Jan15

humanity.

Posted on January 15, 2024 by beth

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our class of 3’s-4’s

met with their learning partners

a 4th grade class

and together

they read a book

learned about what Dr. King

stood for and fought for

in his own peaceful way

talked about

what love, fairness, equality

meant to them

then created

a lovely art piece together

each to become a square

in a large paper quilt

created by the whole school

a beautiful collaboration.

—

“make a career of humanity.

commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights.

you will make a better person of yourself,

a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959.

Jan14

blue!

Posted on January 14, 2024 by beth

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a lovely, blustery, turn your fingers blue, afternoon

spent with my grandson

welcoming our team home with a parade

a city full of pride and joy

for our very own

national champions

university of michigan wolverines

go blue!

—

“i think everyone, once in his life, should be given a ticker-tape parade.”

-gene kranz

—

image credits: brad galli, wxyz, me

Jan13

snowflake.

Posted on January 13, 2024 by beth

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2500 hours across 5 years – “The Snowflake,”

featuring more than 400 snowflakes, all in relative size to one another.

photography by *don komarechka

—

*Don Komarechka is a nature & landscape photographer located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Born and raised in Sudbury, Ontario, Don is no stranger to cold winters. From auroras to pollen, insects to infrared, much of Don’s photographic adventures reveal a deeper understanding of how the universe works. Snowflakes are no exception.

Don began studying the science of snowflakes the same day he first photographed them, nearly four years prior to the publication of this book. Since then, snowflakes have been a non-stop passion.

Each one of Don’s snowflake images is photographed on an old black mitten at his home. Barrie, Ontario is known for higher levels of winter precipitation, making it a great location to capture hundreds of beautiful specimens.

Always science-minded but never formally trained, Don uses photography as a way to explore and understand the world around him. Photographing something unusual or unknown is the perfect excuse to learn something new.

—

“nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”

-henry david thoreau

Jan12

michigan medicine.

Posted on January 12, 2024 by beth

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as michiganders

we grew up with detroit’s famous vernors ginger ale

not only was is good to drink and make floats and shakes out of it

but we used it as at least 80% of our medicine

if you felt

nauseous, had a virus, flu, unexplained itching, headache, were sore, tired, dizzy

or suffered from an unlimited litany of ailments

you were put to bed

and given cold vernors to sip on

but when the hot vernors showed up

on your bedroom tray

you knew your prognosis was much worse

and your days possibly numbered.

—

“there is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great,

and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.”

-orison swett marden

Jan11

collage.

Posted on January 11, 2024 by beth

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my class, getting into the collage style of art

—

not me, but very similar to how my house l0oks

when i’m happily immersed in my favorite way to create art,

collage.

—

“collage is more than just an art style.

collage is all about bringing different elements together.

once you form a sensibility about connection,

how different elements relate to each other,

you deepen your understanding of yourself and others.”

-bryan collier, american writer and illustrator

Jan10

word nerd.

Posted on January 10, 2024 by beth

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artist: graham gillmore, ploy.

now this is a holiday made for me! i love words of all kinds and am a proud word nerd.

We celebrate National Word Nerd Day on January 9, (missed it by one day), by enthusing about our favorite words and the importance of language in our culture. Whether you always know what to say, or you often end up with your foot in your mouth, words are essential to our success and progress. National Word Nerd Day gives us the chance to learn some new words, use some old ones, and maybe even borrow them from someone else!

HISTORY OF NATIONAL WORD NERD DAY

Humans have communicated since we first walked on Earth, though our early language was nowhere near as complex as the systems of words we use today. Once, our basic vocabulary range was no different from that of great apes, but as we advanced, so did our language.

With developments in our lifestyle, we needed to be able to name things, communicate ideas, and express ourselves to aid our advancement. Words and language became increasingly important, yet it took many centuries until they were considered important enough to document.

During the medieval period, the written word was considered a luxury, with only the rich or the anointed able to read and write in a sophisticated way. As such, the majority was only able to enjoy words through oral storytelling. Shakespeare and other great wordsmiths used their love of words to delight audiences in the theatres, even inventing words for use in their work.

But by the mid-18th century, reading and writing were more widely taught and accessible to a greater range of people. It became necessary to produce a comprehensive list of words and their meanings in the English language, a task embarked upon by Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was paid the sum of 1,500 guineas (approximately $325,000 in today’s money) for its completion. After seven years of toil, his dictionary was published in 1755 and is still widely regarded as one of the most influential texts of the English language.

Today, we celebrate National Word Nerd Day to mark the importance of words in our history and civilization, giving us an excuse to geek out on our favorites!