firm believer in yelling tripe when tripe is served. I just got a big load of tripe dumped on my plate, compliments of my schools district.

As of today, I will have two days to get my classroom unpacked and ready for school to start on the 20th. We received our welcome letters from the district today, and our problem wasn't even acknowledged. I am basically running around the house in a serious rage. The painting is not going well, and there is frankly too much to be done and no time to do it in. Crap seems a pretty mild expletive compared to what I could say, believe me. Right now I would dearly love to sock someone, and I don't particularly care who. It is probably a good idea for me to keep my distance from everyone and everything. Somehow, a rubber room seems like a bloody good idea.

I'm going to drive up to my new school today (they're having registration there). I figure I can at least take a picture of it to use on my classroom blog. Hope I'm not escorted off the premises.

In the midst of all this, thank goodness and Heavenly Father for next door neighbor Jennie. She came over yesterday to help me clean the plant shelves (I think that is what they are called) separating our kitchen and living room. Those living in Eagle Pointe will think "Ah yes. The mega dust catchers." They'll probably also swear. Who thought these would be a good idea? Right now I curse them AND our vaulted ceilings. Why did I ever think these were cool? Didn't I ever foresee the day I would have to paint the ridiculous things? All this makes me especially thankful for Jennie, who crawled up a ladder and crawled onto the top of the plant shelf to scrub it down. What a good neighbor! She doesn't realize how her act of charity probably avoided a murder-suicide (or at least a protracted period of banging one's head against the nearest available hard surface). Good neighbors are priceless!

Later - I did go up to my new school and managed to take a photo. It wasn't possible to look at a room though. The building is much lighter inside than Jefferson Elementary ... but seems quite similar. The PTO parents doing registration asked me if I was working in my room. They were shocked when I told them that we aren't going to be allowed in until the 17th.