What I'm reading now

Regarding Anna ~ by Florence Osmund, 2015, fiction, 272 pages

After her parents die from carbon monoxide poisoning in the basement of their home, Grace Lindroth discovers a box in their attic that contains enough suspicious items to cause her to believe that the people she had called Mom and Dad her whole life may not have been her real parents.  As she searches for answers, Grace becomes certain that Anna Vargas, who once owned a boardinghouse, was her real mother.  The lies and deceit she unearths in her pursuit of the truth expose her to people with questionable morals and values and cause her to distrust just about everyone, but heighten her determination to uncover what she believes is essential for her to go on with her life.

The world of plants

I just read somewhere that, in reality, plants are actually farming us.  How do they do that?  By giving us oxygen daily, until we eventually decompose so they can consume us.  It makes sense, but click here to see a dozen houseplants that are good for us.

It's Clawdia's Gotcha Day!

When I got Clawdia in 2015, the vet estimated she was about six years old.  That means she is about thirteen years old now.

Not knowing the day she was born means that we celebrate her Gotcha Day, instead.  That's today, the anniversary of the day I got her.

   

This chart says that would be 68 years old in human years.  Find "Senior" cat, line 13.

This photo shows Clawdia visiting her other best friend, Donna.  Best friend besides me, I mean.  This was in 2020, when they had to visit through the window, with me six feet away from Donna at the other end of that leash.  Clawdia didn't get to visit Donna even through a window screen last year because Donna was in the hospital, dying the next day.  Clawdia has other friends, but she has never stayed overnight with them, as she stayed with Donna whenever I went out of town or was in the hospital.

I think this must be a motto cats live by:  "Live every day like it's Caturday."  Happy Caturday to cats everywhere!

But especially you, Clawdia!  Happy Gotcha Day, pretty girl!  Want some treats?

(By the way, did you notice her Gotcha Day falls on a Caturday this year?)

Beginning ~ with a paradox

Beginning

"The paradox of a crucified savior lies at the heart of the Christian story.  That paradox was particularly evident in the first century when crucifixion was recognized as the particular form of execution reserved by the Roman Empire for insurrectionists and rebels.  It was a public spectacle accompanied by torture and shame — one of the most humiliating and painful deaths ever devised by human beings" (p. 1).

The Cross and the Lynching Tree ~ by James H. Cone, 2011, theology, 224 pages

The cross and the lynching tree are separated by nearly 2,000 years.  One symbolizes Christian faith; the other is the perfect symbol of black oppression in America.  Though both represent death, one denotes hope, while the other signifies the negation of that message by white supremacy.

Theologian James H. Cone (1938-2018) explores these two emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community and their interconnection in the history of black folk.  Both represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning.

My church book club is reading this for their meeting in August.  I have not attended book club meetings in a long time, partly because of the pandemic.  This time, they are reading a book I checked out of my library a few years ago and never found time to read before it was due.  I'll try again.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Coincidences

Word of the Day = Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges.  It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood.  It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity.

Interesting Bassoon Facts:  The bassoon is known for its wide range, distinctive tone, and warm sound.  A musician who plays the bassoon is referred to as a bassoonist.  The word bassoon is derived from the French word basson and the Italian word bassone.

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate (Isabel Dalhousie Mystery, Book 2) ~ by Alexander McCall Smith, 2005, mystery (Scotland), 272 pages, 9/10

I told you recently that this book wasn't "pulling me in."  So I set it aside, finished another book, then picked up this one again.  I know you are wondering what finally grabbed me:

"Jamie was a musician, a bassoonist who supplemented his earnings as a member of a chamber orchestra with the proceeds of teaching.  His pupils were mostly teenagers" (p. 17).

It was that bassoon!  The fascinating thing for me is that I actually played the bassoon in concert band, orchestra, and the Chattanooga Youth Symphony during my junior high and senior high school years.  I also taught another student to play the bassoon, when we were both in high school.  After all, I'd been playing for a few years by then.  Unlike the professional musician in the book, however, I didn't get paid.

That's me holding my bassoon and wearing our high school uniform.  So I could definitely relate to the book's character and "hear" the sounds I was reading about in this book.  I simply had to reach page 17, the second page in the second chapter, to really get into this book.  A big part of the book has to do with coincidences, and what a coincidence that bassoonist was for me.  Read the book's description here, where I first wrote about it.  The second coincidence (and third) are about Isabel Dalhousie, the main character of the series:

"Isabel had studied philosophy and had a part-time job as general editor of the Review of Applied Ethics" (p. 7).

Notice that she's a philosopher, who is now an editor.  She does a lot of philosophizing throughout the book.  I majored in Philosophy and Religion for my first degree (along with English Language and Literature, making it a double major), and I later edited two in-house publications.  As a lover of language and literature, I read a lot and I blog a lot — it's editing, too, you know.  So there you have it; I relate to two of the main characters in all kinds of ways.  Well, three:  bassoon, philosophy, and being an editor.

Musing about blogs

"A blog is to a writer what a canvas is to an artist."  Colleen Redman has that at the top of her Loose Leaf Notes blog.  I agree with her whole-heartedly.  She and I have never met in person, though we've both been blogging for many years and leaving comments for each other.  Even though I've never met her in person, she is an old friend I've known for years.  See what I have at the bottom on the sidebar on the right:

You might be a book blogger if ...

... you've never met some of your closest friends.

I like this recent photo of her among the blooms on that tree.  Go read some of her poetry on her blog by clicking here:  Loose Leaf Notes.  Check out her books, if you like poetry.

What's your favorite ice cream?

Today is National Ice Cream Day 2022 in the United States.  It is on the third Sunday of July, which is National Ice Cream month.  So tell me, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?

I'm still reading the memoirs by Russell Baker, but so far the Alexander McCall Smith mystery I wrote about yesterday isn't pulling me in.  Maybe it's just the wrong time for it.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.