Now that's the way to use the word.

NASA announced today that the Mars rover, that has been rolling around on Mars for, I think they said, six years, has made an interesting discovery.  It seems that some of the material it scooped up from a particular dry lake bed, is organic, indicating that there has been or maybe still is life  on Mars.  Now, that's the way to use the word 'organic'.  Thank you, NASA.

The Word du Jour

Have you noticed how some words suddenly seem to become frequently, not to say over, used in new ways?  Over the last few years we've learned to 'utilize' things (what's wrong with 'use'?), listened as people started every sentence with 'so', or, better yet 'you know'; even better in combination as in 'like, you know'. More recently so many things have attempted to become 'transparent' that I feel like I'm surrounded by windows.  Today I was reminded of a new word that seems to be coming into fashion. The hosts of the upcoming Tony awards were being interviewed and one of the two said that their (the hosts') relationship as friends was 'organic'. It made me realize that I've heard this word several times recently, generally referring to relationships of some sort.  I always thought 'organic' had to do with the physical aspect of living things, but evidently it now covers feelings as well. Listen for it.

Let's hear it for the library

I have long been a fan of the Allen County Public Library.  From a very early age I was thrilled by the idea of being able to take home free books to read.  In my earliest memories, the librarian at the branch library in Woodburn was, to my young eyes, a very old lady who remembered my father as a young teen checking out books. As she told it, he read "every book in the library." Of course, the library was much smaller then.  Now, wonder of wonders, while I still enjoy physically visiting the library - I still enjoy paper pages - I wouldn't need to actually ever go there. I can download books on line and renew all of my checkouts on line, all from the comfort of my sofa.  On the other hand, if I walk to and through the downtown library and back to my apartment I've walked over two miles which is really good exercise.  But my real love at the library these days is their collection of large print books. It's not that I can't read small print but I can read a lot longer when I'm not straining my eyes to read the fine print.  I'm obviously not the only one who appreciates this library feature.  The rows and rows of large print books reassure me that I am not alone. Thank you ACPL.

weave on

I'm almost finished with the first project of my "new" hobby of weaving. I should be ready to take it off the loom tomorrow.  That will be the big test.  If it holds together I'm a success.  I was describing the scarf to my daughter earlier today and she wants it for Christmas, so I guess you could say I've already started my Christmas shopping, I did have to shop for the yarn after all.  This evening I attended the first gathering of a newly formed yarn group at my church.  I felt a little self-conscious carrying in my loom when everyone else had knitting or crocheting projects with them, but everyone seemed very interested in what I was doing and we all had a really good time. Now my challenge is to have a new project going by next Monday and this time I will have to put the warp on the loom all by myself. I had really forgotten how much fun weaving can be. 

Arab Fest

Well, that was fun.  A friend and I attended Arab Fest this afternoon. This is another sign that summer is upon us.  It's the time of year when we can expect a festival every weekend.  So yesterday and today was Arab Fest.  It was a perfect day weather wise, there was a good crowd of people and the camels were being kept busy.  Exotic music was drifting over the area, I ate baklava, that delectible Arab honey soaked pastry, explored all of the booths full of exotic (and some not so exoctic) items for sale and watched people ride the camels.  I did not ride a camel although theyhad a high platform from which to get on or off.  It would  have been just to sad to see a headline in tomorrow's paper "Old lady killed in freak fall from camel."  I also was not tempted to have a design painted on my hand or arm with hennah.  I just don't think those fanciful  designs look good on wrinkly old skin.  Still it was a fun time. This week and next weekend - Germanfest. Bring it on!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

a few updates

I'm sure you've been wondering about some things I written about recently so here are the answers:
1. The charge of aggravated assault first applied to the man who admitted 'accidentally' killing his wife with a machete, has now been changed to murder.
2. I am about half way through my first weaving project.  It is looking very much like a wooly scarf which is good because that's what it's supposed to be.
3. I almost have all of my lines memorized for the play I will be in in July.
4. And finally, the white bag is still in the tree.  Now that the leaves are out I can see that it is caught in a locust tree and that's a thorny tree which might help explain why the bag is hanging on so tenaciously.

Ali Paris in concert

I saw and heard a really exciting concert this evening.  Ali Paris, a Palestinian musician sings and plays a Middle Eastern instrument called a Qanun. Note to self: remember that word for Scrabble games. This is a 76 string zither that dates back to the 14th century. What I find fascinating about this instrument is that, while it has 76 strings, each string can play eight different tones. He describes it as being like a piano that has 8 extra keys between one white key and the black key next to it.  Ali was accompanied by an excellent drummer and guitarist and the music ranged from traditional Middle Eastern music to contemporary jazz and and a song he co-created and has performed with Alicia Keys. All in all, a truly excellent program.