Good Morning. I trust everyone was able to stay dry & cool over the weekend. We had our first "funnel cloud" warning over the weekend, which wasn't a full on tornado watch or warning, but funnel clouds can still wreck havoc with the winds. Thankfully we only got to witness the storm as it moved north of us. We really need the rains from these storms
Currently Reading: Hotel On The Corner of Bitter & Sweet, by James Ford. From the inside flap of the book; This novel is set during one of the most conflicted & volatile times in American history; it is an extraordinary story of commitment & enduring hope. Characters Henry & Keiko are an unforgettable duo whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness & the human heart. The story moves back & forth between 1942 & 1986.
Henry & Keiko, are 2nd generation children living in California at the time of the US joining (1942) into WWII, just after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. At the time the US imprisoned thousands of their Japanese(American) citizens into camps, in fear of them performing acts of treason. On the the saddest parts for me, was reading about how the Japanese families were burning all their old family photos & memorabilia to distant themselves from their origins, to demonstrate that they were American.
I am also reading The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, (thanks Karen for the referral). This is an easy read & it talks about creativity as a gift, one that we can either accept or not. One of the lines in the book mentions that we should adopt the belief that The Universe is on our side. It also talks about how The Universe is constantly creating & sends inspiration to us all the time, we just have to (1) be aware (2) accepting. If we choose not to accept the idea, The Universe will move on & find someone who is willing to accept & do the work necessary to bring the idea to being. How many times have we seen our idea "stolen" by someone else. The Universe gave us the chance but we did nothing with the inspiration. This book is not just for those that are artists that paint, or sculpt, but that all of us are a form of being creative in cooking, keeping house, coding a new software program or repairing one. All of life is an expression of creativity.
So I hope you all get the chance to pull out your life crayons & make some colourful life art today, me I'll be "colouring" in my garden.
It's been a hot and dry weekend here. 30C+, very still, or if anything, with a warm breeze. I haven't been able to sleep well. Was woken at 8am yesterday by neighbours having building work done out of appointed hours, then kept awake in the evening by other noisy neighbours! Today I slept till midday and was annoyed by the wasted time! Been feeling groggy all day, now it looks stormy and is very windy but forecast doesn't say it will rain.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds interesting. In the UK, some German Jewish refugees were put in internment camps for fear of where their sympathies may lie. Crazy. (I suppose there may have been some imposters? Unlikely?) G's mother came over with her brother on a Kindertransport. Her mother was taken in by a family and her uncle went into a camp. He died before G was born - I don't know whether that was related to the camp or not.
Lady Ella, how awful that your neighbours continue to be a source of lack of sleep. I know that Canada also had camps for those of German & Japanese origins. Not a glorious history for any of us. I just hope that the quote of when we know better, we do better prevails with us all. I had to copy & paste your comment ... another hiccup in the trials of Blogger (?)
DeleteIf it's not the heat, it's the neighbours. Shutting the window is not an option and even if I did, the noise is loud enough that I would still hear it. Only a few minutes after I left my comment (Sunday evening UK time) they started up the music and shrieking again. It went on till 10.30pm so I got off lightly as I assumed we were in for another 1 or 2am finish. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so put a film on around 9.30 to keep me occupied and try to drown out the din. I was shattered with a splitting headache but by the time I realised the racket had stopped, I couldn't turn the TV off as it was a murder mystery so I needed to see it through to the end!!
DeleteRe. comments, if you revert to draft, edit and republish the post, the existing comments should remain, but if you start a new post they won't. (Then again, a lot of things are not as they should be lately - I still can't sign in here.)
Had I seen that top photo last night, I would have said "amazing sky", so ... amazing sky! I assume you did benefit from a bit of rain, without being caught in the storm? The foreground looks as if it might be damp?
Ella
Lady Ella, do your neighbors know my neighbors?
DeleteThat's a great atmospheric photo! I've just learned a lot more about Japanese Americans being interned during WWII - there's a great podcast with actor George Takei currently on BBC Sounds (free to access worldwide).
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruth. Those very black clouds thankfully were moving quickly. Thanks for the podcast referral. I know that Canada had internment camps during WWII for Canadian Japanese citizens & I've read a couple of stories about those - not our finest moments.
DeleteThe Rick Rubin book sounds very interesting. I'll see if the library has a copy as I think it'll be a useful and thought provoking read. xx
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy the book. I am finding his take on creativity refreshing, I don't feel I'm being lectured at any time.
DeleteLong ago The Hotel on the Corner , . . was on my TBR list. Of course there are so many more titles on my list than I have time to read that it's not surprising some of them seem to disappear. I'm glad you're enjoying The Creative Act. I listened to it, and then put a hold on a library copy. It took forever for it to finally get to me (just this week), but I want to reread some parts of it and take a few notes.
ReplyDeleteWe had two days of steady rain a week ago. The last few days have seen off and on showers. The lawn is finally beginning to come back to life.
I have been keeping a few notes while reading The Creative Act as I'd like to explore more of those thoughts. The Hotel on The Corner is a gentle reminder about our history, without dwelling on the past mistakes. War & the fear it breeds is never a comfortable bedfellow for any nation. We had a good substantial rain fall yesterday, my garden is most grateful & my rain barrels are full again. :)
DeleteI read "Hotel on the Corner..." a few years back and found it sad but enthralling. I love your backyard "happy place"!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Hotel on The Corner does remind as that all nations have a past riveted with fear based bad decisions. I don't think there is a nation, or society or a country that doesn't have some less than kind history.
DeleteI thought I had commented on this post, earlier, but, maybe I only imagined it! I'm glad you didn't have a tornado, even though funnel clouds can be just as bad! Hope you did get some rain, though. That outdoor seating area looks like such a lovely spot!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bless, we did get a day of on & off rainfall yesterday. My gardens are all grateful & I'm grateful that all my rain barrels are full again, so when things get dry again, I'll have some "free" water to use. My patio is definitely my happy space.
DeleteThe sky looks angry in that first photo. I'm glad you didn't have a tornado. The weather here has coooled down some although it's still dry.
ReplyDeleteWe are back to intense sunshine, high temperatures & lots of humidity - typical summer in Ontario (col). What comes with those elements of summer is also the risk of tornados & big storms. :(
DeleteI'm glad those clouds didn't come to anything serious. It's raining here today but at least the sky light pale grey.
ReplyDeleteYour first book sounds like one I should add to my list for this year.
I hope you had a lovely time "colouring" in your garden.
Thanks Liz, I have had a few moments colouring in the garden, but now with a return to hot humid weather, those jaunts are earlier & earlier in the garden.
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