It worked!

 I'm glad to report that yesterday's exercise worked well.  At rehearsal this evening I sailed through the 'admirable' line.  Now I need to focus on "the matter of the medal.."  This is a bit of a tongue twister for me.  Perhaps a stiff drink would help.  Just coincidentally today is 'National Hot Mulled Cider Day."  It's also "National Mud Pack Day" but I prefer to focus on the drink.  Hot cider is one of the joys of autumn.  Cheers everyone.  

What's that word?

 For many days now I have been working on memorizing my lines for the play I will be in at the end of October.  I have 46 speeches, or lines, in two scenes.  Some are lengthy and some are quite short but I have managed to memorize them all - except for one elusive word.  The line is "But that was admirable too, for she was merely being loyal to a playmate." Easy right?  Except for the word 'admirable.'  I don't know why but each time I say that line, I get as far as "But that was...." and that's it.  Just a blank, nothing more comes.  So I am going to type the word admirable here twenty times in hopes that it will stick.  If not, prepare for an unintended laugh during the play.  ADMIRABLE  ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE  ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE  ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE ADMIRABLE

ask me anything

 Today is "Ask a Stupid Question Day" and also "National Good Neighbor Day."  I think being a good neighbor might include not asking certain questions like "When are you going to mow your grass?" or "When is your son going to get a new muffler for his car?"  However, if being a good neighbor isn't a concern there are all kind of stupid question you can ask.  Like "Why should I get the vaccination?" "Why should my child wear a mask to school?" "Why should I bother to wear a seat belt?" "Why aren't my rights more important than anyone else's?"  Maybe we need to focus more on being a good neighbor?

travel woes

 I went to my cousin's funeral in Woodburn this morning.  The service itself was very nice and it was a sad but good chance to reconnect with some family members I don't see often.  I was even pleasantly surprised when I was greeted like a long lost friend by one of the funeral directors.  He had been surprised yesterday when he saw my name on the flowers I sent, and was watching for me when I arrived.  He's a full time funeral director and part time play-write and I was in one of his plays before the pandemic shut everything down.  I played the church lady who accidentally got dragged off to Hell (but that's a different story).  The funeral was fine, as I said, but getting there was not half the fun.  I grew up in Woodburn, and while I don't get out that way very often, I do still remember the way.  At least I thought I did.  I took what I thought would be the most direct way, and it probably would have been, without the lengthy detour through New Haven (come on people, New Haven isn't that big) and a few wrong turns.  50 minutes later, I completed what should have been a half hour drive.  It's good that I left early.  

It's mine now.

 The final performance at First Presbyterian Theater of "The Wolves" was a matinee held this afternoon.  Including all of the dress rehearsals through today, I was there for eleven performances, working the sound board.  Pushing the GO button on the computer to start the music at each cue and then pushing the FADE button when it was time for the music to end.  It was a little more complicated than that, but not too much.  I also blew the referee's whistle seven times during the play, and if I do say so, I blew it very well.  In fact several people (all friends or relatives) told me that I blew it very well.  It's the only musical instrument I can play.  The really good news is that, as a souvenir, I was allowed to bring the whistle home with me.  What a lovely memento, but I probably shouldn't blow it inside.  These apartments are very well soundproofed but still.  In fact, right now I can't think of any good place to blow my whistle.  Maybe I'll keep it with me and blow it at the next crazy scooter rider I almost hit downtown. I'm not sure why they don't think traffic laws apply to them.  

more murals

 Over the last few years Fort Wayne has slowly been becoming decorated with murals.  Murals on buildings, on fronts and in alley ways.  They are fun to come upon as you walk around the city.  One of my favorites is the long, bright mural on the wall supporting an elevated stretch of railroad across the parking lot from my apartment building.  It's so much more appealing than the drab gray expanse that it was before.  Now, according to a recent news report, the city is trying something new.  Murals painted around drain covers.  They showed a few examples and they were cute.  Pictures and messages reminding people that these drains are for run off water (rain water) not garbage.  I questioned if these creations should be called murals because they're not on walls but Google has reassured me that murals can be painted directly on a wall, ceiling, or other permanent surface. The next time you take a walk downtown, look around but also look down.

leaky roof?

 I was a homeowner for many years so I am familiar with leaky roofs.  However, now I live in a tenth floor apartment with four more floors above me so I was not expecting leaks in my ceiling.  Actually, about four years ago I did have a ceiling leak but that was in my bathroom and caused by a plumbing problem in the bathroom above mine.  Happily everything was fixed, good as new.  This week, however, on Wednesday when we had lots of wind and rain, I discovered a leak in my bedroom ceiling.  The water trail started at the angle between exterior wall and ceiling and extended for about two feet into the room.  Since it was late at night and not what I would consider an emergency, I put a couple of waste baskets under the leak and put a towel over them so I wouldn't hear the annoying drip drip all night.  In the morning the towel was quite soggy but the rain had stopped and nothing was dripping any more.  I called the office to report the problem and a maintenance man came by today to have a look.  When he saw where the problem was (the young lady I had reported it to had told him it was a leaky window) he told me that they had received several reports of similar leaks since Wednesday.  I didn't find this particularly reassuring.  Is the whole side of the building going to start leaking like a sieve?  But he reassured me.  A company has already been hired to reseal all of the ledges and other places where water could get in on the north side of the building.  This should be interesting to watch.  Stay tuned.

In memoriam

 I learned today that one of my dear cousins died yesterday.  He was 86 years old and had had health problems for some time so I don't begrudge him his release.  I will miss him, even though we hadn't seen a lot of each other over the last several years.  Thinking about him has brought back a flood of memories.  One of my favorites is spending Christmas Day at their house.  My aunt and mom would prepare the dinner.  Often ham, with mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, corn and many more good things.  By the way, it was expected that you would put the noodles on the potatoes and that's still my favorite way to eat them.  After dinner the adults would sit down at the kitchen table to play Euchre and we cousins would gather around the dining room table to play Monopoly.  The way we played it, it took all afternoon.  Such a fine memory. RIP Jim.

dis-functional?

 I happened upon a TV show this evening, while surfing aimlessly, called "Nanny 911."  It's on channel 33.7 in my area.  For those of you, like me, whose children and grandchildren are pretty much grown, it's a chance to give yourself a giant pat on the back and say "My children never behaved like that."  The grocery store scene alone will assure you that you were good parents.  The little girl on the show right now, screaming at her mother, crying and throwing things, reminds me of the child in the play I'm in rehearsal for, "The Bad Seed."  That child turns out to be a murderer.  Let's hope that Nanny can save this family from the same fate.  It's quite an entertaining show in a weird way and I recommend that you watch it, at least once.  

Taco time

 This evening I attended a meeting at my church.  Before this particular monthly meeting we have traditionally had a supper together.  Of course during the months when we were meeting by Zoom that went by the wayside, but this month we restarted this tradition.  Due to a collision of several circumstances, we were not able to have a traditional meal, like meat, potatoes and vegetables, so we ended up with a taco bar.  Happily, everyone there seemed to think this was an excellent idea.  The food was provided by Moe's, a restaurant I have never gone to (but will), and it was very tasty, and plentiful.  Soft shells, chicken, black beans, lettuce, grated cheese, salsa, sour cream, chips and sauce.  It was all yummy.  When I first saw everything set out on the serving table I thought there wasn't enough to serve 14 people, but we actually ended up with leftovers.  Thank you Moe's.  I guess you know what you're doing.  

pass the pizza

 Today is Pepperoni Pizza Day which surprised me.  Isn't all day, every day pizza day?  It's been a long day after a long week and that's all I've got for tonight except for one more silly riddle I heard in exercise class today.  Why is the floor of a basketball court always damp?

Arrrrrg!

 Aarrrrg!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day and that is the only word I know in Pirate.  Happily, Talk Like a Pirate Day is one of my son's favorite days so it added to the celebration.  Today we celebrated my son's 50th and my son-in-law's 49th birthdays (not the same days, we found a day in between) with a family dinner at my place.  Our family conversations always cover a wide range of topics, but they have certainly varied over the years.  Today we talked about the two cousins who are away at college, how my daughter sprained her wrist trying to resuscitate a patient who coded during surgery (the patient did survive), which animal has the strongest teeth in the world, how the new cat is doing and how she got the notch in her ear and more.  My daughter-in-law is still teaching double classes with some students still learning from home and my son-in-law shared some really groan worthy or is that aaarrg worthy riddles like "Why don't you ever see elephants hiding in trees?" It was a fun evening, everyone has gone home now, the dishes are in the dishwasher, and I'm going to bed.  But first I'll leave you with one more riddle.  "What do you call a boomerang that never comes back?'

what's in a name

 My west coast brother told me today that a cheese burger made with the cheese inside is sometimes called a Juicy Lucy?  I had never heard of this before and I suspect that it might be a west coast thing but I like it.  Unlike the phrase Loosie Goosy which I have never like at all.  I have a friend named Susan who has the same aversion to the phrase Lazy Susan.  I'm sure there are other examples but nothing comes to mind right now so I think I'd better go to bed.  

Opening night

 I am happy to report that opening night of "The Wolves" went very well.  The actors, nine very high energy teenage girls and one adult playing the soccer mom, did an excellent job.  The audience laughed and cried at all the right times.  And, drum roll please, I am happy to report that I blew the whistle loud and long in all the right places.  In fact I hit all my cues on time.  Of course it does help that I have the stage manager talking to me through headphones, coordinating her light cues with my music ones.  It's hard to mess up when someone is talking you through everything step by step.  But I have five more performances to get through so I won't pat myself on the back too hard yet.  We did have one interesting occurrence though.  There is pre-show music that plays for the half hour before the show actually starts while people are finding their seats.  Five minutes before show time the stage manager came to me and told me to restart the preshow music because there was a delay.  Then she walked away.  I was imagining all sorts of terrible things, broken bones, nerves, vomiting, lost or torn costumes.  So many things can go wrong.  When she came back a little later she informed me that we were delaying the start because one of the girl's family were running late and she really really wanted them to see the show from the beginning.  So we waited.  They were finally seated about ten minutes later and the show started.  Live theater is always fun.

try this

 My west coast brother informed me that today is Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie Day.  What would I do without him?  I've never had butterscotch cinnamon pie but, just coincidentally, a friend gave me a recipe for butterscotch brown sugar cake today and it sound pretty good so I've decided to share it with you.  I have not made it yet but I'm told by my friend who has that it is easy and delicious.  So here we go;  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 13" by 9" cake pan.  Mix together one box of yellow cake mix, two eggs and five butterscotch pudding cups.  Pour into cake pan.  Sprinkle over the top 1/2 cup chocolate chips, 1/2 cup butterscotch chips and 2/3 cup brown sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for (the recipe says 25-45 minutes) I would suggest 30 to 35 minutes.  Check with a tooth pick to see if it's done, and please let me know if you liked it.  Better yet let me know where I can buy a butterscotch cinnamon pie.

So typical

 My west coast brother and his wife went away for a long weekend.  My brother told me about their cat's greeting when they got home yesterday.  The cat, Ace by name, calmly sat on his blanket sucking his toe and glanced at them.  This is such typical cat behavior.  If you go away for as little as an hour, you dog will greet you with lavish barks, jumps, licks, butt wiggles and running around in circles.  There is no doubt she is delighted that you're home.  A cat, on the other hand, gives you the cold shoulder.  Mind you, we always left our cats very well cared for when we went on vacations.  They had all their needs attended to.  So, did they rush to greet us when we came home, full of gratitude for their good care and joy to see us home?  Hahahahaha.  The typical reception was a casual saunter toward the door to see who was coming in, a look that plainly said "Oh, it's you." a yawn, and a slow walk back to their bed or current puddle of sunshine.  A few hours later they would be all ready for some cuddling and purring, but only on their schedule.

a great day

 Today is 'International Chocolate Day' and also my son's birthday.  A great combination, you must admit.  He is 50 today which I'm pretty sure is physically impossible.  I must have been older than 2 when he was born. Since he's attending a conference in Boston we will be celebrating his birthday next Sunday, along with the other September birthdays in our family.  I do remember the day he was born and I learned a good trick to bring on a speedy delivery that I will share with you.  Eat a nice spicy Mexican dinner the night before.  It worked both times for me.  Six hours of labor with the first one, three with the second.  My husband said that if I was ever pregnant again he would just park our camper in the hospital parking lot for the last week.  Enough reminiscing.  I think I'll have a chocolate cookie to celebrate this momentous occasion.  

another catalog

 I'm happy to report that I am a very good whistle blower.  Loud and long.  I sound like a real referee.  But that's not what I want to blog about this evening.  I received another catalog in the mail today and this one was a blow to my ego.  I mean I know I'm way past middle age but I wasn't expecting to receive a catalog full of compression socks, support hose, walkers, canes and comfy looking night gowns and bathrobes.  I must admit that the black compression socks with a pattern of little green dinosaurs are cute, although that pattern may be an ageist insult.  I must admit though that I got a little more interested in ordering something (no, not the glow in the dark door knob covers) when I got to the middle pages of the catalog.  Who knew that seniors would be a good market for vibrators?  Three styles in pink, blue or lavender.  By the way, the catalog is called BwellNow.  

sound effects

 Several weeks ago I promised to help with an upcoming play at First Pres Theater.  Not the one I have a part in but the one before it.  It's called 'The Wolves' and it's about a girls' soccer team.  What I promised was that I would work the sound board or the light board for the performances.  The final rehearsals are this week and I will be going to all of them.  But the exciting part is that I will be handling the sound effects and, as part of that I will get to blow a real live whistle, five times.  On cue of course.  I'm pretty sure I can blow the whistle at the right times.  My only concern is that I might blow the whistle as hard as I can and nothing but a little puff of air will come out.  Ah well, I have a week to practice.  

a silly dilemma

 I went to church for a while this morning to help decorate our large dining hall for Rally Sunday.  As I was getting ready to head over there it occurred to me that I didn't know where I would leave my purse while I was putting out placemats and centerpieces.  Men will not understand this concern at all.  Where do you put a purse that's out of the way and out of sight so you feel that it's relatively secure?  After all we women do carry a lot of important stuff in our purses.  I had a billfold stolen out of my purse once, many years ago, and it has made me wary about just leaving my purse sitting around.  So I stood at my door, ready to leave, when I had an 'ah ha!' moment.  I don't need a purse to drive my car, and I really didn't need my purse for setting tables.  So I put my driver's license, insurance info and keys in one pocket and my phone in another, and off I went.  I admit to feeling a little smug, as I was putting out place mats while watching other women volunteers figuring out where to put their purses and checking from time to time to make sure they were still there.  I felt liberated.  

a fun favorite

 Today my favorite catalog (yes a real paper paged catalog) arrived in the mail.  The catalog is actually called "Catalog Favorites, Casual, Comfortable and Fun."  I have seldom ordered anything from this catalog but I do like to read it because several pages are filled with sweatshirts.  Not just any old sweatshirts but the kind with funny sayings on them.  So here are my favorites from this issue: "I don't care who dies in a movie, as long as the dog lives."  "Dear Autocorrect, I'm getting a bit tired of your shirt."  "My moods don't just swing. They bounce, pivot, recoil, oscillate, fluctuate and occasionally pirouette."  "I've reached the age when my train of thought often leaves the station without me."  "If by 'crunches' you mean the sound bacon makes when you eat it, then yes, I do crunches."  There, wasn't that better than trying to read people's chests?  You're welcome.

a different approach

 Tonight was rehearsal number two and we spent the time blocking.  In other plays I have been in we spent the first week or so going over and over the words but this director took a different approach.  We can't actually be on stage yet because there is another play in the final weeks of rehearsal on stage.  So we arranged tables and chairs in our meeting room to approximate where furniture, doorways, and props will be located.  Then we went through the first two scenes line by line, learning the actions that go with every line.  I think this is an interesting approach because we're memorizing the actions along with the lines.  I think that seeing how everything fits together will make it easier to learn my lines and should make everything flow more naturally.  We are supposed to have all our lines memorized (be off book) in three weeks.  I am in two scenes and have 46 lines, just the size role I like.  I attended Lutheran elementary school and we were required to do memory work, memorizing hymns or Bible verses, every day so I can memorize.  My eighth grade teacher used to tell us that we should have memorized our assignment so thoroughly that if we fell out of bed in the middle of the night, we could recite it backwards.  Since I don't fall out of bed I will never know if I'm that good.   

and so it begins

 We had our first rehearsal for "Bad Seed" this evening.  It was just the first read through, and like most first reads, I came away thinking "This is never going to work."  Although the two little girls are great.  It's probably really good that I am not a director.  After all the mispronounced and misunderstood words, some of which we Googled on the spot, the director said "Good job everybody." with a straight face.  And I know, because I've seen it before, that by the end of October (opening night is October 29) everything will be just fine.  My favorite new word is scuppernong.  You probably know what it is but I had to Google it. 

Oh, happy day.

 Today is Labor Day, a day to celebrate labor, not experience it.  In the true spirit of the day I did very non-stressful things.  I spent some of the day getting familiar with the script for the play I'm going to be in in October.  It's an interesting story with a twisty ending,  I have my first line memorized.  It is "I'm a bit ahead of time, as usual."  That's enough effort for Labor Day, don't you think?  One down, 45 to go. 

doing a good deed

 Today several of us stayed after church to fill buckets with cleaning supplies.  This is part of supplying materials to Presbyterian Disaster Relief and will be sent to Louisiana to help with the clean up after Hurricane Ida.  We've done this several times before, after various disasters, but not since before the pandemic.  This was very well organized.  All of the materials, many donated (including the big blue buckets with lids from Lowe's)  or sold to us a a reduced price, were lined up on long tables.  Each of us, one by one, picked up a bucket and walked along the tables filling it with detergent, a clothes line, clothes pins, scrubbing cloths, cleanser with bleach, rubber gloves, heavy work gloves, scrubby sponges, insect repellent and more.  It's amazing how much can be fitted into a big bucket.  What pleases me the most is how many people stay to help.  Thanks to many hands we had those buckets packed in 25 minutes.  A similar phenomena happens when we gather weekly during the school year to pack 'blessings in a backpack,' assuring school children weekend food.  Like most regular church attenders, I give money weekly in the collection plate (actually on line these days) but I find it very satisfying to actually handle materials and feel like I'm doing something real, and evidently so do many others.  Also, it's fun.  

Could it be true?

 I am the first to admit that I am a very superficial user of technology.  I can do amazing things on my phone - text, send emails, make actual phone calls, take pictures, wake myself up and more, but don't ask me to figure out how these things work.  I do not go beneath the top layer of actions on my laptop, like writing this blog, paying bills, creating documents.  You get the idea.  It's at the same level that I understand airplanes and electricity.  So, recently, when my west coast brother complained that he wasn't receiving my texts, I tried to figure out the solution without actually fiddling with my phone settings.  Other people, much closer to my home were receiving my texts with no problem.  But finally I think I've figured it out.  Last week it was very humid in this area, up into the oppressive zone on the local weather charts.  One day it was so humid that I almost couldn't get my front door open.  Today, a day with very low humidity, my brother told me that ten of my backed up messages had come through all at once.  Everyone knows that humidity makes things swell up.  I'm pretty sure that my texts got all puffy, damp and sluggish and just couldn't make it through the soggy air.  I'm willing to consider other theories but I really think I might have something here.

an oxymoron?

 The first Friday of September is National Lazy Moms' Day.  I'm really not sure there is any such thing as a lazy mom.  Lazy grandmas, yes.  We have earned it.  I was thinking about this concept though and I suspect it has something to do with kids going back to school.  Of course this is based on the old fashioned, but I think very reasonable, idea of sending children back to school after Labor Day.  If you think about it, on the first Friday of back to school week Mom doesn't need to worry about getting lunches and clothes ready for the next day.  Maybe they would even go out to dinner that evening to celebrate the weekend, so, this was her day to kick back and relax.  If that's considered lazy, so be it.

imagine that

 Today is Bison-ten Yell Day.  Say the phrase ten times fast and you will understand.  It is the day set aside to celebrate the 200th anniversary of any imaginary animal or an imaginary event that is really important to you.  I have a few favorite imaginary animals.  Unicorns of course, and they are definitely worth celebrating, but there is also the Hodag (there's only one) and jackalopes.  And then there are animals that are real but look like they ought to be imaginary like giraffes, kangaroos and platypuses.  So choose your favorite and let the celebration begin! In case this does not appeal to you, it's also World Coconut Day, so your alternative is to go eat a piece of coconut cream pie, which is also a way to celebrate.  

Maybe it's not my fault?

 Today is National No Rhyme or Reason Day.  It's also National Tofu Day.  The two do seem to go together.  Other things I can contemplate on No Rhyme or Reason Day - people who drive by with their radios turned up so loud that I can hear it from my 10th floor apartment; people who turn their air conditioners down to 68 degrees; people who cut in front of me just in time to slam on their brakes at the red light; a woman who told me that she can never say no to her grandchildren;  new and improved products that never are.  Well, now I've had my 'grump' session for the evening, now it's your turn, or not.  No rhyme or reason.