Lise's Ramblings

Now that anyone can easily search online for a word's definition or synonym, I wonder if people appreciate the thesaurus in the same way that we did in pre-Internet times. I can say that I'm still a fan. Although I use thesaurus.com when I'm on the go, I keep print copies of Roget's Thesaurus and the Oxford Concise Thesaurus on hand in my home office.  Browsing through a thesaurus is rewarding, because you trip across unexpected gems. Not unlike how browsing in a bookstore helps you discover unexpected finds compared to the in-and-out efficiency of ordering a book online.  Today, I learned that  January 18 marks Thesaurus Day.   The date is no accident; Thesaurus Day coincides with the anniversary of Peter Mark Roget 's birth in 1779.  Mental Floss published Ten Fascinating Facts about the Thesaurus , which includes the word's origin: Greek for treasure. How fitting. In the past, I associated January 18 with A.A. Milne's birthday (1882). Now, I h...

When the Swedish Academy announced Alice Munro earned the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, stores scrambled to add her books to prominent online and in-store displays. As you can see from my bookshelf, I am among the legions of fans of Munro’s remarkable stories.      CBC will dedicate this week’s Sunday Edition to Canada’s short-story maven.  Congratulations, Alice, a deserved win.

For several weeks now, I’ve savoured one to two pages daily from Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Hensen Journal . In this book, curator-archivist Karen Falk and Jim Hensen’s eldest daughter Lisa Hensen combine excerpts from the Muppet creator’s journals with photos, sketches, script doodles and biographical notes, spanning 1954 to 1988. What a joy! While most of us know Jim Hensen’s work―ranging from Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock through to The Muppet Show and scores of other TV specials and movies―people recognized his talents well before any of those accomplishments. By the time he headed off to the University of Maryland, nobody could overlook Jim Hensen’s creativity. He had illustrated high school publications, designed sets for shows and performed from time to time. As a freshman, he secured his own TV show, Sam & Friends , and started a poster business of his own. He quickly moved on to creating funny commercials for Wilkins Coffee Co. In 1958, the ...

In past years, I've blogged about family literacy and the joys of reading aloud .  Literacy actually extends beyond the ability to read and write.  Consider counting, solving logic puzzles, playing card games and following recipes as activities in your literacy toolkit. Speaking of which, here's a link to an activity book from ABC Life Literacy Canada, the not-for-profit organization responsible for Family Literacy Day, which Canadians celebrated yesterday (January 27). If you're tired of my literacy rants, then let children's author Robert Munsch , the 2013 honourary chair for Family Literacy Day, motivate you through the 30-second video below.   By increasing literacy levels, we improve opportunities for Canadians to succeed at work, at home, and in life as a whole.       AWESOME!

Regular readers of my ramblings know how much I adore handwritten letters and postcards . Now, I feel it's time for handmade cards to have a own shout-out of their own.  As much as I laugh when someone sends a greeting card with a witty or perfectly appropriate message, it's another level of joy to receive cards and notes prepared with crayons, markers, glitter glue, stickers, origami, pictures, pencil crayons and loads of love.  Sometimes, those handmade cards are elevated to the status of fridge art .       AWESOME! Thank you, Sarah Jane, Shannon, Makayla, Mackenzie, Rachelle, Allie, Melanie and Beverly.