Current favorite mysteries

Recently bought some paperbacks by a new to me writer, Ann Purser. The first one was Murder on Monday. The main character is a funny, feisty cleaner in a small village in England. The author lives in a small village and loves to read mysteries, too. After I finished the first book I recommended it to Mr. M. We are trying to find the rest of the series at the library but only a few are available in our local branch.
Looked for a photo of the book cover. No luck.
Had a good Christmas with everyone here for supper. Now the tree is packed away. Maybe I will get some sewing done next week.
New beginnings in a few days.

Must Read Mysteries

Someone wrote in last Sunday's paper about 6 must read mystery novels. I want to check them out, not sure if I have read all of them. So I thought I would list them here and maybe later write my thoughts.
1. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes, of course)
2. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (think I have read this)
3. The Moving Target by Ross Macdonald
4. Strangers on a Train byPatricia Highsmith (was this a movie?)
5. A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George (read some of her books)
6. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

I am reading a series by Ann Purser. I bought the first one but found some at the library. The cover says it is for fans of the British cozy with a twist. Whatever it is called, I'm enjoying reading them.

All for now.

What, me, write for an encyclopedia?

Well, sort of an encyclopedia. I have been asked and accepted to write 3000 words on the topic "Building Vocabulary through think-aloud/read aloud". Oh, Yes! I think I can write about that.

The article? will be part of a volume on vocabulary for second language learners. I have looked over the writing guidelines. I think I can do this. I want to do a great job.

Of course, no money is involved in this writing opportunity. But I have wanted to write a journal article and didn't really know where to start.

Looking back at my title, I remembered when we got encyclopedias at our house. I was nine years old. Whenever I didn't have a book to read, I would read the encyclopedias. Which probably led to my know-it-all attitude. What can I say?

Psyching myself up. This is just a little longer than one national board entry. I can do this!

What I'm listening to and remembering

Since my favorite radio station has been fund raising this past week, I have been listening to my Celtic Woman CDs as I drive around town. And when I listen to Celtic Woman I remember the concert we enjoyed at Red Rocks a few years ago.

It was a birthday present to me. Joey and Jessie still lived in the Denver area and we all went to the concert. I know it's not their music style but the concert was wonderful and the venue is outstanding. I wanted to get on stage and sing with CW. So glad we went and I can visualize the concert when I listen to their music.

My life has been about music, listening, singing, playing, and performing. I am so thankful for music.

Some Times I Feel Like a Motherless Child

When I was a teenager I would play the piano and sing sad songs and feel sorry for myself. After looking at posts on Facebook and looking at quilting blogs I'm ready to find some sad songs to play. I am overwhelmed with my lack of ability in things I thought I was good at.

And singing sad songs helps me get over feeling sorry for myself. 

For the birds, butterflies, and cats?

We have a few favorite flowers around the yard. The morning glories and cypress vines are growing on the mailbox.

I love these in the planter by the front door. They may not attract butterflies but they are very hardy and need very little attention.

This garden 'room' is outside the kitchen windows. Birds come to the two birdbaths. Butterflies and hummingbirds visit the blooms. We can watch from inside and they don't seem to notice us.

The butterfly bush blooms and blooms.

Don't know the name of these airy flowers but they have bloomed twice this summer.

Jane has to check things out every morning.

When the weather is cold and dreary, I will revisit these photos and enjoy the flowers again.

Back to the routine

It's time to get back to my work routine after a very enjoyable summer break. I haven't written anything since late April. I check  other blogs regularly but just haven't taken the time to write on this one.
This summer is the first one in about ten years that I have had the whole summer free. No summer school taking up the month of June. It has been wonderful.
First we took a trip to Rome. We saw all the touristy sights, ate wonderful food, walked, took buses and trains, and generally had a great visit.
As soon as we came back I flew to DC to take part in a test review workshop. I learned a lot about how the tests are constructed and field tested. It gave me valuable insight into how this particular test works.
The last two weeks of June I attended all of the rounds of the International Ballet Competition held here in Jackson. The dancers were incredible. I have tried to attend every time the competition is held here. This year I bought two passes to all the rounds. Different friends and relatives shared each session with me. I was glad to share the experience with them.
Another June activity was researching family history at the archives. My cousin and I found newspaper notices of my mother and her twin brother's birth and their twin cousins' birth.  Just reading about small town goings on was fun. I went back by myself to look for more birth announcements but did not find them.
July was full of sewing, reading, swimming, and yoga classes. I tried all the daytime yoga classes offered at my gym. I read a stack of books that I picked up at IRA in May. When I finished those I started on the Elm Creek Quilters series that my sister-in-law lent me. I will write more about all the books I read this summer in another post.
Two end of summer professional opportunities rounded out summer 2014. MRA Leadership was the last week end in July. I took over as president and was very pleased with the group of literacy educators who joined us this year. We hope to make a difference this year in our state, nation, and world.
Finally, last week I presented three professional development sessions for my district. Not very many people came but I'm glad I did it.
Best things about the summer-sleeping late and swimming every morning.