Watery eyes

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Word of the Day

rheumy  /ˈruː.mi / adjective = rheumy eyes have a lot of water in them and are not clear.  Example:  Lots of old folks have rheumy eyes.  If someone has rheumy eyes, their eyes are red and watery, usually because they are very ill or old.

I've been reading about old folks and a special cat named Oscar who knew when they were near death (info about the excellent book HERE), and I live among senior citizens.  So I see rheumy eyes in my reading, in my everyday life, and in my mirror.  Then I started another book and read this on page 3:

"Chaos is coming, old son, and there's no stopping it.  It's taken a long time, but it's finally here."

The Hermit nodded, his eyes rheumy and runny, perhaps from the wood smoke, perhaps from something else.  Olivier leaned back, surprised to feel his thirty-eight-year-old body suddenly aching, and realized he'd sat tense through the whole awful telling.

This book kept me turning the pages late into the night.

The Brutal Telling: A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery (Book 5 of 19) ~ by Louise Penny, 2009, mystery, 372 pages

Everybody goes to Olivier's Bistro — including a stranger whose murdered body is found on the floor.  When Chief Inspector Gamache is called to investigate, he is dismayed to discover that Olivier's story is full of holes.  Why are his fingerprints all over the cabin that's uncovered deep in the wilderness, with priceless antiques and the dead man's blood?  And what other secrets and layers of lies are buried in the seemingly idyllic village?

Gamache follows a trail of clues and treasures — from first editions of Charlotte's Web and Jane Eyre to a spiderweb with a word mysteriously woven in it — into the woods and across the continent, before returning to Three Pines to confront the truth and the final, brutal telling.

Children's books for Black History Month

Child of the Civil Rights Movement ~ by Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Raul Colón, 2013, picture book (ages 4-8), 48 pages

Paula Young Shelton, daughter of Civil Rights activist Andrew Young, brings a child’s unique perspective to an important chapter in America’s history.  Paula grew up in the deep south, in a world where whites had and blacks did not.  With an activist father and a community of leaders surrounding her, including Uncle Martin (Martin Luther King), Paula watched and listened to the struggles, eventually joining with her family — and thousands of others — in the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.   "Uncle Martin and Aunt Coretta" were not family by blood, but . . . 

"Close because our fathers worked together.
Close because our mothers worried together.
Close because we all struggled together." 

This Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year is poignant, hopeful, moving, and an intimate look at the birth of the Civil Rights Movement.

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad ~ by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, 2007, children's historical fiction, 40 pages

This Caldecott Honor book tells the true story of Henry "Box" Brown, who bravely escaped slavery by mailing himself North to freedom.

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone ~ by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison, 2014, picture book (3-8 years old), 40 pages

Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember.  As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio.  At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument.  By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz.  She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country.  Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century:  Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few.  Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

My Brother Martin ~ by Christine King Farris, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet, 2003, children's historical fiction, 40 pages

The older sister of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tells the childhood story of when Martin was first inspired to change the world around him.  Long before he became a world-famous dreamer, he was a little boy who played jokes and practiced the piano and made friends without considering race.  But growing up in the segregated south of the 1930s taught young Martin a bitter lesson — that little white children and little black children were not to play with one another.  Martin decided then and there that something had to be done, and so he began the journey that would change the course of American history.

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*** If you want more books like these, click HERE for a list of 33 children's books for Black History Month.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts the Sunday Salon

I'm wearing RED today

National Wear Red Day is the first Friday in February.  That's today, so I'm wearing red.  People wear red on this day to show their support for the awareness of heart disease.

Why focus on hearts today?  Because February is American Heart Month.  Join me in wearing red today to bring greater attention to heart disease as a leading cause of death for Americans.  Let me know in the comments, if you do it.

And we wear red on National Wear Red Day to raise awareness about the #1 killer of women.  Crown Center is having a special Coffee Break from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. with heart-healthy breakfast foods.  I hope to see you there.  Wearing red, of course!

Another coincidence to share with you.  When I had quadruple heart bypass in 2009, the date was February 19th.  February!  Heart bypass in the middle of heart month!  The hospital gave me a big red HEART pillow to hug.  It's a big pillow, similar to this one.  When I hug it, the pillow sticks out beyond my shoulders on both sides.  I still have it, and it's RED, so I may take that pillow with me to the Coffee Break.

Thoughts about yesterday's dance program

Dance program

Wednesday, I went to the Big Muddy Dance Company program in the Community Room here at the Crown Center.  I got a good photo by standing over to one side to see over the crowd.  I'll add it, if and when I can get it from my phone to my laptop.  For now, this photo is from their web site.

I thought about my sister as I watched them dance.  A little background:  I was the oldest, and I took piano lessons from my mother's best friend, who said she would teach me at age 5, if I could count to ten and knew the alphabet from A-to-G.  (For those of you who don't know, those are the names of the white keys of a piano.)  My brother Bill was the next sibling, and he was into sports, especially playing basketball in high school.  My sister Ann, the third child, took dance lessons, and this program made me think of her.

Yes, that word

Word of the Day

ver·i·si·mil·i·tude /ˌverəsəˈmiləˌto͞od / noun = the appearance of being true or real.  Example:  "The details give the novel some verisimilitude."  (I found the illustration HERE.)

A neighbor mentioned this word as one she had recently run across, saying, "Ver-eh-ssss...." as she tried to remember the long word for something that seemed true.  She was startled when I said, "Verisimilitude?"  She looked at me with wide eyes and said, "Yes, that word."

Not your typical cat ~ a true story

Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat ~ by Dr. David Dosa, 2010, social science, 256 pages

They thought he was just a cat.  When Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island he was a cute little guy with attitude.  He loved to stretch out in a puddle of sunlight and chase his tail until he was dizzy.  Occasionally he consented to a scratch behind the ears, but only when it suited him.  In other words, he was a typical cat.  Or so it seemed.  It wasn't long before Oscar had created something of a stir.

Apparently, this ordinary cat possesses an extraordinary gift:  he knows instinctively when the end of life is near.

Oscar is a welcome distraction for the residents of Steere House, many of whom are living with Alzheimer's.  But he never spends much time with them — until they are in their last hours.  Then, as if this were his job, Oscar strides purposely into a patient's room, curls up on the bed, and begins his vigil.  Oscar provides comfort and companionship when people need him most.  And his presence lets caregivers and loved ones know that it's time to say good-bye.

Oscar's gift is a tender mercy.  He teaches by example:  embracing those moments of life that so many of us shy away from.  Making Rounds with Oscar is the story of an unusual cat, the patients, their caregivers — and the doctor who learned how to listen and wrote about it in this book for us.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

Let's have a little pun ~ I mean, FUN

*** The cutest executive officer is for my friend Ginny.