From the Mouth of Babes...

I wrote a much longer post, but then Blogger ate it.  So here's the Cliff Notes version.

I was being lazy at the end of the day and asking students to do little things for me--hand me that paper, put this away, etc...  At this age (2nd grade) they are still pretty enthusiastic about being helpers.  One of my little helpers turns to me and says, "Hey, Miss Weathers it's like we are your minions. . .and you are our master!"  (skips happily away to do what I asked him)

How right you are! :)

Beach Vacation Part 2

After driving through the quaint beach town of Ocean Shores and getting some lunch at a very disappointing local burger place, I stopped at a small random beach.  It was much sandier than the one I was at earlier, more loose hard-to-walk-on sand instead of compacted.  By this time it was late afternoon so it was very warm, but the breeze off the water made it just perfect.

Annabelle keeping a look-out

After picking up some dinner at a local grocery store, I headed up to where I was staying.  Along the way I stopped off at the third beach of the day.  This time I was brave enough to drive right on to the beach.  Everyone else was doing it and it looked really fun, so I did it too.  Hmmm...luckily it wasn't illegal or dangerous so I guess it was okay to give in to peer pressure just this once. :)

Annabelle was still very unsure about all this water going in and out.

The tide was going out and we found a small tide pool that was pretty calm and warm, but she still wasn't loving it.

I was fascinated by the rippling effect the out-going tide left in the sand.

I'm totally going to get me one of those beach houses someday!

The setting sun.

I'm a little confused by this sign.  It was at two of the big beaches I was at.  I don't understand why they would prohibit cars on the beach during the main summer season, but it's allowed the rest of the year?

The view of the setting sun from my room. 

I was planning on watching the sunset at the beach, but to be honest I got a little cold and hungry.  It had been a very busy day and I knew I would have a pretty good view from the room.

Speaking of my room...

I would advise anyone thinking of staying here to take the word "resort" with a grain of salt.  Maybe it was considered a resort back in the '60's.

Retro room key.  

Unfortunately the decor was probably "updated" sometime in the '80's, so it wasn't so much retro as just plain old.  My philosophy is--the room you stay in isn't as important as the sights you are there to see, so I really didn't mind too much.

Love the politically incorrect housekeeping sign!

My "happy and content" face.  You can't really see my wind-blown hair in this picture, but it was pretty tangled.

Beach #4--Sunday before heading back home I stopped at one more beach.

I love the wind-blown shape of the trees on the hill and the striations of color in the hill.

 A flock of some sort of teeny-tiny sea birds--sandpipers?  They were really cute.

I met some nice ladies from Olympia and Kelso who wanted to come over and say "Hi" to Annabelle.  I took a picture of them and they took one of me.

Luckily there were no tsunamis while I was there!

Coming back home, my house was stuffy and hot, and it had me wishing I was back at the beach.  So...

anyone have plans for next weekend?

Beach Vacation Part 1

A last minute effort to get away from the "heat" wave that has been plaguing the Seattle area this past week, led me to jump in the car and head to the coast.  Some ocean air seemed like just the thing!

The instant Annabelle's paws touched the sand, it was like all she could think was "Must run!  Must run fast!"

Aahh!  Fresh ocean breeze!

Pelican?

More pelicans?

Pelican flying away from Annabelle.

While at the first beach, we came across some sort of kite festival.

It was the perfect day for kite flying--a strong breeze, blue skies, and warm but not hot.

Next I headed down towards Ocean Shores...

 Before, my fireplace was fine but looking a little shabby and out-of-date with the brass accents.  Now it's a little less shabby (more chic, perhaps) and all it took was a can of high heat paint and a few hours out of my Saturday.  I first got the idea here, and thought it sounded simple enough to try.

I removed the handles and lightly sanded the brass.

Then I taped off the glass and the tile in front of the fireplace (since I tend to be messy when painting).

I bought a cheap, disposable brush since the paint is oil-based and I didn't want to deal with the clean-up.  I'm kind of wishing I would have used a higher quality brush, since I had problems with the brush marks showing and some difficulty covering the brass completely.

Overall, I'm happy with the results.  I wasn't sure that I wanted to paint the handles completely black, so I decided to leave the wood part its natural color.  I still can't decide if I like it that way or not.  Luckily I have TONS of paint left, if I ever change my mind.

My New School

I stopped by the site of my school Sunday to see how they are progressing on the new building and the demolition of the old building. We are scheduled to open for the first day of school on Tuesday, September 6th. If you don't have a calendar handy, I will let you know that it's 2 weeks from tomorrow. Let's just say it's not as far along as I pictured it considering how much time is left before eager young students are expected to walk through the door. Hopefully those construction workers are going to work a miracle.

Where the office used to be.

What's left of the old bus loop, looking towards where the primary wing, or "pod" as we called it, used to stand.

Where the parking lot should be (I think)

Don't you just love the bright, cheerful (read: retina burning) colors they chose?

I'm pretty sure that trailer is about where my classroom used to be.

The cement pad of my old room is still there.

The play shed and gym.  I think the playground is going somewhere near here.

At first I was just going to peek at the site from the road. . . 

But I got more and more bold, and finally I ended up peeking into my new room.  

(Don't tell anyone, seeing how technically it could be considered trespassing!)

At least it looks like it's ready for students.