The Satisfaction of Achievement

I couldn’t contain my smile when I weaved the end of the yarn through the loops at the top of the piece I had just knitted and pulled it tight. Much to my surprise…it looked like a hat! The unknitting, rescue of dropped stitches and feeling that I was an absolute klutz all melted away [...]

Bewitching Halloween Memories

My mom’s birthday was on October 30th, and throughout her life she was always making allusions to being a “witch”. Her first “gift” witch was one that hung from the IV pole in her hospital room after her hysterectomy, after that, we were constantly presenting her with little witches as “thinking of you” gifts.
One of [...]

Critical Thinking in the Info Age

In ninth-grade biology class, we learned to use a microscope. Our teacher had us prepare slides for which we cut a tiny section of newsprint, one letter, put a drop of water on it to “stick” it to the slide and placed a cover slip over top. Our task was to draw what we saw [...]

The Pitter-Patter of Language

On Friday evening, when the thunder bumpers were booming outside, I used my computer to check the local radar. My husband looked over my shoulder and asked, “Well?”
“Well, there’s some red stuff just east of the Iowa border, but it will probably pitter before it gets here.”
“Pitter?”
“Yes, pitter. An official meteorological term. I’m surprised you’ve [...]