"Dear Diary..."

Christmas letter 2009

December 9th, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
Since we finally have the technology (we bought a printer this fall), I decided I would use the snow day we’re having here to compose a holiday letter. Granted, many of you will receive it by way of e-mail rather than the “old-fashioned” way, but know that you are all in our thoughts as we slide into Christmas and 2010.
I continued to do a lot of substitute teaching in the 2008-09 school year, and the more I did, the more I enjoyed it. I find it quite curious that I especially enjoy the days I’m called for the elementary school. When I was teaching orchestra, the LAST place I wanted to be was in the elementary schools, but I realize now that it had much more to do with the scheduling of music lessons at that level than with the children. And, I’m older. Yes, really. The amount of ibuprofen I now take proves it. The reading specialist at Southern Door Elementary says I have that “oma” quality about me. At first I was a bit put out by the reference to “grandma.” But she’s right, I could easily have been a grandma by this time in my life. And I guess all those latent maternal instincts come flooding to the surface when I’m around all those children. I’m quite addicted to their hugs, and love it when they see me, and ask, “Who are you today, Mrs. O’R?” Anyway, when school ended last June, I felt a little lost for several weeks. But I had found a summer job, working at a little bead shop in Sturgeon Bay. Unfortunately, the economy has hit the Door County tourist trade quite hard, and by July, much too late in the season, I was looking for work. It was a blessing in disguise. I truly did not want to work in retail again. Been there, done that. Patrick encouraged me to use the time to explore the possibility of getting a teaching license. I called UW-Green Bay, thinking that since I had gotten my first teaching license through them, it would be easy to get an add-on license. Not so. But after considerable internet research, and a few phone calls, I found the Accelerated Licensure program at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc. We talked a LOT about it, and I finally made an appointment with an advisor.
College is very different than it was when I enrolled in the 70’s. It’s different than when I went back and finished my degree in the 80’s. Gone are the days of long lines for registration and buying books. A few clicks of the mouse, and I’m all set, and books arrive by UPS. My accelerated program allows me to continue subbing, and I attend classes on weekends, and turn in assignments online. It took some getting used to, making sure that everything was exported and formatted properly. Many of my instructors and department administrators are nuns, and I must admit I’m a bit intimidated by some of them, being the left-wing Druid that I am! The language of Education has also changed quite a bit since I was a full-time teacher, but it’s just a matter of terminology, not philosophy. I enjoyed my one Friday night and Saturday morning per month on campus. Luckily, I finished this week, just ahead of the snowstorm that keeps me home today. I was quite pleased with my progress, I haven’t forgotten how to write a research paper, and look forward to next semester. I took three classes, and will take three more, starting in mid-January. That will leave one or two classes for summer session, and one next fall. IF I can do a long-term subbing gig of at least 6 weeks in one classroom, I may use that for my “student teaching,” and would not have to be assigned to a classroom teacher, full-time, for an entire semester - and not be paid! I’m keeping my fingers crossed, burning sage, praying for pregnancies. Whatever it takes.
I have also returned to the podium, quite by accident. Last year I noticed a young woman in the parking lot at Target, and had that I-should-know-who-that-is feeling. We’ve been in Door County ten years, so sometimes when this happens, it’s hard to pinpoint the where and when. I decided I’m too old to appear threatening, so I marched right up to her car, explained my curiosity, and asked who she was. After a bit of history exchange, we discovered that she had been one of those happy campers at UW-Green Bay summer music camp, a very promising cellist, when I was “Mrs. E,” not “Mrs. O’R.” She had gone on in music, graduating from Lawrence, and was now the Director of the Door County String Academy! Small world, indeed. We agreed to keep in touch, and Lori eventually persuaded me to come work with her students as a “guest,” and to adjudicate their spring music festival of solos and ensembles. I had a ball! I had not completely forgotten how to wave a baton, and I was hooked. Her older students did not have a large ensemble component to their program, so we made one. We rehearse one Sunday afternoon per month, mostly high school students and some local adult players (including our neighbor, Peter Sherrill, on the string bass) and will “debut” next week at a holiday concert in Sturgeon Bay. You may follow our progress online, here: http://www.doorcountystringacademy.blogspot.com/
Patrick is well, and continues to amaze and delight me, with his support, good humor, encouragement, and cooking! Although there have been changes at the mill, Patrick’s job is fairly secure. We’re just happy that he still HAS a job, and each year that goes by is another year of seniority, and another year closer to retirement. The economy forces us to stay close to home, so there haven’t been any trips to relate. Last spring and late this fall, he went to his father’s, in Fort Wayne, IN, to help with seasonal projects around their home and/or lake house. Our niece, Jessica, was married this summer, and we attended a reception they held in Milwaukee, in October. It was nice to see Patrick’s sister and her husband, and Patrick’s brother. The bride’s brother, James, is in the army, stationed in Afghanistan at the moment, and our thoughts go out to him every night when we watch the news. His wife and their two adorable children were at the reception, and it was fun to see how the kids are growing and changing. Rachael, our youngest niece, was absent. But she had a good excuse - she was studying this fall semester in Ireland, at the University College in Cork. She has really enjoyed it, if her Facebook page is any indication, and there is even talk that she will go back for graduate studies after finishing her degree at U of I, Champaign-Urbana, this spring. Finishing college! Those four years certainly flew by! About the only way I can keep track of her adventures is on Facebook, so feel free to “friend” me (Patty Calkins O’Rourke) here: http://www.facebook.com/
We worried about Snickers last Spring, when he suddenly had trouble walking, getting up and down stairs, etc. A trip to our vet, dear Dr. Neil, and x-rays confirmed that he has arthritis, and after experimenting awhile with medications, he’s doing great. He even chases and plays with Spike, the little orphan cat we took in two summers ago. Spike is very vocal, very entertaining, and although he wants to keep tabs on us and be close, he’s not the “lap cat” that Thumper was. Thumper passed away this last year, after a good, long life, and I miss her terribly. But this summer we were reminded that orphans are never very far away, and they will probably always find their way to us. Twice we were visited by sweet little kittens that were looking for love, and we scooped them up and delivered them to the Humane Society’s animal shelter in Sturgeon Bay. Both were adopted soon after. Yes, we were tempted both times, but I think we’re at capacity right now, at least until I finish school. These, and other adventures, can be found on my blog: http://paporartist.typepad.com/dear_diary/
I’ve not pursued any art in quite awhile, with the exception of projects for my Creative Arts in the Classroom methods class. So I’ve enclosed this little origami Christmas tree, complete with teacher-gold star sticker, the project I used for my final.
(I’ll be honest, I was going to do a crane. But when I finished, it looked more like an airplane that had crash-landed.) Here’s hoping this finds you all well, and with bright prospects for the new year ahead.
Love,
Patty, Patrick, Snickers and Spike O’Rourke

delete, edit, and integrate, oh my!

still sorting out feelings about this strange summer of "unemployment," after a stressful, hectic, but very rewarding school year.
I feel as if I went to sleep as an artist, and woke up as an educator, with one foot stepping back into my former life as a music teacher/conductor.
I'm dragging the other foot, as there is still a lot of baggage I'm carrying with me.
but I'm confident that it will all fall into place.
I absolutely loved my time spent subbing, especially after I got to know more kids/teachers and their routines.
and although I was a bit scared at first, I'm so glad I also made the jump back into adjudicating music festivals for WSMA.
those Saturdays at Who-Knows-Where High School can be very long, but I think I'm a good judge, and I have a lot of fun.
and NOW, I'm dusting off the baton, and will be conducting a group of young string players with the Door County String Academy.
it's very exciting.
but I'm also nervous about it all.
want to make sure that all the parts & pieces fit, and don't interfere with the life I have here in Kolberg with Patrick, and the critters.
to all my artist friends, I want you to know that I've not quit "making stuff," but the emphasis has switched.
at first, it was out of necessity - just had to make more money.
but now, I think this is the direction I should go, it's where I'm supposed to be...
later,
Mrs. O'R

start your search engines!

I know I have posted information about GoodSearch previously, but I'm doing it again.
it's such an easy way to raise money for your favorite cause.
just start using GoodSearch.com as your search engine, and they'll donate about a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search!
in addition, go to their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 900 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice.
you pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!
I now GoodSearch for the Door County String Academy (Sturgeon Bay) - and it was so easy to register.
http://www.goodsearch.com
later,
Mrs. O'R

summer blues

it has been an odd summer, so far.
I began a "summer job" at a cute little bead shop in May, before school ended, school ended in June, and about a week later, so did my summer job!
I may get called back in August, but that didn't help my bank balance for July.
so, I have been fighting the blues.
and, being the Queen of Making Do, I'm doing.
painting steps, gardening, cleaning, organizing, life goes on.
time at home has been nice, especially after the hectic spring, subbing almost every day those last weeks of the semester.
and it looks as if fall will be busy, whether I get called back to Acme Bead, or not.
I will sub, of course, anywhere, anything, if called.
AND, I've just been hired to conduct a string ensemble for the Door County String Academy.
it's comprised of mostly high school students, and I'm very excited.
we'll rehearse 4 or 5 times, then perform a few pieces at their December concert.
it's a trial basis, and as is the case with all non-profits, it's all about "funding."
so, now I have to dust off the baton case, start thinking about repertoire, and update not only the blog, but my Facebook page, and check to see if I still have pages on Twitter and MySpace.
need to get the word out, and drum up (no musical pun intended) support.
later,
Mrs. O'R

import/export business

although I was a bit scared, I managed to export my other blog posts as a file, and then import them into this blog.
the point is to morph the two into one, so please be patient as I copy, edit, and delete.
hope to have most of it done today, so that I may downgrade again, and save more money.
unfortunately these days, it's all about the money.
I did go to Blogspot, as several of you suggested, but had a great deal of trouble with it.
(probably because I'm on a Mac, using Safari, and we still have dial-up.)
and I've been using Typepad for a long time now, and really like many of the features that are available to me.
we'll see how this all shakes out.
I will also be deleting my website soon.
just need to simplify, put everything in one place.
I will keep you posted (no pun intended), and will have some new things to share soon.
later,
Patty

changing the way we do...

actually, it's just more of "making do."

and, as my husband has often told me, I am the Queen of Making Do.

I've decided to downgrade my typepad account, to save a little money.

as far as I can tell, none of the features that I care most about have been affected...

yet...

I'll keep you posted.

I'm also considering deleting my website, since most of that info. is duplicated here, and morphing my other blog into this one.

I've explored the free blogging world this month, and I'm hesitant.

baby steps.

so here goes the downgrade...

(did anyone hear a crash?)

later,

Patty

blogging

quick post before I go to work.
the Fairfield's blog is now up and running, and I put a link for it here, but wanted to make special mention of it in a post.
there's a lot going on at the art museum, and more to come in the future, so I hope you will check out the blog, and come visit soon, when you're "in the neighborhood."
later,
Patty

blog tour continues

the blog tour for "I'd rather be in the studio" continues on Lisa's blog today.
I'm hurrying to get this posted, hoping I will win a copy of the book.
yesterday I was too late for Claudine's, and much too late for the first stop on the tour.
the information is wonderful, just what I think I need right now.
more later,
Patty

zazzled

yesterday, while waiting for the tow truck, I wandered around the internet for a bit, and happened upon Zazzle.com.
it's very much like Cafepress.com, where you take your designs and images, and place them on various products to buy and/or sell.
I've been using Cafepress for a long time, but have always found the process of creating new things quite tedious, the costs quite high, so I have not done much with it this past year.
so, I thought I would just try something at Zazzle, since it's FREE, and it was very, very user-friendly.
much easier to customize things, download images, and I especially liked the fact that I could add my own text to anything, without having to alter my own images, and then re-download.
today I made a couple of things, and they even have a widget for typepad blogs that was a snap to install.
if any of you have more experience with the site, let me know what you think.
check out my new Zazzle "gallery" here.
later,
Patty

making a wish

it's Sunday afternoon, but I'm scheduling this to be published Monday morning.
big news!
last week I was contacted by a product manager in the Amazon Associates program.
theirs was one of the first online affiliate marketing programs, and you're able to link to Amazon books, products, and services, and receive referral fees in exchange.
you can take your commissions in cash, or gift certificates.
lots of bloggers have been doing this for a long time.
I create a lot of links to books, new and used, and any money I make from referral sales goes toward more books.
for gifts, or for me!
anyway, Amazon is launching a few new widgets, and they are going to feature my site in the press release, as an example of their "Wish List" widget! (on the right, in the red box)
I am so excited!
my wish is that this will bring lots of people to "Dear Diary..." and, ultimately, to my artwork and "papor products."
happy beta trial Monday!
but right now, it's naptime...
later,
Patty