Writings, Wanderings

First off, let me say that Malaga, Spain is an awesome city that deserved far more than the not-even-really-24-hours that I gave it. If you are traveling through southern Spain and have the room in your itinerary, go there! This Mediterranean city is the birthplace of the famous artist Pablo Picasso and pays tribute to him with more than one museum. His birthplace is closed on Mondays, my day in the city, but the Museo Picasso with over 200 of his pieces on display was open. The museum follows the artist's development from his childhood years and sketches into adulthood with both paintings and sculptures. While a chronological order is the main pattern, some displays focus on a topic such as his art that involved animals. The museum is not huge but does involve walking and there aren't always places to take a rest especially if it is busy like the day I visited. I was pleased with the audioguide although at times it was a lot of information and I was ready to move on befo...

Sometimes I read a book and it's just so good that I want to give it more attention than adding it in to a monthly wrap-up of reads. This Caldecott Honor Book is one of those stories. As a Spanish teacher, I am always keeping my eyes open for any literature that connects to my classroom; Spanish, English, bilingual, I simply want more good options for my students to connect them to the language and culture. When I saw this book at the library, I knew I had to evaluate it and today while my Spanish IV students read their own free-reading choices, I opened the book up. I had expected a basic story that explained the traditional Hispanic naming pattern of two last names, but I was immediately endeared to spunky Alma who found her string of given names too long. However, as her father explained the family connection to each name, the little girl beamed with discovery of similarities to her relatives. I loved this! The message of the importance of family came through clearly wit...

June 2017 one of my friends from high school and I did a whirlwind trip from Ohio down to the Gulf Coast and back in one week. Our route included stops in Nashville, Montgomery, New Orleans, Jackson, Mobile, and Birmingham alongside several small towns. We ate good food, shared lots of thoughts and laughs, and learned. We had been taught the basics of the civil rights movement over our years as students, but seeing places firsthand gave those lessons true meaning. One important museum in this growth was the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. This Alabama museum is located across the street from the Sixteenth St Baptist Church, the site of a horrific bombing in the 1960's that killed four young girls at church. The museum's exhibits are focused in four main galleries: Movement, Barriers, Confrontation, and Human Rights. While the exhibits had artifacts from the time period, they also worked to recreate some scenes. For example, the crucial role played by the churches in Afri...

Do you set New Year's resolutions? For some reason about a decade ago, I stopped calling my goals for the new year resolutions and instead created a list of Things To Do. This shift suited me much better and I enjoyed having a focus for what I wanted to experience in my life. Plus the lists helped me keep track of where I was on hitting the goals (I had too much fun highlighting each activity a different color based on how far I had progressed towards reaching that goal.) I didn't do a list in 2019. I think I let myself get too busy. Developing my writing and everything that goes with sharing my work in the world has been a far bigger task than I anticipated a year ago. I am so grateful for this opportunity, but I know I got overwhelmed at times. Just look at this poor blog--this is my first entry in over four months! So anyway I want to spend the next several days creating my Things To Do in 2020 list, but I already have one idea in mind related to books: Read 365 books. B...