Some more of Mom’s lessons as recalled by my oldest sister Emily: What I learned from Mom: That having problems with the times tables is not the same as being bad at math (and that math would become more interesting). If something isn’t working try a different approach. From advocating for a different approach to spelling to her standard brainstorming approach with more suggestions then any one person could follow, mom showed me that if the essentials are taken care... Read more
My mother collected Dick and Jane readers, and the Catholic John and Jane variants. When I was learning to read in the early 1980s, Dick and Jane were no longer being published and the schools used a variety of simple phonics-friendly books. (My first grade reader, as I remember, featured ‘Mat the Rat’). But my mom likes Dick and Jane. From all accounts, we kids liked Dick and Jane too. I know I have fond memories of mastering the first... Read more
“Only boring people are bored.” Ok, ok, so this isn’t so much a lesson as a reprimand, but it still echoes through my head when I find myself staring off into space battling acedia, and sometimes the words come right out my mouth when my 5 year old looks at me and whines, “but Moooooooom, I’m so boooooored.” And then I have to look over my shoulder to see how my mother got in the room before I realize that... Read more
(For Jess)I made my first batch of granola yesterday. Well, actually, I made my first two batches of granola yesterday. I burnt the first batch rather badly. I guess my oven runs a bit hot, or at least I have hot spots in my oven. The second batch, however, turned out splendidly. Jess asked for the recipe I used, so here it is. More of a guideline or formula than a recipe, really. Basic Granola Recipe 4 cups grains (I... Read more
Clean up as you go. I’m pretty sure Mom had years where she pitied our future spouses because of our collective inability to even see dirt and mess, let alone clean it up. She was forever imploring me to just wipe the table after having a snack, put the book on the bookshelf instead of the closest flat surface, just how hard would it be to PUT THE CUP IN THE SINK. I’m not any paragon of order now, but... Read more
To honor my Mom, who has one of those big-number birthdays coming up the last day of October, I’m going to run a series of posts all this month entitled, “Things My Mother Tried To Teach Me.”“Tried”, because there are many lessons of hers that are only now starting to sink in. LOL. Hopefully I’ll get some of my siblings to guest-post. The first installment should be up later today. Kate Read more
The weather finally cooled off this week and cooking has become fun again. So last night I reached back to my memories of a dish I last made in highschool home ec., read through a few recipes on the internet, then threw together my own version of curried chickpeas with chicken and chapatis. I found it worked well to make the chapati dough first, then make the curry and leave it simmering while I cooked the chapatis. Chapatis (Indian flatbread)... Read more
Fortunately Arwen just posted something on one of my favorite topics, so I’ll just ditto her and send you on over to read Pushing Back Matters. Read more
subtitle: the skinned knee duet //www.youtube.com/get_player Read more
A college friend of mine mentioned on Facebook recently that he had written a book, so I offered to read it and give my opinion. The book is the Tale of Manaeth. From the webpage: As the youngest girl in a family of six, Manaeth is an unlikely candidate for the throne of the Kingdom of Asylia. But when her entire family is murdered by agents of a cruel foreign king, she becomes the heir to the throne and the... Read more
Peace and Pekoe
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