The first time I read ‘Little Women’,
of course I loved it,
being an avid reader of anything
and everything.
Other books came and went . . .
‘Call of The Wild’, ‘Journey to The Mushroom Planet’,
‘Wild Animals I Have Known’, ‘The Little Prince’,
‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ . . .
then later,
‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Lord of the Flies’,
‘My Antonia’ . . .
‘In Cold Blood’,’Watership Down’,
‘Catcher in The Rye’,
‘Couples’,’Fear of Flying’ . . .
‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’;
and oh,
so many,
so many more.
They filled my heart and soul
with excitement, joy,
pain and desire . . .
they opened my eyes
to visions I had never imagined.
They took me to faraway lands
and distant stars.
It wasn’t until later,
one day,
perhaps when I was bored,
I picked up a book I had read some years ago,
and re-read it,
cover to cover.
I discovered new worlds
and new perspectives
from visiting the book again,
and came away
with a deeper understanding of what was written inside.
I’ve done this many times now,
and often
it’s like reading a completely different story . . .
discovering new insights
and new ways of thinking about things.
This gift
came to me unbidden,
and now it has bled into other areas of my life,
making my worldview more fluid,
flexible,
and open to the vast paradox
of the Universe
and all it holds . . .
nothing is as it seems. ♥
I’ve read many of these, including Journey to the Mushroom Planet. As soon as I read the title one of the moments in the book popped into my head. We carry them with us as we go on with our lives.
I’m getting ready for a long flight and one of the things I did was download the entire Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin for a rereading binge. I read and reread the trilogy in my younger years. I somehow hadn’t realized she’d written more after the first trilogy and Tales from Earthsea and I’m looking forward to revisiting the world she created and experiencing even more.
I’ve had bad experiences rereading beloved books but I count on LeGuin’s work to hold up. While reading the Little House books to my daughters when they were young, I encountered Ma’s racism and had to make up new lines on the fly so as not to share those biases with them. I don’t recall now whether I noticed it when I was younger. I’ve always entered pretty wholeheartedly into the lives in the books and movies I read or watch and I imagine I wasn’t a critical reader at age 9, or whatever I was.
I can’t believe
that you read ‘Journey to The Mushroom Planet’,
dear Barb.
It was such an obscure book
so long ago . . .
it brought a smile to my face. 🙂
There were so many others I wanted to list,
and I loved the writings of Ursula LeGuin too.
I hope she keeps you good company on your flight. ♥
The ability to work from home. My son had txt me after I fell asleep last night that he injured his foot playing soccer. Thankfully I was able to txt my boss that I would like to work from home today. He is fine but it is nice to know that I have that option when needed.
I generally have my yoga students roll their wrists around and wiggle their fingers, reminding them to be thankful for all of the many things our hands do for us. The outside stuff can be especially fun 🙂
Ngoc and SunnyPatti both mentioned their coffee cups. I have quite a few even after downsizing my collection, accumulated over the years from events and trips.
The one I use most often is from a Smithsonian National Museum of American History I got on a trip to DC years ago. From an exhibit on the history of the bicycle, it shows the original drawings of the “velocipède” patented Nov. 20, 1866, by F. Lallemente. This was the first pedal-powered bicycle, although the pedals were attached to the front wheel. (The first invention that led to the bicycle as we know it, patented by German Karl Drais, was called a Laufmaschine (German for ‘running machine’) and was a balance bike–you stood astride it and pushed the ground with your feet to move it.)
The cup exemplifies my love of history as well as bicycling (and coffee!), my work in active transportation, and also the wonderful opportunities I’ve had over the years to go to conferences in DC. When I do that I get to stay with one of my brothers and his wife because they live in Virginia in the greater DC area, an easy Metro ride away from the places the conferences are typically held. I’ll stay over an extra day or two to spend time with them and to tourist around.
Being prompted to look more closely at my cup brought a smile to my face with the memories.
I have an appointment with the dentist today. I am always uncomfortable with dental appointments because anxiety sets in because I have a large cervical fusion and keeping my mouth open for long periods and turning my head so he can see into my mouth, etc. is very difficult for me. I have had a tooth ache since last Friday so I expect this appointment will involve a major procedure. I will focus on the fact that he is not doing something to me but with me. I am part of the needed process today and I will do my best to be thankful, relax and cooperate.
I will be thinking of you , Carol with a prayer. Dental procedures also make me anxious (and many others). Know we are “rooting” for you… (hope that made you smile).
It’s wonderful,
dear Nanette,
to see your name here today . . .
we have all wondered how you are doing,
and are very grateful
that you have made an appearance today
with love . . . ♥
sparrow
My home and all it’s “stuff”. What does it all represent? Are there things that could go…things that someone else could be using or that could brings someone else joy, when for me they are just space-holders? And other items need more care than I am giving them, For though they are just things, they also represent people, places and events in our lives that are dear now and in cherished memory.
I just finished an almond croissant from the neighborhood bakery that I picked up yesterday while on a walk so I’d have a treat this morning. I paid attention to its tender, buttery texture, the sweetness of the almond paste, the light crunch of the sliced almonds on top, the aroma that came from it after a tiny warm-up in the microwave. Delicious.
Yram, I was thinking of what would be familiar that I could be grateful for. We are traveling again this winter and I am in a new place but also it is somewhere that I have visited on prior trips. Thank you! We are going out this morning and I will be aware of the food I have at lunch. We will be with friends that we have not seen in a year…Gratefulness is very easy. Wishing you a good day.
I’m sure,
dear Nanette,
that you will have a new perspective
when you travel to the place you have been before,
also
when you meet again
the friends who have been absent from your life
for almost a year. ♥
I think about that sometimes too,
dear Richard.
The utter simplicity of it
sounds so freeing . . .
I watched the monks for peace
arriving at their home a day or two ago,
and those moments
gave me great joy. ♥
I would say it’s my coffee mug. I start my day with my hot coffee, and I realized I have only used that mug for years since I moved into Loc’s family. The mugs were given to Loc and me. His says: “Mr. Right!” Mine says: “Mrs. Always Right!” I can tell how cute and silly the mugs are. 🥤
Thanks for one of my first laughs of the morning, Ngoc!
The first laugh came when my husband looked at our cat, who was racing through the house, and said, “He’s got his zoomy pants on this morning!”. I’ll add “Mr. Zoomy Pants” to the running list of nicknames for him that has grown over the years.
The coffee mug I’m drinking out of. We have lots of fun mugs at our house, but the one I’m using now has a feathered design and the words, “All you need is love” on it 🪶🧡
For the Coast Salish tribes whose lands I live on this is the Frog Moon. I looked that up last night on our way back from a dinner date, and as we stepped out of the car the froggy peepers were peeping their hearts out. The sound of spring!
The snow has melted in the Twin Cities. I can see the grass with a refreshed perspective. Spring is coming early this year. One of my friends from McNally Smith College of Music in Abdul and I were talking about getting together last week when the weather warms up.
God hears every conversation and sees every interaction among us. Knowing that, he decided to give the Twin Cities an early warm up. Knowing Abdul and me, he wants us to see each other. He feels that both of us are great for each other. Abdul is a guitar player who uses music to heal the soul which is how it should be used for. He’s calm and just tells it like it is.
With that being said, Abdul and I are going to have lunch together on Saturday, and he’ll take me straight to my 2pm-5pm Menards piano shift.
My home, my patio and the foliage around my home. I often take for granted all my husband and I have built and maintained simply from being amidst it day to day. If I could see it with a fresh perspective, I hope to notice not the flaws, but the hard work and sacrifice it took to have it.
Yes! I realized last year I spend so much time working in the yard I don’t often simply sit down and enjoy it with a book and a glass of lemonade. I enjoy making it better–this year I intend to enjoy the fruits of my labors more often.
I think I need to work on that too this year,
dear ladies . . .
thank you for the suggestion.
I work and work and work,
and then feel too tired to relax and enjoy. ♥
The lovely display of colours all around me . The blue sky and all its shades of blue are wonderfully beautiful! This spring feeling of things growing and changing constantly is magical! Thank you universe for this wondrous life!
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The first time I read ‘Little Women’,
of course I loved it,
being an avid reader of anything
and everything.
Other books came and went . . .
‘Call of The Wild’, ‘Journey to The Mushroom Planet’,
‘Wild Animals I Have Known’, ‘The Little Prince’,
‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ . . .
then later,
‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Lord of the Flies’,
‘My Antonia’ . . .
‘In Cold Blood’,’Watership Down’,
‘Catcher in The Rye’,
‘Couples’,’Fear of Flying’ . . .
‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’;
and oh,
so many,
so many more.
They filled my heart and soul
with excitement, joy,
pain and desire . . .
they opened my eyes
to visions I had never imagined.
They took me to faraway lands
and distant stars.
It wasn’t until later,
one day,
perhaps when I was bored,
I picked up a book I had read some years ago,
and re-read it,
cover to cover.
I discovered new worlds
and new perspectives
from visiting the book again,
and came away
with a deeper understanding of what was written inside.
I’ve done this many times now,
and often
it’s like reading a completely different story . . .
discovering new insights
and new ways of thinking about things.
This gift
came to me unbidden,
and now it has bled into other areas of my life,
making my worldview more fluid,
flexible,
and open to the vast paradox
of the Universe
and all it holds . . .
nothing is as it seems. ♥
I’ve read many of these, including Journey to the Mushroom Planet. As soon as I read the title one of the moments in the book popped into my head. We carry them with us as we go on with our lives.
I’m getting ready for a long flight and one of the things I did was download the entire Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin for a rereading binge. I read and reread the trilogy in my younger years. I somehow hadn’t realized she’d written more after the first trilogy and Tales from Earthsea and I’m looking forward to revisiting the world she created and experiencing even more.
I’ve had bad experiences rereading beloved books but I count on LeGuin’s work to hold up. While reading the Little House books to my daughters when they were young, I encountered Ma’s racism and had to make up new lines on the fly so as not to share those biases with them. I don’t recall now whether I noticed it when I was younger. I’ve always entered pretty wholeheartedly into the lives in the books and movies I read or watch and I imagine I wasn’t a critical reader at age 9, or whatever I was.
I can’t believe
that you read ‘Journey to The Mushroom Planet’,
dear Barb.
It was such an obscure book
so long ago . . .
it brought a smile to my face. 🙂
There were so many others I wanted to list,
and I loved the writings of Ursula LeGuin too.
I hope she keeps you good company on your flight. ♥
The book is the same Sparrow, but the reader has changed on her journey. Here’s to continuing discoveries.🩷
This is so true,
dear Mary . . .
it is I who have changed,
not the book.
It is exciting to see the changes.
Thanks so much
for your observation. ♥
The ability to work from home. My son had txt me after I fell asleep last night that he injured his foot playing soccer. Thankfully I was able to txt my boss that I would like to work from home today. He is fine but it is nice to know that I have that option when needed.
Today, I will be working outside, with my hands.
So, I will try to be aware of my hands and their abilities.
I generally have my yoga students roll their wrists around and wiggle their fingers, reminding them to be thankful for all of the many things our hands do for us. The outside stuff can be especially fun 🙂
🙂
Ngoc and SunnyPatti both mentioned their coffee cups. I have quite a few even after downsizing my collection, accumulated over the years from events and trips.
The one I use most often is from a Smithsonian National Museum of American History I got on a trip to DC years ago. From an exhibit on the history of the bicycle, it shows the original drawings of the “velocipède” patented Nov. 20, 1866, by F. Lallemente. This was the first pedal-powered bicycle, although the pedals were attached to the front wheel. (The first invention that led to the bicycle as we know it, patented by German Karl Drais, was called a Laufmaschine (German for ‘running machine’) and was a balance bike–you stood astride it and pushed the ground with your feet to move it.)
The cup exemplifies my love of history as well as bicycling (and coffee!), my work in active transportation, and also the wonderful opportunities I’ve had over the years to go to conferences in DC. When I do that I get to stay with one of my brothers and his wife because they live in Virginia in the greater DC area, an easy Metro ride away from the places the conferences are typically held. I’ll stay over an extra day or two to spend time with them and to tourist around.
Being prompted to look more closely at my cup brought a smile to my face with the memories.
What a perfect mug for you, Barb!
💯
I love history too, Barb. It helps me gain an understanding of the world beyond my own.
I have an appointment with the dentist today. I am always uncomfortable with dental appointments because anxiety sets in because I have a large cervical fusion and keeping my mouth open for long periods and turning my head so he can see into my mouth, etc. is very difficult for me. I have had a tooth ache since last Friday so I expect this appointment will involve a major procedure. I will focus on the fact that he is not doing something to me but with me. I am part of the needed process today and I will do my best to be thankful, relax and cooperate.
Wishing you good luck at your dentist appt – I too have anxiety with the dentist from past trauma.
A tall order,
dear Carol Ann . . .
as another being
who gets anxious about the dentist,
I will hold you especially close
in my heart . . . ♥
May all go well today, Carol.
I will be thinking of you , Carol with a prayer. Dental procedures also make me anxious (and many others). Know we are “rooting” for you… (hope that made you smile).
❤️
Hi Nannette! Welcome back
It’s wonderful,
dear Nanette,
to see your name here today . . .
we have all wondered how you are doing,
and are very grateful
that you have made an appearance today
with love . . . ♥
sparrow
Welcome back, Nannette. It’s great having you here again.
My home and all it’s “stuff”. What does it all represent? Are there things that could go…things that someone else could be using or that could brings someone else joy, when for me they are just space-holders? And other items need more care than I am giving them, For though they are just things, they also represent people, places and events in our lives that are dear now and in cherished memory.
I too,
dear Katrina,
find this dilemma
difficult
and sometimes paralyzing.
Sometimes
it takes
a change in perspective. ♥
The food I eat. I want to be more aware of the texture, flavor, smell, and the properties it holds.
I just finished an almond croissant from the neighborhood bakery that I picked up yesterday while on a walk so I’d have a treat this morning. I paid attention to its tender, buttery texture, the sweetness of the almond paste, the light crunch of the sliced almonds on top, the aroma that came from it after a tiny warm-up in the microwave. Delicious.
Yram, I was thinking of what would be familiar that I could be grateful for. We are traveling again this winter and I am in a new place but also it is somewhere that I have visited on prior trips. Thank you! We are going out this morning and I will be aware of the food I have at lunch. We will be with friends that we have not seen in a year…Gratefulness is very easy. Wishing you a good day.
OMGGG!! Nannette!!! It is soooo good to see you back! I’ve missed you and had been worried – it’s been a very long time!! Welcome back!!
I’m sure,
dear Nanette,
that you will have a new perspective
when you travel to the place you have been before,
also
when you meet again
the friends who have been absent from your life
for almost a year. ♥
Hi Nannette!
Nanette! So good to have you back!
The simplicity of the saffron robe and the beggar’s bowl enables me to live each moment with more peace and joy.
I think about that sometimes too,
dear Richard.
The utter simplicity of it
sounds so freeing . . .
I watched the monks for peace
arriving at their home a day or two ago,
and those moments
gave me great joy. ♥
I would say it’s my coffee mug. I start my day with my hot coffee, and I realized I have only used that mug for years since I moved into Loc’s family. The mugs were given to Loc and me. His says: “Mr. Right!” Mine says: “Mrs. Always Right!” I can tell how cute and silly the mugs are. 🥤
🙂
My husband and I have a set of mugs that say the same! They are so fun!!
Thanks for one of my first laughs of the morning, Ngoc!
The first laugh came when my husband looked at our cat, who was racing through the house, and said, “He’s got his zoomy pants on this morning!”. I’ll add “Mr. Zoomy Pants” to the running list of nicknames for him that has grown over the years.
My Ngoc, the cups are cute.
Music. I’ve been listening to the same genre for a while. I can switch up my playlist and appreciate different types of music.
The coffee mug I’m drinking out of. We have lots of fun mugs at our house, but the one I’m using now has a feathered design and the words, “All you need is love” on it 🪶🧡
One of my dearest friends made a peace flag with those words.
Sunnypatti, it reminds me of god’s unconditional love and how he taught us to just love each other.
the moon – full blood worm moon for March
For the Coast Salish tribes whose lands I live on this is the Frog Moon. I looked that up last night on our way back from a dinner date, and as we stepped out of the car the froggy peepers were peeping their hearts out. The sound of spring!
🐸🌕
The snow has melted in the Twin Cities. I can see the grass with a refreshed perspective. Spring is coming early this year. One of my friends from McNally Smith College of Music in Abdul and I were talking about getting together last week when the weather warms up.
God hears every conversation and sees every interaction among us. Knowing that, he decided to give the Twin Cities an early warm up. Knowing Abdul and me, he wants us to see each other. He feels that both of us are great for each other. Abdul is a guitar player who uses music to heal the soul which is how it should be used for. He’s calm and just tells it like it is.
With that being said, Abdul and I are going to have lunch together on Saturday, and he’ll take me straight to my 2pm-5pm Menards piano shift.
My home, my patio and the foliage around my home. I often take for granted all my husband and I have built and maintained simply from being amidst it day to day. If I could see it with a fresh perspective, I hope to notice not the flaws, but the hard work and sacrifice it took to have it.
Yes! I realized last year I spend so much time working in the yard I don’t often simply sit down and enjoy it with a book and a glass of lemonade. I enjoy making it better–this year I intend to enjoy the fruits of my labors more often.
I think I need to work on that too this year,
dear ladies . . .
thank you for the suggestion.
I work and work and work,
and then feel too tired to relax and enjoy. ♥
The lovely display of colours all around me . The blue sky and all its shades of blue are wonderfully beautiful! This spring feeling of things growing and changing constantly is magical! Thank you universe for this wondrous life!