No competition

 I enjoy receiving Christmas news letters, I really do.  I especially like the ones with lots of pictures of children and/or grandchildren, or even pets.  But my good friends know that, about 40 years ago I gave up trying to compete with all the amazing accomplishments touted in Christmas news letters and resorted to "poems" that hit the highlights of my year.  One page, large print, plenty of white space, something people can read in 30 seconds or less.  I figure my close friends already know what I and my family have been up to and anyone else who cares can give me a call.  What brings this to mind is a news letter I received yesterday.  It was from a casual friend I've gotten to know this past year through Zoom meetings.  The letter was typed, four pages long, single spaced tiny print.  It listed, in great detail, all of the surgeries, recovery struggles and medical exams she has been through this year and a blow by blow description of the genealogy research she has been doing.  That last part might have been interesting to her family.  I did read the whole thing and have decided that I will continue with my silly poems, and the shorter and, considering the age of many of my friends, the larger the print, the better.  

I'll add that to my list.

 Today, according to my west coast brother who is enjoying eight degree weather right now, is "Still Need to Do Day."  Since I am a master of procrastination, and have been most of my life, I can embrace this day.  Not only do I put things off, but I make 'to do' lists every day.  These lists serve the dual purpose of allowing me to cross off the things I do accomplish (very satisfying) and giving me a head start on my 'to do' list for tomorrow - the things I still need to do.  Today, for example, I was able to scratch off get an oil change, buy groceries and pick up my mail (I always slip in an easy one).  Tomorrow's list is already started with two things I didn't finished today (church-related paper work and cleaning bathtubs) both so easy to put off.  Many years ago someone told me that procrastinators are perfectionists who tend to put things off because they fear they won't do a perfect job.  I really don't think that's my problem.  

Again?

 Today is National Chocolate Candy Day, and if you, like me, are thinking there seem to be a lot of days that celebrate chocolate in any given year, I think you're right.  Of course chocolate is a basic food group but still.  How many National Broccoli Days do you remember during the past 12 months?  or Liver and Onions Day? or Kohlrabi Day? or Asparagus Day? or Pot Roast Day? or Hard Boiled Eggs Day???  You get the idea.  I am happy to announce that, thanks to the Christmas generosity of friends and family, I am very well supplied to celebrate this happy chocolate day.  Cheers, everyone. 

a marvelous mug

 I have never received such a nice looking gift (the mug I mentioned yesterday) with such incomplete directions.  Or maybe I am just over complicating matters.  The paperwork that came with this heat holding mug shows how to press the on button and what the various colored lights on it mean.  Red - flashing, the mug's battery is charging up.  Green - it's charged and ready for me to pour in the tea.  When I followed their directions and went on line to learn more, I got a video demonstration of how to press the on button.  I really had figured that out.  What I finally discovered, after diligent searching, was that, if I want to keep my tea warm for longer than an hour and a half, I need to keep the mug on the little electric charging coaster. which first needs to be charged itself.  It turns out that what makes the mug hold heat is a liquid between the inner and outer layers that, evidently, holds the heat, once it's charged up.  This is supposed to be amazing new technology and I supposed it is but, I must admit, it reminds me of the feeding dish I had for my son when he was a baby.  I could pull out a little plug, fill the inside of the dish (between the layers of plastic) with hot water, pop the plug back in, and it would keep his food warm while he dawdled over his food.  What goes around comes around I guess.

'Twas the night after Christmas...

It's the night after Christmas and I can relax. 

The china is stacked in the cabinet with care, 

and the sparkly goblets have followed them there.  

The old faithful crockpot is back on it's shelf 

and the kitchen is cleaned by my jolly old self.  

And, if all goes well, 

I will have figured out how to charge up my new 

programable self heating mug before New Year. 

To be continued...

winding down

 Well, the big day is over.  I cooked and set a fancy table.  Ten of us crowded around it and enjoyed a really nice pot roast and a delicious salad.  My daughter-in-law made the salad.  I wasn't too thrilled about the carrots and potatoes I cooked with the roast, but they were ok.  On second thought, only nine of us enjoyed the roast, one of my granddaughters is a vegetarian, actually a pescatarian (she will eat fish but that wasn't on the menu).  She wouldn't even eat the veggies because they were cooked with the beef.  On the other hand, I did make sure the main course was completely gluten free for my daughter-in-law and provided non-dairy creamer for my son's coffee since he's lactose intolerant.  I don't remember cooking being so complicated before they all grew up.  Happily, we were all able to enjoy the delicious cranberry cake that my son-in-law baked for dessert.  He also brought an array of delicious cookies and candies, which we snacked on all afternoon.  Gifts were exchanged, laughs and memories were shared. It was a very merry family Christmas and now the dishes are stacked on the counters with care and I am heading for bed. 

What's red and white and red and white and red and white and red and white?  Santa rolling down the hill.  Sorry, I couldn't resist one last Santa joke.

It's Christmas Eve

  

CHRISTMAS 2021

2021 has been a year of coming alive

In so many ways.

Goodbye Zoom, hello real people.

It’s good to be out in the world.

Not traveling yet, but that will come.

I’ve had my shots, booster, flu shot and all.

Still loving those masks – they cover the wrinkles.

Had a part in a play, shared the stage with my son.

Such fun!

In rehearsal now for the next one.

Had weavings displayed in a gallery show.

Tutoring a fifth grader

And cheering on my grands –

In college and working and finishing high school.

My kids and their spouses are all simply fine,

Four different careers, each very well done.

The grand pets are thriving,

In their homes not mine.

And on Christmas Day they’ll all come

Over the river and into downtown

For dinner at my place,

My joy is complete.  May yours be too.

 

Merry Christmas, and God’s peace and great blessings,

As you experience the new of 2022.

 

green beans, continued

 I love it when things work out at the grocery store (or anywhere else for that matter).  I was right and the recipe for green bean casserole was on the back of the can of green beans, Del Monte to be exact.  Good for them! I was pleased to find the recipe and the beans, then proceeded to search for the other ingredients.  Happily, almost all of the ingredients were in the same aisle.  The real challenge came when I spied the only two cans of French fried onion rings on the very top shelf, one stacked on top of the other.  When I stood on my tiptoes I could just reach the bottom can.  I carefully eased it forward to the edge of the shelf, keeping the other can balanced on top, lifted them both down without incident and put them in my cart.  That's when I noticed I had an audience.  The aisle had been empty when I started my attempt.  Bottom line, I have everything I need for the casserole and my Christmas dinner, and I received a polite smattering of applause.  

Searching..

How hard can it be?  I think I mentioned a few days ago that I have volunteered to make green bean casserole for eighteen homeless women in a shelter on Monday evening.  I forgot to remember, when volunteering, that I have never made green bean casserole.  My brother used to make the green bean casserole for all of our family gatherings.  He had been refining his recipe over many years and it was delicious, but I never thought to ask him for it before he died.  Since I'm doing my grocery shopping tomorrow, I thought I'd better find a recipe.  I checked Google and several of my old cookbooks (I mean, the recipe has been around for a long time) and have found some consistencies - green beans, mushroom soup, canned onion rings.  But some add all kinds of spices, some include grated cheese, cheddar or swiss, baking time ranges from 20 minutes to an hour.  I think what I will do is check the labels on the green bean cans or the mushroom soup cans.  After all, my favorite recipe for pumpkin pie is on the Libby's cans of pumpkin.  Maybe it's on the cans of fried onions.  I mean what else do you use those onions for?  The hunt is on! It's probably good for me that I just have to drop off the casserole and leave.  I don't have to watch and see if anyone likes it.  But I'm not too concerned.  I have a theory that any veggie is improved by piling on plenty of cheese.

that time of year

 It's another solstice.  They come around every six months.  When I was in elementary school we were taught that the winter solstice was on December 21.  Now I have learned, from weather persons and Google, that the solstice can actually happen any time from Dec. 20 to 23.  This year though it actually is on the 21st so it seems official to me.  Since this is the 24 hour span with the most darkness (in our hemisphere) it seems appropriate that it is also National Flashlight Day.  In the olden days it was probably National Lantern Day.  I would like to do a little bragging here.  Earlier this year I learned how to operate the flashlight on my cell phone.  I think it was my grandson who showed me how.  Shake it hard, the light comes on, shake it again and the light goes off.  How easy is that?  Isn't it amazing what phones can do these days?  Happy WS everyone.  

An old fashioned treat

 Have you ever noticed how sometimes, when you're walking through a store something will just reach out and grab you or sneak into your cart when your back is turned?  When I was much younger and had toddlers riding in my shopping cart, I blamed it on them.  Those littles have amazingly long arms.  But these days it still seems to happen.  This week, for example, a box of chocolate covered cherries landed in my basket at Walgreens.  A much smaller target than a shopping cart but it happened.  But these candies were covered in more than chocolate.  A sweet memory accompanied them.  Chocolate covered cherries were my mother-in-law's very favorite candy and every year my husband would give her a box for Christmas. She always shared them of course.  So, in her honor, I shared them with my house guest and we finished off the box quite quickly.  Sweet memories indeed.  

too much of a good thing??

 I've had a friend staying with me for the last five days.  She had lived here in Fort Wayne for over 50 years, then, four months ago, moved to South Carolina to live nearer her son and his family.  She has lots of friends in this area and did her best to see most of them over these few days.  This has made her a very easy guest for me.  She ate breakfast, lunch and supper out every day and I didn't have to cook for her at all.  Many of our friends are mutual so we did some things together.  This afternoon for example, we went to a carry-in supper with members of a church group we are/were both in.  I know I am old enough to practice self control but, to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, it is absolutely essential to eat some of everything others have brought.  So I made the effort.  It was the least I could do.  Over the course of an hour and a half, I drank wine (I wasn't driving) ate little sandwiches, veggies and dill dip, cranberry coated goat cheese with crackers, meat balls, olives and meat and cheese roll-ups. So far so good, but then we went on to desserts.  After lemon pound cake, a spicy bunt cake with real whipped creamo, chocolates and homemade caramels I was really starting to feel a sugar overload.  So I drank more decaf coffee and ate one more caramel.  They really were delicious.  I'm pretty sure I shouldn't eat another sweet until Christmas, maybe Christmas 2022.  I'm sure the fact that I was sent home with two slices of cake and four homemade caramels (they are soooo good) won't tempt me at all.  I will just go turn off the kitchen light right now, ignore all the goodies on the counter, and go straight to bed.   

Time to worry?

 In my daily text exchange with my west coast brother today, I asked him if my Christmas package had arrived yet.  UPS had told me it would be there on the 17th and I was curious to know if that was accurate.  As it turned out it actually did arrive on the 17th, so all good there.  During the same exchange, I told my brother that his package to me had arrived a couple of days ago and was safely under the tree to which he responded "Glad ours got there, they didn't tape over the air holes did they?"  To which, after some thought, I replied "Air holes??? Uh oh! Probably shouldn't have had that 'Do not open 'til Christmas' sticker on it.  I love texting.  It gives me time to think of what I want to say before I respond.  You know what I'm talking about.  We've all had times when we thought of a snappy retort in the middle of the night which we wish we had used in a conversation the prior afternoon.  Hooray for texting.

Ugly???

 Today is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.  I'm sorry but I have a problem with this.  I own three Christmas sweaters and three Christmas/winter sweatshirts and I don't think any of them are ugly.  One sweatshirt has a penguin all dressed up for the holidays, another has Charley Brown and his Christmas tree and the third has a snowman.  What's so ugly about that?  My sweater selection includes one with a row of cute penguins and lots of snowflakes, one with a big Christmas tree on the front and a smaller one on the back and a black cardigan with big flashy poinsettias on it.  Now I ask you, do those sound ugly to you?  Perhaps my taste just isn't very sophisticated.  But speaking of Christmas outfits, I just finished watching the 1954 movie White Christmas staring Bing Crosby and they had some pretty fabulous outfits.  I wouldn't mind having a floor length red velvet gown with white fur trim.  I also wouldn't mind having the figure to go with it, but that ship has sailed.  

A truly fine idea

 Yesterday was Cat Herders Day.  i didn't comment on it because everyone knows that no one can herd cats.  And. if you look at it the other way, I don't think cats would ever bother to herd anything.  Chase and catch, yes, but herd?  I don't think so. On the other hand, today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day and I can celebrate that, although I don't think I can go as far as chocolate covered broccoli or chocolate covered asparagus and certainly not chocolate covered cats, herders or not.  I did go to a carry-in lunch today and got to sample chocolate coated tiramisu and chocolate/caramel coated nuts so I think I have celebrated sufficiently.  

It's all in how you look at it.

 First, the riddle du jour.  Sorry, but this one needed to be shared.  "What do Spanish speaking sheep say at Christmas?"  

"Fleece Navidad!"  

Today is International Tea Day which is a natural for me because I drink tea every day, and have drunk it in several different nations.  One of my favorite tea related memories happened at the Duke Hotel in London.  My friend and I arrived a little too early for check in, but instead of just telling us so and leaving us to fend for ourselves for an hour, the charming clerk assured us that they were getting our room ready as we spoke, escorted us into a small, quiet parlor and brought us tea and biscuits (cookies to you) to help us pass the time.  I knew I had landed in my kind of place.  

that birthday gift

 Yesterday I mentioned that my daughter and son-in-law gave me a unique birthday gift.  My daughter's former jobs in the military included being a helicopter mechanic and assembling bombs so you might guess that this wasn't a soft and fuzzy gift.  It's a bright orange tool, about seven inches long with two hard points mounted across from each other at one end and a hook containing a sharp blade at the other.  I have actually seen these advertised on TV.  The idea is that, if you ever drive your car into a river or lake, the weighted double pointed end can be used to break a window and the blade end will help you cut yourself out of a jammed seat belt.  I am pleased to have this tool just in case, but I am usually very careful when I drive across the St. Mary's River.  Of course it is an old bridge and one never knows.  There may be other times when it would come in handy and I will keep it in a convenient location in my car but I think its best use will be to remind me to be careful.  A side thought, if anyone ever tries to break into my car when I'm in it, those weighted points could probably do some damage to hands or head.  Although I must admit Fiats are not high on the list of frequently highjacked cars.  

Happy Birthday to me

 Today is my 77th birthday.  It's been a great day, actually a very food-full day.  My son took me to lunch, seared tuna at Halls, yummy, and my daughter and son-in-law took me to Smoky Bones for supper.  My first time there.  The ribs, as promised, were excellent.  I received some birthday cards but many more Facebook notes and text messages.  My clever granddaughter and her friend texted me wishes for a happy 30th birthday.  I got an interesting gift which I will talk about in tomorrow's blog.  My funniest card was from my daughter and son-in-law. On the front "From Both of Us"  "Where would we be without you Mom?" with a cute cartoon picture of a man and woman.  Inside "One of us wouldn't exist and the other would be married to some loser."  Maybe you had to be there, but it made me laugh.  

more thoughts on baking

 There was a sign-up sheet at church last week asking for volunteers to prepare parts of some meals over the holidays.  One of my good friends was sitting at the table with the lists so I felt a certain pressure to volunteer.  I agreed to make a side dish for (not more than) 18 homeless women. So today she told me she's making meatloaf and asked me which side dish I would be bringing and I said, without thinking, green bean casserole.  It was after I got home from church that I realized I have never made green bean casserole in my life.  It was my brother's specialty and he brought it to all of our holiday dinners.  He died two years ago and I've been missing it, which is why it probably came to mind when I was thinking about side dishes.  My first thought, being of a certain generation, was to dig out my old cookbooks a find a recipe.  Then I realized it would be quicker to just Google it.  So I did, and found about a dozen variations.  They all sound good and they all used green beans and those canned crinkly onions so now I just need to pick one.  I'm leaning toward the one that says 'serves six.'  Three times six equals 18 and I'm all about easy math.  

keeping it simple

 This evening I watched the special Christmas edition of The Great British Baking Show.  I like this show.  It's fun to watch competitors make dishes I will probably never even taste, let alone make.  One of the main reasons is that I don't own a huge counter top, super strong food processor.  When I do whip up a cake it's using my good old hand held avocado green mixer.  The color will give you a clue to it's age, but it still works and it fits in my cupboard when I'm finished with it.  The other reason is laziness.  Tonight, while watching the show, I was able to add five items to my list of foods I will not be including on my Christmas day menu.  I will not be making a completely edible ginger bread house.  I did like how she decorated all of the flat surfaces before she assembled the house though, very smart.  I will not be making Minced Pie, although it did look tasty.  I will also not be making Stolen or Tunis Cake with Marzipan decoration or Black Bun with Short Crust pastry.  Most of these baked goods contained lots of fruit including raisins and currants (is there a difference?) which reminded me that I am one of the few people in the world who like fruit cake.  I will look for one on my next trip to the grocery store.  

Not another one?

 Ok, I promise this is the last one.  What do you call a person who is afraid of Santa?  Claustrophobic! Ho, ho, ho!  

Seriously, today is Dewey Decimal Day.  So here's a salute to all my librarian friends past and present.  Sometimes I wonder why I didn't become a librarian.  I haunted our small town library as a youth.  I thought it was so neat how the librarian (who had been the librarian since my father was a lad) stamped the due date on the little card and slipped it into the paper pocket inside the front cover of the book. In high school I volunteered to help in the school library.  In college I worked in a section of the library called Teaching Materials Services where teachers could check out pre-assembled displays to use in the classroom.  I can't even estimate how many letters, numbers and cute little critters I cut out.  But as college jobs went it was not too bad.  Looking back on it, I honestly don't know why I never even considered being a librarian.  Perhaps I suspected, deep down, that I would much rather be reading books than shelving them.  

riddle time

 What is Santa's native language?

North Polish.   That's from my west coast brother.

What three numbers give the same answer when added or multiplied?

I'll let you figure that one out.

What special invention allows people to see through solid walls?

Can you tell that my exercise leader has been telling us riddles in class?  That's not a riddle, just a fact.  

Another riddle she asked was 'What is the only animal that can't jump (not counting me)?'

The answer to the riddle is 'an elephant' but that's not really true.  She did some research between classes and it turns out there are something like 26 animals who can't jump.  They include starfish, hippos, rhinos, slugs, snakes and giraffes.  Sorry, that's all I can remember.  

 Today is "Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day."  When I learned this, I realized that, although I have never actually traveled back, or forward, in time, I have stood on the brink a few times.  When the neighbor and my brother and I played Cowboys and Indians (sorry, I know that's not PC but it's what we called it back then) in our old apple orchard and the corn crib with a 'main street' through the middle, we were there.  When I toured Carlsbad Cavern, remembering all the stories my recently dead mother had told me of her trip there in 1935, we touched hands. And, a few years ago, I stood on the hillside in Israel called Shepherds' Hill, looking down on Bethlehem.  It was daytime, not a silent night, and no one really knows if it's the actual hill where the shepherds watched their flocks, but every Christmas Eve I'm watching with those shepherds.

I'm no Longfellow

 I'm trying to write my annual Christmas poem, and I use the word poem very loosely.  I've tried some openings

"Over the river and through the traffic, to Nana's apartment they'll come..."

or how about "Dashing through the rain.."

or "Jingle Bells, jingle bells, FedEx all the way..."

or maybe  "There's no place like on-line shopping for the holidays.."

Nope, not there yet.  You will just have to wait for the final draft.  

 Today is National Microwave Oven Day, a day that really deserves celebrating.  I didn't own a microwave until we moved back from Ohio to Fort Wayne in 1982.  I never thought I needed one but since it was built in and came with the house I decided to learn to use it.  I think it may have been the first microwave ever, it was certainly quite elderly.  But it worked and I soon came to appreciate the joy of  quick and easy.  Four years before I downsized I remodeled my kitchen.  It looked great, with all new appliances including a lovely built in microwave.  Of course, when I downsized I had to leave the microwave behind.  The buyers would not have appreciated a gaping hole above the stove.  There was no microwave in my apartment and I decided I really could get along without one.  After all, how hard is it to heat things on the stove?  That decision lasted about two weeks, then I took myself off to Walmart and bought a nifty little red model that fit in a corner of the counter.  Happily, it is not hard to install a microwave.  "Do I use it much?" you ask.  Only about four or five times a day.  Happy Microwave Oven Day everyone.  Go and give yours a little pat, or better yet heat a cup of tea.

splish splash

 On this day in 1933 Prohibition was repealed, so it is, fittingly, National Repeal Day.  It's also Bathtub Party Day.  Now I have given a number of parties in my life, for birthdays, New Years Eve, Halloween, the usual, but I have never hosted, or even been invited to, a Bathtub Party. I'm not even sure what a Bathtub Party would be like. Would you and a few of your closest friends be standing around in your tub, drinking (bathtub gin?) and singing (because singing always sounds better in the tub)?  Actually, now that I think about it, I do remember one Bathtub Party.  I was five years old and my parents were entertaining our pastor and his wife and daughter.  Little Holly Heiny and I hit it off right away and had a great time playing together after dinner while the grown-ups talked.  In our roaming around the house we discovered that there was an inch of water in the bathtub.  I don't know why the water hadn't drained or why we decided that splashing in it would be great fun.  We took our shoes off, but, for some reason, left our socks on, then got in the tub and splashed and splashed and splashed.  Evidently we were a little noisy because before very long my father came in to see what we were up to.  He was not amused.  Scenes of slips and falls, concussions and law suits probably flashed through his mind. He lifted me out of that tub, zippy quick, gave me one quick swat on the bottom (the only time in my life he ever spanked me - no doubt that's why I remember it) and sent me off to tell my mother what I'd been up to.  It gets blurry after that but I'm pretty sure I was sent right to bed and Holly's parents took her home.  I'm glad that when, as a grown up, I entertained our pastor and his wife at our house, things went much better, except for our dog chewing a big hole in the pastor's wife's sweater.  But that's a story for another day.  

Let's go to the movies.

 Netflix has been running a series of original Christmas movies over the last week or so and I have watched a few of them.  I admit that the ones I usually am drawn to are the romances.  "A Castle for Christmas" was a recent good one.  This evening, however, I was pulled into watching what was essentially a children's story, a variation on the origin of Santa stories.  I turned it on when I discovered that it starred one of my favorite actors, Dame Maggie Smith.  She's been in Downton Abby and so many other great shows.  The fact that she has more wrinkles than I do simply increases my admiration.  So I was prepared to enjoy her performance, which I did, but I discovered a whole other dimension.  It turns out that the movie was filmed in the far northern reaches of Finland where I visited a few years ago.  As I watched the views of seemingly endless sweeps of snow and pine trees, little log cabins, and a reindeer pulling a wooden sleigh while the young hero trudged through the cold, I remembered that visit.  The area of Finland we visited was also part of the territory of Lapland.  This is where we rode in a one-reindeer sleigh, visited "the real Santa" in his village, rode in a dog-sled and trudged through a lot of cold.  I have never been colder in my life than on that trip.  Friends I was traveling with kept saying it was their favorite trip ever, but I found myself thinking longingly of hot, sunny Spain.  So the movie was a fun flashback to a very interesting trip, but without the cold.  Very nice indeed.  

I feel so safe.

I got my flu shot today at Walgreens.  I had tried to get it last Sunday but was told, in no uncertain terms, that I would have to make an appointment.  I have never, in any other year, had to make a reservation for a flu shot.  But, on Monday I went on line and registered and even printed out and filled in the required form.  Which I dutifully turned in when I got there today.  I mentioned to the nice young pharmacist who gave me my shot (quite painlessly) and slapped on the required red bandaid, that I had never had to have an appointment for a flu shot before.  He said they have really been 'slammed' this week. I suppose that's true what with Covid shots and boosters and shingles and pneumonia shots as well as flu shots.  While I was waiting my turn, without seeing anyone come out, an elderly couple came in (about my age) and signed in to be next after me.  I guess that qualifies as 'slammed.'  They evidently also had an appointment.  My generation is good at following directions.  

time flies

 Today is National Fritters Day.  Of course, when I learned that, my mind naturally turned to apple fritters, my very favorite kind of donut.  But fritter has another meaning and I must say, modestly, that I am an excellent fritterer.  I can fritter away time with the best of them.  I start each day with the best of intentions.  I even make lists of my good intentions, including house work, paperwork, and meetings.  But strangely, by the end of the day, I find I have only accomplished about half of what I set out to do.  I've been debating what to do about this.  I could be more focused I suppose, and work harder, but where's the fun in that?  I think perhaps I should write more realistic lists, something like - eat breakfast, make my bed, text a few friends, take time out to read a good book, eat lunch, take a nap, read a good book, eat supper, watch some TV, write in my blog and go to bed.  I'm pretty sure I could accomplish that list.  In fact I think I have.  Good night.

It's December

 It's December, a great month for many reasons.  Each year my son-in-law gives me a custom calendar full of pictures of my children, grandchildren and even the dogs.  I've been saving these for years and they are wonderful albums.  This morning, when I flipped the page to December, I discovered a picture of my daughter wearing something I had given her pre-pandemic.  It was a full-size pink bunny suit, like the one featured in the ever popular movie "A Christmas Story."  My son-in-law loves that movie and my daughter is a good sport.  Happy December everyone.

jingle bells

 Well, I've officially started my Christmas shopping.  Sitting here, in my pajamas, in my recliner, with my cup of tea handy.  There are some definite advantages to on-line shopping.  In years past, when my grandchildren were younger (and so was I) I treated them each individually to a day long shopping spree and lunch after Christmas.  Our destinations ranged from Chuckie Cheese's to a small town antique mall to Home Depot to Build a Bear, Victoria's Secret Pink section, Barnes & Nobel and so much more.  I let them take all the time they wanted and it was fun.  But last year during the pandemic we had to change traditions and they each sent me a suggested gift list of things I could order for them on line.  This year we are following the same process, not for health concerns, but because they are all grown up (almost) and busy with work and college and one last year of high school.  They will all be coming to my place for Christmas dinner so I will be seeing them, but a little piece of me still misses Build a Bear.

candy counters

 Today is National Chocolates Day.  Yummm. It's high time that chocolate was appreciated for the fine food it is.  I have always considered it one of the basic food groups, and it's a scientific fact that chocolate makes you feel good.  Of course you must use it wisely.  A friend of mine told me yesterday that, according to her chocolate filled Advent calendar, there are only three days 'til Christmas.  

it's in the mail

 Based on the mail stuffed into my mailbox yesterday, I'm thinking of writing a revised Christmas carol.  On the fifth day of Christmas my mailman brought to me one personal letter, two grocery fliers, three life insurance offers, four Medicare supplement offers, five pleas for money.  But no partridge, with or without a pear tree.  A pretty typical assortment of mail, especially at this time of year.  It's probably my imagination but I think I smelled a whiff pear tree wood in all that paper.  

Pass the pie.

 Today is National Bavarian Cream Pie Day.  I'm not sure how different that is from Sugar Cream Pie, one of my very favorites, but one recipe I checked seemed to want ice cream blended into the custard for Bavarian Cream Pie, which would seem to add one more level of decadence.  I doubt that I will ever bake a BCP but I will try to remember to order a piece if I ever see it available on a restaurant menu.  About my love of Sugar Cream Pie, I think I appreciate it most because of it's amazing flavor, but second, because it makes no pretense of being even a little bit good for you.  There are no cherries, apples, blueberries or peaches in there to dilute the sugar flavor.  I know, I know, there might be some eggs and cream in there, but they are totally overwhelmed by the sugar.  Every one knows that the eggs are only in there to hold everything together.  Just like in cake.  I rest my case.

Sinkie?

 My west coast brother's most recent text included the fact that today is 'Sinkie Day.'  I assumed that this was a misprint and he really meant 'Slinky Day.'  You remember Slinkys, don't you?  Those amazing springy toys that could tumble down steps and make you look like you could juggle.  Great fun, until they got tangled up, which they inevitably did.  So I asked my brother if sinkie was a misprint, but he informed me that sinkie is a real thing.  Any guesses?  Sinkie is the act of eating leftovers over the sink so you don't dirty more dishes.  I personally don't eat over the sink, much, but I suspect there was a lot of sinkie (sinkieing?) going on as people cleaned up after Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, or even as they prepared the dinner.  It is a very thoughtful act, actually.   Saving more dishes.  Today is also 'Buy Nothing Day' and I am happy to report that I celebrated by avoiding any urge to do Black Friday shopping in person or on line.  I spent the day assembling my old reliable Christmas tree instead.  It's a little like greeting an old friend.

holiday feasting

 I am still blissfully full from Thanksgiving dinner.  We feasted on turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, fruit salad, pumpkin pie and brownies.  So good.  Then we played a trivia game - some right answers and lots of laughs.  A very good Thanksgiving and I hope yours was too.  But it has left me very sleepy so I will close with a simple little riddle.  How are chickens and turkeys different?  Chickens celebrate Thanksgiving.  You're welcome.

read the warning

 Today is Thanksgiving Eve and I hope everyone is looking forward to family feast time tomorrow.  In the meantime, today is also 'National Use Even if the Seal is Broken Day.'  My first reaction to that news was "absolutely not" but then I got to thinking about it.  Are there some things I would use even if the seal was broken?  I think I've found a loop-hole.  Notice it says 'use' not 'eat.'  If I saw a small tear in a package of paper towels I wouldn't throw them away but if I found a tear in a bread bag I might hesitate.  Of course some bread comes double wrapped (which really irritates me).  When it comes to food, I really appreciate foods that come naturally sealed like oranges and bananas and eggs.  But lots of things aren't sealed at all and I still eat them, like celery, broccoli and asparagus.  I don't think the bands around bananas or the rubber band around celery bunches count as seals.  Can you tell my mind is on food.  My family famous sweet potato casserole is assembled and waiting in the refrigerator to be baked tomorrow.  My daughter-in-law, who is an excellent cook, is hosting this year so all I need to do is bring the sweet potatoes.  What a deal.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

a trip to the mall

 It's been a long time since I went shopping at the mall but I decided to go today, to beat the Black Friday rush.  There were some specific gifts I was looking for to send to great nieces and nephews across the country.  I got there about 10:50 and discovered that the mall, at least the Macy's entrance, didn't open until 11.  Evidently it was a surprise to a few others as well, because when I went back to my car to wait I noticed several other people waiting in their cars.  Once we got inside I was reassured to see that Macy's has lots of Christmas stuff on display including several kinds of candy and toys from Toys R Us.  Nothing I was looking for however, so I wandered on out into the mall and was pleased to see that Santa's chair is all set up and waiting for him.  Another surprise, the seasonal store I expected to shop in was closed tight with lots of empty shelves to be seen through the windows.  I was particularly looking for calendars, so I moved on to walk past all of the temporary kiosks set up in the mall.  I have often found calendars I like in one or two of those little shops.  However, many of the kiosks were still tented and the ones that were opening up had nothing to do with calendars or anything else I would ever buy (except of course the sugared nuts) but they weren't open either. I continued my odyssey, eventually completing the loop and ending up at Barnes & Nobel.  They had books of course, and lots and lots of puzzles and games on display, but hardly any calendars.  The only thing I can figure is that all of the 'page a day' calendars in the world are stuck in one of those huge cargo ships off the west coast.  Either that or sellers really, really want me to shop on Black Friday.  Shudder!!

math flash back

 On Monday afternoons I tutor a fifth grader at South Wayne Elementary School.  He's a great kid and I really enjoy working with him, usually.  Today wasn't one of our most fun days.  Don't get me wrong, he was as hard working and well behaved as ever, but his teacher had sent two work sheets on least common denominators.  You remember fractions, don't you? Always a fun part of elementary school math.  I remember my husband trying to convince our then ten year old daughter that "Fractions are our friends."  She wasn't buying it. Today I first had to remind myself that the denominator is on the bottom, then we got to work.  Not at all surprisingly, his teacher teaches a different approach than I learned as a child, but we figured it out, sort of.  We will work on it more next week.  Unless they have moved on to something else by then.  Trying to keep up with a 5th grader is rather humbling.  

Something I didn't know

 I visited Alaska several years ago and it is beautiful.  We saw mountains and wild life, especially moose and bears, ate smoked salmon and watched an iceberg 'calve.'  But we were never told about the elusive Alascattalo. When I received the news (from my west coast brother, of course) that today is Alascattalo Day, I sensed by the name that it might have something to do with Alaska.  Although I do think it should be spelled with a 'k'.  Alaskan cattle maybe or buffalo?  Naturally I looked it up.  It turns out that the Alascattalo is the Alaskan mascot, a cross between a moose and a walrus.  Now I ask you, do you see anything about moose or walrus in that name?  Shouldn't it be Alaskamoowal?  Or Alaskawalmoo?  Or maybe Waskamoo? or Alamoorus?  I'm open to reasonable suggestions.  

What's in a name?

 Today is "National Name Your PC Day."  It's also "National Absurdity Day."  Not sure if that's a coincidence or not, but I do know that people tend to name their stuff.  Some people even name their houses but I've never owned a house elegant enough to be named.  Although now that I think about it, my grandchildren used to call my last house 'the cow house' because the black and white stone work on the front of the house reminded them of the side of a cow.  I'm wondering now why I name some things and not others.  For example, I have never thought to name my phone or my tablet or my PC.  I've never named a kitchen appliance or a piece of furniture (except for the obvious like 'couch' or 'table').  I have, however, named my Roomba, mainly because when I registered it the sign-in required a name.  So I named her 'Rhoda.'  I think, because she runs around on her own vacuuming my floors and then plugs herself in to her little dock to recharge, she seems to have a personality.  Maybe I can give names to things that work without me.  On the other hand I have also named my car 'Blue' and I certainly don't want her running off on her own.  However I definitely do want her to run whenever I turn on the ignition.  And I certainly do appreciate her reliability.  By the way, if you're wondering how I know that 'Blue' is female, it's because she wears a necklace, made many years ago by a dear granddaughter, around her rear view mirror.  That's enough absurdity for tonight.

Early real estate experience

 Today is Play Monopoly Day.  I know I've reminisced before about playing hours long Monopoly games at my aunt's house on Christmas afternoons but it now occurs to me that, in addition to having fun, I was getting an early education in basic economics and dealing in real estate.  All those little houses and hotels and deeds and that colorful funny money added up to accrued wealth if you took your time and played your cards right.  Of course some lucky rolls of the dice helped.  Sounds a lot like real life, doesn't it?  Did all this game playing lead to my eventual career in real estate?  Maybe.  

M I C KEY......

 ..M O U S E.  Today, if you haven't guessed already, is Micky Mouse Day.  Naturally, that got me thinking about cartoons I have known and enjoyed over the years. Of course I remembered the cartoons I watched with my children and grandchildren (from Bugs Bunny to Kim Possible) but some of my fondest memories go back farther than that.  In July of 1969 my husband and I celebrated our first anniversary by buying our first ever color TV.  We bought it to watch the first ever moon landing, which, as it turned out, was exciting but not very colorful.  However we soon discovered that Saturday morning cartoons were brilliantly colorful and quite funny.  Our favorites were "George of the Jungle" and "Rocky and Bullwinkle."  Sweet memories.

Moo...

 My west coast brother tells me that today is National Farm Joke Day. Out of curiosity, I googled 'farm jokes' and it turns out they come in a great variety from kid's farm jokes to dirty farm jokes to sexy farm jokes.  I did not delve too deeply but here are three of my favorite safe ones: How does a farmer fix his pants?  With a cabbage patch. What do you get when you combine a cocker spaniel, a poodle and a rooster?  A cockapoodledoo.  And finally, in honor of the coming holiday - What kind of key has no lock?  

a little laughter

 Sometimes I really fear for the trees in this country.  This usually happens when I open my mailbox and find it stuffed full of useless paper printed with messages I don't want to read. Charities, furniture stores and insurance companies seem determined to separate me from my money.  But every once in a while something good slips through.  Today, for instance, my favorite catalog arrived in the mail.  I don't send them money either but I do enjoy reading their sweat shirt messages.  Here are my favorites from this edition:  "If you can't remember my name just say chocolate.  I'll turn around." "Day 12 without chocolate. Lost hearing in my left eye."  I sense a theme here.  "When I was a kid I wanted to be older.  This _____ was not what I expected." "Telling a woman to calm down works about as well as baptizing a cat." and my current favorite "You're never too old for nap time."

Try, try again

 I auditioned for another play tonight.  Actually this was the second night of auditions and I went both nights.  Yesterday I got to read several times since not too many people showed up.  Tonight there were more people there so I didn't get as many times on stage but I did get to read for the two parts I'm most interested in.  Win or loose, I do enjoy auditions.  It's fun to see how other people read the parts.  This particular play "Sylvia" is about a stray dog rescued by a kindhearted man whose wife really, really doesn't want this dog.  The dog is played by a woman, not running around on all fours but saying the kind of things you may have imagined your pet saying to you from time to time.  Admit it, we've all had pets we felt we could communicate with.   At the end of tonight's audition, the director assured us that he understands how hard it is to wait to hear if you've been cast in a part and that he would get back to us by next Monday.  I know that's reasonable, but a week feels like a long time to wait.  On the other hand, I'm perfectly happy to wait if I'm not going to get a part.  It's like buying a lottery ticket.  Until they announce those numbers you can keep dreaming.  

twist that tongue..

 Today is International Tongue Twister Day.  I grew up in a small town named Woodburn and our favorite tongue twister was "How much wood would Woodburn burn if Woodburn would burn wood?" You may have heard something similar about woodchucks but ours was better.  Interestingly, historically, Woodburn burned quite a lot of wood.  When those first enterprising immigrants from Germany came to what was then the 'Great Black Swamp' east of Fort Wayne, they realized that there was some potentially really good farm land if they could drain the swamp.  So they started cutting trees, lots and lots of trees. Some they used for houses, some they burned in smudge pots inside and outside those houses to keep the voracious mosquitoes away, and some they burned in huge piles as they cleared the land.  Eventually they burned more trees to fire the first kilns built in the area to make drainage tiles so they could drain that swamp land to grow better crops.  So, how much wood did  Woodburn burn?  Enough to get named for the endeavor.  

a toast

 My ever considerate west coast brother informed me that today is Actor's Day, Wine Tourist Day, one month until my birthday and six weeks until Christmas.  I decided I could deal with all the rest of it if I focused on celebrating Wine Tourist Day, so I took a quick tour to my kitchen and discovered that I still had one inch of wine in a bottle in the refrigerator.  So, "Cheers!"  I'm not sure if drinking Oliver's Soft White really qualifies as being a wine tourist but it was bottled in Bloomington so that would be at least a day trip, right?  It works for me.  

recommended

 I saw the historic drama musical "The Christmas Schooner" at the Civic this evening and I highly recommend it.  The actors/singers were excellent.  Of course I'm always in awe of people who can act and sing and dance.  The story, based on true events - the schooners who braved winter weather to sail from the heavily forested areas at the northern reaches of the Great Lakes to bring Christmas trees to homesick immigrants in Chicago in the late 1800s.  Lots of references to German traditions which I enjoyed.  About musicals and why I don't participate.  When I was much younger I took my turn singing in church choirs and even in our high school chorus.  It wasn't show choir in those days, no dancing all over the stage, we just stood still and sang.  As long as I could stand beside a good strong soprano I could follow along pretty well.  In fact, when my husband and children and I moved from Fort Wayne to Ohio many years ago, I received a note from a friend in the church we had just left, saying that she really missed me in the choir.  I felt pretty good about that until I read her next sentence "Now I'm the tallest person in the front row."  

a day to remember

 Happy Armistice Day or Happy Veterans Day.  That's what my west coast brother texted me earlier today.  But it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.  I mean it is a serious day of remembrance, right?  On the other hand, if you're a veteran, like my brother, that means you survived your time in the military.  That certainly seems like something to celebrate to me.  Plus, lots of restaurants around town give free meals to veterans today.  So happy Veterans Day to all of you fortunate survivors.  My brother also told me that Typhoid Mary died on this date in 1938.  Historically interesting but somehow, in this time of pandemic, I can't find any humor in that. 

feeling blue

 After a meeting this evening a couple of friends took me aside and asked me if I was feeling ok?  They said I seemed a little 'down.'  I assured them that I was fine (I am) but told them I was still a little weary from the play I was in.  That is true and it made a reasonable excuse.  It's also true that the holidays are coming up fast and that always adds a little pressure.  But, just between us, the real reason I was looking tired was because I didn't put on any makeup today.  I know, scary, right?  And if I was looking a little blue perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I have finished off the last of my leftover Halloween candy.  Alas!  Life is full of such tragedies.  

love that art work

 According to my west coast brother, who keeps me up to date on such things, today is "Go to an Art Museum Today" day.  I didn't quite do that but almost.  A friend and I went to the Bradley, the newest downtown hotel, for brunch.  It was tasty.  I had the French toast and maple sausage, all very good, and just a little on the pricy side.  After we ate we explored the public areas, decorated, as you might expect, with Vera Bradly wall paper patterns and carpets.  But, and here's where the 'art museum' part comes in, what I really enjoyed, was the long hallway decorated with original art, much of it created by art students at Purdue Fort Wayne.  According to one of the managers (everyone was very friendly and helpful) this display will be changed frequently, giving several students a chance to show their creations.  What a great idea.  Of course I'm also living in an art museum.  The large lobbies in our two buildings are decorated with original paintings and sculptures displayed by members of the Fort Wayne Artist's Guild.  These are changed every three months or so  and I do enjoy looking at the art.  So far I have resisted buying anything.  So far.  

the FedEx saga

  In all of the plays I have been in (admittedly not that many) some of the actors give little gifts to everyone else in the cast and crew, or a nice note.  This time around, my son Tom, who really is a good artist, designed the T-shirts (another tradition) and I really liked the design so I decided that it would be fun to have a puzzle made of the same design and give one to each member of the cast and crew.  I thought of puzzles because there were some recurring themes about puzzles in the play and one of my lines included the word 'puzzle.'  Anyway, I thought it would be a fun idea and enlisted my son to actually order the puzzles and arrange for shipment.  I paid, while he did all the work.  He sent the order and then the nail biting began.  I didn't know that the puzzles were manufactured in China.  When the order was placed, we were told that delivery would be between November 3 and 8.  There really wasn't a faster option.  I had visions of all the container ships stuck in the west coast bays but FedEx uses airplanes, thank goodness.  The dates were reasonable except that our last performance was on November 7.  I had worrying visions of getting them on the 8th and then figuring out how to distribute them to everyone.  We're talking 20 people here.  On the 3rd my son started sending me updates as he got them.  The shipment had left China and arrived in Japan.  On the 4th, the shipment had passed through customs, after some unexplained problem, and was on its way to Indianapolis.  And finally, on the afternoon of the 5th, the box showed up on his front porch.  We were able to give them to everyone that evening, before the show started, and everyone loved them.  One lady said she was going to put hers together then preserve it and frame it as a memento of the show.  The only slight flaw was that one of the young actresses, who played the child star, missed one of her entrances because she was busy putting her puzzle together and lost track of time.  In her defense, the green room speaker wasn't working that night and she had no way of knowing where we were in the show. We covered for her and I don't think the audience even noticed.  Live theater is fun.  Kudos to FedEx for delivering as promised.  

strike

 This afternoon was the last performance of the play my son and I were in, and as you might expect during a last performance some things went wrong.  I keep thinking (hoping?) the audience didn't know, but they might have guessed that things weren't quite right a couple of times. For instance, when I caught the heel of my shoe on the edge of the chair I was sitting on and ended up limping across the stage to make my exit.  Up until then it had been a perfect scene.  Earlier in the show, I had to quickly make up some lines when a conversation (not one of mine) had been skipped and our quick witted young star had to get some necessary information into the show another way.  So she asked me a question and I gave a response that sounded perfectly reasonable, none of which was in the script, but it did the trick.  Live theater is fun, and then it's over, and in a theater like ours, where most of the participants are amateurs, the last step is to 'strike the set' which is a good way to say goodbye to the production.  Striking the set involves cleaning the dressing rooms, and other behind the scenes areas, dealing with the costumes (I was very happy to say goodbye to my fragile blue dress) putting away all the furniture and other props that make a stage set look good, and disassembling all the walls, windows, doors, and trims.  By the time we were finished, fours hours after the performance ended, there were no signs of the play left on stage.  Happily, one of the cast members, a young man who loves to bake, brought a truly excellent apple pie for all of us to share when the work was finished.  Sitting around, eating pie, and quietly talking, was an excellent way to put the play to rest.  And speaking of rest, I may sleep for the next twelve hours.  Good night.

time and more time

 Yesterday, after our evening performance, several of us in the cast went to Henry's for a late night drink and snack.  Some of the cast had been doing this almost every evening of the show but, for a variety of reasons, last night was the first night I was able to go.  It was fun, in a loud, crowded, busy kind of way, but when someone suggested going again tonight I politely declined.  It's possibly an age thing or maybe just common sense.  I decided it would be more fun to come home and turn my clocks back.  Two done, two to go.  The others will reset themselves.  My only real challenge is resetting my car clock.  It's really very easy, once I remember which buttons to push, but it always takes me a while to figure it out.  Because I'm usually in a hurry to get somewhere on time when I hop in my car, it's often three or four days before I get it done.  I know, I know, I could just leave it alone and it would be right half the year, but where's the challenge in that. 

cookies anyone?

 Today is National Easy Bake Oven Day. Easy Bake Ovens were cute little gadgets styled to look like a small stove with oven.  As I recall, the heat source was a light bulb and you could really bake cakes and cookies in cute little pans.  And they were edible (the cakes, not the ovens).  I suspect that my mother gave me an Easy Bake oven for Christmas when I was 9 or 10, in hopes that it would keep me from doing serious damage to myself in the real kitchen.  I may have mentioned a time or two that coordination was not my strong suit as a child.  My mother had reason to be concerned.  As I entered my teens and tentatively entered the kitchen I managed to burn my arm on a very hot pressure cooker, and stick my finger in a cake that I was supposed to be lightly tapping to test for doneness, burning it on the inside bottom of the pan.  My kitchen duties typically involved less dangerous pursuits like setting the table and washing dishes.  Well, less dangerous to me anyway.  I did manage to drop and break five plates at once, when carrying them to the table.  These days I have a great fondness for Corelle Ware.  When I asked my mother if I would ever be able to cook she said "Yes, you know what good food tastes like, and when the time comes you will be able to cook it."  Happily, she was right.

I wonder??

 Yesterday was Election Day in many parts of the country.  It was also Skeptic's Day International.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  Today is World Jellyfish Day and National Sandwich Day.  It's hard to imagine celebrating jellyfish.  I mean it's not a very snuggly pet and you can't take it for a walk.  Now I can celebrate sandwiches.  I really like sandwiches.  Ham salad is a particular favorite.  My west coast brother suggested a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich in honor of the day, but I think not.  Maybe on the west coast, but I don't think it will become a big favorite in the conservative mid-west.  If you decide to try it, let me know.

decision time

 Today was laundry day, and as I remade my bed with clean sheets (not ironed, don't be ridiculous, but fresh and clean) and, as I was smoothing the top sheet, I made the big decision.  It was time to put on the electric blanket.  After all, my favorite weather man told me that the low tonight will be 28 degrees.  Sounds cold enough for me.  Happy fall everyone.  Keep warm.  

new tricks

 On Monday afternoons I tutor a fifth grader at South Wayne Elementary School.  Last year I tutored the same boy but we spent the whole year studying together by Zoom.  Now that I've met him in person he's taller and thinner than I expected.  I suspect he had a growth spurt this summer.  He spent most of our first session, last week, telling me about the roller coasters he rode at Cedar Point this summer.  But this week we really got to work.  He's very serious about strengthening his math skills and worked carefully through a page his teacher had given him.  It mostly dealt with fractions, but also included some multiplication and division.  One problem involved what we used to call long multiplication (in the olden days).  I watched him work the problem and he did it all wrong, in other words not the way I was taught, but surprise, surprise, he got the right answer.  His way looked more complicated to me.  When I showed him my way he said yes, they had been taught both ways last year but his way was easier.  Maybe, maybe not.  But if it works for him who am I to argue?  Isn't it fun when the teacher gets taught?

how embarrassing

 Happy Halloween everyone.  Evidently the tear in dress happened earlier than I thought yesterday because one of the audience members asked her friend, one of the other actors, what was wrong with my costume.  How embarrassing.  Today I took things into my own hands.  Just in case the dress hadn't been repaired, I took along a dress of my own to wear.  It's a nice dress.  I bought it in Seattle five years ago after my luggage was stolen (but that's a different story).  The dress I had been wearing in the play is solid navy blue with peach trim and three quarter length sleeves, definitely 50s.  My dress is a sleeveless navy blue with a pattern of tiny white flowers.  The old dress had not been repaired so I wore mine, with a waist length navy blue three quarter length sleeve sweater over it, fastened low in front to give it a bolero look.  Those were popular in the 50s.  This is the same sweater I always wear with it.  I put on the hat, pearls and gloves that are part of the costume and here's the other embarrassing part.  No one noticed the difference.  One of the other actors did say, after the show, that she thought something looked a little different.  So now here's the question?  Is everyone just really unobservant, or do I always go around looking like a refugee from the 50s?  Don't answer that. 

costume malfunction

 I think I've mentioned before that one of the costumes I wear in the play I'm in (which takes place in the 50s) is a vintage dress from the 50s or earlier.  Once or twice when I've pulled it off over my head (the only way to get it off, and I am very gentle with it) I've heard suspicious little popping noises.  I left a note for the wardrobe person that I thought some threads were snapping in the waist.  I got a note back saying she didn't have time to work on this right now.  Tonight, when I took this old dress off after the performance I noticed a six inch gap across the back where the waist had torn out.  I know it wasn't like that when I put it on before the show but I'm not sure when it happened.  I didn't hear any ripping sounds when I was on stage, thankfully.  Our next performance is at 2:00pm tomorrow.  I wonder what I'll be wearing?

opening night

 The show has officially opened and we had a large audience.  So far, no jitters.  I was a little concerned.  We don't, as a rule, wear glasses on stage.  In years past that was not a problem.  In fact it was a help.  With my glasses off, the audience area was a dark blur so I didn't feel like anyone was watching.  It was just another rehearsal as far as I was concerned.  Now, after some very successful cataract surgery earlier this year, I can see the audience.  Darkly of course, but still definitely more clearly than in  years past.  Another change.  In previous plays, with a different director, we weren't allowed to mingle with the audience after the play, until we were in street clothes when most people had left.  This time we were encouraged to go talk with people while still in costume, which means people got to see my little blue hat, fancy gloves and vintage dress close up.  Lucky them.  It was fun though.  

it's only fair

 Tonight was preview night, our last official dress rehearsal, but with a small live audience.  It's always good when people in the audience laugh where they're supposed to and gasp where they're supposed to.  That's enough about the play.  Today is also National Chocolate Day and Plush Animal Lovers Day.  This seems right.  Yesterday was a man's day.  Today seems like a woman's day.  At least this woman's day.  I do own one plush animal (far and away the easiest kind of pet) and I usually have some kind of chocolate on hand.  Especially with Halloween only three days away.  That's this weeks excuse, anyway.

 Today is National Potato Day, American Beer Day and Boxer Shorts Day.  If that doesn't sound like a day made for men, I don't know what does.   That's it, that's all I've got.  Too many late night rehearsals.  

a logical combination

 Today is Horseless Carriage Day.  When I used to see Amish neighbors driving in the winter in their open buggies, it made me really appreciate my personal 'horseless carriage.'  I have had several cars over the years and I've liked them all.  Interestingly, today is also National Mule Appreciation Day.  I can understand that.  In the early days of horseless carriage operation, it was probably wise to keep a mule around to pull your HC out of ditches and other muddy situations.  Sadly, a good mule is never very handy these days (at least in my neighborhood) so now we have to rely on tow trucks.  Convenient but dull.

updates

 Needless to say, the crew did not start tuckpointing my apartment building today.  Too soggy. But, happily, no leak; I guess it needs a driving rain for that.  It's National Greasy Food Day; please pass the French Fries.  Rehearsals continue to go well, but long, we didn't finish up till 10:30 tonight.  The play isn't long, just the rehearsals.  This is the week of dress rehearsals.  This play takes place in the 1950s.  The men are wearing short sleeve dress shirts with ties, shades of my husband's wardrobe in the 60s, except no pocket protectors.  I am wearing two different dresses that where evidently sewn in the 50s, with hats and gloves of course.  Our costume lady tells me I have a perfect figure for vintage dresses.  It makes sense I guess, old dresses, old body.

a bird's eye view

 You may remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about a ceiling leak in my 10th floor apartment.  When I spoke with maintenance about it I was informed that some repairs would soon be made.  Last Thursday we all (the tenants that is) received an email telling us that tuck pointing and other repairs will begin tomorrow.  It should be interesting to watch and see what kind of equipment they use to get as high as the 14th floor.  For all the years I've lived here I've joked that the only people who could come knocking at my balcony door would be Superman or Batman.  But now, who knows who might show up?  Stay tuned.  

just call me techy...

 Friends who know me know that I am a big fan of some things technical.  I love my phone, which does things no phone was ever intended to do, and my laptop and my tablet and even my Fitbit.  They all save me time and bring me joy.  Friends who know me also know that I do not delve deeply into things technological.  I can learn which buttons to push and, when all else fails, how to turn the equipment off and on again, but I do not try to rewrite code or alter programs.  So day before yesterday, when my mouse died, I was baffled.  Where was the little arrow that should be dancing across my laptop screen?  I needed to sign on to a Zoom meeting, and finally remembered that I could use the little finger pad built into my computer, and I did manage to get signed on.  But the mouse is so much easier.  In case you're wondering, I do not have touch screen on this device.  Today, when I had time to take a careful look at the mouse, still apparently dead, I noticed a tiny little on/off switch.  It was on.  Then I noticed some fine lines around one end of the mouse and a tiny symbol that looked a little like a battery.  Well, with some cleverly applied thumb pressure, I opened that little compartment and replaced the battery.  I guess once each four years is reasonable.  I am happy to report that my mouse is now performing brilliantly.  I must add this to my list of tech abilities.  I can replace batteries.

Yawn...

 Today is INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY.  It's also the day our rehearsal ran til 11:30pm.  Good night all. 

Yummmm...

 Today is "International Day of the Nacho" which is a very fine day in my opinion.  Although I don't understand why it's singular.  In my experience no one eats only one nacho.  By a happy coincidence, I had nachos for lunch today.  A group of us gathered for lunch and a meeting at La Margarita on Calhoun Street.  Since it was lunch, I had a half order of bean nachos and a cup of Mexican potato soup.  The soup reminded me a lot of fideo soup but with little pieces of potato instead of noodles.  It was really good.  The nachos were excellent - individual chips topped with refried beans, one slice of jalapeno and melted cheese.  As I was eating them, it occurred to me that they were made just the way I used to make them for my family.  Don't you love good authentic home cooking?

blame it on Covid

 Perhaps I spoke too soon.  I hadn't experienced any side effects from my Covid booster before I went to bed last night.  However, sometime in the middle of the night I woke up shivering and shaking (no, my window wasn't open).  I solved the problem by wrapping up in my warmest bathrobe and then crawling back under the covers.  I wasn't quite desperate enough to dig out my electric blanket.  I've only had chills like that once before and that was a reaction to a shingles shot.  While it wasn't very comfortable for a while there, it did give me an excellent excuse (Covid shot, restless night) for flubbing one of my lines during rehearsal tonight.  Everyone was sympathetic.  Sadly, that's only a one time excuse.  Hopefully that's all I'll need.

now I've done it....

I got my booster shot today.  So now I am as protected as I can be from Covid 19.  Not sure about any other strains but I've done what I can.  I went to the Miro Center on the Parkview campus and, even though I hadn't made an appointment, I just zipped right through.  Well, except for the 15 minute wait to make sure I wasn't going to pass out or anything.  I was surprised that there were several other people there.  One friend warned me that, as a side effect, I might have a headache - not so far.  Another warned me that I might have a sore arm - not so far.  I am feeling very sleepy though.  If that's a side effect, I can live with it.  Good night.  

testing....

 Today I had my first ever Covid test.  Happily the result was negative. The reason for the test was my granddaughter's exposure to Covid last Wednesday. Before he knew she had been exposed and brought the possibility of infection home, my son gave me a ride to a rehearsal on Thursday night.  Happily, all of us have tested negative.  Of course we have all had out shots so that's the way it's supposed to work.  I was reluctant to have this test because I didn't think I would enjoy having someone stick a cotton swab up my nose.  I still don't think I would like that but, happily, Walgreens has a different system.  Following directions emailed to me, I drove up to their drive-through window, rolled the window down just enough to communicate and pass things back and forth.  The friendly masked stranger behind the window and plexiglass layers showed me just where to hold the swab and and how far to stick it up my nose.  I'm sure it was much more comfortable doing it myself.  The instructions said that I would receive the results sometime in the next two to twenty-four hours.  However, when I had made the twenty minute drive home and checked my email, the result was already there.  The next step for me is to get my booster shot and I hope to do that tomorrow.  But I will not self-administer.  In the meantime, I hope you have been enjoying "International Adjust Your Chair Day."  I will continue celebrating by tilting my recliner back just a little farther. 

picture this

 Today is "World Toy Camera Day."  But I don't understand the reason for this celebration.  I'm trying to remember if my children even had toy cameras.  They must have, probably made by Fischer Price.  I'm sure my son could have built a camera out of Legos if he really wanted to.  Now, if we were celebrating View Masters, I would certainly understand.  Those were the nifty little devices into which one inserted a disk (yes we had disks back then) and could look at pictures in 3D.  Wow!  I actually have a long history with cameras but not the toy kind.  I always have a camera with me on trips, going way back to the little brownie I took along on our senior class trip to Washington and NYC.  During our camping days my husband and I took many, many, many pictures of scenic wonders; most of which ended up as slides.  Back in the day friends took turns sitting through each others slide shows.  It was the neighborly thing to do.  These days I can load pictures from my digital camera onto my laptop, from there to my TV and just let the pictures scroll through in case any visitors are interested.  But getting back to toy cameras, I really think my cell phone is similar to a toy camera.  Children will take pictures of anything and everything with their little toy cameras and that is just how I use my phone.  I never need to worry about memory cards or downloading anything.  I can just click away at anything and everything whenever I feel like it, just like a toy, except I end up with real pictures.  What fun!  I love good toys, don't you?

tough decision

 I got a friendly reminder from my bank the other day that the fee for my safe deposit box will be automatically withdrawn from my checking account on November 1.   That got me to wondering what was in my SDB and if I even need it anymore.  So today I went to the bank and delved into my box.  I won't bore you with a complete inventory list.  Suffice it to say,  I don't really see the sense of keeping old, old paperwork (like deeds of houses I haven't owned in years) in a box I have to pay for.  Last year I gave up my land line, this year my safe deposit box.  What will be next I wonder?  

Booo!

 I saw the play "The Haunting of Hill House" at Arena Dinner Theater this evening.  It was their first live show since before the pandemic and it was a perfect Halloween show.  Some laughs, lots of spooky sound effects and the heroine who goes into the spooky tower (where no one should ever go).  All in all a very entertaining show.  The only thing lacking was the 'dinner.'  Instead of dinner, they served a dessert buffet (quite tasty) and coffee.  Not sure if that's a permanent change or not.  Since I was never too crazy about their dinners, I was perfectly happy to enjoy two desserts.  We were allowed two.  I did notice one elderly lady, pushing a walker, who had brought a Tupper Ware container and seemed to be loading it with desserts.  I doubt it was planned, but it did make for interesting intermission entertainment.

a costume malfunction??

 This evening was my first opportunity to try on my costumes for the play.  One is a dark print shirt waist dress, very typical of the 50s and it fit me perfectly.  Then I tried to try on the second dress, a navy blue, sophisticated looking dress, suitable for wearing to visit someone who is grieving.  When I pulled it on over my head, I realized something was wrong.  There were big holes at the back of my arms where the back of the sleeves should be.  At first I thought it was the current style of bare shoulders in sleeves but then I realized that was highly unlikely in a dress of the 50s.  By the time I got the dress off, the sleeves were hanging on by threads and I hadn't put any strain on them at all.  I guess it was really good that this happened in the dressing room and not on stage.  I really don't want to do an Incredible Hulk imitation in front of an audience.

In the bag(s)

 This evening our church held its seventh annual (with time off for the pandemic) food bagging event.  In conjunction with a group called 216 we bag a combination of dried vegetables, soy, rice and a packet of vitamins which can reverse the effects of malnutrition in sealed bags that can be shipped anywhere and, when boiled in water, will make a nutritious and pretty tasty soup.  Each bag holds four meals.  Every thing is set up assembly line style and teams of seven to ten people pour in ingredients, measure the weight, seal the bags and box them up, 36 bags to a box.  There were seventy people there this evening and together, in just a little over two hours, we prepped and boxed 25,000 meals.  These meals are heading for Haiti.  I had an easy job.  My part in the assembly line process was to weigh the filled bags, then add or take out a little rice until each bag weighed between 395 and 400 grams.  A little repetitious but the best way I know to fix 25,000 meals.  In case you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, our team of seven filled 13 boxes, 36 bags per box.  We weren't the speediest team (or the youngest) but we did our share.  

a funny flash back

 The play I'm in takes place in the 1950s and all of the scenes are played in the living room of the main family's apartment.  Among the furniture on the set are two large over-stuffed chartreuse colored chairs.  I've been looking at those chairs for several days now and wondering if they really fit the 50s theme.  Then suddenly, as I was looking at them this evening, I realized that the sectional sofa we had in our living room during the 50s and beyond was the exact same color.  Even our living room walls were painted that color.  My mother really liked chartreuse.  It must have been a popular color at the time.  So now I'm looking at these old chairs with more respect.  Such a silly little memory.  

be mean

 I am by nature a fairly nice person, I think.  As I've been rehearsing for this play, I've been playing my character as kind and sympathetic.  After all, one of the students in her school has died mysteriously and the mother is grieving.  However, after last Thursday's rehearsal the director told me he wanted me to play the part mean and, interestingly, all of my lines can be read as firm and even a little mean.  After our rehearsal on Sunday, when I played it his way, the director said I had improved one hundred percent.  After I left (I'm only in act one) I was  told (by my son who is in both acts) that the director, in his summing up, said I had improved 10,000 percent.  I would like to think that's a compliment but it does make me wonder how bad I was before.  He also called my character a "bee-yatch" which I have never been called before.  I have my next rehearsal tomorrow night.  Excuse me while I go practice my bitchiness.  

Aloha...

 Last night two friends and I attended the 'Jake Shimabukuro' concert at the Clyde theater.  Jake Shimabukuro is a ukulele player from Hawaii, which is a little bit like saying Mozart was a piano player from Austria.  The sounds Jake gets out of a ukulele are unbelievable.  I have been a fan of his from the first time I heard him play, which I think was about 12 years ago at the C2G music hall here in Fort Wayne.  He's been here several times since including two years ago when he played with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.  You can Google his name for more information. I highly recommend that you see him the next time he's in town.  The other fun thing about the evening was that the performance was held at the Clyde theater.  The first time I remember going to the Clyde Theater (when it was the biggest movie theater in Fort Wayne) was in 1957.  Our class was taken on a field trip to see "The Ten Commandments." The Clyde has certainly changed since then, but I'm so pleased to see it back in use.  

The egg and I....

 Today is World Egg Day.  I'm not sure why today has that distinction unless it's because of the ovals in 10-8 or the Os in October.  It does seem appropriate that this should be a day celebrated world wide since I can't think of any food more universally eaten, except maybe bread and milk.  When I was a child there was a popular book published called "The Egg and I."  It described the efforts of a city woman to live in the country (with her husband) and care for chickens, collect their eggs and make some money from the effort.  This book was published just about the time my city dwelling parents decided to buy and fix up an old house in the country on five acres.  Included with the package were two chicken coops.  Happily, probably after reading the book, my parents decided to raise chickens, but only to sell as fryers at eleven weeks old.  Chickens grow fast.  In addition to the 1500 chickens in the coops, my mother decided at one point that we should also have a few free range Banty chickens.  I think she had dreams of using their eggs for our breakfasts.  Sadly roaming chickens tend to lay their eggs in remote places resulting in eggs too old to eat by the time they are discovered.  We started the Banty experiment with five hens and one rooster.  Eventually some chicks came along.  The most memorable hatching happened in the crotch of a tree about five feet off the ground.  We kids watched in interest to see how the mama hen would get them out of the tree when they were old enough.  Luckily I got to see the event. (Any excitement is good in the summer in the country.)  As I watched, the hen actually kicked the chicks out of their nest in the tree.  They bounced a little when they hit the grass, but then got on their feet and toddled away.  I'm not exactly sure why, but eventually we gave all the Banty chickens away.  Possibly too much of a questionably good thing. 

 

a strange encounter

 Yesterday, after a typical trip to the grocery store, I had loaded my groceries into the car and was in the driver's seat buckling my seat belt, when a stranger approached my car, motioned me to lower the window, which I did for just an inch, and said "Give me the keys." This would have been scary except for the fact that the stranger was about five foot two and looked like a kindly grandmother, wearing a cute autumn sweatshirt.  It turned out that she was admiring my car and wanted to know what kind it was.  She walked all around the car, enjoyed the plate on the front of the car which my granddaughter had given me years ago, and kept saying how much she liked my car.  We had a nice chat, she was quite chatty, and then I drove off, after telling her I had melting groceries in my car.  Afterwards I found myself wondering if that was just, as it seemed, a pleasant chance encounter (which I choose to believe) or was it an attempt to get some information from me for a possible scam.  Isn't it sad that we live in a time that that would even occur to me?

Drumroll please!

 Today is "National German American Day.''  Since, on my father's side my heritage is 99.9 percent German, and on my mother's side, 85 percent (with a little Scots-Irish and French thrown in) I feel I can legitimately celebrate this holiday.  Sadly, I don't have a bit of sauerkraut in the house.  Mashed potatoes with some hot sauerkraut and a bit of sausage on top is truly a delicious dish.  My church in the town where I grew up, Lutheran of course, was still holding some services in German as late as the mid fifties.  My grandfather, my mother's father, worked in the coal mines of Pennsylvania until he earned enough to go to seminary.  He became a minister and his first call was to a German speaking community in the hills of Pennsylvania.  Since he had grown up speaking German as well as English, he didn't anticipate a problem.  Until he arrived in the small community and discovered that everyone there spoke Low German, while he spoke only High German.  When I was told this story as I child I really didn't comprehend the problem.  But I suspect the difference is like the difference between the English spoken in England and the English spoken in Glasgow, Scotland.  Probably other parts of Scotland also.  Our bus driver on a tour of Scotland, a lovely young man named Kevin, was from Glasgow.  I have been speaking English all my life, and get along just fine in most English speaking countries, but when Kevin talked to me I could only understand about one in ten words.  During one conversation, I had to ask him to write things down.  He was telling me about some really good BBC television shows I should be sure to watch.  I asked him to write the titles so I could remember them.  It was really because I had no idea what he was saying.  Evidently my grandfather was able to overcome the language barrier because he stayed in that small community for some years, long enough to meet and marry my grandmother. 

Coordination?

 My west coast niece has a new job.  She has given up working for a bakery, which required her to be at work at 4am, and has taken a job as cashier at an outdoor outfitters store called "North 40."  It's evidently quite a large store, large enough to include an indoor archery range.  I am so excited.  I hope I'll get to try it out the next time I go to visit them.  I have fond memories of archery.  When I was very young my brother and I and our neighbor roamed the range, aka our orchard, playing 'Cowboys and Indians.'  Sorry, I know that's not PC but it's what we called it back then.  The boys were the cowboys and I was always the Indian princess, with my little bow and rubber tipped arrows.  Since I was the oldest, I made up the story lines and was almost always the hero. 

Years later, when I went off to college, I was required to take several physical education classes (even though I was studying to be an art teacher).  Imagine my delight when I discovered that one of the PE options was Archery!  Since I have never been wildly well coordinated, the idea of taking a class where I could just stand still and only move my arms was very appealing.  I got an 'A' in that class, the only 'A' I have ever received in a PE class.  Sweet (no coordination required) memories.  

Ok, that's enough

 Today my ever-thoughtful west coast brother hit me with another number.  As of today, it's only 70 days until my birthday.  Since I'll be 77 then, it's an interesting repetition of sevens.  If you don't want to count, my birthday is on December 13.  Thirteen has been a good number for me over the years.  I was born on a 13, married on a 13, and had my first child on a 13.  My second child, the impatient one, was born on a 10.  I think it's interesting that, while I don't look forward to my birthdays with the eager excitement of childhood, I still feel a little twinge of anticipation as my birthday approaches.  It probably has something to do with just knowing I'm still here.  

counting down

 My west coast brother decided that, if I didn't want a frequent reminder of how close Christmas is, he should at least update me on Thanksgiving.  It's 53 days away in case you're wondering.  Which means I have 54 days until I need to put up my Christmas tree.  Goody! I can relax for a little while.  And speaking of relaxing, I've had a busy few weeks but today (at least after church) I had nothing on my calendar so I have been relaxing.  The sound of the rain has helped.  I have napped a little, read a little, watched a little TV.  Turns out that, when given the chance, I am a very good relaxer.