last night i had a dream about my friend who commandeered an old, rusty, garbage truck and put a huge plow on the front. he was determined to make it to my cottage to clear the driveway, and would do whatever it took to get here, mad max armageddon style. many thanks for your loyalty, my friend, and perhaps winter has worn out it’s welcome, even in my dreams.
Winter lingered so long in the lap of Spring that it occasioned a great deal of talk. – Bill Nye
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.
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.
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
1. friend’s husband signs up for long distance marathon and has to spend the night before it, on site. he is happy.
2. friend’s friend invites their kids to have a slumber party with her kids that night at her house. both sets of kids are happy.
3. friend is extremely excited to have an very rare night at home all to herself, not taking care of anyone else. she is happy.
4. friend making plans to pamper herself and do only things she most enjoys. she is very happy.
5. two american government parties disagree on things. they are not happy.
6. both sides play chicken and no one gives in and they find themselves at an impasse. they are even less happy.
7. government shuts down. each side is blaming the other one for their unhappiness.
8. national parks shut down. rangers and visitors are not happy.
9. friend’s husband’s marathon at national park is shutdown. he is not happy.
10. friend’s night of self-indulgence is shutdown. she is not happy.
‘it’s like the first domino falling’ – zhang jiankang
fellow blogger friend and humorist, tom nardone, http://tomnardone.net/home/ posted a spaghetti western/clint eastwood-style piece. told him i wanted to get in on that and be a free-wheelin’ wild woman, meting out justice all over the land. tom is a man who dealt with a lot of injustice as a child, and lived to write about it. he now helps others with his honest childhood stories and his comical approach to life as an adult. well lo and behold, he made my justice fighter dream come true. here is tom’s version of what i am doing with my time off when i’m not teaching kindergarten. thank you tom.
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan
bringing my world to you – ann arbor, mi, usa
a little bit friendly city, a little bit beautiful country
I didn't have my glasses on.... 