End of the Week Musings

The following photos were taken

when I headed out past our small but excellent hospital

into the countryside that borders that edge of town.

I went west far enough that I crossed over the Belmont County line

into Guernsey County which made me a bit nervous

as I was uncertain where I would end up.

However I persevered, stopping to snap shots of whatever 'caught my fancy'.

I am intrigued by vine, brush, and wood piles such as this.

I imagine the hidden treasures within.

Can you imagine what Beatrix Potter would do with such a scene?

I have been on my own for the past two days as hubby is on a business trip.

I had the TV and the living room to myself--a rarity.

I 'seized the moment' to indulge in a chic flick:

the movie about Beatrix Potter starring Renee Zellweger.

It's titled Miss Potter.

It also stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson,

who are both as delightful as Zelwiger.

I imagine most of you know that she's the author of The Tale of Peter Rabbit,

the naughty little boy rabbit who did not heed his mother's warning,

but instead headed straight into Mr. McGregor's garden.

I imagine the area in these photos, complete with an old fence hidden in its tangles,

could house a whole village of Beatrix's whimsical animal characters.

Peter Rabbit was actually a pet rabbit that belonged to her and her brother

as did another bunny character,mice, and others. 

Beatrix lived in London, but her folks would take the family

to spend summers in Scotland and also in the Lake District of northern England.

She and her brother would roam the countryside where her imagination would thrive.

She later bought a working farm complete with a lovely old house

and she kept on the workers and maintained its status as a working farm.

This was when farms in the district were being eyed by greedy developers.

There is a scene in the movie where she outbids one such developer

much to his anger.

He instructs her solicitor to control her better.

Renee Z. does an excellent job of playing Beatrix

who, having achieved with her books an independence and wealth

unimaginable by most women of that time period, 

 informs the developer that she is under no one's control.

(A bit of an early feminist was Beatrix--definitely a woman ahead of her time.)

Thanks to B. Potter 4,000 acres of Lake District land was saved from developers

and donated to the National Trust of England

upon her death.

You see, she kept buying up the farms around her

as farmers gave up,

and she worked at finding new ways to keep the farms thriving.

She continued to write and publish books which were the foundation

that supported her and her environmental concerns.

I am giving a loose recap of some of the info from the movie

and the two brief documentaries that accompanied it on the DVD.

I am a B. Potter fan, especially of her illustrations,

so I ordered the movie from Netflix.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys her books and also enjoys that type of movie.

It was delightful, although there are some sad parts.

Moving on in my musings:

Having turned around, I was headed back into Barnesville when I spotted a home

far out in the distance and a ghost of a road leading to it.

I came upon the entrance to that road

and stopped for two quick shots.

I am fascinated by how folks end up out in the middle of 'nowhere'.

How do they find such places?

They have to be organized or else they have some disappointments

when they go to make a dish or a baking recipe

and find the kitchen bare of milk or eggs or a much needed seasoning, etc.

I do appreciate the proximity of a neighbor when I need some assistance in that area

and don't want to run to the store.

In the above case, the store would be a good twenty minutes or more

with a good portion over gravel roads.

Next:

Why is it that though an abandoned car makes me shudder,

I will pull over and immortalize abandoned farm machinery?

I zoomed in on this relic and came up with what is almost a piece of art.

(Of course art, like many things in life, are in the eye of the beholder).

Next:

This shot reminds me of the forest in the movie The Last of the Mohicans.

When taking drives through the countryside and peering down into densely wooded areas,

I often ponder how the Indians felt treading this hallowed ground.

I muse on how the early frontiersmen, pioneers, and settlers

had to be filled to the brim with a combination of awe and fear

when seeing America's wilderness for the first time.

Last:

I will leave you with this photo of our early blooming trees

and a wisp of road leading out to yet another homestead

snuggled in the hills with only animals for neighbors.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Corner View:Eggs

First Scruffy. . .

Then George . . .

Then both cats sat entranced watching my husband Mike reveal the white hard-boiled eggs

from beneath the brown shell.

Who knew that peeling eggs could be so mesmerizing?

For more views (from around the world) on eggs,

 check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Barn Charm #35

I have been passing this barn on Rt. 149 for close to  forty years.

There is a huge stately brick house across from it

that belonged to State Representative Wayne Hayes

back when I was in high school.

The barn belonged to him also.

He is infamous for a scandal involving a former Playboy model.

(She was hired to be his secretary, but she could not type.)

He survived the scandal and was reelected.

(I thought  I'd share a bit of local history trivia).

He has been long gone and the farm has changed hands once or twice.

It has always been maintained as the beauty it is.

It is in an extremely busy section of Rt. 149

and there is very little space in which to pull over.

I would not do it by myself.

 A few weeks ago,

 hubby and I headed that way for a barn drive.

I still could only snap two shots,

but I was glad to get those!

For more barn photos, click below:

Monday Scripture & Words of Wisdom

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

II Corinthians 9: 15

Gratitude . . . is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise

of the goodness of God.

Thomas Merton

I went for a short drive this morning after my dental appointment.

I got some barn photos, but I also spent time 'glorying' in the beauty

of our southeastern Ohio hills.

It is truly a gift to love the area in which you live.

May you have a blessed week.

Corner View: Work and Play

My Advanced English III class (juniors) have just finished reading

Of Mice and Men.

I bought a teacher's unit to help me with lesson plans

and one of the possible assignments

was to make a

"Wanted: A Friend" advertisement.

Below are the instructions.

I took them to the computer lab
and let their imagination flow.
I have posted just a few examples.

Some of the best ones either had the kids' actual photos of themselves and friends
or had their real phone # or address on them
(which I specifically instructed them not to do).
For privacy reasons, I can't show them.

The result was an assignment that combined work--
specific requirements, a rubric, and a grade---
with a fun time with Word Publisher, art work or photos, colorful font,
and most of all: each student's creativity.

 

For more corner views on work and play visit Francsca's.

Barn Charm # 34

Here is another Mail Pouch barn.

This time it is local--on the eastern edge of town just out of city limits

(although Barnesville is hardly a city).

I couldn't get a shot without the light pole or at least some lines in the photo.

A close-up of the side and a closer look at the stone foundation.

I like the windows in the lower level.

This is the best shot I could get of the writing on the back of the barn.

The sun was playing havoc with my camera.

The sign painter lived in Bethesda, just ten minutes east of this barn.

He's been gone quite awhile.

This shot shows the barn and house.

It is taken from the Rite Aide parking lot.

A few feet forward and you are standing in the 'country'.

A few feet backwards, you're not only in town but in a commercial area!

I thought I'd show a closer view of the house.

For more barns click below:

Monday Scripture & Words of Wisdom

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Each one of us is God's special work of art.

Through us,

He teaches and inspires,

delights and encourages,

informs and uplifts

all those who view our lives.

Joni Eareckson Tada

My granddaughter Peyton turned 9 this past week.

This is a picture from her birthday party held at her dad's house (my son's)

Saturday evening.

The elementary school that she and her little brother attends

had an art auction Friday night.

Peyton's third grade class painted the one Peyton's sitting on.

Dillon's kindergarten class painted the yellow one.

I'm not sure which class painted the black, white, and red one,

but it was bought for soon-to-be-5 Addy Jane.

Aren't they cute?!

(The yellow one has all the kindergarten kids' thumbprints on it.

The teachers then drew worms, bugs, and butterflies from the thumbprints.)

My ex and his wife bought the chairs at the auction.

The money raised is going for smart boards for the kindergarten classes.

They needed $6,000.00 and they raised at least that much.

Praying for a blessed week for all of us!

Barn Charm # 33

Mike took me for another 'barn drive'

on a beautiful Sunday afternoon two weekends ago.

We headed east on Rt. 147 towards a little town called Bethesda.

I got lots of photos and 'captured' some real beauties.

But this one tug at my heart a bit,

so I will begin the "Bethesda Barns"

with it.

Mike was almost past it when, I yelped,

"Oooo--stop!"

He backed up and I clicked.

For more barns, click below:

PRAYER REQUEST

I can't go into much detail: privacy issues.  But a boy student and his parents are appealing a ten-day suspension given by our principal.  They meet with the superintendent this morning.  The situation is already dividing our school.  Whether the boy did what they say he did is not so much the issue to me as how it was handled.  I would be livid if my son had been treated the way this young man was. I am angry as a teacher who has seen another side of this boy and who believes he's being used as an example because his parents are rich and the boy is looked up to by others.  He has already missed 3 days of school and all his 3rd 9 wk. tests which will dump his grades in the toilet.  He has missed two scrimmages and two games in baseball.  He is the star pitcher.  (If it were football season, I'm not as certain our former football coach and now principal would have handled it the same way--the boy is a star football player).  He has been humbled. He is willing to apologize and eat humble pie.  However, I feel an apology is also owed him and his parents.
Please pray.   This could implode.  Please pray for God to work what is best for all.  Thank you.
Also pray for us staff: sexual discrimination is alive and well in our school district.
Thank you.

Barn Charm # 32

This is the last of the barns from the Dayton, Ohio drive.

I was actually taking photos of an old inn

when we spotted this way up on a hill.

We couldn't see how to get to it,

but wondered if it was indeed open to the public.

It sort of looks like a 'party barn'.

Then again, maybe it's a home.

There is a red door in the long front side of the structure--

down near the right-hand corner---

that looks more like a residence's door

than a party place's door.

You're free to speculate.

Each shot gets a bit closer.

This is the closest my zoom would get me.

I also could only get shots from this angle.

I would love to see all the way around it!

For more barns click below:

Corner View: everyday

Francesca, who hosts Corner View,

spotlighted her morning coffee.

I decided to show how my day begins as well

since it happens this way every day

at least Monday through Friday.

I get the coffee ready the night before,

but I don't use a timer.

I just plug it in and hit the start button on my way to let the cats up

from the basement.

I have to have a cream or flavored 'something' in my coffee,

and the flavor of  the week

this week

is the same as one of my favorite candy bars:

Almond Joy.

I used to have a protein shake

but now I have oatmeal with soy milk and  1/2 cup frozen blueberries

stirred into it.

While microwaving the oatmeal,

I read the daily Psalm calendar.

The other staples to my mornings

--even on weekends--

are my devotions

and my journal writing.

I can make it through the day without the oatmeal

or the calendar,

but coffee and time spent reading and writing

keep me sane,

as I maneuver my way through

a day of teaching English to freshmen and juniors.

For more corner views

check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo.

Barn Charm #31

I am almost out of barn photos from that drive

from Dayton, Ohio home to Barnesville.

It was a beautiful day in October.

I hope to soon capitalize on the beautiful days

we have been having recently

and take another drive close to home.

This appears to be a dairy farm.

I didn't get a shot of the home,

but I think it was made of the same brick

as the garage peeking out on the left-hand-side

in the photo below.

It occurred to me this morning that I have not seen any dairy barns

around my little area of Ohio.

Hmmm.

For more barn shots click below.

Corner View: Monument

 When I saw the topic for this week's Corner View,

I immediately thought of the Washington D.C. trip over five years ago.

My husband and I drove my dad to my brother's house near Harrisburg, PA.

We stayed with them and the four of us

 took my dad specifically to see the WWII Memorial.

Those who are frequent visitors to my blog,

most likely know that my dad was a German POW during WWII.

He had this trip on his 'bucket' list.

I have posted photos of that day and

written sentimentally about my dad.

However, for this post I am featuring women since

March is Women's History Month.

The following photos are of the monument/statue/ memorial

in honor of the women who served as nurses in the Vietnam War. 

This is the only shot I have of the insription and it is not very clear.

It says 1993 Vietnam Women's Memorial Project.

I cannot read the name under it nor am I sure that it's a 3 in the year.

But hopefully, you can still appreciate the tribute.

For more corner view monuments,

check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo



Barn Charm # 30

Here are all sorts of sizes and shapes of buildings: barns, sheds, silos, and even a house.

We could not get any closer without going way off our route,

so I did the best I could with my husband's camera

(mine takes better long shots).

This is south of Rt. 40  and east of Columbus, Ohio.

For more barns click below:

Update on my sister-in-law's stroke

Two Saturdays ago, I stopped at the city park

after attending one of my grandson's basketball games.

The sun was out and though the air was slightly nippy,

it was a beautiful day to stroll along the pond and take photos of the ducks.

This guy though, came after me. 

I had been there long enough that I guess he thought I owed him bread.

He was persistent.

I was hesitant.

He walked forward.

I walked backward.

I backed a safe distance away and headed back to my car.

I had enough pictures.

An update:

Thank you to those who have prayed for my sister-in-law.

She has been home this past week.

Her doctor forbid her to drive or to work.

She is going a bit stir-crazy.

This week she goes back to two doctors.

One is supposedly setting up a consultation at Ohio State University Hospital.

He is perplexed as to why she had a lacunar stroke at the age  of 55.

Robyn is not obese and does not have exceedingly high blood pressure.

She is a heavy smoker and drinker, but those aren't necessarily factors in this type of stroke.

A lacunar stroke is when small blood vessels burst causing a stroke

that scares the patient, but does not hinder any body functions.

She had no effects from it such as paralysis, etc.

She is still in need of prayer.

I have my second evaluation today.

I chose my biggest class and a topic I've not taught before:

intro to Of Mice and Men.

That's what kept coming up in my head.

so I 'went with it'.

The alternative was freshmen OGT practice work

and since I don't like that stuff, I was hesitant to be evaluated on it.

(OGTs --Ohio Graduation Test---are next week with the sophomores taking the real tests

and the freshmen taking practice tests.)

I am also facing several boys who have been especially disruptive.

They are not in the class in which I will be evaluated;

however, they can upset me and I don't need that today.

So please lift us up today.

Blessings to you all as you begin your week.