Buttonweed Barn

I remember last time the metrodome ripped, November 1981. I was just a kid and the dome was quite new. Interesting that it happened again. It should be a fun game this coming Monday to watch the Vikings play outside, like they used to do before the Metrodome.

Time to Get in the holiday spirit.

I want to read more, but I find little time to do it. I want to read more, and I can read before I go to bed or get off of Facebook and pick up a book. I want to paint, but I don't. I want to paint, and I can do it on my Christmas vacation time. I want to work out, but I don't get there very often. I want to work out, and I can make a point of scheduling it twice a week after school. I want to visit Europe, but it is too expensive. I want to visit Europe, and I can start funding a trip a little at a time.

Road trips always hold a fascination for me. I love the adventure of hitting the open road. It is always interesting. Last winter my husband Larry and I loaded up the Subaru until it was overfilled with luggage, the dog and gifts and set out for the Midwest. We had grand beautiful weather through Montana. So nice that it was easy to forget it was mid December. We drove on to Chamberlain, where we found a hotel. Just as we were pulling into the hotel, it started with a freezing rain. So slippery that we couldn’t walk very well on the sidewalks, to go and get some supper at the local Subway. Country music was playing and many of the big semi trucks were rumbling in and parking for the evening by the hotel. We were just glad that for once we had sense to stop early for the evening, as the evening weather forecasts were giving warnings of black ice and slippery conditions. Sleeping in for the morning, Larry and I had breakfast and got on the road. Now it is a long drive to Minnesota and

We had our first skiff of snow this week. Not much, just enough to dust the car. It is gray outside and looks like it could snow some more. With the shortening of the daylight, it's hard enough to get motivated. A little sun would help things out.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Where did the summer go? Schools been in session three days already as I post this blog. I blinked and it was over and I was sad that I didn't do many summer things this year. But I did do some very lovely fun things. I went to the Butte Folk festival and I took a trip to Dillion for a week, and we did a raft trip into the wilderness. This is more than some people do all summer I know. I just didn't have much kick back and relax time. I spent most of the summer on the computer working on my masters degree. At least it was a laptop, so I could sit outside and work. I am on the upside of all that computer work, becoming a much faster typist. There was frost on the windshield this morning that I had to scrape off. September 2nd. Very early for that kind of thing.

Summer of 2010 on PhotoPeach

Our trip to Hot Springs included wildlife viewing at the Bison Range. With a borrowed camera, we were able to take some nice wild life shots. This elk put it's head up just as I shot the picture. It was browsing right by the side of the road as we came by.

As is fairly typical for this weekend, at as far as my memory serves me, it is rainy. I kind of like that it is a nice soft rain. We need it. The ground was getting so dry and crunchy. I have been working on my educational technology projects. My new favorite blog is shabbyblogs.com. I love their backgrounds. I've added one of their backgrounds to this blog.

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I forget how many hours I really am at work. I filled in a chart on how I spend my time. With commuting and after hours work and meetings, there isn't a lot of hours left in the day. There is a reason I come home and hit the couch. It's a lot of hours.

Trail to Avalanche Lake:

Hubby was back to work. Out the door early and on the road by 5:00 a.m. It gave me a lot of time to drink my coffee this morning. The house is always so quiet when he's gone. Tonight, I had to turn on some Jimmy Buffett to liven things up, while I'm working on my school work. Our dog is moping around, missing him.

Sunday Mornings The usual routine of getting up without an alarm clock and enjoying a quiet morning is what I love best about Sundays. I enjoy laying around without all the day's to dos juggling in my head. It might be the part of the week I enjoy the most. I bought a new honeysuckle bush for around the pond and a crab apple tree to replace the aspen that didn't make it. The crab apple bush seems to be liking it so far, with a bunch of blossoms. The bees are liking the addition to the garden. Everything is starting to seem much more springlike up here. The mock orange are all blooming now and the trees are flushing out nicely.

Getting work done after work is a challenge for me. I find that I pour so much into my day at work, that I just come home and try to recover. Forget trying to get anything useful done. I'm lucky if I stay up until my normal bedtime. I sometimes get frustrated about it, but most of the time I try to realize this is where I am at this period during my life. I have to adjust my expectations, or I will drive myself crazy.

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Today we planted aspargus and a flowering crab apple tree and some juniper plants. They all look small and not very interesting right now, lost among the open banks that are housing them. I know that later, they should grow large and be much more appealing. It is the patience it takes to realize that down the road 4 or 5 years we will enjoy them much more. Much more appealing than it was today trying to dig out rocks to get them planted before it rained. I really liked planting the colorful pansies much more, because they were instant gratification. Spring colors to liven up the house.

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With Glacier Park almost in our backyard, I am almost always suprised when students tell me that they haven't visited the park, or even been in the area. Some elementary students don't even know what it is. They tell me they haven't been out of our little town. I hope that future field trips to this wonderful place, will excite them and start a new wonder for the area we live in and all the natural abundance around them. Blogged with the Flock Browser

We played with technology sites and learned that multiple browsers are out there. They can really change how one interacts with the internet. There are many more browsers that I had ever tried. I am currently trying out Flock and I think it might be my new browser of choice. Blogged with the Flock Browser

So often students with poor spelling skills struggle severely in regular classroom. It is hard to accommodate for the students when they are working two or more grade levels below the regular curriculum. Their spelling is often so poor that they themselves cannot read it. Other people struggle to read it else, including parents and teachers. To top it all off a new students are poor readers along with having trouble with writing and spelling. Some students all some have problems with language skills makes it difficult for them to organize grammar and sentence structure.what are these students to use to keep up in the regular classroom? There are starting to be assistive technology to help the students. Programs like Dragon speak can help them by converting their speech to text. There are also websites out there that help check spelling online. Technology is improving at a drastically faster rate than it has been.The technology for speech to text is even becoming available on cell

Recall is a very interesting program that can be used on your cell phone that can turn voice into text. At $24.99 it is a very inexpensive service. That is almost like having an ace secretary at your fingertips wherever you have cell coverage. You have 20 seconds to record your message and it will be e-mailed or text to you. It can be used with a variety of voices, and does not require training. You can record your message as an appointment, note or meeting. It has a free trial. With the Pro version, and then it reverts to a free version with limited services, but you can you still use the voice to text service. You can recall record recorded voice messages and appointments for on the go convenience. If service is similar to the service that Jott is providing. It can turn a cheap prepaid cell phone into a much handier device.