self reflection
Being a Team Player: Environmental Education
Who did I work with when I managed school gardens and taught after school garden clubs consisting of second through fifth grade students? Did I work alone? No, absolutely not! There was a team of people essential to making the garden clubs work. My post today was inspired by this photo (see below) from 2014…
Poetry Friday: White Sparkly Inspiration
Today is Poetry Friday and my post was inspired by the colorful blue and white page of photographs adorning our home calendar this month. Each year I make calendars for our immediate family. They are filled with the special moments that occurred the year or sometimes, just the month, before I work on them, as…
Throwback Thursday: Snowstorms
The Davis Memorial Carillon at Alfred University stands tall in the snowy darkness on campus in November of 2018. We drove in for a visit in a ranging snowstorm! No boots, no mittens, not hats….we were not prepared! It was early for such a significant snowfall, even in the southern tier of NYS. We heard…
Five Great Things to know about Buffalo, New York
As a young adult, I lived in Buffalo for about ten years, split by a period of 3 years when we moved to two mid-Atlantic states. We eventually returned to Buffalo and bought our first home. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this iconic, hard-working American city. It’s probably due to their football team…
Slice of Life Tuesday: Chasing Packages
With only ten days left until Christmas, we are down to the wire. I finished nearly all of my shopping yesterday by picking up just a few last minute gifts for our boys. The stockings now need filling. I’m pretty much on schedule, or so I thought until things started missing their delivery dates by…
Pandemic Projects & Delayed Trip Gratification: Part Deux
It’s now mid-December, approaching early winter 2020. Who would have thought in March of this year that it would turn out as it has? Certainly, not me! By now, my husband and I planned to have had a week in Italy this summer, and more visits to National Parks this fall. However, by choice, and…
Poetry Friday: Writing Tasks
What have I worked on this week? I am a reflective thinker. Perhaps, too much so. I find that sometimes all my thinking stalls my actions and prevents forward movement. I get caught up in questions such as, what should I do now? What would be most productive? Should I stop editing and put those…
The Making of Spirits
It’s been almost three years since I posted about making Limoncello, the Lemon flavored Italian liquor that is bright and flavorful. Since that time, I’ve made at subsequent batches, but none with my own homegrown lemons. My lemon tree has since died, but fortunately, we are able to purchase Meyer lemons in bulk large enough…
O’ that Tannenbaum Decorating
Today, I’m finishing the decorations on our third Christmas tree. I got out the decorations early last week, and early is the key word here. I usually do not decorate until the second week in December. In truth, some years were later than that. But, whether we were here or vacationing for the holiday, as…