Art and Crafts

• Bathing With Dragons—repurposing a flannel sheet
• More Light Effects
• Color and Shadow–more tricks of the light
• The Mini-backpack, Round Three–quilting
• More Delights of Light
• Cookie Houses–smaller is better
• The Mystery of Lace
• The Subtle Beauties of Colorful Christmas Lights–reflections, refractions, and shadows.
• The Mini-Backpack, Round Two
• That Smells Good!–the changing appeal of scents, in and out of context
• Decorating Boxes For Flashcards — Zentangle and ZIA on tuckboxes
• Playing With Ink
• Pottery, Paper, and Post–letters from the past and present
• Who Designs This Stuff?–the impressive origami of modern packaging
• Too Big, Too Small, Just Right?–trying to sew a copy of my favorite fleece hat
• Interlacing, Transforming, and Curious Perspectives–wonderful tricks in art
• The Diva’s Challenge #371 and Hurricane Michael
• Calligraphy Rediscovered–blackletter, italic, uncial, copperplate, and fun!
• Two Fun Kinds of Decoration–Zen Gems and Pencil Calligraphy
• Making a Fabric Cover for a Scratching Post–I Mean Laundry Hamper!
• Pelican Shadows and Other Shadows of Interest
• Diva's Challenge #365
• Nancy Drew Computer Games and Mysterious Boxes
• Diva's Challenge #364
• Diva's Challenge #363
• Diva's Challenge #362
• Making a Bag For a Folding Chair–NOT a how-to story
• Trying the Diva's Challenge–Zentangle (TM) and ZIA on the internet
• More Acanthus Scrolls, plus Homemade Envelopes
• Acanthus Scrolls, Florentine Papers, and Decorated Tuckboxes
• The Versatile Bookmark
• In Praise of Airport Art
• Sewing, Knitting, and (Un)happiness
• Everyone Should Have a Party Trick
• Maps, Mystery, and Adventure—decorating with story
• Sparkle, Shine and Scarcity
• Sun and suncatchers–rainbows in my room
• The Versatility of Playing Cards
• The Dangers of “Updating” Your Décor
• Making the Mini-backpack–an adventure in sewing a small bag
• What Is This Called? Quilt Patterns, Drawing, and Zentangle(tm)
• A Letter Is a Gift in Your Mailbox
• Reflecting On Reflections–the stories inside the shine
• Make Your Own Tuckbox—what’s in your deck? what’s your deck in?
• The Reusable Fabric Grocery Bag—a quest to make the perfect bag
• Listening to Music–Old songs, new songs
• Scented candles—fragrance and squishy wax
• Wall of Quotations

Discussion and Philosophy

• In Celebration of our Flag on Flag Day
• On the F-word
• “This Music Is a Bit Repetitive”–that’s why I like it
• The World Would NOT Be Better Without Us
• Games as practice for life–losing
• Hope–in poetry, fiction, and life
• Are You Trying to Produce Change or Just Venting? The “You Idiot” Test
• A Rule of Life for Facebook Posts–thoughts after reading Michael Curry's "Love Is the Way"
• Virtual Versions of Real-world Activities–tidier, simpler, safer…but no substitute
• I Trust My Cat, and My Cat Trusts Me
• Cats Like to Play, and So Do People
• Reflections on the book "The Circle" by Dave Eggers–transparency versus privacy
• Reflections on the book "Good Omens" –and the importance of shared hobbies
• Reflections on "The Crying Game"
• "You Need to Forgive Yourself"–why does this phrase set my teeth on edge?
• The TV Show "Lucifer" and the Difference Between Real Evil and Stage "Evil"
• The Diva’s Challenge #373 and Diversifying One’s Hobbies
• "The Poisoner's Handbook" and Reading About Real Evil
• Arguing About Gun Control—conflicting intuitions and the need for good research
• Catalogs–a glimpse into other worlds
• "For Instant Human, Add Coffee"–are we really that tired?
• Words and Character
• Sewing, Knitting, and (Un)happiness
• Everyone Should Have a Party Trick
• On Communicating With the Government–I ponder different methods as I write to the FCC
• The Death of a Fraternity Pledge, Milgram on Authority, and Jump-starting a Car
• Conversations, Arguments, and Listening to Other People's Experiences
• Feedback Fatigue–too many requests, useless forms, and grade inflation
• "A Little Princess"–self-discipline, kindness, and imagination…and a bit of moral luck
• Facts vs. Feelings–an overdose of human interest stories?
• Finding the Right Words–the importance of correct terminology
• Death of a Squirrel–animals and moral inconsistency
• Gossip and Lies

Food and Cooking

• “Fresh Fruit Cream Cake”–even the name sounds delightful
• “I’m a little teapot, here’s my spout”–a close-up of a family teapot
• Vegetarian Steamed Dumplings
• Trying an Old Family Cake Recipe and a New (To Me) Frosting
• Gingerbread–the cake, not the cookie
• Cookie Houses–smaller is better
• Variations on a Banana Muffin
• Hot Cross Buns–New Twists On My Old Recipe
• Stay at Home and Have Cake
• Cranberries Are Fun–traditional cranberry sauce and a cranberry curd tart
• Making Your Own Flavored Yogurt (From Plain Yogurt) and Making Dalgona Coffee
• Crumpets and Tea–trying out a treat I've only read about
• Athelas, Lembas, and Butterbeer–impossible delights in fiction
• The Great British Baking Show's Sarawak Style Cake–can I make a kek lapis?
• That Smells Good!–the changing appeal of scents, in and out of context
• Mandarin Eggnog Custard—puzzling over clementines and thinking about my favorite flavor combination
• New Year's Festive Braided Bread–except it's really woven bread
• Eight-strand Braided (Plaited) Bread, Inspired by The Great British Baking Show
• Drinking Tea During NaNoWriMo
• Sugar, Sugar, Everywhere–the many names and kinds of sugars in our food
• Peach Kentucky Pudding—very easy, very tasty
• Candy Hearts and Conversation Sweets
• The Idea of Soup
• Chocolate Tofu Mousse–a foamy chocolate tofu for you
• Eclairs I Have Known–trying a gluten-free eclair recipe
• The Hows and Why of My Mini-baguettes–making French bread just because…
• The Many Mysterious Mints
• Why I Drink So Much Tea
• The Great British Baking Show and Grandpere's Recipes–the technical challenge of a dimly remembered cookie
• Simple Joys, Simple Desserts–easy microwave custard
• Labels in the kitchen—how old is this mustard anyway?
• Homemade Vegetarian Marshmallows—a quest
• On Failing a Caramel Taste-test

Household and Family

• Sorting Through Old Photos–what is the purpose of photos?
• Emergency Preparedness Plan
• Cat Dreams–what do cats dream about?
• The Mystery of Lace
• Virtual Versions of Real-world Activities–tidier, simpler, safer…but no substitute
• I Trust My Cat, and My Cat Trusts Me
• Cats Like to Play, and So Do People
• Christmas Carols and Klezmer–people can always surprise you
• The Diva’s Challenge #373 and Diversifying One’s Hobbies
• Woodsmoke, Kayaks, and My Dad
• "For Instant Human, Add Coffee"–are we really that tired?
• Good Children's Books–good for grown-up or child?
• "They Spoke French"–how stories get lost between generations
• The Dangers of “Updating” Your Décor
• Reflecting on "Howl's Moving Castle" (the book, not the movie)–cleaning, fictional characters, and scented steam
• Why I Drink So Much Tea
• The Great British Baking Show and Grandpere's Recipes–the technical challenge of a dimly remembered cookie
• From the Annual Easter Egg Hunt to My Favorite Children's Books–five books I remember fondly
• Boredom Is the Mother of Invention
• Listening to Music–Old songs, new songs
• Labels in the kitchen—how old is this mustard anyway?
• Decluttering: on the one hand, and on the other
• Predictions and the New Year
• Every tree tells a tale… and every ornament
• Wall of Quotations

Stories and Writing

• Why I Like the November Postcard Swap
• NaNoWriMo 2024–YA fantasy without assassins or deadly competition??
• Murder (in) Mysteries–revisited
• My Top Fifty Books of this Century
• The Random Discovery of Poetry
• Morality in Fictional Worlds–as the author wishes
• Thoughts on “Bittersweet: how sorrow and longing make us whole” by Susan Cain
• #CarolinasKidLit2022 —lessons in marketing
• Kids Away From Home–why we love stories about boarding schools
• One Project Ends, Another Begins
• Pruning My Library—every so often, some books have to go
• Preparing for Nanowrimo–Ideas, Notebooks, Scrivener, and maybe Sims
• Blog Writer's Block? Or Just Conflicting Priorities?
• Crumpets and Tea–trying out a treat I've only read about
• Too Many Books, Too Little Time–writers want to write, not do marketing
• Athelas, Lembas, and Butterbeer–impossible delights in fiction
• Khipus–knotty writing and knotty puzzles
• Reflections on the book "The Circle" by Dave Eggers–transparency versus privacy
• Reflections on the book "Good Omens" –and the importance of shared hobbies
• Reflections on "The Crying Game"
• "You Need to Forgive Yourself"–why does this phrase set my teeth on edge?
• The TV Show "Lucifer" and the Difference Between Real Evil and Stage "Evil"
• Playing With Ink
• Reflections on The Roly-Poly Pudding, by Beatrix Potter
• Locked-room Mysteries and Impossible Crimes
• Pottery, Paper, and Post–letters from the past and present
• The Many and Varied Versions of Sherlock Holmes
• Drinking Tea During NaNoWriMo
• NaNoWriMo 2018 and a Celebration of Spiral Notebooks
• Sidebars, Summaries, Speech Bubbles, Oh My! –text and graphics in recent children's nonfiction
• "The Poisoner's Handbook" and Reading About Real Evil
• Nancy Drew Computer Games and Mysterious Boxes
• The Pleasure of Pens
• Dissecting Mysteries–the many kinds of clues
• Good Children's Books–good for grown-up or child?
• Candy Hearts and Conversation Sweets
• The Idea of Soup
• So Many Books, So Little Attention
• Maps, Mystery, and Adventure—decorating with story
• Writing a Mystery Without Murder In My Heart
• Learning American Sign Language–it's interesting, challenging, and (as with most languages) probably easier if you aren't shy
• Addicted to Story
• Whodunits and the Untidiness of Real Life
• "A Little Princess"–self-discipline, kindness, and imagination…and a bit of moral luck
• Reflecting on "Howl's Moving Castle" (the book, not the movie)–cleaning, fictional characters, and scented steam
• Watching "The Sniffer" on Netflix–crime, odors, and subtitles on TV
• Fantasy World-building and the History of Technology
• A Letter Is a Gift in Your Mailbox
• From the Annual Easter Egg Hunt to My Favorite Children's Books–five books I remember fondly
• Finding the Right Words–the importance of correct terminology
• Reflecting On Reflections–the stories inside the shine
• Scented candles—fragrance and squishy wax

Nature and Gardens

• She Spies Shells By the Seashore–identifying shells on a North Carolina beach
• Fight With a Foxtail Fern
• Temporary Traces of Leaf on Stone
• In Praise of Apricots
• Garden Battles–fighting for my tomatoes (and roses)