Saying Hello to a Good Buy

We were shopping over the weekend when Heidi picked up a bright red stool. "Could you use this in your classroom?" she asked.

My eyes lit up. It was candy apple red and strong, but lightweight. Flashy and portable, it was just the thing I had been looking for to move quickly from table to table, sit at eye-level with the kids, and start or join a conversation about their writing. AND the price was right! Ten bucks later I was whistling down the sidewalk of the strip mall and twirling my new little seat.

Well! My stool was an immediate sensation when I brought it into school today. Perhaps my own enthusiasm, as I darted through the room plopping it down with a smile next to this student or that, was part of its popularity, but in any case, my presence was very sought after today, and I had many fantastic discussions about the essays my students are preparing.

In the Early Morning Rain

We were all a little groggy this morning when school reconvened after a nice winter's break. It was still dark outside at 8 am and rain splattered against the windows as I greeted my first reading class of the new year.

"Can we just read?" they asked sleepily.

"Sure," I agreed. "I'll come talk to each of you about the book you've chosen." And so I made my way quietly around the room.

"What are you reading?" I whispered to one girl.

"From Norvelt to Now Here," she whispered back.

"Is that a new one in the Norvelt series?" I asked, thinking of the Newbury-award winner by Jack Gantos, Dead End in Norvelt and its sequel From Norvelt to Nowhere. "I haven't heard of it," I frowned.

"I don't think so," she said, yawning. "It's in paperback." She lifted the book to show me.

I laughed as I read the title:

FROM  NORVELT
TO NOWHERE

"I think you broke that last word up in the wrong place!"

She still didn't get it, and so I wrote both "nowhere" and "now here" on the board.

"Ohhhhh," she said and shrugged. "I think it sounds better the other way."

Double Feature

On the last day of winter break we made plans to see an early movie, and so 9:30 AM found us twirling our umbrellas through a cold and misty rain.

It was just as gray when we emerged from the theater, and on the hike home both of our watches chimed with a text message from a family we are friends with inviting us to go see another movie. The day promised little else, and looking at my watch I saw I could easily pay the bills online before we headed out for our second show.

Sure! we texted back.

Gone Too Soon

With a single bottle of champagne, one last festive meal, a few Christmas crackers, and one more family game night,

Holiday Season 2016?

That's a wrap!

Home Sweet Home

It was 9:30 this morning when our phones chimed. Our neighbor was wondering if we were up: she was hoping to welcome us home, catch up on the last couple of weeks, and exchange Christmas gifts.

C'mon over! Heidi texted back, and a few minutes later the doorbell rang.

"Merry Christmas!" I greeted her. "And Happy New Year, too!"

"Same to you!" she answered, stepping inside. She paused for a moment, and I could tell she was taking in the lights on the tree, the smell of fresh coffee, the logs crackling in the fireplace, the Vince Guaraldi on the record player.

"Well! Isn't this cozy!" she smiled as she sat in the rocking chair.

I had to agree.

The Great White Way

We thought we had dodged the snow when we left Buffalo around noon in overcast skies. Sure, there were some lake effect showers predicted for the South Towns, but we were driving south and then away from the lake as we went.

Well.

Not so much.

Bursts of snow punctuated most of our trip, and we were not clear of the storm until we hit Maryland. Even then, picking up our hometown radio station, we heard that some squalls might be dusting the ground sometime this evening.

I'm not complaining, though. The snowflakes whirling into our windshield and blanketing the fields, filling the woods tree by frosted tree, and coating the mountains were breathtaking, and the roads were cold but not slippery. Our car was warm and the company was excellent. We may have lost half an hour or so in travel time, but I kind of think it was worth it.

Quip of the Trip

Heidi was excited to wear her fabulous new over-the-knee boots on the plane today, and truth be told, they do make a fashion statement. In fact she received several comments on them.

When we got TSA precheck on our boarding passes, she was even more pleased not to have to take them off for security. The two of us merrily plopped our bags and coats on the conveyor and joined the queue for the scanner. Red lights and beeping erupted as Heidi stepped through the high-tech gate, and an agent raised a hand to halt her.

"I'm sorry," the officer told Heidi, "but your boots are alarming!"