Author: admin

Mothers. Entering Scenes of Past with Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother by Bess Streeter Aldrich (May 2025)

Good morning! Beautiful green Nebraska scene. Verdi Prati (green meadows in Latin). Bird songs have an irritating ring as they balk after a disturbing night of winds.. My morning angel is helping them hold onto their new little nexxts which are getting battered as I type. This morning I will be rewriting out of a…
Christmas during difficult times. “Lantern in Her Hand” by Bess Streeter Aldrich (Dec. 2024)

Merry Christmas! Evening. Darkness early. Memories. Seeing the past scenes of our life in our minds. So many emotions come with the week before Christmas. No matter what we go through, within each of us (I believe) there is a desire to look forward – to not spend the holiday season with only the memories…
Creation “Singing a place back into existence” Love of nature. “The Olive Farm” by Carol Drinkwater (Oct. 2024)

Good morning! My angel of dawn is standing breathless outside my window handing again her faithful gift – a priceless jewel of another day. She stands breathless from her view of fields being harvested around. She stands breathless from her view of the bright stars not yet disappearing above. She stands breathless from the beauty…
Quotes on Appreciating TODAY “The Traveler” always traveling to find happiness by Daren Simkin (July 2024)

Good morning! Silence this morning. Still trees. A few moments of coolness to pretend it’s fall before heat enters the scene. My angel of dawn faithfully shows her kind face holding a small rose. Encouraging me to notice the little flowers by the side of the road today. Encouraging me to hear the little birds…
Love of Reading “White Autumn” Poem of Woman’s Life Around a Simple Reading Lamp (Sept. 2023)

Good morning. Silence of the moment as my morning sun and angel of dawn peer together through my curtains. Faithful. Encouraging me to enter this day. The song of cicadas ended, but their music rings clearly in my mind. Did every little animal friend from bunny to spider all sleep in this morning? Complete stillness. …
Helping Others Secretly. Giving to find meaning. Kindness quotes. “Doctor Hudson’s Spiritual Journal” by Lloyd Douglas (March 2023)

Good morning! Quiet morning before the winds begin. Steam from my mug. My angel of dawn peering through the window, but distracted as she looks up at the cranes sending their greeting. Another treasure beside me. Doctor Hudson’s Secret Journal by Lloyd Douglas. I was drawn to the book because of my knowledge of the…
Book Effects on our lives “Library at Night” by Alberto Manguel – (March 2023)

Good morning. Silence. Clicking of the keyboard keys. Distant greetings from the cranes waking to continue their journey. Our angel of dawn quietly looking through our windows handing us all a precious jewel of another day. Encouraging us to notice the quiet. To notice the awakening spring. To hear the birds. To look into eyes.…
Winter “In All It’s Fury: The Great Blizzard 1888″ by W.H. O’Gara (January 2023)

Susan’s Thursday morning Note January 5, 2023 In All It’s Fury: The Great Blizzard of 1888 by W.H. O’Gara Good morning. Cold. Icy. Steaming Coffee. Warmth inside. Peering through my window this morning is a very cold angel of dawn – handing me a little bouquet of grasses she picked that were sticking out of…
Letters of Florence Nightingale – Her desire for intellectual growth (July 2022)

Good morning! July. How does time go so quickly? Bess Streeter Aldrich continually repeats, “You cannot stop the winds and you cannot stop Time…” as she described life continually moving. I have a journal that begins with this line every few inches down, “It’s been 7 months since I’ve written…” Does life just fly by…
Quotes on Hope – Spring & Easter (April 2022)

Susan’s Thursday morning note April 14, 2022 Quotes on Hope (Spring & Easter) (Click this link to read Happy Easter in foreign languages) Good morning! The air so still, green shooting out of the ground, sounds from the geese, a lifted heart knowing Spring is about to make her arrival behind the curtain. Little glimpses…
Appreciate Beauty Near Us. Children seeing beauty. Violinist Joshua Bell playing secretly in the Washington D.C. Subway (May 2021)

Good morning! The sun arises through one window wearing bright orange. Raindrops falling through the opposite window. A small bluet bouquet in the hand of my morning angel as she welcomes me to her gift of this new day. Warning me with her words to use the jewel of this day she places into my…
Getting Through Extremely Difficult Experiences. “Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance” by Joseph Marshall (May 2020)

Good morning! Complete stillness in the trees as I watch the teasing among little squirrels who get the entire stage to themselves this early. A book sits to my right full of Native American stories between a grandfather and his grandson on handling pain in life. I will write for you some of the dialogues…
Despair vs. Hope – Streams in the Desert by HC Cowman (March 2020)

Good morning. So quiet. So still. This note is going to copy past Thursday note writings from books on despair vs. hope. I have tried to decide what to take out, but am not going, for I know that those of you that know others going through painful circumstances, the length will not matter, the…
Vision of discussion on distraction with Plato and Aurelius. “The Undistracted” by Irwin Edman. (March 2020)

Good morning. Just enough light to know dawn will soon arrive. The sun will soon bring news from the other side of the world on her ventures during the night. The cranes are flying overhead, for I can hear their morning cries as they continue their migration. My angel of dawn is peering through the…
Attitude (Mental Attitude by Elbert Hubbard) (October 2019)

Susan’s Thursday morning note October 17, 2019 Excerpt on Mental attitude by Elbert Hubbard (Including account of his final moments before death on ship Lusitania 1915) Good morning! What peace my angel of dawn is handing through the curtains this morning. Peace. Fall. Those words seem to fit together on perfect mornings. Days that we…
Room where thoughts from morning await reentry in the evening. Quotes on soul. “Song of the Lark” by Willa Cather (July 2019)

Susan’s Thursday morning note July 18, 2019 Song of the Lark by Willa Cather Quotes on the soul. Song of the Lark by Willa Cather “Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter rich smiles in sad hearts.” Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) Good morning. Early heavy morning. …
Loneliness & Despair. Search for meaningful life – “Work” by Louisa May Alcott (Jan. 2019)

Good morning. Fingers numb from cold holding coffee mug and trying to type at the same time. Little squirrel friends sliding down roof above me – I can picture them trying to grab something as their feet slide down on the ice. How I wish I could see their mom’s lecturing them as they get…
Our Bookstore in the News – Our project of giving books away. (March 2012)

Following is our article Amy Schweitzer, from the Grand Island Independent, wrote on March 3, 2012 about our project of giving books away. AURORA — Kids, mothers, the elderly and the grieving in Aurora have all received books from Susan’s Books and Gifts in Aurora. Susan Williams believes people getting the right book at the…
Diaries and Letters of Anne Lindbergh – Goodbyes. Soul. Strength. Prayer. Grief (July 2008 & Aug 2011)

Susan’s Thursday note August 13, 2011 (Soul Strength) Susan’s Thursday note July 31, 2008 (Saying Good-bye, Prayer) War Within and Without 1939-1944: Diaries & Journals of Anne Lindbergh Good morning!!! It seems like so long since I’ve sat to write. It’s beautiful for thinking this morning…windows open. Cats against the back of the computer for…
Anne Lindbergh “War Within and Without: Diaries and Letters 1939-1944” Beauty. pain. grief. hope. awareness. solitude. time…(2008. 2010. 2011)

Susan’s Thursday morning note August 13, 2011 (“Lord, Send My Roots Rain”) followed by July 31, 2008 Susan’s Newsletter (Saying Good-bye. Prayer) followed by May 6, 2010 Susan’s Newsletter (Beauty. Pain. Grief. Hope. Awareness. Solitude. Time) War Within and Without 1939-1944: Diaries & Journals of Anne Lindbergh Susan’s Thursday morning note August 13, 2011…
Coexisting with Unresolved & Embracing Imperfection “Creating a Charmed Life” by Victoria Moran (Mar. 2007 & 2011)

Good morning! Maybe we’re looking at our final blanket of still whiteness outside for the season…it’s so still and quiet this morning. Except for the amazingly off-key music from the geese flying over in such an unorganized fashion. Why do I seem to appreciate their struggle for organization? Last night after a large mob passed…
Mothers with daughters entering Adulthood “Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story” by Sue Monk Kidd (Sept. 2010)

Good morning! It’s hard to get up and try to think with rain coming down! Two sickly-looking sopping cats at the sliding doors just let in to warm up with a little milk in a cup…perfect coffee for me. I’m ready! I have three books in front of me and I don’t know how to…
Great is Thy Faithfulness Hymn. Quotes on Mercy (July 2010)

Susan’s Thursday morning note July 8, 2010 Great is Thy Faithfulness…Morning by Morning…new mercies I see! Good morning! Windows are open, coffee is perfect, cats are settling in to sleep for the day…time to think for all of us! I saw a verse this morning that is from a favorite hymn of mine…one of the three…
“The Children’s Hour” poem by Longfellow. Playing with children during long afternoon hours (June 2010)

Susan’s Thursday morning note June 3, 2010 “The Children’s Hour” poem by Longfellow – playing with children during long afternoon hours. Good morning!!! What a beautiful morning to write for you! The crisp air makes the coffee that much better! The cats are in to sleep for the day, the house already looks “lived in”…
Thoughts of a little waif child. Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton Porter. (April 2010)

Susan’s Thursday morning note April 15, 2010 Thoughts of a little waif child – caring for others. Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton Porter Good morning!!! Great coffee. Baseball. Wind. Storm clouds.. Quiet rain. Green. Neglected dishes. Used book calling my name…all composing a short 24 hours of spring in Nebraska! Some of you are going to roll…
God’s Involvement in Caring for Us. “Jesus Calling” Devotional by Sarah Young (Mar 2010)

Good morning! I can finally see the ground this morning! The first Thursday to state there is dirt…not only snow that I believed the crust of this planet had turned into. One of the best memories I’ll have of my life right now is a daily call from a dear man in his late 70’s…calling to tell me…
Heaven – Mother meets her child in heaven that had died (Eugene Field) & “Just in Case You Ever Wonder” by Max Lucado (Dec. 2009)

Good morning! Beautiful snow blanket, psychotic cats staring at me with cabin fever, and a perfect cup of coffee with extra filler…..all working together to help me type for you! Here my mind goes….hoping the neurons kicking slowly can make their way to my fingertips for you! A few weeks ago I checked out a book…
Time Passing so Quickly “Lantern in Her Hand” by Bess Streeter Aldrich (Dec. 2009)

Good morning. I’ve typed and typed and taken out and put in different paragraphs that I’ve underlined. I’m not going to change anything else. If I leave out any more paragraphs some of you that would’ve been encouraged or helped wouldn’t get the chance. My fingers ache, but I want you to have these thoughts…
Setting goals through Discipline. Perseverance. Ideals. “Self-Help” by Samuel Smiles – written in 1866 (Sept. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note September 10, 2009 Self-Help by Samuel Smiles (Setting goals through discipline, perseverance, ideals) Good morning! Strong coffee…not enough sleep…all mixed together to bring you something to think about this week! Let’s see if the caffeine has hit my bloodstream yet! This week I have been reading a book written in 1866 called…
Little hands of our children…”playing on the vibrant harp-strings of my heart” “Baby Fingers” poem. (Aug. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note August 27, 2009 Baby Fingers Poem by Lillenas. Little hands of our children…”playing on the vibrant harp-strings of my heart” Good morning!! I’m out of coffee and out of filler…how’s that for a start?! Stu suggests Moroccan Mint Tea – says that’s full of caffeine…I’m skeptical! I can see Camden sleeping…
Choices We Make after Loss “Grace Disguised” by Sittser (Aug. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note August 20, 2009 A Grace Disguised by Gerald Sittser Grief (death of family members in an auto accident) Good morning! I read a book this week called A Grace Disguised by Sittser. He writes on the choices we make after loss in our lives that are irreversible. There is no…
Why Read & Learn? Cultivating the Intellect “Hubbard’s Book of Initiative” (Aug. 2009)

Good morning! Dare I admit my coffee filler has rebelled this morning & the entire counter is a deep, dark muck? Amazing how enough filler can transform what I poured (dumped) into my mug into a relatively good drink! This week I’ve had a hodgepodge of reading, but am going to go ahead and write out for you some of…
Easy Life vs. Hard Life: Pursuing Happiness Regardless “Villette” by Charlotte Bronte (July 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note July 23, 2009 (Hard life vs. Easy life) Villette by Charlotte Bronte Followed by July 16, 2009 (Too tired to pray) Good morning! Does it get any prettier in Nebraska than a morning like this? No wind. That in itself – a miracle. The beautiful green cornfields with stunning sunsets…if you’re don’t get to…
Friendship – Anne Morrow Lindbergh & Charlotte Bronte (July 2009)

Good morning! What an incredibly beautiful week! The coffee wouldn’t even need to taste good with skies this blue & sun this bright! There has already been a mole delivered to my door from my cats, the coffee did have the perfect filler combination…all is aligned in the universe so far! I have a few…
Faith. Trusting God for what we don’t understand & what we desire. “Streams in the Desert” (June 2009)

Susan’s Thursday note June 18, 2009 Faith. Trusting God for what we do not understand and what we desire. Streams in the Desert by HC Cowman Good morning!!! Is it possible that summer & sunshine & swimming & complaining about the heat & seeing corn grow is finally coming this week? Last Saturday I picked up the daily…
Importance of Relationships (even though pain comes at the end of all relationships)…not just existing. “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (June 2009)

Good morning! Is it gloomy out or cozy? I’ll go with cozy, for coffee tastes better in a cozy environment than a gloomy one. I read this week a classic that I’ve never opened before – a book for children and adults…The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The author was a pilot, and was never found…
Happiness/Grief same time. Beauty that Hasn’t Yet Been Created “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss (June 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note June 4, 2009 The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Being “happy” and “sad” at the same time. Creations, Compositions, Paintings that will bring awe in the future…who we will be in the future. Good morning! It’s the perfect chill for the coffee to taste even better this morning! If you…
Simplicity. Beauty in details. The Way of the Small by Michael Gellert (May 2009)

Good morning! It’s taking me quite a few trips to the refrigerator & coffeemaker this morning to get this letter finished!!!! If you aren’t in Nebraska this week you’re missing out! The corn is just popping up – a new blanket of light green covering the barrenness of the last few months…created just for us! The small…the details…the…
Raising Children “Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid’s Childhood…” by MaryBeth Hicks (May 2009)

Susan’s Thursday note May 14, 2009 Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid’s Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World by MaryBeth Hicks (Geeks: Genuine, Enthusiastic, Empowered Kids) Good morning!!!! After cursing the winds of Nebraska last night this morning is completely still and breathtaking. The only disconcerting part of my morning is the mole (I’m…
Organization “A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder by Abramson & Freedman” (May 2009)

Good morning! The cat is sitting on my mouse pad & rolling on the keyboard on my right, the coffee is perfect on my left…here I go! You’ll be glad to know spring has officially arrived because the first gift of a little mouse was presented at our sliding door yesterday morning from the cats…
Living Fully as an Older Woman “Warning: When I am Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple” by Jenny Joseph (April 2009)

Good morning!! SPRING has come! Our windows are already cracked, the birds singing (not in tune for some reason this morning), the cats already on the hunt, the perfect coffee/filler combination – our dream morning from the last few months! Bliss!!! I was shown such a fun little book this week. The book is made…
Character Quotes. Being the person others think that you are. (April 2009)

Good morning! Have you given yourself the luxury of your favorite drink this morning? With extra filler if it’s coffee? I saw three little robins yesterday hauling around little sticks – that is the perfect filler for my coffee! That sight itself somehow is making it taste even better! I’ve spent time again at a site…
Book Quotes from “Book Notes: A Reader’s Journal” (April 2009)

Good morning! Even the coffee doesn’t seem to be working this morning, but noticing the wind isn’t blowing yet is seeming to be sufficient for getting me going today. If you’re not living in Nebraska and get this note – be glad…the wind was ridiculous this week. If you’re in Nebraska….well, at least you made…
Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry – “Everywhere I look you are – but you’re nowhere…” poem on death of her loved one. (Mar. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note March 26, 2009 Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry – “Everywhere I look you are, but you’re nowhere…” Poem on death of her loved one. Good morning! If you have read my notes for a long time you may remember me mentioning reading poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay. A book…
Beauty of Life and Finding God – Etty Hillesum/WWII Journal of 29 year old in concentration camp) (Mar 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note March 19, 2009 An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum Letters and journal of Etty Hillesum. (She died in the concentration camp…these thoughts are on how she found God and the beauty of life in horrible circumstances) Good morning! Spring is in the air – the door is…
Lady vs. Woman – Journals of Anne Lindbergh and Proverbs 31. (Mar. 2009)

Good morning! Are you just resigned to the fact that you have absolutely no idea what to expect with the weather today, and you’ll just grit your teeth & endure the cold, or take a quick glance, not getting your hopes too up….to see if there is a the tiniest possibility of the sun shining through…
Snoopy Quotes (grin) (March 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note March 5, 2009 Snoopy Quotes Good morning! This is a fun e-mail to write, going through Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Linus quotes. And the timing is perfect, for my sister, Julie, loves Snoopy & she had a little girl less than 12 hours ago. Her fourth little girl that is…
Poems on Winter. Early Darkness & Cat in the Evening Snow. (Jan. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note January 29, 2009 Poems on Winter (Darkness Early & Cat in the Evening) Good morning! Shall we pretend that spring is coming this weekend since it’s going to be so beautiful? We are going to have a “Cabin Fever” Open house all weekend at the store – I hope you can…
God’s Involvement in Pain, Grief, Despair “Gold by Moonlight” by Amy Carmichael (Jan. 2009)

Susan’s Thursday morning note January 8, 2009 God’s Involvement in Pain, Grief, Despair (Gold by Moonlight by Amy Carmichael) Good morning! I’ve got my favorite mug (Holly Hobby colors from the 70s!) and a perfect filler/coffee ration, along with two mad cats that won’t purr or come near me as I try to think for you &…
Beauty of living. Choices. The soul. Falling in love with literature. Pursuing LIFE rather than enduring life. (Dec. 2008)

Good morning! Finally we can have the cold with the snow & somehow…somehow…just the scene makes my coffee even sweeter! How is that? This week Stu read me a line that he thought I would find interesting, and possibly want to try to refute. This is taken from Stoner by John Williams. On a graduate…

Author: admin

Mothers. Entering Scenes of Past with Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother by Bess Streeter Aldrich (May 2025)

Christmas during difficult times. “Lantern in Her Hand” by Bess Streeter Aldrich (Dec. 2024)

Creation “Singing a place back into existence” Love of nature. “The Olive Farm” by Carol Drinkwater (Oct. 2024)

Quotes on Appreciating TODAY “The Traveler” always traveling to find happiness by Daren Simkin (July 2024)

Love of Reading “White Autumn” Poem of Woman’s Life Around a Simple Reading Lamp (Sept. 2023)

Helping Others Secretly. Giving to find meaning. Kindness quotes. “Doctor Hudson’s Spiritual Journal” by Lloyd Douglas (March 2023)

Book Effects on our lives “Library at Night” by Alberto Manguel – (March 2023)

Winter “In All It’s Fury: The Great Blizzard 1888″ by W.H. O’Gara (January 2023)

Letters of Florence Nightingale – Her desire for intellectual growth (July 2022)

Quotes on Hope – Spring & Easter (April 2022)

Appreciate Beauty Near Us. Children seeing beauty. Violinist Joshua Bell playing secretly in the Washington D.C. Subway (May 2021)

Getting Through Extremely Difficult Experiences. “Keep Going: The Art of Perseverance” by Joseph Marshall (May 2020)

Despair vs. Hope – Streams in the Desert by HC Cowman (March 2020)

Vision of discussion on distraction with Plato and Aurelius. “The Undistracted” by Irwin Edman. (March 2020)

Attitude (Mental Attitude by Elbert Hubbard) (October 2019)

Room where thoughts from morning await reentry in the evening. Quotes on soul. “Song of the Lark” by Willa Cather (July 2019)

Loneliness & Despair. Search for meaningful life – “Work” by Louisa May Alcott (Jan. 2019)

Our Bookstore in the News – Our project of giving books away. (March 2012)

Diaries and Letters of Anne Lindbergh – Goodbyes. Soul. Strength. Prayer. Grief (July 2008 & Aug 2011)

Anne Lindbergh “War Within and Without: Diaries and Letters 1939-1944” Beauty. pain. grief. hope. awareness. solitude. time…(2008. 2010. 2011)

Coexisting with Unresolved & Embracing Imperfection “Creating a Charmed Life” by Victoria Moran (Mar. 2007 & 2011)

Mothers with daughters entering Adulthood “Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story” by Sue Monk Kidd (Sept. 2010)

Great is Thy Faithfulness Hymn. Quotes on Mercy (July 2010)

“The Children’s Hour” poem by Longfellow. Playing with children during long afternoon hours (June 2010)

Thoughts of a little waif child. Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton Porter. (April 2010)

God’s Involvement in Caring for Us. “Jesus Calling” Devotional by Sarah Young (Mar 2010)

Heaven – Mother meets her child in heaven that had died (Eugene Field) & “Just in Case You Ever Wonder” by Max Lucado (Dec. 2009)

Time Passing so Quickly “Lantern in Her Hand” by Bess Streeter Aldrich (Dec. 2009)

Setting goals through Discipline. Perseverance. Ideals. “Self-Help” by Samuel Smiles – written in 1866 (Sept. 2009)

Little hands of our children…”playing on the vibrant harp-strings of my heart” “Baby Fingers” poem. (Aug. 2009)

Choices We Make after Loss “Grace Disguised” by Sittser (Aug. 2009)

Why Read & Learn? Cultivating the Intellect “Hubbard’s Book of Initiative” (Aug. 2009)

Easy Life vs. Hard Life: Pursuing Happiness Regardless “Villette” by Charlotte Bronte (July 2009)

Friendship – Anne Morrow Lindbergh & Charlotte Bronte (July 2009)

Faith. Trusting God for what we don’t understand & what we desire. “Streams in the Desert” (June 2009)

Importance of Relationships (even though pain comes at the end of all relationships)…not just existing. “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (June 2009)

Happiness/Grief same time. Beauty that Hasn’t Yet Been Created “The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss (June 2009)

Simplicity. Beauty in details. The Way of the Small by Michael Gellert (May 2009)

Raising Children “Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid’s Childhood…” by MaryBeth Hicks (May 2009)

Organization “A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder by Abramson & Freedman” (May 2009)

Living Fully as an Older Woman “Warning: When I am Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple” by Jenny Joseph (April 2009)

Character Quotes. Being the person others think that you are. (April 2009)

Book Quotes from “Book Notes: A Reader’s Journal” (April 2009)

Edna St. Vincent Millay poetry – “Everywhere I look you are – but you’re nowhere…” poem on death of her loved one. (Mar. 2009)

Beauty of Life and Finding God – Etty Hillesum/WWII Journal of 29 year old in concentration camp) (Mar 2009)

Lady vs. Woman – Journals of Anne Lindbergh and Proverbs 31. (Mar. 2009)

Snoopy Quotes (grin) (March 2009)

Poems on Winter. Early Darkness & Cat in the Evening Snow. (Jan. 2009)

God’s Involvement in Pain, Grief, Despair “Gold by Moonlight” by Amy Carmichael (Jan. 2009)

Beauty of living. Choices. The soul. Falling in love with literature. Pursuing LIFE rather than enduring life. (Dec. 2008)