Month: August 2020

Pony Express in Retreat

Pony Express Rider (Painting by Stanley Wood)

Thank you, America.

Yay! They listened.

The resounding throngs

Genius Idea!

Hightailin’ It, Pony Express 1860 (Painting by Bruce Cheever, 2019, courtesy Eitlejorg Museum)

It will be there in 3 days.

Agent of the USPS a couple weeks ago

But my little package took 6 days to get from San Diego, California, to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

At first, I was puzzled by the delay — not to mention disappointed. But then somebody said the new Postmaster General wanted to celebrate election year by reinstating the Pony Express. My immediate reaction was:

Cool! Who is this new Postmaster General?

Me, thinking about horses carrying the mail
Continue reading “Genius Idea!”

Perfect Picture Books for Science Homeschooling

Are you home schooling your adorable children this year? Need a little help with science? Here are some of Kate Allen Fox’s recommendations.

Kate Allen Fox

When you think of teaching science, you might imagine dry, boring textbooks. And if you unexpectedly find yourself homeschooling this year, you might be less than enthused about teaching those.

Luckily for you, your local library is chock full of gorgeous, engaging STEM picture books. These books are perfect for early elementary schoolers and also have great read-aloud qualities for preschoolers. If you have older kids, consider using an engaging picture book to ignite interest in a topic before delving deeper into the details.

I firmly believe that picture books are for everyone from babies to adults. Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer used them to prep for his historic winning streak. And these books are not only informative, but beautifully written and illustrated pieces of art.

Here are a few of my favorites…

Water is Water by Miranda Paul and Jason Chin

Read the full review here.

Gravity by…

View original post 103 more words

The Memorial

I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with Vanessa for something more than four years through our blogs. Now, six months after her husband passed away at far too young an age, she has shared moments from his memorial service. I believe it was the most beautiful memorial service that could ever be.

I am not a devoutly religious person, but the best I could hope for after I’m gone would be to be remembered with sentiments like these.

Vanessence

Today weighs heavy on me.  Six months ago today, my husband died, happening even on the same day of the week.  My last Shabbat as a wife was Valentine’s Day.  Somehow that seems … appropriate, in a weird way.

  • 6 months is
  • 182 days is
  • 15,724,800 seconds is
  • 262,080 minutes is
  • 4368 hours is
  • 182 days is
  • 26 weeks is
  • 49.73% of 2020 is
  • Yesterday is
  • Forever

So I’m naturally a whirl of memories, about his death and the aftermath.  I don’t think I ever shared with you anything about the memorial we had for him in June, once the Corona “shelter-in” had mostly passed.  This six month “milestone” seemed like a good time to do that.

Thank you for listening.

Love, Vanessa ❤

============

The Rabbi asked my son if he would like to speak at his father’s memorial.  I expected him to say, “No.”  He’s just 18, and…

View original post 1,071 more words