Prediction: You Can Invent Your Future

| Coleen Patrick

alan kay quote invent life

 

Meet Phyllis.

Phyllis, the star of Susanna Leonard Hill‘s books PUNXSUTAWNEY PHYLLIS & APRIL FOOL, PHYLLIS.

Phyllis is a groundhog and a prognosticator, which sounds a lot like procrastinating. Especially when you factor in those Groundhog days in which she sees her shadow.  Then everything gets pushed off for another six weeks.

Can’t say I haven’t been there.

Anyway, you see those teenagers shuffling around in the background? They finished exams last week at the high school where I eavesdrop help out, and were kind of like groundhogs popping out of their burrows, looking for some sort of relief from the tortures of school winter. Phyllis could totally relate.

They even seemed to be engaging in ancient customs of weather lore. I think.

These shoes say early spring, right?

I think my backyard is ready for spring. 

I am happy to report that Phyllis did not see her shadow here in Virginia. In fact she had a ball.

And of course, Phyllis predicted the  Ravens would win.

And she also accurately guessed which snacks would be eaten first at my house this weekend.

As well as the Monopoly token Hasbro will eliminate from the boardwalk this week.

But I can’t tell you which token will be replaced.

Or else I will go directly to jail.

 

And as for today’s forecast?  Here’s to creating some possibilities.

A big thank you to Punxsutawney Phyllis. Check out Susanna’s website (link above) for more Phyllis adventures.

Are you forecasting BIG things for your future? What spring things are you looking forward to?  

What is your favorite Monopoly token?

Have a happy week! 🙂

67 thoughts on “Prediction: You Can Invent Your Future”

  2. What a fun Monday blog! And I had no idea that Hasbro was messing with the Monopoly tokens. (Man! Monopoly is challenging to type this early on a Monday!
    I always liked to pick either the car or the shoe … but never the thimble.

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    1. It’s funny but I stared at our Monopoly pieces trying to remember which one I used to play with. I can’t remember! But I do remember always wanting to buy up Oriental avenue and the rest of the light blue properties. 🙂

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  3. Hmmm…Beth are you sure? I always wanted the thimble because it fit on my pinkie! The cannon can definitely go. I voted on Hasbro’s Facebook page for my new token of choice, but I am hoping they keep the old ones around. They’d make a cool charm bracelet!

    I hope Phyllis saved you a Hershey’s kiss!

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  4. What fun! Phyllis is a cutie pie. Now I’m super curious what token will be replace and what’s going to replace it! Somehow I missed all that in my web travels last week.

    Oooh, I love Cathy’s idea of a charm bracelet from the tokens. My favorite was always the Scotty dog or the shoe if my sister took the dog.

    I’m predicting very big things for my future! As for Spring, it’s a lot like summer here, so I’m just hoping for rain. We need rain and I love it when we get closed in, cloudy/story days.

    Happy Monday!

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  5. Fun post, Coleen! Bob Mayor spoke at the conference I attended over the weekend, and talked a lot about thinking ahead. He said that most authors don’t know what’s in store, or what they want, over the next five years. I love that quote you featured up top. So appropriate! I’ll keep it in mind as I work my magic wand. 😉

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    1. Planning far ahead is a challenge for me. I like to think about it but i get kind of lost when it comes to the concrete details. Work in progress!
      Oh and I imagine that talk by Bob was great!

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  6. Oh, thank you for having Phyllis to your place, Coleen! She had tons of fun! (And we were all rooting for the Ravens because Phyllis’s favorite color is purple, which, as you know, it the best way to choose a football team – by color :)) Are those shoes in a crop circle? As for Monopoly, my favorite piece was the horse (well, technically he had a man on him but I didn’t care about the man, only the horse) but I don’t think that piece is in current versions of the game… just goest o show how ancient I am 🙂 Of course, my sister’s favorite was the dog, so I would often try to get it just so she wouldn’t… then she would cry… then my mom would make me give her the dog… but I digress 🙂 Thanks again for hosting Phyllis and hurray for early spring!!!

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    1. Oh I didn’t make the purple connection. The chocolate one I did, because well, the chocolate does not fall far from the Susanna. 🙂 Did you see Toyota’s super bowl commercial? The one where the woman wished her doctor ordered her to eat chocolate?
      And the shoe thing is a mystery. I asked my son and he does not know. The shoes are there every week. One day I will figure it out!

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  9. How odd that you’re bringing up the Monopoly piece thing–we just opened a new game that my son wanted for Christmas–I was nearly heartbroken that the horse wasn’t in the set of pieces anymore.

    Times do change I guess. Good thing we have Phyllis to help offer a heads up, eh?

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    1. Doesn’t Hasbro know that nostalgia can be fun?? Then again, the publicity they’ve been getting for this eliminate a token campaign might be exactly what they were going for. Thanks Eden!

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  10. Love that little ground hog and the fact that you – um – help out at the school. That’s a great way to stay up to date on current events in the youth world. Keeps you hip to their lingo and all.

    I predicted that the Ravens would win too, but I could not voice the opinion out loud. My husband is a huge Niner’s fan and I quite possibly would have had to sleep outside had I voiced my prediction. My other predictions, we’re going to get more snow before it’s all said and done. Don’t plant yet.

    My favorite Monopoly piece? Hmmm. Been so long since I played that I can’t remember. Based on your picture above, I’d have to say the ship. Wasn’t there a cannon?

    Patricia Rickrode
    w/a Jansen Schmidt

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      1. Well I only remember because I’m old. I’m probably thinking of the first edition of Monopoly.

        I’m glad I get you thinking. That’ll keep you young.

        Patricia

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  11. I had no idea Hasbro planned to drop a classic Monopoly token in favor of something current. I keep telling myself myself change is good but want things to stay the same. Sigh. I’m going back into my burrow now.

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  13. Wonderful photos! I have a hard enough time getting things done that need to be done today, to try to predict the future. And whoa! I hadn’t heard about the Monopoly tokens either! I always play as the top hat, or the car if someone else picks the hat. Although if they put a guitar in for the new one, I’d pick that!

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  15. Awww…I love Phyllis the groundhog. She’s adorable! As for Monopoly….TOTALLY get rid of the iron. Who uses them anymore??? (I use the dryer! haha)

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  18. Loving Phyllis – and your little bit of magic that you weaved here 😉

    For me, I’m forecasting little baby steps this year. The BIG is getting overwhelming. Not sure if that makes me a prognosticator or not…

    Off to check out Susanna’s link…

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    1. Baby steps is my motto for moving forward. Although I just saw the most hysterical YouTube video of a baby taking her first steps and then falling promptly in dog poop.
      More true to life that way don’t you think? I guess the important part is to KEEP moving. Well, as soon as you clean yourself off.
      Thanks Alarna!

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  20. Yay Ravens! It was a crazy game Sunday. Glad to know there was no shadow, thus I take it an early spring is in the forecast?

    I am keeping my old Monopoly game Coleen. I may have something that will be of value someday. But my favorite piece was the hotel. LOL!

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  22. Your opening quote is the best. I simply love it! What do I see for this coming year? It may fall into 2014, but I see your dream from late last year coming true. We will be signing our books – won’t we? 😉 Believe and make it happen. Susanna has a beautiful blog. I didn’t realize Phyllis was going on tour. I’ve been so sketchy at stopping in lately. I keep meaning to get more involved with the picture book author blogs. Time, time, time. Need to create more. 😀

    As for monopoly, I was always the car – if I could be. I haven’t played in a long time. We only have a star wars version now. I will miss the original. I think I’ll have to do some hunting for a honest to goodness monopoly bracelet. That would be very cool.

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  26. Fun stuff! For extra alliteration, based on Phyllis’s apparent ability to predict the future, I would add that Phyllis is a psychic precognitive (or “precog,” as she would be called in a Philip K. Dick novel or a sci-fi movie). I don’t know what Punxsutawney is, but it sounds to me like a town in rural Pennsylvania (no disrespect, of course — that’s where I went to college).

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    1. Yes, Punxsutawney is in PA. It’s home to Phil the groundhog and an annual event to see whether or not he sees his shadow. If you haven’t seen Groundhog Day with Bill Murray (Hollywood’s take), I recommend!! 🙂

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  27. Hahahahahaa. Loved your Phyll post. So this gal has won a horse race, predicted the outcome of the Super Bowl, guessed which snacks would be eaten at your place, and correctly guessed which token would be replaced? That gal is super bodacious! WOW! Ha. Great post. *waves peace sign*

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  28. I had no idea about the Monopoly token. Loved the pics! Not so crazy about the cat token (even though I’m a cat person), although I’m glad they threw out the iron instead of the thimble or the top hat. I never picked the iron.

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  30. Very cute post! I have had more than enough winter, thank you very much. But I’d say we’ve got at least 8 more weeks to go. Which one are they eliminating? My sister and I used to love the horse and the dog when we were kids. i think she usually had the dog. And I would tip it over so that it was standing on its face and its front legs. And then she’d get mad.

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  31. My sister and I always fought over the dog, because it was the cutest. Was there a horse? I think I remember one. I heard which one they are eliminating, but I won’t say anything here in case you’re wanting to do a big reveal on your next post. 😉

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    1. Yes, I remember a horse token, I think it had a cowboy on it? And no reveal planned (although I’ve declared the loss of the iron as a open ended holiday from ironing). Thanks Kate 🙂

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