I think she's Super

I've had the pleasure of listening to Sandra Husk speak in person 3 times since she joined Salem Keizer School District. It's apparent after the first 10 minutes that this is an administrator who cares greatly about children, families, and the long range view.

This past week, she came to speak to staff at the school where I work. While the floor was open to any type of question, the budget was the only item on staff member's minds. Who knows what will end up on the negotiating table's chopping block at this time, but it felt good to hear her talk about her understanding of the consequences of eliminating programs. Programs that would have an immediate effect on children, families, jobs, the community and finally - the reduction of income tax collected. Plus, she covered how difficult it is to rebuild some programs after they've been dismantled.

The biggest savings with the least pain to the community as a whole, would come through all employees tightening their budgets and belts. Losing jobs? Not so much

Why Don't We Do It In Our Sleeves

Update: Hmmm! Guess they decided it wasn't good to keep the video on Youtube. Click on the link to see it on their site.  I have found another site with some good products for teaching young children good hygiene: Germy Wormy

It's time to circulate this video again. I cringe whenever I hear someone in the media reminding people to "cover their coughs or sneezes". Excuse me, but even if you use a tissue your hands are going to be covered in germs. Watch the video and you'll learn why AND the correct technique. I love how they mixed in humor with the lesson.
The following is from a member of the company who is responsible for this great video:
"You can purchase a high resolution DVD of the movie that includes Spanish, French, Mandarin, and American Sign Language (soon to offer Japanese as well). Schools, hospitals, and businesses alike have found the DVD to be a great educational tool. The website is www.coughsafe.com. "


Here's my latest germ video favorite:

Caught with the roof open

Nothing like a Spring shower to make this clueless soul feel wet and foolish . . .

This afternoon I drove to the doctor's office, enjoying the fresh air with the moon roof open, as it was fairly nice out. Like a dope I forgot to close it and when I returned I figured the best way to dry the wet seat, was to hop on in.

Guess I didn't need to go anywhere else today anyway . . .

Sea Lions in Astoria

My sis K, sent this video to me and I just had to share.

Worms and Kitchen Garbage

I've been bringing worms to school for the last 7-8 years to share with the short people for science. Three years ago, I found a small and simple worm box on Ebay, cheaper than it would've cost N to build. Much easier than going out in the rain every November and digging through our compost to look for worms. I'm not a champion worm box owner, but I do give them a level of care that keeps them alive and multiplying.
One of my co-workers recently moved to a larger home that leaves little of her property left for a yard. She told me that they no longer had room for a compost pile and wanted to know if a small worm box (like mine) would be able to take it's place - for kitchen garbage, not grass and leaves. I told her that if she produced the amount of fruit, vegetable and coffee ground garbage that we do, there's no way the worms in a small box could keep up.
More co-workers joined the discussion and one wondered out loud if our yard debris containers would be a suitable replacement. None of us knew for sure, but it made perfect sense. Since then I've gone to the county website and found out that kitchen garbage is on the list of acceptable debris that can be put into "big green/grey".
Good news for people who feel they don't have enough room in their yards to compost and good news for people like us with dogs who like to mine the compost for kitchen treasures!