Lesson 881: I'm Taking a Picture

Hello, Readers!

Eloise here,

checking in from the 

cold

and

snowy 

north.

I hope I didn't scare my neighbors

as they played in the snow.

I was spying out the window,

but it's all good.

I was just taking a picture!

or two.

Who would want to miss moments

such as these?

I said the same thing to the birds.

Don't stress, 

I'm not a predator.

I'm just taking a picture!

My neighbors are used to my lens.

So are the birds.

I spied this guy out on the bay.

He was all by himself 

floating around an open spot of water.

So, what was Eloise doing 

out on Erie's Presque Isle

on Tuesday, in 23 degree weather 

with a wind whipping off of the lake?

A field trip, of course!

We took the students out to Thompson's Bay area

to collect plant samples.

They challenged me as to why I wasn't following them

into the knee deep snow.

I'm taking a picture,

Mrs. Eloise said.

We sketched maps of the area.

We made natural dyes of the plants we harvested.\,

and used them on our maps.

Here is my blurry pic of basketball.

Eloise still does not like extra lenses,

so you get what you get

from our dark but cozy gym.

This pic was not mine, 

but I took it to share.  

Very funny for the Pennsylvanians!

I cannot NOT comment on the Orange Bowl.

Oh my, 

were we ever ready!

We brought out the two bottles

of Nittany Lion wine we received as a gift

nearly two decades ago.  

One we said we'd open when Joe Paterno died,

hence the empty.

The other we are saving to open after 

we win a National Championship.

Thinking of Drew Allar,

just a few years older than my own son,

gives a different perspective to the loss this year.

I hope Drew is with his family 

and recovering today.

What we still haven't recovered

is missing Gingy!

There are so many kind and concerned citizens!

I checked the mail 

every day in hopes of a ransom note.

This is truly a cold case.

I'll never give up on the belief

of his safe return.

Daughter Ellen Louise 

reached a milestone this week.

She went back to train in the

elementary school she attended.

She will be a certified Speech Pathologist

at the end of her externship placements

in June.

Bethst of wuk, Elwen!

I took the advice of a respected student,

and Eragon is my current read.

So far,

I love it even more than The Hobbit.

It makes for the perfect wintertime escape.

I'm trying to be more present this year,

and not allow my thoughts to linger too far behind,

or cycle ahead into the unknown.

However, 

we would be remiss if we did not

look back on the life of former President Jimmy Carter.

My blog title was adapted from 
Jason Carter's eulogy for his Grandfather.

Here it is,

in case you missed it.

CLICK HERE

Good night, My Fellow Americans.

Sending prayers to those devastated by the wildfires.

Eloise

Lesson 880: Gingerbread

 Happy New Year, Readers!

2025 is entering 

as a snowy one for 

the Great Lakes Region!

Santa is heading back to the North Pole.

This is what I picture he looks like in the off season--

trades his red suit for a blue one.

As Santa retires to the North Pole,

so does Eloise to her living room.

I do love the winter.

Unpopular opinion, I know.

But there is beauty in nature's dormancy.

We are home tonight--

a rare thing for a Friday night.

We made a slippery trip

to Meadville

for a basketball game last night.

I caught this score

partway through the JV game--

the JV's won.

And that's the only score I will be sharing 

for the rest of the night.

Maybe the guys were just out-fanned.

Here was their student section:

Here was ours:

A long trip

plus

slippery roads

do not make for a positive equation

for teen travel.

Also,

they had a player that scored his 1,000th point in the game.

Again.

The same thing happened last year.

Congrats to this young man!

Impressive accomplishment.

I compiled my 2024 Year in Review blog

on Tuesday.

Here it is if you missed it:

Lesson 879

CLICK HERE

I have lots more to write about:

New Year's Resolutions

Word of the Year

and the passing of Jimmy Carter.

But I'm preoccupied with something else

and my mind can't give adequate blogspace

to those things I hold dear

until I solve a mystery.

What happened to my gingerbread man?

I discovered he was missing on New Year's Day

approximately 6:00 pm.

After an urgent notice posted to my facebook account,

I now have more questions than answers

after the spotlight was put on this case.

A prank?

A run in with a wild animal?

A theft?

But what is the motive?
Jealousy.

Greed.

A kidnapping?
Certainly I would have received a ransom note by now.

I checked on Gingerbread girl this morning.

I thought for a second that she, too, had been stolen.

But she was there--

just not doing well.

She threw herself off of the porch,

but I revived her and convinced my metal friend

that he was worth waiting for.

I worked on my theft theory

and have created a short list of suspects.

Then I went to work.

I put the Questies on it.

My brainiacs had theories similar 

to the adults on facebook.

They were firm believers in the fact that he came to life

and ran away all on his own.

Run, run, as fast as you can--

you can't catch me,

I'm the gingerbread man, I am!

If Donald Trump can be my President twice,

I'm not ruling anything out.

Any leads you have on the Gingerbread case,

please message the Lamp Post.

There is a reward for his return.

Eloise