Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

"When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free." - Charles Evans Hughes
Did you know that Kevlar was invented by a woman named Stephanie Kwolek in 1965? In honor of Women’s History Month, and because I am a total science geek at heart, I encourage you to read more about her on The Science History Institutes blog page. As a chemist for DuPont laboratories, she was tasked with investigating the next generation of fibers capable of performing in extreme conditions, and she came up with Kevlar! In 1995 she was induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995, only the 4th woman of 113 members at the time. One of Kwolek’s most cited papers describes how to demonstrate condensation polymerization in a beaker at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (a lot of words for a fairly straightforward reaction). It’s commonly called the ‘Nylon Rope Trick,’ and it is one of the experiments I remember distinctly replicating in Organic Chemistry class many years ago!
This Saturday, our youngest child will turn 21. This age, for the obvious reason that she can now legally join us at bars, feels more significant than 18. And, don’t worry, we’ve already taught her to mix a good martini! When I think about Kyra, aside from her incredible musical talent, her voice like an angel, her own unique style and vibe, and her intellectual prowess, I think about her kindness. In a world where cruelty still holds sway, this child of ours is thoughtful, caring, intentional, and above all, kind. Happy birthday, sweet Kyra. You are a beautiful, bright light, and this world is a better place because you’re in it.
I’ll be heading to Folsom, CA this week for a ‘sister’ visit. Since Ray and I have been on the road, we’ve definitely spent time with family and friends all over the country, but I used to go to my sister’s a couple of times a year for girl time, and I’ve really missed that. My visit just so happens to coincide with Persian New Year, so I expect I will barely be able to zip my jeans after partaking in the fabulous feast! I’ll try to post some photos of the delish dishes over on Insta.
We’re at the midpoint in the semester for school, just finishing our Science Fiction and Fantasy sections and heading into Horror. Mostly, I really dislike the genre, but I have on occasion loved a horror story. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” sticks with me still. The Stand is an all-time favorite read, and I tore through What Moves the Dead, a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher for class last week. I think I dislike horror because I want to love a flawed character, who in the end comes through on the side of good. With horror, the characters can serve another purpose. Horror writing often features characters who are unlikeable, or who have a fatal flaw, who are the victim, or who are themselves the horror. Funny enough, I notice in my own horror writing, I too use character differently. Charlie, from my short story “Goodbye Charlie,” which you can listen to HERE (my story starts at 18:40) is not my favorite guy, but he’s right for his role. And in “Monster” (coming soon on the Tales to Terrify podcast), both the characters of Cora and Mama are pretty monstrous. Studying Horror is certainly helping me understand the genre better, if not enjoy it more.

So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel
In honor of Women’s History Month, and in keeping with my own love of all things nerdy, I encourage you to read about Vera Rubin, an astronomer whose research proved the existence of dark matter. Dark matter is a mysterious substance that’s believed to make up more than a quarter of the universe. It outweighs regular matter, and it plays an important role in galaxy formation and the evolution of the universe. Born in 1928, and coming of age in the ‘40s, Rubin faced extraordinary challenges as a woman working in a male dominated field. Her life and accomplishments are well-chronicled in this article on the National Women’s History Museum webpage. Check it out here: Vera Rubin. In honor of her achievements, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in Chile has been named the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
Looking ahead to March, I’ve got a lot of school work to complete before spring break, so I’ll have my nose to the grindstone, so to speak. After break, it will be time to narrow down my thesis project ideas. For this MFA program, the thesis is a full-length novel, and I’ll need to present a minimum of three proposals to the program director. It’s exciting to know I’ll have the backing of my classmates and a thesis mentor as I work on this project, but per usual, until I have the idea locked down and the outline solid in my head, I’ll be a little stressed!
I’m also currently writing a synopsis for a novel work-in-progress. When I went back to school, I left this particular project at the half-way mark. Now, I have to think it through and outline the second half of the book. I’m excited to do it, but it’s also daunting, especially when my creative energy is taxed to the limit at the moment. I am really excited about this particular story though, so wish me luck!
We had our first real taste of a wind storm here in the desert. It didn’t happen with a big burst of energy, but rather it was more of a sustained, day-long gusty event. We had to make an emergency leaf-blower purchase to clean the dust and dirt from our outdoor living space, which had about a half inch of accumulated grit on every surface. Mother Nature does her thing pretty much everywhere!

Five Things - March 17, 2025

Five Things - March 3, 2025