M.A. Kropp: Writer, Blogger, GeekGirl. My Life. My Words. My Way.
When we moved into the house here in southern NY, there was a pellet stove in what the previous owners used as a family room. It wasn't functional at the time, mainly because there was no vent pipe outside the house. The vent through the wall was closed off on the outside. We planned to … Continue reading We Can Haz Fire!
My rating: 4 of 5 starsAt 52 years of age, Noah Adams, NPR host and news reporter, decided to buy a piano and learn to play. This lovely little book chronicles his first year as a piano student, with all the ups and downs, triumphant moments and frustrating setbacks. It's also a love story to … Continue reading Friday Review: Piano Lessons: Music, Love, and True Adventures by Noah Adams
A few posts back I mentioned that I bought talking buttons for Lambeau. We've been working with them for a bit now. We started with just one, and with a good motivator for him- food. I recorded "Food" as the cue and used just one section of the mats that came with the buttons. I … Continue reading You Talkin’ To Me?
My rating: 4 of 5 starsEragon is a poor farm boy. He stumbles across a lovely blue stone that he picks up because he thinks perhaps he can sell it to get money to provide food for his family. The stone turns out to be a dragon's egg- dragons that were thought long extinct in … Continue reading Friday Review: Eragon (Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini
I am doing a bit of redesigning and updating here on And So On. I am trying to make sure things are disrupted as little as possible while I am doing so, but, well, we all know about those best laid plans, right? If things are a bit upended and stuff disappears for a bit, … Continue reading A Little Work Being Done
Describes my computer over the weekend. I was installing some updates like you do, and suddenly, the screen turns that dreaded shade of blue and I see in big letters: RECOVERY. Your PC needs to be repaired. No one wants to see that. I let the IT department (aka The BaldMan) know and he came … Continue reading Kinda Blue
My rating: 3 of 5 starsI think I would have enjoyed this book more if I had liked Salatin's attitude more. Don't get me wrong- he has some really good points in this book. It is important to understand what we eat, how it is grown/raised, and why getting "back to the Earth" is a … Continue reading Friday Review: Folks, This Ain’t Normal by Joel Salatin
Okay, technically, I am going to talk about my knees, not some random bee's. In a nutshell, they have hurt. A lot. I've been dealing with knee pain for a few years now. I used to walk Lambeau a mile to a mile and a half most day, but lately, if we make a half … Continue reading The Bee’s Knees
My rating: 4 of 5 starsSeptember is twelve, lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and is a typical kid, until her father leaves to go off to war and her mother goes to work. September is bored, unhappy, and looking for something, but she's not exactly sure what. And then, one day, the Green Wind arrives at … Continue reading Friday Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
And So On... 