Tuesday, October 18, 2011

{Virtual Coffee}

Hello there! If we were meeting for coffee today you would be laughing at me. My hormones have been wreaking havoc on my system and I've had to pull out the heavy artillery.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would say that today is almost all about colour. Like the first bag of clementines I bought and the collard greens I have been craving

and the chinese lanterns I picked out of the bin

and the spectacular leaves that jump out at me.




I love the words on the random pages of the dictionary I opened to like, "hobgoblin", "Cornishman" (in honour of Kate from The Catalan Way who wrote me a lovely email this week) or "purge" - like tiny moments of kismet.

I might show you a few neighbourhood sightings like the sock monkey

or some diehard flowers that are keeping my spirit alive during these darkening days



How about this newly decorated garage door? It's on the house down the street, you know - the one that looks like the Brady Bunch lives there.

I would tell you how the wind blew so hard on Sunday I had to laugh at the canopy from Eyesore Number 1 that got washed and hung on the line (I was half hoping it would blow off and defeat the purpose of constructing the base layer next year)

I might show you a few scary things in our front yard


but this is the scariest - how much damage one squirrel can do in a few hours.

We've decided to give this one over to him in the hopes he leaves our other pumpkins alone.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would confess that my first favourite place for hiding Christmas gifts is now full.

And in an act of utter selfishness I made myself an earring this weekend. Actually, I made myself the companion earring to the pair I started to make a few years ago.
It may have been as short as one year ago, but it's more likely it was two years and it's kind of hard to tell in the photo but those small silver beads from Bali have tarnished, but only on the one earring that has sat on my table for so long. I guess I could be accused of procrastination.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would want to thank everyone who supported my dirty kitchen floor last week by the confessions about their own kitchen floors. I realize now that I really could have let my own go for a few more weeks, maybe even months. And then I would confess something I did since we last saw each other. Last Friday Riley came home with his first grade 3 report card and, according to his teacher, he is failing reading. I can't believe it, Riley can't believe, nor can anyone else who knows him. For the last three years he has been at the top of his class in this subject and all of a sudden he is incapable of reading and understanding text? So I kind of fired off a few rather aggressive comments in response, also questioning why he performs so much differently at home than in the classroom. I could have understood if she said he was struggling with writing (which is abhorrent and we are working on neatness) or in math since he is having a hard time getting his head around logic problems but reading? I sense something else going on here that is uglier than ugly and which is something I won't talk about here.

If we were meeting for coffee today I would tell you we went shopping for winter boots and discovered that Riley's feet have grown two sizes since last winter. I know it's natural and normal, but it still kind of freaks me out.

And before I go I would show you these gorgeous swatches of material I picked up for some upcoming projects. I already know what I am going to do with the red piece

and the rainbow roll of batik was too delicious to leave behind.

I might just hang strips of it all around the house like prayer flags.

I am going to send you over to Amy's Lucky Number 13 and ask you to save me one of her hillbilly lattes while I and google "how do I make a ninja headdress" since seeing all this orange has got me in the spirit for making a halloween costume.

8 comments:

Sherry said...

I'd be "steaming" virtually and otherwise if my child came home with a report card that said he was failing reading when he's always been at the top of the class. There is something very ugly going on there and I hope (and I know!) you will get to the bottom of that.

I love those leaves...they are as snappy as the fabrics you found!!

And here is to virtual prune juice and all the wonders it works!! xo

Cheryl said...

Okay, first the loves...those earrings are amazing and the fabric too cool. I would tell you that canteloupe is better than prune juice for what is ailing you. It is impossible to do well in any subject if you are failing READING! How do you do the other work if you can't read? Give me a break! Riley CAN read and if you need an attestation to that effect, I'm ready!

Beth said...

Uh-oh. Prune nectar. May the force be with you...
Hope you get the matter of Riley’s reading grade cleared up – pronto – and that he’s able to comprehend and deal with the “ugliness” involved.
Christmas??!! Haven’t even started yet...

Snap said...

Reading?!!! Excuse me?!!! There's something going on there ... you will handle it/her. I have two more afghans to make for Christmas and I think I'll make it. Cool front coming in today. The wind is horrible and I hope there are no more fires. So many dead trees. Love the fabric. I have a bead stash and a yarn stash and sure don't need a fabric stash, but my fingers are itching.......

oreneta said...

Die hard flowers inDEED! Those are amazing.

Now, I am in no way at all defending the teacher, hear me? You may want to ask her about her expectations, what is she defining as reading. Not saying that he cannot read, just saying that sometimes expectations can jump a lot as grades change and there may be a difference there. Just ask her what she is defining as reading.

Next question, why is it that the report card came home with a fail on it and you haven't had a talk with the teacher already. SO-RRY, report cards should not contain surprises.

Disheartening, discouraging and super frustrating. Go girl!

Anonymous said...

I so feel for you. My son is struggling with 1st grade and I think he has dyslexia which runs in my husbands family. The teacher, however, believes he is just lazy and defiant and CHOSING not to do his work. Aparently the school system here doesn't acknowlege or test for dyslexia. Soooo frustrating! I'm seriously thinking about homeschooling, eventhough I have no patience. Sending you comfort. I love those leaves and those bones in your yard.

Amy @ Lucky Number 13 said...

ughhhh...that really sucks. i am sorry and i hope you get to the bottom of what is going on soon. why would you not know before his report card that he was failing or having trouble?
i love the sock monkey hat and the gorgeous leaves--i just can't get enough of the gorgeous fall leaves this year! are you really that ahead of the game with christmas shopping? omg, you just made me feel way worse about myself and my procrastination then i already did. ugghhhhh.
thanks for coffee today!

Kim Mailhot said...

We use Plum Juice when such circumstances arise here - a little gentler but equally effective, much tastier and plum rhymes with bum, so seems fitting somehow...

Not liking this reading grade with Riley's teacher at all either. I know you will use that Momma Bear strength to get you all on the page you need to be on...

Love your bits of fall chez vous. Missing you...
Big hugs !