Musing ~ about three new books

The Mindfulness Coloring Book: Anti-Stress Art Therapy for Busy People ~ by Emma Farrarons, 2015, stress management, 112 pages

On Saturday, Risé and I went to Left Bank Books, and I came home with three books.  Well, two books and a coloring book, but that's a "book," right?  I put it first for that reason.  Mindful coloring is a simple practice that combines meditation with the growing popularity of adult coloring books, and shows that any activity, done right, can be an exercise in mindfulness.  Illustrator Emma Farrarons presents 70 intricate patterns to color your way to tranquility:  flowers, leaves, butterflies, birds, rolling waves, and kaleidoscopic designs.

This Book Is Literally Just Pictures of Cute Animals That Will Make You Feel Better ~ edited by Smith Street Books, 2019, children and young adults, 96 pages

This book features eighty pictures of excessively cute animals, and that's it.  The only words are on the title page and the copyright page.  There are cats flaunting fabulous wigs, sloths dangling casually, and otters holding hands (something that actually occurs in nature).

Big Ideas, Little Pictures: Explaining the World One Sketch at a Time ~ by Jono Hey, 2024, trivia, 288 pages

Have you ever wondered what makes autumn leaves change color, why more choice makes you less happy, or how to win at Monopoly?  Or maybe you'd like to learn how to find your way using the stars or why we need to worry less about what others think of us than you might expect.  Hey, look!  The boater on the cover is musing about the shape of that wave.  I wonder if it was a Monday.  Okay, so you know I'm weird and muse about odd things.

Let's walk about it ~ I mean, let's talk about walking

Defensive driving is a way of driving that anticipates what another driver might do so you can react accordingly.  It goes beyond road rules and basic driving techniques to help reduce the risk of collisions and improve road safety,

You may wonder why I'm bringing that up, especially since I don't have a car and therefore no longer drive.  My neighbor Betty (the second Betty to move onto our floor) brought it up when we lunch in the Café, and I told her about Café Conversations.  When I mentioned Pamela's suggestion to idea to use a bowl or jar that people could put suggestions in, Betty said, "Walk defensively."

I guess I looked puzzled because she went on to say that we should not only drive defensively, but also WALK defensively.  Huh!  We had already been there awhile, and were ready to leave.  So I went home puzzling over what that would mean.  I think it would give a group a lot to discuss.

I went online and found the illustration above.  If you can't read the small print, I think clicking on the illustration will enlarge it for you.  The last example says a reason to walk defensively (like a penguin) is to avoid icy falls.  Umm, that's not likely with our St. Louis summer temperatures near 100-degrees!

It's a little small to read, but I think you can enlarge it by clicking on it.  The weather has been brutal here this summer.  Is it hot where you are?

 

After ordering lunch in the Cafe recently, I joined a group I knew and noticed one of them was wearing a pink tee with the words "fluent in fowl language."  You know I love word play and had to share those words here on my blog.  I found several versions of it online, and this looks most like what she had on.

I'll leave you with this to ponder.  I posted it two years ago, HERE, and it's still true.  We don't usually think of grocery carts as "vehicles," but when we think of the prices we pay for everything these days, we groan.  Especially our grocery prices, it seems.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Caturday Stuff on Saturday

I've been sitting here thinking of things I could post on this blog, and I came up with what seems to me like a fun idea.  If you would like for me to feature your cat on a Caturday (that's the day between Friday and Sunday, you know), please email me a photo and whatever you feel is special about your cat.  In other words, what would you like to say about your special pet?  Or maybe even a whole family of cats.  How many do you have, anyway?  My email address is:  emerging.paradigm@yahoo.com

Beginning ~ in the cold, cold winter

Beginning

It was winter.

Cold, cold winter.

Old Turtle sat

by the warm wood stove.

Old Turtle's Baseball Stories ~ by Leonard Kessler, 1982, children's picture book, 56 pages

While gathered around the wood stove in winter, Old Turtle tells his friends unbelievable baseball stories of Cleo Octopus, Melvin Moose, Clara Kangaroo, and Randy Squirrel.

Here's how I happened to be reading a book I'd never heard about.  My computer was down, so I called my library to request the Old Turtle books that I wrote about HERE.  The person who answered the phone found this "Old Turtle" book and decided it's what I wanted, even though the author doesn't match the other Old Turtle books.  (Yeah, "Leonard Kessler" doesn't sound at all like "Douglas Wood" to me.)  When Dave, the librarian who usually gets my books ready for delivery, called me a few days later, he added the ones I really wanted.  Ta-da!

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Café Conversations ~ ideas for discussion topics

I sat at a long table in our Café with a sign that said, "Café Conversations."  I had several pads of paper on the table, inviting ideas, though nobody used those.  What I did get, though, was people stopping to ask what this was all about.

• Sue couldn't stay to talk very long.
• Rosy did, though.
• Walter's friend was curious and came over to ask.
• Harry was on his way somewhere, but
• Melvin stayed and talked.
• Iva also sat down with us.

That was last week.  As I've talked to people and thought about it myself, I've come up with a few topics to consider for discussion:

1. When you walk, is it important to know how many steps are in a mile?  I've had time to look it up:  Based on an average step length of 2.5 feet, there are approximately 2,000 steps in one mile.  But does it matter?
2. Coincidences you have noticed in your life.
3. A humorous event you remember.
4. Health (yes, I know this is vague and could get into more than anyone wants to know).
5. Your favorite food (someone told me about watermelon and feta cheese as a salad, and I think that sounds good.
6. A chapter of a book of sayings, like maybe the Tao te Ching.  I like chapter 11.  Our Crown Center library has the James Legge translation.

Here's the translation of Chapter 11 from this version:

The thirty spokes unite in one wheel, but it is on the empty space for the axle that the use of the wheel depends.

Clay is fashioned into vessels, but it is on their hollow emptiness that their use depends.

The door and windows are cut from the walls to form a room, but it is on the empty space within that its use depends.

Therefore, what has positive existence serves for profitable adaptation, and what has not, for actual usefulness.

You can help by sharing any ideas you may have.  Can you think of something a group might enjoy talking about?

Hmmm, is Meet & Eat a better name than Café Conversations?  I couldn't find a logo online for Café Conversations.  Unless we use this one with comment bubbles over the heads of speakers.  What do you think?  Which name is better?

What are you reading now?

What's wonderful about Wednesday?  Another book!  That's what makes this a great Wednesday!  But wait a minute.  I don't have room for any more books.

I've been "reading my shelves," trying to decide which books to keep and which to either trade in or donate.  Why?  Because I have a "million" books and no more shelves to put them on.  Okay, so my problem is probably the whole idea that "another book" makes it a great day.

If I've read it, do I really need to keep it?  If I haven't read it, why not?  Have I quit reading books in that category?  Why?  So okay, I have a problem.  A book problem.  Is it a problem of not enough time to read?  Or a problem of trying to spread myself too thin?

Am I the only one with this problem?  No, I'm sure some of you "bookies" can relate.  So tell me, please, what suggestions you have for a crazy book bag lady?  Yep, I keep bringing 'em home in those book bags.

Oh, yeah, one more thing.  Please ignore that title above.  If you tell me what you are reading, I'll probably look it up (if I haven't already read it) and then borrow it from the library or dash out and buy myself a copy!  Oh, it's hopeless!

(And you know I really *DO* want to know your book suggestions, right?)

Friends forever

I just learned that today is National Best Friends Day.