Tiny actions adding up to build a kinder society, the comeback of the Great Lakes Piping plover population, and art as therapy are a few of the interesting stories I’ve enjoyed in the past month.
I hope you enjoy them, too!
What I Found Interesting
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Do you remember how you felt when a stranger smiled when they held the door open for you when you entered your community library?
Or the good feeling you had when the friendly store cashier chatted with you at checkout?
Known as a microkindnesses, those tiny actions add up to build a kinder society.
They’re brief, benefit someone else, and don’t cost or risk anything.
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In summer 2018, I was thrilled to see my first-ever Piping plovers scurrying along the shoreline of Lake Michigan in western Michigan.
I’m always happy to read stories about the Great Lakes Piping plover population making a comeback. Especially when the story highlights conservation efforts of the Detroit Zoological Society.
Ten percent of the wild nesting population are actually birds that we reared through the salvage rearing program.
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Butterick, Simplicity, McCall’s, and Vogue (all pattern companies) were a big part of my life during my teenage and early adult life. I sewed blouses, skirts, pants, dresses, costumes, shirts, and pants.
The story about Abbie Small who dragged the four big pattern companies out of bankruptcy caught my attention and I wrote about Small and Simplicity Creative Group in October 2025.
Small served as head of Simplicity Creative Group for six months before leaving in March 2026.
Folks in the sewing community must be relieved; she’s left the business in good shape.
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It’s an old principle: use the stable temperature of the earth to keep food cool.
The underground fridge known as the Ground Fridge keeps food cool, even during a heat wave.
It has the capacity of a dozen family-sized refrigerators. Only a few have been installed in continental Europe.
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In 2019, Cheryl Blacklock wasn’t feeling well and drove herself to hospital. After surgery for brain aneurysms, she now lives with acquired brain injury.
When she discovered she could no longer process information easily, she resigned from her job as an accountant.
Blacklock turned to painting and found therapy in art, something she enjoyed during high school.
My artistic talents have definitely increased a lot since my surgery and the direction of my art is one I would have never thought to take previously.
