Helen Sonner
@helensonner.bsky.social
Medical writer by vocation and cultural historian by avocation. More often than not, these are one and the same. Enjoying the blue sky.
Pumpkin-carving for the hand-eye-coordination challenged
October 4, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Pumpkin-carving for the hand-eye-coordination challenged
NYER crossword puzzle clue today: “With hands on hips” - thanks to @bcdreyer.social last week I got it, even tho up to last week I thought it meant this
September 30, 2025 at 12:49 AM
NYER crossword puzzle clue today: “With hands on hips” - thanks to @bcdreyer.social last week I got it, even tho up to last week I thought it meant this
It’s all Greek to me – Plato and Socrates tackle a Captcha test: the Stephen Collins cartoon | Life and style | The Guardian share.google/IqCgDpXBPR36...
August 15, 2025 at 5:38 PM
It’s all Greek to me – Plato and Socrates tackle a Captcha test: the Stephen Collins cartoon | Life and style | The Guardian share.google/IqCgDpXBPR36...
TIL about this phrase, "corn sweat"
July 25, 2025 at 7:55 PM
TIL about this phrase, "corn sweat"
The legend for this US CDC graphic is confusing. Why list categories in this order: Moderate, Low, Very High, High, Minimal? The CDC is (supposedly) in the business of providing clear health information.
December 30, 2024 at 12:20 AM
The legend for this US CDC graphic is confusing. Why list categories in this order: Moderate, Low, Very High, High, Minimal? The CDC is (supposedly) in the business of providing clear health information.
Been craving one since Season 1, Episode 1, of The Bear.
December 7, 2024 at 5:04 PM
Been craving one since Season 1, Episode 1, of The Bear.
Alas, I couldn't get a reservation for a bath at the Ancient Roman Bathhouse, and I wasn't willing to give George Washington's bath a try, so perhaps next time.
December 1, 2024 at 6:27 PM
Alas, I couldn't get a reservation for a bath at the Ancient Roman Bathhouse, and I wasn't willing to give George Washington's bath a try, so perhaps next time.
1855 sketch of the bathkeeper at Berkeley Springs (now West) Virginia: "The top of the grove fence is the horizon of his world, and his head contains but one full-grown, all-absorbing idea, that the chief end of man is to bathe."
December 1, 2024 at 6:21 PM
1855 sketch of the bathkeeper at Berkeley Springs (now West) Virginia: "The top of the grove fence is the horizon of his world, and his head contains but one full-grown, all-absorbing idea, that the chief end of man is to bathe."
Not for the first time, I wish George Starbuck were still around.
November 19, 2024 at 10:15 PM
Not for the first time, I wish George Starbuck were still around.
16 years ago, my father agreed to adopt my cat, making it possible for me to take a mid-life sabbatical and run off to Ireland and get a PhD. I am now repaying that karma, taking care of a 17-year-old cat while his permanent human spends a year traveling. Meet Monkey.
July 11, 2024 at 5:21 PM
16 years ago, my father agreed to adopt my cat, making it possible for me to take a mid-life sabbatical and run off to Ireland and get a PhD. I am now repaying that karma, taking care of a 17-year-old cat while his permanent human spends a year traveling. Meet Monkey.
US publication day finally arrived. Can't wait to get started. #KevinBarry
July 9, 2024 at 8:38 PM
US publication day finally arrived. Can't wait to get started. #KevinBarry
And perhaps no one has ever been more heartbreaking playing a person with absolutely no sense of humor. Hits in her last scene. (Voiceover: "My Aunt Kate was inconsolable. Inconsolable.")
April 4, 2024 at 12:30 AM
And perhaps no one has ever been more heartbreaking playing a person with absolutely no sense of humor. Hits in her last scene. (Voiceover: "My Aunt Kate was inconsolable. Inconsolable.")
Pollen only vaguely present on solid land, here in coastal Virginia, but look what the recent rains did to the river. The pending yellow deluge is coming.
April 1, 2024 at 6:21 PM
Pollen only vaguely present on solid land, here in coastal Virginia, but look what the recent rains did to the river. The pending yellow deluge is coming.
When I lived in Belfast, I learned to look for the snow drops to bloom, as heralds of spring. They aren't common in this part of Virginia, but I stumbled on these this weekend. A little worse for the wear from last week's freeze, but who isn't?
January 30, 2024 at 1:14 PM
When I lived in Belfast, I learned to look for the snow drops to bloom, as heralds of spring. They aren't common in this part of Virginia, but I stumbled on these this weekend. A little worse for the wear from last week's freeze, but who isn't?
"Midwinter spring is its own season /
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown...."
T.S. Eliot
"Little Gidding"
Four Quartets
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown...."
T.S. Eliot
"Little Gidding"
Four Quartets
January 29, 2024 at 6:46 PM
"Midwinter spring is its own season /
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown...."
T.S. Eliot
"Little Gidding"
Four Quartets
Sempiternal though sodden towards sundown...."
T.S. Eliot
"Little Gidding"
Four Quartets
Heron trying to make the most of the sluggish koi fish after the pond's sudden thaw
January 26, 2024 at 4:46 PM
Heron trying to make the most of the sluggish koi fish after the pond's sudden thaw
"At sunset, in some atmospheric conditions, the horizontal rays would for a few moments turn everything saffron—but everything. The earth, the sky, the turf stacks, the white-washed cottage, all momentarily would glow into glory...." TH White quote, interpretive sign @ Ballycroy National Park
December 24, 2023 at 7:25 PM
"At sunset, in some atmospheric conditions, the horizontal rays would for a few moments turn everything saffron—but everything. The earth, the sky, the turf stacks, the white-washed cottage, all momentarily would glow into glory...." TH White quote, interpretive sign @ Ballycroy National Park
I have fallen in love, once again, with Dun Laoghaire.
December 19, 2023 at 5:01 PM
I have fallen in love, once again, with Dun Laoghaire.