Monthly Archives: July 2014
Rejoice in Sadness
My friend Mary died yesterday. She wasn’t my best friend or even someone I spoke to or saw often. She was a “lady at church”. She hugged me at greeting time on Sunday morning and wrote me an occasional note and a birthday card every year. She read my novel and encouraged me to write some … Continue reading
No cats in America
If you’ve ever seen the old movie An American Tail, you may remember that when the mice are getting ready to move to America, they are told that there are “no cats in America”. They are heading off to a perfect land of milk and honey. Karl and I have used that phrase over the … Continue reading
Home again.
I arrived back on my island home from Mount Vernon on Monday – more about that in a minute. I loved being at Mount Vernon, and I have some great ideas of lesson plans I want to do with my kids this year. I don’t think we spend enough time (I know I never have!) … Continue reading
Mount Vernon Day Four
When I first began this journey towards being a history geek four years ago, I knew very little about George Washington. In the first book I read about him and his role in the French and Indian War, I was not impressed. At first glance, he seemed arrogant and aloof, and I didn’t get what … Continue reading
Mount Vernon Day 3
First off, If you’ve read my Day 1 post, I need to correct a mistake – those were not hawks, they were river hawks, also knows as ospreys. They are actually really interesting birds – they are the only bird of prey to live solely on fish! If you ever come to Mount Vernon, you … Continue reading
Mount Vernon Day Two
This has been a long, wonderful day. I got up at 5 am so that I could watch the sunrise over the Potomac from the piazza of the mansion. It wasn’t a spectacular sunrise, but it was enough. This afternoon we took a tour of the farming part of the estate. Washington was an innovator … Continue reading
Mount Vernon, Virginia – Day One
As you know, during the last three summers I spent time studying American History on trips with a group of teachers involved with the Teaching American History grant. I didn’t think that I was going to succumb to my inner geek this summer when we decided that we were going to St. Croix, but then … Continue reading
Ministry – part two (Plus a bug followup)
I’ve gotten a lot of feedback about the mouse-sized bug I mentioned last time. I just want to add a tiny bit. First off, I’ve only seen two of those big guys. The second one was just today. I was precariously sitting atop the floor joists in the new bathroom (no, the floor isn’t down … Continue reading
