Monday, August 27

Up at 6:30 a.m. to get ready to go to water aerobics. This was the first day at the pool in about a month, following summer break. We were supposed to go back last Wednesday, but there was a problem with the boiler and water PH balance, so our start date was postponed indefinitely. Thank goodness "indefinitely" didn't last as long as we feared.

I thought since fall semester has begun the parking lot I use at the college would be full, but very few cars were there. When I got back to the parking lot after aerobics, however, there were no spaces available anymore. Guess I was smart to arrive as early as I did.

A whopping 24 of us showed up this morning. The number will dwindle, of course, as the weeks roll on. The water was wonderfully warm. That won't last either, since one warm water day is usually followed by cool water days thereafter.

I thorougly enjoyed my swim and the aerobics session. Back home afterward, once I was ready for the day, it was already close to lunchtime. Hubbie had accompanied Mother to our house while I was at water aerobics. She had her regular Ramen Noodle lunch, and Hubbie and I had leftover fried potatoes, and scambled egg substitute with diced ham, along with toast.

Then Mother headed to the couch for a nap, Hubbie read his novel, and I reviewed today's ESL lesson.

Met my student at the usual 2:30 p.m. hour. First, I checked with the librarian to confirm that the college will be closed Monday for Labor Day, and it will be.

As part of the lesson, I took along today's local newspaper edition, which features the first in a series of articles about county workers. Today's feature is about the sanitation department and its workers.

Last week, the regular lesson touched on various workers, including sanitation workers, so I thought the newspaper article was very fitting. The student read the article aloud, and I helped her with any unfamiliar words. We were both amazed by the information that local sanitation workers pick up between 7 and 8 tons of waste each day. It was also interesting to note that when people accidently toss valuables, like dental appliances, purses, jewelry, etc., they expect the sanitation workers to comb through trash to retrieve them...and the workers oblige as far as they can.

The student commented that she feels we do not fully appreciate these workers, and I agree. She said that in Venezuela, everyone is expected at Christmas time to give the sanitation workers a card with money enclosed. It doesn't have to be a lot of money, but each person is expected to contribute whatever they can afford. I think this is a good idea.

Today's regular lesson included the past participles of irregular verbs: "Ed broke a glass yesterday." "He has broken many glasses." "Gail chose pink paint." "Gail has chosen many paints."

Then she learned how to construct sentences using the active and passive voices: "Someone broke the lock (active)." "The lock was broken (passive)."

She also learned to use the passive voice with "get." "They get paid at the end of the month." "She gets worried when Lee is late."

Then she learned the use of "can" and "could." "I can speak Italian now." "I could speak Italian when I was a child."

She followed that with the use of "could" and "couldn't." "Could you speak English when you were a child?" "No, I couldn't."

We ended the session with "if" clauses. "I can't tell if he is right." "I can't tell if anyone is in the room."

Back home, Hubbie had put potatoes in the oven to bake, and ham and beans in the microwave to heat, and had set a pan of corn-on-the-cob boiling on the stove. Everything was ready shortly after 5 p.m.

I accompanied Mother home afterward, and waited until she had showered before I came back home. Hubbie and I spent the rest of the evening in front of the TV as usual.

Because the DVR was empty, and there was nothing of intersst on TV, I played a DVD I'd bought a long time ago. It was nine 30-minute episodes of an old 1993 TV series..."White Fang," loosely based on the Jack London novel.

The series is set in the Rocky Mountains, and it's about a wolf-husky mix dog, with amazing skills for saving the day. The dog, formerly a sled dog, is rescued from a mean man, who forces him into dog fights. The family who rescues him consists of a teenage boy, and his veterinarian mother and judge father.