Kathryn Seger Brookshier |
In her later years, she had to use two canes to walk. (Lordy, what she could've done with my scooter!) One day, my mother went to visit her and found her out back planting her garden. Grandma Brookshier was using one cane to make a hole in the soil, and the other cane to move the seed into the hole and tamp the soil down. Well, I just so happen to have a purple cane, and I used it to find the sweet spot on each stack of bins and push them back into the shed exactly where I wanted them. Right out of Katie Brookshier's playbook. I think Denis was rather impressed even though he didn't say anything.
So I'd like to thank Grandma Brookshier for that shed-loading pointer. Never underestimate the power of a good cane! As the years advance and joints you've greatly abused in the past decide they no longer want to work, do not despair-- there's usually a work-around that will get just the results you were looking for. I'm fortunate that I had inspiration from an expert ancestor.
Enjoy the links!
- Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary has won Audiobook of the Year, and I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly.
- Before envelopes, people protected messages with letterlocking.
- The confessions of a former slow reader.
- The strange history of the oddest title of the year.
- How poetry soothed a nation in mourning for John F. Kennedy.
- Why Neha Patel no longer reads physical books.
- The science and recent history of bookstore design.
- The unexpected gifts of writing about grief.
- The reading statistic that changed Danika Ellis's life.
- Olivia Laing: "I'm sorry, but Jane Eyre is a horrendous little hysteric." (Tell us how you really feel, Olivia...)
- Good riddance to Amazon's terrible bookstores.
- Texas students are pushing back against book bans for censoring LGBTQ and racial justice issues.
- Eleven fascinating facts about Fabergé eggs.
- Amelia Earhart's leather flying cap sold at auction for $825,000.
- A tantalizing clue has emerged in the unsolved Gardner museum art heist.
- A bat falcon has been spotted for the first time in the United States.
- A man in Oakland created a custom handheld feeder for a hummingbird that keeps returning to his yard.
- Sneaky magpies are outwitting scientists by removing their tracking devices. (If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Dumb animals, eh?)
- A disabled opossum named Kewpie is learning to walk again thanks to a custom wheelchair.
- Do birds have language?
- A 500-lb. bear known as Hank the Tank was blamed for numerous break-ins in the Lake Tahoe area. DNA evidence says otherwise.
- Should we kill every mosquito on earth?
- Dogs may mourn the deaths of other household pets.
- The Black record label that introduced the Beatles to America.
- How film ads were part of the fight against segregation.
- A new plaque tells the story of enslaved people who helped build the White House.
- Black dolls tell a story of play-- and resistance-- in America.
- Bass Reeves: the "greatest frontier hero in American history" was formerly enslaved.
- A new column called Archives Unbound offers an inside look at the work of the digital archivist while highlighting forgotten figures in Black print culture and public life.
- Elizabeth Freeman demanded her freedom-- and helped end slavery in Massachusetts.
- Augusta Fells Savage, the sculptor who persisted.
- Belle da Costa Greene, the Black librarian who could equal America's most powerful man.
- Maria Prymachenko, Ukraine's folk art heroine.
- The women who became sex radicals and changed the course of American history.
- The unsung heroes who ended a deadly plague.
- Time Magazine's Women of the Year.
- The forgotten female revolutionaries behind Latin American independence.
- You've probably never heard of Camille du Gast, the most fascinating woman of the Belle Epoque.
- A brief compendium of historical Karens.
- Why are women still fighting for their chance to compete in the Tour de France?
- Clarice Cliff, the factory girl who became an Art Deco ceramics sensation.
- Nancy Cunard wasn't just a scandalous heiress, she's a forgotten early ally of Black Lives Matter.
- Marion Mahony Griffin was the world's first female architect, but no one really cared.
- Even with a name like Aloha Wanderwell, you've probably never heard of her.
- Thirteen books that became TV shows that you can watch now.
- Twelve mysteries and thrillers set in hotels and apartments.
- Eight great speculative fiction novels written by women.
- Seven striking character voices in coming-of-age novels.
- The 25 best Spanish crime and thriller TV shows on Netflix.
- Four new adaptations to watch in March.
- Eight Mardi Gras mysteries to let the good times thrill.
- Thirteen empowering memoirs written by women.
Poor Denis. He wants to be helpful, productive and contributing to your household and assisting you. He has worked for his adult life and now is retired, and probably feels the need to do some things that need doing and also help you. It is very nice of him.
ReplyDeleteBut he has to learn his limitations so he doesn't injure his back more.
Aging has its problems and readjustments are needed.
Like the links, especially for Black History Month and International Women's Day. Some fascinating people.
I have read some and will return to read more.
Hope everyone's health issues improve.
Maybe you should both lie on the couches/recliners with iced tea and snacks and read and watch movies and give up the work for awhile.
A late friend used to say that housework was the last priority in life. I think my mother concurred. And often when I have limited energy or don't feel well, I follow that advice.
It might say too much about me that housework has never been a priority in my life-- unless I have company coming to stay!
DeleteWow, what a story, Cathy! I am so glad you had that inspiration, and I love it that you learned from your ancestor. I think we all have ideas and creativity we don't know we have (well, we don't know it until we need it). I do feel for Denis, though! I hope he feels better soon, poor guy. He's been through enough. Well, glad to hear you were able to get the job done. Lots of interesting links here, too. I think I'll learn more about those Faberge eggs. And I want to know more about how Black dolls were used to tell history. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteThe article about the Black dolls was one of my favorites this week.
DeleteI read Between Two Kingdoms and Finding Freedom last year. Both good memoirs.And some of your Book Tidbit links were fun to read. Hope you and your husband will be feeling better soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mia!
DeleteCathy, I loved the story about your great-grandmother and also with a picture. What a treasure! You two take care there. Would love to see you at a mystery conference next year....
ReplyDeleteSo would I!
DeleteYour great-grandmother sounds like she was quite the lady!
ReplyDeleteShe was, and all her nine children loved her deeply. I wish I'd gotten to know her personally, but she died when I was a toddler.
DeleteDefinitely a bumper crop of links - lots to check out!
ReplyDeleteI loved the story about your great-grandmother, and seeing her photo certainly added to the impression of how capable and determined she was. Having that link to the present is a moment to treasure. And since you need to have a cane around, I'm glad it's purple :)
Yes, purple canes have some extra je-ne-sais-quoi. ;-)
DeleteGood for those Texas students and their banned-book clubs.
ReplyDeleteI've been following the stories about that Bat Falcon on the border. It has certainly created quite the stir among birders. And, of course, birds have language! How can anyone doubt it?
That's a wonderful story about your great-grandmother. What an impressive looking woman.
I was meaning to say what a force of nature was your great grandmother. It seems like you take after her in terms of getting htings done no matter the obstacles.
ReplyDeleteAnd I read Between Two Kingdoms, very good.
Thanks for the compliment, although I have the feeling that Grandma Brookshier was tougher than I've ever thought of being.
DeleteMy Jewish immigrant grandmother was definitely tougher than I am. She started out as a garment worker and the other women came to her with their grievances as she was not afraid of anyons, certainly not by any garment bosses.
DeleteBy the way I spent a lovely evening at the PP with several authors, Barbara and Patrick. And no expense to me.
Did you get to see Donna Leon yet?
No, I haven't. Denis has been hospitalized since Wednesday evening, so I've had a few other things on my mind. One good thing about those events is that they will still be there when I'm ready for them.
DeleteThe Gardener Museum Heist has long interested me--it is often mentioned in mysteries. I'm in favor of eliminating mosquitoes and hope the article won't dissuade me. Off to check the links!
ReplyDeletePart of me wants to blast all mosquitoes off the face of the earth. The other part of me knows that everything on this planet was put here for a reason. What part of the biodiversity of this planet would be upset if mosquitoes no longer existed?
DeleteWhat a terrific round up and share. My mom (almost 89) didn't love her cane until we got her a "standing" one, with 4 little feet. Her favorite use for it is tilting down the bird feeders so she can fill them, pushing flower pots and then pushing laundry baskets out to the garage. She also carries it at night to ward off the random javelina that have decided that her yard is a perfect snack station. (The other day there was a pack of 17 in the side yard.) She doesn't need the cane really at her home, but she's become quite the innovator of creative uses!! Take care and enjoy our Spring. (Our lemons, grapefruit and orange trees smell divine!)
ReplyDeleteMy lemon tree and the sweet acacia smell sublime-- and I would love to have a pack of javalina frequent my yard! They might persuade the feral cats to stay off the property.
DeleteBy the way, my purple cane is a standing one, too.