Modern Pranks

Wednesday. Seventh period. As usual, I was standing outside the classroom "greeting" the students as they walked in.

"Your computer turned off..."

As they walk in the room, I have a slide up on the TV. Usually it's the agenda for the day, but since rearranging the room (see yesterday's post), I had their new seating chart on the screen so those who weren't sure where they sat could find their seats. 

I had gone into the power settings on my computer ages ago so that it wouldn't go to sleep while I was using it. (I have it timing out after two hours.) That it would just shut off...

And that's when I realized what had happened. It hadn't just shut off. Someone turned it off. 

It's a thing they do. The kiddos will reach over and turn off each other's computers. Log them out. I'm not sure which key combination does it, but it's two keys, and they can do it fast. 

As they came in, I logged back into the computer. But whatever key trick it is on Chromebooks does a strange thing to laptops--it puts the function key on lock. Which I discovered the hard way when I went to reinstate the music I usually play in the background for them. Deep sigh. 

I growled at them. They denied it was them. (It wasn't "them". It was one student. They probably saw who it was, but they weren't saying.) 

I quickly keyed in my password, found my files, and pulled up the slides for the day. And then we got to work. 

I managed to get through the lesson. I couldn't put on music. (The next day I sat down with the computer and figured out how to disengage the function key lock.) And now I know I have to watch my computer as well as all of them as they come into the room. 

Grrrr.

A Fit of Pique

Monday. Third period.

It was my prep period. And while I had believed that the new teacher was due to start, I had just learned that no, she wasn't getting clearance probably this week. I looked at the room, the little tables of four that I had created for seating as it was an art class, and I couldn't face seventh period in that configuration anymore. 

Seventh period was my large class. 35 students. And it was my least mature group. Too many of them had chosen this as play time, and I was sick of fighting them. 

So, I decided to rearrange the seating. Not that I had time to rearrange the desks and create a new seating chart (because there was no way I was letting them pick their own seats). But it had to be done. For my sanity. 

Changing routines for middle schoolers is not a great idea. And yet, that's what I did. Rather than collecting everything from them, I set up a turn in box. Rather than collecting everything daily, I created a packet thing. And rather than keeping them in tables, I put them in rows. 

I needed to make things easier on me. 

Did it? Well, it settled the other classes a bit. The classes that weren't really that big an issue. As for seventh period, that's still a work in progress. 

Power Squandered

Not satisfied with terrorizing Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the fascists have decided to invade Chicago. Make no mistake here, the skibidi Gestapo (ICE) are being sent to cities they don't like. Because racism. 

Normally I'd have article links and videos, but my life has been so chaotic of late that I just don't have the bandwidth to go looking. This is, of course, what they're counting on. While people are busy, the fascists seize power. 

What's really ticking me off this week is that those in power but in the opposing party aren't doing anything. Why? Because they believe themselves part of the ruling elite, and the ruling elite expect to remain in power indefinitely. Sure, they may be out of favor now... 

They haven't grasped that once the fascists have consolidated power, they're coming after them next. Once the liberal cities are controlled, once the brown people are cowed, once those who would oppose them are no longer opposing, then they go after those with more power. And more power. Until all that's left is those they want in power. 

Just because they haven't come after you yet doesn't mean they won't. It's just a matter of time. That's why I resist now. I just wish those with political office realized that they should be fighting now. (I mean, not all with political power are rolling over, but so many are it's disheartening.)

Distractions from Knitting

My progress since last week isn't. 

Doesn't look any different? Yeah, that's because I knit something like six rows on Saturday. It's been a week. 

That vacant art class I'm teaching until the teacher can start? They've hired someone, but she can't start until her clearance comes through. So, we're waiting on that. 

And remember back when the upstairs neighbor flooded my room? This time it was the kitchen and the master bathroom. This time his toilet didn't stop running. For a week. The water seeped from the upstairs into the wall, and... Well, it's a mess. It's been a week of machines drying out the kitchen and master bathroom. Tearing out cabinets and flooring. 

So, when I've been at work, I've been dealing with teaching stuff. When I've been at home I've been navigating a torn up kitchen (and parking concerns as the garage is in this equation as well). And I just haven't been able to just sit in front of the TV and knit. 

The good news: I only have two more inches before this back of the sweater is finished: 

The bad news: between lesson planning/grading and everything taking longer at home due to kitchen remediation, I doubt I'll have any time to actually knit. Sigh. 

I could use the time to just work on some knitting to de-stress. At least it cooled off a little. But those dehumidifier machines really heat up a place. (Too bad it isn't winter. They would be wonderful in the winter.) 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back
• Missed Deadline

On Screen

Sergio is one of those kiddos that finds any excuse to get out of his seat. He's constantly outside "blowing his nose". His pencil always needs sharpening. And then there are times when I can't discern why he is up again. 

I changed some seats around to put Sergio nearer to me, because he was also feeding off the energy of the other boys who were goofing off. There's about three to five of them (depending on the day) in seventh period. 

Middle school boys at the end of the day? Yeah, this is pretty typical. 

Thursday. The previous day I had gotten an email that the first episode of school TV was available. There's a TV production class, and they go around and film various school things and put together a video that comes out every so often. (I've written about this before, but I can't locate the post.) 

I like the school TV, so I added it to my plan for the classes. First and fifth periods were happy to see the show. It was only about three minutes long. 

Then in came seventh period. I started off with their warm up. Then I opened up the episode...

Sergio... Well, Sergio didn't want me to play the episode. 

I should back up here. Since I had seen the episode twice already, I knew what the issue was. Sergio was in the episode. He interviewed a couple students. There was another bit where he was on screen acting something out (having to do with the new cell phone policy). It's safe to say he's taking the TV production class, and he's likely doing well already as he and his group got quite a lot of screen time. 

He did nothing embarrassing. Seriously. His parts were well done. 

But he was embarrassed. And squirming. 

He looked for tissue to "blow his nose". (We had run out.) He looked for a way out, ultimately ducking under his desk. 

I mean, he had to know that his clips were going to be seen. Right? 

I feel no remorse. I showed it. And then it was over. 

And then we went back to the art lesson for the day. 

Is this terrible of me? I probably shouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did. But enjoy it I did.

Eye Lost It

Thursday, seventh period. I started them off with an explanation of value and coloring a page to understand grayscale, and then I had them attempt to draw an eye. 

Because their first project (a pattern thing) was due, I was behind on grading, and the new teacher was due to start the next week, I wasn't in the mood to collect this attempt at drawing an eye. I made the executive decision that the eye would go with all the face components in a "packet" that would be collected at a later time. 

I explained this to the class. I wrote it in the directions in their Google Classrooms. 

"Do I turn in my eye?"

If I had a dollar for every time a student asked me, I could take the next couple weeks off. Because, seriously? The kiddos do not listen. 

I had warned them of this. I warned them that I get cranky when I give an instruction and then get asked the exact question later. 

So, I stopped answering. "Could someone tell [insert student's name here] when the eye is due?"

And... There was always someone. So, some of them do listen. 

But not enough. 

Because I got tired of going around and collecting work from them, I acquired a turn in box where they could put all their finished work. And what did a few of them still turn in? Yup. The eye. 

The joys of middle school. 

Under the Pile

I did a lesson on pattern with the middle school art classes. (The art teacher who is not new, Mr. S, gave me some lessons to do with the classes while I'm there.) They were to "collect" ten different patterns. 

I had graded their papers, and I returned them. But, several students had not even turned the paper in. I know that they had done it, as I watched them do it. 

After returning all their papers, I announced to the class that if they did not get a paper back, I had never received theirs. If they had it, they could still turn it in. 

(I mean, I called for it on the day it was due. A couple times. But middle schoolers.)

Oscar: "I did it." 

Me: "But you didn't turn it in." 

So, he went to look for it. He opened his backpack... 

This is the third week of school. Right? And he already... 

Oscar's backpack was filled with papers. In a wad. Just shoved in the backpack willy-nilly. No notebooks. No folders. No organization whatsoever. 

On the first day of school, I told the class to get a pocket folder for the class. That way they could keep their papers organized. I know the other teachers give similar instructions. (Math classes ask for spiral notebooks. English classes ask for three ring binders. But there's guidance on what they'll use.) 

I asked him about a folder. He said he didn't have one. I said he might want to consider getting folders for each of his classes, so he could find what he's looking for more easily. 

He had handouts from English and history. Eventually, under that stack, he found the patterns assignment. Yup, it was done. And correctly. 

Will Oscar take my advice and get a folder? Probably not. Even though a nearby boy piped up with, "This folder only cost 25 cents." And the folder? Completely appropriate for the class. 

Taking Away the Yarn

While perusing the internet, I stumbled upon this headline: "Knitting Is the Coziest, Most Wholesome Tragedy of Trump’s Trade War". Uh, no...

I went to read the article, but it was behind a paywall. So, I searched and found "Tariffs Will Simply Put Us All Out of Business: Trump's Trade War Is Crushing American Crafters" which wasn't. 

And, it was stuff I knew. Two weeks ago I linked to an article about how Europe and others were going to stop sending mail to the U.S., and I felt like I had gotten the yarn for eldest nephew's Christmas sweater just in time. I had. Because the issue is the way smaller boutique yarn companies have been doing business is now going to be hit with these stupid tariffs. 

In the knitting/crochet community, this regime was unpopular the first time around. This isn't going to make us any happier. 

You wouldn't think the yarn community would be all that progressive. And, like any community, there are people on both sides of the political spectrum. But there is a very strong liberal group among us. We weren't happy before. This isn't going to help. 

It's like this regime wants to destroy all that made us content. Happy. In an effort to appease their elderly, failing leader. 

I'm just going to grumble some more over here. Like I've been doing. 

Missed Deadline

With school starting and the summer heat hitting us full blast, my knitting has fallen by the wayside. Originally I had hoped to have the back of eldest nephew's sweater finished by the end of August. Yeah, no.

But I'm close. 

On Saturday, I managed to do a little work on this. By "little work," it was something like ten rows. But that's better than nothing. This is done when it's 27 inches long...

So, I've only got a few inches to go. (If you can't see it, I believe the tape measure is showing 23 inches. Or 25 inches. I believe it's actually closer to 23, though, just due to me not being able to get the tape measure to sit flat on the piece.) 

Not ideal, but I didn't actually believe I'd have the back done by the end of August. It was a hope, really. And one I'm not surprised to have missed. Ah well.

It's getting there. Eventually. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater
• Getting to the Back

The Tardy Boys

Friday. Passing period to eighth period. 

I was outside, greeting students. The room is a bungalow, and it is up a couple steps. Years ago, they installed a ramp over those stairs, and there's a railing along the ramp. I leaned against it. 

Oscar and Russell arrived. (I can't remember which showed up first, but one was waiting for the other.) They both parked themselves on the railing to get the "fresh air". (The kiddos don't like how I blast the air conditioner, but it was 90℉ outside.) 

The bell rang, and I headed inside. As I got class started, I noticed that neither Oscar nor Russell were in their seats. 

Initially, the boys both sat together at the same table. They, along with a third boy, made eighth period difficult. I had separated them the previous class period, and the whole class mellowed. It was lovely. (They had begged for "one more chance" the period before that. I informed them that that had been their "one more chance" and they blew it.) 

I poked my head out the door. Oscar and Russell were both still sitting on the railing. Um...

"You know you're both now late, right?"

They protested. They had gotten to their railing before the bell. I explained that they needed to be inside and in their seats at the bell. Sitting outside getting "fresh air" is not in class ready to learn. 

I had explained to the class in the first week that on time meant in their seats at the bell. I would, of course, give them a bit of grace if they were in the room and heading for their seats at the bell. But sitting outside and not coming in until I retrieved them? Nope, that's not how this thing works. 

Those two boys... Once I separated them, they mellowed. Once they get going, they're fine. But this is the moment where if I let them get away with stuff, they'll be trouble the whole school year. I won't do that to the incoming teacher if I can help it. 

Hopefully that's the only time I have to mark them tardy. We'll see...

Quiet Coyote

One of the first week activities for this middle school art class that I'm covering until they hire a teacher was to create a "social contract" of rules the kiddos agreed to follow. (I mentioned this last week.) We started with them making a list, and then "together" we whittled it down to five rules. 

(So, it was more me going over the list they generated with them and then suggesting five rules that kind of hit upon what many of them said. I didn't have a lot of student participation.) 

While we did this, I decided I needed to add in one final bit. What signal would they prefer me to use when I needed to get their attention? 

This is an art class. My plan is to give them projects to work on, and then they can listen to music on headphones or talk while they're working. (Silence is great for some things. I don't think art is one of them.) 

I have a few of these in my toolbox, but I thought it might be nice to see what they preferred. I listed a few I know. 

The first class then suggested "waterfall". I knew of this one, but I hadn't used it before. Cool. Then all the classes that day decided they liked "waterfall" the best. 

The next day, "waterfall" wasn't as popular. But then eighth period suggested one I had never heard of before. "Quiet coyote". 

And that overwhelmingly won the vote. Okay then... 

We'll see how that goes. 

Procuring a Desk

Armani did not attend the first day our class met. (The school is on a block schedule, so each class meets every other day.) On the second day, I was surprised to find the kiddo in a wheelchair. 

I only had the kinds of desks where the chair part is attached to a desk part. (See the picture above.) There was no way Armani could get into a desk. He had a brace attached to one leg, so this was a temporary predicament. I asked him how long he'd be in the wheelchair, and he said a couple months. 

We made do that day. But for the long haul, this wasn't going to work.

One of the school administrators sent out an email about finding desks to accommodate wheelchairs. She was asking if anyone had one. I sent her a separate email mentioning Armani and that I'd need a desk if she found enough. 

The very next day I found a new desk waiting for me in the classroom. Woo-hoo! 

I found the perfect spot for it. 

In discussion with the new teacher next door, I found out that she was also in need of a wheelchair desk for a student who won't be getting out of his wheelchair. I told her who I contacted, and she contacted her as well. But to no avail. 

The next day that Armani was in class, he was still in the wheelchair, but his brace was gone. He got into the room, and then he stood up out of his wheelchair and sat at one of the student desks. Uh... 

Armani is mending. And so now he can put some weight on the leg, but I imagine he'll be using the wheelchair for a bit longer. 

But, now I had a wheelchair desk that I absolutely did not need. I gave it to the teacher next door. (Naturally.)

The next time the class met, Armani got into his seat again. We did not miss the wheelchair desk. 

So, how did the desk work in the other class? Ms. C told me that the desk just mysteriously disappeared from her room right before the class where it was needed. 

Deep sigh. Seriously? 

The joys of the public schools. 

Catching On

This past Friday I logged into Bluesky before going to sleep, and they were having a grand old party there. And this is the reason I'm there, for this sort of thing that used to happen on the now dead Twitter. It took a while to get the gist, but once I did, it was kind of fun in a weird way. 

No, I'm not going to explain, but I will give you some sample posts... 

They all get very creative without specifically saying anything. It takes a bit to catch on, but once you do... Sometimes you just need a good laugh. And some wishful thinking. 

A few articles from the past week: 

• Mapping Community Defense and Care in Our Neighborhoods
• Customs and Border Patrol agents interrupted two crews of firefighters working to control the Bear Gulch wildfire. They lined them up, checked IDs, and ultimately arrested multiple men
• Now free, the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to El Salvador want the world to know what they lived through.
• Inside the USAID Fire Sale
• We have become an authoritarian state, and our top newsrooms are in denial
• How to report ICE zines

The Next Projects

And I had yet another non-yarn week. It was too hot. I was too busy (and tired). And I got sucked into the show Shining Girls on Apple TV Plus, which took the only mental energy I had. 

So, at the risk of not having anything to show you next week, I'm going to catch you up with some things I had done a couple weeks ago. 

Remember Random Beanie? I started another: 

I haven't gotten very far, but it'll go quickly when I have some time to devote to it. 

Then, I never mentioned my sister-in-law when I gave the rundown of what family had requested for Christmas. She requested a purple version of niece's eye sweater. I found the perfect variegated purple for it:

Luckily, I wrote down exactly what I did for niece's sweater. But SIL is a different size, and she wants hers longer as well. I'm putting off starting on this for a while, but at least I have the yarn. 

How's the weather where you're at? Is it knitting weather yet? 

The Demands

Ah, the joys of middle school... 

Before school started, the teachers all had this training about connecting with their students. One of the things they learned was about social contracts. The idea being that if the kiddos listed what they felt was appropriate behavior for the classroom, then they were more likely to buy in and behave appropriately in class. 

Or, at least that's the gist I got from the brief overview from the other teachers. I, of course, did not get to attend the training. (Not that I really wanted to. Besides, I got the gig too late to be included.) 

School administration told us that we were to go over social contracts and come up with the class "rules' by the end of the second week. 

So, in my second day's classes, I introduced the concept, and I had each group come up with five things that they'd agree to in class. For the most part, they listed things like "be kind" and "be responsible". Some repeated rules I went over with them. 

And then I looked over eighth period's lists... 

Some choice entries: 

• Use phones in class
• Have more time for lunch
• Longer snack time
• No dress code
• Start school at 11:00
• Pick our own seats

I mean, I'm totally down for starting school at 11 AM. But I don't think they get that school would then end at 6:30 PM. 

Yeah, some of them didn't quite understand the assignment. 

It should be an interesting conversation when we go over the full list and narrow it down. Because, yeah, they can wish for those things, but it's not like I have the power to change those things. 

(The school has a new cell phone policy this year. No phones. And they're giving us a spot where the phones can be locked away during class, although I haven't gotten the one for my class yet. Should be fun.)

Fortuitous Mistake

Last Monday was the first day of school. 

Because I got a long term in a vacant art class, and because I got to start a day before, I had prepared a first day of school ice breaker assignment. A scavenger hunt. 

I listed a few things that I knew would be true for some kiddos. Find a student who has a first name that does not contain an A. Find a student who went away on a trip this summer. Find a student who has a family member at the school. (I often hear about kiddos with siblings at the school, so I knew someone would.) Find a student wearing black. 

First thing in the morning, I headed for the copy room to make copies of the scavenger hunt. I had four (slightly) different versions on two sheets of paper (half sheets for each kiddo). I also had a questionnaire that asked things like name they wanted to be called in class and what their favorite food was. 

I was not the only one who had things to copy to start the school year. And two of the copy machines were broken (naturally). 

When it was my turn, I first copied the questionnaire. I had taken a quick count of planned students and got something near 180. I made 180 copies of the questionnaire. Then it was time to copy the scavenger hunt. I had two sheets of those, so I'd only need half the copies. Half of 180 is 90. 

Did you catch my mistake?

I finished my copies, and then I left the machine to the next person in line. (The line kept growing. We were all kind of scrambling.) I headed for the paper cutter as the scavenger hunts were half sheets. 

As I started cutting, I realized my stupid. I was right to halve my number, but I should have halved it again as I had two sheets with two scavenger hunts each. I only needed 45 copies. 

The school opened two new art classes. The art teacher next door is new to the school, and we've been kind of leaning on each other. She's helping me with art stuff, and I'm helping her with other school stuff that new teachers don't necessarily know (like how to set up the online gradebook). 

We were comparing notes as to what we were going to do with our classes. I mentioned the scavenger hunt. She thought that was an excellent idea. And as I had double the copies I needed... 

They didn't go to waste after all. 

And the activity went surprisingly well. The kiddos got into it, but they didn't get crazy. I will totally use this again if the need arises. 

Starting from Scratch

The first day of school was last Monday. The Wednesday before that I got a call from the sub desk. Would I be interested in a vacant art class? 

(A "vacant" class is a class with no teacher assigned. This usually means they are in the process of hiring a teacher for the class.)

As I hadn't been aware of any art teachers retiring, I asked whose class it used to be. I was informed that the class was new. 

Then I asked if I could start a day early. Having had to scramble on the first day of school before, I knew the best thing I could do for my sanity was to come in early, get the lay of the land, and attempt to get some things set up so I wasn't starting ice cold. (They let me last year, and it was so very helpful.) 

The sub desk attempted to get a hold of someone at the school but could not, so she made the executive decision to start me a day early. She emailed them to let them know. 

Of course, they had not gotten the email when I arrived. I joined the beginning-of-year all-staff meeting, and when the (new) principal mentioned me, I informed her I was actually present. For which she was greatly relieved. 

Yeah, we all had the same idea. 

And it was a good thing too, for once I finally got keys to the classroom and got into the room, I found that I... had... nothing... 

The school added two new art classes. They had hired one of the teachers. (They hired someone for the position, but he ended up going elsewhere.) And the school assigned us to rooms that were used as detention rooms for the past few school years. 

I had a room with bare walls and 34 desks. There was a teacher desk that the custodians informed me they had added that week. And there was a white board. (I mean, there were doors and floors and windows. A ceiling. Lights. It used to be a science classroom, so there was a demonstration bench at the front and built in low cabinets in the back.) 

However, the air conditioning unit worked wonderfully. (Which was excellent as we're getting our late summer heat wave. The kiddos have complained that it's "too cold". So, yes, I'm well-pleased with the a/c.) 

So, that Friday afternoon, I had a mad scramble. What could I cobble together? I got class counts and learned my largest class would have 39 students. That meant I needed five more desks. Oh, and that teacher desk? Desk, but no chair. But custodial was around specifically for this purpose, so I talked to the lead guy. 

I also did not have technology. I needed one of the big TVs that we use now in class. There was no Chromecart for computers for the kiddos. And I'd need a teacher computer. 

Long story short (too late): those in charge were on top of things, and I had everything except the teacher computer before I left for the day. The teacher computer took a few days, for reasons. (Don't even ask about the tech issues they were having all week.) 

By the time I left, I was exhausted. (I was so exhausted I developed a migraine the next day.) But I had the desks configured in a way I thought might work. I had made sure my ViewBoard was working (so I could create slides to show the class to get through some sort of lesson). And I made sure I could use one of the student Chromebooks until I could get a teacher computer. 

So, now I'm diving into a new school year with a temp gig. With nothing. Sigh. The things I do to work the first day of school. 

Building Partnerships and Coalitions

Watching the political news has become quite painful of late. We're watching us losing our freedoms in real time. And those who have the power to do something, to stop it, aren't. Well, not all, but many. 

So, now we're going to lose mail from Europe. The tariff thing. I'm glad I got that yarn that I ordered back in July. (It came from the U.K.) 

I don't have anything new to say. Last week was a lot for me. School started. My focus was there. 

So, I'll link the part 2 video from Indivisible (I linked the part 1 video a month ago). It's about building and working within coalitions. 

Getting to the Back

I did absolutely no knitting this past week. School started, and all of my energy and focus was on getting things set up and keeping ahead of what I needed to do for work. 

Luckily, last Monday I posted a link to my new YouTube video, so I did not post on the progress I made on eldest nephew's sweater. And I had made progress. 

It's just about five inches away from being done with the back. Yay. If I wasn't working and it wasn't so blazingly hot, I'd believe I'd make my self-imposed deadline of having this back done by the end of August. 

At least I'll be close. Hopefully I'll get some knitting time in as I settle into my long term subbing gig. But I'm not counting on that. 

I hope everyone's back-to-school (or whatever you're up to at this time of year) is going smoothly. 

Sweater Tracking:

• Starting the Sweater

Are You a Latte, Bubble Tea, Smoothie, or Espresso?

For my last quiz of the summer... 

Are You a Latte, Bubble Tea, Smoothie, or Espresso?

(School started on Monday. I have a gig. I'll talk about it next week.) 

I got Latte: 

You're calm, comforting, and quietly powerful. People feel at ease around you, and you bring a sense of balance to chaos. You may not shout the loudest, but your energy speaks volumes. Like a latte, you're warm, steady, and low-key luxurious.

Eh, I don't think so. But, there were a lot of things in the quiz that weren't ideal for me to choose, so of course it'd be off. 

Which one did you get? Do you agree with the findings?  

13 Memes/Blog Hops

I've been doing Thursday 13 for a while now. There are a bunch of other blog hops and memes floating around the blogosphere, too. I thought I'd see if I could find 13. I did. Some of these you might be familiar with, some of these you might not. 

1. A to Z Challenge: When April rolls around, the blogosphere seems to wake up (at least for a week or two) while everyone blogs along to the alphabet, a letter a day (excluding Sundays). 

2. Insecure Writer's Support Group: The first Wednesday of every month, writers are encouraged to write about their insecurities so that they can get support from their fellow writers. A monthly question is provided for a launching off point, but it is optional. 

3. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: On the 15th of the month, gardeners are encouraged to post pictures of the blooms in their gardens, or inside, because winter (hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens).

4. Shadow Shot Sunday: On Sundays, post a picture of a shadow. So many creative ways to see the shadows around us (hosted by Lisa at This and That). 

5. Sunday Stealing: From the blog: "we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions."

6. Sunday Stamps: Weekly themes for those that collect stamps (or just have a large collection). 

7. Music Moves Me: On Mondays bloggers are encouraged to post music on their blogs. The link is to the themes for each Monday, although bloggers aren't required to post to the theme of the day. 

8. Wordless Wednesday: From the blog: "a simple blog post featuring a photo which conveys a message that speaks for itself without using words." 

9. Wednesday Words: For this one, you are given a prompt of a list of words. The challenge is to use them in a story or post of some kind. It was started by one blogger, but now the prompts are farmed out to several bloggers. It appears that Elephant's Child has the current links, although the most recent prompt appears to be here. 

10. Thursday Postcard Hunt: Same link as for Sunday Stamps as the monthly theme for this one is in the same sidebar. Same idea as the stamps--postcards with the theme of the day. 

11. Skywatch Friday: Take a picture of your local skies, share it with people from all over the world. 

12. Friday 5: Five questions each Friday. Answer the questions on your own blog. 

13. Saturday 9: This is similar to Friday 5, only the 9 questions have to do with a song. (It appears that the questions are posted on Thursdays, giving you plenty of time to have the post ready for Saturday.) 

What other blog hops or memes are there? I know there are way more than these. 

Using Pages

For my last blogging tips post of the summer, I'm going to compile all my posts onto a page for ease of finding. 

(Our first day of school was Monday, and I managed to snag an assignment, so next week my posts will return to the substitute teaching of it all.) 

In case you weren't aware, you can create static pages, like a blog post, but filed separately. It's a great way to stash information out of the way of the daily posts, but within easy reach for when it's needed (like a press kit for a writer or a spot where you can keep track of the blog hops you're involved with). 

My pages appear at the top of the blog, just under my title. 

To add pages to your blog, go under "Layout" and then click on "Add a Gadget". 

Then find "Pages". 

Following the instructions, you can place the pages where you'd like. But, in my case, the pages already exist, so I'm going to just add one. 

It's easy. It just looks like the "Posts" page, only it's under "Pages". I clicked on "New Page".

And I got a blank page that looked exactly like a post, only with fewer settings. 

I created a page with links to all the posts I did this summer about various blogging topics. At the moment it's pretty bare bones, but I can go in later and spruce it up. Just like editing a blog post, you can modify the page and "Update" it. But the page is not up and live on the blog yet. I have to put it there. 

First I went into "Pages" from "Layout".

I clicked on "Edit". (It's hard to see with these small images, so click on them to make them bigger.) And I got: 

I clicked on "Add a New Item". You'll notice that I can reposition my pages to the sidebar if I choose. I happen to like them under my header, so they'll stay there. 

Under "Add a New Item", I got a blank form. I clicked on "Page name" and that list popped up. I clicked on "Beyond Blogging Basics", the title I gave the page, and the URL popped up. Then I clicked "Save". 

And now the page is there. As it's configured now, the page is last. Do I want to keep it there? I can use the arrows to move it. 

I think I want my A to Z completion trophies last. And... I played with it a bit, took a look at how things looked on the blog live, and then I decided on: 

I put it third. I think that works. For now, anyway. 

I mean, it's really easy to change. So, if I decide I don't like it there, I can modify it later. 

So, go ahead, scroll back to the top of this post, and click on it. You'll find a list of all my about blogging posts in an easy to reference spot. 

Do you have pages on your blog? If not, have I now given you ideas? 

Protecting the Kids

Yesterday was the first day of school. I managed to snag a long-term assignment for a vacant art class (I'll talk more about this next week), and I asked for and was granted an extra day to get things set up. Of course, this was the big welcome back meeting day, and like last year, I got to attend. 

One of the points that came up during the meeting was what to do if ICE shows up at our campus. And... That this even has to be discussed just sucks big time. 

The school is in a highly "brown" neighborhood. Lots of Latinos. (And there's a large middle eastern population, too.) So, yeah, with the crazy masked kidnappers around, we have to be cautious. 

Someone on social media made the point that what the regime is doing is not due to strength but due to weakness. They're trying to consolidate power. Which is why it's important for us to resist them, even in little ways, so they have to work harder to get less done. 

I just wish more people in power were resisting, rather than rolling over and letting the regime get away with its many atrocities. 

Oh, and by the way, there's a change.org petition for impeachment. In case you're interested. 

Other articles I stumbled across recently: 

• Bessent says new Trump child savings accounts are ‘back door for privatizing Social Security’
• ICE Is Extremely Desperate for You to Work for Them
• Following ICE Raid, Mill Town Fights Back Against Local Police Cooperation

How to Knit Your Water Bottle a Sleeve

About a year ago I had an idea for my next YouTube video. I had knit some covers for my water bottles ages ago, but I love them and use them all the time. 

Once upon a time I wrote it up as a pattern. But it is kind of complicated. It would make an excellent video.

I started filming October 20th (2024). I finished the last clip on June 17th. In between, I had to rip out and redo it a couple times. I made some glaring errors. At one point I had a cold, and you can hear me sniffling on camera. 

It's finally been edited together (by my amazing brother), and I just uploaded it to my channel. Here it is. 

It is over an hour long, so only sit down to watch it if you're interested in knitting yourself one. (They are fun. It's worth the effort.) 

Portmanteau Quiz

Now that Quizly gives me daily quizzes, it's much easier for me to find quizzes for Fridays. It's also much easier to navigate than some of the other sites. 

However, it also has a lot of ads. And pop ups. Which isn't so great. 

This week, I'm linking to a quiz on portmanteau. In case you're unfamiliar, a portmanteau is when they combine two other words to give a word with a new meaning. For example, if you take web, as in world wide web, and combine it with log, as in that book that ship's captains write in, and smash them together, you get blog. Yeah, blog is a portmanteau. 

Portmanteau Quiz 

I did rather well on this one, 18 out of 20. I'm happy with that score. 

Let me know how you did in the comments. 

The Oooh 13

Not sure what to list for today, I went to Pinterest and found the first 13 knit/crochet pins that made me go "oooh". (This is a Thursday 13.) 

So, this wasn't the first 13 as some of the pins didn't lead anywhere. And what usually makes me go "oooh" is something I want to figure out how to make. I followed each pin to a website that had instructions. Most of these pins are to paid patterns, so the links are to Etsy or Ravelry where I could purchase the pattern if I was to do so. (Maybe eventually. When I'm ready to make them.) 

This ended up being a little dragon heavy. I'm okay with that. 

1. Curvy Sleeping Dragon Amigurumi

2. Snail Shell Hat

3. Fairy Queen Coat Pattern

4. Comet

5. Crochet Spiral Square

6. Large Pocket Dragon

7. Cowl Crochet Pattern

8. Crochet Dragon Wrap

9. Stuffed Knit F-Bomb

10. Anton the Armadillo

11. Fable Pixie Hood

12. Triweave Crochet Stitch

13. Knit Net Stitch