Not Just About A Book Club Yappy Hours November

 November 11

November 18

 

 

A Bit of Grammar

 

An Oxford comma walks into a bar, where it spends the evening watching the television, getting drunk, and smoking cigars.

• A dangling participle walks into a bar. Enjoying a cocktail and chatting with the bartender, the evening passes pleasantly.

• A bar was walked into by the passive voice.

• An oxymoron walked into a bar, and the silence was deafening.

• Two quotation marks walk into a “bar.”

• A malapropism walks into a bar, looking for all intensive purposes like a wolf in cheap clothing, muttering epitaphs and casting dispersions on his magnificent other, who takes him for granite.

• Hyperbole totally rips into this insane bar and absolutely destroys everything.

• A question mark walks into a bar?

• A non sequitur walks into a bar. In a strong wind, even turkeys can fly.

• Papyrus and Comic Sans walk into a bar. The bartender says, "Get out -- we don't serve your type."

• A mixed metaphor walks into a bar, seeing the handwriting on the wall but hoping to nip it in the bud.

• A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

• Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They converse. They depart.

• A synonym strolls into a tavern.

• At the end of the day, a cliché walks into a bar -- fresh as a daisy, cute as a button, and sharp as a tack.

• A run-on sentence walks into a bar it starts flirting. With a cute little sentence fragment.

• Falling slowly, softly falling, the chiasmus collapses to the bar floor.

• A figure of speech literally walks into a bar and ends up getting figuratively hammered.

• An allusion walks into a bar, despite the fact that alcohol is its Achilles heel.

• The subjunctive would have walked into a bar, had it only known.

• A misplaced modifier walks into a bar owned by a man with a glass eye named Ralph.

• The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense.

• A dyslexic walks into a bra.

• A verb walks into a bar, sees a beautiful noun, and suggests they conjugate. The noun declines.

• A simile walks into a bar, as parched as a desert.

• A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to forget.

• A hyphenated word and a non-hyphenated word walk into a bar and the bartender nearly chokes on the irony

- Jill Thomas Doyle

An Invincible Summer

 

 "He said, "In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible

love.  In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In

the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized,

through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible 

summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world 

pushes against me, there's something stronger-something better, pushing right back."

-Albert Camus

 

Thanksgiving Days 2020

 Despite it all we managed to have a very nice Thanksgiving (intimate party of two here in Long Beach) . The past days have been very peaceful with lots of zooming with family. My daily facetiming with Sofia has been exciting as she is filled with the enthusiasm about all the festivities of the season. She was excited to show me her gingerbread reindeer and her newly decorated Xmas tree and the letter she wrote to Santa. Her family also took a nighttime drive to see the local xmas lights fully equipped with 3 D glasses to see "snowflakes" and a special hot cocoa at the end of the drive. It's approaching summer in Australia and Jude and his mom and dad have been swimming and trying to keep cool in very hot temperatures. Everyone is well and that is what makes my heart extremely grateful. Soon the last month of the 2020 will be here. I hope everyone is making the most of these holidays and staying safe all the while.

 

 

Thanksgiving 2020

 Although our houses may be far apart, our hearts remain as close as ever. Wishing you a season of wonder and abundance for the holidays. May each of you have a Blessed and safe Thanksgiving! May we keep in our hearts those that are alone and all the many that are less fortunate that we. I am thankful to have you all in my life. Happy Thanksgiving day!

 

 

Don't Let It Get Away From You

 Barely the day started and ...

it's already six in the evening.

Barely arrived on Monday

and it's already Friday.

...and the month is

already over.

...and already the year is almost 

over.

...and already 40,50, or 60 years of our lives

have passed.

...and we realize that we lost our parents,

friends. and we realize it's too

late to go back...

So ...Let's try, despite everything

to enjoy the remaining time...

Let's keep looking for activities that we

like ...Let's put some color in our grey

Let's smile at the little things in life that put

balm in our hearts.

And despite everything, we must continue to

enjoy with serenity this time we have left.

Let's try to eliminate the afters...

I'm doing it after...

I'll say after...I'll think about it after...

We leave everything for later like "after" is ours.  Because

what we don't understand is that:

Afterwards, the coffee is cold...

afterwards, the charm is broken...

afterwards, health passes...

Afterwards, the kids grow up...

Afterwards, promises are forgotton...

afterwards the day becomes night...

afterwards life ends...And then it's often

too late...so lets leave nothing for later..

Because still waiting see you later, we can lose

the best moments, the best experiences, best friends, 

the best family...The day is today...the moment is now.

We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone

what needs to be done right away. 

The Annual Birthday Party 5 years ago

 Due to Covid restrictions my annual birthday dinner party for Jocelyn, Barb and Mary will not take place. Normally the table would have been set several days ago and the menu planned and the cooking would have started. This year none of that.  Looking back to five years ago this was a typical scene. I look forward to these dinner parties again in the future.

 

Nov. 22, 2015 "The birthday dinner last night was a lot of fun. Best part of life is to celebrate surrounded by people you love. Here is a picture for my parents in heaven who gave me such a wonderful brother and sister . " 

 I could not ask for sweeter siblings. I love you both more than words can express. Also for food lovers a picture of the dinner. We had chicken marsala, green salad, candied ginger carrots, lemony snap peas and green beans, broccoli casserole and mashed potatoes. Lemon cheesecake for dessert.

 

 

Not Just About A Book Club Reads "Valentine"

 

On Wednesday November 18 our book club "zoomed" our monthly meeting to discuss Elizabeth Wetmore's debut novel "Valentine".   

 
Told through the alternating points of view of indelible characters who burrow deep in the reader’s heart, this fierce, unflinching, and surprisingly tender novel illuminates women’s strength and vulnerability, and reminds us that it is the stories we tell ourselves that keep us alive. (From the publisher.)

 

This book was a unanimous thumbs up and gave us much food for thought and discussion. A big thank you to both Karen and Jo for recommending "Valentine"  and for their thoughtful lead and insightful discussion questions.  

 

 

Add caption

Dreaming

 

 "Dreaming, 

after all,

IS

a form of

Planning." -Gloria Steinem

Small Acts Of Kindness

"Some believe it is only GREAT POWER that can hold evil in check.

But that is not what I have found. 

I have found that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary

folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." - Gandalf 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things to Remember

 STOP DOING THINGS YOU HATE

LOVE YOUR BODY MORE

HANG WITH AWESOME PEEPS

SMASH SOME GOALS

WALK BAREFOOT

SHARE YOUR MAGIC

BE FREAKING BRAVE

FLAUNT YOUR AWESOME

LOVE HARDER

LOVE LOUDER

BE KINDER TO YOURSELF

BE A NICE HUMAN

 

 

How Far You Go

"How far you go in life
depends on your being
 tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, 
sympathetic with 
the striving 
and tolerant of
the weak and strong,
 because someday
 in your life
you will have been 
all of these." -George Washington Carver

Dark Chocolate Chunk, Pistachio, and Sea Salt Cookie Recipe

 These are very good chocolate chip cookies.

 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup chopped pistachios shells removed * bought shelled at Costco

1 cup chopped dark chocolate * * bought large 1 lb. dark chocolate bar at Trader Joe's

Sea Salt for sprinkling on cookies (opt) I very lightly dabbed the rounded cookie into sea salt

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 line a baking sheet with baking mat or parchment paper set aside.

In large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. set aside.

Using mixer cream butter, and sugars until light and fluffy 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat 2 minutes more. 

With mixer on low slowly add the flour mixture. Mix to incorporate well.

Stir in pistachios and chocolate chunks. Using spoon or cookie scoop form tablespoon size balls of cookie dough. I lightly pressed the ball into a small dish of sea salt just on top. Place dough balls on cookie sheet two inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes.  Transfer to  a wire rack to cool completely. Store in air tight container for up to 4 days. (I froze the major part of the batch in a plastic bag and defrosted as needed. 

*

**

Recipe found here:

https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/dark-chocolate-chunk-pistachio-and-sea-salt-cookies/

Housekeeping My Way

 

 

 "My housekeeping style is best described as: 

There appears to have been a struggle."