Five Things I Learned in February

1.  The question, "What's bothering you?" really struck a chord in my heart when I read about it at Chatting At The Sky with Emily Freeman.  I want the things that break the heart of God to be the things that bother me.  You can read about what is bothering me here.

2.   A simple cup of tea is far from a simple matter.  My husband has become a tea snob.  We took a drive to the Harney Tea Shop in Millerton, NY. Pat has fallen in love with their teas.  He has taken to carrying a travel mug with a built-in tea infuser full of his current favorite tea.  He has the "perfect tea spoon," at least five varieties of loose tea, pounds of rock sugar, a tea infuser for mugs and the aforementioned travel mug.

3.   Antelope in the Living Room:  I loved this book by Melanie Shankle.  You can read my review here.

4.  The wonders of Cranberry Horseradish Sauce!  Where has this been all of my life?    I love it.  It has just the right amount of tangy cranberry and zippy horseradish.  It tastes great on sandwiches and on chicken.  It is not sold by any of our local stores.  My wonderful husband ordered a case of six,  he never does anything half way, from Amazon.  Try it.  You will love it.   PS:  The horseradish people do not know me at all.  This is just an unsolicited opinion.

5.  Coursera :  You can take online classes for free at Coursera. 

      I am currently enrolled in Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms.  I am really enjoying it.  One thing I noted from this class is that we, as parents and teachers, should compliment effort.  So often we compliment the finished piece, instead of the practice.  But in the mess of practice is where learning occurs.  Think of a child learning to play the violin.  When my son played violin, there were many screeches and scratches in practice as he learned to hold his bow and play.  There were mistakes, many mistakes, and lots of repetition, but in the end Baa Baa Black Sheep was recognizable.  Applauding the effort by saying, "I hear that you are working hard at that part.  I'm proud of you," will reward the learning that is happening.

     Take a look at the course listing.  You may find something that interests you.