Halloween Night is Over and Done
When I was a kid in elementary school, there were a couple of Halloween songs that we sang in music class that I enjoyed singing.
Halloween's the night to dress up like a sight
To give your friends a fright,
Look out! It's Halloween!
Witches, scary spooks and black cats
Pumpkin heads and black bats,
Oh, it's Halloween.
Halloween night is the time when
Fearful things are seen!
Look out! Look out! Oh, it's Halloween.
It doesn't sound like much, but it was, I thought, great fun to sing. We may have done it in a round or something. I don't remember it very well, just that it was so much fun for me.
And then there was the song from my entry title:
Halloween night is lots of fun,
But somehow, I'm glad when it's over and done.
It's good to have Mother to kiss me good-night,
And know that the witches have all taken flight.
Aren't we glad it's over and done!
Whistling Teakettle
We have trained Rusty to tell us when the teakettle whistles because we would sometimes go to another room and forget that we'd put it on to boil. We lost several teakettles that way. Now, Rusty is supposed to come to me, touch me with his paw and get my attention, to let me know that it's boiling. We haven't burned up a teakettle since we taught him to do that.
Today I was watching a Perry Mason show and Charlie, the reporter, went to a home to ask questions. She couldn't get anyone to come to the door. She snooped around to the back of the house and found the kitchen door unlocked. She went in. The teakettle was whistling when she entered the room.
Rusty was lying at my feet. The teakettle was whistling on TV. Rusty got up, looked very confused, and came to me. He looked out of the window, he looked back to me. He knew it was a teakettle whistle but he also knew it wasn't in our kitchen. He wasn't sure what to do, but he did tell me a teakettle was whistling.
I'm going to give him his treat now. I didn't do it right away because I wanted to keep watching the show. Good ol' Rusty!
Disturbing News
It was hard to think up an appropriate title for this entry. I heard this very disturbing news on the car radio as I left the grocery store this morning, heading for home.
It was announced mildly, that the church at (wherever, I wasn't keyed in yet) was going to continue to have services in spite of the fact that their pastor died during the baptism service yesterday.
You know how fast the mind goes. I was thinking of the pastor baptising someone and having a heart attack and dying right there. How awful!
It was worse than that.
He was in the baptismal tank and he grabbed the microphone and was electrocuted!!! Gasp! (The candidate for baptism hadn't entered the water yet.) Haven't I always worried about that during baptisms where they use microphones? In our baptismal services, they have sometimes joked about that, but always took great care that it didn't happen. Still, I usually feel a little apprehensive when they begin that part of the service, mixing microphones and baptismal tanks.
But surely EVERYONE knows about water and electricity. How could this tragic accident have happened?
I was really sorry to hear this shocking news, --which would be a good title for this entry but I'm not really wanting to do a play on words or make light of this terrible thing. If this had happened at our church, I might still be screaming. It's unthinkable.
Wilted Leaves
We've had several pretty stiff frosts now and though there are still a few very hardy plants blooming most of the plants are a mass of wilted, dying leaves. My neighbor's hostas look like they've had boiling water poured on them. The leaves of the trumpet vine are very limp. There have been no trumpets on it for several weeks now, but the leaves have been looking good until maybe just this morning. However, our trees still have lots of leaves on them. I heard someone say today, "A good hard rain now and they'll all be down." I think he was talking about the leaves. I'm sure they'll come down really soon. It's the season!
Rusty's Leopard
Some time ago I was at some yard sales and bought a few toys. One of them was a sleek black leopard, a stuffed animal. It was sitting upright, like a cat and had a beautiful spangly, sparkly collar and bright button like eyes. I really liked this little leopard and thought the kids would like him, too, so I put it in the toy box in the living room.
Rusty found it! The first thing he did was get the collar and eyes. I was so disappointed. At first I put it up out of his reach but finally I realized that it was already ruined so I might as well let him play with it. He is very possessive with it and works at it to get the stuffing out of it. It's not like turkey stuffing, teehee. It's some kind of fiber. Periodically I have to pick up the cottony stuff and throw it away. I put it where I thought he wouldn't notice it for a while, but he noticed it any way. He won't have it to play with too much longer but for now, he is having such fun.
Spring Ahead - Fall Back
The time change is so much easier for us in the fall. How wonderful it is to have this extra hour. But I've been thinking. It's easier on the body to accept an extra hour than to lose an hour, but it's much easier to set the clocks ahead an hour in the spring than to set them back an hour in the fall. For most of my clocks, I have to turn them forward, going through all of the day and then the night to get back to the proper time one hour before what it used to be. In spring, it's so easy to just move the time one hour ahead.
I know. Much ado about nothing. But you do realize how many clocks a person has! I'm thankful for the computer clocks which have been programmed to do the time change automatically. Thank God for small mercies!
Good Ideas
Today when I was taking the church newsletter to be run off in the church office, Randy was there, just finishing the custodial duties. We talked briefly and he asked me if I needed any heavy stuff moved that he could help with. Well, I did! I wanted to bring an old computer down from upstairs and get it set up in the living room for kids to play games with it. He said he'd be over at 1 and carry it down for me.
I knew just where to put it and I brought down the computer and the keyboard. It's the monitor that's too heavy. We got the project under way and he handed me one of the cables that was loose. That's when I realized that getting it to a down stairs position is only half the battle! I'm going to have to connect all the cables! And I was congratulating myself for being so smart in getting the computer to a good place for it!
I have till Thursday when I'll have kids here again. They are 11 and 7. I wonder if it's possible that they know how to connect the monitor to the computer and the keyboard.
Now I have a new challenge, --to figure out what makes Mac run!
Making Cookies
I had some applesauce that I needed to use up and didn't want to eat it as applesauce. I remembered that I keep seeing that I have a receipe for applesauce cookies in my recipe box. Today I decided to make them.
When I got the recipe out and looked it over, I saw that I had written on it, "These are really good." I used to make them early in my marriage. I certainly haven't made them in the last fifteen years. I wonder why not. Maybe it's because it doesn't have any chocolate in it.
So, spurred on by the personal comment about these cookies being good, and by the extra applesauce, I made the cookies this afternoon. And, I wasn't wrong with that comment. I really like these cookies!
Planting Bulbs
After a week of rain and cold weather, today turned out to be sunny and mild. I knew I should make use of this day to plant my new tulip bulbs.
I only had 30 bulbs to plant but it takes a while to decide where to put them and to tidy up the spot, taking compost material out of the way, to get ready for them. I probably only spent about an hour doing yard work, and I really feel good about getting it done.
This morning Art Drysdale , who does a radio program about gardening, told us that daffodils should be planted now because they have to develop a root system to get them through the winter, but tulip bulbs could be planted a little later. I didn't have any daffodil bulbs to plant this year, but I planted the tulips today any how because the rainy weather could set in again real soon.
I really can't make myself plant bulbs when it's cold and raining. How do they play football in weather like that? How can people sit in the stands and watch it when it's cold and raining? Give me a mild afternoon with sunshine for me to plant my bulbs.
Done with the Job
I finished the second newsletter by 7 this evening. What a good feeling it is to have completed my part of the job. We should be able to get this newsletter distributed to the congregation on Sunday. Yipee!
Mail Call Brings the Letter
I was so happy to receive the newsletter pages in the mail today. I have just a very few things to do to complete my part of getting it ready. I expect to do that work before I head for bed this evening.
My Journal
I'm now reading my journal notebook NO. 30, from 1993, summer. I was doing some writing and trying to be more descriptive of characters. I spent some time with my daughter in a mall. In the evening, I wrote about people I had seen. This paragraph made me laugh.
"Another young woman walked into the pet shop. She was stuffed into a very tight, skimpy, white outfit. Bare legs, bare shoulders, funny looking square heels. I didn't see her well, but she looked miserable, like she could make an impromptu speech and tell the world what a suasage must feel like. And, everyone would listen, because you could easily tell that she really knows!"
It does bring a funny picture to my mind, even though I don't remember this specific woman.
Raking Leaves
I hadn't seen the notice about the leaf crew coming to get the leaves from the curbside. Most of the leaves are still on the trees, though. There are a lot down, but if I had raked them now, there would be even more to rake later, as I see it. One day this week, during the rain, I saw the crew collecting the leaves from the curbside. I hope they come back again later when the rest of the leaves have fallen. I did not get my yard raked yet.
Quotes
From Barb Johnson's book, Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy
When grief is the freshest,
Words should be fewest.
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. (source unknown)
Tunnel walking -- Dark moments are short corridors leading to sunlit rooms!
He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
Waiting for the Mail
I could finish the second church newsletter today if Pastor's page for it had come in the mail today. He put it in the mail on Tuesday from about five miles away from here. I thought surely it would be here today. I almost told him that I would drive over and pick up his letter and then I decided that getting it a day or two later wouldn't hold me up that much. Now I'm wishing I'd paid attention to my little voice that told me to make the trip to get the page. Meanwhile, I'll do other things while I wait for that page.
Cemetery Program
Tonight WQLN showed a program about Cemeteries, a sort of guided tour of outstanding cemeteries in the United States. I didn't take notes so I can't list a lot of things I learned. When I first tuned in, they were talking about Hope Cemetery in Boston and about Rock of Ages Memorials made from the finest gray granite. The thing that stuck in my mind the most was the memorial made of this fine granite and sculpted into the form of an upholstered easy chair. The woman said that her husband had spent so much time sitting in his comfy chair that she wanted his memorial to be a reminder of that. It was this perfectly formed chair, made of granite! It didn't look comfortable. It is certainly one of a kind, a unique memorial.
It Figures
I have this painful ache in my shoulder and arm, not sure what from. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's from the allergy shots. Whatever. Soaking in a hot bath eases the ache. Yesterday when I soaked, I took the phone into the bathroom and put it near the tub. No one called me.
Today I decided that I didn't need to take the phone in. Someone called. I just let it ring. I felt I had no choice. The caller ID said it was an "unknown" caller, so I'm guessing it must have been another sales call.
But not only did I get a phone call, I think someone must have been at the door. Both the dogs raised a ruckus for two or three minutes. It's possible that it was just that they saw someone walking a dog, but it went on for so long that I imagined someone on the porch pounding on the door or jangling the doorbell. I wouldn't hear either one of those from the upstairs bathroom with the door shut and/or the dogs barking.
Maybe I'll never know what I missed. Maybe I didn't miss anything.
Flu Shots
Recently Vicki Gabereau was a guest on Shelagh Rodgers' Sounds Like Canada show on CBL and she said that every time there is a news story on TV about whatever strain of flu, they show a picture of some poor little kid or some elderly person getting that needle stuck into their arm and it really upsets her. She wants them to stop showing that with each flu reference. It makes her cringe, to see it. "Stop doing that," she commands.
Teehee. When I was taking pictures the day I helped out at the community center when flu shots were given, one of the pictures I took was of my nurse friend, Carol, giving someone a shot. Since I get allergy shots every two weeks, I guess it just doesn't bother me about shots as it would have before I had to have them so often.
I'm remembering now that when I was a child, I would be deathly afraid of getting a shot. I was afraid to the point of almost being sick over it. And now, I just take it in stride, my shots or yours, it's all matter-of-fact to me. But I have not "published" my photo of Carol giving the shot!
No Snow
I just read in the newspaper this evening that parts of PA had snow, apparently yesterday. I'm happy to report that our area had no snow, --just rain all day. We have lots of time for snow to come before winter is over and I'm happy to not have it yet. Let's not rush the season!
Crime Report
In our local newspaper we have a column called Police Beat. It has reports of auto accidents and arrests, etc. This entry struck me funny this evening:
State police reported a 77 year old male allegedly taunted KLH's dog as the man walked by her residence between 8:30 and 10:30 AM on October 14.
Of course, I don't know what the man did to taunt the dog. I don't know if he kept it up all that time or what really happened, but the way it's worded, it just doesn't sound like a police matter. Have you ever taunted a dog? Um, I'm sure I must have. That's how we have fun with them, --a gentle teasing, or taunting. Wonder what the man really did!
Baseball
Sunday night I was reading October of my 1992 journal and I was recounting highlights of the closing games of the baseball World Series. It was the very beginning of October. Here we are at the end of October and we were just beginning the final set of World Series games. No wonder it looked so miserable at the game, with water dripping off their caps and equipment and rain streaming down on them. Isn't it too late for important big league baseball games?
Yesterday afternoon, this very thought became an idea of discussion between Ken Brown and Mitch Albom on WJR. Ken was saying that this is no time for baseball. His reasons were different than mine. I thought mainly of the inclement weather. He was thinking about football. It's time to think football, not baseball, he said.
Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm right, too. I think it's been a very long baseball season. But then, doesn't basketball overstay its welcome in the spring and go on and on when people want to think baseball?
Chipmunk in Bird Feeder Cage
Today when I opened the door to the dog pen and the dogs ran into it, I saw a chipmunk sitting in the little wire cage that holds the block of birdcake. He was sitting very still, looking at us. Neither of the dogs saw him. I talked to him quietly, telling him to just be still and not move and he'd be OK. I knew he could probably make a dash for it successfully but it was raining and if he slipped and fell, well, sometimes dogs can be really fast at grabbing a little running critter.
Neither of the dogs saw the chipmunk and they came back inside and the chipmunk stayed right where it was. I went then to get my camera and I expected that the chipmunk would be gone when I went back outside, or it would flee as soon as I opened the door to the pen. It was still there!
I took pictures of it from the doorway, and then kept walking closer taking more pictures. It never moved. I got a really good close up of him in that cage and I've posted it on my Flickr page.
I began to wonder if he was sick, since he didn't move for so long. I went back into the house and much later, looked for him again and he was gone, and there was considerably less seed in the birdfeeder. I think maybe he didn't want to leave before he'd packed his cheeks with as much food as he could carry. I hope he's OK.
Seasonal Candy
Our church is sponsoring a big end of October party for the kids. Our evening service song leader is a dentist. When he made the announcements last night, he came to the one about the party and said, "We need donations of lots of, ...uh, oh, I can't say it! How about, lots of toothbrushes and dental floss instead!" It made me laugh!
Hard at Work
I'm working on the church newsletter again. I have most of what perhaps should be considered the hard work taken care of, --collecting news, typing it, proof reading, spell check, etc. For the most part, I have to take it from the Word Program and put it into Publisher. That's the course I took last year at the end of the year. I'm trying to master that program but every time I work with it, I have to argue and fuss with it. That program has a mindset that is very contrary. How often I want to run back to my Page program on the Mac. It's true that I had to fuss with it a little bit at first, but now I know it well, and I've fussed with Publisher for 10 months now. I must be on the verge of "getting" it. I hope so.
On a Day Like Today
On a day like today, I'm glad that I made the effort to get to my Monday morning routine even though it was very tempting to alter it and just stay home. It's cold and very rainy today and bed was cozy and warm. My dream was busy and funny and while I thought about the dream, time passed and I didn't get up early.
After I got my allergy shots, the nurse said to me, "Try to stay dry!" and I had to laugh because I was going out into the rain and on my way to Aquarobics. So I wasn't going to stay dry for long!
On my way home from Aquarobics, I realized how glad I feel that I didn't give in to my natural inclination to just stay warm at home. I'm happy to be home again, but I am happy that I stuck to the program.
Who Am I?
When I first retired from teaching, I attended a Retired School Employees meeting in Erie. There were 133 at the luncheon. We were seated near the speakers table and I was facing away from it. I looked out over the group and saw all these intelligent, capable people, all with a certain authoritative set of thejaw. For a short time there I felt that the title TEACHER was subliminally imprinted on each person. It seemed impossible to look at this group and not know that they were teachers, or in education. And then the moment was over and they became regular people again.
It made me wonder which time I was seeing correctly and if it was possible that I walk and talk, look and breathe teacher. And, is that good or bad?
Shortly after that, I found an answer. I am definitely TEACHER. I was in the TV repair shop, and the owner told me he thought that I looked familar, that he should know me. A customer there said, "I know who she is. She's a teacher." Then I went to my volunteer work at the hospital and a bearded young man went sprinting into the building ahead of me but he held the door for me and said, "Aren't you Mrs. Klingensmith?" He was one of my former pupils, now hurrying to his job in the X-Ray department of the hospital.
I had my answer. I am TEACHER. My life has been linked to many others. Maybe it doesn't show as plainly as I thought it might when I pondered the question shortly after my retirement, but it really is a very big part of who I am.
A Good Quote
This quote is taken from Andre Maurois and it deals with doing our best today and not holding grudges against people who don't meet our expectations. I can vouch for the fact that what he says is true. In reading my journals of more than 10 years ago, I have found that often the things that I was really upset about are things that I've completely forgotten about now. Let go of hurts and grievances and forgive others freely. Here's what Andre wrote:
"Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Perhaps some man we helped has proved ungrateful, some woman we believe to be a friend has spoken ill of us, some regard we thought we deserved has been denied us. We feel such disppointments so strongly that we can no longer work or sleep. But isn't that absurd? Here we are on this earth, with only a few more decades to live, and we lose many irreplaceable hours brooding over grievances that in a year's time will be forgotten by us and by everybody. No, let us devote our life to worthwhile actions and feelings, to great thoughts, real affections and enduring undertakings. For life is too short to be little."
Cold, Rainy Day
I can't complain about the rain today because we've had so much really beautiful weather. However, without complaining, I will say that it was dull and dreary all day today. No working outside for me. I just stayed home all day and did little dribs and drabs of work and lots of writing, phone conversations and reading. I didn't turn the heat up until a little more than a half hour ago. Every time I looked at the temperature in the house, it said 64 degrees. That's not too bad when I'm doing something active, but when I'm just sitting, the cold gets to me. So now I'm warming it up a bit.
Quirks and Quarks
For many years I listened to the program, Quirks and Quarks, a science program aired on CBC public broadcasting through CBL in Toronto. When CBL went FM, I couldn't get their signal any more and haven't heard the program since then.
I tried several times to get CBL through my computer but wasn't successful. I tried a couple months ago and I finally was able to pick it up, but at that time, CBC was on strike! I tried again this morning and apparently the strike is over and the programming is back to normal.
I'm listening to Quirks and Quarks as I write. I'm delighted to be able to get it again.
Inertia
Today as I approached the afternoon, I had no desire to dig in and get some hard work accomplished. This sitting body wanted to stop sitting, lie down and go to sleep. But I got my sitting body in motion and went outside and got a fire going in the fire ring. Then the scientific law took over for me. A body in motions tends to continue in motion. I was able to work through the afternoon, burning more old wood from the garage and sorting through more scrap metal. I hope it's scrap! I'll have someone check it out for me before I get rid of it. I almost threw a ladder jack away because I didn't know what it was!
I also yanked some more dead plants and carted two big bags of compost material to my friend's compost pile. He was glad to get it and I was glad to get rid of it because my compost pile is pretty full.
My body in motion is now winding down again, just sitting, but getting slowed down to head for bed.
Spot the Lie
I am using an article about advertising in my next edition of the church newsletter. It's taken from something that Terry Mattingly wrote for Leadership Magazine in 1992. He talked about someone he knew who taught his son to use critical thinking about advertisements. They played a game together which he'd named, Spot the Lie.
Advertising is aimed at making people buy and advertisements use many tricks to get us to think we really, really need the product. Their deceptions are lies.
Today while I was driving to the Y to Aquarobics, I was half listening to an ad about having my kitchen remodeled, now! I sort of woke up when I heard the second reason to do it now. I missed the first reason. My mind was on something else. But I heard, Second, my recipes taste better when I make them in a newly remodeled kitchen, and Third, I can buy now and pay later.
I wonder what that first reason was. It was probably a lie, too. I know a newly remodled kitchen will not make my recipes taste better. And, thinking that buying now and paying later is a very BAD financial practice.
Not all ads contain such blatant deceptions, but you know what? Even these blatant deceptions grab a lot of people who haven't been using their critical thinking skills.
Punny Dream
I dreamed that my family was at a picnic area and we were near another family. They were already starting their meal and I heard them saying they were having puppy dogs wrapped in bacon. I expected that they meant hotdogs wrapped in bacon strips. Then I saw that they had their dogs with them, and each one of them had a huge strip of bacon wrapped around their middle. I wondered how they kept the dogs from eating that bacon, because I knew my dogs wouldn't just wear it!
Church Cartoon
In the most recent issue of Leadership Magazine, I just saw this cartoon, by Wendall Simons. A man is looking at the church attendance board and it reads:
Sunday school ----95
Worship ----145
Coffee Hour ----215
It's funny, but it makes you wonder.
Two Teachers
I knew Mrs. Dorothy Lindsey through my teaching days. When she retired in 1974, I was hired to teach the fifth grade class that she'd usually taught. She and Mary Beckwith were a team, probably an unlikely team. Dorothy was cheerful and sunny, while Mary was closed in and had a very negative tendency. Mary looked on the down side before she looked on the bright side. But I knew that when Mary closed her door and taught her class, she was a different person, one that we didn't see very often. I knew because when Mary and I became another unlikely team, I got a glimpse of who she was as her students talked to me. For the most part, she was well liked.
Dorothy, also, was well liked by her pupils. I got to know her more when I also was retired and we attended meetings together. She had many interesting stories to tell of her days in the classroom.
I was sorry to see her obituary in the newspaper last week. She died at the age of 94. She lived a good life and though her body slowed down, her mind remained alert. As long as I knew her, she was cheerful and pleasant, --a person who was fun to visit. She leaves a great heritage for her family.
Lunch with the Girls
Today Iola, Ruth and I had lunch together at China Jade. It was very good, as usual, but the place was very cold. The food and the hot tea didn't stay hot for very long. The best part, of course, was having the time together to relax and chat and catch up on what we've each been doing. I'll eat light for supper tonight.
Transitions
When I am making a transition from one phase of my life, one chapter, I could say, to another, everything seems to be affected. Right now it is that way, for sure. I've been getting rid of things I don't need, don't use, or that are just cumbering the ground. While I'm doing this, I have everything in an upheaval. If I look hard, I can see the order emerging from the chaotic, but with a quick glance, I see lots of work that still must be done.
But, I know I'm making progress. I'm not sure what I'm transitioning into but I know I'm moving away from what I have been. I wish transitions were much easier that I find them to be.
Small Victories
I wrote this poem on June 2, 1992. It's not true of today. I accomplished much more than this today, but, some days are still something like this.
Some days are full of victories
From morning through to night,
They're days bristling with energy.
I tackle all within my sight.
Big victories puff me up
And let me float and soar,
But hardly ever satisfy,
I always beg for more.
But small victories, they come along
Like a slowly creeping bug.
I triumph in the little things.
Today I washed the kitchen rugs.
It's a Mystery
In the Bible, in the book of Colossians, it says that we live and move and have our being in God. This, to me, always seems like a wonderful mystery. It's something that's hard for me to understand completely. I think of God as a person, and He is. But God is spirit and that's the part that's outside of my complete understanding.
However, I find this thought extremely comforting. In God, I live and move and am alive. I think about this often.
Now when I am in the Aquarobics class, I often hang on to my two noodles (wrapped around my body) and work my way out into the deep part. I let myself sink down into the water, bouyed up by it and the noodle. I grasp the concept of living and moving in God a little more clearly when I'm in the water that way. Of course, my head is out of the water, but I still feel a little closer to understanding the concept of living and being in God. I'll never get it completely, but I think about it often.
It's a comforting thought. Just as I'm held up and supported by the surrounding water, I'm held close in God. Just as breathing in air is vital to my life, living and breathing in God is vital to my spirit.
Aquarobics was really good again today.
Forgetful
I just realized today that I've been keeping so busy these last few days that I didn't give any thought to the fact that Monday was my day for allergy shots. It's OK for me to push it to three weeks once in a while, but I'd better not forget about it next Monday. Today was another day of pretty good progress. I'm pleased. But sorry that I forgot my shots.
Rescue Mission
When a spider gets into the sink, it seldom can get out of the sink on its own. Yesterday that happened again at my house.
I can rescue little spiders. I put a paper into the sink and wait till it climbs onto the paper and then I run outdoors with it, keeping close watch on it in case it tries to run up my arm.
But yesterday, it wasn't a little spider. The circumference of its legs would have reached a little bit outside of a quarter. I didn't think I could possibly collect that spider on a paper, but it was a fine, big spider who should be living outdoors, not killed in a sink.
Fortunately, David was working here yesterday afternoon. I asked him, "Do you rescue spiders and not kill them?" He said that yes he did. He came into the house then, took a plastic glass and put it down by the spider. The spider ran into the glass, he held the glass upright and carried it out to the garden. So easy!
Do I think I could do that if no one else is here? Oh, I hope I never have to try!
Happy Morning
What a beautiful day this is. We didn't get the frost that I thought we might the other night. It's been a tad warmer again and I still have time to plant my tulip bulbs. Maybe today. Maybe not!
So far this morning I've been busy doing writing activities, --letters mostly. I have so many options for things to do today that it's hard to decide which thing to do first.
I'm grateful to be busy!
An Unexpected Gift
This afternoon the doorbell rang, alerting Desy and Rusty that someone who doesn't live here had come to the door. What a racket they make when the doorbell rings.
I wasn't expecting anyone so I was surprised to see a neighbor with a glorious arrangement of fall flowers in her hands. She told me that she's a member of the altar committee for St. Paul's Lutheran Church and she wanted to present me with these flowers that had been on the altar for the Sunday service.
It's a beautiful, vibrant assortment of fall colors and includes one delicate, orange-gold rose!
Last year when my husband was very sick, the church gave him the altar flowers, with the message that they had been praying for him. I am reminded of that as I look at today's bouquet. It's a tie to the past with hope for the future and blessing for today.
Thanks, Pastor and congregation of this my neighborhood church. I appreciate your message of love to me.
Who Would Have Thought?
I have this old tricycle which has been stored in the garage, with a pile of junk. In sorting things out, I brought the tricycle out to the driveway. Today, the kids I watch after school took a fancy to the trike! They are 11 and 7 and both of them are much bigger than the tricycle. They had such fun playing with it. The boy would sit on the seat with his legs hanging down over the handlebars and roll gently down our sloping sidewalk. "I'm an old man in a wheelchair," he would shout. They had a blast! And I was thinking I should throw the trike away!
Sisters
There are sisters in the Aquarobics group which I attend. They come together, one sister meeting the other at her home and then on to the Y together. One day only one of the two was in the water with us. I asked her if her sister hadn't come that day.
She told me that since the Y was going to have a program where they instructed patrons about precautions against Identity Theft, her sister "had to" stop at the desk and tell them about her experience with Identity Theft.
I knew the story, having heard it weeks earlier. It wasn't Identity Theft, it was credit card fraud, but it had been very traumatic for the sister. And now she was telling her story to the women at the registration desk. The sister telling me this rolled her eyes in exasperation, knowing that her sister told everyone who would give her a chance about this distressing event in her life. Surely everyone she knew had heard this story before.
And then she sighed and said, "Besides, I already told them!"
Apple Pie and Ice Cream
With some of the Cortland apples that I bought on Saturday, I made apple pie. For dessert that evening, we had the classic, apple pie and ice cream. It really is one of life's simple pleasures.
It reminded me about my dad. He really liked apple pie and ice cream. While I was still at home he told us that when they would ride down into the coal mine on the man trip, sometimes one of the men would grab a guy's leg just above the knee and squeeze. This usually makes a person's reflexes take over and the person jumps and even gives a little yell. He learned to steel his muscles so that when they grabbed his knee, he sat there stoically. They asked how he could muster such self control. He said, "It's easy. I just think about apple pie and ice cream."
My dad was one who loved to joke. I never knew if he really did think of apple pie and ice cream or if he just learned the self control bit. I'm wondering if I should think of apple pie and ice cream more often, to keep lonely thoughts away.
Blessings of Kid Sitting
Some afternoons after school two children come over to my house to stay until their mom gets out of work, about an hour and a half later. We've come to know and love each other and I look forward to their bright smiles.
This morning when I trailed into church behind my visiting family, my little boy popped out of his seat near the back of the church to give me a very warm greeting. As I gently squeezed his hand in greeting, he eagerly said, "You can sit with us!" I hope he knows how much I appreciated his invitation and that he understood why I trooped on down the aisle and sat with my family. Maybe some day I'll get to take him up on his invitation.
Fear of Frost
I thought it might get cold enough to freeze tonight so late this afternoon, I brought in all my more tender plants that I want to save. I'd been bringing them in a few a day for a while, so it wasn't a huge job. It feels cold enough to freeze but I see that tonight there is a heavy cloud cover, so that may keep us from a frost tonight. But, it's coming soon!
Motorcycle Gang
When we went to the Clymer Restaurant for lunch today, there were five motorcycles parked in front of it. I wondered if I could pick out the people in the restaurant who belonged to the motorcycles. I didn't get to walk through the restaurant and look around but we did sit by the front window and we were able to see when the people left the restaurant and went to their bikes. They were five women, which isn't what I would have guessed or expected. I would have thought maybe five guys or five couples, but it was just women.
It was very interesting to see them get ready to leave. They had a good bit of equipment to put on, mostly leather stuff. Unlike driving a car, they had to put on jackets and vests and head protection and other things. I didn't get a good view through the lacy curtains. I think it took over 10 minutes for them all to gear up for their exit.
As they started their engines, I noticed a young girl and boy standing at the doorway watching the women on their bikes. They were mesmerized. I thought it would have made such a good picture, --this brother and sister watching the cyclists.
When they left, the eastern most biker went first, turning left onto the highway, heading west. The rest curved out onto the road after her in precision, much like the Shriners do in the drills that they go through in their little cars in parades. It was very interesting to watch. It was a very nice day for a motorcycle ride. I hope they will stay safe.
Seen on a shirt at the football game:
Swimming is the only sport
With no half time, no time out,
No substitutions, no overtime,
And only one shot at the goal.
Neat!
Farmer's Market
We went to the farmer's market this morning, especially to get apples. We did get a half bushel of apples. I'll keep some and let my son's family have the rest. I also got two sweet onions and 18 brown farm fresh eggs. I looked for carrots but didn't see any.
I didn't buy any peppers but I loved looking at them. They were so glossy and the colors were vivid. The jalapeno peppers were what caught my eye first. They were vivid green and almost arrow shaped. There were others, too, of varying shades of green, but all were glossy and made such a pretty picture. I didn't want any but I had to ask about them, just because they were so beautiful to look at.
I enjoyed seeing the produce at the farmer's market this morning.
Pride
Somebody clever said that pride is the undershirt of the soul. You put it on first, and you take it off last.
My mom and dad were taught to fear pride to the extent that they were cautious about having pride in anything. I asked Mom about what she was proud of that she had accomplished and she refused to name anything. I tried to explain that I didn't mean undue pride, or boastful pride, I just meant something that she'd done that she could do well, something that she could feel good about. Finally, after I gave up, she did tell me that she had been told she made the best Swiss steak, --and people always liked her pie.
It's not pride to know you do something well. My mom was a really good cook. She had every right to feel really good about her cooking.
The final score was 39-6, the Lancers winning. But we kept them under their average of scoring 44 points per game! That's a something! It would have been nice to have won this game, but it didn't work out that way. We'll try again next week.
High School Football
We went to the high school football game again, my third one this season. We left just after half time. It was a mixed bag kind of game. It started out with a lot of enthusiasm and fun, but the game turned into a rout, against us and it wasn't pretty to watch.
It was Fan Frenzy night and they gave orange and black fan sticks to the first 400 fans to arrive. We arrived in time to get our sticks, which turned out to be balloon sticks, one orange and one black. They do make quite a racket when banged together. As the cheerleaders handed the sticks to us, they advised us that anyone hitting anyone with their sticks would be expelled from the game. This announcement was repeated several times during the opening moments of the game.
They gave lots of prizes and freebies throughout the game. It should have been great fun. But General McLane was a formidable foe! They came into this game with a 6-0 record and they boasted an average of 44 points per game. They just steamrolled over Corry! We started thinking that there ought to be a mercy rule for high school football game, too.
It was that kind of game. In the late third period, our kicker dropped back to punt and the fog has been rolling in and the grass was slippery so he slipped and fell and the Lancers got the ball just about 11 yards from the goal. As if they needed any break like that!!! A couple of our guys were injured, too, in the course of this game. It wasn't the way we hoped it would be. But there were some fun moments early in the game.
Who Likes Egg Drop Soup?
After I got home from the morning's activity at the community building and the flu shots, it was time for lunch. Everybody was hungry. Soup would be a great meal at this time, but I hadn't thought ahead and made any soup. And then I got this wonderful idea. I really, really like egg drop soup. Why not call the local China Jade and order a gallon of egg drop soup and we'd all have a delicious meal without too much waiting.
You should have heard them. Everyone assured me that a gallon of soup was far too much and besides, many in the group (11 of us) hadn't ever had egg drop soup and probably wouldn't like it. I was pretty confident that they would like it. I let them talk me out of a gallon and I called and ordered three quarts of soup. My son and I went to get it.
We brought it home piping hot and soon had it ladled into bowls. Almost everyone tried some. Some liked it more than others but most of us liked it a lot. The youngest ate some but was picky about it. The next youngest was too hungry to wait till we brought the soup home and already ate something else.
I was in hopes that there would be some soup left over for tomorrow. It keeps well in the fridge and it heats up easily. But I was not in luck. There was none left over. Maybe if I'd have followed my instinct and ordered a gallon, I'd have some for tomorrow. But maybe some people would have had third helpings and there wouldn't be any left over. It really hit the spot!
The Wrong Glasses
When I was directed to sit at the registration table at the community center where we were helping with flu shots, I realized that I should have had the pair of glasses that I use for reading. Fortunately my son and his wife stopped in to see how it was going and I asked them if they could bring the right glasses to me.
What a great help that was for me. Before they got back to me, I had to take off my glasses and focus on the fine print on drivers' licenses, in order to get the birthday and address information. It was easier to use the driver's license than to ask all the questions because there was a good bit of noise in the room and many of the senior adults were hard of hearing.
It's a bother to have glasses for distance and glasses for reading, but the reading glasses were exactly what I needed today.
Helping with Flu Shots
I was slated to help with the community flu shot program this morning. I was to help sell orange juice and coffee. I was to be there at 9 with an hour to get settled for the people to begin getting their shots at 10. It was hard for me to leave home since I had a house full of company and I really wanted to be with them. But a promise made, you know, ---and I'd told Lucy weeks ago that I would help this morning. I didn't know then that I would have company today.
I set off on foot for the community building because it's only about four blocks away and parking is at a premium for the senior adults coming in for their shots.
When I was near the post office, at least half way there, my friend Barb came by in her cab and offered me a ride to my destination. I didn't need a ride but I knew it would be good to talk to my friend a little while so I accepted.
When I got there, wearing my Hospital Auxiliary name tag as ordered, Lucy met me and informed me that I would be helping with the registration forms. Actually, she didn't tell me this until after the instructions had been given and I was looking around to see where the orange juice station would be. I hadn't paid much attention to registration directions because I wasn't going to need to know that to sell orange juice. And that's when Lucy told me I needed to get seated with the others who were working at the registration tables.
I had to do a quick study of the form to feel familiar with it before the people started coming to our tables. It wasn't what I thought I'd be doing, but it wasn't really a difficult job.
No Mo' Lawn Mow
I've been thinking that I wouldn't need to mow my lawn again this year, but after looking it over carefully this afternoon, I decided that it would probably be good to mow it one more time. There were a few places where the grass was very long, but most places it was just right. I guess those long places really did need mowing. The mower stalled often, but then, it started right up easily when I pulled the cord. When I finished, I wheeled the mower into the garage. I think it really is the last time I'll have to mow for this year.
Taking Turns
Here in Corry, at stop signs, we don't usually take turns. I know that the driver's manual says that the first person at the intersection has the right of way, but here in Corry, if you are going straight through the intersection and the person approaching is turning left, even if that person arrives first, they wait until the person going straight makes their move. I sometimes forget that and expect the person who arrived first at the intersection to drive through before I do. But then we wait and wait and wait until I wake up and smell the coffee and realize that I am going straight, so the other driver is giving me the right of way.
This reminds me of when our twins were very young, just learning to talk and I was having a picnic with them. Mama gave them a bag of potato chips and told them to share. Suddenly Sean told his mom, "Corry Grandma won't share!" I was shocked. What did he mean? What wasn't I sharing? Ah, he meant that he was supposed to share his potato chips and I wasn't eating any, so I wasn't sharing.
Sometimes people's politeness confuses us!
Spinning Straw into Gold
This is such a typical fall morning! In some aspects, it's dull and dreary. It seemed to me that it was darker than usual when I woke up just before 7 this morning. And then I remembered that this is the reason we set our clocks back at the end of October. This darkness is really typical of this time of the year.
I took my newspaper article about the Artists' Guild meeting to the Journal office this morning, on foot. It is a cool morning, so a light jacket and a hat felt good. There was a constant mist in the air, so I put my article in a plastic sleeve to protect it from the moisture. It sounds like a dismal morning, but it wasn't! The short walk felt so good that I felt like going for a longer walk. Although it was always misty, I was never wet! Our trees are beginning to turn colors and there were lots of picturesque things to see.
When I write reports of meetings for the local newspapers, I feel that I'm spinning straw into gold. I take the common straw of business discussions and turn it into a bit of gold that the community will be interested to read about.
When I got home, Sarah met me with a bouquet of bright red leaves, to match her red jacket. I realized that Sarah was also spinning straw into gold. She took the dull autumn day of straw and turned it into gold with her bright bouquet of leaves and her happy smile.
Whatever the weather is like, I hope your autumn day turns out to be golden, too.
Heard a Good Compliment?
Today when I was at Walmart, one of the young men who works outside jocking the carts around, came to help me get the groceries into the trunk of the car. As we talked, I realized that he knew me and I quickly figured out who he was.
In the course of our conversation, he told me something nice about some one we know. It made me feel good to hear it. After I got home, I got to thinking, that third person doesn't know that this young man appreciates his influence in his life. I decided to make a phone call and pass on this bit of encouragement.
It's the kind of thing I like to hear. A compliment repeated by someone who heard it about you is a really uplifting thing. The third party thanked me for telling him and said that it did mean a lot to him to know that.
I'm glad I followed my impulse and made the call.
Ask A Kid
I've had trouble with my TV for well over a week now when my VCR suddenly died. I didn't understand how it could affect the TV but it was like the TV was stuck in the "view through the VCR" mode and I couldn't get it out of that, no how!
My grandson is visiting now and he and his sisters want to watch tonight's big league baseball game. He thought he could probably fix the TV, --could he try? I thought he might be able to do it, too. Sure enough, he figured out the problem. The cable had been routed through the VCR then to the cable box, and when the VCR died, it affected the way the TV got the signal. That sounds to me like it's odd that the TV worked at all!
Meanwhile, a new VCR is on the way and will be here before the end of the week. Then I'll be able to record programs I want to see though I'm not able to be home at the time they are airing. I haven't been able to do that for many months.
The Right Stuff
Yesterday the street crew came and used their machinery to chip up all the big branches that had come down from the tree on our street. But when they were gone, there was a huge portion of trunk that remained. I didn't understand why they didn't cut it up with their chain saw and take it, too. I saw them get the chain saw out but then put it back into the truck without using it.
Today they brought in a front loader to pick up the huge chunk of wood and haul it away. There were a couple of other vehicles with the big machine, and several men to help get it loaded. They didn't take it yesterday because they didn't have the right stuff to deal with it.
Now the fallen tree is completely cleared away.
Almost Got Caught
I knew all weekend that today is Columbus Day and there would be no mail. I reminded myself of that frequently. And then sometime this morning the dogs barked riotously and my first thought was that the mailman had gone. I was going to go check, but then I got busy and didn't do it. Later when I remembered that I mean to check for mail, I also remembered that there is no mail today. So, I almost got caught forgetting, but I remembered before I actually checked on the mail.
Another Up in the Air Ending
I just finished reading another book that had no resolution. I did enjoy the book but I really wanted a resolution to the little mystery that ran through the story.
The old hotel burned 20 years ago. Before it burned, a baby was kidnapped from one of the rooms. There was never any real investigation concerning this mystery. It just went away as if it had never happened and the burned out shell of the hotel stood silently in an undeveloped area outside of the little town. Now the main character in the story becomes obsessed with solving this mystery and does many investigations, questioning all the people she can discover who may have known something about the incident. She draws many conclusions as to what has happened but then finds reasons why those conclusions don't provide all the answers.
And, just when I thought I was getting to the root of the matter, the explanation, the story ended! No answers at all! The main character begins to see that life is always the same, even in differences there is so much sameness. She dreads leaving this stage of her life and growing older and the book is finished. I'm so let down! I have enough unanswered questions in my mind at this time and I really wanted some resolution to this story.
Sigh.
No Comment
People are telling me that they can't get the code to work right on my blog and they can't leave comments to me. I have no clue as to how to fix that, but meantime, please email me your comments. Click on the email line there on the right hand side and it will open with my address.
I've had comments that "neb" is probably regional, actually a Pittsburgh expression, and Sally mentioned that she had three different dreams one night but all about the same person and it seemed weird. At least my weird dream left me laughing and feeling light hearted.
I hope my comments code gets fixed soon. I enjoy reading your comments.
Walk in the Snow --Memory
In 1992 when I was visiting my parents near Pittsburgh, it was early March and there was a snowstorm over night which took us all by surprise. That morning, I felt in need of some solitude and thinking time and I took my dog, German shepherd and Samoyed mix, Rhombus, out for a long walk.
I walked the long way around the circle of roads, down the hill to the bus stop, up the hill again where the road branched off to the right. I left the circle then and went to the little park. On nice summer days, we would walk to this park, half a mile from my parents home by the direct route, and we would feed the ducks at the lake.
There were no ducks now. It looked so empty of life and I felt isolated and alone as I looked over the scene. I said to Rhombus, "Where are all the ducks?"
When I said that, about 20 ducks came out from hiding places under the bushes and foliage around the lake. They swam eagerly toward me. I realized that they were expecting me to be bringing them a treat. I felt so sorry that I had to disappoint them. I hadn't thought that I'd be walking to the park. I hadn't thought about bringing them some bread. I wondered how many people come to meet me expecting to find encouragement and shared joy and find I have nothing to give them.
I was really feeling misunderstood and empty that day. It was easy to think negative thoughts. I know now that sometimes I meet other people's needs. I really wish I could do it every time, but sometimes, I'm still as empty as I was that day in the snow storm.
Neb Nose
It's been ages since I heard that term, neb nose. When I was a kid, I heard the word "neb" often. It was usually a verb, as in, "Were you nebbing in my stuff?" "Neb nose" used the word as an adjective, meaning to poke your nose into things that didn't belong to you.
I don't know if the term was regional or was a very old word that my elders used and it has gone out of style. Recently I read the word in dialog in a story from the early 1900s. It makes me think it was perhaps an old word, though it may have been regional.
I like the word. I don't understand why we don't use it today.
A Startling Question
I am just awake from an unusual dream this morning. I dreamed I was in hospital and I had been told that I have two weeks to live. I was finding this very hard to get my mind around. I didn't feel sick in any way. I kept thinking that I had none of the symptoms or problems that my husband had had. Still, the nurse had been able to tell me accurately when he had little time left and now I was hearing it.
I didn't want to believe the nurse. Deep in my heart I believed that she was wrong, but there was that needle of doubt. She might really know and I should pay attention. But I know there's that self fulfilling prophecy to consider. I could believe that I was going to die in two weeks and die because I believed it.
I had better tell my family. I think I had told my some of my kids as they had come to see me in hospital, and some of my friends, too. I was hoping I would get to tell my daughter, and then my mom came.
When I told my mom, a look of horror and disbelief came over her. She just crumpled with shock and concern and was overwhelmed with emotion, but then very quickly, she brightened up cheerfully and asked me expectantly, "Will you clean your room before you go?"
It was probably the last thing I'd expect to hear at that point. How fast one thinks in a dream. I thought of all the things I'd have to do to clean my room and I quickly answered, "No!"
We laughed together.
When I wakened, the startling, unexpected question filled my mind. The humor of the situation had changed my emotions completely from "How do I tell people this?" to, "Oh, this is so funny!"
Tattletales
Lenore Skomal wrote a column about tattletales in the Thursday Erie newspaper. She said that when she would tattle on her brother, her mother would punish her and not her brother.
It reminded me! When my first two children were very little, my daughter would tattle about things her little brother was doing. Finally I decided to put a stop to it and when she came to me with another story of what her brother was doing, I told her I didn't want to hear it. She obediently stopped telling me.
Later I went into the room where my son was methodically pulling out all the stitches of the rug I was crocheting! I was very upset. And my daughter smugly told me, "I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen."
I went back to paying attention when she started telling me what her brother was doing.
Vacation Reminder
While I was at Myrtle Beach at the end of August, I was very careful to not get too much sun. No sunburn for me! But I did wear sandals most of the time and the skin on my feet got very brown between the sandal straps. Now when I look at my feet, I have a fading reminder of my beautiful vacation week at the beach in the sun.
Old Fashioned Phones
When I was a girl at home, we had to place a call through the operator. "Number please," she would say. And if the line was busy she would say, "That line is busy." But sometimes I would hear, "B Y." I suppose it was "Busy Line" and I didn't hear it correctly.
We heard everyone's ring on our party line, or maybe just half the rings. There were two branches. Ours was J-22. That's said, "two two," and it meant two long rings and two short rings. I don't remember what the other branch was but maybe it was R. We didn't hear any of the R branch ring in our house but they were on our line, too.
I can't remember when we got a dial phone but it was such a big deal. We knew people around us were getting those phones and we eagerly awaited our turn. I think we got dial phones when I was in high school, before I left home. Then our number was Edison something, and I can't remember the number. At one time, we had a four party line. We knew some people who paid more and had a private line. What luxury!
Other people using our phone line could be a pain. We usually knew who else was on our line but I can't remember who now.
Then after I was married and we were in our first pastorate at Rogers Mill, we lived in a rented farm house in Millertown. It was a giant step backwards because we had a crank phone! We had to lift the receiver and turn the crank to get the operator. That is probably like the Waltons! Probably the operator ran her job from her home and worked around the house and listened for the ring to alert her that we needed the phone.
It wasn't long till we became modernized and got dial phones there. It was such a marvel to me that there would be any place so backward as to still have a crank phone in 1959. We still had a party line, though.
We still had a party line when we lived at Cobbs Corner in 1967. Some people were great talkers and it was hard to find a time when the phone was free. However, for an emergency, you could excuse yourself and ask to use the line, like to call a doctor or something really important. You could hear the click when someone on the line lifted the phone. If they kept lifting their phone every few minutes you got the message that it was time to share. Most people did take the hint, but there were some that yakked on and on.
I think maybe we got a private line when we moved into Corry in 1974, -but I'm really not sure now. I didn't keep notes about the phone.
Day's End
Our high school team did indeed win the game last night, and the score was 28-18. One interesting thing that I heard during the game is that Willie Baker, playing for East High School, had the nickname, "Willie Baker, the touchdown maker." It wasn't working for him last night but I hope he has a lot of success making touchdowns for his team during the rest of this season. A good nickname like that should not be wasted.
Today was a drizzly, rainy day, all day. But it's OK, because we've had many, many really nice fall days in a row. And it is the time of year when the cool rainy days come to stay for a while.
Aquarobics today was especially enjoyable. The water was just right. I knew shortly after I got into the pool that it was one of the wonderful days. It's hard to put it into words how good it feels to be surrounded by water and be perfectly safe, fully supported. I loved it and was so thankful that I have the opportunity to do this three times a week. I actually could do it five times a week but three seems to be the right amount. The conversation and interaction with the other women in the class was pretty good today, too. It was very satisfying.
I had a good time with the children I watch after school some days. Kaylee stayed later at school for a robot project. They are designing a robot to be built out of Legos. That should be a fun project for her. Perhaps I'll get to see it.
It's been a good day.
Goodnight.
The Hidden Meaning of Some Customs
This morning I heard on WJR an interview with the mayor of Detroit. In the course of conversation, he was asked if was no longer wearing an earring. He said that he'd stopped wearing his earring, and the reason he gave was one I really understood.
He said the earring overlapped everything he was and everything he did. The earring was bigger than his law degree or any of the achievements he'd accomplished. It was bigger than being the mayor and he finally realized it and he would not wear it again as long as he is mayor.
I understand this. I try not to let such a thing affect how I see a man but there is a little niggling thought somewhere deep down that won't let me forget that the earring is there. I'm not used to seeing men with an earring, but I know it's not any more important than a haircut or a style of clothing and yet, I do see it there. I know I've been able to accept that some men wear an earring (or two) but since not everyone wears them, it's like a background noise, detracting from the message.
Then Mayor Kilpatrick told us why he wore the earring in the first place. He must have given his wife a second, probably nicer, engagement ring because, he said, she took her first engagement ring and had it made into this special earring for him. He can't give the earring away because it holds too much meaning for him. Perhaps someday he'll wear it again, but not as long as he is mayor. Knowing this about the earring quiets the background noise in my thoughts. It also helps me to be more understanding of others who are wearing something different from what I expect. There's probably a special meaning behind what I see.
A New Phrase
I heard a man say it on a radio interview this morning. He was talking about the glitches that had happened in the project he was working on.
He said, "We don't always get things right from the first bite of the apple."
What a curious expression. I've never heard that before. The first bite of the apple must refer to Adam and Eve and the "apple." But everything went wrong with the first bite of the apple. He must have gotten the phrase backwards.
Have you ever heard this expression?
End of the Day
I was distracted at the end of the football game, --a good phone call, so I don't know the final score, but I'm pretty sure that Corry won.
The weather is supposed to change tomorrow. This change seems to be widespread and we're looking for cooler temperatures and rain.
The "kids" will be visiting me after school again tomorrow night, till their mom gets off work, about 4 o'clock. We're getting to know each other pretty well. They seem happy to see me and they like Rusty and Desy. They like my cookies, too!
I hope I manage to get more painting time tomorrow. The picture is taking shape.
That's all for now.
Good-night.
Thursday Football
This afternoon when I checked the football schedule to see if Oct. 14 is a home game, I discovered that our Beavers would be playing their usual Friday game in Erie this evening. I think that's because they are using a stadium which will be used by another team tomorrow.
I found out in time to plan to listen to the game while I worked on an oil painting this evening. We're still in the third period of play but it does seem that our Beavers will win this game.
It's 21 to 12, in our favor and the third period was just finished. I know you can't even depend on a score like that till the last second has ticked off the clock. But, at this moment, it looks good for our team. We'll wait and see how it turns out.
All's Well
When I woke this morning, my first thought was for Desy, wondering if she'd had any problems through the night. I stretched before getting up and my hand slipped over the side of the bed and touched Desy's head. She was sitting there waiting for me to get up. I sat up then and my feet on the other side of the bed lightly rested on Rusty who always sleeps tight up against the side of the bed where I get up. I avoid stepping on him as I get out of bed.
Desy was eager for breakfast this morning and has no problems from her mishap. If I'd not seen the empty wrapper left behind, I'd have never known that she'd eaten the stuff. I'm so thankful that the stuff was very old and did her no harm. I still wonder when she got the stuff.
Cartoon
I'm still working my way through the newspapers that accumulated while I was away from home at the end of August. Today I read Mother Goose and Grimm from September 3. It really tickles me.
Attilla is curled up on the hassock, resting. Grimm is looking at her and says, "Have you noticed that there are no cat action figures?"
This tickles me because even though cats can be very active, they are known for sleeping a LOT, and when they sleep, they often are dead to the world. I remember the cat we saw in the show room at the Pottery Barn this summer. That cat was sleeping so soundly that even when my friend petted it and talked to it, the cat never moved a muscle. Not a good model for an action figure. Not at all!
So Far She's OK
There are no signs or symptoms that Desy is having any difficulty from her latest escapade. I had to be away for a while this evening and I was really happy to see that she had run to the door to greet me on my return as usual. So far, she's her usual self. I think she's going to be OK.
Desy the Driven
I've mentioned before that my Desy is driven to hunt food and I have to always keep things out of her reach. She has done a terrible thing and I don't know when.
Some days I can work in my husband's study, but often I can't. Today I had a reason to go there and look for something and there in the middle of the floor I found an empty wrapper from rat poison! It was a packet that my husband had in the corner of a closet in his study. I noticed it there as I've worked sporadically cleaning out old files and unneeded things. There was also some papers scattered around where Desy had been searching for whatever she could find.
I knew it was Desy. What I didn't know is when. I haven't been in that room since before the weekend. It could be five days ago or a few hours ago.
I called Desy's vet in Erie, who didn't seem too concerned but will do a blood test tomorrow morning if I want them to. I called the local vet and his advice is similar to the first but I did learn from him that a lot depends on how fresh the poison packet was. I hunted around and found the original package in a metal cabinet. It is from 1999. That means it has lost most, if not all, of its potency. Put that together with the fact that she is a big dog and it gives me reason to relax. And, on top of that, she has no adverse effects, even to this minute, so it looks like she's going to be OK, but I had a very upsetting time there for about an hour.
Big sigh of relief. However, I'm still supposed to keep an eye on her and get her emergency help if she shows any sign of sickness. One thing to look for is loss of appetite. That would worry me! Desy is always hungry!
Life in Gabon
We had a minister from Gabon talk to us at church tonight. He was excellent in his presentation. I really enjoyed hearing him talk about the country of Gabon. What I didn't like was his "nature specimins." I didn't want to look at the jar of pickled insects, or the skull of an orangutang or the skin of a snake. I didn't want to handle them either. People who sat near me laughed at me because I am squeamish, but I didn't touch those things any how.
I have enough nature right here where I live. I picked up a board from the lower driveway and carried it to the upper driveway and put it on the saw horses so that I could saw it into segments to fit into the burn ring. When I put it on the saw horses, there was a big brown spider!!! I'd carried it all the way through the yard to the driveway. I'm so glad that it didn't crawl on me. The thought of it running up my arm makes me shudder. Our speaker said that there are no poisonous spiders in Gabon. What a relief! This wasn't a poisonous spider either but I would NOT want it to touch me at all!!! I was glad to let it run off into the weeds at the side of the driveway. It belongs outdoors and does a good job outdoors. Just please, don't ask me to get chummy with it.
Work Out
I did it. I went outdoors and worked for a while. It was too warm for wearing a sweat shirt. I had to come indoors and put on a tee shirt. I have both my garden hoses brought into the cellar now. I got a little more dead heading done and collected dead plant material for compost.
I took both dogs outdoors and tied them in the yard while I worked. They were pretty well behaved but they do have a tendency to get really excited about people walking past on the sidewalk. They enjoyed being outside with me today.
A Beautiful Outside Day
It's an absolutely wonderful day here in my area and I should be outside doing lots of odds and ends in the yard. This weather won't last. But I'm staying indoors so far, just thinking that I should go out. I think that this afternoon I will go out and get a few things done. Why am I staying indoors? I'm working on my oil painting. I have a strong drive to do that, too.
Giving My Best
The thing that I'm feeling really good about today is that for a number of things that I did today, I really did give my best effort. I feel especially good about the secretarial work. The minutes are mailed to the president and the report of the meeting has been delivered to the newspaper office.
I put a lot of energy into Aquarobics this morning, also, but I had to leave early in order to be ready for Hospital Auxiliary meeting.
Tonight I feel ready for bed and contented. Tomorrow won't be such a strenuous day.
A Compliment?
I found a letter in my notebook from 1991. In closing, the writer said, "Thanks for your letters, we enjoy them a lot. Especially the interesting ones."
Secretary Day Again
Today was another Hospital Auxiliary day and I had to play secretary again. It was a fairly short meeting but it took me roughly an hour and a half to take care of the minutes this afternoon.
I type up the minutes, try to proof read them, print them, find mistakes, correct mistakes, print out again, making two copies, --one for me, one for the president. Then I make the report for the newspaper, a deal which I call "spinning straw into gold." I have to get every tiny golden nugget out of that meeting to make an interesting report for the paper. Then I write up the Executive Committee session, and finally prepare the envelope to mail the president's copy of the minutes, and get the secretary reports filed and have the newspaper report ready to drop off at the Journal either this evening or tomorrow morning.
Then I can relax and not think about the task again until the first Monday in November.
Highlights of the Visits to the Zoo
Here are some of the highlights of my visit to the zoo back on Oct. 12, 1991:
- Petting the sheep. Even its nose felt of lanolin. It loved being petted.
- The calf had beautiful big eyes and it wanted its neck scratched.
- The pigs. It was their feeding time. The woman brought hay and scattered it into their shelter. They followed her around like puppies. She brought them some green, dried, chopped grasses and they ate it. They liked to be petted, too. Their coats were stiff bristles and they weren't thinck like fur. Their pink spotted skins showed through.
- Eating lunch at the umbrella picnic tables on the patio area near the food stand was a definite highlight. A lot of pigeons and pea fowl were walking through the area. People threw crumbs and crusts and Crackerjack to the birds. I held small bits for them. At first when a pigeon grabbed it, I let go. Then I started to hold the bread more tightly and let them peck it till they got it all and they grabbed my other fingers. It didn't hurt.
- Seeing the tiger pose for my son to take its picture.
- Watching the elephant walk backwards.
- Riding the train. For 75 cents per person we could ride the little train. We went over a bridge and the driver said that is was one of 129 bridges in PGH, which he called The City of Bridges.
- Sitting on the pink elephant kids' ride, the kind you see in the entry way of stores and you put in a quarter or two and it jiggles. It looked splendidly big and I'm very partial to elephants so I climbed onto it. We didn't have rides like that when I was a kid and I never sat on one when my kids were little. After I got off the elephant, we saw a sign that said only one child at a time and parents must stay with the child during the ride, and the child must be between two and eight. I was glad that I hadn't seen the sign earlier because it was great fun for me to sit on it. It really was a big elephant, plenty big for me.
Reading my old list again brings back some of these memories to me and I'