Friday Favorites: My Friend Published a Book! Read All About It!

Happy Autumn and Welcome to October!

Thanks for visiting today as I link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

                                     Friday Favorites!

Wow, My Friend, Claudette Sabbag, Published a Book!

Check out this information written by Claudette herself!

My name is Claudette Sabbag. I'm a retired teacher, like Susan, whom I worked with for many years in Woburn. I retired in 2019, just in time to miss the COVID years. I had an idea for a book in my head that I had been working on intermittently since 2011. When I retired, I had more time for writing. Then, I joined the Writers' Collaborative Learning Center in Reading, MA, and actually finished and published my first novel in May! Deer in the Road is about a young man whose life is transformed by a single random incident. Set on Cape Cod, it explores family issues, life choices, and cultural differences and features a touch of romance.  

Click here or on the book to read more about this book on Amazon!

Here is a review from Amazon:

Just finished Deer in the Road and found it to be a nice read about very likable characters and their lives over many years. It also had some very interesting culture references about the area where the story takes place. Anyone who has a loved one in a care facility will truly identify with the descriptions that are in this book. They are very accurate. it is a perfect book to sit on the beach and read and be taken into the lives of many interesting characters.

September Weather is Amazing!

Before I retired, September was a hectic and stressful month with Back to School and getting to know a new class.  I never really paid much attention to the weather (unless it rained, and we had to stay in for recess).  I have totally enjoyed the weather this month with its cooler temperatures and warm sunshine.  My sister and I went up to York Beach one day, and all the stores and the beach were empty (it was a cool and cloudy day so not ideal for the beach).  We still enjoyed our day and bought some Maine merchandise!

Our favorite shop is Whispering Sands!  Everything is now on sale including Teddy the Dog t-shirts from York Beach!

Puzzles:  An Interactive and Fun Way to Learn Geography!

In Social Studies, kids need to be able to locate where they live in the world.  We happen to live in  Massachusetts which has a distinct shape.  This week we started USA and World Map rotations.  There are 2 World Map puzzles and 3 USA Map puzzles, and the groups will rotate until they finish the puzzles.  If they finish early, they can draw a picture of the completed puzzle:

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Favorites in September!

Welcome to September!  I hear people say that summer is over after Labor Day.  I say that it's still summer because I want to enjoy every last day of warm weather and blue skies.  Plus, now that it's officially September, it's time to link up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

               FRIDAY FAVORITES!

What I'm Reading

I have always loved Sophie Kinsella's books with their happy endings and fun story lines.  This book is somewhat autobiographical as the main character, Evie, has glioblastoma ~ just like Sophie Kinsella in real life.  I was heartbroken to learn this about a young person who is such a successful and intelligent woman who has an incurable form of brain cancer.  Luckily, Sophie Kinsella has survived 3 years with this condition.

 What would summer be without an Emily Henry book?  I found this book a bit slow at the beginning, but then totally enjoyed it.  The setting is Little Crescent Island which is inspired by Tybee Island in Georgia.  We were there in April so I enjoyed the coincidence!

If you haven't read this book, I recommend it because it is easy to read and takes place in the summer (more summer = more fun!).  Here's a brief intro. from Amazon:

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: to write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the twentieth century.  

Consuming:  Hello Fresh TWICE a month!

After my husband recovered from esophageal cancer, his food preferences drastically changed.  He doesn't even like pizza any more!  Who doesn't like pizza?  Consequently, I now get a Hello Fresh box every two weeks rather than once a month.  He really enjoys the variety of the Hello Fresh meals with the tasty sauces and spices.

Every box three different meals.  I try to get one chicken, one ground turkey and one steak meal.    

I LOVE this sesame soy rice bowl which I have even made on my own with ingredients from the supermarket!

Click here to see the recipe!

 Discovering

I don't think I'll ever see enough rainbows!  The other night we had unsettled weather when the sun just magically popped out so briefly, and an amazing double rainbow appeared.  I stood outside in the rain and gazed at it until it disappeared.

Once upon a time, before I retired...

I made this most adorable sign for my classroom:

I fell in love with this safari friends themed poster at Lakeshore Learning.  Of course, there are matching products, but I limited myself to this poster ~ it took a lot of self-control...

Saving

I save too much of everything!  After I retired, I just spent so much time purging my teaching materials and papers.  I don't want to save so much "stuff" in general!  What about you?  Do you save things, forget about them, find them a year later, and wonder why you saved them in the first place?  It's a bad habit that I need to break.  In addition, it would be helpful if I started purging again.  

As we all enter the Back to School season and the meteorological fall: 

this September and into the fall!  Thank you for visiting the blog today!

Montreal is buzzing with excitement!

Bonjour!  

                 FRIDAY FAVORITES FROM MONTREAL!

Today I am delighted to link up with   lErika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for their weekly Friday Favorites Link-Up!  If you want to go somewhere in North America where most people speak French, you will definitely want to visit Montreal! 

Why Montreal?

While in Savannah last April, we had Montreal Bagels at Spread Bagelry.  We loved the bagels so much that we decided to go to Montreal to eat the "real deal" bagels.  In addition, three years ago, we had been to Quebec City which we totally loved.  Plus, Montreal is five hours north of Boston so it should be cooler weather (NOT true; it was in the 90's the entire time!).  Anyway, check out some fun activities we managed to do!  

Walking Tour of Old Montreal

We first went on an excellent walking tour of Old Montreal while it was extremely hot, and it was Trash Day so we had plenty of obstacles!  Our tour guide, Carole, managed to keep us in the shade as much as possible while giving us the lowdown on the "old" part of the city.

Luckily, one stop was Montreal's World Trade Center which is indoors!  There is a section of the Berlin Wall:

Interestingly, when I did my Junior Year in Paris through Hamilton College in 1980 - 1981, I was so lucky to see the actual Berlin Wall!  

We saw the Notre Dame Basilica from the outside but did not go in as it cost over $15 to enter.  Luckily, you could see the garden outside where the clergy live.

Botanical Gardens

We took the metro to the Botanical Gardens which were outstanding.  We started in a greenhouse where we saw plenty of carnivorous plants and cacti. 

After that we visited the Chinese gardens:

Before leaving the Chinese garden, I took a picture of some bees enjoying an ancient plant:

My goal is to get this picture posted some day on the New York Times' Spelling Bees Game!

This place was outstanding!

The Biodome

This museum allows you to visit five different North American ecosystems in one place!

The first ecosystem was the Arctic where we saw penguins and puffins.  Then we visited the capybaras (my favorite):

Montreal Bagels!

We took a bus from the hotel to the Mile End neighborhood to visit Fairmount Bagel.  I thought the bagel place would have seating, but it's purely a take and leave store that is open 24 hours a day.  The bagel variety was amazing and overwhelming.  

On either side of Fairmount Bagel, there was Caffe Grazie-Mille with homemade cannoli, and on the other side, Drogheria Fine with homemade gnocchi.  If you like to eat, this is the street to visit!

Winners = the TJ Maxx/Marshall's of Canada!

One afternoon we strolled over to Winners.  A lot of the merchandise was similar to what we have around here, but I loved all the French greeting cards!

In Closing...

I loved going to Montreal that I want to go back again and see more of the city!

Remember:  If you want to read more great blogs, head here:

Happy Labor Day Weekend!  Thank you for visiting today!