Tag: Two Things Thursday

Two Things Thursday #16

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1. Wicker Papasan Chair & Footstool (Different filters & angles). ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. A Wednesday Outing. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. Wicker Papasan Chair & Footstool are the newest additions to our home. You all know that Jernee commandeers my favorite chair ALL THE TIME and has laid an indefinite claim to it, so I purchased the above Papasan chair & footstool.

Prayerfully, The Little Monster will leave this one alone and let me have a space to fully relax without her taking over.

My best friend was here in March and Jernee hopped right in my chair just before I was about to sit down and my best friend said, “I don’t know why you just don’t get her another chair.” I said I wouldn’t. I even said Jernee has plenty of places where she can park her hind-end, and lo and behold, I’ve bought another piece of furniture, but solely for myself.

We’ll see how long it stays mine and only mine. Lol!

2. A Wednesday Outing is a quick photo I took of myself walking down our building’s stairs to get to my optometrist’s appointment. I took the day off to take care of my eyes and had my last therapy session with my therapist who is retiring.

My shirt (one of the very many my best friend bought . . . I rarely buy my own shirts. She loves to shop and whenever she buys something for herself, she gets me a ton of stuff, too. I’ve ceased arguing with her and telling her not to buy me anything, she’s going to do it anyway. Ain’t no need to waste my good energy. Lol) says “Loved.”, which I am.

It’s also in one of my favorite colors–red. I paired it with a white long-sleeved (I’m always cold while indoors) shirt, dark gray sweatpants, and a pair of red & black sneakers. My crossover purse is black as well.

It was a good day. And I am somewhat partial to this photo. I’m not really cheesing, but I’m smiling enough to show that I am happy, and I was having a fantastic morning.

Two Things Thursday #15

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1. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Caison’s Throw. ©2024 Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is what I am currently reading. I don’t think I need to reiterate how much I love this author. So, I won’t! Lol! The book is captivating and written in a way that allows a reader to sink in totally to every chapter.

There are morsels shared here and there and the plot builds up slowly but surely. It is mind-blowing how accurately each character develops based on the initial details a reader is given about them in the beginning.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

The Time Keeper is a compelling fable about the first man on earth to count the hours. The man who became Father Time.

In The Time Keeper, the inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time. –Mitch Albom/Books

I enjoy every moment of this book and I am happy I added this one to my Mitch Albom collection.

2. Caison’s Throw is probably going to be one of my favorite photos of my baby cousin, Caison Michael. The photo was taken by Yours Truly at his soccer game last evening. We had a blast!

He scored two goals and was such an encouraging team player!

It was the final game of the season, but I was so happy to be in attendance. With him growing up so quickly, I am taking in every event and creating lasting memories from them, too.

I’ll blink, and he’ll be an adult. I am gathering as many memories of him as I can while I can. Life is too short not to!

Two Things Thursday #14

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1. Abstract African Woman
2. My doggy nieces: Bella-Rue and Stacey-Lou. Photo Credit: M. Monique Steele

1. Abstract African Woman print via artist, Digital Prints ArtRO is a stunning representation of bold art. I love the colors, the stoic look on the subject’s face, and the ensemble the subject is wearing. When I look at this art piece, I smile. I feel moved and empowered. Enlightened and awed. I think it’s an exceptional masterpiece.

It’s a bit pricey to me (as a print, and I literally have no wall-space for it), but that doesn’t stop me from admiring it from afar.

I may end up getting it anyway!

2. My doggy nieces: Bella-Rue and Stacey-Lou. They are two years and one year old now. They were a bit younger in the photo shown above. The two are my best friend’s puppies. She used to have Nala and Reese and they both died. They were also Boston Terriers.

It is no secret we miss both Nala and Reese, and we always will, these two are in no way replacements, but they have helped to fill a void for my best friend when Nala passed away nearly 3 years ago.

I am so attached to them and I love them with a love that is sound and gargantuan. They have become Jernee’s little cousins who listen to her and abide by her rules. LOL! I am so happy they are a part of our family.

We will probably get another little one soon! My best friend is looking into a litter from their mother & father, and she also wants another female. I asked if I could name her and she said, “Sure! It has to be a two-part name like theirs!” I had a name ready and I shot it to her rapidly: “Talulah-Bell” and she declined. LOL! I came back with, “Misty-Blu,” and she approved.

So, if she really does get a third Boston Terrier female, she will be “Misty-Blu.” I will keep you guys updated!

Two Things Thursday #13

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1. Marvin Gaye Quote
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox, “I Can Fight My Own Fights” scene via YouTube

1. Marvin Gaye was such an empowering, soulful, and talented human being. The above quote is one of my favorites from him. He left a legacy–this cannot be denied. He had a voice that could tap into your heart and make you release every emotion simultaneously. I don’t think there will ever be another entertainer/musician-magician quite like him.

With timeless classics such as “I Want You,” “Mercy, Mercy, Me,“ “After the Dance,“ “You Sure Love To Ball“ and so many more, his spirit and words will truly live on in our minds and in our hearts.

What is your favorite Marvin Gaye song?

2. Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite movies! I love the characters, plot, and overall theme of the story. Above is one of the scenes I can watch repeatedly and never tire of it. Ash, Mr. Fox’s (or Foxie) son faces his bully and gets a muddied face. His cousin, Kristofferson, is there to right the wrong of this bully and it is EVERYTHING to me.

I hope you enjoy this scene as much as I do.

Two Things Thursday #12

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1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Alanis Morissette: “Uninvited”, 7/24/1999 – Woodstock 99 East Stage (Official)

1. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a powerful book. So far, the author has pulled me in and captured me as his faithful guest–a part of his audience while he tells his tale and reveals his whole heart. It is full of pain and patience and resilience and stories from his past that I can relate to. In the book, the author has written . . . is writing a letter to his teenage son about the ways of our nation.

Based on the author’s background, his words tiptoe into my presence and slap me on my face. I love the language he uses, the imagery he creates, and his soulful way of getting his thoughts across.

Here is a summary of the book:

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. —

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. ©Copyright 2023 Ta-Nehisi Coates

If you enjoy having your mind rattled and learning a thing or two about America’s history, I recommend this book.

2 “Univited” by Alanis Morissette is such an incredible song. The lyrics are captivating and her voice is even more so. She has a way of pulling her listeners in and shaking them gently, but releasing us into the wild as we bathe ourselves in those same lyrics for years to come. It is a timeless classic and is ten times better when she performs it live.

The above YouTube video is one of my favorite performances of the song by her. I hope you enjoy it.

Two Things Thursday #11

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1. The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
2. Pictured Poem, “Mushy”. Created by Tremaine L. Loadholt

1. The Darkest Child . . . this book should have come with every type of trigger warning available, but it did not.

I cannot explain how emotionally charged I have gotten while thumbing through these pages. The author, Delores Phillips died without writing any more completed or finished works and we, as readers, cannot question her about WHY she decided to pen this particular tale.

The book is fiction, but it doesn’t feel like fiction. I’ve cried. I’ve gotten angry. I’ve had to read in passing moments to allow myself time to “heal” from the detriment and torture placed on the main characters (children) by their own mother.

It is a rollercoaster ride without a destination in sight, it seems, but it’s so enthralling that I must succeed in making it to the end.

I HIGHLY recommend this book, but I will say this . . . if you are an Empath, please prepare yourself for the pain you will feel, and give yourself time to digest this one. It is not meant to be rushed through at all. It is meant to be savored, dissected, understood, and applauded (if you make it to the end).

Here is a brief description of the book:

Set in Georgia in the 1950s, Delores Phillips’s debut historical novel, The Darkest Child (2005), follows thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn, an intelligent African American girl, as she battles to finish her education in the face of family tragedy, social upheaval, and her mother’s unthinkable abuse. Before her death in 2014, Phillips worked as a nurse in a Georgia facility that tends to abused women and children.

It is 1958, and Rozelle “Rosie” Quinn has just quit her housekeeping job. Although she is still considered a second-class citizen in Parkersfield, Georgia, she is light-skinned and beautiful. Rosie has always felt she deserved better. Tangy Mae, Rosie’s thirteen-year-old daughter, walks her home as Rosie moans in pain and announces to all the world she is dying.

Rosie is not dying, however, only having a baby—her tenth . . .

The Darkest Child, Super Summary

2. Mushy is the first poem about one of the characters from The Darkest Child. I am writing poems because this is how I move through things that bring pain to my doorstep.

I have written three poems so far for three different characters, and I know a few more will be birthed before I am done reading this book.

I understand Mushy and her need to get far away from her mother and also the need to NOT be like her, but try as she might to remove her, her mother is in her blood–she is her mother’s child.

And there is no running away from that. And really, that’s what hurts me the most about this character. You cannot run away from who you are–you’ll always come back to YOU.