Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Morning Thoughts’ Category

Mount Lemmon

Posted in Books, Journeys, Morning Thoughts, tagged , , on September 20, 2019| 2 Comments »

          “Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind, and dance the mountains like a flame.” – William Butler Yeats

A rare view of Mount Lemmon with snow on its peaks. — Photo by Pat Bean

Morning Thoughts

I was in my early teens before I left the flatlands of Texas and saw my first mountain. It was love at first sight.

I suspect that love was one of the reasons I settled in Tucson for my retirement years, instead of in Texas where the majority of my children live and where I had planned to settle after my full-time RV-ing years.

One of the first things I see every morning, when I look off my bedroom balcony or while I’m walking my canine companion, Scamp, is Mount Lemmon. I live in its shadow, and just looking at it fills my heart with joy.

Mount Lemmon, at 9,159 feet, is the tallest one in the Santa Catalina Range. Its name is rare in that it honors a woman, botanist Sara Plummer Lemmon who hiked to its peak in1881.

It’s currently the monsoon season here in the Sonoran Desert, and while it’s been a dry one, the mountain still exudes a green patina at midday. In the early mornings, the rising sun casts shadows that define its nooks, crannies, and canyons. And in the evening, as the mountain reflects back the last rays of the sun, it takes on a rosy glow.

The mountain’s face is ever-changing, and I never tire of looking to my north.

Some people need to live by the sea, others in a forest. I need to live by a mountain. It steadies me and sings to my soul – and always lets me know which direction I’m facing

Check out Travels with Maggie on Amazon.

Bean Pat: One of my favorite books is Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone. Sara Plummer Lemmon and Isabella Bird, who is the author of A Lady in the Rocky Mountains (also a favorite book) add notes to history showing women can match the mountains, too.

Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, enthusiastic birder, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

Read Full Post »

I Didn’t Do It, and That’s OK

Posted in Art, Books, Journeys, Morning Thoughts, tagged , on September 19, 2019| 3 Comments »

Piddling around with art is one of the things that is always on my daily to-do list. Some days I paint, and some days I don’t. This simple one of a tree and meadow were done a couple of years ago.

          “By taking the time to stop and appreciate who you are and what you’ve achieved – and perhaps learned through a few mistakes, stumbles and losses – you actually can enhance everything about you. Self-acknowledgment and appreciation are what give you the insights and awareness to move forward toward higher goals and accomplishments.” — Jack Canfield

Morning Thoughts

          As I picked up my daily journal yesterday morning, I noted that it was 8:30 a.m. I then wrote “It’s not yet nine a.m. and I have walked my dog Scamp, made my bed, washed dishes, blogged and read a chapter in Carole King’s memoir. A Natural Woman.”

I paused for a moment, then laughed as I continued writing. “It feels good to give myself credit for the things I’ve done instead of beating myself up for all the things on my to-do list that I haven’t done.”

          All I can say is that at 80, it’s about time.

Reading my journals of the past, I discovered that I was constantly abusing myself for not doing everything I planned or wanted to do, even though in the earlier journals when I was a working mother, I found myself amazed that I had managed to do so much.

While I no longer beat myself up, today’s to-do list is, as always, longer than my attention and energy can handle. I like it that way. It assures that I will never wake up and find myself with nothing to do.

But being OK with not accomplishing it all is a blessing that has only come with age. I like that, too.

Check out Travels with Maggie on Amazon.

Bean Pat: Silly Saturday https://tidalscribe.wordpress.com/2019/09/14/silly-saturday-the-past-unblogged/ A plug for blogging that made me laugh.

Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, enthusiastic birder, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.    *****

Read Full Post »

Reading Choices

Posted in Art, Books, Journeys, Morning Thoughts, tagged , , on September 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Mission San José de Tumacácori: I did an onsite sketch of the mission on a painting field trip a while back, then added watercolors when I got back home.

          “The books that help you most are those which make you think the most.” – Pablo Neruda

Morning Thoughts

          I buy books and eBooks from Amazon, I buy books at Barnes and Noble, I buy books from Bookmans (a used book store here in Tucson), I buy audible books, and I go to the library weekly. Just thinking about not having something within arm’s reach to read at any given moment would be cause for a panic attack.

This was the view behind the mission, which is located off Highway 19 south of Tucson. It’s an interesting place to visit if you’re in the area. — Art by Pat Bean

Thus, it was that I found myself standing in front of the “Good Reads” book stand that welcomes visitors to the Dusenberry-River Library, the closest library branch to my apartment in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills. The stand contains mostly current best-sellers, and I usually make my first selection of books to check out here before moving on to look for more esoteric choices.

“So, what do you like reading?” A kindly voice asks. “A little bit of everything except for horror,” I told the tall, slender woman adding books to the stand.

“Maybe you’ll like this,” she asks, pulling a book from the backside of the stand. “It’s well-written and funny,” The book was Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb, and is about a therapist and her therapist.

“Sounds interesting,” I said, and put the book into my bag for later check out. (I’ve already started reading it, and I love it.)

She then brought out a second book, one I knew was a popular book club selection and had gotten rave reviews. She asked if I had read it.

I sort of frowned, then noted that I had started it but found it unoriginal and boring. I felt guilty about saying this, until she smiled and said, “I’m so glad you said that. I tried to finish it twice but couldn’t. But everyone else I’ve talked with absolutely loves it.”

I’m hoping to meet up with this library worker the next time I visit.

Check out Travels with Maggie on Amazon.

Bean Pat: Libraries everywhere. Visit one soon.

Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, enthusiastic birder, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

Read Full Post »

Changing Strategy

Posted in Morning Thoughts, tagged on September 17, 2019| 3 Comments »

Welcome to my morning thoughts. I had this flag taped to the front door of my apartment for a while. But it kept falling off. I like ladybugs.

          “If you always do what you’ve done, you’ll always get what you’ve got.” – Ed Foreman

Morning Thoughts

          I’ve been trying since January to blog twice a week. It hasn’t worked. I’ve been lucky if I blog once every two weeks. A few years ago, I made a resolution to blog every day. With very few exceptions, it worked.

Does this seem strange to you? It does to me.

Most mornings, I write in my journal as I drink my coffee. The writings are mostly stream of consciousness that sometimes I turn into a blog. I did a lot of this the year I blogged every day, and the results of my meanderings usually gained me more comments than my carefully planned out blogs.

So, why, my wondering brain asks, are you doing something that doesn’t work instead of something that does work? And why in the heck are you so bent on continuing to blog?

Stupidity was the answer to the first question. The second had multiple answers. I blog because I like having people read what I write. I blog because it reminds people that I have written a book that perhaps they might want to read. I blog because of the connections I make with readers who make me feel as if I’m part of a world community. And I blog simply because I enjoy doing it.

And those were my morning thoughts. Talk to you tomorrow.

Check out Travels with Maggie on Amazon.

Bean Pat: If you want to write a memoir, read Mary Karr’s The Art of Memoir. I just did. It’s quite thought-provoking – and while I will never write like Mary, I learned a lot.

Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, enthusiastic birder, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts