genius at work

Each Monday afternoon I spend an enjoyable hour tutoring a 4th grader from South Wayne Elementary. Most of the sessions are spent reading and working on math, especially multiplication. But today, since the students had been taking Istep tests for several hours we were instructed to let our students color spring theme pictures, the best of which will be selected to be reprinted on thank you notes to be sent to the tutor volunteers. It was fun to watch my young lady get to work on this project. I gave her the paper and brand new box of crayons (doesn't everyone love a new box of crayons?) and explained the project to her. I also gave her a small white board and marker that are part of our regular equipment. I thought she might use it if she wanted to practice drawing some detail but she quickly sketched out her whole composition on the white board then proceeded to translate it into a full color drawing on the paper.  I particularly enjoyed her running commentary on her grandma's flower garden as she created her masterpiece of flowers, sun and butterflies, based on colors she had seen there.  I am sooo ready for spring now.

a thank you to the Oscars

All this winter I've been skipping Downton Abbey, even though I really enjoy the series, because there were other programs I wanted to see more on Sunday evenings. But tonight, thanks to the Oscars, the programs I usually watch are not on. But PBS, in a stroke of genius, reran the whole season of episodes of Downton Abbey this afternoon and evening, so now I am all caught up. I might even take a quick look at the Oscars later this evening, maybe.

the art of conversation

I am of an age when, with friends, our conversation often focuses on our ills and/or our grandchildren.  Nothing wrong with that,  I'm as guilty as anyone. Those are the things we have in common.  However, this evening was different.  Friends of a friend whom I had met once before invited us to dinner which was very good indeed. She was an art teacher and he's an engineer so they are people with whom I have a lot in common. During the course of the evening we four sat at the table and enjoyed a wide ranging conversation.  We touched on home remodeling, art, theater, travel, ancestors, birds and animals in our back yards, politics, teaching, grandchildren and more but I realized as I was driving away that no one mentioned a single health complaint all evening. That's probably a new record.

understanding foreign languages

I'm going on two trips this year, one to Spain and one to Scotland and I've realized something about these trips.  I don't speak Spanish at all so I have no expectations of understanding people there except through translators or the hope that they speak English as a second language (which, I've happily discovered, many people in other countries do and I admire them for it). But somehow I feel that I ought to be able to understand the people of Scotland. After all they do speak English, sort of. I remember a conversation I had with a local the only other time  I've been in Scotland.  He was giving me directions and it was just lucky that he pointed while he talked because I couldn't understand a word he said.  I am doing my homework though.  I've gotten hooked on a Net Flix series called "Monarch of the Glen", a fun soap opera in hour long episodes that takes place in the Scottish Highlands.  The scenery is fabulous, the characters are interesting, and, depending on how thick the accents are, I can generally understand at least most of what is being said.  I love this homework.

An articulate athlete

I happened to catch an interview this morning on Good Morning America with Hope Solo, an Olympic soccer star. It was an interesting and wide ranging interview and I realized after a few minutes that this woman was speaking in complete sentences. Not only that, she never once started a sentence with "so". Now nothing against athletes but I've heard many interviews with athletes (and for that matter, movie and TV stars) that seldom got beyond one syllable words and grunts, so this was a real pleasure.  I will be cheering for Hope in the Brazil Olympics.

Do geese have parties?

For the last three nights geese have been gathering and flying around my apartment building and they don't do it quietly. You have never heard such a cacophony of noise. Other birds chirp quietly, or at least musically, but geese honk and honk and honk some more. I'm not sure what their problem is.  They sound like they are trying to understand something. Perhaps it's the wild swings in weather we've been experiencing lately or maybe they are struggling with their own political elections. That's what it sounds like to me. Lots of promises, lots of insults, lots of noise, noise, noise....

Reading to Live Longer

As heard on TV: Reading, and especially reading and belonging to a book club can help you live longer.  If that's the case, based on all the books I've read over the years, I should live to be 100 while my friend Sandy, who always has a book in her hand and three in her purse, should make it to 150.  Turns out though, as I listened further, that the age benefit seems to come from the socialization, being part of any group, rather than the actual reading.  It made me think of the book club meeting I attended last week.  I've recently joined this club at the urging of a friend and so far the books we've read have been interesting but not necessarily what I would have chosen on my own. At last week's meeting we were served a lovely snack, all sweets and nuts, then began our discussion of the book. With our leader's help we stayed focused on the book and author for about 20 minutes, but then focus started to shift. Before I knew it the group was talking about presidential politics, scams being perpetrated on  the elderly, what happened last week on The Bachelor, and a myriad of other topics.  Our gallant leader tried to get us back on topic a few times but eventually gave it up as a lost cause. So now I'm left with this question - will belonging to this club help me live longer or will it just seem longer?

not how it's intended to be used???

My daughter gave me a Fit Bit for Christmas.  It's a nifty little wrist band that measures my daily steps, miles, calories burned, etc.  the idea is to encourage the wearer to bigger and better efforts.  Wearing it has made me aware of Fit Bit humor like the "Big Bang Theory" episode where Howard attaches his fit bit to a 'walking machine' and runs up thousands of steps in a day, making his wife very suspicious.  Today I heard a true life fit bit story.  A friend of mine saw a young lady outside a building wearing a fit bit, walking back and forth while she was smoking.  Seems like that sort of defeats the purpose but at least she was walking.

An evening with George Gershwin

I spent the evening with George Gershwin, or at least his music. I went with some friends to this evening's offering from the Philharmonic Masterworks series and it was excellent.  I personally enjoyed "Porgy and Bess" most but Jodie DeSalvo got a long standing ovation for her piano solos in "Rhapsody in Blue" and deservedly so. Beautiful music, excellently performed. What more can you ask for?  Actually, there is one thing I wish I could ask for.  I have no musical talent, don't play any musical instrument (unless you count a CD player) but I would really like to experience sitting in the middle of an orchestra during a performance.

Spring is in the air...

or at least on the elevators.  I took several elevator rides today, going out to appointments and doing laundry, and every time I was accompanied by someone with a dog.  Excited little dogs ready to get outside and take a walk. There was a Mini Dachshund (my favorite), a recently clipped Shih Tzu, an albino pug (or something similar), a Chihuahua, and others I can't identify.  I haven't seen so many dogs in a single day since I first moved in here. They were all on their way outside or coming back from walks on this excellent day. And all on leashes, which is good. Otherwise at least a couple of them would have blown away in today's wonderful wind. I have visions of little dogs on leashes floating up into the air like kites, while their people hold those extendable leashes.

seeing it again

It turns out that my brother had not seen the new Star Wars movie when it first came out but it's still playing so we went to see it recently.  I had seen it once when my son took me as a birthday present a couple of months ago.  Kind of funny how things come around.  I remember taking him to see the very first Star Wars when he was five years old. He sat spellbound on the edge of his seat for the whole movie.  I really enjoyed this newest entry in he series the first time I saw it but I enjoyed it so much more the second time.  I'm not exactly sure why but I think it was a combination of spotting so many more details and having become familiar with the new cast of characters.  Whatever the reason, this definitely thrilled me more the second time around.  So my advice is see it again.

knowledge of a three year old

I spent three hours this morning babysitting six preschoolers so their moms could attend the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting held at our church.  It was a good morning - no poopy diapers, no crying, all in all very nice. Toward  the end of the morning there were just two kids waiting for their moms.  One  of these, a three year old girl, was having a good time playing with a Fisher Price airplane.  She explained to me, as she took two little people out of the plane, that they were going to take the plane through a "plane wash" (her words) but they needed a map to find the way. I asked her if they were going into their house to find a map, since she had taken them out of the plane?  She said "Oh, no, they'll just use their phone." Of course they will.  How antiquated of me to envision a paper map.

giving or giving up for Lent

Our pastor had an excellent sermon on Sunday. He encouraged us to focus on what we could give during Lent rather that what we could give up.  He stressed generosity of spirit. generosity of time with friends, family, neighbors, etc. During the sermon he listed several things that people typically give up for Lent like chocolates, buying new shoes, junk food - you get the idea.  Then he mentioned things he had seen listed on line that people would like to give up. One of the things that topped the list was school. My 14 year old grandson was sitting beside me and he perked right up when he heard that option. Good to know he was listening to the sermon.

my last word on winglets

Turns out Google wasn't telling me the whole story.  The Google article said that 737s were the only planes to have winglets but a friend who flew his own Cessna sent me an article about adding winglets to or buying a Cessna with winglets. Evidently these nifty extensions (not to be confused with hair extensions) help a plane fly higher, faster and with less fuel consumption. It sounds like an altogether excellent invention. I shall rest easier knowing that at least one of the planes I'll be flying on will have this equipment.

The question is answered...

thanks to Google. Have you been wondering all this time what a winglet is or did you already know like my brother and probably thousands of other people? Well, just in case you don't know, here's the Google definition. Winglets are "wing tip extensions which reduce lift induced drag and provide some extra lift." They have been used on 737s since the year 2000, now come in four different types and are typically 8'2" tall, 4' at the base tapering to about 2 feet at the top. Judging by the picture I saw winglets stick up at right angles at the ends of the planes wings.  I hope I can get a picture of a winglet on this trip. I don't think I've ever flown on a plane with winglets before.

Winglets?

I was reading over some information I just received about the travel arrangements for a trip I'm taking in a few weeks.  As part of the flight to Portugal we will be flying from Amsterdam to Lisbon on a "Boeing 737-800 With Winglets". So now I'm having a lot of fun wondering what winglets are.  I could google it and I probably will tomorrow but for now I'm wondering - is this air craft equipped with particularly small wings?  Does it have an extra set of little emergency back up wings in case the big ones fall off? I envision little flapping wings, sort of like bird wings tucked under the big wings.  Or maybe they will be serving us chicken wings for lunch. We'll be flying 1149 miles on (with?) those winglets so I hope they're up to the task. None of the other planes we'll be on, going or coming back, note that they are equipped with winglets. Should they be?

the eyes have it

I had my annual eye check up today.  The surgeon who did my glaucoma surgery and his staff give me a very thorough check up which includes dilating my eyes to do a visual field test.  This is a nifty test where, using one eye at a time, a person clicks a button whenever she sees a light blip on the screen.  A bit hard to explain but it always feels to me a little like I'm playing an arcade or computer game shooting down little lights.  I've never minded going to an eye doctor because nothing they do hurts and there are no noisy drills.  I've been having checkups and wearing glasses since I was seven and I find it fascinating to see how eye exam equipment has evolved. Of course that's a span of 64 years so you would expect some changes.  The results of today's exam: glaucoma under control, eye pressure excellent, sight in my left eye has changed from 20/60 last year to 20/200 but my right eye is still pretty good.  The doctor finished up by saying that I probably will need cataract surgery in both eyes sometime in the next one to three years but no sooner than next year.  Then she said that if I noticed my vision blurring a lot in my right eye I should come back sooner.  Of course, while she is saying this I'm thinking "Oh, no, my right eye is really blurry right now." Then I remembered - my eyes had just been dilated.  Things are looking much clearer this evening.

a suspicious mind?

Another elevator conversation story - I was riding up to my apartment one evening last week with a friend who was going to visit for a while. Two other people, a young man and woman, got on the elevator in the lobby at the same time.  The young man was carrying some bulky packages and apologized for the space they were taking  then went on to explain that his girlfriend (the young lady with him) did home nursing, he was carrying some of her equipment and he liked to go with her when she was going into some iffy neighborhoods. I told him he was a good man and thought no more about it. We wished them a good evening and got off on my floor.  A little later when my friend and I were in my apartment she said to me "Do you think he was telling the truth, about her being a nurse and all?" I was surprised that she even questioned it. Why would anyone make up a story on a 30 second elevator ride?  Maybe I'm too trusting but I shall continue to take my fellow elevator riders at face value. Besides, how would I ever know if they were lying?

My new favorite commercial

I have a new favorite TV commercial, and, no, it's not the one with the herd of miniature dachshunds wrapped in hot dog buns running across an open field, although that one is really cute also. The one I truly appreciate is one to which many grandparents can relate.  I know I certainly can. It opens with a touching scene. Two young teens, a boy and a girl, are walking up to a house.  The door opens, grandma and grandma come out, big smiles, "Oh, we're so happy to see you!" Then you notice the grandparents are carrying an assortment of electronics - cell phones, dvd player, etc. Their next line is "None of these things are working." The tag line "Grandkids equal free tech support." It's so true.

A great day for the Broncos and a first for me

This evening I hosted my first ever "Super Bowl Party". Of course it was just for my son and his family and my brother but we six had a good time and the chili I made turned out to be really delicious.  The salad my daughter-in-law brought and the brownies my granddaughter made were also quite yummy. So we ate and talked, enjoyed the commercials and half-time show, and, yes, even actually watched the game. Peyton's team won so all in all it was a very enjoyable evening. And, making it even better, nobody talked about politics all evening long. What a nice break.

now that's excitement

I'm watching the Republican Presidential Candidates' Debate this evening and it's being pretty exciting. Tomorrow evening my family and I will watch the super bowl and I'm sure it will have its exciting moments.  But for sheer  nail biting, edge of the seat tension and excitement you can't beat the basketball game I saw this morning. At 9:00 am the sixth grade girls' basketball teams from St. Charles (my granddaughter's team) and St. Vincent's met to decide the conference championship.  Let me tell you these gals know how to hustle.  Sixth graders play four 6-minute quarters and these two teams were very well matched.  The scoring went like this: at the end of the first quarter the score was tied 2 to 2.  I did say these were high tension games, not necessarily high scoring.  By the end of the first half the St. Vincent Panthers had pulled ahead, 7 to 4.  At the end of the third quarter St Vincent still led but the gap was closing - St. Charles Cardinals 9, St. Vincent 11.  By the way the St. Charles Cardinals' colors are red and white, bringing back fond memories of Ball State's mascot and colors. In the fourth quarter the Cardinals pulled ahead 13 to 12.  In the last two minutes St. Charles led 17 to 15. Then it was tied 17 to 17.  Then, in the last three seconds St. Charles scored again and won, 19 to 17!!! Yeah, hooray, much celebration on our team's side.  My granddaughter now has her first basketball trophy and plans to play again next year.  She still doesn't get a lot of playing time in each game but she's learning and is doing much better than when she started. You go girl.

A different kind of Jazz

I heard a really interesting musician yesterday evening.  His name is Ali Paris and he plays the Qanun, an instrument described as a 76 string Arab "lap harp." Since it's about 4 feet long and 2 feet wide, it was on a stand, not on his lap. During the concert he explained how his instrument was tuned.  Each of the 76 strings can be tuned to eight different sounds and he played music with major and minor octaves as usual but could also introduce tones that were between major and minor.  He suggested we imagine a piano with green and pink keys between the black and white ones.  Ali Paris has performed all  over the world and his music is an interesting blend of Arab sounds and contemporary jazz and rock.  He was accompanied by a guitarist and a drummer and the music was beautiful. In the printed information that was handed out it said "...he has performed with Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang, Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, American vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys." I think that's a pretty amazing variety of musical styles but I can imagine his qanun sounding right with all of them.  Quite an amazing concert.

caught in a lie

 Actually it was an inadvertent lie which I have now attempted to correct. It was pointed out to me by a faithful reader that my bio information on this site was a little out of date.  Since I hadn't updated it since I started the blog in 2013 I guess that's understandable.  But now I have come clean and admitted to my real age  71, gasp. How did that happen? Time flies, they say, when you're having fun.  I must be having a ball.

When was the last time....

you filled your gas tank for less than ten dollars? I decided to get gas today while I was out and about so I stopped at the Kroger station I often go to and when I ran my card got a 20 cents a gallon discount which brought the price down to $1.39.9.  When I was finished pumping gas I looked at the screen and saw my total - $9.78!!! Now admittedly I only needed about half a tank but still, seeing a total cost of less that $10 was pretty exciting.  I know, I know, I'm easily amused.

truth in advertising

I have a friend who admits that sometimes he gets so irritated with some commercials that he finds himself talking back to them.  I'm not quite that bad but I must admit that there is one commercial running these days that bemuses me.  I think they're being honest and I have nothing against lawyers.  Some of them have helped me a lot in the past.  But this line from a personal injury attorney makes me wonder. The add says "Our fee will never exceed your net recovery."  Really? If you win a case for me I won't owe you more than everything, presumably after expenses? Thankfully I don't need to sue anyone right now but if I was thinking about it I think this would take away much of my motivation.