power of words

With all the divisive, ugly, and truly damaging rhetoric flying around the globe at present~took the opportunity at last night's Small Community gathering to talk about the power of words.  Then, I taped a blank piece of paper on everyone's back and handed out markers.  They spent several jabbering moments running around the room and writing compliments on each other's backs.  

I've done this exercise before~there's something about the pseudo-anonymity that works for honest kind words to just pour out. 

We spent the rest of the time playing Scrabble and Bookopoly and most of them talked about how worried they are about getting back into the US at the end of Spring Break.

While I've had some wild conversations with students~this topic is a new and scary one.

But, for this one night~we ate Valentine candy and had shrieking fun over board games with our international friends/classmates.

bery cute

To use my 'phew's adjective~admire my new mug from BAM.  Hoping snow comes today, so that I may put it good use with hot beverages.

celebration

Beautiful little sprite. 

Big brother was all action in assisting with the present opening. 

Darling wooden play house.

Hanging on to her balloons. 

Time for cake!

Fire eater.

Party napkins. 

How one does gusto.

Mango sorbet to polish off the delish tofu we had for Chinese New Year.  A gorgeous weekend on all levels.

snow day

Snow bunny~ready to hit the slopes.  Or, at least the tubing hill.

Very fun outing with lots of spinning down the hillside.

field trippin'

All y'all know how I love a good field trip~and some of my favorite ones are the ones that I take myself on. As yesterday was a half-day, I scooted up to Baltimore to catch the Matisse/Diebenkorn exhibit before it left.  It was my first visit to the museum, so I enjoyed roaming around the rest of the galleries.

For some reason, Chagall makes me smile.

From 2012, but still pretty funny.

It's not quite my room of pennies that I loved in Austin, but this beaded curtain was lots of fun to click-clack through.  Wonder if the guard standing next to it can hear beads clicking on his days off? 

Random copper box~thought it was cool to see reflections in it.

This was an ugly sculpture from the outside, but once you stood inside and twirled, it was like being inside a kaleidoscope~definitely will go back to this.

Couldn't get the focus to work because of the glass glare, but this was made by rubbing a basketball in street grime in Harlem and then bouncing it on the canvas.  You could see the ball seams~rather interesting.  A little drab to hang in one's living room, though.

Hard to see, but this is a carved painting. 

Always take a shot of any Rothko for my friend, Angela.

This was the coolest thing~impossible to see via a photo.  This was an air shaft/cut away between floors and they angled mirrors so that you were never quite sure where/what you were seeing.  If I leaned one way, I could see myself, another direction and I would another floor.  This particular shot was of a visitor on the floor below. 

Shower curtain of Dave Eggers prose.

And finally, some delish pizza at Joe Squared.  A lovely city outing.

respite

Whee~it's Long Winter Weekend and I am hitting the road and shaking the dust of this village life.  Going to my favorite waffle joint in DC to celebrate my favorite niece's second birthday.

Thirty years ago,

our President told a world leader to tear down a wall.  Today, I read that our current leader is signing orders to build one.  As I sat in our Lunar New Year celebration, my head could not absorb this fact.

it's raining, it's pouring

Hard to see in this photo, but my classroom windows were waterfalls throughout first and second periods today. 

With the dismal weather and even more dismal political swirl of a Monday, it was great to have another small community baking project. 

By the end of the evening, all 8 girls were in my itty-bitty kitchen.  Not sure why, when I have a lovely living room.

Our gifts to all the local law/emergency personal~most of whom we keep in business!