Jan19

‘There’s a monster outside my room, can I have a glass of water?’ – M. Night Shyamalan

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my daughter and her aussie family, having decided to take on an easy pet, went the “cute little guinea pigs” route. my grandsons enjoyed playing with them, they were cuddly, and loved to run around in the yard, (grandkids and pigs, both). living in the southern hemisphere, and with a very warm climate, it was not unusual and worked out well for everyone.

until one day, when it got just too hot for them, and the little guys, (the pigs, not the grand babies), decided to make a run for it and head for a cooler location, under the house. they haven’t really seen them since, (the pigs not the babies). i suggested to my daughter that she send the littlest guy, (baby, not pig), under the house on a hunting expedition, with a headlamp and a net. he is the only one who would fit under there, has a huge love of hands-on adventure, and would probably find the mission quite exciting. 

my daughter and i discussed the possibilities if they didn’t find them:

‘are they vegetarians?’ 

‘oh they won’t go hungry, they can eat as much grass as they like out there and always be full.’ 

‘but isn’t everything massive there, you have super races of every animal, who have adapted and are highly developed survivors?’

‘what if they run out of grass? what if they have to eat a bug or something to survive?’

‘yeh, once they have a taste for blood, they could go after bigger things. the neighbor’s cat, a kangaroo, and even us.’

‘we could come home one day and find them to be giants, roaming the yard, looking menacing, making eye-contact with us and hungry!’

‘yes.’

‘it would be like a bad b-movie, with us as the running, shrieking victims.’

‘could you possibly videotape it for me and i could make a fun family movie out of it?’

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soon after, i noticed that she had put up an offer to local friends on Facebook – “looking for a good home for cute guinea pigs, our yard will just not accommodate them since we’ve moved.” following is a very real part of that exchange:

a: Are they child friendly??

 h:  Not really lap guineas, need more handling. I have a leash and everything but don’t think they are quite there yet.

j:  be warned everyone !! they are the guinea pigs from hell !!! they would be perfect extras as pets for the dudes of Sons of Anarchy !!!

 apparently, people have different perspectives about them, clearly divided between those who’ve met them, and those who haven’t. but really, leashes?!

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You can’t create a monster, then whine when it stomps on a few buildings. Yeardley Smith (voice of lisa simpson)

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image credits: freeamigurumipatterns, news.bbc.co.uk, theguardian.com 

 

 

Jan18

blading, gliding – slipping, sliding

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it was a morning spent with the kindergarten on an ice skating adventure. filled with tip-toeing on skates, scooting on boots, giving rides on cones, running on ice, holding hands, tumbling, crashing, laughing, noses running. 

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and all this, as our little hockey playing and figure skating kinders skate on by.

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when it’s time to warm up with hot cocoa and donuts, they find themselves on equal ground, and they are all exhausted and so happy. and then, even our hockey players cry when it is time for moms and dads to leave, and for us to return to the cozy comfort of the circle rug in our classroom once more. and some of us feel newly discovered muscles in their legs the next day, that are apparently never used in this way, and take it real slow when going down the stairs. 

I would say my sense of adventure outweighs my grace – Kathy Ireland

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image credits: freshcardsgifts.co.uk,  partylistyles.com 

 

Jan16

your call.

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The attempt to combine wisdom and power has only rarely been successful and then only for a short while.

Albert Einstein

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image credits: oldprint.com, it’s a lovely life,  economist. com

 

Jan15

Guest Post from Beth of I Didn’t Have My Glasses On, on Unexpected Treasures

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eli, from http://coachdaddyblog.wordpress.com, asked me to be a guest on his wonderful site, where he writes about being a father to 3 girls, a coach, and a creative guy, all at the same time. i hope you’ll enjoy it.

Eli Pacheco's avatarJust a dad ...

This NFL season, I noticed something strange.

The Carolina Panthers, apparently, moved the press box farther away from the scoreboard on the other end of Bank of America Stadium. Or, did they move the scoreboard farther away? Whatever. Talk about inconvenience.

I had to squint to see PANTHERS 7, BEARS 0 after a Brandon Lafell touchdown early in their first preseason game. Turns out, I need glasses. I’m not alone.

Today’s guest poster, Beth, writes a post called I didn’t have my glasses on, a blurry-eyed look at life as a mom, teacher and cupcake maker. I can relate. Well, mostly to the blurry vision and cupcakes.

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Jan13

‘Donuts. Is there anything they can’t do?’ – Matt Groening

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image credit: wwll vintage gas ration ad

i love my carpool.  there are only two of us, but any more than one living thing in a car at the same time, and i consider it a pool. on most days, we drive together to and from school, in our cars with character –  mine is ‘diablo rojo,’ and m’s is ‘sharfonda.’ driving together has many benefits: not only do we save money on gas, and help preserve a smidgen of the world’s energy supply, but the company is wonderful.

we are very much alike, and talk about everything. and make up poetry and tell stories and laugh and go off on tangents and share philosophies and cry and sing. and get lost occasionally, as neither of us has an innate sense of direction. we compare our students, ‘m’ teaches english and poetry at our high school and i, on the opposite end of the spectrum, teach kindergarten in our lower school. even so, we find that many of our student and family and teaching issues are very similar, and we listen and support each other and offer advice. our drive usually takes us about 45 minutes, if all is well along the way, and we don’t end up in some place we hadn’t planned on.  

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but – on some days, things happen. life may be challenging, we are worrying about someone or something, there are issues on the road, there is a tornado watch, a blizzard, a rain squall, or construction events, or we feel like we are driving through a video game, and we have had it, and need some extra support.

we discovered our cure one day, when it had been a particularly challenging drive.  and m suddenly yelled out, ‘quick, turn in! it’s a tim horton’s and we need to go there now!’ i was behind the wheel, and diablo rojo did as requested. as we entered the drive-through we decided that we needed (and deserved), a few ‘tim-bits’ (delicious tiny donut holes), to help us make it the rest of the way and to instantly give us a pick me up.  we quickly scanned the menu options:

Timbits:

10 pack –  1.50    

20 pack –  2.50

40 pack –  4.75

we decided it was a 40 timbits kind of day.

 and we were soon on our way, making up timbit haiku and laughing once again. 

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image credit: http://www.newswire.ca

Chef Andrea Nicholson, of Top Chef Canada, with the Tim Hortons Timbits cake she created.

Nearly four feet tall, the cake contains more than 1,500 Timbits.  

for chef andrea, it was a 1,500 timbits kind of day, must have been a tough one.

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But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

 

 

 

Jan11

Life is a long lesson in humility – James M. Barrie

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it is time at last, to thank my fellow writers for the many awards you have bestowed upon me. these have languished somewhere on the side stage for far too long. i am humbled and honored by your generosity of spirit. not surprisingly, i haven’t followed many of the rules in accepting the awards, but i wanted to thank every one of you none the less. following are the awards and the writers who nominated me for them, in no particular order. each is wonderful and unique in their own way, and i hope that you’ll stop by their sites for a visit. many thanks to all of the rest of you who’ve given me the opportunity to read your words, and who’ve taken the time to read and thoughtfully comment on mine.  

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 awards:

Award Winning Blog Blessed Again

Awesome Blog Content

Best Moments

Blog of the Year

Bouquet of Awards Symphony of Color

Dragon’s Loyalty 

Fantastic Blogger

Inner Peace

Inventive Blogger

Liebster 

Lighthouse

Loyal Reader

Most Creative Blogger

Most Influential Blogger

Semper Fidelis

Shauney Award for Blogging Excellence

Shine On

Sisterhood of The  World Blogger

Sunshine

Super Sweet Blogging

The Versatile Blogger

Very Inspiring Blogger

Word Press Family 

and the writers and their sites:

 http://publictransituser.wordpress.com  

 writes and photographs her daily adventures using public transportation in montreal

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http://markbialczak.com

 a smart and funny approach to movies and music and sports and life in syracuse, ny

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 http://peacelovegreatcountrymusic.com

country music and homespun wisdom 

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http://runningawayfrom49.wordpress.com

three 40 somethings riffing on life

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 http://friendlyfairytales.com

poetry and tales in the world of nature and fairies

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http://andthemoonseesall.wordpress.com

lisa writes with a mind wide open 

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http://witlessdatingafterfifty.wordpress.com

the world of dating after a certain age

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http://belsbror.wordpress.com

writer and photographer 

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http://talesalongtheway.com/about/

anne’s journey through life 

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http://jtweaver.net

the story of family and life 

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http://sanceau.com/about/

writes about life using photos and stories

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http://juststoplooking.wordpress.com

2 single women’s trip through life

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http://ajaytao2010.wordpress.com

even with his personal struggles he tells about a positive in his approach to the world

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http://cruisingthroughmylife.wordpress.com

 engineer and poet in india who writes about women’s issues 

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http://joannebest.wordpress.com

poet and fiction writer 

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http://dshenai.wordpress.com

 scientist who writes about life

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http://5minutesmoreplease.wordpress.com

freelance writer and animal advocate 

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http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/about/

all about animals, peace, social justice, women’s issues 

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http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/about/

 insights about life, using art and photos

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http://animalmikelane.com/animal/

michael writes about his love of animals and adventures in the world

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http://englishmaninitaly.org

a brit married to a sicilian, adjusting to life in italy

 

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The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. – William Blake

 

 

 

Jan11

the kids who went up a slight grade and came down a mountain

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 finally all back together in school this week, and the kindergarten made the most out of enjoying what mother nature had left behind for us to play with. we headed out to go sledding on a ‘hill’ that could best be described as no more than a 23-degree angle, though to see their eyes upon approaching it, it appeared to be their first encounter with the swiss alps. even so, it was a challenge to get to the top, as the snow was quite deep and their legs were quite tiny. but motivated they are, and they hiked up to the summit, over and over, jumped on sleds, headed down, and marched back up. 

all except for one little guy. he stayed on the sidelines, even when invited up, and instead rolled around and ran around and laid in and laughed and ate all the snow he could handle. when it was time to leave and stomp back in, he began crying and yelling out, ‘you didn’t let me go sledding!!!!!’ his outburst was met with great understanding by my class who simultaneously burst out laughing. it was at this point perhaps, that he realized he had made his own choices, and this was not a great argument. the sobbing stopped. 

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There’s no fear when you’re having fun – Will Thomas

when everyone made it back inside, they warmed up, had a snack, went to music class, made puzzles, read books, ate lunch and suited up for another trip outside, this time to the playground. once out there, they saw that their familiar playground had been turned into a winter wonderland. there was fresh, fluffy, deep, white, sparkling snow everywhere, totally untouched by any other kids! 

they jumped in it, rolled in it, made snow balls and snowmen and snow castles, played with ice chunks, went down the slides covered with snow, filled buckets with snow, made snow angels, snapped icicles off of their playhouse, climbed things, tried to run in the snow, and loved every minute of it. after a long time spent playing on our ‘winter beach’ we headed back inside once again. after taking off all of our layers and hanging them to dry, everyone was absolutely exhausted. it was nap time. and we had earned it. 

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image credit:  mnh.si.edu

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When you’re really having fun, you’re always doing it a little bit in a way that you’re not supposed to.

That’s when great things happen.

Annet Mahendru

 

 

 

 

Jan9

I get up in the morning looking for an adventure. – George Foreman

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image credit: metro.co.com 

 today, they are back. we are all to be reunited at school once more. we have survived the holiday vortex, the polar vortex. 

i feel sure we will create our own vortex in no time. i smell adventure in the air. 

Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty – Jacob Bronowski

 

 

Jan8

slip sliding away –

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Slip sliding away, slip sliding away – You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away  – paul simon

and yes, it’s another polar vortex day at home, and yes, i have yet another personal tale of slip sliding away. 

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this one involved a first date. it was back when i was a cocktail waitress, working at a hotel, putting myself through school, a single mother, not sleeping a lot, and without much of a nightlife other than work. he was one of our regular customers, friendly, quiet, always alone, polite, settled in his life. a one-beer kind of man. 

on our big night out, we went to dinner and then to my hotel’s employee holiday party. he knew all of the staff and so it was relaxed and easy for both of us. after some socializing, and one or three cocktails, we left for the night,.

 i didn’t know that while we were busy being social inside, the temperature had dropped, and it had gotten icy outside. i was all dressed up in heels and pearls and big hair and skirt, and feeling quite happy and pretty. as we got to the parking lot, i slid on a patch of black ice near the passenger side, and somehow ended up partially beneath his car. he quickly jumped in to help me out from under it, and back up on my feet, and i was absolutely beside myself in tears, not from any injury, but from laughing so hard. and i could not stop laughing, as the only thing hurt was my pride. 

 after looking up at his face, and seeing that he was not laughing along with me, i said, ‘i was just checking your muffler,’ thinking it might help him to  relax into the situation a bit. he just looked back at me with a poker face, asked me if i was okay, quietly opened my door, and helped me into his car. he never even cracked a smile, or made a comment, and instead, acted as if nothing unusual had just happened. he was a ‘perfect gentleman’ by some standards.

 i instantly realized this had been an unexpected gift from the universe, a sort of litmus test of his approach to life and relationships. i knew that we were not a good match. i knew that we lived life differently. i knew that i would smile and say, ‘hi’ when he came in to the hotel the next time, and we would speak nothing of it. i knew why he felt more comfortable being there alone. i knew it was to be our first and last date.

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 “Some accidents there are in life that a little folly is necessary to help us out of.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld

 

 

 

Jan7

Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale. – Hans Christian Andersen

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the  beautiful wintry view from my cottage this morning

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Image Credit Mike Perini / Michigan Radio

Fairy Garden Village of Ann Arbor – Cottages evacuated due to heavy snow.

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the fairy village in warmer times

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Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.  – c.s. lewis