Chalk Dust and Pencil Shavings

I get excited every year at this time. On the first Tuesday after Labour Day, all the kids go back to school, usually excited to see all their old friends and meet their new teacher. Even though I'm officially retired, I still return to my old school several times a year and keep in touch with former students and colleagues.


I've actually already been to school; last week, I had a meeting with my friend Cathy who is the Learning Assistance Teacher and one of the new teachers who will have one (or maybe more) of the students I tutor. After our little meeting, off I went to the Dollar Store to pick up some supplies. It was so much fun looking at all the fancy pencils, erasers, stickers, magnetic alphabet letters, prize toys, and more. I came out of there with a big bag worth almost $20.00. It now sits on my dining room table waiting for me to organize everything in preparation for my first student who will come on Wednesday.


I do miss teaching in the classroom, but I do not miss all the "extra" stuff that goes along with the job, especially report cards and meetings meetings meetings. I love to work with kids one-on-one and an hour just flies by. I'm hoping to have about 5 or 6 regular students this year to keep my hand in and to keep my mind busy with researching how best to assist them. I'm also hoping I'll only have to take off two weeks after I eventually have my back surgery. Having the kids come for their lessons will be something to look forward to while I'm still housebound and will also keep me from getting depressed.


I used to love the smell of my classroom first thing in the morning before the kids would arrive. But now, instead of waking up early to arrive at school an hour ahead of the students, I can sleep in until I'm totally refreshed. I can sip my coffee as I read the paper at a leisurely pace and do the daily crossword. I can get my grocery shopping, laundry, and other household chores done in the mornings and even have time to occasionally meet a friend for lunch or go and visit my grandchildren. If I go out, I'll be home before rush hour in plenty of time to set up the lessons for the afternoon.


And I'll have my evenings free without having to worry about marking, lesson plans, report cards, parent/teacher conferences, or "Meet the Teacher" Night. (We used to call it "Meet the Creature Night.") This is the life!

Now for a bit of Teacher Humour:

Murphy's teaching laws:

1. The clock in the instructor's room will be wrong.
2. Disaster will occur when visitors are in the room.
3. A subject interesting to the teacher will bore students.
4. The time a teacher takes in explaining is inversely proportional to the information retained by students.
5. A meeting's length will be directly proportional to the boredom the speaker produces.
6. Students who are doing better are credited with working harder. If children start to do poorly, the teacher will be blamed.
7. The problem child will be a school board member's child.
8. When the instructor is late, he will meet the principal in the hall.
9. If the instructor is late and does not meet the principal, the instructor is late to the faculty meeting.
10. Clocks will run more quickly during free time.
11. On a test day, at least 15% of the class will be absent
12. Murphy's Law will go into effect at the beginning of an evaluation.

I'm so glad I don't have to worry about any of that anymore! Retired Teachers still have Class!

Post of the Day

Saturday Photo Hunt - Beautiful

There is nothing more beautiful to me than family. I've been blessed with two beautiful daughters, a handsome son-in-law, an adorable grandson, and a precious granddaughter. They all may be "beautiful" by the standard definition, but I know their beauty goes deep inside to their souls. I am so proud of them all, as my regular readers already know from the multitude of posts about them.

As my first-born, here is my daughter Jamie in a few stages of her life. She was blessed with an ability to ice-skate as we soon found out after her first foray onto the ice at the age of 3. We put her into figure skating lessons which improved on her talents in precision and artistic impression. She won many medals and trophies before she finally hung up her skates. Jamie was always a happy little girl who loved her dog Star (below with the white nose) and Star's sister Kaycee. Her very first paid job was cleaning up our back yard and we always laughed that she could actually say that she'd "shovelled sh*t" for money. Jamie has always had a totally offbeat sense of humour and would always regale us with laughter as she put on little plays or had her sister videotape her making a commercial for ladies' laxatives.

Jaclyn is my "baby" and she could not be more different from her sister. She has been blessed with a very creative soul and it shows in her writing of prose, poetry, and song lyrics; her paintings; her beautiful singing voice; her photography; and her jewellry designs. She was also blessed with an incredible mind and even when she was still very young, I'd buy her Mensa puzzle books that she'd whip through at an unbelieveable rate. She also went into figure skating and at her first ice show at the age of 3, actually stole the show. When her sister was in high school taking a photography course, the two girls went down to one of our local parks and had a great day taking photographs. One such photo turned out so well that I had it enlarged and framed after Jamie had signed it. When Jaclyn reached high school, she also took courses in photography and has taken many fine shots herself. This is one of the other photos that Jamie took of Jaclyn that day at the park. I really like this one, almost better than the one we had framed because it shows her as she truly is, a free spirit.

Jamie grew up to be a beautiful young woman who has worked hard to help her husband as they saved for their first home. They are very happy with their two little ones and now, although she'd rather stay home to be a Mom, she's preparing to return to the work environment to continue her role as co-breadwinner. Jaclyn, also grew up to be a beautiful young woman, and although she has been blessed with many gifts, she's also struggled with health issues over the years. She is doing well now and I'm so proud that she has hung onto her inner strength to overcome some extremely difficult obstacles.

The latest additions to my family are my son-in-law Jason and my two gorgeous grandchildren. As Jason likes to joke, he's really "IN" with me now having given me one of each sex. Jason is a fantastic father and loves my daughter and his two children more than anyone can imagine. After a hard day's work, he's down on the floor playing with Noah or holding his precious little princess. He's definitely proven himself to be a worthy son, let alone son-in-law. Here he is having ice-cream with Noah this summer at Splashdown Park and holding his darling daughter at his own younger sister's wedding this month.

So this is my idea of the word "beautiful" and I'm looking forward to seeing other participants' ideas. See tnchick for more photos on this week's theme but wait until tomorrow as I'm posting early.

From Down Under to the Top of the World

I have just returned home from meeting one of the most charming, intelligent, and gentle men with whom I've had the pleasure of spending time. When David McMahon aka authorblog emailed asking for my phone number so we could have a chat when he flew in from Melbourne on his way to the Yukon, I promptly replied that I would be at the airport to greet him. He had several hours to wait for the final leg of his journey so it was a perfect time to get to know each other over breakfast.

I could not believe how chipper he was after such a lengthy flight of 13,192 km (8,197 miles) and before he began the final leg of 2,697 km (1,675 miles). This map shows just how far he travelled to reach his final destination of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Melbourne is in the south-eastern area of Australia, Vancouver is the most south-west part of Canada, and Yukon is just east of Alaska. I had a piece of paper with his name printed out on it in case the international arrivals area was crowded, but as soon as he saw me and I saw him, we knew each other! It was like we were already old friends.

Off we went for breakfast at the Fairmont Hotel, where the hostess led us to a lovely table by the window. It turned out that the hostess was one of my former students and she was thrilled to see me, as was I her. We hugged and chatted a moment before she carried on with her work.

Unfortunately, the day was overcast and we weren't able to see the mountains, but David assured me he'd seen them on previous trips. He told me all about his wonderful family, how he'd met his wife and how they'd moved from India to their current home in Australia. It was obvious he's extremely proud of his three children, too. I'd love to meet them some day - Australia has always been on my list of "places to visit before I die" and meeting David and hearing about his family just makes me more excited to see what I imagine to be a very exotic country.

He told me he'd wanted to bring me something but wasn't quite sure what. His wife suggested he bring along his book, "Vegemite Vindaloo" and I really must thank her because I'm an avid reader and wanted to read it, but had not been able to locate it here in Canada. He very thoughtfully autographed it with a personal note, so this book is definitely a keeper. I can hardly wait to start reading it - this afternoon! To see reviews of David's book, click here OR here.

After an incredibly long breakfast, (delicious by the way) it was time to head for Domestic Departures. Our hostess, my former student, kindly took a photo of us before we left so I'm including it here. (Notice I'm holding the book.)

I left David to wend his way to the appropriate gate, and he should be landing in Whitehorse in about 15 or 20 minutes now, exhausted I'm sure. He's up there on business, and I'll be interested to hear from him how he enjoyed his two weeks photographing areas of Canada that most Canadians have never seen. I must admit I'm a tad jealous of his opportunity to travel there.

This blogging business has sure been an experience for me. I've met so many people through the adventure and had people send me and my family gifts from afar. Leeanne from Australia and Liz from Wales both sent gifts for my daughter's new baby in March, John in Edinburgh send me two books of his Scots Haiku poetry, and I'm now awaiting the arrival via mail of a book I won on another site. I've met several women who have become good friends, especially Suzanne and Josie. And, I'm meeting jmb and Liz on September 15th for lunch as Liz is passing through Vancouver on her way to Vancouver Island on holiday with her husband and daughter & her husband. Next summer I'm hoping to meet many others when my friend Cathy and I visit Wales and parts of England. Get ready ladies! Here come the Canajuns!

Meeting David today was another highlight. He expressed his appreciation that I got up so early to come to greet him, but heck, how many times do you get to meet someone from halfway around the world? It may have been cloudy this morning, but I spent a brilliant three hours chatting with an incredible man. He may be on his way to the top of the world, but I'm feeling as though I'm already there.

ABC Wednesday - F is for....

Ah, the F word today! Which shall I choose? A full moon? A forest? My faith? My fake jewellry? Facet joints that need fusing? Or maybe even a photo I've funneled on PhotoShop. Nah! After checking through some of my photos, these are what I've chosen to share with you today.

First, here is Noah at age 3 1/2, the first time he printed his name.

Here are a few of my favourite floral macros.

Some fishing boats at rest in Victoria Harbour.

A fence at the old farm in Campbell Valley Park.

In Lerici (Italy), I saw these fantastic fountains in the town square.

Friends are the most important people in our lives. Here are Suzanne and me when we went to Manhattan Beach, CA, and biked along the Strand.

A fire is a lovely way to finish a fun evening.

Finally asleep after a fun-filled day with Gramma.

I hoped you enjoyed my fotos today and if you'd like to see fotos of other contributors, click here to check out the new ABC Wednesday site, hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt.

School Daze

David at authorblog has posed a question for anyone who sees it. "Do you remember your first day of school?"

Oh my goodness, YES! I remember being so excited because my older sister had already been in school for four years and I could hardly wait to join her. My mother used to put the radio on every morning for "Kindergarten on the Air" and my younger sister and I would be glued to the set! We lived right across the street from the school and my older sister would come home for lunch with us. Then I'd watch as she set off for her afternoon classes, wishing I could go with her.

Finally, it was my turn! My mother made sure my dress was clean and pressed, I had clean socks and my shoes were polished. I had a beautiful chocolate box for my pencils, too. We all had chocolate boxes in those days and I'm sure it was either a Rogers or a Purdy's box. Naturally, my mother took my picture for my first day. Both my sisters were in the photo with me, but I knew it was because it was MY first day. In the photo you can tell my older sister was a bit bored by it all but my younger sister was almost as excited as I was because she knew that she'd be next.

We walked across the street to Lord Tennyson School, named after the 19thC Poet Laureate, Lord Alfred Tennyson. We all had to line up in our grades outside the huge steps at the side of the school. I managed to find my place, anxious that the bell would ring so that I could get into my classroom. When we finally made it inside, the teacher made us all line up along the wall while she assigned us our desks. I can remember that it seemed like forever before I got to sit down.

The next thing I remember is being home and crying to my mother because we hadn't learned anything that day! I thought I'd be able to read by the end of that first day. But it didn't really take too long before I could read and I loved first grade. My teacher, by the way, was old Miss Roy who had taught my mother and my older sister first grade. She seemed to love me as she had really loved my mother and sister.

One of my most vivid memories of that year was the day when mothers were allowed to visit the classroom to observe. Chairs were set out at the back of the room for them and we children were told that we were to pretend they weren't there. I loved my mother so much and thought she was the most beautiful lady there and I wanted to see if she was watching me. I knew I mustn't turn around or else Miss Roy would see me and I'd get in trouble. But, I figured out a way to turn around without getting into trouble. I innocently dropped my pencil on the floor and as I bent over to pick it up, I sneaked a peek at my mother. It worked! So I did it again. And again...Finally, Miss Roy told me that I better get a better grip on my pencil and not to drop it again. Agh! Foiled. I sat very straight then and concentrated on the lesson, not peeking again the entire time. Of course my mother saw me do it and she actually was sort of proud of me that I'd figured out a way to bypass the rule.

The school is still there to this day and I often think about my year there. I looked it up online and I love the school's mission statement: To enable learners to develop their individual potential and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to foster life-long learning and to experience success in future life pursuits.

I don't know if they had the same mission statement back in 1953 when I was in first grade, but Miss Roy succeeded in developing my potential and fostering a love of learning. Not long after I began school, I told my mother I was going to be a teacher when I grew up. Guess what?

So tell me what your first day at school was like.

End of Grace

Grace is a gift from God. Grace Baptist Church was a gift to me. When I left my former church and began the search for a new one, it wasn't until I landed there that I felt at home. After a year and a half of attendance, I finally made the decision to transfer my membership to Grace Baptist. Seven months later, Grace Baptist Church ends. We all feel lost, at sea, unsure of the future, and I guess even a bit angry. But there just weren't enough people in regular attendance to support the ministry and pay a full-time pastor. In one way, I feel that we've let our pastor down, but in another way I know that God doesn't close one door without opening another. After chatting with the pastor this evening, it appears a door is opening for him and if it all works out, I'll be following him and his wife to his new church. (A little bit further to drive, but well worth it.)

Anyway, tonight was our annual corn roast at the M's, who always host it. They have a huge piece of property complete with orchard and a humungous vegetable and flower garden. Although we all had our usual good time, this time no one seemed in a hurry to leave. Things got cleaned up and the party ended up on the driveway. Someone's car alarm went off just as Cathy and I were leaving and the owner was still scurrying around trying to get it turned off as we drove away. It was a fun night and tomorrow morning I'm sure there will be many tears as we all say good-bye to Grace Baptist Church as it was. It will be interesting to see who goes where come the start of the fall season.

I just thought I'd share a few photos from the evening's frivolities. Christians can be a crazy bunch and all of us ate too much, talked too much, and cracked too many jokes. Anything to keep from going home. Anyway, enjoy the photos.








This is the gate into the vegetable and flower garden.

A giant dahlia. I got a pretty good macro of it, too, but will post that over on my Photologue blog.

Just a few of many rows of tomatoes. Look at the size of them thar things!























The back of the property overlooks a little river where you can often see ducks and other water birds.

On one side of the garden you'll find grapes growing. These are magnificent green grapes, almost ready to pick.

Before we ate, the kids were having lots of fun. These two are playing badminton.

These ones are having fun on the trampoline.

(l to r) Ken, Garry, Jeff (pastor)

Jeff was busy taking lots of pictures, especially of us with our mouths grinding away on corn on the cob. I'm sure he got one or two of me! Jeff loves to catch people in candid shots.













The three musketeers tending the fire. (l to r) Dave, Dave, and Paul.

(Notice the woman at the kitchen sink behing them!)














(l to r) Cathy, Brenda, Louise, Louella














Ingrid and Ruth (pastor's wife)

It was Ingrid's birthday today, so there was a chocolate birthday cake just for her! She was so surprised and thrilled, to say the least.












And the band played on. Great music and lots of fun.

(l to r)
Kooch, Murray, Daniel, Rob, Jeff

We really didn't want to leave, so a bunch of sat around the campfire for a while until we really did think it was time to go. So we ended up on the driveway saying more good-byes and see-you-in-the-mornings.

Photo Hunt - Wrinkled

This week's photo hunt theme is "wrinkled." Of course, immediately I thought of how my own face has gradually produced more and more wrinkles, especially around the eyes. Even when I smile I see wrinkles in my cheeks! But, I should look upon these wrinkles with pride! Pride in a life fully lived. Pride in overcoming many unfortunate life circumstances. And, especially, pride in still being able to smile through it all.

Back at the end of May, my sisters and I took our mother's best friend Lucy out for lunch to celebrate her 89th birthday. Mother and Lucy grew up together, remaining best friends until Mom passed away in 2002. Lucy has had a tough life, always working while raising her only daughter by herself after she divorced her first husband. She was a woman well ahead of her time and would not suffer fools gladly. She eventually remarried but is now widowed and her only daughter will have nothing to do with her. For my sisters and me, Lucy is a connection to our mother and we happily keep in touch with her, taking her for birthday lunches and having her for dinner at Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other occasions. She is always elegantly dressed and coiffed and can teach anyone Emily Post's rules of etiquette. She plays bridge on a regular basis and has a mind like a steel trap. Her face is wrinkled now too, but all I see is character. What a wonderful woman she is, and I hope we will have the honour and privilege of being there for her for many years to come.

A bit of humour:

Q: How can you get rid of wrinkles on your face?

A: Go braless! That'll usually pull them out.

Some Where Out There

Today is the 16th anniversary of husband's death. In 1992 my daughters were 12 and 15 years old. Now one is 31, married with two beautiful children and the other is 28, single and working. So much has happened in the past 16 years that it seems a whole lifetime has passed by. But none of us forget. We cannot forget him. And so, this song is for us all - his spirit is alive in us and we will be together again some day. In the meantime, I remember how he told me to go on with my life and be happy. This is what I wish most especially for my two daughters. Be happy.

ABC Wednesday - E is for Education

Our Children Are The Future

Education is (1) the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process and (2) an instructive or enlightening experience. As a teacher, I tried to meld these two definitions in the classroom. My philosophy is that if it isn't fun for me as the teacher, it sure isn't going to be fun for the kids. And only an enjoyable learning experience is retained for life.

My late husband and I maintained the same philosophy regarding our children. We decided that it would be more important that I be a stay-at-home Mom than spend a lot of money on other things for our children. We were lucky that we had a summer cabin on Shuswap Lake and were able to give the girls vacations that included horseback riding, swimming, water skiing, along with educational experiences with the government campsite Rangers. They also learned geography, history of our First Nations, and music as we sang along while my husband played the guitar at the evening campfire. The girls learned to entertain themselves by making up plays and musicals on the beach. I remember them dancing to Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love Of All" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," working hard to get the lyrics and dance moves just right. We also introduced them to lots of activities at home so they could get a "feel" for them and decide for themselves what they'd like to continue. Some of the things we took them to were ballet, gymnastics, figure skating, horseback riding, soccer, tennis, skiing, drama with acting lessons, music, swimming lessons, art, along with everything that the schools they attended provided.

In 1986, we had the privilege of moving to our nation's capital, Ottawa, for a 3-year stint with Telecom Canada. What better place to educate our two daughters than in historic Eastern Canada! Nervously, we sold our house and July 1, 1986 found us at the Parliament Buildings celebrating Canada's birthday. The girls had their photo taken with an RCMP officer, decked out in his official uniform. Two years later, one of Jamie's friends came to stay for the summer and we took them all back to the Parliament Buildings and climbed the clock tower. At some point during our time living in Ottawa, we also had the opportunity to take the girls to parliament when it was in session. That was a real educational experience!

During our vacation time in the summer of 1987, we drove East through Montreal and then South to New Brunswick, then East again to Prince Edward Island. In Moncton, NB, we found the house where my grandmother (my mother's mother) was born. I knocked at the door to ask if I could take a photo of the girls on the front porch but since no one was at home, I just went ahead and took their photo anyway.

We took the girls to the Magnetic Hill just east of the city. Magnetic Hill began as just local folklore in the early 1800's. Farmers living to the northwest of Moncton recounted wild stories of wagons running up on the heels of startled horses. Barrels and bales of dry goods were said to mysteriously roll "uphill". The hill moved from folklore to hard news in 1933 when three newspaper reporters spent an embarrassing moment stopping at the foot of every hill waiting for the magical magnetic forces to take over. Eight frustrating hours later, when the reporters were ready to give up, the phenomenon of Magnetic Hill was recorded as the reporters watched their 1931 Ford Roadster roll up the hill without them. Magnetic Hill was officially recorded by a skeptical group of believers. (from here) Now that was an educational experience as we sat in our car, turned off, and drove UP the hill...

Another educational experience we had in New Brunswick was seeing all the covered bridges. We stopped at the longest covered bridge in the world at Hartland, NB to take some photos and to walk its length.

We continued on to Prince Edward Island and that was an awesome experience for us. The dirt really is RED there! Native legends of old tell of a Great Spirit that, during the creation of the earth, reserved a small amount of red dirt. This red dirt was used to form "the fairest of all earthly places," Prince Edward Island. Today we now know that the dirt's rich red hue is due to its naturally occurring high iron oxide content. While in PEI, we went to all, literally ALL, of the sites related to the "Anne of Green Gables" books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and published in 1908.

On the way back from PEI, we drove through the Adirondacks in upstate New York. The girls skated at the Olympic arena at Lake Placid where we stayed for a few days. We found out that Robert Louis Stevenson had wintered at Saranac Lake in the area in 1887. He stayed at "Cure Cottage" where he rested and recovered from tuberculosis. The house where he stayed and wrote during that time was open to visitors. As my late husband was extremely proud of his Scottish ancestry, it was absolutely vital that we go and look around. This experience brought to life our daughters' heritage. It was exciting to see all of RLS's belongings and to learn that he had written a number of his best essays here along with beginning his famous "The Master of Ballantrae."

Ottawa and its surrounding area is full of the history of early settlements in Canada. One place we visited many times was an old working farm that taught the girls what it was like to live on a farm back in the 1800s. We took scads of photos, but here is one of them at the water pump where they learned that every day someone would have to go out and pump the water from the well so they could drink, cook, and wash for the day. They checked out the "outhouse," the pig sties, the kitchen, and the garden before we went for a wagon ride out into the countryside.

We also took them twice to Upper Canada Village - I did a post on this last go round for ABCW and if you missed it, you can check it out here.

During our time in Ottawa, the girls learned a lot about geography. They learned how vast is our country! From coast to coast it's 5, 514 km or, for my American friends, it's almost 3,500 miles. They also learned that Canada's climate varies from place to place and that when people refer to a Canadian winter, they mean something like what we all experienced in Ontario during those years. Yes, it snows in the winter and it's extremely cold. And the winter is long. We all admitted that it was fun for a while, but we were very happy to return to Lotusland in 1989 where the climate is much more temperate .

We not only gave our daughters the experience of Canada during these years, but also took them to Massachusetts, where there is a rich plethora of American history. In 1988, we recounted the story of the Mayflower and took the girls (and a friend) to Plymouth to see an accurate replica of the ship, which is moored at the State Pier. We also saw Plymouth Rock and toured around the area.

We continued on to Cape Cod for a week and saw the JFK Memorial. Naturally, we had to tell that story and recounted where we were the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Of all the educational experiences we gave our two daughters, I believe moving temporarily to Ottawa was the best one. We had the opportunity to see and do so much more than we ever could have dreamt had we not dared to dream a bit.

Education is a journey. It's not just 12 years of plodding along at school. All my students had fun in my classes because I kept reminding myself that if how I taught didn't excite ME, it surely wasn't going to excite them. Education is a lifelong adventure that is open to everyone who is willing to open their bodies, minds, and souls to the experience. Here are a few quotes:

Nine tenths of education is encouragement. Anatole France

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think - rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men. Bill Beattie

Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living. John Dewey

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats

I will give the final word to Helen Keller: Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. "Light! Give me light!" was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.