My exercise of choice is walking outdoors. But sometimes it is hard to get myself out the door. It is always good to have a walking buddy but sometimes work schedules change and it becomes hard to get together with people who I have walked with in the past. When I had a Fitbit I used to do virtual walking contests with my sister in law who lives about an hour away. And while my Apple Watch does a lot of things my fit bit does not, walking contests is not something I have found on it. So I asked my aunt who lives about a days drive away if she wanted to make up a virtual walking contest. She was agreeable so we did. The first thing we did was find how many steps were in several trails. I found a link that had that information online. Click HERE to read that information. The first trail that we competed for I won by one day. She was right on my tail. We read about the trail online and we watched videos of what the scenery looked like. It was in England and was called Hadrian's Wall Path. It was 168,000 steps long. Hadrian was a Roman Emperor and the wall was built at the northern most part of the Roman Empire. You can read about it HERE. And watch the following video of this young man walking the first part of it.
The second contest my aunt beat me. She finished a day before me but I was right on her tail. It was called the West Highland Way Trail and was in Scotland. It was 190,000 steps. You can read about this trail HERE. The scenery was amazing and you can watch these three young men walking most of the trail in the following video.
My aunt and I had so much fun with our first two contests that when my TOPS group was discussing their next contest I suggested we do one of walking to Bethlehem since Christmas was approaching. Rather than count steps we chose to keep track of minutes of whatever purposeful movement we wanted and did the math of how much time it would take to walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It has been a fun contest.
My aunt and I decided to wait till after the holidays to do our next contest and we will pick some shorter trails to get us through till spring.
Several evenings ago I finished listening to The Weaver's Legacy on Audible. It is written by Olive Collins. I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. It is about Irish immigrants traveling to the west and setting up sheep farming. The main character learns to weave from a Native American woman. The story deals with how the Native Americans were treated and that they lost their lands in the Black Hills. It switches back and forth between the mid 1800s to early 1900s and then to the 1930s. Three generations of people are involved in the story line. The story twists and turns and has a surprise ending that I had figured out already but really liked. I am enjoying this trilogy very much and am looking forward to the third book. I recommend the series to any one interested in family history or anyone that enjoys historical novels. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information. Enjoy the following video.
The historical novel by Olive Collins titled, The Tide Between Us, is an intergenerational story about a family from the early 1800s till the late 1900s. It involves an aristocratic British man transporting a ship full of young Irish boys to the Caribbean to work on his sugar plantation. There are also black slaves there and friendships develop and children are born. Families become intertwined as slave owners also have children with the same slaves as the Irish slaves. The Irish boys grow up and become indentured servants when they become of age and eventually become land owners themselves. Slavery is ended during the 19th century in the Caribbean causing a free population of mixed heritage. The story ends in Ireland when some of the descendants obtain ownership of the original estate where the aristocratic British man had transported the boys to Jamaica from almost two hundred years prior. The videos that follow describe the transportation of Irish slaves to the Caribbean which began in the mid 1600s and continued into the 1800s. The first video describes an organization attempting to use DNA to reunite the families in Ireland and in the Caribbean. The second video describes the sugar industry and its role in slavery in the Caribbean. It is interesting to note that during the time the young man Art, in the story is in Jamaica, the plantation he is working on changes the way it does business. It quits exporting sugar and begins to make it into rum prior to exportation. Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the two videos that follow. This book is the first of a trilogy by this author about the Irish. I have already downloaded the second book and am looking forward to starting it soon. People interested in family history and people interested in history in general will enjoy this historical novel. I highly recommend it.
This book was really impressive on audible. The narrator gave a great performance and the book itself is very well written. It is a work of non fiction about a disaster that took place in Scotland in the late 1800s. During a bad storm with severe wind gales a rail road bridge collapsed killing all of its passengers. The book begins with the construction of the bridge. Then it takes time to describe the disaster, the people killed, and the recovery of the bodies. In closing it details the investigative hearings that took place following the tragedy. If you are a fan of non fiction you will not want to miss this book. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information. And enjoy both videos that follow. The book was written in 1956 but not released on audible till 2021. It is a classic with a face lift. If you don't pick up this book you are missing out.
Last week, I finished listening to Tuck Everlasting on audio. I selected it because I have tickets to attend a performance of it with friends in a nearby town later this month. Since, in spite of the fact my kids loved it when they were growing up, I never had read the book, I felt it would be good to knock it out prior to the play. This book is delightful. It deals with the concept of death in such a positive way. Although labeled as a children's book, Tuck Everlasting is a story that is appropriate for all ages. Winnie learns about the cycle of life when she meets new friends in the woods that surrounds her house. It is an adventure story and a story about what is important in life. I highly recommend it for everyone. Please click on the links above and enjoy the video that follows.
On my flight home from Arizona late Sunday night, I finished the kindle book, Butcher's Broom by Neil M. Gunn. It was written in the 1920's and is a Scottish Classic. I would not call it an easy read because the writing style was very different than what I am accustomed to, but it was worth every effort I put forth to read it. Since there are plans in the works for me to visit Scotland next spring I am reading and studying up on the area. Butcher's Broom is a historical novel set during the Highland Clearances which took place in the late 1700s. During the clearances the homes of the Scottish Highland people were burnt down and the people were turned out homeless. They either relocated to remote coastal areas of Scotland or were sold into slavery in the British Colonies. The reason that the aristocrats did this was to allow the highland areas to be transformed into pastures for sheep with roads and bridges and other improvements. They felt the land was not being utilized as well as it should be. Many people in the new industrialized areas of Great Britain were going hungry and the mutton from the sheep would feed them. These aristocrats felt like the lifestyle of the Scottish Highlanders was not a lifestyle that was worth preserving. While Gunn describes this point of view in his book it is clear that he felt like the life style of the Scottish Highlander should have been respected and that the removal was completed in an extremely cruel manner. The author explains the political reality of the social system at that time and the role the church played to support the clearances. I really liked the book and will definitely struggle though more work from this author. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the videos that follow.
A book I listened to in 2007, entitled "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and written by Khaled Hosseini has come back to mind due to recent current events. It is a fiction novel with factual historical events in its pages. I believe their has been talk of a Netflix movie based on the book but I am not aware if has been made yet. The story is set in the country of Afghanistan and spans a time frame from the late 1970s to the early 2000s. When I listened to it, I found myself comparing what was going on in my life during the events of the characters lives in the story at the various points in time. Therefore part of the reason I liked the book is that I am about the right age to compare the two societies for the point in history the story takes place. Two women's lives (Mariam and Lailia) are followed from their childhoods and they find their existence weaved together as they marry the same man. Living in the same household they become very good friends. The husband is abusive to them and after a foiled attempted to flee the marriage the abuse becomes even more intense. Unable to obtain a change of environment, things finally escalate to the point where the husband is in the process of choking Lailia to death. As she slips from consciousness Mariam obtained the shovel from the shed and in one fell swoop kills the husband. This is the turning point of the story. Prior to that point everything had been going from bad to worse for these two women but when they grasp control and initiated change their life was transformed. Even though it was through execution, Mariam was freed of her bondage, and Lailia and the children went on to find happiness. Certainly I am not an advocate for women to murder their husbands. Two of my ex husbands are still living as is the man I am now married to. One ex husband died of cancer. Although I have been accused by some of having a lack of commitment, others have applauded my courage to make changes in my life. In moving from the concrete to the figurative, to me, the shovel represents standing up and taking charge of ones situation. Clearly one does not have to be constantly physically assaulted, whether it be a relationship with a spouse or family member or a job situation, for a person to be in a situation where they need to make an environmental change. Other times standing up for ones self and remaining in a situation is the best way for a person to handle things. Each person has to evaluate for themself. But sometimes it is necessary to “ grab a "shovel" and take control of the situation for one's self. Whether an entire country or a personal situation, each must take control and initiate a solution to their situation themselves. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow links to more information and enjoy the video that follows. It is a song that makes a point. I hope they play it in the Middle East over and over.
On my way home from a client visit this pm I finished up listening to the audio book rendition of Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar. I enjoy medical history in general and this book did not disappoint me. Although some of the history was early history much of our history making progress in care of our hearts has taken place in the last 75 years. Therefore a great of the history covered in the book was pretty recent events. It was very interesting to hear about the pioneers in this field. Especially the men who risked their own health in the early to mid 1900s. The author includes his own personal experience in his book as he is a cardiologist with a family history of heart disease. He is able to explain complicated anatomy and physiology in easy to understand language. So if the reader is interested in learning more about the heart this book is a great place to start. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information. And enjoy the video that follows.
When I was a teenager Northern Ireland was on the television news in the background of my life. I was mostly unaware of the details. Now, as my son, daughter in law and I plan a trip to Northern Ireland and Scotland in 2022, I am brushing up on the areas and the history related to them. The book "Say Nothing" is about Northern Ireland in the 1970s and some of the main players in that place and time. Names, dates and places hit memory spots in my mind of things I heard back then but didn't really follow closely. It is a book that is written in a way that reads like a novel but is a non fiction work. I highly recommend it to everyone that will listen and have emailed friends and family about it as I listened to it on audio. It immediately caught my full attention and sucked me into the details. Click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the video that follows which is an interview with the author, Patrick Radden Keefe. I will read more of his books in the future.
The audio book Clanlands is read by its authors and is an enjoyable over view of the Starz television series that was launched on Valentines Day. I am particularly interested in the book and the series because my son and daughter in law have made plans to take me to Northern Ireland and Scotland. It was to be March 2021 but COVID stopped the trip so I have time to study up on the area as the trip has now been rescheduled for March of 2022. I am a big "Outlander" fan and we plan to see many of the filming sites of "Outlander". We also want to see other historical sites and the Northern Ireland sites where some scenes of "Game Of Thrones" was filmed. Clanlands is a very light hearted book that weaves some great historical information throughout it in an enjoyable way. I recommend it to those who are not serious history students but want an over view of Scotland and its back ground presented in way that isn't heavy. It whetted my appetite for more information. In searching online I found a class that interested me and I seem to have accidentally signed up for it. It is free but not at a real great time for me to fit in. I hope I can spend enough time at it to get some good information from the material. The link to that free online class about Scotland can be found HERE. Please click on the book title and author's names above for links to more information and enjoy the video that follows. And I hope you read or listen to the book and catch the series on Starz.
The fight to ratify the 19th amendment crossed the finish line in August of 1920 in Nashville Tennessee and Elaine Weiss has done a beautiful job explaining what was done to complete the task. While I knew that the suffragettes fought long and hard to win the vote for women in the U.S. I had no idea how many factions were against it. Not only were there religious groups who felt the women's place was in the home not the ballot box and cultural beliefs that women were like children and not able to be trusted with the vote, but big business did not want women to vote. They were afraid the women would vote to support things like child labor laws and other workers rights that would cost them money. At that time there were powerful racist groups that did not want black women to vote. There were many state rights advocates who felt it was fine to give women the vote but did not want it to be done at the federal level. Many of these dominate influences were not very scrupulous in the tactics they used to try and defeat the 19th amendment. Elaine Weiss clearly lays out the details of the fight women had to put up in order to have the right to vote. This book is an excellent resource to deepen understanding of what they were up against. Please click on the author's name and the title of the book above to follow the links to more information. And enjoy the two videos that follow. One is about the hotel that the suffragettes and anti's stayed at during that final ratification battle and the other is about the statue Nashville has erected to honor these women. I listened to this book on audio during March because of Women's History Month and highly recommend this book as one that everyone should read.
This novel was free on Amazon Prime reading and I read it on my kindle. It is a love story that takes place during the aftermath of WWII. The setting is a Russian controlled area that was German during the war. Historical fiction is my genre so this book appealed to me. It was more of a romance novel than I normally care for and the main characters in the story made more than their share of bad choices. The moral of the story was that things have a way of working out which does hold true for many people but not always for everyone. I did like the way the book demonstrated that just because things don't work out the way we plan them doesn't mean they don't work out for the best. If you like historical romance this book is a good example of it. It held my interest but it was not a book that I just couldn't put down. Nor was I in a hurry to pick it back up. In fact, it took me awhile to complete it. So while it will not make my top ten books of the year it is a decent read and the author did a good job on it. It is well written. Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the link to more information and enjoy the video that follows.
A few weeks ago a facebook event popped up that was sponsored by the White House Historical Association that caught my eye. It was a presentation by author, Adrian Miller, about his book The President's Kitchen Cabinet. I was so impressed I chose it as my next selection on audible. I finished listening to it today and totally enjoyed it. I learned many things I did not know and felt the information was presented in an interesting and easy to understand format. The book includes recipes and they sound amazing. The history of the people who prepared and served food to our first families is a fascinating one. I highly recommend this delightful book. It would make a wonderful gift. Any book group would find plenty of discussion material spring boarding from reading this as a selection. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the link to more information. And enjoy the video that follows.
Today I finished listening to the audio book "Never Be Sick Again" by Raymond Francis. I have mixed feelings about this non fiction book. I think it has a great deal of really good information. In order to avoid disease and remain healthy one needs follow quite a bit of the advice presented. And the author explains his points in a very clear manner. Anyone can grasp the concepts and gain a better understanding of some sound practices of good health by reading this book. Raymond Francis was a chemical engineer who through his work was exposed to a large load of chemicals throughout his career. He was born in 1937 and by 1985 at age 48 was extremely ill. In fact his doctors had given him a fatal prognosis. Being a scientist he began to research and found a way to reverse his chemical over load. In this book he explains how he did it. Raymond Francis passed away in 2020. I have not been able to find out online what caused his death. But whether it was an accident, foul play or a disease his body could not longer avoid by age 83, with the steps and measures he learned and applied he was able to live an additional 35 healthy and productive years beyond the time that was predicted. During those 35 years he thankfully was able to leave behind a body of work that will help many people today and in generations to come.
Still I have problems with a few of his opinions. One area I disagree with him on is how critical he is of doctors. While I agree that it is best to remain healthy and make lifestyle choices that prevent illness, when I am sick I am very grateful that I have a doctor to turn to. I agree with Raymond Francis that our western doctors mostly treat our symptoms. But I would venture to say that is consumer driven. With our system of medical care being for profit and patients choosing where they go, the providers are going to give patients what they want when they can. And often what patients want is symptom relief. Doctors would, no doubt, be very glad if patients chose to make healthy life style choices. I am sure they would often make diet and exercise suggestions if they thought their patients would listen. The second area I disagree with Raymond Francis about is his opposition to vaccines. I am not an "anti-vaxer". In my opinion, with any thing we consume or inject into our bodies there is always a chance of running into a problem. But when it comes to vaccines if you weigh the risk verses the benefits I am on the side of getting one's vaccinations. I do think whether or not to get vaccinated is a personal choice and medical procedures should not be mandatory. Lastly, I think his strong language that we choose health or illness is a bit extreme. It is true that we predispose ourselves to some diseases. It is true that poor choices are not healthy. But we don't control everything. And we only have so much self discipline and self control. Besides sometimes a person can do everything right as rain and still get sick. Also we need some enjoyment in life. As long as we don't have a steady diet of junk food the rare ding dong is good for the heart.
The rest of the book is pretty spot on except that it is, in places, rather alarmist. I agree that our food choices as a whole are pretty bad and we need to work on that. Both education and better choices are needed for most people. I agree with the author that we are exposed to a lot of chemicals and that they probably accumulate. But our bodies are equipped to detox and as long as we work to minimize our exposure we will hopefully keep ahead of a chemical over load. I agree that the chemical exposure is a type of poisoning. Avoiding what we can and consuming antioxidants is a good thing. But it is impossible to avoid everything and there is no reason to stir up a bunch of anxiety about it. It is what it is.
All in all it is a good book for people to read to get ideas for healthy lifestyle choices and to raise awareness about the importance of making good decisions. If anyone is interested in the personal care and cleaning products I use that are natural and don't contain the problem chemicals referred to in the book click HERE. There are also high quality supplements available at the proceeding link. It is a fine company that I am proud to be a part of. There is a large community of support and education for those that choose to become involved. One of the people I interact with through this group of people is an ICU nurse who talks about two sides. The illness side where she sees people who are on her unit in the hospital. And the front side or pre illness side. She is all for people working to stay on the pre illness side as long as possible and I agree with her that it is the goal not to get sick to begin with. Sometimes once we get sick it seems like there is a snow balling of worsening problems caused by the solutions to the first problems. It is best to stay out of the cycle as long as we can.
If you click on the book title and the author's name at the beginning of this blog post you will follow links to more information. Below find a video of the author explaining his concepts and ideas. Also find two trailers of documentaries about these health and wellness concerns from other sources. There is another source that has a documentary too and it's trailer can be found at this link - HERE.
Health and wellness is a topic that is fluid. There is always more to learn, trends evolve and there are various theories and ideas. The one thing that Raymond Francis stresses that I think is very important for us to do is to accept responsibility for our health. We need to read and study and make the best choices that we can for ourselves. We need to dust off our critical thinking skills and do our personal health education homework. We need to be smart consumers. Certainly we need to follow our doctors advice. But to stay as heathy as possible between trips to see our health provider is a good thing and making as many healthy choices as we can is a step in the right direction.
Every once in awhile a book comes along that will stay with me and in creating the novel, The Weight Of Ink, author Rachel Kadish has crafted such a book. It is set partly in the 21st Century, partly in the 20th Century and partly in the 17th Century. The time periods overlap along with three love stories creating an experience like vintage overlays for overhead projectors. History, philosophy, literature and ethics are intertwined throughout the story lines. It is a marvelous book. After obtaining the novel free from Prime Reading I was not expecting much as the books I have read in the past from Amazon's free list have not been impressive. But this award winning book was a immense surprise. The characters were became people I rooted for as they went through the events that were involved the story. This book would be an excellent reading group book because there is so much springboard to discussion. For those that enjoy historical novels and are up to thinking through some difficult concepts I highly recommend this book. If a reader is looking for fluff, I suggest they look elsewhere. Please click on the author's name and book title above to follow the links to more information and enjoy the videos that follow. One video is an interview with the author, one video is an explanation of Sephardic Jewish heritage (as opposed to Ashkenazi Jewish heritage) , one video tells the story of the Siege of Masada, and one video is a biography of the philosopher Spinoza. Each of the videos feature events or people referred to in the novel. And if you are ready for a really special story, read this book.
The story of Ona Judge is an amazing one and this non fiction book is nothing less than a artisan craft of the telling of that story. The audio book is expertly read by the narrator. It captures black American History in a way that makes one feel like the people involved are known to the reader. Ona Judge is the personal slave to Martha Washington. She is an accomplished seamstress. She is living in Philadelphia during the last term of President Washington when she learns of Martha's plan to give Ona to Martha's granddaughter as a wedding gift. Fearful of the changes that will bring to her life, Ona Judge runs away. She is pursued by the Washington's but manages to live the rest of her life a free woman. I first learned of this book when listening to a podcast that can be found HERE. This book is extremely good reading. I highly recommend it. It would be an excellent choice for a book group. There is also an elementary student edition. The story is a heart warming one. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information. And enjoy listening to the author talk about Ona in the video below. You don't want to miss out on reading this book!
The third book in Conrad Richter's American classic trilogy about settlement in Southeastern Ohio he named "The Town". It is the longest of the three books and takes our heroine Sayward into old age and onto death. In this book her children grow to adulthood and she loses them one by one, some to death and some follow their own path. Her husband dies in this novel. She struggles with aging. All this takes place against the backdrop of the mid 1800s on Ohio's frontier. This series is extremely enjoyable and a must read for anyone who is interested in the settlement of the midwestern United States. Although fiction it describes life in that era. In this novel the canal is dug and used and the first railroad engine arrives. Sayward hides blacks in her basement for the underground rail road as her son is editor owner of a newspaper calling for peace in the beginning days of the civil war. She grieves for the trees in the first novel that she moved into the midst to as a child and fought all her life to conquer. She never gives up searching for the small sister she lost when captured by Indians and she finally finds her in this third book. Please click on the book title and author's name above to follow the links to more information. And enjoy the video that follows. It is about the village at The Ohio History Center in columbus which would bring the reader into the world the way it was as Sayward passed away.
Sometimes it is best to just be quiet and not say anything. Since November, I have tried to be sensitive to the feelings of the people in my country who disagree with me and are disappointed and hurting at this time. I know that four years ago I was broken hearted on so many levels. I realize that it isn't a good feeling to have a candidate that you believe in lose. It isn't a good feeling to no longer have the leadership you are convinced is the best choice. Four years ago I was in agony. I threw up in my mouth when they announced who won the presidential election in 2016. But you know, sometimes you have to lean into it. I tried to do things that I felt were positive for the ideals that I believe in.
Aligning myself with others that shared my values proved to be crucial to my survival. Backing off from trying to convince anyone of the value of my ideas who had other political persuasions became a path of least resistance. I decided to build myself up and preach to the choir for awhile. I ventured out a bit with my ideas in public but overall stayed quiet and didn't try to engage the opposition.
I took the time as an opportunity to grow and mature. To learn stress management when laws were passed that threatened the progress I felt had been made in the past. To practice things to quiet anxiety when our national parks were at risk due to public policy. To read and grow and learn about the complicated race problem in my country.
I came to grips with the fact that I live in a country where everyone has a right to their opinion. A country where we each get to vote for whomever we want to vote for. We don't always get to have our candidate win. But we always have the right to disagree. One of my ex husbands frequently wore a t-shirt which had the words "deal with it" on it. Sometimes we have to deal with it. For me that means to do positive activities that are in my best interests. Turn what I perceive as a a bad thing upside down and make it into as positive of a thing as possible.
The following videos are a couple of favorite songs. They are meaningful to me. I am not unsympathetic to the pain that half the country is feeling, even though I disagree with them. But it is time for people to get a grip and begin to engage in a positive way. It is time for people to figure it out. It is time to "deal with it". Or as my mother used to say "Straighten up!".
Vibrations are something that have been a part of my life view since childhood. "Good vibes" was a common reference during my teenage years. Now I am learning more about the energy of vibration.
Everything around us has energy. The vibration or energy given off by other things affects us. Whether it be the rhythm of our favorite popular song, or the terse tone of an unhappy friend, our mood and interactions are impacted by these frequencies. Raising our frequencies results in attracting more positive experiences. One way I raise my frequency is by using essential oil. The above chart, which I found on Pinterest, illustrates the different frequencies of various essential oils. White Angelica is a blend by Young Living that is a favorite of mine with a high frequency. The following graphic, created by my RCD, explains the oils used in this blend.
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In addition to breathing in essential oils such as White Angelica there are other ways to raise our frequencies. Click HERE to find an article with some suggestions for activities to raise your vibrations. To join me in using oils to raise your vibration please click HERE where the blend White Angelica can be obtained. In closing, how raising your energy to a higher frequency or vibration works is explained in the following video. It is a delightful TED talk and well worth the listen.
My reading achievements were down in 2020. I only read twenty books. So it was not quite as hard to rank in the top ten as it has been in years that I have read many more books. But here is my list and I enjoyed all ten of them. I hope you do too. Click on each one to follow the link to the blog I wrote about each of them.
