Random Word
Jose Saramago: "Human vocabulary is still not capable, and probably never will be, of knowing, recognizing, and communicating everything that can be humanly experienced and felt."
Facile - FASS -ul\ adjective\ late 15th century. Having a superficial or simplistic knowledge or approach. Easily achieved; effortless. Acting or done in a quick, fluent and easy manner. Concise Oxford American Dictionary.
Synonyms: adroit, tractable - Roget's Thesaurus of Words for Writers
"It's a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I'd say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder." from commencement speech (and book), "Congratulations, By the Way" by George Saunders
* * * * *
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Monday, June 1, 2015
June
*Mary Chapin Carpenter: "I saw my life this morning lying at the bottom of a drawer. All this stuff I'm saving...what the hell were all the reasons for holding on for such dear life? Here's where I let go." from "Almost Home"
I confess - I'm a bit of a magazine hoarder. For some reason, I found it necessary to keep back issues (let's just say many back issues) of Real Simple. And one day when I asked myself why I had to keep these magazines, there was only silence. And so, our recycle bin carted off many pounds of paper and a whole lot of guilt.
Family members would argue that I also have difficulty getting rid of (empty) boxes, would-be craft items and kitchen utensils. My defense is usually "I may need that someday." Occasionally that someday arrives and I rejoice that I have the perfect box, bowl or scrapbooking embellishment. Usually, though, the stuff piles up until a menopausal mood swing strikes, and I find myself using one of those empty boxes to toss in little-used spatulas, clothes, note cards, etc... for a trip to Goodwill. And I feel better. Briefly.
Did I mention vases? You name the flower, I have the perfect vase. Two large shelves of perfect vases.
I was thrilled the day I found out that a Container Store was coming to my hometown of Kansas City. Now I'd be able to visit my family AND wander the aisles of this organizing wonderland while dreaming of my orderly home. Not so fast, said Gretchen Rubin, author of "The Happiness Project." According to Rubin, we don't have messy houses simply because we're disorganized. The messiness is because we have too much stuff.
So it's a two-pronged problem. I have too much stuff and it's not very organized. In my defense, I'm not alone. Apparently Americans tend to hoard and, yet, desire tidier houses because we keep Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" on the bestseller list. It's a great book, but I don't think I could ever live up to her exacting standards.
If your goal was to get organized this year, the first half of 2015 will be over in 29 days. No need to panic. Peter Walsh, Oprah's organizing guru, has the solution. Or so he claims, and I'm willing to try. June can be the first step to a leaner and cleaner house. Walsh's idea: Every day this month, organize one area of your house/office. It's OK to keep it small, even as small as a sock drawer. Organize and discard. When the discarding part gets tough, ask the same question that Mary Chapin Carpenter asked: "why am I holding on to this?"
Good luck!
* * * * *
Readers, rejoice! The shelves will be stocked with new books by these authors: Judy Blume, Elin Hilderbrand, Mary Higgins Clark, Jeff Shaara, Dorothea Benton Frank, Danielle Steel, Stephen King, Laurell K. Hamilton, Janet Evanovich, Mary Balogh, Diana Gabaldon, Terry Pratchett, Barbara Delinsky, Neal Stephenson, Daniel Silva, Mo Willems, Mary Pope Osborne, and Kathy Reichs.
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month, Effective Communication Month, Great Outdoors Month, National Zoo and Aquarium Month, National Iced Tea Month, and National Rivers Month.
June Days
2 - Birth of Thomas Hardy (1840), Jude the Obscure
5 - Birth of Richard Scarry (1919), Please and Thank You
6 - National Yo yo Day
8 - Birth of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867). Read two authors' views of Wright - T.C. Boyle's The Women and Nancy Horan's Loving Frank.
10 - Ballpoint pen patented, 1943
10 - Birth of Maurice Sendak (1928), Where the Wild Things Are
11 - Birth of William Styron (1925), The Confessions of Nat Turner
12-14 - National Lemonade Days
14 - Birth of John Bartlett (1820), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
15 - Nature Photography Day
16 - Bloomsday anniversary (1904), as written in James Joyce's Ulysses
20 - Birth of Lillian Hellman (1905), The Children's Hour
21 - First day of summer
25 - Birth of George Orwell (1903), Animal Farm
>>>If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Read With Enthusiasm. It's easy. Look for follow by email at the top right hand of the blog. Submit your email address. You'll receive a follow-up email to activate your subscription. Thank you!
*"Almost Home" was written by Annie Roboff & Beth Nielsen Chapman
*Mary Chapin Carpenter: "I saw my life this morning lying at the bottom of a drawer. All this stuff I'm saving...what the hell were all the reasons for holding on for such dear life? Here's where I let go." from "Almost Home"
I confess - I'm a bit of a magazine hoarder. For some reason, I found it necessary to keep back issues (let's just say many back issues) of Real Simple. And one day when I asked myself why I had to keep these magazines, there was only silence. And so, our recycle bin carted off many pounds of paper and a whole lot of guilt.
Family members would argue that I also have difficulty getting rid of (empty) boxes, would-be craft items and kitchen utensils. My defense is usually "I may need that someday." Occasionally that someday arrives and I rejoice that I have the perfect box, bowl or scrapbooking embellishment. Usually, though, the stuff piles up until a menopausal mood swing strikes, and I find myself using one of those empty boxes to toss in little-used spatulas, clothes, note cards, etc... for a trip to Goodwill. And I feel better. Briefly.
Did I mention vases? You name the flower, I have the perfect vase. Two large shelves of perfect vases.
I was thrilled the day I found out that a Container Store was coming to my hometown of Kansas City. Now I'd be able to visit my family AND wander the aisles of this organizing wonderland while dreaming of my orderly home. Not so fast, said Gretchen Rubin, author of "The Happiness Project." According to Rubin, we don't have messy houses simply because we're disorganized. The messiness is because we have too much stuff.
So it's a two-pronged problem. I have too much stuff and it's not very organized. In my defense, I'm not alone. Apparently Americans tend to hoard and, yet, desire tidier houses because we keep Marie Kondo's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing" on the bestseller list. It's a great book, but I don't think I could ever live up to her exacting standards.
If your goal was to get organized this year, the first half of 2015 will be over in 29 days. No need to panic. Peter Walsh, Oprah's organizing guru, has the solution. Or so he claims, and I'm willing to try. June can be the first step to a leaner and cleaner house. Walsh's idea: Every day this month, organize one area of your house/office. It's OK to keep it small, even as small as a sock drawer. Organize and discard. When the discarding part gets tough, ask the same question that Mary Chapin Carpenter asked: "why am I holding on to this?"
Good luck!
* * * * *
Readers, rejoice! The shelves will be stocked with new books by these authors: Judy Blume, Elin Hilderbrand, Mary Higgins Clark, Jeff Shaara, Dorothea Benton Frank, Danielle Steel, Stephen King, Laurell K. Hamilton, Janet Evanovich, Mary Balogh, Diana Gabaldon, Terry Pratchett, Barbara Delinsky, Neal Stephenson, Daniel Silva, Mo Willems, Mary Pope Osborne, and Kathy Reichs.
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month, Effective Communication Month, Great Outdoors Month, National Zoo and Aquarium Month, National Iced Tea Month, and National Rivers Month.
June Days
2 - Birth of Thomas Hardy (1840), Jude the Obscure
5 - Birth of Richard Scarry (1919), Please and Thank You
6 - National Yo yo Day
8 - Birth of Frank Lloyd Wright (1867). Read two authors' views of Wright - T.C. Boyle's The Women and Nancy Horan's Loving Frank.
10 - Ballpoint pen patented, 1943
10 - Birth of Maurice Sendak (1928), Where the Wild Things Are
11 - Birth of William Styron (1925), The Confessions of Nat Turner
12-14 - National Lemonade Days
14 - Birth of John Bartlett (1820), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
15 - Nature Photography Day
16 - Bloomsday anniversary (1904), as written in James Joyce's Ulysses
20 - Birth of Lillian Hellman (1905), The Children's Hour
21 - First day of summer
25 - Birth of George Orwell (1903), Animal Farm
>>>If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Read With Enthusiasm. It's easy. Look for follow by email at the top right hand of the blog. Submit your email address. You'll receive a follow-up email to activate your subscription. Thank you!
*"Almost Home" was written by Annie Roboff & Beth Nielsen Chapman
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