Category: Lifestyle

In my younger days, summer was the best time of year. The sun shone daily, people were out enjoying activities, and the heat warmed our bodies delightfully.

My granddaughter has never been a fan of summer. She doesn’t like the full beating sun and the heat exhausts her. Autumn is her favorite season. Frankly, it has become mine, also. Early in August, she sent me a text saying, “The best time of year is almost here!”  It made me smile. Autumn does bring a relaxed sense of excitement.

September ushers in the fall and the autumnal equinox which occurred this week signals the official beginning of the season.  Table scaping is easier for me, too. I set a fall décor down the middle and add to it or take from it each month with minimal changes.

More importantly, temperatures cool, breezes pick up, and the evenings glow. It’s a time for picking pumpkins and hayrides or sitting in the Urban Oasis with the fire pit glowing in the evening. Friends gather with welcoming smiles as we anticipate the weeks to come. The anticipation of sweater weather warms our hearts and souls.

Soon Halloween will bring little movie stars and goblins to the door where animated skeletons greet them with treats. My brother termed the season ChrisThanksOWeen as holidays arrive one after another. Then they are gone almost too quickly.

One of my favorite things about fall is the transition nature signals with foliage changing from greens into yellows, oranges, and reds gently swaying in the breeze until branches release their coats. Several years ago, I replaced a fallen cottonwood with a three-trunk autumn breeze maple. I am amazed at how quickly the little trees have become a monument that greets passersby with the color of the seasons.

Autumn brings seasonal foods – pumpkin spice everything is everywhere! One year I hosted an all-pumpkin weekend for my daughter and a friend’s son. That created a tradition of looking for pumpkin-inspired dishes throughout the month of October. A funny game turned into a family challenge. We still laugh about it as we cuddle around a fire with chai tea and apple cider.

I ran across “I Love Autumn” by the Lyrical Lanterns on YouTube. It pretty much sums up the feeling of home and family love. “Leaves remind us life’s still fine. This is the season I love to hold.” 

Happy Autumn!

Mary Ann

What ever happened to a good signature?  When signing a credit card, most people do a squiggly line.  You would never know who the person was who signed.  When I sign something, I always neatly write my name, and many times I get complimented for my efforts.  It is the teacher in me that feels compelled to write it correctly.  Do you find yourself in that same situation?  People our age had handwriting every day for six grades. 

 Round, round, ready, write!  Do you recall saying that phrase when you were doing handwriting in elementary school?   It was the Palmer Method that most of us learned how to write.  We would do overlapping circles from the top line to the bottom line on the paper. This was done to learn how to control the pen and develop muscles in our forearms.  

I read somewhere that Americans had great handwriting when we were an agrarian society. If you ever seen old letters or signatures in a Bible from your ancestors, you could see that they indeed had beautiful script.  The reason attributed to this was most people milked cows.  The very muscles that you use to milk a cow are the same muscles that you need for good handwriting.  Not too sure who figured that out, but it makes sense.   

Back to round, round, ready, write!  We used a type of fountain pen that used metal tips, a step up from feather quills, and far from the ball point or gel pens of today.  I used to call them dip pens.  Most of us educated in the 50s and 60s used an inkwell right in the little wooden desk that were used at the time.  

I remember using colored ink for holidays.  We would round, round, ready write green for Christmas trees or red for hearts at Valentine’s Day.  It may have been my teachers who did the colored ink, but it made the redundancy of handwriting fun! 

We had penmanship, the fancy name, every day. In most schools today, they don’t even teach manuscript, so you only learn how to print.  Every few years, American school systems ping pong back and forth from teaching handwriting or not.  If you go online, you can find research that supports handwriting helps with brain development – strengthening neuro pathways for learning, attention, and memory.  The National Institute of Health has an in-depth study.  Writing is foundational to reading.  Handwriting is much more complex than just writing.  

There is the battle raging in education with handwriting vs typing with devices at odds.  Typing does not support brain development in the same way.  Still out for debate – too much screen time is detrimental to brain development.  

When we ended our elementary education back in the 50s and 60s, the Palmer Company would issue beautiful certificates for completing 6 years of penmanship work.  It was written in artistic calligraphy.  It kind of puffed you up to receive it.  Next time you sign something, just remember that you have a readable signature that you can be proud of and was worth all that round, round, ready write!

Mary Ann

Restaurants

In preparing this blog, I was curious to find out exactly how many restaurants are in New York City.  Apparently, no one really knows the exact number.  It is somewhere between 17,600 to 28,000 establishments.  (Data depends on which agency you use as a source.)  It would take you 20 to 70 years to try them all, and as soon as you would finish the last one, another new restaurant would open.  It is not quite endless but close.

For sure, New York City has many restaurants to sample that feature cuisine from all over the world as well as inventive fusion culinary style combining ingredients, techniques, or flavors from two or more cultures.  Restaurants prices can range from a few dollars for a slice of pizza to meals that are hundreds or thousands of dollars with fine wines featured.  You can find food that matches your pocketbook.

 Sprinkled all over the city are hot dog vendors with their carts.  I can once remember eating a hot dog with the works – mustard, ketchup, onion, relish, sauerkraut, and chili – in Central Park.  Yummy!  Messy!  Fun!  Was it the actual hot dog or the location in the city?  Maybe the park was the best condiment of all.   

Food trucks move around the city usually on regular schedules so you could plan your menu for the week, and they too offered a variety of cuisines.  In the summer, I loved getting lobster rolls on Hudson Street where several trucks would line up for all the office workers to get lunch.  You got outside for some fresh air and delicious food.

Then we have the bodegas found on many street corners throughout the city.  They are kind of mom-and-pop stores.  You can buy groceries and household items.  They seems to have everything.  However, one highlights of bodegas are the breakfast sandwiches – eggs, bacon, and cheese on some type of rolls. The first bite of this greasy creation is pure joy!  I am getting hungry thinking about them.  It was a great way to start the day.

New York City is famous for its pizza – considered by many as the Pizza Capital of the Nation.  I think Chicago might disagree!  You can find pizza parlors all over the city.  One of my favorites is John’s Pizza on Bleeker Street.  It is one of the oldest pizza restaurants in the city and is old- fashion comfortable.  John’s Pizza had a satellite restaurant in Jersey City that I probably ate at once a week.  The pizza was great, but they served other Italian specialties.  Baked Zita was a favorite.  You can’t really go wrong with pizza in NYC.

There are elegant and exquisite venues for New York City restaurants.  Though, I found one that was only a window on the street.  It was Meatball Obsession.  You could get a cup of giant meatballs of beef, pork, or a chicken in a variety of sauces then topped off with mozzarella pearls.  I had a regular meeting on 6^th Ave. near 14^th Street.  I would pick up some meatballs and ride the subway home.  The delicious aroma of the meatballs would waft throughout the car.  I got lots of looks with some knowing smiles.  It is a wonder I didn’t get mugged for my dinner. 

Another small, yummy restaurant is Tue Thai Food on Greenwich Ave.  In the summer, we would have a luncheon special delivered that included shrimp pad Thai, a salad, soup, and an iced chai tea for around $12.00 plus tip.  It was delicious beyond words.  I kind of compare all other pad Thai I have now to it, and you know, I haven’t found anything that compares.  

I collected business cards from the restaurants where I dined so I always had a reference to return to favorite eateries.  As I write this and review those cards, it is hard to pick the very best to share because there are so many outstanding places.  Some have closed. Covid hit the city hard, and others have run their course with owners retiring.

Each area of the city boasts an array of restaurants.  You can hardly go a half a block without finding a place to eat.  There is always the new it place, and you may wait for months to get a reservation for some of them.   I am going to share favorites from the West Village which was my stomping grounds for 11 years.   

You could go in any direction on Hudson Street and find wonderful restaurants.  Straight down Grove Street from Hudson, there is The Little Owl.  It is the store front of the Coffee House from the TV show Friends and tourists gather daily for pictures.  It is tiny and is hard to get reservations.  Further down the street is Buvette’s a tiny French restaurant that has been featured in several magazines.  It was a great place for a glass of wine and some French goodies.  A bit further down the street is AOC, another French restaurant – great cassoulet and surprisingly tasty hamburgers.  

Going south on Hudson, there is a charming seafood restaurant called Clam.  They have the best New England clam chowder, and I love their lobster sliders.  The ceiling of the restaurant is made of mother-of-pearl or at least it looks like it is giving the allure that you are in a shell.  Nearby is the EN which is a Japanese Brasserie that has all Asian specialties. However, the fried chicken is outstanding.  

Going north on Hudson, there is a West Village favorite called Cowgirls’.  It is a great place to take kids.  I love their Chop Salad – I never had one anywhere that compares.  They have hamburgers, pulled pork, and on and on.  Down the street from Cowgirls, is the famous White Horse bar and restaurant.  It was Bob Dylan’s and his friends’ hangout.  Off Hudson on Perry Street is Aria, a small Italian restaurant with an open concept and long kitchen tables – several people eat together.  A great place for a glass of wine and small plates.  I loved their octopus salad, but since all the octopus movies, books, shows, etc., I am not sure I can eat octopus now.  There are so many little neighborhood restaurants that are off the beaten path – truly New York City treasures.

Out of the West Village, I have loved Tavern on the Green, a famous restaurant in the Central Park.  They have great brunches in beautiful settings that change with the seasons.  In Central Park, you can go from a hot dog cart to a world-famous restaurant in an instant.  

In the Theatre District, I frequented the Glass House Tavern.   My dear friend and I would go there for lunch before we went to a matinee – a glass of wine and a menu of classic American Food with interesting twists. One of my all-time favorite restaurants is Ut Sav, an Indian restaurant in the Theater District.  Every bite was a little miracle of flavor.  It was one of the last restaurants I went to in NYC to celebrate my retirement.   However, my retirement party was at Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center, an elegant restaurant with a view of the plaza.  Amazing food!  Afterwards, we went to see My Fair Lady.  It was a perfect day in every way. 

New York City is the center of so many world-class industries, and food is no except.  A few times a year, they do a Restaurant Week with specials menus to try a restaurant’s cuisine.  It is always fun at a good price, and it is a good time to visit the city.  I truly could go on and on with great places to eat.  I have shared a few of some of my regulars watering holes that you couldn’t go wrong if you visit the city.  As I have written this blog, my mouth was watering with memories. I wish that for you as well. 

Picture this. As you walk through the door you observe several tables at each of which four people are sitting with smiles on their faces. Tiles are clicking, conversation is flowing, and social media is all but forgotten. What is going on?! Ah. These individuals are finding community by playing a game – mahjong.

What is it about mahjong that draws so many people – almost devotees – to the game? I had heard about mahjong several years ago and occasionally thought I would like to discover more. Recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to join the throng. Yet, I know nothing about the rules, the plan, or how to get started.  Thus, I went on a search to find out more.

Mahjong’s current rise is not just nostalgia or novelty — it reflects a broader desire for tactile, social, screens-off activities that combine strategy, tradition, and community. Similar to a card game, mahjong uses tiles that are designed in suits with additional tiles to add dimension to the play. Obviously, the goal is to win a hand, but to get there takes strategically selecting and discarding tiles to yield a set of tiles based on a formula prescribed on a card from the National Mah Jongg League. At least for American Mahjong.

Mahjong has been played in multiple versions including Chinese, Riichi, Hong Kong, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Filipino traditions before coming to America in the 1920s. It is believed there are currently as many as 40 versions. As the communities and rules vary, so do the spellings – mah jong, mah-jongg, and mahjong.

Mahjong derives its name from Chinese words translated as sparrow, due to the clicking sound made when playing with the tiles. It is easy to understand once you walk into a mahjong house – or Mahj House, as many are called.

Admittedly, as a novice I am intimidated. Yet I see so many people jumping on the bandwagon that I would be remiss if I didn’t join the parade. I have found a few friends who also want to learn. We are signing up for a Mahjong Boot Camp. Yes, there really is such a thing!

For those who want to immerse themselves, there are custom-made tile sets, mats, game-night accessories, jewelry, and more. The mahjong craze does not seem to be a phase.

In our post-pandemic world, people long for face-to-face connection. Playing mahjong allows you to enter a mahj house and join a table, even if you know no one there. Fast friends are made as tiles are passed. It becomes almost an obsession for some people.

Book clubs, Bible study groups, mother’s day out, senior centers, and others are thrilled to have someone teach them to play. I am told that although it seems intimidating at first, once you start playing and the rhythm clicks – pardon the pun – you will be hooked.  I can’t wait! I will let you know how it goes! Meanwhile, you might want to try a group in your own area. You will challenge your brain, have fun, and make new friends.

Mary Ann

I was travelling in Provence in early August with a group of friends.  We were driving down a country road when we came upon a field of lavender that was surrounded with hedgerows of cherry trees.  You know the kind with big, black, sweet Bing cherries.  They are delicious and as you devour them, they stain your fingers and lips a dark red.  We stopped the car to take pictures of lavender, but I ended up taking pictures of the cherries and tasting one or two.  Scrumptious! It was Le Temps des Cerises – the time of cherries!

I did not know that phrase, but I came across it later in a book.  The time of cherries is a happy time.  Life is good.  It was defined as the time in summer that is carefree and full of love.  Since I was last in France, the phrase has morphed into a clothing line, restaurants, and wine labels.  The phrase reminded me of our American catch phrase,” Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries” capturing that life is going well. (Did you know that phrase came from a 1930 song?) 

One Christmas, I took the pictures of cherries that I took in Provence and framed them as gifts.  I made a border in fancy script of Le Temps des Cerises, The Time of Cherries, Life is a Bowl of Cherries, and Life is Good that surrounded the picture. I put the photo on a small easel, and I then found glass cherries that I placed near the easel.  A little bit of France with wishes for happiness.  

When I visited Cynthia once, we went to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art to see their glass exhibits.  Dale Chihuly, the Master of Art Glass, has permanent exhibits there.  As a parting gift, Cynthia gave me a glass cherry that I place by my cherry photo.  It is so Cynthia, and the cherry represents the happy time I had with her.  It is always a reminder of her when I look at the cherry photo. 

Since we are talking about cherries, let me share with you one of my favorite desserts, and it is French. Clafoutis is a fruit custard dessert that is like a flan with fruits. It is usually made with Bing cherries. Though, I have made it with peaches and pears and is equally as good.  Just use the fruit that is in season. 

Here is the recipe from the Linousin/Augergne (south central) region of France.  I am not sure where I got this recipe so if I have stolen this from Julia Childs, please forgive me.  I have seen several Clafoutis recipes online, so I am not sure any recipe is scared anymore.  

CLAFOUTIS

1 ½ lbs. ripe black (Bing) cherries, not pitted (warn guests about the pits)

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

½ cup (4 oz.) sugar

2 ½ oz. butter, melted

2/3 cup of all-purpose flour

1 cup of milk 

Vanilla sugar (vanilla bean in regular sugar) or 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees; wash, dry, stem the cherries 

Butter an oven proof dish large enough to hold the cherries in a single layer.  Place cherries in dish.  Combine the eggs and the yolk in a bowl, add sugar, and whisk until the mixture is pale in color.  Whisk in the butter.  Sift in the flour and mix well, then add in the milk.  Pour the mixture over the cherries. 

Bake for 40 minutes @ 400 degrees or you could bake @ 350 degrees for 50 minutes until golden brown and a knife comes out clean. 

Your house will smell delicious as the Clafoutis bakes.  It is really an easy recipe and so French.  You will have your very own Les Temps des Cerises, a happy time with friends and family as you enjoy the Clafoutis together.  Bonne Appetite!  Joie De Vivre!

Book clubs seem to be at every turn. Celebrities and large organizations are getting into the act of hosting book clubs. Many of the popular publications produce lists of must-reads.  Is it any wonder people are gravitating towards book clubs?

In my professional days I had little time to read random genres or books simply for pleasure. As a university executive, I read books on leadership, universities, government, and technical and legal publications. The reading was interesting but rarely light and fun. So, once I retired, I was free to start reading for enjoyment. The question was, “where do I start?” Honestly, I didn’t know what kind of books I would like to read at this juncture.

Hence, I started a book club! Of course I had ulterior motives, too. I needed some intellectual stimulation and a chance to foster friendships. A book club seemed to fit the bill. There are articles, blogs, and websites galore about managing or participating in book clubs. Many are what I would call theme based. Mary Ann for instance has a nature-oriented book club. (She has written about her club previously.) I invited friends whom I believed would enjoy the camaraderie and whom I thought would actually read and discuss the selection.

Setting expectations was my first mistake. At first, everyone came and most read the book of the month – or at least some of it. Over time, however, people became less reliable.  In fact, one of the first to drop out, after having little commitment in the first place, started her own book club a couple of years later. That fizzled out too. But that is a different story.

I joined another book club. It is small but members are committed to the process and to each other. It’s wonderful to see the value in coming together for a common purpose. The thing I enjoy most is the variety of genres we read. This particular book club is not theme-based. We have read fiction and non-fiction; Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winning books and beach reads; best sellers and barely known; and well-known and debut authors. Some books are short, some are easy, some are thick, and some are more challenging.

Reading a variety of titles and authors is expanding my thinking and knowledge. How fun it is to seek out the “next read.” The Literary Lattes work well together. The club is self-managing – no one person is in charge – we all share the load, so to speak. What a great group of women and man (yes, only one man in our group!) Since we determine what we will read at least six months in advance, I can have the book on hand.

The Literary Lattes meet at a Barnes and Noble café one morning a month to catch up. Then we discuss the selection of the month. There is no pressure to host (meaning we don’t have to worry about cleaning the house, putting out hors d’oeuvres, or sending someone out after having had too much wine!) Our selections come from some of the recommended reading lists, or from recommendations of friends and family.

I enjoy most of the books but occasionally I don’t care for one of the reads. Still, I am usually glad I read the book. A lesson is to be learned in every experience and books are no exception. I am grateful for the opportunity to read and to discuss with others.  It’s a Reading Rainbow!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Mary Ann sent me a book written by her friend Mark McNease. The book, Blank Page to Bookshelf, is about writing fiction, developing characters, and self-publishing. I fall naturally into the self-publishing space. Several years have passed since I attended a weekend writers’ workshop sponsored by a publishing house. I enjoyed the weekend learning about others’ projects and hearing well-known authors talk about their craft. Yet, the thing that most stuck with me was when the head of the publishing house said – and I paraphrase here – there are so many people who want to write a book that it is virtually impossible to get the attention of an editor. One’s best bet is to self-publish.

Once you have sold 100,000 copies, the publishing houses are more likely to pick you up. The interesting thing about that concept is this: if I can sell 100,000 copies myself, why would I then give my publication to an organization who is now going to take 60% or more of my sales? That set the stage for me … and I self-published two books which I then used at workshops. Now all these years later, self-publishing is quite acceptable.

Although I work more in the non-fiction space, McNease’s book sparked some thoughts for me to ponder. One such question he posed is “why do you write?”  Honestly, I had never thought about why I write.  I just do.  I sit at my keyboard, and words trickle out through my fingers and onto the screen. Is it important to know why I write? I don’t know.

When I was approaching my 30^th birthday an astrologer told me I was a writer. This skill somehow showed up in several houses on my birth chart. (Is that even a thing?) I found the idea fascinating as I never had considered the possibility. Yet for some unknown reason I have always remembered Brenda telling me so. I had barely begun my career in higher education, having earned my first doctorate not long before. At the time my biggest concern was that I must “publish or perish” as they say in the industry.

I recall struggling to put words on the page – not because I had nothing to say, but I wasn’t certain I knew how to say things eloquently enough. Still, when I would reread articles, reports, research papers, and monographs months after completing the writings, I thought they were not half bad – some even pretty good. *smile*  And that has held true throughout my career.

When Mary Ann suggested (for three years before we finally got down to business) that we start publishing a blog, I figured it would be easy to write. The hard part, in all honesty, was setting up the site, learning the platform, and developing a schedule. The two of us over-planned, until finally we said, “it doesn’t have to be perfect.” We will learn as we go. When we were able to let go of perfection, we could do what we enjoyed. Write.

So why do I write?  I guess I just find it relaxing to record my thoughts. Not everyone enjoys writing but we all have outlets. What do you do that releases your creative juices?

Remember the Peter, Paul, and Mary song “Blowin’ in the Wind”? Well, I don’t know if the answer is blowing in the wind, but I do know there is a lovely way to know the wind is coming through.

I can’t remember when I first fell in love with the sound of wind chimes but for as long as I can remember I have enjoyed hearing the melodious … and sometimes tinkling … sounds as the breeze hits the paddles on the chimes. The wind finds its way through the hanging structures and tickles the components designed to strike one another.  Today as I sit with nothing particular to do or place to be, I can enjoy the music of the many wind chimes hung along my deck.

Usually, I just subtly enjoy the sounds emanating from the chimes but today I am focused on the joy of these little additions to my urban oasis. Often, I have wondered how the neighbors react to my chimes. My deck faces the side of one neighbor’s home and the gentleman who lives there is the nicest of people. He recently married. I was delighted when his beautiful wife added a chime to their front yard, joining mine in chorus.

I am reminded of a fun city – Casey, Illinois – where their tag line is “Big Things, Small Town.” Jim Bolin owned a pipeline business. On a family vacation his daughter fell in love with a tea shop in Colorado and asked her parents if they could start a tea shop in their small town. Jim felt they needed a way to draw people off the interstate to their tea shop. One day when he was listening to his wind chime, he wondered “what is the world’s largest wind chime?” Using pipes from his business it took two years to create just that. And the town caught on. This little town is full of “world’s largest” items. While some of their items may not be the world’s largest, all are still amazingly huge. The town is creative, innovative, and just plain fun. They love their visitors who stay, shop, and eat there … and who of course, take lots of pictures!  I even bought a couple of wind chimes at the tea shop to take home as gifts along with the story of the town.

When selecting wind chimes, I admit I am a bit picky. Okay. I am very picky. I want chimes that have a lovely, tonal quality.  Some chimes are pretty, festive, or cute but they have that shrill tinny sound that is more distracting than calming. Wind chimes don’t have to be large to produce soothing sounds. In fact, some of my lovely chimes are so heavy they only ring when the wind is blowing really hard. Those I enjoy just watching them sway while the others take on the responsibility of creating music.

Do you have a wind chime? Next time you have your door open or sit outside, take time to allow yourself to be enveloped by the sounds emanating from your chime. And then smile as you remember this is one way nature calls to you.

The idea of porch geese became an outdoor décor frenzy during the 1980s. Recently they have made a comeback. The fascinating thing is that it’s not just us old timers! TikTok and Instagram videos have gone viral, attracting Millennials and Gen Z-ers to the “sport” of displaying their goose in relevant holiday style. Yes, minimalism is out, at least when it comes to one’s porch goose. What makes them fun and unique is they are adorned with a variety of outfits.  It reminds me of playing Barbie when I inherited my great-grandmother’s hatbox which became my Barbie clothes and accessories suitcase.

Porch geese can be created from any number of materials: concrete, ceramic, and plastic are the most common. These “dolls” are not cheap. Concrete ones cost around $150.00.

There are even Porch Geese clubs! One such club is The Porch Goose Club of America which offers “holiday contests, laughs, and most of all a safe place to be silly with friends from all around the world.” There is a Facebook group for Porch geese aficionados. These people are serious collectors – in a fun and light-hearted manner!

To be honest, I don’t remember porch geese or the garden goose as a trend in the 1980s. Of course, I was finishing graduate school and building my career while rearing my daughter as a single parent. Having a porch goose would have been unnecessary even if I had known about them. I do remember my sister having Gooseberry cookbooks. I wonder if those were popular because of porch geese.

Recently I learned about the porch goose craze because my 84-year aunt, whom I adore and hang out with frequently, had one on her porch. It was dressed to the nines! The goose and several outfits had been given to her by her granddaughter. Lucy (Goosey), as she calls the little darling changes clothes frequently. She was so much fun, I decided to get one for my sister for her birthday.

Lisa loves to decorate for every holiday imaginable (not sure where she gets that – ahem) and she lives somewhat in the country, so I knew she would enjoy a fun little addition to her front porch. Her goose is Flo(rence). I sent Flo to her along with outfits for gardening, birthday, and Independence Day.

On May Day I usually give flowers or plants to people, but I failed to plan ahead this year. I went out to lunch and when I returned home, I noticed something flowery was on my deck. I assumed it was my aunt (rightly so) who left me a plant. But when I went to the deck, I found Daisy Ganderella in a ruffled dress, holding a small straw basket that contained a fresh Gerbera daisy (hence her name, you see).  So, I have officially joined the porch goose craze.

I can’t help but smile when I see Daisy G. on the deck. I wonder what the squirrels think of her.

Mary Ann

Every three or four books that I read; I usually select a nature book.  I love nature.  That love comes from my father who was a biology teacher.  It was a gift that he gave to my brother and me.  We were full of curiosity as children, and our father would cheer us on with stories and interesting facts about a butterfly or a fish or whatever we would find.    

People who love nature are born that way.  Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s Theory on Multiple Intelligence determined humans have a propensity to have one or more of basic intelligences or Smarts that include Word, Picture, Body, Music, People, Self, Logic and Nature.  People who are Nature Smart enjoy rocks, plants, and animals; hear and see links in nature; and like to spend time outdoors.  That was my father, my brother, and me – we were all Nature Smart!

Many of my neighbors and friends are also Nature Smart.  We call each other when we spot a fox or see a Monarch Butterfly in our yards. I have written about this in other blogs.  I guess it was only natural that birds of a feather would flock together, and inevitably we would decide to start a nature book club so we could talk about the things we love.

So, a few of us met a year ago in August to set up the perimeters of the club and determine the books that we were going to read.  There were five of us to start, and we slowly added three more people.  I looked online for information on how to start a club and things to consider.  Cynthia was very helpful in sharing her experiences with book clubs.  She has been a member of several over the years. 

At first, we tried to meet at a nature center, and then we tried bookstores.  There were several restrictions at those locations, and you could not have refreshments – NO wine!  The venue then changed to our neighborhood homes.  We decided to meet the last Wednesday of the month from 7 to 9 pm.  Members would host meetings providing space, refreshments, and questions for the monthly book selection. There are many Internet resources to find questions so that really is not hard to do.   We would meet September through November with December off for the holidays, and regroup in January with meetings in February, March, April, and May.   June and July would be off for vacations and summer fun, and we would meet again in August to select books for the coming year.  The August meeting would be a covered dish or a dinner at a local restaurant.

The book selections were relatively easy.  We were open to all possibilities.  Everyone wanted to read Amy Tan’s Backyard Bird Chronicles so that was our first book selection.  We followed with Voices in the Ocean by Susan Casey about dolphins.  There were a few challenging parts that were not for the faint of heart.  Life is hard for dolphins – it was not a Flipper adventure.  In November we read The Secret Life of Nature by Peter Wohlleben who has written several books about trees.  Fun Fact – trees know their own baby trees.  There is a lot going on in the ground under a tree.   We started again in January with The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl that followed the author’s observation of plants and animals in her backyard.  We then read Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservations that Starts in Your Own Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy that gives several suggests helping humans harmoniously live with nature.  The March reading was Eager by Ben Goldfarb about beavers.  They are furry little heroes for the environment.  What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman followed in April, and it was a fascinating book about these mysterious birds.  World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.  (Poor Aimee had to learn to spell that long name when she started school – oh, my!).  This Barnes and Noble book of the year is a collection of essays about interesting plant and animal facts – whale sharks, fireflies or narwhals!  And so, our first-year ends.

With all book clubs, there is a very big social element to them. Conversations can be all over the place.  We hysterically laughed one evening after reading Nature’s Best Hope.  We have a very strict HOA where most of us live, and they probably would object to us planting certain things to sustain the environment.  We decided to organize a group of guerrilla gardeners, and in the dead of night we would gather to plant milkweed throughout the complex to support monarch migration. However, if little patches of milkweed start sprouting up, we know nothing about it….

 Just remember that attendance will not be perfect each month.  People are busy with life. Find your people, those Nature Smart ones, and start your own club.  We have given you an outline how to organize and a list of books to begin.  Enjoy the camaraderie, learn about your environment, and appreciate being green.  You know it is not easy being green!