Is that all there was?

The big ball drop here in Fort Wayne was kind of a bust but Happy 2017 anyway.  More tomorrow.

Happy New Year, almost

I am going to watch the first ever New Years Eve "ball drop" in Fort Wayne tomorrow evening. It's happening less than three blocks from my place so I thought I would just walk over and have a look. I have managed to talk one intrepid friend into doing this with me. Hopefully it won't be too cold. They did say, on TV today, that there will be a warming tent but I can't imagine everyone will fit in there. We are not planning to head over when the festivities start at 7:15pm (or 8:00pm). I've heard and seen different times posted on different sites. We will take the much more sensible (senior citizen?) approach of having a late supper at Hall's and then heading over about 10 or so.  I will report on New Year's Day on how it all went (after my fingers thaw).

Variety is the spice of life.

Every year, for the last several years, I have treated each of my four grandchildren out for a day of shopping and lunch. The agreement is that I will give each of them a set amount of cash and I also treat to lunch. They can shop where ever, and for whatever they want (as long as it's legal and moral) and they may choose where we lunch. I will never say "Hurry up." or "Make up your mind." we shop at their pace.  The only restriction these days is that we need to be home before dark because I don't drive after dark. Of course, these days are great fun for me too. Over the years we have shopped for antiques, roamed all around Glenbrook Mall, built bears, played games at Chuckie Cheese and spent a lot of time at Target. This year, so far, I have taken two granddaughters out for their shopping sprees, one Tuesday and one today. The first thing I noticed this year is that, at the ages of 12 and 14, these two girls have become much more decisive. They each knew exactly where they wanted to go and what they were looking for. I also appreciated how different the shopping experiences were. One granddaughter spent a lot of time at "Pink" (a part of Victoria's Secret) and the clothing department at Meijers. We lunched at Penn Station. Today the second granddaughter also headed for the mall but her focus was the book store, two shops that sell graphic tees and a shop where she could buy Japanese candy. We lunched at Olive Garden. I can't wait to see what the other two want to do. Talk about "the gift that keeps on giving" (to me that is).

better than Boxing Day

Today, are you ready for this?, today is National Chocolate Candy Day. I think this is a fine idea for a celebration half way between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Luckily I was given two excellent boxes of chocolate for Christmas so I have been able to celebrate all day, giving this day the attention it deserves.

yet more things to be thankful for

While I'm very pleased with the Christmas gifts I received this year I realized today, as I strolled the mall with my youngest granddaughter, that there are some things that I'm really glad I didn't receive. No one signed me up for Ancestry DNA, or named a star after me or gave me any of the endless varieties of Chia Pets. For that matter no one gave me a real pet either. Life is good.

Happy Boxing Day everyone.

I was pleased to learn, after a little Google research, that I have celebrated Boxing Day in an acceptable way. 

"For many people Boxing Day is a time to recover from the excesses of Christmas Day..." That's what I did. After a busy, fun time with family yesterday i basically spent today relaxing and reading a good book. I did not deliver gifts to the serfs or participate in a fox hunt (old time Boxing Day traditions), nor did I participate in shopping for post-Christmas bargains, attending a sporting event or taking a hike in the country (more contemporary BD activities). I think a day for relaxing after Christmas Day is an excellent idea and I may celebrate Boxing Day every December 26. 

Christmas Eve Joy

Just got home from a glorious Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterain here in fort Wayne. The music is still ringing in my ears (in a good way), and so, in the words of a not so reverent poet, "Happy Christmas to all, and ot all a good night!"

All wrapped up

I finished wrapping all of my Christmas gifts today, those that I'm giving to family on Christmas Day. I sent a package of gifts off to Spokane, Washington 10 days ago. Through the magic of the UPS tracking system I confirmed that it did arrive yesterday. Always good to know. Anyway, I couldn't help remembering the many Christmas Eves, when my kids were young and I was still wrapping gifts after the late night Christmas Eve service. Those were the days. Funny, I really don't miss that particular Christmas tradition at all.

Who knew this could be a diet aid?

I like to watch "the Great American Baking Show." You would think that watching the contestants create lavish concoctions, some of which I've never even heard of, would send me scurrying to the kitchen to bake something wonderful, Their creations all look absolutely delicious. Well, almost all. Sometimes the judges determine that something is a flop - the filling too gooey or the flavor just not quite right (maybe he shouldn't have mixed chocolate and fennel?). But the benefit to me is that, as I watch them stress to create their perfect offerings, it all looks so complicated and time-consuming that I just decide to eat some grapes instead. See? It's a perfect diet aid, at least for a basically lazy person.

not an intentional Scrooge

I had an interesting encounter today.  As I was loading my groceries into the back of my car a young lady pulled up behind me, rolled down her window, and proceeded to tell me that she had a four year old child in the car with her, had to get to Lafayette (or somewhere) and desperately needed money for gas. I told her that I didn't have any cash. She pleaded some more and I told her that I was on my way to the Kroger gas station and if she would follow me over there I would use my credit card to put some gas in her car. She then said that she didn't think she had enough gas left to get to the station (this while her car was running?).  OK, I may be a little slow, but by this time I was beginning to suspect a scam. I pointed to the gas station, just across the drive, told her again that I would be there in a few minutes to get gas myself and, if she would meet me there I would put some gas in her car. Well, I went to the gas station after I finished stowing my groceries, pumped my gas, didn't see any sign of the lady who claimed to be in such extreme need, and drove on home, a little wiser and happily no poorer. By the way, I did have some cash with me but I'm not totally stupid.

Sharing is not a natural instinct.

This morning was my once a month turn to help babysit the Moppets while their moms enjoyed a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting. The moms always look refreshed when they come to pick up their toddlers after the meeting. No comment on how we grandma-aged babysitters look at the end of two hours. I do find it fascinating to watch the interaction between the children. As a former Junior high teacher I feel like I can already spot the personalities in the three-years-old that they will exhibit in later life. Some boldly charge into the melee and stake their place while others hang back a little, carefully considering the situation before they start to play. While we spend some of the time reading to them or playing with them in small groups, some are quite comfortable going off and playing on their own. The one consistent truth as they play is this: when one child finds a particularly fascinating toy -be it Darth Vader mask, fireman's hat or little toy truck, three others will instantly decide that that is the very toy they must play with right now. They have heard of sharing and taking turns but, let me tell you, hanging on firmly and shouting "mine!" seems to come much more naturally. Ah well, they will all become good citizens eventually - we hope.

for better or worse, done for another year

I finished my annual Christmas poem today, got all the envelopes addressed and ready to go out in the mail tomorrow - which, I understand, is the last day to have a hope of getting them to people before Christmas Day. I figure, worst case, it will give people something to read the day after Christmas. I have a loose leaf notebook where I have kept copies of all the poems I have sent out over the years. I glanced through it today, as I was adding a copy of this year's effort, and was interested to discover that I sent out my first poem in 1993. At least that's the earliest one I could find. As I paged through them I relived a lot of highlights; college graduations, children getting married, grandchildren being born, Also some sad times (in the years I could only write prose), but all in all these silly little poems present an interesting look at the last 20+ years in our family life. I'm thinking I might assemble a set for each of my kids. Based on my usual speed for getting things done, if I start planning now, I may finish that project by next Christmas.

a music and memory filled day

We sang some good Christmas hymns at church this morning. Then three friends and I attended the Heartland Sings' Spirit of Christmas concert in the rotunda of Fort Wayne's beautiful historic court house. The acoustics were marvelous and the show was excellent. The choir finished with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and that brought back my memory of the year my mother was teaching kindergarten is a spare room in the high school where I was a junior. She brought her class from room to room and they sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to each high school class. They were so cute and I was so embarrassed. It didn't take much to embarrass me in those days.This evening I decided to watch a few minutes of the classic movie "The Sound of Music" on TV. Needless to say, it is now three hours later and I just finished watching the whole thing. This movie always brings back sweet memories. When the movie first came out I took my little brother to see it at a movie theater in downtown Fort Wayne (alas, no longer there). He was 11 and I was 21. When we got to the theater the afternoon show was sold out, standing room only, so we bought tickets for the next showing, and spent a couple of fun hours downtown shopping and window shopping. Back then there were big stores downtown. We saw the movie, finally, and loved it and I still do, even though, when I was in Austria a few years ago I learned the "true story," not quite as exciting as the movie but still pretty exciting.

rough draft

Each year I write a 'poem' about my year just past. I don't claim to be a great poet, or any kind of poet really, I just decided, over 20 years ago now, that I could tell the basics in a few quick lines and if anyone wants more detail, they are close enough friends to call me. So here's my rough draft for this year. I expect to add and change, but it's a start. I really need to get this mailed by Monday or it will become a New Year poem.

Apartment living agrees with me.
I've put down roots and put up my tree.
And I feel so free!
"But where do you keep all your stuff?"
a friend asked me recently.
This is it, this is all.
A two bedroom apartment still hold plenty of stuff.
But I feel so free.
When I travel I just lock the door and leave.
They even take care of my mail.
This year Scotland, England, Portugal and Spain
Favorite city Barcelona
favorite people, the Scots.
About that swiming pool.
I did swim and discovered
that I have reached invisibility
no one looks at or cares about me in an bathing suit.
no one shreiked or fainted and so I swam on.
And I feel so free

Too cold for me

I saw on this evening's weather report that Monday night the temperature will drop to 12 degrees BELOW zero. I'm sorry but I don't believe that's a real temperature. I really think that, if this is the way this winter is going to go, I need to go one step beyond retirement (or re-retirement this time around) and consider hibernation. I'm not exactly sure what bears take into their caves when they get ready to hibernate but I'm envisioning snuggling under my toasty warm electric blanket with some snacks and good books, reading til I get sleepy, then putting my sleep mask over my eyes and sleeping in until spring. I think I'll go do a practice run.

Here's a challenge for you.

I celebrated my birthday earlier this week. Never mind which one. Suffice it to say I'm closer to 70 than 60. I received several nice birthday cards but the one that still has me chuckling is from my brother and it said you're not old until you have trouble saying IRISH WRISTWATCH three times fast. Needless to say I flubbed it the first time through, but then so did each grandchild I showed it to so I don't feel so old after all.

A burglarious thaumaturge

My youngest granddaughter, a seventh grader, won her school spelling bee this week.  In February she will participate in the Allen County Spelling Bee. I'm very proud of her and a little bit astonished.  She certainly didn't inherit her spelling ability from me. The word she won with was 'burglarious'. If she had needed to go on to another word it would have been 'thaumaturge'. A burglarious thaumaturge is a larcenous magician, but of course you knew that.

Color of the year

I heard on the morning news the other day that the color of the year (I think they mean for 2017) is a light yellow green, a spring color that reflects life and plant growth. 60 years ago the color was called chartreuse and my mother painted our living room that color. We also had a living room sectional sofa in a slightly darker shade of the same color. Was my mother ahead of her time or has history simply taken a long time to repeat itself? They say that clothing styles repeat every 20 years, maybe it takes longer with colors. But thinking about clothes and colors, I am old enough to remember when every year (but especially during the sprint pre-Easter season) seemed to have "the color of the year" and department store windows would be filled with clothes, shoes and hats all in the same color.  When I was about 14 the color was a beautiful royal blue.  I really liked that year but I don't remember that color coming back when I was 34 or 54. Maybe when I'm 74?  Only two years to wait.

Snow kidding

In honor of our first substantial snow fall I thought I would share some interesting snow facts courtesy of an Old Farmer's Almanac Calendar. The weather person says that we had over 7 inches of snow and I believe that.  I helped a girlfriend clean her car off and there were certainly seven inches of soft, fluffy snow all over that car and every other one in the parking lot here.
I'm assuming these facts are true because who can doubt the Old Farmer's Almanac?
Fact number 1: When cows bellow in the evening expect snow by morning. Who knew?
Fact number 2: A single snow storm can drop 39 million tons of show. Hopefully not all on one roof.
Fact number 3: Every winter at least 1 septillion (1+24 zeros) snowflakes fall from the sky. Who counted?
Fact number 4: Chionophobia is a fear of snow. I'm not sure what a fear of driving in snow is called, maybe common sense?
And that's enough about snow for now.

A fun theatrical weekend

I haven't blogged for a couple of days because I had company for the weekend, and a busy, not to mention snowy, weekend it was. On Friday evening we attended the Fort Wayne Youth Theater's production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever." This was very well done, good humor and quite moving. The young actors all did a fine job.
On Saturday afternoon we attended the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Holiday Pops Concert. . As usual they did a wonderful job of presenting a purely Christmas concert, some religious, some secular but very definitely all Christmas and lots of old familiar favorites. The guest soloist, Anne Runolfsson, was really excellent.
On Saturday evening we attended the play "The Cemetery Club" at the Arena Dinner Theater. The dinner, beef and noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy and corn, didn't thrill me although it tasted OK but the play was fun with some ironic twists. It was the story of three widows who had been friends for a long time and met once a month to visit their husbands graves (all in the same cemetery) together. There were several hilarious moments and, since I was attending the play with two also widowed girlfriends, I couldn't help seeing some humorous similarities in our own lives. Although we travel together rather than visit graves (much more fun I think).

Remembering John Glenn

John Glenn died today at the age of 95.  I'm happy that he lived to such a good age. I honestly hadn't thought much about John Glenn over the last few years but there was a time when he was quite an influence in our lives. I never knew him personally you understand but for four years, while our children were in elementary school, we lived near New Concord, Ohio, the home of John Glenn. If we had stayed longer in Ohio (if my husband had stayed longer at his job with NCR) our children would have attended John Glenn High School. As it was, New Concord, a lovely college town, was very proud of their native son, and rightly so. Astronauts and space exploration were big topics of conversation in the kid's classrooms and elsewhere.  It was from a friend there that I first learned about Space Camp in Huntsville, AL.  From the first week that my son attended Space Camp we were all hooked on the Space Camp experience. Our son and his sister attended the camp for several years.  Then each of them went on to spend time as a counselor there. My son now teaches at the Air Force education program for 5th graders called Star Base where the students spend an intensive week studying science with a heavy emphasis on things space related while my daughter serves in the Air National Guard. When I think about this I realize that John Glenn and his fellow early astronauts really were a big influence in our family and I'm glad they were. It's good to realize that my children had such fine heroes.

Whatever happened to Cabbage Patch dolls?

I heard on TV yesterday that this year's hot, must have toy is something called a "Hatchamal". Not sure of the spelling but that's what it sounded like. Evidently it's a toy stuffed animal that 'hatches' out of an egg. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Over the years we've seen Tickle Me Elmo, Pet Rocks, and my all time favorite, the Cabbage Patch doll. I have a friend who was the manager of the toy department at JC Penny's the year they were most popular. He tells me it was a mad house. He still shudders at the memory. No wonder he gave up retail sales for the peaceful joys of being a Realtor. I bought a Cabbage Patch doll for my daughter that year but, thanks to an ingenious friend, I didn't need to stand n any lines. She persuaded her brother, who was living in Germany at the time, to ship home a selection of CP dolls for her and her friends. Evidently they weren't such a big deal in Germany.  Of course my daughter's doll came with adoption papers printed in German, but hey, lots of people adopt foreign babies, right?

Feeling blindsided

I joke a lot about the fact that I don't have much peripheral vision in my left eye. Because of this, I sometimes bump into walls (or sometimes people) and some times it hurts a little. But I was really blindsided today and it has nothing to do with my eyesight. Our head pastor who has been with us for five years and who I like very much told the Session last night and the entire congregation, via e-mail today, that he has accepted a position in a church north of Chicago and will be leaving us in January. While intellectually I understand his reasons - a move up the career ladder, closer to his and his wife's families and more - I still deep down am feeling bereft. How can he do this to us? I know I'll get over it and we will probably call an excellent new pastor but right now I am not at all happy about this. Not very Christian of me I know but there it is. OK, I've vented now and I already feel a little better.

smooth, very smooth..

I saw a performance by "Smooth Edge 2" at First Pres this evening. They are such an amazing a cappella  singing group. I love their blend of voices and, speaking of blends, their performance this evening was a delightful blend of fun and frivolous pieces and beautiful traditional Christmas music. On the silly side the "Christmas Can Can: and the "Reindeer Rodeo" were my favorites. On the traditional side the soloist for "Silent Night" was outstanding and the blending of voices in  "Mary Did You Know" was just blissful. All in all, a lovely evening.

A Delicious Day

I found my December apartment calendar/newsletter on my doorstep when I got home from church today. I immediately turned to the calendar page to see if today is a special day and guess what? Today is "Cookie Day!" What a great day. However the title isn't very specific. Are we supposed to be enjoying the leftover coolies from Thanksgiving or baking Christmas cookies or both? No matter how you interpret it, it seems like a fine day to me, so go eat a cookie, but only one. It's not Cookies Day.

And speaking of retirement....

I went with a friend this evening to see Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain in his famous one man show. I've heard about this show for years and was excited to see it. Sadly, while the Twain lines were, in general, as pithy and humorous as I expected, Holbrook's performance was painful to watch. He fumbled notes, repeated whole segments, was hard to understand at times and generally gave a very poor presentation. I know he's older and I know he's portraying an older Mark Twain but I think someone should tell him kindly that it's time to retire. We left at intermission and we were not alone. The high point of the evening was going to DeBrand's for hot chocolate after. Yummmm.

Pondering Gingerbread Houses

How did gingerbread houses come to be associated with Christmas?  The only story I'm familiar with that features a gingerbread house is Hansel and Gretel and that ends up (at least in the original version) with the wicked witch planning to eat the children and being killed in her own oven.  Not very Christmasie in my mind. Now gingerbread I can understand. Gingerbread is delicious to eat, fragrant to sniff while baking, but not necessarily that exciting to look at. It is fun to make into gingerbread boys or girls but then you face the dilemma of how to eat them - head first or feet first? Maybe gingerbread houses were created to give the gingerbread people a place to live, but they don't last long enough around my place for that to be a necessity. So, while I may be baking some gingerbread in the next couple of weeks, I won't be making it into a house. Does that make me a '"ginger grinch?"

Re-retired!!!

"Re-retired, re-retired!!" sung to the tune of "Alleluia", It's official, today was the last day (half day actually) of my temporary return to work.  The "couple of weeks" that I agreed to help out after the friend who had replaced me was in a car accident stretched into four months but it's all over now. I spent the morning helping to train my replacement and then I walked out. This afternoon two of my granddaughters and I decorated my Christmas tree and this evening we ate out and I got a free burger at Red Robin because my birthday is this month.  So, altogether a great day and a fine way to start December.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Well, the pressure is on now,  I received my first Christmas card in the mail today. I mean a real card from a real friend, not something begging for money but disguised to look like a friendly card. Oh, yes, I got one of those too. This is actually my favorite time of year mail wise.  At least in-coming. There's a hope for something in the mail that isn't asking for a donation, offering me a great deal on life insurance (I love that they don't require a physical; I guess they figure we're all going to die sometime) or offering me an amazing new credit card.  I'm still working on my out-going Christmas mail. That's where the pressure comes in.  What rhymes with 'orange in my stocking'?

I need to smile more but at what price?

As I was walking into my job at church today I heard a little day school student, who was with his class on the playground, say to his friend "There goes a grandma." No surprise that he was talking about me since I was the only non-teacher in the area and I am, after all, a gray-haired grandma.  I turned and smiled and waved at the kids, then continued on my way only to hear the same voice behind me saying "She looks like a mean grandma." Really?  So, I was telling my youngest granddaughter, she's 12, about this incident as I drove her home from school today. She said "Don't smile, show me your resting face." So I did and she informed me that I do have kind of a mean looking resting face. So I smiled and she went on to point out all the wrinkles around my eyes and on my cheeks that show up when I smile. Yikes, now I know what my options are. I can smile and show off my wrinkle collection or not smile and look mean. Or one other option occurs to me. This may be the time to start wearing a burka.

The pressure is on

Every year I write a Christmas poem to mail to my family and friends as a Christmas greeting.  No, it;s not because I'm too cheap to buy Christmas cards (well maybe only partly). I've been doing this for over 20 years now and generally it's a fun, easy exercise because I don't take myself too seriously. However this year one of my favorite nephews has become engaged at last! He's 37 and we were beginning to despair.. They will be getting married in May in Seattle.  I'm looking forward to that for the chance to see all of my Washington family and to meet my new niece-in-law. However, in a recent phone conversation, my nephew let slip that his fiancee is really looking forward to my Christmas poem. Yikes, I don't know why he even mentioned my poems but now I'm feeling pressured to come up with something good.  Stay tuned.

Good bye leaves, hello lights!

One of the things I really appreciate about this time of year is the changing view from my balcony. A few weeks ago the colors were gorgeous as leaves turned from green to gold, red, rust and orange. Now the trees are pretty bare and I can see things I couldn't see through the leaves. The main things I can see are more lights. The MLK bridge puts on its nightly show, the Science Central crayon-colored smokestacks glow in their spotlights and, of course, as we ease into December, more and more Christmas lights will be showing up. I'm pleased to report that I am now making my contribution to the bright lights. I put up my outside lights today, and thanks to a nifty timer they will shine out in their multi color glory from 4:30 pm to 1:00 am every evening. I don't miss the hours I used to spend putting up outside decorations at my house but I am glad to have a space to put up some outside decorations here.

The Holly Trolley Tour

I took myself on the Holly Trolley Tour through downtown Fort Wayne today. It was a fun chance to ride in one of the trolleys and since one of the stops was right here at the apartment building where I live it was very convenient. I rode around through 12 stops to get to the Farmers' Market at Parkview Field. The ride took about an hour, but it was an interesting opportunity to do some people watching. Of course I could have walked it in 25 minutes but I wasn't in any hurry. From there I walked back, stopping at several shops along the way. The whole event was Fort Wayne's way to encourage downtown shopping on Small Business Saturday and I'm happy to say there were lots and lots of people downtown. As far as actual shopping is concerned all I bought was one gift certificate and some meat at the Farmers' Market so I didn't do a lot to support the small business economy, but I can honestly say I have started my Christmas shopping. I know, I know, many people are finished by now but for me to be started before December is almost miraculous. Thanks Fort Wayne for getting the ball (or at least the trolley) rolling.

Too much of a good thing?

I decided to look ahead on my nifty calendar and see what other special days are still coming in November. Not that Thanksgiving wasn't enough but I was curious. So guess what, there are two more special days this month. Tomorrow is Cake Day and next Monday is French Toast Day. Really?? Cake and French Toast? We didn't consume enough calories yesterday? Ah well, who am I to deny a special day? I don't have an actual cake in my apartment but I do have two delicious pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that my daughter-in-law sent home with me yesterday so I guess I will pretend they are little cakes and celebrate the day. I know the recipe for French Toast so I'm not worried about that. Let's hear it for celebrating special days.

Thanksgiving Day Delights

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving dinners as much as I did. We did our usual family carry-in. My brother brought his famous green bean casserole (with lots of cheese). My daughter-in-law's mother (who hosted this mid-day feast) fixed turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing baked in the bird, mashed potatoes, and homemade gravy. I brought the sweet potatoes and two pumpkin pies. My daughter-in-law brought her excellent salad and a really delicious pecan pie. I also, at the request of one granddaughter, made some whipped cream. It was yummy. All in all a fine day for eating and enjoying reminiscing. And, one more thing to be thankful for, we get to do it all again at Christmas. Different home, different host but lots of the same food. Well not the same food. There weren't many leftovers. But a banquet made from the same recipes. Yummm! Right now I'm savoring all the taste memories and blocking out the realization that it's time to start getting ready for Christmas. I will not be doing any shopping tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving.:)

Another plea for money

Following last night's Scroogish blog it seems only fair to present another scenario. I received another plea for a charitable donation in the mail today. Not too surprising, I seem to get at least one a day, especially this time of year. This one was a very straight forward, relatively brief letter asking for a donation which would be matched though a matching grant pledge they had received. No gimmicks, no gifts or promises of free goodies, just a simple request for help for a good cause.  This is an organization I have supported before and I will be sending them a check.
But before I write that check tomorrow I need to make sweet potatoes and bake 2 pumpkin pies for our family gathering, also real whipped cream since I promised my granddaughter. That's the kind of donation i really like to make.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

really I'm not a Scrooge but...

I don't think I'm a selfish or miserly person. I give to my church and donate to a number of charities. However, I made up my mind a long time ago not to give to charities who send me something.  I figure if they can afford to send me a nickle or a quarter or a calendar they don't really need my money. I typically drop the coins in our monthly bucket collection at church. Today I got a begging letter with a slightly new twist. it contained a check, made out to me, for $2.50. The accompanying letter assured me that it is a real check that I can keep and cash, but they're hoping that I will mail it back to them, with an additional $10 to help their research and education programs. But wait, there's more. If I return the check with an additional $15 or more they will send me a free insulated tote bag.
Or (just thinking out loud here) I could use the $2.50 to buy an insulated tote bag at Kroger's thereby cutting out the middle man and saving myself $15.
Maybe I am a little Scroogish after all. Bah, humbug!

giving blood with a laugh

Today was my day to give blood at the Red Cross. I do this fairly frequently. In fact, by their records today was my 84th blood donation. Most of the time when I give blood it's a fairly straightforward event. I sign in, read all the pages of information I'm given, go through having my temperature, blood pressure, iron level and pulse checked and answer questions on the computer. Then they prep my arm, stick in the needle, draw the blood and hey, presto, I'm done except for the snack after. Today though they were training some new hires and everybody seemed to be in a silly mood. One thing they do is ask your name at least four times through the whole process. The man in the chair next to me figured that this was because he had been there so long that maybe his name had changed. He also figured he might be having an out of body experience because they seemed to forget which chair he was in for a while. The young man who took all my vital statistics announced to the group at large at one point that he had been raised in a circus family. Based on his behavior, I believed him. The young lady who was assigned to draw my blood was a trainee although she assured me that she used to work at a plasma donor site and had drawn blood over 1000 times. She did a fine job once she actually got around to drawing my blood but had to prep the injection site three times before she got it right. It's not a complicated job. One only swabs the injection site with alcohol then rubs an Iodine swab over the spot for 30 seconds. The first time she did it, while being observed by her "trainer", the blood pressure cuff was too close to the area and contaminated it. Second time, she leaned over the site to reach for something and contaminated the site again. Third time was the charm and the blood started flowing just like it was supposed to - until the end when they tried to fill the six little test tubes.  My blood had stopped flowing. They finally realized that they had relaxed the blood pressure cuff too soon.
I will go back in eight weeks to give blood again, but it probably won't be as laugh-filled as today's experience was. It may be faster though.

another day, another name

Some time ago in this blog I discussed naming my car. Now it seems I need to think of another name. According to my nifty calendar today is "Name Your PC Day". Now I'm assuming PC stands for Personal Computer here although I suppose It could stand for Pantry Cupboard, Prettiest Cup, Painted Chair, Purple Couch, Paper Chain, Penny Collection...you get the idea. However, since I do spend a great deal of time working and, I admit it, playing on my computer I suppose it deserves a name. Considering that it's still working after the accidental tea bath I gave it the other night perhaps I should name it Puddle Proof (PP for short). Of course if I follow the line of thinking I used naming my car (Blue after its color) I could name it Black but that's not very exciting. I think, since it is a Toshiba brand, I'll call her Sheba. There, that decision is made, now I can go to bed.

Snow kidding.....

I admit it, when I saw it snowing today it made me feel so happy. Yes it was cold, yes the wind chill was harsh but it was SNOWING!!! The first snow of the season always affects me like this. Mind you when it snows in March I won't be smiling but for now, hooray for snow.

Rain, rain go away...

Here's a case of unfortunate timing. Some people are coming to Fort Wayne this weekend with the thought that they might like to move here.  I'll be helping to show them around town tomorrow morning (shades of my real estate days). One of the concerns they have expressed is that, coming from North Carolina, Indiana may be too cold for them. We've just experienced a lovely fall week, unusually warm for mid-November, but tomorrow we're told we will be experiencing rain, possible snow flurries, 40 degree temps and a wind chill that will make it feel like the mid 20s. Ah well, at least they won't be able to complain that we lied about the weather. We would if we could, you understand, but they're likely to notice the snowflakes on the windshield.

How far can liquid spread?

So I was innocently sitting here, laptop on my lap, sending some necessary e-mails when I casually reached for my ever present cup of tea resting on the coffee table. Ordinarily not a problem but this evening, somehow, I bumped the mug against my computer screen and tea flew everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Sofa, table, bathrobe, slippers, carpet all caught their share. Of course my laptop got the full blast. I grabbed a stack of my nifty micro fiber cleaning cloths and sopped up everything I could. Evidently my computer is at least somewhat water proof (or tea proof?) because, once I mopped up the excess liquid, it continued working like nothing had happened except, when I pushed on the space bar, little poofs of tea would surface. That seems to have stopped now and all is well. Way to go Toshiba!

fast food fast

According to my nifty calendar today is National Fast Food Day. I admit to being a fan of fast food; cheeseburgers and fries are good eating, so I'm all for celebrating these lunch choices. Thinking about fast food though has me thinking about other fast things and how much we expect speed in our lives. We heat things in the microwave, tap our fingers impatiently if it takes longer than a few seconds to access email or Facebook, expect instant light when we flip a switch. You get the idea. I'm sure you can add to the list. Earlier today I saw a segment on TV (which I expect to turn on instantly when I push a button on the remote) about pizza being delivered by a drone.  They didn't say how long it took to get the drone delivered pizza from point a to point b so I'm not sure if that qualifies as fast food. It sounds like an interesting way to deliver pizza but some questions arise. Will the pizza be in good shape when it's delivered? Will it still be hot? Will it be the pizza that I ordered? Will the drone expect a tip? Oh wait, those are the same questions I wonder about now when I order a pizza.

the ultimate exercise

I read once that an adult person could loose weight by simply following a two-year-old around all day and doing everything they do.  I'm not sure if it leads to weight loss but it for sure leads to exhaustion. Twice a month a group called MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meets at our church and once a month I'm one of the grandma aged volunteers who watch the toddlers (we call them moppets) while their moms enjoy their meeting. For two hours we watch, referee, play, read, rock, serve snacks and generally keep watch over a room full of perpetual motion machines. Today it was four of us against 13 of them - pretty good odds since we are bigger. Also today we didn't have much crying. The really little ones seemed to be too busy trying to keep up with the bigger kids to take time to cry. Busy was definitely the operative word here.  There was one pleasant surprise. I was watching a three year old building things with the large size Legos, then taking them apart and dropping the blocks all over the floor. After watching this for a while I said "Ok now let's pick up." and lo and behold he started right in and picked up the blocks. Congratulations Mom, you're raising a good boy there.

wild geese over the moon

I'm sure you've heard on the TV weather reports over the last couple of nights that we are experiencing a Super Moon.  The moon is closer to the earth that it has been since 1948.  It will not be this close again until 2034. While I think it is a beautiful full moon, it hasn't effected me as much as it has the geese around my place. This time of year I typically hear the geese as they gather on and near the river at sunrise and sunset discussing their plans for heading south. But last night at midnight they were flying and honking and squawking and carrying on like I've never heard them before. It went on and on or so it seemed since I was trying to fall asleep. I think they were celebrating the Super Moon and who can begrudge them that?

Thanksgiving Carols

I'm starting to hear Christmas carols everywhere - in stores, on the radio, you know the drill. Some are silly and some are lovely but I know that by New Years Day I will be thoroughly tired of them.  So I think we should have a week or two of Thanksgiving carols first.  There's "Come Ye Thankful People Come" and ????????????? Hummm, maybe that's why we don't hear Thanksgiving carols. Maybe we should write some? "I saw mama sneaking pumpkin pie" to the tune of "I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause", "Jingle giblets, jingle giblets, gravy all the way..." perhaps this needs more thought.
My mind is on food this evening because I enjoyed a really excellent dinner with friends earlier today. Good food, good conversation, good laughs, what could be better?

shopping spree

At least once or twice a year I take each of my grandchildren on a shopping spree, It's my usual practice to take each of the four on a shopping trip as their Christmas gift. Sometimes we do the same thing for birthdays. Today one granddaughter and I enjoyed a day of shopping and lunch to celebrate her 14th birthday.  One of the great joys of a day like this for me is the chance to listen to what's going on in their lives. While I listen to talk about life as, in this case, an 8th grader, I realize that, even though we never used computers or laptops in school or got to use our phones during the lunch hour as a special treat, much of the social interaction that goes on sounds all too familiar. I also enjoy observing how shopping patterns have changed. Today we zipped right past "Build a Bear" and "Claire's Boutique" and spent our time at "American Eagle" and "Barnes & Noble". The other nice change is that, while I treated her to lunch, later in the day she treated me to a drink at "Starbucks". It's such fun to watch them growing up.

A movie worth seeing...

Happy Veterans Day everyone.  In honor of the occasion my brother (a Vietnam veteran) and I went to a movie - his choice.  We saw "Hacksaw Ridge", a movie about a World War II conscientious objector medic who saved an amazing number of injured soldiers during one particularly horrendous battle. It was a good movie. There were some pretty bloody scenes but overall it was a very honorable depiction of the exploits of a real life hero.

Do you remember?

I received a catalog in the mail today. That, in and of itself, isn't too surprising. I think the lady who lived in this apartment before me must have bought everything through catalogs because, over this past year I have found an amazing variety of catalogs in my mail, even a horse fancier's catalog. But the catalog that came today is very special - not because of the size or contents - but because of the memories it evoked. It's a Christmas catalog and not just any Christmas catalog, it's a Montgomery Ward catalog. This is a fairly skinny catalog, 86 pages, but the front pages are pages of toys. As I flipped through it, admiring doll houses, dolls, trains, trucks, robots and more I found my self flashing back to the Christmas catalogs of my childhood. They were at least an inch thick and packed with pictures and descriptions of fabulous toys, clothes, furniture, appliances, artificial Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations, dishes, pots and pans, tools, bicycles, ice and roller skates and just about anything else you can imagine. A lot of hours were spent dreaming and wishing over those catalogs. Thanks for the memories Montgomery Ward.

another great invention

In the ongoing process of searching for a new associate pastor our committee is trying to do as much as possible without spending too much money. We're not cheap exactly just very Presbyterian. One great tool to accomplish that is Skype. We held two interviews via Skype this evening and it was very interesting to actually see what the applicants look like and to observe their facial expressions as they answered our questions. I had interviewed each of these people by phone before this evening and I was so surprised to see that neither of them looked anything like I imagined they might. You can't judge by voice alone I guess. Let's hear it for Skype. Now if I could just learn to use it at home, although now that I think about it, the world really doesn't need to see what I look like sitting around in my fuzzy bathrobe.

Canadian sunsets

I've seen a few Canadian sunsets and they have been very pretty.  My son just got back from spending a week there (more space study) and said it was a really nice place.  I go to Stratford, Ontario for a long weekend of theater every summer and Stratford is a charming small city. I could probably get a job in one of the little galleries or shops there. You may sense from these musings that I'm a little upset with the way the election returns are coming in. I thought I'd better write this before I can,t see the keyboard for my tears. Ah well, at least some of the local candidates I voted for won. All is not gloom and doom.

Now where did I put my Teddy Bear?

I have a friend who brings her stuffed bear along when we go places together in my car. It helps her relax and avoid anxiety attacks, and no, in case you're wondering, it has nothing to do with my driving. I know she would appreciate that, according to my nifty calendar (November edition), today is "Hug a Bear Day".I'm assuming that it means hug a Teddy Bear because there's no way I'm going to track down a real bear to hug. They have nasty big claws. Perhaps it means "Give someone a bear-hug." My family is big on hugs. But thinking about bear hugs or hugging bears as a way to relieve stress, I think I will find my old Teddy Bear, close my eyes, hug it close, and stay in bed with the covers over my head at least for the next 48 hours or maybe for the next four years. Happy election eve everybody.

Being stretched keeps you flexible.

At least that's the positive attitude theory I intend to cling to until my replacement is hired and I am once again retired.  Notice I used the word stretched not stressed.  Again thinking positively.  Between weekend company (lots of fun but still time consuming). my "part time" job, chairing a committee that's almost a job by itself and picking up grandchildren after school almost every day, I am feeling a little stretched. I shall try to remain flexible, mentally if not physically, and remember my dear mother's often repeated words of wisdom "This too shall pass."
On a much more upbeat note, I attended the Fort Wayne Children's Choir "Harvest Concert" this evening and it was lovely.  My favorite selection was "Psalm 23". I appreciated that the texts of all the songs were printed in the program and this program also contained several appropriate quotes from several poets.  The one I appreciated most
"Places I love come back to me like music,
Hush me and heal me when I am very tired" by Sara Teasdale

It is November, right?

Mind you I'm not complaining.  We are, so far, having a beautiful November after a warmer than average October.  While I'm loving the fact that I can open windows and don't have any heating or cooling bills (I just paid an electric bill for $26) I do have one concern.  Some months ago I agreed to help out my pre-retirement employer by going back to work for "a couple of weeks". We're into the fourth month now, and while they are interviewing applicants, I haven't had any indication of how soon someone will be hired except one casual reference to mid December.  I think where I made my mistake was telling them I absolutely wanted to be re-retired before snow flies. The way the weather is going that could be next April.

Vote early and vote often...

That's the old joke about Chicago politics. I did vote early. Yesterday morning a friend and I walked from the church where we both work to the nearest voting location.  A friend who is working the polls told us to come early so we arrived about 9am and there were only about 20 people in line in front of us.  We were in and out in less than a half hour but by the time we left the line of waiting voters had more than doubled. Based on what I saw and the TV reports of long lines there probably won't be anyone left to vote on November 8. If everyone votes early does that mean they can stop running the political ads early?

I can't watch.

But I am watching. The Cubs and Indians are tied in the 8th after the Cubs led for 7 innings. I was at a meeting earlier where two of the six of us were Indians fans while the other four were Cubs fans, so no matter what, I know someone who will be happy when this is over.  Actually, I'll be happy when this is over because I can't make myself got to bed until it is. I'm not a huge baseball fan, although I do like the game, but this particular series is such a good story.
Here's something else to think about  - today is "Deviled Egg Day". Not sure why that would come in November. I associate deviled eggs with summer picnics and Easter dinner. It's not a typical Thanksgiving treat in our family. But then, I'm not the one making up these days.  I wish I knew who was.

another election option

i'm not sure if this will actually be an option when I go to vote tomorrow but here's a statistic I heard earlier today. Some time ago a pole was taken asking people if they had the choice would they vote  for Clinton, Trump or a giant meteor to strike the earth. 13% opted for the meteor. How sad is that? I'm going with a friend to vote early tomorrow. I've made my decisions, I'll cast my vote then try to relax and assume that no matter what the outcome next week life will go on.
In the meantime I found my November apartment newsletter tucked under my door and, hooray, hooray, it has another calendar listing several special days this month.  They range from "Cake Day" to "World Freedom Day" and lots of fun days in between.  Stay tuned.

Halloween memories

No trick or treaters tonight. Not too surprising since I live in a 10th floor apartment. I did party with my family on Saturday though so I'm not Halloween deprived. Over the years we've had a lot of fun Halloweens. But three especially come to mind.

I have a picture of my son in his first ever Halloween costume. He was the cutest bunny ever but looks a little overwhelmed by the whole process. He was three at the time.

We lived in south-eastern Ohio when our kids were about 6 and 8 years old.  We lived near a very small town, Norwich, and on Halloween the neighbor kids and ours were able to trick or treat through the whole town. The atmosphere was that of a fun old fashioned Halloween.

When our children were teens and older, my husband and I hosted a few Halloween parties over the years.  The one that stands out in my mind is the year my brother, who is 6 ft 6 inches tall, came dressed in a gorilla costume while his wife came dressed as a big game hunter. I didn't actually see this but we were told that as he drove across town in full costume to get to the party he got several startled looks from passing drivers. I bet. Sweet, strange memories seem appropriate for halloween.

The Cubs are still alive

Tonight was the first night I've had a chance to watch at least part of a World Series game this year and I picked a good one. When I flipped over to FOX after watching my don't miss Sunday night show, "Madam Secretary",  I was delighted to discover that the Cubs were in the lead, 3 - 2.  I watched the last three innings knowing that this one was do or die for the Cubs. It looked like it was cold in Chicago, fans were shivering in the stands, but at the end the Cubs' fans were feeling no pain. Of course they still need to win two more games to win this series but at least now they have a chance. I must say, if I have to feel tension while watching TV this is a much more fun way to do it than watching a presidential debate. GO CUBS!!!

National Candy Corn Day

Actually, according to my nifty calendar, tomorrow is National Candy Corn Day but I decided to tell you this evening so you could run out and stock up on candy corn. Truthfully I'm not very fond of candy corn. It's right down there on my list with jelly beans.  Now if it happened to be National Dove Dark Chocolate Day I would be fighting my way through the crowds at the candy counter.

the Common English Bible

We've been doing a comparison study on a relatively new translation of the Bible (2011) called the Common English Bible. I bought a copy and am finding it very readable. Of course part of the reason for that is that I bought a copy in a large print edition.  We've been learning a lot about how a new translation is researched and changes that have been made that I'm not sure I would have even notice if it hadn't been pointed out to me. One example is that this translation uses contractions which makes conversations sound much more natural. But I had never notice that other versions don't use contractions. One of the most interesting facts that was mentioned this past Sunday is the fact that when the King James version of the Bible was first published there were 25,000 words in the English language. Now we have over a million words. Isn't that interesting? I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  I know lots of new words have been added since I was a child. 'Google' is an example. When I was young I couldn't google or go on Google.  Of course we did have 'Barney Google and His Goo Goo Googly Eyes' one of the songs my mother used to sing to us. A classic, I'm sure you'll agree.

a really scary thought

I received a truly scary Halloween card in the mail yesterday. First let me say that it's exciting to get anything in the mail that isn't asking for money or offering to loan me money. On the front the card poses the question "What's the most horrifying thing about Halloween?" The answer inside "There are only 54 shopping days left until Christmas!" Now that's scary.

Some flashing lights are prettier than others.

I like Halloween lights and Christmas lights. They're usually very pretty. I do not like starting my car and having a bright light start flashing on my dashboard, especially when it's followed up by an informative sign flashing in front of my eyes telling me that the pressure is low in my right front tire. I got out and checked the tire and it looked and felt just like the other one so I made the drive I needed to make to pick up a granddaughter from school and take her ti the orthodontist  Of course the tire pressure symbol kept glowing at me for the entire drive. A few weeks ago the same symbol popped up on my dashboard with a sign that my tire pressure indicator did not seem to be functioning correctly. Which message do I believe?  I'm taking my car to the dealer tomorrow and I'll let a mechanic solve the mystery.

another debate and another election possibility

I watched the Governor candidates' debate this evening. Democratic Gregg, Republican Holcomb and I'm sorry but I don't remember the Libertarian candidate's name.  Much like the Senatorial debate I watched, they calmly answered questions about the issues without slinging insults.  At the end of the debate the moderator complimented all three of them on the "tone and civility" of the debate. Isn't it sad that polite, mature behavior even needs to be commented on? The debate didn't change my mind but, as I watched, I realized something. If I am in my second childhood (see an earlier blog) I'm probably too young to vote. Hummm???? I'll have to think about that.

Three special days in one

My sophisticated, serious calendar says that today is United Nations Day and also Labour Day in New Zealand.  OK, it's actually my page-a-day Sudoku calendar but still I trust that this information is correct. Correct but nor particularly exciting. However my other calendar that has told me about so many other nifty days this month informs me that today is "National Bologna Day". Who knew bologna had it's own day?  I haven't eaten bologna for a long time but the thought of it does bring back one distinct memory. My husband and his mother like fried bologna. There's a trick to frying bologna - you need to make little slices around the edges to keep it from curling into a cup shape when you fry it. It's not too bad in a sandwich but I prefer mine cold from the package. I mentioned that I haven't eaten bologna for a long time, but it occurs to me that I have been absolutely inundated with bologna (or is that baloney?) during this election season.

Am I there yet?

Recently I've received two hints that it might be time for me to jump into my second childhood. Last week I got a Halloween card (in the real mail, not email - always fun to get mail not asking for money) with a note from my BFF suggesting that some people think we're too old to participate in the silliness of Halloween but she was inviting me to join her in getting started on our second childhood by enjoying Halloween. Sounds good to me. Then today at church we celebrated "Children's Sabbath" with a worship service that included a wonderful story telling session presented by Janet Steele, a Certified Biblical Storyteller, and the singing of children's hymns.  We sang "This is the Day" as our call to worship, then "Down in My Heart", "Jesus Loves Me", and "This Little Light of Mine". I loved every minute of it which probably means I am right on the brink of SCS (Second Childhood Syndrome). If that's the case, bring it on.

another musical evening

I have enjoyed a variety of musical performances over the last several days. Last week it was the Barber Shop extravaganza. Earlier this week a really excellent junior high band concert and tonight I went with some friends to the Philharmonic - always a treat.  I enjoyed the Mendelssohn symphony and Britten's "Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings" (a new piece to me) but the highlight of the evening for me was Rossini's good old "William Tell Overture."  The whole overture is beautiful with some lovely lyrical sections in the early parts but, of course, my heart beat a little faster when they swung into the fast loud part (I'm sure there's a correct musical term for the fast loud part but you know what I mean). While I saw several young people in the audience I'm sure I wasn't the only one who experienced an instant flashback to the radio, later TV, rousing intro to "The Lone Ranger". I'm pretty sure I even heard a murmur of "Hi Oh Silver, Away!!"

some interesting insights

I watched a really interesting show last night on PBS. It was an episode of their "Frontline"  series called "The Choice, 2016". I was expecting more of the same talking heads reporting on 'he said, she said' and who won the latest debate.  Instead it was a retrospective and pretty in depth look at the lives of Hillary and Donald from childhood on.  It was fascinating to see the backgrounds they came from and how their personalities were formed/  It certainly explained a lot - didn't change my mind about who I will vote for but still very interesting.  I must admit it was also fun to see what they looked like 40 years ago.

more beautiful music

I went to my granddaughter's band concert at Carroll Middle School this evening.  She plays clarinet* in the eighth grade band. I am always intrigued, at junior high concerts, at the evolution you can hear as they wisely let the sixth graders play first, then seventh, then eighth.  Actually this evening they all sounded really good. It was fun to see the sixth graders conducted by their obviously very competent student teacher who was from Ball State. For me it's also fun to see their director/music teacher who, somewhere at the beginning of his teaching career, had my son and daughter in band.  He mentioned at one point that there are 92 students in the seventh grade band.  The other two bands looked just about as large.  I think this all bodes very well for Carroll High School's marching band for years to come.
*About that clarinet, my youngest brother played it in high school about 45 years ago, my daughter played it in high school band about 30 years ago and now my granddaughter is playing it. She tells me it's one of only two wooden clarinets in the band and that it still has a very good tone. Good to know that some things last.

Beauty wins

This morning as I was enjoying a beautiful sunrise, my white bird flew down and landed on the river. Such a beautiful moment.  I know for sure that it's a crane now that I've seen it fly. This evening I watched the last presidential debate. As far as high moments of my day, the bird and the sunrise definitely win and that's what I'll remember as I fall asleep tonight.

Wow, a debate about the issues.

What a concept. I watched the senatorial debate this evening. Indiana candidates for the US Senate Evan Bayh, Democrat, Todd Young, Republican, and Lucy Brenton, Libertarian, stood calmly behind their separate podiums on a stage and thoughtfully answered questions posed to them by Ken Owen, a good, no nonsense moderator. They didn't yell, demean each other (well not much) or rant on about personal affronts. They simply stood there and answered the questions. It was actually quite refreshing. I must say I was quite impressed by Libertarian candidate, Lucy Brenton. I admit I'm also partial to the name. I've never voted for a Libertarian candidate before but there's always a first time. I doubt that she'll win but I won't be surprised if she gets a higher percentage of the vote than any prior Libertarian US senatorial candidate in Indiana

early bird and early boat

I'm used to seeing an occasional boat on the river I watch from my balcony; usually in the evenings cruising from a nearby restaurant. This morning, about 7am, while it was just getting light I saw a boat (pontoon type) chugging along at a sedate speed. I couldn't help wondering where it was going at that time of day. If they're serving breakfast on the river that might be fun.  I wouldn't have even been looking at the river except I happened to spot my white bird again. A few days ago I saw the same white bird swimming along the far bank of the river. I think it must be some kind of crane. It's all white with a long neck but it's body isn't as heavy as a goose or swan. It's very pretty and graceful but it looks lonesome and it doesn't stay around long. I've only seen the one. The geese and ducks who float by here are always in flocks or at least little families. I'll keep watching to see if another one shows up.

Dictionary Day

According to my nifty October calendar, today is "Dictionary Day." Thinking about that, I started scanning my book shelves to see what dictionaries I own.  Strangely the only dictionaries I can find are two old Scrabble dictionaries.  I actually used one of those several months ago when a friend was visiting and we played Scrabble. Now I'm trying to remember the last time I used an actual dictionary in book form. I think it must have been four or five years ago at work.  Doesn't life take strange twists? When I was in high school and college dictionaries and encyclopedias were must have books when it came to writing reports.  If you had told me then that a time would come when I would use something called Google to search out information "on line" (whatever that is) I would have said it was a wild science fiction dream. This past week my grandson had to write a two page essay for his astronomy class. He researched it on line, typed it on his lap top and turned it in to his teacher via
e-mail. So Happy Dictionary Day but I guess it's only for those of us who remember the fun of flipping through the really big dictionary in the school library - back before it was called the media center- and finding new, strange words. Ah, the joys of youth.

What a fun show!

When my friend invited me to attend a Barber Shop Quartet show this evening I said I would go but really didn't know what to expect. I know what Barber Shop Quartets are (not my favorite tyoe of muxical act) but this was a really different and fun variation on the theme. The performance was put on at Concordia High School and I was very impressed by their Men's Chorus, first by the size (at least 40 singers) and then by their truly excellent voices. The first half of the program was presented by them and by the Summit City Chorus who did a fine job performing songs like "Stand by Me" and "Pretty Woman" in a Barber Shop style. The second act was presented by the 2010 International Quartet Champions "Storm Front". Their act was filled with truly funny comic sketches, including the worst magic act ever. Even as I was laughing at their silliness I realized that under all the nonsense we were hearing some truly excellent  voices. All in all, a very entertaining evening and I understand this is an annual event at Concordia. Count me in for next year.

Wodlan vs Adams Central

Last year Woodlan played Adams Central (both undefeated) for the ACAC championship and won by one point in the final minute. Tonight they met again, again both undefeated, playing  again for the ACAC championship and, since it's my old high school, I am thrilled to report that Woodlan won again, this time by a score of 28-16. Go Warriors!! Oh, yes, I think it's worth a mention that the Woodlan mascot is still the Warrior. They showed the image during the sports report tonight, also a quick view of their mascot wearing red face paint and a huge Indian feather headdress. The mascot picture looks just as fierce as it ever did and maybe that's why Woodlan teams haven't been challenged on calling themselves the Warriors. It's kind of hard to claim to be insulted or put down by an image that is so obviously powerful and proud.  Go Warriors!!!

creepy clowns and Ronald McDonald

Recently there have been sightings of creepy clowns around the country.  I haven't heard that any of these weird early Halloweeners have actually committed any crimes but I haven't actually been paying that much attention. Until this evening, that is, when I heard that McDonald's is taking their clown Ronald out of circulation for the time being. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand there are people like my daughter who think all clowns are creepy and never liked Ronald McDonald. On the other hand can't most people appreciate the difference between a bright clown with a big smile and big feet and a creepy clown with fangs and blood dripping down their mask.  Does McDonald's really think that pictures of Ronald in their ads will drive people away from their Big Macs and yummy fries?  Or, pardon my suspicious nature here, is this an opportunity for McDonald's to get a whole bunch of free publicity?  Noooo, that couldn't be it.

25,000 meals bagged

Tonight, for the third time in three years, 120 people - teens and adults - from our church gathered together in a "Kids Against Hunger" evening of measuring, mixing, bagging and boxing 5000 bags of dried ingredients. Each bag makes five meals of nutritious soup. Our particular batch will be going to the Philippines. We did it in teams of 11 at a long table in an assembly line fashion and managed to finish the job in under two hours. The most fun for me was the fact that all of my grandkids were on my team along with other family members and friends. Lots of teasing and silly banter made the process fun and we still finished our quota of 540 bags in very good time and hey, wow, we just got some coverage on 21 Alive News. A good night's work all around.  Happily there are no existing pictures of me in my ultra fashionable red hair net.

a technology triumph???

I'm always a little amazed when I do something on my computer that I haven't done before or solve a problem I haven't faced before. This evening for instance, I needed to print out some postcards. The lady I work with had emailed the layout to me and all I needed to do was print them out, both sides, then cut and address them so I can mail them tomorrow.  We're only talking nine postcards here, three sheets of postcard stock. My little old printer behaved like a champ, Printing out color copies that looked really good except for one small detail. The first practice sheet I printed out had some bold black lines running down the center and across the bottom. Not a good look if you're trying to attract someone's attention with a post card. Now here's where the mystery comes in. After that first sheet, I sat at my computer, clicking keys, pulling up the postcard image in three or four different ways and suddenly, hey, presto, I could print out a nice clean copy. So while I'm patting myself on the back for getting the job done, I'm deep down admitting to myself that I really don't have any idea what I did and no idea if I could do it again. Ah well, this temporary!!! job is bound to end soon so I may never need to do it again, right???

Native American Day

According to my nifty October calendar today is "Native American Day". I tried to think of something profound to say about that but all that comes to mind is an incident I remember from several years ago when my husband and I were traveling out west.  We visited much of the beautiful (in a hot, dry way) southwest over many years of summer vacations. The particular incident I'm remembering happened somewhere in Arizona or New Mexico in a small city on the edge of a reservation. While we were sitting in a blissfully air-conditioned fast food place enjoying lunch and watching the traffic go by I happened to spot a pickup truck stopped at an intersection.  What caught my attention was the fact that two burly young Native American men were riding in the cab of the truck while a little old gray haired lady rode in the back in the truck bed. Picture "Beverly Hillbillies" without the rocket. My women's lib instincts surged to the surface and I was half way out of my seat ready to run outside and - and I'm not sure what I thought I was going to do - but my calm, common sense husband said "Leave it. It's their culture and none of your business." I know he was right and I know things aren't always as they appear on the surface but I still don't have to like it.

Another Day, Another Debate....

Well, I've watched another presidential debate.  Both candidates stuck to their guns. No great surprises in what either of them said. I don't know how it played with the 'undecideds' but I expect it didn't change the minds of any who were pretty sure who they would vote for before the debate started. It didn't change my mind. I thought the most humanizing minutes of the debate were at the end when they were each asked if they could say anything good about the other. Hilary complimented Trump's children and he said she was a fighter. Nice to know they can still think positive thoughts. That and Hilary's suit were high points for me.

dating was never this hard

I saw a delightful play at Bishop Dwenger High School this evening. It was called "Check Please" and was a series of blind date / first date scenarios. Each scene was a young man and woman meeting in a restaurant. There was one reference to a mutual friend but all the rest seemed to have met on line. The really bad dates included an old lady with a walker, a man who wore only burlap, a mime, a girl who spoke only in text short hand and so much more.  Finding the right man or woman should never be this hard. I think I'm glad I dated before the match.com era.  I only had two blind dates in my life. One was a dud but I married the other one. Since I am single again now, the idea of trying out an on line dating site has flitted through my mind.  Not after tonight.

"Wait Until Dark"

I saw an excellent production at Arena Dinner Theater this evening.  I have seen several comedies there over the years, always fun, but this was the only drama I've seen there and I wasn't sure what to expect. If you remember the old movie from many years ago, it is the story of a blind woman pitted against some really bad guys who have gained access to her apartment while she's home alone. In this production all of the acting was very good and the staging, with very effective use of lighting and non-lighting certainly helped build the tension. A young friend of mine, Chip Davis, did a fine job acting the part of the husband, but Emily Arata did such a amazing job of acting blind that you completely forgot that she wasn't. At least I don't think she's really blind???  And, to top off a great evening, I found, among the paintings for sale (they display the work of different artists for each production) a perfect birthday gift for my daughter.

an interesting question

What would you pick for a super power if you had the choice?  This question came up the other day with a friend who is a lot younger than I am. We discussed the possibilities and she thought she would like to be able to fly. That does sound good. I could take a flying leap off my balcony and soar out over the river but I might run into a goose and that could be messy. Doing magic has always seemed like the best super power to me. Many years ago I loved to watch the TV show "Bewitched". I thought being able to wiggle my nose and have the house instantly cleaned or any other problem solved seemed like a fine idea. Alas, try as I might my nose doesn't twitch. I think that I am actually approaching one super power - invisibility. The older and grayer I get the less any one seems to notice me. It's very freeing.

A coincidence, I wonder?

Last evening they announced on TV that today is "National Walk to School Day" It seems like a fine idea but I didn't think much about it until this morning when I looked at my nifty October calendar and discovered that today is "World Teachers Day."  Now I may simply have a suspicious mind, but I can't help wondering if a bunch of teachers (or is it a 'trouble of teachers'/)  got together and decided that it would make their special day much more enjoyable if their little charges were exhausted and ready to sit still when they got to school. Not a bad plan.  The only flaw I see is that, generally speaking, it's only adults who are worn out after a long walk. Kids are just energized.

the vice-presidential debate

I wasn't expecting too much from the vice-presidential debate, but I must admit it got pretty heated at times. They both did a great job of defending their own ticket mate. I think if Trump is as smart as he thinks he is he'll shut up and let Pence do all his talking until after the election.

Another special day

According to my nifty new calendar, today is "Techies Day." Who knew? Since I was married to one, gave birth to one and am Grandmother to four Techies I guess I'm glad that they have a special day. I also have many friends who are Techies.  Now here's my conundrum - do I tell them all that they have their own special day? If I do, will they expect presents and cake? Should I plan a big Techies party each year? I can see this getting way out of hand. Perhaps I just won't mention it to anyone.

Do you name your cars?

I received a very interesting October calendar on the back of my Apartment news letter. It notes on several days what is special about that day.  For example today is "Name your Car Day."  This will please my grandchildren who are always adamant that I should name my cars. My most recent cars have been named ;Belle" my Buick Rendezvous which I had for seven years.  The Granddaughters named it.  The Disney movie "Beauty and the Beast" was quite popular at the time. Before that there was 'Rose" my red Buick Century and even earlier 'Goldie' a gold color Ford Escort station wagon. I can't remember any names further back but looking at these, with the exception of Belle, it seems that I unimaginatively name my cars after their color.  So it should come as no surprise that my current car, a blue Fiat 500L, is simply named "Bleu." In honor of my daughter-in-law, the French teacher, I am giving it the French spelling. Other than that absolutely no originality. Maybe I'll name my next car Balthazar or Cleopatra. Or, more likely, my next mode of transportation will simply be called 'Bus'.

I walked the whole four miles.

I wasn't the very last one in, probably because there were still marathon runners coming in.  I did get my medal (everyone who finishes gets a medal) and I did hear my name over the loud speaker, probably because there wasn't anyone else coming in at the same time. I started out in a group of 3,200 but walking into the ball diamond there were only about four of us in a very loose group. A couple of people along the way told me I was an inspiration. Nothing like gray hair and a cane to get the sympathy vote. But the big question is will I walk the Fort for Fitness four mile walk next year? Nope, not planning on it. Maybe I'll be one of the volunteers passing out water or beer. The beer was handed out somewhere in mile three, and, even though I'm not much of a beer drinker, it tasted wonderful. Maybe I shouldn't work the beer stand.

prepping for the walk

About six months ago a friend and I signed up to do the Fort for Fitness four mile walk (walk not run, we're not being crazy here). It seemed like a good idea at the time. We promise ourselves that we would walk regularly and really be ready to go. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.  You know the old saying about best laid plans. Life got in the way. So the walk is tomorrow morning. We picked up our spiffy tee-shirts, timers and number bibs this afternoon and we are ready to go.  I have no doubt, well little doubt, that we will actually finish the walk.  After all, four miles isn't really that far.  However, timing may be another matter.  I'm told that if you're the last one in a police car is coming right behind you, lights flashing. Hummm, I guess that's one way to get noticed. Stay tuned.

a surprising twist

Some of my friends know that I've been back at work for the last two months after almost two years of blissful retirement. I only agreed to go back to help out while the woman who had taken over my job, and was doing it very well, recuperated from a concussion after a nasty car accident. I thought she would be back at work by the end of September. So did she. However I was told this week that she has decided to quit the job. No one has suggested that I come back full time, they know that's not going to happen, but I was asked to continue part time as I'm doing now until they can hire someone else.  So it looks like I'll be working for another month at least.  My granddaughter asked me if the church staff would give me another retirement party. I explained that no,.you don't get re-retirement parties. The upside is this little bit of work is making me really appreciate retirement.

a memorable proposal

There's been a story on TV for the last couple of days about a young man who planned to propose to his girlfriend at a baseball game. Unhappily he dropped the ring. After some searching by the couple and many people around them, the ring was discovered caught in the cuff of her jeans. Talk about a lucky catch.  This made me think about the many extreme proposals you hear about these days.  It seems to be the goal of romantic young men to make the proposal as public as possible which sounds nice but what if she says no?  What if she says "I'll think about it." or "This ring is too small." Then I got to thinking about my own proposal (yes I can remember that long ago). As I remember it was very private.  We were sitting on the sofa in a friend's house in Teaneck, New Jersey, after everyone else had gone to bed. He definitely did not get down on one knee.  What he did was pull out his billfold and show me that he had $500 tucked away to buy an engagement ring for me. That was a lot of money back then, at least to us. Then he pulled out a brochure from a jeweler and showed me the design he liked. I liked it too. That was during Thanksgiving weekend in 1967. On December 23 he gave me the finished ring. He gave it to me on the 23rd because he didn't want it to be considered a Christmas gift. I'm pretty sure it was that evening that we set our wedding date.  The funny thing is I don't really remember him ever saying "Will you..." or me saying "Yes." I think, as in so many situations in our marriage we just sort of comfortably settled into the situation. Not too romantic maybe (although it seemed so to me) but he never lost the ring.

truly alarming

Amber alerts are serious business and I'm not making light of them here, especially because of what happened yesterday.  However I got a real scare of my own today from an Amber alert.  I was walking down the hall from my apartment to the elevator this afternoon when all of a sudden my cell phone gave off the loudest, shrillest most alarming noise I have ever heard from it.  I checked to see what was wrong and saw that an Amber alert had been sent to my phone. I don't know why or how.  I know I'm signed up to get school closing alerts so maybe it comes though the same system.  Anyway, the same message came through twice more, once while I was driving, once while I was parked waiting to pick up a granddaughter from school.  I'm really glad I wasn't driving when the alarm went off the first time. I probably would have driven off the road.  Probably not the intended result of those alerts.

the great debate

I'm watching the presidential debate, and I think I knew before it started that whatever either candidate said I probably wouldn't change my mind on who I plan to vote for. So far that's holding true but it has been rather entertaining (like this whole campaign) with zingers flying back and forth. I did think it started out on a high note, talking about ideas and policies but in the last five minutes they have started slinging mud. Promises, promises.
It's over but they just mentioned that there will be a vice-presidential debate next month. That may be interesting.

National Comic Book Day

Today is National Comic Book Day.  When I heard that I gave a quiet little cheer.  What a great thing to celebrate.  My son enjoys National Talk Like a Pirate Day, arrrgg, but I think this is better. First because I don't have to walk around ,making weird noises and second because I have very fond memories of comic books. When I was a child my brothers and I were given a quarter a week as allowance. The best place to spend this bounty was at our small town drugstore.  The biggest decision I usually faced was did I spend the whole 25 cents on one super size comic or buy a 10 cent comic and spend the rest on bubble gum that came in a package with trading cards. Decisions, decisions.  Happily, the big comics only came out once a month so I got my share of bubble gum too. What bliss, blowing bubbles and reading the latest exploits of Archie, Betty and Veronica.

Will I make it to 200?

I just saw a news piece on TV congratulating St. Joseph's Catholic Church of Hessen Cassel on their 175th anniversary.  They were founded in 1841.  That got me thinking, our church celebrated its 175th 10 years ago; it was founded in 1831.  We had a really big celebration, actually several events over the months of that year. Now I'm wondering - will I still be here for our 200th anniversary? That's 15 years from now.  Assuming I'm still here, I'll be 86.  I should be able to hang around that long.  A lot may have happen in those 15 years.  In the usual order of things all four of my grandchildren will have graduated from college, married and I might even have some great-grandchildren. Wouldn't that be fun? When my son was four years old he asked me if there were dinosaurs when I was little. Maybe in 15 years a little great grand will ask if I was here when the church was founded. This time I'll probably look the part.

truth in advertising

I'm always amused by TV commercials that try to make the truth they are required to reveal sound like a good thing.  I've already mentioned in one of these blogs the law firm that advertises that their charges will never exceed what you receive after a settlement. I guess that's decent of them. Of course any commercial for anything medical will reel off all of the possible negative side effects, up to and including death, in a rapid fire off hand sort of way. Tonight I heard another one.  This was an ad from Firekeeper's Casino. I've been there once and it's an ok place - not Las Vegas but ok. The ad was promoting some big deal prizes to be given our tomorrow. What caught my attention was the phrase "top prize is $50,000 in cash and credits."  That credits part got me wondering - what kind of credits? free stays in their hotel? free meals at the buffet?  some credits on the slots?  how much cash really??

beans and bingo

Once a month some of us ladies of the church gather to cook lunch for anyone in the neighborhood who wants to stop in for a good meal.  Today was the day for this month. We cooked up ten big flat pans of Calico Casserole which is made with ground beef and onions and bacon mixed with baked beans and other beans.  It's really good and seems popular with our guests, many of whom are homeless.  Generally people take generous helpings and often come back for seconds, even thirds.
So I was a little surprised when one person in line said "Oh, I don't like that." and walked on by. I do realize that everyone has the right to pass on some food.  Happily everyone else liked it and ate up every bit.
After lunch we clear the tables and play BINGO.  Prizes are $! for each win, we start with $40 so 40 wins, and everyone really seems to enjoy it. Today I got to help with BINGO. Another lady was the caller and I kept track of what numbers had been called and checked the cards of the winners.  Before the game started one man came up to get his cards and markers (beans) and said he had never played bingo before.  I quickly explained the rules and was happy to see that he won a dollar later on.
It's all very pleasant and an easy service to give once a month but at the end of the day the lady who started this project and has run it for several years told us that next month is her last month (her husband is quite ill) and someone else will have to take over. Noooo!!  I'm happy to help but this is one committee that I'm not competent to take over.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

false asumptions

I'm serving on a committee at church to try to find a new children, youth and family minister. One of the other people on the committee is a young Korean American man.  Yesterday our head pastor sent the two of us an email asking if we would give an update on our search to the congregation on World Wide Communion Sunday when our Korean and English congregations worship together. He said I could give the update in English and Dan could give it in Korean.  Sounded like a plan until Dan e-mailed back that he doesn't speak Korean. Pop! One more stereotype shot down.

hooray for Eleanor

Once a month I volunteer with four other ladies to baby sit with a gaggle of toddlers so their moms can attend a meeting of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). They don't meet during the summer so this was the first time I had seen these little ones since last spring.  Eleanor was one of the littles I remembered very well because she would generally cry for the whole two hours and I spent a lot of time rocking and soothing her. So imagine my pleasure when she walked in today, at the wise old age of three, waved bye to her mom and immediately started playing with some toys - not a tear in sight. You go girl! My pleasure was short lived however because it soon became apparent that we had at least three criers in our group of 12 and some occasional sympathy criers. So there I was rocking and soothing again. This all made me very happy that my grandchildren are teenagers (well one is almost) and I realized that I am not in any hurry for great grandchildren.

a really great idea

I had a really great idea for my blog this morning. I thought it was amusing and would make readers smile, maybe even laugh out loud. Unfortunately, right now, after a busy day, I have absolutely no memory of what my great idea was. Can you have a 'senior moment' that lasts all day?

Who let the dogs out?

I did.  When my son-in-law and daughter know they are going to have unusually long days away form home and their kids are also gone they ask me to come and let their dogs out sometime during the day.  I do it whenever my schedule permits because I wouldn't want to be shut up in a cage all day without a chance to use the facilities.  Today was one of those days.  I imagine them anxiously waiting for my visit but today they didn't even wake up until I was in the house and had opened the back door.  I like to offer them quick egress.  I will say this has been a learning experience.  I used to think keeping dogs in cages all day sounded cruel but these two seem to appreciate the security.  After an hour of free time, in and out of the house, I tell them it;s time to go back in their "houses" and they just walk right in and wait for me to latch the doors.  All very nice but, take it from me, cats are still easier.

This made me laugh.

I saw a great sign today - it may be old to some of you but it was the first time I had seen it.  It was posted on the notice board in front of a church: "JESUS IS COMING (let's hope it's before the election)."

just when I thought the festival were over

This has been a summer of festivals in Fort Wayne, with music and food just about every weekend. This weekend one of the oldest festivals, The Johnny Appleseed Festival is going on but that happens several miles from my apartment so no noise to contend with here.  However, the powers that be decided that we needed at least one more new festival downtown so this weekend, starting this evening, is the Middle Wave music festival featuring several national and even more local bands, mostly rock, performing on three different stages all within walking distance of my apartment. It's a little expensive, tickets for all of the concerts cost $75 but the bands do sound better that any others I've heard this summer. This evening a girlfriend and I passed a pleasant few hours - being too cheap to buy tickets - sitting on my balcony and listening to the concert for free.  This worked really well for me because I think most of these bands are better heard from a distance.  That's my old foggieism showing again.

To chip or not to chip?

I was pleased when US companies started putting chips in their credit cards.  I go to Canada once a year, a lovely weekend in Stratford, Ontario, to see the plays, and merchants there have been wanting cards with chips since before I knew what they were.  Now about half of my credit cards have chips while the older ones don't. I embarrassed myself the other day (in front of a critical grandchild of course) by slipping a chipless card into the chip slot and then wondering why it wasn't working. What I've found most interesting lately though is the number of stores with chip readers that are out of order. It's something I wonder about. Is someone going around breaking chip machines? How would you do that? Then I've heard that chip readers can be hacked and people can get your credit card information.  I'm thinking cash is easier.  Or maybe I'll stand in the checkout lane slowly writing a check while the line builds up behind me. But that's a pet peeve for another blog.

This could get exciting

I'm serving on an Associate Pastor search committee at our church. We've been meeting regularly on Wednesday evenings, and, after following all the guidelines from our presbytery, I was happy to be able to announce to the other committee members this evening that all the hoops had been jumped through, our information form is approved and our search criteria is now on line through the Presbyterian site that matches churches to applicants. After I got home this evening I discovered, when I checked my email, that we have our first application. That didn't take long.  He actually sounds pretty good. I think our hard work is just beginning.

revenge of the elevators

Last night I made some rather scathing comments about one of the elevators in my building and today, when I came back to the building after a morning out I discovered a sign by the elevators saying that all of the elevators were out of order and directing people to the stairs. Coincidence? I don't think so. Since I had to go out again in an hour and didn't relish taking the stairs up 10 flights, then down again, I decided to go to the mall to pass the time. $70 later I left to pick up my granddaughter from school. Happily, one of the elevators was working by the time I got home this evening.  I have learned my lesson and will not make fun of the elevators again.

a disabled elevator

I'm pretty sure one of the elevators in my apartment has Attention Deficit Disorder. I've discussed this with other elevator riders and they all agree with me. Two of the three elevators in this building do what is required of them. They go up or down according to the buttons that are pushed, stop on the floors requested and generally behave like an elevator should. The other elevator seems to sometimes have a mind of its own. It may start going where you want to go - down to the garage for example, but them suddenly decide to go up again. It stops on random floors even if no one is waiting there, sometimes opens the door automatically, sometimes not. and generally seems to have trouble remembering where it's going. I have always, eventually, gotten where I want to go but it's often an adventure. I guess I should be grateful it hasn't figured out how to go sideways yet.

and the bands played on...

Went to a marching band competition in Bluffton Indiana yesterday evening.  After a rainy day the skies had cleared and it was a beautiful night to watch high school marching bands compete. Of course I was cheering for my grandson's band from Carroll High School.. They looked really good as they took the field, 190 strong.  Their music was wonderful, their marching and flag work seemed spot on to me but I didn't care too much for their visual props.  It's amazing the things bands come up with these days.  My son-in-law explained to me that since this was only the first competition of the season the props of all the bands would evolve.  Sadly, the only larger band, Homestead (230+ members) took first place while we took second. Still it was a wonderful show. I couldn't help remembering how it all began.  My children were in the Carroll band in the late 80's, early 90's when they first started competing in shows like this. I'm not sure how many were in the band then, 50 maybe?. My husband and I were "pit parents," part of the crew who hustled all of the props, non-moving instruments, etc. on to the field and then off again after their performance.  I do remember that there were strict guidelines about how fast we had to get stuff on and off. They seemed to have relaxed the speed requirement these days but I'm certainly glad we didn't have to deal with all the equipment they (all of the bands) use to put on their shows these days. We hauled all of the necessary equipment in a smallish boxy trailer pulled by a pickup. Now it's all contained in a huge semi. Sweet memories but this is one of those cases where the 'now' is bigger and better than the 'used to be'.

"It's Only a Play"

Saw a fun play this evening at First Presbyterian Theater called "It's Only a Play". The whole play revolves around a group of actors and a producer, author, director and critic waiting for reviews after opening night of their new play. All of the actors did a great job with huge chunks of snappy dialog but Nancy Karthol, playing the part of the washed-up, cocaine snorting, lead actress who is out on parole and wearing a sometimes vibrating ankle tracking bracelet stole the show. The show runs tomorrow night and for two more weekends and it's definitely worth seeing.

I may have solved a mystery'

Some time ago I blogged about the fact that I receive frequent requests from my supplemental insurance provider urging me to schedule a home visit. The last mailing I got about this even offered me a $15 gift card if I would let them come.  Today I had another phone call urging me to have this home visit.  I decided to dig a little deeper.  I usually just say "No thank you." and hang up but I decided to listen to what the young man had to say for a little while and try to get some questions answered.  I was assured that he was very happy that I was healthy and that I do get my annual check ups from my regular doctor. he explained that what they would do would be check me out physically, address any questions and concerns I might have about my health and discuss with me "my plans for long term health care." Ah hah! Now I understand.  They want to sell me more insurance. Why should I be surprised?

Whoops, blame it on the learning curve

One of the reason's I retired when I did was that I didn't want to be responsible for social media promotions for our church. I assumed I could learn to tweet and put up to the minute announcements on Face Book but I really didn't want to. So here I am, in the second month of this temporary return to my old position, faced with the job of posting stuff on Face Book. I followed the process I was shown a couple of days ago (I never rush into anything) and posted a short piece on Face Book about a reception in our gallery this Friday. Everything went fine. It took my entry but then a question popped up asking if I wanted my announcement to be prominent. Sounded like a fine plan to me so I clicked the button. Then, with no way to back out that I could find, a message popped up telling me that $5 had been charged, not to my account, but to the account of the woman who I am (very temporarily) replacing.  I am using her office computer so I guess that was to be expected. Just goes to show that I probably shouldn't be trusted with technology more advanced than texting.

Grace is not my middle name.

I remember running and jumping when I was a child but I was never particularly graceful.  As I was waiting to pick up my granddaughter from school yesterday I watched as several preteen boys came running out of the school on their way to various activities. No one walked except an occasional teacher. Everyone young was running. I was most impressed by one boy who, while running, jumped up and over a park type bench.  One foot touched the seat, the other skimmed the back and he was up and over and on his way. It looked wonderfully graceful. I've been thinking that it looked like a lot of fun to be able to do that. Honesty compels me to admit that I don't think I ever could, even in my youth, and no, I'm not going to try it now.

A miracle of modern technology

I emailed a quick message to my daughter this morning and she responded within five minutes. No big deal except she's deployed right now and half way around the world. It's so good to live in a time when I can know, in real time, that all is well with her. I think about my mom and dad, during WWII, mailing letters back and forth. I'm sure they were thrilled to get each other's letters and I've been mailing letters to my daughter but immediate contact is so reassuring. I do know that there were telephones back then, but cost and complications limited phone calls to real emergencies. I happened to be at my dad's house when he received a collect call (remember those?) from my brother, who, as far as we knew, was in  Vietnam. My dad's first response to the "Will you accept a collect call from your son?" was "From where?" I'm not saying my dad wasn't a loving father, he was, but he never quite got over thinking that long distance calls were really expensive.  Turns out my brother was calling from a hospital in Pennsylvania. He had been sent home from Vietnam with a broken ankle suffered when he, an MP, was trying to break up a bar brawl.  Sorry about the ankle, which still gives him problems, but so glad to have him home from that war. Meanwhile my daughter isn't in a battle situation but I'll be every bit as glad when she gets home.  This is her third and, I devoutly hope, her last deployment.

Will she or won't she

I have a single friend, my age (70+) who claims that she only wants to date younger men. She sometimes checks out men on a couple of dating sites but never follows through on anyone who looks mildly interesting. I just got off the phone after listening to her tell me about a man she met in Auburn  earlier this weekend who seems to meet her basic criteria. He's only 58 (younger is relative) and, she said, he's good looking. They were tentatively supposed to meet for ice cream this afternoon but she mixed up the time and left before he got there. Now she's debating if she ever wants to see him again. It's like a soap opera. Will she or won't she? I can't wait to find out.