A Strange, Wonderful Sound

It took a while to recognize it. Sometime during the night, it must have started. It’s the sound of rain! Drumming on the roof, dancing off the deck, sluicing down the windows, rain! The street is a-glimmer; shimmers of lightning dance across wet pavement. Trees and flowers stand silently, lifting grateful arms to the dark […]

Water Waves and Freckle Creams

Water Waves and Freckle Creams

Come with me for a trip into history and delve into a 1921 issue of The Etude, Presser’s Musical Magazine. I’m not sure where I bought this magazine but it’s fascinating because it’s from a much different era of America. Woodrow Wilson was President that year; that is, until March 4 when Warren G. Harding […]

Cut It Out!

Cut It Out!

“Cut it out!” I used to hear this phrase a lot; not so much nowadays. It just means, “Stop that.” Stop doing or saying whatever. It’s a useful phrase, a word picture of taking a pair of scissors and snipping off something, or using a black marker and rubbing it out. The thing of it […]

Cutting Their Teeth on Books

Cutting Their Teeth on Books

At times, I fear for good, old-fashioned books, especially children’s books. That is, I fear until I go into a library or a book store. They are always busy with book-loving people of all ages. Then, I’m comforted; I know the written word is alive and well. I began reading to my son long before […]

The Gold at Day’s End

The Gold at Day’s End

  There’s something about the late afternoon, just before the supper hour, when the day is winding down  and the light lies golden and still through the windows. There’s a hush, a silence in empty rooms, a quiet acceptance that the day is over and soon the sun will slip beneath the horizon. Memories return […]

That Powerful moon

That Powerful moon

  The powerful moon causes the tides, but does it also influence people? We are, after all, from 50% to 75% water. If it does, that could explain how  behavior changes under a full moon. As a kindergarten teacher, I dreaded those days when the moon was full, the lunchroom had doughnuts for breakfast, and […]