This is why I teach

Yesterday I ran into a former student. I wouldn't have recognized him on his own - he's taller than I am now. But his mother was with him, and she looked exactly the same as when I taught her son in third grade five years ago. They left town at the end of that school year, following dad's job to greener pastures, and I hadn't seen them since. Until yesterday.

This is a kid who came to me as a Hurricane Katrina refugee, far from home, and couldn't read. He was obviously smart; he could remember anything read to him, especially if it related to science. But he couldn't make sense of the written word.

We caught each other's eye at the same time, and the mom all but hugged me on the spot. She told me how much she's thought about me over the years, and how often she's told people how grateful she is for the year her son spent with me. She said I was the first teacher to take an interest in him and to find books for him that he'd be interested in reading. (A big shout-out here to Debbie Alvarez, our school librarian that year. I sent him to her many, many times that year for help finding books on his level that would interest him.)

His mom went on to tell me that he is a straight-A student now, and is in a youth leadership development program. They're still following dad's job and have recently moved back to the Northwest. He starts high school next year and has a promising future ahead of him.

This, in a nutshell, is why I teach.

Easter 2013

This year's Easter prep continued our annual tradition of investigating a new egg-dying process, this one using shave cream.

The first step is to spread shave cream on a pan and smooth it out.

Then, liberally sprinkle with desired food color. We used the neon variety.



Swirl to marbleize.



Roll egg in colored cream to coat.



Let dry on a rack.



After an appropriate length of time (some sources recommended a few minutes, others as long as overnight) rinse off.



 

 

The result was not as bold as we'd hoped, but prettily pastel for an Easter centerpiece.



Shave cream must be removed between each step before attempting new color combinations.



Since I hate to waste anything, I didn't want to just toss the marbleized shave cream in the trash. Realizing I was wearing a white apron, I decided to apply the colored shave cream to it. In the end, I liked my apron better than the eggs.



Easter dawned bright, clear, sunny, and warm - worth mentioning because it's only the second Easter thus described in my 13 Oregon Easter memory. This is what Easter is supposed to be like!

Emily, at 15, still enjoys receiving a Easter basket. (Sarah, off at college, received hers via care package earlier in the week.) At our house, the Easter Bunny hides the baskets, and recipients must search and find the basket before enjoying its contents. Emily's was hidden quite well this year, and it took quite some time, and a generous hint before it was discovered. She was happy to finally get it and tear into what it held.

 

It was just the three of us this year, so our schedule was our own. Larry, home from work only since 8:30, awoke to join us for Brunch before retiring again for a few hours.

This year's menu included pork roast and gravy, yellow rice, fruit salad,and blueberry muffins...

... as well as our traditional spinach nests topped with a baked egg.

This favorite is started by cooking onion, garlic and mushrooms, then adding spinach for one of my favorite combinations.



After dividing into buttered ramekins, an egg is broken onto the top of each, baked, and garnished with shredded parm. A classic Easter Brunch offering!



Dessert, much later in the day - and the only dish I didn't make - was carrot cake.



The good thing about doing a holiday brunch is that the rest of the day is wide open and as lazy as you'd like. We watched some TV, read a bit, did some inevitable laundry, and took a walk at the Nature Park. There, I was thrilled to see the first of the season's trilliums, one of my favorite native flowers. So fleeting, they only bloom now and then disappear for another year. What a lovely Easter gift!

Happy Spring!

 

Spring has sprung in our neighborhood and, my, what a beautiful spring it has been. It seems that this year Mother Nature unleashed her blossoms all at once. Some years, the trees seem to take turns blooming, but not this year. Ground to sky, we are bloomin' all over!

Braving early spring temps, the bulbs started everything off at ground level: Daffodils, of several varieties, hyacinths, grape hyacinth - my personal favorite -  and even an early tulip.





The first trees to lend color to our street, plum trees cast a pink tinge to the landscape.




Three varieties of Japanese magnolia shared center stage.








The showiest of all - even from across a field - cherry trees opened their blooms just days later.





Not to be shown up by trees, shrubs took part in the celebration, as well. Pieris, pink and white, shook their tassels.



Star Jasmine was especially showy this year.



A couple of hardy rhodies stuck out their necks at an early chance to flower.



Happy, sunny forsythia extended its wild and wonderful stems.



Oregon grape reminded us why they're the state flower.



As the earliest trees began to give up the ghost, flowering pears took their turn.



My daily walk has indeed been a breathtaking experience, in more ways than one, I'm afraid. The landscape has changed into a magical palette of colors and textures. And the unusually dry, sunny spell we've had has filled the air with wonderful scents  - and tons of pollen. I so wish I could sit outside and soak up the much-appreciated rays and floral smells of the season. Instead, I end up rubbing my itchy eyes and blotting my runny nose.

The rains have now started back and trees are beginning to leaf out. While I'll miss the lovely flowers, I won't miss my allergies!