High School Play
This afternoon my neighbor called and invited me to go with her to our high school's production of the play, On the Town. I was delighted to go. I thought I probably wouldn't know any of the kids, but it would be fun any how.
I had forgotten that one of the high school seniors from our church had a leading role in the play. It was neat to be able to see his performance. He was Gabey and he was perfect for the part.
What a nice evening I had.
Why Can't Things Be Simple?
In March I renewed a magazine subscription for my grandson's birthday. The magazine people had sent me a reminder for it and I said, sure, I wanted to give him the magazine for the next year.
Guess what! They started sending me the magazine! And then they sent me a couple of "Urgent" reminders that it's time to renew the subscription for the birthday boy.
I've written to them to correct this mistake. I hope they will. But I can't help wondering what was so hard about it in the first place. Why did they start sending me the child's magazine?
Slow Start
It's another rain drenched morning. The sky is dull gray and the light is dim. I won't be getting the strawberries weeded today. The grass will be growing more and so will the weeds, but among the weeds, there are some good plants and they'll grow, too. Probably Monday I'll be able to get some more yard work done. I'll do house work and work on art projects today.
Muddy Mess
I tried to work in the garden area today but even though I slogged on, it wasn't accomplishing much. It was a muddy mess. I keep hoping tomorrow will be a little dryer, a little warmer, and I can get a lot more garden work done. But our days have been very cold and rainy, and the garden is a mess of mud.
No Aquarobics
Today when we arrived at the Y, I said to my friend, "There's not enough cars here. I wonder if there's no Aquarobics today." For the first time, I was going with my friend who had a day off work today. And sure enough, when we went inside to register and go to the pool, we were told that the person hadn't come to do the bit of maintenance that the pool needed so they'd called off Aquarobics. We were both really disappointed.
Reply
I heard from Nancy last night. She did have a good birthday. Among other things, she was at a concert and the orchestra played Happy Birthday and people sang it for her. She says it was a hoot! She sent me a picture of her mother, who is now 94. She looks good. Her mom was the organist for our wedding. She now plays the piano for residents at the retirement community/nursing home where she lives.
Here's to birthdays, and fond memories of good friends.
Birthday Girl
Today is the birthday of my friend Nancy Pearl, who was my up-the-hill neighbor when I was a girl. We spent many hours together when we were children. Nancy was tall for her age. I was born in September of the same year, only four months difference in our age but I was small for my age and we looked as though we were several years apart in age.
We played house in each other's barns. We tramped through her parents' fields, picked wild flowers, and huckleberries, and just hiked some times. We would swing on my swing that hung from a limb of the oak tree beside our driveway and we would swing on her swing that hung from a rafter in their barn. It was quite a swing, with long, long ropes that let us swing high in the air. We liked to twist the ropes together and then sit very still while the ropes untwisted and we would spin around and around till the ropes were straight again. Just thinking of that makes me feel dizzy but it was such fun when we were girls. We also liked to "let the cat die down" before we would give the other person a turn. Where did that saying come from?
I wish I could celebrate with Nancy today. A piece of birthday cake would taste pretty good about now, but more than that, catching up with each other and sharing laughter together as we used to do would be the best thing right now.
I hope to hear that Nancy's birthday was very special. I will catch up with her age in four months.
Spade Work
I did get another hour and a half of outdoor work put in early this evening. It was cold outside, but I kept warm enough because I was wearing a coat and I was moving around a lot. I spaded another segment of my little garden. That's really slow work for me.
Just before I called it quits for the day, I moved a pile of bricks away from the strawberry bed where they had been dumped to get them away from the trailer. That was good aerobic exercise! I was warm enough so it surprised me when my back door neighbor came home, clutching her coat around her and saying, "It's freezing!" But then she said something about not watching another Little League game when it's so cold out. I realized that I would have been freezing, too, if I'd been sitting in the open air watching a baseball game.
The spade work, and brick carrying kept me warm enough.
Doing New Things
For many years now I've kept a list of new things that I do. It spurs me to do new and different things at some times when I'd rather be content doing the same old, same old, or nothing at all. This year, I was too distracted to consider writing down the new things at the beginning of the year, but this year, I've been doing many, many new things.
New things don't have to be exciting adventurous things. They can be little things. Today's new thing was probably a 4 on a scale of 1-10 in terms of hard to do.
I scrubbed the garage wall where the trailer had been parked. It had become green with some stain, I would guess maybe a kind of mold that was growing there because the air couldn't circulate behind the trailer well. It took a little elbow grease but the stain came off really well. Actually, it took a good bit of elbow grease but it wasn't beyond what I could do.
Then I shoveled part of the area near the garage where the trailer had been parked. When we got soil from the peat bog for me to use for garden and for potting plants, my husband unloaded the truck on the driveway, closely in front of the trailer. I want to use the soil for plants, and I want to get the driveway area cleaned up.
I feel good about the work I got done today. It's a little warmer at the moment, warmer than it's been most of the day. I think I can probably work outdoors a little more this early evening.
Early Memory
One of my very early memories is about our across the street neighbor telling me that my dad had a bone in his leg. How much younger than five I was, I don't know. He would tell me, "Your Dad has a bone in his leg," and he would say it in such a way that it sounded like something bad and I knew there was nothing bad about my dad.
I would argue with him that my dad did NOT have a bone in his leg. Then finally I asked my dad if he had a bone in his leg and to my utter surprise, he told me that yes, indeed, he did have a bone in his leg! Not only that, but I had one, too. Every one has a bone in his leg.
How Mr. Straight laughed when I learned that he was telling the truth.
Out to Lunch
Today I went to Erie with our senior adult group to the district luncheon. It's an annual event but this is the first time that it was held in Erie. It was a great meal. I think I could call it Baked Ham with all the trimmings.
Our speaker was a pastor with lots of experience and he told us about some of the odd and humorous things that he has gone through during his ministry. He says that every day he asks God to make his day interesting. He's had many interesting experiences.
When I got home this afternoon, the trailer was gone. That didn't take long! Now I can spend some time on cleaning up that area of the driveway. It will be a big job but I'll do it in baby steps and ask for help when I need it.
Aftermath
After doing so much work yesterday in clearing out the trailer and getting the Checker out from under wraps, I'm feeling stiff and sore this morning. It was a different kind of work but I didn't expect to be using so many different muscles. I really did make a lot of progress yesterday and the stiffness of sore muscles is a gentle reminder that I can feel good about the work that's been completed. As I get to moving around more today, I'm expecting that I'll feel better soon. Muscles like to be used. Muscles NEED to be used.
Progress Takes Time
I want my progress to be complete with just a few efforts. But it doesn't work that way. I've been niggling away at legal matters and surplus possessions for several months now and I'm nowhere near the end. But today, I can really see that I am making progress.
Today I got the travel trailer title transferred to a new owner. Some day this week, the trailer will be moved to his property. He and I worked through this morning to get my "stuff" out of the trailer and he did a trial hitch to his truck and moved the trailer about 5 feet.
It was gratifying to see that it would work. The trailer hasn't been on the road for probably more than 15 years. It's also gratifying to see that it is going to be spruced up and used again. That really is progress, and, it really did take time to get to this point.
It Takes Two
There are many things a person can do alone but there are lots of things that go better with two people. I had a job today that I had to ask my back door neighbor to give me a hand with. I got the tarp off the 1974 Checker that's sitting in the driveway, the car I need to sell now. It was hard for me to get that tarp off. It was roped down pretty thoroughly. I was congratulating myself that I got the tarp off at all. I suspected that I wouldn't be able to do it but with patience and perseverance, I got it off.
But what I really couldn't do was fold that tarp up neatly. I got it folded in half lengthwise, but that was as far as I could go. My arms just weren't long enough to fold it up as I would a bed sheet. That's when I realized it would be a good idea to ask Carolyn for a hand. Together it wasn't a hard job at all.
Now the tarp is folded neatly and in the garage. The big old car sits in the driveway with a for sale sign in big letters. And I'm feeling very grateful for neighbors who are willing to lend a helping hand.
A Birthday
Today would be my Grandma Emma's birthday. I thought about her throughout the day. She died in 1963. She was, as I remember, 89. She was bent over with age and her face was lined with wrinkles as long as I remember. She was always very old, to me. I think I have a lot of her personality traits.
She was highly emotional, cried easily over good-byes. My dad was like her, in being easily touched by someone's need. She was very slow in her movements and needed more sleep rather than less.
She looked grandmotherly. She wore long, full dresses. Her hair was waist long, braided in two braids and wrapped around her head. She held the braids in place with big, fat celluloid hair pins. Washing her hair was a big deal and when she was failing in health at the end of her days, she had to consent to have her hair cut so that it could be taken care of easily.
She was very cluttery and saved many useless things in bags and boxes. She gave up her home too early in her life and lived half the year in our home and the other half in Uncle Art's home in Indiana. Sometimes she visited her other children for a few days. But she needed her own place, where she could be the one to be in charge. Some times it was hard for my mom. But we did make it. We really did love each other. I knew that Grandma loved me.
I would like to say, "Happy Birthday, Grandma."
Snow Is Gone
The snow is gone now and all we have is rain. It's a very cold rain, but it's not snow. And we have a promise of warmer weather to come soon. I'm eager to get the sunshine and warmth. I like working outdoors.
Missed Us!
One of the frontpage headlines on the newspaper this morning says that the snow missed us. The subtitle says that we didn't miss it. True.
It did snow most of the day but it melted as it hit the ground until the sun went down. Then the snow started to lay on the grass but not on the roads. This morning there is patchy snow over roofs and lawns but the roads are clear. There are still wisps of snow in the air but I think the threat of accumulation is past. The birds and other animals should be OK during this. It's not going to stay here long.
Art Show Is History
The Art Show was over today at 5. It was, a lot of people were saying, the best one ever. It was the best one for me. I sold two paintings! It was fun to talk to people and see what the other artists had entered. It was also good for me to talk to other artists. It was a good show!
Railroad Tracks
Every year at about this time, the railroad tracks on Center Street become rough and difficult to drive over. It's one of our heavily traveled streets and the heavy traffic plus the freezing and thawing with the change of the weather must be really hard on the paving material at the tracks. If I drive that road, I must remember to go slowly and seek out the places where the pavement is less broken up. If I remember early enough, I can take the crossing either a block to the east or to the west and it's not seriously broken up. I just have to remember.
Pencil Drawings
Yesterday the person who did an art demonstration before I did mine showed her portraits which she had drawn in pencil. It was very inspiring to me. When asked how she gets the tones blended so well, she said she just uses tiny pencil strokes and she has nine grades of both soft and hard pencils. She puts about 120 hours of work into each of her finished portraits.
Last night I spent a little time working with pencil. I have a picture of two deer that I like and I've been wondering if I could use the deer in an oil painting. Last night I sketched one deer, just to practice using pencil and doing shading and blending the way Wendy showed us that she did in her portrait work.
My deer has a sort of mythical quality to it, not quite a real deer, but the shading is coming along pretty well. I can't have everything right at once! I'll keep practicing.
An Unwelcome Forecast
I heard today that tomorrow we are supposed to get 8 inches of snow! I said that I want to refuse that news. I don't want to accept it. It's absurd to have snow at the end of April!
But the temperature is significantly lower tonight than it was this morning. I wonder if it's possibly true that we'll get that much snow.
That much snow could make serious trouble for drivers. I wanted to put my boots and winter coat away but I didn't. However, I'm pretty sure our streets department has taken the snow plows off their trucks. I think it takes more effort to put snow plows back on big trucks than it does to get boots out of the attic or a coat out of the upstairs closet.
Wait and see. That's all I can say. I'll know if this is true or not tomorrow.
The Demo
The demo went quite well. I showed them my examples of pen and ink work and also told them a little about how I got into art and what my personal study had been. My presentation was well received.
When I showed them my practice work, I was really surprised at the response they received. The person who was doing a demo before it was my turn is a college trained artist with lots of experience. She has worked in advertising art and now does portraits. She looked at some of my examples and pronounced them very good and marveled that I hadn't framed them! She couldn't understand why I haven't framed them. I just think of them as practice with pen and ink that gives me experience to do other forms of art, like the oil painting. I haven't taken the ink work very seriously. Maybe I should, --but my walls are already crowded with my framed work. I'll have to think this over.
Any way, it was a very good session and I received a lot of encouragement as I did my talk on pen and ink.
Today is My Demo
I've spent some time this morning rounding up my pen and ink examples and I got out my old lesson book from the correspondence course I took in 1961. I have made some copies of the kinds of pen strokes to use and some outline drawings that people can work on to fill in with pen or pencil shadings.
One thing I've learned about pens is that they do get adjusted to your hand and when you lend your pen to someone else, it doesn't seem to work the same when they give it back. So I rarely lend my art pens. The difference in them afterwards must be from the differing pressure and even the angle that the pen is held. At first I thought I was imagining this but I talked to another artist about it and discovered that she had noticed the same thing. I know it sounds picky, but we've really found it to be worthwhile to use our pens ourselves. So, for an intro to pen and ink, people can make practice strokes with pencil or with ordinary pens.
I don't expect a lot of people to attend this session. Most people come to browse through the pictures which are on display on the other rooms. Some don't realize there is a demo going on in another room, and others aren't interested in a demo. So, this will be a low key, see what you can do with pen, try some of the strokes yourself kind of session. It should be fun.
Art Show This Weekend
Our Artists' Guild is putting on our Spring Art Show this weekend. Tonight was the reception, the showing for those who have had personal invitations. It was really crowded tonight. People were very encouraging, saying such nice things about our work.
I sold a painting tonight! What a nice surprise. It a painting of my Gloriosa Daisies in my Slumber Lumber flower bed at the side of the house and I put a little orange kitty on the walk in front of the daisies. I think it's the kitty that makes people view this painting with favor.
Tomorrow afternoon at 3 I am supposed to do a demonstration of the use of pen and ink. I'm not sure why I agreed to do this. I've done it twice before and each time I feel like I'm just diddling around, talking about my personal experience, admitting my mistakes and telling how to avoid them. I usually let the people who come to the demo try their hand at some ink work. I think it's hard to teach art like that. It's so individual, how each artist does it. There's no wrong way if it works.
Gardener's Badge
It's that time again, when I'm wearing the gardener's badge. Gardening is hard on the hands and my hands are showing the effects of grubbing in the dirt. I've had splinters, thorns, and stains on my hands. I've tried to wear gloves to protect them but before long, off comes a glove so I can get at the job better. Pretty soon, if the weather stays warm enough to work outdoors, my knees will be showing the marks of gardening, too. It's the only real way to garden, --get right down in the dirt with the plants.
Lawn Mowing
I knew yesterday morning when I saw some daffodils laying on my back door neighbor's lawn that she would be mowing her yard very soon. When she deadheads her plants, she lets them lay on the grass and then mows over them.
I've been saying that we won't be mowing our lawns for another month yet, but I should just be saying that I won't be mowing anytime real soon. Carolyn mowed her lawn yesterday afternoon while I was weeding my Iris bed.
You know how some people are always a few steps ahead of the others? Well, I'm always a half a mile behind Carolyn! She's working in her yard about 10 hours a day when the weather permits. I sometimes get to spend four hours a day but usually it's even less than that. OK, I'm realizing now that she's probably two miles ahead of me, --but I do what I can. I do enjoy the time I spend outdoors, but I also keep busy in other ways. I have lots of writing to do today.
Work by the Yard
I spent two hours working in the yard today and all I got done was about two yards of weeding in the Iris bed! I was trying to do in-depth weeding, so it's slow going. I actually skipped the corner of the bed where the rose bush is and went to the circle bed and weeded the area where the bleeding heart is.
I moved the bleeding heart from its place by the rose bush late last summer. I'd forgotten that I'd done that. My back door neighbor reminded me about the move. She had suggested that it wasn't thriving where it was and maybe it ought to be moved. It looks like her suggestion was a good one. It's already getting a much better start this spring than it did in the last several years.
I have several more yards of in-depth weeding to go. Well, maybe lots more than several yards. Fortunately, it's good exercise and it's beneficial to me. The cold weekend may hinder me a lot though.
Winter Was Hard
My back door neighbor and I were talking today about our flower beds and the effects of winter. We've decided it really was a hard winter because we have lost so many plants. She keeps better track of her "inventory" than I do and she said she only has 40 of something that made it through the winter, whereas last year, she had about 100 of them. And do you think I can remember which plant it was that she was talking about!!
I have very few columbine coming up this spring, and lupine is a little scarce, too. Even the Shastas are fewer this spring. I thought they were especially hardy.
It's getting colder again this evening and I hear it's gearing up for another snow this weekend. We were so spoiled here for almost a week now. I thought about putting the winter coat out. But, I'm rethinking that plan now.
Dr. Seuss Flowers
Today I got my hair cut. It's been months since my last one, and I needed it. As I left the beauty shop, I saw these flowers at the side of the house. I thought they looked like Dr. Seuss flowers.
The flowers grow out of a clump of foliage on a stalk which is about three feet tall. The flowers themselves circle around the top of the stalk, sort like a ball. They are like orange bells hanging down all around the ball shape. Out of this bell ball, more foliage sprouts out like a wild hair-do. It's like something that Dr. Seuss would have drawn. I have no idea what it is but I enjoyed looking at it.
The Rains Came
We've been hearing for some time now that it would rain today. The morning started out so beautiful that it was hard to accept that it actually would rain today. And then, around noon it did begin to sprinkle, but it wasn't much rain. I went outdoors and did a little more yard work and the sprinkling stopped. I lighted a fire in the fire ring and burned up more of the brush. It seemed like a good time to do it because the sprinkling rain would lessen the chance of the fire escaping the fire ring. That's something I feel concern about when I do light a fire there.
Then around four, the weather stopped toying with us and starting with a streak of lightning and a huge boom of thunder that made Rusty jump and look around nervously, the rain began to fall in earnest. Now it's dark and rain is pattering steadily. After a week of dry weather, we welcome the rain.
Nosy Neighbor
That's actually me, that is I may have come across as a nosy neighbor this morning. And, maybe I am a nosy neighbor,but that really wasn't my intention this morning.
The house next to us has been vacant for over a year and frankly, we, in the neighborhood, have been interested in what's going to happen about this house. (Interested. Not nosy.) We'd like to have neighbors living there again. We've always had good neighbors and we expect good neighbors to move in.
Yesterday evening we noticed that a man parked in the driveway there and he dropped off some lumber in the yard. After he left, my back door neighbor and I discussed what the man might have been doing at the house. We really didn't know what's going on but, of course we wanted to know.
This morning I decided to take the peanut butter mixture out to the critter log. I had enough to fill several holes in the log. It was left over from the last time I'd filled it. I took the bowl and a spoon and hurried out to the log and just as I got the whole way to the log, I noticed that the car was back again, parked right there by the tree with the hanging critter log. The man was standing right there beside the car and I never even saw him till I was right there in his face! He said hello and I responded and we talked a little bit while I filled in the holes in the log.
And I found out that the man is going to do a bit of carpentry and plumbing in the empty house, to get it ready to be put on the market. The man lives in Erie and he's planning to take a test soon to become a big rig truck driver. It will keep him on the road most of each month, which he doesn't like, but he thinks he's ready for a sit down job now and he really does like to drive. And, by the way, he has nine grandchildren, seven of them boys. He wants to have spare time enough to take his grandsons fishing.
As I brought my empty bowl back into the house, I realized that it could really look like I went out to the critter log on purpose to have an excuse to talk to the worker about what's going on with the empty house. I admit I do have a writer's curiosity, but I had my mind on one thing only as I went outside, and that was to empty the peanut butter mixture bowl and get that cleaned up. But I came back indoors knowing what I'd wanted to find out yesterday evening.
Curiosity! Right?
It Seems To Me
It seems to me that it's not entirely fair to cook meat for your meal on an outdoor grill when others in the neighborhood are working outdoors. I was trying to work in the yard late this morning and someone was grilling their noon meal and the aroma was tantalizing! It made me feel more hungry than I usually am, and I wasn't invited to the meal! Is that fair?
Street Cleaner
While I was working in the yard this morning, the street cleaning truck went up our street. I saw the driver, carefully peering down at the curb as he steered the vehicle close to the edge of the street. The truck sprayed water as it swept away the dust and debris. And, it awakened a memory.
When my brother was in first grade he came home singing a song he'd learned at school. "Sweep, sweep, sweep goes the street cleaner man, Dressed all in white, with his broom and his can. Scrape, scrape, scrape as he brushes the street, Teaching a song to the tide-ling and neat."
My parents deciphered that the end of the song was actually, "Teaching us all to be tidy and neat." But Ed never believed that.
The second thing about that song is that we never had seen such a person as the song proclaimed. We lived out in the country along a dirt road. We just took it by faith that there was a street cleaner man somewhere. In fact, I don't recall that we ever did see a street cleaner man, yet that song stays in my mind, though I doubt that Ed would remember if now.
Our town does have a street cleaner man, --but he drives a truck with a tank of water, sweeping and scraping the street by the curb. He wasn't dressed in white and he didn't try to teach me a song, but maybe I'm not tide-ling and neat.
In Due Time
Last Tuesday we planted the marigold seeds after the Fellowship Luncheon. This morning, two little seedlings have popped up through the soil. Last night, it was just a pot of dirt with no sign of a plant and this morning, there's two little sprigs, each with two leaves, right there in the pot. I hope I can keep them growing so they'll be strong and healthy when it's time to make their home outdoors.
I've had my eye on that little pot of dirt all week, looking for a stirring of growth. I knew it was too soon for those marigolds to sprout and yet I watched. Now this morning, in due time, there's my tiny new plants stretching up to meet the day. In due time! That's how we get to the good things that are coming our way. Patience is a virtue.
Tulips and Deer
I'm sure I read somewhere that deer don't eat tulips, --or did one of my blog readers tell me that? I have a tendency to forget where I've heard things. Any way, something has eaten the newly growing tulips near the path where the deer travel through our side yard. I highly suspect the deer. Something has tasted the tulips. I do think it has eaten the flower as well as the top of the leaves. The plants are cut off cleanly across the very tops. I think they were cropped off as soon as they broke through the soil. Fortunately, there weren't many eaten.
Perhaps it was a deer and possibly she didn't like the taste of tulip. Perhaps sampling several of them helped her know that she didn't really like tulips after all.
I took six pieces of mail to the letter box outside the Post Office today. It represents a lot of effort on my part. Most of it won't generate an answer, but it was communication that had to be done. It should fill me with a sense of productivity and in a way it does, but even more so, I just wonder what challenge the mail will bring me tomorrow. Surely it will require less than six responses.
I love e-mail. It's very easy to respond to that.
Peanut Butter Jars
Is it just me, or does it seem to you that it would be better if peanut butter jars were all wide mouth jars? When they are tall and narrow, it's difficult to get to the bottom of the jar without being messy. Some folks don't mind mess, but I really do mind it. I don't like getting my fingers sticky in order to get to the bottom of the jar. It's soon time to replenish the peanut butter in the critter log, so I'm thinking about an easier way to scrape it out of the jar when it gets low.
A Good Old Age
A Christian woman in her old age said: "I rejoice in my life because the lamp still glows: I love the small pleasures of life. If the doors are too low, I bend. If I can remove a stone from the path, I do. If it is too heavy, I go around it. I find something in every day that pleases me. And the corner stone, my belief in God, makes my heart glad and my face to shine."
I found this in my notes from years past. I didn't note on the copy who it was that said that. I'm not really to old age yet but I know that this is what I'm aiming for. I want to live a life that notices the small pleasures and makes allowance for the big stones in my pathway which I cannot move. I want to remove the small stones and thus make the pathway easier for others.
Renewal
I know I've written before about the renewal of strength I get overnight, but it's on my mind again this morning. I am more aware of this on days when I get to work outdoors for some time. I get so tired by the end of the day when I've been working outdoors. Sometimes I'm so tired that I'm too tired to read a bit before slipping into sleep.
And then comes morning and I wake up and stretch and wriggle into the day and I discover that my energy has been renewed! That's how it is this morning. I had put so much energy into outdoor work yesterday that I was too tired to read last night. But this morning I am ready for the needs of the day.
I'm watching a pigeon under the bird feeder, picking up the little seeds that have been knocked down. How big the pigeon looks compared to the little sparrow who joined him there under the bird feeder. What fun it is to see them there.
Spring Art Show
Our Spring Art Show will be this coming weekend. I've been painting new pictures this spring. The membership in our guild has been increasing and we've had to limit the entries to four per member. I framed my last picture tonight and I have my four ready to take for the exhibition on Thursday. I wish you could come!
Work Goes On
I'm continuing to get more yard work done and a few other chores as well. I cleared more stubble and brush at the back of the garage today and rekindled the fire in the fire ring to burn up the dry stuff. I still have three flower beds that haven't been worked in but with this kind of weather, I'll be getting it done soon.
I had rooted a small section of a snake plant that had broken off from the main part of the plant. They root easily. Today I got it planted in its own pot. It was a very little chore, less than five minutes, but the reward was how good I felt to have accomplished the task.
There were lots of other chores which only took a few minutes here and there, but probably the best part was the two hours that I spent working outdoors again, in spite of the splinter that I've got to dig out of my paw. It feels good to get the work under way.
Can't Read
I'm listening to NPR, to an interview with a truck driver who couldn't read. He's telling how he worked it out to get his driver's license, and how he learned to get from his point of pick up to the place of delivery. He learned how to "match up" names on his orders with names on road signs. He asked directions a lot and each time he learned more about the way to get to places. But it wasn't working out very well because it took him longer to get to his delivery places and it deducted from his pay when he was late.
It's made me think about reading. When I first learned to put letters together to read, it was like having a ticket to a new and wonderful world. I feel like I learned to read like I learned to breathe! Effortlessly.
What would it be like to be unable to read? How can I even begin to imagine living with the handicap of not reading.
The man finally got help with learning to read when he was 45. It was such a strain to him, not only to not be able to read, but to try to keep that fact from others. He said it was like trying to drive in a foreign country before he learned to read.
I can imagine that because I drove through Montreal alone one summer, on my way to Loring AFB in Maine. Most signs had symbols to help make the meaning clear but there was one sign along a straight, flat road that I had no idea what it meant. It was obviously a caution sign, but I didn't have a clue what to be cautious about. There was no chance of falling rock, so it couldn't be that. I had no other ideas. I made a note of the word and when I got home, I looked it up in my French/English dictionary. The word was FOG. HA! If it had been foggy when I drove through there and saw that sign, I would have been very concerned, wondering what threatening thing was lurking in the fog!
I love being able to read!
Out of the Past
In 1915 one small town posted these rules of conduct for teachers.
- Not to get married
- Not to keep company with men.
- Be home between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function.
- Not to loiter downtown in ice cream parlors.
- Not to leave town at any time without permission of the chairman of the school board.
- Not to smoke cigarettes.
- Not to drink beer, wine or whisky.
- Not to get in a carriage or automobile with any man except her brother or father.
- Not to dress in bright colors.
- Not to dye her hair.
- Wear at least two petticoats.
- Not to wear dresses more than two inches above the ankles.
- Sweep the floor daily, scrub the floor weekly and start the fire at 7 a. m.
Incredible!
A Working Day
We certainly got a lot of work done around here today! I don't remember ever clearing my berry patch out so well, but I do recall that a number of years ago, my youngest son was visiting and pruned it beautifully. I have frequently neglected it more than I took care of it. I'm not entirely finished with what needs to be done there, but already it's looking so much better.
I feel like I may be stiff and sore tomorrow. That puzzled me at first because when I did the snow shoveling earlier this year, (and yes the snow is finally all gone now), I wasn't at all stiff or sore from the work. But then I realized that I only spent 45 minutes to an hour working at the snow, whereas I probably have spent at least 4 hours with the yard work today. So, it makes sense that I should feel some protest from my muscles tonight and tomorrow. But it's a good feeling. It feels good to work hard and have something to show for it.
Another Beautiful Morning
It's really cold here this morning, but with every promise of warming up quickly. I'm soon heading out to the yard to do more outdoor work.
We've had breakfast, --at Perkins! I've bundled up another small sheaf of paper, clippings and assorted old announcement letters, for recycling next week. Little birds are gleaning the seeds from under the bird feeder. Starlings have stripped the peanut butter treats from the critter log.
Life is stirring everywhere, and I'm part of it! I need to get outside and enjoy it.
Bless the Child
I found this poem on an index card in with my Life of Christ assignments. The foot note was for book 24, but I'd lost the book list and do not know who the author of this little poem is. But it's a good snatch of poetry and the sentient is so precious. God bless the children. Here's the poem:
"--though the church is busy,
Through all the live long days,
In stately service lifting
Her voice of grown up praise,
If childhood is neglected
And left to stray a-wild,
Can the Church expect the blessing
Of Him who loves the child?"
Yard Work
A friend from the Columbus Church came this morning and helped me work in the front yard. What a bundle of energy she is. I got tired long before she did.
Between us, we got rid of a prickly bush that was growing at the side of the porch. She cut it down so it couldn't scratch and tear at us and I got the spade and dug it up. I think we did the right thing to get rid of it. It never did much of anything but scratch people that got near it.
I hope that tomorrow I can get the side flower bed cleaned out a bit. This is certainly the kind of weather in which to work. Now, if I didn't get tuckered out so fast, I could get more work done out there.
Brodie, Enemy of Ducks
At camp, at Lake George, that summer in 1990, Aunt Ruth told us this story about Brodie.
Brodie was a Springer Spaniel, a friend of the water, a deadly enemy to ducks. He was born to hunt ducks! Once when they were boating, Brodie saw a duck in the water. He jumped into the water and swam right up to her. Now, this was a mama duck! She waited till Brodie was just about under her nose and then she gave out this enormous QUACK! It scared Brodie silly! He turned tail and headed back to the boat. "To this day," Aunt Ruth said, "Brodie has never seen another duck." When a duck was near, Brodie would look right past it and pretend that it wasn't there at all.
Retort to a Retort
Thoughts While Cutting Grass
I've nothing good
To say for snow
Excepting this:
It doesn't grow.
--May Winkler Goodman
from July 13, 1957, Post
Retort While Shoveling Snow
Though grass is not
My chief delight,
It doesn't fall
On walks at night.
--Philene Hammer
from Jan. 4, 1958, Post
Dear Sirs:
I understand
Just how she felt.
But grass won't shrink
And snow will melt.
--May Winkler Goodman
Cleveland, Ohio
Rhombus Liked to Walk
In 1990, I was writing about my dog, Rhombus, and my daughter's dog, Sunshine. We were at Lake George for a week of vacation. I wrote that both dogs were free to run outdoors while we were there but in the afternoon when we went for a walk along the road, we put the dogs on leashes and took them with us. Ironically, both dogs acted as though the highlight of the day was when we leashed them and walked with them. We thought it would have been the free hours when they could explore the area near the lodge and the lake.
My daughter was surprised at how many things meant "walk" to Rhombus. She not only understood the word "walk," she also expected the words "Let's go," or, "Come on," or, "Are you ready?" to mean that we were going for a walk. And she expected a walk when I changed my shoes, or got a jacket. When I reduced the word "walk" to just "w," she learned that it meant "walk," too. She was a smart dog.
When one of my daughter's sons was crying about something, my daughter asked him, "Would you like to take a walk with me?" When she said that, Rhombus immediately jumped up. We both looked at each other in astonishment, as in, what's gotten into Rhombus? And then we realized that she was listening to what had been said but she didn't understand that the offer of a walk was for the child, not for her.
Yellow Ribbon
It is now 30 years since Tony Orlando introduced the song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon on the Old Oak Tree." The yellow ribbon has become a symbol for anyone who is waiting for someone to return home. Tony gives the credit for the song to the men who wrote the song, but I didn't catch their names. Does it seem like it was 30 years ago to you? When he first sang the song, he didn't realize that it would catch on as well as it did, and then become a symbol of hope for all of us.
The End of the Story
Did you ever notice that many stories have a great beginning but an unsatisfactory ending? I know this is true in life. Many of the projects we undertake get off to a good start but dwindle off unfinished and neglected. The end of life is sad, even when it's a life well lived.
But in fiction, why not have a great ending, better than the beginning? I think it must be hard to end a story. It must be even harder to end it in a satisfactory way. If it's a story with interesting characters which are easy to relate to, we don't want the story to end. We want it to be like daily life, going on and on.
I've read too many stories recently in which the ending was unsatisfactory. Beginnings are so much happier.
Planting Some Seeds
Today following the luncheon, we cleared the tables and our program leader brought out bags of potting soil, packets of seeds, and small flower pots. The seeds were marigolds. The flower pots were various shapes and kinds but all of them small. Carolyn and I got small dishes that looked like they would make a nifty little cat dish. Leonard, across the table from me, got a little planter that looked like it could double as a cream pitcher. His wife had a different shape. I saw some embellished with carrots. All of them were cute and interesting shapes.
We spooned the soil into our planter and sprinkled some seeds into soil. We each got to take our planted seeds home with us. Everyone was happy to have the planted seeds. We will watch for them to grow.
Fellowship Luncheon
I was invited to go to the Columbus Church for the noon fellowship meal today. My friend Carolyn, the artist, went with me. I was so glad to have her with me. To my surprise, though, I felt very much at home, though I've been away for four months. People were glad to see me and I was able to help with clearing off the tables, just as I did so many times in the past. And, they asked me to ask the blessing on the food. Yes, I felt like I'd gone back home for a little while today.
Stubborn
My friend told me today, "I used to drink a lot of coffee. Then my sister told me that she thought that drinking so much coffee was hard on my stomach and she thought I shouldn't drink so much of it. She said that it would be very beneficial for me to quit drinking coffee but she knew I couldn't do it, that I was too addicted."
This made my friend very annoyed, that her sister would think she didn't have the willpower to quit drinking coffee if it was bad for her. So she showed her! She stopped drinking coffee, just like that! Cold turkey! She hasn't had another cup of coffee since that day, just because her sister thought she couldn't do it.
She told me this while we were sipping apricot tea. I had a good laugh.
Yellow Cars
Would you like to own a bright yellow car? I see that they are becoming more popular. There's not a lot of them on the road yet, but there seems to be more than there were two years ago. At least, I see more of them. Maybe people in my area like them better than people in some other areas.
I like my little red car very much. I suppose I could accept a bright yellow car, but I know I wouldn't deliberately choose yellow. It is easy to see the car in the parking lot, though. You could find it without any difficulty.
Dryness
Didn't I just water those violets and other flowers a couple of days ago? Why are they so dry right now? It seems to me that there was a time many years ago when I just watered my plants every Saturday, whether they needed it or not, and they were fine. I had plants that would thrive on neglect, but I had some violets at that time, too. I don't remember fussing with them three or four times a week. Is it possible that in this house the air is dryer than it was in the house in the country where I lived long ago?
It's true that these plants are on a bench right over the hot air register, so I suppose that's the reason for their frequently dry soil. I was almost on my way to bed for the night when I stopped to admire the way some of the violets and the cyclamen are blooming, and I noticed that their soil is dry again. So my last chore for the day was to water them again.
It's nice to be needed!
Questions
I've long been one to question what's going on in a person's mind during times of crisis. In 1990, I was writing about this in my journal.
"I have a great need to know what is going on in the minds of others in their crisis times. How are they like me? How are we different? Am I a person completely separate from others? How do I fit in?"
Now, 15 years later, I find that I am a sister to the whole world of people. We do go through grief and crisis in much the same way. We have the same reactions, the same emotions, the same questions about the pain. As I read about bereavement and talk to others in like situations, I am finding that I haven't said one original thing about what I'm going through. All the others who have gone there before me have said exactly the same things about their experience. I find that there is a comfort in the fact of this shared experience.
Beautiful Morning
What a beautiful, calm morning. I am sitting here watching the birds at the blue, weather-proof feeder and at the critter log. There's quite a lot of them. They've finally come back from wherever they went during the winter. They are so busy here.
I have two other feeders to put up again but they aren't ready. I took them down to clean them up and then I realized it would be good to paint them. When I'd finished the second coat of paint, I decided to paint them decoratively, with flowers. That last paint hasn't dried yet. Maybe tomorrow, or Tuesday I will be able to put them up again.
Maybe today will be the day the last of the snow piles melt away. It's so beautiful today that I'm tempted to think I can put my boots away for the summer months.
Fluffy Laundry
Don't you hate it when you leave a Kleenex in a pocket and put the garment through the washing machine? What a mess! I vow I won't do that again when it happens and then a couple of weeks later, there it is--shredded fluff all through the wash. It happened to me again this week. I was sure I had gone through my pockets before the wash, but there it was, fluff all through the clothes again.
How Tired?
I've been tired all my life,---it's the allergies, I think. So, I've developed many ways of saying, "I'm tired." Here's one of my tired statements from my 1990 journal:
"I think I'm soon ready for bed. I feel the tiredness creeping over me like a fat, satisfied spider, winding me up in its web to keep for later."
How's that for a funny word picture!
Pass the Trash
I am constantly amazed at the many things I've forgotten so completely. Sometimes when I read things I wrote years ago, it triggers a memory and I begin to recall the incident. But this one draws a complete blank.
In 1990, my first grandson spent a week with me. It was about two weeks before his birthday. He was a second grader at the time and he had a week off from his school in Maryland, so he was free to go to school with me and be a student in my class. We had such a nice week together.
I took him shopping for his birthday present and he picked out a game named Pass the Trash. I remember his week with me and many things about that week, but that game! Nope. Not a single memory comes back to me. I wrote that after he went home again, he played the game with his brothers and Daniel played it best.
I suppose the game is long gone and probably David wouldn't remember the game now either. I wonder if it was a Sesame Street game or if it was something ecological, or maybe it was just a silly, fun kind of game.
Unreliable Witness
One of the things that bothered me about teaching first graders was that they would earnestly tell me something which they certainly believed to be true but was completely confused. It was hard to know which things were factual and which were distorted, --until I heard it from a better source.
Example: Penny told me after Jenny had been absent two days, "Jenny fell in the ice and she got pneumonia. She's in the hospital." That would be big news! Pneumonia! Hospital!! Then five minutes later, Penny is there at my elbow saying, "Here's my excuse, teacher."
How did Penny get the information so wrong? I can't say.
And another thing, many of the first graders called me "Teacher." I admit that my last name is long and that may be a factor, but the bigger factor seemed to be that they just weren't that interested in learning my name when "Teacher" would do.
First graders, you've gotta love 'em!
Making My Adventure
I've been asked to do a picture of a house for a friend. I needed some clarification of some of the features of the house, so I went there today after Aquarobics to take my own pictures of the place.
We had a wonderful workout this morning and I put a lot of energy into it. So, I got hungry earlier than usual. For some time now, I've been putting fortune cookies into the glove compartment, after we've been to a Chinese Restaurant. They aren't one of my favorite cookies but I said that if I was ever stranded in a blizzard, I'd have the fortune cookies for something to eat.
Since I was so hungry, I decided I'd eat one of these cookies. I was amused to find that the fortune in the cookie said, "It's up to you to create your own adventures today!" That's just what I was doing. I didn't know the new people in the house and I was prepared to meet them and ask permission to take the pictures. But no one was home and I took my pictures and left. But I was trying to make my adventure today. It was a very mild adventure, but it will do.
Paint Thinner
I've discovered that I have a need to dispose of some oily paint thinner that has some tar in it. My husband had paint brushes soaking in it. It's not a big quantity. It's probably less than a quart. So far, every one I ask tells me that they don't really know. One person suggested that I check Google for the answer.
That's what I was doing this morning. So far, what I've found emphasizes that I dispose of it safely, without telling me how. The main thing is to plan ahead and not buy more than I need. Let the sediment settle out and pour off the thinner into another container and reuse it and let the sediment harden and put it in the trash. (That's what I've always done with the thinner that I use in my oil painting. But this gunk seems to have oil mixed with it.)
The next advice made me laugh. "Borrow left overs from neighbors." Actually, I'm trying to get rid of it, so does that mean I should go door to door to my neighbors and suggest that they might want to use this gunky mess that I want to throw away? Or, the next time I need some paint thinner, should I go door to door asking for a hand out of paint thinner?
Later in the article it is worded better. "Share with neighbors." The bottom line seems to be: Dispose of paint thinner safely. That's what I was hoping to do. But it's no wonder that no one I asked knows how to do it the proper way.
A Quote
"Making a decision to do some thing and then doing it requires not doing a dozen other things."
--Georgia O'Keeffe in The Wideness and Wonder of Her World
I often wonder about things like this. When I sit down to write, for instance. If I write at 9 o'clock instead of 8 o'clock, I'm sure I write something different than I would have written if I'd written earlier. What happens to those unwritten thoughts? Even if I write about the same thoughts, I'm sure I would express them differently at different times of the day.
But more specifically, if I decide to work on a painting, I don't read a book, or write a letter, or, as Georgia says, I don't do a dozen other things. And now I'm writing instead of going to bed.
What Can a Rock Do?
What can a rock do? These ideas came from a writing workshop which I took attended in 1990:
- Skip across the pond happily.
- Hide in my pocket snugly.
- Sit on my papers heavily.
- Fit into my hand comfortably.
- Sleep under my pillow nightly.
- Fly through the air quickly.
- Pop caps noisly.
Apparently the object of that exercise was to work on adverbs. I liked thinking of what a rock can do. Now I can think of more things for a rock to do, --without considering how it would do it.
- Be an edging for my flower bed.
- Kill Goliath.
- Be a stepping stone in a creek.
- Cover bugs and worms in the yard or field, and crabs in a creek.
- Be a canvas for me to paint into something interesting or beautiful.
- Break a window, if it is handled carelessly.
- Be polished to be used in a bracelet, or other jewelry.
- Be a stumbling block or a building stone.
- Just sit there and look pretty, -or interesting.
- Be used as a hammer.
That was fun!
Tired
I am very tired this morning, though I did get a good night's rest. Sometimes after I get my allergy shots I do feel more tired than usual, and I think this is one of those times. Therefore, I think the tiredness should go away soon and I'll be back to my usual puttering, -doing chores.
I'm going to paint my two non-weather-proof birdfeeders this morning. That shouldn't tax my energy too much. I'm thinking of painting something decorative on them after they are painted this flat beige.
I'm putting sunflower seeds in my front bird feeder, which is on a pole in a flower bed. I used to put mixed seed there but suddenly I woke up to the realization that I'm working against myself by letting the birds scatter those seeds in my flower bed. However, I would love to have sunflowers grow there. If the birds scatter the sun flower seeds, I could have some late summer color there and the birds and bees would love those flowers.
Just after I put the seeds out the last time, I looked out the window to discover that my busy little chipmunk was in the feeder stuffing his face! It didn't take long to empty the feeder! I hope the birds got some.
I may have to spend energy to get energy today so I'd better get busy and generate some energy for today.
Forgetful joke
There is a story about an elderly couple who to their amazement had a baby at their time of life. One day a couple of women came to visit, wanting to see the beautiful new baby. They asked the new mom if they could at least get a peek at the baby. She said not yet, wait a little while.
They stayed a while and talked about this and that and after a bit they asked again to see the baby and got the same response. Not yet. This happened several times and finally they asked for an explanation. They really wanted to see the new baby. The mom finally confessed. "He's sleeping and I forget where I put him. I'm waiting for him to wake up and cry so I can find where I put him."
That's why it's the young couples who have babies, and not the elderly!
Forgetful
Did your mom ever tell you, "You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to you!"? I'm sure mine did at one time of my life, so it's nothing new for me to forget things, but I felt like I outdid my self in forgetting tonight.
Today was my company day, so I had planned my meal and I decided that I'd like to have some of those tassies for dessert. I always have to put cookies or baked goods away in a really good place because Desy can take plastic containers off the table or counter and she can chew those lids off and get the food. So, I put the tassies away in a good safe place.
We had the dinner. I cleared the table and went to the place where I thought I'd put the tassies. They weren't there. I hadn't put them there. Where did I put them? So here was my friend watching me look in all my cupboards and in all the high places to find where I'd put the dessert. She thought it was hilariously funny. She had never had to wait for dessert until her hostess found where she'd put it. I've never had to do that either! At last I found it, in a really safe place and we were able to sit down at the table again and finish our meal.
Before she left, I told her where I was putting the rest of the tassies, so that if I forget where I put them again, I can call her and ask her where I have them.
Funny Sight
Today I saw a young girl in shorts and tank top walking down the street beside the big piles of left over snow. It's so warm outside that we don't need a jacket at all but there's still lots of snow where it's been heaped up from our Sunday snow. It just struck me funny that we have so much snow but yet it's so warm today.
What Kind of Crop?
It's a new thought to me. A friend at Aquarobics asked me today how I'm doing. I replied as I usually do these days that I'm doing the best I can and I'm coping. She said that's how it is with her. Each day she gets up and deals with the new crop of problems that spring up around her.
In my mind, I could almost see the problems growing in patches here and there around her. Each day, a new crop of problems, she had said. It's true that each time I ask her how she is, she has some problem to deal with. It's her children, or her friend, or something really demanding. Today it was the bank. They had messed up her accounts because of a check that she'd deposited that had bounced because the payer had realized that they had made the check for the wrong amount for 50 cents difference! This happened last Thursday and it's still not back to rights. Her problems are always really pressing and very annoying. No wonder she thinks of them as a crop.
When I woke up this morning, I was thinking, "I wonder what my day will be like. Will there be someone I can help in their journey, or will there be someone who will help me in my journey?" I asked God to help me be open to be a blessing or to receive a blessing. I hope my friend will be open to receive God's blessing today.
Proof Reading
I'm doing a funny kind of proof reading. It's actually proof tasting. And, it passed! The taste is great.
I'm half way finished with making tassies for a reception this weekend. I was asked to make three dozen cookies and I decided that I'd really like to give tassies.
My mom used to make tassies for very special events when I was much younger. She got the recipe from Ethel Smith. I don't remember Ethel Smith very well, but I remember the tassies.
Tassies are a little pie-like treat which requires a special pan. The tassie pan is like a cupcake pan but very small scale. You make a crust of cream cheese, butter and flour and tamp it into the little holes with a neat wooden tool, rounded on the end. These crusts are filled with chopped walnuts, beaten egg, butter and brown sugar. You can tell already that these aren't very fattening! Teehee.
Not only have I made these wonderful little cookies tonight, I've stirred up some beautiful memories. The last batch comes out of the oven soon. But already, I've eaten one tassie, --the taste test. Proof reading the baked goods.
Greening Again
The snow is melting, for sure. It's slowly receding, leaving patches of green lawn showing. The green is very green. The snow hasn't affected the grass in a bad way at all. It's there under the snow flexing its muscles and growing taller, --but slowly. It will be a while before we get the lawn mowers going again.
Something About Tuesday
There must be something about Tuesday that brings out older shoppers who aren't in a hurry at all. At the end of my around town chores this morning, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I found the aisles congested with older shoppers, knotted in groups here and there. It was difficult to sail through the aisles and grab what I wanted and get out of there. However, when I went to check out, there were no lines at the cash registers. That was a good thing. I didn't have to wait to get through a line. I wonder what brings seniors out on Tuesday mornings. I'll have to make a note of it and go earlier on Tuesdays if that's the day that's comfortable for me to shop.
Taxes
The good news for today, well one of the good things about today, is that my income tax return is prepared. The CPA called today to tell me that it is ready. I shall go tomorrow to pay them, write a check for what I owe the government and get it mailed. That is a big relief to have it finished. It's not good news about paying.
(Today was a really good day. I had a couple of great phone calls. I worked at oil painting again. The snow is melting slowly. Tomorrow should be another good day.)
Take Me Out to . . .
Take me out to the ballgame! Yes, today is the first day of the major league baseball season. It's hard to think of baseball games here in our town with our more than a foot of snow but I'm listening to WJR out of Detroit and they are talking nonstop about the Tigers Game today and how beautiful their weather is for it today. They are having a sunny 60 degree day.
I listened to an interview with Michigan Governor, Jennifer Granholm who was supposed to throw out one of the first pitches. (The mayor also gets to throw out a first pitch.) Any how, Granholm has given that honor to a man who is the chairman of her disabilities program. He has been a Tigers fan all his life and never misses attending an opening game. He is blind. He is so excited about throwing that pitch. He's been practicing. He listens to where the person is and throws to the voice. He's going to do fine with that first pitch today.
The Detroit Mayor has twin sons and last year he gave his honor to one of his sons to throw out one of the first pitches. This year is the other twin's turn to do it. They are 9 this year. The whole family is excited about this game.
It's fun to think about this opening Tigers game but every time I look out the window, I'm brought back to reality. Our school baseball/softball games won't be happening here in our town today.
What a Snow
It stopped snowing last night but the snow is all still here this morning. I guess it will take a while to melt the snow down. Here where I live, the school parking lot is plowed, the side walk is plowed, the roads have been plowed, but since the back roads are very bad this morning, school has been closed for the day. That was a surprise to me because of what it's like right here in town.
But, the sun is shining! The temperature is 30 degrees. Maybe the snow will begin to melt today. We have enough snow that it should count for at least six snows on the daffodils! I wonder if it could work out that way. Happy snow day!
All's Well
I checked a little while ago and my neighbor has arrived home safely. He got out the snow blower and completely cleared out the driveway. I only shoveled a small slot. He opened it wide!
And! It's stopped snowing. The storm may be over, at last.
Surprising Weather
This morning I wrote that the snow wasn't so deep that I would need to do any shoveling. Wrong! My neighbor cleared the driveway before I went to church but I really didn't think that it was necessary for him to run his snow blower. When I went outside later, I discovered that there was a whole lot more snow that I had realized from inside the house.
I picked up Carolyn at her place and we went to church. I had no difficulty driving across town. But this evening, after it had snowed all day, we had another six inches or so of snow and the roads were much worse. Carolyn had a lot of difficulty driving to church. She had to back down one hill and she got stuck trying to park in the parking lot. After the service, someone helped her get the car unstuck. We got home without trouble, but this time, she stayed with the main roads, not the side streets.
When we got home, I realized that it might be a good idea to clear the driveway again. I shoveled for a while after all. My neighbor was going two hours south of us to visit relatives right after morning church service. They haven't returned home yet. I hope they don't have too much trouble getting home, but they will have at least 30 miles of really bad roads to travel to get home.
Malta Hall
While I was with my family over the weekend, I called my mom's sister and asked her what the Malta Hall really was. She told me that it was just a dance hall located on Constitution Boulevard and McCargo. They had a dance there every Saturday night and on Sunday afternoon, the church group set up chairs and held a service there. She didn't think the name Malta had any significance. That was just the name of the building, she said.
Doing a Favor
The time change and the bad weather have apparently kept people home today. Our Sunday school class attendance was way down and so was attendance at the morning service. Carolyn and I went to the Chinese Restaurant for dinner and there weren't many there either. When we had eaten and had paid our bill, Mary who is the hostess and whose family owns the restaurant, asked us, "Where you go now?" I didn't understand at first what she meant but then it became apparent that she wanted to know if we were going home or to a store.
We were going home, but then I realized that she might want something. I asked if there was something she needed and she said she needed milk. I said that we could go to the Dollar Store several blocks away and get her milk. She wanted a gallon of whole milk and a gallon of 1%. She gave us money to cover the cost.
When we went there to get the milk. Carolyn thought we could go to the grocery store which was nearby in the opposite direction. When we got to the store, I discovered that they only had whole milk and 2%. We weren't sure what to do. Carolyn thought we should just get the one gallon of whole milk, but I decided that 2% would be better than none, so I went ahead and got two gallons as requested.
Carolyn took the milk into the restaurant to Mary while I stayed in the car and set the car clock ahead while I waited. When Carolyn came out, she was carrying a bag. "It's food," she said. "I don't know what it is, but you should put it in the refrigerator, she said, and heat it up when you want it." Carolyn said that I should take the food. When I opened the Styrofoam carton at home, I saw low mein noodles and what I think is chicken underneath. The carton is packed full as it can be and stapled shut at both ends, so I didn't see clearly exactly what is in the box. I hope Carolyn can come to eat it with me some day soon.
I was feeling good about doing a favor for Mary, as my husband had done about three years ago. At that time, Mary had asked him to get her a case of tubes of biscuits from the Save-A-Lot store and she sent her little daughter, Annie, with him because Annie knew exactly what biscuits to buy. Marlin always thought fondly of her trust in him, asking for the favor as she did. I was feeling happy about being able to help Mary, as Marlin had done a few years earlier. I didn't expect the food. I felt honored to be able to do a favor to help Mary.
North Wind
The wind was from the north last night and this morning the snow is piled up against the dog pen door, --several inches of snow. We have more snow than I'd expected to see. It's a blanket of snow over everything but I won't have to shovel to get the car out of the driveway. The wind is still blowing and some flakes are still falling. I'm thinking that the worst of the storm is over, but time will tell.
Carolyn's Snow
Sure enough, the snow that my back door neighbor told me about is falling tonight. I'm sure it won't last long, but tonight, the wind is high, the snow is falling. It's Nature's April Fool joke. But I can take it. I know that Spring will soon be for sure. Tulips and daffodils are growing. Robins have returned. I hear that butterflies are on the way. Geese have returned. Most of nature is shouting Spring. The weather may be fierce tonight but it won't be that way for long. Welcome Springtime!
Finding a Cure
This afternoon I spent some time visiting a friend, not to find help for myself as I have been doing, but to offer help, as a friend. I maybe spent a couple of hours there, making sure she was OK, telling her about what's going on in my life, and listening to what's going on with her. When I headed home again, I realized that being able to help others is a cure for feeling lonely. I knew that, I'm sure. Today I'm glad that I had an opportunity to put that principle into practice.
Home Again
After celebrating a special April First Birthday, I'm back home again. When I go away overnight, I take my two dogs with me. They love to go and they are really good travelers. They love the other family dogs, except that they are still learning to get along with Rippley. Any way, they love being with other family members and their dogs, but they do seem to be really satisfied to get back home again and relax.
Right now they are both lying down, resting, and very contented. I am trying to be contented and for the most part I am, but I'm a little bit on the lonely side. However, there's lots to do to keep me occupied before bedtime, so I will be OK soon.
No Fooling
It's been a very good April Fool's Day here. There haven't been any pranks or practical jokes, only suggestions of them. We celebrated my son's birthday with homemade chow mein and egg rolls, birthday cake and ice cream. After he opened his gifts this evening, we watched the first half of My Fair Lady. And now it's bed time. No fooling!
Shredded Wheat
When I was a girl I sometimes ate shredded wheat for breakfast. When I was a girl, shredded wheat wasn't shaped into bite-sized pieces. The only kind we could buy was the big size.
We usually put two of them in a cereal bowl and then poured boiling water over them and drained it off. Then we poured the milk into the bowl and sprinkled on the sugar.
Occasionally we would have a guest who had breakfast with us and they would not do the boiling water routine. They just crunched it up.
Today I had bite-sized shredded wheat for breakfast, --in the absence of my usual Cheerios. I didn't pour boiling water over them. I crunched them up and thought about the days years ago when I ate hot shredded wheat which wasn't crunchy at all.
April
It's kind of hard to really grasp that the first three months of this year have gone by. A month goes by very quickly but three of them should take a long time. I am happy to greet April but I am wondering about March. What happened to March? There should have been some mild, kite-flying weather but we had snow and more snow.
Now our snow is nearly gone, all but a few ragged piles of it where it had to be piled high to clear driveways or parking lots. But any way, it's April and our spring flowers are poking through the ground. We welcome them eagerly.
