Friday Books: End of My Tutoring Year

I have done no reading since last weekend. I have fallen behind at my book club. I'm about 1/10th into last month's book, which is pretty long. Next Monday they will start discussing this month's book -- which I got from the library but have not cracked open.

Instead of books, I will tell you about the end of my tutoring year. I worked one-on-one with an 8th grade boy this year. We were working on literacy and had specific tasks to do, aimed at improving his reading skills. He was a very polite boy, and I enjoyed working with him. In the last month he started getting squirrely. He was either comfortable enough with me, finally, to let his sillies out, or he was getting the end-of-the-year antsy pants. When it was to be my last day there, I thought he'd be a puddle of silliness, but I was wrong. He was back to being focused and working hard. We had a lot of work to do on the last day, but I took some time to talk with him about his progress. I was SO excited when he did a great job reading, and I think he was, too. He went up 3 grade levels in reading this year! Hooray! I gave him some bookmarks and lists of Books for Boys. It was a very fun day, and a great way to end my year of tutoring. I hope some day he will love reading.

Next fall I don't think I'll go back to tutor... maybe... but I have so many places I want to volunteer, and I might want to try a new gig. That's the joy of being retired. I can volunteer here, volunteer there, and see how I feel about the different experiences. My heart is in the tutoring/literacy vein, but I am keeping my options open for now.

Meanwhile, I bought us a new/used adirondack chair which makes a great quilt holder-upper. I finished two quilts and got another top made. Feast your eyes:






This one might be done, or might not be.. I am contemplating this one before I declare it fully done.

I just realized something funny: all three of the above quilts were made from blocks mostly made by other people. I only had to make a couple more to round it out, or just add borders, as in the last one. I can't even tell you where I got some of these blocks. They just find their way to my house! They will all end up snuggling with a child somewhere and will be full of love.

A Day in My Life

After I figured out that the turtle we found in our yard (see yesterday's post) was a snapper, I wasn't as enamored with it. In fact, it kind of creeped me out. I wonder if it was a mama turtle, burying her eggs in our yard. Maybe, because she wasn't aggressive at all; probably worn out from laying eggs. Also she seems to have skedaddled pretty quickly after finishing whatever task she she was appointed to do in our yard. We have not investigated to see if there are any freshly dug/covered up holes.

Today has been so cold! High was in the low 50s F., and it has been raining all day. I had to put on a wool sweater and wool socks to stay warm. A tragedy happened today not too far from where I used to work and near where Hubby takes his daily walk. At the end of his walk he heard sirens and saw several emergency vehicles arriving in the area... a couple of kids died... it was weather-related. I just feel so terrible for the families. The ferocious tornado in Oklahoma has been on my mind, too. What a terrifying time for them! Life can change in an instant. I was moved to send my adult kids a text reminding them how much I love them. Son responded; daughter probably rolled her eyes. She knows I send texts like that when I watch poignant movies or hear something sad! Sometimes I have a hurting heart. Sending mommy heart hugs to all families who are suffering tonight.

Work was weird today, too. For some reason I just couldn't get my brain engaged. When they made an offer for an early-out this afternoon, I snatched it up. My job is just too hard to attempt when my brain won't cooperate. I'm hoping next time I go to work my brain will be better rested and ready to engage.

I came home early and was able to finish quilting and binding a project for Quilts Beyond Borders. Tomorrow I will send these two quilts in the mail to QBB. Sorry... I've probably posted these pics a million times, but getting them done and in the mail is so exciting. I can't do that without posting pics at my blog!


Both these quilts measure 40" x 60". This quilt is my first Sunshine-related quilt being sent to Quilts Beyond Borders.


This quilt is officially my response to the Hands 2 Help Challenge for Quilts Beyond Borders. I used leftovers from this quilt in the borders of the quilt above.

I finished this block today, too. I followed a picture from someone's blog (do you know who's? I've forgotten). I didn't have the dimensions, so I made up that part. Mine measures about 20". I'm not sure yet where I will use it.



And that's all for today's "day in the life" report. Not the best day, with sadness around me and cold, dreary weather. But I did manage to finish quilts and make a block. Carrying on.

I really hope I don't find a parade of baby snapping turtles in my yard later this summer!

Turtle!

Yesterday Hubby went outside to mow the lawn. He came back in and said "want to see a big turtle?" This big guy was in our lawn, up against the retaining wall. We have never seen turtles in our yard, ever. This is the first, and he's huge! I have never seen a turtle this big in this neighborhood at all. I was shocked! I thought it was so cool that this turtle graced our yard with its visit.


hubby's foot is there for scale


notice its big foot/claw against the wall? Wow!

Hubby went ahead and mowed the lawn, and Turtle sat there patiently. We went back inside the house and several hours later wondered what our turtle was up to. We went ouside to check. He had vanished! I'm so curious about where this thing lives and what it was doing in our yard. There is a lake nearby, but it is probably a quarter mile -- an awfully long walk for a turtle. We have seen turtles around the lake, but only tiny ones. And as I said, never in our yard or anywhere on our street.

Does anyone know anything about turtles? Is this a lake-dweller? I know absolutely nothing about what sort of habitat a turtle like this requires. Where does it spend its days?? I'm very curious. Time to do some research.

Edit -- I did some research and determined that this is a snapping turtle! It seemed extremely unaggressive yesterday, thankfully. Usually they have to eat while in/under water, so I'm not sure what it was doing so far from the lake. Now I'm going to be careful all summer long when going outside without my steel-toed boots!

Earning CEUs

In my profession I am required to earn CEUs in order to keep my certification current. Even though I'm retired, I still work part-time and need to keep up with the changes in the field. Last weekend I went to a conference to earn some CEUs. It was worthwhile, and lots of fun. I had surprising connections with some of the other students and also with some of the workshop staff. I've been in the field so long that I know stuff about some of them when they were babies! Small world. And lots of fun.










Here's the whole crazy bunch.. I'll give you a dollar if you can find me




some of the workshops required putting our whole selves in


couldn't be more fun

H2H Link-Up -- My Progress

I'm linking up to show my progress on my Hands 2 Help challenge quilts. I finished them both!! (Some readers may have already seen these pictures.)

This one has already been sent to Em for Happy Chemo. She photographed it on her porch. Check it out. It looks so cute there.



The next one is made from leftovers of the above quilt. I started out with a jelly roll and made the Happy Chemo quilt. Then with leftovers and stash I made this one, which is going to Quilts Beyond Borders.



I still had some leftovers with which I made nine-patches. I put the nine-patches in the borders of another quilt for QBB. This one isn't done yet, but hopefully will be finished and in the mail very soon.




Go here to see the other link-ups and the quilts other bloggers are working on.

Quilt Show!

There is a new area arts association in a nearby town, and their first-ever quilt show is now up. I have a quilt in the show, and a few other people from my guild do, too. Their building is a former church, now used for community events. I liked the venue, so took some pictures that include the pretty windows or surroundings. Enjoy the show! (If you're near Rosemount, MN, stop on by. The show runs through Sat., May 18.. attendance has been low so far.)

Friday Books: Two

After Easter come sunny days
that will melt all the snow
With a book that I want to read
to the park I will go!

This week I read two short books --

(1) Forever Ours: Real Stories of Immortality and Living from a Forensic Pathologist by Janis Amatuzio. This author is a doctor in Minnesota, and mentions familiar places -- it's fun to be familiar with her setting. 3 stars

(2) A Predator Priest by David Margolick. It's about a Catholic priest who molests boys; I believe it was offered only as a Kindle book. 3.5 stars

Both reviews can be found in my Goodreads shelf in my sidebar.