Saying Goodbye

           On Tuesdays, the Slices of Life are shared through the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Thanks to Ruth Ayres and Stacey Shubitz, we are able to connect to many lives throughout the year.  

            According to Rainer Maria Rilke, 

               And now welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.  

           It's been quite a year, this year of 2012. The challenges I met were fearsome, and I am proud I did meet them with grit and thoughtfulness, for my husband, my family and for myself.There were as many highs as lows.  I originally chose comfort as my One LIttle Word, yet couldn't manage to keep up with all the prompts given.  I did, however, remember that word, and it gave me something to hold to during all these past months.  

One Good Book of Poetry

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a kidlit meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  There are lots of great books to learn about.    There is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books, adult and children.  Enjoy the visit!

           I've had such a busy week with company and wonderful Christmas celebrations.  I only finished one book, but it was a good one!  I’m trying to read all the poetry nominations for the Cybil’s awards before I am given a list of the finalists for the 2^nd round judging. 

          This time I read Outside your Window, A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld.  It’s a beautiful compilation of poems and information about nature through all the year, beginning with spring.  

One Bright Christmas Moment

      Our final Poetry Friday, and the new year invited is hosted by a blogger friend nearby, Carol at Carol'sCorner.  Thanks Carol, for hosting this final poetry celebration of 2012!

       Among all the celebrations, one moment I will hold closely, a young girl so happy in a princess dress, asking if we want to watch her Christmas dance.  She is giddy with the joy of the music, of the promise of gifts to come, and cousins visiting. 

New Home-New Christmases

On Tuesdays, the Slices of Life are shared through the Two Writing Teachers blog.  It's Christmas Tuesday this time.

       This year, Christmas is in my new home.  So far, it's been fun and busy, like all Christmas times.  My son and family are in for the week, and we're going to my daughter's later today for our gift-giving and celebrating.  Some of the traditions are the same; I made the usual cookies and wrapped the gifts, hiding some surprises.  Although I moved just a couple of weeks ago, I've managed to find all the "needed" items, and first put up the kitchen tree, just like years past.  

What Really Matters

      Heidi Mordhorst is hosting Poetry Friday today at Juicy Little Universe.  Thanks to Heidi, the day will be filled with the pleasure of reading poems and thoughts about poetry.  

              It's the first day of winter, time for reflection for the holidays and the new year ahead.   Writing this week has been a challenge of what to say, what to do, how far to talk with students, how to support my colleagues, etc.  I'm posting a poem today that I found a few weeks ago.  I saved it then, but didn't realize how very important it would be to read and re-read at this time of grief for those who have lost loved ones recently.  

What Matters, And What Doesn't
                          by Gautam Sen

Are you French or Indonesian
Or Korean or Papua New Guinean
Or Nicaraguan?
Are you black or brown
Or white or yellow?

         The rest of this lovely poem is found here at the Your Daily Poem site.

Happiest of holidays to you all!

Reflection, Connection

        The Wonderful Slices of Life can be Found Linked at the Two Writing Teachers Blog
      It was not easy posting today.  Yesterday I wrote about books, not so hard.  It was straightforward with a clear purpose.  Today the slices are more open-ended.  When I try to write about any topic, it didn't seem so important.  I found that I couldn't find a way to make the topic interesting.  And so I didn't write, just began to read my blogger friends' posts.  They wrote such wonderful thoughts, they told things I didn't know yet, and they showed me that I could write and it would be okay, no matter what.  I thank them!

            I remembered this: In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death.  Anne Frank  I have kept it for many years as part of my own philosophy and will continue.

Books Are Precious

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a kidlit meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  There are lots of great books to learn about.    There is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books, adult and children.  Enjoy the visit!

         At this sad time, I found a quote that touched me.  I hope it gives some comfort to all of you:  “Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.”

             -- Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux
         And-As I was reading other's posts, go to Gregory Pincus' GottaBook.  He shared a poem that you will love!

If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

Don’t Feed The Boy – Irene Latham, illus. by Stephanie Graegin

An Early Gift for All

      This holiday Poetry Friday is hosted by Jama Rattigan at  her blog, the marvelous Jama's Alphabet Soup, with a very special guest.  Please come by to enjoy what Jama is serving today and that which all the Poetry Friday celebrants have to share.
        As many of you know, I have been opening boxes of memorabilia from years of family collecting, stored in attics and basements.  And then, my husband took it to save, and now I have moved, am continuing to comb through everything with the anticipation of an estate sale in order to find a new way of living, still with numerous special things from my past, but with the inspiration to live a little more lightly!  I have moved, have been in my new home nearly a week, and the word of the day is "boxes" and "finding the correct light switch".  The days and nights have gone well, and I am looking forward to more.
        Among many lovely little pieces of the past, I found a beautiful old book copyrighted 1910, titled Stevenson on Friendship.  It includes short quotations and essays of the thoughts of different kinds of friendship, with people, nature, various concepts like industry.  Robert Louis Stevenson is musing about all these things, seeming to share his thoughts as from his journal.  It is something I wanted to share with you all.  Because Stevenson is such a sentimental writer, the words are quite poetic, and I love especially one where he speaks about the stars.  I found the passage here at Google books which I discovered is from a book by Stevenson titled Will O' The Mill.

On The Move

Tuesday Slices of Life, according to Betsy at Teaching Young Writers, are served by Stacey and Ruth every week at Two Writing Teachers.  It's a good time to visit!   


This will be the start of something big!  At least for me, right now, Dec. 11th.  I've been in my new house (home) for two days.  I'll be writing about this move for a while, and two weeks before Christmas is not exactly the time for a big move, yet, I did it!  I am grateful for

friends: helping move all my kitchen and art, and others who unloaded the attic several weeks ago

packers: so kind and ensuring that everything was packed safely & prepared

movers: who worked fast & tirelessly from 9am to 7pm, lifting, loading, then un-loading.  Finally, moving a few things again per my direction so I could access certain boxes first, etc.

family: helped through these past months supporting, working, calling

colleagues: asking often how things were going

finally:  service workers, who changed the cord on the stove I brought because it didn't fit the plug here, who showed me how the water heater worked when I didn't have hot water (the former owners had evidently turned it off to save energy), and the person who set up my cable, phone and internet service.

             All helped with expertise, cheer, patience and kindness.  I am so grateful.

      I visited my husband early yesterday morning and it took about 7 minutes to get there!  I am going to work this am; it will take about 5 minutes.  My daughter and oldest granddaughter Ingrid came by yesterday, and took me out to dinner. Ingrid goes to her preschool about 17 blocks north!  It took about 3 minutes to arrive at the restaurant.

      Sorry this is so filled with minutiae, yet it's those little things, as many of us say again and again, that are meaningful to our lives.

For now, a few photos of organized chaos.

Just Two, But So Worth Reading!

Visit Myra, Fats, & Iphigene for marvelous talk about books at Gathering Books, including this  Reading Challenge. 

And-

Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  It's terrific to find new books to enjoy & share!  It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

 If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

The two great books: 

A Rainbow Gift

          There is always something interesting when one visits Robyn Hood Black’s blog, Read, Write, Howl.  Today is no exception, because she is hosting Poetry Friday!  Come join us to read some beautiful words.  Thanks to Robyn for hosting, and don’t forget to check out her new blog, Artsy Letters, all about creativity and sometimes talking about her new Etsy shop.  Beautiful things can be seen there!

Looks like night, but it was about noon.

         There is such allure about rainbows.  We wish upon them, we write songs about them, we use them to study weather, and we hope someday to find a pot of gold, and perhaps  meet a leprechaun, because we’ve finally made it to Ireland.  Today’s post is about the phenomenon I saw yesterday. Luckily I could take a photo quickly.  I found one possible explanation for what I observed yesterday (in my photo above).  It is called a “firecloud”.  According to a news report here, “They're given the colloquial name of "fire rainbows" and they are due to high, wispy clouds that are made of tiny ice crystals, and if the cloud is at the right angle to the sun, the crystals will refract the sunlight (much like a prism) into the colors of the rainbow. 
I was enthralled, and had to write a poem about this phenomenon.

Heading Toward Normal - Maybe?

Stacey and Ruth. wonderfully creative women that they are, host the Tuesday Slices of Life where each blogger links up a post to tell people how life is treating them.  Come visit!

     I need to make this brief, but wanted to let everyone know that I’m still celebrating, my move and my (NOW) 401^st post.  I just don’t have time for true reflection, perhaps next week? I found a quote about learning that fits who I am as a teacher. I like to learn, and hope that there is something for each student and person with whom I work that they might take away.  It is: You learn something every day if you pay attention.  ~Ray LeBlond   I think in my blogging that attention has been paid, and I’m proud of that.

Some Terrific New Books With my 400th Post!

     Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  It's terrific to find new books to enjoy & share!

          It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

        If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

There are many things to celebrate today.  Most anyone who reads my posts regularly knows I am moving, and a week from today I will be in my new home, still not all out of the old one, but close.  I have managed to complete this task!  Hurrah!

I have family and friends who have helped me so much in these past weeks.  This past Saturday, eight friends came to my house, gave up their Saturday morning and helped me move the contents of my kitchen, all of the framed art, and other miscellaneous pieces.  I am so grateful; they saved me much time, energy and money. 

And, today is my 400^th post!  Through all the great times, and all the tough ones, I have persisted and kept the blog going.  I have made many friends and connections all over the world (so exciting), I think I have improved my writing, and I have loved every minute of the doing.   It’s been a beautiful learning journey since March 2011.  I appreciate all of you who comment, and you who have shared your own stories with me.  THANK YOU!

More Words-More Stuff

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, on this Friday, goodbye to November, hosts us at her wonderful blog, The Poem Farm.  Travel out to the farm to see what's happening there!  

        Thank you Amy!

             In the arduous task of cleaning out things, it is a constant question of what to keep, what to leave for my own children to deal with someday, and what to throw away.  In my thoughts, this poem emerged.  I imagine you have noticed I am rather single-minded these days.  It’s all about the changes and the move. 

   “A poem is a small or large machine made with words.”  William Carlos Williams

Ch, ch, ch, CHANGES

     Every week, Ruth and Stacey host Slice of Life Tuesday on their Two Writing Teachers blog.  Come check out everyone's slices!

Stacey Shubitz wrote a blog post Sunday that touched me about keeping busy, or not, and planning with more attention to needs, and with a further link to another blogger that expanded the reasoning of handling all that one puts on to-do lists.

Stacey began with looking at lists with the following headings:

Needs

Wants

Shoulds

Musts

Coulds

Mights

             She further asks why not look at the mights, wants and coulds first, instead of the musts and shoulds. 

             And then asks if we might look at needs differently, look at them first! 

             As some of you might have read, I am moving, in a couple of weeks!  I am fortunate that I do not have to vacate my house all at once.  I’ve already closed on my new home, and am moving some things a little at a time.  It is very close to my work, so every day for a couple of weeks I’ve moved some things in, to help with the big move later.  I do have movers hired, but am trying to move many things first, both to make it easier on the “un-packing” and on the “expense”. 

Busy, Busy Week-Not As Much Reading!

Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  Join us to see what we're all reading.

          It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

        If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

        And, Myra, Fats & Imogene host the blog, Gathering Books and challenge us with their reading Challenge, which you can find here.  This week, I read three books that were honored with awards.

Blackout – John Rocco   

Created with the look of a graphic novel, this tells the story of an urban family who finds stars on the roof  (in the night sky) and a party of many neighbors on the street.  Rocco shows the characters with a clever use of light and dark in his cartoon-like illustrations. Even with all the electricity expected, then lost, the family learns the fun of other kinds of entertainment, doing things together! 

Caldecott Honor book in 2012

Monsters of Men – Patrick Ness

I finally finished this very long story, and it continued to be a marvelous, edge-of-the-seat, heart-rending story. The characters are flawed, as everyone is, which made one think again and again, how does one make 'right' decisions and keep from negatively impacting others while defending oneself and others close?   I got so involved with the characters, wishing for good ends so much that I sat in my driveway more than once, listening to just one more part.   It is quite a story, and I wonder how I would have felt if I had read a print book instead of listening?  The actors creating the book were wonderful, and of course after listening to them for over 30 hours, I thoroughly got to know them. 

       winner of the Carnegie Medal last year

Moving Day - Coming Soon

         Thanks to Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading for hosting Poetry Friday today.  Drop by to see what others are sharing!

            Almost exactly two months ago I visited a library near my school, and thought I would drive around the neighborhood.  Oh my!  I found a house that I liked and called a realtor whose name I had kept.  Through personal soul searching and persistent paperwork I now own this house.  I may write about it later, but now I only want to share that I am moving in a couple of weeks.  I am leaving my home of thirty-four years.  I am crazed, sad, excited, exhilarated, nostalgic, and hopeful. 

A Little Bit of Gratitude

           Every week, Ruth and Stacey host Slice of Life Tuesday on their Two Writing Teachers blog.  Please come to visit some, or all, of the bloggers' posts.

        

          The Teaching Authors have posted, I think, for the second year in a row, the Thanksgiving challenge for the next two weeks to write a “thanku”, either in their comments or link to them in your own blog post.  I imagine you can guess that a “thanku” is a thank you written in the haiku form.  You can find the link above that explains all about it.

         There are numerous ways to be grateful, in special places at special times.  I hold dear my family as you all know, and friends far and near, but the newest group that help me live my life are the blogging friends.  Friendship is born out of commonalities and indeed there are friends out there who believe what I believe about learning and growing and being kind.  I write this "thanku" for all of you.

Gratefulness blossoms as friendship is fertilized, slicing words with friends.

  Gratefulness blossoms

as friendship is fertilized,

slicing words with friends.

 Happy Thanksgiving Everyone - To You and Yours!

photo credit: kabils via photopin cc

So Many Good Books Available!

Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  Join us to see what we're all reading.

          It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

        If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link.

I’m trying to read most, if not all, of the Cybils nominees in poetry this year since I’m a beginner second round judge, & feel as if it’s a education of sorts to read those which others nominated, those who’ve been doing this longer than me.  I read two this week & can see that the judges in the first round have a tough job before they send the finalists their picks.

And, I’m still listening, nearly done with Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness’ Chaos trilogy.  It continues to be fascinating. 

This week I read some great books!

Anticipation

           Thanks to Anastasia at Booktalking who is our host today for poetry Friday.  Drop in to see what's there!

Dear Winter,

I have missed you all the sweat-drenched summer,

gleeful that you were hanging behind 

the glory that is fall.

Yet now that you are about to arrive

and I know that you are near,

I wonder about the long nights

and days of cold.  I want

my sheets to be flannel and my comforter

filled with down.  I worry about the inches

of snow I will need to shovel,

and corners around which

my car will creep.

I already feel the tires slipping,

but managing to hit the curb only once.

Yet,

Winter, your snowflakes

quiet the days,

and soften the nights.

And the woolen scarves

hanging now in the back hall

wait to wrap me in hugs.

I will taunt

others to try my idea

of a towel warming rack.

I will give down socks for Christmas. 

And keep the teapot whistling,

ready for sweet sips,

because finally the merest

thought of you causes me

to shiver with delight.

     

                         Truly Yours,

                                             Linda

Another Goodbye and A Happy Birthday

Tuesday Slice of Life Posts are hosted by Stacey and Ruth at their Two Writing Teachers blog.  Please join us for a wonder-filled day of reading.  And thank you Ruth and Stacey for special Tuesdays!

     My daughter Sarah's birthday was yesterday, November 12th.  She is quite a special young woman--wife, mother, daughter, friend.  I am always proud of all the things she does, how she acts, what she says about life. I like her and I love her.  
     I am still working on a writing project of goodbye poems that tell stories I remember about my grandchildren and my children.  Here is number nine, dedicated to my daughter.

Fabulous Books This Week!

Jen and Kellee host this kidlit meme at TEACH.MENTOR.TEXTS.  Join us to see what we're all reading.

          It's Monday! What are you Reading? is another meme hosted by Sheila at BOOK JOURNEYS that offers reviews of all kinds of books.  

        If you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #IMWAYR when sharing your link!

        Charles Dickens said, "There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts."   This week, however, it isn't true at all, and I'm only trying to catch your attention to the gorgeous covers on the books I read.  They really are pretty.  

Bear Has A Story To Tell – by Philip C. Stead, illus. by Erin E. Stead

This has to be one of the most beautiful picture books I’ve read in a while.  Bear is getting ready to go to sleep and goes to his friends to tell them a final story before hibernating.  He meets a mouse, a duck, a frog and a mole, all too busy to listen.  What happens next will be left to discover.  The illustrations are beautiful, spare watercolors, giving the animals such sweet expressions.  Each whimsical spread shows both the friendships and the waiting for spring.