This is hardly a comprehensive list of what's best to read while staying home and staying safe--but some of these books turned out to be applicable to our current situation! Now that we've been enduring locked-down life for four months, I'm thinking that the next book to read now has one or more of these … Continue reading What to Read During a Pandemic
Bricks and Balloons
Food Fix is a book published at the right time: It went to press before coronavirus hit the United States, yet without mentioning the pandemic at all, it explains very clearly how the problems with our global food system addressed in this book are worsening the spread of the virus and its deadly effects! Read … Continue reading Bricks and Balloons
Spring Flowers and Ex-Boyfriends
This is something I've been thinking about all through this strange springtime when, despite being home so much more than normal, we are in fact allowed to go outside, to walk all over everywhere, to enjoy the flowers in everyone else's yards as well as our own gardens. Twenty-one years ago, when Daniel and I … Continue reading Spring Flowers and Ex-Boyfriends
Black Lives Matter…but what can YOU do about it?
This is a guest post by Anaïs Peterson, a Pittsburgh-area social-justice advocate. She wrote this on Facebook on June 3, and I am reposting it here to spread this information to people who choose not to use Facebook. I have not looked into all these resources personally. This post is aimed at people who want … Continue reading Black Lives Matter…but what can YOU do about it?
Finding the Right Herbal Tea for This Moment
Oh, here we are in the middle of a pandemic and frantic efforts to end racial injustice and police brutality--and I'm talking about what kind of tea to drink?! Yes, I am. This is not my first round of lifestyle disruption and suddenly being stuck at home with a lot to worry about--and over the … Continue reading Finding the Right Herbal Tea for This Moment
Pandemic Perspective: A Pail of Air
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
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
The Earthling's Handbook 