Episodes

Return of the Chicks? Well, sorta...

This week we listen to "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, and a little bit of "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster. Gillman (here she is) is a particular favorite of mine. She wrote Herland which I'm (sl...

Yeah, But it's a Dry Heat, Right? Don't try this at home--eye-scraping dry eye! EW! This week! Beauty and the Beast. No, not this one Or this one This one! (sort of...) By the woman with the long French name (that would be Je...

| New! | 1-206-350-1642—Call in and leave an audio comment! How to call from outside of the US. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," part 1. Book talk begins at 15:20. Download 26 audio. | Shownotes | Learn the origins of the name ...

Sleepy Hollow, part 2! The entire "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has been re-recorded and remastered and, along with a few other Halloweenie kinds of stories, appears in the Crafting-a-Life Shoppe. Skeeter Syndrome, and why I hate...

Sleepy Hollow, part 3! Apologies! The original audio to this show was recorded—I believe—as my mic was dying. I've tried to remaster the hiss out, but couldn't get it all. However, the entire "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" has bee...

Some good blogs to check out (from SOAR attendees: Rachael Herron, Janine Bajus, and Brooke Sinnes, oh, and Stephanie...I think you know her); a really cool listener's site (Spinneret) regarding My Friend Irving; some pics (s...

Brace yourselves, for this hair-raising journey that will take us to the most haunted corners of a dimly-lit mansion, an isolated countryside estate, a handful of creepy kids, and of course, the classic English fog creeping t...

Cool things to check out: Crochet Sea Creatures not to be believed (Thank you Dawn!), Check out Yarn-a-go-go's site and then check into NaNoWriMo! It's not too late! Then there's The Thread Project (One World, One Cloth), and...

(Apologies although I blathered quite a bit anyway...) This week, chapters 2-3! More Amazing Crochet from Dawn, some victorian pruditry, more wonderful emails from y'all, how to be an ostritch rather than a governess, and a l...

You should also check out Stephanie/Lumie's blog (gorgeous work!) Then go here and get smart, RIGHT NOW! After expanding your brain, you can crack yourself up with my friend Peter on his podcast. Don't forget to get your Sant...

This week--Chapters 6-7! Okay, and you're not really strangers but y'all sure are kind! Some fun with You Tube and Dante Julie's socks (whoo hoo!) and 1400 A.D. knit pic More Organic info from Dawn (worth a look-see)! Seventh...

Nina sent this very helpful, eminently bookmarkable link to help me with mosquito bites. There's actually a lot of great info here...and this site has a very interesting looking hand/foot/everything cream. Lotions just don't ...

Well, we're having the first winter storm of the season. The mountains are capped with snow, the sky is grey, it's 39° (I hear you..."Hey! It's the DESERT! What's with the snow and temperature?!"), and the day is bleeding enn...

Today's theme is "Honi Soit qui Mal y Pense" which comes to us from a (probably apocryphal) story about King Edward III and the Order of the Garter. A rough translation is "Shame to him who thinks ill of it" but my AP English...

Today, Chapters 15, 16 AND 17! WHOO HOO! Today I have some fun silkworm links, some pretty pics of the Pysanky eggs by Jen (who is very, very, very prolific while listening), some pics of intersting historical spindles, and s...

First: Turn of the Screw - Chapters 18-19-20! Second: Stephanie Pearl McPhee's SOAR interview. Whoo hoo! And the rest: Sock Darning. Nuff said. And worth mentioning again--the best Toe-Up cast-on in the WORLD! in my deeply bi...

Some things you didn't hear me talk about; some things you did. And the end of the book! The Librarian's Lament (don't you loathe hearing, "yeah, that's just your opinion..." when someone says something like, "the world isn't...

Having finished with Henry James, I thought we needed a REAL woman to freshen our pallette...Calamity Jane. Not so much Doris. Don't know if you've watched Deadwood (NOT for sensitive ears!), but it at least started out close...

Regionalism! America! "oooooooh beautiful, for spacious skies..." (I can't think of that without hearing Fozzy Bear say "patriotism swells in the heart of the American Bear!" as he does after singing that song on The Muppet M...

A shout out to SyrenMuse who sent me the link to the Little House on the Praire DVD! Who knew! ABC was such a punk when I asked them nicely if they'd be releasing it. I had no idea they listened to me! Maybe your library will...

Buckle up your metaphorical horse-drawn carriages because we are diving headfirst into Charles Dickens' masterpiece: A Tale of Two Cities! So, get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions, fascinating insights, and a good ol' do...

Tale of Two Cities - chapters 1 & 2 You'll need to know a few things, like... What's a blunderbuss? This, this is a blunderbuss. This is Chuck. Who was Mrs. Southcott? She was an English spiritualist. What was the Cock-Lane G...