I'm a teacher's aide in a public elementary school and that means I have several school breaks during the year ... and ... wait for it ... summers off. Now, I'm not paid for those breaks, I'm paid for working 190 days per 365 days/year and that's it. So I enjoy the time more than the money, obviously! :)
So exciting. I've got plans. Oh yeah. Tuesday at noon the kids leave. When this Friday rolls around and the afternoon dismissal bell rings, I'm done. There are several things I plan to do this summer.
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MUSIC
I discovered that my streaming music station, Pandora, has a new thing called Thumbprint Radio. I had no clue, until I scrolled down my 'stations' list and saw it at the bottom. "What's this?" I asked myself. Oh-ho, this is cool. Pandora is streaming entertainment based on a music genome. You can choose a station, such as "Traditional Hymns" or "Jimmy Buffett Radio" and they'll play songs along those lines. Within the genre you might like this song or not like that one. You have the option to thumbs up or thumbs down a song, and Pandora will adjust your listening to what you like. If a song had more violin and less trumpet, or more harmony and less melody, they will present songs in that station with that selection in mind according to your thumbs up.Thumbprint Radio is a station where all your liked songs go into one station! Though Pandora is free, I choose to pay $4.99/month for Pandora Pro which has no ads. So what this means is that I have access to music with a huge variety of songs that I already like and never interrupts itself for an ad or a DJ. I love it madly. I will be listening to a lot of music. Some of my stations I love are:
100 Hymns Instrumental Radio
Jimmy Buffett Radio (includes balladeers from the 70s like Paul Simon and James Taylor)
Gaither Vocal Band Radio
Mozart Radio
Hank Williams Radio (classic country)
and many more. Yay.
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BOOKS
I have some books stacked up. I want to read or finish-12 Ways your iPhone is changing you by Tony Reinke
Son, a literary western by Phillipp Meyer
Hearts of Fire, by Voice of the Martyrs
Veronica Mars- the Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas
The Autobiography of Hudson Taylor: Missionary to China (Kindle)
Bright Side by Kim Holden (Kindle)
The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes (Kindle)
Plus a lot of "summer easy reading" eBooks I've downloaded from BookBub recommendations. At BookBub, you select which reading genres you enjoy, and thankfully there are a lot to choose from, and BookBub sends you a daily list of digital selections based on your preferences. You can download according to your desire, budget, and amount of space on your reading device! I choose the free ones but they also have eBooks for 99 cents, $1.99 and up. They tie-in to Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes & Noble's Nook store, Apple's iBooks, and others.
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CRAFTS
My friend Kim on Facebook sent me some photos from Gay Halseth-Frayed and Twisted's FB page. They're vintage spine bookmarks. Cool! I won't embroider like Mrs Halseth has, but I'll paint them.
And just where will I be finding vintage books? We have several places in the county where I look forward to shopping this summer. There are three in particular, and two of those I have never been to before. I like my usual haunt of Second Time Around. I have already found antique books of Swedish poetry, an old Methodist Hymnal and an old Baptist Hymnnal at that store, all for $1 each.
The other store is called Neat Pieces Antiques, which I've driven by but never entered. He has three buildings and a large outdoor area. He sells heritage pine, architectural items from old barn stairs to glass doorknobs, and inside, vintage clothing, antiques, and of course the books.
Well! I believe I'll be able to find some books here for sure! Befoe you faint from horror, I'll look for water damaged, moldy books that otherwise would not ever find a home and are one step away from a trash can. I don't like the idea of taking apart a perfectly good book just to get at the spine.
The third vintage store I'm planning to visit is called simply The Special Store. This place has lots of glassware among other items like furniture. I need an English porcelain or bone china teapot, and one more cup and saucer. This will be the place to find them.
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PHOTOS
Now that I have an automobile with AC, I can drive around this summer. I like to go out in the Golden Hour, just at and 1 hour after dawn, and 1 hour before sunset, taking photos. I downloaded the manual for my now 1-year-old Nikon and I've been experimenting with some of the fancier settings now that I'm familiar with the camera and its superficial capabilities. It will be a photo extravaganza! I also began using my rechargeable batteries now that I've finally gone through all the high-capacity alkaline ones I'd bought. I can recharge to my heart's content, even in the car, since it comes with an automobile charger too.In addition to Flickr and Facebook, I also have an account at Unsplash to upload my photos, and also Instagram now that I figured that one out. I want to compose better, and post-process better. Summer is the time to play with pictures and try and get better at photography.
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MOVIES
Of course, movies and shows. On Amazon Prime I watched a nice movie called Mao's Last Dancer, the true story of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin. I like movies like that and will seek out some more either on Snagfilms, Crackle, or Amazon Prime, and of course whatever I can absorb for free on Youtube.I'll finish some classes I'd started, including "Understanding the Tabernacle", and "Principles of Biblical Interpretation". A new class at Ligonier called "Loved by God" has sparked my interest too. So, studying the Bible through classes and reading and studying it directly is on the summer fun menu.
Some friends have asked me to lunch, and in June I'll go to a wedding. That's pretty much it. We get out of school May 26 and begin again July 31. I'll also be taking a class for school sometime in July, so it's really not ALL that much time off as one remembers from childhood. But I'll take it!
4 comments:
"Before you faint from horror, I'll look for water damaged, moldy books that otherwise would not ever find a home and are one step away from a trash can. I don't like the idea of taking apart a perfectly good book just to get at the spine."
So glad you included that part! I was actually starting to feel a bit lightheaded. :)
Did you ever read that book about the young Queen Elizabeth II?
How was the movie Mao's Last Dancer? We've enjoyed some of your movie selections. Jiro Loves Sushi and the documentary on Antarctica have become two of our favorites.
-Carolyn
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for asking! I paused the Princesses book for a month or so then resumed a few days ago. I'd gotten involved with BookBub and was downloading and reading novels like crazy. I resumed the Princesses book and I still like it.
Mao's Last Dancer was excellent! Very sweet movie, interesting, and based on a true story. I also enjoyed a while back On The Way To School, about 4 kids in different parts of the world making their way to school...by traipsing mountains, avoiding lions, riding 15 miles on horseback thru the snow, etc. It's a documentary that follows the kids and the commitment they have to education and the dangers thay face to get there and back on a daily basis (or weekly, in the case of the high school girl who boards at school during the week). If the film isn't on your preferred streaming company, the full movie is on Youtube.
And another one like Mao's Last Dancer, an impoverished girl in Uganda makes her way out of the gutter by chess. I haven't seen it but I hear it's good. :)
Thanks Elizabeth! When you finish Princesses, I'd love to hear your review of it.
Your other movie recommendations sound good too.
-Carolyn
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