Grandma's Curio

My parents came to visit us this past week and they brought my grandmother's curio cabinet with them. I am so excited about it!!! Mom also picked out some pieces from Grandma's purple glass collection for me.

Some history...

Purple glass was manufactured between 1880 and 1914. The manufacturing process included the addition of manganese to produce clear glass. However when this glass was exposed to the ultra-violet rays of the sun, it turned to an amethyst color. This process was used until 1914 when World War I cut off the supply of manganese from Germany. Most of my pieces are a light amethyst, but some can achieve a deep purple color depending on how much manganese was added to a particular batch.

I'm not sure if I exposed my pieces to the sun if they'd darken. Hmmm...maybe I'll try it with one of the smaller ones.

We had a wonderful visit with Mom & Dad. I'm so glad that they were able to come visit...even if it did take them two days to drive across Texas. They didn't go home that way, however.

Something from the garden

My Hubby, the Luthier (part deux)

The body and neck assembled.


This is the ebony fret board. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's every bit as gorgeous as the guitar. Can't wait to see the pieces sprayed. They're going to pop!!!


More pictures to come.

Whew!

It's gonna be a busy week.

It is not the last week of school because, unfortunately, we have to go two additional days next week due to the H1N1 fiasco. Oh well, it could be worse...we could be going until June 2nd.

At work, I've got a computer lab to prep for summer break (primary job) and report cards/attendance stuff to do (secondary job that I'm not getting compensated for) all before Friday at 2:30.

I'd much rather be at home getting ready for my parents' visit and hanging with my kids, who by the way will be finished with school Thursday morning. The boy graduates from 8th grade Thursday morning and has been told by the principal that he doesn't want to see any of the 8th graders at school after graduation. Sweet!!! The girl is exempt from finals, which are Thursday and Friday morning. Essentially after Wednesday, my kids are done with school and I see no need to send them back for the 2 make-up days (aka - enrichment days or free babysitting). I, on the other hand, have to go back for the make-up days even if I'm only working 'til 10:30am both days.

I'm really looking forward to summer break. I've got several projects I want to tackle, but I'm not going to be overzealous trying to get them completed. In addition to the projects and my parents' visit, we're hitting the beach for a much needed vacation and then just hanging at home until school starts again in August. But, I'm not thinking about that right now. :D

So...what are your summer plans?

My Hubby, the Luthier

This is Hubby's latest project - a guitar for the boy's 14th birthday. It consists of a flame maple top, a mahogany base and neck. The picture doesn't do it justice - it's absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

Just thought I'd share it with y'all!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Is it Overreaction...

or just erring on the side of precaution?!

Maybe a little of both.

The way the local powers that be chose to handle the outbreak of H1N1 in one local elementary was to close ALL of the schools in the county. At the time, there were 2 probable cases of the flu. While I understand the need to keep the spread to a minimum, I believe closing all of the schools was extreme. It has caused a bit of a panic and a lot of stress.

As of Saturday afternoon, one local system has closed all of their elementary schools for TWO weeks due to one confirmed case of H1N1 flu per CDC guidelines.

Unfortunately, none of us have an immunity to this virus and it COULD spread like wildfire through the community. I think it's important to remind everyone that the way to minimize the spread is proper hygiene - lots of hand washing, don't touch your eyes/nose/mouth, cleaning commonly touched items thoroughly and if you are running a fever or exhibiting flu-like symptoms, STAY home. I work in an elementary school computer lab and have kids sneeze/cough all over the equipment all the time. Since I don't want to get sick, I take precautions after every class. I spray every keyboard/mouse/chair with Lysol. I can't tell you how many cans of that stuff I've gone through this year. So far, my efforts have paid off.

Now that we've missed (for now) 2 days of school, I'm wondering what the School Board is going to recommend we do about these days. My suggestion is to extend the school day by an hour instead of tacking days on at the end. The logistics may prove to be more difficult, especially when dealing with multiple class periods. Then again, the Board may just waive the days due to extenuating circumstances.

We'll find out today at 1:00pm when the Health Department and local school system superintendents hold a news conference whether or not the rest of us return to school on Monday, 5/4.