Before and After

Some of you have asked how our home addition and remodel are coming along, and some asked for photos. The project is finally at the point where the photos give a good idea as to what we’ve been up to for the last seventeen eighteen months.

The first two images are from the old part of the house looking down the hallway into out new master bedroom (two the left of the doors at the end of the hall) and my new office (through the french doors at the end of the hall.) Our black lab Sadie photo-bombed the second shot. The floors were installed today and the interior painting will be completed on Wednesday.

Two views of our new master bedroom is above. It has two sets of french doors that each open onto small a covered patio so we can experience sunrises on one and sunsets on the other. The middle set french doors in the photo open to my office. Our other dog, Penny, a cattle dog, took the opportunity to photo-bomb the second shot.

Above are two shots of my new office. Two large windows dominate it. One overlooks my small and much-loved redwood grove and fern garden and the other much of the rest our back yard. The second photo is from my office down the hall to the old part of our home.

Our master bathroom is above. It is wheelchair accessible. (Thinking ahead.)

Above are our laundry room (temporarily being used for storage while the interior painting is being done)  and the smaller of our two walk-in closets. This one will be used by My Beloved as a storage room for her teaching supplies.

IMG_3213

Above is the larger walk-in closet. Baseboards will be installed shortly and the painting supplies will be removed.

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments

IPOY

Fred Rogers sometimes included the letters “IPOY” at the bottom of his written correspondence to remind recipients “I’m Proud of You!” Those four little words have made a huge difference in my life. I remind my loved ones with those words. I want them to know how I feel about them, especially when they’ve had a setback or are feeling down.

Last Friday, after dinner, my high school English teacher and Speech and Debate coach looked me in the eyes and said those words to me, and then gave a big hug to me. I was struck by the power of her words and action. Message received loud and clear, Shirley Marashlian. Thank you.

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Teachers/Teaching, The Power of Words, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Watch Out World! Here She Comes

IMG_3134

Our granddaughter Riley took her first unassisted steps this weekend!

cropped-img_22971.jpgNo doubt, she’s going places!

With Love,

Russ

 

Posted in Grandparenting & Grandkids, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Bliss and Blessings

May you experience bliss and blessings this weekend.

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Blessings, bliss, images, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Lost in Translation

My Beloved called from the grocery store this afternoon asking if I needed anything. I asked her to buy some Ramen noodles for me. I’ve had a hankering for them lately. When she got home, she handed a bottle of rum to me.  I gave her a funny look as I took the bottle.

MB: “Did I get the wrong brand?”

Me: “Why’d you buy rum?”

MB: “Isn’t that what you asked for?”

Me: “I asked for Ramen.”

At that point we both exploded with laughter.

We’ve only been married for thirty-eight years. We need time to learn to communicate with each other.

I suspect I’ll eventually put the rum to good use. Perhaps for medicinal purposes.  ;-D!

In the meantime, I still have a hankering for Ramen noodles.

With Love,

Russ

 

 

 

 

Posted in Humor, Marriage, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Wilbur Made Me a Best Selling Author

duck_cover-5

I’m pleased to announce that The Duck Who Flew Upside Down became an Amazon Best Seller. I’m still taking it in, but I have to admit it feels mighty good to achieve the milestone of being a Best Selling author. Thank you to all who helped, encouraged, and supported me along the way.  Wilbur thanks you too!

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Best Seller Status, Children's Picture Books, Children's Storybook Art Exhibits, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Ever See a Flying Pig?

The pig in the article linked below comes close. San Francisco has the world’s first airport therapy pig to help calm the nerves of those who are afraid to fly.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2016/12/05/san-francisco-airport-introduces-first-therapy-pig/94983676/

Another Fascinating Fact;

The Denver airport’s therapeutic dog program is officially named the “Canine Airport Therapy Squad,” but it’s better known by its acronym, CATS.

Sources:  USA Today, Now I Know That’s Half the Battle!

With Love,

Russ

 

Posted in Fascinating Facts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

I Suspect Students Will Love This

Education Orders of Magnitude Better

A 21-year-old’s company could change the world in profound ways. Here are some snippets of an article of a way to custom-tails education to the way that works best for each student

“Once it’s plugged into an existing digital education tool, Sana Labs is designed to use a student’s individual learning style to help them learn faster and become more interested in the content.

“When all learning becomes adaptive, students will be learning twice as fast, and you will be able to take all students to entirely new heights of knowledge,” he said.

“We are expecting improvements in orders of magnitude,” Hellermark said. “Based on studies, students should be able to work through the exact same content in half the time, or be 25-30% more engaged.”

 

“By the end of the year, we’re hoping to have implemented Sana Labs in products with hundreds of millions of users,” he said.”

Source: Business Insider Nordic, Leo @ Not All News is Bas

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Education, good news, Growth/Learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

You’re Invited!

SeeUsAtBookFairLogo

You’re invited! Free admission and free parking.

Bay Area Kids’ Book Fair– Silicon Valley Edition – SUNNYVALE

Saturday, April 7, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Fremont High School, 1279 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd., Sunnyvale. www.BayAreaKidsBookFair.com

and

Bay Area Kids’ Book Fair – East Bay Edition – LAFAYETTE

Sunday, April 8, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Acalanes High School, 1200 Pleasant Hill Rd., Lafayette. www.BayAreaKidsBookFair.com

The link will take you to details about these children’s book fairs. I hope to see you there!

BF2018 Flyer

With Love,

Russ

Posted in Book Events and Interviews, book fairs, children's books, Children's Picture Books, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Fun and Fascinating Facts

How Thoughtful of Them

Prohibition turned many citizens into everyday criminals, many by way of homemade wine. Grocers could sell grape concentrate, an item which in and of itself lacked any alcohol. However, if treated in a certain way, grape concentrate would ferment, turning into wine. In order to “avoid” this outcome, many grape concentrate packages were labeled with a warning — outlining exactly what “not” to do in order to ensure that your grape concentrate did not ferment.

Source: http://nowiknow.com/liquor-sicker/

Grape Juice to Wine

Cheers!

With Love,

Russ

 

 

 

Posted in Fascinating Facts, Fun, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments