A Good Beginning

“Let go of what was and embrace what is to be.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita,
I am feeling really good about my first day of the new year! I went to church....the night before, I had said maybe, that I would decide in the morning. And I am really glad I did! Almost all of my favorite people were there. The service was to the point and brief! Our resident harpist played two of my favorite songs..."The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Imagine"; and we had an "atonement" ceremony. We wrote on dissolvable paper that which we wanted to let go of from 2016 and placed the slips in bowls of water. Then we wrote on another piece of paper what we want to embrace for 2017, just private notations to take with us...and I went to lunch with a couple of friends.

While I am at lunch, I get a text from my daughter telling me of dinner plans, so I decide to eat light as I am going out again that night! Then I go home and actually got quite a bit done. I am putting facing/binding on a couple of Andrea's quilts; I have a small challenge quilt which I have pieced but not quilted ready to work on for today. Then I got ready and drove to Marti's to go with them for dinner. Surprise!! I hadn't read her text very closely...dinner is for Monday night, not Sunday! That'll teach me to read text messages more carefully!

And I stopped by the library (which wasn't open) to drop off a few books that are due this week...which reminded me I don't think I had "reviewed" them on my blog so here they are:

First book

I first started this as an audio book, but thought it was one of those I would prefer to read and it was! It is historical ficion based on a Negro man who came to Texas with his master during the Civil War, with his wife and children. As soon as they got to Texas, his master freed all of them and the story develops with the main character, Britt Johnson (who was a real person as were his master, wife, etc.) and the dealings they have Indians and post Civil War. The setting was of particular interest because they had ranches not far from Weatherford and talked about traveling all over this area...Fort Worth, Dallas, Graham, and more. I recommend it for history buffs who are also interested in local history.

Second book

The second book I was taking back to the library is also historical fiction with all the characters real people. I, of course, knew who John Wilkes Booth was (and he does assassinate Lincoln in this book too!!) but I really didn't know that much about his motivation, his family and many of the other conspirators that he worked with during that time. I again found the description of the times leading up to the assassination to be very well written and the involvement of other people in the plot was interesting to me. Also the affect his acts had on innocent family members was quite revealing. Another four star for me.