Gloriosa on the Move
Some years ago, perhaps five or six, I begged some Gloriosa daisies from my friends. I brought them home and planted them at the west end of the Slumber Lumber Bed. It took them a year or two to get established. I thought I'd have them there for the duration.
Today there are no Gloriosa daisies at the west end of that bed. They have moved about 15 feet to the east end of the bed. They aren't a solid mass of plants the way Brown-eyed Susans grow. They are now separate plants here and there at the opposite end of the bed from where they were planted.
I got them from a huge stand of daisies, about five feet in width. I expected mine to grow into a stand like that. I'm glad that I still have some plants but I was expecting them to be prolific. They are beginning to open today.
Oops, Six Impossible Things
I'll tell you in a minute where the saying actually comes from, though my second son may already know for he does enjoy the story it comes from.
The saying is actually about believing six impossible things before breakfast. It has been misquoted to seven things and attributed to Shakespeare, but it wasn't him who said it. I misquoted it, but I knew I was not being accurate. I sometimes just write what I'm thinking for my own amusement.
The real quote is from Alice in Wonderland! And here's the saying in a bit of context:
`Only it is so VERY lonely here!' Alice said in a melancholy voice; and at the thought of her loneliness two large tears came rolling down her cheeks.
`Oh, don't go on like that!' cried the poor Queen, wringing her hands in despair. `Consider what a great girl you are. Consider what a long way you've come to-day. Consider what o'clock it is. Consider anything, only don't cry!'
Alice could not help laughing at this, even in the midst of her tears. `Can YOU keep from crying by considering things?' she asked.
`That's the way it's done,' the Queen said with great decision: `nobody can do two things at once, you know. Let's consider you age to begin with -- how old are you?'
`I`m seven and a half exactly.'
`You needn't say "exactually,"' the Queen remarked: `I can believe it without that. Now I'll give YOU something to believe. I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day.'
`I can't believe THAT!' said Alice.
`Can't you?' the Queen said in a pitying tone. `Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.'
Alice laughed. `There's not use trying,' she said: `one CAN'T believe impossible things.'
`I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. `When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. There goes the shawl again!'
Being Organized
I just read an article by Lowell C. Cooper about how leaders can keep busy but get nothing done. I liked this quote:
"Productivity arises from the purposeful organization of time, self, space, and material."
I think that really says it. If I can be organized in those four four areas, I'll be getting more done.
I learned today why I must do the "impossible" things before the morning is over. When I get back to doing things in the afternoon, I am so much less motivated than I was early in the day. However, the heat of summer takes away my energy and my motivation.
Impossible things
You've heard the saying about doing seven impossible things before breakfast. This morning I was very busy. I did:
Seven Impossible Things Before Aquarobics
- Swept the front porch
- Swept the stairway in the house
- Cleaned my painter's palette, scraped it with a razor blade
- Replaced the air freshner
- Mixed my raspberry iced tea
- Did the Jumble word puzzle
- Bagged the kitchen trash.
OK, they weren't impossible. They were, in fact, very possible. But it pleased me to think that I was accomplishing a great deal by doing these things, especially when I really felt more like resting than working.
I made a list of things to do. I'm afraid I left most of the impossible ones to be done later today.
Afraid of Thunder
When we first got Rusty, I did not notice that he was afraid of thunder. In fact, I did notice that he wasn't afraid of thunder. But sometime last fall, he started showing signs of uneasiness about thunder storms. He is not abjectly afraid of them, but he comes to me and hovers near me when a storm moves in. I wonder why he's becoming uncomfortable about thunder now.
My Seedlings
At the Fellowship Luncheon in February, or maybe March, we were given little flower pots, soil and marigold seeds. I got eight seedlings to grow.
When I transplanted them, three of them didn't make it. Five of them are growing nicely. I planted them together in a special basket and they have grown tall and look so healthy. Today I saw the first bloom. That's pretty special to me, that I successfully started them from seed. I seldom have success with seedlings and transplants.
What I Learned About Gardening
I think every year I learn something new about gardening. This year I learned that if I grow tomatoes in a container, I have to water them much more often than if they were in the ground. I may have to water them three or four times a day when the weather gets very hot, as it has been in the last couple of days.
Coreopsis
This morning when I was watering the flowers and tomatoes, I discovered that the coreopsis is blooming. They are bright yellow flowers with splashes of orange-red spiking out from their centers. They are very pretty blooms. I was going to take a picture of it but then after I came back into the house, I forgot all about it. I should get a picture of it tomorrow.
Sunday in the Park
This Sunday is the second art show of the year that the Artists' Guild participates in. Although I have paintings which I can display in the park on Sunday, I wanted to have a new painting to put in the show. Somehow, it felt like the Fourth of July weekend was still weeks away. Then suddenly, I realized that I didn't have very much time to get my painting ready.
I started a painting last week and I thought I had in my mind what I wanted to paint but right from the minute I started to paint, this work took on its own form. This is unusual for me. I usually know my plan and work toward it. I wanted to put a cat in the painting, since people seem to like the cats I do. But this painting refused to have the cat I had in mind.
Instead, it begged for a girl and her dog. This is a very ambitious undertaking for me. I've never tried such a thing before. The painting seems to be coming together. I probably have another day of work on it but I really like what I've done so far. I'll post a photo of it when I've finished it.
Another Student
Today when I went to the doctor's offices to get my allergy shots, as I sat down in the waiting room, the two girls across from me were beaming at me. I remember that said something as I entered the room and I can't remember what it was. Something had struck me funny and I remarked about it. First I thought that the girls thought I was humorous, but then I heard one saying to the other, "Do you know who she is?" So I asked, "Do you know me?"
"You were my teacher," the older girl answered. I couldn't recognize who she was and had to ask. She was Donna Kent, one of my first grade students. As we talked, I found that she will be a college senior this fall. To me that's a real good reason for me not to recognize a student that I had in first grade. There's a lot of change that happens between first grade and college senior.
Donna is an Architectural Engineering major. She is going to be doing an internship this summer in Cleveland. She will be doing work in analyzing problems that cause buildings to fail. Her course of study will also help her to design structure for buildings.
We talked a little about memories from first grade. I admitted that when I had been assigned to first grade, I thought that my pupils wouldn't remember me by the time they were out of school. Both Donna and her sister said they remember first grade. I said that maybe girls remember first grade better than boys do. Then I turned to the drug company rep working on a laptop beside me while he waited to see one of the doctors, and asked him if he remembered his first grade teacher. "Oh, yes!" he said emphatically, with a sheepish grin. It made us think that it had been a bad experience for him but he said that wasn't necessarily so. Finally he said, "Suffering helps you grow up. That's what I tell my kids." But he was grinning as he said it so he wasn't too upset by first grade.
Now I'm wondering if he was sheepish because he'd been listening to us, but really, he couldn't help listening. We were talking out loud right beside him. I knew he had to hear every word. And now I know, he remembers his first grade teacher, he remembers her well.
How about you? Do you remember your first grade teacher?
The Hymn Sing
I played for the hymn sing at
For a long time after Dad died, I had trouble singing that song because it brought back a precious memory that hurt so bad because that time is past. But tonight, it was a memory that blessed me and I was able to put my heart into playing the song and enjoying the message of the song.
Another song I really enjoyed playing was Be Strong in the Lord. That is such a triumphant song. It’s from the passage of Scripture where God speaks to Joshua and tells him to be strong and of good courage. It’s another song with a great message.
Beat the Heat
I have just been eating some icy cold watermelon and it certainly goes a long way to helping the body feel a little cooler on a really hot day. It's very refreshing.
Hot Enough?
Our excessive summer heat returned on Friday, building higher Saturday and now today, it was hot when we first got up in the morning. I've heard that rain is on the way, but so far, we just have sun and it's baking our world. I will have to start watering plants without fail if it doesn't rain soon. It got hotter and dryer than I was noticing and I let some of my plants get into a sorry state before I realized that they needed watering. I'll keep an eye on the plants and try to see that they have the water they need.
Painted Rock Houses
Here is a sample of my painted rock houses. The little one in front is somewhat decorated for Christmas. It's one of my earlier houses and isn't as ornate as some of the later ones. My favorite is the barn. I've shown the side with our name over the door. The other side has the farmer in his overalls walking out of the door. It's kind of hard for me to find rocks which are the right size and shape to turn them into houses. Maybe I don't have enough imagination. There are rocks everywhere, surely many of them would make nice painted houses.
More Caching
We went to two more geocaches today. One was the one I'd been to with my daughter-in-law and the girls. I took a canvas bag with me this time, to carry rocks back home in. The grasses and wildflowers were really grown tall by now. Because I'd been there before, I knew which path to follow and saved us a little time that way. It was a really hot day and we were getting really tired in the heat. We took Desy and Rusty with us. It's such a remote kind of place that I could just drop Desy's leash and not worry about her getting into trouble, but the boys wanted to hang on to her leash. I think we could have taken Rusty off leash, too and he would have stayed close. We didn't want them to go near the creek which seemed polluted, but they were really thirsty. When we got back home, they headed for the water dish first.
We didn't take the dogs to the second cache, after we had lunch. They seemed contented to just relax here at home. This cache was stashed along an old railroad trail that's been worked into a biking, hiking trail. It was a very pleasant walk to get to the place and a fairly easy cache to find.
Critter Log
Today when I was replenishing the critter log, I discovered that there is a big crack, starting from the top of it, near where the hook is screwed into it that hangs it from the chain. I was very distressed. I thought it would soon drop to the ground in two pieces and I don't know how to repair it.
Then my son, who hung it from the chain in the first place, came to inspect it. The crack, he says, is from the wood drying out. It's not terminal at this point. It can still last a good while. The crack is far enough away from the hook that it won't separate it from the hook.
So, it's OK for now. But I think I should start looking for a replacement possibility.
Not Shrinking
Some time ago I got a notice from my allergy doctor in Erie that it was time for my annual checkup. I need to check in with him once a year in order for him to continue to supply my allergy serum and I get my shots here in Corry. I don't like to drive to Erie alone. I asked around tentatively about getting a friend to go with me, but we hadn't nailed anything down. Then today while my son was here, and he wanted to go to Erie, I suggested that I should try to see if I could get in to my doctor today and then we could go to the beach.
I know it was short notice, and I wasn't the least bit sick, but I called and told them my need. I assured them that I'm doing well and this check up wouldn't take but five to ten minutes, just a routine, do this because I have to, visit. They set me up with a 3 o'clock appointment, I arrived at 2:30, (It's awfully hard to guage the time just right when you're at least an hour away and you want to make sure there's no problem if you encounter road construction or some other hindrance.) They took me in immediately, asked me a few questions, looked in my ears, eyes, nose, mouth, listened to my heart, did my blood pressure, etc. and we were on our way to the beach before the time of my appointment. And I was OK. No problems.
Best of all, perhaps, is that I found out that I am not shrinking. I have not been measured for a good many years. Quite a few of the women I know have told me that they have been losing inches inches off their height. I am only five feet tall and I feel I can't afford to lose any of it, since I'm already among the shortest people I know. Today they measured me and to my delight, I've not shrunk any. What happy news!
Nap Time
This afternoon we went to the beach at Presque Isle. The water was very cold but the sun was very hot. Once I was past the shock of the cold and moved around a little, I didn't mind it so much. However, I didn't go into the water very deep nor did I stay in the water very long.
I didn't want to get too much sun and come home with a burn so after a while, I went to the shade and read my book instead.
There were a few youngsters at the beach today who really fussed and cried and yelled. It wasn't a pleasant sound. However, I felt compassionate because those little ones should have been in a quiet, peaceful spot, preferably their own beds, taking naps. Very young children get cranky when they don't get enough rest. Young children can't even have FUN when they are very tired and cranky.
Road Signs
The other day when my friends and I went to Clymer for lunch, a lot of people had the same idea and the parking lot was completely full, as was the street parking in front of the restaurant. But there was room on the street across from the restaurant and my friend parked there. As she was parking, I saw the sign which said, "No Parking Any Time," and there was a red arrow pointing across the street. At the corner before us, there was another sign which said the same thing.
Because of the arrows, we didn't know for sure what the sign meant. We thought maybe it meant not to park right by the sign. So my friend parked well ahead of where the sign was. I wasn't convinced that we should park there.
When we went into the restaurant, I asked the cashier what those two signs really meant. She said that it meant that you couldn't park anywhere there across the street. Ah, the sign should have said, "No parking between signs." Then we would have understood what it meant.
We weren't the only one parked there. It was now parked full. "What is the chance of our getting a ticket for parking there?" I asked. The answer, "We have a deputy who patrols and would give you a ticket, --is he isn't in school. He may be in school now, though."
I didn't ask what school he's going to, or how old he is, but I've been wondering. We moved our car, but the others didn't and as far as I know, Deputy was in school and no one got a ticket.
The Door
We have a door in our dining room that opened onto the back porch. At one point my husband installed a deadbolt lock on this door and we locked it that way. Then he removed the porch and put a temporary cap on the foundation under it. It was impossible to use the door and we just kept it locked and unused. Today I unlocked the door and we were able to walk out onto the new porch floor. It felt wonderful to be able to do that. Desy and Rusty were very excited. They had no idea that was a door that would open. They were as interested in what was happening at the door as any one of us. The only trouble is, now Rusty has another door to look out of to see if Button is out there. He never knew that was possible before.
Time for Fun
There was great progress in the building of our porch today. The roof is on and the waterproof paper is on it. There is lots of debris to be burned. We really worked hard today. I feel so encouraged about the progress of the porch.
But we did take a pocket full of time this afternoon to look for some new geocaches that have been hidden in our area since my son was here last. I went to two places with them, both in woodland areas not far from the road. It was lots of fun and didn't take long to find the cache.
Tomorrow we plan to go to a cache which I've been to but my son hasn't been there. It's the same place where I found all those beautiful dome shaped rocks that I could make into flower mounds or houses. I'm planning to take a good bag along with me to collect a few more nice sized rocks.
When we got home again, we had our supper and then had to get back to work burning more debris, but even doing the work was fun because we were working together and seeing the progress that we are making.
Summertime Deer
I assumed that when spring turned into summer the hungry deer would find plenty to eat in their own woodland homes. But one day this week when I was looking over my little garden, I saw that the tops of three of my seven tomato plants had been eaten off. Rudy, Carolyn's husband, was nearby and I showed him the damage.
"I didn't think anything would eat tomato plants," he said. But it was obvious that something had eaten three of them. "If they don't have more eaten off them," Rudy said, "they will bush out and be better for having the pruning."
We kept looking at the little garden, and then we saw them, faint deer hoofprints. It really was deer, wandering through the summer growth and helping themselves. Today I saw that leaves of a really nice hollyhock have been sampled. I wonder what else they will taste before summer is over. I have this feeling that they will be back.
Dumb Stunt
What a dumb stunt I did this evening. The builders were back, working on the porch again today. They had to pull off a lot of old wood, shingles, etc. They built a fire in the fire ring and kept it going all day. They left just before 7 this evening.
When I got home from church about 8:30, I saw that the fire ring was full of ashes. There was a lot more to burn. I got the shovel and what looked like a metal bucket and I scooped out enough ashes to make room to burn more wood. I put a lot of splinters and kindling into the ashes in the fire ring and the fire blazed up again.
I had it going really well and then I noticed the ashes in the bucket. They were glowing, and the sides of the bucket were beginning to puff out in places. It was a plastic bucket! The bucket was melting! I turned on the hose and doused the embers. It's good that I was still right there to be sure the fire in the ashes didn't burn through and catch something else on fire.
Shastas
When I was in Meadville over a week ago, the Shasta daisies were in full, glorious bloom. Mine weren't blooming yet. In fact, they still aren't blooming, but they will be blooming very soon. The ox eye daisies have been blooming right along but the Shastas are much later this year. Meadville is about 30 miles south of us. It is a short distance but seems to make a difference in weather conditions and the plant blooming schedule.
Close Call
I'm glad our Aquarobics instructor is safe. Last week when she was driving, a woman in the opposing lane of traffic fell asleep at the well and crossed over into Bonnie's lane. It would have been a head-on collision but Bonnie dived off the road, landing in a ditch, in need of help, but for the most part unharmed. This story could have had a different ending. I'm so glad that Bonnie is OK.
Balsamina
Here is a link to a picture of balsamina:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/annuals/impatiens_balsamina.html
I tried to find Balsam but that name is used with other plants, as in Balsam Fir. I wonder why the seed packet said Balsam when the better name for it is Balsamina. I'm certainly hoping this pretty plant will grow well for me this year.
Balsam
Once when I was walking my old dog, Rhombus, through the ally that goes behind the Lutheran Church, I saw a very pretty plant growing there at the edge of the ally, under the trees. Since that was my usual route to walk, I looked at the plant each day and when the blossoms turned into seed pods, I collected some seeds.
The next spring, I planted the seeds and had my own pretty plants. I admired this plant because of it's fierce determination to live. There were no other plants like it anywhere around. It was the prettiest plant around. It was like a snapdragon blossom, but not quite.
It took me a long time to discover the name of this plant and when I did, I found that it was balsamina. For a number of years I kept this plant going and I always enjoyed it's pretty flowers. The flowers were different colors than the parent plant that I had originally collected the seeds from, but they were always beautiful.
This year, I found a seed packet labeled Balsam, and the plant which was pictured was the balsamina that I'd had some years past. I've planted some seeds and several of the seeds have sprouted. One plant is a nice size now, and two others are still in the two leaf, just through the ground stage. I'm looking forward to having these pretty flowers to look at again.
A New Thing
I did a new thing today. I helped pack baskets for the Hospice Fund Raiser which will be held soon. They are going to do a Chinese Auction, where people buy a set of 5 tickets and put their ticket, with their name and phone number on it, into a receptacle in front of the basket of goodies of their choice.
There were a lot of donations to put in the baskets. One basket was of art supplies for, well, for artists. We couldn't always do a theme for a basket but for many of them we could. There were automotive supplies, books, potpourri and lotions, that went together. There were two kids' duffle bags in bright colors, and they had a football and a soccer ball and a Frisby inside. We added a squirt gun and a set of three bouncy balls and some Slim Jims for a snack after all that playing. And, of course, many, many other really fine articles of merchandise.
When we arrived, there were lots of baskets in the volunteer room, and then all these various donations in bags and boxes. We had to sort them out and fit them into apppropriate groups and the right sized basket for them. A couple of women wrapped the baskets in bright celephane and tied them with ribbon.
This effort should raise a nice amount of money for Hospice. There will be many other activities at the Fund Raiser Fair. It looks like it's going to be a huge success.
Snake Plant
I have a snake plant in a rather large pot and I've had it in the same place for a number of years. The other day I noticed that it has fallen into hard times. I'm not sure what has happened to the soil in it, but I saw that there is much less soil in it and the plants are starting to lean over because of lack of support. There is a lot of soil down in the saucer of the pot. It's a mystery to me how that has been happened? Besides that, the pot is cracking. Maybe the soil has been sifting out through the places where the pot is breaking, but the soil is so evenly distributed in the saucer that I think that's not it. I don't like this kind of mystery.
I'll get it outside today and get it planted in a new pot.
Tough Toenails
One of the tasks which I put off, longer than I should, is cutting Desy's toenails. I keep telling myself that I'll do it every week but I realize now that I didn't do it last week. And it's too late to bother with it tonight. I wonder if I'll make myself do it tomorrow. I'd better!
Inspecting the Flowers
This afternoon I took a tour to see what's blooming in the yard this week. It's been so cold recently that I have been staying indoors more. I knew that the columbine and the lupine are at the end of their cycle. I knew that the fox glove has started to bloom but I wasn't sure of what else is going on.
Today I saw that the calendula has started to bloom and so has the sweet peas. The flowering kale in the special planters has grown quite bushy and looks very healthy. The hens and chicks that I built a planter for at the base of the maple tree have grown really big and they are strong and healthy. Pinks are blooming and so are the sun drops. Daisies are in bloom but the Shastas are still in bud.
I picked about a quart of strawberries and then I realized that there is more rhubarb ready. I pulled it and brought it to the porch. I still have to cut off the leafy part and then wash it and cut it up and cook it. There's not a great deal of it, maybe two quarts or a little less, so that task won't take long.
The lilies will be blooming soon and so will the coreopsis. There's lots to look at out there!
Early Mornings
When I was a kid, I was never a morning person. Maybe when I was a very little kid I was awake early, but I by the time I was 7th grade I was finding it hard to get up in the morning.
I was hard to awaken. My poor mom must have had such a time getting me up for school. It was so easy for me to lay in bed just a few minutes longer and I would then drift off to sleep and mom would be calling my name again.
I remember once that my mom called me and I thought about getting up. I thought about it so much that I was doing it in my mind. I got up and got dressed and went downstairs to the bathroom and even brushed my teeth. And then my mom called my name and I woke up and found that I was still in bed and I had just dreamed that I got up and got dressed. I had to do it all over again. I was amazed that I could dream something so real.
How surprising it is to me now to awaken early and feel like I want to get up. I seldom sleep in now and any time that I get up later, I feel like I missed so much. Early morning hours are special, --if they aren't too early.
I don't get much done early in the morning, but I like the special feeling. I like seeing the way the sunlight splashes in slanting rays across the side lawn. The sunlight makes the maple tree cast a long shadow across the lawn and the bright sunshine dances on either side of the shadow. But now, it's time for me to stop immersing myself in the morning feeling and get busy with something to make good use of this time.
Lost and Found
I found it, finally! Well over a month ago, I bought two boxes of tea at the grocery store. One was Constant Comment and the other Honey Lemon. I put them both away in the cupboard and a week or so later when I decided I wanted a coup of Honey Lemon tea, I could not find it. It was as though that box of tea never made it home. I even double checked in the trunk of the car, in case it had slipped out of the grocery bag and was still there. I started to wonder if I'd actually bought the tea in the first place.
Finally I gave in and bought a second box of Honey Lemon last week.
Today, when I decided that the weather is cool enough to have a cup of cocoa, I moved a bag of soup starter in the cupboard, and there behind it was the errant box of tea. So, I'm not crazy yet. I really did buy that tea and put it in the cupboard. But why did I put it behind something that I don't use very often? It's a relief to find where I stashed it.
Company, --People and Pets
I had company for dinner today, at my house. My friend, Carolyn, the artist and librarian, came today. She said to me as we finished our meal, "It was a good idea for us to get together each Sunday for dinner."
It has been a good idea. Sunday is already a very hard day for me and if I had to eat alone each Sunday, I know it would be harder to bear.
I've been thinking about The Island of the Blue Dolophins lately. That poor girl lived how many years on that island alone? How, I ask myself, did she do it? I wonder how many times she cried herself to sleep and how desolate she must have felt so often. I am not that completely alone but the emptiness of my house is heavy on me. Still, I can call a friend, or go out of my house and meet people in stores or on the street when the aloneness gets to be too much.
The girl made a friend of the wild dog that she had tried to kill. I am grateful for my pets, my two dogs who share the routine of my household activities.
Seasons of the Soul
The radio pastor's sermon this morning mentioned the fact that we go through patches of time where we struggle and we aren't our usual joyful, upbeat selves.
I needed to hear that this morning. I've been going through my own tough patch this last week. But I know I'll go through it and not stick in this tough terrain forever. I can't help wondering how long this will take, but I do know that I have my eyes fixed on the goal. I was glad to be reminded by the pastor this morning that we all go through seasons when we feel downcast.
Joy comes in the morning. The world does look a little brighter to me this morning.
No-bakes
For Sally, I'll give the recipe for No-bakes. My daughter brought home this recipe from home-ec class, probably when she was in 7th grade. I had not heard of them before but I've heard of them a lot since.
Most of the ingredients go by !/2. !/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup canned milk. But then there's 2 cups of sugar and 3 cups of rolled oats. And 1 teaspoon vanilla. (I also add 1/2 cup wheat germ and 1/2 cup flaked coconut.)
Put a big swatch of waxed paper over a dish towel on the table. In a big bowl, measure the 3 cups oats, and the wheat germ and coconut and drop the teaspoon of vanilla onto these dry ingredients.
Then melt the butter, add the milk, sugar and cocoa powder and still till well mixed. Cook over low heat until it's boiling. Boil for two minutes, remove from heat and stir in the dry ingredients. Drop by tablespoon onto the prepared waxed paper and give it a few minutes to cool.
If you like chocolate a lot, you'll like to lick this pan! That's a term we use to scrape the sides and bottom with a spoon and eat it up! Some people also put peanut butter in this cookie. I've never made it with peanut butter, but I think it would probably go into the mixture in the pan that boils for two minutes. Well, Sally, if you make these, please tell me how it turns out. It's not really hard to do but sometimes if the weather is humid, it takes a little more boiling than two minutes to make it firm up when you drop the cookies. I've sometimes had to eat these with a spoon because they were too gooey. But today, they were perfect!
Like Riding a Bicycle
I made some no-bake cookies this afternoon. I haven't made no-bakes for over half a year and at first I thought I'd forgotten the exact amounts and ingredients. I have the recipe tucked away in my file box, but I thought I'd get started with what I did remember and see if it would come back to me.
It was just like riding a bicycle. You don't forget how to do it. Here's a kind of funny thing. The only thing I did almost forget, but remembered as the last ingredient, was the half cup of cocoa powder. That's what no-bakes are all about. Chocolate. I couldn't forget that for very long.
Puttering
This morning I have spent some time just puttering. I've looked at my painting and admired the progress so far. I've moved it to a good spot in the morning light. I've thought about what to do next. I've watered the African violets and pinched off the dead foliage and flowers, --a weekly job. I've done my morning mail and read the newspapers. I've looked at the painting, --again and again. Very soon now, I'll pick up the paint brush and get back to work on the painting. I've already put the next color on the palette.
Funny, when I'm painting, it's often hard to stop. But when I'm not painting, sometimes it's hard to start. Odd, eh?
Recreational Painting
I spent the evening painting. I have had a number of ideas for a new painting but I was having trouble settling on any one thing. Finally I decided I really need to get at the painting if I'm going to have a new one ready for the Sunday in the Park celebration over the Fourth of July.
So, tonight was the night. I got out a photograph and set up my paints and canvas, and I started painting. But I didn't paint the picture that I thought I would. I kept getting different ideas and I decided to give it a try and see what it turns out to be.
It's time now to call it a day. Of course the painting isn't finished but I'm eager to see it in morning light and evaluate it then. Is it coming along as I'd hoped or will I need to start over again?
Books That Are Free
When I was leaving the library, I saw that there were books on shelves in the entry way and they were free for the taking. These are books that didn't sell from the book sale last weekend. I was taking my time to look over all the books and had chosen one of them when one of the librarians left the building, walking past me. "Take a lot of them," she advised me. I said that I planned to just take a few of them and I planned to read them and bring them back. I didn't tell her that this way I wouldn't have to worry about library fines.
Library Fines
I went to the library this afternoon. I was returning some books that I suddenly realized were overdue. I think I went to sleep on this and forgot all about time limits. It has been a big deal with me to not have library fines but last night I discovered that a couple of my books were due a couple of days ago. My library fine amounted to 30 cents. I know that's not much, but the way I usually do things, I don't have a library fine. I'll have to watch the due dates more carefully.
Another Story About Hemming
More than 30 years ago when I went to a Women's Retreat I was in a big open dorm room with many other women. One of the women there was a pastor's wife and she told us this story about her frustrations in getting ready for the retreat.
She bought a new pants suit for the retreat but the pants were too long and she had to hem them. She apparently did this very confidently. She measured one leg, so many inches from the bottom edge, marked it, cut off the excess, pinned it up and stitched in the hem. She was hurrying to get this task completed for there were many other things to do yet. She measured and cut and pinned and stitched the other leg. Then she started to fold it up to pack it. That's when she discovered that she'd actually hemmed the same leg twice. End of new pants suit. It was very frustrating to her but I thought it was very funny. She would probably have laughed at my Betty Butler story. I could see her plight, but knowing that I could have done the same thing, I laughed any way. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who makes funny mistakes.
Hemming
I haven't done any hemming of clothing for some years now. I've never felt very confident about it since I was so helpful to Betty Butler who lived across the hall from me in the college dorm when I was a freshman. Betty had a skirt that she needed to have hemmed and I confidently voluntered to do it for her. She put on the skirt, I measured and pinned up the skirt to the length that she wanted. I cut off the excess and carefully hemmed the skirt. And it was TOO short! She could not wear the skirt. It was ruined. And so way my confidence. Betty was gracious about my terrible mistake, but as you can tell, it still bothers me.
Since then I've been very insecure about hemming and avoid it as much as possible. When my husband bought new trousers that needed to be hemmed, I couldn't do it. I couldn't bear to think of the waste of money if I would hem them too short. We would find a friend who would do alterations, and to me, the money was well spent, because the trousers were always done well.
But these slacks that I hemmed today were bought at a Thrift Store for just a couple dollars and if I made them too short, it's not a big deal. I could still wear them here at home for working in the yard.
I got the length right, but I may have made the bottoms of the legs just a little puckery. I think they are going to be OK though. I have one more pair of slacks to go. This pair is a little nicer than this first pair that I did, but the cost was the same. If I goof, I haven't wasted too much money.
The Open Gate
This afternoon when Rusty asked to go out to the pen, I opened the kitchen door and he went ahead of me into the entry way. The door to his pen was standing open. I was chiding myself for forgetting to close it, and yet I really thought I had closed it. Rusty bounded into the pen and went right over to the far side of it. I watched him and then saw that the gate in the pen was wide open!!! The builders who are getting the back porch on for me went through the pen, into the entry way and never thought about closing the doors behind them.
The neighbor's little dog wasn't out in her back yard or perhaps Rusty would have run right over to say hello to her. But he really is content to live here with me. I was very pleased that he didn't run out through the open gate.
Uncle
I'm calling "Uncle," --meaning I give up. Yesterday the 60 degree temperature felt really good. This morning it's closer to 50 degrees and I'm ready for 60 degrees again. It's still rainy and the work on the back porch has had to halt till the rain stops. I'd still choose 50 degrees over 90, but don't you think the happy medium of 70 would be best? But we can't choose. We take what we're given.
My Husband Said
Last year when we were going through the rainy month of June, my husband was fond of telling people, "Good news! The drought has ended!"
We had almost two weeks of no rain, and now, the drought has ended. We got enough rain in the last two days to take care of that brief dry spell.
Guess what! At this point the builders have come to work on my back porch. They took the floor off and it was open to the basement below. They covered things in the basement with plastic sheets, and the rains came, on and off all day. I was just chased in from my outdoor work a few minutes ago.
The drought has ended.
Chives
Today I took the pruning shears to the chives. They had been blooming so beautifully. They look like a regular flowering plant when they bloom. You wouldn't think of them as an oinion flavored herb, just to see them. But if you let them alone till the bloom is spent, they make hundreds of little seeds and drop them all around in the area and next year your chive patch doubles or triples! I have just the right amount now so I clip them all off when they begin to look a little spent. I hate to do it, but I don't want so many more chives.
It's Relative
This morning the temperature is hovering around 60 degrees, maybe a degree or two higher. Are we huddled into coats or jackets and complaining about how cold it is? NO! After having almost 90 degree temperatures for a week, we are so happy to be cool again.
Now think of this. If this was winter and the temperature in our house was 60 degrees, we would be shivering, wanting the heat to be turned up, and wearing layers of clothing to be warm. Since we were so hot for so long, this change in the weather is very welcome. It's all relative.
Being a Pioneer
Today I feel like a pioneer woman. I spent much of the day sawing old wood with a bow saw and getting it burned up. In the late afternoon, my back door neighbor, Carolyn, came over and did some sawing for me while I stacked the wood in my own yard. I also was able to break up and bag three bags of Styrofoam insulation that has to be discarded. I probably have a dozen more to go. I know Pioneer women didn't have to break up insulation, but all the sawing I did made me feel courageous and heroic and pioneering.
We had to quit sawing at 6 for a heavy rain with lightning and thunder and wind. But at 8 we were able to go back outdoors, stir up the fire again and burn more wood. I worked then till 9:15.
I thought I was doing a good job sawing, and I think I am developing muscles. Then Carolyn took over for a while. She's so much more adept at it than I! She can cut through the wood so much faster. I guess I really don't have much strength after all, but I'm sure I'm getting stronger. I'd better get stronger. There's going to be lots more to do before the back porch project is completed.
Another Nancy Story
Nancy also told me that at one bus station or airport terminal, I forget which, this really scruffy looking young man noticing her alone with her suitcase said, "I'll carry your suitcase for you." She was very reluctant to hand it over but did so and she was thinking, "That's the last I'll see of my suitcase."
But, he was a really nice person. He carried the suitcase for her and and sat with her and talked while they waited for their next connection. It turned out that he was a truck driver and he'd been up all night and hadn't had a chance to shave. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked unkempt but he was really a very nice person.
There was something in the eyes of those other two as they approached her that she just knew they meant to get her purse.
Foiling a Thug
I had lunch with a friend again today, another Nancy. When I mentioned that I had put my fanny pack with my bag of art supplies and then had forgotten that I'd done that and had to hunt for it, she told me that she's taken to wearing a fanny pack, and she told me why.
She goes from time to time on bus trips to visit her grown and married children. At one rest stop, she had a problem. A couple of guys tried to take her purse. She saw them standing off to the side, against a wall. They were two young gentlemen, well dressed and nice looking guys. But she saw something in the way they looked at her that told her that they intended to try to get her purse.
They both came toward her. She clamped onto her purse as tight as she could and braced herself. They passed her, one on either side, both of them bumping into her. She was prepared and well braced and they didn't make her fall and they didn't get her purse. People all around her just watched.
She foiled those thugs but she went on into the building and as she entered the restroom, a woman exited and bumped into her. This time she didn't notice the theft but later she realized that the woman had taken her watch right off her arm. However, it was an old watch that wasn't running quite right and she was planning to throw it away soon, so the woman didn't really get a prize. Still, Nancy felt annoyed that she hadn't even felt the woman get the watch.
That's when she decided to switch from purse to a fanny pack, for better security.
One more time she foiled an attempted theft when she was traveling. This time she was in Germany and a very tall, blond girl, standing very close to her raised her arm and pointed right over Nancy's head and said, "Look at that!" Nancy turned her head to look, but dropped her hand down to her fanny pack as she did so and there was the blonde girl's hand on the zipper of her fanny pack. The girl gave an embarrassed smile and left immediately.
I've never had those kinds of experience though I've read about them. Now I know someone who has protected herself through those situations.
How Hot Is It?
I said earlier that it's been a little cooler today. It wasn't too hot for working outside this morning. So I started working. After I weeded a little while, I kept looking at the pile of old wood I have to burn. Probably I ought to burn some of it today.
This afternoon it's 75 degrees outside and is that hot enough for me? Apparently not! I'm heating up the outdoors even hotter with this fire.
In about an hour when the fire dies down again, I'll go back out and add fuel to the fire. I hate to do it, but what a pile of old wood I have to get rid of. We are rebuilding the back porch, and the first step has to be to tear out the old unusable wood. How to get rid of it? The most logical way is to burn it and that's what I'm doing on this hot summer day.
Relief
We've had some rain yesterday and while it's still hot here in our area, the rain has cooled the air significantly. We needed this. It looks like it will rain again today. That will be good. It brings us relief.
Champions
Our girls played another championship game this afternoon. It was their second game of the state play-offs. Today they lost, 3-1. Nevertheless, we know that what they have done with this year's softball season has been outstanding and they are champions even though they weren't able to achieve the top title. There will be a celebration to honor them tomorrow evening.
Finding New Homes for Violets
Last week at Aquarobics, I asked Eleanor if she'd like to have another African violet and she said that she is indeed ready to take some more. I've been thinking that I seriously need to downsize the quantity of house plants that I have. If I could find a good home for them, I could free up some space around my windows.
This morning I took two violets to Eleanor. We are still having the heat wave so I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to leave the plants in the car for an hour. I set them out in a shady area on the grass in front of where I parked the car. I felt like I was abandoning kittens, hoping someone would come rescue them. That's ridiculous because I had already found a good home for these violets and I wasn't abandoning them at all.
After Aquarobics, I took the violets to Eleanor at her car and she very carefully set them on the floor in the back. I know she'll give them a good home.
Shortcut
Yesterday morning when I noticed that a number of critters were visiting the critter log and I knew that all the little holes in it had been licked or pecked clean and there was no longer any treat for them there, I wanted to refill the holes right away.
But I was running out of time. So I took a short cut. I just took the critter peanut butter jar, with chunky peanut butter, and a knife and daubed just peanut butter into the holes instead of mixing in the sunflower seed and honey and raisins and cracked corn. This morning I see that the critters are happily going after the peanut butter, so I see that short cut worked out OK.
A Prisoner, and Yet. . . .
This afternoon I felt really wrung out from all the heat and I went into the guest room where I could turn on a fan and stretched out on the bed to read. Pretty soon I dropped off to sleep. When I woke up, I had been sleeping so soundly that I wasn't sure where I was. I could tell it wasn't my bed and then slowly I came to and realized where I was. Then I got up, left the room and closed the door.
In about an hour I went to my friend's house to watch a TV program with her. I thought it was odd that Desy didn't come to say good-bye as I was leaving the house, but then, I thought that since it's so hot, it's affecting my dogs, too. She was probably resting somewhere that was a little cool and didn't want to move.
When I got back home and got out of the car, Desy barked to greet me. She rarely does that. She'll come to the door to meet me but doesn't bark. And, where was her bark coming from? When I got into the house, she wasn't waiting at the door as Rusty was. Where was she?
She wasn't in the living room. Oh-oh! She must be in the guest room where I had closed the door. I ran upstairs and opened the door and she was so glad to be let out of her temporary prison. She'd gone into the room after I did and had been sleeping and I hadn't noticed her. I wish she'd learn to leave a room when I do. Maybe she had been sleeping as soundly as I had been, and she slept longer.
Singing the Praises of RKS
This afternoon I decided to listen to one of my tapes of Peter Gzowski's Morningside program. I really loved listening to him. First I heard an interview with Robert Munch and it was great. He told his story Purple, Green and Yellow, about a little girl who wants colored markers and promises not to write on the walls, the floor or herself.
And then came the part of the program where Peter and Sheleigh Rodgers took turns reading letters that people had sent in about RKS.
RKS! Have you guessed what that is? It's Rice Krispie Squares. From the tape, I'm not sure what prompted the subject but they certainly got a lot of response to it and it was all interesting.
One woman wrote that she had been visiting a friend when she was child and here was this stuff that was very new to her. She didn't think she'd like it but the woman said that she thought she really would like it because it was Spiderweb Cake. How could she not try something named that? And she, of course, loved it, later finding out it was RKS.
My favorite story was about the woman who was getting married but had not ordered a cake. It just didn't seem important to her, some how. When her mom called and asked, in typical mom fashion, if she could bring something for her daughter, the daughter asked for RKS. Lo and behold, Mom showed up with a three tier bridal cake made of Rice Krispie Treats. It was decorated with pink roses and there was a pair of crystal doves atop the cake. And, the thoughtful Mom had also provided individually wrapped pieces of "cake" for the guests to take home. Wouldn't that be a great cake at a wedding?
Summer Clothes
In going through my closet yesterday and thinking about what to wear for church today, I realized that I don't have much choice when it comes to light dressy clothing. Most of what I have is for winter. I have light slacks, shorts and tees but they aren't dress up clothes. How come I have so little in the line of dress clothes for summer? It's because we have far more cold, shivery days than really hot summer days. But, of course, I do have some summery clothes and I'm dressed appropriately for going to church on a very hot summer morning.
To find this skirt and top, I had to move aside a lot of sweaters and long sleeved tops. I don't as a rule pack sweaters away during the summer because we often need something warmer for early summer mornings here.
I remember when I was a child that we went to Mahaffey Camp in the center of PA every year in July. Mom would insist that we take some sweaters and jackets for early mornings there. I remember thinking how odd to take jackets when it was summer and we didn't need them at all at home. But, sure enough, early mornings at Mahaffey were quite chilly and the jackets felt really good, even though afternoons were very warm. Corry has been like that, for the most part, but this whole last week has been overly warm.
Heat Wave
Just like most of the southern states which get very high summer temperatures, we have entered a week of very high temperatures. It's not high compared to Florida or Arizona, but for our snow belt area, it's heat that we aren't accustomed to. We're at least 10 degrees lower than what many of you are experiencing, and perhaps even lower, but since we're more used to temperatures closer to 60 than 80, 77 degrees feels really hot to us, and the afternoon temperature was much higher than that.
It used to be that we could expect one week of high temperatures in late May or early June and one really hot week in August and more comfortable temperautres during the rest of the summer. But the last two summers were both decidedly on the cool side with very few really hot days. The heat this week feels like it's moved in for the duration. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight. This will be very good for the corn crop, if it can get enough rain to go along with the heat.
Kinzua Viaduct
One of the places my husband and I liked to visit is Kinzua Viaduct. It was at one time the longest and tallest railroad bridge in the world but two years ago it was taken down by a tornado. Eleven of the towers that supported it were destroyed by the violent wind. There are nine towers remaining.
It was a fun place to visit, expecially so if you took a train ride to the place, though you could drive to the site of the bridge and walk across it. We did took the train ride twice. We boarded the train at Kane and it made for a very enjoyable ride through lots of pleasant scenery and little towns. The train would stop just before the historic viaduct and let people off who for whatever reason didn't want to cross the viaduct on the train. Then the train would cross the viaduct and stop on the other side and the rest of the people would get off for a while. You could walk across the trestle bridge if you wanted to.
If you went there on the hottest day, it was cool on the bridge, almost cold, really, and it was windy there at the bridge. The bridge was 301 feet from the valley below. It was kind of exciting to stand there in the middle of the bridge and look over the valley below.
The stop at the viaduct was for about an hour, give or take a little. I don't remember the exact amount of time. The engineer would get the train into a turn around section of track and when it was headed back toward Kane again, passengers would board on both ends of the bridge (there were always some people who were afraid to be on the bridge, either alone or in the train) and the return trip would be under way.
Yesterday's news told us that money has been allocated to do improvements to this state park and bridge. Since the bridge went down, tourists don't go there as they used to. I had hoped that they would rebuild the structure, but the article in the newspaper says that the nine towers will be strengthened and observation decks will be built. There are no plans to rebuild the bridge for it would take $42,000,000 and only one million dollars have been granted for the project.
I am glad that we got to be at this state park during the time when the train was making it's daily summer runs to the trestle bridge.
Learnig to Do It Right
I've been trying to touch up the paint around the dining room window where the rain came in and stained it last summer when we had the siding off that wall. I put two coats of paint on and the stain still showed through.
Then my friend told me that I should have used primer first. Yes, that did sound familiar, come to think of it.
This morning Dave came to begin repair work in the basement. I asked if it was still appropriate to use primer. He said that if I didn't use primer, I'd probably never get the stain covered. He told me what to get for it.
I bought the product, --a quart of it though I probably needed about a quarter cup. It was the smallest amount that they sell. It covered the stains easily and dried in an hour. Then I painted another coat over it, and the job's done!
It's so easy when I do it right.
Noise in Communication
I find it amusing when I hear people take a well known saying and change the saying, for whatever reason. Sometimes it's because they don't get the saying right in the first place and don't seem to realize it. Sometimes they give it a twist to suit their application of the expression.
I think it was the second thing that prompted the man to say what I heard this morning. The real saying is: waiting for the other shoe to drop. It brings to mind a person in a room over your head, getting ready for bed. He takes off one shoe and drops it with a thud. You know he has two feet. You know there will be a second thud. This applies to situations where you know a second unpleasant action is certain to follow the first. You wait uneasily to learn about it.
The man on the radio said this morning that they couldn't make plans concerning the situation "until all the shoes have dropped."
You get his meaning, but it certainly puts a twist on the original saying. Can you see that "centipede" in the room over your head taking off shoes, one at a time and dropping them each with a thud. How will you know when the last shoe has fallen? I lost what the man was talking about because I got caught up in thinking about his twist on the old saying. This, as I learned long ago, is "noise" in communication.
Noise is what happens when you say something that causes the person listening to you to hear something other than what you meant. To get your message across when you're speaking publicly, avoid using old sayings with your own twist.
Maybe he should have said that they would have to wait till they get all their ducks in a row before they decide what to do. But that puts us in an amusement park, playing games in the midway, probably missing those ducks because the sight of our gun has been rigged so we don't see accurately. There, I've rabbited off in a different direction again, and I still don't really know what those shoes were representing.
Homemade Gifts Again
Today I received one the best homemade gifts a person could ask for! It's a loaf of oatmeal bread! Elaine made it and her mom, the crocheter of doilies, made her living by making bread and selling it after she was widowed. That's when she spent less time making doilies because she had to spend so much time making bread. She was a wonderful baker, and Elaine learned from her. Trust me, this bread is magnificent! Thanks, Elaine, --many thanks!
Another Win
Our Lady Beavers just won their second championship game a few minutes ago. (About noon our time.) It was a nail biter of a game and we won by the low score of 1-0. They didn't score till the bottom of the 5th.
I was listening to the game on the radio while I was on my home from Erie, having taken the dogs for their heart worm test (which they passed). At the beginning of the second half of the fifth inning, with the score 0-0, our announcer, Poppo, said, "The Elwood City pitcher is working on a no hitter. I know I'm not supposed to say that because that makes a jinx for the pitcher. But I'm saying it. Maybe it will help us." Shortly after he said that, we had our first base hit, and then the girls went on to score the one run. Poppo was so pleased with himself, as though he'd really jinxed the pitcher by his statement. I suppose the announcer for the opposing team was saying that about our pitcher, too.
Our pitcher, Allison Hasbrouck, a girl from the Columbus Church, was named MVP for the game. She had a no hitter, and she also struck out 12 players. They were all commenting that there was no doubt who the MVP should be.
It was an exciting game. It sounded like the fans were yelling their throats raw during the whole game. It hurt my throat a little just to hear the intensity of their cheering.
Now the girls have another game to get ready for.
Hand Made Gifts
One of the things that we talked about at lunch yesterday was about our moms making things. Elaine's mom crocheted many fancy doilies. She loved to crochet and was very, very good at it. When she saw a new doily that she liked, she would ask to borrow the doily for a little while, take it home and copy the pattern for herself. Then she would return the doily and make one like it.
After her mom died, Elaine looked through her things to take some of her mom's doilies for herself, but there wasn't one to be found. Her mom had given them all away. She probably gave each one away when she completed it.
How like crafters that is, I thought. When I was at college, one of my friends got me interested in making baskets. It was such fun. Several of us would get together and make these woven baskets. I did like Elaine's mom did. I gave them away just about as soon as I'd finished them. Fortunately, I began to realize that I didn't have any of my own work. I think that my husband pointed this out to me. So, I made several baskets and kept them for myself.
Years later, I made baskets again, a different style. I guess I learned the lesson about not giving them all away because I kept quite a lot this time and have them hanging in my kitchen now. I still have some reeds that should be used to make baskets. When I'm finished painting rocks, maybe I'll make a few baskets again.
Lunch with a Friend
Today I had lunch with a friend and it was a real nice outing. We both had a salad and it really hit the spot, but the best part was lingering there and talking. We talked about various and sundry things. ( I love that phrase, -various and sundry.)
My friend is probably about 8 years younger than I, so we were able to compare laundry techniques from the times when we first got involved in doing laundry. Elaine didn't have to use a wringer washer because she was assigned other chores, but I had a wringer washer when I first started house keeping. Elaine hadn't realized that you had to be very, very careful when putting buttons through the wringer. If the wringer caught the button at an angle, it would either break the button or tear it right off the garment. Ornate buttons had to be either kept from the wringer or cut off before laundering and sewn back on after the garment was dry.
How much easier wash day is today. It was fun to think about it together.
Childhood Beliefs
One of my online friends was telling our "loop" that she'd been thinking about beliefs that she'd had when she was a child that as she grew up she discovered that she had it all wrong. Her example was that when she was a child, she thought that when the stars came out at night, they chirped. She was disappointed to find out as she got older that it was crickets that were chirping.
Another friend said that she thought the man in the moon talked to her. When she got older, she found out her dad was hiding and was saying those things to her.
One of my beliefs was that I could touch the sky if I could climb to the top of a big hill. You can see how the sky rests on those hills. My aunt told me that no matter how high I climbed, I couldn't touch the sky, but it took a while longer before I realized how true that is.
I think everybody has had wrong ideas about our world and life around us when we were little kids. Maybe some of us still do.
Baseball Games
Some of my friends are talking about going to a major league baseball game for the first time. It made me remember my first time to go to a game.
My parents made me go to a baseball game with them when I was a young teen. I begged to not go. I was sure I would hate it. But they made me go. And, to my surprise, I loved it! It was a Pirate game. We didn't go to games very often, --in fact, I don't remember us ever going to another game as a family. But I got hooked on baseball. I listened to all the games I could on radio. I made a score sheet and kept score. I read the newspaper articles about the Pirates and clipped many of them for a scrapbook.
My favorite player was Dale Coogan. He was probably 19 at the time. I thought he was wonderful. He didn't have a very long career in baseball. Ralph Kiner was the homerun king at the time and he was a Pirate.
At that first game, we were playing the Cubs, if I remember correctly. We sat near a man who was very interactive with the game. The opposing pitcher was Hiller and with just about every pitch that he made, this vocal fan would shout, "You're gonna walk him, Hiller!" It's kind of hard to forget that! I don't remember if the Pirates won or not. We had a good time and I found that I love baseball.
It has been our policy, which I learned from that first game, not to buy anything at the games. We spent a lot of money to get there and that was the only spending. We could eat at home or take something with us if that was permitted. Everything is marked up so high at the games and we went especially to see the game, not to spend exorbitant amounts on food or souvenirs.
Worms
This morning I stopped in to see Linda the elementary librarian in her school library. She showed me a new book that had just come in, --A Worm's Diary. It is so cute. The inside cover has the worm's report card. I don't remember all his subjects but squirming and wriggling were pass-fail subjects and he was passing them.
Linda said that her favorite was where the worm boy tells his sister that he doesn't know why she's spending so much time looking in the mirror because her face looks the same as her butt! He thought it was a very clever remark but his mom didn't like it. teehee
Do It Now
When I have something that has to be done right now, I do it right now. When I have something that should be done but it doesn't really matter if I do it today, or tomorrow or even later, I find it so easy to let it slide I don't do it now, or tomorrow, or even the next day. It becomes easier and easier to think about the task and do nothing.
That's where I am now. I have to be firm with myself and use some discipline. I must do more of those tasks that don't have to be done right now. I'm sure I'll feel better about it, if I can get some of those pending jobs out of the way.
False Alyssum
When it was time this spring to plant my yellow daisies in the big planter that I have used for this purpose in the last two or three years, I discovered that plants had begun growing there already. I thought they were alyssum, but I wasn't really sure.
When my gardening neighbor came over, I showed her the plants and asked her opinion. She assured me that they were alyssum. I transplanted some of them into another pot, for there were a lot of them growing there, and planted the daisies in their customary place in the center of the big planter. I like having alyssum growing at the edge of the planter and I left a ring of the alyssum to grow there.
Yesterday I began to think about that alyssum. It was growing taller and taller but no signs of a bloom were showing. Right now alyssum should be blooming richly. Why isn't this blooming?
Then I remembered. Last spring a friend had given me some alyssum and I had planted it with the yellow daisies only to find out a month later that it wasn't alyssum. It was a weed which looked a lot like alyssum. My friend apologized and told me to pull it up because it would take over and grow everywhere if I didn't. So I thought I'd gotten it all, but obviously, I hadn't. I've been nurturing this alyssum look-alike and it's really a weed. It only looks like alyssum in its early growth. There is no bloom or sweet aroma like alyssum. I feel embarrassed to have made this mistake, but even my gardening neighbor was tricked by this prankster weed.
Our Champions
Our high school softball team won their division championship last week. This evening they played their first game in the State Playoffs. They played the Hampton Talbots, a team they'd never played before.
When they found out that the game would be against the Talbots, they had no idea what a talbot is. Turns out that it's a large, heavy, hound-like animal, usually white, with droopy lips and swinging ears. Hmmm. Interesting. Our team is the Beavers, --equally impressive. At least, we don't have to explain what a beaver is.
It was an exciting game. Hampton was ahead 1-0, then the game was tied, then Hampton was ahead 2-1. But then our girls got two more runs and it was 2-3. Then Corry broke loose and scored five runs in one inning and that was the final score of the game, Corry 8, Hampton 2.
Our girls will be playing again on Thursday.
The Handkerchief
When I was a girl, the cloth handkerchief was considered to be a necessity. I don't remember that I used them much but I was expected to have one in my pocket.
When I learned to crochet, I was taught to make lacy edgings on handkerchiefs. Handkerchiefs were very appropriate gifts for girls and older women, too. You could buy sets of lovely handkerchiefs in lovely boxes.
Last night I was remembering how we would play with our handkerchiefs during church services. My mom could roll up a handkerchief from each end and do a few twists and turns and there were twins in a hammock.
And, if I had to take a dime to school for some reason, Mom would tie the dime securely in the corner of a handkerchief. It was unlikely that I would lose the handkerchief, though I might lose a single dime. One of the marks of becoming more grown-up was when we could be trusted to carry our dime or quarter safely without it being tied in a knot in the corner of our handkerchief.
And then came Kleenex. When was the last time you saw a child with a dime tied into the corner of a handkerchief? Ha! Not since I was a child!
Morning Rain
We seem to be having morning rain and then it clears up again for the rest of the day. To my thinking, that must be a pretty good situation. The plants get the water they need and later in the day, we can still get outdoors and do our work or play. We had a pretty nice rain this morning and now the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day.
Fifty Dollars
What would you spend fifty dollars for? I was thinking about that this evening. My neighbor paid $50 for a bush that she liked. She expressed surprise to me that she would spend that much for a bush but she liked it so much and it was her birthday. She said she was half way home when she decided that she really liked the bush enough to spend that much money, so she turned around and went back for it. It is a rather large bush. It had to lay on its side in the car and she had to get a neighbor across the street to help her get it out of the car and into the yard at home. But she planted it by herself and she really loves her new bush.
When I was leaving another friend's home this evening, she pointed to the cat that wanted in and then out again right away, and told me that this was the cat that her husband had spent $50 to buy. My friend is not a cat person. I think she would not have spent that much money to buy a cat. It's a very pretty cat, many colors, mostly orange, but with some black scattered through it.
Fifty dollars does sound like a lot of money sometimes and then there are other times when to spend fifty dollars for the thing we want seems to be a wonderful bargain. I can't remember what I've spent $50 for that I liked so much, but there must be something.
Had Your Five?
Yesterday on a weekend radio quiz show that I listen to, the question was: In 100 people, how many eat five fruits and vegetables a day? Answer choices were A. 3 B. 11 C. 23. The contestants didn't get the answer right. They went with 11. It's the answer that seemed right, but the real answer was 23. I'm trying to get my five. How about you?
Inertia
There are a number of things which I no longer use as much as I used to and I need to make a decision about what to do with them, but inertia keeps me at the thinking stage.
Here's an example. I've discovered that many of my favorite radio programs can be heard through my computer and now I can get my favorite stations without any annoying static. Now I seldom use the big radio that's been next to the dining room doorway for a number of years. But I do use it for CDs and tapes. Since I don't use it as much as I used to, I could move the radio set to another location. It's a big thing, with speakers and it would be nice to have that area free. But where to move it?
I turn this over and over in my mind, but I don't find a good answer and then I go on without making a new place for it. When my thoughts catch fire, I'll overcome this inertia and actually move this equipment to a new location.
I wish that the radio was the only thing I'm wondering about moving. Maybe if I come to some conclusion about other areas, I could easier find a place for the radio. My thoughts circle around like this and inertia exerts itself.
Hard Labor
I built a compost bin today. I have a compost bin which is very much like a tall garbage can. It is very difficult to turn the compost in that bin because it's too tall and too narrow. If I could have something square and open, I could turn it every couple days and maybe even get to use it as soil some time. I discussed this with Carolyn and she gave me advice as to how to do it.
I built up a bit of a wall with bricks at the side of the dog pen. I'm almost finished with this project but it will take a few more days to get it going well.
While I was doing this, Carolyn was putting edging along her stone path. Carolyn is always getting interesting buys at yard sales. She had bought a big box of edging panels for a dollar. First she had to fit each section together into strips and then she had to pound the strips down into the soil at the edge of the stone path. There were places where she hit rocks in the soil and it wasn't an easy project. I was toting bricks and working with the compost stuff and she was edging her long, long path and it was hard labor for both of us. But we love having these projects completed.
New Geraniums
This morning I went to the store before breakfast, --because I've been out of bananas for two days and I really like banana with my Cheerios. I also went into the garden department and picked out three little geraniums. I chose two white ones and one pink one. I've had pink geraniums before, but I don't remember having a white one. I really like the bright red geraniums, but I decided that it would be nice to have a couple that are very different.
I took another of my hanging baskets outside today. Later I'll get it into position on the archway arbor. It's a big, old, red geranium. I should trim it back a lot before I hang it up.
A Stake
Today I pounded a stake into the ground at the edge of my little garden. There was already one stake there, which my husband had pounded in several years ago. Today I wanted to add the second stake and fix a wire grid between them for sweet peas to vine on. If you could have watched me doing this, ---I would have asked you to stop laughing and lend me a helping hand.
I tried standing on a block of wood to give me some height to pound the metal stake with the sledge hammer. The wood block wasn't stable. I dropped the stake. I had to get down, pick up the stake, try again. I couldn't make any headway getting that stake into the ground.
Finally I got the spade and dug a hole and put the metal stake into the hole and packed soil around it again. Then I tried pounding the stake again. At first it didn't seem to drive the stake deeper into the ground. But I persisted. I banged and banged on that stake with that sledge, but actually they were rather gentle taps. I don't have the strength to drive it deeply with just a few strokes. But eventually I had it firmly in place. Then I realized that I didn't have it lined up very well. But by then, I didn't care. It's going to have to work. I will probably have to tie up the sweet peas to train them on this grid, but I think it's going to work.
Garden Party, II
I asked Carolyn if the garden party people had bought a lot of plants from her. She that they had not. They looked and talked but there were few sales. They invited her to join their club, but she declined the invitation. She said she was too busy weeding her flower beds to go to meetings and talk about it.