petits bonheurs

"What a day this has been,

What a rare mood I'm in..."

And that's where we'll leave the lyrics.  Oy. Vay.  Yesterday was a day that tried my soul and stretched my scant bits of patience.  So, we'll talk about the joys~as that is the focus of this blog.  When I went to my sub assignment for the evening, not only did I find markers (usually we have to provide our own), but they were SCENTED.  I'm sure the students wondered why their sub had random dots of colour on her nose!  

During the break, we all rushed the windows to take photos of the double rainbow!

Came home to find that my won t-shirts had arrived and the official tour photos were printed.

I've yet to succumb to the vile orange of the 'Hook 'Em Horns' UT mania around here.

I'm just to the left of the microphone--wearing a black t-shirt.  Can you see me?

joy of walking

Yes.  Out to the hills again for a lovely hike.  Trying to get them in before the heat hits triple digits and it won't be safe to do so. 

"Now, shall I walk or shall I ride?

'Ride,' Pleasure said;

'Walk,' Joy replied."

~William Henry Davies

maidenhead ferns

And one really cannot walk by a stream and not hear Thoreau's lines about Time~ghosting through the brain cells that absorbed several semesters of American Lit.

Also heard fragments from one of my favorite Vaughan Williams songs as I hiked up the final hill:

Give the face of earth around,

And the road before me.

Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,

Nor a friend to know me;

All I seek, the heaven above,

And the road below me.

~from The Vagabond

self incentive

or bribery, if you prefer--is how I am getting through the final weeks of school.  Today I explored a new hike along the Colorado River.

Love how spring is bringing new colours of wildflowers every week.

Doesn't look like much, but it's a burbling bit of the creek at the Wild Basin Conservatory.

Source of diamonds--gorgeous spider web.

 Interesting pitting in the rock.

 And the true bribe, locally produced gelato with divinely embedded chunks of dark chocolate.

lazy hazy days

As the thunderstorms are rolling through here all weekend, all hiking and festival outings are postponed; time to rejoice that there's a new 800+page Clancy book which I snagged at the library yesterday.  Bogart seems to approve.

Found this on Pinterest and it fit my mood and is a homage to my favorite little niecelet who is turning five today.

(Bonus points if you can name the earworm of a song from which the title came!)

meant to journey

The following is in an ad for Colorado tourism, but I thought it was a gorgeous thought for anyone's life:

We do not have to stay behind a yellow line.

Or keep our hands and feet inside the vehicle.

We are meant to take journeys.

To share stories with strangers.

And make bold promises to ourselves.

Because when we do,

life rewards us.

Echoes of Goethe's quote about boldness having genius, power and magic.

And on that lofty note, I wish you a fabulous Friday.

what's in your garden?

Planting some this weekend!

things grammatical

& things miraculous

baby hummingbirds on top of the wind chimes in the parents' California yard

um-hm

While perhaps it's a twinge of guilt, all the gushings on fb about how great one's gym workout is are getting irritating.  Or that nifty little "MapTracker"! so we can see how buff they are.  We. Don't. Care.

marketable

in the details

Happy garden in the morning sun.

Thrilled with my jasmine;  they were little 12" twigs when I brought them home and they're doing their best to provide some privacy.

Thought I'd taken a photo from standing up to show how teensy these blooms are--they are the size of a pencil eraser.  Oh so pretty when you stick your face close to the ground.

After a week of miasma and brownish skies, it was glorious to see the clear blue again.  And as it is perfect hiking weather, went back to Wild Basin to get in a few miles of fresh air.

Yes, I went to find the crystal spiders again.  Still have no idea what the wire cage is for, but someone on staff has a sense of whimsy.

Scored a gorgeous Ann Taylor skirt at a Goodwill.

Details of the buttons, beading and embroidery.

 Delish local wildflower honey and a penny found.

The flowers have gone crazy here; miles of them everywhere.  Beautiful.

cracks of light

In addition to the large-scale disasters that occurred this week, on our campus, we had our own sadness and tragedy-- two elementary students lost their father.  So pleased to see a group of the 6th grade galvanize their grade and the 4th graders in making sympathy cards for their classmates.  They asked to use my classroom during lunch to assemble gift baskets.

Their finished product.  It's quiet, but it's a breath-taking thing to watch their unprompted caring/compassion and the way they're wading into grief with their friends.

bloomin'

These were not there yesterday morning!  Now, if my neighbors would stop smoking, I could have my window open to hear the crickets singing and to enjoy the waft of jasmine.  Still waiting for the gardenias to blossom.

let it be

Am rather thrilled that I snagged a ticket to hear Sir Paul when he comes to Austin next month.  Every once in awhile it hits me that I am going to see/hear one of THE BEATLES.

It's a nice glimmer in this rather bleak week of bombs & blasts & local tragedies.

it all depends

Somewhat tongue-in-check illustration to describe this week.  Have had intriguing conversations and classes regarding media saturation, mental health and public safety.  The husband of a former voice teacher knows my love of poetry and shared this with me yesterday.  It sums up my philosophy quite eloquently.

(Chinese symbol for 'individual'.)

It Is I Who Must Begin

~Vaclav Havel 

It is I who must begin. 

Once I begin, 

once I try-- 

here and now, 

right where I am,

not excusing myself 

by saying things 

would be easier elsewhere, 

without grand speeches and 

ostentatious gestures, 

but all the more persistently 

to live in harmony 

with the "voice of Being," as I 

understand it within myself 

as soon as I begin that, 

I suddenly discover, 

to my surprise, that 

I am neither the only one, 

nor the first, 

nor the most important one 

to have set out upon that road. 

Whether all is really lost 

or not depends entirely on 

whether or not I am lost.

voila!

Pretty little gravels found in the floral section of Michael's--rather oddly.  But am pleased with the result.

repeat

Posted this last December & wonder how many more times this will be an appropriate posting.

And I keep repeating the lyrics from the new song with which Bon Jovi opened his concert:

This world is cracked and crazy,
Say one of your pretty prayers for me.