About ten days ago, I read my newly six-year-old Lydia a science fiction short story that she's since asked her father, older brother, and me to read again and again. It's available free to read online: "A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber. My father read this story to me many times, beginning one night … Continue reading Pandemic Perspective: A Pail of Air
Author: 'Becca
Sweet Potato Soup with Beans, Kale, and Garlic
This wasn't my recipe originally, but it's been one of my favorite soup recipes for more than a decade! Now that the "365 Days of Kale" blog where I found it is gone, I'm sharing the recipe here, with a few tweaks I've made over the years. This hearty soup makes a full meal--maybe you'll … Continue reading Sweet Potato Soup with Beans, Kale, and Garlic
Improved Corn Chowder
I've made corn chowder several times from various recipes. I was never very happy with it because it turned out so bland, high-carb (both corn and potatoes!), and high-dairy; it just made me feel drowsy without seeming like a fully satisfying meal. When I go to the trouble of making soup from scratch, I want … Continue reading Improved Corn Chowder
Two Good Books About Education
Enduring the pandemic has gotten me rereading familiar books more than I'm reading new books. When the stay-home order began, I had the idea of rereading the first six volumes of the Outlander series (the ones I own), knowing that a long book full of adventures helps time pass more quickly. I did read the … Continue reading Two Good Books About Education
Quick Coconut Curry from Leftovers
Here is another easy way to make a delicious, creamy curry! Say it's lunchtime, and your refrigerator isn't offering you a full portion of anything, but you have a bunch of odd bits of vegetables and some coconut milk, all of which really need to be used before they go bad. In less than 10 … Continue reading Quick Coconut Curry from Leftovers
Enduring Easter
Well, here we are: We got through the longest Lent, we endured an Easter Sunday when nobody could go to church or a community egg hunt or a big family feast, and more than three weeks later most of us on Earth are still staying home most of the time. You might think it's not … Continue reading Enduring Easter
The Longest Lent
I'm writing this on the day before Easter, the last day of Lent. This should be the last day of fasting and self-discipline, the day I'm preparing to resurrect the Maundy Thursday leftovers in a festive reception to follow the overwhelmingly inspiring Easter Vigil service, the middle of a weekend of seeing friends and family … Continue reading The Longest Lent
Book Reviews All Over the Place!
I've been reading a whole variety of books lately, both to myself and to my kindergartner Lydia. We Need to Talk by Celeste HeadleeA radio host and expert interviewer tells us "how to have conversations that matter" in this book that has a lot of good advice but might have worked better as a shorter … Continue reading Book Reviews All Over the Place!
Feasting on All the Kingdoms of Earth
Recently, there's been a lot of interest in "a plant-based diet" as the path to good health. Sometimes people use the term as a synonym for a vegan diet (excluding all animal-derived foods) and other times they mean "a diet of mostly plants, with a lot less meat and dairy than a typical American diet." … Continue reading Feasting on All the Kingdoms of Earth
Hope Springs Up Green
Each morning, I've been glancing at the progress of the spring flowers in my garden, coming up from bulbs. Only the snowdrops are blooming so far, but the others are putting up their leaves. I admire the way they push up right through the autumn-leaf mulch, no matter how thick it is or how firmly … Continue reading Hope Springs Up Green
Simple Soy-Ginger Salmon Bowl
Wild Alaskan salmon is one of the healthiest types of fish, with lots of omega-3 fatty acids to nourish your circulatory system and much less brain-damaging mercury than other seafood. Unlike farmed salmon, it's not a source of ocean pollution. Wild Alaskan salmon is widely available in convenient cans that provide 4 hearty servings for … Continue reading Simple Soy-Ginger Salmon Bowl
Old Books I’ve Been Reading in 2020
Starting a new year, especially a new decade, always makes me want to look back at what's changed. I also love reading books to my kids that I and/or other relatives enjoyed when we were young. Here we have a book looking back at the 1920s that belonged to my paternal grandparents, a book that … Continue reading Old Books I’ve Been Reading in 2020
14-minute Homemade Lunch!
This is what I made for lunch today for myself--and there was a small portion left over from this meal made of leftovers, and my 15-year-old ate that and liked it! I'll explain how I made this particular meal, but the larger point is that it's often possible to make something delicious out of the … Continue reading 14-minute Homemade Lunch!
How playing Gollum can boost reading skills
Lydia is in kindergarten now and easily picking up the "sight words" and phonics as they're taught. There's no need to pressure her to pick up reading any faster, but I pounced on this opportunity to help her practice by doing something she was really interested in doing! The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is one … Continue reading How playing Gollum can boost reading skills
The Forgotten Garden and books I’m going to read in 2020
Four years ago, I posted a photo of the stack of books I got for Christmas and later updated the post with links to the book reviews. This year, I've already finished one of the books (the longest one!) so this post isn't just a tease--it also includes one review! The Forgotten Garden is the … Continue reading The Forgotten Garden and books I’m going to read in 2020
Simply Balanced curry sauce review (2 flavors)
One of my most popular articles in 2019 was a review of a curry simmer sauce in a bottle--and that sauce was not very good, so we wanted to try some other convenient, ready-to-use curry sauces in search of a better one. We've found two that are quite tasty, and they're not an obscure brand … Continue reading Simply Balanced curry sauce review (2 flavors)
Top 19 Articles of 2019
This isn't really a blog. It's an ever-expanding, interlinked reference book. As my new articles keep linking to old articles, and other people also link to those old articles or share them on social media, they continue to draw readers for years after publication. That means that when I look over the WordPress statistics for … Continue reading Top 19 Articles of 2019
15 Ways to Build a Smarter Kid
I said that in 2019 I was going to write a series on this topic, and here it is New Year's Eve and I haven't! So here's my outline, and feel free to comment with questions about these topics, and I'll get to work on this in 2020! UPDATE: I've now filled in the outline … Continue reading 15 Ways to Build a Smarter Kid
The 5 Best Books I Read in 2019
None of these was a book newly published in 2019. I don't avoid reading brand-new books, but I don't see any reason to focus on new ones when there are so many wonderful books out there! Because I tend to buy new books or check out books that are available at the library without reserving … Continue reading The 5 Best Books I Read in 2019
Single-use Plastic, Twenty Years Later
I'm about to go out and hang flyers inviting everyone to a Plastic-Free Potluck, and I'm taking the jar of thumbtacks from my desk drawer at home. This jar once held Vitamin C tablets from Revco, which used to be a drugstore chain here in Pittsburgh. Up the hill, where Pamela's diner is now--that used … Continue reading Single-use Plastic, Twenty Years Later
