health food...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "Shredded Wheat Day."  Learning this has brought back some interesting memories.   First I should say that shredded wheat is still one of my favorite cereals, but these days I prefer it in the small square pillow shape of frosted mini wheats.  I believe you can get unfrosted mini wheats but what would be the point?  We ate a lot of shredded wheat when I was a child, but then it came as a single bundle? bale? loaf? of shredded wheat about four inches long, two inches wide and one inch high.  My dimensions may be a little off but you get the idea.  I remember, because it was quite stiff, my mother giving it a quick soak in hot water, then draining the water off and adding milk and sugar to the bowl.  This softened it up nicely and made it much easier to eat.  But the best thing I remember about shredded wheat was the packaging.  I think there were 12 in a box, layered neatly, four to a layer with pieces of cardboard between the layers, and (this is the good part) printed on those pieces of cardboard were shapes that, when cut out, could be pieced together to make stiff little airplanes capable of soaring for several feet, especially if launched from the roof of the chicken coop.  I know, I know, I was easily entertained, but it was a simpler time.  Let's hear it for health food.

eating and reading...

 My west coast brother informs me that today is "Paperback Book Day" and also "National Cheesecake Day" and that got me thinking about the joys of snacking while you read or, for that matter, watch TV or a movie or while you're driving.  I'm not saying I would eat cheese cake while I read; cheese cake should be savored. Also, eating cheese cake and reading could get messy.  Cookies, however, or popcorn or chips or, if you're of a more healthy persuasion, grapes or cherries or chunks of cheese or nuts are also great.  My uncle, who was a long haul semi driver, warned me that I should never eat apples while driving since they are a choking hazard.  Being an obedient and thoughtful niece I have stuck with French fries on long drives.  Are you hungry yet?  Good, then my work here is done.  

beware the beetles...

 Japanese Beetles that is.  A friend of mine has three lovely rose bushes in front of his house.  At least they used to be lovely.  This year they are being devoured by nasty looking and very hungry beetles.  He has tried spraying but really doesn't want to kill the bees so is reluctant to use it, and, honestly, it didn't work very well.  Now he has a beetle trap set up near the roses which is supposed to attract the little boy bugs with a little girl bug pheromone (or maybe it's the other way around).  It certainly seems to be working.  There are lots and lots of beetles in the trap. Sadly, there are even more of them on the roses.  In desperation my friend turned to the internet for advice.  There is a neighborhood site that seemed the logical place to start.  It was no surprise to discover that many of his neighbors are also dealing with the pesky beetles and some commented that the traps actually attracted even more beetles.  We were not surprised to learn that they are bad this year, but were surprised that they don't just attack roses but all kinds of flowering plants.  That seemed to squelch my idea.  I had suggested that he pull up the roses and plant some other kind of flowering perennial.  But what plant seemed resilient enough?  I might just have a solution though.  While looking at pictures of flowers on line I came upon peonies.  My mother-in-law had peonies growing all along one side of her back yard and they seemed indestructible.  They came up year after year, had beautiful bright pink blooms (but they do come in other colors) and didn't seem to be bothered by bugs.  Although if you do cut some to bring in the house you may find an occasional ant coming along for the ride.  A few ants vs bazillion beetles?  Seems like a good trade to me.

a really excellent museum..

 I've traveled to many cities in 21 countries over the last several years, and of all those cities one of my very favorites is Barcelona, Spain.  So imagine my pleasure when I discovered, thanks to my trusty page-a-day trivia calendar, that there is a museum there that I missed on my visit.  I think this might be worth a trip back.  Because, in addition to all the wonderful Gaudi art and architecture, Barcelona is home to, are you ready for this, "The Museu de la Xocolata" or "Chocolate Museum" a museum exclusively dedicated to chocolate. I'm not sure if they hand out free samples? Maybe they have chocolate sculptures? I need to find out.  Barcelona here I come.  Well, maybe next year.  Although I am going to Italy in a couple of months. Maybe I could slip in a little side trip. 

spending other people's money..

 A friend asked me to help him select something on line to send to his youngest granddaughter for her birthday, which is next week. Obviously my answer was yes.  I am always up for shopping, especially on line.  I've had a busy week and shopping sitting down suited me just fine.  Her mother had sent a short list of ideas including 'art supplies.'  Well, I ask you, what long retired art teacher could resist buying art supplies, or assisting in the buying of them?  My friend had not even considered art supplies, but was willing to look at the options.  Our on line shopping netted us a wonderful box of drawers full of colorful craft supplies, two kinds of paint (sparkly and regular water colors) and a bountiful supply of water color paper.  Everything age appropriate for a six year old budding artist.  In case you're wondering, every child is an artist at six years old.  I hope she sends me lots of pictures.  Of course these days they will be attached to a text but that's just fine.  

Time travel...

 All seven of our guests left this morning - two flying back to the west coast and five driving to the east coast.  It was a delightful visit and we packed lots of activities, laughter, food and conversation into a week.  Now I'm left with that "Oh, it's over." feeling, not exactly sad but just let down.  That has me thinking about time.  I've eagerly anticipated this visit for months and now it has come and gone.  I know people say time goes faster as you get older, which I think is true, but it certainly doesn't seem fair.  I remember childhood summers that seemed to drift on forever.  Now I've turned around twice and July is almost over.  But, on a very positive note, I'll be seeing many of these same relatives in October for my niece's wedding.  I love happy reasons to travel. In the meantime I'll be taking other trips in August and September.  I'm pretty sure this whole summer is going to pass in a rapid blur.  But I'm really not complaining.  It's going to be fast fun. 

a fun fact...

 When we were at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo yesterday, one of the exhibits we saw was the penguins.  There were at least 20 of them posed on a rocky ledge, looking adorable of course.  We commented to each other that they must be miserable in this hot weather, but this evening on the news, in a segment about the zoo, I learned that this isn't true at all.  These penguins are from South Africa, with a climate very similar to our own.  In fact they have to be kept inside if the temperature dips below 32 degrees and the water they swim in isn't heated or cooled, just kept at it's natural temperature.  So, the next time you see these penguins at the Zoo enjoy their antics but don't worry about them getting over heated.

And speaking of things heating up, our family Mexican Train marathon continued with six of us playing, and, not that I'm the least bit competitive or anything, but I did come in second, while the friend who has been beating me at Gin Rummy mercilessly for the last few weeks came in tied for last.  It's a little taste of revenge.  

Going to the Zoo...

 The big family visit continues.  Today eight of us, including the four kids, went to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.  I was delighted by the opportunity since it has been a few years since I had been there.  We did all the usual things; saw the giraffes and monkey island, and rode the sky way.  The only wildlife I spotted from the air was geese, not really thrilling.  Later we patted the sting rays and saw the aquarium and saw a big tiger from a distance.  It seems that tigers, like house cats really do sleep 22 hours a day.  Since it was a warm summer day lots of the animals were snoozing under trees and bushes, making them hard to see.  I couldn't blame them.  About half way around the Zoo, i was ready for a nap. I must say I was really pleased with how many of the walkways were shady and very comfortable for walking.  We did get to see the giraffes being fed and also the otters, who did some fancy diving for their food.  We saw the penguins of course, and rode the train and also the river ride, which several of us liked best.  Lots of fun but no surprises (except how little those hard wooden train seats are).  But we did get good views of the new red pandas. There are two kinds and they are both very cute and larger than I expected. All in all, a fun trip back to the Zoo.  

beautiful ladies...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Gorgeous Grandma Day."  I'm not sure about gorgeous but my sister-in-law is a very pretty grandma, and right now we're both feeling like very successful grandmas.  Our family reunion/quadruple birthday party went off without a hitch.  The cake looked perfect, tasted delicious and was ready for pick up when requested.  The hamburgers and hot dogs, and veggie burgers, were well cooked, and, as often happens, way more food showed up than was anticipated.  I'm not complaining.  But the real joy of the evening, as far as I'm concerned, is that all 21 people anticipated came and everyone from the eight year old to the oldest grandma (me) seemed to have a good time.  Conversation groups shifted around, lots of laughter was heard, and my 19 year old granddaughter and 22 year old grandson spent a lot of time with the little kids playing games and generally getting to know their youngest cousins, or second cousins, or first cousins once removed, or is it second cousins twice removed?  My friend had printed out a chart that supposedly explains it all but I am still confused about the difference.  Ah well, it doesn't matter.  I just know there were lots of happy aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and one friend of the family eating, laughing and having fun.  I love a good party.

game on...

 I mentioned in a recent blog that I think being a game playing family helps build harmony, and tonight was a great example of that.  My nephew and his four children, ranging in age from 8 to 17, arrived for their long planned visit, adding to the family group.  After a casual supper and time on a nearby playground, the evening was winding down a little, but no one was ready to go to bed.  Then my nephew suggested that we play a game.  We all agreed on Uno, an excellent easy game for nine people of all ages.  And we did have fun.  Even the 14 year old, who just wants to be left alone (typical 14), joined in.  Lots of laughter, joking, and friendly banter helped the children, who hadn't been to Fort Wayne for five years, to relax and enjoy their new surroundings and the people they had to learn to know all over again.  It was a great evening and a classic example of how game playing leads to a functional family. Oh, and did I mention I won twice.  Play on!!

table trouble...

You know, from some of my recent blogs, that I am entertaining company this week.  My west coast brother and sister-in-law are staying with me, and their son and his four children will be arriving tomorrow.  I thought I had everything ready.  You know, clean apartment, plenty of food, comfortable bed, etc.  However, I did not anticipate a table problem.  Yesterday my brother, sister-in-law, friend and I were enjoying a long anticipated (by me at least) game of Mexican Train.  As we got to the end of the game we started to notice a distinct wobble of the table.  Now you should know that my dining room table is a heavy, round, very solid, center pedestal oak table with. yesterday. two extra leaves inserted.  It is admittedly 40 years old but has always been extremely sturdy.  It never wobbled! So I was perplexed.  It was definitely wobbling with no visible reason.  Lucky for me, my brother and my friend were also very curious and leaped into action.  Before I knew it, they had removed the leaves, flipped the table over (not an easy task) and discovered that one of the four supports that are attached to the center column, was loose. One of its bolts had loosened.  After careful analysis, a quick drive to my friend's house for tools (my girly tool collection was not adequate), more analysis, a decision that all of the bolts should be replaced and a trip to the hardware store this morning the repairs commenced.  I am happy to announce that my table is now standing very solid and stable and should be good for another 40 years.  Sincere thanks to my brother and friend.  My heirs will be so pleased. 

It's finished....

 Well, almost finished.  The bridge that I have watched being worked on since April of 2022 is now actually really reaching completion.  Not only can we once again use the north exit from our apartment parking lot onto Superior Street and onto the bridge, but two of the three bridge lanes are open, and the third almost.  And tonight, wonder of wonders, they finally turned on the lights.

This is the bridge at sunset tonight.  It looks like only half of the arches are lit up but that's because the lights are inset along the inner curve of the arches so the arches on my side of the bridge look dimmer.  I must go take a picture from the middle of the bridge some evening.  On second thought, maybe not.  It's not a great idea to play in traffic.  Perhaps a friend will drive me across the bridge after dark  so I can experience the full effect.  

please pass the pie...

 My west coast brother and sister-in-law arrived late last night for their much anticipated visit, safe and sound. Hooray!  Since I knew it would be only about 8:00pm their time when we got back to my place, I had baked a pie for an evening snack.  As you may know from previous blogs, I am a big believer in bedtime snacks.  We had the pie with ice cream and it was delicious.  You have probably noted that I said I baked a pie.  I did not say I made a pie.  The credit for this particular pie (a crumb crusted Dutch apple version) goes to the women and men of St. John's Lutheran Church.  While we at First Pres bake copious amounts of cookies for the Johnny Appleseed Festival each year (14,000 at last count) they bake delicious apple pies.  One of the great things about these pies is that you can buy them frozen and they last, if not forever, at least for months.  I usually buy four, which is all my little freezer can hold.  This was the last of my stash, but luckily the JAF is only two months away.

a functional family...

 My west coast brother is coming tomorrow with his wife for a visit for the first time in four years.  On Saturday we will be joined by their son and his four children.  The visit four years ago was a sad one, for the funeral of our brother, before the pandemic shut everything down.  This visit is, hooray, just for fun and I am so excited.  Coincidentally today is "Perfect Family Day." Now I am not claiming that ours is a perfect family but we are, happily, a functional family.  Ours is not a family who fights, at least not as adults.  I must admit to some yelling matches with my older brother when we were pre-teens (the time he put worms on my bed to wake me up comes to mind) but we grew out of it.  Our family gatherings now tend to be filled with laughter and comfortable conversations.  This may be put to the test on Sunday when 19 of my nearest and dearest will be gathered for a mini family reunion.  I've been thinking about being a functional family and I think part of it may be due to being a game playing family. I have fond memories of my grandpa, parents and aunt and uncle playing cards on holiday afternoons while we cousins played marathon games of Monopoly.  At the funeral of a cousin some years ago his children reminisced about his love of playing games.  I was pleased to learn that it was a family thing with them also.  I think it's possible that a lot of aggression might be being worked out non-violently while playing games. In preparation for this visit I have dusted off my dominoes so we can play Mexican Train, one of my favorite games, but one that really needs at least four people to play.  And speaking of games, if any of you have been wondering how the ongoing Gin Rummy contest referred to in a recent blog is going, I must admit that I have not yet had my revenge.  But I am not giving up.  My turn will come.  Maybe game playing also teaches perseverance and/or denial.   

about birds in the chimney

 I mentioned in my blog yesterday that my late husband was a tenderhearted person (re the baby mice) and it was true.  Consider his invention of a bird elevator.  When we lived in that lovely rural area of southeastern Ohio we had a bird problem.  There were lots of starlings that lived in our area, nesting in the trees and generally minding their own birdy business except for one thing.  They seemed fascinated by the chimney of our fireplace.  We covered the opening with tight mesh and every other thing we could think of, but, from time to time, one of the birds would find an opening and fall down our chimney.  And here was the problem.  They couldn't fly back up because the chimney was too narrow. If we opened the damper the bird would fly into the family room or be trapped behind the screen.  If we didn't let it out it would die and get really smelly.  So my husband came up with an ingenious device.  by twisting two wire coat hangers together and attaching a heavy cord he created a birdy elevator.  By standing on the one story roof over the family room, accessed by crawling out a window from our second floor bedroom, he could remove the mesh, lower the elevator down the chimney and wait.  I guess those birds were actually clever in their own way because very soon the trapped one would grab the wire of the hanger, allow itself to be pulled upside down out of the chimney, and as quick as it saw daylight, fly off to freedom.  It was actually, usually very gratifying.  Until one chilly morning when I heard a bird fluttering in the chimney, just after I had sent my children out to wait for the school bus and long after my husband had left for work.  Realizing it was up to me, I tied my bathrobe a little tighter, climbed out onto the roof carrying the birdy elevator and assumed my position at the chimney. Concentrating on getting the contraption down the chimney, I didn't realize that the bus had not only arrived, but was lingering longer than usual so that everyone could get a good look at the crazy lady on the roof.  Of course the bird didn't get the idea and catch on until the bus was long gone so they didn't get to see the happy ending.  My children did, eventually, forgive me for their embarrassment. 

Pigs is Pigs

 According to my west coast brother, today is Guinea Pig Appreciation Day.  I told him, when I learned this, that I do appreciate Guinea pigs as long as they are not living in a cage in my house.  Once, years ago, I read a very funny short story about a Guinea pig population explosion (they are as prolific as rabbits) called "Pigs Is Pigs."  Somehow, in all my years of involvement with kids and grandkids, we have avoided having Guinea pigs as pets.  We did, however, have mice.  It wasn't exactly intentional.  One early spring day when we lived in rural southeastern Ohio my husband decided to get out his Yamaha trail bike, which had not been ridden all winter, and give our two kids some rides on the back country road.  Much to his surprise, when he started it up, ten baby mice came shooting out of the exhaust pipe.  Evidently mama mouse had decided that was a fine place to have her babies.  Being a kind hearted soul, and because the kids were watching, my husband lined a shoe box lid with paper towels and put the babies in it.  Of course our children wanted to keep them all but my husband said we had to leave them in the shoebox over night so the mommy could come get them.  If they were still there in the morning, he said, the kids could keep them.  They were not there in the morning.  I never asked and did not need to know how they disappeared, but the result was that we ended up buying two white mice, with cages and all other "necessary" equipment.  I don't remember how long those mice lived.  They were not neglected, but I think, like goldfish, they don't live a really long time.  Happily,  a stray kitten came into our lives about that time (no she did not eat the mice!) and she was of much more interest to the children.  So a happy ending all around. 

delving into the deeps....

 Today, in anticipation of an upcoming family gathering, and in hopes of finding some things useful for entertaining 19 people and avoiding washing lots of dishes, I decided to clear out the cupboard where I store left over special napkins and paper plates.  You know the type of things that accumulate in such a place - three matching paper plates, seven happy birthday napkins, four or five Christmas napkins, etc.  I was amazed at how my collection had grown over the seven years I've lived in this apartment.  In my kitchen the leftover party stuff storage cupboard happens to be above the refrigerator, which is a very handy place in which to store things and then ignore them.  It was a bit like an archeological dig, sifting through the stacks of stuff and trying to remember the events they were used for.  Much to my surprise, I did find a stack of at least 30 matching colorful plates, two kinds of birthday napkins in sufficient numbers (we will be celebrating four birthdays at this gathering) and stacks of clear plastic glasses suitable for beer or soft drinks, even some plastic forks and spoons. Now all I need is food and drink and this party is on.  One week and counting.....

movie review

I've just come home from seeing "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and I loved it.  I understand it received mixed reviews from the critics but to me it was classic Indiana Jones; perilous situations, wicked enemies, exotic settings, excellent car chases, pretty women and a cute kid. I mean what's not to like in an Indiana Jones movie starring Harrison Ford? Yes, he was older, but aren't we all?  I would guess that almost everyone in the theater, and there were quite a few people there, were in their 60s and 70s, and they all seemed to be enjoying it.  Maybe the critics were just to young to understand. 

Art Enlarged

 This evening I went to "Beyond Van Gogh," an immersive experience that was really fascinating.  I've long been a fan of Van Gogh's work and it was exciting to see it 'come to life' way beyond life size.  The pictures, which appeared, then moved and grew and morphed into other pictures were fascinating.  Among other things I especially enjoyed seeing all the wonderful brush strokes close up.  Here are pictures from my all time favorite of his paintings.

The show is on at the Coliseum through August 10.  I highly recommend it.

gin anyone?

 I grew up in a game playing family.  Euchre was the card game of choice and I remember watching and marveling when everyone threw in their hands after only two turns were played because they knew by the few cards played who the winner was.  Over the years I've also played a lot of Uno and too many board games to count.  Monopoly was a marathon game on Christmas afternoons and with kids and grandkids I have never won a game of Candyland.  And my grandchildren will assure you that I don't let them win. A few months ago a friend taught me to play Gin Rummy.  This was a new game to me but I caught on fairly quickly.  It's a fun game and we are quite closely matched.  It's a game played to 100 points and it often takes us several hands to get there.  Except for tonight.  I was leading 98 to 73 when he swooped from behind and won 125 to 98.  After all the extra points got added on the final score was 325 to 198.  Now I don't want you to think I'm a sore looser but we will not discuss the second game at all.  But tomorrow is another day, and "revenge is a dish best served cold."

another restaurant review..

 A friend and I ate supper this evening at a restaurant that opened recently in Georgetown Square.  The name of the restaurant is (are you ready for this?) "New York Pizza Grill Kabob, Italian - Pakistani - Indian."  As you might imagine, the menu was like a travel brochure of exotic places.  Happily, there were pictures of every dish.  My friend had an Italian wrap, like a burrito but with pizza type ingredients.  He said it was good but he preferred the traditional burrito he had at Guadalupe's (next door to this restaurant) a few nights ago.  I had a grounded (not ground) beef kabob with rice, chickpeas and green curry sauce for dipping. The meat was seasoned with different spices than I'm used to but was very tasty, the chickpeas, aka bean soup, had a nice little kick, likewise the curry.  All in all a fun meal experience.  I think the next time I go I'll try one of their seafood dishes.  Go, be adventurous!  There's bound to be something on the menu that you like.  

pick those berries...

 Once again my west coast brother has supplied me with a theme for my blog.  Today is, according to him, "Pick Blueberries Day" which brings back several berry related memories.  By the way, I have never picked blueberries, unless picking them up in clear plastic boxes at the grocery store counts.  I do love blueberries.  But I have picked strawberries, and the weeds that grow up around them, in the cool of the morning, as my mother said, when I was very young and strawberries were growing in our garden.  I have also picked elderberries, teeny tiny little berries that grow in bunches on brittle little branches.  First you snap the bunches off the bushes, then sit on the back porch (not far from the strawberry patch) and pick every little teeny tiny berry off the branches.  When you finally have enough, approximately 27 years later, they do make a very tasty pie.  But the most fun I have had berry picking was when I was an adult living with my family in rural southeastern Ohio.  My next door neighbor and I would climb the gradual hill behind our houses to pick wild blackberries.  She knew where they grew.  The trick was to pick them when they were nice and ripe and juicy, but before the birds had stripped the bushes bare.  It was tricky but we always seemed to pick enough to keep our families happy and it was sheer pleasure to walk away from house work and among the wild berry bushes. Happy picking everyone.

please pass the cookies...

 Today is "National Sugar Cookie Day."  Not too surprisingly, this brings back a sweet memory.  The year was 1956.  My girlfriend and I were in our 4th year of 4H, a time when we moved up from simple sewing and cooking to more complicated things.  In our case, we decided to work together to create a demonstration on baking sugar cookies.  We both lived in the country, about a half mile from each other (an easy bike ride) and we spent that long summer going back and forth from her mom's kitchen to mine, baking sugar cookies and practicing our routine.  We baked a lot of sugar cookies; I think my dad was really getting tired of them in his lunch.  I don't actually remember the demonstration, although I think we did ok.  What I do remember is our very eager audience.  Each of us had a 'little' brother, two years younger but already as tall as us and big husky boys.  They LOVED our sugar cookies.  No matter how many we baked there were never any leftovers.  I'm pretty sure "National Sugar Cookie Day" was started in our honor.  

on giving directions...

 During "Three Rivers Festival" which is going on now, parking is only allowed in the lot of my apartment building for residents with little stickers on their cars.  There are guards (residents hired by the hour) at the only gate that is open, and if you don't have the little sticker, you don't get in. This is why, when a girlfriend wanted to come visit this weekend, I arranged for her to leave her car in a friend's drive way.  We agreed that I would meet her there and bring her the rest of the way to my place.  I was there waiting at the appointed hour but she wasn't.  I thought I had given clear directions, but evidently not.  I also thought she had GPS but evidently not. So she told me where she was and I gave her directions, which, again, I though were crystal clear, to get the rest of the way to where I was waiting.  Perhaps I was depending too much on her knowing north from south.  After a little while, when she called back, having driven further away in the meantime, I decided the best recourse was to go and lead her to the proper house.  Success!  I found her where she said she was, led her by the easiest route to the assigned driveway, where we left her car and proceeded to my place, where the nice guard at the gate spotted my sticker and smiled me in.  So all is well, except I realize now that, when I've taken her back to her car tomorrow, I will probably need to lead her out of the subdivision to get her on her way, hopefully not all the way to Ohio. Festival time is such fun.  

a new recipe

I know this isn't a cooking blog but I've come across a recipe that is really good and I want to share it.  This evening a friend invited me for supper and we had toasted cheese sandwiches (I know, not very exciting, right) but they were delicious.  Two kinds of cheese, cheddar and colby, with a thin slice of ham in between.  Again, very tasty, but not all that exciting, but, and here's the exciting part, the outside of the bread slices were coated with mayonnaise rather than butter.  Such a great taste.  It really didn't taste like mayo but was nice and tangy.  No need to add butter to the pan either, the mayo is oily enough.  Enjoy!

going to the lake....

 If you live in this part of Indiana you know that the great summer tradition of "going to the lake" can refer to any one of a hundred or more lakes, of all shapes and sizes, in northern Indiana (or southern Michigan).  Today I went to "the lake" with a friend.  You can go to "the lake" on Thursday when you're retired.  As it happened the particular lake we went to today was Lake Wawasee near Syracuse, Indiana.  I'm happy to report that it was a perfect lake day.  The lake was a little choppy making the obligatory speed boat ride lots of fun.  My friend's grandkids were quite entertaining, especially the youngest who loves dinosaurs.  And the dinner served up by our hosts was everything a lake dinner could possibly be, including perfectly grilled steak, corn on the cob, baked potato, two kinds of salads, two kinds of pie, coffee, wine, fudge and great conversation.  All in all, a deliciously delightful visit.  I'm beginning to understand why people go to "the lake" so often.

ring of fire...

I didn't blog last night because I stayed up much too late watching fireworks.  The Fort Wayne fireworks were magnificent as usual, with some special effects I hadn't seen before, and we had a perfect view from the parking lot in front of my apartment building.  But that was just the opening act.  Years ago, when I was experiencing my first summer in this apartment, a nice neighbor told me to be sure to go out on my balcony to see the other fireworks after the Fort Wayne show finished. So I did, and have been doing it every 4th since.  Sitting on my 10th floor north facing balcony (sometimes with a glass of wine) I can see fireworks from neighborhoods and small towns for miles around.  It's really quite an amazing show.  The only problem is that I feel like I'm watching a tennis match, swinging my head from side to side to try to see every display.  Another note here.  My page-a-day trivia calendar says that many fireworks are named after flowers such as chrysanthemums and peonies.  Makes sense to me.  

woops and yummy..

 Just spotted a typo in yesterday's blog.  The music referred to was obviously "Stars and Stripes Forever" not striped.  Now on to more delicious things.  This evening a friend and I had supper at B. Antonio's Pizza.  I've only recently become acquainted with this fine pizza provider but so far I am totally pleased.  Of course it didn't hurt that I was really hungry this evening, although friends and family who know me well will claim I always have a healthy appetite.  When I first started dating my husband he said I ate like a bird - a vulture.  In my defense, at that time I was a college student living on a dollar a day for food.  But I digress.  This evening at B. Antonio's I had the personal size deluxe pizza with hand tossed crust.  With pepperoni and sausage, lots of other goodies and plenty of melted cheese on top it tasted just like pizza should, absolutely wonderful.  My friend however had a ham and pineapple pizza which explains why we each get a personal pizza.  

and more music...

 No fireworks at church today but, thanks to our wonderful organist. I felt like I was back at the Patriotic Pops Concert from last night.  I really like our organist because he so obviously enjoys playing our big old Aeolian Skinner pipe organ.  It just comes through in his playing.  This morning, in keeping with the holiday, he played improvisations on "Oh Beautiful for Spacious Skies" during Communion.  That was really beautiful, but the real showstopper, if I can use that term about a church service was the postlude.  Or you can think of it as the grand finale if you prefer.  He played "The Stars and Striped Forever" and it was amazing.  My friend said the song always reminds her of the circus, and that was ok.  It was lively and lovely and the prefect end to the church service today.  

It's a grand old flag...

 Tonight was the night of the Philharmonic's Patriotic Pops Concert at Parkview Field.  In a word it was exhilarating.  The music was great, what else would you expect from our Philharmonic? The fireworks were really beautiful. They were set off simultaneously with the last three musical pieces and it was awesome. And joy of joys, at the beginning, when we all stood up to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" a gentleman behind me boomed it out in a wonderful voice, giving me someone to follow.  I cannot carry a tune by myself, but I can sing along with a good singer.  At least I think I can.  Anyway, I had a fine time with all of the singing.  I must admit "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" brought back an interesting  memory.  My seventh and eighth grade teacher, who was also our church choir director, would have us up and marching around the class room to that song and also to "Onward Christian Soldiers." It was a small Lutheran school.  Anyway, this evening's event was a good fun wonderful time and I recommend it to everyone.  Another note, I'll admit, as a senior citizen myself, I went expecting to see a majority of other senior citizens but I was very pleased to see many people of all ages, including children.  I was glad to enjoy unabashed patriotism with all of them.