Author's posts
Feb 25
The Music Man
TCM is currently doing 31 Days of Oscars. I first sort of noticed this when I looked ahead in the scheduling and noticed that all TCM shows were alphabetized. At first, I thought maybe that this scheme was some sort of placeholder before I realized what they were doing. Personally, I preferred when 31 …
Feb 22
Hot Cross Buns
My husband came home from the grocery store last night with Hot Cross Buns. I was surprised because they had never had them before Ash Wednesday in past years. I almost refused to eat them because they were “seasonally incorrect”. Of course, I did try one to be sure that they weren’t mislabeled or …
Feb 19
President’s Day
Today is President’s Day, a combo of holidays for George Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, making a new Monday holiday. These days people don’t seem to celebrate much except for having car and furniture sales. When I was a kid, we lived in a small town (Pawcatuck, CT and Westerly, RI are sister towns, virtually …
Feb 15
Little Free Library
So far, Tom has filled in the cracks that appeared during shipping and has sanded everything down, getting ready for painting. We’ve decided on a bright blue to match my car and a yellow roof (to make it Cushing’s colors!) I’ve ordered stamps for the insides of the books, pencils with our …
Feb 13
International Book Giving Day
Some of you may know that I’m getting involved in Little Free Library (LFL) and there is a library on my street under the auspices of the O’Connor Music Studio. When our son was younger and used to come home for a visit, we would s go out on a hiking trail with the …
Feb 10
Happy Chinese New Year – the Year of the Dragon!
Our wonderful daughter-in-law is Chinese, so we are celebrating, too. Embark on a vibrant journey into the heart of Chinese culture with the Chinese New Year, also revered as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year. This exuberant celebration stands as a cornerstone of Chinese heritage, heralding the commencement of the lunar new year. …
Feb 07
Sean Connery
This video just came up on my Facebook feed but I hadn’t seen it before. This was a fantastic performance for Sean Connery in 1999. Sean Connery was honored at the Kennedy Center for lifetime achievements. The music consists of the Washington Pipe Band, Alasdair Fraser, Davidson School of Scottish Dance, Mairi Campbell and Dave …
Feb 04
Cab Calloway
Since I’ve done the Nicholas Brothers and Busby Berkeley, it’s time for Cab Calloway, another old movie favorite of mine. I think the first time I ever came across anything related to Calloway was in the late 1960s when I was watching That Girl on TV – Ann’s father (Lew Parker) sang Minnie the Moocher …
Feb 02
Who Knew?
Interesting factoid from the Who Knew category… (1732) Italian anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva was born. He is credited with developing the Valsalva maneuver, the process of trying to blow air out of your nose while it is plugged in order to clear the airways of the ears. He also coined the term Eustachian tube …
Music
- 🌻 Make a Flower, Plant a Flower, April 21Get ready to dive into a world of creativity and greenery as we come together to craft beautiful flowers and nurture our environment!
- 🌱 Community Plant Swap, Seed Library and Master Gardener Help Table, TomorrowGet ready to dive into a world of creativity and greenery as we come together to craft beautiful flowers and nurture our environment!
- 🕎 Cultural Explorers: Passover, TomorrowJoin us for stories and songs celebrating Passover!
- 🌏 Earth Day Fairfax 2024, TomorrowSpring is on the way and that means Earth Day is right around the corner! Mark your calendar and make your plans to join Fairfax County’s largest, family-friendly Earth Day extravaganza at Sully Historic Site on Saturday, April 20. Celebrate Earth Day with a fantastic time filled with games, entertainment, food and a variety of […]
- 🚌 Stuff the Bus Rescheduled for TomorrowAll Stuff the Bus events scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 have been postponed due to inclement weather. Rescheduled dates will be posted to this page when available.
- 🚌 Stuff the BusStuff the Bus began in 2011 in response to a critical need to help restock the shelves of local food pantries after the holidays. This collaborative program is a partnership between Fairfax County Government and local nonprofits. Now in its 13th year, Stuff the Bus continues to support food assistance efforts for families and households.
- 😎 Vacation Bible School (VBS) Registration is OpenHere, in this vibrant hub of heroism, young and old heroes alike answer the call of duty, joining forces to lend their extraordinary talents to Hero Teams across the globe. Whether it’s solving perplexing puzzles, battling dastardly villains, or rescuing those in peril, these superheroes are always ready to save the day with a dash […]
- 🖥️ One-on-One Technology Help, April 22Do you need help with technology? Our volunteers can answer questions and help with basic troubleshooting, such as setting up email accounts, creating a word document etc.
- 👄 Lava Lip Gloss Lab, April 21BlackGirlScientist, LLC. will sponsor a FREE STEM Workshop (Lava Lip Gloss Lab) at Pender UMC for the maximum of 30 middle school age girls. The goal will be to expose young girls to STEM through an interactive workshop.
- 🏃🏼 Feed Fairfax 5K May 4Are you ready to lace up your sneakers for a cause that hits close to home? Join us for the Feed Fairfax 5k, a family-friendly event that’s more than just a race—it’s a chance to make a tangible difference in the lives of Fairfax County students facing food insecurity. Mark your calendars for Saturday, May […]
Little Free Library
- Dying To Date: Love, betrayal, murder—a great first dateBy a good friend of mine! When dying to date Mr. Right leads to finding Mr. Wrong—it’s deadly. Relationship expert Kristina Truly has a proven track record of dating the wrong men. However, her highly publicized romantic failures don’t stop her fans from attending her Finding Mr. Right, Not Mr. Perfect seminars and reading her […]
- The Poisoned PeerThe 99-year-old Earl of Middlemop has had his future cruelly snatched from him. Who could have poisoned the richest man in Wessex? The answer lies within the walls of Gripedown Hall where family secrets and bitter rivalries prevail. Senior sleuths Churchill and Pemberley investigate on the behest of their friend Tryphena Ridley-Balls. However, another friend […]
- Murder in the ManorMURDER IN THE MANOR (A LACEY DOYLE COZY MYSTERY—BOOK 1) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle, 39 years old and freshly divorced, needs a drastic change. She needs to quit her job, leave her horrendous boss and New York City, and walk away from the […]
- Murder on a Midnight ClearA snowbound country mansion, a missing butler, and a Christmas case . . . Olive and Jasper have never been closer—except in one area. Jasper is still reticent about his frequent disappearances from polite society. With the holidays approaching and no paying client on the books, Olive decides to shadow Jasper when he’s unexpectedly called […]
- Discerning GraceAs the first full-length novel in The White Sails Series, DISCERNING GRACE captures the spirit of an independent woman whose feminine lens blows the ordered patriarchal decks of a 19th century tall ship to smithereens. Wilful Grace Baxter, will not marry old Lord Silverton with his salivary incontinence and dead-mouse stink. Discovering she is a […]
- The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel (A Thursday Murder Club Mystery Book 1)A New York Times bestseller | Soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal “Don’t trust anyone, including the four septuagenarian sleuths in Osman’s own laugh-out-loud whodunit.” —Parade Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her […]
- Body on Baker Street (A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Book 2)The amateur sleuths at the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop must call upon the powers of deduction in order to rid Baker Street of a ruthless killer Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are busy managing the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium on Baker Street and adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room in anticipation of the store’s upcoming book […]
- The Devil and the Dark Water (A Locked-Room Historical Mystery)A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who […]
- Too Many WomenAh, sweet mystery, when Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin plunge into a case of murder brimming with luscious, lethal ladies. Who murdered Waldo Wilmot Moore? Well, there were five hundred female employees at the Wall Street firm where poor Waldo had worked. Any one of them might have done it. And there was also the […]
- Christmas Cupcake MurderAs December turns Lake Eden, Minnesota, into the North Pole, the heat is on in Hannah Swensen’s kitchen to honor two Christmas promises: baking irresistible holiday cupcakes and preventing an attempted murderer from succeeding the second time around! While Hannah speeds through a lengthy holiday checklist, drama in town grows like Santa’s waistline on Christmas […]