a learning life

Working with a student one-on-one is a task, a risk, and a great opportunity.

Every day for a little bit now I've been working with one student in particular starting in the morning. He does most of the work. And yet, we both learn.

He learns how to write a sentence, over and over again, being reminded of starting with a capital letter and capitalizing names of people and places.

He relearns how to use an apostrophe, Scout's brother Jem; its country life: Maycomb County. (Of course, he's my inspiration for re-reading, re-membering, re-learning To Kill a Mockingbird.)

I learn how to get out of his way; how to let him resist; how to give him the space to process what's important to him and what's not. It's up to him. Not me.

And sometimes while he writes or thinks or daydreams, I flip through Siddhartha and land on quotes worth considering and learning how to incorporate into my life. Like "...one must find the source within oneself. Everything else {is} seeking; a detour, an error."

Yes.

While we do school work he's also growing some zinnia, here at my house. He checks on them, when reminded. Without the reminder, the zinnia will die. Who is responsible? Him or me? Both of us, I think. There's no difference between us when it comes to the zinnia 'cause they need water.

If you're a fruit and veggie person, those who know suggest this: Buy the Clean 15 Fruits and Veggies that don't need to be Organic to be Safe to Eat: asparagus / cabbage / avocado / broccoli / kiwi / mango / onion / papaya / pineapple / watermelon / tomato / eggplant / corn / sweet potato &

And be vigilant of the Dirty Others, recommending that you Buy only Organic of these because of the use of pesticides on them: Peaches / celery / apples / bell pepper / kale / lettuces / grapes / pears / carrots / nectarines / strawberries / cherries
Spring continues to flair in Asheville, every day new growth, new color and the fading of other; we had two days of really cold weather last week, but the turn has been made, and the heat is on.

And the birds are busy and singing a lot. My friend (and a teacher) Ronnie pointed out a mockingbird this morning sitting on a telephone wire; she said they have a big song repertoire. Sitting on the wire, she knew the bird by its long tail and incessant song; this morning, he was singing to her (Ronnie); or to his babies; or to his mate, she guessed.

She knows her birds and flowers and how to do things like use a weedeater. At 86, she's buying one today at Lowe's! Maybe she'll teach me how to use it.
But first a trip to New Orleans where a new teacher is soon to come. Big aflutter in my home town. A baby, a new life. What will she teach us? Who will she be? Ah, more to learn, more to learn, always more to learn.

Returning to my Roots

Literature. Siddhartha, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the newest Pulitzer Prize winner A Visit from the Goon Squad. Falling in love with reading when I was about 27, it's been a mainstay for many years! And getting to read with younger people than myself is a treat; mothers read to children, dads do too; librarians read to groups; book groups read to each other; radio hosts and authors read aloud to fans and fanatics. Reading gives and gives and gives.
In our pursuit to read Barnes and Noble has become a Saturday Disney Land. Families, singles, couples, groups, loners, seekers, readers, kids. Everyone gathers there, in and out, the doors open and close, thresholds to magazines, music, books, each other, journals, cards, calendars and more. The place is a teacup ride.

The coffee shop buzzes as peeps eat sweets and imbibe mochas and au laits, fruit drinks and teas, hot and cold. Drizzling with chocolate, strawberry, caramel, we're diving in. And until the stimulation wears off, or becomes too much, we stay, sit, stray, loaf, wander, meander and glide up the escalator to the second floor where I found a table and chair to myself, with three books and two mags for some reading, some pondering, some looking out the window, some comparing, and some contrasting.

Skinny Bitch is an author I've heard women talk about, but, because of my obsession with not reading what's popular, have not pursued. That is, until the book caught my eye. Delightful, smart, colorful, informative, this is a cookbook for any body, any palate, any time. Yum, yum, yum. With a 13% off coupon, would this be my next book?

Barnes and Noble is here to stay it seems as it's feeling less like a big business and more like an independent bookstore. Employees are super friendly, resourceful, and committed to customer service. The store is centered around the Nook kiosk, and people were milling around and keeping the sales guy busy. He looked pleased to be interacting instead of standing idle. B&N badges are everywhere and employees seem planted all over the store for helpful guidance.

Returning to the second floor, this book vied for the 13% coupon competition: Harold Bloom's The Anatomy of Influence. Ever the wishful intellectual, I can hardly follow one sentence to the next with this venerable man, a Yale professor, so I take it slow and find myself returning to Barnes and Noble in order to read this book. It's not for buying, but for using as a motivator to reading more, educating myself in what literarily I don't know ( A LOT more than I know ). At home, I found Hart Crane's To Brooklyn Bridge in a Literature Anthology. The poem Bloom suggests is as important as Eliot's Wasteland. It's a mighty read for a mighty bridge.
Two magazines remained to consider: Eating Well and Real Simple. Neither was compelling enough for the prized coupon, 13 percent off on the weekend of Friday the 13th in May. Perusing magazines is like eating hard candy, nutritionally weak, sweet in passing, and cheap now but expensive later. Maybe the coupon would end up in the recycle bin. Checking the time, Scout in the car, having given myself an hour at the min. and hour + 30 max, it was time for me to go. Escalator down, walking step by step (Tina J!) the Buy 2 get 1 Free table blocked my quick exit. Caught! for another five minutes in Disney World, B & N got their coupon back and Bill Bryson's Shakespeare: The World as Stage is now at my bedside.

Returning to Literature seems natural right now, and returning to my roots is always a welcome step on this journey.

That's all for now and if you've gotten this far, if you're reading this at all, thanks and cheers to healthy pursuits!

Source: dinneralovestory.com

75 degree growth

Zinnia grow with sunlight. So do peony and lavender, rosemary and oregano! How great the gardens are around West Asheville and the neighborhood Scout and I meander by day after day. Is there ever a reason to leave? It's a wonder that we seek somewhere else. Even with all the incredible weather we've had, sunshine, rain, thunder and more sunshine, and even a chill in the air seemingly a winter day, the Spring has come.

even in the bleakest yards

spring is arriving in asheville..........even though it snowed flakes of snow last night, she's arriving in all her light pink glory.....praise the fruit trees, the dogwoods, the birds tweeting news of sunshine and new grass. maybe they sense that bird feeders are full as humans awaken to our own awakeness, newly discovering what is always here: life.
even in the bleakest yards, colors amplify our senses. spring is the season of love bursting like it's never been felt before. winter has taken its toll for sure, again, but wait here's spring reminding us of love. how could we forget? easy! because putting on coats and hats and gloves and layers upon layers makes us forget. winter's hard. so we get spring to balance us out! hooray for the universe; she's the best mother nature ever.
so. enjoy your spring, however it's transforming you. good luck with your gardens, your planting, your reaping what you sow!

all in a day's play

Spring Forward

What an opportunity. I wondered how I might help the Japanese people, and walking into Earthfare found the way. There were five young girls outside the store representing the Red Cross. Accepting checks, I wrote one out to them and walked away. How easy! Thanks girls.

It's the day of Springing forward. We 'lose' an hour, adjusting to different light in our day. Earlier this morning, the day ahead looked hard; drama wanted to kick in and my thinking wanted to take off about how inconvenient this change would be. Phoo on me because now as I sit here writing at 3:44 pm, the day has been easy. So much for my thinking!

As much as I am an advocate for healthy eating, and I mean healthy eating---salads at McDonalds don't count----I do believe in m&m's once in a while, and therefore have created this Spring Forward granola. It's good!

She's flirting with us, Spring

Short Stories are feeding me lately....with rice cakes at my side...... Mmmmm, mmmm, good stuff, reading and rice cakes. They go so good together. Especially as the sun comes through the blinds and the heat warms folded legs. It's a Friday afternoon and I'm reading in the sun. Pssst, psst, Spring is Coming.....in all her Regalia, lillies and daffodils, svelte and audacious, she's on her way. Little sprites are popping out of the ground; to see them along the path is to be surprised, an instant smile inside. They are sneaky, little messengers, harbingers of long days to come. ....Maybe you'll find time to read a short story or two:

Gryphon by Charles Baxter......is magical! Or John Updike's ("Writing is a way of taming the world, turning the inchoate, often embarrassing stream into a package.") A & P. Let's just say the first one took me by surprise. I get a woman like Helena Bonhem Carter as the teacher in this story, just nutty and beauty and funny and fun! And in the second, a particular grocery store comes to mind each time I read it. I love that story, A&P.

Scout is here, the sun is out, and Spring is flirting with us. What could be better?