Saturday, February 14, 2015

READING A BOOK NOW ABOUT A COUPLE’S STRUGGLE WITH CANCER

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FEMALE GILA WOODPECKER TACKLES AN ORANGE SLICE IN OUR MESQUITE TREE

Even the birds must have known it was Valentines Day.  Both Kelly & I noticed many cheerful bird songs in the air this morning.  And it just seemed to go on all day.  Our Curved Bill Thrashers have the prettiest sound to them. We noticed birds flying & working together with a lot of nest building going on.  A pair of Gila Woodpeckers were busy with a few slices of orange Kelly had put out as well.  It was just a mighty fine Saturday morning all round as I took full advantage of our front porch & spent well over half my day just sitting there reading, watching birds, & nodding off now & again to the sweet sounds of twittering around me.  Especially busy were a clan of little Sparrows busily feathering their nests in our two giant Saguaros out front.  

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<<< MALE GILA WOODPECKER TACKLES AN ORANGE PEEL ON A TALL WOODEN POLE

I did finish my book ‘Quiet’ a couple weeks ago.  Well I finished it my way that is.  Again the first part of this book was most interesting to me but once it got into how introverted people cope in big business environments such as Wall Street I lost interest & fast forwarded.  Next the author talked about introverted & extraverted children & how they cope.  Although more interesting than the Wall Street section I again lost interest & finally put the book down & moved on to something else.  Despite not reading this book from cover to cover I did find what I did read very informative & enlightening.  

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A LOT OF NEST BUILDING GOING ON TODAY

A month ago I had downloaded about a dozen free books on my kindle so sifted through the list, picked out a couple & began reading.  Neither of these 2 books held my interest for long so moved onto a 3rd one & this book grabbed my attention.  Had no idea what it was about at first but with each page I was drawn further & further in.  It is a true story written by the husband of woman diagnosed with terminal cancer.  It is a story of their daily struggles, their turmoil, their hopes & their many set backs with this insidious illness & disease.  Normally I wouldn’t chose to read a book like this but now that I am nearly half way through I am glad I decided to stick with it.  Cancer is one of those topics all people fear & few talk openly about.  Even the victims sometimes.  This book in it’s own painful yet powerful way reveals those personal difficulties.  I am finding with each page turned I am gaining an understanding & insight into something I like many others have feared, turned away from, & felt uncomfortable talking about.  The book is called, ‘Leaving the Life’ by Patrick McKenna Lynch Smith.  

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I am also reading a second book & this one is hard covered & the first printed on paper book I have read for many years.  It helps to have the ‘large print’ edition & that is working for me.  Suggested by Kelly’s brother Peter I am well into ‘The Thunderbolt Kid’ which again is a true story of a boy’s growing up years in the 1950’s.  Author Bill Bryson pretty much nails it as I continuously identify with nearly everything he writes about.  Many things from my own childhood in the 50’s I remember & the one’s I don’t are brought back to mind by the author’s own memories.  Great book which will bring many smiles for aging baby boomer minds.

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Ever heard of the Kalamazoo Air Zoo?  Well I hadn’t either until I read Jim’s post over at exploRVistas.  I know we have some readers out here with aviation interests & this post just might be of interest to them.  Check out the pink P-40 Warhawk & find out why it was painted pink.DSC_3383

Our intentions were good this morning when we decided last night to just take the bull by the horns this morning, hop in the Jeep, & go around visiting some folks we either haven’t seen yet this year or have maybe only seen once.  As I said, our intentions were good but Kelly got herself busy in the kitchen working on a new cabbage soup recipe & I just kind of lazed out on our front porch reading.  Jeep never moved & we didn’t leave the property.  One of these days we’ll get our act together & get out to say hello to folks………………

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WITH LAPTOP OPEN ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER KELLY WORKS AWAY AT A CABBAGE SOUP RECIPE THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Driving through Southern California, I stopped at a roadside stand that sold fruit, vegetables, and crafts.  As I went to pay, I noticed the young woman behind the counter was painting a sign.
"Why the new sign?" I asked.  "My boyfriend didn't approve of the old one," she said.  When I glanced at what hung above the counter, I understood. It declared, "Local Honey, Dates, Nuts."

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After years of using the same perfumes, I decided to try something different and settled on a light, citrusy fragrance. The next day I was surprised when it was my little boy, not my husband, who first noticed the change. As he put his arms around me, he declared, "Wow, Mom, you smell just like Fruit Loops!"

12 comments:

  1. Loved Bill Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything.... riveting

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  2. Thanks for the Air Zoo mention, Al!

    Loved The Thunderbolt Kid. I read it a few years ago and couldn't put it down.

    Jim

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  3. I have a Kingle but I'll always prefer holding a real book.

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  4. It was a beautiful day for just sittin' around. Although I did a little camper packing in between.

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  5. As one who is struggling with a spouse with terminal cancer at what seems to us to be a young age, I don't know how the author could bear to relive it by putting it all down on paper. I do hope he shares what a lonely road it is.

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  6. Terminal cancer is such a brutal disease, having watched my father, baby brother, and 2 aunts succumb to this disease it sure is not an easy ride all much too young.

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  7. I read a few of Bill Bryson's books years ago and enjoyed them I think you might like his "One Summer: America, 1927" although I have not read it.

    The recommendation from Britbabe is seconded as well as "A Walk in the Woods", "I'm a Stranger Here Myself" and "Seeing Further" although I have not read this last one.

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  8. You're so right about turning away from the topic as too scary, too gut-wrenching - I almost didn't read the post :-( I think the Outlander series will keep me busy for several more months, but then I'm looking forward to finding books by authors from the areas we're traveling through. Looks like a good number of folks were out on ATVs so you likely would have missed them had you ventured out anyway :-)
    Hey, did you ever paint the front door?

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  9. I just read 'Eternal on the Water', a story of a young woman diagnosed with Huntington's disease, and how she chose to live her life in the wake of a terminal and debilitating condition. Very thought provoking and emotional.

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  10. I'm with Gypsy...I own a Kindle and have never read a book on it...or hardly used it. I found the keyboard too hard to get used to, and I do prefer to hold a real book...Something about actually turning those pages...I know..I need to get a life!

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  11. Thanks for the book recommendations. I just finished reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, a Harvard educated surgeon. It's a fascinating read about health care and the elderly. Very thought provoking book for people our age.
    Jim

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  12. I used to plow through and read a book to its end no matter how bad it was. Then one day it dawned on me that there were no brownie points for torturing myself like that. I've ditched a number of books since then and concentrate on the ones I find really enjoyable. The time I get to read is to precious to waste. ;c)

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