Savoring My OLW

          Slicing with the Two Writing Teachers community is a pleasure every week.  Thanks for all you do Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Beth and Anna!

         I noticed that a few days ago, the Two Writing Teachers asked about our One Little Word. In these busy, busy final weeks of school, the special slice of life that means I'm living my OLW-paint, is when I get out the paints and take a little while for something I love to do. It refreshes, takes away all the worries of THE LIST that grows longer every week. Here's a sample of one I've done of a favorite spring flower, those beautiful bleeding hearts. Hope your days are all going as well as they can, and your OLW is a treasure to you. For those of you who are finished with your school years, Happy Summer!

Final Poetry Friday In April - Sad To Say - But Welcome May!

          

           Renée M. LaTulippe at No Water River is our host today, sure to be a fabulous final Friday of April Poetry Month. Thanks, Renée!

           For April, Poetry month, still writing haiku and haiku-related poems. It's been a good challenge to write fewer words, trying to "say" something. Some of us are supporting each other using the hashtag #digipoetry. Join us.

          Find the many Poetry Month offerings rounded up by Jama Rattigan at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Irene Latham's Progressive Poem is becoming quite exciting. Be sure to check on Tricia Stohr-Hunt at The Miss Rumphius Effect to read the latest line, and then the entire poem!

           I haven't written about my year's One Little Word since I chose it. I haven't forgotten it, but also have paid little attention to it. I have been doing a few things with it, but not daily as I wrote was my goal. Life and work seems to have gotten in the way. My OLW is PAINT, and doing something besides writing and work is a lovely way to relax and think. So, I have been doing a little bit, and thought I'd share one with my haiku today. 

22)  

dandelion spring seeds

prepped for travel -

just need a child

 Linda Baie © All Rights Reserved

Celebration - Fun To share!

Come Celebrate with Ruth Ayres at Discover Play Build! Here at the end of the week, it's a good time to stop and reflect, to find those lovely moments to celebrate in the week. Thanks to Ruth, we all get to do this together!

             Hard to believe I've been back to work for a week, a long, long week, but by Friday, everyone seemed to have their "mojo" back, and it was a terrific day of work and hanging out, playing together. Students progressively became more energetic from Monday through to Friday. We all actually did well on Monday, although we were tired by the end of the day. Here are a few pictures that highlight the week:

Snow Sunday!

Slicing (and Coloring) My OLW

              Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Beth, Anna and Betsy for all the support last year. I wish you all a beautiful new year of both learning and possibilities! It's good to be in this community and hearing from so many about their lives, professional and personal.

It's the Tuesday Slice of Life!  Tweet at #sol15

          I wrote about my 2014 One Little Word in December, contemplating what it has meant to me, and starting the path to a new one. You can read that post here. I loved the word "wander". It felt comfortable and freeing, helped me make choices without worry, helped me take risks. This year I want that feeling too, but came across a few sentences one day, and the way this person wrote made me realize that I could use the word "PAINT" as a verb. The new year, every year, has often felt like a blank piece of paper to me. I've used Eve Merriam's poem Metaphor often at the beginning of the school year (find it here) and that poem has informed many of my teaching years. 
           Although I didn't post last week, I did read your posts, and noted all the One Little Words shared, and have continued to do so, wondering if I was missing some important word. Although I saw that all of you were inspired for 2015 by your word, I didn't see even one that whispered to me. The possibility of painting my year enthralls me. There are all those wonderful "what ifs" that come to mind, all those colors! So, PAINT it is.

Pondering Wandering

Time for the weekly Slice of Life at the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Tweet at #SOL14  

       Thanks to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Beth, Anna and Betsy for all the support in this community.

at my old cabin

         Time to consider a new one little word, and to reflect upon the year past with my word, wander.  Merriam-Webster states that wander means “to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction.”  Although I have wandered to other places this year, usually with intent: the All-Write in Indiana (to see and be with online friends, to learn), to Missouri with daughter and all three grandchildren (road trip to see my brother and family), and to Pennsylvania to join a poetry group (writing, writing), I feel that those trips and others closer to home still mean “wandering”.

Visiting My OLW

          Time for the weekly Slice of Life at the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Tweet at #SOL14  Thanks Stacey, Tara, Dana, Beth, Anna and Betsy!

          It's time to write about my OLW for the year, WANDER. Remember back when I wrote that I had found a new journal that said wander, and then I'd connected this to meaning MORE WRITING?  It has!
          I have been doing what Merriam-Webster says is the meaning of wander: "to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction" or "to follow a path with many turns".   Some of the time I have had a direction, to improve my writing, but I also need to share a secret. I'm writing different things all the time, seems like practice, and it's fun.  Learning to wander into a new approach instead of just changing a word is part of that. 
            To learn and grow, I've taken the online poetry workshop with Renée LaTulippe (see the button at the right). I've wandered back to Honesdale, PA to enjoy and work hard at a second poetry workshop with David Harrison. I've continued my writing group which has grown smaller, but some of us are still pushing on together. And, I've just signed up for PiBoIdMo. Clearly, I'm following a path of many turns.  


          A friend sent me a quote: "Having precise ideas often leads to a man doing nothing." Paul Valéry, a French poet
          I've been sketching more; it helps me think and imagine. Mostly I sketch what I see, sometimes from a photo. Clearly I'm wandering, and more than once, it's a slice of life that I'm living.

A "Wandering" Slice

Time for the weekly Slice of Life at the Two Writing Teachers blog.  Tweet at #SOL14  
        It's great to read what others have to share from their lives. Come visit! Hope everyone is beginning a terrific week!

       My One Little Word is "wander", and while I haven't really been out of town, I have been trying a few new things. I am still weaving, but the new work at school has taken more of my time. I am traveling in a little while to visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandson, and I have plenty of terrific plans for the summer.      

Hm-m, my OLW is a good one!

        Thanks go to  the Two Writing Teachers blog, to Ruth and Stacey for hosting Tuesday Slices of Life, a way for others to share parts of their lives, personal and professional. Come join in the fun!

      After reading everyone’s posts last week, I thought more and listened to others, not just noting their One Little Words, but the “why” of them.  The arc of my life is not the usual geometric half-circle, but more similar to a roller coaster, numerous ups and downs, and the downs are not necessarily bad, they can sometimes mean quiet and rest.  And the ups might be excitement and incredible experiences, or they might just mean hurry, much on the to do list.  So, I thought that I might choose the word “flexible”, yet I know that I am, I was, I will be.  That is a trait already ingrained, not a word to live by.  Finally, I pondered the beginnings, the new year, the new home and knew that my word for this year must be “possibilities”.  Think of it!