Lesson 763: 180 Hard

Hello, Readers.

Eloise, here,

writing to you from the Lamp Post

on a Friday night after a football game--

and a home one, too!

Cheer for big #51 this season.

The Huskies got stung by the Hornets tonight

and lost the game,

which is always hard.

The onset of the season means

saying goodbye to summer.

Transitions can be hard.

Fall brings with it many good things.

September is more predictable

and an easier ride than the wild summer months.

I look forward to the ease of routine and anticipate 

a better school year for the Huskies.

The appreciation of this school start

does not come without a look back at the difficult years

that preceded this one.

Covid restrictions.

School safety.

Teacher shortages.

Student loan forgiveness.

It's not all about grading papers

and bulletin boards anymore.

Teaching is not easy.

In fact, it's 180 days of hard.

I think I'll name it the 180 Hard.

Did you ever hear of the 75 Hard Challenge?

It goes like this:

Fitting in TWO 45 minute workouts is hard!

There are spins the challenge

like this one:

And for the middle of the roaders--

The 75 Hard is really about habit development.

These are my two favorite books about forming habits.

Teachers Friends,

Eloise challenges you to create your own 180 Hard.

What habits do you need to develop for yourself

in order to have a successful year with your students?

I think city planning would be really hard.

It was nice to Celebrate Erie 

officially again at the annual festival.

We headed down to see the Chalk Walk last weekend.

Now that looks hard to do!

I think one of the hardest jobs is farming.

I made my yearly trek to the Crawford County Fair 

to see the animals.

Eloise loves farm animals!

This was sure Some Pig!

I know my teacher friends looked for those wise words 

of Charlotte the spider woven into that web.....

it was just a fake out--

it's a web from my tomato plant pot.

The hardest thing I did all week

was go on a bat hunt in my cousin's house.

I was all armed and ready to go,

and we never found it!

Eloise

Lesson 762: Off to the Races

 Hello, Readers.

Eloise is rested and ready.

We are Off to the Races as the start of school is very soon.

Here's an apple for the teacher!

It's the only apple my young honey crisp tree has produced,

but it's been fun watching it grow.

The grapes are just beginning to turn color, too.

The August landscape busts with unique color blends.

August loses out to the "ber" months--

the far more popular in terms of fall foliage.

Don't get swallowed up the in rat race of school starting.

Stop and smell the August flowers, too.

We were smelling brownies this afternoon

after our resident chef whipped up a batch from scratch.

Natalie started back to work at Penn State Behrend.

She was so happy!

                                            This guy has been racing around the football field.

Full days of football camp this week.

We have been racing around trying to keep his plate filled

and water bottle full.

The pre-season scrimmage is tomorrow!

These two college students are off to the academic races on Monday.

The dogs simply are not having it.

They wan their people around.

Hazel is wearing her Life is Good collar upside down out of protest.

There was a dog race in the community park last weekend.

We entered Hazel and Penny in the Fun Run.

I do believe one of my guys shouted

Here we come, bitches!

on the walk down to the park.

Sam's voice has fully changed now,

so I didn't know which guy to punish.

The other dogs quaked with fear

when they saw Hazel and Penny strut in.

Hazel was up first for the 100 yard dash.

She needed to chase the white grocery bags on a pulley system.

You  can see them on.

lower right of the photo below.

Hazel ran a little way, 

but wouldn't leave Louie,

so he had to walk with her.

Next, Penny was up.

She just stood there and watched the bags go,

totally confused.

She was content to wander and sniff the fence.
Sam had to run with her, too.

We couldn't let them leave their racing experiences

with such lackluster performances.

We let them watch

and Sam did some motivational coaching.

Hazel got an F on the second attempt

as she barked at the timing judge.

Penny was a champion on the second run.

It was a race against time for Ellen to flip two furniture pieces in 

just a few days.

I found this one along side of Boyer Road.

If this piece is yours,

check out what it became!

TikTok of the process

Ellen really wanted a paint gun for better coverage,

so she ordered one linked from a TikToker she follows.

It arrived a few days later.

This was printed on its box.

It came in pieces with just a few directions.

To save time,

she put me in charge of the assembly...

I couldn't figure out the diagram and was relieved to find these codes

for a more detailed manual.

I scanned them only to find this annoying message!

She figured it out!

She also flipped a nightstand for her sis--

check that out here:

TikTok nightstand flip

I applied for my Monarch Waystation a few days ago.

It is a race against time to get the ground tilled

ready for some fall planting of butterfly plants.

I got some seeds in the mail

and that was a big thrill!

This patch of ground dedicated to butterflies and bees

lies just beyond the outfield fence,

between Josie's grave and natural brambles that I love to photograph

throughout the year.

At a time when all of the ash are dying,

a new one sprung up from Josie's gravesite.

She was the best dog in the whole world.

I'm reading on up and taking any reader suggestions.

The other thing I'm reading up on is this book!

I bought it for Ellen because it is written by a deaf author,

and she is studying to become a speech pathologist.

She is taking American Sign Language 1 and 2 this year.

It's a great story and interesting!

Each chapter title represents a fingerspelling of a character's name.

Throughout the story interesting facts about deaf culture are interspersed.

I learned so much.

So fascinating!

And so much I never knew!

One thing I do know:  

Eloise loves pickles.

I cannot wait to try these!

I'm sure you'll race to the front of my chow line

to get some for yourself!

Have a great weekend, Readers.

Eloise