A Stitching Up a Storm Weekly Link Round-Up

 

Not much to say this week. My nieces in the UK are suffering through a heat wave. Although the temperatures are nowhere near what they are here in Phoenix, I feel for them because, not only are they not used to such heat,  neither are they prepared for it. I doubt Phoenix would be the metropolis it is without the invention of air conditioning, but countries with little experience of heat haven't had any reason to adapt for it. 

Yes, I've been stitching up a storm on those needlepoint tissue box covers. My home health nurse kept looking covetously at one of the completed ones, so I'll be making her one, too. I send progress report photos to the person I'm making them for, and he's shown them to some of his friends. From the sound of it, I could have myself a booming cottage industry if I wanted. However, I don't want to. I tried that before, and I grew sick to death of making the same thing over and over. Using different color combinations wasn't enough to encourage me to keep on stitching for profit.

Here's a photo of three of the requested five that I've completed.

Looking at them, you wouldn't believe I used the exact same pattern on all three, would you?

Virtual hugs to you all. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Can social media influencers save public schools?
• Are public libraries becoming children's libraries?
• The New Yorker has a new books newsletter called What We're Reading.
• An experimental brain implant allows people with paralysis to type their thoughts with their minds.
• Utah banned another book from all public schools, bringing the list to 28. Here's what it's about.
• HBO's Harry Potter trailer reveals the new cast and a surprise Christmas premiere date.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists have discovered evidence that a wooden prototype for Stonehenge may have aligned with the solstice 500 years before the stone circle.
• An ancient Egyptian stone monument depicting a Roman emperor as a pharaoh was discovered in Luxor.
• A 6-year-old boy spotted something sticking out of the ground in a field. It turned out to be a Viking sword.
• The Mask of Mictlantecuhtli: a 500-year-old mask of the Aztec god of the underworld, who tore apart the dead as they entered his realm.
• Archaeologists discovered a second cannonball from the Battle of the Alamo, and it was likely fired by Texans.
• Are these the earliest known dice in the world? Native Americans may have used them to play games of chance more than 12,000 years ago.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• These butterflies can live 25 times longer than their relatives. They might provide insights into healthy aging in humans.
• Female dolphins seem to remember which males were aggressive during mating season-- and may try to avoid them.
• A border collie named Milo goes to great lengths to complete his human's fetch challenges.
• Male bowerbirds in Australian cities are turning human trash into treasure to impress potential mates. (I've loved bowerbirds ever since watching one of Sir David Attenborough's documentaries.)
• Ants can get distracted by cookies, chips, and other junk food. Here's why that could be a problem for the environment.
• See the first-ever photographs of Cozumel's elusive dwarf fox, one of the rarest canids in the world.

►The Wanderer◄

• Major Oak, the 1,200-year-old tree with ties to the Robin Hood legend, is presumed dead after failing to produce leaves.
• Hidden tunnels dating back to Henry VIII's reign were discovered at this English boarding school, where the king once lived.
• Welcome to Pieve Santo Stefano, Italy's "City of Diaries."
• The ghost roads of Ireland's Great Famine.
• To see the magnificence and majesty of Machu Picchu without the hike, check out these amazing images.
• Literary travel ideas for every kind of book lover. 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Rollerena, New York's fairy godmother.
• By signing his name to massive jars, enslaved artist David Drake defied literacy bans in the South. Now, his masterpiece is on view with a famed Paul Revere bowl.
• Sequoyah, the man who created a written language for the Cherokee, did it so efficiently and elegantly, his peers thought it was magic.
• Andrea Wulf considers the rare humanity of 18th-century naturalist George Forster.
• 13 surprising facts about famous naturalist (and one of my heroes), Sir David Attenborough.
• "I will not comply": librarian Luanne James fights the censorship demands of the Rutherford County library system's board.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 7 historical figures accused of witchcraft.
• 6 common misconceptions about the Beatles.
• 7 Australian crime dramas to binge watch tonight.
• 6 suspense novels about art, museums, and forgers.
• The 5 greatest fictional recurring characters, according to Alison Gaylin.
• The must-read biographies and memoirs of Summer 2026.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!