Lesson 476: Simple Brilliance

Good evening, Eloise!

Rain is in the forecast tomorrow for Harborcreek. Stay dry!

No problem, facebook weather reminder!

I'm covered!

I got my new rain poncho from Grandma.

My mother can't stand someone being wet

and will go to great lengths to keep her family nice and dry.

I always say that I am the same way with temperature.

My kids always looked like this when they were babies.

Well,

except for the fact that I'm not Asian.

You have to pencil in your calendar squares 

when you are a baseball or softball parent living in Erie 

in the springtime.

We are known to get a few rain-outs.

Backs of cars make nice hang outs

for the wait-it-out crowd.

The rule is that if lightning is spotted,

all players must go to the dugouts and wait 30 minutes.

The thirty minute waits are for each bolt,

so if they continue, the 30 minutes restarts from the most recent bolt.

I know, Emma.

It makes the evenings extra long sometimes.

There have been plenty of long nights this week for the Lady Huskies.

Little League had its opening for the boys.

This is my new home away from home

for the next six weeks.

So,

if you don't like kid sports,

check back in later.

Or never.

I like kid sports.

They are full of capturable emotion.

Ellen placed the hex on the opposing team,

leaving them scoreless against

Harbor Creek's dauntless JV team.

She was spoken to later

for showcasing our special talent in public.

We zipped up the bags on the bowling balls for the season.

Everyone had their year-end banquets.

Natalie and Sam cleaned up with awards.

My hubby got a tape measure for bowling back to back 300 games.

Lol.

Nature in the spring is simply brilliant.

The brilliant Easter bouquet my husband bought me is still hanging in there.

This bird comes to my window every day to check it out.

He pecks his beak right on the glass!

I truly think I attract him when I play with this addicting sequined pillow.

It casts a brilliant display of light and color on my wall when the sun hits it.

The newest edition of National Geographic is the Genius Edition.

It's an interesting read.

What is Mrs. Eloise's take on brilliance?

Being a teacher of gifted children for nearly 20 years now,

I prefer to focus on the simple ways everyone can smarten up.

Not everyone likes books.

Not everyone has time for them.

But we know that regular reading is essential.

Eloise recommends magazine articles.

Invest in a few that you like.

Set your phone timer for 15 minutes 

and take some time to leaf through a magazine,

even if you only have time to look at the photos and captions.

(Eloise has a fondness for photos and captions).

It does wonders for the intellect.

Then,

when you find a place mentioned,

go find it on a map.

I keep this one in my kitchen and refer to it several times a day.

I still find places I've never heard of!

Simple brilliance is always my preference from showy displays of knowledge.

Here is a simply brilliant commercial to round out Autism Awareness Month.

Applause to Autism Speaks for such a clever

and spot on accurate description.

Have a brilliant weekend, Readers.

ELOISE

Lesson 475: God's Green Earth

It's Earth Day, Readers!

It's a holiday that all of the Human Nation can celebrate!

Nature is so pretty.  

It's my favorite thing to photograph.

Trees don't complain when you tell them to pose.

How on God's green earth is it the weekend already?

This week went by extraordinarily fast.

Speaking of God...

and Earth....

here's a nice Earth Day quote from Pope Francis.

If you recall, 

last summer I had a robin come to my window regularly

and peck at it as if he wanted to come inside.

My parents live next door to the Lamp Post and he did it to them, too.

This week another has started the same thing.

It looks young,

so I doubt it's the same one.

I couldn't grab my camera quickly enough to get a shot of him on the window sill,

but I did get a shot of him in the yard.

What on God's green earth does he want?

Birders out there,

please explain.

My students have been asking me all week to explain my shoes.

I love my new Vibram Alitza Loops!

So--do these identify themselves with socks or shoes?

One clever student suggested we call them Shocks.

Very fitting.

How on God's green earth can I stand the feeling of toe pockets?

When compared to the daily pain of my arthritic feet,

I feel nothing in comparison.

They are really helping my toe alignment.

I've been wearing them for about 5 years now,

but these are the first that border on "pretty."

I said borders...

The weather hasn't been particularly pretty for softball and baseball,

but the rains are greening things up quite nicely.

How on God's green earth did we get to the last Tooth Fairy visit to the Lamp Post?

Sam lost his last tooth tonight.

The tooth fairy will be moving on to Emma Grace Hall.

She's generous, Emma!

When I was in college I drove a green 1983 Omega

that I named The Pickle.

I just looked it up on the Internet to remind myself what it looked like,

and I found it listed under an article,

The Ten Slowest Cars of 1983.

Ten Slowest Cars of '83 CLICK HERE

The Chevy Chevette is in there, too!

Ellen's drove Grandma and Grandpa's 22 year old Jeep to practice the other day.

I had to smile seeing it sit in the parking lot.

You can tell it's theirs because:

A.  It is one of the few left around.

B.  The Coast Guard license plate.

C.  Both A and B.  

D.  Neither A or B

E.  Choice F

  

             Doesn't make any sense?

Just warming the kids up for another round of state tests coming next week.

Those questions don't always make sense either.     

What really doesn't compute is how the senseless act of violence--

a live murder on facebook--

came to its conclusion right in my hometown.

     

How on God's green earth can the victim's family move on?

With God's help, I suppose.

It's the only way.

If you want to heal from a stressful week,

the locals should take a walk out on Presque Isle on Saturday morning

for the annual Autism Walk.

Most of the money raised stays local.

Easter was beautiful last weekend.

I posed the family for their yearly professional looking shot.

We look most forward to Grandma and Grandpa's basket.

The Money Bunny came again this year.

How in God's earth do we get it all done every week?

All the work.

All the practice.

All the fun.

Things just have a way of working themselves out.

The sun always sets and rises the next morning.

Flowers bloom, no matter how tough the winter prior.

And the onions that fell from the composter,

well,

they eventually bloom, too.

How pretty!

Find your Earth Song this weekend, Readers.

Stop a minute,

stand still,

and close your eyes.

You'll hear it.

ELOISE