health history pragmatic historian reading

Can’t Get Scalzi’s Lock In Series Out of My Mind

My book reading pace has not slowed this year. So far, I’ve read fourteen-and-a-half books, and we’re not even half-way through the year. It’s like I’m playing catch-up on the low-reading years or something. It helps that I’m reading mostly fiction, which I tend to read faster than nonfiction. I’ve also continued on my John Scalzi book binge, which I wrote about last month. Since then, I have read the first two books in Scalzi’s…

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family history museums travel

Darwin’s Big Ball of Twine – Don’t Blink!

Hubby and I visited Darwin, Minnesota, on St. Patrick’s Day. We were in the area of this small town (population around 337), which is known for its giant ball of twine, and I had to stop. For a fiber artist, it’s a must-see. According to the informational signage with the ball of twine, this won the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 for the largest ball of baling twine constructed by one man, Francis…

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family health history observations

Bathing in the Blood of Virgins – Health Metaphors That Provide Clues to Body Functions

Each morning, I read the 1440 newsletter, which provides snippets of news from around the world, including links back to its sources. It’s called 1440 because that’s when the printing press was invented. [https://join1440.com] In the July 28, 2023, issue, I read an article called “New Blood, Slower Aging,” which discussed how scientists had connected the circulatory systems of young mice to older mice and discovered that the blood of the younger mice extended the…

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family history museums pragmatic historian travel

A Sleepover at Linden Hill

Last weekend, Hubby and I had the pleasure of sleeping over at Linden Hill Historic Estate in Little Falls, Minnesota. (https://linden-hill.org) The invitation came from good friends of ours who chose to celebrate a significant wedding anniversary there. Having worked for the Morrison County Historical Society for over 25 years, I knew a little something about the history of the place and had even been there before ownership had been transferred to the city. The estate…

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health history

100 Brush Strokes

I bought a new hairbrush recently. Whoop-de-doo, you might say. But it was kind of a big deal for me because I’ve been using a metal comb for years … and years … and years. It’s a comb I got in late high school or early college. In examining it closely for this blog post, I see that it’s a Swedish Crown brand rat-tail comb, made in Sweden, and has the number 2252 stamped on…

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