Tag Archives: children

New President Car and quiz

Family, history, model railroads, , , ,

It is the final day of February and the month’s answer was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States of America. I will need to call my model railroad dealer to make sure I get the car. The caboose and the Benjamin Harrison car arrived last Tuesday after I posted my last update. Here is this month’s question:

Question for March: Which President graduated from Yale ranking second in his class, taught his wife to speak again after she had a stroke during his presidency and is the only President to have also served as the Chief Justice of the United States?
*All answers must be submitted by email to mtl@micro-trains.com by the March 15th to be eligible.

Good luck and let me know what your answer is! Try entering your name with MicroTrains and see if you can be selected to win Presidential Oath of Office car. Making the Days Count, one day at a time and someday (soon), we will run our trains!

President’s Day Weekend Recap

Family, food, Life in General, model railroads, racing, Reading, , , ,

It is Tuesday morning, and normally, I would be wrapping up teaching my first section of Language Arts block and heading off to duties, meetings, and lunch. However, today’s schedule includes evening, leaving me a few moments to re-think and review the President’s weekend. Continue reading President’s Day Weekend Recap →

Saturday – President’s Day Weekend 2011

Family, history, Teaching and Learning, , , , , ,
Snow remains in only a few places in the backyard, what a bright sunny February day

Most of the snow has melted leaving only pockets of grey dingy ice piles here and there. Fallen twigs and branches litter the backyard and deck leaving a carpet of brownish grey grass matted from the snow. That is what is left of the yard after twenty or more inches of snow and several days of late winter days in the forties. It is nice outside, thought the sunlight belies that temperatures in the thirties, which will probably remain there all day, at least that is the forecast. Continue reading Saturday – President’s Day Weekend 2011 →

The Big Snow – part one

Family, Life in General, teaching, Writing, , ,
Ivy looks out the front window and 'dreams'!

At this moment, it should be first period and geography class, but I am sitting in my basement writing about the past couple of days and the ‘Big Snow Day.’ It has been a very hectic couple of days and last night was the latest night I have had since Christmas Break, but I knew I was not going to need to get up in the morning and drive to school. As school was cancelled due the blizzard prediction for Tuesday and Wednesday; and it came, starting midday Tuesday and it continued until just a few moments ago. After the initial frenzy quieted down, about eight o’clock Tuesday night, I checked Facebook and a friend posted, “Due to the weather tonight, I’m cancelling bedtime.” To which I replied, “Our’s was cancelled hours ago! It is wild outside!” And, the weather and snow was wild: the winds howled, the snow fell, and it blew. Continue reading The Big Snow – part one →

Happy New Year 2011

Family, Life in General, Writing, , , ,
The view from the cottage across the lake is obscured by the fog hovering over the lake.

The New Year comes along just to end Christmas vacation. Today is New Year’s Eve and a reminder that getting back to school is just a few days away. What has happened to the time? I know I have spent it resting, relaxing, rejuvenating, driving, and chasing Ivy. I know the days have counted for my mental health if not for the other aspects of who I am. I have spent a bit of time (probably too much time) looking through Facebook and added several friends from my childhood home in Sugar Land. Thinking back to that time was fun and I have made a couple of connections I had been wondering about for years.  

Continue reading Happy New Year 2011 →

Christmas week

country, Family, Life in General, Reading, , , , , ,

The schools call it Winter Break, but it really is Christmas Break and the past week has been Christmas week. It has been busy and hectic since school let loose a week ago. We have logged almost 800 miles and have completed two legs of the triangle: Wheaton to Ohio, Ohio to Michigan, with the final leg to finish later this week after New Year’s Day and the trip home. Continue reading Christmas week →

Silent Night

Family, Life in General, , , ,
Olivia is dressed to tell Santa what is on her list!

It started snowing early this morning and it has snowed lightly all day long giving the trees, the yard, and everything a beautiful coat of fresh white snow. Also, it has been several days since my last post and I have wanted to sit and write, but I have not made time to do it for all of the things that I need to do are far more important than what I want to do at this time of the year. I have had several ideas and topics, which crossed my path, but for now, those will have to wait as I focus on the present. Continue reading Silent Night →

Weekends in December

Family, jobs, Teaching and Learning, , , , , , ,

“Every man has only enough strength to complete those assignments that he is fully convinced are important.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German writer and philosopher

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 →