What are you Reading?
Wonderstruck
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012An old high school friend recently recommended reading Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, author of the Caldecott Medal Winner and now movie The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo is one of the most creatively written/illustrated books I’ve read, not to mention among my top favorite classroom library books from when I taught third grade, so I [...]
Cuddly Finds a Home
Thursday, August 11th, 2011We have a new favorite book in our home library. This book is not just any old book, though… it’s special in so many ways. It was a gift from GrandDude and GrandPrincess, given to us (but mostly Maddie) when they visited last week. The book is called Cuddly Finds a Home, and not only [...]
Garden Protection Lies Within… The Matrix!
Monday, July 18th, 2011Having space for a big vegetable garden was high on our list of factors in deciding on the best spot to call home. Fortunately, with 9 acres, we have ample space for gardening and even managed to get two big plots tilled this year. We planted 20 mounds of winter squash (buttercup, butternut, hubbard, and [...]
April Brings Birthdays and… Snow?
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011I love April. It usually marks when weather really starts to warm up, flowers begin to burst forth, and the mucky mud means spring is coming soon. It also happens to be the month I was born, and I love birthdays! Yesterday was April 1st, and instead of crocuses and muddy sun, we got blasted [...]
Book Review: The Last American Man
Monday, September 27th, 2010During my first 10 minutes of relaxation (aka the first ten minutes of Maddie’s nap), I finally finished the book The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. The book is, as one Amazon reviewer stated, “a fascinating book about an extraordinary but troubled man”, namely Eustace Conway. Despite her over-emphasis on his love life (which [...]
Burning the Midnight Oil
Monday, January 25th, 2010One of the benefits (benefits?) of being a new mommy is the amount of reading I finally actually have time to do. I have always been an avid reader… that is, ironically, until college got in the way… and then grad school… and then the “real world” jobs. Now that I have a 1 month [...]
Nietzsche’s Take on Mankind
Friday, June 19th, 2009As I was cleaning out my junk in my parents’ attic the other day, I found a few old paperbacks from my college days (probably required or suggested readings from various Lit classes), which I figured would be better posted on paperback swap than recycled. One of those classics was Twilight of the Idols/The Anti-Christ [...]
Closely Knit and Talented Family
Friday, March 20th, 2009I’m home sick from work today, which means I’ve been spending much of the day sleeping, or curled up in a ball with a good book and a mug of hot tea. Since I am a third grade teacher, I did spend some time grading papers and reading through my students’ work. While sitting at [...]
Grammar Sticklers UNITE!
Monday, March 2nd, 2009I was first introduced to the nuances of English grammar in sixth grade, about 17 years ago. Mrs. Green was my teacher, and we painstakingly diagrammed sentences and drilled through prepositions. At the time, I never imagined myself becoming a grammar stickler. But lo, now it pains me when people reply to the question “How [...]
