My home is open today. You are welcome to step inside.
Come on in!
After breakfast, I move to the blue velvet chair, the one I use for meditation, Bible reading and prayer with names of people I know and care about written on a prayer card. Sort of like a rosary, but without beads.
Our second-oldest grandson has dibs on this chair.
How many 21-year-olds have a yen for a blue velvet chair? But he does. “Sometime I would like to have that, Nana,” he says. The duck pillow will probably go with the chair. A fabric artist, now also a professor, constructed the fanciful, “duck” pillow.
Next, I take a walk in the preserve to visit the bluebird house.
Also, I’m serving a breakfast of mealworms to bird mommies and daddies on a screen (not visible) donated by son Joel. The treats are not exclusively for bluebirds.
The female incubates them for 12-14 days. After hatching, my son says, the nestlings (baby bluebirds) spend an additional 19-21 days in the nest before fledging (flying).
Time has passed, so I expect these bird babies to fledge any day now.
Pilates class on ZOOM comes next. There I meet my friends and instructor Rachel, who suggests some pretzel-shaped poses to which we comply. Unfortunately, you’ll miss seeing the intense cardio today, usually part of the work-out.
Writing in my studio is a huge part of my day (3-5 hours or more). Today it wasn’t.
Now, some business to take care of. It’s always something, isn’t it?
Today I fill out an application to renew my driver’s license for another ten years. In my case, I’ll need an opthalmalogist’s check-up and probably a new pair of lenses; I hope I can keep my frames—but I’ll do anything necessary to continue driving for errands in the neighborhood and and some local excursions.
The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles department requires a vision test.
It’s not lunchtime yet, but I know we’ll be eating salad, so it’s time to make some fresh salad dressing–from scratch!
Of course, every day includes some reading time. Recently, I’ve been absorbed in Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko. It’s over five hundred pages long and took me at least a week to read.
You can find my review on Goodreads HERE:
In the novel Pachinko, National Book Award Winner Min Jin Lee depicts a multi-generational saga about one Korean family in Japan. The immigrant issues she embraces offer the detail of a documentary but with the sweeping emotion of great fiction. Writing with an omniscient point of view, author Lee describes the depth of Sunja’s suffering, the intensity of lover Hansu’s passion, the fraught achievement of son Noa, and, finally, the tenuous rise of Mozasu’s son Solomon—all in a world flavored by the cabbage, onions, and radishes of kimchi, the clink of balls in pachinko parlors, and the lure of the yen in the Japanese investment world. For me, Min Jin Lee’s opening sentence rings true: “History has failed us, but no matter.” Persistent people will prevail, the novel assures us.
* * *
Because I have vision challenges, the story of Linda Joy Montgomery grabbed my attention recently.
In 1983, at the peak of her career as a nature photographer, Linda Joy Montgomery learned she was going blind, the result of nerve damage caused by type 1 diabetes. She was terrified. “Photography wasn’t just a job, it was my mission,” says Montgomery, 54, of Black Mountain, NC. “I didn’t know how I was going to function.” But as she listened to her doctor’s crushing diagnosis, she heard a voice from the inside. “It said, ‘This is not the end, this is the beginning,’ ” she recalls. “Although I still had doubts and fears, I believed this was happening for a reason.”
Though she could no longer express herself through her camera and photographs, she began writing poetry. In 1989, she published a book called Silent Strength that combined her nature photographs with her inspirational verse. She also found a new calling as a motivational speaker and created the True Vision Institute, teaching elementary students how to tap into their intuition and imagination.
Montgomery’s ability to grow and find meaning in her misfortune is no aberration. Studies of victims of rape and incest, life-threatening illness, natural disasters, and combat, as well as Holocaust survivors and parents of chronically ill children, show that resilient people find the proverbial silver lining by reinventing themselves. Some gain a new appreciation for life; others, a renewed closeness to the people they love. “After overcoming a challenge, you develop a deep self-confidence and sense of optimism: ‘I’ve been here, done that, and I’ll survive,'” says Al Siebert, PhD, author of “The Resiliency Advantage,” who has interviewed hundreds of such survivors.
Seen at the Beach Hut Cafe near the Atlantic Ocean
What is a highlight of your day?
Any challenges or triumphs lately?
The Best Hostess Gift Ever!
Good morning, Marian! Thank you for sharing images of your day. I love the duck pillow! Your salad looks delicious. I hope all goes well with your vision test!
I’m glad you like a lots of images here. Today I’m visiting my eye doctor. Thanks for the good wishes, Merril. 😀
Merril, good news: Doc gives me the nod for a renewed drivers’ license! 😀
So glad to hear for you!! Enjoy your drive!!
Hello, second cousin Sandi, thanks for chiming in today and sharing some joy! 😀
You’re welcome, Marian!
What a wonderful start to your day. I love that your grandson has eyes on that comfy chair! I have Pachinko om my TBR pile. Actually I have it as an audio book so I will be listening to it. I can’t wait. Thanks for the great review. Good luck with the eye test and driver’s license renewal.
Here’s my typical morning: Up at 7:00 to walk the dogs for 45 minutes. Then breakfast, shower, check emails etc (throw in a load of wash, sweep the dog hair up, make the bed, – regular stuff.) Then we all go to the beach for a walk and a coffee at our favourite beach cafe. Pick up groceries if required. Then home to work on computer for a couple of hours before lunch. This is most days. xo
You have a healthy rhythm to your day, Darlene. I see it includes at least two walks, a very good thing. Thanks again for reading! 😀
Hi Marian
What an absolutely perfect day you had, blue eggs and all.
Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Diane.
I hope to attend our writers’ group on Monday. Maybe I’ll see you then! 😀
What a lovely, full day, Marian. Love the blue chair and the pillow on it. The blue eggs seem to match! And how cool that you make your own salad dressing and have a Zoom Pilates class.
I know you live in Illinois, but it would be so nice to have you visit sometime. Thanks for checking in again today, L. Marie. 😀
That would be lovely!
Thank you, Marian, for this positive and uplifting post. I was struck by all the vibrant colors— the bright flowers on your door, the turquoise chair and birds eggs, the red tea kettle. Then you casually mention your vision problem and how others have coped with theirs. I realize once again how positive thinking and kindness can help us through the many problems we face, especially in our senior years! And of course, meditation and prayer…
Elfrieda, bright colors cheer me up. Thank you for noticing.
I have normal sight in only one eye, which is 20/25. Today the doctor approved my drivers’ license renewal, thank the LORD. You are right there with me, ascending the ladder of the 80s. We can’t quit now–ha ha! 😀
This was so encouraging and love the sweet lady that had vision problems yet continued on in life that God gave her. Nature, your love in walking, reading the Word of Gid, all I can say is Gliry dear friend, love the shots of all. Have a blessed day knowing you are very much loved.
Thank you, dear Helen, for reading my blog and commenting here. You are a true, blue friend. Blessings back to you as well. 😀
Lovely post, Marian. I could see it clearly in my mind’s eye. Isn’t it wonderful that we have different kinds of vision so that if one decreases it might be possible for the other to increase. You are a shining example!
Thank you for the compliment, Shirley. Like you, I have had good models in my life who taught me there are many ways to “see.”
I did get a good report from the doctor today–yay! 😀
Thanks for inviting us into your home and your life. This was a lovely way to give us insight into your world. I especially liked hearing about how your grandson enjoys your chair as much as you do. It would be a wonderful thing to pass on to him eventually.
This is our only “Beaman” grandson. By the way, he too gets the water pitcher etched with the letter B. 😀
Cheers, Pete!
I just got a new prescription in my glasses [used the old frames] and I am over the moon about how well I can see now. I knew I needed a change, but not how much of a change I needed. That’s my latest triumph.
I rejoice with you, Ally.
I saw my eye doctor earlier today, and he approved me for a renewed license. I didn’t need a new glasses prescription either. Yippee! 😀
What a fun way to bring us into your day, Marian…through the front door! 😊 I’ll admit that I was impressed with 500 pages a week! That is super rare for me. (I am easily distracted, I think.) Even in a Florida summer, I walk or ride first thing. Good for you for your Pilates workouts! I don’t know how to do that, haha. Thanks for such a fun invite! 💕
Melanie, I usually read more like 200-300 pages per week, not 500. Pachinko was exceptional.
Pilates is a lot like Yoga, just a little more active and helps balance and toning. During COVID we migrated from the gym to ZOOM, and even when the gym re-opened, we continue online–fine by me! 😀
Ha! That’s a funny thought that once the gym reopened, people preferred to stay at home (which I totally understand.) I just saw your response that you can renew your license! That’s terrific news! 😃
tThank you for bringing us into your home and your day. I enjoyed myself. The highlight of my day has been the sunny June day at the perfect temperature, warm but not hot. I’m headed out for my evening walk as soon as I get my sneakers on.
Yay for pleasant New Hampshire weather in June. As you may guess, we are not warm here–hot and humid all day long.
Thanks. Liz, for commenting here and reminding me to get my evening walk–the temp has dropped a few degrees. 😀
You’re welcome, Marian!
Thanks for sharing a day in the life with us Marian. Looks like a peaceful day where all is right. <3
Yep! I was a little apprehensive about the eye test because I have only one seeing eye, but all’s well that ends well, as you say. 😀
Wow, you write that many hours a day?? That’s awesome. I had to smile at the photo you took of your Pilates teacher, Marian, and seeing you and your phone taking the photo in the top-right corner. I was thinking, “How did she take this photo while she’s supposed to copy that pose?” 🙂
“Write” is a term I use loosely to include reading/responding/writing blog posts as well as promoting two memoirs. Some days I do nothing–like today!
The photo–taking 5 seconds for the shoot and then returning to the pose–not too hard! Thank you, Liesbet, a most thoughtful reader. ((( )))
ROBBIE CHEADLE’S COMMENT: Hi Marian, this is a wonderful, chatty post. I really enjoyed it. I love the bluebirds, and am delighted you feed the birds. I am also reading Pachinko. It’s a marvelous story and I’m learning a bit more about Japanese history.
Robbie, I will report the problem to my web guy. Others have been able to comment, so I’m not sure why this problem. Maybe try a different browset?
Many thanks for persisting! 😀
Thanks for sharing snippets of your creative life!
And thanks for noticing, Conrad. I enjoy glimpses of nature in your area on Facebook.
Have a great day! 😀