Category Archives: Uncategorized

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

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

Art out of Trauma

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Kathy

A disadvantage of book groups is that sometimes you have to read books that you never would have picked up on your own and that you don’t enjoy. The upside is that sometimes you have to read books that you … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Winter and Beginnings

Posted on January 26, 2023 by Kathy

On this last Wednesday of the month, we’re finally getting around to January, whose root is Janus, the Roman god of doorways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. His face appeared on either side of a door, so that he could … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Sub Rosa

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Kathy

On Monday, I shared the secret ingredient in my coffee cake with you all. Don’t tell my housemates, because they shun yogurt and sour cream. Mention using bacteria in order to “culture” milk? You should see the looks on their … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Question of the Day

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Kathy

Actually, two questions. Do you feel you have to finish a book once you start it, or are you okay with sometimes quitting on a book? If the latter, what are your criteria? How much of a chance do you … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

More Bill Cunningham

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Kathy

In Instead of Education: Ways to Help People Do Things Better (1976), John Holt wrote, “A life worth living, and work worth doing–that is what I want for children (and all people), not just, or not even, something called ‘a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Weekend Editions | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A Sense of Humors

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Kathy

From ancient times well into the 19th century, Westerners believed that four bodily fluids governed human personality and health. These fluids, called humors, derived from the four elements–earth, fire, water, and air—because these four elements composed everything. The Latin word … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, Wednesday Word | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments