Friday, October 30, 2015

Friday - lazy time

You think I would want to get this next chapter done, but no. I am just tired and have not really done much but get the background stuff done.

When I got up this morning I ask myself if I really, REALLY anted to work on my project? And to be honest, I had to say NO. Not because I don't want the project but because I'm just tired to working on them. That will change in the near future I now but for now I want to work on other items.

I have several projects in the works - by several, I mean a dozen or so. They are all at one stage or another. I have weather project, time zone projects, Huey Long projects, 5 teams of geography projects, etc., etc.

I am up and listening to Dallas Strings Quartet on Pandora and looking over the boat that our son has booked us on. I mean I have done nothing this morning for my projects. Also have been surfing this blog for other teachers sites.

Fixing to head out to get a copy of my birth certificate for the upcoming cruise.
http://secure.carnival.com/cruise-ships/carnival-elation.aspx

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Midweek and still working...

It is midweek and I am still busy working on my task cards for TPT and listening to Pandora in the background. My choice today is the Dallas String Orchestra. They are cool. My TPT project is this one....
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Transition-Era-Populism-Task-Cards-2175525

and it has taken over 15 hours to get it done this far. I still have 2 or 3 sections to go in this chapter.

My wife is still sleeping, I have taken the dog out, eaten by breakfast - a banana - set back to work on this item. I have read the paper, answered emails, searched items from Stage etc.

You can see why this project it taking forever.

I finally got them done. Wow, at least the next chapter is done. I did a set of 'what if' questions for the Huey Long chapter.

I am now 'working' on my next set.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tuesday work -

Today, I spent much of it working on my TPT project, but my wife and I went to Jennings to get her copy of her birth certificate, I have to order mine or we have to drive to Orange. Any what we also stopped on the way home to eat at the GreenHouse salad shop. It was cool.

I'm working on Chapter 12...
I'm not nearly finished with them, but I have started.

Monday, October 26, 2015

Monday blues.....

It is still lightly drizzling and it has gotten colder. I'm working on another set of Task Cards for my TPT account. It is going to take a while because it is on a chapter I HATE and don't really teach that well - Reconstruction. I love the Civil War - the chapters before and much after but I really don't like the Reconstruction Era. Never have. Sorry.

I began with...
Then I move on to items in this chapter. Next is the cover or title page I work on...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch-11-Reconstruction-Task-Cards-2172073
After I do this I begin all the background stuff such as pages, notes, back cover and everything BEFORE I actually begin the questions for this chapter.
 
It is hard to create cards for this chapter. My mind tends to wander and I find myself doing/looking at other things. I think of other things I can be doing.
 
The rain has stopped, the wind has died down, but it is still cold outside. I would rather be outside than here with these cards. I have quit working on them twice now.
 
It has been over 7 hours working on these cards and I just finished and uploaded it.
 
Time to start my next chapter, Ch. 12.
 

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Sunday morning

Weather does not look good today or this full weekend or Monday or....
Due to the awful weather,  spent my Sunday listening to Pandora and working on my new TPT item that I just uploaded. It took me about 5 hours but it is now all done.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch-9-Antebellum-Era-Task-Cards-2169920
 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Friday

I mowed grass in the country yesterday while looking towards the sky looking for rain. We did not get any but it is coming this weekend.

After coming home, I began to work on my new TPT project. It may take a couple of days but it is 'in the works' at least.

 
I just posted a link to the item.

Then I did a set of Task Cards for the next chapter.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch-8-Statehood-Era-Task-Cards-2166466v

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Midweek just might be....

Midweek just might be an interest story. My plans include going out to the country to cut grass this morning as my wife heads off to church with my grand-daughter. I posted my favorite holiday item on TPT yesterday, My Ghost Story Task Cards...
Maybe I will have some luck with it just like all the other items. Yesterday was a HUGE day with email messages coming in like crazy with people buying stuff all day. WOW! I even uploaded it to TN but I know it won't sale there at all. Nothing ever has.

I also picked up another teacher to mentor over the past three days. That has been fun - that makes five this fall.

I did go to the country to cut grass before it is said it will rain. It is still like bailing hay out there but it all did get done.

I came back and began working on my new' set of task cards for TPT.
They are not ready to post online yet but I am working towards getting them ready at least.


Monday, October 19, 2015

New day, new week

New day, new week, new things to do, things to get done. It's very cool outside and I need to get our yard mowed so that I can move on to the country yard tomorrow. The weather looks good all the way til Thursday, that its turns ugly with lots of rain - at least, that's what they are projecting for now.

Later today I need to work on my NA Task Cards for TPT and get emails answered.
I also bought and modified a scary story twist for a new teacher friend of mine in north Louisiana.
It only took about 10 minutes to make it fit hat we needed for this Halloween season. It is a cute idea, and for a Louisiana ghost story activity it should do the trick.
 


Sunday, October 18, 2015

Sunday is a slowdown day

I hate to say this but right now I am not looking forward to this Thanksgiving. It's the fact that our son is planning on taking us on a cruise. My wife is 'sort of excited' and I am 'not excited' but that will change as we get closer to the leave date.

For us. it is interrupting our usual All-State plans since we can only stay one night instead of four. We will drive to Baton Rouge Friday and come home Saturday only to go back I-10 again this time to New Orleans on Monday. This will be a grueling go/comeback/go again style weekend. I THINK my son and his girlfriend and our grand-daughter will ride with us or we will ride with THEM to New Orleans.

Anyway, the cruise will leave Monday and get back on Friday.

My sister is telling me to be happy that my son wants to take us, all expenses paid. I would be if I wasn't 'handicapped' like I am. Used to be, I would be excited but for now I'm just 'ammmmm'. At least I have been looking at the cruise online - expenses, what we can do and can't do. I have found out that parking is expensive - $18 a day, but it is onsite and protected. Food is unlimited but my wife and I only eat maybe one small meal a day. The rooms are adjoining which will make my grand-daughter happy - she can go back and forth between her daddy and her maw-maw. See, I'm never in the picture.
http://secure.carnival.com/
We did not want my son to pay for us but he did anyway. The time of the trip is double the normal cost but he wanted his daughter to go and her mom did not want her missing any school - so we go during the Thanksgiving holidays.

This trip kills our All-State and Renaissance Festival weekend also - but 'oh well', it's one week. Of course my wife has not thought about it still being 'hurricane season' - I know actual hurricane season is 'officially' over November 1st but I have seen hurricanes form all the way into January.

Besides researching the cruise, I am busy working on another set of TPT Task Cards for my online store covering Louisiana Native Americans...

This set should be ready Tuesday or Wednesday.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Friday

Thursday I completed a new TPT item for the Civil War...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch-10-What-If-Task-Cards-2151776
 
After that I stated putting together another project for the Huey P. Long chapter...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch-13-How-Bout-Now-Task-Cards-2154720
 It is done and posted now.
 
This morning I got out and cut the backyard and weed-eated the fence line. Then it just got to hot to continue.
 
 

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Tuesday's- No, Wednesday's World

I'm left in a world of unknowns as those around me battle over land that has been handed down through centuries since before Louisiana became a state.

My wife is 'fighting' with her dad as he wants to sell off land in Cameron parish. Land which has been passed down from generation to generation. And he just wants to sell it off for much less than my wife thinks it is worth.

It is not a huge section but it is a family section that goes way back. It is only 69 acres but as my wife says it is 69 acres that you can NEVER GET BACK. It should be handed don to my wife and her sister and their children and their children. But it my not.

It is sort of like the old farm in Sweetlake. What's left is only 4 acres of what used to be 100 acres.

- - - - -
Her dad DID NOT SALE the land - that makes my wife happy now.
- - - - -

I spent much of Wednesday working on another TPT project because I have been asked to by a teacher who has bought my previous three Task Card set
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Ch06-What-If-Task-Cards-2150229

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Sunday, time to...well...

Sunday should be a day of rest but I'm up early, read the online paper, waiting on my normal Sunday emails, and thinking back on hat we did yesterday, My wife did her usual job of All-State tallying of scores and helping with what she could. I did....well, I didn't get to do what I used to do since I'm retired, no longer teaching, blaw, blaw, blaw.

I actually walked the dog, fed all of them - dog and cats. Watched a little CBS morning TV which I never get to do. Ate some cereal  and came back to my laptop for a while. It has been 'just a morning of rest", not a day yet, but at least a morning.

Got back from church, had lunch, then my wife took the doc to his 'training' class. me I sat around and thought about story telling. I have always love to tell stories and a history teacher that is the part I have always loved best. Stories can hook your student then you can just reel them in if you do it right.

I guess that has always been my 'strong suit' - stories of all types, geography, people, events, times, I love them all. It's what I have been doing with my TPT store.

My wife's g-g-g-g-grandfather, a Cajun, was looking for someone to meet and date one day - since everyone in Grand Lake was related - decided to row across the lake to see who was over on the west side. He ended up meeting a young girl over there and he began to row across the lake every day or so to spend time with her.

He began to help her dad herd cattle and he stayed longer and longer, ultimately marrying the girl and lived on the west side of the lake. He came back from time to time to visit his parents and ultimately would be buried on the west side of the lake and would be forgotten until this young man would marry his g-g-g-g-grand daughter and start looking for his burial site.

After months of research his site was found and everyone loved the story about how he had rowed miles around the lake to marry a Granger on the west side of Calcasieu Lake near the town of Hackberry.

The story became just part of the narrative of the Acadians of my wife's family dating back to the early 1700's in Acadie (Nova Scotia) before they were expelled and made their way to south Louisiane.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Friday- hooray!

It has got to be fun today. It is the end of the week but not the end of everything I am doing.

I got up EARLY, about 5:30, and got online. I am also working on several new TPT items as I see my online store's account slowly move higher and higher as emails keep rolling in.

I am currently working on a 'bundle' of Louisiana items that are just little 'bits' of info that don't really amount up to a major project.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Louisiana-Bundle-2139868
It includes a Dot-to-Dot map of Louisiana, a Pick-a-Parish project, an African American internet assignment and other single, simple items. It's all little bits of me from my years of teaching.
 
 




Thursday, October 8, 2015

Thursday's good to go...

Today might be a much better day than yesterday. There is mass with my g-daughter, lunch with my g-daughter, ACTS workshop for my wife tonight and - I have no clue what I will do.

I have completed a new item for my TPT store and I MAY work of something else for my store today. Just don't have any clue yet.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-Rougarou-or-Loup-garou-Writing-Assignment-2137139
My TPT item deals with Louisiana's famed Loup-garou or Rougarou or werewolf in general terms. It is based off a story by someone else's story about a bigfoot experience. I just turned it around to be about our own creature.
 
I have several other plans for TPT and hope to get around to one of them today.
 
I have taken the dog out, given him his treat, feed him and the cats, my wife just left for my g-daughter's mass - lunch and she say she is gonna have to pick her up AFTER school also before her mom gets off to come get her.
 
I work all morning in silence of another new TPT product about the Louisiana Native Guard. Very cool I think.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/LOUISIANA-African-American-Studies-CW-Native-Guard-2138557
It's a throwback to my days at Oak Park Middle School - an all-black school which I LOVED!
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Wednesday post POST

Yesterday, I went to the bank to clear things up with my accounts and cash the check. According to online the accounts were now gear and according to the teller everything looked fine. Should have known better, more in a minute. She also checked the check, could not cash it, sent me to the branch manager and she said the check was fraudulent. More on late in a minute too. I had been told my cards and account were now clear and clean so I left went outside to use the ATM. They would not work - still frozen.

Branch manager said the check was fake but the CU staff said it is NOT fake and now wants to upload the cash to my PayPal account so that I can get my comp plus finish the assignment.

However, researching the way I do I finally found the info I was looking for at NCLnet It gave me names, wording, how it this SCAM started and what I could expect - which was nothing. Oh they kept trying to convince me that it was not fake but after about a half hour and sending them links to this site, they gave up and have not called since.

I have my bank account back in working order, I have thrown the check away, reported the scam to the NCL and the Fraud division and to the state's BBB. I feel better knowing that I 'almost' got scammed but as a teacher I know better and don't mind researching all day if I need too.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Monday later....

I just got an email from the Credit Union that the check was written on. They were wondering what the problem was also. So with the me, the company AND the CU we can figure out what the banks problem is and has been.

Other than all this, I had a good night, we kept our g-daughter overnight, and my wife just took her to school.

I've done my morning routine with the dog, cats, meds,emails, etc.

I have been texting the CU about this check - which my bank THINKS is fraudulent. But it is not. The CU has told me that when the money is sent back to my account, to just go case it out.

They sent me to the bank to "cash" the check. I told them that I knew that wasn't going to happen but they insisted. I went, the bank said no, and while there was told the account looks like it had been forged. The check had to many 0s in account number.

I texted back the CU and they said the bank just does not know what they are saying. The I was asked if I have an online account? which I do. They said that may they could just post the money there. To me that would be only because you can't post money there unless you have MONEY. So we will just see.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

What? ? ? ? Why? ?

Got an email telling me that the company wants to pay me a $1,000 dollars for all the trouble I have had. I used to LOVE my OLD, OLD BANK but they were a local sectional bank - good to people, they knew every one, always willing to help; then they got swallowed up by a statewide conglomerate, that was ok for a while before they got swallowed by a big NATIONAL bank. And THEY don't know you from anyone else and truly don't care about you. My only reason for staying is that they have branches ALL OVER the country.

So the company is willing to pay me even though it is not their problem - per say - but they just want to make things better for me. My bank seems to think the check the company sent me was an illegal or copied or fraudulent check. Maybe it was just a check my bank had never seen before - who knows.

When I deposited the check, all was good. But after they processed it, my bank suddenly said the check was bogus and they put a hold on ALL my money - technically freezing all my accounts and all my money. The company has had to call the bank to clear up any misunderstandings. It was not the companies fault, but my banks fault.

I have had to do without my own money since Thursday. My bank even called back any payments I have made since the first - my car note, cell payment, cable payment, credit card payment etc. They are crazy. Maybe they should have to PAY me not the company.

I have Googled the check issuer and it is a very well known Credit Union in S.C. So what is the problem? They check has all the right symbols, markings, etc.

Now you see why I have been in such a bad mood since Thursday - and still am. Maybe they can get things reset Monday. Maybe.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

BORED to tears....

I am BORED to tears.. MAD may be a better explanation. Maybe even ANGRY would be correct. Whatever, I am very unhappy with what is going on.

But I did just get an email telling me that their company is going to compensate me $1,000 for all the trouble my bank has caused me - and them. So lets just see what happens on Monday.

I have also been getting email from my SSID company because I have not signed nor returned the disability forms they sent me. I just have not had time yet to even sign the eight page they want so they can go to SS about my knee/foot problem and my lack of being able to work.

Got to get all this done ASAP it seems.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Middle of the week (now END) of week

It is the middle now END of the week and I just finished my mystery shopper assignment and hope it is the last. I love the money but I am still afraid of the 'catches' I know have got to be hanging out there somewhere.

It has HAD  a major 'catch' because it caused a lock down of my account(S) with the bank saying my accounts were frozen due to FRAUD or a STOLEN check deposited. I have never deposited a stolen or copied check. NEVER.

The company has been gracious in trying to fix the problem. My contact says the check IS GOOD and is working to fix the problem. But I want my accounts cleaned up and my own money available so that I can get my medications, buy some groceries, put some gas in my car plus get some gas for my mower in the country.

It is strange to go back and forth with my agent. She has been so understanding - I guess.

It is very, very cool outside today. As I took the dog out I could tell he was very frisky. He was pulling on his leash lie crazy. He actually pulled me off the last step coming down from the porch. He had to go 'tinkle' bad! When he came back in, he and the cat chased each other across the house several times.



Ten things I am thankful for today

It does not take a lot of time to tell you what I am thankful for - not today or this week or.... 1. I am happy because my wound care doc...