Friday, August 24, 2012

Greetings one and all! I'm back from PEI, got back Sunday night. Drove 12 hours on Sunday and got home at 5pm. Then on Monday and Tuesday I attended a conference - nothing like getting right back into the swing of things! The picture above was taken while driving Hwy 108 (Plaster Rock-Renous) in New Brunswick, well actually I did stop the car while I took the picture!

Michael is still in PEI - his son Dane is helping out with the airshow - he's a firefighter with the military and he volunteered to work the airshow - he helped install the giant "elastics" that stop the jets when they land at tiny Charlottetown airport and he'll be on hand "just in case". So Michael and Dane have been spending lots of time together while I'm toiling away here at home. The last two days have been spent sitting with my laptop on my lap putting together lesson plans and resources for BACK TO SCHOOL!

As far as school goes it looks like we should be back in the classroom on September 4th. Our provincial premier, Dalton McGuinty is bringing parliament back early from their summer break to initiate legislation that will force us to be in the classroom - the Bill is called "Putting Students First".  So contract or no contract we'll be in the classroom. I'm sort of OK with that as I'd rather be at work than on strike BUT we have a union meeting on Sept. 10th and our union is up in arms because our school board won't sign off on our agreement with the gov't. No progress there whatsoever!  So the first few weeks of school will be rather unsettled and I can only hope that everything gets resolved amicably! HAH! That's probably asking for too much!

My apologies for neglecting you recently. I look forward to getting into routine and being able to  read your updates on a regular basis. It's always hectic at this time of year and my only focus is on preparations for school.

My nephew continues to mend. I spoke to my sister for a couple of hours on Tuesday and she is feeling very strongly that Jon will be able to walk  again someday. He is having daily physio and when the nurse moves his legs apart he is able to bring them back together (with great pain). The bad news is that right now he is blind. One eye was badly damaged and cannot be repaired while the other has a detached retina. Surgery will help reattach the retina but can't be done while he is in the halo brace which he will wear for another five months. Hopefully he will regain some vision in that eye after surgery but no one knows how much. Due to his diabetes his eyesight was already becoming poor. He'll be in hospital/rehab centre for probably up to a year (or more).

And now I must get to work - I leave you with a few more photos from my trip home:



 Sometimes I just hold up the camera and shoot while I'm driving - that's why the horizon line is kinda tilted in some of the pictures - I don't aim I just shoot!


12 comments:

  1. Welcome home, Jane! :) Thanks for sharing your adventures in Wond...PEI with us! I do hope the strike issues are resolved before you start work (in the classroom, I mean) next week. How frustrating to come back to that. Get some rest before you head back, though, and enjoy the peace and quiet of home for a few days.

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  2. well I enjoyed reading about PEI again, feels like I get to have a little holiday vicariously each time you visit there. hope school goes a bit smoother for you this next term

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  3. Welcome home my friend!! :) Thanks for the update about your nephew, praying he continues to improve day by day! Hope this year at school is better for you!!

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  4. Welcome back, I have missed you. We just had a friend who went to a Portland to have surgery to attach a retina he is also very diabetic, it took 6 months of blindness but he can now see out of one eye! So let's pray for the same thing.

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  5. While I am not glad your vacation time has come to an end for this Summer, I am happy you will be blogging again, as I've missed your weekly notes.
    Here's to settling contract disputes quickly as working in a contentious atmosphere is never good for anyone.

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  6. I was going to say something else but now I'm all preoccupied worrying about your nephew. I hope he recovers quickly. Welcome home. mark

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  7. Continued prayers for your Nephew and family! Welcome back, you have been missed.

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  8. laura @ move to portugalAugust 25, 2012 at 1:58 AM

    Great to see you back Jane. I'm so glad your nephew is making a little progress.


    Fingers crossed for a calmer school year x

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  9. Glad to see you back!

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  10. Sounds like you've had an enjoyable summer on the island. Sorry I missed you. You're so close to finishing school now, hopefully these last couple years go smoothly for you. Hang in there.

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  11. it seems like it went by so fast!!!! Looks like you had a blast though! :) Time to restart the countdown! haha

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  12. Hi Jane


    You had such a wonderful time on PEI. I am so pleased for you. Thanks for sharing so much with us.


    Hope your nephew continues to recover well.


    Good luck for the start of a new school year.


    SFT X

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Thank you for your comment - it means a lot to me that you read my post and are leaving a comment - you just made my day!