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Quote of the Week: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Published on December 11, 2021December 4, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: Ralph Waldo Emerson

“You become what you think about all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.

If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

You can find all of the other quotes I’ve shared here.

Quote of the Week: Debby Boone

Published on December 4, 2021December 4, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: Debby Boone

“Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.” – Debby Boone

If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Debby Boone.

If you like this quote, you may like all of the other quotes that I have here.

Quote of the Week: Mister Rogers

Published on August 19, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: Mister Rogers

There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.

Mister Rogers

Normally I would take the time to find a witty t-shirt or a piece of art to hang on your wall to go along with whatever quote I’m feeling inspired to share with you guys, but I just don’t have it in me this morning.

I also don’t normally give you any reference to why I share the quotes that I do. Most of them are self explanatory anyway.

My heart hurts. I am normally a positive person. I always look for what can be salvaged from any situation. At the very least learn a lesson from – insert calamity here – and find a way to make our lives better from it.

Unless you live under a rock like I do most of the time you know what’s happening in our world right now. What I’m finding the most difficult to swallow down though is people’s very casual use of the things that are happening as a political hammer. It literally makes my stomach hurt. And it makes me turn them off. Which defeats the purpose of what they are doing. Or not I suppose. Like feeds off of like. But if their goal is to change someones mind to their way of thinking, it is failing miserably, at least for me. I truly believe that you get back what you put out into the world. Which is why people who are unhappy continually reap what they sow into the world. That’s a very blanket statement and I HATE blanket statements, so I’m sorry. But I also believe it to be true, so I guess I’m really not.

Be kind. Just be kind. The only way I have ever seen anyone change their mind about something is by having an actual conversation with a person. Not repeating a news report, or giving a stern lecture, or a from on high sermon that condescends to another human; an actual sit on the front porch conversation. And if you feel like you didn’t change that person’s perspective at all after having a true conversation with them – shake the dust from your feet and move on. Hitting them with your hammer may make you feel better but I highly doubt it will give you the results you want.

Having conversations that change the world is awesome in my book, but I always want to be able to take some sort of action. If you want to feel like you are actually doing something here is a list of ways you can help the people of Afghanistan. I haven’t vetted most of these, so you’ll need to do that first.

If you don’t want to help them, but you need another organization that is doing amazing work to contribute to, I love what Shades of Grace is doing. They are being the literal hands and feet of Jesus in my opinion.

You don’t have to contribute money to be a help. Our local food bank loves it when strangers show up to help.

I hope that you are well, and that you have many meaningful conversations this week.

Tracie

You can find all of the other quotes I’ve shared here.

Quote of the Week: from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Published on May 15, 2021May 11, 2021 by TracieLeave a comment

Quote of the Week: from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

“Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.”
― from Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Daphne du Maurier.

If you like this quote, you may like all of the other quotes that I have here.

My Favorite Books: The Bone Clocks

Published on September 2, 2020 by TracieLeave a comment

My Favorite Books: The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

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I started this book in December of 2018. Yeeeaahhh.

I got about a third of the way through and put it down one night where it sat on my nightstand for more than a year. Which is a crying shame now that I’ve picked it up and finished it. This is an amazing book.

Hayden is the one who recommended it to me, but as always he asked me to go into the book completely blind. Which I have discovered that I hate. He loves to read this way. I however need to know at least what the story is about so that I don’t flounder around trying to figure out what’s going on. Which is why I put this book down the first time.

I am never one to give out spoilers, so I’m going to give you fair warning now:

!!!!POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD!!!!

This entire book is about Holly. That’s all I’m going to say. When you get past the first few chapters you will understand why I told you that, but just go get the book and start reading. It’s excellent. David Mitchell has an extraordinary way with words that I love. It makes me want to read more of his work, especially since I didn’t like the Cloud Atlas movie. Sigh.

Have you read this book? Do you have it in your own home library? What was your opinion? I LOVE it. Let me know!

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here.

You can find all of my FAVORITE books here.

Have you ever seen one of these?!? I think I just might need one of them in my life….

What are you reading right now? I am always on the lookout for another book to rea

My Favorite Books: In Death Series

Published on June 3, 2020 by TracieLeave a comment

Before we dive into the books, I wanted to say that I hesitated to send out my normal posts this week. My heart is so heavy. I want you to know that my prayers are with you. Our world is in chaos and everything seems to hurt right now. But, I also know that you may need just a little bit of distraction to ease the pain, so I decided to send them out as planned. Please stay well and be kind. I miss Mr. Rogers more than ever these days.

My Favorite Books: In Death Series by J. D. Robb

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In 1995, the year that Denton and I married, a new author came out with a book that I devoured in a day. Naked in Death was an instant hit with me. The fiftieth book (Golden in Death) came out in February of this year and I finally got my hands on a copy of it today! So if you need me, I’ll be hiding in my bedroom for the next two days.

I’ve read this series multiple times over the years and it never gets old for me. It’s like sitting down with an old friend, which is exactly what I’ve needed lately. Books are matchless when you just need to get away from reality for a little while.

Just in case you’ve lived under a rock like I do sometimes and you’ve never heard of this series (it’s possible!), here is a short summary:

The …in Death series of novels and short stories are written by Nora Roberts under her pseudonym J. D. Robb. Set in a mid-21st-century New York City, they feature NYPSD (“New York City Police and Security Department”) lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke. The stories also regularly feature other characters, including Captain Ryan Feeney, Detective Delia Peabody, Detective Ian McNab and Dr. Charlotte Mira. (via)

Have you read this series? Do you have it in your own home library? What was your opinion? I LOVE it. Let me know!

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here.

You can find all of my FAVORITE books here.

Have you ever seen one of these?!? I think I just might need one of them in my life….

What are you reading right now? I am always on the lookout for another book to read.

My Favorite Books: Charlotte’s Web

Published on May 20, 2020 by Tracie2 Comments

My Favorite Books: Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

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Over the past decade I’ve been stocking my bookshelves with books that I want to read to my future grandchildren. Future grandchildren that both of my kids tell me will never materialize, hahahaha. That’s okay, I tell them both. I’ll give them both about a decade and then I’ll go out and get my own grandchildren; then I’ll let them borrow said grandchildren occasionally. Anywho, Charlotte’s Web was one of the first books that I added to my collection.

I love this book. I can remember reading it as a child and I read it to my kids too. I think every home library should have a copy. Don’t you?

Just in case you’ve lived under a rock like I do sometimes and you’ve never heard of this book (it’s possible!), here is a short summary:

Charlotte’s Web is a children’s novel by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages praising Wilbur (such as “Some Pig”) in her web in order to persuade the farmer to let him live. (via)

Have you read this book? Do you have it in your own home library? What was your opinion? I LOVE it. Let me know!

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here.

You can find all of my FAVORITE books here.

What are you reading right now? I am always on the lookout for another book to read.

My Favorite Books: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Published on May 6, 2020 by Tracie2 Comments

My Favorite Books: Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

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My senior year of high school, I was lucky enough to score a job at my favorite library in the town next to the one where I lived. I LOVE that library. I loved it then too. A big part of my job was to put the returned books back on the shelves. You wouldn’t believe how many people do not understand the dewey decimal system. Even today in 2020 my local library has signs in each stack asking people NOT to reshelve the books because people just do not understand how it works. Oh how I miss the library…..Maybe someday soon I can walk into our local library and just stand among all. of. the. books. Sigh.

I’m getting off track as usual. Outlander. Have you read it? Or the entire series? While I was shelving books way back in 1991, I discovered this book. I still discover new books this way: I walk into the library, pick a stack and wander through until one of the covers catches my eye. Pluck it off the shelf and take it home and just dive in. You will be amazed at the new authors you will find doing this. After the first chapter of Outlander I was hooked. And it was so painful to have to wait until the next book came out. This is why I resist new TV shows with Denton. Firstly, I don’t like to watch a lot of television because it cuts into my precious reading time. And secondly, if I get sucked into a new show that only has one season, I forget what’s happening by the time the second season comes out. Same thing with my favorite books. I love it when I discover a new to me series that already has quite a few books in it. Lucky you if you haven’t read this one yet! Eight books, woohoo!

If all of that didn’t make you want to get your hands on a copy of this series today, here is a short summary:

Outlander (published in the United Kingdom as Cross Stitch) is the first in a series of eight historical multi-genre novels by Diana Gabaldon. Published in 1991, it focuses on the Second World War-era nurse Claire Randall, who travels through time to 18th century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing Jamie Fraser. A mix of several genres, the Outlander series has elements of historical fiction, romance, adventure and fantasy. With 25 million copies sold, Outlander is one of the best-selling book series of all time. Outlander won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Romance of 1991. A television adaptation of the Outlander series premiered on Starz in the US on August 9, 2014. (via)

Have you read this book or the series? What was your opinion? I LOVE it. Let me know!

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here.

You can find all of my FAVORITE books here.

What are you reading right now? I am always on the lookout for another book to read.

My Favorite Books: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Published on April 22, 2020April 21, 2020 by TracieLeave a comment

My Favorite Books: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

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I first read this book when I was in the fifth grade. In the 1980’s. My fifth grade teacher was Mrs. Lane and she always had a collection of books in her classroom under the windows that we could pick up and read at all times. Yes, we had library time, but I know that my love of reading was fostered by my teachers too. Maybe that’s why I’ve always surrounded myself with books – I’m not just surrounding myself, but anyone that is invited into our home, just like my parents did. Also, every Saturday morning my Mama and Daddy took time out of their weekend to take me and my brother to our local library, and I KNOW that that is one of the reasons that I have such a love for libraries. It’s those type of things that stick in my memory like glue.

I can remember plowing my way through Mrs. Lane’s bookcase, but the one book that stands out in my memories was this one. It had a profound effect on me. Isn’t that what an excellent book is supposed to do? Judy Blume is one of my favorite authors, but this first book of hers that I discovered in that lovely classroom will always be the one that stands out in my mind as the best. If all of that didn’t make you want to get your hands on a copy of it today, here is a short summary:

Margaret Simon, almost twelve, has just moved from New York City to the suburbs, and she’s anxious to fit in with her new friends. When she’s asked to join a secret club she jumps at the chance. But when the girls start talking about boys, bras, and getting their first periods, Margaret starts to wonder if she’s normal. There are some things about growing up that are hard for her to talk about, even with her friends. Lucky for Margaret, she’s got someone else to confide in . . . someone who always listens. via

Have you read this book? What was your opinion? I LOVE it. Let me know!

You can find all of the books I’ve read this year here.

You can find all of my FAVORITE books here.

What are you reading right now? I am always on the lookout for another book to read.

My Favorite Books: People of the….

Published on April 16, 2020April 16, 2020 by Tracie2 Comments

My Favorite Books: People of the….

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The series of books known as North America’s Forgotten Past or “First North Americans” by Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear are some of my favorites. I couldn’t pick just one of them so I’ve listed all of the books in this series down below. The first list is by the publication date. I’ve also posted another list below that just in case you would rather read them in historical order. Your summer reading list can now begin!

Have you read any of these? What was your opinion? I LOVE them. Let me know!

People of the Wolf (1990)

People of the Fire (1990)

People of the Earth (1992)

People of the River (1992)

People of the Sea (1993)

People of the Lakes (1994)

People of the Lightning (1995)

People of the Silence (1996)

People of the Mist (1997)

People of the Masks (1998)

People of the Owl (2003)