new to the family

 I have a new grand-kitten.  My son and daughter-in-law already have a cat named Naomi and she is a very fine cat indeed. However, they were recently made aware of another cat who needed a good home so now they also have a black kitten named Orion.  I understand how this can happen.  I had three cats once upon a time.  His original owner (a coworker of my son's) named him Potato but my son and DIL decided that was not a very sophisticated name for a black cat.  After all, black potatoes are usually not in very good shape.  So Orion has come to live with them and my spouse and I got to meet him this morning.  He is a fierce cat.  When I patted him, he hissed and his tail stood up straight and bushy.  This would have been a much more impressive show of bravado if he was more than six inches tall, but he definitely has spunk.  So welcome to the family little Orion.  

Testing

 This is a practice blog. A week from today my spouse and I will be leaving on a three week driving trip. During the trip I want to be able to use this tablet to write my blog so I'm trying it tonight. By the way, it's "National Slinky Day" if you want to think about something fun. 

I also wanted to make sure I can add scenic pictures. Hooray, mission accomplished.

read carefully...

 Today is "Thoughtful Thursday" and here is something to think about. I have mentioned before that we go to the Amish bakery frequently.  It's actual name is "Taste of Tradition" in case you ever want to Google it, but that's not the point of this blog.  We went there yesterday to buy Apple Bread (it's so good) as a house warming gift for friends we visited today.  One of my other favorite things to buy there is MOLASSAS COOKIES so, in a bit of a rush, I grabbed a package of cookies off the shelf and brought it home. It's impossible to buy just one thing there.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled the package out of the freezer this evening (I keep them there so I don't eat as many) pulled a cookie out of the bag, and realized that it didn't look anything like a molasses cookie.  Then I looked at the label and saw that what I had bought were MONSTER COOKIES.  Both labels started with MO.  If you happen to like cookies containing peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and m&ms, then you will really like these.  Since I do happen to like everything in these cookies and they are very tasty I will eat them.  I mean it would be a shame to waste them, right?  In case you're wondering, my spouse can't help me with this chore because he is allergic to peanut butter.  The next time I go to the bakery I will get my molasses cookies, because they are still my absolute favorite.  And the moral of this story is always read the label.  

please pass the Ritz...

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "Crackers Over the Keyboard Day."  I'm not at all sure that this is something to celebrate but today is also "Red Wine Day" and I would much rather have cracker crumbs on my keyboard than any sort of liquid spill.  Knowing my penchant for spilling stuff, I make it a rule never to eat or drink while working on my computer.  But, thinking of spills, I am reminded of an occasion 50 years ago when I was lunching with some friends at a weekend retreat.  My children were one and three at the time and this was a lovely break for me.  While we sat at lunch, I automatically reached over and moved a friend's glass of water back from near the edge of the table.  Everyone laughed, knowing that, as a mother of toddlers, this was an unconscious  reaction for me.  Happily, these days I pretty much keep my hands off other diners glass ware.  

A TED Talk

 At a meeting I attended this evening, we were shown a TED Talk dealing with various forms of dementia.  The talk was presented by Teepa Snow and I highly recommend it to anyone who has questions about the subject.  She is a very engaging speaker who will hold your interest.  She started by talking about some of the early warning signs. Coincidentally, I had lunch with a friend today during which we discussed a mutual friend who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and we talked about early signs we had seen, especially getting confused while driving and not remembering why she had come to a certain place.  Another early sign that was mentioned was not dealing with money issues properly.  Evidently, when our mutual friend's son became aware of her problems, he discovered stacks of unpaid bills and some missing funds.  I was too busy watching and listening to take many notes this evening, but I did learn that there are many forms of dementia and Alzheimer's makes up only about a tenth of the types of dementia found in people over 65.  I also learned that the 30 point mental acuity test that your doctor might give you if you think you have memory problems (which I passed with flying colors) is not an indicator of if you will or won't develop dementia.  And here's the last little tidbit for you to consider.  50% of people over 85 show signs of Alzheimer's.  On the bright side, if all goes well, I have six good years to look forward to.  

the longest day

 I get a little perplexed when I hear weather persons make comments like "Today is the longest day of the year." or "The days are getting shorter now."  No they aren't.  Days are always 24 hours long (give or take a few minutes here or there over several years).  I was pleased to hear one weather person say it correctly recently.  She said "We are starting to see fewer hours of daylight." But I was reminded today of another kind of longest day.  My west coast nephew returned this morning from a trip to Iceland and told his parents he planned to sleep 'til Wednesday.  I really understand that feeling.  Generally, when I have flown to any destination in Europe, it's an overnight flight.  I can sleep through most of it and arrive ready to spend the entire first day sight seeing.  But coming home (flying west) is a whole different matter. Typically we leave some European city, Rome most recently, in the wee hours of the morning, fly across the Atlantic, land and go through customs somewhere, Atlanta perhaps, make one or two connecting flights, and arrive home about midnight.  I always end up feeling like I've been awake for 24 hours.  So sleep on, young nephew.  I totally understand.

be creative...

 Once again thank you to my west coast brother, today is "National Banana Split Day."  Now I realize that you're getting this information late in the day and you may not want to run out and buy a banana split right now, even though this is a great day to celebrate, and a banana split would taste delicious.  But don't despair, just get creative.  A banana split is not that hard to build as a do-it-yourself project.  Of course it will help if you have some ice cream on hand (better yet, in your freezer).  Then you will need syrup. Chocolate, caramel, strawberry, blueberry, honey - any or many of these will do.  I would not recommend molasses.  Next some chopped nuts.  You probably have a half package of those tucked in your freezer somewhere near the ice cream. Remember, you used the other half on your sweet potato casserole at Christmas time.  Chocolate chips are also a nice touch, maybe shredded coconut?  Now all you need is a banana, or if you're my spouse, you'll stop right here, and just enjoy a no-banana split.  If you do have a banana, add it now.  You don't really need to split it, especially if you don't happen to have a long banana split shaped dish.  Go ahead and slice it up.  No one will ever know.  Of course now it has become a 'banana slice.' Enjoy!