The Life of Mrs. Miles

AUTUMN APPLE ELEMENT

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How was your Labour Day? Did you labour, or did you take this last opportunity to relax before fall comes into full swing? Miles and I definately laboured. We decided to make over the school so it will be a fresh start for both the teachers and staff.

When we unlocked the door our senses were assaulted. With no air conditioning on, the temperature was way up there and the air was stale and cloying. Because we live in desert climate, dust had settled thick on every surface. The building had simply been abandoned at the end of last semester, as soon as the graduates were turned out into the world. The school almost seemed to have a forlorn look and feel. Time to refresh!

Miles tackled the bookshelves which had, like the biology books taught, divided and multiplied books over the past several years until the shelves sagged with out of date materials. They groaned with information which was now completely irrelevant. It took Miles several hours to ruthlessly cull the 'wheat from the chaff', but in the end he had tamed the collections into a semblance of order and in doing so had ended up with two dozen empty binders, which new students can now use.

I tended to the areas I well knew, wiping down all the surfaces, tables and cleaning the streetfront window. I learned a valuable lesson - don't use Acrylic paints on the windows. We decorated all the computers with cheerful stickers, stepping into the shoes of Shelly - secretary extraordinaire, who we lost to another district partway through this last year. You're much missed, but not forgotten. We also supplied garden flowers, fruit and antibacterial wipes so folks can de-germ their hands and computer keyboards. This after we read an article backing up a claim that computer keyboards in public settings host more germs than toilets! One more good reason I'm glad I bring my own laptop. I don't want my honey getting sicknesses and bringing them home to me...

I had to make something fresh-baked as a final welcome for the students, so I whipped up an impromptu batch of home made scones - my own recipe.

TROPICAL FRUIT AND GINGER SCONES

4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

8 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp coconut flavoring

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup chopped, dried tropical fruits

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup milk

milk for brushing tops

sugar for sprinkling

In a large bowl put flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger and salt. Add butter. Cut in till crumbly. Stir in dried tropical fruits. Make a well in the center.

In a small bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Stir in milk and coconut flavoring. Pour in well. Stir with fork to form soft dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 times. Divide into 4 equal parts. Pat each into a 6 inch circle and place on a greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes until risen and browned slightly. Cool and cut into 6 slices each.

Yield: 24 scones.

I'm looking forward to hearing from my niece, Missy, as she is expecting a wake-up call from Hillary Duff tomorrow, for her first day of school. So, its recorded, but hey! We saw an article in the paper a few weeks back about it and one thing led to another... Happy First day of this year's school Melissa!

Miles has completed a labour of love... an updated slide show in the gallery of our personal website. Please take a tour and let us know what you think! You can find it HERE

BARB'S HANDY TIP # 70

Help For Your Student!

With school back in, you may want to keep this link handy, to help you help your child with his or her homework. It's a nice site which breaks the subjects into easy-to-navigate sections and is very interesting.

visit STUDY BUDDY