I Am Not a Believer ...

in signs and portents, but I found this.

While cleaning out my knitting closet and going through all the project bags I had stuffed in there, I came upon this bracelet. I have absolutely no memory of it, nor do I know how or when it could have ended up at the bottom of a knitting bag. When I turned it around I was even more surprised.

Too often I'm in search of inner peace and it had fallen right into my hand! Peace should not be tarnished, so it's now polished and shining on my wrist. Just because I'm not a believer in signs and auguries does not mean I shouldn't be paying attention.

So I'll be focusing on peace this year, inner peace, outward peace, and ways that I can choose and manifest peace in my life.

May Peace be with you and all of us in 2017.

I'm going to be taking a short break, but hope to be back in the next week or so.

Prescience

By necessity, I've had to curb my news intake since the election. I used to read BBC news every morning, and always had NPR on when I was working in the kitchen, but since every day brought new horrors as Cabinet choices were announced, I've cut down drastically. I read and listen enough to stay informed, make my donations, and practice peace and tolerance.

I work at home, and sometimes it gets pretty quiet. Because I was no longer listening to NPR all the time, I thought maybe a Netflix series would make good background watching/listening. I had watched The Crown twice, so the bar was fairly high, and then I remembered The West Wing. The first four seasons portrayed the wonderful kind of fantasy world that I liked to imagine represented the Obama administration - caring, intelligent, thoughtful people always trying to do the best for their country. And then I came to the end of season four.

I had completely forgotten about John Goodman as House Speaker Walken, who becomes President when President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) invokes the 25th Amendment. President Walken is a bully, ready to wage war and bulldoze everything that Bartlet's team has accomplished. We see him arriving at the White House as a dark, looming shadow, then striding confidently into the Oval Office. He takes over, saying, "Now, I thought you all had some good ideas, but somebody ought to make it clear to the people in this room that someone is in charge." 

Soon after, President Walken says, "I'm going to blow the hell out of something, and God only knows what happens next." 

I could only play a few episodes of season five before my imagined similarities of life after January 20, 2017 became too much for me. It looks like I'll be giving Stranger Things a try. Your suggestions for other good series to watch are welcomed!

Looking Back, Looking Ahead in Books

Goodreads has been telling me I should look at my year in books, so I finally did. The number of books I read doesn't really matter to me; quality is much more important than quantity. But, like many others at this time of year, I can't resist looking back at some of my favorite books of 2016.

These aren't in any special order, but if I had to pick my top three, they would probably be One Man's Meat, The Nix, and The Lost Painting of Sara de Vos, but then I would feel bad for not also including Lost Property, The Son, What a Fish Knows, and The House of Owls. I really loved reading all ten of these books.

I'm also looking ahead to some new books in 2017.

I have the gorgeously illustrated biography of E. B. White, Some Writer!, on the top of my TBR pile and it will probably be my next read. I'm not sure when I'll get to read The Underground Railroad as I'm eighth on the library hold list; they only have one copy so that means at least four months. The Keeper of Lost Things sounded wonderfully intriguing to me, and also has a beautiful cover, but it won't be published until February 21. I'll have to wait until March for Beyond Infinity, but I do have plenty to read in the mean time. :-)

If you have any 2016 favorites and/or books that you're looking forward to reading in 2017, I would love to hear about them!

Wishes and Hopes

Wishing every one a truly wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or just a great weekend if you're not celebrating anything special.

 I hope it's full of love, peace, enjoyment and hope.

Think Write Thursday

It seems as if I can count on Carole and Kat to come up with Think Write Thursday topics that I need to seriously think about and work on. Welcoming December, holiday spirit, and now another big one: talk about the ways you stay positive when it feels like everything is going wrong. We all have those times - something expensive breaks or you have to cancel special plans or you're dealing with something stressful at work - but we also know that staying positive really helps. What do you do to get through those times and stay focused on the good?

I'll be honest; many big things in my life have felt like they have been going wrong for a while now. My father has end stage bladder cancer, end stage kidney disease, end stage cardiovascular disease - multiple things that eight doctors have been calling end stage for a long time and yet his pain and suffering have continued for two years. The demands of care-taking are often overwhelming. My mother-in-law has many of the same health problems, and I've got some serious health issues of my own. There are plenty of days that I wish it was simply something expensive breaking, cancelling special plans, or dealing with something stressful at work. I give you details not to complain, but to better explain my answer. I know that every single one of you has issues small, medium, and gigantic that you are dealing with every day. 

Because I'm a reader, I've always looked for solutions to problems in books. Sometimes it's easy, like looking for a good cornbread recipe or how to do the Old Norwegian cast on. Other times, books may not provide the answer, but they do offer plenty of ways to deal with the realities of life. Books are how I get through those times and try to stay focused on the good. 

This Is How by Augusten Burroughs
I stumbled upon this book two years ago during a particularly distressing time in December. It was the perfect book at the perfect time, and I appreciated Burroughs' honesty and logic on how to deal with some awful situations that positive thinking just can't fix.

The Antidote: Happiness for People That Can't Stand Positive Thinking by Oliver Burkeman
Oliver Burkeman is not out to bash positive thinking, but rather to explore “the negative path”, the idea that the more we search for happiness and security, the less we achieve them. He encourages readers to embrace insecurity, and stop searching for happiness and quick fixes. . 

One Man's Meat by E.B. White
While this is not a "self-help" book in any way, it is a collection of White's essays written between 1938 and 1943. While reading it, I was continually struck by how White's personal recountings of his daily life and thoughts could be so applicable to me, a 59-year-old woman living her life 70 plus years later. White writes with thoughtfulness, insight, wit, and humor; he is one of the very few authors I have read that can combine both the internal personal and the world outside with his spare, straightforward writing and perfect word choices. This book has made me think about both my life and the world more than any other book I've read.

I'm not very patient with platitudes or trite prosaicism but these three books have provided me with forthright, logical, and considered reflections for some tough times.

In the end, it may be even simpler than reading a book. I used to work for an oncologist and one evening after a particularly tough day, I asked him how he could continue to practice. I'll always remember his answer, "It's simple, but not easy. I adjust my expectations and do the best I can." That is what I try to do (and keep on trying).

Read other Think ... Write ... Thursday! posts here, and sign up for Carole and Kat's great idea here.

Let There be Light

There is a scientific and astronomical explanation for the Winter Solstice, and I'm grateful for the Earth's rotation, revolution, and 23.5° tilt on its axis. For me, the most wonderful and significant thing about the Solstice is the gradual lengthening of daylight and shortening of night. Let there be (more) Light!

Libraries Are A Luxury?

Carole posted about her Peace Cowl and how knitting it may have helped her stay peaceful when someone called libraries a luxury at a town meeting. (She's picking her battles and saving her rousing speech for when it's time to actually request money.) I was aghast, outraged, and dumbfounded (and probably naive) that anyone could consider libraries a luxury and have been thinking about it since then.

It's probably preaching to the choir as I've yet to meet a knitter who isn't also a reader, but it's not the choir we have to convince. I worked as a library assistant in both elementary and middle school libraries, and lost my job when Chris Christie and our own school district didn't value libraries enough. I was called "low-hanging fruit" and my position was considered "low value-added" at multiple board meetings, but the worst part was that these adults charged with educating students in the best way possible did not have an inkling of what we did in the library or how important it is. We invited all of the school board members to spend a day with us and see that we taught research methods, how to evaluate sources, critical reading of those sources, what constitutes plagiarism, and how to become literate seekers of information, educated users of all types of information technology, and enthusiastic readers. Not a single board member took us up on it, and after this year's election I know many adults desperately need these lessons. 

I live in New Jersey, the state with the highest property taxes, the eighth highest state and local taxes, the fifth highest income tax, and the third highest overall tax burden. Want to know where I got those numbers? From the reference librarian at our county library. I want my taxes to support education and libraries because they are important providers of information, education, and recreation to all. 

Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries. ~ Anne Herbert

What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it feels about education. ~ Harold Howe

The library card is a passport to wonders and miracles, glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences, the hopes and dreams and strivings of ALL human beings, and it is this passport that opens our eyes and hearts to the world beyond our front doors, that is one of our best hopes against tyranny, xenophobia, hopelessness, despair, anarchy, and ignorance. ~ Libba Bray

A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life. ~ Henry Ward Beecher

The above are quotes that I've used when I needed to defend libraries. Anne Herbert, Harold Howe, Libba Bray, and Henry Ward Beecher are not well-known names, but want to know where you can find out more? At the library, and a librarian will be happy to help you. Advocate for your libraries and librarians, make your opinions known to the library board and the government that is funding these important resources, and check out the American Library Association for ways to save libraries in your state. 

Because libraries are an absolute necessity.