March 2024 SOLC–Day 28
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org

I’ve been enjoying some “Top 3” lists lately. I first saw this on Terje‘s post and she linked back to a few others. I believe the idea originated with WOWilkinson. He used it in his high school classroom so kids could then select items from their lists to do a “comparative analysis” about. I’m already thinking how I might tweak this in my second grade classroom. For now, though, it’s serving as a fun way to cross another slice off my list. 😉 Be advised that I’m literally plucking these off the top of my brain right now, and I’m just going with the first things that come to mind.

Comfort Foods:
1. macaroni and cheese
2. pizza–preferably with spinach, tomato and feta, but always with lots of cheese
3. soup–nothing brothy, but stewy, thick vegetable-rich soups with a big chunk of crusty bread (which could have been #4 on this list, but that would be cheating)

Books I Finished and said “WOW!”: (not at all a complete list, but the first three that come to mind)
1. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (Oh–and in another bending of the rules, his short story “All Summer in a Day” is absolutely one of these–it slayed me!)
2. Gone with the Wind (It traumatized me when I was in my early teens and read it. I still remember feeling shell shocked as I closed it after finishing it one summer day. )
3. The Nightingale

Poets:
1. Mary Oliver
2. Wendell Berry
3. Shel Silverstein

Ways to Procrastinate:
1. Play word games on my phone*
2. Bake
3. Take pictures, download pictures, share pictures

*Word Games to play on my phone:
1. Wordle (Two of my sisters and I share our scores daily.)
2. Spelling Bee (I hate “nice”!, but I’m comfortable stopping at “Amazing”. I strive to get “Genius” every day. I may be in a bit of a “friendly” competition with my son.)
3. Connections

Breakfasts:
1. steel-cut oats with a dash of pumpkin pie spice
2. whole wheat pumpkin pancakes topped with ginger jam
3. Cheerios with granola and blueberries

Smells:
1. baking bread
2. the air outside after a solid rain
3. all the Christmas-y spices–cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, etc.– with a whiff of molasses thrown in (maybe I just should have written: the smell of gingerbread baking…)

Ways to unwind:
1. get outside (marsh, beach, river, our yard, etc) and take pictures
2. read
3. write

Winter joys:
1. the first snowfall and how the air seems to glow
2. the geometric formation of ice on water and the frosty filagrees on windows
3. the heart of blue inside deep snow piles

Spring delights:
1. the first time I hear the peepers
2. the sudden burst of color after winter’s limited (albeit dazzling) palette
3. catnapping outside in the late afternoon spring sun, tucked in a wind-free corner on our front deck

What top 3 lists would you choose to share?