officially legal

Aaaaaaaand three years later, my car has the correct plates. Per usual, there was excellent people watching at the DMV. Top story of the morning was the man behind me arguing with the clerk about which county the office was in. While I understand that if you live on the borders of Loudon and Fairfax Counties, it might be easy to get mixed up.

But this guy has lived in Loudon Country since 2007 and?? McLean is well into Fairfax County. The clerk was uber-polite but wasn't able to convince the customer that we were all sitting where we were.

C'est la bureaucracy.

I very much like my tags!

Ready for either a cool art project or aiding/abetting felonious behaviours.

treats from afar

A student returned today; he dropped his kids and luggage at home and came to class. And, delivered chocolates! I have not ever had chocolat from Kazakhstan and am looking forward to trying it.

not bad

It's very handy to get a weather report each morning from my sis's trek to the bus stop. This was from her this morning, and oh so accurate! While I do enjoy warmth and sunny days, I am ready to segue into autumn.

exhale

After a quality 4.5 hours in surgery, Dad got sprung to the ICU for the night.  The surgeon was pleased with the procedure and they will be watching him overnight.

um-hm

Three A.M.
by Louis Jenkins

The god of three a.m. is the god of the dripping faucet,
sirens, and barking dogs. He's been given titular charge of
circumstances that cannot be controlled. "It's out of my
hands," he says, repeatedly. He is a minor functionary, a
troll that lives under a bridge. On the far side are the
pastures of night where bright stars graze in the dark
matter of the cosmos. He is fond of philosophic thought.
"Of course, our understanding is limited. All we can do is
adhere to those laws and principles that have been proven,
time and again, to work." It seems there is some discrepancy
in my papers. "A minor delay," he assures me. Now it's
almost four.

bounty

Fresh peaches via my parents' trip to a farmstand in October? Why not?

Still harvesting peppers in October? Why not?

While I appreciate all the fresh foods, I truly am ready to turn off the a/c for the year.

blessings

Thrilled to be back in the classroom again~even if only one day per week. This semester's students come from: Mexico, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Salvador, and Colombia. And, as my Spanish vocabulary is larger than my Arabic one~it's easier to double explain grammar concepts as well as chit-chat.

another day, another celebration

Yesterday was a national holiday in Saudi Arabia, so our students brought the party to school today.

I am coveting this gorgeous wrap/drape/shawl. 

Food is always joyful and it's especially wonderful to see the pride in students' faces as they share their dishes~maybe their grammar isn't fabulous, but they shine in the kitchen.

I didn't capture them on video, but our Korean and Mongolian students jumped right into the dancing bit of the lunch.

A few of the happy students/staff.

Some exquisite bars~recipe is promised to me. From what I could taste (and decipher from a conversation) it's semolina and creme and eggs. And it's all drizzed with honey and sprinklings of pistachios and roses. 

Equinox

A colleague was up all night with a barfing dog, so she channeled her sleeplessness into Bundt deliciousness. The students were thrilled.

I was going to celebrate the change of seasons by making caramel, but it's too hot. So, my happy this evening is that my title has been found AND delivered after a solid year of hunting it down.  Now to gather all the other documents I need to procure actual VA license plates.

juxtaposition

When you see pumpkins while blasting the a/c and wearing flip flops.

Happy end of summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

perfection, next to

No, I didn't go on the field trip to the DC Wharf District, but I still enjoyed a gorgeous day of just the pleasantest weather. From the reports, students had a fun time with the large Scrabble game and just wandering around a new 'hood.

round and round

Little things that brought me joy today~a fresh bowl of salt. 

Being watched over by la boca della verite. 

Cool breezes coming through my window this morning. 

And a delish fall casserole for dinner.

heart rate, up

no exercise needed. This lil green guy was hanging about my locks this morning. When you're half asleep, seeing something crawl towards your keys is alarming.

Got to work and thought someone had adjusted my chair height/arms. Indeed, they did~to a completely new chair. It spins just as nicely as the one from last week.

Waiting for the 3rd surprise of the day...and no, I won't count the roadblock on my way home.