Rural Respite

We overnighted at a public use cabin on Chena Hot Springs Rd. last night. When we got there, about 1 pm, the snow was coming down lightly and it was about -10 degrees. The damper was broken so it was hard to control the burning rate in the wood stove, so it took about 4 hours for the cabin to warm up to about 50 degrees. We read, did crossword puzzles and Paul did some drawing. We ate an easy dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and vegetable beef soup, then took the 20 minute drive to the hot spring for a soak. A comfy, quiet night sleep, punctuated with 2 risings to feed the hungry stove, up for a good breakfast and we're back home.

It seems like these retreats have gotten easier since we pack/unpack quicker. I have a big laundry basket and throw in all the kitchen stuff. Since we car camp so much, I have a storage box of old pans, plastic plates, etc. in the basement, so I just transfer what I need. I took a fry pan, a teapot, a saucepan, a can opener, a knife, a spatula, 4 plates, 2 bowls, 2 cups and 2 sets of silverware. I also took matches, toilet paper, candles, tablecloth, a Coleman stove, paper toweling, potholders, propane canisters and a 5 gallon jug of water. For sleeping, we took a large sleeping pad, 2 down comforters (which we didn't use), 2 sleeping bags, 2 pillows and pajamas. Then, of course, swim gear, a change of underwear, and toiletries. For food I brought: cheese, eggs, pepparoni, link sausage, butter, jelly, peanut butter, bread, tea, cocoa, salt and pepper, 2 cans of soup, chips. That's really not much and allowed for 2 extra lunches in case we were diverted.

I have a miserable cold, so while I was task avoiding I googled the common cold. The good news is that there are many, MANY sites on it. The bad news is that there is lots of conflicting info. The only consistent advice I found was to drink lots of fluids, take chicken soup and gets lots of sleep. One of my favorite sites on the common cold described an experiment where cold virus was injected into the nostrils of the test "volunteers". How would you like that job?
Word on the street about colds is that the medications and treatments of symptoms are all about being comfortable and not exposing others to the cold. I'm for that.

On an educational topic, I've been reading about metacognition and its role in teaching kids to comprehend when they're reading. In Mosaic of Thought (Keene & Zimmerman, 2007), the authors have identified 7 strategies that good readers do. One of them is "monitoring for meaning"- knowing when you know and knowing when you don't know. I have also heard this described as clinks and clunks. The learning environment has to be very safe for a child to be able to say or think aloud that they don't know what the author is talking about. Keene is all for teaching comprehension explicitly- teach the kids that good readers look for meaning all the time and in many ways and when they have read something, it is necessary to stop and ask, "do I know what the author means or not?".

This election year has started way too soon. Even my ex-pat son is stumping for Ron Paul. I can't help but wonder when religion and politics were so closely intertwined and how candidates espousing strong religious views will be able to keep church and state separate. More on that later in the year, if I can stand it.

A book I read yesterday: The Hooded Hawke (mystery based on Queen Elizabeth I's times)