Lesson 776: Repeating the Same Story

Good evening from the Lamp Post.

I'm here again.

Another Friday night.

Another blog.

The snow melted,

then arrived again.

More winter barren beauty.

More basketball.

one of the games was a little intense.....

January history repeats.

Well,

except for the General McLane fan section.

They shook the ordinary out a winter Tuesday night.

Teen fans are funny to watch.

So spirited.

Until HC won, that is.

We love a good sale,

and the girls and I robbed Dollar General 

last weekend.

Here is just some of our loot,

priced at just 30 cents per item.

In our effort to reduce plastics

we tried making some laundry soap.

Still testing it.

We used the recipe with Castile soap,

salt, and baking soda.

Let us know if you've tried to make your own

and if you have a recipe you like.

On the school front,

my students and I 

toured the Erie Playhouse Scenic and Costume Shop.

We could have explored all day.
No one wanted to go back to school!

Some of my students are learning something new:

sewing!

Mrs. Farantzos showed these Rolling Ridgers

how to make pet beds from old sweaters!

They gave the stories of the old sweaters

some new life and purpose.

One old story I repeated again was this one:

I stopped and started this book 

four times since it's publication in 2005,

but today,

the story had a different ending.

I finished the book!

It is et in Nazi Germany,

and the book is narrated by Death.

I'd start the book,

get attached to the characters,

then think,

Nope, this is not going to end well.

I'd abandon it,

promising to return to the book at a later time

when things were "less stressful" in my world.

This completion is a double milestone for me.

I finally finished

and I did it in audio book form--a first for Eloise.

All you need is your library card and your reading device.

I use my phone.

Kindles and tablets work, too.

I kept repeating the same stories to myself about audiobooks:
I don't like audio books--I like podcasts.

I like the feel of paper.

I don't like narrators' voices.

Then I realized I had my mind set about them,

and never really gave them a try.

I think everyone should involve themselves with this story.

You can read the book,

listen to the well narrated audio book,

or watch a very well done 2013 movie adaptation.

It's on Amazon Prime for rent.

There are many themes that you must wrestle with privately.
The story will stay with me forever.

The author, Markus Zusak,

did a great TED talk that I'll assign for weekend homework.

Kids don't complain much about watching videos for homework,

so neither should you.

It's not as much about the Book Thief itself,

but the many failures he experienced leading up to

the book's success.

Makus Zusak: The Failurist CLICK HERE

(me, too)

Also, Louie bowls in the Times News Championship

Saturday and Sunday.

Let's not repeat the same story.

THIS year,

he'll come home with the trophy.

Eloise

 

Lesson 775: Stay Pawsative

 Hello, Readers.

Welcome to the Lamp Post

 on a cold, January night.

The winter snow totals haven't been too extreme

for the Erieites.

Buffalo has stolen our thunder this year.

I picked Sam up from after school basketball practice 

in the daylight yesterday,

and that was nice.

Spring will come as planned.

In the meantime,

I'm trying to tell that to Hazel.

She hurt her paw several days ago

and she needed a Pet Vet visit.

                                                            Unexpected vet visits are the downside 

to owning any pet.

Securing a vet appointment

for a working person is not easy.

I wound up using the Urgent Care vet services

at Glenwood Pet Hospital on Thursday night.

They have hours most days from 7:00-11:00pm.

They were very nice 

and we were in and out in a little over an hour.

It was $50 more than a standard appointment,

but with no appointments at our regular vet until next week,

we had to do it.

Poor girl ripped off her toenail,

most likely on the heated pursuit of a squirrel.

Penny went along for moral support 

and she was exhausted, too.

We hope Hazel heals up soon

so she can go on her walks again!

Earlier this week, 

we went for a walk in the gorge.

It was a GORGEous day!

Winter is pretty if you allow it to be.

Basketball is in the thick of it.

Midsize Harbor Creek 

has had to face four giants in a row:

Meadville,

Erie,

McDowell,

and Prep.

These kids are fighters

and play hard the whole game through.

In other sports news,

hubby is heading into the Times News Open

in third place.

He's hoping to stay in the Top 16

to move onto next week.

Bowling is in Lake City on Saturday.

I had a few questions about the Little Free Library

I posted about.

You can find it right in front of the Harbor Creek Township Building,

lower level towards the road.

I wonder what the little key is for?

A friend shared 

that there are Little Free Libraries at Headwaters Park.

I'm going to look for them this weekend.!

I got so many good books on my list

I started them all.

I'm reading five at once and even that

is a lot for me!

After I get through those,

I'm going to go on a 

Blind Date with a Book!

Ellen Louise surprised me with one.

I cannot wait to see what's inside the wrapped cover.

Here is my only clue!

Have a great weekend!

Eloise

Lesson 774: Word of the Year

 Happy Friday, Readers!

Friday the 13th started out with a 

blue morning.

The word of the day is snowflake,

in honor of this snowy snapshot!

This is a Klein student

and her folks were kind enough

 to let me share the captures with you.

Eloise loves nothing more

than a good nature capture!

Pics from earlier this week are a little misleading.

It almost appeared as if winter had ended.

I love it when the late afternoon sun

hits the vineyard just right.

Erie is ever changing--

this just the next day.

Winning was the verb of Tuesday.

Some lucky lady in blue won the 50-50 

at the home basketball game.

Spirited was the word of the week.

Two basketball games this week,

plus a girls game we went to,

gave us plenty of time to cheer in gyms.

Sam and the JV bench are particularly fun to watch

as they cheer on their varsity teammates.

Sam is usually the first one up on his feet.

He has the biggest flexes for three pointers,

and cringey shudders when plays don't go our way.

Dwarfed is the word for one teammate 

that makes Sam feel small.

Check out this giant guy!

I still kept with the trend of choosing a word for the year.

I really enjoy that!

One of the years of the pandemic 

I didn't coordinate things and events to any particular word

and it felt like a lackluster year.

No,

couldn't have been because of COVID-19

and its plethora of complications it caused---

the year was messed up from the lack of choosing a word.

For 2023 I chose.......

pair

but also...

pear

and 

pare

I love homonyms!

I've worked my way through years of multi-tasking,

particularly when my children were younger.

I used to pride myself on the ability,

until I realized it lead to the muddling of my thoughts

and a general slow-down of overall productivity.

Then I switched to the phrase--

One thing at a time.

I went through a very Zen phase.

Then I discovered I just want to do too many things to be Zen.

I'm over 50 and half my life is over.

So many things to do,

so little time.

I settled somewhere in the middle this year with

pair

I've been trying to do two things together

and in just 13 days of 2023,

I've already accomplished a lot!

I like to read,

but the time isn't always there to do it.

While driving around during the day for work,

I listen to an audio book.

I also discovered I like listening to books

when I do my needlepoint projects.

Speaking of,

I'm doing original artworks for my embroidery--

so I'm creating originals while learning my stitches.

I'm working on a floral design,

so I research the flower to see if it will work in my butterfly garden,

so research + artwork.

I take nature photos while I walk the dogs.

I try to see how much of the kitchen I can tidy up before

the tea kettle comes to a boil.

These have been fun!

I can't wait to pare down

a pair of pears!

It's never too late to choose one.

If you haven't yet,

check out this list 

or there are many others to google or pin!

Optional Homework:
Post what you chose for your word of the year!

Mandatory Homework --

Check out this video

on the I Have a Dream speech

CLICK HERE

The word for the moment:
Goodnight!

Eloise