Denise Milliner

@millinerd “Chart.”

@SketchesbyBoze I should correct myself: start with Eleanor Parker and everything else will fall into place.

@misorganized It's true, there's a shocking amount of lore, history and language in Macbeth for instance. Reading one of Eleanor Parker's books, I was very pleased to learn the true story of the minor character Lennox.

@Utterly_Jean @ewahlwriting @IvanaDGreco Knowing the plot of Frankenstein, for example, doesn’t mean you understand what’s happening in Frankenstein.

Abridged books are an excellent entry into stories that would otherwise be above a child’s reading and comprehension level. This is not undervaluing the child. This is recognizing that older classics are written in both language and style that is not usually accessible for children in 2026. If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to read the first chapter of the unabridged Treasure Island. The vocabulary and syntax is simply too much for your average 9-year old. Thus, people who are serious about putting their children in a place where they understand and embrace important classics, including Treasure Island, Shakespeare, and the Bible, almost always do the following: 1. Start with abridged versions (Bible stories for children, Great Illustrated Classics, graphic novel versions of Shakespeare); 2. Consider showing adapted movie version to make children familiar with the plot; 3. With extensive, very challenging texts like Shakespeare: begin with fun and accessible excerpts of the original texts; 4. After steps 1-3 are completed, move onto the original texts, doing whatever handholding is necessary to help the (presumably tween or teen) understand and enjoy the original, unabridged book or play. This is teaching children while being grounded in *reality,* which is an important skill. I will accept anecdotes that this wasn’t necessary for your child (congratulations on having an unusual and bright kid) but this is the normal and easiest way to do it.

@MystagogicalB Caroline Chambers has a tasty paywalled recipe for shawarma beef lettuce wraps (with riced cauliflower mixed in with the beef to beef up the veg) but it’s really just ground beef cooked with shawarma spices and wrapped in lettuce. So good.

@matthew_loftus My very happy marriage depends on each knowing that we do not do these things well together. Every one puts a definite strain on our relationship as we have very different ways of approaching a problem. But knowing this makes us much more generous towards our unique gifts.

Canoeing is a another good one. It's remarkable how much you learn about yourself and your relationship with someone trying to paddle a watercraft in the same direction.

@lyndseyfifield The biggest problem is that if you want to live a rich and full home life you do need stuff - books, games, instruments, jars of jam. Living in Brambly Hedge requires plenty of tidying.

Raise your hand if you’re trying to make your house look like Brambly Hedge.

@ChHouseBooks Narration is great for younger kids for sure

Narration is a much better solution!

“I’m just going to check the score of the ball game before I go to bed.”

@scottlincicome No.

This whole article on the rise of 'super premium' ($60/lb!) butter is hilarious: bloomberg.com/news/features/… "The world is on fire. We have butter and cheese."

@kapeters0n @FrontPorchRepub This is wonderful, Kelsey. Well done!