Quotes of Wisdom 43 – Spring Brings Growth

"The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." ~Harriet Ann Jacobs I am so feelin' it the past few days. I hope that if the season is Spring wherever you are, it is bringing the joy of new growth and beauty to your life.  Sometimes …

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Time4Learning Homeschool Curriculum Review

Disclosure My opinion is entirely my own. I have not received any compensation for this review. Time4Learning offers standards-based language arts and math curriculum. Science, social studies and art lessons are provided as a bonus for most grades. A few months ago our kids' school changed leadership and instituted policies which led to an environment that was no longer in line with our …

Writing Memoir is Like Hard Boiling a Cracked Egg

Writing memoir is like hard boiling a cracked egg.  Contents burble out into the scalding water forming opaque hints of the story concealed within. The raw sticky interior simmering, congealing, forming itself into perfection. The difference being, when we try to set the timer for completing the project the winds of life blow out the …

Quotes of Wisdom 42 Strange Thoughts while Grieving

"One of the things that happens to people in grief is they secretly think they're crazy, because they realize they are thinking things that don't make sense." ~Joan Didion, Author, Journalist, Playwright2/6/19  Early this morning I stood at our kitchen sink, coffee cup in hand, looking out the window.  A big California Black Oak tree stands …

Another Thing to Expect When Your Mother Dies – A Year Later – Life is But a Breath

A year of my life is history; a year my mother was not here to experience the ups and downs of everyday life, the blooms in her gardens, or the thunder of last week's storms. Breast cancer claimed her for its statistical rollcall in February 2018, three months short of her 75th birthday. The day …

Historical Fiction and Poetry Come Together to Entertain and Intrigue

I am tickled pink to share with you this ghost story written by author and visionary storyteller Lisa Redfern.  Turn out the lights. Take your mind back in time to the mid 1800s in Truckee, California.  Railroad construction was progressing across the Sierra Nevada mountain range - from East to West - connecting the rest …

Quotes of Wisdom 38 Healing through Gardening – Midsummer Update

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."  ~Luther Burbank  Gardens have been medicine for my soul for years.  This year the abundance of beauty and cycling blooms in the flower gardens have kept me captivated. In fact, they've held me hostage long into the …

Quotes of Wisdom 37 Happy Summer!

"Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it." ~Russell Baker, American Journalist Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/russell_baker I have no idea what prompted Russell Baker to say what he said, but I feel quite the same about summer. While I dread the heat that provokes hot flashes and migraines, the mosquitoes …

Quotes of Wisdom 36 Healing Through Gardening

"The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul." ~Alfred Austin, English Poet, novelist, dramatist I have dug into the earth with bare hands, day after day convinced my hands would be stained for a …

Quotes of Wisdom 35 – Take Time for Rest

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." ~Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet, English banker,  liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist, and polymath. When was the last time …