Fortune or Misfortune?

I had to look at this one a few times. I wondered if I’d stumbled across someone else’s fortune. After all, I enjoy both my work and my job.

Who, me?

Who, me?

Shortly after this cookie broke open, I got the news that I am likely to be teaching summer school. Yea! There may be enough demand for expanding the new music courses, which in turn keeps my workload steady.

That works. I’m not changing jobs, but my work is shifting back to my roots in teaching music.

Well, I didn’t think the fortune was referring to the rummage sale coming up in June.

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In Which Daisy’s Green Thumb Turns Brown

It was a gift – a gift from a generous and appreciative parent of a student. It’s a nice plant, supposedly one of the impossible to kill varieties. You guessed it, readers. I’m good at growing outdoors, but indoor plants tend to fade on me – fade to brown, not black. This one started looking really sad on its cubicle shelf, so I brought it home for some TLC.

This is embarrassing.

This is embarrassing.

It didn’t take long. A good watering, a little time with real sunshine, and there is recovery in the air – er, in the pot.

Now that's better.

Now that’s better.

The tiny tomato seedlings weren’t so lucky. Transplant shock plus a sudden transition to outdoors and the Romas and and a few Beefsteaks choked. I guess I’ll be a customer at the Memorial Gardens’ heirloom variety sale again.

RIP, tomatoes.

RIP, tomatoes. We hardly knew ye.

The pepper plants still look good. We’ll have a good variety of peppers, sweet and spicy, come September.

Peppers!

Peppers!

The scallions, on the other hand, have never really picked up. They are thin as embroidery thread and starting to lie down in their dirt.

Scallions - not stallions

Scallions – not stallions

I guess I should stick with what works – and that’s the wild walking onion crop that is already going strong.

These onions were made for walking!

These onions were made for walking!

As for the rest, it will wait until I’m a little more certain that spring is really here.

 

 

 

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Creative Cookies

We call it the Clounge or the coffee closet. It’s a storage closet in the school offices, a narrow closet that houses spare books and curriculum resources and the huge lock boxes that keep our state tests secure. On the other side we have a long, narrow table and small cabinet that support two microwaves, a toaster, and the coffeepot. Closet + Lounge gives us Clounge, and coffee closet is self-explanatory.

This Clounge is narrow – narrow enough that only one person can stand in between the table and storage shelves. At lunch time, there’s a lot of “Excuse me. Can I get past you to the water cooler? The refrigerator? Or maybe could you just hand me my yogurt?” as we maneuver around to get what we need.

But once in a while, someone brings in a treat. This one came from a long-term substitute to say Thanks on her last day with us.

Cute, aren't they?

Cute, aren’t they?

We had some fun discussions, trying to figure out who ate the head from the turtle but left its shell, wondering why everyone left the smilies for last. One thing was simple; that frog was calling my name. It was great with coffee.

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The New To-Do in the Dirt List

To do is to be. 

To be is to do. 

Done:

  • Rock garden has its fun rocks (the big ones) in it again
  • Mock cherry tree suckers lopped off
  • Dead mums from last fall cut down (they are so hardy it’s snowing before they die)
  • Peat covers the area destined for asparagus
  • The mess near the small compost bin has been raked and redeposited in the other compost bin (dang raccoon)
  • Tiny tomato seedlings are in better pots now
  • Tiny tomato seedlings suffered transplant shock and too-cool windy weather. Thank goodness, the peppers are fine.
  • Mini greenhouse shelves are on deck (that means they’re outside, people, not waiting to bat)
  • Mini greenhouse shelves are still on the deck, but all the little seedlings are in the house until the risk of snow goes away. Really.
  • Found the box of fossil samples and distributed them artistically in the rock garden!

To Do:

  • Turn soil
  • Mix in suitable compost  I might wait until fall for these two. When the weather is finally suitable, going no-till might be a better use of my time.
  • Spread topsoil over peat for asparagus
  • Pick up boards-slash-stepping stone paths and re-arrange them
  • Create the new “floor plan!”
  • Find any stray rock collections in the basement (I know of at least one box) and add to rock garden. See above.

Do-be-do-be-do! And on we go! 

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To Do in the Dirt

To do is to be. 

To be is to do. 

Done:

  • Rock garden has its fun rocks (the big ones) in it again
  • Mock cherry tree suckers lopped off
  • Dead mums from last fall cut down (they are so hardy it’s snowing before they die)
  • Peat covers the area destined for asparagus
  • The mess near the small compost bin has been raked and redeposited in the other compost bin (dang raccoon)
  • Tiny tomato seedlings are in better pots now
  • Mini greenhouse shelves are on deck (that means they’re outside, people, not waiting to bat)

To Do:

  • Turn soil
  • Mix in suitable compost
  • Spread topsoil over peat for asparagus
  • Pick up boards-slash-stepping stone paths and re-arrange them
  • Create the new “floor plan!”
  • Find any stray rock collections in the basement (I know of at least one box) and add to rock garden

Do-be-do-be-do! And this is only the beginning!

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From The Home Office in Daisy’s House

It started as a bedroom – La Petite’s bedroom. Then she grew up. And moved out. And stayed moved out. We’re still crossing our fingers. 

Then we cleaned and de-cluttered and rearranged. At the present time, Amigo’s bean bag chairs sit on the bed out of reach of bunny teeth. For my laptop, we found a new-to-me writing desk that’s perfect for a laptop like mine.

Pretty, isn't it?

Pretty, isn’t it?

Chuck found it at an antique mall and managed to bargain the price down a bit. It’s lovely, sturdy, and fits the character of the house nicely. Then we looked inside.

Inkwell?

Inkwell?

It was probably an inkwell when the desk was built. The writer’s bottle of ink would have settled into its home in the drawer to avoid spilling. Well, avoid spilling most of the time.

Ink - well.

Ink – well.

It’s all good. I’ll probably use the little spot for paper clips or jump drives. Works for me! Next:

  • bulletin board or other means of displaying necessary info nearby
  • file cabinet or equivalent
  • desk chair

I believe we have potential for finding all three of these in the basement. The basement, that is, that is still home to huge piles that Chuck made to allow the plumbers in last fall. Too bad I can’t just wave a wand and say “Accio Desk Chair!” In the meantime, I’ll move my muggle self to the piles and start sorting. My new home office awaits.

 

 

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One original novel. Just one.

I was browsing a list of inexpensive books for my Kindle, and I noticed some similarities. I mean, I noticed a lot of repetition.

The hero/heroine is either

  • starting fresh
  • running from the past
  • encountering a vampire
  • causing two worlds to collide

As they meet, the main characters choose from these options.

  • inexplicably drawn to one another
  • do not realize their lives are about to change
  • their relationship is thrown into turmoil
  • within days (weeks, hours) the body count begins to rise
  • tragedy strikes
  • they don’t like to like each other
  • they don’t want to want each other

As the review/summary ends, the reader is drawn in by a question or dilemma that will only resolve in the book itself.

  • Who can stop the terrors of a past he risks everything to forget?
  • Maybe death hasn’t come to this little town by accident.
  • She struggles to keep a grip on her job, her sanity, and her life.
  • Thanks to the intervention, will they both learn to let go of the past?
  • Judgment will be fast and furious as the clock winds down.
  • She must face up to her past and become what she once was in order to save the world.

Maybe. Maybe, just maybe, it’s not the novels. Maybe it’s the people who write the summaries. They could use an original thought, a chance to overcome their past and become reviewers that cause two worlds to collide – those of readers and writers.

 

 

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Inside the family bible

Inside Chuck’s new-old family bible, we found the all important list of births and deaths and other family milestones. He matched these with his research and filled in a few holes in his records.

Then we found this. What is it?

ribbon?

ribbon?

One End

One End

Another End

Another End

Well, readers? One end implies it may have been attached, perhaps worn around a neck. The first end looks like needlework. I thought it was tiny beads at first, but it’s simply colored threads.

It’s quite faded, from an original orange or peach.

Okay, readers. Help me out. Might there be meaning other than the personal value? Ideas? Thoughts? Historical context or clues?

 

 

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The Family Bible

Courtesy of his web site and records of his family history, someone found him in a search. The email they sent read something like this.

My husband picked up an old, old family bible in a batch of misc. from an estate sale. We have no need for it, and I feel that it should stay with family. Let me know if you want it; I’ll ship it to you.

 

Of course he said yes. The bible came to us, and we carefully, carefully opened the box.

 

bible packaging

 

binding - aged to perfection

binding – aged to perfection

the inscription

the inscription

And finally, the inscription: this bible was presented to Elizabeth Dane in 1835, around the time she married Thomas Dane, from her parents, James and Frances Locke. These ancestors lead directly to Chuck’s family. In fact, we spent some time in Lockeport, Nova Scotia a few years ago to dig for more information about the Dane and Locke families.

Based on some investigation, we believe it was a Baptist bible of the time. And as we tenderly turned the pages, we found…. oh, that’s another post in itself.

 

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