Sunday, November 27, 2011

mama



a solid stone house
with sweet blue shutters
stands before a pasture
like a proud mama 
showing her baby
to the world
this little cottage
steps back
as lush green trees
the edging of yellow grass
a field full of lavender
shines in front of her
                                
(Image via Pintrest)
(Poem by Alexandra Thayer Stewart)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

word of the week


Our Word of the Week


that I picked from the fish bowl on my desk


is...



lullaby
(noun) 1. a song used to help a child fall asleep


Thursday, November 24, 2011

happy thanksgiving


a few favorite cartoons
that make me think of Thanksgiving






1. peanuts (image via colourlovers) 2. calvin and hobbes (image via breakingupthanksgiving) 3. the far side (image via marcvaldez

Friday, November 18, 2011

word of the week

Our Word of the Week


that I picked from the fish bowl on my desk


is...



cheerio
chiefly Brittish
-usually used as a farewell and sometimes as a greeting or a toast

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

london




I'm just returning from a quick trip to London. During the visit, I went to the Tate Modern Art Museum.  After perusing the works of Dali, Pollock, Miro, Giacometti, and Picaso, I headed to the museum gift shop.  I purchased quite a few postcards (see example below) and a great little book called "Nicholas and the Gang"by Goscinny and Sempe.  I just love museum gift shops.  You?




This postcard is from The Quilts of Gee's Bend collection.  It's titled "Housetop" by Rita Mae Pettway.

Friday, November 11, 2011

word of the week


Our Word of the Week


that I picked from the fish bowl on my desk


is...



curmudgeon 
1. miser  2. a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

a great letter



A great letter says so much.  In just a few short sentences, Mick Jagger lets us know the kind of person he is, how he feels about Andy Warhol's art, and the type of relationship he has with Mr. Al Steckler.

Do you write letters?  I think it's a wonderful way to work with words.

ps.  I blocked out a phrase in the middle of paragraph two in order to keep this blog kid friendly!

Image via Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Friday, November 4, 2011

word of the week

Our Word of the Week


that I picked from the fish bowl on my desk


is...


onomatopoeia
(noun) 1. the creation of words to imitate a natural sound

Click here to see examples of onomatopoeia.  Some of my favorites include: flutter, click, meow, and sizzle.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

okay for now


Okay for Now
by Gary D. Schmidt

Synopsis from GoodreadsMidwesterner Gary D. Schmidt won Newbery Honor awards for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boys and The Wednesday Wars, two coming-of-age novels about unlikely friends finding a bond. Okay For Now, his latest novel, explores another seemingly improbable alliance, this one between new outsider in town Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer, the savvy spitfire daughter of his deli owner boss. With her challenging assistance, Doug discovers new sides of himself. Along the way, he also readjusts his relationship with his abusive father, his school peers, and his older brother, a newly returned war victim of Vietnam.

What I think: Gary D. Schmidt is a very good writer.  His sentences are clean and crisp and full of emotion.  For example, I love that Doug says "terrific" as a single-worded sentence when everything around him is quite the opposite.