Friday, October 3, 2014

October column

Now I am caught up.  Maybe I will find time to add some juicy stuff here soon!


September turned out to be a very busy month. As an active member of Fiber Folks of SW Mo. I have been involved with our annual event in Mt Vernon. This year it was Sept 19th and 20th. We had a good turn out to shop with our vendors and many took classes in everything from plucking and spinning bunny fur, polymer clay, basket making, and several types of weaving. I taught 2 weaving classes in beginner rag rug weaving. Taught a total of 7 students. This is the same class I will be teaching in my store as soon as I sell off a few more hundred of these 50 cent books so I can make room. I will still sell books, but will be more selective on the books I take in and will try to sell the best I can find but keep the prices low. Also on Saturday the 27th I did a weaving demonstration at Prairie State Park north of Joplin. What a treasure we have in our own back yard. A great place to take the kids to see what most of the state used to look like. The visitors center is a trove of information.
I had to do a little digging to find my books to review this month.

The Four Agreements:
by
Don Miguel Ruiz
I read this small book a few years ago and have given several as gifts to family. Ruiz is a shamanic teacher and healer and has written several books on guides to personal freedom (Toltec Wisdom)
This little book is full of simple truths about life.
There are four agreements: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. And Always do your best. It is the how and why one should do these things that make the book worth reading and remembering. Being impeccable with your word seems simple right? Don't tell lies. But your word is a powerful thing. We can express love, hate, envy, and many more emotions with our word. Also your words that you speak to yourself is involved as we tend to use negative self-talk to put ourselves down. I will just mention what I learned about the second agreement. Don't take anything personally. I like the term he used “its not about you” I think this one statement should be the main take away from this book. We tend to take everything personal, and thus making us responsible for everyone elses thoughts and actions. An example would be someone being ugly to you. When the other person's beliefs transfers to you, it changes you and their baggage becomes your baggage. Basically what other people do, feel, think, or say “don't take it personally”. There is much more in this little book and worth reading and trying to make these agreements that can change how you go through this life a much happier person.

Outlander
by
Diana Gabaldon
I did report on this book series last year, but since the movie of this first book came out recently on one of the movie channels I thought I would touch on it again. Gabaldon as become one of my favorite authors and since I have collected her complete series I finally did start re-reading them. I am up to book four now and bought her newest release but refuse to read it till I have read all 7 of the others first.
The setting starts out in the early 1940's when a war nurse, Claire is in Scotland on vacation with her husband and ends up passing thru some special stones and ends up back in1745 win the wilds of Scotland where she is taken captive by a Scottish clan who think she is an English spy. She is rescued by Jamie Fraser a young Scottish warrior. As the books progress she is able to use her nursing skills to help people but has to be careful that they don't brand her a witch. Remember this is 1745 and people didn't know about germs or disinfecting anything. Each book has a historical significance so you do learn a lot about history. They eventually end up in the New America during its early years and that is where I am now in book four. I do love these epic novels that carries you thru the years with the main characters.

Dorothy Cliff is owner of Read Again Books in Granby.

1 comment:

  1. I always love reading your reviews and appreciate the time it takes. Hope your Christmas is merry and you get lots of books from Santa.

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