Wheeeeee! Spring Break & Bless Our Pets

Hello Spring Break!

You're finally here. Let's go out into the beautiful world and enjoy some time together.

One thing I plan on doing while on break is reading Bless Our Pets. Poems of Gratitude for our animal friends (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 2024), one of the last books edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins before his passing.

A first perusal highlights Poetry Friday friends. I especially enjoy Sarah Grace Tuttle's, Hoping Hampster.

Lita Judge's spring-toned creamy watercolors bring to mind times when I was a young girl snuggled up and reading with my mother. Bless Our Pets has a look,and feel perfect for anyone's Easter basket, Passover host/hostess gift or Eid-al-Fitr reading. And, if you are part of a congregation that holds pet blessings, as mine does, it belongs in the hands of the celebrants. 

I am grateful to Eerdmans Press for reaching out and asking if I'd like a copy to review. This book feels like a hug from all the pets of my past that I have loved.

As I leave school today and pack up for visits with family, Bless Our Pets is going with me. I know just the right little people to bless with this book. 

Thank you, Rose at the Imagine the Possibilities for hosting our round-up this week. 

There's new poem on the padlet today sparked by Jama's Tuesday post. 

March Mash-up

Hello Poets,

There's one week before my spring break. Hooray!

I was fresh out of ideas for Poetry Friday. So, this mash-up feels like a bit of a cheat. But, I recommend creating mash-ups (formerly known as cento), though, for times when one's gray matter isn't quite up to the task of creating fabulous original thought.

Here's how to mash up: Find very different poems. I like nursery rhymes and classic poems. Then, mash them up together any way that strikes your fancy. Don't forget to give credit to the original authors. 

Here's an example of a mash-up between Frost's Nothing Gold Can Stay and a version of I See the Moon as sung by Meredith Wilson:

March Mash-up

Nature’s first green is gold,

   I see the moon and the moon sees me,
Her hardest hue to hold.

  Shining through the branches of the old oak tree.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

   Oh, let the light that shines on me,

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

  Shine on the ones I love.
So Eden sank to grief,
  Over the mountains, over the sea,

So dawn goes down to day.
  Back where my heart is longing to be. Nothing gold can stay.

  Oh, let the light that shines on me,
Shine on the ones I love.

There's a new poem on World's padlet. https://padlet.com/mitchellhubeimom/2024-world-ivf6ca0h9vp0flmq/wish/2918722436

Thank you, Tanita Davis, for hosting this week's round-up!

Gathering & Women's History Inspiration

Friends,

This post is a two-fer...and no one is more surprised than me.

Ramona is hosting Spiritual Journey today Laura Purdie Salas is hosting Poetry Friday. This post is for both. 

When Ramona shared her OLW, Gathering, as a prompt. I smiled. I love this word. It's welcoming and warm. I didn't think I had anything to write about...but then...I did.

This weekend, I'll gather with school librarians at a regional conference in my area. We'll swap ideas and talk over issues that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. I gain so much camaraderie and fellowship from these gatherings. 

My most local group that is part of the larger region is hosting a craft boutique at the conference. We will accept donations toward a scholarship in memory of our late friend, Beth. Beth was an outstanding school librarian who inspired us regularly before she passed away several years ago. I miss her spunk and laugh every time we, her librarian friends, gather. 

During the pandemic lockdown I found myself weeding...cleaning out closets, weeding my school library, spending time organizing. Simultaneously I gathered old and pretty paper from discarded books to make crafts.

I've had lots of fits and crafting starts...and hours watching YouTube. But, being in my craft area, gathering supplies to make something for someone else fills my soul with joy. I find the activity of making soothing, healing even. I hope someone picks up a pretty paper and takes it home.

It's Women's History Month! I love finding stories of women who made our world a better place but may not be well known to us.

'Fog Bank' by Emmi Whitehorsehaiku by Linda M.

Emmi Whitehorse is an artist whose work is featured in the National Gallery of Art's Artist Spotlight, 10 Contemporary Women Artists to Know. I thought her work, Fog Bank, fit this haiku.

The World Poem Padlet has gained a new entry. Gosh, I love to see poems pile up!

Thank you, Laura Purdie Salas for hosting the round-up this week. I'll get around to reading and commenting on posts after the conference.