Personal Reflections

Tea for Me!

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 83 Comments
Becky’s Teapots and Cookbooks

Although I look forward to my morning coffee and one extra cup in the afternoon, I also enjoy tea. My favorites include ginger, chai, and fruit teas. I love teapots and have collected several over the years. These came from grandmothers, an aunt, a former mother-in-law, a friend, and a special purchase to match a planned kitchen renovation. One of them even incorporates a music box with the tune of “Tea for Two!”

The two pots on the top right are my most treasured. The yellow/gold one came from my maternal grandmother. The brown pot with red and yellow flowers is from my paternal grandmother, who used to make cambric tea for the kids. That’s just milk, hot water, sugar, and a hint of tea, but it made me feel very grown-up.

In the photos below, my maternal grandmother is pictured in California with her china cabinet off to the right. The yellow/gold teapot rests on the middle shelf. In the other photo, baby Becky and my sister, Terri, spend some time with our paternal grandparents at their home in Michigan.

I don’t often make my tea in a pot and tend to just steep my teabag in a cup. But I love having these vintage teapots to give me a cozy feeling of continuity. I keep the pictures of my grandmothers right inside the pots so my daughters will have no doubt of their importance!

Spring Colors in North Texas

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 57 Comments

Although I find little to like about Texas weather, I do enjoy the milder winters and spring’s early arrival. Over the weekend, I took these pics on several of my walks. I even started some Texas wildflower seeds in pots on my balcony this week to try my luck.

Speaking of growing things, my short children’s story, “Magic in the Garden,” was recently published at Tebok Kai. Almost five years ago, I wrote a post about William Donahey’s Teenie Weenie characters. And I must admit, I had those miniature beings in mind when I wrote this story!

Fantastic Find at the Bookstore #13: Humor in Daily Life

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 47 Comments

When I came across this cute vintage paperback by Betty MacDonald at the used bookstore, I recognized the author’s name right away. But this was a “new” story and a new husband! The $3.00 price tag was well worth it, and I snapped this one up without a second thought.

I became familiar with Betty MacDonald’s humorous writing through her first book, The Egg and I, years ago, in high school. I was one of the students chosen in my senior English class to take part in a regional forensics competition. Assigned to do humorous readings (not sure why), I had no clue what to present. The Egg and I had rested on my parents’ bookshelf for years without tempting me. It no longer had the dust jacket pictured below, and with just a plain green cover, it never called to me.

My mom wisely suggested I check it out for some humorous chapters. I thoroughly enjoyed the funny book about a newly married couple who lived on a chicken ranch in Washington State. Imagine my surprise when I discovered this was the origin of the Ma and Pa Kettle characters I had seen in movies! I did well in the competition, advancing several rounds, and even had to read in front of my entire (small) school at an assembly. I was very nervous, but Betty MacDonald’s entertaining words gave me much-needed confidence.

Years later, I enjoyed watching the movie on either AMC or TCM. Claudette Colbert played Betty, and Fred MacMurray played her first husband, Bob.

When I came across Onions in the Stew, I realized there was a lot more to Betty MacDonald (1907-1958) than I had ever known, and I needed to dig deeper! I soon discovered that she wrote Anybody Can Do Anything about raising her daughters as a single parent during the Depression and also The Plague and I about surviving tuberculosis. All told through humor, of course. Onions in the Stew tells about moving to Vashon Island in the Pacific Northwest’s Puget Sound with her two daughters and new husband, Don. For a taste of the humor, I’ll mention that their washing machine floats away into the Sound their first night there!

Although Betty MacDonald died much too young, from cancer at age 49, she packed a lot of living and writing into her life. She is also the author of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series, in addition to Nancy and Plum.

My research prompted by this fantastic find at the bookstore also placed another book in my sights, this biography by Paula Becker. I can hardly wait!

Looking Back While Moving Forward

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 56 Comments
Becky as Mrs. Wishy-Washy,
Joy Cowley’s Delightful Character

I try not to dwell on the past, but I often enjoy thinking of my teaching years. I especially loved teaching reading, using books like Joy Cowley’s “Mrs. Wishy-Washy” stories. Many times, I’m able to effectively use my background in education to enrich both my writing and freelance editing work.

My editing projects sometimes involve non-fiction educational materials. And, of course, picture books provide an abundance of teachable scenarios. Blog articles I’ve written aimed at early childhood education have also been published, along with several decodable readers.

I’m happy to say that one of my fiction stories has recently been published, which combines reading instruction strategies with a fun fantasy setting. Click here to meet Mr. Zappo and his “buzzing letters.” He and Ms. Exeter are the early elementary teachers we each would have been lucky to meet while learning to read!

Struggling Sunflowers

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 70 Comments

At least seven new apartment buildings with large parking garages are in various stages of being built around my neighborhood. Last year, this was a beautiful field of sunflowers. These are the brave holdouts. Amid all this construction, only one small “park” area was designed. Most of the other areas are being covered by pavement and buildings. Almost everything has changed in the eight years since I moved to this area of Texas. And now a Universal theme park has been approved for just up the road a few miles! Would you be surprised if I told you the mayor is a Realtor?

Let “Freedom Read” All Year Long!

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 40 Comments

We each have the power to do something about this growing problem. Here are some ideas to get us started!

A Perfect Setting for Suspense

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 67 Comments
Tawas Point Lighthouse

I was lucky to grow up in Tawas City, Michigan, near beautiful Lake Huron and the long point of land that forms Tawas Bay. The lighthouse at Tawas Point always fascinated me and felt somewhat mysterious. When I began planning a suspense story, that area seemed like the perfect setting!

In the summer of a 1960s vacationland, an encounter offers a tempting renewal of a bond from the past. My fictional tale, “Yours Till Moonlight Falls,” visits the dark side of human desire for connection. And I am happy to say it has found a publishing home at Mystery Tribune!

Click here to read the story. Is that the screech of gulls you hear, or could that be something else?

When Reading was Golden

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 80 Comments

As a child, I loved going to the library. And I definitely looked for my favorites each time we visited. But for the books we bought at the store to keep at home, Little Golden Books were the stories that made my heart sing! In fact, I loved them so much that I still collect them. The three pictured above are titles from my collection that I remember from childhood.

I grew up in a small town, so we had no bookstores or large department stores. The great thing about Little Golden Books, besides their affordable price of just a quarter, was that they were sold in grocery stores and at the local “dime store.”

Although I didn’t yet pay much attention to the illustrator or author names as a youngster, I eventually realized that I was drawn to the books illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. Her characters always wore such soft and friendly faces, as the three covers shown above.

And I also loved the Little Golden Book stories written by Margaret Wise Brown. Yes, the same author of Goodnight Moon fame!

Although my 1946 copy isn’t in very good shape, I’m proud to say that my oldest Little Golden Book, The Little Taxi That Hurried, was written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell , a child education reformer. And it’s illustrated by Tibor Gergely, whose artwork graced many other Little Golden Books, as well.

Later, in the 1970s, my own kids liked many of the Little Golden Books, too! The Monster at the end of this Book was one of their favorites. By that time, the price had gone up to $.89.

My family members know that I still love these books and help me add to my collection, on occasion. Above is a Little Golden Book I received last Christmas from my sister. We used to watch Roy Rogers and Dale Evans on TV when we were kids.

And this is the most recent addition to my collection from one of my daughters, purchased right at Target. Both my girls and I “love Lucy” and have watched many episodes together over the years!

What about you? Are you a collector? Do you have a favorite memory of a Little Golden Book?

Earth Month (Every Month!) Challenge

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 57 Comments

I remember the first Earth Day in 1970. I was a senior in high school, and the environment wasn’t exactly uppermost in my mind. Many of us weren’t all that worried yet. These days, I’m feeling a great deal of eco-anxiety but still have trouble finding purposeful things to do about that. If you’re feeling that way, too, Treehugger has 30 ideas for easy tweaks you can make in your daily routines!

Earth Month Challenge: 30 Easy Actions

And I’m reading Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility, which is a collection of essays edited by Rebecca Solnit and Thelma Young Lutunatabua. This book was suggested by Tracy Abell in one of her informative Climate Movement Monday posts. Thank you, Tracy! I’m already enjoying the book.

Maybe you’re lucky enough to have little ones to share books with! You can help them understand the importance of taking care of our Earth with some of these lovely picture books.

Let’s make it Earth Day every day!

Lax on Taxes

~ Becky Ross Michael ~ 45 Comments

I Really Should Work on My Taxes

But…

Sleeping in was so fine,

with sweet dreams intertwined.

My black coffee was strong,

and I lingered too long.

To the store I will drive

and buy this week’s supplies.

I will take out the trash,

with the boxes all smashed.

Pluck the weeds from my flowers,

before getting rain showers.

I will write a new story,

as I aim for that glory.

Nudge some grime with my duster,

as I zoom that Dust Buster.

I will then call my sister,

who avoided a twister!

Take a walk in the sun

and gulp water when done.

I will edit a tale,

freelance work without fail.

Cook my dinner so tasty,

with air fryer so hasty.

Choose a show I can stream

with a snack of my dreams.

And those taxes can wait

until near the due date!

As an independent contractor who does freelance editing and writing through Upwork, completing my taxes each year feels a bit complicated, and I dread it. But, as is often the case, writing about something that’s on my mind can help me look at the issue in a more positive way. After working on this poem, I saw my way clear to get my taxes done and out of the way!