Started 10/14
Another day, a new book, and a new dragon – Netherfield! He’s stirring the pot, with a little help from Lydia and Wickham. They’re just as self-centered and wicked as they were when Jane Austen created the original P&P. The difference - this time Darcy and Elizabeth must rescue them, plus a dragon or two.

​Amazon’s Description:
Elizabeth Bennet, Dragon Keeper, accidental guardian of Pemberley the young firedrake, and even more accidentally betrothed of one Fitzwilliam Darcy, would beg to disagree. Banished from her home, her marriage indefinitely delayed, and desperate to secure Pemberley’s future, Elizabeth must tame a rogue dragon who is determined that she is the last Dragon Keeper in the world whom he would ever accept.

Darcy cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which upended every expectation he had for his future. That is not to say this particular future with Elizabeth is unwelcome. But he never expected for that future to be stayed whilst he was called so very far away from her, caught in the middle of keeping the fragile peace between dragons and humans. Darcy discovers a treacherous plot against Elizabeth. More shocking, the heart of the conspiracy beats in someone very near and dear to her.

With war on the horizon, time is running out for Elizabeth and Darcy to save the dragons and any hope of a future together. Meryton meets Pern in a fantastical regency romp bound to delight readers of Jane Austen and Anne McCaffrey alike.         
​
​

Started 10/12                                                      Finished 10/14
It took me a week to finish Pemberley, but I’m already 84% of the way through Longbourn. I love travel days & reading!

What amazes me is how the author changed a few minor details to make the plot work with dragons. Would you believe Mary is closer to Elizabeth than Jane? Or that Mr. Bennett values the family dragon more than Elizabeth? But don’t worry! Lady Catherine is up to her usual tricks, and Elizabeth and Darcy don’t disappoint as they find their way toward the altar.

Amazon’s Description:
​A dragon’s imagination is very rapid. It jumps from separation to anxiety, and anxiety to wreaking havoc.

Fitzwilliam Darcy finds caring for a baby dragon more of a fraught guardianship than anticipated. Little Pemberley may have survived a perilous hatching and still successfully imprinted on humans, but she’s pining for one particular human to the point she is fast becoming a danger to herself and others.

Elizabeth Bennet may yearn for baby Pemberley, but she has her own share of misfortunes to manage. Her cousin Mr. Collins, heir to the Longbourn entail, has decided that marrying her will add very greatly to his future happiness. While the estate dragon agrees--and insists she accept him--Elizabeth and the rest of Longbourn's dragons insist he is the last man in the world whom she could ever be prevailed on to marry--a better dragon's dinner than a husband.

​It’s disappointment and spleen all around as Lady Catherine de Bourgh involves herself in the affair after hearing reports of a most alarming nature. There are few people in England besides herself who could make things worse. In that, Lady Catherine is a true proficient. Baby Pemberley’s fate is caught in a deadly tangle of families and fortunes, forcing Darcy and Elizabeth to take the biggest gamble of their lives to win or lose it all. Jane Austen meets Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern. A must read for Pern fans. Book 2 in the Jane Austen's Dragons series.

​

Started 10/6                                                         Finished 10/12
I read about 60% of this book by the 7th. Today’s the 9th, and I’ve only edged forward a few pages. I’m looking forward to finishing it on the 11th . . . when I’m back on the road again.

I’ve read Pemberley before, and I bought the next two books in this series. I almost didn’t try it. I’ve read a lot of Pride & Prejudice variations, but I refused to open P&P with Zombies. No way, but I was curious how someone would combine Mr. Darcy, dragons, and Elizabeth.

I was pleasantly surprised! Elizabeth and Darcy were true to Jane Austen’s original story, and I liked how the dragons fit into that plot. Pemberley was well done. No wonder it’s the first book in a series of eight.

Amazon’s Description:
England is overrun by dragons of all shapes and sizes. Most people are blissfully unaware of them and the Pendragon Treaty that keeps the peace between human and dragon kind. Only those born with preternatural hearing, like Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are able to hear and converse with dragonkind. When the first firedrake egg laid in a century is stolen from Pemberley, the fragile dragon peace teeters on collapse. Darcy has no choice but to chase down the thief, a journey that leads him to quaint market town of Meryton and fellow Dragon Keeper, Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth shares a unique bond with dragons, stronger than anything Darcy has ever experienced. More than that, her vast experience and knowledge of dragon lore may be the key to uncovering the lost egg. But Elizabeth can’t stand Darcy’s arrogance and doesn’t trust him to care properly for a precious baby firedrake. After all, he already lost the egg once. What’s to prevent it from happening again? Can he win her trust and recover the stolen egg before it hatches and sends England spiraling back into the Dark Ages of Dragon War?

​

​Me as a Reader – This is how I read for fun – with my kindle. I’m usually somewhere in my house, curled up on a comfy couch or chair.

​ I’d rather have a kindle than a real book. I have 297 books on mine. They don’t take up space, and I don’t need to dust them. I don’t need a book mark because I never lose my place. If food drips on it, I wipe it right off. No stain! It’s perfect!

I usually get to read in bits of time here and there., but this week I’m traveling. My husband loves to drive so I get HUGE chunks of time to read. Yesterday I read a book in ONE day. I haven’t done that in like, forever! It was lovely! I dove into the story and followed it all the way to the end. There wasn’t anything to interrupt me. It’s a luxury I don’t often have – so I’m enjoying every minute – while it lasts!

PS – I got to read 58% of my new book today, but we arrived at our destination. Tomorrow I’ll be back to bits and pieces again, but everything is good in moderation. Even books!

​

Started 10/5                                                       Finished 10/6
This book is almost a month old. It came out September 8th. I’ve never read it before, but I’ve read the first 4 books in the series. I preordered this one and started it yesterday. It’s a fast read! I just finished it today!

I knew this book would be Jamie’s story. From the beginning there’s been a mystery – what happened to him. By the 2nd or 3rd book I discovered Jamie was a her, that she was married to Kieran MacTavish, that there was a horrible accident with the ship, and that everyone believed Jamie was dead. Now I know the back story Nicole wove through these 5 books. It’s been like following a trail of bread crumbs . . . To a final satisfying ending!
​
Amazon’s Description:
Miss Eilidh Fyffe always assumed her life would follow a predictable pattern—meet a charming man, fall in love, marry, and live happily ever after. But when an accident damages her memory, she is left with only questions. Has she already fallen in love and married? If only she could remember . . .

Master Kieran MacTavish has spent six years searching for his lost wife. But, turns out, finding Eilidh alive is only the beginning of the battle. She has no memory of him—no recollection of their courtship, love, or handfasting. Refusing to be discouraged, Kieran relishes the chance to make Eilidh fall for him all over again. Surely he can rekindle the flame of their love.

But the intervening years have changed them both. Eilidh is crippled by grief—the deaths of her father, her younger brother, Jamie, and others overwhelm her. And the more Kieran comes to know this new Eilidh, the more he is haunted by the woman she once was. Throughout it all, one question looms large—Is your love still your love if the person they once were no longer exists?

Part 2 – The Cost of Self-Publishing – The photo came from the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. It gave me the idea for my 1st book, Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream.

The idea didn’t cost time or money, but turning it into a book took both. Self-publishing was the only way I could make it happen in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. ​

​Part 1 – Time and Money – I started writing in 2007. It didn’t cost me anything, but time. The time it took to write that first story. It’s still sitting in my computer. It was never published. I took it to a Highlights Conference and discovered there were a few good things about it. But there were lots of things wrong – things that needed work, if I wanted to see it published.

Highlights was my first writing business expense back in 2009, but it was the first of many. Have you ever heard, that to make money, you have to spend it? It’s true in writing, and in every single business I know.
​

Starting in 2009 I invested in education. I joined SCBWI – the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. They were my go-to resource to find teachers, and classes, and conferences. Class by class, year by year, I grew as a writer.
​
It was slow-going because I couldn’t put the time into it. Writing wasn’t my career. Teaching was. My kids ranged from high school to college. Writing was what I did, when I could find the time, on weekends. 
​

I retired in May of 2015. From that day on I could invest both time and money into my writing. It worked!

In May of 2018 I found a story about Neil Armstrong that I wanted to tell. In June I got my first R & R from an agent. That stands for revise and resend, and it means you’re getting closer to getting published the traditional way. I pushed harder with both time and money.
 
​​Part 2 – The Cost of Self-Publishing – The photo came from the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. It gave me the idea for my 1st book, Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream.

In high school I was into football games and marching band. I was also figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and where I’d go to college.
​
Sometime in high school Dad took me to an OSU football game. I think he was hoping I’d decide to go to college there. If I did, I’d get a season ticket. My guess –  he hoped I’d get him into a home game, or two! BTW – this wasn’t me or my 70’s hair!
​

​We started the day at St. John’s Arena about 2-3 hours before the game. That’s when the band marched in. Back in the day, it was their final practice before the game. It was incredible to attend, and it was FREE! I still remember it, even though it was 45 years ago.

It wasn’t just music – it was fun! It was a time for the band members to play around, to release a little tension. When it was over, the band marched across the street and got into position to enter the stadium.
​
If you’re ever in Columbus on game day, head to St. John’s, you’ll love it. It sets the stage for the OSU football experience!
​

But the band experience isn’t over. When they leave St. John’s, you should leave too. Join the crowd heading to the ’Shoe. Find your seat because there’s no place like it on game day.

Listen for the drum cadence. They’ve been playing it for years. It signals the beginning of pregame. As soon as you hear it, watch the ramp! Then listen for the roar of the crowd! Dad told me back then there was nothing like it, and I’m glad some things haven’t changed!
​
If a picture’s worth 1000 words, I wonder about a video. It must be about a million! If you’d like to find out, use your search engine. Type in ‘osu marching band pregame,” and you’ll see what I mean. 
​​

​Then came the big event . . . THE GAME! I don’t remember which year or who the Buckeyes played, but I remember the most important thing – how Dad and I tried to call plays – the Woody Hayes way.

​                       Sorry, I digress again! Can you tell I love my Buckeyes AND Woody Hayes?!

Dad and I called plays during the whole game. We tried to guess what kind of play Woody would call. Our grade – we got about 80 – 90% of the calls right. That’s an A-/B-. How did we do it? It was easy! It depended on the yardage to get the next 1st down.

On 1st down plays, the quarterback would either throw, or hand it off to a running back. If it was short yardage, the quarterback would hand the ball to Pete Johnson. He was a HUGE guy, and he used the laws of gravity and motion to push forward for a yard or two. I heard on the Big 10 network that Master T is a lot like Pete – he can plow through the other team and get those yards.
​
It’s funny – I don’t remember what year it was, or who the quarterback or the running back was. I wonder now if it was 1975, the year Pete scored 25 rushing touchdowns. That year Archie Griffin also won his 2nd Heisman Trophy, something very few people do, but I don’t remember Archie. I remember Pete. What an athlete! But, BAM! He was a Buckeye! (That’s something we say in Ohio. And Bam! I’m a Buckeye too!)
​

Want to read more about the skull sessions in 2021? Click on this link:
- THE TRADITION … Skull Sessions – Ohio State Buckeyes
​
- Photo Source: CC BY-SA 3.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5865012

Want to read more about Woody Hayes or Pete Johnson? Try these links, or do your own search.
- Woody Hayes - Wikipedia

- An Emperor's Shadow | Eleven Warriors (An article about legends Bobby Knight and Woody Hayes)

- That Happened: Pete Johnson 25 Rushing Touchdowns in 1975 is an Astounding Achievement. | Eleven Warriors

​​ Part 1: Baby Buckeye:   This is Brutus, and he’s a Buckeye. So am I! When I was born in May of 1959, I didn’t know anything about the Buckeyes, but this is the story of how I became one . . .
​

First and most important, I was born in Ohio, the Buckeye state. But, I was born in Bowling Green. It’s a small university town where my dad went to college, and NO! I never, ever was a Falcon.
​
Back in the day if you were born in Ohio, you were automatically a Buckeye, but when I was teaching in the 80’s and 90’s, things changed. The state up north was winning, a lot. Suddenly kids in Ohio were rooting for the Wolverines. Me, never, ever! Well, OK, I’ll root for them, but only if it’s a bowl game. That’s when I’m a Big Ten kind of girl!
​

​Sorry, I digress! Back to the 60’s! I wasn’t a Buckeye back then. Football wasn’t important to me, at all! I watched cartoons, not football. But I’m a daddy’s girl, and my daddy watched football.

Dad cheered for two teams – The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns. I remember him watching games, and I can still hear him yelling; I mean cheering😊 He’d be upstairs with our one TV watching the game. I’d be downstairs playing. He’d yell when they played well. Or, when they failed miserably. I could hear him clearly through the floor, like we were in the same room, but that didn’t make me a Buckeye.

​

​​               Part 2: Dad, Woody, and a Football Game

​
​In high school I was into football games and marching band. I was also figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up, and where I’d go to college.
​
Sometime in high school Dad took me to an OSU football game. I think he was hoping I’d decide to go to college there. If I did, I’d get a season ticket. My guess –  he hoped I’d get him into a home game, or two! BTW – this wasn’t me or my 70’s hair!
​

​We started the day at St. John’s Arena about 2-3 hours before the game. That’s when the band marched in. Back in the day, it was their final practice before the game. It was incredible to attend, and it was FREE! I still remember it, even though it was 45 years ago.

​But the band experience isn’t over. When they leave St. John’s, you should leave too. Join the crowd heading to the ’Shoe. Find your seat because there’s no place like it on game day.

Listen for the drum cadence. They’ve been playing it for years. It signals the beginning of pregame. As soon as you hear it, watch the ramp! Then listen for the roar of the crowd! Dad told me back then there was nothing like it, and I’m glad some things haven’t changed!
​
If a picture’s worth 1000 words, I wonder about a video. It must be about a million! If you’d like to find out, use your search engine. Type in ‘osu marching band pregame,” and you’ll see what I mean. 
​​

​Then came the big event . . . THE GAME! I don’t remember which year or who the Buckeyes played, but I remember the most important thing – how Dad and I tried to call plays – the Woody Hayes way.

Woody was THE football coach as far as Dad and I were concerned – forever. He was a legend in his own time. Before he arrived, OSU was the coach’s graveyard. Woody became an institution.
​
He was still popular after he left. I was in college in 1980 when Ronald Reagan was running for President. He held a fundraiser in Columbus. Woody was the draw, even though Reagan was running for national office.  

​On 1st down plays, the quarterback would either throw, or hand it off to a running back. If it was short yardage, the quarterback would hand the ball to Pete Johnson. He was a HUGE guy, and he used the laws of gravity and motion to push forward for a yard or two. I heard on the Big 10 network that Master T is a lot like Pete – he can plow through the other team and get those yards.
​
It’s funny – I don’t remember what year it was, or who the quarterback or the running back was. I wonder now if it was 1975, the year Pete scored 25 rushing touchdowns. That year Archie Griffin also won his 2nd Heisman Trophy, something very few people do, but I don’t remember Archie. I remember Pete. What an athlete! But, BAM! He was a Buckeye! (That’s something we say in Ohio. And Bam! I’m a Buckeye too!)
​

​Started 9/ 27                                                            Finished 10/5 
​I love historical fiction and Pride & Prejudice! My last three books asked what if? What if one event in history changed? What would have happened to Darcy and Elizabeth if Napoleon had conquered England? The plot revolves around a secret Darcy must keep. It’s a matter of national security.

This story seemed far-fetched until I read the author’s note. Napoleon actually had plans and an invasion force ready to go from 1803-1805. The English lucked out – Napoleon never found the right opportunity to cross the English Channel.

Amazon’s Description:
Six years after Napoleon’s invasion of England… Fitzwilliam Darcy is a traitor. He even admits to collaborating with Napoleon’s troops. And Elizabeth Bennet despises all traitors.

But she can’t make sense of Darcy. He doesn’t act like a traitor. He risks his own safety to save young women from the French. And how can she despise a man who loves puppies? Something about him doesn’t add up – and she finds him far too attractive.

Then Darcy’s carefully constructed world crumbles, and he must entrust his closest-held secret to Elizabeth. To protect that secret, Elizabeth must disappear entirely, leaving her family and Darcy behind, to plunge herself into the dizzying world of fashionable London and the dangers of the Loyalist Resistance. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Darcy is determined to find Elizabeth. Now that she knows the truth about him, there’s nothing to keep them apart – nothing, that is, until the day Darcy is forced to choose between his country and the life of the woman he loves…
 
 

Started 9/18                                                     Finished 9/27
When I saw this cover, I had to ask who in the heck was Arbella Stuart, and why should I care? I’m amazed how much I learned from a little research.

The real Arbella was a heavy favorite to succeed her cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I. But the Cecils, father and son, favored James VI (Mary, Queen of Scots’ son). I wonder if they preferred working with kings, instead of queens.

In November of 1603, plotters tried to overthrow King James and make Arbella queen. She reported the plot to the King, but ended her days in the Tower. Why? She married Kathryn Grey’s son without the king’s permission. Kathryn suffered the same fate, for the same reason . . . marrying without Elizabeth’s permission.

In Book 3, Perdita and Piper are chasing down Arbella’s letters and her secret husband, which are both historically accurate. Over 100 letters survived, and some of them were published in 1993.  Arbella married secretly, and Alexandra used that history to craft this story. What a great idea!
​
Amazon’s Description:
Get ready to challenge everything you thought you knew about British royal history… Derbyshire, England, 1603
Elizabeth I is dead and the Tudor reign is over. As the men in power decide to pass the throne to the Scottish King James, one woman debates changing the course of history.

Two Tudor heirs have been covered up for decades, and with a foreign king threatening the stability of England it could be time to bring the truth to the fore. But there are reasons the Tudor children were put into hiding and exposing them would put not only their lives in danger, but the lives of many others as well…

Marquess House, Pembrokeshire, 2019
Dr Perdita Rivers and her sister Piper have returned to their ancestral home. But the ancient walls still contain riddles which the twins need to solve. Perdita and Piper have already discovered earth-shattering secrets which will change the course of English history forever. But they are missing one vital piece of the puzzle.

Two Tudor rings have led them to cover-ups at the Tudor court, but now they must track down a missing silver locket to slot the final parts of the mystery together. And just when it seems they could be ready to expose the centuries-old conspiracy, old enemies resurface to put their very lives at risk…

​

​Started 9/13                                                            Finished 9/18
Get ready for Book 2! Perdita and Piper find themselves on a new search, for the twins of Catherine Howard.  They’ve been hidden for centuries, and their enemies are determined to preserve the secret, by any means necessary.
​
Elizabeth I is your guide to this mystery. Follow her through the twists and turns of history to the roots of this secret. Buckle your seatbelt . . .  you’re in for an incredible adventure!
 
Amazon’s Description:
Was Elizabeth I really the last Tudor princess…?
Nonsuch Palace, England, 1586
​Elizabeth I has been queen for 28 years. She has survived hundreds of plots against her but now she faces the revelation of a secret she thought would remain hidden forever…

Elizabeth is not the last of the Tudor line — there are two more legitimate heirs to her crown. Her sworn enemy, Philip II, King of Spain, has discovered the secret and thinks he can control the missing princess as his puppet queen. Can Elizabeth maintain control over her throne? And what happened to the lost Tudor heirs?

Castle Jerusalem, Andorra, 2018
Dr Perdita Rivers and her twin sister Piper are safely hidden in Andorra. Despite their narrow escape from those pursuing them, Perdita is determined to continue her grandmother’s legacy by uncovering her ground-breaking research into the English royal bloodline.

But she soon realizes that nothing about the Tudor era was as it seemed. And now the national identity of Great Britain must be called into question. With their enemies still tracking them and the lives of those they love at deadly risk, Perdita and Piper must succeed in exposing the secrets of history or there is no hope of them escaping alive...

​

​Me as a Reader – I’ve always been a reader, even back when. Now I’m writing books and blogging about them too. I almost started rereading my last book from August, Enchanted Ever After, but then I read the author’s note. Shanna Swendson said she was taking a break from the Enchanted Inc Series, and I thought I would too.

​ 
I won’t read the whole series again, just book 9. I hope Shanna returns to the series too! I started imagining what Katie and Owen’s kids might be like, part wizard/part immune. Who knows?! For now, I want to read something different.
​
I found another of my favorite series. I have a lot of them, and this one’s only 3 books long. It’s mostly historical fiction, with a little fantasy. One of my favorite kind of books! This one has an interesting premise  . . .

Started 9/2                                                                           Finished 9/13
Imagine – Catherine Howard lived! She was secreted away and delivered twins. Her family covers up her disappearance with the beheading we all know about. That’s one-half of this story. 
The other half takes place in Wales with Dr. Perdita Rivers. She’s in the UK exploring an old shipwreck. It’ll take three books to connect the two parts of this story, but don’t worry. The author takes you back and forth between centuries, but won’t let you get lost. You’ll know whose story and which century you’re in. Enjoy!

Amazon’s Description:
What secrets were covered up at the court of Henry VIII…?
                      Whitehall Palace, England, 1539
When Catherine Howard arrives at the court of King Henry VIII to be a maid of honour in the household of the new queen, Anne of Cleves, she has no idea of the fate that awaits her.

Catching the king’s fancy, she finds herself caught up in her uncle’s ambition to get a Howard heir to the throne. Terrified by the ageing king after the fate that befell her cousin, Anne Boleyn, Catherine begins to fear for her life…

                                                                                Pembrokeshire, Wales,
2018Dr Perdita Rivers receives news of the death of her estranged grandmother, renowned Tudor historian Mary Fitzroy. Mary inexplicably cut all contact with Perdita and her twin sister, Piper, but she has left them Marquess House, her vast estate in Pembrokeshire.

Perdita sets out to unravel their grandmother’s motives for abandoning them, and is drawn into the mystery of an ancient document in the archives of Marquess House, a collection of letters and diaries claiming the records of 

​Meet Neil Armstrong! He was born in my hometown of Wapakoneta. His claim to fame – he was the first man to set foot on the moon. That was  over 50 years ago, and I still can’t believe that someone from Wapakoneta could do something so history-making. Here are two trivia questions about Neil when he was16. Would you believe he was a school year away from graduation?!
 
1. Which license did Neil Armstrong earn first?         
Driver’s license                            Pilot’s license
 
2. What did he start building a month later?
A Wind Tunnel                             A Generator

The answers . . .
1.   Neil earned his pilot’s license first. He started taking lessons at age 15, and he paid for them himself! Neil worked at the local drug store, stocking and sweeping. He earned 40 cents an hour. When he turned 16 on August 5, 1946, Neil took his solo flight, and he earned his pilot’s license. He didn’t get his driver’s license until the following spring, just in time to drive to prom. 
​
2.    Neil built a wind tunnel. He had dreamed about it for years. He’d studied them in aeronautic magazines, taken notes on how they were put together and how they worked. Neil modeled his wind tunnel after the Wright Brothers, the ones who were the first in flight. BTW – Neil build his generator when he was in Boy Scouts in Upper Sandusky. He was probably in middle school, but it was definitely before he moved to Wapakoneta in 1944. 
​

Sources of Information:

Neil Armstrong - Wikipedia

​Neil A. Armstrong - Ohio History Central

Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream
         By Me, Rinda Beach

​
​

​ Part 2 – Wind Tunnels  –   What are They?   What do They Do?     Why are They Important?    

​This is one of NASA’s wind tunnels. It’s 12 feet or 12 floor tiles long. It has a model of a D-11 airplane inside. It was made to scale so it’s a miniature version of the real plane. I think this picture of the wind tunnel was taken in January of 1996.
 
Why is it a wind tunnel? 1. It’s a large tube. 2. Large fans blow air through it. 3. The tube is used to test how a plane that’s anchored in the tunnel, reacts when wind moves around it. It’s the same reaction the plane would have when it’s flying through the sky.
 
Why are wind tunnels important? It’s easier and cheaper to test a model and correct the design before the real plane is built. Some tunnels are model-size, but there are some big enough for real planes and cars to fit inside.
 
This is one of the earliest wind tunnels. It helped Wilbur and Orville Wright design and fly the first airplane. Obviously the Wrights never put the real plane inside. But testing a scale model of the Wright Flyer in that wind tunnel, helped them get the real one off the ground.

​



​
​Take a look at this wind tunnel. The photo was taken in 1935 when it was part of a German aviation lab. I couldn’t find anything else about this wind tunnel, but I wanted to share it so you can see how big they can be. I’d love to walk inside, and take a look around.

This is a photo from 1990. It shows fan blades from a 16-foot transonic wind tunnel. Transonic means the plane reached or broke the sound barrier. Those flights used to get bumpy, but transonic wind tunnels helped make them smoother.

Look at the dark bar in the middle. Shift your eyes to the right. Then look for a person who’s walking around inside the tunnel. Can you imagine a fan blade that’s taller than you? I can’t!
​
Sorry, you can’t walk inside this tunnel any more. It was retired in 2004 from NASA’s Langley Research Center. I wonder what they have now.

​Information Sources:
 
Wind tunnel - Wikipedia
 
Wright Flyer - Wikipedia

​

                                            Photo Sources:

- Replica of the Wright brothers' wind tunnel: By The original uploader was Axda0002 at English Wikipedia. - Photographed by uploader, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3780674
​
- German Aviation Laboratory in 1935:  By Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-17158 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5415574



​

​I got interested in Neil because I used to volunteer at his museum in Wapakoneta. This is from one of their cases. The wooden square is part of a generator Neil built, probably in middle school. The red dog is his Boy Scout scarf, and the tub – that’s what’s left of his wind tunnel.
​
Neil built it when he was 16. His fan didn’t come from his house . . . Neil used a propeller from an airplane, a real one! Neil was an incredible thinker and explorer!

I never thought my first published book would be about Neil Armstrong. I thought they’d be about ants or dogs or ducks. Surprise!

I got interested in Neil because I used to volunteer at his museum in Wapakoneta. This is from one of their cases. The wooden square is part of a generator Neil built, probably in middle school. The red dog is his Boy Scout scarf, and the tub – that’s what’s left of his wind tunnel.

Neil built it when he was 16. His fan didn’t come from his house . . . Neil used a propeller from an airplane, a real one! Neil was an incredible thinker and explorer!

​Next put the tubes inside the box. Start where the white boxes begin. End before the window. I used golf tubes, the kind that you put into your golf bag so your clubs don’t scratch each other, but you could use any kind of cylinder. Just make sure they’re the same length, then stuff them into your box.

​    Why do you need the tubes? To straighten the wind so you can control the way it hits your model.

​

​You could do this step next, or the one below it.

First, get a fan. Pick one that’s strong enough to feel 30 feet away. This one disappeared. I bought another . . . it was too weak. The wind couldn’t lift my plane, at all.
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Once you have a fan, find a box that fits around it. Duct tape the box to the fan. Then tape it onto the white boxes so they look like my tunnel below.



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​​                                                                                                                            Part 4 – A Wind Tunnel Visit with Me

​Now that you’ve read this post about wind tunnels – can you imagine bringing me in for a school or club visit? I can do them in person, or on zoom. I can tailor your session to cover whatever you need. I taught 2nd grade for 33 years, and I’ve subbed in Preschool through 5th grade. I’ve also done a few clubs and museum visits.
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What would a wind tunnel visit look like? I’d probably start with a picture walk through my book. It gives you a baseline for what a wind tunnel looks like, and an idea for who Neil Armstrong was as a kid, and as a young man.
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​Then I’d pull out my REAL wind tunnel, and we’d play with it. No, I mean – I’d show you how it works the way I have it set up. Then I’d ask you for some ideas to experiment with. We could put my plane in different positions, or try new things that fit inside of it. It’s more fun when you test out your own ideas.

​We’d also use the scientific method (or reading skills) by making a guess or prediction about what the new object would do to my cooking scale. Would it raise the number of grams, or lower them? Next, duh! We’d test our guesses. Then we’d end by examining the data to come up with a conclusion. It’s fun to pretend to be a scientist!

​I can also talk about how to make your own wind tunnel. It’s not hard! If I can make one, you can too! If you don’t need specifics, your kids could tell me how they’d make one, after looking at mine. That’s what I wrote about in part 3 of this post.

If you’d like to make wind tunnels with your kids, I can do that too. I have the materials listed in my book. In fact, if you can get your hands on a copy of it, the back matter can be used to make your own individualized lesson plans.

Part 1 (language arts) tells you what parts of the story are true.  Part 2 and 3 (science or language arts) tell you how to make a primary or more advanced wind tunnel. I also have a link to show you an expensive primary wind tunnel that I wish I’d had when I was teaching 2nd grade. Part 4 (science) gives you some ideas for how to use your wind tunnel. Science can be so much fun! It’s still one of my favorite subjects to teach!

​ Would you like to learn about wind tunnels? What are they? How can you use them? I can talk about them in a visit, or you can take a look at the four photos I wrote about in part 2. Do you recognize this picture or the one below it?

​Have you heard, “If you can be anything, be kind?” I have, and right now it feels like everyone could use a heaping helping of kindness. Here are three quotes from three famous people about kindness.
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​Quote #1  – No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

Who said it? Aesop! You know the one from the fables? This quote came from the moral to “The Lion and the Mouse.” Here’s a recording with information I didn’t include. It’s about a minute long.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes

Aesop was a Greek storyteller who was known for his tales. Someone gathered them together to make Aesop’s Fables. He was born around 620 BC, before Christ. He died around 564 BC or BCE (before the common era). That’s almost 2500 years ago.

Details get lost over time, but Aristotle, Herodotus, and Plutarch wrote about him in their histories, so some details are still known. Aesop started life as a slave, but he was clever enough to win his freedom. He became an adviser to Greek kings and city-states.
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No one is quite sure what Aesop looked like. This is a Greek statue of him. It’s in a collection in Rome, but I’m not sure how old it is. There’s another image of him from a woodcut that was done 1489. It’s below, with my list of sources.

Do you know the story of “The Lion and the Mouse?” It’s #150 on the Perry Index. I’ve never heard of it before, but I like to learn new things. There are 584 fables on the regular list; more on the extended one.

The fable – A mouse wakes up a sleeping lion. Mouse doesn’t want to be a snack so he asks lion to let him go. Lion does, but later he’s caught in a net. Mouse hears his cries and sets him free by chewing through the rope. Lion’s kindness is repaid.
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That’s the first version of the story. Later ones, in English have the mouse asking for freedom, saying he’ll pay lion back someday. Lion of course is tickled that such a tiny creature can help him.
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​Information Sources:
Aesop - Wikipedia        
Aesop's Fables - Wikipedia     
The Lion and the Mouse - Wikipedia 
Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
 
Photo Sources
- Greek Statue - By user:shakko - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5545991
 
- Lion and Mouse Sculpture - By Celeste Hutchins from The Hague, Netherlands - statue 2, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2186911
 
- Woodcut to the left - By File created by me; art by Francis Barlow (died 1704) - The 1687 edition of Aesop's Fables with His Life: in English, French and Latin, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9510028

​

​​Quote #2  – More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

​​
​Who said it? Charlie Chaplin. Have you heard of him? He was a famous actor who starred on stage and screen from the time he was a kid until 1976. That was a year before he died. Sorry, I couldn’t find a recording this time, but if you click this link, you can read their information.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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If you read the information from Daily Inspiration, it’s about this photo from Charlie’s movie The Great Dictator. Charlie wrote the script. The quote about kindness and gentleness is at the end of the movie. Charlie wanted it said in 1940 because of Hitler and World War II. I think it still needs to be said today.
​

Charlie may have become a famous movie star, but he didn’t start out that way. He was born in 1889 in London, England to a pair of music hall performers. His parents separated when he was two, and his dad left the family behind. His mom struggled with money. Charlie was sent to a workhouse twice before he was nine. That’s where you went when you were penniless. They’d give you a place to stay, and work to do.

By the time he was 14, his mom was hospitalized for mental health issues, but a young Charlie was already taking care of himself – He was performing onstage in music halls. By age 19 he signed to do stage work with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company. The famous producer even took him to America.

Charlie soon found his way into silent movies, and by 1918 he was a world-wide star. He was only 29. A year later he went in with three friends to found United Artists. It gave him the freedom to make movies the way he wanted – to write, direct, produce, edit, star in, even compose the music. His movies were known for their slapstick comedy, with a little tragedy/sorrow on the side.
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Charlie has a website. The link: Charlie Chaplin : Official Website
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Information Sources:
Charlie Chaplin - Wikipedia                                                                      
Charlie Chaplin : Official Website
 
Photo Sources
- Charlie starred as Adolf Hitler in The Great Dictator, 1940 – By United Artists - Cropped from File:The Great Dictator publicity still.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29507472
 
- Charlie in City Lights, one of his best movies, 1931 –  By United Artists - www.creativelydifferentblinds.com/TVStageandFilm/CharlieChaplin/CityLights, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19983420
 
- Charlie as The Tramp – his iconic role, 1915 – By Essanay Studios - British Film Institute, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24496648

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​
Who said it? Julia Alvarez. She has published 17 books so far. Most of them are both in English and Spanish. She writes everything – poetry, nonfiction, novels, and picture books. Sorry, I couldn’t find a recording this time either, but if you click this link, you can read the information from Inspiring Quotes.
Link: Daily Inspiration | Inspiring Quotes
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This quote came from her essay an Aha Moment. Julia wrote about a horrible plane ride and the acts of kindness she saw during it. She also noticed how kindness inspires more kindness. Sometimes when life is at its worst, people rise to be their best.
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Julia was born in New York City in 1950, but she moved back to the Dominican Republic when she was 3 months old. Her family lived there for the next 10 years. Julia thrived! Maybe because Domincans value story-telling, and they nurture it too.
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In 1960 Julia’s dad helped with a plot to overthrow the dictator. The plot failed, and her family fled to the US. Can you imagine leaving everything behind?
​

That night Julia lost her home, her language, family and friends, everything she knew. She was homesick in the country she’d been born in, but it wasn’t home. She felt out of place, and people didn’t accept her because she was different.

At school she was discriminated against because she was from Latin America and spoke differently, with an accent. How did Julia cope? She turned to books and literature. She had teachers who liked her writing and encouraged her to keep going.

At age 13 her parents sent her to boarding school. They wanted her to have a better education than the local schools could offer. She also spent every summer visiting the Dominican Republic. Her parents wanted to make sure she kept her heritage and grew up properly.

Those experiences with immigration, new schools, and living in two different worlds found their way into Julia’s books from the Garcia Girls to her Tia books.
​

​

​Information Sources:
Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez - Wikipedia
 
 
Photo Sources
Julia Alvarez

​There’s gold at rindabeach.com . . . not the shiny metal kind. Mine is in the posts and reviews I’ve written. How many gold nuggets could you find on my web site? I just checked my spreadsheet . . . I have written 357, sorry, 358 posts now, across science, social studies, and language arts. I’ve reviewed 264 books altogether –  83 chapter books and 181 picture books. Sorry, 265 now.

​Pinterest used to be the easiest way to find my content. Now I’ve found a better way . . . a spreadsheet! The pieces for each blog post are listed across one line for me, AND they’re searchable.
I wish I could put it online for you, but I can’t lock the content to make it safe and tamper-proof. But, if you need something, message me, and I can look it up!

​ Part 1 – Posts in ABC Order – This is a screenshot of my spreadsheet. It won’t fit in one line on this screen so I took 2 shots of it. I’ve been working on it all summer. I typed in all my blogs. Look at the photo below, and you’ll see the first 4 categories – Post titles, Pinterest boards, Links/location, and Hashtags. Can you tell which one has the least entries. . . Hashtags. I’m just learning how to use them so I’ve only done them for my newer posts. The old ones will have to wait.

​ The 2nd screenshot is the other half of the spreadsheet. It has a list of the book reviews I’ve done. I write one for each post. I pick a book that fits the post. The spreadsheet lists the Book, Link/location, and Pinterest Board. I thought it would be easy to find each book on Pinterest. But not always! Sometimes I look in 2 or 3 places before I find it. That’s why I’m so happy to put this spreadsheet together . . . for me . . .  and for you!

Part 2 – My Videos, Interviews, and Podcasts – I have a spreadsheet for each of these. I wish I could share it with you, but I need to keep it secure.

My Videos – If you look below, you’ll see the screenshot of all the videos I’ve taped. It tells me the title of the post it came from and its link, where you can find it (, anything extra I’ve shared with you), and the link for the video on Facebook. I’m up to 15 videos that I can share with you!
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PS – If you look up at the screenshot from yesterday of the Posts in ABC Order, I note the ones with live videos in red. It’s nice to have it saved twice on the spreadsheet. The whole spreadsheet is saved on my Google drive. It’s good to know that I can find the things I need for you and for me.

​Interviews – The sheet below lists the interviews I’ve done so far. I have eight I can share. Six of them are in print. The other two are podcasts. I have two more yet to find, but it’s great to gather my resources in one place. I have interviews for each of my three books – Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream, Lake Fun for You and Me, and Zoe’s Scavenger Hunt Fun. They’ll give you some behind the scenes information, plus photos. If you’re looking for information, just message me. I’ll look it up and send you the answers either the same day or the next one.

​Podcasts – The final screenshot lists two of the podcasts I’ve taped. They both support Zoe’s Scavenger Hunt Fun, but I have 3 to find from Connie B. Dow. I talked to her about all 3 of my books. 

Tomorrow – Beach Girl’s Treasure Trove of posts, videos, interviews, and podcasts
  And how you can find them. 

In June of 2019 I found out I was going to be a grandma. Images danced through my head; of the things we’d do together. I pasted pictures of a few of them below.

This baby-to-be found a place in my heart. Boy or girl, it didn’t matter. I loved that baby in a way I still can’t explain. An idea for a story started flitting through my head. A story for Baby Beach.
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Part 1 – Time to be Born – My first grandchild arrived in 2019. I live 18 hours away so I imagined stories of what we’d do together. I wrote this one down and sent it into Vivian Kirkfield’s #50 Precious Words Contest in 2020. 

Time to be Born
​​ Baby, can’t sleep?
Here’s a story –
You were tucked in your mama’s belly.        
You twisted and turned.
“It’s time, baby!”
But hours passed,
Then a day. Was it two?
You twisted, tried turning.
“Need a little more room?”
You nodded and decided it was time to be born.

​

​I tried revising it for #50 Precious Words in 2021, but I like this version better. Maybe because I wrote it for my grandchild.

But something’s missing in both versions, something I haven’t captured. There’s something special about the night you’re born. I hope if I let it sit, that I’ll find the spark this story needs.
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I have a new grandchild, and a new idea. It’s something I did with my second graders when I was expecting. Each month I’d tell them about our baby and how it was growing. Maybe I can take that old idea, and make it new again!

​Part 2 – Teaching Grandma – But this time, I won’t be the one doing the teaching. My grandkids will!
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They both live in Texas. That’s 18 hours away from Ohio. I won’t be the granny who sees them all the time, who knows them in-and-out. I’ll be the one they meet on a computer screen.
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My grandkids are so little. They’re at an age where I’m a stranger. The last time I saw them, we were there for a weekend, long enough to get acquainted. The next time I see them, I’ll be a stranger again.

​I never had a grandma, and my two grandpas lived hours away. They paid more attention to the adults. Maybe they didn’t know how to talk, or to play with me.

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But I spent a lifetime teaching 2nd grade. OK, it was only 33 years. 😊 But I do know how to talk, or to play with kids. Whenever I had a shy kid, I waited for them to warm-up to me. I was there. I was supportive, but I let them set the relationship where they needed it to be.
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When my kids came in for a class visit, they were preschoolers. I asked my 2nds to give them space, to let them warm up to them. I did the same when pets visited the classroom. Too much stimulation is scary, for kids and pets!

​​ So when I visit my grands, in-person or virtually, I let them set the pace and decide what we do. That’s what I did when we were there in July. I watched them, but my husband copied what they were doing. (OOPS! I forgot!)

But it worked! Smart man! They played with him first. They even let him pick them up – all because they controlled the situation.
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The best part – when things got diaper or meltdown tricky – you passed them back to their parents. I’ve heard being a grandparent is great, AND, it’s true!
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That visit gave me the idea for the next baby book, for my grandchildren and yours. We aren’t the only grandparents who live a computer screen away, and I’d love to help the little ones. The old ones too.
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I haven’t started it yet. I’m letting the idea sit at the back of my head. When it’s time, I’ll know, and I’ll start writing . . . Soon . . . I hope . . . Fingers crossed!