The prompt for Friday Writings , at Poets and Storytellers United,  was inspiration from beloved books.  Junie B. Jones was a character, and series,     created by the late Barbara Park, a children’s book author. Readers were introduced to this lively, rambunctious, imaginative, creative, delightful going-on-six kindergartner in 1992. Before Ms. Parks’ spirit soared into the Universe, she had written 32 Junie B. Jones adventures. I learned today that the series was on the American Library Association’s list of 100 banned and challenged books throughout the 20-oughts because Junie B. spoke like a regular kid with bad grammar and spelling. Bah, humbug. (Update: Thanks to Magaly, I double-checked myself and found I misunderstood. The ALA does not ban books, but creates lists of books that people ban to keep us, the public, informed. So, I take that back. I am not all disappointed with the ALA. My mother-in-law’s spirit is most likely relieved.) I was in my 40s when...

My 13 things today are books I've read that have a number in their title, except for #11. I had to refer to my Goodreads list to come up with the titles. Some of the titles are from waaaaaay back, such as the one by Thurber, which I want to re-read. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Tres Pinos—Its Colorful Past by Peter Frusetta  (Tres is Spanish for three.) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Now We are Six by A.A. Milne Seven Dials by Anne Perry Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) by Agatha Christie Index to Murder by Jo Dereske (This is #11 in the Miss Zukas series.) The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen The 13 Clocks by James Thurber What books have you read with numbers in their title? Check out more lists of 13 at Thursday 13 .

This week Sunday Stealing , hosted by Bev Sykes, is all about choosing a book and discussing it via a bunch of questions. My choice is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. 1.  Why did you pick the book? Jane Eyre is the #1 book on my list of all-time favorites, which I put on the top of the list after I read it 10 years ago, more or less. It kicked Pride & Prejudice to #2 after 40 or so years. Until I saw the movie adaption with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens, I resisted reading Jane Eyre in full. I had no idea Jane had such gumption. In middle school, I read segments in our English textbook so I knew the main plot, but all the good stuff that would've got me to the read the book wasn' there. And, when I saw the movie adaption with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine back then, I was definitely not interested in reading the book because the film portrayed Jane and Mr. Rochester as simpy, unlikeable characters.   2.  What did you think about the book? Jane is an indepen...

Whooo-hoooo! Five books. Five books. Five books. A happy song for me. I bought five books, a buck a book, from the local Friends of the Library the other day. It took all of five minutes, a minute a book, to decide I wanted them. Hurrah, hurrah! Molly the Cat likes the titles, too.  So it seems. I'm still working on Anne Perry's latest Daniel Pitt novel, Triple Jeopardy , set in London in the early 1900s . If you read Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, which was based in the 19th century at the end of Queen Victoria's reign, you may like the Daniel Pitt series. Daniel is a 20-ish attorney who is Charlotte's and Thomas's son. So far, his parents play a minor, but still very important, role in the series. Once I'm done with Triple Jeopardy , I'll start on one of the five books. Which shall be first: Everything is Beautiful , by Mira T. Lee; Pride vs. Prejudice , by Joan Hess; Major Pettigrew's Last Stand , by Helen Simonson; I Fe...

Once upon a time there were people who collected other people's trash and resold the items. Some of these early recycling entrepreneurs were said to go down the street calling out something like "I'm here for any rags, bottles, and bones." Rags, bottles, and bones. For me, it would be books rather than bones. But, I'm not looking to purchase any rags, bottles, or books. Not at all. I mention the phrase because the past week, I've been repurposing fabric scraps, wine bottles, and old books. RAGS The elephant scene (above) is my first try at fabric art. I machine stitched everything but the the red flowery thing, which is the top of a tree, onto a purple napkin. The zipper is the second, if not the first, one I've ever sewn. I have several more purple napkins and a whole bunch of scraps so I might experiment with more fabric art. We shall see. BOTTLES Last year I decided to make a garden border with wine bottles that I collected mostly from our...

I like big-print books, I cannot lie.  Mentally I jump with glee when I find a new big-print book that I want to read at the library. These days, my near vision is a laugh. I read by holding the reading material inches from my face, unless it's a big-print book. It's the most comfortable way for me to read, which isn't comfortable at all. The increasing kink in my near vision may be caused by the cataracts developing in my eyes, particularly the left. Until I got new lenses last year, I blamed the rips and tears in my old glasses for me not seeing clearly. Ha! I only had to put out $600 for the new eyeglasses to find out how wrong I was. The Husband has cataracts too. Worse than mine. He'll have cataract surgery for both eyes (one at a time) in the Spring. Once he's settled, I'll get at least the left eye done. I'm glad that both of us are on a decent Medicare Advantage plan. Fictional Characters I Like Speaking of books, which I was at the beginn...

Ha-haaah! Two days ago marked one full year of posting every day on this blog. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Last October I was feeling quite aimless.  Within two years, the Mama died of old age, the Husband got a pacemaker, and my reproductive system, along with a bit of cancer, was cut away. Yes, I had an excuse, if I needed one, to feel aimless.  Except I didn't want to feel aimless, which for me could lead to digging a deeper crevice in which to fall. So, I committed myself to this blog. Post every day I told myself. Original posts, preferably. On wordless days, I looked in my archives for something to share. One year later, do I still feel aimless? Buzzed is more like it. Buzzing like a bee flitting from one flower to the next. My flowers are artsy and craftsy repurposing rojects of all manner. Fun projects are revealing themselves to me, left and right. What to do? Which to attempt first? I also want to finish reading Anne Perry's Dark Tide Risi...

I'm feeling mighty groovy right now. Just like the song sang by Simon & Garfunkel, once upon a time. The Husband and I had a lot of fun this weekend. Ever since Eliza, our dependable 25-year old of a metal steed, had work done on her, she has been taking us places. So much so that I know the moon is in afternoon sky right now, something I haven't noticed in a very long while. On Saturday morning, we joined a group of like-minded people  downtown to express our concerns about the actions of our federal government. There was about two dozen of us, I think. Pretty good for our town. The current President's policy to separate children from their parents at the border was an incomprehensible and  immoral act.  To fix his action, he signed an Executive Order to stop his administration from following his policy for any family who is detained at the border. But, what about all the children who are already separated? Legally, children in immigration detention centers ...

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm still playing catch up so I'm back to reaching into my archives for a while more. Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on November 22, 2015. ============= A warning for delicate ears: Bodily toots are being mentioned on today's post. (Giggle.) I'm one of those people whose body systems get all relaxed when she wanders around a bookstore. The moment I enter the door, total zen. Unfortunately for those around me, I'm one of those book browsers who not only gives the occasional loud ah! when she sees an interesting book cover, but also an occasional silent toot, leaving a lingering aroma. I try not to, but, hey, better out than in. Sorry for the TMI, but it's to set you up for this next paragraph. (Snort) The future-Husband and my first adventure included a visit to a used bookstore in his neighborhood. I have no idea if the shop still exists. I ...

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America Travel with Charley: In Search of America is in one of my to-read book piles. It may be the next book I reach for, being that I'm curious to learn what John Steinbeck was seeking as he wandered about the country with his canine pal Charley in 1960. Steinbeck was traveling in the era to which the present administration seems to want to return. You know the "Make America Great Again". Myself, I would rather not return to the age when civil rights for all was not honored by those mean-spirited in power and those cowardly who sided with the powerful.