Wow-it has been almost a month since I last posted. I have been very busy with school. Academic team is over for the next two months-we will start again in January to prepare for the Kentucky Governor's Cup competition. Until then, I will be very busy with some classes that I have signed up to take. I am taking a knitting class once a month which I really enjoy. Many of us in the class also meet on the Mondays we don't have class-we have a great time knitting and talking and laughing-a lot. Actually I am not sure how much knitting we get done, but we sure have a great time. I have several scrapbooking classes in the coming weeks which means I need to get my pictures together. I am also going to the Needlepoint Guild once a month. I enjoy all of these activities and have gotten to know many different people. School is going well, I have been busy teaching teachers how to use the new grading program our district switched to-it is a bit different and we are encountering problems, but I guess that is par for the course.
I had a great time during my fall break. I spent the latter part of the week in Boston with Allison. We did all sorts of fun things. I got to see Harvard and walk around Harvard Square. We spent the day in Salem and we went to a Renaissance Fair in Connecticut. We also took the "T" to the Boston Gardens and Boston Commons. While in Boston, Allison took me to several of her favorite restaurants -very good!-and she made sure I got to her local yarn shop. We did a lot of walking. Allison has decided she'd like to knit socks, so I brought yarn, needles and a pattern and got her started on a pair. Although she learned to knit while in high school, she prefers to crochet.
Emily came home this weekend-a friend was coming this way so she tagged along. We had a nice visit-took our friend Eddie out to lunch for his birthday. She and I spent most of Saturday night watching different TV episodes I had on TIVO that she had not seen.
This coming Wednesday, I am having another eye surgery-(this should be the last) to finish straightening my right eye. This time the Dr. will be working on the inner muscle (outer muscle last time) so after everything settles down, my eye should be straight. It is greatly improved now-this surgery will just finish things up.
As I sat down to update this blog I thought about when I began it. It is hard to believe that over two years have passed since Chris, Carolyn and I were at Mayo. If I remember correctly, Chris was pretty critical at this time in 2006. It was a very stressful time in our lives (Chris did not remember any of his time in the hospital) but it was a time I will always keep close to my heart. From the time we left Georgetown until the night he died, Chris and I spent hours and hours together. We talked, we wondered, we laughed, we cried, but most of all we lived and we enjoyed each other's company. Take Care and take a moment to enjoy the people who surround you in your life. Mary Jo

Sorry that is has been so long since I posted last. That may be a good thing. I have been very busy at school and home. I am the head Academic Team coach for our school. the students and the other coaches decided that early morning was the best time to practice (I voted for after school!) So two mornings a week I have to be at school before 7:30. We also have matches after school on Tuesday and Thursdays. I often don't make it home until after 9pm. Fortunately this pace will only last until the end of October.
I drove to Chicago (actually Lisle, IL) twp weekends ago for a conference. The four of us that went from my school spent the day in Chicago before we headed back to Kentucky. I was their "tour guide" of sorts. We went up in the Sears tower (very different from the last time I we there 25 years ago) We walked around Millennium Part and walked down Michigan Ave. We at at Gino's East-long wait for deep dish pizza-it was good. I will be going to Chicago again at the end of October with our 7th grade. We will spend the night in the Museum of Science and Industry. I went on this trip last year-we had a blast!
I am still knitting quite a bit. I finished a pair of socks for Allison and have started another pair for me. I need to get back to my needlepoint projects and to finish the sweater and quilt I have started-I'll get them done at some point.
Emily has been home for her fall beak and mine has just started. I leave on Wednesday to spend time with Allison. I am very excited about this-my my requests were/are to see Harvard, go to Salem and to visit some yarn shops. Allison has been investigating other things for us to see and do.
the weather here in Georgetown has been very nice. It is finally cooling off a bit. I am ready for cool/cold weather. I am getting tired of my wardrobe choices! Take Care. MJ

Well, the Olympics have been going on for a week and it is hard to believe that they will be over soon. I love watching them. I must say I will probably be in a much better mood when the Olympics are over-I am staying up way too late and very tired the next day at school (another reason we should begin in late August or after Labor Day!) Swimming and diving are my favorite competitions to watch.

Emily came home this weekend-she had a dental appointment on Thursday. Since she was in Bowling Green for her birthday, we celebrated today with lunch at Ruby Tuesday's followed by ice cream at Graeter's-gotta love their double chocolate chip! We had a nice afternoon and then we both came home and slept. Emily returns to BG tomorrow but classes don't start for her until the 25th.

Allison is fine-starting a new position at her job-not sure when she will start classes again. We are starting to plan what we will do when I go visit her in October. I definitely want to go to Harvard Square-Allison says it is pretty neat. I think we will also go to Salem-my request. I want to visit the yarn shop- Mind's Eye Yarn- where Allison enrolled me in a sock yarn club-I get hand dyed sock yarn every other month-pretty cool!

Last weekend I attended a needlepoint class in Louisville-we learned how to stitch a beautiful ornament with lots of beading. The class was from 9-4. Following the class, we (two others went with me) killed sometime shopping at the mall, then ate dinner before we went to see The Color Purple musical. It was great! I love going to see plays at the Kentucky Center for the Arts-I don't think there is a bad seat anywhere in the building.

The Americans just won the men's medley relay in swimming-Michael Phelps has won 8 Olympic gold medals. I think I can go on to bed now. Take Care. MJ

Rabbit, rabbit. Supposedly that is what you should say to the first person you talk to on the first day of the month or so my mother told me -might give you good luck or something like that. Being August 1st means that Emily has moved to Bowling Green, KY to her new apartment and to get ready school. It has been a wild month with her at home and both of us trying to get everything settled at Western Kentucky University. She attended there in 2006 but got a medical withdrawal-that was when Chris and I were at Mayo Clinic for 6+ weeks for his heart surgery. Emily is looking forward to being back at WKU and is happy that she can be in an apartment instead of the dorm. We had a nice month together-both in the same house. She did her thing and I did mine. I know she was/is happy to leave and I am happy for her and happy to go back to my routines.

Speaking of routines school begins in one short week. It is hard to believe that my summer-such as it was-is over already. It is too hot to be in school! At least I will be in a cool computer lab. I will be teaching some computer classes throughout the school year and be learning my new job as School Technology Coordinator. I know enough about computers right now to get myself in trouble, hopefully I will learn enough in the coming months to get myself out of trouble!

August also means that the 2008 Olympics will begin. Chris really loved each year the Olympics came around, particularly the Summer Games. His favorite sport to watch was Men's Gymnastics -he had met many of the gymnasts throughout the years. Jonathan Horton who is on the current team was one of the last gymnasts Chris (and me) met. We saw and talked with him in Indianapolis-it will be great to see how he does in upcoming Olympic Games. I really enjoy watching the swimming and diving.

Monday I am back at school to get unpack my stuff, and get ready for the students on Friday. Wednesday is the first official day for teachers. I plan on spending the next two days sitting poolside at Spindletop, basking in the sun, and enjoying my last full days of doing nothing. Enjoy! Mary Jo

I had an eye doctor appointment yesterday. My dr-(Dr. Stevens) was very pleased with the outcome of the surgery. She said that the surgery gave me about 50 % improvement in the position of my eye. she thought that now when she looks at me she doesn't have to decide which eye is looking at her. I go back in two months and we will see how things are then-I still have some swelling and redness. At that time we'll discuss whether or not to do surgery again only this time to work on the muscle toward the inside of my eye. she looked at it during surgery and said there was lots of scar tissue which she could take out. She is not sure how much more straightening the eye will do if I have surgery again-we will see in two months.
I have been working on a needlepoint ornament for my sister Julie's 50th birthday. I am just about done but I keep losing the silver metallic thread I need for it. I know I have some here and I bought another spool but heaven only knows where they both are! I guess I buy another one-you can never have enough-right?
I am going to enjoy these last few days before school starts for me. the weather should be beautiful tomorrow so I'll be at the pool. Today, Emily and I are going out for lunch with our friend Eddie and then I am driving Chris's mom and her sister to Lexington to go to the craft stores.
Have a good day-I plan on it. Mary Jo

Well, it has been almost one week since my eye surgery and all is well. The surgery went well, my eye is straight - at least to me it is- and it is healing well. I have had no problems with it other than itching as it heals. I return to the Dr. next Thursday- it will be interesting to see what she has to say about it. I was at the hospital by 10:30 am and home by 4:00 pm and have only really had to use Tylenol for discomfort.
I am not able to go to the pool this week-Spindletop is hosting the swim conference meet and finals so two of the pools are closed through Wednesday. That is fine with me since I am not supposed to go under water for a week anyway.
I did a Needlepoint class this past weekend-9:30-4:30 on both Saturday and Sunday. We worked on a Project that has a dragonfly on it. It was tedious work, but it will be gorgeous when it is completed. I was thrilled to learn some new stitches and work with lots of metallic fibers.
Emily is home between apartments. She is finally registered for classes at Western Kentucky University-it is hard to register when all of the advisers are not on campus. Everyone we have talked to on the phone at Western has been so helpful.
It is hard to believe that I will begin school in a little over three weeks. I think this is the shortest summer I have had in a long while. I am making plans to go visit Allison during my Fall Break in October. I'll probably go on Wednesday and return on Sunday. Hopefully she will be able to get off of work for part of the time. The last time I was in Boston we were there for a City Year project and did not get to "see" much so I am looking forward to having Allison show me Boston. Take Care. MJ

It is a beautiful morning here in the Chicago area. We've been sitting outside on the patio for morning coffee(in my case Coke) and just basking in the beautiful weather. Later on my sisters , niece, Maggie, and Emily and I will venture to a local mall for a bit of shopping. We will all end up back at my sister Meg's for dinner, maybe followed by an evening of sitting with an open fire, roasting marshmallows and enjoying the beautiful evening-until the bugs usher us indoors.

We spent the 4th at my brother Patrick's home. He has a pool so the younger kids had a great time jumping in and playing games. We all brought goodies to have for dinner. Patrick grilled hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian sausages. It was a wonderful feast! I had a great time talking to my brothers and sisters I don't "see" very often and just watching the kids in the pool. Our time at Patrick's ended with my youngest sister Meg (we are staying at her home) pushing my 21 yr. old nephew, Andy, into the pool-he did have some dry clothes on . Of course that got the younger kids having the same idea and soon both Joey and Jack were in the pool with their clothes on as well.

After arriving back at Meg's, the darkness settled in and the fireworks began. We were able to be on her driveway and see the fireworks from a village on the other side of the river as well as ones being set off at homes nearby. It was a spectacular show, although the mosquitoes had a feast-there has been so much rain up here the mosquito population is is increasing daily.

Emily and I have had a wonderful visit. We have shopped, and shopped and shopped. We have been able to see most of my brothers and sisters (6 of the 8). I helped my nephew, Jack, work on a scrapbook-I sent it to him for his First Communion. We have just relaxed and visited with anyone who happens to be around.

Tomorrow we head back to Kentucky. It will be along drive-at lease 8 hours- depending on the holiday traffic. Fortunately we hit very little road construction on the way here, so that won't be bad-we will be just one of the thousands returning home from their holiday travels. Although we love coming here to visit and we will miss everyone it will be good to be back in our own home and our own beds. Take Care. Mary Jo

The cicadas are gone, my sisters have visited, and Emily and I are getting ready to travel north-it is hard to believe that June is almost over! Emily and I had a great time with my sisters and niece when they came. the weather was good, but cloudy so we did not make it out to Spindletop, we did a bit of shopping instead. The days before my sisters came I spent moving furniture and rearranging things in the house. I decided to frame and hang a bunch of "artwork" that the girls have done throughout the years, so I took down all of the photos of gymnasts Chris had hung in our study and took down a few of his Delta Chi things. I like looking at the artwork. My friend Nancy K. was a big help in getting all of the pictures hung and the furniture moved. I spent a long time sorting through boxes of papers Chris and I had in our bedroom-he saved everything!!!!! It was fun going through stuff, I got rid of a lot, but it was tiring. So far, I think we took out about 8 bags of "trash" from my cleaning and took about 6 bags of stuff to Goodwill-most of that came from Emily's room. It feels good to get things cleared out. I am not done by any means but have a good start.
I have been enjoying Spindletop this week. The lane pool finally opened so I can continue swimming my laps and sitting in the sun. It looks like the diving pool will open this weekend-I like sitting in that area-it is quieter.
I am having eye surgery on July 9th. The Dr. will be adjusting the muscle to straighten my right eye. It is out patient surgery so I should be up and running after a day or two. The weekend following my surgery I am taking a needlepoint class-a large canvas with a dragonfly and cattail. It is beautiful-I know I will be learning some new stitches. I am excited about that. Hopefully I'll be feeling OK-it will be 2 full days of class-should get a lot of stitching done! Take Care. MJ

Well, I went out to Spindletop for a couple of hours today. The sun was sooo hot I spent a lot of time in the water. Although I thought I slathered on enough sunscreen I still got a bit of sunburn-I am going to try to be better about that. I took my Kindle out with me to see how it would work in the sun-it was great. I did put it in a ziploc bag so I wouldn't have to worry about dripping on it after i got out of the water. That too worked well. Spindletop is about 10 miles from my house-while I was there I enjoyed not hearing the cicadas-I guess they have not come out there yet. I also realized that there was no "cicada roar" in town in Georgetown-just out here in the country. Emily was here at the house when I came in from the pool-she has started on cleaning up her room in preparation of moving back here for the month of July and was doing laundry. Although we each are doing our own thing when she is here, it is nice to have someone else in the house. I am sure by the end of July both of us will be ready to be back on our own! Take Care. Mary Jo

School is out and already I am going nuts! Actually it is the "roar" of the 17 year cicada that is driving me crazy. Just being in the house, with the TV on the noise from the cicadas is extremely loud. I did not notice it when I was at school because we had the sound of construction going on. Thankfully the "roar" ends when the sun goes down, but it is annoying during the day!
As I said, school is out, I actually have two more days of professional development-Monday and Tuesday and then I am done until Opening Day on August 6th. I do know that next school year I will be the School Technology Coordinator in training (STC) Our current STC will retire in February and I will take over for him at that time. The first semester will be learning how to do the jobs the STC does as well as teaching a few technology classes. Bottom line is I'll be back working with technology. The weather is hot-in the 90's-and the pools I use at Spindletop are still under construction. Hopefully they will be done and open by next weekend. I am looking forward to sitting in the sun and reading lots. My sisters, Julie and Jane, and my god daughter Maggie will travel to Kentucky for a long weekend. Emily and I are looking forward to their visit and just hanging out with them. Shortly after their visit, Emily and I will travel north to celebrate July 4th with my family. I will be having eye muscle surgery on July 9th-it will straighten my right eye. I've had five surgeries on my eyes before to correct strabismus (crossed eyes) My last surgery was when I was 13 yrs old. Things have definitely changed since then. Now it is an out patient surgery-then I was in the hospital for 3 days. Now they don't patch the eye-then I had a patch on for a week. There is not much else to tell. I am still plugging away on the sweater I am knitting and have been working on needlepoint. I think I am going to set up a "crafting corner" in my family room and do a few furniture changes in my bedroom this summer but for the most part it will be a quiet relaxing time. Take Care. Mary Jo

It is hard to believe that we are in the middle of May. Time just seems to fly by! All is well here in Georgetown. Emilly has completed her 2nd semester of college with very good grades. Allison will be done with her sememster soon-not sure how many hours she has now. Both of the girls will be moving to new apartments sometime during the summer-Emily to one in Bowling Green, Ky because she will be returning to Western Kentucky University. Allison to a different one inthe Boston area which I think is closer to work-or may it is her school. . . it is closer to something! I will be done with school on June 5th (the students are done the 4th) and am looking forward to sitting out at Spindletop, swimming, reading and relaxing. My summer will be short-school starts again on August 6th! emily and I will probably travel to see my family in the Chicago area around July 4th-I think my older brother Patrick is having a big (anything with my family is big) family party. I am still staying busy with the crafts I do. I am diligently working on my first sweater-it is not difficult, just a whole lot of knitting! I may have to put it up until the fall-I get pretty warm working on it and having it sit in my lap. I am working on several different needlepoint ornaments as well as continuing to crochet-so far I have only made washcloths, scarves and small stuff. I was just elected as treasurer for the local chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild of whichi I am a member-I was assured that I would have no problem with this position! I am looking forward to the end of school, but I am still not sure hat position I will have. Because of budget cuts, my position Curriculum Resource Teacher, will not be funded anymore, so i will return to the classroom. the question is-what grade and subject. all of our schools have had to make cuts so people are being shifted around. I'll be at my middle school, but not sure what grade or subject. Hopefully that will be decided in the next week or so. Many of you know that I am a big techie geek-if there is a new gadget, i just have to have it. For my birthday I treated myself to the Amazon Kindle ebook reader. I just love it. I have always liked reading books on my Palm computer, but this is much better because it is larger and I'll be able to use it in sunlight. I love to read, but hate how books stack up in the house-we have more than our share. Take Care. MJ

Well, my Springbreak is almost over. I stayed home and did this and that. Monday, Lyland, Bill, Carolyn and I drove to Frankfort to check out cars. I am thinking about getting a smaller, better on gas car. We drove the Honda Civic, and Honda Fit, and the Toyota Corolla and Scion xD. I liked the either of the Toyotas better than the Hondas. I probably won't actually be able to purchase until summertime. The opening weekend of my break was spent taking a needlepoint class with members of the Central Kentucky Needlepoint Guild at M's Canvashouse. I had a great time and learned lots! We worked Friday night, (6:30-8:30) Saturday (9-4) and Sunday (10-1:30) A lot of needlepoint in a short time. The class was a small canvas that can be framed called "Walking through the Garden Gate"-Meredith, who owns M's, designed the canvas and taught the class. The canvas has a ton of flowers and some 3-D effects-very different from anything I have ever done. I have also spent time knitting, knitting, and knitting. I am working on a sweater for me. Kathleen (librarian from school) and I are taking a class in Lexington to learn how to make this (mine is navy with red and just a touch of golden yellow). We have a lot of knitting that has to be completed between classes. It is not difficult-it is just a lot of knitting. Thursday, Emily and I drove to Frankfort to have lunch with Eddie. We had a nice visit and a great lunch at Johnny Carino's. I spent the rest of the day reading-I had to give my hands and arms a rest from all of the hand work. I finished Nora Robert's new book-High Noon and started reading the Elm Creek Quilts books my mom sent me a while back. I finished the first one Friday afternoon-I have to agree with Mom they are good, interesting books. It does help that I quilt a little bit. In fact I worked on my Rag Quilt yesterday. I finished cutting the fabrics and got all the the initial sewing done. Now I just need to decide how I want the squares and put it all together-for that I'll take it to school and get opinions from others. Today is Saturday and the Yarn Harlot will be signing her new book at Joseph-Beth Booksellers (a wonderful bookstore). I have my book and ticket and will leave later today to be sure to get a good spot to listen to talk. I am in the 'B" section for lining up for her to sign my book so that should not be too bad. I missed her when she was in Kentucky last year. Tomorrow I have a bit of schoolwork to do but for the most part I'll do nothing (maybe a bit of needlepoint, or knitting, or scrabooking, possibly crochet or reading!) and thoroughly enjoy my last day of Spring Break.

It has been one year since Chris died-it is hard to believe. As I look back at this past year I think about how Chris would have felt about different things. . . . Chris would have loved that I used Spindletop so much during the summer-he was looking forward the time when he could be out in the sun at the pool again. He was looking forward to being able to dance with my sister Jane at her daughter Katie's wedding-I think I did enough for the both of us! Chris would probably have felt that it was time for Tubby Smith to move on because the UK team was not doing as well as it should, I think he would have been impatient with the way the new coach Billy Gillispie is doing things. Chris would have been pleased with the way the team is pulling out wins right now, but would be worried about whether or not they will get an NCAA bid. Chris would have been disappointed that his friend Jody Richards did not get the nomination for governor of Kentucky, but Chris would have been pleased that Steve Beshear did win the race if it wasn't Jody. Chris would have really enjoyed helping out with the General Session this go around because he once worked with Steve Beshear. Chris would have been sad to see our Chocolate Lab, Clancy die-they were good buddies. Chris would have been (and is ) very proud that both of our girls did so well in school last semester-Allison got A's in her 2 classes and Emily made the dean's list at her school. I hope they can continue to do so well. Chris would have enjoyed the 2nd annual Halloween party his cousin Carolyn had and would have found a great costume to wear. Chris would have been very disappointed (and mad) with the Delta Chi chapter at the University of Colorado and the trouble they have been in-their poor choices and behavior gave a bad name to his fraternity and fraternities in general-that is not acceptable. Chris would have enjoyed the generally mild winter we have had here in Georgetown, but would hate the 6+ inches of snow we are currently getting. Chris would have enjoyed seeing me complete all of the needlepoint ornaments I did during the summer months and would have listened patiently to me as I talked about this knitting project or that one. He would have been thrilled to see me taking scrapboooking classes and knitting classes and would have cheered for my accomplishments as I learned and mastered crochet. Chris would have thoroughly enjoyed the Magic yarn ball Allison gave me for Christmas and the fact that it took me over an hour to finally get to the actual present in the yarn ball (membership to a sock yarn club). Chris would have been so proud that Allison and Emily used their talents and made Christmas gifts for each other and would have enjoyed conspiring with the girls and his mother to come up with some grand surprise for me. Chris would have enjoyed being with my family at Thanksgiving and celebrating my mom's 80th birthday, but would have been disappointed to miss being with his family and celebrating his aunt and uncle's 6oth wedding anniversary at the same time.
So many things happen in any given year-it is fun for me to look back and think about how Chris would have reacted. The girls and I are doing well. We miss Chris each and every day and really appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that have come our way during this past year. Thank you . Love, Mary Jo

It is hard to believe that Chris has been gone almost a year now. I miss him so much!!!! I am staying busy with school and I do a lot of hand crafts. I am currently knitting socks and learning to crochet. I am in a scrapbooking class once a month and in March I'll be taking a quilt class. I also do needlepoint, but that is more of a summer thing for me. Sometimes the days seem to drag, but doing the handwork keeps my mind and hands busy. The girls are doing well, both had great 1st semesters at school and are continuing this semester. Emily still plans on returning to Western Kentucky University in the Fall. I will miss her. Patches, our "pound puppy" dog is having a hard time with things. He hates storms (we had a few the other night !!) and get so worked up he makes himself sick. I have "doggie tranquilizers" from the vet that should help. School has been closed 4 days so far this winter-2 for snow/weather and 2 for illness. Fortunately, Emily and I have not gotten the flu stuff that is going around, Allison on the other hand is dealing with it this weekend. I was diagnosed with Grave's disease in early November. I was allergic to both of the medications used to treat this so on January 4th I had radioactive iodine which should take care of my over active thyroid. I will probably go on a medication (synthetic thyroid hormone -I think) in the next month or two. Everything with the thyroid takes time-you wait and wait to see what is going to happen. Speaking of waiting-we have waited to see how the UK Wildcats Basketball team would do with the new coach. They had a rough start, but seem to have settled down. They won today-their 4th game in a row. Well, I just wanted to let you know what was going on in my life. Take Care. Please keep us in your thoughts-this next month will be difficult for us all. MJ