off to a good start

 I know it isn't the new year quite yet, but, based on today, I have high hopes.  Good things have been happening all day.  In no particular order:  I got a good hair cut.  I had brunch with a friend (pancakes and bacon, yum).  Ball State won there first ever bowl game.  My niece texted me that she and her long term boyfriend got married over the Christmas break.  Also she and her new husband are buying a condo in Myrtle Beach SC as an investment property.  I'm hoping that, if I and some friends want to vacation there, we can get the friends and family discount.  Also, and this is a big one, my grandson shaved for the first time all year.  No, he didn't get a hair cut but one step at a time.  Happy New Year everyone.  2021 here we come.  

shopping spree

 Every Christmas for the last 12 years I have gifted each of my four grandchildren with an after Christmas shopping spree and lunch. One on one.  Over the years we have lunched at Chuckie Cheeses, Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, and many more.  We have shopped at Glenbrook and an antique mall and Menards and on and on.  Over the years interests have evolved from Build a Bear to Victoria's Secret and shopping for soldering irons and car repairs.  This year we had to make a change.  Since shopping anywhere in public is still problematic, I offered each of them a virtual shopping spree.  They can shop on line for whatever they want (within their set limit) send me the list, with all the order information, and I can  order and pay for the items and have them shipped directly to them.  We will find time for lunch later in the year.  Two of them have taken me up on the offer so far and I have been able to order everything on their lists.  Approximate delivery times vary which should keep them entertained with anticipation for a while.  Ho, ho, ho.

a word to the wise

 This morning on the TV news there was a short segment about new and unfamiliar words that have become commonplace this year.  Words like Zoom, Covid and coronavirus are no surprise.  We've learned about live streaming, social distancing and of course masks but my favorite new phrase is 'doom scrolling'.  Doom scrolling refers to spending hours on social media and other 'news' sources absorbing all the worst news about politics, illness, etc.  When I heard the word, I immediately thought of a good friend of mine, a retired nurse, who spends endless hours reading the sad posts of nurse friends and then wants to tell me all about the people they know who are sick or have died.  I don't mean to sound callous but I just think a steady diet of gloom and doom can't be good for a person.   So I am going to focus on the uplifting.  Here we are, swiftly, gratefully sliding into 2021.  I may even invent my own new phrase.  How about Happy hunting?  Serenity searching?  Polling positivity?  I'll keep working on it but you get the idea.  Let's turn our minds to something positive.  And if that makes me an ostrich, so be it.

return time

 I went to the mall today.  I know, I know, I was taking my life in my hands but I needed my calendars.  I wore my mask of course, and stayed six feet away from people whenever I could.  It's pretty easy in the mall which is a big place.  Every year I get two 'day at a time' calendars, one Sudoku and one of a variety of brain building puzzles (approved by Mensa no less) so I can work on puzzles while I eat breakfast.  I always wait until after Christmas to buy these puzzle calendars in case someone in my family takes the hint and buys them for me.  But this year, as you know, they all invested in my Roomba so I bought my calendars myself.  In case you're wondering, Rhoda is feeling well since I cleaned her rollers and did a great job vacuuming the guest bedroom.  Sadly, when I sent her the message to stop cleaning and go home she bumbled around a bit and then admitted that she couldn't find her way home.  When I carried her into the living room she managed to dock herself perfectly.  But I digress. While I was at the mall I noticed that a lot more people seemed to be returning than buying.  The longest line I saw, people carrying packages and waiting patiently, was outside Victoria's Secret.  So then I started wondering what people were returning to Victoria's Secret. Lacy bras? Fancy panties? Slinky pajamas?  Those all sound like great gifts to me, or would have in my younger days.  Of course maybe they were returning thongs.  That I could totally understand.

catching up

 Rhoda explored the guest bedroom (my weaving room) today and got all choked up.  Possibly a reflection on my housekeeping but I'll ignore that.  I have learned how to empty its little bin.  Tomorrow I will learn how to clean its beaters because it spoke to me and told me to do that.  

On a totally unrelated subject, today is National Fruitcake Day.  I am one of the probably four or five people in the United States who like fruitcake.  I've heard all the jokes about using them as doorstops and regifting them year after year.  There is one legend that says that there is really only one fruitcake that just gets passed around from person to person and year to year.  When I told my west coast brother that I actually like fruit cake he admitted that so does he.  We decided it might be genetic.  Sadly, when I did some grocery shopping at Kroger's today I couldn't find any fruitcake.  Maybe I should check Trader Joe's?  

continuing the adventure

 Well, I plugged in my Roomba and followed the 'simple' on line directions to get it set up.  Then I realized my wifi connection wasn't good in the bedroom so I moved the whole set-up to the living room and did the set up all over again.  I still don't have all of the possible programming finished but I was able to get it (sorry, that's Rhoda, I had to give it (her?) a name) to vacuum the living room.  Sort of.  I envisioned Rhoda rolling slowly in straight lines back and forth across the room.  Instead she zigged and zagged around the Christmas tree and several other obstacles.  She did a fine job of vacuuming under the couch but had to be rescued when she got stuck in a corner under there.  All in all I only spent twice as long as it would have taken me to vacuum the whole apartment.  

Ho Ho Ho

 Well, I got my Christmas wish.  My children went together and bought me a Roomba.  What, you may ask is a Roomba?  Or you may not ask if you see the TV commercials.  A Roomba is a robot vacuum cleaner.  It's small, round, less than 4 inches tall and about 13 inches in diameter, and, once I have it programmed, it will zip around and vacuum my whole apartment.  I decided to wait until tomorrow to do the programming.  I think it's good to be awake and alert for something like that.  I did. however, take time to read the warnings and instructions and I learned some interesting things.  First, the instructions are written for young people with good eyesight.  But I found my handy dandy magnifying glass and overcame that obstacle, I also learned that it's so simple even an eight year old can operate it (after he's properly trained).  I also learned that I mustn't ride on it and I shouldn't let it out on the balcony.  Friends who have these devices tell me they are wonderful and assure me I will love it.  Check in again tomorrow evening.

couch church on Christmas Eve

I have been attending Christmas Eve services at First Presbyterian Church for 40 years.  I remember years when it was so crowded that you had to come an hour early to get a good seat.  I  remember wiggly children who evolved into candle and banner carrying acolytes and grandchildren who dozed off with their head on my shoulder.  Early on the services ran from 11pm to 12:30am.  In later years the service started at 10pm, perhaps a nod to our aging congregation.  Always there was glorious music and enthusiastic singing and the old familiar scripture readings.  Like so much else in 2020 this evening's service was different.  It was prerecorded so I could choose my own start time.  7:15 worked for me.  The songs were still lovely, the scriptures familiar although the only occupants of the sanctuary were the organist, soloists and pastors, plus the sound and camera people.  While it felt very different to be sitting here in my living room attending Christmas Eve service, I find that .there are some things I really do appreciate about 'couch church.'  I like to feel that the pastor is speaking right to me and I love to watch the organist play thanks to a well placed camera in the balcony.  A nod to our Trinity English neighbors, my favorite prelude piece this evening was Robert Hobby's "Fanfare on Hark the Herald Angels Sing."  As always with my couch church attendance, as I relax and tune out the world it does become a worshipful experience and for that I am very grateful.  Joy to the World everyone, enjoy this Silent Night and have a blessed Christmas.

ready to sift

 I dropped off some Christmas gifts at my daughter's Covid infested house earlier today.  She and her daughter both have it now but her son and husband have both tested negative.  Not sure how that happens.  It's a weirdly selective virus.  I was able to make the gift transfer with my son-in-law without coming within ten feet of each other and all outside so I'm not worried about that.  In addition to some gifts which I haven't opened yet, I was given a birthday gift by my granddaughter.  She gave me a sifter (that's sifter not snifter) because she remembered that my old one had fallen apart earlier this year when I was baking something.  I was sifting flour according to the recipe I was following when suddenly I noticed strange little black and metallic pieces in the flour.  Thankfully I saw that before I baked anything.  Anyway, as I looked closely I realized that the inner workings of my sifter were disintegrating.  So I threw everything away and mentioned to my granddaughter that my old sifter had died.  To its credit, it had served me well for over 40 years.  I was amused that she remembered about the sifter.  The new one is a little larger and seems very sturdy.  Of course it's not something I used every day but it's nice to know I have one when I need it.  If it lasts as long as the last one she can inherit it some day.  Don't laugh.  It could happen.  When I was stirring up cookie dough yesterday I realized I was using a wooden spoon that had been my grandmother's.

cookies any one?

 Today is National Cookie Exchange Day.  As it happened, I actually baked some cookies today, Snickerdoodles - one of my favorites.  I won't be exchanging these with any one though.  I will take some to my son and daughter for Christmas.  The grandchildren like them and are not too picky. They are teenagers after all.  Which is good because these are some of the ugliest cookies I've ever baked.  I do know how to bake and I followed the recipe, which I have used many times before, but something went wrong.  I evidently need a quality control person to supervise.  When my grandchildren were young (and able to visit) they would help with these cookies by rolling the dough into nice little balls and then rolling them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture.  They always baked up just right.  Not today though.  They came out flat not puffy, with wildly differing amounts of cinnamon sugar on them.  Some were round while others were basically blob shaped.  On the plus side I bagged up the best, make that most normal, looking ones for the two families (18 each) and I was left with a fair amount of misfit cookies.  Did I mention they taste really good?

Short people....

 Well actually only one short person.  Today is the shortest day of the year and, appropriately, Short Girls Appreciation Day.  I have a long history of appreciating short girls.  Most of my friends in high school and college were about 5'2".  Since I'm 5'10" I tend to notice these things.  My shortest short girl friend is my sister-in-law who is 4'11" which makes her an interesting life companion for my brother who is 6'6" tall.  When he stands on his knees he is taller than she is.  They have obviously made it work though.  They do have five children.  When they were first married they came from Spokane to visit in Fort Wayne for Christmas one year.  I took my sister-in-law to Glenbrook Mall. At that time there was a petite shop there that she wanted to check out.  Sadly, the skirts there were too long for her.  As I roamed around the racks with her I felt like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.   When we checked out (she did find something she wanted to buy) she pulled out her wallet and the clerk looked at me like it was so cute that I was letting my little girl pay for her own purchase.  

 

a Christmas muse

 Since I couldn't mail out all of the Christmas greetings I wanted to this year, I've decided to share this year's muse electronically.  Merry Christmas everyone.

OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS

By

Luci Foltz

 

I’ve learned a lot in 2020,

How to lament a brother’s death

And still celebrate his life.

How to stay at home.

Who knew I had an inner hermit?

While reading and weaving filled my days

I did not feel compelled to deep clean.

Some things do not change.

I was introduced to Zoom.

Did you know that you can

Chat with friends and family,

Attend all your regular meetings

And friendly gatherings, at home by Zoom?

And it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing,

As long as you look good from the shoulders up.

I’ve learned to livestream church services.

Couch church is not so bad.

I’ve also learned that I love wearing a mask.

Not only does it help to keep me and others healthy,

It also covers most of my wrinkles and my saggy chin.

Definitely a win/win.

And I’ve learned the wisdom of my mother’s admonition

“This too shall pass.”

Merry Christmas everyone,

And a blessedly better New Year!

 

 

plans change

 I thought I would be spending Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day with my daughter and her family but today I learned that my 18 year old granddaughter has tested positive for Covid.  It looks like it will be a relatively mild case, headache, fever (gone now) and congestion.  She's sleeping a lot which is good.  Obviously I'm concerned and my first impulse is to rush over to see her and hug her and make it better.  But this is not the year for hugging or even in person visits.  I am, they tell me, in a high risk category being over 65 (way over) and with a mild heart problem.  So now I'm debating what to do.  I could deliver their gifts to their garage and pick up mine from them, waving and talking from a safe distance.  I can take them the sweet potato casserole they requested, and some cookies.  Better than nothing I guess, but it sure won't be the same.  Or I could throw caution to the wind and just go spend Christmas with my family, at least half of them.  Stay tuned.

true confession

 Well, it was bound to happen sometime in December.  Today is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day.  I have never been accused of being sophisticated and I have frequently admitted to being easily entertained so this confession should come as no surprise.  I like Christmas sweaters, and Christmas sweatshirts for that matter, and I don't think they're ugly.  They are brightly colored - lots of red and green, and usually have a fun picture.  It might be Santa, or a reindeer, or a snowman or a Christmas tree or bells or stars or even angels.  In my personal collection I have holly, Charlie Brown with his Christmas tree, a penguin wearing a wooly cap and scarf, a Christmas tree, and a snowman,  and I wear them with pride, or at least with no apologizes.  Have a silly, fun Christmas season everyone.

family history

 117 years ago today the Wright brothers flew for the first time.  That sounds like such a long time ago.  My mother-in-law was born in 1898 and died in 1994. It has always intrigued me to think about all the history she lived through from heavier than air flight to man walking on the moon.  Family history says that we are related to the Wright brothers.  Distant cousins.  My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Wright.  We were also told that we were related to Frank Lloyd Wright and that turned out to be true.  I'm not clear on the circumstances but when I was a pre-teen my mother was tracked down by lawyers.  Turns out she was one of many of Frank's descendants and his estate was evidently being divided among all of them.  Before you get all excited about our inheritance I believe her share was $35.  

Wrapping rhings up

 I spent part of this evening wrapping Christmas gifts.  I don't have too many to wrap this year because I will only be seeing immediate family members.  I will probably finish this part of my holiday preparations before the weekend.  It's nice to know I'll be finished in good time but still I miss the drama of years gone by.  When our children were young I always seemed to be wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve after the late service at church.  I didn't usually get much sleep on Christmas Eve but it was worth it to watch the kids tear into those packages in the morning.  There were some memorable gifts like the German Cabbage Patch doll and the science kit that we gave our son a week late because we forgot where we had hidden it.  And of course there were Legos, lots and lots of Legos. Sweet memories. 

an excellent brew....

 Today is International Tea Day, definitely a day that I can appreciate.  I love tea.  I brew a pot of tea every morning in my Mr. Coffee (shhh, don't tell the Mr. Coffee people).  I have been told many times by doctors and my dentist that tea is good for me, and I believe it, but, actually, I drink it because I like it.  When I was a child we were never allowed to drink coffee (not good for children), which was ok with me.  Mom's coffee smelled wonderful but was strong enough to strip nail polish.  On the other hand she considered tea perfectly ok for kids, with plenty of milk and sugar of course.  It was our usual breakfast drink.  Happily, I've been able to carry on the tradition with my grandchildren who, even in their teen years, ask for hot tea when they come to visit.  Australia, New Zealand, England and Scotland are high on my list of favorite countries to visit because they always have brewed tea available in restaurants and, in the evenings, in most hotels.  Always with milk of course, not cream.  Cream tastes great in coffee, but not, in my opinion, in tea; milk is better in tea.  Happily, the British agree with me.

decisions, decisions.....

 To fry or not to fry, that is the question.  I was shopping earlier today, trying to carefully social distance, wearing a mask of course, and looking for a perfect gift for my son-in-law.  He does most of the cooking for their family so when I came upon a shelf full of air fryers I thought maybe he would like one.  I've never tried one but friends who have them say they're great.  As I stood in the store, I texted my daughter to see if this would be a suitable gift.  No answer; I realized she was at work.  So I decided to buy one that looked good, not too big but workable.  I could always return it, right? After I got home I heard from my daughter.  It turns out that her husband already has an air fryer.  So now, because I am intrigued by this thing, I must decide if I will return the air fryer or keep it for myself.  I supposed I really should open the box and read the instructions before I decide, maybe plug it in and do a trial fry????

Happy birthday....

..to me.  Today I am 76 years old which is much better than the alternative.   A friend suggested that, considering what a year 2020 has been, I should demand a do-over, but really, there's not that much difference between 75 and 76.  Except last year, as I pondered turning75, all I could think of was 'three quarters of a century' yikes.  This year the refrain that keeps running through my mind is the song '76 Trombones,' much more fun.  No big party this year, although I was taken out to dinner on Friday. Yum. Today's birthday greetings were all by Zoom, phone, Facebook and text.  All very 2020ish.  I did receive some actual birthday cards earlier this week.  One of my very favorites showed pictures of about 20 variations of the VW bus on the front.  This brought back floods of memories of many, many camping trips.  During the 13 years we owned it. our VW camper conversion carried us on trips to all 48 contiguous states and parts of Canada. Sweet memories, indeed.  

a great day for food

 Today is Poinsettia Day, also Gingerbread House Day and Cocoa Day.  It's also 12-Hour Fresh Breath Day.  A friend told me this week that this has been a really good year for Poinsettias and that the ones that were recently delivered to the church are much larger than usual.  I find it encouraging to think that something thrived this year,  Obviously gingerbread (house shaped or not) and cocoa are delicious and I'm finding, as usual, that there is way too much good food to enjoy at this time of year, Covid or no.  One of the best side effects of this year is mask wearing, for many reasons.  12-Hour Fresh Breath Day reminds me of one more.  I still brush and floss and swish regularly, but I find it very reassuring to know that, when I'm wearing a mask, nobody will be offended by my breath.  I may just wear masks forever.  

Happy Chanukah

 Actually Chanukah started yesterday, December 10. this year and will end on December 18.  Thinking about Chanukah and other Jewish festivals always reminds me of the year I spent teaching in upstate New York.  Monticello, New York was, and I'm sure still is, a lovely little city in the Catskills.  It's population was fifty percent Jewish, thirty percent black and the rest of us.  It was a real learning experience for a young art teacher from a small town in Indiana and my first exposure to being a minority.  And speaking of learning experiences, I learned that you never put a white Star of David on a green background.  When my good friend, fellow teacher, and guide to all things Jewish, Sam explained this to me I had to completely take apart what I thought was a really good Winter Festival bulletin board showing a Christmas wreath around a Star of David.  It went with the Holiday tree set up in the entrance hall.  Happily, I was able to reconstruct the bulletin board as planned but with a blue background.  The reason I was doing the bulletin board was because early in the school year, I spotted the school principal struggling to put together a bulletin board and asked him if he would like me to do the monthly bulletin boards.  I thought he was going to fall down on his knees in gratitude.  Since most of my job all through college was designing bulletin boards it really wasn't a hardship.  One day I caught the principal taking a photograph of one of my bulletin boards.  He told me he had been taking pictures of all of them, just in case he ever had to go back to doing them himself.  I hope he was able to use them when I moved back home to get married.  

Dewey or don't we?

 Today is Dewey Decimal System Day.  My brother asked me if kids still learn the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) in school and I honestly don't know.  I know there are still shelves and shelves of books in my favorite library that are arranged numerically according to the DDS but I don't know if they actually learn the system in school or just how to Google it. Some things just aren't the same as they used to be in the library.  Computers have replaced the card catalog.  Bar codes that can be scanned for checking out your books (a do-it-yourself process) have replaced the date due stamped card which the librarian carefully slid into the pocket pasted inside the book cover. The librarian of my youth remembered my father coming into 'her' library and reading every book in the place, which made me feel right at home. While I nostalgically miss some things about the libraries of my youth (I was a library volunteer in high school), there are lots of things I really do appreciate about today's library.  Being able to renew checkouts by phone or on line, large print books, curb side pickup, 3-D printers, a coffee shop, and an amazing children's section are just a few of the wonders of the modern library.  Then or now, I am addicted to the library, and did I mention it's all FREE!!  Well. except for the 3-D printer.

Oh, happy month,,,

 I love December.  For a few fleeting weeks I get interesting stuff in my mailbox.  No political postcards, no adds to change my supplemental insurance; instead I get cards - Christmas cards and birthday cards, also little slips of paper that say I have a parcel (I love that word parcel) in the main office.  It's fun and makes a refreshing change.  Not saying how old I'll be next Sunday but the melody of "76 Trombones" keeps running through my mind.  Actually that's more upbeat than last year when the phrase 'three quarters of a century' was haunting me.  Funniest birthday card today:  on the front - 'Turning your age is a lot like frying bacon in the nude."  Inside - "You know it's gonna hurt, but you're not sure exactly where."  

Yummy

 Today is National Chocolate Brownie Day.  To celebrate, since I really didn't have time to bake brownies, I watched the Great British Baking Show this evening.  The best part of watching this show is that the beautiful cakes and other baked goods that are created are so lavish and complex that I would never even try to replicate them.  Baking is a really good spectator sport though.  More exciting than football.  The tension builds as the bakers worry that their cakes have fallen or the glaze on their frosting isn't quite shiny enough,  Real nail biting tension.  But I wouldn't want you to think that I never bake.  I actually have an excellent recipe for chocolate brownies: buy one box of Ghirardelli's dark chocolate brownie mix and follow directions.  Delicious!

menu request

 My son and his family are going to spend New Year's Day with me, assuming we are all well and stay carefully spaced, and my son has told me that we must have sauerkraut.  It seems he didn't have any last January 1, and we know how this year turned out.  So I bought a jar at Kroger's today/  Now I need to decide how to cook it.  We have two family traditions.  My step-mom drained it, stirred in some fried polish sausage and baked it, then served it over mashed potatoes.  My mother-in-law drained it thoroughly and fried it in lots of butter and brown sugar. Sounds weird but it's really good.  This can also be served over mashed potatoes.  I like sauerkraut so either way tastes good to me.  Decisions, decisions.  One way or the other we will have sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  We really don't need another year like 2020.

To be or not to be...

 vaccinated, that is.  We had an interesting discussion in our Zoom adult Sunday School class this morning.  We follow a class series called Wired Word which deals with current events.  Part of the discussion today was about the question "Will you or won't you get the Covid 19 vaccine when it's available?  Personally I tend to be pro vaccines but I know a lot of people aren't.  They said a recent survey showed an almost 50/50 split among wills and wonts. I remember getting the polio vaccine when I was in elementary school. My mother was thrilled when it became available.  A headline in this morning's paper asked SHOULD VACCINES BE MANDATORY?  My first response was to think that it would be impossible to enforce. We can't even make everyone wear masks.  Then I read the article and realized they were talking about requiring that all health care workers in the Parkview and Lutheran systems be vaccinated.  Seems like a good idea to me.  So, assuming everything works out and there's plenty of vaccine available, will you or wont you?

Really? What's that?

My brother informed me that this is "Krampusnacht."  I do have quite a bit of German in my DNA (about 80 percent?) and I'm pretty sure nacht means night but I have never heard of Krampusnacht.  I must admit, when I first read the word it sounded like something painful.  Turns out I was kind of right.  Of course I turned to Google to find out if this is some sort of celebration I'm missing out on.  It turns out that a krampus is a horned  anthropomorphic figure described as half goat, half demon who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have been bad.  Sort of the opposite of Santa Claus.  The preferred punishment seems to be to give the child a stick instead of a gift.  So, my children, if you put your breakfast plates on the table this evening before you go to bed, the krampus will come during the night (not sure if he does the chimney thing) and leave a gift on your plate if you've been good or a stick if you've been bad.  Sweet dreams.  

a new adventure

 Well, it's official.  I'm on the doctor's schedule for cataract surgery starting in January,  I've gone to this eye doctor for many years.  He did surgery on each of my eyes eight years ago to fix my glaucoma problem and that has worked out very well.  The only catch is that cataract surgery can sometimes undo the glaucoma correction.  So we agreed to start with my left eye which has had limited sight for some time now.  Basically my vision in my left eye is always blurry.  While nothing will repair the peripheral vision in that eye it would be nice to see clearly while looking straight ahead.  So the plan is to start with my left eye, surgery scheduled for January 13.  Then we will wait three weeks to make absolutely sure everything is working well before he starts snipping on my right eye.  Supposedly the special lenses he will implant will not only fix my vision but also repair my astigmatisms.  Theoretically this will do all kinds of good things for my vision.  Fun fact, for the three weeks after my left eye is fixed, I will wear my glasses without a lens on the left side.  Any one want to guess how many times I will accidentally poke myself in the eye? On the other hand, that side of my glasses won't fog up when I wear a mask.  There is always a silver lining.

Finally!

 We've waited a long time for Trader Joe's to open a store in Fort Wayne.  Some of us were more anxious than others.  My daughter-in-law, for example, who learned to love Trader Joe's in Phoenix, made regular trips to the TJ's in Indy until we got one of our own.  Today a friend and I decided to see what all the fuss is about.  Our first impression when we walked in the door was "Oh, it's kind of small." and I guess it is compared to the two super Kroger's in town,  But the really nice thing is it's full of groceries.  You can't buy clothes there or Christmas wrapping paper.  It's just a place to buy food (what a concept, right?) and it has plenty of space for interesting goodies.  My friend found little boxes of assorted syrups that he bought for gifts.  He also looked longingly at some delicious looking cookies but he exerted his self control and passed on those.  I bought celery and tomatoes and something called olive stuffed chicken nuggets.  I haven't tried them yet but they sound delicious.  I doubt that I will ever be as big a fan of this store as my daughter-in-law but I am intrigued enough to go back.  The fact that it's located right beside De Brand's doesn't hurt, If you get weary shopping you can always slip in there for a hot chocolate.  Ho, ho, ho!!!

really not the same

 When I have TV on I tend to listen to commercials with half an ear because I'm usually doing something else, like playing a computer game, or eating breakfast or something.  So this morning when I heard a commercial with Christmas music in the background saying that 'made from scratch memories are the best' my mind drifted to homemade pumpkin pie, the amazing cookies my college roommate's mother used to make, my mother's spaghetti and so much more.  Then I realized that the commercial was selling scratch off lottery tickets.  I'm sorry, that's just not the same thing at all.  

just for fun

 I've been Zoom tutoring a 4th grade boy for the last few weeks and I readily admit that he is teaching me as much as I'm teaching me.  For example, Monday afternoon, when we got "put into a room" for our session, I noticed that instead of seeing his living room wall behind him, I was seeing a glorious view of the Northern Lights.  When I commented on it he did something magical with his computer and suddenly he was on a sandy beach with ocean waves and palm trees in the background.  As I watched the swaying palm trees and rolling waves I almost forgot what I was supposed to be doing.  He explained how he was changing the backgrounds and it doesn't sound too hard.  I think I'll try to surprise my book group friends tomorrow morning, just for fun.  

shopping 2020 style

 I must say, the shopping lists I am seeing these days look nothing like my concept of a Christmas wish list.  My concept is a long list of goodies just written or typed out.  For example I want some new pajamas and a calendar and some wool socks and a Roomba.  You get the idea.  Over the weekend my son and daughter-in-law sent me their wish lists as emails.  Not only did each list contain several reasonably priced items, carefully described, but also the links to take me right to the website where I could purchase these goodies.  And so I did. Cyber shop that is.  While I have never had a desire to fight the crowds to shop on Black Friday, it turns out that Cyber Monday is not bad at all.  No crowds, no waiting in line, no need to wear a mask.  Of course, on the down side, I am at the mercy of UPS, Fed X and others to get my hands on the actual items.  They have promised seven days,  A week ago I rode up in the elevator with a delivery man carrying a medium size box.  As we rode it dropped out of his hands and landed with a smack on the elevator floor.  I didn't hear anything rattling but I am really glad that almost everything I've ordered is cloth.  

What? It's only been three days.

 My brother, the one who keeps me posted on these things, tells me that today is "Throw away the left overs day."  Really?  Don't these people know about freezers?  That little section in your refrigerator that makes things super cold and solid?  Over the years I have successfully frozen sweet potatoes, turkey breast, and other turkey parts, pumpkin pie filling (that worked very well) green bean casserole, and so much more.  Two tips, use zip lock bags or containers that seal well, and finally, and this is most important - label your packages, unless you like mystery meals.  It's also a good idea to date your packages.  Things do tend to get shoved to the back of the freezer.  Happy thawing everyone.

Oh Christmas Tree.....

 My Christmas tree is up.  No lights or decorations yet but I have fluffed all the branches and stuck them on the trunk in the appropriate slots.  Tomorrow I will string the lights and hang the ornaments, lots and lots of ornaments.  I make no apologies for having an artificial tree.  I have had this one for 38 years and it's like an old friend,  Besides, artificial trees are a family tradition.  I'm not sure what happened in his childhood, but my father was always afraid that a natural tree would catch fire.  Of course when he was a child and people used candles on their trees, that was a very real possibility.  I have no memory of  chopping down a tree or looking at trees in a tree lot, but I clearly remember our first artificial tree.  Its very symmetrical branches were covered in silver foil "needles" and it was lit by a spot light behind a revolving color wheel.  I'm sure we were the first family in our small town to have a silver tree and Daddy loved it.  No lights strung on the tree meant no hot spots, so no fire hazard.  Happily, I married a man who was allergic to the smell of pine, so he was very happy to carry on the artificial tradition, although we did go with green.  Now both of my children have artificial trees in their homes.  Isn't it great when traditions live on?

Once upon a time...

 Once upon a time, when I was very young, Christmas gifts included things like doll houses and Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs. Occasionally we would get new mittens or gloves or even socks, but not very often.  This year I'm gifting my great nieces and nephews with, you guessed it, masks.  I will also include some cash,  I'm not a total Grinch.  By the way, I bought the masks today, so, hooray, I've started my Christmas shopping.  

Thanksgiving thoughts

 I hope you all have had a good Thanksgiving Day.  At a Zoom meeting yesterday a friend read an essay that suggested some things I hadn't thought to be thankful for.  I don't know who the author is but here are some I liked:

I'm thankful that I have to pay taxes because it means that I have income.  (Probably not as thankful as I should be.)

I'm thankful for my wrinkles because they mean I've laughed a lot.  (My granddaughter assured me once that all of my wrinkles are laugh wrinkles,)

I'm thankful that some of my clothes are tighter than they used to be because it means I have plenty to eat.  (Certainly true on Thanksgiving)

I'm thankful for people who complain about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.  

You get the idea.  I hope you have had a blessed Thanksgiving.

Temptations...

 I will not be having Thanksgiving dinner with my family tomorrow.  We decided to play it safe, but we will visit by Zoom in the afternoon.  Since I'll be home alone I will not be cooking a feast for myself but I have been considering baking an apple pie (a really good apple pie made by church ladies) that I have in my freezer.  I had just about talked myself out of baking the pie.  The problem is that, if I bake it, I will eat it.  But then I had a text from a friend who is also eating alone saying that she had just finished baking two pumpkin pies.  Then another home alone friend chimed in that she has a rhubarb pie and also a sugar cream pie in her freezer.  She hasn't decided which one she will eat tomorrow.  Well, obviously, I will need to bake my pie, just to be sociable.  Hummm?  Do I have to wait 'til morning?  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  

it's a drive through life.

 Tomorrow I need to go to Walgreen's to pick up a prescription and then on to my bank to take out some cash in specific denominations to send as Christmas gifts.  Happily I can do all of this without getting out of my car.  Some years ago, when my daughter was taking driver's ed, her instructor had her drive through a McDonalds and up to a bank window.  At the time I thought maybe the instructor was taking advantage of her students to get her personal chores done, but after a while I realized that these are very practical skills to learn, especially these days.  While I do enjoy going into stores sometimes there are some definite advantages to doing things by drive through.  Just like going to Zoom meetings, it doesn't matter what you wear (unless you get pulled over by a policeman).  I try not to do that. Of course, based on some of the outfits I've seen people wearing in stores, it really doesn't matter what you wear anywhere.  Personally, I think if your mask matches your outfit, anything goes.  

I dould do that.

 On Saturday I was clicking through the channels trying to find something to watch while I rode my exercise bike.  The half hour goes much faster when I have something to watch.  I came upon a women's figure skating competition.  While I don't often watch sports on TV, I really enjoy a sport that involves graceful moves and sparkly   costumes.  The more I watched the more I thought that I should do this.  I followed along and found that I can do all the arm movements, and goodness knows I can spin around and fall down.  In my youth I was pretty good at ice skating in a straight line.  All I need to do is learn some of the fancy footwork.  The skating rink across the street has just opened for the winter so I even have a place to practice.  Now all I need to do is figure out how to attach blades to a walker.

A date I remember

 Sometime today it occurred to me that today is November 22, so when I watched the news I was wondering when some newscaster would mention that today is the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  So far nothing,  I know that it happened 57 years ago but still, nothing???  I wasn't expecting a big retrospective but still, in between the endless reports on the coronavirus, which believe my I am not taking lightly, I though someone might slip in thirty seconds of memorial for JFK.  Nothing on the CBS 6:30 news, nothing on 60 Minutes, nothing so far on the 10pm news on channel 55.  I actually began to doubt my memory but Google reassured me that today is the correct date.  Since this is one of those events in my lifetime that I will always remember, you know, where I was and what I was doing when I learned of it, I expect other people to remember it too.  On this date in 1963 President John F. Kennedy was shot to death while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dallas, Texas.  And I, like millions of others, was shocked to think that such a thing could happen in the 20th century in the United States.  It was a loss of innocence. 

a rare and amazing creature....

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is Alascattalo Day.  What, you may be asking, is an Alascattalo?  Google gave two answers but this isn't about the asteroid.  My first guess was an Alaskan animal, perhaps a mixed breed cow and buffalo?  But I'm not sure if there are buffalo in Alaska.  Actually I wasn't too far off.  The elusive Alascattalo is a mixed breed of a walrus and a moose.  Who knew?  When I learned this it reminded me of other strange and exotic animals I have learned about in my travels around the US.  Especially Hodags in Wisconsin and Jackalopes in Texas.  It's good to be aware of some of the lesser know species in our country.  Some are quite scary, especially the orange crested dedludedenyit now residing somewhere on the east coast. 

Oh, fudge.

 My west coast brother has come through again.  Today is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day.  I'm not sure why they limit it to peanut butter fudge,  I like peanut butter and I like fudge (chocolate of course) but really not together.  I do like peanut butter, chunky naturally, and I even like it in some combinations.  Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a classic but, personally, I like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, preferably with bread and butter pickles.  I read a novel recently in which the heroine was enjoying a peanut butter and olive sandwich . I haven't tried that yet but I like olives so why not?  Everyone of a certain age remembers that Elvis had a fondness for peanut butter and banana sandwiches (better with mayonnaise).  Hummm, I'm sensing that it's time for a bed time snack.

panic attack???

 Or maybe it's de ja vu all over again.  Today, because Allen County is in the red zone, I felt compelled to go out and stock up.  No, not toilet paper, I have a plenty of that, but groceries and books.  Books are probably more important than food and since I really prefer the large print books it's much easier to go to the library and pick some out in person than to try to find them on line and use curb side pick up.  Don't get me wrong.  Curb side pick up was fine when there was no other option.  As for groceries, what can I say.  I bought good stuff like milk and eggs and ham and cheese.  But then, as mysteriously happens so often in grocery stores, a package of apple fritters jumped into my cart.  It must have done, because there it was on the counter when I had finished putting all the other groceries away.  Did you know that if you heat an apple fritter in the microwave (put a piece of wax paper over it) for 30 seconds, it gets lovely and warm and even more tasty.  So there's your recipe tip for the day.  

gift idea

 How times change.  I have six great nieces and nephews (three of each) and each year I send each of them a Christmas gift.  Last year, because they are getting older, I sent each of them a billfold (camo for boys, sequined for girls) with cash inside.  They all seemed to enjoy these and shopping is problematic these day so I decided to send cash again.  I still feel though that I would like to send some little gift with the money, something they can open.  So I've been trying to think of something appropriate as a gift in 2020.  And finally it hit me, I can send them masks.  There are lots of cute masks out there these days and the cutest I've seen are for kids.  Also, I can order them on line and hope to get them before Christmas.  That's my plan.  We'll see how it all works out.  I know, masks aren't quite as exciting as socks for Christmas but times are tough right now.  

farm jokes

 My west coast brother informed me that today is Farm Joke Day, and being a goat farmer, as well as a loving brother, he shared a few with me, so of course I'll share with you.

1. What did the mommy goat say to the baby goat?

"It's pasture bed time." to which the baby goat replied "butt, butt, butt."

2.  What do you call a cow with no legs?  Ground beef.

3.  What do you call a horse with no legs?  It doesn't matter, it won't cone any way.

After those jokes, I felt compelled to respond.  What do you call a chicken with no wings and no legs.   White meat!

Ok, enough of this nonsense, but if it took your mind off Covid and politics for a minute, my job is done here.😁

interesting TV

 Tis the season, no not the holiday season, the new season of my favorite TV shows.  It's been interesting to see how the producers have been working around pandemic restrictions.  For example "Bull" one of my favorite courtroom dramas, has everyone wearing masks, the people testifying are behind plexiglass, the jurors are in another building watching the procedures on screen.  On the new "Family Feud" episodes Steve Harvey stands over six feet from the contestants, no one shakes hands.  I'm a big fan of "The Voice" and their audience are all watching through TV screens while the contestants in the battles are on separate little stages several feet apart.  I must say, I applaud their ingenuity.  It's good to be done with reruns, except for "Monk" of course.  I always enjoy those reruns. He could be the poster boy for this pandemic.  He makes hand sanitizing an art form.

A very windy day....

 I'm getting used to disorienting days lately. days where the weather and the date on the calendar just don't match.  Today was another one.  You may have noticed it was pretty windy today, a little too windy for kite flying, actually, but it certainly seemed like a March day to me.  Even more fascinating was the wind storm itself.  While the wind was strong enough to create white caps on the lazy St. Mary's River, it still didn't manage to blow down the two very dead trees along the river's edge.  But they did loose some branches.  To quote one of my favorite philosophers, Winnie the Pooh, it's been a very blustery day.  

Soup's on.

 This week, now happily over, was National Split Pea Soup Week.  I'm not sure why this particular soup gets a whole week, not sure why it would even get a day.  I am not a picky eater, really I'm not, but there are two things I really don't want to eat.  One is tomato soup and the second least favorite is split pea soup.  I like peas and I like tomatoes but not in soup.  I think it may have something to do with the texture of these soups.  Don't laugh.  I had a friend in college who had no sense of smell or taste (this was long before Covid) and yet she had very definite likes and dislikes in food.  I finally asked her one day how she knew that she liked or didn't like a particular food if she couldn't taste it.  She said it was the texture.  I don't remember her soup preferences but I'm pretty sure she was fond of ice cream.  

one more time

 Please indulge me.  One more evening of sweatshirt humor, and then no more (until the next catalog comes).  

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

Since there is only one of me, does that make me endangered or a limited edition?

\If by "crunches" you mean the sound bacon makes when you eat it, then YES, I do crunches.

People who wonder if the glass is half empty or half full miss the point.  The glass is refillable.

It takes real skills to choke on air, fall up the stairs, and trip over nothing.  I have those skills.

I do all my own stunts, but never intentionally.

I accidentally went shopping on an empty stomach. and now I'm the proud owner of Aisle 6.

catalog joys

 Every three months or so the mailman brings me one of my favorite catalogs.  Ironically it's called "Catalog Favorites."  There are lots of different clothes in this catalog, but what I always look for are the sweatshirts with pithy sayings.  Here are my first four favorites from this issue:

'At my funeral take the bouquet off my coffin and throw it into the crowd to see who is next.'

'Sometimes I wonder what happened to the people who asked me directions.'

' I'm a wooden spoon, lead paint, no car seat, no seat belt, no bike helmet survivor.'

' If 2020 was a drink. it would be a colonoscopy prep.' 

Happy Veterans' Day

 Actually I'm not sure if the greeting "happy Veterans' Day" is appropriate.  For many, I'm sure it's a day of sad memories.  My family is very fortunate.  We have had some known family member in every war since the Civil War, on my or my husband's side, and none of them have died in battle.  This week I was reminded of one of these relatives.  My husband's father served in WWI and I have a picture of hum looking very young and handsome in his uniform.  His picture, sepia toned and mounted on a plastic like surface in a very old oval frame, has stood on a shelf in my bookcase for years.  I'm not sure why but when I looked closely at it last week I realized that the plastic like material it was printed/mounted on was starting to break away.  I took it to Frame Art to see if it can be salvaged and happily it can.  The woman I talked with there told me that she has seen other photos like this and when they start to fall apart it's always around the oval edge of the photo itself.  No apparent reason except old age and brittle materials.  It was probably printed around 1917.  So I will get this picture back, better than new, and I will happily continue to honor this veteran and the others in my family.  

more time travel

 Yesterday I wrote about walking around downtown Fort Wayne and experiencing the strange sensation of admiring Christmas decorations in 75 degree weather.  This evening, just to make this weird reversal of time complete, I sat outside on a balmy November????? evening and watched 4th of July fireworks.  They were beautiful and I really appreciate the city of Fort Wayne choosing to set them off on November 10.  I know there was some mention of it being the evening before Veterans' Day but I'm pretty sure the real reason they chose this date is because it's my daughter's birthday and also my son and daughter-in-law's anniversary.  I love big family celebrations, don't you?  

It's beginning to look.....

 a lot like Christmas,,, but not really.  It doesn't surprise me any more to see Christmas items on display right beside Halloween candy at Kroger's, but today was something different.  I was walking downtown, really enjoying what felt like a warm early autumn afternoon.  I particularly enjoyed swishing my feet through the leaves all over the sidewalks in the park.  I felt like a kid hearing all the good crunchy noises.  But when I got closer to downtown I realized that, while the huge flower pots are still full of blooming mums, there are Christmas wreaths hanging from every lamppost and the Christmas tree is in place over Calhoun street.  For a brief minute I felt like I had fallen through the earth and was experiencing Christmas in Australia.  Ho, ho, ho! It's coming, ready or not.  But I refuse to skip Thanksgiving.

celebrating

 No, not the outcome of the election, although I am pleased about that.  I'm celebrating the fact that one of my granddaughters turned 18 on Friday, tested negative after a Covid exposure at school, has sent in her application for early approval at the college of her choice, and spent the weekend with me.  We had a good time and I am so grateful that at 18 she still want to spend time with me.  Life is good.  

no it's not...

There's a wise old saying "No news is good news."  Well maybe that's true in some cases but not in this election.   I'm tired of waiting, but not, I'm sure, as tired as the newscasters.  I will say that they are very good at repeating the 'no news' over and over.  They never seem to run out of words but they do seem to be running out of hairspray.  

a matter of timing

 A friend and I took a walk to The Landing this afternoon.  It was a beautiful day for a walk.  About 4:00pm we decided to get a snack before she had to be at a meeting, so we stopped at Nawa, only to discover that it's closed between 2:30 and 5:00.  So we walked to the coffee shop, which is conveniently located right next door, only to discover that they were just closing.  Happily, a nice young man came to the door and informed us that right next door was another  restaurant, which they also own, which was open.  I don't remember the name of this restaurant but if your looking for it on The Landing, it has BEER in big letters on the window.  The coffee shop says COFFEE.  Very convenient,  We finally got our snack and I recommend the corn bread with honey butter.  My friend had mac and  cheese and said it was very good.  Since the meeting she had to be at was a bell ringing rehearsal we decided to pass on the beer.  They did have some good sounding beers and BBQ on the menu though so I think I will go back when I have more time to enjoy the choices.

day 2

 I have high hopes for 2021.  Honestly, there's no where to go but up from 2020.  I have hopes that I will be able to travel at least a little bit.  My brother wants me to come to Spokane.  We may or may not be wearing masks.  I will continue to wear one as long as I can since it is  such an effective coverup for wrinkles and much cheaper than make up or a facelift.  I may be able to spend more actual physical time with friends and family.  Zoom is good but I do long for hugs and kisses.  But most of all, possibly better than anything else, I have high hopes that sometime in 2021 we will know who will be our president for the next four years.  Fingers crossed.   

small doses

 While I really admire the newscasters who are talking non-stop about the election this evening, I find that I can only listen in small doses.  It is definitely an exciting race but still.  I have heard some interesting bloopers though.  My favorite was an announcer who said there were still 96 states to be heard from.  I am interested enough in the outcome to stay up later than usual, but I shall entertain myself with an old Perry Mason rerun and switch back and forth during commercials.  It seems like such a civilized time back in the 50s.  Everyone has nice manners, they dress well and they almost all get to drive convertibles - huge long convertibles.  And the bad guy always gets caught.  Excuse me while I get back to my escapism. 

still learning

 I had my third Zoom tutoring session with my 4th grade student this afternoon.  I must say, he's doing an excellent job of  of tutoring me.  Today I was shown the science project his class is working on because he could show it to me using the split screen.  He then went on to show me a math program he's working with. Right now he's working on measurements measuring, of all things, fish. cartoon fish that is.  My contributions to this tutoring session were some books from the library that I though he might enjoy.  He had already read one and the other one didn't interest him.  When I asked him if they went to the library (excuse me, media center) he explained that they can't this year so they just download all their books.  Of course they do.  I feel so antiquated but if he keeps working at it he may be able to move me into the 21st century.

Traditions

 I went to church live today instead of attending couch church as I have done for the last several weeks.  Since today is All Saints Day it was a very moving service, including, among other things, a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace.  If you're wondering about the bagpiper, the Presbyterian church has a strong Scottish heritage, hence the tradition of having the bagpipes at this service.  The only problem I have with this tradition is that I don't think bagpipes are indoor instruments.  Notice I didn't say musical instrument, the jury's still out on that.  Even in our very large sanctuary, the sound seemed much too loud to me. Maybe it was because when I attend couch church I can control the volume.  Anyway, as I listened, I couldn't help thinking that bagpipes should be played outside, on a hill side, a far away hill side.  Preferably in Scotland.  

Boo!

 Happy Halloween everyone.  Once again it's past the trick or treat hour and I have candy to spare.  Here's wishing the same for you.  Happy Halloween.  Here's my son-in law's favorite bad Halloween joke:  Why don't witches  have babies?  Because their husbands have hollow-wennies. 

too much of a good thing

My west coast brother sent me an amazing list of special days this morning.  Among other things today is 'buy a donut day,' bread stick day, candy corn day, pumpkin bread day and National Sugar Addiction Awareness Day.  In the spirit of the day, some friends and I ate at Ziano's this evening and had bread sticks.  Their bread sticks are amazing, all buttery and garlicky and cheesy.  Then on to manicotti (not on today's list but so good).  The item that really set me over the edge though was the dessert.  A chocolate cookie sounds innocent enough, right?  Not so innocent when it's six inches in diameter and covered three inches deep in ice cream and whipped cream and chocolate sauce.  We split it four ways and I still felt like I was going into sugar shock.  But, here's the sad thing, I want more! I am aware that I may be suffering from sugar addiction.  

my game

 I enjoy game and reality shows and I've always harbored a deeply hidden wish to appear on one.  Sadly, until now, I've never found the right fit.  Since I have no rhythm or musical ability Dancing with the Stars and The Voice are out.   I don't have a zany enough family to be on Family Feud and I don't know enough of the answers to be on Jeopardy.  I don't have the physical ability ro be on American Ninja Warrior but finally, finally I think I've found my game.  It's a new one on TV called I can see Your Voice.  I couldn't be on it as a contestant, but since they need really bad singers as well as really good singers to try to fool the contestants I'd be a natural.  I've know for a long tine that my singing voice is not great.  When your one year old child, while being lovingly rocked to sleep with a lullaby, says "Stop singing Mommy." you know.   

Well, now I've done it

 I have done my civic duty.  I voted today.  I chose to do early voting at a site within walking distance of my home and decided to vote in the mid afternoon when it wouldn't be too busy,  That evidently was what everyone else decided also.  When I got to the Rousseau Center the line of people waiting to vote stretched outside across the front of the building and around the corner and it's a big building.  Happily, the line moved pretty quickly.  Lines look longer when people are standing six feet apart.  I will say one thing for this coronavirus.  People are very polite in line, no pushing or shoving or crowding.  Everyone kept their masks on which was good but my glasses kept fogging up.  I did manage to read the ballot and vote for my choices, I think.  Anyway,  it's done now and it only took me 30 minutes start to finish.

It's back.

 For the past few years "This is Us" has been one of my favorite TV shows so I was delighted to see that the new season was starting tonight.  I am not disappointed.  Not only are all my favorite people back, even the ones who have died (lots of flashbacks) but they are also dealing with lots of current issues.  The pandemic is going on, the mom has Alzheimer's, protests and riots are happening, there are family problems.  In other words, a condensed version of 2020.   Happily, they haven't mentioned politics at all.  Maybe they are saving that for next Tuesday night.  Yikes!  Too much reality probably isn't good for a person.  

feeling my way

 I had my second session today as a Zoom tutor.  That's tutoring via Zoom not tutoring in using Zoom but I'm sure you assumed that.  Happily, it was easier this time.  Last week I was so anxious about being able to handle the technology that I had a hard time focusing on my student,  But today I took a different approach.  I asked my ten-year-old student if he knew how to set up the white board feature so we could both write on it.  Of course he had it all figured out in no time, so we practiced by playing tic tac toe.  Not sure if the educational experience was everything his teacher was hoping for but we had fun.

candy shopping

Sometime this week I will do my grocery shopping and stock up on some Halloween candy.  I don't ordinarily buy candy but this is a special time of year.  It's always good to have some on hand, right?  The fact that, in the five years I have lived here, there has never been even one trick or treater at my door doesn't enter into my decision.  It does, however, influence the kind of candy I will be buying.  I will buy chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate.   Good chocolate like Dove and Ghirardelli and Hershey's dark.  I promise to share if someone does come knocking on my tenth floor door.  I love Halloween.

I'm thinking....

  I'm trying hard to think of something to write about today, but there just wasn't anything very exciting going on in my life.  Unless you count a three hour church meeting this morning - interesting but not particularly exciting.  Today is National Bologna Day but I really can't get very excited about bologna.  My husband used to like it fried but that never became one of my favorites.  It's also World Tripe Day.  According to Google, tripe is the edible lining of an animal's stomach, usually a cow or sheep.  Sounds a little like haggis without the stuffing.  Sorry but I don't even find the idea of tripe exciting and I'm not a picky eater.  So I have decided to toddle off to bed.  Perhaps I'll have an exciting dream or perhaps something wildly exciting will happen tomorrow. I know, be careful what you wish for.

glad to be a Hoosier

 At least for today, I am happy to live in Indiana.  I heard from my west coast brother earlier today.  He lives near Spokane, Washington, and he informed me that they are expecting their first significant snow tonight.  Also, their low temperature for the next two nights will be thirteen degrees.  Burrrr.....  I felt guilty telling him about the beautiful day we had here today, but I told him anyway.  It was the sisterly thing to do.  Of course I know that I won't be gloating for too long since his weather becomes ours within a week or so.  But at least the weathercasters aren't using the S word around here yet.  

Is it over yet?

 I'm listening to the FINAL presidential debate.  I know I shouldn't but I can't seem to help myself.  I'm not going to change my mind about my voting choices but still I listen.  Have you had the experience of chipping or loosing a tooth?  Until it's fixed you just can't keep from sticking your tongue in that space, over and over again.  You just can't stop yourself.  That seems to be my reaction to debates.  Happily, it will all soon be over (at least the election part) and, regardless of who wins, at least this is what I hope, life will go on.  We will have a president and a congress and, if we're really lucky, a vaccine for Covid 19.  

party time

I recently attended a two part series, by Zoom of course, on planning your own funeral.  Now, I'm not planning on leaving this world any time soon but the idea of the classes was that it's a real help to your family to have some things planned out ahead of time.  I've been feeling ok about my funeral plans for the last several years because I have prepaid for my funeral and have a space reserved in our church's columbarium.  Now, suddenly, I'm aware of many other decisions I need to make.  

What do I want to be wearing when I'm cremated?  Seriously, some funeral homes require the corps to be dressed.  Maybe something polyester that would flame up fast.  Too bad I don't still have one of my old Century 21 blazers.  

Do I want to write my own obituary?  Maybe not a bad idea.  I could make it really good,  

Favorite hymns, favorite pre and postludes, what theme would I like for my memorial service?  Theme?  Dance party? Circus? Haunted House?  Harry Potter?  Camping?  

Do I want to make special bequests?  Do I have anything anyone wants? 

And on and on it goes.  20 pages and many notes later I am feeling like maybe I'll just let my kids or grandkids make all the decisions.  They could probably throw a really good party, and if they don't I can come back and haunt them.

one more worry...

 I got my second shingles shot today.  It's a series of two, supposed to be best for the over 60 crowd.  I've known a few friends who have shingles and it is not something I ever want to experience.  But now I have another worry.  While waiting for my shot, I started to read the informative information they provided (never a good idea).  Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.  You probably knew that.  After you have chickenpox the virus stays in your body and can cause shingles later in life.  Then the same virus can infect someone else with chickenpox.   It evidently never really goes away.  So now I'm wondering what about the coronavirus?  Once you have it, how long can it hang around in your body?  And who can you share it with and for how long?  Obviously we know it can be spread by sneezing and talking and singing but is there more we don't know about?  I'm guessing the answer is yes. 

Here we Zoom again.

 Today I started my fifth school year as a tutor for the Fort Wayne Community Schools Study Connections program.  For the past four years we met with our students in the large dining hall at First Pres, one tutor and one student per table.  The students had a snack and we did an hour's worth of work on any subjects they needed help with.  It was all so comfortable.  I could make eye contact, we could get up and walk around if we needed a break, we could read from the same book, look at the same math page - you get the idea.  Today, we met with our students for the first time this year, by Zoom.  It was definitely a different kind of experience. We 'met' with our students at 3:45 on line.  Then we waited while a few late comers signed on and while our host tried to get everything organized.  Then, finally, we got sent off to our separate 'chat rooms.'  I waited quite a while before my student showed up on my screen.  I found out later that he had been sent to the wrong tutor first (a case of two students with the same first name).  We finally had about twenty minutes together, just long enough to begin to get to know each other.  Going in, I was really concerned that I might not be able to handle the technology but that was not a problem this week.  I did find it amusing that my student was obviously Zooming from his bedroom.  It didn't bother me to see him leaning against some pillows but after the individual sessions were over and we were brought back to the large group, the host, coordinator, reminded the students that they were not supposed to be Zooming from their bedrooms.  I'm looking forward to next week and I really didn't think I'd be saying that.  

Things I have carried home...

 I happened to be watching a show called "Collector" and the featured items were Snoopy collectables, including over a thousand dolls, toys. books, ornaments, and on and on.  The one piece that stirred my memories was a huge five foot tall plush Snoopy stuffed animal.  As the husband of the collecting couple was describing how he squeezed the huge dog into a box small enough to bring home on a plane, it reminded me of items I have carried home on planes from trips. The items I bring home from trips as souvenirs are almost always small and packable like magnets and jewelry, but because I don't drag large carry-on luggage through airports I always seem to have a hand free to help a friend.  There were frozen Dungeness crabs from Seattle (that was for my boss so I couldn't say no). Then there was the two foot tall metal rooster with sharp spurs that kept poking through the carry bag.  All the way from Spain,  My travel buddy who collects roosters couldn't resist.  One thing I didn't have to carry home was a carry-on bag.  I had left the US with a new carry-on bag that was larger than I really liked.  My favorite travel bag (an old camera bag of my husband's) had accidentally been sold when I downsized.  I found one a lot like the missing one in London and bought it,  So now I had one largish suitcase and two carry-ons to get home.  When I checked the large bag I asked how much more to also check the middle size bag.  Sounds, a little like Goldilocks and the Three Bears doesn't it?  Anyway, there was no charge to check the extra bag.  They were happy to have one less bag in the overhead bin.  

You know you're getting old when,,,,,,

 You know you're way past middle age when:

your dentist's son is now your dentist,

your youngest grandchild just drove the family to Indy,

your doctor and pastor are younger than your children,

the sportscaster on TV looks about 12 and he's evidently married.

Feel free to add your own here...............

But all is not lost.  My attorney is actually my age.  Of course he does advertise himself as an Elder Attorney,  

the best kind of visit

 My niece and her husband arrived yesterday afternoon and stayed until noon today.  We had a really good time, went to dinner with more or the family, watched some TV, and had plenty of time for lively conversation.  We watched part of each of the Town Halls last night, which assured that we didn't lack for discussion topics.  Over the day and a half (we did take time out to sleep) we talked about politics,  religion, what Heaven might be like, politics, family members, food preferences, retirement plans, politics and so much more.  Thankfully, even though we disagreed on many points, especially our political views, we were able to laugh a lot, and we parted as friends, which is really good when you're family.  Fingers crossed that this warm fuzzy family feeling is still there after the election. 

They never give up/

 Earlier today I listened to a voice mail message that told me $179 had been charged to my Amazon account.  If this was a legitimate charge I was told to ignore the call and my order would arrive shortly.  They also left an 818 number that I could call with any questions.  I did have questions, primarily because I don't have an Amazon account and I was curious and a little suspicious so I decided to call Amazon.  However, before I called, I Googled their customer service number. I love Google.  What a surprise!  It was completely different from the number I had been told to call.  I called the real customer service number just for fun, and the nice voice (a real person's voice) assured me that Amazon doesn't work that way, it was no doubt a scam, and I should ignore the call.  I was happy to do that.  Another scam avoided, although won't I be surprised if a package arrives in the next few days? 

Surprise!

 This evening my niece, who lives in eastern Ohio at the moment, called to tell me that she and her almost husband (a long story) will be coming to town on Thursday.  She invited me to go to supper with them and of course I accepted.  Then, naturally, I invited them to spend the night, or weekend with me.  They accepted, at least for one night. At first I was feeling a little flustered, thinking about what I need to do before they get here.  Then I realized that they have given me the perfect amount of notice.  I have time, between other commitments, to put fresh sheets on their bed, touch up their bathroom, do a little vacuuming and dusting, and  that's it.  I do not have time to wash all the windows, scrub the floors, plan several meals, do a big grocery shopping and organize a big family get together.  Boy do I feel lucky.  

car care

 My Fiat dealership made the necessary brake repairs today, and, as promised, treated the situation as if it was still under warranty because they agreed with me that I shouldn't be having brake problems yet.  So I'm very happy.  Of course my ever sympathetic west coast brother reminded me that FIAT stands for Fix It Again Tony.  I had heard that old not so funny joke before.  Then, being an equal opportunity jokester and a long time Jeep owner, he told me that JEEP stands for Just Everyone Else's Parts.   Considering how many old Jeeps, running and otherwise, he and his sons have between them I'm sure there is a lot of parts swapping that goes on.  Unlike them, I have not resorted to making my own repairs.  My care care skills are limited to filling it with gas and running it through the car wash,  I have never felt compelled to change a tire or check my oil.  My women's lib instincts only go so far.

Please pass the pie.

 My favorite "out law", my daughter-in-law's mother goes to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in downtown Fort Wayne,  Every year, except for 2020 of course, they bake and sell a huge number of Dutch apple pies at the Johnny Apple Seed Festival.  Their booth is usually located near our First Pres cookie booth.  This year they decided to sell their pies for a week at their coffee shop on the corner of Broadway and Washington.  Today my friend texted me to let me know they were having a pre-sale in their church parking lot.  Since I have a fondness for pie, I decided I'd better take advantage of this opportunity.  I drove through and bought three pies, two frozen and one freshly baked.  The theory being that if I had to bake them first I wouldn't eat them so fast. Also, one might still be around for Thanksgiving?????  However, considering that I've already eaten two pieces since I bought the pies and got them home, about 3pm, and considering the fact that the pie is calling to me right now, the survival rate for pie may be pretty low.  Needless to say the pie is delicious.  

A walk in the park

 I am trying to enjoy as much of this mild fall weather as I can as often as I can so I am taking short walks when I have time.  I have discovered that Freiman Square is the perfect place.  I can walk there and back in 20 minutes, and, if I want to take the time, I can sit on a bench and enjoy the flowers and fountains.  It is really beautiful this time of year.  When I go there, though, I always remember the time, a couple of summers ago, when I was sitting on a bench, minding my own business, and two charming young teenage girls came up and started talking to me.  They were part of a downtown experience with their church youth group and I'm pretty sure that when they saw me sitting on that bench they hoped I might be a homeless person they could help.  I was sorry to disappoint their mission efforts but we did end up having a delightful chat about living down town and the church I go to.  I think they actually walked away feeling relieved that they had accomplished their assignment without talking to anyone too scary.  

good old cars

 I have a confession.  From time to time I like to watch old Perry Mason reruns.  I like the stories but I also like the cars and clothes that remind me of my youth.  I never owned a convertible, which seems to be all they drove in California at least in this series.  Of course it was much easier to film people in cars with the tops down.  No seat belts of course and bench, not bucket, seats.  The cars were huge.  My happy memory is being able to sit close to my boyfriend, with his arm around me as he drove one handed to wherever we were going - possibly a drive-in movie but that's a whole different memory.

ig news

 The big news of the day seems to be that a fly landed on VP Pence's head during the debate last night and evidently sat there for about a minute.  Nice to know people were paying such close attention to the topics being discussed.  The other big news, and this is important, is that the Fort Wayne Trader Joe's opens tomorrow at 9:00am.  Now you may not be excited by that news but my daughter-in-law certainly is.  Her biggest adjustment (besides winter weather) when she moved here from Phoenix was that there was no Trader Joe's in Fort Wayne.  For the last 14 years she has been making four or five trips a year to the Trader Joe's in Indianapolis to stock up on all her favorite items.  Such loyalty has finally been rewarded.  I'm so excited for her that I may have to check it out myself, someday.

mostly civil

 The first vice presidential debate is over.  I did watch it all the way through and I haven't changed my mind about who I plan to vote for, but I do have a couple of observations.  First, it was a real and mostly civil debate.  Second, I think the Republican party would be well served if they just let Pence handle the debates from here on.

a yummy day

Today is National German American Day and also National Noodles Day.  If you have even a little German heritage in your background (I'm about 3/4 German), this combination will seem perfectly natural to you.  When I was a child we spent many holidays at my Aunt Dora's house and we always had noodles with the big meal be it Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving.  We also always had mashed potatoes.  Together.  Last year, when suppers before church meetings still happened, the menu one evening was beef and noodles and mashed potatoes.  I was one of the first people in line, I am not shy about food, and I had to backtrack so I could put potatoes on my plate first then pile the noodles on top.  After one of the servers watched me and several other people make this backward maneuver she switched the order of the pans so people could get the potatoes first.  The cook, who had set things up, had never before heard of putting noodles on mashed potatoes.  Obviously she wasn't German American but almost all of the committee members evidently were.  

another joke

 Here is the exercise class joke of the week.  Since my husband was a mathematician, I enjoyed this one.  A mathematician came home very late one night, actually he got there at 3:00am.  His wife, understandably upset, demanded to know why he was home so late.  "you promised that you would be home by 11:45." she said.  "No," he replied, "I said I would be home at a quarter of twelve." 

Down memory lane....

 Today my grandson came to spend the day with me.  We had planned to go to dinner and watch some TV which we did.  During the afternoon I decided that it might be helpful if he would drag out a box that I have been meaning to go through ever since I moved here five years ago.  It has been carefully tucked away in a closet all this time and obviously not full of things I needed.  It turns out it was full of pictures and papers, lots of pictures and papers.  Many old family pictures.  I thought my 19 year old grandson might be mildly interested.  I didn't expect him to be quite so entertained.  Innocent questions like "Who's that?" seemed to be accompanied by laughter much too often.  "That's you?" said in a tone of utter disbelief wasn't very flattering either.  I had to swallow my pride but we did have fun.

mixed feelings

Considering the fact that our president is currently in the hospital recovering from the coronavirus (hopefully - I'm not a fan but I don't wish anyone to suffer or die from the virus) I had very mixed feelings when my west coast brother told me that today is 'virus appreciation day.'  I find it really hard to appreciate this particular virus, although if it infects POTUS with some common sense and a dash of humility perhaps I will become a fan (of the virus, I mean).  

Place your bet.

Today is "Phineas Fogg Wager Day."  Not to be confused with "Phineas and Ferb," a popular TV cartoon when my grandchildren were younger.  Phineas Fogg, you may recall, is the hero of the Jules Verne novel "Around the World in 80 Days."  When the book was first published, 1872 in France, 1873 in England, the very idea was pure science fiction.  Now a person can fly from Indiana to Australia in 22 hours, but I admit that last 17 hours can feel like 80 days, especially if you're traveling with a friend who doesn't sleep on planes and there's a baby crying three rows behind you.  Can you tell that I am trying to talk myself out of missing traveling?  I'd like to be going around the world or anywhere.  Of course for the ultimate round the world experience hop on a space shuttle.  A trip on one is still pretty pricey but you can make the trip in 90 minutes.  

Well, this is puzzling????

Today is International Day of Older Persons.  I must admit, I have never heard of this day before and I can't figure out why.  It seems to me that if Hallmark has huge sections of cards for Mothers Day and Fathers Day and Grandparents Day and Bosses Day they are missing a big opportunity here.  I mean everyone is an older person compared to someone else.  Some of us are older older people but still this seems like a mass market to me.  Insult cards - HaHa, you're older than me.  Loving cards - I love you even though you're older than me,  Religious cards - Is it true? You're older than Methuselah?  You get the idea.  For now I guess we'll just have to create our own cards.  

It Wasn't my imagination.

 I always suspect that when I take my car in for an oil change and mention that there might be another problem, the mechanics look at me and wonder.  Is this for real or is this old lady imagining things?  For example, yesterday I took my car in for a basic oil change and mentioned that I thought there might be a problem with my brakes.  It was hard to explain, but sometimes, when I step on the brakes  they stutter before they stop.  Little hesitations.  This didn't happen frequently but it did happen often enough to be a concern.  They checked and discovered that the right rear caliper needs to be replaced.  Turns out that break was sticking, causing the unusual wear.  Happily, the mechanic agreed with me that that really shouldn't have happened on a car with only 23,000 miles on it.  So he contacted the company, explained the situation, and even though I'm out of warranty, they will cover most of the cost of repairs.  Thank you, Fiat.  Of course, because I'm just a little suspicious, when I got home I googled the cost of replacing a caliper and their estimate was just what the mechanic told me.  So it's all good or will be when the parts come in.

no surprises

 Well, I did it.  I watched the presidential debate this evening all the way through.  No surprises.  It certainly didn't change my mind about who I plan to vote for.  It was a much more lively debate (aka shouting match) that they usually are.  It will be fun to watch the VP debate next week, just for the contrast.  The only definite thought I came away with is that I would not like to be the moderator if the presidential candidates debate again.  Someone commented that the moderator should have the power to turn off the mike of the person who is not supposed to be talking.  I think he needed a gavel.

best joke

 Here's the best joke from today's exercise class:

A German Shepard, a Doberman and a cat have all died and gone to heaven.  As they stand before God he asks them to state their beliefs.  The German Shepherd said "I believe in loyalty, strength and obedience." to which God responded "Excellent, sit here on my right side."  The Doberman responded "I believe in dedication, love and faithfulness."  God said "That's good.  Sit here on my left side." Then he turned to the cat and said "What's your belief?"  The cat responded, "I believe you're in my seat."

Personal note, anyone who has ever lived with a cat is not surprised at this response.

using my teacher voice

 This morning it was my turn to facilitate our adult Sunday school class.  We are still meeting by Zoom and sometimes that creates some awkward moments.  Ours is a discussion class with everyone chiming in.  We are a very opinionated group.  After last week's class (I didn't lead last week) someone complained to me that one particular person had monopolized too much of the conversation (she had) and asked me if I could get her to talk less this week.  Zoom is a wonderful program when you can't meet in person but sometimes it's hard to keep things equitable.  So I gave it some thought and decided to take the class back to the basics.  At the beginning of the class I told them I had some ground rules for our session today.  I told them, very nicely of course, that it would help me if they would raise their hands when they wanted to speak.  I also reserved the right to cut someone off when they had made their point to give others a chance to comment.  It worked like a charm if I do say so myself, and hopefully no one's feelings were hurt.  The person who is leading next week called me this evening to tell me she plans to use the same guidelines.  Isn't it fun when grade school rules still work with adults?