Virtue and vice

It all started out so well tbis morning. I heard an ad on the morning local news for the Farmers' Market and decided I should go.  For one reason and another I hadn't gone all summer but today seemed like a good day for it.  I made my mental list: tomatoes, green beans, maybe some sausage. I made it to the market, bought the green beans, tomatoes and even a couple of potatoes.  So good, so healthy. Even the little jar of jam was all natural.  The mistake was deciding to stop at the little bakery on Main Street on the way home.  Just for a loaf of bread you understand.  I needed it to go with the jam. But the strangest thing happened while I was in the bakery.  I bought the bread (their really good apple bread) but other things kept hopping into my hands.  Two packages of cookies and a cup of chicken salad later, I headed home.  A chocolate cookie or a tomato?  I'll leave it to you to guess which I ate first.  

At the big game

I'm back after two frustrating days of problems with my google connection.  It seems to have cured itself now and just in time for me to report on the big game.  This evening I went, with family, to the first home game in Bishop Dwenger's new stadium. Very nice, and lots of excitement as they played their first real "home game." Of course we (two grandmas, one mom, one dad and one sister) weren't there for the football.   There are no football players in our family.  We were there for the half-time show.  My youngest granddaughter, a sophomore this year, is on the flag squad and they looked wonderful.  The band was good too.  But, you know, my focus was on the flags.  Their costumes were bright orange, with turquoise trim, and quite stunning.  I'm told they received gold fro visual effects at a competition last week and I can see why.  Very nice indeed.  
We did pay passing attention to the game.  When we left, during the third quarter, The score was Bishop Dwenger Saints 29, Northside Legend 0 (sorry Northside fans).  

Always the last to know

All my life it seems I am the last to hear juicy gossip or learn fascinating facts about anything.  Maybe I'm just not curious enough.  Case in point, three days ago, in an elevator conversation, I was told that we are going to get new elevators in my apartment building.  Not a minute too soon in my opinion.  I was excited and have mentioned it to three or four other residence since then.  In every instance the response was something like "Oh yes, I heard about that months ago."  Well, nobody told me.  Now, on the news this evening, I was informed that my apartment complex is going to be remodeled and renovated to the tune of about five million dollars.  They have revamped the lobby area - to appeal to millenials I think.  One friend commented that all the white marble looks like a mausoleum.  Well, it's really not that bad but it is kind of stark.  I know they are remodeling apartments (new kitchens, baths, etc) as tenants move out and before new ones move in.  I can hear hammering and other construction noises in the distance.  I think they're mainly working on the 13th floor right now.  I would love to request a new kitchen but I don't want my rent to go up.  In the meantime I will wait excitedly for new elevators.

another great day

Today is National Dog Day.  I think it's wonderful that "man's best friend" has a day of his or her own.  A day that they can relax, be pampered, chase a few squirrels, be served their meals and a few treats, sleep on the furniture, and generally just be catered to in every way.  Wait, I think I just described every day in the life of my granddogs.  Ah well, enjoy your day, Wallace, Stella and Perry.

a little sympathy, please

As I was rushing around my bedroom this afternoon, barefoot, I wanged two toes of my left foot against a chair leg.  I know, just stubbed toes, but it hurt sooo bad.  Now one toe (the one next to the little toe in case you're interested) has turned a darkening shade of purple.  It reminds me of one of those wierd grapes I described yesterday.  It's an interesting sight but give me a little credit here.  Although I'm fishing for sympathy, at least I haven't taken a picture and posted it on Facebook.  I do have my limits and wish to retain a little dignity.  

two tastes

Today I helped with the Taste of the Arts Festival here in Fort Wayne.  We manned the First Presbyterian booth and helped children (and some adults) create a giant "sculpture" from newspapers - pages and pages of newspapers - rolled into tubes and taped together with duct tape.  I know, sounds amazing, right? I discovered that, just like my kitchen talent discussed yesterday, stirring hamburger, I had a special talent when it came to creating newspaper sculpture.  I am really good at rolling pages of newspaper into tight little 12 inch long tubes.  So that was my taste of creativity for the day.
The other yummy taste I've enjoyed recently is a taste of really interesting grapes.  I love grapes and buy some almost every time I go to the grocery store. Usually I buy green grapes but this week the green grapes didn't look too good so I bought some deep purple grapes.  I didn't notice til I got home that the package said "fun shape."  These grapes are called Sweet Sapphire black seedless grapes.  The name is almost a long as one of the grapes.  These grapes, rather than being the usual oval shape, are shaped like little Vienna sausages, each one about two inches long.  Very strange but quite tasty.  I will buy them again.

a joy and concern

When we begin meetings at my church we often start with a sharing of joys and concerns.  Today I'm not in a meeting but I do have a joy and a concern.  First the joy.  A friend and I walked down to Promenade Park.  It was a glorious day, perfect day for a walk, nice and cool.  I had expected that the park might be very quiet on a week day but much to my surprise and joy it was crowded with people.  Kids were playing in the splash pad and playground, adults were walking and riding bikes and walking dogs.  It appears to be a very popular park.
My concern started with a report on the morning news.  It was another sad story about a baby left in a hot car.  In this case the baby survived but a comment made by one of the reporters (made in all seriousness) reallly concerned me.  The suggestion was made that parents should put their cell phone on the back seat next to the baby's car seat. The implication being that while a person might forget their child they would never forget their phone.  What does that say about young parents these days?  On the other hand it might cut down on distracted driving.

cooking casseroles

On the fourth Thursday of each month a group of ladies from my church cook lunch for amyone in the neighborhood who wants to come.  We usually serve 60-80 people, many of whom come from the low-rent apartments across the street.  
Over the years I have learned to make quite a variety of casseroles since this is an easy way to feed a large group.  Today's entree was tater tot casserole which consists of a layer of browned ground beef, a layer of cream of mushroom soup, a layer of mixed vegetables and a topping of tater tots, baked til the tots are nicely browned.  Over the years I have developed a speciality.  If the casserole contains ground beef (and it often does) I'm the one who stirs it in a huge pot on the stove until it's nicely brown.  This is not because I'm a really talented hamburger fryer but rather because I'm the tallest cook in the kitchen and able to reach down into the pot to keep stirring and not let anything stick to the bottom of the pot.  It's good to have a talent.

Dining on the Deck

Almost every Wednesday during the summer some friends and I (it varies from five to ten) gather at the Deck, Hall's Gas House outdoor dning area, for lunch.  It's a lovely place to eat, with plenty of shade and cool breezes even on warm days.  It certainly gives me an appreciation for the waitresses.  I know it's more politically correct to say waitpersons but the truth is they are all young ladies; strong young ladies.  They rush back and forth from the same kitchen that supplies food for the inside restaurant (a long walk) and up and down several small flights of steps carrying large trays of food. They are always cheerful and seldom make a mistake.  Sadly our happy times at the Deck will be coming to an end soon..  I'm not sure which week in September or October will be their last for the year but I know it's coming.  Happily the lunches will go on inside.  During the program year, several of the lunch bunch meet every Wednesday for a book club in the morning, then we lunch, then some of us gp to Bible study.  I think of Wednesdays as my selfish days. Everything I do is for my enjoyment.  I do a fair amount of volunteer work the rest of the week so I guess it's OK to have one day just for me.  

the rest of the story

I realized, after I finished my post last night that I hadn't explained why my brother even thought of attaching blossoms to the Rose of Sharon bush with toothpicks.  Well, as it happens, he had been watching as my cousin and I spent part of the previous day making Hollyhock 'people.'  To make a Hollyhock person you pick a Hollyhock blossom and an unopen bud and push a toothpick through the bud (round end up - pointy end down) then push the toothpick into the base of the blossom creating a little lady with a beautiful pink skirt.  Now you may be thinking that this was a tough year for our Hollyhocks.  You're right, but Hollyhocks are tough plants that bloom generously all summer long.  In case you're wondering why we were making flower people, it was a fun thing to do on a hot summer day in 1950 something with no airconditioning, no TV, no computers, tablets, smart phones or electronic games.  Wow! How did we survive?

it's blooming

A friend posted some pictures on Facebook of the blossoms on her Rose of Sharon bush. Very pretty. That reminded me of an event from my childhood.  My brother must have been about 10 when he pulled this prank on our mom.  She was very disappointed that summer because her Rose of Sharon bush hadn't bloomed.  One afternoon my brother ran into the house shouting "Mom, mom, your bush is blooming.  She ran outside with him and sure enough there were pink blooms all over the bush.  After her first excitement she realized that these blooms looked very familiar and took a closer look.  Turns out my enterprising brother had used toothpicks to fasten Hollyhock blooms all over that Rose of Sharon bush.  It did look pretty, briefly and Mom was actually pretty amused. 

Success!

I will readily admit that when it comes to computers I am a very surface user.  I know how to use word pad and send emails and even write this blog, but when it comes to solving problems I am often at a loss.  Yesterday, for example. I discovered, when I tried to print out a paper I had written, that my laptop had mysteriously connected to a printer I don't own and don't remember ever owning.  It took me quite a lot of time and a lot of clicking on various things without really knowing what I was doing, but I finally, finally found a reference to the printer I actually do own and reintroduced it to my computer.  The sad thing is I really have no clear understanding of how I got it accomplished. Which means if the same thing happens again I'll have to try to figure it out all over again.  So I won't spend too much time patting myself on the back.

Love lost

I had lunch with my 18 year old grandson today and during our conversation learned that he and his girlfriend have broken up.  They had been dating for about six months and he is understandably upset.  You would think that, since I went through such experiences about sixty years ago, I might not be able to remember how it feels.  But I do.  Breaking up is never easy but I do think it's better to experience "love lost" before marriage.  I told my grandson that I. in my youth, experienced three 'major' breakups before I met the man I married, and even his grandpa and I split up for six months before we reconnected and got married.  I'm not sure if this ancient wisdom was much help but it might help him keep things in perspective.  He did say that they are still friends and that she wants to be an art teacher someday.  Too bad. I would have enjoyed having another art teacher in hte family.

too true to be funny?

I saw "Four Old Broads" at Arena Dinner Theater this evening,  It is the story of sinister happenings in the Magnolia Place Assisted Living Community and the four old ladies (and one old man - a retired Elvis impersonator) who figure out what's going on, a la "Charlie's Angels" and capture the wicked villain.  I can't remember laughing more at any play.  The actors were excellent, the lines were funny, and the visual gags were very well done.  I would say you must see this play but. sadly, all future performances are sold out.  The scary part is I could really identify with these old broads, well, except for the tap dancing.  

I am eating right

I listened with interest this evening to a report on the health benefits of flavanoids (sp?) which are found in fruits, vegetables and also in tea.  They said if you eat some broccoli, blueberries, an orange, other fruit and tea every day it will have all kinds of health benefits.  While I don't eat broccoli every day I still eat it three or four times a week, mainly because it's super easy to prepare and I like it.  And I do eat an orange every day and three or four other fruits. While I was patting myself on the back for my healthy etheating habits I happened to wonder how those health benefits are affected if you cook the fruit.  Yesterday, you will recall, I ate lots of cherries, but I have a sneaky feeling that cherries in sweet soup, a sweet glaze, and cake may not have the same health benefits.  Alas, the apple fritter that ended up as my supper dessert today (when friends drag you to a donut shop you have to buy something) probably doesn't have great health benefits either.  I guess I'll just keep drinking tea and hope for the best.

Cherries, cherries everywhere!

Had a delightful dinner with friends this evening.  Our mutual friend Al had invited five of us over and told me in advance that the meal would be built around a cherry theme, and it was.  I've always known he was a really good cook but he outdid himself this evening.  We started with cherry dumpling soup (sounds weird - tastes amazing, a lot like starting with dessert) then on to a tossed salad featuring dried cherries, nuts and other fruits and a cherry vinagrette dressing, and served with small cherry filled cinnamon rolls.  By this time we were all feeling pretty full, although the wine was still going down very smoothly. For the main course we had roast pork temderloin with a cherry glaze, buttered new potatoes and green beans with bacon.  I guess he decided enough was enough without adding cherries to the potatoes and beans.  Dessert was cherry almond cake topped with powdered sugar and served with coffee.  All in all, an absolutely delightful dinner, and he refused any help with the cleanup.  I feel like I just dined in an elegant restaurant.  So sweet.

congratulations and explanations

First congrtulations to all of my left handed friends.  Today is National Left Handers Day.  I happen to have several left handed friends (well at least three) and they're all very nice and deserving of a special day.  I am sorry that I couldn't alert you to your special day last night so you would have had all day to enjoy it.  Sadly, when I tried to log on to post a blog yesterday evening my computer wouldn't turn on.  Absolutely no life.  I thought I had killed it.  Today, after sleeping on the problem, I realized that I had simply drained the battery running a very long drawn out malware check.  So it's working now as long as I keep it plugged in.  All should be back to normal by tomorrow.

Another day at the park

A friend and I went back to Promenade Park today to enjoy a little more of the opening weekend festivities.  We got there in time to see the butterfly release.  Monarch and Painted Lady butterflies took to the skies.  There weren't thousands but there were many.  One landed on my shoe and stayed for a few minutes.  I think it was attracted to the color stripes on my shoe.  After the butterfly event we got tickets to ride on the Sweet Breeze, the replica of a canal boat that sails up and down the St. Mary's River.  I have been wanting to ride on this boat ever since it started its runs on 'my' river three years ago.  I've watched it many times from my balcony.  Today it was tied up near the butterflies so I checked and they did have seats available for the 2:00pm trip.  It was a 45 minute trip that didn't go past my apartment building but went the other way (westish) as far as the Jefferson Street bridge.  We had a very well informed docent with us and he told us many fun facts about the river, the Nickle Plate railroad, the old aquaduct (who knew?) and much more.  There were many nice views of the city but there were also some beautiful stretches lined with heavy growths of trees that made it possible to imagine what it was like when trappers paddled their canoes along this river two hundred  years ago.  And speaking of paddling, there were lots of people paddling kayaks today.  It was a great day to be on the river.

Two great days

According to ine source, yesterday was "National Book Lovers Day" and today, according to another source, is "National Be Lazy Day."  How perect is that?  I am a book lover; lately I've been making large inroads into the large print section of the library.  And I certainly know how to be lazy.  I have made stretching out on the couch an art form.  I've actually been celebratng these days together all day today and now I'm going to bed to read myself to sleep.  How perfect is that?

What a great day!

Promanade Park opened in downtown Fort Wayne today and, no matter how you pronounce it, it was a great success.  Lots of people came to experience the new park and I heard nothing but positive comments.  One young man standing beside me during the final act of the evening which included a really stunning light show, said "It almost feels like you're not even in Fort Wayne."  I laughed but I knew what he meant.  We walked around the park quite a bit and discovered, in addition to the special events going on this evening, many permanent fun features.  There are concrete corn hole courts, and similar pingpong tables (the kids were loving those) and big multi-person swings reminiscent of old roch swings, that adults could relax on.  My favorite part, and I expected it would be, is the canopy walk.  This is a board walk elevated up in the tree tops along the north side of the river.  I had been wanting to take this walk and was very pleased to discover that it is accessible at both ends by long ramps so I didn't have to climb any steps to get up among the trees.  At the end of the evening it was a perfect place to view the river lighting which consisted of fires burning on floating platforms, men on some of the platforms spinning flamng battons, and a thousand glowing balls set loose to float down the river.  The St. Mary's is not a fast flowing river but I will be curious to see if any of the glow balls make it beyond the Spy Run bridge (my view of the river) by morning. 

Looking at Finland

When I was in Kentucky recently, enjoying a reunion lunch with people who had travelled to Finland with me last March I bought a copy of a book one of my fellow travelers had put together.  It's a very well done album of places we saw and things we did on that trip.  The author is a really good photographer and I've spent quite a bit of time looking at the pictures, reading the captions and remembering the trip.  Actually, I might be having more fun revisiting through these pictures than I did on the actual trip.  When I think back on the trip I remember lots of hiking around on slippery, snowy trails, wearing boots that got uncomfortable by the end of the day, and being really cold sometimes.  We also had a tour guide who wasn't always very helpful or friendly.  Don't get me wrong, we had lots of good times but I'm really enjoying looking back from the comfort of my livingroom.  Even while we were on the trip, while some of our group were enthusing that it was 'their best trip ever' I kept having flashacks to warm, sunny Spain.  I guess I'm just not a winter person.

Star Gazing

I enjoy living downtown but one thing I do miss is seeing stars.  Because of the ambient light (and I do enjoy the city lights) I'm lucky if I see one or two stars in the sky on a clear night.  When I was in Finland last March I didn't see the Northern Lights but I did get to see starry nights that reminded me of the night skys I remember seeing as a child, or, for that matter, when we first lived on Tonkel Road 35 years ago. This morning on the early news there was a report on a star gazing trip that sounds really great to me,  "The Star Train" an historic Nevadah train, takes people on a three hour ride, beginning at twilight, to Great Basin National Park (one of the darkest places in the US).  Once there, people get an amazing view of the night sky.  I want to go.

A Blast from the Past

A friend took me to see "The World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra" this evening.  It was a great show.  From an historical perspective, I learned that Glenn Miller (the original) disbanded his very popular orchestra in 1942 to join the military and form the "Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band" to entertain the troops in Europe.  Sadly, on a flight from England to France, his plane disappeared over the English Chanel.  That was on December 15, 1944.  I was two days old, so I don't remember the incident.
The music was great this evening.  Lot's of people were clapping along and one older couple got up and danced in the aisle, which is really pretty tricky considering how the aisles in the Embassy slope.  All in all, a really great show.  

South Korea 101

Heard an interesting talk this evening about mission work in South Korea.  To my delight it was preceded by a Korean dinner.  The ladies of our Korean congregtion really outdid themselves.  I apologize if spellings aren't accurate here but we had pulgoge, kimche, pot stickers, sticky rice, spicy meat balls and, for dessert, chocolate chip cookies.  I'm not sure how Korean the cookies were but that's ok.  Some interesting things I learned.  South Koreans arean't really anxious to reunite with North Korea.  It would be an economic disaster that would take a generation to come back from.  The average annual income in SK is $27,000.  In NK it's less than $500 per year, which interestingly, is what the annual income was in SK before WWII.  In South Korea about thirty percent of people are Christians.  In NK it's about three percent.  The Christians in SK credit Christians missionaries with the early beginnings of much of their current prosperity.  Among other things, the early missionaries (mostly Catholic and Presbyterian) promoted education for boys and girls.  One of the Korean ladies in our group said that she had been educated in the best girls' high school in South Korea.  She said it was only for the best students, then was very embarrassed, because that sounded like she was bragging. She went on to tell about her mother, who, at 10 years old, learned to play a pump organ at a small mission church and went on from there to become a classical musician and professor of music at a South Korean university.  All in all, a very interesting evening.  

another great day

Today is "National Chcolate Chip Cookie Day" which seems like a fine idea to me.  I've personally never met anyone who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies (unless they are alergic to chocolate, which is one of life's great tragedies).  Did you know that chocolate is a vegetable?  It comes from a bean.  I didn't hear about this excellent special day until suppertime today and, alas, I have no chocolate chip cookies in my place.  I did have one of my favorite Kroger's soft top chocolate, chocolate chip cookies in my freezer so I decided that would have to do.  It did very well indeed.  But now that I've celebrated this fine day, I want more.  How about snickerdoodle day, peanut butter cookie day, ginger snap day, or molasses crinkles day?  Please, please, please, if you hear of special cookie days let me know.  

a fond farewell

I attended a memorial service today for a church friend who died a couple of weeks ago. We weren't close personal friends but we had served on several committees together and I really liked her.  She was a classy lady, almost 90 when she died, and still coming to meetings up to a couple of months ago.  Evidently a lot of other people felt the same way.  I haven't seen so many people in church since Christmas Eve.  I didn't count but I heard there were over 300 in attendance.  It was a lovely service, but true confession time, I must admit I came away feeling a little bit jealous.  I'm not in any rush you understand but I'm pretty sure there won't be as many fond speeches or nearly as many people at my memorial service.  On the other hand, I really won't care, will I? 

They're back.

All summer I've been waiting.  Every year about this time I start to hear crickets and frogs along the river.  I was beginning to think it wasn't going to happen this year.  I thought maybe, because of the heavy rain and standing water we had earlier this year, that all the little critters had been drowned out.  But not so.  Earlier this week I bagan to hear a few chirps and croaks and by last night they were in full voice.  It's like a loud, raspy serenade as I sit on my balcony or fall asleep with my window open.  Between the chirpers and croakers at night (they really rev up about 10:00pm) and the birds in the morning, I marvel at the noise.  I tend to think that life was much quieter around here 200 or so years ago when this area was settled by westward bound pioneers.  No sirens, no trucks, buses or cars. No airplanes or helicopters flying over.  But I find myself wondering how noisy it really was.  There were thousands more birds, and I imagine many more peepers and croakers.  Throw in some wild cats crying and bears growling, coyotes howling and owls hooting and nights especially must have been a cacophony of sound.  Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

my hero

Well, one of my heroes anyway.  Today is National Spiderman Day.  Evidently this superhero was first introduced in a comic book by Stan Lee in August of 1962.  Which, coincidentally, is the year I graduated from high school.  So, old Spidey has been around for quite a while now.  I joke with friends that the only way someone could get into my apartment (other than the front door, obviously) is by climbing up or down to my 10th floor balcony, or by flying in superhero style.  If a superhero wants to show up that's fine with me. Superman is always welcome.  But I'm not quite sure how Spiderman would get here.  There are no other tall buildings nearby from which to swing.  Ah well, some day my superhero will come.