Life Adventures for Miles

This week, I tried audiobooks. It hasn't really worked for me in the past and as I found for this book, audiobooks, for me at least, are only good when I know the story inside and out and want background noise. Those books I need/want to concentrate on, I find it hard to do, as the way I read, I am usually faster than the speaker of the book as well as I would have to be shut in with no distractions of any kind...and that is just not practical.  In any case, the Odyssey (By Homer-though some histories say probably by multiple people) is an epic (a long poem usually memorized and performed with musical accompaniment) and tells the tale of Odysseus's 10-year journey home, with a side story of how his family is fairing without him. It is a classic, which I am sure has been at least heard of before. I will say, if you can get through the writing style it is a fun adventure of a story. With all the components of an adventure story, a journey, romance, vengeance, a sense of hope and

Today, emotionally, has been kinda rough. Again I have no concept of why but the onslaught...sadness...I guess. The surroundings we are all involved in might have an effect-i have been watching/listening and reading a lot of people who at least give the impression of having their stuff together and/or how to acquire and secure that. Earlier in life, I always attributed this to homesickness. Not in the literal/traditional sense as I never went anywhere until I married into the military but in that, I feel...a sense of longing for the familiar or what I feel like should be familiar. Today there was a lot of wow, my kid's growing fast and how do I even keep up (by the way, the answer is not to tell me I am being too emotional or that it will happen and I should just get used to it.). Today I realized I feel mentally and more comfortably in that "growing up" phase where nothing has to be perfect and someone else is there to say "hey! Good job! You did it" and handle

This was a basic how-to manual for basic weaving. I've been interested in this style of weaving for a while and since I don't have any of the reeds used I thought it could work for my yarn too... First, you need the right materials and tools: craft scissors, a hank of reed,  a towel in case the dyed reeds bleed color, a tub for soaking the reeds so they stay pliable, tools for marking, crimping, packing, and measuring, and tools to hold the reads in place (like clothespins/mini clamps). Then you prep the reed for molding (cutting to size, soaking the reed, and bending it in the shape). The "spokes" are the reeds you weave around (the...warp thread I guess) and the weaver reeds would be the ...weft thread, maybe (they are the reeds that make up the basket)? Also, twinning reeds are basically the glue that holds the bottom, sides, or top together. Don't forget that you want the rougher side of the reeds on the inside!  This book also goes through different basket ty

So I don't remember ever reading Anne of Green Gables. I do know that there was at least one copy at home or at school (as we were book people and it is considered a classic). I have to say, I do appreciate this version of telling stories. It still has the essence of the stories but gives it a new flavor. The pictures depicted it perfectly (ie, my child followed along and enjoyed it) while the text added some context. HA! I just realized that is basically the reverse of novels (wow am I smart!?!-haha). Anyway, it's basically about a family who sends for an orphan to help with the farming (as they did back then), and instead of the boy they paid for, Anne was waiting for them. At first, they thought to find another for her but as the days went on they all grew into a family of three. It shows the passing of time and all of Anne's life's adventures and the lessons she learns along the way (including the people and places she encounters). I wasn't expecting it as a chi

So my foray in broadening my book horizons basically lean on the books through kindle unlimited. KU has a lot but only so much to choose from. This week follows the recommendations on Amazon and is about 28(ish) "poor little rich girls" who, unlike those "successful rich girls" who made something with their wealth (and survived with it intact), these biography shorts summarize their ultimate demise: isolation in one form or another and its greed. It showcases how the pampered women and/or their offspring chased the all-consuming concept of happiness...with various results.  The epilogue basically states (to my understanding) that we share similar traits, hopes, and fears whatever the class distinction. While I found the life shorts of these wealthy women interesting (sort of), I did enjoy all the quotes and references to stories of old.

So with all the excitement that was this week, I...totally forgot to put aside time for book reading. So this week will be aimed for those beginning readers (again). Specifically, those easy readers step 1/2 readers! Now I am kinda in love with them as they provide a perfect start to actually reading the words. The sets like my Pete the cat books use both words and picture symbols for clue indicators. They all have simple and repetitive language and the stories get increasingly...lengthy? story-like? advanced as well. Examples in my bunch would be Pete the Cat, Biscuit, and Big Shark/Little shark, while there is a tail (haha, get it,  cause their all tailed animals?) to tell, it is very linear in its nature. The stories like I love my tutu and the Paw Patrol progress the linear nature by introducing different things like characters and scene dynamics. Luna, of course, is not quite at this stage (she still prefers to make up her own stories from the pictures rather then the actual stori

So This book is not a new one but one that is a well-known story. It is the first of 3 and one of my husband's favorites. Based on the fictionalized story from Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras about historical French figures, this fictional book relays the story of D'Artagnan who is from a poor but noble family, and his beginning years of military life in France. While he doesn't get into the Musketeers in the beginning, he does befriend 3 of them, resulting in willingly going on such adventures for his king and country. With his wit, courage, and cocky but respectful nature, he ultimately wins himself a leadership within the Musketeers. Alexandre Dumas wrote this book in 1844. His portrayal of historical figures seems to be highly exaggerated which gained popularity but also probably indifference with those that knew the true historical beings. The adventure tales of D'Artagnan are considered in the swashbuckling adventure genre (which I find quite fun). However, while it

This is a memoir of a "white trash" homestead from Bobbi Conn in the valley of the Appalachians. A story of a child from a broken and battered impoverished home, mostly due to the father's all-around abuse. To the adult women who found herself in similar situations. She talks about the culture of deep Christian beliefs and the punishments of her 80s childhood. She talks about being a single mother and how she learned that her drive was to be better to her children then what she was given as a child. She also ultimately learned about her roots and how to love herself (or at least understand that she is deserving) despite and because of her roots. I related a lot to her. Not in her upbringing, but in her feelings of self-worth. She is a normal human being who just kept going. It's beautiful. It was sad and depressing but also a bittersweet inspiration. I would totally recommend this book. Also, what does this say about me that I can read/watch about trama and death/abus

Today was basic decompressing from the intense week of stimulation...plus it was rainy. While Luna enjoyed the rain and cozy cuddles I thought I'd revisit a subject ( different book by the same people though) that I read about in the first week's (month's?) blog posting: mindfulness.  The intro discusses why we have negative thoughts...or well, thoughts in general (it's your brain's way of processing the synapses it computes). There are four parts and the first part. Is decluttering your thoughts. Causes of cluttered thoughts can be daily stress, the paradox of choice, too much stuff, and the negative bias (the brain is hard-wired to remember negative more than positive as it produces more mutual stimuli). Habits that help are: deep breathing focus, meditation, reframe the negative thoughts, and construct them in a new positive way.  Part 2 was decluttering your life obligations, such as: defining/identifying your core values, clarifying your life priori

This week, my book is called: the accidental president. The author weaves a tale about Harry Truman's story. He started in humble beginnings, getting nowhere fast, when WW1 happened (he was 33) and he jumped into it with both feet. It seems while Truman was in all accounts a true man of average. Even as life, it seemed,  for this man of humble beginnings, had it out for him; he threw himself in everything with gusto, learning as much as he could. While life and its age of time seemed to play hard to get before and right after WW1 (he failed in all his business trials), he found himself a cog in the wheel of politics through his connections. While his core ethics were never changed, he knew what side his bread was buttered and often had to look the other way in the corrupt machine of Kansas City Missouri's politics. As he went from the country judge of 10 years to (what seemed a random) candidate to the Senate, he found himself somewhat freed-rather judged by his own

So this week I want to talk about kiddie books! My child loves books. We are in that transition from board books to paperback, well sort of. We started out with the "baby" books-those that make noise and bright colors and whatnot, usually made out of some cloth or another flexible material so it doesn't fall apart from baby use- and moved into Indestructibles (a brand name that makes colorful picture books with limited or no words) and board books. The board books I have seen are copies or simplified versions of fun picture book stories. Ours are mostly of the Dr. Seuss variety with some other thrown in. My four-year-old is still pretty rough on books so our "paperback" stories are far and few in between, but growing! If you are super crafty I also recommend making books! There are several tutorials on making books from cloth and felt to pop up and paper. If you can, let your kid(s) help by narrating the story or creating/coloring the pictures. not only will it

So the introduction of this book laid out a scene of the author and his wife of exploring Utah's (and Arizona's) public lands. Within this scene he painted the plot of the story and the reason for it's plot: the "land-transfer movement". This concept was not knew to me (think about in a people perspective-groups of people were transferred everywhere and to the highest bidder) however,, I was unaware of how much traction it has gotten for our land. I naively thought that the majority of our population, in this day and age, understood the consequences and the responsibilities of "owning" living and breathing species. The argument that land and animals are different then people...well,  I would point to science with a raised eyebrow and "oh yeah"? Whether one believes in creation or evolution, one cannot ignore the scientific (both social and physical) evidence of our similarities: we all have cycles of birth, life and death, and its species that

To be honest I had trouble with this book. I would recommend it only because of the habits it inhabited (ha!). The foot traffic of this book was either study/technical jargon or examples of the problems he would come across... However, the 7 habits he talks about are pretty good for life, I think. It's all based on a natural law principle system. Habit 1, 2, and 3 are private victories (freedom of deciding what to do, how to do it, and the physical act of doing it): habit 1 is being proactive (choosing to do it), habit 2, is begin with the end in mind (visualizing the end result) and habit 3 is putting first (important) things first (rather than last). The next 3 habits reflect public victories (respect, understanding, and the actual creating). Habit 4 thinks in win/win terms for all things (how can both "sides" benefit). Habit 5 is seeking to first understand (the other "side") and then to be understood (emphatic listening) and habit 6 is putting it all toget

I am not sure why I chose this week's book(s) as such. In the emotional stress of this week, reading about the struggle and survival of the WW2  occupants (even if it was fiction) seemed a bit counterproductive to my mental health. However, I truly enjoyed these books and highly recommend them...  So today's book post is from Jean Grainger. I read the first book and while it had an ending that you could leave with, I wanted to see the overall ending (that's the sequel). Reading the back of the book, I had a sense that The star and the shamrock were about 2 women that dealt with WW2 and the kindertransport. I came to find that while it starts out with these 2 women (cousins by marriage), the real meat of the story is, in fact, a "whodunit" type of story with a dose of romance in between. The key factor (the Jewish German mother who sends her kids to the cousin by marriage) only shows up in the beginning and at the very end of the first book while the second book is

So this a book a week thing is harder then I was thinking it would be. Finding books that aren't my normal and slowing down to be able to think and write about it...it takes some effort and time I didn't realize was needed. Also spending all day on a book makes my husband (who gets frustrated with my book reading anyway) a bit grumpy, lol. So This book was based on English women in history between the 1570s and the 1770s. Maids (the young unmarried women) seemed to have the most freedom in terms of how they were thought of. Wives seemed to have most of the work, and widows seemed to be kind of stuck, to be honest (they paid their dues as a wife but couldn't do much with them). The book kept referring to this time as the early modern-day, which I can see, sort of. This time frame had a lot of modern-day thinking, they relied on the medical/science (of the day) and church for all their new and improved, from the home and its housewifely and chide rearing, to the health and

Edited Note: I had this piece all finished and written out and then the internet quit on me and now it's all lost...so this second try will be less than before... This is the beginning of a weekly post where I read a new book every week. The days may change as life changes (and I am not real sure I like it on Sundays), however, this first book is on mindful parenting . I am unsure if it was the writing style (a casual conversation-like I do but smoother) or that I attributed and accepted this to not being  American culture (and I have always been proud of not conforming to American culture-istics-which in itself is very American-to the annoyance and teasing of others) thing but with every chapter, I found myself relating it to my life. I have by its definition have a "monkey brain" (which to be fair isn't nice to the monkeys as they have very survivable instincts based on their brain and their environment) and while my childhood was, according to the book, chaotic