Cheering Meself Up

Yes, me, myself and I, otherwise known as "meself" can use some lighthearted moments. As I take slow steps in my widowhood journey, one treat I enjoy is to read upbeat memoirs. Celebrity memoirs can be fun diversions. I just ordered Betty White's book and it hasn't arrived yet, but I am guessing it will be a fun book to read.

I did buy and read Carol Burnett's book.

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett

I laughed out loud at quite a few things she shared. Some favorites: the two times she did her Tarzan yell at full volume (once to stop a mugging and once in a store to prove who she was so she could make a purchase). Burnett shares stories about spending time as a friend of Cary Grant and how she embarrassed herself when they met. She was also overwhelmed when she met Jimmy Stewart on the set where he was filming the FBI Story, and she promptly stepped off the set into a bucket of whitewash. She walked away with the bucket stuck on her foot, and refused to look back. They later became friends too. Each chapter is short so you can read it in a few minutes, but if you are like me, you will read just one more and one more, etc. A little bit of genuine heart break is included, but most of the book is fun fun funny. Of course, humor is a very individual matter, so I can't tell what might appeal to you, LOL. 

I am reading Rue McClanahan's memoir and it is upbeat as she often laughs at herself and her choices, especially regarding men. Typically when a man in her life asked her to marry him, even when alarm bells were going off, she said yes. All the while trying and failing to say "let me think about it." Rue enjoys sex and writes about it here. This book will go nicely with Betty White's memoir, since all 4 Golden Girls became close while working together for many seasons. Rue never gave up her acting, even when living on a teeny income as a single mom and I cheered for her when the Golden Girls rescued her pocket book :)

Any tips on other upbeat memoirs?

Sunflowers in September

Sunflowers in September are bold sentinels of the last of the summer days.

My neighbor plants these sunny plants every year.

I like the cheerful new school sign next to the sunflowers.

Does the above photo show the sense of wind moving them? It was tricky to take these photos as the sunflowers were moving this way and that. They were being whipped around by the breeze from the ocean and yet standing firm, just like we sometimes need to do in life's storms.
"The heart which has truly loved never forgets,
     But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets,
     The same look which she turned as he rose."    Thomas Moore

Earl Grey Tea, Favorite Tea Cup and Fun Tea Quotes

This tea cup, a gift from a friend, is lovely inside and out.

This is the same tea cup, plus my current favorite tea, Double Bergamot Earl Grey. I like Earl Grey and sought out the double bergamot, the flavoring made from a special type of orange. Most Citrus bergamia is grown in the province of Reggio in southern Italy, and also in Cote d'Ivoire for the essential oil. Earl Grey tea was first advertised in London in the 1880s, and first appeared in England in the 1820s.
Here are some quotes about tea.
"What would the world do without tea? - how did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea." Sydney Smith
 "Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?" Rupert Brooke
And one I like that is quite famous or infamous " Mr. Churchill, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea!" "And if you were my wife I would drink it!" Winston Churchill
Tea, an important beverage!
And yes, I like coffee too, which I grind fresh from coffee beans.
Do you have a favorite tea or tea cup?
I am praying for safety for all the people in the Houston area where the flooding is, and for the homes and the animals, and for recovery. Think cooling prayers for much of California as a few days of high heat has reached even me on the coast and inland and to the south is terribly hot.