Wandering!

 Thanks to Ruth  at DiscoverPlayBuild,  for beginning this Saturday tradition of sharing our celebrations.   

The finalists were announced on Jan. 1st!  You can see the list here! 

          These final days of vacation held more good, but small things.  My son, daughter-in-law and grandson left a week ago to avoid snow, and the house was quiet enough to echo! Music helped!  So I got busy, and, in my mind, celebrated all the good things that happened during Christmas week.  As I put most decorations away, did laundry, and munched on leftovers, I relived family meals and laughs and shopping we did after Christmas (NOT Black Friday).  It's been a sl-o-o-w second week, including much reading and doing some other things I just wanted to do.

    It's good to have the time to catch up on reading, to write, to plan for returning to work.  I had errands to do that took a lot of waiting time (like going to the DMV office) so I had almost two straight hours to read.  I tweeted more this week, and had fun with a small group putting together a meme for reading those books we really wanted to read last year, and didn't get to.  We've made a plan, shared lists and are going to see if we can catch up by sharing with each other!  Check Carrie Gelson's post if you're interested in joining us!  Hashtag is #MustReadin2014. The badge is to the right.  
     My daughter and I spent a good part of the day Tuesday at IKEA (it takes that long!).  We bought little and looked much.  We only took Imogene, the two and a half year old, who loves looking too, and the store is welcoming to young children.  She found a little raggedy doll which she loved, so played the whole time with it!  It is quite an amazing place, full of possibilities.  We can always find little things that seem like good ideas, then we look at each other and say, 'nah', don't need it!
      After meeting for the first time last year at my state reading conference, Carol Wilcox (at Carol's Corner) and I finally met for lunch at our favorite indie bookstore, and then browsed and talked books.  It was terrific finally to spend more than a few minutes together and now we'll see each other again at the next conference in early February! 
      I am cleaning out some of my teaching things, always a new year celebration to have less, isn't it?  I think teachers keep things, "just in case" don't we?  My shelves look better, ready to hold a little more when I need space.  
      It was seventy plus degrees Friday and we'll wake up to snow on Saturday. It will be a good weekend of preparation, and then onto the new beginnings of school again.  Wow, the vacation zoomed!  This has been a meandering post of celebrations, just like the week has been.  I guess I'm celebrating 'wandering'!

Once again, happy 2014 to all of you!

photo credit: Lapse of the Shutter via photopin cc