Posts Categorized: Love

AND–It’s a Wrap!

| Joy, Love, Patience

October seems like quite a while ago. In reality, I might be looking at only twenty-five or so Tuesday lunchtimes when I went to the elementary school near my church, and sat with three second-graders to listen to them read. There were intervening holidays, testing dates, and the time I said I couldn’t come on Tuesday the next week and a clever girl said, “You could come on Friday, instead, like you did that other time.” And I had, indeed, done that, and I ended up doing it again, because she asked.

School is out. Reading Club is over for another school year.

We read a lot of Mo Willem’s Elephant and Piggy books. One kid was a pretty good reader, maybe not compared to others of the same age, but stellar when compared to the other two. One of those improved over the weeks. The other one was still struggling with “and” and “the,” at year’s end.

These are the books that we read together on our last Reading Club day.

I chose this book because the entire vocabulary of the book is “Mine,” and “Yours,” on each page, with an “Ours” added in twice. I was thinking that, with the limited vocabulary of two of my three readers, they should get the hang of it pretty quickly. The story is of a small Panda who comes across the lair of a larger Panda. The smaller Panda asks “Ours?” and the larger Panda picks up the small Panda and deposits him outside, saying: “Yours!” as he walks back inside, indicating that the lair is “Mine.” The small Panda hangs around until the large Panda gives him a kite and says “Yours,” sending him on his way. As the little Panda comes across other woodland creatures, he consistently gets the “Mine” response when he shows interest in other playthings, and a redirection of “Yours,” in regard to the kite. So, we are moving along, page by page, and I am describing the action: others are protective of their belongings. At one point, the kite begins to become enmeshed in leaves and trees and playthings of others. When the other forest folk realize the problem, they join forces and rescue the small Panda, pulling him to safety. The next page shows all those forest folk, along with all their playthings, all together in the lair of the large Panda. The boy reader looks at me and says, “This is a GOOD story!” “Yes, it is a good story,” I say. “Everyone is getting along and sharing and working together.” I hadn’t realized he was beginning to feel anxious.

 

 

This is the other book we read. We are fond of the author Mo Willems, writer of the Elephant and Piggy books. I also had a reason for choosing this book, too. The first couple of pages have illustrations of the fox and the duck. The story’s words are the fox inviting the duck home for dinner. My best reader read two two-page spreads. My next best reader read the pages that included the duck’s responses, which were things such as, “Oh, that’s a good idea,” and “Yes, I’d like that.” Then, my struggling reader read the chick’s input, which was “That’s not a good idea.” Those three sections repeat, with similar responses. The chick continues with the not-such-a-good-idea comments, adding, “really,” and “really, really,” and “really, really, really.”

As we read through the sections, whenever we got to the chick’s page, she eagerly “read” what the page said, with sometimes some help. At one point, she said, with great joy and eagerness, “I am SO reading this book!”

So, we know she’s “reading” what she knows the page says. But, she’s enjoying being part of the ensemble. She’s excited about following the plot line of the story. And, maybe next time someone picks up a book, she’ll get close and want to know what the story says. Wanting to read is the beginning of reading.

 

As Reading Club volunteers, we can give small books as end-of-school gifts. Here’s what I give:

 

White boards. A couple of years ago, I bought a box of two dozen inexpensive white boards that came with small erasers (that blue square thing on the table). I bring dry erase markers in a variety of colors, and they can choose two to keep. You can probably figure out that I’m not allowed to show the kids’ faces. And, you can probably figure out who’s my best reader (the kid who can spell). The board in the center isn’t erasing well, so I got a new one for her, one that doesn’t get all smeary.

So long sweet friends. Maybe I’ll see you in the fall.

 

Children are God’s love-gift; they are heaven’s generous reward.

Psalm 127:3 (The Passion Translation)

 

 

 

Doesn’t seem like there’s anything else to say.

Moving from This-Is-Pretty-I-Think-I-Can-Grow-This to Can-I-Keep-This-Alive-for-the-Next-Three-Months

| Joy, Love, Patience, Peace

I’m working a lot these days, trying to get things done outside, before the really bad, hot, vicious, summer weather drops in. The temps have, and will be, in the eighties, the next few days, inching up and up, until maybe Tuesday, when the forecast is for 90°. I’ve moved some plants, repotted some plants, pruned some plants, dug up lots of weeds, picked up quite a few limbs and twigs, and reworked a little paved pathway that leads to the compost bins. I’ve had to start hand watering the patio plants; alas, all that nice rain we were having constantly, has abated.

I was working, in the late, late afternoon, last week. I had dug up some liriope, to transplant around a tree. The wind had picked up, and I was working as quickly as I could, to get done before the sun went down. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, and I thought I saw a bicycle tire, rolling right towards me! I did need a few seconds to realize that it was not at all a bicycle.

 

It was very late afternoon, almost dark, and David wasn’t at home. And, apparently, I was a little on edge. While I work in the yard, and in the house, too, I listen to podcasts on my phone. They entertain and inform me, and make mundane work go faster. I find true-crime casts interesting. Possibly, if I’m anxious about yardwaste bins rolling by me, unexpectedly, I might possibly look for other kinds of podcasts.

 

Meanwhile, every time I go outside, there are branches and twigs in the yard. And I don’t mean just everyday, I mean when I go out in the morning (at which time I pick them up and put them in the yardwaste bin), but also in the early afternoon, and the late afternoon, and the early evening, and between the time that I go in the house to get and drink of water and come back. We’ve had a LOT of serious wind, and I don’t understand why they don’t just ALL drop on down at the same time. They’re all dead!

I’ve looked up into the pecan tree, and there seem to be several leafless limbs and twigs up there. Why don’t they just fall down? Maybe they’re next year’s leaf-drop crop.

 

 

You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.

Isaiah 26:3 (Christian Standard Bible)

 

I’ve gone to the “search” spot on my phone to find more podcasts to enjoy. I’ve found several from Rachel Held Evans which I know I’ll enjoy. And, they’ll be ‘way more enriching than “Crime Junkie,” and “Murder Minute.”

‘Tis the Season

| Love, Peace

The  Little Free Library  organization began in 2009. The idea is that someone will create a small house-shaped box, that’s water-proof and has a door. Then it goes up on a pole and sits at the curb. The owner will probably be the first person to put some books in the library. Then, anyone who’d like to read a book can take it from the little house, and take it home to read. When they finish, they can return the book to the house, or not. But they might return the book and also add one or more books that they have enjoyed. Little children might take two or three books. When Peter was younger, we would go to a playground at a community center near his house. There was a little library there. Sometimes, we’d get books just to read while we were at the playground. Other times, we’d choose a book to take to his house to read. There’s also a little library house at Peter’s school, and we have taken books from there for Peter to read as we drive to Waco.

I’ve noticed one in a friend’s neighborhood, too. The first time I saw it, it was empty, and I wondered if there were enough people walking by in this area who were taking and bringing books.  I didn’t always make a point to look in, as I drove by, but it seemed to usually be empty. One day, I drove by the little house-on-a-pole, and saw that, while there were not books inside, there were two cans. Cans of baked beans, I think.

Maybe it’s a food bank, I thought.  I looked it up later, and, yes, indeed, the Little Free Library people also support the Little Free Pantry ministry. This project started in May of 2016. I don’t know the details, but it seems that people noticed that families around them might have days where they didn’t get enough to eat, and there could be a solution.

This neighborhood that I drive through isn’t a run down, seedy part of town. Most houses are well-kept and no one I’ve seen appears to be “poor” and “starving.” However, lots of families, everywhere, sometimes struggle to make ends meet. Sometimes families have to choose whether to buy groceries or whether to purchase gas to get to work.

Peter was here last week, and we drove by the little purple house, which was empty. I pointed it out to him and he said, yes, he’d seen little libraries. “This is a little food pantry,” I said. “Sometimes there’s food in here. Sometimes it’s empty. I was thinking …” And he thought so, too. We went to the grocery store and bought food.

This is how the little purple house looked, a few days after we added our groceries to those that were already inside. I’m sorry I neglected to take a picture when it was all full.

Peter chose some things that were kid-friendly, like those containers with macaroni shapes and powdered cheese sauce, that you just add hot water to, and then microwave and stir. We turned down the rice aisle and Peter said, “Yes! White rice and Jasmine rice!” And we got crackers.

Later, we had a young teen-aged friend with us when we drove through the neighborhood. “We’ve gotten some food for the little pantry house. Do you want to help us?” She did.

When we drove up to the house, I said, “Look! Other people have brought food, too.” There were dried beans and some canned goods already inside. We got out of the car with our groceries. To my surprise, everything fit inside the house. Whew! (It holds more that you think it might. Or, at least more that I thought it might.)

 

Just a few days later, when I drove by, the house was empty. Of course, I don’t know if one person took it all, or if three or four folks stopped by the little food bank for something for themselves or their family.

I’m trying to remember to add, to my own grocery list, foods to take to the little purple house. ‘Tis the season.

 

“When the Son of Man appears in his majestic glory, with all his angels by his side, he will take his seat on his throne of splendor, and all the nations will be gathered together before him.And like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats, he will separate all the people.  The ‘sheep’ he will put on his right side and the ‘goats’ on his left. Then the King will turn to those on his right and say, ‘You have a special place in my Father’s heart. Come and experience the full inheritance of the kingdom realm that has been destined for you from before the foundation of the world!  For when you saw me hungry, you fed me. When you found me thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I had no place to stay, you invited me in,  and when I was poorly clothed, you covered me. When I was sick, you tenderly cared for me, and when I was in prison you visited me.’

“Then the godly will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty and give you food and something to drink? When did we see you with no place to stay and invite you in? When did we see you poorly clothed and cover you? When did we see you sick and tenderly care for you, or in prison and visit you?’

 “And the King will answer them, ‘Don’t you know? When you cared for one of the least important of these my little ones, my true brothers and sisters, you demonstrated love for me.’

Matthew 31-40 (The Passion Translation)

The Cambridge dictionary defines “endgame” as:  the last stage  of a process, especially one involving discussion. This is Jesus’ endgame. The next verses in Matthew describe what is going to happen over the next few days. It’s hard to believe that there will be a happy ending.

We know better. There is a happy ending. But we need to make sure we’re keeping that happy ending going, as much as we can, for the people around us, who might not know where to find that better endgame.

‘Tis the season … to be the people Jesus meant us to be.

 

Lessons that My Mother Taught . . .

| Faithfulness, Love, Patience

 

but, sadly, that I had no desire to learn.

Like cooking. I did do some cooking, mostly baking, cookies and cakes. The first main dish I ever made was macaroni and cheese, and I could not believe that you had to cook the macaroni FIRST, and then make the cheese sauce and cook the whole thing AGAIN!! Wasn’t there a better way?

I think Mother got a little bit panicky, after I got engaged, thinking that I didn’t know how to cook. At all. So she began to find recipes (and gather ingredients) for me to cook for David when he came to town. And, seriously, I could read and I could think, and I had this great cookbook with recipes for 2 (with main dish, vegetable, salad, bread, and dessert suggestions). I prepared many, many of those, and doubled lots of the recipes to include all the members of our family of four, over the years.

I can hardly bear to look at this.

She tried the housework tasks. I remember vacuuming, occasionally. We had an Electrolux vacuum cleaner. It was a canister-type vacuum. There was a large, roundish thing on wheels, and a hose with a metal tube on the end. The vacuumer could attach a variety of nozzles on the tube. There was one for floors, and one for upholstered furniture and one for getting into crevices, and I very strongly disliked each and every one of them. I was constantly getting clobbered from behind by the canister. I desperately wanted one of the upright vacuums that I saw on television.

I’m sure Mother asked me to dust, too. I don’t recall, but I imagine I gave her grief, or at least some eye-rolls.

I remember, once, cleaning the bathtub. Maybe I did that more than once. Maybe. But I don’t think it was more than that.

She developed a strategy that she thought would work. She would pay us. A quarter, which doesn’t seem like very much, but I think it was significant back then. Not lots and lots of money, but enough for a couple of soft drinks or candy bars. I wasn’t interested. But you know who was? My little sister, JoAnne.

JoAnne might not have been money-hungry,  but even then, she knew how to make hard work more fun. She explained to me, much, much later, one of her takes on vacuuming.

You’ve seen the pages from early readers with Dick and Jane. I don’t really recall who were the stars when I started First Grade, but JoAnne remembers, quite well, who were the main characters of her readers. Tom and Betty. And their little sister Susan and their dog Flip. When Mother would ask JoAnne if she would like to be paid a quarter to do some vacuuming, JoAnne would gladly agree. She would go to the closet where the Electrolux, and all its parts, were stored. And as she got them out and assembled, she would say things like, “Good morning, Tom. Glad to see you, Betty. Oh, Susan, be careful!” And so on. And the vacuum cleaner parts would be her friends, as she went from room to room, cleaning up. (Tom was the canister, Betty was the metal tube, and Susan was the flexible tube.)

Who knows what shenanigans went on when they were all scrubbing the tub!

This brings me to the baseboards. A while back, a few years ago, I guess, JoAnne and her family were visiting. As I walked by the bathroom, she came out, holding a cleaning rag. She said, “Oh. I hope you don’t mind. I cleaned the baseboards.”

“Of course I don’t mind. Were they really dirty?” “Well, a little.”

I’m blaming it on being older and not too spry, and, apparently, not seeing much. Way down there. Behind the door.

 

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity . . .

Titus 2:7 (English Standard Version)

We all have our areas of strength, and we all have our areas of not-so-strong. For me, I could not have come from a better family. I’m hoping that at least some of it shows.

 

 

Membership Perks

| Joy, Kindness, Love, Patience

A couple of weeks ago, I had to wait for a prescription at Target to be filled. I spent the time wandering around the book department, where I shamelessly used my phone to take photos of book covers that I thought looked interesting and hoped that the library would have copies that I could check out, for free, to read.

 

 

I was startled, in a really good way, to see this book. A few years ago, I read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It’s a YA novel (Young Adult) with a really quirky plot, and I enjoyed it. Then, I found, at the library, of course, Book 2 (Hollow City) and Book 3 (Library of Souls) and read them, too. I thought that was the end, but, ta-dah, there, at Target, was Book 4 (A Map of Days). I’m about halfway into it. Just as quirky, just as interesting, and the only problem is that I’ve forgotten some of the characters and plot specifics, which the author is helping me with by subtle references, that are making me go. “Oh, yeah. Those guys.” Or, “Hmmmm. Was he invisible? Was she really tall?”

 

 

Anyway, the previous reader left her bookmark in the book, and I’m using it, too. Doesn’t it seem like the perfect, quirky sort of bookmark for a quirky book? I’m pretty sure that the most recent borrower of the book is female, because she also left her checkout receipt in the book, too. (Sometimes they make nice, disposable bookmarks, also.)

 

 

Here’s her checkout slip. I don’t ever keep mine, because I don’t use them to keep track of my due dates, as I use my information on the library website, to keep track of what I have on hold, what’s ready to be picked up, and what can be renewed, or must be returned. Or, in too many instances, what has accrued a fine. And, there’s a self checkout area where I can scan and check out books myself, and the computer asks if I want a receipt, and I always decline, because that’s just another piece of paper floating around. The only time I have a receipt is when I get a DVD, which the librarians are required to check out, because the DVD cases are locked and the librarians unlock them (a thievery prevention system). Because I rarely get these slips, I’ve not noticed the information at the bottom. (Above the “Thank You” part)

Here’s my most recent slip. (Yes, I’m looking forward to watching Mr. Rogers. Soon.) I’ve never before noticed that financial information. I’m apparently getting close to saving $8000.00 by borrowing items from the library, instead of purchasing them. And, seriously, that’s nowhere NEAR the amount of money I’ve saved since I “began using the library.” I’ve been using the library since I was, I think, 7. That’s bound to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. This most recent total is just the $7,857.82 I’ve saved since they started keeping track. I need to ask them when they started doing that.

And, seriously, I can’t be buying any more books! Where would I put them?

It’s so hard to think of getting rid of books. Thank goodness there’s a library.

 

 

I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand.

Matthew 13:13 (Contemporary English Version)

 

Miss Peregrine’s lot of Peculiar Children are a crew of, well, misfits of a sort. They behave as bravely as they can, they support their friends, they work together, in general, and they make a difference in their imaginary world. They rather remind me of some folks who cobbled together a group with different skill sets who worked together, in general, to make a difference in their very real world.

Meanwhile, I got an e-mail from the library informing me that my “membership in the library” was expiring, and that I needed to come in and renew it. The guy at the desk at the library was appropriately embarrassed at the term, but did explain that they were trying to update things so that someone who had moved out of town 20 years ago could be safely removed from the system. I do sort of understand, but it also seems like, if I’ve accrued, in the recent few months, nearly $8000.00 in library materials used, that mine would be a name that could safely be checked off as “active.”

 

 

Remember When You Had to BUY Film?

| Goodness, Love, Patience

Several months ago, I was helping our church Children’s Minister clean up and straighten out our Resource Room. Over weeks and months, the place can move from highly-well organized to disastrously disorganized. One problem is that folks, well-meaning folks, clean out their storage spaces and think to themselves, “I don’t want this junk any more. Maybe people could use it in Bible School (or some other event that might be ‘crafty’.”) Very often, we could not use those donations. But, I must admit, once a family that was cleaning out before moving out of state, brought a box of rolls of wide, colored and patterned packing tape. It was great! I sorry when the last roll got used up. Some of the stuff is usable. Some is not. But most of it gets left in the Resource Room and/or put on the storage shelves in there. And it sits there, waiting to be used, sometimes for years.

And some stuff gets stored on the topmost shelves, where it gets forgotten about, and never used. For example, there was, on a topmost shelf, a large plastic box (the kind that is usually used for underbed storage) filled with film canisters. Mostly black plastic ones, with snap-on lids. And, truly, a few metal ones, with the screw-top lids. Years ago, there were activities and suggestions in the Sunday School and Vacation Bible School curriculum books for using film canisters. Musical shakers, dippers for water play, making paint prints, even putting substances with strong scents (like peanut butter and lemon juice and vanilla) for preschoolers to identify. As use of film as waned, those sorts of activity suggestions has greatly demenished. We kept a couple dozen of them, just in case. And we put the rest of them in the recycle bin.

I did keep one of the metal canisters, remembering when my dad got his first 35mm SLR camera, and those metal film canisters. And, I remember when he upgraded and handed down his other camera to me. By then, I was purchasing film in those black plastic containers. A bit of nostalgia. A few years later, I got a digital camera. Then, I got a phone.

I love being able to take photos with my phone. It’s easy. It’s almost always with me. It is, usually, charged up enough to take photos. And videos! And occasionally, I send photos to Walgreen’s to make prints. But I’m most grateful that I can take forty photos of an event, look through them all, choose the two or three I want to keep, and delete the rest. And maybe make one or two into prints. It just seems so much more efficient.

I can take photos of all sorts of things–silly, interesting, useless, remarkable, and meaningful (maybe, depends on who’s doing the viewing).

 

 

Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy.

Philippians 1:3,4 (Contemporary English Version)

 

And it’s quite special, if I have a photo, too.

The Great American Baker

| Joy, Love, Patience

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Peter’s idea for the cake we should bake, in the manner of the Great British Baking Show, which he finds so very compelling. He was here again, for a few days, and had an additional idea for a “Bread Week” challenge (for our imaginary bakers). Chocolate Bread. It seemed like the very most perfect way for us to spend our Sunday afternoon. He thought I would be able to locate a recipe for chocolate bread, and, of course, in another time it might have been difficult. These days, “Chocolate Bread” in the search bar brings up all sorts of ideas. I chose one and checked my supplies and made a list of what else we’d need, which we purchased on Friday. Sunday, after church and after lunch, we got to work.

We mixed the dry ingredients together in a big container. Then, we combined warm water and yeast with the dough hook in the mixer, added the dry ingredients, and used the dough hook for the first mixing. After that,  we added enough more flour so that the bread dough was sturdy enough for kneading. Kneading is pretty messy work, at least until all the extra flour is getting kneaded in.

 

The next step is rising. Our bread didn’t rise very well, maybe due to a too cool temperature in the kitchen. The dishwasher was running while we were working, and, when I opened the dishwasher to take out the clean dishes, we felt how very nice and warm the dishwasher was, so . . .

 

 

 

 

 

we put the covered pan of bread dough inside the nice, warm dishwasher (with the door open a bit), and the dough rose quite nicely in there.

Then, we made four round loaves, and let them rise. (One of those loaves rather collapsed, so we tossed it out.) The remaining three loaves, after having slashes made across their tops, were baked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chocolate bread turned out pretty tasty. A perfect accompaniment for breakfast cereal. There was a loaf for Peter to share with the boy next door, who came to play with Peter on Saturday afternoon and loaned Peter a few of his own toys to use for the rest of the weekend. And, Peter and Kevin took home a loaf to share with April.

 

And, because I’m so sure that everybody is going to want to know how to make real Chocolate Bread, here’s the recipe:

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Bread

Ingredients

7 cups of bread flour (scoop and level off)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup natural cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (we used a bag of dark chocolate chips)
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
3 1/4 cups water

Directions
Combine the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well, breaking up the lumps of brown sugar as needed.
Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; beat on low speed. When the yeast has dissolved, add the flour-chocolate mix and knead with the dough hook attachment. At first it will look as though you have just wasted great chocolate, but soon the dough will pull together. After about 4 minutes, turn off the mixer and use your finger to poke at the dough. If it seems too soft and sticky, knead in more flour a tablespoon at a time.
Lightly flour a work surface. Transfer the dough to the surface and knead by hand for 4 or 5 minutes.
Use a little neutrally flavored oil to grease the inside of a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl and cover with a damp dishcloth. Let it rise for 90 minutes to 2 hours
or until it has doubled in size. (The temperature of the area should not be so warm that the chocolate starts to melt.)
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.(I don’t know what kind of baking sheet and oven this writer has, but we needed two baking sheets to hold the four loaves and only two at a time fit in my oven.)
Gently knock down the dough (in the bowl), then divide it into 4 equal portions. Knead each one into a ball and place on the parchment paper with enough space in between to keep the risen loaves from touching; cover with a damp cloth. When dough has almost doubled in size (about 90 minutes), it is ready to freeze or bake.

 

TO BAKE: Place a cast-iron skillet or small, shallow baking pan on an oven rack positioned on the next level below the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Use a very sharp knife to make 5 shallow slashes, cut parallel on the diagonal, on the tops of the loaves. As the dough rises in the oven, these slashes will expand, giving the finished loaf a fat football shape. Place the loaves in the oven (still on the cooking parchment) and toss about 1/2 cup of water into the hot skillet or pan below the bread. Close the oven immediately. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bread has reached an internal temperature of 198 to 205 degrees.
Transfer the loaves to a wire rack and allow them to cool to room temperature.

TO FREEZE: Place the risen, unbaked loaves in the freezer (on the parchment-paper-lined baking sheet). After they have frozen solid, wrap the loaves individually (including the parchment under them) in plastic wrap, then wrap again in resealable plastic food storage bags. The unbaked loaves can be frozen for 2 or 3 months.
To defrost, remove the wrapped loaves from their plastic bags and set them on a flat surface in the refrigerator (still wrapped in plastic) to defrost overnight. When the loaves have completely defrosted, carefully remove the plastic wrap. Then wake up the yeast in the bread dough with a warm, moist sauna by boiling 1/2 cup of water in the microwave on HIGH; carefully move the boiled water to one corner of the microwave, then place the unwrapped, unbaked loaf in the center of the microwave and close the door. Let it sit for 1 hour.
After the sauna, slash and bake as directed above.

 

Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works.

Ecclesiastes 9:7

Today, 70% of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. Originally, it grew in Central and South America. And I guess that, if I didn’t know about chocolate, then I wouldn’t be able to feel unhappy about not having it.

 

 

Sometimes It’s Hard to Know Who’s Helping and Teaching Whom

| Love, Patience

A few weeks ago, I mentioned Reading Club, where I, along with other folks from my church, go to a nearby elementary school and read with kids, once a week, during their lunch time. I wrote about their reading skills, which are significantly behind what might be expected at their grade level. I moaned to Kevin about how much needs to be done and how little time there is to make significant progress. He suggested a word-building skill, which I really did prepare, but then I remembered that Wednesday before last was the first time I was going to be with them since Christmas, and how they might want to (and they did want to) talk about their holiday and gifts.

This is the *author* of the books they like, but it’s not the characters they’re fond of. But it was all I could find at the nearest library.

This is the one and only book I could find at the library close to the school (the book with the characters they particularly enjoy reading about).

I had had a stack of books that they enjoyed reading, but I had taken them back to the library over the holidays. That first Monday (before my first Tuesday with them), I had visited the library closest to me to search for books in the series they like. I couldn’t find any. There was one book by the same author, and I got that one, but it wasn’t about the characters that they have enjoyed reading about. On Tuesday, before I went to the school, I stopped in at the library near the school, went in to look, and TA-DAH, there was one book!

The gray elephant’s name is Gerald, and the pink pig’s name is Piggy. The vocabulary’s relatively easy (depending on which kid is reading), and there are only a few words per page. But, seriously, there’s a plot, and sometimes an unexpected ending.

And, I did bring along one of the word skill games, with sets of letters and a list of words for them to create, just in case we got through the holiday conversations.

 

I got our table ready, wiping down the tabletop, and being sure everything I needed was at hand. The first of the three kids walked onto the stage, where we meet. He came and sat down, and, before I could say, “How was your holiday time?” he asked, soberly, “Did you bring Gerald?”

“Yes, I did,” I said. The two girls arrived, we chatted, and then we read several pages about Gerald and Piggy, before they had to leave with their classes.

These are the books I got at the other library. We actually read half of *I’m a Frog!* this past week, mainly because there were pages which only had “Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit” on them, which the poorest reader could, indeed, “read,” as she kept seeing it over and over and over again. If I show her the word, alone, on a card next week, I’m not sure she’ll recognize it, unless I draw a little frog beside it.

Here’s the book Kevin sent, and the kids’ envelopes with letter cards, and my list of words to make. We just got through the three-letter words last week. Hoping to move on a bit more each week.

That evening, when the knitting/crochet group met at an even different library, I went and got three more Gerald and Piggys, prepared for several weeks to come (books are checked out for three weeks and, if no one else requests them, they can be renewed twice! Possibly nine weeks to keep the books. In general, we read half of a book each week, so I’m good for a while.

And here’s the new routine, which worked pretty well last Tuesday: The instant they’re all there, they start eating and I open the book and let each child read one or two two-page spreads, while the other two chew and swallow a couple of bites. Then, I turn the page and move the book to the next kid, who reads one or two two-page spreads. We keep on doing that until we’ve read either to the middle of the book, or, from the middle to the end.

By then, they’ve finished eating. We dump their trays, I wipe off the table, and I hand them their envelopes with the letters, and we make words. That’s my plan for the next seven weeks, which takes us to Spring Break. Then, I can think about what we might do differently in the weeks from Spring Break until the end of school in May.

 

 

 

 

Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.

1 Peter 4:10 (Contemporary English Version)

While they may seem like a lot of silliness, the Gerald and Piggy books portray Gerald and Piggy as dear friends who care a great deal about each other. They are kind to each other. They help each other. They surprise each other. They love each other. Amid the jokes and laughs are the valid ideas about friendship. I’m so enjoying being along for the ride with them (the kids, not just the elephant and the pig)

 

It Feels Like Some of the Old Year Is Still Hanging Around.

| Joy, Kindness, Love

Post-Christmas and holidays, and things are settling down back into normal, or usual. But the memories are still fresh.

Last Christmas, I found a notebook that had one of those sequin covers where the sequins can be brushed one way or the other to create designs. The sequins were black in one direction and gold in the other, and Peter enjoyed creating ominous black clouds on the covers. I’ve seen more and more of those sorts of items in the ensuing months. I’ve thought they were intriguing, but I wasn’t interested in buying another sequined item until I was at the HEB last month. This large pillow seemed like another compelling item for family fun. Basically, brushed one way, there are green wedges and white wedges. Brushed the other way, there are red wedges and white wedges. Peter discovered that he could make a spiral. And, if you’re really careful and concentrating, you can have a green/red version. Rather mesmerizing.

It seems that my consistent struggle with chilly temps has been taken to heart by family members. I got a muff, hand made hand warmers, handwarmers, and, that black thing that looks like a computer mouse is an electronic, rechargeable handwarmer. Toasty days ahead for me!

And, I also got some books, to warm my soul.

I’ve talked before about Peter’s interest in The Great British Baking Show, which I watch when I’m walking on my treadmill. And he will encourage me to take a break from whatever I happen to be doing so I can have my walk. (And he can watch bakers.) His most recent idea is that we should have our own Great Baking Show, and has created an imaginary kitchen, stage, and bakers to be contestants on that program. “We’ll ask them to make a cake,” he suggested. “A two-layer cake. No!” he changed his mind. “We’ll ask them to bake just one layer, and then they’ll have to slice it in half. The bakers have a hard time slicing a layer in half,” he says, knowingly. He likes to make things challenging for our imaginary bakers. He wanted a brown sugar cake, which I had to go online to find a recipe for. And he wanted vanilla frosting in the center. I suggested a browned butter frosting, since it might look prettier with the brown sugar cake. Then, we made dark and white chocolate stars for the top. Just because.

I’ve recently read this biography of Fred Rogers. His growing-up years were interesting to learn about. His family was a wealthy one, and his parents quietly helped employees in their company who might have been struggling with overwhelming bills, and made sure that needs were met. They supported their son, and later a daughter, too, in their interests, and provided a strong spiritual foundation. Fred had imagined that he would grow up to be a Presbyterian minister. Thank goodness he went the early childhood route!

I really enjoyed the book, and recalled hearing Mr. Rogers’ songs played every weekday morning in our house when the boys were preschoolers. And I wondered if the library might have some Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood videos. Of course they did. I got one, planning to introduce Peter to the the charm and delight of Mister Rogers.

Peter stayed in Waco for several days after his parents went back to Fort Worth, and, that first morning, I explained about the program that his dad and Uncle Jeremy had watched. Peter was uninterested. “I don’t want to watch that,” he said. “We’re watching it,” I said. He whined. I reminded him that I am always doing the things that he asks me to do and, this time, it’s my turn. “We’re watching it,” I said.

Peter groaned and got up on the day bed and barricaded himself behind pillows. I started the video, and Fred Rogers came through his door, singing, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor, would you be mine?”

“I wonder what he’s carrying?” I said. (It was a pasta maker. Mister Rogers always brings in something interesting.) By the time Mister Rogers had sat down and taken off his street shoes and put on his tennis shoes, Peter was sitting on the edge of the bed and smiling. We watched the whole episode, and, by time the second episode began, Peter was sitting in my lap. A Fred Rogers convert.

Meanwhile, I just put away the last of the Christmas boxes on Wednesday.

 

 The Lord‘s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (Good News Translation)

“Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.” That seems like a wonderful way to welcome in a nice, new year.

 

 

 

I Do Some Things Better Than Others

| Joy, Love, Patience

As a senior adult, I’m growing accustomed to being a little bit (or a lot) behind on things. I don’t know that I’m up-to-date on much of anything beyond what medications older folks are taking these days, and what’s new in Baby Boomer-related issues, such as Medicare, Social Security, and those sorts of things.

But, I was a little bit dismayed when Kevin sent me a link last week after reading last week’s post about the issue of “that’s a great question.” The link relates to a podcast about that same issue. It was dated “January 15, 2015.” Yes, I’m almost four years late noticing it.

However, do know that the podcast is really interesting, and you should listen to it.

So, I’m not necessarily up on all things current. But, I do get some things done.

I like to rake. Mowers (and Edgers and Leaf Blowers) have been coming on Tuesday mornings since springtime to mow and tidy up the yard. A couple of weeks ago, I said I thought it was time for the winter break from yard work, and the guy in charge brought up the leaf issue. He wants to mow the leaves to shreds. I want to rake them up. I reminded him that I like to rake, and that we have a compost where I put them. For every bowl of peelings and cores (and things that have sat too long in the crisper) that I dump into the compost container, I add an armful of leaves. After a year, I leave Bin #1 to decay,  and I pull the nice, composted stuff that’s been percolating in Bin #2 out, to put into the garden. Then, I start adding stuff to the newly emptied Bin #2.

 

 

 

For years, Christmas crackers have been part of our holiday celebration. Sometimes, I can find them in local stores. Sometimes, I order them. This year, we put up the tree and decorated it the day after Thanksgiving, because everyone was here to help. Then, for the next days, and days, I got down a Christmas storage box and put out things. One box every few days. And I thought, Oh, do I need to order, or search for, crackers? Finally, a couple of days ago, I took down the big red basket that holds a variety of holiday things. And, there, TA-DAH, was a box of crackers, purchased, I suppose, a few days after Christmas, on sale probably!

 

 

Along with some other folks from my church, I volunteer each week as a Reading Buddy at an elementary school close to church. Every Tuesday, three second graders spend their lunch time, half an hour, with me, reading, to try to bring their reading skills up to grade level. We started in October. The information I got said that the kids were reading at Level 1, which turned out to be, um, mostly inaccurate. I have one girl who was in my reading group last year. She was reading behind the other two girls’ abilities, but tried hard. This year, she’s the star reader, mainly because the other two kids are way behind. There’s a boy who struggles with the simplest words. There’s another girl who, and I’m not exaggerating, could not read the words “the,” and “and.” That’s not a Level 1 reader. So now I’m choosing the 0.4 and 0.6 books, which still are not easy for those two.

I made some word cards. First thing last Tuesday, I laid out a sentence that began with the struggling girl’s name. I helped her read the words that were hard for her. Then, I put out the words for the boy, and he read his sentence, with help. Then, the last girl had a sentence three times longer than the other sentences, which she read pretty easily, as the others looked on. Then we moved on to our book, and each kid read a two-page spread (just a few words appear on each page). And by the end of lunch, that first little girl read, all by herself, “and” and “the,” every time they showed up!! AND, she read the word “wait,” which she had seen several times, as the book is about waiting.

We now have read all the 0.4-0.6 books that are on the shelves for the Reading Buddies to use. I think this week I’ll need to write a book about three second graders who like to read and eat lunch and go to school. (I plan to use the words “and” and “the” several times.)

 

 

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others.

Colossians 3:23 (The Passion Translation)

 

Of course, it’s not all that difficult to put one’s heart and soul into every activity if it’s interesting and fun and satisfying.