Musing about delicious waffles

Dora took me to return equipment to the store the other day because I have changed providers in my new apartment.  We then went to Olivette Diner and had warm waffles.  She got chicken with hers, and I opted for the bananas.  (Thank you, Dora.)

Old books are resurfacing

The Mommy Myth: The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women ~ by Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels, 2004, sociology / women's studies, 400 pages

Taking readers on a provocative tour through thirty years of media images about mothers — the superficial achievements of celebrity moms, the sensational coverage of dangerous day care, the media-manufactured "mommy wars" between working mothers and stay-at-home moms, and more — this book contends that the "new momism" [that was two decades ago!] was shaped by out-of-date mores, and that no matter how hard they try, women could never achieve it.  Susan J. Douglas and Meredith W. Michaels shatter the myth of the perfect mom and all but shout, "We're not gonna take it anymore!"

An old book on my shelves ~ Moving means books get shifted around.  I'm finding books I've owned for years and never finished reading, including this one.  The pages have browned, but I've pulled it off the shelf to read — finally!  The old bookmark is between pages 38 and 39, but I'll start at the beginning, obviously.  Does this sound familiar to anyone besides me?  By the way, I first wrote about this book in 2014 — HERE — ten years after its publication date.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.

Thursday Thoughts ~ on women's rights

Photo found HERE

Gender equality

People say we've made great progress towards women's rights and gender equality, but it does sometimes feel as though the needle is moving backwards.  Read what folks on Buzzfeed have to say about 2023 not being kind to women, HERE.

Wednesday Words

Clawdia has become a lap cat!  This is the cat who has always hated to be picked up or held.  But now she will sit on the keyboard of my laptop, if necessary, just to be in my lap!  I think that means this move into a new apartment has been just as hard on her as it has been on me.  She's also elderly, you know — in cat years.

Word of the Day

lap cat = a type of cat that enjoys sitting in a person's lap and being petted.  They are often quite affectionate and enjoy spending time snuggling with their owner.  (It can also be one word = lapcat.)

By the way, although it looks a lot like her, the cat in the photo is not Clawdia, who has a white spot under her chin.

Musing about Amelia Bedelia

I didn't pick up my book bag that the library delivered last Thursday, because I knew I'd be moving the next day.  I was afraid the books would be misplaced during the move.  So today, I went downstairs to our new office in this new building and picked up my book bag.  In it were three books about Amelia Bedelia and one book by Beth Kephart.

So here I sit in my easy chair in the corner of my new living room, thinking that after the stress of moving, three children's books are about all I can deal with.  Yeah, I'm smiling as I say that.  Here's the first book in the series:

Amelia Bedelia ~ by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Fritz Siebel, 1963, children's picture book, 63 pages

From dressing the chicken to drawing the drapes, Amelia Bedelia does exactly what Mr. and Mrs. Rogers tell her to do.  If things get a bit mixed up, well, that's okay.  When Amelia Bedelia is involved, everything always turns out perfectly in the end!  This book is for kids who read on their own, but still need a little help.  The stories help kids take their next steps toward reading success.

I recently wrote about the other two Amelia Bedelia books HERE and the book by Beth Kephart HERE.

I've read the first story

Girl Country ~ by Jacqueline Vogtman, 2023, short stories, 200 pages

The stories range from medieval Belgium to the near-future of the American Midwest, populated by mothers and monsters, mermaids and milkmaids, nuns and bus drivers — women in every walk of life, but particularly working-class women, navigating the intersection of the mundane and the magical.

This has been a busy weekend (see the next paragraph), but I have read one of the eleven stories in this book.  I'll probably read another story before bedtime tonight.

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz.

I moved on Friday, so I'm still sitting here among boxes of stuff to be unpacked and put away, somewhere.  Do I still need this?  Do I still need that?  Or should I toss it?  I am ready to toss the whole mess, frankly!  For a

few days after our move, we can still go back to our old apartments.  I went earlier this afternoon to get the little white strainer out of my kitchen sink.  Sure, I could buy another, but why pay seven or eight bucks for something I already own?  Now I won't have to worry that my knife or spoon or fork will slip out of my hand and down the drain in my new kitchen sink.  Walking over there and back took about 1500 steps, so I am also exercising.

The only, lonely book of the week

Always We Begin Again: The Benedictine Way of Living, Revised Edition ~ by John McQuiston II, 2011, spirituality, 120 pages, 9/10

This book is the work of an attorney with a busy commercial practice who searched for a truly balanced life and found the blueprint for it in a sixth-century text.  After discovering St. Benedict’s Rule, McQuiston interpreted and restated the ancient system of spiritual living, enabling today’s reader to understand and make use of its remarkable insights.

While strict adherence to the Rule may be possible only in a monastic setting, its bedrock, the ordering of each day, is accessible to everyone who seeks an orderly structure to their bustling professional and personal life.  The brief readings and meditations in this small book offer a bridge between a busy day and a moment of restorative and blessed silence.

My moving day is tomorrow, so I've been trying all week to be ready for that momentous day.  I'm not ready.  Not at all.  It feels like I'll never be ready — NEVER — but I have no choice.  So why am I sitting in the lobby, blogging?  I no longer have internet access in my apartment, so I came down to check my email.  I won't be hooked up in my NEW apartment until Saturday.  So here I sit in an empty lobby writing a blog post to update friends and followers.  I won't be back on for a few more days.

Oh, yeah, I got on the blog to say this tiny book is the only thing I've read this week.