Happy New Year!

As 2022 comes to a close, I am so very grateful for many things! I really appreciate your support for my writing and book and also really appreciate you following this blog. Thank you!

Happy New Year! Cheers to finding your magic in 2023!

Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth National Independence Day!

Today celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States.

While the Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom and was signed on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Texas was the farthest of the Confederate states, and slaveholders there made no attempt to free the enslaved African Americans they held in bondage. President Lincoln’s proclamation was unenforceable without military intervention, which eventually came nearly two and a half years later.

Juneteenth is an important date on the timeline of slavery history in the United States and now a federal holiday just signed into law last year.

Take a moment today and reflect on the importance of this holiday.

“Sheer brilliance….An empowering, transformative read. Bravo.”—Jewell Parker Rhodes, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Boys

Arthur Weasley

“Bless them, normal people will go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it’s staring them in the face.”
— Arthur Weasley, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

In a group of great fathers in literature, you have to think about Arthur Weasley from The Harry Potter Series.

Arthur truly loves his family and takes on Harry like his own child. He’s a great family guy and also a hard worker. I love his curiosity and awe of the world that he demonstrates to his children.

🙂

Cheers to all the dad out there today! Hopefully you get some time to read a great book today!

Flag Day

Happy Flag Day! This holiday commemorates the date in 1777 when the United States approved the design for its first national flag.

Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park

Did you know that the designer of our current flag was a 17-year-old Boy Scout named Robert Heft? What grade do you think he received for this look? A grade of B-minus. His Ohio teacher said the design was unoriginal, but offered to raise it to an A if the design was accepted nationally. So, the boy wrote to his congressman and the rest is history. And yes, he ended up with an A.

Happy Flag Day! 🇺🇸

Jólabókaflóðið

It’s almost time for Jólabókaflóðið! If you’re not familiar with it, Jólabókaflóðið roughly translates to Christmas book flood. It refers to the tradition in Iceland of exchanging books on Christmas Eve. This tradition makes books the most popular gift for Christmas in this country.

If you’re looking for a new holiday tradition, you can start a book gift exchange tomorrow and then every December 24th. You don’t have to exchange Icelandic books in order to do your own version of Jólabókaflóðið. Any book will do!

Happy Jólabókaflóðið! And happy reading!

Happy Father’s Day!

“Now, Harry you must know all about Muggles, tell me, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck? ~ Arthur Weasley

I love Arthur Weasley’s character! I love his desire to learn and his love of family and friends. He’s a great father in literature. Fathers exist all over children’s literature as well as quotes about them. Enjoy this one particular quote above from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there (and all the fictional ones too)!

Happy Juneteenth!

As a new federal holiday, Happy Juneteenth National Independence Day!

Today celebrates the date of June 19, 1865, when enslaved people of African descent located in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom from the slavery system in the United States.

While the Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom and was signed on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln. Texas was the farthest of the Confederate states, and slaveholders there made no attempt to free the enslaved African Americans they held in bondage. President Lincoln’s proclamation was unenforceable without military intervention, which eventually came nearly two and a half years later.

Juneteenth is an important date on the timeline of slavery history in the United States and now a federal holiday just signed into law earlier this week.

Take a moment today and reflect on the importance of this holiday.