29th - First Tracking Snow!!!!

It's all about the door... Goodbye, Autumn leaves and little witch boots. (About time, huh?).... Hello, Gingerbread wreath and the first signs of Christmas... I see that nature echoed my small endeavors in a big way... We have been blessed with our first heavy, wet, tracking snow... According to my gramma, we'll have 29 more snowfalls... Hallelujah... I was fearing it would fall on the 1st with only one more to go... (Actuallyl, this is one superstition we've disproved many years, but I still enjoy it... especially if the first one hits on a number like this... It's fun to anticipate...

Happy Snow! I am one of those... eternally the snow person... If the first snow comes while we're at school, I hand out jolly rancher suckers... or something equally happy.... This year, it arrived in the evening after a lovely afternoon at a friend's home. We're having leftovers for lunch tomorrow, so not much to do except put out an all points bulletin for my two new packages of pantihose, which have gone missing... I kind of need hose this week, so I'm in an uproar to match the room... If I find them and get any more decorations done, I'll let you know... For now, it's the wreath! Hugs..

Blessed

Thanksgiving has passed but it lingers a bit in the heart. We celebrated today, Friday evening, with my son and two of his lifelong friends. Brisket, hot rolls, hashbrown casserole, salad, baked corn and baked beans, green beans, and pumpking and pecan pies. Too too too much food, but lots of laughter and good memories. These are the guys that practically lived at my house and I cooked for them almost every day for many years... It was over too soon. Isn't it all? Hugs and best wishes as we start the holiday season. I have a secret.... (I'm nearly done with my shopping!) Wow.... I'd better be with surgery this week and school and all of Mom's to wrap.... Thanks to all the wonderful friends who Blog, who read blogs... and who inhabit our planet Earth. God Bless!

Book Tag...

Seven random or weird facts about books... from my dear friend Lisa (who reviled me just a little for making her read "To Kill a Mockingbird." ah... yeah, I guess I did...) Okay, my facts:

1. I went to a one room school house, and I had read every single book in its library by the sixth grade... There I met Gene Stratton Porter books, Girl of the Limberlost... all the Nancy Drews and Bobsey Twins... Call of the Wilds.... all the boy books,little kid books, Sacajawea (I read it but still can't spell it)... We went with Hannibal... It was heaven. I think I read so many because the bookshelf went clear to the ceiling and we got to crawl way up high and look for them... Heaven!

2. Last year I read PILLARS OF THE EARTH. It had been a long time since I got so into any book. I had to have my students take it to the car because I couldn't quit sneaking into it during class. It's that good.

3. I was 40 before I'd even heard of THE LITTLE PRINCE. My sweetie introduced it to me, and I fell hopelessly in love with it. I have taught it twice, but I won't teach it unless I believe the class to be kindred souls to it... I won't' put the Rose and the little fox through that.

4. When I was seven, I stole JANE EYRE from my mom's bookshelf. She forbid me to read it because I was too little. Well, I had a little 1/2 watt night light from our electric company that I plugged in underneath my big iron bed that had the lion's head in the middle... In the wee hours of the night you could find me scrooched under the bed reading by that night light... and when I came to the chapter where Mrs. Poole escapes from the attic and tears Jane's wedding dress... I just about peed my pants, and I lay there all night too afraid to crawl out from the protection of my bed and too afraid of my mom to call her for help... It was probably my first (not my last) quandary.

5. I always have about five or six books running at one time. I like to read some and then go on to another for a bit... It is because books are my friends and I enjoy visiting friends, seeing others, coming back... I have been known to NEVER read last chapters or slow to a snail's pace if they are good.. I hate to say goodbye... and I love to underline and write comments. Then I have to be careful who borrows my books... I would hate to bare my soul to just anybody.

6. When I was married to my first husband, we didn't move my books. About two a.m. I woke him up after about three weeks of marriage and made him bring me home to get a couple boxes of books. My mom, my dad, and especially my husband.... simply did NOT understand what was possibly so urgent that I couldn't live until the next day.. I just didn't think I could.

7. One of the worst financial disasters of my life happened when I discovered a person can shop at all hours for Amazon books. Then came Prime membership with 24 hour delivery. Then came the Kindle with 60 second delivery. I'm doomed. Thank goodness for eye surgery next Wednesday!

Now... I will do my tagging in a bit, but if you would like to be tagged, I would love to do so... leave me a comment, and you'll be IT for sure... Hugs to all.. Thanks, Lisa... And posthumously on behalf of Mrs. N.... we teachers are sorry we have ever stifled a child... and we know we've all done it... although you, my dear... were and are a gem.

Coming soon.....a sight for sore eyes...

Well, in only ten days I will be having surgery to correct my eyes! It will be a form of cataract surgery, and they will replace the lenses I was born with... I'll be getting ones geared up to make me see without glasses! Can you believe it? I've worn glasses since I was six years old. I have been having severe and disturbing vision problems with multiple vision and halos and generally miserable ocular health. I'm excited....

One of those...

Yeah, this cute dog could have done better today than I did. I found the cutest blog with pet photos and videos HERE. But other than that, my day was fairly frustrating. I just had one little glitch after another with my online gradebook. All problems were ultimately caused by HUMAN error, since we all know computers don't make mistakes. They also don't THINK like we do, so it looks perfectly natural for a grade to emerge as 105 percent when the student had missed two assignments.... Whew... Finally figured it out I think and turned in my midterms. I'm talking a break tonight...

Firestorm LA

Just a shot of the sky during the Firestorm that is encircling Los Angeles. I feel so sad for all those who are in danger, who have lost their homes and businesses and schools.

The little red dot is the sun. Those aren't clouds, I guess. That is smoke. The camera smells of smoke.... What a disaster.

We'll all have chicken 'n pecan pie when he comes. . .

Well, my son returns in a few minutes we think from his trip to California. I fried chicken, and we bought a pecan pie. Food, as always, is our language of love. He didn't have a great trip, actually. He had decided to meet a person he'd become acquainted with over the Internet. It didn't work out either way, so he is just ready to be home and forget the whole thing. I don't think he saw much of sunny California, but he did see the rosy, smoke filled skies from the firestorm in LA. I dunno... I personally am proud of him and of anyone who takes a chance on love and gives life a try. We have to keep on keeping the faith or we wither and crumble into despair. Another of my gramma's maxims, as I've stated: "Live in hopes; die in despair." The whole house has that southern friend chicken smell, and the sunset is absolutely beautiful. Uh.... if all goes well, my camera will return with my baby (six foot seven, 27 years old!) son. But you can bet that's not the thing I'm looking forward to most. Have a good week.

Impending cold front

Well, my son returns on Sunday. He has been in sunny California all week while we have seen our temps dip down into the low thirties and maybe the twenties by tomorrow night. A cold drizzle ices the windows of the car, and the wind plays its tune on our iron wind chimes outside. These shots were only a week ago, but the landscape is much more barren now. I snapped them before MAGNANIMOUSLY loaning my precious camera to my son for his trip.... Mothers never learn. This it the third, THIRD... digital camera I have let him borrow. They never return. and I suspect if they do, they don't work. I'll hope this one is different.

I am off to school, and the western sky looks perilously like a storm a brewing. Don't you love weather? I do...

How could one little fifteen mile drive provide so much variety? We are waiting patiently in line at Mickey D's here... So for Hopeful Friday... we see ourselves enjoying what winter brings... snuggly warm fleece blankets, delicious soups, steaming cups of apricot tea... Shut out eyes and our ears, our senses if we could to all the clamour of Wall Street and the rest of the madness.... Do what we can and can what we do... My Gramma's saying again... and whatever that meant... Have a lovely weekend.

One foot ahead of the other one... I think.

These adorable photos were in an email from my sweet friend Lisa at Cranberry Flats! She always knows just what to send me on any given day. This little guy is me, see... I goof around all night doing who knows what, starting my FREE BOOK from Snapfish I saw on Oprah at midnight, finishing it at 3 a.m.... and then here am I at 5:45 when I get up... Okay, so a quick shower with super, I mean SUPER hot water, and I'm good... I head out with a nutritious breakfast and an even better for me lunch... (Don't check my blood sugar level now. I just baked more of those stupid little ghost sugar Halloween cookies. Can we say "overbought trick or treat"?).

My day is something like this. Picture the most delicious grilled to perfection chicken breast, flattened out, sweet and savory with a bit of pineapple, a hint of orange, and a twang of brown sugar. Add a delicious swath of pure mellow cheddar, a little bit of frilly lettuce, a sweet mango chutney.... and a few almonds toasted for crunch... This is the center of my magnificent day.... My classes, third through fifth hour... Wonderful kids, fun projects. Good day had by most. Oh, a couple of confiscated rubber bands and a bit of a pep talk and a compromise or two... Just a perfect day for the teacher anyway... Put this deliciousness on the bottom bun (My last hour class), which is surprisingly fresh, kind of toasty... a bit blah comparably, but not that bad.... But on top.... plop on a horrid, moldy, dry, rotten bun of a first hour class... YUCK.... I was so enthralled with about five arguments (which I think I carry off with a lot of quiet yapping instead of screeching like the banshee I wish to be).... Etienne, a lovely little miss with a sweet and savory sass to her, proceeded to be quite the uppity thing today... Sir Rondo, unleashed his long legs at least twice from the desk ahead of him after I reminded him that wasn't the way to work well in the group... Ah, group work.. The bane of teaching... You have the goodie two shoes (who, by the way, no longer plug away as we did in my day, determined to carry the group on our backs... No, they complain and mock, and moan, and act just as grumpy as you please.... Then you have the drones and the smart apples to simply do nothing or next to it and say, "She took all of it home and she's not here..." Yep... I love groups...

So.....

This is my evening... except there is not a cuddly buddy in sight... It just looks too perfect anyway.... We'll see what kind of sandwich tomorrow brings.

Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon
Originally uploaded by MontanaRaven

This beautiful shot is from MontanaRaven on Flickr. When my son was little, we used to jump in the car and go chase the moon when it was pretty, full, half, anything... I told him this big trip he's on is just a "big boy" was to chase the moon. He smiled. .... It's so cold and autumnal.... I . Love. It..... Hugs to all.

~The Handmade Quilt-er~: Win This Quilt (My Giveaway)

~The Handmade Quilt-er~: Win This Quilt

What a beautiful story and quilt. Check this one out! And maybe you'll win the quilt...

Pink Saturday....

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound has 113 participants in Pink Saturday. (nope, I didn't get my link in there, but just scoot on over and see the rest of them if you're in the mood for some soothing pinks.) In my hundreds and hundreds of photos, I didn't find so many pinks. I love the soothing qualities of it, and it makes me think of my dear, dear gramma who adored it, but I don't have much pink in my life... a little more now that I'm here at Mom's... Here's a peek at pink... Above is our Shirley party invitation... Shirley Temple is pink....

My "miserable" pink crow... He was MUCH happier in my classroom last week starring in his version of The Raven.... He was gloriously bare and is dreading that little sweater hat and scarf that awaits him when he gets home.

Prom last year.... a pink paradise for young people...

My personal sunset... the pink/oranges of sunset make me want to shout and grab at the air.....

Say goodbye to the gardens for a while in Missouri.... But they shall return with such sweet surprises next summer.. Have a good weekend... Stay in the PINK.... and not Pepto Bismol either!!! Well, that's it for my Pink Saturday. Hop over to see all the lovelies. This was a great idea by Beverly.

Hopeful Friday

This wonderful closet is not mine.. It's from Flickr... Wonderlane's.... I can only dream....

Today is more of a practical hopeful Friday, rather than a soulful or mystic one. Last night during a bout of yet another insominia attach, I decided to get up from my bed and DO something....My eyes fell on the little pile of skirts and clothes that simply wouldn't fit in my closet... My bar for hanging things is only 2 foot long... Mom and Dad built my closet to store Christmas stuff and to hang up a coat of a certain friend who came to visit... Period.

I pulled everything out off the rod and went through it viciously. I purged every single item that I hated, didn't feel good in, felt fat in.. (well, not all of those or I'd have been a bit chilled today)... but you get the picture. One skirt went in the trash with the tags still on it.. WHAMT WAS I thinking? I tabbed them and took them to charity... some to the dump... Today was garbage truck day. I am hopeful about my new mission.... to declutter and detox my life, my home, room and spirit. I intentionally weeded out negative thoughts and fears this morning. It is so hard for me, but it is possible... That is the hope I have for this Friday..... To put out the fires of my discontent.... to cool it, as they used to say.... Way cool.... Happy Weekend. My son is going on a vacation on an airplane... Say a little prayer for safe journey!!! Thanks.

To start a fire. . .Kindle. . .

I guess I spoiled myself AGAIN.... But oh, so fun! So perfect for a reader...
Okay, so I used to nip out and buy curtains, tableware, even sets of dishes... Sometimes, as all women do, I get the restless purse-string disease. I usually don't get too crazy... USUALLY.. But this time... I think I did.... I took advantage of the $50 off special through Oprah.com (I think it's over now), and I bought myself a Kindle. Oh, my... what a toy. It. is. amazing. Honestly, ready to use from the moment the box arrives. It takes only a few minutes to charge; it truly downloads a book from anywhere in the world... and in 60 seconds or less. I can download the first threechapters of any book for free and read them to see if I like the book. My first purchases were The Bible, Simple Abundance, and A French Women for all Seasons. I have samples fr0m Eat, Pray, Love, ... The Shack, (I already own that, but wanted to have the first few chapters on it... for free)the sequel to Pillars of the Earth... and several more.... It keeps the place in all books! The type size can be enlarged, which is perfect for me right now with a bit of an eye issue I've been struggling with... Who said they couldn't improve the wheel? I love it..... I thought I would rebel because I did and DO absolutely love books.... their smell, their shapes, their textures.... and this will never be able to replace that in my soul and heart... But for just sheer ease of reading, purchasing, carrying around..... wow.. This holds 200 books, and it is easy to add more memory like with a digital camera...

An image of "nice"

Took my mom to a get-together with men and women who had worked with Daddy. These friends have gathered for lunch once every month or so for many years, and I am glad my mother still enjoys visiting with them. It usually falls my lot to sit beside a little lady who is possibly well into the well of alzheimer's, and who has a little trouble with her conversation. She often asks me what she likes to order, and I used to tell her Reuben sandwich, but last time she didn't like it, so I let her ask her husband, who also tells her Reuben. Again, she wasn't so thrilled with it, so I dunno... Maybe she doesn't like sauerkraut at all??? Yesterday after I had told her many, many times the little to-go box held half her Reuben sandwich, she poked me in the arm, pointed to my mom on the corner and asked, "Did that woman's husband die?" I answered her that yes, that woman's husband had passed away. "Just a month or so ago?" she asked... And I replied that, no, it was over a year ago. Then I added he was my father. She quickly apologized for talking about it to me, and she added, "You know... I am not sure anyone knows this, but I think I am beginning to forget thing a little bit." I solemnly nodded that indeed those things happen... She continued softly, "I don't really remember that woman's husband, and I don't really know her (lifelong friend), but I just have an image of "nice" when I think of them."


Oh... my.... what do I do with that? An image of "nice".... and what could be sweeter than to leave a fragrant image of that in the spirits that float in and out of our memories.... and our lack of them... I greatly fear my image will be one of "snippy," or maybe of "restlessness" or possibly "despair." I dunno.... I would maybe need to ponder and give it a bit of work... Have a good week.

Trick or Treat Tally

It's a foggy November morning.... and here's a shot of "The Raven" who perched above the bust of Pallas.... or actually perched on my desk and ate Halloween sugar cookies along with my kids. Friday was warm, colorful, and soulfully good. At mom's in the middle of the country we had 15 little trick or treaters and 12 adult ones!!! Not bad for us... My son came over for pizza and it was a nice little celebration.