Celebration Saturday

Archive for the ‘Celebration Saturday’ Category

Celebrating Acts of Kindness

Posted in Celebration Saturday, clmooc, Gratitude, Writing, tagged #clmooc, Grand 16 Theater, James Taylor, kindness, Lafayette Strong, Prayer Shawl Ministry on August 1, 2015| 9 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Swinging for Addyson

1. When I heard the news that one of our students had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, I pulled out my crochet needle and created a prayer blanket for her. Saturday I gave her the blanket at a ragball fundraising event for her medical bills. Her smile says it all. Keep Addy and her family in your prayers as they continue to fight this battle.

Make yourself a park ranger.

2. Celebrating #clmooc and collaborative learning: This week marked the sixth and final make cycle of #clmooc. NWP joined the National Parks Service to encourage getting outside and exploring your national, state, and heritage parks. Kevin Hodgson invited me to join in the Google hang out on Tuesday evening. I love collaborating and learning from others. The archive of the hang out is here.

I had every intention of visiting a state park but the heat and the fact that my daughter was home kept me from participating further in this project.

Cheers to my daughter Martha.

3. Martha is home! My youngest flew in from Chicago for my last week of summer break. I’ve enjoyed spending time with her and just knowing she’s home.

4. My classrooms (I teach at two schools) are clean, organized, and decorated, ready for students to arrive all too soon.

photo by Jan Risher

5. Jan Risher, a writer for The Advertiser, the Lafayette regional newspaper, put out a call on Facebook for people to make paper cranes to honor the two victims of last week’s Grand 16 shooting. She gathered enough cranes to make two senbazuru. I made a few cranes and just doing this small gesture comforted me and helped me to feel a part of this community. I am very proud of the way the Acadiana community has responded with an outpouring of support and love. To me, it’s the only way to respond to violence…complete and utter kindness.

6. Speaking of responding with kindness and love, I celebrate James Taylor. In 1979 after our home had been totally flooded, the first album we purchased was James Taylor’s Flag. I listened to Up on the Roof so many times I memorized all the words. His music is still lifting up spirits and sharing love. Here is a recent performance in which the Charleston Low Country Voices joined him on stage. JT makes everything all right.

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Celebrate in the Midst of Tragedy

Posted in Celebration Saturday, tagged Grand Theater, Heroic teachers, Jillian Johnson, Lafayette, The Figs on July 25, 2015| 19 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

“The sisters” My daughters and me.

The hardest time to celebrate is during tragedy. But it is probably the most important time to do just that. Count your blessings. Hug the ones you love. Live more fully.

There is a tragic disease running through our country, random gun violence. Violence has invaded my community. Lafayette is a mere 25 miles down Highway 90 from New Iberia. We go there often for dinner, for shopping, and to go to the movies. In fact on Thursday night, my daughter Maggie and I drove to Lafayette to visit one of her friends who has a new baby. We did a little shopping. We drove by the theater around 7:15 PM, but we didn’t know then that tragedy was happening there.

When my daughter wants to go out with me, I jump at the chance. She’s 30 and has her own life. Spending time with her is precious. Today I celebrate that we got our toes done, a matching peachy orange. I celebrate that we oohed and ahhhed over baby Camille. I celebrate that we loved and laughed and had a girls’ night out.

Two local teachers were out for a girls’ night out. Theirs turned evil and bloody. They were heroes. They saved lives. Here is the story.

Jillian Johnson was not so lucky. She did not survive. She is remembered for her contribution to our community. In an article by Christiaan Mader, a close friend of Maggie, he described who Jillian was.

She was a commanding presence as a performer and a human being, smoke-voiced as a singer and sarcastic in her swollen drawl that gave conversation with her an air of sharp gentility. She was prone to pronouncement, ably confident, audacious with a ukulele, provocative, unafraid, kind in measures of deserving and fearless in calling your bullshit. She spun yarns and made friends as easily as she sloganeered. She was a turn-of-the-century Louisiana politician reincarnated. She could have kept a chicken in every pot if she set her mind to it. A wry grin contains genius within its limits, and Jillian’s grin was the wryest. (Read the whole article here.)

Shortly after the news broke, I received a text from my friend Jen. A simple message of love. Jen has suffered the tragic loss of both a husband and a son. This was her message: “I know too well how life can change in an instant. Always wanting to tell everyone I love how very much I love them & appreciate their presence in my life. I hope you know how much you (and Jeff) are loved and valued! Have a beautiful day! We each are only guarenteed this very moment.”

Take this moment and receive the joy of Jillian playing with her band “The Figs.” And then take the next moment to tell someone you love them.

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Celebrating Young Writers

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Teaching, Writing, tagged Main Street, New Iberia, Write your Way writing camp, writing marathon on July 18, 2015| 9 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Hayden reads his story to Jack, the lemur.

This week I am celebrating some great new writers. They attended Write Your Way writing camp with me. Above you see Hayden reading to Jack, the lemur. Jack took a tour of Main Street with us and especially enjoyed frolicking in the Bayou Teche Museum. He sat still long enough to listen to Hayden’s story about Al Hirt and Blue Dog.

Al Hirt and Blue Dog were getting ready for a wedding. Al was wearing a tuxedo and Blue Dog combed his fur. They were about to leave Al’s apartment .But before they could they heard a trumpet. They wanted to know where it came from. They looked and looked until they found it. A trumpet rested there. “Blow me and I’ll take you to the wedding,” it said. They were confused. But Hirt blew it anyway. They were then at the wedding. The End. –Hayden

Inspiration in Books along the Teche

Inspiration for writing was waiting all along Main Street. We stopped in at the independent book store, Books along the Teche. Emery found a line in The Book Thief that jumpstarted a whole new story for her. I hope she will keep writing it. That’s the thing about writing camp. It’s always too short. We set up a blog on kidblog that I hope the kids will use, but I know how summer activities take over and then school will start again. It’s hard to keep their focus once you release them.

Yesterday, I asked my writers to tell me their favorite part of writing camp, what surprised them, and how they will continue to practice their writing. The blog, writing in different places, and meeting new friends were top favorites. The surprises included “I didn’t think I was a poet,” and “I usually plan out my writing before doing it, but I was able to write a story and I don’t know where it’s going.”

We ate lunch yesterday at Victor’s cafateria, a favorite place for Dave Robicheaux (James Lee Burke’s MC). The clerk who checked us out asked me, “Are you a writer?”
I answered, “Yes.” I asked her to ask the students that question. Each of them said, “Yes, I am a writer.” I celebrate young writers today.

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Celebrating Travels Near and Far

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Writing, tagged French Quarter, House of Blues, Louisiana travel, New Orleans on July 11, 2015| 9 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

I started this week in Chicago and ended closer to home in New Orleans. I celebrate special times with family. When my sister texted me on Tuesday that she would be in New Orleans this week, I made plans to go. Not only did I want to spend time with her family, I secretly hoped I would get some of her mother-in-law’s amazing Indian food. Friday’s brunch was dosa, A South Indian filled pancake. Yum! And she filled her Lazy Susan with fruit, mango salad, and chutney. A savory and sweet feast. (Sorry, no pictures. I was too busy eating.)

Yes, that’s a real alligator. Before I arrived, my sister’s family went on a swamp tour. The guides encourage alligators out of the water with treats of marshmallows and hotdogs. Beth took this amazing close-up right from the boat.

One of the highlights of our French Quarter visit was a tour of the House of Blues. Tinka, my brother-in-law, wanted to show his kids this famous venue. We didn’t expect to get a tour, but the hostess offered, so we jumped at the chance. The place is full of good vibes beginning with the God Wall. This wall hangs directly above the stage celebrating all religions. Our guide told us that the God Wall is central to their shared philosophy of tolerance and kindness. One House of Blues motto is “Help Ever*Hurt Never.” I wanted that on a bumper sticker but had to be satisfied with a t-shirt.

House of Blues God Wall

I celebrate summer, time to travel and be with family. This is Jack’s collage of our day. I didn’t mention beignets, a must stop in The Quarter. I love that Jack wanted a picture with me at Cafe du Monde. I’m not the only one celebrating this special time.

French Quarter carriage driver waters down his mule.

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Celebrating

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Solomon House on June 27, 2015| 5 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Ruth’s round up of celebrations reminds me each week, no matter what, that there is much to celebrate and I should take the time to just do it. So here I am.

On Tuesdays, I serve at Solomon House, a local food bank and mission of my church. This week, my friend wanted to ride along to do the Starbucks and Cane’s pick up. (These two places donate their day old bread and pastries.) We took this selfie as we enjoyed Cane’s fries. Nothing like the joy of a child to brighten my day.

Summer is heating up. My morning walks are hot, nearing 90 degrees with high humidity. Much like a walk through a sauna; however, I celebrate the blooming crape myrtle trees. They reach out with bright blossoms like fireworks.

Jack and I went to Bonne Terre Cottage to have a little writing retreat and to visit our friend, Jen. We had a lovely day. I celebrate sacred spaces and good friends.

One of my favorite fruits of summer is watermelon. It tastes even better when someone else cuts it and serves it in a pottery bowl. I celebrate the sweet fruits of summer.

I cannot end this celebration post without mentioning the historical celebration that is moving the earth. I celebrate the freedom of all people to marry. I am approaching my 33rd anniversary with my husband. Now everyone can participate in this sacred bond; everyone is equally entitled to lawfully wed. There is a wave of change. It may cause a high tide, but this wave has washed over many and said, “You are OK.” I am hopeful in the rainbow.

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Celebrating Mom’s Birthday

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Writing, tagged family, Hunter Gibson, lake, Nola on June 20, 2015| 11 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

I have a new best friend. We met on the Internet through blogging, linking up each week with the Two Writing Teachers blog. We met face to face for the first time at NCTE in the fall. So when she told me she was coming to New Orleans to visit colleges with her daughter, I jumped at the chance to get together. Julianne Harmatz, her daughter Claire, and I spent the day together on Tuesday. I showed her some of my favorite things about NOLA, The Quarter, beignets at Cafe Du Monde, and Pim’s Cup at The Napoleon House. Julianne and I talked nonstop. At one point we were discussing birthdays and guess what!? We have the same birthday! I screamed, “Soul sisters!” I celebrate friendship.

With Julianne in Jackson Square

On Wednesday I drove home to Mississippi to be with my sister and her kids to celebrate our mother’s birthday. All of us (brother included) went out to a nice restaurant for lunch together. Much talking, laughter, and fun. Here’s Mom with her Crème brûlée desert.

My brother, Hunter Gibson, is a musician. He was featured in The Clarion-Ledger this week. Friday night many of us gathered to hear him play and sing. Jack, my 10 year old nephew, and I made origami with dollar bills for the tip jar. Jack made an elephant and I made a guitar. I celebrate creating with Jack and in giving to Hunter.

The sunsets are glorious here at the lake. I celebrate being with family, watching wildlife, and reconnecting with friends old and new.

June sunset on the lake

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Celebrating Summer Week 3

Posted in Celebration Saturday, tagged Breaux Bridge, celebration, Joie de Vivre coffee shop, Lagniappe Antiques Mall, Louisiana, rainbows, writing space on June 13, 2015| 8 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Twitter is buzzing this morning. My friends in cyberspace are posting images of their writing spaces. Such a fun way to connect with other teacher/writers. My writing space is messy. I sit at the kitchen table most days because Charlie (my dog) is here, so he keeps me company. Mimi, the cat, is often lying on some random piece of paper. What is it about cats and paper? I have a tablet for notes, a leather journal for quick poems, and my school notebook where many ideas are stored. I celebrate time to sit here, connect with others, and write.

#Iwritehere

Celebrating Rainbows: The good thing about summer rain showers (which are happening daily) is rainbows. I know the science behind a rainbow, but I still marvel at the sight and believe in the promise. May your summer be filled with rainbows.

Thursday morning rainbow

Celebrating coffee shop visits: Yesterday I had two coffee shop dates. A wonderful way to relax and reconnect with friends over summer days.

I’m in between Jen and Sandy. Coffee cups and friends!

Celebrating antique shopping: This is a rare treat for me, to wander through an antique market. This one is next to the Joie De Vivre Coffee Shop in Breaux Bridge, Lagniappe Antiques Mall. Lagniappe is a French word that means a little something extra. That’s an understatement. It was a warehouse full of somethings extra. I bought a few things that jumped off the shelves at me, silver napkin rings, a 1961 Life magazine, and vintage postcards.

Lagniappe Antiques Mall

Antique store finds, a 1961 Life magazine and vintage postcards.

What are you celebrating today?

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Celebrating Summer

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Writing, tagged Bonne Terre Cottage, chickens, LA Writes on June 6, 2015| 16 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Another week of summer and I am celebrating…

1. A daily walk with Charlie. One of my outside cats, Buzz, likes to come along, but not for my company, for Charlie’s. Here he’s holding onto Charlie’s leash as if to take him for a walk.

Charlie and Buzz

2. Visits with friends. Jen lives at Bonne Terre Cottage which includes a pond, a farm, and a yard full of chickens. I sat on her back porch and wrote this little ditty about the chickens.

Can you count the chickens in the yard?
Like a kid on the playground,
Black-n-White pecks under the tree,
trots to the birdbath to join his friends.
A treasure of seeds in this dirt?

Here comes Petite Princess
prancing like the queen of the yard,
Spreading the gossip of the group.

These chickens in the yard
make me happy until…
Big Orange decides my toe looks yummy!

3. Judging LA Writes. I coordinate our state writing contest and every year other teachers from our state join me to judge the entries. This year we read 825 poems, stories, and essays to cull each grade level division to 8-10 to send to author judges. I was disappointed in the quality. (Food for another blog post thought.) But spending time with other teachers talking about the craft of teaching and writing is always inspiring and fun.

4. Taking care of myself. I had a sinful facial this week. I say sinful because it feels way too good to be guilt-free. I’m not sure it does anything for my aging face, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Happy Summer, y’all!

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Taking Care of Myself

Posted in Celebration Saturday, Photography, tagged #blackandwhite, #nwpianthology, Digilitchallenge, exercise, health, Prayer Shawl Ministry on May 30, 2015| 14 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

Today is Celebration Saturday, and I am celebrating the first full week of summer and taking care of myself. I think we are all guilty of putting ourselves at the bottom of the list. This first week out of school I had time. I celebrate the gift of time to take care of myself.

Cleaning out! I hit the laundry room first. The shelves are clean. The junk is thrown out. The useful, but no longer needed, things are bagged up for Goodwill. Luckily today is a community household waste collection day, so my husband’s truck is ready to go with many cans of paint.
Hosting Poetry Friday and having time to read all the posts! See the round up here.
Crochet time: I recently learned of a second grade student at one of my schools who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I am crocheting my first afghan as a prayer blanket for her.
Eating right: I’ve caught a few episodes of Dr. Oz. He advised us to eat berries at breakfast. I went blueberry picking this week and am enjoying these pops of fruity deliciousness with absolutely no guilt.

Playing with photography: Last Sunday I put out a DigiLit Challenge. Tomorrow I will post another one. I also took Kim Douillard’s challenge of the week to try Black and White.

New Orleans City Park

Grandmother Oak Morning

Candle sculpture

Exercise: I love walking my dog. In the summer, you must get out before 8 AM to beat the heat. My inner clock is still tuned to getting up for school, so I took advantage of early mornings to walk with Charlie. He celebrates walking, too.
Time to write: This is last because I have a tinge of guilt that I didn’t spend more time writing. I worked on a draft for a future blog post. I revised my middle grade work in progress and wrote one poem.

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Posted in Celebration Saturday, Gratitude, Teaching, Writing, tagged Prayer Shawl Ministry, students writing on May 23, 2015| 12 Comments »

Ruth Ayres invites us the celebrate each week. Click over to her site Discover. Play. Build. to read more celebrations.

I heard from a colleague that her student’s mom was battling cancer. I made a prayer shawl and gave it to the little girl at school. Two days later I got this text.

A miracle to Celebrate!

The end of the school year is such a bittersweet time. I receive notes from students and parents that lift me up and make me cry. I celebrate the connections in my lives with my students and their families.

Magic Matt is learning to make balloon animals for his act. Love these!

My letter from Matthew included this awesome line, “To say I’ll miss you would be like saying you kind of like poetry.”

And from his mom, “You are so much more than Matthew’s teacher. You are his mentor, his confidante, his cheerleader, and one of his biggest supporters!”