Sympathy please

 I have a cold, or maybe an allergy but I think it's a cold.  I feel stuffy and blah.  So that's it.  No scintillating blog tonight but at least I have an excuse this time.  I am doing my best to keep the Kleenex company in business, so at least I've accomplished that today.

I'm singing!!

 During the play I am in rehearsal for now, I sing three solos.  Actually I sing the same two lines three times.  To appreciate what a joke this is you need to know that when my daughter was one year old she told me to stop singing.  A friend with whom I had been in a church choir (they were desperate) told me, after we moved, that she really missed me because now she was the tallest person in the front row. But now I'm singing this bawdy limerick off tune (the only way I can sing) and everybody in the cast thinks it's very funny.  In fact a few of them have told me that they have caught themselves singing the song as they have been working around their homes and several have been humming it during breaks at rehearsals. I may have created a monster, or a hit song?  

a sign of the times

 Continued from yesterday - I have received responses from several former classmates concerning a 60 year reunion.  Most are very positive.  They do want to get together.  An interesting theme is developing though.  I think we may end up with a reunion brunch or lunch rather than a dinner.  I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't want to drive after dark.  The other big request is for plenty of time to visit before or after the meal.  Sounds good to me.  In past years we would compare notes on who had the most children (15 was the all time winner), who had traveled the farthest to get here, what our current jobs were, etc. This year we might compare hearing aid brands, discuss our cataract surgery experiences, see who has the most joint replacements, give prizes for the best decorated canes, walkers and scooters.   Time has indeed marched on.

every five years

 Every five years my high school class gathers for a reunion.  This is the year for our big 60.  Yes, I know that makes me, gasp, old!  But, on the plus side, I am one of the youngest members of my class, 77 to everyone else's 78.  Also, the tallest woman in the class, which bothered me a lot in high school but not any more.  No matter what else I become, I will never be a little old lady. I'm not quite sure how it happened but over the years I (one of the shyest kids ever back in the day) have become accidental treasurer and perpetual part of the planning committee for these events.  This evening I took the plunge and sent out a first email to my classmates to see what they want to do.  I'm hoping that they all agree to a simple supper like we did five years ago.  Especially if we can hold it at Hall's Gas House like we did the last time.  It was extremely effective price wise and right across the street from where I live.  Hey, there have to be some perks to doing the planning. 

Say What?

 I had a good time hosting one of the organists for the competition this weekend as I have mentioned before.  He was a very pleasant young man as I have mentioned before, with only one small problem.  Mine, not his.  Being from Hong Kong, he spoke British English with a rather heavy Chinese accent.  Generally, I had no trouble understanding him.  Generally.  The night before the contest he had been working in his room and came out and asked me if I had 'a razor.'  I told him no.  I didn't tell him that as a widow who lives alone I never need to shave.  But then I remembered that I might have a razor in my travel kit, and I did.  When I offered it to him, assuming he wouldn't mind using a lady's razor, he looked at me strangely, then laughed, apologized for his pronunciation, and made it clear to me that he was asking for 'an eraser.'  He said that he had never really learned to pronounce 'eraser' well because in Hong Kong (and England for that matter) they call them 'rubbers.'  We both agreed that I might not have understood that request at all.  It's good to be able to laugh with your guest.

Music and Family

 Well, the great organ playing competition is over for another two years, prizes have been awarded and my guest came in third, out of three.  They were all excellent, but in his defense, this was his first competition ever, and each of the other two had competed many times.  The music was interesting, some traditional, Bach, and some contemporary.  My favorite piece, played by the winner, was "Mephisto Waltz" by Franz Liszt; very moody and exciting.  So, in this case, I do agree the best person won.  

On another subject my west coast brother tells me that today is "Brothers and Sisters Day." So all you brothers and sisters out there give your siblings a big hug, actual of virtual.  I'm sure there's an emoji for that.  On the other hand, if you don't happen to have a brother or sister today is also "Make Up Your Own Holiday Day." Some possibilities come to mind, such as "Kissin' Cousins Day," "Spoiled Only Child Day," or "Eat Your Cheese Cake Day."  I added that last one because we were served cheesecake at supper tonight after the competition. I will leave it to you to come up with your own special day.  Feel free to share.  That's how these special days get started.

company

 Tomorrow is the National Organ Playing competition at First Pres here in Fort Wayne.  It takes place every other year and has been going on since 1956.  These days the competitors, all under 30, submit recorded samples of their playing and the very best are invited to come and compete in person.  There are three competing this year out of, I believe, 27 submissions.  It's prestigious and they win some money.  Our current church organist competed here several years ago.  This year I am hosting one of the competitors and so far it has been a very nice visit.  He's a young man from Hong Kong, currently working on his masters at Yale.  He came to Fort Wayne yesterday, spent some hours practicing then came to my apartment where I served him vegetarian bean soup for supper.  He liked it but it turns out that he's not really vegetarian (he told me in a text that he was off meat), was just kind of experimenting with it, as was proven when I took him to Hall's this evening and he had the prime rib.  He is a very easy guest, having spent most of the day at church again practicing.  This evening though I suspect nerves are catching up with him.  He has very politely excused himself to spend the evening in his room, which is fine with me because I want to watch the beginning of the new season of Bridgerton.  I love compatible company.

Awe!!

 Today is Cuddly Kitten Day and also Puppy Day.  According to my Trivia calendar Puppy Day was started in 2006 and is an unofficial holiday.  I'm not sure what makes a holiday unofficial but there are a lot of dog lovers out there so it must be a popular day.  Maybe to be official there have to be greeting cards.  I do not know the history of Cuddly Kitten Day but it sounds adorable.  Lucky for me, I have grand pets available when I feel the urge to cuddle a puppy or kitten.  Of course the grand puppies, there are three of them, each weighs over 70 pounds.  They are thrilled to cuddle but it is an overwhelming experience. The grand kitten (who is still under a year old so she really is a kitten) recently had to have almost all of her teeth extracted because of a rare infection, so she is feeling less that cuddly.  Maybe she will be ready to celebrate Cuddly Kitten Day next year.

What a great day

 Today is World Water Day and also National Goof Off Day which seems to me like a perfect match.  Take today for instance.  It has certainly been a rainy day, suitable for celebrating Water Day.  (Fun fact - Fort Wayne has the 4th best tasting municipal water in the United States.)  And, be honest, doesn't a rainy day make you want to goof off?  It certainly works that way for me.   I have been celebrating all day in my own special way.  I have been wearing sloppy sweats and sitting around doing paperwork, but at a slow pace.  No rush, I took time out to read pages in a novel, watch some day time TV and play a computer game or two.  My kind of day! Happy WW & NGO Day.  

a new role

 I have a part in an upcoming play at Arena Dinner Theater, and, are you ready for this, it's a singing role - well sort of.  Without giving too much away, I play a drunk, over the hill actress and, as part of my scenes, have to sing a few lines.  Lucky for me, I am required to sing off key which I do very well, as any of my friends and family can attest.  Finally, my perfect role.  The play is an old classic comedy "You Can't Take It With You."  We had our first read through this evening and I'm happy to report that the rest of the cast laughed at my lines.  They winced a little at my singing but ah well.  

company came

 I belong to a small group of women who get together for socializing and sometimes serious conversation about once a month, kind of an informal support group.  I enjoy meeting with this group and, as we take turns hosting our gatherings, I volunteered to host this month. I enjoy hosting and it's good motivation to clean my apartment.  My mother's philosophy of house cleaning was that we always cleaned before company was coming.  This has always worked for me too.  What's even better is when one cleaning works for two occasions.  In this case, my apartment looks nice and clean, these were not messy guests, so I'm ready for the young man who's coming to stay with me on Thursday.  He will be my guest while he is here for the National Organ Competition held this coming weekend at First Pres.  I like to make my guests comfortable, but sometimes I think I over achieve.  Today was a case in point.  My friends came at 3:00pm as planned, bearing lots of delicious treats, so we ate a late lunch, early supper (lupper?) and talked and talked and talked and talked.  It's true we hadn't been together for a couple of months but still?  As it was getting late, I offered them supper, we had plenty of leftovers, but they just laughed and kept on talking and talking.  They are gone now.  One of the ladies noticed it was getting dark outside.  They never seem to stay this long at other ladies' homes.  I suspect it's my saggy, comfy furniture, or maybe my scintillating conversation?  Nope, pretty sure it's the furniture.

drumroll please...

 I went to the Philharmonic this evening and it was an excellent show.  The first half included a double timpani concerto by Oliverio,  I have never seen dueling timpanists during a symphony before but it was certainly fun to have them at the front of the stage and be able to watch.  Each of the timpanists had five big kettle drums and they were making music on those drums.  The second half of the program was Symphony Number 5 in D minor, Op. 47 by Shostakovich (spell that six times fast).  I enjoyed the first half but thought the Shostakovich symphony was much better.  My go with guy said I was wrong.  We agreed to disagree. On a much sillier note, the name Shostakovich reminds me of a riddle my west coast brother sent me.  What's made of leather and sounds like a sneeze?

Awkward???

 Today is Awkward Moments Day, a day that might just sum up my life.  From wearing mismatched shoes on a field trip with my daughter to knocking a full tray of Valentine candy on the floor.  That one was in 7th grade when our teacher had brought a lovely tray of candy as a treat and I clumsily bumped into his desk and knocked it on the floor. I could go on and on. Helping my best friend out of my car and missing her wheel chair, landing her in a puddle on the ground, comes to mind. But that's enough.  I was embarrassed then, I'm embarrassed now at the memories.  So I guess this is a awkward moment also.  

Irish stew

 Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.  Or, if this is not a day you celebrate, you might enjoy celebrating National Submarine Day.  I'm not sure how you might celebrate that day.  There aren't many submarines in the St. Mary's River.  Perhaps you should just eat a submarine sandwich.  And, speaking of eating, I went to a luncheon meeting today and we were served Irish Stew.  At least that's what they said it was.  It was very, very good but Irish?  It tasted very much like my Aunt Dora's beef stew and she was very much a German cook.  Ah well, it was quite tasty.  And yes, I did wear green, but also a pin that had orange in it.  My tiny bit of Irish heritage is quite mixed.

books! books! books!

 I heard a very interesting presentation by the new director of the Allen County Public Library this evening,  She explained several new and existing programs and the need for building improvements.  After her speech she opened it up for questions.  I listened to her answers to several serious questions and then decided to ask a sort of silly question of my own.  I told her that when I was a young mother of a baby and a toddler, visits to the bookmobile were high points of our weeks and asked if there was any bookmobile service any more.  She said not now but she would really like to get it reinstated.  She also said she would like to create a genealogy mobile, which sounds fascinating to me.  They do have a variation on the book mobile that visits assisted living facilities but currently no neighborhood book mobiles.  But they could be coming.  Let's here it for good old ideas revisited!

since you asked...

 OK, here is one more story from my early childhood.  While we still lived in the downstairs apartment and I was about two years old, my daddy built a sandbox for me in the back yard.  Many of our homes featured sandboxes over the years, he was a carpenter after all.  As my mother told the story, I liked playing in my sandbox.  I believe that because in later life, when I was in kindergarten, the sand table was my very favorite thing. But back to the early years.  We had a dog named Mabel.  My father named most of our pets.  We later had two cats named Heathcliff and Hercules.  The story goes that one day, as I was playing in my sandbox, my mother was trying to call the dog in "Here Mabel, here Mable." Loudly, several times.  Evidently a neighbor heard her calling and scolded mom for calling her child like a dog.  Mom was embarrassed but set the neighbor straight on who was who.  It wasn't too many weeks after that that my mom looked out the back window to check on me and saw (as she described it) a giant rat climbing into my sandbox.  Needless to say, Mom set some kind of track record getting to me.  I'm guessing it wasn't too long after that that we moved out of that apartment and into our first little house.

pi day

 Today is pi day, 3.14, or pie day if you prefer.  I hope you celebrated in your own way.  But today is also "National Write Your Story Day" and my west coast brother has challenged me to share a personal story from my youth.  When I was one year old, my parents and I lived in the upstairs apartment of an old house which had been converted into a multifamily dwelling.  When their neighbors in the downstairs apartment decided to move, mom and dad made arrangements to move into the downstairs apartment (a little larger and more convenient).  As friends and family helped them move their furniture down stairs, I was kept safely out of the way by putting me in my kiddie car.  I could roam around the rapidly emptying apartment to my heart's content.  Unfortunately, I have always been a wanderer.  On this particular day I rode my little kiddie car down the hallway because someone had left the apartment door open.  Someone had also left the safety gate at the top of the stairs open, they were moving furniture after all.  Naturally, I started down the stairs.  According to my mother, I did a forward flip in my kiddie car and landed on my head, little wheels spinning, while I screamed bloody murder.  Mom said I ended up with a goose egg size bump on my forehead but was otherwise unhurt.  Those of you who have known me for a long time may be thinking that that explains a lot.  

lunch the hard way

 Today a friend and I decided to go out for lunch after church.  Sounds easy right?  Since our church is downtown, we decided to walk the one block to Proximo's, a very popular local restaurant.  So popular, in fact that it was booked solid for the afternoon, although we could wait approximately 35 minutes for seats at the bar.  We decided that was too long to wait so we walked on down half a block to JK O'Donnell's. It was closed.  But two buildings beyond JKs is a little Chinese restaurant called the Double Dragon.  I had eaten there once before (pre-pandemic)  and knew the food was good.  What we didn't realize until we had walked in and placed our orders (it wasn't crowded at all, in fact we were the only ones there) was that it was carry out only.  So, ok, we started thinking about where we could take our food to eat.  It was a little chilly to eat outside.  Twenty-five minutes later, after six other patrons had walked in and picked up the orders they had placed on line, we finally got our food.  By that time we realized we could have just waited at Proximo's.  Ah well.  Having our food in hand we decided that, since our cars were in the church parking lot, we would go back and eat in the church dining hall.  It was almost empty, coffee hour being over, and no one seemed to mind.  I'm happy to report that, after all that hassle, we were able to relax and enjoy our lunches and a nice conversation.  I had ordered sweet and sour pork, which came with fried rice, hot and sour soup and a fortune cookie, all for $6.75.  It was enough food for lunch, supper and lunch tomorrow, worth the walk and wait I think.  My fortune wasn't very encouraging.  It said 'Beware of bees with honey in their mouths but stingers at the other end.'  I think the fortune cookie seer was having an off day.

tech trauma

 I've been battling with technology again, not intentionally.  I was forced into it.  I received an email from Presbytery yesterday telling me that they needed my signature on a form we (a committee, of course) had sent.  I followed all the steps that came with my email and kept getting a message that there was nothing for me to sign.  This didn't surprise me since I knew I had signed the form before we sent it.  I emailed back and explained my problem and reminded them that I had already signed the form in real life.  They explained that they needed my signature again.  I tried again and again, reread all the instructions, then quit and went to bed.  Today I tried again, same results.  But, as I was looking over every word on the screen, I discovered way down at the bottom in tiny print, how to access the necessary form as a word document, fill it in and email it to them.  Well, why didn't they say that in the first place?  I filled out the form and emailed it, no problem.  Then, playing it safe, I printed out a copy, signed it with a real signature, and mailed it.  I may always be a low tech person, but I get there eventually.  

good music

 I went to an organ concert at our church this evening.  It was a good program and there was a nice crowd their.  I did enjoy the music, some classical, some more modern, but I found myself thinking that I really enjoy the philharmonic more.  As I pondered this (listening to music gives me plenty of time to ponder) I realized that I enjoy the philharmonic more because I can watch the music being created.  It's the same reason I don't listen to much music on the radio or any other musical venue these days.  I like to see my music.  I enjoy the performance.  Ironically, I realized during intermission that the program was being live streamed and that the camera was focused on the organist as he played.  Since our organ is located in the balcony behind the congregation we don't get any view of the organ from the main floor.  When we were shut down because of Covid one of the things I enjoyed most about couch church was being able to see the organist play.  This evening I realized that if I had stayed at home and watched the livestream I would have probably enjoyed it even more.  Ah well, live and learn. 

Happy Birthday Mom

 Today, March 10 is my Mother's birthday.  She was born in 1910.  She died of cancer when she was only 56, much too young, but while she lived she was awesome.  So it seems very appropriate that today is the "International Day of Awesomeness."  During her life time my mom was a nail tech, a hair stylist, a buyer for a major department store, and a teacher.  She was in training at Johns Hopkins to become a nurse when she met and married my father in 1943.  At that time you couldn't be a nurse and be married so she gave up that career dream.  Along the way, she learned to fly a plane and drove a professor and his wife all around the western US on a summer long vacation.  I grew up thinking that my mom could do anything and I'm pretty sure I was right.  

Additionally, today is "Middle Name Pride Day."  As it happens my middle name is LaVerne as was my mother's.  My mother's first name was Laura, same as her mother, so she was always called LaVerne, or usually Verne.  I was never called LaVerne, but I've always been quietly proud to have her middle name.  Thanks mom, and happy birthday.

Assets

 We had a really excellent presentation at the first of our Wednesday evening Lenten lecture series.  We also had an excellent supper brought in from Casa's.  But, about the program.  Pastor Javier Mondragon explained the work of his program 'Bridge of Grace Compassionate Ministries.'  He explained how, over the last 15 years, since he founded a little church in the SE part of Fort Wayne, he has gotten the Mount Vernon Park residents involved in fixing up their neighborhood. What I really appreciated about his program is the very positive approach he took to getting everyone in the area on board. He has been so successful that in 2019 he was named Person of the Year by the Journal Gazette.  You can Google Bridge of Grace for details.  But what really stirred my interest was that the neighborhood he was talking about was where my parents bought their first house when I was two years old, and my father was a foreman on the building crews that built all the new little houses in that area 75 years ago.  They were pre-fab homes with walls and roofs brought in on flatbed trucks.  My father told me that, once the basements were in, they could put up two houses a day.  And they sold fast.  Young families, eligible for the GI bill, were buying like crazy.  Dad's favorite silly remembrance was the day he was finishing the trim work on the side of a house, glanced in the window, and saw a woman on the toilet.  People were moving in fast.  Many years later I listed and sold a house on the same street where we had lived and I was delighted at what good condition it was in.  Those little pre-fabs were built to last.  

celebrate!!

 Today is "International Women's Day" which, according to my trivia calendar has been celebrated since 1911.  Coincidence possibly but that was a year after my mother was born and she turned out to be a pretty amazing woman.  But they missed it by two days.  Mom was born on March 10.  In honor of the day, I have scored a small silly victory.  I switched over to Netflix this evening and a message popped up telling me that my monthly payment was going up to $15.98.  It had been $12.98 so I wasn't too stressed.  Three dollars more won't break the bank.  But, while I was watching, the screen changed to offer 'other options.'  I clicked the box marked $9.98 and it turns out the only difference is that it isn't in high definition.  Well, guess what, I lived without high definition TV for most of my life so I chose the $9.98 option.  Woo hoo... I'm saving six dollars a month, and I'm excited.  How silly is that?  Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering, "National Men's Day" is November 19.  How will you celebrate?

A name to recon with.

Kasimierz Michal Wladyslaw Wiktor Pulaski, aka Casimir Pulaski, is credited with being the father of the American cavalry.  He was a military commander and Polish nobleman who died in 1779 while fighting in the American revolutionary war.  Why, you may ask, do I care about this?  Two reasons.  First, today is Casimir Pulaski Day, celebrated here in the USA, and second, I am ready to celebrate anything Polish (even including sausage) because of all they're doing to help the Ukrainians.  The fact that my step-mom was Polish American (she lived through WWII in Warsaw, Poland and worked for the Polish underground) also adds to my urge to celebrate the Polish. So kudos to Poland.

a great performance

 I saw an excellent play this afternoon.  It was performed at the PFW Studio Theater in Kettler Hall.  For those who can remember way back to the late 60s - early 70s the same space used to be called The Pit.  So that was a bit of nostalgia.  The play itself is "Women Unbound" by a Fort Wayne play write Ruth Tyndall Baker.  It was a very well written and wonderfully performed play but what made it especially interesting was the history behind it.  The play was about the three Hamilton sisters who grew up here in Fort Wayne and two of whom became very successful in their fields.  Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) wrote many books about the ancient Greeks, Romans and early Christians.  Her book "Mythology" was one of our college Art History text books but I didn't know until much later that she was from Fort Wayne.  Her sister Alice (1869-1970) did ground breaking work in studying toxicology in the work place, basically started OSHA, and was the first female professor at Harvard. Enough said, it's an excellent play and is still on next weekend if you're interested. Check out Playground630@gmail.com.

game on....

 I really do enjoy computer games, not the kind where you have to have quick reflexes and rapidly shoot things, but the kind where you can take your time and think.  I recommend Red Herring, Seven Words and Monkey Wrench, all of which can be played for free once a day. I also like Yahtzee and Backgammon which can be downloaded and played against my tablet or phone or whatever as many times as I want to.  So that's five good games that I can play every day.  You would think that would be enough, wouldn't you?  But no, I had to try another one.  A couple of friends introduced me to Wordle, a simple little game where you need to figure out a five letter word in six steps.  I have  downloaded a version that I can play several times a day and also the New York Times once a day version. Now you may think this sounds intriguing but I feel I must warn you, it is highly addictive.  Woops, time for my next hit.   

That big???

 Do you know how large the Great Sphinx of Giza is?  I didn't either until I read yesterday's entry in my trivia calendar.   Evidently the Sphinx is 66 feet high and 240 feet long.  I had no idea.  I knew it was large but six stories high and longer than two football fields?  That is really big.  I have obviously never seen the Sphinx although I would like to visit Egypt someday.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Many years ago I lectured in Art History at IPFW.  That involved showing lots and lots of slides (it was the high tech of the time) to my students. The trouble with seeing slides of great works of art is that they all look the same size.  Over the last fifteen years I have been lucky enough to visit museums in many cities in Europe.  It was always such a pleasant experience to come upon a work I had lectured about all those years before.  Like finding an old friend.  But there was almost always a surprise attached - pictures and sculptures that were much larger or much smaller that I had envisioned.  Fun but a little disorienting.  I am soooo ready to travel and be surprised again.

Home and garden

 A friend and I went to the Home and Garden Show today, along with what appeared to be about half of Fort Wayne.  It was fun to wander through all the aisles, browsing the booths for an amazing variety of things and services for sale.  I did not come away empty handed.  I bought two bags of flavored kettle corn and a chunk of summer sausage.  I was also given two free at-home Covid tests.  I was tempted by a beautiful double porch swing suspended from an A frame that would be great on my balcony, until I saw the price tag.  But the best thing I came away with was a wonderful feeling of freedom.  I don't need a new roof or a new furnace or replacement windows or remodeled kitchens or baths.  Of course I did do all that stuff before I sold my house but I don't need to concern myself with it any more.  I was tempted to sign up for a free house full of replacement windows but I think they might have balked at 14 stories of windows.  

sparkle ashes

 So I went to the Ash Wednesday service at our church, because I felt I should, still wondering if I really wanted to.  But I must say it was the most upbeat Ash Wednesday service I have ever attended.  Much of that was thanks to our head pastor's sermon which put a heavy emphasis on the life we live now vs worrying about death and salvation.  Of course she said it much more eloquently.  But the real boost to my spirits came with the "Imposition of Ashes" which sounds rather ominous.  Before going forward to get our ashes we were told that we could chose regular ashes or sparkle ashes.  I chose the sparkle ashes and was delighted when instead of the usual "for from dust you came and to dust you shall return" as you get your ashes, our associated pastor said "from stardust you came and to stardust you shall return" which seems much more positive to me. And in a silly fun end to the evening, I rode up in the elevator with a young man who had just come from the service at Trinity Episcopal.  He said my ashes were 'way cooler' than his.  I know it's not a competition but, hey, the Presbyterians won this round.

please pass the syrup

 Today is International Pancake Day.  While this has nothing to do with IHOP, I did see that they were passing out free pancakes earlier today. Today is also, of course, Fat Tuesday, or if you prefer the French, Mardi Gras.  I've been to a few Mardi Gras celebrations in my life and they are lots of fun.  Music, dancing in the streets, lavish floats, parades and beads, lots of beads.  I did accumulate some beads along the way but not in the traditional way.  They were just being tossed off the floats. Of course all this celebration means that Lent will start tomorrow with Ash Wednesday.  Now my question is when did protestant churches start observing Ash Wednesday?  In my childhood only Catholics (and they were few and far between in my small home town) walked around with ashes on their foreheads.  In my very conservative Lutheran congregation that would have been considered much too Catholic.  But now my anything but conservative Presbyterian church observes Ash Wednesday.  I don't mind it and I plan to attend the service tomorrow evening, but I must admit I still have questions about it.