It sifts from leaden sieves,
    It powders all the wood,
It fills with alabaster wool
The wrinkles of the road.

It makes an even face
Of mountain and of plain, ~
Unbroken forehead from the east
Unto the east again.

It reaches to the fence,
It wraps it rail, by rail,
Till it is lost in fleeces ;
It flings a crystal veil

On stump and stack and stem, ~
The summer's empty room,
Acres of seams where harvests were,
Recordless, but for them.

It ruffles wrists of posts,
As ankles of a queen, ~
Then stills its artisans like ghosts,
Denying they have been.

~ Emily Dickinson

[St. John's Anglican Church]

"I love to be alone.  I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude."

~ Henry David Thoreau

(1817 - 1862) American author, poet, philosopher

Authors and poets write about them.   Artists sketch and paint them.  Photographers capture their beauty.

Many a tree has sheltered animals and birds, providing wildlife their homes.  Trees speak to us from a position of strength and longevity.  We played under trees as children, spend hours sitting beneath them as adults.

We plant trees to commemorate special events.  Trees comfort us when remembering lost loved ones.

The Neat Little Bookshop is launching a Favourite Tree contest in the next few weeks.  We encourage you to think about the trees that have meant something special to you and invite you to submit either a photo or a story telling how a tree, or trees, have played a part in your life.

Deadline for submissions:  May 31, 2015.
[Photo:  Cayuga Tennis Court park on the Grand.  lbw]


Find The Neat Little Bookshop on Facebook

In the following weeks, The Neat Little Bookshop is launching a Favourite Tree contest.

BONNIE PEG
[First published in the Edinburgh Magazine for 1818]

As I came in by our gate end,
    As day was waxin' weary,
O wha came tripping down the street,
     But bonnie Peg, me dearie !

Her air sae sweet, an' shape complete,
    Wi' nae proportion wanting,
The Queen of Love did never move
     Wi' motion mair enchanting.

Wi' linked hands, we took the sands
     A-down you winding river ;
An', oh ! that hour an' broomy brower,
     Can I forget it ever ?

The Poetical Works of ROBERT BURNS, Walter Scott, 24 Warwick Lane, London. ["Presented to John Turnbull By a Friend, Jan 7, 1895.  Township of Seneca.]

Window of The Neat Little Bookshop when we were just "a shelf" on Cayuga Street.

Winston Churchill on Hobbies ~

"To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.  It is no use starting late in life to say:  'I will take an interest in this or that.'  Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort.  A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief.  It is no use doing what you like;  you have got to like what you do.  Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes:  those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death . . ."

". . .to give that element of change and contrast essential to real relief ~ To restore psychic equilibrium we should call into use those parts of the mind which direct both eye and hand.  Many men have found great advantage in practicing a handicraft for pleasure.  Joinery, chemistry, book-binding, even bricklaying -- if one were interested in them and skillful at them -- would give a real relief to the over-tired brain.  But, best of all and easiest to procure are sketching and painting in all their forms. . ."
"Painting is a companion with whom one may hope to walk a great part of life's journey,
'Age cannot wither her nor custom stale
Her infinite variety.'


~ PAINTING as a pastime, The Right Honourable Winston S. Churchill, 1948, Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ltd.

Winston Churchill former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Nov. 30, 1965 - Jan. 24, 1965)

     "A man can wear out a particular part of his mind by continually using it and tiring it, just the same way as he can wear out the elbows of his coat.  There is, however, this difference between the living cells of the brain and inanimate articles:  one cannot mend the frayed elbows of a coat by rubbing the sleeves or shoulders; but the tired parts of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts.  It is not enough merely to switch off the lights which play upon the main and ordinary field of interest; a new field of interest must be illuminated.  It is no use saying to the tired 'mental muscles' -- if one may coin such an expression -- 'I will give you a good rest,'  'I will go for a long walk,' or 'I will lie down and think of nothing.'  The mind keeps busy just the same.  If it has been weighing and measuring, it goes on weighing and measuring.  If it has been worrying, it goes on worrying.  It is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendant, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded.
     "A gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion;  the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.'  It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition.  The stronger the will, the more futile the task.  One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp.  And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.

"The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man."

[Tomorrow:  Churchill's wisdom on new interests and hobbies.]

~ Winston Churchill, PAINTING as a pastime, The Right Honourable WINSTON S. CHURCHILL O.M., C.H., M.P.  Odhams Press Limited, Ernest Benn Limited, 1948/ Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ltd.

In EMILY CARR'S  HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS

"Casually, you would think the world very still this morn, but really, when you consciously use your ears, there's quite a bustle and stir.  One is so lazy about life, about using our senses.  It is easier to jump into the luxurious vehicle called Drift and go nowhere particular, then wonder why we don't get anywhere.  There's smells ~ they have to fairly knock us over before we heed them.  They are such a delicate joy, and we miss three-quarters of it because we don't tune our noses in.  Fussy enough about taste because our stomachs are so demanding, we take sight for granted and only half use it, skimming along the surface.  Nor do we listen in to the silence and note all the little, wee noises like the breezes and insects.  Good heavens, the row there'd be if you could hear the footfall of all the ants!  And then there's feel.  We don't get one one-hundredth what we should out of feels.  What do we bother about the feel, the textures of things alive, and things made, and things soft, and hard, cold and hot, smooth and rough, brittle and tough, the tickle of insects, the touch of flesh, the exquisite texture of flower petals, the wind's touch, the feel of water, sleep pressing our eyelids shut  We accept all these things, that could so immeasurably add to our life, as a matter of course, without a thought, like animals do.  In fact animals seem to get more out of their senses than many people, yet we are supposed to have minds and they not."

Thought for Today ~


"Nothing is more essential to our lives than stories ~ the only things of equal importance are food, shelter, human love and some kind of religious activity."
~ Hugh Hood (1920 - 2000) Canadian novelist, university professor, quoted by John Metcalf in sixteen by Twelve.  Made Officer of The Order of Canada.


"I don't believe that those stories should be recorded by anybody except us.  I don't think that you have any right to come into my community and tell my stories for me.  I can speak for myself.  I share them with you, and you can read them.  And if you come into my circle, and I tell you the stories, then you should respect that you're invited into the circle."~ Maria Campbell.  Metis storyteller and writer, interviewed by Hartmut Lutz in Contemporary Challenges:  Conversations with Canadian Native Authors (1991). Author of seven books, award-winning playwright.


Source: FAMOUS LASTING WORDS Great Canadian Quotations,  John Robert Colombo, Douglas & McIntyre.

"The newspapers have to have bad news, otherwise there would be only ads, or good news.  Without bad news we could not discern the ground rules of the environment."

~ Marshall McLuhan (1911 - 1989) Canadian communications pioneer, "Address at Vision 65" (1966).



[Source:  John Robert Colombo's FAMOUS LASTING WORDS Great Canadian Quotations, 2000, Douglas & McIntyre Ltd.]

"What the. . .!"
 

"What to make of this?"

Charlie visits the bookshop ~

"Maybe we can play. . ."

Come back again, Charlie.

Thought for Today ~

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
~ John F. Kennedy

"Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock."
~ Sigmund Freud

"Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope."
~Robert F. Kennedy

Let's hope . . .

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

Join us in The Neat L'l Bookshop on Thursday, January 15 at 1:00 p.m.  Laurie Miller, author of "The Avro Arrow" will read and present the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.  Everyone welcome ~ coffee pot's always on. . .

"je suis Charlie"

 



Cayuga's New Fire Station

Haldimand County Fire Department Station 4

THE OUTING:  A STORY

"If you can call it a story.  There's no real beginning or
end and there's very little in the middle.  It is all about
a day's outing, by charabanc, to Porthcawl, which,
of course, the charabanc never reached, and it happened
when I was so high and much nicer."

Dylan Thomas was a story teller . . .

 

~ A STORY BY DYLAN THOMAS with illustrations by Meg Stevens J. M. DENT & SONS LTD. 1954, 1971.

 

 

"The bards of ancient Wales were either master poets patronized at the Welsh courts or minstrels wandering from village to inn, telling their tales for bread and shelter.  The court bards had to undergo a rigorous training in metre and metaphor and Christian allegory;  a restricted official vocabulary, carefully vetted for heresy or indulgence, limited the abundance of the Welsh language. . .Bards competed fiercely for the Chairs of Poetry at the various courts and for the patronage of the Welsh kings; but they were more courtiers than poets, more interested in a safe position than in the dangerous search after poetic truth.  At one period, the court bards accepted a metrical code of writing, which restricted them in practice to writing eulogies of the princes and elegies for their deaths.  The riches of the full Welsh language and its treasure of myths and romances were abandoned to the minstrels or travelling bards."

Last year, 2014, Wales celebrated one of their most famous bards, Dylan Thomas.  His writing and travels, the great Welsh tradition of reading and writing poetry will be the topic in the NEAT LITTLE BOOKSHOP on Third Thursday, January 15 at 1:00 p.m. We are pleased to have Laurie Miller, author of Avro Arrow, who will read and discuss Dylan Thomas.

 

Join us on Thursday, January 15 AT 1:00 p.m.

~ DYLAN THOMAS POET OF HIS PEOPLE Andrew Sinclair, Michael Joseph Ltd, 1975.

Smile For Today ~

     "Jake has carefully categorized our guests.  Ordinary people, friends he sees frequently, get the bear when they show up at the door, the ragged, chewed-up teddy bear.
     New people? They get the pink Easter Bunny, right after he shakes the stuffing out of it and slams it on the floor a few times.
     But special people? People who might be bearing dog treats?  They get the "Bear in the Bag."  This is a mint-condition, black-and-white Panda bear Jake got for Christmas.  Since he's mangled most of his other toys, I forbid him to take this one out of its bright red gift bag.  The ribbon still holds the paper handles together at the top, so he can't actually get his teeth on the bear, just the bag.  So the "Bear In the Bag" has become the highest honor bestowed on guests, once.  No treat, and you can count on getting that stupid bunny the next time."

~The Dog Rules (Damn Near Everything!)  William J. Thomas

[When no one else can make you laugh, try reading William Thomas.  Available in The Neat L'l Bookshop. ~ lbw]

www.williamthomas.ca

Come by ~ Join us on Third Thursdays

Third Thursday Lineup for 2015 ~

We have a great lineup for the first quarter:

January 15   Laurie Miller ~ Dylan Thomas, Welsh Poet

February 19 Cindy Presant ~ Daily Life on paper, journals, sketchbooks & Cookbooks.

March 19     Vicky Peart ~ Calligraphy - The St. John's Bible Project - the first handwritten bible in the "New World". 

April 16       Topic: Family Letters.  Bring a few letters from your family treasury to read.

Everyone Welcome ~ Coffee pot's always on . . .

From Emily Dickinson ~

The mushroom is the elf of plants,
     At evening it is not ;
At morning in a truffled hut
It stops upon a spot

As if it tarried always ;
And yet its whole career
Is shorter than a snake's delay,
And fleeter than a tare.

'T is vegetation's juggler,
The germ of alibi ;
Doth like a bubble antedate,
And like a bubble hie.

I feel as if the grass were pleased
To have it intermit ;
The surreptitious scion
Of summer's circumspect.

Had nature any outcast face,
Could she a son contemn,
Had nature an Iscariot,
That mushroom, -- it is him.

~ Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson, Chatham River Press. 1983.

For all those men who received ties for Christmas ~

"Albert Schweitzer's standard attire was a white pith helmet, white shirt and pants and black tie.  He had worn one hat for forty years, the tie for twenty.  Told that some men owned dozens of neckties, he remarked, 'For one neck?'"

The phrase 'reverence for life' aptly sums up Schweitzer's philosophy.  He was interrupted during a dinner by a group requesting that he explain his ethics.  He talked patiently for twenty minutes.  When one of the visitors wanted him to give a specific example of 'reverence for life,' Schweitzer said, 'Reverence for life means my answering your kind inquiries; it also means your reverence for my dinner hour.'

Schweitzer's doctrine of 'reverence for life' was to be literally obeyed.  It accounted for his vegetarianism, as well as for his attitude toward all animals.  The American TV star Jack Paar once visited him at his hospital in Lambarene.  A dog appeared, chasing a chicken.  In French Dr. Schweitzer shouted, 'No!  No!  Remember we have won the Nobel Peace Prize!'

~ Albert Schweitzer (1875 - 1965.  Alsatian-born medical missionary, musician. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his work in Africa.

Source:THE LITTLE, BROWN BOOK OF Anecdotes, Clifton Fadiman General Editor.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
~ Josh Billings, Writer, humourist [Pen name for Henry Wheeler Shaw] 1818 - 1885.

"If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer." 
~ Alfred North Whitehead, Composer (1887 - 1974)

"A boy can learn a lot from a dog:  obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down."
~ Robert Benchley (1889 - 1945) writer Vanity Fair, New Yorker.

"The dog is the god of frolic."
~ Henry Ward Beecher, Clergyman (1813 - 1887)

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year ~

 During the holiday season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible.  And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely

Thank You for your support and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season.

"Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each."

~ Henry David Thoreau

"A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."
~ Margaret Fuller (1810 - 1850) Women's rights advocate, journalist.

Wishing You Healthy & Happy Holidays ~

 

 

 

Our Christmas Holidays ~ Thank you, Ross "the professional" modeler ~ Rebecca.