camping??

 When our children were young, my husband and I packed them up and took them camping every summer.  Over the years we made it to all of the contiguous 48 states and parts of Canada.  But our camping was done in a converted VW bus with a number of conveniences.  These days I have a very good view of the Old Fort from my balcony, and what I see does not make me long to go camping.  During the year there are several historic encampments held there and on clear, nice days I like to walk over and see the battles and samples of life in pioneer times.  Yesterday was not such a day.  I felt nothing but sympathy for the people in their flimsy looking tents in the cold and the rain.  Today was better.  The sun came out and they shot off the cannons and generally appeared to be having a good time.  They probably could have used some of that rumfustian yesterday.

rum what?

 Here's the question from a recent page in my page a day trivia calendar.  What is a rumfustian?  Since I'm currently playing a drunk my thoughts first turned to liquor. Rum what?  And guess what? I was on the right track.  A rumfustian is a hot alcoholic drink that includes egg yolks, beer, wine, gin, sugar and spices.  As far as any one knows the word was first used in 1824.  Sounds to me like something someone made up out of leftovers and it may have given the drinker a rumfustian of a headache.  Alas, while I do have beer, wine and eggs, I don't have any gin, so I guess I won't be able to serve this delectable sounding concoction to my weekend visitors.  Next time I'm in a bar though, I might just ask for a rumfustian, just for fun.  Won't I be surprised when the bartender whips one up for me?  

drink up!

 Today is Cinco de Mayo and our apartment manager hosted a margarita party this afternoon.  Sadly, I couldn't partake because I had to be at the theater this evening to play a drunken, over the hill actress.  Kind of ironic that I had to stay sober to play drunk.  I was actually more concerned about driving drunk than acting drunk.  But I'm enjoying a different kind of high right now.  My son and granddaughter were at this performance and thought I was very funny, which of course was my goal.  It's good to hear anyone say nice things, but especially when it's family.  

happy birthday

 Today is May the 4th, otherwise known as Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you.  But much more importantly, it's my youngest grandchild's birthday.  She turned 18 today and will graduate from high school in three weeks.  It's kind of funny how these two events are tangled together.  When my son, her father, was five years old, we took him to see the very first Star Wars movie.  Because my husband and I wanted to see it, of course.  We also took our three year old daughter but she was unimpressed and slept through the whole show.  Our five year old, though, was wide awake and quite literally on the edge of his seat through the whole movie.  I had as much fun watching him as watching the movie.  I credit that movie with the beginning of his love of all things space related and his career choices for the last many years.  Space Camp helped too.  But little did he know that 19 years ago his second daughter would be born on the day we Star Wars fans celebrate this amazing series.  I had a fun celebratory supper with their family this evening, and now I'm feeling the urge to watch Star Wars, Episode IV.

and again

 Another message from the west coast.  My brother tells me that today is Wordsmith Day and has challenged me to do some wordsmithing.  So here goes.  I could tell you that this morning, during a gushing rainfall, I went to my polling place, pushed all the right buttons and cast my ballot for the primary candidates of my choice.  Or I could just say I voted this morning.  How's that for wordsmithing?  And, by the way, I'm pretty sure that gushing rain this morning was another tidal wave from Lake Michigan.  I'm sure at least three small fish hit my windshield.  Or I could just say it was raining really hard this morning.  According to Google, to wordsmith means to improve the clarity and style of a written work.  But sometimes I think it's more fun to obfuscate, confuse and complicate, unless of course you're writing an instruction manual.  

another dubious day

 According to my west coast brother, today is Great Lakes Awareness Day and also Scurvy Awareness Day.  I eat plenty of oranges and other fresh fruit so I am not at all worried about Scurvy but I am wondering about the Great Lakes.  I think Lake Michigan is throwing water at us. During the winter we get lake effect snow.  Now I suspect we're getting lake effect rain.  Sometime tomorrow we are supposed to get another two inches of rain.  If it comes down as heavy and fast as it did Saturday night (like a tidal wave), I'm going to be watching to see if there are any fish in the deluge.  So beware the Great Lakes and also those little lakes all around town, especially those covering streets.  With all the potholes around town right now, if any one tries to drive through standing water concealing a big old pothole their car might sink and never been seen again.  You may think I'm exaggerating but I have seen some pretty impressive potholes in the last few weeks.  Be aware!

my excuse

 Happy May Day everyone.  I am so glad to be done with April.  I didn't blog last night because I was out late partying.  That's my story, and it's true, but not quite as exciting as it might sound.  Last night was the cast and crew party for the play I'm in right now.  The director hosted it at her house and it was fun, with lots of good food and pleasant conversation.  I discovered some interesting things.  For instance, the young lady who sits beside me in the dressing room is the girlfriend of a young man (well 30 something now) who I have known since he was a baby.  I had no idea.  I wonder if his mom knows?  But, the real reason that I and everyone else stayed so late at the party was that we were stuck while a gushing rain storm kept us waiting in the house until it seemed at all reasonable to leave.  Talk about drama, plenty of thunder and lightning.  Better sound effects than in the play.  It turns out I'm not the only person who doesn't like to drive in the rain in the dark.  Happily one of the other cast members had given me a ride to the party so I only had a short drive from the theater to home and by 1:30am the rain had eased up and there was little traffic. Any way, happy May everyone.