Arizona Sunset

Here's the view that greeted me as I went out to fetch our mail this evening. The colors are so much brighter than my camera can capture, but hopefully this gives you a hint at the sight that took my breath away for a moment.


This second picture is out on our front street. What a great silhouette of AZ.

We have amazing sunsets here in the desert, but especially during Monsoon season.

Thank You....Hurricane Jimena!

Rain is a big deal in the desert! And we FINALLY got some good rain thanks to the hurricane traveling up the west coast of Mexico.
Saturday morning was our typical Monsoon rain, at last, and we all enjoyed hearing and watching it. I had to be out for some errands, and it was interesting how everybody's moods were upbeat and happy. Like I said, rain in the desert is a BIG deal!



These shots are out our patio gate. The most measured rainfall in the valley was just over an inch, which may not sound like much to some of you, but out here it can cause flash floods and close streets. The last picture is out our front window. But as is true to the desert as well,
Sunday and Monday have been gorgeous. We are going to a Diamondbacks game
for our Labor Day fun!

We're Havin' a Heat Wave......a Tropical Heat Wave.....

You probably have to either be an old-movie buff, or an old movie-buff to catch the reference to the song in our title, but it is totally appropriate for AZ right now. This past week we saw three straight days of 113 degree highs, tying the record high for each of those days. We're still in the 106-111 range, with humidity flux-ing all over the place.
Fortunately, we have Hurricane Jimena creeping up the Pacific coast from Mexico that dropped a trace of rain last night. We hope to have more substantial moisture by the weekend.
Soooo... think of us as you all are enjoying the beginnings of Fall.....we HOPE to see some leaves changing color here by December LOL

Old-School Tweet

Note to self -- NEVER put 90 junior high students in the same classroom at the same time!
I made the mistake of stating the wrong rehearsal day this week, (we are on a 6-day rotation schedule) and ALL of my 90 junior high chorus students showed up for rehearsal in a room that is made for about 55.
Well....I decided to have them all stay (for many reasons you don't want to hear, I'm sure :o) ) and found out several interesting facts.
With 90 junior high students in one room --
1. There's a whole lot of talking going on
2. There's very little singing going on
3. The room heats to about 200 degrees in 10 minutes
4. You're actually in the middle of a whirlwind that you can't really control
5. I was smart to separate the rehearsals and only see the full group on stage in the cafeteria!

The good news is that I totally survived and can laugh about the day. I also told the students that they are ALWAYS to calculate the days in their head to make sure what I say is ACTUALLY a real rehearsal day for them!

Back to School

Welcome to Granny's classroom, or my "home away from home" :o) We are the Bulldogs, hence my welcome pic. Kids love seeing these dogs as I open the door to invite them into my room.
We are 3 days into the school year, and things are moving along nicely. My schedule is extremely full, but seems to be working out well so far. I have over 90 students in my junior high chorus, so we had to do some creative scheduling to make that work, but I'm excited about how they will sound!
I see kindergarten through 8th grade, so my classroom reflects all levels of teaching. The shapes on the floor are the seating chart for the little ones, everyone else sits on the risers. I use every bit of wall space to facilitate my teaching :o)
So now you have a glimpse of where I spend 9 months every year, making music, dancing, singing, and having a GREAT time!

Well, my classroom is ALMOST ready, so I thought I'd share a few more of our favs from the UK. The hydraengeas were incredible all over. They were mostly purples and blues, but huge,

puffy balls of color all over. They were amazing.

On a trip to Cong we found a beautiful garden and wandered around. The girls aren't mad, or upset or in trouble :o) We simply caught them in a bit of a rest from running around and around some huge trees.

Cliffs of Moher....need I say more. We visited on an unusually clear day and could see clear across Galway Bay to the shore on the far side.

Readin', 'wRitin', aRithmatic....and....Rhythm!

Blistering, record heat....monsoon winds and rain...the calendar says August....must be Back to School Time in Arizona!
Thought I'd show a bit of the process teachers go through to get ready for the school year.
We literally 'live' in our classrooms, it seems at times, so here are some shots of my 'other home' !

Thankfully, these are the BEFORE shots.
Here is what I came back to (needless to say teachers pack their rooms up in the spring). All the instruments, the sound system, poster, wall decor, and the piano are packed away for the summer. Now I get to bring them back out, dust them of, and try to remember where they belong in the room!

I spent last Thursday setting up the 'heavy equipment' - risers, sound system, etc. Today I started on the bulletin boards, choral music, and classroom management forms.
Tomorrow I will hopefully finish up the room, the copies, the extra papers, and be ready for a full day of teacher/district meetings.
Soooooo.........Stay tuned for the AFTER shots ... hopefully you'll be able to tell a difference!