School is Starting Soon--Shopper News

Although we no longer have school-age children, most of us are still on a "school schedule." Of course, some of us are retired teachers, so that is not too unusual. It seems that in every small town, the pulse of the town is sometimes based on what is happening at the local school and we are no exception.

The Shopper was full of mainly school news this past weekend--bus schedules, articles from the Superintendent, articles from the principals, articles about what is needed for the students.

The PTO had a big front page ad listing its ongoing accomplishments and announcing their meetings. The first meeting is coming up on September 6 at 2:30 p.m. Not only do they have ongoing projects (such as the playground equipment, book fair, bike rodeo, Grandparents' Day, Teacher Appreciation, yearbook, Mitten Run, etc.), they also have made donations to various school-related organizations. We can all help out by dropping off our Box Tops for Education, which brought in nearly $4,000 last year (and our school was in the top 10% nationwide for this!).

The school calendar is listed also. The teachers are already in meetings today and tomorrow, with Tuesday, September 5th, the first day of school this year. We will all have to watch out on Monday night because the local water pressure might be low as all of that summertime dirt gets washed off before the first day of school!

There is something called "Power Lunch Accounts" that parents of elementary students are encouraged to set up. It seems to be sort of a "Pay it Forward" account for school lunches for the kids. Great idea--no more excuses for lost lunch money!

School pictures are scheduled for Friday, September 8, for grades 7-12. Watch out for that water pressure again on Thursday night! It costs $3 to rent a lock for a locker--but it will be returned when the locks are returned in the spring.

Parents are reminded that immunizations for the students must be up to date. If they are not, the student will be asked to stay home until they are.

A whole system is in place for how students should report their child's absence--a note or a phone call or email. My, how times have changed!

Supplies are listed for materials for the classrooms. We should probably be making some donations to some of the parents as some of these lists look pretty costly.

The elementary school principal also has a letter welcoming the students. It appears that the starting dates are sort of staggered. It looks too complicated for this old brain and many of us are at the point where we don't learn something new if it doesn't pertain to us--selfish, but we deserve it and have earned it! School pictures will be taken on Thursday, September 7th. My gosh, that means no water pressure on Wednesday night also. Guess we'd better bathe during the day next week!

One of the big stories is about our new school project. We have all watched as the playground equipment has been moved and some of the old buildings are being demolished. It seems that there is something new happening every week. The Superintendent reminds us all that the primary goal is providing a first rate education for the students and that it is not the building that creates this quality, but the teachers do. He reassures us that everyone and everything is "good to go" for the school year. He reminds the students that the secret to success is to attend regularly, listen to the instructors, and turn in assignments. He also says that parents should listen to the school, listen to their children, and remember that neither of them always has the full story! Good advice for all of us!

The transportation schedule and maps are included but it takes younger eyes to read the map--we're sure that everyone will get to where they are supposed to get. The Fall Sports Schedule is also listed. There is a football game next week, a girls' swim meet, and volleyball games. Many of us attend some of the games and meets to keep us all young and in the swing of things in the community.

There is a lot more going on in our community, but, for now, back-to-school is the most important event! We'll keep you all posted on how it all comes together.

Roommates' Reunion

Mary and her two roommates from college have been getting together since the early 80's, meeting each summer. It started out as a lunch meeting half way between, in Hinckley, MN. That wasn't enough time for the catching up they had to do, so next they planned one- or two-night sleepovers--at Isle Royale, Bayfield, Minneapolis, Duluth, each of their three homes and more. Five years ago they tried kayaking for the first time and decided to repeat that event, so Viv and Diane came to Mary's house this summer. One day was a perfect day for kayaking on a nearby lake--"a little wind, a clear blue sky, and time to skim over a good portion of the lake," according to Mary. Other activites this year included a nap after kayaking, lunch and dinners out on Mary's screen porch, watching "North Country" on a DVD, walking and having coffee with the WT's. They looked at each other's pictures and talked about the trip they'd made during the past year. Mary, of course, has her own business (See the link for Mary's Productions on the right), Diane has retired from teaching and has written a poetry book, and Viv is still teaching and has also started quilting. As Mary says, "The old cliche says it all: 'A good time was had by all.'"

All the WT's enjoyed the visit at coffee and look forward to more visits and tales in future summers!

Our Own "Constant Gardener"

We have many wonderful and talented gardeners in our group. A couple of years ago Pat decided that she wanted to re-do her gardens. She had it all planned and implemented the changes last year. The result has been a gorgeous garden of mainly perrenials in her back yard (but visible from the street if one really looks!).

Pat is very generous with her flowers. She brings them to her church on a regular basis and the congregation loves to look at them during the service. She also shares them with family and friends.

She has two raised areas with gorgeous flowers. The nice thing is that she can sit and work in the garden and reach it from almost every side. She really has made us all think about what we can do to make gardening easier and it is even more evident to see how the results have been worth it!

Jeep Travel Bug in Geocache

Today WoodsWoman (aka Jodie) launched a Green Jeep Travel Bug in our WT's Centennial cache. The TB is part of the 2006 Jeep 4X4 Geocaching Challenge.

This Green Jeep Travel Bug is named in honor of Slide Mountain. Slide Mountain is located in Wyoming and sits 9,630 feet above sea level.

Hopefully, someone will soon pick it up at our cache and get it moving so that we can keep track of it!

"Fab Five" Does Wisconsin!

Two of the Walkie Talkies--Mary and Tee--were part of the "Girls Gone Wild with a Rented Minivan" Road Trip. They motored to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, on Thursday, August 3. The purpose of the trip was for Mary to tape a PBS fund drive with Nancy Zieman, to promote "Sewing with Nancy" on public television stations (see link on the right). The pledge special was LIVE in Wisconsin on Saturday, August 5 and was also taped for showing anytime during the next two years on public TV stations across the country. Mary was Nancy's guest, promoting the Sweatshirt Makeovers programs and book they taped in 2005. The other four road trip participants (Nancy H., Sarah, Renee and Tee) took pledges on the phone in the studio so you'll see them too if you watch the pledge special. In our area it'll be showing sometime in December (We will be sure to let our readers know when it'll be playing).
Photo above: Left to right--Nancy H., Sarah, Mary, Renee and Tee. The "Fab Five" with their mini van on a rainy Sunday morning before their return home.

Other activities included lots of sweet corn (and more that was brought home on Sunday), a trip by Sarah and Nancy to find a yarn shop located on a sheep farm, lunch at Chipotle on State Street in Madison, a great tour of Nancy's Notions with Deanna, and relaxing at the pool and the lovely back yard of Nancy and Richard Zieman. Richard was the head cook for two great outdoor dinners.

Above: The "Fab Five" with Nancy Zieman at her home where the group celebrated with a birthday cake for Nancy H. who soon has a milestone birthday. Seated: Sarah and Nancy H.

Standing L to R: Renee, Tee, Mary and Nancy Zieman.

P.S. Deanna called the group the "Fab Five." When Tee heard the name, she thought it was the "Fat Five!"

May We Take Your Pledge, Please?

Mary and four others are off to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, this morning for a road trip and working adventure. Mary says that perhaps it's a "Girls Gone Bad" trip in a rented minivan! On Saturday they will be in Madison taping a PBS pledge special for "Sewing with Nancy." The topic will be sweatshirts. Her four cohorts will be handling the phones for the pledges coming in while Mary will be the guest talking about the shirts with Nancy. The pledge special will be live in Wisconsin but will be taped to show at other stations in the United States. This means they will be able to watch themselved in December on PBS from Duluth.
"Sewing with Nancy" (above photo) is TV's longest-running sewing program. Nancy Zieman and her guest, our own WT Mary, share their love of the sewing arts and explore the latest ideas in the country's most popular crafts. Check out the link for Nancy's Notions on the right and for Mary's Productions.

We will be sure to share any travel adventures with our readers next week.

We will also be sure to let you know the program's number so that you can check your local PBS listings to see when it will be on in your area.