All the school's on stage!

I had a day at home, painting our small office, aka the Man's den, aka the room we all spend most time in because the computer's in it.

Then at five o'clock I set off for school. The children were already there, having stayed on in preparation for All-School Shakespeare Night.

It was, as last year, a remarkable effort. The Pre-Ks did a little dance and showed off the Shakespeare-related words they'd learnt. The K/1s 'mimed' a story book - the Boy had great fun as a chicken. The 2/3s performed an entertaining interpretation of 'All the world's a stage...' (though the Girl, just like last year, preferred to be backstage and disappeared there after the opening lines). 4/5s did their own Shakespeare rap, and some Elizabethan dances. 6/7s performed a condensed (and suitably confusing) version of the Comedy of Errors, and the mighty 8th Graders gave a comic rendering of Othello. Kudos, as ever, to the amazing actor who came in and single-handedly pulled the whole show together in little over a week.

I had sent the kids in with bagged dinners to eat between school ending and the show beginning. The Girl 'couldn't find' hers. The Boy 'forgot he had' his. They both dined on Oreo cookies kindly provided by the school, and I now have a reputation as that awful British mother who starves her children (no wonder they're so small...).

Sigh.

Dog's dinner

I've just got in from an evening trip to Price Chopper. Unusually, I found myself wandering down the pets' aisle. This was because the Boy's class is collecting for an animal shelter at the moment and he has been on at me for weeks to donate something.

Oh my goshness (as a student of mine used to say). I remember when I first got back to the UK after six months in Burma being particularly shocked (a) by the triviality of weekend colour supplements and (b) by the grotesque excess of pet products. Whole long supermarket aisles of every imaginable type of food and toy and grooming gadget - just for dogs and cats. Not that I particularly had anything against dogs and cats, but it seemed a little obscene to see them given them the option of a gourmet beef dinner when at the Burmese orphanage I'd recently visited the kids counted themselves lucky to have a spoonful of rice and some boiled leaves once a day.

Anyway. Today I managed to resist spending $13.99 on a sack of Newman's Own Premium Organic Vegetarian kibble for senior dogs, threw my veggie principles to the wind and plumped for a couple of cans of chicken chunks. I also noticed, to my utter bafflement, that you can buy brand new cuddly toys specifically for dogs. Not only that, but there's a whole range of them based on 'Endangered Species'. Seriously. Cuddly polar bears and bisons for your dog to maul. Surely even contestants on The Apprentice couldn't come up with anything less appropriate?

But maybe you can! Share your top dog-chew ideas via comments please...

See the birdy?

I was stuck at home this morning, waiting in for a man to come and service the furnace (boiler). But that was ok, I had some posters to prepare, and by the time the man had gone and I'd had a skype chat with my parents I was all set for a postering mission.

We've got a fair trade event planned for a week on Saturday (May 9th, World Fair Trade Day), so I took myself and my posters to every shop and local business I could find with a customer noticeboard. Also a bunch of churches - there are many to get round. Quite a lot of activity for a sweltering afternoon.

We've had a welcome visitor to our backyard recently - none other than New York's official state bird. When I look out of the kitchen window round about five in the afternoon I nearly always see a bluebird perched on the swing-set. I think it lives over the back fence. Bluebirds suffered a reduction in numbers last century because of pesticide use and starlings (which take over their nesting sites). But a keen Bluebird Society has had nest-boxes put up all over the place to encourage them, and that seems to be helping. The bluebird is a lovely thing, it makes me glad to see it.

Joining forces with the BNP

A busy day of to-ing and fro-ing. Took the Man to work first thing, called in at Jo-Ann's craft emporium for sewing supplies on the way home. Just time to deal with some correspondence and speak to a couple of neighbours before jumping in the car again and setting out for a merry hour chopping veg.

Back home, I prepared for my sewing class, then set off to teach it - we tried cross-stitch this time, with modest success. And after that my own kids and I made an emergency trip to the shoe shop to buy sandals - even the Boy, whose feet don't grow for years at a stretch, was needing new ones.

I never thought I'd say this, but it looks like I might be falling in with the BNP! But no, its not the nasty British National Party, but the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace - a group of local peace activists with fair trade sympathies. One of them runs a farmer's market in the town and has invited my new fair trade campaign outfit to take a table there.

Blooming marvellous

Another ludicrously summery day - perfect for the Girl's belated birthday party. It was my kind of kids' party, requiring almost no adult involvement at all. A small bunch of girls giggled themselves silly around the house and yard for a few hours and seemed to have a lovely time. Meanwhile the Boy had a fine day out with his best buddy - mini-golf, a couple of rides at Hoffman's Playland then ice-cream.

The sudden warm spell has brought on the flowers in a hurry. Here is our cherry tree as it looked on Wednesday:

As the temperature started to rise on Friday the blossoms were pretty much opening up while I watched, and by today...

Set Fair

I visited small town America today, specifically the small town of Ballston Spa, near Saratoga Springs. It is a very appealing place, with its coffee shops and little stores (including a nice quilt shop). It is also home to the National Bottle Museum. But none of these things are what took me there this sunny morning.

Ballston Spa has a unique distinction: it is New York State's first and (currently) only Fair Trade Town. In fact it is one of only ten designated Fair Trade Towns in the whole of the US - the movement here is rather behind the UK where there are upwards of 450 designated towns and cities (including London).

But little Ballston Spa is a proactive place and wants to spread the message, so today it was hosting a Fair Trade conference. And because I'm aiming for my new home town here to gain Fair Trade status too, along I went.

It was great! I gained useful insights into the direction I should go with a campaign, met helpful contacts and generally came away thinking everything is possible. I already have one local friend on board, and we now need to set about recruiting a few more people for a steering committee. Should be fun!

I should also mention, it has been quite warm today:

Clearly baaa'king

My day was spent doing chores and errands of one kind or another, then tonight I made this.







Sheepishly I have to admit I'm quite pleased with it. What do ewe think?