Monthly Archives: September 2010

Thinking of Moomintroll

Posted on September 30, 2010 by jyourist

We used to read the Moomintroll books to Isaac when he was small. They were wonderful stories created by Tove Jansson, a Finnish author and illustrator. I’m not sure where we first heard of these books, perhaps from someone at … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, cats, children's literature, death, Moomintroll, poetry, Tove Jansson | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Surprise Gift from the Chicago Fire Department

Posted on September 28, 2010 by jyourist

On Friday, the Chicago Fire Department had a fire drill at school, right in the middle of an essay test I was giving in my morning class. Because of this interruption the students did not have enough time to finish … Continue reading →

Posted in hummingbird, nature, school, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My mother never listened

Posted on September 26, 2010 by jyourist

When I was in high school my mother and I often got into fights. One morning she began yelling at me because I had left one of my socks on the living room floor and I had’t picked it up. … Continue reading →

Posted in family, transformation, truth | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Waves of Story

Posted on September 24, 2010 by jyourist

This morning in advisory we shared stories under the categories: “When I was an idiot,” or “When I was gullible, ” and of course the shared stories morphed into stories about our siblings and our parents as well. With each … Continue reading →

Posted in school, story, Teaching, writing | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Shine on Harvest Moon

Posted on September 23, 2010 by jyourist

The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. The equinox is when the length of day and the length of night are equal all over the earth, 12 hours each. The equinox was last night; the … Continue reading →

Posted in moon, nature | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Ten Things I’ve learned about the Art of Blogging

Posted on September 22, 2010 by jyourist

I have been blogging for two months now, a relative newbie. But I have already learned a great deal. Blogging has made me pay more attention to my life. I observe my experiences and my world with more consideration. I … Continue reading →

Posted in art, artist, blogging, collections, creativity, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Cooking Rock

Posted on September 20, 2010 by jyourist

About 35 years ago, I was watching a National Geographic program on TV where an African woman was cooking (I don’t remember from which particular culture). She had put coals into a hole in the ground, placed a pot filled … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, family, food | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Mike Royko’s Birthday

Posted on September 19, 2010 by jyourist

Mike Royko’s (1932-1997) birthday is today. For those of you outside of the Chicago area, Royko was a gritty, blue collar, sarcastic, humorous newspaper columnist who wrote for the Chicago Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Chicago Tribune, always poking … Continue reading →

Posted in baseball, Jackie Robinson, Journalism, Mike Royko, writing | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Artists

Posted on September 17, 2010 by jyourist

My sister, brother, and I are putting together an art show in October. We have never shown together. My sister has been making her living as a ceramic artist for 30 years and runs a gallery and studio in Ann … Continue reading →

Posted in artist, family, truth | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

First Stack of Papers

Posted on September 14, 2010 by jyourist

I’m sitting here diving into my first stack of serious papers for the year and immediately knew this was the video to commemorate the event.

Posted in grammar, short films, Teaching, videos, writing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments