Tattoos...

 My west coast brother started his text today with a riddle which I think is worth sharing.

"What's the best thing about Switzerland?"

"It's flag is a big plus."  

I know - groan - obviously a DAD joke.  By the way, I have been to Switzerland and it is a beautiful country, so no disparagement intended here.

But now on to tattoos.  My west coast brother also informed me that today is "National Tattoo Removal Day."  I do not have any tattoos nor have I ever had any removed but many, many of my best beloved family members have them (no, not my wonder spouse) and I did aid in taking care of an unwanted one.

Some time before or during my daughter's first marriage she had her spouse's four-letter first name tattooed in two inch high letters (each letter in a different color) on her upper left arm.  Sadly some marriages are not meant to be permanent, even though the relevant tattoos are very much so.  

After looking into having the tattoo removed, which she discovered would be a slow and painful process, she came to me with a request. Would I please design a tattoo to cover up the old one?  I don't have a picture of it, but I did design a coverup tattoo of four flowers in the same colors as the name tattoo.  She had my design tattooed over the name tattoo.  It disguised it completely and still looks good to this day.   

Not really a 'removal' but my best tattoo story. 

PS Her current, much more satisfactory, husband is very happy that the old tattoo is covered up.

It's his day!

 Today is, according to my west coast brother, "International Left Handers Day."  In honor of my very favorite left handed person, my wonder spouse, I would like to share with you the situation and possible advantages of being left handed.

Left-handers spend much of their lives adapting to a world designed for right-handed people — from scissors and spiral notebooks to computer mice and classroom desks. But on International Left-Handers Day, celebrated Aug. 13, there may be a few reasons for southpaws to celebrate.

Roughly 1 in 10 people are left-handed, and the group includes former presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; entertainers Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney and Lady Gaga; and sports stars Babe Ruth and Phil Mickelson.

Research suggests that being left-handed may confer advantages in some situations,

According to The Telegraph, left-handers may benefit from years of adapting to a largely right-handed world. Here are some potential advantages:

• Adaptability and problem-solving. Left-handers routinely navigate tools, workspaces and everyday tasks designed for right-handed users. That constant adjustment may encourage flexibility and creative problem-solving. 

 I think this is absolutely true.  Flexible and creative certainly define my wonder spouse.  Also, he is definitely adaptable.  From his working days as an Electrical Engineer to his retirement challenges such as organizing all of our trips, and of course while having fun solving jigsaw and other kinds of puzzles, he is brilliant.  

Happy day, wonder spouse.

Smiling faces...

 This morning I received a text message with a picture of a boy I used to tutor.  Today was his first day of fourth grade and his smiling face got my day off to an excellent start.

Later my spouse and I and my brother-in-law took a drive to Marble Lake (near Coldwater, Michigan) for a reunion of cousins.  The day included a boat ride, delicious food, including my wonder spouse's fudge (his mother's recipe), a lively card game, lots of reminiscing, and smiling faces all day long.

On the drive home from the lake I received a text from my son and daughter-in-law with a selfie of them on their first day of school, as teachers of course.  This year they are teaching at the same school.  Their broad smiles lit up my evening.  

All in all a smile filled happy day.  I think I will still be smiling as I fall asleep. 

Brace yourself...

 Actually, I'm the one who is bracing myself.  Several months ago my wonder spouse had stem cell injections in his knees to alleviate the pain and the procedure was very successful.  After careful consideration and a lot of pain, especially in my right knee, we decided that I should do the same thing. 

It sounds so simple - inject a concoction of buttery consistency into each leg just at the bottom edge of the kneecap. That part was simple and went very smoothly this morning.  The catch is that, in order to ensure that the stem cell mixture stays in the right location in each leg (it won't do any good if it just leaks away) I must now wear a brace on each leg that is strapped on above and below the knee and holds the knee in perfect alignment until everything is set.  I will be wearing these braces for the next six weeks.  This will be followed by six therapy sessions to assure that all is working as it should be.  

When this is all finished, I will, theoretically, be able to keep up with my spouse on walks and hikes of the sort that occur frequently on our trips.  I will not be running!  I have never been a runner so that is not on my agenda.

Although there was a time when I sprinted really fast to catch a granddaughter who was about to fall into the creek.  But that's a story for another time. 

Mystery solved...

 Not the poster mystery, I'm still waiting for input on that but we have solved another much smaller mystery. 

First you should know that we have finished another jigsaw puzzle. Here it is.

Fifteen hundred (1500) pieces, and as you can see, lots of picky little details.  It was a challenge, I can assure you.  But you know, it keeps us off the streets and out of trouble.  Our grandchildren don't have to worry about what we're up to.  

However we did face one mystery as we completed this puzzle.  There was one piece missing, a bright red and blue piece that should have been easy to spot.  Now we know that puzzle pieces have a tricky habit of falling off the table and on to the floor after we turn off the lights and go to bed, so we have learned to search the floor around our work space frequently to gather up the fallen pieces.  We have never lost one yet, until yesterday.  The puzzle was completely finished, the floor had been thoroughly searched, still one piece missing.  While we were searching my wonder spouse put his hand in the pocket of the old sweater he wears sometimes while we're in the basement, because it can feel chilly down there, and there, in his pocket was the missing piece.  He assures me that he did not put it there and I believe him.  

Now we have learned that we must search pockets as well as the floor for the most tricky puzzle pieces.  

Fear not, this will not stop us from starting another puzzle.  But maybe just a thousand pieces next time?

a 100 year old document

 My mother was born in 1910.  She told me that when she was young (I'm guessing somewhere around 1925 - 1930) she had a Japanese pen pal.  A few months ago I was going through some old things I had stashed away and came across some items that my mom had saved that were evidently from her pen pal.  

Among other things was this poster (for want of a better word) and I've been curious to learn what it represented ever since the first time  I unfolded it. It had been folded and stored in an 8.5 x 11 manilla envelope for all these years.  

It is about four feet long and three feet wide.  Today I finally had a chance to sit down with the minister of the Korean congregation at our church to see what he could tell me about it.  The first thing he told me was that it is not Japanese.  The people pictured are dressed in Chinese style clothing. 

Interestingly, my Korean pastor can read some Chinese.  He and some of his congregation members figured out that it is a poster aimed at converting people to Christianity.  Part of the message printed along the borders says "Read the New Testament."  He used a translation app to read some of the small print.  If you look at the picture you will see that the gentleman on the right is holding a stack of small Bibles (New Testaments?) and giving one to the family. 

My best guess is that this was hung in a church but maybe it was hung in anothe public building where lots of people would see it. If anyone out there knows anything about this or similar posters you can scroll down to the comment button at the bottom of this blog and leave the information.  Suggestions on where I could do further research would also be appreciated.

in the news...

 My west coast brother lives near Spokane,Washington.  If you've been paying attention to the national news you are aware of the wild fires that have been burning in and around Spokane for the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully, my brother and his family are in a rural area that is not threatened right now.  They are however dealing with a lot of smoke.  He tells me that masks left over from the days of Covid are coming in handy.  

 The good news is they have arrested the pyromaniac.  He has admitted to starting 25 fires in the last couple of years.  He is in jail with bail set at $1,000,000.  Again, according to my brother. 

I am writing about this because I just don't understand what would compel someone to start fires.  

When I was a girl livimg with my family on our little five acre farm the farmer who lived across the road accidentally set fire to the tall grass growing along the side of the road.  It had been a very dry summer and the fire burned brightly, but just for a while.  The volunteer firemen arrived before it got very far into the field on the neighbor's side of the road.  The fire was put out, no damage done except a scorched area along the road.

That's as close as I ever want to come to a fire.  Please keep the people of Spokane in your prayers.