this fire horse year is already turning out to be a lot for my water pig self and my earth pig emotional support hound dog.

otis and i are watching ski mountaineering. this is wild. it’s like mountain rescue training turned into a sport.

y’all, school is on winter break this week, and i needed this so badly. downside: j is spending the next ten or so days in memphis, and going back to work next week while also managing the wild beasts of the household will suck.

one of my students is a scholastic gold key art winner for graphic design, and the show opening was tonight at KMAC. i’m wildly proud! i also really wanted this peacock in the gift shop. but, ya know, teacher money.

one of the best things about the winter olympics is that it’s at the right time of year to watch with my students. great opening to talk about global geopolitics while they are also trying to understand the rules of curling or ski jumping.

Had my @retroreport.org Teacher Ambassador orientation last night, and I'm excited to use more of these resources in my classroom this semester and next year. My 11th graders have really loved the lessons so far.

the otis-lympics are back. we mostly watched curling before today, but today we’ve so far watched team ice skating, the skiathlon, the men’s downhill, some of the women’s normal hill ski jump, and the women’s 3000m speed skate.

it’s tuesday afternoon. already this week we have had: 1) the small crisis of otis digging up a dead possum he was apparently ripening under the wood pile. 2) the bouyancy of the 1” tumor removed from my neck last month being confirmed benign. 3) the agony of all of the nectarines being too soft.

it’s our billionth anniversary. while there are not enough blueberry muffins in the world to drown out [insert wild arm waving at the general state of things], we’re going to try to embrace some joy over here.

season 2 is the best season of murder, she wrote, and otis and i will entertain no objections.

just watched three hours of bluey with otis and eddie while the house was cleaned. it’s the only antidote to them being pissed about being trapped in my office with me.

watching her run and jump in practice and at meets has really been a privilege as has getting to know her as a student and a person. go, natalie, go!

this summer we introduce the new weekly format of one task, one micro-adventure, and one bake of the week. now accepting suggestions for louisville & surrounding area micro-adventures!

it is the last full day of school. it is pouring down rain. it is yearbook signing day. it is a lot.

and we’re back. and it’s the last day before the last week of the school year.

i am co-coaching middle school track. i am not an athlete. i have never been a runner. i have arthritis in my joints and spine. three practices in, and my relationship with stairs can best be described as farcical. choices have been made. but i’ve had a lot of fun!

we have been out in the world a lot the last two days. today we are not.

observations: the potholes out here are excessive. people look at you funny if you sit in the parking lot of costco for two minutes to read the last seven pages of the book you *almost* finished waiting at the doctor’s office. costco is very crowded on friday morning.

snow day crew.

Scott County, Tennessee, has revolutionized its approach to reducing domestic violence, in part by requiring people who are ordered to give up their guns to disclose who is receiving the firearms. Now, following ProPublica and @wpln.bsky.social reporting, the entire state could follow its lead.

we’re bringing back the @barklifepod.bsky.social. we’ve even brought in a new audio engineer for the revamp.

we drew each other and then posed with the other’s portrait of ourselves.

today’s teaching assistants. none of them have planned any lessons or graded any papers.

we have five days of school until winter break. we just need to avoid snow, flu, etc. in order to make it in one piece.

we are underway for 2025!

did the state and federal taxes. put away the adding machine. debating whether to go back to trying to math out the knitting pattern or just read a book.

i started to write a knitting pattern this morning for a friend. got bogged down in the arithmetic. decided to get out my adding machine and do our taxes. weird brain logic strikes again.

pain meds ✔️ book to read ✔️ otis snuggles/supervision ✔️ plenty of fluids because someone was digging around in my kidney yesterday ✔️

there’s nothing interesting on the wall. he just doesn’t want to look too interested in eating my oatmeal while his brother’s here. (otis is my staunchest bodyguard.)

had my follow up xray this morning. there’s still some stones/pieces in there. back under anesthesia tomorrow and then back in bed jail. alas.

explaining anything to fifth grade boys is always a trip. today was a lesson about lithotripsy on my first day back: “ms h! your body made a rock!” “yeah, bro! and then someone blew it up while it was still in her body!” “so sigma!” “were there lasers?”

oh golly! having gender-specific bathrooms and spending time and money on signage and enforcement is ever so much more helpful than pencils and support staff.

the hypothesis that i could go a day being up and human has been proved. and so i return to bed in preparation for returning to my beloved middle schoolers tomorrow.

there’s an unopened package in our living room. neither of us knows what might be in the box. neither of us has made any move to open the box. the cleaners cleaned around it friday. the box remains an enigma.

news report from the dining room sofa: patient has escaped bed jail, and is engaged in an experiment regarding how long without a pain pill is feasible. reunited with senior citizen retriever who is, as always, a doofus.

left bed jail this morning for office sofa time while the house cleaner was here (gratitude for that beautiful privilege). now voluntarily back in bed jail because it turns out it really was better for me.

bed jail is getting pretty boring. otis is a very strict enforcer of bed rest.

don’t buy it from amazon. louisville peeps, it’s on the shelf at both @carmichaels.bsky.social locations and available through their website as a kobo ebook. everyone else, i’m sure your indie can help you. or definitely find it on bookshop.

had a kidney stone blown up this morning. my recovery crew is reliably on duty. keeping me company and encouraging naps. and i’m fine. i’m tired and cranky from the anesthesia, and a little ouch, but fine overall. i promise.

Today’s post is on positive reading for negative times thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com/p/godammit-y...

this is also a bit where i am. hatred and incompetence are so loud and love and competence are so quiet, but attention gives a lot of power to emptiness. so i think i’ll get loud elsewhere where it could do something rather than just feed the bully monster.

at my third medical appointment in two days. feeling grateful that i can afford to have all these wonderful people who help me tend to this mortal shell.

Take back your attention.

breakfast has an audience this morning.

For Booksky 📚 ❌ Goodreads: owned by Amazon. ✅ StoryGraph: black woman-owned, inclusive, has mood based recommendations! ❌ Audible: owned by Amazon. ✅ Libro.fm: supports local books stores.

jg is on a 36-hour meeting jaunt to st louis, so the dogs and i are lying low this evening. very low. horizontal. vibes only. no efforts.

the petit prince observes the surroundings of his domain.

this is me without the daily routine of working: i have run out of things to clean and organize. i can only “relax” for so long, and that time is far less than three weeks of no school.

been trying to emotionally prepare otis for school starting back up tomorrow and my being gone all day, but he is basically:

y’all, this weather is messing with my senior citizen retriever. he is accustomed to sitting on the deck for sunrise, and not being able to do that because it’s too cold is really throwing him off.