A book and a story about a tired puppy

Billy Budd ~ by Herman Melville, 1948, novella, 96 pages (plus a 48-page Reader's Supplement)

This is a sea adventure classic and the final novel by American writer Herman Melville.  It was first published posthumously in London in 1924.  Melville had begun writing the story in November 1888, but left it unfinished at his death in 1891.  British critics called it a masterpiece when it was published in London, and it quickly took its place as a classic literary work in the United States.  Billy Budd represents Melville's return to prose fiction after three decades when he wrote only poetry.  He started it as a poem, a ballad entitled "Billy in the Darbies."  In 1919 the novella was discovered in manuscript form by someone studying Melville's papers.

I read the book years ago.  Actually, decades ago.  My copy is the version shown above.  It has lots of copyright dates:  1948, 1956, 1962, 1966, and 1972.  I can remember reading it in school long ago, so I picked it up to read again and see what I think of it now.

I want to share a story I recently learned about (HERE).  A little German Shephard puppy was crying to take her bed on a walk.  I understand, since walks make me tired, too.  (This isn't the same pup, but a cute one I found online.)

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Beginning ~ with the truth

Beginning

Every word in this book is true.  I only say that for the men who read it ― every woman who reads it will know its truth instinc-tively.  We could swear it was all made up and women would know better.

It's a Chick Thing: Celebrating the Wild Side of Women's Friendship ~ edited by Ame Mahler Beanland and Emily Miles Terry, 2000, social sciences, xvi + 189 pages

This collection has forty stories about the special and unique times that strengthen the bonds of women's friendships and create shared history. It takes a look at women's friendship at its wildest, with antics, escapades, risk taking, loyalty, irrepressible humor, and merriment.  I thought Fergie's and Diana's night on the town was funny, but it's just what I read when my friend Sharon brought some books and had lunch with me.

Read about Dolly Parton's escapades with her friends in high school,  how Sharon Stone literally gave Mimi Craven the shirt off her back, and the time when Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn faced down detractors of the "Coal Miner's Daughter."  I found it very annoying, though, that tHe woRdS were in mixed font, with some uPPercaSe lettErs and SomE loweR cAse, with NO  rhyme  oR reason.  That was annoying and made it hard to read.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Blowing the Shofar

This is a rabbi from Chabad blowing a shofar at a program that I attended this afternoon.  If you are not Jewish, you may be asking, "What is a shofar?"  It is a horn from a ram, like the ram in this photo:

The rabbi gave a talk to explain what it was all about, using A-B-C to help us remember.  Alarm or wake-up call, Binding of Isaac, and Coronation of a king.  First, we have to wake up and know we need something.  Isaac was bound by his father Abraham to be the sacrifice he offered, but then a ram got caught in a bush nearby and became the sarifice instead.  (Find that story in Genesis 22).  I can see how a ram's curved horn could be caught when he pokes his head in the green stuff to eat it, can't you?  That's how the ram's horn comes into the story.  Today, we heard the sound of the ram's horn in the rabbi's hands.

Yoghurt or Yogurt?

Yogurt and yoghurt are both English terms.  The spelling is usually "yogurt" in the United States, while "yoghurt" is predominantly used in British English (the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand).

When I went looking for something to illustrate the diffence in the two words, I found the picture above.  But it says there is also a difference in what the two are made of!  Really?!?  Now I'm confused.  I live in the USA, so I guess my version is on the right.  Can you read that small print?  Here's what it says:

• YOGHURT ~ The milk they use is typically heated to a higher temperature before fermentation. Traditionally made with sheep or goat milk, although cow's milk is also used.
• YOGURT ~ A yummy dairy product made by the process of fermenting milk using good bacteria. 

The words yogurt and yoghurt may look similar, but they have slightly different meanings, apparently.  Both are products with a milk base, but their origins and the way they’re produced vary slightly.

Then I read that "yoghurt isn’t just a funny way of spelling yogurt.  It’s actually a type of yogurt that originated in Turkey and somewhere in the Middle East.  It’s made sort of in the same way as regular yogurt, but the milk they use is typically heated to a higher temperature before fermentation.  This gives it a slightly different flavor and texture compared to regular yogurt.  Yoghurt is also traditionally made with sheep or goat milk, although cow’s milk is also used, and it’s rich in probiotics, which can help support a healthy gut."

There are also different kinds of yogurt.  I usually get Greek Yogurt, though I go from flavor to flavor.  This shows Strawberry, but Monday I brought home vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt.  And that brings me to the reason I'm thinking of this word (and its spelling) in the first place.  Yes, I'm in the USA, but I wrote YOGHURT on my list.  Wait, why?  That's when I looked up the "correct spelling" of the word.  Maybe I was confused because I read books (and blogs) from all over the world.  That's when I got online to figure out the "correct spelling" of the word.  And that's why the word (words?) became the subject for my Wednesday Words.  (And I learned some new things.)

Then I wondered why it's called "Greek Yogurt", and found this posted HERE:

Yogurt is milk cultured in a particular way.  A quart of milk makes a quart of yogurt.  "Greek yogurt" is just strained yogurt.  You can make it from regular yogurt by dumping it into a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and letting it drain for an hour or so.  So a quart of milk makes less than a quart of strained yogurt.

Though strained yogurt is popular in Greece, it's also popular in other parts of the Balkans and the Middle East.  It's only called Greek because it was popularized in the US by a Greek company.

Women's groups in Methodism that I remember

Women's groups in the United Methodist Church have changed names several times during my life.  (I found these dates HERE).

1939 ~ The various women’s home and foreign missionary societies of churches that came together before my time became the Woman’s Society of Christian Service.  (My mother was president of the WSCS at the church we attended.)

1968 ~ The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church united to form the United Methodist Church (UMC).

1972 ~ The Women’s Society of Christian Service and the Wesleyan Service Guild were united to form United Methodist Women (UMW).

2019 ~ The UMW celebrated 150 years since eight denominations had come together and begun various women's missionary societies.

2022 ~ United Methodist Women (UMW) became United Women in Faith (UWF).  (Some of us still say UMW; old habits die hard.)

Two thoughts for TWOsday

Nightwork ~ by Nora Roberts, 2022, fiction, 437 pages

Bestselling author Nora Roberts introduces an unforgettable thief.  Greed.  Desire.  Obsession.  Revenge ... It’s all in a night’s work.  Harry Booth started stealing at nine to keep a roof over his ailing mother’s head, slipping into luxurious, empty homes at night to find items he could trade for precious cash.  When his mother finally succumbed to cancer, he left Chicago ― but kept up his nightwork, developing into a master thief with a code of honor and an expertise in not attracting attention ― or getting attached.

Until he meets Miranda Emerson, and the powerful bond between them upends all his rules. But along the way, Booth has made some dangerous associations, including the ruthless Carter LaPorte, who sees Booth as a tool he controls for his own profit.  Knowing LaPorte will leverage any personal connection, Booth abandons Miranda for her own safety ― cruelly, with no explanation ― and disappears.

But the bond between Miranda and Booth is too strong, pulling them inexorably back together. Now Booth must face LaPorte, to truly free himself and Miranda once and for all.

My friend Lois read this over the weekend and insisted I'll love it, so I brought it home with me.  Yes, even though it has over 400 pages!

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tomorrow evening.  It's a time of introspection, prayer, and repentance that is celebrated with traditional prayer, followed by blowing a Shofar (a curved ram's horn) and eating traditional food like challah, apple, honey, and pomegranates. The Crown Center has a rabbi coming for a service, and everyone is welcome ~ even those of us who are not Jewish.

Musing about the weather ~ and a book, of course!

Musing about the weather  (Hurricane Helene) and about how easy it was for Deb at Readerbuzz to convince me to order this book.  That's right; I'm musing about a book I haven't yet seen, much less read.  It snagged me that completely, so let me tell you about the book.

We'll Prescribe You a Cat ~ by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda, 2024, literary fiction, 304 pages

Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help.  The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there:  it prescribes cats as medication.  Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they "take" their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound trans-formations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging, yet endearing cats.

Through the chapters of a disheartened businessman who finds unexpected joy in physical labor, a young girl navigating the complexities of elementary school cliques, a middle-aged man struggling to stay relevant at work and home, a hardened bag designer seeking emotional balance, and a geisha unable to move on from the memory of her lost cat, the power of the human-animal bond is revealed.  As the clinic's patients navigate their inner turmoil, their feline companions lead them toward healing, self-discovery, and newfound hope.