August15,2010

Been a long summer. Elysha and I took our yearly road trip to my Mom's house and managed to get there and back with zero tickets this year. We had cruise control in a Ford Taurus from Avis. It had great airconditioning, which was a good thing because it was soooooo hot  in Louisville. One day we went shopping for Kara's school clothes (we didn't do much else because of the heat - nobody wanted to go  swimming because we aren't big on crowds) and passed a time/temp sign. I was in the back seat with Kara and said,"Wow, it's 114° out there!" Jenni looked down at the "exterior temp" gauge on the dashboard and said, "No, it's not, it's 115°." Anyway, we ate out a lot and had a good time. Saw my brother John's new house - a beauty on a lakefront property.  We picked up Jimi in Pennsylvania and stopped at the outlets there. Elysha got a new Coach purse and walllet and I avoided getting one, instead finding a nice pair of the softest jeans and a silk sweater at Coldwater Creek's outlet. We took Jimi to find him a suit and found one for $80 at a clothing outlet near Willowbrook.The pants needed to be hemmed though. But so do my lovely jeans... Woodgie was glad we were home. After registering Kara for school the day we left for home, it was good to be home. Kara started school on the 11^th. She's in 7^th grade now...

Not much going on here lately. Gone back to work, Steven's in a class that's supposed to show him an easier, more efficient way to do lesson plans - a big joke. He's supposed to get paid for taking the class - that, too, is a big joke. I'm not looking forward to working on weekends again.
Going to try to clean up around here a bit more... Steve put a bunch of stuff in the garage - of course, none of it was his, but... Anway, it's been a long,hot summer. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it doesn't seem as nice to be summer as it used to be....

Kara is jumping Rope for Heart again

The link to her "giving" page is http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=284661&u=284661-205271804. If you're reading this and can spare $25, you need to donate by February 22nd.
My granddaughter thanks you, my daughter thanks you and, it goes without saying, I thank you...

June 25th

Hi! Elysha and I have been at my mother's house in Louisville for the last week. Kept up with e-mail via her [Expletives deleted ] iMac on dial-up. Couldn't do a lot more than that. It kept crashing. So much for Firefox and Apple being a perfect combination... We drove down on the 14^th and left on the 21^st. We drove straight through on the 14^th and I got a speeding ticket in Ohio for going 78 in a 65 mph zone. We had to call on Monday to see how much the fine was - $95 BTW - and send the ticket, the confirmation of guilt, and a certified check or money order to the town that the ticket was issued in. It was Washington Court House, OH, IIRC...

The cicadas in Ohio and Kentucky were in the midst of their 16 year emergence orgy, as shown here. I reported our "sighting". They were exceptionally loud around Mom's house and dropped their big old bodies all over the place, making it kind of creepy to take a walk. Kara and I were kind of grossed out by the carpet of cicada corpses (and Kara liked the sound of that - cicada corpses was a favorite new phrase). Elysha tried to go running, but was pretty creeped out by the enormous bunch of bodies she saw. She called it the dead zone.

We went over to my brother's house for a cookout on Sunday for Father's Day. There we found out that my eldest niece is pregnant. She'll be due in February of next year.

On Monday, we kind of just chilled out and heard from Steven that his niece had given birth to a 8 1/2 pound boy on Monday. They named him Haiden.

We went to Jenni's house on Tuesday, went swimming and met "Pretty Boy," aka Jake, Kara's boyfriend. That was interesting.

After swimming, we went to Uncle Bob's Tattoo Parlor. My experience was documented by Kara, after getting permission from my "artist" for the photos.

This one is Elysha's.

There's Kara with her "temp" This one is my "artist" - Christopher Weddie. This is his card.

Then we went back to Jenni's, got dressed up (except for Jenni) and went to Louisville to the Hard Rock Cafe™ for supper.

The first few pictures are of what became of the downtown "mall" - the Galleria and a few shots of Fourth Street Live. The revolving doors are on the building where I had my first full time job - Stewart's Dry Goods at 501 Fourth Street. It's now a combination office/retail building. The picture of me by a fountain are in the parking garage. the last two are just a couple of pictures of older buildings downtown.

The next day was my mother's birthday (Hi,Mom!). I gave her breakfast in bed, a origami shirt with U.S. Grant (not Roberts - U.S. Grant Roberts was my mother's grandfather), and a pair of microfoam slippers from Avon. Jenni went to Krogers and got a birthday cake. It was good.

Thursday I caught a cold and was coughing and hacking a lot. Elysha and Kara went to see KUNG FU PANDA. Kara wore a KUNG FU PANDA cap that she had gotten. Elysha got me some cough drops when they went out to get something for dinner. Not much done that I can remember. It rained hard and those cicada corpses washed away and things cooled down a bit more.

Friday we took Jenni and Kara back to Clarksville, watched the kids play outside for awhile, and laughed hysterically as Kara brought back her "one-month anniversary gift " from Jake - a Ty Beanie Babies Anteater. Never mind all the discussion before its arrival, but it just added to the funniness of the, I'm sure, heart-felt gift. We stopped at Walgreen's and I got cough syrup and other "essentials". The girl at the counter had on sunglasses and said that her headache and bright lights didn't go too well together. I relied that coughing and incontinence didn't go too well together either... And it was going to be a long trip home....

We packed up and left on Saturday morning and stopped in Wild , Wonderful West Virginia's welcoming center. They gave out coffee and cookies - on a Saturday! I took a lot of pictures of mountains - I thought most of them were in West Virginia, but some may have been Pennsylvania.

We stopped in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania at a Super 8 Motel for the night. Small mistake. We had tried a Mariott- with a gym (which Elysha wanted) and a pool (which I wanted) - they were booked solid. So we go for one that will be inexpensive, no "accommodations" other than a bed. The Super 8 was run by an Indian "hospitality group" - can't recall the name of it. It was not as cheap as the one we stopped at in Kent, Ohio, a couple years ago, which had been around $50 or $60 a night for the two of us- this one was around $75 for a double for the night. We got to the room and there was a beer can behind the nightstand and no wireless, as advertised on the outdoor sign. The curtains blew way out when the air conditioning was turned on - I weighted it down with the pants hangers- clipped them on the bottom of the curtains. It helped cool the room down- otherwise the air would've been in the curtains all night.... The toilet also was a little wonky, but flushed. The shower worked well, though, thank goodness! They did have a "breakfast bar". I got two bagels and cream cheese for the road, but no coffee. The redeeming factor for this motel was that there was a Dairy Queen next door that we just walked to for dinner. :-)

We got to Tannersville, PA and stopped at The Crossings Premium Outlets Center. I got a short sleeved sweater and a tee-top with a cut neckline at Alfred Dunner for around $35. I loved the sweater, but Elysha said I should get something lighter for summer... But I had to have the sweater (which had been $50 to begin with!) and, as it turned out, they were cheaper than I thought! Elysha bought a pair of shoes and some athletic stuff at Ecko. She was disappointed that there was no Coach outlet.

We got home around 7pm and Woodgie was very excited to see us back. She was also very fuzzy- I forgot to remind Steven to try and brush her a little bit every day. Anyway, we're back. Work went okay Monday and Tuesday - I'm not coughing too bad anymore - at least not to the point that I become incontinent. Thank goodness for that!

It's Tuesday- my "big" exercise day - I walked the mile to work, did not stop for pasta, had a "half" a pepperoni and provolone sub sandwich, complete with lettuce and tomato -and ate half for lunch and the other half for dinner. I had four lemon cookies (not many calories) and gave in to the Purim basket on only dried fruit - minus the prunes (ick!). Not great , but better than usual...
Also got Kara's Math Bowl team picture!

And I entered Woodgie in a contest on I Can Has Cheezeburger.

Jump Rope For Heart

Jump Rope For Heart

It's Jump Rope For Heart time at my daughter's school..... Anyone who would like to make a donation online, the website is http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=249042&supId=205271804 ...... Minimum donation online is $25..... If anyone would like to make a smaller donation, send me a message and I'll let you know how you can do that.....

It's February and Heart month

My granddaughter, Kara Marie, (the non-furry one) is Jumping Rope for Heart at her elementary school soon. The link to the page is below. If you have a credit card and can spare a $25 donation (U.S. tax deductible), please click and give. Since we are too old for jumping rope (not that us Pearlmans live near the others) and Woodgie, the cat, won't do it, even if presented the opportunity, we're giving to Kara's campaign.
We hope you all will help, too.Thanks....http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=249042&supId=205271804

Kara made the Newspaper

This is the story from the Louisville Courier- Journal, in case the link doesn't link anymore (always a possibility after a certain amount of time)

Clarksville to shift 50 students School board OKs elementary plan
By Ben Zion Hershberg

bhershberg@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal
The Clarksville Community Schools board unanimously approved a redistricting plan last night that will move 50 students from Greenacres Elementary School to the older, smaller George Rogers Clark Elementary to even out class sizes.
"It is not a decision we take lightly," board President Bill Wilson said before last night's vote. "Any time you make changes that affect students' lives, it is difficult."
But Wilson said the board believes the plan, which will take effect next fall, will solve an imbalance that has been a concern for several years.
Superintendent Steve Fisher said Greenacres' enrollment is 386 and George Rogers Clark's is 204.
He said that for several years, Greenacres' classes have been close to the school system's limit of 25 students, while George Rogers Clark's classes often have fewer than 20. He said he would like to set a 23-student limit on class size after the redistricting.
Fisher said the students to be moved live on Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard and Yale drives, Cambridge Boulevard, Oxford, Camden and Wellington courts, and Applegate Lane.
One of the students affected, fourth-grader Kara Barstead, 9, attended last night's meeting with her parents. She said she has been at Greenacres since kindergarten and loves the school and her teachers.
"I feel like I'm going to cry," Kara said after the meeting.
Kara's mother, Jennifer Barstead, questioned why their neighborhood was chosen for redistricting. She said other neighborhoods are closer to George Rogers Clark, and theirs is made up primarily of families living in apartments, and often on relatively low incomes.
Barstead said the school system might expect little opposition from residents who may lack the resources to fight redistricting.
Although her neighbors didn't attend last night's meeting, Barstead said she believes some are concerned.
Fisher denied that economics were a factor in choosing the neighborhood for redistricting. Rather, he said the area has regularly sent about 50 students to Greenacres and he needed a neighborhood with stable numbers of students for the redistricting plan to work.
Anthony Morris, who has a child at George Rogers Clark, said some parents had been concerned the school system might consolidate and close their school.
"It's definitely the lesser of evils," Morris said.
In an interview Monday, Fisher acknowledged that George Rogers Clark didn't meet state standards last year for making "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Greenacres met the standards.
The Indiana Department of Education's Web site says too few of the special-education students at George Rogers Clark in 2006 passed the English section of state examinations.
If George Rogers Clark doesn't meet the standards again this year, parents could chose to move their students to Greenacres. But Fisher said he didn't expect that to happen, even if parents have the choice.
Reporter Ben Zion Hershberg can be reached at (812) 949-4032.

Another story was in the New Albany Evening News and the Jeffersonville Tribune.

Here it is:

Published January 16, 2008 12:37 pm - Nearly four-dozen elementary school students will have a mile farther to travel to school beginning this fall under a redistricting plan approved by the Clarksville Community Schools board of school trustees Tuesday.

New districts OK’d in Clarksville

Students who live on nine streets will move from Greenacres to GRC

By MATTHEW RALPH newsroom@newsandtribune.com
Nearly four-dozen elementary school students will have a mile farther to travel to school beginning this fall under a redistricting plan approved by the Clarksville Community Schools board of school trustees Tuesday.
By a 5-0 vote, the school trustees essentially annexed nine city streets situated near the Little League Park into the George Rogers Clark Elementary School district about two miles away. Greenacres Elementary, where the 46 students living there now go, is roughly half that distance. “Considering she’s been at Greenacres since kindergarten, it will be tough,” said Jennifer Barstead, whose 9-year-old daughter, Kara, is one of the students affected. “Most of her friends at school aren’t going with her.”
Superintendent Stephen Fisher said the streets — which do not intersect with any part of the existing George Rogers Clark district — were chosen because they have a “consistent” school-age population from which to draw.
He said neither income nor test results were factored into the decision, but did note that the group of students scored well on standardized tests last year.
School systems in Indiana are permitted by law to draw and realign district boundaries, Fisher said.
The shift will increase the population of George Rogers Clark — the older and smaller of the two elementary schools — to around 250 and reduce the population of Greenacres to less than 330, Fisher said.
“It will give us a better class-size balance,” Fisher said.
George Rogers Clark, commonly referred to as GRC, has an average class size of 18.9 students this year. Greenacres has an average class size of 20.6.
The discrepancy has been hotly debated for years.
About eight years ago, a study was commissioned to look into the issue, but no action was ever taken to address it. When it was brought up again last year, stakeholders argued both sides of the issue with emotional speeches to the school board.
Trustee President Bill Wilson used the word “struggle” to describe the decision-making process, and Fisher acknowledged that uprooting students like Kara Barstead would not be popular with everyone.
“I know anytime you have change, there is hardship,” Fisher said. “But we have two excellent buildings with two excellent staffs. Parents need not worry.”
Fisher said his recommendation did not come hastily.
About 11 months ago, the board of trustees commissioned Indiana State University professor Robert Boyd to look at restructuring as part of a study of the 1,400-student system’s facilities.

Compiled with the help of two-dozen parents, school staff and community members, the resulting 58-page report presented three options — consolidation, restructuring or doing nothing.
Fisher called the redistricting a “three-year plan,” noting that in that time span, more will be known about a state report recommending consolidation of smaller school districts, efforts to revamp property taxes and the impact of the Colgate-Palmolive Co. plant closure in Clarksville.

SO YOU KNOW
Elementary school students living on the following streets will attend George Rogers Clark Elementary School beginning in the fall:

• Dartmouth Drive
• Yale Drive
• Princeton Drive
• Harvard Drive
• Camden Court
• Wellington Court
• Applegate Lane
• Oxford Court

Neither of the papers noted that the selected areas are in one apartment complex. I'm not sure why they think that would make for a consistent school-age population. Apartment dwellers tend to be a bit more mobile than house owners. Jenni noted to me, at least, that the redistricting has to be approved by the "No Child Left Behind" department, so it may take until Kara is out of Greenacres (she'll be in middle schoool year after next). I think they ought to grandfather out the fifth graders in their little group, so as not to put them in two different schools for two years straight. Starting middle school will be tough enough, without having had to readjust to a new elementary school the year before. I might write to the newspapers and bring that up.

Anyway, that, and the fact that Kara is taking another of the Project AHEAD classes at Indiana University Southwest, are the big stories for me this week.

Hello, 2008

Well, 2007 went pretty darn fast, didn't it? We got home safely (well, more or less - I was ready to kill the driver from AMS limousines that the DH sent to pick us up. He was more than a half an hour late and we got in a half an hour early. We had to call them at least 4 times and the driver was an abysmal driver...) and I've uploaded pictures from the holidays. Woodgie was glad to see us back - and I called about jury duty - I don't have to go in tomorrow or Thursday. I have to call Thursday night after 5 pm to see if I'll be called in or not.

So here are some of my pictures....

That's Elysha behind the wheel of our rental - a Chevy Colorado instead of an Aveo. She was really spiked about having a pick-up truck to drive - it set me back $50 in pre-paid fuel and that was at $2.70 a gallon. It was around $3.03 when we left and we returned the truck empty.

Here are the girls at my brother John's house on Christmas Day. Kara, Jenni and Elysha, who's looking at Woodgie's gift from John and Cathy and Ali's dogs- Minnie and Sadie... A mouse ball with a fuzzy tail. Woodgie's not particularly impressed with it, but she is odd that way...

Here's Kara in fromt of my mom's Christmas tree - she's gotten a lot taller. She's just about a head shorter than me now... And she thinks she's a big shot...

And here she is with a bunch of her toys!

And here's Mom at John's house, opening one of her presents.

We had a good time and I'm always thankful that Cathy and John take care of Mom and the Christmas stuff at their house.

Happy New Year....