“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”

American musician Miles Davis (1926-1991) said that about the cool jazz he played but I think it pertains to other creative pursuits too. I doubt painters have an individual style with the first brushstroke. And I know it takes experience to find your voice as a writer.

Sunday mornings are usually slow and lazy… and Davis’ Kind of Blue set the perfect mood. Davis’ influential Blue is the best-selling jazz album of all time — something that he could only accomplish when he began to play like himself.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”

I said this to my daughter, then wondered where it came from. The proverb has been traced back to ‘Teacher’s Manual’ (1840) by American educator Thomas H. Palmer. It was originally intended to encourage students to do their homework. Today, it has the much broader meaning of general persistence. It has been around long enough that people have tweaked it to their own version. The funny examples include, “If at first you don’t succeed, try new batteries.” “If…, then cheat.” And “If…, try to hide your astonishment.”

For my readers outside of America, is there a similar saying in your culture?

August’s hot weather was once believed to be a time “when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies.” (Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813) That’s too dramatic for how the heat makes me feel today – which is lazy!

These hot sultry days are full of swimming lessons, water balloons, iced tea, sweet corn at the produce stand and plans to be outside early rather than at the sun’s peak. I have the need to capture it all before summer fades… Carpe Diem!

Language without words (almost) by pianist Keith Jarrett…

I recently heard Jarrett’s solo recording The Melody at Night, With You – a beautiful jazz album with standards such as Someone to Watch Over Me and I Loves You Porgy. On other recordings over his long musical career, Jarrett extends beyond jazz and plays classical and gospel piano. A prodigy with perfect pitch, he began piano lessons at age three. I wrote there are almost no words in his music since he is known for his grunts and moans as he plays. So happy to discover more of Jarrett’s brilliant music!

“A body is a living entity. It represents life, freedom, sensuality, and it is a mechanism to carry out our thoughts. A body is always beautiful to me. It depends on the individual work and what I do with it and what kind of idea lies behind it – if age matters or not. But in my group works, the only difference is how far people can go if it rains, snows etc.”

New Yorker Spencer Tunick is known for his photographs of large numbers of nude people. Tunick has photographed thousands of nude people in public places all over the world, including 18,000 people in Mexico City’s main square. In 2007, Tunick posed hundreds of nude volunteers at Aletsch Glacier to draw attention to global warming. It was not warm however, as the volunteers braved 10 degree temperatures at the time of the photograph. See his work on his site.

While our society places such high value on having the “perfect” body, we’d be wise to remember Tunick’s words about all bodies being beautiful. He ought to know.

“Upstream the canyon is silent.
Water innocent and steady as window glass
slides over speckled stones.
Brook trout and kokanee, rose and silver,
cast moving shadows on the bottom,
announce themselves to eagles, to flies.
Hard to be either predator or prey
in such transparency.”

A poem by Sharon Fain I found in a guide book to my favorite place: Some Common Birds and Flowers of Central Oregon’s Metolius Basin. The river is spring fed, about the same level and temperature all year around, and is clear as glass as the poet writes. I fly-fished the river BC (before children), and today hike along the river banks lush with lupine, paintbrush and corn lily. When she was four, my daughter said, “I love the nature” and I hope today finds you out in it.

Thank goodness there are so many great blogs for book lovers! In this age when reading actual books is down, it warms the cockles of my heart.

If you’re wondering what your next summer read should be, visit The Elegant Variation. Mark Sarvas posts insightful book reviews and talks about his own new novel Harry, Revisited. This enthusiastic and very busy reader will inspire you to add to your stack of must-reads.

As a mom, I appreciate reviews of kids books and Books For Kids by a retired librarian is a helpful resource. Book-a-Rama is fun to check out from a blogger and bookaholic in Canada who is taking a Read-a-Thon challenge today. I’ve found several books to add to my list at A Life in Books. And Danzig U.S.A. is an eclectic mix of culture, insight and beautiful photographs from three contributors in Louisville.

Just a few of my favorite things – please add yours!

Monday Note: I noticed on Google Analytics several international readers of my weekend blog. Fun to know people in Malaysia, France and Columbia are visiting! What’s on the bestseller lists in Israel and Portugal?

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

A good thought well worded from Spanish writer and poet Rosalia de Castro (1837 to 1885). De Castro is speaking figuratively about her journey through life but it also makes me think of physical travel. On vacations, you hope to see certain sites, then make discoveries of the unknown which can be more inspiring than what was planned. Perhaps because school is out and everyone seems to be going on vacation, I feel the travel bug too. Where are you traveling?

“When you sell a man a book, you don’t sell him 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue — you sell him a whole new life.”

That’s a rather big statement by writer Christopher Morley. Has a book ever changed your life? Some might site a self-help book or the bible. I remember Doctorow’s Ragtime changing the way I thought about the structure of novels… but that wasn’t really life-changing. Have you experienced a book which had a profound impact on you?

Time to get busy, such a lot to do
Building and fixing till it’s good as new
Bob and the gang have so much fun
Working together, they get the job done.

Are you heading back to work today after a relaxing holiday weekend? For my international readers, Memorial Day commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in military service. Some people will have observed the day by flying a flag at half-staff. While for others, it is simply a day off with the meaning lost like so many holidays.

My boy has been going around this morning singing this theme song to the kid’s show Bob the Builder. The simple rhyme is catchy and the point about team work is a good lesson, for both big and little people. It seemed apropos for today. Happy working!