Thursday, March 31, 2016

Slice of Life - Reflections

31 Days
Hooray and Phew!

When I decided to join Slice of Life 2016 I wanted to notice, gather ideas, and collect stories.  I decided to use a notebook and mechanical pencil in hopes of making the gatherings of ideas a habit.  I found taking notes in a list format my preferred method.  As I typed my posts, I would add white space - do some editing and tweaking.  Then I tried to share nuggets and/or why I wrote/gathered these notes.  I began sharing my writing - my readers who left comments referred to my slices as poetry, quite often.  I was surprised.  I did play a bit with white space and words but never intended to write poetry.  I'm still not sure any of my slices are poetry.  They are just notes and thoughts; Snippets for/of stories.  However - writers can't ignore feedback and their readers, so maybe I need to ponder the ideas of my slices as poetry.  

I really did see the value of gathering my thoughts in a notebook - two slices made writing mini lessons easier the next day in class.  I leave this monthly community with two more thoughts I've read, heard, and now can attest to.  To be a teacher of writing, you need to write.  Using a notebook is a tool for idea gathering, collecting, and rehearsal.

Thank you Two Writing Teachers!

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Slice of Life - Determined

I always have hopes
I always try
I always begin strong

My garden and I
Don't quite see eye to eye
I do give it a good try

With a new book
as my guide
for a new look
Hopefully, I don't let it slide

Today it began
Moving soil
Brown and clumpy
Worms wiggling through
Easy to move

Getting ready
to start
something new


Today I knew I wanted to stop and notice my thoughts about my garden space as I began prepping it using suggestions from All New Square Foot Gardening.  I thought I would write more about the soil but my noticing today was really more about the history and hopes for my garden.  The soil wasn't that exciting but for some worms squirming about - pause, just had to add a line about worms.  I really have hopes this garden space will gather more stories and noticing for my writing.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.



Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Slice of Life - Childhood Memories

crispy blue sky
bright green grass
blessed by the sun

horseback riding today
family adventure
childhood memories surface

Grandpa had horses
Grandpa loved horses
Grandpa had two or three at a time

He loved to take us out to the barn
He loved to talk to us about the horses
He always took us to the barn each visit

Top of the barn stored hay
Top of the barn was my playground
Once we slept out there with grandma

Several horses over the years
Dolly was around a long time
Sparky was the last full size horse
Then ponies and miniature horses

Sparky threw me off
I didn't ride for a long time
I wish Grandpa was here to tell me how
He remembered everything

I wish Grandpa was here
To take my girls out to the barn
To talk about horses with them
To see them smile
and love something he did


Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.




Monday, March 28, 2016

Slice of Life - Reading Discovery

book three
in a series
final story

anticipating
movie viewing
daughter date

reading along
caught off guard
oh my - not anticipating

24 hours
not a happy reader
10 min walk
conversation - chat
thinking the story through

simple happy ending
1 character
didn't happen

bigger community
happy ending
did happen


I was so disappointed last night as I read and finished my book.  I let it stay with me for the day and just kept repeating - I can't believe.  Then I let it rest for a bit.  As we walked tonight my daughter and I started chatting about the book tonight and I saw something different.  One character may not have had the ending I was hoping for and many others but an entire community had a happy ending.  Books don't have to have happy endings, I think it's something readers come to expect.  Having the happy ending not so obvious made me ponder, reflect, and think deeper to find what I was looking for.


Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Slice of Life - Packing Leftovers Tip


"The biggest thing I've learned in college is.
 I need half the size tupperware container than I pick."



My oldest daughter came home for the night for Easter Sunday and she was packing up leftovers, when she made this comment.  I had to laugh because since getting her first apartment this year she's had lots of little life lessons to figure out.  This one shouldn't have surprised me and then I got to thinking this might be a math problem.  It's not about the numbers.  It's about capacity, estimation, volume, size, and shape.  Application is a tricky thing to work through some times but I thought her generalization made sense, pick a container and then pick again - just half the size.  Good advice.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Slice of Life - Cozy and Comfortable

cozy and comfortable
warm and wonderful
snow and snuggly

feels like.....
bundled in a blanket
snug as a bug in a rug
swaddled like a baby

protects from snow, sleet, hail, and cold
prevents frostbit and hypothermia
embraces me!



It's been chilly enough early in the morning where my parka is still needed and a perfect fit for my early morning walks with my dogs.  However, today it was 60 and as we went to the zoo, I grabbed my parka.  It just feels right.  We would be outside a long time with a light breeze.  I don't have another long coat but I might need to find a light one because I can't seem to part with this coat.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Slice of Life - Daffodils

shades of yellow
cream, mellow, light
sunny, typical, warm
tropical, rich, bright

sudden burst of orange

6 rounded flat petals
center circular - dimensional
within the center - yellow tubes reaching
reaching for the day to begin


After an early morning walk, I wanted to embrace spring by bringing my daffodils inside.  It was a perfect morning to collect flowers that were still fresh but bent a bit from the rain last night.  I picked two big handfuls and started plotting where to put them.  Daffodils have skinny stems so they need a small opening to stand upright.  My grandmothers old glass milk jugs were great and filled three vases for each room downstairs.  I filled a trio of smaller cases and placed them together in the dining room window.  Nothing says spring like fresh flowers.  The combination of fresh flowers and a bit of my grandmother  might be something to ponder with my observations above for another piece sometime.



Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Slice of Life - Spring Walk

Spring break
Spring walk

Raincoat
Rain boots

Gray skies
Dark skies

Heavy clouds
Moving clouds

Falling water
Falling lightly

Falling water
Falling heavy

Spring break
Spring walk



I decided even though there was the threat of rain tonight to embrace spring with my rain gear and put the snow gear away.  Seemed like the perfect way to start spring break - going for a long walk with my dogs.  It was warm and smelled like spring.  I also think I've been itching to use the phrase falling water in a piece of writing.  But I can't take credit for it.  My youngest daughter said it last week as were driving to softball and I thought it was just clever.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.


Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Slice of Life - a mini loaf for me!

Monday morning
in walks S
bubbly and grinning ear to ear
her voice becomes soft spoken
this is for you - zucchini bread
a mini-loaf for me!

fast forward Tuesday night

White cutting board
clear wrap
crumpled to the side
knife at rest
on the opposite side
brown polka dots
scattered about

my mini-loaf for me!
VANISHED
my mini-loaf was not for me!



I really didn't know what I was going to write about tonight.  I was just getting settled in to observe something closely in my house when my white cutting board jumped out at me on the kitchen island. I thought I might have a story here and what I didn't include is how do I ask S for another mini loaf of zuchinni bread and hide it from my family so it is just for me?!


Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by the link provided to enjoy other slices from today.


Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Slice of Life - Writing Words



"regret the single story"

"writing makes us human"

"only species that writes"




Tonight I had the honor and privilege to attend a little celebration at The Ohio State University to celebrate the publishing of our work this past summer with the Columbus Area Writing Project.  We were lucky to spend a few moments with Cheryl Achterberg, Dean of Education and Ecology.  Her words were kind, encouraging, and valued the work we did as educators to share our stories with students.  Teacher voices and stories are important.  If you stop by the link provided for the Columbus  Area Writing Project you will find links for two FREE ibooks written by teachers for teachers.  I was fortunate enough to write Chapter 2 in Launching Digital Writing in the Elementary Classroom.  My Chapter is titled, Getting Started with Digital Writing in My Classroom.  Another free ibook available is Curiosity, Complexity and Conversations: Writing Nonfiction in Elementary Grades.  

We have come together here as a writing community to push our thinking and writing.  When I wanted to share the statements above I knew I was going to have to share how I got them and why I was there.  I share these ibooks because they are FREE because they are stories teachers have.  Working together collaboratively on this story/book brings no regrets.  It was hard work but through collaboration my story became our story; "regret the single story" is worth pondering. 

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can stop by other slices from today using the link provided.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Slice of Life - No Rain - Rainbow?

cold and freezing
wind whipping
blue sky
yellow sun
for a moment
brillance
a patch to the right
resembling a rainbow?
red, orange, yellow
rectangular in form
a rainbow?



Boy, what a cold chilly night for a softball scrimmage but the whole two and half hours was worth the moment of brilliance where I thought a saw the beginning of a rainbow.  I couldn't see the whole range of colors nor the entire arc so I was a little stumped.  Thanks to technology I came home to discover I saw a sun bow.  A sun bow is an arch resembling a rainbow made by the sun shining through vapor or mist.  It didn't last long but long enough for me to learn and see something new.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Slice of Life - Sewing Badges On

gather materials
Girl Scout sash
Girl Scout badges
khaki thread for bobbin
matches sash color
decide on badge edge color
select corresponding thread spool
thread machine
select zig zag stitch
reduce stitch size
sew!

clunk clunk clunk
tch tch tch tch tch
ting ting ting ting
dindan dindan dindan dindan
maybe these words describe
the sewing machine sound

snip threads
pick new badge
pick new corresponding thread color
sew


There are lots of quicker ways to adhere Girl Scout badges to a vest or sash.  You can use clear nylon thread for each of them if sewing them on by a machine.  You can iron them on, now.  I've heard of people glueing them on with fabric glue or a hot glue gun.  I've seen them attached with safety pins.  However, I personally don't like the look of any of these because I like how my Mama sewed them on for me.  It just feels right to me.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping the link provided.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Slice of Life - Twilight

twilight
horizon line
medium blue blanket of clouds
pink and orange brighten the sky
medium blue blanket of cloud
creating a sandwich of the day ending
trees in the distance become silhouettes of the season
brightness brings
hope for another day
a peaceful way to end this day

I find myself wondering all day long what will strike me for a slice and when I try to force it, the words don't really come.  Tonight I was driving home from picking up my daughter and my view of twilight started a flurry of words and phrases in my head.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Slice of Life - Season Begins

sun is bright
blue skies above
white puffy clouds
a bit windy
brisk at times
parka on
visiting with friends

bat
run
out
gear on
gear off
catch 
up 
down
throw

smiles
smiles
smiles

Tonight is just a simple gathering of words while stopping and noticing softball season has arrived.  

Thank you to the Two Writing Teacher group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Slice of Life - Petunia

tiny tiny black eyes - on the side of the head
about the size of a pinhead
medium red and iridescent shades of blue in color

top fin - shorter than others and skinnier than others
bottom fin - 3/4 inch wide, diagonal bottom edge
tail - long and flowing
short flappy fins - near the front, appear to help with turning, rapid movements

swims peacefully
stops to rest
eats once a day
helps maintain my water garden/aqua ponics


At Christmas time I got a Water Garden which meant we needed a new pet to help maintain the water and plant growth.  We all went shopping and got a male Beta fish.  He sits in our kitchen helping my crops of radish sprouts and alfalfa sprouts grow.  He doesn't argue about his work load or helping out.  He provides some calming moments for us, well at least for me when I sit to watch him.  

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.




Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Slice of Life - Good day

Good day
Long day
Working day
Conference day
Testing day
Conversation day
Learning day
Sharing day
Long day
Good day


Tonight I started to think about a few things around the house I want to study and collect writing about but I'm tired from teaching and parent teacher conferences.  So, I decided to stop and notice my day.  I love the poem Good Books, Good Times by Lee Bennett Hopkins and couldn't really think about starting each line with good but found the word day to work for what I wanted to say.  I also found I thought about my day by line alternating teaching and conference related thinking.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Slice of Life - Movement

back and forth
up and down
legs pumping
back and forth
the swings

big bounces
hard bounces
skip, run, jump
big bounces
the basketball hoop

round and round
tick tick tick
jump jump jump
round and round
the jumprope

running, sprinting
climbing, hanging
playground in full use


I love taking just my class to the playground and watching them interact together, just us.  These are snippets I captured after helping my students take their first ever standarized test for two hours and forty-five minutes.  When we finished we took a restroom break, delivered the tests, ate snack, and watched a Liberty Kids video.  We needed to move and starting recess a bit early seemed just right.  I couldn't help but stop and notice how active they were.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Slice of Life - Symphony of Sounds

symphony of sounds
pitter patter
steady rain
grumble rumble
thunder moving through
trrrrrrrrrrrilll
chirp chir-chir-chir
tweet tweet tweet
birds singing
steady sounds
relaxing moment
before the next wave 
of my day


I got home today to an empty house, let my dogs out, and decided to sit with my notebook in my garage.  It's interesting how much I can notice and gather in a few simple moments.  I wasn't sure how to capture different bird sounds but as I tell my students, try your best.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Slice of Life - Communication

text messages
throughout the day
each one
a small slice
of her trip
sometimes words
sometimes photos
both cheer me up
reactions
reflections
joy for her 
joy for me



Yesterday was a travel day for my oldest girl and today was a touring day for her spring break trip.  My text messages today were much better than those from the coach bus ride yesterday.  However, any text message warms my heart.

Thank you Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Slice of Life - No Bake Cookies

Sometimes you need a cookie in a hurry.
No oven needed
Sugar, Cocoa, Milk
I've learned over the years margarine is key
Cookie setting success
Melt, Mix, Boil
Add
Oats, Peanut Butter, Vanilla
Drop on wax paper
Mounds of
Sweetness captured
Childhood memories - Parenting memories
Sweetness Enjoyed!

Today I found myself stopping and noticing while making Chocolate No Bake Cookies.  My mom use to make these and I remember thinking these were magical because they didn't go in the oven and could be ready quickly.  I'm discovering writing in my notebook is so helpful and then as I type up my thoughts, I might go back and add something to my notebook.


Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.



Friday, March 11, 2016

Slice of Life - Earthworms Everywhere!

wiggly squiggly
brown and long
fat and thick
wiggly squiggly
drip drop
rain rain rain
drip drop
earthworms everywhere!


My stopping and noticing slice from yesterday was very quick.  I was tired and wanted to get something down for the day.  This quite small slice came in handy today during writing workshop.  We started our day with Poetry Friday which may have led to this question during writing workshop - "Mrs. Robek can we write poetry?"  This week we are learning how to be digital writers using kidblog.org and we had just written a narrative piece to begin with.  I wanted to model writing a piece and save it as a draft to show my students this option.  Writers don't always have time to write complete pieces.  The poetry question paired with my small slice last night led to this poem as my mentor piece.  My students loved it and then we had several poets emerge.  
I'm really excited already about the power of keeping my own notebook, stopping and noticing, and how something small yesterday turned into another slice today, so easily and with a strong purpose.
Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Slice of Life - A Quick Stop and Notice

rain - rainy - raining
soppy - soaked - saturated
daffodils - doubled -
earthworms - enlarged - everywhere


It's been a long day.  A full day with students and then 11 parent teacher conferences back to back.  Not enough time outside today or steps and walks but in just my walk from the van to the house door I stopped and noticed.  In my notebook, I wrote a vertical list with a  few more things but enjoyed playing around with a shorter list horizontally.  I think I'll put this version in the notebook too.

Thank you to the Two Wrtiting Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy the other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Slice of Life - Fulfilling My Heart Round 2

One sunny day the birds were out I was going to the bus stop then suddenly! a big gust of wind blows my hair on picture day.  I had to run alllll the way into my bathroom and re-do my hair.  All of it.  My mom came rushing into the bath room... and she says.....


One time my friend Will had a sleepover with me.  We started eating dinner it was kfc chicken bowls.  At like 5:15pm I poured so much gravy it was like stew.  I pouted.  Way too much gravy that is not good.  I mean Not good.  Advice never pour too much gravy on things.


Yes, another round of papers to look at, narratives tonight.  I was working hard to get through the stack.  This is the third round I've taken to "score".  If I'm being honest, I wasn't stopping to notice anything until I got almost to the bottom.  Both of these pieces are written by boys and I've only shared their first page, a lead.  These leads made me stop.  They made me smile.  They made my heart fill with joy.  I've always been a fan of choice in my writing workshop.  I don't really know anything else.  Today I know Choice promotes Voice - this might be my new writing mantra and I only discovered it by stopping and noticing.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.





Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Slice of Life - Fulfilling my Heart

I have a strong feeling for my trains...

I think summer should be before spring...

So, if you understand my issue please help me save trees and help animals.  Good day.

I am going to convince you to make cookies...

It's not a place to play electronics.

I love cabins because they are peaceful.

It's the best game because it doesn't have glitches, like other games do.

Horses make my heart strong...and horses love you to - from their heart.



Tonight I plowed my way through a class set of opinion writing pieces and to be honest, I'm behind in looking at student writing samples.  Parent teacher conferences are two nights away and I wanted to have solid evidence of growth from August.  I was looking at our On-Demand post writing pieces and using a rubric to score them.  While the rubric can easily show our growth it can't show those phrases that make me stop and notice; strong words, unique ideas, yummy sounding ideas with serious reasons I should be making cookies right now, the joy in thinking a seven year old embraces peaceful, avoiding glitches is important in game playing, and just when I thought a lead and an ending didn't match up - I discover heart is the key word; connecting these two thoughts for my writer.  Maybe the biggest idea here is  - stopping to notice is fulfilling my own heart.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Slice of Life - Nature Antics

up, down, up, down
little brown furry rodent catches my eye
little bends
nibble, nibble, nibble
repeat

pop up taller
nibble, nibble, nibble
little bends
looks like a warm up routine

gone
not for long - WOAH!
warm up routine
prep for gymnastics

belly curving over
bird feeder roof
head down
paws picking
black sunflower seeds
nibble, nibble, nibble
bushy tail balances
with a great purpose

no birds in sight


Today while cooking dinner I kept getting sidetracked by the squirrel.  I kept stopping while rinsing and trimming my green beans because the actions of our squirrel were fascinating.  I use the word our squirrel carefully, we don't own this squirrel but I think it's visited before because I've witnessed similar antics.  I'm wondering though if it's the same squirrel each time or a different one.  I was too far away to notice coloring and markings but I've decided today noticing actions is pretty interesting.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Slice of Life - Vanilla Bean

long, skinny, and curvy
rich brown in color
moist
soaked or swam too long
rumpled - puckered= wrinkled
slit and scraped the inside
itsy-bitsy - pinhead size dots
rich brown in color
vanilla bean
key ingredient
light vanilla bean ice cream
homemade


Tonight I thought I would stop and notice the actual small bowl of light vanilla bean ice cream and the crushed up thin mint Girl Scout cookies we added.  Unfortunately, the bowl didn't last long enough to stop and notice it.  If you have stopped by before on my blog, you might be aware I like ice  cream so while this base was a new recipe the cookie addition is not.  Then I realized what really intrigued me about my day was using a real vanilla bean.  What an interesting form for the traditional vanilla liquid I often use.  It's interesting how I thought I had one plan for writing today and something else completely different made it into my notebook.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Slice of Life - Orchids

pop of color
subtle creams and yellows
wonderful white
burst of pinks and purples
petal variations
varying sizes and shapes
variety of hues


This is the last weekend for the orchids to be on display at our local Franklin Park Conservatory.  I wanted to make sure I saw them this year and needed something to pick me up while gray skies loomed overhead.  I enjoyed lingering and noticing these beautiful plants today.  I've never tried to grow orchids and realized I didn't know very much about them until I started reading three display panels.  So, today in my notebook I not only gathered my noticing notes but collected some nonfiction information.  Maybe one day these two snippets of tidbits will merge together in another piece.



structure
   petaloid sepals - green leafy petal like at the flower base
   true petals - three

growth
    monoodial - tip of main stem
    sympodial - horizontal stem - like grass or iris

where
   cold mountain tops - terrestrial - grow in soil
   tropical rainforest - ephiphytic - grow in tree canopy
 
   lithophytic - attach to rocks




Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Slice of Life - Snow!

bright white everywhere
flakes with substance
fluffy ground cover
brings depth to branches
freshness in the air
ripples mimic a sandy beach
sparkles glisten - guiding the day


I like stopping and noticing during my day and I've begun pondering what I might write as I notice.  I've decided to focus on the noticing and maybe try to keep the emotion out of my pieces right now.  This is proving to be a bit challenging because I really just wanted to write, FINALLY, snow that covered the branches and turned my world into a miniature snow globe!  Maybe I can use these tidbits I gather as I slice during my poetry writing unit that is coming up in my classroom.  This morning is probably only the third snowfall worth talking about in Ohio because the snowflakes were finally big enough to change the scenery around here.  It wasn't the amount of snow, we all went to school but it was enough to make my soul settle.  

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Slice of Life - Goose Skates



honk, honk, honk
the alarm goes off
there's a flurry of 
black, brown, and white ahead
the alarm speeds up
honk honk - honk honk - honk honk
short burst of flaps
smooth slippery slide
sounds like ice skates 
on very thin thin ice


The dogs and I were headed back home and as we got to the pond a pair of Canadian Geese let us know they didn't want us to come any closer.  I had seen the thin coating of ice on top of the pond and wondered on our first pass what would happen if a duck or goose wanted to land on it.  I wasn't sure if it was really covered in ice because it looked so thin.  I still can't believe I got to listen and notice what does happen if a goose tries to land on a super thin layer of ice.  In writing tonight, I realize my sense of hearing played as an important roll in this slice as my sense of sight did.

Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community and you can enjoy other slices from today by stopping by the link provided.


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Slice of Life - African Violets



strong stems
reaching for the sun
sturdy rich green leaves
remind me of velour fabric
purple blossoms with an iridescent sheen
four, five, or six rounded petals make a blossom
a small burst of yellow pops from the center
houseplant success
my grandma would be proud, she loved African Violets





These are actually notes I took while stopping to notice the blooming African Violet as I was watering my plants tonight.  I thought about turning them into a complete sentence but didn't like how wordy that seemed.  It's not meant to be a poem or list, today.  It's a collection of words describing what I thought when I stopped and noticed.  Tonight there was another layer to my writing - I wanted to know more about the blossom and did some research.  I discovered the parts of the blossom are; petals, filament, anther, style, and stigma.  I made notes off to the side in my notebook.  Feeling like a writer on day 2.



Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting our writing community 
and you can enjoy other slicers from today by stopping by the link provided.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Slice of Life - Sunrise

Sunrise begins the day
as a rich deep orange creeps out 
the horizon line gets defined
pushing the night sky away
orange subtly lightens
as purple to pink creep in
shades lighten
as crisp clear blue appears
bringing hope for a sunshine day

These are actually notes I took while stopping to notice the sunrise.  I thought about turning them into complete sentences but didn't like how wordy that seemed.  It's not meant to be a poem or a list, today.  It's a collection of words describing what I thought when I stopped and noticed.  A slice in time and a slice in words.


                     Thank you to the Two Writing Teachers group for hosting thinking of a writing challenge and fostering our writing community.