Visiting the Old Church
I wrote earlier about my interest in visiting the church of my childhood on Victoria Avenue. This afternoon, I did that, --in my dream during my nap time.
I went back to the church and I stood and looked all around me at the sanctuary. I saw many changes, saw things that looked like they'd always been there but I know that it wasn't like that when I was there. I
I had tears in my eyes as I looked at the front left side of the sanctuary, where the organ had been. I was filled with emotion so strong that I could hardly contain it. And yet, it was a nameless longing that I couldn't explain in my dream time. I wasn't filled with satisfaction as I expected I would be if and when I could visit the church again. I felt sadness and longing.
Now that I'm thinking about the dream, I know that the place where the organ had been was empty to me because my dad was the organist. It really was my dad that I was missing so much as I stood and looked at that empty corner, and I was filled with the great longing. It makes sense, really. Just this morning as I was driving to church, I was thinking again how much I miss my dad. Even though years go by, we don't really get over it when we lose our parents.
Now I'm not sure that I do want to go back to the old church again. The dream seemed so real. In some ways, I'm now satisfied that I've seen it and it belongs in my past.
Windy
The wind that started last evening has continued to this afternoon and sometimes it's very windy indeed. At the church this morning, we found someone's house flag, a picture of an eagle, had blown off their standard and into our parking area. Someone picked it up and brought it to the bannister at one entrance to the building. Someone else brought it inside the building. We took it back outside at the close of the service because the owners were probably neighbors who wouldn't ever think of their flag being inside the church. In fact, they may have already given up hope for finding it. It may have blown to us from some little distance. I hope the eagle can get back home again.
Time Change
Most of us really hate the time change, and I'm no exception, but I must say that I enjoy the time change in the fall much better than I do the spring. This extra hour is something I could get used to. If we can do it for one night, why can't we do it every night? Just one more hour for us in the middle of the night so we can go to be late, get up late and still be on time. Right now, just at this minute, this extra hour feels wonderful. I wish I didn't have to give it back next spring.
Halloween's the Night
After all the rain and gloom we had today, with periodic bursts of sunshine, it turned out to be just about perfect weather for the Trick or Treaters. It was windy but the temperature was mild. Kids needed jackets but not winter coats. I think they had a fine night to "dress up like a sight."
We had a nice turn out at the church. The cocoa and cider and donuts were a hit. Kids and parents took a breather and relaxed with some conversation before heading out on their rounds.
There's a kids' song I remember about Halloween that I'm thinking of tonight.
"Halloween night is lots of fun
But somehow I'm glad when it's over and done.
It's good to have mother to kiss me goodnight
And know that the witches have all taken flight."
I'm thinking of the "over and done" part. It's always nice to have Halloween night safely over and done.
Capricious!
Guess what! The sun is shining brightly, lighting the landscape from the west. The gloom of the midday and afternoon is gone. The leaves that blanket our lawn are glowing. Today's weather has offered a lot of change. Oh, yes, I think there's a saying: As changeable as the weather! It definitely has been that today.
Like November
For days now the weather has seemed like November, --overcast and gloomy. This morning it was bright and sunny, --for a few minutes. OK, it was actually sunny for a few hours but the time went fast.
I went into the living room to play the piano and I could see the music just fine without a light on. But I was interrupted several times and by the last time I got to sit down at the piano, it was dark and gloomy and the light was very dim, --and it's still supposed to be broad daylight. We haven't had a lot of broad daylight recently.
The birds and the grinnies have finished off another bird bell. It's so cute to watch the grinny when there's just a little left on the birdbell. He jumps onto it from the top of the arbor and the bell starts swinging back and forth wildly. The grinny grabs hold for dear life and sometimes he rides it out but often he either gets dumped or he just gives up and flops to the ground. This morning I saw a grinny drop off the bird bell in what I thought was a rather hard fall for him. Several seconds later, he ran to the basket I have out by the arbor. He climbed up on it and then sat there working on a chunk of the seeds from the bird bell that he'd been able to chomp off the bell before he fell or jumped. He was OK.
I think the bird bell can be a critter amusement ride, with restaurant too! The birds have a little trouble with the bird bell when it's almost all used up. It swings back and forth with their movements to peck at seeds, but they don't set it in motion as much as the chipmunk does.
Paws
One of my least favorite chores in taking care of Desy is clipping her toenails and the reason I don't like it is because I'm afraid I'll hurt her. Her toenails are very black and I can't see where the blood line is. I know it hurts if it's clipped into the bloodline. I really try to be careful but sometimes I nick her a little too deep. So, I tend to let this little chore go too long and her nails were much too long and in need of attention today.
I got the clippers. She knows what they are! I got down beside her on the kitchen floor. She got up and walked away from me, and went under the table. I insisted that she come back to me. She came, reluctantly. She laid down beside me and tucked all her feet underneath her.
She's no dummy! But I still had to trim those nails, and I'm so happy to say that this time, I didn't make any of them bleed! Yeah! Happy Desy!
Squash Tonight
Last Saturday when we drove over to Union City to take the house picture to the people, we went a couple blocks further into the town and stopped at a little Mom and Pop fruit store. I don't remember what I was really looking for but I ended up buying two squash, just little ones. One was a butternut and the other an acorn squash. Tonight I cut open the butternut squash and nuked it, a few minutes at a time till it was tender, about 14 minutes in all. We ate 2/3 of it and should finish it off tomorrow or Sunday.
Squash is something I like in small quantities. I really like it the first couple times in the season and then I feel satisfied that I've had enough.
I'd buy a spaghetti squash if I could find one. That's really good and I didn't get tired of it when I had it one year.
Library Reception
I knew this was scheduled, --a reception at the public library to welcome our new librarian, Tressa Snyder. But it slipped my mind. When I wanted to run into the library and get the Friday puzzle from the Wallstreet Journal, I never gave it a thought about being a special time for the new librarian. I didn't dress up for the reception as I would have if I'd been thinking. She was right there, looking beautiful and smiling, greeting. I shook hands with her and introduced myself. There were scrumptious cookies and punch waiting for me.
My husband had taken me to the library in the car since it was raining. He planned then to go on to the church to work on the completed newsletter. Tressa wanted to meet him, too. I had to go to the car and invite him in. It took us 15 minutes more than we planned, but we had a nice time. It was a fun thing to do.
Rainy Day
It's a rainy, wet morning. The leaves on the trees are definitely thinning out now. I can now see if the hawk comes to sit on the cross on the peak of the Lutheran Church. A thick blanket of leaves has fallen to replace the leaves we raked yesterday. I just watched a gust of wind bring down about a bushel of leaves to add to the carpet already on the ground. Before long, the tree in our yard will have no leaves. The trees between us and Dahls still have most of their leaves. They are a different kind of maple than ours.
Today I will finish the church newsletter. It's late according to my own timetable, but it's perfectly fine in fact. It will be ready for the beginning of the new month.
Best Things
Best Things About Today
- Taco salad for noon meal, with at least half of it to bring home for tomorrow.
- Raking leaves with Marlin for a short time and my neighbor came to join us and help out.
- A phone call from my brother.
- A letter from Pat.
- I'm almost finished with the newsletter tonight.
- Seeing Rusty trying to sit still to get the leash on when he was so excited to go outside that he was quivvering all over.
- Reading Leadership magazine and feeling revved up about the articles I read with great advice about prayer.
- Having some left over scones from yesterday.
- Reading my blog comments and visiting other blogs.
- Doing an instant message with a friend tonight.
Shopping and the Season
This afternoon when we went to pick up a prescription at Walmart's pharmacy, I went through the store looking for a few odds and ends that I keep putting off buying. The store was rather crowded. Want to guess where the aisles were most congested?
It was the Halloween costume aisles. I didn't look to see what was the biggest attraction or what kind of prices they were going for. I avoided that aisle and went in search of plastic storage containers.
Our town is doing Trick or Treat on Saturday evening. We'll be going to the Columbus Church where we have the social rooms open for the kids in that area to stop in and get a donut and some cider or hot cocoa.
Late Night
I've been paying attention to what's been going on in baseball for the last several weeks but haven't been watching the games. I decided that last night would probably be an historical event and maybe I should watch it. After I got home from choir and checked my e-mail, I turned on the game. It was the bottom of the 5th so I still had lots of game to watch.
I also watched the lunar eclipse from time to time. Both were very interesting, but the game was more exciting.
On the way to choir at 7, I drove with that gorgeous full moon hanging in the sky ahead of me. Oh, it was a sight! When I see the moon, I think of my dad. He was always interested in seeing what the moon looked like. He would have enjoyed seeing the eclipse. He would also have enjoyed watching the ballgame.
It was very late when I got to bed.
My Special Treat
I've been sort of sitting on a recipe called "Cream Scones" for over a month, thinking how good it sounds. I bought the ingredients a couple of weeks ago. This afternoon I made them for my Linda dinner this evening. How good it is!
We had them for dessert with tea and they were great. I used craisins instead of raisins and I even liked the dough before it was baked.
Sometimes I pick out recipes and they sound wonderful but when I make them, they aren't nearly as good as they sound. This one is really a very good one.
Scones are usually eaten with clotted cream, --a really thick, rich cream, or perhaps a jelly or jam. We ate this without any topping and thought it was fabulous! Also, I think scones are sort of a snack thing, not usually a dessert item, but I often don't follow the rules.
I baked them on my Pampered Chef baking stone and they came out just right!
My Greeters and Dog Biscuits
After Aquarobics this morning, I went to the grocery store. One of the things I bought was a big bag of doggie biscuits. I carried it into the house with me in my first trip of getting the groceries into the house. My two greeters, Desy and Rusty, were really excited as I brought the bag into the house.
I have a plastic, bone-shaped container that I put the dog biscuits in and they always know when I pick that up what's in that container and what comes next. But today I see that they know all about the bag of biscuits that comes from the store and that surprised me, though I know it shouldn't. The nose knows.
I'm reminded today of how much Rusty has learned from living here. When he first came to our house and I gave him a biscuit, he took it politely and then laid it down and let Desy have it. He didn't seem to know what to do with it. He did that the next couple times and then he tried it for himself. Now he loves the biscuits as much as Desy does. When I say, "Who wants a cookie?" he comes bounding and eagerly accepts his treat. And, eats every crumb! It would be a shame to run out of dog biscuits.
Sweet Reason
Dreaming again and what a dream! I was visiting Dad in New Kensington and it was time for me to leave for home. I decided that I was too sleepy to drive home so I would walk.
I realized that this would mean that I would leave the car there and go home without it and my husband would not like that very much. It would also mean that we'd have to do without a car until we went back to get it. But that didn't bother me and I set out to walk home. 130 miles!
I knew not to tell my dad what I was doing because he'd never have approved or let me begin this venture.
I had Desy with me. We got started and it was easy going at first. However, as we walked, I kept thinking over what I was doing, and whether it would be the best thing for me to do. I didn't have Desy on a lead and I was a little concerned about her getting out in traffic, and yet she didn't play a very big role in this dream.
My friend Eleanor was ahead of me somewhere and I found that she'd dropped a dahlia root along the way. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. A little farther along I found a dollar bill and decided to leave it lay. Then there was another and I took this one and it was really a $10 bill and then another $1. I zipped this into my jacket pocket and wondered who I would give it to because I really didn't need any money. But I planned to keep the dahlia root and plant it next spring. Awake, I know I would have given Eleanor her dahlia!
And then sweet reason began to set in. I wasn't as far as Stewart School yet and I was beginning to get tired. There was no way I could get home before dark and I would be even more tired, cold and hungry before long. I would have to go back and get the car even though I did hate the thought of driving 130 miles. And then I woke up, feeling tired and wondering where sweet reason had gone when I had set out on my impossible journey!
The Best Things
What were the best things about today?
- Getting mail
- Knowing I'll have my granddaughters visit next week
- Making dinner this afternoon (Corned beef and cabbage and frosted coffee bars for dessert. I omitted the frosting and they were still good.) There was a coziness about working in the kitchen on this cool afternoon.
- Seeing the critters outside my window, eating vigorously at the feeding station.
- Finishing another crossword puzzle
- Taking a picture of the golden scene outside my window
- Getting such a friendly wrong number phone call. "Nancy," she called me and I thought she meant me until she said, "It's Donna. Sign me and Violet up." I had no idea what she meant but she sounded so "smiling" and friendly. I didn't know what to say and then she said, "Is this the Senior Center?" Well, no, not really. So I couldn't sign her up for anything, but I think I'd like to meet her and Violet.
- Eating some of those unfrosted coffee bars!
- Having the siding put on the cupola this afternoon! Maybe that should have been Number One on my list.
- Finishing several more pages of the church newsletter. (It's that time again!)
More Critters
Today we had some birds that I can't identify come to visit my feeding stations. There were two different kinds of woodpeckers. I really should learn who these birds are. There was also a larger than a sparrow bird which seemed to have speckled plumage but it sat in the shadowy parts of the tree branch and I couldn't tell for sure what the color was.
And the brown squirrel came back to the arbor. It's been satisfied with the corn at the critter log until recently. It was fun to get such a good look at him. He leaves the bird bell like water pouring out of a cup. He just flows in a flash and is gone.
I'm glad the birds haven't gone to greener pastures yet. Or, wherever. You know what I mean.
Golden World
We are surrounded by maple trees here where we live and while these trees have dropped many leaves, they still have a lot of leaves on the branches. This morning it is foggy and misty but the golden color of the bright leaves on the ground and on the trees fills the air with color. It should be a dismal kind of morning with all the fog and dampness but because of this golden color, it's a very pretty picture I look out on.
And the leaves! Except for the row of leaves out by the curb, you'd hardly know that I raked any leaves on Saturday. The yard is filling up with leaves again. Ah, but their beautiful color makes a satisfying scene to enjoy.
Crossing the Bridge
You know the saying, "Don't cross the bridge before you get there." I tend to do that all the time. When I hadn't seen birds at the feeding station for a couple of days, I decided they'd already made their move for winter. I bought more of the bird cake because the cute little grinnies were looking for it. Today there was a small flock of birds at the bird cake. There were a couple of blue jays and lots of sparrows and of course, the grinny. My husband and I both enjoyed watching them.
I've heard so much about blue jays being dominant and chasing other birds away, but these jays didn't do that. It seemed like they were all taking turns. The jays would peck at the food for several seconds and then let the sparrows have it and then the grinny would be collecting his stores for a half minute or so and the jays would be at it again. I'm not sure what happened today that they were taking turns like that but it was really neat to watch them.
I think I'll be buying more bird cake after all!
The Way It Is
When I retired, we had a healthy and active organization for retired school employees. Today, the way it is, more than 10 years later, we can't field an officer slate. Members who were active when I joined had been members for over 10 years at that time. Now these members who are still living are limited by age and ill health. New retirees are busy with other things. They don't really know us and they haven't been interested in joining us. Today, we, the executive committee have had to face these facts and make the decision to disband our group. We've done this reluctantly but we can't keep the organization alive without new interest, and that new interest just isn't there. Today's retirees are taking other jobs or travelling or moving to warmer climates. Who can blame them? None of us. But it's still a sad decision that we've had to make today.
Dream
One of my on-line friends sent pictures of her newborn granddaughter and I was looking at them before I went to bed last night. Thus the dream!
I dreamed that I was suddenly the mother of a baby daughter. I was so proud of her. She was really beautiful and she was so good that I was worried about her. She didn't cry, she didn't fuss to eat and I knew she should be doing those things.
It was one of those dreams that gives me a cozy contented feeling when I wake up. I didn't want to break out of the dream feeling and face the real world. But of course, I had to.
I left the house reluctantly for Aquarobics but the water was just right and it felt wonderful. I was very glad that I left my cozy nest and dream world and did the exercise as I should.
Walking in Someone Else's Shoes
Tonight my friend Doris told me that she'd gone to the band festival in our town last night, Winds of Autumn. Her grandson who plays the tuba is a senior this year and she wanted to attend the event because it's his last time to be in it. However, there was no way she could sit in the bleachers, so they had her sit in a wheel chair. She said that today she is stiff and sore from sitting in the wheel chair for three hours. This surprised me. I thought wheel chairs are comfortable and of course I'd have no real idea of what they are like because I have not ever sat in a wheel chair for three hours. I realize that I have a lot to be thankful for.
Comparisons
The black and white photo is the one of me when I was in high school. The color photo is my granddaughter whose eyes and smile may be similar to mine in my teen years. What do you think? Do you see similarities?
The Chipmunk
When I talk about the chipmunk, it can be any one of at least five chipmunks that make daily tours to my bird feeders. I know most people think of them as pests and don't like them at the feeders, but I've adjusted to giving them somewhat less expensive foods to cart off to their storehouses. Cracked corn was $4 for 40 pounds and they like corn, though not as much as they like sunflower seeds.
The birds have stopped coming much now. I don't know what it is about winter months and the birds where I live. They come in the summer but go elsewhere in winter. I thought that perhaps I'd purchased my last block of bird cake for the season since the birds seldom come now, but yesterday morning I saw the chipmunk at the grid that holds the bird cake. He couldn't believe it was empty. He looked it over good then backed off for a while only to come back again and check it out all over again. He rested on the wire grid for a while, apparently thinking it over.
I decided. If that little guy is so interested in the bird cake, I could get one more and let him fill up his storehouse. I know what he's doing, but I really do enjoy watching him. They are so perfect in every detail and they look so handsome in their bright stripes. They wash their faces with their little hands and groom themselves almost as a cat grooms itself. They are quick and agile and very athletic. I get a lot of enjoyment in watching them. I bought another bird cake.
Delivering the Picture
We drove to Union City today (about 9 miles, give or take a little) and stopped at the house where I'd taken the summer photo, before the car drove through the house.
There are repairs being made to the house. There is a porch area closed in with plywood and the living room is sealed off from the cold. There is a strong smell of new wood and from the front the house doesn't seem lived in.
I was sure no one was home, but my husband knocked any way. Just as I was ready to turn away, a young man came from the back of the house. I think we took him away from his meal. He didn't seem especially happy about the picture, but he did seem a little pleased to accept it. He said the flowers weren't his. He didn't respond conversationally. He was probably wanting to get back to his meal. We wonder if he's a renter and thus the flowers aren't theirs, or if that part of the fence is on the neighbor's side and and they had planted the hollyhocks.
He accepted the picture and said he liked it, but he really didn't talk much. I got the impression that he didn't really care, one way or the other. I wonder if he was part of the family who lives there. I was disappointed in the response, but my husband says we did the right thing. I just know, if I had been in that situation, I would be tickled to get a before picture from someone who liked the flowers enough to take the picture. I did what I thought might be appreciated. Perhaps the rest of the family will appreciate it more than the young man. Whatever. It was fun for me to do it.
Fresh Air and Exercise and Trumpet Vines
I got some outdoor work done today! Finally! I got 30 tulip bulbs planted, moved a struggling lily, dug up a big portion of trumpet vine root, and raked leaves from the frontage of our house and from 1/3 of the side yard. When I stopped, I was almost too tired to put the tools away. I'm almost too tired to type, but I am catching my breath now.
Trumpet vine! I actually do love my trumpet vine and yet it's becoming a concern to me. When I planted the trumpet vine in the front of the living room, I had no idea it would one day have designs on taking over the world. Before I discovered that, I took a shoot from it and planted it in the side yard, hoping to have an arbor for it some day. As the new shoot began growing well, I began to discover just how invasive the trumpet vine actually is. I dug up the vine from the side yard and gave it to someone on a farm who really wanted one and understood the need for lots of space to let them grow. But! I couldn't get all of the root! The vine still grows, healthy and strong. I dug a good portion of that root away today, knowing that it didn't harm the plant in the least, but I tamed it a little.
Digging the roots, planting the bulbs, and raking the leaves, gave me good exercise that elevated my heart rate, and the fresh air was marvelous.
Perfect Morning
This looks to be a perfect fall morning. The air is crisp and cold but the sun is shining brightly. There's a lot of beautiful leaves on our trees and on the ground (and our porch) and they are glowing with color in the bright sunshine. I should be able to work outdoors a while today.
Hollyhocks
This summer during our driving to Erie so often, we passed a house in Union City which had a picket fence along the driveway and a row of magnificent hollyhocks growing along the fence. I loved that sight. We stopped along the road there one day and I took some pictures of it with my digital camera. I think they are great pictures.
Just a couple weeks ago, a driver had an accident right there at that spot and careened into the front of that house. It took off their living room and smashed the house up something awful.
My husband and I have talked it over and we've decided that we will take one of these hollyhock pictures to the people who own this house. I'm not sure how they'll feel about this gesture, but we're thinking they will probably appreciate having the picture showing how nice their house was before the accident. He's hoping it will be well received.
Write It Down
I remember that Alice heard the queen tell the king, in her wonderland dream, that if you don't write it down, you'll forget it. And that was about the fanstastic experience he'd just had when Alice picked him up from his struggle to climb to the table top and gently placed him on the table. He was startled and terrified and said he'd never forget that experience and the queen said, "You will if you don't write it down." How true! Even for traumatic events.
I'm finding as I read over my past journals that often I wrote in detail about the onset of various problems but then never wrote the conclusion of them. And now I wonder just how that thing really did turn out.
At one time, for instance, the administration had us teachers all stirred up about cutting all auxiliary teachers, --music, library, art, gym. This would affect all those teachers and all classroom teachers as well for we would be required to teach those subjects though we weren't certified in those areas. It was a really big deal. And then I wrote no more about it. I can't remember how it was settled except that no teachers were cut, no special classes suffered. But how did that come about? I have no memory of any special announcements, or any rumors, either, that told us that status quo would remain. Now, I'm wondering what happened. But I didn't write it down.
Trip to Erie
We made another trip to Erie this morning. It was another check up at Erie Regional Cancer Center for my husband. It takes all morning. There's nothing new to report. Although he doesn't feel well, everything seems to be under control. We don't understand his fatigue and pain in light of the good report. They tell him just to hold steady and in another month he may feel better.
Then we had lunch and picked up maintenance pills for Desy. She has to have medication for her thyroid every day. I got them last in February. Since she takes this medicine every day of her life, and we have to go to Erie for them, I get about half a year's supply at one time.
Now I'm glad to be back home again.
Deceptive Appearances
When I first saw her, I was sure she was the meanest teacher I knew. She taught fifth grade when I was a fourth grader. The corners of her mouth turned down and she had the sourest, meanest look that I knew. I hoped with all my heart that I wouldn't have her for a teacher the next year.
At the end of fourth grade, it was marked on my report card that I would have P. D. Lot for my fifth grade teacher. He was the principal as well as a teacher. We all liked him a great deal. That summer when I thought about going back to school in September, I felt excited and pleased knowing who my teacher would be.
On the first day of school, I eagerly went to the assigned room, only to find out that P. D. Lot had taken a job in another district and wouldn't be my teacher. My classmates and I were sent to another room on the opposite side of the building and our teacher was the woman I had feared all through fourth grade. I was really scared. I don't know how I walked through the halls to her room.
However, it didn't take long for me to discover that Mrs. Nichols was one of the nicest teachers I would ever have. I don't know why she had the sour expression but she wasn't in the least bit sour. She took a personal interest in us, made our learning fun, and told us a lot of things about her family. She told us where she lived and I was happy to know that it was on a street in town that we travelled to get to church. I loved looking at her house as we drove past it. I loved her.
I modeled my own teaching on the things I liked about Mrs. Nichols. I tried to let the children know that I was interested in them and I shared stories of my life and my interests with them.
When I moved on in school, I did not move away from her influence on me even though she was never a part of my life again.
A Quote
"If you can't write it and sign it,
Don't say it!"
Words to Remember
When my allergies put me in hospital in Spring of 1976, I was in a ward with four other women. They were Ada Hutcheson, Minella Lambert, Viola Walker and Thais Noble, --all of them interesting names. They were all older women and a couple of them were very sick. I was recovering well and eager to get home again but that's another story.
When the nurse's aide came to take care of Mrs. Noble one morning, Mrs. Noble asked her to take care of her last. The aide replied, "I don't have time to do everything last." I thought that was an interesting way to look at work. Some things are best taken care of in the moment and not saved till last. If you go away and have to come back again to do it, it does take longer to get the work finished.
It struck me as a new idea and I thought I ought to remember it, so I wrote it in a little notebook. I was rereading the notebook last night and the quote intrigued me again.
I See Them Just About Everywhere
It's my former students! I do see them most anywhere. I've seen them working in the bank, driving trucks, in the grocery store, the gas station, delivering mail, being lab technicians, in nursing. I meet them when I'm shopping or when I'm at a social gathering. My former students are now young adults and even a little older and most of them are doing very well and I'm proud of them.
Yesterday after the funeral, I met Cassie, one of my third grade students. She is now a licensed mortician, hired by our local mortuary. She's been working there several months and so far has been enjoying her job, in that she's doing a very real service for families who are suffering grief. Before I went home, I had a nice conversation with Cassie and then I stepped out into the cool, rainy afternoon, feeling blessed to have been an important part of Cassie's life at one time.
Working in the Rain
I was told to expect warm ewather again by Wednesday so i determined to get some outdoor work done today. It really is much warmer today, but it's rainy. When it was just sprinkling a little bit, I worked outside any way. There is so much work to be done. Even if I just do half an hour at a time, if I keep it up, little by little, the work will be done. Today I deadheaded and stacked up dead stuff and emptied dirt out of flower pots to be put away for the winter. I must say that weeds came out of the ground much easier on a day like today.
Computer Game
Some years ago I bought a share-ware game named Shadow Keep, which I still have installed on my computer. It's a game of a quest to restore order to a kingdom which has fallen under the power of an evil overlord. There are trolls, spiders, and scorpions to kill, tresures to seek, and secrets to discover. The youngest of my grandchildren is now beginning to discover the fun of exploring the realm of Shadow Keep. It's fun for me to see them discovering the secrets and enjoyments of the game. Glenn Seeman made a really nifty game when he invented Shadow Keep.
A Farewell
My friend Christine, a former colleague, died of an apparent heart attack last Wednesday and I went to her funeral this morning. At one time she and I taught third grade together and I remember when she was a student teacher in our building. She left classroom teaching to become a remedial reading teacher and then moved on to the administrative level. She was part of our school's administrative team at the time of her death.
At her service today, we were told that she had this saying taped to her refrigerator:
"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth while."
That was Christine, --ready for a good laugh. She was honored today for her drive for excellence in education and her pride in her three sons. I remember Christine for her creativity and that while we were colleagues, we were friends.
Cold, Rainy Morning
It was hard to get up this morning. For one thing, it was very late when I went to bed. And then I was dreaming something interesting and cozy which slowly drifted away as I awakened. I wanted to hold onto it but now I just have the remnant of an idea of a dream that was interesting and pleasant.
It's not actually raining now but everything is wet with rain and it looks cold outside. I have to get ready to leave soon to attend the funeral of a former colleague who died suddenly last week at the age of 59. Her death has saddened me.
Flashback
This is a picture of Patty and me on one of the Sunday afternoons that we spent together. We were in high school but I don't know the year. I didn't think about dating the photo when I put it in the album. It's perhaps 1952 or 1953.
Reunion Picture
This is my high school friend, Patty, and me. I am on the left. It was a Hallmark moment when we saw each other at the reunion. I'm still basking in the moment. As I remember it, Patty and I spent a lot of Sunday afternoons together. Patty remembers that my mom was a great cook and she especially liked her fudge. A number of my friends talked to me about my mom. It's nice to know that she made a favorable impression on my friends. I wish I could tell her about it and she could understand. It would make her feel good to know how well she is remembered and loved.
Doing What Is Comfortable
I know that if left to my own devices, I'd tend to do what is comfortable and not always push ahead to do what will bring me the most satisfaction. I know this and yet I have to sometimes be pushed to do the thing that I end up being glad I did.
Tonight was like that. I would have stayed home, not going out into the dark and the rain. It's much more comfortable to stay home on a night like this. But my son pushed to go to the Y to swim. I didn't like to disappoint him, so I went with them. And, happily, I had a really fun time. The water was a good temperature. There was no one in the pool but us four and the life guard kept her eye on us. My son and his sons splashed and played games with the water toys. I did the exercises that I do in the Aquarobic sessions. When we got dressed and headed for home, I knew that it was good for me to be pushed to go to the Y with them tonight.
Kittens and Violets
When I was girl, living half way up the side of that hill, I always had my own cat. Once when my kitty met an unfortunate end, to console me, my daddy said that his Aunt Anna had a lot of cats and we would go ask Aunt Anna for a kitten. The new kitten would make me feel better.
We visited Aunt Anna who was a widow now and living with her daughter and son-in-law. There were many, many cats there. They had a lot of property for the cats to enjoy the outdoors. It turned out that they had 24 cats. Daddy asked Aunt Anna to please give us one of her cats. We visited for a while and Aunt Anna thought it over.
When it was time to leave Aunt Anna announced her decision. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've thought it over and there isn't one of my kitties that I can bear to part with."
We were shocked and amazed. She couldn't part with one of her cats. I had to get a kitten somewhere else.
I'm thinking of this because I have so many African violets that I have to give some away. This morning I had an opportunity to go to the school across the street and take some of my extra violets to make them available for teachers and staff who might make a good home for them. As I looked over my violets, choosing which ones to part with, I suddenly realized that I was having the same kind of trouble that Aunt Anna had when she thought about giving away one kitten. I was stern with myself and chose five of them. If my plan works and they want more, I have at least five more that I can make myself give to new homes. I don't want to be like Aunt Anna.
Home Again
We got home yesterday afternoon in time for me to grab a quick nap and then get to evening service where our women's group gave a concert which was really inspirational and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the singing of A Perfect Heart. I love that song! I enjoyed what the women had to say between the musical selections. I wish the director had given a few words, too. It was a very good service.
Beep, Beep, Beep!
I've been noticing. My husband and I have an intercom set up between his upstairs study and the kitchen. When I have the meal prepared, I signal him with three beeps and he knows it's time to come to the table. If I want to talk to him, that's one beep. Two beeps means that he has received my signal and he understands. Four beeps means that the phone line is open for his use if he's wanted it when I've been talking to someone.
Three beeps, that's the key one. I've been noticing for some time now that when I beep the signal for Marlin to come, Rusty comes first. I knew this wouldn't just be a co-incidence. There's intelligence there. He seems to understand that three beeps is meal time.
Tonight I noticed something more. When I heat up something in the microwave, it signals that it's done with three beeps. I heated up a baked potato and a topping of creamed chicken for myself after church this evening. Rusty had been resting upstairs. When he heard the microwave signal, he came downstairs to the kitchen.
He knows the code for meal time. I don't know if he distinguishes the call to meals as different from the microwave but either way, both signals mean food to him. He always comes looking for his participation in whatever eating is going on.
Do I disappoint him? What do you think?
Can't Go Home
You know the saying, You can't go home again. Sometimes it's really true. Today my husband took me past the home of my childhood, the place I called home until my parents sold it to move to a retirement home. It has been completely altered. They built an addition onto the kitchen and then resided the entire house in a different color and with brick on the side that faces the driveway.
I'm not saying it's not nice. I'm just saying it's not my home at all. My home that was home for all those years exsists only in my mind now. It gave me a deep pang of regret to see that it is gone. It didn't burn down or anything deadly happen to it. It has just morphed into a new unit and it's no longer a place that welcomes me.
Home Again
I feel like I went through a whirlwind trip. We went to the Pgh. area, arriving in the late afternoon on Saturday. We spent the evening at the high school reunion, and then spent this morning at church. As soon as we had the noon meal, we loaded the car and put the dogs in the car and headed home. I was tired when I arrived. Now I've had a rest and I feel that I'm ready to "bounce" back again. It was a demanding trip but it was a very good one.
I replied to the comments on my blog this morning, using the girls' computer. Now, at home, I see they didn't take! Sorry about that. Maybe I'll address them later.
Morning
This morning I was tired but still happy from my memories of last night.
One of the people I talked to last night was Frank, whom I never knew in school. He left our school, I gather it was at the beginning of 11th grade. His dad thought he would do better in a boarding school and sent him away to St. Vincent's Prep. Since he grew up with and was in school with most of these kids till then, they now include him in our graduation class.
After we talked, someone else mentioned to me that Frank had become a chiropracter and he was at our 40th reunion. Then I remembered him from that reunion. He had given everyone of us a book that he had written about healing and health. I made it a point to talk to him again before he left and tell him that I had appreciated the book and that I had read it. He smiled then, a slow smile that began somewhere deep inside and lit up his whole face. He had sort of forgotten that he'd given us the book and he really appreciated hearing that I had read it and thanked him for it. I loved seeing that smile.
Color Me Happy!
I'm very happy tonight. I had a marvelous time at my high school reunion. I didn't talk to everyone but I talked to lots of people and we had some in depth conversations with a number of people.
We got seated at a table where there was good conversation. It made the long wait for the food enjoyable, though we were all feeling very hungry by the time we got to eat. Sometimes table companions are stiff and hard to talk to but these were all friendly and interesting. I thought it couldn't get any better.
And then after we had eaten, I looked across the room and saw at the next table a woman whom I thought might be one of my dearest from high school days. For years we didn't know where she was. I hadn't talked to her since she was a bridesmaid in our wedding. We went off to school to finish our college education and we just never got back together again. I couldn't believe she would actually be at this reunion. I asked my husband, "Do you think that's Patty?" I thought that if he thought it looked like her too, I'd get up from the table and go to see.
But he doesn't speculate about things like that. He immediately got up and said, "I'll go find out." He went to her table. Then she got up and came toward me and I got up and went to meet her. It was wonderful! We had so much to catch up on.
There are so many really nice people in our class. I'm glad I got to spend some time with them this evening. I was grateful for each one I got to talk to, and I'm just estatic to have found Patty again! Now we can keep in touch by e-mail. It will take me a while to get to sleep tonight.
Winter's Coming
Yes, winter is on the way for sure. The temperature is falling and the wind is picking up. Plants that have been in the open and unprotected areas have been freeze killed. My impatiens, hanging at the arbor, has bought it. Today I dumped it into the garden area and meant to store the hanging pot, but it was brittle and broke apart as I dumped the plant out.
I've brought in the plants from the protected areas of the porch this morning. My plan of bringing in a few every now and then was a good one. I didn't have that many to bring in today, so it wasn't a huge task. I will have to find places for some of them, but I'll get it worked out.
I always hate to close down the plants to get ready for winter, but once it's done, I'm pleased to have accomplished the task. I still have some bulbs to plant but I'll count on having a few more mild weather days between now and the onset of winter in earnest. I'll soon be ready for winter.
Sweeping the Porch
This is the time of the year when sweeping the porch is pretty much a lost cause. I sweep the leaves off the porch and the wind blows more down to take their place. I like to see the porch looking neat but Mother Nature likes to see it carpeted in a mixture of red, brown, yellow and orange.
I love walking at this time of the year and walk on this gorgeous carpet on the sidewalk. But I think it's a good idea to sweep it off the porch.
Five Forks
This is the view from the riverside deck of Five Forks Restaurant. It was a rainy, gloomy day but still, the beauty of the place can be seen in this picture. Imagine this scene lit up in sunshine! The first time we went to Five Forks, our group was able to have our meal on the deck, but today, everything was too wet and it was not a good idea to eat there. I went out on the deck to take pictures of the scenery.
Defeat
Our high school team lost again this week, but they played a good game and scored four touchdowns. Too bad that the other team scored so many more. But it was a well played game and had its exciting moments.
Another Reunion
Today I am gearing up to attend my high school reunion tomorrow evening. There's not a lot a person can do to get ready for an event like this, beyond wearing the appropriate clothes. Most of it is dealt with in attitude. I did get a hair cut today and I got out my year book to help me brush up on names and memories.
For attitude, I just have to remind myself why I'm going. I'm going to see friends and acquaintances. I'm going to find out how they are right now and what's been happening in their lives. I'm going to have a good evening. There will be hugs and laughter and some sadness about those who are now absent from us. I'll come away feeling pleased that I made the effort to be one of the class remembering the days when we were students together.
When I remember these things, I don't feel nervousness about it. I had a great time the last two times I went and I expect to have a great time again tomorrow night. Isn't it odd that there is this temptation to feel nervous about forgetting names or making mistakes? Why should a reunion be any different from the rest of my life? So I make mistakes. So, who cares? Tomorrow night I'll celebrate 50 years out of high school! Yeah!
A Bulletin Board Display
Yesterday, on our trip to Five Forks, I took pictures with my digital camera. I took pictures in the car while we traveled, and then I took pictures of the scenery at the restaurant. When they got used to me snapping pictures, I then took pictures of the people. The thing about the digital camera that I have, there's a delay after you press the button until the picture is taken. During that delay, people can turn away, talk to each other, or be involved in what they're doing, which makes the picture rather candid. Granted, sometimes it messes up the shot and you don't like the results but you can delete those shots easily.
I got some really good pictures, without the picture look smirk. I chose five of people and one of the scene from the deck of the restaurant and printed them on photograph paper, letter size. This morning I took them to the leader of the group and suggested that she could use them in a bulletin board display to show what we've been doing. She loved the pictures and is planning to ask for some bulletin board space at church to highlight our trip to Five Forks. I really enjoyed working with the photographs.
Hawk Report
Carolyn told me this evening that she has seen the hawk circling the tree across the road from our house. I hadn't seen him again and birds have been coming back again so I thought maybe he'd gone out to the fields, but he's been back. Sigh.
An Excursion
Today I went on an excursion with our church group, -to see the beautiful fall foliage, --and to have a wonderful meal together. We went to Five Forks at Tionesta, where they serve buffet. This restaurant is located along the riverside where there are five forks branching out from the river. It's a beautiful place at any time of the year but it's stunning at this time of the year when the leaves have turned their fall colors.
There were 12 people in our group. When we arrived there was another group already in the big room. When I had an opportunity, I went to one of their tables and asked them what group they are. One woman answered me quickly, "The Old People." I laughed and said that I knew that couldn't really be their name. Then she told me, "Fifty-five Plus." They were also a church group, from Kelloggsville, Ohio. They were two hours of driving away from the place.
Before we finished, another group came in with 22 people. At an appropriate time, I approached one of their tables and asked about their group. This turned out to be another church group, this time from Gerry, NY, a little bit north of Jamestown, which is about an hour away from us. So they were roughly an hour and a half from Five Forks. They were a group from the independent living of Heritage Village, which is the retirement home for the Free Methodist Church.
I asked these groups about themselves to get information to make my report for the newsletter more interesting. I enjoyed the meal, the scenery, the company in the van, and meeting the people from Ohio and New York.
Toast and Salt, a Theory
I've been asking people if they ever heard of serving toast and salt, as I read about in the obituary last week. None have heard of it so far. One woman told me that when she was a child, they used to eat bread and butter with pepper on it, another thing that was new to me, but she'd never heard of toast and salt.
Last night when I asked another person about it, I suddenly realized that the toast and salt might have been a mistake, since nobody I know does that and nobody's heard of that. The point of the story was that she always said, "thank you," for what she received, ieven if it was toast and salt. Now I think that she was given toast and salt by mistake instead of toast and sugar but she said, "Thank you," any way, and it probably became a memorable family story. Years ago, people kept salt in a cannister, just as well as keeping sugar in a cannister. It would have been possible to get the wrong cannister and serve salt instead of sugar.
This may not be what happened, but it does make sense to me. I think the family was saying about their loved one that she was so polite that she would say, "thank you," even if it was something inedible but was given in good faith.
I'm satisfied with that explanation and since I don't know this family at all, I'll probably never know if that's the real story or not, but it does satisfy me.
The Hot Dog Rule
When we were walking, my new friend Jean told me that her husband likes to keep the pasture cleared of brush to make it easier for the horses to have easy eating. She said that he cuts it with the sickle mower, piles it up and burns it in a big fire.
A big fire to me says, "Get the hot dogs." I started to ask if they use the fire as an occasion to roast hot dogs and stopped in mid-sentence as I remembered the things she'd already told me about her ideas of proper foods. "Oops," I said. "I bet you don't believe in hot dogs."
"I'll tell you," she said. "We've had a rule about hot dogs for about 15 years now. No hot dogs can be eaten in the house." That certainly limits the amount of hot dogs you can have in the year if you can only eat them outdoors. And, it still allows you to make good use of a bonfire.
It's an interesting rule.
No Happy Medium
I feel like a complainer today. But, I have to say it. The water in the pool this morning was COLD! It was supposed to be back to normal today. But then again, it's often either a little too warm or too cold. So, what's normal? Today it was more than a little cold. It was much too cold. I got out of the water a little bit early and spent some time in the hot tub. Now I'm warm. Now I'm back to normal. I might say, I'm at a happy medium.
Upon Reflection
It seems to me that for many people, the turkey and/or the pie is the best part of the Thanksgiving feast. I like those things, of course, but yesterday, the thing I wanted to have seconds of was the stuffing. I think it's always the dish I like best at the feast.
PreThanksgiving
For our Senior Fellowship Luncheon today, Jackie prepared a "Harvest Dinner," which was really a Thanksgiving feast, --a little late for Canadian Thanksgiving and early for our holiday.
It was a really good meal with ever so much food. When you go out to dinners like that, do you ever give much thought to the task of clean-up? I know we often say, "I like to eat other people's cooking," and "I really love it that I don't have to do the dishes." That's the truth! Ah, what a lot of dishes and pots and pans there were to clean up afterward.
Two women got the meal ready for us. Several of the women who were dining with us helped to clear tables and get everything back into the kitchen. Then I worked with the two who prepared the meal and we got all the dishes and utensiles clean and returned to their place. Everyone left and we were still working. I was starting to think that I prefer smaller meals which don't require so many dishes. I almost reverted to what I felt as a child, --when I hated doing dishes. But I reminded myself that it's a privilege to be a helper even though a body does get tired.
At the end, I got to bring some leftovers home for tomorrow. One of the nice things about Thanksgiving is having the leftovers.
Morning Walking
This morning I tried again to go out walking with my new friend, Jean. At first it looked like it wasn't going to be convenient for her but after I settled in with breakfast and the morning newspaper, she called back and told me that she'd worked it out for us do a morning walk.
When I left the house, I was wearing a sweat shirt and a jacket but I thought it felt colder than I had realized so I grabbed my winter coat and took it with me to the car, just in case I didn't feel warm enough.
It was freezing! I should have put the coat on right away. When I went past the time/temperature sign, I saw that it read 31 degrees! When I parked in Jean's driveway, I took off the jacket and put on my winter coat, and zipped it up!. We got a good work out, walking up and down hills for an hour and a half. Our walking time is giving up opportunities to get to know one another better.
Achievement
I did a lot of things yesterday which made me feel productive and diligent but the one that gives me the most satisfaction was making the apple pie. I'm sure that reading about Leslie's Thanksgiving pie was part of the incentive to make the pie but also, it did seem like it was the best way to use some of the apples I bought on Saturday. I used the Pippin apples because they are the biggest of the cooking apples I bought and there wasn't nearly as much paring to do as with the smaller Cortlands.
We ate our first piece of pie hot. It just came out of the oven before we sat down to dinner. I can say our Pippin apple pie was piping hot! It was really good. Today our pie will be cold, but it will still be very good.
Some people make pies easily and often. That's not me. It's a big deal for me when I make pie. But a bigger reason for not making pie often is that we don't need the extra calories.
But they certainly taste good!
Heart Rate
I didn't get my heart rate up this morning at Aquarobics but I certainly got it up this afternoon. I was writing a letter at the computer and looking out the window when I saw the dog that belongs to Dave, who lives a block west of us, walking down the street. At first I thought that Dave must be home today. He usually walks the dog in the early evening. And then I never saw Dave. How odd. The dog was walking himself. Would that be OK, I wondered.
And then I saw that the dog didn't turn at the corner, but went straight ahead toward Main Street where there's more traffic. That might be a bad thing. But maybe I was mistaken about it being Dave's dog. Every once in a while I get a call from someone who thinks they have seen my dog out by himself but my dog is in the house with me. Still, I'm always pleased that people try to take care of me like that.
So, I called Dave but it wasn't Dave who answered. I told him who I am and said, "Is the dog home?" He said, "What?" "The dog," I repeated. "Is the dog home? I think I just saw Dave's dog walking down the street." He said, "Let me check." I heard him calling several times and then he came to the phone and said, "Uh, I think it may be him. I'll go check."
I told him where he was headed and got off the phone quick. Then I realized that whoever this was that answered didn't know me, and probably had no idea which street toward Main the dog was walking. So I had to go look for the dog, too. He was just hanging out beside the church down there. I walked toward him and kept clapping my hands as I do for my dogs and calling "Puppy" to him. I wasn't sure of his name but decided to try Skip. It seemed like the kid on the phone had said a short name when calling him. He looked at me when I called him that. I said, "Come. I'll take you home."
He came to me then and we walked home together. He looked like he was sauntering along every so slowly but he wasn't. He was trotting along at a good pace and I had to hustle to keep up with him. We went for two blocks like that and I got my heart rate up nicely. No one was home when we got there but the door was unlocked so I opened it a little and the dog went in. I hoped I was doing the right thing. So I peeked in again and the dog barked at me like I was an intruder!
I waited around for a bit and then started back home. I met the boy looking for him by Concord School and told him I'd gone after the dog and he was now in the house.
I know that's what I'd want if one of my dogs went out to explore alone, so I was very happy to get "Skip" back home to safety. And I got a little exercise while I was at it, but not 20 minutes worth.
The Best and the Worst
I got to Aquarobics this morning, as I had intended. We always feel a little concerned about the water temperature on Monday mornings. It could be mud-puddle cold and that's no fun.
Today it was HOT. It was 90 degrees, or higher, depending on who told you how hot it was. It felt hot enough to poach an egg when I first got into it, but I suppose it wasn't really that hot. Although it was the best because it really felt good on the joints at first, it was also the worst because it was much too hot to jump around in or stay in for very long.
Relaxing in a hot bath makes a person tired and sleepy. I was trying not to relax but I knew I had to get out of there before I didn't have any energy left. A small number of us left the pool at least 20 minutes early. Some stuck it out till the end of the hour. I was home again by the time I should have been leaving the pool.
Our instructor says it takes three days to get the water temperature back to normal. She thinks it will be a much better temperature on Wednesday.
Morning News
We awakened this morning to the very sad news of the death of Christopher Reeves. He had worked so hard to overcome his injury and make the best of his life. I'm very sorry to hear this sad news.
Tree Gazing
As I was gazing out the dining room window today, just looking at that the rusty yellow leaves of the scrub tree that grows at the side of the porch, my mind was busily dealing with the paragraph which I was writing, but somebody inside my head suddenly noticed a leaf like shape which wasn't a leaf. It was a goldfinch. I startled alert to look at the little bird, now dressed in winter garb of almost olive brown, sitting there on a very slender branch between clusters of the brittle, rusty brown leaves.
I watched it for several minutes swaying with the breeze as the branch moved gently back and forth. Mostly it sat very still but then it did some grooming and scratching. It was facing away from me most of the time and was just basking in the ray of sunshine coming from the west.
Then it began to move, inching toward the upper cluster of leaves. It plucked one! And then the leaf blew away in the breeze. It inched father along and plucked another, held it in it's beak for some seconds and then let it drop. I wonder why it picked the leaves. Was it a Mount Everest kind of thing? It struggled a little to get the leaf off the branch. I'll probably never know why the bird wanted to do that.
It then left the branch and went to the bird bath and drank some water before it flew away.
Right now there is a woodpecker at the bird bell of seeds. It's almost as big as the bell of seeds, in length. I should know it's name. It has a red spot on its head and has black and white horizontal stripes on it's wings and back. Its long, sharp beak is making the seeds fly. My back door neighbor walked through the yard and the bird flew up into the maple tree. When Rudy had gone, the wood pecker returned to the bird bell. I wish I could have a camera focused on these things, as Leslie suggested. I'm trying to fill my memory with them as I watch. I could be late to church this evening while watching the wood pecker at the feeding station!
Sweet Dreams
I napped for a while this afternoon and I dreamed of being in the church on Victoria Avenue, the church of my childhood, the church I came back to, to be married in, the church from which my Grandma Katherine was buried. Some years ago, our church family sold the building to another group and we built a new facility closer to the rural area where I was raised. Of course, it's not so rural there any more as the city moved outward and many new homes and businesses were built.
When one of the churches here in our town decided to relocate, one member of the congregation told me, "I understand why we have to do it but I hate to leave that building. Everything of importance in my whole life was celebrated in that church."
I know what she meant. Many important events took place in that building. In my case, the building still stands and is in use by another congregation, but I never get to go back to it and something inside my mind wants to revisit, to bring back some of the memories.
And so I dream of it every once in a while. It's not as good as being there, but it is a dream that gives me a brief glimpse of the past. Just as there must have been many changes inside the building in real life, my dreams show me twisted views of the sanctuary which I remember, but I awaken feeling pleasantly coforted. Long live the dream.
The Hawk
A neighbor in the next block from us told me that she often sees the hawk sitting on the corss on top of the Lutheran Church that is on the corner of the intersection just below us. The trees hide the roof of the church from my view or perhaps I'd have seen it there, too because I often look out the window in that direction. The hawk either lives very near here or has learned to visit here often. I've seen the hawk once a year in the last three years and I think it's probably the very same bird, but then again, how would I know? I'm certainly not well versed in hawk identification.
I heard yesterday that falcons start their day long before daylight. They have big eyes that make good use of the dim light and they can be after prey before the prey knows that danger is near. I don't know if this hawk has any similarities to the falcon.
This hawk is a beautiful bird. I just wish it could be a seed eater.
Satisfaction
The old saying goes, "Curiosity killed the cat, ---but satisfaction brought him back."
Today at a wedding reception, I got to talk to the wife of one of the school custodians. He knew about last night's fracas at the game. The opposing football team was escorted to the locker room where they were to immediately change their clothing, pack up and leave. There was concern that the whole situation would get out of hand.
I'm glad there was no further incident. I wish it hadn't happened at all. It's so much fun to be on a winning team but it must take its toll to be on a team that loses so badly, either by score or by unsportsmanlike conduct.
So now I'm more satisfied that I know something more about the end of the game.
Birds Are Back
This morning the little birds are back. I watch them and hold my breath that the hawk won't be back, too. My husband says that the hawk won't stay around long. I hope he's right, but I think that if he sees this as place where there's easy pickings, he'll be back. I certainly hope Marlin is right! Meanwhile, the little ones are going after the cracked corn and the bird bell and the cone flower seeds.
Update and Apples
Our local paper doesn't say a whole lot about the misconduct in the game last night but it does say that two weeks ago East lost in a score of 91-0. They were starting to get emotional about this game. Our football team was planning a winning celebration on the field after the game but it would have been inappropriate so they celebrated in their locker room.
This morning is gloomy, cool and threatening rain. I went to Farmer's Market and got some Delicious (really big this year), Pippin (20 ounce Pippins, so they're really big, too), and some Cortland. It was $5 for half a bushel and I could mix them. There may be an apple pie in that bushel of apples. I'll see about that. There's definitely good eating apples and some applesauce.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Our high school football team played tonight against East High. It was our Homecoming and everyone was revved up for a win, and win they did. Just as our team as been stomped on in the the last four games, they were stomping East. The final score was 35-6. Everything was really clicking for the Beavers.
I was listening to the game here at home. Suddenly the announcers started saying in shocked voices that that was the third penalty in a row for East and if those coaches didn't get hold of their team in a hurry it was going to get very ugly. "I don't want to talk about this," our announcer said, "but the coaches have got to do something right away."
And then, it was over! There was still 10 minutes and 59 seconds on the clock but the referees said, "That's it. The game is over," and walked off the field. Everyone was stunned.
Apparently the East players were mouthing off at the officials and the coaches were, too. The officials said, "We don't have to take this. Game's over." And it was!!! Our announcers didn't know what to say but finally gave that message but still tried to soft peddle it. They kept saying that in all their years of announcing football games they had never seen anything like this happen.
The announcer said that in the last four games, Corry had been on the low end of the score but they hadn't acted like this opponent and even tonight, when the other team was getting really riled up about losing, our team didn't respond in kind. The fighting and fussing was all on the other side.
I probably know more about what happened by being here at home listening to the radio than I would have understood if I'd been at the game. I'm wondering how this will be reported in the morning papers, or even on the 11 o'clock news. Should be interesting.
Horrors!
I was doing my usual, here at the computer, watching out the window and there was a hawk, a huge, beautiful, deadly hawk, sitting on the arm of my critter log! I can't believe it. He's found the feeding station and thinks its a buffet for him! I hated to say anything yesterday but I did find one bird killed out there in the morning. It made me feel really bad because it wasn't just like it was a sick bird who died, it was mutilated dead! Now I know why.
I know this is nature but I wish it wouldn't get my beautiful birds. I wish it could eat road kill instead. There are no birds out there now. I think they have been scared away now.
I don't know what to do about the critter log now. I don't want it to be a death trip.
An Interesting Obituary
I read the obituaries each day. I don't read every word of all of them but I look them over. Each obituary is the story of a life. It's interesting to me to see what the family thinks is important about the deceased's life. I also pay attention to unusual names.
Yesterday's paper carried an obituary which was very different from the average obituary. A lot of thought went into this obiturary.
First, the name caught my attention. Orpha. You often see the name Ruth but people rarely use the name of her sister-in-law, Orpha, when naming their little girls. Here was an Orpha. The first paragraph was different than any I've read before. Here it is:
Orpha Knight McCoy went to join her shining Knight Tuesday, her beloved and much missed husband Frank, sons Tom and Frank and grandson Albert. She died peacefully at home, the home she built with Frank in the 1930s and was recently remodeled for her by her grandson John. Although her chronological age was 96, she led an active life until her death, never really going beyond 60 in her spirit and outlook.
Isn't that different? The rest of it continues in that personal conversation style.
Other items of interest in the obituary: She had a great sense of style and always dressed to "meet the governor". Her greatest talent was making people feel special. She always had a smile and a genuine interest in others. Her appreciation for any gift, even a piece of toast with salt, was boundless. It was always a pleasure to be in her company, even when she was letting us know we had come up short in some area.
I thought that was very intresting about a piece of toast with salt. I think it must be a family thing. I'd never heard of having toast and salt.
Here's another bit: She spent the last hour of her life doing that which was important to her all her life, supporting the party that supports West Virginia --the Democratic Party. Her last conversation was about the vice presidential debate, which she was pleased to hear the Edwards was winning. (No personal comment here, just reporting what was in the obituary!)
The surviving family members are listed and then in closing, the family thanks those who were her caregivers, the doctors, the hospital staff and her personal homecare workers. "Their loving care of her is much appreciated."
Orpha lived in South Charleston. I'm not sure why her obituary was in our newspaper but I'm glad it was. It was a very interesting obituary of a very special lady.
Doing OK
My toe is doing OK. I'm cleared to get back to Aquarobic exercise on Monday. Isn't it wonderful how fast the body can heal!!! I think I will try to start wearing sneakers again tomorrow. I hope to get a walk again tomorrow. Boy! Am I glad the Toe Episode is over.
Homecoming Parade
Tonight was the Homecoming Parade. What a beautiful day it was for it. It was on the cool side for the girls in their gowns and bare shoulders, but all in all, it was a lovely day.
I like to watch this parade each year because the young people exhibit so much energy as they participate. The energy kind of reaches out to me and peps me up a little bit, too.
Tonight I went up to the corner and watched them go by. I always love to see our marching band. They are so earnest, so committed to do their best. And I think they look great in the band uniforms.
I stayed till the string of fire trucks came through. Their noisy whistles hurt my ears so I back off a good distance to protect my ears. I'm glad that the kids had such a good night for their parade.
Wouldn't it be nice if they would win the football game tomorrow night!! They haven't won yet this season, but they've started making touchdowns, so maybe they'll be ready for the win tomorrow!
Eating Seeds
I had thought that birds weren't eating the coneflower seeds other years but today I realize that they must have been but I just never saw them. They are such tiny birds. I only see them now because I'm sitting at the computer and looking out the window steadily. There are several little birds on the spent coneflower heads and in the background, a squirrel on the critter log. It's better watching than what I see on TV.
My spent coneflowers are far from tidy and I really thought about cutting them down this year, because I'd never seen birds at them before even though I'd read that they do enjoy those seeds. I did cut down the ones in the circle bed but then before I got to the Slumber Lumber Bed, I started to see the birds enjoying the seeds there. The birds are really busy there this morning.
A Poignant Story
One woman who came to my table for registration used a walker to get around and seemed like it took a great effort for her to come for the shot today. She gave me her Medicare card but she didn't have a driver's license. She had someone bring her today.
I think within the first minute or two that we talked, she told me that her husband had died four months ago. She said she didn't get out much any more, just sits at home, but she's not lonely because she has all the good memories of their time together in their home. She talks to him as though he is still there.
"I thought I'd die before him," she told us. "She has had a number of physical problems, including having her leg amputated. But then he got sick, and died somewhat suddenly.
When the nurse came over to give her the shot, she commented on the beautiful diamond engagement ring that the woman was wearing. "It was a gift from my husband," she said. "It came the day before he died. The matching wedding band came the next day, the day he died."
When he knew that he was dying, he wanted to give her a special gift. He wanted her to go to Erie to pick out some item of jewelry with him, but she kept saying that she didn't need any jewelry. So, without telling her, he went to the local jeweler and got the new wedding ring set with a one carat diamond, which looks huge!
Now the rings have a deep, loving meaning to her, even though she was satisfied with her original ring set. She still feels very close to him.
A Cute Story
This morning when we were doing the flu shots, one of the men who got a shot is a greeter for Walmart. The people getting shots were asked to wait for 10-15 minutes to make sure that they didn't have a reaction to the shot. This man was standing near the table where I was working and he was talking to some friends.
When he finished his conversation and the people turned to leave, he said, "Thank you for coming!"
As they walked away, he realized what he'd done and started to laugh. I laughed, too, and said that I thought that it was our job to thank people for coming. He's said it so many times, it's deeply ingrained now when he's out with people.
The Morning Task
The doors were to be opened for the giving of flu shots this morning at 9. I arrived just a little after 8. By 8:15 people were lining up to get their shots. It was a very cold morning, --too cold for the frail and elderly to be standing outside for 45 minutes waiting in a line. We brought them into the hallway and got chairs for them to sit while they waited. Then, since everything was ready, we started processing shots at 8:45.
I had been assigned to the hospitality table, overseeing the coffee and juice with another person. There were tea bags but no hot water provided. I went into the kitchen area and was looking for a proper pan to boil water when Former President Lucy came looking for me. She had changed her mind about my assignment. She now wanted me to help with registration for the handicapped. We had a special table set up for people with disabilities to come right to us. We would fill out their registration form and the nurse would come to them to give them the shots.
It wasn't nearly as busy today as we thought it might be, given yesterday's announcement of the shortage of the flu vaccine. We gave 420 shots, but there were times when we weren't very busy at all. We were speculating that maybe the advertisement for the shots wasn't as widespread as it might have been. I hadn't seen any announcements and only knew about it because of being asked to work for it.
Sadly, there were three elderly fellows who came at the end of the allotted time, just after all the forms and serum had been packed away. They weren't pleased to find that they were too late. The last man was especially ticked. He felt that he was being discriminated against since he was over 80. They said he could still get his shot today, if he wanted to go to Titusville in the afternoon. I wonder why he came so late.
