2 points – Activity

Crafts have never been our strong point. Ask us to discuss a book? We’re there. Come over for a game? Absolutely. See a movie? We’ll do a double feature. But suggest we do a craft? After we stop laughing and realize you’re serious, we’d break out in a cold sweat.

But in the spirit of H month we attended a group meeting of Handmade by Me through Newcomer Friends of Greater Plano. The project for the month was to craft an angel ornament out of a tie. There was sewing, cutting and gluing involved. But with a little help from the leader – ok, a lot of help – we managed to make a respectable tree ornament (2^nd and 3^rd angels from the right) and Barbara’s wound up on her son’s first Xmas tree of his own. Who knows – more crafts might be in our future!

2 points – New author: CATHERINE RYAN HYDE

Laura: Thank you ABC life! Because of “H” month, I’ve discovered the author Catherine Ryan HYDE when I read the heartwarming YA novel: Have You Seen Luis Velez. More good news…she has 36 books. Now, I’m not going to read all of them but I will try a few more, especially when I need a lift and a thought-provoking escape. Although this book is uplifting, it’s not a fluff piece. There are several serious issues presented within the context of a story about the relationship between a teenager who feels he doesn’t fit in anywhere and his 92-year old blind neighbor, Mildred Gutermann. I took several notes while reading this book because I didn’t want to forget the “lessons” and wisdom it shared.

1 point – Learning Center

Barbara – You don’t hear this one used much anymore but I had wondered about the expression “Hair of the Dog.” The full phrase is actually hair of the dog that bit you. The meaning is an alcoholic drink intended to cure a hangover, mistakenly because it was thought that a small bit of the same drink that made you drunk will sober you up.

The origin was from a crazy belief in the 16^th century that if a rabid dog bit you, a cure could be made by applying a hair from the same dog to your wound. How many people do you think got bitten a second time, trying to pull a hair off that rabid dog!