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.

more memorable bliss...

 

This evening was another great family time, this time with my daughter and son-in-law, grandson and granddaughter-in-law and, the undisputed star of the show, my great grandson who was five months old yesterday.  

We feasted on steaks, grilled to perfection by my wonder spouse, with tater tots perfectly cooked with the hot air fryer feature of our new microwave, salads and, as the grand finale, made-from-scratch brownies made by my granddaughter-in-law wno happens to be an excellent baker.  

Before the evening ended we took a four generation picture to go with one we already had.

This picture was taken in 2001.  It is a four generation picture.  From left to right my father, me holding my grandson, and his mom, my daughter.

Fast forward 25 years. From left to right me (the great grandparent this time around) my daughter holding her grandson and her son.

You should have figured out that the little baby in the top picture is the bearded daddy in the bottom picture.  

Isn't it fun, seeing the generations grow and thrive?

refreshing.....

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "National Root Beer Float Day."  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to indulge in a root beer float today, but just thinking about them brought back lots of sweet memories. 

 Do you remember A&W root beer and the stands where you could buy it?  A&W was our favorite (also the only root beer stand in the small town where I grew up). Sometimes we had our root beer with vanilla ice cream (a float) and sometimes we enjoyed our root beer straight and served in a heavy glass frosty mug.  Never with ice, that would dilute the flavor. 

When my first husband and I went traveling around the United States in our trusty VW bus, accompanied by our two children, coming upon a root beer stand was an automatic excuse for a stop.  

When they were very young, we bought two miniature mugs for the kids.  They loved those little mugs and drank everything from them; root beer of course, but also milk, fruit juice, even water.  

Not surprisingly, the more I think about root beer floats the more I want one.  Sadly, it's too late tonight, but there's always tomorrow.

I just did quick check and I may have to change brands.  It's not nice to drink alone and my wonder spouse can't drink anything made with corn syrup.  Happily IBC root beer is made with cane sugar, and our local Kroger's carries it in 4 packs and 6 packs.  

Even better, I need to go shopping tomorrow. 

pure bliss...

 The only thing better than a day at the lake is a day at the lake with several of your dearest family members.  Add to that delicious snacks, dinner at a good restaurant, a boat ride for the adventurous, and hours of laughter, good conversation and catching up on all things family, all brought together by the "hostess with the mostest" and you have the recipe for a perfect lake day.

And, speaking of recipes, the lime and lemon ice cream pies stacked four inches high with their delicious fillings, made by our hostess, were the perfect end to the day.  

Our youngest granddaughter was nine on Sunday so we celebrated her birthday a few days late with gifts and a game of her choice.  Because she is very fond of wolves the game involved granting each of us a 'wolf name.'  Her grandpa, my wonder spouse was named Pepper Dark Moon Wolf (approriate with his salt and pepper hair) and I am now Luna Wolfgang Wolf.  

It was a perfect day at the lake.

Notice the college flags flying.  There were many Purdue people there today.  All in all a fine fun day at Wawasee.

steaming hot...

 Don't you love playing with a new toy?  As an adult, playing with a new appliance is just as good. 

Yesterday our new microwave was installed.  You may recall, from an earlier blog, that our cleaning lady burnt a hole in the door of our  microwave by accidentally turning it on when there was nothing in it.  The lesson learned there was never, never run your microwave with nothing in it.  It wasn't her fault.  By design, that microwave was made to start with a touch of one of the number buttons.  She turned it on by wiping a cloth over it to clean it.  Never again.

We did try merely replacing the door of that microwave, only to learn, through a series of frustrating exchanges with the manufacturer, that new microwave doors arrive broken three times out of three tries.  

 Enough of that.  With my approval my wonder spouse started searching for a safer, more user friendly microwave. He is the expert on online shopping.  Did you know that Amazon delivers microwaves? They don't install but they do deliver. 

 He found what we wanted in a Kitchen Aid unit that is a microwave/ convection oven/ hot air fryer.  But better than that it has very easy instructions, clearly marked buttons, and clearly marked steps to make it do what you want it to do.  It will not turn on with the accidental touch of one button.  This evening we put it to the test by steaming (did I mention that it has a steamer feature?) corn on the cob, following the directions printed on the front of the microwave. The directions were easy to follow and the result was absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked corn on the cob with no boiling water and no mess.

This is it, our marvelous new appliance.  I'm looking forward to steaming lots of other vegetables - asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower??  My wonder spouse is not as enthusiastic about these veggies as I am.  Perhaps if I pour enough melted cheese over them.  

arts and crafts

 On Monday afternoons I meet with some church friends at a group gathering we call FFF (Faith, Fibers and Friendship).  We each bring a fiber project to work on and talk while we work.  What I particularly like about this group is that everyone is kind.  There is no cattiness or malicious gossip.  

We also don't spend much time on our phones although we do share pictures of grand and great grandchildren, and sometimes even adorable pets.

All of the ladies in this group, except me, either knit or crochet and they create beautiful pieces - shawls, sweaters, socks, blankets, etc in glorious colors and lacy patterns. 

Sadly, I cannot knit or crochet.  I have tried but my fingers just don't want to work that way, or perhaps I don't have the patience.  So I weave, and after I have taken a long strip of fabric off my New Zealand lap loom, I stitch designs on it.  Happily, my FFF friends are very encouraging and like what I do. 

This is my current project.  It is pictorial representations of the trips my wonder spouse and I have gone on since we first got together.  The three finished triangular panels represent trips to Michigan, the Caribbean, and Key West.  Still to come - Canada, South America, Egypt and Japan & Alaska.  When those are finished I will have two spaces left. So obviously we need to go somewhere else.  Although a friend who knows us well suggested that the final panel could show my spouse and me working on a jigsaw puzzle. 

My wonder spouse refers to this as our own personal Bayeux Tapestry.  Happily, though, no battles are involved. Also it is only seven feet long not 70 meters.