A Thankful Mish Mosh of Thoughts

I am writing only about an hour after US Air flight 1549 went down into the Hudson River. It appears that all on board are going to be alright thanks to the heroic action of the pilot and flight crew. It is a miracle and I am so thankful to be able to be writing about a happy ending to what could have been so much worse. Please keep all the passengers, flight crew, rescue workers, doctors, nurses and their families in your prayers.

On a less serious note, I had intended to write something on a quote I stumbled across today. . .

"Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light.'

-- Albert Schweitzer

This got me to thinking about how I had been feeling lately, and how the kindness of others had literally rekindled my own flame. I am blessed to have my mother living with me, to have good friends (some of whom I have blogged about, but others who I may not have mentioned but who are dear to me), as well as countless of you in the blogosphere, who act as "kindlers" to my flame. Truly I cannot say how thankful I am for all of you. I think we never realize how much a small gesture or a kind word can make all the difference in the world to someone on any given day.

I saw "Nancy" last night, she is the friend who brought me to the book club I became a part of last night. I have posted previously about her, how we met and became friends, and her kindness and generosity of spirit. Today she read my blog for the first time and she called to say she was so touched by what I had written, but also that her actions had had an impact on all of you who commented. It meant a lot to her. If you aren't familiar with the story, please see my earlier post here.

The book club meeting last night was great. The whole group of women were welcoming, kind and intelligent. I felt very comfortable right away. I particularly enjoyed meeting "Nancy's" good friend, Michelle. I have heard lots about her, and she was just as smart, funny and nice as I had been told. I look forward to getting to know her, and all the other ladies, better. They couldn't have been kinder and allowed me to spout on about what I thought of the book we had read, The Flamenco Academy by Sarah Bird, as well as good all-round "girl-talk". It was such a pleasant evening after such an awful day of testing and hospitals and IV's!

I have been doing a lot of reading lately and have come across several books and authors I wanted to recommend. I have especially enjoyed a series by Patrick Taylor which include:

• An Irish Country Doctor
• An Irish Country Village
• An Irish Country Christmas

I picked up the last book first, not realizing it was part of a series, but even though I have read them in reverse order, I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. The characters are wonderfully written and they fill your heart with goodness. They have provided a wonderful escape from the stress and upset of health and financial woes. All of them have been available through the public library. If you like character driven fiction, along the lines of Jan Karon's work but without the obvious religious overtones, then you will enjoy this series.

If you enjoy light mysteries, I have come across several series that are fun, quick, entertaining reads. They include:

• The Chocolate Snowman Murders: A Chocoholic Mystery by JoAnna Carl
• Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed: An Augusta Goodnight Mystery
• Doggie Day Care Murder by Laurien Berenson

Another fiction author I've found and enjoyed is Jane Green. I have read 'The Beach House" and have several others of hers out to read at the moment.

In the midst of this reading I have been listening to playaway books ( for more on playaway books, see my earlier post here) when the vertigo makes reading impossible (or during renal scans, but that's another story!!). Currently I am listening to Dr. Nick Trout's "Tell Me Where It Hurts: A Day of Humor, Healing and Hope in My Life As An Animal Surgeon". I am looking forward to Pimsleur's Language Program on how to speak Irish in 8 easy lessons next.

Finally, my mother and I have been enjoying the DVD version of the BBC's series "As Time Goes By" starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. It is delightfully funny and touching. Even my mother, who usually doesn't enjoy British humor or understand the accent, is enjoying this. The episodes are only about 30 minutes apiece, so they are easy to fit in a little at a time. I haven't laughed this much in a long time. Now that's good medicine!