Bamboo Garden @ Hakone Garden

Top three photos: Laurie. Bottom four: Ted. The bamboo garden at Hakone was magical

African Huts??

That's what Ted calls this installation at the PA Art Center. My mother refers to it as the 'giant hummingbird houses." I posted about it on January 27th, but it was still under construction then. It is done now and is gorgeous. You MUST click on each photo to get the full impact of this very serpentine piece. We can hardly wait to take the grandkids there!! It is at its' best in the waning afternoon sun, when all the colors of the wood are most vivid.

Subbing

Yesterday I finally subbed in the system I grew up in. In fact I was at my old high school. I was actually excited to enter the buildfing once again, after 45 years. Big disappointment!! Only a very small part of the old building was even still standing... and the furnace was broken in there... so it was 47 degrees inside. The rest of the campus had been completely redone and looked totally unfamiliar. I went in various classrooms assisting a student. For the most part the students were rude and disrespectful. They all seemed to have cords trailing from their ears or they were texting behind open books. Students were talking while the teacher talked and in one room the "f" word was used repeatedly. Some of the classes had subs... so maybe that is the excuse. By 3:25 I was totally disgusted!! Hopefully I'll get the chance to go to an elementary school this week. It should be much better.

Last Weeks Sorrows

Last week was filled with sadness. On Tuesday my 25 year old niece died unexpectedly. We were shocked and saddened. In spite of her health problems she was always upbeat and happy. Then on Friday my parents and Mike took Bingo to the vets for her last visit. Her health was failing quickly and there was no way to deny what needed to be done. Although I sometimes complained about walking her in the rain and collecting poop it is mighty quiet without her. Sunday was the funeral for my niece. Ted and I drove with three of his brothers and a nephew up to the services in Napa. Over 400 people were there. Midst all this sadness, my sister Jody and her dog, Eddie, came for an overnight stay and an evening of cards. That was the highlight of the week.

Cupcakes

I made the top ones. The fancy ones (at the bottom) were at a party I went to Sunday. The pastry chef made the letters on top of each one!! My folks said they were delicious. Unfortunatly I had to leave before sampling one.

Practice

Obviously practice is very enjoyable!!