It was cold Wednesday morning, when we woke up. I lay inside my sleeping bag with just my head out and heard a few scouts and adults stirring around camp. I heard someone say, ‘It was 42 this morning.’ The forecast had called for a low in the forties, but 42 – that’s cold for the last part of June, even up here. I was the last adult up and out of his tent and the last to leave camp for the flag ceremony and breakfast. The scouts are well into the camp routine, even the newest scouts. Breakfast, and then off to classes. All of the adults attended the scoutmaster meeting with the daily briefing and then we hiked back to camp taking a shortcut that wasn’t. It was okay, though, we can use it as a Geezer requirement! Continue reading Wednesday and the Order of the Arrow
Category Archives: Life in General
There and back
It is early Sunday morning and it is still dark out. It is quiet and I am sad, Ivy is not at my feet or curled up on her pad in the kitchen or whimpering because she wants to play and I want to work. She is in Ohio at the kennel where Olivia and momma are staying with grandma and grandpa – I know she is wondering if we left her, again. It has been busy and I have a fuller appreciation of the workings of the house, kids, and a dog. Granted, the week has been complicated by VBS and several doctor appointments, but nonetheless, keeping all of the plates spinning requires quite an effort and even more concentration. Continue reading There and back
Weather
Weather fascinates me. Really, the changes in the weather are amazing, especially in our area – the Midwest. Growing up in Texas, we had two kinds of weather hot and humid or cool. Texans would claim that my cool is cold, and I would have, too until I moved here. Here summer weather can be hot and at times, but for the most part, it is mild. Right now, it is 59 and cloudy with partial clearing forecast for later in the morning and into the afternoon. The forecast high is 70 and it will drop down to 57 overnight. After twenty years of Midwestern summers, I have gotten used to the weather and I enjoy sleeping with the windows open when I can, having to throw on a sweatshirt when I need to, and wearing shorts most of the time because it’s summer. Continue reading Weather
Influences
“Would you go back and change anything? I mean, would you still become a teacher?”
That was the question, which started the whole discussion. It was from a girl in class, who could ask a provocative question without realizing it and it was in response to why I became a teacher. Sometimes kids ask questions and want a simple answer, a yes or no, a fact, the short answer to the question. And, well there are no simple answers. My classroom rule about questions is – if you ask a question you should expect an answer. Sometimes the answer is a story or an explanation. Continue reading Influences
Two weeks
It has been two weeks – yes, it has. The days have flown by and I can report I have done quite a bit, but there is more to do. Yesterday was a hectic day and ended with crazy weather. Summer is officially here the solstice happened at 12:16 PM on June 21st! Today is the fifteenth day of summer vacation and the quest to make them count continues! Continue reading Two weeks
Ben and Jerry
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
Day 8 – rain and more rain
Getting Olivia to a 7 AM softball camp was the official start of the day, but I was going before then. Beth and William had appointments including William’s camp physical and sports physical for next year. I have to get one too, and it is on my list. It rained early and rained off and on all day. In the evening, the sun came out briefly, and then disappeared. The day, like the weather, was prefect for odd jobs and procrastination. Continue reading Day 8 – rain and more rain
Seven Days down and Seventh Grade!
I was up early this morning as storms rolled through the area. Ivy and I reflected on the week so far, and summer in general. I was reading a blog post this morning and I wanted to comment; this post is what came out of it. Seven days down and sixty-three to go; so many projects, so many books, so much to do, and so little time – time to think, read, write, and grow. Continue reading Seven Days down and Seventh Grade!
Versailles and Poultry Days
We left home early Friday morning with a full car and travelled across north Indiana, through western Ohio to Versailles to visit Grandma and Grandpa Weaver and experience Poultry Days. We had left just as there was a thunderstorm blowing through our area, but once we got on the highway it had moved through and the drive was mostly rain-free. It is always an interesting drive regardless of the time of the year; in early summer, it is budding crops with baby cornstalks poking through the soil and old, established with names like Valparaiso, Plymouth, Warsaw, Columbia City, Fort Wayne, Van Wert, and Celina until we arrived in Versailles, Ohio. Continue reading Versailles and Poultry Days
The first day
The first day was officially a bust, really. I got the William off to school – he finishes today, Thursday, 6/9 and I got outside before it got too hot to finish some yard work. Beth came out soon after Olivia went off to school and we worked together in the yard. I did not come in until just after noon. I have to say we got quite a bit done and where we worked, it looks great. But, there is more to do. Continue reading The first day