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[Sandra Bostwick]

Originally Posted by DDuff

Preparing for a trip this week - but I hope to post my thoughts on the next beads before I leave. Wanted to welcome ItsMe and tell Vicky I enjoyed reading her reflections. This book really does speak to each reader on an individual basis.

Have a safe and fun trip! I agree about the way this book can speak to most anyone. IT is a very open-minded approach on many levels, allowing for a meeting of the minds for people who may have very different philosophical make-ups.

Hope everyone is having a great day! Carry on!

[DDuff]

Reflections on Beads 13-20

Bead 13: It struck me as ironic that here we are on a travel planning website and discussing a book written by a woman who is "bad (or, rather, lazy) at researching a place before I travel" Boy! - That is pretty much the complete opposite of us huh? I also got a good chuckle out of all her stomach troubles. I tend to be that same traveler and have spent a lot of money trying herbel fixes only to get sick anyway.

Bead 14: I could be a shameless student as well. I love school which must be genetic because DD recently said she wished school was year round. I found it amusing that she was so anti-level one and felt like if she was placed into level one it would be "humiliating." I kept think why? You don't know anyone at the school or for that matter in the country. I guess it just shows that her ego is still strong.

Bead 15: Enjoyed learning the history of Italian. Made me want to reread the Divine Comedy.

Bead 16: Probably one of the most insightful descriptions of depression that I've ever read. As a person that has struggled with depression in my life both personally and as witness to family members with depression this bead is right on the money. Personalizing depression and loneliness is a great way to illustrate how these two really seem like outsiders not internal demons after all.

Bead 17: I great continuation of the previous bead. It reminded me of a recent discussion I heard on NPR about embracing depression. It was focused on artist who honestly don't want to break free from depression because they feel as if it fuels them artistically. Her quote "I'm a writer. Please don't do anything to harm my brain" is so right in that line.

Bead 18: I'm a fan of free writing - I think it can be very insightful. Favorite quote so far in this book. "Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as friend." I hope we all have had this happen or will have it happen in our lives.

Bead 19: Yoga - Toga

Bead 20: As a repressed American, I loved loved loved Giulio assessment of Maria's vulgar graffiti and I love the fact that it is still on the wall. Homemade limoncello liqueur - OOHHH, If I could get some I could recreate the Limoncello Margarita from Italy in Epcot.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Good Morning, Bookclub! I really enjoyed your comments, DDuff!

Yes, the graffiti was really an interesting decor. What interesting things this author has seen in life, just by being willing to wander and meet new people.

The comment about "don't harm my brain" reminds me of the last time I went skiing. (I should mention that, for me, skiing is more about falling down a very big mountain than anything else.) Anyway, I LOVED skiing and belonged to a club. Right after grad school, as I was falling down the mountain, it occurred to me that I could knock myself in the head. Well, after all that money and hard work, the last thing I needed was a head injury. For one reason or another, I've never been skiing again! I wonder if that was why!

Have a wonderful day, book club.

[Danielle Harmon]

Okay...well I am still reading the 8 beads...I am working night shift for the next two weeks...yuck! Anyway, I can contribute...my family's recipe for Limoncello (straight for Sicily with Great Nonna Amato...way before I was born)


2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Peeled zest of 6 lemons (with as much of the white removed as possible)
1 quart vodka (I use Grey Goose...it is a nice clean vodka)

Heat the sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring almost to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, let cool completely.
Put the lemon peels, cooled sugar syrup and vodka in a wide-mouthed jar with a tight fitting lid. Close tightly and shake well.
Store in a dark, cool place for 5 days, shaking the jar twice a day-in the morning and at the end of the day.
Strain the liquid through a double thickness of cheesecloth into a clean bowl. Using a funnel, transfer liquid into a pretty bottle (I have one that Great Nonna used...it is dear to me) Close the top with a cork or lid and store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

You can also substitute 4 large oranges for Arancello (orange liqueur) or 6 mandarins or tangerines for Liquore di Mandarino (Mandarin Liqueur). We did different ones at different times of the year...oranges mostly at Christmas time.

[Sandra Bostwick]

OK, Danielle and DDuff, now you did it! Some time on my Disney trip next week, I have to get a Limoncello marguerita from Italy! When I do, I'll be sure to toast you both! I'm going to try that recipe when I get back.

[DDuff]

Danielle - I love love love You! I will get right on this. Maybe I'll stop at the border and by some vodka at the duty free shop on the way home from Canada Sunday.

Sandra - We could really be great skiing buddies. I too love to sky but spend more time falling than anything else. How about the time my brother and sister and law were on the lift and saw this body heading out of control straight for the warming hut and then realized it was me. My favorite experience came at Park City, Utah where I was able to ride down on a snowmobile with the snow patrol while my husband carried my skiis. Aah! Good Fun!

[Sandra Bostwick]

Originally Posted by DDuff

Sandra - We could really be great skiing buddies. I too love to sky but spend more time falling than anything else. How about the time my brother and sister and law were on the lift and saw this body heading out of control straight for the warming hut and then realized it was me. My favorite experience came at Park City, Utah where I was able to ride down on a snowmobile with the snow patrol while my husband carried my skiis. Aah! Good Fun!

SOunds like we are ski soul sisters!

One time my ski buddies were waiting at the bottom of a hill. A group of boys who just came down from the slopes were talking about a wicked wipe-out where someone was knocked upside down, did a mid-air straddle as the ski's flew off in opposite directions, (still attached by the ankle-straps), then flew into the orange mesh that keeps you from falling off the cliff. The boys were wondering if they chould call the ski patrol. Yup, it was me! I prefer not to call it a wipe-out though. If Iron Man had been out back then, I'd have just said "Yeah, I can fly!"

[stretch2864]

It was pretty quiet at work this weekend, so I had some time to read and digest the next few beads in the book. Here's my take on a few of the beads.

Bead 9 - I could readily identify with her conflict of "wants." She really wanted to travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia equally. There are many things in my life that I have wanted to do or many interests in my life that somehow seemingly were conflicted but which I felt equally passionate about. I felt that the way she put that feeling into words helped to validate the fact that things really aren't always black and white. We can and often do have grey areas in our lives where things just don't fit very neatly.

Bead 13 - I enjoyed her description of her travels. To me, meeting people on a trip is as enriching as enjoying the places that we travel to. When we were in England, we stayed at several B&Bs along the way. At breakfast each morning, we had wonderful conversations with a variety of people from all over Europe.

Bead 14 - When she was describing getting ready for her first day of class, I could totally relate. I still get that feeling of exhiliration over preparing for the first day of class, even though it is graduate school and no longer elementary school. One of my favorite memories is of my DD when she was starting second grade. She had gotten some new clothes for school which she really liked. One night the week before school started, I woke up around 2am to find my daughter standing next to my bed, and fully dressed for school in her new clothes! I told her it was still the middle of the night, and that she should really go back to sleep. Her excitement, though, was priceless!

Bead 15 - I loved reading her dialogue on the evolution of the Italian language. It was so evident that she had put much thought into it. Even though I never have studied Italian, I can see why she is so in love with it. I loved the phrase that she mentioned in this bead, "l'amor che move il sole e l'altre stelle" which translates to "The love that moves the sun and the other stars."

Bead 16 - When she describes her journey into depression and loneliness, her dialogue with loneliness over where she would end up in her old age really hit home. Several years ago when I was at a crossroads in my life, I wondered the very same thing. I knew that I didn't want to live out the rest of my life lonely and alone. That fear spurred me to make some of the changes in my life that I've made in the past few years.

Bead 17 - This bead brought me back to a recurrent theme in my life-the "what if" game. Her line "That's the thing about human life-there's no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed" made me think of that. If I had made different decisions at pivotal points in my life, my life probably would have been different, but would it have been any better? There is no way to know.

[DDuff]

Originally Posted by stretch2864

Bead 17 - This bead brought me back to a recurrent theme in my life-the "what if" game. Her line "That's the thing about human life-there's no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed" made me think of that. If I had made different decisions at pivotal points in my life, my life probably would have been different, but would it have been any better? There is no way to know.

Amen Vicky! and would we really want to know? That's why I'm such a huge fan of sci-fi time travel shows quantum leap etc. one tiny thing can change the course but who knows what other tiny little thing will affect it next. What is scariest for those of us who have control issues is realizing that we have such little control over the big picture.

[tkm1005]

Hello:

I'm just joining the discussion. I started reading the book last night and got up to bead 15, but haven't been able to really reflect on it all just yet although I do enjoy reading the comments.

I have finally got to a place in my life where I feel some peace. I wish I would have read this book even a year ago when there was so much stress and turmoil. We had just moved across country again, this time away from my family who I had just started to reconnect with, and my husbands father passed away suddenly and there was such a feeling of "where are we supposed to be" in this world and I think this type of internal reflection would have been interesting. Now after a year and a half I think God was telling us to stay the course that we had started down and follow through. For so long we were just searching and trying new things to find some happiness and missing the calmness of just being.

I look forward to the rest of the book.

[stretch2864]

Welcome, Teri!

[tkm1005]

Ok so I was just going to tell you that I really like your picture. I lived in Northfield, MN for a year when I was a sophomore in high school. I would love to go back now when I can more appreciate the history.

Just as I was writing this my 5 year old hits me with. "When people die do they come back again or do new people get born?" Where do kids get these things and why at the weirdest times.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Originally Posted by tkm1005

Hello:

I'm just joining the discussion. I started reading the book last night and got up to bead 15, but haven't been able to really reflect on it all just yet although I do enjoy reading the comments.

For so long we were just searching and trying new things to find some happiness and missing the calmness of just being.

I look forward to the rest of the book.

Welcome Teri!

Just participate any way that makes you happy! No guidelines here except to always be nice, respect others opinions, and have fun.

I really liked what you said about happiness and calmness. It just takes you over sometimes, doesnt it?

Stretch, thanks for the insights. It is funny how another point of view can open up new ways of looking at things that you'd already formed opinions on.

8 days till Disney for me!

[stretch2864]

Originally Posted by tkm1005

Ok so I was just going to tell you that I really like your picture. I lived in Northfield, MN for a year when I was a sophomore in high school. I would love to go back now when I can more appreciate the history.

Just as I was writing this my 5 year old hits me with. "When people die do they come back again or do new people get born?" Where do kids get these things and why at the weirdest times.

Thanks! Northfield really is a neat little town. I've actually lived in Minnesota for over 30 years, and that was my first trip to Northfield. Good thing that DD's DBF wanted to go or who knows when I ever would have made it down there. The museum there isn't very large, but it was very interesting.

[Sandra Bostwick]

Good morning book club!

Just a quick post to say that I've actually been seeing a bit of a positive attitude adjustment from all the "soul searching" I did with the first few beads. I guess sometimes it can be good to do some self-examination.

Carryon!

7 days to Disney!!!