girl on a train

Between storms. 

Think train travel is my favorite mode of transportation~after walking, of course. 

Wandered through Dupont Circle as my favorite patisserie was having a chocolate tasting. 

The most interesting flavor was the rose~it was like eating perfume.

seeing the good things

"Life was full of good things, only most of the time they flew right past a person's nose before she had the common sense to pluck the feathers out of her nostrils."

~Emilie Richards

I think I may need this shoe.

just some beautiful words

"The old threads are unraveling,
Get your needles ready.
We are stitching a new quilt
of humanity.

Bring your old t-shirts,
worn out jeans, scarves,
antique gowns, aprons,
old pockets of plenty
who have held Earth's treasures,
stones, feathers, leaves,
love notes on paper.

Each stitch
A mindful meditation.
Each piece of material
A story.

The more colour the better,
so call in the tribes.
Threads of browns, whites,
reds, oranges
Women from all nations
start stitching.

Let's recycle the hate, the abuse,
the fear, the judgment.
Turn it over, wash it clean,
ring it out to dry.
It's a revolution
of recycled wears.

Threads of greens, blues, purples
Colourful threads
of peace, kindness,
respect, compassion
are being stitched
from one continent to the next
over forests, oceans, mountains.

The work is hard
Your fingers may bleed.
But each cloth stitched together
Brings together a community.
A world, our future world
Under one colourful quilt.
The new quilt of humanity."

~Julia Myers

And this really has nothing to do with the poem, just love this illustration by Diana Lapshina.

oh, that pesky grain of hope

While we're nowhere near the new year~school or calendar, I saw these on my walk and immediately this poem popped into my head.

For the New Year, 1981

I break off a fragment
to send you.

Please take this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won’t shrink.

Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.

Only so, by division,
will hope increase,

like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source—
clumsy and earth-covered—
of grace.

~Denise Levertov

Looking forward to when this half a block's worth of peonies bursts into bloom~going to haunt this section of the street for the next couple of days to see it happen!

And this deliciousness just happened! First corn of the season.

little bunny foo foo

I've seen this little guy several times and finally caught a still pose.

More of the 'hood in bloom. 

Grateful that I've yet to see any snakes or ticks~both are supposedly super active this spring in the region. No doubt you'll hear a shriek if I see either.

dollars to doughnuts

is such a strange saying. But today, some doughnuts appeared during lunch for Teacher Appreciation. While it was a nice gesture, none of us teachers ate any. Empty calories of chain sugar/grease just aren't appealing. 

How ungrateful do I sound??

What I am grateful for~are the myriad teachers who have taught me and who have taught beside me~my life is rich with the stellar energies and creative stamina of these educators.

astonishment

These are all photos from Google Images~as I have opted to not take photos while I commute on narrow winding roads. The azaleas have gone MAD this week and there are a few dogwood left. I feel as though I'm driving through some enchanted world~all gasping and gaping.  

This is my weekly view of the Potomac when I zip up to Bethesda for music lessons. Someday, I need to walk across the bridge, so I can stare at the vista.

May your day contain some bits of spring beauty as well.

Aunting moments.

Happy, on a plate.

The California fish 'phews enjoying a cookie break.

Three weeks old and highly alert,

when not sleeping. 

Rainy day, bubble fun.

this one's for Uncle Bob

Had a true day off, so of course, I hopped on Metro to see some sights~despite the 90+ humidity.

I ended up at the Smithsonian National Post Office Museum~per usual, a fascinating visit.

This is the first piece of mail from the moon in 1971~postmarked on the Apollo 15. 

A highly organized mail car. 

John Hancock's use of a stamp and all that ensued.

Part of the atrium. 

Out of sequence~but part of the railway sorting system. 

It was a highly-interactive museum~you get to use this zip code machine to see how accurate you can be. I did fairly well considering the numbers go 9876, 5 and 0 are the long keys, and then 1234.

And!! I got to create my own stamp~one modern and one from the olden days.

Another day of enlightenment and amusement at a Smithsonian.

may the fo(u)rth be with you

Sometimes I feel as though my joys are redundant and then I realized~it doesn't matter. The small joys are the ones that appear the most. So. Once again, my students bring me such joy.

Ta-da!!! I stalked this guy for most of my walk and I finally got a good shot!! Now I need a new photographic goal.

spring, sprang, sprung

I am determined to get a good shot of a cardinal while in this region. 

Not so long ago, this horse was frost-covered and bedecked with plaid Christmas ribbons. Now, he waits among azaleas. End of the work week~very grateful to have a few quiet hours~I don't know if I've ever talked so intensely prior to this.

National Chocolate Day

One of my students saw on the school calendar that today is National Chocolate Day~since she thought we shouldn't wait until lunch for the truffles, she brought some of her Swiss stash for the morning session.

And what a session it was!! One of the best things about teaching (once you've done it a few years) is the unexpectedness that can occur.  Today's lesson was supposed to be half computer lab creating a presentation on their country and, half on colours. As you can see from the board, we spiraled into braiding hair and the difference between ivory/cream and high heels/wedges. Polka dots and stripes entered in as well. It was hilarious. (And I'm sure the sole male student would be grateful to know that he missed all this with his absence today.) It's an equal class for once, as none of the students speak each other's language and they have to use English. We're learning bits of Arabic, Mongolian, and Portuguese as we tell our stories.

The tray o' truffles that appeared at lunch time.

don't know about the future,

but today was certainly bright enough to wear shades. First day I've sought shaded parking in a loooong time!

Gorgeous little violets all along the trail.

One of the last dogwoods still in full bloom. 

A patch of delight for a child...and maybe I did use one to make a wish. 

My students are starting to be braver and to relax with their language skills~so the element of fun is returning. And for now? I am grateful that I'm not teaching music lessons tonight and can sit under the ceiling fan with a good book and not talk for a few hours.

Happy May!!