Taking A Break

I can't seem to find the time to get around and read all your blogs and I'm feeling guilty but at the same time, my interest is waning and I really need to spend more time doing other things. I do things ever so slowly with limited dexterity in my hands. I just got two huge shots of cortisone in my index and middle finger on Fri. and I still can hardly move them they are so painful and swollen. In a few weeks I get some in my right hand. I sure hope they work to alleviate the condition called, "trigger finger". I have had about forty shots in the last 20 years in various fingers and the period of time for which they remain effective has grown less and less.

You should see me trying to prepare meals and get dressed! I have to attempt all I do a few times before I'm even passably successful at it. It is very frustrating and I have to leave extra time for everything I do in life.

I may do a post periodically and even pay you the odd visit, but for the next while, however long that may be, I can no longer put the full effort into this blogging thing. I hate not being able to do your best so it is just easier to pull back for now. Visiting blogs has become at times, a little like a chore that I never get done well. As a teacher, I don't like this feeling! I like to have a list that I check off when the items are completed but with the many blogs I have come to visit, it has become almost impossible for me to keep up.

So I apologize to all of you. I mostly want to thank you for visiting, commenting, and supporting me and the life I lead. I will really miss your comments but it is not fair if one can't reciprocate as much.

Keep up the great blogging spirit!

Poetry Friday: DOG

Gary, the Potter gave the word.... or was it Penny's?!!

DOG

man's best friend

you faithfully follow me around

and around

and around

inevitably ending up at the food bowl

chowing down Purina dry kibble

(Hairball Remedy?!)

not-so-silently-sipping

(or is that slurping ?)

from the gargantuan water bow

the kind you feed cattle from

and are heated in the frigid barn

those large innocent eyes

(how do you get your eyeliner so straight?)

I fall for every time

as you implore me

to give you a treat

having done no trick whatsoever

except the one you just pulled on me

you continue to whine

until I scratch all your favourite places

your behind rises

to meet the hand stroking it

your hind legs now fully extended

you wind in and out of my legs
getting underfoot

making it impossible

to negotiate the stairs in this house

suddenly you fix your stare at the ceiling

for fifteen minutes

I follow it and see the tiniest of ladybugs

slowly trekking across the light fixture

you BEG

to be let out at the back

and in two minutes dash in the front

always on the wrong side of the door

I try to stealthily slip away

under your radar to the mailbox

smugly I sneak a look behind me

only to find you prancing towards me

across the parking lot

heeding not my commands

to GO HOME!

you smother me with unconditional love

and yet can be moody and aloof

a real contradiction in terms-

you dog in cat's clothing!

If I could add whiskers, I would and it kinda looks like the shape of Socks!

Dedicated to Socks, who thinks she's a dog sometimes!

(That stupid ladybug keeps her occupied for hours!!)

The Spring Look

It's been raining a lot...I love this invention!



From the roof of the new addition. There will be a deck built on top of this soon...I hope!




The only thing I have in my garden are these Jolly Jump-ups!








And these Pansies waiting their turn. I love the juxtaposition of the construction mess and the flowers!




It's still looking like a construction zone and Mooky has been making a daily inspection since last September!





An rubbing her scent on all the builder's stuff just to let him know who REALLY owns the place!

At least it's always colourful at the Florist next door to us!

I caught this big guy feasting hungrily upon their Bleeding Hearts!

The White Trillium is Ontario's emblem and they're in full bloom now.

I have just forgotten what these are called but they add such beautiful rich colour to a spring garden.

The old Hyacinthe! A Classic!

A Great Practice Teaching Memory!

The word "eye" must be in here for Mona's word for the day!

Looking For Mr. Craig

All the way to the high school, on my first day of student practice teaching, I tried to envision my associate teacher and the inevitable meeting that would soon follow. I only knew from his phone call on Friday that he was Mr. James Craig, who spoke quickly, precisely and with a faint trace of an English accent. He was also the Head of the English Department. I would most certainly have to be on my toes throughout this two-week assignment!


Upon my arrival at the school office, naturally, no one knew of Mr. Craig’s whereabouts. I was then directed to the staff room where I could settle my edgy nerves with a strong cup of coffee, after I had donated my fifty cents to the beloved coffee club, of course! They sent all of us there when they really didn’t want us hanging around, biting our nails.


So I shakily grabbed a cup of java and set out to roam the halls in search of the one that was to be my inspiration to teach high school English.
Every male staff member I passed in the hall looked like a possible candidate for my Mr. Craig.

A tall, lean, handsome man strode out of a doorway and down the hall in front of me. My eyes were fixed on his broad shoulders and my heart leaped. How could I concentrate on Grade Eleven lessons on Wordsworth with such an attractive man watching my every move?
I relaxed as he turned in a door marked, "Mr. Martin: Geography".

Then, I noticed a big, burly, bearded man walking towards me and I imagined him reading volumes of Shakespeare while smoking a pipe. In a gruff voice he grunted some form of greeting and I felt sure that this was my destined mentor. I stammered an awkward, "Good Morning" and was relieved to see him enter the Science Lab.

Around the corner, I encountered a man of medium stature, shining eyes, and a very warm empathetic smile. His greeting was so friendly; I was happily convinced that this Mr. Craig indeed knew I was his charge for the next two weeks. But I was disappointed to see him headed towards the History and Politics wing.

Finally, I ended up back at the staff room and reluctantly went inside. My eyes swept the room, taking in the entire scene at once. People were chatting and laughing. Some were teasing others about sipping coffee without having paid into the fund jar. Someone commented offhandedly, that this was the cursed week those student teachers came. Another groaned in reply that she would likely have to re-teach all her lessons. No one acknowledged my presence whatsoever.

By this point, I was feeling so uncomfortable I gladly paid my money for another refill in my cup. With trembling hands, I fixed my coffee and pushed my way through the saloon-type doors of the kitchenette. Strangely, I felt some resistance from the other side. I immediately came face to face with an impeccably well-dressed man with short, dark hair and coffee all over his immaculate pinstriped suit. I gaped at him in horror!

Good morning, Mr. Craig!

Mother of Invention, glad that stage of my life is over!