Far better is it to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure
...than to rank with those poor spirits
who neither enjoy nor suffer much,
because they live in a gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat.

~Theodore Roosevelt

( My Fictional List )

Obstacles are those frightful things you see
when you take your eyes off the goal.

~Henry Ford

In 2004 I started keeping a haphazard record of which books I read, thanks to writing short reviews here on LJ. In 2006, after realizing that my time is limited and the number of books to read approaches infinity, I started creating yearly lists of books I want to read ( Read more... )

I potted up several plants today. A straggling pineapple sage that was meant to be in a pot outside (said pot bought just for that purpose). I brought it in to resuscitate it and ever since it's been living on a kitchen windowsill with only indirect light, the poor baby ( Read more... )

The clock in the closetI'll never get old, says the fifteen-year-old ( Read more... )

Last weekend I made my first ever 5-bean salad. One can tri-bean mix (black, pinto, and kidney beans) & 2/3 can great northern beans, rinsed and drained, plus a handful or two of green beans (trimmed, cut into 1" long pieces, nuked for 3-4 minutes with the tiniest bit of water to make steam). My vinaigrette: olive oil, red wine vinegar, apple cider ( Read more... )

I am so, very, profoundly in trouble ( Read more... )

This is from a somewhat long but very good post on living with depression. Warning - may be triggery ( Read more... )

1. Strayed, Cheryl: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, 304p
2. Patchett, Ann: This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, 320p
3. Frank, Thomas: What's the Matter with Kansas: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, 332p
4. Wall, Maryjean: How Kentucky Became Southern: A Tale of Outlaws, Horse Thieves, Gamblers, and Breeders, 291p ( ( Read more... )