My kids, for some reason, are nuts about the Far East: China, Japan, etc. I never had much interest, really, until they got into it. I think they expressed interest after reading some stories about some of the marvelous missionaries who went to these countries, like Gladys Aylward from England and Eric Liddell. Gladys Aylward’s [...]
Tag Archives: education
A College Education in Every Pot!
April 17, 2011
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ashworth College for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. I never attended college after high school. Even back then, a college education was SO expensive. My parents couldn’t afford it, and my stepdad refused to use our biggest asset –the house– as collateral. After [...]
The Very Strange Story of the Wesley Ghost
April 12, 2011
I finished my third biographical book about Susanna Wesley, mother of Reverend John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, and Charles Wesley, the brilliant hymn writer. I’m obsessive like that, I guess. When I want to know a topic of history, I cram it all in. I once read four books about Queen Victoria, one [...]
I Never Understood This Fascination with the Mona Lisa
April 9, 2011
The painting is FIVE HUNDRED years old. People are *still* wrapped up in the Mona Lisa. I was an art major in school. I took art history, art theory, art art art. Overwhelmingly, there was this strange fascination with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. The adoring attention always baffled me. It’s a very nice painting [...]
Kidzmet: Banishing Cookie Cutter Tutoring
April 5, 2011
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kidzmet for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. This is an extremely interesting organization: Kidzmet. You all know how I rail and rant about “cookie cutter” public schools. I attended several of these kinds of schools, and was never happy in them. Typical schools [...]
Thank you, Josephine Cochrane
March 31, 2011
I had to write an article about dishwashers recently, and did a little digging into the invention. A woman named Josephine Cochran invented it, in 1886! Our dishwasher is our favorite kitchen appliance. I have never owned one before I made room for it in our kitchen renovation in 2010. We LOVE our dishwasher! Before [...]
Boredom– Killer of Innovation
March 30, 2011
The Old Geezer had a great blog post about boredom. He noted that in this modern world of electronics and gadgetry, some people still complain of boredom. Boredom was an infrequent condition for folks living in the “olden days,” as their lives were so filled with hard work that leisure time was scarce and precious. [...]
Random Toodles
March 26, 2011
I have eccentric kids. For example: I caught my son last night, staying up WAY past his bedtime, secretly reading a book under his covers. Guess what it was? Strong’s Concordance to the Bible. :blink: In case you didn’t know, you could kill a dog with that book. It’s about 4 inches thick, weighs, what, [...]
This is For All the Grammar Nazis
March 17, 2011
I found this video on my friend Renee’s blog. The kids and I got a kick out of it, especially since we’re delving into English grammar for home lessons now. I caught an uncorrected mistake in this bright young man’s schpeel, though. Can you figure it out?
Myth or Legend? Suspending Water Without a Cup?!
March 1, 2011
Hmmmm…. tell me if you think this is possible: You filled a cup with water and turned it upside down on a smooth surface. You quickly twisted and lifted the cup, and the water remained on the counter– suspended without any support– in the shape of the inverted cup. Is this REALLY possible?! My husband, [...]

I’m a married mom with 4 kids. We live in Upstate New York in an old 1855 house with our five pets (yes, five, *sigh*). Life is never dull, and exciting things just seem to always happen to me... why me... when I'm not running around the house fixing things, I do freelance writing and blogging. My work and opinions have appeared in Salon.com, USAToday, eHow.com, iMedia.com, the Associated Press and I've even been interviewed by TIME and The Wall Street Journal about blogging. Can you believe it?! Here is where I express my zany, creative, motherly side. 










May 18, 2011
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