Today I was asked...

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Legos, what were your favorite toys as a child?

I have to say - dressing up my cat was a favorite when I was a little girl in California. Hey - I guess nothing has changed.

Can you remember being in grade one?

I can.

This is me at Lone Tree Elementary School, Beale Air Force Base, Yuba County, California.

It's all too beautiful

Over bridge of sighs
To rest my eyes in shades of green
Under dreamin' spires

It's all too beautiful

Tell you what I'll do (what will you do?)
I'd like to go there now with you...

Someone made my day

G'day Maria. :)
Molte grazie for the complement - you made my morning!
Do I know you from the Slow travel website?
I am having such fun learning learning how to do digital scrapbooking. I'm so pleased that you are enjoying it too.

Ah Maria, I read blogs every morning while I sip my cappuccino made from Vittoria Espresso coffee. :)



Cappuccino time with Pyewacket

I've had eight other overseas trips, but Maria, this one with my son, well - it was something special!

I'm so glad I took up scrapbooking like this - thank God I could do it on the computer as I haven't got a crafty bone in my body. Yes, it's been my summer project. :)

Love's Gift by Marcelle Pollington

I saw spring with my heart today:
A small girl, skipping, came my way.
Her Daddy's smile was on her face,
Her petticoat dripped fresh-torn lace.

A bunch of yellow-gold I spied
Behind her back - Oh woe betide!
Fresh daffodils! "For you," she said.
Plucked from my neighbour's flowerbed.

Torcello Cat

King of all he surveys, do you think?

King of the island of Torcello anyway... and as this is where Venice began, I think it's a very important position.

Cherish the memories, value the heritage

Alessandro's family heritage has a strong foundation in Modena. I just took him there in October to meet up again with his great aunts - Zia Nena and Zia Didi who have an apartment very near the thousand year old cathedral. When we spent three months in Italy in '92, Alessandro was between fifteen and eighteen months old. So Italy, and his relatives, were all new to him.

The Shrine at Bramasole

On my last four trips to Italy, I've been to visit Bramasole three times. On my first visit I was taken with the shrine at the front of her house, and I now have the same terracotta plaque in my home in Australia.

It's fascinating to look at any of the shrines throughout Italy, but I'll always feel that this one is, well, something particularly special for me.

San Antimo Abbey, Tuscany

Have you ever seen the monks at San Antimo Abbey? I have.





There's a story that goes with the photos of San Antimo Abbey - I was at Montalcino and I had just picked out a ceramic coaster from a little shop. It had a picture on it that was labelled "San Antimo". I asked the shop keeper if it was nearby and got the directions.

Pure luck led me here. I was after a coaster, and as well, I got a memorable country drive and a visit to a very beautiful abbey.

THE HAPPIEST FAIRY TALE EVER!

A very clever woman (my mother) sent this to me:

Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl, "Will you marry me?"

The girl said, " NO!"

And the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, camping, drank whole bottles of wine, always had a clean house, never had to cook, did whatever the hell she wanted, never argued, didn't get fat, travelled more, had many lovers, didn't save money, and had all the hot water to herself. She went to the theatre, never watched sports, never wore fricken lacy lingerie that went up her arse, had high self esteem, never cried or yelled, and felt and looked fabulous all the time.

- And remember, behind every successful woman, is a girlfriend on the other end of the 'phone.

Now, pardon me while I vanish to Venice!

Watches in Venice

I love these, I have three of them - white, yellow and pale purple. My lovely neighbour asked me to bring back a couple for her and her daughter - they chose pink and blue. They're so decorative - I wear them mainly as a piece of jewelry.

I have one thing to say about having had eight trips to Venice - it's not enough!

The Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai

Do you know - it's SO big, you can ride a shuttle bus inside it from one department to another?

Alessandro at the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai

Dubai, the lego store at the Ibn Battuta Mall

On our recent trip overseas, our stay in Dubai was enchanting, but oh, too brief. I'm looking forward to returning there.

Torcello

Torcello - have you been there?

Alessandro in Modena recently

How do I teach

Let me count the ways...

OK, for those of you who are interested in the way I am teaching now, I am mostly using websites. I create them in order to learn, then teach what I now know. I also create them to teach a subject or topic.

Firstly there is Pyewacket's Party. This is a "daily doings" type site, like that run off/memo that circulates in the workplace giving news or instructions for the day. It has a "daily" widget so that the students are welcomes each morning with Happy Wednesday - or whatever day it is.

When they come into class, a monitor in charge of this website opens the Smartboard and gathers the other students in to listen while the post for that particular day is read aloud. I put in a variety of items, to stimulate interest in computing, Maths tasks, writing tasks - all sorts of things.

Another site I have worked on today is My Science Program. Instead of writing laboriously onto a whiteboard, the students can view the work on the class Smartboard or even do prep at home.

Want to hear more? Leave me a comment.