Category Archives: Uncategorized

Getting at the Heart of Blood Pressure

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Kathy

Fortunately, when nurses take my husband’s or my blood pressure, they simply say it’s good. When the occasional nurse quotes the actual numbers at us instead, we don’t pay much attention. High blood pressure is not among our health concerns. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Next Time Won’t You Sing with Me

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Kathy

An abecedarium is an alphabet book, which we more commonly call an ABC book. The origin of the word, dating from the 17th century, is obvious from its spelling. It’s pronounced like the first three letters of the alphabet–ay, bee, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Wednesday Word, Weekend Editions | 14 Comments

Sea Monsters on the Brain

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Kathy

Everybody knows that medical terms, including names for parts of the body, are frequently borrowed from ancient Greek and Latin. Often, the terms derive from what the body part looks like. The tibia, or shin bone, comes from the Latin … Continue reading →

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Embarrassment of Riches

Posted on March 26, 2023 by Kathy

As I’ve said before, sometimes people ask me how I choose what I’m reading. The easiest answer is to mention my book groups, which choose about eighteen titles a year for me. (One group meets every month, and one every … Continue reading →

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What’s Your Bailiwick?

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Kathy

We took a couple of weeks hiatus because our website was down. My friend Pete resuscitated us by updating some things (and I played hooky for a couple of extra days), and now we’re back and pretending it’s Wednesday, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Women in Stories

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Kathy

I was planning to write my Weekend Editions post (I’m late, I know) about the novellas pictured above, Small Things Like These and Foster, both by Claire Keegan. Then I saw the film Women Talking and also read the novel … Continue reading →

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Keep Calm and Eat Pączki

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Kathy

If you live in the Cleveland area, chances are you’ve heard of pączki (pronounced poonch-kee), fried Polish pastries filled with jam or custard. Pączki means “package,” or, more precisely, “packages,” because pączki is plural. Pączek is the singular form. Cleveland … Continue reading →

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Cast Down in Hadestown

Posted on February 18, 2023 by Kathy

Should I care how Anäis Mitchell, creator of the musical Hadestown, adapts Greek myths to suit her purposes? I shouldn’t. Myths provide us with archetypal stories and characters, constantly shaped and reinterpreted over the centuries. For example, beautiful Helen, the … Continue reading →

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Nickname History

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Kathy

What does the word tawdry have in common with the name Ned? Care to hazard a guess? Ned is, in a way, a misunderstanding. According to folk etymology, the name derives from the common usage of Mine Edward as an … Continue reading →

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Only Connect

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Kathy

Governor Ron DeSantis’s website includes a page devoted to his proposed Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act. Florida’s tax dollars are paying for courses that make kids hate America, he says. Critical race theory has invaded … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Teaching, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments