Category Archives: adventure

Father’s Day and the World Cup

Sunday, June 15, 2014, @ 8:04 amadventure, Family, geography, growing up, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, WritingBrazil 2014, children, education, Family, Father's Day, France, geography, great days, Saudi Arabia, soccer, teaching, World CupClay

I’ve been watching the World Cup. My dad would be proud. I do not follow soccer; I mean football and can only recognize the player’s names because my students wear their jerseys – Messi, Rooney, Dempsey, Ronaldo, and Beckham. I know a couple of those players are retired. Nevertheless, I am watching. It’s Father’s Day morning and there is calm throughout the house. I am back outside in my garden office, Ivy at my feet guarding the yard from intruders. I started indoors this morning with Ivy under the table at my feet there, too, but I decided to move outside and enjoy the morning.

Last night I checked Facebook and discovered a high school friend had posted a picture of him and his dad. The looked exactly as I remembered them. Most of my photos of dad are ‘old school’ and I have not transferred them over to digital, yet. The day will come, though a few years ago I went through slides and photos at my mom’s house and came across the photo below. I scanned it and saved it for all of us. I think mom has the original, but I have the copy. I skimmed through the flash drive and found a photo of dad and I. My brothers came along for the ride, too. I posted it with my Happy Father’s day message. I hope they appreciate the trip down memory lane.

Chirstmas 1978 - Reading, England - Warren, David, dad with Sambo, and me — Christmas 1978 – Reading, England – Warren, David, dad with Sambo, and me

This morning, I went back in time and re-read old posts. They links are below. Father’s Day 2010 is raw and real and Father’s Day comes early is one of my favorite posts. I can close my eyes and remember the sounds, smells, and events of that day four years ago.

Father’s day is early this year, early in June, as early as it gets. The first of June was a Sunday and Father’s Day is the third Sunday in June; it’s the way the calendar works. The mind works in completely different ways.

Today brings back many memories – some good, some not so good, but memories that have shaped me. Shaped me into the person that I have become.

My dad was my dad, he was shaped by the events of his life and he gave what he could. He, like me, had his regrets, just as I have many. I also have many triumphs as a dad. It’s easy to get bogged down in the ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda game,’ very easily. It’s negativity, man – so, I won’t. This morning I will remember my dad for what he shared, what he taught me; and to laugh, smile, weep.

Continue reading Father’s Day and the World Cup →

Roadside beach

Monday, June 9, 2014, @ 5:22 amadventure, Cooking, Family, food, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, travel, Weather, Writingeating, education, Family, Lake Michigan, Lake Michigan sunsets, making the days count, reading, roadside stops, seventh grade, Summer Vacation, sunsets, weather, writingClay

Sometimes you just have to pull over and take time and breathe.

“The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller (1880-1968); Author, Lecturer, Activist

sunset, Lake Michigan - eastern shore, June 8, 2014

I was up north for the weekend. I drove north Friday night and came home, reluctantly, Sunday evening. Saturday was busy. It was full of chores and full of pulling in air, something I desperately needed. Saturday afternoon, I slow-cooked a pork butt on the grill and made my famous cucumber and red onion salad, at least it’s famous to me. It tastes like summer. I sliced off some pork slathering it with BBQ sauce Continue reading Roadside beach →

Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 11, 2014, @ 8:27 pmadventure, Family, growing up, jobs, Weather, Writingchildren, education, hard work, making the days count, Mother's Day 2014, teaching, weather, writingClay

It is Mother’s Day and Spring is in full bloom. The trees have begun to leaf out and the flowering trees are beautiful. The daffodils are gone finished, but they’ll be back next season.

But, flowers are available year round. You just have to know where to look. Yesterday was a busy day – they all are. Lacrosse drop off at 8, game at 9 and 11. Softball at 11. Some days it’s seemingly never ending. But, someday it will end, the kids will grow up and head off to college and we’ll have memories and time. And, then it will be their turn.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2

I know where to find flowers for Mother’s Day and I’ve been finding them ever since W is was a baby. T Continue reading Mother’s Day →

some things take time…

Saturday, April 5, 2014, @ 12:41 pmadventure, Family, Life in General, Reading, Weather, Writingbaseball, children, Family, Grayling, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, softball, teaching, winter sports, writingClay

The sun is shining and I saw a robin in the backyard as I poured coffee into my mug earlier this morning. It’s chilly now, but it’ll warm up this afternoon. It’s the last bit of Spring Break, today, tomorrow, then school resumes. It is always the best part of the year for me; not because the year is almost over and summer is on the horizon, but because what I’ve taught my students begins to blossom like a field of daffodils bursting with color on a bright spring afternoon.

Spring break this year was what it needed to be – a break. B and I decided to divide and conquer. Continue reading some things take time… →

Bananas…

Sunday, March 9, 2014, @ 9:06 amadventure, Cooking, Family, geography, Reading, teaching, Teaching and LearningClay

How the global banana industry is killing the world’s favorite fruit

from Quart Blog By Gwynn Guilford @sinoceros March 3, 2014

It’s that time of the year when my geography class gets to study Latin America. I say GET TO study, because learning should be fun, eye opening, and an opportunity to see things for the first time or see something from a different point of view. My students would have you believe they HAVE TO study Latin America, but really they GET TO. To add to the fun of learning about a place they have never seen, I ask my students to collect banana stickers . We sort them by country, brand, and organic vs. traditional. When were finished collecting, I ask them to think about what our sticker collection tells us about bananas. With the shift to Common Core – it is a good thing, trust me – I am asking my students to think deeper, to make connections to the world around them and to wonder where the food we eat comes from, and if it a good thing, or not. Living in the middle of Illinois farm country where corn, soy beans, and wheat are grown as well as cattle, pigs, and poultry are raised my kids, my students – suburban children of middle class Americans think little of where the food they eat comes from or how it gets here.

I’ve tried to re-blog the article and it seems the process is stuck….. so I am re-posting the link here it is….

How the global banana industry is killing the world’s favorite fruit

I heard about this article while listening to Market Place on NPR Thursday evening on my way home. I knew about the situation and had read the book mentioned in the article, but I was looking for something I could share with my seventh graders. Rather than refer to the article with an embedded link, I felt it was better to reblog it. I’ll be writing more later, but give it a read, it’s worthwhile. Thanks for stopping by, Making the Days Count, one day at a time, and one banana a day, too.

Priorities

Sunday, February 23, 2014, @ 10:51 amadventure, Family, food, geography, growing up, history, jobs, Life in General, Reading, sports, teaching, Weather, WritingDaniel M. Tani, education, Family, hard work, high school football, making the days count, NASA, reading, seventh grade, softball, sports, teaching, writingClay

I missed writing last weekend. Truly. We went away for the weekend – we went north to the cottage. I had a lot to say, or so I thought. Somehow, time got away from me and I didn’t write. In fact, I didn’t even open my laptop. I existed solely on my iPad and phone; and did precious little on them. It was time to restore – a time to rest and relax.

It was our last long weekend of winter and we wanted to head up north for one last snowy weekend. The kids could ski, snowboard, and play in the snow. I know we had a lot of snow here, but it is different up north. B and I could relax and just breathe. We did all that, but the kids didn’t ski or snowboard: they did play in the snow and had fun outside, even Ivy got into the mix playing in the snow. We had a fire Saturday night and I cooked. Just as dinner was ready, we sat down to play cards. Then, some of our lake friends joined us; and we played a very spirited card game. The rules are somewhat confusing, but it is a favorite of our friends and we’ve enjoyed playing it at their cottage. I am not sure what it is called, it probably has several names, but it is a lot of fun. The card game involves a separate deck for each player but there is a place to play on everyone’s hand. Each player plays on their hand but the goal is to get rid of your cards and play them in the middle on the group’s cards. You get points for playing in the middle and the winner is declared when they have cleared their own cards. The game moves quickly and players have to be paying attention. Regardless, it was a lot of fun and when it was over, and we had a winner, we sat down to dinner and the Winter Olympics.

Sunday night's sunset - it was warm enough to sit on the deck in the sunshine, but we had to be wrapped up! — Sunday night’s sunset – it was warm enough to sit on the deck in the sunshine, but we had to be wrapped up!

I have enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics. I have always enjoyed the Olympics. Continue reading Priorities →

Things Have Changed

Saturday, February 8, 2014, @ 2:19 pmadventure, Family, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Tuesday's Tune, Weather, Writingchildren, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, seventh grade, teaching, U-505Clay

It’s Saturday morning again, it happens every week. I look forward to the day and the day following, but they disappear before I know it. It’s eleven degrees and snowing. It’s still winter, we had snow Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, bitter cold followed. But, we were at school; Thursday and Friday morning were cold, but sunny, which make a world of difference. I had outdoor bus duty, greeting the buses as they pulled into the parking lot and unloading. I did my best to brighten the student’s day with a hearty, ‘Goooooood Morning, welcome to a new day at in middle school…’ a la Robin Williams from “Good Morning Vietnam.” I don’t know if it makes a difference to them, but it gives me a boost and keeps me warm.

this morning's window on the world — this morning’s window on the world

Continue reading Things Have Changed →

The Snow, the Hype, and the Big Game

Sunday, February 2, 2014, @ 12:17 pmadventure, Family, Reading, sports, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weathereducation, Family, football, making the days count, reading, Sherlock Holmes, Super Bowl, super bowl commercials, Super Bowl XLVIIIClay

It’s Super Bowl Sunday. The sun is shining and it appears that we will have school Monday, for the first time since December. I think we will have to have an orientation about what to do on a Monday.

It snowed yesterday coating the yard (and everything else) with a fresh coat of white powder. It is beautiful. I looked back in time and last year we hardly had any snow, less than 5 inches had fallen for the 2012-13 season. So far, we have 52 inches and the forecast calls for snow Tuesday and again, Saturday. I think it has all fallen here. I was talking to another teacher after school Friday and we both got to laughing about a joke letter that we had seen years ago. My mother in law sent it to me when we bought the house and I had to learn to shovel snow. I don’t remember how much snow fell that winter, but I do remember feeling a love-hate relationship with snow when March rolled around. I have since lost the original, it was grainy from being copied repeatedly, but thanks to the internet most things worthwhile (appropriate and inappropriate) can be found with relative ease. Here it is, Diary of a Snow Shoveler.

My Super Bowl predictions haven’t been so super and I have losing streak running back to 2009 Continue reading The Snow, the Hype, and the Big Game →

Another summer day, sort of

Monday, January 27, 2014, @ 11:01 amadventure, Family, geography, Life in General, pets, Reading, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, geography, great days, old man winter, reading, Summer Vacation, teaching, weather, winter, writingClay

It’s another cold winter day. It has been over a month since my students have been at school on a Monday morning. It is our third bad weather day this year, and it means summer vacation will start three days later, maybe four if the schools call off tomorrow, which is highly likely. I think moms are at their whit’s end. I am, too. Last week it was cold, though not as cold or windy as it is today, or will be today. I had morning bus duty last week and it was cold. A few kids climbed off the buses wearing shorts, or a light jacket. I have no idea how they got out of the house dressed like that, but they did. It was cold. But, today is even colder and the temperatures are going to drop even more throughout the day.

last Friday’s sunrise, on my way to school (and bus duty)

Today is W’s birthday, he’s 16 today, and actually, he’ll be officially 16 sometime around 10:30 PM. I remember the day well, though B probably remembers it differently. It seems like the other day, and some days it seems a million years ago. Saturday we watched him wrestle and take second place in the conference for his weight class. He has come a long way, we all have. Continue reading Another summer day, sort of →

Plat du Jour

Monday, January 20, 2014, @ 1:18 pmadventure, Cooking, Family, food, growing up, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, travel, Writingeating, French cooking, great days, hard work, Julia Child, making the days count, Paris, reading, weather, writingClay

It is Monday morning. Saturday has passed, Sunday, too. It’s Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday weekend and there is no school. On a normal Monday morning, I’d be up to my eyebrows in teaching ELA, but today and last Monday, and the Monday before last – school has been out. I enjoy the three- day weekends, but I get lazy and don’t accomplish what I should. However, last weekend was a three-day weekend for my students, it was not for me, the teachers had a workday and I got a lot done. Full Disclosure, though it felt like a three-day weekend.