Wednesday, June 2, 2021

 Wednesday, June 2, 2021

 

It had rained most of the day yesterday. As a result, we had to draw on the electric grid all night. The sun came up while I did my morning walk at 6:15, but it was still overcast.

            I ran into AnnMarie on my walk. School is closed now; she is on vacation. She is interested in WWII. I told her I had books she could have. She'll come over one day to take a look. I must have 200 books just on that one topic.

     I got hold of Susan, the church administrator. First, I asked about the gravestone. I want to have an angled cement pillow for the granite to rest on. The marker will be tilted, making it easier to see and allowing rainwater to drain.   Susan said I have to take care of that on my own. Fr. Lio knew someone to recommend.   I asked about Vince's complaints. Ah, that was a rumor. Fr. Lio announced the truth, but many refused to believe it. I think Julie is into conspiracy theories. My guess is they heard what Fr. Lio said and refusal to accept it.

            After loading all the information from my old Mac to my new one, Brian stopped by to return the computer. Tommy, my techie, is Brian's partner, accompanied Brian. They install security systems. 

            Elsa was obsessed with Tommy and ignored Brian. Well! She was so excited she dropped some poop on the floor. It wasn't a full load, just what she couldn't contain. None of us saw it. Indeed, none of us expected it. Tommy stepped into the poop in his sock-covered foot. He pulled it off; I offered to rinse it out. He said not to bother. Fortunately, the poop was on the tile floor, inches from the carpet. I waited until they were gone before cleaning it up.

            In my session with M today, she preferred to go back to our work on inferencing rather than work on her little horror story, starring twin ten-year-old goths who are at war with their toys. Yikes! M's mom texted me that we wouldn't be meeting over the summer. I texted mom to ask for feedback. Did she see any difference in M's ability to make inferences in conversation? What were her grades? As usual, I got nothing from mom. She only communicates to complain about some ongoing deficit. In the past, when I asked about how she was doing on a particular skill she asked me to work on, rather than responding to my question, she listed some additional problem. Fortunately, I had asked M if she was experiencing any improvement. In terms of school, she wasn't sure. But when I asked her if she could follow inferences in conversation more, she gave a clear yes. 

            Then I had an appointment with adolescent D. I have him working on the same passage. I'm trying a variation on Orton Gillingham. Although I doubt any instructor committed to that approach would see any similarities. The hallmark of OG is highly structured and highly sequenced instruction. Well, forget that. I would try working on one eighth-grade level paragraph from Barnell Loft. So far, we have read the same line several times. Even after going over the meaning of the words, he still had trouble remembering what they were. He did a little better remembering patterns. He usually forgets no matter how many times I've restated them or had him recall them. He would need a drill to get these patterns into his memory.  

            Delicious Damon called. We talked about August. Damon has been concerned about his social experience in August's high school years. Damon loved his; his high school graduation carried a lot of meaning. I remember Damon was involved in several social groups and after-school activities. August's school was huge; he was less involved with his school, and then there was Covid and the school closings. He said August has two social groups: one from school and one from tennis. August used to be highly involved in tennis. There was one point they were considering training him to be a professional. So glad he didn't go in that direction. I think it would have been hell on his body. Currently, August meets with his friends online. Damon said they only function as a group. They all do something or none do. There are no individual relationships, no activities with just two people from the group do something without the others. And then so much is done online. In September, August was going to a small local college. He will have a chance to deal with a smaller group of people. Damon went to a small college, Vassar. He loved it. He made good friends there who are still close with. I do love that boy. 

            The solar ran until right up to 6:45 pm after it started at 6:15 am. There was little full sun today except for briefly. The solar input usually ran between 1.5kwh and 3kwh, except for a few minutes of full sun. Then it was 12 kwh. 

            I started watching The Shape of Water. I loved it until the scene where that bastard is physically abusing the amphibian. I can't stand watching cruelty like that. It stays with me, haunts me. I switched off then and went to bed with plans of watching it again the next night. I did check the plot on Wiki. Ah, it has a happy ending.