Corner View: All the Small Things

For this topic, I decided to feature the small things

that help my day at school go easier.

The timer is for DRD - Designated Reading Day.

The kids read a book of their choice - usually fiction - for 25 minutes

and then write a 2 paragraph summery.

Two of the glass jars originally contained my favorite jelly 

from a friend.

These jars and the big glass container hole clips to keep all my many papers in order.

And of course, what teacher could go through a day

without a stapler and scissors?

(The small pink gift box is an origami present left me by a substitute.)

Tape, highlighters, notepad, and the cute school holders a friend bought me years ago.

I keep a seasonal coaster on my desk to keep my water from leaving a wet ring.

My keys are less likely to go astray if they are on an elastic wrist band.

The Texas key holder is in honor of my wonderful and cherished visits

to Texas to visit my daughter and her family 

(plus it immediately identifies the keys as mine).

A cute little paper holder so I can see the words to type.

This small dish was given me years ago also

and I use it to hold peppermints.

What teacher can get by without misc. note pads?

And last but not least, my favorite characters dance on the chalk board behind me.

With them are a favorite saying and the latest newspaper clipping of my son.

(He walked 12 hours to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society.)

For more world views on this topic,

go to Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Corner View: Sacred Place

At first I wasn't sure what to feature 

for the topic sacred place,

but as I pondered over it,

I kept coming back to the memorials in Washington D C.

My husband and I took my father about 9 years ago

to visit my brother and his family in Harrisburg, PA.

Together we took Dad to see the WWII monument.

It was a cold day and Dad was hurting,

so he didn't see everything that we saw,

but he saw what mattered the most to him.

I have featured Dad and the Washington trip before.

For those of you who are new to my blog,

my dad was a POW in Germany during WWII.

He was captured during the Battle of the Bulge.

[Click on all photos to see them larger.

That will especially help with the quotes

and the space capsule monuments.]

Here is the pool of fountains that makes up part of the WWII monument.

The Washington monument is in the background.

Below are more photos of it.

 All around the monument are famous quotes from that time period.

Here is Dad.

Note the words beside him

and in the next photo.

These are glimpses of  the Korean War monument.

The one above and the next few are in memory of those who fought in 

the Vietnam War.

Below is the wall of names.

My husband's hand is underneath a casualty from our small town.

I still remember when we got word of Bill Young Jr.'s death.

His family lived down the street from us

and they were members of my dad's church.

Dad had the funeral.

This one particularly struck me.

The nurses of the Vietnam War were unsung heroes for many years.

Next are the memorials to members of two space capsules

that were casualties in our country's race to space.

In the middle of them is one dedicated to members of our armed forces

who died trying to free American hostages in Iran

April 25, 1980.

Then there is the cemetery.

There is a hush that came upon me

in reverence to those who died for our freedom.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

All of these are sacred places (to me)

where we pay homage to those who helped

keep our country and parts of the world free

throughout the years.

For more views around the world,

go to Francesca's Fuoriborgo

for Corner View.

Corner View: Last but not Least

I have six grandchildren.

I have been told, that unless my son marries a woman with a child/children,

this is it.

(Not that I asked.  I didn't.)

I'm quite happy with the six.

They are all wonderful (of course).

However, in accordance with the theme,

I will feature the last grandchild - 

Abigail Elizabeth

The photo below is when we got to babysit her. 

It was also the first time we saw her.

Her blue eyes were quite evident even then.

This is one of my favorites in a series my daughter had done.

I like how Sara is bending down

and wrapping her arms around Abby.

Another favorite of mine.

Sara has a photographer friend

who likes to practice on Abby and her brother Aaron.

Nice, huh?!

These two were part of a set to mark her 2nd birthday.

These two are part of the latest professional photos taken.

The photographer sets it up so her clients and friends have digital access to them.

That was a deal breaker for Sara

because of having family so far away.

Love those blue eyes!

She has acquired a pair of red boots that she absolutely LOVES.

(And that is so appropriate for a Texas girl!)

 Abby wears dresses almost all the time.

Her hair is pulled back in a bow.

Her sock of preference has a ruffled edge.

However, the little darling, in all her girly glory,

loves to play with cars and trucks and such.

Above is when she had her school visit.

Sara wrote the following in her blog.

"There are seven kids in Abby's class.  They are all girls. So Abby had free reign over the cars.  She lined every single one up while those other girls were finding the princess stuff."

Abigail Elizabeth follows a long line of readers.

Her brother is an avid reader also.

(Makes an English teacher grandmother proud.)

And that is the 'last but not least' of my grandchildren.

For more corner views on 'last but not least'

visit Francesca's place: Fuoriborgo.

Corner View: Before and After

The day we moved, my husband apparently didn't have enough to do,

so he cut down a tree!

Seriously, the tree had many dead branches,

 was blocking other healthier trees from getting necessary sunlight,

and was preventing the Dish Network satellite from doing its job.

(My husband does love his TV!)

Also, my husband had plenty of help.

BEFORE:

After the 'standing around while looking and talking about it'

male ritual,

the unanimous decision was

"Let's do this!"

Of course, that was an easy decision for most of them,

as it was my husband who climbed the tree to secure a heavy rope.

The rope was attached to the back of my brother-in-law's pick up truck

and was used to guide the tree's fall.

AFTER:

The tree has since been mostly cut up into fire wood

with bits and pieces piled for a future bon fire.

For more before and after moments throughout the world,

please head over to Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Corner View: Roadside

 If you were in our small town this past Saturday,

you would have seen  an amazingly huge crowd of people 

sitting and standing on either side of one of the two main roads.

The annual Pumpkin Festival Parade was from 2 - 3:30.

We were actually sitting further up on this hillside.

Our friends own a huge bed and breakfast

and we gather there with lots of others

to watch the parade.

In our small town, folks get more excited about

old and new tractors than almost anything else in the parade.

This is just one of the fracking wells

that stand tall along the roadside

as I drive to and from work.

They are in the process of installing this one.

It will be there for about 6 weeks,

then they will dismantle it 

and move it to another spot.

If you happened to be on a certain section of Rt. 146 yesterday afternoon

and glanced over to the side,

you would have seen these beautiful girls 

posing for Homecoming 2013 pictures.

We took pics of them in dressy outfits up at the school

and then had them change into their country girl look.

The photographer and I began this 'tradition'

last year.

I am all for being proud of our country roots.

The three on the left, in the picture below,

are freshman, sophomore, and junior reps for the court.

The next five are the senior candidates for Homecoming Queen.

For those of you not in America,

I'm not quite sure how to explain Homecoming,

but it is a major tradition at most high schools here.

(At least I think so!  It is in Ohio.)

For more roadside views from different spots throughout the world,

check out Francesca's.                .