Thankful Sunday

 I am thankful for small surprises.

The previous owner planted various flowers around the yard. However, in many of those places, there is now too much shade for the flowers to bloom. That was the case for these day lilies. For the nine years we have lived here, there has been too much shade from this honeysuckle bush and the adjacent crabapple tree for anything more than some leaves to grow. However, I turned around the other day and was greeted by these bright blooms. It was a surprise that made my morning. And for that I am thankful.

Until next time...

This and That

Time seems to fly by without me getting around to a blog update, so I'm going to make it happen this morning. I think I'll do it mostly in pictures because we all know they're worth 1,000 words. 😀

Ward is back from the cruise he took with one of our line dance groups to the Bahamas. He had a great time. Too bad that I'm so prone to motion sickness, or I would have gone along. He was on the smaller ship.

The deer have enjoyed munching on various things.
They really liked this big pot of parsley.

The crows seem to prefer flowers. These were full of blooms until the crows had a meal.

I guess all of God's critters gotta eat, but Ward has built a fence around our garden to hopefully direct them elsewhere.  I have great plans for this enclosed space next year. And maybe this year, the deer won't eat all of our tomatoes. 

I'm hoping this little guy is eating some of the mosquitoes in the yard.

And speaking of the garden, it's zucchini time. Last night I tried some in the air fryer with a little seasoning and Parmesan cheese. It was delicious.

We had several days with temperatures of 100°F or more.
 Finally, we had a storm and rain that broke the heat. Yay!

The heat has kept me mostly inside, so I'm on a decluttering kick. I've gone through everything in the family room, starting with these shelves. Books are hard to get rid of, but we did manage to donate some. Now, I'm working in the office. Decluttering is never a fun job, and Ward hates it, but I will say he is cooperating nicely. 

Well, that's all the exciting news for today.

Until next time...

Happy 4th of July!

Today, the United States of America is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Not to brag, but I am related to one of the original signers of the document. Or at least that's what FamilySearch, a free genealogy site run by the Mormons, says. Not sure about the accuracy of this, but I always say that if you go back far enough, we're all related. 😀

So who is my famous relative? Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who is my 3rd cousin 8 times removed. I'm not sure what that means except I have to go back 11 generations before we have a common ancestor.

So who was cousin Charles? He was definitely a mover and a shaker in the early years of this country. He was born in Maryland in 1737 and lived to the ripe old age of 95. He was one of the wealthiest and most educated of the signers, and he was a member of the Continental Congress, Confederation Congress, and the first United States Senator for Maryland. He was also the only Catholic to sign the Declaration. Later, he was one of the founders of the B&O Railroad. He was one busy man during the establishment of our country, and if you want to know a little more, here's what Wikipedia had to say.

So, after reading about his accomplishments, I'm embarrassed to say I didn't know who he was. The county where I go to the library, gym, and Walmart is named after him. There are counties, cities, towns, and schools across the country also named for him. He's mentioned in the Maryland state song, and there's a statue of him in the U.S. Capitol crypt.

His estate and grave are less than an hour away from here, so I thought a field trip was in order. However, it turns out that it's not open to the public. Maybe I'll just have to get a book about him from my library, which is named after him. 😏

Happy Independence Day! 

Live and Learn

In a nod to my byline of Live and Learn, I occasionally share things here that I've learned.

 I am all the time looking things up of no consequence, so I suppose I am learning things all the time. But does anyone care how old a celeb is or what channel a certain show is on? (Yes, I am that shallow) Not really. So I won't share those bits of wisdom I learned this week. Instead, I will share other inconsequential things that were new to me. 

1. Outback Steak Houses are brightening up their decor with murals. Wally and Theo took Ward out to Outback Steakhouse for Father's Day, and Theo pointed out that there was a big mural on the wall by the bathrooms. It was quite striking, with a koala in the middle wearing a Maryland flag, surrounded by other Maryland-themed items. I looked up the artist, The Artist Jones, and he lives in Florida, but is painting these themed murals at different Outbacks all over.

Shown are the MD state flower: black-eyed Susan, the MD state bird: Baltimore oriole, the MD state crustacean: blue crab, the lighthouse from MD's Eastern Shore, and the MD state flag wrapped around a koala. 

2. A muster station is a gathering place on a cruise ship where everyone gathers for safety drills or in case of an emergency. Ward is on a cruise this week with one of our line dancing groups. I am very prone to motion sickness, so I didn't want to go. However, he has been wanting to try a cruise, so this was a perfect opportunity. He texted me that they couldn't leave the port until everyone was at their muster station. I had to look up what that meant. 

3. You can't always find things on the internet. I was chatting with Miss Landers, and she mentioned that she doesn't like the rubber bands you buy these days because they are coated with a substance that makes them bitter. This is to discourage kids from eating them. I thought that made sense, but I tried looking up the details before I mentioned it here. I couldn't find that confirmed anywhere with many different searches. Miss Landers is usually a very reliable source, so it may be true. Or not. Did I mention I was going to share inconsequential things? 

4. More things are blooming in my yard. 

Until next time...

Book Reviews

 Here are a few things I've been reading recently.

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen, Adult historical fiction, 2023.

What it's about: The Paris Assignment follows Madeline during WWII when she becomes a spy for Britain in France after her husband is missing and her son is supposedly killed in a train bombing.

What did I think? Overall, I liked the book. I especially liked the descriptions of the training and missions, which are the major part of the story. However, I found Madeline's hardships and victories to be a bit melodramatically written. 

What did others think? Good Reads and Amazon readers give it an A-.

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, children's fiction (elementary ages), 2013.

What it's about: Flora Belle, who is a self-described cynic and has read every Terrible Things Can Happen to You comic, finds a squirrel, Ulysses, with superpowers after he is sucked up into the neighbor's vacuum cleaner. Her parents are divorced, and her mother wants to kill Ulysses, and her father tries to help Flora save the squirrel. Chaos ensues as they sneak the squirrel away to save it. Throw in quirky neighbors to add to the amusing romp. Through it all, the characters learn about each other and themselves.

What did I think? I enjoyed the book. It was humorous, with heart. The book had numerous pencil drawings, and sometimes the story was written in panels, like the comic books Flora reads. These enhanced the story.

What did others think? The book won the Newbery Award in 2014. The award is given annually for the most distinguished children's book in America.

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Adult fiction, 2022

What it's about: Carrie Soto, a world record-holding tennis player, decides to make a comeback at age 37 after a five-year absence from the game. She is coached by her father and practices with an older male tennis player who is trying to stay in the game. Romance eventually ensues. Carrie is brash and ruthless on the court and off, earning her the nickname of Battle Axe. The second time around, she learns more about herself and empathy for other players she didn't have before.

What did I think? I liked the book, and I think someone would appreciate it even more if they were a tennis player.  Most of the book is about the game of tennis and the tremendous amount of skill and practice that goes into making a championship player. Tension builds throughout the book, as Carrie plays her various matches. I will say that towards the end, I started to skim the details of the matches because I was impatient to see who won.

Reid has a way of making her stories seem like a documentary more than a novel, and this was no exception.

What did others think? Carrie Soto is Back had universally positive reviews (at least the ones I could find) and was #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller, Children's fiction (elementary age), 2024.

What it's about: Magnolia is lonely and spends every day in her parents' laundry mat. At the laundromat, Magnolia has been pinning up loose socks she finds on a bulletin board, hoping they will find their mates. When Iris moves from California to New York City, Magnolia makes a friend, and they set out to find the socks' owners. They travel around their neighborhood in New York City and learn new things about themselves, their parents, and their neighbors. Also, the girls have to deal with racism along the way.

What did I think? I enjoyed the book and found the premise of looking for socks interesting. The book has many life lessons that are illustrated during the story, and I thought those were well done. For example, Iris is overwhelmed by the busyness of the city, and, in particular, by a flock of pigeons one day. Madeline tells her to pick out just one pigeon and pick out one feature on that pigeon and focus on that to calm herself. 

What did others think? This book was on many bestseller lists and was Amazon's best children's book for 2024. It was also a Newbery Honor Winner.

Until next time...