Sunday, February 20, 2022

And So It Goes

Winter one day, Spring the next.  Sometimes in the same day.  

Things are in flux everywhere and in every possible way.  I'm torn between wanting to be an ostrich with my head in the sand and wanting to keep up with the news and stay aware and concerned about what is happening.  

I just saw this quote on  Sharon Davidson Art.  It reminds me again about resilience.  There is so much we can't control: climate, political divisiveness, spreading anger about...everything, anything.  Let go.  Walk on.  "...go straight ahead with the movement of life."

“Whether we like it or not, change comes, and the greater the resistance, the greater the pain. Buddhism perceives the beauty of change, for life is like music in this: if any note or phrase is held for longer than its appointed time, the melody is lost.

Thus Buddhism may be summed up in two phrases: “Let go!” and “Walk on!” Drop the craving for self, for permanence, for particular circumstances, and go straight ahead with the movement of life.”

— Alan W. Watts

Books/Reading:

Always the mysteries and thrillers.  Finished the Stephen King Mr. Mercedes trilogy: Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch (although I read End of Watch several years ago, I had not read the previous books.  Also, I'd forgotten a great deal).  

Louisa Luna's 3rd Alice Vega installment Hideout.

Behind the Wire, the latest DI Declan Walsh book by Jack Gatland.

More in the Grimm Up North series by David J. Gatward.  I read these like candy. 

Currently reading Carville's Cure:  Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice by Pam Fessler.   I was curious about the leprosarium in Carville in Iberville Parish, but I did not expect this nonfiction account to be so fascinating.  I can imagine at least three movies and/or documentaries being made about Carville and some of its patients, doctors, and Daughters of Charity nurses.



Mail:  Keeping   up with InCoWriMo has been a bit of a struggle, but it has been fun finding more in the mailbox than usual!  

Recent outgoing mail:

 Omega

Susan 
Melissa Hughes 

Kristi Anderson
Penny Wilkes


:)



12 comments:

  1. Hi Jen, I love those quotes and the outgoing mail is adorable as well - you are so creative. That book - Carville's Cure sounds rather intense but yet so intersting as well - maybe someday.

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    1. Thanks, Diane--writing letters is something I enjoy!

      I just finished Carville's Cure and am still amazed at how well written and interesting this account of the place and the individuals turned out to be. Instead of reading a little at a time the way I usually read nonfiction, I read this one straight through, frustrated when I had to put it down and eager to return to it!

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  2. Popsicles for dinner! A delightful thought.

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    1. I agree. I'm going to try to do my best today!

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  3. What a wonderful set of quandaries!
    I agree, by the way. The desire to be a well-informed citizen has been in constant conflict with the necessity to retain enough emotional resilience to cope for the last two years!

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    1. It is difficult to keep a reasonable balance these days. It is worth the effort to look for positive news, cute animal pics, funny memes, and stories that make me laugh just to counteract the more depressing news each day. Moving ahead, walking on. :)

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  4. Your mail art is always so good for my eyes! I love that old photo too.

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    1. Thanks, Debra! The InCoWriMo challenge has been a lot to keep up with!

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  5. Love your mailings! Who are the lucky recipients? Now I am going to check out the Carville Cure. Thx.

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    1. There is a list of folks participating in InCoWriMo, but much of my mail goes to friends and family with whom I've corresponded for years. :) The Carville Cure has already ended up on my all-time favorite nonfiction list. It kept me engaged from first to last. Pam Fessler has done a remarkable job in both her research and her writing. Fessler's interest was stirred when her husband discovered that his grandfather had been in Carville, a secret that the family kept for 60 years because of the stigma attached to the disease.

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  6. Somehow I missed seeing these great characters and your great art on your mail. Popsicles for dinner! I’m in! Very fun writings. The shredding kitten had me laughing.

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  7. Somehow I missed seeing these great characters and your great art on your mail. Popsicles for dinner! I’m in! Very fun writings. The shredding kitten had me laughing.

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Good to hear from you!