Thursday thoughts

Light has no shadow.  I've been thinking about odd things today, I guess.  But also, I've been enjoying friendships I've made here at the Crown Center where I live.  I went down to our Circle@Crown Café for breakfast and chatted with Kari, Judy, Melvin, Alyssa, Iva, and Brenda.  I've been reading devotional essays by Joan Uda and thinking about calling Joan to talk about some of what she wrote.  She lives in Montana now (again), near two of her children.  When I met her, she was living in the apartments next door to the Crown Center, which is maybe half a mile from the home of one of her daughters.

Helen of Helen's Book Blog once asked me how I met so many authors.  Well, Helen, it helps to live near one and have the secretary of the church I'd been attending call to ask if I'd give a neighbor a ride to church.  Joan didn't have her car here, having flown in to bring her husband for specialized medical care in St. Louis.  After he died, she moved back to Montana, but we remained friends.  I flew to Montana in 2019 with her daughter and son-in-law, who took me with them to surprise Joan on her 80th birthday.  I've also had fun meeting other book bloggers.  So Helen, if you ever "drop by" St. Louis in your travels, let me know and we can meet at the airport or my place or somewhere.

I'll leave you with a laugh:

Feast of the Found Blue Bag ~ REJOICE

Feast of the Found Blue Bag ~ REJOICE

Luke 15: 8-9 ~ "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?  When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'"

Have you ever hidden something from yourself?  I've done it before, but this one "takes the cake," as the saying goes.  Lauree brought me a gift bag full of goodies, as I wrote on my blog three weeks ago.  I put the cranberry chicken salad in the fridge right away and opened a bottle of mineral water.  I put away the graham crackers for me and the treats for Clawdia, who soon ate her cat food gift.

Then one day, I couldn't find the blue-and-white gift bag.  Thinking "it has to be here," I searched for days.  I hate it when I do things like that.  "It's GOT to be here," I'd think, "but it's NOT."  I couldn't have thrown it away, could I?

Last week, I woke up thinking about the lost bag of goodies, and I had a thought from somewhere (the back of my mind, maybe?).  I got out of bed and went straight to that spot.  Yep, I had hung the gift bag on a handle where I later hung the empty plastic bags from my Instacart order, completely hidden under many brown bags.  It was right there in front of me all the time, but buried.  Now that it is found, I invite you to rejoice with me at what I'll call a Feast of the Found Blue Bag.  All of you readers are my friends and neighbors, right?

Preparing the Feast

Here's the Crown Center crew packing meals for residents last week.  Left to right are Kari, Genevieve, and Judy.  Notice they are all wearing face masks as well as gloves.  Below are the individuals at work.

Judy in the kitchen putting it all together.

Kari in the kitchen cutting up the bread (sounds like lyrics for a song, doesn't it?)

Scott ready to deliver, with the list in his hand.  The delivery person varies, and that was the day Scott brought mine.

More Feasting

Just before noon, as I was taking my blood pressure for a medical study I agreed to do, I got a text message from my buddy Sharon at the other end of my hall:

"Purple people eater blueberry muffin.  I tested it this morning.  Fit for human consumption.  Outside your door."

Sorry, people, but you don't get this at our Feast.  I have devoured it, even the crumbs.  It was so fit for human consumption that every single crumb is now gone.  I didn't even think about taking a picture of it until I was down to the last bite.

While I was typing this, my neighbor Galina knocked on my door and backed away after handing me a small, unopened container of carrot-raisin salad.  I had given her the carrot sticks from one of our recent meal deliveries because it's hard to crunch big pieces of carrot with my dentures.  She thoughtfully gave me shredded carrots which I am able to eat.  Such thoughtfulness among neighbors here at the Crown Center is very common, maybe more than usual during our lockdown.  Like today, Donna got an Instacart delivery and shared her grapes with me, along with some of her fresh bread.

Lest you assume those meals being delivered from the Crown Center are just our normal fare, it isn't.  This is an independent living retirement center.  We have our own kitchens in our apartments.  This is something special they are doing to keep us happy and healthy.  Those who choose to be part of this program during the lockdown get five meals each week, whether we have ever been part of the food program in the dining room or not.  No charge.  We can make a donation later, if we like, but for now they are taking care of a meal for each weekday, if we want them.  Thanks, Crown Center.

Cousins together

My closest cousin is Carolyn, who now lives in California with her son's family.  We had a nice conversation this afternoon by phone, catching up on family news.  She's a year older than I am, but for two days every year we're the same age.  My 80th birthday was Sunday, and she's 81 today.  Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

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.

Comfort food ~ and Self-Isolating Questions

Write about comfort food.

When I ate lunch in the Circle@Crown Café last week, I bought an extra item.  Everyone's been raving about their homemade biscuits, so I got one to eat later at home.  What is it about certain foods that comforts us?  In my case, food reminds me of my mother.  She was a school cafeteria manager and loved to feed people.

The biscuit, of course, wasn't as good as my mother's biscuits.  Nothing ever is, since in our minds what we remember was so perfect.  This week, the Café is not open at all, and that day last week when I gathered with friends around a table to eat and talk and laugh feels like a distant memory.  This week, nothing is normal.  This week, the world feels strange, as I reported last night in "the reality around here."

Sorry, there's nothing "comforting" in this line of thought, so I'll answer the questions I posed earlier.  Let's see if I can be positive.

Quarantine Questions ~ now Self-Isolating Questions
On Thursday, I learned the latest terminology is "self-isolating," leaving "quarantined" to those who have been been officially quarantined.

1.  What am I grateful for today?

I'm grateful for friends at the retirement center where I live, and that includes staff as well as residents.  The staff is going above and beyond to make us safe and take care of us during this pandemic, and that includes getting meals delivered to our doors so we don't have to leave our apartments unnecessarily.

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

When my BFF Donna ordered groceries, she added a few things I needed.  So I went to her apartment to pick up food for Clawdia and me.  Along the way, I spoke to Margaret, Iva, Karl, and Miriam in the hallways.  I talked on the phone with the Donna who is on staff, BFF Donna (several times), Sheila, Nancy, and Judy.  I replied to Donna Rae Jones, our yoga instructor (yes, a third Donna today), by comments on this blog and by email, as she attempts to set up a virtual yoga group, since "Gentle Chair Yoga" has been suspended for now.  While Judy and I were talking by phone in our own apartments, we waved to each other from building to building across the entrance and patio below.

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

I'm letting go of the expectation that we need to face each other to talk and share.  As you can see, I talked to a lot of people today, mostly by phone.  Hearing each other's voices can bring us together without having to see each other in person.

4.  How am I getting outside today?

How about bringing "outside" in?  I opened the window for Clawdia so she could smell the fresh air, listen to sounds, and scan for any birds in the trees below our window.  It took three tries to get this photo of her, since she kept turning around to see what I was doing with that cell phone camera pointed her way.

5.  How am I moving my body today?

Other than walking from my apartment to Donna's in the other building, I haven't done much moving today.  Maybe I could do this SilverSneakers virtual exercise class on Facebook.  "Join SilverSneakers Trainer Jenny O’Callaghan for our first live-streamed SilverSneakers exercise class here on Facebook!"  Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 10:30 – 11:00 Central Time.  That's tomorrow!

6.  What beauty am I either creating, cultivating, or inviting in today?

I shared coloring pages on my bulletin board that people can take home, color, and re-post them on the board to share with any of us going by the elevators on my floor.  Several people have already taken pages and returned them on our board.  I need to put up more pages, since they are almost all colored now.  If you want to color one and don't live here, send me a photo of it, and I'll add it to our bulletin board.

Sunday Salon ~ my current book list

Book I just completed

Alternate Side ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2018, fiction (New York), 8/10

"Don't be cynical," Charlie said.
"I'm a New Yorker," said Nora.  "Cynicism is my religion" (p. 209).

"So how are you, really?" Rachel said.  "And that's not a rhetorical question."
"I take a lot of pleasure in having children who know what a rhetorical question is," Nora said, carrying coffee mugs to the dining table as her daughter followed (p. 267).

"People go through life thinking they're making decisions, when they're really just making plans, which is not the same thing at all" (p. 280).

Book I'm reading now

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2012, memoir

Quindlen writes about a woman’s life, from childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, using the events of her life to illuminate ours.  Considering and celebrating everything from marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, parenting, faith, and loss, to all the stuff in our closets, Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves.  As she did in her beloved New York Times columns and in A Short Guide to a Happy Life (2000), Quindlen uses her own past, present, and future to explore what matters most to women at different ages.

Book I plan to read next

The President Is Missing ~ by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, 2018, fiction

This novel confronts a threat so huge that it jeopardizes not just Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, but all of America.  Uncertainty and fear grip the nation.  There are whispers of cyberterror and espionage and a traitor in the Cabinet.  Even the President himself becomes a suspect, and then he disappears from public view.  Set over the course of three days, The President Is Missing sheds a stunning light upon the inner workings and vulnerabilities of our nation.  Filled with information that only a former Commander-in-Chief could know, this is the most authentic, terrifying novel to come along in many years.

At 513 pages, this one is a chunkster!  Melvin donated it to our little Crown Center library, after he finished reading it, but our shelves are full.  So I brought it home to read before shelving it.

This photo is from three years ago, when we were purging old books from the shelves to make more room.  Those shelves are now crammed full.  Working that day were Judy, Donna, and Nancy (left to right) and a very young volunteer sitting on the floor.

Friday Five ~ five things that are new in my life

Mary Beth brings us today's Friday Five:

"So, no matter what the weather’s doing where you live, this time of year brings the beginning of school for most people.  Unless you are in year round school, or homeschooling, or something else.  Many folks I know say the beginning of school makes them feel like a new beginning, even if they are not in school themselves or have kids there.  In fact, I did a little math at the beginning of the week and determined that, based on my career in higher education and when I entered first grade, I am entering the 44th Grade this year.  So, for beginnings:  Tell us five things that are new in your life, or that you would LIKE to have be new in your life.  If that doesn’t work, how about things that you are ready to shed ... to make room for new things?  Opening your hands to release, to see what God might put into them?  So, go!"

Five things that are new in my life:

1.  New home

In June, I moved to St. Louis from my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It's been a great adventure so far, as I settle into my new home and ... (ta-da!) ... make new friends!

2.  New friends

Evelyn, Betty, Sheila, Judy, Tomoko, Nancy, and Marilyn eat at my table at our "senior living" apartments.  I've attended all sorts of activities so I'd get to know my new neighbors in the building.  I've taken road trips with them and gone to all three "birthday bashes" in the three months I've lived here.  And I've participated in resident council meetings.  We didn't have anything like that where I used to live.  These people are very active and involved, and I'm loving it!

3.  New study buddies

My way of continuing to learn and "be in school" is to gather a group of my new friends — and one old friend — into a book discussion and "teach" each other.  We are currently studying Brian McLaren's 2014 book We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation,Reorientation, and Activation.

4.  New stole

Because I'm in St. Louis and live only six or eight miles from Ferguson, I learned on the 20th of a call for clergy in vestments to gather in solidarity for prayer and witness.  Local and statewide clergy would march to the county's Justice Center for a brief demonstration and prayer, and then the group would "caravan to Ferguson and consecrate the area with prayer and oil" so that our presence, prayers, and prophetic witness would make a difference.  Oops!  I just moved.  I had kept one stole when I retired, a tapestry stole showing children of the world, but which box was it in?  I got the invitation the day of the gathering and I didn't have time to search through boxes, so I went out and bought a new stole.  It's tapestry, similar in color to the one of the children that I have, somewhere, not yet unpacked.  And I did get it in time to march with the others, wearing my new clergy stole.

5.  New church

When I moved into my new home, in a new state, hundreds of miles from my last church, I set out to find a new church home.  University United Methodist Church is only two and a half miles from home, has a clergywoman as new to St. Louis as I am, and (as an added plus) both she and her husband graduated from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta -- just as I did.  He teaches at Eden Seminary.  The Rev. Diane Kenaston is wearing the white robe and stole in the top photo, and her husband Adam Ployd is the bearded man behind her.  I was there, but only my left hand made it into the photo.  I was just to the left of the picture, beside the man wearing the white shirt.