The Atlanta Braves won the World Series Championship! Quite fitting after MLB pulled the All Star Game earlier this year. My school district gave us the day off on Friday so we can attend the big parade that’s happening in our own backyard. Thousands of free tickets were given out…but you now see them for sale on Ebay for $400-$500. Not me! I’m not going anywhere near the parade route tomorrow.

I thought about attending the final day of the state educational technology conference, but after reviewing the session offerings, I think I’ll just stay home and sew instead. I love my techy gizmos, but I’m no longer in charge of technology at school. My role is more focused on the instructional/library side of things. Personally, I’d rather spend time at the annual spring children’s literature conference.

I feel a sense of hope after watching the election returns this week. We the people in the middle are finally starting to wake-up and push back against the decidedly progressive agenda on steroids being forced down our throats. Locally, winners from both parties were centrist/moderate rather than from the far left/far right extremes.

Has DEI in the K-2 elementary social studies curriculum gone too far? I’m pretty open minded and will discuss hard topics with my kids, but some of the content recently added to Pebble Go Social Studies and Brain Pop Jr belongs with grades 5-8, not K-4. I’ve had to find other resources for students to use. This is a shame because 1/3 of my library budget is taken to pay for PG and BPJr.

Are there any quilt retreats with openings still available for the second half of 2022? Most of the ones advertised are already filled. It’s crazy. Guess I’ll be attending regional quilt shows and taking classes there. Or taking/teaching more classes locally. Or renting a small cottage near the beach making it a DIY quilt retreat with a spa day thrown in.

Okay, so I’m a bit behind in the quilt-a-long. That’s okay. I’ll eventually get caught up. Spending some time sewing this weekend has been so good for my soul.

Sadie and I took a road trip to Rome today to checkout the new Baby Lock Ballad. It’s really nice, but the price quoted by this dealer is $1,000 more than the dealer closer to home. Not sure why there’s such a price difference between two dealers that are roughly 50 miles apart. But here’s the thing.. I really don’t want another purple sewing machine. Just no.

Ideally, I find a Baby Lock Aria, but the Brother Quilt Club 2450/2500 is looking like it might be the one.

This friendly girl and I will restart the R.E.A.D. program at the Smyrna Public Library in about 3 weeks. I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was to receive the news from the children’s librarian that all systems are go. This begins a new chapter for me with a different therapy dog partner in the R.E.A.D. program.

One good thing that came out of the recent side gig is a better understanding of InDesign and a rudimentary knowledge of Illustrator. I’ll continue to take advantage of professional learning opportunities at the day job to hone my skills. I will not take on any major projects like the recent side gig again as long as I am still working full-time. Does.not.work.