family – Page 3 – Peaceful Reader

Happy April!

April is National Poetry Month and National School Library Month, two important events in the life of a school library. A little strange that all libraries are closed right now. I love sharing poetry with kids especially silly ones like Kenn Nesbitt’s Poetry4kids website. He has several poetry books out and his website offers up many poetry categories for you to click on. Share some this month with your kids while you are at home. Start the day or end the day with a funny poem and then have them create their own. I have magnetic words at school that kids love to rearrange into unique poems. Bring poetry to life and let it be silly and serious.

Today We Had Some Weather

we had some weather

like I’ve never seen before,
so I pulled on my galoshes
and I headed out the door.

It sprinkled, first so lightly,
it could easily be mist.
A tornado then came dancing by,
it swung and did the twist.

The fogbanks opened up their vaults
and let out all their fogs,
and the dog pound took a pounding;
it was raining cats and dogs.

It started raining buckets,
then the rain came down in sheets.
I had never seen so many
sheets and buckets in the streets.

I’d planned to watch the weather
and, though gallantly I tried,
when it started hailing taxis
I gave up and went inside.

— Kenn Nesbitt

This poem reminded me of our weather the other night when we had a tornado touch down. We are still all staying at home. I am finding a good balance of school work, deep cleaning the most cluttered pockets of my house, reading, and meeting friends on Zoom for happy hour. Every day is different, which is a lot like school for me, and yesterday I read for too long on the sofa. I’m almost done with the 800 page The way the crow flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald-I get to a certain point in a book where I am just pulled in and literally can’t stop. Normally during school hours it would take me many afternoons after school to finish this book but as our quarantine life holds I will finish it within a week. Today I woke and new I need to do some yoga (thank you Down Dog app) because my body ached from sitting curled up reading. Also I’m not going to lie; I love, love, love sleeping in. It is glorious. It’s good to find the positive.

What’s keeping you fueled this week?

Writing, trying to stay normal 2

Happy Friday!

We are on day 10 of our Shelter in Place and what I’ve learned so far is it’s important to make a schedule and get dressed each day. And I mean both of these pretty loosely; I try and do yoga every day, I do something for school, and I do get dressed but that could be sweat pants or other activewear. Most days I make food for both of us. Today is the first day our teenage daughter is home with us. She’s been on quarantine with the family she traveled with for Spring Break for the last week. She doesn’t have any symptoms and neither does the family so we deemed it safe for her to come home. We don’t know what’s really safe and what isn’t yet we missed her and felt like it was just time. It’s hard to keep our distance and it’s extremely difficult not to hug/cuddle but we’re doing it because this is the new norm. In another week I’m going to feel comfortable to hug her.

Yesterday we had a teacher/car parade through our school neighborhoods. It was fun to honk and see students and families–I miss them all. It’s a lot more fun to teach class in person than remotely. The teenager here is struggling to understand a new set of rules for school as well. She has one college-level course that needs real assignments. Her teacher posted assignments with no due dates and no real instruction. It’s confusing and not exactly how she wanted the last months of her senior year to go. Everything is off the table; senior skip day, prom, dance recitals and competition. Really it’s the essence of being a senior that’s been cut short. Plus her sibling are all trying to make it through. Kaylee is in Brooklyn trying to shelter in place as she works from home. She takes walks and even then it is too crowded on the streets she says. Tristan is still going to work every day hoping he doesn’t fall ill. Everyone is worried about money and rent, house payments and toilet paper.

It would be real easy to bury your head in your covers and not come out for a few weeks. Obviously I’ve contemplated this more than once but I find it much healthier to get up at a decent time, have breakfast, do some yoga, clean something (even myself), and read. I limit watching shows or movies until the evening. We’ve been great about taking our dogs for walks, getting out breathing the crisp air. We’ve played cards and board games-don’t know how we will do that with the teenager yet but we’ll figure it out. March seems to be going out like a lamb not a lion so I hope spring weather is just around the corner. I would love a walk without the biting cold. I always said my house would be the best place to be stuck indefinitely because I have stacks and stacks of books.

Right now I’m reading The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie McDonald (800 pgs). And I’ve finished Netflix’s Next in Fashion, Virgin River, and still watching Sex Education. I think my goal for next week is to read chapter books using Google Classroom and posting for students to listen in. What are you doing to keep yourself busy?

Writing, trying to stay normal

(Our teacher celebration b4 it got crazy)

I haven’t been inspired lately. It’s been a long winter and I’ve spent most of it sick or just slightly under the weather, as they say. And now the world is sick and we’ve only just begun. We are shielding ourselves and others by staying home; social distancing. Others are just plain greedy sick, grabbing more than their share of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, water, produce, soaps, etc.

Today I stopped into to see two friends working at a small shop downtown and while we chatted, staying a few feet from each other, another woman burst into the store grabbed one solitary candle and told us she had just returned from Florida. The rest of us took a few steps back and the shop owner even said “well please don’t breathe on me”. Now granted I didn’t have to stop in the shop to visit yet my thought was why on earth upon return of travel would you feel the need to stop in a local shop to buy one candle? This is equal to buying extra toilet paper because it shows a lack of empathy about others.

This is where we are at. I worry every time I cough or sneeze. We are trying to hold together some form of normalcy in the midst of a pandemic with no leadership from the top in our country. The two school districts in our county will not go back to school until April 13th. The trickle down for this will be far-reaching as well; graduation, dance recitals, dance competition all will come to an end. The world as we know it has changed ~ R.E.M. (on replay in my brain constantly).

So what have I been up to to occupy time over Spring Break when I normally would be about town, hanging out with friends. We’ve met several times with friends over FaceTime which felt so good to reach out and connect with friends in town and out of town. We had a virtual meeting with cocktails with our theatre group~ so much fun to arrange about 7-8 people on FT messenger video chat. We’ve had happy hour with my husband’s family via FaceTime. And tonight we are eating dinner with friends over Zoom. Next week I have a few school meetings over Zoom to figure how best to take care of our students and families. I’m trying to keep on a schedule of activities otherwise you can just spend the day flying the sofa…

My list:

I’m reading Ta’Nehisi Coates’ The Water Dancer.
I’m watching Unbelievable, Contagion, Next in Fashion, and Virgin River on Netflix, all great but I highly recommend Unbelievable based on a true story and frustrating as hell until the end.
I’ve played around with video taping myself reading stories for students.
I’m deep cleaning parts of my house.
Today I made bread for friends and they are picking it up from my front door.
Connecting with friends.
Praying.
Waiting for my daughter to make it home.

What are you doing with your extra time?

Christmas menu; save for future please

We always wish we had more down time with our three children; there never seems to be enough and often times when everyone was younger we didn’t always cherish the time because we were together more often. Now at best we are a family of five maybe twice a year and that seems not enough. Everyone has work schedules and time lines of their own and we haven’t even added more family into the mix. The blessing is that when we do get together everyone gets along! I’m happy they’ve turned into adults who care about each other. There is something very special about siblings because you have all this shared history; some good, some bad, some awesome experiences that all can relate to in shared conversation. We always have some moments of shared stories, “remember that time…” and it’s good to be able to laugh about even the bad times, the tough times we came through as a family.

That’s what Christmas has become to me. Add some fantastic food and a couple of gifts and I’m quite merry! The past three years my son and his girlfriend have been eating vegan and each year I’m a little more successful for creating a diverse menu that everyone will like. I don’t like a table where sides need to be separated; vegan/non-vegan. So to break it down we have one no-red meat eater, one mostly only chicken eater, one who eats everything but is allergic to garlic and shellfish, the two vegans, and myself, a flexitarian/vegetarian. We make it work.

This year I had three Alaskan sustainable-fished salmon filets, and three Beyond Burgers for our main course. And then my two friends helped with the sides: Jaime Oliver’s smashed potatoes and his make-ahead vegan gravy, and Giada’s Mediterranean couscous with apples and cranberry was a huge hit. Jaime Oliver says something like we all need to get used to a little more plant-based cooking because at everyone’s table there is probably a veg-head or two and a vegan, throw in a gluten-free cousin and you’ve got an amazing adventure in menu-planning. Everyone loved the smashed potatoes as an alternative to mashed; we loved how crispy the edges were and next time I think I’d leave them in even a little longer. Several of us loved the couscous and I would make this again especially for book club. Enjoy the above sexy food video for gravy recipe. When I heated our gravy back up the next day I added a bit more flour to get it to the right consistency. It was amazing. Jaime has about 40 vegan recipes on YouTube so if this is a food choice you are interested in take a look.

{my brother and sister-in-law

I hope everyone else found merriment over the holiday. After a fantastic and relaxing two-day trip to Minnetonka to visit my brother and his family it is time to put the house back in order and get ready for our Iowa caucus.

Hello Winter Break!

(family)

I’ve taken quite a break from blogging without meaning to but grief works in strange ways for everybody and I just took a step back from certain parts of my own life. I’ve still helped with the Mayor Pete campaign although I missed a few events and I’ve obviously headed to work every day which truly brings me such great joy. I love seeing the faces of all my students even the tough ones. School is good and now I’m on winter break which is fantastic. The holiday season is in full swing.

My shopping is almost done and I just have some local things to shop for + groceries to purchase. As my kids get older we really focus on the JOY of spending time together over ripping into tons of gifts. Last year we spent time reading all our favorite Christmas picture books to each other. Something about reading Corduroy’s Christmas or Dream Snow by Eric Carle that ushers in a warm and cozy feeling. We also love to watch Christmas movies together-Love, Actually is one of our favorites and this year we plan to watch Klaus together. We generally go see the new Star Wars movie as a family after Christmas. I’m looking forward to all of it.

Last weekend I went to a soup exchange hosted by a friend. I made this delicious sweet potato curry soup I found on my NYT cooking app. They each made a soup and we came together and shared. I brought home at least 4 jars of homemade soup; a tomato tortellini and an au pistou (a French soup) and both were delicious. And we had a drink I was unfamiliar with (shocking!) – it was We are hosting a Christmas party game night for friends on Sunday night and I’m going to make the tomato tortellini soup for them b/c it looks so festive. Enjoy this weekend, this holiday, hug all those that surround you with love and even the awkward folk who don’t love a hug but treasure your smile. Just spend time with your people. Namaste.

What a crazy summer!

photo: Scott Shepard

This feels like the middle of summer; it’s hot and the sweet corn is up and being sold on street corners all over the Cedar Valley. I’ve packed in a lot over the summer but I need a few more slow days reading in the hammock (when it’s not a 100 degrees out) and relaxing with friends. It’s been so busy writing hasn’t happened as much as I like; I dream up blog posts but they stay there in my mind.

I did make a big batch of yogurt at the beginning of July. Delicious and creamy, mixed with fruit preserves and pumpkin butter it is the best start to my day. When I make it I don’t use the cream in the recipe-I just used good quality, local 1% milk. I recently found a easy (two ingredient) coconut yogurt recipe from Minimalist Baker that I want to try for my dairy-free Groovy Girl.

My husband and daughter have been very busy with our summer musical production of Beauty and the Beast. She’s had a great time as an ensemble character; she dances, she plays a wolf, Maria, the baker’s wife, and a townsperson. It has been quite a run, with sold out performances, and today the run is done so life might be a tiny bit quieter. (maybe)

I have made it to yoga more than a handful of times which was on my summer plan. I’ve recently read several articles talking about the importance of meditation on our brain. It’s a matter of settling our brain from 5-50 minutes; the more we let it rest, the better our mind functions. It makes sense of course just like sleep for our bodies. I’ve added that to my day even if it is just 5 minutes of quiet breathing in the car before I get out.

I’ve read quite a few great books already and I still have a full basket to go. Every summer I bring home a crate of books to read. Some are books that students loved and it’s my turn to try them and some are books I read to pre-choose the Iowa Children’s Choice Awards. I love doing this as I like to make sure there are a lot of well-rounded choices; books with diversity, books that take kids out of their small-town Iowa world, books that expand their minds, books that tell amazing stories. I’ve read a few that fit this description:

1. Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan – As a Pakistani-Muslim girl in American Amina struggles to mix her family’s culture while blending in at school. Luckily she does have one true friend in Soojin who seems more adept at understanding people. This is a rich story filled with family, food, and new beginnings but also devastating vandalism of her beloved mosque. One of my favorite quotes from the book is from her brother Mustafa – “It’s just so freaking unfair. What kind of person would want to destroy a place where people gather to pray and learn?” My thoughts exactly.

2. Bob by Wendy Mass – This story is a bit of magical realism more than fantasy to me. Livy and her mom come back to visit her grandmother in Australia 5 years after their last visit. When Livy explores her mother’s old room and the room she stayed in when she was little she finds a young greenish creature named Bob in her closet. Bob remembers everything from her last visit but Livy struggles with these same memories. She makes it her duty to figure out how to get Bob home (wherever that might be?) while her mother is off visiting old friends for a week. I had trouble getting into this story yet I liked the conclusion of Bob’s story.

3. Merci Suarez changes gears by Meg Medina – This excellent title won the Newberry medal this year! This story resonates with her family’s rich family culture as Merci navigates her private school surroundings as a scholarship culture. Eventually she learns that if she stays true to herself all will work out. Her grandfather plays a large role in her life and his world is changing as he ages and this affects the whole family as they learn to deal with his aging mind.

4. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed – Amal lives in Pakistan with her family and she loves going to school and being in her village. Her only dream is to become a teacher. One day she has a heated encounter with her village’s horrible landlord and her dreams are quickly disrupted as she learns what it means to have an enemy. I loved this story and learned a great deal about Pakistani culture. I hope she is working on a second book of Amal so we can see if she realizes her dreams.

5. Aru Shah and the end of time by Roshani Chokshi – I’m only about 5 chapters in but am in love with this fast-paced fantasy book about spunky Aru who has awakened a demon in her mom’s Indian museum. This is one from Rick Riordan’s new imprint and it is excellent.

I’ve also read Helen Hoang’s two books; perfect, quick summer reads and sexy-not for the prudish. These are modern day romance novels even though the covers do not feature bodice-ripping of any kind. I like the characters which feature people on the autism spectrum. I read this fantastic Washington Post article about Hoang and her desire to write romance novels. Very sweet, super sexy, and I will read every book she puts out…

How is your summer?

Summer Vacation

{miles and miles of gorgeous forest}

I flew to Colorado last week. I’ve not flown for years and it always freaks me out a little bit when we take-off, while we fly though, and when we land. The only part I love is how quickly I get there-that always amazes me! Last summer Groovy Girl and I drove to Denver and it takes us two days, flying, of course, took an hour and 1/2. Big difference of time yet you do miss all the cool stuff along the way.

We spent two days in Denver, hanging with my brother and his family. I especially loved just sitting on the patio soaking up the warm Colorado sun. We visited Odell’s Brewery and a fresh Mexican restaurant called Lola. And then after our down time in Denver we headed to Estes Park, one of the gateways to Rocky Mountain National Park. While in the park I saw a very large male moose with a huge rack, several elk, and a baby brown bear. We hiked to Alberta Falls which was a long walk up and luckily we found a shortcut back down. There is something about the fierce rushing water sounds that makes me feel small. I also love to dream about the first people to come upon something as beautiful as this falls for the very first time. The trails were packed with many other humans and while I’m glad the park is being used it would be so cool to be there by yourself.

We headed to Castle Pines after Estes to stay with Janice and Dean for a night. We ate at Duke’s and took a drive to see a whole herd of bison and their babies. The next day we spent the morning sitting out on the porch watching a hummingbird flit back and forth. They’ve had a mama bear and three cubs roaming nearby and actually captured footage on their animal cam. This morning Janice let me know that the mother and one of the babies had been shot and killed by a local resident. Why are you up at 1am shooting at a mama bear? I am just sickened by the thought of this on so many levels. Why would you not just call animal control? I can’t get the video to transfer to my laptop so you can see the bear video. I’ll keep trying and share another time.

It was a great trip! I love being in the mountains, I love the view. Blessings to all.

Guests

(source)

We’ve had a major weekend here at the Peaceful Reader house. My in-laws arrived on Friday night for Groovy Girl’s dance recital on Saturday. Her recital is pretty much an all-day event and you have to really be prepared. We had a delicious breakfast to start our day and by 11 am were waiting at the event venue so we could get good seats. In between the 1:00 pm show and the 6 pm show we met at one of our favorite healthy joints in the Cedar Valley, Greenhouse Kitchen, so we could make it through the second show. Unfortunately she hurt her leg during one of the dances, danced two more dances and then gracefully exited the stage after it became unbearable. She’s wearing a brace and hobbling around with a borrowed pair of crutches. Hopefully it heals fast for her.

Beyond the injury I love having guests to cook for and my in-laws enjoy good food. Here’s a smattering of recipes I’m using this week. Tristan and his girlfriend joined us overnight so I needed a few vegan options as well.

Basil Chicken Coconut Curry: delicious and I made a second version with scrambled tofu for our vegan/vegetarians. The flavor was amazing and I would make this recipe again.

Curried Chickpeas with mint and cilantro chutney: I made this early in the week for everyone to have for dinner during the busy week. I already had a jar of chutney from an Indian grocery store so I didn’t make that part of the recipe. This was so yummy Groovy Girl happily ate it and she is not a fan of chickpeas! I used two cans of organic coconut instead of the one the recipe called for-it just looked like it needed more.

Cheesy Grits Casserole: I made this easy yet delicious (you can never go wrong with cheesiness) breakfast recipe on Saturday morning. We also had Icon donuts and Milkbox bagels for everyone. You need to calorie load even when you are just going to watch the day of dance.

Tomorrow night we host book club at our house for Their Eyes were watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I’m going to make this Best Black Bean Soup from the New York Times for our gathering.

Bombay Frittata: I have yet to make this but I plan to one day this week for breakfast.

I hope you are cooking some amazing food at your house as well.

Happy Mother's Day and post-prom bliss

Last night was prom for our local high school and Groovy Girl looked amazing with her crew of friends. Ballet pink is her color! It was pretty chilly but they weathered it well. My husband and I with a group of other happy parents helped with valet parking. It was a cold night and I had a hat and coat on while all the prom goers were without coats, socks, or sleeves in fact. It was fun to be there helping but not in the mix inside of hot sweaty not-really-dancing-young people. It looked like a lot of swaying to me. Times have changed and I loved watching tons of young women arrive on their own in beautiful dresses without a date in sight and I loved seeing several women arrive in very gender neutral attire. There were high heels, Birkenstocks, high tops, Doc Martens, and even someone with sneakers that were an exact match to her floral princess dress.

I’ve had a lovely Mother’s Day as well as I was given the opportunity to sleep in after a busy weekend. Love extra sleep!! We had an easy and delicious breakfast at a local coffee shop. This afternoon Groovy Girl and I headed to my mom’s house and played one of our favorite family card games, Spite and Malice, with her. We had chocolates and a glass of wine as we played. My mom won which is good because she’s competitive and so a sore loser. My son called yesterday and today. My stepdaughter sent me a card and texted. I’ve chatted with mom friends as we pat each other on the back for our journey into and through motherhood. It does take a village and you have to have a calm and positive crew around you. We walked the dogs and I have two peony bushes to plant. What more could you ask for? Well, if you are asking, WARMER WEATHER would be at the TOP of my list.

I hope your day was just as pleasant!

May flowers and May Baskets

I remember vividly running around our neighborhood, delivering handmade May baskets when I was a little girl. It was such a thrill to hear your doorbell ring only to find your friend racing away, screaming with delight, after delivering a popcorn-filled basket on your doorstep. Such fun! Now some classrooms participate in this activity delivering popcorn-filled styrofoam cups around school and it’s still cool but it’s lacking that genuine thrill factor. Times change. If you want to bring that excitement back here is a fantastic resource, Create Whimsy, which gives many options over popcorn-filled cups like this plant-filled beauty. Next year I’m going to be prepared and start racing around my neighborhood delivering unique treats.

May is such a busy month as we work to finish out the school year strong, Groovy Girl has her dance recital coming up, we are looking forward to my in-laws visit, and my husband has two shows in the works. Through all these we have to work to breathe, take care of ourselves, go to yoga (me), and get enough sleep (all of us) to be our best. I have my eye on June but I don’t want to arrive there exhausted.

I’m working on a slideshow about gender stereotypes for 6th grade students for tomorrow and when I finish that task I have an excellent book, The Novice by Taran Matharu, to read. This is a book that a 4th grade student handed me and said I should give it a try. Now he stops in every morning to ask where I am in the story. We have a delightful conversation about the story and then he heads off to class. The part of the month that I dread is telling students that check out is finished for the year. At some point it’s a requirement to get all the books back into the library for the summer yet many of our students are such readers they will resist this news and it fills me with joy and breaks my heart at the same time.

What’s inspiring you today?