November Garden Tour: Surprises in the Daylight

I love Saturdays in November because I can actually see the gardens. I only catch glimpses during the week, but darkness surrounds the gardens more frequently.
Today I discovered a few things in my gardens. I hadn't realized the oak leaf hydrangeas were so beautiful . This is the first year the leaves have changed in such a lovely way.I also hadn't realized some trees were completely bare of leaves.But I know where the leaves are now.

The surprise of the day was the Olympiad rose which is still blooming and providing a picturesque photo image on this day in November. I can't believe the frost, rain, and wind didn't do it in!

Friday Fourteen: More Things You May Not Know About InlandEmpireGirl!

1. Even though I make certain dishes over and over again, I always get out the recipe. I never make anything by memory.

2. I am easily moved to tears. At parent/student conferences yesterday I witnessed numerous students shedding tears with their parents while reading tributes they had written to them. I handed out kleenex and welled up with tears also.

3. I love to make lists. I write out to-do lists, grocery lists, lists of things I need to remember, and lists of books I want to read. I also love the lists on colored paper.

4. I struggle with any task that involves various wires, cables, and hooking them up to make something work.

5. I have no talent for quilting, needlepoint, or knitting , but I yearn to do all three.

6. I never go through a day without spilling something on me. I quit wearing white years ago.

7. This time of the year when all the leaves have fallen and the plants have died I try to look at my gardens with new eyes. I once read you should study " the bones" of your garden this time of year identifying foundational plants and gaps in the landscaping.

8. Even though I can access the newspaper online and get keep up with current events on news sites, I love the print copy of the paper and read it cover to cover each day.

9. I have to read in bed before I fall asleep every night. I can't just turn off the light and doze off.

10. I don't wear much jewelry and what I wear is inexpensive and practical. I have always been afraid if I had anything very expensive I would probably lose it!

11. I wait eagerly for certain items that can only be found during the holidays: eggnog, Millstone Jingle Java coffee beans, and Tillamook Peppermint Candy ice cream.

12. I love waterfalls, especially ones that are hidden on a hiking trail.

13. I always have a hard time picking out paint colors. I bring home all those strips of color samples and stew over them for days. I have even chosen a color because I liked the name!

14. I cannot use digital clocks in my bedroom. I suffered years of insomnia and those clocks with the numbers dropping each minute put me over the edge!

The Presence of Trees

The Presence of Trees
by Michael S. Glaser

I have always felt the living presence

of trees the forest that calls to me as deeply

as I breathe,

as though the woods were marrow of my bone

as though

I myself were tree, a breathing, reaching

arc of the larger canopy

beside a brook bubbling to foam

like the one

deep in these woods,

that calls

that whispers home

Tuesday With Kit

It has been awhile since I have posted photos of our newest kitten. You can see he has grown quite a bit. He loves sitting atop the cat condo in the sunshine and also in the late evening after he has had a busy day exploring our property. Kit decided he had quite a prize here when he tried to catch Annie one paw at a time!
Here he is taking a grooming lesson from his new best friend Isabelle.

After a busy day of reading and studying he is ready for bed. We have grown very attached to this delightful kitten. Every hour is a new adventure for Kit. He has made friends with the dogs, the group of cats that live more outdoors, and continues to try to win the affection of the queen of the household... Iris the Cat!

Cycles of Teaching: End of the Quarter

Every profession has times of the year that are busier and crazier than others. For people (and parents) in the education field our year runs on a cycle of quarters. I am at the end of the first quarter which meant grading exams and figuring grades today. Another quarter has started and we prepare this week for parent conferences. With no school today it provided me an extra day to do final work for the quarter.I procrastinated a bit this morning, but then decided I needed to first be comfortable. With the rain pouring outside we build a fire and I sat in the recliner to work. It worked for awhile, but I was almost TOO comfortable!When I got about halfway done I treated myself to a bit of chocolate and coffee, then moved to the table to do grades.
I had a buddy named Kit that kept me company all day. Here he is hiding behind the chair either resting or just keeping an eye on me to make sure I stayed focused! I can now go to bed relieved that I am caught up and ready to tackle another week and quarter. What a good feeling.

Sibling Assignment # 43: Honoring Our Veterans

The sibling assignment I gave this week was to honor a veteran. Silver Valley Girl's is here and Raymond Pert's will be here.

When I gave this assignment I had much different ideas of what I was going to write. That was before I attended our Veteran's Day program at school on Thursday. A senior student had a dream last spring. After she learned about Viet Nam in history class she said we needed a special way to say thank you to our veterans in our community. Her dream came true with a moving assembly that included a roll call of veterans, singing of patriotic songs, reading of original poems, a guest speaker from the community, and a moving slide show. I honor all veterans, but today I want to say thanks to the generations of veterans from Inchelium.

Our community has generations of men and women that have served our country in the armed services. As I looked at the faces of the veterans, widows, and family members that day I saw elders from the community that sent two or three sons to war. There was a father and three sons that served in Viet Nam together. The tears flowed as we remembered those that gave their lives for their country.I had a student talk about the assembly earlier in the day. He knew he would get teary when he heard the music and watched the slide show. As I sat with my middle school students there were tears, hugs, and sobs are they honored those still alive and others that are gone.

My tears came when we all stood and ended the program with the singing of "God Bless America". Although my dad didn't serve his country in the military, his brother Bill was killed in World War II and his brother Harry served our country. Dad loved " God Bless America" and as we stood side by side and sang the song I remembered another day more than ten years ago. When everyone filled the church in my hometown for the memorial service for my dad, we also stood side by side and sang " God Bless America" for him.

God Bless America
by Irving Berlin
"While the storm clouds gather far across the sea,

Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free,

Let us all be grateful for a land so fair,

As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless America.

Land that I love

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies ,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America

My home sweet home."

Thank you veterans. God Bless America.