Friday Finds

If you are as big a fan of LOTR as I am, then you'll get a little teary-eyed too when you watch this video of the final scene made for the shooting of "Return of the King".

Chris and I aren't planning on telling Harmony that Santa Claus brings her presents, or that the Easter bunny brings eggs and candy. She will grow up knowing their legends, just not thinking that they're real. But when she asks me one day, "mama, do fairies and elves exist?" then I'll be happy to say, "I don't know. You should look for them, because in your search for hidden wonders of the world, you're sure to find some magic."

What would happen if people deserted all social media? Would we go back to more face-to-face interactions? Or would we "miss opportunities for self-expression, personal growth, learning, support, and civic exchange", as this author says, in favor of Facebook?

Racism is not dead yet. Sadly, places in the U.S. still suffer from segregation, even if it is unspoken or hidden. Here is one teacher's account of what she hopes to teach her students in Mississippi about Martin Luther King Jr.

Lovely, lovely photographs of children, seeing them at their most honest, curious, and beautiful. Take a look at this series by a group of photographers called "You Are My Wild".

How do you save a public library? Make it into a seed bank, of course!

Every once in a while even the most experienced writer needs a pep talk. Here are the juicy words of advice from authors like Mark Twain, Anais Nin, Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, and more as they ponder why we write. 

And now for a different kind of Friday Finds! Here are two purchases I made at the grand opening of a new local thrift store, where I showed up right at the opening ceremony to get the first selection on summer clothes for Harmony.

If you've never heard of Unifex cubes, then you must not have been a mathematically challenged home-schooled child like I was : P  Just kidding! I used these in the early years of math, and they gave me a lot of help visualizing large groups of numbers. Figuring out fractions, division, and multiplication was easier because of Unifex cubes. For a few bucks, I invested in this huge bucket of 'em to put away for a few years until Harmony begins arithmetic. Yay! 

Edit: I accidentally called these Rubix cubes earlier. Oops! The correct name is Unifex!

Here is one of the gifts Harmony will be receiving for her 1st birthday. Once again, just a few dollars for a huge set of giant wooden alphabet blocks! Only the letter D was missing. I'll keep searching for that one at thrift stores ; ) 

Last, but not least, here is a gorgeous home-crafted bracelet I received as a late Christmas gift. It makes me wish for summer so that I can wear it with short sleeves. The colors make me feel peaceful, and I could definitely use a bit of peace. So thankful!