new day

biking on a pedestrian bridge, i saw the sun bouncing from a building and lighting the river.  

some boats were out and on the other side of the bridge there was an official-looking boat.

then i saw a large group of people by the water's edge.

maybe a kayaking event?  

tomorrow...

a joyful day to you.

backyard orchard

farmers' market apples.

next best thing to going to an orchard.

edible beauty.

joy to you.

boater

fall beauty.

happy thursday!

once upon a cool motorcycle dude

 one day a creative author, kevin o'malley, wrote once upon a cool motorcycle dude.

every princess-loving girl will enjoy it, and 

 every child who doesn't typically read fairy tales will love it, too.

 here's what's interesting - three illustrators!

 the pretty princess artist,

 o'malley, who drew the children of the story who had to write a fairy tale together,

 and

 the cool motorcycle dude artist.

 children will relate to 

 group projects with challenging peers, and

smile at the unexpected story.

voracious readers will eat the book up like chocolate pudding.  those who will really benefit are reluctant or early readers.  read this aloud, and they realize what fun books can be.

there is a sequel called once upon a royal superbaby.

joy to you.

back acres farm

see more here.

edible beauty.

joy to you!

fog

peace to you this week.
and joy.

more river

quiet relaxing time is my wish for you this weekend.

and joy.

plenty

the book is organized by the main vegetable, and although the author eats meat 

this book is plant recipes.  

it was the baked pumpkin with parmesan that caught my eye.

a friend gave us butternut squash, so we used that instead.

slice the squash or pumpkin, and in a bowl grate parmesan, mix with parsley, some white bread crumbs, crushed garlic, and lemon zest.  coat pumpkin with olive oil, pour toppings on, and bake at 375 until soft.  serve with sour cream mixed with fresh dill and lemon zest.

beautiful food.

joy to you.

oakley cycles

oakley cycles

cool shopping.

joy to you.

fence

fall light

and no filters needed.

fall cooking soon.

blessings to you.

ohio at coney island

a peaceful monday to you.

traffic - the alley

peaceful waiting.

dewey's pizza

 edgar allen poe is the name of a pizza at dewey's.

it's covered with garlic cloves, olives, fresh tomatoes, and goat cheese.

the inferno is a buffalo chicken pizza with celery and ranch dressing.

dewey's pizza for birthday supper.

edible beauty.

the name jar

 starting school means new friends and learning names.

a beautiful book about a just-arrived korean child with a hard-to-pronounce name 

shows how important this can be.

 after having trouble introducing herself to children on the bus, unhei tells her class that she 

"hasn't picked a name yet".  

they start a name jar and help her think of lots of names.

a darling tale about claiming your true identity, and

finding a dear friend in the process.

picture-book beauty.

joy to you.

the girl who never made mistakes

 during the first days of school, i read this book aloud to our

first, second, and third-grade students.  

 beatrice bottomwell has fans outside the door in the morning.  

she's won the local talent show with her juggling act three years in a row, but she won't go skating on the frozen pond.

what if she fell? 

the story and illustrations are charming, but the message is key.  if you know a little perfectionist or perhaps a child who easily works above grade level but hates to try difficult things for fear of making an error, this book is helpful.

more information here.

the beauty of imperfection.

joy to you.

market

pumpkins at the farm market.  

seasonal beauty.

happy monday!

no day

 a middle school music teacher's board.

temporal beauty.

joy to you this weekend.