A visit and memorabilia

This is what my living room looked like

after my brother, sister-in-law, and I

went through boxes of Dad's and Mom's stuff ----

memorabilia.

They took a minuscule amount back to Colorado

with them,

including some of Dad's sermons.

I have empty boxes

that I am going to use to help me  organize this into:

Pictures of my kids and grandkids -

Pictures of  dad, mom, the brothers, and me - 

Sermons to give to the kids -

Pictures and written stuff of Dad's and Mom's

Stuff having to do with his WWII experience -

Throw out - 

I've started but need to get much further today.

I ended up really getting into the movie 

The Life of Pi

and I didn't want to look away from it.

(I thought I'd sort and watch a movie

at the same time. Ha! Ha!)

 Here is my sister-in-law Cindy and my brother David

We spent a huge chunk of the day this past Saturday the 28th

at the house going through stuff

and talking and catching up with each other.

I kept lunch simple:  ordered subs from Subway.

My husband went in and got them.

I added a fruit salad and chips.

There were cake and cookies for dessert

We went out to dinner at a place I had never been,

but Mike had.

It's called Food with Jane after her catering company.

It's a small, but dressed-up restaurant

with excellent food.

It was a wonderful day.

Importance of fairy tales and bedtime stories

 Fairy tales in childhood 

are stepping stones

 throughout life,

 leading the way

 through trouble and trial. 

The value of fairy tales

 lies not in a brief literary escape

 from reality,

 but in the gift of hope 

that goodness truly is more powerful 

than evil 

and that even the darkest reality

 can lead to a Happily Ever After. 

Do not take that gift of hope lightly.

 It has the power to conquer despair 

in the midst of sorrow, 

to light the darkness in the valleys of life,

 to whisper “One more time” in the face of failure. 

Hope is what gives life to dreams, 

making the fairy tale the reality. —L.R. Knost

Me reading to my granddaughter Addison

on Christmas day.

She is now seven.

 I will defend the importance of bedtime stories

 to my last gasp. —JK Rowling

Five-Minute Friday: Lost

He was my rock.

Oh, God was, of course,

but in human terms,

it was my father.

I had a rock-solid husband

for whom I have been blessed

 and continue to be.

But Dad was my first

and always rock.

I knew I'd take it extremely hard 

when the time came for him to pass on

and be with Mom.

But even I underestimated

the excruciating pain

I experienced.

I was lost.

I wondered around blindly

for a long while.

Eventually I got my bearings somewhat,

but I still felt lost

and

rudderless.

I realized that he had also been my church

as he was a Methodist preacher

and the pastor 

I held above all others.

I didn't have a church (I gave up church

after a harsh betrayal by a close Christian friend

and my Christian husband)

and that bothered him tremendously.

I didn't understand why I needed one---

that is, until I lost my rock.

It's been seven years

and I am finally able to go through the photos

and sermons and misc.

I also joined a church;

it had been 'his' years ago

when I was growing up.

I'm back living in that small town now,

so once again that church is my church.

He designed the podium and chairs,

so it's easy to picture him  there.

My rock. . . I didn't lose him;

he's just watching over me from a distance.

The Cliffs of Moor in Ireland

where my husband and I celebrated

 turning 50 together.

I'm joining Five-Minute Friday.

Corner View: Gift

I have a blogger friend

who has been a special blessing to me.

Last year after I really liked some Ted Koontz

poems she put on her web site,

Nance started sending me postcards

with poems of his on them.

They were wonderful gifts of poetry

 and friendship

winging their way 

from Oregon

to Ohio.

For more views on gifts,

head over to Francesca's.

A new head wrap and more "Where I'm From" poetry

 I got a head wrap (what I call it).

 It's a Buff from the Deluth online catalog.

I wear it to cover my ears when I am working outside.

Ever since I watched a certain Twilight Zone episode,

I go a little crazy if something buzzes my ears.

There are many ways  you can wear it,

but I choose the head band look.

I only cover my head with it

when my hair is already a mess.

The blue illustrations 

are the different ways you can wear the buff.

It is a long stretchy tube.

I wasn't sure whether I would like it,

but I do!

There is a format poem

titled "Where I'm From."

that I teach every year

at the end.

There is a lesson plan

complete with samples,

worksheets,

and directions.

Normally on a format poem,

they have to follow the directions

precisely.

However, with this one

I loosened up.

I just wanted to get them to write

about their lives, homes, families, etc.

Only two boys could not write one,

but I simply asked questions

like "Do you like to hunt?

Do you hunt on your own land?

Who's the cook in the family?

What are  your favorites from that cook?

How about Grandma's cooking?"

and so on.

Five of my six classes wrote it --

both general and advanced.

The examples here 

are from my two freshmen general English students.

Hope you enjoy them!

The above is from a rough-looking

and tough-acting boy

with a heart of gold

who always did poorly in English.

He took great pride is his As and Bs

in my class.

He and I didn't start off well,

but we came to an understanding 

and met each other halfway.

On the last day, he told me that he would miss me.

And that's why I teach.

The one above is one I helped create with my questions.

The boy has a learning disability.

He did not have to write 15 lines.

I had two bulletin boards full

of these poems.

The students enjoyed reading each other's poems.

I told them to put their names on the back

for anonymity.

Not all complied as usual.

There were a total of 108 poems.

I took off for grammar mistakes,

because I proof-read the rough drafts

before they were permitted to type

the final ones.

work day,

Towards the end of May,

our high school had a work day

on a Friday.

The day still counted,

but there were no classes.

Each teacher was assigned a group of students

and given a job.

Most of my group were wonderful junior girls

 I had in class.

The lone senior 

was a fun, sweet girl I had always enjoyed.

So I was happy with my group

and they seemed happy with me.

 Our job was to mulch around the school.

 We first  pulled out the weeds.

My girls got right to it, digging out the weeds

with their hands

and hauling off rocks to dump elsewhere.

The area looked so much better when they were done weeding

and we hadn't yet added the mulch !

  Some jobs assigned to other groups:

1. cleaning out a huge shed

2. picking up trash

3. giving the outside basketball court

a fresh coat of paint

4. traveling by bus to a near-by village

and picking up trash there

5. boy students washing cars at a local car dealership

(no girls in wet t-shirts!)

6. repainting lines on the parking lot 

at a local grocery store

7. trimming shrubs at a local business

These are not all of them,

but enough to give  you an idea

of how extensive the outreach was.

The principal had contacted

businesses that donated to our school

throughout the year

 and expressed the desire to give back.

Several responded.

It was a great day.

Some of us were skeptical,

me being one,

 but we were happily proven wrong

about some concerns we had.

Everyone was give a t-shirt.

Female students and teachers

laughingly commented,

"You can tell a man ordered these---

a woman would never order white!"

(for several reasons)

                   

They are listening to the superintendent

give them a pep talk.

Some of my girls are shown eliminating weeds.

Two boys came over to help 

with one climbing up into the truck.

They were a big help.

This girl was freshening the paint on the court.

I'll sign off 

with a "Where I am From"

poem 

one of my students wrote.

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Nature: Suppertime and Five-Minute Friday: Release

This shows off his head as he peers in at his supper.

Partaking of the Seed.

Apparently he has company flying in.

Release

Begin: For eight years I lived in a very small bungalow 

on a horrendously busy and dangerous highway.

I had two indoor cats

and no dogs.

 The set-up was such that I could not feed birds

without difficulty and hassle.

Now we live in a good -sized farm house

on eight acres outside of our small town.

No more screeching of semi-truck brakes.

No more falling asleep to constant traffic sounds

( you do get used to after awhile.)

We were in the house three months 

when we got our Siberian Husky, Ginger.

 However, we began feeding the birds immediately.

The  previous owners left behind a bird feeder.

We now have 7 feeders of various kinds.

My daily ritual is to fill the feeders and hang them out.

Then I spread corn on the outskirts 

of the yard

for our lone deer(we had nine in the winter) 

and a peace offering to our neighbor the raccoon.

At night I get the feeders and once more spread corn

and seeds.

I am calmer.

Reminds me of a short story 

of a woman who felt responsible for 'her' birds

and only did brief visits to her sister,

so her birds would not wonder where she was.

I'm not to that point and don't plan on getting to that extreme.

Yet one significant discovery

is how animals and birds calm me.

They soothe me.

They become somewhat friends even,

like the deer that watches me distribute 

the corn and does not bolt from the yard.

An important theme in my story 

is how I am a calmer, nicer, friendlier 

person in general

because I tend to the birds, deer, raccoon,

and our cats and dog.

I release the stress and tension of my job

and other responsibilities

through tending for "God's creatures."

For more on release, please visit Five-Minute Friday.

unique roof and rooflines

Barnesville is on the historic register 

as a Victorian Village.

It is known for its beautiful old homes

and churches.

I thought I would spotlight

the Presbyterian church

today.

  As you can see, it is fairly unique.

Those are red tiles on the roof and stone in the chimney.

Here is a  photo of the parsonage next to it.

This is the home provided for the 'parson' or preacher.

Note the tower.

This is taken from a good distance away 

You can see the Presbyterian church on the right.

The First United Methodist Church can be partially seen on the left.

I don't have a good photo of its roof.

It is bigger than its neighbor

and it's difficult to get a good roof shot

that shows all or almost all of the roof line.

Hope you're having a good week!

I                                      

Corner View: one year ago; five years ago

I have shown some of these photos before,

but am repeating them because they illustrate

today's corner view's theme/topic.

Almost a year ago we were packing to move from the tiny bungalow

smack dab on a busy highway/town street

to the farm house on eight acres outside of our small town.

 Five years ago, we were boxing up things to take  up to our small town. I had  been living
there by myself for seven years.  Mike retired from his city job and was finally moving up to be with
me.  We had to leave most of the furniture behind because we were selling the house.

We didn't need the furniture until we moved into a bigger house

and it was three years before that happened.

We have been in the farm house for almost a year.

Almost five years ago, we had our last dinner together with old friends 

in Cincinnati.

We still talk to them and they have been up to visit,

but we have also made new friends and renewed friendships here.

Almost a year ago, we settled into our farm house.

George and Mike resting in our new home.

There are no heat vents in the kitchen,

so we have a Vermont stove.

Scruffy loved curling up beside it 

in those bitter cold days we had 

this past winter.

It will be a year in November 

since we got Ginger from a husky rescue.

She is one and a half

and is a Husky red and white.

She has adapted well to our family

and we all love her.

(Even the cats!)

                                             .

Almost a year ago, we got a bedroom

 in which we could walk around the bed.

Almost a year ago, Scruffy and George discovered

that the outside world is wonderful!

For more corner views,

head on over to Francesca's.

                                      

Boating and tubing with the kids and an adorable duo

We went boating with my son and his three kids.

He has his boat docked at Seneca Lake Marina.

We had the Father's Day buffet at the marina restaurant first,

then headed out on the water.

Peyton is 11 and is the only one of the three who likes to tube.

Addison and Grandpa Mike

Mike, Peyton, and Doug putting the tube up and the rope away.

The three 'munchkins': Peyton, Dillon, and Addison

We had a great day.

We went to the lake beach and the kids tried out the beach's

new floating, blown up obstacle course.

I had to go in the water to see them,

so I don't have pics.

I'll sign off with this adorable duo.

I hope you have a great week!