It is no secret that July and August are the hottest, least desirable months of the year here in these parts – Washington DC – according to my body thermometer. And it is no secret that I am an autumn/fall September girl – have been for as long as I can remember, when I was 4 years old, just two months and 15 days shy of being five when I started kindergarten. I have very vivid memories of the dress I wore and the new shoes I wore on my first day of school…but, I’ll save sharing more ‘til September …
Today’s temperature has already reached it’s forecasted high: 87 degrees and the air quality is 117 – Unhealthy for sensitive groups. I have already taken my daily walk – just moments before it got too hot. On my walk, I noted the current crop of flowers’ color: various shades of purple. Different and nice…
Today, I start a journaling art class, taught by Brandi Kincaid and hosted on the Get Messy Art site. I haven’t looked at the first lesson yet but I’m thinking my purple/pink flowers are a refreshing focus color … and purple goes so well with yellow…Agree?
One of my goals this summer is to read more fiction titles. I’m just 38 pages to the end of No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. The opening quote: “No two persons ever read the same book, or saw the same picture.” ~ The Writings of Madame Swetchine, 1860 is quite apt for this book. If you read, I’d love to know your thoughts.
Minnie Pearl – daughter of Minerva and my mother’s nickname as dubbed by her daughters – my sister and I – had the dubious pleasure of being born on the Ides of March. My sister and I took immense pleasure in this fact – thus, we always referred to her via her nickname. She pretended to be slightly annoyed and that was the icing on the cake for us…especially since our father joined in the festivity with ice cream and cake.
Minnie Pearl was a truly special person – not only to us, her children and grands but also to the children for whom she gifted the love of books and reading over her lifetime, during her tenure as a children’s and branch librarian. She was an avid reader, never without a book in her hands or tucked under her left arm – except probably when she slept or bathed or was engaged in an activity that required use of her arms/hands… I remember calculating once that she read, on average, a minimum of 25 books a week, in all genres, both fiction, non-fiction, for all ages. She was an inveterate reader. Full stop.
Mama – her other name <smile> – apparently learned to read at a very young age; she lived about 4-5 blocks from the local branch of the public library and there she would escape her three younger sisters and a wicked stepfather (not mother). She managed to read all the books in the children’s section by about age 8 and the librarians decided there was nothing left but the “adult section” and so they let her have at it! That sealed it! She was forever hooked – and that love for books and reading was transferred to us: my sister and me and the grands and great grands and I’m sure their children.
She was the church organist during her pre-teen and teen years: during those periods in between announcements, sermons, she read : the Bible, more than once; Greek and Roman myths; classics; and I don’t doubt, some “forbidden fruit,” aka adult novels. I suspect she kept the books sequestered among the musical scores.
Mama also had another favorite place to read : a tree outside her second floor bedroom window. She would lock the door and climb out into the tree and read. Her sisters and stepfather were most irritated, to say the least. Mama just smiled, read and ignored. I remember thinking when she shared this story how neat that was; oh, that I could have such an adventure…
These days, Covid-19 notwithstanding, I have nearly all the time – tho’ not the tree – in the world to emulate Mama, but perhaps not. Other demands for my attention seem to be winning. At the end of January, I did a rough calculation of the number of pages in my stacks of books to be read…then : More than 4000! And that number does not include digital, audio or those print titles I’ve since added either because I forgot to initially include or they appeared in my life screaming “choose me!”
Today’s agenda is full – but there’s room for me to take time to add more reading minutes into the schedule, e.g, as I eat breakfast, listen as I drive to my appointment and continue reading (with my eyes or earbuds if my eyes are dilated) as I wait to see the doctor.
I have shared many times that my secret desire is to be cloned – so much I want to do and were there more of me, well… but, since cloning is not an option, I guess my next best option is to implement practices I can do.
This year, 2020 – 244 years ago – the United States, on July 4, 1776 declared its independence as a nation…
This year, 2020, the United States, is experiencing a world-wide health pandemic of epic proportions…
This year, 2020, the United States, is at a crossroads, on the threshold of finally living up to the ideals and principles of the Declaration of Independence for all peoples of this country – or not.
*Begin Again by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., published just this week: [It ] is at once a searing exploration that lays bare the tangled web of race, trauma, and memory, and a powerful interrogation of what we all must ask of ourselves in order to call forth a new America… Good Reads
I’m enjoying end-of-year reading recaps. Today, I read Mary’s, Juliann’s and Elise Blaha’s… each has books I plan to read and/or have in my queue. My goal for several years: read more fiction. And I have… but I must also admit, I’m not reading as much in the genre as I think I should.* So, what’s a person to do? Keep on keeping on is the short answer.
To help me I’ve outlined a simple fiction reading goal: each month I plan to read at least one of the Inspector Gamache (Louise Penny ) titles until I have caught up – tho’ that’s dubious ’cause she turns out books way faster than I’ve been reading them. Currently, I’m ready for the 6th – Bury Your Dead – and she’s published 15! My plan is to read (listen) to the series. At that pace, I hope to finish the series before #16 is published … when?
The other part of my goal is to read, also monthly, a contemporary best seller. Currently, I have A Gentleman from Moscow,Water Dancer and The World We Knew in various stages in the queue. All of these titles are print. I have added The Dutch House to the list and I may listen to the audio version which has received good reviews.
My next challenge is to determine the best time of day for reading. Ideally, evening hours are prime except I have this habit of running out of steam when the sun goes down… I think I shall just have to experiment: maybe an early afternoon break and/or my late afternoon walk.
Morning Glory Studio 