behold my new sketchbook ready to be bound. it's been in the bookcase all week getting smashed flat.
my margarita-and-writing ritual is a new late afternoon treat.
the new class arrived yesterday and they are a nice bunch of kiddos. guiless and sweet. only 1 wildcard in the bunch and he's nothing compared to other wildcards from other years at other schools. i started reading a roald dahl favorite of mine today. i sit in a chair and they sit in a cluster at my feet more or less. i used to never imagine 5th graders would enjoy storytime as much as they do. but they are a captive audience. coco, yahuan, jincan, rongcong, and 25 more. 10 girls and 18 boys!
oh… well there is one other thing. i've sealed the deal on a seaside cottage that is going to be all mine for a week at the end of november. i can already feel the heady seabreeze pushing my wings outward & upward.
i have no idea where i'll be in november, but there's no harm in anticipating another good assignment around the corner.
okay, that's it for now. just a short missive from the western edge of the continent.
I used to teach 6th grade and every year I’d read Old Yeller, about a boy and his dog. They’d beg for the next chapter and I usually read for the last 30 minutes of the class, often on a Friday. Never thought to try Roald Dahl.
Okay , Mary Ann, this is what I propose.
I’ll just have a seat way over there under that chandelier and be as quiet as a …mole, reading to myself and staying out of your hair.
I Swear…I’ll not say a word nor have any needs….at all.!!!!
Try me…you’ll see. HA!……Chill, gal…just playing with you.
I do love good teachers, Librarians, Books, some Art making, the SEA and time alone….with a wee bit of food thrown in.
Enjoy your new , lucky children and that vacation looming in the near future. Your plans are grand.
xo
Sass
Oh Bliss! A gaggle of good kidlets! Love your new ritual – important down time. xoDonna
Congrats on the cottage!!! Seaside is always my favorite place to be. I just found your blog a week or two ago & have added you to my sidebar to watch for new posts!
I mean binding. I like the pattern.
Hi Mary Ann,
What kind of end paper is on your new journal?
Yes to it all, reading Roald, margaritas and sketchbooks, sea breeze ruffling the wings! xox
Michelle above posted that she’s 60 yrs old & still remembers her teacher reading great books…well, I can top that! I’m 75 and still remember ALL my teachers who had a positive influence on me, including my 6th grade teacher who read to us every day after lunch for an hour…I still remember the stories: The Secret Garden, The Kentuckian. I already loved books and that love was magnified by having her for a teacher.
So teachers out there: You may never know what impact you’re having on some child’s life…but you can bet you are.
cynthia – the shelf i put my book into was TIGHT and it did an excellent job of flattening. that thick watercolor paper needs a real squashing – even more so in a small book with lightweight covers.
here’s my secret margarita recipe. get out your notebook and pencil.
JOSE CUERVO pre-mixed margaritas in a great big bottle. perfect if you like a tasty marg w/o too much booze. JC also makes the salt and it’s easy to use.
Again I am so envious of your travels. So happy for you getting great kids and they are lucky to have you.
I love that you always have a relaxation exit plan at the ready, tucked away in your back pocket and it looks sooooooooooo inviting. I’d be happy with an hour or two, just to listen to the ocean do it’s dance to it’s own music. I’m happy that you’ve wrangled a good bunch of kiddos. It’s wonderful to know that you are in good hands when you are away from Moss Cottage. I’ve always loved a good story and I don’t think anyone is ever to old to listen to them, whether or not the story told is from a book or from someone’s life, I can listen to a good ‘yarn’ all day so that they absorb tales like sponges is delightful to hear. The truth of it is that you are a damn good story teller Mary Ann and I’ll sit here till the cows come home, hangin’ on every word. 😉
I’m sixty years old, and I still remember my favorite teacher reading to us every day after lunch. We heard the best books ever, and it cemented what was already a love of books for the rest of my life. A book and a seaside cottage sound perfect with a few margaritas!
That margarita looks more lemon than lime, care to share your recipe? I was interested to see the remark about the sketchbook being in the bookcase for a week being flattened down, I wondered about that when my pages seemed too puffy when making my first Sketbookery book. Seaside cottage, oh my! There are a lot of chairs on that patio, I think you’ll need some company (raises hand to volunteer!)
Oh the joy it must be to have a class that sits and listens to you read! You have your earthly reward for all those other classes I do believe. My elementary teachers had 60 in the classes but then that was a different world, and we listened to our nuns. They also had hand smacking rulers that they could use.
Laughing at the earlier poster who also thought you were buying a seaside cottage! I immediately jumped to ‘well Angie must have left you a major bundle to buy a waterfront place in CA’! LOL Sadly, no one’s left me that pot of gold either so we learn to love the times we do get by the water.
I’m glad to hear all is well with your return to the classroom. I was wondering. You set an amazing example of self-care.
Reading aloud for the kids … what a god idea. The beach and the sea is wonderful. I love to be there all year. Your writing ritual sounds interesting. Will you tell more about it?
I love that you read aloud to 5th graders and that they love it! But… TWENTY-EIGHT?!! Methinks you will need the seaside cottage retreat by November 😉
So glad the kids are good and the margaritas are salty! Here’s to seaside cottages! I don’t even have to go, I am swooning from here!
Bravo!
The beach in winter is the best.
OMG! When I first started reading your posting I thought you’d sealed the deal on your very own seaside cottage, as in bought it! I’m thinking to myself: Holy Moly! She must have tucked away boatloads of buckolas to afford a beach cottage…then I realized it was a rental for a week…Still, I could move right in on that patio, pitch a tent and listen to the waves lull me to sleep.
Will you go alone or with friends? You always manage the most incredible little getaway places…do you have an “in.?”
You are my role model. 🙂 I want a seaside cottage. And a margarita.
My favorite Roahl Dahl is the BFG. Let’s all have some frobscottle and have a whizzpopping good time!
Here’s to seaside cottages, sea breezes, turkey and cranberries with a salty twang and time to enjoy them all come November.
XO