Hello there! It's February, and it is freezing as winter has returned! Today I am delighted to link up with Anne In Residence for her month link-up:

I love using Canva to create graphics!

Loving

I am so happy with all the extra daylight we have now! It really makes me feel hopeful and happy to have the extra sun late in the afternoon.

Reading

Last month I read a very interesting and eye-opening book:

This story tells about a Syrian couple who immigrates to England from Syria. It is quite a story and makes you realize how terrifying the world can be.

I recently finished a Book the Month title:

The main character, Emmy, is a very successful Instamum who becomes the target of a follower's mother. Click on the book to read more at Amazon. I enjoyed this book. Amazon gave it a 4 out of 5, and I would agree with this overall score.

Right now, I am reading this book which is part of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club:

Listen

See this image

Follow the Author

Kiley Reid

This book also involves a very strong female lead character who will make sure right decisions are made. Her African American babysitter is accused of "stealing" her child while in an upscale supermarket. I am just beginning this book, but it seems appropriate for these fragile times.

Remembering

Last February I remember how life was so normal. We went to Tarrytown, New York for a long weekend. We learned that important history had happened there. If you watched Turn, Washington Spies (it is on Netflix now if you missed it!), you know about Major John Andre. He was captured and hanged in Tarrytown.

Sharing

I have 5 Girl Scouts in my class this year. I bought 2 boxes of cookies from each of them to share with family and friends. I was a Girl Scout back in the day so I am happy to support a worthy cause. There is a new cookie in town, and my sons gave it rave reviews:

If you have a chance to buy some Girl Scout cookies, make sure to try these out!

Wish Listing

A lot of my cloth masks are too tight and make my ear lobes hurt. I googled this problem yesterday, and this product was recommended:

I have put these mask extenders in my cart but have not pressed the order button. If any of you have figured out a solution to the too-tight mask causing my ear lobes to bend, please let me know! Also, if you have tried out this product, and it's a keeper, I would love to hear that as well.

As always, thank you for popping in to visit the blog! Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm so delighted to have found a new Currently link-up with Anne in Residence and Teal and Polka Dots!

http://www.anneinresidence.com/2017/02/currently.html

packing:

Every Saturday I go to my local public library and pick up a large assortment of books. Then I come home and decide which books I'll bring to school; which books I'll save for the following week; or which books I don't even want to read. When I feel like doing some "shopping" for books, I'll go on the inter-library loan site and order a bunch of books I've seen on other blogs. Right now I have the newest Caldecott winning book and all the Honor books.

https://www.amazon.com/Radiant-Child-Artist-Jean-Michel-Basquiat/dp/0316213888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485991053&sr=8-1&keywords=radiant+child

Click on the image to read more on Amazon.

I'm especially excited to read this Honor Book:

https://www.amazon.com/They-All-Saw-Brendan-Wenzel/dp/1452150133/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485991197&sr=1-1&keywords=they+all+saw+a+cat

jonesing:

It's a good thing my 23 year old son was around to explain to me that this word mean "craving" or "feel like having something" ~ otherwise I'd have no idea what to write here. Right now I'm jonesing for the weekend! (I just asked my son if this was acceptable; his response "Oh, yeah!"

texting:

Today I was texting my colleague who was out sick and missed our field trip to the Commonwealth Museum - the state museum of Massachusetts. It was a very educational trip. The oldest bowling ball in the USA is in their archives!

Yes, that's a bowling ball! When excavating in Boston, archaeologists unearthed all kinds of treasures of colonists' privies (bathrooms). There's an extensive collection of these objects at the Commonwealth Museum.