Book a Day keeps the Cobwebs Away or Don't be a Wooden Head

Side Note to this Blog : The University of Coimbra Library - Portugal

I had the priviledge to visit the Biblioteca Joanina Libray in 2016.

At Biblioteca Joanina and  the Mafra Palace Library, both, curiously, located in Portugal, and both built in the 18th century, small bats, about an inch long, act as guards against book-eating insects. The Globe reports on the bat-friendly places:

In an email, Campbell explained that the bats, which are less than inch long, roost during the day behind “elaborate rococo bookcases” and come out at night to hunt insects which otherwise would feast on the libraries’ books. The price of this natural insect control is paid in scat: The bats, Campbell writes, “leave a thin layer of droppings over everything. So each morning the floors have to be thoroughly cleaned…and the furniture has to be covered at night.”

Facts about Bats in the Library

Recently.....

The signs  have all point to .... READING !  Several reminders in the past few weeks have gently nudged me to think about the need for me to read.  Newly retired I have "time on my hands" and find myself when wanting to relax from cleaning, gardening and re-organzing my home... gravitating to TV while surfing the internet ( I have a need to multi task)  It really is Oh so BORING and STUPID.  So, I have come to recognize this is brain numbing. 

Ok,  on to the part about Reading...
My guilt  is now speaking ... Years ago I tried.... I really did  try... to surround my children with books.

Every night they were to read!
They were to pick out a book to take  it to bed. My Son's bedroom closet had boxes with childrens books.  Oh,  but my strong willed Italian/Sicilian children were oh so clever that I WOULD  end up reading to them!  They would all snuggle up on the bunk beds in his room for Mom to read.  It was a special time... however, they got away with not reading!

Nostaligic moment in my blog...
              I would read this very book that belonged to their Dad when he was a child.

Now... I have Grandchildren.... I have encouraged my daughter to have her kids READ books. Get  them off the iPhones...   The Truth Is... that I myself over the years have taken my Grandkids  to the book store as well I have brought them books.  I again have tried.

Now, in all honestly this comes from "me" who seldom reads. 
Oh, I may just surprise myself if I ever made a list of the books I have read over the year.  But it's "Over the years".  I find it difficult to read anything other then educational  and informative books. The last book I purchased several months ago (read only 1/2 of the book so far) was Dovekeepers by  Alice Hoffman.   So....

Today I make a committment to READ each day.  The Goal is to read a book a week.
Practice what I preach

1/4/18 Note Entry:  Yea! Completed reading a book that was started while on a Cruise. "Madwomen Upstairs".  Enjoyed.  Ready to find another book

Putting committment to paper (ok, committing in my blog)  I believe is the first step.

This weeks book is:

Goodreads



Just my thinking (why I need to read this book)

 I am the last 30 of my life. (Hoping to hit at least 90).

As I contiplate the next 30.... I want to stay Mentally Strong. So, I am starting with this book .  the Laugh is I purchased this book 2014 when at Canyon Ranch.  Oh me the procrastinator...

 Intent is 10%, Action is 90%.  Time For Action

Here I go....

It is January.... Go Prune Yourself

January 2017.... Here we go again... Facing a New Year !

Making New Years Resolutions seems so futile.  Broken commitments within days... (ya know, exercise plans, diet plans .. yada yada yada..)

Instead of thinking about "Resolutions for the year" I decided to just think about projects I want to take on.    One of my projects is working in the  yard.  Well, I love beautiful well manicured garden.  So, I  started by wanting to educate myself on Roses.  I have many rose bushes and was curious about how to care for them. Don't misunderstand, I am blessed to have a gardener who comes once a week.
And a fabulous landscaper.  So my projects are all about doing the fun stuff.

However, I  googled up "Roses" and found out that January is the time to prune  the rose bushes! This is important if you want  healthy  beautiful healthy roses.

Seriously, all this thinking was really just  a distraction to avoid  making up  list of  New Years Resolution ... so discouraged from never keeping my Resolutions! For heaven sakes, my gardener takes care of the plants.

Anyway, what I discovered... there is an amazing  parallel between  January's New Years Resolutions and  taking care of Roses.

January 1st  provides a fresh start.  making "New Year Resolutions" Because
January is the time we  want to get a "fresh" start.
The history of New Years Resolution is fascinating to me:  http://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions

Personally,  it really does begins by our examining our life first.  There is no room for "new commitments" until we ... Prune ourselves! Improvement and growth  is stifled and inhibited when blocked by poor habits and emotional baggage.  My blog is dedicated to a balanced life.  Spiritually, Physically and Mentally.  When these are all tended to we become all that God Created us to be.. in His image.

Ok, back to the Roses.... JANUARY is the time for tending to Rose bushes.  It is the  time to trim away dead canes, Prune Back canes going the wrong direction! There is a word to describe how these two events (New Years Resolutions and pruning rose bushes)  relate... just can't think of it right now.

                                  COMPARISON OF OUR LIVES AND A ROSE BUSH


Pruning Rose Bushes each January: 

• 1. Trim away the leaves  
• 2.  Cut down all of the horizontal canes that are going in towards the center of the bush or crossing other canes You want to open up the center! Cut way DEAD canes.  You can tell if its dead by cutting and if green it's good.  If it's brown it dead or diseased.
• 3.  Cut back your vertical canes  to an outward facing bud.  Angle the cut above the bud
• 4.  Cut on a 45 degree angle away from the bud

       REMEMBER   THE FOUR D’s’  when pruning Rose Bushes

        Remove any dead, dying, damaged and diseased stems.

Preparing for the New Year - Self Awareness and Commitment to : 

• Cut out the doing things that are unproductive (surfing the web & an unhealthy attachment to FB)
• Break off the unhealthy habits that weigh us down 
• Throw away the baggage of emotional disappointments, un-forgiveness, resentments, etc
• Give away! Our Homes are a refection of who we are... so time to PURGE Closets, Garage etc

Saying all that... the way to successful New Years Resolutions begins with PURGING and PRUNING ourselves.  This allows room for new habits and life style changes. 

This, I truly believes takes being vulnerable.... seeing ourselves through the word of God. Identifying what  needs pruning, chopping, cutting, trimming..... in our life.  A need to be painfully honest.  There are times when we are in such denial or we occupy ourselves with finding false in others so we can avoid seeing our own false.  Hummmmm

       Plato's quote, "An unexamined life is not worth living"

Being TRUE TO ONESELF opens up ones heart and mind to fulfill what God purposed and planed.  

This must be done with caution !   Using the word of God to prune ourselves!
Lives are fragile.. Handle with care ... refer to the owners manual (The Bible)

Again, use the word of God to see the

beautiful fantastic design of who you  in Him  and go  

GO PRUNE YOURSELF ! 

1/4/18 Note Entry:  Enjoying this blog entry.... good word to myself.