tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60605715211634719672024-03-13T08:22:50.801-07:00Keeping NotesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-45430388099167662892021-04-13T10:31:00.001-07:002021-04-13T11:46:12.373-07:00Spring Dreams<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YHDwngHbjL0/YHS8Msp1v4I/AAAAAAAAEbE/7FN20AvMnZMRpq_jtc3LOhTSFwLZ0m30ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3147.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YHDwngHbjL0/YHS8Msp1v4I/AAAAAAAAEbE/7FN20AvMnZMRpq_jtc3LOhTSFwLZ0m30ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP3147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yFinsI3mhfw/YHS8L4RjmBI/AAAAAAAAEa8/SJzAje9Q3_cFn9CaBGfnios5clcFdgMuACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3148.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1572" data-original-width="2048" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yFinsI3mhfw/YHS8L4RjmBI/AAAAAAAAEa8/SJzAje9Q3_cFn9CaBGfnios5clcFdgMuACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h492/IMGP3148.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Officially, spring has
been here for weeks and the weather has been erratic. I suppose that’s what spring is. We’ve had glorious days, some nearing eighty,
and then the following days in the fifties.
This week’s temperatures are forecasted to be cooler than normal,
including a couple of chances of frost and one chance of a freeze. But I am beyond anxious to get on with it,
anxious to move plants outside and create some space. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve always loved the
optimism of spring and my gardening dreams.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Yesterday I had my camera out to take a photo for our granddaughter of
the woodpecker who’s been frequenting our birdfeeder.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With so many things in bloom facing the
danger of frost this week, I continued to walk and take photos of what’s
growing now.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s a lot of hope
growing here.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then of course, the
world’s hope is growing too.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While we
are yet to have an entire family gathering, we spent Easter afternoon with one
of our son’s family.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was one of the
glorious weather days here and we were able to sit outside and bask in it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some of us are fully vaccinated, and the
rest, (Paul and I included) are waiting on our second dose.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But as it turned out, we did not remain
untouched.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Five days after returning to
school from spring break, two of our grandchildren tested COVID positive.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We were incredibly lucky; one only had mild
symptoms and the other asymptomatic.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And
no one else contracted it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was walking with my
daughter and her family the other day.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we chatted about things they’ve been up to, I realized just how
different our lives are.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> As a result of the pandemic i</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">t’s become
normal that Paul and I, at the most, only use the car once a week.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But often it can stretch to nearly two.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t help but wonder if we have become
recluses. Also, I wonder how hard will it be to join the world in full
again.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thinking farther, I can honestly
say, we aren’t bored.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We apparently are
pretty good at keeping ourselves occupied.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That being said, I have found much to keep me busy.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gardening dreams, and as always, knitting included.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It would also somewhat embarrasses me to say how
much time I have spent watching the Derek Chauvin murder trial.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s been riveting.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have been drawing and
painting a lot to reach my goal to complete something every week.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve also enjoyed several online art lessons.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m lucky to have a daughter who is a high
school art teacher who can give me much appreciated constructive
criticism.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been posting my efforts
on Instagram and Facebook.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I am currently reading
my fourth Hemingway book, an equal mix of biographies and his works.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hemingway was such a favorite of my dad’s I've always found him interesting but oddly had never read him.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve watched all of the wonderful online PBS
conversations with Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and others, in advance of their PBS
film.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By the time the film aired, I felt
I already had seen a good portion of it from the clips.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But of course, as it turned out, there was so
much more.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can certainly see how he
would have been a hero to my dad growing up; “war hero”, an outdoorsman who
enjoyed hunting and fishing, not to mention his writing.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But the film reveals so much more. I can’t
help wonder what my dad would think. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s
one of the many discussions I wish my dad was still here to share in.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking forward, I know we'll keep busy. But I also hope to acknowledge and take it all one day at a time and fully appreciate
the season.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> And </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope all of your spring hopes
and dreams come true too.</span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-89566805467579494792021-02-02T13:48:00.000-08:002021-02-02T13:48:49.417-08:00Groundhog Day<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLkd6WuYemA/YBmwoFstKoI/AAAAAAAAEV4/0l0G0gMtQykjEzRNidoAPV7YmHe1AKsIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OLkd6WuYemA/YBmwoFstKoI/AAAAAAAAEV4/0l0G0gMtQykjEzRNidoAPV7YmHe1AKsIQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP3061.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wQBG6h1hpKc/YBm0YOukZrI/AAAAAAAAEX8/EqiTwyxxheAA8Z09GttjecjCbOPrnEPpACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wQBG6h1hpKc/YBm0YOukZrI/AAAAAAAAEX8/EqiTwyxxheAA8Z09GttjecjCbOPrnEPpACLcBGAsYHQ/w424-h640/IMGP3045.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fYjiqS73OTA/YBm0jadMRSI/AAAAAAAAEYA/pmJePHTTVkgOp1PquGio4M-Iz1mPwPWsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fYjiqS73OTA/YBm0jadMRSI/AAAAAAAAEYA/pmJePHTTVkgOp1PquGio4M-Iz1mPwPWsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP3028.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IJ9Zn3YWTU/YBm0z95H6EI/AAAAAAAAEYM/5fiC3ayUCewwN6108WcL23M1XqajWlHwwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5IJ9Zn3YWTU/YBm0z95H6EI/AAAAAAAAEYM/5fiC3ayUCewwN6108WcL23M1XqajWlHwwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP3031.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20Z8XWRGK_I/YBm2K2ZpWOI/AAAAAAAAEY8/wONwaGaGNh80YOSBzWg9N0jQW-u-A6iSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20210202_141109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20Z8XWRGK_I/YBm2K2ZpWOI/AAAAAAAAEY8/wONwaGaGNh80YOSBzWg9N0jQW-u-A6iSQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/20210202_141109.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-_lAN3N174/YBm2SpzGWdI/AAAAAAAAEZE/vW8HgA9OVhIcJR7Ta9WhQeP6eBZX24v3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/draw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-_lAN3N174/YBm2SpzGWdI/AAAAAAAAEZE/vW8HgA9OVhIcJR7Ta9WhQeP6eBZX24v3ACLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/draw.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vkhm4cBH0YE/YBm2ae3ViOI/AAAAAAAAEZM/5eNhWVjLl7whBm8gPXU_LLROEooCU1E0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/draw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vkhm4cBH0YE/YBm2ae3ViOI/AAAAAAAAEZM/5eNhWVjLl7whBm8gPXU_LLROEooCU1E0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/draw1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Coo6GuTj4Cc/YBm2hSwj6EI/AAAAAAAAEZQ/RERdGucOwaUuh57Z8ND85T0A95bHVjLUQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/draw%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Coo6GuTj4Cc/YBm2hSwj6EI/AAAAAAAAEZQ/RERdGucOwaUuh57Z8ND85T0A95bHVjLUQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/draw%2B2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gqnzv4vKg8/YBm2rWa2eMI/AAAAAAAAEZY/HQjKTsrtItYfvhQO9YuCZ6dfXG8Uv8SqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2962.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gqnzv4vKg8/YBm2rWa2eMI/AAAAAAAAEZY/HQjKTsrtItYfvhQO9YuCZ6dfXG8Uv8SqwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2962.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EJuIrxbLPrE/YBm229mIibI/AAAAAAAAEZg/bMtJ4C3r6J4T25gTCTf3riP3RNrgBwvcACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP3030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1417" data-original-width="2048" height="442" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EJuIrxbLPrE/YBm229mIibI/AAAAAAAAEZg/bMtJ4C3r6J4T25gTCTf3riP3RNrgBwvcACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h442/IMGP3030.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yGcFEoGXuk/YBm3QuFLqqI/AAAAAAAAEZs/rMjxQDJy7z4FWfKUC5VSWtvm9SLZ5EavwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--yGcFEoGXuk/YBm3QuFLqqI/AAAAAAAAEZs/rMjxQDJy7z4FWfKUC5VSWtvm9SLZ5EavwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h456/IMGP2984.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The fact that today is Groundhog
Day seems a bit redundant in the age of Covid 19. Sure,
one of the symptoms of retirement is sometimes not being completely sure of
what day of the week it is when you first wake up. But mix retirement with
winter and then throw in a pandemic and often most days can seem like Groundhog
Day. And while much of the days are
routine, recently I made a conscious decision to make a daily effort to do the
things that make me happy, breaking up what could turn into a depressing monotony.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Taking photos, working in
the greenhouse, daily walks, reading, and writing, drawing and knitting all
make a difference.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, due to Covid,
online lectures, seminars and workshops are abundant.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I attended several in January and have at
least one, sometimes more on the calendar for every week in February.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I admit, in normal times I wouldn’t have made
the drive to these events.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But now that
they are on-line I am taking full advantage.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Currently I’m reading and
enjoying </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Wintering, The Power of Rest and
Retreat in Difficult Times</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, by Katherine May.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m also reading </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">A Man Called Ove</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> , by Fredrik Backman, for the library book club.
I’m only 57 pages in and haven’t made up my mind if I like it or not.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The jury is definitely still out. In January
I read </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">The Silence</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, by Susan Allott
and </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Jackie and Maria</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> by Gill Paul,
(which then in turn had me adding Jackie Kennedy biographies to my “to read”
list).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m next up on the hold list at
the library for </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Caste, The Origins of Our
Discontents, </i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">by Isabel Wilkerson, who will be giving a zoom talk at the
library this month.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve been trying to draw a
little bit everyday.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My grandson and I
decided to have a drawing exchange. He picked the subject; Patrick Mahomes,
quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m currently working on a drawing of my unmade bed.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My search for drawing subjects has led me to
taking more photos.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m hoping practice
will pay off in both drawing and photography.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the knitting front, I
decided it was high time that I taught myself to knit mittens.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I made a pair for my daughter’s birthday and
I’m currently working on a pair for me.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> W</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">hen my other daughter saw what I was working on she also requested
a pair.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not completely happy with
them.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong
but they are not quite turning out how I would like them to.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that’s it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">January 2021 is in the books.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In these weird and let’s face it, frightening
times, finding little sources of comfort helps me stay a little more sane.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think that may be my playbook for 2021.</span></span></p></div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-17590163706169847422021-01-10T16:28:00.000-08:002021-01-10T16:28:16.927-08:00Where is the path?<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the past few days I
have read so many well written articles with opinions on what happened
Wednesday, all written by much smarter people than myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still, I can’t remain silent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before Trump, I was never
political.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I voted; that’s it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But in January of 2016 I attended my first
local Democratic meeting, just a few days after Trump’s inauguration. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A year later I was the county chair.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s a reason I didn’t post much about
where I was spending a great deal of my time.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was afraid of confrontation.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The very same reason I’ve been afraid to put Democratic stickers on my
car. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why advertise a reason for my car
to be keyed?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">During the last four years
I’ve dealt with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians, as well
as folks who refuse to vote because they don’t believe their voice
matters.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The biggest lesson I’ve come
away with, I have never been able to discuss issues with a Trump supporter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s not like we didn’t
know who Donald Trump was.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There was
plenty of evidence before Election Day in 2016.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And still, people supported this man that only stood for policies that
would, and eventually did make all of our lives worse.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">People voted for him because they believed
his lies, most never realizing when he spoke of losers, we the general public
were included.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Donald Trump was never about making </span><st1:country-region style="font-family: Calibri;" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> great,
he was about making Donald Trump great.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meanwhile our elected
officials, federal and state, who are so afraid of losing a vote, say and do
nothing.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In dealings with elected
officials in my own state, what they say depends only on who they are speaking
to.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“All politics are local” can indeed
be a scary statement.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The only goal is
to hold on to the seat, failing to put the good of the people before the good
of themselves.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So now, here we are.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How do we recover, move forward?</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">More than once I have wondered if I was part
of the problem.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I admit my social media
feeds have been cleaned out over the past four years.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have eliminated friends and family members.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I can’t continue to listen when the things
they say have been proven to be false time and time again.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I’ve heard all the excuses other people
have made for those I have eliminated. “They can’t help it”, “It’s how they
were raised” or “they’re just stuck in their ways”.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To me that’s unacceptable.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From the virus, to racism or the climate,
it’s a morality issue.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You are
responsible for yourself, to learn and grow, to care about your neighbor, to be
tolerant, to be a decent human being.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Because
you are wrong, do I have to make myself half wrong so we can meet in the
middle?</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m ashamed of what my
grandchildren have witnessed these past four years, of the legacy they are
inheriting.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Make no mistake, I’m tired.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m angry.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But I am going to keep fighting.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-31088183635121382982020-12-28T14:12:00.002-08:002020-12-28T14:12:36.508-08:00Holiday Intermission<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_fM4qq94hI/X-pVkxHKu3I/AAAAAAAAEUI/IBxJg5OsuV4hqt664QjrHJpYmrsoABfRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C_fM4qq94hI/X-pVkxHKu3I/AAAAAAAAEUI/IBxJg5OsuV4hqt664QjrHJpYmrsoABfRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/20201224_142409.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0FFQPIyEQs/X-pVtoUmsoI/AAAAAAAAEUM/kwFr73LTLFEqpDO6cImMa4bdYeZy7ulVQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_141832_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1693" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0FFQPIyEQs/X-pVtoUmsoI/AAAAAAAAEUM/kwFr73LTLFEqpDO6cImMa4bdYeZy7ulVQCLcBGAsYHQ/w530-h640/20201224_141832_edited-1.jpg" width="530" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rleP5f2a0hc/X-pV5OnYPxI/AAAAAAAAEUY/g0hL2nSqMyEvTZM7toC1wQTT88OzBEg9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1863" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rleP5f2a0hc/X-pV5OnYPxI/AAAAAAAAEUY/g0hL2nSqMyEvTZM7toC1wQTT88OzBEg9QCLcBGAsYHQ/w582-h640/20201224_142042.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EajJ73sHT10/X-pV5CNI3yI/AAAAAAAAEUc/UuRPDP7ow54JasHeFmZD1btyzWJ1soeGgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="2048" height="408" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EajJ73sHT10/X-pV5CNI3yI/AAAAAAAAEUc/UuRPDP7ow54JasHeFmZD1btyzWJ1soeGgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h408/20201224_142108.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_QD1L_6LmGQ/X-pV4_p5oNI/AAAAAAAAEUU/CA8xr6tzlToEifoUF2urLNSBhxZfcOjKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1395" data-original-width="2048" height="436" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_QD1L_6LmGQ/X-pV4_p5oNI/AAAAAAAAEUU/CA8xr6tzlToEifoUF2urLNSBhxZfcOjKgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h436/20201224_142141.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXvkj06qMpg/X-pV5lHAyQI/AAAAAAAAEUg/isfPZzrSuEUhoyps7HLJTIoRO10d-XTcQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1252" data-original-width="2048" height="392" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXvkj06qMpg/X-pV5lHAyQI/AAAAAAAAEUg/isfPZzrSuEUhoyps7HLJTIoRO10d-XTcQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h392/20201224_142201.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6yQHiqEudI/X-pV59pOIXI/AAAAAAAAEUk/Wp6ctqNPBZ8TMnEgtK0RP02nvCoJokTRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1220" data-original-width="2048" height="382" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o6yQHiqEudI/X-pV59pOIXI/AAAAAAAAEUk/Wp6ctqNPBZ8TMnEgtK0RP02nvCoJokTRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h382/20201224_142213.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VxxivzXSbLE/X-pV6EKGzoI/AAAAAAAAEUo/jEwIJg5JR8Q_fJCFVjRzEgqHN80bMlRCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="2048" height="388" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VxxivzXSbLE/X-pV6EKGzoI/AAAAAAAAEUo/jEwIJg5JR8Q_fJCFVjRzEgqHN80bMlRCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h388/20201224_142231.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izPHjcNTwG8/X-pV6Wuc57I/AAAAAAAAEUs/hT0tquNEuAs3xPS3JNX3dS5CYwnmFJIvACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-izPHjcNTwG8/X-pV6Wuc57I/AAAAAAAAEUs/hT0tquNEuAs3xPS3JNX3dS5CYwnmFJIvACLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/20201224_142248.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wSOYbTgzew/X-pWGfcQ80I/AAAAAAAAEU8/JoAq2cabxBQTPI6v3gwxr2hYpj7EnAlZACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201224_142519.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1963" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wSOYbTgzew/X-pWGfcQ80I/AAAAAAAAEU8/JoAq2cabxBQTPI6v3gwxr2hYpj7EnAlZACLcBGAsYHQ/w614-h640/20201224_142519.jpg" width="614" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HTxpphRdr8/X-pWFbyFSmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/8guAr-gFB18gIflqxu7TLQv7rrvhos1XQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201226_083338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="2048" height="374" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3HTxpphRdr8/X-pWFbyFSmI/AAAAAAAAEU0/8guAr-gFB18gIflqxu7TLQv7rrvhos1XQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h374/20201226_083338.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--q7AtUUMV0o/X-pWFTg-U3I/AAAAAAAAEUw/F8jQxFi3VSsduS3onVUJwx-h1SFZH8_BwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1638/20201226_083623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1638" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--q7AtUUMV0o/X-pWFTg-U3I/AAAAAAAAEUw/F8jQxFi3VSsduS3onVUJwx-h1SFZH8_BwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h340/20201226_083623.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dg1JSymGsJo/X-pWF0wD0bI/AAAAAAAAEU4/IPTQ05ZdFeY8W1H6UcRyoDyJ6bTr8rtYQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1805/20201226_195901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="1805" height="326" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dg1JSymGsJo/X-pWF0wD0bI/AAAAAAAAEU4/IPTQ05ZdFeY8W1H6UcRyoDyJ6bTr8rtYQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h326/20201226_195901.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I do believe the week
between Christmas and New Year’s is my favorite week of the year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However things turned out, Christmas day is
over and it’s intermission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time to
slow down and take a deep breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me
the rush to finish everything by Christmas always comes down to the wire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even this year, when I had an extra day, I
was working up to the moment things were packed into the car for delivery.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just like Thanksgiving,
our family did not gather for Christmas.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Usually our children and their children, (twenty of us now!) have dinner
and gifts on Christmas Eve.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year
our younger son created a Zoom 2020 trivia game for us, with questions for
every age group. Then on Christmas day, wearing masks, we made driveway
deliveries of presents and food.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This year’s handmade gifts
were a quilt for our newest grandchild; the second youngest grandchild received
her first birthday book, and a knitted bonnet.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her sister has a matching one I’m just finishing.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And for the grownups, a pair of knitted
slipper socks, 8 pairs total!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I once asked my oldest
son if a hat he was wearing was one that I had knitted.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He replied yes, and that he had a drawer full
of them.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I decided to start working
on the other end and knit socks.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That
same son liked his socks so much I’m knitting him another pair for his birthday on
the 8</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So that’s it; a lot of
work but not a lot of hoopla this year.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of our daughter-in-laws receives her first round of the vaccine
today.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here’s hoping to the beginning of
the end and better days to come, one when all twenty of us and can be together again</span>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-32038431175601645142020-12-01T16:17:00.000-08:002020-12-01T16:17:18.063-08:00Imagination versus reality<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTz7VbnXNSk/X8bGl6SfNQI/AAAAAAAAERs/3BRtfMt8o2golE8jXWAHmFTOLvCFQesqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201201_162416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lTz7VbnXNSk/X8bGl6SfNQI/AAAAAAAAERs/3BRtfMt8o2golE8jXWAHmFTOLvCFQesqwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/20201201_162416.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dr0tl_lYliE/X8bGyZyt1DI/AAAAAAAAERw/sibiQrI7ibIfeUB9G6m7_7zYakpMjvbLACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201201_154059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UMVdPoGXWPg/X8alvnZveeI/AAAAAAAAERM/BkRZEHoOuwU1IgKF5doaYBaWHu2z6cCCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_53561.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WcfvRXO0ARQ/X8bFoqvoNgI/AAAAAAAAERc/Rz_qp54B0o0zDtGh6XsKZj-TWOhSl1f9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201201_090412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1300" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WcfvRXO0ARQ/X8bFoqvoNgI/AAAAAAAAERc/Rz_qp54B0o0zDtGh6XsKZj-TWOhSl1f9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w406-h640/20201201_090412.jpg" width="406" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XoA49rb46s4/X8bF26ZQ6rI/AAAAAAAAERg/h9yMLVu3oYQuN9nJ7BWuZJyc4UvFC2HJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201130_172858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1811" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XoA49rb46s4/X8bF26ZQ6rI/AAAAAAAAERg/h9yMLVu3oYQuN9nJ7BWuZJyc4UvFC2HJwCLcBGAsYHQ/w566-h640/20201130_172858.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How was your
Thanksgiving?</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We made the decision as a
family not to gather.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have to admit, I
was dreading it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In an effort to make it
seem a little more normal, I committed to making pans of stuffing, apple crisp
and pumpkin bread to drop off at three of our kids’ homes.</span></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So I still rose early and
started cooking, still with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on in the
background.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The funny thing was, I
didn’t count on how much more cooking that actually worked out to be.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, had I not been cooking that morning, it
would have made the day so much worse.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
then loaded up the car and headed out, making short driveway visits to hand out
our food gifts.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And the kids were very
grateful, which made it all worth it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We
took the long, scenic route home. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
weather was gorgeous.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Later we sat down
to a candlelit dinner for two.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It later
occurred to me that in 41 years of marriage we’ve never had a Thanksgiving
dinner just for the two of us.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Friday I stuck with my
tradition of putting up a tree.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m not
going to lie; the thought of going out to buy a tree freaked me out a bit.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But as luck would have it, a week before
Thanksgiving I noticed they had live potted Christmas trees out in front of our
local Walmart.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was picking up my
grocery order at 7:00 am.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At that hour
there are no crowds.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was the perfect
solution.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And now, after the holidays, we will have a
living memory of 2020.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I hope it
survives!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of our daughters was
married on Black Friday six years ago.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Their anniversary was on Saturday.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As it turned out, their family was exposed to Covid 19 two weeks before
Thanksgiving so they were under quarantine up until Thanksgiving Day.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Since that was the case, we kept their girls
overnight Saturday night so they could have a romantic dinner at home, without
the girls.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The next day she brought us a
gingerbread house to build; another tradition saved.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A little over a week ago I
had my turn at a Covid birthday.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Paul
and I made the best of it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My kids all
Portalled, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">(it’s a verb now right?)</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They all sent me fantastic presents too.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I now own Steve Martin and Harry Bliss’s new
book, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">A Wealth of Pigeons, </i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and Barack
Obama’s new book, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">A Promised Land, </i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">an
RBG action figure to add to my collection of political action figures, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">some fantastic new drawing pencils, and a Lego
Architecture set of London to honor my trip there and my love of most all
things British. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They know me pretty
well.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And then I had notification that I
won the library's November adult reading program; a copy of Ina Garten’s new cookbook, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Modern
Comfort Food</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I had just returned the copy I
had checked out!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">November has always been
my favorite month, as it contains both my birthday and my favorite
holiday.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But this year, at times I had
imagined that ignoring it might be the best way to get through it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In reality, I’m so glad I didn’t.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That’s not to say I’m not concerned about how
we are going to face December.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But maybe the lesson here is to face it head
on.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We can’t change what is out of our
control.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We just have to do our best to
live through the reality of what the circumstances hand us.</span></p><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-23008819585892022122020-11-09T14:50:00.001-08:002020-11-11T05:50:25.258-08:00November Yarn Along<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3bLJNmIeYs/X6m38U8TaPI/AAAAAAAAELE/rueIFn__X00IKws9XlAU5hjWHbuUVD4wgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2874.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="2048" height="446" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y3bLJNmIeYs/X6m38U8TaPI/AAAAAAAAELE/rueIFn__X00IKws9XlAU5hjWHbuUVD4wgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h446/IMGP2874.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbOiI7UiZic/X6m3_nDJa_I/AAAAAAAAELM/ockOIqaKV88jEQaR00QpxnDfn-8j3-HDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/IMG_48011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbOiI7UiZic/X6m3_nDJa_I/AAAAAAAAELM/ockOIqaKV88jEQaR00QpxnDfn-8j3-HDQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/IMG_48011.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="201" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IbAtnFu7YXk/X6m5KuPrPmI/AAAAAAAAEMs/1VuBc8vgBMQZOHsEwkI3dx_0YcFzzJZ-ACLcBGAsYHQ/s0/download.webp" /></a></div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HU01tS08S4o/X6m5MNsXlDI/AAAAAAAAEMw/8399V2NxE9813P3KMFUK_dzuyu4ui_-2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/A1MJ4CJOigL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1357" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HU01tS08S4o/X6m5MNsXlDI/AAAAAAAAEMw/8399V2NxE9813P3KMFUK_dzuyu4ui_-2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/A1MJ4CJOigL.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1gH2Cx8PosQ/X6m5OxcoTII/AAAAAAAAEM0/pktjogGE2zc8ev1oSTCJZDkwX3cM2ph5wCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2877.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1gH2Cx8PosQ/X6m5OxcoTII/AAAAAAAAEM0/pktjogGE2zc8ev1oSTCJZDkwX3cM2ph5wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2877.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span>We've finally had some
sweater weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve now had several
ch</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ances to wear the sweater I finished knitting in June.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I knit it during the shutdown; finishing it
up just before the election work ramped up.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And that last week before
the election was a doozy!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">There were
calls and text messages reminding voters to follow through with their vote, a
couple of socially distanced rallies, and a campaign finance report due to
the state.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then there was granddaughter
number 4’s fifth birthday.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She so sweetly
asked me to sew a blouse and a dress for her birthday presents that I just
couldn’t refuse.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We also had a fantastic
Halloween party for the cousins who distance learn, complete with a Covid 19
virus piñata and a Baby Ruth.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For so long I looked forward
to November 3</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: Calibri;">; imaging what the days would be like once the
election was over.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though we were
warned about how long the results would take I don’t think I ever considered
the amount of anxiety it would cause.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">On
Friday night after the election, we had a long-promised cousin sleepover at my
daughter’s house. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That next morning we
finally learned the results.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And even
once the results were announced I think it took another 24 hours for it all to
sink in.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span>Now those days I dreamt
about are here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the weekend I
finally got to some fall gardening, putting flower beds right, planting bulbs
and planting in the greenhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
oldest granddaughter, (she’s 12) actually volunteered to come and help me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to my surprise, she was a huge help.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have officially started
the Christmas knitting, so I can’t write much about the knitting projects.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Currently I am reading </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, because of that 12
year-old granddaughter. She is currently reading the 5th book and a definite Harry Potter super fan.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am also
listening to </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">The Witch Elm</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, by Tana
French.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And my number finally came up on
the wait list at the library for Ina Garten’s new cookbook, </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Modern Comfort Food.</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Perfect timing!!</span></span></p><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-31757210520640866172020-10-12T11:46:00.002-07:002020-11-11T05:49:12.080-08:00Recognizing Gifts and October Yarn Along<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tz0Y9ejd9cc/X4R_mTREGQI/AAAAAAAAEJo/MtkgiULZVaY0aF5zKEayJAT0VwjQQWW9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2773.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tz0Y9ejd9cc/X4R_mTREGQI/AAAAAAAAEJo/MtkgiULZVaY0aF5zKEayJAT0VwjQQWW9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2773.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KNqiD9dSLy4/X4SC3l2ljjI/AAAAAAAAEKg/AJwjwEE2N08XXRAHFMs5hkZmSeGZhhL9ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201009_115038.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="595" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KNqiD9dSLy4/X4SC3l2ljjI/AAAAAAAAEKg/AJwjwEE2N08XXRAHFMs5hkZmSeGZhhL9ACLcBGAsYHQ/w446-h595/20201009_115038.jpg" width="446" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ipXE1ROVlo0/X4R-QxEtrOI/AAAAAAAAEJQ/Ns4-_jJrEskhj7-UjmUtr1o6Q6kuOqMkgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2805.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="2048" height="492" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ipXE1ROVlo0/X4R-QxEtrOI/AAAAAAAAEJQ/Ns4-_jJrEskhj7-UjmUtr1o6Q6kuOqMkgCLcBGAsYHQ/w630-h492/IMGP2805.jpg" width="630" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pgOjZFRseQM/X4SCZbi4k6I/AAAAAAAAEKQ/XyFYeggdvVUgEaFTGWfS8PHnulzrMY8YQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20201009_111506.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1922" data-original-width="2048" height="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pgOjZFRseQM/X4SCZbi4k6I/AAAAAAAAEKQ/XyFYeggdvVUgEaFTGWfS8PHnulzrMY8YQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h600/20201009_111506.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"><span>I
received a wonderful gift this weekend.
Instead of politics, campaigns, and endless emails, and because it was
our daughter and son-in-law’s anniversary, we had a sleepover. Until then, I didn’t realize just how much I
needed one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">Instead
of the news, I watched </span><i style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">Casper the
Friendly Ghost</i><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">, and </span><i style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">Peter Rabbit. </i><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">played board games.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I took long
walks to visit the neighbors, no matter their politics. I collected leaves,
flowers, and found sticks to serve as magic brooms.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I
played Ghost Busters, when each falling leaf was an encroaching ghost and we
even needed to defend our headquarters and stop a ghost invasion.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I read Halloween books when I kid you not,
hand to God, a fox trotted across the yard just a few feet in front of where we
were sitting outside the playhouse/headquarters; showing up one page earlier
then in the story we were reading!</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">At
a time when we, as a county party, are busy replacing Biden and Bollier signs
because the first ones have been either stolen, vandalized, or even wrongly
removed by the state’s department of transportation, it was
wonderful to live in the world of children again. Just today I pulled the Biden and
Bollier yard signs from our own yard to replace the two highway signs stolen on Friday
night.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">Until social media and working as
the county party chair, I had no idea what division and nastiness resided in
this county. </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I’m
looking forward to November when after the election Paul and I will be stepping
down as chairs of the party.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">And no
matter who wins, I intend to go into seclusion.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">
</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">In life before Covid 19, I would have wrapped myself in the warmth and
comfort of family.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">It breaks my heart
that we have not been able to be together as a whole family group since it
began.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I suppose we will see what the
fall and winter will bring.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">But in my
heart of hearts I know it won’t be possible.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">But
I will find other things to bring me joy, and possibly frustration.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">This fall we installed a greenhouse.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">I am sure I will spend many hours learning
through trial and error.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> T</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">here will be time again for drawing and painting.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">While I did start knitting a sweater in August I’ve
really not made any progress on it.</span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">So
I’ve settled for knitting leaves; because unless I’m knitting while sitting on
the sofa, I’m sleeping on the sofa.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"><span>I
am making time for books. I just started
<i>Elizabeth is Missing</i>, by Emma Healey,
to prepare for the upcoming Masterpiece series.
I read the kids <i>The Widow’s Broom</i>,
by Chris Van Allsburg. I’d forgotten how
wonderful it was. And we were reading <i>The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly
Stupid Tales</i>, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, when the fox trotted by; both of
them leftover from when our kids were young.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"><span>So, as Rowen said to Jools yesterday, "Is there room on the broom for a girl like me?"</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT";"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-29832468308767686122020-09-15T00:56:00.000-07:002020-09-15T00:56:47.127-07:00Next Generation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2xE1yebV-Q/X2Bm6jODJ5I/AAAAAAAAED0/BkNQx1bbq2gJkMqKm4qFRh15tGTKhRIcwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2xE1yebV-Q/X2Bm6jODJ5I/AAAAAAAAED0/BkNQx1bbq2gJkMqKm4qFRh15tGTKhRIcwCLcBGAsYHQ/w424-h640/IMGP2714.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MceZkcPzDU8/X2BmzpoycVI/AAAAAAAAEDs/GuadTgwqpuMUo4bhZM7iPhVp0ZCjDLyeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AgfKfR4-h6w/X2BsP-FMchI/AAAAAAAAEFo/NIFNudhdqNkX51Drez6dW653t1uAFDfuACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2738.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uio2IxoxLy4/X2Bsqwt1_cI/AAAAAAAAEF4/CwIS-IOm8PwKly3hzZUowkGR1qlRoaSGwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2734.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="640" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c8_u1EBkE8A/X2Bsb2JP9NI/AAAAAAAAEFs/0JkuUc3SMEgTtSrf-3luJh075C1pAa0twCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c8_u1EBkE8A/X2Bsb2JP9NI/AAAAAAAAEFs/0JkuUc3SMEgTtSrf-3luJh075C1pAa0twCLcBGAsYHQ/w424-h640/IMGP2740.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8mM3ahcnHA/X2Bsp1NQeNI/AAAAAAAAEF0/PhFvr8fUswoHd37jjesT7fVJFakHDVQ4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/IMGP2752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1356" data-original-width="2048" height="424" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8mM3ahcnHA/X2Bsp1NQeNI/AAAAAAAAEF0/PhFvr8fUswoHd37jjesT7fVJFakHDVQ4gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h424/IMGP2752.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, this summer we were able to work on a long-promised
project.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">This playhouse was originally built for our four children 28
years ago. After they grew it evolved
into part pool house, part shed. Once we
had grandchildren we often talked about cleaning it up and returning it to a
playhouse again. And then a couple of
summers ago we actually got around to putting in new windows and paneling. However, somehow we never
finished it, until this summer. But of
course, this summer was different.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">And now, here we are!</span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span><span style="font-family: arial;">I can’t tell you how happy it makes me seeing children running in and
out of it again.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">I let the two older granddaughters, 9 and 12, help me
paint.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">So there’s a half gallon, (at
least) of paint that needs to be sanded off the floor.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> And maybe we'll build a new porch, or possibly a loft. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">But that’s a project for next spring!</span></span></p><p>
</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-33262063763126831022020-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:002020-07-07T10:09:40.643-07:00Stepping out of my box<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been nearly a year since I've posted here. Maybe there's too much to be said, too private, just too much. Retirement and where we live makes the virus a bit easier to navigate. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With this newfound time, I've found several free courses to take on the internet. I started this one yesterday. This morning I posted my poem from yesterday's lesson in the class community room. Much to my surprise, it was well-received. The lesson, finding awe in everyday moments.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the first glimpse is dark</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the scoop, like sand</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the smell familiar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">memories triggered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the anticipation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it’s our choice not to hurry it</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but sleep is not so far gone</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it threatens to return</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and yet, it’s so much better to wait</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">when allowed to percolate</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the weight of the cup </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the softening of the milk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the warmth of the swallow</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the fog begins to lift and</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">sleep retreats</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're interested you can find the course <a href="https://www.onecommune.com/products/every-day-is-a-poem-with-jacqueline-suskin-free-from-july-6-10" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-87053506014794883082019-08-13T12:33:00.000-07:002019-08-13T12:44:31.026-07:00How I Spent My Summer / August Yarn Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow. Not a single
post here since the beginning of May! I
realize summer isn’t over, but today is the first day of school for three of
our grandchildren. Since my own children were small, the first day of school has always made me a little sad.</div>
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I suppose I could blame my absence on the fact that I am
just now finishing the sweater I was knitting for myself back in May. And other than a knitted, stuffed horse I
knitted for number 7 grandchild’s birthday in June, (and failed to photograph),
I really didn’t knit much until last week.
What a surprise! It was like
spending time with an old friend. I
didn’t realize how much I missed it. </div>
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Grandchild number 8 turns three this week. I knitted her a sweet little sweater, <i><a href="https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/tartelette-knitting-pattern-by-frogginette-knitting-patterns" target="_blank">Tartelette</a>, </i>by Frogginette Knitting, and
a birthday crown. I also made her a
lion, (no pattern) to commemorate our seeing <i>Lion King</i> together. Lisa Chemery has wonderful knitting patterns
for kids. The jumpers I knitted at
Christmas were from a Frogginette pattern as well. (<i><a href="https://www.gsheller.com/2019/08/yarn-along-august-2.html" target="_blank">#yarnalong</a></i>)<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Since my knitting has been slow, I have been spending a lot
of time drawing, trying to practice as often as possible. And I have been reading a lot, mostly the
summer’s best sellers: <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Where-Crawdads-Sing-Delia-Owens-ebook/dp/B078GD3DRG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=where+the+crawdads+sing&qid=1565724027&s=gateway&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Where the Crawdads Sing</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Guest-Book-Novel-Sarah-Blake-ebook/dp/B07HF382WK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+guest+book&qid=1565724079&s=gateway&sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Guest Book</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dreamers-Novel-Karen-Thompson-Walker-ebook/dp/B07CKFXDDN/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dreamers&qid=1565724128&s=gateway&sr=8-2" target="_blank">The Dreamers</a>, </i>and I just started <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Lake-Novel-Laura-Lippman-ebook/dp/B079L5T84M/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=lady+in+the+lake&qid=1565724198&s=gateway&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Lady in the Lake</a>.
</i>But my reading list just became huge because I came across the book
and website <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/000-Books-Read-Before-Life-Changing/dp/1523504455/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GTXBSEIM5PMG&keywords=1%2C000+books+to+read+before+you+die&qid=1565724256&s=gateway&sprefix=1%2C000+books+to+read+before+%2Caps%2C1318&sr=8-1" target="_blank">1,000 Books to Read BeforeYou Die, a Life-changing List</a>. </i>And
it is!! It has made my head spin with
happiness not to have to wonder what to read next.</div>
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We’ve been continuing our work with our local Democratic
Party which gives me hope. We had our
weekly brunches and lots of playdates with grandchildren. And in late July our ninth grandchild was
born! Our hearts are full.</div>
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I hope your summer has made you happy. I will do my best to cherish these last few
weeks.</div>
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<i>P.S.</i> Check out this short little video for a wonderful feel-good moment. It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. <a href="https://vimeo.com/259818647">https://vimeo.com/259818647</a> </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-469514577915053382019-05-07T12:48:00.000-07:002019-05-07T12:48:27.108-07:00Fun Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Now that the neighbor has 5 baby goats on his farm it's the first thing the grandchildren want to do when they come for a visit. Along the way, we collected flowers so we could make a crown for Frida and fairies out of the paper dolls. I saw the idea on mer mag <a href="http://mermagblog.com/make-and-decorate-your-own-nature-paper-dolls/" target="_blank">here</a>. Sophie only wanted to pick dandelion seeds. Luckily mom and grandma had an eye out for other colorful flowers along the way. Even wilted the next day they were still beautiful.<br />
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When my children were little I was constantly making playdough but I haven't done it in years. I recently found I needed some and searched the internet for a recipe. I will never buy playdough again! <a href="https://www.thesweetersideofmommyhood.com/blog/general/2019/04/soft-homemade-playdough-recipe/" target="_blank">This</a> recipe is made with coconut oil which makes it incredibly soft. And even better, it's colored with markers. We used Crayola washable markers. It was so easy!<br />
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And of course, it's always fun when the fish swim up to see what we're up to!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-39910692499783244782019-05-03T13:56:00.000-07:002019-05-03T13:56:48.457-07:00Spring: May Yarn Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I missed both March and April Yarn Alongs, but that doesn’t
mean I haven’t been knitting or reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I finished the Ten Stitch blanket I was making for our oldest
grandchild’s birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took all of
March and most of April to accomplish it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In truth, she received it a week late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I also included here a picture of one of our granddaughters wearing her
jumper to the St. Patrick’s Day parade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I knitted three of those for Christmas for the three youngest
granddaughters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I’m working on a
sweater for myself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last photo of
knitting on the needles is the progress I’ve made in a little over a week.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Age of Light</i>, a fictional story of Lee Miller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not know who Miller was until one day I
heard the author interviewed on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Here and
Now </i>on NPR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listening to the author
speak about Miller’s life intrigued me so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Age of Light </i>is mostly
about her life before WWII in Paris when she was learning to be a photographer
living with Man Ray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During her life, she
continued to reinvent herself and succeeded in three different careers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now that I’ve
finished this book I intend to read a biography of her.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently, I’m reading <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
Journal of Solitude </i>by May Sarton, published in 1973.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love reading journals, bits, and pieces of
someone’s everyday life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve kept a
journal on and off since I was a child and consistently as an adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I mention the copyright date is
that she wrote it during the Nixon years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m nearly halfway through and she hasn’t written a lot about politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when she has, the comparisons to today
are jarring and unsettling and the realization that we have not come very far
or made things better is sad to come to terms with.</div>
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Right now there’s an abundance of great things I’m watching,
from PBS Sunday evening shows to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game of
Thrones</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank goodness for
DVRs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also from the library, I’m watching
the series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genius: Picasso</i> by
National Geographic. Watching this following reading about Lee Miller has made
me wish I could time travel to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city>’s
golden age of Picasso, Miller, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In between knitting and reading I made a couple of bunnies from cut magazine pages and eight bandana bunnies
for the grandchildren’s Easter baskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This year we hosted an egg hunt and Easter dinner for 15 adults and 8 grandchildren.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had so much fun, especially the
granddaughters who found a large toad in the fish pond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so sweet watching them in their Easter
clothes, totally over the moon, playing with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s also a sweet tinge of nostalgia
watching our grandchildren hunt eggs in the same place our children did, or
climb the same trees.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each year since our oldest grandchild was a week old we take
a photo of the grandchildren with the same large stuffed bunny that our
children had growing up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a wonderful
tradition and I treasure looking at those photos from over the years and seeing how they've changed.</div>
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Before I had grandchildren I read an article about a couple who hosted a "camp" during the summer for their grandchildren. I loved the idea. So I made a goal, starting during spring break and just finishing this last weekend to host several cousin sleepovers. Over the weekend the two middle granddaughters made a fairy house in a dead tree on the edge of our forest. They were thrilled to go out the next morning to see if they could see any signs of fairy life. We had such a wonderful time hosting these cousin sleepovers we intend to do it again over the summer.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
So spring is here in all its glory, flowers and rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within the last few days, our river has
exceeded its banks and flooded the valley farmland. But on the lovely side, every
few days something new is blooming and I’m taking cuttings to bring inside, attempting to draw a few.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve been worried because this year we’ve
noticed a severe decline in honey bees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Usually, the apple and cherry trees are humming with activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve yet to see a single honey bee but my husband
has reported that he has seen a few.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
we do have cherries on the trees. I did see a hummingbird moth pollinating the
lilac bush this week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I didn’t know
is the hummingbird moth begins its life as the dreaded tomato hornworm!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh how I hate them!</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-50926951713281903312019-04-16T10:55:00.000-07:002019-04-16T10:55:01.813-07:00A Passing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3MpMNX6YUk/XLYVnrZ7HnI/AAAAAAAAD5U/av-QuGC8fiQgQHsjg2ZzvjY63nFacDd5ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMGP9480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I3MpMNX6YUk/XLYVnrZ7HnI/AAAAAAAAD5U/av-QuGC8fiQgQHsjg2ZzvjY63nFacDd5ACLcBGAs/s640/IMGP9480.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve written about where I
live several times before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we moved
here 34 years ago we were two city kids with three children under five, soon to
have another on the way, and knew pretty much nothing about rural life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One thing we learned right
away, you’re considered a neighbor even when you live several miles away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first neighbors we met lived in three
households, elderly parents in one home and their two adult sons and their
son’s families in two other homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now 34 years later, today
we learned the last son passed away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
so today I can’t help but think of all that family meant to my family through
the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mrs. Finch, a surrogate
grandmother to my children, spending hours with them playing games and telling
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From her, my children learned
the history of their home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then her
grandchildren, while all older than mine, were kind to also be playmates to my
children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This extended family was
something we aspired to be one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We dreamt
how one day it would be our family growing and spreading out across the area,
remaining neighbors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, that
didn’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of our children chose
to move to the city to raise their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I look out at this
beautiful place where I live and I know that much how the places we’ve lived
become a part of us, in that same way I’m sure this place remembers all those who
lived, grew, loved and moved on from this place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And not only are we sad today but so is this
place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-12452984985043417612019-02-15T17:04:00.000-08:002019-02-15T18:17:02.915-08:00February Yarn Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This morning as big fluffy flakes from another snow storm were falling I made the comment that we’re having an overactive winter. But Paul made the very valid point, no, we’re finally having what used to be a normal winter. Those first two pictures are from the ice storm we had last week. Thankfully this time we did not lose power. All that white on the deck is not snow but tiny ice pellets. Between the ice storm last week and the current snow today when temps fluctuate between zero and the high teens we've had temps above freezing and then some thawing, better known as mud season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">There were a few days it cracked forty and on those days I was able to get out and have some proper walks, some with my camera, and check in on the two little baby lambs across the street. Otherwise, it’s been indoor exercise, (yoga). My daughter bought me a yoga wheel for Christmas, which truthfully has been a wonderful surprise. She also had been trying to get me to read about red light therapy and I’m so happy I did. I’ve been lying under it with it shining on my face and neck for twelve minutes a day. I don’t know if it will do anything for my wrinkles, but it does a lot for my state of mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Getting into the spirit for Valentines Day I put up a few lights on the mantel and then I made a Scandinavian heart garland for the kitchen doorway. I used some scraps of felted wool sweaters I had left in my scrap box to make the hearts. Other indoor activities, I put together a puzzle I got for my birthday in November. <i>Women’s March, </i>a 500 piece round puzzle that came with a little apology note, they left out two letters of the word “Individually”. It might have been a little frustrating had I tried to put it together not knowing the word was misspelled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’m continuing with my effort to keep up my attempts at art. I bought some Paperwhites to pot up in a dish of gravel hoping to bring a little early spring into the house. Before I planted them I laid them out on a notebook page and took a picture so I could draw them later. The second drawing is done in pastels, which I hadn’t used since high school. I had forgotten how much fun they are to use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Yesterday, Valentine’s Day, started out warm. My son, granddaughters and I delivered much appreciated handmade Valentine’s and Meals on Wheels without jackets. When Paul and I took off for our day it was in the 60’s. We took about an hour’s drive to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Melvern</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Lake</st1:placetype></st1:place>. We had read reports of eagle sightings in the area. When we arrived we found large amounts of gulls walking on the ice. They, along with the broken ice, were gorgeous and we got out so I could take some pictures. We were shocked it had already dropped 20 degrees, and the temperature continued to drop. We never saw any eagles, but we did see eight blue herons staying close together. And I didn’t get out of the car to take any more pictures. By the time we headed home the temperature had dropped a total of 40 degrees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’m still knitting the infinity scarf with my yarn from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peru</st1:place></st1:country-region>, just now starting the second charted section. But I also started a ten stitch blanket for my granddaughter’s birthday next month. It’s a simple fun pattern that I’m making out of the Lion Brand Mandala cakes. She really likes the yarn and asked for me to make her something with it. But it’s a 3, light, which has me wondering if it will be heavy enough. I’m considering starting again in another yarn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’m currently reading <i>Winter Hours</i> by Mary Oliver. But I’m also finding out now that I’m not rushing out the door I can lose entire mornings on the internet researching. Here is a<b> <i><a href="https://www.brainpickings.org/2015/02/09/mary-oliver-blue-horses-fourth-sign-of-the-zodiac/" target="_blank">link</a></i> </b>for an article and a podcast interview with Mary Oliver, who sadly just passed away the end of January. And for another thoroughly enjoyable hour, I also found <b><i><a href="https://soundcloud.com/onbeing/unedited-maira-kalman-with-krista-tippett-jan2019" target="_blank">this</a></i></b> podcast with Maira Kalman reminding me of her book <i>The Principles of Uncertainty </i>which I’m now reading again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’ve included three other internet links below that I found enjoyable, moving and thought-provoking. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Enjoyable: <a href="http://www.dinneralovestory.com/my-mom-was-a-fast-food-cook/">http://www.dinneralovestory.com/my-mom-was-a-fast-food-cook/</a></div>
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Moving: <a href="https://cupofjo.com/2019/02/julie-yip-williams-letter-to-her-daughters/">https://cupofjo.com/2019/02/julie-yip-williams-letter-to-her-daughters/</a></div>
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Thought-provoking: <a href="https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/jakarta-january?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Poem-a-Day%20%20February%2011%202019&utm_content=Poem-a-Day%20%20February%2011%202019+CID_884909d4d25979de6aeb1951a596f890&utm_source=Email%20from%20Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Jakarta%20January">https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/jakarta-january?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Poem-a-Day%20%20February%2011%202019&utm_content=Poem-a-Day%20%20February%2011%202019+CID_884909d4d25979de6aeb1951a596f890&utm_source=Email%20from%20Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=Jakarta%20January</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-64960655122520027952019-01-31T06:13:00.000-08:002019-01-31T06:13:14.792-08:00January Yarn Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our son and daughter-in-law traveled to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Peru</st1:country-region></st1:place> in September. As a gift for helping to take care of their children, my son brought me back two balls of alpaca yarn, bought from the woman in the photo above. He told me it was difficult to make her understand he wanted to buy just some of the yarn in her basket, not one of her blankets, sweaters or hats. I imagine it was an unusual request. But he succeeded and came away with it. He gave it to me with the stipulation I had to make it into something for myself. So I saved it till after the holidays to do just that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wanted to find a pattern that would be something like what it would have been made into had the woman in the market worked it. I decided to make an infinity scarf, knitted in the round with a stranded chart worked twice, with two sections of stripes in between. The colors are so soft that the contrast in the charted stitches becomes muted and a bit difficult to see. The yarn is very fine, and wound tightly into dense balls. I think that’s one of the reasons it continues to twist back on itself while I knit. I did some research and found someone who keeps the balls in Ziploc bags, making it easier to hang them and let them unwind themselves. Still, as I knit I’m noticing a twisting in the knitting. I’m hoping with blocking I will be able to correct some of that. In any case, I’m enjoying the process and the thoughtfulness of the kids’ gift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I included some pictures of the knitting I did for Christmas, two blankets, three scarves, and three of the cutest jumpers made for our three youngest granddaughters. I couldn’t have been happier with how the jumpers turned out!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I also got back to drawing and painting. The cardinal is painted in watercolors from a photo I shot last winter. The poinsettia is done in color pencils. Unfortunately, when I’m under a deadline, art and reading are the first things to get dropped. It’s nice to get back into doing it on a regular basis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yesterday I just finished reading Michelle Obama’s book <i>Becoming. </i>I was on the wait list at the library for some time. As it turned out, that was a good thing for me. Not just because I wouldn’t have had time to read it during the holidays, but also because I needed the shot of adrenaline it gave me. Having lived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:city> for a few years, I enjoyed reading about where she came from. Also how they met. As you read you relive the sorrows and the joys of what happened in the years of his terms. At times you wonder why anyone would ever run for president. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But in the end, it makes you want to get to work. It reminded me even more why Paul and I took on being chairs of our local Democratic party. Living in a red state, and an even redder county, it’s easy to lose hope. We took the “job” in April, I retired from my real job in June. Our daughter says it all the time; “you retired to take on a fulltime job without pay.” And all we’ve been through is a midterm election. We’re starting now to gear up for the general!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We had a difficult summer and fall taking care of elderly parents. I made two trips to <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Texas</st1:place></st1:state> over the summer to take care of my mom and my mother-in-law had to move in with us the end of August. In a way, it’s a lot like dealing with kids again, but so much harder. They need your help, they even ask you for your help, and then they fight against the help. And you’re left without any way to deal with them because they are adults. To say we’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster is a vast understatement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So being retired helped allow for all of that work to be done. I always dreamed of what retirement would look like. There would be all the time I desired to knit, read, draw and paint, sew, cook, spend time with family, volunteer, learn new things, a lot of time camping at the lake, and I would never care about the clock or the calendar. And I’m so lucky that’s mostly the way it is. But life doesn’t always follow the plan exactly. The important thing for me is to keep busy and moving forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-56431959191113703862019-01-15T08:13:00.000-08:002019-01-15T08:13:43.574-08:00SNOW<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Saturday we received over eight inches of heavy snow, the most we’ve had in a single snowstorm in years. On Sunday we dug out. Yesterday I was able to go for a walk with my camera. </div>
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While the snow is beautiful to watch, it certainly brings its difficulties as well. Saturday just before noon our power went out, only a few hours before the Chief’s home playoff game. Both our sons and son-in-law were at the game. Unfortunately, we opted to watch from the warmth of our home, which didn’t happen. </div>
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This was the second time this season we’ve lost power due to snow. The last outage was nine hours. What made that time a challenge was we had our ten and seven-year-old granddaughters here for a sleepover at the time. This time our power was out for 24 hours. Our daughter’s house in the city is still without power, three days later.</div>
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We worried for our little fish pond, without power to keep the filter and pond heater going. I’m happy to say the fish survived, although our cherry trees did not. I have never found fresh cherries in season locally and the thought of not having them again is heartbreaking.</div>
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The first time when the girls were here we talked a lot about Little House on the Prairie and what it was like to live in a farmhouse without power. We read, played the piano, had a shadow puppet show and struggled with keeping them entertained, as well as warm. This time around it was a little less stressful. Being adults we could suffer in silence, well almost. And we could keep ourselves entertained. I had just picked up three library books, some I had been on the wait list for, so it was the perfect time to dive under blankets and start. </div>
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My camera is two years old and in that time I have never ventured off the manual setting. For me, understanding aperture, shutter speed, and ISO have never been easy. On Saturday I started reading <i>Understanding Exposure </i>by Bryan Peterson. It was also very handy that my husband, who also had nothing to do, was sitting next to me and available to answer any questions I had. He even pulled out his equipment and helped me with visuals. Yesterday I had the confidence to shoot some photos on manual, but not enough confidence to <i>not</i> shoot in manual as well.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-41364762389865919302018-11-06T10:11:00.000-08:002018-11-06T10:11:38.309-08:00November<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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About a month ago we had a week or so of rain. In one weekend alone over 14 inches fell at our home. The upside of all that rain, we’ve had one of the most beautiful fall seasons I can remember. For about 10 days here our landscape has been breathtaking. But the thing about fall especially, it reminds you how brief the beauty is. Our trees are quickly becoming bare. I love the fall, and in particular November. It reminds us to remember our loved ones who have passed, and to be thankful for our blessings. Not to mention, it’s my birthday month.</div>
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One of the things I love about living where I do is so much of the history of the place is still here. I live in a little township, (once the county seat) located at the top of a river bluff overlooking the Marais des Cygnes river. We own the community church. It’s the third church to stand on this spot. The first was built around 1869, the current building held its last service in 1985. In the early days of the town the little house across the street was the hotel and stagecoach stop. Sadly its days are numbered, as well as the general store building down the street. I walk nearly every day and those walks are mostly up to the local cemetery and back. The first person buried there is a young man who came ahead of his family to settle here. He was so excited when they finally arrived to join him he swam across the river to meet them, caught pneumonia and died.</div>
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Last week through our work with the Democrats we had the opportunity to meet a landowner a few miles up the road from us. The political signs she had standing on her property had been stolen and she was looking for replacements. During the course of our conversation when we told her where we live it turned out her great, great, great, (not sure how many greats) grandfather was the first white man to settle on our property. His name was Jacob Fisher and he’s buried up the road. He came to <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state> as an abolitionist. Given <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state>’ current political climate, it’s sometimes easy to forget its history as a <st1:place w:st="on">free state</st1:place>. She went on to tell us about her other great, great, great, grandfather who owned the general store. Also, you can go to the local library in town and read on microfiche about her uncle, who was described as the “lad” that rode ahead to warn of Quantrill’s ride before the Lawrence Massacre, just like Paul Revere. Another interesting tidbit, she told us the location of a tall grave marker in the cemetery that sits cockeyed where they used to hide their “hooch” during the prohibition. Probably a tall tale but we think we found the grave marker she was talking about.</div>
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It’s nice to think about these stories, the people’s lives and the history of this land I live on, especially today, election day. Our polling place is our community building, Briles Schoolhouse, built in 1868. Our kids grew up going to 4H meetings there. This morning I came across a photo taken of a voter entering early this morning to vote. Last year my husband and I worked the polls. Tonight I will be working at the courthouse for Edison Research phoning in results from our county for the national networks and CNN. It’s kind of cool thinking about my being our little corner of the country’s link to the nation on this incredibly important day and night. Please don’t let your opportunity to have your voice heard slip away. If you’ve already voted in the landslide of early voting, thank you. And if you haven’t, please make it a priority today to cast your VOTE!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-21861508813598516922018-10-24T16:34:00.000-07:002018-10-24T16:34:13.939-07:00Birthdays, Books, And Projects: October Yarn Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Our sixth grandchild, Rowen, turned three years old yesterday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">We had her birthday party on Saturday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Her mother threw her an amazing unicorn party.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">She made unicorn cupcakes, piñata, unicorn poop (marshmallows) for appetizers, unicorn snot (slime with sparkles), she even painted a unicorn selfie spot on the mirror over their mantle, even though my photo of it doesn’t quite give the full effect.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">It was all so cute, and Rowen was thrilled.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A few months ago we were in Michael’s when the Halloween decorations first came out. Rowen picked up a skeleton bride doll and wanted it dearly. It was totally inappropriate for a three-year-old in regards to safety so her mother asked if I would make her one for her birthday. I made her out of felt, and then needle felted the face and bones. I really like the way she turned out and best of all, Rowen loved her. She also received the dress I was knitting for her and her cousin which I posted about last month. It’s a little big, but wearable. And at three that’s probably a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We kept her and her brother Jools overnight the night before the party. One of our activities was to make ghost puppets. It is such an easy project but at 3 and 4 years old it was a little more difficult than I thought it would be for them. Even so, they enjoyed playing with them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve started knitting for Christmas, but it’s currently hard for me to be enthused about it. I could say the same thing about the book I’m reading. I had been on the hold list for Bob Woodward’s book at the library since it came out. Now that I’m into it, I have to continually remind myself that what I’m reading is not fiction. Maybe one of the reasons it’s bothering me so much is that we’re less than two weeks out from the midterms and I’m so desperate for change that I don’t need to be reminded of even more reasons to be so. Never the less, I’ll persist!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The other book is another I had waited a long time for from the library. <i>The Lost Words </i>by Robert MacFarlane is a gorgeous book. It’s a children’s book, but I really can’t see any of my eight grandchildren engaging with it. But for anyone who enjoys poetry and beautiful watercolors, it’s magic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After the sleepover, then the party on Saturday afternoon and into the wee morning hours on Sunday, and then another twelve hours on Sunday, we printed, cut, bundled and delivered to volunteers ready to address and sign 3000 postcards we are sending out to unaffiliated voters. We are working hard on our final push to get out the vote. I hope we will be rewarded for all of our hard work these last months on Election Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">P.S. A few weeks ago I came across yet another abandoned sofa dumped on the side of the road. I had to include it here since my blog holds my collection of photos of other abandoned sofas. Is this a just a rural <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> thing or do other states have this problem???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-91875786578746319612018-09-25T13:12:00.000-07:002018-09-25T13:12:04.261-07:00September Yarn Along<br />
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I didn’t post an August Yarn Along. Which is a bit ironic because besides my immediate family, (husband, children, and grandchildren), reading was about the only thing that brought me any peace. August was an emotional month dealing with the problems of both my mother and my husband’s mother, problems that so many seniors face today. September has always been a month for changes and new beginnings and this month has brought us a new normal I’m learning to adjust to. And sometimes reading and working a puzzle can help an overloaded, emotional brain. </div>
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For the September Yarn Along I just finished knitting two dresses, one for Rowen and one for Sophie. The pattern is<a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/river-dress" target="_blank"> River Dress</a>. It’s a fun, quick pattern, and best of all, it’s free. But it only fits size two. As for books, I just finished reading <i><b>White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism</b>. </i> There is so much to learn from this book, the most important in my view is that no matter how progressive we believe ourselves to be, <i>“it is impossible to completely escape having developed problematic racial assumptions and behaviors.”</i> To say it was an eye-opening read is a vast understatement. I can’t recommend this book enough. I then moved on to the<i> <b>State of <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Wonder</st1:place></st1:state> </b></i>by Ann Patchett. It’s been on my “to read” list for some time and I’m halfway through it. I hate to think it, but once I’m finished reading it I can’t imagine having time to read much more of anything else until after Christmas because the full press of gift making will begin.</div>
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I’m always sad to say goodbye to the summer and watch the kids go back to school. It always takes me a week or two to change my mindset and adjust. Now that fall is officially here there’s so much to do! This month we’re not only busy with our grandchildren’s activities, (cheerleading, and football and soccer games) we are also helping to take care of two of our grandchildren while their parents are out of the country. But this September is different because we are also busy with our commitments as chairs of our local Democratic party. With only a little over a month until the midterm elections, we’ve been out canvassing door to door nearly every evening and weekend, passing out literature, putting up yard signs, and getting people interested in going out to vote. We’re also passing out pens we made ourselves. We wanted to order promotional pens but the best deal we could find was .22 cents apiece for 1000 pens. The problem was they wanted $100 to ship them! So we watched a youtube and made our own. </div>
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Going out and talking to people really has been a wonderful experience for me. It’s so gratifying to feel like you’re making a difference. If in November my desired outcome doesn't come to be, at least I know I did everything I could to create change in my little corner of the world.</div>
<span id="goog_345138054"></span><span id="goog_345138055"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-26315533695754210032018-08-21T07:28:00.001-07:002018-08-21T07:28:39.860-07:00#16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our youngest grandchild, Sophie's second birthday book. I finished this one in the car on the way to the birthday party. That's happened only one other time. I have to admit I was in such a time crunch, (literally sewing every spare moment) it was hard for me to spend much time thinking about this being my final book. What started as a first-year memento for our first grandchild has morphed into a family birthday tradition, each grandchild receiving one for their first and second birthday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They started with children's poems and song lyrics but with the need to make each one individual, we started using modern music as inspiration. And that is where Paul stepped in to help. He is very good at creating his own lyrics to popular songs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For Sophie's final book we used the song <i>Home </i>by Edward Sharpe. It was performed by Sophie's aunt and uncle at her parents' wedding, which is such a wonderful memory<i> </i>for us all. Except for Sophie of course. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-47329889145989926582018-08-12T17:20:00.002-07:002018-08-12T17:20:38.723-07:00Summer Break's End / Back To School<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While the drought here in <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state> is becoming more severe, this week we finally had a little over an inch of rain. There’s been plenty of heat, which does produce very short and spotty afternoon showers. But we were beginning to feel as if there was a force field around our house keeping us dry. This is the first year that I can remember our rainwater pond got too low to water from and there was no more reserve left in the cistern. Then Tuesday we had an entire morning of downpours which was enough to fill the pond and yield overflow to the cistern. It also reminded me to appreciate the beauty in a rainy day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The drought has brought us one really cool consequence. We have a friend who is a cattle and sheep rancher and a couple of weeks ago she discovered wild lotus growing in one of her ponds. The pond was built in 1980 and never has had lotus growing in it before. She thinks it has something to do with the drought and the water level being so low. Since the lotus is one of Paul’s and my hobbies, we invited ourselves over. We heard you could find it growing wild in <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state> but really didn’t believe it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Paul finished digging our own second small, ornamental pond, recycling what used to be <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Turtle</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island, giving it a purpose again</st1:placetype></st1:place>. I want to dig up some of the rock from this cliff we live on to line around the edges. He was only able to capture one of our fish to move from the lily rainwater pond to the new one, Popeye, our one-eyed goldfish. He was blindsided.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have all been trying to savor the last bit of summer. Yes, the heat and calendar say we still have much left of the season but the schools here in <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state> and <st1:state w:st="on">Missouri</st1:state> say differently. Our two teacher daughters went back on Monday, while the grandchildren start next Tuesday! To make it even worse, the local city pools are all closing this week. For the past few years, they’ve been closing when the kids go back to school because they lose their workforce. But grandma and grandpa’s little pool stays open until Labor Day!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So we’ve tried to fit in as much fun as possible here at the end. It’s now a tradition on our last Friday brunch to go downtown on the streetcar to have lunch. We made a trip to the farmers’ market, (which meant homemade pickles and peach cobbler), and we made it to the parade at the fair. We had a back to school sleepover with the two oldest granddaughters. Their littlest cousin ended up being part of the fun due to a daycare snag. We had a great time going on a nature walk to gather materials and then making a sun catcher box. And for the grand finale, the Perseids helped us commemorate with an outdoor movie and meteor night and a family sleepover. Now I for one could use some recuperation time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I’ve not knitted for two weeks, instead making Amelia’s second birthday book. Her favorite song is Footloose. Paul wrote the words for the book, using Footloose’ lyrics as a template. If you think of the melody while reading it hopefully you can hear it. I also made a little reversible dress for her. I embroidered what I thought looked like a lower case “a” on the pocket. But no one has been able to guess what it is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Looking up over these photos I'm about to post, I'm struck by how full and wonderful my life is. I am so grateful for what I have. Blogs and Facebook are wonderful about showing us the very best of our lives. But often, while living through all this love and happiness, we also deal with problems, stress, tragedies, and heartache. Sometimes we just need to be reminded to not let ourselves become consumed with the negatives.</span></div>
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What a difference a month makes. Even though June was my first month of retirement, there were so many obligations that I wondered how I would have survived it all had I still been working. But July has been much more relaxed, allowing me to settle into what I always imagined retirement life would be, giving me the time I want to spend with family and time to work on projects.<br />
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For the <a href="http://www.gsheller.com/2018/07/yarn-along-july.html" target="_blank">July Yarn Along</a> I want to share the short socks I've been knitting. I'm now on my second pair. The pattern is <i><a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rose-city-rollers" target="_blank">Rose City Rollers</a>, </i>by Mara Catharine Bryner. Although on the second pair I've opted to change the rolled cuff for a one-inch ribbed cuff. I hope I will like the fit around my ankle better.<br />
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As for books, this month I've finished one novel, <i>Commonwealth, </i>and have nearly finished a second, <i>The Nest. </i>Paul and I finished two short audiobooks, <i>The Colorado Kid, </i>and <i>Blood and Smoke, </i>both by Stephen King. Definitely not as enjoyable for me as his more recent works. And now that I have more days a week that I can cook breakfast, I've also been reading <i>Chicken and Egg. </i>Finally, I checked out <i>5-Minute Sketching Architecture </i>by Liz Steel. Liz is an amazing artist I've been following for a few years. I was delighted that my library had a copy of her book. I'm working on a drawing that is now waiting for me to add watercolors.<br />
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Our lotus bloomed for the first time this season on the Fourth of July. We had three granddaughters over for a sleepover the night before so they are in the picture as a size reference. This year's leaves are massive. Last Saturday we went to a lotus party at our local water garden nursery. We learned lotus lore, a little more about growing this amazing plant, and then ate a lunch of several lotus recipes. I had no idea that nearly all of the plant is edible, and for that matter, delicious. <br />
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Also, our rainwater pond is really looking spectacular. In the photo you can see a goldfish swimming in the fish high rise. One morning Paul was pulling sticks out of the pond from a storm the day before. To his surprise what he had in his hand wasn't a tree limb, but one of the largest walking sticks we've ever seen. <br />
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Unfortunately, one night a couple of weeks ago an intruder wreaked havoc on our turtle pond. The next morning we found destruction, but no turtles. So the tank has been sitting there as a sad reminder. But today Paul started work to move and bury it in another location for a second rainwater pond that we can enjoy from the backyard. <br />
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Another summer joy, it's wildflower season. My morning walks have been just beautiful. We live on a river bluff and at one spot on my walk, I can look out over the river valley and farm fields. And although I hate to think about the payload he's dumping, it's also crop dusting season. It's like our own private little air show as he comes up the bluff, sometimes directly over the house, to swoop back down into the valley. This time we hopped in the car to follow him and watch as he moved from field to field. Although we were probably making his job more difficult.<br />
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We love all things to do with flight and space. Paul recently put the app <i>ISS Detector Satellite Tracker</i> on his notebook. For a couple of weeks during the first part of June, we were able to see the International Space Station pass over us a couple of times a night. The last couple of nights we have been able to view the Chinese space station, <i>Tiangong-2. </i>The app tells you exactly where it will appear in the sky, how long it will be visible, and exactly where it will cross into the shadow of the earth and disappear from view. I like to think what someone who doesn't know what they are looking at, thinks about something that looks like a star, moving at a measured pace across the sky, then vanishes before their eyes. Often long before it reaches the horizon. <br />
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Finally, I'm working on Amelia's second birthday book. I'm hoping to have it finished in the next two days. In just a couple of weeks I will be working on Sophie's second book!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-78826711009734504042018-06-29T06:04:00.001-07:002018-06-29T06:04:51.345-07:00Finally<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I often write about my passions, although I have purposefully not written about one specific passion here on my blog. But then sometimes in life, something touches you so deeply that you can’t continue to pretend life is normal. There’s more to life than knitting and drawing and my summer reading list, and now is my time to speak up here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The day before yesterday I was listening to the radio and heard a refugee from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Honduras</st1:place></st1:country-region> interviewed. She crossed the border in 2016 with her 4-year-old son. She and her son, together, spent time in a family detention center. Currently, she is living with and sponsored by her brother while she awaits her trial for asylum. She gave her story through her interpreter from Innovation Law Lab, and it was heartbreaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also interviewed was a local pastor in a Presbyterian church working with a largely Hispanic congregation. It was his statement that made my breath catch:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Jesus separated the nations into two groups, two groups of nations, those who welcomed him as a stranger and those who didn’t welcome him as a stranger. And to those who welcomed Jesus, he said, ‘come and enjoy the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">God</st1:placename></st1:place>. Enjoy life in my presence in love and grace.’ And to those who didn’t welcome him, it’s not going to be good for you. Because here in this country we are not only not welcoming the stranger, we are torturing the stranger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am not an overly religious person, which I’m sure is probably a great disappointment to my mother. But this struck a nerve deep into that little Catholic girl I was growing up, who now as an adult is struggling to verbalize my reasons to my family why I don’t support President Trump’s policies. Because let’s face it, it’s difficult and dangerous to argue with family. You love them, you know they are basically really good people. So how can they just sit there and defend the policies put in place by this administration, no matter the consequences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Never mind arguing their party and the current administration want to cut their Social Security and Medicare, or that they care nothing about climate change and protecting the planet for my grandchildren, or that they are making enemies of our allies and allies of our enemies, or that more people have died in school shootings than active service men and women have died in active duty this year. But this latest and most egregious policy, how do you support that? Surely, those words spoken by that pastor will make a difference to my family! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My daughter, an elementary special education teacher working with mostly Hispanic children said to me the other day, “People don’t see these immigrants as human beings. They don’t look them in the eye. They don’t speak the language. They view them as animals.” More words I won’t forget.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Where I live, being Democrat is very unpopular. We hesitate to speak out because we don’t want to offend our neighbors. We don’t want to be part of an “us versus them” mentality. But what about all of the moderates in the middle, when do you say enough? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A year ago I said enough. I started putting myself out there and the people around me are learning who I am and what I stand for. My husband and I are the new chairs of our county’s local Democratic Party. My husband, children, grandchildren and I have been marching in the streets. It’s become a passion of mine to do what I can to make a change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And now, finally, I’m writing about it here. Because this is a big part of who I am now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There will be more writing about knitting, books, and art, but now that I’m newly retired, there might be more posts like this too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">You can listen to the podcast of that radio program here:</span> <a href="http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-life-immigrants-american-detention-centers-seg-2-why-pseudo-science-persists">http://kcur.org/post/seg-1-life-immigrants-american-detention-centers-seg-2-why-pseudo-science-persists</a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cup of Jo</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> wrote two excellent posts on the immigration crisis. You can find those here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://cupofjo.com/2018/06/how-to-help-separated-families/">https://cupofjo.com/2018/06/how-to-help-separated-families/</a></div>
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<a href="https://cupofjo.com/2018/06/family-separation-what-you-need-to-know/">https://cupofjo.com/2018/06/family-separation-what-you-need-to-know/</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">On Wednesday evening we held our first event as chairs. People still came out in the middle of an excessive heat warning with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees to hear from Democratic local and gubernatorial candidates running this season. Maybe, if that can happen in this community, the tide just might be changing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It’s already time for the <a href="http://www.gsheller.com/2018/05/yarn-along-may.html" target="_blank">May Yarn Along</a>. I’m pretty sure my last post was the April Yarn Along post! </div>
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Since then I finished my basic blue crew neck sweater, and it fits just how I wanted it to! I’ve been able to wear it twice. (I wrote before how cold and nasty our spring has been this year.) I had enough yarn left over to knit our grandson a cable vest which is on the needles now. It’s my yarn along photo for May. I’m reading <i>My Life In Stitches: Knitting My Way Through Love, Loss and Laughter </i>by Rachael Herron. If you’re a knitter, you’ll relate. It’s funny, touching and sad but always there’s a knitting moment that I recognize I’ve been in myself!</div>
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I also had the opportunity to make another doll. After the younger granddaughters got their dolls for Christmas, my daughter asked if I could make her one too. She wanted to have one so that she and Sophie would be able to play together. I wanted her to be Hispanic, although not a Frida doll. I really love how she turned out. Now I want to make a Frida doll for myself.<i> </i></div>
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I had written before how our spring had been largely missing in action. Still, even with the freezing nights, the trees' blossoms made a show and they are beautiful. Our lilac is just outside the front door and right now I get a whiff with each trip in and out of the house. The cherries and apple trees look like they will give us a good season, and even the magnolia pulled it off in the end. Her flowers looked as if at the end of the night she got caught in the rain and their skirts were dragged through the mud ultimately ruining their hems. But still you could appreciate their beauty.</div>
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And now the trees are proof, reminding us that there was indeed a spring. Even though the spring temperatures only lasted about a week and a half. In true <st1:state w:st="on">Kansas</st1:state> form we have moved straight to summer with the temperatures reaching the mid to high eighties. But the summer weather means that the turtles and goldfish moved out to the ponds. Paul moved them out on a day when Jools and Rowen were here for a sleepover. Rowen enjoyed keeping the goldfish company while they waited their turn to move.</div>
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Yesterday I planted our tomatoes, peppers, and basil. Today we’re moving out the houseplants and repotting the ones that have been begging for more room. I love it when the deck becomes an extension of the living room. This early summer feel is making me want to open the pool. Somehow I think if we took the plunge temperatures would slip back into the sixties and we would regret the early opening.</div>
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Lately, something I’ve been the most passionate about is sketching. I’ve been participating in the online <a href="https://www.karenabend.com/sketchbook-revival/" target="_blank">Sketchbook Revival</a>, twenty artists giving lessons and tips about their sketchbook process. It has been just the kick in the pants I needed. I have long struggled with sketching, longing for a daily sketching practice. Being able to sit down, look at something and render a quick sketch that actually looks like on paper what I was looking at in front of me, was something I daydreamed about. But truthfully, getting past the blank page was a hurdle for me.</div>
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One of the artists gave a lesson on making mini sketchbooks, taking drawing paper, tearing and folding it into a continuous book. I know it sounds silly but Eureka! I don’t know why it makes a difference but in my brain it does. I can’t find enough time to spend on drawing. Last week I drew my coffee, tea or lemon water mug every day. I’ve done some still lifes, some room views, the other day I even tried drawing the grandchildren playing outside. I would have never attempted to draw a <i>moving </i>two and four year old before. I have to say, it’s been a blast.</div>
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Finally, the other day driving home I saw yet another abandoned sofa on the side of the road. Over the years I’ve taken pictures of many of these. It’s always so sad. But in the spring for reasons I can’t seem to say, I think even more so. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060571521163471967.post-37083560922574224542018-04-12T10:49:00.000-07:002018-04-13T05:40:53.772-07:00Missing in action<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Cloudy, cold, sleet, snow and rain have been the norm for April. We've had two- maybe three days of spring weather, all during the work weeks. The cold fronts and storms have been hitting on the weekends. The last two Sundays we've had snow, (Easter included) and there's a chance for it again this Sunday! Sadly, the buds on my magnolia took a hard hit and my lettuce has spent more time inside by the door than outside on the deck. We're all looking forward to warmer weather and summertime, even the deer.</div>
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What the weather has provided is lots of time for books and projects. Paul and I finished one audiobook and started another. I have a small pop-up book collection which includes <i>The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, </i>among others. But neither of us had read the full book. So we started listening to it this week. While we were listening I was staring out the window at the tree line and saw a little splash of color fluttering against the very grey skies. When I went to check it out I found a paratrooper in his chute hanging from a treetop. I remembered we had lost one when the grandsons fired some off on July 4th. Paul rescued him yesterday.</div>
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I've made a start on two dolls. One for my daughter's birthday, and one from Sally Mavor's book. I've long been a fan of her work. I'm also currently knitting the second sleeve for a navy crew neck. I think I will have enough yarn left over to knit a cable vest for one of my grandson's birthday in May.</div>
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While spring has mostly been missing in action, yesterday late afternoon the sun broke through, (although storms are forecast for tomorrow). And though I doubt my tulips will make much of a show after the brutality they've suffered, the Muscari field has soldiered on! </div>
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<i>(April's Yarn Along: "A Maze Me Poems for Girls" by Naomi Shihab Nye and "The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs" by Tristan Gooley.)</i></div>
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