Northern Noise

What Melanie learned today. Don't fry okra naked.

Around our house, we're having a problem with the "F" word. No, it's probably not the one you're thinking of.... it's fart . I really hate this word; in fact, even typing it is a bit uncomfortable. The problem of the F word is compounded by two factors: one is a 7 year old boy, and the other is a stinky puppy. For some reason, my son feels compelled to say words which relate to body parts and bodily functions. Often these words are randomly blurted out for no apparent reason, but often they're incorporated into sentences or songs in a variety of ways. For example, on public television is a children's show where the characters go daily to the "book club." Except that whenever he hears it, Jed yells "to the butt club!" And then he giggles loudly... or looks at me and says with feigned innocence, "What??" The F word is his favorite however, and he'll often walk around singing or beat boxing, incorporating both the...

We've always had vole problems in this house.... one of my earlier posts talked about the "dark time" when the voles fought back and tried to poison my children as revenge for being hunted down and mercilessly killed. After that incident we went on a vole annihilation spree and it's been relatively quiet. But all good things come to an end. Last week I opened a cupboard to find vole poop. Proof that we were being invaded and that they were around our canned goods. I cleaned and bleached the entire area, cans included, and put out a trap. Within a couple of hours.... *SNAP* One vole dead and soon disposed of. I thought we might be lucky and that was the end of it, but alas, no. The next day there was new vole poop in the cupboard, and the trap was reset. Here's where things got interesting... shortly after setting the trap, I heard the distinctive snap as it released. I leaped joyfully up and ran to inspect my latest catch. But where a vole carcass shou...

Today my dad would have been 68. He was born on 4/24/42. I wish he could have lived to meet his new grandson, Connor Linden Jones. Happy Birthday, Pa.

For some reason, I'm feeling really dry right now. Not literally dry - drinking plenty of water - but creatively dry. Not sure why that is. I've had a lot of rejuvenation this year; I've been able to read and listen and think and write. Maybe it's the time of year. This time of year is always so incredibly busy, even when I'm not teaching it turns out! We've had birthday parties every weekend, meetings to attend, springtime performances from our favorite groups. Now the husband is getting ready to head out of town for 2 1/2 weeks.... So how do I turn myself back from the "have to do, keep busy" life to the reflective life of earlier this year? If I can't do it now, I certainly won't be able to sustain it next year when I'm back working. Right now, here's my plan..... do the "have tos" tomorrow and Friday. Friday evening Jed has his first sleepover and I go to the Fairbanks Shakespeare Friendraiser. Once that's d...

This was a weekend of culture for me. Saw 3 plays and a movie in 4 days... gave me lots to think about. The movie was Crazy Heart , with Jeff Bridges. He did a great job as a down and out alcoholic musician, who used to be someone famous. The movie hit home a few times. There was one scene where Bridge's character Bad Blake get drunk in his filthy home and falls onto the bed to pass out, narrowly missing the night stand. A little over a year ago, my dad fell and cracked his head, passing out on his bed never to wake up again. So that was kinda hard to watch. The other aspect of the movie that struck me was Bad Blake wanting to do the right thing, but not being able to. The alcohol, the years spent disappointing himself and others, the embarrassment all get in the way. Trust me in that the movie wasn't as depressing as I make it sound - it just got me thinking about some serious types of shit. Saturday night's play was Antigone, or I really wish you hadn't done ...

Today I went and took my first standardized test in over 20 years. With the GRE down, grad school - here I come!! Due to modern advances the test is given over a computer, so I registered last week and took the test today. Yesterday it occurred to me that I should probably know what the test is about, so I logged onto the practice website and spent an hour or so looking at tips and sample questions. Today I took the test, and even found out my scores before I left the room. Pretty nifty. I'm finally going to pursue getting a Masters degree, and a friend asked me why in the world I would want to take the GRE and go through all that trouble. It really won't help me on the pay scale until I get a Master's degree plus an additional 18 credit hours, and I don't need it to stay in my job. I remembered a quote from Edith Hamilton, " It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming...

One Christmas, Jed asked Santa for a puppy. So, despite Jed's mama's concerns, Santa brought Jedidiah a very cute, very tiny black lab mix pup. She was named Della, after the character in O. Henri's "Gift of the Magi." Jed loved the little puppy, so tiny that he could hold her in both hands, and his parents thought, "How wonderful this is! Evey boy needs a dog!" As Della grew she got more bold. She truly loved the boy, and couldn't figure out if he was really a puppy or she was really a human. Either way, playing with Jed meant chewing, biting, jumping, and wrestling. Jed loved the attention and encouraged such play, despite the warnings from his parents that he may want to teach her to play more gently. If the puppy was sleeping, the boy would sneak up and tickle her and get her wound up, enjoying the mischief and a partner in crime. But the puppy continued to grow, and one day when she want to chew on the boy, her teeth had gotten sharper an...

Well, it's snowing. Here I was on this big spring cleaning kick (and making progres too!) and I wake up this morning to grey skies and snow. So now I have a dillema; do I continue with productive spring behaviors, or do I start a fire in the woodstove, grab another cup of coffee, and snuggle under this blanket all day? It might truly be too chilly out to do much. And walking to the studio could be downright dangerous between icy spots and newly revealed dog poo. It might truly be wise to just sit in here and read and nap. Not that I want to, but why fight the fates??

I've been singing the songs from Jesus Christ Superstar , music by Andrew Lloyd Weber, in my head for the past few weeks and we finally watched the movie this weekend. It was filmed in 1973, on location in Israel and is beautiful to watch as well as hear. Not only is it the kind of soundtrack that gets in your head and stays there, but it offers a lot to think about. Jed watched it, and it was a great starting point to a discussion on Easter, and ultimately, human nature. I remember listening to these songs as a kid. My mom & dad would always put in records on Saturday mornings and sing along. There was also a drive from Seattle to Kenai in 1992 when the only cassette my dad and I could agree on was this soundtrack. 4 days of "Everthing's Alright." It's hard for me to pick a favorite song, character or scene from the movie. The film begins with a van full of hippie-looking people pulling up to the ruins of Avrat. They all get out and start getting rea...

Somewhere back when I was a new teacher, a colleague told me to save any notes or nice things students gave me. The gist was that teachers are often reminded of what we do wrong, we struggle daily and often receive nothing but complaints so keeping reminders that someone, somewhere once liked us can take one a long way. It's advice I always pass along to new teachers and interns. Today has been my morning to clean out the filing cabinets and file all the stuff I brought in big grocery bags from my classroom last fall. I've been amazed at how much I've thrown away. Why did I ever think I needed to keep all this stuff? The best find though, was a file of cards and notes from former students and colleagues. My heart if pretty full right now. I've really struggled with education this year, questioning not only the system but my role in it, my purpose and my success. Reading all of these notes not only validated some of the last 15 years of my life; it reminded me of ...

This morning my son wanted to sneak down into his father's truck and change the radio station, so that when he got in and turned the truck on "he would hear rock and roll instead of NPR!" Too funny, yes? Got me thinking of April Fool's Days past. Two April Fools Day pranks stick out in my memory, both of which involved my mother. One April 1, when I was probably 8 or so, we had our regularly scheduled Girl Scout troop meeting. When we got our snacks that day, we were all very excited - real chocolates, not just store bought cookies! Turns out the "chocolates" were styrofoam packing peanuts dipped in chocolate..... The other prank that sticks out in my memory also involves my parents. One chilly Alaskan morning, we children were awakened as usual and prepared for going to school. We finally left the house and headed for the bus stop where we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally we headed home to find that all of the house clocks had been set 2 hour...