Taking a walk

Today a friend at work and I started our summer long program of walking during our lunch hour.  We walked for a half hour and it felt good.  I came back to work feeling all invigorated and refreshed, sat down at my desk, and promptly fell asleep.  Admittedly I only napped for 5 minutes but it isn't the reaction I was expecting.  I guess I'm in even worse shape than I thought.  Yikes, I'd better keep walking.

Patience is a virtue

Our Sunday School discussion this morning was on patience, one of the "fruits of the Spirit" listed by the apostle Paul.  it was a good, lively discussion but I particularly appreciated this contribution from one of the class members.  You've probably heard the phrase "Patience is a virtue."  Now here's the rest of the story.  I had never heard this before.
Patience is a virtue,
Obtain it if you can.
It's found rarely in a woman
And never in a man.

Interesting how it all comes back to the basics

I heard a rather startling statement on a health segment on the morning news - "Half of all breast cancer is preventable."  A pretty bold statement, but it was the method of prevention that caught my attention.  1. Exercise, 2.  Focus on a vegetable based diet (less meat).  3. Maintain a healthy weight.  4. Drink minimal amounts of alcohol.  It seems like every time disease prevention is discussed, it cones back to diet and exercise.  You'd think we'd get the message.

So, here's a curious question

So when did people start starting sentences with so?  I watched an interview on TV this morning and as the expert du jour was being asked questions she answered each one with a sentence beginning with 'so'.  No reason, nothing to do with the remainder of the sentence structure, but every sentence began with 'so'.  So what's the meaning of this?  Do we need a cute little extra word just to extend the length of sentences?  It seems to be an ongoing compulsion? Some years ago the word was 'like'.  I wonder what the next word will be.  I vote for 'well'.  Oh wait, that one goes back as far as Jack Benny.  Which, if you don't remember him, was a long time ago.  So, like well, I'll need to think about this a bit longer.

Electronically together

We're having a sleepover,two of my granddaughters and I and we're spending quality time together, sort of.  We're all watching a movie on Netflix, while each of us has an electronic device on our laps.  We have played some real games like Go Fish and Mancala, but now we are peacefully enjoying our time alone together.  Later we'll have a genuine non-electronic bedtime snack.  Somethings are still better the old-fashioned way.

Awe, how sweet!

Sunday was International Puppy Day and when I heard that, for a fleeting second, I thought it might be fun to have a puppy, then my daughter mentioned in a phone conversation that her newest dog had had an accident on the carpet.  A few minutes later I saw a clip on TV of a dog scootching across the carpet on its butt, and suddenly I was so happy with my cat.  When do you suppose International Kitten Day is?

Active moms / active kids

Another interesting study announced on TV earlier this week.  It seems that moms who are active tend to have kids who are active.  Why is this a surprise?  Everyone knows the saying "Don't do as I do, do as I say."  But any parent also knows that kids will do as you do much more often than they will do as you say.  It seems to me these people doing studies could probably save a ton of money if they just asked parents a few questions.  Oh wait, that's probably what they did.  Good thing this doesn't apply to grandmas.  Everyone knows that kids always do what their grandmas tell them.

Happiness

A recent study has revealed that the "Midlife Crisis" is a real thing and that not all people are equally happy.  In fact it seems that children and old people are the happiest.  How great is that?  I can be happy with my grandchildren.  Sadly, statistically the unhappiest ages are between 40 and 42.  Yikes, I know four people who are in that age bracket.  They seem happy...hang in their guys, nothing lasts forever.  Before you know it, you'll all be in your 50s and sooo happy.

More words of wisdom

I'm having another sleepover with two of my grandchildren tonight, and, as we were playing a game earlier this evening my granddaughter made this comment "Isn't it funny how games are more fun when you're winning?"  You can't argue with that logic.

a new set of tires

I took my car in for an oil change earlier this week and drove out with a new set of tires.  Funny how things like that happen.  I'm not really upset about it, I was beginning to realize that I needed new tires, but it was good to have my opinion reinforced.  I had a similar experience today.  My CPA and I finally finished up my taxes, and, as I had hoped, I'm getting a bit of a refund this year, just about enough to pay for the tires -ah well...

The first full day of spring

Today was the first full day of spring, so naturally, when I glanced out the window at 7:00am it was to see my yard, driveway, lawn, trees and bushes covered with snow, probably not more that an inch, but still a thorough blanket of the white stuff.  By afternoon it had all melted away and we had a high temperature of 55 degrees.  I also discovered that my crocuses are up, 4 inch skinny green spears of hope.
On the evening news the weatherman presented an interesting comparison; last year on this date the high was only 11 degrees, while in 2012 on the same date we had a high of 87 degrees.  Proving, if anyone doubted it, that March is an exciting and totally unpredictable month. Altogether, today was an excellent first full day of spring.

International Happiness Day

An announcer on TV said that today is International Happiness Day.  It also happens to be the first day of spring.  How perfect is that?

another bemusing statistic

On the TV news show this morning they were discussing a new Alzheimer"s statistic. Believe me, I den't take Alzheimer's lightly but this did leave me wondering. It seems that one in six older women risks getting Alzheimer's while only one in 11 older men are likely to contract it.  When pinned down as to why this might be true one expert opined that it's because women live longer.  It seems like a tough reward for living longer.  He went on to say that I can do all the Sudoko I want and it really won't help (how did he know?). I'll just get better at doing Sudoko.  He suggested learning a new language or how to play a musical instrument helps your brain keep active. Watch out world, I may have to try to learn to play the piano one more time.

Grocery shopping in a foreign language

I accidentally bought a wrong item at the grocery store a few days ago (conditioner instead of shampoo - same brand, same color and I was in a hurry - but it got me thinking.  How would our local Kroger store look to someone visiting in our country or newly moved here and speaking no English. Setting aside the challenge of dealing with a different currency, how would you know what to buy.  Some things are easy, even though there are many brands you can usually recognize canned or frozen vegetables by the picture on the package, and of course fresh produce and meat and fish would be no problem.  Actually, now that I think about it so many things on the grocery aisles come wrapped in packaging with pictures that it might not be too hard after all until you get to things like shampoo and conditioner. Ok, suddenly I don't feel so sorry for these imaginary visitors.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

It's been a nice, but fairly uneventful St. Patrick's Day.  I did wear a green sweater and my one-day-a-year cute little leprechaun pin, a holdover from my teaching days. But it's Monday, therefore a work day, so I didn't drink any green beer.  I also didn't run in a 5K kilt race, or march in the world's shortest parade, so I guess my participation was about equivalent to the amount of Irish blood (actually Scots Irish) running in my veins.  Maybe I'll go add a drop of green food coloring to some white wine, that should count, right?

Would you like to own your own drone?

On 60 Minutes this evening they had a report on the development of drones; what's going on in the industry now and possible future uses.  They touched on military, police and business uses but they also said that anyone can buy a drone on line.  One interviewee commented that soon one in five people could own small picture-taking drones.  They also touted the effectiveness of small drones as dog exercise equipment and showed a boxer chasing a low-flying birdlike drone.  One of my grand-dogs is a boxer and I could picture her having lots of fun with a drone.  I wonder what my cat would think of such a thing.  Hmmm, where do you go to buy a drone?  Fort Wayne Drone and Supply?

"I went to a fight last night...

and a hockey game broke out."  An old joke I know, but it always makes me laugh.  Actually, I went to a hockey game tonight and no fights broke out - at least nothing very serious.  It was great.  It had been a long time since I had been at a hockey game and I had forgotten what a fast moving game it is.  Sadly, the Komets lost tonight, to the Everblades (I like that name) but they put on a good show.

A silly sign of spring

I heard an ad on TV this morning for grass seed, extolling the virtues of this particular seed in filling in bare patches in a lawn.  I automatically glanced out the window toward the bare patch in my front yard only to realize that it was still completely blanketed with snow, sob!  However, when I came home this afternoon snow was melting and large patches of lawn (including the bare spot) were showing through, so hooray! spring is on the way.  Now if I could only remember what kind of grass seed that was.

Everything's tasting better.

I remember many years ago, when my father quit smoking (for the last time), after about two weeks he made the comment that everything had started to taste better.  He didn't realize how much flavor he had been missing in his food.  Now I'm wondering if a similar phenomenon can happen regarding sugar.  A week ago I "gave up" what I call heavy sugar (sweet rolls, cake, cookies, etc.) for Lent.  So far it has been much easier than I anticipated and interestingly, other food seems to be tasting better.  Case in point, I'm sitting here munching an apple and it tastes very sweet and good, while generally I tend to think of apples as rather tart.
I must confess, while I used Lent as an excuse to get started, I needed to do this.  I found myself eating more and more sugar, making excuses to bake cookies and brownies.  I can't say I'm addicted to sugar, although I do think it can be addictive., but I was certainly eating too much.
Time will tell what happens when Easter gets here.

Will it be the last snow this winter?

It's March 12 and we had a baby blizzard today - 8 inches of snow.  According to the weatherman on the evening news this is the 17th heavy snowfall we've had this winter and I think that's quite enough. And I'm not alone.  When the guys came to plow out my driveway this afternoon even they said that this is enough (and they are the ones making money out of all this snow).  If they've had enough, it really is enough!

Why am I not surprised?

A quickly overheard comment on the news - the number of people being stopped for driving under the influence of marijuana has gone up in Colorado.  Really?  Do you think it could have anything to do with the fact that they recently legalized the sale of recreational marijuana?

Would I want to know?

I've been pondering a question all day.  On the news today they announced the development (still in the testing stage) of a relatively simple blood test that will predict if you will become afflicted with Alzheimer's within the next three years of your life.  My question is, since there doesn't seem to be a cure, would I want to know?  I can see all kinds of logical reasons why it might be good to know, I could put my affairs in order, but deep down, emotionally, I don't know.  They said it will take at least two more years before this test is ready for use so I'm hoping they can find the "cure" within the same couple of years.

on cats and dogs

My daughter and her family have two wonderful, large dogs -  a boxer (3 years old) and a shepherd boxer mix (7 months old).  They are delightful dogs who get along with each other like a big sister and little brother.  After spending a very pleasant afternoon with dogs and family today, and enjoying an excellent ham dinner, I came home to my "only cat" who is "helping" me type this blog.  Much as I love dogs (I've had six of them through the years), I must admit my cat is a more comfortable fit for me at this time in my life. She's a champion snuggler who teaches me how to relax, reminds me to stretch, and generally keeps me calm; sort of a live-in furry therapist.

Shopping with my grandson

I took my grandson shopping today.  Each year I give each of my grandchildren (3 girls, 1 boy) a shopping spree as their Christmas gift.  of course I'm the big winner because I get to spend a whole day with each of them and we always have fun.  But believe me, shopping with my grandson was way different than shopping with any of my granddaughters.  We didn't set foot in a single clothing store.  Instead we shopped the toy department of Target, the toy section of a large book store, Toys R Us, and, for lunch, we went to Chuckie Cheese, ate pizza (really good) and played lots of games.  What a fun day.

another March comparison

Nothing very profound today but I did think of another March similie - March comes in like an iron fist and leaves like a velvet glove.  This one may have been inspired by the fact that I had my taxes done today.  At least that's off my mind for another year.

my five seconds of fame

The weatherman on one of our local TV stations asked viewers to send (actually to tweet) suggested variations on the old March saying "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."  First, I had to figure out how to tweet, then I sent in my effort "March comes in with a snow blower and goes out with a lawn mower." It was read on the air yesterday.  Sadly, I wasn't at home to see the 5:00pm newscast, but happily, a friend saw it and told me about it.  So I've had my fun and my five seconds of fame.

Thai food and Lenten resolutions

I am not very good with new year's resolutions but I tend to be faithful when I give up something for Lent.  There are probably two reasons for that, first Lent is only 40 days long - I can keep a resolution for 40 days.  Secondly, it feels like I'm making a deal with God and who wants to disappoint God?
I decided to give up "heavy sugar" for Lent this year.  Things like cake, cookies, cupcakes, sweet rolls and candy are off the table until Easter.  But so far I'm not suffering.  A friend and I had dinner this evening at my favorite Thai restaurant "Spice & Herb" and instead of my usual Thai iced tea (which is yummy but definitely heavy sugar) I had hot ginger tea.  This wasn't a huge sacrifice considering that it was 20 degrees outside and hot tasted so good.  I had my favorite pork pad tai to eat - no heavy sugar there, so as I sat in the evening Ash Wednesday service I felt positively virtuous (at least food wise).

on paying taxes

I'm working on my taxes this evening, gathering and organizing receipts, totaling numbers, and while I can't find anything funny about taxes, I'm trying to look for something positive.  So far the best I can come up with is "Thank goodness I have enough income to pay taxes."  I'll try to hold that thought.

something to think about

Yesterday I heard a discussion on TV, before the Oscars, about celebrities and their reaction to negative criticism.  Several people gave examples of bad reviews, years ago, that they still remember. Then the discussion turned to why do we (not just the famous, but all of us) tend to remember the negative, and one expert said that it's because we still have "prehistoric brains" - eons ago our ancestors learned from bad things that happened.  If someone died after eating a particular plant you didn't eat that plant; saber tooth tigers are harder to kill than bunny rabbits; if you put your hand in the fire it hurts.  You get the idea.  Negatives hurt but they also teach.  I know, when someone points out an error in something I've edited or proofed, I feel upset, but I also redouble my efforts to do better. This got me to wondering what we're doing to our children if they never get anything but "positive reinforcement".  I don't mean be cruel, but sometimes consequences are the best teacher.  When my son was two years old we had a lovely little dog named Heidi who had long floppy ears.  My toddler son couldn't resist grabbing those ears and pulling.  Poor Heidi just wined and took it (I smacked his hand and said NO).  He would remember for a while, then I'd catch him pulling her ears again.  Until finally one day, Heidi decided he was old enough to know better and she bit him.  Not hard, it didn't even break the skin, but he got the idea and never pulled her ears again.  I'm not sure what this says about our education system but I'm thinking about it.

The Lone Ranger rides again.

Last night I attended the Audience Choice performance of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and while I enjoyed every part of the performance, I must admit that my favorite was the Overture to William Tell. The music was wonderful and I also appreciated the director's comments.  I'll admit, when they started the fourth movement I couldn't help thinking about the Lone Ranger, but I also had to laugh.  In his introductory remarks the director said this section represented a march of the Swiss Army.  Let me tell you, if they were marching to that music, they were moving right along.  I love music that leaves me smiling.

a sleep-over

I didn't have time to blog last night because my oldest granddaughter stayed overnight with me.  She's 11 and we had a wonderful time full of favorite foods - mac 'n' cheese, grape jello, and more - plenty of snacks, good conversations and games; real games, board games and games played with cards and games played with dice.  The beauty of games played real is the fun of conversation and laughter and sometimes groans as someone wins or looses.  In case you're concerned, she also had time to stay connected to her friends via her Ipod;  we're not totally old fashioned around here - just enough to have fun.