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Created at Big Huge Lab
Photo of Anaelle matted at Big Huge Lab
Three things I love glommed together: poetry, colors, and a quilt.
I love the cosiness, the clutter of books, the colors, and the sense of history implied in this photo.
image from flickr color pickr
We were in a park near the apartment of my son and his family.
I am holding my granddaughter Elise next to an Etruscan statue
Musings of a sixty-ish woman
poster246510.jpg
Created at Big Huge Lab
Thing #10
Photo of Anaelle matted at Big Huge Lab
About Me
Though I have had my share of blows and buffets, I feel I have led an enchanted life. I have rejoiced in glorious friendships, the intensity of motherhood and grandmotherhood, and now a wonderful companion to share adventures and a beautiful house with.
I grew up in a small town in western Oklahoma, small enough that we never locked our door or took the car keys inside the house. I rode around on my bicycle stopping in parks or a wonderful quiet place called "the agricultural station" where I would daydream under pine trees and imagine myself inside a fairy tale.
Or I played with my dolls and paper dolls in my room, involving them in scenarios fed by my relentless passion for the technicolor extravaganzas I saw at our local movie theater. Living in a building with a doorman in New York City and attending cocktail parties seemed to me then to be the height of sophistication.
Movies actually changed three times a week in that innocent time before television, and I saw nearly everything from the late forties into the fifties and sixties--with my family, and later with friends. Our parents would "drop us off" at the theater, as it was perfectly safe for children to go alone. It cost ten cents for a child under twelve to see a movie.
I also loved cowboys as my brothers and I went to see westerns every Saturday morning. When we were little we had run around the yard shooting pistols at each other and taking turns playing the comic character Gabby Hayes as we could not think of enough heroic cowboys. When I had two sons of my own, I felt completely at home watching them run around making explosion noises with their mouths and crashing toy planes into the floor.
I loved reading too, of course, as I grew up to be an English teacher--Little Women was my favorite novel--and I read it again and again. Later in life, I began to see the thread of characters and stories weaving itself through my whole life down to the stories I buy for, and read to, my grandchildren, and the ones I love discussing with my AP students in high school.
Thing #5 Emily Dickinson in a quilt
Three things I love glommed together: poetry, colors, and a quilt.
Random favorites
- Art museums
- Tea and macaroons at La Duree in Paris
- English novels set between the two world wars
- Fred Astaire's dancing and Ginger Rogers' dresses
- Creating a serene and nurturing environment in my house and in my classroom
- I am currently passionate about Murakami novels--reading Kafka on the Shore
- Names of flowers--gloxinia, hydrangea, phlox, peony, heliotrope, bougainvillea, frangipani ....
- Great musicals--just saw The Drowsy Chaperone
- Fairy tales and names of fairy tales: Rapunzel, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Juniper Tree, The Three Feathers...
- Lavender: the scent, the herb, the flower... and, oh yes, the color
- Divine Nonsense, see the next favorite:
- Oscar Wilde, and the next:
- Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
- Wearing hats
- Teaching my classes--AP English, Shakespeare, and Film Studies
- Breakfast cappucinos
- D.H. Lawrence
- Reading anywhere
- Diane Johnson novels
- Studying French
- Playing with and reading to my grandchildren
- John Keats' odes
- Spending time and taking trips with my boon companion and beau, Hu
- Daydreaming about my childhood...daydreaming period
- Crocheting scarves and baby blankets for my family
- Cooking for my family
- Playing with interesting color combinations
- William Butler Yeats, especially "Among School Children" and "A Prayer for my Daughter"
- Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
- Jean Cocteau's magical film La Belle et La Bete
Blog Archive
Shakespeare and Company
I love the cosiness, the clutter of books, the colors, and the sense of history implied in this photo.
color play
image from flickr color pickr
I am glad you visited my blog. Please write me about your own musings on any topic.
I am an AP English teacher at Memorial High School in Houston, TX. I experience the best of all possible worlds as I get to spend my work days reveling in literature and writing, and enjoying my students who all have so many different talents and personalities.
I enjoy exploring interesting restaurants and movies with my companion, Hu. We also love to take trips to see children and grandchildren and to see some parts of the US and Europe that we love to explore. We are going to take a river cruise down the Rhine this summer and then to to Paris to visit my younger son and his family.
I am fortunate to have two wonderful sons with wives and children whom I adore, as well as five precious children and seven grandchildren of my companion, Hu. I enjoy the love of several very close friends and keep in touch with many of my former students.
I enjoy exploring interesting restaurants and movies with my companion, Hu. We also love to take trips to see children and grandchildren and to see some parts of the US and Europe that we love to explore. We are going to take a river cruise down the Rhine this summer and then to to Paris to visit my younger son and his family.
I am fortunate to have two wonderful sons with wives and children whom I adore, as well as five precious children and seven grandchildren of my companion, Hu. I enjoy the love of several very close friends and keep in touch with many of my former students.
Wearing a hat in Paris with my granddaughter, Anaëlle
We were in a park near the apartment of my son and his family.
Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth
I am holding my granddaughter Elise next to an Etruscan statue
19 comments:
Since the beggining of summer I have gotten my license and got back my AP grade from history last year. :]
sable doebbler pd.3
During this summer at camp I participated in the leadership program. For one of the three weeks we traveled from Texas to Colorado. We went rock climbing, white water rafting, and climbed a mountain. I had an amazing time, made lots of true friends, learned a lot about myself, and made memories that will last a lifetime!
This summer I lived in Nicaragua for a month to improve my Spanish. I stayed with a family who spoke no English. We went on excursions up to a volcano and went zip lining through the jungle. I also volunteered by playing soccer with local children. This trip to Nicaragua was an amazing experience because I got to interact with a culture that is completely different from my own.
Kristin H. Period 1
One amazing thing that has happened to me in the late summer, was I turned 16! I was the last of my friends to turn 16 and had never been more ready. When I got my lisence, I felt this overwhelming feeling of freedom and a whole new woman! Driving is a whole new world and has opened up numerous new doors. Now, looking back I can not fathom how awful it was having my mom drive me everywhere. I have learned responsibility and directions! :)
Kelly Taylor, Period 6
Throughout the summer I did not experience much excitement, but did travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, and had a pleasant experience consuming all of the delicious food in the extravagant buffets!!!
sorry, i'm Blake P. 6th period
I was able to visit many places this summer, including Florida and Seattle, Washington. I also went on a mission trip with my church, which was an awesome experience as well as going to camp. All of my trips this summer were amazing, but my favorite thing was being able to spend lots of time with my friends!
I think I might kinda sorta maybe like school this year. Weird but fun
Caleb Alexander per. 3
Every year I always go to India to visit my relatives, and I thought that this year's trip would be no different. this time we went to Sheelong, a beautiful city located in the mountains bordering Bangladesh. A few days after I arrived, I went up a ways to a sprawling village. As it always rains in the area,life is very tough for the people living there. However, they refuse to leave the land they have been living in for centuries,and what struck me was how happy they seemed to be, regardless of their circumstances. They had reached a level of contentment that I could never have imagined before that point. This trip gave me a lot to think about and is not one that I will quickly forget. -Ishan T, 1st period
I had an amazing time this summer. I spent a lot of time with my friends. We went camping in the Texas hill country, cruising in the Caribbean, and went out every night. I especially enjoyed diving in Cozumel, Mexico because the water was so clean and blue that you could see better underwater than you could on land. Overall I had a blast during the summer. This summer really was one to remember.
Anoosh Saidi, Period 3
My summer was full of traveling: from Germany and Austria at the beginning of the break to India at the end of it (just coming back the night before school started, not to mention the jet lag!) ;) GAPP was a fun 4 week exchange experience involving immersion into German culture and language. And an almost 3 week vacation in India was relaxing while being with friends and family I get to see not as often as I wish I could.
whoops! almost forgot to mention an exciting 3 day weekend in chicago as well! The most exciting part was seeing The Dark Knight in IMAX 3D!
Durring the summer, I got my license and went to summer camp!! I had an amazing summer, but I'm ready to go back to school!
This summer, I finally went to Korea to visit family. It has been nearly 7 years since I was last in Korea and even though I was constantly in touch with my cousins and grandparents, it was a different experience to meet them outside the States in what seemed like a "foriegn" land :) Korea has changed so much over the years that I was shocked to find such vast differences from my memories and what it is today. Tourisms leading striaght to Pyongyang, new public transportation cards that can make subways, buses and even taxis a breeze to pay, and myraid of new apartments all created a Korea that I wasn't familiar with, a Korea that wasn't what I imagined, a Korea that seemed so different that made me wonder if I was really from Korea.
I was finally able to meet and catch up with my elementary school friends who I have not meet for years. I meet a lot of my family who I haven't even talked to for years(in fact I think we had dinner with someone every night of the month that I spent in Korea), and when I finally caught up with everyone, I toured the demilitarized zone near North and South Korean boarder and even toured the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.
I had an amazing time in Korea. I was finally able to meet and catch up with friend and family and it was a time I'll remember forever.
Dong-Hyun K., Period 5
This summer I worked at Mad Potter. Went on a fabulous birthday weekend get away with one of my best friends to San Antonio. (Turned 16 finally!)Went to Journalism Camp in A&M and went to Mexico for the first time to visit family. I went to Puebla for a week and then went to a family beach house in Acapulco. Summer went by way too quickly! ;)
This summer, I had an amazing time on a mission trip, camp, and just hung out with my friends!! I have learned more than I ever imagined in the first four days of being in your class. I've learned how to find irony within a passage and how to set up the introductions to my paper in a better way. I am genuinely excited to be in your class and am enthusiastic about becoming a better writer!
-Ellie H. Period 1
This isnt necessarily good, but this past week, as you already know, hurricane Ike occurred and I didn’t have anything devastating happen to my house or neighbors houses. You could say we were lucky, alot of people have left their homes because of power outages and trees falling, hopefully you were not one of these people. Yet I did notice something good that has come out of this hurricane, people have been working together and have really had positive attitudes. I know that on my street, the day after the hurricane we all got together and worked to clear our street from the debris. One of our neighbors was out of town for vacation, and I thought it was amazing that all the houses around us worked to clear their yard and their driveway. I have seen how this disaster has brought everyone closer and all the people have worked together to get our homes and our community back to normal. I was driving and saw families all working together outside, picking up branches, trying to cut the falling trees, all the possible destruction, and through it all there we have made the best of what we have. This also imparts how lucky we are compaired to the rest of the world. Getting this little taste of how other people have lived their whole lives really impacts my views and has made me even more thankful to be so privlaged. We may not have electricity and our food may be going bad, but we should be thankful that at least we have a roof over our heads, family that love us and a bed to sleep in. Living without electricity has been a realization of how much I take for granted. I think that this should move everyone to want to help other people and to take time out of our buisy lives to really make a difference in someone elses. Hopefully nothing drastic has happened to your home, see you Wednesday! Gina B Pd. 5
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