Saturday, May 14, 2016

Celebrate This Week: A Week's Vacation!

 Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres. 
                                                             When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.
Discover. Play. Build.
A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember. 

1.  Sunshine
We've enjoyed days and days of sunshine.
It's glorious to wake to the sun streaming
through the window, to walk with friends,
and to notice the beauty in our world.  
This crying tree was discovered
by Jan on one of our recent walks. 

2.  Clouds
We've lived in the Northwest for almost twenty years.
I'm thrilled that our extended ten day forecast shows
clouds and rain for every single day with only two 
days when the sun might peek through the clouds.
And no more days of 80+ degree weather.
(That's worrisome in May.)
I guess celebrating rain and clouds makes
me a true citizen of the Northwest.

3.  Poetry Reading
I was invited by a local poet to participate in 
an evening at Island Books.  I agonized over what to share
in my allotted ten minutes on the program.
My daughter said to focus on just three books -
an impossible task.  So I took a bin of books (36)
and shared poems from some of my favorite children's authors.
What I didn't anticipate was how much I would enjoy
the rest of the evening after being asked to go first.
We heard from Christopher Jamick, author of Not Aloud;
Laura Totten, teacher and founder of the high school Poetry Club;
and David D. Horowitz, author of Cathedral and Highrise.
(Laura, Christopher, David, and me)
I'm looking forward to connecting Laura's high school
Poetry Club to our middle school book club.

4.  Embracing the Slow at Books, Brownies, and Beyond
Maybe it's the call of the sun, maybe it's the time of the 
school year, maybe it's due to the past two weeks of state testing,
but our numbers at book club have dwindled recently.  
Our attendees have been in single digits and we've enjoyed
our time together in new ways - reading alone, sharing titles,
chatting with friends, and looking at poetry books together. 
This past week, Elsa, Katie, and I explored my blog
trying to figure out how to add "tags" to my entries
(something I've wanted to do for a long time).  
It turns out they're called "labels" in blogspot. 
Elsa kept a running list of labels we created and
even sent me a list of entries with original poetry. 

5.  A Week's Vacation!
Yes, I'm taking a week off from subbing.  It's been a busy spring
and I'm looking forward to diving back into some 
neglected projects at home and enjoying a bit more time to read. 
I'm reading Rules for Books, Brownies, and Beyond,
My Brilliant Friend for our quarterly google chat book club
(with two friends who've moved away),
The Shepherd's Life for my monthly book club,
and Bettyville just for fun.  

8 comments:

  1. I am also celebrating the clouds and sunshine in my own way. I've had internal clouds and sunshine. Yay for taking a break and getting some things done around the house and reading. Have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As much as I love the spring sunshine I also appreciate the rain because it is so vital for the green to grow. The Poetry reading sounds fantastic. Great that you got to go first and then fully enjoy the other readers. "a bit more time to read" - I am glad you can take the time for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We've had so much rain I would rather trade that in for sun at this point. So far, it's been an unusually cold and rainy start to May. Enjoy your time off this week.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think we're getting your clouds and rain, starting tomorrow evening. I'm glad for it, too, although it's also supposed to be colder, too. Back to long sleeves. It's so exciting that you presented. I imagine everyone loved that you brought so many books to share. Have a happy week "off".

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like how you haven't gotten frustrated by the low attendance at book club but have used it to enhance the experience of those attending.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ramona, I am glad that you love the Northwest so much. The rain has caused a commotion here on Long Island. Today, I had on my winter jacket to protect me from the cold as I finished my garden design.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I knew I'd find poetry in there somewhere :) - what a joy filled week you've had, enjoy the time just for you this coming week.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You bring me such sweet joy. Yes...you are a true Pacific NW citizen if you are celebrating rainy days!

    ReplyDelete