Archive for November, 2012
November 12, 2012 @ 7:15 am | Filed under:
Cybils I greatly enjoyed this funny, frank Nerdy Book Club post by teacher William Polking about the woes and joys of serving on the Cybils YA Fiction first-round panel: The Trouble With Cybils. I served on the same panel two years ago and experienced the same combination of overwhelming reading load and exhilarating discussion with a really crack team of fellow panelists.
November 11, 2012 @ 6:01 pm | Filed under:
Photos Am archiving some pictures from a family photo site I used to keep. Found these gems from 2005 and since Halloween isn’t that far behind us, here’s a look back seven years.
And from a trip we took to Williamsburg that fall…
(One of my all-time favorite photos of my kids.)
Forgive the silence…I got walloped by a cold this week. But otherwise it was a lovely week. We actually got some rain—shocker! The cosmos seeds have sprouted. No sign of the poppies or sunflowers yet.
Rilla got busy making paper snowflakes. I love how they look like something out of Space Invaders.
Over at GeekMom, I’m continuing to review monthly subscription-box services. This week: La Bella Box, a $20 Box of Awesome.
Anybody else watching this season of Upstairs/Downstairs? Want to gab about it?
Lots of especially good links in my Caught My Eye sidebar this week, including a piece on Jane of Lantern Hill at Fanny Harville’s Unschool Academy. Also the Alzheimer’s one is well worth a click. Heck, they all are—I wouldn’t save them to the widget otherwise. 🙂
November 6, 2012 @ 3:43 pm | Filed under:
Photos 
Rilla: Can we play Cranium Hullabaloo?
Me: Sure!
Rilla: But it’s a pie.
Me: What?
Scott: What?
Me: It’s a pie?
Rilla, Jane, Rose: No, it’s UP HIGH.
I changed my Twitter username today from @bonnyglen to @melissawiley. When I joined Twitter five years ago, people seemed to be using handles, and it made sense to use my blog name. But lately it gets more and more confusing; I keep encountering people who wonder who “Bonny” is. 🙂 If you were following me at @bonnyglen before today, you’re still following me now, same account, new username. Make sense?
(And if you forget and ping me @bonnyglen, no worries—I transferred that name to a placeholder account. I won’t be posting from it, but I can check it for mentions.)
***
I’ve updated my old “Things to Buy Instead of Curriculum” post to correct broken links, remove items no longer available, etc. Of course there are lots of things I could add to that list now, several years later. One of these days I’ll get around to a sequel.
November 4, 2012 @ 12:58 pm | Filed under:
Books Just a reminder that I’ll be signing books at the Hazard Center Barnes & Noble in San Diego this afternoon, 2:30pm. There’s a children’s choir performing at 2. Come say hi!
November 4, 2012 @ 6:59 am | Filed under:
Links,
Photos 
Heads up: Johnny Tremain is today’s Kindle daily deal—only .99!
At Wisteria & Sunshine, Lesley is preparing to lead us through preparations for An Unhurried Christmas…her gentle pace, beautiful images, nourishing words, and refreshing common sense are inspiring, as always. Perhaps you could splurge on an early gift for yourself and try a subscription?
And I just saw that Wendi Gratz of Shiny Happy World is encouraging folks to sign up for her mailing list because she has a sale coming up. I love Wendi’s work. Her mailing list includes free sewing or embroidery lessons.
Other links I’ve shared elsewhere:
Classic Childrens-Literature-Inspired Bedrooms. Including a Great Green Room, of course.
Beatrix Potter’s Picture Letters at the Morgan. Oh I want to go!
Living Walls and Self-Healing Concrete.
Concrete is the most widely used structural material on the planet, but it has a niggling habit of breaking down over time, giving rise to cracks, pits and holes that require expensive repairs or replacement. But what if concrete could mend itself? It turns out such a material already exists — and it could be used in a building near you in as little as 2—3 years.
Street Murals Made from Sugar.
Eight Hacks to Make Google Calendar More Useful.
I never get tired of Curiosity’s Mars photos.
Bonus happy-kid photo:
Kid-Lit Cares: Superstorm Sandy Relief Effort:
What is KidLit Cares?
It’s an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort for Sandy. Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund.
What kinds of things are included?
Manuscript critiques, in-person and Skype author visits, virtual writing workshops, school & library marketing consultations for authors… you name it.
See also: Six Ways for Geeks to Help with Hurricane Sandy Relief at GeekMom.
