(Sorry the lettering on this pic is hard to read…it was bad on the original as well…)  Yesterday, I attended a seminar on brain development. It was interesting to find myself disagreeing with the keynote speaker, as she talked about how children should not be introduced to letters and numbers until their corpus callosum is completely sealed, which happens at around age 6. Kids that learn to read before that age, she said, aren’t really reading, and if they are “forced” to learn prematurely, they don’t develop correctly socially and so on. Whatever. I read before that age, and so did Maya and all of her Montessori classmates, and you…

It’s been 18 hours since my last Diet Coke.  Ack!  How do I feel, you may well ask?  Well, my neck hurts, right at the spot where it kind of meets my shoulder.  I’m guessing that has nothing to do with caffeine, and more to do with sleeping on it funny.   I’m also kind of cold.  But I just closed the window, so that should help. The giving up of the diet coke has not been easy.  I enjoy it.  But I really need to take good care of my body, and there’s nothing in soda that’s good for me, so away it goes. It’s been over a month since…

When we make rice around here, unless it’s baked in the oven, we make it on the stove top. Mostly, we pour some long grain rice in a pot, pour in some broth, cover and bring to a boil. When it’s boiling, we take off the lid, stir the rice, reduce the heat to low, and replace the lid. Then you leave it until it’s done. Sometimes I go in and check the rice, lifting the lid and stirring the rice. Every time someone is over visiting when they see this occur (unless they are members of Ted’s family…I think they all stir their rice, too) they react as though…

Today is Veterans’ Day, the day we set aside to remember all of those who died in wars for our country. From patriotism.org: At 5 A.M. on Monday, November 11, 1918 the Germans signed the Armistice, an order was issued for all firing to cease; so the hostilities of the First World War ended. This day began with the laying down of arms, blowing of whistles, impromptu parades, closing of places of business. All over the globe there were many demonstrations; no doubt the world has never before witnessed such rejoicing. In November of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Armistice Day proclamation. The last paragraph set the tone for…

“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind, the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.” ~ Henry James I feel as though this message is coming at me from all directions lately. My beloved Py Korry wrote a post about hatred, and how it can be used to dehumanize others…then Ms. Mama wrote a post about the death of someone she knew, and how we should all be kind to those we love, for you never know when we will see them again…then Cherry wrote about how we can start a peace revolution, spreading peace with kindness. Last night,…

  Gina wrote recently of her love for a clean, uncluttered top of the fridge.  She hates to have stuff up there, where some folks might not even notice.  Py cannot stand to have any miscellaneous items in the car.  Car must be clean and uncluttered at all times.  The house? Not such an issue for him (as long as the bathroom is clean, he’s OK).  Maya’s Granny likes to have all of her books alphabetized.  Not sure if she still sorts her clothes the way she used to…with different colored hangers for different seasons or whatever… My sister likes to have EVERYTHING very clean, organized, and put in its proper…

Over at Gina’s blog yesterday, she asked this question: “For what Latin number is October named?” Well, I knew the answer, but not quickly enough to win any points on her ongoing trivia game. Dang. It got me to thinking about the names of the months, though, and how interesting the first 8 are, and then how…boring…the last 4 are. Interested? I found this on Encyclopedia Mythica. Tell me that naming a month after its place on the calendar (like October, for the 8th month) is as interesting as March being named for a Roman god, Mars. I won’t believe you. January Named after the Roman god of beginnings and…