keeping me humble

 Watching TV can be excellent entertainment, no doubt about that, but it can also be incredibly hard on the ego.  This evening I have watched an episode of Jeopardy champions which made it very clear to me how little I know about so many things.  Now I'm watching America's Got Talent, which should be America Has Talent but never mind.  After 90 minutes of watching I have not seen a single act to which I could respond "Oh, I could do that."  I cannot hang by my feet from a spinning ball, make hundreds of sound effects with my mouth, sing my own original compositions, break boards with my feet while leaping into the air blindfolded, or predict what people will choose.  Actually my husband and I took some Tai Quan Dao lessons many years ago but I certainly don't remember ever, ever being encouraged to leap into the air and break boards with my feet.  But you get the idea.  Watching TV can be very entertaining but also very humbling.  I suppose that's good for my soul.  

coincidence?

 My west coast brother and his wife have five children.  The oldest three are named Fred, Henry and Ida, in that order.  In the last few weeks parts of the United States have experienced Tropical Storm Fred, Tropical Storm Henry (or Henri) and most recently Hurricane Ida.  My brother has worked for a TV station for several years so I asked him if he had an in with the storm naming people.  He said no, and claims that this name sequence was purely coincidental.  He did admit, however, that Ida has always been an overachiever.  I suspect the people of Louisiana would agree. 

when life gives you lemons

 Today is "National Lemon Juice Day."  I am a big fan of lemon juice.  I squeeze it into my water and on my fish.  I must admit though that I am not a fan of squeezing lemons.  It's entirely too easy get a bit in your eye.  So, like most people, I suspect, I keep a little bottle of lemon juice in the refrigerator.  I do have one happy lemon memory though.  My father's favorite pie was lemon meringue, so one year I made two for his birthday.  I was a young wife and mother and I guess I was feeling adventurous.  I made that pie the old fashioned way.  I made my own crust, squeezed several lemons, stirred all of the ingredients for a long time to make the thick lemon filling, whipped up those egg whites for the meringue and ended up with two amazing pies which I served at my dad's birthday.  The house smelled deliciously of lemon and everybody loved the pies.  I think I managed to save one piece for my dad to take home, the rest disappeared faster than you can say happy birthday.  It doesn't take long for eight people to eat two lemon meringue pies.  Those bites just slide right down.  I never made another one.  The prep vs devour time just wasn't worth it.  but I'm glad I can say I did it once.

i love a good rerun....

 I saw "God's Favorite" at First Presbyterian Theater again this evening and I am happy to report that it was just as funny the second time around.  Enough said, I'm going to bed.

food as theater

 Well I did get the part in the play I was hoping for, but you'll be hearing more about that as the actual performances gets closer.  Tonight I got to enjoy a different kind of theater.  Some friends and I went to Takaoka Steak House to enjoy a Japanese dinner prepared in front of us.  The food was very good, and very plenteous.  I brought home lots of fried rice and other goodies.  Since my date doesn't eat rice I got to bring his home also.  So I think I have at least two suppers worth of leftovers.  Some people loath leftovers but I think they are an excellent invention.  Growing up in a house with two large brothers I really wasn't familiar with the concept until I left home (but I digress).  The show was what made the evening so much fun.  I would like to try bouncing an egg on the flat side of a spatula.  Our chef kept it bouncing at least 15 times before he turned the spatula sideways and the egg cracked on it on it's way down.  I would really love to try that trick but perhaps I will start with a hardboiled egg, or better yet a plastic Easter egg.  I also enjoyed the flaming onion ring volcano but I will definitely not be trying that one at home.  And I really don't even want to be able to flip shrimp tails into my pocket but it was fun to watch.  Years ago we took my then four-year-old granddaughter to Takaoka and she was so entranced with the show that she didn't eat a bite.  The same is definitely not true for me.  I can multitask with the best of them, eating copiously and watching the show all at the same time.  It probably comes from years of practice snacking in front of the TV. 

making something

 In a few weeks the women of my church and the other Presbyterian churches in our town will be gathering for a one-day retreat.  Some of the time we will enjoy massages and devotional experiences but much of the time will be spent crafting small but nice thank you gifts for the people who kept our churches going during the pandemic.  It should be fun.  We have a professional retreat leader organizing the event and planning the gifts.  She recently sent me a list of suggested donations of scrap type stuff.  I sent out the list last week, thinking I will be lucky to get a few donations.  Being hopeful, I set up a box for donations in a busy area where people would be sure to see it.  By Sunday morning not much had been added to my box but two big boxes of stuff were on the table beside it.  One of the items listed was old hymnals.  I have an old hymnal but I don't want it to be cut up.  However, on Wednesday afternoon our maintenance guru asked me how many old hymnals we need.  Turns out he has 300 stashed away somewhere in our big old building.  I told him I was sure we didn't need 300, so he put 10 of them on the table for me.  I'm sure that will be way more than enough but it's good to know there are more where those came from - many. many more.  

and trying again

 I went back for the second round of auditions this evening.  Trying for one of the two roles that would suit me best.  We were told yesterday that we could come back tonight and I was interested to see that seven people from last night had returned.  There were also several new people trying for the various parts, including two very talented 12 year-olds.  I was pleased that I got to read several more times this evening and I came away feeling a teeny bit more hopeful.  We won't know anything 'til Friday at the soonest.  Happily, I have friends coming for the weekend.  That will save wear and tear on my phone.  I won't be able to check every five minutes to see if I got the part.  Although, if I keep the phone under the table during dinner, they might not notice????

I keep on trying...

 I auditioned for a part in another play this evening.  I keep trying, even though I know my chances are slim, but in this play the minor part I auditioned for was described as a tall spinster, head mistress of an academy.  Sounded like a match to me.  Of course they wanted someone about 50-65 but hey, no match is perfect. I'm not sure what my chances are but I was the tallest person who tried for the part.  We won't know who is cast until Thursday or Friday.  In the meantime here's a riddle from yesterday's exercise class:  What do you call a bear with no teeth?  Think about it.

another great show

 Some friends and I attended the matinee show of "God's Favorite," a comedy by Neil Simon, at First Presbyterian Theater here in Fort Wayne.  I haven't laughed so much at a play in a long time.  A modern day Job's tale, the itching scene alone is worth the price of admission.

ENTERTAINMENT

 We went to see Gladys Knight this evening.  No 'Pips' but she did put on a really good show.  Excellent voice, lots of energy, and a great back up band and singers. The show was at the Sweetwater Performance Pavilion, a very nice semi-outdoor venue that I had never been to before.  Lots of people in the audience appeared to be about my age, but no surprise there.  My friends did a little research (Google knows all) and it turns out Gladys is seven months older than me.  After about an hour of constant movement she did sit down for a few numbers and I really couldn't blame her for that.  All in all, a fun evening.

pet names

 My son and his family just rescued a kitten from a nearby humane shelter.  Her name is Naomi which means that all four of my grand-pets have very sophisticated names - Wallace, Perry, Stewart and now Naomi.  Of course I shouldn't be surprised.  Over the years since my earliest childhood memories, we've had a succession of interestingly named animals.  Cats included Heathcliff, Hercules, Francis, Claire, Athena and Olympia.  Dogs named Mable, Fritz (not so unusual for a dachshund) and Remington were also members of the household at one time or another.  Remington was a miniature dachshund named after a shotgun.  In our second year of marriage my husband and I moved into our first house, with a large fenced in back yard.  Naturally, I wanted a dog, while my husband had his heart set on a shotgun.  The dog was free, part of a litter of puppies that an enterprising student and his mother brought to the school where I was teaching for show and tell.  Since the puppy was free to a good home and the shotgun wasn't, we got the dog and named him Remington.  A year later we saw an ad for a female miniature dachshund who needed a good home.  So we brought Heidi home.  I know, not very exciting, but she was already named.  For Remington it was love at first sight.  They consummated their love affair during a memorable camping trip (a story for another time) and a few months later Heidi had four adorable puppies.  We named them Smith, Wesson, Savage and Winchester.  

yummy...

 Today is National Rootbeer Float Day and that brings back some sweet memories.  Most of them are related to travel.  Do you remember A&W Root Beer stands?  When we would travel out west, or even on an occasional trip around town we would take any excuse to stop at an A&W if a sign showed up along the road.  Happily, most of our western trips were taken in the summer when the kids were out of school so it was often hot enough to need a root beer float, or just root beer.  There was nothing more delightful that a big frosty (they were always frosty) mug of root beer.  Sometimes they would sell the mugs as souvenirs.  I currently have two full size mugs and two mini ones (we started the kids young on root beer floats) in my cupboard.  Even with all my downsizing, there are some sweet memories I couldn't part with.  Isn't that silly?  I gave my daughter my wedding china but I kept the root beer mugs.  

it's just wrong

 Having been a student and then a teacher for several years, I admit to a twinge of longing at this time of year.  The TV is full of 'back to school' ads for clothes and school supplies and pleas for donations to help needy students.  All of that is fine, but today I heard an ad on the morning news that I thought had hit a new low.  It was an ad by a car dealership encouraging people to buy a new car because you wouldn't want to children to be ashamed of your car when you drop them off at school.  Really?  That is so wrong on so many levels.  That's it.  I'll stop writing and let you think about it.

Memories...

 About once a month, mixed in among a plethora of other junk mail, I receive a little booklet full of coupons called Mad Money.  Every month I page through the coupons just because they bring back memories.  High quality mulch? Yes, I've used mulch.  Replace the roof? Yes indeed.  New shower installed?  Yes, I've done that.  Tree removal and stump grinding?  Ten trees at a time.  Need a new air conditioner (and a furnace)?  We even upgraded to gas.  Window replacement?  All around the house.  New gutters? Only at one house.  Cracked dry wall?  Over and over again in one house.  Complete kitchen remodel?  It was beautiful.  Air duct cleaning? Yes, with the furnace replacement.  You get the idea.  When I finish paging through this fine little coupon book, I toss it in my recycling basket, heave a sigh of relief, and remember why I enjoy renting so much.  

Plans change

 Two of my travel buddies and I were going to drive to Louisville this weekend to spend some time with two other travel friends whom we haven't seen in a long time, 18 months to be exact.  But this evening plans were cancelled because of increasing covid delta variant concerns in Kentucky.  Doesn't this sound like a summer rerun?  Suddenly signs are up in my building elevators requesting everyone to start wearing masks again in public spaces.  De ja vu all over again.  Our church is going to stop passing the peace for the time being.  Again, back to a year ago.  Masks and no touching.  However my two local friends and I have risen above this change of plans. Instead of Louisville we will be hearing Gladys Knight at Sweetwater on Saturday night and seeing a play at First Presbyterian Theater on Sunday.  We have all had our shots and are feeling daring. 

here kitty, kitty

 I have no desire to have another pet.  Since my early childhood I have lived with and loved many pets.  By my best recollection over the years there have been ten dogs and ten cats (not including the many barn cats when we lived in the country).  There have also been parakeets, fish, mice, hamsters and a snake.  Again I say, I have no desire to have a pet.  However this evening my son texted me a picture of a beautiful kitten he and his family have applied to adopt from a local shelter.  She is adorable.  I do hope they get her.  My daughter and her family have three dogs so I get my dog patting fix when I visit them.  If my son gets a cat I can get my cat cuddling fix whenever I visit them.  This is definitely a win win situation.  It's a little like the joy of being a grandparent.  You can love your grandchildren lavishly, then leave them with their parents.  It's the same with grand-pets.  You can love them and leave them.  

an interesting experience

 Several weeks ago I played bed and breakfast host to a young man who was in town for our youngest pastor's ordination.  It turned out he works for the publisher Harper Collins and promotes new books.  As a thank you, when he learned that I really love to read, he said he would send me advanced reader editions of books that he thought I might enjoy.  I received the first one earlier this week and it turned out to be very good.  It is the first novel by author Emily Itami, called "Fault Lines" and I recommend it whenever it's on the market or, better yet, in the library.  Or you can borrow my copy.  It's the story of a young Japanese wife and mother and takes place in Tokyo.  It was interesting to read her place descriptions after having just seen some city shots while I watched the Olympics.  I enjoyed the story and really appreciated getting a sense of what life is like for not filthy rich but reasonably well off citizens of Tokyo.  It turns out that raising preschoolers, feeling overworked, and wondering if you've made the right life decisions is pretty much the same world wide.  

testing

 Everything is ok.  I had an appointment with my doctor this morning and he ran that glucose test I mentioned yesterday.  My numbers are just fine, no diabetes or pre-diabetes, but he did urge moderation so I only ate one DeBrand's chocolate when I got home.  I thought it was interesting though that, three weeks ago when I had my fasting blood test, they pulled a 4-inch tube of blood out of my arm to test for one day's worth of glucose.  Today, when the test covered 30 days of glucose, all they needed was a finger stick.  Ah well, I know they know what they're doing.  The other test was more fun.  It was a mental acuity test to see if there are any signs of encroaching dementia.  I am happy to say that I passed with flying colors.  In fact my doctor told me that I scored higher than anyone else to whom he had ever given the test (29 of 30). After he scored it he took time to show me where other people had gone wrong.  I didn't tell him that I had practiced counting backwards by seven.  Later a friend told me that that really wasn't cheating because if I actually had dementia I wouldn't remember that I had practiced.  I feel much better.

it's a real place

 Today I went on a bus trip with several other senior citizens.  We travelled to Turkeyville, Michigan (it's a real place) to eat lunch and see a play in their dinner theater.  The play, "Godspell," was very well done, with young professional, extremely high energy actors/singers.  The food was also very good, turkey of course, with all the trimmings, and a yummy choice of desserts - coconut cream pie, carrot cake or their locally made ice cream with chocolate sauce.  Everything looked delicious.  Sadly, because my doctor has put me on a diet until tomorrow (missed it by that much) when I take a glucose test, I had barley turkey soup, turkey slices and mixed vegetables.  But we did have plenty of time to check out the gift shop where I bought three Christmas gifts.  Lots and lots of fun possibilities.  One of the best things was the bakery smell.  The first area as we entered the gift shop was stocked with fresh baked goods, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and all kinds of breads.  I couldn't buy, but I could inhale.  I probably gained five pounds just sniffing.  

sand

 Today is 'Play in the Sand Day.'  I love playing with sand or clay or anything that I can squish or run between my fingers. I even enjoy smushing together the ingredients for meat loaf.  One of my happiest early childhood memories was playing in the sandbox in kindergarten.  I have often admitted to being easily entertained.  I guess it started way back then.  The sand box was actually a sand table, a shallow box on legs filled with the nicest sand I had ever felt.  We had a sand box in our back yard but it just wasn't the same.  I suspect I also liked the fact that I could stand and play with the sand, thereby eliminating the chance of sand on my legs or in my shorts.  I don't remember building sandcastles or anything else in that sandbox but it was a long, long time ago.  All I remember clearly is feeling the sand run through my fingers.  What a happy memory. 

counting the days

 A week and a half ago my doctor put me on a restrictive diet for two weeks.  He wasn't happy with my "slightly elevated" glucose level so he wants to do another test this Friday.  That's three days from now.  Three more days.  I have been following the diet faithfully.  No breads, pastas, potatoes, corn, peas, rice, sweets or sodas.  So basically I can eat meat. vegetables and fresh fruit.  The sodas were easy.  I very seldom drink soft drinks and the only soda I have in my apartment is Diet Dr. Pepper which I only keep because one of my girlfriends likes it.  I have noticed a troubling pattern though, not with me, with my TV watching.  About 9pm every evening many of the commercials on TV turn to food ads.  Temptation! For the last couple of hours I have been treated to pictures of sandwiches, pizzas, ice cream and other things I'm not allowed to eat.  But only three more days.  I should be fine except, when I started this two week diet I cleared out almost everything tempting.  Almost everything.  A friend had given me three small packages of DeBrand's chocolates.  I'm sorry, bur all the will power in the world couldn't make me throw them away.  After this glucose test is over I will try to pace myself but I will be eating chocolate.  

yet another great day...

 Today is Book Lovers Day and I am, without a doubt, a book lover.  Reading has always been one of my favorite activities.  I remember once, when I was very young reading a book to my younger brother.  He didn't read much but he loved to listen.  This particular book had the phrases "horrible mother" and "horrible father" repeated often.  Eventually my mother, who had been cooking supper, walked over to us and asked me what on earth I was reading.  I showed her the book and she explained to me that the word was "honorable" a new one to me.  Evidently a part of Chinese culture.  It's good to learn these things at home instead of embarrassing yourself at school.  All through my child and teen hood I had my nose in a book.  I clearly remember my mother saying to me "You can't read your life away."  But I was willing to try.  I came by my bookishness honestly though. We always had plenty of books at home. classics like "The Egg and I," "Ben Hur," "The Robe," "Lassie Come Home," and " The Power of Positive Thinking" come to mind.  We also made frequent trips to the library.  The long time librarian in our small town remembered my father as a youth. and told me that he had read every book in the library.  I never equaled his record but it wasn't for lack of trying.  Evidently, being a book lover is hereditary.  

Kudos

 Just a short blog today.  I want to say thank you to the toy company Mattel for their new series of Barbie dolls.  They have just introduced six dolls in their new Women in Science series, which emphasizes careers in the STEM areas.  Of course their figures are still a little improbable but the new Olympic surfer doll looks pretty realistic.  

pet peeves

 One of my pet peeves is opening a loaf of bread only to discover that there is another layer of wrapping under the typical bread bag.  What brought this to mind is that today is "Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day."  You have probably all experienced receiving an order from Amazon or some similar company that, while a very small item, is shipped in a ridiculously large cardboard box.  Another irritant is an item sealed in a heavy plastic bubble that's almost impossible to open.  This is particularly fun if it's a child's toy on Christmas morning.  There's a reason why some collectible toys have never been taken out of their wrappings.  My personal particular frustration was a box of 100 tea bags.  I will not mention the brand.  I like to transfer tea bags from their box to glass jars I have, to keep them fresher.  With the particular tea bags I'm talking about that involved removing the cellophane outer wrapping which was very securely pasted down, ripping open the cardboard box, removing the four individually foil wrapped stacks of tea bags, tearing each of those open and removing the tea bags which are each individually wrapped in their own little envelopes and have a cunning little tag attached.  Recently I decided to try another brand and discovered that there were half as many layers to open, no tags, no little envelopes, and a very good taste.  I'm a convert.

my kind of event

 I'm still watching the Olympics.  Just saw the end of the women's marathon.  Molly Seidel won bronze for the US.  It was very impressive but I must admit, never, in a million years, would running 26 miles ever occur to me to be a fun thing to try.  On the other hand, today is "Wiggle Your Toes Day."  Now there is an event I could excel in.  I have been an unconscious toe wiggler for years.  I can clearly remember my husband (who was a very loving and patient man) saying "Quit wiggling your toes."  This usually occurred when we were watching a TV show.  I tend to go barefoot in the house a lot.  I don't know why it irritated him so much.  Apparently he felt that toes should just hang around quietly on the end of your feet.  How boring is that.  I bet you're wiggling your toes right now.  It's hard not to.  In the seniors exercise class I attend, we are told to wiggle our toes so it must be good for you.  In addition to wiggling my toes, I have another toe related talent.  I can cross my toes. The big toe over the second toe, obviously, anyone can do that, but I can also cross my little toe (is it called a pinky toe?) over it's neighbor toe.  In fingers, that would be the ring finger.  It's probably called something obvious like the fourth toe, in which case, I should say I can cross my fifth toes over my fourth toes.  I know you're probably amazed by this.  I tend to keep my talents hidden.

the mystery continues

 This afternoon I called my credit card company about the charge I questioned.  See yesterday's blog.  After following all the prompts, keying in all the numbers they asked for, and evidently assuring them that I really am me, I was finally told that I would be connected to the next available fraud agent.  This was all done with mechanical voices of course.  Then came 45 minutes of listening to their recorded reassurance that my call was important to them and please continue to wait.  I got the laundry folded and the dishwasher emptied while I waited. Finally a real live person spoke with me and I discovered that the five dollar charge I was questioning really was my charge.  However, and this was a surprise to me, the agent read off a list of three charges to my account that they had declined.  One was from a hodge podge of numbers that neither of us could make any sense of for $141?? Another had been charged in Georgia (the country, not the state) and the last one had been charged in Nebraska.  Since I haven't traveled anywhere during the last 18 months or so, I knew none of these were my charges.  Happily, the nice lady on the phone agreed with me.  Needless to say, I'll be getting a new card in the mail.

lifes little mysteries

 This evening I responded to a request from our apartment management to post some positive comments about living in this apartment complex.  It was a good day for a review request since they had a yummy social time for us this afternoon with refreshments provided by Club Soda.  Delicious.  However, I must have hit the wrong button somehow because my complimentary statement showed up as a comment on my own Facebook page instead of theirs.  Probably no big deal except one friend called, all excited, to ask if I was selling my 'condo.'  That would be a cute trick since I rent an apartment.  Why that post didn't end up in the right place is my first mystery of the day.  The second showed up as I was paying my monthly bills.  I like to get everything paid or scheduled early in the month so I don't have to think about it any more.  The mystery was a line item that showed up on a credit card, only $5.10, charged by a company I have never heard of in a town I haven't visited for years.  Hummm??? I will call the credit card company about it tomorrow when I am awake enough, and patient enough, to get an answer to my question.  

a new adventure

 My four grandchildren are growing up.  The oldest is 20 now and their stair-step ages are 20, 19, 18 and 17, and yes, they are all driving.  Today my 18 year old granddaughter was in town from Columbus and we went out to lunch.  What made it unusual and exciting was that she picked me up.  Her grandfather on the other side gave her his car this summer so she would have a car to drive to college this fall.  He and his wife were downsizing to one car.  It's a cute little red Ford Focus, not new but in good shape and it suits her very well.  As I waited for her I reflected on all the rides I have given her over the years.  From pre-school through band practices and so much more.  So it seemed fair to me that she should drive and she was anxious to show me her car.  When she pulled up in front of my building I thought how grown up she looked.  Then I opened the door and was almost overwhelmed (in a good way) with the interior decoration.  From the Hello Kitty seat covers and floor matts to the cartoon stickers covering the dashboard and the strands of beads hanging from the rearview mirror it was amazing.  I was delighted to see that she isn't taking herself too seriously as a young adult.  By the way, she is a good driver and we had a great time at lunch.  It's exciting to hear about the start of her first college semester.  I can't wait to see how she decorates her dorm room. 

It's all hers.

 I have seen a commercial on TV for an insurance company in which a woman's 'She Shed' gets struck by lightening and burns down, but until now I've never actually known anyone who has a She Shed.  If you're not exactly sure what a she shed is, think man cave but for women.  A friend of mine has a large back yard and beautiful flower beds.  She spends a lot of time in the yard and working with plants, but this summer she has gone one step further and gradually converted her storage building into an actual she shed.  Several of us in the same fiber group (the kind you knit with, not the kind you eat) started hearing about this project earlier this year, but this evening she finally had pictures.  Inside she has a little refrigerator, a work bench cut down to suit her height and comfy chairs.  The pegboard walls are painted and the bottom half covered in fabric.  Outside she had a door cut in the side wall (there was already a garage door on one end) and with a window on either side it looks like a perfect little cottage,  She even had window boxes built and has flowers growing in them.  About the only thing she seems to be lacking is a chandelier.  I asked her about that and she said she is considering it. I think a she shed would be fun but the management gets fussy about things we build on our balconies.

Travel time?

 A friend and her husband, who are traveling out east this week, texted  me a short video of Niagara Falls this evening.  That brought back a wash of memories or a gush of memories, any way, lots of memories of visits to the falls over the years.  Most recently, about three years ago, I was there with some friends over the 4th of July, and the fireworks over and through the falls were quite spectacular.  Another time, many years earlier (sometime in the 80s) I traveled there with my husband and our two kids.  On that trip we spent a fun day on the American side then went to the Canadian side to spend the night and do some sightseeing the next day.  At that time the parks and gardens on the Canadian side were quite spectacular.  For some reason we spent that night in a motel instead of camping, and as we looked out of our window that evening we saw a sigh down the street for a souvenir shop, but this particular sign was half burned out so it just said SOUV.  We did a little shopping there the next day, nothing particularly memorable, but that sign became imbedded in our family psyche and forever after we have referred to souvenirs as souvs.  Silly, I know, but not all family memories are epic.