No One Cared

Wind blows twisted round the edge
Sharper ninety degree squared
Angled poised on concrete ledge
Gargoyle granite heart despaired

Straight and narrow, plumb declared
Wind blows twisted round the edge
Compass points no longer shared
Crooked staff would drive a wedge

Wrapped and trapped by thorny hedge
Disdainful eyes bleakly stared
Wind blows twisted round the edge
I’m curled and furled, back unspared

Raked and sanded, soft scars bared
Drilled a hole, my soul to dredge
I stand convicted, no one cared
Wind blows twisted round the edge

Another attempt at Quatern.  AllPoetry prompt posted on facebook – “plumb”

Aberration Words

Aberration words rhythmic form.
Wing beat bruises from passing birds,
Reminders that it’s not her norm,
Aberration words.

Her heart in free-verse oft deferred,
Though late this bird tries for the worm,
Still hopes the message not unheard.

She lost her mind, this rigid storm,
Frustration swells as anger spurred.
Crouched in phrases deemed lukewarm,
Aberration words.

Working on form. This is a Roundel. According to wikipedia:

A roundel (not to be confused with the rondel) is a form of verse used in English language poetry devised by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909). It is a variation of the French rondeau form. It makes use of refrains, repeated according to a certain stylized pattern. A roundel consists of nine lines each having the same number of syllables, plus a refrain after the third line and after the last line. The refrain must be identical with the beginning of the first line: it may be a half-line, and rhymes with the second line. It has three stanzas and its rhyme scheme is as follows: A B A R ; B A B ; A B A R ; where R is the refrain.

Late Night Conversations With Myself

I can see spring in winter, she told me
And I looked and looked
But it eluded me, though I wouldn’t say so
I didn’t want to disappoint
I never do

But the cold and white
Clouded over everything
And made my fingers numb
(or maybe my heart?)

I have all these vague memories
Of being young
Of not thinking about these things
Of not being so damn tired

And you would think me foolish
You are concrete and forgetful
When it comes to emotion

I am the kite
In an electrical storm
I really don’t have enough sense
To come in out of the rain
But the lightening is beautiful
And the rain lets me cry
In private

She sees dreams in darkness
I just moan and turn over
I used to know her
Now we are strangers
I left her behind
Or did she leave me?

Should I be excited by new ideas
When the world is slowing down?
Sinking under the weight of years
Of politics and bills
Dirt I can no longer wipe away

Or should I mutely accept
That we are not meant to live
On mars
And that the rings around Saturn
Are just gas
That diamonds are coal
Money is paper
We are dust

Prompt: I see spring in winter – line from a book and Sunday Scribblings prompt 312 – The Rest of The Story

The Moon Veiled

why do you hide your face from me
stare into deep with no relief
no star to help this fool to see
a ship aground on coral reef

my heart is black as empty sky
why do you hide your face from me
silver cup of poison now dry
I float untethered drifting free

I rest my head but find no sleep
your peace withheld I am undone
why do you hide your face from me
I dread the rising of the sun

I will the clouds depart my eyes
unveil the glow to light my dreams
part darkest curtains please I cry
why do you hide your face from me

A quatern consists of 8-syllable lines and 4 quatrains. The first line of the first stanza is a refrain that is repeated in line 2 of the second stanza, line 3 of the third stanza and line 4 of the fourth stanza. The rhyme scheme:

Abab, cAca, adAd, eaeA where A is the refrain

The World Rested

we held ourselves easy
like turtles on a log
waiting for the sun
to warm outer shells
hoping for the warmth
to spread to bones

we held ourselves freely
as deer dive into dawn
wet with dew
lit by awakening sun
when the light
races ahead of the warmth

we held ourselves stilled
frozen like startled rabbits
blending into the grass
listening for the smallest breath
caught between
hiding or running

we held ourselves quieted
as the silken pond waited
as the trees cradled the nests
as the grass hid the beetle
as the clouds blanketed the sky
as the whole world sighed

and rested from the work of living

Scotland’s Shore

We ran throughout the night
The enemy storm did pound.
We ran throughout the night
While dark and thunder fell around.

We ran unto the break of day
Through tree and bush and hedge.
We ran unto the break of day
And found the river’s edge.

We ran though lungs would burst.
A thousand hooves to cleave the ground.
We ran though lungs would burst,
Our heartbeat matched the sound.

We ran for home and wife and babe,
The waters mixed with blood
We ran for home and wife and babe.
Bodhrán rhythm fed the flood.

We crossed the wide wide river,
A wall of horses ten men wide.
I hear the pipes within my soul.
I’ll run no more nor hide.
The lads and I to death will fight
With arrow, spear, claymore.
Though some may fall,
We’ll ride and fight
Till rest my head
On Scotland’s shore.

Image Credit: Tim Flach

Also inspired by Albannach

Prevail

and as the storm subsides
we bide our time
we ride it out
slide it out of time
of rhyme
the world will welcome
warm and sun
will run the colors
all together whether
weather bruises outsides
inner heart tides
creep to sand and hands
reach out and clasp
and grasp the love that
always makes it through
the loudest thunder
under-pinning winning
in the ending of the hard times
bells chime ringing music
singing songs of hope and
peace to all we call to friends
well met we set
the corner stone and build
our houses out of bricks
and mud and love
to stand the test of time
and rain will fall
but through it all
we love
we wait
prevail

Five Ways to Leverage Pinterest in Education

1. A “Vision Board” – the phrase has been coined by a writer who uses Pinterest as an inspiration board for her novel in progress.

2. Professional Development – “pin” links to articles and websites that pertain to training

3. Collaboration – Sharing, liking, and “re-pinning” images, quotes, and links for a collaborative project..

4. Build your Personal Learning Network. As members of the group follow each other and re-pin links, each member brings new resources to the entire group.

5. Share tips for busy teachers to help with meals and household tips. Teachers are  people too!  They have families and life outside of school. Pinterest allows the user to build a network of friends with similar challenges. Share tips and inspiration, recipes, and creativity.

If you have suggestions for other ways to use Pinterest as an educational tool I would love to hear them in the comments section!

edge of sleep

i walked on summer
leaving no bruise
on verdant softness
nightdress brushing
bony ankles
firefly leading on

you were there
i couldn’t find you
your breath easy in the dark
and though i ran
just out of reach
like the owl who spoke

i reached for your hand
fingers sliding loose
as i would give you
a dream
like sunlight pressed on
sleep closed eyes

warm sheet valley
the smell
of your cigarette
lingering

One Tear

If the sky was to fall
into her hands
she would break it to pieces
the glassine pebbles
falling all over
her snow covered dress
dropping
to chapped knees
praying with frosty breath
and a cloudy heart

head bowed
under weight of crystal clouds
sun warmth
would thaw this bitten heart
banished
from sheeted concrete
there is foggy joy
over the next hill
invisible
through rime encrusted lashes

one tear falls
clarity
only to shatter
ringing through
the grey air

Insomnia

Sunday Scribbling #306 rest

In the puddled hours
that lay at the base
of the clock,
I wonder if I am leaving
and in the leaving
will there be grace?

I pull the tiny threads
ties that bound and
sometimes gagged,
and feel them travel
down the dreams
of future wonder
undone.

smoothing knots
like a brush drawn
through silver hair,
shimmer waves of
memory,
cascading down,
unbraided
over stooped shoulders.

weary I wish to close
sanded eyes,
and sink into dark.
cradled in safety,
doors barred against
nightmare wolves
that howl at
a gibbous moon.

Cassiopeia

What thoughts spin
through a midnight mind
hung with the stars
draped in velvet regret
a beautiful prison
unchanging eternal
all for a careless word
vanity’s prize

Does she dream
from her heavenly perch
of the daughter
who was bound
for the sin of the mother
and rescued by love
of another

In love with herself
with herself she
remains
now watched by a world
she can never attain

Image Credit: http://spaceshipearth1.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/cassiopeia.jpg

TCEA 2012 Tammy Worcester “Beyond Cut and Paste”

Tammy Worcester Beyond Cut and Paste

Design Projects that require students to do more than just paste information (sometimes without even reading it!)

Use a Building Block Model
1.Collect Blocks
(gather information)

2. Organize Blocks
(critical thinking)

3.Build New Structure
(product / presentation)

Collect Blocks

I go to google daily but I learned a new trick in this session!

Go to google and type something into the search box. I chose George Washington
www.google.com
You can refine your search to show items categorized by reading level.  Scroll down and look at the left side. Click on More Search Tools.

You will see another list of ways to refine your search but for today we are interested in reading levels.

Click Reading Level

Google divides search results into three reading levels. Below you can see the reading levels in grey text.

~~~~~

Another search site that I have not used
Wolfram Alpha
- www.wolframalpha.com

Instead of listing websites related to your search query, Wolfram Alpha actually displays answers.

to get a better feel for the site you can go here and choose different types of examples:

http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/?src=input

here is an example:

generate a world map colored according to a given statistic. You will get more than just this image:

Here is an example of using Wolfram Alpha for math:

Cool site but use with care. I wish they had this when I was struggling with algebra!

~~~~~

Another way to gather information for your building blocks is Qwiki

Qwiki
www.qwiki.com

same George Washington search but now I can click for related items, there is multimedia, and you have the option of having it read to you.

So now you have several tools for gathering information (or collecting the blocks)

The next section gives you a couple of options for handling sources :

Organize Blocks

BibMe
-http://www.bibme.org/

Easy Bib
- http://www.easybib.com/

Build New Structure

PowerPoint or Google Presentation
-Acrostic (great idea – younger students required to find several facts about their subject and then they can use a power point slide to display their facts, older students required to use the entire alphabet and could even require that the facts be listed in not only alphabetical order but chronological as well. (For x her example just required that the first word contain an x rather than start with it)
-Post Card (create a template in word or two text boxes on a powerpoint slide. Add a photo, a smaller photo for a stamp, write a short note to someone as a historical or literary character)
-Children’s Story Map
-What Am I?

Web Tools
-Drawzit
www.drawzit.com
-Scribble Maps
www.scribblemaps.com
-iFake Text
www.ifaketext.com

iPad Apps
-ShowMe
-Educreations
-Sock Puppets

TCEA 2012

It is that time of year again. I am in Austin for TCEA so bewatching for posts on sessions.

Was able to meet an old friend for supper last night and we had a great meal and did a lot of catching up! Shout out to Bettie! It was wonderful to sit and talk!

A Baptism

Over the horizon
waits a storm here,
a drought there,
and time moves.
Grasses bend before it,
sharp peaks round over.
Pearls and diamonds
are birthed
while I wait
in quiet
surrounded by motes,
light poured over my head
like a baptism
of star debris.

http://sundayscribblings.blogspot.com/ prompt: action

Save Web Articles To Your Ereader

or make a personalized cookbook on your kindle!

I have joined the insanity that is Pinterest – the online pinboard site that lets you create boards by subject and then “pin” things you find on the internet to the boards you have created as well as follow others who have similar interests and “repin” what they find on your board. A visual representation of your finding is created, you add a short description and Pinterest creates a link to the website.

Fun but what if I want to access that recipe I found last week that would be perfect for supper and I really don’t want to take the time to go to Pinterest, find my board, click to the website, and jot down the directions??

There is a cool website that allows you to drag a bookmarklet to your browser toolbar. (If you already use Pinterest, you probably have the “Pin It” bookmarklet on your toolbar)

This bookmarklet works the same way.  The website is  http://dotepub.com/  and FIRST you check a box on the right sidebar to tell it whether you want mobi files for kindle or epub files for other ereaders (including your iPad). Now drag the bookmarklet to your toolbar.

Go to the webpage that has the cool recipe and click the bookmarklet (mine says mobi because I use a Kindle). You now download the file. The pictures and ads are stripped away and you have a file that contains the text of the recipe.

I made a folder I can drag my recipes and articles to and then when I have a few collected I go to the Kindle.

You will connect our Kindle to your computer via the usb cable. It will show up just like a flash drive. Double click to open and you will see several folders. The books live in the Documents folder. That is where you will drag your newly created mobi files. I suspect the process is similar on a nook, but I am not sure what the folders are called.

Once the files are on the Kindle, go to the list of books, navigate to a recipe, and press the right side of the controller. From the menu choose add to collection.  If this is the first time, click down to add new collection. Type Recipes or Cookbook or whatever you want to name it. The recipe will be added to the collection. Do this for each recipe.

Done

I also use Calibre for keeping up with my books and within Calibre you can edit metadata. The file will have a  long number in the name eliminate that. I was happy to see that Calibre automatically added the originating website as the author so I can always go back to refer to it.

I also emailed one of the mobi files to myself and downloaded on my iPad which knew to ask me if I wanted to open the file in the Kindle app.

I then converted a recipe to epub using dotepub.com and emailed it to myself. When I clicked the attachment on my iPad it knew to ask if I wanted to open it in iBooks (which also lets you create collections)

In both iBooks and Kindle, the recipes (or articles) will be listed in alphabetical order within the collection. I have been trying to think of a way to organize them within the collection in case you decide to save a bazillion recipes this way.  Off the top of my head, I think you could create a number code – 1 for main dish, 2 for side dish, 3 for dessert – or something similar. If you rename the files before you put them on your ereader using the number as the first character you will organize them one step further.

Remember there will be NO pictures. The pictures are stripped away, so if this is a recipe, project, tutorial that you need pictures for, you may want to try something different.

If you find other cool ways to use dotepub.com leave me a comment and tell me about it.

I Am Still Here…Really!

It’s been kind of sparse around here, I know. I was sick most of the month of December where I learned that antibiotics can make you well and more ill at the same time. I got better. Christmas came. Christmas went. Six hour drive to family for New Years. Six hour drive back.

Dale’s leg hurts. Then swells.

Go for transplant check up. (90 mile drive to DTI) Sonogram on leg. Go to hospital. Swelling due to very large blood clot. Admit Dale. Drive 90 miles home to pack. Drive 90 miles back. Stay for the weekend.

Frequent blood draws to check levels. I’m talking like three in the A.M. blood draws…

They accidentally had him on a diabetic diet. He is NOT diabetic. Food was low sodium (as in no salt) and diabetic so very little sugar. I question the whole hospital diet thing however. It was pretty carb heavy. It was not heavy on flavor. Grumpy husband food.

Then there is the chair bed. Or bed chair. Actually both are incorrect. It is neither a good chair nor a good bed. Just saying. It was not comfortable 4 years ago and while technology marches forward at a very rapid rate, hospital furniture design does not improve with time.

Came home from the hospital. Went to get prescriptions filled. One prescription – ONE WEEK supply – generic mind you, 200 dollars.

Call “insurance pharmacy that shall not be named”. Yes this is the price. No it doesn’t matter what pharmacy – UNLESS you use THEIR pharmacy through mail order. Yes the insurance company and the pharmacy are together. Just like this (insert imagination picture of fingers crossed over each other) Okay. It will be about 59 dollars for one month. (Keep in mind that they are also the ones who dictate the price of retail….not that I am ungrateful for the major price difference of about 700 dollars which is a lot of hamburger) Got the doc to change the prescription over of to the “insurance pharmacy that shall not be named”.

Checking the website, looking at the dates and adding up the time it normally takes to process, then the number of days it normally takes to deliver and I am disturbed because this looks very close and I would like to NOT pay another 200 dollars for another week for this prescription. Call “insurance pharmacy that shall not be named”. The lady was very nice. She put an URGENT code on it. Said if I didn’t hear from them in about 24 hours to check back.

24 hours later. Check the website. Still processing. Call “insurance pharmacy that shall not be named”. They need some more clinical information from the doc. It is now after five. Try calling the doc but of course the office is closed. Call “insurance pharmacy that shall not be named” back. Talk to a new person. Put through to a pharmacist. Explain the situation. Get through everything (what it is taken in conjunction with, why it is being taken, how long, how often testing will be done) and he is going to go ahead and put it through. He asks my title. My title as in my title at the DOCTOR’S OFFICE…. oops. I explain that I did not mean to impersonate anyone – this is just not my first rodeo, I take notes, ask questions, and I have GOOGLE for heavens sake. We are four years out from transplant and this is the first hospitalization. We are ninjas!

I think someone is getting yelled at.

Still going to expedite it with me promising I will call the doc in the morning and ask him to please call them so they have the documentation.

Total time spent on this prescription so far…about five hours.

This might even be amusing if it was on television. I think I need massive amounts of red wine and 24 hours of Big Bang Theory playing on the telly.

Next episode?  The hospital bill. That one should be a scream.

Fairy Dust

dark summers night
she reaches for light
magicked feet hold fast to ground

he creeps up behind her
wishes to bind her
brushing stars from her wings
oldest language he sings
she is bound

one tear tells
no love spells

earthbound a prison
though softened with love
keeps fairies from soaring
to heaven above