'Tis a white Christmas morning

This is what I saw when I woke this morning.

I am not just dreaming of a white Christmas

this year, and the snow is still coming down.

My crepe myrtle ~ and how it grows

The tree behind last year's photo of my crepe myrtle bush has now spread its limbs to touch the blossoms. And the bush grew taller this year, in spite of being pruned back drastically.

See the leaves touching at top left?  This is how it looked this morning.  I never did "fill in the blank" for spring, so here's the whole series for summer-fall-winter of 2009 and spring (April) 2010:

Celebration of 102 years at my home church

The last service at East Lake United Methodist Church was a celebration, and greeting old friends was a joy.  I plan to write more about it this week, for those who are interested.  For now here are photos of the altar with fresh flowers from the crepe myrtle in my yard between the two lit tapers and the pair of windows next to the pew where my mother seated us children, conveniently located near an exit door in case we acted up during church.  When my brother Jim arrived this morning, he hugged me, reminded me it was exactly two years today that he had liver transplant surgery, and went straight to "our" pew beside these windows.  His family filled most of the pew:  Jim, his wife Carol, their son Jimmy with two of his children (River and Sam), and Carol's father.

My crepe myrtle ~ summer, fall, winter

Yesterday the maintenance guys chopped off all the crepe myrtles. Today it snowed. The blank spot is for spring.

The View from Thursday

This was the view out my bedroom window yesterday. The sun was just right and the crepe myrtles won't stay in bloom forever, so I took this shot so I can enjoy it even on gray days.

The title of this post is an allusion to one of my favorite YA novels, The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg, 1996.

The four sixth graders Mrs. Olinski chose for the Academic Bowl became a team by doing such things as having tea together. Yes, tea, as in tea party (see the book cover). As they prepare for the big day, the reader learns about a variety of things, such as the difference between diversity and multiculturalism, taking risks, being resourceful, saving threatened sea turtles, and calligraphy. One character retired from education because students stopped asking "Now what?" and began asking "So what?" Oh, and did I mention that their teacher is paraplegic and in a wheelchair? Because Konigsburg is such a masterful writer, I learn from this story as I enjoy being in the company of such enterprising children. One reviewer, a teacher, had this P.S. for teachers: "Excellent book to use for voice, point of view, and repetition in a story."

I seem to be reading lots more than I manage to write about, though I've started several book reviews that aren't yet complete. And here I am writing about a book I have read several times, but not recently. Oh, well, this Newbery Medal winner is worth mentioning because it's that good.

Rated: 9 of 10, an excellent book