Small Delights: Front Doors on My Walk

Book Quotes to Get Us Through Difficult Times

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Hurricane Beta Leaves His Calling Card

 

If they keep coming at you, one of them is bound to hit you. 

And Beta did. It was a little hurricane with winds just 50 mph, but it managed to drop ten inches of rain on us in just a couple of days. We woke up the morning after it pushed in to find that Beta had blown a big sycamore limb like a sword into our garage roof. My husband, of course, had to climb up on the roof in the wind and rain and pull that limb out and patch it as best he could, and that scared me more than having a limb stuck in the roof. But, all in all, it could always have been worst. 

Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude

True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News by Cindy Otis

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley

The Library of the Unwritten by A. J. Hackwith

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I challenge everyone to read True or False. We could all use a little help reading and thinking more carefully in these times. The Library of the Unwritten and Gods of Jade and Shadow both took me out (way out) of my usual sorts of reads. The Music Shop was completely charming, and it inspired me to find Rachel Joyce's newest book that is being published soon. It's probably just how my mind is working right now, but King Arthur reminded me of America during the years I've been alive and how an idealistic system can deteriorate because of the human desires for money and power. Begin Again sent me looking for more of James Baldwin. Stepping Stones is a marvelous little graphic novel, great for kids of blended families, I think.

Have you read any of these? Thoughts?

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...76% read

Devotions by Mary Oliver...63% read

How to Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life...44% read

It's the weekend of the National Book Festival, usually held in Washington D.C. each fall, but this year held virtually. Some of the authors I hope to hear are Gene Luan Yang, Chelsea Clinton, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Téa Obreht, Peter H. Reynolds, Colson Whitehead, Madeleine Albright, John Grisham, Sabaa Tahir, Salman Rushdie, Don Tate, Jason Reynolds, Jon Scieszka, Mark Doty, Bill Buford, Marlon James, Mo Willems, Saeed Jones, Kate DiCamillo, Ann Patchett, Sophie Blackall, Walter Mosley, Juan Felipe Herrera, Robert Pinsky, Emily St. John Mandel, Deborah Hopkinson, James McBride, Jerry Craft, and Nic Stone.

1. Just a hole in the garage roof. It could have been worse.

2. We are (hopefully) close to the end of hurricane season.

3. The Good Place. So much fun. 

Thank you to whoever recommended it to me.

And, please, share your suggestions for what else I need to watch.

I'm happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. There are no requirements for linking up at Sunday Salon; Sunday Salon is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.

Cookbook: Mostly Plants

"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." 

Michael Pollan began an important conversation about eating with this statement. This cookbook, Mostly Plants, was created by the mother and sisters of Michael, based on that statement, with the emphasis on the word "mostly." Plants, the four authors tell us, "are Mother Nature's prescription for improved health." The authors remind us that we have long known that plant eaters are more healthy than meat eaters, with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes as well as many types of cancers and heart disease, improved cholesterol levels, and lower mortality rates from these diseases. Plant eaters have a lower body mass index and lose pounds and keep them off. Plus, eating plants helps our planet. In addition, "The great news is, you don't have to give up meat completely to reap the benefits of a plant-based diet." Whew. Perfect for me. 

"Mostly plants" is a pretty good description of the way I naturally cook. My mother and people of her generation organized her meals around a meat; I use meat as a flavoring. 

The book is devoted to the answer to this question, "How do I make a nutritious meal that doesn't scream 'healthy' and that will put me on the road to a happier, more balanced lifestyle?" 

Here are some recipes that I plan to try.

White Bean and Kale Quesadillas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Caldo Verde with Kale and Chorizo

Watermelon, Feta, and Arugula Salad with Balsamic Glaze

Rainbow Frittata

What do you think?

Do you think you could be a flexitarian?

Are you a "mostly plants" eater?

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Weekend Cooking was created by Beth Fish Reads and is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader (and Baker). It is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

13 Books I Can't Wait to Read This Fall

The Switch by Beth O'Leary (fiction)

Eighty Days to Elsewhere (fiction)

If You Come to Earth by Sophie Blackwell (picture book)

Jack by Marilynne Robinson (fiction)

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (fantasy)

Guardians of Liberty: Freedom of the Press and the Nature of News (YA nonfiction)

Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney (fiction)

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (fantasy)

The Invisible Alphabet by Joshua David Stein (picture book)

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (fiction)

A Furious Sky: The Five-Hundred Year History of America's Hurricanes (nonfiction)

Good Morning, Monster: A Therapist Shares Five Heroic Stories of Emotional Recovery (nonfiction)

True or False: A CIA Analyst's Guide to Spotting Fake News (YA nonfiction)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Stranger Planet; Art in an Emergency; and The Worst Hard Time

My life isn't a soap opera script. Wake up. Walk. Eat breakfast. Read. Putter around the house. Watch the birds in the backyard. Read. Water the garden. Eat dinner. Read. Go to bed. 

No drama here. You'd think. But behind all of this, I'm full of stress, and I think that is reflected in the titles of the books I read last week...Stranger Planet...Art in an Emergency...The Worst Hard Time.

Last week I finished a big beautiful book about birds, What It's Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley. I also read Nathan W. Pyle's latest collection of comics, Stranger Planet. I read the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction winner, Hamnet. And I listened to Olivia Laing's essays, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency. I also read Elin Hilderbrand's emotional 28 Summers.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...76% read

Devotions by Mary Oliver...63% read

How to Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life...44% read

The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 

751 Books to Cure What Ails You...32% read

1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List by James Mustich...3% read

Do you have a picture book you read and loved this year, published between October 16, 2019 and October 15, 2020? Nominate it at the Cybils, starting on October 1. Add any you like to this Padlet, too.

I joined the Galveston/Bay Area Texas Master Naturalist group's book club last year, and I'm so glad that I did. Since I've been with the book club, we have discussed Half Earth by E. O. Wilson; The Gulf by Jack E. Davis; and A Farewell to Ice by Peter Wadhams. We are reading and discussing The Worst Hard Time: The Unknown Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan now. If you are interested in reading about the natural world, you won't find a better list than this list of the Heritage Book Study Group Past Selections.

This was an interesting, if worrying, read: Why Goodreads is Bad for Books. The article mentions The StoryGraph. I decided to give it a try. 

1. A Lemon Yogurt Day. 

I buy for two weeks at a time at the grocery now, and I can only get eight or so lemon yogurts, so on the other days, I eat blueberry yogurt or cherry yogurt or raspberry yogurt. I mix them all up in the fridge so I never know what I'll have for breakfast. It's a good day when it's a Lemon Yogurt Day.

2. Houses on My Walk Each Morning.

3. The Good Place. 

The last season has just arrived at the library for me. Hurray!

How are you doing? 

Did you have some good things happen last week?

How are things going for you?

I'm happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. There are no requirements for linking up at Sunday Salon; Sunday Salon is simply a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. Sunday Salon is a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:

• What was your week like?
• Read any good books? Tell us about them.
• What other bookish things did you do? 
• What else is going on in your life?

Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.

Small Delights: Houses on My Walk Each Morning

 

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by A Web of Stories. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at A Web of Stories.