Dad's Rule
When I was a young girl and lived in that house half way up and half way down the hill, my dad made rules that I had to follow. I thought about this tonight when I took the dogs out to their pen for their bathroom break before bedtime.
On a night like tonight in the summer we would play outside in the gathering darkness and being kids, we would want to make numerous trips in and out of the kitchen. All of the bugs of the night would be attracted to the light in the kitchen, especially the miller moths. One of Dad's rules was, "Don't hold the door open. You'll let the bugs in."
This was a rule that applied to both day and night. If it was daylight, it would be flies that we might let in. If it was evening, if it was dark, it would be millers, mosquitoes, June bugs, and others that Dad would want to keep out.
I remember how we had to turn the porch light on and the kitchen light out and open the door real fast to keep the bugs outside in the night.
I wish tonight that I'd been more diligent to follow Dad's rule about keeping the bugs out. I just found a fly floating in my tea and had to dump the rest of my tea down the drain! Father knew best.
Nativity
When I read Shepherds Abiding, I fell in love with the idea of collecting a nativity set. I have some pieces of a set and they're stamped Repose, Italy. I found some just like them on E-bay. I thought I was going to get them. There was just one half hour to go and I was the highest bidder. I went to bed feeling sure that I had won the bid. But this morning when I looked to see my victory, I discovered that someone else took the prize. What a sad surprise. But then I realized that I can check again sometime and bid on another set. It's not over yet. I'll have to wait a while but perhaps some day, I'll be the winner.
Full Circle
When I was a girl and lived half way up that hill, my grandma spent half of every year with us. Although Grandma Emma lived to be almost 90, and I was almost 30 when she died, she was always very old, to me. She was bent over and was slow in her movements and her face was seamed with wrinkles. She spent her time puttering with this and that. One of the things she did was sew quilt patches together. She had trouble threading the needle and would often ask me to thread the needle for her. I was really pleased to do this small task, but I think I felt very smug about my eyes being so good that I could see to thread the needle and Grandma couldn't. It seemed to me that I would be different when I finally would join the ranks with the "old" people.
And now I must be "old!" I don't feel that old but I have trouble threading a needle, and I don't have a granddaughter living here to thread the needle for me. This morning I decided to take a couple minutes, which is all the spare time I had then, and sew on that button that I've been meaning to get to for several months. I grabbed the shirt and the button I got the needle and the thread and got situated to work on the task.
I couldn't thread the needle! I didn't have five minutes to spare to get that needle threaded. I had to put the button in the shirt pocket and hang the shirt up again and put the needle and thread back on the sewing chicken without even starting that little chore. When I have an extra half hour, maybe I'll try again to thread the needle
And so I've come full circle, from the young girl threading the needle for Grandma to the Grandma needing the young girl to thread the needle for me.
A Harvest
Yesterday afternoon I decided that the onions I planted some time ago are big enough now. I pulled six of them. I cleaned and ate one of them right away. The others are waiting for in the fridge for my afternoon salad. Onions and I go away back. My parents have told me that when I was a tot still in my high chair, they would give me a green onion and I would treat it like a lollipop. Now wonder I grew up liking onions.
A Perfect Day
What makes a perfect day?
The poet (James Russell Lowell) says if ever, perfect days come in June. If it's weather that makes a perfect day, our June didn't make the grade because the weather has been much less than perfect.
But in reality, weather, run of the mill weather, doesn't break a day. A violent storm can do a lot to ruin a day, of course, but for the most part, it's the attitude that I bring to the day that helps it to be a great day.
Today had a lot of perfection to it. It was pleasant. I saw beautiful things. Calla lilies were blooming outside of the Regional Cancer Center. There were other lovely flowers there, too. They have the place beautifully landscaped and it's beautiful inside, too, everything spotlessly clean, and colorful art work is displayed on all the walls. They run it according to schedule and you don't have to wait long to be seen, talked to, treated. They offer coffee, tea or cocoa, and fresh fruit to ease your stay.
The drive to and from Erie was without incident and that, too, is a blessing.
I started the day with a 2 1/2 mile walk and that was a good way to get the day on the road. I hope to do it again soon. And then my Psalm readings. (I finish the Psalms tomorrow.)
This had to be a day that was perfect, or very nearly perfection.
Sunflowers
My flower beds change from one year to the next, even though there are lots of perennials in them. I would expect the plants to come up in the same place where they were last year, but sometimes they don't. They edge farther away from the original spot, or the seeds blow into other places in nearby beds. Birds spread seeds around.
So, I always have sunflowers growing, usually because birds have dropped the seeds in unlikely places. One year the sunflowers were thick and dense around the front bird feeder. That was really striking. Passers-by commented on how great they looked. I looked from them to grow that way the next year, but there were only a couple that grew there.
As I walked through the yard looking at the plants today, I suddenly realized that there are no sunflowers growing this year. I tried to transplant the sunflowers that the squirrel planted in the flower pots, but none of them made it. No sunflowers this year! That's a disappointment to me, in a way. However, there are lots of other beautiful plants for me to enjoy and I'll expect that next year there will be more sunflowers again.
One Man's Treasure Is . . .
You know the saying, "One man's treasure is another man's trash," or maybe it's vice-versa. Any how, yesterday I was enjoying watching the squirrels playing at our trellis arbor and I thought how cute they were.
Today my neighbor, Carolyn told me that she was watching them too. She was thinking, "Oh, no! Those squirrels are going to get into our attics!"
I hope she's not right, but I still think, "Those squirrels surely are cute!"
Good Things
Here's a list of good things about yesterday.
1. My shots went well. No problems!
2. Doing Aquarobics felt good.
3. Two hours of work on my latest painting felt good, too. I felt like I was working through the difficulties and I feel good about the picture.
4. Watching three squirrels playing on the step ladder and archway trellis. Rusty watched them, too. He was fascinated. Every once in a while, he would act like he could hardly contain himself and he wanted to get out the window and chase them away, but we kept quieting him.
5. When a friend knew that my husband had questions about the radiation process that he's facing, he dropped everything and came to talk to him about it. Our friend has been through this seven years ago. He offered support and guidance.
6. I was diligent about a lot of things yesterday.
7. Even though it rained most of the day, I could look at the flowers through the windows and enjoy them that way.
8. I had good e-mail letters.
9. I had good memories.
10. Had a good phone conversation with my brother.
Our Hiding Place
While I'm thinking of the barns and the play house places when Nancy and I were children, I also started thinking of times we spent away from our home base, so to speak. Nancy's parents owned acres and acres of land and we were often allowed to go exploring out over the hill, out of sight of home.
We picked flowers, umbrellas, (and later May apples), blueberries, and blackberries at times, but there were times when we just went out to play. We found a grouping of pine trees where they formed a wall around an open place and that became a "play house" for us, also. We didn't have much by way of furniture out there, but we had great imaginations.
We had a little flat tin box in which we kept our secret writings and we hid it under a rock there in that little play area. Now I have no idea what we wrote that we kept in the box and I also don't know whose box it was and where it ended up.
I would love to revisit our secret place but it's been so many years now and the place is very overgrown. I feel sure that i wouldn't be able to find it. I think the place exists only in my memory now. Some time ago when I questioned Nancy about our shared experiences in the past, she confessed to me that she's forgotten most of the adventures together. I think the secret hiding place is mine alone now, and it exists only in my memory where imagination is still alive and well.
Childhood Neighbors and the Perils of the Barn
When I was a child, I lived half way down a hill. My best friend lived at the top of the hill. There was one neighbor between us and we were very friendly with each other. There was a path that ran from our back yard, through the gate in the fence around their yard, up the hill past their back porch, and through the fence into my best friend's parents orchard and then to their back door. This path was well traveled but it was probably most traveled by us kids. In the summer we went up and down that path many times during the day.
My friend's father was a mailman and he did farming on the side. He had a fairly good sized herd of dairy cows and a huge barn with lots of hay and a trap door in the barn floor to throw the hay down to the level below where the cows came to their stalls to be milked.
When the trap door was open, the hole in the floor was big and scary and seemed like a magnet to draw kids to fall into it and break their bones. We were warned many times to stay away from the trap door when it was opened. We would creep close as we dared and peer into its depths and shiver with the terror of the lure of the trap door which we always avoided falling through. We knew that if you weren't paying attention, you could be looking somewhere else and accidentally fall through the open trap door and surely break something, probably your neck!
One of our favorite pastimes was to climb the ladder and jump into the hay in the hay mow. Though the hay was stiff and scratchy, it was soft to jump into, but it always took a lot of courage to make the jump. It was exciting. We would climb the ladder again and again and make the perilous jump. One of the perils of the hay mow was the pitchfork. Never jump into the hay without looking to see where the pitchfork is!
The ladder was built right into the barn structure and the rungs were spaced far apart, for the stride of a grown man. This was another peril. You could fall from this ladder if you weren't careful and that was another way you could break your bones or your neck. You could climb this ladder to the platform which really was the ceiling for the corncrib. We had a playhouse there on the platform, with furniture made of boxes and crates and other things that became objects of household furniture through our imagination. We could jump into the hay from the side of this platform playhouse. When there wasn't much hay, we would climb back down the ladder. It was harder to climb down the ladder than up it.
We had a barn, too, but it wasn't large and functional like my friend's barn. We kept things like lawn mowers and Dad's tools in our barn and never even had a hay mow. There was no trap door that I recall, and certainly no ladder. One small corner was designated for my play house. All our furnishings were enhanced by our imagination. We did have doll dishes and we fixed a table of boxes and crates, covered with a doll blanket for a tablecloth. We would set the table with the dishes and bring in seeds of various plants and pretend it was food. I especially remember stripping ragweed seeds from the plant to become food for our playhouse.
On this very rainy and chilly June day, I find delight in remembering how cozy a day like this would become as Nancy and I "played house" in her barn or ours.
Reading While Waiting
When I go to get my allergy shots, I plan to have a good book with me. Sometimes I read a few paragraphs before I get called in and sometimes I wait so long that I read whole chapters. Today I didn't get to open the book, but it wasn't because I was called in so quickly. It was because there were friends to talk to. But I didn't have to wait long this morning, so I wouldn't have read many pages any how. It's good to talk to friends.
Fourth of July
I think of the Fourth of July as being sort of middle of summer, or at least nearly the middle. Suddenly I realize that next Sunday is the Fourth already and we are still not having typical summer weather.
Our town has a parade and special festivities planned for Saturday and Sunday. We in the Artists' Guild display our art in the park. I've been working on a picture to show that day but I got bogged down in other things and haven't finished it yet. I keep thinking that I have lots of time yet, but this morning, I realize that I now have less than a week to do it.
I'm remembering that song Charlie Brown sings in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, ----"I work best under pressure, and there'll be lots of pressure, if I wait till tomorrow. I should start writing now! But if I start writing now when I'm not really rested, it would upset my thinking, which is not good at all." Just change writing to painting and that's sort where I am with this project today. I should start painting this afternoon. I probably will, now that I've looked the time limit in the face.
My Shasta Daisies
Some time last week my Shasta daisies began to bloom. I was happy to see them begin to open up. But then I realized once more that one clump of the daisies that has been growing in the Curbside Bed has completely disappeared. I don't know how it could completely disappear in one winter.
Well, of course there is winter kill, which is a possibility, but they have seemed to be so hardy. In fact, they were downright prosperous, so to speak. They were so big and plentiful and they leaned out into the street during the peak of their blooming. I would put up stakes and tie them up to keep them out of the roadway.
I thought they would always be there. I did notice earlier this year that there was no sign of them but it wasn't until the others began to bloom that I really missed them.
Reflecting on the Day and the Past
The choir program is over now and it went very well, with no problems at all. I was very happy to be able to do my part at the piano. I just didn't realize how tired I would feel by the time it was over. Even so, I enjoyed being able to participate in the way that I did.
I think perhaps the best song for me was the opening song, Be Strong in the Lord. It's one of the ones I truly love. We closed with He Keeps Me Singing, a song which we sang often in the church of my childhood.
No, it wasn't a little brown church in a dell. It was on the corner of an urban street and there was no parking lot. People parked along the street on both sides of the street. Today a big parking lot is important to churches. The church of my childhood is still a church but it is a different congregation. I would like to tour that building again some day. Maybe I could imagine the echoes of He Keeps Me Singing, a song we loved to sing.
Choir Program
Today is the day for the choir program of music and then choir has the rest of the summer off. I chose a necklace to wear that my husband gave me for my birthday the year I turned 31, just before our youngest son was born.
Wearing the necklace gives me a warm, cozy feeling, a kind of safe and secure feeling. The necklace reminds me of happy birthdays and family ties and underlying support. I'm not really nervous about this program, but I like the "you are loved" feeling it gives me when I'm wearing it.
The Wedding
Today's wedding was held outdoors beside a small body of water. It was a beautiful setting. It was a beautiful day with picturesque clouds and blue sky and wonderful greens all around.
But! You knew there had to be a "but," didn't you? But it was very windy and very cold and this beautiful lake was also home to ducks and geese. I've always enjoyed driving past this place and seeing the water fowl there but today was the first I ever walked there by the lake. It gave a different meaning to "watch your step."
It was so windy that potted plants were blown over, and the light weight plastic chairs (which are fairly substantial and are not the folding kind) blew over when no one was sitting in them. They were arranged in rows and the wind would gust and blow them down like a line of dominos.
Everyone's hair was windblown. Most of the guests wore jackets against the cold wind. The bride was bare shouldered in a lovely dress of ivory white satin and must have felt very cold, unless she was so excited that she wasn't tuned in to how she felt. She arrived in a white, stretch limo and carefully walked the path to the site of the ceremony beside the lake. I'm sure her gown will need special cleaning before it is put away.
The reception was a sit down dinner in a family owned restaurant, an old farm house converted into an eating establishment. Every room is beautifully decorated. It was a lovely place for a wedding reception. And it was warm enough indoors!
Not Complaining
It's been raining again and it's 46 degrees this morning, but I won't complain. I'm just stating the facts.
Isn't it funny that sometimes when we state the facts, they sound like complaints! It would be easy to complain but I'm trying to look at the good things instead of making complaints.
Honest and truly, if I had a choice between 46 degrees and 90 degrees, I'd take the 46. I can put on a sweater or a jacket and be comfortable. Plants are growing well and nothing has been killed by frost. I think many of the plants languish in 90 degree heat so it's better for most of them. I know corn flourishes when the weather is hot day and night but other things do well if it isn't too hot for them.
Another good thing, --on a day like today, a cup of cocoa will hit the spot. We'll save the iced tea for later when it's warmer, --maybe in July.
Evening
We received very good news from the reading of the MRI this morning. I am encouraged by this news. My husband will start further treatment next week.
This evening I spent some time watching Lord of the Rings, on DVD. It certainly is interesting! I'm glad I read the books. I read them one summer when my son insisted that I would really enjoy the story. He was right. I really did enjoy the story.
I am enjoying the movie now, but I had to stop watching when we were running out of time. But I get to keep the discs for several weeks and I can watch it at leisure.
It's past bed time again. Tomorrow's going to be another busy day.
June 25
We're up early this morning, getting ready for another trip to Erie, to have the MRI from Monday read and the radiation treatments set up.
It's cool and rainy this morning but it could warm up by afternoon, and stop raining. If it does, we'll plan to spend some time at Presque Isle this afternoon.
Today is my deadline for the church newsletter. I used to always have the newsletter done by the deadline, the 25th of the month. But lately, I've been slipping and not getting it done on time. Fortunately, it's a self imposed deadline. I'll have it completed in several days, but not today.
Beach Toy
Last year, --last spring really, I bought a colorful plastic beach toy that looks like a fish but comes all apart to become things to play with in the sand. There is a little shovel, and sifting parts and things to make shapes in damp sand. I thought my grandchildren would have fun with it when we got to go to Presque Isle. (That's at Erie, not Maine.)
But I bought it so long before summer and had it put away and never thought of it when we got to go to the beach. After summer was over, I discovered it and felt bad that I'd forgotten to get such a fun looking toy out for them to play with.
I got it out tonight. I remembered! We hope to get some time at Presque Isle tomorrow. A lot depends on the weather. It's raining again tonight.
On the Fast Track
After dinner tonight, we walked to the high school to walk the track, for exercise. My friend has been losing weight by walking three and a half miles a day, and of course cutting back on foods and food portions. I thought I'd aim for three and a half miles, too. It's a mile to the track from our house. We walked there and had walked three fourths of a mile when it started to rain. We walked one more lap in the gently sprinkling rain. Then we walked home again. I didn't make my goal but I got three miles in and that's not bad! Maybe I can get a half mile in before bedtime tonight.
Busy Days Curb Reading
Yesterday was one of those really busy days for me. After I got the basic routine cleared away, I painted the archway trellis, where the trumpet vine didn't interfere with the painting. (This morning when I filled the bird feeder again, I noticed that I missed a spot! However, it doesn't show from a distance.)
Yesterday was my company day, so I spent the afternoon taking care of meal preparation and some in the house chores.
In the evening I had to go to our final choir practice for the season. The choir presents a program of music for their last Sunday of the season. I knew it should take a little extra time to get final plans completed but I wasn't prepared for it to take two hours. I wanted to get back home and relax. I hoped to read several chapters in my current book, but it turned out that I was too tired and sleepy. I fell asleep on the couch.
I'm getting closer to the end of the book, and I'm caught up in the developments now, except that I can't remember who Claire is and how she fits into Holly's circle of friends and acquaintences. I may have to look back a few chapters and see who Claire is before I go on.
Claire is a guest in Judith's home, as is Holly. They were invited for a dinner party. But it has become apparent that Judith really dislikes Claire intensely, so much so that when Claire starts to pet Judith's aging dog, Judith tells her with measured self control, "I need you to get your hands off my dog." --Tension is surely building up! I gotta find out why Judith dislikes Claire!
The Job Is Done
Today, instead of writing about painting, I went out and painted. Painting a trellis isn't easy work and to make matters more complicated, the trumpet vine has started growing and has vined up two thirds of the north side of the trellis. Why did I wait till the vine had grown? Because it had rained so many days in a row in April and May. Then when we had a day or two of good weather, I had obligations which I had to do instead of painting.
This evening, the job is finished and it looks really nice. A fresh coat of paint can work wonders.
You Have to Get Ready
I know that before you paint, you must get ready for the job. I just don't like to figure getting ready time into the actual working time. So when I decided that I could paint the archway trellis this afternoon, I didn't figure in the getting ready part of the job. I got the stepladder into position and took down the hanging flower pots. Then I started scraping the places where the paint was peeling.
Scraping the peeling paint has to be an important part of painting, but it isn't as much fun as painting. I didn't get to start the painting this afternoon. I just got the paint scraped in several places. If the nice weather continues, I'll perhaps paint tomorrow.
Bonus Chores
My bonus chores of painting the rough part of the archway trellis and the front porch steps railing are still not done. We've had so much rain this Spring. Lately we've had a little less rain but I've had lots of busy work in my life in the past week.
I think I may get at some of my outdoor painting projects this afternoon. It rained this morning again, but it's sunny right now. If I would start painting now, it would be like making hay while the sun shines. I hope to give it a try within a few minutes.
Yard Work
When I say, "Yard work," it sounds like a chore, but when I say, "Gardening," it sounds like an enjoyable outdoor activity. Mowing the lawn doesn't fit with my personal definition of gardening. Mowing has to be considered "yard work." Still, when I'm feeling well and healthy, mowing the lawn is not a disagreeable task for me.
Yesterday morning after getting my mail and breakfast cleared away, I fed my critters and mowed the lawn. I had help in mowing the front part of the neighbor's lawn so during that time I was able to do some trimming and weeding.
This year I planted 8 flowering kale. They are all varying sizes, depending on where I planted them The three that I planted in big planters are all huge, healthy plants. The ones I planted in the curb bed are alive but haven't grown much. I've moved one of them and should move a couple more to give them maximum opportunity to be the best they can be.
More Thoughts of Father
This morning I'm thinking of my dad and my needles.
When I was a teen I started to get interested in cactus plants. Somehow I acquired a big old cactus from out West, the kind that makes big, round, fleshy leaves, joined one to another to make the plant. The needles on this plant are long and thin and very sharp.
Our garage was in the basement of the house, a basement which was large and airy with sunshine coming in through the windows above eye level. It was a good place to keep houseplants in their off season from out doors. That's where my big cactus was, on the driver's side of the car, and near the wall where the sunlight came through the window.
Some days my dad drove me to school on his way to work. Our local school only went to 9th grade and I went into town for my high school education. We were issued bus passes to ride the "town bus" for transportation but I loved the times that Daddy drove me to town.
One day when Dad left me off in front of the school and I waved good-bye, before I turned to walk into the school, I saw that the car, a Willys Jeep, gave a sudden leap before it went smoothly on its way down the street. I wondered what had happened. It wasn't till we were home again after school that I learned that Dad had brushed against my cactus that morning and didn't realize that he picked up a needle in his clothing. Just as he engaged the clutch as he was pulling away from the curb that morning, the needle made itself known. Ouch! He reacted and the car lurched. We both had a good laugh over that, in spite of the ouch.
The other needle was one I accidentally left in his favorite tilt back chair. I had been sitting there when I was embroidering. I poked the needle into the chair while I looked for the change of thread, then I either couldn't see where I put or, or forgot all about it as I finished up for that session. Dad found that needle when he sat down. That's when I learned to not be careless about where I put my embroidery needle.
Father's Day
I'm thinking of my dad and remembering good times. My dad loved life and loved to laugh. He had a quick wit and enjoyed telling jokes. He was tenderhearted and sensitive. He worked hard to do nice things for his family.
He loved the farm and felt he just couldn't live in town. We didn't really have a farm, as his parents had when he was a boy, but we lived outside of town and at one time raised pigs, a cow, a couple of goats, and some chickens, as well as having the cat and dog. We helped to plant the garden, ---peas, corn, lettuce, tomatoes, string beans, onions, and the like, and he worked to keep it cultivated.
Dad was a mechanic and could fix anything. He was good with his hands and could play the piano. After I went to college, he was able to buy an organ, and took lessons and became the church organist, a position which he filled for many, many years. It was a sad day for us when he had to stop practicing his organ music. Music was such an important part of his life.
Tonight I'm remembering that once during my teen years, while I was still in high school, he hurt my feelings. I really don't know what he said to make me feel so bad. What I remember is that he came and sat down beside me on the couch and put his arm around me and sang to me, "I'm sorry, forgive me, I didn't mean to make you cry." I was so touched by his song to me. My heart melted toward him. I don't remember all the words to this song, but the song ends, "Forgive me my dear, and let's be sweethearts again." When he got to that part, he had to laugh. Of course we weren't sweethearts, we were father and daughter and trying to sing that just broke him up in laughter. I, typical teenaged daughter, became mortally offended all over again because I felt that he was laughing at my tears! Now it's one of my treasured memories.
That's Cool
The weather over this weekend has been very cool. We are used to having cool mornings, but this weather is more than cool, it's cold. Some people this morning reported that the temperature dipped to 33 degrees last night. Wow! That's pretty close to having some plants harmed, but I haven't heard that anyone around here lost any plants due to the cold weather. It does keep some plants from growing, though.
Today was a very pretty day, but very cool!
Dodge Ball
I'm hearing that there is a new movie named Dodge Ball. I haven't paid much attention to what it is, but I did hear one radio person remark, "We all have memories of dodge ball in school gym classes." Oh, yes, that did spark a memory.
I think I'd like to say that Dodge Ball was the worst of gym class activities, but the truth is that I hated all of it. OK, I take that back, I do remember some individual activities during 7-9th grade that weren't too bad. I remember learning to do a back bend and I actually liked that, until one of my classmates fell and knocked the breath out of herself. For what seemed like minutes but had to be just seconds, she couldn't breathe. I was first scared for her, then when she was OK, I was scared for me.
We always had a spotter for each person doing the back bend, but I discovered after I did a back bend that my spotter hadn't been ready when I did mine. I had done my back bend just fine, but the fact that she hadn't been paying attention and I could have fallen and lost my breath scared me so bad that I was forever afterward unable to do a back bend. Come to think of it, that's too bad because I was really enjoying it until Jean fell. Why was I always so timid?
Back to the subject at hand. I did hate Dodge Ball. It was always hard to dodge that ball and sometimes it really did hurt. It was better to be one of the circle throwing the ball at someone, however, I couldn't hit anyone with my throw and that put pressure on me, too. I was hopeless at gym activities.
Today Was the Day
This morning's Psalm reading included Psalm 96. "Sing unto the Lord. Praise His Name!" What a wonderful way to start the day.
Well it felt wonderful to me. It might not be wonderful to anyone around me, to hear me singing early in the morning. I suppose it can be annoying. But it feels wonderful to me.
"Let the heavens rejoice. Let the sea be joyful, and all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood, rejoice before the Lord." With all this joy around me, how can I not be joyful, too!!!
Evening
It's been an eventful day for us and it turned out well. There were no adventures but everything went smoothly. We got home much earlier than we had expected to and that was very good.
The quiet evening has given me time to reflect on how good God is. I am blessed.
My mom is still in hospital but she's holding her own and her doctor is concerned about her long standing condition of being unresponsive. She's in good hands, and she's in God's hands.
I'm back to baking again, --back to Nancying up the recipe! I baked a white cake (from a mix) but wanted chocolate, so I added baking cocoa and a little more water. When the batter seemed too thin, I added a little more flour, --wheat flour. I haven't tasted it yet, but I'm sure it will be a fine dessert. (At least I think it should be!)
My mind is at peace.
The Singing Heart
Our day visiting doctors in Erie went really well. My husband's report is very encouraging and my check up held no surprises. We're continuing with what we're doing for me because it's getting good results.
We went early and in both places they took us ahead of our scheduled appointment because they had openings at that time. We were headed home before the time of my scheduled appointment.
These things caused my heart to sing merry songs of thanksgiving.
I sing when things are sad, too, but the songs are of a mournful nature. I'm so happy to have a merry song in my heart right now. It's been such a hard time for so many months now.
Psalm Songs
This month I am reading the Psalms, doing the allotted morning and evening reading. This morning, my selection included Psalm 92. "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Your name, O Most High." We have sung this portion in Cindy's choir. It's a beautiful song, built on a beautiful Psalm. I can't just read these words. My mind sings them and often I voice my song. "You, O Lord, have made me glad by what You've done. I will triumph in the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O Lord!"
This is a good song to be in my mind as head toward Erie for a day of doctors and tiring hours till I get home again.
I'm almost to one of my favorite Psalms now, 96. I love this Psalm because it is devoted to music and awakens song in my heart. I know many of the Psalms do mention music, but 96 is "my" Psalm. I sang this Psalm in my one semester of voice lessons in college and it has been "my" Psalm ever since.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to start the day with singing.
Allergies
Tomorrow I see my allergy specialist again. I think it's just a routine check up because I've not been to see him for over a year. I'm not having problems that I can't cope with so I'd really rather not have to have this appointment. It takes up time and I'd rather be doing things that need to be done at home.
Memories
Today when I was getting the potatoes ready for supper, I remembered Dad. It's not that it's going to be Father's Day that made me remember Dad. I'm sure I remember him every time I fix baked potatoes.
In their last years at home together, my mom couldn't do much cooking, because of her very poor eyesight. Dad tried hard to keep them going and though he'd never had any practice during all the years Mom was well, he assumed the role of cook and did a pretty good job of it. He learned to do baked potatoes in the microwave and he had it down to a science.
He would do them one at a time. After scrubbing them both, he would wrap one in a paper towel and give it a few minutes in the microwave. When the potato was tender enough he would squeeze it gently and wrap it in aluminum foil to keep it warm while he did the second.
My memory of my dad carefully preparing the potatoes for the meal is one that makes me smile with love.
Timely Thoughts
I know that we all have the same amount of time and yet I think about time in ways that defy that fact. I think, "When I have more time I will . . .," and I know very well that I'll never have any more time than I do now. Of course, I really mean, "When I'm not as busy as I am right now I will . . ." Even that may not be completely accurate.
I've been wanting to paint the archway trellis. It was not my lack of time or busyness that kept me from painting it in April and May. It was the rain, the every day rain, that occured on the days when I wasn't too busy to paint it.
Today I'm thinking a new "time" thought. "How does my month go by so quickly?" It seems that June just got started and today it's more than half spent. I notice this because of the work that I must do for the church newsletter. I should be done with it by the 25th of the month. That means I should have it more than half done now, ---but I'm not that far along.
I also need to get the calendar page to the newspaper, the page that announces the events of organizations to the community. Every time I drop that page off at the newspaper, I give a sigh of relief that the chore is out of the way for another month, and then almost before I know it, certainly before I'm ready to do it, it's time to do it all over again.
Where does time go? Don't try to answer that.
Wednesday Dinner
Today it was just Linda and I for dinner. Her kids were at summer camp, being counselors, and my husband had eaten his meal with the family after the funeral service he officiated this afternoon.
We had a nice time together. We ate on the porch, my first time this season. I fixed city chicken, baked potato, tossed salad, and in honor of Stephen not being with us, I fixed broccoli. Stephen will not eat brococoli. Linda had never had city chicken, something which I hadn't realized would be the case. However, she liked it well enough, --and so did I!
For dessert we had strawberries from my patch and angelfood cake. We had good conversation along with the good food.
A Ken Davis Story
On the way to Aquarobics this morning, I was listening to Ken Davis, on Focus on the Family. I loved this story. As usual, I missed the very beginning of it, but I got the gist of it.
Apparently his wife felt that their daughters had been leaving the church service too often, asking to use the restroom. So on the way to church one morning, she laid down the law, saying that they should take care of such needs before service began and there would be no moving during the service! Got that?! Each one said that they understood, -including Ken. But then while they were in service, he realized that he needed to be excused to use the restroom. But he knew it would make his wife mad.
What could he do? He did the "church whisper" to his wife, who glared at him and told him he couldn't leave the service. Remember the rule. He told her it was absolutely necessary. She said, "Consider the expample you're setting." He said, "Consider the example I'll set if I don't leave." So he left.
He hurried. He got back before the end of the song and slipped into the pew. He put his arm around his wife, to show her that he still loved her and was sorry he couldn't stick to her rule. She vibrated with disapproval, without saying a word. He could tell she was really annoyed. So he now touched her shoulder and drew her closer to him, trying to overcome her annoyance. She responded by digging him in the ribs with her elbow, --vigorously! He looked down then and that's when he realized that it wasn't his wife! He'd slipped into the wrong pew. He glanced around and saw that the whole church had seen what had happened and were laughing.
This is the part I loved most. "Was God upset with me for disturbing the service?" he asked. Then he answered his own question. "I don't think so. I think He was saying, 'Hey, angels, come over here and look at this idiot!"
What a great sense of humor Ken has. It's great to be able to laugh at ourselves. What a good story.
Cereal Bowl and Adventure
This morning I ate my breakfast, my standard Cheerios and banana, out of a plain blue bowl that I bought at Walmart a year ago because I really like the color. It's a dark blue and just plain, no patterns, no words. Usually I have breakfast from a bowl that was made for chicken soup and says so on the side of the bowl. I'm a creature of habit and I like using that bowl. I don't have to think about it, just reach out and pick it up each morning from its place on top of the cereal bowls.
But this morning, I did think about it and I decided that even though I really like the chicken soup bowl, I will be different today and so I had my same old breakfast in the newer, deep blue bowl.
Some people have adventures in very tame ways. But it's all in the way you think about things. I enjoyed my little blue bowl adventure.
Critters
Today there were two chipmunks at the critter block! One was on top of the little cage which holds the seeds and the other was inside the cage. The outside chipmunk chased the inside chipmunk away. They both ran then. Later I saw just one chipmunk at the critter block, but I don't know which one it was. They were certainly very similar.
Tonight we went to the cellar to get a box of ribbons that has been stored down there. Rusty went down with us. Neither of us realized that Rusty didn't come up when we did. Every now and then I heard a rustling, bumping kind of noise and wondered what it was but I didn't give it much thought. Finally, an hour and a half later, I realized that the noise was coming from the cellar stairway. I opened the door and Rusty bounded out joyfully. He was none the worse for the wear and he was very glad to be back where we were again. I kept telling him, he should have barked. That would have been a good time to have barked, and not when he's just looking at a dog outside the window. I wonder why he didn't bark. I would have let him out right away. I didn't realize he hadn't come back upstairs with us.
Songs in the Night
As evening approaches, my songs of sorrow have been changed to songs of relief. My mom's damage isn't as bad as the doctor thought this morning. She will probably recover from this accident. She has a fractured skull and concussion and some blood leakage. Both eyes are blackened and it will be worse tomorrow, but they are keeping her comfortable.
God's mercies are new every day. I trust that His mercy is comforting my mom even now, though she is not really aware of what has happened or what she is going through. People are tenderly caring for her. I fervently hope she knows how much we love her. I appreciate so much the help and the work of the nursing home staff and nurses and doctors for they have been kind and caring as they do their duties with my mom and others in the same position as she is.
Pain
The numbness is wearing off and the pain is setting in. I'm living with so many good memories right now and crying because they are memories.
I cling to the promise in Hebrews, "For He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you." I know this is true for my mom as well as for me. Thank God for the promises. Thank God for the strength and comfort that He gives.
Golden Daybreak
In times of personal crisis, the routines of the world around us continue unchanged. My brother called this morning to tell me that our mom has had a fall and is now in a life threatening situation. Her frail body at 91 years of age cannot sustain the damage from a bad fall. While my thoughts are in turmoil and I'm sorrowful and my body is tense, the world around me is beautiful, calm and peaceful. How odd that it can be this way.
The dogs wait patiently for their breakfast. When I had to go to the door, I saw that the flowers outside are as beautiful as ever. The fuchsia is blooming its heart out. The sunshine is turning the lawns to a glowing green and the world shimmers with growing life.
My Psalm reading for this morning included the verse, "I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. I remembered my songs in the night."
I really have been thinking about the former days, those good days when our family was still together, the laughter, the joys, and of course the songs. Now I'm thinking of my mom and dad singing duets. One that I liked to hear them sing when I was a kid was the song that included the words, "School days all done." I thought that was the best thing! No more school. Now I'd like to relive one of those long ago days when our family was together and we still had school days.
I think the song is Some Golden Daybreak and it speaks of being in Heaven with Jesus. For a Christian, death is the Golden Daybreak. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I think of this. Sometime soon, there will be a Golden Daybreak for my mom.
More Strawberries, More Rain
When I was a girl, we had a sizeable strawberry patch. The berries were always just right to pick during the two weeks of Vacation Bible School and my mom was always a teacher. VBS was held in the morning so when we picked the berries, it had to be in the afternoon, when it was hotter. We would pick the berries every other day, so that's how I'm tending my little patch, --every other day.
I picked the berries on Saturday, -the first of the season, so it was time to pick them again today. I got perhaps two quarts of berries, maybe a little less. There's plenty of berries to make shortcake or put them on ice cream or cereal, and there should be some to freeze this year, unless I make jam with them.
I got the berries picked this afternoon late, just before the latest rain storm hit. It was a hard rain but it didn't last very long, -just a little over half an hour. We are still in the rainy season.
Mystery!
I need to talk about my latest mystery with someone who might shed some light on it.
A few days ago I wrote that something had been digging in my flower pots, scattering dirt over the porch, and then I thought it might be a squirrel because I saw a big red squirrel on the porch.
This morning I see little clumps of growing greenery in each of the pots where the soil was disturbed. It looks like blades of grass and a couple sunflower plants growing in each of these little pockets of disturbed soil.
Would a squirrel hide seeds in pots of flowers? I read that chipmunks only store their seeds in the room they make for storage in their burrow. I may have five flower pots with these strange clumps of plants sprouting in them. It seemed to me at first that some alien being had visited my porch and left behind secret alien life. But, on closer examination, it really looks like birdseed that's started growing in tight little clumps. You know I never put birdseed in my flower pots!!!
Computer Brain
My friend Terri gave me a book, Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. It's the story of Jack, a young boy who is drawn into writing through the poetry lessons his teacher gives and through his dog. He writes sparingly and very reluctantly. When his teacher types his words and puts them on the board with the others, he likes the way they look. After time has passed and he keeps on writing, on May 7, he writes to the teacher, "Maybe you could show me how to use the computer and then I could type up my own words?"
It's his note to the teacher the next day that I want to share with you. "I didn't know about the spell-checking thing inside the computer. It is like a miracle little brain in there, a little helper brain."
To me, the brain is like a computer and to Jack, the computer is like a brain.
I really enjoyed reading this book.
Yum
The strawberry shortcake was wonderful. Excellent taste. I had a serving this afternoon. I think I'll have another. Strawberry season doesn't last all that long!
Objectivity
It must be hard to be coach of a team which includes your own child and not be partial in assigning the playing time for that child. Today I got to talk to Alison's mom. Alison is the pitcher who didn't get a chance to pitch when the coach's daughter was beginning to lose it. She never got called into the game at all. I know she's feeling hurt and confused as to why the coach didn't use her at all.
It would be easy for bitterness to slip in but I was relieved to find that according to the mom, they were accepting it as what happened and just coping with it. The only problem is that Alison should be the first pitcher next year, and now she's wondering if the coach doesn't have any confidence in her.
That still opens the possibility for bitterness to creep in. I hope the coach will explain his decision to Alison and that they will have a good season together next year. He's a really good coach, but this situation was one in which it's hard for a father to be objective.
Search
Last night I was thinking again of my college days when I lived one semester in the home of Ernest and Carolyn Leiser in Nyack, NY. They gave me room and board and paid me something besides to work for them, taking care of the children and doing a little light housekeeping. There were three children.
Mr. L. worked for CBS at that time and at the end of my semester, he had taken a job as a foreign correspondent and as I left for the summer, he and his family were leaving for Germany.
I've never had contact with them since but every now and then I wonder how they are and about their children. Finally I realized that I could do a web search and last night I did that. Mr. L., it turns out, was well known in broadcasting and highly respected. He died in November of 2002. The brief statement I read of his death says that he left two daughters and his wife. I know their youngest child was a son named Nicky. I tried to search to find out what had happened to him, but so far, I've not been able to locate that info. I think I'll keep trying to find out.
Strawberries
There are ripe berries in our little strawberry patch. Three summers ago, Carolyn gave me 12 plants. I dug up my onion patch and planted the strawberries. Last year we got several pickings of strawberries from the patch. The plants multiplied, sending out their runners everywhere! I didn't keep them in rows, neat and tidy. I confess it's an overgrown jumble now, but it produced big, plump berries. I picked about a quart and a half of berries out of it this afternoon. Carolyn has already had strawberry shortcake with her berries! I may do that tomorrow.
The Game Ends Here
The girls got to play their game today and unfortunately, they lost, 2-1. It wasn't as sharp a game as some of the others but there were some really good plays, on both sides, -according to the announcer.
There are things I don't understand. The coach didn't use his backup pitcher, not at all! Kristin, his daughter, walked in that first run. That might have been a good time to try Allison but she never got into the game.
However, it was basically a good game, and all things considered, it's just a game. I'm sure there were some tears, and probably some regrets, but it wasn't a bad game really, and it was a very good season. They finished fourth in the state. Not bad at all!
Finishing Touches Needed
I've mowed the lawn and got it done in slightly less than half an hour. Today someone came and mowed the part of the neighbor's lawn that I have adopted when I have mowed our lawn. I like to keep the front looking nice but the back and side lawn is too hard for me.
Now I need to trim some edges but first I'll spend some time indoors. I discovered that I'll have to pick some strawberries today. They are looking good and there's quite a few ready to pick and eat.
It's nicely warm outdoors today. You wouldn't think this would be possible, but it's not too hot and it's not too cold. What a rare day!
No Complaints
It's a beautiful day today! Thursday's softball playoff game has been rescheduled for this afternoon and it looks like the weather will be good for it today. Today is a "mow the lawn" day and I hope to do that in the early afternoon and then come in and listen to the game. I'm also working on another oil painting and I'm eager to get at it this morning. This should be day when I really get things accomplished. Thinking about it energizes me!
Spare That Teakettle
Desy and Rusty came to the rescue of the teakettle tonight. Over a year ago, we taught Rusty to tell me when the teakettle whistles so that I would go to the kitchen to turn it off. We had burned up several teakettles in the past when we turned on the burner and went to another room and forgot about it. I figured that Rusty would hear the whistle even when neither of us could hear it.
We only meant to teach Rusty this job, but Desy, the older dog, paid close attention and learned to do it, too. She always joins Rusty to get the reward though he does the work of telling me. We've not lost a teakettle since we trained Rusty to do this.
Tonight I forgot the teakettle again. I was in the living room, with the TV on, and doing something else besides. My mind was fully occupied and I didn't hear the whistle. Desy suddenly lifted her head and started barking. I was very annoyed with her because I thought she was barking about nothing. Rusty was alerted then and got up and went to the living room door and then he too got excited. I had to get up to quiet him and that's when I realized that the teakettle was whistling.
I hurried to the kitchen with Rusty, turned off the teakettle and gave him his treat, and this time, I was really grateful that he and Desy had learned to tell me about the boiling water in the teakettle. Their training spared our teakettle.
The Funeral Service
I joined our nation in attending President Reagan's funeral service by way of television this morning. It was very well done. I appreciated Margaret Thatcher's eulogy. She's quite a lady. Everyone who spoke was so eloquent.
I was especially glad to hear Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada. He was Canada's leader throughout much of the time that I was listening to CBL out of Toronto. I heard him speak often. He has a wonderful speaking voice. When I hear him, I think how good it would be to have him sing in our choir! When he spoke, he often mentioned his wife, Mila. Today in his eulogy, he mentioned her again. It took me back to a time when I could routinely enjoy Canadian radio.
Rained Out Again
The girls softball game has been rained out again. I don't know when it will be played. I hope it's tomorrow. I'm still hoping they'll win. It's so hard to keep waiting to play the game and have it put off time after time. I hope they won't lose their momentum.
The Softball Game
I kept trying to find the broadcast of the softball game, Corry Beavers vs the Bald Eagles, yesterday afternoon. I tuned in at 2 o'clock when the game was scheduled but they weren't doint the game. The radio station didn't make any announcement as to what had happened to the game, they just went on with their usual broadcasting of music. I don't listen to our local station very often.
Last night on the late night news from Erie, they announced that the game was postponed because of rain and was planned to be played today. It's still cold and rainy here. I wonder if they can play the game this afternoon.
Commuting to work
I've been thinking about commutes to work this morning. Some people have quite a distance to commute each day. I always worked within 10 miles of home.
Of course there was the time I had the summer job in Meadville for six weeks. That was roughly an hour commute. I hated the thought of it, but it wasn't too hard to do. School was out, there were no school buses to deal with and traffic was very light.
I started to look forward to seeing certain people along the way. There was one woman in particular who was always out along the road, walking or riding a bike, I don't remember which now. By the end of my six weeks, I felt like I would like to take a minute and say good-bye to her. Although I didn't mind the commute as much as I thought I might, I was happy to say good-bye to it and get back to the usual at home routines. Today if I had a commute, I'd perhaps have an audio book to listen to as I drive, if I couldn't bring in a good radio program.
Tomato Cages
Today I bought two tomato cages. I had six old ones that are still useable and I needed one more. My husband thought I should buy two and it was no big deal, so we got two. They cost $2 each. They are so much bigger than my old ones. Tomorrow I will try to put it over my remaining tomato plant, the grape tomato plant. It's the biggest of the tomato plants and it's supplsed to be a hybrid that grows very tall and bushy. I'm glad I saved it for last because this huge cage that I bought today will be the best cage for the grape tomato. I'm not sure what my husband expects us to do with the one remaining cage. Maybe we'll put it around hollyhocks or some other plant.
Grass Still Growing
Guess what made the front page of the Erie Times News B section this morning. Ah, you had a good clue, didn't you? Yes, an item about how much the grass is growing.
There was a picture to go with it, a picture of really tall grass in front of a big old house. The article said that some people are having trouble keeping their lawn mowed since it's been so rainy. They said that in May there were 25 days when it rained. There is a law in Erie that people may not let their grass grow higher than 10 inches.
It would be very difficult to mow grass that tall, --with a run of the mill power mower. Maybe it would be difficult to mow with a riding mower. I really don't know. Ten inches is pretty high, but with the speed it's growing right now, it wouldn't take long for it to grow that high.
At the Library
When I took my books back to the library today and chose two new ones, I was asked to sign up for the Adult Summer Reading program. I'd never done that before but it looked interesting to me so I agreed.
They gave me a form to fill out that asks, of all things, who my favorite author is and what is my favorite book!! How can a long time reader answer that question? I had to write, "You're kidding!" But then I listed a number of my favorite names, and for the favorite book, I listed a number of titles, written by different authors than I'd already mentioned. Doesn't match up, I know, but there are so many good authors and books.
It's like asking me for my favorite hymn, or Bible verse! How can I declare just one?
One Member Hurts
In the Bible we read that when one member of the body hurts, the whole body reacts to it. This is to show us that Christians are members of one body, the Church, and if one hurts we all react to it.
Early last evening, my thumb started to hurt, as though something had bitten me. I ignored it for the most part, but the problem didn't go away. It's not a big hurt. On a scale of 0-10, it might really be a 1, certainly not much higher. But it's hot, swollen, and somewhat itchy, and VERY annoying! I woke up through the night often with it bothering me.
It's very true that when one member of the body suffers, the whole body pays attention. I ask myself, "Am I this much aware of the hurts of the Christians whom I know? Am I paying attention?"
Power of Suggestion
This morning, since I knew it was supposed to rain again in the afternoon, I built a fire in the fire ring to burn up the brush which we weren't able to finish up on Memorial Day. While it burned down a little, I did some garden work. I cut back the chives because they were going to seed and I didn't want tons of new chive plants coming up. I put the tomato cages around the tomatoes. I cut back the lupine blooms that were going to seed.
Then when I went into the house, I kept smelling the wonderful aroma of onion. Now, why was that? Oh, yes! I had cut off the chives! But now I wanted to eat onion. Good idea! I had a few hot dogs still. And I could use the new metal hot dog roasting sticks that I'd bought last month. I had planned to have something different for lunch, but that onion suggestion prompted me to roast a couple of hot dogs and cut up onions lavishly. It was really good. But it would have been just a little better if I hadn't been alone.
Kid Fight
Yesterday morning while I was working out in the yard, there were some young boys playing ball in the school playground. Suddenly I heard a noise and looked up to see that a black baseball bat had been thrown into the school parking lot. It landed and then started rolling down hill and sideways, in a lazy, looping circle. Then a small boy, perhaps third or fourth grader, came plodding down the hill after it. He had a mitt and a brown bat tucked under his arm. He picked up his bat and turned to yell at the other boys, two or three of them.
I didn't catch all that he said but he was telling them off, calling them what were bad names in his vocabulary. I caught something about Devil's mitt, and how evil they were. They weren't fazed by his names and replied sort of in kind to his retorts. The boy got down to the street, still grumbling his threats and bad feelings and then he turned and came back to the parking lot and called to the others. "Can I please have my other mitt?"
His request was so polite and kind in contrast to his outburst of minutes before. The boys told him that another friend of his had it. He went back to them and they talked some more. Then as he left, the boys called after him, "Isn't this your new ball?" He answered, "No, that's not mine."
The fuss was over. How easily it was solved and how polite the boys were to each other after they grumbled it out of their systems. Perhaps it was the effects of the hot sunny weather that put them into a grumpy mood and as they cooled off from play, their tempers cooled off, too.
It was interesting.
School's Out
The kids finished up their school year on Friday. They were only in school for a few hours on Friday morning and then it was all over for them. Lots of parents came to get their kids and perhaps they had an assembly with awards that parents attended. And then it was over. People spilled out of the school door and some hurried to the cars. Some of the kids ran around excitedly. One class had what I think was fluteophones and they tooted and tooted as they cavorted around the playground before leaving with their parents. The cars and parents and kids cleared out a few at a time till all were gone and it became quiet again. Today it is very quiet at the school.
Softball
I think I have a defective gene for reading sports news. I was so sure that I had read that the girls would play their next championship game on Wednesday. Then yesterday I read the article in the paper that they had played on Monday afternoon, against Elwood City. They had a very exciting game, winning 1-0. The winning run came early in the game when the coach put in a pinch runner for the catcher who had just gotten to third base. The pinch runner took advantage of the catcher's fumbled ball and stole third. They didn't have another chance to score any runs, so that was the crucial play of the game.
If I got it right this time, they play again tomorrow afternoon when they play Bald Eagle, a District 6 team. Maybe I'll get to listen to that game. Our local station broadcasts the high school games. We're proud of our girls.
The Brain is a Computer
I've heard many times that our brains are like computers, governing all that we do. Today I had an example of how this works for me.
I had to go across town to a luncheon. It's not far. I think it's about 5 miles. For a mile or so, my thoughts were so far off and I was so deep in thought that I really had no concept of driving. Suddenly I saw that there was a man walking along the road and I snapped to attention. I realized that I'd actually been far away in my mind.
But the computer brain had been going through the safety check list, monitoring everything even though I wasn't aware that it was doing so. I admit, it always scares me when this happens. I really want to stay in the moment.
Another Visitor
Yesterday morning, during the brief time that I was able to be home, I saw that something had been digging in the soil in the flower pots that I have on the porch. The soil was rumpled and dirt was scattered at the base of several flower pots. I wondered about a cat doing that but thought the flower pots were too small to interest a cat. I hoped so, any way.
This morning while I was checking my email, I saw a rather big red squirrel run up the bannister onto the porch. At first I was thinking of how the wild creatures feel free to explore anything in their area, even people's homes where the people could be watching them.
And then it hit me that this is probably the one who was rooting through my flower pots, probably in search of seeds or bulbs! I ran out to the porch then. Of course I didn't see him on the porch, nor any trace of him, but I knew he was within ear shot, so I scolded. "You stay out of my things!" etc. I'm sure that did a lot of good! (sarcasm) But at least I gave it a try.
A Friend for an Hour
Today when we had the car to the garage and had to wait for it to be worked on, an older woman came in alone and sat where we were waiting for our car. She told us with a sigh that her car was taking such a long time. I responded that ours was going to be at least an hour and I would have liked to go to the used book store, but I felt hesitant about crossing the highway on foot to get there.
It's a heavily travelled road, four lanes of traffic. I just felt too timid to make the attempt, and I had things with me to keep me busy, -a recipe magazine, a puzzle book, the newspaper, a notebook. The woman said she'd just been out for a walk herself and she didn't blame me for not wanting to cross the highway.
I decided I'd go out to walk, too, and asked her if she wanted to go out walking again. She thought I meant that I was too timid to go out walking alone, and I just let her think that. I was really thinking it's more fun to walk with someone and have conversation than to go alone.
And that's how I got to know Virginia, who lives not too far from the car dealer's place. She told me about her sister's accident, and her husband's death. It was a slow painful death, with heart trouble going into a kidney problem and then a brain aneurism which left him in a coma for five days before he died. She talked to me about how a person has to be strong and take life one day at a time.
She told me about her daughters, one a nurse and one a teacher. And then she gave me her name and addresses and phone number so that if we have to be in Erie again and need a place to relax for a few minutes, we can stop at her place and visit a while.
I so much enjoyed the time spent with this lady. I was sorry for the sadness in her life but I could see that she's doing what she can to make each day a good day. I hope I do get to visit her in the future, or at least, stay in touch.
A Merry Heart
I have a light, merry heart this evening. The report we got today from the doctor was much more encouraging. I think that good news is as much good medicine as a merry heart is. I am thankful to know that it's starting to look better again.
A June Day
Today is just what a June day should be. I love the poem, "What is so rare as a day in June? Then if ever come perfect days, When heaven tries earth if it be in tune and over it softly her warm ear lays. Whether we look, or whether we listen, we hear life murmur or see it glisten. Every clod feels a stir of might, an instinct within it that reaches and towers and groping blindly above it for life, climbs to a soul in grass or flowers." It's that kind of day today, finally. I welcome it joyfully.
You Can't Please Some People!
You know all that rain I've been talking about? Well, today I had to water my container plants, because we haven't had rain for a few days and they were really dry!
Am I complaining? No, not really, but it does sound like it, eh! I do think it odd however that just a few days would dry out the big planters. But, it was easy to give them some water this evening.
The day was actually a wonderful weather day. We went to two graduation parties, outdoors and the parties were very enjoyable. It really was good to have no rain today.
Spending Time
Golden---
Our time together.
Unlike gold, it cannot be hoarded,
It must be spent.
We spend our time in nickles and dimes, minutes and hours.
Our time together should be golden,
Golden grains through the hour glass of time,
Golden coins spent for a treasure greater than gold.
Please, spend a little gold with me.
I Am A Top
Today I feel like a top. I'm spinning and spinning. It's a slow spin, but my mind is just going around in circles. Yesterday I was spinning in tight, fast circles. Today I'm spinning in slow, lazy loops, but still I'm spinning and I can't seem to focus on one thing as my mind flits from one idea to another. I'm slowing down though. I think I'll come out of the spin soon.
Change of Pace
When the day takes on a life of its own and the events of the day are dictated to me instead of me being the one in charge of the events, I don't like it. All of yesterday's events were changed for me just after I mowed the lawn. I pushed to get it done before 10 so I could be indoors and listen to Car Talk then. That's the last that I was in charge.
An abrupt telephone call alerted us to a problem that had to be cared for and I wasn't able to get back to the rest of my chores. Nor did I have much heart for writing the blog, but today is a new day with new hopes and expectations and new energy. Ever onward.
Saying Good-bye
Yesterday my husband went to a dinner to say farewell to three of our local pastors. This morning when I woke up, I was thinking about good-byes. I thought about the first pastor that I remember, Rev. Ellenburger. Just saying his name brings so much back to me. He was our pastor for about 10 years, from the time that I was aware of who our pastor was until I was a teen.
I still remember how deeply upset I was when he announced his resignation. I cried and cried over his leaving. I'm not sure why I felt so attached to him. I don't remember conversations with him. I keep asking myself what it was about him that made me feel broken hearted when he left. He was a good man, one to look up to. He made us feel loved and cared for. And I think I thought he was going to always be there. His leaving was a shock to me, almost as though he was part of our family and now was going somewhere far away.
Once I was invited to have Sunday dinner at the parsonage. It was just the three of us, Pastor, his wife and myself. Their family was grown and gone. Mrs. Ellenburger and I worked together to get the meal prepared. I especially remember that I peeled potatoes with her. She peeled them with fast, sure strokes of the paring knife. I was slow and fumbling. It was difficult for me. She told me that I would develop this skill with practice.
That's all I remember of our meal together, the little kitchen, peeling the potatoes and Mrs. Ellenburger. However, their leaving left an empty place in me that no pastor since has ever filled. I think I expected them to always be there and when they left, it tore part of me away.
Playing Prez
I'm stuck with being the president of our diminishing Retired School Employees group. Since we are doing less and less, it's not too hard to play president. There's a number of reasons why our group is not growing. One of the biggest reasons is that we went for over 10 years with very few people retiring and now that a good number of people are retiring, there is such a gap between the old timers and the newly retired that they don't feel like they belong with us.
A lot of the newly retired are getting other jobs and don't feel retired, and the rest are opting for travel or moving to warmer climes. So, we aren't really picking up the newly retired into our membership.
But we had a good meeting today, the 10 of us who attended. When I joined in 1991, there was a decorating committee which arranged for individual plants for favors at the table, so that each person had a plant to take home. They also did a skit to welcome new members at their June meeting. Today, I was the person to order the plants, pick them up and get them ready for the table. Everyone enjoyed getting their plant to take home. Since there were only 10 of us, some people got to take 2 plants, and we sent plants to a few members who were unable to attend.
It was fun taking care of the plants. I got impatiens from Bennink's Nusery. I ended up with three with pink blooms for myself. Tomorrow I'll plant them together in a hanging basket.
We had a good time together in spite of the fewer numbers.
Agony of Defeat
When your teams wins, it's easy to get caught up in the feeling of triumph and just forget about the fact that another team lost. When our high school girls played yesterday's game, we knew that there was a very good chance that they would win. They had played this team twice during the regular season and had won both times. There's always the chance for an upset, but I, personally, just expected another win. In the game, our girls were ahead in scoring right from the beginning, so the loss for the other team didn't seem so traumatic, to me.
At the time our girls were playing their game, there were two other high school softball games going on. One of those was very traumatic. I read about it in the newspaper this morning. The game was McDowell against Mercyhurst. The picture in the sports section was of the losing pitcher crying into her dad's shoulder. In the background was the winning team clustered together in jubilant victory. It really placed the loss on a personal level, so that I couldn't identify with the winners without feeling the pain of the loss.
It was a very tough game. It went 20 innings! And the final score was 1-0!! What a hard game to lose. The girl who was crying in the picture was charged with giving up the winning run and yet it was a well played game, with everyone doing their best. But one team had to lose. It must have been an exciting finish if you identified with the winning team, but it's hard to to ignore the other side of the story.
"Dinner would taste better tonight if we'd won," said the losing pitcher. I hope she had some wonderful dessert to help sweeten the day a little, but I know she'll remember this day for a long time.
Cold This Morning
Since there was so much talk of a possible freeze last night, Carolyn and I covered our tender plants. I have 7 tomato plants to cover. Carolyn has many, many plants through all her flower beds that would be ruined by a freeze. She worked a long time last night to cover as much as she could. She has a long path with hostas on both sides of the path. Last year her hostas were pinched by a late freeze, which was actually before the end of May. A freeze doesn't kill hostas but ruins their early growth and they have to be cut back and then start growing all over again. She has too many hostas to cover them all, but she did cover most of her other plants.
As I was uncovering my tomatoes this moring, Carolyn came out to uncover her things. She said that she thinks it didn't get colder than 39 degrees last night. I think everything looks OK. But we would like to have a little more warmth. I'm sure it's on the way and soon we'll be thinking it's too hot!
And the Winner Is!
Our girls won the game today. The score was 6-1. It would have been a fun game to watch. I listened to it on the radio.
Kristin and her dad made it to the Baccalaureate Service on time, but just barely. The game started at 4 and the service started at 7. Fortunately the game didn't go into extra innings, but they did play the game at Meadville, an hour away from our town.
Next week the girls will be vying for state championship. Whether they win or lose, they've done wonderfully well.
Not the Village Noticer
Today when we had to be out and about in our town, my husband suggested that we should stop at the Chinese Restaurant for the lunch buffet. That was agreeable with me. He drove to the place the long way around so that he could park directly in front of the restaurant. There was no one parked there and it was almost lunch time. What's happening?
Then we saw. The place is undergoing renovations and is closed! It must have been closed for at least several days, if not weeks. But neither of us knew about it. Oh, well. We came home for lunch. We think it's great that the little restaurant was doing well enough to go for the renovations. We'll watch for its reopening.
Taking a Shower
In Margaret Visser's book,The Way We Are, she has written about the origins taking a shower. Taking a shower is such a fundamental way of life for us that we don't usually think about how the practice got started. It seems like it always was. But it wasn't!
Showers were started in mid-nineteenth century and at that time they were always cold and were thought to be dangerous if they weren't done correctly. Men in the army or in prison were forced to take showers. They were marched under jets of icy water directed by men standing on ladders.
Later it was thought that water under pressure directed at an afflicted part of the body would promote healing. Quoting Margaret, "Some hydropathic establishments installed a high water tank beneath which a patient stood for a 'regenerative' shower. A valve opened at the pull of a cord and let the water fall. Patients had to wear hard hats to protect their heads."
Another interesting bit: Early spray showers were called rain baths. One device that sprayed water was the "shower bath ring" in which a perforated tube was worn around the neck and water was supplied to it by a pipe leading from the bath tap. Thus you could have your own private rain storm.
Just think what we've missed. We just take our modern showers for granted and complain if someone else uses up the hot water!