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My First Book Giveaway

I have acquired and kept, given away, lost, or donated thousands of books. As I head into my ninth decade of life, I am reminded that my books cannot follow me wherever I go in life – or death. Therefore, I need to get rid of them today while I can still decide where they are to go.

My goal is to give away as many books as I possibly can to people who want them. As the first step, I will write a brief review of one or more books on this blog at least once a month (maybe more often if I get around to it). If you read about a book you want, let me know, and I will send it to you, free of charge.

Word of warning: Some of these books either have yellow highlighting, underlining, or notes in the margin. Others will look like new, and you’ll wonder if I ever read them, but I have read every book I own. Whether or not you see markings has no bearing on what I thought of the book.

You have one month from the date I post the information to request the book. After that, it will go into a box for donations to a thrift shop.

The first book I will give you is Chi Walking by Danny and Katherine Dreyer. We learn to walk early in life, then perhaps we get away from it when life got too busy to walk for leisure. I was a walker for many years and even a runner at one point. Then after back surgery, I ended up with some nerve damage in my left leg, so I now use a walker to get around, still with chi.

What is chi? It’s your life force, and the authors say, “With chi flowing in your life, your energy expands and grows rather than spiraling downward like water whirlpooling down a drain.” It is my personal hope that by walking with chi, my leg will improve. Would you like to own this book?

REMINDER: For information on being mentored by me, please see my blog of November 26, 2023  https://lavalily.com/2023/11/26/guess-what/  Beginning in 2024, I will offer individual and private mentoring in four one-hour sessions on how to “Grow Older with Gusto!” at any stage of life.

If you want to learn more about this opportunity, comment on that post with your email, and I will respond. Your email will not be posted for the public to see. We can discuss your options, or if you live near Kailua-Kona, HI, perhaps we can meet over a cuppa to make plans.

A hui hou!

GUESS WHAT??

It’s nothing new! We are growing older from the day we are born!

We are always growing older:

  • Babies grow into toddlers
  • Toddlers grow into teens
  • Teens grow into adults

On and on it goes until we finally are growing into our 60s or 70s or older. In the fall of 2024, I’ll be growing into my 90s – then my 100s a decade later, and life is still exciting to me. Who knows how many more decades I’ll get to grow into?

In “Learn with Lucy,” my featured course offering is “Growing Older with Gusto!” It was originally created to discuss how to head into our older years with gusto. That has become an “evergreeen” course, which means the course is available all the time and you can start whenever you wish. Check my website https://lavalily.com/learn-with-lucy/ for more information.

What’s the next step in your journey? What do you look forward to – or fear? We are never too old or too young to discuss our lives with someone who has been there and can help us through the trickiness of each decade.

Are you wondering about:

  • college and a future career?
  • changing careers?
  • retirement?
  • marriage or staying single?
  • parenthood or not?
  • moving far away?
  • your messy midlife?

Beginning in 2024, I will offer individual and private mentoring in four one-hour sessions on how to “Grow Older with Gusto!” at any stage of your life.

If you want to learn more about this opportunity, comment on this post with your email, and I will respond. Your email will not be posted for the public to see. We can discuss your options – or if you live near Kailua-Kona, HI, perhaps we can meet over a cuppa to make plans.

Every day, I aim for the GUSTO! – and so can you!

A hui hou!

Climbing on my Soapbox

In one of my former lives, I worked with adults who had Downs Syndrome. One of the things my new friends emphasized to me is that they knew something wasn’t right with them, but that they were still adults, after all. They said the person who came in before I did, treated them like little children and taught them simple children’s songs like “Jesus Loves Me.” I taught them simple, but adult hymns like “All Things Bright and Beautiful” that they appreciated much more. We also did real art projects instead of cut-and-paste or glue-and-glitter. As one of them shared, “We aren’t in kindergarten!”

When friends or family members grow older and become childlike, it’s hard to remember they are still adults with a history, that they are not in kindergarten. Now that I’ve reached that age, I want to be treated like a woman who has accomplished a great deal in life, someone who is highly educated and still has something to contribute. Somehow, when people see me using a walker to get around, they automatically think my disability applies to my mental abilities as well. I don’t want to be treated as some drooling old lady who simply has mobility issues.

This past spring, I visited my 99-year-old aunt in the retirement home where she lives. One of the women who sat at our breakfast table lit up when I asked what her career had been. She’d been a history professor – and I doubt if a single caregiver in that place had any clue, or ever talked to her about it.

Years ago, I regularly visited a parishioner who had been a social worker traveling the world and had written books on her topic. But in her late 90s, she was bedridden and helpless. When I asked about some of the artifacts she had in her living room, her eyes brightened significantly! Not one soul had ever bothered to ask about her artifacts.

Another parishioner had been a Navy officer, never married and had no children, but she did have very selfish nieces and nephews. The minute she went into the hospital, with every intention of going back “home” later, they sold her house and everything in it. I remember her raising her fist and telling me, “Don’t ever get old!” She felt that life had become totally out of her control.

After my visit with my aunt, I realized how much she still had all her mental faculties. She was simply having a difficult time getting around (like me). I came away depressed from being around all these other “nursing home” people. My aunt had a college degree and had studied eight years of Latin, and yet at almost 100 (February 2024) had nobody to have an intellectual conversation with in her facility. I think she appreciated my visit more than I realized. Six months after my visit, I hear that she is showing signs of dementia, and I’m almost certain it’s because she has very little mental stimulation in her current living space.

I’m such an advocate for the elderly!!! They/We are simply cast aside because of so many misperceptions. We do not want to be invisible!

<Stepping off my soap box now>

A hui hou!

Holiday Concerts

As one of the singers (second alto) in this wonderful choral group, I invite each of you to come to one or both of our December 2023 concerts if you happen to be in the Kona area that month.

The first one will be held at St. Michael the Archangel Church in downtown Kailua-Kona HI at 7:00 pm on Friday, December 1. The Kona Brass Quintet will be our special guests, as well as a sing-along of Christmas music with our audience. This concert is free, but donations are always appreciated.

The second concert is on Sunday, December 17, 4:00-5:30 pm at the Outrigger Keauhou Bay Resort Convention Center, also in Kailua-Kona HI, and it will be accompanied by a full orchestra.

Tickets may be purchased by going to http://www.KonaChoralSociety.org or you can purchase at the door.

Mele Kalikimaka! (An Christmas early greeting!)

CHECK OUT MY NEW APP!

My new app is now available for free on either Apple or Google. Please download it and look through all the links to see what’s there. I plan to add much more over the next few weeks. Pass the word to anyone you know.

The logo was created many years ago by an artist friend. It is a Japanese brush stroke designed to represent both a J (for Jones) and a sailboat (which I lived on at the time). Isn’t it lovely?

I have neglected this blog for quite a few weeks, but I was working on this new app and creating new courses. All is well now and I’m back in business.

If you have any questions about this app or my courses, please let me know. A few new courses will be available soon, as well as the original course (“Growing Older with Gusto!”) so keep checking.

Also, see my webpage, Learn with Lucy, which has info on all present and coming courses being offered. Link to LEARN WITH LUCY (https://lavalily.com/learn-with-lucy/) which will soon link to the featured course: “Growing Older with Gusto!” Don’t forget to check out all of my past weekly blogs at https://lavalily.com/blog/

If you want a taste of my non-fiction, check out Feral Fables, a self-help book. It has been an e-book on Amazon for quite a while, and it is now available as a paperback. All of my books can be found on my Author Page on Amazon, available in both paperback or as an e-book.

I encourage you to support the Indie Author Community, a community of self-published authors.

A hui hou!