The Jedi Council

Hump day!!  What a Wednesday it was for all of us.  It was just a busy day on the personal end of things.  Heather drove me into work as she usually does now because we have one car.  I went throughout the day today with my students and we did some of our typical work that we do on a Wednesday.  My students worked well and Heather came to pick me up a little early from work.  We went to Ruth’s school and had a parent/teacher conference.  If you want to call it that.  It basically turned into a “thank you” session where the teachers (both of them as Ruth has a student teacher in her classroom) thanked Heather and I for having such a polite, smart young girl.  I looked the teacher straight in the eye and said “thank you” to her.  I thanked her for being the first teacher to realize my daughter’s potential.  Before this point, other teachers have claimed that Ruth isn’t that far ahead in her abilities and therefore is inelligible for advanced studies in anything.  However, this teacher recognized this in Ruth right away and fought to get her into an advanced program and because of this, Ruth is excelling in school and isn’t bored with what is going on in school.

We got done with the conference and Heather gave me a small snack before dinner (I wasn’t going to eat till late because of SMASH rehearsal) and also gave me the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” book and showed me that not only did I make the book, but my brother is directly above me.  Man, that would make my parents proud and I’ll have to bring the book with me this weekend to show my parents.  Anyway, I got to SMASH early because of our non-conference, conference.  So, I ate my snack and had rehearsal.  Rehearsal went well, and when I got done, Jim gave me a ride home.  I got home and ate some dinner that Heather had some left-overs of.  I then joined her downstairs and we watched some of our usual Wednesday night shows and went to bed.

Alright, almost done with this book.  Last Chapter!!  Let’s talk about the first part of Chapter 18 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 18 (Part 1):  Ogomoor had just left Soergg’s chamber with a bit of good financial news when he heard his bossban scream, “that’s not possible!!”  Ogomoor knew he was about to find out what had happened.  The communication transmission continued as the Hutt’s veins began to pop out.  When the transmission ended, Soergg threw the communication robot into the wall and broke it into pieces.  Soergg let Ogomoor know that the Jedi had returned.  Ogomoor asked if they were in Cuipernam and the Hutt sarcastically told him they were in his sleeping quarters.  Soergg told him they were at the local inn and told Ogomoor to do whatever it takes to stop them from getting to the municipal complex.  He told him to hold them till after sunset so the vote can take place.  Ogomoor pointed out that this may make the public upset.  Soergg said he didn’t care about the public and told Ogomoor to get to work!…..

Tuesday.  Second day of the week and I would like to point out that I am still caught up with my blog.  Not bad considering we’re going into the holiday season.  Yeah, that’s right, I’m patting myself on my back.  It was quite a busy day as I continue to try to get as much work done with my students before this upcoming holiday break.  My students are really stepping up to the challenge and most are doing well.  I have even been able to keep up with my lesson plan book as well as my grading of student papers.  Let’s hope I can get to be this efficient with my podcast and Star Wars book reviews.

I was able to secure a Baritone to take with me to Rochester this weekend which is cool.  I decided that I really need to solidify my plans for my parents’ sake for this weekend today so they know what to expect and when.  I also worked on getting things together for tommorrow as Heather will be dropping me off to SMASH with the stuff I need to rehearse with the students.  This whole one car buisness is going to be a pain in the ass over the next couple of months, but I know we’ll just have to make due.  I am looking forward to this weekend only because I haven’t seen Josh or Phil or anyone from Rochester in almost a year (as far as friends go) and it would be really nice to see some of them again.  It’s kind of hard when your best friend and most of your childhood friends are about three hours or more away.  It will also be nice to get my shopping for Heather done early this year.  This is the first time I’ve had the ability to do that and I kind of like the idea.  This way I know that my shopping for her will be done.

I came home and spent some time with Heather before she had to go to work.  We got dinner together (meat loaf and mashed potatoes) and ate together as a family and Heather had to leave for work while we cleaned up.  I had the kids finish upstairs while I came downstairs and started to play “Lego:Star Wars”.  It’s been a long time since I’ve played the game and I am very close to being done with the game now.  I played for about two hours tonight and all I need now is all the superkit pieces.  Once I have them, I’ll be able to unlock the “?” door and play the final episode in the game.  I’ll probably get it done just in time to see “Legos: Star Wars II” go down in price for me to buy.  When the kids finished, they watched me for a little while, went upstairs and read and then went to bed.  I watched “The Unit”, and then caught up on emails and watched “Star Wars III:  Revenge of the Sith” only because it was on Cinemax.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 2 of Chapter 17 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 17 (Part 2):  Unity delegate Fargane was nervous.  He was homesick and was upset that it was all for the Republic and their Jedi.  He felt that the vote was now long overdue, even though he didn’w know how he would vote.  Tolut insisted that Jedi were still out there and that maybe they should wait a little longer.  Even Tolut began to wonder where the Jedi could be and wondered if they were all “fluff” and no action.  That’s when Ogomoor, as an observer, chimed in saying that obviously the Jedi had left.   Dameered asked if he meant Ansion.  Ogomoor implied that they could have left, they could be dead, but also said it didn’t matter as they failed in their mission.  Fargane and Ranjiyn agreed, Tolut asked for more time and Kandah snapped back saying they don’t serve Ansion, but the Republic instead.  Ranjiyn said they should only wait till the end of the week and Volune agreed.  Tolut and Fargane also agree.  They had other buisness to attend to and other worlds, like the Malarians and Keitumites were anxiously waiting their decision.  Ogomoor was pleased and he knew that Soergg would be too.

It was definetly a Monday.  And to make matters worse, it was Monday after vacation.  It’s always the worst to get students motivated on days like today, but my students actually seemed to come back ready to learn.  My classes seem to be doing okay this quarter except for one of my sixth grade classes.  They just can’t seem to be quiet long enough for me to even teach.  I think tommorrow is going to be the time to break out the arranged seating chart just to split up students who refuse to stop talking.  I was able to get all of my instruction done today and have a little bit of a voice left over.  I have been having problems with my allergies and a little bit of a cold mixed in there as well.  So to have any voice left over at all by the end of the day today was a plus.

I came home with Heather and we went over homework with Ruth and Austin and spent some time with the family.  We all worked on dinner together (tacos) and ate dinner on paper plates to make it easier for Heather who wanted to do peanut butter fudge after dinner, so this helped keep down on clean up.  I watched some news after dinner and then took Austin to his Scout meeting.  He had a good meeting and has to watch “The Cosby Show” with me and do a 50 word essay about the Washington Monument for next week.  No problem!!  At least I think it will be.  I’ll have to see if I can figure out when “The Cosby Show” is on while he’s awake and I’m in Rochester this weekend, so that will take that option out as well.  Anyway, we came home and I wentdownstairs and joined Heather to watch our usual shows together.

Time to talk about “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster, Chapter 17, Part 1…..

Chapter 17 (Part 1):  As they entered negotiations, the elder Borokii accused the Jedi of lying to them.  Obi-Wan pointed out that they agreed to deal with the Januul, but not to defeat them.  Bayaar was personally pleased not to see anyone loose their life today.  The Jedi were told that both clans agreed with the charter and that they would use tradition, a feast, to seal the deal.  The Jedi were to receive a gift from both tribes.  There were no cheers, just mumblings of gratitude.  Anakin was simply looking forward to all of this ending and getting some much needed rest on Coruscant.  They enjoyed a great feast that night, got up in the morning and raced toward Cuipernam.  They had no time to loose as Baintu, the Qulun chief, had destroyed their comlinks.  Bariss told her master that this was a great accomplishment, but Luminara was quick to quip about how it could all be long forgotten.  Then Luminara tried to remain upbeat for her padawan and pointed out that they’ll never know how this day will go down according to historians.  Barriss says she doesn’t care what others think, but they did something special and Luminara did an amazing job.  Barriss said she looked brave and Luminara said she was scared to death at times, but being brave means putting those emotions aside.  Luminara thought about what a stable padawan Barriss had become and how unstable Skywalker could turn out to be.  She thought that Obi-Wan was a strange teacher for a strange student…..

Well, I did wake up fairly late today.  The kids were nice and let Heather and I sleep in this morning and we really didn’t get up until 10:30 this morning since we couldn’t go to church because I would be taking the only car and we couldn’t garauntee that we would be back in time for me to leave and go to Syracuse.  So this actually was advantagious to us as a family.  It gave us time to get together and decorate the Christmas tree.  Our tree looks lovely now.  I’m amazed at how many ornaments we’ve amassed over the years and can only imagine how many we will have before the kids move out of the house.  We may have to consider having two Christmas trees in the future.  Once the tree got decorated, I got a phone call from Ian telling me that they were basically going to be at my house in an hour to leave for Syracuse.  So, the kids put a lunch together for me, while I took a shower and loaded up the car.  I ate lunch and had just finished up when Karen and Ian had shown up at my door.

I was able to listen to a football game on my way up to Syracuse which was nice.  It kept me interested in the drive and helped me deal with an empty car, which I normally don’t have and I have to say I kind of enjoyed.  We got to Syracuse in really good time and we unloaded our equipment in the theater and met up with the Rochester group there.  The birthday party for this boy was a blast!!  It was lots of fun and all of the money raised went to St. Jude’s Hospital in Syracuse.  It was a fun bash and our FanForce group and the Rochester FanForce group just really have clicked well together.  We then got a chance to watch the original, original version of “A New Hope” (Yeah, the one that isn’t actually titled) in the theater.  And I have to say this theater is beautiful!!  If you ever have a chance to watch a movie at the Palace Theatre in Syracuse, NY - Do it!! It is a great place and just a fun nostalgic, old fashioned theater to watch a movie.  Once we were done, we headed to “Steak and Sundae” down the street to have a bite to eat.  They were nice to us there, especially considering that there were fifteen of us eating together.  Once we got done, I headed home and the drive wasn’t too bad, but the roads were full of people trying to get home after the holiday weekend.  I got home, spent some time with Heather and watched “Amazing Race” on tape from tonight and then we headed to bed together.  Tommorrow’s time to head back to work.

Okay, not that I haven’t had enough Star Wars today, let’s add more by talking about Part 11 of Chapter 16 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 16 (Part 11):  Obi-Wan asked for the chance to explain.  A Borokii leader moves forward and tells Obi-Wan that this is not assistance.  Luminara replied saying that Ansion is part of the Republic and therefore quarrels are the responsibility of both the Jedi and the Senate.  The Borokii leader says they do not need to be saved from themselves and that they will defeat the Januul without their help!  As he stopped talking a defiant cry rang out from the Borokii and another from the Januul in response.  The Borokii demanded the offworlders move out of the way, raised his sword, and moved his sadain forward.  Obi-Wan used The Force and forced his sadain to the ground which sent the Borokii leader flying over it’s head and face-first into the ground.  Immediately the battle ensued with arrows, spears, and blasters all in the air.  The Jedi deflected shots at them with lightsabers and used The Force to deflect missiles.  Three Januul tried ot jump Luminara but were quickly disarmed and sent scurrying as many of the Januul and Borokii faced the same plight.  As Anakin disarmed the two of the Borokii he remembered what Obi-Wan had instructed  him to do, “no maiming, and no killing”.  After two minutes of futility, the fight was over.  Both sides were unprepared for the current predicament and could not believe they got in a three-way battle where they were being held off by four people!  Many of the warriors on both sides were left weaponless.  At last, an elder member of the Januul clan and Borokii clan stepped forward, disgusted with each other, but ready to talk.  The Borokii invited the Jedi and Januul elder to their  meeting place and the Januul returned the favor which began a new fight over where the negotiations should take place.  Luminara offered an agreement where a new meeting place would be made out of components of both Alwari clans buildings.  The Jedi strode off the field of battle in confidence, but on the inside, they were all dead tired.  They did their best to keep the clans from killing each other, and more importantly, them.

What should have been a simple and fun day, turned into a lot of work, with a pretty cool reward at the end.  The family got up around nine this morning or so and we all at some breakfast together and all of us noted that Clifford was looking much better.  Clifford, the family dog, has been walking on three legs for the past week or so.  Last week Saturday, while I was performing, Clifford yelped and went running away from the babysitters and kids.  When I came home, he matched his male counterpart and was hobbling around on three feet (much like Austin was around the same time).  So, on Wednesday, amongst the other chaos, we managed to get him to the vet and the vet said it was simply a bad sprain and he would walk on it eventually on his own.  Well, today became the “eventually”.  He seems okay now, so maybe he’s partially healed.  The kids helped us get Christmas supplies up from downstairs and the plan was to decorate the house for Christmas today.

Austin went outside with me and we planned how our outside decorations were going to look.  Well, we got good old Frosty out (yeah that’s right mom and dad, we’re still using it!!) and started to pull lights out.  I plugged them in to try and get them to work and half of them didn’t.  I played around replacing bulb after bulb after bulb, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.  So, Heather talked to me and said she budgeted on some money for decorations and had foreseen this problem.  She said that her paycheck, which she picked up last night, was a little higher because of overtime, so she suggested we go to Lowes and get some stuff to make the house look pretty.  Hey, when it comes to lights for Christmas for my house, you don’t need to ask me twice!!  So, we went to Lowes and spent a little more than we wanted, but got some cool stuff.  I was able to get some nice “twinkle” icicle lights, some snowflake and snowmen lighted walkway lights and we got some extension cords I needed.  We came home and I spent most of the morning and part of the afternoon putting them up while Heather worked on decorating the inside of the house with the girls.  The lights on the house look pretty spectacular and I’ll have to take a pic of it and get it on this blog someday soon.  I think you’ll all agree.

I came inside and ate some lunch with Heather.  We talked about decorating the tree today, but Heather just didn’t seem like she was in the mood, so we spent some time together as a family and lounged around part of the afternoon.  Heather helped me put some finishing touches on my Jedi costume for tommorrow.  While she rested for work, the kids and I folded some laundry and watched a movie together.  We put dinner together (hot dogs and baked potatoes) and Heather headed off for work.  The kids cleaned up after dinner, I did some more sewing and we all got together and watched some of the Disney Channel.  I had them take showers while I stayed upstairs and then they watched a movie on the Disney Channel, while I came downstairs and watched “Braveheart”.  I don’t know why, but I’ve had an inkling to watch it, so I thought tonight would be a good time.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 10 of Chapter 16 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 16 (Part 10):  Kyakhta, Bulgan, and Tooqui were told to stay with the non-combatants.  This pained Kyakhta and Bulgan, who wanted to be involved, but didn’t upset Tooqui who was happy to sit this fight out.  The two Alwari wondered how four Jedi were going to make any difference with so many combatants involved.  Tooqui said the Jedi were about to do something stupid and when pressured by Kyakhta, he admitted it wsn’t anything physical.  The spectacle looked even more bleak from their perspective seeing the war-clad Januul that looked aggressive and mean.  The tension in the air could be felt by all.  All the orders from their armies died down on both sides as the four Jedi walked out onto the middle of a potential battlefield.  As they got to the center, Luminara and Barriss turned ot face the Borokii while Anakin and Obi-Wan turned to face the Januul.  Obi-Wan began to speak addressing both clans.  He introduces himself and the rest of the Jedi adn explains they are here to barder a truce between the Alwari and Unity of Communities.  He lets them know that there are larger forces at work of people who are not of this world that want to make changes that will affect the entire galaxy.  He asks the leaders of both the Januul and Borokii to sit down with the Jedi and discuss their matters anew.  He warned them that if they do not work together they will be taken over like pawns by groups like he Commerce Guild.  A Januul commander strode out, pulled out his sword and told Obi-Wan that he does not know what he speaks of……

Black Friday.  Why is this day black again.  Is it because stores go into the black?  Or is it because shoppers are black and blue when the day is all said and done?  I know the answer is the former, but I think they need to change their reasons to the latter.  It was a madhouse everywhere we went today and Heather and I expected it and actually had a very good shopping experience.  Others around us just seemed to be in bad moods and definetly didn’t understand what “holiday mood” meant.
We started by getting up around 7:30 this morning and made good time down to the Wyoming Valley Mall in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  It was a quaint little mall but was a wonderful shopping experience.  We went to Sears first and found Ruth a very nice coat (she needed a new winter one) on sale.  The coat would’ve cost us $50 normally, but with it on sale, it cost a little less than $25 and we dealt with less sales tax!!  Gotta love that!  We also found Uncle Mike’s gift there as well.  Then we went to Payless and got all the kids new sneakers as they had worn out their old ones.  I have yet to find boots that I would deem appropriate as Jedi boots and I searched all day today, to no avail.  Anyway, we went next door to FYE and did some more shopping.  We continued around the mall.  We noticed a mall nearby and did some shopping there for Christmas and got Grandpa Crissman’s gift as well as a new lightsaber (purple) for Tara for Christmas and I was able to finally find a Kit Fisto figure to add to my Star Wars collection.  We then headed for the Mall at Steam Town, which was in Scranton.

When we got to the mall at Steam Town, we didn’t even get out of the car.  I had a bad idea when I looked at the neighborhood and so did Heather.  Especially with our nice new car.  Compared to what we were seeing, our car was proabably gold to the people that lived there.  The best way I can explain it (if you’ve ever lived in Rochester), it’s like having Midtown Mall on Clinton Ave.  It was just unsafe and I felt unsafe just driving through.  So, we scratched that idea now knew we had to eat for the kids’ sake because it was getting on noon.  So, we headed for the Viewmont Mall in Scranton, PA, but on our way, we ran into a Burger King.  The kids were happy because they got Happy Feet toys, but Austin was upset because the portions were so small.  It’s a good thing Heather and I brought snacks, so Austin ate those while we got some gas at Sheets’.  We then went to this mall and found some more gifts.  Heather then wanted to go to the local JoAnn’s Fabrics and I took the kids to Toys R ‘Us while she did.  We didn’t last too long in there as Toys R ‘Us was wiped out.  Not much left in the store at all!!  Anyway, we went back to JoAnn’s to join Heather.  I went and got some more velcro (without sticky) to add to my Jedi costume before Sunday for a Birthday party for a boy in Syracuse that is in a hospital as a fundraiser for him.  Anyway, while I was there, I thought I would check out the patterns and see if I could find a Princess Leia or a Padme for Heather.  Unfortunately, all the fears that I have read on the message boards has come true.  McCall’s no longer carries any Star Wars or like minded patterns anymore.  They’re all gone.  Bummer!!

Anyway, we left there by 2:30 in the afternoon and were home by 3:30.  Heather helped me get stuff into the house (and we snuck Tara’s gift right past her) and then she took a nap while I unloaded the “stuff” from the day.  Heather still had to work tonight, so I understood why she had to take a nap.  It was a long day between yesterday and today, and I could go to bed earlier tonight if I had to.  Not long after she woke up, we had everything packed away and we were getting leftovers together for dinner.  Heather left for work and we ate dinner and cleaned up and did some cleaning up around the house from the past week.  I went downstairs later tonight and watched “National Lampoon’s Van Wiler” on the Comedy Channel and did some improvements to my Jedi costume before retiring and going to bed.

Speaking of Jedi costumes, time to put on our lightsabers, light up our minds and talk about Part 9 of Chapter 16 of Alan Dean Foster’s “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm”…..

Chapter 16 (Part 9):  With only the Borokii warriors following, they made the several day march to the Januul camp.  When Luminara looked at the Januul camp, it was eerily similar to the Borokii camp they had left behind.  Bayarr told them that the argument between the Januul and Borokii clans has been going on for years and that he hoped they would have victory today.  He said he was sorry they got involved in this and Luminara said she was sorry they were involved as well, as she dismounted from her suubatar.  She worked to the front of the Borokii line and noted the Januul line was assembled on the far side of the small river.  They thought that the Borokii clan had advanced undetected, but, in reality, the Januul had detected them days earlier and were well prepared.  The camp was being shut down in fear of the battle and the herd was under minimal supervision.  Bayaar thought that many Alwari would die today, but with Jedi help, the Borokii would prevail.  Luminara noted that there was a little less than one-thousand Januul warriors clad in home-made armor and Obi-Wan agreed.  Obi-Wan noted to Bayaar that there were no heavy weapons of any kind.  Bayaar said if they were to use this technology, they would be shunned by every other clan on Ansion.  Anakin thought that this would be another moment for him to educate himself.  Luminara noted that the Januul warriors looked impressive and Bayaar said witht their help, the dispute between the Borokii and Januul will be settled today.  Obi-Wan said he hoped so as they were here to set the example for both Alwari tribes.  Bayaar thought that was an odd thing to say for this moment…..

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!  I hope you all had a good turkey day!!  I know I did even though we spent most of the day on the road in some way.  We got up at a decent hour this morning and watched about a half hour of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade before heading out for Richfield Springs and my In-Laws place.  I haven’t been feeling too well.  Not stomach flu, but a constant post nasal drip thing going on that I just can’t seem to get to go away.  So, I took some Ibuprofen to try and get the swelling in my throat to go down so I could at least eat some food today.  What’s thanksgiving without food?  Of course, I used to say what’s thanksgiving without football, but everytime I go to my in-laws, I miss out on the turkey day football (which TOTALLY bums me out).  We left here around 9:30 in the morning and got there around noon.  I had a chance to talk with the family for a while and get caught up with Uncle Drew when Uncle Justing and his family arrived and we all had a chance to catch-up, including the kids learning how to get into trouble together.  Not much after three o’clock or so, we had dinner and had a great feast!  We had turkey, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, homemade applesauce, and rolls.  What a feast.  For the first time, I controlled my portions and only had one serving total.  I was proud of myself since I’m trying to watch my weight and in years past, I would have had three or four servings of turkey or mashed potatoes, but this year I did not.  Austin and I went into the living room after this, while others were cleaning after dinner and the girls decorated ginger bread cookies with Aunt Tara Lynn.  I hooked up the PS2 to their new T.V. and Austin and I finnished off two levels of “Star Wars Legos” that we hadn’t finnished yet.  In the meantime, Uncle Justin and Aunt Tara Jean had actually gotten sick and went upstairs and layed down.  After Austin and I were done, we followed Arkema family tradition and watched “National Lampoon’s:  Christmas Vacation” (they do it every year on Thanksgiving night).  As the movie ended, Heather and I got our stuff together and started to head out.

The ride home seemed longer than the ride out there, but it always seems that way and Heather and I were both VERY awake because we were leary of the dear because of it being hunting season.  After a long car ride home, we called Heather’s parents and my parents to let them know we got home safely.  We called my mom because I knew she would be worried and would not sleep well because the news said we got ice-rain.  In reality, we got a minimal of it at best.  Once we called everyone, we went downstairs and watched our tape of “Survivor” and “C.S.I.”.  We went to bed fairly early as tommorrow was going to be another long day.  It was Black Friday and we have plans on going to PA to do some shopping.  If we’re smart, we’ll be able to be done with shopping by tommorrow.

Okay, enought turkey talk, let’s do some Jedi talk.  It’s time to talk about Part 8 of Chapter 16 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 16 (Part 8):  The Elders explain that a rival overclan, the Januul are camped out not far from here and they want the Jedi to help take care of them once and for all.  This was the one thing the Jedi could not do as they were instructed never to become involved in internal planet-side disputes.  Obi-Wan says that he agrees and will help them deal with the Januul.  Luminara, Barriss, and Anakin were all shocked at his answer.  The Borokii agreed and informed them that they all march tommorrow.  Luminara waited for the elders to leave and looked at Obi-Wan and said that he knows they can’t take sides.  Obi-Wan said they have no choice if they want the Borokii to sign the treaty.  Anakin points out that if they kil any of the Januul, it will appear that the Jedi side with the Borokii and will not honor peace.  Barriss points out hat this would also mean that all the Alwari need to be on board with the treaty with the Unity.  Obi-Wan said he would explain and Luminara said he better or they would all be losing sleep tonight.  Luminara said she could only see two choices for the, but Obi-Wan said there is another…..

Okay, today was a busy day even though I had the day off from school.  I figured since we were at home all day, the kids and I needed to finish some last minute winter preparations on the house before the first snowfall.  So, I got up at nine this morning with the kids.  I watched Dr. Phil and ate breakfast with them and then we all went out about a half hour or so later and started raking leaves.  I can’t believe how many leaves we had around the house and what got ruined because of the flood.  My yard is still a muddy, mucky mess, but this morning the leaves were frozen to the ground because of the frost.  It was good because the ground was frozen too.  But it was bad because this meant that the leaves were frozen to the ground.  This made it harder to rake the leaves, so I raked and the kids took them to the bank to dump them over the edge.  We worked on this as a team for about two hours and got a majority of the main part of our yard done.  I’ve decided to let the second property got this year, because the lawn could use the mulch created by the leaves to attempt and regenerate the lawn next spring when we lay down some grass seed.

We came inside and ate lunch and I worked on fixing Heather’s utensil drawer (again).  This is the third time fixing this drawer.  I keep telling her she puts too much in weight in the drawer, but she just keeps ignoring me and I just keep fixing the problem.  I told her next time I’m duct taping it, and she thinks I was joking.  She’ll find out!  Anyway, got that done and the kids and I headed downstairs and I continued to work on the basement while we all watched “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.  This movie seemed a little more tame to watch with the kids and we talked about it the whole way through.  Ruth was really getting into the movie because she’s just started reading the books.  This will be interesting as I haven’t even read the books yet, so she’ll be one step ahead of me.  While we did that, I re-set-up the Helm’s Deep set.  I told the kids that if we got a chance to start playing this weekend we would and that we would continue our battle off and on throughout the winter months when we had snow days and breaks from school.  I figure by the time we have our Star Wars IVa, we’ll have the table cleared off.

So, I said I would talk about it later, so here it is.  For my friends that know me, on May 25th, 26th, and 27th, Star Wars is having a Celebration IV in California.  Most of my friends and Star Wars friends can’t afford to go to California to be part of the festivities, so my family and I are doing the next best thing here in Binghamton.  We are going to host on the same weekend what I call Celebration IVa (or it can be pronounced “Celebration Foray”).  We are going to watch all six Star Wars movies back to back and potentially add in the Clone Wars Cartoons (the only Star Wars TV show that I respect) in the proper order.  That’s right, were starting with Episode I and ending with Episode VI the way George Lucas intended us to do.  There will be more info to come, but my friends that know me can email me or call me to let me know they are interested and I will get them the info as it becomes available.  There is even discussions of having a giant Star Wars Risk game and a round of Star Wars Miniatures and Star Wars CCG gaming in my house.  It will be awesome!! So, if you’re interested, give me a buzz!

Okay, let’s continue to talk about Star Wars as we talk about Part 7 of Chapter 16 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 16 (Part 7):  A Borokii said they have heard talk of secessionists, and Obi-Wan talks of how these talks hae happened before, but these secessionists in the past are long forgotten.  Obi-Wan opted not to tell them all that he knew about the forces at work outside of Ansion.  Then the Borokii ask how they know that the Unity won’t go back on their word.  Luminara said tht the Republic and Jedi Council will oversee this and will grant them protection from the Commerce Guild, the Trade Federation, and others.  There were more questions and discussions and after not too long, they were told to retire and that they would receive an answer before the sun set that night.  The Borokii said this was an important decision that would affect generations to come.  The moments following the summit were the most stressful as they awaited word from the council.  Kyakhta, Bulgan, and Tooqui took their minds off of the waiting by insisting that they explain to them everything that happened.  Byaar returned soon after, grabbing everyone’s attention.  He told the Jedi that the council was ready to see them again.  As they walked to the shelter, Anakin commented that it was about time and Barriss replied quoting one of Yoda’s euphamisms.  As they entered, Luminara noted that some of the elders seats had changed and wondered if that had any significance.  They told the Jedi that they do believe that they can trust them.  They agreed to honor the treaty and keep Ansion in the Republic in exhange for one thing…..

Well, it was Tuesday, a payday, and two of my classes were gone on a field trip today.  For a teacher, it’s like a mini vacation before my actual vacation.  It was a nice change of pace to  be caught up on my school work and to be caught up on my personal work and my house is starting to look like a house again.  I went to school and watched “Blue Man Group:Rock Concert Live” with my classes and gave them a question sheet to go with the video.  They seemed to love the video and I think this may be one that will grab their attention when I want to.  I was able to email Heather about my day a little before I came home.  She got a lot of things done herself.  Including getting the rug for the basement that was soaked on Thursday from last week out on the front lawn to dry in the sun.

I came home and the rug was dry enough to go back downstairs.  Before we did that, however, I helped Heather hang some stuffed animal “slings” on Ruth’s wall for her to hang her stuffed animals in her room.  We then went downstairs, moved the 63″ T.V. out of the way and brought the rug downstairs and layed it out.  Even after sitting in the sun, it was still a little damp.  So, I kept the T.V. moved aside and brought over our space heater and hooked it up and pointed it at the rug to try and dry the backing (the part of the rug that was the wettest).  I kept checking and rotating the heater every half hour for three hours till the rug was dry.  In the meantime, we all ate dinner together and Heather had to go to work.  The kids and I cleaned off the table together and I read my Star Wars books as the kids folded laundry while I “managed” them.  We finished and I came downstairs and put the basement back together.  After that I watched the usual T.V. shows and then I watched the movie “Cars” which I borrowed from a co-worker at work.

Okay, let’s talk about Part 6 of Chapter 16 of “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm” by Alan Dean Foster…..

Chapter 16 (Part 6):  The jedi made themselves presentable with the help of Bayaar.  They made their way to the meeting house wihc was set apart from the rest of the Borokii camp.  The building was guarded by their best sentinels as the Council of Elders waited for the amazingly talented Jedi to present themselves.  When they got outside the building, she told Kyakhta, Bulgan, and Tooqui that they needed to stay outside as they didn’t represent the Republic.  The two Alwari understood, but Tooqui objected saying he could be quiet.  Luminara agreed with Tooqui but told him they would explain it to him when they came out.  Tooqui was upset and said they have faces like gogomor guts.  Anakin joked with Barris about this comment as they stepped inside.  There were twelved mixed-gendered Alwari on the council and all had either gray or white hair on their manes.  They were greeted and told that there would be questions asked of them.  Obi-Wan stood up and gave them the same explanation that he gave the Yiwa, Qulun, and Gwurran.  As he took his seat, the elders were quietly discussing his proposal.  A female elder asked what the Senate would gain from this proposal.  Luminara explained that the law will be represented and that if Ansion remains in the Republic, so will the Malarians and Keitumites.  They asked why their little world was receving so much attention.  Obi-Wan said that Ansion was not powerful itself, but it’s alliances could tople the Republic…..

Okay, it’s Monday and the beginning of Thanksgiving week!!  AND, I found out today that I actually will get paid tommorrow.  Bonus!!  Anyway, today was a good relaxing day and I caught up on a lot of paperwork and work at school because it was a half-day with parent/teacher conferences and there wasn’t much else to do.  I also got caught up with some of my project expectations and my classroom copying.  Better yet, I’m sure you’re reading right now my blog, as it happens - TODAY!!  That’s right, my blog is officially caught up as of tonight.  Now hopefully I can keep it caught up.  I have faith in myself.  I had a chance to meet my friends puppies again today and Heather got a chance to meet with them for the first time today.  Even she, who is not a dog person, had to admit that they were very cute puppies.  I spent part of my afternoon watching my new “Blue Man Group:Rock Concert Tour Live” DVD and put together a question sheet for my classes tommorrow and I think I’m going to show it to my classes.  I’m going to be honest, I just don’t think I’ll be able to get their attention tommorrow.  It’s a lost cause, so I might as well just give in.  Heather showed up a little early and she helped me get my room packed up and we headed home (remember, we’re down to one car now, so I have to wait on her).

We got home and found Ruth who was excited because she had her report card.  It was all excellent and her lowest grade was a B+ in history.  Uncle Mike wouldn’t be happy with her, but we were proud.  (just kidding Uncle Mike)  I walked down to the bus stop and walked Austin and Tara from the bus stop to the house and had some discussion aobut how school went.  We got home and Austin did his homework while Heather and Ruth got dinner together.  I went downstairs and finished watching my “Blue Man Group” DVD and putting together my question sheet for it.  After I got done, I went upstairs and we all ate dinner together.  Heather took a bath after dinner while Ruth and the kids cleaned up from dinner.  We left for Scouts around 6:15 p.m. and got to the meeting just on time.  I put our popcorn order in the car and when I returned, I found out that the meeting was cancelled.  Evidently, the Pack leader got hit so hard from the flood last week Thursday that they are unable to come to the meeting.  So, the meeting was cancelled and we got our popcorn and left.  We came home and Heather and I went downstairs and I worked on my question sheet while she worked on the schedule for Wendy’s and then we watched our usual T.V. shows.

Okay, let’s talk about Chapter 16, Part 5 of Alan Dean Foster’s “Star Wars:The Approaching Storm”…..

Chapter 16 (Part 5):  Shu Mai again warned them about acting too soon when Tam Uliss pushes to the front of the gorup and said that the current moment simply feels right.  She asks if they move on feelings or facts and then points out that they need to wait for Ansion to actually secede.  Uliss points out that if they wait, they could loose support from world that are already with them.  Shu Mai points out that there are Jedi already on Ansion and if they act now, the Jedi are already on the planet to act on the situation.  Uliss says he thought they were being dealt with.  Shu Mai says that when it comes to Jedi, there are no certainties and they need to wait till Ansion officially secedes from the Republic.  Another member insisted that there be no more waiting.  She concedes because everyone seems to agree but insists that they should wait at least a few more days.  Someone asks what difference a few days would make and Shu Mai throws that question right back at them.  She told them that she hears them and she will only wait a few days.  As cheers rang out from the crowd, she knew that she and Senator Mousul have a lot to do to make it all happen…..