My Pre A to Z Declaration

I am so impressed by people that write ahead, schedule posts, and stay so organized. Let me just say that is not me. I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal.

Tomorrow is the first day for A to Z. I have not yet written a single post. I am not following a formula and each post will be unique and a surprise even to me!

I am writing about Gems, Minerals, and Rocks as they relate to jewelry design. When I think back to my first foray into making jewelry, it was threading beads onto memory wire. Memory wire is stiff coiled steel wire designed to hold its shape. Not the best thing to construct jewelry with in my mind. It is very difficult to work with. Then I moved onto making beaded jewelry using drilled beads or stones. Then I tried wire-wrapping which was not my forté.

I found that I enjoyed designing my own pieces from stainless steel sheet.

My husband and I happened upon a salvage yard and purchased some raw gemstone material. From there I took lapidary classes and learned to cut and polish the stones myself. I do not cut faceted stones like diamonds. I cut cabochons.

The next logical step was combining some of the stones I cut with my own designs. I also purchase stones as well.

So, this is where I will leave you. I consider myself a hobbyist and a lover of tools, metal and rocks.

Let’s see where this journey takes us.

 

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Throwback Thursday #32 – Report Cards and Progress Reports

Surprise, surprise! It’s me, pinch hitting for Lauren this week so she could attend a few appointments today. She will be back next Thursday tackling the first of our abbreviated prompts for the month of April.

If you care to join us, it’s easy.

• Write your own post sharing your memories and leave a pingback to this post in the comments.
• You can use the photo above in your post to make it easier to find.
• Tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen.
• If you do not wish to write your own post, feel free to tell your story in the comments below.

This week’s prompt is: Report cards and Progress Reports.

You can use the questions that follow to spark your memories or you can answer them as they stand. It is totally up to you.

1. Looking back now, would you say you were a good, fair, or struggling student?
2. How often were your school efforts reported to your parents?
3. Did you receive letter grades, i.e. A, B, C, etc?
4. Was your behavior reported on your progress reports or report cards?
5. In what subjects did you excel and which subjects were a challenge?
6. Did you ever try to change your grade? Turning a C into a B for example?
7. Did you keep any of your report cards?
8. Did you get rewarded for good grades? Punished for ‘bad’ grades?
9. Did the subjects you excelled in prove to be where you excelled in life?
10. What was your biggest detraction from your school work?

My post follows:

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Looking back, I would say I was a good student overall. I was a rule follower (and still am) so it made school much easier. That is not to say I did not get into trouble once in a while, though.

The subjects I excelled in were related to language arts, music, and visual arts. I did okay in math, science, and history but they were not my favorite classes. As an adult, I love history, but my teachers could make history as palatable as dry burnt toast. I did not get bad grades, I just did not enjoy those classes as much.

I never tried to change grades on my report cards. I would never have considered such a thing. I was on the honor roll until my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and honestly, I could have cared less about school or grades at the time. The only “bad” grade I received was in Algebra –  that deserves an entire post to tell that story!

I always found being graded or rated or evaluated on anything stressful. I think because I always tend to set high expectations for myself and it stresses me out!

I do not recall being punished or rewarded for grades received. There was always an unspoken expectation to do our best – no excuses. My only real distraction from school was my mother’s diagnosis.

I ended up in a career where math was very important. I could at one time read hexadecimal and binary. I am an excellent troubleshooter and problem solving is one of my strong suits. I aced all my algebra classes after high school – go figure.

Still, I do think my love of words and art and music are all still my most enduring interests as an adult. I love history now that I can find interesting resources outside of the dry, sanitized versions presented in school.

I did not keep any of my grade school or high school report or grade cards. I do have a few from my college classes. And of course, I kept my children’s grade cards. I think they enjoy looking back at them as adults.

One Liner Wednesday – Mistakes

Don’t make the same mistake twice when there are so many others to choose from.

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One Liner Wednesday is brought to us each week by Linda Hill. Click over to her site to read the rules and enjoy reading the posts of others.

Will There Be Lightening Bugs?

“Will there be lightening bugs?” It is a question I often hear when family plans to come for a visit. There are others, too, of course, “Will the touch-me-nots be in bloom?” “Is it apple picking season?”

Childhood is made up of fireflies and moonlight and other magic. It is the time of observation and wonder taking in all the miracles that surround us. For many, those magical childhood moments are tucked away as memories But they never really go away, do they?

It was important to me for my children to know this magic. I took them ‘home’ often to experience the country and the unconditional love of their grandparents. They felt the same elusive magic I did, and when I gazed into my father’s eyes, I knew he saw it, too.

I watched my children squealing and screeching while  attempting to catch crawldads as they scurried backwards under a rock too large to move. They experienced the same joy I did as they touched a plump seed pod of a touch-me-not causing it to pop in the palm of their hands.

One night we laid out in the backyard sprawled on handmade quilts and watched a meteor shower well after bedtime. It was pure magic.

When the questions come now, I can only smile. For I know, no matter what the season there is a certain magic in coming home.

E.M.’s Sunday Ramble #17

Photo Courtesy of John Holton

It’s Sunday and time again for E.M.’s Sunday Ramble. She poses just a few short questions to consider.

• The greatest feeling in the world is when I can hug those people I love – my husband, my children, my grandchildren, my brother, my nieces and nephews, or a dear friend. This is especially true since Covid.
• The one thing that I misplace more than anything is my water glass. Water and coffee are my primary beverages and I carry my water from room to room throughout the day. At some point, I look tirelessly for my misplaced glass until I either find it or give up and get a clean glass.
• When I am stressed out, the one item/person/thing that always makes me get back to feeling okay is letting go of the stressor. That happens through chatting with a trusted friend or through prayer or through doing some kind of art. Each works for different types of stressors.
• When I am sick, the only thing I want is to sleep until I feel better. I don’t need anyone hovering over me, but I do like for people to check in from time to time.
• Whenever I feel like I am procrastinating, I fix it by turning on the music! I bought a wireless bluetooth speaker and I stream my Spotify or Sirrius and pump up the volume! (Remember that movie?)