Painting with Needles; the art of Chinese embroidery

Did early Americans invent embroidery to make samplers and decorate hope-chest items for hopeful young ladies waiting to become wives and mothers? Hardly! The art of embroidery started in China thousands of years ago. China began to weave silk from silkworm cocoon...

Don’t Be a Writer-Rebel Without a Cause

These days, it’s popular to think of oneself as a “Rule Breaker” … a “Rebel;” and, to some extent, that’s fun and exciting. Truthfully, where can we as writers hedge and when must the rules be doggedly followed in order to be...

If an Ellipsis Ran for President . . .

If ever an Ellipsis were to run for President, what would be the platform? No more dot-to-space-ratio lawlessness, of course! Yet, enforcing the Ellipses Laws may be trickier than a politician practicing magic tricks. The underground world of ellipses No punctuation...

Grandma’s Christmas Candy Cake

*Click to read how this depression-era cake put face-cracking smiles on the faces of a bunch of kids in the Christmas of 1933 . . . Christmas in a Sock Old-Fashioned Version. . . but I suggest the Newer Version Below 2 cups sifted flour 3 tsp. baking powder ¼ tsp....

Why Farm Wives Prefer Romance Novels (a theory)

Right off the bat, I need to let you know that I haven’t conducted a Gallup Poll about who does and doesn’t read romance novels. I’m not basing my opinion on any audience measurement, or public-opinion tallies or anything else quite so snooty-wooty. My theory evolved...