SOL 31/31: From Serene Activities to Shrieks of Surprise

I read a lot of posts and left comments, trying to figure out how to mark this thirty-first day of my fourteenth year of slicing. I compiled the number of slices I've written on different topics, a favorite way to sum up my month of slicing in the past. 

No matter how I try to summarize the month, a slice of our afternoon keeps slithering to the surface.

Grandma knits a scarf

Grandsons plant sugar snap peas

Daughter steps on snake!

I close this month with gratitude for our slicing community. I never considered myself a writer until I began slicing with my students in 2012. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 30/31: If I Were in Charge . . .

If I were Queen of Slices:

1. We would write in February.

It only has 28 days AND we could catch our breath before April and all that Poetry Month brings our way.

2. No one would ever have a slice with no comments,

Leave a comment with the day(s) you got zero love and I'll visit.

3. Problems with disappearing comments will vanish, expire, vamoose, beggone, Evanesco, perish forever. 

Yes, I've tried Jetpack and had some success with it, but I still have comments that evaporate from sight.

A second try brings this response: "Duplicate comment. Looks like you already said that." 

"Well, where the heck did that comment go? It's not showing up on my friend's blog. Is it going walkabout in cyberspace?

**************************

This is my fourteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life. 

SOL 29/31: Sleepover Fun!

It was sleepover night with eight year old grandson. 

He couldn't wait to make Molasses Butterscotch Ice Cream Sandwiches (his own dreamed-up creation).

We switched our regular routine of dinner at Chick-fil-A to enjoy a Papa John's Pizza delivered by his dad. 

And then it was off to the grocery store with Grandpa to select sodas for our taste test. The two varieties of Orange were beat out by Root Beer, a long time favorite.

After watching a favorite show, it was time for Charades, a game that usually leads to him lying on the floor giggling so hard he can hardly breathe over some of our silly actions performed in search of the right words.

Our bedtime book was Loos, Poos, and Number Twos: A Disgusting Journey Through the Bowels of History by Peter Hepplewhite, selected from Grandma's book basket. Jack could not understand why Grandma would have requested such a book. 

After a six am rising & hanging out with Grandpa for an hour, Jack roused me from a deep sleep with his "I'm hungry," chant.

When I wandered out of the bedroom, he was looking at the back of last night's dreadful book featuring more titles in the same vein. I redirected him to the The Story of Silk: From Worm Spit to Woven Silk, another worm book in the book basket. That book kept him occupied while I made snowman and Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes. 

When we sat down for breakfast, guess what captured our attention? He had discovered the Car Issue of Consumer Reports and was avidly reading about cars and trucks that would allow him to go off road.

Our morning at the Science Center included buying a sucker with a scorpion in it and a packet of Sour Cream and Onion Crick-ettes. Jack  pronounced the sucker as yucky once he reached the scorpion and declared the crick-ettes as having no taste whatsoever. Good thing we got that out of his system!

We dashed back to our house for a late morning snack and then it was time to head home. He convinced Grandpa to let him take the Consumer Reports home. Who knows what he's planning for our next sleepover?

SOL 28/31: A Book Spine Poem of Possibilities

 I have two bookshelves of books that I want to read. Today I pulled several off the shelf to a make a book spine poem. 

This Tender Land

South of Broad

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest

Abide with Me

The Pull of the Stars

Life After Life

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 

 

 Books organized by order of preference to read:

Young Adult & Middle Grade

 1.  Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin  

(Middle grade, liked The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, borrowed from a friend)

2.  The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest  by Aubrey Hartman

(Middle grade, loved The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor, her debut novel)

 

Historical Fiction 

3. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue  

(1918 Great Flu sweeps Ireland,

my grandmother's twin died in this epidemic in the U.S.)

Favorite Authors

4.  South of Broad by Pat Conroy

(loved Beach Music) 

5. Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout 

(loved Olive Kitteridge)

 

Intrigued by Book

6. Life After Life by Jill McCorkle

(found in a Little Free Library) 

 

Book Club Pick

7. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

(for Nov. 2025, liked The River We Remember)

 

FYI:  The only book I purchased in the above list was The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest. I feel a responsibility to support new authors. I love middle grade. My son knew Aubrey in college. With the exception of the one borrowed book, the rest were acquired at library book sales or Little Free Libraries.

SOL 27/31: A Playful Invitation

 I did it again.

I'm not sure why.

Perhaps it was the lateness of the day

or that the invitation came

 via a blogger friend 

at a gathering of writers.

Step right up.

Jump right in.

Take the plunge.

Join us:

the fearful,

the brave,

the playful,

at the playground for the

 2025 Kidlit Progressive Poem .

See you in April!

 

- Ramona Behnke

SOL 26/31: A High Jumping Haiku!

A story time craft

continues Lily's delight,

"A hopping good time!" 

SOL 25/31: Seven Reasons I'm Slicing at 10 pm! Again!

 With only seven days left to slice, I bring you seven reasons why I'm posting at 10 pm!

1. I stripped my bed this morning and tossed the sheets in the washer (Tuesday's chore). Arrived in bedroom at 10 pm after watching a show with hubby, still needing to make the bed. I love fresh sheets, but hate making the bed at 10 pm.

2. I had a morning date with Ollie, a make up swim lesson.

3. I read many books with Ollie during morning snack and lunch. I love it when he says, "Read it again, Grandma."

4. I tried to track a package that hadn't been delivered. Ever tried the UPS Virtual Assistant? Take my advice and don't!

5. I baked chocolate chip cookies and delivered plates to three neighbors.

6. I tried a new recipe for dinner (prep always take me longer than the recipe states). And the recipe was meh (not a keeper).

7. I celebrated with my sister that her package finally arrived (our phone conversations lean toward chatty)!

And that, my friends, are just a few of the reasons why I'm sitting here at 10:22 finishing today's slice. 

Math tip: Day 25 = 7 days left to slice (when you add the single digit 2 to the single digit 5).

SOL 24/31: The Boys Stick Together!

Last week I gathered all the picture books I had checked out of the library for Women's History Month. I asked Jack to select one to read on Friday. He was spending the day with us following a tooth extraction. Surprisingly, the time to go home and meet brother's bus arrived before we had a chance to read his chosen book.

I tossed it in my book bag and away we went. After checking my watch and knowing we had a bit of time before the bus arrived, I sauntered outside, book in hand. Jack was perched on the curb reading a book he had checked out that morning. I casually opened a lawn chair and suggested to Jack that we read Dinosaur Lady before Robby's bus arrived..

"But Grandma, I think Robby would like to read it with us," was Jack's rapid fire reply. 

Grandpa immediately chimed in, "What's the title?"

I responded, "The Dinosaur Lady."

"Oh, I know that's a book Robby wants to read. You definitely should wait for him!" 

As expected, the boys did not gather round for a reading of The Dinosaur Lady after the bus dropped Robby off. With three boys in daughter's family, this probably won't be the last time the boys override Grandma, especially when Grandpa sides with them.

Jack, however, was elated to unwrap the plate of Molasses Crinkles we had baked for their Friday afternoon tradition of Cookies and Conversation. They have cookies and milk, and take turns drawing slips of paper with questions about their week to provide the conversation.

SOL 23/31: Looking Down, Looking Up

Yesterday I listened The Next Right Thing podcast by Emily P. Freeman, episode 359, The Spiritual Practice of Looking Up and Down. This week Emily talked about a spiritual practice that's helping her feel a bit more grounded. She explains that any practice can be a spiritual one if we do it with an awareness of God. Her practice involves taking a picture of her feet and then looking up to take a picture of the sky. This little practice involves pausing to look down at where she is right now and then also looking up at what's above her. Go listen to her podcast if you want to understand how this practice can be spiritually beneficial.

Just eight days ago I chronicled the snowy skies and bluebird days of Utah while I was visiting my son and his family. Back home in North Carolina, I bring you blossoms and joy in the wondrous arrival of spring. I never tire of walks to document the nature around me. As I began looking through my pictures, I realized that I often take pics of flowers on the ground and pics of trees while looking up at the sky. It's not exactly the practice Emily Freeman does, but it does slow me down (and my fellow walkers). Here are a few pics from the past week capturing the arrival of spring. Come walk with me!

 

SOL 22/31: More Worm Connections

While researching worm books for my Down the Rabbit Hole post, I realized that I wanted to share more than one worm book for some of the categories in blogger Julie's Reading Life post.

So in no particular order, here are additional worm books, if you're interested: 

Children's Picture Books I've Read 

Worm and Caterpillar Are Friends by Kaz Windness

A worm and a caterpillar are best friends and when one of them is about to go through a big change, they both learn what is inside is what counts.

 

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

Great mentor text

 

My Baba’s Garden by Jordan Scott *

A story about the special relationship between a child and his grandmother and the time they 

spend looking for worms for the garden.

 

 Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies

“Worms” is one of the poems in this beautifully illustrated book, arranged by season.  

 

 Worm Books I Requested

Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night by Julia Kuo (picture book) !

 

Marty McGuire Digs Worms! by Kate Messner * (chapter book)

 

Loos, Poos, and Number Twos: A Disgusting Journey Through the Bowels of History by Peter Hepplewhite ** (nonfiction picture book) !

 

Darwin's Super-Pooping Worm Spectacular by Polly Owen ** (nonfiction picture book) !

 

Ants in Your Pants! Worms in Your Plants! (Gilbert Goes Green) by Diane de Groat (picture book, Earth Day) !

 

The Story of Silk: From Worm Spit to Woven Scarves by Richard Sobel  (children's nonfiction) !

 

Snail and Worm All Day by Tina Kugler (picture book)

 

Make the Most of Your Time on Earth: The Rough Guide to the World (adult nonfiction) Worm connection - "a mopane worm in Zimbabwe"

 

Paddington on Top by Michael Bond (children's chapter book) When Paddington, the lovable Peruvian bear, goes to school, he takes a turn at water skiing, plays rugby, and accidentally dumps a can of worms into the teacher's stew.

 

5,000 Awesome Facts (About Animals!) (children's nonfiction) "National Geographic Kids presents 5,000 fascinating facts in an accessible and engaging format about animals in kids' own backyards and around the world. This book includes animals from anteaters to zombie worms . . . "

 

Earl & Worm: The Bad Idea and Other Stories by Greg Pizzoli (children's fiction, early reader, on order)

 

Go Eat Worms! by R.L. Stine (children's chapter book, Goosebumps series)

 

Fish and Worm by Sergio Ruzzier (children's fiction, I Can Read Comics series)  

Sing and Play New Folk Songs for Children by Mr. Greg and Cass McCombs (children's music CD) Includes the song "Little Wilma Wiggly Worm"

 

Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to To Open Your World by Padraig O Tuama  (adult poetry) "This generous anthology pairs fifty illuminating poems with poet and podcast host Pádraig Ó Tuama’s appealing, unhurried reflections.  . . .    For anyone who has wanted to try their hand at a conversation with poetry but doesn’t know where  to start, Poetry Unbound presents a window through which to celebrate the art of being alive." 

I might choose this book as my April read for Poetry Month.     

 

*       I love books that feature the grandma/grandchild relationship.

**     Something tells me the grandsons will love these titles.

!        Books requested and picked up already, shown in the picture below

 

Saturday afternoon update:

Five of the books I requested have already come in. 

I love libraries!

SOL & Poetry Friday: "You Can't Have It All "

I met a new poem last night. Introduced to me at a writer's gathering, I wondered why we'd never met. Here are a few lines from "You Can't Have it All" by Barbara Ras:

            " . . . And when adulthood fails you,

you can still summon the memory of the black swan on the pond

of your childhood, the rye bread with peanut butter and bananas

your grandmother gave you while the rest of the family slept."

Inspired by this poem, I wrote a pair of haiku so I can always summon this Fun Run day shared with two grandsons:

 

No blue sky blessing

 Banners snap, crack, and ripple

Cheers increase vigor

 

Arms link in friendship

 Children run, freeze, walk, cavort

Pure jubilation

 

- Ramona Behnke 

SOL 20/31: Down the Rabbit Hole

After explaining that the term "down the rabbit hole" began with Lewis Carroll's title for chapter one of Alice in Wonderland, Wikipedia goes on to explain this English language trope or idiom: "The term is usually used as a metaphor for distraction. In the 21st century, the term has come to describe a person who gets lost in research or loses track of time while using the internet." It's easy for me to become distracted during the challenge and yesterday's rabbit hole was a treasure trove.

After determining that daughter had the same worm book that Julie of Reading Life mentioned, I decided on a unique twist to Julie's format by looking for worm books I have read in each of her categories. 

Children’s Picture Book – How to Say Hello to a Worm: A First Guide to Outside by Kari Percival. See yesterday's post for the connection Julie and I had about this book. 

Children’s Chapter Book - How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwall. This category was easy. I read this book  in the 90s to my third graders. More than a quarter century later, it's still in print, has a new cover, a DVD, and is part of the Scholastic Gold Line. 

Adult Nonfiction - Bubbles, Rainbows, and Worms: Science Experiments for Preschool Children by Sam Ed Brown. I actually owned this book when my children were preschoolers and that was 30+ years ago.

Adult Fiction - Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. I love this book and was surprised it popped up in my worms search. I scoured the card catalog Contents section several times before finding the worm connection. "Dedicated to 'the librarians then, now, and in the years to come,' Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land is about the power of story and the astonishing survival of the physical book when for thousands of years they were so rare and so feared, dying, as one character says, 'in fires or floods or in the mouths of worms or at the whims of tyrants'." 

Audiobook Nonfiction - I came up empty in this category. Will it count if I request the audiobook of How to Eat Fried Worms for the grands?

Come back tomorrow for Part 3 of my wormy rabbit hole!

SOL 19/31: Slicer Connections

A Reading Life post (from fellow slicer Julie) was delightful! I liked how she shared what she had been reading for the past five days in five categories. I mentioned that I might borrow her format. But I'll save that for another day. 

I left a comment about the picture book in her post, almost sure that I had seen this book (or one like it) at my daughter's house yesterday. To my surprise, Julie responded to the comment I left: 

"Let me know if it is the same book, or if I need to be on the lookout for another title about a worm." 

When I went to daughter's house this morning, the book had disappeared from the kitchen counter, but I found it in their library book basket. And it was the same book Julie had featured in her post! 

This award winning debut by Kari Percival captures the joy of being outside. I discovered that this wonderful book was not a library book. When I flipped it over, there was a label addressed to my three and a half year old grandson from Smart Start and Guilford County Partnership For Children. The font flap of the book shares ideas for activities to do with your child. These activities are presented in collaboration with the Library of Congress.

The back flap of the book explains that Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (in partnership with local Community Partners) gifts books free of charge to children from birth to age five. I love how local communities partner with Dolly to help "... families build home libraries that inspire a love of reading so all children will Dream More, Learn More, Care More, and Be More." 

Kudos to Dolly Parton and her community partners. Look at the goodness that happens when people work together. And heaven knows we can all use more goodness sprinkled in our days!

Slice of Life 18/31: Best Hack Ever

Word Press and I tangled last night. I couldn't leave my link for Day 17. After numerous attempts, I conceded and Word Press won.. Perhaps the late hour and a day of travel kept me from remembering the simplest fix. This haiku captures what worked this morning.

 Failed to remember

The easiest solution 

Restart computer

Slice of Life: 17/31 The Lone Straggler

 Snow person roundup,

slice of life for day four, 

Snow Sweep, take 2.

Final vestiges of winter

were packed away 

and carted to the attic.

Until day seventeen when

 I spy his yellow-banded black hat

trimmed with festive holly 

and secured with a red button.

His star studded fringed scarf,

with matching jingle bells

two coal black eyes,

 and carrot nose 

adorn his cotton-filled head.

He shouts gleefully

through a cross stitched mouth,

"I hid in plain sight,

yet you missed  me 

during Snow Sweep 1

and Snow Sweep 2.

I hereby claim for 2025

the coveted title,

The Lone Straggler!"

SOL 16/31: I Love Libraries!

I love visiting the local library when I come visit the grands in Utah. I check out books and hope we'll have time to read all of them before I leave. 

Here's a quick preview of the picture books I checked out. 

 The Runaway Belly Button by John Flannery (Who can resist a title like this?)

Counting in Dog Years and Other Sassy Math Poems by Betsy Franco (Grandson Teddy and I took turns reading some poems in this book. "Fractions of Me" p.10 would make a wonderful mentor text.)

Line Leads the Way by Laura Purdie Salas (I couldn't resist this title from a familiar favorite poet. A wonderful fresh twist on shapes and why being perfectly imperfect is just the right job qualification.)

The Witness Trees by Ryan G. Van Cleave (Who am I kidding? I checked this one out for me because I adore trees.) 

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens (As soon as I started reading this one, a personal favorite, to the girls, big brother joined us because he knew the story.)

May You Love and Be Loved: Wishes for Your Life by Cleo Wade ( I didn't get to share this one, but it's  a new personal favorite that I may need to buy.)

 Puff: All About Air by Emily Kate Moon (Breathe deep and sail like the wind, / with the sweetest puff of air in all the atmosphere.)

Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit (Another one I checked out because I wanted to read it.) 

 

I loved capturing the girls totally absorbed in reading their books after story time on Thursday!

March 16th is my favorite day of the March Slice of Life Challenge! We are more than halfway to the finish line.  

SOL 15/31: Snowy Skies

Local family blame Thursday night's snow on me. I've been wishing for snow ever since I arrived in Utah for Roots Tech on March 4th. We had a bit of snow on Thursday evening thru Friday morning of the conference. I included a couple of pics in my Five Things Friday post on March 7.

However, the best snow came in the early evening on Thursday, March 13th. It wasn't supposed to start until later. It just goes to show that we can't always predict Mother Nature. I like to think it arrived early for me. Here is son's backyard while we were eating dinner.

We headed out for The Great Gatsby book club meeting right after dinner. This is what greeted us a short while later when book club was over.

 

 

Friday morning just before 8 am, I gleefully stepped onto the porch and began taking pictures of our winter wonderland.

 

 

 

I took the next two photos at  9:55. When I showed them to my son, I learned a new term, a bluebird day.* I asked him if you could just have a blue bird hour or two instead of a day.

By the time that I walked over to son's house at 11:51, the bluebird skies were replaced by overcast skies.

 

 

 I enjoy watching the skies and capturing the changing colors of a day.

* A "bluebird day" refers to a day with a clear, cloudless sky and bright sunshine, often after a storm, and is a term commonly used by skiers and snowboarders to describe ideal winter sports conditions.

SOL 14/31 & Poetry Friday: A Classic Read in One Afternoon

A shadorma* captures a chance encounter with daughter-in- law's aunt. I'm invited to her book club meeting that evening. I resort to a hack from college so I can finish the book.

Storytime

with two granddaughters

Grandmas chat

Planned nap lost

An unread classic beckons

I read standing up

 

*A shadorma is a six line stanza with syllables in this order 3/5/3/3/7/5. A Shadorma may contain more than one stanza with the same syllable count.  

I was inspired by Juliette's post who was inspired by Beth's post. 

FYI: Poetry is not always a faster write.

Curious about my unread classic? It was The Great Gatsby!

 

This is my fourteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.  

 

Janice Scully at Salt City Verse is hosting Poetry Friday this week.

SOL 13/31: Born to Gather!

We were just inside the restaurant waiting for our table when we found ourselves spontaneously breaking into song:

"Those were the days, my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way"

We had a marvelous time together remembering our shared years of young motherhood and updating each other on more recent happenings. Two of our group are still in WA, one lives in UT, and I'm in NC. When I realized that one of the WA contingent would be in UT while I was there, we decided that called for a celebratory meal with our UT friend. And then I chatted with a fourth friend who was in UT helping her brother after a recent surgery. And that's how our foursome found ourselves at Beaumont Bakery & Cafe (highly recommended), enjoying an extended lunch together with takeaway pastries for later in the day.

And while we were enjoying our delicious meal and lively conversation, we spontaneously burst into song once again: 

"Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy"

 

Our server took this picture for us.

 

As we stepped outside the restaurant, I requested one more picture of the group so we could have those gorgeous Utah mountains in the background. 

After multiple hugs, we reluctantly parted ways. One of our group starting her drive back to the Seattle area, one off to do errands before returning to Park City, one returning to check on her recovering brother, and me? I was off for a rejuvenating nap before hosting the grands for a bit of play before dinner!

I woke up contemplating this post, and humming a third song for our gathering: 

"Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

SOL 12/31: Friendship Fills Me!

RootsTech conference buddies, 

three shared Seattle years

two plus decades ago.

Every conference break

is filled with stories!

Jolene journeys from Idaho

we shop and walk and talk 

remembering four Houston years in the 80s

as young mothers, visits back and forth

continue our treasured friendship.  

This is my fourteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 11/31: Angst Over Books to Recommend

I stopped by The King's English Bookshop to redeem a gift card, to choose 3 books to submit for consideration at our annual book club retreat, and to peruse the children's section. After pulling numerous possible titles, I narrowed my possible submissions. 

Here are the ones that didn't make the cut:

Here are the three still in the running:

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

(I've wanted to read this for a long time.)

Still Life by Sarah Winman

(A tonic for wanderlust and a cure for loneliness ) 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson 

(An absolute joy of a book, utterly captivating from the first page)

Here are two titles that I may still consider:

Table for Two by Amor Towles

(newly available in paperback)

Absolution by Alice McDermott

(recommended by a friend) 

I purchased two books:

Feel free to recommend a title(s) for our book club in your comment.