three on thursday

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Thing one: This is my last day of school this week because immediately after school I'm picking my parents up for a trip to central Maine so Dad can have a medical procedure.  That's not to mention preparing for the substitute.  That's a whole other ball of wax.

Thing two:  I haven't been anywhere in so long, it felt foreign to pack.

Thing three:  I'm trying not to stress about Dad having a procedure.  He is confident after talking at length with the surgeon but still... he's my dad.  I worry.

wordless wednesday

😔

 

ten question tuesday

  I am...

Reading:  Hidden Depths--the 3rd of the Vera Stanhope series

Listening to:  the back-up beep of a mail truck

Loving:  today's dress

Thinking:  about having a substitute on Friday and Dad's surgical procedure

Feeling:  a little stressed, a little tired

Celebrating:  I had a great teaching day--each of my classes remarked that they enjoyed what we were doing 

Grateful for:  successful relationship building with my classes--the effort it takes truly pays off

Weather: it is 61° and cloudy

Enjoying:  I've been unplugging in the early evenings and I notice a difference in my sleeping patterns, I sleep with fewer disturbances

A quote I want to share:

monday madness

 

1. When did you last feel down and out? I had to stand firm in my resolve today when a colleague asked me to run the mock election which he is perfectly capable of running himself--NO!

2. What do you do to feel sexy? jeez, it's been so long I don't remember

3. If you could be somewhere else, where would you be and why? my heart belongs in Ireland--when I stepped off the plane I felt home

4. What have you always wanted to do? enjoy wearing high heels

5.  What do you appreciate the most about your life at this time? being a sought after sounding board

6. If you could be someone else, who would you be and why? I wouldn't

7. Have you ever made a fool of yourself? If yes, spill. Oh, of course--I was blathering on about Buzzword Bingo, explaining the rules and said I would leave when I got Bingo and my superintendent was sitting directly behind me (he did NOT have a sense of humor)

8. What have you always wanted to do but haven't? hmmm, the heels?

9. What do you think about the talk about traveling to Mars? the only interest I would have is if the former student from my school went

10.  If you could bring back someone who has passed, who would it be? my mum

self-care sunday

 

💙💜💓💛💚

Physical = sat outside and enjoyed the gorgeous day 

Emotional = unplugged from school today--I didn't check my school email

Personal = read a book today--started it first thing this morning

Household = cleaned my bedroom, washed dishes, and organized a cupboard

Pampering = picked out some outfits for the week--this will save me some time and give me some options

finished reading

 Oh man, I wish one of my friends would read this so I could talk about it with them!  So many wonderfully quicky, fleshed-out characters.  Such a premise.  Lots of quick chapters that made it easy and quick to read.  I couldn't put it down.  I loved it.

The action begins with a bank robbery that isn't really a bank robbery followed by a hostage situation that really isn't one.  It connects the characters in ways that are unexpected.

From the publisher:

Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths.

First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car.

As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people.

finished reading

There is so much more to this charming book than I expected.  The family dynamics were so vivid.  And the premise is awesome!

From the publisher:

Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places...

When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.

Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.

Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect - and distractingly handsome - school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?

    

postsecret

 PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week. This week two spoke to me.

sunday stealing

 

(click the icon to play along) 

Gratitude

1. A person I’m glad to have in my life. I am lucky to have a lot of great people in my life.  My downstairs neighbor is a prime example--we've actually been friends for longer than thirty years but have been neighbors for maybe 8, anyhow, she is always there for me if I should ever need anything, and knowing that brings me great comfort.

2. Something I find comfort in. having supportive friends, as in #1

3. My favorite part of the morning  the sweet spot when coffee tastes delicious and kicks in

4. My favorite memory I have too many favorites!

5. An accomplishment I’m proud of I am very proud of my professional reputation

6. An opportunity I’m grateful for last week I had the opportunity to re-write the dress code policy at school--making it gender-free and non-shaming and the next step includes presenting it to the faculty

7. My favorite song (and why) I'm going to switch things up a little--my favorite song is "Drowning Man" by U2--usually, I say it's "One" by U2 but this song was actually the one that made U2 my favorite band.

8. A future event I’m excited about. Harvest Break is the annual letting out of school so students can help local farmers with the potato harvest. Back in the day, lots of kids actually worked with the farmers picking potatoes or working on harvesters. Now, kids just work their regular jobs or do nothing for the two or three-week break. It's a tradition. 

9. My favorite area in my home. I really love my bed

10. Something beautiful I saw today. some leaves are changing--I can see them out my kitchen window

11. My guilty pleasure. Bravo TV shows: The Real Housewives franchises, Below Deck franchise, and Top Chef

12. Something I love about a family member my Pennsylvania sister checks in with me regularly and I truly appreciate it--I miss her so much

13. A compliment that made me feel good a colleague told her students that my book recommendations never fail--she was trying to encourage a reluctant reader to try a book I recommended

14. The item I treasure the most. hmmm... item?  I'll say my Nook, it's the single most-used item electronic item I own

15. My favorite part about nature all the beautiful fall colors I'll be enjoying in the next few weeks

16. A book I loved reading I had a hard time wanting to read anything after finishing the magnificent book All The Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

17. A freedom I’m grateful for I am so grateful that I can choose many aspects of my lifestyle

18. My favorite part of the evening. sunset

19. One good thing that happened today. I am enjoying a particularly delicious iced coffee

20. How I show gratitude for my friends. small gestures and remembering the little things

someday we'll find it...

 

saturday 9

 

Frankie and Johnny

1) When this record was initially released in 1966, it never cracked the Top 20. Critics were harsh, saying that Elvis had not kept up the times. How about you? Do you consider yourself up-to-date on today's music? I'm fairly current, mostly because my students keep me fresh.  And I listen to the new music stations (occasionally) on SiriusXM

2) The song is about a woman named Frankie and Johnny, the man who does her wrong. Who is the most recent person to do you wrong? (It doesn't have to be in romance; it could be the person who cut in front of you in line at the supermarket.) One of my colleagues tried to throw me under the bus but was hoist on his own petard!

3) Elvis sings that Johnny cheated with "a chick named Nellie Bly." The real Nellie was an estimable woman, a pioneering 19th century journalist. Can you think of another song that mentions a real person? Candle in the Wind is the first one that comes to mind

4) This song was recorded for a movie by the same name. Elvis played a riverboat gambler. When did you last play a game of chance? I played a dice game with my students--not really a game of chance but it involved dice

5) Actor Harry Morgan had a supporting role in the movie. He's remembered as Officer Gannon on Dragnet and Col. Potter on M*A*S*H. Gannon was a good cop but could be particular about his food and surroundings. As a career soldier, Potter didn't mind roughing it every now and again. Which character are you more like: fussy Gannon or outdoorsy Potter? Gannon, by far

6) Elvis' leading lady was Donna Douglas. She filmed her part during her summer hiatus from TV's The Beverly Hillbillies. Have you ever had a summer job? yes--from working at an ice cream shop to teaching summer school

7) Though not remembered as an actor, Elvis was a bona fide movie star. In 1966, he was listed (with Paul Newman, Sean Connery, John Wayne and Richard Burton) as one of the world's biggest box office draws. Who starred in the last movie you watched? Jason Bateman

8) In 1966, Lauren Bacall appeared on the cover of Time with the headline: "The Pleasures and Perils of Middle Age." She was 41 years old and starring in a hit Broadway play. In the article, she explained that in middle age, she had come to understand that "character and a sense of humor are the two things that will carry you through." Tell us about something you understand better or appreciate more today than you did when you were young. Staying out of drama!

9) Random question: Have you checked out Bud and Mimi's cool new meme, Monday Madness? I have indeed

the friday 56

 The Friday 56

Rules: *Grab a book, any book. 

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's ok.) 

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) 

*Post it. 

I am starting The Switch.

From page 56:

"No, don't you even think about it," Marian says, shaking a finger at me. "I'm fine.  I'll be fine. And Leena will be here!" She gives me a wry smile, and there's a hint of the old Marian there, mischievous and impulsive.  "I have to say, I didn't think even you could persuade Leena to come up and stay within a one-mile radius of her awful mother for two whole months, Mum."

"She does not think you're an awful mother.  And it was her idea!"

"Oh, was it now?"