Dum Dums and Smarties

The other day I was waiting for something at the bank. I spotted a big basket of Dum Dum suckers (lollies) in the waiting area and proceeded to fish out my favorite kinds. I was so excited because the suckers brought back fond childhood memories of going to the bank with my mom. We always got Dum Dums from the teller and it was the highlight of the day! I started thinking about how Dum Dums at the bank are an American tradition and wondered if they provoke such enjoyment for others. If so, I thought they would be the perfect candy for the basket in our office. I was recently given the responsibility of picking up some candy. I wanted something unique to our office and something that I would not be tempted to eat all day long since the candy basket sits on my desk.

When I bought the candy at Walmart I realized that bags of Smarties were just as cheap as the Dum Dums so I loaded up on both of them. It wasn't until I got to the office and somebody pointed out the hilarity of my purchased that I realized what I had done. Dum Dums and Smarties? So now it is a passsive aggressive stress management technique for me. When a student is annoying me I say "How about a Dum Dum?" When I'm impressed with them I say "How about a Smartie?" When they ask if they can have a piece of candy, I say "Choose wisely."

Stuck on a beautiful day

We have had a succession of beautiful days on Lookout Mountain and I hate being stuck in an office. Especially now because we are a bit slow and I seem to have a hard time coming up with more work. This morning there was a lot of slow traffic over the bridge during my commute. When I got to the bridge I realized it was because everyone slowing down to look at the stunning sunrise over the mountains.
So I was just thinking about where I would rather be on a beautiful day......I decided I wanted to be in Edinburgh Grassmarket at my favorite restaurant Petit Paris. This picture was taken there last spring. I just noticed for the first time the accordion players behind me.
I'm about to get some fresh air while I make the 30 second walk to French class. Maybe I can convince le Professeur to have class outside!

Is the weekend here yet?

Today was a typical Monday. It seemed that everyone in the office had a hard time getting in gear for the week. In addition, emotions were running high with the anniversary of September 11th. There were moments of silence, times of prayer, time spent recalling what we were doing when we heard the news, etc.

For me the real work began when I left the office. Stacy had a meeting tonight so it was me alone on the homefront with three children and lots of homework. I cooked dinner while helping oversee Anna and her math homework. (Overseeing mostly meant keeping her from killing her brother who was pestering her to no end!). Dinner was served, dishes were cleaned and two loads of laundry started. Anna & Megan continued on homework, Luke and I headed out to the little house of learning therapy. Anna followed for her therapy - both learning and vision. Then back to the big house for checking homework, preparing Anna for her science quiz, working on a rainforest project, continuing laundry, evening showers, vacuuming the kitchen, and planning for the week ahead. I collapsed at 9pm to watch the President's address. Soon the laundry will be done and I'll head to bed. I can't wait to go to work tomorrow so that I can rest!

Hear no, See no, Say no....

I've been going through pictures from Scotland and this is a favorite. We could call it "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Say No Evil". (What exactly is Roddy doing?)I miss all three of these fine men very much.

Interestly enough, this picture was taken on a walk in Glasgow's Merchant City during the Festival of Lights. Last week my Time Magazine had a small blurb on the artist who created that light show. If I was better at this I could include a link to tel you more about him (how do I do that?). Och, who cares!

Grace, Agnes, and the little house

This is my grandmother, Grace Lamson. In July we had a lovely family reunion on Lake Huron in Michigan. I love this picture of Grandma all wrapped up on the windy beach.


This is my little house. I've completely killed the two hanging baskets that were once lush and full of tiny white flowers. Actually, they needed more sun and nothing I could do would help them. Since this picture I have a new permanent cement step and soon will have new landscaping! (And new baskets!)


This is my BIG white car named Agnes. I'm not usually one for naming cars but it was the only way I could cope with driving a car this huge. This car used to belong to my grandparents and it is the classic pensioners car in America (also the common police car). My dear friend Agnes in Scotland used to joke that she was way to young for her name. I am way too young to drive this car, hence the name.