Just catching up

I've had a bit of a blogging dilemma since we've moved to the new house: our tiny third bedroom that we're using as an office isn't a comfortable place to sit and write. We have an old desktop computer, but no desk to put it on yet. At the old house we used an extra dining table we had acquired along the way, but I hated it and refused to put it in the new house (it's in the garage now where we're going to use it as a work table). For the time being our computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, the computer itself, the modem and wifi router, and two small speakers are all crowded onto three end tables that we intend to donate to charity or give away as soon as we buy a proper desk. The end tables are not meant to be used that way and it's uncomfortable to sit and type. Not only that,

but the room is very crowded and messy, as you can see. Marco's big cage doesn't fit anywhere else in the house (that works for us, anyway) so this is where it's ended up. We also had to find room for two 120 gallon aquariums, so one of them had to go in here. There's a pile of boxes behind the door that need to be broken down and taken off to the recycling center, and the list goes on. What we really need is to find a new desk and get rid of all the clutter, but money is tight and there's a list as long as my arm of things we need and want to buy for the new house! I'm hoping to go looking at the thrift stores and flea markets for a nice (and cheap) desk.

But I digress. The whole point of all that is to say that sitting there to write anything is uncomfortable right now. We don't own laptops, unfortunately. If I'm at home and want to do anything on my blog, it's either from this spot, or on my phone. And typing comments on my friends' blogs is aggravating enough when using a cell phone keypad, nevermind writing a whole post on it! I'm actually sitting at the computer you see in this photo as I type this, and while it's not the end of the world, it's definitely not comfortable. I'm spoiled with a really fast, nice computer at work (and two monitors!) along with a nice desk to work from, but I never visit this blog from my work computer. Our IT department can track every keystroke we make, and every website we visit, and it's better to stay away from anything that falls within the realm of my personal life.

But speaking of work....look at the craft some of the kids in the PMD class (profoundly mentally disabled) made and presented to me this afternoon! It was my favorite quote from Martin Luther King Jr. printed on one side of a cut out heart, with some scribbled color on the other side and a piece of yarn for hanging.

 Oh, my heart.



We just had a long weekend, with the MLK holiday meaning we had a day off on Monday. I couldn't help but think about those 800,000 federal workers going without pay for over a month now. I get so angry when I think about the government shutdown and all those poor innocent people working without pay and with families to feed and mortgages and rent to pay. And we have food banks being set up so that our federal workers can at least eat...it's just absolutely mind blowing. It makes me furious and I hate Trump and his supporters and all of the GOP with my whole heart. Just bitter black hate. And then I look at the words of someone like Dr. King and I think: how did you do it? How on earth did you manage to keep love and tolerance and hope alive in your heart when the whole damn country just seems like a nightmare of conflict and evil and the worst kinds of narcissism and corruption?

In any event, it seemed fated for me to receive this message this week, and from our most vulnerable students, at that. I needed the reminder.

Did you see the lunar eclipse on Sunday night? Since we had Monday off I was able to stay up late. Totality was around midnight. It was bitterly cold outside so we just walked out on our front porch,  looked at it for a couple of minutes, then went back inside. It was almost directly overhead and a rusty orange color. We've seen lunar eclipses before; they're not all that rare, but they always seem kind of special. Gregg and I had a rare day off together the following day, Monday. We're enjoying the new house so much! We can sit and discuss plans for the yard or paint colors or things we'd like to do for hours and hours. I have no idea when (or if) the newness of having our own home will wear off but the house is almost like a new member of the family right now. :)

The good thing about having a long weekend with Monday off is the fact that it's only a four day work week. Tomorrow is Thursday already. This week has been hectic and a little stressful at work, but at least it's a short one. I'm already ready for another weekend!

What are you up to this week?