Woops...and yummy...

 Last night I forgot to blog.  This is rare for me.  Except when I'm on vacation I write my blog every night.  

In my defense, last night I had a pain in my hip, my real one not my bionic one, took a Tylenol PM, and fell asleep on the job.  But I'm back at it tonight having watched my wonder spouse work for a couple of hours to get my trusty computer connected to the internet with a wired LAN instead of Ethernet.  We're not there yet but he enccouraged me to write this blog and get off my computer so he can get back to work on the improvements.

So here is tonight's blog.

Today I met three of my friends (friends I have know since high school, which is a very long time) for lunch.  We tried a new Indian Restaurant (new to us anyway) called BB's on North Anthony.  It was a delicious experience.  I had a mild chicken currie dish made with a cashew sauce, also a milkshake like drink made from dates and coconut milk, quite tasty.  I highly recommend this place.  

Now I'm signing off so my EE wonder spouse can get back to his improvements.

a traveler's tale....

 My wonder spouse and I have just finished another jigsaw puzzle.  We have promised ourselves that this is the last one until we come home from our cruise in May.  

Here's a picture of the puzzle.  While we were working on the puzzle I kept thinking that the scene looked familiar, but I thought that that was probably just wishful thinking.

However, after we finished the puzzle we decided to try to find out what it was a picture of. You would think that they would have that info on the box, and they did sort of, but it wasn't easy to find.  My spouse found out, by going to a website listed on the box in very small print, that this is a view somewhere along the coast of Amalfi (a stretch of coastline along the west side of Italy).  Then I knew, I really have seen this scene or something very much like it.  

In 2023, before I married my wonder spouse, a girlfriend and I took a trip to Rome and Tuscany and one of the optional tours was a boat ride along this very coast.  I'm sorry that I can't find a photo in my archives to prove it, but I really have been there and it really was just this beautiful.  

just ducky...

 There is a Swedish proverb that I learned recently "Shared joy is a double joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow."  

Today I was able to share a joy and a sorrow and I think both parts of this proverb proved true.

Every Sunday after the 11:00am service at my church we have a coffee hour. It's a time to chat with friends I know well and also to make new friends.  Today's coffee time began when a friend sat down with me and a few other people at our table and shared live pictures from a camera feed to her phone.  What we saw was a mama duck who had made a nest in my friend's flower bed, up close to the side of the house.  As we looked at the camera we saw the duck sitting on her ground nest.  We were told that she was sitting on 15 eggs.  We all watched for a while as we drank our coffee and ate our cookies. The duck was just sitting there, not doing anything very interesting, until suddenly she raised up, just a little, and a newly hatched duckling poked its head out from under the mama. What a joy.  We all cheered.  Truly a shared joy.

Gradually, people left to head home and I realized that one other person and I were the last ones left at our table.  She was a casual friend, someone I know from committee meetings but not really well.  I asked her how she was doing, remembering that she had been having some health problems, though I didn't know the details.  She said "ok" but her voice didn't sound like she was really ok so I said that I knew she hadn't been well during the last couple of years but really didn't know the details.  She told me all about the very rare cancer that she had been diagnosed with and all the tests and teatments she has been going through since 2019.  She talked and talked and I listened.  I think that sharing her sorrow really did help, at least I hope so.  She seemed 'lighter' and happier as we parted.  

So remember that Swedish proverb and make time to share other people's joys (that's easy) and sorrows (harder but you might really be helping someone).  All you risk loosing is a little bit of your time.

Books, books, books...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Independent Bookstore Day."  While I enjoy browsing in a bookstore, independent or otherwise, as much as anyone, I do wonder sometimes how they stay in business. 

I imagine that, in some large cities, libraries aren't as conveniently located as they are in Fort Wayne.  The Allen County Public Library has a wonderful large downtown library, with one of the best geneology sections in the country, and 13 branch libraries, one of which is within walking distance of my house. Lucky for me I can get all the books I want or need at our local branch at no cost, and usually in large print which I find very helpful.  

Many years ago I taught in a small town in the Catskills.  At that time I couldn't afford cable TV (the only option that worked in the mountains) but I discovered that my little town had a wonderful bookstore (with shelves and shelves of paperback books) located right next door to the laundromat.  What could be more convenient?  I read all of the novels by John D. McDonald and discovered many other fine authors along the way.  So I must admit, independent book stores do have their place.  I certainly helped keep that one in business.  

Date Night...

 My wonder spouse and I regularly go to Philharmonic concerts but tonight's event was really special.  It felt like we were on a date.  It started with him holding me very close as we walked from our car to the venue - the newly renovated downtown Philharmonic Center. 

Of course he was holding me close so we were both protected by his big umbrella as we dashed through the deluge, but still it was fun to be held so close.

The evening kept getting better.  We had reserved seats at one of the little tables right in front of the stage.  The other couple at the table were very nice so we had some pleasant conversation before the show started and at intermission.  My wonder spouse bought me a glass of wine and then the show began.

We were treated to two hours of dazzling piano music performed by Jodie deSalvo.  If you've never heard of her, look her up.  She is amazing.  The music ranged from Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven (the entire sonata) to Gershwin tunes and so much more.  

Because we were seated so close to the front I could watch her fingers flashing over the keys.  I've said before that I like to see music being performed, not just listen to it.  I couldn't have asked for a better seat to do just that.  Thank you, Wonder Spouse, for a fabulous date night. 

the nose knows....

 Once again my west coast brother has come through with some days to recon with.  He did all this while traveling and overcoming the perils of auto-correct.  His morning text to me tried to tell me that he was in Kansas rather than Klamath Falls. 

The reasons to celebrate today are because it is "English Language Day," "Spanish Language Day," "German Beer Day" and "International Nose Picking Day."

 Concerning nose picking, my brother's words of wisdom to me were "You can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family."  Happily, our family noses are all pretty ordinary looking, fairly straight, not too long nor bumpy, just ordinary.  I've never felt any desire to have my nose altered in any way, and I'm also very happy with my family.

Sadly, I don't speak Spanish so I will not be celebrating the Spanish language although I do think it's quite nice to listen to, or to read in the menu at my favorite Mexican restaurant.  Since I type all of my blogs in English I'm obviously celebrating "English Language Day" although in my case it might be better described as "American English Language Day."

"German Beer Day" resonates with me because I am of German ancestry, but this is the wrong day for celebrating it.  Every summer one of the major festivals in Fort Wayne is the week-long German Fest.  There you can buy all sorts of delicious German foods (a frankfurter with sauerkraut is my favorite) and really excellent dark German beer.

You really should come to German Fest and, to appreciate the full experience, savor your beer while watching the Weiner Dog Races. Watching those dachshunds run on their stubby little legs while their ears flop wildly is my very favorite part of German Fest. 

Earth Day

 Thanks again to my wandering west coast brother, I know that today is "April Showers Day" and "National Jellybean Day."  

I already knew that it is also "Earth Day."  I did not know, until I looked it up, that the theme for "Earth Day 2026" is "Our Power, Our Planet" with an emphasis on collective action as well as individual everyday actions.  At this point in our lives my wonder spouse and I are mainly focused on our individual actions.  The only collective action we take part in is putting out our recycling bin every other week just like everyone else in the subdivision.  We recycle, reuse, repurpose whenever we can.  I'm also happy to report, as a bit of Earth Day trivia, that Fort Wayne has some of the cleanest, best tasting  city water in the country.  

"April Showers Day" fits right in with "Earth Day" except it should be days not day.  We have had an abundance of April showers this month, which means that locally the earth was looking really good for "Earth Day" with lush green grass and blossoms and tiny green leaves on the trees.  This morning the sky was a beautiful clear blue dotted with little puffy white clouds.  This evening we had a thunder storm.  I guess that was inevitable since we were celebrating "April Showers Day."

What I don't understand is why this is also "National Jellybean Day."  While jellybeans are admittedly tasty, they can't be planted, grown or harvested.  Perhaps they should have a separate day of their own or maybe they could share a day with marshmallows.

a day for book lovers...

 Even though my west coast brother is on vacation, he did provide me with an excellent special day for today.  Today is "Thank You for Libraries Day."  Since I have a long and happy history with libraries, I feel I can add my thanks to the chorus of thanks resounding around the world.  

Thank you to Miss Tremp, the librarian in our small home town library who had been the librarian since my father was a little boy.  I used to watch in fascination as she would turn the little wheels to get the correct date on her stamp, press it on the ink pad, then very carefully stamp it on the lined card.  The card, with that due date stamp, would then be slid into the pocket on the inside cover of the book, and the book was mine for two weeks.  Of course I could, and usually did, get more than one book at a time, but the process for each book was the same.  

Thank you to my seventh and eight grade teacher who made sure the classroom library (all three shelves) was well supplied with fascinating books.  That's where I discovered the "Little House" series. 

Thank you to the librarian/driver of the book mobile that parked one block from our house every second Tuesday.  One baby, one toddler and all of our books fitted very nicely into the large British style baby buggy I had at that time.  We would trundle down the street, and spend a blissful half hour in that library on wheels. 

Thank you to the librarians, always cheerful and ready to help, at the local library less than a mile from my current home. There I can place special requests and check out my own books, scanning first the bar code on my library card, then the barcodes on the fronts of the library books.  Then the books are mine for three weeks and multiple renewals, which can be done on line.  So quick and easy.  Miss Tremp would be amazed.

What a day...

 My west coast brother is traveling this week so it was up to me to find out if today, May 20th, has any special significance.  Here's what I found. Today is, among other things, "World Bee Day" to raise awarwness of the importance of bees and other polinators, "World Metrology Day" (yes that is the correct spelling) commemorating the science of measurement, and "National Rescue Dog Day" to encourage animal adoption. 

All of these are important days to be sure but I am most intrigued by Metrology, mainly because I don't remember every hearing that word before.  This surprises me because I took a lot of math classes in high school and college and I would have bet that dear Mrs. Davis, my teacher for four years of high school math, would have taught us every math term worth knowing.  Perhaps I was daydreaming the day it was mentioned. 

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, "World Metrology Day" recognizes the signing of the Metre Convention.  Just in case that leaves you wanting to know a little more, the Metre Convention was signed on May 20, 1875 by 17 nations (you can Google the whole list) in Paris. It is an international treaty establishing a unified global system of measurements (the metric system).  It also created the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM).  

As it happens, the United States of America was one of the signers of this treaty.  I find this interesting because the metric system (while in use here in the USA to a certain extent) has certainly not replaced gallons, quarts, pints, cups, yards, feet, miles, etc. in our everyday lives.  Maybe it will catch on in another 151 years or so.

adding a little spice...

 Or is it? A spice that is.  My west coast brother informed me that today is "National Garlic Day."  I do like garlic, a quick and easy add on to supper at our house is often bread toasted, buttered and sprinkled with garlic salt.

As I write this, my wonder spouse is on his way to do some quick hardware shopping and then bring home supper from our favorite pizza place.  We won't have garlic toast with soft crust pizza.  That seems a little redundant.  But I'm guessing that there will be garlic in the pizza sauce and possibly in the salad dressing.

All this thinking about food got me wondering what exactly is garlic? Oh, I know it can be purchased as a bulb which can be broken apart into cloves, which, by the way can be planted to grow more garlic.  Or the cloves can be chopped up and use to season all kinds of sauces.  Or you can buy garlic powder and save yourself a lot of chopping.  

Garlic is botanically classified as a vegetable.  It's a member of the onion family.  Now there's a family reunion that could be a little overwhelming.  That answered my question about what garlic is, it's a vegetable.  However, garlic is commonly treated as an herb or spice.  So there you are.  Call it an herb, spice or vegetable.  It doesn't matter. Just be sure to remember to add it to your next homemade spaghetti sauce. 

so much fun...

 My spouse and I went to a different kind of movie this evening.  It was a showing of the Buster Keaton movie "Our Hospitality."  Mark Sherman, a renowned theater organist, did an amazing job of providing the music that made this 'silent movie' come alive.  

The movie was filmed in 1923 (one hundred and three years ago) and I was awed by the cinematography.  Buster Keaton did all of his own stunts.  You need to see the movie to appreciate what that meant.  He must have been absolutely fearless.  His leading lady, whose name wasn't mentioned in the credits, also deserves some accolades.  Her waterfall scene and the boat scene could not have been easy, especially in a long 1800s style dress.  

From the waterfall scenes to the rediculous train ride to the dressed up horse and on and on the movie was a joy to watch.  No Disney type animation or AI here.  It was all done with real live people with very expressive faces and eyes.  You need to see the prayer scene at the dinner table, so much eye rolling!  The story line was about a feud between two families (loosely based on the Hatfields and McCoys with the names changed just a little to protect the not so innocent) and of course there was the inevitable love complication.

The show was presented on the stage at First Presbyterian Theater with a theater organ brought in for the event.  There is one more showing tomorrow afternoon at 2:00pm.  Tickets are $11 each.  I highly recommend it.

Ouch...

 According to my west coast brother today is "Bat Appreciation Day." I'm pretty sure this refers to the bats that fly around at nightfall eating their body weight in insects.  Three bat related incidents in my past come to mind, so of course I feel compelled to share them. 

First, when I was about eight years old, my other brother (not the west coast one) smacked me on the knee with his little, but still wooden and very hard, baseball bat.  He said there had been a bee on my knee that he was trying to kill.  There was no bee remnent on my knee so I've always been a little sceptical about that story.

My second bat experience involved a trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, near the city of Truth or Consequences.  Carlsbad Caverns are absolutely amazing and I highly recommend a visit if you've never been there.  In addition to the amazing, naturally colored stalactites and stalagmites that dazzle in the massive caverns there is the nightly bat show.  Every evening at sundown a large swarm of bats comes flying out of the main entrance to the caves.  It is quite a sight to behold. 

Finally my Australian bat experience.  Sydney, Australia is home to large fruit eating mega bats called Grey Headed Flying Foxes.  Picture a bat the size of a falcon.  That may be an exaggeration but not by much. One night during our stay in Sydney my girlfriend and I were awakened at 3:00am by horrible loud screeching sounds.  We looked out our third floor hotel room window to see huge bats hanging upside down from every branch of the tree right beside our window.  

I know that bats are very useful creatures who eat lots and lots of insects and I do appreciate them for that, but after the Sydney incident I find that I appreciate them much more from a distance.

the meeting will come to order

 My wonder spouse and I went to our Neighborhood Association meeting this evening.  He went because he is on the board and had financial information to share.  I went because it was held at the local library and I had time, before the meeting started, to check out some library books. 

I had attended another such meeting about six months ago and, based on that experience, wasn't expecting anything very exciting.  At the last meeting one other person and I were the only non-board members present and the whole meeting lasted about twenty-five minutes.

This evening was a very different story.  The president of the association had done a good job of getting the word out and there were 25 people there, which meant there were lots of good questions.  

They ranged from people running businesses from their homes (against the covenants), barking dogs, campers and boats parked for long periods of time in peoples driveways, ice and snow removal last winter (or the lack thereof) drainage problems with all the recent rain, and more.  The president did a nice job of explaining what she could, promising to research some questions and asking people to email her with more details.  My spouse did a fine job of presenting budget info and answering finance related questions.  I think people came away with some appreciation of how their $52 a year dues are being used. 

There were also some good suggestions from the attendees.  I particularly liked the idea of painting the curbs yellow along some of the streets allowing parking only on one side and keeping people from parking too close to intersections.  My spouse has lived here for most of the last 50 years, but this has been my neighborhood for only two years.  I came away very impressed with the things that are going on.  I hope others there felt the same way.

PS I did not volunteer to participate on the board in a position.  I am still an appreciator, not a participator.

stay afloat,,,

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "Titanic Rememberance Day" and, of course, it's also Tax Day.  My brother suspects that this isn't a coincidence and I think I must agree.  Many people do get that sinking feeling around tax time.  Lucky for me my wonder spouse got ours filed months ago and we have already received out rebates.  And also lucky for me, I think, is the fact that I have never watched the movie "Titanic."

But thinking about the Titanic reminded me of a conversation I had last week with a member of my granddaughter-in-law's family.  We're still in the 'getting to know you' stage with the other side of my grandson's family which is being fun because they are very nice people.  During our lunch together last Sunday (after the baptism) my spouse and I were asked about our upcoming cruise.  We happily explained the stops we will be making and the route the ship will sail, only to be told by one person that she could never take an ocean cruise because there's just too much water out there.  She's right of course, there is a lot of water out there, but I think that's what makes it exciting.  On our last trip we saw whales, penguins and icebergs out in that vast expanse of ocean.  Don't worry, the icebergs were not large enough to sink our ship.  

I suggested to the person that she might like to start with a river cruise where you can see the riverbanks on both sides of the ship but she thought that would still be too much water.  Interestingly I realized, as she talked more about her fears, that I have never been afraid that the ship might sink.  I always do pay close attention to the drills and safety talks and I know where my life jacket is, but mostly my spouse and I just happily drift along in our elegant floating hotel, eating great food and enjoying every shore excursion along the way.  Can you tell I'm anxious for our next trip?  We leave in 37 days.

Please pass the seaweed...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "International Laverbread Day."  Now you may know what laverbread is, especially if you are from Wales or  have travelled there.  I did not, so I had to look it up.

I have been to Wales. The tour group that I was with stayed in a very interesting old castle there but we were not offered laverbread.  I'm sure I would have tried it and I'm sure I would remember it.  I think I would have liked it but I will probably never know. Since I don't have access to laver seaweed I will not be cooking this delicacy.  Although now that I think about it, I can probably order it from Amazon.  If that's the case I will have to think of another reason not to cook it.  The fact that it takes more than ten hours to cook is actually reason enough because I know that if I suggested to my wonder spouse, who does almost all our cooking, that we spend ten hours whipping up something made from seaweed he would certainly wonder about me.

Laverbread is a traditional Welsh delicacy made from boiled (for more than ten hours) and mashed laver seaweed (which grows off the coast of Wales) creating a dark blackish green savory paste often called "Welsh Caviar." It's a nutrition rich super-food, historically eaten by miners for its health benefits.  It's commonly served as part of a traditional Welsh breakfast, rolled in oatmeal and fried into patties (laverbread cakes) with bacon and cockles or simply spread on toast.

As it happens, my spouse is very fond of oatmeal and crispy bacon and he likes toast.  Maybe, if I tell him that all these elements can be found in a traditiona laverbread breakfast he would give it a try. Although, since the man won't even eat fish, I am not too hopeful. On the other hand it is believed that it was first introduced as a survival food by the Vikings.  We will be going on a Viking cruise next month.  Will they serve laverbread? It's doubtful.  If they do will my wonder spouse give it a try?  What do you think?

Nooo, not again...

 At last my husband and I have finished our most recent jigsaw puzzle project and this one really was a project - 2000 pieces.  Never to be dissassembled.  We have put a backing on it and will frame it and hang it on the wall in our puzzle corner in the basement rec room.  I have named this one Never Again! although my wonder spouse (sometimes I do wonder about him) has said he would be happy to tackle another two thousand piecer.  

Here's what the puzzle looks like.  It's detritus on the ocean floor.  If you look closely you will see that there is a message rolled up inside the bottle which is firmly corked.  So pretty when it was finally finished.  It's lucky we both really like to do jigsaw puzzles. It keeps us off the streets during retirement, between trips.  

presenting MJ

 Today was a big day in our family.  The newest addition to our family, little MJ, was baptized.  He was baptized in the church where his mother's family has gone for five generations.  His other great-grandma was in attendance as well as several family members from both sides of the family.  Obviously Wonder Great Grandpa and I were there.  MJ is about five weeks old now.  

He was very well behaved during the baptism until a strange man dripped some water on his head, but he didn't fuss too much. 

We all went to Olive Garden for lunch.  That's when he finally opened his eyes and smiled at me.  

This is right after the church service.  It was an exhausting experience.  Having to look adorable at all times is tough work but, obviously, he was up to the task.

simply amazing....

 This evening was another night at the Philharmonic; another great concert (at least half of it was). 

The first piece this evening was Schwantner's Concerto for Percussion.  Lisa Pegher was the percussionist soloist and she was amazing, awesome, unbelievable, a joy to hear and to watch.  One review described her as "more than just a drummer - an alchemist of time, sound, and space, crafting viseral landscapes that penetrate the ears and mind."  This is so true.  If you ever have the opportunity to see her you must do so.  Listening to her music would be ok but this is a performance that really must be seen and heard to be truly appreciated.  

On the other hand, the second half of the evening was a performance of Edward Elgar's Symphony No, 2 in E-flat Major, Op.63.  Flat pretty well describes it (at least that was my untrained reaction). It consisted of three tedious movements followed by the fourth movement "Moderato e maestoso" which was moderately good.  

Next month Beethoven.  I can't wait!

Splash down!!!

Nine days ago I watched Artemis blast off.  This evening I watched it's capsule Intregrity safely splash down into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.  All four astronauts returned safely and all is well.

While I appreciate that this flight did go out and around the moon at a greater distance than any prior space flights, I can't help feeling a bit of deja vu.  I think that many people of my generation may feel the same. In 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  From 1981 to 2011the Space Shuttle orbited and landed on dry land; the first reusable space craft.  

I remember being so pleased with the Space Shuttle, knowing that astronauts would no longer have to bob around in the water in their capsules wating to be picked up. There were some close calls with that system.  Yet here I am this evening watching as the Artemis crew is picked up out of Integrity, as it bobs in the water, by helicopter then transferred to a Navy ship.  

I am glad that everything went well and they are safely home, but that water landing felt like a giant step backwards.

ASMR???

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "International Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response Day" also known as ASMR Day.  Naturally I had to look that one up. 

ASMR is a relaxing tingling sensation triggered by soft sounds, whispering or gentle, repetative movements.  It relieves stress, anxity and insomnia.  If you massage your scalp until it tingles that is evidently a good thing. So I am going to get into bed right now and gently massage my scalp until it tingles.  Doesn't that sound nice?  Feel free to try it. I think that maybe this is a day we all should celebrate. Sweet dreams.

more about the birds...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "Draw a Picture of a Bird Day."  That sounds like fun and I would draw a picture or several pictures of birds if they would just hold still. 

As I've said before, my spouse and I spend time every morning watching birds while we have our breakfast and linger over coffee.  Being retired, we have lingering down to a science. Ocassionally I will take a picture of an interesting bird with my phone but mostly I'm satisfied to just watch them. 

But thinking about drawing birds makes me think of John James Audubon (1785-1851), the ultimate drawer of birds.  I knew that he drew lots of pictures of birds, but I did not know, until I looked him up, that his bird drawings were contained in "a monumental four-volume collection of life size prints of North American birds."  The volumes contain 435 handcolored plates plus a separate five-volume biographical text.  Wow, that is a lot of big heavy books.  I'm sure they are fascinating and I will spend some time looking as his drawings on line. 

But meanwhile my wonder spouse and I will content ourselves with referring to our little one-volume paperback guide to the birds of Indiana whenever a mystery bird shows up at our feeders. 

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.