just a check up...

Today I had my annual checkup with my cardiologist, or, actually, one of his NPs.  It had actually been about a year and a half since my last heart check up so it was time.  Also I had had a couple of brief dizzy spells recently so I decided it wouldn't hurt to just get an exam, especially since my wonder spouse and I are going on a long vacation in about six weeks. 

The exam today included an EKG and on Saturday I am scheduled for an Echocardiogram.  Meanwhile I am wearing a heart monitor stuck to my chest.  It's very small, not obvious at all under clothes.  This wouldn't be bad except the heart monitor comes with its own cell phone which I must keep with me at all times so I can record any events like a rapid heart beat or breathlessness.  I walked two rooms away from this pesky little phone for about 15 minutes earlier this evening and it sent out an audible message that I was too far away from it. 

I must admit, I'm a little surprised, but really very pleased, with how seriously they are dealing with my concerns.  I sort of expected someone to listen to my heart, tell me it sounded ok, tell me to keep taking my one a day heart pills, pat me on the head and send me on my way.  

I feel quite sure that nothing new and serious will be discovered but I will feel much more confident going on our three week cruise knowing that "all systems are go."

Easter Monday

 Today is Easter Monday according to my calendar.  My daughter-in-law, who teaches at a Catholic school had the day off, and, interestingly, the students who go to the public school where my spouse and I tutor on Monday afternoons also had today off.  We were told that it was an in-service day for teachers.  

I wanted to know more about Easter Monday so I googled it, of course.  It seems that Easter Monday is celebrated globally as a public holiday (not a religious holiday) representing a day of rest, continued feasting, family outings, and in some regions, unique water based traditions to mark the joy of the resurrection.  It is widely observed in Europe, Canada, and Australia, while in the US it is marked by the White House Easter Egg Roll. This US tradition is not a federal holiday but has been held on the South Lawn every Easter Monday since 1878.  

I saw some coverage of the White House Easter Egg Roll on the news this morning.  Evidently it involved 40,000 eggs. and thousands of children and their families selected via lottery.  President and Mrs. Trump were there to host the party and the Easter Bunny was also in attendance.  

And I thought all the fun was on Easter Sunday.  I will have to think of something special to do on Easter Monday, 2027.  By then our great grandson will be a year old, maybe he will want to join in the fun. 

Happy Easter indeed...

 With most of our family members busy with other extended family members, my wonder spouse and I anticipated a quiet Easter.  We decided to take his older brother to our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner after church (lovely music, favorite hymns), and made reservations for that a week ago. That was it, our big plan for the day, and it went very well.

But yesterday I received a text from my niece who lives in Tennessee saying that she and her husband were unexpectedly in town just for the weekend and could they come see us for a while about 4:00 this afternoon.  This niece is especially dear to me because she is the first born of that generation.  She was born a few months after my mother died and I have always felt some of my mother's spirit in her.  She has grown up to have the same confidence and ability to tackle tough jobs that my mother had.  She also has the same love of life. 

So of course we said by all means come on over.  We had a delightful visit which included sitting around talking and sipping wine (which they provided) and culminated in taking them to our favorite pizza place for supper.  There are not a lot of restaurants open on Easter but B'Antonios was and, happily, we all like pizza.  

As it happened my spouse and my nephew-in-law decided to share a Hawaiian pizza, made with ham and pineapple so they had an almost traditional Easter dinner.  My niece had a taco pizza and I had a meatsa pizza.  Maybe they will become a new Easter tradition.  All in all it has been a delightful Easter day and I thank God for all the joys in my life.  

aticipation....

 Happy Easter Eve.  I know it's not actually called that but I'm not sure why.  If the day before Christmas is Christmas Eve why shouldn't the day before Easter be Easter Eve?

It has been a low keyed day for my wonder spouse and myself.  We will be eating out tomorrow so no hustle of food prep, and most of our grandchildren are too old to expect Easter baskets full of eggs and candy so no coloring eggs.  Our day was pretty normal.  Except for this poem I came across while sorting through old letters and cards. I felt that I really must share it:

WOULD HAVE SENT YOU AN EASTER EGG, BUT ...

by Ogden Nash

I asked a rabbit that I knew to lay and Easter egg for you.

The air was filled with chilly frost.  The rabbit said to me,

"GET LOST!

That egg routine is for the funnies, us rabbits just have little bunnies."

This information spoiled my day, but Happy Easter, anyway.

            

                Seriously, I hope you all have a blessed, joyous Easter.

prelude...

 Today is Good Friday.  As I write this I am listening to thunder and heavy rain outside.  It seems like a fitting end to a somber Good Friday.

I went to the Good Friday noon time service at our church.  First as a greeter, then as an attendee at a very moving service of "prayer, song and silence at the foot of the cross." 

I managed to embarass myself as a greeter by telling a rather distinguished looking gentleman that we would be worshiping in the chapel and pointing him in that direction, only to be told that he knew that because he is our director of music/organist.  In my defense he is fairly new on the the job.

The service was very well done.  One of the things I found most interesting was the reading of Psalm 22.  I had often heard the opening line "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" or in the Common English Bible "My God, my God, why have you left me all alone?"  I had learned long ago that it was what Jesus cried out when he was dying on the cross, and I knew it was from an Old Testament source, but I had never heard the entire Psalm.  One phrase that stood out to me was verse 11, "Please don't be far from me because trouble is near and there's no one to help."  What a sad desperate prayer.  

But, happily, we all know how this story ends, and Sunday we will glory in the resurrection.

Challenge accepted...

 Yesterday evening, while we were working on our 2000 piece puzzle on the big table in the basement, my spouse pointed out to me a medium size plastic bin on a shelf across the room that he said was full of my stuff.  He asked me, nicely, if I would like to clear it out.  

Since he had boxed up lots of my stuff when we married and I moved here from my apartment, it seemed reasonable to me that the contents of the bin could be mine.  So this morning after breakfast we went down to the basement and he lifted the bin in question off the shelf (it was very heavy) and carried it over to a table.  I opened the bin and found that it was filled to the brim with family pictures from back in the day when pictures were taken with a camera, not a phone, and developed at a photo shop.  Yes we are that old.

The surprise to both of us was that they were his pictures, not mine, so it was up to him to sort through them and decide which ones to keep.

While he was sorting through those pictures, I decided that it would be a good time for me to sort through a large box of "precious" things that I had taped shut and moved with me every time I moved as an adult. 

I was delighted to discover, among little albums of high school friends and other nick nacks that I knew would be there, my original baptism certificate that I had never seen before and a fat file of letters that my mother and, after she died, my father had written to me while I was in college and during my first three years of teaching.  There was also a file of letters and cards that my first husband had mailed to me before we were married.  I have not yet taken the time to reread these letters but I will. 

But thinking about all these surviving letters, I realized that I don't write very many letters these days.  Occasionally I will write to a grandchild in college or one friend who doesn't use a computer but more often (daily in many cases) I text.  I text to my brother and my daughter and my son daily and my grandchildren often but not quite so frequently.  

After my discoveries today, it saddens me to think that they will not have a huge stack of letters to rediscover someday.  On the other hand they will not have to meet the challenge of deciding what to keep and what to throw away.  

I found these two letters from my west coast brother among the other treasures.  I am ten years older than him.  These were mailed to me when I was in college.  He would have been eight or nine years old.

Even way back then he was providing me with things to blog about.

April foolishness...

 Today is April 1, often referred to as April Fools' Day.  Mother Nature seemed to be doling out a heavy dose of foolishness today.  Or perhaps she had her months wrong.  March is the month that is supposed to come in like a lion, but last night March made its exit with lion like roars of thunder and a heavy downpour.  So heavy that we now have a damp spot in our basement where we never had one before. 

But now it is April and,while it continued raining steadily all day, I consoled myself with the thought that April showers do bring May flowers.  I pondered this happy thought during a visit to the dentist (always so much fun) and a lengthy stay in the waiting room at my car dealership while they changed the oil in my faithful Fiat.  It would be, they had assured me when I brought my car in, about a 45 minute job.  Two hours later I realized that they had estimated the time using football minutes.

While I texted with my west coast brother to pass the time (and because I enjoy texting with him) he shared this joke with me "Chemists aren't good at April Fools jokes because they lack the element of surprise."

That reminded me of my favorite April joke "If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring??"  "Pilgrims!!"

My brother passed along one more bit of April lore.  It seems that April 1 is "Edible Books Day."  Of course I had to look that up and it's true.  There are books for toddlers that are safe to chew on and even ingest, but I couldn't find any claims that they make a child smarter. 

But thinking about books that are almost good enough to eat, I just finished a yummy book that I highly recommend. It's "The Crime Brulee Bake Off" by Rebecca Connolly.  If you've ever watched British or American baking competitions, I assure you that you will enjoy this book.  And that's no April Fool joke.

Just an ordinary day....

 ...until the fire.  Every second Tuesday our cleaning lady (who we have used with never a problem for several years) comes in the morning to clean our whole house.  While she is here we typically leave for a few hours to stay out of her way.  Today was no different.  

First my spouse and I went to Klem's  for breakfast, then on to do some shopping.  After a stop at DeBrands for a couple of Easter gifts and a drive into the country to A Taste of Tradition, our favorite bakery, to stock up on bread and other goodies, we were starting home when we got a call from our cleaning lady.  She was rather upset because our microwave had burst into flames soon after she finished cleaning it. 

She got the flames out by putting a wet wash cloth over them and then unplugged the microwave.  Good thinking on her part.  We got home as quickly as we could and surveyed the damage.  The fire had burned a hole on the inside of the door, outherwise the inside didn't look too bad.  Our cleaning lady was very apologetic even though none of us could see how this could possibly have been her fault.  She had used the same cleaner (Dawn soap) that she always uses on all our kitchen surfaces.  She assured us that she has insurance that probably would cover the repair or replacement, but we decided to see how else we might deal with the problem first.

This microwave had been installed when we remodeled our kitchen in February, 2025, making it one year and one month old and, you guessed it, out of warranty.  My wonder spouse spent quite a lot of time phoning the manufacturer, the store where we bought it, and anyone else he could think of, to try to figure out what went wrong and what recourse we might have.  MIcrowaves are supposed to cook food, they are not supposed to burst into flames.

The fire is out, as I said, and the only burn now is the slow burn my wonder spouse is doing.  He will continue his quest for answers tomorrow.  To be continued...

This is what the inside of the the microwave door looks like.         Not a pretty sight. 

more about birds

 Things are getting very colorful in our back yard.  This morning my spouse and I spotted a brilliant red cardinal, a dazzling blue bird and two bright yellow goldfinches, and, of course, some cheery little sparrows at our bird feeders.  

It didn't happen this morning, but, from time to time a falcon will fly through our yard.  Needless to say the smaller birds scatter and disappear when that happens.  Peregrine Falcons were brought to downtown Fort Wayne about ten years ago to help control the pigeon population and they have been very effective at that.  

In reading about the falcons, I learned that they are the fastest animals on earth.  They can stoop (dive to catch their prey) at up to 200 MPH. The top recorded speed 242 MPH. I think that's astonishing, but one of the things that caught my attention was the use of the word 'stoop' to mean a dive.  I've heard of the word stoop used to refer to a small porch or to mean to bend over or lean down but I had never heard it used to describe a bird's dive.  So now you can add a new use for an old familiar word to your vocabulary,

More info about birds (posssibly more than you ever wanted to know).  Falcons are not a kind of hawk.  They are a completely different bird. I checked because my very favorite bird is the hawk.  If I had a totem it would be a hawk.  I love to watch them fly.  They will work hard, flapping their wings to get high in the air, then spread their wings and soar, letting the wind carry them along.  I've always thought of that as a metaphor for my life - work hard when you need to, then soar when you can.  Happily, retirement allows for a lot of soaring.

wave those palms

 Today is Palm Sunday, celebrating when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.  At our church that means that large palm fronds are handed out to every person and we gather outside in front of the church to start the worship service, then process into the sanctuary. It's a very lovely experience, especially when the weather cooperates.  Last year it was nasty cold outside and we did not linger long but today the temperature was in the low 60s, the sun was shining and it was all quite lovely. The palms that we waved symbolize victory, peace, eternal life, and triumph according to Google.  I think they've got it right.

When I taught in a Catholic school many years ago one of the nuns I worked with showed me how to make a cross from two leaves of a palm frond.  I had one of those crosses hanging on my apartment wall for many years.  Today I made one and gave it to my 90 year old cousin who was not able to go to church.  She seemed to appreciate it and I enjoyed passing on a tradition.

One more interesting fact, the dried palm fronds left after today's celebration will be burnt and the ashes will be saved and used on Ash Wednesday next year.  

I hope you all have had a blessed Palm Sunday. 

to be expected...

My west coast brother has informed me that today is "Respect Your Cat Day."  I think it's pretty obvious that this day was dreamed up by a human.  Any cat I've ever known has assumed that every day is 'respect your cat' day.  What's not to respect?

Cats obviously assume that they are worthy of respect, if not adoration.  As I read somewhere recently "Cats were once worshipped as gods and they've never forgotten it." 

When I told my brother that, he responded with his own wise cat saying "Dogs think they are human, cats think humans are stupid cats with food."  Never forget the 'with food' part.  That's very important. Having digested all this I decided to see what other cat related sayings are out there.  Here are some of my favorites, enjoy:

Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us. (Mine usually from the top of the refrigerator.)

 Yes I know I got fur all over the house.  It's called FURniture, isn't it?

Cats are connoisseurs of comfort.

Domestic cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function.

It is a very inconvenient habit of kittens that whatever you say to them they always purr.

One cat just leads to another. (I know this one is true.)

"Its not that I'm anti-social, I'm just not user friendly."

A cat is there when you call her, if she doesn't have anything better to do.

I was doodling...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "National Scribble Day" not to be confused with "Scrabble Day" which is coming up on April 13, not too far away.  

These days I almost always type or text my messages because my handwriting looks a little too much like scribbling. unless I write very slowly and carefully, which I can do if necessary.  My seventh and eighth grade teacher was big on penmanship.  I'm not that old but he did have us practice cursive using a pen dipped into a little bottle of ink.  Luckily, our desks really were so old that they had a hole in the front right corner just the right size to hold an ink bottle. I'm not sure how my lefty wonder spouse would have dealt with that arrangement.

But back to doodling, That same teacher scolded me once for scribbling (I say I was doodling not scribbling - if you're doodling you're drawing pictures and designs) in all the margins of my catechism. This was a Lutheran school and we spent a good deal of time in seventh and eight grades memorizing the contents of Luther's Small Catechism. This could become rather boring sometimes and so I doodled.  I was being very quiet, not disrupting class at all, and listening just enough to answer questions when I was called on.  When my teacher spotted the doodling I had been doing and called me on it, I pointed out that I owned the book.  I would never have defaced a school book that didn't belong to me.  I think he secretly sympathized.  He was quite a good artist himself.

This same teacher was the one who said that when we memorized a hymn, scripture verse or Q&A from the catechism we should know it so well that, if we fell out of bed in the middle of the night, we could recite it backwards.  Happily, I never had to put that to the test.  Interestingly, all that memorizing made it easy for me to memorize my lines during my years on stage in local productions.  

Thank you, Mr. Zimmerschiedt.

common sense

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "National Make Up Your Own Holiday Day." Considering all the strange holidays that I have come across while writing this blog, I think every day is a make up your own holiday day.

When asked for his idea, my wonder spouse promptly said that today should be "National Left Handers Day" but my brother said that that is already celebrated on August 13.  We will have to remember that.

Meanwhile the weatherman has issued a severe storm warning. it is pouring down rain outside and the wind is picking up. so I am going to declare this "Use Your Common Sense Day" and head for the basement where we can puzzle until this storm blows over.  Stay dry everyone.

Happy New Year???

 My west coast brother began his text to me today with this information - today is Old New Years Day.  Of course that piqued my curiosity.  Hasn't January 1 always been New Years Day, at least in western cultures?

Evidently not.  Until 1752, England and British dominions including  those in America, celebrated March 25 as the first day of the calendar year. 

In case you're wondering what happened in 1752, I looked it up. In 1752 Great Britain and the American colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar with a loss of 11 days.  September 2, 1752 was followed by September 14 to align with European dates, and New Years Day was legally moved from March 25 to January 1.

In the Catholic church March 25 is Annunciation Day, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of Jesus, which is why it was considered the beginning of the year.  You may have noticed that that makes December 25 Jesus's probable birth date.  

In everyday life the Julian calendar has been used since 45 BCE.

According to tradition, during his reign Numa Pompilius, the legendary second king of Rome after Romulus, who reigned from 715-672 BCE  revised the Roman calendar so January replaced March as the first month. This seemed appropriate since, in Roman mythology, Janus was the god of all beginnings while Mars was the god of war.

And that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about why March 25 is not New Years Day anymore.

another sign,,,

 As many of you know, I've been suffering from EOSF (Early Onset Spring Fever) for several weeks, but now that we are actually five days into spring I must admit to simple spring fever.  And I'm evidently not the only one.  Yesterday, when it was sunny with a high of 45 degrees we saw a man out walking around the neighborhood in shorts and a tee-shirt.  It seemed a little chilly to me but he looked happy.

I will admit that the changable weather does make it hard to know what to wear.  The high tomorrow will be about 60, then on Thursday 70, then Friday back to 45.  And the moral of that story is keep a jacket handy.

But enough about the weather.  Another sure sign of spring in our area is the opening of the Zesto ice cream stands.  One of them opened as early as March 1, another near us opened on March 15.

Today my wonder spouse and I agreed that It was definitely time to visit Zesto's, so we had a creamy good lunch - a turtle sundae for me (lots of nuts so it must have been good for me) and my spouses favorite butterscotch yogurt malt.

It was so good.  We may have to celebrate spring frequently.

What day is this?

 A friend recently commented to me that, now that she is retired, she has trouble remembering what day of the week it is.  Then today my west coast brother, who is also recently retired, sent me his daily text which began with 'happy Tuesday.'  Not an unusual greeting, except that today is Monday.  

Lucky for me, I always know what day of the week it is.  Not because I'm a genius or anything but simply because we have, on our bedroom wall, a truly magnificent clock.

Here's a picture of it.  It's about 6x8 inches. My wonder spouse has had this clock for a long time (since before we were married).  It not only shows me the day, the date and the time, it also has these nifty little messages like morning, afternoon, evening and pre-dawn.  It's also light enough to be easily read in the middle of the night.  Those of you of a certain age will understand why I might be looking at the clock in the middle of the night.

In case you're interested in owning a whoopy doo wonder clock of your own, my spouse did some research for my friend and found this model available: La Crosse Technology C86279 for $32.67 through Amazon. It's actually one step better than ours because it will 'spring forward' and 'fall back' automatically.  Obviously "new and improved."

More music...

 I guess this was our weekend for music.  After the Phil last night my wonder spouse and I spent two hours this afternoon listening to a piano concert.  Today's concert came with a free lunch which was nice.

The artist was Jeremy Filsell and he was amazing.  He has been playing piano since he was ten years old, won many, many awards and traveled the world performing.  His bio filled a page and a half of the program in very fine print.  He's done it all (at least in the world of piano and organ music).  One bit I found interesting was that he lived in Windsor Castle for nine years as an alto lay clerk in the Queen's choir at St George's Chapel, Windsor.  

His recordings are widely available but I like to see my music as well as hear it.  I would much rather sit in the audience seeing and hearing a musical performance than simply listening to a recording.  That's why I enjoy going to the philhamonic so much.

In the case of Mr. Filsell, part of my joy and awe came from realizing that he was playing the entire concert from memory, no sheet music anywhere.  And we are not talking easy little ditties here.  He entertained us with selections from Chopin, Debussy, Leighton and Liszt.  My favorite selection was Liszt"s "Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178."

All in all, a remarkable end to this very musical weekend.

an evening at the Phil....

 This evening's philharmonic concert had several interesting parts.  It opened with a fun little five minute piece by Lili Boulanger called "D'un matin de printemps."  I'm pretty sure that is something about an evening in springtime but my high school French is quite rusty.  It was a lovely piece.  I was sad to read that the composer died when she was only 24.

Then came Edgar Meyer's "Violin Concerto."  The solo parts were performed by violinist Eric Silberger who was absolutely sublime. This was definitely my favorite part of the evening.

After the imtermission we heard "Rondes de printemps, No.3" from "Images" by Claude Debussy and a Piano Trio by Ravel adapted for full orchestra.  Both pieces were beautifully performed (I especially enjoyed the harps) and my spouse said that the Ravel piece was his favorite part of the program.

I guess you could sa there was something for everyone this evening.

Spring time

 Happy first day of spring.  Spring officially began at about 10:40 this morning.  My west coast brother made sure I knew that in addition to being the first day of spring today is also "Alien Abduction Day," "Snowman Burning Day" and "National Ravioli Day."

My wonder spouse and I had noodles, but not ravioli for supper and I wasn't able to find any aliens to abduct.  I wouldn't mind a little green ET running around the place but, alas, no such luck.  

I would never attempt to burn a snowman, although the 70 degree, sunny day we enjoyed today did a great job of melting away the last lingering little piles of snow around the neighborhood.

We did however put our snowman away, wrapped carefully and put on a shelf in the basement.  He has been standing on the table in our foyer since before Christmas.  He will be back again next winter, but right now all my thoughts are on spring.  I must find something springy to take his place - maybe an Easter bunny???

eye glasses...

 As I think I mentioned in a previous blog, I have been wearing glasses since I was seven years old.  This means that I know what it should feel like when one puts on a new pair of glasses.  First there is a little pause as your brain gets used to seeing things more clearly, and then you just wear and enjoy your new glasses.  In recent years all of my glasses have been no line tri-focals which have worked very well for me.  I can drive safely, I can work on my computer, I can read, I can even put together jigsaw puzzles.  In other words, I can see to do whatever needs doing.

That's how it should be and that's how it has always been for me until my newest pair.  Don't get me wrong.  I've had three other pairs of glasses from this same eye doctor and all have worked very well for me.  

But when I put on this new pair of glasses they seemed fine at first but then I realized that i couldn't see to drive unless I slid the glasses down on my nose and looked through the top quarter inch of the lens.  I also realized that when I looked across the room, any room, at home it was blurry.  I went back and the nice technician adjusted the frames so they fit differently on my face and ears.  This seemed to help but not really.  I tried again, still no better.  So I made an appointment for this afternoon and went back to see what else could be done.  After two glasses gurus looked everything over it was determined that the lenses simply didn't line up correctly with my eyes.  In other words they agreed with my diagnosis of the situation.

So now I am sitting here typing my blog wearing my two year old glasses and managing pretty well.  My new and improved lenses should be ready in ten days.  If you hear shouts of glee you'll know that they are working as they should, and I'll know that it's ok for me to be driving again. If instead you hear gnashing of teeth, I'm not seeing well and I'll know that another trip to the dentist (see yesterday's blog) is required.  Stay tuned.

new tec....

 I went to the dentist today.  This is not something I would usually write about but I'm intrigued with his new equipment.

I went to the dentist because my left jaw has been aching for a couple of weeks and had finally started bothering me enough that I decided I really must do something.

They took an xray, then the dentist massaged my jaw and pressed on certain points watching for my reaction when he hit the spots that really hurt.  He found them all.  Then he gave me some advice "Don't open your mouth too wide, eat soft food, and take small bites."  All of which I had already been doing because it just felt better.

Then, and this was the exciting part, he zapped me with his brand new lazer.  My nurse told me it was his new favorite toy.  My dentist referred to it as his magic wand.  It was a very nice treatment.  He zapped me repeatedly from outside and inside my mouth.  It was a very warm, not too hot, feeling, and very relaxing.  Not at all what one expects in a dentist's office.  It didn't make any noise at all.

That was several hours ago and, while my jaw is still a little achy, it feels considerably better than it did before my appointment.  My wonder spouse assisted me in following directions by cooking noodles alfredo for supper, soft, easy to eat and delicious.

I'll be going back for a follow up treatment in two weeks.  Is it weird to look forward to going to the dentist?

It's all so green

 I hope you all have had a pleasant St. Patrick's Day whether you are really Irish or only a little Irish like me.  My west coast brother suggested that today I should go looking for shamrocks and four leaf clovers.  That got me wondering if there is a difference.  

There is indeed a difference.  A shamrock is a three-leaf clover and is used as a symbol of Ireland and Saint Patrick.  The name comes from the Irish word seamrog which means little clover.  The three leaves represent the Holy Trinity. 

When I was very young our yard had lots of clover growing in it and we would search sometimes to see who could be the first to find a four-leaf clover.  Everyone knows that four-leaf clovers are lucky.  I did not know until this evening that only one in 5000 clovers possess the extra leaf.  No wonder our searching took a while.  The four leaves are said to represent faith, hope, love and prosperity.

Unless of course you grew up in the country like I did and belonged to a 4-H club.  The 4-H symbol is a four leaf clover with an H on each leaf.  The H's stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health.

None of which has anything to do with Saint Patrick's Day but it has been fun to remember.

a fishy Finn

 Everyone knows that tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day but did you know that today is Saint Urho's Day?  This special day is based on a Northern Minnesota legend begun in the 1950s. Richard Mattson, a Finnish American founded the day as a playful reason to celebrate on the day before Saint Patrick's Day. "Why," he asked "Should the Irish have all the fun?" Since the 50s this day has evolved from a joke to a beloved tradition celebrated in many cities throughout the United States, especially by Finnish Americans.     

The serious celebrators wear purple and green, purple for grapes and green for grasshoppers (the bugs not the drink).  The legend goes that Saint Urho drove all the grasshoppers out of Finland, thereby saving the vineyards.  

If you seriously doubt that Finland has vineyards, or grasshoppers for that matter, I suggest that you visit Finland on your next holiday.  It's a wonderful country and I highly recommend a visit.  

But if you want to celebrate Saint Urho's Day you will have to stay in the USA. Saint Urho's Day is not celebrated in Finland.  It is, however, celebrated in Finland, Minnesota and many other US cities, also at least one in Canada.

a misunderstanding??

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "Eat an Animal for PETA Day."  I really don't think this is what PETA is all about but I did have Swiss steak for supper. 

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the world's largest animal rights organization. focused on stopping abuse of animals in laboratories, food, clothing and entertainment. It was founded in 1980.

I only bring this up because last night my spouse and I watched the old John Wayne movie "Hondo" filmed in 1953.  It was a good movie, excellent entertainment, ahead of its time in many ways, and involving what appeared to be hundreds of horses.  

I don't know, nor do I care to know, if any horses were maimed or killed in the filming of that movie, but as I watched it I kept thinking that it must have been filmed before PETA was founded.  I was right; see the dates above.  There were lots and lots of horses running all over the place in this movie.  Soldiers on horses, homesteaders on horses, cowboys on horses, Apaches on horses and horses pulling covered wagons and other conveyances.  It was a very exciting movie, but I can't help thinking that films like this were part of the reason that PETA was founded. True or not, I do recommend the movie.

Oh happy day!!!!!!!!!

 


The big day has finally arrived.  My great grandson is nine days old and I got to meet him and hold him and rock him for almost a half hour.  I had to wash my hands before I could hold him.  Can you tell he's a first baby?  My son (his great uncle) says "They'll be passing the second one around like a collection plate." We shall see.

In addition to the joy of holding him, I had the pleasure of rocking him in this old maple rocker.  I could tell he liked it and he should.  My mother rocked me and my brothers in this rocker and I have rocked my children and grandchildren in it.  And now my great grandson.  Life is GOOD!!

when the bough breaks...

 Rock a bye baby in the treetop.

When the wind blows the cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall,

Down will come baby, cradle and all.

Isn't that the most depressing lullaby you've ever heard?  Who would sing that as you were trying to lull a child to sleep?  It has been a very windy day here today and I think that's what brought this poem to mind. The more I thought about the words the more I thought that this is not a cheery little ditty. 

So I did a little research.  It turns out that this English nursery rhyme first appeared in print as "Hush-a-bye" in "Mother Goose's Melody" around 1765 but seems to have been sung since about 1688. It seems that the innocent sounding lullaby was actually a death wish aimed at the infant son of the Catholic King James II.  Some of the citizens were wanting him to be replaced by a protestant king.  James Francis Edward Stuart was born in 1688. His birth, as a Catholic heir trigggered the "Glorious Revolution."  He spent much of his adult life in exile in France.  

I'm glad that he got to spend most of his adult life in France and probably in royal splendor but I can't help wondering how he felt, knowing that people were wishing him dead from the time he was born, and even singing about it.  It's enough to give a child a complex.  That's enough tid bits of history from me.  Feel free to do more research on your own.

star light star bright...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "National Milky Way Day."  While I'm guessing that they (the mysterious they who make up these days) are referring to the candy bar, which is admittedly delicious and worth celebrating, it reminds me of how much I long to see a starry night.  

My spouse and I live in a very comfortable older subdivision which has been surrounded by more and more housing as the city expands around us.  Consequently, there is lots of ambient light even in the middle of the night.  Street lights, porch lights and security lights bathe our nights in soft light.  Which is all good and well unless you want to see stars.  On a really clear summer night I'm able to see two, sometimes three, stars.  Technically one of those is a planet.

When my first husband and I lived in what was then "country" we were able to stand with our children in the front yard and see the Big and Little Dippers, Orion's Belt and sometimes the Milky Way.  Then a traffic light was installed on our corner and it was never quite the same.

Before you feel too sad for me, let me assure you that I have seen stars in recent years.  A few years ago a friend and I were traveling in Finland.  One night our group was taken by bus way out into the country in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights.  They did not appear but the stars were spectacular.  On a cruise that my wonder spouse and I took last year, everyone was invited up on deck one clear night for some star gazing.  We did see stars but, for safety, some lights on the ship had to be left on so it wasn't as spectacular as it might have been. 

However, I see two good star gazing opportunities coming up.  When my spouse and I go on our cruise in May we will be at sea for several nights so I have hope of seeing stars then.  Even better, on the way home from that trip we will be visiting my west coast family for a few days and, if I know my brother, he will indulge me by turning off all the lights if there is a clear night, and we might actually see the Milky Way.  Fingers crossed.

Eastward ho...

 In 10 weeks and two days my spouse and I will be departing on a cruise which starts with four days in Tokyo, Japan.  I have begun to daydream about this trip already.  Part of the reason is to avoid thinking about the crazy weather going on here at home. Today, for instance, began at 60 degrees with warm rain, thunder and lightning, and finished, as of 6:00 this evening at 37 degrees with a cold wind blowing. 

I have no idea what the weather will actually be like in May in Japan but to really enjoy my daydreams I decided I should check it out.  68 to 70 degrees is the average high in May in Tokyo with temperatures gradually warming through the month.  According to one source, May is considered the best month to visit Tokyo, when it's warming up but not yet humid.  Sadly we will be too late for the cherry blossoms but you can't have eveything.  

Based on previous excellent experiences with Viking, there will be a guide to greet us at the airport (we are flying first from Chicago to Tokyo).  And, if things work out as they did in Cairo. that same guide will spend the first couple of days of our visit showing us aound Tokyo, then make sure we get on the ship for the rest of our trip/cruise which will include several stops in Alaska.  

I know this might not sound as adventurous as some people's travels.  It doesn't compare to scaling the Himalays or finding the remains of a lost civilization in a jungle but it works for us.  We enjoy our creature comforts like good food and a comfy bed.

'Arigato gozaimasu' is a very polite way of saying thank you in Japanese.  I am by no means a linguist but I think that would be a good phrase to learn.   I should be able to learn that in 10 weeks, don't you think?

the end....

 It's finished!! Finally this silly puzzle is complete.  If you would like to assemble it next, just let us know.  

According to my west coast brother today is the "International Day of Awesomeness." I think that all of the people in my family are pretty awesome but tonight I must celebrate my wonder spouse who, once again, won a hard fought and long drawn out Scrabble game, even though I led for more than half the game. Ah well, my turn will come.

even more puzzling...

 

This is a picture of the jugsaw puzzle my wonder spouse and I are currently working on.  It is being a beastly puzzle, but we're making progress.  While the puzzle is being very difficult, I do love the picture.  It reminds me of the International Balloon Fiesta that a friend and I attended in Albuquerque, New Mexico several years ago.  We did not go on any balloon rides at that event (too expensive) although I have been on two rides since then.  They are amazing.  

We were at the site early on the day of the festival and were able to walk among the balloons and talk to the participants as they were inflating their beautiful balloons.  When it was still pretty dark, about a half hour before dawn, they had the GLOW!  While they were all still on the ground, every balloon flared it's fire, so every balloon glowed from within.  An amazing sight.  There were at least a hundred balloons there.

What we learned in conversation (my girlfriend will talk to anyone) and I found very interesting was the reason for the festival being in this location.  In this particular spot the wind blows two ways.  You really can't steer a balloon but buy rising to a certain level the balloonist could catch the wind going one way, then after traveling for some distance, he could let the balloon go higher and catch the wind blowing in the opposite direction, allowing the pilot to land on the same field where he took off,  According to the people we talked to, this is one of the very rare places in the world where this phenomenon occurs.  Maybe the only place. I really don't remember. 

I do know that when my spouse and I took our balloon ride in Egypt, we were picked up after the 45 minute flight at a spot quite a distance from our take-off site.

I have experienced two hot air balloon flights, one in Australia and one in Egypt, so I've flown over pyramids and kangaroos.  It is an excellent experience, lots of fun and not at all scary.  I highly recommend it.  Now back to that puzzle.

forward March...

 Today was 'spring forward' day when we set our clocks ahead one hour, supposedly at 2:00am, but really, who waits til 2:00am.  We're already losing sleep. even though we try going to bed an hour early so we still get enough sleep.  That's a nice idea but if you're accustomed to falling asleep at 11:00pm, even if your wonder spouse has set all the clocks ahead, your body knows that it's not really bedtime.

As a result of this 'spring forward' business, It was dark when I got up this morning and I've been sleepy all day.  

Attendance at Sunday school and church seemed a little sparse but that could have been because it has been a lovely sunny day and I'm not the only one suffering from EOSF.  It's a highly contageous condition.  

I did see one lady walking into church while we were singing the last hymn.  She doesn't have a wonder spouse to take care of things like setting clocks ahead for her.  

My west coast brother has an interesting theory about the twice a year time changes.  He says that the time changes induce something similar to jet lag and keep us from focusing on election day in the fall and taxes due in the spring.  He doesn't think that the timing is a coincidence and he may be right.

But enough speculation about why it happens.  Tomorow morning I will face my biggest challenge - setting my car clock ahead.  I know I can do it, and I know it's a simple process.  It's just remembering the process that's the challenge.

Brunch anyone??

My wonder spouse, who, everyone knows, is the cook in our family, surprised me this morning by asking if I wanted pecan pancakes for breakfast.  Usually our breakfasts are a do-it-yourself event.  I like cinnamon toast while he favors graham crackers.  

Since this was a no rush Saturday morning, I said YES, and quickly started the coffee and put the butter and syrup on the table.  I like to do my part.  We each had two plate size pancakes - light fluffy and delicious (one at a time while they were hot) - with butter and real maple syrup.  We are admittedly syrup snobs, nothing but pure maple syrup will do.  

It was a delicious breakfast, turned into brunch, finished while it was still morning, but only by a little bit. 

Then I received my west coast brother's daily text informing me that today is "National Flapjack Day."  Well, everyone knows that flapjack is just another name for pancake so we were pleased to learn that this time we had correctly celebrated the day.  

I should mention that today is also "Descendants Day" so, not too surprisingly my mind has been on my youngest little descendent (two days old today).  See yesterday's blog for details.  

While working at my desk I spotted this four generation picture, taken 25 years ago.  The baby in this picture is the proud and shaggy daddy in yesterday's picture.  I hope to get a brand new 4-generation picture when we all get together sometime soon.

New Life!!!

 Today was the day we have all been waiting for.  Today I became a great grandma and my spouse became a wonder great grandpa.

Here's the proud papa with his 6 lb 15 oz 19.5" long bundle of joy.

Here's little M. J. His first solo shot.

And here's the proud and understandably exhausted mommy.

They have requested some alone time as they adjust to their new life style so there will be no picture of me holding the baby for a couple of weeks.  It's ok, I can wait.  Not patiently, but I can wait. And I do understand.

When each of my two children was born I had what the hospital called "rooming in" meaning that the baby was with me the whole time, not in the nusery, and only my husband could visit. Back then the hospital stay was five days.  It was so good to have that private bonding time first.

Old School....

 I've been hearing a lot in the news lately about AI and the fact that it will potentially replace many jobs that humans do now.  Since I am happily retired this does not concern me over much although I do wonder about the jobs of my children and grandchildren. 

Thinking back over jobs I have had, I realize that some could easily have been done by AI controlled robots.  For example, I saw a piece in the news last night about robot arms mixing and pouring drinks in a bar.  Lucky for me that technology wasn't around the summer I tended bar.  I had just moved to a new town and needed that job.

Then there was my first career as an elementary and middle school  art teacher.  I can imagine a robot rolling up and down the aisles, critiquing students' work, but I'm not sure how much work would actually get done, although the visual aids might be pretty spectacular.  Students in our area have already adapted to e-learning days when the weather is terrible, but according to a teacher I know, there isn't always a lot of work getting done because there aren't any parents home to supervise.  Maybe, in addition to the laptops that are provided to most students in our local school systems, homes could be provided with AI "teachers" to keep the children working??? 

Finally, let's consider real estate sales where I spent 25 years of my working life.  When I started that career, we were thrilled to have one little postage stamp size picture of a house for sale on our computers.  By the time I retired we could show clients virtual tours of many houses, saving endless hours of driving people from house to house.  Not really AI but a nice improvement in technology.        AI closings would be great. 

And yet, as I look back on those jobs I realize that what I enjoyed most in each of them was the interaction with people, real live people.  I think I may have retired just in time.

March Forth...

 I'm sorry to keep depending on my west coast brother for blog ideas but some are just too good to resist.  Today, for example, is "Marching Music Day."  Having spent many hours cheering on my children and then two of my grandchildren as they marched in parades and competitions, I feel qualified to write on the subject.  

Today is also "National Pound Cake Day" which surprisingly reminded me of a marching band incident I will never forget.  Actually the bands weren't involved, just some parents along the parade route. 

While my first husband and I stood watching the parade go by in a small town north of Fort Wayne I overheard this conversation on my right - 

Fat slob sitting in a strained folding chair to his harassed looking wife who had just walked up behind him "Did ja bring me a beer?"  Wife responds with a quiet "No."  Slob says "Well, go fetch!" and she turned away and walked submissively off.  

I saw red!  Who says 'fetch' to a person? I wanted to pound this throwback to the cave dwellers into a pulp.  Fortunately, my long suffering first wonder spouse, who had often accused me of being a closet 'women's libber' saw me seeing red and quiclky walked me away so I could cool off.  Thereby preventing a scene which would definitely have detracted from the parade and posssibly, gasp, embarassed our marching children.  Everyone knows how easily teenagers are embarassed by their parents.

"hand, hand, finger, thumb...."

 My west coast brother informed me earlier today that it is "What if Cats and Dogs had Opposable Thumbs Day/"  While my wonder spouse and I have had pets in the past, we don't now, but we do get plenty of entertainment value from the squirrels who frequent our bird feeders.

After witnessing one remarkable (and fairly chubby) squirrel perched on a feeder that we thought was completely out of reach, because it had a large squirrel guard protecting it, and was far away from every tree and bush, we began to wonder if squirrels have opposable thumbs.  It could explain some of their amazing gymnastics. So of course I did a little research. 

It turns out they do, kind of.  Squirrels have four long fingers and claws on each paw plus a small stiff digit - a vestigal or pseudo-opposable 'thumb.'  It's actually called a pollex. 

I wonder??? Could it be that our squirrels are a little more evolved than most?  If we could trap one (just catch and release for observation purposes of course, not for stew) I bet we would see that they have nice long pollexes.  It would explain so much.

good old stuff...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "Old Stuff Day." Since I am now in my 81st year, it will come as no surprise that I have accumulated an abundance of old stuff.  Even after downsizing twice and having an estate sale I still have old stuff.

But sometimes old stuff isn't all that bad.  Last year one of my granddaughters saw a sweater I had pulled out of the closet, thinking I might donate it.  She declared it "vintage" and asked if she could have it.  Of course I said yes, and gave her two more besides.

Just this week the same granddaughter told me that she is still using a handmade blanket that my west coast sister-in-law made for me over 40 years ago.  I had let her take it to college.  She and her boyfriend spread it out on the floor to relax on while eating popcorn and watching TV.  Just what it was made for.  

And even better, thinking about old things, yesterday my wonder spouse and I delivered an old but still beautiful maple rocking chair to my grandson and his very expectant wife.  The baby is due any time now and it gives me a happy glow to think about him being rocked to sleep in the same rocker in which my mother rocked me and my younger brothers to sleep.  I also put a lot of rocking miles on that chair when my babies came along.

Isn't it good that some old stuff just gets better with age?  

What's in a name?

 My westcoast brother has informed me that today is "Namesake Day."

By defination, a namesake is a person or thing that has the same name as another. There is a line in Psalm 23 (King James Version) "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His namesake."

I've always enjoyed hearing people's stories of how they were named. I was named after my mother's father's favorite sister.  I always liked that story except for the part where she died when she was 12 years old.

Sometimes people get a little carried away with certain names. For example my brother, first husband and son were all named Tom or some variation of that name.  My second husband has the same name as his brother-in-law and nephew.  It can get confusing at family gatherings.

Names and naming practices change with the years.  When my son was born we named him Thomas and called him Tommy.  Interestingly, my first husband's legal name was Tommy and a cousin of mine born the same year had the legal name of Jimmy,  I think it was a fad at that time.  My father was named after his father, but with three middle names added.  These were the names of his three uncles.  Happily. my west coast brother was able to name two of his sons from that pool of names.  

I clearly remember a day when I was in our front yard with baby Tommy and a neighbor lady I didn't know well, while pushing her baby in a stroller, stopped and asked me what my baby's name was.  When I told her it was Tommy, she responded "Oh, that's a very common name."  I then asked her what her baby's name was and she said "Jason."  I laugh at this now because all through his school years my Tommy, later Thomas, was the only Thomas in his class while there were always three or four Jasons.  I guess it was a popular name in 1971.

My advice, name your children with care.  If all goes well, they are going to be stuck with that name for a long long time.

 

a cautionary tale...

 I generally like to write fun, light hearted articles for this blog, but my experience today must be shared.

The day started off early, but very well, with a church bus ride to a Presbytery meeting in Indianapolis.  The ride was uneventful and the meeting was good, providing those in attendance with up-to-date information about what's going on in the Presbyterian church regionally and nationally.  In addition one of my good friends experienced her 'examination for ordination,' a Q&A session in which she answered a variety of questions from random members of the gathering (almost all of whom were ministers).  I am happy to report that she did very well and has been approved for ordination.  She has already been called to be the pastor of a local Presbyterian church, and will be installed there later this spring. 

That was the good part of the day.  On the way home, driving north from Indy on I69, traffic slowed to a halt, and we sat in our bus not moving for more than an hour. Then gradually we could crawl along at about 5 miles per hour, left lane only open.  People checking their phones learned that there had been an accident involving a semi and a car. I was sitting on the right side of the bus so I had a view of everything.  At one point a huge tow truck, suitable for towing a semi, passed us on the right.  We could all guess where he was headed.  Finally, finally we passed the site of the accident.  Before I realized it, I was looking at the car involved in the accident.  It looked like a lump of charcoal.  I hope and pray that whoever was in that car got out before it burned and I grieve for everyone involved (including the first responders) and the families of all those involved.  

Please think of this, say some prayers, and drive a little more carefully when you're out and about, for your sake and for the sake of all those who love you.

travel ideas

 My wonder spouse and I are going on a rather long cruise and family visit in May.  I know that's still months away but something came up recently that made me think about luggage security. 

A friend told us the story of her suitcase (bright red and easy to spot) getting "lost" when they landed at an airport in a European country, along with the luggage of several other travelers.  I don't remember which country, they have travelled extensively.  Since they were planning to spend two weeks in the city where they had landed, and she really needed her clothes, she went back to the airport the day after they had arrived.  Still no sign of her suitcase.  On the next day she went back again.  This time she found her suitcase just sitting out in the open, unattended, in a cluster of about a hundred suitcases.  

Even though she had filed the requisite paperwork and turned it in at the airport, no one had contacted her to tell her her luggage had arrived.  When she asked one of the workers what happened to all of these suitcases if no one was notified that they had arrived.  The answer "Oh, we just auction them off."  

My friend's story had a happy ending, but it did remind me of the time I had a suitcase stollen in the Seattle airport and never got it back.  Coincidentally, in a conversation today with another well traveled friend I learned about Air Tags (available from Amazon for about $20).  These little tags can be placed inside your luggage and allow you to use your phone to track your luggage if it doesn't arrive at your destination.  

Granted, it may not be much help to know that your suitcase is in Aruba if you're in Detroit, but at least you'll know your clothes are having a wonderful time.  I think I will gift my wonder spouse with some Air Tags before our May trip.

more good food

 I fear that I might be getting in a rut here, writing about restaurants so often, but I feel that I really must share this experience.

A friend and I had lunch today at a Japanese restaurant called Ichiddo Ramen.  It's on Coldwater Road in case you're interested.  We started with drinks - Classic Black Milk Tea with tapioca beads, then on to appetizers.  We shared an order of calamari (chewy but yummy) and an order of very tasty short ribs.  

Then on to the main course.  The portions were beyond ample, we both ended up taking some home.  My friend had fried rice which did look delicious, but I decided to be a little more adventurous.  I had the beef ramen which was served as a soup with a delicious broth.  In addition to beef the dish contained mushrooms, fungus, green onion, noodles, corn, other vegies and excellent seasoning.  It wasn't hot and spicy, just very very good.  We decided against dessert although there were some very tempting looking ones on the menu.  

That was another thing I appreciated.  Each item on the menu had a picture beside it.  Even though the menu was all in English, I thought the pictures were helpful. For example, one of the ingredients listed in several dishes was a "half cooked egg" but the picture clearly showed half of a hard boiled egg (obviously thoroughly cooked).

All in all a fine fun place to eat.  I hope this encourages you to try it.  

good food

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "Let's All Eat Right Day" and also "National Chocolate Covered Peanuts Day."  I'm really not quite sure how those two go together unless you're supposed to eat the peanuts with your right hand.  I wrote a blog a few weeks ago expressing my view that not everything is edible just because it's covered in chocolate, but I do think chocolate covered peanuts are ok.  My lefty wonder spouse is pretty ambidextrous when it comes to eating so he could handle using his right hand for snacks.  But sadly he's allergic to peanuts. Ah well.  

We did make an attempt to Eat Right this evening. We went to dinner with friends at Zianos, one of our very favorite Italian restaurants. There we ate salad (definitely good food) and bread sticks (also good food I think).  I will refer you back to my recent blog about the importance of grain in our diets in defense of bread sticks.  The fact that these bread sticks were puffy, slathered with butter and covered with grated parmesan should not count against them.

Then the main course, and this is where the question of whether we were Eating Right becomes a little more problematic.  The food was, of course, delicious and the helpings were beyond bountiful, but I have a feeling that the sauces, thick and creamy and buttery and oozing calories did not exactly fall into the Eating Right category.  On the other hand, we certainly ate well.  Close enough. 

quite a speech

 I just finished watching President Trump's State of the Union speech.  Regardless of your political persuasion, I think we can all agree that it was long,  

But seriously, it was also full of honors and stories of brave men and women who have served our country in one way or another.  I did appreciate those accolades.

I could do that

 Even though the winter Olympics are over I'm still thinking about them and I have realized that there is one event in which I could compete.  I'm talking about the Luge.  Not the Skeleton. There is no way that I would go zipping down a slippery curving ice coated slide at 60 miles an hour, or more, on my back, head first,

But I watched the Luge teams, for the two person sleds, and I'm pretty sure I could do that. On my back feet first so I could see where I'm going.

Of course there would need to be some modifications made to the event.  I can't see myself running beside the sled pushing it to get it up to speed and then leaping in.  I would rather get in the sled and recline carefully while it is securely held in place, then hold on tight while someone else gets the sled going. It does look like a fun ride.

If they ever build a luge slope here in Fort Wayne and offer an Octogenarian division (maybe limit us to 30mph) I'll sign up.  Our colors could be gray and silver.  Does anyone want to be on my team?

great expectations...

 My spouse and I had dinner this evening with my grandson and his wife.  It was a very joyous get together.  They are expecting their first child in two weeks.  I'm guessing it might be sooner.  She looks ready to pop.

Although it's been many years for me, I can remember the excitement of waiting for that first baby to be born. Every birth is exciting but that first baby catapults its parents into a whole new life style.  Sleeping through the night will probably become a thing of the past, at least for the first several months.  Your whole life revolves around this new being come to live with you.  

Some things never change but I am intrigued by the things that have changed since I became a mother.

1. They know the sex of the baby, it's a boy. They decided on his name months ago.

2. They know how much it will weigh at birth, six pounds.

3. They know it is healthy and normal with the correct number of fingers and toes.

4. They know it's in the head down position.

5.  My grandson knows that there will be a chair for him in the delivery room in case he feels faint.  It could happen. 

And the one thing that hasn't changed - they know that the baby's grandparents and great grandparents are ready, willing and able to pitch in and help as needed, especially with rocking the baby. 

As it happens, I'm a champion baby rocker.  If it was an Olympic sport I'd have a gold medal for sure.  Can't wait to get back in the game.

new guidelines

 My west coast brother informed me, earlier this afternoon, that today is "National Grain Free Day."  Unfortunately, or maybe luckily, depending on how I look at it, I didn't read his text until after my spouse and I returned from a trip to our favorite Amish bakery where we had stocked up on our favorite breads and cookies. (I'll admit it, the molasses cookies are my downfall, not my spouses, but I do limit myself to one a day.)

Thinking about a grain free day, even though I'm not observing it, led me to wonder where grain falls on the newly designed food pyramid. here's what I found out. "The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans released in January 2026 feature a new 'inverted' food pyramid, prioritizing high-quality proteins, healthy fats and produce at the top, while placing whole grains at the (pointy little) base."

Luckily my spouse and I do have access to high quality proteins thanks to generous family gifts from the Omaha Steak Company. Also, if you were to look in our refrigerator right now you would find an ample supply of apples, oranges and grapes so that covers produce.  Also celery, but nobody counts celery.  I'm pretty sure that the real butter that I slather on my Cinnamon Swirl toast counts as a healthy fat, at least today.  Butter like coffee is one of those foods that gets flipped from the 'good for you' list to the 'bad for you' list with some regularity.

I don't really have any argument with the new food pyramid except for where it places grain.  Let's face it people need bread.  What are you going to spread your peanut butter and jelly on? What will hold your ham salad sandwich?  What will accompany your bacon and eggs if not some form of bread?  I'm ok with grain at the bottom but I think the pyramid needs to be replaced with a semi-circle or U shape.  

"The Good Food U for You" sounds catchy to me.  Maybe I should write a letter to someone.

the Olympics

 I have been watching the winter Olympics every night since they started over a week ago.  Like everyone else watching, I marvel at the amazing performances whether it's on skates, snow boards, skis, luges or skeletons.  I groan when someone falls and cheer when they pull off an excellent performance, even if the judges don't think it's perfect. 

As a mother myself, I do find myself wondering what their parents feel as their children compete.  All of my children marched in high school bands and I have felt a little bit of what they might be experiencing.  I've watched our bands compete and come in third or fourth when I thought their performance was perfect.  

But there is one big difference.  I could relax while watching my offspring compete, knowing that they will not be flying down a mountainside, up an incline, doing triple and quadruple flips then landing gracefully on their feet (usually).  Or, better yet, twirling up into the air on skates, doing four or five spins. then landing perfectly.  It's all so exciting to watch and I assume that the athletes' parents have been supporting them through years and years of practice and competitions.  

So here's to our wonderful Olympic contenders and here's to all those who have supported their dreams all along the way. 

feeling lazy....

 First, here's a picture of our latest accomplishment puzzle wise.  It has been a very rainy day with nowhere to go so we puzzled more than we usually do.

I'm sorry that it's side ways but that's how we looked at it much of the time we were working on it.  It's a 500 piece puzzle, so fun to work on. 

Before you judge me too harshly for spending this warm rainy day in frivolous pursuits I did manage to put together an agenda for an upcoming meeting this morning before the laziness totally overtook me.  

Further in my defense, I am convinced (although no doctor has diagnosed me) that I am suffering from EOSF.  Have you ever noticed how most of the TV commercials touting remedies for various ailments refer to the diseases by their acronyms? I seldom know what illness they are "curing" but, by the time they finish telling about all the possible side effects of the medication they are touting, I'm pretty sure I would rather have the disease. 

This is certainly the case with EOSF, the symptoms of which include sleepiness, laziness, and general lack of ambition.  

If you haven't figured it out by now, EOSF is Early Onset Spring Fever.  I know it's only February, I know it will get cold again, but for now I will enjoy my malady.

it's puzzling...

 Since my wonder spouse and I are retired we do have an ample amount of discretionary time.  Some of that time we spend doing volunteer work and other worthwhile things.

However, when all of the important and semi-important things are done, we sometimes indulge in our greatest weakness (no, not drinking).  We enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles.  We have a large table and excellent lighting in our basement rec room, and can take many days if necessary to finish a puzzle.

When you think about it logically, putting together a jigsaw puzzle is a huge waste of time.  First we sort through all the pieces to find the edge pieces, then assemble them into the frame of the picture, then piece by piece fit all of the other pieces together.  

Finally, finally it's finished.  We can look at it with a great sense of accomplishment.  We have completed 500, 750, 1000 and 2000 piece puzzles over the years.  Then we break it all apart, put the puzzle back in its box, being very careful not to lose any pieces, and set it aside to donate somewhere, sometime. 

Recently we discovered a way to keep our hard work.  If a puzzle was particularly challenging or we just like the picture, we can save it by putting specially made backing material on the puzzle, then framing it in a poster frame and hanging it on the wall for all to see and admire.  But only if they come down to our basement rec room.  We have not yet resorted to hanging preserved puzzles in our living room.  Give us credit for a little couth.

a childhood scam...

 Writing about my ironing chore yesterday reminded me of another, much less pleasant chore that my oldest brother (two years younger than me) and I were expected to do during the summer months.

I should explain here that my mom was a loving, kind, wonderful mother, but she was also a teacher, and used to working with a schedule, so during our summer breaks she liked to keep us on something of a schedule.  The schedule did include delightful things like a 10am break to eat sugar glazed donuts on Wednesdays after the bakery truck came by, TV time while we all watched Captain Kangaroo with my baby brother, and, my favorite, a half hour, or longer, break after lunch to relax in our bedrooms and read or nap.  This was supposedly so my baby brother could nap.  I didn't appreciate, until I was a mom myself, that it was also my mother's chance to rest.  

The schedule also included her expectation that we would get up in "the cool of the morning" to weed the strawberry patch.  Usually this chore was only for 30 minutes after which we went in and had breakfast.  One particular morning my brother kept running inside and looking at the clock.  Finally he announced that it was 8:00am and time for breakfast.

Everything was fine until my father came home from work that evening  and didn't understand why his TV news show didn't come on until fifteen minutes past the hour.  Very mysterious.  He finally checked the clock on the wall in the kitchen against his pocket watch and realized that the kitchen clock was fifteen minutes fast.  

I honestly don't remember what my brother's punishment was but I think it involved more weeding for him and less for me and mom.  My parents were not spankers but they did believe in letting the punishment fit the crime.  They also, happily, were blessed with good senses of humor.

a childhood chore..

 As was true of many children of my generation, there were chores I was expected to do.  While the oldest of my two brothers mowed grass and did other outside chores, I washed and dried dishes and set the table for meals. My mother, meanwhile, was being kept pretty busy with my baby brother. 

The other chore I did regularly was to iron.  These days, thanks to synthetic fabrics, I seldom iron at all but I was reminded of the ironing of my childhood when my wonder spouse informed me today that he was going to iron the top edge of our top bed sheet.  The sheets had just come out of the dryer and I thought they were just fine but he wanted to do it, so who am I to argue?  I like things smooth.

The reason this situation reminded me of my youth was because ironing was one of my chores and the first things I learned to iron were pillow cases.  I don't think my mother ever ironed sheets, unless we had out of town company coming, but she did like smooth pillow cases.

I don't mean to brag but I must have been quite precocious, because I quickly 'graduated' to ironing my father's and brother's dress shirts.  As chores went, ironing was the best because I could watch TV as I ironed.  The better the show, the slower I ironed.