BulgingButtons

November 13, 2015
by BulgingButtons 5 Comments

Five Favorite Books From My Childhood

I was lucky, my parents read to me. It was mostly my mother, but my father did too, occasionally.

I grew up in a house full of books, and trips to the library were a regular part of my childhood. The Scholastic book order was another cherished source of books, and my mom was generous with my orders.

My love of books hasn’t diminished. My home library is bursting, and my classroom library is full of terrific titles. I still get excited about the Scholastic book order, only now I’m the teacher.

Here are a few titles from my childhood that stand out, in no particular order.

Babar the King by Jean de Brunhoff

A dapper elephant King and his Royal court captivated me as a little girl.

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

I so wished I had a magical crayon like Harold!

If I Ran the Circus by Dr. Seuss

I really wanted to visit the Circus McGurkus. This was the first Dr. Seuss book I knew.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Maybe this was the start of my aversion to monkeys?

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McClosky

This is such a sweet and gentle tale with fabulous illustrations.

There are so many more, but these stand out in my mind right now. What are some of your favorites?

November 12, 2015
by BulgingButtons 8 Comments

Feeling Famous in South America

Disclaimer: I am NOT famous in South America or anywhere else.

In spite of the disclaimer above, I’m feeling pretty much like a blogging superstar, South American style. Why? Because the little map that shows me where my blog visitors hail from has most of South America colored in today. What does that mean? Not a whole lot.

What it means is that at least one person in Brazil and at least one person in Argentina happened to click on BulgingButtons on the very same day. Since Brazil and Argentina are the two largest countries in South America, it looks like I’m pretty popular across the continent.

Add that to the inflated ego I get when at least one person in Canada clicks on the blog. After all, the U.S. is pretty much a given, so throw Canada into the mix and North America is well represented. And if Russia shows up? Wow. Just, wow.

It’s all complete nonsense, but part of the fun of blogging is reaching out to a worldwide audience. I don’t know if there are actual people in South America reading, or if they’re bots, but I like to think that they’re people like me who enjoy an entertaining blog now and then.

I don’t write to grow a large audience, or to get tons of international hits. I write because there are words and ideas inside of me that need somewhere to go. Still, if you show me a world map with lots of countries colored in, I’m going to get excited. After all, I’m a superstar.

November 11, 2015
by BulgingButtons 7 Comments

Getting My Craft On

Today I had the opportunity to get a little crafty, and I went for it. The fantastic folks at Made By 2 Sisters organized a fund raising event unlike any other I’ve heard of. They created a giant drop-in pallet party to benefit a fellow school district employee who’s been undergoing cancer treatments.

What is a pallet party?

Good question. It’s an opportunity to make a unique sign for your home using easy techniques that guarantee even a novice will produce a great looking sign. Trust me, I’m no craft queen, but I’m pretty happy with my signs.

I’ve been watching this company from the start, and I’m pleased to have several of their signs. Some I’ve done myself, and others I purchased already made. The parties are so much fun, and the fundraising aspect is just further proof of how wonderful this company is.

Made this one today. I’ll distress it more and add some twine and jingle bells to the bottom, I think.

This one is also from today. It will look great with my Chanukah decorations.

This one is also from today. It will look great with my Hanukkah decorations.

This one marks my conversation to glitter (the word bonfires).

I purchased this one as a fundraiser for a different colleague a while back.

This was also a purchase. It hangs above my fireplace.

These sweet little ones sit on a bookshelf.

This one was custom made for me for Chanukah.

This one was custom made for me for Hanukkah.

I did this one last summer. It looks great in my kitchen.

I have a few others, but they’re packed away with the Halloween and Christmas decorations. These signs are so much fun, and I really love the look. I’m glad I had a chance to make more today, and to spend the time with friends. I hope the event raised a large sum to donate to our colleague’s cause.