Matthew McConaughey's Greenlights, Anne Lamott, Tom Ryan and a happy old dog

 Books. Reading. Reading. Books. Two of my favorite things.

"Greenlights", a memoir by Matthew McConaughey turned out to be even greater than I had hoped. Plus Mr. M. is such a handsome man, isn't he? One of my favorite movies of his is Mud, not his most acclaimed movie, but excellent. Mr. M is a man of honorable character as is revealed in his memoir. It is easy to read, fun, has family photos, and lots of his words of wisdom on helping us find our own greenlights. Some of the tips are duct taped to the page in photos. Very clever format. Below is a photo of one of the tips on a page of his book. The note says "Knowin the truth, seein the truth, and tellin the truth are all different experiences." (he drops the "g" in those words for a reason).

Here are three books I recently purchased and read, all written by authors I think are honorable people. Thus their books resonate with me, and I am happy when reading them and thinking about them afterward.

"Dusk, Night, Dawn" by Anne Lamott. I buy all of her memoir/Christian ideas books. She is a free spirit. In this one we learn that she married for the first time in her life at age 60 or so. She never thought she would marry. Her essays are always interesting.

"Will's Red Coat: The Story of One Old Dog Who Chose To Live Again" by Tom Ryan. Why did I only recently discover this author, who obviously has a great heart? His earlier book "Following Atticus" is a best seller and is also about a dog Ryan loves. I aim to read that one soon. These are nonfiction. Will is an old dog who was adopted when quite deaf and almost blind and he sure grows to enjoy life.  Ryan is so attentive to Will, one clever way he helped him was by playing classical music and setting Will's bed so Will rests his head against the table leg so that even though deaf, he enjoys the vibrations of the music.

I see that all three of these are memoirs. What book treasures have you found to share?

Thanksgiving, Giving Thanks

 Here in the USA we celebrate Thanksgiving. I find it a relaxing holiday centering around family, food and praising God for the blessings he gives us. Here are some photos for the day.

 I chose the above photo because it is not your typical turkey picture and it is rather pretty.

The above is the last Thanksgiving Will and I spent together, which was in 2015. Hold your loved ones close.

I love foxes and this guy has an orange coat, so I include him.

I count my blessings from God every day. Well, a few of them, the list is rather long. He is a good good Father. I also sing "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost."

For those who celebrate this holiday and for everyone world wide, Happy Thanksgiving.

The ocean near my home, Bounce and Fluffy and dog bed

 I am posting this added info on November 8, as I have had no Internet/Wifi at my house since October 25. AT&T finally fixed it. I okayed 22 of your comments today, to show as posted, it took me this long since I had no Wifi. This post was scheduled to post on Nove. 1 and it automatically posted. I will start visiting blogs again, hurray. And watching TV and visiting rumble.com, etc. Thanks for taking the time to leave your kind comments, sweeties.

Bounce and I often walk from my house (our house) to the bay, to enjoy the fresh air and to experience all the pure beauty of the sea. 

The sparkle of the waves gave me joy and you can see some students on the rocks on some sort of science outing. When I see the waves and feel the majesty of the ocean I do not fail to thank God for His creations. "He hath made everything beautiful." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Above is Fluffy and Bounce taking a nap together. Of course I woke them when I took the photo. Sorry to disturb you guys.

Above is Bounce in his favorite bed, which is actually a pretty shade of blue. He feels very comfy in there and we call him little taco.

Above he was sleeping. It is hard to get a picture of him sleeping, he usually wakes up. 

Have a great day friends and enjoy the beauty around you.

Musicians I Heard Live from Bob Dylan to B.B. King

 

Above is a free standing cardboard sign of Bob Dylan that I got when I was in college and that I am still pleased to have. It is about 40 inches tall. Isn't he young in this photo? He is my favorite singer/song writer/poet. I saw him live in concert a few years ago when he played where I live. I still have the tee shirt I bought that evening, showing a photo of Bob.

My husband Will and I heard B.B. King several times play live in a blues club in Oakland, California. One time B.B. came and sat at our table and chatted with us. What a thrill for us. Will played guitar so it was quite an honor to meet B.B. King in that friendly manner. I couldn't find any B.B. King photos available free to post.

I heard Joan Baez perform live once, her voice is so rich and haunting. Isn't the above photo perfection? The young and talented Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, briefly a couple. I think she wrote the great song about their affair, "Diamonds and Rust."

I heard Del Shannon live in concert in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His song Runaway is a favorite of mine.

At Fillmore West in San Francisco  my husband Will and I attended many concerts, and loved The Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hot Tuna and The Youngbloods. The Youngbloods was a favorite band, with their song "come on people now smile on your brother, everybody get together and try to love one another right now." We in the audience would all join hands when they sang that song. We saw The Youngbloods in concert live several times.

 

I heard Memphis Slim (in above photo) in a small underground blues club in Paris, France. There were a lot of small clubs in Paris that were built literally underground. As I recall they were called "caves."

Your comments reminded me that I saw a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet when I attended college in Istanbul, and a Shakespeare play (not music, I know) in Statford on Avon years ago.

Who have you heard live?

My old friend, Henry David Thoreau and my Uncle Leroy Pelkin

 

 

 

I began my acquaintance with Henry David Thoreau when I was a preteen, perhaps 10 or 11, when my uncle Leroy Pelkin gave me a book by Thoreau. He honored my ability to learn by only giving me adult books over the years. Uncle Leroy gave me a nice selection of books by Thoreau and by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Some of the books were published in the 1800s and I still have them. Something about the writings of these men resonated with Uncle Leroy and me. We both value independence, the beauty of nature, and minimal government. Uncle Leroy valued time alone, like Thoreau and like me. He was a bachelor, and as life goes full circle, as a widow I live alone now. Solitude has many virtues, I find.

 

 In his essay Civil Disobedience Thoreau describes our duty to obey a higher law when human laws are in conflict with that. He was opposed to slavery and was put in jail in 1846 for refusing to pay poll taxes which he understood supported slavery. His friends paid his taxes so he was released from jail; he did not appreciate what they did. His family sheltered a number of fugitive slaves.

Uncle Leroy gave me the book "Autumn: From the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau", published in 1892. Now that book is older than I am! I still have this book and will share a quote or two from it here.

"That old Carlisle road, which leaves towns behind;  where you put off worldly thoughts; where you do not carry a watch nor remember the proprietor ... The lonely horse in its pasture is glad to see company, comes forward to be noticed, and takes an apple from your hand. Others are called great roads, but this is greater than they all."  Sept. 24, 1859 Thoreau's Journal. 

Emerson and Thoreau loved America, nature, the woods, individualism and the God given rights of citizens. They understood that God gave us rights, not the government, and thus, the government has no standing to take away our rights.

Here is a quote from Thoreau's Walden: “We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”

I have a nice little book, "The Bluebird Carries the Sky On His Back", filled with short quotes by Thoreau. I will share a few with you here.

"The swiftest traveller is he that goes afoot." 

"Shall I not rejoice also at the abundance of the weeds, whose seeds are the granary of the birds?" 

 

"On Sundays  ... when the wind was favorable ... I heard the bells of Concord, a faint, sweet melody, worth importing into the wilderness."

And here is a favorite of mine "I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than to be crowded on a velvet cushion."

In 2021 Thoreau reminds me of much that is important and timeless and true.

Beautiful Scripture Quotes

 

I like the above art showing the lion and lamb in the clouds. Today I am sharing some Scripture quotes that guide me. Our God is a kind and loving God and these Scriptures show this.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28-30

 

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

"We must obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29 God gave us the Bible, which is His book of instructions, to help us follow God. I love reading and studying the Bible, alone and in our Women's Bible Study group, and in our fellowship group at church with men and women.

 

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

 

When asked which commandment is the greatest Jesus replied "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31

Queen of the Night Cactus in Bloom

These Queen of the Night cactus draw me in with their beauty. Twenty years ago neighbors dug this cactus up at my house and planted them in their yard. I switched from a front yard cactus garden to one having flowering shrubs. It had become too difficult and dare I say, painful, for me to weed the cactus garden. Yes, the cactus stabbed me! My flowering shrubs need little water and are mostly natives, like California Fuchsia and Native Penstemon.  Meanwhile the Queen of the Night is thriving at the neighbors' home.

These beauties open up fully in early evening so I could take these photos. I think they are pollinated by bees and moths and bats. The flowers are six inches across.