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CEFR Level B2-C1
This is not a sponsored post.
I was tired of fighting with the groundhog over who gets to eat the produce of my vegetable garden. I wish the groundhog no harm and don’t begrudge it the need to eat, but I also want to eat what I plant, ideally without any parasites from groundhog droppings. After a few years of the groundhog thanking me for giving it a safe enclosure to eat all the tender plants its great big rodent heart desired, I bought a raised garden bed from Garden-In-Minutes.
Now, this raised bed is three feet tall. The configuration I used makes it 1.5 feet wide and 4 feet long. I’ll let you do the math to figure out how many cubic feet of soil would fill up that thing. The important part is, I’m not rich enough to buy that much soil.
Snake photo below the break
CEFR Level B2-C1
This is not a sponsored post.
I’ve followed Her Packing List for years. Or at least, I read the website for years. If you subscribe to The Variety Page Circular, then you know my feelings about social media. At any rate, I think Brooke Schoenman offers a wonderful service that truly helps people. I think her mission offers so much value that I even worked for her as a freelancer for a bit. Before that, I took the class that is now called Baggage Freedom Express. It was absolutely worth the expense and time commitment. After the class, I joined the HPL Mighty Networks group and haven’t left since. One of the fun things we do to practice packing lightly is an annual rewear challenge. If you’re a member of the group, you get photo templates and support and the fun of doing a challenge in community. (I used a different template here so that I’m not giving away members-only content.) The smart thing to do when starting a rewear challenge is to pick a versatile item like a t-shirt. I was not smart. I gave in to I-Just-Made-This Syndrome and chose a heavy denim duster-dress. If you don’t know, September in the mid-Atlantic area is hot like summer. Most days this month were between 80-90℉.  CEFR Level B2-C1 Words, especially in fiction, were how I learned about myself and the world outside my context. Fiction is where I learned that other people felt what I felt and those feelings were called "anger" and "I don't fit in." Fiction is where I learned that life is usually better when you say what's true for you, even if saying it causes tension and conflict. Fiction is where I learned that just because a friendship doesn't last your whole life long, that doesn't mean the friendship wasn't real and the natural end of a friendship doesn't take away from how meaningful the relationship was. Fiction is where I stopped breathing in horror and when I started breathing again could only say, "God, we need you." Fiction taught me the human impact of history far more than any history class or biography ever has.*
 CEFR Level B2-C1 I’ve been tent camping for as long as I remember. Family trips, work requirements, solo trips, temperate forests, desert, rain forests, mountainsides, grasslands: With all that time spent outside, some trips have been better and others worse.
Ironically, one of my worst camping trips was also one of the easiest.  CEFR Level B1-B2 When I left public library work in 2022, I wasn’t sure what my next profession would be. All I knew is that I had given my heart and soul to doing my best in a role that required me to practice all the skills that are outside my innate talents and limited my opportunities to use the skills that help me to thrive. After ten years, leaving was 100% the right decision for me.
I didn’t know what my next profession would be, but I wasn’t limping into the void with no destination. CEFR Level B2-C1 In the summer of 2025, I was introduced to Soma. Unfortunately, their clothing line fits me as poorly as any other ready-to-wear line. When it came to sleepwear, some things I could make work, but what is up with the skinny sleeves? This is a brand for grown women. Grown women have girth around their biceps, at least on average. Good fit relies on proportions more than a S/M/L or even largest/smallest part-measurement size.  After browsing the shop, leaving, changing my mind, coming back, trying on several items, deciding not to buy anything, and wandering the store, I finally purchased the Geo Lace Pajama Cami. I love it! The fit isn’t perfect for my body, but it’s close enough. The fabric, the shelf bra, and the fit are comfortable for sleep. I wish I had another one.
I really wanted the Crinkle Satin matching separates, but they were more expensive. The cami didn’t fit as well as the Geo cami. The pants only fit in the sense that I could get them on my body. Again, proportions. CEFR Level B2-C1 I was browsing Dick’s Sporting Goods and came across the daypacks/school bags. Curious to see what was new and trendy, I took a look. Bungee cords to hold a jacket seemed popular. As always, colors were gendered, which is annoying for a variety of reasons.
Eventually, I came across the Patagonia Refugio. I’ve had good success with Patagonia fleeces and, as far as I know, the company has a decent reputation. I was eager to see what helpful features this 26 liter backpack offered. I didn’t make it past the first zipper.  CEFR Level A2-B1 While getting in my car for a hair appointment, I saw an ambulance parked in front of a neighbor’s house. Naturally, an ambulance is concerning, even though I don’t know this neighbor beyond chatting a few times when she is out working in their yard. Despite my curiosity, I continued to my appointment, which was in the opposite direction.
Half an hour later, I returned to see the ambulance still there. Would it be too nosy to drive past to see what was happening? 
This is not a sponsored post.
CEFR Level B2-C1
Can you wear lip color as a flute player? When I was in high school and college, I only wore lip balm (AKA chapstick).
Yellow Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) Photo: Ty Smith
CEFR Level C1-C2
Can you tell the difference between a spicebush swallowtail and a black eastern tiger swallowtail?
CEFR Level B2-C1
I walk through the rainforest, well not a true rainforest, but with an abundance of wet leaves brushing my bare arms and humidity so strong my skin is wet, it feels like it should be. I walk and try to avoid poison ivy hiding among foliage with names I have yet to learn.
CEFR Level B2-C1
The Background
When I was in high school and college, I was embarrassed to write on my music. I thought it meant that I wasn’t smart enough to remember something. I was worried that if I wrote an expression note or put in a breath mark, my flute teacher would tell me that I was wrong. They usually did tell me that if I wrote in something on my own. Even though I know they were doing their teacher job, it made me learn to not trust myself.
At a piano lesson recently, my teacher followed the typical pattern by asking me to start with a scale. I groaned out loud and stopped just shy of banging my head on the keys. She looked at me incredulously and asked, “Did you seriously just say ‘ugh!’?”
I went into the new ice cream shop to get a milkshake.
CEFR Level C1-C2 Summer style is all about bright colors. But what if you prefer more muted shades? Nature has your back! Here is a wardrobe color palette inspired by a June sunset.  Here’s how you might create different outfits from that color palette. If you mix up the different outfits and are willing to wash clothes more than once a week or to buy duplicates, you could have an entire summer wardrobe right here. This is not a sponsored post. Brands mentioned simply had what I was looking for.
Product images are from the vendors' sites.  Royal Palace of Brussels: Was I traveling or on a vacation? Are the terms synonyms?
In early June 2025, I saw a HARO request for industry experts to share their opinions on why people are choosing 10-day vacations instead of two-week vacations. From the details of the request, it didn’t look like the topic was about taking time off of work. Rather, it appeared that the topic is leaving your house and staying somewhere else as a way to have fun.
Is it normal to take a two-week vacation? 
I passed the age of 40 without learning to drink coffee, even though I grew up in the United States where everyone, including my parents, drinks coffee. Despite these cultural influences,
CEFR Level C1-C2 All photos are vendor product photos, unless otherwise stated. This is not a sponsored post. The Base Outfit 
 Read Part 1
The next morning, while waiting for customer service desks to open, I booked the Comfort Inn in Flagstaff. One task down. I went back to searching for transportation options. Maybe I missed something the night before. Nothing.
 It was 9:30 p.m. on May 18, 2025. I settled into sleep, looking forward to our trip to the Grand Canyon starting on May 20. Suddenly, a thought occurred and I begrudgingly picked up my phone, typing in “shuttle from Flagstaff Pulliam to Grand Canyon.” Wait! What? I searched again. And again. And again.
 Over 40 and finally in a life situation to dress to reflect my self-perception A quick browse through fashion content gives this message: Wear what you want. Fashion influencers for women over 40 seem to especially declare this, except for when they’re explaining how to dress to meet conventional expectations.
I agree with the “wear what you want” message. I do, however, think there’s a missing perspective. Or at least, a perspective that I haven’t discovered yet or that gets overshadowed. |
ESL PostsSome Beyond the Beginner videos are from The Variety Page posts that were edited for ESL listeners. Find those Read-Along transcripts here. Hire a WriterDo you need a content writer who writes without using AI? I have experience with shorter posts and longer articles. Learn more here. PhotosAll photo credits go to Jill Hames, unless otherwise noted. Categories
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Jill Hames is a writer, musician, biblical studies teacher, and ESL tutor who finds life too interesting to pick a niche. She has a B.A. in Music and Spanish, a Masters in Library and Information Science, is TEFL.org 168-hour certified to teach English as a second language, and is working towards a Master of Divinity. Jill is a member of Delta Omicron and the International Women's Writing Guild.
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Copyright 2025
[email protected]
Copyright 2025