owls and pigeons

Have you noticed how many owls are showing up in TV commercials these days? They are promoting everything from colleges to medicine. I'm not sure if they have become so popular because of their supposed wisdom or because they work cheap, in which case they're not so wise, after all.  Maybe they are just really easy to train.  In most of the commercials they are just sitting and blinking their eyes.  That doesn't seem like too much to expect from an owl. Now, I might be more impressed if they were training pigeons. I'n thinking about pigeons lately because, for some reason, they have discovered my balcony this year.  They don't come near when I'm sitting out there but every once in a while I'll see one strutting around out there. Generally a tap on the window is enough to send him (or her) flying away. Recently, however I lightened up on my no pigeon rule. It was during the last really bad rain storm that we had and I spotted a pigeon huddled in a corner out of the wind and pouring rain. I let that one stay.  I'm not totally heartless.

Obviously poor planning

Yesterday was "National Lasagna Day" and I ended up eating seafood at Paula's. Delicious of course but no way to celebrate the day. Today was "National Cheesecake Day" and I celebrated with a chocolate shake at Arby's.  Obviously poor planning again.  I heard on YV that The restaurant The Cheesecake Factory was giving away free pieces of cheesecake and that raises a question in my mind. In the city of Fort Wayne we have approximatelt one restaurant to every two people. that might be a slight exaggeration but we do have a lot of reataurants, most of them really good. So why, in this city where eating out is obviously one of our very fvorite activities why don't we have a Cheesecake Factory? It seems to me it would be a fine addition to our dining choices. Perhaps I should start a petition.

Happy trails to you

I attended the Fort Wayne Children's Choir summer concert this evening.  One of my granddaughters is in the group's Concert Choir and also played chimes. It was great to see her perform as part of the large group (300 plus when all of the choirs sang together) and to realize how far she has come in the last five years. Of course I always enjoy any of my grandchildren's musical performances but tonight was especially fun. The theme this year was The Wild, Wild West and they sang Red River Valley, The Wells Fargo Wagon, O! Susannah and many more old familiar tunes ending with Happy Trails to You.  Now that brought back some memories for sure. Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, on radio, later on TV always signing off singing Happy Trails to You. I couldn't help wondering though how much today's youth know about cowboys. Do they play cowboys and Indians (sorry, I know that's not PC but that's what we called it)?  We used to spin out fantastic adventures using our cap guns and bows and arrows. Ah sweet memories. By the way I usually played the Indian princess, one of the perks of being the oldes and the only girl.

Grandma cupid??

So on Tuesday I met a pretty young lady in the park who happens to be in my grandson's high school class. Today when I took him to school for marching band practice I told my grandson about this young lady who said she remembered him from freshman English two years ago. He seemed  mildly interested and I told him her first name which is all I know.  This evening he texted me to ask for her description again and began searching his old yearbook.  A few minutes ago he sent me a picture (isn't modern technology wonderful?) and I assured him that he has the right person.  His response was "Yes and cool". So maybe, just maybe this could be the start of a new romance.  A grandma can dream, right?

greeting old friends

I have been living in my apartment now for a little less thatn two years.  Recently, while searching through the closet I use for storage I found a box containing several pictures that I hadn't gotten around to hanging up yet. Today I decided that the time had come.  If I continued to procrastinate, trying to decide on the perfect places for the various pieces, I would never get them hung up. So I got out mj little hammer and collection of picture hooks and got busy. By the way, it really is a lovely little hammer, very girly, painted in a blue willow pattern, with matching screwdriver, but I digress.  I managed to hang eight pictures today, only eleven more items to go. Sadly I ran out of hooks, so it;s off to the hardware store tomorrow.  Happily I haven't run out of wall space yet. Everything on my walls has a story behind it like the prints my husband and I bought on our only trip to Hawaii and the beautiful cut paper designs my niece made for me one Christmas. IToday really has been a walk down memory lane.

Close encounters of the friendly kind

Today, because it was a glorious cool morning I decided to walk to my regular Tuesday morning tutoring session. It's a one mile walk and very pleasant.  When I got to her apartment I found my student outside waiting for me. so we sat on a bench for a while enjoying the sunshine. As we were talking a gaggle of cute highschool age girls walked by and one of them challenged me to a game of "rock, paper, scissors." I won three out of four rounds and she gave me a 'play it forward' card. I suspected it was some kind of church group but nothing more was said and they went cheerily on their way.  After the tutoring sesssion I walked home through a park that is on the way to my place. It was very quiet and shady and the ducks were having fun in the fountain pool, so I decided to sit on a bench and enjoy the day. It's something I can do since I'm retired. While I was sitting there, two attractive high school age girls walked up and asked if they could share my bench. They started chatting very pleasantly and we had a great conversation. It turned out that they were with the same church group that I had gotten the card from earlier and they were downtown doing some mission prohects. I'm not sure what they thought when they first sat down. Maybe they thought I was a homeless person?  We discovered that they go to the same highschool as two of my grandchildren and generally had a good fun conversation after which one of the young ladies asked if she could pray for me. Of course I said yes, assuming she meant later in her devotions or something. Nope, She had us stand up and hold hands right there in the park. She proceeded to pray for a good five minutes. I think this girl has the makings of a fine preacher some day. All in all it was a lovely, blessed interlude on a Tuesday morning. I'm so glad I decided to walk today.

tell an old joke day continued

An old man suddenly found himself walking along a beautiful country lane with his trusty old dog beside him. After a little time he realized he must be dead because this old dog had been dead for amny years. Deciding to enjoy the moment and see what happened, he and his dog kept walking along. Eventually they came to a fabulous gate beyond which the old man could see beautiful castles and golden streets.  This must be heaven he thought and he walked up to the gate where a nice looking man was waiting to greet him.  "Welcome" the man said, "Come right in." The man whistled to his dog and they stepped forward but the guard said, "Sorry, no dogs allowed." Well. having just been reunited with his dog the old man had no intention of leaving him behind so he said goodby and walked on.  By and by the man and his dog came to a split rail fence with a rustic looking gate. Again there was a person at the gate who welcomed the old man.  The man asked if his dog could come too and was told "Of course.  All pets are welcome here."  so the man and his dog walked in. He turned to this guard and said "Where am I?" "Why you're in Heaven of course." replied the guard. "It certainly feels like heaven." said the old man as he surveyed the beautiful rolling land, "but then what was that other place I passed that looked so fancy?" "That," replied the gate guard, "That was a test. Anyone who would leave his dog behind doesn't deserve to come to heaven."

one of my favorites

Tomorrow is "tell an old joke day" so this must be "tell an old joke day eve." Since I like jokes I decided to tell one tonight and one tomorrow. I hope no one finds this offensive.
Jesus was with his followers when a woman caught in adultery was brought to him.  The Pharasees, to test him, said "Master, what should we do with this woman who was caught in sin? Should she be stoned?" Jesus thought a while and then said "Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone."
Suddenly an old lady came out of the crowd, picked up a rock and threw it. Jesus looked at her and said "Mother, sometimes you make me so mad."

at the farmers market

Well I'm still trying to obey the president's urging to buy American. This morning I did my bit by shopping at the Farmers' Market. I actually even saw a few farmers there in among the food trucks and people selling jewelry and crafts (also made right here in the USA). I was good and kept my purchases to meat, vegetables and rasin bread.  It helps my self control when I realize that I have to walk a half mile home with whatever I buy. For supper tonight I had some of the fruits of my labor - an heirloom tomato, green beans and sausage. Yumm. The heirloom tomato was, as the farmer told me, ugly but good. I will definitely buy more the next time I go back. I only made it to the farmers' market twice last summer.  I'm trying for at least three times this summer. Some good habits take a while to develop.

love these special days

According to the news this morning, today is National Junk Food Day. While I didn't indulge in too much junk food (I did have one excellent cookie this evening) I certainly did my best to eat a lot of food. I had lunch with a couple of girlfriends at Casas today and then supper with other friends at Joseph Decius in Roanoke.  Both delicious meals, each enough for a full day of eating, but I won't dwell on that. What puzzles me this evening is how to pronounce Joseph Decuis. Well obviously the Joseph part is ease but Decuis?  I've heard DeKwees, Decuse, DQ, and Deceeius.  Ah well, I guess I'll just enjoy the food and let Joseph worry about how people pronounce his last name and he probably doesn't care as long as people keep coming and eating. Yumm!!

I may be slow....

but I do get there eventually.  I will readily admit that I am still a 20th century person. I approach technology with some caution. I have had to learn to do variousl processes on the computer because of previous jobs but it has taken me longer to appreciate my phone.  I clung to my flip phone for far longer than I should have, but, once I got my new phone I began to adapt.  I don't think my cell phone fits the definition of "smart phone" but it's clever enough for me.  I learned to love texting much more than I ever thought I would and have taken countless (well hundreds of) pictures with the built in camera. Occassionaly I even use it for phone calls. Lately I've taught myself two new tricks. A couple of months ago I decided to figure out how to set the alarm on my phone. Well that was easy. Today, are you ready for this?  I figured out how to use the calendar app. I'm not sure. Is it an app or a feature?  Anyway' like the alarm, it was easy, once I took the time to figure it out.  I think perhaps I'm reluctant to try these things because I remember old computer systems that were much mre complicated. Anyway, that's one more small step. If you catch a reference there to a famous walk on the moon that happened on this date 48 years ago that was deliberate. And speaking of technology, in July of 1969 my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by buying our first color TV, the better to watch Armstrong's walk on the moon. Of course, the moon shots all looked black and white, not mcuh color up there, but that TV was great for watching Saturday morning cartoons - the best color on TV at that time.

Hot Dogs anyone?

Today is National Hot Dog Day, and even more impressive, July is National Hot Dog Month.  I really like hot dogs, not so much for thenselves but because I have a source, or had a source, of really excellent relish.  When I was working at First Pres, we had a white elephant gift exchange every Christmas. One coworker makes this outstanding pickle relish and would bring a jar, along with some lottery tickets, as his gift for the exchange. I always watched to see what his wrapped gift looked like and would do everything possible to be the one who ended up with the relish.  One year I wasn't so lucky but when I walked into work the next day there was a jar of relish waiting on my desk. Last year, even though I was retired, I went back to work for four months, just long enough to be invited to the Christmas party, and yes, I got the relish one more time. Not sure what I'll do this year. Ah well, things have a way of working out. Maybe he'll sell me some. I've got to stop writing now, this is making me hungry. Happy Hot Dog Day!!!

an interesting study

I belong to a Women's Bible Study group at my church and over the last several months we've been studying the different ways that Jesus is portrayed in the Bible. It has been very interesting to realize how some writings emohasize his humanity while others stress his Godness. Tomorrow we will continue the discussion by looking at passages about Jesus in the gospels that didn't make the cut and were not included in either the Catholic or Protestant versions of the Bible. Our leader gave us copies of four of these non-canonical writings to read and they are fascinating. The Stories of the Childhood of the Lord by Thomas and the Gospel of Thomas which purports to contain the "secret sayings" of Jesus are both very interesting. Here's a saying I wonder about. According to Thomas, Jesus said "Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. {They} can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive." It sounds like a line from Star Wars to me. My favorite non-gospel though is "The Infancy Gospel of James." This writing adds a whole lot of details to the Christmas story as found in Matthew and Luke including explanations of how Joseph, who was an old man with grown sons, came to be Mary's husband (he won her in a lottery) and that she was 16 when Jesus was born. Should be an interesting discussion tomorrow.

Another special day

Today is World Emoji Day, in case you weren't aware. So, when you send texts or emails today add those cute and not so cute little characters. I would love to do that right here and now but sadly the program in which I type this blog doesn't contain the vast collection of emojis that I have on my phone. Ah well, I will have to do it this way :) :) :) :D  :(  :0  ;0  ;0 Ok, that's all I know.

patting myself on the back

Sometimes doing good for someone else turns out really well (from a purely selfish point of view).  Today in church we were visited by and heard the story of a seven person family who are refugees from Syria now living near Indianapolis.  Over the lasst 14 months our church has donated substancially to help with their resettlement here in the US.  They came to First Pres today to express their appreciation,  It was a really feelgood time in church  So that was my first feeling of doing good for the day.  I know I have donated at least in a small way to the support we sent.  Back in Syria, before their exile in Jordan they were leather workers for four generations. In order to support themselves they wanted to do leather work here. Much of the money our church contributed went to buying materials to get their business, MH Leathergoods up and going.  Having determined what sells here, they now make purses. Well, of course they brought along some of their product just in case anyone wanted to buy a purse. I suspect that it was the smell of leather that sucked me in, but I bought a really lovely, large bag suitable to use as a carry-on when I travel. So now, I'm feeling doubly virtious. After all, the purchase price helped to support this family, right? When I watched the news this evening I learned that President Trump has declared this "Made in America Week". So now I'm feeling triple proud of myself because the purse I bought was definitely made here in the US. I love doing good.

I haven't lost my touch

We had a family gathering today to celebrate four July birthdays and, by special request, I made my "family famous" spaghetti casserole. I hadn't made this for a long time but luckily I was able to dig out the recipe and the final result was quite tasty. What made it even better was that my daughter and son-in-law hosted the party. I love parties when I don't have to do the clean up. There are definitely some perks to being the matriarch of the family.

a miracle cure???

Wow, I'm not sure how this happened but I'm not complaining. For the last six nights the only way I've been able to connect my faithful old laptop to the internet was to plug in my ether net cord. Today I decided enough was enough and dug out my receipt from work previously done to solve the same problem. Sadly the 90 day guarantee expired two weeks ago. All afternoon I've been thinking dire thoughts about repairs or perhaps even buying a new computer. I don't know much about Artifcial Intelligence but I'm beginning to think my computer somehow read my thoughts because, when I turned it on and went to my email site it came right up. Very weird but I'll accept this little miracle as long as it lasts. I'll atop writing now before it quits again.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my anniversary. My husband and I would have been married 49 years today if he hadn't died 11 years ago. I'm not being maudlin. Even though we didn't quite make it to our 38th anniversary I still have many happy memories of those years we did celebrate together. Since we traveled every summer, most of my anniversayr memories are associated with trips we took.  I remember one memorble summer before children when we met up with firends on the East coasr to spend a week camping and visiting historic sites. We visited Plymouth Rock, searched for red thread in Hingham and paddled canoes by moomlight. One of my fond memories from that trip was watching my husband and my friend's husband put up a tent. This was not a modern twist, pop and you have a dome type tent.  No, this was a big, heavy army type tent that I think my friend's husband had used in the boy scouts. As I recall I actually filmed the process. Sadly, that home movie is lost in the mists of time. Ah well, perhaps it's better to just remember.

DeBrands wins!!

Of course we all know that DeBrands wins when it comes to chocolate but tonight they won the great bed race here in Fort Wayne. Great fun and all for a good cause. In this case all of the proceeds went to Mustard Seed to help them provide beds and bedding for children who need them. How nice.  Good job DeBrands. I might have to go buy some chocolate just to show my appreciation. I think that sounds like a fine idea, don't you?

Summer school was never like this.

I remember summer school. When I was in high schook I took two summer classes, typing - the closest I every came to getting a D in a class, and speed reading which I was assured would help me in college. It may have althugh deep down I really enjoy reading more slowly, savoring the words that the author worked so hard to string together. Anyway, one of my granddaughters, who will be a freshman this fall, is taking summer school. She's taking physical education. This three week, four hour a day concetrated PE class will allow her to take band and have a study hall her first year. Sounds like a great idea to me. However she will be getting quite a work out in two weeks. Her last week of PE coincides with her first week of band camp so. for one week,  from 9am to 1pm she will be swimming, running, and doing various exercises. Then from 3pm to 9pm she will be marching. This will make the last two weeks of band camp look easy, so I guess that's a good thing. No concers about this grandchild not getting enough exercise.

Please pass the coffee.

Well, here's some happy news.  Coffee is now good for you, at least for the moment. It evidently doesn't even matter if it's decaf or regular. Not only does it contain all kinds of good antioxidents and other good stuff it also, and I quote here, "reduces the risk of death, by 12% if you drink one cup a day, by 18% if you drink 2 or more cups a day." I heard these statistics twice in two different TV reports so they must be true. Maybe. if you drink 8-10 cups a day you could reduce your risk of death altogether. Once again people, I feel compelled to point out here that we all have a 100% chance of dying sooner or later. But in the meantime enjoy your coffee. Do you supposed Starbucks, or maybe Dunkin Donuts, funded this research? Oh, what a nasty, suspicious mind I have.

My favorite thing?

If not my very favorite ( I am fond of breathing), eating is certainly one of my favorite activities, especially when it;s indulged in with friends or family. Earlier this week I enjoyed a lovely dinner at my son's home and yesterday and today I shared meals in yummy restaurants with five close friends. Last night it was Don Hall's Gas House (always a favorite) and this morning we brunched at the Sunrise Cafe. Apart from the easy flowing converswation and comfortable silences I also enjoy being waited on, having my food brought to me ready to eat and knowing I don't have to do the dishes after. Eating is an activity that you can do sitting down (in Roman days they even reclined) with no expectation that you will exert more effort than it takes to cut meat and lift a fork to your mouth. Is there any wonder that I find this activity (or inactivity) so appealing? It definitly suits my lazy personality. Too bad I can't afford a live in chef.

New medical studies

Two new medical studies have recently come to my attention. A few days ago I read an AARP article stating that diet cola is very bad for you. I don't drink cola or use artificial sweetners so this one didn't bother me too much. However, today I read an article stating that eating French fries, or any fried potatoes, is bad for your health. Now that strikes closer to home. A while back I heard another report on TV that salt might not be as bad for us as was previously believed. I have a theory about salt and I wish someone would do a study. Perhaps I should. It seems to me that if you put plenty of salt on French fries those little salt crystals break up the fat the fries are cooked in and just wisks it out of your body. Doesn't that sound reasonable?

Well finally!!

A few months ago our office staff here at the apartment complex started distributing a monthly calendar. This is apparently the pre-formatted type that a company can subscribe to with lots of pre-ncluded information as well as space for announcemdnts spicific to our place.  One of the standard features is a monthly calendar that lists special 'days'. For some reason we haven't received a calendar for a couple of months but todsay there was one waiting on my front door/ Sadly I've already missed 'World UFO Day" on July 2 and 'Compliment Your Mirror Day" on July 3. Yesterday commemorated the day the bikini was invented in 1946. It was also my brother's birthday. he was born in 1947. He probably thinks that the bikini was invented just for his enjoyment. I think the last time I looked good in a bikini was in 1946. I was 2 years old.  I remember having a bikini in later years - it was lime green - I don't remember wearing it but I must have done so sometime. I will assunme I looked \hot\ in it and enjoy the knowledge that I always looked good to my husband.

Road Trip

Just got back from a 5 day road trip with two friends. We attended a 50th wedding anniversary party in Owego, New York, then toured the Corning Glass Museum (and massive gift ahop) in Corning, NY. From there we traveled north west to Niagara and enjoyed the falls and fireworks from the Canadian side. Then on to Niagara on  the Lake (Erie that is), a charming little historic town just a 25 minute drive on a beautiful parkway north of Niagara Falls. Driving along this quiet winding road was a real relief after the incredible traffic snarls on both sides of the border. We should have know that the 4th would be a busy time. Turns out Canada is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year. All in all a good fun time. Three of us made the trip  We only got lost once. On the way back to our motel after the anniversary party which was held at a private home way out in the rolling hills and woods. Easy to find in daylight with GPS but not so easy in the dark and fog without GPS. Oh well, you have to have one mis-adventure to know you;ve been traveling.