It’s here! The last day of school is finally here! Yesterday was hot, really hot, and today and tomorrow is going to be even hotter. If you don’t believe me, check the Weather Channel widget on the right side of the web page! Of course, if you are reading this after Tuesday 6/7 or Wednesday 6/8 it won’t tell you the story. Hot air, not me, has gripped the area and we are under heat advisories. After the kids leave today, I am going to take it slow and easy. There is no rush. Continue reading It’s here!
Tag Archives: teaching
One more day…
Monday morning and I am asking where did the weekend go? It disappeared as they all do with household chores; yard work, games, and some much needed down time. It was hot and humid Saturday and I got sunburned watching Olivia’s softball game. It stormed mid-afternoon and was much better on Sunday, cool enough to open the windows at night. Continue reading One more day…
Sunday Morning and T minus 2

It is Sunday morning and it is very quiet, except for the sounds of nature – birds calling, squirrels chirping, the rustle of leaves, and Ivy chewing a stick on the deck. I am sitting on the deck at the table enjoying a beautiful morning. Ivy convinced me to come outside by looking at me with those big brown eyes seemingly as if to say, ‘why aren’t you coming outside, it’s great!’ So, I did. I don’t have an internet connection – I’ll need to work on that, but another day. Summer is almost here. A week ago, I was driving 75 mph and closing on Indianapolis. It was a fun day and exhausting much like the past week. Continue reading Sunday Morning and T minus 2
Better Thursday
It is getting to be the time of the year when the light begins to creep into the very early morning hours and the sun rises before six. In fact, I just checked and the sunrise is in eight minutes at 5:53. This morning when I came downstairs, Ivy was waiting for me wagging her tail and telling me she needed to get outside. I opened the door and heard the birds chirping away. It was cool but not raining and I wish I had had the time to sit and listen and just watch and think while I sipped my morning coffee. Continue reading Better Thursday
Why I became a teacher…
There are days when I ask myself this question; today is one of those days. I remember seventh grade just like it was yesterday, even though it was thirty-six years ago. Maybe it is because I teach seventh grade and I am surrounded by seventh graders most of the day; this year William is in seventh grade and I get to ‘live’ seventh grade all the time. It may also be because being a teacher, a really good teacher, is reaching out to kids who are struggling but having a difficult time like the one I was watching when I started writing this a while back. Continue reading Why I became a teacher…
Spring, it’s a comin’
Yesterday as we were cleaning up from the Green and Gold banquet, I spied a patch of Earth with some shoots pushing through. When, I got home I looked around our yard for signs of sprouts and found none, but I will be back out again looking; it’s the time of the year when I scour the garden looking for spring’s first crocuses, daffodils, and other signs of awakening after a long winter. Spring, it is almost here. Continue reading Spring, it’s a comin’
The List

The other day, I went to the grocery store with a list, Beth made the list and it included everything I needed. I ran my errands and drove to the store. I got out of the car, forgot about the list and left it inside the car, where it was safe, and went inside to shop for groceries. I added items to my cart, remembering the items from the list, as I walked down each aisle. I checked out and drove home. Of course, when I walked in and unpacked the groceries Beth asked where the sour cream was and it was still at the store on the shelf, where I had left it. It was on the list but evidently, it never made it to the Iist, I used. If it were the first time, I suppose Beth could have forgiven me, but this happens all the time; I make a list or am given one and do not use it. Continue reading The List
New President Car and quiz
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
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

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


