Tied to Rest

Our school district scheduled a mid-winter break day which is tomorrow. I have much to do the next three days, but this evening I have devoted to just resting. I read a magazine, checked email, will watch the Zags, and read a book before bed. It is such a treat to be able to rest. Ahhhhhh!

Tied to The Geek Squad

Tonight I became a junior member of the Geek Squad. About a week ago at school I got this big warning on my computer screen about my identity being stolen, trojan attacks, worms and who knows what else. I was on a safe teacher research site. When I clicked the warning it said to get rid of it all I needed to purchase some program. I called my tech guy in the library and he came to the rescue. These are showing up on many computers in our school and after I did some research found out they are showing up all over. I knew I had updated security software and figured the messages were bogus. They were. It is just a big, horrible virus which can override your own security system. It doesn't go away either.

The other day when I arrived home JEJ had the exact same message on his computer. Oh dear I thought... here we go again. His took the sound off the computer, slowed it way down, and stopped him from downloading certain things.I asked my tech guy what to do and by the end of the day he had a step-by-step sheet for me to take home and try. After an hour of work on the computer tonight I got rid of the scary virus. I really felt like a junior member of the Geek Squad. I was so glad when that bogus shield disappeared.  An anti-malware download helped so much.

These are called Rogue Security Tools. This was a new term to me, but when I researched more about it I learned they are a real problem. Another term is rogue security software because people buy these programs online after the warning and they are buying a virus for the computer.

I just did a scan on my own computer and it came up clean. There are enough real health viruses out there. I don't need these annoying ones that creep into computers.

Tied to William Stafford

After a busy teaching day and a hectic evening grading student work it is nice to end the day with some poetry. Today I chose to read William Stafford. I don't remember ever reading this poem, but really like it now.

Our Story
Remind me again- together we
trace our strange journey, find
each other, come on laughing,
Some time we'll cross where life
ends.  We'll both look back
as far as forever, that first day.
I'll touch you- a new world then.
Stars will move a different way.
We'll both end. We'll both begin.

-William Stafford

Tied to Black and White Photos

Last year as I was  studying the work of photographer Ansel Adams I began to see distinct beauty in black and white photos. I gave my brother a book for Christmas on black and white photography and now wish I had a copy of the book also.  Most of the time I change the photos to black and white after I take them. I don't really look at a subject in terms of black and white.

 I made photo calendars for family and friends for Christmas. It was interesting to look at photos changed to black and white and also to revisit those already in black and white. I made calendars for my brother and myself using only black and white photos. Here are a few favorites I found today while organizing photo files.

Sibling Assignment # 121: Tied to a Teacher: Mrs. Tregoning

This is the fourth sibling assignment we have used with Tied.  Silver Valley Girl gave us this assignment. "Write about seeing someone after a long time, and how the emotional ties you had with each other contributed to your experience of being with that person again."I will link to my siblings' posts soon.

I have shared many school memories on this blog. My friend Dawn and I help each other recollect the special events and activities from Mrs. Tregoning's sixth grade class at Sunnyside School in Kellogg, Idaho. You wanted to work hard in her class. You wanted to behave. She had a way of pulling the best she could out of every student she had. She encouraged me to write stories, she chose my pencil sketch of my shoes for the art contest ( and I won!), and she inspired  my love for reading and poetry. She was calm, kind, and very wise. I loved her class and had deep respect for her.

About eighteen years later I saw her again. Now I am sure our paths had crossed during junior high and high school. I only lived a block away from her house.Seeing her again was after I was married and a teacher also. I spent some time each summer at Rose Lake in northern Idaho. I was in a lawn chair on the dock reading a novel when I heard voices next door . I looked up and saw Mrs. Tregoning walking gracefully down the steps toward the beach. She was dressed in casual summer attire, carrying a drink, and laughing with our neighbors.  I remember thinking, " Is that really Mrs. T.?" I had never known of her to hang out with Floyd and Eva.

I felt like I was back in sixth grade. For some reason I thought I shouldn't be laying in a chair on a dock, but up doing some important reading or reciting some poetry. All these memories of stories to the Amazon, "Oh Captain, My Captain", water color painting, the end of the year picnic in Pinehurst,and Weekly Readers came rushing back.

I got up and went and talked to her. I was an adult, but felt awkward like I was the kid too young to be at the adult party. She put me at ease though. She inquired about my life and teaching. I was sixth grade polite. I explained about my job teaching in Kennewick. What I really wanted to explain was how she inspired me to become a teacher, how I tried to carry so much of what she modeled for me into my classroom, and how she was a hero to me. Still, I was sixth grade polite.

As the group walked to the dock and loaded on the floater I went back to my chair with my head still swirling with sixth grade memories. She smiled and waved again as I sat back down. She made me feel proud to have continued with my education and become a teacher. Once again she had that quiet way of making me feel important. Thanks to my classmate Rick Chapman for posting our class picture on Facebook.

Tied to Garden Walks

Every season of the year I love to walk around our property, but this year with signs of spring showing so early it is especially enjoyable. Take a walk with me and see

the red dogwood willow,

the pond without ice,

a lone watering can,

buds building on a rhododendron,

 sprouts pushing out of the soil,

and birdhouses waiting once again for the bird families to come and make nests.