Recognize the mothers of invention

?Modern invention has banished the spinning wheel, and the same law of progress makes the woman of today a different woman from her grandmother.? ?Susan B. Anthony

In 1812, T. Babbitt, a sawmill worker, observed a couple of fellow laborers manufacturing lumber with the then standard two-man pit saw. Noticing that half of their energy was being wasted in the process, Babbitt designed and created the first circular saw ever used in a sawmill.

To-do list taken to a whole new level

?You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what?s a life, anyway? We?re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider?s life can?t help being something of a mess with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone?s life can stand a little of that.? ?Charlotte in ?Charlotte?s Web?

I?m more likely to cuss and smash a spider than quote it, but had to make the exception with Charlotte. I think it?s my age that makes me appreciate what she?s saying, which, while (I hope) isn?t necessarily old by definition, does give me access to one of the true benefits of getting older?stupidity.

When a daughter becomes a reader

?I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.? ?Anna Quindlen, ?Enough Bookshelves,? New York Times, Aug. 7, 1991

At times, blood is thicker than hope

?One cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time.?

?Anonymous

 

A string of serendipitous moments in the past few months brought a fact to my attention. I?ve never been without hope. Because of how I was raised, where I was raised, and the people that have surrounded me my entire life, being alone is something I?ve never had to face. Odds are, I never will.

Gifts to remember?and hold on to

?You can’t always get what

you want. But if you try

sometimes, well, you just might find, you get what you need.?

?The Rolling Stones

And God said: ?If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other??

Ready or not, the torch is passed

?Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children.? ?Marilyn Penland

 

The torch was passed. It happened in a stadium full of thousands of hyperventilating tweens wearing thousands of dollars of concert tour T-shirts. Subconsciously I knew it was coming. But even though it was unapparent to the average observer, I felt it like a punch in the gut.

Sisters offer their “Satellite” tributes

?Not every conversation will change your life, but any conversation can.? ?The Satellite Sisters

?The Satellite Sisters? is a syndicated radio show created by and featuring five real life sisters, The Dolans. Family and friendship are their platforms.

Good stress is “warm chocolate melt”

?On vacations: We hit the sunny beaches where we occupy ourselves keeping the sun off our skin, the saltwater off our bodies, and the sand out of our belongings.?

?Erma Bombeck

Ahhh, vacation: sweet moments of suspended reality worthy of pinched pennies and dreams.

Psychology types say there are two kinds of stress: good stress and bad stress.

Good stressors might be work, kids, holidays and family vacations. Bad stressors may be things like work, kids, holidays and family vacations.

Would like a side of cash with that?

?Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I?m not sure about the former.??Albert Einstein

 

?Read it with a grain of salt, then tell me what you think,? my sister said as she slipped a copy of ?The Secret? into my hand.

I glanced around and quickly stuffed the book into my bag, feeling that I had somehow just stepped within the grasp of some bazaar metaphysical society. (No offense to my sister, she?ll understand. I think.)

But I also wondered if the world as I knew it was about to change.

Well, not really. But I was still curious.