I've been thinking about the color associations lately (blame Hanukkah, I guess), and musing on the color yellow. We use it for support and solidarity, and in Jewish spaces, it's often been a color thrust upon us by oppressors. But despite that, we echo it in messages of hope and perseverance.

I had the lovely experience of chatting with some Scouts tonight about entrepreneurship, writing, and illustrating. ❤️ #scouting #meritbadge

New Hanukkah stuff in more than just blue - golems, latkes, sufganiyot, goblins! I’m Cold, so you get sweaters. It's Mom Thermodynamics. www.martifuerst.com/hanukkah

Husband: Imagine the Grinch in a Jewish Who's home, grabbing a plate of gefilte fish and going, "What the heck is this?" Me: You don't eat gefilte fish on Hanukkah. Husband: YOU EAT GEFILTE FISH ON EVERY HOLIDAY.

Had my own little "lunch and learn" today and attended the amazing discussion on @miriamudel.bsky.social 's new book on Yiddish #kidlit with Miriam and @marjorieingall.bsky.social hosted by the YIVO institute. Thank you so much for an inspirational and delightful hour!

Hey all - Shabbat Shalom. I'm back and trying to be more intentional with my social media use. I wanted to do the Librarian Thing and share some information that I think is important. 🧵

Doing my Friday afternoon grocery run, and this Friday is a payday. Destiny's Child's Bills, Bills, Bills plays on the intercom. I feel like this shouldn't be allowed.

I've been listening to a lot of 90s stuff recently with my kiddos, and my son has developed a love for Fastball's The Way (❤️). My daughter is concerned about the fate of the children in the second verse. "But what if they get hungry and can't drive anywhere because they don't know!"

Expecting sketchbooks to eventually be "finished" is contrary to their purpose. Sketchbooks are tools used to practice, doodle, and refine ideas. They're scratch paper pads or composition notebooks filled with random stories and poems and half-baked ideas. #kidlitart #art

This hound is too comfortable.

Wishing you all a joyful and restorative Shabbat. ❤️ #shabbatshalom #crochet #matzahballsoup

Is it #kidlitartpostcard day? I think it is? I have been working on a lot of different projects lately. One involves this pig crossing the alps on a unicorn. I'm #seekingrepresentation and #amquerying. You can see more of my work at martifuerst.com.

I want 6 peice travel fruit snack packs that D3, B12, and multivitamins.

Setting expectations - I take unannounced haituses from social media for my brain. Social media creates pressure for artists and creators - to post, engage, network, and grow. It's draining. I'm being an electronic introvert at the moment. Imagine me at the party in the other room petting the 🐕

Hey, Seacoast! I'm hanging out in the classroom of Manchester Craft Market until 1:30 today. Come say hi, check out my new #kidlit book, and meet so many amazing local authors!

Hey, #kidlitart - I'm having an idea. How would y'all feel about a monthly art prompt to stretch, get out of our comfort zones, and just have fun while making cool art?

I started listening to The Twisted Ones by @tkingfisher.com and am thankful for the early assurance that not only does Bongo the Hound survive the weirdness, but is heroic. Because dogs, but also hounds. ❤️

Unwinding after a fun-filled mother's day by reading Weird Medieval Guys by @weirdmedieval.bsky.social with my changeling child.

My son wrote me a #mothersday acrostic prose poem. ❤️

I need some joy today, y'all. I know it's the 80th anniversary of VE Day, and while we are our past, we are also so much more. Coinciding events this week have me feeling drained and discouraged. Help me out #allies and #jewsky - what do we have to celebrate? What #jewishjoy can we spread?

I'm so thankful that my entry is a #pbparty honorable mention for the final showcase! Thank you so much for all the work you and your #kidlit team, @mindyalyseweiss.bsky.social and @sylviaichen.bsky.social ! ❤️ Time make some little tweaks and bigger edits so that the story is even better. 🌌🩳👾

This is delightful

(I'm still counting the #Omer - I just don't always post. ❤️)

Today is 19 days of the #Omer we're talking about humility in compassion. Being in a position to provide tiferet doesn't make you better than the recipient. You are a creation that needs compassion, so you're able to give it. Tiferet is not arrogant nor a tool in power dynamics. Give anonymously.

Happy #KidLitArtPostcard Day! My name is Marti, and I'm an author/illustrator looking to pivot from #selfpub to #tradpub. I love playing with lots of different media, both traditional and digital. Have a watercolor chicken!

Today is day 17 of the #Omer - we are thinking about the compassion of compassion. Compassion is limitless and selfless, undefined by your own needs and perspective.

AHH! I'll be at Halfway to Halloween with my new #kidlit book Mindful Precautions for Practical Magic this Saturday at the Bookery Manchester!

A king vulture chick has hatched at WCS’s Bronx Zoo, the first since the 1990’s. As seen here, staff are hand-raising it using puppet, a technique developed more than 40 years ago. This helps prevent the young bird from imprinting on humans. bit.ly/4jXvMu0 🌎

Today is 16 days of the #Omer - Gevurah of Tiferet. If we don't exercise discipline in our compassion, we can burn out. We also need to make sure we are expressing compassion in a way that the recipient needs, with them as the focus, not ourselves. Basically, don't virtue-signal.

Today is 15 days of the #Omer, and we're thinking about the lovingkindess of compassion. Compassion should be rooted in love, not pity. So much of the Omer meditations are remembering to treat everyone (including ourselves) like humans. What is hateful to you, do not do to others. ❤️

#DnD and #watercolors. Painting a chicken and figuring out why this town is so weird.

Today is 14 days, which is 2 weeks, of the #Omer - malchut of gevurah. Nobility in discipline is about building up self-esteem. Gevurah shouldn't tear someone down, but rather reinforce and edify them. Through discipline we find and grow the nobility within us.

Today is 13 days of the #Omer - yesod of gevurah. What is the foundation of your discipline/judgment? Does it bring you closer to others, or does it create distance? Be constructive with your feedback and goals, and remember that we're all in this together.

Today is 12 days of the #Omer, and we're talking about humility in discipline/judgment. If you're in a position to pass judgment on someone else, do so selflessly, without bias. If you're doing the human thing where we form negative opinions about others - search yourself for arrogance and bias.

I am so ready for spring.

Today is day 11 of the #Omer - netzach of gevurah - endurance of discipline. I'm terrible at making grand plans and goals and not following through. This is something I need to work on. Examine your habits and routines and try to go more than a few days with them.

Today is 10 days of the #Omer. Tiferet is compassion, which is another driver of discipline. We strive to be better because of self-love or love for others, and that same love provides restraint to make sure goals are attainable. Examine the expectations you've set for yourself and others.

Today is 9 days of the #Omer - Gevurah of gevurah. Time to get meta! Are you excessively disciplined or not disciplined enough? Too much rigidity can lead to obsession. We need to have some measure of flexibility, but order is also important. Make a to-do list and 🎉 your accomplishments.

Today is day 8 of the #Omer. This week is about Gevurah - discipline, judgment, and restraint. Today we think about the chesed of gevurah. Discipline - in ourselves and others - comes from a place of ❤️ and desire for us all to be our best. Examine the roots of your criticism. Is it coming from ❤️?

I love taking my son to art museums. ❤️ This is the Ral Colon exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

Today is day 7 of the #Omer - Malchut of Chesed. Sovereignty of lovingkindness is leadership and actualization. It is awareness of how your love affects the world around you. ❤️

Today is day 6 of the #Omer. The Yesod of Chesed is the foundation of love, made up of the previous aspects - compassion, strength, harmony, endurance, and humility. Look at the foundation of your love through the lenses of the previous sefirot. Find activities that strengthen your bonds.

Today is day 5 of the #Omer. Hod has many interpretations - sincerity, gratitude, and humility. Hod provides depth to Chesed. Sincere ❤️ has depth. Gratitude that comes from ❤️ not obligation has depth. Humility frees us from the 🔒 of arrogance so we can admit when we're wrong. Reconcile. Thank. ❤️.

Getting ready to send some #snailmail to my pen pals and did some quick watercolor tidbits to include. ❤️ #kidlitart #alwaysdrawing

Today is day 4 of the #Omer - Netzach of Chesed. We think about the endurance of ❤️. Do we burn out? How do we weather the ups and downs in relationships? Do we commit and put in the work, or do we give up when the going gets tough? Reach out to someone you haven't talked to in awhile to catch up.

Today is the third day of the #Omer. Tiferet is harmony - the combination of compassion and self-discipline applied to loving kindness. It is the balance of gevurah and chesed in #chesed. Be kind to yourself. You're doing your best, and so is everyone else. ❤️

YOU CAN PET THE DOG IN BLUE PRINCE. @blueprincegame.bsky.social ❤️ (NGL, devs, if went in that room and saw them and didn't relax until I pet one successfully.) @canyoupetthedog.com

Is "schlepmobile" redundant?

Today is the 2nd day of the #Omer. #jewsky Gevurah in Chesed - the effort of love. Think about the discipline and strength it takes to ❤️ someone - anyone. Find the good in people and ❤️ them for it. ❤️ even when it is hard. Stay safe - you are not obligated to ❤️ the wicked, but do not hate either.

It is #BookFair time, and my eldest announced he is going to buy I Survived The Great Molasses Flood. I'm considering this a #parenting win. #kidlit