Retreading for Retirement

Three Things Thursday

Here’s today’s entry for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

As part of our Christmas gift, our daughter promised my husband and me that she would take us out to lunch and then let each of us choose a book from her favorite local, independent bookstore, A Good Book, in historic downtown Sumner, WA.

Last Saturday was the day for the fulfillment of that promise. Here are three items of interest from that trip.

(1) A Stop at Tea Madame Tea Shop

My husband and our daughter are REALLY into tea. (I like it, but I don’t study it and work on perfecting my tea-making technique as they do.) So a trip to A Good Book allowed for another stop at Tea Madame Tea Shop, also in Sumner.

Even for a casual visitor like me, this is a wonderful place to visit. In addition to all the containers of tea, the shop offers a big selection of tea pots, tea cups, tea infusers, and any other kind of tea-related apparatus or accompaniment you can think of. And I even found a decaf version of Earl Grey, one of my tea favorites, that I can enjoy on evenings when I curl up with a good book.

(2) Spring’s First Flowers

I was pleased to see these crocuses, the first flowers I’ve seen this spring. I have since noticed some pansies that people have apparently set out recently, but these crocuses are the first flowers I’ve seen that sprout and bloom on their own.

Way to go, Mother Nature.

(3) My Book

I had heard and read so much about this novel that I had to have it.

At 832 pages, A Little Life qualifies as a Big Book. I’m about 1/3 of the way in, and I’m loving it so far. Tom Wolfe’s novel A Man in Full taught me the lesson of not passing judgment on a book, particularly a Big Book, until I’ve finished it, but as soon as I finish writing this post I’m going to make some decaf Earl Grey and curl back up with this chunk.

Have a good week, all!

Three Things Thursday

Time again for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

Do you remember Little Golden Books?

Not the flimsy ones for sale nowadays. I’m talking about the original ones, from the 1940s and 1950s, that were made of sturdy cardboard.

Before Little Golden Books (LGB), most books for children were designed for adults. They were large, with dense printing on the page, and expensive. They were meant to be read TO children rather than BY children.

Little Golden Books originated in October 1942 as a joint effort of Simon & Schuster, the Artists and Writers Guild, and the Western Printing and Lithographing Company of Racine, WI. They were designed to appeal to beginning readers ages 3–8 and cost 25 cents. They were small enough for children to handle and featured large, engaging illustrations.

At first LGB were sold in bookstores and department stores, but after World War II Simon & Schuster began marketing them at five-and-dime stores, drugstores, and grocery stores. Because of their low cost and their placement in stores where mothers shopped, LGB were an instant success. After only five months, consumers had bought 1.5 million copies.

Here are three of my favorite LGB from my childhood in the 1940s and 1950s. Alas, these are replicas of the original books I had as a child, purchased for $2.99 each in October 2002, when several of the early titles were reissued to celebrate Little Golden Books’ 60th birthday.

(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

This was one of the original 12 titles of LGB issued. It remains the most popular of those original books and was the best-selling children’s book of the 20th century, with 14,898,341 copies sold.

The first run of this title was 1.75 million copies, the largest first run of any LGB up to that time. This book marks an early example of product placement, as it contained Band-Aids stuck on the title page. According to the cover, shown in an exhibition that ran at the Smithsonian from June 28, 2013, through January 2014, the original edition contained six junior-size Johnson & Johnson Band-Aids instead of the mere two of my later edition.

This title illustrates that LGB featured the stereotypical thinking of its time: Dan, the boy character, is the doctor. Later, a book titled Nurse Nancy that also included Band-Aids was sold. A girl could be a nurse, but only a boy could be a doctor.

This is my favorite LGB of all. I think that, even as a child, I wanted to be like the little rabbit who was brave enough and smart enough to outwit all the other animals by figuring out a way to tame the appetite of that “tawny, scrawny, hungry lion who never could get enough to eat.”

What about you?

Do you remember Little Golden Books? Did you have any favorites?

For Your Super Bowl Enjoyment

Since my hometown Seattle Seahawks are not playing this year, I offer you this instead:

The Top 10 Super Bowl Ads of All Time

What about you?

Which Super Bowl ad is the most memorable for you? Please leave a comment.

Three Things Thursday

One of my favorite things to write every week is Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

What I’ve Been Reading and Watching

(1) Reading: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

This is the February selection of my in-person classics book club. Published in 1905, it was Wharton’s first novel. It portrays New York high-society life at the turn of the twentieth century

Every time I reread this book, I hope it will end differently.

Alas, it never does.

(2) Watching: Downton Abbey

We had saved up several episodes of the final season of Downton Abbey because we like to binge watch (I prefer the term marathon view) them.

However, we ran through them on a couple of recent nights. I had wanted to see where the writers seemed to be taking the characters and plot in terms of a grand-finale resolution. It seems that they want to bring back or allude to all the major characters. Tom Branson and little Sybie are back, and there’s been tribute paid to Lady Sybil’s kindness. Not much has been said about Lady Mary’s late husband, Matthew, but it looks like one of the arcs of this season’s stories will be to see if she finds a new mate who measures up to the one she lost. Perhaps even Lady Edith will be able to live happily ever after. And there’s also dramatic movement downstairs: Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are happy, and it looks as if Anna and Bates may yet be, too. And, of course, there’s one big, bang-up feud between The Dowager Lady Grantham and Mrs. Crawley (Matthew’s mother), since the dynamics between them has always been a focus of the series.

Now we’ll probably save up all the rest to watch once the last one has been broadcast. It’s been a good show, and I’ll miss it.

(3) Watching: The X-Files

The X-Files: Mulder and Scully — THE X-FILES: L-R: Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. The next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, Jan. 24 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT), following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, and continuing with its time period premiere on Monday, Jan. 25 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT). ©2016 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Ed Araquel/FOX

OF COURSE we would have to watch the shortened-season reboot of one of our favorite all-time shows. I had planned to rewatch at least the first season of the original show before the new episodes started. I didn’t quite make it, though. We went back to the original first season after seeing three of the new episodes.

And the first thing I noticed was how young both David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were when The X-Files started. Of course I was young (or at least youngER) back then, too. I’ve been looking for the point at which the sexual tension between Mulder and Scully began in earnest, but it’s hard not to notice it right from the beginning when you already know how the original series turned out.

What about you? What have you been reading or watching?

Have a good week!

The things that are saving my life right now

Anne over at Modern Mrs. Darcy recently suggested listing The things that are saving my life right now. Here’s her explanation of this idea:

The idea comes from author Barbara Brown Taylor. In her memoir Leaving Church, Taylor tells about a time she was invited to speak, and her host assigned her this topic: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.”

It’s easy and often tempting to rattle off a bunch of things that are killing us: “My sore feet are killing me.” “All this snow is killing me.” “I have a couple of clients right now who are trying to kill me.”

Yes, we complain a lot when things are going badly. But what we may fail to notice is all the things that are going well. It’s easy to pull our hair, look skyward, and yell, “Why me?” when we feel overwhelmed. But we almost never ask “Why me?” when things go well. We accept the good things as our due without acknowledging them.

So Modern Mrs. Darcy’s challenge is a chance to set things right, to appreciate the good things as well as the bad. She has invited us to put together our list and post a link to it over at her blog.

Here are some things that are saving me right now.

A little bit of sunshine

Winter can get pretty dreary here in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. But last week we had a few periods when the sun actually broke through. A little bit of sun doesn’t mean that the day won’t also include some rain, but just those fleeting periods of sunshine improved my mood and reminded me of the promise of spring and summer, which are truly glorious here.

Still crazy after all these years

My husband is one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever known. And he loves me. ME! Out of the whole big wide world, he chose me to spend life with. I still marvel at this miracle every single day.

Getting to know our daughter

Our daughter was born and grew up in St. Louis, MO. She left there for college in Tacoma, WA (University of Puget Sound), fell in love with the area, and never came back. We visited enough to know that we, too, loved the area and decided to retire here. And here we are! We have enjoyed immensely seeing our daughter more than once a year and being able to spend holidays together. Since she left home right after high school, we never really spent much time with her as an adult. Getting to know the woman she has become continues to be extremely gratifying.

A brighter world

I had cataract surgery on both my eyes last fall, and since then the world has been a much brighter place. Cataracts smothered my vision so gradually that I didn’t notice it for a long time. But when I realized that I could no longer appreciate subtle differences in colors, I knew it was time for me to do something about it. After I had the first eye done, I would frequently cover one eye and look through the other one. I could not believe the vast difference between the eye with the new lens and the one without. And now that both eyes have new lenses, my reading glasses require a much milder prescription than before. I am so looking forward to seeing all the flowers this spring and summer.

Retirement

What a luxury it is to be able to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it (and to choose to not do many things I don’t want to do). Having relocated to a different part of the country for our retirement has given us a whole new world of stuff to learn about it. Sometimes I feel like a kid in a candy store.

Travel planning

We didn’t take much time to travel when we were younger. Life was just always too busy. To make up for that, we have committed to traveling frequently in our early retirement years, while we can still move around fairly easily. There are just so many interesting places to visit, so many peoples and countries to learn about, so much glorious nature to see.

Books

There are so many good books out there that I haven’t read yet. Finishing one and picking up another is one of the true joys of my life.

Silver and gold

Make new friends but keep the old.
One is silver and the other’s gold.

I’m sure I’m leaving out a lot, but all of these things remind me how good my life is. I look forward to checking out other peoples’ lists on the Modern Mrs. Darcy website.

What about you? What things are saving your life right now?

Three Things Thursday

It’s time again for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

I seem to be stuck on art this month. Obviously, I need to get out more.

(Click on any photo to see a larger version.)

1. Hammering Man

Hammering Man by Jonathan Borofsky, owned by the City of Seattle, stands outside the entrance to the Seattle Art Museum. Although you can’t tell from this photo, Hammering Man lifts his hammer and brings it down about 2.5 times per minute. The sculpture, which is 48 feet tall and weighs about 22,000 pounds, honors hard-working men and women.

Hammering Man was originally installed outside the museum on September 28, 1991. However, during the installation process a lift strap broke. The resulting damage was severe enough that the sculpture had to be shipped for repairs back across country to the foundry in Connecticut where it had been made. The sculpture was successfully installed a year later, in September 1992.

2. Muskox Statue

This is a muskox carved out of a mammoth tooth by Fairbanks, Alaska, artist Chuck Leake.

I fell in love with the muskox—live ones—several years ago when we first visited Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium here in Tacoma, WA. Both my husband and I were immediately drawn to Leake’s creation as soon as we saw it in a shop in Homer, AK. Leake says that the best mammoth teeth come from the permafrost in remote northern villages. He must seal each tooth and let it dry for at least six months before carving it.

It just fascinates me how much the striations on the mammoth tooth resemble the coloring of a live muskox’s shaggy coat. I am in awe of artists who can look at a block of marble or a mammoth tooth and see a sculpture waiting to emerge.

3. Soundsuit

Soundsuit (2006) by Nick Cave (American, born 1961), made of knitted wool and synthetic yarn sweaters and crocheted afghan squares.

Currently at the Seattle Art Museum.

I work with objects that are taken for granted or laughed at or deemed less precious, yet have a certain significance in themselves.

—Nick Cave

Three Things Thursday

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Three Things Thursday

Here’s this week’s offering for Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

On the day of our recent visit to the Impressionism exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, we also stopped by the Native American of the Northwest and Pacific Coast Gallery. Since moving from St. Louis, MO, to Tacoma, WA, I have enjoyed learning about the Native cultural heritage of this area. Here are three items from that exhibit.

From the Native American of the Northwest and Pacific Coast Gallery, Seattle Art Museum

(Click on any image to see a larger version)

1. Cedar Bark Dress

I had heard that the red cedar tree provided for many of the needs of Native Americans, including clothing. Since I wondered how a tree could provide clothing, I was glad to see this piece on exhibit.

Cedar Bark Dress, 1985

Red cedar bark, raffia

Alice Williams

Upper Skagit (1907–1996)

2. Thunderbird Mask and Regalia

Thunderbird Mask and Regalia, 2006

wood, paint, feathers, rabbit fur, cloth

Calvin Hunt Tlasutiwalis

Canadian, Kwagu’l, born 1956

In the myth stories in our culture we believe that the animals and the birds can take off their cloaks and transform into human beings.

—Calvin Hunt

Spectacular, articulated dance masks are the specialty of Kwakwaka’wakw artists who craft the elaborate regalia worn in the dance-dramas depicting mythic events and deeds of ancestors, and supernatural beings. The songs accompanying the dance reinforce the dramatization of the stories, and are as important as the mask and costume. Together they transport the audience to a time when supernatural beings and humans interacted, as represented in this mask, in which the Thunderbird transforms into a human, Hunt’s first ancestor.

3. The First People

This dynamic piece is placed to catch the visitor’s eye from afar.

The First People, 2008

Red cedar, yellow cedar

Susan Point

Coast Salish, Musqueam band, born 1951

The homelands of the Musqueam of the Fraser River Delta are punctuated by meandering pathways as the Fraser reaches teh Strait of Georgia. The faces within the tendrils represent the hereditary bloodlines that connected families in the region, and the waterways that were lifelines yielding food resources, sustaining Delta people from time immemorial.

Featured Image (at top of this post): Image of the Sun

Image of the Sun (Sinxolatia), ca. 1880

Red cedar, alder, and paint

Nuxalk

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

17 Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes You Never Hear

While best known for his “I Have a Dream” speech, King’s legacy included much more than that.

Memorable words here.

Three Things Thursday

I missed the first week, but now it’s time to start another year of Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

Impressionism at the Seattle Art Museum

Last week a few of us from Franke Tobey Jones traveled to the [Seattle Art Museum](Wednesday’s Word) to see the exhibit INTIMATE IMPRESSIONISM FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART:

The Seattle Art Museum is proud to present Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art (in Washington, DC). The collection is comprised of extraordinary paintings, considered to be the jewels of one of the finest collections of French Impressionism in the world.

This exhibition features 68 intimately scaled paintings by Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters, including Edouard Manet, Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Eugène Boudin, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, Paul Gauguin, and Vincent van Gogh, among others.

Art history is one area in which my education is sorely lacking, so I welcomed this opportunity to learn more about this school of painting.

We had never been inside the Seattle Art Museum before. I was surprised to discover that visitors to the museum are allowed to photograph many of the works on display, including those in this exhibit.

Here, then, are three Impressionist paintings from the exhibit.

(Click on any image to see a larger version.)

Young Woman Braiding Her Hair by Renoir (1876)

Flower Beds in Holland by Vincent van Gogh (ca. 1883)

Artist's Sister at Window, Berthe Morisot (1869) — Artist’s Sister at Window, Berthe Morisot (1869)

Three Things Thursday

It’s time for this year’s final edition of Three Things Thursday, the purpose of which is to “share three things from the previous week that made you smile or laugh or appreciate the awesome of your life.”

A Three-Book Christmas

(1) The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

This is the latest novel in Donati’s Wilderness series. I haven’t read the previous books. What drew me to this one is that it’s the story of two female physicians, graduates of the Woman’s Medical School, in New York City in 1883. I wrote my dissertation on the autobiography of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States (1849), and the life stories of four other nineteenth-century female physicians.

I’m really looking forward to reading this one. Thanks, Kate!

(2) Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America by Roger Phillips

Since I love to photograph toadstools and other fungi, I figured I should spend some time learning about them. This book has more than 1,000 color photographs and teeny-tiny print. Boy, have I got a lot to learn!

Confession: I bought this one for myself.

(3) Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert

I loved Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love. The description of this book says that Gilbert here teaches us “to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering” in order to realize our creativity. “She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives.”

I can use all the help I can get in this area of life, which is why I gifted myself with this book for Christmas.

It’s New Year’s Eve. Be safe out there, everyone.

And Happy 2016 to all of you!

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Do you remember Little Golden Books?

What about you?

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What I’ve Been Reading and Watching

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From the Native American of the Northwest and Pacific Coast Gallery, Seattle Art Museum

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Impressionism at the Seattle Art Museum

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A Three-Book Christmas

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