If I am lucky enough to look out the window at just the right moment, I may catch a glimpse of a gentle pink and blue sunrise... brightening my black and white winter world!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Pink and Blue Sunrise
The sun rises around 7:10 am these days...
If I am lucky enough to look out the window at just the right moment, I may catch a glimpse of a gentle pink and blue sunrise... brightening my black and white winter world!
If I am lucky enough to look out the window at just the right moment, I may catch a glimpse of a gentle pink and blue sunrise... brightening my black and white winter world!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
German Coast Guard
One of the most amusing commercials I have ever seen was created to encourage Germans to learn English. As a teacher of English, I found it very funny - and promptly shared it with any colleagues and relatives who spoke German.
But it is apparently pertinent to more than language learning! My daughter recently saw it again at a "workplace health and safety" presentation!
Whatever angle you take, it is a funny skit!
But it is apparently pertinent to more than language learning! My daughter recently saw it again at a "workplace health and safety" presentation!
Whatever angle you take, it is a funny skit!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The BEST Thing About Retirement...
The best thing about being retired is ...
...not having to leave the house, if I don't want to!
And on snowy days like these...
... I often don't!
...not having to leave the house, if I don't want to!
And on snowy days like these...
... I often don't!
Friday, February 4, 2011
My Latest "Treasure"
I'm not much of a shopper. I prefer to discover surprises while browsing...
Which is how I found this lovely cup.
Waiting for a friend outside a Ten Thousand Villages Shop, I went inside to escape the cold...
This blue and white tea cup (with a strainer and a lid) quickly caught my eye. Though hand-made in Vietnam, it reminds me of traditional blue and white Polish pottery...
Perfect for a leisurely cup of tea.
(Sometimes we simply need to give ourselves a treat!)
Which is how I found this lovely cup.
Waiting for a friend outside a Ten Thousand Villages Shop, I went inside to escape the cold...
This blue and white tea cup (with a strainer and a lid) quickly caught my eye. Though hand-made in Vietnam, it reminds me of traditional blue and white Polish pottery...
Perfect for a leisurely cup of tea.
(Sometimes we simply need to give ourselves a treat!)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Groundhog Day
Yesterday was Groundhog day - an important date for all who are tired of winter. On this day, legend has it that hibernating groundhogs come out of their burrows to see if winter is over.
Groundhogs waking up yesterday in our part of the country would have found themselves in the middle of a big snowstorm that was sweeping north from Texas to Ontario - then eastward to the Atlantic Ocean.
Ironically, legend has it that on a stormy day like today a groundhog would assume that winter is over, since he can't see his shadow! He would emerge from his winter hibernation happy that spring is here!
Personally, if I were a groundhog, I would have rushed back into my burrow to continue sleeping until I could actually see green grass!
I have never have understood this groundhog logic! But this silly strategy seems as accurate as any other long-term weather prediction I know of!
I guess this means that SPRING HAS ARRIVED!?!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Work and Passion
Strange the memories that stick in our minds!
The school I attended from grades 5 to 7 had a weekly assembly. I remember marching, with my class, down the hall and into the gym, then standing class by class in our assigned rows. Reciting the Lord's Prayer... (Yes, in a public school...) I remember this last detail because our principal, a stickler for order, taught us to start the prayer not at the beginning, but only after he had said the words, "Our Father..."
It sounds too disorganized if we don't all begin at exactly the same time, he told us. So as soon as I say "Our Father" I want you to continue with me and we'll say the rest together...
(And it's a habit I have kept until today, waiting until I hear the words "Our Father" before I begin.)
Another memory of those weekly assemblies lingers in my mind. When I was in grade 6 or 7, the principal introduced a speaker who told us about his profession. The man was an artist. By day he sold stamps at the downtown post office, but in his free time, he pursued his true passion: painting pictures. I don't remember what he said about his art, but I do remember some of his words...
I suppose you might wonder why I work in a post office if I am a painter... I remember him saying...
Well, a post office is a good place to observe people. They come and go all day... And I use what I see in my paintings.
I reflected long and hard on his words. The thought that you can have a passion for something, but have a job that is totally different has stuck with me for years. It encouraged me when I was busy doing things that were not my passion... And they reminded me that the people I encounter every day - in post offices or grocery stores or anywhere, for that matter - have many sides to their personalities.
Looking back, I wonder if that painter ever gained recognition for his art... I also wonder about my young principal... What led him to invite a painter to speak to us children? Would he have been surprised to discover that the artist's words were long remembered - by at least one student - even though dozens of other assemblies are long forgotten?!
The school I attended from grades 5 to 7 had a weekly assembly. I remember marching, with my class, down the hall and into the gym, then standing class by class in our assigned rows. Reciting the Lord's Prayer... (Yes, in a public school...) I remember this last detail because our principal, a stickler for order, taught us to start the prayer not at the beginning, but only after he had said the words, "Our Father..."
It sounds too disorganized if we don't all begin at exactly the same time, he told us. So as soon as I say "Our Father" I want you to continue with me and we'll say the rest together...
(And it's a habit I have kept until today, waiting until I hear the words "Our Father" before I begin.)
Another memory of those weekly assemblies lingers in my mind. When I was in grade 6 or 7, the principal introduced a speaker who told us about his profession. The man was an artist. By day he sold stamps at the downtown post office, but in his free time, he pursued his true passion: painting pictures. I don't remember what he said about his art, but I do remember some of his words...
I suppose you might wonder why I work in a post office if I am a painter... I remember him saying...
Well, a post office is a good place to observe people. They come and go all day... And I use what I see in my paintings.
I reflected long and hard on his words. The thought that you can have a passion for something, but have a job that is totally different has stuck with me for years. It encouraged me when I was busy doing things that were not my passion... And they reminded me that the people I encounter every day - in post offices or grocery stores or anywhere, for that matter - have many sides to their personalities.
Looking back, I wonder if that painter ever gained recognition for his art... I also wonder about my young principal... What led him to invite a painter to speak to us children? Would he have been surprised to discover that the artist's words were long remembered - by at least one student - even though dozens of other assemblies are long forgotten?!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sudden Transformation
This was my desk a week ago...
This is my desk today...
What happened?!
I decided to get rid of it all!
No, I didn't toss everything - I simply swept everything from the top of the desk into this box.
Now whenever I have a few minutes, I sort through the box, tossing or filing papers... And when the monotony of the task gets me down, I simply put my unfinished work back into the box and cover it with a lid.
(A cardboard box is a wonderful invention!)
This is my desk today...
What happened?!
I decided to get rid of it all!
No, I didn't toss everything - I simply swept everything from the top of the desk into this box.
Now whenever I have a few minutes, I sort through the box, tossing or filing papers... And when the monotony of the task gets me down, I simply put my unfinished work back into the box and cover it with a lid.
(A cardboard box is a wonderful invention!)
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