Librarian Bear by Zoe Chant My rating: 3 of 5 stars Well, this wasn’t quite as good as the first book in the series, Timber Wolf, so I couldn’t escape into it as much as the firs… Read More

Timber Wolf by Zoe Chant My rating: 5 of 5 stars I finished this book a couple of days ago. I read a fair amount of varied fiction, but I don’t usually read romances at all. I definite… Read More

Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars Well, that was intense! I had trouble stopping reading this book. I was distracted by wanting to read at inappropriate times because… Read More

Junkyard Roadhouse by Faith Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is book four of the Junkyard Cats series. Every book has left me wanting more. I do understand that these are novellas rather… Read More

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ve had this book for some time, as my daughter recommended it to me when she read it. I fin… Read More

Ribbon Dance by Sharon Lee My rating: 5 of 5 stars I finished Ribbon Dance a couple of days ago. I took my time to savor the book rather than devouring it all in one go (or close) as I have… Read More

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong My rating: 5 of 5 stars NetGalley sent out an email a week or two back offering folks a chance to read this book in exchange for a review, and I jumpe… Read More

I haven’t talked about this publicly yet, but we lost my brother recently. He was diagnosed with stage four recto-colon cancer about 13 months before he died. He had the best treatment… Read More

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a lovely story! I heard about this book from a friend in a Slack community. I was reluctant at first because I just don’t rea… Read More

The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Jen Gunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars If you’re AFAB, do you understand your body and what it’s going through fro… Read More

Clockwork Gold by Jenny Schwartz My rating: 1 of 5 stars I finally realized that I’m not going to finish this one. I couldn’t bring myself to care about the two characters. Their… Read More

People with fibromyalgia may be at greater risk of death from many causes From the article:Folks with fibromyalgia are more likely to die early from accidents, infections and by suicide, new… Read More

A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m impressed! Laurell K. Hamilton wrote a novel that’s excellent, engaging, and doesn’t even have… Read More

Renfield Blues: The First Grunt’s Grimoire by Jay Peterson My rating: 5 of 5 stars When Will the Next One Be Out? That’s all I want to know, okay? I read this book in one day. If… Read More

Uncanny Times by Laura Anne Gilman My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a fun read! I meant to write a review right after finishing this one, but I got busy, and now my memories aren’t as clea… Read More

I completed it, and it was wonderful! The post 2023 Women Who Code Days of Code Challenge appeared first on TechnoMom Read More

Chicks in Tank Tops by Jason Córdova My rating: 2 of 5 stars I didn’t finish this one, putting it down about halfway through. I couldn’t find it in myself to care about mo… Read More

I finished this piece, the 2021 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-Long, a few weeks ago. I didn’t get around to taking a photo until last night. The post 2021 Stitch-a-Long Finished appeared… Read More

My rating: 5 of 5 stars First finish of the year! And what a finish it was. This book wraps up Shining Smith’s story with a bang. The fact that it came out shortly after Faith Hunter… Read More

I’m all caught up on the 2022 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-Long. I finished the 2021 SAL last week, but I don’t have a photo of it yet. And I just ordered the fabric for the 2023 S… Read More

I can’t recall whether or not I mentioned that I returned to college on 1 June of this year, but I did. I’m attending Western Governors University, majoring in Information Techno… Read More

I was caught up on the 2022 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-Long, up to last week’s block 45, anyway. As of this morning, week 46 is available, so I’ll be doing that tonight. The pos… Read More

Apparently, another of my plugins breaks something that the Mastodon-friendly plugin needs to work. I disabled the other plugin. Maybe this one will start working? Read More

Well, if this is working properly, technomom.com should be part of the Fediverse now. Let’s see! Yes, it’s working! I’m @[email protected] and you should be able to find me… Read More

Mastodon The post I’m on Mastodon, are you? appeared first on TechnoMom Read More

Junkyard Bargain by Faith Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a fun read! I came to this one fresh off having read three other books by Faith Hunter. With a less-capable author, that would h… Read More

Spells for the Dead by Faith Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars Oh, so good! I read Circle of the Moon right after finishing Final Heir, then realized that Spells for the Dead was out, too. So l… Read More

Final Heir by Faith Hunter My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ok, it started a little slowly, and I had some trouble getting into the swing of the book. I stuck with it because Faith Hunter’s alw… Read More

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss My rating: 3 of 5 stars I found the narrator’s voice grating, frankly, and his manner of delivery w… Read More

Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy by Jessica Fern My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a wonderful book, and it will take an honored place on my short shelf of books recom… Read More

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is an impressive tome, but it’s also clearly biased in favor of a particular political view… Read More

I’ve been using Babbel to study French every day for the last few months, having taken advantage of one of their Yuletide specials to get a Lifetime membership. Tuesday morning, I rece… Read More

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The month is about realizing how common mental health issues are, supporting each other through them, and removing the stigma about them. A few statisti… Read More

The American Chronic Pain Association site says the group has been around since 1980, but I hadn’t run across them until yesterday. I spent some time on their site and they have some r… Read More

This is a fascinating article with excellent sources. Chronic pain is terrible. A new way of understanding it may help. The past two centuries have produced a cascade of life-altering advanc… Read More

I’m not one for video games, really, or games of any sort other than tabletop RPGs. But there was one game that I used to play on my iTouch, Glyph, that I still miss. It was fun and so… Read More

Those of us who suffer chronic pain face a great deal of stigma. This paper addresses that stigma.Pain, objectivity and history: understanding pain stigma Read More

Neuronal plasticity in chronic pain-induced anxiety revealed Hokkaido University researchers have shown how chronic pain leads to maladaptive anxiety in mice, with implications for treatment… Read More

In Several Colors by Jane Kenyon From Collected Poems Every morning, cup of coffee in hand, I look out at the mountain. Ordinarily, it’s blue, but today it’s the color of an eggp… Read More

Myth Dispelled –Adam Possner, M.D. The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu, I tell him. It’s dead virus, there’s nothing alive about it. It can’t make you sick. That… Read More

I continue to work on the 2021 Peppermint Purple SAL. I just finished the block for week 30. It’s good to have a second piece to work on while waiting for the blocks of the 2022 SAL! Read More

For the Bird Singing before Dawn –Kim Stafford Some people presume to be hopeful when there is no evidence for hope, to be happy when there is no cause. Let me say now, I’m with… Read More

Love and Life by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester All my past life is mine no more; The flying hours are gone, Like transitory dreams given o’er, Whose images are kept in store By memory… Read More

the earth is a living thing –Lucille Clifton From Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton is a black shambling bear ruffling its wild back and tossing mountains into the sea is a black hawk… Read More

I can’t say that I’m surprised.Remaining unvaccinated increases risk to the vaccinated, says U of T COVID study People who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 not only place themse… Read More

I Don’t Know What Will Kill Us First: The Race War or What We’ve Done to the Earth –Fatimah Asghar so I count my hopes: the bumblebees are making a comeback, one snug tight… Read More

Good Grief –KB Brookins after the 2021 Texas Winter Storm I’ll admit that I’ve never thought about frostbite. Trauma of the blood, a thing to be avoided when heat goes out… Read More

This week’s block was very simple Read More

They Sit Together on the Porch by Wendell Berry From A Timbered Choir They sit together on the porch, the dark Almost fallen, the house behind them dark. Their supper done with, they have wa… Read More

I No Longer Sing With Only My Voice –Afton Wilder I no longer sing with only my voice. I sing with my heart, my love. I no longer sing with only my voice. I sing with my mind, my thoug… Read More

The Problem –Taylor Mali From What Learning Leaves You’re the this that somebody ought to do something about.      — Jeffrey McDaniel The guy in front o… Read More

Canary –Rita Dove From Grace Notes Billie Holiday’s burned voice had as many shadows as lights, a mournful candelabra against a sleep piano, the gardenia her signature under… Read More

To Hold –Li-Young Lee From Behind My Eyes So we’re dust. In the meantime, my wife and I make the bed. Holding opposite edges of the sheet, we raise it, billowing, then pull… Read More

The Journey –Mary Oliver From Dream Work One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice— though the whol… Read More

Catechism for a witch’s child by J.L. Stanley When they ask to see your gods your book of prayers show them lines drawn delicately with veins on the underside of a bird’s wing te… Read More

There is a land – a Motherland of vast imaginative spaces and absolute belonging her open heart a deep well where all draw and drink freely and fully the waters of life, where we meet… Read More

Nine Spice Mix –Zeina Azzam This spice mix is featured in many of the dishes in this book, lending them a uniquely Palestinian flavor. —Reem Kassis, The Palestinian Table First t… Read More

Sunday –Cecily Parks So this is Sunday evening under the live oak behind the kitchen where the Rose of Sharon spills purple tea onto the grass, the yellow bells sound yellow alarms fr… Read More

Mr. Chairman Takes His Leave –Rosemary CatacalosAs to me, I know of nothing else but miracles.—Walt Whitman en memoria William Rashall Sinkin, 1913–2014 Whitman, you onc… Read More

April Chores by Jane Kenyon When I take the chilly tools from the shed’s darkness, I come out to a world made new by heat and light. The snake basks and dozes on a large flat stone. It… Read More

A Modified Villanelle for My Childhood –Suzi F. Garcia            with some help from Ahmad I wanna write lyrical, but all I got… Read More

The Dark Night (XVIII) –May Sinclair Our love is woven Of a thousand strands— The cool fragrance of the first lilac At morning, The first dew on the grass, The smell of wild mint… Read More

pity this busy monster, manunkind –e. e. cummings pity this busy monster, manunkind, not. Progress is a comfortable disease: your victim (death and life safely beyond) plays with the b… Read More

Gratitude List –Naomi Shihab Nye Thank you for insulting me. You helped me see how much I was worth. Thank you for overlooking my humanity. In that moment I gained power. To be forgott… Read More

Blue Like That –Gerald Stern She was a darling with her roses, though what I like is lavender for I can dry it and nothing is blue like that, so here I am, in my arms a bouquet of trag… Read More

High, Higher, Highest Samuel Hazo Viewed from space, the world’s impersonal.    &nbs… Read More

GiftsKirk Wilson I kept my life in a small room with pale blue walls and brought it back little presents from the world This is for you I would say This is for you Sometimes the gifts died i… Read More

By the way, April is National Poetry Month! Read More

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Götterdämmerung A straw reed climbs the car antenna. Beyond the tinted glass, golden waves of grain. Golly! I can’t help exclaiming, and he smirks— my born-again natura… Read More

Death By Wind As for those who face their death by wind and call it by the weird name of forgiveness they alone have the right to marry birds, and those who stopped themselves from falling d… Read More

Yellow Glove What can a yellow glove mean in a world of motorcars and governments? I was small, like everyone. Life was a string of precautions: Don’t kiss the squirrel before you bury… Read More

What Is There Beyond Knowing What is there beyond knowing that keeps calling to me? I can’t turn in any direction but it’s there. I don’t mean the leaves’ grip and sh… Read More

Morning on the Island The lights across the water are the waking city. The water shimmers with imaginary fish. Not far from here lie the bones of conifers washed from the sea and piled by wi… Read More

I finished this week’s block on the same day for once! I’m toying with the idea of leaving the border as-is Read More

I wasn’t aware of this connection at all.The religious history of Caesarean surgery and what it means for the abortion battle Read More

Just about everybody could use a refresher on this:Media Literacy 101 Read More

Brain imaging study sheds light on the neural mechanisms underlying romantic relationship maintenance “Having an intimate romantic relationship is an important aspect of life for most… Read More

Essay: The Problem With “Overweight” And “Obese” Read More

Fibromyalgia: What You Need to Know Read More

Decent article: What Fibromyalgia Feels Like Read More

It has only taken me ten years since my first article to return to this topic! I always intended to do so, but life got in the way. In that first article, I largely addressed medication issu… Read More

Looking for ideas for the “self care” that’s so important? Try some of these art therapy exercises Read More

It’s all too common for doctors to blow off women’s complaints, or to blame everything a fat person of any gender reports as being due to their size. If you think a doctor isn&rs… Read More

I’m still cleaning up the blog, trying to combat link rot. Somehow, I fell into looking at the draft posts. This one is from 2009 and I haven’t the foggiest notion as to why I di… Read More

Wow. I found a draft of a post from 2008, and much of it is still relevant, so I’m updating and sharing it. I’ve been listening to more music lately, which is good. I love music… Read More

This started out as a comment on a poll over at GoodReads. I got too wordy and figured it would be better to turn it into a post. I used to refuse to quit reading after starting a book, whic… Read More

Week 9 of the 2022 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-long is done! This week’s block was a nuisance because I was distracted. I stitched it in the wrong place first, then another wrong place… Read More

All caught up to this week’s block (week 7) and the inner border is complete. Now I need to do the outer border, but I’m also busy working on the 2021 SAL Read More

I’m putting this here so that I can find it again later:Yes, Atheists Do Have a Good Moral Compass Study Shows Read More

I finished this week’s block and got 75% of the outer border done. Design by Peppermint Purple Read More

I found this draft of a post from February 2014, and while I wouldn’t ordinarily react to anything as old as that post, the draft was too good to toss away. I don’t normally resp… Read More

I was poking around the WordPress menus and noticed that one of the Tools was a LiveJournal Importer, so I imported the posts from my old LiveJournal (the main one, I had several). It seems… Read More

I’ve decided to try going back to posting on my blog more frequently rather than on all the various social media platforms, so you’re going to hear more from me! This story is de… Read More

I got the grid done and I’m caught up on the blocks of the pattern released so far. I decided to use a border for the first time, so I’m still putting that on (it’ll take a… Read More

I got my fabric for the 2021 Peppermint Purple stitch-a-long (finally) and stitched the grid. Now I’m waiting on a shipment of thread so that I can be sure to have enough of it to fini… Read More

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear My rating: 4 of 5 stars The book is good except for the endless sports analogies. I should ha… Read More

I finally finished the 2020 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-long!2020 Peppermint Purple Stitch-a-longI wanted to start the 2021 SAL right away but realized that the fabric I was sent wasn’t… Read More

WE ARE MERIDIANS: BOOK ONE by S. Ghali My rating: 2 of 5 stars There I was, merrily reading along in this science fiction book. Then WHAM, S. Ghali ruined it completely. How? They depicted t… Read More

Sucker Punch by Laurell K. Hamilton My rating: 3 of 5 stars Boring! If I hadn’t been having trouble finding enough to read, I wouldn’t have finished it. I thought there was too m… Read More