Thoughts about a special person

1.  My daughter-in-law sent the family a text with good news ~ the latest tests confirm that she is cancer-free!  💖  Hurray!  💖

2.  Word of the Day ~ hur·ray = exclamation; used to express joy or approval.  Example:  💖  "Hurray!  She's cancer-free!"  💖

3.  I think I'll keep adding my thoughts off and on all day, today.  (That's a thought!)  Maybe I'll share various things I do.

4.  I may have company in the late afternoon, so I'll share that (if it happens).

5.  I keep finding books I never finished reading, so I'll write about one of them for tomorrow.  Hmm, which one is calling me now?  Tune in tomorrow to see.

6.  Yes, Lauree came to visit and brought her friend Laura.  Lauree took some photos of Clawdia and me, so I'll try to get one of them into a blog post later.

Lunch with friends ~ and books on my mind

Last Sunday, I got a call from Lauree (and Ron, above) inviting me to lunch while they're in town.  We went to First Watch, and I got the same combo as the last time I went there with Lauree and her friend.  Since Lauree was the one who taught our recent class on scams and phishing, I slipped my laptop into a bag and took it with me to share that scam attempt I wrote about this week.  This photo shows Ron helping me sort out what to do about it.  (Lauree says he knows more than she does; she took this photo.)  My thanks to both of you for your help — and for a great lunch with great company.

So You Want to Write: How to Master the Craft of Writing Fiction and Memoir (2nd edition) ~ by Marge Piercy and Ira Wood, 2010, writing, 330 pages (colorful image)

How to Master the Craft of Writing Fiction and the Personal Narrative (1st edition) ~ by Marge Piercy and Ira Wood, 2001, writing, 200 pages (dark image)

When I tried to download this book (2nd edition) onto my Kindle, there was a problem with my card.  It was denied as "expired" (which it isn't).  So I put the book on reserve at my library while I got the updated card sorted out.  The copy from my library is the old one, roughly 2/3 the size of the new edition.  I thought, "Okay, better than nothing."  When I fixed the problem with the help of Ron and Lauree, I was able to get the book downloaded onto my Kindle.  Whew!  So now, I have BOTH editions in hand.  Which one do you think I'll actually read?  Two guesses.  Memoir does sound more succinct to me.

The View from Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America ~ by Sarah Kendzior, 2018, essays, 256 pages, 7/10

In 2015, Sarah Kendzior collected the essays she reported for Al Jazeera and published them as The View from Flyover Country, which became an eBook bestseller and garnered praise from readers around the world.  The book was released in print with an updated introduction and epilogue that reflect on the ways that the Trump presidency was the certain result of the realities first captured in Kendzior’s essays.  I found this book on my friend Donna's Kindle.

The book is a critique of the labor exploitation, race relations, gentrification, media bias, and other aspects of the post-employment economy that gave rise to a president who ruled like an autocrat. Amazon says it's necessary reading for anyone who believes that the only way for America to fix its problems is to first discuss them with honesty and compassion.  Kendzior is definitely a critic of the Trump administration.  Some of the book is a bit out of date (how many of us are still thinking about Snowden?), but it was interesting to read.

Perfectly Pegasus ~ by Jessie Sima, 2022, children's picture book, 48 pages, 7/10

Nimbus has always lived among the clouds.  She’s a pegasus, after all, and the sky is where she belongs  She is one of a kind.  And when she wants a friend, all she has to do is look up — and talk to the stars.  Only, they don’t really talk back.  The clouds don’t, either.  And sometimes, being the only pegasus can be a little lonely.  So she decides to find a fallen star to make a wish on — and wishes for friends who are just like her.  Along the way she meets a Unicorn named Kelp, and a host of other creatures who might just open her eyes to something other than what’s up in the sky.

Word of the Day

pegasus ~ A pegasus is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology.  He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.

Ladies who lunch

Lauree has a friend visiting from out of town, and we three went for lunch yesterday at First Watch in Brentwood Square (photo below).  I got a half Monterey club sandwich with their half chicken avocado chop salad.  Of course, I got my usual iced tea, and the whole thing was so delicious!  I came home with enough for another yummy meal.

Thinking about scams and phishing

Lauree Peterson-Sakai (on the left) returned to the Crown Center yesterday to keep us up-to-date about current frauds and schemes targeting seniors for their money.  We met in the Fitness Center to learn how to be proactive in protecting ourselves against scams such as the Romance, Lottery, and Granny Scams.  Laura Greenberg's title here at Crown is Community Engagement Manager.

Lauree is an Aging Advocate focused on the aging population and ways to protect and prevent abuse Recently retired from a career in the financial industry, she is now the Board Chair of VOYCE, which provides advocacy services to those living in long-term care communities.

Money Smart for Older Adults: Resource Guide ~ by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2019, financial guide, 100 pages

Recently updated, this guide, in easy-to-read 14 point font, provides information on common frauds, scams, and other forms of elder financial exploitation and suggests steps that older persons and their caregivers can take to avoid being targeted or victimized.  Every senior who attended the class was given a copy of this book.

Throwback Thursday ~ a day for remembering

Here are Bonnie, Lauree, and Donna in 2019, when Lauree made a presentation at the Crown Center.  Why am I featuring this today?  It's for Lauree and all our friends who knew Donna and Lauree's mother, Tiny.  Donna and Tiny both died in July 2021, and today is Lauree's birthday.  Happy, happy birthday, Lauree!

Lauree also took this photo of me that I use for my profile picture; it's on the sidebar to the right.  We had gone out to eat together with her mother, and I handed her my cell-phone camera.  Thanks, Lauree.

I hope your birthday is wonderful!

Actually, I hope your whole YEAR is great!

A book, a puzzle, good things, and a cartoon

I'm currently reading Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" (2018) as part of my TBR 22 in '22 Challenge — since I bought it in 2021, and the idea is to read books I already own.  The book is about Hurston's interviews (in 1927 and 1931) with the only person thought to be still alive to tell the story of being transported across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to America as a slave.  And by the way, this is also still Black History Month.

The Epigraph of Barracoon is a quote from Hurston's autobiography Dust Tracks on a Road:

"But the inescapable fact that stuck in my craw, was:  my people had sold me and the white people had bought me . . . It impressed upon me the universal nature of greed and glory."

Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist.  She was the author of four novels (Jonah's Gourd Vine, 1934; Their Eyes Were Watching God, 1937; Moses, Man of the Mountain, 1939; and Seraph on the Suwanee, 1948); two books of folklore (Mules and Men, 1935; and Tell My Horse, 1938); an autobiography (Dust Tracks on a Road, 1942); and more than fifty short stories, essays, and plays.  She attended Howard University, Barnard College, and Columbia University, and graduated from Barnard College in 1927.  She was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama, and grew up in Eatonville, Florida.  She died in Fort Pierce, Florida, in 1960.  In 1973, Alice Walker had a headstone placed at Hurston's grave site with this epitaph:  Zora Neale Hurston: A Genius of the South.

Here's a puzzle for you.  Find the Volkswagen bug.  I did.

I found it nestled among the snails and the mushrooms.  If

you want help, ask and I'll post the location in the comments.

I used to have a Volkswagen bug.  My VW beetle looked a lot like these.  I forget the exact year of  mine, but I think late 1960s.  Though VW called it Bahama Blue, I always thought it looked more greenish, like the first one.

This one is VW's own example of Bahama Blue.  You decide if it looks blue or green.  Is that, maybe, the color of the sea around the Bahamas?

Good Thing #1

Being friends with Dora

(We'll be having lunch together on Wednesday.)

Good Thing #2

Being friends with Emma

(We had lunch together last Tuesday.)

Good Thing #3?

Being friends with Lauree

(We had lunch together last Wednesday.)

Like Calvin, I'm willing to help Hobbes do nothing at all.  Wanna join us?

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.

Two activities ~ snacking and coloring

This is the second blue bag I've received this year, both full of goodies to nibble, nosh, and drink.  This one has balloons on it.  Inside were these kitten socks for my birthday, socks that came from Hallmark — who knew Hallmark had socks?  The little black kitten could be Clawdia, except it's missing the white spot below its chin.  Being a word person, I love the name across the top as much as the socks:  "Toe of a Kind."  Someone was very clever to come up with that.  Lauree and Tiny gave me this blue bag as well as the earlier one that I lost, and then found).  They are such sweethearts.

Yesterday, I ran across The Unwind, an article by the people at Yahoo, detailing how they are finding calm during quarantine.  One has been gardening, one adopted a cat, and another came up with Gratitude Sundays.  One family has been watching animal videos online, and the writer shares links, if this interests you.  I was intrigued by the one who decided it was time "to jump on the adult coloring train."  I may print out this picture and color it myself, since it is one of the free coloring pages among the links this person shared.  What have you been doing to stay sane during this time of social isolation and lockdown?

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!

Unprecedented life adjustments

CARING and SHARING

Last night, someone posted on our Nextdoor neighborhood listserv.*

"We have a sewing machine in our house, but alas no one who knows how to sew.  If anyone could put the sewing machine to good use making masks, etc. we're willing to give it to the first taker."

This morning, someone replied.  Here's the online "conversation," which has garnered several "LOVE" reactions.

"I would love to have this if it still available.  I am part of a group of Facebook making masks for medical professionals and essential workers.  Let me know if it still available and I will pick it up today!"

"It is still available.  I'll message you on this."

It's fantastic that people are so committed to helping each other get through this time of fear and anxiety, offering help and being willing to do for others.  Sunday was Golden Rule Day, and I think people all over the world are living that Golden Rule, as they "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  It's happening, and it gives me a good feeling to see us caring and sharing.

...and MEMORIES

About that Singer sewing machine illustration I found.  I started sewing on a vintage machine like that.  I had already learned how to stitch by hand and how to embroider using a wooden spring hoop to hold the cloth taut.  See the flat treadle at the bottom?  We had to place our feet there to pump it back and forth to make the needle go up and down.  Years later, when I got a portable electric sewing machine, I was able to take out the old and put the new one in that cavity, where the machine could fold down for storage and up for use.  Since it was operated by an electric foot pad, I no longer had to pump as before.  The treadle was still in place, though unused.

Unlike the manual machine, the electric one could stitch backwards and do zigzags as I guided the material under the foot.  It made buttonholes that looked even and professional.  I eventually gave that one to my daughter.  Maybe I should get another, though I no longer have the old wooden thing with drawers for spools of thread and scissors.  I could put it on top of my desk or dining table.  Or maybe not.  I really don't have room for anything else in this apartment.

WORD of the DAY

* LIST·SERV /ˈlis(t)sərv/ an application that distributes messages to subscribers on an electronic mailing list; an electronic mailing list; a method of communicating with a group of people via email.  You send one email message to the “reflector” email address, and the software sends the email to all of the group's subscribers.

CLAWDIA

One day when I was shopping, I bought a can of Friskies Mariner's Catch, thinking maybe Clawdia would try it and like it someday, even though she has rejected it in the past.  When I opened it yesterday, thinking to give her something different, she jumped on it and started eating before I could put all of it in the dish for her.  She LOVES it, at least for now, so I guess it's going on the grocery list.

When we came home today after walking in the grass using the hated leash, I got a phone call from Tiny's daughter Lauree.  She wanted instructions on how to leave care packages for Sheila and me, since the Crown Center discourages visitors during our state's stay-at-home orders.  I told Lauree about the table  near the link desk where prescriptions and packages are being left, now that the office staff are working from home.  When I went down later to get it, Clawdia also had a couple of surprises.  Not only a can of fishy food, but treats!  Thanks, Lauree and Tiny, from Clawdia and from me.  I wish I could let Clawdia know the treats came from her dearly beloved Tiny.  Lauree is so thoughtful; when she called, she also asked if I needed toilet paper or anything at all, saying I should call her if I ever do.

FULL MOON

Here's the full moon rising majestically over my neighborhood this evening.  Good night to all, and to all a good night.

Blogging, getting outside, and looking at swag

Today, Google posted this image.  When I scrolled over it, these words appeared:

Stay Home.  Save Lives : Help Stop Coronavirus

Look at the letters.  The first G is reading a book.  The two Os are making music, one singing and the other playing the guitar.  The second G is talking on a cellphone with the final E, and the L between them is exercising with two weights.  Thanks, Google.  What are YOU doing to keep busy and/or entertain yourself?

GETTING OUTSIDE

At 2:00, the temps here in St. Louis reached 73, so I opened the windows for Clawdia (and me).  She jumped up on the windowsill to look down at the budding trees below our windows, and I went to shower (finally, in mid-afternoon) so I could take her out for a breath of fresh air and a walk in the grass.

DR. FAUCI SWAG

No, really!  You can now buy Dr. Anthony Fauci swag, like mugs, socks, fan club buttons, lawn signs, candles, cushions, and tee-shirts.  Fauci is now saying he doesn't know why the United States hasn’t instituted a nation-wide stay-at-home order amid the spread of COVID-19.

VIRUS ECONOMICS

"Virus economics" is a term I heard today, uttered by Austan Goolsbee on CNN.  He's an economics professor, who says (I'm paraphrasing), "We have to fix the virus problem before we can fix the economics problem."  I don't have to tell you how many people have suddenly lost their jobs because we're staying home and not shopping and traveling and meeting in large groups.  We are all either feeling lost in the middle of so many changes or feeling that lots of folks around us THINK they are experts.  Let's listen to the experts.

CONNECTING

The lobby in my building is now COMPLETELY empty, unlike the day I discovered the "shocking" almost-empty lobby a couple of weeks ago and took a photo.  Instead of two chairs and a few table, there are no pieces of furniture at all except the little table with hand sanitizer and a lamp on it.

So now we call each other.  My neighbor Faye came home from the hospital Wednesday, so I called her yesterday and talked for almost half an hour.  Tiny, Susan, and Pamela called me, and I called to wish David and Sharon a happy anniversary yesterday.  I read what a neighbor has written on her Beverly's Notebook blog (she's not as wordy as I am), and showed Helen how to solve the visual puzzle I'd posted (click the link to do it yourself or read the comments for the long, convulated way to get the right answer).

I've been in touch with several people on Facebook and by texting, like Rosy and Lauree, who sent pictures of her cats.  While I was typing this, I got a text from Sharon down the hall:

"Fresh cornbread outside your door."

And it was still warm!  I ate it immediately, with a glass of good cold milk.  Clawdia thought I should share, until I put a crumb in front of her and she changed her mind.  She was trying to take a bite (or maybe just sniff) before she noticed the camera aimed at her.

Thursday thoughts ~ at the end of the day

ACTIVITIES

You’re in lockdown.  The only items you have to survive on are foods starting with the letters of your first name.  What is keeping you alive?

• Bananas / Bologna / Broccoli / Bread
• Olives / Onions / Oatmeal / Oreos
• Nutty granola bars / Noodle soup
• Navy beans / Nectarines / Nachos
• Ice cream / Iceberg lettuce / Iced tea
• Edam cheese / Eggnog / Eclairs

The rules don't say only ONE kind of food for each letter, so I stocked up for the long haul.  Donna put hers on Jean's Facebook post (thanks for the fun, Jean), and I see Donna and I have Navy beans in common:  Drinking water; Oranges; Nuts; Navy beans; Apricot preserves.  Now it's YOUR turn.  Go for it.

EXERCISING

The sun was shining and the temperature reached 73°F, so I took Clawdia outside for a walk in the grass.  She visited Donna through the window, while I stayed six feet away (see the long leash?).

Continuing our stroll, Clawdia discovered the Crown Center bus, parked with the back of it over the grass where she was walking.  I drew the line (and the leash) when she wanted us to go under the bus.

CONNECTING

While we were outside, a couple walking on the Greenway waved at me; it was Lauree and her husband Ron.  She told me that her mother Tiny is doing fine.  We saw several people while out and about, including Emma at the Crown Center greenhouse.  I chatted with Ginny in Tallahassee by using Facebook's private messages.  Connecting with folks far and near.

TWO things on day TWO of the new year

Dora playing while Nadezhda sang yesterday

January 1 ~ Find three good things to look forward to this year.

1. Books lined up to read, especially those of my own that I can read and pass on to others.  I've started reading Paws for a Moment With God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat and picked up the copy of Birds of a Feather, second in the Maisie Dobbs mystery series.  Both were on yesterday's list of books that I want to read this year.
2. Practicing the piano again, as Dora does regularly.  Dora invited me to join her and Nadezhda around the piano.  Erin, Sandy Richter's daughter-in-law, heard the piano and joined us.  She's the one who took this photo.
3. Exercising downstairs with my friends.  It helps me to stay flexible and strong, or as strong as I can be at almost 80 (in April).

January 2 ~ Make time today to do something kind for yourself.

The kind thing I did for myself today was going for a long lunch at Chili's with my friend Tiny and her daughter Lauree, as you can see in this picture of Tiny and me that Lauree took.  I had a very enjoyable afternoon.