Hogwarts, the sequel

Posted on by
2

Well, people, Amigo is settled into his apartment and we are trying to get used to life as empty nest types. It’ll be easier when we’re sure that Amigo is successfully settled into his uptown apartment and actually feeding himself regular meals. Meanwhile, you can review the internal evidence that Hogwarts does, indeed, exist in Minnesota.

A few days ago, you saw the outside and the entrance to Minnesota’s answer to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now lets follow Amigo and his parents (Daisy and Chuck) as they scope out the fascinating place.

Conveniently located for floo powder travel

The director has a huge working fireplace in her office. Many other rooms have fireplaces, but none are this big.

Speaking of rooms, when I asked to use the rest room, they showed me to the hidden door in the wall.

Myrtle? Are you in there?

To get to the second floor, we had to go up the ancient wooden steps. Luckily, these stayed in place; none of that bad habit of changing directions every other Tuesday. Or was it Thursday?

How many staircases are in the Hogwarts castle?

On the second floor we were certain that this was a division of Hogwarts, U.S.A. Could these lampholders exist anywhere else?

Holder of the Light

There’s more to behold – later. For now, the answer to the above question. How many staircases are in the Hogwarts castle? Well?

142, of course. “…wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday…”

Oh, the white thing in the top picture? I honestly don’t remember. Maybe it’s the mansion’s ghost, Mrs. Pillsbury. She’s supposed to be friendly.

Readers, Amigo is enrolled at this historic mansion now. Given his outgoing and friendly nature, Mrs. Pillsbury is probably giving him tours of all the secret passageways. 

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Hogwarts, reprised

Posted on by
3

We moved Amigo into Gryffindor Tower today –  I mean, we moved Amigo into his apartment for the duration of his session at the training center for the blind. Why Gryyffindor? You don’t think I’d land him in Slytherin, do you? Be realistic, you muggles, you. Here’s a memoir of our first visit to Hogwarts in August.

The Hogwarts Express, Part I:

We called a cab to take us from our hotel near all the modern travel amenities (like the airport and the Mall of America) to the NFB Training Center in Minneapolis. Amigo is planning to attend one of the centers, and this one is high on the list. The taxi driver, however, wasn’t so enlightened. He fiddled with his GPS, asked us if we were sure of the address, and called his central office before he could get us on the road. When we got to the destination, I realized why he couldn’t figure it out on his own.

A long fence…

We walked along the stone (concrete?) fence and saw —

lions? tigers? bears? dragons?

…these creatures guarding the gates. Then up the steps to the front entrance:

I’m not sure what’s guarding the main door, but it’s big and ornate. Looking more closely, we saw this.

Can you hear it? The door carving is moaning, “Ebenezer…. Ebenezer Scrooge…”

Oops, wrong British novelist. Anyway, the mood was set.

The cabbie must have been a Muggle. The mansion was obviously Minnesota’s answer to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, bewitched such that ordinary non-magical folk would never know it was there. If he could have seen the mansion, he might have seen this.

Never Tickle Sleeping Dragons.

There are too many details to share in just one post. Stay tuned: you’ll enjoy more of the Midwest’s answer to Hogwarts. Just wait. I need another butterbeer to quench my thirst before I continue.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Teachers & Skills

Posted on by
Reply

It was one of the average days at the lunch table and an average teacher conversation these days – what to do if we get laid off, our salaries go down, the governor gets his way, or all of the above. It was the kind of day when we reflected on our own capabilities and wondered aloud where our futures might lead.

One of the more productive discussions came about through mention of LinkedIn. Many of us have LinkedIn accounts, but few of us are actively using the site. This discussion led (all discussions lead somewhere until we turn at the fork in the road) to skills and resumes.

Teachers, we realized, develop many professional skills beyond classroom teaching. Heck, we virtual teachers learned new ways of delivering instruction as soon as we stepped in the door. When I opened my LinkedIn account and started to check off skills, I was pleasantly surprised. As we sat around the table and listed each other’s strengths, we started feeling more confident and even a little calmer.

Time management. Prioritizing. Meeting deadlines. Learning new software and doing it quickly. Organization. Keeping records. Analyzing. Reading. Writing. Making coffee. Okay, I slipped that one in just for fun.

The point, if our lunch table group had a point, was that we are skilled professionals. We’re not “just” teachers. We teach and we do much more. If public education goes south in a handbasket, each one of us will find a way to make a living, pay the bills, and feed the family.

And if public education crashes and burns under stupid state programs, er, ineffective policies, the children of today and tomorrow will suffer. And that, my friends, is the real loss.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Read it again! And again!

Posted on by
2

When I write for Connections Academy’s national blog, my drafts go through at least three other people before I see a “final” draft that’s ready for my approval. This time I made a few more changes. I moved two sentences in order to practice what I preach in class and keep the content of a paragraph related to the topic sentence. I asked (politely, but I did ask) that most of the exclamation points be changed to periods, as it really didn’t sound like “my voice” the way it was. To be totally truthful, I felt like it read like a late-night ad on TV. “Buy before midnight and you’ll get two! Two for the price of one! And a wall holder, too! Such a deal!”

Finally, I chose a title from the SEO-generated list. I refused to choose one that singled out Moms with no mention of Dads or other extended family. I preferred the title that used the word Power, but I didn’t want to specify children, either, so I added my two cents to the title as well.

Believe it or not, the corporate social media gurus accepted my suggestions and my request for calmer punctuation so the content could speak for itself. Here it is, readers, Daisy’s latest post on the education front.

The Power of Rereading with Kids of All Ages

Enjoy! Like! Tweet! Pin!

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Personalizing the Cube

Posted on by
2

Teachers in brick and mortar schools, the standard classrooms with four walls and a ceiling, decorate for their students. Posters, bulletin boards, themes, student work – you name it, it’s on the walls. A classroom becomes by design a very welcoming place.

I teach from a cubicle. Decorating the cube is a little different. First, I organize my electronics for easiest access and maximum comfort. If I can reach the phone and the computer with ease, I’m ready to work. Next, I arrange basic teaching files, both electronic and paper, so I can reach both copies of my lessons without leaving my chair.

But welcoming – I do need to come into my cube and have the comforts of a home-away-from home around me. Chuck would call this a Cubicle Survival Kit. You’ve seen the fingerless gloves I keep in one drawer. Here are a few other components in the survival kit.

Plant life and flowers

Plant life and flowers

The flowers were from Chuck on Valentine’s Day. They beautified my bookshelf for almost two weeks. The plant on the left was a gift from a family grateful for my extra time and efforts.

On the top shelf, you can catch a glimpse of a few other survival tools: a Rubic’s cube, a cube-shaped trivia game, and on the right, my mantra of “Keep Calm and Garden On.”

I voted!

I voted!

My cane graces the cubicle with its lovely green color and the sticker from last month’s primary election.

Mail for me?

Mail for me?

And finally, how can a cubicle be less than happy when the mail regularly arrives sporting stickers?

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Thrift fun and an Encore Performance

Posted on by
1

I went thrifting today and found – instead of telling you, I’ll show you.

What a deal!

What a deal!

Pants on the left: 75 cents.

Jacket in the middle: a light wool coat, Talbots brand, $4.50.

My favorite: denim Fleet Farm jacket, $2.95. And lest you think I’m joking, I tried on the jacket. Despite Fleet Farm’s reputation as the Man’s Mall, the jacket is for me. Because I buy a lot of garden supplies, rabbit food and litter, canning supplies, and more at Fleet Farm, this jacket is not just a cool piece of kitsch. It’s simply cool.

Not to mention that buying this jacket reminded me of an old post – enjoy Top Ten Reasons I adore Fleet Farm.

10. Fleet Farm had the tomato supports I needed when no one else in town stocked them.

9. My receipts come with a discount on gas at their gas station. If I fill up the minivan there after making a purchase, I save. I fill my van so seldom; if I can wait to fill the tank when I’m at Fleet Farm, it’s a winner.

8. The clerk at the Fleet gas station resembles a young Brad Paisley. If the teen girls start hanging around the bait counter, we’ll know why.

7. I can resist most impulse buys because of the unique merchandise. I do not need a blaze orange negligee. Really, honey.

6. I said most impulse buys, not all. I did buy a small funnel for my jam. It turned out to be a perfect fit for the tops of the jars, and it prevented waste and messes. I’ve never seen this little gizmo anywhere else – only at Fleet Farm.

5. It’s a huge store; getting what I need requires exercise. Who needs a treadmill? Who needs to walk the mall? I just shop at Fleet Farm.

4. It’s easier to say than Farm and Fleet.

3. Chuck and I bought our bikes there several years ago, and they’re still going strong.

2. It keeps me humble. Walking from the canning supplies to the garden center I pass through the equine section. There are things on the shelves that a city girl like me will never need. Need? I don’t even know what most of the equine equipment is!

1. At Fleet Farm, I found everything I needed to make my first batch of jam!

 

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Bunny Wisdom

Posted on by
Reply

This list beats the heck out of learning life’s lessons in kindergarten. In a home like ours, it’s no surprise to find it in my archives. Here you are, readers; don’t worry, be hoppy.

Everything I Needed to Know I learned from the Easter Bunny

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Walk softly and carry a big carrot.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There’s no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Some body parts should be floppy.

Keep your paws off other people’s jellybeans.

Good things come in small-sugar coated packages.

The grass is greener in someone else’s basket.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

An Easter bonnet can cover the wildest hare.

Krumpet says hello.

Krumpet says hello.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

The Joy of Less; Minimalizing continues

Posted on by
Reply

Month two of Mother Nature Network’s Responsible Living project is Cooking the Basics. We’re already on track for that, so I’ll see what we can do to improve.

Things you can make yourself instead of buying: we do many of these, including pizza crust. Pizza crust from my bread machine is the best. Top it with a light sauce and some home-grown oregano – drool worthy.

Local foods in midwinter: The canning part is going well. With pickles, salsa, applesauce, and of course the best jams in the family, we have a good stock of local foods in the basement. This section, though, reminded me that I can buy and store produce without refrigeration. I bought several (a very heavy bag full!) acorn and butternut squash in September. In my cool-to-cold back hallway, they kept well. We ate the last one after Christmas. Next year, I might expand on this concept.

Books! Books! Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food is now on my wish list on the swap site. So is Lucid Food; Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life. These two sound like good browsers and the kind of book that’ll stay on my shelf rather than get swapped away again.

Well, readers, it does feel a little hopeless to attempt green living when there’s more white stuff coming to cover the ground. I’m glad I read this article because it was encouraging. I found new ideas that are possible, even in the depths of winter.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Purging and Decluttering continues

Posted on by
3

Spell checker doesn’t recognize Decluttering as a word. Get used to it, WordPress, it’s going to be a regular term around here.

I managed to get rid of two boxes of miscellaneous, as the thrift stores call it. Two boxes out of the way! That’s a good start. Then we attacked La Petite’s room. It’s going to become a guest room slash office – mainly an office for me. When I approach a project and consider blogging the process, I almost always forget the “before” pictures. This time I have “before” photos, but we haven’t reached the “after” stage yet. Observe – if you dare.

trashy card table pretending it’s a nightstand

The View of the Floor

Buttercup loved playing with (and chewing on) the large boxes we’d stashed in here. Upon the onset of Operation Office, we discovered that she had also shredded large pieces of styrofoam packaging material. Clean-up, shall we say, was not fun.

These, then, are the “before” pictures. “After” might be a while. Right now, the card table is just a stashing place for all things awaiting La Petite. The bed has been moved to a different space, and two of Amigo’s bean bag chairs have made their way in to live on the rug. I suppose this is the “during” stage.

Readers, if we ever reach the finished product, I’ll take pictures. Really.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

Franken-vouchers

Posted on by
Reply

She couldn’t stay quiet for long. Grandma Daisy is back, less than a week after the annual budget talk by so-called Governor Walker.

Fiddle-dee-dee. Tomorrow will be another day.

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!

Big Brother is watching.  

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love.

I have created a monster!

 

Well, grandkids, all of these are lines from classic books. Let’s see how many you or your mother can identify. What? So few? What are they teaching these days — never mind.

Let’s look at the last one. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein,  of course. Truth be told, though, young ones, this particular quote isn’t a direct quote from the novel. It’s kind of like crediting  Buzz Lightyear with “To infinity and beyond!” when he only said it twice in the first Toy Story movie.

The truth is that Shelley’s work inspired the phrase.  An English teacher I knew (they’re always handy when you need a good literature quote) mentioned that there is no exact quote in which Dr. Frankenstein says or another character says that he/you have created a monster–it’s more of a thematic draw from the overall text. Frankenstein warns the man who meets him at the end of his life how “dangerous is the acquisition of knowledge,” as a way of saying, “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should!” in keeping with the “created a monster” idea.

So, young ones, back to the budget. Governor Talks-a-lot claimed to have innovative changes for our fair state’s education system. His changes consisted of a straining-at-the-seams budget for public schools and a significant increase in a program called Vouchers. Vouchers were grants, money, scholarships paid by the state for students to attend private schools. Private. Not public charters, not home-schooling, but private schools. Governor Walk-on-by ignored the evidence that current voucher schools in Milwaukee were not doing any better then their public counterparts down the road. In fact, if they measured success by the standardized tests of the day, voucher schools did a poorer job of educating their students.

Governor Walk-all-over-you decided that his “innovative education reform” would expand the voucher program into other middling to large-ish cities. Make it bigger. Spread the money around. Around the state, that is. One city, one school district at a time.

The Governor, despite his lack of scientific or educational background, had created a monster. He wanted to open up the private vouchers, damage the state’s education budget, and further gut public schools.

Governor Walkerstein was ready to create his monster. He didn’t have the wisdom of my English teacher friend to tell him that just because he could, didn’t mean he should.

Oh, young ones, it was a tough time to be a teacher. In fact, I could use a cup of coffee. Let’s take a break and talk about classic television. Have you ever seen WKRP in Cincinnati?

Share and Enjoy !

Shares