This morning I am wondering how many of our high school students are feeling. The school is instituting a new (changed) policy on cell phone usage. As I understand it, although there were guidelines before, cell phone usage in the classroom was left up to each individual teacher. Now, each department was charged with coming…
Today, I’m finding out how to be a nurse to a dog. Our puppy, Molly, was spayed yesterday. She is doing well but is still getting used to having a cone around her head. Her favorite things are nearly impossible with the cone – chewing, playing by holding a toy in her paws, and of…
Last night, for the first time in many years, I went to church for a Christmas Eve service. It was to a church I once went to regularly, just up the street from my house. It was a church that I had served, doing “good deeds” by hanging bulletin boards and helping in Sunday School…
Last Thursday I was lucky enough to go on a field trip to the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul with my son’s art class. The high school anatomy class students were also in tow. For about 45 kids, mostly in grades 11-12, there were three teachers and two parent chaperones. I had not…
Yesterday, I just didn’t feel good. I had an early morning dental appointment for a cleaning to which I went with a headache. Despite some ibuprofen, the headache persisted for most of the day. By evening, I felt like I had not gotten anything done. Of course, this wasn’t true. I had actually done a…
It’s that time of year. The time of year asking your children, your spouse, your siblings, and your parents what they’d like to receive for Christmas. The answers get harder and harder to get. Thus, it gets harder to give. Sometimes, when you really pay attention and listen well, you might receive a flash of…
Within 18 hours of my arrival “home” to visit my parents this week, we made three visits to the local emergency room with my Dad! I had planned a trip back to New York to visit my parents, who are both in their early 80’s, living in their own home. At the time the trip…
Since it is poetry Friday I started to think about what I was going to write about today. I had children’s poetry books I got out of the library last week and could review one of those. I did really liked “The Free and the Brave: A Collection of poems about the United States” (2004). The…
Yesterday, I made a batch of beef stew from scratch – no bottled sauces, or pre-fab taste enhancers – just good ole fashioned beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions. The beef was dusted in flour and the sauce was later thicked with some cornflower. It was on the stove, cooking in various stages from 1:30 –…
This morning we cleaned, my son and I. We cleaned out his room and had much to enjoy! Who knew it would be so much fun? We laughed when we saw the dried-up tube of paint, its cap left slightly askew. I jumped when a plastic spider was found in a corner and sent my…