Thankful Sunday

 I am thankful for a quiet morning.

Surprise lilies blooming among mums.

In a short while, Ward and I are leaving on a trip for a few days to visit family and friends. Soon, we will be hustling to finish up the last-minute preparations. But before that, I woke up to see the last of the sunrise and take a walk around the yard. The bees and bugs were already at work, but the birds were unusually quiet. Maybe they were preparing for the rain that is coming soon. 

White spider on allium

Getting ready for a trip is always busy, so for the few quiet moments I had this morning, I am thankful.

Rocks and Minerals

 Wally recently discovered a new store, GTC Rock Shop, that he was totally fascinated with. He told Ward and me that we needed to visit, and he and Theo gave me a gift card to the store for my birthday.

We did visit, and what an experience. The store is advertised as a science education center, and they hope that someday they can sell enough to become an educational non-profit. They have case after case of crystals and rocks, educational toys, jewelry, a panning activity, and a classroom with a museum. I expected a few rocks and crystals for sale, but got much more. One could spend hours just studying everything that was there.

I didn't choose anything to get on this trip. This visit was more of an overview of what the store was like. And as I told my sons, I had to figure out what we had in all of those boxes of rocks we have in our basement. Did I mention that I have a degree in geology and Ward has one in geophysics?

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Amethyst (purple quartz)

Citrine (orange quartz)

The minerals were identified with name, chemical formula, and place of origin. I thought it was a nice touch that they added the country's flag in the description. If you look closely, you can see them.

The classroom.

The classroom had display cases of various things, including this one of minerals and how they are used in our everyday life.

As I said, I wasn't sure what was in all of the boxes of rocks in the basement. I know we had gotten rid of some, but it seemed like every time we did that, we would find another one. I unboxed them last week and did a first-order sort of fossils, crystals, ores, and rocks (unspecified). We're not sure what we're going to do with them now, but Ward may build a coffee table with a glass top to display some of them. Unfortunately, we don't know where many of them came from, what they are, or why we collected them. Eventually, some of them will find new homes. We certainly don't want to put them all back in boxes to hide in the basement for more years. Here's what I found.

Fossils, both plants and sea creatures.

Ores and some specific rock types.

Crystals

There was no obvious reason why we kept these rocks.

And we had a few other things with the rocks, like arrowheads and these Civil War cannonballs.

Sorting this all out is going to be a big job, but we will figure it out eventually.

Until next time...

Book Reviews

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

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Adult fiction, 1948.

What it's about: I Capture the Castle is a coming-of-age story for Cassandra and Rose in the 1930s, and is told through Cassandra's journal entries. Their family moves into a run-down castle in England, and their mother dies a few years later. Their father, who had great success with a novel, has writer's block for years. With no money coming in, they sell off most of everything in the house and live in isolated poverty. Two young men inherit the castle, and the one next door and complex relationships follow.

What did I think? The story is rich with detail, and you get a good feel for the family's day-to-day lives. I missed visiting with them when I finished. However, as romances develop, I did get a bit tired of Cassandra's teenage angst over unrequited love. I would recommend this book if you like relationship narratives over action stories. It is an easy read, but not a quick one. The details and the longer sentence structure make it apparent that this book was written over 70 years ago, when longer sentences and paragraphs were the norm.

What did others think? The book is considered an influential classic by some and has appeared on several "best of" lists. There have been musicals and movies made from it. I watched a BBC film based on I Capture the Castle after I read the book and enjoyed it. Although it was beautiful to watch, it lacked the depth of the book, and I wondered whether someone who hadn't read it would understand the motivations behind some of the characters' actions.

City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim, Adult fiction, 2024.

What it's about: City of Night Birds is the story of Natasha, a world-renowned Russian ballerina, and her beginnings with a difficult mother and absent father. It chronicles her journey to the top and the relationships that both hindered and propelled her art. It is an intimate look into the competitiveness and intensity of Russian ballet.

What did I think? I thought it was an interesting story that kept me reading. There were many Russian and ballet references that I didn't know anything about that occasionally slowed me down, but didn't have a major impact on the novel. The story starts in the present day (2019) when Natasha is trying to make a comeback and flashes back to build her story to that point. The switches in time were not well signaled and confused me at times, but even with this, the story was easy enough to follow.

What did others think? City of Night Birds was a pick for Reese's Book Club and had a starred Kirkus review. Amazon and Goodreads gave it an A-.

My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney, Adult fiction- psychological thriller, 2025.

What it's about: In the small town of Hope Falls, Eden returns from a run to find out the locks have been changed to her house and her husband has a new "wife".  Neither claims to know her. She desperately tries to find some way to identify herself. Six months earlier, Birdie in London receives a fatal diagnosis and inherits her grandmother's house in Hope Falls. When Birdie receives the date of her death from a company that claims they can accurately predict it, she returns to her childhood village to live out her final months. When Eden goes missing, Birdie partners with the local policeman, Carter, to figure out what happened. The story twists and turns, and you're not sure what's the truth and what's not. Everyone is hiding something.

What did I think? I wouldn't say it's great literature, but it's definitely a page-turner. Each character has their own chapters, which helps keep the story straight. This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but it is next month's book club selection. I'm glad it was because I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

What did others think? The book has been on multiple best-seller lists and received almost uniformly positive reviews. Hundreds are on the waitlist for it at the library. 

Afterlight by Caleb Nolan, Adult/Young Adult poetry, 2026.

What it's about: Afterlight is about a troubled young man's journey through adolescence into adulthood. Each poem is a vignette that combines together to tell his story. The poems are autobiographical as Caleb struggles with an absent father and the early deaths of friends, among other things. They should be read in order.

But it's more than that. Here's a more detailed explanation from Amazon:

Told through the voice of one of the boys who left and is later looking back, Afterlight navigates the silences left by absent fathers, early deaths, and a God who doesn't speak. Interwoven throughout are letters to saints and biblical figures: pleas for intercession and understanding that echo the speaker’s search for grace amid violence and loss. By the book’s end, the lost boys and the saints share the same hallowed space, their stories entwined. Written in plain, unsparing language, these poems reveal the tenderness within troubled masculinity and the ache of trying to love what has already vanished.

What did I think? I found these poems full of emotion, often through simple, sparse language. My heart ached for the turmoil felt by the author. 

What did others think? Afterlife won the Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry. 

This and That

 Otherwise known as Speed Blogging or a Check-In (with unrelated flower pictures from the yard)

Allium

Has anyone else been having this problem with Blogger? It used to be that the blogs I followed would show up in my reading list pretty much as soon as they were published. Now, they are hours or days late. Yesterday, I got notice of some posts that had been published four days earlier. And when I get notice for the late ones, they don't show up at the top of the list. They nest themselves in the list with the time they were published. All of this means that I am missing some posts and/or not commenting on them until days later. This is certainly a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but I find it annoying. You are my friends out there, and I like checking in with you. I guess I could do some research and see if there is a fix for this. But you know how it is; it's always easier to complain than to take action. 😀

The Japanese beetles have found the roses.

For the last month or so, I've been on a decluttering kick. In a few spots, it was because I was running out of room. However, in most places, it was time to open drawers and boxes and sort shelves that haven't been looked at in a couple of years or even decades. The work has been tedious, but I'm making progress. 

And so have the lantern fly nymphs.

First, I went through all of my clothes. I'm not a clothes horse by any shape, but I still found a lot to donate. Now that I don't have to worry about work clothes, I don't need as many options as before.

Next up was the family room. I went through every shelf and drawer in there and found more things to donate or recycle. I spent the most time going through old letters, emails I had printed, and notes from over the years. I guess you would call my papers a very large, unorganized journal. Much of it was recycled, especially emails that reminded me of some of the difficult times. I don't need to relive the details of them. Some of the letters and notes I saved with the idea that I would write up some of the stories about Wally and Theo's early years. They definitely exemplified the phrase, "Kids say the darndest things." But that will be a huge task for another day.

We aren't getting much action on our butterfly bush, but they seem to like the nearby coneflowers.

Next, I moved into our office. I started with a tall bookcase that is home to many more things than books. That has been sorted, including one of the important things: our gift card basket. We truly appreciate gift cards when we get them, but are not the best at using them. They go into the basket and are then out of sight and out of mind. We have inventoried them all and got balances on some of them. A few of them are old enough (no PIN) that we need to take them to the store to see their value. And unfortunately, a couple of the stores are no longer in business. I'm going to blame Ward for these because they were ones he got at the gym for winning some kind of contest. (Anyone remember Sports Authority?)

Balloon flower from Ward's grandmother. Yes, it's blooming in the middle of Lamb's Ear.

We are slowly starting to use them. We zeroed out a Domino's card and found out the store closest to us had moved several miles away. We didn't figure it out until we showed up at the old location to pick up our carryout. However, they moved in April, and I was a little surprised that we haven't ordered our pizza since then. 

Another day, we spent a Target gift card on some groceries. The card was a metal Star Wars-themed card that I think played music at one point. The young man who checked us out was totally fascinated by the card and loved it. I left the empty card with him, and he was very happy. Sometimes, it's so easy to make someone's day.

Well, my time is up. I need to go get ready for a line dance class at the gym.

Until next time...

Throwback Monday, Birthday Memories

 Today is my birthday. No big celebrations planned, but my family has made it special for me all the same. After I get past the number, I don't feel much older than I did years ago. However, perhaps I am a little wiser and more content.

To celebrate on my blog, I'm going to rerun a post I did in June 2022 about birthday memories from when I was a young child. Here it is.

____________________________________

Memories

One of my recent StoryWorth prompts was, "What Were Birthdays Like When You Were A Child?" For the prompt, I wrote about birthday traditions from my childhood and how they varied as I got older. Then I sent a draft to my sisters, complete with a picture from my 6th birthday party. I often send drafts of the prompts to them to get comments about what they remember and sometimes to clarify things. This usually leads to interesting discussions and reminiscing.

After reviewing what I had sent, my oldest sister commented that the picture was not from my 6th birthday but more like my 4th. She is six years older than I am, so she often has clearer memories of things than I do from the early years. However, I told her that I remember this birthday very clearly because that was when I got a Bible with my name on it, and Mother didn't give us Bibles until we could read. I was not reading at four. Then another sister chimed in and said that four made sense to her. I was starting to get irritated because they didn't agree with me. This was not a fuzzy memory as some things were. It was very clear to me. I responded and said the picture was labeled on the back in Mother's handwriting, and it said, "June's 6th birthday." The oldest sister said that wasn't right if you looked at the clues in the picture's background; it looked like we hadn't lived in this particular house for very long because of the sparseness of furniture. I couldn't believe that she was persisting with her line of thinking after all I said. 

The next thing I did was get the picture out to scan the back of it and send proof that I was right. And you know what I found? I found it was my handwriting on the back of the picture, not my mother's. When I looked at the picture more carefully, and one of my 5th birthday, I had to agree that it was when I turned four that I got the Bible. 

How could I be so sure but be so wrong? I had a clear mental image of my mother's labeling on the back, and I thought I remembered the event so well. This points out that our memories are just memories, not necessarily an accurate depiction of what really happened. In this case, I think what I had done was combine my "memories" with labels from other pictures. And over the years, I reinforced my confusion until I was sure of the "facts."

There have been many studies about the accuracy of memories, and they have concluded that there can be problems. In general, the more sensory clues associated with the memory, the more likely it is to be accurate. However, a person can totally believe what they "remember" is true. Not necessarily that they were lying when facts prove them wrong. What does all of this mean? Well, not much in my case. Whether I was four or six when I got my Bible is of no consequence. But in serious issues such as trials or hearings, the complexity of memories should be considered.

_____________________________

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday

 

I am thankful for rain.

We have been suffering from extreme temperatures and bad air quality from the Canadian wildfires. We had a couple of days of Code Purple for air quality. I guess I'm lucky that I didn't even know that there was a designation beyond Red before this. However, yesterday a series of storms moved across the area and cleared the air. So, today I plan to be outside and enjoy the sunshine and plants around me. And for that I am thankful.

Dancing Under the Stars

Sky Stage Ribbon Plant Sculpture

Ward and I went line dancing last Saturday evening to a new venue for us - Sky Stage in Frederick, MD

The Sky Stage building was originally built in 1762 and was used to manufacture gun parts for the Revolutionary War. In more recent history, it was owned by General Engineering Co., which manufactured sewer pipe fittings. In 2010, a fire gutted the building and left the original stone structure with no roof. It sat boarded up for years until Heather Clark envisioned it as an art venue. Today, it has an open roof, concrete floor, bleachers, and a unique ribbon-sculpture garden. It hosts dramas, storytimes, art classes, films, dances, and various other events.

Saturday, it was host to a line dance. Ward and I have been curious about Sky Stage for a while, so we took this opportunity to see what it was like.  

I was too hot at this point and was sitting out for a while.

The dancing was okay, but it was hot! It didn't seem too bad at first, but once we started dancing, the heat and humidity became apparent. At one point, I wasn't sure if it was raining or if that was me dripping sweat. Later, in the evening, a storm blew over with a little rain, but brought a welcome relief from the heat. 

What did we think? Will we go back? For the right program, yes. But not for dancing until it's not so hot. 

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...