Florence Witkop's Blog, page 44

Pizza Anyone?

The Aztecs grew tomatoes but Cortés brought the seeds to Europe. He thought they’d look nice in gardens. Like pretty, round, red flowers. Soon, however, aristocrats – the only people able to afford flower gardens — nibbled those pretty red flowers and discovered they were delicious and soon lots of aristocrats were eating tomatoes. And,… Continue reading Pizza Anyone?

Still above water

Venice, Italy, is a floating city. It is comprised of 112 separate islands that are near each other in a bay of the Adriatic Sea.  You’d think the city would gradually fall into the sea as its foundation decays. But the foundation doesn’t decay. At least it hasn’t yet and it looks like there are… Continue reading Still above water

Mother’s Day – coffee mugs – flowers

                               I got these flowers for Mother’s Day. I also got the coffee mug for Mother’s Day. They both came in the mail and I knew immediately, without looking for cards or anything, which came from which son. The flowers came… Continue reading Mother’s Day – coffee mugs – flowers

Fairytales revisited

There’s a lesser-known fairy tale than some more familiar ones in which a sweet young girl shares a cake with an old woman she meets at the well. Turns out that the old woman has magic powers (of course she does, it’s a fairy tale) and is so grateful for the young woman’s generosity that… Continue reading Fairytales revisited

Berries are berry confusing

As a writer, I know words are important. I also know that language evolves and words change. Still — shouldn’t a berry be a berry? No matter the year, the century, the country or the language, shouldn’t a person be confident knowing that something labled ‘berry’ is actually what the label says? Nope! Doesn’t happen!… Continue reading Berries are berry confusing

5 fascinating facts about cats.

I’ve been learning about cats. I’ve had a cat for eleven years now so you’d think I’d know a bit by now. I did end up making one a major character in my novel, A Very Black Cat. But these strange critters never cease to surprise me. Anyway, I ran across a few cat facts… Continue reading 5 fascinating facts about cats.

Some flowers are tough! Not mine.

I always thought of flowers as delicate and fragile. And some are. But not all. Some of the loveliest are some of the toughest. Lotus flowers, for instance, begin life in the yucky, muddy bottom of a pond where they struggle until they grow enough to reach the water’s surface where they finally have fresh… Continue reading Some flowers are tough! Not mine.

10 facts about you that will make you laugh. Guaranteed.

I saw this list of facts on a minion site and laughed myself silly: 1.You are reading this right now. 2.You realize that is a stupid fact. 4. You didn’t notice that I skipped three. 5. You’re checking now. 6. You’re smiling. 7. You’re reading this even though it’s stupid. 9. You didn’t realize I… Continue reading 10 facts about you that will make you laugh. Guaranteed.

About rain — rainbows — writing — stories of wonder.

It’s raining today. Sort of raining, just enough to get everything wet and make me not want to go outside and stand in it because I’d get chilled and soaked, though the ground will still be thirsty when it ends because it’s not coming down hard. Still, considering we’ve been in a ‘red flag’ event… Continue reading About rain — rainbows — writing — stories of wonder.

Royal weddings, oh my! I love cake.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are all set to tie the knot. I love a royal wedding, and I love wedding cake — okay, I love any and all cake and I have a special love of the kind of bakery cake that is normally used at weddings, don’t know why, there’s just something about… Continue reading Royal weddings, oh my! I love cake.