“hardriful” is not exactly the opposite of “wonderful” In The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows (2021), John Koenig introduces us to words for emotions we may have had in passing or that have “sat with us awhile” yet we did not have names for them. “Sonder” is one: it means to realize that each person we…

by Lisa Wingate 2 alternating stories from different timer periods -2 young women, 1875 Reconstruction South and Texas and small town Louisiana 1987 intertwined Wingate narrates this moving story in two strands pulled from the same ball of yarn. Hannie Gossett’s strand, coarse and scratchy, pulls from deep inside the thick ball. Set during the…

All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween) October 31 On this Halloween morning in Sunday worship, we remembered those who have gone before us in our Christian faith. We lifted the names of those who raised us from childhood, supported us through challenges, or inspired us by their example. Thanking them in the presence of others, we lit…

Better known for her popular books, Little Women, Little Men, and Jo’s Boys , Louisa May Alcott ‘s book, Civil War Hospital Sketches, invites the reader into the hospital wards of Washington, DC to see the war from her perspective as a Union Army nurse. Alcott enlisted in Boston, leaving her quiet life to serve…

I am from Fanny and Robert, Emma and Lynn, Phyl and Barney. I am from Ida Mary, Fanny Laura, Phyllis Mary; no-nonsense Vermonters who found ironic humor in the everyday and for whom pouting and complaining were self-centered and spoiled. I am from The Green Mountains and the Adirondacks, hillsides and pastureland whose creeks tumbled…

materials form July 26th, 2021

Wang FY, Yale 1953, Read Chinese & PLECO 2021, iPhone APP Oldest and newest What an amazing range of learning materials! This 1953 textbook showcases the revolutionary “new” (at the time) idea that one could and should teach “foreigners” Mandarin. Next to it is a screen shot of the newest approach – a very user…

When I am using my GPS in the car, I sometimes scroll out to see a larger view or swipe over to see something interesting to the right or left of my main route. Ranging around and seeing the surrounding areas can be interesting, but distracting. If I am not looking at the main screen…

As yet a second child of ours turns 40, I struggle comprehend where the time has gone! In addition to remembering my own shock at turning 40 a long time ago, these 455 days since my state declared a “COVID shut-down” have further skewed my sense of time.With many adults now vaccinated, the COVID situation…

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 2019 Nan A. Talese/Doubleday: NY Because I read The Testaments while news poured in from China, South Korea, and Japan about Corona Virus, the fictional elements of the book were more abstract and less frightening than were the scary realities around me. The dystopian society Atwood describes was one “remove”…