The Shaping. The Lighting.
The creamed spinach was excellent! We gobbled it up! So that recipe makes the recipe binder cut. In other news, I’m glad to report I’ve encouraged my potted plum tree to arrive at the perfect shape. It’s adorable! Now, I’ll insulate the pot (to protect the roots from too much cold) and let the tree […]
A Creamed Spinach Recipe I’m Trying
I have so much spinach in my refrigerator. Today I remembered how much my husband loves creamed spinach, so I began searching for a recipe. I found this version called Heathy Creamed Spinach, and I’m so excited to try it! I love creamy cashew sauces, especially if nutmeg is involved! https://detoxinista.com/healthy-creamed-spinach/#wprm-recipe-container-26933 I truly enjoy trying […]
You hope you will, and sometimes, you do.
As I’m walking around the beautiful Fox Hill Gardens to find fall mums, I stop by a little pond. I lean down because in my hopes and dreams of childhood, I always searched for frogs who might just sit on lily pads. It’s something from stories and paintings and imagination. It’s something you hope you’ll […]
A Beautiful Day
Besides the enormous hustle and bustle around Penn State due to our White Out game and the presence of College Game Day broadcasting on ESPN from the lawn of Old Main, life feels quiet on my street. I just delivered three ripe garden tomatoes to the neighbors. I took a walk with a friend. I […]
Of Good Courage
I recall the first Bible verse I ever memorized and meditated on as true and entirely applicable to my situation. In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses encourages Joshua as a new leader who will enter unknown territory. His words? “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God goes with you. He will not fail […]
A Little Assessment
Sometimes I challenge my students and the writers I coach to craft a paragraph using all active, vivid verbs and the five punctuation marks that best contribute to a written voice: colons, semicolons, parentheses, dashes, and commas. I also coax writers to vary their sentence length. Try the five-word sentence! Then try the longest sentence […]
Seeking After You
Sometimes a student will miss a class or two. But if a student misses several classes without contacting me, I go into this investigative mode. I email. I ask other students. I check his or her social media accounts. I contact the advisor. I go where I think they have a part-time job. Where are […]
Keep Learning.
Today I joined a group for new professors at Penn State who talk about teaching. I first thought I didn’t need a group like this. Did I even want a group like this? I’ve been teaching for 25 years! What else could I learn? Oh my! I learned so much in the first five minutes […]
The Joy of Reasonable Goals
My dreaded season of grading has begun. It’s the least favorite part of my job, but in order to offer students timely and relevant feedback, I offer grades with commentary soon after an assignment’s due date. This means I’m nearly always grading something. So today, I set reasonable goals. I might say, “OK, let’s grade […]
Making it Easier
My husband recently weeded around all the raspberry canes and then tied up the long stalks so I could better pick all the raspberries. Before this, the massive tangle of raspberries made it difficult; I practically crawled into a thicket to gather raspberries and endured pokes and scapes along the way. Weeds suffocated my legs. […]