Teresa Robeson's Blog, page 4

It’s my birthday month, week 1

Since it’s my birthday month, I’m letting myself take it easy and not sweat too much over blogging. So, every Wednesday this month, I’m just going to share some of the drawings I did from doing illustrator Genna Blackburn’s 75Art Challenge.

Hope that is okay with the handful of you who read my blog.

Besides, who doesn’t like art?

For the challenge, she provided us with a prompt each day that we could interpret however we want. For example, for the prompt of “yo-yo,” I decided to draw Yo Yo Ma.

Do you have a favorite? I think mine is “Marble Run.” Do you remember that game?

I quite liked my interpretation as a run in a marble statue.

Celebrating AAPI Month

Because North America is the land of immigrants (even the First Nations peoples were immigrants; they just arrived thousands of years before the rest of us), it’s only reasonable and right to give all the different groups some recognition.

May happens to be the month that acknowledges Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (and also Haitians, mental health awareness, bicycles, brain cancer awareness, chocolate parfaits, and more…but I digress.)

This year, I’ve been invited to be a part of a virtual panel commemorating AAPI Month put on by the venerable Books of Wonder bookstore! Each of us will read from our books followed by a Q&A.

I’m sure it was a pity invitation, but I am tickled to be in the group nonetheless. If you want to watch it, register here.

“Everything you think you know about nutrition is probably wrong”

It’s a long read but a good one.

Everything you think you know about nutrition is probably wrong

Semantics shemantics

I’ve noticed that “all is not” is often used when the person really means “not all is.” And it always stops me in my tracks.

I don’t know if those people realize the difference. The first is a blanket statement, while the latter points out a specific segment. For example: “All is not well.” means “Everything sucks.” versus “Not all is well.” means “Not everything sucks, but here is what does.”

Another example in which the order of the word, i.e.* where a word falls within a sentence, is vitally important to the meaning is the placement of the word, “only.”

Spot the difference between these sentences?
“Only Pat and I will go to the mall.”
“Pat and I will go only to the mall.”
“Pat and I will only go to the mall.”

That concludes another episode of “Teresa’s Pet Peeves”…hahaha!

But guess what? Barnes & Noble is having another one of their occasional sales! If you want to preorder DISGUSTOLOGY and get 25% off, join their free rewards program and use code PREORDER25 at checkout!

*i.e. stands for “that is” and not “for example,” as some folks mistake it for

Do you have grammar pet peeves? Let me know over at my website (where you can also see a cute video of the preorder promo)!

Ramps…and I’m not talking physics

A number of years ago, we bought some of these delectable greens from the farmers market and I fell in love. (I’m a huge fan of eating deep green veggies.)

Surprisingly, no ramps grow on our 27 acres. Whut?? So, we ended up buying some more from the same booth at the farmers market and planted them in a partially wooded area on our property. (Part of our subsistence philosophy is foraging…yes, I am STILL trying to sell my picture book manuscript about that.)

Fast forward a few years, and that little handful finally spread enough for us to harvest!

So, what are ramps? Here’s a good description from Wikipedia:
“Allium tricoccum (commonly known as ramps, ramson, wild leek, wood leek, or wild garlic)[2][3] is a bulbousperennialflowering plant in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae. It is a North American species of wild onion or garlic found in eastern North America. Many of the common English names for this plant are also used for other Allium species, particularly the similar Allium ursinum, which is native to Eurasia. An edible plant, Allium tricoccum is used in a variety of North American and indigenous cuisines, and has also been used by Native Americans in traditional medicine. A French rendering (chicagou) of a Native American name for this plant is the namesake of the American city of Chicago.”

Granted, it was a small harvest, but there should be more next year and in every subsequent year. Here’s this year’s along with some spinach and collard side shoots that the Spousal Unit harvested at the same time.

If you want to see an impressive field of it, check out Prof Andrew Whipp’s photo on iNaturalist.
Do you have a favorite green? Tell me what it is on my website blog!

For science-minded foodies…

If you liked Good Eats (but decided that AB is too much of a know-it-all jerk), then you will love The Science of Food blog, which is a million times better.

Understanding Emulsions II: Mayonnaise

Show me!

If the title makes you think of this…

then you might be old like me, or a musicals buff.

But I’m talking about a different kind of show: my very first art show! It’s hosted by Gather :handmade shoppe: and will run through the month of April.

Here’s a short video of one of the walls courtesy of Gather:

If you’re breezing through south-central Indiana, I invite you to stop on by to take a look! The Gather shop itself is a great place to buy various fun and creative items (I love the handmade soaps they carry).

Love food?

Then you will love this blog and need to follow it!

The science behind umami: Understanding the way we perceive taste

Valari!

(A day late on this because I forgot to cross post from my website to here yesterday.)

Not to be confused with the song Volare, this fabulous pillow called the Valari has been a game changer! I’ve never endorsed a product or become an affiliate before but I love it so much, I just had to.

They didn’t pay me to say any of this nor sent me a free one to try; I paid full price for this pillow and am only recommending it because I truly think it’s awesome.

I have, however, now signed up to be an affiliate because I love this pillow so much.

If you want to try it for yourself, you can go to the Valari website and use the code AUTHORTROBESON15 to get 15% off. Or you can use this link to get the same discount.

Conjunctions’ functions

Did reading the subject line make you think of this?

Most people I know use conjunctions pretty well, but there are a couple of people I have to interact with who can’t seem to understand when to use them. They join unparallel items with “and,” parallel items with “but,” and never seem to use “so” when it’s warranted.

It’s a minor pet peeve in the grand scheme of things (just like the constant and rampant misuse of apostrophes and the word “ironic”) but as I become more easily befuddled in my old age, I really would appreciate precision in language because life is confusing enough as it is. It feels like navigating in a heavy when something doesn’t make sense because someone has constructed a sentence poorly. I’m just glad that none of those people are my critique partners!

Need a refresher on basic conjunctions or a fun trip down memory lane? Go watch the Conjunction Junction video!