Mellow Yellow Monday

Mellow Yellow Monday

Over the weekend I walked by my kitchen counter and this shadow caught my eye.  I love this shot.  This glass is one of my favorites and to see the sun shine through the glass and create such an interesting shadow on my counter makes me happy.

Peace!

Our Word View - Soft

I'm not sure there is anything else softer than a puppy's nose except maybe her toes!  I can't believe that Flicka is one year old.  On June 19 it will be one year since she joined our family.  I can not imagine our life; no my life without her.  Who knew I would fall head over heals in love with a soft, silly, sassy dog!  

Please visit Our Word View to see Liz's photographic interpretation of the word soft.

Peace!

Friday Fill Ins

And...here we go!

1. Ah, me...if only I was certified 1-6...things would be so much simpler.

2. Getting a full time position for next year is what's on my mind most lately.

3. When I talk to my best friend, I know I can tell her anything and she'll always listen and never judge.  Best friends are like that.

4. One thing at a time  is what's working for me lately.

5. I recently saw The Hunger Games and thought it was a great interpretation of the book.

6.The weekend fills me with joy!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, tomorrow my plans include having my hair done and Sunday, I want to prep for next week and enjoy quiet time with family!

Peace!

Wordless Wednesday

Peace!

Texture Tuesday - Watercolor Edition

I have a series of photos that lend themselves to the application of a watercolor texture.  For today I worked on just one image.  I think I will go back and work on the other images as well to create a series.
I have used two layers of let go and one layer of oh my on this image.

After

Before

Peace!

Our Word View - Spring

First the forsythia and creeping phlox then the daffodils and tulips..... ah the signs of spring.  I love the beauty that unfolds at this time of year.  It seems to come more slowly in my yard perhaps due to my close proximity to the ocean.  I love driving by beautiful gardens and admiring the colors they offer.  Spring is the time of new growth and beginnings.  What could be better than that?

Visit us at Our Word View to see Liz's interpretation of the word spring and check out our Flickr page if you are interested in seeing more.

Peace!

Friday Fill Ins

And...here we go!

1. Vegetables are best roasted and drizzled with good olive oil. 

2. New mason jars; the beginning of something wonderful!

3. How wonderful it is to have a week off with my kids and my puppy,  can't wait for summer vacation!

4. The Hunger Games is a book I'd love to recommend.

5. Using leftovers: I like to jazz them up and create something yummy and different.

6. Sunshine and springtime makes me incredily happy!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to continuing to hang with my kids, tomorrow my plans include being outside and Sunday, I want to get my planning done and prepare for the week ahead!

Peace!

Thoughts...

Some things that I'm pondering:

Why ask a persons opinion if you really don't care and won't listen anyway?

Why invite someone to participate in  the bidding process when you already have your mind made  up and other people's opinions clearly do not matter?

         

Why start a conversation when you are just going to walk    the other way?

Why not respond when someone makes a comment or statement when you are the only people in the room and clearly the person is trying to begin a conversation?

Why speak to people with a demanding tone when if you simply ask nicely everyone will benefit?

Why not focus on the positive rather than dwelling on the negative...all the time?

Why not try kindness because as Dad always said you get more with honey than you do with vinegar?

           

Peace!

   

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...it is gray and cool but the weatherman has said the gray should burn off and leave us with a beautiful sunny day.  We shall see. 

I am thinking...that vacation week off from school is the best! 

I am thankful for...my amazing kids and friends!


From the kitchen...it's been a yummy week here this week!  We had chicken with roasted carrots, a simple green salad and homemade bread also cooked up this week was a delicious salmon dinner with red bliss potatoes and roasted asparagus.  Tonight is homemade pizza.  


I am wearing....my jammies because I can! 

I am creating...not much... I should be working on plans for the upcoming weeks and some art,  maybe if it stays gray I'll work on these things today.  

 

I am going...to make my deck an oasis this year,  more than ever before!  I've created a driftwood sculpture that stands about 4' tall.  It will be wrapped in twinkle lights.  I'll be creating another sculpture for the other side of the deck with similar wood.  We removed the old table and chest off the deck so we have a clean slate to work with.  I can't wait to see how it all turns out.  


I am wondering... if I'll be working full time in the school system next year.  Fingers are crossed as I really need a full time position. 

I am reading...The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan finally!  It is a great book and a fast read. I will definitely finish before the vacation week is over.

I am hearing...Flicka barking.  She has been doing that a lot lately.  I think she feels like she is protecting us from the birds in the birdhouse!  LOL 


I am hoping...that the last 7 weeks of school goes well and fast!  This little touch of summer vacation this week has me yearning for more!  


I am looking forward to...working in my own yard once landscaping is finished at 40 M.


I am learning...so much all the time... and I'm looking forward to learning more.  Having my own class next year would definitely facilitate this process but if not I'll continue to push forward to learn about the latest and greatest in the world of education. 

Around the house...  things are looking ok but there is always something else to clean, pick up or repair!  It is a never ending story.


A favorite quote for today... Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.
Unknown

One of my favorite things...is  staying up late watching shows with N & n and then sleeping  in in the morning. 

A few plans for the rest of the week: hanging with the kids, a photo adventure, visiting with some friends hopefully,  watching a few episodes of our new show Switched at Birth, going to the movies, walking the beach, grading, planning and prepping for going back to school next week.  


A photo I'm sharing:

Painted Pots and Potato Vine

Peace!

Wordless Wednesday

Peace!

Yard Work

Yesterday was a great day.  It started off with a visitation from my Mum.  I had a horrible dream that woke me up very early.  I debated to get up or not and as I was contemplating an early rise I heard the song of the cardinal.  It sounded like she was directly outside my window.  Her song was loud and clear.  Since Mum died the cardinal has come to represent her spirit.  Her song yesterday was like having my mother at my bedside stroking my hair or rubbing my back lulling me back to sleep, just as she did when I was a young child.  After hearing her song I rolled over and went back to a peaceful sleep.  When I awoke for the day it was the song of the cardinal and the thought of my mum that came to my mind.  Such a nice way to begin my day.

Mid morning R and I headed over to 40 M to work on the yard.  The B's(our tenants) are wonderful.  They love the house and are taking care of it.  Last fall we were still working on completing the inside of the house and did not have the funds to work on landscaping so now we are beginning the yard transformation.  I had some thoughts and drew out some plans that we talked about on Saturday.  Mr. B had the idea of clearing the side yard (why didn't we think of that?)  to create a flat area .  We were totally on board with his idea.  He also suggested tiering off the side and using railroad ties to create a wall of some sort.  He has worked in the landscaping industry and knows how to do this work.  He even offered to do it with us.  Awesome!  So we spent the day clearing the side yard.  Can I just say that it is amazing.  It looks beautiful.  I am thrilled with all that we got accomplished.  We ripped out 40 years worth of vines and thorny trees.  Now there is truly a side yard.  It will be beautiful once it is tiered off, leveled and grass or sod is planted in that space.  The B's even offered to purchase a little white picket fence for the border by the road.  How cute are they?  Can I just say that we have had more cooperation and collaboration with these virtual strangers than we ever had with able bodied family that lived there.... It is wonderful to have this collaboration but a little bittersweet at the same time.  So to sum up yesterday was a productive and invigorating day.  We accomplished an amazing amount of work in about 6 hours.  The only down side is that I neglected to put on sunscreen (duh? what was I thinking)  and ended up with a nasty sunburn on my face and neck!  :(  I'll hopefully get over and take pictures and post in the next few days.

Peace!

Our Word View - Mellow

The most mellow pet I have every had the pleasure of sharing my home with was Fluffy.  He chose our family to be his own many years ago when he was evicted from a neighbors home... put out because the family's daughter preferred their second cat and the two cats just didn't get along.  Fluffy was not only beautiful but also gentle and sweet.  He was more like a dog than a cat.  He came when called, sat by your feet and adored attention.  He spent most of his time outside.  Whenever we would go outside, in no time at all Fluffy would be running to be with us in the yard.  He would follow us and rub around our legs, winding his way inside and out as if her were training for a cat show.  As soon as he would see us he would start purring.  He was such a love.  Last year his health declined.  In retrospect I'm certain that he had lyme disease.  He went out one evening during April vacation and never returned.  I love this picture of him. It exemplifies his personality perfectly, as does our word of the week.... mellow.  He was a mellow, yellow love of a cat.  I will always miss him.

Please visit Our Word View to see how Liz interprets the word mellow through photography.  

Peace!

I'm Back!

Poor Surfside has been severely neglected of late!  Over the past two weeks I have found myself immersed in 4th grade curriculum, preparations for vacation and the fatigue that comes with working full time!  It has been years since my last full time position and I am realizing how spoiled  lucky I was to be able to have Mondays and Fridays off for so long.  Often those days were taken up with caring for Dad when he was still alive or general household chores and errand but they were still my days.  It is amazing how quickly a weekend flies by when you have to be back to work on Monday!

It has been a fun filled week in the fourth grade.  I made significant progress in assessing my students reading fluency and comprehension... just seven more students to go!  In order to work individually with students much planning and organization is required.  Twenty three students must be engaged in a rigorous, worthwhile independent or small group literacy based academic activity as I read with one student.  So much has changed in the word of teaching reading that I find myself learning new skills everyday along with my students.  I love learning from them as much as I enjoy facilitating their learning.
So reading assessment was one piece of my busy schedule this week.  We also commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Titanic.  We read and responded to informative articles and books on the Titanic.  We problem solved and looked at interesting facts about the supplies necessary to feed the passengers of the Titanic.  Over the past several weeks the students worked on a Titanic survivor report where they  independently gathered information about an assigned survivor, decided what would be important to report, wrote up their findings and created a visual display to go along with their report.   This past week everyone shared their projects with the class.  It was fascinating to learn the survivors stories.  The kids did a fabulous job.  To wrap up our week long study we hosted a 'First Class' tea on Thursday.  Students and teachers came to school dressed in their finest clothes ready to have a feast.  Parent and teachers shared delicious foods including, fresh oysters, cucumber sandwiches, salmon on cucumber rounds, hummus, fruit and cheese, roasted lamb, mint sauce, creamed carrots, hot rice, french ice cream and assorted desserts.   It was so much fun to observe children trying different foods for the first time.  The kids loved the experience and I think it will be something they will always remember.

Now we are on April break!  I'm hoping to catch up with my friends who I have sorely neglected since I started working full time.  I miss them terribly!  This will be a good week to regroup and relax.

Peace!

Happy Easter

Peace!

Our Word View - Sun

When I learned of our new word over at Our Word View for the week this image popped into my minds eye!  I remember taking this  last summer.  n and I were at the beach with Flicka in the early in the morning and the beach was all ours.  It was so peaceful.  I can close my eyes and hear the surf lapping on the shore, feel the warmth of the sun on my cheeks and smell the salt air in the breeze.  Soon the sun will bring us days like this again.  Oh how I long for the relaxed days of summer vacation.  

Peace! 

Resting.....

Well it has been another weekend of rest.  I'm still feeling horrible with a nasty upper respiratory ailment.  I awoke yesterday with the worst headache I have ever experienced.  I decided to try my neti pot.  Why didn't I think of that sooner?  It has been helpful.  Continued rest is on my agenda.  A quiet Easter is planned.  Baskets, simple roasted chicken dinner and preparations for next week.

Have a blessed Easter.

Peace!

Wordless Wednesday

Peace!

Texture Tuesday Oh So Soft

Kim's stained linen texture transformed last summer's hydrangea into a soft dreamy image with the feeling of yesteryear.  As the school year begins to wind down I find myself dreaming of the lazy, hazy days of summer.  

Peace!

Mellow Yellow Monday

Well it's a dreary morning here so far.... thought some yellow would help brighten up spirits near and far.

Peace!

Our Word View - Shadow

I love capturing shadows.  For some time I participated in shadow shot Sunday.  I find something intriguing, even mysterious about the beauty of the shadow, perhaps the beauty emanates from the light needed to create the shadow.  I notice shadows everywhere!  This is my all time favorite shadow shot.

Peace!