DrVenn

I’ve just encountered the word “gracehoper” in Gerald Stern’s poem “Torn Coat” and I don’t know if it’s a phonetic “grasshopper” or a created word for profound optimism. They both fit. Which is why I love poetry. And now will characterize myself as a grace-hoper.

@phlaimeaux My literacy students (17 & 18) chose easy books that would help their classmates like reading:

I'm proud to live in a country where a Hindu PM can worship outside Downing Street and a Muslim Mayor can worship in Trafalgar Square. @NJ_Timothy and Tommy Robinson - why do you hate it so much?

@SRimmerAZ @Mr_Husky1 I wish I knew where I saw it, but it’s gorgeous and just a single season’s wait.

@dr_venn @Mr_Husky1 I love this!

Help! Does anyone have any suggestions? We're feeling pretty desperate. Our neighbors behind us had this delivered on Friday, and we live in a small town with no restrictions in place. We just started renovations on our porch last week, and now l'm tempted to put a 'For Sale' sign out front. Any advice or ideas for how to handle or work around this would be appreciated--thank you,..!

@DC_PoliceDogs One of the most suspenseful videos I’ve watched in ages

For their licensing they will need to leave their dogs in a down stay for 5 minutes then return to their dogs. They are practising this here at the end of the promenade before going back to their vans.

Dee Nickerson @dEEN1cKers0n Day in February

'Looking for signs of Spring' by contemporary UK painter Dee Nickerson #WomensArt #February

@dEEN1cKers0n It’s a beautiful day when it’s blessed with a Dee Nickerson post

@ffarokhi @DanielNayeri I still haven’t recovered from EVERYTHING SAD IS UNTRUE. My camera roll is filled with gorgeous sentences and ideas!

Congratulations to @DanielNayeri on the Newbery Honor Medal for the incredible book, The Teacher of Nomad Land⤵️ If you haven’t read it yet, you’re missing out! Everyone I’ve recommended it to has been moved by this account of children in Iran during WWII. #alayma2026 #books

@ESL_fairy You are loved.

My daughter walked in and asked why I was crying. I told her the truth. She doesn’t understand why the adults in charge are letting this happen. And neither do I. Image Credit: @dreasdoodles

@RealTimVine No such luck — I’m in!

I’m haemorrhaging followers on here. I’m aiming to get to zero by April.

my mother-in-law had emergency surgery today for blood clots in her lungs. she pulled through, but between that & the terrible news I got at the dentist, I’m really having to hold it together. sending love to moms everywhere who have to wait for their kids to go to bed to cry.

@SketchesbyBoze The longer Christmas season also frees up that month of mall music for a more contemplative ‘waiting & hoping’ period of Advent 🕯️

This is why it’s a mistake to confine Christmas to December 25. Liturgically, Christmas continues for 12 days (some say it ends in February!). I urge you to celebrate the whole Christmas season. Here at midwinter we need all the wassailing, feasting & festive cheer we can get.

Btw, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is Book Bacchanalia week. Read. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. Libraries may not be open, so plan your haul now.

Resting is a form of resistance. Please give yourself permission to rest. You don’t need to earn it. You deserve to rest.

@WormwoodStubbs These nutters approve!

I've really missed the companionship of a dog since my Mungo passed away a few years back. The time now feels right to get another one. Here's a painting I've just done of the dog I'll be getting in the new year. His name will be Sikes.

Just walked into a coffee shop in Salem, Oregon and there were folks reading books at four separate tables: novels, a foreign-language dictionary, a Joseph Campbell book on mythology. After a rather depressing year, it's encouraging to see the life of the mind isn't wholly dead.

@ESL_fairy Can you DM me your contact info — c/o a school, for example? I often want to write you a note note. I’m at Saunders in London (TVDSB)

@ESL_fairy I missed the important bit: Plain old JOY and THIS IS WHO I AM

Home languages are a superpower and should be valued as such in our classrooms. Encouraging kids to continue to discuss, play, research, sing, read, and write in their home languages is important-and not just as a “bridge to English” for kids at beginner STEP levels. #OntEd