Two new books ~ by Marion Kummerow

A Light in the Window (Margarete's Journey Book 1) ~ by Marion Kummerow, 2021, historical fiction (Germany)

Berlin, 1941:  Margarete stumbles out of the bombed-out house, the dust settling around her like snow.  Mistaking her for the dead officer’s daughter, a guard rushes over to gently ask her if she is all right and whether there’s anything he can do to help her.  She glances down at where the hated yellow star had once been and, with barely a pause, she replies "Yes."

Margarete Rosenbaum is working as a housemaid for a senior Nazi officer when his house is bombed, leaving her the only survivor.  But when she’s mistaken for his daughter in the aftermath of the blast, Margarete knows she can make a bid for freedom.  Issued with temporary papers — and with the freedom of not being seen as Jewish — a few hours are all she needs to escape to relative safety.  That is, until her former employer’s son, SS officer Wilhelm Huber, tracks her down.

Strangely he doesn’t reveal her true identity right away.  Instead he insists she comes and lives with him in Paris, and seems determined to keep her hidden.  His only condition:  she must continue to pretend to be his sister.  Because whoever would suspect a Nazi girl of secretly being a Jew?  His plan seems impossible, and Margarete is terrified they might be found out, not to mention worried about what Wilhelm might want in return.  But as the Nazis start rounding up Jews in Paris and the Résistance steps up its activities, putting everyone who opposes the regime in peril, she realizes staying hidden in plain sight may be her only chance of survival.  Can Margarete trust a Nazi officer with the only things she has left though — her safety, her life, even her heart?

From the Dark We Rise (Margarete's Journey Book 2) ~ by Marion Kummerow, 2021, historical fiction (Germany)

1942, Germany:  "Please, let me help.  I won’t tell anyone."  It was madness to help an escaped prisoner in Nazi Germany, but how could she not?  If it weren’t for a lucky strike of fate, she might be the woman on the ground shivering with fear.  A light of hope entered the prisoner’s eyes.

When a young woman calling herself Annegret Huber unexpectedly inherits a huge fortune, including a house and factory just outside Berlin, her first thought is to try to see out the war quietly, avoiding the Gestapo and SS as best she can.  No one needs to know her dark secret.  She must focus on staying hidden, because she can’t risk being exposed for who she truly is.  She's not really Annegret, but a girl living a secret life — a girl who was once called Margarete.

An encounter with an escaped prisoner changes everything, as Margarete discovers what is happening at the factory and its attached labor camp.  Witnessing first-hand the suffering of prisoners — shivering, with faces gaunt from hunger, as they work in brutal and cruel conditions — she realizes she must act.  If she can save just one life, she knows she has to, because the truth is that Margarete resembles the prisoners in the camp in ways she dare not admit.  On the other side of the fence, she has seen a face that is achingly familiar.

The truth about Santa Claus

Son:  "Dad, I think I'm old enough now.  Is there a Santa Claus?"

Dad:  "Ok, I agree that you're old enough.  But before I tell you, I have a question for you.  You see, the “truth” is a dangerous gift.  Once you know something, you can't unknow it.  Once you know the truth about Santa Claus, you will never again understand and relate to him as you do now.  So my question is:  Are you sure you want to know?"  Brief pause.

Son:  "Yes, I want to know."

Dad:  "Ok, I'll tell you.  Yes, there is a Santa Claus."

Son:  "Really?"

Dad:  "Yes, really, but he's not an old man with a beard in a red suit.  That's just what we tell kids.  You see, kids are too young to understand the true nature of Santa Claus, so we explain it to them in a way that they can understand.  The truth about Santa Claus is that he's not a person at all; he's an idea.  Think of all those presents Santa gave you over the years.  I actually bought those myself.  I watched you open them.  And did it bother me that you didn't thank me?  Of course not!  In fact it gave me great pleasure.  You see, Santa Claus is THE IDEA OF GIVING FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING, without thought of thanks or acknowledgement.  I saw that woman collapse on the subway last week and called for help, I knew that she'd never know that it was me that summoned the ambulance.  I was being Santa Claus when I did that."

Son:  "Oh."

Dad:  "So now that you know, you're part of it.  You have to be Santa Claus, too, now.  That means you can never tell a young kid the secret, and you have to help us select Santa presents for them, and most important, you have to look for opportunities to help people.  Got it?"

Help each other, and be kind.

Nonfiction November ~ Week 5: Additions to my TBR

Week 5 of Nonfiction November (November 29-December 3) — New additions to my TBR with Jaymi at The OC Bookgirl:  It’s been a month full of amazing books.  Which ones have made it onto your TBR?  Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book.

Except for the blogs I already read, like Helen's Book Blog, I have no idea what bloggers are posting because they post links on Twitter or Instagram or whatever.  Anyway, I'm not on those and am not trying to add to my TBR list anyway.  I also regularly read nonfiction that interests me, without needing help to "find" nonfiction that someone has convinced me is worth taking my time to read.  Who ARE these people anyway?  I may not bother doing Nonfiction November again.  I confess that I've read more fiction than nonfiction this November.  The best nonfiction I did read was If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans by John Pavlovitz (2021, social issues, 233 pages), which I rated 10 of 10.  I've written about it here and here.

Sunday Salon ~ Donna's jar and other good things

I've finished reading the notes Donna put in her Good Things jar every week during 2019.  Three of her weekly "good things" reports for herself surprised me when I pulled them out on Friday.

(1)  The very last one I opened turned out to be HER very first one.  How weird is that?  "I had a fun-filled time at the Crown Center Resident Council New Year's Eve party — wonderful dinner, great music, and sharing laughter w / friends," she wrote on Week 1.  She drew smiley faces between her paragraphs.

(2)  I was shocked when I saw what she wrote on Week 31:  "No blessings this week — too many mass murders!  Sad times!"  And that's all she wrote that week.

(3)  Several of us were mentioned in Week 8:  "On Sunday afternoon last week, Bonnie went to the store for me because my arthritis was acting up in my back and hips.  She is a life-saver!"  Her next paragraph says:  "On Saturday night, Dora took me to Powell Hall to see this year's Black History concert."  They ran into some other Crown Center folks there, and Donna added:  "A good time was had by all (I hope).  I certainly enjoyed it."

It's been a long time since I shared the WindowSwap link, so we could "go" places around the world without leaving home.  Yesterday I visited someone's backyard in Canada and saw a cat in an open window overlooking rolling hills in Taiwan.  It was snowing outside a window in New York and a few other places.  Blue waves washed ashore in Cancun, Mexico (see photo).  Click the link, and see where it takes you. 

Books I'm reading

It's still the weekend, so I'm on the third book I had planned, as I shared on Wednesday:

• What Child Is This (a 2018 Kindle fiction story by Rhys Bowen) ~ I finished this one that I'd already been reading.
• The Girls with No Names (a 2020 novel by Serena Burdick) ~ I read this from beginning to end, finishing last night.
• Catch You Later, Traitor (a 2015 novel by Avi) ~ I'm reading this library book now.  Which cover do you like better?

Good Thing #1

Good friends I know in person.

Good Thing #2

Good friends I know only online.

Good Thing #3

Blogging, especially book blogging.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts Sunday Salon, a place for us to link up and share what we have been reading and doing during the week.

Beginning ~ with nothing

Beginning

London, 1940 — "It won't even seem like Christmas this year."  Maggie Harris's voice cracked as she swallowed back the tears.  She had resolved to be strong and brave for Jack's sake, but it was hard.  "No pudding.  No mince pies.  And no tree.  Nothing."  She turned away, staring at the blackout curtains that covered the kitchen window.

What Child Is This (Kindle Single) ~ by Rhys Bowen, 2018, fiction, 42 pages

Christmas during World War II is a time for small miracles in this bittersweet short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and In Farleigh Field.  Jack and Maggie Harris are adrift on ravaged streets during the London Blitz.  Their home is gone.  They have nowhere to go and nothing left to lose.  With only the memories of their greatest loss — the death of their child during a Christmas years before — Jack and Maggie settle in a seemingly deserted mansion for the night.  Inside they find shelter, warmth, and a bit of cheer.  They also discover a surprise.  In this darkest of times, the unexpected compassion of strangers will make this Christmas one to remember forever.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Times people stepped out to bless others

These inspiring words were posted by Jess Johnston on November 21, 2019 (and at least half a dozen times since then) on Facebook.  I've edited her words.
_____________________________________________________________________

When I was a fresh mom with two under three, my card was declined in the checkout line.  The baby was in the car seat, and the two-year-old was asking for bubble gum and chocolate bars.  I felt like I could just melt into the floor.  Without missing a beat the man behind me in line handed the cashier his card.  "I've got it," he said.  That was ten years ago, and I will never forget it.

When I worked at a coffee shop we had someone buy their own coffee and then anonymously buy the coffee of the next person in line, saying "pay it forward."  The next person was shocked to hear their coffee was covered and said, "Well, I want to buy the one for the next customer."  The pay-it-forward lasted most of the afternoon with people buying other people's drinks.  My friend at the cash register was near tears by the end of her shift.  I won't ever forget that day, and I doubt she has either.

One time in the Target line a mom with a brand new infant and two little ones, who were crying and clinging to her legs, asked if I might hold her baby for a minute.  I took that baby and rocked her in my arms until she stopped fussing.  I bet that mom remembers that day; I know I do.

When my toddler was somewhere between threenager and fournado she threw a giant tantrum in a shopping center.  I held her on a park bench while she screamed like I was her kidnapper.  A couple of older ladies stopped and said, "You're doing an AMAZING job, Mama.  Hang in there!"  I will never, ever forget them or their words that day.

In a train depot in France, we were lost and confused trying to figure out where to go.  An older man sitting near us accidentally dropped some cash on the ground.  My daughter, who was six, found it and returned it to him.  He and his friend loaded us up with snacks from their bags and then, in broken English, asked if we needed help.  They ended up walking us all the way to our next train and riding it with us for a while just to make sure we didn't get lost.  We won't ever forget those two men.

One time on a family road trip, we stopped at a roadside cafe to get lunch.  When we went to pay we found out that another couple had already bought it saying that we had a "sweet family."  You better believe we will remember that forever.

Kindness is so powerful.  It can be such a little thing like buying someone's coffee or giving an encouraging word to someone who could use it.  You just never know the impact it might have.  My guess is that most of us remember the times that someone stepped out of their own life just to bless ours.  What little things can we do this week that just might stay with someone for a lifetime?

Nonfiction November ~ Week 4: Stranger than Fiction?

Week 4 of Nonfiction November (November 22-26) — Stranger Than Fiction with Christopher at Plucked from the Stacks:  This week we’re focusing on all the great nonfiction books that *almost* don’t seem real.  A sports biography involving overcoming massive obstacles, a profile on a bizarre scam, a look into the natural wonders in our world — basically, if it makes your jaw drop, you can highlight it for this week’s topic.

"Truth is stranger than fiction" means things that actually happen are often more surprising than stories that are invented.  I can't think of a particular book.  I can't think of a particular event.  This week's subject is a non-starter for me.  Wait!  I just googled and found a (kind of long) story about something that was "stranger than fiction."  It will have to do for my Nonfiction November post.

Susan Lyon (of South Carolina) posted this on Quora 6 years ago to answer the question, "What are some great examples of coincidence?"  (The wording and punctuation is all hers.)

I was in my late 30’s, three children, recently divorced, working two jobs, trying to stay afloat.  My second job was that of a waitress and I worked a couple nights a week and Sundays.  Not a lot of employees wanted the Sunday shift.  We were on a major highway for beach traffic.  Sunday traffic consisted of sunburned children who were cranky and tired, bad tipping (mostly because they spent too much on amusements, hotels and restaurants) and parents who were regretting having to return to work the next day.  Sunday’s could be busy, but mostly, they were on the slow side.

One Sunday, a family of four came into the restaurant and sat down - Dad, Mom, two children – one girl approximately 7 and one boy around 5.  It was a slow day and a storm was approaching.  The little boy was quite talkative and I found out just about everything they did the week before.  They were the only table in the restaurant and ate dinner and relaxed while the storm passed.

I should let you know I love rainbows.  I sometimes feel like I am a rainbow chaser.  People like me know the look and feel when rainbows should appear in the area.  As a matter of fact, my kids to this day, call me when they see a rainbow.  That being said, after the storm I noticed that look.  Went out back and saw the most beautiful rainbow.  (sigh)  Checked on the table and asked the parents if I could take their kids to see the rainbow.  I could see the glance between them, probably wondering if I was a kidnapper, but that quickly passed as I described the sheer beauty of what was happening right outside the door.  Told them we would be right out front and they could come too.  They let the children go with me while they paid the bill.

The little boy grabbed my hand and we walked out and sat down on the curb.  By now there were two rainbows and working on a third.  I explained a little science and the children were just amazed.  They had never seen real rainbows only ones in pictures.  The parents came out and we all sat there and watched for a few minutes at the wonder of the rainbow.  Another car drove into the parking lot and I knew this had to end because I was about to get another customer.  We said our goodbyes.

A year later, working one Sunday, I had a family come into the restaurant and sat down - Dad, Mom, two children – one girl and one boy 5.  When I approached the table, the little boy jumps up and says to me, “Can you make it happen again?”  I of course had no idea what he was referring to.  The mom and dad explained they had been in the year before and their little boy told everyone how he met someone who could make rainbows.  His sister kept telling her brother that it didn’t work that way and there would not be any rainbow and he should just shut up.  The young man was very convinced that I could indeed make it happen.  I didn’t know what to do, but I tried to explain as nicely as I could, that I didn’t think we would be able to see a rainbow that day.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  As I left the table, I could hear the little boy saying to his sister, “You just wait and see.”

Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, there was a storm that blew in really fast.  The sky darkened and it poured for about 5 minutes and then all cleared up and what remained was a beautiful rainbow.  Now you may call this a coincidence, miracle, sign from above or just damn amazing.  All I know is there was one little boy who proved his sister wrong, amazed his parents and sat with me for a very long time on the curb calling me the rainbow maker.  Just to let you know, I got a damn good tip.

This "stranger than fiction" story has been viewed more than 652,000 times!

What I'm reading this weekend

The Thankfully Reading Weekend began today, and I have hundreds of books on my Kindle.  Okay, so I've read some of them, maybe half of them)  Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves suggested some questions:

1.  What’s in your TBR pile for the weekend?

• What Child Is This (a 2018 Kindle fiction story by Rhys Bowen)
• The Girls with No Names (a 2020 novel by Serena Burdick)
• Catch You Later, Traitor (a 2015 novel by Avi)

2.  How much time do you think you’ll have for reading?

• The entire weekend, as always.  I'm retired and read whenever I'm in the mood.

3.  What book are you starting out with?

• The Kindle single is short, so I'll start with it, 
• then Burdick's novel, 
• then Avi's novel.

4.  Are you reading print, ebooks, audio, or a bit of each?

• Two ebooks, 
• but also print if I get to Avi's, which is a library book.

5.  Be sure to keep track of any recommendations you receive, and share when you have the time.

• I don't think I'll be reading a lot of blogs, but we shall see.

2021 Thankfully Reading Weekend

Jenn at Jenn's Bookshelves says:  "What won’t the pandemic prevent us from doing?  Reading!  I’m pleased to announce that I will once again be hosting Thankfully Reading Weekend, November 24-28 (Wednesday through Sunday)!  I added on an extra day since it seemed many of us were ready to read early!  Here are the details:  There are no rules to the weekend; we’re simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for the year.  We thought it’d be fun if we cheered each other on a bit."  If you want to join in, grab the logo above and add your sign up post to the link-up on her blog.  Okay, I'm in.  I'm signing up for this.

Today is Fibonacci Day

Every November 23rd, Fibonacci Day honors Leonardo Bonacci, one of the most influential mathematicians of the Middle Ages.  The date corresponds to the first numbers of the Fibonacci sequence, which are:  1 1 2 3.  Let me show you:

The Fibonacci Sequence is the series of numbers:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...

The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it:

the 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1),

the 3 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+2),

the 5 is (2+3), and so on.

That means the next number in the sequence above is 21+34 = 55.

Use those numbers to make squares, and we can make a spiral, like this one.  Aristotle called it the Golden Mean.  So the Fibonacci spiral and the Golden Mean are closely related.  Do you see now how Sandra Boynton drew her cartoon and why she called it the Golden Meanie?  To show the "meanness," she added those feet, horns, eyes, and clenched mouth with one sharp tooth showing.

Two charts on TWOsday

These two illustrations were on Ann's My Head Is Full of Books on Sunday.

It's a wonderful illustration of causing harm, even when it isn't intentional.

Ann wrote:  "People who know the least have as much or more

confidence about their knowledge as experts in the field do."

BTW, did you notice that the first "chart" is a pie chart?  Yes, I'm grinning.

Monday musing ~ about words and ideas

In the United States we call this bird a TURKEY.

Turks call it HINDI (meaning from India).

In India, the bird is called PERU.

In Arabic, it's called GREEK CHICKEN.

In Greek, it's called FRENCH CHICKEN.

In French, it's called INDIAN CHICKEN.

I can only conclude that language is indeed a very strange thing!

What do YOU call it?

Personally, I call it delicious.

Mansplaining and clueless males

I'm on the mailing list for Patheos, and today's top article was "Mansplaining in the Bible, and a Woman Who Overcame It."  That was a new one for me, the idea that mansplaining can be found in the Bible.  Do you know what that word means?

Word of the Day

mansplaining /ˈmanˌsplāniNG/ noun (informal) = the explanation of something by a man, typically to a woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.  Example:  A woman says to a man:  "Your response is classic mansplaining."

So where is this mansplaining in the Bible?  The article says it's in the Hebrew scriptures in the story of Hannah, a powerful and faithful woman who was surrounded by mansplaining and clueless males.  She was crying over her situation, and a priest (a man) assumed she must be drunk and told her to quit crying.  Did he know her situation?  Nope.  This looks to me more like a clueless male than one who is mansplaining.  Oh, well.  Maybe there's a better example somewhere else in the Bible.

I blogged about mansplaining in early 2019, where I said:

I'm interested in the #MeToo movement and how many women can say, "Me, too."  When I attended a recent panel discussion, I counted 31 of us in the room.  Only nine were men, but every one of them (except the silent young man who accompanied a woman on the panel) spoke up, some repeatedly.  One was a last-minute replacement for a woman who was supposed to be on the panel and couldn't be there.  I noticed the men would jump into the conversation without waiting for the moderator (a woman) to call on them, while women were raising their hands and waiting to be called on.  Fewer than half the women spoke at all.  Finally, I'd had enough.  I waited patiently, with my hand up, until the moderator called on me.  When I started talking about women needing to have a voice and men doing the talking about #MeToo, a man near me interrupted me (!!!).  So I stood up and continued to talk ABOVE him.  We women had come to discuss the #MeToo situation, not to have it "mansplained" to us, though I didn't use that word.  A woman came up to me afterwards to thank me for speaking up.

Sunday Salon ~ self-talk, puns, and a book

A great visual to help learners of all ages think about coaching themselves.

When you feel udderly exhausted, it's time to hit the hay.

I exercise by 

jumping to (or two) conclusions, 

running my mouth, 

stepping out of line, 

pushing my luck, 

side-stepping responsibility, 

running wild, 

pushing my luck, 

flying off the handle, and 

carrying things too far (like this sentence).

Did you recognize Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken that I shared?

The Girl Puzzle: A Story of Nellie Bly ~ by Kate Braithwaite, 2019, fiction.  This may be Nonfiction November, but during the second week we were asked to pair a nonfiction book and a fiction book.  This is the fiction, which I happen to have on my Kindle.  So I'm currently reading a biographical book that is also historical, but it's still fiction.  Oh, well.  I've read 87% so far, and I do want to keep going.  My biggest complaint is about the Kindle version NOT being divided into chapters, even though the story bounces back and forth from Nellie Bly (née Elizabeth Cochrane) telling her own story ... to her assistant Beatrice giving us her point of view.  I also need to read a couple of library books that I'll have to return, both fiction.

Good Thing #1

Memories to look back on ..... and smile.

Good Thing #2

Laughing with long-distance friends by phone.

Good Thing #3

BFFs, both my Best Friend Forever and my Best Furry Friend.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different

time zones — to share what we have been doing during the week.

Other Sunday Salon musings are linked at the bottom of Deb's Readerbuzz post.

Today is National Adoption Day

Each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, National Adoption Day raises awareness of the more than 100,000 children who are in foster care and focuses on children waiting for permanent, loving families.

Nonfiction November ~ Week 3: Be the Expert

Week 3 of Nonfiction November (Nov. 15-19) – Be/Ask/Become the Expert with Veronica at The Thousand Book Project:  Three ways to join in this week:

1. BE the expert = Share three or more books on a single topic that you have read and can recommend.
2. ASK the expert = Put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic that you have been dying to read.
3. BECOME the expert = Create your own list of books on a topic that you’d like to read.

I've decided to BE the expert on the subject of prayer, using three books from my bookshelves:

The Greatest Prayer: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord's Prayer ~ by John Dominic Crossan, 2010, religion, 10/10

Crossan explores the prayer line by line that every Christian knows by heart, so we can rediscover why this seemingly simple prayer sparked a revolution.  Addressing issues of God’s will for us and our response, our responsibilities to one another and to the earth, and the theology of our daily bread, he reveals the universal significance of the only prayer Jesus ever taught.

A Place to Pray: Reflections on the Lord's Prayer ~ by Roberta C. Bondi, 1998, religion, 9/10

Bondi put this study together in a unique way, with each chapter written as a letter to her friend.  "As for us, ours is a God who loves, and if we love this God who is love, we long to express that love by imitating God, that is, by loving those whom God loves in the way God loves, in an appropriately human manner" (p. 128).  This prayer helps us to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Lord, Teach Us: The Lord's Prayer and the Christian Life ~ by William H. Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas, 1996, religion, 7/10

After a short introduction, the authors work through each phrase of the Lord's Prayer, using it as a framework for the Christian life.  Providing basic faith understanding, this book will help the user experience Christianity as attractive and inviting, not distant, difficult, or foreboding.  They apply this prayer to the whole Christian experience as life reflects these words.

Sunday Salon ~ library loot and some good stuff

Library Loot

Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk ~ by Jane Sutcliffe, illustrated by John Shelley, 2016, picture book, 40 pages

When Jane Sutcliffe set out to write a book about William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, in her own words, she ran into a problem:  Will's words kept popping up all over the place!  What's an author to do?  Shakespeare is, after all, responsible for such familiar phrases as "what's done is done" and "too much of a good thing."  He even helped turn "household words" into household words.  But, Jane embraced her dilemma and wrote about Shakespeare, his plays, and his famous phrases with glee.  After all, what better words are there to use to write about the greatest writer in the English language than his very own?  As readers will discover, "the long and the short of it" is this:  Shakespeare changed the English language forever.  And now he is the only author with his own Dewey decimal number, 822.33.

Catch You Later, Traitor ~ by Avi, 2015, juvenile historical fiction (New York), 304 pages

Twelve-year-old Pete Collison is a regular kid who loves baseball, detective stories, and radio crime dramas.  When an FBI agent accuses his father of being a Communist, Pete finds himself caught in a real-life mystery.  The rumors have reached school and turned Pete's class against him.  To discover the truth, Pete digs into his father's past, but the more he finds out, the more complicated the story becomes.  Are there really Commies in Pete's family?

In a pickle

Today is National Pickle Day, and some people think it's a big dill.  (Yeah, you knew I'd get a pun in here, right?)

Yesterday was World Kindness Day, and the Action for Happiness folks sent out (via the free app I have) a message saying that "It's cool to be kind."  I think every day should be a day to be kind to the people around us.

Trivia

Did you ever play with a slinky?  I discovered yesterday that it was developed in a military research lab.  Yeah, I know you just love that little bit of trivia I found while wasting time online:  "In 1943, a young naval mechanical engineer by the name of Richard James was working on designing a system of springs that could support and stabilize sensitive instruments aboard naval ships in rough seas. During the course of his research, James accidentally knocked a coiled spring off of a shelf in his lab at the William Cramp & Sons shipyards in Philadelphia.  The spring went tumbling, landed on a pile of books, flipped over itself, and then proceeded to 'walk' itself down the books, flop onto a table, onto the floor, and then coil itself back up into a neat stack."  Click here to read more about it.

Good Thing #1

All the numbers looked good at my doctor's appointment.

Good Thing #2

Fun toys like Slinkies and Rubik's Cubes.

Good Thing #3

A warm apartment now that the weather is getting colder.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different

time zones — to share what we have been doing during the week.

Other Sunday Salon musings are linked at the bottom of Deb's Readerbuzz post.

World Kindness Day is November 13th

A mom was getting ready to take her children to school one morning, when her 5-year-old said, "Mom, can I take an extra pair of gloves and a hat today?"

Mom said, "Sure.  Do you want them in case these get wet?"

The child said, "Because there's a boy at school who never has any, and I want him to be warm."

Be like that child, and remember also that . . . . .

Adding details about Wednesday's Booklover's Quiz

From yesterday's Book Lover's Quiz:

"Own a piece of clothing declaring your love of reading" (#15).

Three of my shirts immediately came to mind.

A shirt I inherited from Donna defines abibliophobia.

The design is like this, but the shirt is bright pink.

This one says that my spirit animal is a bookworm.

A third one lists Seasonal Bookworms beside a stack of books.  This 2019 photo shows Donna wearing her spirit animal (sloth) shirt and me wearing my Seasonal Bookworms shirt.  The words say:

SEASONAL BOOKWORMS

.... WINTER ....

It's snowing.  I should stay inside and read.

.... SPRING ....

I have allergies.  I have to stay inside and read.

.... SUMMER ....

It's too hot.  I'd better stay inside and read.

.... AUTUMN ....

It's so windy.  I think I will stay inside and read.