What’s New
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Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
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An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula
Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable
Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
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Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives
Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
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Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks
Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
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Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …
Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
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Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?
Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
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Stateline: New Budget Cuts Threaten School Funding Settlements
Last month, a group of Kansas school districts sued the state arguing that lawmakers had violated their constitutional obligation to adequately fund public education. More [lawsuits] are likely to be filed in the months ahead, as legislatures – confronted with yet another year of deep budget cuts – opt to scale back education spending
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The Past Week In Women’s Issues in Congress
On December 1, the Senate approved the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act (S. 987).On December 3, the Senate passed S. 3817, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Bill of Rights for Women Veterans Passes House
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Gifts for Gardeners: Pink Pruning Shears and Book Reviews Reprised
A pair of gardening shears of the bypass type we bought this year are those offered by Saboten and called The Elegance Trio. They also include a trimmer and an anvil type. We chose the ones that are pink, great for small hands and easy to use. Digging Dog and Annie’s Annuals are marvelous mail…
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DIY Kits for Gifts
Considering the cost of gifts in today’s economy and the number of people who are needle wielders and craftspeople, we thought that DIY kits seem like practical and welcome gifts.
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Beauty Queens and Battling Knights
In particular, we examine whether people use riskier strategies against attractive people, whether this affects performance, and whether men and women react to attractiveness in the same way.
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You’ve Bought It; But Who to Choose as a Shipper?
We once had a package sent from abroad to ourselves, assured by the packer that they took unusual care to protect their goods (a ceramic platter). We could hear the fractured pieces rattling as soon as it arrived — the one of a kind, made by a craft artist, totally destroyed.
