And that is all I have for Tuesday. The rest is undocumented floundering.
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Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has to win the Black History Month finest read. Joy-Ann Reid has written and narrated one of the best books I have read in a long time. Especially since I don’t much like nonfiction, there was history and personal story involved. I cared from the beginning for all the characters involved. And Ms. Reid became one of them as she was a personal witness by getting to know Myrlie Evers personally. So, her research was not only factual but personal. That is a true history book!
It wasn’t just a bunch of facts and men, as most history books seem to be. Nor was it only fighting and war and the heroes. However, that was included as only a part of history.
I could not stop listening/reading, so I went over my 3 AM sleep time as I didn’t want to stop listening. Joy-Ann is fun to listen to, and I always feel the wiser when I heed her voice.
I highly recommend this book. I was lucky to find it on Libby as an audiobook.
This was a hard day. So tired I barely got anything done. But a tiny bit of progress happened. After a bit of floundering and getting nothing else done, I took a nap.
I’m having trouble with the sun catchers. I’m not sure how to make the strings of sparkles to chain on them. I’m too tired to work with it this evening. I’m watching YouTubes to see if others know how to do the jewelry parts.
I think I will go to bed early to read and rest.
How is it already Sunday, almost Monday? The weekends seem to affect me now as much as they did when I was working. Back then, the time that was my own was filled with all the things to get ready for the work week and take care of the house. Now it’s just a rhythm change. Chris and I watch sci-fi, fantasy, or disaster movies. Just kind of like our date time. Today we watched Daybreak on, um, I think it was Hulu. It was pretty good to be so old.
Before we found a good show to settle on, we were watching vet shows and Sunday Morning and UU, where they celebrated Mardi Gras.
I got a bit more of the Sea Turtle done. (Just the back leg and tail).
Time to do the recorder. Then scales on the keyboard. I do think all this floundering is making progress. But it is slow, for sure. By the way, I took a few moments while the computer wi-fi loaded that sea turtle picture, to practice chord changes and You Are My Sunshine on the uke.
Practice makes progress.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “heavy/light/dark.” Use “light” and/or its opposites. Bonus points if you use all three. Enjoy!
It’s a good thing this prompt came up today. After floundering about the last step of diamond painting, I decided it was time.
You are supposed to apply the sealant, in this case, Mod Podge, in a light coat.
I did that yesterday. It turned out nice. But I got in a hurry today and put it on too heavy. Do you see the clunks of white and the clear cellophane stuff on the edges? Okay, they are sitting on little cellophane packets. But, there are little bits I’ll have to peel off tomorrow before putting on the chains.
This is the first side up and the sealant pooled underneath. So I’ll let it dry and hopefully it will be alright.
Darkness falls over me while I flounder. Impatient attitudes and crankiness show up. If I know what I’m doing and my day is mapped out I’m fine but trying to get myself sorted out and things don’t appear to be hopeful well, see what happens?
Yeah, it’s not pretty.
Yet at the end of this day I’m seeing progress and the sealant is drying nicely, even with my heavy application.
Time for music. That should pick me up.
The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump by Clay Cane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Since this is Black History Month, I decided if the Libby app could get this book to me, I would read it. Well, listen to it. They had the audiobook. Clay Cane did his narration.
As important as the information in this book is, I found it like any history book. It was all facts, names, and dates. I felt it could use more story and more emotion for the reader to relate to. The author/narrator was hyped and sounded like an evangelistic preacher. So before long, it was just noise.
Maybe it would be better to read the paper copy or the Kindle version. I felt I needed charts and timelines, and I needed to take notes. That’s hard to do at 2 in the morning when I am trying to go to sleep. I may have to read this again with the summaries I see on Mr. Cane’s Amazon and Goodreads pages. All that I have said about it was my own reaction to how it went into my brain so late at night. I think others who hold onto facts better than I do will love this and find new insights into our system of government.
So don’t take my word for it. Try it. You might like it and learn something you didn’t know before.
The Floundering part of this review is knowing it is a good and important book. But my lack of sleep or ability to concentrate ruined the book for me. And the entire day following. I got nothing done but weird naps and 40 minutes at the diamond painting only amounted to:
I need to sleep tonight!
I floundered as I set up my new diamond painting; I couldn’t remember the process.
Boom! 1-lined Wednesday, Floundered!
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the review I wrote for the Kindle version of this book. Since I listened to this one while reading from the Kindle version, I feel this should get a review as well.
***
I had this book, the hardback copy, for a long time. I had heard it was a good read, but the book was so heavy I never picked it up to read. I sold my copy. Downloaded as a Kindle copy, and it became a simple read. I, also. Downloaded the Audible version to listen to as I read. The voice of Sandra Burr was melodic and kept my interest, even when my eyes got tired.
This is deep enough that I must continue into the next book: The Valley of the Horses. I already downloaded it so that my memory of the end of the last book will fade. I will not say more than that for fear of committing a spoiler.
Glad I will now own this so I can go back and re-read it sometime.
~~~
February 6, 2024
I just finished re-listening/reading this first book. I have to admit it was as good as the first time I was immersed in the story. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. If you have read it, it is worth the reread!
Nobody floundered as much as the first humans. Can you imagine all the things they had to learn? We stand on their shoulders.
Thicker than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I don’t normally like to rate memoirs. It seems unfair as it is the story of that person’s life. But in this case, I truly enjoyed Kerry Washington’s reading and her story.
As much as I would love that rating to go to her life experience, it is more how I felt as she read about her love of swimming. I related to that love so much. Even her words and voice portrayed that great love and how, in the end, that helped her and her family find their way. I don’t want to give anything away. Hopefully, that much isn’t a spoiler.
Her voice is strong and full of life as she tells her story. I felt so much like I was having a cup of coffee or sitting in the spa after a good batch of laps.
Libby is one of the greatest inventions ever! It is through them that I can read so many books. Yes, there is still the due date to make you read faster, but it is still a way to read a lot when you haven’t a lot of money to buy each and every book you want to read. That was how I read this book. It is worth buying if only for the poetry Kerry gives to living. And swimming.
When you flounder in life, it is nice to find others to see how they handle their floundering. In Ms. Washington’s book, you see a lot of floundering as she learns about her life.
Darswords 
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