Ah, May!

There are many buds, but this is the first and only rose.  So far. 

This week I am to run two and a half miles a day.  These cool mornings have made the running so enjoyable, but I have only been running a little over two miles a day.  We'll talk at the end of the week.

We didn't have much wind this weekend, and I managed to drag the bicycle out for my longest ride of the spring.  My favorite ride takes me out past a railroad bridge over the local creek. 

Besides my bike and helmet, there are only two things I need on a bike ride:  my camera and the cell phone.  The first is for me, and the second is for the Mr. (I think that is a holdover from the worrying after the stroke. Plus, it is good to know that a sag wagon is only a call away if I need one!)

Baxter loved this beautiful weekend, too.  In fact, in one of his psycho-run-like-a-crazy-dog moments, he managed to leap onto the couch. Next up: learning the 'stay off the furniture' command.  I have a hunch we're going to be needing it.

After school today I am going to a local gardening place to find a peony bush.  I wanted to put one out in the fall but was told they don't carry them, except in the spring.  I really love peonies, so I've been enjoying my neighbor's blooms.

If every day of May was as pleasant as this weekend,  I wouldn't mind a bit.  This was Saturday night's sunset.

It doesn't get much better than that.  I love May in the Midwest!

The Spring Show

Yep.  Kind of makes you want to go for a walk, a run, or a bike ride doesn't it?  Spring is putting on quite a show. 

An umbrella tree?  I'm hoping whichever genius "planted" their umbrella just off of my deck at Trailer High doesn't need it this week.  Actually, that cracked me up on Friday when I was leaving school.  I think we could have a whole grove of broken umbrellas by now.  (I've gone through 3 of them this year.)

Tulips are  blooming.  Birds are singing.  And our lawn is dotted in yellow dandelions.  That's a sure sign that spring is in full swing. Happy Sunday!

Oatmeal to Go and "Our Boys" by Joe Drape

Things I am loving this Friday:

1.  Obviously, Baxter's new hair cut.  He makes me smile every time I look at him.  (The Mr. confessed to chuckling every time he sees him!)

2.  Sunshine.  We had a couple of really windy days, but we've also had nice cool temperatures and stillness.  One morning this week, it was 45 degrees, clear and calm when I ran.  Absolutely the perfect weather for me!

3.  K or L put me onto this.  I suppose I am the last person to find out about Oatmeal To Go, but 15 seconds in the microwave and it is absolutely delicious.  It has become my favorite noon meal.  (Well, I have an apple or an orange, too!)  I can vouch for the brown sugar and cinnamon! Yum!

4. I finished the book "Our Boys" by Joe Drape.  It is the true story about a small town football coach who has had enormous success--and not just on the field.  He teaches his players how to succeed in life:  work together, be there for each other, and love each other.  Since the Mr. is an old football coach, it reminded me of the coaching years and the days of building boys into men.

5.  Teaching perks this week:
* The research papers are in.  (OK.  That means a lot of grading, so I'm not sure that is a perk!)
*We're starting my favorite unit:  "To Kill A Mockingbird."
*A student stuck around after school to discuss my book recommendation for him: "The Great Gatsby."
*We learned about some fun teaching websites at inservice.
*Everyone has had fun watching the construction crews making rapid progress on our new school!

Easy Street is green and flowering.  Hopefully, there will be time for biking, walking, reading, and napping this weekend.  And I think the fire ring may be calling my name again.  Spring had definitely sprung!  I think the fever is setting in!

On Baseball and Butterflies

Baxter and I spent some time outside after school yesterday.  I was enjoying the flowers and leaves that are popping up all over-- and even the first butterfly of spring.  Baxter was enjoying trying to eat the leaves and grass.  And that makes him throw up.  Lovely. 

When the Mr. got home, all three of us went to the fields to watch our high school baseball team beat the rival school rather soundly in a double header.  It was nice to see our kids have some success in sports this year. It has been a long year in athletics. 

Yesterday was all about baseball and butterflies and flowers.  Today?  Well, today I am headed to a funeral.  One of the Mr.'s aunts had been sick for a long time.  She died on Saturday.   His mom was one of four sisters and is now the only surviving sibling.  Sad.  I've decided I never want to be in that situation.  And yes, I know that I don't exactly get to choose.  I'm just saying...

New Banner

I had to have some spring.  Unfortunately, these are last year's pictures.  One of these days....

You Know It's Spring

Yep.  This says spring in this crazy State:

This was the look Friday night.  Notice the spring flag.  Friday morning was 60 degrees and sunny.  Midday the wind took a turn and the temperatures dropped drastically.  By 6:00 the snow was falling. 

Baxter thought the snow was great fun.  He might have been the only one.  He is getting good at making snowballs with his nose; however, going to the bathroom was the last thing on his mind!

I'm thinking a pedicure today just might convince Mother Nature that it is time for some sunshine and warmer temperatures.  After all, it is the last day of spring break.  Back to school tomorrow for eight more weeks. I'm pretty sure the countdown has begun!

March 1st

Reasons to love March:

*The First Day of Spring
*Jonquils and Daffodils
*The Mr.'s birthday
*My birthday
*Windbreakers instead of heavy coats
*Spring Break!!
*New baby animals  (Baby Baxter this year!)
*Spring sports: track, baseball and softball, golf, tennis
*Putting gloves, mittens, and wooly scarves away
*The beginning of 4th nine weeks
*Buds on trees
*Longer evenings of daylight
*Dusting off the bike
*Capri pants and sandals
*St. Patrick's Day-- parades, green beer, and corned beef and cabbage

I was going to add spring cleaning, but that is not my favorite.  I mean, I like it when it is done.  The doing-- not so much.  This year, the Mr. and I are washing the windows.  I'm pretty sure that we haven't washed every window in the house since the year before my stroke--and that was 4 years ago, which makes it five years! We're probably lucky to be able to see out!

"If you're lucky enough to be Irish--you're lucky enough!"

Last Day of School

Last day of finals. I'd say the kids will clean out their lockers, but they don't have them. Usually, the custodians find enough pencils in the halls and lockers to give the teachers loaners to see us through the fall semester. No halls to clean either. Guess we'll buy pencils for next fall. I'm not exactly sure what we have to do to get our trailers ready for the summer. I'm locking up the technology and that may be about it. The tornado may have made checking out easier.

These are images that lead me to believe my summer will be both beautiful and relaxing.
Maybe the town is making up for the lost trees and houses, but flowers and birdhouses seem to be abundant in the neighborhood this year. Even with almost no damage at our house, we've added more flowers than usual, a couple of trellises, and I'm scoping out a few birdhouses, too. I'm looking forward to a summer of simple pleasures and outdoor treasures.

Blooming where planted

After school, I did the first of the spring planting. It took quite a few years to figure out what would grow and not wilt in the summer heat. The front of our house faces south and takes a beating in the summer sun sometimes. I have learned to stick with flowers that love the sun: vinca, moss roses, and geraniums are my favorites. This year I found geraniums that I love! Such a pretty shade of not quite pink, not quite salmon. The big splurge this spring is on an entirely new climbing flower for me: mandavillia. This one is red, and I love the little trumpet-like blossoms. I have no idea how to care for it, so I am doing some reading.
It will grow up to 6 feet tall, so I am having a student weld a trellis for me. I will have to continue twining the vines around the trellis as it grows. It will get a lot of morning sun, but be in the shade during most of the afternoon.
The plan is to cut it way back in the fall and move it inside for the winter. I'm hoping I can talk my FFA friend and local horticulture teacher into housing it in the school greenhouse. Maybe if she can take some cuttings off of it and start a few more plants, she will be game!! Wish me and my brown thumb luck! Me and my vinca, summer 2007, photo by local paper

Here We Go Again-- Hopefully Not!

This is how dark it was in the middle of the afternoon. The wind was terrible. Then came the rain.

I knew it would have to happen sometime. The tornado sirens went off this afternoon at 3:40-- the first time since the tornado hit ten months ago. I'm sure I wasn't the only person in town freaking out. So, what have I learned?

• Don't ignore the sirens.


• Have a pair of shoes for every member of the family. (Not flip flops.)
  
• Have a flashlight for every person, or at least every adult. (16 people tried to use one flashlight last summer. It doesn't work.)


• A radio with batteries is a good thing.
  
• Grab your purse, wallet, and car keys on your way to shelter. A light jacket wouldn't hurt.
  
• If you've got pets--gather them up. Take their leash. Otherwise you'll find yourself making one out of shoe strings or the string in your sweats.

So that is how I spent my Sunday afternoon in this small town-- praying that we wouldn't ever have to go through that again. (We aren't over the first round yet!)

Small Town Snapshot Sunday

Arbor Day 09

I have been mourning the loss of trees around here since the tornado. When K called to tell me that she and a friend were running in an Arbor Day race a couple towns over, I decided to go see her run. So many trees have been planted around here that our "Arbor Day" celebrating has been going on all year. The tiny tot division ran to the end of the block around a cone and back. So cute! And one little girl was fast!

K and friend getting ready to go in the 2 mile fun run.

And this was the start of the 3.2 mile race.

They had a light sprinkle and cool morning for a run.

The runners wanted breakfast after their race. I splurged, even though I hadn't run. This was my bruschetta frittata at "The Chef." Yummy! (Goat cheese, green olives, and tomato topping.) That is the sweetest little place. I wrote about it before here. I didn't run, splurged on breakfast and treated myself to some shopping. I think my priorities may be a bit screwed up! Happy Arbor Day to me!

A Little Dot of Red

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting outside talking to my kid sister on the phone. The birds were so loud, she could hear them long distance in California. While I was talking, L snapped a picture (with my new camera) of one of the many birds singing in our trees.

The air is full of sunshine and song these days. And that is music to my ears.

At Last

Warm weather is here. This is a very late spring for us. The trees are gradually turning green. Not completely in full leaf, but getting there. Reminds me of the Sara Teasdale Poem..."And spring herself, when she woke at dawn--would scarcely know that we were gone." I wonder if spring has any idea how eagerly she is anticipated.

Big Night in the Small Town

Prom night 2009. A little different this year, thanks to the tornado. Bleachers were pulled up to a side door of the one school wing left standing. Family, friends, and townspeople gather. You wonder what they are watching?

You know you're in a small town, when crowds like this show up to watch the prom couples entering into our gym/cafeteria/auditorium. (The kids refer to it as the cafagymatorium.) Big schools host their proms in hotels, and this might have been a good year for us to do that, too. However, the tornado left our multipurpose room. (We have found it to be VERY aptly named this year.) Since this is where prom was held in the past, the tradition continued.

We used to have a beautiful circle drive and front hallway for the couples to enter. This year they had to maneuver steps and enter a side hall. However, Dads serve as valet parking and our principal announces couples as they enter. Who needs a big city hotel?

Seeing how the couples arrive for the big night is always fun. There are hot cars, hummers, and limousines.

Farm trucks are plentiful, and one couple showed up in a John Deere tractor. Another arrived in the local police car with the lights blazing.

My favorite this year-- these two lovely ladies were arriving in style. This isn't a motorized wagon. Their dates pulled the wagon for their grand entrance.

Even a tornado can't stop some traditions from continuing. Dressing up and having a memorable night is still a priority. I have a feeling that this will be both a year and a night to remember.

Small Town Sunday Snapshot

At the Old Ball Game

High school teams are warming up to be the next major leaguers. If our town is any indication, baseball is still America's pastime.

Local fields will be busy for the next five months with kids dreaming of playing at the next level.

Our students have their own cheer section in left field. They set up lawn chairs in truck beds, so they can see above the fences. They heckle the other team's left fielder and cheer for the hometown boys. After all, baseball needs its fans. And in our town, the fans never seem to be in short supply, though some of us may be waiting for a bit warmer temperatures.

Small Town Sunday Snapshot

Bunny Trails

Two Easter Bunnies made their appearance in town this weekend. They drove a cute little maroon convertible with the top down and had adorable bunny hoods with floppy ears. We spotted them on Saturday night, but I have a feeling they spent a couple of days making tracks. It took a bit to figure out what they were up to, but they left footprints (colored construction paper ones) on several businesses and on a lot of the new houses that have replaced the ones destroyed by the tornado. One older neighbor's house had some plastic eggs left on the doorstep, too. I have no idea who those bunnies were, but they sure left a trail of smiles.

We had such a great weekend that I hate to see it end: a couple of trips out to the farm, grilling outside with the girls in the evenings, a 'girly' trip for pedicures followed by watching a couple of L's 1st graders play soccer, dyeing eggs, an early church service, and then taking Easter dinner down to the Mr.'s mom. With a rainy evening here, I don't even have to feel too guilty about watching "The Amazing Race." This was the last "vacation" until summer, so now we'll be racing through these last hectic weeks of school.

Easter Memories

I've been thinking a lot about childhood Easters for the last few days. Maybe it is the ridiculous weather: snow, wind, rain, and then 78 degrees. It has been very unpredictable from day to day or even morning to night. It seems like Easter was that way when my girls were little. I remember darling Easter dresses, and then white sweaters that covered them so they didn't freeze.

I don't remember this but am told that one Easter Sunday when I was pretty little, I went forward to the children's sermon. The minister spent some time complimenting us on how beautiful we all looked. He asked if we were wearing anything new. I proceeded to tell him that I had a new dress, new shoes, and then... (yep, you know where this is going!) I lifted my skirt and said, "New panties, too." Show and tell, I guess. My mother was mortified!

Childhood memories of Easter:

• Sunrise services with a rugged cross, either on a hill near town or in the city park
• Rabbit cookies (sugar cookies iced in pastel frosting)
• Easter baskets, usually a cereal bowl with that green plastic grass and lots of candy
• Hot Cross Buns
• Dyeing eggs in coffee cups and then using a soft cloth to rub a bit of oil on them so they'd be shiny
• Jelly beans, malted robin eggs, and those super sugary marshmallow creme egg things
• "Up from the grave He arose..."
• And my favorite Easter Hymn "Ivory Palaces"
• Watching "The Ten Commandments" every year
• My brothers always dyeing one ridiculously ugly egg by using all the colors

Picture: Easter Sunday 1960

Monday Memories at Planet M

The Best Portion

The best portion of a good man's life;

His little, nameless acts

of kindness and of love.

William Wordsworth

If you look here you'll see what these creeping phlox looked like a week ago as 6 inches of snow was melting. Ah, spring-- are you here at last?