Past
Most of my elementary days were spent in Catholic schools. Perhaps my mom and dad felt they were doing their correct parental and Christian duty by sending me to the hallowed halls of Catholic school. As the oldest of five, however, I spent more time in the Catholic penitentiary, er… school, than my dear siblings did. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I was probably not the most charming student the nuns encountered. In addition to my little episode with the vending machine, I had a slight fiasco during a retreat. Our class had taken a trip to see a rustic wooded area. There was an old concrete swimming pool with wooden benches right near the edge of the pool. Many of the girls chose to go swimming, but my best friend and I decided to explore nature. We found one of the largest garter snakes I have ever seen. I have a healthy respect for poisonous snakes but no fear at all of harmless ones. I picked the snake up, and it wrapped itself around my arm. I speak nothing but the truth when I say that we were so excited about our find we simply wanted to show it to the nuns (two of them were sitting next to each other on the wooden bench). I guess I made a bad choice in thrusting my arm between them and saying, “Look, sisters!!” One of the nuns jumped up and fell into the pool where her black habit floated like a giant parachute. The other took off running and lost her veil. That was when I discovered that nuns shaved their heads. I really don’t know what my parents had to say to the nuns to get me back in school that time, but I do know what they had to say to me!
Present
Although I was certainly not the most appropriate student OUT of the classroom, I rarely was any trouble in the classroom. This was in the long ago time period when parents backed the teacher, not the student…especially if they were paying tuition. The nuns were strict and demanding, but I loved learning. I have cause today to be grateful for my early education. I read articles about politics, religion, finance, etc., and I am appalled at the ignorance of individuals who actually think they can write. Missing words, misspelled words, run-on sentences are common-place. I was recently reading something that an author had written about the “rein” of Henry VIII (reign)…or how about the inability of a journalist to know when to use “a” or when to use “an?”
He saw a opening and took it (an).
These are just small and silly little examples of some of the trash that passes for edited writing these days. How sad! Thank you, sisters, for putting a ruler to my knuckles when my penmanship or my grammar was shoddy. The influence of the nuns produced diligent study habits for which I am extremely grateful. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Recipe
Almond Tea
This recipe makes one gallon of tea. When I say “fill it up to the top” you will know that I mean fairly close to the top of a gallon jug.
3 tablespoons of instant tea 2 cups of cool water
Mix those two ingredients together
2 cups of hot water 1 cup of sugar
Mix those two ingredients together and add to the first two ingredients
2 small cans of lemonade, or one large can. Add this to the instant tea/sugar water mix.
3 teaspoons of vanilla and 3 teaspoons of almond flavoring
Fill it with water close to the top of a gallon jug, stir well, and enjoy it. For a more pungent flavor, don’t add so much water.
This recipe was given to me by a dear friend in school. No, not when I was going to school--when I was teaching school. I was teaching 5th grade and she was still in 2nd grade the poor thing!! Actually, I was the lucky recipient of several of her delicious recipes.
Most of my elementary days were spent in Catholic schools. Perhaps my mom and dad felt they were doing their correct parental and Christian duty by sending me to the hallowed halls of Catholic school. As the oldest of five, however, I spent more time in the Catholic penitentiary, er… school, than my dear siblings did. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I was probably not the most charming student the nuns encountered. In addition to my little episode with the vending machine, I had a slight fiasco during a retreat. Our class had taken a trip to see a rustic wooded area. There was an old concrete swimming pool with wooden benches right near the edge of the pool. Many of the girls chose to go swimming, but my best friend and I decided to explore nature. We found one of the largest garter snakes I have ever seen. I have a healthy respect for poisonous snakes but no fear at all of harmless ones. I picked the snake up, and it wrapped itself around my arm. I speak nothing but the truth when I say that we were so excited about our find we simply wanted to show it to the nuns (two of them were sitting next to each other on the wooden bench). I guess I made a bad choice in thrusting my arm between them and saying, “Look, sisters!!” One of the nuns jumped up and fell into the pool where her black habit floated like a giant parachute. The other took off running and lost her veil. That was when I discovered that nuns shaved their heads. I really don’t know what my parents had to say to the nuns to get me back in school that time, but I do know what they had to say to me!
Present
Although I was certainly not the most appropriate student OUT of the classroom, I rarely was any trouble in the classroom. This was in the long ago time period when parents backed the teacher, not the student…especially if they were paying tuition. The nuns were strict and demanding, but I loved learning. I have cause today to be grateful for my early education. I read articles about politics, religion, finance, etc., and I am appalled at the ignorance of individuals who actually think they can write. Missing words, misspelled words, run-on sentences are common-place. I was recently reading something that an author had written about the “rein” of Henry VIII (reign)…or how about the inability of a journalist to know when to use “a” or when to use “an?”
He saw a opening and took it (an).
These are just small and silly little examples of some of the trash that passes for edited writing these days. How sad! Thank you, sisters, for putting a ruler to my knuckles when my penmanship or my grammar was shoddy. The influence of the nuns produced diligent study habits for which I am extremely grateful. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Recipe
Almond Tea
This recipe makes one gallon of tea. When I say “fill it up to the top” you will know that I mean fairly close to the top of a gallon jug.
3 tablespoons of instant tea 2 cups of cool water
Mix those two ingredients together
2 cups of hot water 1 cup of sugar
Mix those two ingredients together and add to the first two ingredients
2 small cans of lemonade, or one large can. Add this to the instant tea/sugar water mix.
3 teaspoons of vanilla and 3 teaspoons of almond flavoring
Fill it with water close to the top of a gallon jug, stir well, and enjoy it. For a more pungent flavor, don’t add so much water.
This recipe was given to me by a dear friend in school. No, not when I was going to school--when I was teaching school. I was teaching 5th grade and she was still in 2nd grade the poor thing!! Actually, I was the lucky recipient of several of her delicious recipes.