This isn't really funny but...

...I must admit this made me laugh.  A news story on TV earlier today caught my attention.  Killings are, sadly, not that uncommon in the Fort Wayne news but it is very unusual to hear of someone being killed with a machete.  According to the testimony of the accused killer, he killed his wife in anger because he suspected her of being unfaithful. He also said he 'accidentally' cut her in the neck with the machete. Ok, I can kind of imagine that, if you just happen to be carrying a machete, maybe aimlessly swinging it around, you might accidentally slice through someone's neck, but twice??? He did say he hit her twice. I don't think I'm an unusually suspicious person but he'd better hope I don't show up on his jury.

old interest, new hobby

I have decided to start weaving again.  I've been thinking about this for a long time.  When I was an art education major in college, weaving was one of my favorite art activities, and I created some really nice pieces, but a lack of looms and becoming a parent made it an activity that was tucked away for 'someday'. Last week a friend at church decided to start a summer knitting (and other crafts) program. People will meet one evening a week to crochet, knit or work on other fabric projects together - sort of the feel of an old time quilting bee, a chance for fun and mutual support.  As I thought about this idea, I realized I would enjoy being part of it.  I also realized that if I was thinking of crocheting or knitting it wouldn't be any fun at all. Both activities make me feel fumble-fingered and tense. So, knowing that I find weaving relaxing. or at least I used to, I decided to give it a try.  In case you're wondering where I'm at at this point, I ordered a 16" portable table loom.  It arrived yesterday from New Zealand and it is now spread over my livingroom floor, in pieces.  Assembly required, but first I needed to wax the various pieces of wood. This I have done.  I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow so I will assemble my loom then (I say confidently).  On Friday, Betty, who owns "The Little Shop of Spinning" which is located on the first floor of my apartment building, will help me put the warp on my loom.  Then, finally, I will be ready to start weaving. Don't panic. I don't expect to be weaving fast enough to innundate my friends and family with scarves and place mats for Christmas.

This is just sad

According to my nifty calendar, tomorrow is "Water a Flower Day".  I'm giving you advanced notice so you don't forget.  I mean, if you're only going to water a flower one day a year, it would be a shame to miss it and really hard on the flower.  I am not the greatest gardener in the world, not exactly black thumb class but pretty close, but even I know that you need to water flowers more than once a year.  I even water (wash off) my plastic flowers more than once a year.  This day may be my choice for most worthless 'day' on this calendar.  It even beats out "National Sea Monkey Day" which was last week.  I think I'll invent my on special day,  How about "start a new hobby day"?  But more about that tomorrow.

Memorial Day

I was reminded, by a comment on a news show this morning, that Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day.  I had forgotten about that, but I do remember hearing it referred to as Decoration Day when I was a child, and I remember flags and flowers being put on the graves of veterans.  As usual on Memorial Day, I take a moment to remember those who died in US military service. I also pray a sincere thank you that of all of my family members who have served in the military (ten that I'm aware of) none were ever killed in battle. I am, selfishly, especially thankful that my daughter and son-in-law have made it safely home from their various deployments.

bought on a whim

It didn't actually start out expensive.  I bought a light green, almost chartruse, 12 inch tall vase at our church's giant garage sale a few weeks ago.  I certainly didn't need a vase but it was only fifty cents and I like the color.  The day before Mother's Day I received a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers (lilys, tulips, etc.).  The flowers came with a clear glass vase but they looked really good, colorwise, in the green vase so I used it to display them.  After that bouquet wilted, which cut flowers must do inevitably, I was faced with this empty vase again.  Happily, I was at JoAnn's the other day shopping for something totally unrelated and I saw some bunches of artificial flowers in perfect colors to go in my vase.  So I bought them and now my 'cheap' vase is standing on the table on my balcony holding a lovely, virtually indestructable bouquet.  So now you know, I'm not too proud to use plastic flowers - if they look good. In September I may invest in some color compatible fall fake flowers.  Somehow this fifty cent vase is becoming a little pricey.  It reminds me of buying a pair of shoes and then needing to buy a whole new outfit to go with them - not that I would ever do anything like that.

Memorial Day weekend

I understand that Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summer.  It is certainly living up to its responsibilities this year with temperatures in the 80s and 90s.  Spring seems to have come late (remember how cold and nasty April was?) and sped by very quickly.  Mind you, I'm not complaining. I'll take summer heat over winter cold any time.  Splash pads are open in the city parks and pools are opening, flowers are in full bloom, leaves are full and lush on the trees (making it harder to spot the white plastic bag in the tree which is still there) the Indianapolis 500 will be run tomorrow and there is a new Star Wars movie out which I will be seeing soon.  Hooray for summer. unofficial or otherwise.

This left me wondering

According to my 'Old Farmer's Amanac' calendar, an average-size hummingbird has about 940 feathers. This statement has left me with more questions than answers.  First, who counted the hummingbird's feathers?  How did they get her to stand still long enough for the count?  How many hummingbirds did they count to get an average? How many feathers does an average-size robin have, or an eagle or a pigeon or a goose?  Do bigger birds have more feathers or just larger feathers? Has anyone ever made a quill pen out of a hummingbird feather? Who first decided that counting bird feathers would be an interesting thing to do? Do inquiring minds really want to know?

a recipe to try

Today, as on every fourth Thursday, I helped cooked lunch for anyone who wants to come into the church for lunch.  Generally these are low income and/or homeless people from the neighborhood around our church, Most times the lunch we serve consists of a casserole, salad and cookies.  Today was no exception, however today's casserole was very popular and one of the easiest we make.  Since we were cooking for 80 people, the quantities are probably more than you need so I will try my best to down size.  This is called "Tater Tot Casserole" and I have no idea who dreamed it up.  I suspect it was someone looking for anything in the kitchen that he or she could throw together for a quick supper that the kids would eat. Here's the recipe: brown 1 lb lean ground beef, drain and spread evenly in a flat casserole dish.  Sprinkle one package of dried onion soup mix over the meat. Spread about 2-3 cups of frozen mixed vegetables (we used peas and carrots) over the soup mix, then spread two cans of cream of mushroom soup over everything. Finally, cover everything with a layer of closely spaced tater tots.  Bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  The recipe actually said one and a half hours but I think that would be too long.  Check it after an hour.  You can cover with foil for the first half hour so the tots don;t get too brown.
This sounds weird but tastes really good, and once the meat is browned, it's super easy to make.  
Almost everyone we served came back for seconds and/or carry out containers and several said it was their favorite casserole.  High praise indeed.  Try it, you'll like it.

The Indianapolis 500

The race, the really big race. the Indianapois 500 will be held this weekend. It's always fun to watch but it does seem that is goes by very quickly these days.  About two and a half hours?  I remember, as a child, when the grownups were listening on the radio (you remember radio - television without pictures) the Indianapolis 500 seemed to go on for hours and hours.  It was an all day event. Just now, on the evening news, they showed a spin-off race - the tortoise race. No hares, just tortoises, dressed up in black and white checked shell covers.  Based on the pictures shown, that's a race that could still be an all day affair, a little like watching paint dry.  Cute, but trotoises will never replace weiner dogs for sheer racing excitement.  They're missing the floppy ears for one thing. There's nothing cuter than floppy-eared low flying doggies.

Congratulations, gradiate

I attended the eighth grade graduation ceremony and mass for my youngest grandchild this evening.  Hard to believe that my "stairstep" grandchildren - ages 17, 16, 15 and 14 (two sets of cousins) - will all be in highschool next year. One in each grade.  Which also means that, beginning next year, the family will be celebrating a highschool graduation each year, and then, possibly some overlapping college graduations.  And then, my mind spins on to daydream about weddings and great-grandchildren. There's no rush, you understand, but won't it be fun when it happens?

The Play's the Thing

We. the cast that is, of the play that I will be in in July had a first read through of the play this evening.  This play, called "My Dead Clown" won second place in a local competition and has had some national notice.  This will be the first production of the play and it's fun to be part of an original performance.  Naturally this first read through was pretty rough in spots but there were lots of funny lines (even some of mine) that got laughs from the cast.  I hope that translates into laughs from the audience in two months. It was also interesting to have the author sitting in on the reading.  Since the majority of the plays I have been in over the years were written by Shakespeare, I haven't had that experience before.  All in all rehearsing should be a fun time.  

Commercial Issues

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I do watch enough to find a couple of commercials very annoying.  In case you're wondering, I don't have cable, so, although I can access Netflix, most of the time I'm watching free TV, generally CBS, ABC and NBC which means I am exposed to commercials.  I can generally tune them out but, as I said there are two that I find really annoying. First, any commercial by Fred Grote.  I will never buy a car from that man because I really dislike being shouted at.  I automatically mute his commercials when they come on.
The other one is a commercial for Swiss Village, which I presume is a retirement community.  What bothers me about this commercial is the assumption it makes.  It starts with a sweet homemaker type lady, wearing an apron no less, asking her husband, as he sits down to dinner, what he did at Swiss Village that day. He replys to this question (after flashbacks of  a day full of apparently wonderful activities) "Nothing." with a sappy smile, and she smiles back at  him as if nothing could give her greater pleasure than the fact that he had a nice day while she was, evidently, cooking and cleaning.  What's wrong with this picture??? Where is her blissful retirement?
I can only hope she actually spent the day sipping wine and reading a good book, and the dinner she's serving him is from "Waiter on the Way."

After the wedding''

Looking for other exciting entertainment now that the royal wedding is over?  Here's something to try. My son stopped by for a while this evening while his daughter was in a Fort Wayne Children's Choir performance downtown.  While he was here he introduced me to a new (to me) show on UTube.  The show, which is filmed in short four to eight minute segments, is called "The Carbonaro Effect" and features a magician, Tom Carbonaro.  He sets up tricks, pulls in innocent passers by, and often convinces them, by very clever slight of hand tricks, that what they are seeing is true.  My favorite segment this evening involved an assistant in a science lab who became convinced that "crabs from outerspace" had turned into kittens.  Which doesn't sound that funny as I write this but which was pretty hilarious as I watched it. I guess you had to be there, and, hey, you can be.  Just tune in to this clever show. 

The Wedding of the Year

I'm pretty sure I'll be waking up early tomorrow morning to watch the royal wedding and I know I won't be alone.  Well, I will be alone, still in bed, watching on my bedroom TV, but you know what I mean.  The "whole world" will be watching. But I find myself wondering why I'm so intrigued with this wedding.  I don't know Megan and Harry, I'm not a British citizen, and I'm not all that interested in pagentry. But there is something so appealing about this marriage.  The couple are both very attractive people.  The 'commoner' (if a TV star counts as a commoner) is marrying her prince charming, and there it is.  It's all the romatic fairy tales of my youth come to life.  It's very satisfying to see the handsome prince marry his true love. Ah, romance.  Even at a distance it's very satisfying.  Enjoy the show people.

A bit of irony

I enjoy listening to Arby's commercials because I really like the voice of the narrator.  So I was listening earlier this week when one of their commercials promoted a Hawaiian sandwich which people could buy if they wanted to enjoy the flavors of Hawaii without traveling to Hawaii, in case they had a fear of "the unlikely eruption of a volcano."  Well, the 'unlikey' has happened and there is a lot of lava flowing and gas and ash in the air on the big island.  Giving Arby's credit for some sensitivity, I have not heard that particular commercial since the volcanic eruption became serious. Yet another reason I'm glad I live in plain old Indiana, although I will admit, that, with all the traveling I've done, Maui was the only place I've ever visited that I really, really didn't want to leave.  Aloha. Although I will admit Fiji ran a close second. Bulah.

Winding down, continued

Not all winding down goes quite as planned. As i mentioned yesterday, today was my last day of babysitting for MOPS until next fall.  It didn't go quite as I anticipated.  When I got to the church building, one of my favorite little girls was just ready to get on the elevator with her mom and baby brother so we rode up together.  As we walked to the meeting room, Gracy's mom mentioned that Gracy (age 3) hadn't wanted to eat breakfast this morning but she did eat a little.  I enjoy taking care of Gracy because she loves to be read to, and so we settled into the big rocking chair in the play room and I read her a story. Sadly, about ten minutes into this exercise, Gracy threw up all over herself, me and the rug. I hollered for help from the other sitters, we cleaned up as best we could, got Gracy's mom and sent them home.  Then, since even after some sponging off my jeans were quite wiffy, the other sitters suggested rather strongly that I might want to go home and change.  There were three other sitters there for nine children, so I didn't feel that I was leaving them under staffed. And so ended MOPS for me for this year. How anticlimactic.

Things are Winding Down

I am retired.  People who have been retired for any length of time know that retirement leads to a variety of volunteer opportunities.  In my case much of my volunteer work is tied to the school year.  I tutor a third grader - those sessions ended for the year yesterday.  I also babysit for a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group and tomorrow is their last meeting til fall.  They will not be meeting during the summer because many of them have older children who will be out of school for the summer.  Next Tuesday, when my youngest grandchild graduates from eighth grade, will be the last day that I ever need to pick up a grandchild after school (at least on a regular basis).  While I do enjoy the volunteer work that I do, I must admit that I am looking forward to some "time off."  I guess I've never really outgrown the thrill of summer vacation. It's a time to play and I'm going to be in a play so I guess that's appropriate.  Hooray for summer!!!

It must be true...

after all, I read it in my "Old Farmers Almanac" calendar.  Did you know that "male cats tend to be left-pawed, while female cats are often right-pawed?" I had no idea.  In my adult life (we won't count the numerous barn cats in my childhood) I have shared house space with five cats; not all at the same time.  Buckeye, Olympia, Athena, Claire and Frances were all females. I must admit that I never really noticed if they were right or left pawed.  I'm not even sure how a person would tell. It's not like they eat with a fork or write notes in cursive. I do remember one dramatic catch by Athena when a sparrow got in the house.  While I was running to open a door and coax it out, Athena leaped straight up in the air and caught and killed that bird; all in less time than it takes to tell.  I really don't know, though, if she struck with her right paw first.  And now I'm wondering, do they mean right-front-pawed or right-back-pawed or both?  While I am mildly curious about this whole question. I am absolutely not curious enough to go out and adopt another cat.

final report on the auction

I'm not sure why I'm so intrigued with the recent auction of the Rockefeller estate.  I guess I'm just in awe of the sheer numbers involved.  The total raised for charity was $832,000,000.00.  I applaud the Rockefeller family for donating so much to charity, while marveling at how many bidders (individuals and corporations, I'm sure) could afford to bid on the 1500 items that were sold.  Who has the money to plunk down $165,000,000.00 for a Picasso or $85,000,000.00 for a Monet?  It's not that I envy their ability to buy items in this price range, I would just like to become best friends with some of these people.  According to the report I heard, one of the least expensive items sold was a money clip which went for a mere $75,000.00.  Still way, way out of my price range.  But what if I won the lottery?  Nope, much as I love art, I don't think I could spend millions on a work of art.  I enjoy other things - like eating.

Art and Music

I attended the "Pictures at an Exhibition" performance by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic this evening.  The music was excellent, as always, but the total experience left me a little dissatisfied.  The first half of the program consisted or two works, "La Valse" by Ravel and "Tam o'Shanter: Symphonic Ballade" by Chadwick.  Both were beautiful but I particularly liked "La Valse."  After the intermission the orchestra performed "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Mussorgsky.  What made this part of the show unique was the addition of an artist on stage painting a picture while the orchestra played.  The artist and canvas were projected on a large overhead screen so we could watch as the painting developed from abstract forms to a well done, somewhat impressionistic pictures of a conductor and some members of the orchestra.  The artist, Theopolis Smith III, really did an excellent job.  My problem was that I got so involved in watching the picture evolve that I wasn't really listening to the music.  Sometimes I just needed to close my eyes to appreciate the music.  I think from now on I would like to keep my visual arts and music separate.

yet another sign of spring

Here's the final proof that spring is here.  The music festival season has begun.  I bet you thought I was going to mention the road construction season.  That is definitely upon us also but in the evenings it's the festival season that I notice.  Right now there is loud and raucous, but mildly entertaining, music drifting in my windows from the big pavilion across the street.  This weekend it is the "Music Festival" but soon we will have "Germanfest," "The Three Rivers Festival," and many other ethnic festivals.  Except for the "Three Rivers Festival," these are all only weekend (two or three night) events.  They are also very good about shutting down promptly at midnight. Since I seldom fall asleep before 12:30am, the noise (woops, I mean music) really doesn't bother me. I've even been known to walk over and attend the concerts from time to time.  I particularly like "Germanfest." Dark beer and fun music. Hooray for spring!

It all looked so serene...

I was standing on my balcony yesterday morning enjoying the early sun light, the new growth light green leaves on the trees lining the river and two geese floating together slowly down the river.  All very serene as I said, until another goose showed up and tried to join the twosome.  The female goose didn't seem to mind but her partner wasn't having any of it. Suddenly the river, and the air space low over the river, was full of flapping wings, loud squawks and honks, and what looked like vicious nips and jabs.  I did not know that geese can fly backwards while doing a strange 'moon walk' with their floppy webbed feet.  There was a lot of action there on the river for a few minutes.  When I checked on the female she was still floating on down the river checking out possible nesting sites and blithely ignoring all the fuss.  Eventually, one goose flew away, the winner came back to travel on down the river with the female and all was calm again.  If all goes well, I'll see goslings on the river in a month or so. I love spring.

going to extremes

I have a friend who sells antiques.  She tells me that young  people these days simply don't want the beautiful old dishes and other objects that their parents have accumulated over the years so they sell them off.  It must be true, regardless of your socioeconomic class.  This morning they reported on TV about the Rockefeller children auctioning off their parents' amazing art collection.  I guess they just don't want a bunch of old paintings hanging around.  Unlike the antiques found in our local little shops, these actually seemed to be desirable at least to some.  The auction yesterday only involved part of the family's collection - the Impressionist paintings.  They sold a Matisse, a Monet, a Picasso and many more for record amounts. One painting went for over $70,000,000.00. Total sales came to over $646,000,000.00 with more to be sold tomorrow.  Happily, all of the proceeds will be donated to charity.  I must admit that I enjoyed hearing about this sale.  I find it very hard to imagine having millions to invest in great art but it's fun to dream.

sweet memory

I had lunch today at the food court at the mall. A young friend of mine has just started working there and we had lunch together before her shift started.  I had a tasty, and fairly healthy lunch of pasta and a tomato and cucumber salad, and was going to make do with water to drink when I saw that they served frozen Cokes.  This is one drink I can't resist and my addiction goes back 50 years.  50 years ago this coming July, my husband and I spent part of our honeymoon at the Hemisfair in San Antonio, Texas.  It was so exciting.  The River Walk was brand new and there were all kinds of fascinating exhibits, excellent restaurants, fun rides, and, wonder of wonders, an amazing new drink - frozen Coke.  Delicious at any time, this drink was absolutely amazing on a hot July day in Texas. Ever since, summer or winter, if I pass a frozen Coke machine I feel compelled to buy one.  So sweet, so icy cold.  Luckily, I don't eat fast food very often so I only average one or two of these yummy drinks a year. Probably this makes them taste all the sweeter.  This is one addiction I don't  plan to fight.

I know I have gray hair but really????

Every Monday afternoon I tutor a 3rd grade boy in math and reading as part of a one-on-one tutoring program run by Fort Wayne Community Schools.  We usually have a pretty good conversation while he's eating his snack, before we start work.  Ordinarily I enjoy these little exchanges but this one left me wondering.  A couple of weeks ago we were talking about age and my student asked me how old I was.  I told him "I'm 73 years old.  I know that probably seems really old to you."  to which he replied, leaning close and gently patting my arm, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I think you look about a hundred."  Ouch!!! Ouch!!! Ouch!!!  I just laughed it off, didn't smack him or anything, but, wow, what a blow to the ego.  
Thinking about it later, I remembered several teachers in my life (probably in their 40s and 50s) who seemed positively ancient to me. I don't remember actually ever telling any of them that they looked old but I thought it.  I guess what goes around, comes around. 

Cheers for the Fort Wayne Children's Choir

I attended the Fort Wayne Children's Choir spring concert this afternoon.  My granddaughter has sung with the choir for five years now but this may have been her last performance with them. She's an excellent singer but will be going into high school in the fall and has to decide on her priorities. Tough choices.
The program today was really excellent.  It was performed on the big stage at Auer Performance Hall at IPFW (sorry, PFW) and using this really large stage allowed them to present their program in a different way.  In the past these programs have been structured in the typical way, with the youngest children performing first, usually a set of four songs, and then working up the age groups, with delays while one group left the stage and the next came on. Today, however, they used several different areas around and above the stage.  While one group was performing in the tightly focused spotlight, other groups would be arranging themselves on the other side of the stage for the next song.  They also mixed up the order in which the groups performed and it was very nice. The performance flowed smoothly from one song to the next without any down time. It really was beautifully done and I hope they continue with this new format.  Good job, FWCC.

Flat Stanley

Three weeks ago I wrote about the Flat Stanley paper doll that my great niece had sent to me from Spokane with the request that I take some pictures of him in various situations and send them back to my niece's teacher.  Well, three weeks and many pictures later the project is finished and ready to mail back to Spokane.  You would be amazed how many people are happy to have their pictures taken with a little paper doll. What started as a small project has morphed into a 48 page picture book. It was a lot of fun to do.  I hope my niece and her teacher enjoy it.  Here's one of my favorite pictures of this strange little guy.  He was "helping me" make cornbread.  

An engineering marvel...

Yes, I'm talking about that stupid plastic bag stuck in the tree again.  I stood on my balcony today watching as the wind whipped that little bag back and forth and all around. I was pretty sure today would be the day I saw it blow away. But no, it's still hanging in there, snagged on a tiny branch at least 30-40 feet off the ground. I really can't imagine why or how it has hung on so long (at least 10 weeks) but it surely is a testament to the toughness of those plastic grocery bags, not to mention the toughness of the tree branch.  Would anyone like to place a bet on how long it hangs in there?  Will it ultimately blow away or be turned into a bird's nest.  Only time will tell.

Another calendar inspired flashback...

According to my calendar, today is "Two Different Colored Shoes Days." When I read that I was immediately reminded of the last, and only, day I wore two different color shoes.  I had agreed to be a bus chaperone for my daughter and other junior high band members when they traveled to an out of town competition one Saturday.  This happened in about 1985 but it's still vivid in my memory. For some reason, we were in a rush to get to the bus on time.  I dressed in a hurry and we made it to the bus on time.  I t was a dressy occasion so I was wearing hose and heels. As we were riding on the bus, on our way to the day long competition, and much too late to do anything about it, a little girl sitting across the aisle from me said sweetly "Mrs. Foltz, why are you wearing two different color shoes?" I looked at my feet and sure enough, in my haste, and without turning on the closet light, I had stepped into one brown and one navy blue similarly styled pumps. So there I was, for the whole long day, wearing two different color shoes.  To give her credit, my dear, usually very vocal daughter, didn't tease (at least til we got home) and tried to reassure me that no one had noticed anything. Years later I realize she was probably right.  I don't spend much time looking at other people's shoes, but that day I was so self conscious, I remember not moving from my bleacher seat more than absolutely necessary and keeping one foot tucked behind the other. Such a silly trauma at the time.

How did we survive?

I have been loving the warm days lately, especially the last two that had highs in the eighties.  Unfortunately my car airconditioner doesn't seem to want to wake up after its long winter's nap.  I am taking it in to the dealership tomorrow to get it fixed but, while driving around town today with my windows open, I was reminded of my honeymoon.  My husband and I chose to honeymoon in Texas, specifically in the "Big Bend" area, in July.  Hot! Hot! Hot! We were driving a 1965 (new to us) yellow and white Dodge Rambler.  A very nice car but not equiped with airconditioning.  I remember driving across Texas - a long, long drive - with our windows wide open for any breeze we could catch.  We also had wet face cloths that we held against our faces and necks. Altogether an interesting journey and a bit of a test of our newly wed status.  Happily we survived, our next car had airconditioning, and we stayed married for almost 38 years. While I cherish the memories, I will have my airconditioning fixed tomorrow.

May Day, Lei Day

Hooray! Hooray! It's the first day of May.  I'm sure you know that this is May Day but did you know that in Hawaii May 1st is celebrated as Lei Day. According to my calendar source, popular flower choices for Leis include carnations, ginger, jasmine, kika (no idea what that is) and orchid.  I have visited Hawaii twice but have never received a lei while I was there.  However, when I was in Fiji in February, we were greeted with beautiful leis at the airport. I am going to include a picture in this post in honor of the day.  I don't actually know if this is Lei Day in Fiji, but if not It should be.  Happy May Lei Day everyone.