A Little Cold for Spring...

especially in NE Alabama. Our temperature tonight is supposed to be in the high twenties, but we're hoping this will be the last real cold spell of the season. My heat went out Sunday afternoon, but my dependable repairman was here this morning at 8:45 and had it running by 10:00. It was in the thirties last night, but when this happened before Christmas, he'd told me how to heat my main living area with my electric stove, so I was fine for the night. He did some "extra" work this time to help keep this from happening again; my system is about eight years old, and the pilot light can go out in a heavy wind (the system is in my unfinished basement), so he added something to help the pilot light relight itself. He said it wouldn't always work, but it would help.

I go back to work tomorrow, and we spend the week getting ready for the state-mandated standardized testing which will start March 31. That lasts for just over a week, and then we FINALLY have our Spring Break week. We'll have just about six weeks of school left after the break, and then three more years until I intend to retire. I've enjoyed most of my teaching career, but I'm reaching the point when I think I'm ready to pack it in. I may start a tutoring business, and another teacher and I have talked about enrichment or remediation camps for students during a couple of weeks of summer vacation, possibly in conjunction with the local community college or cultural arts center.

My Easter weekend was lovely. My great-niece was here from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, and on Saturday, my sister (her grandmother) and I took her to the nearby park to ride the train. She is VERY interested in trains; we rode twice around the park on Saturday morning and three times around on Saturday afternoon (the park is only about three minutes from our houses, which are in the same block). You will notice how cool she looks wearing her sunglasses...