School Time

It is time to change my flip flop background as hard as it is to let go of my favorite Summer months, because it is definitely September and Fall is trying to sneak upon us here in the West.  The past week I've had to wear a jacket in the mornings with temps in the 40's and 50's and last night when I left the gym at 9:30 instead of turning the A/C on, I rolled the windows down.  Buses turning onto the road that leads to the elementary school down the street woke me this morning.  I can smell the wood carvings from newly sharpened pencils, the wax from a new pack of crayons, and onions.  Yep, it's not only school season, it's onion season too; much better than the smell of sugar beets from the sugar beet factory, which is only a few months away.  Sugar beet season reeks bad around here.  

When I think of a new session of school and fall, I'm always reminded of a quote from You've Got Mail, "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."  So when I was in New York last September I took these pictures because they reminded me of this show, Fall, and September.

Childhood friend Kimmi met us for dinner and dessert at Ghirardelli.

Sunday as I attended the blessing of my sweet niece Stella, to my surprise my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Spence came in and sat a few benches in front of me.  Mrs. Spence was by far my most favorite teacher of all time.  Teneille, Troy, and Tristen also had her.  She was like a grandma figure those many years ago.  After church she hugged me and told me she was 83 years old.  So that means she was only 59 when she was my teacher.  She never let us say yea, but only yes!  What I remember most about Mrs. Spence is she taught us real literature, as in Robert Frost Poetry, which we would write down in our spiral notebooks (of which I still have in my cedar chess), we would memorize them and then recite each poem to the second and third graders.  6 years ago on my fall foilage tour I went to Bennington, VT where Robert Frost is buried and my Grandma Swensen was born.  I bought a book of his poems, most of which I already knew from memorizing them in Mrs. Spences 3rd grade class.  I will never forget our first poem that we memorized...
Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November.

All the rest have thirty-one

Except the second month alone,

To which we twenty-eight assign

‘til Leap Year makes it twenty-nine

My favorite Robert Frost poem that we memorized in November of course was...

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

Yes, Fall is definitely on its way, but we still are having highs in the 80's and I'm going to hang on to Summer for a few more weeks; in Hawaii of course, which is only a week away!  I am pretty sure after Hawaii, I'll be able to let go of Summer, for my travels will take me to the Northeast the 1st week in October for Fall Foilage, which I can hardly wait for!