My fashion sense as a 60 year old

Am I the only one who thinks ladies fashion should include cutoff camo pants, a floppy hat and a fishing pole?

Bass fishing at Arivaca Lake Arizona

Canoeing and fishing at Patrick Henry Reservoir (Warriors Path State Park, Kingsport Tennessee)

 2 am with coffee and dogs

Sundays are my only full day off and I make an effort to get in as much R&R as possible.  I try to sleep in or at least sleep until 4 am but, right on cue, Zenji's alarm clock went off again at 2 am.  We've fallen into a crazy sleep pattern and I'm not sure how to undo it.  Suggestions are welcome.

Yesterday's (Saturday) 4:30 am ESL reading class was with only one student and she is already proficient in speaking English.  So I had planned to focus on reading comprehension and writing during our session.  However, the student refused to participate in the lesson.  This sort of thing happens on occasion, but when it happens at 4:30 in the morning on one cup of coffee, it is frustrating.  In this situation, being an online teacher, there is very little I can do, so I improvised and began to write sentences on the white board which pertained to the lesson.  I knew the student had a cat named Mr. Tickles so I wrote 'Mr. Tickles learned that construction on the Empire State building began in 1930'.  Miraculously that sentence peaked the student's interest and she began reading the sentences on the board. Even though we only accomplished a small portion of the assignment, it was better than nothing.

Becoming TEFL certified and picking up ESL students wasn't something I had planned when I began working with kids but I'm glad it is part of my routine.  The kids are great and a lot of fun to work with. For those who are interested, acquiring a TEFL or TESOL certificate can get expensive and that played a part in which online company I selected.  I ended up going with International TEFL and TESOL, mostly because of the price ($150 for a level 5 TEFL certificate) but they did have decent reviews.  Overall the course is okay and it does provide the basics for classroom management and lesson planning.  But if you are looking into becoming an ESL teacher there are a lot of options out there so choose what feels right for you.  I would like to say that including a TEFL or TESOL certificate on your resume will add value to any teaching or tutoring credentials.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

 

 3 am with coffee and dogs

Zenji is a bit better this morning though she is still stiff in her hips.  I gave her carprofen for pain yesterday and that seemed to help.  We sat outside and enjoyed a cool evening watching it not rain again at our house.  CeeCee seems to understand that Zenji isn't feeling well and is content to lay nearby and doesn't try to initiate play activity.

Online reading classes went well yesterday and the kids were great.  They are settling in for the fall semester and working hard.  The first graders are the most challenging so far and one has just learned to change the background on his tablet.  It can be distracting watching his background change constantly during the lesson but as long as he participates I'm okay with it.  Besides, there is very little I can do about it anyway so I try to turn it into a learning opportunity.  The beach background is his favorite so to get him involved in the lesson I include words and sentences that relate to beach activities.  It's a compromise but at least he's interested and he's learning.

Happy Friday,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

P.S.

If anyone has suggestions or remedies to help an older dog with hip issues, please let me know. 

Thanks

Zenji 

Zenji is struggling today.  She's weak in her hips again but she isn't pacing and restless and her appetite is good.  I'm hoping she just overexerted herself yesterday when she was playing.  Sometimes she doesn't understand that she needs to slow down.  I'm glad I work from home so I can help her if she needs it.

3:15 am with coffee and dogs

The girls slept in this morning to 3:15.  Yay for me!  Fed them an early breakfast and let them loose in the front yard to howl at the coyotes.  Then back in the house for their after breakfast nap.  I wish I could fall asleep as quickly as my dogs do.

This is progress monitoring week for the students.  I think it is more stressful for me than it is for the kids and that is okay.  They perform better if they're relaxed and it shows in their scores.  I've already finished progress monitoring the first graders and while they were a bit of a challenge, they did really well.  I was proud of them. 

Evaluating these young students can sometimes feel like herding cats but there really is no feeling like it when these kids do well on their testing.  And the best part of this is when they do well, they have a sense of accomplishment and it gives them the motivation to keep working hard at their lessons.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

 2 am with coffee and dogs

Zenji's internal chronometer went off at 2 am this morning...again.  She's getting back to normal but I need to find a way to reset her clock.  I am a morning person but 2 am is a bit early.

Today kicks off another week of online classes. The kids I work with are not meeting the reading requirement for their grade level which is why they've been assigned to me.  I believe several of the students are dyslexic though they've not been officially identified as a developmentally challenged student.  Limited school resources and insufficient teacher training can play a role in the student's condition not being recognized.  Many educators just don't know what to look for and often attribute reading difficulty to low intelligence or lack of a solid reading foundation.  I do need to point out that I am not a certified dyslexia specialist, I only know the areas that are most challenging to my students and I try to help them work through these challenges.

Saturn

No luck viewing Saturn last night.  Arizona's monsoon was active and it rained most of the evening.  Perhaps the conditions will be better tonight.

Take care, 

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

2 am with coffee, dogs and Saturn

Zenji is feeling better this morning and woke me around 2 am.  She was hungry and that was a good sign, hopefully she'll be able to keep her food down.  She doesn't seem to have any discomfort and slept through the night (at least until 2 am) .  That's how this thing goes, a day or so of being miserable, not sleeping and throwing up and then back to normal.  I wish I knew what was going on with her. 

Since I was already up with the dogs, I thought about getting the telescope out since Saturn reached opposition around 1:45 am this morning.  However the sky was hazy, just enough to prevent any decent views of the ringed planet.  I'll try again tonight and hopefully the skies will be clear.

Currently Saturn can be found between the constellations of Pisces and Aquarius. Sky and Telescope has a interactive sky chart that can help pinpoint the location https://skyandtelescope.org/interactive-sky-chart/.  The inclination of the rings are edge on which makes viewing them difficult but with high powered binoculars or a small telescope you might catch a glimpse.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee 

2 am with a sick dog

Up early with Zenji.  She get restless sometimes, paces, backing up and sitting down suddenly. I though it might be weakness or pain in her hips but she has stomach issues as well when this occurs.  She seems to feel a little better after she goes to the bathroom.  I thought maybe she was blocked and  I've taken her to two different vets over the past 6 months and both tell me they can't find anything wrong.  Bloodwork, urinalyses, stool samples and x-rays are normal.  She did have a cancerous tumor removed in March 2023 so I can't help but think that is somehow related.  But if it was, I would think something would have shown up during our vet visits.

I know she's getting older and things like this happen with senior dogs but I still worry.  And if any dog parents out there could offer advice, we'd appreciate it. 

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

  Stargazing at 60

Astronomy is something I've always loved and that I've been able to reconnect with over the past few years. In the past, my work schedule was so hectic there was very little time or energy for stargazing. But since starting my work with kids and the fact that I work from home, I've been able to enjoy the night skies once again.

I've made an attempt at astro-photography and have managed to take a few decent photos. I've found that just setting up a camera on the tripod with the widest aperture works pretty good. I've never had a lot of luck with mounting the camera on the telescope with the exception of last April's solar eclipse (April 2024).

It was a partial eclipse but I was please with the photos.

I wanted to do a sequence of photos from the beginning of the eclipse to the end but I had a to teach a class. Nevertheless, I was happy with the photos I did get.

When comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS passed through our solar system last October (2024) I was able to snap a few decent photos with this one at an f 5/6, 8-second exposure. And since I live in a rural area, light pollution was not an issue. I am hoping to get some good photos of the new comet that is passing through. Comet SWAN25B should be visible on the horizon as of now though viewing will be better next month.

With the weather cooling, I am looking forward to getting the telescope out again. I hesitate to do any stargazing during the summer months simply because of rattlesnakes. We do have them on the property and they are active during warmer weather, and yes, they intimidate me greatly.

Take care,

Teresa, still a misfit at 60

 The girls

Just want to take a moment to introduce the girls.  This is CeeCee and Zenji.  CeeCee (on the left) is a sweet pup who loves to cuddle and Zenji is a crazy spotted dog.  Both were strays.  I found Zenji at Arivaca Lake in 2016 and CeeCee was rescued by the vet during a dive trip in San Carlos Mexico in 2017.  So you see, we're all getting up in years. Zenji and CeeCee are really good girls....unless you are a rabbit.

Zenji, also known as the crazy spotted dog.  She answers to ZenZen as well as Biscuit Biscuit.

CeeCee, the sweet one.  Affectionately referred to as Little Baby CeeCee or CeeCee Bloom (for the Beaches fans out there).  

 Starting over

I started the Life inside the Fence blog many years ago, in 2008 I believe, when I had the four pack.  That's what my sister always called them, four crazy pups named Scuba, Keiko, Norman and Toby.  This blog covered the many canine adventures they had while living their life inside the fence.  And for a few years, all was good.  But it is inevitable that all dogs must cross the Rainbow Bridge and it just became more and more difficult to post.  

Keiko was the last of the four pack, crossing the Bridge on April 21, 2016.  Since then I had three more crazy pups enter my life.  Zenji, Pancho and CeeCee.  We lost Pancho in January of 2023 and although we miss him terribly, our life inside the fence continued on.

So now I am starting over with the girls and this blog will still cover our adventures only this time, I will share my own experiences of getting older, making a career change and my work as an online reading teacher.  And let's not forget the joy of being of being a 60 year old student in a class full of 18 year old's. 

We hope you can join us as we continue Our Life inside the Fence.

Take care,

Teresa, Zenji and CeeCee

  Anxiety at 60

Another sleepless night though I don't think I can blame this one on the dogs.  Just a little bit of anxiety and I wonder if anxiety worsens as we grow older.  I don't have any health issues other than stiff joints on occasion and I know financial stuff is always a concern but anxiety seems to be getting worse the older I get.

I seem to worry over everything and most recently, political issues.  Today's political culture has gotten to be so toxic and stressful and it's hard to get away from it.  I am on twitter mainly to keep up to date with NASCAR storylines.  Twitter or X is just horrible these days and filled with so much hate and anger that I've had to take a break from it.

I try to exercise every day, a 2 mile walk followed by some moderate strength training such as light weights and elevated pushups.  Exercising does help and I think when the weather cools a bit, I can start taking additional walks in the evening and maybe that will help improve my sleeping pattern.   

Thanks for letting share my feelings and if any other misfits out there have any suggestions on dealing with anxiety, please let me know.

Take care,

Teresa, still a misfit at 60

 3:00 am

Up early this morning to prepare for a 4:30 am ESL class. 4:30 am Arizona time is 7:30 pm China time.  The student was awesome and speaks English pretty well already.  She was speaking to both me and her mother, switching back and forth from Chinese to English with no hesitation.  It just amazes me at how quickly she can transition from the Chinese language to the English language.  

I am also a student, finishing up my teaching certificate in Early Childhood Education at Pima Community College.  And one thing I've learned in my classes is that kids who are bilingual show improved brain function, problem solving skills, creativity, resourcefulness and better academic performance.  I don't understand why learning a second language isn't mandatory in the U.S.  It can only have positive results.

Take care,

Teresa, still a misfit at 60

  A misfit turning 60

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't very enthusiastic about my 60th birthday.  I happen to agree with Cher and her assessment on getting older, I think it sucks.  But here we are, a 60-year-old woman who lives in the Arizona desert with two dogs and a tortoise.

I read some blogs on growing older and most of the blogs that I read were written by women over 50.  They were blogs on 'Fashion for the older women' or Older women aging gracefully' and crap like that and I  just don't fit into either of those catagories.  I'm not a Cyndi, or an Alyson or a Lyn.  I'm just a Teresa whose idea of fashion is a pair of cutoff blue jeans, flipflops, an extra large button down long-sleeve shirt and a floppy hat.

I guess what I'm hoping to accomplish with this blog is to share with people like me.  Older women who know what it's like to go it alone and who can fire up a chainsaw while mulling over a favorite recipe.  Women who think that it's okay to get your hands dirty while putting nightcrawlers on a fishing hook.  Older gals who love to slam some beers when camping at the lake.  I know I can't be the only one.

Take care,

Teresa, still a misfit at 60.