i finished binding my new sketchbook. and…
the hooded orioles that visit me every year from april through august are getting ready to fly the coop. i’m sad to see them go and wish i could watch a travelogue of their journey. how i would delight in seeing the route they take to mexico and beyond. how many miles do they fly a day? how long does it take? do they have an established route? i wish i knew.
here is a blurry pic i snapped . capturing them on film isn’t easy.
school has done something to my nocturnal imagination i’m having enormous dreams every night rich with mystery, water, nature. at dawn i charge back through the fog and wake up feeling like i’ve been exploring the entire world.
i have a special group of children this year in the classroom. it’s a lovely combination of quirky personalities. believe me when i tell you this is the exception rather than the rule.
the amazon wish list packages have started piling up on my porch. unfortunately, amazon drops the ball sometimes and fails to include a packing slip or gift receipt. if they do, i scan it and then am able to send a thank you note right away through amazon. if they don’t, i can’t. i contacted them today about quite a few watercolor sets that arrived in envelopes with no receipts. all they could tell me were the names of the people who sent them. so ANN, CONNIE, & GOOD BOOKS FROM BROOKLYN thank you kindly for your donations. please know just how appreciated they are.
here’s what arrived today! i’ll be schlepping it to school in the morning. picture a cluster of bees buzzing around a honeycomb and you’ll have a good idea of what the atmosphere will be like when i let them look in the bags each morning.
i’ve started reading this in the afternoons when we return from lunch. i let everyone draw or doodle while i read. it keeps them from fidgeting and they really like the story. it’s vaguely familiar so i may have read it to another class sometime in the last 22 years, but i can’t say for sure! it’s about a boy who is a bully, doesn’t have any friends, and everyone dislikes him. sounds grim but, it has a theme of redemption.
hope you’re reading, eating, dreaming, or watching something good. see you soon!
wait. one more thing.
i finished this netflix series and i’m really sad about it. now i have to wait at least another year for season 3. swedish with english subtitles. i cannot recommend highly enough. i was so pleasantly surprised to find it on netflix in north america. there are dozens of new series popping up so often it seems, but the quality of this one (and the music!!!) is in my opinion superior. heads and tails above the others. i’m only sorry to learn that one of my fav actors in the series has died and won’t be returning next season. that’s all i’m saying!
Perhaps you’ve already done a flip through of this new sketchbook and I missed it? Also, what size sketchbook is this that you’re now working in? Looking forward to any new classes on the horizon (fingers crossed). Stay well and happy creating.
Mary Ann,
Really love the stitch on your sketchbook!!! I would really like to copy too!!!
thanks,
Susan
I like that spine stitch too on your new sketchbook. Are you planning on sharing it with us in some form?
So glad to hear that your school year is off to a good start, I was thinking of you on Tuesday and all the others who must change gears from the summer living mode to
the non stop responsibilities of the classroom. Soldier on MAM and teach what you love!
I’d a tutorial on the binding stitch, too!
*Edited* I’d like
coming up!
yes indeed i will! but i can’t say exactly when that will be because it will need to be in video form. while i’ve got the video out to film my travel journal flip through i’ll do a quicky tutorial on that stitch!
What a lovely post. I feel inspired to have the hopeful poetic outlook you have each day. Those kiddies are lucky to have you👏
Diane
A new season is coming up. Soon.
And look out for The Cake General, a wonderful Swedish film.
oh i am going to look right away. i need another dose of sweden.
I love that you let the kids doodle while you read. Sound like a lovely way to ease back to learning after lunch. Wondering if you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I loved the book and just watched the movie on Netflix. Two thumbs up.
ttfn,
Maria
oh! i saw that on netflix and wondered. i did not read the book…maybe i should!
The Big Reveal! I am GOOD BOOKS FROM BROOKLYN! Forgot that’s how I appear on Amazon 😉 Love this post, love your new sketchbook.
oh dahling thank you ever ever ever so much! i just found out today after receiving 4 more packages with no receipts inside that unless the buyer checks that the order is a GIFT the recipient will not receive any receipt in the package and thus will not be able to issue a proper thank you. bah.
Just want you yo know i think you are the “goodliest” person ever! I took your remains of the day class a few years ago and it was great!
But i just think your blog and how you are with the kiddos is pretty cool. Makes me think of when i helped out at the school when my boy was little!
Cheers!!
ohhhh thanks marlene. nice of you to help out back then. i’m sure it was appreciated!
Lovely sketchbook and great hearing about this year’s class! Orioles pass through our yard, too, but since we got rid of our hummingbird feeder (became an ant magnet, then they would detour into the kitchen), we don’t notice so many.
i have a little feeder attachment that hangs from a hook. you put water in it and the ants can’t get to the feeder!
That is a beautiful spine. I am about to finish up my big handmade sketchbook and my small purse sketchbook. Excited to begin new ones for each- desk and on the go.
it’s always a great feeling to begin a brand new sketchbook i think!