Letters from Lisa

Rare Cambodian Soft Shelled Turtle Found

It looks like it was run over by a truck. Truly weird.

This past week was a busy one for us at school - starting on Monday afternoon, when the Art Show moved in and took over the lab. My desk, supplies, experiments in progress, and my tortoise were barricaded from view by a teeming Aztec temple, complete with altar and skulls. The rest of the floor space became an art museum of clay vessels and canvas paintings and marionettes. Just about everything that I used was entombed completely out of reach, including my computer and chair - so I became a temporary nomad. (I did manage to get back behind the walls and leave food for Lucky Jr. every day, but I think she was creeped out by the temple - she barely ate all week.) Many of my classes were canceled anyway, due to rehearsals and performances and tours and the like, but the classes I did have had to be conducted up in the classrooms, and had to involve items I could get to easily. Thankfully there were ducks hatching up on the 2nd floor in the incubators, so we had some science to do, even if our other projects had to be put aside.

The first day was the hardest. I wandered from room to room, scoping out available space to put my belongings down or possibly sit somewhere. The trouble was that, simultaneously, everyone’s art classes were canceled (so that the art teachers could be curators for a few days), the auditorium was being used for concert rehearsals, the high school kids were scattered all over the building taking SATs (shudder) and Monday afternoon was spent frantically tidying up the hallways so that they would look presentable - meaning it was not exactly the time to walk into someone’s room or office and ask if you can clutter up their space with YOUR stuff when they are busily figuring out where to safely stash their own.

This is the first year that I’ve experienced the concert, art show and Grandparents Day without a homeroom class of my own. It’s definitely a different experience. I don’t have the daily contact with parents that I used to, so I met a lot of people for the first time. Many assumed I was the art teacher, because my room was taken over by the art show. A few guests asked me what the kids were learning in science, so I tried to give a short sound bite - as if what we’re doing could be summed up in 30 seconds or less. A number of people did say, “Ah, I’ve heard all about you,” a comment that if not followed by “He loves science!” could be taken in a variety of ways. But seriously, people are always very nice when they visit us. Some of the compliments about my class were so nice that I wondered if they had the right person! It made me wish - quite momentarily, and I’m over it now - that we did a science fair or some sort of special event of our own, so that we could share more clearly and thoroughly what we’ve been doing all year.

I’m always intrigued to see the students with their parents, grandparents, and families. It allows me to picture them in a different way. A fuller way. I met baby sisters and grown cousins and stepdads and the sort of family friends that kids call “Uncle” and “Aunt” even though they aren’t technically related. People that the kids interact with every day, who are way more important in their lives than their science teacher will ever be. Some of the kids were enormously excited to be able to show off their artwork and singing, literally dragging their guests from room to room. Many ceremoniously stopped in front of me and said, “Now Grandma Jane, I would like you to meet my science teacher Lisa…” as though we were being presented at a ball. It was wonderful. Some years I’ve had people pull me aside and start asking me if it’s very hard to work with “these kids”, who have “problems”, but I didn’t get the feeling this year that anyone was looking around and finding fault with what they saw. Overall a good feeling.

And now I have my room back! Just in time to start cluttering it up with theater sets. We’ve got three rehearsals next week. I’m oddly unconcerned about the show for this year. Maybe I’m finally used to the routine of it, or maybe it’s just that this year’s group is especially capable and on top of things. Maybe I’ll be in a panic by this time next week. The school year marches onwards…

The Animated Bayeux Tapestry is probably the most awesome use of animation I’ve seen in a long time.

Where was this when I had to teach the Middle Ages???

Remember when the sweater was just a little scrap of thread? Wellll….

Here it is! Does it sort of look like it could eventually go on a human body? Right now I’m getting ready to join the sides together and then add the body. Eventually I’ll get back to the sleeves (currently hanging out on stitch holders) and at the end, fill the neck in.

I think it’s ready for its closeup.

One sleeve…

The other sleeve….

Hopefully there will be more progress to show soon! Not tonight though… I’ve been working on this so much that my hands are hurting. For a while I switched to the really gigantic Barbie needles and finished the scarf that was on them, and that gave me a little rest. But basically, I should probably take the knitting a bit easier for a few days. It’s getting too big to take on the train anyway.

You know what that means though… time to start another project…

I’ve had a few people tell me that the sweater I’m currently knitting is a “big project.”

No…. THIS is a big project.

Went to the New York Botanical Gardens yesterday…. it really IS spring now. 

Full album is here.