"I'm just a girl....

...(well really an old lady) who can't say no."  The refrain of that song from "Oklahoma" kept running through my mind as I left a brief meeting with our church's new chiildren and youth director this afternoon.  After discussing ideas for middle school Sunday school I seem to have volunteered to do some teaching.  I will admit I used to enjoy teaching 7th and 8th grade Sunday school but that has been some years ago. Decades, actually.  Ah well, it's only for four Sundays this spring.  At least for now.

Cemetery visit

One of the things we did when my brother and sister-in-law were visiting last week was to visit the small town cemetery where most of our family on our father's side are buried.  This may sound like a sad thing to do but it really wasn't.  It was more like a semtimental visit with much loved family members.  I lived most of my pre-college life in the small town where my father, and his father before him, grew up so there are lots of familiar names in the Lutheran Cemetery there.  I said hello to aunts and uncles, cousins and friends, my grandfather who died when I was 13, and my grandmother whom I never knew.  I did a little math and figured out that she died at 59 (in 1932) when my father was 16.  He was evidently born when she was 43.  She was six years older than my grandfather and didn't marry until she was in her 30s.  My father was the youngest of three.  
The most interestimg tombstone in the place, to me, is the one marking the final resting place of my mother, step-mother and father who are all buried together.  My mother died in her 50s and was given a traditional casket and vault burial.  After my father remarried, he and my step-mom decided that they would be cremated.  My step-mom died before my father and he decided her ashes would be buried with my mom (and where he would be interred eventually).  Interestingly, when their urns were buried it was simply a matter, each time, of using a post hole digger to make a hole above the vault and dropping the urn down in.  Much better, I think, than two more big concrete vaults.  Anyway, it makes for an in teresting tomb stone. In case you're wondering, my step-mom made it very clear, before she died, that she wanted to be buried with our dad and not her first husband who was, evidently something of a tyrant.  According to her, he conveniently dropped dead of a heart attack just as she had decided to divorce him.
Life amd death take interesting twists. 

Please pass the pizza.

This evening we had an event at church called "Pizza, Pipes and Piano."  I almost didn't go.  It had been a long day and I was tired, but a friend saw me as I was leaving my tutoring session, reminded me of the event, and urged me to come.  Well, I must admit the prospect of pizza really was the deciding factor.  It was good but the music was better.  Our organist played several short snippets on the organ demonstrating many of the stops.  She enjoys putting our big old pipe organ (4500 pipes) through its paces and we heard flute, strings, oboe, trumpet, tuba and even krummhorn sounds.  Sorry, I can't really describe a krummhorn but it was interesting.  
She  finished off the organ part of the program with Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in d minor. Throughout the program the narrator told us where we might have heard some of the classics before.  Such shows as Bugs Bunny cartoons and Sponge Bob Square Pants evidently use lots of classical music.  
After the organ demo, Chelsea (our organist) finished off the evening with five short piano pieces, again with information about where we might have heard these pieces in popular movies and TV shows.  My favorites were "The Blue Danube Waltz" and the "Can Can." Sorry, I don't remember the official title of that last one.
All in all, a fun evening. 

and it blew and it blew and it blew.....

Some observations about a very windy day:
First of all, and I know you are really wondering about this, the white plastic bag is still in the tree.  It was being whipped around pretty fiercely about 5:00 this afternoon but it was still hanging on.  I learned at a recent talk about recycling that plastice bags, the grocery bag type, must be recycled separately.  I begin to understand why.  They are, aparently, almost indestructible (except of course when they split while full of groceries).
Second observation:  a very windy day is better than dieting for making you feel light on your feet.  I was outside twice on this very blustery day and actually got blown two steps side ways once and felt like I was in a wind tunnel the second time.
Third:  This could be a dangerous day for small dogs. (Cats are smart enough to stay inside.)  I was riding down in the elevator this morning with a man carrying a Chihuahua and we agreed that he (the dog) could pretty easily become a kite.  Interestingly, later in the morning, a friend at church mentioned a windy city that recently had a small dog warning.  Who knew?

We shall agree to disagree.

A friend and I attended the Fort Wayne Philharmonic concert this evening.  The music was beautiful, as always. There were three pieces:  "The Banks of Green Willow" by George Butterworth (not to be confused with Mrs. Butterworth); "Concherto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 22" by Samuel Barber; and "Symphony No. 5 in D major" by Vaughan Williams.  
The first piece was short, very lyrical and pretty and I enjoyed it very much.
The guest Cello soloist who played during the second piece was excellent, but I wasn't too fond of the piece.
The third piece was definitely my favorite. It had some very nice oboe and clarinet solo bits and some fascinating violin work.
When I told my friend, after the concert, that the third piece was my favorite he looked at me in disbelief and expressed his opinion that the second piece was much better and that he didn't like the last piece very much at all. 
Well, even though he's more knowledgeable than I am about classical music, I think I'm right this time.
If you care to form your own opinion, the concert will be broadcast on WBNI-94.1 FM on Thursday, March 7, at 7:00 pm.

The theme was 'under the sea.'

I saw a lovely exhibit this evening of sculptures by Sayaka Ganz.  She's the artist who uses recycled materials, mostly plastics, to create fanciful creatures.  This evening's exhibit, at Art Link, was a delightful "underwater" scene featuring a whale, jelly fish, small fish, and a "coral reef" arch all made of an incredible collection of plastic bowls, spatulas, knives, forks, lids, bottle caps and much more.  I really do admire her work.  The whale was so beautiful, with flowing lines and a feeling of motion, that it was very easy to forget what it was made of.  
However I must admit that, as I wandered through the suspended seaweed and fanciful critters, I felt very much like I was in a high school gym decorated for the prom.  But that was fun too.

All is well

Well, they made it home finally.  After delays in Fort Wayne and Minneapolis my sister-in-law and brother made it to Spokane by 12:30am this morning, their time, (3:30am here) in time to find a foot of new snow on the ground.  That was twelve hours later than they were originally scheduled to get there, but nobody is complaining.  Considering the weather between here and there yesterday things could have been much worse. 
I don't know about you but I would rather wait in an airport while wings are de-iced and safe routes are planned than to be plunged blindly into a snow storm.  I know, I know, pilots fly by instruments but still...

Bon Voyage

Well, the big family visit is over.  My brother and sister-in-law were here for a week which went very quickly. Lots of fun and good family time, not to mention a marthon Mexican Train event that spanned four evenings.  Today, the day of fond farewells, started well. My other brother drove them to the airport through very nasty weather at 5:30am.  I rode along to be able to say that fond farewell.  We stayed with them til they went through security, waved farewell and headed back across town. As we left the airport the sign still sayed that their flight to Minneapolis was departing on  time.  Then followed the texts:
7:47am  flight delayed..
7:56am  delay is due to weather in Minneapolis
8:37am leaving the terminal
9:51am on the plane, waiting for a weather update
1:03pm back in the terminal

At this point I invited them to come back to my place and try again tomorrow but they had things scheduled tomorrow in Spokane.

2:48pm on our way
4:26pm taxiing to the gate in Minneapolis
5:38pm made it to MSP, leaving for Spokane in about five hours

And that's the last I've heard from them.  
more tomorrow....

rave reviews

My family is still visiting and we're having a fine time catching up with each other's lives.  Yesterday we visited with some cousins who still live in this area and ate an early dinner at the Harlan Cafe in, where else?, Harlan, Indiana.  Since it was Friday night I had the fish dinner which was very good.  We all sat and talked long enough that we decided to have dessert.  While we had been eating the list of kinds of pies available (written on a white board) had expanded from two to ten.  I decided on Sugar Cream Pie, one of my all time favorites and it was, without a doubt, the best sugar cream pie I have ever had.  Super rich, super creamy, sweet without being overpowering - simply delicious.  Everyone else in the group had pie, all different kinds, and they all said their's was delicious. 
While we had been eating we had seen some Amish women coming in and out, not staying to eat, and we strongly suspect that they were the pie bakers.  
Whatever the source, I highly recommend the pies at Harlan Cafe.

a deserted landscape

My guests arrived last night (actually early this morning).  They flew into Fort Wayne International Airport on a flight due in at 11:13pm which actually landed at 12:19am, so not too late.  Waiting at FWA was a quietly interesting experience.  A whole series of House Hunters shows were running on the large TVs. Everything, especially the restaurant and coffee shop were closed, people in uniforms and other work outfits were leaving in droves. A few bewildered travelers were waiting for their luggage. It was a very quiet place.  Since we had an hour to wait, my brother and I looked for comfortable seats (my other brother, not the one who was flying in).  The most comfortable looking chairs were in the little area marked USO.  Since there was no one anywhere around wearing any kind of uniform we risked sitting there.  My brother is a veteran so it wasn't too much of a risk.  Finally, finally their plane was on the ground.  We got all the hugging and kissing out of the way, found their luggage, not hard in our airport, and headed home.
The visit is off to a good start.  

Ready or not...

...here they come.  My brother and sister-in-law are coming for a visit.  They live in Sopkane and have not been back to Fort Wayne for 13 years so I'm very excited about this visit.  I have seen them a few times during these years, but it was always at their home for things like weddings or Christmas visits, always happy occasions. I feel like I'm as ready as I can be.  I've cleaned and cooked and done whatever else I can think of to make them feel welcome and comfortable.  
I've done my part, now if the weather will only cooperate.  They will arrive at FW International at 11:13pm.  My other brother and I will be there to greet them. But I'm finding the weather reports somewhat confusing.  It may be icy, it may be snowing or it might just be raining.  I guess we'll hope for no delays and deal with whatever Mother Nature dishes out.  Happily, I won't be doing the driving.
To be continued...

It was a lovely wedding

There was a wedding in our church today.  That's not very surprising, there are lots of weddings in our church.  What made this one unique is that it took place during our regularly scheduled 11am worship service.  I always knew that a couple could get married during a church service but I've never seen it done before.  Our bride amd groom are a lovely 50 something couple who started attending our church regularly a few years ago.  This is a second marriage for each of them and they wanted a simple service so when our pastor suggested that they could get married during the church service they decided that it was a great idea.  The actual exchange of vows took place after the sermon and only lasted about 15 minutes but was very moving.  After the service there was a simple reception with cake.  It was all so joyful.  A really fun morning service.  

visiting the neighborhood

I watched a PBS special on Mr. Rogers this evening and it was fun to revisit the neighbothood.  I had no idea his history went back so far - to the really early days of children's television.  When my family lived in southeastern Ohio for a few years, when our children were young, the only reliable TV station that we could pick up was the local PBS station so we saw quite a lot of Mr. Rogers and Sesamee Street and the Electric Company.  Watching the show this evening reminded me of all the things I enjoyed about the program.  it also reminded me that I never really liked King Friday.  He was an irritating little puppet with a weird voice.  Ah well, I guess even the neighborhood wasn't totally perfect.  

Hooray for chocolate

I like chocolate, especially dark chocolate, and I've always considered chocolate to be one of the basic food groups.  Happily, I can buy chocolate at church now.  We are selling 'fair trade' coffee and chocolate products as a way to help farmers in third world countries.  Isn't that wonderful?  I can buy chocolate and feel virtuous.  Even better, last week two enterprising young ladies in our church were selling Girl Scout Cookies, so, of course. I had to buy more chocolate for a good cause.  But, if I needed more reassurance that eating chocolate is the right thing to do, I read this line in a book this week.  "Chocolate is a vegetable.  It's made from beans."  I knew it!! It is part of a basic food group.  So eat your chocolate everybody.

Another one makes the list

From time to time I have used this blog to share with you some items that are on my list of things I will never do.  Such activities as sky diving, bungee jumping and performing dental surgery on myself have all made the list.  Today, after a news report, I have added another activity to the list.  I have absolutely no desire to, and will never, swim under the ice anywhere.  A 50 year old gentleman from somewhere in Europe evidently thinks this keeps him young.  The clip I saw showed him climbing into the water of some unnamed lake through a hole in the ice, then swimming along a rope strung under the water, and coming up out of the water through a hole at the other end of his swim.  I've just realized I can add another item to my list.  I will never dive under the ice to film someone else swimming under the ice.  This guy makes polar plungers look like wimps.  Personally I think swimming should only be done in a heated pool, preferably on the top deck of a cruise ship.

behind the signings

I don't always watch the sports report on the local news but I did think it was interesting, this evening, to see eighteen local high school seniors signing commitments to play a variety of sports at various colleges.  The most notable this evening was a young man who signed with Harvard.  
What they didn't show on the news report was the behind the scenes activities going on in the athletes' homes.  I'm sure there were parents all across Allen County doing the happy, happy scholarship dance, and they've earned it.  Yes, the students put in years of practice honiung their skills, but I imagine that the endless hours of support activities put in by the parents also contirbuted to the final result.  Cheers to all.

Stste of the Union

I did watch President Trump's State of the Union address this evening, and even though I am not a fan, I did try to give him a fair hearing.  I will admit that he sounded pretty presidential through most of the speech, and certainly touted some high ideals and accomplishments.  The Democratic rebuttal was also quite interesting, but overall, the thing I most appreciated is that everyone behaved quite civilly.  I guess there's hope for our good old country yet.  

a very muddy river

Over the last week the St. Mary's River, which runs past my apartment building, has undergone some interesting transformations.  As you can imagine, when the temperatures dropped to sub-zero the river froze into a solid white sheet.  After a day the smooth surface had become wrinkled.  I don't know how else to describe it.  It still looked very solid, but with texture.  The next day it was snow covered and smooth.  Over the last few days it has been thawing but not completely.  Today it looked like a river of frozen, crinkled mud.  Interesting, but not particularly attractive. 

Oh, by the way, as I was watching the river I noticed that my white plastic bag is still in its tree.  That means it has been in that tree for over a year now.  Hang in their little bag.  I wonder if I should contact the Guiness people ( the record keepers, not the beer).

living on football time

I would like to be able to switch to 'football time' sometimes.  If I'm running late and just need a few more minutes to get dressed wouldn't it be handy to switch to football time? Two minutes on the clock would magically stretch to 20.  Or imagine, instead of hitting the snooze button on your alarm, hit the football time button and stretch that five minute snooze to 25 minutes.  Perhaps I need to watch more football games to see how they make that work.  Unfortunately, when I do try to watch a football game I keep falling asleep and I suspect I'm not the only one.  Maybe that's why they insert all those extra minutes - so you can snooze, wake up, and not have missed anything.  

water main woes resolved

The title of yesterday's blog should have been 'water main woes.'  I've always admitted to being a dyslectic typist.  Or should that be typer?  Maybe 'typist' is not politically correct these days.  I  know waitresses and actresses no longer exist.  But that's all beside the point.  I'm happy to report that, as of 7:30 or so this evening, two of our three elevators are back in working order.  I will not be puting them to the test until tomorrow.  I figure if I use an elevator tomorrow morning the fact that I'm on my way to church ought to offer me some protection. I can do a lot of praying in a ten-story elevator ride.  

water amin woes

A few days ago, when it was bitter cold, I wrote praising those brave people working outside to fix water main breaks.  Little did I know how soon that problem would impact me.  After two days of staying home to avoid the cold, I was ready to get out today.  I had a hair cut scheduled and then planned to meet my brother for lunch.  My brother lives farther north, near Leo, and he texted early in the day to postpone our lunch date because of the road conditions near his house.  Since I could see traffic backed up and stopped on Spy Run for at least three blocks, I agreed with the wisdom of his decision.  Later, however, traffic seemed to be moving more smoothly so I decided to keep my hair cut appointment.  Until I got to the elevator where a sign was posted  saying that we had a water main break and, due to extensive flooding in the basement, the elevators would not be operating for a while.  I took that as a sign and rescheduled my hair cut.  That all happened this morning.  The water was back on by 3:00pm but at 4:30 a sign was stuck on my door saying "Elevators are out of service until further noticc." and reminding us where the stairs are.  Now I will take the stairs if I need to.  I know I can go down 10 stories.  Coming up again may be more of a challenge.  I do not intend to do this more often than I absolutely need to.  Happily, I am well supplied with food (including Girl Scout cookies I bought last week), water so I can make tea, and heat.  I also have three unread library books waiting for me.  I think I could get into this hibernation mode - at least for a day or two.  Stay tuned.