1.  We had to go back to work.  Poor us.  Actually, the first week of school was relatively easy for me.  I only have two classes to prep for this year, instead of 3 and my workload is noticeably easier.  Also, our student numbers are very low this year so I have a couple small classes – even one that is only 4 students!  I am again exceedingly thankful for the air conditioning in my room and my students love it too!

2.  Why you should never plant ivy!!  Here it is, growing back again.  I worked on it a bit more last night and cleared about half the wall, AGAIN.  We’re going to try to keep a closer watch on it this time and spray it with some kind of chemical when the new leaves grow.  (Sorry Eric.  It’s supposed to be the only way to keep it from growing back, short of removing every little root.  And we can’t do that in the wall.)

      

3.  Picking raspberries.  Nik went to the beach to hang out with his friends from Sunday morning until Monday afternoon.  It was our first time being apart for a night!   But we survived!  I had a great time seeing a couple of my friends, including Kristen.  We went raspberry picking on Monday morning.  Fresh raspberries are SO heavenly!  And now I have about 3 pounds of raspberries in my freezer, just waiting to give a taste of summer to the winter’s baking projects.

4.  Gluing mirrors.   One morning, about a week before we left for Alaska, we were sitting on our porch eating breakfast and we noticed that my driver’s side rear-view mirror had been smashed.  No other in the vicinity was hurt so I guess some kid, in a fit of rage, decided to take a bat to my mirror.  Very frustrating.  Because the break was clean (thankfully), we decided to try to fix it ourselves, rather than take it to a body shop and spend hundreds of dollars.  So, we went to Crazy Ray’s junkyard to try to find a mirror.  It was about 100 degrees and not the most fun 1/2 hour we ever spent.  After a few unlucky guesses (hint – the mirror on the 94 Camry is different), we found the exact same mirror for only $14.  Eat your heart out body shops!

       

5.  Getting ripped off.  My car sat for about a month while we were in AK and also figuring out how to fix the mirror.  In that time, my very old battery decided to die.  Once we jumped it with Nik’s Jeep and drove it to AutoZone to get a new battery, my airbag light wouldn’t go off.  My mechanic said I had to take it to a dealer.  Jerry’s Toyota charged me $92 (92!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to tell me that the code was for no voltage and that they fixed it.  I bet it took them about 10 minutes to hook it up, read the code, and fix it.  I still feel a bit outraged at the injustice of it all!

6.  Breaking the law.  We were pretty sure that we knew our neighbors’ names but weren’t positive.  So we hatched this plan where we were going to steal their mail (a federal offense) next time they went on vacation, verify their name, and then give it back.  Instead, yesterday, the mail man delivered their mail to us!  No theft necessary!  So now we know – Tim and Brenda!

7.  Gardening.  This cucumber went to Tina, Nik’s mom and we ate one last night.  The ants got the rest but hey, they were the first cucumbers I ever grew!  And the extent of our garden for this year (besides basil on the front porch for pesto and a few tomatoes).