Teri Parris Ford's Blog

The Way Home

I got up at 3:30am in Spain to get going on our way, which was 8:30pm Friday night back home and then spent the rest of the day traveling. I rolled in at 6pm into Madison (which was 1 in the morning back in Spain). It was a good trip with one delay, a connection that we barely made, a few naps, okay airplane food and not enough water. Home was not too messy. I did laundry and gave Balt a bath. I'm ready to get back "normal." Tonight I'm catching up on some of my Youtube vlogs.

Lloret de Mar

Today was beach day and I was in and out of the Mediterranean Sea from 11am to 5pm, which meant I was in and out of the sun all day as well. I got pretty brown and a bit pink, but it was a great day. Marie and I split a set of lounge chairs and an umbrella which was the best 10 Euros I spent all week.  We did some shopping before dinner and I tried to eat very light for dinner. I’m going on a diet on Monday!!

Barcelona

We left at 7am with sack breakfasts from our hotel in Granada for the airport. We flew to Barcelona which was super fun! We had a full day of tours going to lots of places I had not seen before and a few I had. I want to come back with Jim and get more time at The Sagrada Familia cathedral. We are staying in Lloret de Mar at a vacation hotel by the beach north of Barcelona that’s a lot like Dells only very international— tons of kids, families, loud and Las Vegas like. I’m not thrilled but it’s the beach. One more day and it’s a beach day. 

Granada

We got up early to drive down to Granada. It was a 3 hours drive. We went to the Alhambra tour and then had the afternoon free in the city. We shopped and lunch. I’m surprised at how much Spanish I’m understanding but I’m still odd man out on many conversations which is fine. We walked to our bus & drove to our hotel. I had a couple of hours to shower and nap before dinner. Marie and I enjoyed some time at the bar drinking “agua con gas” chatting and then we had chicken for dinner. The kids and Marie went out after dinner but I am resting in my hotel room eager to go to bed early.

Sevilla

We had to get up early to get on a bus for about a 6 hour drive to Sevilla. Crazy coincidence that Grace got here yesterday after spending a couple weeks with her mom in Germany and Switzerland. Her friends are coming tomorrow so it worked perfectly for her to meet up with our group for the afternoon since she was free— the only day on her whole trip she was free and it’s the one day I’m here. How providential is that!? Our afternoon was amazing!!

Salamanca

One of the oldest university campuses (4th oldest in the world?) is in Salamanca. They are celebrating 800 years this year— amazing. We drove about an hour to the city from Avila where we are staying w families overnight as well as for dinner and breakfast. They pack us lunches which means there is little to spend on except treats, water, coffee or souvenirs which I’m trying not to buy. We had much of the afternoon off after touring the city for a picnic lunch  and shopping. The 4 teachers went to a coffee shop for iced drinks, WiFi and chitchat. It was luxurious. It rained on the way home but we never had to be out in the rain as the storms passed once we arrived back to Avila. The kids all went to watch Spain play in the World Cup. I passed that up for the opportunity to take a leisure bath back at my apartment. Tonight I’m hoping to get to bed earlier. We’re in for a long bus ride tomorrow and I’m hoping to connect w Grace in Sevilla!

Avila and Segovia

Today was only a 10 mile walking day but there were slot more hills involved  my feet are sore and I can feel my thighs and hips giving me some grief  I don’t want to be the old lady on this trip!! The kids are fun and I have to admit to enjoy traveling with them, hearing them discussed stuff and practicing their Spanish. The other teachers are great company. I am wishing Jim were here to offer me the history these places are so full of. We saw churches, cathedrals, castles, and an aqueduct in Segovia.  It was was a spectacular day.

Above - photos from Avila and below- photos from Segovia 

Madrid to Avila

We had a very full day. I walked over 11 miles and my feet can tell. After a really great hotel breakfast we walked to the Prado for a tour. We saw some amazing art and I kept thinking that I’ve got to come back on my own (w Jim) to wonder. The paintings in this museum are so crazy spectacular. We definitely need to bring art students back here (we came several years back and saw a lot of different stuff). I was inspired. We then walked around the Prado for lunch then to Retiro park for a couple hours and then back to the hotel. We had a 2 hour drive to Avila where we met up w our home stay families. I’m w Marie and learning that I can understand a lot of Spanish— way more than I thought I could plus I’m learning more. Every one thspeaks thSpanish with a thick listhp here though. I’m trying my best not to eat too much but Spanish dinners have lots of courses so I’m in bed tonight way too full. If I wasn’t so tired I’d go for a walk but my legs feel like they’re going to fall off if I don’t lie down. 

Below— Madrid has fiberglass “Las Meninas” all over town painted by local artist just like the Bucky Badgers around Madison (geese around Rochester, pidgins around Annapolis, bears around LA, etc)  

The day in Madrid

Travel to Madrid

We caught a bus in Madison at 8:30 am to Chicago for a 4:30pm plane that was delayed. We could’ve started later but wanted to be safe w timing. The kids enjoyed playing cards and it was good bonding time. I sat w my fellow Memorial teacher, Marie on the plane. We landed at 9am Madrid time (about 2am Chicago time). I got about 2 hours of sleep. We got to sightseeing seeing straight away.  I’d been in Madrid before but this time I was seeing more of the city and from a bus which was a bonus. We stopped for lunch at a train station I’d been before. The weather was hot —90 degrees do when we got to our hotel at 2:30 at the Puerta de Toledo, we were all ready to melt. I jumped into the shower first, keeping it cold. We are going to dinner at 5pm; paella. We’re all taking naps now!!

Summer starts tomorrow!

Obviously I've been enjoying my summer vacation but officially summer starts tomorrow and to celebrate I'm going to Spain.The hardest part of leaving home is leaving Balt. I've hired a professional walking service to come in and walk him daily because the last two hires I've made from students tossed no shows at me and neither of my daughters are able. Monika is seeing a specialist tomorrow and will most likely be in a full cast or boot for her broken foot.

As for my day today? Monika's cat, Lewy, had lost some weight and had a swollen cheek so Monika insisted we take him to the vet. $250!! Ouch. He had an abscess that was drained and lanced. He needed blood tests (results come in tomorrow) and had fleas. The vet gave Lewy Frontline. I gave the other cats Costco flea stuff. I purchased an expensive chewable for Balt. We needed to change all our bed sheets, vacuum and clean as much as possible. It made for a busy morning but I made it to a noon hot yoga class and then went out to lunch with Monika. 

Cooled off

I woke up to cool rain. It was a nice change from the heat, but quite honestly it was too cold. I had hoped to make it to the pool but between the rain and cool air, I just couldn't get there. Monika and I had appointments. I got good news-- I went to my massage therapist for lower back pain who told me I needed to use my core more so my buttocks weren't so overloaded. Monika got bad news -- her broken foot is not healed and needs a hard cast and another month of crutches. She should have been in a hard cast this whole month but there is not anything we can do about past decisions. She had planned to leave for New York the same day I was leaving for Spain (Thursday) but now is seeing a specialist instead for a cast.

I went into work for a bit to meet with one of my teachers from my research class to go over feedback on my presentation just in case I need to do it again. It was good to hash over not only the presentation but the summary of my work and what I am planning to do next. I came home and watched some tv with Monika before working on a video project I started last night. Computer work is quite the time suck. I'm ready for bed now!

Just Summer

At 5am it was 75 degrees. I had to make sure to get Balt out for his walk right away. We enjoyed a walk to Starbucks for a iced cold latte. I enjoyed a very leisure morning watching the news and doing laundry. I took Monika's car to the Nissan dealership for recalls (new air bags). I went to a noon hot yoga class and wanted to go to the pool after but it started raining. The heat was humid and very uncomfortable, so I wasn't that disappointed about the pool. I made a big salad for lunch, picked up Monika's car and then went to Costco for gas and to return a dress. I have begun packing for my trip to Spain, but I have until Thursday morning, so there is plenty of time.  I have the air conditioner on so I'm sitting quite comfortable, watching documentaries and planning to go to bed early so that I can get up at the crack of dawn to walk.

Father's Day Weekend

I spent the weekend in Minnesota with Jim, so I did not blog post anything last night. We went to a wedding yesterday together for the first time in decades but it was our first wedding with two brides, making it a unique event. The wedding was for a colleague of Jim's, someone he had co-taught with at the university. I could tell she really liked Jim. There was a crew of colleagues in attendance so for the first time since he got the job in Rochester, I got to meet his co-workers. It was a very pleasant event with great food but very hot. I felt bad for the brides as their wedding was outside and the reception area not air conditioned, so everyone was sweating. They handed out sunglasses, cold bottles of water and fans for everyone to help with the heat. We spent  as much of our time we could hoping for a breeze, staying in the shade. 

We drove up to Minneapolis for the night to spend Father's Day poking around the city. Minneapolis is on our short list of places to retire to. I hate the cold but for more than 1/2 the year it is a beautiful place and today it was 90 degrees! We ended up spending the afternoon at the Institute of Art which was wonderfully air conditioned, after sleeping in until 9am and enjoying coffee at a very trendy place on W.46th Street. After many hours exploring art, we went to the Southdale Mall for a late lunch at Jim's favorite Mexican restaurant and then made our way back to Rochester. I did not stay long so I could get on the road back to Madison. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

 

Lunch with the Ladies

After getting up early with Balt, I went back to bed for a bit more sleep since I didn't get to sleep last night until after 2am. I enjoyed a great morning walk and then a late morning hot yoga class that I almost fainted in, but made it through. It was a tough on my body but oh, so needed. I took the girls out to lunch to the Dumpling Haus in Hilldale. I really missed Jessi, so I texted with her a bit. I'm hoping to pop in to see her in July but she's really busy and stressed with flight school. Meanwhile Monika is enjoying her summer after graduation, like after graduating from high school, it's full of love friends and travels. Erika is also enjoying a good summer as the yoga business is doing well (my yoga class this morning was actually full, for hot summer day, that's really good). After lunch, Monika and I did some shopping while Erika went back to work. I wanted to get a swim in later in the day but decided to avoid the crowds and just rad a few errands instead, a couple that were a waste of time (no Euros at my bank, and no one willing to give me a pedicure at the salon, which ended up saving me money). I came home and made cookies for dinner and watched a documentary on HBO.

Colorado to Wisconsin

I woke up at 6:30am eager to get on the road again so we could get home at a decent hour. It is pretty easy to drive for a full day but the second day is more difficult on the body. I think the best part of driving with someone else is having the time to talk. Obviously the conversation can not continue the whole trip but the times of conversation are precious. We started Ready Player One and got about half way through it. Monika was eager to listen. I drove through Dubuque  and then let Monika take the last leg through Wisconsin home. It is nice to be home.

California to Colorado

I got up at 4:30 am which was really sleeping in. I tossed and turned until 5am and the got up and walked to Starbucks for coffee, chatting with Jim while he walked to Starbucks in Madison. I woke up Monika at 6:30 and asked he to start packing the car while I showered. By 8am we were on the road. I felt bad about the quick visit for my mom but I’ll be back in a month or less. I drove the whole time, stopping in Las Vegas for lunch at In N’Out but only for gas other than that.. it was a pleasant drive with lots of chitchat, music and some podcast listening. I finished my book by Anderson Cooper. We’re at a Roadway Inn in Glennwood Springs with the hope of getting back to Madison tomorrow night. So our road trip won’t be too long after all. 

Traveling

Jim dropped me off at the Dane County Airport at 5:30am. I ended sitting in an airplane for nearly an hour on the tarmac waiting for a mechanic and then missed my connection but still got to LA  before a celebration dinner for my moms birthday. I'm in bed early tired out from the traveling though I certainly didn't do much physical work. It's still surprising how exhausting sitting around can be. 

Officially Done

I went to work today after an hour long dogwalk with Jim. We had a good department meeting and I got all the things on my list done. I worked through lunch so that I could leave a bit early guilt free. Jim and I went out for an early dinner to celebrate my being really done. I came home and packed for a short trip to California to pick up Monika. I worked on my 2nd semester 1 Second Everyday video, which has a few days with 2 videos and a few days missing videos. I spent a ton of time looking for the perfect song and finally settled on a song Monika sent me. This is my 4th 1SE video. I'm not sure how many more I will do, but it's fun to look back on the memories. When months of my life are smashed together, you can see that my life is mostly Balt and students with some yoga and family events occasionally.

Almost Summer

School is out and we've gone thru graduation, so I should be starting my summer vacation, right? Wrong. I have to go to work tomorrow. I left quite a list of things to do for myself, so I'll be busy.  For today, I woke to pouring rain. I did not take Balt for his morning walk until 4pm. Jim and I enjoyed a nice breakfast and a bit of news watching. I went to a late morning yoga class and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon making a nice lunch and some breakfast bread for tomorrow's department meeting. It was a quite the relaxing Sunday.

Graduation

Graduation was at 10am this morning but I needed to get in early to deliver the senior issue of school newspapers and get downstairs to honor marshall. It was fun to see all my senior students dressed up and eager to graduate. Everyone was pretty darn happy, except for one of my yearbook boys who showed up in sweatpants and admin would not let walk until his mom brought him nice pants. Every year there are a bunch of kids who don't wear proper shoes and admin comes through with a huge box of men's shoes for boys to switch into but they don't bring extra pants. I saw the kid walk up to get his diploma so I guess his mom pulled through with nice clothing. Girls have it easy since you can't tell how nice they are dressed (or if they are wearing shorts) under the gown. I was wearing a very nice black dress under my black gown, BTW. 

After the ceremony I went to the pool for laps. It was not that hot but very steamy. I came home and got to cleaning. Jim got in around 4pm and we went out to see Solo finally! While it may not be my favorite Star Wars film, I still loved it because it was a Star Wars film. I love seeing the connections and back story of how stuff started (like how Han and Chewy met). It made for a great way to end a great day!

My Service

I did my presentation this morning without a hitch. It was a project I had worked on all year, so it wasn't difficult to talk for 1/2 hour. There were a couple of familiar faces in the audience I focused on to make it easier since it was a crowd of maybe 70. I snuck out after I was done, and went home to prep lunch for the department and met up with everyone one at 11:30. We had a nice lunch time together and then went to our last staff meeting of the school year where we celebrate retirees and get service awards. This year I got two, one for the district and one for Memorial. The principal called me up and yelled out 25 years and kind of freaked me (and Joe) out! He thought it was funny. When I got my 15 year one for Memorial, a different principal shook my hand and asked how did that happen, it doesn't seem like that long? I guess it doesn't, but it certainly feels different without having my kids around.

I made a list of things to do for Monday. Teachers are supposed to work on Monday; at least they are paying us to. Some schools have meetings, so we are lucky just to be asked to work on our own, if not on Monday some other day of our choosing. Our department chose to get it all over and done with! I have some clean up and paperwork to finish but decided to leave it so I would have something to do. I might have left too much to do. I went to hot yoga and came home and enjoyed my Friday evening.

Significant Seniors!

I had my last final this morning. I only had a few kids show up but all of them needed to finish work in order to either pass or improve their grades, so I spent the hour helping kids catch up. After my final I went to Costco to pick up lunch for our annual significant senior celebration. My catering background kicks in and put together a big spread for the seniors who made our jobs wonderful this past year. This year, almost all of the kids invited their parents to join us, so we had quite a group in the photolab. It was a very special time. All 3 of my kids needed to leave early, so I made sure to get a photo with them before they left and then we took our group photo which I've gotten every year except for the first few, back when we were still using film. I think I took their photos individually back then.

I did all the clean up and then took the leftovers home to refrigerate. I will take it back in tomorrow for a department lunch. I then decided to go to the pool to get a swim in. It was in the 80's for the first time in a while and I was eager for some real exercise. At 4pm our school retirement party started and I always make sure to get to that event. As I eagerly look forward to my own early retirement, I want to help celebrate all those who get there before me. I had an enjoyable time but got home ready to call it a day. I've got some prep to do for tomorrow's presentations.

Practice

I had a final with full class this morning and then some time to putz around with grading and a couple of meetings. At noon was graduation practice which I attended since I will be one of 4 honor marshals walking the kids into the Kohl Center on Saturday. It seems so crazy to see another class move on. After practice I went to the Great Dane to meet up with my new newspaper editors for lunch. It was a really nice time with some really great kids. I enjoyed the time. I decided not to go back to work right away since I had a meeting at 6pm for the Spain trip leaving in 15 days. I went home and did some gardening. I'm working on paving a corner of my lawn so Erika can park next to the driveway. I went back to work for an hour and then came home to go to bed early after a bit of tv.

Finishing up...

While I was in the shower Balt ripped open one of my bed pillows out of the blue. It was like he turned into a puppy for 15 minutes. He hasn't ripped anything a part in years! While we were on our walk, someone asked me if he was really old because he was going so slow! It make me laugh.

Today was the first day of finals at school. There were 3 finals today, 7th and 1st before lunch and 4th period after lunch. I was not supposed to have anyone in the morning but I did and I was supposed to have more than 1/2 my class come in after lunch but only 3 kids showed up. It was a weird day. At the end of the work day I met with a couple of student services coordinators from downtown to go over my presentation for Friday. I stayed late, missing my yoga class so I went home to do some yard work instead.

The LAST Day of Classes!

I still have 3 days of final exams, but school as we know it is done for the school year. My first hour Graphic Design class did their final last week so today was just clean up. Next year there will not be a Graphic Design class taught, it will eventually become Computer Art 3 in two years after we grow Computer Art 1 and 2. My 3 photo 1 classes will be coming in as needed to finish projects and turn in their final. My yearbook class is finished -- their final project is distributing the book they spent the school year to create. We had a farewell BBQ with brats and dogs and lots of hugs goodbye. As is my tradition, I took photos of all my classes so I can remember them and posted the photos in an album on Facebook.

After school I took Balt for a second walk and made a big salad for dinner. I put my feet up and enjoyed a relaxing evening.

Just a little work

I did not do much today. Balt woke me up at 5am sharp and we had our morning rituals of walking, coffee and news. I did some housework and yard work. I cleared the branches, dirt and rocks around my air conditioner. I went to Menards and purchased some pavers. I'd like to eventually get rid of most of the rocks and only have flat stone everywhere. I suppose if I do 8 pavers a month, eventually it will get done.  

Cooled off for Hot yoga

Balt insisted that I wake up at 5am sharp-- no sleeping in. The day was much cooler, never getting to 70. We got a great dog walk in, watched some news, drank coffee and went to hot yoga. I did a Costco run and had leftovers for lunch. I watched Iron Man 3 and worked on a presentation that I have been asked to make next Friday. I thought I was completely done with my class, well, it seems I am not. I've learned that doing a good job often means doing more work. It's not always a good thing but it's not bad either. I really didn't have much else to do today anyway. Luckily, Balt is all for going to bed early! 

Friyay!

It was the last Friday students will have this school year. It was the second to last day of classes an it was a very pleasant day. Not a lot happened during the day. My photo kids mostly worked with a few being obnoxious. I ran a few errands at lunch. I only had 2 kids in my yearbook class as it was the unofficial senior ditch day. After school I picked up Erika's and Monika's artwork from the sale and then got home to play with Balt for a bit before getting ready for a hot yoga class. My body was in desperate need of the class. I came home, showered, made a big salad for dinner and watched Iron Man 2. It was a great way to end the week and start a new month.