Tis the season...

Tonight was opening night of the Philharmonic season and it was a wonderful evening.  In the first half, Stravinsky's "Firebird" was grand although I personally enjoyed Glazunov's "Autumn" more.  But the best part of the evening came after the intermission.  The soloist for Tchaikovsky's "Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra" was Paul Huang. He was amazing.  I'm not actually a huge fan of violin music but he truly made that violin sing.  I couldn't help wondering, as I watched his flying fingers and busy bow, how many hours of practice must have gone into reaching his level of expertise? And that reminded me of the year two of my granddaughters took violin lessons at their elementary school.  In their defense, I don't think the school music teacher was that great on violin herself, but the practices I heard involved lots of screeching and squawking and very little music.  They both gave up the violin at the end of that school year and I didn't hear any complaints from their parents.  

FOMO????

This morning, on the CBS morning news show I like to watch, they started talking about FOMO, just casually using the term.  I'm sure I'm showing my age and lack of knowledge of current ideas here, but I had no idea what they were talking about. So of course I googled it.  It turns out FOMO is Fear of Missing Out and it can lead to some serious mental stress.  I can understand how this fear can develop.  Just a quick glance at Facebook shows me beautiful children in darling outfits, beautiful homes, especially if a remodeling project is going on, beautiful food eaten in excellent restaurants, pictures from amazing vacations, and of course the world's best behaved, cutest pets.  

Back in the olden days we might have envied life styles we saw on TV, but we knew it was make believe.  No one's mother that I knew wore heels and pearls to clean house like Beaver's mother.  And, as I learned on my senior class trip, not everyone in New York City dressed like a fashion model.  

I think the difference today must be that you personally know (usually) the people who are posting these amazing glimpses of their perfect lives, so if they can have it, why can't I?  If they can do it, why not me?  I am seriously glad I'm not a teenager these days.  Peer pressure was alive and well in my youth, but the pressures weren't anything like what teens experience now.  

bridge pictures

 

This made me laugh.  Friends know that I have been very interested in the bridge reconstruction going on near my building.  I have an excellent view from my balcony.  One of the things that has fascinated me (I know, I know, I'm easily entertained) is this big blue dinosaur-like piece of equipment (top picture) which shows up from time to time either on the bridge or on this gravel pad they built to hold it.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I discovered that Big Blue is gone but Little Blue has appeared to take its place.  Is it a baby? Is it an egg?  Stay tuned.....

I apologize...

 My west coast brother kindly pointed out to me that I forgot to blog last night.  I'm not sure what happened. A senior sleepy moment I guess.  I spent the evening paying bills and I guess I figured I had done everything I needed to on my laptop.  Don't you love being able to pay everything on line?  

But back to blogging.  The same west coast brother informs me that today is 'National Kale Day,' a day which was founded way back in 2013, and yet there are no Kale Day greeting cards in the stores.  Really, does kale need a day?  You either eat it or you don't.  You either cook it or eat it raw.  What else is there to say about kale?

On the other hand, yesterday, the day I forgot to blog was 'Kanelbullens Dag' aka 'Cinnamon Bun Day.'  Much more to my liking than 'Kale Day.'  I mean, who wants to wake up in the morning and think "Oh. goodie, I get kale with my coffee this morning?  On the other hand, it's hard to beat coffee, or tea, with a cinnamon bun.  And speaking of tea, I am a tea drinker and on my recent cruise hot tea was available as well as coffee for breakfast.  At our first breakfast, on request, I was given a cup of tea.  After the first day, they brought me my own pot of tea, good for a least three cups full.  I'm not sure why the switch.  Maybe they realized I am a serious tea drinker and didn't want to keep coming back with refills.  Whatever, it was very nice.  Another tea drinker at out table was a little jealous.  All she ever got was a cup of tea.  Again, I don't know why.  I just chose to enjoy it.  

fallng leaves

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Look at the Leaves Day."  It seems to me that looking at leaves, especially as they drift down from trees on a lazy breeze, is a perfect activity for the first day of "Active Aging Week."  I warned you yesterday that this week was upon us.  In the middle of the day the trees I see from my balcony are still green but early in the morning, when the sun shines at an angle, the trees already glow golden.  

A friend commented a few days ago that we should plant more trees in Fort Wayne.  I had to laugh at that.  Don't get me wrong.  I have nothing against planting more trees, but when I look at the view from my apartment I see nothing but trees.  Looking north, my view is mostly of residential areas of the city and there are lots of trees.  It's really not surprising.  Trees grow well in this part of Indiana.  The very flat area east of Fort Wayne and stretching into Ohio was, two hundred years ago, The Great Black Swamp.  My home town of Woodburn got its name from all the trees that were burned, while land was cleared and drained for farming.  My German farmer ancestors didn't let a little thing like a swamp keep them from clearing the land.  Legend has it that some of that wood was burned in smudge pots, inside their houses, under kitchen tables, to keep the mosquitos away while they ate.  

are you ready for this?

 They just announced on TV news that tomorrow begins "Active Aging Week" here in Fort Wayne.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.  I think my personal aging is rolling along quite actively enough, thank you very much, and I don't see any need to celebrate the rapidity of my aging.  Since I had my cataract surgery and discovered I have a high definition mirror, I have discovered new wrinkles almost daily, and don't even get me started on weird little aches and twinges that pop up without invitation.  Don't get me wrong.  Many, many good things have happened to me along the way to aging and I truly enjoy being alive, but I suspect that if I indulge in all the active adult activities they suggested - sports (pickle ball anyone?), walking, running, biking and more, I will really feel like I have aged actively, not to mention quickly by the end of the week.  How about next week we celebrate "Relaxed, Unhurried Aging?"  Be honest, wouldn't you rather ride a recliner than an exercise bike?

Time for a change....

 Time for a break from travel tales.  Here are some interesting facts that showed up on my page-a-day trivia calendar.  For example 'on average. how many kernels does an ear of corn have?'  I'm sure you've been wondering about this for ages, so here's the answer.  '800 kernels arranged in 16 rows.  Corn ears almost always have an even number of rows, even if it isn't 16.'  So, the next time you eat corn on the cob, stop and count the rows.

Here's another question I've always wondered about.  'How long can a dolphin go without sleep?' The answer is 'Studies have shown that dolphins can stay awake for at least 15 consecutive days, though it could very well be longer.  Dolphins can rest one half of their brains at a time in a process known as unihemispheric sleep. While half the brain sleeps, the dolphin relies on its other half to swim, think and avoid predators.' Wouldn't that be a handy skill on a long cross country drive?

Here's the last question for this evening.  'What bird has a very high intelligence that scientists have compared to that of a seven-year-old child?'  You probably guessed this one.  It's the crow.  'Crows demonstrate several signs of advanced intelligence, including complex problem-solving, abstract reasoning, and the use of tools.'  When we lived in southern Ohio there was a tree across the road from our property where crows would gather in great numbers, making a terrific noise.  I always wondered what they were plotting.