Lone Star Facts on Friday: Tall Stuff

The highest peak in Texas, at 8,751 feet, is Guadalupe Peak.

Wednesdays with The Subversive Children's Book Club: Peace on Earth

The Winter Holidays always make me think of that Wild Star's promise of Peace, so at this time of year, though a bit late, you get another edition of the Subversive Children's Book Club with themes of Peace.  

Peace on Earth, Mamas. Enjoy.  

For the Primary and Lower Elementary Set:

• Our Peaceful Classroom by Aline D. Wolf

• Sitti’s Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye

• Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter by Diane Stanley

• Seven Brave Women by Betsy Hearne

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: an adaptation for children 

           by Ruth Rocha & Otavio Roth

• Cain and Abel:  Finding The Fruits of Peace by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

• The Librarian of Basra by Jeanette Winter 

For the Upper Elementary and Teen Set (several of these are pretty heavily Quaker-influenced):

•  Crash by Jerry Spinelli
•  The Arrow Over The Door by Joseph Bruchac
• Summer’s End by Audrey Couloumbis
• Quaking by Kathryn Erskine
• The Eye of The Heron by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Feliz Dia de Los Reyes Magos

Happy Epiphany!

May we all use our gifts for the goodness of our brothers and sisters in 2018.

Lone Star Facts on Friday: State Nickname

Our state nickname is the Lone Star State.  We are not really the only one star state, or star state, but that is our nickname, just the same.

Wednesdays with The Subversive Children's Book Club: Winter Holidays

I am pretty late with this one this year, but I have at least until El Dia de Los Reyes Magos, right? In honor of Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and other winter festivities, this edition of Wednesdays with the Subversive Children's Book Club features books with  Winter Holiday themes.  I hope you have all been having Happy Holidays! Enjoy!

• Three Wise Women by Mary Hoffman

• Lone Star by Barbara Barrie 

• A Dozen Silk Diapers by Melissa Kajpust

• Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

• The Winter Solstice by Ellen Jackson

• A Full House by Madeleine L’Engle

• The Gifts of Kwanzaa by Synthia St. James

• What Child Is This? by Caroline B. Cooney

• The Winter Gift by Deborah Turney Zagwyn

• Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas by Madeleine L’Engle

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Mamas.

Love and Peace and Joy and Health to you in 2018 and always.

Solidarity.

xoxo, 
Lone Star Ma

New Year's Resolutions

We have so much to manage in this upcoming year with the Lone Star Girl's health, and with getting her hopefully graduated from college and secure in some sort of post-graduate education and a safe place...doing our best supporting her in all that and helping my youngest through the troubles of middle school and early adolescence and starting high school next school year is probably about all we can handle for the most part in terms of resolutions this year.

That said, I also am going to try to do a little more: 

I want to grow and excel at work, as I always try to do.

I want to spend more time outside in nature, working in my gardens.  I want to eat more vegetables and make time to walk more.  

I want to help my Girl Scouts earn their Silver Awards. 

I want to go to lunch and breakfast with people and be a better friend.

I want to be a patriot, resisting fascism and helping others.

What are your resolutions?  I'd like to hear.

Oppose The Tax Bill

Please keep calling your Senators and telling them to vote no.

Lone Facts on Fridays: A Motto to Live By

Texas' State Motto is Friendship.  Let's put the Friendship in Texas for real, y'all.

Holiday Squash

Every Thanksgiving, I make a holiday squash recipe as our signature Thanksgiving dish.  Here is the recipe (serves eight):

Ingredients:  Four acorn squash, 8 apples, butter, cinnamon sugar.

• Cut the acorn squash and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Plant the seeds and pulp in the garden.
• Put the squash halves, flat sides down on a baking sheet and bake them for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Chop up the apples.
• Set the squash halves cut-sides up in a baking dish and sprinkle the scooped out part with cinnamon sugar, then put a little pat of butter in each.  
• Stuff each squash half with chopped apples and cover again with cinnamon sugar and dabs of butter.  
• Pop the stuffed squash back into the oven until the apples are baked in the buttery, cinnamon goodness and the squash is toasty again. 
• Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so grateful to be spending the holiday warm and cozy with my sleepy Lone Star Girl, with lots of good food in the oven.  We have learned a lot about gratitude for the small wonderful things in life since she has been ill and am so happy that we get to share them.  

I hope that you all have many things to be thankful for today and always.

XXOO,
Lone Star Ma

Wednesdays with The Subversive Children's Book Club: Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving

Today's edition of the Subversive Children's Book Club is a good choice for families who may tie Thanksgiving traditions to teaching their children to care for animals as winter nears - Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey.   

This funny little picture book tells the story of a class of schoolchildren who visit a turkey farm, make friends with the turkeys and then discover the turkey farmer's terrible secret.  They manage to sneak the turkeys away for safe Thanksgivings in their homes where they can be dinner guests and not dinner  served.  It is funny and sweet and perfect for vegetarian children.  I highly recommend it.

Nightmare On Tax Bills

The House just passed a horror story of a tax "reform" bill.  Please call your Senators and tell them not to sell out the sick and disabled and students and teachers and the elderly like their colleagues in the House did, Mamas.

Election Day!

Go vote!

Vote!

Tomorrow is Election Day, Texas! Constitutional Amendments.  If you did not vote early, you need to get out there tomorrow and vote.