Planting ideas

The weather is changing for the better and it is high time I do something about the planters on my stoop.

There was a time
when I had a house
with a big yard and
a large vegetable garden,
but those days are long past.

Nowadays,
my garden lives
in manageable containers.
There are dahlia tubers
in round pots that
need to be examined
and possibly replaced.

In the rectangular planter,
the remnants of old chrysanthemums –
bought for parent teacher conferences
in October 2019 –
cling to life.
They were scraggly
last summer and
will be replaced this year.

I might plant basil, later,
when the weather is better
and there is no fear that
cold weather
will kill off the plants.
And a yellow pear tomato plant
is always a delight.

I know a lot of people with
extensive garden,
who page through seed catalogues
in winter,
planning in great detail.
I was, too,
once upon a time.

But I’ve become
a gardening pantser
planting whatever takes my fancy
when the time is right.

Time on my hands

Despite the my grey hair and the many missives I receive from the AARP, I am not yet a senior citizen. This is important because it means I need to be aware of shopping times, i.e. the shopping times reserved for seniors and other vulnerable people. I know that my nearest shop, the tiny Whole Foods three blocks away, has reserved 8 – 9 a.m. for these folks.

Yesterday morning, feeling antsy, I decided to go to Whole Foods. I played the “let’s pretend I’m not going out without you” game with Lucy, but she had it figured out by the time we hit the sidewalk. The trembles started. Hardening my heart, we took a little walk and then returned to the house where I left her.

I had packed my backpack before the walk, so I could drop Lucy off, grab the bag and be out the door before she could really panic. It contained two reusable shopping bags, yellow Playtex gloves, and my wallet. I intentionally left my phone behind so it wouldn’t get germed. I also just wanted to enjoy my walk without distractions.

I knew I was a little early, but hadn’t realized quite how early I was going to be. As I walked through the parking lot, I saw a gloveless senior citizen raking groceries from her cart and putting them in her front seat, just like I do. Another person exited. He didn’t look like a senior, but he was a little further away. Maybe it was already nine.

I approached the doors, where the security guard stood. This was a new addition to the store the last time I was there. That time they mostly cleaned shopping carts, but I suspect they managed the lines at busier times.

“Am I early?” I asked as I approached, but maintained an appropriate social distance.

“Yeah, you got about 20 more minutes,” she told me, smiling, clearly not thinking of me the way the AARP does.

“No problem. I’ll just take a walk,” I replied as I veered off the other direction into the neighborhood.

Although this neighbor hood is near min and I often walk the major streets, there are many streets I don’t think I have ever been down. I peeked at porches and gardens as I walked past, trying to figure how far I needed to go before turning around and taking a different winding way home. I crossed the street when I saw people coming towards me and got to look at some different houses and yards.

It had rained really hard overnight and there were a few puddles to navigate around. I walked around a park, rather than through it, to a point where I thought I could turn around. Not having a watch or my phone made the actual time a guess. I decided that, as I walked back to Whole Foods, I would try to see if I could see the time through someone’s window. It was harder than I thought it would be. I saw mixers and plants, coffee makers and dog treats, but I could not see a clock. Not on a wall, not on a stove.

As I was about to round the last corner, I passed a house where I could see a large screen TV through the window. CNN was on, and I knew they usually showed the time in one corner or another. I slowed my pace, allowing my eyes to roam from corner to corner, trying no to look too much like a stalker. And the, there it was, in the upper right hand corner 12:07 ET. That meant it was 9:07 in Portland.

I picked up my pace, greeted the the same security guard when I reached Whole Foods, then entered the store ready to get the things I needed.

 

 

Ol’ 55

I turned 55 last week. I am totally OK with it and I’ve been singing that Tom Waits/Eagles/Sara MacLachlan song  a lot. I mumble through most of the words, but always get the first line and chorus. In my head, I am perfect.

You know how, when you learn a new word, or come across a new idea, it suddenly seems to pop up everywhere? Fifty-five is like that.

Last week, I bookmarked my birthday by reading A Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly. It’s about a deaf girl who is obsessed with helping a whale, Blue 55, who sings at a frequency different from all other whales: 55 Hertz. Coincidence? Totally, but it is fun to think about it. The book is based on a real whale, Blue 52. If I’d read this book the year I turned 52, it might not have registered the same way.

Somewhere this week, I heard 55 referred to as “double nickels”. Apparently it means 55 mph, but what’s heard cannot be unheard and my brain made another weirdo connection. After my birthday, I read The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Okay, that might be stretching it, but my brain loves to play with words and see connections where none exist.

Wishing you all a very happy 2020.

 

 

 

My Life in Books 2019

I got this from Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.

Using only books that you have read this year, complete these sentences:

1. In high school I was a—  One-Third Nerd, and it was Operatic.
2. People might be surprised by— How It Feels to Float.
3. I will never be— Shouting at the Rain or The Lost Girl.
4. My fantasy job is—   Queen of the Sea.
5. At the end of a long day I need—  The Bridge Home.
6. I hate—  The Sound of Things Falling.
7. Wish I had—  Infinite Hope.
8. My family reunions are—  A Place to Belong.
9. At a party you’d find me with—  The Innocents and  away from the The Poison Eaters.
10. I’ve never been to—  The Fountains of Silence nor Torpedoed.
11. A happy day includes—  Stargazing and Best Friends.
12. Mottos I live by:  Look Both Ways and Feed Your Mind.
13. On my bucket list is —  The Ice at The End of the World
14. In my next life, I want to have—This Golden Fleece.

They’re listening

Friday afternoon. I was tidying the classroom in that half-hearted way you do when you just want to get the heck out of Dodge. I had picked up a pencil or two, straightened some books on shelves, all the while keeping one eye on the windows, to see when the buses left so I could leave.

As I looked out, I noticed a sticky note stuck to the wall. What the…. I half thought, half muttered as I strode forward ready to rip it off the wall. I reached my hand towards it and stopped.

It was a misquote of something from our class read aloud, Posted by John David Anderson,  but it touched my heart.

Not all the 6th teachers at my school do read aloud and I am certain almost no 7th and 8th grade teachers do it. But my 8th grade teacher, Mr. Ziegler, did and it is one of my favorite things to do.

Very few kids just sit and listen. Many draw, some read their own book. I  am very liberal when it comes to this because, in my heart, I hope that they are listening because I choose my read alouds carefully. I like to think that they give us a common language, a shared experience that we can apply to what we do in class, and in our lives.

I plucked that sticky note off the wall and brought it home and stuck it on my computer. I brought it back to school on Monday and stuck it on the wall behind my desk where I keep the pictures students draw for me. I still don’t know who wrote it, but I see you.

,

 

A terrible horrible really great day

Monday started off well. It was December 2nd, so I got to open day two of my Advent calendar. That was the best pat about my morning.

Lucy, my basset hound, didn’t want to eat her breakfast. I tried topping it with all her favorite coercions, but she only managed about half.

Later,  on our way out  for her morning constitutional, she vomited in front of the back door.

While walking, I noticed a darkish patch on the cyst that had bled a little the day before. When we got in the house, I could see it was a fully blown cyst and cleaned it up. Having had bassets for over 20 years, I keep a good first aid kit for situations like this. It’s still a gross job.

We had a staff development day at school, so I didn’t bring a lunch. The previous week, our principal told us that we would get work time in the morning and they would do their half of the day after lunch. When I got to school and school. the schedule had changed. We were starting at 11 and would have  a 30 minute lunch from 12 to 12:30. Cursing, I graded some tests then did a quick run to the grocery store five minutes from school, where I got a mediocre salad. Half an hour after I returned, the schedule was changed and we would, indeed, start at 12:30 as originally planned. By the time I was walking to the cafeteria for the Admins’ PD, I was not in a great mood.

It’s funny how your mood can change quickly. The PD I had been dreading was not at all what I expected. We were going to paint! The Admins were treating us to a pop up paint class.

We each had an easel to work at and all the supplies we’d need. Then, a team of teachers walked us through each step of the painting, in which we recreated the iconic deer of the Portland sign. There was a lot of laughter, as I am sure you can imagine.

Until we had a beautiful, if not slightly wonky, finished product.

My day that started out poorly, ended wonderfully.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get

My route was laid out. I had a number of errands to run Saturday morning and a workshop that started at one in the afternoon. Only precise execution of my plan would make the day a success.

As I left the house, I picked up the bag I wanted to add to the boxes I would be dropping off at Goodwill, my first stop, and patted my pockets. House keys? Check. Car keys? Check. I pulled the door shut, ready to face the day.

No one was at the Goodwill when I arrived and I was in and out in less than five minutes, on my way to my second stop, Kinkos. The week before I had drafted, proofread, corrected and printed the end-of-the-year donation letter I was going to copy on behalf of Oregon Basset Hound Rescue. Parking at the nearest Kinkos can be tricky and I cheered as I pulled into the empty four-space lot. I unbuckled my seat belt, grabbed my purse and reached for the folder with the master copy. It wasn’t there.

Crap, I thought, I am an idiot.  I’d set the folder in the Goodwill bag so I wouldn’t leave it The hurrier I go, the behinder I get, reverberated through my head. I rebuckled my seatbelt and drove back to Goodwill.

Did you know Goodwill has a form for things you accidentally donated but want to get back? Fortunately, no one else had come since my drop-off and the folder was easy to find. I was in and out in another five minutes, back on the road to Kinkos.

The rest of the day unfolded without incident. Errands were run. I made it to my class on time. It was a cross-stitch class and I was happy to sit and work peacefully on my Christmas ornament after my busy morning. The instructor told us we wouldn’t have time to finish the project in class. She was correct, but I worked on it that evening and the next day.

All in all, I am happy with how the day – and the ornament – turned out.

The Appointment

I was caught up on my grading and my students were working quietly, so I decided to check my email. I always feel a little guilty when I do this, worried that it looks as though I am not doing my job. And, like my students, checking my email can sometimes turn into a rabbit-hole of clicking and suddenly you are deep into the warren.

This day seemed no different, and most of the emails were routine, except this one:

I had filled out the YALSA volunteer form months ago and had stopped thinking about it. YALSA is the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association and the run several book award committees I checked off on the volunteer form, including the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. I tried to calm myself before opening the email. Don’t put the cart before the horse, I cautioned myself, as my heart pounded in anticipation.

The students were still working quietly. I must have gasped or giggled because one of the students looked up, a quizzical look on her face.

“I just got some really good news,” I simply stated, smiling slightly, though inside I was jumping around and shouting. What I wanted to say was “Holy crap!” but a teacher can’t say that, not even when they are excited and nervous because they never expected to be the Chair of a book award committee.

The best parent-teacher conference opener

“Hello, Ms. Gillespie,” my student’s father said, reaching out to shake my hand. “It is so nice to meet. And I noticed we have the same hair.”

It was true. The tall man from the Indian subcontinent and I had pretty much the same haircut. Because if its nature, my hair does best either very long or very short, so I have kept my hair short for many years and love it. Long hair is too much work.

I knew the dad meant his words kindly, so I smiled and said, “We do, but mine is a lot greyer than yours.”

He laughed and pointed at his head and said, “This is henna!”.

His wife slapped his arm and joined in the laughter. Their daughter, my student, looked mortified.

Few students came in to their conference smiling. I sometimes think that, for some students, parent-teacher conferences feel like some sort of cosmic collision of worlds. When I ask, many claim they have no idea what I am going to say, so I have a series of things I ask them during their conference:

Have you ever had a bad conference?

What’s been the best thing so far about 6th grade?

What’s been the best toughest thing so far about 6th grade?

Which math class are you in? Is it a good fit?

When do you do your homework? How much time do you spend on it?

Who do you eat lunch with?

I teach in a program for the gifted. Some students put a lot of pressure on themselves.  Some students have a lot of pressure put on them by their parents, especially when it comes to Math. These questions usually lead to most of the things I want to say to parents and mostly help put kids at ease.

 

 

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

“Can I help you find an address?” I shouted to the woman across the street.

That’s not a car of one of the residents, I thought when I saw her minivan pull into the parking lot of the small apartment complex across the street.I was walking Lucy. Or rather, I was standing outside with Lucy. I might have said I was walking Lucy, but, at 13, she now tends to walk for short distances then stand, looking around at the world.

We were in a standing phase when the car pulled up. I’d seen the woman get out of her car, walk to one of the apartments, get back in her car, back up, repark, get out again. When she came back to the parking area, Lucy and I had moved enough for me to see she had a parcel in her hands. She looked up at the sign on the building and back at the package. That’s when I figured she might need help.

It turns out, the package was destined for my side of the street.

Delivery people often make mistakes in my neighborhood. The streets go from 30th Ave, to 30th Place, to 31st Ave. Deliveries meant for people on my street, 31st, often get delivered to 30th Place because people assume the street after 30th is 31st. Once, I had a package containing jewelry delivered to my house, even though it was destined for my equivalent on 30th Place. The residents were stunned when I showed up at the door, but thankful. My neighbors all know this to be true and more than once I’ve encountered one while walking (or standing with) Lucy, on their way to or from a delivery snafu. Fixing these delivery issues is a little inconvenient, but neighborly.

Lucy watched as the woman crossed the road and went up the front steps of our condominium complex. Then she followed. The package was delivered by the time we reached our door. Missions accomplished.