
Pleasures from the Page
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I retired from teaching at the end of the 2013-14 school year. I spent the last nine years of my teaching career in 6th grade where I taught Language Arts and Social Studies. I'm an avid reader, a lover of learning, and a fledgling writer.
Pleasures from the Page
2d ago
Robert Hamera is hosting our SJT gathering for February with the theme of closing doors/opening doors. You can read his post and find links to the posts of fellow travelers here.
Perhaps I could look at my focus for this new year of moving from do to be as a type of closing the chaotic door of too much doing and striving . . . to the peaceful opening of a door to trust God's love and to cherish time to be in His presence.
I chose my One Little Word for 2025, be, and almost immediately started making a list. Be organized, be patient, be kind, be grateful, be joyful, be me, be gentle, be ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
1w ago
I envy my blogging friends who write about their reading each week. I've never felt up to that task. Even though I love to read, I'm a slow reader and amazed at the book lists some friends share.
Tonight I'll be zooming with a group of online friends to share our favorite reads of 2025. I belong to several book clubs: one from Seattle, one in Greensboro, and one composed of three friends who read together to stay connected (we don't meet every month).
Sometimes, I feel that my book clubs keep me from reading what I want to read, but the overall benefit of staying connected with old frien ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
2w ago
My youngest grandson has just begun attending Primary after our worship service on Sunday mornings. They have to be three years old and don't make the move into Primary until the new year begins in January. Before that, they attend nursery with all the children from 18 months through 3 years of age. It's a big transition and it was only Ollie's second time because our church was cancelled due to snow during the second week of January.
Last Sunday after church his mom inquired, " Ollie, how was Singing Time today?"
"Good, we did "Church, Party, and Play'."
After a moment's reflection, his mom a ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
3w ago
The grand boys (7, 5, and 3) came over for a visit last week. Just so you get an idea about what that was like, their Christmas card this year included this line: "From our merry mayhem to yours." They loved that our tree was still up. I've always been slow to take it down, but I don't put it up by Thanksgiving either. They enjoyed looking at all of our decorations, from our corn husk angel on the entryway table (30+ years old) to a more recent wooden decoration featuring a tree and a snowman with a lighted star on top of tree and the words "Oh Joy!" It had spent part of the season on the bedr ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
1M ago
Margaret at Reflections on the Teche is hosting our first Thursday Spiritual Journey posts with a call to share our OLW for 2025. She selected this beautiful waterfall photo to accompany our 2025 writing journeys.
One of the challenges of choosing a OLW involves looking back at the previous year's word. I kept "gather "for a 2nd year since 2023 became a wild ride when we decided to follow our daughter and family in a move from Washington state to North Carolina. Suddenly, I found myself purging once again (not gathering) in preparation for a move to a smaller space. I kept the same poem I ha ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
2M ago
Kim is hosting our monthly Spiritual Journey gathering for December.
Thanks, Kim, for the warm endorsement of Katherine May's Wintering:The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. It seems like the kind of book that one would want to own in order to mark favorite passages. I'm adding it to my Christmas wish list. I enjoyed reading quotes from the book at goodreads and discovered this quote that definitely resonated with me:
"I often turn to children's books at times like these, when I'm yearning to escape into a world that is beautifully rendered and complex, yet soothingly familia ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
2M ago
A grand adventure
picnics outside, stories read, bread baked,
moments to treasure.
Friends gather, sharing
faith, food, laughter, challenges.
Cherished connections.
A backyard surprise
to share with family and friends
sweet, juicy peaches.
- Ramona Behnke
Join us at the poetry playground for Poetry Friday,
hosted today by Linda Baie at Teacher Dance ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
2M ago
Once I finish the March Slice of Life Writing Challenge, I find it hard to find something to say once a week. I wrote one slice in April and now I'm aiming for two in May.
We had a lovely play date today. We started at one playground, ambled around the Arboretum (my first time there), stopped to enjoy a snack, started a book we found at The Little Free Library, explored the sun dial, scootered on the smooth and spacious and shady sidewalks, collected specimens, and spent the last half hour swinging at a second playground. Everyone knows that I love to document my walks and adventur ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
3M ago
Our host for Spiritual Journey Thursday in November is Linda Mitchell. She invited us to write about her one little word for this year, world: "My world, your world, our world."
Words comfort me during hard times and good times. I'm enjoying the many words shared by poets and writers this past week. A good friend shared three children's books she loves on Facebook. That encouraged me to share a couple of my favorite children's books that speak to this time.
I recently requested (again) The Mouse Who Carried A House On His Back from the library. It is a book that I need to purchase. The messag ..read more
Pleasures from the Page
3M ago
A dear friend sent me this poem from Facebook by Brian Bilston (he gave me permission to share).
It arrived with these sweet words from my BFF:
"Thought of you, little boys, a bench under trees in fall & giggles."
I love that friends think of me when they read poetry.
Head over to Carol's blog, Beyond Literacy Link,
for this week's round-up of all things fall,
a collection of original poems, quotes, and galleries
that will delight your senses.
  ..read more