The View from Here

Winter Wonder

Today was somewhat of a surprise for everyone. Even though the weatherman said we would get “some snow” today, I don’t think anyone was prepared for it to snow ALL day long. Ironic too, that it was one of our “snow days” and we were already scheduled to be out of school.

I enjoyed watching the birds and ducks through the window. Tried to keep them fed most of the day. Tried to keep myself warm and fed.

Thankful once again that I live here and not where this is a daily occurrence for months and months.  

Inquiring Minds

People often ask me what I eat.

I know they aren’t confused by the idea that that I’m a pescetarian. Vegetables + fish is a pretty basic concept.

What baffles them is that I’m a fat pescetarian. It’s okay. I’m not offended. That’s also a basic concept: I’m fat because I eat too much. I can barely walk, so I don’t burn a lot of calories. Unfortunately my appetite is still set for about ten years ago when I was much more active.

That being said, here are a few bits of information for inquiring minds:

I don’t use salt. Haven’t bought any in years.

I use very little sugar. Perhaps a teaspoon every six months, and that is usually when I get a craving for cinnamon toast.

I don’t eat chips, doughnuts, cake, etc. Cookies are my treat when I crave sweets. I like oatmeal raisin cookies.

I eat 5 Dove dark chocolates every day.

I seldom eat anywhere that has a drive through window. I eat at a restaurant about once every three months.

I love white foods: ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, non-fat sour cream, mayo. Cheese is my vice!

I eat very little bread. Mostly tortillas, potato bread, sourdough. Once in a few months, a biscuit. Spinach pizza once a month.

Vegetables: red potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, corn, peas, avocados, beans, spinach, tomatoes, okra. I also love coleslaw and salads.

I eat eggs, but have recently switched to fake ones.

I eat a few fake meats, but mostly stick to fish. Salmon and tilapia are my favorites.

I drink a LOT of water, coffee, tea. 8 oz. of orange juice every day.

I eat about 2 oz. of mixed nuts every day.

I usually have rice or pasta twice a week.

That’s about it. If I’ve left anything out or you have questions, feel free to ask. I’m not a “closet eater” and I don’t mind answering questions. 

Too Much Coffee

In case you hadn’t noticed, our little part of the world has been frozen for the past few days. And while we never get the kind of weather that our northern and eastern neighbors must endure, we also don’t have the experience, equipment, or supplies to tolerate much more than a few inches of ice and snow. So while our roads have been icy and dangerously slick I’ve been sitting around the house in my pajamas reading, watching television and drinking far too much coffee.

I’ve also ducked my head out the door for a few shots of the birds. I’m lucky to be able to feed them without actually going outside!

I hope we all stay safe and warm until this is over.

Spring is right around the corner!

Happy Birthday!

Have to wish a Happy Birthday to my favorite birthday present! He sure has lasted longer than anything else my parents ever gave me! 

Birthday

Yes, today is my birthday! 65 years ago in Madera, California my claim to fame was being the “big baby”. At 11 pounds and 2 ounces I was the main attraction for almost a week.

By the way, Oklahoma’s oldest resident died recently at the age of 114. She was 109 when she finally stopped mowing her lawn! Wow!

Roses

One of our great Oklahoma gardeners, Dee Nash, always has lovely posts about roses and this month she has some “must read” advice for those of you who love this gorgeous flower. Alas, I have a love/hate relationship with roses. While I admire everything about them, they don’t seem to grow as well for me as they do for other gardeners. I just can’t seem to keep all of their requirements straight in my head and they usually perish from neglect or disease before too long. So I stroll through the nursery and gaze longingly, but I seldom bring one home.

However, despite my failure to grow them, roses play a major role in my memories. When I was a young girl I got the idea to copy a movie character and wear a rose over my ear. Of course it made my face break out in a rash!

One of my most vivid memories is of running through the front yard with my younger brother and watching in horror as he tripped and fell over an old rose bush. A large thorn became imbedded in the top of his bare foot and broke off. I can still hear him screaming as Dad removed it with tweezers.

I don’t recall any injuries from hiding in our “rose fort” when we lived in the city. Perhaps my brother’s earlier experience made us more cautious. We only lived in the red house on Lewis Street for a short time, but I still remember how much fun it was to crawl behind the dozen or so rose bushes in the corner of the back yard and hide from the neighborhood children. The roses hadn’t been pruned in years and when they were in full glory no one could see through them.

Our neighbor in Georgetown, Texas grew green roses. I thought they were the most fascinating thing I had ever seen! I didn’t dare pick one, but I sure spent a lot of time standing in their yard looking at them.

My grandmother had very few flowers in her yard other than roses. Each was a different color and she told me their names over and over. The only one I still recall is Bing Crosby, a gorgeous orange rose. By the way, I wasn’t allowed to even water them.

I always associated roses with women until Gary and I became acquainted with a burly truck driver in California whose hobby was growing miniature roses. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more devoted “rose person”. His garden was precisely laid out and his roses were perfection!

Early in our marriage Gary and I bought a small house and the owners included their roses in the contract. They requested the right to dig all of them up and take them to their new home and I happily agreed. However, one must have been determined to stay because it sprouted up from the ground that spring and continued to grow and bloom until we later sold the house. No, I didn’t ask to take it with us.

I’ve received a few roses over the years as corsages and gifts, but I don’t really like cut flowers unless someone is cutting them from their own garden. I prefer to receive something I can put back into the ground. I was a little sad when I learned during the recent holiday that Americans spend $2 billion on flowers for Valentine’s Day and the majority of the roses are from Bogotá, Columbia.

Dee says it’s time to prune roses, so I’ll go out and do that to the two rose bushes planted here by previous occupants. Hopefully I won’t kill them. If you have beautiful roses in your yard, don’t be surprised if you find me wandering around taking photos. Yes, these photos are of someone else’s roses! 

Testing, testing, testing...

I’m going to give my students a portion of a standardized test this morning. Years ago I foolishly attempted to give the entire test in one day and the results for the last segment were terrible. So now I know that I have to give two short sections this morning, one longer one tomorrow, and the last one on Friday.

Even though I’ve prepared my students by teaching all of the basic language concepts required and giving them simple classroom tests during the year, I know I will still encounter these results and reactions:

1. A couple of my students will not understand any of the instructions. They will draw on the pictures instead of listening to the questions about them. They will fill in all three answer bubbles for each question even though I instruct them to mark only the correct one.

2. A few students will have difficulty with the vocabulary of the test, but it’s “scripted” and I don’t have choices.

3. A few students will have trouble with the pace of the test, but I must watch for the majority to mark their answers, and then go on with the next question.

4. A couple of students will not be able to match rhyming words or ending sounds because they are still struggling with the concept of a letter even having a sound.

5. Two of my students must be separated from the rest of the class or they will simply copy the answers of the student closest to them.

6. Some of my students will quickly become bored with the length of the test. They will then answer the questions by filling in all the “first” bubbles, or all the middle ones, or perhaps by using a “first, middle, last, first, middle, last” pattern.

7. At least three of my students will interrupt the test by talking, even though we have had previous “no talking” tasks and they have been instructed not to talk during the test.

8. One student will cry at some point in the test because I can’t repeat the instructions a third time or go back to the question she skipped when she was playing with her shoes, sleeves, pencil, or name tag cover.

9. One of my students will become so engrossed in the pictures on the pages that he will become confused by the questions pertaining to them.

10. Some of my students will remember that we took the same test in October, will actually remember some of the answers, and wonder why we are taking it again.

Of COURSE the results of this test will be SO accurate and SO vital to my lesson plans for the rest of the year! 

Making a List

I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. I’m rarely sick so I see my doctor about every six months for a check-up. I used to see him once a year, but as you get older chronic conditions can change pretty quickly, so it’s best not to wait a whole year for an update.

Anyway, I’ve been making a mental list of things to discuss with him. Of course the shoulder has to have some attention. Then there is the ongoing problem with my left foot. My knee is still “popping” from time to time. My hip is a little worse. He’ll also discuss my arthritis, blood pressure, diet. Once the list gets beyond two things it starts sounding a bit whiny. And it also sounds like I’m falling apart!

I mention this not as a plea for sympathy, but as a warning for all of you young people. I wish I had listened to my grandmother when she told me to take better care of my health while I had it! 

Ten Little Life Lessons

 

  1. You are the only person you can change.

  2. Children are an experience, not a product.

  3. Perfect attendance at church does not make you a perfect Christian.

  4. Money can’t buy good health.

  5. Conversation is not the same as communication.

  6. Hearing is not the same as listening.

  7. Sometimes “no” really is the best answer, whether we are saying it or hearing it.

  8. Where you live is only temporary. How you live is what matters.

  9. Where you have been is not as important as where you are going.

10. No one but God will ever truly understand you.

A Lesson from Nature

Yesterday I was privileged to witness an amusing and enlightening life lesson. I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but when there are several young calves in a pasture you’ll often see them in a group and if you watch carefully you’ll notice one cow supervising them while their mothers graze. I had an opportunity to see a “babysitter” cow in action yesterday.

 

The three little calves born this month were near the driveway when I came home, so I stopped to take their picture. Two of them were butting heads and generally being rambunctious while the third stood a little way off from them. There was a cow grazing several feet away and the rest of the herd was on the other side of the pasture.

The calves butted heads a few more times and then the cow quickly ran over to separate them. She made a strange grunting sound and the two youngsters backed off. She went back to grazing, but stayed close. Of course the unruly calves resumed their sparing and she separated them again. One more round, and then they decided to behave.

Ironic to see the same scenario in the pasture that I see in kindergarten each day. Students misbehave, teachers tell them to stop, students continue the behavior, teachers tell them to stop. And I know that most of them have the same problems at home.  

If you look closely at the photos you’ll also see that the third calf barely moved during the whole episode. There are always a few children who behave without direct supervision or intervention, despite what others do.