My New Adventure
Guess what! I signed up for a book review discussion class with Barns and Noble. The class session starts on Wednesday. I'll get my first assignment then.
It's for Mitch Albom's book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I listen to his program on WJR weekday afternoons from 3-6. I usually enjoy hearing his opinions of current events. He's been talking about this class and is excited about being able to participate in this event, and it made me think it would be interesting to join the group, too.
Then I met Cathie online, when I found an invitation to her book journal and I saw that she's going to take the class. I made a comment in her book journal, and she responded and invited me to take the class, too, and sent me a link to sign up. I did it. I'm participating in a book review discussion online.
More Signs of Spring
I saw my first motorcycle out on the road yesterday. I almost missed noticing it because he had the right of way at an intersection where I needed to turn left but he didn't signal what his intentions were. I had to watch carefull to see if he was coming through the intersection or was going to turn. He was not moving very fast so I had to wait to see what he would do. He turned right. I could turn left without waiting any longer. I was so busy wishing that he would use a turn signal that I almost missed that it was a motorcycle. After I was heading west, I realized, --a motorcycle rider! A sure sign of spring.
Then today coming home from church I saw the tiniest toddler on a tricycle. She was hardly bigger than the trike and it was a small trike. It was almost like a baby doll dressed in pink on a toy tricycle and there she was peddaling along on the sidewalk. "Spring," I thought to myself joyfully.
Memory
Last night I was reading my journal from 1979 and I read the account of when my son broke his collar bone in wrestling practice. I remembered most of it accurately but for one outstanding difference.
I came home from school to get the car to Bill to go to work. He met me at the door telling me that Marlin had been hurt at practice and we should go to the school and get him.
He came out to the car with his arm in a sling and looked like he was in a lot of pain. His first words to me were about being hungry and wanting to go home and eat before he saw a doctor.
My memory said that I told him no, that Dr. Butters was already waiting for him at the hospital and we had to go there right away and not keep him waiting. I've been thinking for years that I should have let him eat something first and wishing I had done that instead of worrying about keeping the doctor waiting.
Now I read that what really happened is that we took him home and he called the doctor while I took Bill to work. When I came back to the house, he told me that the doctor was waiting for him at the emergency room and we should go right to the hospital to meet him.
So he did get something to eat first. Somehow, it eases my mind to find that he did get to eat something before he went to the doctor. I know now how hungry he was all the time he was wrestling because his coach wanted him to wrestle at a weight that was below his natural weight. The only way to do it was to be hungry all the time.
How could I remember it wrong for many years? Perhaps it was because I didn't go into the house with him and didn't actually see him eat something. I'm glad I wrote about it in my journal. Now I can forgive myself for not letting him eat. I really did let him eat. I wonder what else I hold against myself falsely.
Tablecloth
I've gotten away from using a tablecloth since it's just my husband and me at home now and we have table with a formica top which is easier to keep clean without a tablecloth. We got a new dining room table, though, a nice wood one, and it definitely needs a tablecloth for protection of its surface when we eat meals there.
I got out a tablecloth I have not used in years, a wedding present back in 1956. It definitely shows signs of age. Its pattern is faded but the material is still good.
Suddenly I started to remember mealtimes when I was a kid at home. My mom always had a table runner on the kitchen table, with the brown ceramic McCoy well with some ivy, or a cutting rooting. We would take this off the table at meal times and put the tablecloth on before setting the table. After meals, we would shake the tablecloth outdoors and fold it up again and put the runner and well back on the table.
I remember setting the table with the Fiestaware dishes. I know I had assigned a color to each person. There were four colors and we had four people in our family. Now I don't remember the color assignments, except that I probably took the blue one for myself. I don't know what happened to the dishes, but I now have the salt and pepper shaker from the set. One is green and one is red. The red one has smaller holes, for pepper.
Funny how a tablecloth can take me back to a memory that was almost forgotten.
Quotes I Have Liked
Here are some quotes from one of my favorite authors, A. W. Tozer.
"Without information, the most powerful mind can produce nothing worthwhile."
"The effort to think well with an empty head is sure to be largely wasted."
"While it is impossible to live even a short time without learning something, unfortunately it is possible to live a long time and not learn very much."
These quotations inspired me to try harder when I was teaching the fifth and sixth graders. They still have personal inspiration for me today.
Good morning
I woke reluctantly this morning, not ready to 'rise and shine.' I'd been dreaming that we had two women drop in to visit us, and we were newly married. The women were people my husband knew but I didn't. I was trying to be very hospitable and serve them some dessert and coffee. My house was in good order but I couldn't get those few plates and forks on the table correctly, no matter what I did! I made so many mindless mistakes. I couldn't believe it. When I finally got the table ready for four and we were starting to sit down, I discovered there was one more person, which in real time would make five people. But in dream time it was eight! You'd think I would be eager to get out of that kind of confusion, and I suppose I was. But I just didn't want to get out of bed yet.
However, it's a glorious morning. The sun is bright on the snow and the shadows make a strong contrast against the brightness. I look at them and think about how I would paint what I see. And! We have the promise that it will be warmer this afternoon and possibly it will get to 50 degrees tomorrow! That's exciting news.
The fruit man will have his truck at the plaza this morning and I hope to get over there and buy some apples. The ones I got from him a month ago were huge and wonderfully sweet. I hope I can get them again. I don't know how to spell it. Matzuh? They are for cooking or eating, and if you use them for cooking, it's easy to peel just a few of them and have lots.
It will be good to get out into the sunshine, even though the air is cold.
The gift to choose the line that takes the longest
What a wonderful day I've had. My son and his family came for an overnight visit and we had such a good time together. My son helped me with computer stuff, and helped me add a subtitle to my blog.
The weather was mild and beautiful. We went shopping at Walmart for a little while. I met three friends and enjoyed some good conversation with them while my family went their way in the store. Isn't it neat how we can see friends while shopping though we live in the same town and haven't seen them for some time? If I'm ever really bored and lonely, I could just go browse through Walmart and talk to people I know and get my "people" fix.
I only bought a handful of things, --a can of tomato juice, several seed packets (ever the optimist about growing flowers, even though I wonder where I can plant them because my flower beds are already so full) and a vacuum deoderant packet. I chose a short line and waited to be checked out. I knew I'd be finished before my family but I wouldn't mind waiting for them.
Ha! I have the gift of picking the check out line that's going to take the longest time! I don't know how long I waited before I realized that clerk wasn't actually checking the customer's purchases. She was fiddling with the bag caddy. Then when she finally got started, she worked very slowly and the woman had a huge amount of purchases. While the clerk was slowly checking one counterful of groceries, my family went past the front of the check out counter on their way to the car with their stuff all bagged and paid for. They waved good-bye to me! But I knew they'd wait for me at the car.
The woman ahead of me saw that I only had the few items and graciously told me that I could go ahead of her. I was grateful for this kindness but the woman ahead of me was not quite half finished getting her stuff out of her cart and I still had at least 10 more minutes to wait. While she waited for the clerk to make more room on the counter for her to put the rest of her stuff out to be rung up, she explained to me that she lives about 20 miles away and she only comes to our town to shop once in a while, and when she does, she stocks up, to make it worthwhile. Her bill came to $121! She thought it was going to be more than that. I said that I could understand why she would want to stock up when she comes to shop.
Eventually it was my turn, and in just a few more minutes, I was on my way home with my family.
They've gone home now. As usual after a time of family being here, the house is quiet and empty without them. The dogs both seem exhausted from all the fun with more people around. It's a quiet evening here. I think I'll rest, too.
The Missing Ring
I do miss my rings! My thumb keeps rubbing my ring finger, probing for the rings, like a person's tongues goes to the spot in one's mouth where a tooth just came out.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
No! The circle broke sometime tonight. I'm talking about my wedding/engagement rings. When I saw that they were wearing thin where they constantly rub together at the point closest to my palm, I had them bonded together and thought they would be fine. That was a good number of years ago.
Tonight I felt a scratchy prickling on my palm and checked to see what was happening. The place where my rings are joined has a break in it! It's broken clear through, like the toy rings you can buy for a pittance and adjust to your finger's size.
My finger feels so odd without the rings. I keep checking to see why it is so and then I remember the break. I'll have to hie me to a jeweler and have this break mended.
Keep An Untroubled Spirit
I read this advice last night, --keep an untroubled spirit. I needed it for myself this morning. It seems to me that at any given time we are only a hair's breadth away from not being in control. I love being in control, knowing what's planned next, how I'm going to do each thing.
I had an appointment in Erie to take both our dogs to the vet for their check-ups, and preparation for summer. An hour before we left, my husband said he was too sick to go with me! There went my control.
I can handle Rusty quite well here at home but I don't even try to take him out for walks. He's too big and strong for me to handle when he gets excited. Other dogs excite him.
I almost called and rescheduled the appointment but I knew that this chore must be taken care of. Might as well do it now. But my spirit was in a powerful turmoil. I was afraid because I know how much stronger Rusty is than I. I put the head halter on him and we went to the car, the three of us. That was no problem. He loves to go to the car. As soon as we were in the car, a man came walking up the street behind the car. This set both dogs barking something fearful. My turmoil increased.
Then I remembered. The first rule is keep an untroubled spirit. I began to pray over this need and just let God pour His calm into my spirit. Then I refused to think of all the "what ifs" that could go wrong. I only thought about being able to handle it and everything going well.
And it did. I did take them into the vet's office one at a time and after the check up, I took them back to the car one at a time, and I made it without any terrible incident.
Of course, I "bought the store" while I was there. Maintenance meds for the lab, distemper shots for both, heart worm meds and flea control for the summer. You don't want to know what the bill was.
Keep an untroubled spirit. It really worked!
A Spoiler
If you haven't read Shepherds Abiding and you plan to read it sometime, don't read this entry. I'm going to give away an important part of the story that you don't find out until the very end.
The broken angel is restored completely. It was such a nice ending for the really nice story.
It might be hard for me to believe that the angel was mended so completely except for the fact that I had something that was smashed and was mended completely. For many years my mom had a little brown well, a McCoy ceramic, as a centerpiece on the kitchen table. She often had a bit of ivy or a rooting sprig of plant in the well. When she started using another centerpiece, she gave me the little well.
I took the well to school with me and had it on my desk and kept pencils in it. One day a couple of boys got careless with their rowdiness and bumped my well off the desk and it smashed to bits. It was obvious that I felt bad about it. I was sure that it was gone for good.
Heidi told me, "Let me take it to my grandma. She mends broken things. She'll mend it for you." I wanted to just throw it away. It was really smashed. But Heidi insisted and we gathered up all the bits and pieces and Heidi took them home. Even so, I was sure that was the last of it. But several months later, Heidi brought the well back. It looked as if Grandma had found a replacement well and bought it for me, but close examination showed the fine lines where it had been a 3-D jig saw puzzle and was now glued together. So I can believe that it was a realistic ending to have the broken angel restored.
Oddly enough, my last book, Lavender Green Magic by Andre Norton, also told of a badly broken figurine which was patiently glued together again. It's interesting how sometimes an incident becomes a theme for your life for a few days. Mending broken things seems like a good theme to pay attention to.
To Everything a Season
I've been holding back on finishing the reading of the book Shepherds Abiding, but I'm almost to the end of it any way.
I enjoy reading about the daily problems and I love hearing Father Tim's advice. Today I read Father's Tim's method for dealing with problems or trouble. "The first rule," he says, "is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
It's pretty good advice. I'll try to remember this. Keep an untroubled spirit. Be realistic.
I'll finish this book tonight, I think. I hope the next book I read will be as good as this one.
Promise of Spring
Years ago on Morningside, a program from Canada, they would ask listeners to tell what they think are signs of spring. I thought it was interesting to hear the different ideas expressed and sure enough they all did make a person know that spring was almost here. At that time, I thought that when I see people out on their motorcycles again, that is a sure sign of spring.
Today after Aquarobics, which was a particularly good exercise session, I went for a few groceries. The sun is shining gloriously and the snow is slowly melting. Our roads are clear of snow but there's plenty of snow and ice all around us. The air is still sharply cold but the snow is melting little by little.
As I was taking my grocery cart back to the store, here comes this little lady, bundled up tight, sun glasses on because of the bright sun, and pulling her own little shopping cart.
She greeted me as if she knew me, but unless the sunglasses had me completely deceived, I didn't know her at all. I responded, of course. It's a small town and lots of us are friendly to each other, even when we don't know each other.
She said she just had to get out of the house, it's such a nice day today. She was going to the Dollar Store, and oh so happy to be able to be out and walk about again after so many days indoors because of the winter weather.
Now I think, that's another sign of spring--when people just have to get outdoors again in the cold sunshine and greet each other warmly even though they are total strangers. Welcome the coming spring! We're all ready for it, even though it's about a month away.
A Quotation
Here's a good thought to start the day. It's another of those where the author isn't identified.
"For all its terrors and tragedies...the life of man is a thing of potential beauty and dignity....to live is good."
I am grateful for this good day!
Fontanani Figures
I just found out this evening that the nativity figures my friend gave me that are stamped Depose Italy were made by a person named Fontanini. He has made many nativity sets and the sets can be individualized by the buyer picking and choosing the figures he wants.
I may be able to buy some sheep, and also shepherds and Joseph. I love doing research and I was really happy to find this information on Goggle earlier this evening.
But I couldn't find anything about Fontanani and how he makes these figures. I'll keep trying. It's fun to learn.
The Culprit was a Root
On Sunday my back door neighbor had a problem with water running into her cellar and not going down the drain. The cellar was flooding. Today when I was out back with Rusty, she was out in her yard doing clean up from the flooding.
The pumber found that the drain was plugged completely with a big root from the tree in her front yard. She showed me. It was a root about 9 feet long, with lots of little tributaries coming off it.
In our area, all of our cellars are damp. When we moved in, there was a moat next to our indoor cellar walls. It was always dank. My husband worked on the cellar, making improvements, and also put in a dehumidifier and we no longer have the moat. However, there are times of the year, like springtime, or heavy rains, when water still runs in through the walls and it's imperative to have good drainage down there. It took the plumber three hours to find and remove the culprit that caused the water problem for my neighbor.
7th Heaven
7th Heaven was pretty good last night but it had a sad thread through it. I didn't see it coming that Grandpa would die. He hasn't been on the program for some time, -Annie's father. In the story line, he was supposed to have developed Alzheimer's disease. I thought it was just the story line.
Now I wonder. At the end of ther program, there was a tribute to Graham Jarvis, who played Annie's father and it 1930-2003. So, he really did die. Does anybody know, did he really have Alzheimer's disease?
That's such a sad disease which takes loved ones away from us long before they are really gone. I was sorry to see that Graham Jarvis died last year. I missed hearing about it when it happened.
How to Drive a Dog Crazy
The chipmunk is going to drive Rusty crazy. This afternoon both of the dogs went out to the pen and there sat the chipmunk on the woodpile on the outside of the fence. They were both very interested in him. They just quivered with excitement, tense all over.
Finally the chipmunk ran. That's when Rusty went crazy. He would have loved to have chased that little critter, but he was on the wrong side of the fence. Desy calmed down and went back into the house but I had a hard time getting Rusty's attention.
Later he went out to the pen and the neighbor dog was out in the yard. Usually Rusty bounds into the pen and immediately looks for Button and if she's out, he'll bark at her. But this time, he was so interested in checking out the scent of the chipmunk that he never even looked at Button who was out in her yard.
The chipmunk is driving him crazy!
Broken Angel
I had to wait a long time this morning to get my shots. Usually I'm in and out within 10 minutes, sometimes even 5, occasionally 15. This morning it was 50 minutes!
I tried to wait patiently, and I did have the good book to read, Shepherds Abiding. But I want to read it slowly and savor it, not finish it in one day. I had to hold back a lot, look around a lot and read slowly.
One thing I read which I wasn't expecting is that Father Tim dropped his lovely angel and broke it all to pieces. It was already missing a wing, which he didn't know how to replace. Now what is he going to do? It's only 10 days till Christmas in the story. Will he finish the angel in time for Christmas? Don't tell me! I can wait to find out.
I'm going to move my nativity figures to the shelf above the computer. I can see them often there and they will be out of the way. The idea is perking in my brain. How will I restore this set and build it up properly?
Reading
I'm reading a good book, Shepherds Abiding, right now and I don't want to finish it. Recently I read a bit of a book that I didn't want to finish because it was so bad. If it was my book, I'd have thrown it away it was so bad.
But this book is different. It's so good that I don't want it to end. I want it to go on and on. It's the continuing story of Father Timothy Kavenaugh, the main character in the stories of Mitford, written by Jan Karon.
This is the fifth book about Mitford. In this story, Father Timothy finds a very old nativity set, 20 figures in all, 10 of them sheep. They are very old and not in good condition. He decides to buy them and rstore them and make a gift of them for his wife for Christmas.
I feel so inspired to fix up my nativity set as I am reading this story, which I ration out to myself in small portions so that I won't finish the book too fast. I got out the old set that my friend gave me that had been in his family for years but he now had a new set. It's very limited. There are nine figures, not counting the baby Jesus and the manger. There are three kings, two camels, one shepherd, Mary, one donkey and one cow. The base of the shepherd is broken. All of the figures are stamped on the bottom, DEPOSE ITALY. I don't know what they are made of, but it feels like a hard rubber but it can't be because of the way the garment of the shepherd is broken away at the bottom. There it almost looks like a kind of plaster.
Oh, yes! There is also an angel with gold wings, but she's still in the basket because she should be hung up and there's no place to hang her right now. Her wings need attention. Would gold paint be enough? I wonder.
Father Tim is repairing his figures with plaster. He's restoring the hand of one of them. That must be very difficult to do. I wish I knew how to do this. It sounds like a challenging activity.
I'm up to chapter five now. This morning while I wait to get my allergy shots at the doctor's office, I'll read a little more. Meanwhile, my nativity figures are lined up at the end of my dining room table, waiting for me to decide how to clean them and give them some attention.
My Critter
This afternoon when I let my big dog, Rusty, out into his pen, I saw the little chipmunk disappear over the side of the built up cinder block wall. Rusty didn't see it, but in due time, he caught the scent. He began to investigave the wall. The wall isn't cemented into place and some of the blocks have slid back a little off the block that is directly underneath them, so that the hollow places in the blocks are exposed in some places. Rusty showed a lot of interest in one hole and I thought perhaps the chipmunk was in the hole, but I thought surely it had escaped to the other side of the wall.
Just in case it was still there, I kept telling Rusty that it was my critter and he shouldn't try to hurt it. I had bought the critter block of seeds especially for it. I wanted it to have the seeds.
Then Rusty put his head down to the ground where the two walls meet. Suddenly my heart stood still as the little chipmunk popped out of the hole Rusty had been sniffing. It was right above him, exactly on the level of his head when he would raise his head. But Rusty didn't notice at all. His nose was glued to the scent he was picking up down in the corner of the pen. The chipmunk took a great leap, soared right over Rusty and landed on the opposite side of the fence and dashed away like a streak. Rusty didn't see him or hear him. But he was still tantalized by the scent and spent about five minutes sniffing the wall area, -until I called him to come back into the house.
My little critter will come back. I was fascinated by the little episode I had witnessed.
This Good Day
My morning was pretty good, although for a few minutes there, I thought it was going out of control. Everything was going fine. I had my oatmeal cooking, (I fix it with apple and cinnamon and plan to cook it for five minutes) and I ate half a grapefruit while I waited for it to be finished. As I finished the grapefruit and was ready to put the oatmeal into a bowl, my big dog wanted to go outside again. Well, OK, better go outside than not tell me about his need. I let him back in and got my oatmeal into the bowl and was ready to pour the milk on. He decided he needed to go out to the pen again. I know it does take him several trips sometimes, so I took him out again. As I came into the house again, the phone rang. It was my neighbor asking if we had a sump pump. Their basement was flooding with water which seemed to be running in from some place in the wall. Curious, because at that time it seemed to be too cold for snow to be melting.
I had to call my husband to get an answer to that. I don't know what all tools he has. He's really good with dealing with problems like that. He'd already gone to church to get bulletins started, and the paths cleared of snow. He wasn't near the phone so, he couldn't hear it ringing. I had to call four times before I got through to him. All the while my oatmeal was cooling.
He said he had nothing to help them but that the fire department will come to pump out basements when needed. Then I called my neighbor with that message and finally ate my now cool oatmeal. But it was still good. A grateful heart, you know. It makes a difference. I thought I might be late to church because of that twenty minute interval, but actually, I was just in time, and I was still in good spirits, except that I feel bad for my neighbor trying to get the rising water out of the basement. I hope they have it cared for now.
What a Dream
Last night I dreamed that I had a baby, at home, alone! He was a beautiful big baby. I had him at 8 in the evening and now it was morning and I just realized that I'd forgotten much of what I knew about taking care of a baby. I hadn't even thought of feeding him yet. And suddenly I remembered that they put some drops in newborn's eyes today. I had to get my baby to the doctor and have that done. The rest of my dream was full of my efforts to get my baby to the doctor. I didn't name my baby. Sometimes he was very precocious and would talk to me. Sometimes he would take two or three steps but mostly he was wrapped securely in a receiving blanket and I was holding him. I was so happy to have him, but once in a while, I thought about the responsibility ahead of me, for the next 18 years. I just knew I could do it even if it was strenuous.
I woke up reluctantly. I wanted the dream to go on. It was a wonderful dream. I feel wonderful this morning. The dream is fading away already but the feeling is still here. I look for good things to happen today, ---but no newborn baby!
A Quote
This quote was in our morning paper the other day. The author wasn't identified. It just something like, "As someone once said, 'There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.'" I think it's true.
A Cat or Not a Cat
My painting may be finished. I have refined the flowers this morning. But, there is room on the path for me to park a cat. There is no cat in the photograph. However, I have a very good picture of a tiger cat, sitting. It would go on the path very well and add interest to the picture. I'd really like to add the cat.
The problem is, I'm not sure what size I would make the cat. It's OK to take elements from several pictures and combine them artistically to make a new picture. But to do this, I have to get the size right.
I may need to wait till I get an artist mentor to come and give me advice. Other items of interest could be a potted plant or a basket planter. However, I really like the idea of a cat. I'll experiment with paper and try to get a cat that would be the right size before I start to paint it on the picture.
This could take some time. I want to do it exactly right.Spring in the Air
It felt like Spring arrived yesterday. I noticed it first when I let Rusty out to his pen. He bounded out joyfully and then stood and sniffed the air. Then when I left the house to go to Aquarobics, I thought I could feel it in the air, too. I felt excited and eager. But when I went out to the car, the built up ice in the driveway was very slippery, because it was starting to melt. I hd to get to the car with great care, but I made it safely!
When I left from Aquarobics, the temperature was 48 degrees. That's wonderful! The snow is melting slowly and water is running everywhere outside. Icicles are melting and beginning to fall down. During the day, I kept hearing a thud, and it was ice falling off the house. We are supposed to get a little more snow today, but that warmth yesterday surely speaks of warmer days ahead of us.
I bought a "critter block" before Christmas. It was packed solid with seeds and peanuts, about 8 inches square. It was for chipmunks, squirrels and birds. I put it in a safe place on the wall of the dog pen. No cirtters came to it. No critters came to Carolyn's bird feeder either. But yesterday, I saw a chipmunk out there getting the seeds. I was happy to see him. I hope he has a feast.
Finished?
I've been working on the oil painting, -the picture of the flowers in front of the fence, -and I'm just getting ready for bed. I probably worked about four hours. It's not finished yet! BUT, I really feel good about this painting. I just worked on greens today. I hope to work on the flowers again tomorrow. I feel really good tonight. I know I've made important progress, but I also know that in another week or so, I will probably see areas that I think need more work. Teehee, while I had all the greens still on my palette, I worked on trees in a painting which has been "finished" for two years. I think I did it a lot of good!
A Quilting Store
Today I had to pick up my painting which was on display in the window of the used bookstore. The man who owns this shop is retired and is doing the bookstore as a hobby. He doesn't feel that he has to be there at regular hours. He doesn't open until 11 and sometimes he doesn't come in then. I arrived at a few minutes before 11 and the store was still closed.
While I waited I decided to go into the sewing store beside the bookstore. I'd never been in it. I never was good at sewing and I don't really try much any more, but the displays in this store were both beautiful and inviting. I asked a lot of questions about the displays and about sewing. The name of the store is My Sewing Room, and the owner told me that it's mostly quilters who buy from her.
At the front of her store, she has a display of patchwork kites. I thought it was a very creative display. She made all her kites herself. She said that they weren't meant to fly but perhaps one could figure a way to make a fabric patchwork quilt which would fly. Hers are meant to hang on the wall.
By the time I was done asking questions and noticing things of interest, the bookstore was open and I got my painting and came home.
Grandma Said
Yesterday I had to attend two church tureen dinners. Each was a very enjoyable dinner with great company to enjoy. One was at noon and the second at 6 PM. I kept wishing that these dinners could have been on two separate days. "Feast and then a famine," I thought. And then I remembered, Grandma Emma used to say that.
That made me wonder what of my Grandma's other sayings I can remember. Grandma Emma died in 1963, so it's been a long time ago that I heard her sayings. But several of them came back to my mind.
"Flick as Flynn," she would say when she sliced homemade bread. I don't know if I spelled Flynn correctly because I don't know if it was a name or a made up word. She meant that the bread would be sliced unevenly, perhaps thick at the top, tapering to thin at the bottom. Or it could be the other way around. Thick and thin both in one slice of bread. Perhaps it was something they made up at home, either when she was a girl in her family, or one of her children may have said it when she was a mamma. I questioned what the saying meant, but I never asked where the saying came from.
When two things were beside each other, Grandma would say that they were, "Side by each." I've never heard anyone else say that, but once in a while I say it, just because I remember Grandma. (And I always add, "My grandma said it that way.)
At the dinner last night, when people were talking about food preferences, someone said, "Each to his own." Meaning that we don't all like the same things. And this brought back to my mind that I think my grandma and my mom both said this, but they would add something to it. "'Each to his own,' said the old lady as she kissed her cow.'" None of the others had heard it said this way.
I hope I remember some more things that my grandma said.
Word Games
I've just come from a session of playing board games with a group. I chose Scatergories, a word game, over number games. I was one of a group of three and I thought we had great fun together. When we compared our answers, we laughed a great deal.
The thing that surprises me is that when I was supposed to name a hobby that started with W, the other two expected me to say WRITING, and I never thought of it myself. When they told me that they thought I would say, "writing," I was surprised that I would miss something like writing which is so much a part of me.
The only thing I can come up to explain that oversight is that I don't really think of writing as a hobby, for me. It is a way of life. I write. It's who I am, --a writer.
Unfinished Business
I don't like unfinished business. I like closure. Once I start a project, I want to finish it and if it's a huge project, like a cross stitch picture or making a quilt, I want to make steady progress on it. I have no big sewing projects underway. My project at this time is "The Painting."
I know what I want to do to it, to deepen color in one area, to add more flowers to the row and make them less uniform in size and height, but now I haven't touched it for days. I look at it and think about the touches I want to add, but I can't do it right now. The problem is, I can't see an unbroken stretch of time to work on it because I have places to go and things to do. It's hard to work on oil paintings for 15 minutes at a time. It could take that long to get the paint ready and then clean the brushes.
I'm hoping that I'll get the time this weekend to bring the painting closer to closure. I don't like unfinished business.
Aquarobics
I really enjoy the Aquarobics classes that I attend three times a week. I've only been doing it about three years and it's still a wonderful thing to me. I was not raised around water and I don't swim. I was very afraid of the water.
When I first went to Aquarobics, it was so strange to me. I spent my first weeks and months doing the exercises at the very edge of the shallow end of the pool. I laughed a lot. Everything tickled me so much. When the instructor called out, "Froggy," I had no idea what that mean. When I learned that we jump up and grab our ankles, it sounded so impossible to me. I laughed and laughed. But little by little my hands got closer to my ankles and today, I can grab my ankles. It still makes me laugh some times.
Another one that makes me laugh is when we "pull the rope in and kick your butt." It also sounded impossible, but now I have no problem with it.
Today when I was doing the deep water exercise, with the styrofoam noodles under my arms, (yes! I am freed up mentally so that I can launch out into the deep water and I LOVE it!) I looked down at the dark blue stripes at the bottom of the pool. Immediately underneath me the lines are straight, but as I looked toward the other end of the pool, the lines snaked out in front of me, like a squiggle of toothpaste pushed out from its tube.
I love being out in the deep water now but I still feel the wonder of being able to be there. I love the feel of the water all around me, the weightless feeling, the way the water moves around my arms and legs as I do the exercises. Even when I don't laugh out loud about it, I smile a lot. Aquarobics was great fun for me today!
Time Thoughts
I was visiting my mom in a nursing home far from our hometown yesterday and last night I got to thinking about time and how the passing of time affects people. In the past I have been a hospital volunteer to visit with people who have to spend extended time in hospital. I was remembering that most of them wanted to tell me something about their parents. Almost all of them would say, "My parents are dead now." Then they would tell me of the things their mom or dad really liked or how they had influenced them.
My mom must often think about the days when her parents were living, because she sometimes thinks she's back in the days when they were part of her daily life. It must be a universal tendency for people, that the older they get, the more they think of the days when they were kids and were living at home with their parents.
I'm starting to notice this tendency in myself. I keep trying to remember what I felt like when I was a little girl. I have flashes of memory of the child I used to be, but much of my early experiences are buried deep in my forgotten archives.
Just before I fall asleep at night, I reach back to childhood to see if I can bring up some long forgotten fact. Do I in fact remember my daddy coming home from hunting, wearing his woolrich hunting coat with the big roomy pockets, and telling me to reach in and get something that he found for me? It would be before I was five years old. I trustingly put my hand into his pocket and felt something soft, warm and furry. It was my kitty! How happy I was to pull my kitty out of his deep pocket and cuddle her in my arms. I think I remember, but do I? I wonder if I know this because my parents told me this story. The memory has awakened today, though no one reminded me of it recently. It's a good memory of a happy time long ago. It shows me a happy, trusting little girl and a caring, gentle father who thought of a nice way to surprise his little girl. It is a part of who I am today.
Waiting
The older I get, the easier it is for me to wait for events to happen, --usually. I can remember when I waited impatiently for birthdays to come. How eagerly I waited to be finished with high school. And then I discovered that those events came and passed by so quickly that they were just a blip on my time screen. After that, I was more calm about waiting.
Now there are few things that I feel I can hardly wait for. I know that all it takes is patience, and that time will not only come, but it will also be gone. Anticipation can be a very blessed part of happy events.
However, waiting for little things causes stress. Waiting for the light to turn green, waiting for the computer program to respond, these things try my patience. Waiting for other people to get ready for their part in the events of my life can be very stressful. I shall learn to be calm, even while I wait for the next step in my journey.
I should be an expert in the waiting game, but I'm not.
A Good Day
It's been a very good day today. I was in charge of the Fellowship Luncheon at the church today and it went very well. I don't do the cooking. I just did the program and that was very successful. We had as guest speaker a dear friend who is 94 years old. He told the group how God had led him to find his second wife. I knew he would be a good speaker for this luncheon which is so close to Valentine's Day. Every time I see him, he works it into the conversation to tell me how happy he is with this marriage and how blessed he feels. They have been married 11 years now and he is still totally happy with his bride. It's a really special love story. Every one enjoyed hearing his story.
I've been painting again this evening. I've worked the grassy foreground to make it more interesting, --textured. What fun it is to me to step back and look at my painting. Some times life if pure joy!
What Tickles You?
It tickles me to watch animals. I love to see deer in a field when we're driving by. I love to watch a squirrel scampering up or down the tree in my yard. I know they can be mischievous and pesky at times, but it tickles me to see them darting around doing their squirrel routines. I like to see the little chipmunk that must live near our dog pen and often checks out the bird feeder in the back yard. He's so energetic, so cautious, so delightful to watch.
I like to watch my own dogs, too. It tickles me to see them do things in tandem. When they sit in front of me and eagerly anticipate a hand out, it tickles me because I know they trust me and depend on me and I love to meet their needs.
It tickles me to see people eagerly learning and putting their new knowledge to use in their lives. It's fun to be a teacher and be a part of helping someone grow.
What tickles you?
The Picture
This is the original picture I've been painting.
End Results
Today the canvas is covered with paint. The picture is painted. But it's not really finished. It still needs details, --finishing touches. This can be a really fun part of the painting. There is a lot that is right about this painting, and now I will add brush strokes that give it depth, --I hope.
While I let it rest over the weekend, I'll be reading in artists' magazines about "how to" do oil paintings. I've seen some fantastic examples in these magazines. Just looking at the pictures of these paintings makes me think of methods that I can use in my own picture. I feel inspired.
My painting is on an easel behind me. I keep turning around to get a glimpse of it, to see if it looks true, or if I'll see a spot glaringly wrong, begging to be corrected. It's not done till the frame's around it, and even then, strokes can be added or changes can be made. I think I'm going to like this painting.
Still painting
Yesterday I was thinking about the scary times for me when I'm painting a picture. I realized today when I got ready to paint again that every time I come back to a painting after being away from it overnight, that it's scary to do that first stroke again. It seems like I might get the color wrong and it won't blend in with the old, or I might put it in the wrong place and spoil what I've already done. Now, I know this isn't true, because it's almost impossible to ruin a painting, unless I started out with bad composition. Mistakes can be wiped out and worked over.
But I put off doing that first stroke. First I have to water the plants, or make a phone call, or tend to some little chore, but in my heart, I realize, I'm putting off that first stroke of the paint brush on the work in progress. Then, once I'm into it, I find it very difficult to quit. Last night when I stopped work and cleaned my brushes, I was so energized I could have kept painting till the wee hours of the morning, but I thought I was going to have a very busy morning and would have to be up early. The freezing rain changed that and I was home all day again.
My picture is perhaps 3/4 completed now. I have the pine trees finished, and the flowers in front of the fence. I love looking at it. Sometimes I think it's going to be a dud, and then other times I feel surprised at what I have done. I like the way I've done the trees and flowers but I have not finished the work. I do hope it comes together as I expect. I hope to complete the work by tomorrow afternoon.
I love painting, whether the picture turns out well or not, the process is such a kick for me.
Painting
There are two or three scary times for me when I'm painting a picture. The first shouldn't be scary but it seems to be, at least, an intimidating moment. It's when I have to put the very first paint on the blank canvas. There it is, clean and unspoiled, and who knows what I'm going to do to it? How many lovely pieces of drawing paper have I messed up and thrown away? Those first strokes of the brush commit me to something which I may do very poorly.
Then there is the completion of the under painting, and I step back and look it over. It's so rough and crude. Can I ever get this to look like a real picture with detail and precision?
And, sometimes when it's almost completed, there are a few necessary strokes which seem like maybe I could slip and ruin the whole thing.
Apart from the scary parts, painting is lots of fun for me and usually the scary parts are just me making it hard for myself. Doing something creative like painting a picture fills me with a special energy even when the finished result isn't exactly what I had in mind. I really do enjoy the process.
My latest painting is now completely under painted and is waiting for the detail work to change it from rough and crude to polished and finished.
In the Moment
Almost anything that I do which I pay close attention to and become fully alive "in the moment," can take on a luster of beauty that gives me satisfaction. It can be a simple act like peeling an apple but it becomes a moment of bliss as I am aware of the feel of the apple as I turn it, the smell of it, the control I use to peel a thin thread of apple skin. And I haven't even tasted it yet!
Just sitting quietly and looking around affords me a pleasure as I focus on the familiar safety and coziness of home.
I find a special joy in taking care of the animal needs of my two dogs. I take pleasure in their pleasure of the things I do for them. They depend on me and trust me and I am happy to have them in my home.
It's time for me to begin working on Pysanky Eggs again, getting ready for Easter. I love the feel of the egg in my hand. It is smooth and cool, but warms up as I work on it. I really get into the moment when I'm drawing a design with wax on these special Ukrainian Easter Eggs. I note the weight of the egg, the shape of the egg, and I look for the beautiful colors that emerge near the end of the process when the black wax is wiped away.
There is beauty to be found in each individual moment. I try to remember to look for it often.
The Icicle Drips
The Icicle Drips!
We have massive icicles hanging from our roofs here in Corry. It’s amazing how big they have grown. Saying that they have grown makes them seem alive, and they really aren’t alive but the certainly do grow. We see these ice masses all over town. There are huge blocks of ice hanging from buildings over the sidewalks on
This morning when I left the house for church, I discovered that thought I hadn’t put my hat on yet, my head wasn’t terribly cold. In fact, the air felt balmy. At church, people told me that the temperature was 18-20 degrees. That sounds frightfully cold, but it’s well above zero, and that’s good!
After church, it felt even warmer. Later in the afternoon, I saw that the icicles were dripping! The dreadful cold is loosening its grip just a little. We expect more cold weather in a few days, but it’s nice to see the icicles dripping. Now, we hope they will let go and slide to earth gracefully when their time comes to leave the eaves.
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