1.  Cut plums in half and remove seeds

2. 8 cups of halved plums makes 5 half-pint jars

3. 8 cups of halved plums and 3 1/2 cups sugar.  Boil 10-12 min.  Use the cold bowl test.

4.  Honey’s tall white bucket makes 3 batches of jam (12 half-pint jars)

Watch this video to help “jog” your memory – small batch strawberry jam

Enjoy!

In case of Severe Weather during TAKS testing:

1. Should a severe weather situation occur during TAKS testing, please remain calm. To display any kind of anxiety would be a testing irregularity and must be reported.

2. Please do not look out the window to watch for approaching tornadoes. You must monitor the students at all times. To do otherwise would be a TAKS testing irregularity and must be reported.

3. Should students notice an approaching tornado and begin to cry, please make every effort to protect their testing materials from the flow of tears and sinus drainage.

4. Should a flying object come through your window during testing, please make every effort to ensure that it does not land on a testing booklet or an answer sheet. Please make sure to soften the landing of the flying object so that it will not disturb the students while testing.

5. Should shards of glass from a broken window come flying into the room, have the students use their bodies to shield their testing materials so that they will not be damaged. Have plenty of gauze on hand to ensure that no one accidentally bleeds on the answer documents. Damaged answer sheets will not scan properly.

6. Should gale force winds ensue, please have everyone stuff their test booklets and answer sheets into their shirts…being very careful not to bend them because bent answer documents will not scan properly..

7. If any student gets sucked into the vortex of the funnel cloud, please make sure they mark at least one answer before departing…and of course make sure they leave their answer sheets and test booklets behind. You will have to account for those.

8. Should a funnel cloud pick you, the test administrator, up and take you flying over the rainbow, you will still be required to account for all of your testing materials when you land so please take extra precautions. Remember, once you have checked them out, they should always be kept SECURE.

9. When rescue workers arrive to dig you out of the rubble, please make sure that they do not, at any time, look at or handle the testing materials. Once you have been treated for your injuries, you will still be responsible for checking your materials back in. Search dogs will not be allowed to sift through the rubble for lost tests…unless of course they have been through TAKS Administration test training.

This was our view from the school’s front door this morning.

Once again we woke up to snow on the ground.  I’m beginning to think I’ve been relocated to Alaska and no one has told me yet.

2009 has been a busy year for the Wilson’s.  We moved.  Again.  This time we traded our life in the city for one in the country.   We moved to Guthrie in June after accepting teaching positions with the school district.  I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about living so far from restaurants and Target, but we have all adjusted well and absolutely love our new life.

Darren really likes his job as Technology Director for the Guthrie School District.  All Middle School and High School students have laptops, and at the Elementary, there is one laptop for every 2 students.  All that technology keeps him very busy – but it’s a good busy. 

I am the Writing teacher for Kindergarten through 5^th grade.  My schedule is very fast paced, but I really love what I do.   The Elementary teachers have been great to work with and I’ve adjusted well to working with just 7 teachers instead of 90.  I’m happy to report that I knew all the teachers first and last names before school started.  That’s something I didn’t accomplish until I had been at my school in  Irving for 2 years.

Laura has come out of her shell here in Guthrie.   The kids here are awesome and have welcomed her into their group.  She has been staying very busy with cheerleading, cross country and basketball.   She will turn 13 on the 23^rd and is growing into a beautiful young lady.   When we decided to make this move, I worried about how well Laura would adjust.  But it’s turning out to be just the right place for her and she’s really starting the shine – inside and out.

Kate.  Well, what can I say?  Guthrie is still trying to figure out what hit them.  The second day we were here, the little boy in the neighborhood knocked on our door and said “Can your little girl come out to play?”  She did.  I watched all morning from the kitchen window as they rode their bikes, climbed trees and dug holes.  She came inside only to gulp down some lunch and then went back out to play.   That became her schedule for the rest of the summer. 

Kate has wrapped one of our neighbors around her little finger – the neighbor with the horses behind our house.  There have been many days when she’s convinced him to take her for a ride on his horse.  She’s also the self-appointed assistant to the Schwan’s man when he’s making his deliveries in our neighborhood.  She absolutely loves first grade, but most of the time she sees it as an interruption to her play schedule.

As many of you well know, Darren and I have made many moves in our teaching career.  You also know that hindsight is 20/20.  As I look back on all the places we’ve lived and all the school’s we’ve worked in, I realize that at each of those places, we learned something that we needed to learn for the next place we were suppose to go.  And I can absolutely say the same thing about Irving.  It took us 7 years to learn what we needed to learn so that we would be ready to move to Guthrie when that opportunity arose.  If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.  I don’t know how long we will be in Guthrie, but I can say that I hope and pray we are here for a very long time. 

We hope that this Christmas season brings your family many blessings.  If you are ever out this way, stop by and see us.    We’ll treat you to a tour of Guthrie, which will take all of 5 minutes.

Laura is having a blast cheering for the ‘Lil Jags.  Last Thursday was their third game and their first win.   She has a great group of girls that are cheering with her, which we are very grateful for.

It finally arrived!  The long awaited first day of school.  The girls had a great day and so did Mom and Dad!

Because we are cursed with slow internet out here, I am linking to my sister-in-law’s blog where she has posted pictures of all our adventures.  Enjoy your virtual Alasakan Vacation!

Idita-Hike – This was our first full day in Alasaka.  We spent most of the day recovering from our flight and getting reacquainted.  We visited the Iditarod headquarters and the kids were pulled by real sled dogs – they loved it!  After dinner we went on a hike to the Hay Flats below Layne and Jolene’s house.  Laura was struck with how beautiful and peaceful the hayflats were.  I loved the hike (except for the “moose”quitoes).

Moose Dropping Fesitval – Yes, this is a festival that celebrates Moose droppings.  We had a great time sampling the local fair and watching the parade

Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center – We were able to get up close and personal with Alaskan Wildlife.  But my favorite picture is the one of Kate and Landon.  Landon was an amazing little tour guide and filled Kate in on all the important stuff about the animals we saw.

Portage Glacier – I wish we could have spent more time at the visitor’s center at the Glacier, but we arrived at closing time.  We did take in the beautiful scenery and saw some small icebergs.

Bowman’s Bear Creek Lodge and Cafe – What a beautiful place!  A pond surrounded by small cabins and a river running behind it.  The kids played in the paddle boats and canoe, watched the baby birds in the bird house, panned for gold and made s’mores over the campfire.

Hope, Alaska – Fishing for Salmon.

Russian River – More salmon fishing with bear sightings mixed in.

Ninilchik, AK – The girls enjoyed walking the beach, observing the volcanoe and watching for eagles.

J&J Smart Charters, Ninilchik, AK – while the girls walked the beach the boys and my mom took a charter to catch some halibut.  It was a successful trip and they brought back lost of fresh halibut.  Jolene fried some up when we got back home.  It was so good and a big hit with the kids!  They  kept saying “….and just think, yesterday at this time this fish was swimming around in the ocean!”

Littlest Guy turns two – The youngest of the grandchildren turned two while we were there and we enjoyed helping him celebrate.  He’s such a happy kid!

Well, that’s it!  Our summer vacation to Alaska.  As you can see it was jam-packed with activities.  We enjoyed the cool weather (even though native Alaskans thought it was hot!)  The only regret about the trip was all the smoke and haze that clouded our views from the forest fires.  But what we could see was phenomenal!

Darren and I stood at the kitchen window watching Kate and her new friends.  They were all huddled together in deep discussion and we could tell they were cooking up something.  We decided that right now it was cute, but in ten years, it might be trouble.  Not 5 minutes later, Kate hits the front door shouting directions.  She needs apples.  Everyone was going home to get something so they could have a snack stand.  ”And hurry, Mom!”.  Two little girls went and got their wagon, a little boy brought bananas and someone brought candy.  They cleaned out the wagon, created flyers and arranged their snacks.  They were set.  They went knocking on doors, dragging their little wagon behind them passing out flyers announcing their snack stand (with dogs in tow).  At some point throughout the afternoon, I think everyone from our little  neighborhood went out and bought something from them.  And when business was slow they rode bikes around the circle and played with the dogs.  It could have been a scene from “Little Rascals”.

Guthrie is going to be a great place for our girls to grow up.   I’m looking forward to supporting many more “snack stands” in the future!

We’ve been working hard to make our new house a home for our family and unpacked the last box this morning – Thank Goodness!  We aren’t as young as we used to be.

We are excited to be in Guthrie and to start this new adventure.  I wish I had pictures to post, just haven’t had a chance to take any yet.

He even stated that on whatever day I chose to go to the DMV to have my license renewed, we would eat out for dinner that evening.  I hugged him and told him we wouldn’t need to do that.  I was fully prepared for a bad experience. 

However, I wasn’t prepared for an experience that would rival an episode of the Twilight Zone

It all started out well.  I was basking in the knowledge that Laura had gotten commended on the reading and math TAKS test.

The front desk lady was nice, the line was short, life was good.

The lady behind the counter said “I can help the next person”. 

That was me – Wow this was going fast!

Everything was moving along quite nicely – I passed the visiosn test, stated my height and weight, and confirmed that yes, my license needs to be mailed to a separate address than the one stated on the license. 

And then she said, with a perfectly straight face, “Are you an American citizen?” 

Shocked and confused, I answered “yes” but it came out as more of a question than a statement.

She said “Well, in 1985 when you first applied for a license, you failed to answer that question so I need to see your birth certificate.” 

(note to the reader:  in 1985 when I first applied for a driver’s license, the woman who took my application and put into the system was a lifelong resident of the same town of which I was a lifelong resident.  She knew my whole family – my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  She didn’t need to ask if I was and American Citizen.  She knew I was!)

Back to the story  -  She looked at me, as if expecting to me to say “Oh, let me get the notarized copy that I always keep with me in my wallet” 

But I didn’t.

And so she said “Do you have one?”                

I replied, “I don’t have it with me” 

She said, “Well, I need to see it” 

I replied, “Ok, I’ll go home and get it” 

She said “Ok – when you get back, you don’t have to stand in line, I’ll  give you a line pass”, which I thought was kind of her.  But then she grabbed a pass from the huge stack on her desk and handed it to me. 

Hmmm, I thought to myself.  This must happen often.

So I drive home, very confused about what had just transpired.  Do I look like I’m not an American citizen?  There have been times that my Texan Twang slips out, but that’s the only accent with which I speak!

Once home, I dig up my birth certificate from the file in the back of the filing cabinet that holds all the “important” documents (very grateful that it was a notarized copy!)

I drive back and when I arrive at the DMV for the second time, the lady who had helped me was on break.  Doesn’t that figure!

I had to stand in line again.

Take the vision test again.

And answer all the questions again.  

I half expected there to be some other strange random question that this lady would ask with a perfectly straight face.  Perhaps “what devices in your kitchen do you currently have that can be used to create an explosive?” or “Mrs. Wilson, we see that you recently ordered The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas from Video on Demand.  Please explain how this movie aligns with your political views.” 

However, the strange Twilight Zone episode moment passed and somehow this second trip to the DMV ended with me having my license renewed.

I’m quite sure that when it arrives, it will have a computer chip imbedded in it that will track my every move. 

The only thing that makes this experience worthwhile was the material it gave me for this blog post.