March 8 – Our Skylight, Part 2

Denise Krebs5 Comments

March 8, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

Yesterday I wrote about our new skylight, and then around 12:30 a.m. I woke up and, noticing the brightness of the full moon coming in my window, I went out to check out the skylight. I was welcomed with this site, so I decided to write part 2 today.

Speaking of skylights, I was reminded of a story from last spring. My children gave my husband a Skylight picture frame for his birthday gift. However, before it arrived, we had to leave on a six-week trip. Here is part of our text messages on his birthday, the day after we left.

After they told us it was a skylight frame, and we thought about it for a half a minute, we said to each other, “I wonder why they chose to get that?” “How did they know what size we’re going to need? We don’t even know yet.” “I wonder how big it will be? Will the post office be able to hold it for us?”

We were curious and wondered how that was going to work, but we figure we’d know eventually.

Later that month we saw our kids in Minneapolis and they explained to us it wasn’t a skylight frame, it was a Skylight picture frame! (We had never heard of such a thing!)

When we got home from our six-week trip, we discovered that, indeed, the Post Office could hold it for us. It wasn’t very big at all! Keith had fun pretending it was our real skylight frame and testing it out for size. Then he showed them he figured it out at last!

And speaking of that full moon, here it is rising this evening…

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

 

March 7 – Skylight in My House

Denise Krebs9 Comments

March 7, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

One of the benefits of getting a new roof this week was that we also got a skylight out of the deal. This first picture was taken a little over a year ago when we moved into our house. The vented box on the ceiling was from a dinosaur of an evaporative cooler–long ago broken down–on our roof. I dreamed of a skylight window to take its place.

Fast forward, and we needed to replace our leaky roof, so it was the perfect time to get my skylight. It looked like this for a few days, while they finished the roof.

And now it looks like this! I’m delighted.

The light travels across the floors and walls of our living room in so many delightful ways.

And today the cotton ball clouds came into our house through this welcome window.

 

 

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

 

 

March 6 – A Reading Day

Denise Krebs11 Comments

March 6, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

Sunday was a lazy lovely day. After I went to the Slice of Life meet up and heard all the passionate educators sharing what they are reading, I was inspired. You see, I have been neglecting my reading. So, I made this chilly and windy day one to sit and read.

First I finished Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes–what a precious novel in verse, all written in tankas, five-line poems with syllable counts of 5-7-5-7-7. What a feat. The character development and storytelling was beautiful and compelling, all in such limited words. Here is a summary of the book in a tanka.

Garvey smart, unsure
Football? Or chess and sci-fi?
He knows what Dad wants, but
He follows his path, now he
And Dad connect with music

Then I started a John Grisham novel The Confession because my husband just finished and enjoyed it. I wanted something easy to read before I tackle two books for book studies starting this month. Tomorrow I’ll start reading White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao (with @kindcotton) and On Critical Race Theory by Victor Ray (with @taniastake)

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!

March 5 – Golden Moments

Denise Krebs4 Comments
Wise words I return to often are these: “You’re either in your head, or you’re in your life.” And I want to be in my life!
What if our only purpose really is to be present? To shine?
Like light.
The quote above is from a recent blog post of Irene Latham, award-winning poet and author. Do visit and enjoy her post here. I took a portion of her quote and wrote a golden shovel poem. The Golden Shovel poetry form was created by Terrance Hayes.  “Golden shovel poetry is a poetic form that takes a word from each line of an existing poem and uses them as the last word of each line in a new poem.” ~MasterClass definition, and you can read more here.
What can I say except this day is precious and
if it must be my last, I will live it contentedly.
Our world will go on without me, and finally
only LOVE will prevail. But if I get another day, on
purpose I will live it–
really live it. Even if it
is just sitting inside, staying warm,
to read and write, I can still
be here, in this place, fully alive, opening this sweet
present.
~Denise Krebs

 

On another note: Grandparenting is not for sissies. The day after my grandbaby left, I slept in until 8 a.m., and I thought I had missed the Slice of Life meet up. Before I posted my Saturday slice, I started to add a little apology for not showing up when I had signed up. Instead, when I went to the Two Teachers blog and saw the sign up sheet still there, I realized something was amiss. I did a quick calendar check and realized I had another day to remember. And I did. I had a lovely golden moment time connecting with  Jennifer K., Jennifer M., Kim Johnson, Erica J., Stacey Shubitz, Glenda Funk, Ramona, Kate Narita, Dr. Carla Michelle Brown, Heidi C., and Margaret. Life is sweet, and it was a treasure opening the gift of meeting new people today. I wish I could have been in a small group with each of them. I’m looking forward to reading their blogs today!

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! 

 

March 4 – Driving Nap

Denise Krebs7 Comments
March 4, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

On Friday, my daughter’s last day of her visit here, the roofers came early. They were walking around on our plywood roof doing last minute prep work before the new shingles could be added. It included pounding, sweeping, stomping, rolling, vacuuming, and lots of who-knows-what-in-the-heck-else. Then the forklift came and placed pallets of shingles up on the roof.

And then it was time for my sweet little grandson to take his morning nap.

A nap seemed unlikely to happen at home, so we left on a trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

It was a nap trip. (I think it was the first time I’ve ever gone through the park without stopping to get out of the car. Thank you, taxpayers and United States NPS, for the lifetime senior pass I am so blessed to have.) He slept for about 45 minutes, then we stopped for coffee in Twentynine Palms, and finally–home again. After that, it wasn’t long before I had to take them to the airport.

Meanwhile the pounding on the roof was continuing, and I was happy to get to miss it for a couple more hours.

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! 

 

March 3 – Adiós – MultiFri

Denise Krebs7 Comments
March 3, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

Yo he escribido dos otras entrada de blogs in español (aquí y aquí). Ahora han pasado dos anos, y no he escribido en español otra vez hasta hoy. He estudiado por 606 dias ahora. Creo que he mejorado.

Escribí una poema de mi nieto. Él está visitando esta semana, pero él se va mañana.

 

Ay, mi nieto

precioso, hoy no quiero

decirte adiós

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! On Fridays, slicers are invited to write in another language if they wish. That’s today: #MultiFri

 

Poetry Friday – For Milo and Jane

Denise Krebs10 Comments

Thank you Tanita S. Davis at {fiction, instead of lies} for hosting the Poetry Friday community today. Read her post about the seed of hope a garden can bring even during these tough times, her developing process of writing poetry and their changes, and a poetry challenge for the end of March.

I tried a haiku in Spanish today, written about my dear baby’s baby, who has been visiting us this week, but will be leaving Friday:

Ay, mi nieto
precioso, hoy no quiero
decirte adiós

Oh, my precious
grandson, Today I don’t want
to tell you goodbye

~Denise Krebs

I read a poem this week by Kate Rushin: “Meditations on Generations.” The first stanza reminded me of my sweet grandson (as well as so many other babies and toddlers I have loved over my lifetime).

However, Kate Rushin’s poem goes on, after this stanza, to describe something so deplorable that I can’t quit thinking of Jane. I find myself grieving for her and “all of the girls and women who were bought, sold, lost, forced, coerced, confused, misnamed…” Because of Rushin’s matter-of-fact language, piercing questions, and rich details, I will keep thinking about Jane long after today. What a world we live in, what a history we have! We must not neglect to talk about it and teach it to the next generation. Read the rest of “Meditations on Generations” poem here.

March 2 – Super Duck Baby

Denise Krebs5 Comments
March 2, 2023 TwoWritingTeachers.org

“Let’s go thrifting,” my daughter said, when I asked her what she wanted to do yesterday on that cold and dreary, rainy/snowy day.

“Sounds good,” I said, as I pulled on my waterproof hiking boots.

At the first stop, we hit the jackpot–half price books and clothes were buy one, get one free. Those were the two things we were looking for for the baby.  I pushed the stroller around and looked at all the colorful things with baby. Maria dug in and found some good deals. Then we joined the queue. When it was our turn, the sales clerk said, “Oh, it’s a duck baby!”

I looked around. Then my daughter and I both looked at her, with the expectation of “tell us more.”

Then she laughed, and said, “His downy hair! My kids had that too.”

“Oh,” we laughed too.

“Let’s go Super Duck Baby! Time for the next thrift shop!”

This is what our cold day left us yesterday. Now the sun is out, and the snow will melt. Hopefully, the carpenters and roofers will be able to come and finally be able to finish our porch, skylight and new roof.  So the baby, Maria and I are off to more thrift stores in Palm Springs for warmer weather and to get away from the nails pounding.

 

I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers!