patriotic music

A friend and I attended a patriotic concert this evening.  It was performed by the Imaculate Conception Cathedral Choir and the Cathedral Brass Quintet and a pianist/organist who is a friend of mine.  It was performed at the Cathedral which is a grand old church.  It was a beautiful concert but what I really appreciated the most was the chance to sing along.  The Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, My Country 'Tis of Thee, and God of Our Fathers were all sung by the audience and choir.  It was beautiful and brought back some wonderful memories.  I attended a small Lutheran elementary school and was blessed with a 7th & 8th grade teacher who was a fine musician.  (On the weekends he was the choir director and organist for our church).  I remember singing all of these songs during our class music lessons, often while we were up and marching around the room.  I know our country isn't perfect.  It is, after all, populated by human beings, but it was a real pleasure to unashamedly sing out these wonderful songs. It is OK to hope and pray for the best we can be.

A Whale of a Tale

Actually it was more like a whale's tail.  Three times each summer our church holds one day camps which are our version of Vacation Bible School.  Today was the first one for this year.  I volunteered to help and it turned out to be a fun day. The theme today was science and in the afternoon the campers (ages 4-10) contructed small catapults and balloon powered race cars with which they later competed in car races and marshmallow tosses.  They also mixed oil, water, food coloring and Alka Seltzer tablets to create tornados in little bottles.  This was the experiment I helped with and the kids were fascinated.  Me too.  The morning activity was the big hit of the day though.  Pastor Bill had invited a naturalist from the New England area to come and present a program on whales.  I understand that she presented the same program at the library this afternoon. She has been studying whales for over 20 years and did an excellent job of teaching the kids about whales.  They asked lots of questions which is always a good sign.  Did you know that every whale has distinctive tail markings?  No two are alike.  The highlight was her lifesize inflatible whale, with markings copied from one of her favorite real whales named Nile (like the river).  The whale took up about half the length of the large room we were meeting in, and after it was fully inflated, she took the children inside in small groups.  I did not go inside.  As a friend said, there was no problem with crawling in and sitting down, but getting up and out again would not be a pretty sight.  All in all it was a fun, fascinating day and the kids had fun too.

Adding to the list

Yesterday I wrote about things I never plan to do, including Goat Yoga.  Today I am adding two more things to the list.  These are both based on recently heard news reports.  First of all, I will never raise chickens, free range or otherwise, in my back yard, or on my balcony for that matter. Once chickens get to be a week old they are not cute, fluffy little chicks any more. Having watched my parents raise chickens (1500 at a time) I know whereof I speak.  Secondly, I do not plan to take up Ax Throwing.  There are actually two places in Fort Wayne now where you can take Ax Throwing lessons.  All I need to do is to think back to my attempt to throw a boomerang during my recent trip to Australia.  My boomerang did not fly up and around and gracefully return to me.  Instead, it landed with a tired little thud only about 20 feet from me.  Therefore, I have an experienced based fear that if I tried to throw an ax at a target somewhere across the room i would be much more likely to end up flinging it in the path of another participant.  It would be just too embarassing to injure someone else or chop off my own foot.  In case you're wondering what I will do with all my free time, never fear, I plan to do safe things like read a good book or write this silly blog.

an addition to my list

Over the last months I have mentioned a few things on my un-bucket or "I will never do that list." Sky diving and bungee jumping still head the list but I heard of another activity today that I am definitely adding.  Evidently Goat Yoga is a new, very popular activity. They showed a clip on TV this evening of people in a field doing Yoga while goats apparently stood around watching. From time to time I have considered taking a Yoga class.  I think it is probably very good exercise, but with goats??  Do you ride the goats, or practice your positions while leaning over a goat?  I have met a few goats in my time (my brother and sister-in-law raise goats) and have spent some time, though not a lot, in goat pastures.  Believe me, if I ever have the urge to exercise, I would much rather spread my yoga mat on a nice clean hardwood floor somewhere than in a grassy, scratchy, smelly pasture.  But perhaps I just don't appreciate the wonders of Goat Yoga in the great outdoors.

Midsummer's Eve

According to my Old Farmer's Almanac, today, June 23, is Midsummer's Eve.  I'm not sure why that should be since June 21 was the first day of summer but if the OFS says it, it must be true.  Midsummer? I hope that doesn't mean that summer is half over.  
I really wanted to follow the directions included on the calendar page.  It said "As a precaution to ward off witches and bad luck, folklore suggests that you throw herbs and salt into a bonfire on Midsummer's Eve."  My problem is where to build a bonfire.  The ground around here is pretty soggy.  I considered my balcony but remembered that my lease says I'm not even supposed to have burning candles in the apartment.  Of course it doesn't specifically say anything about bonfires.  Ah well, maybe I can build a bonfire next year.  I wonder which kind of herbs work best? And salt?  Does it have to be iodized salt or will any salt do?  And how much salt and how many herbs?  I'd better get some specifics before I try this.  Happily, I don't seem to be threatened by witches or bad luck just now.

"Send in the Clowns"

I saw an excellent production of "A Little Night Music" at the Arena Dinner Theater this evening.  I had never seen this particular musical by Stephen Sondheim before and I really enjoyed it.  The singers/actors had excellent voices and the live instrumental music was beautiful.  The setting of this multilayered and sometimes silly love story was "the turn of the last century in Sweden" and the costuming was outstanding.  I applaud the cast and director for not playing this with fake Swedish accents.  I have always loved the song "Send in the Clowns"  and it was a real joy to hear it as it occurs in the story.  I don't think it will spoil the ending to tell you they all lived happily ever after.

Summer Time

It's officially summer time now.  Today was the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year.  Actually it's the day with the most daylight.  Every day has 24 hours, give or take a stray second every few years or so. According to the weather person, daylight lasted for 15 hours and 8 minutes today.  Of course it rained almost all day so it was a little hard to tell.  Coincidentally, Greek Fest also started today. Their music was a little muted but I'm sure, as we dry out, they will ramp it up.  I have no strong feelings about Greek music, but I know I will make my way to the festival sometime this weekend because I must have some Baklava.  If you've never had this flaky, honey flavored, 1000 calorie a bite, heavenly pastry, I highly recommend it. Happy summer! Happy eating!

Here's an idea ...

...for your bedtime snack.  Or, if it's too late for that, think about having ice cream for breakfast.  Today is "Ice Cream Soda Day," which I think is a day worthy of being honored.  When I was a child we could still get real ice cream sodas at the counter in our small town drug store.  It was also the place to buy comic books and inexpensive makeup, but that's a different story.  As a youth my favorite flavor was chocolate but when I grew up I married a man who had a fondness for A&W Root Beer, and I quickly discovered the joy of root beer floats.  These, of course, had to be served in the frosty cold mugs.  I still have a couple of those mugs somewhere.  While we were dating and still in college my soon to be spouse introduced me to the wonders of Lime O's, a lime soda and vanilla ice cream combination that was delicious, especially on a hot day.  Actually, my future husband and I were set up on a blind date, and our first date ever was at the sweet shop drinking Lime O's.  Sadly, as I sit here writing this, all I have in my freezer is plain vanilla ice cream, no soda to go with it.  Ah well, I will just have to make do.

a fermentation minor and more

Three interesting items in the news recently about the newly re-organized Purdue University, Fort Wayne.  First, they have kept the mastodon as their mascot.  It has been redrawn to look a little fiercer but it is still a mastodon.  I think that's fine.  I can't imagine anyone finding anything politically incorrect about a pre-historic mascot.  
Secondly, our local Purdue campus has decided that there will no longer be a homecoming king and queen.  Instead, as I understand it, there will simply be homecoming royalty.  I don't have any problem with that but I wonder how flexible they will be regarding the contestants.  Perhaps, next year there will be a Homecoming Puppy or maybe even a Homecoming Mastodon?  
Third, and this is so exciting, they are introducing a new minor at the school.  It is a minor in fermentation.  Students can learn to make their own beer!  I envision this becoming a very popular minor.  There was a mention in the news report that if the subject of fermentation becomes popular enough they will make it a major instead of a minor.  Count on it.

"The Proposal"

I guess in this age of instant gratification it was inevitable.  It evidently wasn't fast enough to watch the 'bachelor' or 'bachelorette' fall "in love" in a matter of weeks.  Now, in a new TV program that aired this evening, you can watch someone fall in love and propose within the confines of a one hour show.  This week 10 lovely ladies paraded in front of the man seeking love, (who was out of sight for most of the show) answered penetrating questions like "How do you like to spend Sunday mornings?" and modeled swimsuits and other cute outfits. Next week, according to the preview, men will compete, and one will be selected by a woman seeking love.  My first reaction was that this is totally rediculous.  No one can know, that quickly, that this is the person for them.  On the other hand, arranged marriages are as old as time, and a lot of those work out well so who knows.  I do hope they have a follow up show next year to let us know which marriages succeeded, or even who actually got married. In the meantime, the show is good for a laugh.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there.  I hope it has been a good day for you. It was certainly fun for me.  Three important fathers in my life - a brother, a son and a friend - had no plans for today because of other family members being out of town, so I had them over for 'slunch'.  That's what I call a 2pm meal.  It's too late for lunch but early for supper so slunch, unless you prefer lupper. Anyway, we ate our meal at 2:00 in the afternoon.  In celebration of Father's Day, I made a casserole that used to be my husband's favorite.  It's a spaghetti casserole made with ground beef, mushrooms, onions, mushroom soup, and lots of grated cheddar cheese.  I'm happy to report that it tasted just as good as I remembered.  Each of my guests had seconds (always a good sign) and each of them took another helping home with them.  Another good sign and also a good thing. Otherwise I would have had a lot of leftovers.  It's a big recipe.  We finished off the afternoon with a game of Scatagories at which my son thoroughly trounced the rest of us. Good food and good fun.  Hope your Father's Day was also a winner.

Is it July already?

Now I know the summer season is truly upon us.  Three festivals in the last three weeks were good clues but this evening it was confirmed beyond all doubt.  Just a little while ago, I was treated to a 20 minute fireworks display that was really quite lovely.  I had a perfect view from my balcony.  I'm not sure what the fireworks were in honor of but I suspect it was the finale of Rib Fest.  By the end of July, I will probably not be so excited by the sparkles in the sky but, for now, I will enjoy them whenever they occur. Hooray for summer!!!

Rib Fest

I went to Rib Fest with a friend this afternoon.  The ribs I had were very good. Falling off the bone done, which is how I like them, but I have mixed feelings about this festival.  First. as you walk down the 'avenue' of booths it is very hard to decide what looks best.  They all claim to be prize winners with impressive exhibits of trophys to prove it. I've been to Rib Fest three times over the last few years, tried a different booth each time and really can't tell you which was best.  Second, the prices seem really high to me, but festival food often is high priced so I really can't fault them for that. Third, while I know the rib grillers can't control the weather, it was hot, even in the covered picnic area. The music (canned while we were there) was nice, old-time rock, but played so loudly that it was hard to have any kind of conversation.  Bottom line, while the food was good, I would rather go to one of the local restaurants where I can get equally good ribs and eat them in airconditioned comfort.  

Happy Flag Day

Happy Flag Day everyone.  I saw a very pretty display of flags in front of the courthouse today.  Here's a fun fact from my Farmer's Almanac calendar.  When our country's flag was first adopted in 1777 it had 13 stripes, alternating red and white, and 13 white stars on a field of blue, representing the original 13 states.  I know you knew that part, but did you know that in 1795, when two more states joined the union, the flag was redesigned with 15 stars and 15 stripes?  The original plan was to add a stripe and a star for every new state.  I'm wondering how they envisioned the evolving flag. Would the stripes have gotten skinnier and skinnier as more states were added? A pin striped flag? Or did they consider making the stripes vertical and adding a new stripe to the end of the flag when each new state was added?  I'm picturing a very long flag.  Happily, for the sake of the size and shape of our flag, Congress decided, in 1818, to keep the original 13 stripes, and simply add a new star for each new state. So now you know.

A Double Feature!

When was the last time you saw a double feature, two movies, one after another?  I don't mean binge watching a TV series, but actually sitting in a movie theater and watching two movies, one right after the other.  I remember them being a fairly common event when I was a child but not these days.  However this evening my son and I enjoyed this rare experience.  His family is out of town and I was curious to see these movies.  We went out to Jefferson Point and saw the original 2004 "Incredibles" (one of my son's favorite movies).  Then we saw the brand new, just released "Incredibles 2".  I had never seen either of these movies before but I did think they were very good.  They are cartoons, but very definitly enjoyable for all ages.  Both movies were action packed adventures with lots of chase scenes, explosions, sight gags and funny lines. The special effects were great especially since we saw the shows in IMAX.  I had a great time at the movies tonight.

Is it a cat? Is it a bird?

I have new neighbors in the apartment to the west of mine, the next balcony over.  This morning, as I, a little blurry eyed, walked out on my balcony to enjoy the early morning fresh air, I saw what looked like an owl perched on their balcony railing facing away from me.  As I watched, I began to think it looked more like a cat sitting there, shoulders hunched, ears perked up, balanced on the railing. I quietly slipped back into my apartment, not wanting to startle what ever was sitting there. I wasn't really worried about an owl, they can fly after all, but I certainly didn't want to be responsible for a cat taking a nose dive off a 10th floor balcony railing. A little later in the morning I went back out, wearing my glasses this time, to enjoy a cup of tea, and noticed that the cat/bird was still there. It hadn't moved at all.  Ok, I may be a little slow but I do get there eventually.  It finally dawned on me that the thing perched on the neighbor's balcony is an owl shaped "scarecrow" presumably perched there to keep pigeons off their balcony.  Does that make it a "scarepigeon"? I've only had one pigeon land on my balcony in the three years I've lived here, and that was to take shelter during a torrential downpour.  I didn't chase it away.  It left on it's own when the rain stopped.  I guess I won't be investing in a "scarepigeon" any time soon.

Cotton Candy

Today, Monday, June 11, according to my nifty calendar, is National Cotton Candy Day.  I have a friend who is very fond of cotton candy and I'm sure she will appreciate knowing about a national holiday dedicated to the frothy, sticky, sweet treat. I've always thought that the fun thing about cotton candy is how it justs melts away in your mouth.  My mother claimed that I liked food that could be swallowed with little or no chewing.  She said that, as a child, I liked peas because they just rolled down my throat. She might have been right.  I do have a fondness for pudding, ice cream and Jello.  But back to cotton candy.  Sadly, the really good stuff isn't readily available, unless you go to a ball game or festival.  Happily, the elusive candy is a really good excuse, if you need one, to go to a ball game or festival, and better yet we have such activities available right here in Fort Wayne. The next festival I'll be attending is Rib Fest later this week.  Hmmm, ribs and cotton candy.  I'll have to think about that. Sounds like a really sticky combination.  

Don't fool with perfection

I had lunch with my son today, just the two of us because his family is out of town. This is a rare but fun experience.  We decided to go to Casa's, a local marvelous Italian reataurant because neither of us had been there for quite a while.  We shared a small chop-chop salad (one of my favorite salads) and for my entree I tried a new dish, Steak Palermo.  For many years my favorite dish at Casa's has been Chicken Palermo, which is a little surprising because I usually don't order chicken in restaurants.  Today I decided to try the steak variation.  It was good, with the same sauce as used on the chicken version, but for some reason it just wasn't as good as when it's prepared with chicken.  Happily, the chicken dish is still on the menu.  I know what I'll order next time.  Chefs should not fiddle with perfection.

not the race I was planning to see

Sadly, I wasn't able to see the Weiner Dog races today.  This is always one of my favorite parts of German Fest, but it was postponed today because of weather, and I couldn't go back at the later time.  However, I did watch the televised Belmont Stakes later this afternoon. Very exciting and we have another Triple Crown winner. However, those sleek, elegant, powerful horses just can't compete with low flying, floppy-eared Daschunds for sheer cute. Ah well, there's always next year.

German Fest

It's German Fest time.  I know it's true because all day today I've been hearing Polka music, and earlier this evening some friends and I strolled over to the festival and enjoyed some tasty German food. I had a hotdog with sauerkraut, German potato salad, and cherry kuchen.  I also had my annual glass (ok, glass and a half) of good dark beer.  It was all really good, and it was interesting to see the variety of people there.  Babies, teens, middle agers and, yes, a good showing of snow-capped seniors were all well represented.  But the final touch, the assurance that German Fest is really in full swing occurred just a little while ago as I stood on my balcony and listened to the band playing "Roll out the Barrel." Now it's really official.

Now that's the way to use the word.

NASA announced today that the Mars rover, that has been rolling around on Mars for, I think they said, six years, has made an interesting discovery.  It seems that some of the material it scooped up from a particular dry lake bed, is organic, indicating that there has been or maybe still is life  on Mars.  Now, that's the way to use the word 'organic'.  Thank you, NASA.

The Word du Jour

Have you noticed how some words suddenly seem to become frequently, not to say over, used in new ways?  Over the last few years we've learned to 'utilize' things (what's wrong with 'use'?), listened as people started every sentence with 'so', or, better yet 'you know'; even better in combination as in 'like, you know'. More recently so many things have attempted to become 'transparent' that I feel like I'm surrounded by windows.  Today I was reminded of a new word that seems to be coming into fashion. The hosts of the upcoming Tony awards were being interviewed and one of the two said that their (the hosts') relationship as friends was 'organic'. It made me realize that I've heard this word several times recently, generally referring to relationships of some sort.  I always thought 'organic' had to do with the physical aspect of living things, but evidently it now covers feelings as well. Listen for it.

Let's hear it for the library

I have long been a fan of the Allen County Public Library.  From a very early age I was thrilled by the idea of being able to take home free books to read.  In my earliest memories, the librarian at the branch library in Woodburn was, to my young eyes, a very old lady who remembered my father as a young teen checking out books. As she told it, he read "every book in the library." Of course, the library was much smaller then.  Now, wonder of wonders, while I still enjoy physically visiting the library - I still enjoy paper pages - I wouldn't need to actually ever go there. I can download books on line and renew all of my checkouts on line, all from the comfort of my sofa.  On the other hand, if I walk to and through the downtown library and back to my apartment I've walked over two miles which is really good exercise.  But my real love at the library these days is their collection of large print books. It's not that I can't read small print but I can read a lot longer when I'm not straining my eyes to read the fine print.  I'm obviously not the only one who appreciates this library feature.  The rows and rows of large print books reassure me that I am not alone. Thank you ACPL.

weave on

I'm almost finished with the first project of my "new" hobby of weaving. I should be ready to take it off the loom tomorrow.  That will be the big test.  If it holds together I'm a success.  I was describing the scarf to my daughter earlier today and she wants it for Christmas, so I guess you could say I've already started my Christmas shopping, I did have to shop for the yarn after all.  This evening I attended the first gathering of a newly formed yarn group at my church.  I felt a little self-conscious carrying in my loom when everyone else had knitting or crocheting projects with them, but everyone seemed very interested in what I was doing and we all had a really good time. Now my challenge is to have a new project going by next Monday and this time I will have to put the warp on the loom all by myself. I had really forgotten how much fun weaving can be. 

Arab Fest

Well, that was fun.  A friend and I attended Arab Fest this afternoon. This is another sign that summer is upon us.  It's the time of year when we can expect a festival every weekend.  So yesterday and today was Arab Fest.  It was a perfect day weather wise, there was a good crowd of people and the camels were being kept busy.  Exotic music was drifting over the area, I ate baklava, that delectible Arab honey soaked pastry, explored all of the booths full of exotic (and some not so exoctic) items for sale and watched people ride the camels.  I did not ride a camel although theyhad a high platform from which to get on or off.  It would  have been just to sad to see a headline in tomorrow's paper "Old lady killed in freak fall from camel."  I also was not tempted to have a design painted on my hand or arm with hennah.  I just don't think those fanciful  designs look good on wrinkly old skin.  Still it was a fun time. This week and next weekend - Germanfest. Bring it on!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

a few updates

I'm sure you've been wondering about some things I written about recently so here are the answers:
1. The charge of aggravated assault first applied to the man who admitted 'accidentally' killing his wife with a machete, has now been changed to murder.
2. I am about half way through my first weaving project.  It is looking very much like a wooly scarf which is good because that's what it's supposed to be.
3. I almost have all of my lines memorized for the play I will be in in July.
4. And finally, the white bag is still in the tree.  Now that the leaves are out I can see that it is caught in a locust tree and that's a thorny tree which might help explain why the bag is hanging on so tenaciously.

Ali Paris in concert

I saw and heard a really exciting concert this evening.  Ali Paris, a Palestinian musician sings and plays a Middle Eastern instrument called a Qanun. Note to self: remember that word for Scrabble games. This is a 76 string zither that dates back to the 14th century. What I find fascinating about this instrument is that, while it has 76 strings, each string can play eight different tones. He describes it as being like a piano that has 8 extra keys between one white key and the black key next to it.  Ali was accompanied by an excellent drummer and guitarist and the music ranged from traditional Middle Eastern music to contemporary jazz and and a song he co-created and has performed with Alicia Keys. All in all, a truly excellent program.