Happy Halloween

I'm not surprised that the city decided to postpone trick or treating until Saturday.  It actually has been a fairly yucky day.  They are right now showing a sprinkling of snow (gasp) on the news.  Wind chills in the morning are supposed to be down in the teens.  I really shouldn't be surprised.  When I went shopping for Halloween decorations two weeks ago all I could find were Christmas things.  I guess Mother Nature is just following the stores' schedules.  On the cozy side, I recently purchased a recliner and it was delivered this afternoon.  It's actually a two-seater, love seat style recliner - very cute. I am happy to report that it has passed all my tests.  It fits in the space I had planned for it. it's very comfortable and, when I recline the back, I can fall asleep in front of the news in under 30 seconds.  Friends have mentioned falling asleep in their recliners.  Now I understand.  I can see how that could happen.  Good night everyone.  

trunk or treat

Last night I couldn't blog because, for some mysterious reason,  my computer wasn't working but tonight it is.  At least for now.  Since yesterday evening's activity was more fun than this evening's, I've decided to write about yesterday's activity.  At 5:30 yesterday, with 14 car trunks or the SUV equivalents decorated and waiting, we opened up the church parking lot to as many Day School and neighborhood children as wanted to come.  Many came. Our cars were decorated and filled with candy.  Princesses, pirates, turtles and one cow paraded past our cars shouting "Trick or treat" and collecting copious amounts of candy.  We even saw one dog dressed like a dinosaur.  To be honest, he looked like he would rather be at home in bed. Actually the cow was one of the adults.  I was surprised at how many turtles there were.  I didn't realize that Mutant Ninja Turtles were still so popular.  I really overbought candy.  I think I was just trying to make up for all the years when I lived on Tonkel Road.  It was a very busy street, and we didn't have any trick or treaters.  Now I live in an apartment and again I never  get trick or treaters.  So last night was fun.  My decorations were pretty simple.  I lined the back of my car with an orange plastic table cloth which also covered a large rectangular bin that I filled with candy.  Then I looped lots of autumn color sparkles around.  As I said very simple.  But then a friend (the cow) said that it looked like an open casket.  So for the rest of the evening I presented my display as a candy coffin.  Everybody loved it but not enough for me to win first prize.  Ironically, first prize went to a van decorated like the Candy Land game.  I never won that game when I played it with my grandchildren and I guess I still haven't.

A day we all can love

Today is National Plush Animal Lovers Day.  Now who couldn't love a day like that?  In my own life I have some fond memories of  favorite plush animals (those that belonged to me and others).  Early in my life I had a stuffed lamb named Lambkins.  Sadly I lost Lambkins when I accidentally dropped her in the toilet.  That was in an era when not all toys were washable and my mother was a bit of a germaphobe.  I also remember my brother's stuffed teddy bear.  It was a good looking bear except for its bald head.  That was due to my brother's habit of plucking out little bits of fuzz to rub under his nose while he sucked his thumb.   My son had a stuffed teddy bear that he treasured for a long time.  In fact, on the day he ran away from home (he only went a block, then came back) the only thing he packed in his little suitcase was his teddy bear.  Of course the ultimate stuffed animals are the ones you can create at Build a Bear with little imbedded hearts and designer clothing.  Those were my granddaughters' favorite plush toys.  Recently I've seen ads for plush cats that look very real and actually purr when you pat them.  I'm sorry but that just seems a little creepy to me but to each his own.  Take a minute to cuddle your own plush animal tonight.

Dog love

I understand that people love their dogs.  Over my lifetime I have lived with and loved many dogs including my first dog, Mabel, when I was one year old.  My father was in charge of naming pets when I was a child.  We also had a cat named Heathcliff and another named Hercules.  What got me thinking about dogs today was a picture in this morning's news paper of a man being licked on the lips by his huge dog (a Dogue de Bordeaux in case you're interested).  I will readily admit to letting dogs sleep in my bed, taking them on camping trips and slipping them bites of people food but I never, never let them "kiss" me on the lips.  I find the whole idea disgusting.  My son, however, didn't mind at all when he was a baby.  When He was about a year old I had put him in hs mesh sided playpen while I was fixing supper.  Things got very quiet so I glanced over the kitchen island to see what was going on.  My son had his face pushed up against the mesh while our little dachshund was licking his face all over, industriously cleaning up the child's teething drool. I instantly grabbed my child and pulled him back to the other side of the playpen. As soon as I let go, of course, he crawled right back to where the dog was waiting so they could resume their game.  Both dog and child survived this close encounter so I guess it's not poisonous but I still don't want any dog licking me on the lips.  Luckily my three granddogs don't live with me so it's really not much of a problem these days.

carpet cleaning, continued

Who knew having your carpets cleaned was such a big project?  But I'm happy to report that things are pretty much back in order.  I vacuumed all the carpets, as instructed, but they still look pretty much the same - beige.  I didn't really expect any big changes.  There weren't any stains or anything like that but it feels good to know it's all clean.  There's one exception though to everything being back in order. The guest bedroom is still fairly chaotic.  I have a nice big walk-in closet in that bedroom and I use it to store special stuff like all of my Christmas decorations, not to mention Easter and Halloween and boxes of stuff that I haven't opened since I moved in here four years ago.  I really wanted that closet carpet cleaned so I dragged everything out and stacked it on the beds.  Now I have to put it all back and I know I can't just shove everything back in there.  I need to sort through some stuff.  I have a sinking feeling that things are going to go back in the closet much mroe slowly than  they came out.   On the other hand, maybe I'll discover some long forgotten treasure that I can take to Antiques Roadshow.  Hope springs eternal. 

blogging in the morning

I usually write this blog in the evenings.  Often it's the last thing I do before I go to bed.  But here I am blogging at 9:00am in keeping with my sometimes title of "the great procrastinator."  My excuse?  I had my carpets cleaned yesterday.  By the way, it takes some special equipment to clean a 10th floor apartment.  They can't just run some hoses in from a truck parked in the driveway.  Happily, I was able to hire the same person who cleans the hallway carpets here and he did a great job.  To make it efficient and thorough, I moved small pieces out of the way - dining chairs in the kitchen, livingroom lamps in my bathroom, smaller pieces of furniture on the balcony and so forth.  After the cleaning was done, I was told to let the floors dry overnight, then vacuum everywhere, and then I can put everything back in place.  (Guess what I'm putting off doing today?)  Anyway, while sitting in the semidark, because I couldn't put the lamps back yet, watching NexFlix which is only available on my living room TV yesterday evening, I realized that I didn't have enough light to see my laptop keyboard.  I know, I know, I could have moved to the dining room where there is an overhead light but instead I opted to go to bed.  And that's enough explaining and procrastinating.  I'd better start vacuuming.  

Feeding the hungry

On the 4th Thursday of each month a few of us at my church gather together to prepare and serve a noon meal to anyone in our downtown neighborhood who wants to come in and eat.  We also distribute some clothes and play BINGO. I am a pretty good BINGO caller if I do say so myself,  On an average 4th Thursday we will serve 60 to 80 people.  But one month out of the year, instead of serving a nutritious casserole, salad and cookies, we serve Kentucky Fried Chicken with all the fixin's.  Today was KFC day and we had over 100 people there.  We ordered 400 pieces of chicken plus mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, cole slaw and green beans.  People are always welcome to have seconds and take some carry-out.  By the time everyone was served and served and served all that was left for the volunteers for lunch was mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits. I really can't blame anyone else for this since I was the one serving the chicken.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been quite so generous??? Ah well, it's only once a year.

Not a snake, thank goodness

My mother used to say, when she helped me find something I was searching for, "If it was a snake, it would have bitten you."  I'm ususally pretty good at finding things but I had a "snale bite" moment this morning.  To start at the beginning, two weeks ago I bought a recliner, actually a love-seat size double recliner.  It was ordered and I was told it would be delivered withing two to four weeks.  I was also told to keep my paperwork so I could track delivery time.  Two days ago I had a call from the furniture store.  The chair will be delivered on Halloween.  I was told to check my paperwork, call after 5pm the day before and use my order number to verify delivery time.  Then I started hunting for the paperwork.  I distinctly remembered puting it in a good, safe plaee. For two days, in all my spare minutes I searched for that paperwork.  I went through every stack of papers on my desk and even looked in some files to see if I had accidentally put it in the wrong place.  I even searched through my basket of paperwork to be shredded.  No luck, so I finally decided I would just have to call the furniture store and ask them for the onformation I needed.  And then it happened.  I was sitting at my desk this morning working on my computer, and happened to glance up.  There, on the top shelf above my desk, right out in the open, sat my paperwork.  The not so lost has been found. If it had been a snake it would have bitten me.   

making lemonade

Well, not really lemonade, but I was remembering the old adage "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."  In my case, I realized this morning that life had handed me half of a large bowl of left over fruit salad.  On Sunday I made a large bowl of fruit salad to take to a supper.  I didn't mean to make such a large amount of salad but by the time I threw in all the different fruits I wanted to include it filled a large bowl.  My friends all ate generous portions but I still brought a lot home with me.  This morning I eyed the fruit salad and decided that I really couldn't eat it all before it would go bad soooo I made a pitcherful of fruit smoothy.  This actually ended up tasting good.  I blended the fruit salad with unsweetend tea and it made a lovely, thick creamy mixture.  I  made two interesting discoveries along the way to creating this yummy drink.  First, my good old blender (nothing as modern as a food processor), avacado green, circa 1968, still blends beautifully.  Second, if you don't have the lid on just right and hold it on, you get a very interesting splatter pattern on the wall.  

Flu shots anyone?

I got my flu shot last week so I'm really not too worried.  Bit I do find it interesting that there is now a flu cure on the market named Xofluza.  Have you ever noticed how many new medication have names that begin with X.  I guess it's good to see X coming into its own.  It was a very neglected letter for a long time.  But I digress.  I find the commercials for this medicine to be quite interesting. First, in order to be effective, you must contact your doctor for a prescription within 48 hours of your first symptoms.  This makes sense to me since, in my experience, the flu often only lasts a day ro two.  The other thing I find interesting about this flu cure is the list of possible side effects.  They include fever, nausea, bronchitis and diarrhea.  Doesn't this sound a little like the flu?  

Sweet Charity

I was accosted on my way into the grocery store yesterday by a very polite Boy Scout selling popcorn.  He showed me a price list and I kindly explained to him that, while I would love to help. I didn't have enough cash with me.  He immediately assured me that they take credit cards.  Of course they do.  Boy Scouts are very enterprising.  Since the scout group was from the elementary school that two of my grandchildren attended, I decided to make a purchase.  The fact that I have a great fondness for flavored popcorn had nothing to do with it.  In case you're interested in buying siome rediculously expensive popcorn to help the Boy Scouts I recommend the salty caramel flavor.  Sadly I'm finding that Boy Scout popcorn disappears almost as quickly as Girl Scout cookies but at only five times the price. 

Unexpected changes

This evening I worked front of house for the current First Presbyteian Theater production "Art." It was a good play with lots of funny moments but the highlight of the evening for me was getting to have a conversation with the author of a play I was in last summer.  It was a weird, funny play called "My Dead Clown."  I knew tnat, since we did the play (the first ever production of it) David, the author, has been working on a film version.  He's actually won several awards at film festivals.  He was telling me how the film version has evolved.  It seems to have taken a dark turn with a couple of zombie like characters being introduced. My character, the church lady who mistakenly gets dragged off to hell, is still in it.  He said that, if/when the film is shown in a theater, we who were in the original cast would get 'red carpet' invitations.  I'm not holding my breath, but wouldn't that be fun?

It's good to laugh

This evening a friend and I went to the Arena Dinner Theater. The evening started well when we were seated with a retired Lutheran (ELCA) minister and his wife.  They were a fun couple and we had a good time conversing over dinner, even though I, as a mere Presbyterian, was outnumbered three to one.  Then on to the play, "Spider's Web" by Agatha Christie. I knew it would be a good mystery, I mean it was by Agatha Christie after all,  but I didn't expect all the laughs.  The actors did an excellent job and the lines were excellent.  All in all, a good fun evening.

I'm really not ready!

A few disturbing facts have come to my attention recently.  First, according to a chipper TV newsperson, there are only 10 more Fridays before Christmas.  Second, they are setting up the large Christmas tree at Jefferson Point.  But don't worry, they won't turn on the lights until sometime in November.  Third, I discovered, while shopping for some Halloween decorations today, that, at two weeks before Halloween, all remaining black and orange, autumn leafed, pumpkin faced decorations have been relegated to a tine little space way off to the side of the store.  At least I got my exercise trecking all over the store and I got to see lots of interesting Christmas decorations.  Ho ho ho!

Comfort Food

I have great memories of comfort food from my childhood.  At home my all time favorite comfort food was my mom's spaghetti.  So good!  But at my Aunt Dora's house my all time favorite comfort food was beef and noodles and mashed potatoes.  They say you can't go home again and I know that's true but this evening I experienced the next best thing.  We have an excellent cook at our church.  She cooks for the Day School and also for evening dinners before meetings and other programs.  She's not a gourmet chef but she is an amazing 'down home' cook.  Tonight (oh joy) before our Session meeting, we had beef and noodles and mashed potatoes.  Also corn, a roll and strawberry pound cake but let's stay focused on the important things.  I was first in line for the buffet.  Just a coincidence but I was eager.  The serving pans were lined up beef and noodles first, then the mashed potatoes (they were real by the way, not boxed). I reached for the potatoes first, then topped them with the beef and noodles and heard one of the servers saying to the cook "I told you put the potatoes first." So they switched them and everyone I saw put their beef and noodles on their potatoes.  It was sooo good.  I admit I had seconds.  And yes, I managed to polish off my cake also.  It was an amazing carb fest.  I managed to stay awake for my meeting but I did notice a lot of very relaxed people around the table.  

renaming a day

Today is Columbus Day, although I understand that there is a move to re-name it Native American Day.  And, I think, that in some states this has already happened.  I do understand that Christopher Columbus may not have been the paragon of virtue we were led to believe in elementary school, and I also understand that he never actually set foot on the territory that is now the United States.  Still, it saddens me to see Christopher's contribution to opening up the western hemisphere to Europeans ignored so I have a suggestion.  Instead of Columbus Day or Native American Day let's call it Great Explorers Day or Bold Explorers Day.  That would include the earliest explorers who crossed the Bering Strait or travelled north from what is now Mexico.  The Vikings, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Pilgrims and anyone else you can think of could be honored.  We might even throw in the astronauts.  How about it folks?  Let's hear it for Explorers Day. 

ISSMA and icicles

Yesterday I had the real pleasure of seeing two of my granddaughters perform with their marching bands during the Scholastic Class Prelims (to be followed next week by the Open Class Regional), all of which will eventually, if all goes well, lead to the bands performing at state.  One granddaughter is in the flag squad for Bishop Dwenger's band and the other plays bass clarinet in the Carroll High School band.  Both bands put on beautiful shows.  Dwenger OB class) received Silver and Carroll (OA class) received Gold with distinction in all catagories.  It was a clear afternoon and evening, not like the gushing downpour that caught us last year.  The only problen was that it was COLD and windy.  I know it's October but I'm not ready for really cold weather yet.  I was smart enough to wear warm layers and take a blanket to sit on.  I remember once, years ago, when my husband and I were at a band competition because our kids were in the band (in the early days of Carroll's competition career) and we weren't yet smart enough to take something to sit on.  Aluminum bleachers are beastly cold to sit on when the weather drops below 40.  At that memorable event, we "borrowed" several styrofoam plates from the food concession to sit on and they really were better than nothing.  But back to yesterday.  It seemed so cold that I was mentally comparing it to my ride in a reindeer pulled sled in Lapland last March.  That is for sure the coldest I have ever been, but last night seemed like a close second.  It's a good thing I love my grandchildren.

it's a mystery

Have you ever noticed how, when you're specifically shopping for a few things in the grocery store, other things (usually tasty little things) will jump into your cart and follow you home?  Well, the same thing happened to me earlier today on a slightly smaller scale.  I walked across the parking lot this afternoon to go to the little grocery/convenience store in the other building because I needed cash and the store has an ATM machine.  Well, I got my cash and was walking out past the frozen food display case when (I swear this is true) the door flew open and a small box of Dove ice cream bars leaped into my hand.  Well, there the box was, in my hand, so I felt compelled to pay for it, and sure enough it ended up in my freezer.  I am happy to report that I am exercising some self control.  There is still one bar left in the freezer.  Two out of three have, however, mysteriously disappeared.  

a quick fix

Today was a day at home for me so I decided to do lots of little things that I've been putting off.  One 'job' was to call the apartment office with a short list of little repairs that needed to be made.  One closet door had jumped its track, the sink faucet in the guest bath was leaking around the edges, and the drain in my bathroom sink was draining very slowly.  I stressed that none of these was an emergency but shortly after 1:00pm a maintenance man showed up with a big tool box on wheels and another large bucket of materials.  Perhaps this was a bit much but he did look ready for anything.  I do understand because my husband used to say that you could always depend on a plumbing repair to become a much larger and more convoluted problem than first anticipated.  He always assumed that the job would require at least four times as much time as first anticipated and at least one trip to the hardware store.  
Happy ending: three hours later (and only one trip down to their supply room) I had a free flowing drain, a closet door that's back on track and a brand new faucet in the guest bath.  It turned out that the old one was so old that they didn't have replacement parts for it.  Even though I didn't lift a finger on these projects I have a nice feeling of accomplishment. 

Food bagging

This evening our church held its annual food bagging event.  100 plus volunteers organize themselves into teams of 11 or 12 and assemble sealed bags of a dried food mixture.  The ingredients that go into each bag are rice, soy protein, dried vegetables and a vitamin pack.  The assembly line process is very well thought out. Four people at the beginning of each line dump the ingredients into bags which are opened and held under a funnel by two people. Then two people weigh the bags adding or removing a little rice to get the weight right.  Next, two more people seal the bags and finally (and this was my job tonight) the last person pats the bags flat and packs them in cardboard boxes, 36 bags (180 meals) per box.  In years past my grandchildren and children have been on a team with me and they were fast.  We were either first or seconed team finished four years in a row.  Sadly, this year they were all involved in marching band and other stuff so I had to be on a team with lots of people my age (aka old).  So slow!  When the winning team finished their 16 boxes we had just finished our seventh.  Happily, I guess, we were saved further shame because the group who supplied all the ingredients and materials had miscalculated and we ran out of plastic bags.  Our goal was 25,000 meals.  Not sure how many we actually accomplished.  They gave us each an ice cream sandwich and sent us home.  Ah well, there's always next year. 

more great studies

It turns out, according to a recent study, that over-exercising can cause slugglish mental responses, poor decision making and brain burn out.  Well, if ever I heard a great excuse for being a couch potato, this is it.  Oh wait, they just finished the report by saying that this finding only applies to extreme athletes.  Regular people should keep exercising...but maybe I won't take any chances. 
The other study says that dog owners live longer (probably because they get exercise walking their dogs). It also says that patting a dog can be good for you.  I do not intend to become a dog owner - been there, done that - but I shall continue to pat friendly dogs that I encounter on my elevator rides.  Every little bit helps, right?

They're never too old.

I had a phone call from my 48 year old son this evening that started "Everything is ok, but...."  Now I don't know about your, but when a child of mine (no matter how old) starts a conversation like that my first impulse is to panic.  Turns out he was calling for some advice about insurance matters because he was in a traffic accident on his way home from work today.  He was crossing Hwy 27, with the green light, when a driver whom he described as a monk (long yellow and red robe) ran the red light and basically ripped the front off my son's Prius.  It's totaled of course, but as my son hastened to point out, it could have been so much worse.  A second later and he would have hit the driver's door.  Needless to say I have been offering up a lot of "Thank you, God" prayers.  

Day dreams

I'm watching the season opener of "Madam Secretary." This has been one of my favorite TV series for several years.  I know it's a fantasy, but I enjoy shows about smart, ethical politicians who actually accomplish good stuff.  This season Elizabeth McCord has become President of the United States.  Such a lovely idea.  I shall not give up my dreams.  

Bring on the band...

...or orchestra.  When it comes to music I am a great listener.  I don't play any misical instruments and I can't carry a tune but I can sit and appreciate the music created by others.  Tonight was a great chance to do just that.  It was the opening performance of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and it was wonderful.  Billed as "Tchaikovsky Spectacular" that's just what it was.  The opening piece was Tchaikovsky's Coronation March and the Philharmonic was joined for this piece by the Fort Wayne Youth Symphony.  Together they had a great sound.  In introducing the youth group the director announced that they (the youth symphony) will be performing at Carnegie Hall in April.  Great job kids!
But, to me,the second piece, the Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was the hit of the evening.  I really enjoyed the interplay between (almost battle between) the piano and orchestra.  The guest pianist, Nikolai Demidenko, a Russian who, according to his bio, has performed all over the world, gave a really amazing performance.  Evidently I wasn't the only one who thought so because he got a long, long standing ovation.  Kind of unusual at intermission but very well deserved.
This performance will be broadcast on WBNI-94.1 on Thursday, October 17 at 7:00pm.  I recommend it. 

a sea of white

I had my hair cut this morning.  I went to the same hair stylest that I have gone to for the last 20 years.  She has moved salons a few times but still I've kept going to her.  The problem this morning wasn't with the haircut, which is always fine, but with the other patrons.  I know we are an aging society.  At 74 I no longer pretend to be middle aged but still, even with gray hair, I have a hard time thinking of myself as old.  However, as I sat in the waiting room, I suddenly noticed that every other woman (and a couple of men) sitting there with me had white hair and eight out of ten had canes.  One woman stood up when her stylest came to get her and the stylest told us all that the client will be 100 years old tomorrow.  I was happy for her but a little envious when I saw that she stood up almost as easily as I do.  After that I started noticing how people stood up (my gal was running a little late so I had time).  Every one had to grab something to help them stand up, a table or the back of a chair or their cane or something.  That remnded me of something I read in an AARP magazine recently.  Some doctor said that a heart-healthy senior (70+) should be able to stand up from the floor without using his or her hands.  Ha, ha, ha, ha! I'm sure someone my age might be able to do that but I haven't seen it yet.  I'll be sure to let you know when I do.

Alas, no diamonds

I do enjoy watching "Antiques Road Show" and, like many other people, I dream of discovering that I own something of amazing wealth.  You know, a rare 15th century painting or a fabulous piece of jewelry.  This evening as I half watched the show while doing other stuff, my attention was caught by the phrase 'Art Deco' jewelry.  I happen to own a ring that I was told is Art Deco so of course I was interested.  As it turned out the three piece set - necklace, bracelet and ring, was valued at $48,000 to $60,000.  While the artistic details of the jewelry were quite lovely, a great deal of the value was due to the fact that the three pieces containd between them about eight carats of diamonds.  Alas, my nifty silver ring has no diamonds and is probably worth the $50 I paid for it.  Of course I will keep watching the show, just in case.  I wonder how much an antique, avacado green blender is worth?

one more study

This one won't help you loose weight or adjust your eating habits but I do like the results.  It turns out, based on a study of bunches of parents and toddlers, that reading to your children at bedtime (a time-honored tradition) is better for them if you read from a paper book instead of a tablet or other electronic devise.  It turns out that children lsiten more carefully and stay focused much better if they are being read to from a book.  They also fall asleep faster.  That seems contradictory but it is a good thing.  I really like the results of this study.  It pleases me to know that I did things right with my children.  I know, I know, I really didn't have any other option.  No, I'm not old enough to have been reading to them from stone tablets!
Although I do remember my son, at the age of four, asking me quite seriously if there were dinosaurs around when I was a little girl

studies and more studies

Here are two recent studies I find interesting.  First a new study has just come out saying that it's ok to eat red meat and processed meat.  I don't eat a lot of red meat, except for an occasional steak when I'm eating at a restaurant.  I do however have a bit of a processed meat habit.  I really like summer sausage and have it for lunch several times a week.  I was a little sceptical about this study and became more so as I've heard various TV doctors slam the indipendent study.  I also began to question motives when, within five minutes of the frist airing of this report, there was a commercial for a steak house.  Probably just a coincidence.  Right?
The second study got me more excited.  It said that snacking on nuts helps you control weight gain.  This sounded really good to me because I do snack on nuts quite often.  I became a little less excited, though, when I heard the final part of the report.  It seems that people who snack on nuts gain, on average, one half pound a year while people who snack on other snacks gain one pound a year.  Forgive me if I'm under-whelmed.