Teri Parris Ford's Blog

All the Time in the World

I have a lot of time on my hands and since school started, I have even more. Now that Jim is back to work, back to teaching, I feel the oddness of my freedom. Jim only teaches on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I take him into work so he doesn't have to take the bus and send him in to work with a great homemade lunch. I then make my way to the gym. I took a pilates class Tuesday, a yoga class on Thursday. I use the the treadmill, get in the pool, in the steam-room or sauna and on Thursday, I made an appointment with trainer to start using weights. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Jim and I have time for coffee and a long walk. On Friday Jim had to go into St. Paul so I went shopping and enjoyed some time in a coffee shop waiting for him. We went out to lunch to a wonderful Mexican place in St. Paul before making our way home. Jim caught a cold on the way back from Korea which I caught from him later in the week. It's kind of nice to just be okay with being sick-- as there's nothing to really miss out on. It's a little too leisurely. I have a very long list of things to do to keep me busy, so everyday I can tackle the things I want to do. It's a very weird feeling but I'm getting used to it. Retirement is nice! Photos: I spent time replacing all the outlets and light switches in the Living and Dining rooms, Douglas Trail, Garage workshop.

Last Day of August!

A friend of mine asked if I was having fun. I have been working a lot on projects, mostly in the Rochester house but I also have a lot of work to do on the condo in Madison. As I have aged I've become very goal orientated but fun is planned here and there mostly with family. But for the past couple of weeks, instead of concentrating on relaxing and enjoying my summer before school starts, I have been staying as busy as possible, working on tasks to keep me from feeing the pain of not going back to work. It's wonderful AND painful at the same time. I love that I am getting paid (via Wisconsin Trust Fund) to not go to work, but I loved my job and the people I worked with. I really am missing them (most Joe). 

Things I accomplished this week: Erika and I looked at condo in Madison and she put a bid and got it! She closes in October, so will be moving out of my condo. I finished my stairs in vinyl which was the culmination of my new flooring adventures. I added a matching backsplash behind my new inductions stove and replaced my sink. The new one (from Costco) is deeper with only one big basin. I had the backyard faucet replaced (it busted two winters ago) finally and had an electrician come in to look over some power issues I had in the garage. Oh, I got some great photos of the yard in Madison after doing quite a bit of clean up there. I'm hoping they will help with sale in March.

A Time of Transition

Jim's in Korea for a couple of weeks, so I was home alone this week. It was the first time I felt the angst of wanting to go back to school. Being alone is nice for a few days but after a while it gets hard without a dog. I lived alone for a while, but I always had Balt. He made it livable. Jim and I have decided to hold off on getting pets so that we can travel but I would like to get a dog again. 

Things I accomplished this week in Rochester: started watching all the X-men movies in chronological order (not release)-- got thru 8/13, painted the extra bedroom with pink, added 1/4 round to edges of flooring, ordered and installed new patio screen doors, removed the old dishwasher, ordered and installed a new one from Costco, removed my old backsplash and tiled a new one, installed a new toilet seat and all new guts to fix a leak, ordered and installed a new fridge and stove, and mowed the lawn.

Before the week was up, I decided to go back to Madison earlier than originally planned. I spent a day at school, met with a new teacher who had questions for the new school year and I learned how to use a new printer. I had a lot of fun spending the day at school for the first time without any sense of stress since I had no work that had to be done. It certainly scratched the itch I was having. The rest of my time in Madison is to work on the condo. There is so much to do there. Having Monika and Erika living there complicates things a bit but it is nice to stay with them. This trip I worked on cleaning the hall walls and touching up the paint. I also hope to have time to work on the garden, weeding, and cleaning. I need to take photos of the garden and yard this fall since I plan to sell at the end of winter. 

 

Eternal Summer Week 10

Yesterday we celebrated Jim's very last day of summer vacation. While I am living my eternal summer bliss, he goes back to school after Labor Day. This morning he left for 2 weeks of army exercises in Korea and returns a couple of days before school starts. In his mind, his summer is officially done. While I'll miss him, I am very excited about all the projects I have lined up. On my first day home alone I went to an ealy yoga class and then spent the day finishing the last corners of the floors in a couple of closets and my bedroom. I still have the stairs and finishing touches (1/4 round on ends that aren't perfect) to do but it feels done.  

Between all the work that needs to be done in the Madison condo and the projects in the MN house, I will have my hands full for the rest of the year! I made a document that I shared with the girls with all the projects we need to do in the condo with the hope that they will help me. The biggest project ahead is tiling the bathroom but I don't plan to start that until after school starts. I will need lots of work to keep me busy in September when I feel the pain of not starting teaching!

Eternal Summer Week 9

We spent last week at Song of the Morning ranch preparing for a big weekend festival now called Spirit & Nature.  My job was to get up at 5am and make the coffee for everyone and just help out as needed. In exchange I got to enjoy yoga classes and nature. Monika first came to ranch as an "yoga fest" intern when she was in college. Her connection continues to be strong after working for the organization over the pandemic and now just being a volunteer. She spent the winter remaking and updating their website. This was my first stay in the community (as opposed to staying on the ranch) so it was a bit more comfortable. I was disappointed that my trip to California was cancelled for a variety of reasons, but it all worked out quite nice to spend the time in Michigan. 

We drove back to Madison on Monday. I had a couple of appointments on Tuesday and then made my way back to Rochester. It was so nice to be home again and spend time with Jim. I had flooring to continue. I finished Jim's office and my walk in closet. All that is left is my bedroom and the stair which I hope to finish by the end of the month. While I have a lot of projects to work on in Minnesota, I have about 6 month to get the condo ready to sell. We will meet with a real estate stager next week to get a list of what to do (although we have a good idea of what needs to happen). I had hoped to unload the condo to a neighbor as-is this fall but the deal fell through. I'm renting it to Monika and Erika in the meantime. Both are glad to have the extra time to figure out what they are doing next. 

Eternal Summer Week 8

On Thursday Erika and I spent time together looking at homes and just enjoying summer, then on Friday Monika and I spent most of the day driving to Song of the Morning in northern Michigan. We've been helping out to prep for a festival this coming weekend with lots of time in nature. So far I've paddled a sink hole, Lake Michigan and rolled down the Pigeon river in an inner tube. It's been a blast. Mostly I've enjoyed my time with Monika- everyone at SOM loves her so much. I'm only here as her assistant. 

Eternal Summer Week 7

I got back to Rochester last Wednesday and enjoyed a few days of summer fun, going to the pool, bbq-ing, early morning walks and late night tv shows. I spent most of the day on Saturday doing yard work, weeding, trimming, etc. On Sunday we started working on the upstairs flooring. Jim does the hard work of removing carpets while I sweep up and help with removing staples. On Monday I started laying down the vinyl planks. The work seems to be easier and a bit faster as I am now quite experienced after doing the downstairs area. I put flooring under all the appliances in the kitchen and cut my thumb pretty badly moving the stove. I am pretty proud of the great work I did around my angled island. I finished the dining room, kitchen, living room and hallway today. I am leaving for Madison tomorrow and spending next week in Michigan with Monika. I will have to finish the bedrooms upstairs in August. I will have to figure out what to do about the stairs in the entry way. I was thinking of tile but memories of my mom's tile stairs gives me second thoughts. If not tile, then either wood or more vinyl? I will happy when the flooring is finished and I can start working on other projects-- there is always plenty to do!

Eternal Summer Week 6

Well, I was back in Madison to close out Erika's condo. We had the official closing on Monday, but spent the weekend moving and cleaning. In the 3 1/2 years Erika lived in her Fitchburg condo, she had collected quite a bit of stuff. Much of her things were donated or stored since she is moving into my fully furnished condo. Thankfully we have a big basement! Between my and Erika's moving, there has been a lot of clearing and cleaning in our family, which I think is great. Since my parent's death, I have made great efforts to live with less and it's hard. I have made daily trips to St. Vinnie's donation center this week. On one trip I took 8 old suitcases--in one I found a brand new swatch watch I purchased 20 years ago in it and I remember going crazy looking for it! I ordered a new battery for it and will let Monika sport it.

I capped off my time in Madison with an evening out with Monika, dinner out and a show at Overture! I love it when Monika invites me to Broadway shows. It was a great evening. I woke up the next morning and finally got my bed strapped to the car. Once in Rochester, I stacked it on top of the bed we already have but will eventually bring that one back to Monika, who purchased it while living in Norfolk in Virginia-- so yes, our beds have done quite a bit of traveling.

While I am really looking forward to settling down in MN, I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of back and forth to WI as we prep the condo for sale and Erika begins to look for a house to purchase. My list of things to do is crazy long: remove old drywall in basement (red room), add french drain to corner of condo, replace basement window, work on garage entry, fix kitchen flooring (loose), paint behind the fridge, all new trim downstairs, finish upstairs closet (shelf, rod, patch), paint both stairwells, finish fireplace curtain, landscaping. << all that is before meeting with the realtor!

Eternal Summer Week 5

I am finally back home... home is now Rochester. It feels like home now. I still have a few things in Madison to bring over, but the majority of my things are here. There is still much to do to make it more mine but the process will be ongoing maybe until I die.

We drove back from Virginia on Sunday-- always the best day to travel across the US-- and arrived in Madison in good time but left for Rochester the next morning. Monika needed help removing the upstairs bathroom vanity which she is single handedly re-doing (just paint and fixing up in general) before Erika moves in. Monika is extremely thorough in her work, making sure to move big items to paint behind (something I don't always do). I will go back to Madison later this week to help her finish it up. Erika closes on her condo next Monday and begins her search for a new home in Madison, which will be difficult for her budget. Luckily she has time-- still, the market continues to be crazy. I am hoping to sell my condo while the condo market is still inflated in Madison. Between the two homes (Madison condo and Rochester house), I have my hands full with things to do.

Quite honestly, I have not felt any time of "leisure retirement" time on my hands yet. I started getting the shaky eye thing in May and it still comes and goes as my stress level increases or ebbs. This summer is significantly more stressful between both me and Erika moving and all the changes included in my retirement. I hope things will settle by the time school starts. Still I have made time to sit by the pool every so often. Luckily I have found an outdoor pool here in Rochester. It isn't as nice as the Shorewood Pool but it's just as restorative.

Eternal Summer Week 4

We left for Madison on Saturday to pick up a bunch of Jessi's stuff and then on to Virginia on Sunday to spend the week's at Jessi's place while she was away in England for a wedding to watch her cats and enjoy the beach. We enjoyed a couple of days with her before she left. I love kicking off my summer at her place in order to get beach time in, especially now that I don't have time on the west coast anymore. I think I still love the Pacific Ocean a bit more (not as many jelly fish and more dolphins) but the Atlantic is warmer. Since arriving we have gone a long walks every morning. The last two summers I have come, I have not had any time with Jessi as she had been deployed. It is so nice to have her state side and enjoying a bit more time on her hands. She only has a couple of years left of her Naval obligations but will have to decide whether to re-up or start over. I'm just hoping she stays close to a beach (selfishly). 

Whenever visiting Jessi's home, I try to get out into the yard to pull weeds and pretty things up. Usually Jessi has a few projects for me as well to keep me busy but I've been so busy since school got out that is really nice to have some down time, so other than ocean walks and playing with cats, I don't have a lot of stuff on my list of things to.

Eternal Summer Weeks 2 & 3

Oops, somehow 2 weeks went by since the last time I wrote. I don't know how that happens-- time just keeps speeding up. My days all seem so short sometimes. I love my mornings and wake up early to enjoy them but by mid afternoon I'm usually spent and get little done after 4pm. Not everything on my list of things to do got done, but close. I'm not spending as much time as I'd like working out but a lot of what I need to do is quite physical, so that counts. Replacing all the carpet downstairs with vinyl was how I spent most of week 2. Jim had a workshop in Detroit and a conference in the Twin Cities, so we've gotten some travel in. I did not stay for the full week of his university conference in Minneapolis because I just had too much else I wanted to do. I can see just in my first 3 weeks of retirement that I could spend a lot of my time just catering to Jim's schedule. He's a lot busier than I am. I am hoping once he retires that will subside. 

The most exciting thing to happen in the past 2 weeks was the art department retirement party. The team put together a grand dinner for me at Joe's. The weather was amazing and they went all out, created custom t-shirts and an artist poster to add to the walls of VPM, which was quite moving for me. I felt so lucky to have worked with my colleagues as long as I have. The 4 teachers who gathered to celebrate me (Geof, Grace, Joe & Josh) I count as my closest of friends and hope to continue to partner with in my future.

Eternal Summer Week 1

For the past few years I've numbered my summer weeks, trying to get at least one project or trip in every week until school starts. With only 10 weeks to enjoy, each week was pretty precious. It does feel kind of weird knowing my summer will never come to an end although I am very aware the weather will change. For this very first day of my summer vacation I enjoyed being a part of graduation as an honor marshall with my seniors and then went to a dear friend's daughter's grad party. On Sunday morning, I packed the car as full as I could get it and moved up to Rochester. I wasn't able to fit everything but I'd already have enough stuff to live there without much else. There is so much to do, it will take months before I am feeling like I have time on my hands. I've heard from other retirees that it's very easy to fill one's schedule. 

Projects for this week-- start laying down vinyl flooring in the basement, start a composting system, create a raised garden bed for herbs and strawberries, weeding, fix trimmer, set up workbench in garage, set up a new garbage deck on the side of the house in order to get the cans out of the garage, join gym in Rochester to start swimming again, power wash the deck, figure out where to put all my shoes, buy and build new shelf in bedroom, organize spices & drugs cabinet, and hang art work! Oh, and I finished my 1 Second Everyday video >> here it is!

Memorial Weekend

I spent the long weekend in Rochester. Students got a 4 day weekend but teachers had PD on Friday. I was able to get away early to pack up my car with a load of stuff to take up north. Jim and I spent the weekend working on projects-- prepping floors for new vinyl, cleaning out the garage, weeding & adding a border edging to our landscaping. It was busy and I have a feeling I will be quite busy for a year or two getting the house up to how I want it. As most homeowners, maybe I won't ever be finished with all the things I want to do but what is the hurry? I have the rest of my life to work on all the projects (and there is quite a list). Jim and I got in a bike ride. It's the first time I've been on a bike for maybe a decade and yes, I'm quite sore. 

Only 4 class periods left of teaching this year and maybe forever for me. It's a very weird feeling!

8 class days left...

I walked into work slowly. I had a load of stuff to donate back to my classroom after cleaning out my garage workbench (mostly used office supplies). The yearbook will be delivered this week and the Senior issue of the school newspaper needs to get finished this week. I feel like I have everything under control but spent last week sick and doing very little at home. That's where all the work is, getting the condo cleaned up and ready for me to move out. I have accumulated quite a bit of stuff in the past years and have a hard time tossing it. Combining two households is no easy task -- since I'm moving in with Jim who's house is complete and in no need of any of my stuffs! I keep telling myself I have all time in the world to figure out the personal stuff and am just concentrating on the work load, which is quite manageable. 

Celebrations start this week!

Mother's day is always a wonderful when I can spend time with my daughters. I drove up to Rochester Friday evening and spent Saturday working on the yard and replacing my mailbox there. I came home early Sunday for a brunch with Erika and Monika which was wonderful. We took some stuff to Erika's place as she is preparing to sell her condo. The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy.

My first retirement celebration is on Thursday. The school district invited me and my family to a dinner. Then the rest of the partying happens in June (I have 3 parties in a row). I had to turn in a photo and some words of advice. I asked Monika to take a special photoshoot of me after getting a haircut. Here are the words I sent: In my 26 years of teaching, I have truly enjoyed teaching student artists but they have come and gone through the years. What has remained throughout my tenure was the constant support and friendship of my colleagues. Like iron sharpening iron, those I have worked with have not only helped me to become a better teacher but a better person. I would encourage cooperation any time possible and to find mutual support in your teaching communities.

It's gonna be May!

I've been crazy busy finishing this school year and setting up my art show that opens on Friday! I have a field trip today to kick off the new month just to complicate my life even further! I am in this crazy limbo of being very eager to be done and loving what I am doing. I haven't really announced that I am retiring yet and trying to hold that off as much as possible because I know things will shift after. I have absolutely been loving teaching ceramics and am so glad I got the opportunity to do it once before ending my career, but I have to admit it keeps me busier than I ever have been especially when adding newspaper and yearbook to the mix. But everything wraps up and the last day of regular classes is May 31.

Counting Down!

We are counting down in yearbook as a class. My book has to be done by April 23rd, so we are running out of time. I love having visuals, calendars, rip off sheets, etc. The kids made 10 numbers when we were down to our last 10 days and have been counting down by ripping a number off the wall and posting the video on social media (instagram story). I'm also counting down the days until my summer-- 51 days!

The weather has been wonderful and there is actually a bit of lag in busy-ness. We had a BBQ on Sunday, it was almost 80 degrees and so nice for a mid April weekend. Erika and I celebrated Tax Day by going out to eat because we had a coupon and we sat out on the patio of the restaurant. I should have taken a photo but didn't. I continue to try to get rid of stuff and clean out the condo with the hope of selling it before the end of the year. Whenever I have any time on my hand, I start looking around for stuff to donate. It's getting harder and harder. This weekend I got rid of a bunch of my mom's xmas ornaments finally. I was only keeping them because they belonged to my mom but didn't use them because they were religious. At some point it will start getting painful.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

I woke up this weekend with swollen eyes. I'm not sure if I hit myself in the face, am allergic to something or have some other issue. I had the school nurse take a look and she thought it was allergies since my eyes were pretty clear. I had trouble getting to sleep (which is rare) as well. I would have liked to wear sun glasses all day but could not pull it off. I did get a pair of glasses in time to watch the eclipse though. It was during my prep hour, so I sat out in the sunshine, enjoying the sun checking pin holes and looking through the special glasses every so often. It was pretty cool. The next eclipse, I will be 78 years old, so I figured I should make sure to enjoy this one. I got home early feeling exhausted from the Monday with swollen eyes, and not a full night of sleep.

 

 

Vacation is over

Jim came down to Madison on Thursday to enjoy some family time for some of the holiday weekend and to see a Steve Hackett concert. After spending the first half of my vacation working on the condo, I made sure to have some down time for the second half. I do go into the studio several times to practice throwing on the wheel. I worked on write up for my art show that opens next month. I will post more info as we get closer to the date, but I am planning quite a big shindig.

I drove up to Rochester to spend Easter with Jim, taking long walks and enjoying the holiday with him. I had to spend a big chunk of the morning prepping for my week ahead. The are only 67 days left the semester-- about 2 months! Yes, I'm counting down. I'm not marking X's on the calendar yet, but I am keeping track of the days.

Spring Break Has Begun!

My plans to visit Jessi fell through as she had to be in Georgia for training. I decided to use the time to do some condo fix ups and work on my art show coming up in May. I also wanted time to just relax and recoup. I kicked of the weekend with a kitchen faucet replacement because my old one had a leaky hose. That faucet had been given to my mom for Christmas by my dad. She has asked for a new kitchen sink and he only got her a faucet. It was a very nice one but it wasn't quite what she wanted and gave it to me. I was sad to see it tossed it because it reminded me of my parents and the one I replace it with isn't quite as nice but it does not leak water!

Next I replaced the vanity in the guest bathroom, which included a new bathroom faucet. I am always a bit surprised to find how easy these home improvements are, until something goes wrong. I had to make several trips to Menards to replace, add or return items. I'm very glad Menards is only a mile or so away. I'm planning to go into school this afternoon to practice throwing and do some clean up in my office. I also want to work on my art show that is opening in May. There's plenty to keep me busy without traveling... but I can't wait until I can make it to the beach again!.

Home Alone

Monika went to Jessi's for the week so I'm home alone. I made a big pot of broccoli soup that I have been living on along with homemade bread. I've been making too much bread lately. I listened to a podcast on Rucking and started rucking with a 15 pound kettlebell in an old backpack. I spent the weekend watching a couple of Oscar nominated movies, working on my Plex files and finishing a painting. I am also working on a big way-finding map project of the high school since everything needs to be updated with all the construction. I've been working with a committee of folks to organize new signage. 

I only have 88 days until my last day of school and while I'm enjoying my semester so much, I am feeling like I have a lot of projects in the air. I am planning on a personal art show in May and organizing a big closing party. I haven't had a show since my 50th birthday 8 years ago but it's nice to have had the experience to draw on. I am always very excited to have something in future to plan!

Real Birthday for Monika!

Monika had a real birthday this year, only her 7th! She turned 28 years old  but we celebrated big. We went out to eat several time and ate some amazing food. She's leaving to visit Jessi for a week as a final birthday gift to herself. On Leap Year day we went to Jardin, a fancy vegan restaurant on the near east side with Erika and went nuts savoring lots of starters, a couple of meals and deserts. On the first of March we went to the Nitty Gritty, a local birthday burger place for burgers and fries. Then on Saturday, Monika drove out to Milwaukee to have lunch with a friend and got in a 3 car pile up-- ending all the celebrations with bang. It will be a few weeks until things get settled. Luckily Monika works from home and will be in Virginia visiting Jessi for a bit. It felt like just a bit too much drama to kick off March!

I'm off to a great start!

My first 2 weeks of the new semester have been pretty great, but so busy. Everyday goes by like a whirlwind of activity. My first couple of days were slightly overwhelming but once I got projects going, my days got into a nice rhythm. The trick is to keep my kids busy with projects. I have a few high needs students that keep me on my toes, especially in ceramics. I'm excited about all the "new" projects to get into, especially printmaking.

Other than work, I don't have time for much else. I try to workout everyday at least once. I spent time with Jim last weekend and the weather was so mild we got in a couple of very long walks. I even got my new car washed. I worked on my taxes this weekend and I'm bummed I have to pay more this year than I did last year. Why does making more money mean paying so much more in taxes!!? It's kind of painful. I have a painting to work on for a show I'm planning to put on at the end of the school year. I've only got 118 days left of school! Yes, I'm counting down already.

2 Snow Days!

They called a snow day for Tuesday and again for Friday. On Tuesday, I worked on my Plex set up, shoveled 3x and went downtown to see Beetlejuice with Monika. Luckily they called Friday's snow day early Thursday afternoon so I was able to pack up the car quickly after school and high tail it up to Minnesota before the storm came. The brunt of the snowfall storm was south of Jim, but the cold winds were harsher up north. I still got my fair share of shoveling. Jim loves to walk in the cold, so not only did I get in an extra day (I was planning to visit for the long weekend already) but I got in way more exercise. Jim is on a keto diet, so when I go visit him I trade my vegan diet for a very non-vegan one. I try to eat clean which is a little easier to do living with Monika but Jim tries not to eat anything processed either, no dairy or bread. So it's just a very different kind of "clean" -- either way, I like to drink diet coke and crystal lite which is probably my biggest source of chemicals in my diet. Anyway, for a predicted mild winter, so far we've gotten a ton of snow!

A Winter Storm is coming...

We've had a very mild winter thus far-- light snow in Madison but hardly any in Rochester. BUT a possible big storm is coming on Tuesday. Nothing is for sure when it comes to weather, but we are supposed to get 1/2 a foot. I'm excited for the possibility of being able to pull out the cross country skiis, but in the mean time, I'm trying to utilize exercise in my basement. I am struggling with weight gain and I know I need to eat less food, eat more protein, and mostly exercise more. I'm utilizing my apple fitness app for exercis mostly, as I've given up a few other diets and apps I've tried this past year. Everything is so much harder the older I get, but at the root of the issue is just eating less and exercising more. 

Happy New Years!

I spent the week with Jim to ring in the new year. I had a long list of things to do but didn't do much. I finished my 2023 scrapbook on Shutterfly, took lots of long walks with Jim and almost finished a book. I watched tv, cleaned and just tried to spend time with Jim since our time together for the rest of the winter will not be as plentiful. The school year is busy for both of us as we both tend to get lost in our work. I feel like I have so much to do.

The next 6 months will be kind of crazy as the yearbook starts to heat up with a deadline at the end of every month from December to April. I finally got my Plex up and running but have to do a lot of reorganizing of files. The thing for January is the change from 1st to 2nd semester classes. Finishing 1st and starting 2nd will be a huge transition. Next semester I have my craziest schedule of my whole career and I'm excited to see how it all pans out. I tend to shut down when I'm overwhelmed, so I have to keep myself up and running. I said no to summer school, knowing I will need that time for recorving and shit ton of stuff I have planned. I'm already counting down! (about 22 weeks)

Happy Holidays

Vacation started on a Thursday, 12/21, so the weeks feel a bit wonky. The prep for Christmas was relaxed. I kicked my time off with a massage and a haircut and color. My grey is sparse but I wasn't thrilled with bright highlights last August and decided to tone them down for winter. Friday, Monika and I made more tamales-- vegan ones this time. Jim came down to Madison on Saturday and Jessi went to Idaho to visit Connor's parents. Erika spent most of the weekend with us which was very nice. We enjoyed fires, movies and conversation... We ordered Thai food for xmas eve and had Mexican food feast for Christmas.

Jim and I left for Rochester the day after xmas and went straight away to the Mazda dealership. We had ordered a 2024 CX-90 in August and were still waiting for it. Every month they told us it was coming but was not available. It was a premium packaged, turbo, hybrid, blue SUV with a towing package. My Yukon was on it's last leg and I just couldn't wait another month. I asked them to either find the car I ordered somewhere we could go get or find another one on the lot in a different color. I had my choice between black, red and quartz. I was thrilled. I had wanted the quartz in the first place but Jim wanted blue. While the interior is "greige" leather -- a grey-beige combo-- it's pretty light! It's my first new car since the Nissan I got in 2009 (for half price). I left the Yukon in Madison, so I'll need to ditch it asap. With all that's wrong with it, I'll be lucky not to have pay to unload it.

 

Merry Christmas!

Extended version: 2023 was a full year, with lots of love, accomplishment, travel and a bit of sadness. After 2 full years of grad school Erika finished her Masters in Special Ed. Sadly, she was surplussed at Memorial and was transferred to an elementary school. She enjoys the younger students and loves recess duty which makes sense since recess was always her favorite when she was in elementary school. Jessi spent much of the year in the Mediterranean and Red Sea. While she enjoyed her time in Greece, she was not happy in Djibouti and absolutely thrilled to come home in August. Monika had a convention in Orlando, Florida we were able to all converge at. Monika fit in many adventures this year, including spring break with Jim in California dealing with grandma Lena's house, lots of concerts in Chicago and Minneapolis, some camping and a trip to Bosnia with Jim in October.

I finished my 25th year of teaching in June and ended the school year in tears. Balt left us on the last day of school, leaving me with an unfill-able hole in my heart. I don't think I have ever missed anyone in my life as much as I have missed my buddy Balt. I spent a week at Jessi's after his passing, walking on the beach, doing a lot of yardwork and mourning. I brought back her cats for the rest of the summer. I had a surgery in late June that kept me out of water for the first summer in my life. I taught summer school for the first time in a long time but on line in Rochester for the first time! In late August I started my 26th year in a brand new building. After 2 years of construction, we got all new art rooms to teach out of. For the first time in a very long time I have a classroom all to myself. 

Jim started his 14th year teaching History and Community Engagement at UMR. He stays very busy in Rochester volunteering, teaching, traveling and taking care of the house. We try to connect at least once a month when we can either in Madison, WI or Rochester, MN, but life living in two cities isn't always easy, it's a juggle but also a blessing. Having all three girls safe and close by is definitely the greatest blessing of all this season. Christmas has become a holiday about connection, family and taking a break.  I'm so thankful for this time.

Happy Thanksgiving

I was very ready for a fall break and so glad we now get the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday off as well. I used to have to get permission to take Tuesday and Wednesday off for travels but this year I stayed in Madison. Jessi came to Wisconsin with her boyfriend. Jim traveled to Canada for a conference, hoping I would join him but did not want to miss out on time with the girls together. While we were missing Jim, it was wonderful to have Jessi home for a few days. We made all the traditional fixing plus a few more extras. Monika got us tickets to My Fair Lady at the Overture on Friday and spent the evening walking around the capitol and picking up some yummy Wisconsin delights.

I feel like I have a ton of things to do but am in no mood to do too much. I'm enjoying savoring the time to celebrate the changing season, cooking and cleaning, making fires and watching movies.

Weekend in Rochester

Friday was parent/teacher conferences so I was able to run out of work right away and get to Rochester for dinner with Jim. Spending the weekend up north is always a bit like a nice getaway. Jim keeps the house pretty clean (except for the shower and toilet). I packed up all the fall decor and started getting the christmas stuff out. Jim and I went for a couple of long walks and enjoy some quality time together. I do love having a gas fireplace which makes morning fires so much faster and just as warm. It is certainly a lot cleaner, although I did clean the glass which can get pretty blackened. We also had an outdoor fire in the solo stove which I got last year on sale at Costco and love. Jim had a Hmong News Years event at the university to go to Saturday which made for a fun outing. 

I got home early Sunday evening in time to have dinner with Monika and start planning our Thanksgiving holiday week. I only had two days of school to prep for and am so ready for some time off.