Y

Y is for.....da, da, da, da, da, da da, dh....Ya say it's your birthdaY...(que the Beatles,) You're gonna have a good time....
Yes...I am 55 today...double 5's ...5 and a half decades Young.
I am in the best shape I have been in since I have had kids...it's about time I had a little time to start eating well, working out and just having to work and have fun.


EnjoY !

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME*

W

W is for worms...

and we don't say "Ewwwww,"

The newest babies have hatched in second grade...see those ity-bity black things on the white cocoon? They are Silk "worms," which we know are not worms but caterpillars....but silk caterpillars just doesn't sound right. I should have put a penny in the photo for scale but I noticed that they hatched right as I was leaving on Friday...so I had to run out and pull leaves and fruit from the Mulberry tree and my new Mulberry bush, both of which just began putting out leaves. The "worms" are the size of a eyelash, They will eat and eat and eat for about a month and then spin a cocoon of silk. It really is a fascinating process. 

I have ordered duck eggs to incubate. They were set to arrive on Thursday and then I realized that they would hatch when I was in Colorado for BIG Foot's graduation. I hope they are able to change the mail date for the following week!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*
LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY THE 
CIRCLE OF LIFE*

K

K is for Killer Cat...the King of the beasts around here...

17 years ago we rescued this feral cat from my mom's garage where a stray had taken up residence and had a litter of Kittens. I really wanted an orange kitten but every orange kitten we could capture was a female....and we really wanted a male. After much chasing- my 3 kids and I cornered this guy and drove him 500 miles back home with us. He is getting up in years and has reverted back to his feral ways- coming to the porch for meals and a petting only on his terms. He's never really forgiven us for neutering him.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER

*LOVE A CAT*

J

J is for juniper....(for lack of a better J)....when I was a kid, my dad would cut the tall Cypress trees that lines the edge of our yard. How I hated the trim days because my job was to pick up the branches and put them into the trash cans. No matter how hard I tried not to brush the branches against me, it inevitably happened. My skin would burn and welt. My complaints went unheard and I wondered why my sister didn't mind picking the branches up.


Years later, when I was plagued with a massive sinus blockage and could not smell for over a year, I underwent allergy testing. Nothing. Nothing to cause the infection that raged in my upper sinuses....but I was allergic to junipers...the Cypress family of trees...which is why I welted, itched and burned when I picked up the branches as a child. Too bad I didn't know that way back then or I could have gotten out of that chore.

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*I DON'T DO YEARDWORK WHEN CYPRESS TREES ARE INVOLVED*

I

I is for Imperial Jug...


Modern, fiberglass and insulated for hot or cold liquids....
Doesn't it just invite you to go on a 50's style picnic right now?


I got this cool jug on ebay years ago...it has a matching cooler... and both sit atop my kitchen cabinets with my other cool 50's stash. I don't believe either have been used. Simply decorative and fun.


Happy "I" Thursday!

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*HAVE AN ABC MONDAY*

C is for CALIFORNIA

This book is actually part of the "Good Night" series, but I chose California for "C." Adam Gamble, creates board books for most states, major cities and even the world. Each book covers specific landmarks that are memorable that area- a great way to teach geography. As a parent, I used board books with my own small children because of durability. After attending The Reading and Writing Project at Columbia, I totally brought board books in my first grade classroom....I thought the children would shy from "baby books," but they have a brand new love for these books from their first years...and now used to master reading.

In Good Night California, you travel from the Pacific, to Yosemite-(my favorite as I have climbed Half Dome,) to the Redwoods and Golden Gate to farm lands and zoos.

No matter where you live, there is most likely a book like this for you....or where you plan to travel...or for the little one you want to share the love of books with.

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*LAUGH HARDER*GOOD NIGHT HALF

DOME, I HOPE TO GET A PERMIT

TO CLIMB YOU AGAIN THIS SUMMER*

A is for Alison's Zinnia

Today s the first day of the A to Z Challenge...I just barely thought of a theme...

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

....appropriate for a teacher who has more than 1,000 books in my classroom alone...not counting what I have at home. But these books are not just for children- they are also for adults who love a good laugh, or cry or just enjoy the pictures.

A is for ALISON'S ZINNIA ...

In this book, Anita Lobel uses girl's names, flowers and verbs to make the alphabet of flowers come alive. Alison acquired an Amaryllis for Beryl.... Beryl bought a Begonia for Crystal...Crystal cut a Chrysanthemum for Dawn...all the way to Zena zeroed in on a Zinnia for Alison. The photos are suitable for framing...and the book is a wonderful gift for a gardener of flower lover...I bought this for my daughter Alison when she was just a few years old.

 

*LIVESTRONG*LOVESTRONGER*

LAUGH HARDER*ENJOY A GOOD

 CHILDREN'S BOOK NO MATTER

HOW OLD YOU ARE*