Teaser Tuesday

Here's how to play.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

This is from 12 Months to Live by James Patterson and Mike Lupica. After opening arguments in a major murder trial, the defendant's wife requests a private one-on-one with her husband's attorney, our narrator, Jane.

"Judge Prentice wasn't amused and, for the record, neither was I."

I feel myself biting through my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. I'm tired. I want to get outside, do my few minutes of standup, and then head back east.

But I'm doing my best to behave. A constant challenge.

"For the record, what I did today had nothing to do with your husband, or the judge, or the prosecutor, bless his heart. And it wasn't for you. I was only addressing the jury ..."

 

November Challenge -- Day 4

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: Bullet your whole day (Monday)

OK, let's see how long I do this before I get bored ...

•  Woke up on my own (no alarm clock)

•  From bed, caught up on the local news (a lot about the passing of Chicago's very own Quincy Jones) and then switched to Morning Joe

•  Did those twists the orthopedist taught me. 5 on each side. Roy Hobbs helped by grooming the top of my head. My left knee feels a little wonky.

•  Finished that bottle of water on my nightstand. (It's still cold!)

•  Tooled around the web -- Facebook, email, fellow bloggers, and my nephew's baseball column. I want to check out the Chicago Sun Times and New York Daily News online, but really, I've got to get out of bed sometime.

•  Fed the cats. No cats have ever, in the history of catdom, been as hungry as they were.

•  Checked my phone. The oral surgeon can squeeze me in earlier than expected! YAY! No, I am not happy about getting another dual crown lengthening. But I appreciate being able to use up my 2024 benefits.

•  Confirmed the dental appointment, wrestled with Dayforce, the scheduling app for the card shop. Apparently it works better for Apple than it does for Android. Unfortunately, I have Android. It took longer than I should have, but I requested the day of surgery and the following as days off.

•  Did last night's dishes. Watered the plants. 

•  Chocolate milk and meds. Only one prescription -- for my cholesterol -- but a fistful of vitamins and supplements. 

•  Icing my knee and touching up my pathetic pedi. Can't afford a new one until after the 19th. Hope I don't offend anyone at yoga tomorrow with my chipped digits.

I'm bored with this already and I haven't even gotten into the shower yet. Sorry.

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash 

 

Dona Nobis Pacem

 

Why are we so quick to demonize those who don't look like us or share our same life experiences? Thanks to Governor Abbott of Texas, my neighborhood up here in Chicagoland received a sudden, unexpected influx of migrants.

Instead of resenting them for panhandling, for cluttering our sidewalks, for using tax-payer dollars and community resources, let's consider what it's like for them.

•  Fleeing poverty and oppression with just the belongings they can carry.

•  Headed for Texas, where at least the climate is familiar, but ending up in the chilly midwest.

•  Unable to understand much of what is said around them as bureaucrats decide their fate.

•  Not allowed work permits for weeks, so they can't support themselves or their families.

What would happen if, instead of ignoring or glaring, we smiled at them? Treated them like neighbors instead of intruders. Gave them a dollar or at least a kind word. Made eye contact and connected through our common humanity, rather than assume they are here to "poison the blood" of our country.

Tensions would decrease and serenity increase. The world would be safer and more welcoming.

PEACE.

 
Find other peace bloggers here.

November Challenge: Day 3

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: A book you love.

My favorite book this year is Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy by Carl Sferrazza Anthony.

This charming biography concentrates on a very specific time in Jackie's life: from ages 19 to 24. It starts with Vassar and ends with her wedding to JFK, the day she became a public figure.

She began that five year period by making repeat trips to Europe. She forged a lifelong friendship with an elderly Irish priest, boarded with a widowed countess in Paris and became a regular at the theater and jazz clubs, and (my favorite part) was actually detained by the Russian embassy in Vienna because they suspected her of espionage!

When she returned stateside for good, she became engaged to and then broke up with a stockbroker, in large part because she did not want to be an upper middle class housewife. She preferred The Washington Herald, where she went from The Inquiring Camera Girl to a columnist with a byline. (Funny that a woman who would come to loathe the press found such satisfaction working for a newspaper.) Important though her job was to her, she had to give it up when she married because it was the 1950s and that's what women did. She believed that being the wife of a politician would be worth it and, as she wrote privately to Father Leonard, she had finally fallen in love.

This sensitive, insightful book got me wondering about my own mother and those years between high school and matrimony. I know there were no trips to Paris or Vienna for my mother, but I don't know what she did do during that period. The way my mom told her life story, nothing much happened to her until she met my dad. Of course, that's how most biographies treat that period of JBKO's life, too. This book makes me sorry I never asked about it when I could.

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash 

SUNDAY STEALING

 SUNDAY STEALING

1. Local events, parades or festivals – either in your hometown or state. Chicago has the annual Bud Billiken Parade every August. An offshoot of the Bud Billiken Club, the after school organization devoted to reading and community involvement, it celebrates "back to school." Lots of kids and marching bands and gymnastic displays. The mayor and gov are always there and celebrities, too. It's the largest African American parade in the nation. I thought every city had a Bud Billiken celebration until recently. But no, it's Chicago's very own.

   
   
    
   

2. Life update – what’s happened recently, moving house, family wedding, vacation, new pet, visited with a friend, and so on. I'm still learning how to be old. Yesterday I received a very important looking notice -- "Please do not open if your name is not shown on the front of this envelope" -- from National Government Services. It scared the crap out of me! What have I done wrong? Turns out nothing. In August, my primary care physician ordered lots of blood work as part of my annual physical. Either she or her staff used the wrong code on the paper work and/or didn't provide enough health history to justify them all and Medicare is refusing to pay for three of the tests. The notice says, in very formal and legal language, that as the patient I "could have no reasonable expectation" that these tests were not covered by Medicare and I will not be billed for them. My doctor's office has to pay. PHEW! It took five (5) pages to get me to this conclusion. Five nerve-wracking pages! Now I know what National Government Services is and how they work and if ever I receive another notice, I won't panic so.
   

3. Do you have any family traditions this month? Nope.
   

4. The holidays are about two months away, Do you begin shopping or creating now or wait until December? I shop all year around. If I see something that feels right for someone, I grab it. Here's my favorite find for 2024: My cousin Rose is studying cartography and is very picky about her little purses (they have to be small and vertical in orientation). I found this on Etsy and I think she'll love it.

    

   

   Check it out
   

    
   

5. What is your favorite November memory? I thoroughly enjoyed my Thanksgiving get togethers with my friends John and Gregory. We always got dressed up dined out. It was so much less stressful than the family gatherings I grew up with. Anyway, John died in April. Gregory and I are continuing what John called "Orphan's Thanksgiving" in his memory.
   

6. Now that the weather is getting cooler do you prefer? Staying indoors or going outdoors? What do you do? I love walking in this weather.
   

7. Describe your favorite local restaurant? It's a sports bar that specializes in seafood. Great clam chowder and lobster bisque, great vibe.
   

8. Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving? Friendsgiving
   

9. If you could take any class, what would you select? I'd kinda like to learn Spanish
   

10. To celebrate November would you rather enjoy pumpkin pie or sweet potato? Hmmm ... May I have both? For purely scientific reasons. I'd like to compare/contrast.
    

11. How do you handle setbacks and failures? Not well
    

12. If everything in your house had to be one color, which color would you choose? Pantone 294, Cubbie blue. 

    
    
    

13. Who or what would you haunt if you were a ghost? Paul McCartney. I'd like to hang with him and use my ghostly magic to make his life easier. Like Samantha on Bewitched. If he reaches for his cup of tea, I'd move it closer. Things like that. I'd be his indispensable spectral assistant.
    

14. Have you ever worn clothing with the labels still attached? No. I have very sensitive skin and wash everything before wearing it.
    

15. What's something weird that you recommend everyone try at least once? Alligator. I had it once -- breaded and on a stick. I don't remember how it tasted. I just recall that feeling quite proud of myself: "I'm eating alligator!"

     

    
    
     
    

November Challenge: Day 2

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: Something I feel strongly about.  

"As you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." From the Book of Matthew. That's what I try to keep in mind when I encounter the migrants who have ended up in my community because Governor Abbott of Texas callously sent them up here.

I've heard all the political ads that demonize migrants. They tell me that these lonely, confused people panhandling on my local street corners are criminals and terrorists. Trump supporters would have me believe they are "poisoning the blood of our country." It's not lost on me that they claim to be loud and proud Christians. Guess their Bibles don't include The Book of Matthew. 

I take my faith seriously and it offends me when people use it to justify their xenophobia.

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash 

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Back to December (2010)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) Taylor Swift sings that when her mind wanders, it usually returns to a specific day in December. How about you? Do you often daydream? Or do you focus on what's happening in the moment? My wanders all the freaking time. I wish I could harness it better.

2) She's looking back on December. We're going with a different take: As we enter November, what are you looking forward to this month? Thanksgiving and my birthday.

3) The lyrics recount a casual conversation between two former sweethearts. They talk about their families, their careers and the weather. Are you good at making small talk? Personally, no. But at work -- whether dealing with clients in my previous career or customers at the card shop -- I do just fine. It's my job.

4) This song was rumored to be about her break up with Taylor Lautner, the actor best known for playing a werewolf in the popular Twilight series. In acknowledgement of the Halloween season: Did you ever trick or treat as a werewolf, vampire, witch, ghost or other scary creature? No. My mom always chose my costumes, and she didn't like the scary stuff.

5) Taylor is currently involved with Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, and naturally this is his busy time of year. How's your football team (NFL or NCAA) doing this season? I'm afraid I don't like football.

6) Taylor loves chicken tenders and says she'd eat them every day, if calories weren't a consideration. If you were to enjoy tenders right now, what dipping sauce would you prefer --sweet/sour, barbecue or honey mustard? I like them all. Lately I've been requesting honey mustard.

7) Thinking of food ... Taylor Swift recently donated $5 million to Feeding America with the funds earmarked for those affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Does it make you feel good to do good? If yes, what is something you've done recently to help others? (It may give other Sat-9ers ideas for something they can do.) I carry these blessing bags in my purse. Each zip-lock bag contains lip balm, a breakfast bar, a packet of tissues, some hand sanitizer, and a dollar bill. Since most of the items came from The Dollar Store, these bags cost me very little, and I am happy to share them with those in need. I think it's important to let people know you're thinking of them.

8) Back in 2010, when this week's song was a hit, the iPod Nano was also popular. Did you have an iPod? I'm sure I still have my iPod around here somewhere.

9) Random question: Did you more recently run the dishwasher or the clothes washer? Clothes washer. I don't have a dishwasher.

November Challenge: Day 1

Find the challenge here

November Challenge: Five ways to win your heart.

•  Indulge my passions. Listen to me talk about baseball, The Beatles, and old movies.

•  Walk it like you talk it. Be who you say you are, and don't pretend to be what you're not.

•  Be informed. Read. Listen. Know what's going on.

•  Don't judge me. I've been me an awfully long time. There are things I can't/won't change.

•  Get along with my cats. This is not negotiable.

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash 

Look what I found!

 I did this challenge back in 2013. I wonder how my 2024 answers will compare ...