What I'm reading

I thought I would do updates on books that I am currently reading because I read a lot and because the reviews will be coming in.

This week saw a bunch of books come off of hold at the library so I have 12-14 days to read 13 books.  The odds aren't good I am afraid but I will do my best. Some others are my own. Yes, still a lot of books.

It was a weird sort of week that saw several books I'd been waiting for at the library become available (Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi, The Bees by Laline Paull, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain).

Still others were titles I'd read about on book reviews, in blogs and apps like Litsy (The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson.

A book my sister read and liked, The Night Gardner by Jonathan Auxier.

Three book club books (one I already had was The Awakening by Kate Chopin and another Paula McLain, Circling the Sun was available at the library and I couldn't believe it! Also, Kindred by Octavia E Butler on Audiobook. I love listening to books while driving).

For learning material I chose: $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin, H. Luke Shaefer, and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. 

Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey, The Turner House by Angela Flournoy Because they just sounded interesting and were available

A Book Riot Reading challenge book, Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin (read a collection of stories by a woman).  

Oh and The Culture Clash: A Revolutionary New Way to Understanding the Relationship Between Humans and Domestic Dogs by Jean Donaldson because I'm trying to understand this dog of mine.  

Oh now I know you are going "oh my God! Does she even have a life?"

Well yes, I do and it involves reading. A lot.  I enjoy it, so that's what I do.  

I'm not missing you

Facebook.

I've logged in a few times, because I am trying to download all of my photos and what not but for the most part, I'm sorry my friends, I have not viewed your status updates, or posts, or pictures or much of anything (Ok, I think I sad faced or liked one post by mistake).

Looks like I'm not the only one leaving:

I Said Goodbye to Facebook
Facebook Dead at 12, A Victim of 2016

By the way, you don't have to like these pages and you don't have to leave any comments here or there.  I think some of us just want you to understand how we are feeling.

I've also talked (face to face) to a few people and they too are leaving or have left. We all agree that it's just not fun anymore.

I'm learning about instagram and having fun on litsy and reading.  I've finally caught up!

Also, I'm hoping my meetups with regards to the book challenge I am doing will get more people coming.

Hope you are doing well!  Remember,

For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter

Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful Artwork along with an easy understanding of what parts of a farm do. This was the American Farm Bureau Federation book for 2017 and our company received a copy for us to read.


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Social Media and How It Almost Killed Me

Why you ask? Why would I want to leave Facebook and all my friends? Well to be honest, the combination of antidepressants that I am taking is no longer working anymore.  I want to be happy and Facebook, on most days, leaves me anything but happy.  Twitter always disgusted me. But my first step away from any type of "social media" was hockey websites and boards and fans, etc. 

Yep, I was one of "those" fans. I proudly criticized my team on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis.  Wasn't that one of my rights as a fan?  I really need to find that fan constitution again. Eventually, I got tired of  being called an idiot, stupid because I didn't grow up around hockey, lived in the South, wasn't a season ticket holder and didn't see every game so I shouldn't talk.  Well guess what?  I don't even care about hockey anymore. and If the Carolina Hurricanes left NC that would be fine by me. And in the end, it was THEIR FANS, not their crappy play on the ice that drove me away.  Carolina Hurricanes Fans.  Ugh! Maybe they don't create havoc at games but they sure know how to make one feel unwanted as a fan. So now, I'm not.  At least I got to go to a few Stanley Cup games (the year they lost it, not the year they won it), the NHL All Star Game, and even Finland which was the best trip/vacation ever!

Twitter: After the 2016 elections, I deactivated my Twitter account first . The vitriol on that social media site after the 2016 election was just too much for me to handle. I rarely used Twitter.  Maybe for a contest or some update from someone who wasn't on Facebook.  It was also an easy way to get updates on my favorite sports teams while they were playing. As a person without cable TV, this was especially helpful when the games were not being played on "regular" TV.  So, I will miss the updates about NC State College Sports and the Washington Redskins. I followed some other teams but those were my top follows.  I downloaded the ESPN app to my phone and I'll get updates from that now.  Whew! If I want to read a story about a game, well, I'll just go online and find one.

Twitter was always hard for me.  Conversations were always going on and if you missed something, well you were just out of the loop. I think the ease at which you could text to a bunch of people at one time was good for those who spent their time texting all day anyway.  I don't text a lot.  I prefer talking; face to face or even on the phone.  It's rare I know.  I'm rare. I actually wish people would go back to writing letters.

Finally Facebook.  Ah Facebook, what a fickle friend you are. I've lost and found friends because of you. Reunited with family members. Found out about the dog rescue world and even signed on.  Unfortunately, in our new world, I no longer know how to be. I don't do politics. I'm not going to get involved in mud slinging or insult hurling or what ever the game is called these days.  But it hurts when I see people I truly like and love, call other people (maybe myself, or family or friends) names. You don't know me Facebook, and you never will.  Stop trying. 

As for my friends, I'm heading back to the old days. I'm going to get a home phone so that I can turn off the smart phone at night. I will always be here, I just won't be there.  

Peace and love to you all. 

Denise

Goodbye, My Rosey Love

How do you do it? How do you consciously make a decision to end a life? Especially the life of one that can't tell you, in human words, anything? I love her. I don't want to make that choice. In the end, I had no choice.

I loved Rosey because she needed me and I needed something to take care of. It was a match made in heaven. 

It has taken some time for me to put these words down. They've been scattered everywhere, whenever a new thought popped in my head.

Rosey, this is for you: 

The time has come to say goodbye my love. To nuzzle you, kiss you, pet you, hold you one last time. 

You kept me alive, so I must let you go. I wanted you but sometimes, I didn't.

You were hard to get to know. 

I wish I could have lived in your mind for just awhile. I wanted to know everything about you, what made you tick. 

When I met you, I was dying; depressed and withdrawn. I didn't want to live. 

Having to imagine the rest of my life without you, that is the hardest part. 

I didn't keep you to be some kind of saint. I kept you because I couldn't bear to let you go.

I will miss your stubbornness and the way you used to nuzzle my head. 

You didn't bark for 2 WHOLE YEARS. But once you started, you never shut it off.  You always let me know how you were feeling.  But that's okay. I loved your bark. 

Except not at 5 in the morning on a Saturday when I didn't have to work. 

I remember meeting you for the first time, not knowing what to expect because you weren't a puppy and I wasn't your 'FIRST' life. 

At night, I listened to you breathing wondering when it would be your last. 

I would kiss the top of your head and feel it vibrate, jiggle.  I wish I knew what that meant. 

You won't be forgotten! I still think of Trixie and Midget and see them in my dreams. I hope you will visit me too. 

Don't let Midget give you any lip! She's a feisty one. 

In the end, I wanted you to live forever, but I could tell you were tired, so I let you go. 

I just hope you know how much you were loved. 

Rosey Tyler April 2008 - August 2016

Election Day Observations

Today is November 8, 2016. I always vote on Election Day.  I’m actually glad I did this year because I heard that the Early Voting lines were really long.  My line was long, but not 2 hours long.  I also like voting first thing in the morning and getting it over with.  I usually adjust my morning routine so that I’m at my voting place when it opens.  I entered the queue at 6:45 a.m. and I was back in my car at 7:20 a.m.  When I put my ballot in the machine, it told me I was voter #150. In 45 minutes, 150 people had already voted at the elementary school where I went to vote.  When leaving, someone driving the wrong way almost hit me. Ugh!! Pay attention to the signs people. 

When I drove by the school on my way to work (because I went home afterwards to get ready for work) I noticed there was no longer a line outside the building.  Maybe I should have waited.  No.  I’m glad I got to be #150.

I’m glad you can no longer vote a Straight Party ticket.  I know some people actually go in and just vote for the president.  They either forget or don’t care about all of the other offices that need our vote.  I’m okay with that.  If you don’t care or don’t want to learn about all the others, then I don’t want you to vote for them.  I actually wish they would remove the Party Designation by each name.

I’m glad that after today, there will be no more political commercials on TV and radio, no more recyclable materials in my mailbox, no more phone calls from weird numbers (I never answer!) and no more people going door to door. 

I hope that after today, all of my Facebook friends will just stop talking about it.  I want each and every one of you to know that nothing you posted on your Facebook wall influenced my vote.  Nothing! I have actually unfriended a few people over the years because they would just get downright nasty in their posts. If you are going to be nasty (and not in a funny way because I can get sarcasm) then I don’t want to be friends with you.  Again, I’m okay with that because If you are a bully for either side, move on.  I don’t do bullies.  I don’t do name calling.  See ya later!

I hope all the “celebrities” shut up. And if you said you would move if the person you didn’t vote for wins, please do so.  And make a TV show out of it.  I might watch it.  Unless it’s on cable and then no, I won’t watch it because I’m not going to pay to see your show. Celebrities live a lifestyle I will never have (nor do I want if I’m being truthful).  They don’t know my struggles or what it’s like to live my lifestyle. I don’t and won’t ever go to them for voting advice either. 

I wish for a time when we turn off our TV’s and internet and learn how to get to know each other instead of listening to what the talking heads say about us.  I wish we could stop believing what these people say.  What makes them any better than us? I wish that someday we could all come together and love each other regardless of our differences.

Unfortunately, I know that none of this will never happen. 

Divided we stand.  Divided they will keep us because THEY like it that way.

You say you want a revolution?  You just might get one.