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Ta Da Tuesday


I started my revisit to playing the piano at the beginning of October last year.

At that time two of my friends were in the hospital. In my piano journal I mentioned the deep thoughts and how it might affect my “playing”.  Three days later one of my friends passed away and I worried the other might join her. Outside of praying there was little I could do.

Birds sing. They just do. Creativity has to happen. Just because.

I think I started before October. But the journey back to the keys got serious then. I started keeping the piano journal then.

I remember trying to figure out how to start.

My friend and I were already working on bringing back our creative muses. She said I should make sure to say ‘play’ not ‘practice’. It has worked.

But when I started back I found I couldn’t play songs I memorized or at least conquered back when I was twelve.

It was embarrassing, depressing, in fact, to even think about some of the songs. And I had to have everyone in the house hide away while I played.

At first I would play for five minutes. My anxiety was so high.

I’d play far easier things or sight read what might be easy.

Early on I looked at the Shirley Temple Songbook and felt that there was no chance I’d get the rhythm. Modern rhythms, syncopation. Bane of my existence.

Well, I finally got brave and started hitting the Songbook.

Yeah, see the drawing at the top right of Early Bird? Mrs. Skinner drew that timing illustration for my 12 year old self. I’m getting it. Sort of 63 years later. Ta Da!

Still missing my Michele. But glad Yvensong is better.


The Lightning Stenography DeviceThe Lightning Stenography Device by M.F. Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, that was a trip. And if it wasn’t interesting in some places, making me think about some ideas expressed, I’d say it was hours I’d never get back.

I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read this one. It was worth the thoughts.

The idea of a machine that could write for you without spell check and fumbling fingers seemed unique, until I realized that the paralyzed people already had that kind of thinking machine.

The Lightning Stenography Device, shortens to LSD. Drug use is implied often. And that kind of lucid writing, as if from an impaired writer, rambles forth. Many deep philosophical views are turned into sagas of gods and angst.

Mostly, this felt like an anthology of short stories tied loosely together. Just not my kind of book.

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Sunday Funny


And I’m sticking by that!

When I was a girl, I dreamed of shooting the curl. But alas I never learned to surf.

As a child my mother wanted me to have curly hair. She or my aunt gave me perms. Ugh! I hated it! And it took forever to grow out. It wasn’t so much curly as frizzy.

In sixth grade I had a thing for Shirley Temple. I used those pink sponge rollers, or mom would use rags to curl my hair into those ringlets. I loved Ms. Temples songs, shows, and dances.

From Curly Top

My teen years found me using coke, orange juice, or coffee cans as rollers as Cher straight hair was in. I couldn’t find pics, sorry.

A week after high school graduation I started cosmetology classes at the city college. We didn’t learn to use the hot roller. Or blow dryer. Or French braids. We learned pin curls, and finger waves. And pivot rollers. But I loved working with hair and meeting the nice ladies. Long hair was my favorite. Especially wedding looks. But, ugh, long days standing in one place had me in tears every night.
Yes. That’s my new goal. I’m not even curling those. I’m still on the purple ones that look like elongated hair curlers
A Milo pic. Just because. He curls up next to me at night. But stretches out on the cool floor in the heat of dog days.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “curl.” Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This Time Next Year We'll Be LaughingThis Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This has to be my favorite memoir. I love how Jacqueline Winspear takes us through her life. It is perfect in that she does her own narration.

If you were lucky enough to read or listen to the Maisie Dobbs series, you are rewarded in this autobiography by the glimpses of a real life beneath the fictitious murder mysteries. Ms. Winspear leads us through her childhood in England and to adulthood in Ojai, CA. We meet her family and see how their lives blended with the events in history and how they survived.

If you get the chance, Libby has this audiobook. It is a great way to ease away from the mystery series. Her life’s story helps me look at my own life and how to bring in the bits I have left out of my story without hurting others. Just tell your story. Now, if only I had a wonderful English accent!

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ConclaveConclave by Robert Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Pope died. It’s time for a new one. We’ve lived through a few of these. It is an interesting concept.

I’m not Catholic, but I have friends and family who are or have been. So I’ve always been curious. How does this work? How do they choose, especially since the church has a range of awesome and sinful? So when I saw the author on a talk show, I put the book on hold with Libby.

It was okay. For me, it was falling into a past of reading about men by men. Quite boring. But I’m glad I read it. Tiny bits of progress of thought seem to thread through this story. But I wonder if women are anything less than barefoot, pregnant witches to these self-important men. Sorry. Not sorry.

Still, these are my opinions that are changeable like the wind. Read it yourself and enjoy.

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One-Liner Wednesday


Part of Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Found on Facebook.

Every Moment SinceEvery Moment Since by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I ran out of something to read too early in the night. Libby had this story available to borrow. I wasn’t sure about it. Murder mysteries are not my favorite. Especially in cases where a child is missing. But with the multiple narrators and character development, I was drawn in. Although it was a whodunit, it was more about family relationships, watching the characters grow up without their loved one.

It is undoubtedly sad at times, but one has to find equilibrium after loss. I think that was the main point of the story.

I loved Marybeth Mayhew Whalen’s writing and the acting chops of Cassandra Campbell, George Newbern, Kirby Heyborne, Jane Oppenheimer, Macleod Andrews, and Renata Friedman.

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Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in CongressWinning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress by Lorissa Rinehart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’d like to begin with the blurb from Goodreads.
~~~
Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to drive a tractor, ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.

As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefitting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty. In 1941, she stood tall as the sole anti-war voice in Congress during WWII, advocating for pacifism in the face of tragedy and stating that you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

A suffragist, feminist, peace activist, workers’ rights advocate, progressive, and Republican, Rankin remained ever true to her beliefs—no matter the price she had to pay personally. Yet, despite the momentous steps she made for women in politics, overcoming the boys club of capitalists and career politicians who never wanted to see a woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin’s story has been largely forgotten. In Winning the Earthquake, Lorissa Rinehart deftly uncovers the compelling history behind this singular American hero, bringing her story back to life.
~~~
I must admit that I didn’t recognise the name, Jeannette Rankin. And I feel embarrassed that I didn’t know about her and her family.

This should be a textbook in a women’s studies class. Sadly, for me, it was more informative and less gripping. I wonder if having narrators would pull me in more? Perhaps as a movie, it would be the best way to convey this information. I wanted to like the book more. We need to know more about the women who did important work in America. We need more than His-story about men and their wars.

Maybe my problem is that I’ve been enjoying the Maisie Dobbs mystery novels and wish that kind of writing could be used to tell this important story. It’s probably just me, and how my brain processes knowledge.

Still, I was glad that NetGalley allowed me to read this on Kindle, with Text-to-Speech.

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Don't Call It a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing HappinessDon’t Call It a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness by Keira D’Amato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At 75, with bad knees, I find myself pulled to read books about running and jogging. Go figure. But no matter what condition you find yourself in, stories like Keira D’Amato’s are uplifting and help you discover your healthier self.

Listening to Ms. D’Amato recount her wins and trials while pursuing her passion was not only inspiring, but she also has a great sense of humor, which will have you laughing out loud. That’s not ideal if you’re reading this as a bedtime book, as the giggling may wake your partner. It might be more fun to listen to this book while riding the stationary bike. At least, that doesn’t hurt my knees. Who knows, maybe the peddling will make me strong enough to jog?

I was very happy to receive this book from NetGalley.

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