Totem Animal for 2021: Bison

Yellowstone bison

I was surprised when the bison appeared as my totem animal for 2021. Every year I expect not to have a new animal but I wait for signs and nudges and inevitably they appear. In this case finding out that a new baby white bison had been born in Montana was a big sign but so was a fascination with a beautiful calcite carving I had recently acquired. 

Antelope Island bison

What does the bison mean to me? Well it has a huge physical presence and a calm demeanor until it isn't calm then it is willing to charge obstacles and mow them down. The baby bison are playful and adorable perhaps bringing some fun along in this coming year. The adults trudge through the trials of snow, water, frisking subadults, and other adversities. I think this year may require ongoing patience and putting one foot in front of the other. There is a Lakota (Teton) legend of White Buffalo Woman who came to the tribes bearing wisdom and gifts teaching sacred ceremonies and promising to return in time. She stopped as she was walking away and rolled over four times. As she rolled she changed first into a black buffalo, then a brown buffalo, a red one and finally a white female buffalo. - Handbook of Native American Mythology by Dawn E. Bastian and Judy K. Mitchell, 2004.   For me, I'm going to work on improving four aspects of my life: spiritual, physical, mental, and social.

White bison on the way to Victor

Evolution then could be another theme for the year, moving forward on different aspects of life. Recognizing the sacred, and being grateful for what I have is another. The wisdom of gratitude could help make this year bearable as the pandemic continues. 

Elk vs Bison in Yellowstone. Yes in the end the Elk got out of the way.

More about the new white bison: 

• Tribal members in Montana celebrate rare white buffalo calf https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/09/07/tribal-members-montana-celebrate-rare-white-buffalo-calf-spiritual-significance/5685919002/ 
• Sacred White Bison Born in Missoula, Montana https://www.distinctlymontana.com/sacred-white-buffalo-born-western-montana
• In June 2020, a white buffalo named ‘Faith’ was born at Bitterroot Bison in Lolo, Montana. She was moved to a sanctuary to be kept safe after discovering that she was blind." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_buffalo 
•  Faith https://www.facebook.com/bitterrootbison/videos/192979382096076/ 

Frisky baby bison

The Great British Baking Show

 I like reality competition shows.  After a year of fending off "you will love this show" I finally gave in and watched a season of the Great British Baking Show.  

Now one of the big reasons I did not want to watch the show is that I like to bake. I like to bake cookies, truffles, cake, pies, etc...  I am also diabetic so having a ton of sweets in my house is not a good thing. I was very afraid that watching this show would inspire me to bake.  Well, I was right and wrong.  It does inspire me to bake, but I can add self talk about how complicated their bakes are. How much work. And I'd rather go read.  For the most part this tactic has worked.  I've only occasionally broken down and baked brownies or cake after watching an episode. 

Shanna and I started by watching season 5 which was in reruns on my local PBS station.  I was immediately sucked in.  I loved it.  I love the complexity of the baking, the surprise of the technical challenge, the creativity the contestants display and most of all the reality of the people themselves.  They are so very human. Funny, talented, interesting and sometimes just a little nuts.  

After finishing this season with Shanna I found my sofa, grabbed my needlepoint and binge watched all of the other seasons via Netflix.  I definitely recommend this series.  - Jenny

Books: Stephanie Plum

 I blame Nanette.  She's the one who would not shut up about how funny the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich books were.  I finally decided to try one.  I went to my local public library and they had abridged versions of the first three books on cd.  I checked them out and started driving.  I no longer remember why I was driving to Moscow ID, probably for an Idaho Library Association conference.  

In any case these abridged books were awesome.  I laughed and drove and laughed and drove and when I got home I knew these would be something I would look for.  Eventually I found a large portion of the series at a used book store.  Nan kept telling me that I'd like the unabridged versions better and she was right.  

Now I own all of them via Audible.  Audiobooks are my addiction of choice.  What's interesting is that I find the abridged versions to be really good so I have both editions where available.  The abridged versions are super funny and make good road trip reads for shorter excursions. Especially when I have people in my car who have never read one. 

There's a feeling of repetition of theme and content if you read them one right after another so I have found it to be better if I read one then read something else.  I read a lot of authors who set books in a series one year between each book.  These books make more sense if you think of them as taking only a few weeks inbetween.  It makes the romantic conundrum more sensible if it's only a few weeks not years.  

I love the characters, the situations (yes they are improbable), and the lighthearted romp of these stories.  They are lovely brain candy.  

Stephanie Plum Main Series

1. One for the Money (1994)
2. Two for the Dough (1996)
3. Three to Get Deadly (1997)
4. Four to Score (1998)
5. High Five (1999)
6. Hot Six (2000)
7. Seven Up (2001)
8. Hard Eight (2002)
9. To the Nines (2003)
10. Ten Big Ones (2004)
11. Eleven on Top (2005)
12. Twelve Sharp (2006)
13. Lean Mean Thirteen (2007)
14. Fearless Fourteen (2008)
15. Finger Lickin' Fifteen (2009)
16. Sizzling Sixteen (2010)
17. Smokin' Seventeen (2011)
18. Explosive Eighteen (2011)
19. Notorious Nineteen (2012)
20. Takedown Twenty (2013)
21. Top Secret Twenty-One (2014)
22. Tricky Twenty-Two (2015)
23. Turbo Twenty-Three (2016)
24. Hardcore Twenty-Four (2017)
25. Look Alive Twenty-Five (2018)
26. Twisted Twenty-Six (2019)
27. Fortune & Glory Tantalizing Twenty-Seven (2020)

Stephanie Plum and Diesel

• 8.5 Visions of Sugar Plums (2002)
• 12.5 Plum Lovin' (2007)
• 13.5 Plum Lucky (2008)
• 14.5 Plum Spooky (2009)

Happy reading - Jenny