My Reading Blog

A year ago I was very nervous with anticipation of a trip that I would take without my Hubby.  A Mission/Build Trip to Guatemala had been planned for over a year with lots of preparation, getting a passport, vaccinations, wondering what to pack, wondering what we would be doing, wondering how I'd travel without my hubby. After I came back from that trip, I was a changed person.  I had been blessed to be able to help those in need of a house.  I had been blessed to visit another country and see so many different sights.  I had been blessed to learn about a different culture.  I knew that at some point I wanted to do it all over again. And so, in less than a month, I get to go through this experience again.  We met with some of our team last week.  Half of our team of 14 is new to this adventure.  Those of us who had experienced this before, shared our thoughts and gave our words of wisdom to help qualm their fears and gave them suggestions f...

Goodreads Summary:  “I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.” For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own. Peony’s mother is against her daughter’s attending the production: “Unmarried girls should not be seen in public.” But Peony’s father assures his wife that proprieties will be maintained, and that the women will watch the opera from behind a screen. Yet through its cracks, Peony catches sight of an elegant, handsome man with h...

I said I didn't want it. I said I didn't need it. I said I could live without it. But .... Our cell phones are not our lives.  We use them to CALL someone and TALK to someone.  Our cell phones are used for emergencies, not to run our lives.  We have always used Tracfones - buy the minutes as we need them.  But .... Times have changed. First it was a phone (still a Tracfone) that I could use for texting.  I found it an easy and quick way to communicate.   But the phone that I purchased had a very tiny keypad and I struggled to type a message quickly.  So I started looking.  My friend had purchased a Smart phone from Tracfone.  We talked and I thought that maybe this would be okay.    A little bigger, lots more functions (and things to learn).  She liked hers (and like me, said she didn't need or want a smart phone). So yesterday we went to our local Wal-mart to buy it.  Ha!  None to be found. ...

Fall is fast approaching The leaves are changing colors The temps are dipping below 50 The flowers are fading The grass is drying up The hummingbirds sense the change The days are getting shorter The humidity is lower The sunrises and sunsets are vibrant Soon the leaves will be dropping Soon the doors and windows will be shut Soon the fireplace will be blazing Too soon, I'm not ready I still want the warmth of the sun on my skin I still want the blooming flowers I still want the hummingbirds diving in and out But... The calendar indicates That,  Fall is fast approaching.

My Hubby - the troubleshooter (I think it's his middle name).  In July I wrote about our future plans of selling our house and downsizing.  Since that time, we've (I) made a list of projects that have been neglected over the years - things that we have just accepted and overlooked.  I took a fresh look around our house and decided that these things needed to be fixed before we could put the house on the market.  These are items that Hubby has to complete - not in my field of expertise.  He has worked and accomplished the majority of the list.  I am very thankful and proud of his persistence in whittling down the list. In working on the list, he has had to utilize his troubleshooting skills.  When he worked as a mechanic for the USAF, this was a skill that he used daily and honed to perfection.  Even after being retired from the USAF since 1997, he hasn't lost his ability to troubleshoot.  Here's a few examples of what he has worked on in ...

As I sit here and listen to the news, I wonder, "Why can't the news be more positive?"  Why must the news media tell all the negative and bad things that happen?  Do we get a "high" out of listening to the shootings and killings, the robberies and terrible things that happen in our nation and world?  Why is it that the news media talks on and on about how this celebrity or sports person did this or that?  Why is it that at the end of a news cast, the media will actually have a brief (maybe two minutes) segment of something good and positive that has happened?  Are these "positive" moments so far and few between that we can only have one a day? What would happen if the news broadcasters started off with a positive story and proceeded to only relay those great things that happen every day?  How would our outlook change?    Maybe if we heard more of the good things that occur on a daily basis, we could turn the way our society is headed.  T...