July is half over, and our neck of the woods is bone dry. Sporadic rain has fallen in various places around the state, and even in our county and town, but not a drop has fallen in our yard.
I fear for our little dogwood tree, which is very stressed right now. This is my favorite tree in the yard, because it has always been so beautifully showy every spring. I'm going to hate it if this seemingly endless drought kills that little tree.
On the other hand, we have been getting a bumper crop of sweet, delicious tomatoes. The dry weather has caused the skins on them to be tough, but once peeled, they are wonderful. The other veggies succumbed to the heat and drought, however.
We were up at 6:30 this morning, so I could get ready to go to water aerobics. I enjoyed the walk to the gym, but it was considerably more muggy today, making it feel like I was pushing my way through the atmosphere.
The pool water was cool, as usual, but nice once I was in it. A record number showed up this morning...twenty-one.
No news, except one of the members commented that I'd missed a good program at the museum yesterday...a showing of a DVD featuring three men reenacting the Lincoln-Douglas debate. This was an event commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I'd seen this advertised in our local newspaper, but did not hop up as soon as I saw it and go write it on my calendar. So, of course, I forgot about it. Drat it! I know Hubbie and I would have enjoyed it.
Back home, Hubbie accompanied Mother to our house, and then he ran errands while I got ready for the day. By this time, it was around 11:30. Fixed a lunch of soup for Mother and sandwiches for Hubbie and me, and then spent time reviewing this week's lesson for my ESL student.
Met my student at 2:30 as usual. She frequently brings gifts for me, and today it was fresh figs. I was ready for her, though, because I took her a half-pint jar of homemade strawberry jam.
Before we started the lesson, she excitedly told me that she had attended a Friday Painters session last week, and enjoyed it very much. It'll be good for her to do this, so she can practice conversational skills with other people. And it's good for her to get away from family obligations and pursue her creativity among like-minded folks.
The artist she most admires is Romero Britto, a Brazilian-American Neo-pop artist, painter, and sculpter. She was thrilled when I told her I had researched him online.
Today's lesson involved qustions with "why?" As in, "Fran runs five miles every day (statement)." "Why does Fran run five miles every day? (question)." Or, "Lee hit the tree." "Why did Lee hit the tree?" Or, "Fran has been crying." "Why has Fran been crying?"
She had no problem turning the statement "Fran has been crying" into a question, but she stumbled on "Fran runs five miles every day." So I told her to think of it this way...Fran (does run) five miles every day." That way, she could see where the "does" comes in.
The same thing stumped her with the sentence, "Jill has two part-time jobs." Until I wrote it, "Jill (does have) two part-time jobs." Then she could see that the question would be "Why does Jill have two part-time jobs?"
After that, we worked on listening comprehension. I read a couple of paragraphs, and she repeated them (or the essence of them) back to me. Today's story was about a man dying in his sleep, how his family mourned, and about the church services for him. It was a downer, but I guess ESL for adults must deal with all life events.
We finished the lesson with her reading a story from her workbook and answering the questions related to it.
Back home, Hubbie had heated the meal of leftovers I'd put in oven bowls earlier. Mother had just awakened from her nap, and was ready to eat. We had meatloaf, with macaroni and cheese, and green beans.
Afterward, I accompanied Mother home, and then Hubbie and I watched the 2003 movie, "The Snow Walker." A mavarick bush pilot agrees to take a sick Inuit woman to a hospital, but his plane goes down in the tundra. He is sorely lacking in survival skills, but the woman is adept in a wilderness that she's known as home all her life. The harsh conditions do take a toll, though. This is a really good movie, rated PG.
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We really thought we'd get rain today, when a dark cloud came up, and it started thundering. In fact, as I traveled to the college to meet my student, I could see rain in the distance. Unfortunately, it didn't arrive at our house.
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