Rozey Thorn Trees

I love being surprised that a good friend shares a mutual childhood friend, especially when I've suddenly spotted them together in a photo. I'm like, "You know him?! I know him! How do you know him?!"....

Remember "Zacchaeus Was A Wee Little Man"? My wife grew up in England singing the end as "I'm going to your house for tea." #mindblown

Delicious homemade edible gifts from students, like chocolate fudge, cookies, cake, granola, a GT Pie Company voucher and Espresso Bay certificate....and an outstanding teacher's luncheon from the school board!....I'll need to borrow St. Nick's wardrobe this Christmas : )

"Fall Back" is the time of year when we get an extra hour of sleep! : ) Or, for teachers, an extra hour of grading : p

Here's an interesting interview on Morning Joe with columnist Matt Lewis about why the GOP is losing young Christians:  "....For Christians, political involvement has a way of breaking bad. The real danger is that over time, it has a coarsening effect, and that our political ranks and church pews alike will be filled full of Walter Whites who will do anything to achieve their goals. They are wise as serpents, but no longer innocent as doves. For what shall it profit a man if he should win the election, but lose his soul?" Why Republicans are losing Christians Must-Read Op-Eds: Matt Lewis joins Morning Joe to discuss his new story, published in The Week, on how the Republican Party is losing young Christians. FAIR... I like his key point that Christians are becoming "conscientious objectors" of politics because they see politics as a corrupt system that infects all who participate: "political involvement, no matter how pure the orig...

As I waited to drop off a library video, the young man in front of me struggled to figure out the library's new dropbox. He eventually got out of his car to confront it head on. No luck. I tried to get his attention before he pulled out of line: "PUSH THE GREEN BUTTON!" No luck. He got back in his SUV and drove up to the main entrance to hand deliver it inside. Sad really : (

Jerry Seinfeld: . . . Do you think that’s how life ends, that you really just go, “That’s enough. I had enough.” I know that when my time comes, that’s how I’m gonna feel. I already feel that way. Colin Quinn: Ha ha. Jerry Seinfeld: That’s what kids does for you. Colin Quinn: Keep you around? Jerry Seinfeld: . . . Tell me, aside from that, what isn’t just completely, brain-numbingly repetitive? Colin Quinn: Everyone says "Downtown" Abbey’s pretty good....

My mom called our iPad on Skype the other day from her Mac because she couldn't get through to my dad's iPhone 5. I said just a moment and called my dad with my Droid Razr and held it up to my iPad's camera so that they could chat. After a few moments I asked if they needed some privacy : ) This kind of behavior could lead to a whole new way of family networking. Think of the possibilities for family gatherings. Christmas with just our iPads and smart phones gathered around the dining room table....Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out!...

"If you board the wrong train...it is no use running along the corridor in the opposite direction." —Dietrich Bonhoeffer (His response to the German Church becoming too friendly with Hitler's regime.)

I just submitted a 38-page report for my EDR 613 course....my brain is fried : p ....Time for a break, then papers to grade : 0 (Well, my teacher gave my paper 200/200 with glowing remarks! I think I'll celebrate...snore...zzzz....)