The last inchie of 2016!

    It is hard to believe I need to get another year's page ready to store my inchies already.  I just did that or so it seems.  This week's final word was letter.  I have to say this is one of my favorite challenges and I simply cannot miss it.  I may be late some weeks, but I won't miss it.  It is so much fun looking back on the past years and seeing the ideas I used.  I started this journey back in 2013 so I am gathering quite a few pages.  If you want a simple easy to complete challenge, one with lots of freedom to choose how you do it - check out Every Inchie Monday (see sidebar for link).  Warning though - you too could become addicted and as far as I know there is NO cure.  Here is my letter inchie and the sheet for 2016!

 
     Now time for another plea.  Last post I mentioned a coloring contest.  It ends the last day of this month and I desperately want to win that $100 gift card.  There are so many of their products I want this will hardly make a dent.  But I need help.  Votes and LOTS of votes.  You can vote once per day from now til the end of the month.  It takes about 2 or 3 minutes and is not hard.  I even promised a giveaway if I win.  Seriously, I want it that bad.  Here is the link for last post so you can see which one is mine - http://penstrokesbycathy.blogspot.com/2016/12/coloring-contest-please-vote.html.  It will have the link to vote from on that post.  Thank you for considering this!
     I hope your Christmas was as peaceful and pleasant as mine.  It has seriously been one of the best in a few years.  Last Christmas, my brother was fighting a rather nasty infection and that just didn't make for a smooth vacation.  This year we have both been healthy, weather was great (maybe too warm), and I was blessed with several nice presents.  I got a huge set of Color It pencils, a coloring book, some watercolors, and a large print journaling Bible (which I have been wanting for nearly a year).  So one can safely say with those gifts, I have done a "bit" of crafting and creating this break.  I also will be 62 in a few short days and am working on the decision to retire.  I would love to get my craft business going and have time to do that.  In all fairness, though, I do have some fears about "life after the constant focus of the classroom".  We will see.  Have a wonderful week and hugs to all of you!

Coloring contest - Please vote!

    Okay this is a shameless plea for votes.  I entered a coloring contest and would like to win - desperately!  The prize is a $100 gift card and I could make short work of that!  Here is the link to the site where you can vote once a day - www.colorit.com/fan.  I think you have to go down to the load more on the page to get mine to show up.  I got this coloring book as an early Christmas present and am having a blast with it.  I always used to enjoy coloring as a child so it is so nice to see it surface as an "adult" toy!
     I have done these three so far.  The first one is the one I entered in the contest so you will know what to look for!

The contest entry!

      Thank you so much for your help!  Mmmm?  Maybe if I win, I could actually do a give away on the blog here??!  That would be fun and something I have never done.  It's a thought!

Inchie - Ugly

What could I possibly do for this word?  This one was a puzzle.  There are a lot of things I consider "ugly", but actually are not.  So I chose words instead of an actual picture - in my opinion, really ugly words.  Words that are too common among people at times - and here lately more than ever.  Our division has caused some really ugly feelings to surface.  That makes me sad.  I pray for more peace and some beautiful words instead.

     I have to get some cards and things designed over at my cricut space.  Some of the staff have birthdays when we return, plus a couple of kid cards for birthdays.  Then I had one of my sweetheart kiddos tell me that I need to use "that cutting machine thing" and get some bookmarks made!  It cracked me up even though he was right - and so I shall!
     Have a wonderful week - filled with things of beauty if you can.  And if we don't cross paths beforehand, have a wonderful Christmas!  Hugs to you all!

A Grinning Inchie!

    This inchie is really a selfie I took of me on Friday afternoon as I got out for Christmas break!!  Yahoo for time off!

     Have a wonderful week!

Inchie - 42

     One more week of school and I will be out for Christmas!!  Yahoo!!!  (Insert wild uncontrollable shouts of joy).  This last week was wild.  The natives were more than restless.  They are all so excited.  And of course their teacher is just a teeny tiny excited . . .
     Our inchie word was "42".  Of course I thought of the baseball great Jackie Robinson.  So that inspired my inchie.

     Better close off now - I have about 5 more Christmas cards to make.  My cricut has been busy as of late.  Have a wonderful week and stay warm!  (It has gotten cold here).

Inchie - Question

     It has been an eventful week.  Some good, some . . . less than. 
     We started off the week with rain.  Much needed.  Our area is in a severe drought.  So any amount of rain is a blessing.  The winds were a bit high, which I don't really like.  But either way we had rain.  I woke up Tuesday morning about 20 minutes early to a crash like nothing I had ever heard before.  I set up to see my bedroom window have a black shadow across it.  I jumped up and Lakota started barking.  Ray and I went to the back door and there was a GIGANTIC tree covering my backyard.  It missed my house by about a foot!  No damage done here except of course for the tree.  And perhaps the momentary heart failure we all had.   We were very blessed.

     Then Wednesday morning, Ray was taking me to school and we had a flat tire in the pouring rain.  Delightful.  One of the few mornings I didn't have things laid out for the day and was counting on an early arrival!  I called the school and they sent me another ride while Ray waited on roadside assistance!  But again a blessing - the tire could be patched for considerably less than a new tire.
     I am glad to say Thursday was relatively uneventful.  Friday we took third grade to the Tivoli theater to hear the Chattanooga Boys Choir.  We were in the "nose bleed" section and climbing those stairs nearly killed me.  I couldn't breathe and got very sick.  So I sat a little lower and away from my class.  The other 2 teachers were right there.  I am sorry to say my class was horrible.  There were about 7 youngsters that really were disrespectful and not well behaved.  Needless to say, Monday morning is going to be more than unpleasant for each of them.  They already had to deal with the principal upon returning, but not with me.  My kids are usually pretty good, but have some real listening issues.  With me, they don't dare act out.  But out of sight, out of mind.
     Ahh, yes, the reason for this post!  I did do an inchie this week.  The word was question.  I suppose I had a few of my own this week.

     Have a wonderfully blessed week and take care. 
    

An Inchie and Time for another challenge!

    This past week I have enjoyed being out of school.  Love my time off!  I got several Christmas presents made and several cards done!  Lots of things going on.  I even had time for another Diva challenge.  I haven't done one of those in ages and I really missed it.  Perhaps after the first of the year things will settle down.  School has been really hectic this year.  I guess it always is, but somehow with a new grading program to learn and get settled into, it seems worse.

Diva Challenge #294

      I also have been working on my coloring book.  I hope to have it ready to publish by the first of the year.  We shall see.  That is a lot of work.  Of course, it is extremely fun work, but still work.
      Missed last week's inchie - "wormhole".  I decided to do a wormhole in an apple instead of the spacey one.  My odd sense of humor.

      This week's inchie word was lighting.  I drew the bulb, now you must imagine the lone chair underneath and the guy being questioned! 

      And last but not least, here are a few of my Christmas projects.  I hope next year to be able to attend a few craft shows and sell some of my things. 

      See you next week!  I hope you are having a wonderful week!
    


Clouds

Let's see, I am doing this inchie from memory.  Clouds are in the sky and usually bring rain.  Right?  I can't remember what rain clouds are like.  We don't see them around here anymore.  So if I got this wrong, forgive me.  Seriously, we haven't had rain in several months, putting us in a 20" drought and the severest this area has ever known.  We have fires blazing out of control on mountains near us.  The air quality is "red" and it is hard to be outside.  I have known bouts of dry weather, but nothing this long.  And the weatherman says no significant chance of moisture is in our future. 
     Great day to stay inside and work on my coloring book.  As I may have said - because I cannot keep it a secret - I am working on a coloring book to sell.  I hope to have it ready to publish by Christmas, not for Christmas perhaps, but close.  I am mainly doing it for my school, but it will be sold on Amazon for anyone else who might be interested.  I am super excited and hope I at least sell one or two!  I will post the link when I get that far along.
     Take care and have a wonderful weekend!  (and if you know anyone who does a rain dance please send them to Tennessee, okay?).

Coast line

   This is ridiculous.  I did the inchie for this last weekend.  It has set on my desk for a week.  But I haven't put it up.  Oh well, why waste a perfect record of being late?! 

     We had a very busy week.  And throw in Halloween which sends my class into spasms . . .  Why can't they have that holiday on the last Friday of October?  A Monday?  Really? 
     Here is another drawing I did last weekend. 

No real challenges, just for fun.  Does it bother anyone else when you look at your followers number and see you have lost 2 followers?   What happened?   Makes me curious. 
     Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Arrgh! Do ye be wantin' my inchie?

There is this really great guy who works at our school.  Whenever the local Krispy Kreme donut place has a "pirate" day, he dresses up and has his whole family dress up to go get a free dozen donuts.  Last time with all his grand-kids he got ELEVEN dozen donuts!!  So what do you do with that many donuts?  He took them to the nursing home and shared most of them.  As I said he is a great guy.

This little guy won't get me any donuts, but that's okay.  Our inchie word was pirates.  Maybe he will tell me where is treasure is buried . . . 

I am having an argument with this site.  It will not let me put the cursor under my inchie to write.  Why???  Oh well, I shall sign off up here.  Even if I don't want it that way.  Hope you are having a great day.  I am finally finished with most of my school work and so now on to more enjoyable pursuits.  See you!

Ahoy, matie!

Inchie - horizon

I love teaching vanishing points and horizon to my art club.  They are so amazed at what they produce.  So for my inchie I just chose a teeny version of what I do for my first simple lesson.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!  The weather here is finally feeling like fall!  I love this time of year!

Lovin' this Monday!!

While our fall break from school this year was shortened considerably - from one week to 4 days including weekend - I am so grateful for any time off.  I have enjoyed these last few days of doing . . . well, doing nothing really.  Today is my last "goof off" day.  Tomorrow I will do my school work.  That takes an entire day.  One week I will actually get caught up.  Okay.  Probably not.

The inchie word for this week was direction.  I drew a compass rose.  This is our school symbol - our theme is trailblazers.

Thank you for dropping by and saying hello!  Hope your week has been awesome!

Terri Dactyl

     Our inchie of the week was dinosaur.  When I saw this cute little pterodactyl I could not resist.  So here is Terri - in all her glory!

     I hope you are having a wonderful week.  I also hope none of you are being affected by Hurricane Matthew.  Safe keeping to you all! 

Finally . . . FALL!!

    The weather outside is a crisp cool temperature.  The leaves - oh well - that is another story.  Because of our severe drought, our leaves are falling, but only because they are dying.  No pretty colors.  I wonder if there will be any.  Likely not.  Our rainfall is 14 inches below our normal.  But back to the temps - they are so pleasant!  I love this time of year.  Bring on the hot chocolate and pumpkin spiced everything!
     Here is my inchie for the week - briefcase. 

     I have one more week til fall break.  Yahoo!  Our fall break this year is only two days (plus weekend).  Not like our normal week, but hey, time off is time off.  I am not complaining. 
     I have it in my head to have a garden come spring.  So I am browsing pinterest to find out everything I can.  I have no luck with growing things.  I can kill a silk plant!  Seriously.  So we shall see if can actually grow anything or just read about it.   I would be a disappointment to my wonderful grandfather.  He could touch a plant and it would grow.  He grew fields of vegetables just to give away to the neighborhood.  My grandmother would put up things, but most of it was given away.  I miss being able to go back home and return with a trunk full of produce!
     Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by for a visit. 

Good morning!

     I hope everyone is having a blessed day!  I am just feeling happy because it is a much needed week-end.  What a long week this has been!  Not a bad one necessarily, just l . . o . . n . . g!  I need a holiday.  Our weather remains very hot and humid.  I cannot wait to have some bit of cooler temps.  It is fall, after all, right?


sky

infinity

     Again I am two inchies behind.  I will stay caught up!  The first one is for the word sky.  Rather simple, but I like it.  The other is for the word infinity.  I found this picture on a google search.  It is a bit different than what usually is an infinity symbol.
      I have been captivated by the night constellation works by Samantha Taylor.  So I had to give it a go.  These were so much fun!

     I also have spent a lot of time working on pages for a coloring book I am doing - yep, that was my surprise project.  It is an adult style with lots of tangling.  Our school deals a lot with character ed and the lifeskills.  So this is going to be sort of related to that.  I will show you more when it is ready - my goal is around December.  It will be sold through Amazon.  I am excited!  But working it in around school and everything else is rough.
     The search for a new doctor is on again.  I cannot stand the one I am going to.  She has been a major pain since day one and I should have done this sooner.  I just don't want to deal with her any longer.
     Enough said.  Have a wonderful day!  If you have cool temps where you are or rain, could you email me some?  We need a long rainy weekend to end our drought.  Bye, now!

A couple of inchies

   I really did not count on getting a week behind.  But then I suppose no one ever plans to be behind.  I somehow totally skipped the week - petunia.  When I saw them posted today it was like, "what!!?"  Where did that week go?  Oh well, here is two weeks worth of inchies.

mouse

petunia

    Thank you for dropping by and saying hello.  I appreciate all the comments.  They brighten my day. 

Fjord

This past week has been , of course, busy.  Trying to get back into the school routine tough.  But here is this week's inchie, fjord.

I have another project that i am super excited about, but I will tell you all about that when it is more worked out.  Thanks for dropping by!  Have a great week!

Every Inchie Monday - Whale

     I would love to go on a whale watch.  I think that would be an awesome experience.   They are just so magnificent.  For the time being I guess I shall keep my whale to a mere one inch!

     Thank you for dropping by!

Weekend Madness

     Back to the grind of school work!  I have spent nearly all day working on plans.  Hopefully I will get in my groove soon.  I would love to cut out weekend work altogether.  At least most of it. 
     I have my inchie done!  The word was dolphin.  I love those creatures.  One of my "one day wishes" is to swim with one.  One of my students got to do just that over the summer.  I am clearly envious.  

     The only other challenge I could get to this week was the one for Diane Clancy's site.  I meant to do others but just seemed to be too tired.  We had to use the letters CFV.  My tangles are cubes, field of flowers, and violetka.

     Well, there are a few papers to look at.  So I guess I shall head off now.  Have a wonderful week!
     Just realized the word for Every Inchie Monday was NOT dolphin this week but whale. Oh dear. So tomorrow I will post my picture of the whale and this post will have to be linked up at a later date to the site - oopsie!  Teacher needs to read more carefully, doesn't she?

Every Inchie Monday: Sheep

      Back to short and sweet posts!  School work has crept in.  That's okay.  I really am excited about this year.  Lots of positive things happening.  One of my favorite people in the entire world will be at our school once a month (or even more) to meet and assist us.  She restores my energy.  I had left last year so beat up - emotionally.  Just the thought of her positive energy will help that.  Not to mention I get my same group back this year and they were awesome kiddos.  I love this group!
      Our word for the week is sheep.  Since I have spent many an hour counting those lovely mammals, this came to my mind. 

       Now off to cut some more things for my classroom.  I love being able to use the cricut for that.  It makes class decoration so easy.  I will try to post some pictures when everything is finished.  Take care and have a wonderful week!!

What no title??

    I love to write.  I enjoy writing my blog among other things.  However I struggle with titles.  When I was doing the daily challenge at Susy Mosh's site last year, titles were easy - Day 1, Day 2 . . .  I didn't say creative, I said easy.
    Growing up I spent a lot of time at Papa's farm (well, it was next door to our house).  Along side one of his many gardens was this fence of sorts.  There was a wire fence, but it was mostly brush and growth.  Each morning you could step outside and see these gorgeous flowers blooming all over the fence.  Reds, blues, whites, and purples.  By the heat of the day, they were gone, only to repeat the next day.  Hence their name morning glories.  Yesterday when we went outside to play some with Lakota we saw some of these beauties along our fence.  Only white for now.  They were a pleasant reminder of home.

     Every Inchie Monday's word was underground.  I chose to put a few ants in my underground.  Ants are such fascinating creatures.  My morning devotional has had lots of articles about the ant lately.  I think I would like an ant farm for my classroom.  I probably won't get one, but it could be fun.

     Sometimes when a string or a challenge is posted I can agonize for days trying to figure out what to do.  Not this one.  Made by Joey's challenge posted another circular string.  The moment I saw it I knew it had to be "fengle", especially when she said it reminded her of a starfish at her place.  So I drew fengle over the string and then added "pearly" twisting around it.  I am very pleased with this one.

      If you enjoy tangling, you need (if you haven't) to rush over to Pattern Collections.  This site has everything a tangler could need.  But most importantly - to me - is the total ease of load times and navigation.  It is an awesome site.  The reason I brought this up is Diva's challenge this week.  We had to use a circular string.  So I went to my new favorite site and looked up circle tangles.  That is one of the best things about this site - all the tangles are sorted in a variety of ways - alphabetically, author, framework and more.  So I went to the circles page, drew some circles with my compass on my tile and then just chose tangles from this page only.  These are only a few.  There were lots more to chose from.  Lots.

     I love the challenges over at Diane Clancy's site. Our three letters this week was QO and K.  I searched the sites and my notebook and chose to use quandary, knotz, and oolong.  Just a tiny bit of color for interest.

   This last tile is for the daily Facebook challenge (again Pattern Collections).  The tangle was nymph, which I love because it is like nzeppel - one of my favorites.

    Thanks for dropping by.  Next week I will be preparing for my little ones to come.  I get so excited about seeing them.  It is especially sweet this year because they were mine last year (we loop and have them 2 years in a row).  Have a wonderful week!

 

One More Week - OUCH!

   One week from today I will not be sitting in my comfy clothes and playing on my computer, though truthfully, I was working on my second math unit.  I will not have gotten up at 10 and played fetch in the back yard.  I will not have done those restful things I love so much.  I will have spent the day moving furniture and cleaning my dust filled classroom.  Ah well, I am blessed to have a job I do love so much even if I really do wish it could start at 10, okay 9 at least.  Anything but 6!!!
     Every Inchie Monday's word was spiral.  (Like my summer spiraling away - alright, I will stop whining)  I kept mine simple - just a spiral. 

      Diane Clancy had us use the letters U#X to find tangles.  I chose to use xadent, up and across, xenso, 4 corners and 100.  I also used the string #137 from Tangle Patterns. 

     Pattern Collections has started a tangle a day to focus on.  I know I won't be able to keep up with this in a few days, but when I can it should be fun.  The tangle for yesterday was plum-lei.  I debated on color, but black and white won out.

     Putting the tangle b'twined on a circular string was a bit of a challenge.  Made by Joey gave us a good one this time.  I stuck with it and actually really love this tile.  Didn't think I would at first.

     Now off to do . . . something.  I think dinner is calling me for the moment.  I have got to spend some time getting the decorations done for my classroom door.  The problem is - I have no idea what to do.  I am sure it will "hit" me.  At least I hope so.  We shall see.
     Thank you for dropping by and I love reading your comments.  I always go and look at the art work on other sites but don't often have the time to comment on all of them.  So I truly appreciate the time you take to share a bit of sunshine with me.