A List

Today I was reading Living the Creative Life: Ideas and Inspiration from Working Artists and one of the exercises suggested making a list of all the things you loved as a child. Here's my list:
Barbies, books, paper, crayons, paint, cookies, cakes, cats, rings, fingernails, elbows, tulips, swings, shoes, quilts, the beach, the woods, rain, swimming, my bike, gum, candy of all sorts, Coke, hair, lipstick, little chests of drawers, flannel, coffee smells, troll dolls, gnomes, tiny furniture, doll houses, Snoopy, Archie comic books, trees, tree houses, the golf course, pie, apples, cheerleaders, pom poms, stationery, letters, perfume, sewing, embroidery, pickles, foam pillows, walks, races, plays and acting, dancing lessons, Camp Fire Girls, writing in journals, butterflies, cows, fields of crops, strawberries, taking pictures, doodling, clean smells, saddles shoes, Van Gogh and Grandma Moses, dolls, fabric, wall paper, fresh sheets on my bed, tidy cupboards, and sack lunches eaten in the woods. The thinking is that you like all the same things as an adult. I do. You should make a list of all the things YOU loved as a child and share it with me. Do you want to?

The sky was SO blue today!

The leaves are tired.

A little look at "pretty" in the midst of the frozen icebergs

More pretty.

The grading I haven't done yet. Oh no.

A funny little friend I drew and colored this afternoon. Bill said, "How's that grading going?"

Here's a little chicken who came for dinner and some trick-or-treating!

A pink butterfly who "fraps" her wings went out with Grampy

Tomorrow = NOVEMBER!
Bye bye October! You were fun and very lovely! See ya next year!
Oh, I love you, my blog readers. You are so quick to give of yourselves. I appreciated your comments on my last post. You're so smart, so wise, so real. I wish you soft love and tingles in your mind, the kind that make you feel bright and cheerful. (BIG HUG!)

Calling All Wonderful Ladies!

What I missed most (not who, but what) while we were in Hawaii was reading and writing. I took along a little journal, but it wasn't my regular jazzed up journal. I couldn't fit my fancy colored pencils in my bag, so I substituted some twisty neon crayons (just okay) and I took my Kindle because I couldn't very well load a whole pile of books through security. I hate carrying heavy stuff, too. My back hurt for two days after hiking around the airports with a crammed backpack and a too-heavy flowery bag. So, as we cruised along the strip, walking to dining establishments, I was bored. I delight in the smell of bookstores. I crave stickers, pencils, juicy markers, and sharp felty pens. So, now I'm home to my basket of "fun creative marking materials" and I'm happy. I am reading The Help. VERY fascinating read, I must say. We're starting short stories when school resumes and I want to throw some challenging tales their way. The advanced kids can work through advanced placement strategies and the grade-level kids can use their reading skills to decode some Pom Pom chosen yarns. I want the kids to view stories as life defining. I'm trying to think of a thought provoking unit question - something that will spur them on toward story loving. Any ideas? In the meantime, I can't quit reading The Help. WHAT a good book! I like to read many books at once, so I shall treat myself to book smells and book love for the rest of the weekend.
Okay, I have a question for you. While we were in Hawaii, I saw a lot of people. I studied all shapes and sizes, many hair styles (mine is DREADFUL right now) and funny beachy clothes. I have not figured out completely what it means to grow old gracefully. I mean, I don't care about fashion -it's not that- but I do look for inspiration in an artsy sort of way. I love the way my mom dresses. She's kind of preppy. I like the way my mentor teacher Cyncie dresses - artsy and hippy-ish, but she's tall and I'm short. And now that I think about this, it isn't really clothes I'm thinking of, it's more of a presence and now I'm realizing how silly I am and seeing the light a bit (thank you!) and what I really mean is that I think I'm shooting for a little more gentle, a little less noisy, descending instead of ascending . . . who are your favorite mentors? Tell me about them, okay?

Last Day

I'll miss these views of the blue sky, blue water.

I'm completely relaxed - all fueled up for a snow covered home, papers to grade, a birthday celebration for Jenny and ultimately the three week school run until Thanksgiving arrives. Little Miss Samantha Rose will be arriving around the same time! JOY!

My friend Tom, a fellow eighth grade teacher from my school, went to dinner with us last night. All Jeff's friends came down and we dined at the Italian restaurant that Jeff worked at his freshman year at UH. They are all so sweet and we had a delicious meal together. Tom brought me a lei! Isn't it gorgeous! Tom's staying until Saturday, so he's just beginning HIS Hawaiian fun!

The park by the zoo

Teddy's: a yummy burger lunch!

Dinner at Shorebird's. That's my delicious fish in the foil!

Kelli sent me this picture of her neighborhood at home. She took this early in the day, but the airport is out of operation a bit, so it's good that we are flying through the night. The sun is expected in Denver on Saturday. I am filled with thankfulness for such a beautiful five days in this tropical paradise. We'll go back to the beach this morning, soak up some golden sun, float one more time in the salty, blue water, eat lunch, take another nap, stow our bags and grab a quick dinner, catch a cab to the airport and go home. Thank you so much for joining me and leaving such happy, generous comments. I have loved sharing this with you!
Aloha!

Trees

The beach at dusk is like a sweet lullaby and the soft Hawaiian music breeds relaxation, but the trees . . . I keep looking up at them.

This tree is a monument - it even has a plaque attached!

The greens, so green and lush . . . mmmmmmm . . .

Even the long-necked palms work to provide shade from the tropical sun. Somehow, the paved, well traveled roads and sidewalks stand in stark contrast to the natural beauty. More bobbing around in the water today. Yesterday, a darling little Japanese girl played with her parents. She enlisted their help with her sand castle, jumped around to delight them and pranced from shore to sea with sheer joy. I wish I could have taken her picture. Of course, this made me miss Birdie and CB. They would love digging and splashing here. Finn would dive in the warm water - he's brave. Miss Bug could cool her toes, sitting in her walker. We were at the beach early yesterday and we still got a lot of sun. More sunscreen is required today, and maybe more time in the water than on the hot sand. The fruit is crisp and tasty and the fish is delicious! The bed is soft, white, and I've been sleeping more than I'm used to. Thank you so much for checking up on me, far away on a dot in the middle of the Pacific. I'm so happy to share the pictures and comments with you! BIG (HUG)! Aloha!

More Rest

Jeff's friend made fun of me for taking this photo of the plastic leis. They are pretty though, don't you think? I like the colors - so there!

I'm a fan of tiki torches - the torches here provide island ambiance.

What if everyone were on vacation ALL the time? I guess someone would have to do the work and the work is essentially good. Waitresses work at a laborious pace. Life guards bear intense responsibility. Riding around on a big jet ski wouldn't be THAT fun when the waves are high like they were yesterday. We stayed on the safe side of the bulk head. I could have stayed in the water all day - all day. Okay, I just have to say that some of the sights on the beach are not fit for the eyes of children. Modesty - not so much. Oh well. I guess I'm a bit of a Puritan when it comes to baring skin. I do love the people who have no uptight reservations about wearing a very large swimsuit - it makes me feel better. I have some "not so becoming" pride that I'm not proud of. Oh, to have a heart of love that accepts, adores and believes . . .that's my quest.

Aloha!

We're here and it is all-over beautiful! I must admit to a small case of culture shock - so many people cruising along the strip in Waikiki and LOTS of people in the water and on the beach because it was Saturday. We had dinner outside with a very loud band blaring, but gazing at the horizon made up for that!

Can you imagine seeing THIS every night? Doesn't this make you want to re-read Hawaii?

The only shop I stopped in - THIS little cubbyhole of lovely! Aren't the quilts stunning?
Of course my teacher body awoke at 3 am and after breakfasting on a fresh fruit gift from Bill's travel agent, I'm wishing Bill would wake up and go get me some coffee! He's snoozing away though. Today we'll head to the beach and float in the ocean with LOTS of other people, walk around, nap, read, journal, nap, take pictures, nap. I know I'll be tired early. Bill's a veteran when it comes to coping with jet lag - me, not so much.
I hope YOU are doing okay. You are so sweet to check in on me today! I promise more fun to come. Aloha!

Hello There!

Hi Everyone! I've been swamped with school and grading. I've been going to bed early, getting up to talk to Bill before school and go, go, going all day. Not exactly my cup of tea! I thought I'd show you this Halloween-y skeleton that hangs in one of the science classrooms. Boo!

Here's Jenny's pup, BEANS. Isn't she a cutie? She came over tonight with Jenny and Scott. They brought pizza. Yum! I still need to pack my little bag for Hawaii! Yahoo! We leave tomorrow morning!

Look at this lovely glass bead that Carolyn sent me! I have been wearing it every day!

The heating system at school is so wacky, and now it is FREEZING in my room. I need these fuzzy shoes to keep warm all day! But, tomorrow: FLIP FLOPS!

This is what Denver looked like the other day when I stopped to pick up some dinner at the burrito store.

A MIRACLE HAS OCCURRED. I went to Crate and Barrel with Kelli the other day and I looked around at all this house stuff that I used to WANT and now I do not want any of it anymore. Isn't that amazing?

Fall is still showing its brilliance even with some soggy, cold October days!

Little Miss Love Bug. Don't you just want to smooch her?

Birdie's pumpkin. Pom Pom's pumpkin growing did not yield a real whopper of a crop. This looked good for a while, but is rotting at the stem now. Sad. The two green survivors in the patch are mushy and dead. Oh well.

So tomorrow I shall see this sea! I'm planning on taking my computer so I can lay around on the bed and blog. I'll show you my sights and tell you about the tropical smells. I wish you could come with us! I had better go throw some clothes in a bag and round up all the chargers, glasses, and papers - stuff my backpack and sleep. We'll talk soon! BIG LOVE!