New Layer Of Out Of The Blue

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but there is a new layer of Out Of The Blue.  I have added Teaching and Learning Out Of The Blue.  I decided to keep a journal of my experiences while we are social distancing due to Covid-19. 

Now, I will be somewhat general in some ways because this is not something where I am reporting on what is going on in my school district.  This is simply my ideas and thoughts while I'm working from home.

I am hopeful that it will morph into some suggestions for teachers and ways to make teaching and learning better.  So, hop over and share some of my musings from an educator's perspective!

Discovery On A Morning Walk

Being home is a gift to me. I love where we live and I am glad to be where I am.

I always have ways to occupy my time and am never bored. To me, down-time means I get to read or craft or cook.

So, this time has felt like a gift and a blessing to me. I've enjoyed every minute of being at home.

I will admit that there are times when the blaring of the television or the updates from online have seemed a bit much for me. So, when rain wasn't falling, I went out for a walk.

I don't want you to think I've taken up hiking or I've become health-conscious or something like that.  Don't get silly.

I simply take a stroll - down the driveway or along the creek.  It is not like I'm counting steps or logging miles.  I just take a mind-clearing walk.

On my walk the other morning, I took time to pick up a few fallen branches or some wood that had washed down the creek during flooding.  For some reason, I looked up and noticed this.

There are little buds on most every branch of this tree down near our creek.  Yet, this one little cluster of twiggy branch is much further along.

How about that?  Why do you think that might be?  I plan to keep a watch and see what I notice in the next few days.  I just found that quite interesting.

Weekend

We had an absolutely beautiful weekend. The weather was so nice that Mike and I both were outside enjoying it.  He spent most of Saturday on the mower and our place looks pretty much like a well-manicured park.  I spend most of Saturday on the front porch either in the new swing or in the rocker reading a book and virtual meeting with part of our Grands. 

Learned that one of the grands caught a fish!  One of them got recognized by her teacher for completing all of her online work - and she said it was easy stuff and took her hardly any time at all.  Well, that is how I'm reporting it.  She described it a little less flattering but owned up to it not taking her much time to complete and was done with ease and I'll leave it at that.  One of the grands - probably the most talkative and busiest - wore herself down and was asleep by 7 P.M. One of them got to talk on the phone with some of her friends. And another grand was swinging and playing the harmonica.  How blessed are we?!

Mike visited with a couple of the grands by driving up to their yard and watching them a bit but keeping his distance.  He has been itching to see them but certainly doesn't want to take any risks since he is the one who has made the trips to the store to pick up food and supplies like TP.

We saw photos on Instagram of two of the other grands while they were helping their parents by weeding landscape beds. 

Then, today we had another day of sunshine and nice weather.  However, we were shocked to learn that country music singer, Joe Diffie died from complications of this horrible virus.  Evidently he resided right down the road from us.  We saw on one of the social media outlets that people were requested to put a speaker out on their porch this evening and play one of his songs.  Then, saw where they are going to do a tribute for his family asking people to drive down a local street with windows down playing their favorite song.  Small town life!  Gotta love it!

I'm back to providing online support for teachers in our district tomorrow.  I already have on my agenda to work on closed captioning some videos we made last week, responding to any middle school teacher who requests support via a form, mapping out an intro to a couple of online tools for teachers that will be presented in an online, live session Tuesday and Wednesday, and working to create visuals and videos for online professional development workshops.

Hope your weekend was rejuvenating.  Stay home! Stay safe!

Soup In A Cup

Oftentimes children have to be coaxed into liking different foods.  I fondly recall that my children were 'good eaters' but that doesn't mean that they liked everything I ever served.

Bridgette, Bryan, and I often will bring up stories from their childhood which cause us to chuckle.  Generally it is in relation to something that their own children are doing.  One thing that we have chuckled about for years is my fondness for tomato soup and the fact that, as a child, Bryan did not share that fondness.

One day I served up tomato soup and we probably had grilled cheese sandwiches as a side item.  Instead of pouring our soup into bowls to be eaten with a spoon, I served the soup up in a mug or a cup.  

Bryan was having none of that.

Honestly, I don't know if he wound up eating something else or if I was that awful mother who told him to do without till dinnertime.  Miraculously, he survived my horrible parenting - whichever option I provided.

That afternoon when we went to the dairy farm to do our chores, Bryan was tagging along with my Daddy and he asked him, "Papaw, do you wike soup in a cup?"  I'm sure my father had a wise response or perhaps asked him a question to find out what type soup was being referenced.  Bryan clarified, asking, "Do you wike wed soup in a cup?" (red soup in a cup)

I can imagine Daddy not criticizing the red soup but not expressing delight either because I don't think it was one of his favorite options.  Daddy was more of a meat, beans, and potatoes kind of a guy and would have wanted something more like beef stew.

Finally, Bryan informed him, "Well, Papaw, I don't WIKE soup in a cup!"  There it was.  His preference stated.  And it was a fact that we all chuckled about when Daddy shared the conversation with us later.

To me tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich warms me up like no other meal.  So, when we had a cold, grey, damp, rainy day last week, I warmed up my favorite go-to.  Just like almost always when I have this menu delicacy, I sent Bryan a picture and the message, "Good day for soup in a cup!  Hate you missed it!"

Spring Fluff

I dug through my fabric stash and found something that looked a little spring-like.  So, I crafted some new pillow covers. for the den.

I think Toby and Mike really appreciated the change.

I think they really felt as if the den was taking on a bit of spring sunshine.

Honestly, who am I kidding? I know that I was only doing this for me.  The good news is, I feel as if I was rewarded twice. I enjoyed crafting the floral pillow covers and I smile every time I walk through the den and see them!

Bunnies Hopping Up Here And There

I guess it is just that time of year but around here, bunnies seem to be hopping up here and there.  This well-dressed young lady perched on the side of a tulip pitcher recently appeared in the front bedroom right beside the child's tea sets.

This little guy is peeking out from some hand towels in the guest bathroom.

This smiling pair with waggling friends have perched on the hearth.

The crackled little grandma reading to her grand is on the table at the end of the couch.

This sweet sleepy pair are on the buffet in the den.

This friend is cheering up the china cupboard in the kitchen.

This cheerful fellow greets you at the front door!

Spring and bunnies are hopping up all over the place around here!

Blue & White For Spring

In my opinion, blue and white are the best colors for every season.  So, spring should be no different.  I was quite fortunate to get a little bit of blue and white from my Granny's estate and it is now gracing our spring decor.

When I'm doing some cleaning and clearing out dust, I sometimes think I want to simplify.  Then, as I start to return things to the mantel, I generally decide that I like things the way they are.  So, it all goes back.  I hardly make any changes seasonally there either because I am pretty satisfied.  Sometimes I will add greenery or flowers to the urns/vases there but all-in-all it pretty much stays the same.

The cheerful bunnies hopped onto the hearth for the season.  I also added to the symmetry a bit by adding the blue and white eggs that came from my Granny's.

I just realized that one is nestled up against an illegal advertisement.  Oops!

I'm going to choose ti think the rustic sign is encouraging me to gather all my blue and white spring cheerfulness together there on the mantel!