Tied to Blogging: One thousand Two Hundred Twenty-Two Posts Later

Three years ago today I began this blog. These one thousand two hundred twenty-two posts have introduced you to my beautiful corner of the world, my siblings and our weekly writing assignments, the dogs and cats, our gardens, my mom, lots and lots of poetry, even more photographs, our favorite camping spots, many of my favorite books, recipes, and blog friends. I have made slide shows, posted favorite videos, loaded treasured old photos, and played familiar songs. I have linked many of my posts now to Facebook.

Building in the routine of writing almost every day has been important to me. I look forward to pairing this blog with the new one I am sharing with my students that I wrote about yesterday. Again, if you want a view into the window of my classroom you can visit it here.

I hope you keep stopping by. It has been a pleasure meeting you.

Tied to My Students With A New Blog

 I have launched another blog for the purpose of telling the stories of life in our classroom. My students are given opportunities to post each day and I squeeze in a few words here and there also. It is called 40 students, 1 Teacher, 100 Days of Writing. The new blog can be found here.

It has been exciting to watch students decide what they want to share. Students have written about what they are learning, two have posted poems, one her artwork, and another about her love for chocolate.
I look forward to many more days of writing as we move through the next four months of school.

Here are some images we captured last Friday before Valentine's Day.

Tied to Words

 

I am tied to words. I am tied to poetry. I am tied to words woven together in a way that speaks to my heart. This was a good find the day after Valentine's Day.

To JEJ

 The Blue Robe

How joyful to be together, alone   

as when we first were joined

in our little house by the river

long ago, except that now we know

each other, as we did not then;

and now instead of two stories fumbling   

to meet, we belong to one story

that the two, joining, made. And now

we touch each other with the tenderness   

of mortals, who know themselves:   

how joyful to feel the heart quake

at the sight of a grandmother,   

old friend in the morning light,   

beautiful in her blue robe! 

 

-by Wendell Berry 

Sibling Assignment #120: The Ties That Bind a Marriage

Isn't it only fitting that our sibling assignment on Valentine's Day would be related to marriage. Silver Valley Girl gave the assignment this week. "Write about the ties that bind you to your husband or wife. 


As I continue to enjoy a very pleasurable Valentine's Day, it was very easy to write this post. Today I was awakened to a warm fire, Reece's Peanut Butter hearts, a beautiful new watch that has a face and day/ date part I can see, and a touching valentine that brought tears to my eyes. After an inspiring church service and an afternoon nap, the two of us have settled into a quiet evening with our animals friends. It is my kind of day.

What are the ties that bind our marriage? 
We enjoy each other's company. Whether it is sitting on the deck, driving around the area, traveling to find a good restaurant, or walking the dogs, we enjoy each other's company.

We love to laugh. JEJ is a master clean joke teller. He can remember jokes that he heard once two months ago. I love to watch him tell a joke to a group of people. He finds pleasure in making people laugh. Yesterday when I put the turkey breast in the crock pot and discovered a few hours later I forgot to plug it in ( sibling insert.... vagueland) he just laughed with me when we realized we may not be eating until 8:00. Our dogs and cats entertain us. So do funny pictures and videos online. We are easily entertained and the laughter releases stress.

We don't dwell on the past. We both could have carried lots of  "baggage" into our marriage, but have worked hard on moving forward and not dwelling on what could have been, what could have been done differently, and comparing past relationships.

We forgive. I think our common beliefs with our faith keeps this one strong. I have followed JEJ's lead and worked at  apologizing, forgiving, and moving on. Holding in hurt and anger is not healthy. Fortunately we have not had monumental things that needed forgiveness. I think JEJ has forgiven me for  death of the dear Virginia Creeper from a few years ago. You just can't trust me with pruning shears.

We share similar interests. Gardening, photography, reading, watching the Zags, attending church together, spending time in nature, camping, and keeping up with current events are things we both are interested in. We also enjoy a delicious home cooked meal, a nice glass of red wine, a beautiful sunrise from the deck, and solitude.  It is enjoyable to spend time with family and friends, but we also love time spent with just each other.

I always admire couples that have been together for thirty or forty years and have a rich, happy marriage. We met each other later in life. We knew ourselves, but had to learn each other. After traveling a bumpy road for awhile I was glad the gravel road got smoother when I got acquainted with the guy across the road that stopped one day to fix my gate and bring me rose plants.

Happy Valentine's Day JEJ!

Tied to Spring 2

Today there was once again the feel of spring around our place. It was hard to get a good photo for proof, but I saw a daffodil pushing through the ground and debris today. The snow has melted on the mountain across the lake.

JEJ  also remove our "yurt cover"  on the gazebo and built a fire in the fireplace. The garden lights were another welcome sign of spring. It is also staying light longer. Now that is a treat.

The ponds are beginning to melt. Shelby was in for a surprise when she tried to walk across the ice. I wish I could have gotten a picture.

The ice began to crack and she stayed on the largest piece and jumped to the bank. I tried to get her to go out again for a photo opportunity, but she is too smart for that.  We didn't even need a fire in inside today after the house warmed up in the morning. It's coming... I believe!

Tied to a Date in March

I knew working toward my National Board Certification this year would be a challenge, but as the date nears for my portfolio to be mailed, I am writing, revising, revideotaping, and gathering student samples like crazy and redefining challenge. If you are just stopping in and wondered why I haven't been commenting on your blog or creating a farm on Facebook, I have been completing a portfolio to reach National Board Certification in teaching. My portfolio is a box of materials I am putting together to demonstrate my teaching. I have done two video tapes, started a blog with my students (more about that later), analyzed student work, analyzed my own work, and done a ton of reading. The whole process continues to make me a stronger teacher. Today I was a weary teacher, but still a bit stronger.

The box has to be mailed by March 31st (which is during my spring break). Tonight I made reservations for a stay in a mountain cabin so JEJ, the dogs, and I can get away for four days after I deliver my box to the post office. We will be surrounded by mountains and pines in a remote location at the north part of the Methow Valley. JEJ lived in this valley as a child and wants to go back and visit places he remembers. I printed a picture of the cabin and that is my motivation to keep staying the course for the next six weeks. After the portfolio is mailed I prepare for an exam. Fortunately the exam is scheduled at the end of May. I can take a little break.  I am starting to see a faint light at the end of the tunnel.