I don't want to talk yet

"I turned to Mark, then one and a half, and asked, 'Mark, why don't you talk yet?'  As we expected, he said nothing.  But later that evening, while I was giving him a bath, and he was maneuvering plastic boats and small floating dinosaurs, he suddenly stopped, looked at me, and said, 'I don't want to talk yet.'  Astonished, since I'd never heard him speak a complete sentence, I burst out laughing, then sang him a song from the Mikado, about a bird that didn't want to talk" (p. 73).

Why Religion? : A Personal Story ~ by Elaine Pagels, 2018, memoir

Why does religion still exist in the twenty-first century?  Why do so many continue to argue about the questions it raises?  What purpose does it serve in our lives?  In the wake of great personal tragedy, Pagels reflects on the persistence and nature of belief and why religion matters.

I'm "teasing" you with a bit of a paragraph from the book I'm reading.  Her little boy has a mind of his own!

Journals ~ Maisie's, Michelle's, and Bonnie's

Bits of Bonnie ~ by Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, 2020 portion

As I start this year's journaling, using the two books below, I have decisions to make.  Shall I write in those actual books?  Or shall I use quotes like those below to jump-start "journal" posts on my blog?  Or shall I continue to use Microsoft Word and print it out bit by bit as I've always done, punching holes in each page to put in a notebook that goes on the shelf?  Working on it here allows me to edit, add to, correct, and polish what I write.  Once I apply pen to paper that's bound into a book, it's there forever — unless I rip out the page.  Leave a comment, and tell me what you think.

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What Would Maisie Do?: Inspiration from the Pages of Maisie Dobbs ~ by Jacqueline Winspear, 2019, illustrated journal

"There is no need to fill the page with your response at once, nor is there a requirement to work through the journaling part of What Would Maisie Do? in a linear fashion" (p. 8).

"I wanted her to embody the qualities of endurance, resiliance, empathy, kindness, and perspective" (p. 9).

"Stay with the question.  The more it troubles you, the more it has to teach you.  In time, Maisie, you will find that the larger questions in life share such behavior.  ~ Maisie Dobbs" (p. 10).

"Coincidence is a messenger sent by truth. ~ Maisie Dobbs" (p. 48)

"Maurice had taught her that silencing the mind was a greater task than stilling the body. ~ Maisie Dobbs" (p. 66).

"With an enthusiastic flourish, yards of vibrant purples, yellows, pinks, and reds of Indian silk were pulled out, to be rubbed between finger and thumb, and held against her face in front of the mirror. . . . Thus a day that had seen so many tears ended in the midst of a rainbow. ~ Maisie Dobbs" (p. 84).

Maisie's journal is based on the author's series of books about Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator.  So far, I've read the first book (see a couple of quotes below) and picked up the second in the series from the Crown Center library.  Donna bought the whole series and has donated the ones she has already completed.
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Maisie Dobbs (2003, Book 1)

"The library was silent and pitch black as Maisie entered.  Quickly closing the door behind her, she lit the lamps and made her way to the section that held philosophy books.  This was where she would start.  She wasn't quite sure which text to start with, but felt that if she just started somewhere, a plan would develop as she went along" (p. 87).

"And what will you study, Maisie?"
"I am interested in the moral sciences, sir.  When you told me about the different subjects — psychology, ethics, philosophy, logic — that's what I most wanted to study.  I've already done lots of assignments in those subjects, and I like the work.  It's not so — well — definite, is it?  Sometimes it's like a maze, with no answers, only more questions" (p. 124).

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Birds of a Feather (2004, Book 2)
Pardonable Lies (2005, Book 3)
Messenger of Truth (2006, Book 4)
An Incomplete Revenge (2008, Book 5)
Among the Mad (2009, Book 6)
The Mapping of Love and Death (2010, Book 7)
A Lesson in Secrets (2011, Book 8)
Elegy for Eddie (2012, Book 9)
Leaving Everything Most Loved (2013, Book 10)
A Dangerous Place (2015, Book 11)
Journey to Munich (2017, Book 12)
In This Grave Hour (2018, Book 13)
To Die But Once (2018, Book 14)
The American Agent (2019, Book 15)
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Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice ~ by Michelle Obama, 2019, journal (unpaged)

"Describe your childhood home.  What are some of the details that stand out the most?  What made your home different from your friends' homes?"

"If you could have a conversation with a loved one who has passed away, what would you ask him or her?"

Where did your name come from and how has it influenced the person you've become?"

"What role has education — whether formal or informal — played in your life?"

==============================================================

Becoming ~ by Michelle Obama, 2018, memoir

"My father, Fraser, taught me to work hard, laugh often, and keep my word.  My mother, Marian, showed me how to think for myself and to use my voice.  Together, in our cramped apartment on the South Side of Chicago, they helped me see the value in our story, in my story, in the larger story of our country" (pp. x-xi).

"Your story is what you have, what you will always have.  It is something to own" (p. xi).

"I was about four when I decided I wanted to learn piano" (p. 8).

"Encyclopedia Britannica ... Any time we had a question about a word, or a concept, or some piece of history, they directed us toward those books.  Dandy, too, was an influence, meticulously correcting our grammar or admonishing us to enunciate our words when we went over for dinner.  The idea was we were to transcend, to get ourselves further.  They'd planned for it.  They encouraged it.  We were expected not just to be smart but to own our smartness — to inhabit it with pride — and this filtered down to how we spoke" (p. 40).

"My mother ... lobbying for the creation of a special multigrade classroom that catered to higher-performing students. ... Dr. Lavizzo ... had studied a new trend in grouping students by ability rather than by age — in essence, putting the brighter kids together so they could learn at a faster pace" (p. 44).

"I liked most of my teachers.  I wasn't afraid to raise my hand in class.  At Whitney Young, it was safe to be smart.  The assumption was that everyone was working toward college, which meant that you never hid your intelligence for fear of someone saying you talked like a white girl" (p. 58).

"I tried not to feel intimidated when classroom conversation was dominated by male students, which it often was.  Hearing them, I realized that they weren't at all smarter than the rest of us.  They were simply emboldened, floating on an ancient tide of sureriority, buoyed by the fact that history had never told them anything different" (p. 78).

"At this point, I thought of myself basically as tri-lingual.  I knew the relaxed patois of the South Side and the high-minded diction of the Ivy League, and now on top of that I spoke Lawyer, too" (p. 94).

"Anytime a stranger commented that she looked exactly like Michelle Obama's mother, she'd just give a polite shrug and say, 'Yeah, I get that a lot,' before carrying on with her business.  As she always had, my mother did things her own way" (p. 296).

"We were the forty-fourth First Family and only the eleventh family to spend two full terms in the White House.  We were, and would always be, the first black one" (p. 412).

"Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there's more growing to be done" (p. 419).

"There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.   And there's grace in being willing to know and hear others.  This, for me, is how we become" (p. 421).

Books to pass along

Here are some books I'm ready to pass along for others to read, starting with a couple that are very appropriate for Caturday.  I'm purging stacks of my books by reading a bunch of them for the Mount TBR Challenge.

1.  Cat Tales: A Catty Concoction of Quotes, Poems and "Dear Tabby" Advice ~ edited by Suzanne Beilenson, 1992

I have several "catty" friends who might like this.  Here's a quote from page 11:
Dear Tabby,
I'm a mother of 16, and expecting yet another kitty litter.  I love my babies, but I am tuckered out.  There just doesn't seem to be time enough in the day to feed them all, clean them all, and take them all to the park.  I catnap whenever I can, but it doesn't seem to help.  What can I do?

Signed, On My Last Paw

Dear On My Last Paw,
What you need, my dear, is a vaCATion.  So drop the kits at your mother's or hire a sitter.  There are lots of great places to relax and unwind.  Might I suggest a few?  The Catskills, Catalina Island, St. Kitts . . .

2.  Paws for a Moment With God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat ~ compiled by Patricia Mitchell, 2010

I gave this book to Marie, yesterday.  She may also be interested in Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates, since she noticed the strange title when I posted it the other day and asked about it.

3.  Two by Two ~ by Nicholas Sparks, 2016

This novel goes to the Crown Center's library.

4.  Good Dog.  Stay. ~ by Anna Quindlen, 2007

I think Nancy, a dog lover who has been taking care of Faye's dog, should have a book that "honors the life of a cherished and loyal friend" (from the dustjacket) and has lots of photos of dogs, including one of a dog who seems to be howling at a snowman.

5.  Carpool Diem ~ by Nancy Star, 2008

Another novel to donate to the Crown Center's library.

Beginning ~ with a new client

"Maisie Dobbs shuffled the papers on her desk into a neat pile and placed them in a plain manila folder.  She took up green marble-patterned W. H. Smith fountain pen and inscribed the cover with the name of her new clients:  Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Johnson, who were concerned that their son's fiancee might have misled them regarding her past."

Birds of a Feather ~ by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs, Book 2), 2004, mystery (England)

Maisie Dobbs is on another dangerously intriguing adventure in London "between the wars."  It is the spring of 1930, and Maisie has been hired to find a runaway heiress.  But what seems a simple case at the outset soon becomes increasingly complicated when three of the heiress’s old friends are found dead.  Is there a connection between the woman’s mysterious disappearance and the murders?  Who would want to kill three seemingly respectable young women?  As Maisie investigates, she discovers that the answers lie in the unforgettable agony of the Great War.

Well, I'm off and running on the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series, even though I've never (before) been one to choose book after book about the same protagonist.  We'll see how it goes.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Click this link for more book beginnings.

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.

Happiness Calendar for January

Click to enlarge calendar.

I found this month's calendar on the Action for Happiness web site.  Here are actions they suggest we do during January 2020.

Wednesday, January 1
~ Find three good things to look forward to this year.
Thursday, January 2
~ Make time today to do something kind for yourself.
Friday, January 3
~ Spread a bit of happiness by doing kind things for others.
Saturday, January 4
~ Write a list of things you feel grateful for in life and why.
Sunday, January 5
~ Get moving.  Do something physically active (ideally outdoors).
Monday, January 6
~ Say something positive to everyone you meet today.
Tuesday, January 7
~ Take ten minutes to sit still and just breathe.
Wednesday, January 8
~ Look for the good in others and notice their strengths.
Thursday, January 9
~ Learn something new and share it with others.
Friday, January 10
~ Thank three people you're grateful to and tell them why.
Saturday, January 11
~ Have a friendly chat with a stranger.
Sunday, January 12
~ Switch off all your tech 2 hours before bedtime.
Monday, January 13
~ Be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes.
Tuesday, January 14
~ Take a different route today and see what you notice.
Wednesday, January 15
~ Put a worry into perspective and try to just let it go.
Thursday, January 16
~ Get outside and notice five things that are beautiful.
Friday, January 17
~ Eat healthy food which really nourishes you today.
Saturday, January 18
~ Make something happen for a good cause.
Sunday, January 19
~ Get back in contact with an old friend you miss.
Monday, January 20
~ Go to bed in good time and give yourself time to recharge.
Tuesday, January 21
~ Take a small step towards an important goal.
Wednesday, January 22
~ Try out something new to get out of your comfort zone.
Thursday, January 23
~ Decide to lift people up rather than put them down.
Friday, January 24
~ Today do something fun and invite others to join you.
Saturday, January 25
~ Put away your devices and focus fully on who you're with.
Sunday, January 26
~ Say hello to a neighbor and get to know them better.
Monday, January 27
~ Challenge your negative thoughts and look for the upside.
Tuesday, January 28
~ Count how many people you can smile at today.
Wednesday, January 29
~ Use one of your personal strengths in a new way.
Thursday, January 30
~ Ask other people about things they've enjoyed recently.
Friday, January 31
~ Write down your hopes and plans for the future.

"Happiness is not something ready made.

It comes from your own actions." ~ Dalai Lama

2020 vision ~ maybe

"What are you planning to read this year, Bonnie?  I'd love to hear what you are thinking about reading," Deb asked in a comment.

The last book I finished in 2019 was Becoming by Michelle Obama, so maybe my first book of 2020 should be her Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice.  "But it's a journal," you say.  Yes, but it isn't a day-by-day kind of diary, where I must write about what comes on the next page.  If I read through it first, I could then pick out specific pages I want to write about first.  That makes sense to me, and each page has a place to put the date, like this ___/___/___.  So first, this journal Donna gave me for Christmas and then the next book, which my friend Tiny gave me.

Paws for a Moment With God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat ~ compiled by Patricia Mitchell, 2010

"Have you ever noticed how a cat will find contentment in something as simple as a ray of sunshine?  She settles herself in its pleasure and basks in the joy of the moment!"  There is wisdom to be learned by observing the habits, curiosities, and antics of a cat.  If you have been blessed with the companionship of a cat, then cozy up together with this book.

Other books I want to read:

• Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2009, humor
• Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality ~ by Erin Wathen, 2018, sexism
• The Big Book for Peace ~ edited by Ann Durell and Marilyn Sachs, 1990, stories
• 
  Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner ~ edited by Ellen E. Garrigues, 1895, 1910, ballad
• The Power of Hope: The One Essential of Life and Love ~ by Maurice Lamm, 1995, psychology
• Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life ~ by Julia Cameron, 1999, reflections
• Have a Little Faith: A True Story ~ by Mitch Albom, 2009, memoir
• The Altered I: Ursula K. Le Guin's Science Fiction Writing Workshop ~ edited by Lee Harding, 1976, 1978, writing
• Does God Have a Big Toe? ~ by Marc Gellman, illustrated by Oscar de Mejo, 1989, humor
• What Would Maisie Do? ~ by Jacqueline Winspear, 2019, journal

This last one comes with a slew of Maisie Dobbs books, a whole series, as a matter of fact.  I read Maisie Dobbs, the first in Jacqueline Winspear's series, and then I got this journal.  Donna, however, bought the whole series and has donated the ones she has finished reading to the Crown Center's little library.  She has enjoyed them so much that I may also take a stab at reading this mystery series.

1. Maisie Dobbs, 2003
2. Birds of a Feather, 2004

3. Pardonable Lies, 2005
4. Messenger of Truth, 2006
5. An Incomplete Revenge, 2008
6. Among the Mad, 2009
7. The Mapping of Love and Death, 2010
8. A Lesson in Secrets, 2011
9. Elegy for Eddie, 2012
10. Leaving Everything Most Loved, 2013
11. A Dangerous Place, 2015
12. Journey to Munich, 2017
13. In This Grave Hour, 2018
14. To Die But Once, 2018
15. The American Agent, 2019

Happy New Year . . . and happy 2020 reading to all!