three on thursday

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1) Even though it's been a shortened short week (a half-day on Tuesday due to the storm), this week feels like the longest ever.

2) And we're supposed to get wallopped by the snowstorm tomorrow: 8-10 inches!!! What is that? It's November for cryin' out loud!

3) In spite of it being the longest week ever and my students' squirrelly behavior because of yet another snow storm, I've done some excellent teaching this week. Lots of super discussions among the students as well as whole group discussion.

unraveled wednesday

Join Kat @ AsKatKnits for some fun!

Knitting for Christmas the Back Porch Shawl. And I'm just starting to listen to Glass Houses.

finished reading

I don't know how Louise Penny does it--but this series gets better with each book. This one is set at the police academy and the main narrative twists and turns until everyone is a suspect. But there is another storyline that includes a mysterious map found stuffed into the wall of the bistro in Three Pines. These storylines intertwine the characters and develop so richly. I could gush and gush about this book and this series.

From the publisher:

When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.

Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.

And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.

Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.

The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.

For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.

ten things tuesday

Ten things:

1. It's official.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...Snow occurring. Snow may become wet at times this
afternoon. Additional snow accumulations of 4 to 7 inches are
expected.

* WHERE...Northeast Aroostook, Northern Piscataquis, Northern
Penobscot and Central Piscataquis Counties.

* WHEN...Until 1 AM EST Wednesday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on difficult travel conditions with
moderate to heavy snow during the afternoon commute. Expect
significant reductions in visibility at times.

2. We did get out of school after lunch, but it took me about forty-five minutes to get home because we could only crawl along at 35 mph.

3. However, when I did peel my white knuckles off the steering wheel in my driveway, I had several packages waiting for me!

4. Stitch Fix is so much fun. If you're interested in a code, comment and I'll give it to you. You'll get $25 off. They have clothes that I never see on anyone else and their sizing is awesome!

5. I started Christmas shopping. In fact, I'm almost done!

6. I started wearing socks again. Now that there's snow, it's time for socks and shoes.

7. Have I mentioned that I hate winter?

8. A couple of books were released today. I can't wait to dive into them. One audiobook and I'm almost finished my current audio, so that's convenient.

9. Soup is on the menu for tonight. I've got a delicious tomato basil ready to go! And Ritz crackers--my favorite!

10. My sisters and I keep sending each other goofy filtered videos. They make me chuckle.

currently

I am...

Reading: A Great Reckoning

Listening to: nothing

Loving: I spent some time with my eldest sister and we bonded, it was nice

Thinking: about Paul's funeral literally next door

Feeling: depressed--it's been a roller coaster of a week

Celebrating: I finished the blanket I knit for my great-nephew due in January, it's drying now

Grateful for: time for myself

Weather: sunny! and 30 degrees but it feels like 20

Enjoying: I received a copy of a commendation that was sent to my superintendent of schools thanking him for supporting my work on the state's standards of learning in social studies, it's quite a letter!

A quote I want to share:

thank you

self-care sunday

Anxiety is on high alert for the calling hours tonight. I dread them in general and tonight will be very emotional and difficult. I'm trying to be gentle with myself since my body is on high alert. I've had anxiety sweats and am flushed.

Self-care Sunday will consist of being mindful of how my body feels, gauging my emotional barometer, and knitting--I should finish the baby blanket I'm working on today. Plenty of time for the shower.

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.

saturday 9

The Middle

1) This song is about compromise. When did you recently give in a little and meet someone halfway? I do regularly

2) She sings that the floors are wet. Are there any floors in your home that could use a good scrub today? If you answered "yes," will those floors get cleaned this weekend? I am planning a scrub down of the bathroom--how glam!

3) She also sings that the cabinets are bare. What's currently on your shopping list? I am totally blanking out on my shopping list, I haven't made it yet

4) You may be familiar with this song from Target's TV commercials. Do you often shop at Target? I 😍 Target and it's a good thing the closest one is three hours away

5) The lead vocal is handled by Maren Morris, a Grammy winner for "My Church," which is all about singing with the car radio. What's the last song you sang along with? I've been singing along with the Billy Joel channel on Sirius (channel 30)

6) This past April, Maren married singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd and they have performed onstage together. Who is the last person you sang along with? I sang with Billy Joel

7) This song was composed by brothers Kyle and Michael Trewartha. With their bleached hair and sunglasses, they look like a pair of surfer dudes -- which they are, having grown up in Huntington Beach, CA. Is there a body of water near your hometown? my town has two a river and a stream on either side of it, it's almost an island

8) January 2018, when this song debuted, we had a total lunar eclipse. When things like that happen in the sky, do you go out of your way to watch? depends on the weather

9) Random question -- They say we're all young at heart. In what way can you be childlike? I have a child-like sense of wonder

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'm reading Meet Me at the Museum.

Dear Tina,
As I write this to you, I have the contents of my briefcase on the desk in front of me. That is: my laptop, my phone, my lunch, the Copenhagen Post, and your letter.