Ellen's First Day of School!

Hello Everybody!

First days back at school are always exciting. You see people whom you haven't seen since school was out. There is a sense of a newness, even if you've done the same job for many years. Ellen was anticipating the beginning of the year -- and all the craziness that surrounds registering children and assuring parents that all will be fine.

Wednesday evening she had her clothes all ironed and ready to go. The alarm clock was set and the coffee pot was fixed for "automatic on". There is nothing like having a pot of hot coffee all ready to pour as you sleepwalk to the kitchen in the morning. Sharon was going to go to school, too. When you've taught for 36 years before retiring, there is just something about getting ready for a new year that doesn't leave your soul.

The following scenario is how Thursday went:

Ellen woke up thirty minutes AFTER the alarm should have gone off.
She went to the kitchen to pour a cup of Snickerdoodle coffee. It was COLD! The timer was set for 4:30 PM instead of 4:30 AM! Forget about reading the paper before school-- it was straight to the shower. After the shower, the coffee got heated up in the microwave. She ate breakfast, got dressed, and was ready to go. It was time to get the name tag and be off to Sharon's house. SHE COULDN'T FIND HER NAME TAG! Oh, well, that would be a job for the weekend.

Sharon was waiting for Ellen to come. She still needs a little help in the morning to get dressed, but is doing remarkably well. We get that job done, Ellen is out the door, and Sharon will follow soon.

It was great to see the ladies in the office. We have a special relationship and can't imagine working without one another. After catching up with one another, it was time to get started in the office. Ramona, our head custodian, came in to tell me that the air conditioner was not working, but she had already called it in to be repaired. (The temperature was expected to reach 100 on Thursday, and there are no windows in Ellen's office.) Okay, so it is going to be a sweaty day...

Sharon arrived at school, and her first job was to figure out why the monitor for the computer would not turn on. She solved that problem, but then it would not let us connect to the Internet. UGH! All medical records for the school are on the computer now! Ada came in to see if she could figure it out, but in the end, she had to report it to TIS (technology) so they could send someone.

Someone called to speak to Ellen, and at that point we realized her phone was not working. Susan reported that to the powers that be.

We worked real hard all morning and got most of the walls decorated. By this time we were hot, sweaty and ready for lunch. After we ate, Sharon went home for a nap. Of course, it was nice and cool at home!!

Ellen spent the afternoon getting things straightened up and all ready for when registration begins on Monday.

What a day!! There is a saying that when a dress rehearsal goes bad, the main performance is usually outstanding. Here's hoping that it is an outstanding year! After that first day, it should be just about perfect!

Until next time. . . . .

Travels To Northern Texas Panhandle!

Hello, Everybody!



After the reunion stuff was over, we headed to a little town east of Amarillo near the Oklahoma border called Canadian. Sharon used to live there back in the 70's. She also has relatives who live there. This picture shows her with her first cousin, Sue Lynn. They both have those Cherokee cheeks, don't you think? We visited with Sharon's Aunt Fannye, Sue Lynn's mother. She has not been well, but was able to visit with us for a few hours and seemed to enjoy the company. We enjoyed Sue Lynn's margaritas! Aunt Fannye's sadness was that she couldn't have one, too!


Ellen finally got to see the storm cellar and "basement" of Aunt Fannye's house. She has heard many stories of how they would gather there during the bad weather that is so prevalent in the Northern Panhandle. When Ellen saw the big, beautiful bar down there, she immediately knew why this was also the gathering place when the weather was just fine!! Her Uncle R. E. knew how to entertain.




One of the little towns on the way to Canadian is White Deer! We detoured off the highway and rode down Main Street. Sure enough, they have a statue of a white deer in the middle of town!

Ellen fell in love with the rolling hills of the Northern Texas Panhandle. Here is a picture of them as we were headed back to Amarillo.

When Sharon lived in Canadian, she and a few of her friends would drive to Amarillo every few weeks to go grocery shopping. Ellen can't imagine having to drive over a hundred miles to do that, but the scenery is beautiful. It makes the time pass quickly!

We did quite a few things in our few short days! We managed to explore some different areas of the Panhandle and enjoyed a wonderful time.

Until next time. . . . .

Drury Inn And Suites!

Hello, Everybody!

Those of you who follow our blogs know that our usual and most favorite place to stay is The Residence Inn. This time, however, the reunion group secured rooms at the Drury Inn and Suites.

This is the hotel that we stayed in during our short time in Amarillo. It was a nice place, but it didn't have nearly the room that we are accustomed to having. We might add that it didn't have a full kitchen, either. It was okay, but. . . . . . . .......
A full breakfast was served each morning, and in the evenings they had beverages and snacks. Of course, we had our morning meal there, but our evenings were so busy that we really weren't at the hotel to enjoy their offerings.

This picture was taken from the car as we were going from Amarillo to Ruidoso. If you look closely, that is rain in the distance. In the past, we have made a few trips on this road between Ruidoso and Tulia/Plainview/Lubbock. Every time we went this way, we would encounter TERRIBLE weather. It was to the point that Ellen refused to take this route ever again. One time we were in the middle of tornadoes! It was raining so hard we could barely see out the windshield and the roads were flooding. Perhaps the spell is finally broken. This was as close as any rain came to us during the drive.

It was quite warm on the Monday that we left Amarillo. It actually got to 102, but Sharon wasn't fast enough with the camera.

Within minutes the temp began to drop as we got closer to Ruidoso. It was so nice.

Wednesday morning this was the view outside our window in Ruidoso. The temperature was 54 degrees and we loved it!!

There was quite a bit of rain the night before. It was so refreshing and smelled so good.

Wednesday morning we got the car all packed and checked out of the hotel. When we got into the car to leave, the car would not start. We waited a couple of minutes and tried again. No luck. Ellen called AAA, and they said it would be about an hour. We went back into the hotel lobby. The young man looked at us and wanted to know if everything was okay. We told him about the car. He called maintenance and a nice man brought his truck and jump started the battery. Sharon bought the car at Vision Lincoln dealership in Alamogordo. That is about 40 miles from Ruidoso, and we go through there on the way home. We stopped so they could check out the car. Here we sit in the waiting room of the service department. It's not exactly how we usually end our vacations, but they replaced the battery free of charge! After that, we made our way home without incident. As a side note, Sharon didn't even take naps while we were on the road at any time during the trip!! Perhaps she is secretly counting the days until Ellen goes back to work. She knows that nap time is coming soon!!

Until. next time . . . . . . . . . . . . .