Author Topic: The Library (Read 2084905 times)

ginny · « **Reply #16760 on:** April 03, 2016, 10:11:16 PM »

The Library

Our library cafe is open 24/7, the welcome mat is always out.
Do come in from daily chores and spend some time with us.

We look forward to hearing from you, about you and the books you are enjoying (or not).

Let the book talk begin here!

*Suggestion Box for Future Discussions
*SeniorLearn's Archives

Steph, i am glad you're enjoying the bake off. You will finish it before I do because I'm on Epispde 9, I don't want it to end, and there aren't any others to look at, and so I'm only watching 10 minutes a day. I guess because to me really it's such a day brightener, and I've noticed, I really think they are making me be more careful about other things... I find myself taking more time and care to do things. I know I could never learn to make what they are making any more than a man in the moon, and I don't bake at all, but I love watching them do it .

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16761 on:** April 03, 2016, 10:23:56 PM »

Bellamarie - Grand Avenue. I've just started it. It's about 4 women who met at the playgound when their dgts were all 2 yrs old. They all lived on Grand Avenue. That's all I know.

Jean

Steph · « **Reply #16762 on:** April 04, 2016, 10:30:27 AM »

I amnot fond of Fielding, but a lot of people love her. The ones I tried were sort of suspense..

salan · « **Reply #16763 on:** April 04, 2016, 06:08:30 PM »

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. Please keep them coming. Thank you especially Barb for the wildflower photo. I missed all of them this year (along with a lot of other things). I start Cardiac rehab this next week. The doctors are pleased with my progress so far. They have told me that I have been given a second chance and to make the most of it. I am trying; but changing your whole life around at 73 years of age is not easy!
Barb, I am in Plano, TX. My daughter lives in Carrollton--about 10 minutes away from me. It's all a part of Dallas......
Sally

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #16764 on:** April 04, 2016, 06:46:51 PM »

salan, Cardiac Rehab will be so good for you, and it is fun, too! My biggest problem was keeping up with the exercises after rehab was over.

Take care with your diet, do your medications and you should do great! My good wishes and prayers are with you.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16765 on:** April 04, 2016, 09:22:34 PM »

Such good news Salan - so now you get to experience a second life - what a coup - really - you would have died and never known another viewpoint - the difficulty may be that you were experienced with your first life and now, with all the change your taking baby steps again and have to think through rather than getting up each day as easy as living and loving had been during your first life.

As the old de Vinci quote goes, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" and another, "You're not supposed to look back your supposed to keep going" - you've got spunk and guts so you will do just fine in your new adventure...

Aha Plano - OK so yes, no small town as it was years and years ago but Salan still in Texas - if you can keep to your health routine and keep growing in your new life I bet by next Spring you'll be out and about photographing the bluebonnets... and maybe, just maybe you'll even be snapping a few pictures for us to see of Big Tex this coming October. Plus there is Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden and Heritage Park in Flower Mound and Heritage Village at Old City Park in Dallas - lots of photo ops - you really do have a whole new canvas to photograph - rather exciting.

Please keep us posted - With your losses it sounds like grieving is appropriate... we seem to get good at grieving as we age.

Steph · « **Reply #16766 on:** April 05, 2016, 08:43:35 AM »

Ah Sally, you are going to have such an adventure..
I am on the refreshment committee for our womans club this month and it takes two full days. One to set up and decorate and today to bring out the food, serve it and coffee and tea and clean up after. Whew.. May use tomorrow to rest up.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16767 on:** April 05, 2016, 12:56:06 PM »

Sally, I am so happy to hear you are in rehab. A new lease on life at 73 sounds like a real blessing. Barb has outlined a whole yearly schedule for you to look forward to. Being close to your daughter has to be very comforting.

I know I have asked before and got no response so far, so I will ask again, is there a future book discussion for April or May? I know some went on to other stories of the Metamorphosis for March which I was not interested in. I am headed to my library today so may look for a Fielding book. Jean, Grand Avenue sounds interesting.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16768 on:** April 05, 2016, 02:43:19 PM »

We are continuing with Ovid in April with the Death of Achilles, The fall of Troy, The deaths of Polydorus and Polyxena, Hecuba’s lament and transformation, Aurora and the Memnonides, Aeneas begins his wanderings, The transformation of Anius’s daughters, The cup of Alcon and Aeneas’s journey to Sicily - lots of new people so that Homer's version of these events comes to mind.

May there may be a shorter 2 - 3 week discussion of a book available online and we have volunteers now discussing a selection for June. We are still attempting to coordinate schedules and the work it takes to get a discussion put together...

Steph · « **Reply #16769 on:** April 06, 2016, 08:50:01 AM »

It really sounds as if our book discussion is now a classical discussion.. Be nice to have a fairly current book for a change.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16770 on:** April 06, 2016, 10:25:53 AM »

Steph Ovid is such a huge tome that we will never get through it - most of us remember reading a classic and we took months to do it - for instance it took us several months, from March through early September to get through James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and several months, from October to February to do Homer's Iliad and from mid-November to mid February on Absalom, Absalom and so forth -

As to Ovid, we have Ginny, who is familiar with the book, picking out from the 250 myths the better stories where the themes are the basis for so much literature including the greats like; Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dante, Milton, George Bernard Shaw, Margaret Atwood, Jeffrey Eugenides, not to mention the Art, Sculpture, Ballets and Music, especially Operas created around the themes presented in Ovid's myths.

And so for sure, our 20th year of discussing books deserves our discussing and seeing the ins and outs of an important text that is the basis for so many novels written today.

JoanK · « **Reply #16771 on:** April 06, 2016, 10:44:00 AM »

STEPH: don't worry. Something more current coming soon.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16772 on:** April 06, 2016, 12:31:21 PM »

JoanK., Nice to hear something more current is coming soon! Thank you for letting us know.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16773 on:** April 06, 2016, 12:50:32 PM »

I can't get into Seniors and Friends at all, won't let me register saying my "user name doesn't exist" - well no, not if I'm " newly registering". It won't take my old password. What happened over there?

Jean

Tomereader1 · « **Reply #16774 on:** April 06, 2016, 01:04:34 PM »

They had a server failure about a week ago. It is now fixed, but it is a challenge to get back in. Pat or Jeannie will help you. Email: pairajeans@gmail.com I hope that's the right address.

or Patzscott@gmail.com

Frybabe · « **Reply #16775 on:** April 06, 2016, 04:42:56 PM »

I think it has been up and down a couple of times since they fixed it. I couldn't get the site to come up again this morning for a while. It seems to be back up now.

maryz · « **Reply #16776 on:** April 06, 2016, 05:28:02 PM »

I was finally able to get logged back in using my "old" name and password. The site is basically "new", though - so when you do get in, it'll show you with no posts, and none of your old discussion links. Still lots of the same faces, though, and it's working its way back. I've not had any trouble getting in since I got reregistered. Good luck.

Steph · « **Reply #16777 on:** April 07, 2016, 08:37:09 AM »

I think I am a bit cranky today.. but I was not complaining about what is being discussed. I just like more current stuff ... Just to be snarky,, I truly dislike Faulkner and Joyce.. I read them i n college and have no intention of playing that sort of game again.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16778 on:** April 07, 2016, 12:10:34 PM »

I don't mind reading and discussing any genre of book because it opens my mind to new things. I would like to go on to a new book after discussing one for a couple of months. Steph, I can relate to not wanting to return to certain authors. After reading Ovid, I don't see myself wanting to read anything by him for some time, if ever again. I liked The Odyssey by Homer, so much more, even though I found it a bit redundant.

I began reading At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. For some reason I think I read part of it before and didn't finish the book, just not sure where I left off at. Anyone else find yourself doing this? I need to get to the library.

What is Seniors and Friends?

Frybabe · « **Reply #16779 on:** April 07, 2016, 12:29:25 PM »

Bellamarie, Seniors and Friends is the other site that came out of the old Senior Net. It covers all kinds of subjects, not just books. www.seniorsandfriends.org

I am back to reading Little Paris Bookshop, picking up at the part where they are participating in a Milongas (think thats right), a gathering devoted to Tango dancing. I really like this part, probably because I read a book last year called Dark Tangos by Lewis Shiner. The passionate description of the Tango and the dancers in both books is unforgettable.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16780 on:** April 07, 2016, 01:34:00 PM »

Oh dear - Steph I was trying to explain where we were with Ovid and how spending the time we have been on the huge tome of myths was similar to how we spent time in the past when we read important literature - yes, some of us read these books in school and others of us are reading them for the first time as adults and some of us like to renew our understanding of books we read in our youth - we do all have a different taste in plots, novels, bios etc - we can't just keep the site for one kind of reader -

Bellamarie I know you were turned off by the early myths but since, the myths we are reading now are less about rape and violence - you may want to peek in again - the last one about Echo and Narcissism was especially insightful as we saw something far different than the usual take that have become the popular metaphor for these characters, probably because they were taken out of context from their story. Makes you think how easily we twist associations into having only one specific meaning.

Yes, JoanK is right there are plans for other stories coming for May and June - May being a short 2 week discussion of a book available online so no purchase is needed unless you love the story and want a copy for your library and then a full month in June devoted to a current novel.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16781 on:** April 07, 2016, 05:06:24 PM »

Thank you Frybabe for the link. I will have to check it out. Your book Little Paris Bookshop sounds nice.

Barb, Thank you, I tried to continue on with Ovid but he just is not my cup of tea. I know he is renown for his writings, and I am in no way being critical of him, I just don't care at all for him. I did jump ahead and read a few of his other myths, and found them no more interesting than his others I read. Mythology is a stretch for me, but I am glad I read some. I will wait to see the May & June selections. I've enjoyed the time away reading The Odyssey, Girl On The Train and The Nightingale.

Steph · « **Reply #16782 on:** April 08, 2016, 09:40:58 AM »

See even though I was not particularly cranky, I hit a nerve or two.. I am off tomorrow for the week on a big boat.. No idea if I can keep up here or not. I did buy wi fi but not sure how it works on a boat.. Am excited about Bermuda,, no idea exactly what to expect on a big boat. I love boats in general and adored the river boats, so who knows.
I read all sorts of stuff..mystery,fantasy,biography, history,, etc..Not fond of technical type stuff..

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16783 on:** April 08, 2016, 11:29:17 AM »

Some of you may enjoy a website I have a wonderful time spending time on.

http://thehistorychicks.com

I hate the "chicks" thing, but it seems to be somewhat popular for websites at the moment. You can also google "history chicks."

Two women have a casual conversation discussing a woman from history in podcasts. Not only do they have an initial "episode" about each woman, but they add minicasts and extra pictures and information in addition. Its very casual, sometimes a bit too giggly for me, but overall I enjoy them.

The last episode was about Beatrix Potter. Early on they talked about Laura Engels. I particularly enjoyed the Hellen Keller episode, probably because much of it was new to me. Enjoy!

Jean

I've given you the link to the home page which shows the last episode about Potter. Scroll down a bit and on the right is the complete list of all the episodes.

JoanK · « **Reply #16784 on:** April 08, 2016, 05:10:48 PM »

JEAN: thanks. Seems like just the thing to while away a rainy Friday.

Steph · « **Reply #16785 on:** April 09, 2016, 06:30:01 AM »

Ha,. up and finished packing. Daisy is at Dog sitters ( not used to not having a small clacking creature at my heels) and I am up and finishing up on stuff. Must be at clubhouse by 7:45 to get the bus to the cruises terminal.. See you in a week.

maryz · « **Reply #16786 on:** April 09, 2016, 09:54:26 AM »

Steph, hope you have a great time. I'll be interested in how you like the new experience. I've been on the small river cruises, but not on one of the big ships.

bellamarie · « **Reply #16787 on:** April 09, 2016, 11:45:37 AM »

Jean, thank you for the link. I plan to watch more of them today since I woke up to six inches of freshly fallen snow, and am feeling a bit under the weather!!!! I feel like I am in the movie Groundhog Day.

Steph, I hope you have a great time on your cruise. I took a mini casino cruise back a few years ago from Tampa. It left around dinner time and we returned just before midnight. It was magnificent watching the sunset from the ship. It was my very first experience learning about slot machines. It had fun entertainment, a wonderful dinner served and I loved every minute of it until for some odd reason I had an anxiety attack, needing to be on land. It was manageable, but since then I have never wanted to go on a cruise. I suppose it doesn't help I have never learned to swim due to the fear of water. I don't mind being on boats as long as I can see the shoreline.

I just finished the book At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. It's a short novel you can easily read in a day or two. So sweet and sad, every now and then I like a good love story. I'm beginning Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah today. Has anyone read this book? I finished her book The Nightingale and LOVED it, so I'm hoping this one will be just as enjoyable.

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16788 on:** April 09, 2016, 01:43:49 PM »

We're having snow here too. Great BIG flakes, but melting on the ground. So I'll get thru some more of the History Chicks podcasts today. My grandson was supposed to have a baseball game today, buuuuttttt........so I've got time on my hands. Yaayy!

As I read each woman's story I think, "ohhh, I'll read some more books about her" and then I go to the next one, and realize I can't possibly do that for each women. 😱

Steph, Hope you are having a good time on your new adventure.

Jean

mabel1015j · « **Reply #16789 on:** April 10, 2016, 03:59:50 PM »

I'm watching a marathon, ondemand of The White Queen. The book was a Phillipa Gregory Tudor one. The costumes and the settings are marvelous. The story is mostly fighting and romance, but it's entertaining.

Jean

PatH · « **Reply #16790 on:** April 10, 2016, 05:22:38 PM »

JoanK, I hate to be a nitpicker, but how often do you have a rainy Friday in LA?

PatH · « **Reply #16791 on:** April 10, 2016, 06:52:43 PM »

I've been pretty much absent from here for two months, for a rather sad reason. My handicapped daughter Joan spent a month in the hospital fighting increasingly serious bouts of aspiration pneumonia, and finally lost her battle. She died on March 12.

Joanie was born with Rett syndrome, which results in mental retardation and some physical problems. She couldn't talk, though she understood somewhat, and couldn't care for herself. She had a very joyous personality, taking delight in small pleasures, and especially in the attention of others, which she got in abundance, as she was pretty and appealing. She was also a strong fighter, as are all the women in our family.

She lived surrounded by love, first in her family, and for most of her adult life under the care of SEEC, a local organization that provides sheltered lives and, where possible, employment for handicapped people. She shared an apartment with another handicapped woman, and it was like another family for her, loved by her caregivers and all the SEEC people who knew her.

I'll miss her a lot.

maryz · « **Reply #16792 on:** April 10, 2016, 07:41:35 PM »

Oh, Pat - I'm so sorry. There can be no greater loss than that of your child. We'll hold you and Joanie in our hearts.

BarbStAubrey · « **Reply #16793 on:** April 10, 2016, 07:45:16 PM »

Sorry PatH - hope soon the pain is not as raw...

ginny · « **Reply #16794 on:** April 10, 2016, 08:50:30 PM »

What a beautiful, loving tribute to your daughter, Pat!

I am so sorry. We are glad to have you back.

{{{{Hugs}}}}}

Jonathan · « **Reply #16795 on:** April 10, 2016, 09:35:50 PM »

'Mom, I am better now.'

A loving, tender tribute, Pat. May the memory of your cherished daughter always be a happy one.

marcie · « **Reply #16796 on:** April 10, 2016, 10:15:21 PM »

Pat, it's wonderful that you think of your daughter surrounded by love. It's good to have you back. Barbara, that's a lovely sentiment.

Frybabe · « **Reply #16797 on:** April 11, 2016, 06:00:13 AM »

Pat, that is very sad news. My very sincere sympathy. Big hugs!

LarryHanna · « **Reply #16798 on:** April 11, 2016, 10:21:19 AM »

Pat, I also extend my sincere sympathy on the loss of your beloved daughter. Larry

bellamarie · « **Reply #16799 on:** April 11, 2016, 01:11:57 PM »

Pat, My deepest and sincere condolences go out to you and all those who are grieving the loss of your sweet daughter Joanie. This is a lovely tribute you have shared with us about your daughter, her struggles, yet beauty in her life.

I wanted to find a special literary quote for you, and to be honest I am not at all familiar with this author, but I loved his words:

I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death.
They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make.
Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories.
We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.
Leo Buscaglia __

I have missed your presence, wisdom and insight in our discussions. Welcome back!

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Author Topic: The Library (Read 2084905 times)