Stories with Sophie

" Write as if you are talking to someone. It works. Don't put on any fancy phrases or accents or things you wouldn't say in real life."                                                    ~~~Maeve Binchy~~~ I need these words this morning. I was going to save them for Thursday (You know what Thursday is? Right?) But I need them today. I've been getting myself ready for the Slice of Life Challenge this week. And for some reason, I thought I needed some fancy way of writing about it this morning. I tried some poetry (I can't force poetry). I tried being inspirational (That sounded really fake). I looked through my notebook trying to find something to slice about. And then I found the quote. And she's right. So. Here's what I've been doing to get ready: I've read through some old blog posts, especially the ones I write on March 1st. I think introductions are important and I like to introduce Chloe and me on that day so people know who we

I love teenagers. I said this to a class I was subbing in yesterday and a few kids thought I was being sarcastic. I'm not sure some of them ever really believed me, but those who know me know it's true. I love their passions. Whether it's our Girls'Basketball team heading to the state tournament for the fourth time in five years (GO CADETS!) or my speech kiddos heading to districts today or victims of a tragedy rallying the country in a battle cry of #NeverAgain, teenagers charge into the world daring you to stop them.  I think our world is in great hands.                                               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'll be back subbing all next week for Roomie, who is now teaching English 9. It will be a crazy week full of interruptions as our basketball team plays in the tournament. Seriously. It'll be nuts. The schedule will change, depending on whether they win or lose on Tuesday. Some kids will be here, some will be gone. M

February 22, 2018 And today. A week after Parkland. A day after CNN's town hall about gun control (you can listen to it HERE ) In a small town twenty miles from my home. A town I lived and worked in for a couple of years. The community school is closed today as school and police officials investigate credible threats of violence that were shared with officials Wednesday night. This is a town of 900 or so people. Everyone knows everyone. And within 20 miles in all directions, there are connections to that town. And no longer can anyone think "It couldn't happen here." February 23, 2018 And today. It happened again. This time a larger city two and a half hours to the east, but a place many in this area travel to. Police are investigating credible threats of violence at the high school. They closed all schools in the district. And parents are having to explain to six-year-olds why they aren't having school. And adults are trolling students

It's funny how slices come about. Today's inspiration was from Jennifer Laffin and her #DWHabit Word of the Day SOFA. SOFA. I laughed when I saw Jennifer's word of the day this morning. How in the world do you write about a sofa? It's just a piece of furniture and ours only gets used when company comes. And then I looked at Choe on the love seat. What do you mean it never gets used???? This is my favorite spot in the house! I can look out an see what's going on across the street. And that stupid cat that keeps coming over. How do you think I know when to bark and scare it away? It is her favorite spot in the morning. She moves from watching out the window to this Hey! It's hard work guarding the whole neighborhood! She also thinks the sofa is hers--both ends--and she's not very happy on the few occasions I decide to lay on the couch. She trots right over and sits in front of me and stares. It's my spot! She ca

Lost in writing Normal routine takes a  Back seat To finding just the right phrase Just the right word Lost in the words  and the phrases for an audience and a  TRIBE I respect and appreciate Strike throughs and deleting Rereading and Rewriting Lost in the feeling.

Some weeks the world happens and it's hard to find things to celebrate, but those are the weeks we have to dig deeper and work hard to share the JOY.  This is one of those weeks. However!  Here are things I am celebrating this week. A lazy day of wander shopping last weekend. You know those days. You don't really need anything, but you wander the stores and pick up little bargains. It's a treat for us since we're 60+ miles from a mall or large shopping area.  We make a day of it and end with someplace good to eat. This time I bought myself TWO new notebooks: One with prompts and one with a great quote, soft writing paper, and it just felt like it should be mine. The notebooks were my gift to myself because I have been writing almost every day since the beginning of the year (I forgive myself for the week or so I had the flu). That was the point of the notebook with prompts. It's been so much easier to write when I open up my notebook and there is a promp

I work a lot on making my life calm and peaceful. I bring things into my life that make me happy and try to expel the negative.  I've felt a little adrift this week, so I sat down this morning and made a couple of lists Five Things To Do More Often 1. Send more real cards and letters.   And include copies of those old pictures.  When I send them they not only make the recipient happy, they make me happy too.  I love imagining their face when they find something besides a bill in the mail and their smile when they see the pictures.   2. Turn my white lights on more often. Decorated for Christmas. I bought this set up last fall. I change out the decorations, pumpkins, Christmas ornaments, snowmen, hearts.  I'm working on St. Patrick's Day next. But the lights. They are cozy and comforting. They shine a light in the darkness. 3. READ Current Read Although I've been reading more lately, it's still too easy to grab my comp

You know that feeling you get some time on Monday? "I don't have anything to slice about!" I looked at my notebook page for today, saw the Slice of Life prompt, and had no ideas. Nada. Zip. Nothing. And now that I've retired, I don't even have classroom antics to write about. Those old doubts started creeping in. "Who wants to read about my life?" And then I looked at the new notebooks I bought on Saturday during an impromptu shopping trip with Greg. "I write about these! Who doesn't like new notebook stories?" I made notes about the day and was ready to write. Tweet from a teacher at my school I started reading other slices this morning like I always do. Reading what other people write gives me a little morning motivation. I read Michelle's post about her morning attendance taking  and got caught up in her question of the day about cookies!  And I thought about Danny, our custodian who brings warm cookies onc

There was a tragic, fatal car accident in our area this week. Five brothers and sisters were driving to school. The girls were killed, the boys injured. I didn't know them and they aren't from my hometown. Obviously, this is not what I celebrate. It is the aftermath. Around here, you drive an hour to a mall, so neighbors help neighbors.  Sometimes, even when you don't know them. And you never know who is related to who. You never know who counts who as "friendamily". And you never know who is going to step up and have your back. It is the aftermath. And it's always the gestures of teenagers that make me cry and give me hope for the future. Because life goes on, even when you think it won't. There was a basketball game played the other night. And the fans and team of the opposing team showed up in the school colors of the school the girls attended. In fact, the boys varsity basketball team wore warm-up shirts that read "Mabel-Canton Strong&q

Stretching slowly, I squint to see what time it is. Although, by the light in the room, it's shortly after 7:00am. One of the joys of retirement is sleeping 'til I wake up. "Time to get up!" my body says, so I head downstairs to start my day. In the kitchen, Chloe greets me as she stretches and yawns her way out of her kennel. She wags her fluffy butt for her morning hug and I put her outside for a few minutes while I make the coffee. The floor chills my feet and I wish I had slippers handy. Or at least a pair of socks. Chloe gets a treat when she comes in and I pour my first cup of coffee before heading to the living room. I don't turn up the heat, but instead,  grab my blanket to wrap myself in while I enjoy this first cup. I open my computer to check Facebook, although I don't know why. Not much has been posted overnight. Then Twitter. Email next. Then a bit of news online. Today is Tuesday, so there are slices to brighten my morning. I read

So many Celebrations in the last couple of weeks. We've been visiting friends and family on the weekends, so I haven't been getting my celebration posts written.  But today I am going to get this done! *** Last weekend we visited Greg's sister in Wisconsin. We went out to eat and saw other family. Spent Saturday driving up to  Green Bay, which is only a short drive, but a few little shops along the way slowed us down a bit.  Title Town in Green Bay is built around the Packer Stadium and a really cool place to visit if you are in the area.   The thing I really appreciate about this is that with close family ("You're not just family, you're my friend," is what my sister-in-law said), is that we can also just say, let's just go back and hang out at the house.  There's no need to always be doing something or entertaining.  And so, we headed home after a late lunch and did just that. *** I subbed a couple of times this week. Once in

My goals for January were simple: Eat Healthy Move More Write Every Day  So, two out of three ain't bad. Right? Eating healthy has really proven the easiest to accomplish. We've found several new recipes that we both like.  This Sweet Pineapple Chili Chicken was a particular favorite. And, the best part is, it's a Crock-Pot recipe, so it's perfect for days I sub. I've been eating lots of vegetables and even Greg is learning to enjoy them. He seldom makes a vegetable when he cooks--meat and potatoes make a meal. The flu hit on the 9th and that really affected the other two goals.  Being sick and the fatigue that followed, plus some REALLY cold weather, meant that my goal to move more didn't really happen. I tried. But .... Write Every Day was accomplished if I don't count the week and a half I was sick. I didn't always publish a blog post (but to be fair, that wasn't my goal), but I did write in my notebook every da