Making the Days Count

Ivy and I enjoy a lazy Saturday afternoon……

It started out as reading and ended up as a nap for both of us. I recovered in time to mow the grass, but not much else.

Today is Father’s Day and it is a beautiful morning. I am working in my backyard office and B and O are sleeping late.  Like always, my trusty companion Ivy is with me. O ran the yard with her friend last night playing with glow sticks and having a great time. Summer nights, there is nothing like them. Continue reading…

gratitude with my ‘Superhero’ pen

It rained Thursday morning, at least part of the day, when the rain ended, it left a beautiful afternoon. W and I made it to school and got all of my teacher stuff moved to my new rooms. It took only a couple of hours, having W move the boxes made it easier for me to work on the pitch, the pitch where I looked through stuff and tossed into the recycle bin. It felt good, but there is more to toss, but that will have to wait for another day.

Friday was beautiful, the kind of early summer morning when it is not quite summer and yet, still not quite spring, either – cool crisp air, bright sun, a sky so blue that it makes the green deeper and brighter. A perfect day for a walk in the park. Continue reading…

I started writing this Saturday morning and I never finished, such is life.

It’s Saturday mid-morning and my plan to post in the middle of the week was foiled, yet again. Honestly, I do have ideas during the week, but I never have time to actually sit down and write them. Looking back on my week, it was a blur. I had to think back long and hard to remember all of the big rocks, small rocks, pebbles, sand, and water, which filled my week to recall all that I did and or more importantly, did not do. Continue reading…

It’s another Saturday morning and here I am. It was a good week and in the blink of an eye, it was gone. In last Saturday morning’s post, I posted a picture of the sunrise and a couple of folks, Ellie from Emerald Pie and Coleen from ColeenPatrick commented on the sunrise. Their comments truly made my day and reminded me of the power of the sun, sunlight, and the symbolism of light in our lives.

Here in northeastern Illinois, we don’t get much sunlight at this time of the year, Continue reading…

Ivy sleeps, no worries

Like most, no all, teachers, I eagerly waited for Winter Break. I knew how many days there were between Thanksgiving and break. I worked at making the learning count, while still counting the days until I could breathe. I dreamed. I made plans. Then, I got sick and ruined it all.

Since I have been married, I have spent Christmas in Ohio with my in-laws. I could not have chosen better in-laws, truly. There have been only a couple of times when I woke in my own bed on Christmas morning, and those were times when one of us was sick – me, B, or the kids, and travelling was just not a good idea. And, then we eventually made it to Ohio a day late. This year it was me. This year I had made it all the way to the last Friday Continue reading…

roasting and getting ready for dinner!

It’s Thanksgiving morning and the turkey is in the oven. There are yams cooking on the stove and it’s pretty quiet. Ivy’s been out a couple of times and she had a treat to start her day. I mixed chicken broth, warm chicken broth, with her dog food this morning and she enjoyed it.  Actually, she’s in the doghouse with B, because Ivy woke us up just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. She had slept at the top of the stairs just outside our room and let out a yelp and short bark to let me know it was time to go out. I felt the warm spot on the carpet when I went downstairs to let her out and start the day. Unfortunately, B’s sleep was collateral damage and she followed me downstairs.

It’s my job to cook the turkey and it’s in the oven. The smells are just now wafting through the house and before long; the aroma of Thanksgiving Continue reading…

The sign says it all, ‘The quiet room.’ My kids tried to avoid it at all costs; I guess I would have, too, at their age. But, I’d sure like to go there for the next couple of days. Continue reading…

the flowers…..

This weekend is B’s birthday. The actual day was Friday and we were all at school. Saturday was softball and football games and household chores. Sunday is church, normally, and homework and relaxing, when we can.  So, we decided to celebrate the weekend, the entire weekend.

Last weekend, after dropping W off at football, I stopped by the French market and scored some beautiful roses for my wonderful wife. Continue reading…

my backyard, as I sipped coffee and watched Ivy

It’s the last week of summer vacation. It’s the week peppered with regret and excitement. Regret, because I didn’t lose all that weight or win the lotto, but excitement because school is starting next week.  I am slowly getting back in the groove. I had a meeting yesterday and met many of the new teachers in our district and I even recognized one of the names from my first years as a teacher. The new teachers are getting younger and I am getting older, yeah, I am getting old. Really, I am not old but experienced and wiser. I keep telling myself, when I start acting my age, I’ll need to worry. Continue reading…

It’s Sunday morning, it’s bright, sunny, windy, and lake is blue, as blue as the early morning light colors the water.  Wind rustles through the trees and blows in through the open screen door and through the cottage. Last night, a front blew through the area and brought much cooler and drier weather. It is the same front, which blasted though the Chicago area and later northern Ohio with high winds, lightning, and rain. We were supposed to get storms with rain and high winds, but nothing happened; the storm broke up before it arrived. We got pleasant weather instead. I’ll take the trade-off, anytime. Continue reading…