Halloween in the country

Joseph and I baked a lemon tart with a chocolate crust for Gaela's birthday, which happens fall on Halloween.




Gaela seemed to enjoy her treat.


So did all of the shopkeepers and other eaters-of-the-tart, including Joe and me.


Then it was time for the town's Halloween festival.












To top off our Halloween, Joseph and I visited Bard for a John Cage percussion celebration.


I may have experienced a sugar crash during intermission.


Luckily, Joseph supplied me with more candy.


Happy Halloween, everyone. Another survival story. Thank goodness Halloween comes but once a year.

Pre-Halloween at school

Halloween is a big deal at my school.


Costumes ranged from thorough to slapdash.


Because there are many younger children in the Lower School, the Upper School was instructed to tone down any violent or potentially frightening costumes.


These aren't costumes; these two girls always dress like this.


Students from one of my favorite classes: Mythology, Meaning, and Metaphor.


A victim of an intense sugar high.


Another victim.


I have no idea if this was some sort of costume or just normal weirdness.


Medusa.


Medusa on sugar.


An aristocrat.


Yes, we're all nerds here.


Though I don't like Halloween, the school is a beautiful setting for autumn celebrations. Tomorrow is the big Halloween festival in town, and I'm thinking of dressing up like a wet blanket.

love at the lighthouse

Joseph and I spent an anniversary of sorts at the Saugerties Lighthouse.


I posed as though it was my senior high school picture.


Here, the background looks fake and I love Joseph's facial expression.


A beautiful fall day to celebrate our love.

Reading as a sleep-enhancement and seventh grade musings on death

Most nights during the school week, Joseph reads me to sleep from Gemini, a book we've been reading for about a year. In reality, Joseph retains the story while I'm knocked out after a couple of lines. We've started video-chatting lately, which adds an additional hour of talking each night, since we're both hams. But when he finally cracks the spine, I'm a goner.

It's Friday night, which means Joe will arrive in town in an hour and the distance between us will radically diminish, if only for a couple of days.

***
Teaching update: The students read their poems, eulogies, etc. about Sandy, our recently-deceased cardinal friend. Here are some 7th grade highlights, excerpts without edits:

"no more thoughts,
no more flying
Just one helpless bird
on her way to a better place,
a bird heaven,
a place with no
glass death beds."

"She wonders if this is how death is, a one moment, of just being free and open, nothing to hide, nothing is a secret, this magical force, it feels like it knows you, like its known you for a thousand years. How would I know?
This foolish young bird is me."

"Death is simple and easy, life is full of complications and difficulties."

"The bird that flew in to the window
to die there
to bad it wasn't made of jello"

Goodbye, Sandy.

During my Seventh Grade English class today, the students shared their journal entries written about The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which we are reading in class.

While one of the girls in class was reading, we heard a thunk against the classroom window. We went outside to find a dying female cardinal on the ground, who had run into the window.

Within seconds, the bird died.

The students found a cardboard box and we carried the bird into the woods where we buried her next to a tree. The girl who was reading when the bird died made a little plaque with marker on stone, which we placed beside the grave. Then we found a large rock to put on top of the grave, so that no animal would dig up the bird and eat her.

The students named the bird, Sandy, since glass (i.e. a window pane) is made of sand.

After sharing a moment of silence, we came up with a homework assignment: the students may choose any writing style that they wish (a poem, fiction from the bird's perspective, a eulogy, etc.) as long as it's about Sandy.

One of the students said, "Though we hardly knew you while you were alive, we will miss you, Sandy. Rest in peace."

There are no windows in bird heaven.

North meets South

Today my worlds came together. I helped chaperone a trip of students from the high school to New York City to visit School of Visual Arts and the Guggenheim. Some of the students are considering applying to SVA for college.


We took Metro-North down to the city.


Such a good student: he did homework for my class on the train ride to New York. Maybe he was just kissing up since he was sitting next to his teacher.


On the way downstate: happy and tired campers.


My country kids learned how to be in tight, city spaces today.


Looking at the art on our tour of SVA.


Subway fun.


Free day + Kandinsky at the Guggenheim = Over-stimulation.


Oh, the Guggenheim.


The kids ate it up, but I abandoned the field trip to go spend more time with Joe. I'll take Joe over Kandinsky anytime.


I finally had the opportunity to watch Joseph teach.


He was teaching his students how microphones work, which is way over my head.


To celebrate my visit, Joseph and I enjoyed buffet yogurt from Yogurtland, which has upped the prices since I've been away.


Goodbye, Joseph, see you Friday.

Quest for the Breast

Joseph and I spent early Saturday morning at school for a 5k to raise money for breast cancer research.


The good people of our little community showed up to run and/or walk.


Away we go!


Joe hung back to run with slow little me.


This was my first cross-country run, and I found it much more challenging than running on bike paths, sidewalks, and pavement.


Plus, it was a chilly day to be out in the woods. But the trail was beautiful and I'm glad we ran.


The finish line.


Mission accomplished.