Cat chat on Caturday

Bonnie says her last two cats blogged on Saturday and called it Caturday.  Did they not know how to spell?  Or did they think they were being cute?  Whatever.  Sure, I'd love to share things with all the cats of the world.  If there are any other blogging cats "out there" reading this, let me know so we can all chat.  Like someone getting married, I have gotten a new name.  Sheila named me "Jake," but for some reason Bonnie doesn't seem to want to call me that.  So she tried Jackie because it has a similar sound.  Judy often called me "Jakey," and that sounds a lot like "Jackie," so good enough, I guess.  Just so long as she calls me to come eat.  Wait, now Bonnie's trying "Joy," saying that is her favorite word.  She has that name already outside her door, and at least it does start with a "J."  If you are curious about what I look like, that's my picture at the top (or HERE).

It's time to get active!

Click on this Active April calendar from Action for Happiness to enlarge it.

My way of being active is to keep walking, walking, walking.  I walk in the hallways of my senior living facility if the weather outside is too hot, too cold, too wet, too icy, too much for an old lady.  Hey, that's pretty much what the calendar above says for April 12th:  "Move as much as possible, even if you're stuck inside."  I'm sure we can all find a way, if we are really motivated.

This is something that makes me happy.  It's one of the trees flowering along our Crown Center fence.  Isn't it beautiful?  And I was able to walk outside yesterday to take this picture.

Week in Review

• For Monday Musing, I wrote about a BIG book, HERE.  (Friday's book is even bigger.)
• On Twosday, I wrote about historical fiction, HERE.
• Wednesday's Words were not what they seem to be, HERE.
• My Thursday Thoughts, HERE, were about April foolishness.
• Book Beginnings on Friday was for a book about a different result on 11/22/63,  which we know as the day JFK was assassinated, HERE.
• On Saturday, I wrote about fun and joy, HERE.
  
  

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Five things I'm grateful for

I'm GRATEFUL for .....

1.  Being able to find JOY in at least some part of every day.

2.  Still being able to read and write and blog about books; I've been blogging since January 2007.

3.  Living in a place with great activities available for seniors who reside here and also for seniors who live in the neighborhood.

4.  Being able to walk (even with a Rollator) thousands of steps each day.  I walked more than 9,300 steps yesterday.

5.  Having someone on staff where I live who will help us deal with complicated paperwork.

Do you see "EMBRACING EACH DAY WITH JOY 

GRATITUDE" at the bottom of my Gratitude Journal?

A whale of a tale

Colleen mentioned me on her Thirteen Thursday blog (#6 HERE).  She was reflecting on the whale spitting out the kayaker that I had posted on Sunday (HERE).  It's a whale of a tale, isn't it?

"Joy Is Like the Rain" being sung by children.  I love the happy little additions tinkling between the phrases.  If this video quits working, watch it on YouTube.  By the way, I first posted this in 2017, HERE, and just ran across it again.  Did you notice my favorite word?  Yeah, that first word:  JOY.

Walking, walking, walking — "Michelle English, a licensed clinical social worker at Healthy Life Recovery, tells Yahoo Life (HERE):  'Long walks, unlike short bursts, allow you to enter a meditative state where the repetitive motion and rhythm can help quiet the mind,' she explains."  I (Bonnie) walk thousands of steps daily, like these two, using my rollator.  Since we have been under a winter weather advisory, I walk in the halls here or in our big exercise center.  Often, when people encounter me, they say, "Getting in your steps?" or "I see you are still walking."  I usually respond in a sing-song voice, "Yep, walking, walking, walking!"

This month, play and find JOY

I found something new (to me) on Deb's Readerbuzz blog: it's a Happiness Calendar for April.  Yes, I know we are already on the 8th day, but go ahead and look at the ideas.  (Click on it to enlarge it.)  Here are suggestions for each day's happiness:

April 1 ~ Find the humor in your day.

April 2 ~ Watch an inspiring movie. 

April 3 ~ Ask yourself how forgiving you are.

April 4 ~ Make a mini time capsule.

April 5 ~ Carve out some leisure time.

April 6 ~ Let go of your assumptions and see the people in front of you.

April 7 ~ Embrace the uncertainty of life.

April 8 ~ Spend time with your loved ones.

April 9 ~ See what you can learn from someone you disagree with.

April 10 ~ Journal about three good things that happened today.

April 11 ~ Ask for help when you need it.

April 12 ~ If you're feeling low, try helping someone else.

April 13 ~ Express your needs in a relationship.

April 14 ~ Plan three enjoyable things to do today.

April 15 ~ Connect with your curiousity for learning.

April 16 ~ Take a moment to appreciate the people who support you.

April 17 ~ Show solidarity by listening and hearing other groups' perspectives.

April 18 ~ Dance!

April 19 ~ Question the stereotypes you see in the media.

April 20 ~ Make time for play.

April 21 ~ Connect across age differences.

April 22 ~ Take a walk in nature to reconnect with Earth.

April 23 ~ Find a doctor who listens and cares.

April 24 ~ Remember to breathe when difficult emotions arise.

April 25 ~ Join an affinity group.

April 26 ~ Question your intuitions before you follow them.

April 27 ~ See the JOY in people around you.

April 28 ~ Be a responsible citizen.

April 29 ~ Feel your feet on the ground.

April 30 ~ Reflect on your life journey so far.

** I see my favorite word up there, and I'm sure you see it, too.  Yes, I enlarged it a bit, didn't I?

Thursday Thoughts

Lots to think about today.  Let's see..........

1. My weather app says there's a 50% chance of rain today, with thunderstorms late tonight.  Today's high is predicted to be 101°F.
2. We are under two "Severe Weather Alerts":  Heat Advisory and Air Quality Alert.
3. Hot enough for ya?  High heat and rain tomorrow, too.
4. Oh, no!  Tomorrow, I'm supposed to go with Risé (my retired librarian friend who is the source of my Risé Recommends posts) to take boxes and boxes of books to trade for some new-to-us books for our Crown Center library.  Yikes!  Rain is not good for cardboard boxes or books!  Now what?
5. As I'm typing this, I'm also glancing out my window and seeing blue skies with fluffy white clouds.  Okay, some clouds are kind of smudgy gray, since we are also under that Air Quality Alert all day.
6. I need something positive to focus on.  How about this quote?  It's from page 33 of the book on JOY and ENTHUSIASM:  "Think and practice joy every day. ... Get enthusiasm, think enthusiasm, live enthusiastically!"
7. 
   So I should think positive thoughts, like something about my brand new apartment.  I can say positive things about my walk-in shower.  In my old apartment, my shower was over my tub, which required a nonslip bathmat with suction cups that could grip the slippery enamel.  Yay, fall risk lessened!
8. Let's end with a book Risé Recommends:

 

The Innocents ~ by Francesca Segal, 2012, fiction (London), 289 pages

Newly engaged and unthinkingly self-satisfied, twenty-eight-year-old Adam Newman is the prize catch of Temple Fortune, a small, tight-knit Jewish suburb of London.  He has been dating Rachel Gilbert since they were both sixteen and now, to the relief and happiness of the entire Gilbert family, they are finally to marry.  To Adam, Rachel embodies the highest values of Temple Fortune; she is innocent, conventional, and entirely secure in her community — a place in which everyone still knows the whereabouts of their nursery school classmates.  Marrying Rachel will cement Adam's role in a warm, inclusive family he loves.

But as the vast machinery of the wedding gathers momentum, Adam feels the first faint touches of claustrophobia, and when Rachel's younger cousin Ellie Schneider moves home from New York, she unsettles Adam more than he'd care to admit.  Ellie — beautiful, vulnerable, and fiercely independent — offers a liberation that he hadn't known existed:  a freedom from the loving interference and frustrating parochialism of North West London.  Adam finds himself questioning everything, suddenly torn between security and exhilaration, tradition and independence.  What might he be missing by staying close to home?

Handel's Water Music

Today, Joy is celebrating the 303rd anniversary of the first performance of Handel's Water Music on her blog, where she gives you background information.  Let your imagination take you back to the King George the First boarding a royal barge on the River Thames on July 17, 1717.

Now imagine another barge filled with musicians tagging along playing this music.  See the other boats following and listening to the music.  Can you see it?  Maybe not, but you can hear it now.  Just click on the link above to go to Joy's Book Blog and enjoy the music and information.

I've been listening to it the whole time I was writing this blog post and find it delightful in the background.  If you want to jump straight to the music, here's an hour's worth of listening to Handel's Water Music on YouTube.  And just for fun, look at that date again:  7/17/1717.  Those numbers made me smile.

April foolishness? Not much of that around here

Vincent van Gogh's "The Starry Night" at MoMA (The Museum of Modern Art)

ACTIVITIES

Google has assembled links to many, many museums all over the world in their Arts and Culture collection.  You could spend days exploring the world.  Even just looking through the list of places could take hours.  Pleasurable hours.  Take a look.  I noticed that the World Chess Hall of Fame here in St. Louis is on the list.  Clarence House in London may be of interest to my Brit-loving friend Joy.  One called Frogs and Friends in Germany may intrigue a child bored by having to stay home all day, every day — and it may be fun for the inner child in each of us.  You can choose to visit museums in the Netherlands, Croatia, Mongolia, Israel, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Italy (yes, it's safe to visit Italy online), Slovakia, Denmark, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Sweden, and (oh, yes) the United States.  And that's just a tiny sampling of what Google has put together.

View from one of my windows in 2014

CONNECTING

Once again, my neighbor Galina and I talked across our hallway when David delivered three meals to each of us.  The 2-page information sheet he also brought gives tips for getting through this time of isolation.  Here are a few, summarized:

• Washers and dryers are now free for us to use, but please take turns being in the laundry rooms in order to practice social distancing.
• Take turns using the elevators, too.  Not all jammed in together.
• Allow only one crucial caregiver to visit, not family or friends or other guests.
• If you have gloves and a mask available, use them when you must go out.
• Even if you're not already part of Crown's meal delivery program, this is a great time to participate.  It isn't exactly "room service," but you can sign up for it and start getting it from now on.
• The pages also had cheery notes from some of the staff working from home:  Theresa ~ "Isn't it weird that you can trust your dog to guard your home, but not your sandwich?"  Megan's 5-year-old ~ "Hi, everybody at mama's work!  I miss the cookies from your cafe.  I hope everyone is safe.  Miss you, love you, bye!"

Jenn and Bonnie

I love the shout-out from Megan's child.  I also chatted with Donna and Jenn on Facebook, two conversations going at the same time, with one person in the same complex with me and one who used to live in St. Louis years ago.  The only time Jenn and I ever met in person was at the end of 2010, when she and her family were returning to St. Louis from Florida and stopped to visit me while they were passing through my town.  It feels like yesterday.

Marie phoned and we chatted for over half an hour.  Susan called while I was on the phone, but didn't leave a message and didn't answer when I returned her call.  Faye Stickney "has a voicemail box that has not been set up yet," so I didn't get through to her.  Even while "sheltering in place," I'm in contact with a lot of people, including Laura, who called me earlier.

I've been chatting on Facebook today with Laurie, who was working on the puzzle I posted yesterday.  Then I got a friend request from Gina and chatted with HER for awhile.  She now has children about the age she was when I last saw her.  More people are home, and we have more time to reach out to folks we haven't seen in awhile.  And while talking to Gina on Facebook, I got an email from Joanne, which said:

"Trying to get in touch.  I hope this reaches you and that you are well!  It has been over 2 years since the last email I received from you, Christmas 2017.  Please forgive me for not keeping in contact.  I retired from the library in May 2018 and have been quite content in retirement.  If you receive this email, I would love to hear from you!"

I called and left voicemail for Joanne and also emailed her.  She called while I was still "talking" on Facebook with Gina.  And now it's almost an hour and a half later, and I'm finally going to post this on the blog.  I enjoyed talking to you, Joanne.  Catching up was fun to do.

Jane Eyre from the National Theatre in London

MORE ACTIVITIES

After Laura and I talked by phone, she sent me information to share with everyone about National Theatre at Home.  The website says, "Enjoy world-class theatre online while we're closed."  Click here for more about the shows being streamed.

• "One Man, Two Guvnors" ~ April 2-9
• "Jane Eyre" ~ April 9-16
• "Treasure Island" ~ April 16-23
• "Twelfth Night" ~ April 23-30

What have you been doing today?  Have you connected or re-connected?

Sunday can be Fun Day

GAMES for ONE

Hey, folks, I've found some online games we can play for free, when we're tired of thinking.  I first played Solitaire Time on a site called 24/7 Games.

Today, I tried Easy Word Search, and each game of six words took me less than a minute.  I imagine somewhere on that site are more difficult word search puzzles, and there are lots of other games, if you aren't interested in either of these.

COLORING PAGES

I also found eleven free science coloring pages, including the illustration I'm using.  Do you have coloring pencils?  Or crayons?  Or anything to color with?  Save this one and print it out for yourself, if you like it.  Or click here to access the space shuttle, paleontology, cell biology, natural history, and others.

UPDATE on BEAR HUNTING

Bear hunts (that I wrote about last Tuesday) have made it to Woman's Day, with pictures and even videos of people out "bear hunting" with their children.  People have added more photos in the comments.

My friend Joy shared that link on Facebook and said, "Our windows aren't visible to the main road, so I put a bear up on our mail box."  I love her drawing of a bear with a butterfly.

ZOOMING again

I'm glad I learned how to Zoom yesterday.  (Thanks, Donna Rae Jones.)  This morning, I "went" to services at University United Methodist Church "live" via Zoom.  Now it's on Facebook video.

YOGA on the CHAIR

Donna Rae Jones (wearing the royal blue "Girl" shirt in this group photo) is scheduled to do some online classes this week.

Wednesday, 4/1 at 12:00 pm:  Yoga on the Chair with Donna
Wednesday, 4/1 at 7:00 pm:  Meditation with Donna
Thursday, 4/2 at 5:00 pm:  Slow Flow with Donna

Click this link to access the Yoga Buzz information on Facebook.  You can find older videos of Donna's meditation sessions in the collection at the bottom of this page.

Caring and Sharing

Checking in with friends

Ginnie

I called Ginnie, who was walking in her neighborhood, chatted a bit and said I'd call back later to talk.  When I did, we talked another 45 minutes.  It's been too long since we caught up.

Donna ordered a few things for me in her Instacart order, mostly cat food, but delivery isn't until Saturday.  Crown delivered meals for those of us signed up.  When Judy brought our meals, I spoke to my neighbor Galina, staying inside our apartments across the hall from each other.  Randi, working from home, called to ask if I would write a couple of sentences about our meal deliveries.

On my way out for a walk in the sun, I ran into Erin and her sister, who were going up to see their dad.  I left a voice message for Judy about a package downstairs for her twin sister Sue.  I texted Sharon, offering a Sudoku magazine with 76 puzzles in it.  Nope, so does anyone else do sudoku?  If you live close by, it can be yours.  I'm pretty sure there were others, a normal day ... or at least, a NEW-normal day.  Sheltering in place doesn't have to be boring.

Neighborhood caring

One upbeat comment on Nextdoor was very popular.  "Earlier today my daughter Zoya was feeding the birds over-ripe bananas.  I was going to throw those bananas [away], but she insisted that the birds would love it.  The birds really loved those bananas as they came in [a] bunch and ate it.  FYI, Birds also sent a 'Thank you note' for my daughter."

Another person offered an activity for children:  "Hi, neighborhood — I got an order of frozen food that came with a large block of dry ice.  I remember using dry ice in kid activities when my kids were young.  If anyone’s interested, let me know and I can leave it in its box on my front porch."

"How’s everyone doing?  Does anyone need anything?" — Dozens of people have commented on this one, including one who said, "This thread is simply awesome! — it’s community in action."  And most of those comments garnered many MORE responses in reply.

One woman asked how crowded the grocery stores are, and people jumped in.  I told her, "Try Instacart for deliveries, but know that my friend ordering today was told delivery will be on Saturday.  Don't wait until the last minute."

Exercising mentally and physically

I walked to the grocery store a block away, and lots of people were out on the greenway.  They were jogging, hiking, rollerblading, nodding hello as they passed far apart on the wide sidewalk.  One man was biking with an attached baby trailer flying a red pennant.  A child skipped ahead of her parents as they walked and talked much too slowly for her pent-up energy.  And I snapped this picture of a beautiful day in the neighborhood, with the sun shining, the wind blowing, temperatures reaching 61°F, and a single contrail in the sky (not in this photo).

Here's a do-at-home video for you, guided by my friend, the yoga instructor — Body Scan with Donna Rae Jones.

Sharing book titles

1.  My friend the bookmobile lady — that would be Donna — told me about this book.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, 2019, historical fiction (Kentucky)

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, Kentucky, blue-skinned nineteen-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry, has just snuffed out her last courting candle, her last chance for 'respectability' and a marriage bed.

The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.  Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program.  She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give those who have nothing a bookly respite.

2.  One of my friends has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.  Today, she recommended a great book that has helped her immensely.  I'm debating whether to get it for my Kindle or wait for my library to re-open to read it.  My mother, who lived with me for 25 years, developed Alzheimer's.  In other words, I've lived with it, dealt with it, am dismayed by what it does to people.

The End of Alzheimer's: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline ~ by Dale Bredesen, 2017, cognitive decline

In this paradigm shifting book, Dale Bredesen, MD, offers real hope to anyone looking to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer's Disease and cognitive decline.  Revealing that AD is not one condition, as it is currently treated, but three, this book outlines 36 metabolic factors (micronutrients, hormone levels, sleep) that can trigger "downsizing" in the brain.  The protocol shows us how to rebalance these factors using lifestyle modifications like taking B12, eliminating gluten, or improving oral hygiene.

The results are impressive.  Of the first ten patients on the protocol, nine displayed significant improvement within 3-6 months.  Since then the protocol has yielded similar results with hundreds more.  The End of Alzheimer’s brings new hope to patients, caregivers, physicians, and treatment centers with a fascinating look inside the science and a complete step-by-step plan that fundamentally changes how we treat and even think about Alzheimer's Disease.

3.  My friend Joy shared this last book on Facebook because the author has offered it for FREE to homeschoolers and others, months before it's even published:

"Really exciting news folks.  Because families and teachers are struggling to find curriculum during the COVID-19 epidemic. Heyday Books, Emilie Lygren, and I have released the complete PDF of our new book How to Teach Nature Journaling for FREE.  The book will be available for sale in a few months.  Nature journaling can easily be done outside, maintaining social distancing, an ideal science activity for shelter in place.  Share the news.  Stay healthy my friends.  Visit https://johnmuirlaws.com/product/how-to-teach-nature-journaling/ for this and more resources."

How to Teach Nature Journaling ~ by John Muir Laws and Emilie Lygren, foreword by Amy Tan, 2020, education

A comprehensive guide to using nature journaling as a tool to engage young people with the outdoors, this teacher-friendly book combines curriculum plans, practical advice, and in-the-field experience so that educators of all stripes can bring journaling to their students or families.  Full-color illustrations and sample journal pages from notable naturalists and novices show how to put each lesson into practice.

31 hands-on field activities to connect art, science, math, and critical thinking, while encouraging students and mentors alike to recognize and record the wonder and beauty in the natural world.

Social distancing

The CDC defines social distancing as "remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings and maintaining distance (approxi-mately 6 feet) from others when possible."  It is less drastic than quarantine or isolation, which are used for people who are suspected to be carrying the virus.  (I found the GIF here.)  Keeping our distance from each other, even when neither of us has symptoms of the coronavirus, is the best way to prevent the spread of this pandemic.

I woke up this morning thinking about "the last man on earth," a book and a movie, if I'm remembering correctly.  I looked it up, and it's a 1982 book by Isaac Asimov and also the title of three movies over the decades (1924, 1964, and 2011).  That's kind of what I'm feeling this morning, as I sit isolated and alone in my apartment with only my cat as company.  And my computer?  Maybe that depressing feeling and anxiety was why my blood pressure was up a bit more than usual this morning.

Asking my five daily questions:

1. What am I grateful for today?

Snow!  Strangely, today's rain had turned to SNOW when I glanced up this morning.  And then the tiny white flakes became BIG snow flakes.  It's too wet to lay.  At least, I think so.  But who expects snow at the beginning of spring when the temps are above freezing all day?

2. Who am I checking in on or connecting with today?

Mary called to check on me this morning and to talk awhile.  Donna and I chatted through Facebook's private messages.  Sharon texted that she'd left something in the box beside my door.  It was a bag of pecans.  Thanks, Sharon!  I tried to call Tiny, who is now living with her daughter and son-in-law nearby.  We still have a lot of hours left in the day, so I may be in contact with several more before bedtime.  Evening update:  Shannon called to check on me, and when I went down to get yesterday's mail, I spoke to Dorothy in the lobby and Darlene on the desk.  I also met Donna in the hall, when Domino's delivered an order for us this evening.

3. What expectations of "normal" am I letting go of today?

Having all the foods available that I'm used to.  Joy says on her blog today that cabbage lasts longer than lettuce, so she shared her recipes with us (click her links).  Her whole post is intersting:  "Self love in the time of Coronavirus."

4. How am I getting outside today?

I'm not, because it's raining.  As of midnight tonight, St. Louis city and county will be under "stay-at-home" orders.  We'll still be able to go out for essentials like food and medicines, but I need to look at the details on the St. Louis County website.

5. How am I moving my body today?

I got out my mini-cycle so I can exercise inside a little better.  Donna used it while sitting in a chair after she had knee replacement surgery, and I used it with my hands on the pedals during therapy after I broke my shoulder, by putting it on a table.

Joy shared a couple of her exercises in her blog post (see #3 above).  Here's one I'll try later: "March in place while tapping the knee with the opposite hand — a cross lateral move that is supposed to help your brain function better."

I can always use the pages I printed out for our exercise group to do my own exercises at home, like these daily dozen for seniors.  And here are a few yoga positions I'm pretty sure I'd be good at.  Let's laugh a little.