Limericks

The fourth graders I am working with just caught on to Limericks. Here are a few of my favorites: (By the way, if you have one of your own or a favorite, send it my way!!)

There was an old man with a prize
Who loved to eat dirty black fries
He stayed out all night
He got in a fight
And now he has two blackened eyes!

There once was a clumsy your mare
Who loved a young lady named Clare
Asked her on a date
He ran a bit late
Then he bought them a dinner to share.

There once was a lady named Bell
Who was riding her bike and she fell
She scraped up her knee
And got stung by a bee
And then she forgot how to spell.

Thee was an old man not quite dead
Who stood up and cracked open his head
He had a small cat
Who sat on his mat
And often would call him Sir Red.

A flimsy old woman named Pam
Who couldn't eat nothing but spam
It started to snow
How could she know
And finaly ate strawberry jam!

The rehearsal week...

The first week of rehearsals is now over. It was what I thought it would be...meetings lots of new folks, sitting around the "acting circle"..learning which lines and parts we all will be saying...rehearsing...telling stories..and laughing.

It is a wonderful assortment of women...all ages...all styles..all backgrounds.

The days were long though. Last night was the hardest as I drov home late through newly formed frosted, fog. As I left the rehearsal, my cell phone was completely dead (I guess I forgot to charge it this week...) the fog was beginning to swirl around the top of the buildings in Fort Wayne, and I, admittedly, was tired.

As I pulled out of the parking lot at the theatre, I saw a horse drawn carriage up ahead. The streets were quiet except for the sound of the horse. The carriage was the color of pearl velvet...the driver decked out in top hat and ebony black coat...as I passed, I had to turn and look at the couple...they were snuggled up to the cold with a large blanket aound them. They didn't notice me passing or even looking...they were content on each other.

It was a lovely moment. Isn't it nice that romance still lives???

Plumbing update...

Ok, this is not my traditional..snow is falling...prisms are glistening in he golden sunshine...although I am thinking about this great cache of icicles I came across on my walk tonight...


However, this is about plumbing... (if confused,see this week's Sunday Passage)...

So, I come home from my week out to frozen drain pipes in my downstairs bathroom. Well, it is cold in there, I mean, visitors dress quickly after their showers, but I have not had frozen drains yet..until arriving home..

Now, this is distressing, I do not want to pay for a plumber (I much rather buy quilts and tea pots and books) so with a little phone help from a friend (no names are necessary but he lives far away on an island)...he says put hot water in the bathtub. I proceed to do that..however, the toilet is also plugged. I decided that if a little hot water is good...lots of boiling hot water is better..so I kept the tea pot going while I poured the steaming, hot water down the drain. I also propped myself up on a wooden box in the cellar with a hair dryer on the pipes.

I am happy to say that I did, indeed, thaw the pipes, but melted the wax ring on the toilet in the meantime.

So, today the plumber (my cartoonist neighbor, Lee) came and fixed it for me.....

All I can say is that it makes a great story!

Chatting in the late afternoon with lovers of books...

Every afternoon I check in with email and such at the school library...today not much got done..we spend all of our time chatting about authors and books and kitchen stores.

The topics ranged from the Orphan Train to cooking in Tuscany. Words just spilled out of our thoughts as we all tried to go about our work, but then knew it wasn't going to get done.

It is a nice feeling to know that wherever we go or travel, common denominators bring folks together for a moment or two..enough to say..it was a very good day.

The Emerald City

This week finds me working daily in a school in West Lafayette, Indiana sitting among poppies..a yellow brick road..and the great Oz. Oh, well, take out the great Oz...he is in Florida for the winter...

Actually a parent committee decorated a lovely room for me to work in to teach children to love poetry and words. The room is full of winter murals, snowflakes, decorated pine trees, a wall of the Emerald City, yes, the yellow brick road and a field of poppies.

From early in the morning we write cinquins and haikus...talk about lovely words and write in journals. Tomorrow I will share some of their writings...they fill my mailbox with their words each moment of the day.

An Ode to the Bard...

Today is the anniversary birthday of Robert Burns, the Bard of Scotland. He was born in 1759 in the small village of Alloway.

Folks in Scotland will celebrate his life tonight with the cooking of haggis, the drinking of whiskey and a toast to the lassies. They will conclude with a recitation of his poetry, Oh My Luv is Like a Red, Red Rose; Comin Thro' the Rye, and Auld Lang Syne.

As for me, I am working out of town, will have an early dinner at Appleby's and read the night away. Ok, ok, I might hum a tune or two to the server!!

The same story...

I am trying to find something wonderful and creative to write about...but the truth is that deep winter is here in Northern Indiana. Streets are slick, neighbors are shut in, evening walking will be cold tonight with temps at 9 below. (I'll go line dancing instead!!)

My neighbor boy, Ed, just shoveled my walks (at least I think it was Ed, I couldn't tell with all those face masks and hats and such.)

I used to have boy friends shovel at my parents house...the my own children shoveled..now it's the neighbor boy. I hope he does it because he thinks I am fun and have lots of good stories and hot chocolate...I hope he doesn't shovel because I am "old lady Homan"...

I think I better go outside and have a talk with Ed. But then again...forty pounds of clothing, 9 below zero. shoveing for hours...it doesn't really matter what he thinks, does it?