blogger's block

Nothing funny happened today. nothing strange or rare, no new exciting medical facts, nothing wildly interesting.  It was just an ordinary day.  On the up side, I wasn't in a car accident, I did accomplish quite a bit at work, I did pay several bills, and joy of joy, had enough money to pay them.  I set up a pin number for a new travel card and it worked the way it was supposed to.  All in all, not a bad day, in fact a very good day except for this pesky blogger's block.  Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

Eureka, I've done it.

I've been enjoying learning to use my new 'smart phone' lately.  I gave up my old flip phone recently when my son introduced me to a very affordable monthly plan for a more modern phone.  So, I've been enjoying texting and taking pictures and sharing pictures, even playing games.  It took me a while to figure out how to make a phone call.  It's a little flat rectangle that doesn't look like a telephone, but I can make calls now.  It occurred to me last week though that I hadn't been having any success answering my phone. I finally confessed my plight to my daughter who, after she finished laughing, showed me what I was doing wrong.  It would appear that I was accidentally hanging up on people.  I am happy to report that I successfully answered a call today, woohoo... My next challenge is to learn to retrieve voice mail messages.  I'm not in too much of a hurry about that though.  I figure if someone really needs to talk to me they will call back -although maybe not if I keep hanging up on them.

Several friends have commented to me over the last couple of years,that their children are hard to reach on their cell phones.  If they really want to communicate with their kids, they know that they will answer texts.  Humm.. maybe I'm not the only one who is technologically challenged.

If at first you don't succeed...

 I saw an interesting interview on "60 Minutes" this evening.  It was with Jack Ma (not sure about the spelling of that last name) the founder of the wildly successful Chinese internet company which just recently went public in the US, Alibaba.  I admired several things about his business acumen but what I found most interesting was the fact that he failed the college entrance exam the first two times he took it, succeeded on the third try, and also failed in his first two attempts at starting up an internet company.  I think there's a moral there somewhere.

a very unusual problem

I am five feet, ten inches tall and all my life I've had trouble buying pants that are long enough.  Earlier this week I did some on-line shopping at JC Penny (they carry tall sizes, bless them) and among other things, I ordered a pair of navy blue dress pants. They arrive in the mail today and I eagerly tried them.on.  I had ordered my usual size and they fit nicely around the waist and hips but, wait for it, they were too long.  They were actually dragging on the ground, even after I put on a pair of heels.  So I've decided to stop by Pennys tomorrow and see if they have the same pants in a regular size.  If they do, and if they fit, do you know what this means?  I'm average... The world is catching up.

formerly known as..

One of my favorite places for musical entertainment in Fort Wayne is Come to Go Music Hall, aka C2G. Tonight they featured one of my favorite groups Storyman (formerly know as Guggenheim Grotto). I'm happy to say they seem to have come a long way since their first appearance in FW seven years ago, touring at much larger venues in the US and Canada. They're two Irish men, now living in New York and I think they have a really good sound.  Look them up.

Do cats show affection?

I watched a special on TV the other night about the difference between cats and dogs.  One of the big differences, according to the experts, was that dogs show/feel affection for people while cats don't.  I beg to differ.  It certainly feels like my cat likes me when she snuggles up beside me on the couch.  The expert says she's just claiming me as her possession.  Really?  How do they know? And really, what difference does it make?  If it feels to me like my cat likes me, and, supposedly, she doesn't care, then I'll accept her closeness as affection.
The other piece of information that I found really fascinating is that cats don't "talk" to each other.  I know this is true.  When I had three cats I hardly ever heard a meow out of any of them, but now that I'm down to one cat, she meows at me all the time.
I'm pretty sure, based on how mine acted around each other, that cats don't need to talk; they read each other's minds. They only "talk" to people because we don't have their telepathic abilities.  It's thoughts like that that keep me humble.

the evolution of diapers

I was reminded today that when my first child was born, 43 years ago, disposable diapers were a fairly new invention.  Fort Wayne was a test city for one brand - I think it was Johnson & Johnson - and I really liked them.  We couldn't afford to use disposables all of the time so I bleached and washed a lot of diapers and used the disposables only at night and when we were traveling. We drove a VW bus camper conversion back then, and when the kids were still in diapers we would load the little closets at the back of the bus with as many disposable diapers as we could squeeze in. As the closets emptied out we knew we were coming to the end of another vacation.
Now, of course, disposables are everywhere, but a "new" trend is evolving. A friend of mine is pregnant and planning to use cloth diapers. I was really surprised to hear this, and even more surprised, when I explored the bumgenius web site, to find out what cloth diapers look like these days.  They aren't flat white rectangles of soft cloth that can be folded to different sizes.  They are a system with absorbent washable inserts that fit into colorful pants that close with velcro. Very cute, and apparently easy to use, but I have a feeling that the diaper pail will still be a big part of the process.

old ideas sounding new

"Five things that can cut your chance of having a heart attack>" I perked up my ears when i heard that lead in on the TV news this morning.  The Dr. expert said that following these steps could cut your chance of having a heart attack (man or woman) by 86%.  What were these 5 magical steps?
1. Eat a healthy diet.
2. Quit smoking.
3. Moderate alcohol intake.
4. Exercise.
5. Keep your waist line in check.
I'm ok in four out of five areas, but I think I need to start drinking.

so which ones are artificial?

"Artificial sweeteners lead to obesity and glucose intolerance (diabetes)."  It must be so; they explained the research on TV yesterday morning. Actually, it makes sense to me.  I've seen lots of overweight people sucking down diet sodas.  But what is artificial?  Some are obvious: the pink packets, the blue packets and the yellow packets. But what about so-called natural sweeteners like Stevia, which comes from a root, or some syrups like Agave?
Many years ago I read a book called "Sugar Blues" - not sure if it's even in print any more but it was a fascinating book.  Way back then, it deplored the evils of too much sugar but did not recommend any artificial sweeteners.  The basic premise of the book was that the only sweetness you should ever put in your body is what you find unrefined in fresh fruit.  Over the years, when I see my weight inching upwards, I know that I will be fine if I cut out sugar.  I don't pretend to keep it up all the time but I know it's good for me. Sadly, we're sliding into the sweet time of year (Halloween through New Years), so I will not be too hard on myself but I know what one of my New Year's resolutions will be.

and a proud mom again...

Finally, my daughter is home again.  She has been gone for six weeks, going through chaplain assistant training with the Air National Guard.  She graduated third in her class - great job - and even better, from my perspective, she's home!  Now I will admit that spending six weeks training in South Carolina didn't cause me the concern that her two deployments ti Iraq did, but still and all I'm glad she did well and is safely and happily home.

a proud mom

Just being a proud mother as I write this.  I attended a banquet this evening with my son and daughter-in-law and watched as my son received an award as K-8 Science Teacher of the Year award.  Now his name may be submitted at the state level.  Win or loose there, I'm very pleased for and proud of him this evening.

Taking the plunge into redecorating again

I decided today, after some influence from the Parade of Homes last week, that the time has come to tackle the last rooms on the main floor of my house that have not been repainted and re-carpeted at any time in the whole 32 years that I have lived in this house - my bedroom and bathroom.  I signed a contract today to replace the virtually useless old blue bathtub with a lovely new white shower, with a seat in it.  I have always wanted a shower with a set in it, what luxury! Now all I need to do is buy a new toilet and vanity and sink and arrange to have them installed, pick my colors, strip the old, old wallpaper, paint the bath and bedrooms, and arrange for new flooring in both rooms, and then the really fun part - a new comforter and ?? window treatment.  Funny how these little projects billow into hugeness.

other fascinating factoids

Still watching the Roosevelt saga. Lots of fascinating facts this evening about the "new deal". But one of the bits I found most entertaining was the fact that Eleanor had the freedom to go on a driving trip with a girl friend while she was First Lady, without any security force accompanying them.  She was required to take a pistol with her but didn't take any bullets along for it.  FDR also was able, in a car he had modified to have only hand controls, to drive around the countryside near Warm Springs and visit with the people who lived in the neighborhood. I can't imagine any recent president or first lady getting away with just taking off on their own.

So many things I didn't know...

I've been watching the PBS series "The Rooselvelts, An Intimate History" and I am amazed at how little I knew about these people.  Eleanor became quite the "women's libber" long before FDR became president. After Franklin contracted polio he started a clinic called Warm Springs where many, many polio sufferers came for therapy and swims in the hot springs.  Franklin not only founded the clinic but also led many of the therapy classes himself and was much loved by the patients there.
This 'true history' competes very well with "Downton Abbey".Infidelities, traumatic and dangerous episodes, wars, life threatening situations, romance, the great depression, this series has it all.

learning more new traffic tricks

Over the last several months I have overcome my fear of facing new driving situations and learned to drive through the three traffic circles on the fastest route from my house to my daughter's and to the school two of my grandchildren attend. The difference between using the traffic circle route and a parallel route, that in the same eight mile stretch has nine traffic light intersections, is twelve minutes.  I can make the traffic circle stretch in 13 minutes, the traffic light road takes 25 minutes (on a good day), so I've become a convert to the efficiency of the traffic circle.
But now, within two weeks, I will have a new driving challenge to face - a diverging diamond intersection - a new configuration at the junction of Interstate 69 and Dupont Road.  A diverging diamond?? I've studied the diagrams printed in the local newspaper and I still don't understand how this will work.  My brother assures me it will be easy and wonderful but I'm still skeptical. Will I learn this new trick?  Only time will tell.

The Roosevelts, as seen on TV

This evening I'm watching the second episode of "The Roosevelts, An Intimate History" on PBS. It's a fascinating look at the early years of the 20th century and the roles played by Theodore, Eleanor and Franklin and many more family members.  The series certainly doesn't seem to be sugar coating anything, but still the three are coming across as "heroic" people weaving their influence through some amazing years in our country's history.  While I highly recommend the series, it does not leave me wishing for more wealth, influence or power.  Well, ok, maybe more wealth.

A technlogical look back

As I was texting a note today to my granddaughter, who in now 12, I started thinking about how I communicated with my friends when I was 12.  For the first few years after we moved out of the town of New Haven to an old country house near the small town of Woodburn we had an old style wall telephone, the kind of big box phone with a crank on the side, an ear piece that dangled on a cord, when it wasn't hung up, and a mouth piece that jutted out of the box.  This was an old fashioned phone even by the standards of the 1950's but it did have some advantages.  We had a party line, with several homes connected to the same line, so we had to listen for our distinctive ring tone to know a call was for us.;  Ours was "two longs and a short" ringgggggggggggg, ringgggggggggggg, ring! When we heard that ring we would pick up.  The catch was that anyone else on the party line could simply pick up their phone and listen in.  There really wasn't any such thing as a  private call.  The advantage to this system was that when my girlfriends and I wanted to talk, one of us called another, others picked up and we could have a three, four or five way conversation. Of course all of the phones were hanging on kitchen or living room walls, areas where family assembled, so these calls couldn't drag on too long, and you couldn't say anything that you didn't want someone in your family to hear - especially a little brother.

Happy Birthday times two

Today we had a birthday supper here at my house for my son and his mother-in-law who share September 13 as their birthday.  It was a fun relaxed evening; I cooked some old favorites, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  I couldn't help remembering though that my husband and my stepmom shared a birth date, and for many years we celebrated their birthdays together - usually at my house.  All seemed well then too.  It wasn't until a few years after my stepmom died that my husband confessed to me that he had often resented having to share his birthday celebration. I never knew.  However, I don't think the same thing will happen here, mainly because my son and his mother-in-law really seem to like each other.  It makes a difference.

another funny play

Went to another play this evening, this one a Civic Theater production called "Over the River and Through the Woods" from the old song "to Grandmother's house we go." It was a fun play centered around Sunday visits and eating at the grandparents' house.  Lots of funny lines and home truths.  Tomorrow I'm cooking dinner for my family and I'll be thinking about scenes in the play, although my grandchildren aren't quite old enough to leave home yet. I guess it's inevitble - I'll be the old granny any year now.

A parade of homes

Why do they call it a "parade of homes" when the homes just sit there and we do all the walking.  A friend and I went to the Fort Wayne Parade of Homes this evening.  We toured seven houses and two villas, all priced over $400,000, all very nice obviously, and interestingly decorated.  I went with the idea in mind of getting some decorating ideas for my bedroom.  It's painted light blue now, fairly blah and boring.  I thought maybe I would see some bright exciting color combinations. Not so.  House after house had interior walls painted light taupe or light beige or light greyish seafoam, with white or natural woodwork. Ho hum. Things were attractive but not exciting.  It was interesting to see lots of great room ceilings with wooden (natural or painted, straight or intersecting) beams that looked very much like the beams in my (40 year old) family room.  But the best idea I saw, this I thought was a stroke of genius, was a lift installed in a garage.  It was an open platform elevator on which you could load things, like boxes of Christmas ornaments, destined for attic storage. Push the button and the lift goes up into the attic.  Meanwhile, you climb the traditional pull-down stairs, walk over to the bin or box that has arrived in the attic and shift it to its storage spot.  No more lugging boxes up those stairs. Isn't that a great idea?

winning for a good cause

Doing work that really helps someone is very satisfying. This evening my family, friends and I worked together on a Kids Against Hunger assembly line packaging nutritious dried food to be sent to Haiti.  This is a really good program and if your church or other group is looking for a fun, satisfying way to help fight hunger around the world I highly recommend it. Even more satisfying is to be the team that fills 12 boxes first (that's 432 bags of a dried vitamin-rich, protein-full mixture. Each bag makes six meals, so 2,592 meals), and wins free t-shirts and bragging rights. We went on to fill several more boxes but were the first to 12, so yea! us. I never think of myself as particularly competitive, but I must admit I love to win.

How does he do that?

I love a good magician.  I know it's a trick.  I know there's a logical explanation, but how does he do that? I've been watching America's got Talent and they have three magicians in the top 12 this year, all of them very good and all very imaginative.  Not one of them has sawed a girl in half or stabbed swords through someone stuck in a box.  I tend to enjoy the close up sleight of hand tricks most, In fact I find myself thinking that a magician might actually win this year, until I watch the dancers, and listen to the singers. Who knows?

fashion confusion

Last week I was reveling in the fact that I am among the first generation of women to wear blue jeans and this week I hear on the news, in a fashion piece, that jeans are out and skinny yoga pants are in.  Don't they understand that jeans hold you in and make you look skinny while skinny soft yoga pants will stretch in all the wrong places.  I think, for women of my age, it's going to be a very slow conversion.

Exercising my talent..

A few days ago I commented on the fact that my best talent is as an audience, an appreciator of other people's talents.  This weekend I had an opportunity to exercise my talent twice.  My friends and I saw "The Foreigner" at First Presbyterian Theater on Friday night - a very funny play - we enjoyed it thoroughly.  Then, on Saturday night we saw a musical performance by Fernando Ortega, the first program for this season of the First Pres Music Series.  What a great start to the season!  Next weekend I'm going to another play.  Practice, practice, practice....

The sock monster lives!

I've always suspected that there was such a thing as a sock monster. After all, socks can't just disappear into thin air can they? On the news this morning there was proof positive - the species exists.  A family discovered, after their large dog started displaying symptoms of severe stomach distress and was x-rayed, that their was a large lump in his stomach.  After the lump was surgically removed it was the vet found that it consisted of 45 socks (none of them matching of course). The dog is fine.  No comment on the condition of the socks.  Now I don't own a dog but I have missed a few socks lately. My little cat seems fine but she has been looking a little chubby..  Hmmmm?????

I can't believe I missed this holiday!

I was glancing back at the August calendar in my now favorite magazine, GLO, and discovered that August 6 was "Wiggle Your Toes Day".  I am a world champion toe wiggler.  In fact my husband used to claim that when I was barefoot (my usual state in the house) my toes were never still. It drove him crazy. So how could I have missed this holiday that was so obviously intended just for me.  I'm not sure how I would have celebrated. possibly by wiggling my toes in an ocean or lake or on a beach, or into a lovely new pair of shoes, but I'm sure I would have thought of something appropriate.  Ah well, at least I have plenty of time to plan for next year.  You can be sure I've marked this on my 2015 calendar.

I've found my true talent.

Over the years I've had plenty of time to inventory my talents and figure out what I'm best at.  I have talents. I can cook, but not amazingly.  I probably could improve my piano playing, but never to concert quality.  I can paint a little, draw a little, weave a little, write a little, act a little, but I haven't created anything outstanding. After careful analysis, I've decided that what I really excel at is being an audience.  I am enthralled by great performances, or even good ones, be it music, theater, a good book, or a gallery show, and I show my appreciation.  I cry, I laugh, I respond appropriately. Performers need an audience. It's good to be needed and, as an added bonus, I'm not creating stuff that no one needs.

on wearing blue jeans

I've long suspected that my generation were the first little girls to wear blue jeans, denims, Levi's, call them what you will.  I distinctly remember wearing a pair of wonderful, plaid flannel-lined jeans when I was only seven years old. That would have been in 1951. As the years progressed, I climbed trees, roller skated, rode bikes, always wearing jeans (or shorts or cutoffs in summer) but I don't ever remember seeing my mother or my aunts in any kind of jeans or slacks. My mother-in-law wore her first pant suit in her 70's. My classmates and I wore jeans regularly (of course never to school, we had to wear skirts always in school),
In our teen years we wore our jeans cuffed with bobby socks and saddle shoes.
This morning on TV, in a historical look back at the Levi Strauss company, one interesting fact that came out was that the company made their first pair of women's jeans in 1934, so while we may not have been the very first, we were among the pioneers.
In an interesting bit of history repeating itself, three years ago my brother and his wife gave me a pair of flannel-lined jeans for Christmas and they are just as wonderful as I remember.