i’m sipping a fresh juice that i just made using whatever i had in the fridge. strawberries, almost black concord grapes, cucumber, apple, spinach, mint, lemon. i usually don’t juice berries or grapes, but these were sort of soft and on the verge of going bad. i throw the whole berry in the juicer including the green top. the lemon had also seen better days. the color of the finished juice was an extremely uninspiring brown color, with a smoothie consistency. for your information it was very agreeable. v.v.v. agreeable. fresh & delicious. possibly my best juice yet.
i won’t go on about it.
i’m piddling in the cool air of morning.
my brother in virginia had a series of small strokes yesterday, but is recovering in the hospital. prognosis is good. physical therapy starts on monday. he’s only 61.
we’re all getting older. and now there’s officially more sand at the bottom of the hourglass than at the top. my friend judy wise wrote that on her blog once upon a time and i never forgot it.
what are we going to do?
keep living.
right through the anxiety, fear, and possible scenarios of a doomed future that only a wild imagination can construct.
as voltaire said a few hundred years ago in once-upon-a-time land…
life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats.
crying and throwing fits also totally acceptable in the lifeboat. as long as you don’t tip it over.
i doubt ray moss is singing, but i know for a fact he was flirting with the nurse.
maybe i’m accumulating too many damn knick knacks.
what does that have to do with anything?!
just random thoughts i’m gathering together here in my little corner of the world.
and i’m reading this:
and this…
and i started an AMAZON WISH LIST for my classroom. mostly books, because our official set came from me heisting a rolling cart of discarded books out of the copy room and wheeling it to my room. i’ve set it to work for 3rd-party vendors because used books (and other things) are perfectly acceptable and encouraged. i always take the cheaper route when i shop on amazon.
i’ll probably make a button and put it down at the footer of my blog. my wish list is Ms. Moss’ 3rd Grade Classroom Wishlist, but it’s not public. it can only be accessed via that shared link.
thanks peggy for mentioning it in the comments a couple of posts back! i hadn’t thought of it, but quite frankly it’s an unbelievably excellent idea.
see you soon!
I need to go Amazon shopping, but before I do, here is a nature journalist I want to share with you. Believe it or not, the Houston Zoo shared her information in their last email. http://www.scratchmadejournal.com/sketches/. I don’t know if you have visited with her before. I think you will enjoy her sketches and blog. She talks quite a bit about kids and getting them started on a nature journal. Thanks, as always, for your book reviews.
In honor of my upcoming trip to Egypt, I bought you “You Wouldn’t Want to be an Egyptian Mummy!” Have fun reading it to your kids!
If you add your address, or provide the same, I can order and have the book(s) shipped to you. Otherwise I end up with the 3rd grader book(s) AND I would have to cut them up for collage purposes or worse…
What an awesome idea Mary Ann. I’m happy to help. I’m off to go shopping on Amazon. Can I send you a package as well? Load up a priority box. I love a reason to hit Half Price Books just a few miles down the road and I bet I can find at least a few on your wish list. And there is always Target too….Do you need any art supplies? I have quite a few canvas boards I bought on sale a few years and they are just gathering dust on a shelf. I know I have a kaboodle of different papers I can send along as well and who knows what else I can unearth for your kids. Hmmmmmm and there is also a store that is just 5 minutes from me. It’s a store for teachers to pick up stuff for their classrooms. They sell new stuff but also gently used stuff. It’s like a mini teacher super store. Everything in one place. I can never remember the name but I’ve been in there a few times. I have an over head projector I’ve been meaning to take to them to sell, not something I will be using again. If we lived close I’d give it to you but I am guessing shipping would be prohibitive. I’ll see what she has for dry erase boards for you. I might be able to get them at a discounted rate but is there anything else you need, flash cards, maps, just name it and I will attempt to hunt it down for ya.
why thank you for your generous offer susie! that’s an AFFIRMATIVE for any books & paper. all would be graciously accepted and appreciated.
I will put something together and get in the mail by the end of the week, hows that?????…happy to…anything to help wee ones since my kidlets are now all growed up and official and done with school…gonna be a reality check for her when her loans start to kick in… 🙂 I’ve been warning her since last year…..:) Big hugs Mary Ann
Have an awesome week!!!!
My best wishes, most positive thoughts, for your brother and his recovery. Singing in the lifeboats, of course. Even putting on lipstick and fluffing our hair. The Wish List is an excellent idea. xo
So delighted to know so many are wanting to help your little learners. If anyone reads this it is very easy to order from MAM’s wish list. Just choose items then go with the flow and all will end up at her home.
Thank you for providing us this opportunity to help you help your children. Teachers can use all the help they can get. Schools are not created equal when it comes to supplies and funds. We live in the South and it is pretty humble here.
Your children are truly blessed to have you in their lives. The best to you all. Smiles: Sharon
Hi Mary Ann,
Just sent your kiddos a little Judy Moody! Hope they love them!!!
Susan
oh they will!!!!!!! big thanks xo
Hi? Sending your brother best wishes, for a speedy recovery!
Good health to you, Mary Ann?
How many kidletts in your classroom??????
22 of them at present 🙂
I love the idea of your Amazon wish list for your classroom! I would love to show some gratitude to you for 1) your wonderful blog and 2) your creative and loving approach to teaching! But, as I looked at the list, I wondered: How do I send them to you? Does Amazon have your address associated with the wish list? I am sure you don’t want to make your address public, so just how does this work?
Thanks,
Sandy
I wondered exactly the same thing ….
Jayne & Sandy,
My classroom wishlist is associated with my address. You won’t see it, because it’s private, but either Amazon or 3rd party vendors have access to it and will mail accordingly. i wondered the same thing and had to do a little digging to find the answer!
thank you 🙂
Sent you a gift, what an inspired idea!
hey thanks gwen! so nice of you…
Oh yay!! So glad to see your wish list–Hunter is sending the Roald Dahl collection with lots of love. Happy Saturday! xoxo
aw thanks mr. hunter! 🙂
I just placed an order for you, on Amazon. I’m so excited to be able to help your kids, and you too!
I hope your brother recovers quickly. I too am 61 years old! Yikes!
THANK YOU 🙂
so apparently the address wasn’t an issue for you?
that’s good news!
Well, this has been a morning of thoughts. I held forth myself on my FB post today. There must be a contemplative vibe in the air. I live in Hourglass Land, and sometimes it feels like the Wicked Witch is shouting at me and my little dog. Other times, I’m just living my life and not noticing any grains falling down. I’m sorry to hear about your brother. As a person who lives in a house where people come in and just start looking at everything like they’re in a museum, I’m inclined to say you’re probably still in the Knick Knack Safe Zone. However, I’m about to shed a truck full of stuff to the community thrift shop. This material evacuation is in preparation for the big remove. I might mention that my cousin is lobbying for me to move to California.
i’m sure you must heed his call!!!
going to read your facebook post…
Love the pretty plates, lake water/earth vials, and assorted knick-knacks.
Best wishes to Ray as he recovers from his strokes.
Hello, I am a teacher, too. I went to purchase some of your books for you but I don’t get an address available to have them sent to you. It said something like you didn’t leave an address and I’d have to add it myself, which of course I don’t know it. Would you please check it out and make sure your address is available for shipping the wish list items?
I do enjoy traveling, too and love the way you write. I’m hoping to retire in 2-4 years and I’m just dreaming and making a list of all my travels after for when I do!
Elaine
hi elaine,
it appears to be set up correctly to deliver to my primary address for both amazon & 3rd party vendors. not sure why it isn’t working…
appreciate you trying! 🙂
Hi Mary Ann! I know for a fact that smoothies can be rather weird in color and still taste good! My husband makes them in his Vita-Mix and it grinds everything….skin, seeds, pulp and all into a nice thick mush. Bananas and strawberries can make sawdust taste good!
I have had moments like you, when I look around my house and realize I just have too much stuff. However, I have no idea where I’d start to thin the herd. I can purge magazines pretty easily and even go through my closet now and then. But those tiny, Delft shoes I picked up in Amsterdam? Not so much. It is a constant struggle not to fall under the spell of some piece of pottery or bric a brac when I travel. We are going to New England in early October and have been told by my niece that the Paradise City Arts Fair will be going on the day after we arrive. I can already feel myself swooning….
Speaking of this trip, we will be making it a road trip up through AL, Tenn., West VA, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and then MA. Taking off from there to Maine and New Hampshire, So I have been loading up my iPad with books to read on the way. I didn’t realize how handy it has proven to be to have so many choices in one small device. I know some people don’t like the ebook format but for me it has been great not to have to lug around a stack of books. Plus, I subscribe to Bookbub and have temptation put in my path everyday and never more than $1.99 -2.99 per book. Some are free or 99 cents! Yay!
Hope your brother has a speedy recovery, MAM. And keep those smoke signals coming from the west coast. They are signs of intelligent life in this hemisphere!