Some Fun To Start the Week

Since we could all use some good cheer as we mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID 19 pandemic, today’s post is just going to be about things to make us smile. I’m so thankful for a dear friend who sends me lots of great memes, and they never fail to cheer me up. They’re about books and reading and cats, and I love them all. I hope you enjoy them.

Do you remember getting your first library card? Were you as excited as Linus? When I was a child, I was thrilled to have a library on the corner of my street and a librarian who loved to encourage kids to read. That’s when I fell in love with books and stories.

Do you buy books by the truckload? Do you still go to bookstores? Or maybe I should ask whether you will go when it is safer for us to visit stores in person. I buy a lot of books for my Kindle, as well as borrowing audio books from the library, but bookstores hold a piece of my heart, especially independent ones. There was a mystery bookstore in Omaha, NE that I visited a lot when I lived there, and the owner, Kate, was a terrific hostess to customers and to writers. When the local Sister’s in Crime chapter reorganized, we met at The Mystery Bookstore. Sadly, it closed in 2016.

If you have kids, do you read to them? I read to my kids some, but maybe not as much as I could have. I do remember how much they enjoyed our pastor’s visits when he’d read The Monster at the End of This Book to them. He was so good at voices and drama, and no matter how many times he read the story, the kids always squealed until the end when the truth was revealed.

Do you think there will come a time when books will all be electronic and we will no longer know the feel of paper? I’m not sure how I feel about that. What do you think?

Anyone who has a cat or two and puts their purse down on the floor can relate to that meme. My cats are always all over whatever bag I might have, and they will always try to get in a suitcase when I’m packing for a trip.

I’d never let one of my cats drive. LOL

One of my cats will look at me like this once in a while for no apparent reason. I don’t have to be cutting onions for that to happen.

These last few are dedicated to all my writer friends.

Never again will I hear an owl call without thinking of that one.

So true. That’s why I like to end many of my short stories without a definitive wrap up of the storyline. The short stories I enjoy the most often give me much to think about after the final word. Story truly is a collaborative effort.

Saturday I sang just the first line of “Sittin’ on the Dock of The Bay” by Otis Redding while my son was here, and it made him think of this cartoon he’d recently seen, so he sent it to me. I love it. Not only did it make me smile, it reminded me that creativity is still at work, even when we don’t realize it. So with that in mind, I’ll leave you all and go sit on the chair on my deck. We’re having such pretty Spring weather here in my corner of the world, and it would be a shame to miss it. Not to mention what story bits might come to mind while I’m sitting out there. I can capture them by dictating on my phone, but I won’t be writing a song.

I hope your week starts off splendidly. Stay safe. Be happy.