Summer Celebrations

Three weeks into summer, and I am loving every moment of it. The season of summer is not my favorite. I am not a hot weather type of gal. But with the warmer temperatures, I have several favorite activities and at the top of my list is gardening. 

Our vegetable garden has ebbed and flowed over the years. We have had way too big and way too small as Goldilocks would say.  Choosing plants and the right quantity has been a challenge too. I love to share our produce with neighbors which makes weeding the gardening palatable. My celebration this year is dividing the garden into fourths and choosing a wider variety of plants. 

Flower gardening is my passion and a little secret is I'm on a mission to raise beautiful flowers cheaply.  Sounds crazy but I have switched almost all of our flower beds to perennials which I purchase at the end of a season usually 75% off and plant a dead bush waiting for it to burst open in the spring.  This year I have planted more seeds because I am anxiously waiting for a wider variety of cut flowers. 

Finally I celebrate my passion for reading! I am a reader and summer is my time for preparing for Newberry Club 2018.  I saw this photo "I love my library." that Peter Reynolds created, and I ordered one for my classroom. Perfect opener to conversations in the fall.  My two favorite books of the summer: Train I Ride and Lucky Broken Girl. 

Reserve them now at your local library. 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to summer and your finding time to enjoy your favorite hobbies. I am sad I'm missing Allwrite this weekend and I am thankful for all the tweets to help me stay connected. Congrats to Ruth for an amazing conference.  I'm happy to link up with my Saturday celebration friends. 

Slice of Life: Staying Connected NOT on Vacation

There is something special about leaving right when school is out and starting summer vacation with a trip to the beach for sun, fun and relaxation.  We started this habit three years ago and this year we traveled to Destin, Florida. The white sands and beautiful  warm Gulf of Mexico was a perfect combination. I wrote several Slices sitting in my chair as I dug my toes into the sand and breathed in the view.

I seek peace and quiet.  My ocean view, book and an icy cold beverage is a perfect combination for me.  I am a quiet observer of others as I take a break from my book to walk the beach with my husband.  This summer I was saddened as I noticed a trend that I have been seeing with several families.The trend happens on the the beach and when we were out to eat. The lack of family conversations. More and more adults and their children were on their iPhones or iPads even watching movies while they were at the beach or eating dinner.  I am so thankful we raised our children during a time when being connected wasn't "the thing."  I wanted to give young children 4 crayons to color on the menu or play Tic Tac Toe with their father because that is what we use to do when we went out to eat. I wanted to walk over to a family of five all on their devices and say,  "This is precious time that you will never get back with your children. Talk to them before sports and school take over again."  It's saddens me how our world has become so connected that we are not even connecting with the ones we are sitting with on the beach or dinner. I am guilty of being on my phone and posting photos to facebook too. But I chose to leave my phone in the car when we were eating. I know it's a challenge for families to stay connected through conversations; however my dream would be vacations iPhones are off limits for moms, dads and children.