Light comes early at Tesomas, about quarter past five and I stirred but didn’t get up. It had been a late night Sunday and I was enjoying snuggling inside my sleeping bag. I am certain I wasn’t the only one. My alarm sounded at six and I reluctantly crawled out of bed and joined the group of scouts at the picnic table. They were excited about the coming day and possibilities it held. Continue reading Monday – Battle of the Bands
There are so many excellent parts of summer, it is difficult to select, just one. So, in fairness to my taste buds, I am going to pick ice cream as one of my favorite parts of summer. I have had an ongoing love affair with ice cream since my youth. I can remember grabbing the carton and sitting down again against the bookcase and spooning it directly out of the carton. Whether it was Blue Bell (from Texas), Häagen-Dazs, Ben and Jerry’s or any other ice cream it comes right out of the carton and into my mouth. Continue reading Ben and Jerry
Often, I am torn between what I would like to do and what I need to do. And, sometimes I am caught between what is good and what is better. This morning, I spent time thinking and now it is time to be doing. Sometime after I fell asleep and before I woke, snow fell and I need to clean the driveway before we leave for church. The job will take ten or fifteen minutes but I need to get it done, now. I also want to write a blog post, but I cannot. Therefore, this will have to suffice, for now. The view out the window this morning is all white and grey, but the sun will shine today and bring brightness to us all. Make the Days Count, one shovelful at a time! Continue reading Like vs. Need
Saturday and Sunday all seem to run together. Weekends are busy and filled with unscheduled time to get things done including all of the tasks and jobs left undone from the week. Of course there is the unexpected, the task or job that pops up and needs to be done at that moment. I got pulled into such a job Saturday and am still finishing it Sunday morning. Continue reading Weekends in December
Another Saturday, gone; it was a busy day as Saturdays during the school year seem to be. Beth had been busy all week organizing and preparing for wreath pickup and delivery for William’s Boy Scout troop and Saturday morning was wreath day. She is the wreath coordinator for the troop and managed the sale and delivery; last year she earned the nickname, ‘Awretha,’ and it stuck, so did the job. Next week, the troop will be selling their wreaths and garlands outdoors at a local grocery store and in front of our church. Continue reading Saturday and the Full Moon
Saturday was over before I knew it, it counted in so many ways: thirty, two, twelve, forty-four, ten, and negative one. All of these numbers are significant because they are related to an event during the day. Yet, the most important number of the day is the rollback of Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. It is always a sad time, yes we do gain an ‘extra hour’ of sleep Saturday night, but we lose daylight in our day. Continue reading Numbers and Daylight Savings Time
I was looking at the trees in the backyard this morning when I was taking Ivy outside. It looks as though we’ll have a good day to work and cleanup the leaves. The temperature dipped into the twenties last night and it will pop up into the fifties with bright sunshine later today. Leaves were wafting from the trees to the ground as Ivy and I went outside and I’m hoping more will fall before we start yard work in a couple hours. I have a few errands to run before I get outside and start raking and bagging. Continue reading First Saturday in November
It is the Saturday before Halloween and after a stormy week which included our first hard freeze of the season. The forecast promises 60° temperatures for perhaps the last time for a while, but you just never know. The leaves are falling and the front yard is almost complete. It is dry which makes raking and leaf pick up that much easier. Continue reading Saturday: Halloween eve
The purpose of this blog was to chronicle what I was doing to make the days count. It is a philosophy that I have used with my students at the end of the year. I challenge them with the statement; “We can all count the days, but can we make the days count?” Hence, why I named the blog: Making the Days Count: A Summer Well Spent. In some ways, I have answered the call. I have reported what we have done as a family, what I have done individually, but I have failed, in some cases, to connect the dots to why it counts. With the days dwindling a summer has been well spent and the school year will soon be upon me. Continue reading Day 71 and 72: Sillybandz, Nemo, and Mosqitoes!
This is the day I had not been looking forward to, return to Wheaton and ending summer at the cottage. I had been back for a two day trip and a three day trip, but this was final, it signified summer was over and a return to a normal schedule.
I did have a schedule: wake up, take Ivy out, make coffee, and write. This would be different though. It would mean I would have to accomplish more in a day than rest, relax, rejuvenate, water, boat, cook, and campfire. It is also a good thing as well because it means getting ready to go back to school and being alert and ready to go for a new school year. Continue reading Day 68 and 69: Home to Wheaton, back to reality