Storytelling. Fact and fiction. One word at a time.
At the start of every English class we quietly read. Every single day. It's the ritual of the class. For students it's the few minutes of transition from a noisy hallway to a focused Language Arts class. It's the shift in gears from perhaps math, or social studies or physical education. For me it's also... Continue Reading →
Last year, on my 52 birthday I made a list of 52 things I am grateful for. You can read about it here. Not so originally, this year I am making a list of 53 things I have learned in my life so far. There are way-way-way more than 53 things but for the sake... Continue Reading →
I'm sitting on my couch. It's evening. I'm under a big thick blanket with my lap top on my lap. The fire place is on. Today we had the first slushy, wet, cold snowfall of the season. The song Ola Dika Sou by Giannis Poulopoulos (1968) came on my streamed Greek radio. And everything stopped.... Continue Reading →
Canadian Thanksgiving was on the weekend and you know what that means---time for a gratitude post! When practicing mindfulness we're supposed to find things to focus on right now---so in my gratitude practice for Thanksgiving here's a list of 25 things I am happy for this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Sunshine. Each day was quite sunny... Continue Reading →
My favorite season is summer. I appreciate the unique offerings of each season but I have, in the past, had a hard time letting my favorite season go. I saw a post recently that said "It's not officially fall until September 22 so sit your Happy Halloween, Sweater wearing, pumpkin spice latte drinking, scarf donning... Continue Reading →
Dave handed me a book called Show Your Work by Austin Kleon. It's about sharing your work and creativity. And that made sense since we have a co-authorship. The name Austin Kleon and title of the book rang a bell. After a little pondering I realized Kleon was not new to me. I had also... Continue Reading →
Thank you for each of the 94 days that have passed since June 20 where I chased the sun, consciously and unconsciously. I spent that first day of summer, the longest day of the year, the day with the most light---I spent that day chasing the light. I drove west with Ashlee following the sun.... Continue Reading →
The menu: Courses and pairings: In the kitchen with Aaron: Nokomis Kettle Sour Craft Ale and a Wild Tea Kombucha-hard lime with a pre-meal charcuterie of small green things (pistachios, green grapes, Sicilian green olives) surrounding a pile of Edam cheese to relax our palette and prepare our bellies. Warm evening outside: Tomato Gazpacho, blended... Continue Reading →
Hospitality Our trip through the mountains took us from luxury accommodations to a pretty basic experience. In fact we packed pillows and sleeping bags in case we needed to sleep in the vehicle, which we were willing to do as we didn't book any rooms in advance. How freakin' Gypsy of us! The high-end My... Continue Reading →
End of the year traditions At the end of every school year, when the kids come to pick up their report cards I take a photo of the group and then email a letter to parents congratulating them on all THEIR hard work. I think that parenting, and educating is like the lighting guy on... Continue Reading →
