Hole in the wall, and ceiling, and a crack in the wall as well

Someone from the district came to look at the hole in Mrs. A's ceiling (she is still not back in her room) but did not come to see my nipple or my crack:(

An Old Time-y Village, Drinking from a Jar, Hearses, and My Crack

Life at school totally sux right now. We are getting ready for DARE graduation and as piffly as the production has become (we used to do an actual play with scripts written by my co workers and myself) it's still stressful. And grading tests (a pile, no kidding, a foot high), and end of year junk, and Swine Flu is sinking its delicious, bacon-y hands into the district slowly. Then we walk in on Friday and Mrs. A found this in her room.


Yes, that is the ceiling missing up there, pic taken on the cell phone. The building is literally falling apart. The ceiling fell in in another area last year when Mrs. A was pregnant with Emma (the baby from such well known FOs as Emma Baby Surprise and Emma Baby Bolero). Thank the Gods both times there were no children in the room. The debris fell with such force that the closet was thrown open and the crap cascaded out.



My room hasn't caved in yet, but yet is the key word there. This is my crack...get your mind out of the gutter...not that kind of crack...this kind.



That's in my fucking classroom, ladies and gents, like, where my young students and I do math all day. I think that the pic does it no justice. It looks as if there's some kind of weird coloring inside the crack. Mold?? Who knows?

First you saw my crack, now I'll show you my nipple. I call this one the nipple b/c it has an areola made of water stain and mold-looking-browniness and it leaks water whenever it rains.

Last year the nipple that is located on the ceiling just outside my room against a wall adjacent to my crack was patched and I thought it was gone for good...but the tit came back the very next year. It is grosser looking in person, but you get the idea. If someone from my district somehow sees this, which they won't, and gets pissed...I am one of the district's most loyal employees. I could get a job and teach elsewhere but won't not b/c I can't, but b/c even though times are tough now I fucking love my job. I love the town, I adore my students, I love my co workers, and some how my freakin' rockin' supervisor, Also Mrs. G, has made me a math obsessive. All I want is for more effort to be put into giving the kids what they deserve...the least restrictive learning environment. My little guys have to look at this stuff every day, climb over the mountains of other obstacles such as language issues, community dysfunction, and poverty, and still compete with the suburban kids' test scores. But they keep their spirits up. They are awesome little minions.:)

Anyway, after a week like that I was drooling for the weekend this time around. First, these are the people in my neighborhood.

Mr. G hooked us up with a bird feeder and we are the popular food joint in the 'burbs. I know they're not unusual birds, but I could watch them for hours. They are beautiful. The shot below was my favorite. She or he looked like she or he was posing.

So, Mrs. L, Griffin's mom, called me up and asked if Mr. G and I would join her, her hubbie, and the Griffster on Saturday to visit Museum Village in Monroe, NY for a gem show and then an antique show @ Ramapo College. Mrs. L and I love gem shows, and I needed a break, so I agreed.

The five of us (Mrs. L, Mr. L, Griffin, Mr. G, and GrimmWitch myself) drove there and I got to sit next to Grif, which was a complete pleasure. He is by far the most easy going and delightful baby of all time and I thoroughly enjoyed his company. The gem show set up all around the small lost in time village was a 4 out of 10 as far as gem shows go, but the fact that it was inside the historic-y setting was a huge plus. The number of vendors would be massively dwarfed by the number at any other show we go to in NJ or NY.

The village is a conglomeration of genuine and reproduction buildings brought from all different places and reconfigured by the land owner similarly to poor Waterloo Village in NJ (Corzine, get off your fat ass and help Waterloo!). Although people dress in period clothing and do demos, there were none there on Saturday. Mr. G was very disappointed that he didn't get to chat with any "old time-y people." He did take some great pics of the place. Here's the schoolhouse.

Notice the lack of crack in this room when compared to my own classroom. It is equipped with a dunce chair in the left hand corner (I would have lived on that!:)

The Village also has a Natural History building. NJ has had some great dino finds throughout the state's history, so I was not surprised about fossils being on display, but this was great!

And they also have the biggest giant sloth skeleton I've ever seen. That includes the one from NYC.

There were some really beautiful Victorian carrage hearses in another building. Morbid, but I am the GRIMMWitch after all.

I love the finials on this one. The fabric is still there.

After the Village we ate at the Mason Jar. I had lovely Eggs Florentine and we drank our beverages from mason jars, hence the name.

The antique fair @ Ramapo was also really wonderful. There were so many beautiful things, but most were a little too expensive for a young couple with a new mortgage. Mr. G ate a deep fried Twinky that I didn't get a chance to shoot a pic of...but before he bit into it it looked like a corn dog. I did get one non-antique thing.

So scrumptiously Anne Taintor-esque, and so true. Do I have to go back to work on Monday?

Finally, I finished the Ribbed Lace Bolero from 10 feet high. I really love it.

See, I am the designers neck twin...(see previous post).

Step aside, Tim

I'm watching The Fashion Show as I type. This is Bravo's response to having lost my beloved Project Runway. I love Tim Gunn's sophisticated yet nurturing approach and Heidi's very present fashion background. She's not just a model, but clearly loves the art. So sad that the show's been lost to Lifetime. I mean, who cares what channel it's on, but I never watch Lifetime. I love so many of the Bravo shows. PR belongs there. Honestly, the fans should not have to wait for what I believe to be an already filmed season.

Photo from Isaac Mizrahi NY.com

Anyway, the new show is good. At least I'm enjoying it. I don't see how Kelly Roland fits in. Is that how you spell her name? It means so little to me I'm not even going to look it up. Might as well have my sista' PepperBal from Geek of All Trades or someone co host. At least Pepper has an art background. I don't know Kelly's background...but I also can't see knowledge about fashion shining through. Isaac Mizrahi, on the other hand, I feel is someone who really has something to teach.

Smudge-wise, this little guy is just on a roll with the Magellan-y explorer mode. His most recent endeavor? He jumped into the top of his cardboard maze. Not a big deal for most buns, but this dude was five minuutes from the Pearlly Purlly Gates less than a year ago.

He's so cute! I love him!:)

I'm still working on the Thank you Socks, but hopefully will be done by Wednesday or Thursday. I'm also working on the Ribbed Lace Bolero from 10 feet high. I think I'd have it done already except for all the migraines I've had...you can see the bottom of the OTC meds in the pic below:(

I like the pattern very much, and the side pics the pattern sports looks like me - very weird to look at sometimes 'cause I wear my hair like that too.

Photo from 10 feet high

As of 6/13 though I'll be freaked out with color as I have a hair appointment am want to go crazy. I am so excited! I'm still trying to harvest ideas from the net and still don't know what I'll do.

Code PINK!

Check out Knitting Like It's my Job's Megan posting about CODE PINK. She knitted quite a few squares for the project the group recently had. I'm not going to describe it...just go look at it. And if you're in support of the war I'm sure you can still appreciate the enormous effort!

Mark & Mark of Weird NJ on TODAY

I am not a fan of Kathy Lee but I do think its appropriate that she use her music to punish people. Mark & Mark as wealths of knowledge and true examples of lifetime learners. I guessed right on everything except the hot dog question.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Mom's post about Annette & Thank's to Mrs. S.

photo by Lupie of Knitting with my Mother's Hands

Lupie posted about the ChalkDust Knitter who just passed away, Annette. She was Pat and Karen's teacher and was incredibly gifted. She will be missed.

I'd like to say thanks to my friend, Mary aka Mrs. S. She was unable to go to see Billy Elliot on Broadway with a gaggle of my co workers on Friday and gave me her ticket. I was kind of afriad to see this with my co-workers b/c the story itself brings out so many emotions in me and connections to my own life that I can't help but be totally moved. I said what the hell, though, and had an immensely wonderful time.

First we ate at Becco in NYC. The food was good, but I don't know if I'd go back. I did have a good time. I sat by a few of my co workers I don't often get to spend time with and it was very nice to get to know them a bit better. My friend, Mrs. L, found out she is getting transfered come September and I got to spend some time laughing and bs-ing with her and that was great too. I'm going to miss her very much when she's working in another school, but I feel that that environment will be a wonderful change from the issue-weighty place we all work now.

The musical was totally amazing and I basically cried through the whole thing:) But it was good crying. Mrs. L. was roaring with laughted at the fact that I couldn't stop.

To thank Mary for the ticket I've started a pair of socks for her.

Here's the first of the two being made from Aussi Sock I purchased at Yarn Diva. I love this yarn and want to pick up some more. Beneath the sock is the second volume of Fables. I'm really enjoying the story and recommend it.

And in the wonderful world of Bun, Smudge jumped up to the kitchen level from the sunken family room at around 6:30 this morning. Congrats, little man!:)

Yippie! Jaywalkers

I know this took me forever to finish, but I just kept putting it down to knit baby stuff...these women around me keep getting knocked up:) I really did like the pattern. It was fun to knit and I would love to make another pair but ... my co worker, Mrs. B, came in today with a sonogram pick of her next grandbaby due in November. I'm planning on making something for the big brother 1st and then the baby...by then they'll know the gender.
So I stole these for a moment to model them.

And for anyone who counts themselves as a Birthday Massacre fan, the new live album is out on iTunes.

Sometimes live albums suck, but this one is great. It has all my favorites, and the sound quality is good. I just love to turn it up loud - because I don't have to worry about bothering people in the next apartment now that I'm in my little Hobbit house (I love it) and dance like crazy.