My reading buddy - every day both of us are at the kitchen table. He reads books, I read on my Mac.
My cyber-friend, the incredibly talented Kathy Thompson Laffoley, mentioned in the comments a few days back that she liked my links "for the time-crunched". I thought maybe, on occasion, depending on how much stuff I put in my bookmarks, I'd share what I'd been finding here on the www much like I did at the end of my blogcation.
This last couple of weeks has found many bloggers who have really gone into creative overdrive. You'll find that most of the blogs I read have the same aesthetic, but the content ranges from creative inspiration to music lists to lemon bars.
Like:
- I'm not a fan of the industrial-revolution-designed way our children are educated. I have many gripes, much in keeping with Sir Ken Robinson, but my biggest issue is with the amount of stuff my kids forget over the summer and that re-entry and review takes through October! I asked, and found, a few math sites: KenKen, MathDoku, Math-U-See, FunBrain, and this great overall site, in order to ease the pain of re-entry and maybe my kids will not have to reestablish their confidence as well. What about you? What system is used where you are?
- Seriously? THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO in my dreams. And then I wake up and reality creeps in. Sigh.
- One of my favourite books ever is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I'm thrilled with the mini-series and Louis, who has had the book sitting in the car for almost a year, is reading it! Not only that, he's liking the book more than the series :)
- This has me seriously considering dusting off my my sewing machine. Gorgeous!
- OpenIDEO is a fascinating concept: tapping into the ideas of more people in order to solve the world's issues. I don't know if it's effective in practice, after all, EVERYONE has an opinion, but I'd like to think that conversation and an open communication of ideas might be effective. And, I'm a huge Jamie Oliver fan - no, that is not a fat joke ;) He has inspired the challenge to raise kids awareness of the benefits of fresh food and it has made for some fascinating reading.
- This is always a good awareness exercise. Invest some time and figure out where you're at - right now.
- Found some delicious summer recipes: Macaroni Salad (calls for too much mayo - so I adjusted), and these Lemon Bars are amazing (as is her whole blog), and I can't wait to make this Goat Cheese number!
- Brenda is so lovely and such a constant inspiration to me. I so enjoy everything she shares on her blog. One of my daily must-reads.
- Do you know how to be alone? This was all over the internet lately. If you haven't seen it, take 4:35 out of your day and enjoy.
- Every once in a while you happen upon a blog post that you need to read, the timing is perfect. My energy and enthusiasm was flagging until I read all 55 quotes :) You can accomplish a lot with a smile on your face! This one has a lovely dose of creative inspiration as well.
- What a brilliant gift to make!
- Are you a music fan? Do you agree with this list? What about this one? What would you add to either?
- What are you grateful for today?
- And another neat app. I wonder which ones I would add. Rink season is coming up and I'll need something to keep me occupied!
- Seriously in love with this font. And, in keeping with my love of fonts, type and typography, I found this to be so true!
- I have always been fascinated with tattoos. I would love to know the story behind them and what inspires the choices people make. I don't have any, I'm afraid I'll change my mind and not like it and be stuck with something forever! Though, it would be an interesting map of my changing tastes over time.
- This technique is a definite must-try.
- I have not been purchasing magazines of late, I can usually get the content on the www for free. But I found this, this and this may be worth subscriptions. Or at least a trip to Chapter's to see if they carry any or all.
- My son Cole is playing in a intrar-squad hockey tournament this weekend. Hockey has been an interesting experience and I find things can very often turn competitive and unkind. In an effort to turn that around and maybe create a smile or two, I'm printing up and hanging this poster in the ladies washroom at the rink. What do you think? Will it work? We'll see! And, if kindness turns you on, check this out, too.
- I must install a door.
- Are you thinking of starting a blog? Here are some good tips and ideas to get you started. Ironically the one thing I dislike most is music on a blog - you'll want to hit the mute button when you click on this site :)
- I wonder if I started to take back to school photos now I might get a good shot by the time they actually go back to school (on September 7th!) I might need the 26 days to capture something worthwhile. Be sure to check out this guide for some great hints!
- The very same Kathy Thompson Laffoley came up with this BRILLIANT idea. She inspires me with every post. I want to be Kathy when I grow up (though I'm pretty sure I'm older than she is - growing up has nothing to do with age, eh?) AND she's offering a give-away. The deadline is Sunday if you want to win one of these books!
What do you think? A good idea to put together this kind of post? It's just stuff that interests me, and my opinion ... but it may interest you too. It was a lot quicker to put together than I thought, too. Bonus!
