dashing through the raindrops....

 Yesterday we had some fairly heavy rain here in Allen County and my spouse and I grumbled a little about dashing through the rain, sometimes heavy, to get to our morning appointments.  It wasn't a cold rain (it's summertime after all) and it did ease up after a while.  Our clothing quickly dried when we got into the buildings we were going to, so, at most, the rain was a minor inconvenience.  

Today, when I heard from my west coast brother, I realized how lucky we are.  He was rejoicing because it was raining in his area of Washington state for the first time in two months.   They have been suffering the effects of wild fires, not threatening their home, but close enough to them to make the air hard to breathe.  He told me that today's rain cleared the air, at least temporarily.  However some fires are still burning and won't be put out until it snows.

According to the weather report, our local area will be having rain again this Friday and Saturday.  I know that is the beginning of the long Labor Day weekend and you may have outdoor plans.  But remember, if you have to move the party indoors, it's still so much better than wild fires.

The best laid plans...

 Today started out quite pleasantly.  My spouse and I each had an appointment with a doctor, but no shots or pain involved.  After those appointments we went to brunch at Joanna's, very tasty, then on to Schumachers produce farm to buy tomatoes, potatoes, and corn on the cob. 

 After which we proceeded home, looking forward to a relaxing afternoon.  We might even work on our current jigsaw puzzle for a little while. 

Unfortunately, although it was necessary, soon after we got home, I flushed the toilet in our upstairs hall bathroom.  We did not know, until that flush, that the ring seal under that toilet had become old and brittle and had been leaking slowly for some time.  The reason we didn't notice this was because the leaking water was trickling down into a book case in the family room.  If it had been leaking through a ceiling onto the floor we would have seen it long ago, but, as it was, it just leaked quietly into a bookcase to be absorbed by books, albums and other paper materials.  And there was no bad smell.

Today however my spouse just happened to hear a soft little dripping sound as he sat down to relax for a bit in our family room recliner, and looked to see water dripping down into the bookcase.  He knew, by the position, that it had to be coming from a toilet and immediately called a plumber, who came right away with his assistant.  They figured out the problem and fixed the leak quickly, leaving us to clean up a mess that we had never known existed.  Happily, all of the damage was limited to one set of shelves, floor to ceiling and about five feet wide.  

Needless to say that size book case holds a lot of stuff.  We found picture albums, wedding albums, books of all sorts, including an old hymnal, a family Bible (happily very little damage), plastic cases of CDs and DVDs, (we're not great about throwing things away) and lots of loose paper stuff.  Much of what we found was moldy and had to be discarded.  Just so you can appreciate how serious it was, my wonder spouse even had to throw away his Boy Scout book of knots.  

It was not the relaxing afternoon we had intended but it is good to know that it's all clean and taken care of, except for all the 'must save' pictures drying out on towels on our dining room table.  These include the pictures of my first wedding and many baby pictures of my spouse's children and grands.  The albums were ruined but we were able to save most of the pictures.  I'm sure we can find new albums at Michaels or on Amazon.  

So, one more project, but that one we will do lovingly. 

eating dirt???

 Today is "National Diatomaceous Earth Day" and also "Eat Outside Day."  This seems appropriate since diatomaceous earth is basically edible earth.  Obviously, as soon as my west coast brother sent me this information I had to look up 'diatomaceous' as it's not a word that I hear or use frequently.

Food grade diatomaceous earth is a one hundred percent natural chemical-free powder made from fossillized freshwater algae with no additives or fillers.  It kills pests like ants, fleas, and roaches by basically coating their exoskeletons and drying them out.  It can be used as a dry powder around baseboards, windows and in gardens to manage crawling insects.  It's also used as an anti-caking agent in livestock and pet food.  It's available by the bag at Walmart, Home Depot and other similar stores, or Amazon will deliver - no surprise there.  

I had never heard of this until today but now I'm wondering if it would have worked on the Japanese beetles that decimated our roses last summer.  We have since replaced them with other sturdier flowering plants so I guess we'll never know.  

A wonderful singer...

 In church this morning we had a special guest soloist.  I found his name in the bulletin, Michael Deshield, but no other information.  He sang "for Everyone Born" and ""Is There Anybody Here?" He had a beautiful tenor voice and I was curious about his background.  I thought he must have some opera training (not that I'm an expert on vocalists) because he sounded so good. 

So I Googled him.  Here's what I found, from several different sources.  He was recently named a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition as a winner of the Indiana District and an Encouragement award winner of the Central Region, and he is quickly catching the attention of the opera world.  He is lauded for his 'pleasantly throbbing tone'.  

I am not going to list here everything he has ever sung.  Although he is young, the list of operas in which he has performed is extensive.  You can access several of his performances by Googling him and I think you will like what you hear.  

I still wonder why there wasn't any bio information about him included in our bulletin.  Perhaps the composer of our bulletin thought that having info about him to read might have distracted us from listening to him. I don't think that would have happened, not after the first note. 

Remember the name, Michael Deshield, and go hear him if you get the chance. 

early plans

 My spouse and I are beginning to make plans for a driving trip through the southwest in late October or early November.  

I've started to think about places I definitely want to re-visit, and one of the first sites that came to mind is Mesa Verde.  I have been there three times.  There have been at least ten to fifteen years between visits and each time I've been there I've learned newly discovered information about the early inhabitants.  But there is another place that I find equally intriguing.  It is Casa Rinconada, a huge kiva (gathering and trading place) built by the Ancestral Puebloan people.  It's now part of Chaco Culture National Historic Park.

When we were in Alaska this spring one of the places we visited was a large building, a replica of one used by the earliest native Americans of that area as a meeting place.  It reminded me so much of the southwestern kivas, same step down round or rectangular area with a fire pit in the middle and a smoke hole at the top of the roof of the building.  I guess the design makes sense, how else would you construct a large gathering place, but I remember one of the lectures we enjoyed on our cruise ship showing a likely path of migration begining with prehistoric people crossing the Bearing Strait, west to east, when it was a land bridge and migrating along the west coast of what is now Canada and the US, all the way to Mexico.  

I find it fascinating to think about how far people travelled on foot all those years ago.  I find it fascinating, but I'm really glad we will be traveling by car. 

two more chances

 You have two more chances to see Noel Cowards "Hay Fever" performed at First Presbyterian Theater here in Fort Wayne at 300 W. Wayne Street, across from the downtown library.  My spouse and I saw it this evening and I highly recommend it.

The play, written in 1920 takes place in England and features the Bliss family.  Kate Black gives an outstanding performance as Judith Bliss, an aging but oh so dramatic actress.  Everyone else in the cast also performed brilliantly.  

The Bliss family, mother (the actress), father (the author) and adult son and daughter (the hangers-on) epitomize the 'dys' in dysfunctional families.  I guarantee that you will find plenty to laugh at in this timeless play and come away feeling so much better about your own family.  

As I said, you have two more chances to see it. Saturday, August 29 at 7:30pm and Sunday, August 30 at 2:00pm. Admission is $20 per person, $15 for seniors 60+.

just because...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Just Because Day."  What a great day.  I spent a good deal of today reading a good novel, just because I couldn't put it down.

My wonder spouse and I had pizza for supper (Hawaiian for him, supreme for me) just because we hadn't had pizza for a few weeks and just because we really wanted it. 

We also spent some time on our current jigsaw puzzle, just because we felt like it.

This afternoon I had my annual physical with my favorite doctor who thinks I'm in great shape.  I keep going back to him, year after year, just because I really do like him and trust him.  That's primarily just because he listens when I talk to him and takes the time to answer my questions. 

At that same appointment, just because it's required by Medicare, one of the nurses gave me a hearing test.  I could hear all the little beeps and buzzes, high and low tones, in each ear, but her little machine was telling her that I'm deaf.  So the last 'just because' of today is that, because of machine or operator error, I will probably soon be having an appointment with an audiologist.  Just because....