Mystery solved...

 Not the poster mystery, I'm still waiting for input on that but we have solved another much smaller mystery. 

First you should know that we have finished another jigsaw puzzle. Here it is.

Fifteen hundred (1500) pieces, and as you can see, lots of picky little details.  It was a challenge, I can assure you.  But you know, it keeps us off the streets and out of trouble.  Our grandchildren don't have to worry about what we're up to.  

However we did face one mystery as we completed this puzzle.  There was one piece missing, a bright red and blue piece that should have been easy to spot.  Now we know that puzzle pieces have a tricky habit of falling off the table and on to the floor after we turn off the lights and go to bed, so we have learned to search the floor around our work space frequently to gather up the fallen pieces.  We have never lost one yet, until yesterday.  The puzzle was completely finished, the floor had been thoroughly searched, still one piece missing.  While we were searching my wonder spouse put his hand in the pocket of the old sweater he wears sometimes while we're in the basement, because it can feel chilly down there, and there, in his pocket was the missing piece.  He assures me that he did not put it there and I believe him.  

Now we have learned that we must search pockets as well as the floor for the most tricky puzzle pieces.  

Fear not, this will not stop us from starting another puzzle.  But maybe just a thousand pieces next time?

a 100 year old document

 My mother was born in 1910.  She told me that when she was young (I'm guessing somewhere around 1925 - 1930) she had a Japanese pen pal.  A few months ago I was going through some old things I had stashed away and came across some items that my mom had saved that were evidently from her pen pal.  

Among other things was this poster (for want of a better word) and I've been curious to learn what it represented ever since the first time  I unfolded it. It had been folded and stored in an 8.5 x 11 manilla envelope for all these years.  

It is about four feet long and three feet wide.  Today I finally had a chance to sit down with the minister of the Korean congregation at our church to see what he could tell me about it.  The first thing he told me was that it is not Japanese.  The people pictured are dressed in Chinese style clothing. 

Interestingly, my Korean pastor can read some Chinese.  He and some of his congregation members figured out that it is a poster aimed at converting people to Christianity.  Part of the message printed along the borders says "Read the New Testament."  He used a translation app to read some of the small print.  If you look at the picture you will see that the gentleman on the right is holding a stack of small Bibles (New Testaments?) and giving one to the family. 

My best guess is that this was hung in a church but maybe it was hung in anothe public building where lots of people would see it. If anyone out there knows anything about this or similar posters you can scroll down to the comment button at the bottom of this blog and leave the information.  Suggestions on where I could do further research would also be appreciated.

in the news...

 My west coast brother lives near Spokane,Washington.  If you've been paying attention to the national news you are aware of the wild fires that have been burning in and around Spokane for the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully, my brother and his family are in a rural area that is not threatened right now.  They are however dealing with a lot of smoke.  He tells me that masks left over from the days of Covid are coming in handy.  

 The good news is they have arrested the pyromaniac.  He has admitted to starting 25 fires in the last couple of years.  He is in jail with bail set at $1,000,000.  Again, according to my brother. 

I am writing about this because I just don't understand what would compel someone to start fires.  

When I was a girl livimg with my family on our little five acre farm the farmer who lived across the road accidentally set fire to the tall grass growing along the side of the road.  It had been a very dry summer and the fire burned brightly, but just for a while.  The volunteer firemen arrived before it got very far into the field on the neighbor's side of the road.  The fire was put out, no damage done except a scorched area along the road.

That's as close as I ever want to come to a fire.  Please keep the people of Spokane in your prayers.

more memorable bliss...

 

This evening was another great family time, this time with my daughter and son-in-law, grandson and granddaughter-in-law and, the undisputed star of the show, my great grandson who was five months old yesterday.  

We feasted on steaks, grilled to perfection by my wonder spouse, with tater tots perfectly cooked with the hot air fryer feature of our new microwave, salads and, as the grand finale, made-from-scratch brownies made by my granddaughter-in-law wno happens to be an excellent baker.  

Before the evening ended we took a four generation picture to go with one we already had.

This picture was taken in 2001.  It is a four generation picture.  From left to right my father, me holding my grandson, and his mom, my daughter.

Fast forward 25 years. From left to right me (the great grandparent this time around) my daughter holding her grandson and her son.

You should have figured out that the little baby in the top picture is the bearded daddy in the bottom picture.  

Isn't it fun, seeing the generations grow and thrive?

refreshing.....

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "National Root Beer Float Day."  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to indulge in a root beer float today, but just thinking about them brought back lots of sweet memories. 

 Do you remember A&W root beer and the stands where you could buy it?  A&W was our favorite (also the only root beer stand in the small town where I grew up). Sometimes we had our root beer with vanilla ice cream (a float) and sometimes we enjoyed our root beer straight and served in a heavy glass frosty mug.  Never with ice, that would dilute the flavor. 

When my first husband and I went traveling around the United States in our trusty VW bus, accompanied by our two children, coming upon a root beer stand was an automatic excuse for a stop.  

When they were very young, we bought two miniature mugs for the kids.  They loved those little mugs and drank everything from them; root beer of course, but also milk, fruit juice, even water.  

Not surprisingly, the more I think about root beer floats the more I want one.  Sadly, it's too late tonight, but there's always tomorrow.

I just did quick check and I may have to change brands.  It's not nice to drink alone and my wonder spouse can't drink anything made with corn syrup.  Happily IBC root beer is made with cane sugar, and our local Kroger's carries it in 4 packs and 6 packs.  

Even better, I need to go shopping tomorrow. 

pure bliss...

 The only thing better than a day at the lake is a day at the lake with several of your dearest family members.  Add to that delicious snacks, dinner at a good restaurant, a boat ride for the adventurous, and hours of laughter, good conversation and catching up on all things family, all brought together by the "hostess with the mostest" and you have the recipe for a perfect lake day.

And, speaking of recipes, the lime and lemon ice cream pies stacked four inches high with their delicious fillings, made by our hostess, were the perfect end to the day.  

Our youngest granddaughter was nine on Sunday so we celebrated her birthday a few days late with gifts and a game of her choice.  Because she is very fond of wolves the game involved granting each of us a 'wolf name.'  Her grandpa, my wonder spouse was named Pepper Dark Moon Wolf (approriate with his salt and pepper hair) and I am now Luna Wolfgang Wolf.  

It was a perfect day at the lake.

Notice the college flags flying.  There were many Purdue people there today.  All in all a fine fun day at Wawasee.

steaming hot...

 Don't you love playing with a new toy?  As an adult, playing with a new appliance is just as good. 

Yesterday our new microwave was installed.  You may recall, from an earlier blog, that our cleaning lady burnt a hole in the door of our  microwave by accidentally turning it on when there was nothing in it.  The lesson learned there was never, never run your microwave with nothing in it.  It wasn't her fault.  By design, that microwave was made to start with a touch of one of the number buttons.  She turned it on by wiping a cloth over it to clean it.  Never again.

We did try merely replacing the door of that microwave, only to learn, through a series of frustrating exchanges with the manufacturer, that new microwave doors arrive broken three times out of three tries.  

 Enough of that.  With my approval my wonder spouse started searching for a safer, more user friendly microwave. He is the expert on online shopping.  Did you know that Amazon delivers microwaves? They don't install but they do deliver. 

 He found what we wanted in a Kitchen Aid unit that is a microwave/ convection oven/ hot air fryer.  But better than that it has very easy instructions, clearly marked buttons, and clearly marked steps to make it do what you want it to do.  It will not turn on with the accidental touch of one button.  This evening we put it to the test by steaming (did I mention that it has a steamer feature?) corn on the cob, following the directions printed on the front of the microwave. The directions were easy to follow and the result was absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked corn on the cob with no boiling water and no mess.

This is it, our marvelous new appliance.  I'm looking forward to steaming lots of other vegetables - asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower??  My wonder spouse is not as enthusiastic about these veggies as I am.  Perhaps if I pour enough melted cheese over them.  

arts and crafts

 On Monday afternoons I meet with some church friends at a group gathering we call FFF (Faith, Fibers and Friendship).  We each bring a fiber project to work on and talk while we work.  What I particularly like about this group is that everyone is kind.  There is no cattiness or malicious gossip.  

We also don't spend much time on our phones although we do share pictures of grand and great grandchildren, and sometimes even adorable pets.

All of the ladies in this group, except me, either knit or crochet and they create beautiful pieces - shawls, sweaters, socks, blankets, etc in glorious colors and lacy patterns. 

Sadly, I cannot knit or crochet.  I have tried but my fingers just don't want to work that way, or perhaps I don't have the patience.  So I weave, and after I have taken a long strip of fabric off my New Zealand lap loom, I stitch designs on it.  Happily, my FFF friends are very encouraging and like what I do. 

This is my current project.  It is pictorial representations of the trips my wonder spouse and I have gone on since we first got together.  The three finished triangular panels represent trips to Michigan, the Caribbean, and Key West.  Still to come - Canada, South America, Egypt and Japan & Alaska.  When those are finished I will have two spaces left. So obviously we need to go somewhere else.  Although a friend who knows us well suggested that the final panel could show my spouse and me working on a jigsaw puzzle. 

My wonder spouse refers to this as our own personal Bayeux Tapestry.  Happily, though, no battles are involved. Also it is only seven feet long not 70 meters. 

a fine feast...

 Neither my spouse nor I are gardeners.  We do have some landscaping around the house which we try to keep looking nice with professional help, but you will never see us planting, nurturing or harvesting lettuce, carrots, beans or anything else from our own backyard garden.  We are growing a rather nice patch of bird seed sprouts right now, but that's a different story.

Just because we aren't gardeners doesn't mean that we don't eat vegetables and fruit.  I mentioned my wonder spouse's shopping spree in another recent blog.  Our fridge is full of his farmer's market harvest. 

We are though sometimes rather single minded in our meal planning.  We don't feel the need to have vegetables, meat and salad at every meal.  This evening, for example, we indulged in one of our favorite single item suppers - green beans.  

We washed and snapped a huge bunch of green beans, enough for two meals, put them in a pot of water with chopped onions and cooked them until they were nicely tender but not soggy.  No one likes soggy green beans.  Once cooked we each took a heaping helping, added butter and real bacon bits and feasted.  That was our supper - just delicious green beans. 

That was our supper, but we did also have dessert.  Coffee cake from the Amish bakery needs to be eaten while it's fresh.  It is delicious, especially with a little butter.  I'm not sure if butter is considered good for you these days, but it certainly makes things taste good so I shall continue to use it on toast and veggies and, of course, coffee cake.  In case you're concerned about the health risks of coffee cake here's a picture of the label.

If you notice, every ingredient on the lable is natural and recognizable so I think it's good for us (in moderation of course).  If you'll excuse me now, I believe it's time for our bedtime snack.

What's in a name?

 A while back my west coast brother accused me of being a paronomasiac, in other words a person who enjoys puns or word play.  I think he must be right because not long after that I heard someone ask the question "Why are pants called pants?" and I've been pondering that question ever since.  Why not pant?  It is after all a single garment.  And it's not just pants, there are trousers, slacks, shorts, culottes, capris, and even jeans - all ending in 's'.  

Because it has two legs? Generally speaking all of our upper body wear (unless it's a poncho or cape) has two sleeves or at least two arm holes and yet we don't speak of blouses or shirts when we mean only one of such an item. 

Obviously I decided that this needed some research and here's what I discovered.

The History of 'Pants'

The word's origins are rooted in comedy

In US English, the word pants isn't a particularly funny one. It's the most common term for that very common piece of clothing that covers the body from the waist to the ankle (give or take), with a separate part for each leg.

But the word pants is rooted in comedy.

Image of Pantalone. The word 'pants' comes to us from an Anglicization of the character's name, "Pantaloon."

The word comes from the name of a stock figure in the commedia dell’arte, a form of Italian comic theater popular throughout Europe from about the 16th to the mid-18th century. Pantalone, as he was called, was a greedy, lecherous, scheming old man who often ended up being duped and humiliated. His costume consisted of a soft brimless hat; a pleated black cassock (typically worn open); slippers; and a vest, breeches, and stockings that were conspicuously red and tight-fitting. In later representations of the character, the breeches and stockings were replaced by long trousers.

When trousers of a similar style became popular during the Restoration in England, they became known as pantaloons, Pantaloon being an Anglicization of Pantalone. Fashions changed over the years, but pantaloons continued to be the word used to refer to various types of trousers. Americans clipped the term to pants in the early 19th century, and that shorter word became a standard term for the garment, serving also as the basis for new formations denoting new garments, such as underpants and panties.

Harmless enough to our ears, the shortened form pants alone was considered vulgar by some language commentators for quite some time, including Ambrose Bierce, who wrote the following in his 1909 book Write It Right about pants for trousers: "Abbreviated from pantaloons, which are no longer worn. Vulgar exceedingly."

We don't know that the "vulgar exceedingly" characterization had anything to do with another use of pants or not, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pants appeared in an insulting assertion about a person's name: to say that someone's name was pants meant to say that you didn't like or trust that person, much like in the still-used expression "your name is mud."

And in the 20th century, the word began to appear in the phrase "with one's pants down," meaning "in an embarrassing position (as of being unprepared to act)."

Pants by itself has of course continued in US English to refer to trousers, but in British English, pants is used most often to refer to what Americans call underpants—which, makes the word a good bit funnier across the pond, at least for 8-year-olds and anyone who shares their sense of humor.

And the British have taken the humor to another level: since the 1990s, British English speakers have also used pants informally to mean "nonsense," as in "It's ridiculous; the whole thing is pants" or "The whole thing is a pile of pants."

Clearly there's too much history about the word pants for anyone to declare it itself pants.

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This is all very interesting but it still doesn't answer the question why pants plural?  Why pantaloons for that matter? The Italian word has no 's' at the end.  But that's enough pondering for now.  I guess I'll just skirt the issue.

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shopping spree..

 As a general rule, when you send a husband grocery shopping you never know what might jump into his cart or follow him home. Or so I've been told by various friends and relatives. 

Interestingly though, my wonder spouse does most of the grocery shopping in our household.  He has it down to a science, with a shopping list he creates on his phone.  No casually roaming the aisles with a paper list (my style) his phone list includes brand names and aisle and section numbers.  No wasted steps, no backtracking, his engineering spirit is obvious.  

But sometimes he gets to go a little wild.  Today was one of those days.  I had commitments this morning (a manicure and a visit with an elderly cousin) so he went by himself to our favorite farmers' market, Schmuckers, where things are not nearly as well organized as at Krogers but so much more fun to discover.

A few hours later (it's a long drive, especially with road construction detours) he came home laden with fresh scrumptiousness.  Michigan cherries, Indiana tomatoes, cheese curds, colby jack cheese, corn on the cob, green beans and one large onion will keep us eating well for days to come. 

Oh yes, he did swing by the nearby Taste of Tradition Bakery to pick up apple bread and coffee cake.  

If I look like I've gained a few pounds the next time you see me, I'm sure you'll understand.  

By the way, if you look back at the blog I wrote a few days ago about the new food pyramid, you will see that this week we are eating all the right stuff.  Well, except for the coffee cake, but nobody's perfect.

Hooray for books...

 Again with thanks to my west coast brother.  Today is "National Paperback Book Day," definitely a day worth celebrating.  Over the years I have dscovered many of my favorite authors via paperback books. John D. McDonald, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Lilian Jackson Braun and Nevile Shute come to mind.  

During the year that I taught in upstate New York I didn't have a television, but there was a paperback book store only a few blocks from my apartment. It was conveniently located next door to the laundromat.  Pretty clever, I think.

What I like most about paperback books is their portability.  I can easily fit one or two in my small carry-on bag when I travel.  

I know what you're thinking.  "For goodness sake Luci come into the 21st century.  You can listen to books on your I Pod or any similar gadget.  You can even check out audio books from the library to listen to on the go. If you want to hold something in your hand you can read from your tablet.  You don't need old fashioned books with paper pages."

I know all that is true.  There are many, many options out there.  And yet, I can't help remembering the time that my spouse and I were on a cruise and the book I had brought along to read in my spare time (there is a little spare time) which I had carefully downloaded on my tablet from my local library, refused to be read in proper order.  It would start in the middle when I opened it or worse at the end, never at the page where I had stopped.  Eventually I did finish that book but not until I was back in Fort Wayne and could borrow a paper copy from tne library.

So I will continue to carry paperback books with me when I travel. No travel plans right now but I have no doubt that something will be coming up.

Here kitty, kitty...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "International Tiger Day."  I'm not really familiar with tigers, having seen them at a distance in zoos, but I do think they are beautiful big cats. 

But, closer to home, we have a tiger striped cat who prowls our cul-de-sac most days.  She has a collar and looks well fed so I presume she has a happy home nearby.  

I think, though, that she has delusions of tigerness.  She would like to be padding softly through the jungle or across the veldt sneaking up on an unsuspecting gazelle (or some kind of animal), pouncing and making the kill.

While this may be her dream, her reality is lurking under or near our bird feeders, waiting for some unwary bird to fly near her.  They never do.  

 The antics remind me of a book I used to read to my children about the little blue bird who comes walking along, walking along.  When the following cat gets too close (just when my children would get worried) the blue bird would fly away.  And so it goes in the real life of our back yard.

going shopping...

 Between us, my wonder spouse and I have 10 grandchildren ranging in ages from eight to 27.  Almost all of them are of an age where money is a cheerfully given and gratefully accepted birthday gift.  

However, being pretty sure that our soon-to-be nine year old granddaughter would really like to have some physical presents to open, and knowing that she is quite artistic, my spouse and I took ourselves to the United Arts and Education store today.

This store is a fantasy land of all kinds of art materials, educational aids, games, puzzles and so much more.  

After an absolutely delightful hour of exploring every aisle we came away with several gifts, an interesting variety, that we hope will delight her.  A couple of them might even get her big brothers involved. 

True confession, while we were there we also bought a new jigsaw puzzle for ourselves and I bought myself a nice fat new sketch pad, because being retired gives one time to play and be creative. Hooray!

the perfect food???

 According to the latest food pyramid, a healthy diet should consist of vegetables, meat, fruit, dairy products and bread.  Just coincidentally the pizzas my spouse and I finished off for supper this evening, after having some for supper last night and lunch today, contained all of these elements except fruit, although technically tomato is a fruit.  My spouse likes Hawaiian pizza so his absolutely has fruit.

 

So, does this make pizza the perfect food?  When you consider that it's delicious eaten at home or at your favorite pizza place (we like B'Antonio's), it's reheatable but also fine eaten cold, and seems to keep for a long time in or out of the fridge, I think the answer is obvious. 

Is it a coincidence that the new food pyramid is shaped like a slice of pizza?  I think not.

about those relatives...

 Today, according to my Page-a-Day Maxine calendar, is Parents' Day.

It is also, according to my west coast brother, "Aunt and Uncle's Day" and "Savvy Auntie's Day."  In my life time I have been blessed with wonderful parents, a loving parent-in-law, a loving step-parent, four fine uncles, four wonderful aunts, two loving grandpas and one honorary grandma.  She was a good friend's grandma, but she lived next door to us and we called her grandma.

Now it's my turn.  I am, by age, the matriarch of my family.  I think I was a good mom, my children have turned out just fine, and my adult grandchildren, who are also doing well, love me.  I have also tried to be a good aunt to my three nieces and three nephews and their spouses and children. 

I'm not sure if they consider me savvy (probably not) but I think they know that I love them all.  

Yummy...

 I hope you ate well today.  According to my west coast brother today is "National Hot Fudge Sundae Day" and "National Wine and Cheese Day."  You're bound to find something you like somewhere in those choices.  

My wonder spouse and I managed to find something to our liking.  This evening we went to dinner with my son and his family.  We were celebrating two birthdays and a new job, so lots to be happy about.

My daughter-in-law, one of the birthday people, selected Red Robin as the site for dinner since she had a coupon for a free 'birthday burger.'  The reason and the destination both sounded good to my spouse and me, and so we went to Red Robin for the first time in at least three years.  I used to go there fairly often with my son and his family but the granddaughters have grown up and their tastes have expanded.  Dinner there today brought back some sweet memories.

I had water instead of wine, but I did have a generous amount of cheese on my bacon cheese burger.  It was served just the way I like it with cheese and bacon of course and sliced tomato and mayo.  No lettuce.  I am not a fan of lettuce.  Happily it came prepared exactly as I had ordered it.  This does not always happen in restaurants.  

I am glad to be able to report that the Red Robin onion rings and sweet potato fries are just as delicious as I remembered.  

Sadly, after eating our fill of burgers, fries and onion rings, my spouse and I decided that we had no room for hot fudge sundaes.  That treat will have to wait for another day.  Happily tomorrow is another day.  

Eureka!!

 The new system works and we have water flowing to all of our flowering plants at the front of the house.  Around the other three sides of the house we have bushes, lilys, hostas and similar plants that have been coming up and thriving (or at least surviving) for years.  They do not need a special watering system.  

But now we have a watering system on the front side of the house that my wonder spouse assembled with a little help from me.  He designed, organized and installed the whole thing, following diagrams and directions, and putting all the little pieces together.  My help was of the 'standing by to hold things or hand him things' variety. 

Here you can see one of the larger hoses and the little ones that run off from it to the individual plants.  If you look closely you can see the aqua top of the water spike in the pink plant and the red top of the water spike in the lily. 

Each plant has a small hose running directly to and attached to a little hollow spike which is inserted near the roots of the plant and carries the  water to the roots.  The whole system is on a timer which is scheduled to turn the water on for an hour beginning at 6:00am.  Tomorrow morning will be the first test of this part of the system.  Sometime in the next few days I will cover the exposed hoses with mulch and sometime in August I will post a picture of our flourishng flower beds.  If you do not see a picture sometime in August you can assume the worst, but I have high hopes.

A simple system..

 When the landscaper finished her work yesterday she recommended a "simple" above ground irrigation system, with all black hoses so it's practically invisible, that we could install ourselves. All for under $100. It could be set up to come on with a timer every evening. This sounded great so my spouse ordered the product from Amazon.  It was delivered this morning.  As advertised, the kit contained miles (I may exaggerate a little) of quarter inch and half inch black hoses, attachments to allow lots of different installation arrangements and nifty suggestions with diagrams, lots and lots of diagrams. 

As you might expect, it wasn't quite as easy to install as advertised, so we didn't finish the job in a day.  Happily, I do know how to water plants the 'old-fashioned' way with an ordinary garden hose.  Hopefully the plants will still be alive tomorrow and by tomorrow evening the new system really should be installed.

Stay tuned...

a face lift..

 No, not for me.  I'm well beyond the age where a face lift would do any good.  If I could figure out a way to get a full body lift I might consider it.  But this isn't about me. 

Way back before my spouse and I went on our cruise in May, we had contracted with Flower Princess Plant and Lawn Care, a local landscaping company to do new landscaping all around our house.  The agreement was that the work wouldn't be started until we were back from vacation so we would be here to water the plants.  

Two days ago the 'princess' (it's a one woman company) started work on our lawn.  She finished today.  I wish I had thought to take some before pictures but I didn't. However I did take pictures today. 

You can't really tell from the pictures but she trimmed all the bushes, cleared out and put fresh dark brown mulch under all the trees and all around the house and planted several new flowering plants in the front flower beds. 

Here's the front view.  Note the neatly trimmed bushes and the mulch around the light post and across the front of the house.

A closer view of the (soon to be) flowering plants.

Doesn't this look spiffy?  A face lift indeed. Tomorrow my wonder spouse and I will install an inexpensive watering system that the princess recommended.  Every morning the automatic timer will tell it to gently water the plants.  I will let you know how this works after we give it a trial run.

Feeling sheepish???

 My west coast brother and my excellent sister-in-law raise sheep and goats on their hillside farm out west.  I think it's because of their lifestyle that he suggested I read two books about sheep.

A recent movie "The Sheep Detectives" is based on these two books. I will, I think, try to see the movie sometime after I finish the books.  

The books "Three Bags Full" and "Big Bad Wool" were written by a German author Leoni Swann and translated into English by Amy Bojang.  The first one takes place in Ireland.  I have always enjoyed reading 'cozy mysteries' and you can't get much cozier than cuddling up with fluffly fictional sheep.  Real life sheep can tend to be smelly and sometimes nasty, but we're talking fiction here.

Having sheep dectectives try to solve a murder (with a few people here and there along the way) is a fun twist on traditional murder mysteries. They have unusual skills, like a keen sense of smell, to help them in their detecting. All of the sheep have names of course.  My favorite is Miss Maple, a wise old sheep who figures things out.  Shades of Miss Marple?

If you're looking for a uniquely entertaining read, I recomment these books.  

Trying something new...

 I do not like to talk about my physical ailments in this blog.  I actually have very few to talk about anyway.  However today I experienced a new treatment for my knee pain that I want to share.

I noticed on our most recent vacation that after moderatly long walks my knees, especially my right knee would be hurting.  Not excruciating you understand, but enough to be bothersome.  Because I don't want the pain to get worse I tried a new treatment (new to me anyway) called Softwave.

I had my first treatment today and was surprised at how it worked.  I had expected the treatment to be pain free but it wasn't.  However my knees felt really good when it was over.  I will be going back for a series of eight treatments which should keep my knees pain free for a long time to come.   This brochure explains the process better than I can.  

The company doing this in Fort Wayne is "Integrative Health." You can get more information by Googling 'Integrative Health Fort Wayne.'  Happy hiking everyone.

Follow up...

We won!!  We Won!! I am happy to report that the soccer game we attended last night was every bit as exciting as the one we watched on TV today and the outcome was more satisfying because Fort Wayne won with a score of 3-0.  The new soccer stadium was everything a soccer stadium should be.  There was even a 'pep squad.'  At least that's what we called them when I was in highschool.  Of course back then it was the basketball players we were cheering, but last night's chant of "We want another one, just like the other one." sounded very, very familiar.  Very enjoyable indeed.  

This afternoon my wonder spouse (who is responsible for getting me interested in soccer) and I watched the final match of the FIFA World Cup competition.  Spain vs Argentina.  

If you haven't heard, Spain won 1-0 with their only goal scored at the very end of the game.  Argentina was not able to score due to some really excellent saves by Spain's goalkeeper.  

I felt like I was in a win-win situation watching this game.  My favorite city in the world is Barcelona (pronounced Barthelona if you're interested) which is in Spain, so of course I was inclined to cheer for Spain.  On the other hand Lionel Messi who was playing for Argentina (a country I have visited and like) at one time played soccer for Barcelona, and he is an amazing player, well worth cheering for and so I did.  

From now on, for the next few months at least, I think our soccer watching will be focused on (FWFC) the Fort Wayne Football Club. Sometimes on TV and sometimes in person.  I'm especially looking forward to the in person games, and not just for the big salty pretzels with cheese sauce which were very good indeed. 

Getting ready...

Woops, it looks like I forgot to blog yesterday.  In my defense I have a nasty summer cold so I'm not thinking too clearly.  But on to happier things. 

My spouse and I have been watching the FIFA soccer games on TV and enjoying them very much but this evening we will be going to a real live soccer game at the newly completed soccer stadium here in Fort Wayne.  Happily the smoke that was in the air yesterday from the Canadian wild fires has drifted away and it looks like we will have clear skies for the game.  It always helps, when watching soccer, if you can actually see the ball.

This evening the FWFC (Fort Wayne Football Club) will be playing the Greenville Triumph from South Carolina.  I have a feeling that this game may not be quite as intense as a FIFA game, but we shall see.

But I'm laughing at myself this morning because getting ready for this expedition is beginning to feel like packing for one of our trips. 

First of all we have discovered that there are rules to be followed. 

1. Any bags brought in must be clear plastic.

        Not a problem, I'll wear my 'vest of many pockets' and not carry         a bag.

2.  We cannot bring seats of the type that are often used to soften sitting on bleachers. 

    However, it is ok to bring blankets.  Since the temperature will be     well over 80 degrees for the entire evening, I had not considered        bringing a blanket.  But I will now, and will fold it to create                comfortable seating for my spouse and myself.

3.  This is not their rule, but we will also be bringing insect repellent.

4.  We must remember to take our phones which contain our prepaid      parking permit. 

5.  We probably should bring along water and sunglasses although         our seats will be facing east, I'm told.

6.  The head pastor at my church, who has organized this whole event      will be waiting by the entrance to hand out our tickets for the             actual game.

I'm sure that, once we are in and seated, a good time will be had by all.  As long as the rain holds off.  They are predicting possible thunder storms this evening.  My wonder spouse says that they will play in the rain as long as there is no lightning.  Perhaps I'll wear my nifty 'rain jacket of many pockets' instead of my vest.  

A little comercial here  - my vest and rain jacket are from SCOTT and I highly recommend them for anyone who travels a lot or simply doesn't like to carry a purse. 

Look for my follow up blog tomorrow.

Snakes and other things

 First of all, and most importantly, today is my wonder spouse's birthday.  He is now my age, at least for the next five months.  I have gifted him with a fizzy water maker.  When we travel on cruises we are always asked if we want 'still' or 'sparkling' water with our meals.  I always say still and my spouse always says sparkling (aka fizzy).  I am delighted to report that the fizzy water maker works and, with all that was included in the box, he should have an abundance of sparkling water for at least two years. 

On another topic, my west coast brother has informed me that today is "World Snake Day" and "Guinea Pig Appreciation Day."  We agreed that a large snake might really appreciate a guinea pig for a snack.

Thinking about snakes reminds me of what my mother taught me long ago.  She insisted that snakes are not slimy to touch but are instead dry and leathery.  I know this is true unless the snake you encounter is a water moccasin that has just slithered out of some swampy place.  Although, realistically, if you are confronted by a water moccasin, wondering what it feels like should be the least of your concerns.  If it flashes its white gums at you, that is not a smile. They won't kill you but their bite can make you pretty miserable. 

But back to the nice snakes.  According to my mother, her grandmother, my great grandmother, kept two large Black Snakes in her dirt-floored basement.  They assured that she had no problem with mice.  I know that cats can provide the same service, and they are definitely more cuddly, but snakes don't gift their favorite human with the remains of their catch. 

But speaking of cuddly snakes, my daughter and her then boyfriend bought a snake, a small Boa Constrictor, when they were in college.  When summer came, his mother absolutely refused to have a snake in her house so Charlotte came to live with me.  She lived in a large glass terrarium and my daughter kept her fed and watered, so she was really no problem.  Ocassionally we would take her out of her big glass box to stretch her scales.  I discovered that, after she had crawled around a bit, she was very happy to curl up on my lap for a little snooze.  Who knew that snakes like to cuddle? 

SMILE!!!

Today I went to see my dentist, actually to be seen, since for most of the visit my mouth was wide open and my eyes half shut and blurry since I had taken my glasses off.  

After the technician ushered me into a room and got me settled into a big reclining chair, she asked if there was anything she could do for me.  I told her I would like to watch the soccer game.  They were not able to accomidate that wish but the appointment went rather quickly so I did get home in time to watch most of the game between England and Argentina.  England got the first goal but Argentina won.  

But back to the dental work.  I was fitted with a new mouthpiece to prevent me from grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw.  My first one fit very tightly and broke when I removed it one morning while we were on our cruise.  This one fits more comfortably and will work much better I think.  My dentist (the grandson of the dentist I started going to in1982 when we moved back to Fort Wayne) also replaced the crown I popped off three weeks ago while eating a Milk Dud.  I will avoid caramel treats from now on. All in all a very successful visit.  Now I am going to bed to "test drive" my new mouth piece.  Good night.

stirring things up...

 Once again my west coast brother comes through for me.  He has informed me that today is "Shark Awareness Day" and also "Pandemonium Day."  The two do seem to go together.  When sharks are sighted off shore in an area where people are swimming it does seem to cause some pandemonium as people scramble to get out of the water.  

My brother asked if we had seen sharks on our trip and I was able to reassure him that the only sharks we saw up close were in a huge open air aquarium.  We were able to walk down to a level where we could look eye to eye with the sharks and other sea creatures.  We admired them as they looked curiously back at us.  While they swam in circles and figure eights and other interesting patterns, it did not really feel like pandemonium.  It was much too serene for that.

We did see one interesting bit of action though.  As I mentioned the tank was open on top, allowing sunshine, and sometimes other things, to come in.  While we were admiring the sharks at the lower level, a duck dived into the water, plunged all the way to the bottom of the pool, then shot right back up and out again.  Not exactly pandemonium but definitely startling. 

If, by chance, you have been dealing with sharks today or involved in some other type of pandemonium, chidren are home for the summer after all, here's a happy thought.  Today is also "National Mac and Cheese Day."  I know from personal experience that children love this. When my grandchildren spent summer days with me a friend of theirs who lived down the road really enjoyed coming to my house for macaroni and cheese for lunch.  I'll admit it was made from a mix (thank you Kraft).  I found out later that his mom only fed him "healthy food."  I'm glad I was able to broaden his horizons. 

Breakfast anyone??

 My west coast brother has informed me that Krispy Kreme was founded in 1937.  That makes the company older than me, so of course I decided to explore a little more. Nice to know it's still around.

Krispy Kreme opened its doors on July 13, 1937

Vernon Rudolph bought a secret yeast raised doughnut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, rented a building in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began selling its Krispy Kreme doughnuts on July 13, 1937 to local grocery stores. The delicious scents of cooking doughnuts drifted into the streets, and passersby stopped to ask if they could buy hot doughnuts. So he cut a hole in an outside wall and started selling Original Glazed doughnuts directly to customers on the sidewalk.

Improving the doughnut making process through innovations

By now there was a small chain of stores, mostly family owned. They all used the Kripsy Kreme recipe, but each store made its doughnuts from scratch. For Rudolph and Krispy Kreme, the results were always good, but not consistent enough. So Krispy Kreme built a mix plant and developed a distribution system that delivered the perfect dry doughnuts mix to each Krispy Kreme store. Then Rudolph and his equipment engineers invented and built Krispy Kreme’s own doughnut making equipment. From the 1950s on, they focused on improving
and automating the doughnut making process.

So now you know.  If you want to learn more about Krispy Kreme's history you can Google it.  On the other hand, if you're just feeling hungry right now, Krispy Kreme donuts are available in your local grocery store.  And, if you cut one in half before you eat it, all of the calories will leak out, or so I've been told.