Category Archives: Weather

Communities

Saturday, April 13, 2013, @ 8:17 amCooking, Family, growing up, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingchildren, communities, education, Family, great days, making the days count, Monsters are Due on Maple Street, Monsters are on Maple Stree, reading, seventh grade, spring yard work, teaching, The Giver, writingClay

son — Jonas’s eyes from the cover of Son

I got up early this morning. Ivy was eager to get out and survey the yard and I ventured onto the deck after her and heard the unmistakable crunch of winter precipitation underfoot. I stepped gingerly to avoid being an early morning casualty and coaxed her back inside. By that time, the coffee had finished brewing and I could enjoy a cup while sitting on the couch with Ivy in my lap.

Vacation was great, really great, in fact amazing. It was good to get back, but being away and kicking back was what we all needed. Our last day was amazing and interesting, all at the same time and our trip home full of surprises, at least for two of us, but that is not what I awoke for this morning to write. All week long and most of last week, I have wanted to write this post, but I haven’t made time. Each day, there has been another project, task, or appointment in the way of writing and then last Saturday night another piece of the puzzle developed and I struggled with it. Continue reading Communities →

Postcards from…

Friday, March 29, 2013, @ 9:07 amadventure, Family, growing up, history, jobs, Life in General, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, geography, history, making the days count, postcards, seventh grade, Spring Break, teaching, The Florida Keys, writingClay

It’s Friday morning and I have already started to wonder where the time went, but I already know. Time on vacation goes much faster than real time. Even when you try to make sure time is counting or days are counting.

I remember when my dad would travel, before my parents divorced, he would send us postcards. It was great fun to get a postcard and short message in the mail from him and even after my parents divorced, he would send a postcard now and then, from where he travelled. Of course, this was before e-mail, text messages, smart phones, and Facebook or other social media sites. Postcards were the social media! I have tried to bring back the art of the postcard and send one or two, or even more from wherever I am.

A few summers back my mom sent me all the postcards we had sent her and the ones she had collected. Continue reading Postcards from… →

We’re here…

Sunday, March 24, 2013, @ 9:09 amadventure, Family, growing up, Life in General, teaching, Weatherchildren, education, Family, fishing, geography, making the days count, seventh grade, teaching, The Florida Keys, water sports, weatherClay

Spring Break 2013. Every year I look forward to this week on the calendar. It’s a break from the normal and an escape to a slower pace. For the kids, and my students, it’s a break from school and signal that the end of the year is near, very near. I am certain they had a day count going to the time when the bell rang and they could rush home and begin their break. I worked to make sure that the day was full of learning and had enough structure to keep them focused and tuned in. For the most part, I was successful, when we come back next week the sprint to the end begins and I’ll have to deal with another day count. Continue reading We’re here… →

A NO SNOW snow day

Tuesday, March 5, 2013, @ 8:56 amFamily, history, Life in General, model railroads, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, history, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, Summer Vacation, teaching, weather, writingClay

stormwarning Normally, I would be driving to school right now, but instead I am home in the basement nestled in my cave. It’s a snow day. The weather guys predicted the storm several days ago and the media is in full hype. Right now, there is less than half an inch covering the sidewalks and roads, but it is predicted to get worse, probably much worse with the bulk of the snow arriving midday just in time to release kids to walk home from elementary schools with unplowed roads and snowy sidewalks. It is just a bad idea.

The call came in at 5:23 from my kid’s school district announcing that “due to the expected heavy snow, all school and afternoon activities for Tuesday, March 5th are cancelled…” My district called a couple of minutes later with the same news. I’d already been waging a war with the alarm clock, and losing, I might add, when the phone rang. I turned the alarm off and W came in to make sure he could sleep until he wakes up, he was excited, but probably not enough to keep him from falling back to sleep. I tried going back to sleep, but I couldn’t so I got up and went downstairs. Continue reading A NO SNOW snow day →

President’s Day Challenge

Monday, February 18, 2013, @ 9:24 amadventure, Family, history, Life in General, pets, Reading, sports, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, Grayling, great days, history, making the days count, patriotism, President's Day, reading, seventh grade, teaching, US Presidents, winter sports, writingClay

Today is President’s Day. It’s the holiday to celebrate all of our presidents, but in particular George Washington’s birthday. I remember in elementary school coloring pictures of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and learning stories of their exploits of how George chopped a cherry tree down and couldn’t tell a lie and Abe was an honest self-educated man who chopped wood. I don’t know if these tales are true, but I do know that these two presidents led our nation in a time when its citizens were uncertain of how events would turn out.

And so being the wise nation that we are, we celebrate our heritage and history by letting the schoolchildren out of school for the day. Now, in the interest of transparency, I do personally benefit from this holiday and all of the other holidays, as well. I am a teacher. However, being a teacher does not imply an endorsement of our holiday practice. Now that that is out in the open, I can continue. Continue reading President’s Day Challenge →

Another Saturday evening post, on Sunday evening

Sunday, February 10, 2013, @ 7:48 pmFamily, Life in General, pets, Reading, teaching, Weather, WritingBell's Palsy, children, education, Family, great days, Guys Read, hard work, Ivy the dog, making the days count, pets, reading, seventh grade, teaching, weather, writingClay

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 Another Saturday evening post, on Sunday evening →

Sixty degrees in a week

Sunday, February 3, 2013, @ 12:58 pmadventure, Family, growing up, Life in General, Reading, sports, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, seventh grade, teaching, weather, writingClay

A week ago, it was cold and freezing rain and ice was bearing down us. This morning it was lightly snowing. In between, we’ve had a sixty-two degree day, rain, near zero temperatures, sub-zero wind chills, and our first significant snow – a paltry two and half inches. It is difficult to believe it is February in Chicago. Continue reading Sixty degrees in a week →

Here comes the sun…

Saturday, January 26, 2013, @ 10:34 amFamily, Life in General, Music, Reading, teaching, Weather, Writingchildren, education, Family, great days, hard work, making the days count, pets, reading, sunrise photos, teaching, weather, writingClay

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 Here comes the sun… →

Resolutions, renewal, and reflection: New Year’s Day at the cottage

Wednesday, January 2, 2013, @ 9:55 amadventure, Family, Reading, teaching, Teaching and Learning, Weather, Writingchildren, Family, great days, making the days count, reading, seventh grade, winter sportsClay

christmastree_cottage — the cottage Christmas tree!

It is mid-morning and my plan to wake and write early, didn’t come to pass, because I didn’t wake up, didn’t set an alarm, letting my body let me know when it was time to get up and get moving. But, that was it, when midnight struck that meant it was time to get some sleep, much needed sleep.

Our plans for New Year’s eve were dashed a bit and it was quiet at the cottage. So, we had to ring out New Year’s night in the same manner we would have rung in the night before, a backup plan. We had the traditional New Year’s Day dinner – roast pork, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes, the tree was lit and it was festive. Continue reading Resolutions, renewal, and reflection: New Year’s Day at the cottage →

Winter Break

Thursday, December 27, 2012, @ 7:56 amadventure, Family, Life in General, pets, teaching, travel, Weather, Writingchurch, Family, making the days count, pets, seventh grade, weather, winter, writingClay

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 Winter Break →