I'm Here, Really

I'm still here, just not apparently getting around to blogging. I keep thinking of all sorts of things to write about, but I don't sit down and do it. I'm still, for example, thinking about what I'm going to write in a report about Chile. And since I've already picked my next country to research (I'll let you all anticipate that one!), I'd better get going on my Chile report.

Lots of tennis this week, mostly watching US Open matches. The other night, though, I was all set to watch the Venus Williams match I recorded, then accidently saw the final score on the internet. So I half heartedly fast fowarded through it. I'm going to be more careful about my browsing until the tournament is over!

But I've also gone to the courts to play twice this week. We're trying to get a regular group to meet at a regular time every Tuesday morning, but I was the only one who showed up this week. There was another group of women, who are league players, at the courts and they invited me to play with them. I was intimidated at first because I have zero experience with competitive tennis, but I think I played as well as some of them!

This afternoon Jack and I made it to the courts after several days of trying (we kept forgetting to get our rackets and balls out of the car Roger was taking to work). We hit the ball back and forth (he's hitting them more consistently, and got several really good shots). Then I practiced my serve and he tried to return them. He did hit them a few times! Then one got him in the stomach. We kept playing. Then one got him in the forehead. Yikes! He may possibly get a bruise. But I don't think it was as bad as when Uncle Greg whacked him in the head with a Wii controller playing tennis doubles!

I also attended my first ever PTA meeting this week. What a slice of middle American life that was! I'm very happy that I volunteered to do the newsletter (I took my first issue to the district copy center yesterday). I can sit in the monthly meetings feeling absolutely no guilt whatsoever about not volunteering to help with the holiday parties or the fundraisers.

After the PTA meeting I ran into Jean, the school librarian I helped all last year (entering all of the books into the database). She had some thorny computer questions that I helped her out with. It felt good help out. She wants me to substitute for her when she needs a substitute. That isn't often, but it would be a fun thing to try. And a tiny bit of money would be involved, which is always nice.

Last but not least, Jack and I finally finished Harry Potter 6 and are now several chapters in to Harry Potter 7. I'm so afraid that I will hear something I don't want to know before I finish it--especially since Jack took a sneak peak at the epilogue.