Day 3
Day 4
Wed 12 Jan 2022
The best
Posted by PJ under quote of the day, revolution, sacrifice, words
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Random quote of the day:
“In a revolutionary period it is always the best who die. The law of sacrifice leaves the last word to the cowards and the timorous since the others have lost it by giving the best of themselves.”
—Albert Camus, Notebooks 1942-1951 (tr. Justin O’Brien)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 10 Jan 2022
Day 1 and 2 of 365
Posted by PJ under art, boxes, craft, projects
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What I posted to Twitter and Instagram: “Madness. Some years back when I was still caregiving I folded a box a day for a year to give myself something that was just for myself. One of the rules I set myself was that I could only use paper that came readily to hand–nothing that I’d bought: product boxes, Xmas cards, calendars, junk mail. I’ve punked the corner of this box, but product boxes are just slightly too thick for easy folding so I often seem to punk at least one corner. I plan to turn these into a textile mixed media piece. We’ll see how that goes.”
Since posting that, all the way back to yesterday, I’ve discovered that I’m a total liar. Or, at least, that my memory has holes in it. In fact, my mother had already passed away when I last did this project, but I was still working at a job that was busy and half-killing me and still a ways away from retirement. So it just felt like I was still a caregiver. I guess, in a way, I was. I was taking care of myself, putting one foot in front of the other, trying to stay alive and viable until I could make an exit.
It’s funny how memory plays tricks on you, which is why I generally try to verify my own recall before posting anything publicly. But, you know, the computer which had the information on it was a whole fifteen feet away from where I was sitting last night and I didn’t want to cover such an arduous distance. Hoist on my own faulty petard. Boom boom.
I suspect no one cares, but at least my conscience is clear.
Day 1
Day 2
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Mon 10 Jan 2022
Labyrinth
Posted by PJ under labyrinths, myth, quote of the day, the center, the universe
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Random quote of the day:
“There is a presumed center to a labyrinth, and if we think of the universe as a labyrinth, as Borges did, then it must have a center, even if that center is horrible, or demonic, like the half-beast, half-human Minotaur, which was confined at the center of the mythic labyrinth Daedulus built for King Minos on the ancient island kingdom of Crete. It is nonetheless a center; and if we believe in it, we at least can believe in a chance for some kind of meaning. And we can at least hope that the center is holy, is divine. If there is no center at all, then the universe is chaos and we are up a river of shit with no philosophical paddle.”
—Chuck Kinder, Last Mountain Dancer
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Fri 7 Jan 2022
Exhausted
Posted by PJ under exhaustion, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“We cannot think if we have no time to read, nor feel if we are emotionally exhausted, nor out of cheap material create what is permanent. We cannot co-ordinate what is not there.”
—Cyril Connolly, The Unquiet Grave
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 5 Jan 2022
Apollo
Posted by PJ under gods, tarot
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“The question is Apollo. What do I need to know?”
This card jumped out of the deck and I thought the laurel wreath significant.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
Okay. I need to take a deep dive on Apollo. Any suggestions?
Wed 5 Jan 2022
Secrets
Posted by PJ under love, quote of the day, secrets
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Random quote of the day:
“Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to little peanut it will give up its secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also – if you love them enough. In a crowded auditorium of people I can pick out the spiritual souls almost at a glance.
―George Washington Carver, quoted in The Man Who Talks With Flowers by Glenn Clark
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Tue 4 Jan 2022
Night
Posted by PJ under night, quote of the day, time
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Random quote of the day:
“Time is much kinder at night, there’s nothing to wait for, nothing is out of date.”
—John Berger, From A to X: A Story in Letters
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Mon 3 Jan 2022
Grace
Posted by PJ under grace, quote of the day
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Random quote of the day:
“Be helpless and dumbfounded,
unable to say yes or no.
Then a stretcher will come
from grace to gather us up.”
—Rumi, “Zero Circle” (tr. Coleman Barks)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.
Wed 29 Dec 2021
Read
Posted by PJ under book lists, books
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I used to do a books read list every year, but I haven’t done one for a while. There is nothing particularly memorable or significant about this one. I just decided to do it. A pandemic snapshot, I guess.
I spent considerable reading time on escapist and comfort books. It was that kind of year—for many of us. I usually read a handful of romance novels in a year, but this year I went through as many as in the previous three or four years combined. Nothing wrong with that. They were good fun and what I needed at the moment. But before I said to myself, “All right, I’m good on the romance front,” I’d blasted through all eight of the Bridgerton novels, plus a Bridgerton related series (the Smythe-Smiths), plus two of the four Bridgerton prequels.
I also read an exceptional non-typical romance by Sherry Thomas before stopping (Not Quite a Husband) and loved her plotting and characterization so much that I looked up what else she’d done. This led me to her Lady Sherlock series (starting with A Study In Scarlet Women), in which Sherlock Holmes is the creation of a young woman who possesses Holmes’ acumen but knows she would never be accepted in Victorian English society for her talents because she is a woman. I admit to being skeptical of this premise because—let’s face it—these things are often quite lame. But Ms. Thomas showed such deftness and verve that these books have become a real pleasure for me.
Sometime earlier in the year while searching for something to stream, I came across a BBC Scotland TV show from the late 90s starring Robert Carlyle: Hamish Macbeth. It had that really quirky 90s vibe—sort of like Northern Exposure except set in the Scottish Highlands—and I binged all three seasons. Then I got curious about the source material, a long series of novels by M. C. Beaton, the author of the Agatha Raisin series. (I understand Ms. Beaton hated the TV show.) I also blasted through several of those. Fast, easy reads, humorous, interesting mysteries and characters, and a mordant eye towards human nature. But not particularly like the TV series.
I did dip into more serious stuff, but as I said, this was a year dominated by escape and comfort (à la Diana Gabaldon and J. D. Robb). As to the number of books read, I usually finish about 50 a year, not a spectacular accomplishment. I’m always picking up and putting down books and often have 3 or 4 going at once, which does tend to hold down my completion rate. But since it isn’t a contest, who cares? The list below is roughly chronological but doesn’t reflect the books I picked up and put down in between or when I started a particular book, just when I finished.
Books read in 2021 (with brief comments):
