9/15/18

Gathering Graces 9/14/2018

*My bookings have really picked up this week with my VIPKID students.  This morning I had two classes booked.  One was a “no show”, and one was with a girl named Rui Xin.  We had a good time.  This evening, I also had a class with Elsa.  She was fun, too.  I am really enjoying getting to “meet” all these different students, and teach them a little bit about speaking English!
*The Huckleberry Book Club started back today with a gathering at Sue’s house.  We had read “Educated” by Tara Westover, the woman I saw speak in Moscow on Monday.  It was fun sharing about the talk with the group, and we had a great discussion about the book, education, and catching up on our lives.  Next month we are reading a Pulitzer Prize winning biography about Laura Ingalls Wilder called Prairie Fire:The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser.  I am looking forward to this book, despite the fact (much to the chagrin of some of my friends like Kellee Crall Mills, Christina Curry, April M Lee and Stephanie Bauman Broaddus), that I have never read one of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.  I tried reading one to Molly when she was younger, but just couldn’t get into it.  I really never watched the television show much either.  I know enough to identify some of the characters in the show, but that is about it.  It sounds like this book tells the “real” story of what life was like on the prairie.  I love books like this, that teach part of history that I am usually unaware of, or only know part of the story.
*Even though the temperatures are feeling more fall like during the day, the late afternoon/early evening temperatures have been quite pleasant.  I went out and picked some flowers, and collected another batch of rose petals, and loved smelling the wonderful fragrance of those rose petals.  Smells can evoke strong memories, and the rose petals remind me of my Grandma Woolum’s house and yard.  She must have had some fragrant roses around her yard.  I love that Paul and I can still eat outside and enjoy a pleasant meal on our patio.
*I headed to my downstairs classroom after dinner to prepare for my 8 p.m. class, as well as my 5:30 a.m. class for the next morning.  I am figuring out better how to prepare, and I am getting used to the trial classes, so those are easy to prepare for now. 
*For the past two years, my sister-in-law Laurie has told me about this podcast called The West Wing Weekly.  It is a podcast hosted by former cast member Joshua Malina and his friend Hrishikesh Hirway.  Starting back in March 2016, the hosts do an episode-by-episode discussion of the show The West Wing.  I have watched the entire series (all seven seasons) between five and ten times.  I recently started it again.  This time, I will do it by watching an episode, then listening to this podcast.  Right now, as of September 11, 2018, they are on Season 5, Episode 14.  I look forward to finding a new way to watch and appreciate my favorite television drama series.

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