Happy Holidays!
- December 25, 2021
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Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!
School Is Out!
- December 20, 2021
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I made it through the semester! That may not seem like a big deal to some, but as someone who hadn’t attended college in a long time and chose both foreign language and anthropology classes, this was huge.
The foreign language class is the one that almost did me in. It was a lot of work. In the end, I felt swamped and stressed. Plus, I didn’t think it was fair that I ended up with the Freshmen 15 (those pesky 15 pounds that attach to your body because there’s no time or energy to cook decent food).
Happy Hanukkah
- November 29, 2021
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To everyone who celebrates, may you have a happy and peaceful holiday. I admit, I won’t be eating latkes, the calories count is too high to count. 🙂
Come Back and Tell Me—Guest Post Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin
- November 22, 2021
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My father thought science fiction, fantasy, and horror were silly. He just didn’t get them, though he had a huge appreciation for folklore even if it verged on the fantastical. He was a practical man. He ran his own business, took care of all the repairs around the house himself, and didn’t have the patience for dippy interests.
Still, he was playful, and he may have accidentally pushed open a door I was already peeking around as a child.
I was an early reader. A young child’s mind that is unfolding to the world is fertile ground for the wonder of books, stories, fables, and magical illustrations. Kids have the equivalent of alluvial soil in their heads, all loamy and rich and waiting for stuff to plant itself. So I was already inclined a certain way, you might say, when this thing I’m about to tell you happened.
I was maybe nine years old. We’d just moved to a new house. On summer nights we’d sit on the front porch to catch a breeze under the trees. But on this particular muggy evening we were inside, in the kitchen my father was installing, and he turned to me suddenly and said, “Why don’t you go see if I’m out on the porch?”
I remember my momentary freeze as I processed his words.
“Go ahead. See if I’m sitting out there. Then come back and tell me.”
I was old enough to understand it was impossible, and yet . . . he was my dad. Who knew what kind of powers he might actually have, or what kind of secrets surrounded us all? At that moment I realized how much I didn’t know about the world.
I hesitated. “You can’t be out there and in here at the same time.” I knew I was right, and yet . . .
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. He broke into a grin and pulled me in for a hug.
Today’s nine-year-olds would be too sophisticated for that fleeting pause, you might think, and you might be right. But as I look back on that moment, I see it as a burning hole blown wide open, full of what ifs and maybes, alternate universes and cosmic mysteries, things unexplainable on a purely physical plane. The fodder of speculative fiction, brought to me by a father who didn’t like speculative fiction.
Years later I’d have a recurring dream in which a silhouette in a coat and a man’s hat would appear in the shadows of the porch on a foggy night, and I would run terrified away from the door. The man was not my father, and the dream not directly connected to my father’s joke, but the portal had been opened.
Thanks, Dad. I love you and miss you terribly.
_____________________________
Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin writes speculative fiction and poetry. Her stories have appeared in the four Penhead anthologies (most recently Colors: Stories in 5 Shades), Supernatural Tales, Luna Station Quarterly, Bards and Sages Quarterly, and other publications. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Carrie has published poetry in Third Wednesday, Writing In A Woman’s Voice, Grasslimb, and other places. She is author of the horror novel Snare and a member of the Horror Writers Association. You can find her at cvnelkin.com, on Twitter at @cvnelkin, and on Facebook (Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin, Author).
Original Photo by James Garcia on Unsplash
Chilly Weather and Knitting
- November 15, 2021
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It’s that time of year and my looms are beckoning.
I can’t believe it’s been a month since I blogged. School is still kicking my butt but at least I feel like I’m kicking back.
Random Autumn Pics
- October 18, 2021
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The leaves haven’t turned much here yet so here are a few pics taken at the Queens Farm Museum and a farm stand in Westchester.
Using ASL to Learn Korean
- October 03, 2021
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Photo by quinn.anya 
I first used American Sign Language when trying to remember how to say numbers 1-10 in Korean. (Bear with me on this as there are actually two different number systems in that language.) While studying one set, I began signing them in ASL and discovered that the physical movement helped me to remember the numbers more easily. When I needed to learn the other number system, I switched hands. Don’t ask me why, but it worked.
Now I’m learning words that are directional and I kept mixing them up. “Front” to “side” to “underneath” to…you get the idea. So, I went to handspeak.com and looked up the signs for those words and began practicing. Once again, connecting a word to a physical action fixed it more firmly in my mind. Added bonus: I’m getting practice in ASL.
That’s my tip of the week.
Back to School
- September 26, 2021
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It’s been years since I took a college class. And here I am, auditing two of them online. Even though I won’t receive credit, I do the reading and participate in class. Both of them are challenging in different ways and I’m excited and swamped at the same time.
Happy New Year
- September 05, 2021
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Going Back to School
- August 22, 2021
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Well, I did it. I signed up for one college class that will start on Wednesday. There’s another one I’m tempted to sign up for but haven’t decided yet. (Because I’m that crazy.)
I’ve taken online classes before but not within the actual college system. I also consider myself somewhat computer and online savvy. But the website I needed to sign up with made me want to pull out my hair. Help through their IT department was via email only but finally it was straightened out. I pity all new students coming into this nightmare.
So in case I don’t post here every week, you’ll know I’ll be in class for the next three months and studying hard.