tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22550187156527784692024-01-29T00:29:27.601-08:00The DayMakerA place where one who fancies herself a DayMaker shares reflections, ideas, stories, and articles.Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-47889416799872341432021-12-19T09:59:00.000-08:002021-12-19T09:59:29.402-08:00Doubling Down on Gratitude
Gratitude is the acknowledgement of one’s appreciation and thankfulness. Some of us have a regular gratitude practice that brings more positivity and happiness into our lives. We may write a daily gratitude list or a weekly journal entry. Or we may stop for a moment throughout the day and notice things that we’re grateful for.
Many of us had parents who taught us to write notes of thanks for Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-73318058207098985052021-05-17T17:18:00.006-07:002021-05-19T06:40:18.515-07:00Things aren't always what they seem. Except...
Judy and I were out for a walk to our neighborhood Starbucks at a shopping area where there’s rebuilding following a fire three years ago. An empty lot, once the gardening area of a great hardware store, stands across the walkway from the new building.
We observed a truck backed into that empty lot, the driver’s door left hanging open, and a man with a spray can in hand, spraying something onAnnis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-65595020494540521582021-03-30T14:07:00.000-07:002021-03-30T14:07:12.403-07:00Women's History is World HistoryIn the history of the world, where would we be without women? We've brought everyone here who ever came into the world. Carried them in our bellies, in our arms, and on our backs. Throughout history, we've worked to feed and clothe and protect them. Women have been the glue that has kept the world together and the starch that gives it backbone. So this Women's History Month, celebrating women'sAnnis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-66881989582806432532021-03-19T10:39:00.002-07:002021-03-19T13:12:17.881-07:00The Book of Longings
The Book of Longings
This month two of my book clubs read and discussed Sue Monk Kidd’s latest historical fiction novel, The Book of Longings, the imagined story of Ana, a scribe who became the wife of Jesus.
Here’s an excerpt from the beginning of the book:
I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth. I called him Beloved and he, laughing, called me Little Thunder. He said he Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-82150699639754779542021-03-03T09:13:00.000-08:002021-03-03T09:13:55.598-08:00Reblog: The history of Man by Barbara Lindsay
I'm reading a thoughtful book by the wonderful American historian Heather Cox Richardson titled How the South Won the Civil War. This book takes a look at the history of this country starting with its founding. I'm finding it a challenging read, not because it isn't clearly written, but because back in those days, it was the Republicans who were against slavery (they were the good guys) and Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-47550479750496258352021-02-27T16:46:00.002-08:002021-02-27T16:58:07.742-08:00Have You Had ENOUGH Yet? <!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-38064966260498440552021-02-17T10:43:00.000-08:002021-02-17T10:43:35.192-08:00About Black History MonthNew names, new faces, and new knowledge pop up on
our television screens and Facebook and Twitter feeds each February. It’s Black
History Month. These 28 days, we can subscribe to receive daily emails and
listen to podcasts that inform us about people and events we’ve never heard of
before. It’s a time of discovery. That’s both the beauty and the pity.
Black History is American History. The pityAnnis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-92200278132892165702021-02-03T15:22:00.000-08:002021-02-03T15:22:14.053-08:00It’s the Month of Self-Love: National Self-Check MonthPhoto from Self Chec.orgAmong other national celebrations like Black History Month,
Great American Pies Month and National Library Lover’s Month, February is also National
Self-Check Month. Turns out, there’s a whole yearly calendar of “National”
months, weeks, and days! Who comes up with these?
I don’t know about you, but a month around self-care sounds
really good to me. It’s a continuation Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-44941309562747512522021-01-24T08:29:00.000-08:002021-01-24T08:29:59.068-08:00We Are In LoveAmanda Gorman, with her eloquence, assurance, freshness—and
her words—captured our hearts. And now, we’re in love. The whole nation, and I
dare say, those watching the Inauguration of our 46th President, Joe
Biden and Vice President, Kamala Harris from around the globe are utterly
smitten with this young poet.
At our house, it was all eyes and ears intent on her face
and her message. Our backs Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-70189397496671621952021-01-17T15:32:00.004-08:002021-01-17T17:23:36.736-08:00The 2021 MLK National Day of Service"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope." Martin Luther King, Jr.<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-41204833153429589622021-01-10T10:11:00.007-08:002021-01-10T10:12:56.683-08:00Where were you on January 6th?<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-36635706355280317242021-01-01T18:26:00.000-08:002021-01-01T18:26:31.578-08:00Moving Onward - 2021<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-63808811379293207392019-10-27T09:30:00.000-07:002019-10-27T09:30:15.295-07:00Living the Seasons<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-6866365335967453702019-05-27T15:30:00.000-07:002019-05-27T15:32:02.311-07:00Gathering Personal Information<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-72997107649871695312019-05-27T15:15:00.000-07:002019-05-27T15:15:15.217-07:00The Do-it-Yourself Obituary<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-46707591436010075922019-04-12T18:39:00.001-07:002019-04-12T18:39:34.372-07:00 Children's Literature -- Not Only for Kids<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-75358847947178887912019-03-15T16:43:00.000-07:002019-03-15T16:43:19.773-07:00Remembering Dad<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-14792560232413776662019-01-31T13:38:00.000-08:002019-01-31T13:38:35.833-08:00Women’s March Kern County<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-59309034576141278722018-12-31T08:50:00.001-08:002018-12-31T10:09:28.638-08:00Twenty Eighteen<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-56521392634996029082017-10-04T16:51:00.000-07:002017-10-04T16:51:28.363-07:00When There's a Connection
Photo from Public Domain
Sandy Hook, San Bernardino, Orlando, Las Vegas. These
cities, obscure to some and popular to others, are now forever linked by the
violence that has rained down on innocent people.
We grieve for the victims, feel for the survivors and
families that are affected. We can hold them in our thoughts and prayers. But
nothing –nothing – will ever be “normal” again. Not Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-63830368483254647772017-08-22T15:57:00.000-07:002017-08-22T15:57:19.886-07:00Seeing "Detroit" the Movie
I debated on
whether to go see the movie “Detroit." Did I want to have that harsh reality
from 1967 in my face on the big screen – in living color?
I’d lived through
those times. But I was forty miles away,
in campus housing in Ypsilanti at Eastern Michigan University with my husband
and six-months-old daughter. I had relatives in Detroit, aunts, uncles,
cousins, in-laws, and my Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2255018715652778469.post-60832917400237438842017-07-31T13:45:00.000-07:002017-07-31T13:45:17.575-07:00Back to Basics
The Chateau at Oregon Caves
Pings, chimes, catchy tunes, and wonky noises – our days are
filled with constant audible notifications. Vibrations from our phones,
Facebook, email, and calendars alert us, interrupt concentration and prod us to
do something or go somewhere. We are always in demand. There’s a cure for that.
Recently, Judy and I experienced several days of peace and quiet,
Annis Cassellshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04956658096326753578noreply@blogger.com4