I am looking forward to a long, lazy day with my girls -reading, baking cookies & stringing lights on their tree.
Reading together is a special gift. It is bonding time that instills a love of books, and lays the foundation of early literacy.
They choose the book, then we curl up together and discuss the pictures and the characters. They track the words with their fingers as I read, then we talk about the story and what they think will happen next.
I am not writing. I am relaxing! There was a time -when looking upon trees – that I wanted nothing more than to climb to the highest branches, or curl up beneath with a good book. (Part of that was a long time ago.) I am soaking up every minute I have of these peaceful mornings. Thank goodness for the trees and the birds, and the books.
Carve out a few minutes every day just for yourself. It has been too long since I last sat quietly in this room & I have missed it.
Make quiet time for yourself in a space that makes you happy.
This room is me. I enjoy the bright light, my plants, books, my humble breakfast of peanut butter & saltine crackers, a too strong cappuccino, and soft classical cello.
Go find your place, take your time & be happy ~ and of course, grateful.
#WeShareTheSameSky Join me for a week in #NYC, visiting historic sites, enjoying the history, famous eats & reflecting on growing up in the Deep South. ~ Ah, and the battle for best cUpCaKe between Magnolia Bakery and Sugar Sweet Sunshine; my quest for the tastiest rice pudding & frozen custard! What a satisfying trip! WE SHARE THE SAME SKY, a memoir is Available Here: https://www.amazon.com/Elizabeth-Mozley/e/B00J7KJWIU
THE FRINGES is Southern Gothic through and through. A subgenre of Gothic fiction in American literature, the story takes place in the American South. The elements of deeply flawed, disturbing & eccentric characters, hoodoo, decayed & derelict settings, grotesque situations, & sinister events stemming from poverty, alienation, crime & violence are knitted like a finely spun web.
REVIEW: “Put down that Harlan Coben or James Patterson book you’re reading and instead pick up this novel by Elizabeth Mozley.
Why? We read to escape, but we also read to connect with characters who are a little bit like us. The distance that words written on a page provide allow us to experience excitement and danger vicariously.
There is plenty of treachery in this novel, and there is an abundance of love. There is something about stories set in the American South like this one is.
Like any good Southern Gothic there are graveyards and bastard children and nostalgia for the past. Through the five women around which this story unfolds, Mozley examines the values of the South such as loyalty and deeply ingrained decorum.
That is not to say that all is well in Memphis. With the mix of strong women and coarse men, violence is never far away and the bonds of loyalty fray. There are entanglements aplenty with the usual culprit at the center…money and sex.
The passages of dialogue ring true and the pacing of the story keeps you turning the pages. There is even travel to a place far away from Tennessee–both distance and culturally–that came as a surprise.
If the old adage to write what you know is true, Mozley knows a thing or two…
I think this book is worth your time reading…compelling dialogue makes an interesting movie.
So what are you waiting for Hollywood? Option this book. It will be a hit on Netflix…
Seriously, order it today.” Don Jacobson @BigSurfDon
Gustave Flaubert & I would have gotten along swimmingly. And, all the while, I would have been tugging at his sleeve, whispering, “But your life IS beautiful.”
Flaubert wrote to Chevalier, “My life, which in my dreams is so beautiful, so poetic, so vast, so filled with love, will turn out to be like everyone else’s: monotonous, sensible, stupid. I’ll attend law school, be admitted to the bar and end up as a respectable assistant district attorney in a small provincial town such as Yvetot or Dieppe.. Poor madman, who dreamt of glory, love, laurels, journeys, the Orient.’
THE ART OF TRAVEL, Alain De Botton
For Pete’s sake, the man lived in Rouen!
2 QUOTES:
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.”
This morning, I joined City of Southside Mayor Dana Snyder for Monday Morning Coffee & Conversation; Dr. Barbara Cooper Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education discussed the importance of Pre-K programs for Alabama children and the initiatives of 2021.
Alabama’s First Class Pre-K program promotes school readiness in our children by providing a social learning environment that nurtures a child’s enthusiasm for discovery and success, while implementing learning activities which develop the communication and problem solving skills necessary for success throughout their educational journey.
Secretary Cooper stressed a strong focus on a continued effort to increase exposure of the programs available for our children, highlighting the importance of “mitigating poverty” and its effects on children. She also emphasized that “Early Childhood workforce is a priority.” As well as being stage one of Governor Kay Ivey’s “Strong Start, Strong Finish” initiative, the “Pre Through 3” plan prioritizes policies and procedures which support education from pre-K through the third grade level, with an emphasis on literacy skills.
Classes highlighting the importance of Early Childhood Education, and featuring the documentary, “Starting at Zero: Reimagining Education in America” will be available for city mayors beginning March 30th.
Secretary Cooper also briefly discussed the advantages of having a centralized data base for parents where they can utilize services that aid their children.
Help Me Grow, “…provides a free, confidential, centralized telephone access point that links every family in Alabama to a care coordinator that will answer questions and concerns about their child’s development, connect them with services in their community, and follow-up to ensure a connection is made.”
Elizabeth Mozley Partridge, Alabama Author 