smile!!!

 Dental care has come a long way since I was a child, thank goodness. Some years ago, when I first started going to my current dentist, I had to fill out an information form.  One of the questions was "Would you ever consider wearing dentures?"  On the form I printed NO!!!  The dentist thought that was pretty funny, but I had my reasons.  When I was eight years old and my mother was 42 she had all her teeth pulled and was fitted with dentures.  She was having some severe pains, I think in her back, and it was decided that an infection in her teeth was to blame.  Now, dentists would be able to pinpoint which tooth was the culprit, but back then, for whatever reason, they determined that the only solution was to pull all her teeth.  After about half of them were gone they finally got the problem one and her pain stopped, but by then there was nothing to do but remove the rest of her teeth.  The new teeth did look very natural.  On the first day she had them I remember my six year old brother and myself watching enthralled as she bit into a banana and accidentally pulled her new teeth out.  We thought it was pretty funny.  Young children are not naturally sympathetic.  Not surprisingly, I have tried to take good care of my teeth.  I have had my share of fillings and crowns, but, at my last check up, my dentist said I was doing a good job of home teeth care.  Always good to hear.  What actually got me thinking about all this was a new tube of tooth paste.  Like many people these days I would like for my teeth to look nice and white.  Recently I needed to buy tooth paste, so in a quest for something newer and better, I selected Crest fluoride anticavity toothpaste Brilliance Charcoal Mint.  I figured that would cover all the bases.  To my surprise, when I squeezed the first brush full out of the tube, it was purple-black.  I guess there really is charcoal in there.  It's evidently the hot new thing in dental care.  Happily, it tastes great and is leaving my teeth looking as white as they ever have.  I was very pleased with my smile until I got home from church today and discovered a lipstick smudge on one tooth.  Ah vanity.

Have you ever wondered why these dental care products are called tooth paste and tooth brushes?  Why not teeth paste and teeth brushes?  Maybe for the same reason I use a hair brush and not a hairs brush? On the other hand, why a pair of pants when it's only one article of clothing?  I may need to do some research but not tonight.  It's time to brush my teeth and go to bed.  

music ups and downs

 It seems like Mother Nature has had us on a weather roller coaster for the last several days here in Fort Wayne with thunder storms and snatches of sunshine.  This evening the Fort Wayne Philharmonic took us on a similar musical journey.  The evening opened with Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem performed by the orchestra, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Chorus, the Purdue Fort Wayne Choral Union and soloists Katie Van Kooten and Benjamin Taylor.  The choirs were wonderful, the whole performance was brilliantly performed, The soloists were excellent, but it was very somber, thoughtful music.  Good to hear once but not something I would return to over and over.

After the intermission everything became much more up-beat and, I must admit, more to my taste.  Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op 74 Pathetique (considered his best and I believe it) was lyrical and lively and a sheer pleasure to listen to, and the quieter 4th movement was blissful.  This one I would listen to over and over.  

Actually, the intermission turned out to be lots of fun too.  My son and daughter-in-law had unexpectedly come for the evening and we got to chat with them.  Then 'my' oboe player happened to be coming up our aisle, spotted me and stopped to talk.  We had been tenth floor neighbors when I lived at Three Rivers Apartments and his wife and I were involved in theater together.  It was so nice to catch up.  All in all, a lovely roller coaster evening.

a numbers game

Today, April 4, is 404 Day and Jeep 4x4 Day, two days which I admit I have never celebrated.  I got this information from my west coast brother who also informed me that it is "World Rat Day," a day which I will also not be celebrating.  When I was a tiny tot, and we lived in an old area of town, my mother checked on me while I was playing in my sandbox (my father always built sandboxes for us wherever we lived) and discovered a (in her words) 'giant rat' sitting in the sand with me.  That was the end of my unsupervised sandbox time.  This may be why, a couple of years later, I enjoyed the sandbox in my kindergarten classroom so much.  It was really a sand table, filled with lovely white sand.  I loved that sandbox.  There is a similar sand table at Science Central which, when you pile up the sand, takes on the colors of a topographical map.  I would love to play with that but there are always so many little kids around, and I really can't push them out of the way.  Well I could, I am bigger than them, but I probably shouldn't.  It would tarnish their image of grandmas.

As for 404 Day, which is only celebrated in Atlanta, and 4x4 Day which celebrates the virtues of Jeeps and urges one to 'get out in the open air' and go for a ride, I won't be celebrating those days either.  I will wait for 5-5 and celebrate by enjoying a good Mexican dinner.  

sounds yummy???

 My west coast brother has informed  me that today is "Fish Fingers and Custard Day."  My immediate thought was "Goody, let's go to Culver's for supper."  There is a Culver's conveniently located less than a mile from our house, and they certainly do have fish and custard, which you do not have to eat together.  But then I got to wondering jf Culver's has fish fingers? For that matter, what are fish fingers anyway?  Do fish have fingers?  They can't be very big.  So I checked their menu on line.  They have walleye and cod and shrimp, but no fish fingers. Then I dug a little deeper (I do love Google) and discovered that fish fingers is a UK term.  Here in the US we call them fish sticks.  Well. every mother knows what fish sticks are.   The dish 'fish fingers and custard' (soft custard, not frozen) was evidently made popular by the 11th Dr. Who.  My friend Alice would probably have known this since she's a real Dr. Who fan.

Not surprisingly, writing this blog has made me hungry, and it's almost supper time.  I guess I'll see if my spouse would like to go to Culver's.  He doesn't eat fish but he does like their burgers and frozen custard.  

Rain, rain go away...

 If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

Pilgrims!!!

This is a favorite joke of many second graders I have known.  It seems appropriate today.  Everyone knows that April brings rain. However, with all the rain, wind, thunder, lightening and more rain that we have had today, I'm pretty sure Mother Nature is trying to get all of her April showers over with in one fell swoop.  Does this mean that the rest of April will be sunny and warm?  Maybe????

After I wrote the above paragraph I started to wonder what is a 'fell swoop' anyway?  And where did the phrase come from?  A little research gave me the answer.

Blame it on Shakespeare, who else?  When Shakespeare's wrote "Macbeth" 'fell' meant cruel and he compared the sudden murder of Macduff's wife and children to a hawk swooping down on its prey. One fell swoop.  Now it is used to mean suddenly, or all at the same time, but not necessarily in a bad way.  So now you know.  

Coincidentally, my west coast brother had informed me, earlier today, that today is "International Fact Checking Day" which I did before I wrote the previous paragraph.  He also shared that it is "Global Day of the Engineer."  This pleased my wonder spouse who is an Electrical Engineer.  He thinks it is fitting that engineers get a "Global" day rather than a mere "National" day.  I don't begrudge him his special day, especially since I, who am not an engineer, won our Scrabble game this evening by 100 points, an all time record.  Not exactly one fell swoop, but a victory worth mentioning all the same.   

good salesmanship...

 This evening my spouse and I were watching a show on the History channel about South and Central American pyramids, and that reminded me of an experience I had on my first ever Caribbean cruise about sixteen years ago.  Coincidentally, I had recently come across the paperwork that came with my jade cross that I purchased on that cruise.  As you might expect, on a western Caribbean cruise, we stopped at many costal cities in Cancun, Belize and other countries but the place I remember most fondly is Guatemala.  The contrast between that and other places we called on was amazing.  In most places we were almost overwhelmed with vendors trying to get us to buy their wares as soon as we set foot on land.  I was traveling with two girlfriends and between us we certainly bought enough to help support the local economies, but the shopping was not always pleasant.  Guatemala was different.  No harassment as soon as we stepped off the ship.  We were simply put on a bus and taken to the site of a very impressive Mayan pyramid.  I'm sorry that I don't remember the name of it.  Also at that site was an archaeological museum and jade factory and, of course, a lovely display of jade sculptures and jewelry for sale.  No pressure at all, simply availability.  I enjoyed looking and bought one simple piece that I knew I would wear.  What a pleasure and the reason I will always remember Guatemala with great fondness.  

A little side story.  I was wearing the cross one day when I was substitute teaching at a Catholic elementary school.  One of the students commented on the necklace and I said that I had gotten it in Guatemala.  Another student then said "My father is from Guatemala."  When I told her how much I liked it there she just smiled and smiled and said she would tell her father.

My little jade cross, one and one half inches tall.

A yarn about yarn...

 Most Mondays from 3 to 5pm a group of ladies gather in a large room on the third floor of our church's classroom wing to enjoy FFF (Faith, Fiber and Fellowship).  We each work on our own projects.  Mine is weaving or stitching, others do beautiful crochet and knitting projects.  Some items are for personal use, others are donated, usually to be given as prayer shawls for those who are sick or grieving.  Needless to say, where there is yarn work, excess yarn accumulates and accumulates and accumulates some more.  Today we were tasked with the job of cleaning out the years of accumulated yarn (not all ours) from a large storage room across the hall from our meeting room.  Our head custodian is feeling the need for more storage space.  I hate to tell him, but when the yarn is gone, it will just fill up with other stuff.  You know this happens at home, and just as surely at church.  So ten of us gathered, pulled out all of the yarn from the storage space, took what we wanted for ourselves, friends and family members and sorted through the rest of the stash to decide what to donate, what else we wanted, and, alas, what should be thrown away.  I came away with a fairly large bag of yarn for my next few projects, a few things for my granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law and two large containers of stuff to donate to the Dove's Nest, one of my favorite local charities.  If none of this gets put to good use, i really won't care.  I did my bit to get it out of the church.  

old new tech....

 My west coast brother surprised me with a visit this evening.  Not in person.  I think he would have let me know if he was coming to visit from Spokane, but it was a pleasant surprise.  He Zoomed in to see us, and he brought my favorite sister-in-law along.  He has acquired some new equipment that allows him to Zoom from home.  He knows that I attend some meetings by Zoom so he tried it out on me.  First on my phone, which didn't go to well, then computer to computer which went smoothly. I'm very pleased that he decided to use me as his first experiment.  I can't initiate a Zoom meeting but I can, evidently, respond to anyone who Zooms me first and provides me with the necessary access numbers.  I suggested that my brother try to include more of his family sometime so he may try it on his second son's birthday next week.  It is kind of funny though how I reacted when I realized I was being seen as well as heard.  My first thought was "I look so colorless without lipstick" even as my brother was saying that my sister-in-law would join us as soon as she brushed her hair.  While Zooming is fun sometimes, I realized that I am not ready to be seen any time I'm on the phone.  Definitely not early in the morning.  Maybe I'm not as ready for high tech as I think I am, but it really was more fun than just talking on the phone. 

The great art show...

 Today my spouse and I drove to Columbus, Ohio to visit one of my granddaughters.  She is a senior at the Columbus College of Art and Design and we went to see her senior thesis exhibition.  Her theme for her show was "Happy Objects"  The show was a lovely exhibit of hanging mobiles, chandeliers and other pieces, all with a very cheerful, even playful motif. 

Here is a paragraph from her written thesis:  "Hanging mobiles and chandeliers are the main source of inspiration for forms in this show. I like to include as much variety as I can both visually and through the textures of materials used.  I like the contrast between soft yarns and hard metal, fragile crystals and sturdy chains.  Materials are collected over time as well as found, bought, upcycled, and gifted to me.  The color pallets are reminiscent of my childhood toy play sets, past favorite colors and some monochromatic studies."

Here are a few of my favorite pieces.  I hope you'll agree that they are happy objects.

tasty treats...

 My west coast brother has come through again.  According to his sources today is "National Something on a Stick Day."  Naturally, my thoughts turned to edible treats on sticks.  There are the obvious ones like popsicles, ice cream bars and corn dogs but there are more exotic ones like kabobs of all sorts.  If you consider toothpicks sticks, and I do, then almost any appetizer, like cheese cubes, pickles, olives and cream cheese and beef roll ups are things on sticks. 

When my children were very young, the first neighborhood we lived in had an ice cream truck coming through every day, usually in the morning.  They did not get treats every day but we did indulge occasionally.  I personally really like lime popsicles.  My neighbor across the street had twin girls, about three years old, and for a long time she had them convinced that it was just a music truck.  Very clever, I thought.  When we moved to our next neighborhood, the ice cream truck came most afternoons and we lived next door to a very nice older couple who didn't have any of their own grandkids handy so they treated ours on a regular basis (with permission of course). 

My wonder spouse has informed me that Zesto's (THE place for summer ice cream) is now open for the season.  I wonder if they serve anything on a stick?

sing a song...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day."   He even provided me with an example 'You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd.'  Naturally, this made me curious so I looked up some more examples.  Here are a few I liked.

Grandma got Runover by a Reindeer (I've actually heard this one)

Wacky Tabaccy

Beer for My Horses

I Still Like Bologna 

One Bud Wiser

Fuzzy Wuzzy Ego

Where Have All the Average People Gone?

She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy

My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (I know this one also)

Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart

In case you're interested, you can Google any of these and listen to them all the way through.  

PS Today is also "International Whiskey Day."  A shot or three might help in your appreciation of  these gems.

Yikes!!

 This simply must end.  My spouse seems to be on a long winning streak, especially when it comes to Scrabble.  I don't want to say he's a wife beater but he has beaten me the last three Scrabble games in a row.  This wouldn't be so bad if they were our usual games.  We are very well matched and usually win or loose by less that ten points.  Not tonight however.  I think most of this evening's win was due to the fact that he drew all of the high point tiles.  Of course he is a very good player which probably helped.  But the fact that he won by over 90 points is really galling.  The fact that he did this while half blind because he had cataract surgery this morning is even more humiliating. But fear not, my turn will come.  It always does.  

Eat hearty...

 Yesterday I had a follow up appointment with my kidney doctor.  All is well, no dietary restrictions.  I may even have an occasional glass of wine, but everything in moderation she said.  I appreciate the concept of moderation, I really do, but it's not always that easy.  My west coast brother informed me that today is "International Waffle Day" which reminds me of all the waffles I ate on our cruise. It was one of my favorite cruise breakfasts.  Their waffles were not too thick, crispy around the edges, and served with real maple syrup and orange butter.  The combination of citrus and sweet was delicious.  In addition wine and beer were available at lunch and dinner each day.  Since my average wine consumption at home is one glass every other week, daily wine was well beyond moderation.  

But now we're home and I'm still trying to loose a few cruise pounds.  It probably didn't help that we had Coney Island hot dogs for supper tonight.  Yes, the real original down town Coney Island hotdogs in the restaurant that has been in business for over 100 years.  We had two each, in the soft steamed buns with chili sauce, chopped onions and cheese.  So good!  When we got home we decided that we really needed some of the excellent coffee cake that we buy at the Amish bakery for a late dessert.  

Now I'm ready to waddle (not waffle) off to bed.  Maybe I'll try some dieting tomorrow, in moderation of course.  

and speaking of friends....

 Friends can come in all sizes and ages.  One of my friends this year is the eight year old second grader who I am tutoring in reading.  We meet on Monday afternoons after school at his school.  My spouse is also tutoring there.  He is working with a third grader.  My little second grader struggles some with reading, loves maps, and is always willing to work hard.  Today was a great day.  He read four easy books to me, with very little help, did six workbook pages on the soft sounds of vowels and we played a dice game he enjoys.  He was happy that I won.  That's the kind of child he is.  On the first day that we met we discovered that his birthday is on December 14, while mine is on December 13.  This past December he turned 8 and I turned 80.  We both thought that was pretty neat.  He wants to be an architect or an engineer when he grows up.  I really hope I am helping him on his way.  When we make eye contact, which is often, we smile and smile at each other.  That's how I know we're friends.  

friends

 I am part of an adult class that meets every Sunday morning at our church at 10:00am.  We use a nationally available program called Wired Word which provides us with a choice of two topics to use each Sunday, all based on current events or interesting news stories.  Today was my turn to lead the discussion and I chose the topic of Friendship (how the numbers of close friends that people say they have are declining, what makes a friend, etc.)  Each class begins with a brief introduction to the topic which has also been emailed to each member.  After the intro a few questions are asked and we are off and running.  This morning was no exception.  Classmates talked about lifelong friends, making new friends and the various levels of friendship - work friends, church friends, lifelong friends and so on.  Everyone had something to say, which isn't always the case.  In among the more or less expected responses we heard a couple that I wasn't expecting.  One lady told about a work "friend" who turned out to be a back stabbing enemy.  Another spoke about a fellow teacher she thought was funny and really admired and thought of as a friend until she realized that this person liked to play nasty tricks on her students and fellow teachers and that this tendency seemed to be escalating.  Not the kind of person you want for a friend.  One gentleman made it pretty clear that he would never trust any woman to be his friend.  Yikes, not sure what happened there.  All in all it was a really good discussion that made me think about and appreciate the good friends I have, none of whom are back stabbing tricksters as far as I know.  One thing no one mentioned was thinking of your spouse as a friend.  In my case my wonder spouse was a friend long before he became my husband which may be an unusual circumstance but it works for us.  Let's hear it for friendship.

more theater...

 This evening we saw the play "26 Pebbles" by Eric Ulloa, performed by seven excellent actors, each of whom played multiple roles.  Presemted by First Presbyterian Theater, it was a narrative style play recounting the experiences of members of the Sandy Hook / Newtown community during and after the December 2012 killing of 20 first graders and six staff members.  It was much more than just a telling of the event.  The main focus of the play was the ripple of reactions, life changes and adjustments after the event.  There were even some surprisingly comic events, particularly the arrival in their sleepy little town of hoards of reporters and news vans and the necessity of dealing with the sixty thousand plus teddy bears that were sent to the town.  

It was a thought provoking play with a hopeful conclusion.  There is one more performance tomorrow, Sunday, afternoon at 2:00pm.  I do recommend it.

enjoying the bard....

 We went to Arena Dinner Theater this evening.  The dinner was tasty, especially the cheese cake dessert.  The play was hilarious, and I don't use that term lightly.  "I Hate Hamlet" written by Paul Rudnick and beautifully directed by Chris Murphy was so much fun.  Every actor in it did an amazing job.  I particularly enjoyed Kate Black as Lillian Troy and Todd Frymier as the ghost of John Barrymore.  Lead actor Sean Findley did an exceptional job of playing a young actor torn between playing Hamlet in the park and making millions in a sit-com in Hollywood.  Every silly thing you've ever thought about a Shakespeare play was probably touched on here.  From the opening lines to the staged bows for the curtain call it was great.  Lucky for you it's running for five more performances, March 22, 23, 28 & 29.  I highly recommend it.  

It's spring???

 Today, according to mu west coast brother, is "National Ravioli Day" and also "Crawfish Cravers Appreciation Day."  Personally I don't know anyone around here who was craving crawfish.  That's more of a summer delicacy.  However a nice warm dish of ravioli would have been perfect.  According to the calendar today is also the "First Day of Spring."  Fort Wayne evidently didn't get the memo.  

As I drove to a 9:45am dentist appointment, spitting snow and rain accompanied me.  The temperature was somewhere in the 30s with a wind chill in the 20s.  After a recent string of sunny days with highs in the sixties, this was a bit of a shock.  But it is March, a rollercoaster weather month if there ever was one, so I know that spring will actually be coming around again sometime in the not too far distant future.  

PS My spouse and I didn't have ravioli to warm us, but we did have some hearty cheese soup.  

the saga continued...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "National Backyard Day" and "National Poultry Day" and suggested that I should let some chickens loose in our backyard to "eat the baby traffic cones and keep the infestation in check."  While I do appreciate his advice there is a flaw with this plan.  Our covenants and restrictions do not allow us to raise chickens in our backyard, or our front yard either.  Too bad, I know, but that's the rule.  

I wasn't able to get a picture today but I watched from a safe distance as they spread straw (with the help of their minions) in a neat round space, then planted little orange flags all around, leaving the cones snugly in the middle.  If that's not nesting, I don't know what is.  

My brother pointed out that, in the picture I posted yesterday, it appeared that the neighbors across the way were preparing to brick up their back door, so I am evidently not the only one feeling threatened.  

Happily, I was able to find a distraction inside the house where I feel safe (as long as I keep the doors locked).  In addition to the special days mentioned above, today is also "National Chocolate Caramel Day."  Now there's a day to celebrate.  My spouse and I celebrated this evening with vanilla ice cream covered with goo.  I chose caramel and chocolate while he went with honey and nuts.  All in all a very satisfying way to relieve the tensions of the day. 

they're everywhere...

 There's a wise old saying "Just because your paranoid doesn't mean you're not being followed."  I've been pretty sure for some time now that I am being pursued, but it's not a threat by humans.  Every where I go I am surrounded by orange and white striped traffic cones.  Today, coming home on Anthony from an eye appointment, we drove through a veritable slalom course of cones that stretched for several blocks.  In addition, Lake Avenue, my favorite route from home to downtown Fort Wayne, is completely blocked off at the intersection with Anthony.  I have never seen such a dense cluster of traffic cones as we passed today.  Everywhere I go, it seems that there are more and more of them.  This may be their breeding season.

Now you may say "But Luci, they are in everyone's way.  They aren't just after you."  I would tend to agree with you if it weren't for the fact that two of them showed up in our back yard a couple of days ago.  There is no road construction going on in our back yard, so why, I ask you are they there.  The obvious answer - they're after me.

These are the two in our back yard.  They evidently travel in pairs.  I really hope they're not building a nest.

follow up...

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day.  It's also "Corned Beef and Cabbage Day" which should come as no surprise.  I hope you found a satisfying way to celebrate.  I am not a beer drinker so the idea of green beer holds no appeal whatsoever.  Isn't that a great word 'whatsoever'?  It's not one I am able to use very often.  

I personally celebrated the day by going to the library.  This was a follow up to yesterday's blog.  I walked into the library and headed immediately for the fiction section, specifically the large print area of the fiction section.  To my delight, the first thing I saw on the shelf of new releases was a new book in one of my favorite series.  I have loves series of books about the same characters ever since I discovered the Little House books in sixth grade.  

After I grabbed that book I went hunting for books by Elin Hilderbrand.  I was delighted to discover that they have a big selection of her books in large print (my eyes aren't getting any younger).  As I searched through the choices I found a book I requested through Libby (the downloadable format) over a month ago.  While I'm still on the waiting list there, and told it will be two more weeks before it's available, I now have a print copy in my possession, ready to read.  Hooray!

Another plus, now that the weather is warming up, slowly but surely, I can walk to the library to return and check out next time.  It's about a 20 minute walk each way which means exercise for my body as well as my brain.  My wonder spouse will walk with me but he will probably head for the history section.  This plan, going to the physical library, to check out and read print books, is looking better and better to me, but it is good to know that, when the winter winds blow, Libby is always available.  Happy reading everyone.

Books, books, books...

 My west coast brother informed me, early today, that today is "Everything You Do is Right Day."  Church in the morning counted as right, at least in my mind, and after lunch I spent a good part of the afternoon reading.  It was a rainy, blustery, cold day, so sitting in a warm room reading seemed like a good idea.  It felt right.  I wish I could say that I read only intellectually stimulating non-fiction or great classical literature but the truth of the matter is I really like a good mystery or police procedural or well written novel about interesting people.  I do not like blood and gore.  Lately I've gotten hooked on the novels of Elin Hilderbrand.  She is, I think, an extremely good writer.  Coupled with this love of reading is the convenience I've found in downloading library books onto my tablet.  Check out, read, return, all with just the click of a few buttons.  Very nice, but I just finished reading two articles indicating that (at any age) it is much better for your brain if you read actual books, rather than books on a screen. So now, I guess, I need to go to the library (less than a mile away) and check out some real books.  I will do that someday soon.  Meanwhile, don't worry, reading something short, like for instance this blog, on your phone, won't hurt you.

Woops...

 Thanks to an eagle eyed reader (who else but my wonder spouse?)  I must spend this blog correcting some errors in yesterday's blog.  In my defense, it has been sixty years since I last studied math and that was my senior year in college.  Here are the corrections:

1.  Pi is 3.14159265.  I inadvertently hit the '2' key instead of the '9.'

2.  Pi does not equal mc squared.  E equals mc squared. Mrs. Davis         would be so embarrassed for me.

3.  Pi actually equals the circumference of a circle divided by the             diameter.

Now that I have set things straight, I can go to bed with a clear conscience.  I really do need to get to bed to sleep off an excellent dinner I had at Dickie's earlier this evening.  The cheese curds were delicious.  

pass the pie

 Today, March 14, is pi day, not pie, just pi, because March 14, written numerically is 3.14 and mathematical pi is 3.14152265 and on and on so it can be rounded to 3.14.  I'm sure you all remember this from your high school algebra classes.  No doubt the formula 'pi equals mc squared' springs instantly to mind.  

I had an excellent math teacher in high school.  Her name was Mrs. Davis and she lived on Euclid Avenue which I thought was really cool.  I was a good math student and thought, all through high school, that I would study in college to become either an English or math teacher, until my senior year when I took an art class, shadowed the art teacher for some time as he taught his elementary classes and decided that teaching art would be more fun.  Apart from an occasional lump of clay on the ceiling it really was.  

The most vivid memory that I have of Mrs. Davis was an incident that happened on the first day of my senior year.  My younger brother (not the west coast brother, the other one) was a freshman that year.  When I walked into Trigonometry class that afternoon Mrs. Davis said to me, a little shakily I thought, "That Cohrs boy, that Cohrs boy who is a freshman, he isn't related to you, is he?" with a rather hopeful tone in her voice.  Evidently he was in freshman algebra, and already not living up to her expectations.  Please understand, my brother John was smart, but he was also a world class goof off.  He and his best friend got called to the principal's office at least once a week all through that long, long year.  My graduation couldn't come fast enough.  

Smile!

I went to the dentist today.  I have been going to the same dentist for over 40 years.  Well, actually, in the 40+ years, I have been treated by a father, son and grandson.  All, happily, quite capable.  Today's visit was just for a teeth cleaning.  I got a clean bill of health except for a tiny (their words) rough patch on the edge of a crown that needs to be smoothed out.  I heard the dentist say to the nurse as he was leaving the room "There will be no shot necessary."  I think that sounded like good news.  I will be going back in two weeks for that treatment.

I want to say here that I do take good care of my teeth.  I brush, I floss, I use a water pic.  In fact the dentist said that I was "doing excellent home care."  That was nice to hear.  

But still, with all the praise, the hygienist spent almost an hour picking and scraping.  It felt like she was trying to hoe a garden.  It turned out, based on her conversation as she worked on me, that she actually is an avid gardener.  I think she's anxious to be gardening for real.  After all the picking, flossing, scraping and polishing, she did something new.  She used a computer system to measure how much my gums have receded.  She ran a little probe around the inside and outside of every tooth, rattled off into a small mic what seemed like a hundred three digit numbers, and, when she was finally finished, proudly showed me the wonderful chart she and the computer had created.  It was colorful and impressive looking and totally meaningless to me, but she seemed quite pleased.  I don't believe my teeth are going to fall out tomorrow, so I shall not worry about the high tech stuff.  I will just be thankful that the whole experience was totally painless. and I got a brand new pink tooth brush.

Ouch!!

 I just looked at the title of last night's blog and I had written 'have a apple.'  Mrs. Wetter, my favorite high school English teacher would not be pleased.  Obviously it should be 'an apple' and I apologize for the error.  I hope it didn't upset anyone too much.  Mrs. Wetter was also my favorite French teacher and my favorite Head Librarian.  It was a very small school.  

And speaking of small things, my west coast brother has just informed me that March is "Adopt a Rescued Guinea Pig Month" in case you're interested in adding a new pet to your household.  When my children were young we had, at one time or another, dogs, cats, mice and gerbils, but we never had Guinea pigs, so I'm no expert on the subject.  I have read the timeless classic "Pigs is Pigs" by American author Ellis Parker Butler.  If you haven't read it, you really should.  I think we read it in Mrs. Wetter's freshman English class.

I am intrigued by the whole idea of any kind of pigs as pets.  I've heard that they are very intelligent and I know they provide delicious meat.  But those are regular pigs.  When I was still selling real estate, I worked with a very nice family moving to Fort Wayne from California.  While they were still in California, they let me know what they needed in a home so I could have houses ready to show them when they arrived.  They, mom, dad, and two sons, were making the move a driving trip.  One thing high on their list was a neighborhood with covenants and restrictions that would allow Pot- bellied Pigs as pets.  This was not an easy chore.  While Pot-bellied pigs were, evidently, becoming very popular in California, they were not in fashion here in Fort Wayne, where most neighborhoods seemed to have the "pigs is pigs" mentality. Lucky for me, before they made the trip, they changed their minds and bought a dog. And a very sweet dog she was too.  They named her Lucy.

Have a apple...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is Johnny Appleseed Day.  I told him that his source was wrong.  We in Fort Wayne know all about Johnny Appleseed, or, to give him his proper name, John Chapman. After all, he is buried here.  He evidently died on March 12 or 18 in 1845.  I don't understand why today, his questionable death date, is noted as Johnny Appleseed Day.  Usually important people are celebrated on the anniversary of their births.  Washington's birthday, Lincoln's birthday, etc.  I think we're doing the right thing here in Fort Wayne.  He was born on September 26, 1774 and we celebrate his memory with a festival every September. This year is the 50th year for our festival, which will be held on September 20 and 21.  It's a time for food, children's games, food, arts and crafts booths, food, entertainment and more food.  And yes, apple pie and apple cider are crowd favorites.  

In addition to our festival, our baseball team is named the Tin Caps because legend has it that Johnny Appleseed wore a tin pan on his head instead of a hat as he roamed the area planting apple trees.  I'm not sure about the pan on his head but he did plant a lot of apple trees.  So go ahead and eat an apple to celebrate his day today, or better yet, come to the festival in September.  It's held in Johnny Appleseed Park.  You can visit his grave while you're there.  

remembering Mom...

 Today, March 10, was my mother's birthday.  She always thought March was the most hopeful month.  She was born in 1910 and lived life to the fullest.  She went to the senior prom first when she was a freshman; wore the style of the 20s, above the knee skirts and high heels, to high school.  Longed to become a nurse but went to college and became a teacher because her parents (a pastor and pastor's wife) didn't think that nursing was a proper career for a young lady.  She taught for several years, with interesting summer jobs, dated a lot but never seriously.  Drove a spiffy little Aston Martin and took flying lessons.  One of her best summer jobs was chaffering a professor and his wife to the Chicago Worlds Fair and then farther west. When I was young she fired my longing to travel with tales of Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and especially Carlsbad Caverns.  In 1942 she was accepted to Nursing School at Johns Hopkins.  While there she met my father, a dashing Army Master Sargent, six years her junior, they fell in love and married, ending her nursing hopes because nurses weren't allowed to be married in that school, in that era.  They married and he was deployed to Brazil. While he was gone I was born and my mother moved me and all our worldly possessions (in ten footlockers) from Havre de Grace, Maryland to Fort Wayne, Indiana.  She told me that the train car was full of soldiers heading home, eager to see their families.  Those soldiers took turns holding me all night long.  The war ended, my father came home, my first brother was born and life rolled on.  Eventually we moved from Fort Wayne to an old farm house on five acres near Woodburn, my father's home town.  In 1955 my youngest brother (you know him as my west coast brother) was born.  My mother called him her serendipity baby.  She was 45 and he was definitely an unexpected pleasure.  When he was five years old she went back to teaching.  She was a wonderful teacher (as many of my younger friends have told me) and a fun ride to school.  She taught us songs like "How Much is that Doggy in the Window" and "Yes, We Have No Bananas" as we rode along.  Sadly, like both of my grandmothers, she died in her fifties.  Despite colon cancer, she was able to attend my college graduation in 1965 and see me begin my teaching career.  I recently came across a letter she wrote to me during that first year of teaching, possibly the last letter before she died.  It was full of chatty happy news about the good things going on in our little home town and with my little brother and our extended family.  There were no references to how she was feeling.  She focused on the good things in life until the very end.  My greatest regret is that she never knew her grandchildren.  She would have loved them so much.  One of my great selfish joys is that I have lived long enough to know and love my grandchildren.  I like to think, that however such things work, she is happily looking over all of us.  Happy Birthday, Mommy.  

spring forward

 Today was the day we all sprang forward, at least we did if we remembered to set our clocks ahead before we went to bed last night.  My west coast brother (who had to do the same thing) has informed me that it's also "Panic Day, co-sponsored by The Sky is Falling Committee and Get Over it Day."  That seems like an extreme reaction to setting a few clocks forward.  I know I'll be over it by tomorrow. There was a time (I remember it fondly) when the time didn't change in Indiana or Arizona, the only two unchanging states I believe.  Since my son and his family lived in Phoenix then it was easy for us to keep track of each other's time.  My spouse and I are actually not feeling the effects of this time change as much as some might.  On our recent three week trip to South America our time for the entire trip was two hours ahead of Indiana.  This surprised me.  I didn't realize that South America was so far east of Indiana.  Anyway, since we had only been home one day when the time changed, for us it felt more like going back one hour.  Weren't we lucky?

Here's a map to help you see what I mean.

from cruise to home

 Our wonderful voyage is over.  During our travels we saw and experienced quite a variety of creatures and events.  From penguins to sea lions to whales' tails to albatrosses; from 16 feet tall waves and swells, and the resultant rocking and rolling of our ship, to relatively calm waters, and one amazing glacier, and, of course, an abundance of good food.  But that's behind us now.  We arrived home just before midnight last night after flying from Santiago to Lima (Peru not Ohio) to Atlanta and finally to Fort Wayne where my son was waiting to drive us home.  The highlight of the flight was an amazing view of the Andes.

Today we got to discover the wonders of our beautifully remodeled kitchen and purchase a new kitchen table.  We found exactly the table we wanted at Klopfenstein's furniture store in Leo.  We also had the dubious delight of sorting through three weeks of accumulated mail. Two friendly pieces, six legitimate business pieces and 27,000 (that may be a slight exaggeration) pieces for instant recycling.

This evening we finished off this welcome home day by attending the Philharmonic where we were dazzled by piano soloist Orli Shaham and the music of Anna Clyne, Ravel and Copland.  

Quite a full day, I think you will agree. But wait, there's one more thing to do.  We must set our clocks forward one hour.  Starting now we should be finished by midnight.  We have lots of clocks.  Good night.

Trip blog 4

It has been an exciting few days since my last blog.  We have visited Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. While there we took a five hour catamaran ride and saw penguins (many, many penguins), whales, sea lions and all sorts of sea birds, including albatross. 

After sailing all night, through the Beagle channel, we arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, which they claim as the southernmost city. It seems to depend on your definition of city.  While we were here we had a tour of the city with a truly excellent guide. I think it's interesting that so many of these cities started as penal colonies. Now we are sailing through the Strait of Magellan heading towards the Pacific Ocean.

To add to our pleasure today was the first sunny day we have had for a while.

Penguins and sea lions...

Trip blog 3

 It has been an interesting few days since my last blog.  My wonder spouse got the flu and was confined to our cabin for two days, so I had to take the Puerto Madryn tour to see the sea lions by myself. It was fascinating. We have had to skip Port Stanley, because of gale force winds, so we have had two days at sea. Really quite nice except for the 10 to 15 foot waves that are keeping the ship rocking and rolling. We are learning to walk like sailors.

If you enlarge this picture you can see the sea lions.

Trip blog 2

 I plan to blog from time to time, but can't seem to get it done every day. Much too busy touring and eating and drinking. They lure you with cookies while you're just strolling around.

Yesterday we were in Montevideo,  Uruguay where it is festival time.  We saw a Carnival performance and toured a Carnival museum.

Today is a sailing day. We have a lovely view of the bounding main from our balcony.  Must go to breakfast now.

Costumes in the museum and one of the acts we saw.

Trip blog 1

 We have arrived. After a long delay at the Fort Wayne Airport, we made it to Dallas with 25 minutes to get way across the airport to our flight to Buenos Aires.  Thanks to my wonder spouse who had mapped it all out before we landed we made it. We were the last people on the plane. The overnight flight was uneventful, just like you want a flight to be. When we landed here in Buenos Aires there were Viking people holding signs (it seemed like every ten feet or so) to guide us through every step until we were safely on the ship. Since then we have been eating way too much, meeting lots of friendly people, seeing a marvelous Tango show and generally having a great time. This afternoon we tour the city and this evening we sail. 

PS miracle of miracles, our luggage also made it.

Ship ahoy

 Since my mind is on ships today (we leave for our cruise tomorrow), when my west coast brother posed the question 'why is the ocean called the "Main?  What exactly is the Bounding Main?"  I did a little research and here's what I discovered.

The bounding main is the mass of water occupying all of the Earth's surface not occupied by land, but excluding all lakes and inland seas. So I guess, since we will be sailing on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, we will indeed be sailing 'over the bounding main.'  

Sing it with me: "Sailing, sailing over the bounding main..."

PS It turns out that the Bounding Main is also the name of a singing group.  So, if you aren't handy to an ocean, you can listen to their music.  

but I want to...

 Today we finished packing for our cruise.  We leave on Monday, so I think we're doing pretty well to be packed this far in advance.  Even better, the bags to be checked are not overweight.  There have been times in my life when I was still packing at midnight for a flight leaving at 7:00am.  But not this time.  We are ready to go, except for the inevitable last minute stuff that will go in our carry-on bags.  While I was packing, the phrase that kept running through my head was "You can't take it with you."  And my response "But I want to.  I need it all."  Eventually, I was forced to admit that I really couldn't take it all.  My good old well-traveled blue, green and white checkered soft side suitcase was stuffed to the gills (whatever that means).  However, I did not unzip the zipper that gives me an extra two inches of depth.  I will save that for the trip home.  Things never seem to fit quite the same way coming home.  Thinking about what I could and could not take with me inevitably led me to remember the play I was in at Arena Dinner Theater three years ago.  The play was, as you might have guessed, "You Can't Take it With You."  One of my most enjoyable roles ever.  I played Gay Wellington, a drunk over the hill actress, and spent about a third of the play 'passed out' on the sofa, after my memorable line "When I see snakes I know it's time to lie down."  This was also the only play in which I sang a solo.  

                "There was a young lady from Wheeling,

                 who had an incredible feeling.

                 She wasn't quite sure his intentions were pure,

                As she lay gazing up at the ceiling." 

Maybe you had to be there to really appreciate it.

Here I am in all my Gay Wellington finery.  Such a role is not easily forgotten.
 

decisions, decisions...

 As I may have mentioned once or twice (a week) my spouse and I will be departing next Monday for a cruise around the Horn of South America.  Packing for such a long cruise (and yes I am almost finished) has entailed lots of decision making.  How many pairs of shoes do I really need?  What should I carry in my carry-on bag and what is ok to check?  After this evening though, I believe we may need a break.  I came to this conclusion after supper when we took at least 25 minutes to decide which of two almost identical jackets (one light gray and one light tan) my husband should take on this trip?  

Since we are also in the throes of having our kitchen remodeled, and really needing a break from thinking about clothes, we then decided to do some on line shopping for a new kitchen table and chairs.  Not buying yet, just looking at possibilities.  Three hours later, we found a table we both agree on, and appropriate chairs.  We also agreed (we are such an agreeable couple) that we really need to see the furniture in person before we make a purchase.  

Right now I have decided that it's time for bed.  Good night.

Viva Italiano

 This evening my spouse and I went to dinner with my son and daughter-in-law.  It's a pleasure to spend time with them, but I must admit I wasn't too excited when they suggested we have Italian.  Don't get me wrong, I love Italian food.  It just happened that we went to dinner last night with my spouse's  brother and their cousin. The cousin, who doesn't come to Fort Wayne often suggested Italian, and we agreed.  

So last evening four of us gathered at Ziano's, where we eat frequently, and I enjoyed my favorite dish, stuffed shells.

This evening then, as part of our second foursome, we ate Italian again.  But this time, at their suggestion, we went to Salvatori's, a first time for me. 

I am happy to report that I had the best manicotti I have had in years. Absolutely delicious. I also had an excellent tomato and cucumber salad.  Besides the food itself I was delighted that all the entrées were offered in two sizes. I had the smaller size, which was more than enough. I ate it all, felt comfortable but not over-stuffed.  Believe me, I will be going back. 

Meanwhile, go to Salvatori's and have the manicotti with meat sauce.

Happy Birthday Abe

 Today is Abraham Lincoln's 216th birthday although we don't really celebrate it.  Ever since it got mushed together with Washington's birthday we have just celebrated Presidents' Day, which gives some school children and postal workers a day off, and, for some reason, inspires lots and lots of mattress sales.  But some of us still remember "Honest Abe."  Some more accurately than others. 

Here's what Congressman Danial J. Flood (1906 -1994) had to say about him.

"It is fitting that we pay tribute to Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin that he built with his own hands."  

good for me

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Grandmother 
Achievement Day."  As far as my grandmotherly achievements are concerned, I have raised two fine children who are productive members of society and who, in their turn have each parented two fine children.  No pressure here but I'm beginning to think that it would be fun to be a great grandmother.  Congratulations to all you other grandmothers out there (no surprise that many, many of my friends are grandmothers).  Have a great day and keep on achieving.  

PS Today is also Extraterrestrial Culture Day which seems appropriate since the lifestyles of my grandchildren and their contemporaries often seem strangely out of this world to me.  From clothing to music to technology their world is not the one I grew up in. 

Instant gratification

I know you've all heard that we have raised a couple of generations (our kids and grandkids) who expect instant gratification. With their phones they can communicate quickly with friends all over, share pictures (sometimes much too generously) and information with the tap of a button or a voice command.  The whole world is at their fingertips via their phones and computers. 

To be honest, I realized recently that I have become just as bad as the younger generations.  I appreciate, if not instant, at least quick gratification.  For example, yesterday, about 4:00pm, I told my spouse that I was heading to Target to buy some things I needed for our upcoming trip.  His response was "I'll just order them for you on Amazon and they'll be here tomorrow."  So we sat together at his computer, searched for exactly the style and colors I wanted, which I might not have even found in the store, and sure enough, the order showed up on our doorstep this morning.  Later yesterday my spouse ordered two more items for the trip, and today we placed one more order for me.  Can you tell that we're finally getting serious about packing?  His items showed up today.  Mine will be here by noon tomorrow.  I wish I could tell you that this way of shopping helps me avoid impulse buying but, honestly, it's just as easy to browse on the internet as it is by strolling through a brick and mortar store.  Even easier if you have a comfy chair and a glass of wine.  

after the intermission...

 Friday evening's Philharmonic concert continued to thrill after the intermission.  First the Youth Symphony Orchestra joined the Phil to play Sibelius' Finlandia, Op. 26.  They did an excellent job and brought back great memories of my visit to Finland several years ago.

This was followed by Ottorino Respighi's Fountane di Roma (Fountains of Rome) Op. 160.  It was a very evocative piece.  I visited Rome in September of 2023, saw several of the city's great fountains, and felt like I could hear the gushing and pouring and gentle trickle of the various fountains.  

But the last piece really was the grand finale.  Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34 practically had me dancing in my seat. 

38 minutes of music took me back to Finland, Italy and Spain.  An amazing musical journey.  Thank you, thank you, Fort Wayne Phil. 

Too much music

 We went to hear the Fort Wayne Philharmonic again this evening.  This was our last chance before we leave on vacation in 9 days.  The music was amazing.  There was so much variety that it's too much to write about in one blog.

The first piece, called "Obliviana" was a new piece by composer Patrick O'Malley (B. 1989) who was in the audience to hear it performed.  It was one of the most unusual pieces I have ever heard.  I had no idea our orchestra could make such sounds.  My spouse said it would be great music for a horror movie, but he meant that in a good way. I loved it! 

The second offering was Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7 by Clara Schumann, wife of Robert Schumann, and a brilliant pianist and composer in her own right.  She didn't compose as many pieces as he did, but then she was busy raising their eight children.  For this performance the piano was played by Lucille Chung, and she played brilliantly, as attested to by the long standing ovation (three times back on stage) which she received.  One of my favorite parts was the beautiful piano and cello duet.  

                                INTERMISSION

a blast from the past

 My spouse and I recently became reacquainted with a couple we had known in our past lives at a chance meeting in a restaurant.  I knew the lady from working together long ago in real estate and theater while my husband knew her husband from church, serving on committees together, etc.  That chance meeting has evolved into an unexpected but very welcome friendship.  We have had wine at their place and gone out to dinner a few times.  They are both interesting people and fun to be with.  In one of our casual conversations I was asked what we like to do and I admitted that we like to play games.  That simple admission got us invited to their place this evening for a home cooked dinner and an evening of games.  Turns out they also really enjoy playing games.  

So here was the scene this evening.  The four of us sat around sipping wine and munching snacks in the living room, watching the flickering fire in the fireplace,  while the conversation dealt with many things including our brothers and sisters.  Not sure how we got to that topic but it was a fun discussion.  Then we sat down to a dinner of ham and cheese casserole, salad, dipping bread and Buntlets (our treat) for dessert.  Since we are without a kitchen right now, a homecooked meal was a real treat.

After dinner the host set up an actual card table with matching chairs and we played Rummikub.  My wonder spouse won.  Then we shifted to the comfy living room couch and chairs, by the fireplace again, and played Scattergories, a game I hadn't played for years.  I actually won, but not by much.  

We had so much fun.  It occurred to me on the way home, that the whole evening was like something I might have done when I was much younger.  No TV, no heavy discussions (nothing about politics), Just good food, fun games and lots of laughter.  

I am looking forward to entertaining them at our house next.  Of course that will have to wait until we have a kitchen, but that's getting closer.  The drywall work is finished and Monday they will start priming and painting.  I live in hope.

libraries I have loved...

 February is "Library Lovers' Month."  I think it's wonderful, and very appropriate, that Libraries and the people who love them are given a full month to celebrate.  Granted, it is the the shortest month of the year, and must also allow space on its calendar page for presidents, valentines and groundhogs.  Libraries have been a big and important part of my life since I was five years old.  When I was young, my mother would drop me off at the little library in our small town while she shopped for groceries.  Miss Tremp, the librarian, remembered my father from his youth and told me that he read "every book in the library."  Later libraries in my life included the high school library where I loved to volunteer.  No boring study hall for me.  All through college my part time job was to work in the Ball State library in a section called Teaching Materials Services where we created bulletin board and other displays which teachers could check out and use in their classrooms.  I actually got that job because I was an art major.  Fast forward to my next specific library memory.  I was married with two little children when I discovered that the bookmobile (a marvelous invention) parked down the street from our first house for a couple of hours every other week.  It was very well stocked but the librarian/driver would also take orders.  Very luckily, at that time, my sister-in-law loaned me an English pram that her daughter had outgrown.  It easily carried two toddlers and all of our books.  When we moved out in the country, north of Fort Wayne, there was no library close by, but, as more and more people moved north, first a grocery store and then a library appeared on the scene.  The store and the library have been doing a booming business ever since.  Years later I had a job downtown in a building right across the street from the main library.  Lunchtime excursions were so easy.  Even later, I moved downtown and was withing walking distance of that same library.  Now I'm living in the suburbs with a library less that a mile away (also within walking distance).  And yes, as mentioned in a previous blog, I am very happy to be able to make use of that "invisible" library on my tablet.  Andrew Carnegie thought that libraries were so important that he donated vast amounts of money for them to be built all around the US.  Many of them are still in use.  My hero, the ultimate "Library Lover."  In case you're wondering, there were originally 164 Carnegie libraries in Indiana, 106 are still in use as libraries.  

weather or not...

 The local weather persons all seem to be in agreement that tonight we will be getting freezing rain or sleet which will leave a treacherous coating of ice on the roads.  If all goes as predicted it will warm up into the 40s by tomorrow afternoon so that should be ok.  Meanwhile be careful out there.  

In the olden days, when I was a child, this would almost certainly mean that school would be cancelled for tomorrow.  The superintendent or some other person in a position to make such decisions would drive around the country roads about 4:00am and decide that, yes indeed, the roads are icy and we must cancel school.  School buses are expensive things to repair or replace.  Expecting this, my family would turn on the little kitchen radio and we would wait until after the farm news to hear if our school was cancelled.  There was always a long list of schools to listen through, because WOWO, our radio station, covered a lot of territory.  Since my mother was a teacher for most of these years, she was just as anxious as we kids were to hear if we got a day off.  A day off was a wonderous treat.  Especially if I had a good book I wanted to finish.  One memorable winter we had had lots of rain that fell and pooled on the frozen field across the road from our house. The rain froze into a solid sheet of ice about as large as the Coliseum floor where we sometimes went ice skating, but with a rougher surface because it was wind blown as it froze.  That frozen field was our playground for days.  I remember skating so much that one night, lying in bed, I could feel the bottoms of my feet vibrating from all the skating.

Those were the good old days.  If tomorrow our local schools are closed, the children will not have a day off, nor will the teachers.  Instead they will have an e-learning day.  Sometimes modern technology just takes all the fun out of life.  

book blues...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read.  I saw a cartoon on Facebook recently where the character, sitting in a rocking chair surrounded by books, claimed to have a black belt in reading.  If there is such a thing, I certainly have earned it.  In the past I would go to the library (we have an amazing library system in Fort Wayne and Allen County) and bring home arm-loads of books, which I would read in a week or two and then faithfully return.  That was in the olden days.  These days, I can simply access the library on my tablet through Libby, download a book for a 21 day loan, by pressing a 'button' that says BORROW, read it and return it, when finished, with the push of a 'button' that says RETURN.  It's an excellent system when all the technology aligns.  This morning wasn't one of those times.  I had turned on my tablet to read a few pages when a quiet technology tantrum occurred.  As I started to read, the page kept going black.  I would bring back the screen view, read a few lines, and it would go black again.  This happened several times and I was getting very frustrated.  This doesn't happen with bound books.  Finally I swallowed my pride and asked my spouse for assistance.  Being the wonder spouse that he is, he checked out all the settings and everything else he could think of and finally realized that the cover I had on my tablet was slipping a little, and that slippage was just enough to bump a button on the edge which turns the screen on and off.  Mystery solved.  We took the cover off and the tablet is working like a charm.  Whew! For a minute there, I thought I might have to go back to the library.  

penguins, please....

 Two weeks from today we leave on our cruise.  One of the stops, allowing us time to explore on shore, will be on the Falkland Islands, where we will, we hope, get to see many, maybe hundreds of, penguins.  I know that penguins are popular (I also think they're incredibly cute) but I didn't realize how popular until we started discussing the details of our up-coming trip with our family.  To date I have a list of at least ten near and dear relatives and friends to whom I MUST SEND penguin postcards.  

I was talking about the trip this afternoon with the second grader I tutor, explaining why I would be gone for the next four weeks; one Monday of no school and three weeks on the cruise.  He seemed to understand, although he said he would miss me, and he also wants pictures of penguins. 

Fingers crossed that the day we visit the Falklands is a great day for taking pictures and that, somewhere close to where we land, there is a lovely little gift shop with lots of penguin postcards.  What are the odds? 

another Phil

 Well, it's official.  Punxsutawney Phil evidently saw his shadow and we will be having six more weeks of winter.  Why am I not surprised?  My spouse has assured me that he's ok with six more weeks of winter a long as the worst three weeks of it are while we're on our cruise to points south.  

My west coast brother has informed me that not only are groundhogs prognosticators of weather, but so also are hedgehogs, marmots and sled dogs.  Who knew?  I can understand sled dogs.  They do know enough to come in out of the cold.  

I had a groundhog move into the space under my deck some years ago when I lived out almost in the country.  I might never have known except it came up to sun itself on the deck a few times (and left little 'presents' behind).  I decided I must have it removed because it seemed to be burrowing very close to the air conditioner and I was afraid it might start gnawing on some lines.  Being a kindly soul, I had a pest specialist come out and set a live trap, that would just catch it, not hurt it.  He came and set it, with an apple as bait, three evenings in a row.  Each following morning a happy raccoon was sitting in the trap, eating the apple and waiting to be let out.  Since raccoons didn't ordinarily come near the house, I told the trapper to just let it go.  It could have been the same raccoon all three nights.  On the fourth night the groundhog finally took the bait, and was sitting in the trap the next morning, not looking nearly as happy as the raccoon.  Maybe it didn't like apples?  The trapper assured me that he would take the groundhog far out in the country and release it, and I would never see it again.  By that point I was so pleased to see it go that I wouldn't have cared if he made stew out of it, but I presume that wasn't the case.  

Anyway, if all goes as predicted, by mid-March we should be enjoying the first signs of spring.  

back to the Phil

 It's not often that we go to the philharmonic two nights in a row, but this was one of those times.  And what a contrast.  Last night it was Brahms, beautifully performed, and tonight it was "The Music of ABBA."  It was such a delight.  The singers, four women with beautiful mellow voices, were part of a group called "Jeans 'n Classics." They were accompanied by their own piano, drums, bass and guitar, and then of course by the entire philharmonic.  This group specializes in performing with large orchestras and it was obvious that they knew what they were doing.  They used microphones, correctly set, and could be heard clearly over the musicians, without yelling or screeching (as I've heard some other singers do).  I enjoyed every song but my particular favorites were Mamma Mia, Chiquitita, I Have a Dream (my very favorite) and Take a Chance on Me.  I also enjoyed a learning experience with Super Trouper.  Until they explained it, I did not know that the super trouper is the really big spotlight that will, if you have a skilled light person, follow the performer anywhere she goes on stage.  All in all such a really fun evening.  I wish you could have been there.  Or maybe you were.  The theater was packed.

I love Phil...

 ... The Philharmonic orchestra that is.  They never disappoint.  This evening's concert was all Brahms' music.  First his Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90, followed, after the intermission by his Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98.  It was beautiful music all the way through.  I was particularly pleased that the trombones had prominent roles in both symphonies.  My brother, and years later my son, both played trombone in high school band, so I appreciate the effort that goes into playing them as flawlessly as they were played this evening.  

I think I've said it before, but I like seeing my music.  I could have listened to these symphonies and enjoyed the music, but being there and seeing it makes it so much better for me.   Watching the drummers, seeing the violinists' arms moving in perfect synchrony, the concentration on some players faces and so much more.  It's all such a treat to the senses.

My favorite part this evening was the third movement of Symphony No. 4.  It was so lively and vibrant, joyful and exuberant!  Pure bliss.  You should have been there.  

Two laughs

 My west coast brother texted me twice today and each time his message made me laugh.  First he informed me that today is "Yodel for Your Neighbor Day."  Yodeling was a big deal when I was a child.  All the singing cowboys could do it.  Sadly, no matter how hard I tried, I could not yodel.  Yet another example of lack of musical ability. 

In his second message he told me that, at his annual checkup this afternoon, his doctor assured him that he is "healthier than a man twice his age."  This is actually good news.  A man twice his age would be 140 years old so, you know, dead. 

not so fast food

 This morning my west coast brother informed me that today is "Gnocchi Day" pronounced 'nyow-kee.'  Being curious, and knowing it had something to do with food, I Googled Gnocchi and discovered that they are basically potato dumplings.  They looked delicious in the pictures.  I started reading recipes, thinking maybe I would make some Gnocchi (forgetting for the moment that we don't have a kitchen right now).  As I read, I felt like I had gone down the proverbial rabbit's hole.  One recipe specifically said to use one whole egg and the yolk of a second egg, while the next recipe said never use eggs.  And so it went with just about every ingredient except potatoes.  They all agreed that there must be potatoes as the main ingredient.  

Finally I decided to see if there was another food being celebrated today and, guess what, today is "National Corn Chip Day."  Now there's a day and a recipe we could easily celebrate, even without a kitchen.  Put out a bag of chips, a bowl of salsa and a bowl of queso and dig in.  Happy Corn Chip Day everyone.  

ah, music....

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "National Blueberry Pancake Day."  We celebrated by going to Blueberry Pancake House for lunch.  But today is also "National Kazoo Day."  I'm not sure who invented the Kazoo (I'm sure you can Google it if you're really curious) but I applaud that person.  In my opinion the Kazoo is the very best instrument for a non-musical child.  I know this because as far as my musical talents are concerned, I make a really good audience.  I actually took piano lessons for a year or so as a child, no success there.  I never attempted a band instrument or marching band which would have required coordination, also not a strength of mine.  But I can play a Kazoo.  Anybody can.  I really appreciated the great blessing that a Kazoo can be when two of my granddaughters (sisters) were given violins at school and urged to join the violin orchestra (and I use that term very loosely) at their elementary school.  They practiced faithfully on those violins, often when I was watching them after school, (I think their parent planned it that way) and they performed in one school concert which I dutifully attended.  Everyone in the group seemed about equal in their violin virtuosity and the resultant performance is best forgotten.  Believe me, if they had all been playing Kazoos it would have been so much better.  I am happy to report that those granddaughters gave up their violins after one semester, much to their parents' and my relief.  They did, however, have Kazoos, which they didn't practice on nearly so much, but I really didn't mind it when they did. 

camping in....

As my faithful readers know, my spouse and I are in the process of having our kitchen remodeled.  Currently that room is just an empty shell, but we are making progress.  The city/county electrical inspector came today and approved the new wiring.  Now we're just waiting for the framing inspector to come, then the drywalling and painting can start.  Meanwhile, realizing that we simply couldn't keep eating all our meals out, we have moved our toaster and coffee maker to the basement rec room, along with a big supply of paper plates, plastic  and Styrofoam cups and plastic table ware.  

It feels like we're camping out.  Years ago, my first husband and I owned a VW mini-bus camper conversion.  We kept that 'camper' for 13 years and traveled all over the contiguous 48 states in it, with our two children and two dogs.  Camping then consisted of staying in our camper in national parks or forests, city parks that allowed camping, and sometimes in KOA campgrounds, when we needed showers.  Did you know that the KOA in Las Vegas has slot machines in the laundry room?  It's true.

Anyway, it occurred to me that, right now we have a similar set up and experience here.  We have a comfortable table in the basement rec room at which to eat casual meals (I was never much of a camp cook) and play games.  We also have a refrigerator (in the family room instead of the camper), shower facilities (more private than KOA) and, while we're in that basement retreat, a blissful absence of TV or radio.  We talk, we play games, and we go to bed early.  All commendable habits I think.  So, while I will be thrilled to have our new kitchen finished, I am going to enjoy these few weeks of "camping in."

Ouch!

 Today, once again according to my west coast brother who knows such things, is "Dental Drill Appreciation Day."  Now I ask you, is that a day anyone really wants to celebrate?  Except maybe the inventor of the drill or a sadistic dentist.  It's also "National Peanut Brittle Day" which, if you eat enough of it, could land you in the dentist's chair.  

I actually have a good relationship with my dentist.  I've been going to the same dental group since I moved back to Fort Wayne 43 years ago.  At that time my parents recommended the dentist (he was working solo then) , so it was a family thing, although I do not remember getting a family discount. Of course things have changed a little in those 43 years. These days, the dentist who checks my teeth after they have been thoroughly cleaned is either the grandson of the one I started with or one of the three other dentists on staff.  

I do try to take good care of my teeth and I guess it's working.  The last time I was there, three months ago, the dentist who checked the cleaning said that I have "the teeth of a 30 year old."  I told him that I hoped she didn't want them back. 

dinner music

 My spouse and I went out to dinner again this evening.  This is part of our ongoing quest to enjoy good restaurants (and Fort Wayne is blessed with many) while we live a kitchen-less existence.  We have set up a pretty good breakfast bar in the basement rec room so we are no longer eating out all the time.  

This evening we went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Dos Margueritas.  The food was excellent, as usual, but this evening, because it's Saturday night, we had the added pleasure of being serenaded as we ate.  The lone guitar player had a good voice, and sang a song in Spanish that sounded very romantic.  Unfortunately, he then chose to sing what I assume were the same lyrics in English. It was a recounting of what a great guy he was and all the ladies he had loved and left, really not very romantic at all.   Ah well, at least the food was good.