Two weeks ago was teacher appreciation. I took a few days off work so I could help with setting up posters and decorations at the start of the week, and the faculty luncheon on Wednesday. It was wonderful to be back in the classrooms, and I was surprised at how easy it was to fall back into the volunteer thing!
I sewed some ruffled streamers for the decor, made Jessica's Chinese Cabbage Salad (again! I love this dish), and baked three dozen devil's food cupcakes, decorated to look like apples. I saw the idea on a blog some time ago, but I can't for the life of me remember where now. Anyway, I thought they turned out quite well, and even though it was super hot, there was a minimum of frosting droopage. I used mini pretzel rods for the stems and fresh spearmint for the leaves. The cupcakes turned out quite moist, too. I love my two-tiered cupcake carrier that I bought years ago.
For our past and current teachers, I crocheted some pencil bookmarks with perle cotton and a steel crochet hook (one I inherited when my grandma passed away, I thought about her as I was crafting), and knitted an i-cord pencil keychain charm. No patterns, I saw the bookmark online a while ago but just winged it, and then made up the keychain pencil as I went along. I made five gifts in all, but forgot to take a group photo.
We only have one more Monday left of this school year, and by the end of this month, we'll officially be on summer break. It's been a very difficult year for me personally at home, at the girls' school, and adjusting to work. I'm really looking forward to slowing down, enjoying my girls, and clearing out the clutter in my house this summer. Well, maybe not the last thing so much, but I'm sure I'll be happy *after* it's clean.
