Pleasures from the Page

Friday, July 14, 2017

Poetry Friday

Head over to Tabatha Yeatt's blog,

The Opposite of Indifference, for this week's

round-up of poetic goodness.

Thanks, Tabatha, for hosting this week!

When our good friends, the Grahams (part of our chosen family), come to visit, we eat our way through Pike Place Market. This poem captures a few favorites from members of our family both present and absent with a nod to Macaroni and Cheese Day and a link to a recipe.

A Family Stroll through Pike Place Market

Hum bow at Mee Sum, Blake’s best treat

Macarons at the Le Panier, Lauren’s love

Piroshkys because Walt wants them & is willing to wait

A stop by Three Sisters Bakery for cookies for all

and sourdough bread for Lance

Peaches and cherries and green beans for later

And the final stop?

For Beecher’s mac & cheese, Sara’s favorite,

Heaven in a cardboard container!

-Ramona Behnke

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Slice of Life: Ten Things I Bought on the Tenth!

Today I join my fellow bloggers in "serving up a slice"

to the Tuesday Slice of Life (SOL) community.

Thanks to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Lisa, Melanie, and Lanny

for hosting this meeting place each Tuesday and nurturing our writing lives.

It's late, but still Tuesday in my west coast world. Today, I'm sharing ten things I bought on the tenth, a variation of last week's slice of 4 things I loved on the 4th of July.

A friend and I headed out for a Costco run yesterday. I asked her if she would be willing to join me for an extra expedition to University Books. It was the first day of their 90% off sale and I purchased ten books for less than eight dollars. I felt like it was Christmas in July!

4 books on STEM topics for my niece's classroom
Lootas, a sea otter at our aquarium, written by a local author on the island
1 favorite poetry book for gift giving
2 books by Mem Fox to share with my grand boys - Tough Boris and Tell Me About Your Day Today
2 serendipitous finds - Mrs. Harkness and the Panda, a delightful book illustrated by Melissa Sweet and I Know Here, a book I loved sharing with my students when we did personal narratives

And here's my friend, Shelly, with her stash of

four finds for her granddaughter.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Celebrate This Week - What's Fun?

Join us each weekend for Celebrate This Week with Ruth Ayres.

When we pause to celebrate, we find the joy.

A week filled with moments to celebrate and remember.

Thanks, Ruth, for this morning's reflection of time spent with Sam, your resident early riser. I like the idea of deciding what we want to be busy doing. Today's post includes fun from the past week as well as fun that I'm anticipating!

Being reunited with Mister Jack after his first trip (He was gone for ten days!)

Jack's first ferry ride and some pre-4th of July fun with Will's family

Pics of Teddy enjoying the 4th in Utah with Grandma Barb, Aunt Amy, and Mom

A belated birthday celebration with friends - good food, gentle breezes, a shady dining spot, and book conversations

Watching Grandpa and Jack read together

Reading picture books before bed (A big thanks to my blogging friends whose recommendations fill my holds shelf at the library and keep my picture book basket full!)
Waking up to bird songs at 6 am instead of 4 am

Anticipating Island Celebration today and Jack's first parade

Anticipating our book club's annual summer gathering at Shannon's place (There's something magical about our summer discussion that includes spouses and friends, dinner, and discussion with views of the lake and Mt. Rainer.)

Anticipating time with Teddy, Stefi, and Blake at a cabin in Park City

Friday, July 7, 2017

Poetry Friday: Haiku Projects

Head over to Carol's blog,

Beyond Literacy Link, for this week's

round-up of poetic goodness.

Thanks, Carol, for hosting this week!

When I completed my month long alphabetic stroll for National Poetry Month in April, there were things that I left out that I knew I would want to revisit. In mid-June I shared the book, Cool Melons Turn to Frogs about the life and poetry of Issa. And this week I want to share a favorite poetry how-to book about haiku. April was an expensive month for me since I kept thinking about poetry books that I wanted to own. One of the books I purchased was Haiku: Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids. This is a book that I checked out of the library each year to use with my sixth graders. I taught them the seven keys to writing haiku and one of the students suggested that we make a mini-book with one of the keys listed on each page. It was perfect and provided a ready resource for the students to reference as they wrote their own haiku. I highly recommend this book if you're a novice to this writing form or if you'd just like to refresh your understanding.

The book has a variety of projects that include writing your first haiku, a favorite season haiku, haiku with stories (haibun), haiku with drawings (haiga), and grouplike haiku with friends (renga).

I see this as a perfect book to use with students or to give to a poetry loving child who also loves making things. I like these words from the preface: "Haiku may help us all to slow down, relax, and stop and see what is around us, so that we can appreciate our world and everyday life more." And that's a perfect recipe for any day of the year.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Spiritual Journey First Thursday: Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone

Pat at Writer on a Horse and a Dog has invited us to write about stepping out of our comfort zone for Spiritual Journey First Thursday.

When I think about stepping out of my comfort zone, a couple of life experiences come to mind. When I was in high school, I heard about an opportunity to participate in a summer Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). I'm not really the outdoorsy type, but the chance to make some serious money during the summer before I was sixteen and hold a real job was enticing. I moved ahead and submitted my application. And wouldn't you know it? I got the job! I still remember the first day there and thinking about how many days it would be until the weekend. We boarded at Jones Academy in Hartshorne, Oklahoma and went home on the weekends. I learned how to work hard in the outdoor environment, to push myself physically, and became friends with people from differing backgrounds, all while helping to make the campus and environment at Jones Academy better for the American Indian students who lived there during the school year.

And as I neared the end of my senior year in college, God inspired me to serve a mission for our church. I was never one of those people who had always planned to serve a mission. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened my mission letter to discover my assignment for the next eighteen months would be in Hong Kong. This was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone and learning the Cantonese language became one of the most difficult learning challenges of my life. But with faith in God, I moved forward step by step, and day by day to share my faith with those I met in Hong Kong.

So now, I'm trying to think of ways that I step out of my comfort zone in my life as a retired person. Three years ago, I attended my first NCTE conference (after I retired). I met Irene Latham who invited me to join the poets who write a progressive poem each year during April. I don't know why I said yes to her request. And every year I vow that I won't do it again. And then I find myself signing up to step out of my comfort zone and write a line with the poets I admire so much. And it's exhilarating, but only when my line is completed. Up until then, it's terrifying!

Another way that I step out of my comfort zone is by continuing to blog. Sometimes, I feel that I no longer have much to say, but it's the ongoing challenge to put words down on paper that make possible the occasional times when I write something that fuels me as a writer and makes me think that the process is still worthwhile.

My current church calling is to be the leader for our ladies group at church. It's challenging for me and I've learned to love the women that I serve, stepping out of my comfort zone to minister. I have learned to love women whose paths and challenges are different from my own. And as I've stepped out of that comfort zone, I've received love back from them and an appreciation for what they teach me.