Footsore for Peace 2: Of Love and Mosquitoes

During the summer of 2008, I participated in a walk that was organized by a group called "Voices for Creative Nonviolence."

Here is a link to the Voices for Creative Nonviolence website: 

link to the Voices for Creative Nonviolence website

People from Voices for Creative Nonviolence visit war zones and focus on forming relationships with ordinary civilians living in dangerous areas. In 2008, their focus was on Iraq. Voices for Creative Nonviolence organized a walk, called the Witness Against War walk, that started in Chicago on July 12th and ended in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on September 1st. The total distance was approximately 500 miles. The goal was to draw attention to the suffering that ordinary people experienced in war zones. Several of the walkers had spent time in Iraq. Some had brought medicine and toys to Iraq in violation of the sanctions in the 1990s. There were also people from Voices from Creative Nonviolence who were in Iraq during the “shock and awe” bombing campaign in 2003. One of our walkers was an Iraq war veteran, who had joined the U.S. Army shortly after 9/11. He experienced the horrors of war first hand. After he left the military, he became a member of “Iraq Veterans Against the War.”

We walked anywhere from six to nineteen miles per day. Occasionally, we had rest days, when we could relax, sightsee, climb steep hills, draw, paint, or practice musical instruments. The story that I am telling today is about the joys and hazards of nature.

On the morning of July 23^rd, I woke up in the home of our hosts for the previous night, Ruth and Glenn. Walkers had been placed with various host families. Two of us, Kathy and I, were placed with Ruth and Glenn. They had told us the tale of their courtship and marriage. They met in the 1950s and, a month after they met, they left the country. Ruth spent three years working as a dietician in Egypt. When the Suez Canal crisis occurred in 1956, she had to leave because the Egyptian government expelled all of the foreigners. She traveled to Switzerland, where Glenn was working. During those three years of being apart, Ruth and Glenn had conducted a courtship via mail. They still have the letters that they had written to each other.

Glenn was in Switzerland, working on a business deal. He had previously served in the U.S. Army in Germany, which, at that time, was occupied by several armies.

Ruth and Glenn are now the parents of three grown daughters and one grown sons. They also have several grandchildren. I suggested to Ruth and Glenn that their very romantic story would make a beautiful book. Glenn said, “I am writing a book about our story for the grandchildren.”

Ruth and Glenn gave Kathy and me a breakfast of oatmeal, fresh fruit, toast, and juice. Ruth, the dietician, added flaxseed to the oatmeal to make it even more of an anti-cholesterol food than it already is (oatmeal has soluble fiber, which is an anti-cholesterol feature).

Glenn drove Kathy and me to the spot where we had stopped walking, just outside of Waukesha. A photographer was out to take pictures of us. We said goodbye to Steve, a support car driver, who was headed home, and Kathy, who was leaving the walk temporarily to give a presentation in Joliet, Illinois.

Then we started walking. We walked past barns, cows, cornfields, and bean fields. We walked on a busy highway, with vehicles whizzing past us. Later in the morning, a man who had been one of the hosts brought Helene’s forgotten sweater to her. He directed us to the bike path, called the Glacial Drumlin State Trail. We walked through various wetlands. The terrain was somewhat hilly. That provided a new challenge for the adventure. We had previously walked on flat land. For the first time, I observed fatigue and tightness in my legs.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch in a Mexican restaurant. After lunch, we returned to the bike path. We then encountered Tim and Bob, who had driven from Chicago to rejoin the group. Walking on the bike path was interesting. There were short trees with red cone-shaped seed pods and all sorts of wild flowers. We even saw some sort of mini-car race on a nearby track.

All of a sudden, our peaceful world had evaporated. We were under attack. We were swarmed by mosquitoes. They began to feed on us, and we tried to smack them. That proved to be ineffective. We then sprayed ourselves copiously with insect repellant in almost-futile attempt to fend the mosquitoes off. It was very smelly. The only thing that I managed to repel with all of that insect repellant was me. It was almost like a horror movie.

We had been walking for a long time and had become very silly. I had started telling the story of all of my twins, evil and otherwise. There is the evil twin, whose name is Malice. The twin who really doesn’t want to do anything is named Malaise. The sad twin is called Alas. She spends a lot of time with her best friend, Alack. After the multiple twin conversation, we shifted to planning a Wizard of Oz skit so that we could try not to notice that the mosquitoes were still eating us alive. We handed out roles for the performance. We had good witches, bad witches, a scarecrow, a flying monkey, munchkins, Toto, and, of course, Dorothy, who just wanted to go home. 

By late afternoon, my feet were very sore and I was convinced that the day’s walk was to be endless. From a distance, I saw something that looked familiar. It looked like the support bus, otherwise known as the “wheels of justice” bus.

Tim and I were walking together. Or should I say, we were struggling to walk together. Our pace had slowed to glacial.

“There’s the bus,” I said weakly. I struggled to lift my arm, which felt unusually heavy, as if it were filled with bricks, and I pointed.

“What bus?” Tim asked. He looked both tired and confused.

“Our bus.” I pointed weakly again. I started to wonder if the bus that I had seen was a mirage. Nevertheless, Tim and I walked toward the bus and, finally, we arrived at the spot where the bus was parked. It was not a mirage. We had walked sixteen miles. It felt more like twenty.

The walker group had a meeting and discussed the Obama rally to which we had invited the next day. It included a picnic, which meant free food. That sounded good to me. We all got on the bus and went to Deb and Paul’s house, a huge house where all of us were staying.  Paul told me part of his story. He said that he used to work in publishing and that his employer was a company that owned eight magazines. Readers Digest bought out that company and kept it until it was bought out by someone else. “The publishing industry is in bad shape, and it is only going to get worse,” Paul said. Deb talked to us about permaculture, an agricultural system that is meant to be sustainable and self sufficient.

In the evening, before I went to sleep, I remembered one of the people whom I met on the walk. Linda, in Brookfield, near Milwaukee. She talked to me about the need to repair the world. Linda said that it is a principle in Judaism that involves acts of kindness and community service to create a better world and to repair the brokenness in the world. In effect, enough acts of kindness could potentially repair the world.

The mosquito bites were very itchy. As I went to sleep, I wondered why the world was so broken and in need of so much repair.

Teacher stories 6: A classroom full of color

Today, I am sharing Diane Lipp's story. She teaches third grade at Huth Road Elementary School in Grand Island, New York. This is the sixth story in my series of stories about teachers, their work, the things that they share with their students, and the things that bring them joy.

Tell me your journey to becoming a teacher.

My undergrad degree was in food and nutrition. I worked for 15 years as a diet technician at Millard Fillmore Hospital in Gates Circle, Buffalo. (Note: After 140 years as a hospital, Millard Fillmore at Gates Circle was closed in 2012. Its services were moved to Millard Fillmore Vascular Center and Buffalo General Hospital in Buffalo’s Medical Corridor. The vacated building was imploded in 2015.)

 I had been working full time and my kids were in school. The hospital cut my hours back from full time to two days a week. At the same time, the Grand Island school district was looking for substitute teachers. I started subbing a lot at Sidway. I loved subbing at Sidway. I started thinking, hmm, I really like this. I was an adult learner. I quit my job. I went to Canisius full time and did my master’s in elementary education. I completed the program in three semesters, plus student teaching. I was one of the lucky ones. Just as I was graduating, we had a lot of teachers retire. I taught kindergarten and then I looped with that class to first grade. So at the end of that second year, the census went down at Sidway, and they didn’t need as many teachers.

I was moved to Huth Road Elementary School. I was devastated because I loved Sidway and wanted to stay there. I love teaching at Huth Road now and can’t imagine not being here. There is something special about this school. This was my elementary school. The room that I teach in was my kindergarten classroom. This was my kids’ elementary school. This was my son’s kindergarten classroom. My daughter was in the first group that went to Sidway for kindergarten. That was 1993. There are a lot of people whom I know who were students here. It is just an extra connection.

The first time I walked in here, I remembered the smell of the classroom. My sisters and I talk about it all of the time. I have three sisters, including a twin sister, and a brother. We all went to school here. When the school was kindergarten through fifth grade, all five of us were here at one time. We are all within four years of each other.

How long have you taught at Huth Road Elementary School?

I have been here since since 2003. I started at Sidway in 2001. This is my fourteenth year here at Huth Road.

This chair is called the pizza chair and it was painted by students in 2008.

Have you always taught third grade at Huth Road School or have you taught different grades?

I have always taught third grade here. Third grade is perfect for me because the kids are old enough that you can teach them really hard things, like hard writing skills. They have a lot of stamina to read and write for a long time but they are not too old. They’re not too wise yet. They are still very into school. They are just the perfect age, very competent and capable but not to the point where school is not something they want to do. I hope that I can stay with third grade. For right now, it’s a good place to be.

As a teacher, what brings you joy?

When kids don’t understand something and then they work hard to master something and then they master it. They master it in such a way that they can teach it to someone else. That is the greatest thing ever. If you can teach someone something, then you have truly learned it. I love when that happens. In this curriculum, I am teaching them a lot of things that they don’t know, especially in reading, where they are learning new strategies, and in math. We don’t do much of the rote stuff anymore. The kids can really learn, even something that you don’t expect that they are able to do. I’ll even say, “I’m going to ask you a really hard question right now.” And they get it, and I say, “Good for you!” It’s really exciting when that happens.

I see that your room looks bright and cheery and that you have a set of hand painted chairs. Tell me about these chairs.

I like color in my classroom. These were plain brown chairs. The pizza chair was painted by students in 2008. The others, I did one at a time. We have different names for them. It’s fun for the kids. I’m all about keeping it fresh.  We are here for a long day, and I like to have it looking nice. I like to have things for the kids to remember and to look at.  Jeanne Percival (another third grade teacher at Huth Road School) and I are very similar teachers. We always do a project for the windows. It gives the kids ownership in the classroom. I like them to see their work. Every month, they put up something. It is a neat way to see how they progress over the school year.  One kid started the year not using punctuation. She can do that now.

Tell me more about how you teach writing.

To build stamina, you have to write about what you know. That’s my premise. I always look for new projects to keep kids interested in writing. We do several research projects. Third graders are very good researchers. We researched polar animals, and we’ve done rainforest animals. Kids pick the animals. We will research a president next week: the president’s early life, his years in office, and the years after they were done being a president. That will be harder because there is a lot of hard vocabulary. They do a decent job. They do research first, and then we evolve that into a project of some kind. We’ve done fact posters about the animals that they did.

Tell me about your after school clubs.

I do the third grade writers club, and I have three groups. Kids join for different reasons. Some kids just I really like to write, and they want more. We do different projects. I only have them for six sessions. I may teach them a new skill. Tomorrow, we are doing persuasive writing. I either teach them a new style or a new strategy. Most of the kids who come are kids who really want to be here, which is nice. This is my third year of doing this. They used to have a newspaper club. I said that I didn’t want to do newspaper, but I wanted to do a writers club. If they take back one idea to their classroom, then it is worthwhile to be here.

And you take care of the gardens at school?

Yes. I plant them and I take care of them over the summer. I water them. I like visual things. I like taking a plain piece of nothing and get color into that. I am trying to get perennials near the playground.

Tell me about awards that you have won as a teacher.

Jen Walowitz (PTA president from 2014 through 2016) nominated me through (former State Assembly member) John Ceretto’s office for the 2016 Women of Distinction award. It was very nice and very unexpected. 2016 Women of Distinction. I had Jen’s daughter in third grade. Jen had to write this big thing up. I was really surprised.

What do you like to do when you’re not teaching?

I’m  a very busy girl. During the school, I love to shop. I love to travel. I have this new love of hiking. My college roommate just moved to Salt Lake City. I went twice. We went to several of the national parks, which was fabulous. I went to Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. It’s so beautiful out there. It is so different from here. I love to go to new places. I will never turn down an opportunity to go somewhere that I’ve never been. I will always say yes. I’ve loved Charleston, SC, and was there with several girlfriends. I’ve visited Philadelphia and Boston. I like trips that reek of the history that happened in those cities. I also totally enjoy a beach vacation, where I get to sit on a beach chair under an umbrella, drinking beverages with little umbrellas. I like to listen to the waves. I like to see what’s going on.

How can parents best support and encourage their kids?

Take them on trips. Give them experiences. Read with them. Have them do chores. Have them do things that are hard for them. Don’t always make it easy for them. Encourage them to be outside and to try new things. 

Standing with Standing Rock: the water is life walk

Today, my friend Bekki and I went to downtown Buffalo to join the Water is Life walk. Approximately 200 persons participated in this walk, which started in Niagara Square. We walked toward the marina and passed the decommissioned airplanes and battleships and arrived in Canalside. It was a relatively short distance from Niagara Square to Canalside. A few people spoke about the necessity of water in our lives, the care that we need to take of our mother earth, and the dangers that pipelines, such as the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Northern Access Pipeline, pose to our water supply. It was noted that one of the executive orders that the president signed, in a flurry of executive order signing, was to advance construction of such major pipelines as the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone Pipeline.

It was a cold winter day but it was a good day to walk for our earth, for the water, the land, for all people, and for ourselves. 

Below are some of the images of the Water is Life walk in downtown Buffalo.

City Hall in downtown Buffalo. It was dedicated in 1932 and it is considered to be a masterpiece in the art deco style. It features murals on the first floor and an observation deck, from which you can get a spectacular view of the city and of Lake Erie.

Drumming before the start of the walk.

One of the decommissioned battleships at the Marina. The USS Little Rock was commissioned in 1945 and it carried guided missiles. It was decommissioned in 1976 and is now on display and open for tours at the Naval Park in the downtown marina. 

All of the images below depict the passion and energy of the people in Buffalo today, who are walking, singing, and carrying signs that share their love of the earth and of the water that gives all living creatures life.

Honoring the earth with song.

If you are in Buffalo, New York, one of the things that you could do to support Standing Rock is to donate warm clothing or other supplies that may be needed. Supplies can be brought to Burning Books, 420 Connecticut Avenue. Check link to supply list
Needs change regularly. I see that, today, clothing is not needed but firewood and other supplies are very much needed. Please be careful as to the type of wood that you send on to Standing Rock. Although ash wood is requested, please do not send ash wood from any areas that are experiencing emerald ash borer infestations. That would include all of Western New York. If you choose not to send firewood, to avoid spreading the emerald ash borer infestation, there are still plenty of things that you can do. Make sure to take a look at the above link for requests.

52 week photography project: alice and the looking glass

Note: On January first, I started a new photography project. I will take at least one photograph a day for the entire year, following a program called the 52-week photography challenge for 2017. It is being organized by Dogwood Photography, located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dogwood Photography operates a photography school in Wilmington and it runs online photography challenges. There are weekly assignments in three categories: story telling, technical, and artistic impression.

Today is the fourth in a series of 52 updates of the project. The challenge for the week was mirror (story). "Tell a story, using a mirror."

I am Alice, and Alice went through the looking glass. She became a pawn and met all sorts of characters. She wandered through a garden of talking flowers and she met Humpty Dumpty and Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

This Alice spent all week finding stories in the looking glass, but I never went through to the other side. There was a time when I dreamed of going through to the other side. When I was four, my family moved to a big old house in Syracuse, New York. The house featured a landing between the first and the second floors. There was a locked closet on the landing, with a full-length mirror on the door. I spent many hours looking into the mirror and talking to my reflection. My reflection had a different name, which I no longer remember. She had a parallel life to mine. We both went to school, but her school was different from mine. When I had trouble with a subject, she had conquered it. When I had trouble making friends, she had many friends and she was well loved. 

My mirror person only lived in that one mirror. It was the magic mirror that gave me a portal to a world that could be. When I was twelve years old, we moved away, and my mirror friend was no longer part of my world. I miss her but I learned a valuable lesson from her. She was the joyful me. I was the struggling me. If I combined the joyful me and the struggling me, I came up with one whole human, who experienced all that life could offer.

Below are the mirror stories, featuring a variety of mirrors.

This mirror is one of the creations of the folks at Gleam & Glimmer in North Tonawanda, New York. You can see the ceiling and the ceiling lights. When I imagine a bed and breakfast that I would like to run, I visualize a room with this mirror set across from a large bay window with a window set and a view of colorful, lush gardens.

On Sunday, I went to church. In the choir room, there is a full-length mirror. Choir practice is ended, and we are getting ready for the church service.

What makes a morning ritual better? How about if I take a bunch of selfies of my mirror reflection?

Two mirrors (the large one and a hand held mirror) make the selfie project even more fun. This is my laugh in duplicate.

Hey, maybe I did go through that looking glass!

In the evening, I went to my book club meeting at the Grand Island Memorial Library. This is the mirror in the restroom. There's a changing table, but, other than that, it is a pretty sparse room.

I had Zumba on Tuesday morning at the Grand Island Dance Center. A dance studio is a great place to find very large mirrors. When you're dancing, you can check your mirror image to make sure that you are doing your steps correctly. A few weeks before the recital, the mirrors are covered. It's time to get used to dancing without watching a mirror image, since there are no mirrors on stage!

This week, I went to Huth Road Elementary School to interview a teacher. Her story will appear next Monday in my "Teacher Stories" series. I also went to the school to help with the PTA's Staff Appreciation Luncheon. I brought cookies, took pictures, and helped with cleanup. 

In the school office, I found this ruler/mirror. Kids can stand next to the mirror and see how tall they are. It doesn't reach five feet. In the world of the ruler/mirror, I am tall. Nowhere else in the world can I qualify as "tall." Only in the world of the mirror and in the Land of Liliput, a fictional island that appeared in Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel, Gulliver's Travels.

Here is another view of the office mirror/ruler.

On Wednesday, I went to see my hairdresser, Jacquie, for a haircut. Beauty salons are great places for mirrors. I placed the bear in the mirror and posed it with the beauty products. The bear is happy to admire its reflection... or maybe visit with its best friend.

Post haircut selfie.

Selfies are fun, especially when you learn how to point the camera at your face without covering up your face!

Having a mirror makes it look as if the hair care products are multiplying over and over and over again.

On Thursday, I went to Stella Niagara Educational Park in Lewiston, New York, for a twice-monthly watercolor painting class. The theme for this class session was brightly colored jars, bottles, and vases, along with their reflections. The goal was to keep the painting loose and to leave white spaces to show where the light hits the glass. Here are some of the "models" for the class. They are sitting on top of a mirror. Below is another view of the same models.

Mirror at Town Hall.

Here is a closer look at the forward and backward bottle of hand soap at Town Hall. The bottle seems to be there as a visual aid, since it is empty.

Holding a pin up in the mirror.

On Friday, I was back at Huth Road Elementary School, helping out with the Staff Appreciation Luncheon. I was in the Ladies' room and I thought that it would be fun to take a picture of the reflection of the ceiling.

Here is a close-up and slightly dizzy-inducing view of the ceiling and it's partial reflection.

Well, that's week four! Please come back next week for another installment in the saga of the 52 week photography project. I hope that you had fun looking at the mirrors. In the comments, please feel free to describe some of the mirrors in your world.

Footsore for peace

Today's challenge from the Ultimate Blogging Challenge was to tell a story. It could either be a true story or it could be fiction. I chose to tell a true story. During the summer of 2008, I participated in a walk that was organized by a group called "Voices for Creative Nonviolence."

Here is a link to the Voices for Creative Nonviolence website: Voices for Creative Nonviolence

People from Voices for Creative Nonviolence visit war zones and focus on forming relationships with ordinary civilians living in dangerous areas. In 2008, their focus was on Iraq. Voices for Creative Nonviolence organized a walk, called the Witness Against War walk, that started in Chicago on July 12th and ended in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on September 1st. The total distance was approximately 500 miles.

We walked anywhere from six to nineteen miles per day. Occasionally, we had rest days, when we could relax, sightsee, climb steep hills, draw, paint, or practice musical instruments. The story that I am telling today is about a (partial) rest day on August 16th at Perrot State Park, in western Wisconsin.

Perrot State Park is located in Wisconsin's Driftless area, at the confluence of the Trempealeau and Mississippi rivers.

I maintained detailed journals of my experience that summer. This story is based on entries into my journals. I have begun working on turning these journals into a book.

On August 15th, we walked down a bike path, headed to Trempealeau. It was a beautiful path, with many varieties of trees and other plants. We were near the river. We saw a snake slithering off the path. A bald eagle was perched on top of a leafless tree. The sight of that large bird was quite stunning. I figured that the eagle must have been enormous for us to see him so clearly from such a distance.

After we finished our walk and were eating lunch near the support bus (which carried all of our luggage and picked up tired walkers), some bike riders came off of the path.

"Did you see the bald eagle?" one of them asked.

"Yes," we all said in unison.

We discussed whether or not we should walk another four miles that day or if we postpone it to the next day. We decided to walk the next day, instead of having a rest day.

Later in the day, we went to Perrot State Park, where we were going to camp for two nights. We set up tents and decided who would go into which tent. One of the tents was titled "the snoring tent." Jeff told me, "You're discriminating against me because I snore." (Jeff is a very noisy sleeper.)

Shortly afterward, we were transported by car into Trempealeau. Jeff was telling me that I was mean. He made faces at me, and I made faces at him. He made the hand signals for "whatever, major loser." I simply imitated him, laughing gleefully.

We went to the Trempealeau Hotel for dinner. It was near the Mississippi River. The view was spectacular so I took pictures. Trempealeau was founded in 1851. It is located right on the bluffs and is described as "Western Wisconsin's Recreational Headquarters."

The hotel was founded in 1871 and is listed on the National Historic Register. Its culinary claim to fame is the "walnut burger." We went inside and ordered our meals. I had vegetable stew, which was really a thick vegetable soup. It came with a roll and was very tasty. We were joined by Jerome. He had ridden his bicycle from LaCrosse to Trempealeau. He talked about politics and politicians. He said that he wanted to run for Congress or for Mayor. I encouraged him to run for Mayor. He shared his walnut balls with me. Mostly, I didn't hear him or anyone else. I just know that he was talking about politics, but the details were too fuzzy and the background noise drowned him out. Since I could barely hear him, I simply agreed with everything he said. After dinner, we returned to the campsite.

On the morning of August 16th, we were driven back to the place just outside of Trempealeau where we had stopped walking on the previous day. We headed toward downtown Trempealeau. It was very scenic, and the view of the Mississippi River was spectacular. Before long, we arrived at the Trempealeau Hotel. Some of the walkers left at that point and went back to the starting point to get to their cars.

We walked along the river and headed back to Perrot State Park. Before long, we were back at the campsite. We had lunch and relaxed for a while. Then a few more walkers said goodbye. Some of them had planned on walking for only a small portion of the walk. They were finished and they were returning home. Other walkers were taking a break from the walk.

Those of us who were staying tried to decide how we would spend the afternoon. Joshua wanted to practice on the drums. Mary, Paul, and I decided to climb Brady's Bluff. The trail is 3.91 miles. I thought that sounded like an easy distance. The three of us walked to the bluff to climb it. We had been told that there was a great view to be seen at the top of this bluff. I thought that it was a mountain. Oh boy, I thought. A great view! I was ready for a good photo op.

When we arrived at the start of the trail, we saw a group of people emerging, all looking tired. They said that the hike was difficult and that there were many stairs. They added that we were younger than they were so we should be okay.

I wasn't so sure about that.

We started climbing... up and up and up. It felt like a strenuous aerobic working. I was huffing and puffing and sweating. I thought that I would lose weight just by sweating it off. We reached a slippery section. I was afraid to continue and afraid to go back.

Remember the Little Engine that Could, Alice.

I think I can...

I think I can...

I think I can...

And I did.

We continued climbing until we got to a flight of stairs. There were so many stairs that I thought that they were going to take me to the clouds and, maybe, beyond. I took a few pictures along the way.

We reached a section of steep steps without a banister. I was scared. Don't look down, Alice. That will just make you more scared.

I looked down.

It's a long drop, I thought. "I'm scared," I whined to myself, unable to move.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I think I can.

I got up and climbed right to the top. Or, maybe, I scrambled.

I did it! All by myself! Despite my fears, I reached the top. I saw the river, with the green islands in the center. What a view! I took a photograph and just stared at the Mississippi River. A huge bird flew overhead. Earlier in the day, we saw another bald eagle. The huge birds flew so gracefully, with their wings outstretched as they sailed through the air. They hardly needed to flap their wings at all.

Mary, Paul, and I sat in a small shelter. I was still sweaty, but I was no longer hugging and puffing. We met a family on vacation from Minneapolis: Jill and Ben, their daughter Olivia and their black labrador retriever, Bob. We chatted for a while about spiders, butterflies, and about taking a walk from Chicago to Saint Paul, Minnesota. Little Olivia told us that she did not like spiders. They were not her friends. She asked her mom, "Can I share my breakfast sausage with the butterflies?"

""Butterflies don't eat sausage, honey," Jill said.

We walked down by a much less steep path. I felt happy about the mountain climbing. I was starting to wish that the walk would not end in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but that we could continue until we could put our feet into the Pacific Ocean.

My question for you: Have you ever done something that you did not believe yourself capable of doing? How did that make you feel?

A day in the life of... me!

Today's blogging challenge is to write about a day in the life of... me! The questions asked were: Do you have a routine that you follow? Are you completely spontaneous? Do you handle work one way and your personal life another way? What kind of meetings do you have?

For me, at this time of year, work is slow. The gardens are dormant. I do get a few freelance writing and editing jobs. I could go for more freelance writing and editing jobs. In the next few days, I will start on a job to put together a photo album of historical pictures, with descriptions of what is in those pictures and when the pictures were taken.

Here is my illustrated today:

On a typical Thursday morning, I have a quick breakfast and then go to my Zumba class at the Grand Island Dance Center. The class meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. But this morning, just as I hovered between sleepiness and half awake, I got a message from the teacher, stating that she was still fighting a virus and was canceling the class. I immediately flipped over and went back to sleep. I had been up late, baking cookies for the Huth Road Elementary School staff appreciation luncheon (scheduled for tomorrow) and writing the minutes for the Conservation Advisory Board. Sleep felt good. About an hour later, I slowly and gently woke up. It was trying to be light outside but the sky was overcast and it still seemed dark.

"I'm not going anywhere until my painting class," I thought. "I could make an omelet!" I got out my ingredients and had a little kitchen fun. In the meantime, I had to empty the dishwasher. I remembered that it was fun to set the camera on "fisheye" and to take pictures of the inside of the dishwasher. It's a cool way to enjoy emptying the dishwasher.

The distortion inside the dishwasher is quite entertaining. I like the utensils that are congregated closely. They look as if they are attending a Utensil Party. Um. I digress.

This is a delicious orange... or maybe it is a tangerine. It's very juicy and tasty. It's full of sweetness that fills my mouth with joy.

Here is another view of that magnificent piece of fruit, whether it is an orange or a tangerine. 

Somehow, the omelet turned into a frittata. Omelet fillings are folded in the center of the omelet, which is folded over before serving. The frittata ingredients are cooked in the pan with the eggs, and the frittata is served flat, rather than folded over. I garnished the plate with orange slices. 

At noon, my friend Mary Lee picked me up. We went to Stella Niagara, in Lewiston, New York, for a watercolor painting class. The watercolor painting class occurs twice a month. This time, we were going to paint glass bottles, vases, and jars, with colorful reflections. Above is a bottle, a glass, and a vase. I quickly got to work on my painting. 

This is my painting. I chose to paint five objects just because it is an odd number. Each one is painted a different color to bring joy and life to the picture.

After the class was over, we posted the art gallery on the closet doors and discussed the paintings and the things that make each painting unique. This painting was done on a beautiful sheet of large watercolor paper that had lots of texture. It made the painting look very textured, which was a wonderful look.

In this painting, the jars and vases overlap and are nicely placed on the table. 

This is a very loosely painted image, almost ethereal.

After painting class, I went home and warmed up leftovers for dinner. After dinner, I ate some of those cookies that I had baked last night. I have to do Quality Control, right? I have to make sure that the school staff is treated to delicious cookies. I made sure. Yummy. Toll house cookies, made with dark chocolate chips... that definitely passed the taste test.

My evening activity was to attend the Grand Island Conservation Advisory Board, which meets on the third Thursday of the month. We advise the Town Board on all issues related to conservation and the environment. We also organize and run educational programs for the local community. So far, we've had three educational programs. The topics that were covered were: taking care of your stream bank (riparian zone), emerald ash borer, and taking care of your septic system. About half of the island is on a sewer system, while the other half is on a septic system.

We meet in a downstairs conference room in town hall. One of the walls is decorated with a large picture of one set of bridges over the Niagara River. Another wall is decorated with historic pictures of Grand Island.

This sign is fairly new. 

Meeting is over! Time for a little fun! 

After the meeting, I go home and... write this blog post! And thus, my day winds down...

How was your day? What was the most enjoyable part of your day? Let me know in the comment section below.