Saturday, January 6, 2024

 

Saturday, January 6, 2024 

 

    I got many little tasks done that I’d put off because I was busy and immobile. I pulled some trailing corral from the stretch along the fence. Mei permitted me to pull the plant out on their side of the fence, and I had most of it done. I had to clear it out on my side, too. I also weeded the stretch on the street side of the front fence with boiling water. It didn’t take much. I’ve been good about treating it every week on Thursday. I finally got around to cutting the lox I bought at Costco into chunk sizes appropriate for a bagel topping before I put the package in the freezer and opened the sweet kale salad I bought the other day. I take the salad from the plastic packing and dump it in a terry cloth dish towel in the vegetable drawer. It keeps the greens fresh for a long time. I need to do that because the quantity of salad is too much for one person.

   Elsa and I visited with Paulette. Judy came down the stairs holding on to Aya’s leash so she couldn’t run down to Adam’s house, a cup of coffee and a plate with French toast she made the other day in her other hand. Paulette and I were concerned she would fall. Aya is still a puppy, a large puppy, and is perfectly capable of pulling Judy down the stairs. Paulette and I called out in alarm.

   When I called Mama K at eight am to set up the Zoom session with her crew, there was no answer. She often does something with the kids and forgets to let me know. I texted her to say I assumed that was the case. Around nine, she texted that she was just waking, and the kids were still asleep. This was very unusual; she called it a New Year’s miracle. She would call me when they were up.

   I connected with them when I came back from Judy and Paulette’s. Both girls are doing better: Twin E with recalling words and Twin A with comprehension. I worked with fifth-grade K on the book Hatchet. He can often answer questions. Sometimes, the literary tricks are too subtle, and I tell him what’s going on.

  I was supposed to have second-grade M today at three. Her dad canceled at the last minute. We rescheduled for Sunday when I came home from church. I asked him to check what kind of books she likes. I’ve been working on Stuart Little with her. It’s outdated. I think she finds it boring. I don’t blame her. I remember loving the book. But then I’m outdated, too.

  Elsa peed on the lanai rug this afternoon. I have no idea why she does this when she can go outside through the doggy door. I can’t even clean it up without my Rainbow vacuum cleaner. I haven’t heard from the repair service company. I will call them on Monday to see what’s going on. I hope they diagnosed the problem already and ordered whatever part was needed.

   There was no response to my Zoom invitation to Adolescent D at four. He texted to say he thought he would be home in time. His dad asked him to join him at the beach. Sounded lovely. He apologized. I told him I didn’t mind. He was always considerate and polite. We met at 5:30, right before my evening walk.  

  We did the usual starting drill: “Give me a word, any word.” Then he decodes it. Yes, he knows what the word is before he starts. Decoding is a procedure. He isn’t figuring the word out; he’s learning the procedure. 

He picked a two-syllable word today. He started going through the steps without me cuing him. He identified the vowel letters, the vowel sounds, the syllables, and the syllable patterns. We also started on the sixth sight word list. He did pretty well. I wanted to record him for his mom to hear. I would never have shared it without his permission. He told me he started applying my strategies outside of our sessions. This is a first. He sounds more confident and in charge.

   During my evening walk with Elsa, Yvette, and Little, Yvette commented that my hairdresser had given me a Mohawk. I felt the top of my head for the upstanding bristle of hair. That’s what a mohawk was to me. But that is not what Yvette was referring to. She had shaved the side of my head down to the hairline at my neck. I’m a little ole lady with a mohawk. That must be a sight.