random reflections

It's Only Wednesday

It's only Wednesday and I've done four new layouts (you can see them in the photo album on the sidebar), finished a great book (Three Cups of Tea), entertained four for dinner last night, and spent an hour and a half today having lunch with four of my best friends. If this keeps up it will be one great summer! Here's my favorite of the layouts.

It's Monday?

Today was, finally, the last day of school for staff. Tracy and I celebrated by going to see a late matinee performance of Prairie Home Companion. It was a lot of fun and Meryl Streep is especially good. So, it really seems like Friday, not Monday. I can't quite get it through my head. Good friends are coming for dinner tomorrow night, too--on a Tuesday?? So confusing. Must be vacation.

Clean & Ready

I spent my first weekend of summer vacation returning items we didn't need for the wedding, buying a few goodies, and organizing (once again) my studio. I found some great baskets with striped linings and lids yesterday. Today I bought four of them, using my return from yesterday and a nice gift certificate two friends gave me for my birthday. My studio is actually pretty small so it needs to stay organized. I've transformed the closet into more organization, but it needs to stay pretty neat unless I'm in the midst of a layout or project. Then stuff is all over the desk and floor. But now I'm ready. I know what I've got (plenty to get through the summer and then some), and I know where it is!

The Target bookcases with the new baskets.

My desk (from Staples many years ago). Next to it is the cabinet my husband built for me when I first became a rubber stamper--almost 15 years ago.

School's Out!

Well, almost. The kids finished on Thursday but the staff in our district still has to report on Monday. What a pain!! I'm all done so I'll work on sorting and cleaning out my binders for each unit. So I'm free to scrap and make cards. I was doing a great job last night--made a sympathy card and a retirement card--when I got an email from my s0n-in-law saying the wedding photos were up. Of course I had to see every one of the nearly 800 photographs and wanted to view them in slide show mode, so that was the end of card making. Jill and Mike did a wonderful job and there are so many to choose from. You can take a peek at them here.

You Can Tell It’s Almost Summer

Report cards are done, my classroom is organized and almost clean. There is just one week left for kids, but one day is field day, one is our Newbery Book Fair, and one is a trip to Darien Lake. I went to the library tonight to pick up our next book group selection—The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean and found another book top on my list as well as a perennial beach book. Typically I'd bring home only the book group book, but I grabbed all three tonight. Here’s my list for the summer:

Three Cups of Tea:  One Man’s Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations. . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  I saw copies of this in Atlanta in April and it took all my restraint not to buy a copy of it. The library had one tonight so this will be tops on the list.

Light from Heaven by Jan Karon. I’ve read all the Mitford Years novels and liked most of them. This is supposedly the last.

Lizzie’s War by Tim Farrington. I’ve already started this one and like it a lot. Farrington’s first book The Monk Downstairs was one of my favorites a few years ago.

Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon.  I’ve read most of her books and like them all. It’s a  step above the average beach book.

Shelf Life by Suzanne Strempek Shea.  I’m not sure where I picked this up, but it’s the story of a woman who quits her job and goes to work in an independent book store. I love independent book stores and am anxious to hear about her experience--and perhaps find a few new titles to read in the process.

When Jesus Came to Harvard by Harvey Cox. I started this earlier in the year and got too busy to finish it. I really enjoyed what I read of it.

Leaving Church  by Barbara Brown Taylor.  A new memoir by a religious writer I’ve always wanted to read. My daughter who goes to Columbia Theological Seminary where Taylor teachers occasionally says I’ll really like this book.

house thinking:  a room-by-room look at how we live by Winifred Gallagher. I read about this book on a blog and then ordered it from Amazon.

Secrets in the Dark:  A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner. One of my favorite authors of non-fiction. I’ve never developed a fondness for his fiction, however.

Lighting the Way:  Nine Women Who Changed Modern America by Karenna Gor Schiff.  This book got a rave review from The New York Times. I’ve read enough of it to know I like her style.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. This is our second book group selection for the summer.

Julia & Julia by Julie Powell. I also read a great review of this in The New York Times, and then found it on the bargain table.

Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter. I’ve wanted to read this for a while. I heard an interview with Carter on the Larry King show and it’s been in the pile for some time.

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern. This is another book I read a good review of; I tried to start it earlier and had a hard time getting into it so it’s probably at the bottom of the list.

So there are more books than there are weeks of vacation and I have, of course, my scrapbook magazines and idea books to read. On the other hand, I can probably read more than one book a week when we go to Chautauqua and when we’re on our trip to Atlanta. It looks a bit overwhelming, but the idea that I could actually have the time to read them is very exciting.

Ramblings

It seemed like a really long week. The weather was so unstable and my allergies didn’t like it at all. Only nine school days with kids left and only 11 total. I am so ready for summer vacation – my first in six years. I’m sure I’ll miss the summer school pay, but a whole two months to exercise, read, scrapbook, and work on my photography sounds really wonderful right now.

Lynn and I had a great time at CKC Buffalo. I was a bit disappointed in my classes. I’ll know how to choose better another time. The one class I really did like was sponsored by Simple Scrapbooks (my favorite scrapbook magazine, so no surprise).

Lynn and I took patterned paper and a Scrapbook Trends article called “Twelve Cards for $12.” It was easy to pack the supplies, and we each finished eight cards Friday night in our hotel room. I used the new Paper Loft papers, stickers and tags. They’re a bit brighter than my usual style but I’m happy with them. Fun for summer birthdays.

We’ve been getting more photos of the wedding from Tracy’s brother and sister. I don’t get tired of looking at them. What a happy day! What a happy couple! It’s amazing to me that we got the only perfect day weather-wise that we’ve had in the last five weekends. Lucky us. Here are a few more pictures: Sarah and Adam, Sarah and Matthew, and the beautiful flowers done by my sister-in-law.

Tracy and I got a wonderful invitation to go to Chautauqua for three days with his mother and stepfather. Years ago we took Sarah and Matt and went with Grandma and Grandpa for a week and had a wonderful time. I think we went three years in a row.  We haven’t been back in many years and we’re really looking forward to it.  It’s Education Week so there’ll be interesting lectures as well as plenty of relaxing time and great entertainment. We’ll be there on the Fourth and I remember the fireworks over the lake as quite wonderful.