Sunday Evening

Seems like I always find time to do this on Sunday evenings. Must be a wind-down before the wind-up kind of thing. Whatever!

So, on to all the news- or at least enough to fill a blog post.

The Silhouette is wonderful!!!!! I have barely used it- that will come next weekend- but it is obvious that it can do so many things. I am quite excited about the possibilities. Here is a picture of my first cut-out:


It's just a snowflake or whatever but it is about 6 1/2 inches across and there is no way I could EVER do this without this great toy! It finished in about a minute. I still have to play with the text function- it can cut out anything I print on my computer screen! This is gonna be GREAT!!!!

I will be leaving right from school Friday afternoon to go on my scrapbooking/cardmaking/crafty weekend. The Silhouette will definitely be going along!


I will be taking on a new job at school in addition to my regular teaching load. It seems probable that there will be little time for crafting- or sleeping, for that matter!- for the rest of the year. I don't really want to do it, but it needs to be done, and done right, and I know how to do it, so.....that's that. As for my word of the year about this, I am seeking to remind myself of this question: Will the students be better off if I don't do this? No.

Lots of news from the African webcams, sites and blogs. The Mapogo have established themselves as the dominant pride in the Djuma area. Friday night into Saturday morning those watching the Djuma cams heard much noise of lions roaring and apparently fighting. Daylight brought the news that they had found the Nhuhuma pride and killed at least one cub. The fight occurred over a giraffe kill that the Nkuhuma females had made to feed their cubs. The Mapogo have been staying close to the carcass ever since, and, as a result, there have been many viewings of them on the webcam. The guide on the drives during this time was a young man named Pieter, who did a marvelous job of understanding that those not from the bush would be upset about the death of the young cub, but explained in detail the lifestyle of lions and how this sadness would lead soon to new cubs, with the Mapogo as fathers. The exceptional strength of the Mapogo would result in cubs with strong gene lines, and the strength of the coalition would mean security for the cubs to grow up. Names are starting to be used to distinguish these lions and this one- check out the mohawk!- has been nicknamed Mr. T! Pieter has named the largest of the Mapogo "Shaka" after the great Zulu leader. I will try to get a good picture of him to post- he really is magnificent.

Snow is on the way! That can be good news or bad news. If the schools are open, then one hopes for very little- I don't relish driving on the stuff. However, a teacher's (and kid's) dream is LOTS of snow on a Sunday night- that extra long weekend is always nice. So, here's hoping for either 1 inch or 6!

Any Jane Austen fans out there? The BBC has produced "The Complete Jane Austen" which starts tonight with Persuasion. Persuasion is my most favorite Jane Austen book, excepting, of course, Pride and Prejudice. This Persuasion will need to be good to make me think it better than the 1995 movie version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, which was marvelous. The series will run Sunday nights on Masterpiece Theatre (PBS) from now through April. Most of the productions are new ones; the BIG exception is the incredible P&P done in 1995 with Colin Firth and Elizabeth Ehle- most Janites' definitive version. You know where I will be every Sunday night for many weeks to come.

Time to go lay out my clothes for school tomorrow, just in case. Flylady's teachings on that have totally ingrained in me- I cannot go to bed unless everything is ready for the morning.

Here's hoping for lots of snow!!!