A Busy Week and a Funny

 

This has been a busy week. Who knew being retired can be so busy? At this point, most things I do are things I choose to do and the people I spend time with are people I choose.

We celebrated my older son's birthday at our family's new favorite restaurant and our three nonalcoholic drinks were so pretty I took a photo, see above. Mine is the pretty lavender color drink at the front, it had Rose in its name and was delicious.

The next day I had lunch with my two long time friends of 25 years who I met while we worked at the university. We went to a restaurant that has Greek and middle eastern foods. They even have a dish I love, flaming cheese, which makes me happy. In an earlier post I shared a photo of flaming cheese, with its three foot tall flames at our table. That Greek restaurant closed and now I have found a new one that offers that entertaining dish.

The day after that I attended Women's Bible Study at church with ten wonderful ladies. The age range is 30 to 80, I am guestimating. Two of the ladies immigrated to the USA from other countries, Jamaica and the Philippines, and we are a diverse group, united in our love for Jesus and for each other. The group leader brings her one year old daughter who is a friendly youngster, and her daughter even sat on my lap briefly, Those were treasured moments.

And a funny for you. Some readers like when I type out the words, Remember Life's Most Valuable Antiques Are Dear Old Friends.

 

Now this little old lady wants some quiet time at home.

Johnny Jump Ups On My Patio and "Mapp and Lucia" Fun to Read

Do you have favorite flowers associated with childhood? One of my favorites is Johnny Jump Ups which my mom always had in her gardens. Now I grow them every year in mine.

These are growing in a big pot on our patio. I think they have cute faces. Lilacs and bleeding hearts were also grown in our gardens when I was growing up Do you grow flowers that remind me of favorite people?

 

Have you seen the two TV series of Mapp and Lucia? I enjoyed them and recently read "Miss Mapp" and "Lucia in London", both by E.F. Benson. I think the TV series were BBC productions. The author has a great knack for gentle humor, a comedy of manners and I like all the characters in the two small towns they are set in. Plus London in the second title. Miss Mapp and Lucia have some annoying competitive habits which add to the plots. I think there are six novels in this series, plus other authors have written more in the style of E.F. Benson, I read one titled Mapp at Fifty by Hugh Ashton and it was also excellent. A fun series to read any time, and especially if you need a pick me up diversion from worry or events.

Rose Campion Beauty, George Washington, Epoch Times

 

Rose Campion growing across the street from my house. I called them Purple Succulents until I learned recently they are Rose Campion and not succulents. I love that name, Rose Campion. Sounds like a name for a pretty English lass in a novel. People have had a love affair with this plant for centuries, and Rose Campion was grown in English gardens in the 1600s as shown in garden records and Thomas Jefferson wrote about growing Rose Campion in his gardens at Monticello in the 1700s.

Below is Bounce, to show the immense size of the pot the plant is growing in, plus of course every post needs a Bounce!

The bench also shows the size of the container, these are beautiful flowers. I have a few small ones in small pots and would like to have more in my garden. Happy gardening and flower admiring to you, my blog friends.

And here is the George Washington sculpture and quote from him, which I found in The Epoch Times, the newspaper I subscribe to which arrives once a week and is full of thought provoking and informative articles and columns from a conservative viewpoint. Epoch Times covers politics, history, art history, health, gardening, healthy cooking, religious freedom, has a puzzle page and comics, etc. I also subscribe to our local paper which is very liberal so I see differing viewpoints.

Sometimes people can not read words printed on an illustration posted online so I will include the words here. I learned about that difficulty reading on some online reading groups I am in, where the rules are that when you post a picture of a book cover you must also type out the author and title so all can read it.

"It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor." -- George Washington, first President of the United States

 

Walking Has Great Benefits, Thank Goodness

 

Recent books and studies show even more ways walking is good for me, thank goodness, I will take all the help I can get! Many of you readers know I walk with Bounce two times a day, and we love doing that. For health and enjoyment and a lift to my spirits. I read a recent article that says that moderate walking like I do can also build the white matter in the brain. That makes even more incentive for me to keep walking at my age. The above photo shows Bounce's coat with the word "Security". Below he is wearing a warmer coat.

 

Neuroscientist Shane O'Mara wrote a recent book "In Praise of Walking" where he shows data about how walking improves cognitive powers. For seniors like me and for all of us that is good news. One study shows that people who walk more than 4,000 steps a day (that's me) had healthier brain tissue in the area responsible for memory and cognitive function. 

Hurray for walking, and thank you Mr. Bounce. I know that lots of you enjoy walking, some of you hiking for long distances (hello Ilona, DJan and all). Anyone have a walking story to share in the comments?

Bel Lamington by D.E. Stevenson, Upbeat Novel, and Wildfire Smoke

 I read Bel Lamington by D.E. Stevenson recently and recommend it to anyone who enjoys an upbeat charming novel wherein the main character is a young woman who faces challenges. This novel is set in about 1950, first in London and then in Drumburly, Scotland.

Bel was orphaned when a child and raised by her kind aunt in an English village. When the aunt died Bel had to sell the house and take the small amount of money from the sale and move to London to find a job. She found a job as a secretary in a shipping company where several potential suitors meet her. Bel is innocent and runs into a big problem. She flees to the tiny outpost of Drumburly in Scotland where her friend and her father are on vacation fishing. 

I liked this book so much I was happy to hear there is a sequel, so I bought it and will soon learn more about Bel and her adventures.

I discovered D.E. Stevenson only a few years ago. We fans call ourselves Dessies. My very favorite of her novels is Miss Buncle's Book, which is very humorous. I am glad many of her books are back in print and also available as ebooks. If you like immersing yourself in stories set in 1940s and 1950s in rural England and Scotish border towns and people facing problem and even falling in love, these novels provide that. Humor too.

By the way, I have very eclectic taste in reading. For example I enjoy the Murderbot series by Martha Wells and just bought the third book in her series, Rogue Protocol. "Sci-Fi's favorite anti-social AI is back on a mission." "Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas?" I will review the Murderbot series in a future post. I recently discovered two authors new to me, Jamie Buckingham and Sean Dietrich "Sean of the South." So many good books out there. What are you reading today?

 Smoke from Wild Fires in Canada and Northern USA

June 30 2023. I am adding this note to say I am concerned about all the poor air quality and smoke in much of eastern Canada and eastern USA and in northern states including Michigan, Wisconsin and New York. My sister says the air in western Wisconsin where she lives is very smokey and in the unhealthy zone. She has developed a cough from going out in her garden. I am praying that the fires in Canada go out today! Does everyone know that room air purifiers with HEPA filters remove smoke? I got two of them (for living room and for bedroom) to remove pollen and dust and during California smoke hazard days learned that they help clean the air from smoke too. Love you guys.

Murals near my home

A building that was a church and is set to be torn down soon had murals painted on its interior court. My favorite of the murals is this tiger. 

 

Don't worry about the church, the church members have already set up in another rented building. They had been renting this building. The land will be used for houses for about 10 millionaire families who bought the property. I am not a fan of that, but who asked me?

I hope this graffiti or fancy script included in the above mural is not obscene! I can't read it, maybe you can.

Above is the church that will be demolished to make room for a group of millionaires who bought the historic property and will build homes there. Perhaps I exaggerate, but they must be wealthy to buy the large property in town and near the ocean.

June 18, Exciting Historic Events and Elvis too

June 18, on this day in history many remarkable things happened. The day after the Battle of Bunker Hill (fought on June 17, 1775), the first major battle in the US revolutionary war, Abigail Adams from her farm near Charleston wrote to her husband John, who was in Philadelphia serving in the Continental Congress.

The book I have and found this info in is The American Patriot's Almanac: Daily Readings on America by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb.

From a hill on their farm Abigail Adams saw the smoke of the battle rising above Charlestown. In her letter to her husband beginning "Dearest Friend", Abigail wrote "The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Trust in him at all times ye people, pour out your hearts before him. God is a refuge for us - Charlestown is in ashes." 

She further wrote that when their farm is deemed unsafe she will go to retreat at John's brother's home. Brave woman. One reason she wrote this letter is to mourn the death of their dear friend Dr. Joseph Warren who was killed in the battle and to inform John of the death, "Great is our loss. He has distinguished himself in every engagement, by his courage and fortitude, by animating the soldiers and leading them on by his own example."

Other notable events on June 18: In 1873 Suffragist Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for trying to vote. in the 1872 Presidential election, a fine she refuses to pay.

In 1928 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger on a flight piloted by Wilmer Stultz. She later became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

In 1983 Sally Ride became America's first woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

 

In 1948 Columbia Records unveils a remarkable new product, a long playing 33 1/3 rpm phonograph record. How many of you had those records? My dad bought me my first one, Blue Hawaii by Elvis Presley, I loved that record, the movie and those songs. My dad bought the album for me as a surprise and told me he was the cool dad and he was. Many people strongly objected to Elvis, he was too sensual for them back in the old days.