My Apologies!

Just a note to readers to say I'm sorry about so few entries on the blog. Time has vanished in the last few weeks. With Edith out, it's been my job to cover for her time, teaching, and regular school housework. Pulling a double every day has not been as easy as I would have liked to think it would be - Go Edith - miss all the work you did!

My Tuesday Column, which I used to write on Tuesday mornings will become Thursday's column because Thursday is my only shorter day now. Thursday's teacher column will appear on Tuesday.

It's a labor of love to write this thing. Finding interesting articles, doing a column, writing something about food, presenting new things, and the news about what's happening or going to happen in school is a lot of work and time, and it's something I need to do by myself.

In the greater scheme of things, a well rounded person has many interests that require his or her time. In my own life, I have several interests that seem to have been put on hold. I don't want the blog to be one of those things. As a person who has had a public voice for many years as a columnist for Scripps Howard and a writer for a subsidiary of NBC, I enjoy a public voice.

In addition, I have a garden which I am fond of keeping. It's a dark garden and filled with many many illusive and interesting plants like toad lily, wild ginger, orchids, penstemon and perhaps thirty other little goodies that all need care from time to time.

Another little project has been a postage stamp pattern king size quilt I now need to quilt. I've worked on this for many years. Each diamond piece is about the size of a postage stamp. Finding time to buy the quilt bat and lining is eluding me.

I write books. I have written seven and have been trying to finish the eighth called "Romancing Rachel." It was supposed to be a catharsis for my mother that has turned into something quite different. Writing takes a lot of time. Writers don't generally notice time drifting away - truly a liability. I have a publisher who is interested in a collection of short stories, and will want this book soon after.

I cook at home and at school. I am always looking for new foods and recipes for the children at school and to make at home. I spend at least three hours a day in the kitchen. Last week Miss Leigh and I were talking about possible picnic goodies and we came up with a kind of bread pocket baked meat and cheese deal that I could make with a ravioli cutter. Takes time to experiment...oh the time... but the end product sounds like something the kids would love, plus it would be very healthy and contribute to their delight in food.

As a long drawn out project, I live in a house built in 1830. It requires a lot of maintenance which eludes me most of the time. Getting to all five bedrooms, and corresponding downstairs rooms is a feat of time engineering that is mind boggling. I do manage to really clean my kitchen every Saturday morning. My kitchen has a real brick floor and antique furniture which needs to be washed down about every week.

I walk as often as time permits. Today, after I do the school shopping and cleaning the pet room which takes about an hour a day, I will hike over to see what work has been done on the new walking trail down by the water in Newburgh. I truly enjoy the new stretch between Water Street and Jennings Street.

I do have four grown children and six grand children I like to be involved with even by facebook. It takes time. I have three grandboys I see for several hours every Friday evening. I enjoy their company, and try to have something planned to do on these evenings. I have a wonderful 88 year old aunt, Gertrude, who I love to chat on the phone with. She's a magnificent woman. She has two of my fifty cousins who I am very fond of but don't have time to really keep up with.

And there is a life - partly lived, and partly put on hold. So when I fail to keep up with this blog, please forgive me. Summer is coming and I want to put a lot of time into the summer field trip schedule, new picnic foods, a schedule that will keep my teachers, and one that will keep the school fairly clean in our traveling absence.

Life - anyone's life is a wonderful challenge. Mine is no different from anyone's. It's a nice balance between creating, doing, involvement and being well through the right movement and diet. I highly recommend a good life. I highly recommend a fine husband. I have one; he's wonderful.