Return of the White Robin

Fun Momday

2011-05-09T13:08:00.005-05:00

Roger of A Screed in Time, our Fun Monday host for the month of May, has assigned an timely task for the day after Mother's Day. Roger is asking us to " share some memories of good ol' mom."

My mother, born Laura Gray in 1917 to John Milton Gray, a newspaper editor and Methodist minister, and Orpha Jane Gray, a former teacher. She was the youngest child of bright, aging, educated parents. When Laura was born, the Gray family lived in the little town of Allerton, Illinois. Laura's older sister, Ida, taught Laura to read before she entered the school of Allerton.

Always a bright student, Laura excelled in school. However, like many women of her age she graduated from high school, but she married soon after high school graduation, and did not attend college immediately. Nonetheless, Laura, a self-made and self-educated woman, was knowledgeable about a wide range of topics and specifically well-versed in literature and was a capable writer. Eventually, Laura was able to attend college and received both a bachelor's and a master's degree in English at Purdue University in the 1970's.

Although I do not remember Mom mentioning women's rights. she definitely was a feminist. She demonstrated her support of the rights of women with her positive life-style. My mom worked at a variety of jobs including nurse's aide, editor of a department store newsletter, and claims agent for the Lincoln Life Insurance Company. She was involved in a number of organizations and frequently would quickly assume a leadership position within each organization.

In addition to being intelligent and influential, Mom was kind and compassionate. She would have baby showers for unwed mothers, feed prisoners, visit the physically ill as well as the emotionally ill. After World War II, she sent clothes and other presents to a family in Holland until they regained economic independence.

Yes, my mother was a bright, gifted, charitable, woman, but she was a bit of a character too with a ribald sense of humor. This is evidenced in one of her favorite sayings, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think.

Of course, this is merely a glimpse at the life of a woman whose life impacted many. You can read about other moms by checking the Fun Monday list at Roger's blog, A Screed in Time.

Fun Monday - Up, Up, Up and Away

2011-05-02T17:32:00.000-05:00

Now that we have survived the twenty year isolation on land or sea, our two-month Fun Monday host, Roger of A Screed in Time is asking us where are we going next. Although it would be very nice, I am not going to Disney World. Instead my husband and I are traveling to Wales.

My husband and I are not experienced world travelers. I have not been west of Fort Scott, Kansas, and the only the country that I have visited is Canada. However, we are going an adventure to Wales with my sister and my niece. We will be visiting a number of places in the country including, Conwy Castle, Swallow Falls, Bodnant Gardens, Pentre Farm, Cathedral of St. Davids, Cardiff Castle, Tintern Abbey to name a few of the many stops.

The trip should be great fun, educational, and informative although I do have some concerns about this trip. I hope that we can navigate the airport and get on the plane without any problems. Also, hopefully the U.S. Customs agent will not look at our photos and surmise that we are Ma and Pa terrorists or drug smugglers because unfortunately our passport photos make us look like beady-eyed convicts. My other worry is bed bugs, the scourge of modern-day traveling.

Do you have travel plans for the summer or do plan to stay close to home? Share with the Fun Monday bunch by signing up at Roger's place, A Screed in Time .

Fun Monday in a Post-Apocalyptic World

2011-04-25T07:57:00.000-05:00

Roger of a Screed in Time is the Fun Monday host for the month of April. For this last Monday in April, Roger has asked us where we would like to spend our lives in a post-apocalyptic world. Would we rather spend our days in a cave with a fresh water supply and food for twenty years? Or, would we choose to spend our next twenty years on a fifty foot boat equipped with a plentiful supply of food and a desalination device?

As I ponder my choice, considering the options, I may not choose to be among the survivors. In favor of the cave, there would be solid ground for your footing. However, living in a cave offers no natural light. Living in darkness for twenty years seems difficult. A boat has limitations as well. Never being on land seems impossible too. However, I choose living on the boat intending to catch some of our food from the ocean's store. On my boat, we have brought fruit and nut trees to provide other essential nutrients. Additionally, we will grow some other plants in a special greenhouse.

Actually if our Earth is polluted with dangerous radiation and the atmosphere with toxic chemicals, I suppose that food from the ocean may not be a option. Then, I guess my ship would need to be like the Space Station or floating artificial Biosphere, a place that replicates the natural ecological systems of the Earth. Therefore my ship will be designed as a closed system, a structure sealed from the outside atmosphere. Developing and maintaining the correct balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide needs to be addressed as well as providing food and water for the inhabitants. Thus, in addition to our desalination device, we would need to include some animals such as chickens to provide eggs and some mammals to provide milk. Furthermore, the ship will should be equipped to grow some plants to provide required nutrition for the inhabitants. Other issues also need to be addressed such as how is human and animal waste eliminated from the system. Since our floating world is self-sufficient, some mechanism of recycling waste needs to be developed.

In any event, as the twenty years come to a close, my floating modern day ark will come to land and greet you as the cave-dwellers venture out into daylight. Together, we will build a new world. Hopefully, we have learned much from our past, and more importantly we can put these lessons to use.

Fun Monday - "It is Written"

2011-04-18T07:12:00.002-05:00

Roger, of A Screed in Time, is the creative Fun Monday host for April. Roger has presented the Fun Monday participants with a schedule of intriguing topics for the fourth month of year. For Holy Week, Roger has asked us to share our favorite book of the Bible. Selecting one favorite book out of many profound writings is difficult. In the Old Testament, there is the book of steadfast Job, the adventure of Jonah, the bravery of David, and the love story of Ruth. However, my favorite books of the good book are the gospels, the books that tell us of the words and works of Jesus. My favorite passage from the gospels is Luke, the second chapter. I love hearing the imagery of the story of Jesus's birth, and for the Christmas story I love the old English words from the King James version. In addition to hearing the text in church for many Christmases, I remember a cherished moment of my mother reading Luke's version of the Christmas story on a Christmas Eve long ago.

Luke 2

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Although difficult to follow, another favorite gospel passage is from Matthew 5:43-48.

Love for Enemies
⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

As you visit other Fun Monday participants, I hope that this Biblical reflection helps prepare your hearts for a meaningful Holy Week and a blessed Easter.

Fun Monday - Dinner Party

2011-03-21T01:12:00.012-05:00

Our hostesses for the month of March, the Georgia Girls at In Good Company ask, "If you could invite 5 other people for dinner and conversation, who would be on the guest list? A famous person, a favorite author, someone who shares one of your hobbies or passions, etc. Do you have a question for them? (If you want to include the obvious people, that's okay, but maybe there are some other individuals who might enjoy a night out."

My mother, Laura Gray, loved to throw dinner parties. Although during the week, we might eat tasty but routine meals (cooked by my father). On party days, my mother became the chef extraordinaire creating feasts of gastronomic renown. She cooked for friends frequently. Additionally, she was a grand hostess and a capable conversationalist making her all of her guests feel at home and included in the conversation. One time she prepared a feast for thieves and murderers, who were giving a presentation to the youth at our church.

Unfortunately, I did not inherit my mother's flair for throwing parties. Thus, my dinner party would need to be a catered event. Now, who would be on my guest list? In honor of Women's History Month, I will invite five women, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sojourner Truth, Gladys Alyward, Mary Ann Evans (George Elliot) , and Madame Curie. I will pose this question to my honored dinner guests. "How were you able to overcome the bias against women still achieve greatness?" (These women are representative of women, who achieved success in times or in areas of male supremacy . Of course, a number of others throughout history could speak at length about the topic.)

Fun Monday - A Dilemma

2011-03-07T01:00:00.005-06:00

During the month of March, the Georgia Girls at In Good Company are the lovely hostesses of Fun Monday. Today our task is "to list 5 things you are willing to spend your hard earned cash on and five things you would rather steal (hypothetically) than waste your money on."

When I first read the assignment, I was not sure that I wanted to participate. What me steal? My overactive conscience does let me steal. When I was about 8 years old, my older sister and I were at the local movie theatre. She gave me a dime and sent me out for a pack of gum. Unfortunately, when at the counter, I dropped the dime. Afraid that my sister would yell at me for being careless, I stole one pack of Wrigley's Doublemint gum off the counter. Returning to my seat, I gave my sister the stolen goods. Gum at that time cost five cents, so of course, my sister wanted the change. I had no change to give her so she scolded me for losing the change. Anyway, my crime weighted heavy on my soul for weeks. As penance, I returned more than one nickel secretly to the theatre counter. Nonetheless, I was sure that the pack of gum was my one way ticket to HELL. On the other hand, I am really not so self-righteous to claim that I do no wrong. My 64 year old self came up with these two lists.

Items to spend hard earned cash.

Necessities like food, shelter, transportation, clothes
Charity
Presents for family and friends
Entertainment
Leisure

Things that I might have taken

Good ideas
Lilacs - When I was a senior in high school, a good friend and I cut some lilacs from a bush in an alley. We took the bouquet to her mom, who was in the hospital.
Songs - Although I would never, ever dream of copying an album and selling it for personal gain or profit, I have purchased music and copied a song for another format for my own use. Technically even though you paid for the original, this is stealing.
Words - Plagiarism is defined as "Whenever you use more than three words in a row that occurred exactly in the same order in your source material, put the words into quotation marks and use a parenthetical note or footnote or endnote to give credit to your source." (From http://www.mnstate.edu , "Plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it") The limitation of three words seems harsh to me.
Time - If time is not used productively, it is gone, vanished and never can be returned. In my lifetime, I have wasted more than a few moments by worrying about what might have been or about what is yet to come. Those moments are gone forever as if they have been stolen.

Final February Fun Monday

2011-02-27T20:04:00.000-06:00

For our last Fun Monday in February on the last day of the month, I would like to hear about an early childhood memory. If you would like to participate in this event, please sign-up using the Mr. Linky widget. Georgia Girls of In Good Company have graciously volunteered to be our hostesses for the month March. Also, the list of participants is below my memory.

My very earliest memory is of an incident that occurred when I was about 18 months old. I have been told that I fell down the basement stairs at that age. Although I do not remember the actual fall, I do remember opening the basement door and closing it. For a moment, my little feet stood on the ledge or doorsill. I remember being delighted and amazed at being clever enough to enter the forbidden passage; and then, I remember loosing my footing. However, I do not remember the fall or any pain. Nor, do I remember from my own recollection the rest of the story.

But, this was the family tale. My mother was working as a nurse's aide when I fell. She called to ask my dad how things were going while she was at work. My father reported about my mishap. When my mother asked if I was badly injured, my father replied, "She must be all right as she is eating several pancakes." The story goes that my mother was more upset about her baby eating pancakes than the actual fall.

Note: In the picture are my grandparents and my father.

Fun Monday Assignment - February 21 Inventions and Tools

2011-02-18T11:53:00.015-06:00

As I continue my adventure of being the Fun Monday host for February 2011, here is the assignment for our third Monday in February. Tell us about your favorite invention or tool. Why have you selected this device? If possible, show us a picture of the invention or tool.

If you are willing to participate, please sign-up using the Mr. Linky widget. After you have posted your entry, be sure to visit the other participants. After this week, there will be one more Monday in February, please let me know in the comments if you are willing and able to be our host for March. (Our list of this Fun Monday participants is below my favorite tool.)

My favorite tool is this hammer, that belonged to my father. This wonderful hammer, which I think is technically called a ball peen hammer, is a number of tools in one.

The handle unscrews and inside is this useful screwdriver.

You can unscrew the end of this screwdriver and inside is a somewhat smaller screwdriver.

In turn, the end of this screwdriver unscrews and inside is yet another screwdriver.

Finally, you can unscrew the end of this relatively small screwdriver

and inside as you have probably guessed is yet another screwdriver.

Although having a five-in-one tool may be extremely useful, this is my favorite for two reasons other than utility. First, this belonged to my dad, who has a kind and gentle man, Second, this hammer and screwdriver set delighted me as a child. Having this lovely tool provides me with fond memories. I can remember being so enchanted with taking apart each tool only to find yet another.

Fun Monday Valentine Assignment

2011-02-08T01:00:00.048-06:00

I have the honor of hosting Fun Monday for the entire month of February.The second Monday in February is actually Valentine's Day. To celebrate the day of love, your assignment is to select and complete one the following options.

1. Tell us about a favorite gift that you have received or given for the holiday.
2. Show us a beloved Valentine treasure or card.
3. Describe the perfect Valentine present.

To read about other Valentine gifts, treasures, and cards, see the list of participants below this entry,

The very best Valentine gift that I ever received was the birth of our son Luke on February 14th in 1974. Today, he turns 37 and is a kind, compassionate father, husband and son.

Fun Monday - Money, Money, Money

2011-02-07T01:00:00.008-06:00

I love the day before the winning numbers are drawn before a large lottery jackpot. The day before the drawing everyone is a winner. People are dreaming how they would spend the 91 million dollar jackpot. Many are imagining quitting their jobs. Some are donating all of their winnings to charity. Others are living a luxurious lifestyle with mansions and Maseratis. I love that sharing of dreams.

The Fun Monday Assignment - In the spirit of an early television show, The Millionaire, in which a fabulously wealthy man gave away a million dollars anonymously in every episode, imagine that you are the recipient of a large sum of money, say 10 million dollars (to account for inflation). Tell us what you would do with the gift and how would your lifestyle change.

I adored the Millionaire Show. Each episode chronicled what the recipient did with the tax-free gift and how the large sum of money impacted the life of the recipient. As you can imagine, not all were able to respond wisely and gracefully to the large increase in their bank accounts.

For me, I would like to live my life in a way similar to our current style but on a bigger scale. I would like to have some luxuries, to provide gifts and security for the ones I love, and to donate to worthwhile charities and political action groups.

As for luxuries, I would add a weekly pedicure and manicure to my beauty regimen and perhaps an occasional massage. We might choose to stay in our current home but a second home near our children and grandchildren would be great. As I owe my husband a Corvette anyway, we would buy a desired year and model. Of course, we would need a heated pole barn to store the new vehicle. Additionally, we would increase travel plans to see more of the country and the world.

Providing for our loved ones would include paying off mortgages and setting up trust funds for our grandchildren's college education.

Finally, as we do now, I would look for worthwhile and responsible charities to share in my
new wealth.

Note: A list of players for today's Fun Monday is directly below this post. If you have not signed up for the February 7th event, let me know in the comments. (Thanks)

I apparently dismantled the Mister Linky Sign-up boxes. So in addition to the ten participants below, please add the Lovely Jill at Life is Not Bubble Wrapped to the list of participants.

Come back tomorrow to sign-up for our Valentine's Day assignment.

Fun Monday Assignment: February 7 (Sign-up below)

2011-02-04T15:05:00.006-06:00

I have the honor of hosting Fun Monday for the month of February. In the spirit of an early television show, The Millionaire, in which a fabulously wealthy man gave away a million dollars anonymously in every episode, imagine that you are the recipient of a large sum of money, say 10 million dollars (to account for inflation). Tell us what you would do with the gift and how would your lifestyle change.

Fun Monday - In Which I Win a Newbery Award

2011-02-04T15:02:00.000-06:00

As January comes to close. Ari of A Prawn of Fate completes her tenure as host of Fun Monday. Our final January assignment is, "Your first novel is published to wide acclaim. What's the title of your novel and what is it about?" Serendipitously, I completed this assignment some time ago, and you can read about it my sidebar. For your ease of reading, I have pasted the story in the next paragraph. (This is current version of my blog adventure is a resurrected edition of my original deleted blog, Spring of the White Robin; hence, the current blog name is Return of the White Robin.)

All right, fine, so how was Spring of the White Robin born? Well, among other things, I imagine myself as a great writer. Okay, so my writing is not so great, but I have a great title. Strangely enough, there is such a bird as a white robin. Maybe there is not an all white robin, but there are robins with white feathers where other robins have red feathers, a robin white breast so to speak. So in my fantasy world where I AM the great writer, I write a tale for preteens about a young girl having grand adventures and creating splendid inventions during the spring, in which our heroine simultaneously discovers a pair of white robins. Of course, my novelette is adored by young girls everywhere; and thus, I am an instant success.

Fun Monday - Music to My Ears.

2011-01-24T01:00:00.003-06:00

For this week's Fun Monday assignment our host, Ari at A Prawn of Fate has asked "What is the most beautiful sound in the whole world? Once you've told us that, give us the flip side, too: What is the sound you dislike the most?"

The sound of my grandchildren playing is a wonderful sound and surely one of the most beautiful in the world. This video stars two of my three lovely grandkids.

One of the sounds that I dislike is the breaking of glass. Breaking glass indicates something has been damaged whether that is a glass falling to the floor at home, a beaker being knocked over on a lab table at school, or a headlight being broken in an automobile crash. The sound then is followed by the necessary cleanup. If I am the one cleaning up the glass, I worry that I might miss a piece. In turn, I neurotically worry that someone might step on the broken glass.

Fun Monday - Dance the Night Away

2011-01-16T01:00:00.020-06:00

For this week's Fun Monday assignment our host, Ari at A Prawn of Fate has asked us to link to a music video or song that specifically makes you want to get up and dance.

Hmmmm, I love to dance and any number of tunes make me want to get up and dance.

There are a few songs that I always get up and dance when played.

"Old Time Rock and Roll" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - favorite of a friend of my husband and me. The friend passed away a few years ago.

"Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers - Doesn't everyone love this romantic tune? We had this played as the last song at our 40th wedding anniversary. If you get up and dance, be sure to dip as the last notes play.

"Love Shack" by the B-52's - Perfect tune for dancing with my favorite partner.

Fun Monday - Unfinished Business

2011-01-10T08:45:00.004-06:00

Today's Fun Monday host, ari_1965 at A Prawn of Fate , is the Fun Monday host for the month of all of January. For this fine Monday morning in January, Ari is asking us about Unfinished Business whether that is business fits in the realm of the mundane or the more profound realm of the emotional.

To minimize unfinished business, I do have a trick to not having incomplete tasks. My trick is only work on small projects, those that can be completed in a few minutes, in a few hours, or at the most in a few days. Then the question arises, "Do the jobs that have not been initiated count as unfinished business?"

To name a few, I have several projects that fit under the title of "Never Started Category."

1. Converting our family 35 mm slides to the digital picture format

Some of the many slides waiting to be digitized

2. Sending 2010 Christmas cards
3. Organizing the materials on my computer desk. This task has subcategories including creating photo album/scrapbooks about each of our grandchildren, organizing church information, filing Coats for Kids (and families) papers, and sorting various bits of mail

4. Learning to play the dulcimer - a lifelong goal

The colorful cardboard dulcimer waiting to be played was made by a co-worker. Someday, I will purchase a handmade wooden dulcimer.

Sometimes my unfinished business is not composing the week's Fun Monday post after signing-up.:( However, once my entry is posted, I do try to make the rounds to visit the other Fun Monday entries as well as offer a comment.) Please check out other tales of unfinished business by visiting Ari at A Prawn of Fate .

Brrr...Fun Monday

2011-01-03T08:33:00.002-06:00

Today's Fun Monday host, Ari at A Prawn of Fate , is the Fun Monday host for the month of January. For this first Monday of our new year of faithful host is asking about our winter arsenal.

Here in northwest Indiana, we do get some snow, and many of the days in December, January, and February are quite cold.

Big Snowfall in Mid-December 2010

When I was young and charming (or least when I was a young and not necessarily charming), I seemed impervious to the cold. On many winter days, I wore shorts and flip-flops, which we called thongs in the 1960's, (but calling the shoes, thongs, might give you the wrong idea). Additionally, I was one of those crazy kids, who never buttoned her coat. Now, that I am older and more sensible (well, at least I am older.) I wear buttoned or zipped coats, gloves, and scarfs to ward off the winter's chill. For very cold days, I have a down-filled jacket. If the temperature is extremely low, I add long underwear to my outdoor garb. My footwear is somewhat more sensible than flip-flops, but I confess to not owning a pair of boots.

Inside the house we keep the temperature at 70 degrees in the day, and 65 degrees at night. Furthermore, we have blankets on our chairs and couches to provide extra warmth. Hot chocolate and other warm drinks are used to warm the innards.

This morning the temperature is 25 degrees in Lake County, Indiana. I hope that you live in a warm climate or that you able to keep warm using your "winter arsenal." To find out how others keep warm on this fine Fun Monday, visit Ari at A Prawn of Fate .

Fun Monday - Ho, Ho, Ho

2010-11-29T07:33:00.003-06:00

Julie of Another Chance Ranch is the host of November's Fun Monday events. For this last Monday in November, Julie has selected these timely questions, "When do you start your Christmas shopping? and "Who is the hardest person to shop for?"

My first answer to the first question is no specific time. Although on very rare occasions I have started shopping early, generally my husband and I are last minute shoppers or at least last day shoppers. For a number of years, my spouse and I would wake early Christmas Eve morning and travel to the community shopping mall before eight o'clock. Granted if you are hoping to buy this year's hot toy item, you will not find this treasure on the last day. However, the stores have plenty of lovely gift selections and ample sales on that last shopping day before Christmas. Additionally, the shopping on Christmas Eve morning is a pleasant and leisurely affair. Shoppers and store personnel alike seem to be full of good cheer. Usually, after this last minute purchasing, we have a leisurely coffee delight and snack at ten or eleven in the morning with plenty of time for wrapping these gifts in the afternoon.

Who is our hardest person to shop for? There is no one person on my list that is extremely hard to select a present. This might vary from year to year. Sometimes, I will have some brilliant insight on the perfect gift for a specific person; other years, I am at a lost for that same loved one.

Hopefully, you early shoppers are not horrified by my lackadaisical attitude towards buying gifts for friends and loved ones. To read how others shop, visit Julie at Another Chance Ranch .

Fun Monday: Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow.

2010-10-17T00:01:00.013-05:00

For today's Fun Monday task, our hostess, Faye of Summit Musings wants us to "share your three favorite ways of procrastinating. And if you've figured out exactly WHY you procrastinate, could you share the secret with the rest of us?!"

Actually, I might know more about the second part of the request than I know about my favorite ways of procrastinating. I put things off for a variety of reasons. Sometimes overcommitment and a busy schedule prevents me from beginning tasks although since retirement this is less of an issue for me. Fear presents another obstacle for me. Fear of failure causes me to be apprehensive about attempting some actions. Dislike for the job at hand is another reason to put off for tomorrow what could easily be accomplished today.

Even with these confessions, procrastination is less of a problem for me than in my earlier years. When I was in high school, we were required to write a composition every two weeks and turn it in on Monday morning. When did I write my themes? You know...Sunday night at 10:00 PM. In college while working on my undergraduate degree, I finished my freshman term paper at 8:10 AM, for an 8:30 morning English Composition class. However, in later graduate years, my papers were finished a week ahead of time. (I had my papers typed and would have been embarrassed to ask my typist to produce something at the last minute.)

Yes, I have strayed a bit from the assignment. Maybe I am hesitant to confess how I procrastinate. After all if we know how to resolve an issue, why not fix it? If the task is completely unpleasant, I filibuster with myself creating all sorts of reasons why not to start.

All that being said, I do spend at lot of time at this keyboard whether with social networking. creating projects, or researching topics of interest.

Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.
Aaron Burr 1756- 1836

Fun Monday: Home Bulletin Board

2010-10-11T06:56:00.003-05:00

Monday, Monday...can't trust that day. Here it is Monday morning once again and I am composing my last minute Fun Monday post. I am retired for goodness sakes. Why do I put things off? No wait, that should be left for next Monday. Today's Fun Monday assignment from Faye of Summit Musings is, "Share a photo of your fridge and describe what you have displayed on it. What does this kitchen focal point have to say about you and your family?" Whew, this should be easy.

The main feature of our family bulletin board is the masterpieces of our grandchildren aged five , two , and twenty months. Most of the magnets are souvenirs from various vacation spots from the family. Two of the magnets are picture holders with pictures of our oldest grandchild. In the upper left-hand corner, is a picture of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt on Papyrus, a gift from my sister.

Note that the white marker-board and the tablet in the upper right-hand corner of the refrigerator door are both blank as usually the case. My intent is to become more organized by writing reminders to myself. What does this all say about our family? I guess this says that our family is important to us and that we are not very organized.

Fun Monday: Three Generations

2010-10-05T08:46:00.001-05:00

Oh no, it is Tuesday morning, and I have not yet created my Fun Monday post. Our dedicated host for the month of October is Faye of Summit Musings. Faye has asked us to display our favorite family photos. My selection includes representative photos rather than specific favorites. These choices remind me of the many good times in my life and the life of my family.

This first photo is from a Christmas sixty years ago. This is a picture of my sisters and me surveying our Christmas gifts on that December morning in our brand new robes. I am the littlest sister with the toy Ukulele. (Notice the wallpaper in the background; it was dark green...yuck.)

My second photo features my husband and our two sons.

This is a picture of our oldest grandchild as she surveys the intricacies of this stick.

Here our youngest grandchildren are watching their Grandpa plow the driveway with his red tractor.

Fun Monday: When You Wish upon a Star

2010-09-27T08:14:00.001-05:00

For this week's Fun Monday task the lovely Sayre is playing genie in the lamp - she wants to know our heart's desire in the form of three wishes. Oh Sayre, you know I wish for the regular things, world peace, a cure for cancer, and a hundred million dollars in the bank.

In considering my answer, I vacillate between thinking wishing for things is impractical and pondering what do I really want. This wishing is a tricky business. For example, although my thought may be morbid, one of my wishes is to die a quick and painless death. Now, a genie less kind than our Sayre would have granted my wish and zapped me on the spot nullifying my other two opportunities for wishes. Nonetheless, when I do come to the end of life, I do hope that the event is not preceded by a long and painful illness.

Now, I have wasted my first wish. The choice for my second wish should be more practical and less morbid. Yes, my first wish should be about life. So what do I really want during my lifetime? I want what we all want ...to be happy. Happiness, what can be wrong with this wish? Do I actually want to be happy all of the time? Even this wish has pitfalls. Do I wish to be happy when life calls for sorrow like when a loved one suffers excruciating pain? No of course not, I do however wish for an optimistic outlook about living and loving.

After wasting my first two wishes, I should make a wise choice for wish number three. Genie, I think that I have this one. I wish for wisdom. Wisdom to make wise choices and wisdom to learn from my mistakes.

Thank you Sayre, now that my wishes have been granted, I am grateful. To see what other wishes, our Genie is granting today visit Sayre Smiles for a list of the Fun Monday participants.

Fun Monday: Quiet Time and Place

2010-09-20T08:42:00.010-05:00

The lovely Sayre of Sayre Smiles continues as our Fun Monday hostess. Our assignment this week is to show our quiet places. I especially like this topic. In our new home, we have a few quiet places. When the weather is warm, our front porch is a pleasant setting to relax.

When the mosquitoes are swarming, we have a spacious screened-in back porch to spend time pondering the glories and mysteries of life.

When the weather is inclement, I enjoy looking out the bowed front window to see this in the summer

and this in the winter.

In My Brain

2010-09-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

The lovely Sayre of Sayre Smiles is the host of this week's Fun Monday event. For the topic, Sayre is asking us to tell about our favorite body part. In considering my answer, I thought about my aging anatomy. I like most of the parts of my body and no particular part stands out specifically. Other people mention parts of my physique in an enviable way... my long fingers, my long legs, my big blue eyes, and my posterior which fortunately is not fat. Other than the parts that do not function properly (like my presbyopic eyes and my aching back) , overall I like how the old bod is put together. So dear Sayre. I hope that this is not cheating, but the part that I like best is my brain.

What brings me to this conclusion? My brain allows me to compose this post in a variety of ways. Deep in the inner recesses of the gray matter, my brain is producing thoughts, ideas, and words to include in the post. My brain also allows me to formulate the ideas and words into sentences and relatively coherent paragraphs. My brain even lead me to the decision to highlight this body part in today's post.

My brain tells me how to put one foot in front of the other to amble through my home on this fine Monday morning. My brain permits me to glance out the window and enjoy the beauty of my neighborhood. My brain encourages me to enjoy the brisk fall day. However, my brain reminds me that this is actually still summer in northwest Indiana even though the old brain is interpreting the messages from the neurons about the status of the temperature.

My brain allows me to reminisce about my oldest son's toddlerhood comment about his brain. (Our almost two year-old often would come up with quite complex thoughts.) His amazed and adoring parents would ask, "How did you know that?" He would respond, "because I have a big smart." His amused parents then would ask, "Where is your big smart?" Our young genius would regale his parents with this comment, "in my brain."

Thus, my favorite body part is my brain. Strangely, my brain is probably my least favorite part as well. In my brain, I obsess over a variety of fears such as "Did I leave the burners on , "Is the garage door open?", or "Is the Panini maker plugged in?" I ponder over the possibility of bringing home bedbugs from motels and serving Salmonella or E. coli contaminated food to my loved ones. I agonize over conversations concerned that I may have hurt someone's feelings. Furthermore, my dyslexic brain does not know my right from my left leaving me directionally challenged. Although my deficient thinking has these inadequacies, overall I appreciate the miraculous organ that allows me to love and enjoy my life.

Here is a picture of my brain. Well you know, it is inside the gray head.
(The brain that allows me to love and adore my grandchildren.)

I am looking forward to reading other Fun Monday posts. Thank you Sayre for keeping the Monday tradition alive.

It is all about the Benjamins - Fun Monday

2010-06-14T11:28:00.000-05:00

Fun Monday is here again. This week, our artistic Gattina of Writer's Cramps, is the host. Gattina has asked to see our wallets and our currency. My wallet is a little worn, but I like the whimsical pattern and the utilitarian features. On the inside are several card pockets for my various identification cards, credit cards, and store benefit cards, plus two pockets for paper money. On the opposite outside of the wallet is a zippered coin purse. You may have noticed that $100 bills are missing from the picture. I really do not have any of that denomination, but I would gladly accept any and all Benjamins.

Late in the Day - Fun Monday

2010-06-07T15:59:00.004-05:00

At 3:15 PM, I am composing my Fun Monday for June 7, 2010. I meant to post earlier but Blogger was having issues. However, the hour is late, and I should get at the task at hand. For today's assignment, the lovely Sayre of Sayre Smiles is asking about our summer plans.

I plan to have these adventures.

Visit the nearby park.
Help close the doors or better yet sell our church building
Help start a new journey of faith with other good folks of our church family and a new pastor
Plant seeds harvested in the fall by our oldest granddaughter.
Visit beaches on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Wash coats and do other essentials to prepare for the annual Coats for Kids (and families) giveaway.
Play with the grandkids.
Learn to play the dulcimer
Write blog entries more often
Organize stuff in our new home

.That is enough to keep me busy for the next five summers. What are you planning for this summer of 2010? Visit our host, Sayre of Sayre Smiles , to see what other participants have planned for this summer.

On Mondays, We Wash Our Clothes.

2010-04-12T00:01:00.065-05:00

Jan of The Prytz Family is the host of this Monday's big event. For our task this week, Jan is asking us about our laundry rooms.

Last July, we moved to a new house. Since July, I have been planning a post to show the Internet all of the lovely facets of our new home. Unfortunately, that entry has not been written, but here are the details about laundry at the new house. First, the dirty clothes go into this convenient seagrass hamper in the bedroom. At the old house, the dirty clothes were collected in a plastic laundry basket at the bottom of the bedroom closet.

The laundry area in the new house is on a platform in our attached garage. At the old house, the washer and dryer were in the basement. After removing the clothes from the washer, they go straight into the dryer, and some clothes are taken out of the dryer mid-cycle to air dry on the clothes rack to the left in the picture. (No hanging clothes on the line outside for me. Yes, I know that the air-dried sheets smell wonderful, but I like to avoid bird poop on the laundry.)

In addition to washing clothes for my husband and myself, I wash a few coats for a charity, Coats for Kids (and families), started by our church. Our relatively new Whirlpool Cabrio washer has a big 4.6 cubic foot tub that is useful for washing gently used coats for our yearly giveaways.

(Note: The Fun Monday sticker is part of an embroidered picture that my mother made before I was born.)

Spring Flowers

2010-03-28T20:41:00.006-05:00

For our Fun Monday assignment, Janis of Life According to Jan and Jer is asking us to relate what represents spring to us. First, I must confess that I misinterpreted the assignment. I thought that the assignment was to show pictures of spring flowers. Blossoming flowers do represent spring, but the arrival of the first robin, the melting of snow, fluffy white lambs also proclaim the new season.

I enjoy lovely cultivated flowers, but unusual wildflowers tend to be my favorites. Here are two that blossom early here in northwest Indiana. Below nestled in the moss between the bricks is the tiny Whitlow-Grass, Draba verna. You might miss this floral treasure if you are not especially observant.

Another early spring wildflower although not a blossom of beauty is Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus. Both the common name and the species name refer to the fetid odor produced by the purplish-brown flower. I like looking for these odd flowers in late winter. To me the this strange smelly flower foretells the coming season.

Check out what represents spring to the other players by visiting Life According to Jan and Jer .

Fun Monday - Least Favorite Chore

2010-01-18T07:28:00.008-06:00

Lil' Mouse at The Adventures of Lil' Mouse is our host for this Fun Monday excursion. Lil' Mouse is asking us to tell about our least favorite chore.

If you asked me this when I was a child, my immediate response would have been doing the dishes. I hated this task, which was shared with my sisters. One of us would wash the dishes; the other had the responsibility of drying. During this unpleasantness, we would argue about who was required to rinse the dishes. Of course, some of the tiresomeness of the job was related to our constant bickering about the task at hand. Unfortunately (as I remember), we were unable to rise above pettiness, and each evening of dish-doing seemed interminable.

As a mature adult (old lady), I do not mind doing the dishes. Although there may be two reasons for this, 1) we have a dishwasher and 2) my husband, Daddy D, usually washes the few dishes that require hand-washing. But in these later years, I really do not mind any of the regular household tasks like vacuuming, dusting, washing the floors and windows, or even cleaning the toilet. What I really dread is sorting stuff whether the stuff is the daily mail, digital pictures, old clothes, books, or other treasures. Furthermore, deciding what should be kept and what should be tossed is difficult for me. Even after I have decided what to keep, I dread organizing the kept items.

You might think that our home looks like Adrian Monk's brother, Ambrose's house. However, I do occasionally force myself to sort, toss, and organize. I dread doing this both in my home and in my classroom. This past year, we moved to a new home, and I moved to a new classroom at school. These moves required a great deal of this decision-making, but I did not like it ONE BIT.

Fun Monday - Who Am I?

2009-09-28T18:46:00.009-05:00

Ari of Beyond Slab is this week's Fun Monday host. For this Monday's challenge Ari is asking, "If you could click your heels three times, and change lives with any character from any film, who would it be and why?"

I love this topic because this reminds me of many happy moments from my childhood. When I was young in the 1950's, we lived about a half mile from a neighborhood movie theater. Every Saturday afternoon, my older sisters and I were allowed and even encouraged to go to the matinee showing of that week's second run movie. I remember leaving the theater imagining that I was the heroine or female lead whether that was the spunky Lilly in Kiss me Kate or the lovely Nora Bayes in Shine on Harvest Moon. As a child without hesitation, I would have chosen to be Milly played by Jane Powell in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Milly was pretty, had the voice of an angel, and was determined woman. As a teen like many of my friends, I dreamed of being a Southern belle with a tiny waist like the infamous Miss Scarlett.

However, my choice today would be to brave and heroic like the warrior Guinevere played by Keira Knightley in the 2004 rendition of King Arthur. Another inspirational brave lady is Gladys Alyward in The Inn of Sixth Happiness, who was a real-life heroine instrumental in saving 100 some Chinese orphans from the Japanese invaders during World War II by leading the children over difficult mountain trails of war torn China. The bravery and commitment of Gladys Alyward was amazing.

Thanks, Ari for this fantasy excursion. Now, I am off to read about the characters other participants have chosen. This certainly is a fun adventure for a rainy Monday evening.

Fun Monday on Wednesday

2009-08-12T19:51:00.012-05:00

Karmyn of Dreaming of What Ifs was the host of the August 10th Fun Monday event. When I peeked at the task that Karmyn assigned of showing pictures of what grows in our gardens, I was determined to participate. However, Monday came and passed, and I did not get around to composing my post.

My status of gardener is probably at the kindergarten or even pre-school level. At our old home of 38 years, I rarely planted anything in the ground, but I am appreciative of what was planted by the former owners. In the spring at our old house, lovely paper Narcissus grow on the north side, and sweet-smelling Lilies of the Valley grow on the south side. Dandelions as well as violets thrive in the new spring lawn. In July next to the garage, Day Lilies bloom for the entire month.

Lilies of the Valley

Sweet Violets

Day Lilies

At our new home in the country, we have a new set of plants again cultivated by the former owners. The day we closed on the house, a gorgeous Yucca Plant greeted us with a large cluster of white blooms. After we moved actually moved in the house, several Rose of Sharon bushes started blooming. To add to this delight, we have observed a hummingbird flitting around the blossoms. This has added great joy to our country living.

Rose of Sharon

Two interesting plants from my mother-in-law have joined us in the country. One odd plant with a fetid-smelling flower, which my husband's family calls Kruby although the plant is actually named Konjac and scientifically named Amorphophallus konjac. The foul smelling plant has some scary common names like Devil's Tongue and Voodoo Lily. The other plant blooms at night, and my mother-in-law calls this one Night Bloomer because the blooms only open in the dark.

Amorphophallus konjac - Devil's Tongue

"Night Bloomer"

Thanks to Karmyn for hosting this Fun Monday. I am sorry to have missed the real event, but I hope to visit the other particpants to see what is growing at their homes.

Mirror, Mirror off the Wall

2009-07-24T06:32:00.014-05:00

Our new house actually is not new but was built in 1977. We have been in the process of making changes in the house to make it our home. When we first viewed the house, there were three changes that came to mind. First, we wanted to do something to make the fireplace safe for visiting grandchildren. Second, we were determined to remove the ugly wallpaper in the bathroom. Third, the mirrored wall in the living room had to go.

I know that the mirrors make the room LOOK BIGGER; however, the effect is an illusion.

The mirrored wall actually limit where you can place furniture in the room.

Having the mirrored wall removed became a problem. Since this was glass, Daddy D and I decided to have the mirrors removed rather than making the removal a Ma and Pa Do-It-Yourself Project. Finding someone who does this type of work was easier than I first imagined. Glass and mirror businesses apparently routinely are asked to remove wall to ceiling mirrors like ours. However, finding someone to actually come to the house and take down the mirrors did prove to be a problem. I contacted five different local companies to remove the glass. Three of the businesses agreed to send a representative to give an estimate on the job. The first company failed to show up for three different appointments. Two other companies did not even commit to a specific time to look a the job. Glass Doctor guaranteed an email response in thirty minutes, but we never heard from the good doctor. Finally, a local company, MPI Glass, met me within twenty minutes, looked at the job, and gave an estimate. The next day early in the morning, the man and his son were at the house, had the mirrors off the walls, and carted away the glass in less than 30 minutes.

The man from MPI Glass efficiently removing the mirrors.

Our painter, Marco, preparing the walls for painting.

After the mirrors were removed, this allowed us to continue with other renovations. The same day, my husband and a friend replaced the drywall behind the mirrors. Our painter taped the drywall and then painted the living room. Then, we had the carpets cleaned. However, the delay in the mirror removal slowed our renovations. But finally, we are moving forward and are scheduled to move on Wednesday, July 29th.

Over the River...

2009-07-11T07:31:00.006-05:00

Yikes, my last post was April 26th. Like most of you, I have been a little busy lately. Buying a new home has occupied some of my time. For a variety of reasons but mostly because of the flooding, we are moving from our home of 38 years. Our new house is in a quiet area without flooding issues.

I suppose more importantly may be our reasons for moving to the new home. The new house, which was built in 1977, offers a quiet neighborhood and is near a park. Our new home does not have a basement but does have a family room. The new home does have a lovely screened back porch and sits on an acre and a half plot of land.

We closed on the new home on Monday and have spent the week making changes in the house to make it our home. But hopefully long before Thanksgiving, we will be moved in and living to our new home in the country. If you come for a visit, we are just over the river and through the woods. (Okay, not really, but there is a river flowing through the park, which is in a wooded area.)

Happily Ever After

2009-04-26T19:42:00.013-05:00

Hoosier Girl of The Coffee Table is this week's Fun Monday host. Hoosier Girl is contemplating marriage so she is asking, "What do you consider important to a good marriage or relationship?"

Even though I have been inconsistent with my blog and my Fun Monday participation, there are two reasons that I have signed up for this exercise. First, the lovely hostess is also from Indiana, and second, I have been married for a number of years, for 42 since the day after Christmas. Now, my longevity of marital bliss may not make me an expert at the topic, but I do have some reflections.

December 26, 1966

The first and foremost secret to a good realtionship is selecting a good partner. Perhaps, this is easier said than accomplished, but fortunately I did marry a kind, intelligent, handsome, and even-tempered man, Daddy D. Although we married at a relatively young age, we grew up together before our children were born. Additionally, I think that our willingness to forgive has helped this personal growth. Finally, although we have some separate interests, we do try to spend time with each other.

December 26, 2006 at the 40th wedding anniversary party that we threw for ourselves.

Maybe another pathway to a healthy relationship is the ability to have good time.

Up, Up, and Away

2009-04-19T21:00:00.000-05:00

Sayre of Sayre Smiles is this week's Fun Monday host. The lovely and creative Sayre is asking us to " Take your camera to work and take pictures of the things that inspire you as you work or that inspires your co-workers."

I work at the Clifford Pierce Middle School where I teach science to seventh graders. With our vaulted entrance pointing upward, just walking into our building can be awe-inspiring.

But, what visitors see as they are inside the building is indeed inspirational to our students, staff members, and visitors alike. This huge space shuttle model hangs in the pointed entrance way. The space shuttle, which is 1:10 scale model of Endeavour, was originally constructed by a Cub Scout Pack in a nearby town. The Cub Scouts walked alongside the shuttle in a Fourth of July parade. The shuttle was then donated to the Merrillville Schools and hangs outside our Planetarium, which is the only planetarium in Northwest Indiana that presents group and public program.

To see other example of inspirational workplace artwork or to participate in this Fun Monday event, visit Sayre Smiles .

Dream a Little Dream with Me

2009-04-12T18:41:00.015-05:00

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Jill, of The Adventures of Lil Mouse. Jill asking us about our dreams. Specifically, Jill asks, "Do you have any dreams, particularly recurrent ones that you feel no one else has? Or, just tell us about an odd dream you had as a kid.

Usually, I do not dream, or perhaps, something about my advanced age makes me incapable of remembering my dreams. However, conveniently for this Fun Monday, this past Friday night my sleep was disturbed by a frightening and memorable dream. In my dream, I was in very close proximity to an oncoming tornado. Strangely, this scary dream coincides with one of my real-life fantasies of photographing one of these dangerous weather phenomena. When I hear the television announcer proclaim a tornado warning or even when the local siren sounds the alarm, I always grab my camera and look for funnel clouds through the doorways and windows. You may think that being more frightened of an imaginary threat than a real hazard is strange. However, for some reason, the shadowy unknown always seems scarier to me than actual dangers.

I do remember another strange twilight dreaminess experience from my younger years. A couple of times, when I was in my teens, I remember being asleep, but I was conscious of trying to wake up. However, for a time period, which seemed eternal, I was not able to wake and be fully conscious. In this dreamlike not quite awake state, I seemed to float about the house. Although there were no scary monsters in these dreams, the semi-conscious state frightened me as I apparently had little control of my being.

Then, as a child, I dreamt that I was in a dentist chair, and this lady with hairy fingernails tried to choke me. When I awoke, the sheet was wrapped around my neck. (((Shudder))) This dream scared me for months. I may be fortunate not to remember most dreams these days.

Brotherly Love in the Summertime

2009-04-06T20:04:00.007-05:00

This week's Fun Monday hostess is Patience. Knowing that patience is a virtue , my hostess will probably not mind my late entry to this week's event. The task for this Monday is, "How I'll Spend My Summer."

Since I teach school during the year, part of my summer vacation will be spent doing all the things that I put off during the rest of the year. Every year, I hope to do some serious cleaning and complete some much needed renovation on our sixty year old home. And every summer. I get less done than I planned.

However, perhaps Patience is actually referring to fun in the sun rather work in the gloom. Some years my husband and I do not actually travel for our vacation. Hopefully, this summer will not be one of those years. As you might infer from our title, Daddy D and I hope to visit Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, this summer. During our stay, we would to emphasize touring the historic sites in the city including Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. I am not sure what else to see, but maybe you experienced travelers can give me some tips. Plus, our youngest son, Luke, has been there a few times, and he is very helpful with travel plans.

Luke with Rocky in Philadelphia

Happy Fun Monday, I have missed all of you.

Fun Monday - Indiana Wants You

2009-02-08T20:41:00.002-06:00

Pamela of Dust Will Wait is the hostess of this week's Fun Monday adventure. For our challenge, Pamela is asking us, "Show me in pictures or tell me in words what defines the place where you live." The wise and wonderful Pamela is leaving the interpretation of the task up to the participants. (Of course, the generous Fun Monday crowd is always accepting of others responses...after all this is about having fun on Monday.)

This comic strip drawn by our son, Luke, for the Purdue Exponent when he was a college student delineates a definite feature about where I live.

Living in Indiana, we have the opportunity to experience all four seasons and all sorts of weather.

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

(Note: I was planning a blogging special event for Valentine's Day. However, perhaps this should be postponed for another day.)

Fun Monday - My Reading List

2009-02-01T21:39:00.005-06:00

This week's Fun Monday host is the lovely AOJ at The Lurchers. Angela is asking the participants this week some bookish questions. 1. What are we reading currently? 2. Are we enjoying our current read? 3. What one book would we take with us to a desrt island?

My current read may not be a surprise to some regular visitors to Return of the White Robin. I am currently reading Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama. As a huge fan of the current president of the United States of America, I am enjoying reading about this man and the forces that shaped his character. One of the many quotes that I treasure from Obama's book is the compliment that he pays his wife Michelle in the introduction. Complimenting his wife Obama thanks his wife "for her wit, grace, candor, and unerring ability to encourage my best impulses." ( I can only hope for an unerring ability to encourage the best impulses of those that I love.)

Actually, I am reading several books these past couple of days. On Saturday, our son, Luke, and daughter-in-law, Bree, became parents for the second time. The little boy, who is not so little at 9 pounds 5 ounces and 22 1/4 inches long, is our third grandchild and our first grandson. My husband and I are caring for his big sister, Kara, while mom and baby rest in the hospital. Our granddaughter, not quite 14 month-old Kara, is quite a fan of books. For many months, she has been sitting and looking at board books by herself or with an adult. She sits patiently turning the pages of a selected book using the skill of turning the pages from the left to the right. Recently, she has included books with paper pages. With supervision, she treats the paper pages with utmost respect turning the pages one by one carefully so not to bend or tear the pages.

Animal Babies in Ponds and Rivers is just one of the many books that we have been reading with our granddaughter, who is pictured here with her parents the night before the birth of her baby brother.

One day old Nathan.

For the book that I would most like to take with me on a desert island, I am tempted to say The Bible or my favorite book, God is Love, by Philip Gulley or perhaps, a favorite of my youth, An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. However, since I know little of survival, this book seems more practical.
To see a list of participants or to sign-up to participate, visit AOJ at The Lurchers.

Fun Monday - A Change in Lifestyle

2009-01-25T17:20:00.000-06:00

Grace of Mama Rehema is this week's Fun Monday hostess. Grace is asking the participants to share information about a diet. We can discuss diets that we have tried and tell what we liked or did not like about the diet. Grace encourages us to tell about one diet that you had so much success with, or another that was a torture to follow or both.

I am very happy the Grace has selected this particular topic for this Fun Monday. I have been thinking about writing about my adventures in dieting for a few weeks. Like many dieters, I have become somewhat of a zealot in promoting the diet that works for me. On the other hand, I am somewhat self-conscious about discussing weight. Most of my life, I have been fortunate to be slim. Even as I aged and added some pounds, my height of 5'7" hid some of the extra pounds that I had gained over the past seven or so years. However, I developed a double chin and a tummy paunch, which is definitely not desirable.

Yet, no longer being svelte did not induce me to lose weight. My weight loss was almost accidental, and I lost about 25 pounds in about six months. The plan that we followed is The G.I. Diet developed by Rick Gallop. Here is how this came about. In June2008, my husband and I were at a party, and Daddy D mentioned that he felt tired much of the time. A friend suggested that he might have more energy by losing a few pounds by trying the G.I. Diet. Daddy D like me is tall (he is actually a lot taller at 6'3".) We, tall people, tend to hide our weight gains over our long frames.

So off to the bookstore, we went to purchase both The G.I. Diet and The G.I. Diet Express by Rick Gallop . The Glycemic Index or G.I. Diet by Gallop is based on the premise that all foods are traffic-light color-coded. Green light foods are acceptable foods for the diet and include most fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, fish packed in water, lean meats, whole wheat pastas, almonds, oatmeal, skim milk, fat-free cheese, fat free yogurt to name a few of the main choices.

The plan essentially consists of eating three meals including only the foods from the extensive green light list. Additionally to stave off hunger, dieters are encouraged to eat snacks between meals, again choosing foods from the green light list. Frequently, our snacks consist of plain yogurt with fresh fruit or flavored fat-free yogurt. Another snack time favorite is almonds.

I highly recommend the G.I. Diet. My husband has lost almost 20 pounds, and I lost 25 pounds because I followed his diet. Even though I did have a few pounds to lose and I am very happy with the results, I was following this diet partly for convenience. I probably have reached the yellow light phase of the diet, which is the maintenance phase. In this phase, a few more foods such as bananas, corn, red wine, and unsweetened fruit juices are permitted in addition to the green light foods. Red light foods such as bacon, peanut butter, and Jello should always be avoided. As my title suggests, this is not really a diet as such but a change in lifestyle with a "healthy balanced eating plan to guide you the rest of your life." (Gallop)

In addition to actually losing weight, there are some other positive aspects of the G.I. Diet. The green light foods or foods with a low glycemic index break down slowly leaving the dieter feeling fuller longer. Furthermore, there is no calorie counting, measuring, or quotas.

This is me some 25 pounds thinner than last June without a double chin or tummy paunch. (Sorry No Before Picture)

For a different aspect of this dieting adventure, check out our team blog, Mama Said, Papa Said .

Fun Monday - Second Anniversary Edition

2009-01-18T19:21:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Second Anniversary Celebration of Fun Monday. For this week's assignment Julie of Another Chance Ranch is asking us to show pictures inside our door. So without further fanfare, please step inside. If you are a regular visitor to my house, you would come to the back door. Would you like a cup of coffee, or how about a cup of hot tea? Have a seat at the kitchen table. I thought about showing you the white metal cabinets last week for our quirky Fun Monday. We considered replacing these, but new expensive wooden cabinets might overwhelm our modest decor. However, we do have a very nice ceramic tile floor installed by our own, Daddy D.

However, if this is your first visit, you might enter by the front door. Have a seat. We bought the couch many years ago with a paltry raise, but the couch does include fold-out bed. Besides that, the sofa is comfy and is still in good condition. I will make that coffee now. Would you like cream or sugar? Perhaps, you prefer to sit in the rocking chair. Daddy D bought the antique chair to rock our second baby, Luke, to sleep. Luke is now expecting his second baby on February 5th. One of my favorite pieces in the living room is the octagon-shaped rug; we had it custom-made. Most of the furniture in the room was handed down from our parents or made by my husband's grandfather.

I hope that you enjoyed your visit. We will be sure to keep the porch light on, but perhaps we should buy a new fixture.

Fun Monday - Big and Bad

2009-01-12T16:48:00.011-06:00

This week's Fun Monday host is the kind and compassionate, Jan of The Prytz Family. For this Monday's assignment, Jan is asking that we answer the question, "What is the quirkiest thing in your home that you will never give away?"

For your viewing pleasure, I submit two items.This Big Boy bank is from my oldest son. Big Boy is or was a mascot for a sandwich that was sold at several restaurant chains including Shoney's and Frisch's. I think that this Big Boy is from Azar's, which was a popular food chain in Indiana. Dean gave this to me as a gift for Mother's Day, when he was in high school. Who wouldn't love such a unique gift? Additionally, this reminds of some good old days of my youth when drive-in restaurants were the rage. You could even order a Big Boy hamburger with fries, and the server would bring your order right out to your car.

Another treasure that I will keep forever was painted by my creative sister-in-law, REM. The very first car that I paid for myself was a 1970 Gremlin made by American Motors. My sister-in-law thoughtfully painted a toy Gremlin to match my cute little car, which looked like a toy itself. My car did not have the supercharger as featured on the toy. Unfortunately, the real Gremlin as cute as it was never ran very well. Maybe the car would have run better with a supercharger. The bright green finish on the Gremlin was called Big Bad Green. Isn't that a great name for a wonderful color? (We did get rid of the car, but the toy Gremlin sits atop my computer.0

The Big Bad Green Gremlin by REM.

Me and my Big Bad Green Gremlin Green

Maybe Leopards Can't...but We Can - Fun Monday.

2009-01-04T19:06:00.007-06:00

Faye of Summit Musings is the hostess for this week's Fun Monday. The topic Faye is asking us to write about for the first Fun Monday of 2009 is, "What's on your mind lately?" One of the themes that has been playing over in my mind is the possibility of personal transformation as well as the potential social reformation. This topic occupies my thoughts as I ponder how to reach my New Year's goal of becoming more organized in 2009. Additionally, a provocative discussion today in our Sunday school class about the ability or inability of people to make significant life changes has caused me to reflect on the topic of personal transformation and the broader topic of social change.

I maintain that people can and do make substantive life changes. People do stop smoking or stop using drugs. Others do become kinder and gentler. Failing students do buckle down and begin to study. Overweight people do lose weight and become thinner.

In addition to people making personal changes, I think that society can and has changed for the better. Even though horrific events are happening as I write this post, I think that we have made some positive moral steps forward as a society throughout history. The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, the formation of the United Nations, and ending of Apartheid in South Africa are examples of society striving to improve.

In the United States through the actions of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and others, we have changed from a nation where only white male property owners had full rights of citizenship to a country where all free adult citizens can vote and own property. We have changed from a country with segregated accommodations, schools, and transportation to a country that elected a man with a Kenyan father to be president of the United States.

Of course usually, the only way a personal goal can be reached is if we work towards that goal. And perhaps, the only way that society changes for the better is if we work together for the greater good. I am confident that we can do both.

Happy New Year - New Beginnings

2009-01-01T17:02:00.004-06:00

Lycaena hyllus, a bronze copper butterfly, on garlic cloves from my new 2009 World Wildlife Fund Butterflies Calendar

Rather liking the chance to start over, I take pleasure in taking down the calendar from the spent year and tacking up the calendar of the brand new year. I even like turning the page of the calendar to a new month. Although one can make changes in one's life at any moment, a change in the year provides us with a definite time frame to make positive changes in our lives. I welcome this opportunity to reflect on the past year and to design life transformations for the upcoming year. Yes, I do know that people are not always able to accomplish these hoped for goals. However, people do make changes for the better. Some actually quit smoking, others lose weight, and others are kinder, more compassionate. Furthermore, even people that fail to accomplish a desired outcome, can try again at a later time. So here is to new beginnings, may 2009 be a very successful year for you and your loved ones. (I am going to work on being more organized.)

Memorable Events - Fun Monday

2008-12-29T06:20:00.018-06:00

The lovely smiling Sayre is today's Fun Monday host. For this challenge, Sayre is asking us to complete two simple tasks, Fun Monday, challenge is "What was the most touching, wonderful part of Christmas for you this year?AND What was the craziest, stupidest, funniest part this year?"

As I have two young granddaughters, first part of the assignment is easy. The most memorable moments involves these lovely ladies. I am sure that I will always remember of youngest granddaughter holding out her two hands or pointing to indicate that she wants to be held by Grandma or carried around the room by Grandpa. Another sweet memory is our almost four-year old granddaughter greeting us at the door and inviting her grandparents to their home in the most grown-up manner.

For the stupidest and craziest, I would have to say waiting all Christmas Eve afternoon for the cable guy to repair our cable that was downed by a tree limb in a recent ice storm. The cable guy was to arrive between 1:00 - 4:00 PM. The appointed hour came and past without the appearance or word from the repairman. We did receive a call about 4:30 from the man saying that he would be at our home by within 30 minutes. Now of course, we can live without cable, and I do have sympathy for anyone working on a holiday. However, the cable company did set this specific time. But the lateness of the hour was an inconvenience as the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at our church began at 6:00 PM. Additionally, although we are now able to watch our favorite shows, the cable still lies on the ground outside our home. The cable guy did tell us to call the cable company in the spring when the ground thaws to request that the cable be buried. (You can bet that they will hear from us before then.)

The evening did have a wonderful ending. The church service was remarkable, and as usual our pastor gave an outstanding sermon that included a magic trick by a magician from our congregation.

Favorite Toy

2008-12-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

This week's Round Robin Photo Challenge is to show a favorite toy. This teddy bear is not only one of my favorites, but was a favorite of my sons too. I have had the stuffed bear ever since I can remember, which is a very long time as I am sixty-two. As babies , each of my sons adopted the little bear as his own. Perhaps, this memory endears the bear to my heart even more. When our second child was born, our oldest child, Dean, left his teddy at the home of friends, who were watching him as his brother was being born. The little teddy bear was his nighttime security object so my husband, Daddy D, made an emergency trip to retrieve his teddy for a sound night's sleep.

Pictured here with three-week old Dean is the little teddy and two other favorites, a lion that played, "You Are My Sunshine" and Claymore C. Bear. The latter two toys have since bit the dust.

Then, when Dean's little brother, Luke, came home from the hospital and was crying as newborn babies do, the almost three-year old boy reached into the baby buggy, patted his little brother, and said. "Don't cry baby. Here's teddy." The memory brings tears to my eyes.

For the past several years, the little stuffed bear has been residing in the bottom of our school clock in the living room. If you look closely, you might notice that Teddy has a haircut. Little brother, Luke, gave the little bear a buzz at one point, something he did to himself...more than once.

Both sons are now adults and fathers to our wonderful grandchildren. Perhaps, we should dust off the old teddy bear and have meet a new generation of children. To see more favorite toys, visit Carly at Round Robin Photo Challenge.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T13:26:00.003-06:00

To You and Your Loved Ones

Bleak December

2008-12-21T19:14:00.005-06:00

It was a cold, windy, and icy morning this past Friday. About 5:00 AM, I received a call from my friend and teammate, Martha, letting me know that school was going to be delayed for 2 hours. Shortly thereafter, we received an automated message relaying the same detail. The delay in school was good news as our cars were ice-covered, and the driveway was no better. Additionally, this was to be our last day of school before our holiday break. The day before any holiday can be quite hectic for teachers and students alike. A two-hour delay meant that school would begin at about 9:30 AM. However, the weather conditions convinced the powers-that-be to cancel school altogether for that Friday, December 19, 2008.

After Daddy D, a physics and chemistry teacher for the same school system in which I teach seventh grade science, and I received a couple of phone messages about the school cancellation, my husband noted that we had lost a few branches to ice in the backyard. A few minutes later, I heard a loud crash and the lights went out in our bedroom. However, the computer that I was using was still functioning, and other lights throughout the house were still on. Investigating the source of the loud noise, I found this broken branch outside our bedroom window. As my husband looked outside, he found that this tree limb broke off and hit our roof apparently pulling down the electrical wire and the cable wire coming to our house. Luckily, the part of the power still coming to the house was to the refrigerator and to the furnace so we had both food and heat.

Of course, we called the power company immediately. The customer service person asked Daddy D several questions and said that repairmen would come to our house as soon as possible. It turns out the as soon as possible was Sunday afternoon. Furthermore, NIPSCO, the power company, was not responsible for the repairs so we needed to call an electrician. We called a conscientious and efficient electrician named Dean, who was here within an hour and quickly made the repairs in sub-zero temperatures. Dean and his men restored the mast leading to the meter, and the NIPSCO men turned on our power

Although this event was inconvenient and this cost us a few dollars, my husband and I feel fortunate that we had heat, a functioning refrigerator, and that were able to use our stove, washer, and dryer during these few days. I guess that December may not be so bleak afterall.

Where's Molly?

2008-12-19T14:55:00.008-06:00

My last post was on the eve of election day, which was more than seven weeks ago. Since that time I have been busy and have not had the time or have not set aside the time to post an entry on my blog. So, "where have I been and what have I been doing?", might be the question to ask. Of course, I have been doing the usual stuff of teaching school, sleeping, eating, buying Christmas presents, visiting with family, and going to church.

However, there are some other commitments that have kept me from blogging. I am part of an organization, Coats for Kids(and families), that collects new and gently used coats to give to people in need in our community. This year with the help of the local school systems, two churches, and some other agencies, we collected and distributed over 900 coats in November.

In December, the guitarist in our church Praise Team, Bryan Lubeck, organized a benefit concert for Coats for Kids(and families). Additionally, Bryan and his band gave a free concert at our local mall, Westfield Shopping Centre. At the free concert, we sold holiday CDs created by Bryan and purchased by Westfield. All of the proceeds from the holiday CDs went to Coats for Kids(and families).

Besides the coat and concert responsibilities, we have spent some wonderful time with our family in Indianapolis. We spent a festive Thanksgiving with our son, Luke, his wife Frema, and our lovely granddaughter, Kara. The day after Thanksgiving our daughter-in-law, PJ, fed us a delightful meal, and we played with our oldest granddaughter for a few hours. This past Saturday, we traveled to Indianapolis again to visit with the family for Kara's first birthday. Unfortunately, Kara was ill and was not able to fully enjoy her party.

Today is somewhat of a break for Daddy D and me. School was cancelled because of the ice storm that hit our area. This provided me with some extra time to compose a post. I hope that you all have been well in my absence.

Note: I am not in the picture as I was the photographer at the Barack Obama Rally in Highland, Indiana on October 31.

My Choice for President - Indiana a True Blue State

2008-11-03T18:49:00.007-06:00

I am excited about voting for Barack Obama tomorrow on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. I have admired Barack since he gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Here are my reasons for voting for this dynamic candidate.

Climate

Investment in clean and efficient domestic technologies
Help developing countries preserve biodiversity
Participate in global efforts to enforce emission reductions
Implement market-based cap and trade mechanisms or systems to reduce carbon emissions

On Criminal Justice Reform

Reducing recidivism
Community programs to avoid juvenile delinquency
Recognizing the right to own firearms
Closing the gun show loophole
Background checks
Banning assault weapons

On Disabilities

Protecting the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities
Options for home care instead of institutions

On Discrimination

Ending discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability

On Domestic Violence

Ending violence against women
Creating a special advisor to the president
Increasing funding to domestic and sexual assault prevention programs
Strengthening sexual assault and domestic violence laws
Providing job security to survivors
Building foreign policies that are sensitive to issues of aggression against women around the world

On Human Sexulaity

Ending discrimination in all forms (including sexual orientation)
Repealing "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell" military policies and implementing policies for men and women to serve openly

On Immigration

Comprehensive immigration reform that allows undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship;
Penalizing businesses for hiring undocumented immigrants;
Increasing number of visas for families and workers

On A Living Wage

Increasing minimum wage and indexing it to inflation

On Marriage

Inclusion of all families
Opposing the Defense of Marriage Act

On Middle East Peace

Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons
Implementing tougher sanctions and high-level diplomacy
Working with the international community to enforce unilateral and multilateral sanctions
Ending the war in Iraq responsibly
Launching a comprehensive regional and international plan
Ending any permanent base agreements in Iraq
Actively securing peace for Israelis and Palestinians
Establishing a Palestinian state and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

On Taxation

Providing tax cuts to the middle class
Increase tax on families making over $250,000 to support programs, including healthcare
Eliminating corporate tax loopholes and tax havens

On Torture

Rejects the use of torture

On Healthcare

Access to affordable comprehensive, health care for all
Sharing the costs for care
Decisions being made by patients and healthcare provider

On Worker's Rights

Labor organizations and collective bargaining
Opposing Right-to-Work laws in states

On Friday night, October 31, my husband and were fortunate to attend Obama Rally in Highland, Indiana. The event was exciting and charged with energy. Additionally, the weather was wonderful for this outdoor event. The crowd was energized by the music, the Indiana Democratic candidates, and presidential nominee.

Hoosiers waiting patiently in line to see the next president of the United States. We are all waiting to see Indiana counted as a blue state in the 2008 election. However, the candidate himself observed that Indiana is red, white and blue, and indeed we are.

Barack Obama in Highland, Indiana on October 31st, 2008

Fun Monday - Halloween Memories

2008-10-27T05:53:00.003-05:00

I wonder if I remember how to do this. I have not posted an entry since September 14, and I have not participated in Fun Monday since August 17. Although my last two entries were about our flood woes, we have not suffered dire consequences or ill effects because of the flood like some others in our county. However, I have been busy.

For this week's Fun Monday event, our friendly and not even frightful hostess, Sayre of Sayre Smiles, is requesting. "Tell us about your favorite Halloween as a kid (pictures, if you have them!), and show us your costume for this year. If you're not dressing up, show us a picture of a pumpkin carving that really tickled your fancy or how you decorated your house."

That is me middle in my nurse costume at a neighborhood Halloween Party.

I may not have a specific favorite Halloween memory, but I have many fond memories of this holiday. When I was a child, Halloween was a big event. Regardless of the Fun Monday icon borrowed (stolen) from our hostess Sayre, I did not and do not think of Halloween as a scary holiday. I remember Halloween as a community event mostly for children but also for kind and giving adults. In our city, trick-or-treating began the week before October 31st so we went door to door begging for candy not only the night of Halloween but a few days before the 31st as well.

The children portraying a scary ghost and a frightful bat.

When our children were young, trick or treating was restricted to a few hours on Halloween night. Most years, I would sew costumes for the boys. The very first costume that I created for our oldest son was a king costume. The crown was made of green poster board, and he had a black velvet cape made from his mom's torn velvet slacks. Both the cape and the crown were trimmed in gold. As our sons grew, they requested a variety of costumes including a rabbit, a bat, a ghost, and Batman's sidekick Robin. Since our sons grew up in the 70's and 80's, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were natural choices for costumes. Although these costumes were make-shift, the boys seemed to be satisfied with these creations

Our son Luke is Darth Vader and his brother Matt chose to be Luke for this Halloween.

Daddy D , the science teacher, joining in on Halloween fun in his mad scientist costume and the appropriate libation.

To read about other Halloween memories and festivities, visit Sayre Smiles. Happy Halloween

And then some more...

2008-09-14T15:58:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, I posted pictures of our recent flood. Although the water in the stream (drainage ditch) in front of our home breaches its banks from time to time, the water usually recedes in a few hours. On Saturday, Weather Underground, reported that our town had received 4.01 inches in 24 hours. A weather station at the school where I teach science to seventh graders, recorded 6.71 inches in a 24 hour period. Whatever the amount at our home, both reports amount to a great deal of rain. Yesterday's water did recede although the ditch was quite full.

Neighborhood Flooding

This morning when Daddy D and I left for church, the ditch was quite full from yesterday's torrential downpour. Also, although rain was falling, the precipitation was light as we left our home. However, when we attended the worship services, the rainfall steadily increased, and perhaps 2-3 more inches fell. As we arrived home the lake in front of our home was even more expansive. We knew the water was at least knee deep in places so we parked the car at a local business and waded through the floodwaters to our house. When we arrived at our house, we were delighted to find the power on and the sump pump was steadily removing water from the seeping basement.

More Water in the Neighborhood

Although this flooding is bothersome and inconvenient, we are really doing well. Currently, the water level is slowly dropping outside. Additionally, the rain has virtually stopped falling. Furthermore, as Annie sang, "The sun will come out tomorrow." Or at least, there is sunshine in the forecast.

Although there are flood waters in the foreground if you look closely, you can spot a faint rainbow in the sky, a symbol of the good weather to follow. Friends, take care and stay dry.

Lakefront Property

2008-09-13T09:12:00.009-05:00

Who doesn't want to live on a lake? Well, if that is your dream, you would have been ecstatic to wake-up in my neighborhood this morning. We are currently surrounded by water. And no, this is not a lake, these are the rising waters from the stream (drainage ditch) in front of our home. And if the water outside the house were a lake, you might call the water inside the house in the basement...a swimming pool or at least a wading pool. Yet, the situation is better than what we experienced in August. This time we have power, and if we lose power , we now have a generator to run the sump pump to rid the basement of water. Additionally, the water is currently receding. Finally, our water is a minor inconvenience compared to the damage that Hurricane Ike must be reeking in Texas and other places along the gulf coast.

If you would like to know good news, look at my previous post.

Our view from the bottom step of our porch.

Our neighbor's front yard to the north.

Looking south

The Good News..."She is having a little brother."

2008-09-13T06:51:00.007-05:00

The lovely little lady in my last post is having a little brother. Yesterday, her parents, Frema and Luke, found out that their second child, who is expected to arrive in February, is a boy. This means that very soon Daddy D and I will be the proud grandparents to three grandchildren, our two fabulous granddaughters and our new little grandson.

We have guests

2008-09-05T19:41:00.000-05:00

Michigan and Home again

2008-09-01T18:57:00.007-05:00

Daddy D and I have returned to our short Labor Day vacation to Michigan. We did see several sites. We saw the Old Rugged Cross Church, where the old Methodist hymn written by Reverend George Bennard was first performed. The church itself was built in 1862 as a hops barn. When the hops industry failed in 1876, a Methodist Episcopal congregation bought the building and converted the barn into a church. In 1915, the church building was sold to a farmer and was used as a barn for 83 years. In 1998, a local couple purchased the building and with others founded The Old Rugged Cross Foundation, a multi-denominational non-profit organization. The organization is in the process of renovating the building to a church.
Today, we left Niles traveling down US 12 to Three Oaks and then on to New Buffalo. In Three Oaks, we discovered a delightful concern called the Featherbone Factory, which is a gift and curio store as well as a manufacturer of concrete stepping stones. The Featherbone Factory building once housed just that, a company that produced bones of corsets in the 19th century. The bones of the Featherbone Factory were actually made from ground-up turkey quills. Edward Warren developed a process to use the featherbones in corsets revolutionizing an industry that had been relying on whalebones to provide structure in women's corsets. The inventor also was responsible for preserving the Warren Dunes shoreline.

Finally, in New Buffalo we stopped at the beach. After all what is a trip to Michigan, without visiting one of the Great Lakes?

Picture - Postcard - Wish You Were Here

2008-08-31T18:15:00.008-05:00

Daddy D and I are taking a small Labor Day vacation. We have had full and busy summer with little time for vacations so we made the decision late in the week to get away before the snow flies. Because we waited until the last minute, we not able to make reservations at some of the traditional vacation spots in southwestern Michigan. Thus, we made reservations to stay in Niles, a city located a few miles north of South Bend, Indiana. When we arrived in the city, we learned some of the local history of the area. We have had a grand time investigating the area and the historic structures. Pictured here is the historic Niles City Hall that originally was the family home of Henry A. Chapin. The city hall was built in 1884 and used by the Chapin family until 1902. Chapin was a local business man, who made most of his money from the discovery of iron ore near Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Isn't the buliding magnificent both as a home and as a public building?

Round Robin - Public Art

2008-08-23T16:02:00.008-05:00

For this week's Round Robin, participants are displaying public art. My public art picture is located in St. Joseph, Michigan on the Silver Beach along the scenic blue waters of Lake Michigan. The sculpture is And You, Seas created by Richard Hunt. The statue was commissioned in memory of Patrick J. Kinney for his life-long interest in sculpture and in sailing. Soaring more than 40 feet above the water, Hunt's nautical design can be appreciated from all angles and directions, but it is especially captivating from the lake guiding and welcoming boaters to the Port of St. Joseph along the St. Joseph Channel.

For a list of other participants, visit Carly at Round Robin Photo Challenge.

Fun Monday - Can You Answer This?

2008-08-17T20:00:00.004-05:00

The wonderful and talented Lisa of Lisa's Chaos is this week's Fun Monday hostess. The challenge for this week is simple just ask a question for the visitors to answer or show Lisa a bird picture. Keep in mind, Lisa is an extremely capable photographer.

I have decided to show a picture and ask a question. My question is related to my bird picture. Those of you that have visited my blog, Return of the White Robin, are familiar with my masthead picture. Most you probably recognize that the bird is a young robin. I felt fortunate to capture this picture without the little creature flying off to his nest. Last June. I posted a photograph of the bird that currently appears in my masthead for a Wordless Wednesday post; and then, a few days later I was lucky to catch another juvenile bird in a photograph . This bird was perched in the exact same spot as the first bird. So even though the birds were different-looking, I wondered if the two pictures might be the same bird. I posted a second picture on my blog with my query, "Is this the same bird?" Three people, who know more about birds than me, questioned my assumption that these two might be the same bird, my lovely sister-in-law, REM, Pamela of Dust Will Wait, Gawilli of Back in the Day. I sent the pictures to some experts at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Sure enough, the bird experts confirmed what my friends suspected or knew, that these are two different birds. The first picture, the one that graces my masthead, is an American Robin, and the second baby is a Common Grackle.

On June 15, 2007, I did publish this retraction in my blog.

I am sorry blogging world for the misinformation about our avian friends. I
thank REM, Pamela, and Gawilli for their insight. However, I am somewhat
embarrassed by my error. Not only, do I teach science, but my degree is actually
in biology. Moreover, I have partially completed a correspondence course in
ornithology. Finally, I call my blog, Return of the White Robin. Hopefully, if I
ever see a white robin, I will be able to recognize the bird...Sheesh.

My question is, "Have you made an embarrassing or idiotic mistake on your blog or in your life that required a retraction or at least a revision?"

Fun Monday - Favorite Photos

2008-08-10T16:50:00.007-05:00

AOJ of The Lurchers, the lovely Angela, is the hostess of this week's Fun Monday. AOJ is asking to see our favorite picture.

I have two favorites and they both hang on the wall in my computer room. Both are pictures of our sons as toddlers. I like the composition of both photographs, and both pictures remind me of wonderful times. The first picture is our oldest son, Dean, on a camping trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Notice how the photographer, Daddy D, was able to capture the ripples of the rock Dean had just tossed into Lake Fanny Hooe at Copper Harbor, Michigan.

The second picture features little Luke looking wistfully at the beach and the bay in Naples, Florida. My parents retired to Florida, and we spent several Christmas vacations in Naples.

To see other great photographs and the list of participants, visit The Lurchers .

Round Robin Challenge: Night Shots.

2008-08-09T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today's Round Robin challenge is Night Shots. My night shot is a flower that my mother-in-law gave my husband a few years ago. She calls these flowers, Night Bloomers, and the plant does indeed bloom at night. In fact she has planted her bloomers in the ground and will have 30 some blossoms in an evening. The flower has some characteristics of the Common Evening Primrose with yellow petals and a crosslike stigma. However, there are some differences as well. These Night Bloomers produce one blossom on a long stem. I cannot locate the specific species, but I am sure this night blossoming flower belongs to the genus, Oenothera.

Night Bloomer, Oenothera

It Stormed in Camelot, or Noah, Noah Build Me an Arky, Arky

2008-08-08T16:06:00.018-05:00

Some you may have read here about my life in Camelot and the lovely weather that we have had throughout the summer in northwest Indiana. Well, this last Monday evening, the rains came and the winds blew. A change in the weather is not necessarily a bad thing. However, extreme weather can have extreme results. Last Monday night on August 4th, we received 2.47 inches of rain in about 3 hours.

Majestic Stream by our home

Since we live on a stream (drainage ditch), we frequently experience seepage when the creek rises in front of our house. A little water in the basement is irritating, but we have learned to live with the nuisance. The water usually recedes in a few hours and our home dries out quickly. We have a submersible sump pump that removes this extra water from the outside world. The electrical pump works fabulously as long as we have power.

Daddy D in the receding waters of his Inner Sanctum

Maximum depth of basement floodwaters was about 12 inches.

Unfortunately, Monday evening the power went out during the storm, and the water rose in our yard and in the basement. Many people, who live in similar circumstances, have purchased generators to run the sump pump when there is a loss of electricity. However, King Arthur and Queen Guinevere must have believed that they lived the charmed lives. Meaning Daddy D and I never bothered to purchase a generator. We talked about buying a generator. We looked at generators at Home Depot after the last big storm. But, did we have a generator on Monday night? Absolutely not. Did we buy one Tuesday morning? Absolutely!

Although we have sustained minor damage and lost a few belongings, we feel fortunate that our loss was minimal. Our hot water heater, washer, and dryer all still function. We need a new furnace anyway. Thus, with our brand, new, sparkly, shiny gasoline generator, we can return to the charmed life in Camelot.

Fun Monday - I Swear

2008-08-03T19:02:00.005-05:00

This week's Fun Monday task is to tell about our favorite words. Actually, we are instructed to keep the words in our list G-rated. Our lovely and clean-minded hostess is the Mothers of Brothers. Actually, I do not swear as such, and I do not equate swearing with saying X-rated words. Swearing to me means to take an oath or proclaim that something is true. On the other hand, profane or obscene words are ...okay, all right, that should be another post.

I do have a few favorite words that I like to use in writing. When speaking of many things, I like to use the word, myriad, but I dislike using plethora. If possible, I will try to weave the word burgeoning into my formal writing to describe growing or expanding processes. If I speak about something that is everywhere, ubiquitous is a grand term. In letters to inept bosses and disreputable businesses, I explain that I am befuddled and bewildered.

There is another category of words that I favor because of their intrinsic meaning. Love, grace, hope, forgiveness, patience, understanding, compassion, empathy are such words with profound meaning.

If you like words, visit our hostess at Mothers of Brothers to see the list of other word fanatics. You also might enjoy the word game at Free Rice, a website that donates 20 grains of rice for every word you can define correctly in an online multiple-choice quiz.

"Off with Their Heads"

2008-07-30T14:00:00.002-05:00

to quote the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. As you may know from my previous two posts, I live in Camelot. The flowers that grow here in the kingdom grow without much help. That is to say, I am not much of a gardener. However, one thing I do every morning during the month of July is deadhead the Day Lilies. As many of you know, deadheading is the removal of spent or nearly spent flowers so that the plant can use those energy reserves making more plant body or flowers rather than seeds (or fruit). The results seem to be magnificent as the lilies keep on blooming for about a month. In fact this year, we will have blooms for a few weeks into the month of August. This circle of life and death appears to be a very real and practical event in the Plant Kingdom.

Patch of Hemerocalis fulva that are neither spinning or toiling

Alas, spent heads sacrificed for the good of all of the other Hemerocalis fulva blossoms.

Fun Monday - Queen for a Day

2008-07-28T12:44:00.012-05:00

Mommy Wizdom is the queen of this week's Fun Monday adventure. The queen is asking us to tell what we would do as ruler of the day, week, year...

As I explained in my previous post, my husband is the rightful heir to Camelot. Being married to King Arthur, I then would be Guinevere. Well all right, he is not the heir to the British throne, and he did not remove Excalibur from a rock. (I did remove his little pocket knife from the washer this morning. Do you suppose that makes me a princess or at least a duchess?) But let's say that he is heir to a kingdom where the good, kind King Arthur lived. Or perhaps, better yet let's say that like Dogbert that I am Supreme Ruler of the Universe. What would I do?

Extracted Blade Proclaiming Royalty

My first thought is probably selfish in that I would want servants to answer every whim. And like royalty, I would be wealthy and live in a castle because that is where queens live. I am not sure where Supreme Rulers of the Universe live...in the sky maybe or maybe on the heavenly body that used to be the planet Pluto.

Dogbert, Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in plastic throne

However, by definition the word, ruler, requires some making of rules and enforcing of rules. This task is becoming more difficult. If I were queen or Supreme Ruler of the Universe, what rules would I make and enforce?

Like our hostess, I have enjoyed reading some books about Utopian societies including 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and The Giver. In each of these stories, the society essentially fails due to lack of the freedom of choice or free will. Thus, in my imaginary queendom, free will shall be valued. With that in mind, freedom should not include infringing on the rights of others. Rules should be for the benefit of all.

I can think of a few rules that I would initiate. Guns would be abolished in my dominion. Without guns, there would be no drive-by shootings and no idiots shooting at children in a Unitarian church. Furthermore, I would abolish capital punishment. We should do away with murder all together.

Although I am sincere about stopping killing, I do realize that I am not much of a leader. Even King Arthur used the knights of The Round Table as advisors. Having the people decide what is right for the people is probably the best plan yet. Thus, I will abdicate my rulership and place the universe in the hands, minds, and hearts of a united people.

Read about other wise rulers at Mommy Wizdom, or you can sign-up to participate.

I Live in Camelot

2008-07-22T22:41:00.008-05:00

Remember these lyrics from the musical, Camelot?

It's true! It's true! The crown has made it clear.
The climate must be perfect all the year.
A law was made a distant moon ago here:July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here in Camelot.
The winter is forbidden till December
And exits March the second on the dot.
By order, summer lingers through September
In Camelot.Camelot! Camelot!I know it sounds a bit bizarre,

But in Camelot, Camelot
That's how conditions are.
The rain may never fall till after sundown.
By eight, the morning fog must disappear.
In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot
For happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot. Camelot! Camelot!
I know it gives a person pause,
But in Camelot, Camelot. Those are the legal laws.

The snow may never slush upon the hillside.
By nine p.m. the moonlight must appear.
In short, there's simply not a more congenial spot.
For happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot.

Yes indeed, this summer I have been living in Camelot, home of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. The weather has been very pleasant, not too hot and not too cold, which is good because our air conditioner is broken. (Usually summers in Indiana are hot and quite humid.) Additionally, as in Camelot, most of the rain has been falling in the nighttime after sundown. Weatherwise the summer has been wonderful.

On a side note, my husband's family has claimed to be descendants of Welsh ancestry. There is a cryptic handwritten note mentioning Wales in the family Bible. So occasionally, I imagine that I am married to the heir of the royal couple's legacy. Would you like to join us at our castle?

Remains of Tintagel Castle - Legendary Home of King Arthur

Fun Monday - She Works Hard for the Money

2008-07-20T19:36:00.000-05:00

Our lovely hostess of this Fun Monday and of the Irish Coffeehouse is asking us to tell about careers of now and then. Meaning specifically, what careers did we imagine for ourselves as children, and if we were to start a new career path tomorrow, what direction would that path lead.

When I was young, I imagined myself in a variety of positions. Before I attended school, I thought that being a secretary was a very glamorous job. Later, I dreamed of being an airline stewardess. At one point, I imagined myself as a chemist.

In my real life, I have only held a few positions for pay. As a youth, I babysat and was a mother's helper. My first job for a commercial concern was at Woolworth's Five and Dime, which apparently has morphed into Foot Locker. My Christmas season position at Woolworth's although short-lived was an adventure, which involved selling parakeets, accidentally releasing parakeets, and getting fired. I was not fired because of the parakeet incident. I was fired because the management wanted me to work on Christmas Eve, and my mother said that I could not work Christmas Eve. In most cases, we followed whatever my mother said.

My second official paying job was for the Indiana University library system. I met our Daddy D at the Indiana Regional campus library in Fort Wayne. (What's that you hear playing in the background...the theme song from Love Story?) After Daddy D and I married, I started my teaching career as a sixth grade teacher. Since 1968, I have taught school on and off; but mostly I have taught science to seventh graders. During the years as a stay-at-home-mom, I did do a brief stint as a waitress at Pizza Hut.

Ready to go to work at Pizza Hut in 1972

However, our dreamy hostess has asked us what career would we choose today. My choice would be either to be a graphic artist or perhaps a web designer. Although I am not especially artistic, I would love to be able to take elements and put them together using fabulous software to create brochures, signs, posters, greeting cards, and other products. I do create some of these items for various functions, but my work is definitely amateurish. I would love to be a talented professional.

To read about other career and job dreams, check out the list of participants at the Irish Coffeehouse .

Favorite Birthday - Fun Monday

2008-07-13T23:22:00.012-05:00

IamwhoIam of Dungarees Ablaze, the enigmatic host of this week's celebratory Fun Monday party is requesting that we tell about one of our favorite birthdays.

Of my birthdays (and I have several to choose from...61 to be exact), I liked my fourth, fifth, and sixth. For my fourth birthday, I received a doll that I named Linda after my best friend at the time. For my fifth birthday, my parents gave me this cool cowgirl outfit. And for my sixth birthday, my parents bought me what I always wanted a plastic six-shooter so that I could be a real cowgirl just like Annie Oakley.

Birthdays seem to be magical times for young children of preschool age. Something curious that I noticed about my own sons. Each son mentioned his upcoming fifth birthday starting the day after his fourth birthday until the day that he turned five. My theory is that when a child turns four, he or she has vivid memories of the third birthday. On the day of the fourth birthday, the little darling realizes that these birthdays come every year and that presents, good food, fun, and festivities always are a part of the celebration. I loved the simple parties we had for the boy's birthdays. For each son's fifth birthday party, I made a cake of their choice, cooked sloppy joes, and invited a few childhood friends. For party favors, the children received a box of crayons in a brown paper bag. The first activity was decorating the bag with the crayons. Other than eating, we played a few simple games, and everyone was happy.

I hope that you have many birthdays and that they are all happy. You can find out about other best birthdays at Dungarees Ablaze .

Fun Monday - And It Was As Big As Him...

2008-07-07T11:39:00.011-05:00

Originally, I was going to bow out of this Fun Monday. I had convinced myself that this week's challenge was beyond my area of expertise. The wonderful hostess, UR Olive, has asked the participants to tell a fish story. Of course, by definition fish stories are not necessarily true to life. Fisherman and fisherwomen seem to be given to exaggeration. Not being a fish enthusiast, I was going to exclude myself from this delightful foray into the world of fishing. I have been fishing a few times, but I never caught one fish.

However, I remembered a time back in 1978 that , our sons, Luke and Dean, did go fishing with a dear family friend, Rick, and his children. I think that Dean was 7 and Luke was 4. Since my husband and I were not experienced fisherman, we had no fishing equipment. Rick provided the children with cane poles. The children were understandably excited about the day of fishing. The small fishing expedition went to a nearby park that used to be called "The Trap Shoot" and is now called Independence Park. As I remember, the fishers returned in about an hour's time. Although I wanted the children to have a good time, I was rather hoping that they would not catch any fish. I know little about fishing and even less about cleaning fish.

Independence Park Today

My wish, indeed, was fulfilled. Neither, son caught any fish. However, Luke did catch something. He caught a snapping turtle that was almost as big as he was. Now, perhaps, Rick helped reel in the ancient reptile and catch the snapper in a net, but the turtle did nibble on young Luke's bait. And, the turtle was caught on the novice Luke's pole. Unfortunately, I cannot show you a picture today as the the only photo is on a slide some place. In that picture, Luke is beaming with pride, holding his cane pole next to a humongous snapping turtle.

As you might imagine, if I was not looking forward to cleaning a fish, I certainly did not want to butcher a turtle besides Luke would not want the turtle for food. As far as I know, Rick's friend took the turtle for soup. Or perhaps, they let the turtle return to his home in the pond.

To read about other true-to-life or not fishing stories, visit Olive for a list of participants.

Independence Day

2008-07-04T00:01:00.003-05:00

Happy Fourth of July. May your day be filled with happiness and sunshine.

Fun Monday - Confessions

2008-06-29T20:32:00.007-05:00

The host of this week's Fun Monday is the mighty Lisa of Lisa's Chaos. The photographic and photogenic Lisa is asking us to confess our quirkiness.

Well, I have a lot to confess so find a comfortable seat. First, I rather delight in being a little eccentric. One of my favorite greeting cards, proclaimed on the front that I was like apple pie; the inside punchline noted that I was a little flaky on the outside but sweet on the inside. Another favorite memory is after a friend returned from the Big Easy with presents. He commented that he was looking for a gift for someone who is a nice person but a little weird. The gift was these whimsical crawdad earrings.

Another eccentricity is that I am a transvestite in that I wear clothes designed for the opposite sex. There are two reasons for this predilection. I do not like to shop, and I am frugal. (Of course, you might think frugality and disdain for shopping to be quirky as well.) My transvestism developed when my sons were teens and about my size. I have inherited numerous shirts, jeans, and even my oldest son's eighth grade deck shoes. At this time, my frugal self discovered that I could wear some of their clothes. In this picture, I am wearing my son's suit in a parody of the The Blues Brothers with Daddy D in our Sunday school class.

Additionally, I am directionally challenged. If I manage to get from point A to point B, I have a very difficult time retracing my steps. My directional dyslexia is so severe that I will print out Map Quest directions to places that I have visited a number of times and for locations a few miles from home. Oh yes, hopefully I will not get lost on my trip and need gas as I do not pump gas. My kind husband does this for me.

This may be enough to reveal about oneself's in a day. To learn about other visit the lovely Lisa, for this Quirky Fun Monday list of participants. I am looking forward to learning more about others. Aren't you?

Round Robin Challenge: Weed Gone to Seed

2008-06-28T07:05:00.011-05:00

Today's Round Robin challenge is to post a picture showing that, "Weeds Can Be Beautiful Too." A weed, of course, is merely a wildflower in the wrong place. Pictured here is a dandelion relative, Yellow Goatsbeard, Tragopogon pratensis, that has gone to seed.

For a list of other participants, visit Carly at Round Robin Photo Challenge.

Fun Monday - Do I Wear On You?

2008-06-22T18:25:00.016-05:00

The Hula Girl at Growing Older But Not Up is this week's Fun Monday hostess. For our Fun Monday assignment, Hula Girl is asking us to show those pieces of clothing we just can't part with, whether we wear them or not. Last summer, we completed a similar Fun Monday task so most of the following is from last summer's post.

There are two treasures that I have kept for a very long time. This picture of me and our oldest son from 1972 shows one of Daddy D's favorite skirts. The skirt is one that I inherited from my one of my older sisters, who are 4 and 7 years older than me. They wore these skirts in high school, and my sisters graduated from high school in 1957 and 1961. I shortened the skirt to fit the hemlimes of the seventies. The skirt is still in my closet. Although the button is popped, I can squeeze into the plaid school-girl looking skirt on occasion.

The oldest vintage piece of clothing that I can locate is this vest that my mother wore in the eighth grade, which must have been in 1929. The vest used to have black star-shaped buttons with rhinestone centers. I wore the vest for many years into adulthood. But now there is too much of me to wear this lovely vest.

To view clothes that other people cannot throw away, visit the forever young Hula Girl.

Addedum: After posting my Fun Monday entry, I came across these two shirts. When our sons were young, sometimes we would create colorful t-shirts using iron-on crayons. Young Luke made both of these creations.

The Byron t-shirt he made for my Dad.

Luke must have made the dinosaur shirt at age six or seven.

On the back of the shirt, Luke included his name and this remorseful dinosaur.

Fun Monday - Do Your Walls Talk to You?

2008-06-15T17:56:00.014-05:00

This week's Fun Monday host is the kind and creative Jan of The Prytz Family. Jan is asking the Fun Monday folks to tell about their walls.

For my Fun Monday post, I have decided to show you my bedroom walls. The paint on the walls is the neutral White Linen from Sears. When we moved in our home, this room did not exist. Our little family of three, myself, Daddy D, and one-year old Dean, fit nicely in to our two-bedroom home. Two years after arriving, we added a another member to family. Since Luke was a little boy, we stayed with two bedrooms and one bathroom until our older son reached the seventh grade. Seventh graders, as some of you may know, take the longest showers so after Dean finished the seventh grade, we decided to add another bedroom to our little home and more importantly another bathroom. The new bedroom became the master bedroom. That was a few years ago...in 1985.

Over our big brass bed that I inherited from my parents, hang these three floral prints. The prints come from a collection of loose prints in a hard bound cover titled House & Garden's Flower Prints, which also belonged to my parents. This is the kind of document that the experts on the Antique Road Show would say, that in perfect condition, the collection would bring five to six thousand dollars, but with these staple holes in the corners of some of the prints, the collection is worth $2.59. In any event, since there are several prints, sometimes I rotate the selections.

Over a small bookcase, hang pictures of little Budgee (Daddy D's childhood name) and little Molly.
On either side of our closet hang the next two pictures. The first is a cross-stitch picture that my mother embroidered as a young woman. Featured in the stitching are women doing various household chores. Even though the cross-stitch portrays women in a domestic light, my mother was quite a feminist and worked outside the home for much of her adult years.

On the other side of the closet is a framed magazine cover of the February 1914 edition of Woman's Home Companion.

The oval frame is displaying dried flowers from Austria.

I won this framed Footprints of God at a state education meeting.

Finally, every time I see the picture of the big brass bed or when I say the words,"big brass bed," I remember this famous song by the great Bob Dylan. You might be humming the tune yourself.

Listen and then scurry on to visit our other Fun Monday particpants. See the list of good people at Jan's The Prytz Family.

Huge Announcement

2008-06-11T14:01:00.015-05:00

Frema of What're you looking at and Luke of Useless Clutter are going to be parents to their second child in the early part of 2009. Of course, that means that Daddy D and I are going to be grandparents for the third time. Frema, our daughter-in-law, and our youngest son, Luke, are parents to our second granddaughter Kara Leigh. Some of you might remember that the winsome Kara was born in December of 2007. When Luke and Frema were expecting Kara, they told both sets of grandparents with a lovely card, delightful Easter basket, and a board book by one of my favorite illustrators, Sandra Boynton.

Luke and Frema's first child, Kara, investigating the friendly ducks on her feet.

This time, we officially knew about the new grandbaby on May 30th. However, Luke and Frema thought that a new baby might be on the way earlier in May. Like most modern couples, Luke and Frema, rely home pregnancy tests to ascertain the news about impending births. In fact, for Frema's pregnancy with Kara, she tested for positive results six times. Verification of this baby has been more elusive. You can read about the young couple's adventure of family growth by reading posts on Frema's personal blog and on her professional blog, Parental Discretion Advised, that she writes for Parents magazine. You should read some of the entries about this new baby; our daughter-in-law is a passionate writer. But, if you do not check out any of the other links, read about Luke's adventure to buy a home pregnancy test kit. You will not be sorry. This is a very funny and heart-warming story.

This Mother's Day, which is also the second wedding anniversary of the happy couple, I received basket full of lovely scents and the Willow Tree Grandmother figurine from the quickly growing family of Luke, Frema, and Kara. This thoughtful gift may be symbolic of my present status of grandmotherhood to my current grandchildren and to my next grandbaby. Stay tuned for more adventures in being a grandparent.

Fun Monday Update

2008-06-11T10:18:00.003-05:00

Good news, the lovely and creative Jan of Prytz and Family has agreed to host Fun Monday adventure for June 16th. Jan already has posted her challenge. Visit Jan to sign-up for the next Fun Monday excursion.

Fun Monday - Up, Up and Away

2008-06-08T18:12:00.011-05:00

I am excited and honored to host this week's Fun Monday. For your assignment, I would like you to describe a happy memory from your childhood. If possible, include pictures with your reminiscing. Perhaps, for some us remembering the past may bring back some unhappy times too. But, for today, let us remember the good times.

Like others, there were some dark memories from my youth. However, I do have happy memories of my childhood as well. Some of my joyful times were spent at my friends' house. Down the street, exactly one block from my home, lived my friends, Gwenie and Susan Kay*. To me, the girls and their little brother, Kim were the luckiest kids ever. Their extended family owned a toy store. Can you imagine that? The family seemed to have everything in the days when my family did not own a car. As I remember, I would wake up in the morning and head straight for the Kay's house and spend much of the day there at the good times house.

But, the toys were only part of the fascination of the luckiest family ever. Their home was a mecca for the neighborhood children. The sisters always were planning fun events for the rest of the neighbors. We had parades and talent shows. We sold lemonade to raise money for Korean children. We spent hot summer afternoons in a wading pool. We attended glorious parties. We pretended to make cement and to dig to the center of the Earth. Maybe pretended is not quite the right word, we (or at least I at age four) thought that we could actually dig to the center of the Earth or perhaps all the way to China.

Another strange pastime that I remember is "Going to Arcadia. " My friends had been to a vacation spot called Arcadia. Susan and Gwenie described Arcadia to be like paradise. The rest of the neighborhood children wanted to visit the perfect vacation spot, and the sisters were anxious to return to this wondrous resort. Now, how would preschool children take such a trip. The answer is simple to imaginative children. We would all pile in a glider swing, close our eyes, rock the glider, and wish with all our might that the swing would magically transport us to Arcadia, the Vacation Wonderland. Of course, we never quite made it to Arcadia, but we did have a fine time trying.

Pictured Me, Susan, Gwenie, and Linda -probably planning some adventure

To read about other happy memories, look for the list of participants in the Mr. Linky list in the following post. If you would like to retell a fond memory of your childhood, sign-up with Mr. Linky. Would you like to be the next Fun Monday host? Let me know in the comments. Chris B of Ms Cellania graciously lists the upcoming host, and Robin at Pensieve thoughtfully maintains a history of past Fun Monday assignments.

* Name changed to protect identities.

Update: The Mr. Linky link to Judy's post does not work. But you can read her Fun Monday happy childhood memories at her blog, Grand Life.

Plus, we are still looking for a volunteer to host next week's Fun Monday on June 16th. Let me know in the comments if you would like to be next week's host.

Fun Monday Assignment - June 9

2008-06-03T05:41:00.012-05:00

I have the great honor of hosting Fun Monday this coming Monday, June 9th. For your assignment tell us about a happy memory from your childhood. If you have pictures, please show us your pictures. If would like to participate in this reminiscing, please sign-up with Mr. Linky. I am looking forward to reading about your happy childhood memories. The kind Karisma and the sophisticated Swampwitch have already committed themselves. How about you?

Fun Monday - Making It Myself (Sorta)

2008-06-01T18:37:00.018-05:00

The lovely, talented, and witty Karisma of Karisma and Kids is this week's Fun Monday hostess. Our topic for this week is "I made it myself." Although growing up in a family of artists, marrying an artist, and being mother to an artist/cartoonist, I am not particularly artistic or adept at creating crafts. Both of my parents earned scholarships to an art school, and my father was offered a four year scholarship. My sister won several awards and ribbons for her works of art during her school years. Our son, Luke, had a cartoon published in his college newspaper, The Purdue Exponent. My husband had his name on his high school art cup for two years, which is usually an honor reserved only for seniors. On the other hand, my grade in art was usually a C or a B if the teacher was generous. My grade in home economics was a B-, a grade reserved for incompetent students, who tried. My artistic genes seem to be woefully lacking.

Thus, for this week's display, I am showing something that I made with the aid of my computer and with a little help from Daddy D. For some reason, I have inherited or claimed the task of making bulletin boards at our church. For the bulletin boards, I choose non-fading background paper, a theme, and a font for the letters. The letters are computer-generated, and Daddy D, the craftsman, cuts them with his Exacto blade.

This first bulletin board is actually a big wedding invitation. The pastor and his bride were married on St. Patrick's Day 2006, and they wished to invite the entire congregation to the festivities. Smaller take home invitations were available in the box.

This next display is an advertisement for our church website ComeGrowInGrace.Org, which was brand new at the time. Fellow blogger, Gawilli, is the webmaster.

Our current theme at church is "Light up the Darkness, which is based on the Bob Marley quote. "The people, who were trying to make this world worse... are not taking a day off.
How can I? Light up the darkness." Here is my attempt at interpreting that concept.

Even though my displays are modest and not exotic, I do enjoy creating each bulletin board and updating the board with the various activities and ministries of our church. To see other handmade, homemade creations and actually talented folks visit Karisma for a list of participants.

Fun Monday - Return to Paradise

2008-05-26T18:04:00.012-05:00

Alison of RDH Mom Picking Away at Life is this week's Fun Monday hostess. For our task this week, Alison has asked us to tell about our favorite vacation.

What place should I tell about? Which vacation was the best? Should I tell my childhood visit to the magnificent Niagara Falls? Should I relay secret details of our honeymoon and the scratchy sheets at the Palmer House? Or should I recount the many trips to Florida to visit my retired parents in the lovely city of Naples? Should I tell of the educational trip with our sons to our nation's capital, Washington D.C. ? Should I tell of the summer Daddy D and I traveled the state of Indiana taking pictures of wildflowers fulfilling my Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship proposal?

All of those places are fabulous. However, one of my favorite vacation spots is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. My family traveled to the UP when I was a child. And in 1971, Daddy D and I went to the peninsula before our sons were born. On the shore of Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior on the grounds of the Whitefish Point Light Station, Daddy D and I had a stone throwing contest. Daddy D purposefully let me win the contest. My prize, if I remember correctly, was a return trip to Whitefish Point. We did visit the western part of the Upper Peninsula with our oldest son in 1973, but we did not return to the shores of Whitefish Point, which is on the eastern side of the UP, until June of 2005, 34 years after our stone throwing contest.

Camping with Our Son in 1973, Copper Harbor, Michigan

Several changes occurred at the light station since our first visit. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank off the shore on November 10, 1975. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum was constructed on the grounds. The quarters at the Light Station were opened for overnight stays to the public. So on our visit in 2005, we visited the museum and stayed overnight in the light station quarters. Watching the ore boats in Lake Superior cross Whitefish Point from the window of our room was awesome. Whitefish Point by the way is just past Paradise, Michigan. If you are looking for beauty, solitude, history, and nature, visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Daddy D at Whitefish Point Light Station

The video shows Daddy D skipping stones in the beautiful blue Lake Superior.

Fun Monday - Collections

2008-05-18T19:50:00.000-05:00

This week's Fun Monday challenge has been issued by Mariposa of Mariposa's Tales. Mariposa wants to see and to hear about our collections. Although I do not think as myself as a collector, I do have a few collections. My first collection, I started many years ago. After a woman at my church gave a presentation of her extensive cross collection, I started collecting symbols of the crucifixion of Jesus.

1. This is my oldest cross in my collection. I received this for my first communion and confirmation in May of 1957.

2. This is a mother-of-pearl Jerusalem cross. This cross is also called The Crusader's Cross and appeared on the coat-of-arms the Templar Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lower-Lorraine. There are a variety of interpretations of the Jerusalem cross. One interpretation is that the four smaller crosses represent the four corners of the Earth, and the cross itself represents the spreading of Christianity throughout the world. Another common explanation of the cross meaning is that the larger center cross represents Jesus, and the smaller crosses represent Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. This enameled cross with a depiction of the fish and loaves of bread is perhaps my favorite as the cross is symbolic of Jesus's life and ministry rather than simply a reminder of the death of Jesus.

4. Like the others listed this cross is a gift from my parents. I think that the cross is ivory made in a time when using ivory was not illegal.

5 and 6. These silver crosses were graduation gifts from the church that I attended as a child. The larger cross is a Trefoil cross although I think that my church called this a Trinity cross. As a member of the Junior Choir, I wore a this cross on a red ribbon as part of our choir garb. The smaller cross is a Celtic Cross. This sometimes is called the Anglican or Episcopal cross.

7. The silver crosses around the number seven were gifts from my husband, Daddy D.

8. The M.A. Hadley pottery cross is gift from my friend, Gawilli of Back in the Day.

One of my other collections is my small self-indulgent collection of Molly books. The first book is an antique, The Melting of Molly, a romantic novel written in 1912 by Maria Thompson Daviess. The collection also includes the classic, Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe and a somewhat racy novel by Lawrence Sanders, The Passion of Molly T. The other books in the collection are children's books including three of the American Girl books about Molly of the 1940's, a book about a girl named Molly, Pirate Girl, and an interactive early childhood book, Molly Mouse Goes Shopping.

I also have a collection of mice.

Allerton - My Mom's Story

2008-05-13T19:38:00.007-05:00

My mother, Laura Gray Thompson, who was born in 1917 in the little town of Allerton, Illinois was a bright and essentially self-educated woman. When I started college in 1964, my mother expressed regret for not attending college. I suggested that she could start college at that time. She did begin taking classes at the newly built campus of Indiana-Purdue University in Fort Wayne. Eventually, she earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in English. Even before her college days, my mother was a great story teller. The following story written for one of her graduate level classes retells her childhood experience with the Orphan Train.

Allerton

“Get up, get, Ida! It’s today! It’s today! Dancing around the bed of the older girl was a tiny tousled haired girl of four, clutching a small gray flannel elephant against her worn nightie. Soon Ida was scrubbing the little face, brushing the coal black and shiny hair, buttoning the little pearl buttons down the back of the starched blue and white checked gingham smack, with the matching blue and white checked bloomers. Away they went, the strange pair, the big, heavy, slow girl in her limp and faded blue dress plodding along and the little girl in her crisp smock darting ahead now scuffling through the dusty road, now running through the grass along the edge. Clackety-clack went her stick in her hand against Grandma Miller’s white picket fence that enclosed an English garden, redolent of sage and lavender, fragrant with roses. Clankety-clank went the stick against the iron fence around Rachel’s big house, with the iron deer in the big yard glowering out at the passersby.

It was because of Rachel that today was to be such a glorious one. Rachel was a big girl, bigger than Ida, though not fat big, just old big. Rachel had gone away to school and now worked for a funny old lady in a place called “Hull House.” When the morning train came in, Rachel would be on it, and greatest of all, so would children from the “Hull House”. And everyone was going to get one to take home for their very own for two whole weeks. Mothers and Fathers said that it was to fatten them up on good country cooking and to show them the grass and trees and flowers and everything that didn’t grow in the city. In the city, the roads were hard, not this lovely dust that squooshed up between your toes. But Tot knew that wasn’t the reason they were coming at all. They were coming so little people would have somebody to play with!

Down the dusty road they went, the two so different sisters, under the hot brassy sun that beat down through the dusty leaves of the plane trees. Past the white Presbyterian Church Tot ran, singing her tuneless song. “Mine will be a boy and I’ll teach him how to roll down the hill in the park and we’ll have tea parties with my tin dishes and I’ll read The Little Red Hen and Chicken Little to him and I’ll help him write a letter to his Mama on my very own letter paper with blue lines to help you write better and straighter, with a pretty pictures of Peter Rabbit at the top. Oh, it will be such fun to have a little person to play with.”
Tot and Ida finally arrived at the magic place, the little green wooden depot with a shiny steel tracks in front making a ladder to the distant skyline. The blinding sun glanced off the tracks into the eyes of the waiting people. All the townfolk and some of the neighboring farmers had turned out to see Rachel’s kids. It was a big event in a little town where nothing much ever happened. The whistle of the train at Broadland’s crossing brought a cheer from the milling crowd, and soon the train snaked into sight and slid up to the wooden platform. From the other side of the tracks where Tot and Ida waited, the view was better.

It was hot and it was dusty as Rachel and the children stepped down the wooden stepstool onto the platform. Tall Rachel and her yellow tablet was the center of attention. Names were checked off the yellow tablet; children were parceled out to the waiting families and all scattered to the various homes.

“Where is my boy? Where is my very own boy? My small person just like me.” Tot jumped up and down in sheer frustration, tears running down the now grimy face.

---Why didn’t they tell her? Don’t she know we’re poor? How can we have a kid around the house with Mom out the Allerton Ranch cooking for the thrashers. I know that she is lonely with only a fourteen year old brother and a sixteen year old sister to play with ---and both of them to busy to pay any attention to her. Good thing Sam taught her to read and write, even if she is only four. Gives her something to do.---“Don’t cry, Tot, don’t cry.”
“ ‘n’ I was going to show him the chickens. Bet he never saw a chicken. I want my boy. Everyone else got one and I never got one.” Tot sobbed on.

--- I’m going to get out of this damn town and I’m going to see that Tot will sometime get something she wants.---“Don’t cry, Tot, don’t cry.”

A Baby Shower for Karmyn

2008-05-08T21:00:00.002-05:00

Karmyn of Dreaming What Ifs is having a baby very soon. The awesome Swampwitch of Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes is hosting a virtual baby shower on Friday, May 9th. The beauty of a virtual party is that the guests can attend from any place in the world. Of course, we will miss the ooohs and aaahs as Karmyn opens each precious gift.

First, I wish for Karmyn's little one (and for us all) a lifetime of joy, peace, and happiness. For the presents, every baby needs his own copy of the classic, Pat the Bunny.

Additionally, today's modern baby will delighted by the wonderful illustrated books by Sandra Boynton, for example Oh My, Oh My Dinosaurs!

I think all moms could use some help in the house after childbirth so I would like to provide full-time maid service for Karmyn for three years. After Karmyn recuperates from child birth, my final gift will be an afternoon at the spa complete with massage and any other pampering that Karmyn desires.

For Grandma Pamela of Dust Will Wait, I wish a beautiful electronic scrapbook for all those fabulous pictures that she is going to take of Karmyn and her family.

Now, for the game, which is a classic at baby showers...let's guess how many pieces of toilet paper it takes to surround Karmyn's gravid tummy. My guess is 18.

Indiana Wants You

2008-05-05T19:27:00.003-05:00

This afternoon, one of the candidates running for president of the United States of America made a campaign stop at the same fire station where I will vote tomorrow. The candidate is not my first choice for president, but I did go down the street and stood on the curb for two hours to try to catch a glimpse of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I did hear her speech from outside and the introduction by Indiana's handsome Senator Evan Bayh.

Even though those of us standing outside the fire station did not actually meet Senator Clinton, I did enjoy the camaraderie and exuberance shared by my fellow constituents. And even though I will cast my vote tomorrow for Barack Obama, I was interested in Hillary's speech. If my first choice, Senator Obama, does not win the nomination, I will definitely be voting for Hillary in November.

Generally, because party candidates are usually selected before May, the Indiana primary has little or no bearing on the selection of national candidates. However, this year Indiana's voice or at least the voice of the democratic electorate will be heard and may make a difference in the outcome of the nomination of the Democratic candidate. Both candidates and their spouses have made several visits to our usually forgotten state.

On the eve of the Indiana primary, this interest in our state and the fact that my party is about to select a woman or an African-American male to be the nominee of the Democratic party encourages me, refreshes me, and inspires me.

Prom Night - 2008

2008-05-01T17:17:00.009-05:00

Sunshine, entrepreneur, model, television star, who blogs at and the pursuit of happiness is sponsoring the second annual Blog Prom. Daddy D and I are going to the prom together again this year. If you want to go to the Prom too, visit Sunshine and tell her that you want to go to the Prom. Send Sunshine a picture of you in your prettiest formal or finest tuxedo. Last year's prom was great fun. I even won a prize, and Daddy D and I were voted the most likely to leave the prom early to have...well, you know.

Daddy D and I met a month after I graduated from high school so we both attended our high school proms with other dates. However, since Daddy D and I are school teachers, each year we have an opportunity to attend the prom as chaperones. We usually pass on this great honor, but one year in the mid-eighties another teacher convinced us that we should go. This picture is from that event. Daddy D is wearing his Johnny Carson suit, which he would have and probably wear today if I did not give the gem to the Salvation Army.

If you are looking for a good time, visit Sunshine and tell her you want to go to the prom, which is Friday, May 2. Now, I have to pick out a dress and have my hair done. No wait, this is a virtual prom, and I hardly ever have my hair done professionally though I do have nice nails painted with Opi's Curry Up Don't Be Late, which is an exotic pale gold color. What do you think...a slinky black number for the big night? See you at the Prom.

Fun Monday - Walk This Way

2008-04-28T21:24:00.008-05:00

With only a few hours left in this Monday, I am composing my Fun Monday post. This week's hostess is Angela of The Lurchers. Our task this week is to "take me on your favourite walk." Our favorite walk is down a path through our neighborhood. Although we live in a suburban/urban fringe area, our son Luke refers to this as a nature walk. Indeed, we do see a bit of nature along this path. The pictures show the nature walk path in two different seasons. Walking along the path is peaceful and does bring solace to weary souls. To take other strolls visit Angela.

Nature Walk in Late Summer

Nature Walk in Winter

Fun Monday - Five for Five

2008-04-13T20:21:00.008-05:00

The fun, the amusing, the amazing, the talented Nekked Lizard Adventurers, Nekked Lizard Lady and Nekked Lizard Man are this week's Fun Monday hosts. For this week's challenge, the unclothed reptiles are asking us to display- FIVE PICTURES - FIVE WORDS PER PICTURE. Any 5 (FIVE) pictures, any subject, and any 5 (FIVE) words to describe and/or explain each picture. For my pictures, I have selected some family favorites. Selecting the right caption was harder than I thought. To see the list of Fun Monday participants showing five pictures with five word descriptions, visit the Lizards.

Little Budgee Loving His Kitty

Reflections of a Summer Evening

Sending Forth Ripples of Hope

Off to See the World

Happy Day at the Beach

Sam the Sham in the Parking Lot

2008-04-11T09:36:00.012-05:00

On a hot summer evening in 1966, I met Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in a K-Mart parking lot in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Okay, I did not actually meet the novelty tune recording artist. My fiance', now husband of 41 years, and I were making a quick stop at the shopping center when we spied a large white tent in the parking lot. Inside the tent, we were surprised to find the performer and musical sensation of the 1965 hit single, Wooly Bully. Even in those days, a free performance in front of a discount store seemed like a strange venue for popular musician. Yet there in the tent, Domingo Samudio, with the stage name Sam the Sham performed with a back-up group called the Pharoahs. The audience of no more than 20 was enthusiastic and grateful for the free concert.

Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw. Had two
big horns and a wooly jaw. Wooly bully, wooly bully. Wooly bully, wooly bully,
wooly bully. Hatty told Matty, "Let's don't take no chance. Let's not be
L-seven, come and learn to dance." Wooly bully, wooly bully Wooly bully, wooly
bully, wooly bully. Matty told Hatty, "That's the thing to do. Get you someone
really to pull the wool with you." Wooly bully, wooly bully. Wooly bully, wooly
bully, wooly bully.

Wooly Bully is reportedly about just that a woolly bull or an American bison. The whimsical tune was featured in a number of movies including Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Full Metal Jacket, Scrooged, Happy Gilmore, Splash, and The Chipmunk Adventure, in which it is performed by the Chipmunks . Lil' Red Riding Hood was another big hit for the group.

Today, Sam the Sham, writes poetry and music. Additionally, Sam the Sham, Domingo Samudio, makes occasional live performances and works as a motivational speaker. I am pleased to hear that Sam is still performing. If I ever meet Sam in person, I will thank him for the free summer evening concert so many years ago.

Fun Monday - First Crush

2008-04-07T07:40:00.013-05:00

Jo Beaufoix is the hostess for this Fun Monday excursion. For this trip down memory lane, Jo Beaufoix has asked to tell about our first celebrity crush. To recall my first movie crush, please travel with me down a long and narrow path back to the late 1940's and early 1950's. Before we had a television in our home, my older sisters and I were allowed (encouraged) to go a neighborhood theater to watch the Saturday afternoon. I say encouraged as my parents considered the theater to be a safe haven as well as cheap babysitting. The price of ticket for the matinee was a nickel for children, and the price a child under five like me was free.

At these Saturday afternoon movies, I met my first celebrity hero. I am guessing that most or all of the Fun Monday participants will not recognize the object of my interest. In the 1950's, the movie-going population seemed to be infatuated with Westerns, movies featuring cowboys and occasional cowgirl. My hero was not one of the better known leads like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers. My silver screen love was the less-recognized Lash LaRue.

Lash, who's given name is Alfred, apparently had a number of obstacles breaking into the movie-business. According to one source, Lash's resemblance to Humphrey Bogart kept him from him winning the favor of casting directors. So when the opportunity to win a part in a film, Lash lied about an ability to use a bullwhip. Evidently, Lash did become proficient in using the whip, and the bullwhip became the trademark of my on screen lover. An interesting tidbit of movie trivia is that Lash LaRue taught Harrison Ford how to use a whip for his role as Indiana Jones.

In these B-westerns, Lash would do wondrous acts with his whip. He would use the whip to snap the six-gun out of the hand of the villainous opponent. I remember that Lash would even use his whip skills to catch the girl. In my mind even today, I can see Lash throw out the whip wrapping the tail ever so skillfully around some feisty heroine to pull her closer. Of course, as happened in all movies of that time, eventually the heroine succumbed to the advances and rewarded my Lash with a kiss.

The only recognition of Lash as the object of my affection was in my imagination. In my innocence even in my fantasy, I only remember Lash capturing me with his mighty whip. Well, that is my story, and I am sticking to it. If you would like to read about other celebrity crushes, visit Jo Beaufoix.

Round Robin: A Day in the Park

2008-04-05T19:32:00.006-05:00

Today's Round Robin challenge is to post a Perfect Scene Captioned. My photo is shot from a gazebo at Deep River Park in Lake County, Indiana. Both the park and the gazebo have a special place in my heart. The park is home to the historic mill in the background and site of many fond memories . Additionally, our son, Luke, and our daughter-in-law, Bree, were married in the gazebo almost two years ago on a cold and rainy day in May.

In addition to the mill, the park features wooded trails, maple syrup festivities, vintage baseball, and cross country skiing. My husband and I enjoy visiting the park any time of year, and any day in the park always turns out to be a fine day.

Words to Live by

2008-03-30T20:20:00.005-05:00

For the Fun Monday challenge, thoughtful Robin of Pensieve is asking us to present our favorite words of inspiration. Although I recently posted this quote, one of my favorites is from the show West Wing. Leo empathically supports Josh who is suffering from post-traumatic stress.

This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up"Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes
out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by."HeyJoe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole.Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says,"Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.

I realize that professional help is sometimes needed, but many times all we need is a little help from our friends. I try to be this kind of friend.

Another quote I try to follow is from Matthew 5:44. Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." I find this commandment tremendously difficult to follow. Still, if we all worked towards this goal, the world would be a much better place.

A final inspirational quote is new to me today. Our pastor showed a clip to the movie, I Am Legend, to introduce his sermon titled, "Light up the Darkness." The clip included this quote that the Will Smith character, Dr. Neville, attributed to Bob Marley, the famous Reggae singer, "The people, who were trying to make this world worse... are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness." I like the thought of trying to light up the darkness each and every day.

Look for the list other inspirational quoters at Robin's place.

Another Sign of Spring

2008-03-29T21:32:00.006-05:00

Spring has been arriving slowly in my part of the world. Temperatures most of the week continue to be chilly here in northwest Indiana. On Thursday, we had something that I call thunder snow. That is to say that we had lightening and thunder during a snowstorm. Nonetheless, if you look at the outside world very carefully, you can see signs of spring. On Easter Sunday, Daddy D and I looked for specifc signal of the new season. This unique flower is what we found at a local park.

Skunk Cabbage , Symplocarpus foetidus, as the species name indicates has a fetid odor.

Three Sisters

2008-03-25T16:09:00.002-05:00

I am the youngest of three sisters. You may have read a little about my sisters in one of my Fun Monday posts earlier in the summer. Recently, my oldest sister, Margaret, who is a world traveler sent my middle sister, Betsy, and me each a festive pin of three women. Margaret's plan was for each us to have and to wear one these handmade pins from Guatamala. This note accompanied the lovely pin.

I love the pin because these women are working to improve the lives of the people in Guatamala. Furthermore, I like the pin because it does remind me of my sisters. Unlike the women in the pin, who appear to be triplets, my sisters and I look different than each other, but there are familial similarities. The three of us are tall, and growing up we all had dark brown hair.

In the above picture, I must have been about 18 months. If the picture of my sisters is from the same time period, Margaret would be 9 and Betsy 5.

The picture of the Thompson girls including our mother Laura in Christmas robes was taken in December of 1952. Can you believe that anyone would actually choose the dark green wallpaper?

This picture from 1957 shows the three of us in front of our first family car. Our family did not own a car until the year that Margaret turned 16.

In this picture from 1970 Margaret is on the left. Betsy is in the middle. I am the pregnant lady on the right with the wrinkled collar.

In this picture from the early 80's, I am on the left. Margaret is the middle, and Betsy is on the right. Notice that I am no longer the littlest sister.

In fact, I tease my sisters by telling them that I am the tallest. On the rare occasion when the three of us are together, I encourage us to pose for a picture to prove once again that I am the tallest. The following pictures in 2005 and 2006 are two such pictures. If I am not the tallest at least, I have the whitest hair.

Margaret, Betsy, and Molly in 2005

Molly, Margaret, and Betsy in 2006

Two for One Fun Monday

2008-03-23T17:53:00.009-05:00

The venerable Swampwitch of Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes is the hostess of this week's Fun Monday. Swampy is essentially asking us to compile an alphabetical list of attributes on a topic of our choice. My list includes reasons or excuses for my absence in the blogging world.

Apathetic

Busy

Company

Diseased

Episodic

Fossilized

Gibberish

Harried

Involved

Jaded

Klutzy

Lazy

Mortal

Overwhelmed

Procrastinating

Quibbling

Riddled

Sickly

Tepid

Unmotivated

Vacuum

Working

eXcuses

Yielding

Zero ideas

Because of some of the reasons listed above, I was unable to participate in last week's Fun Monday hosted by Nikki of My Husband Calls Me Weird. The challenge that she offered the participants was to tell about words created by our family members. I remember a few endearing words spoken by our sons as babies. Our older son, Dean, called music, monkeys. Later at 18 months, he called hamburger, hangabur. When he first said this word, I did not understand what he meant so he repeated the word slowly (as if we spoke a different language), "hang-ga-burr." Normally, Dean enunciated his words very clearly and seemed to have no trouble speaking correctly. However, we thought that his word was so cute that we did not correct his pronunciation of hamburger until a few years later. Our younger son, Luke, spoke well too. At 18 months, he would say "thirsty" when he needed a drink clearly enunciating that difficult "th" sound. Luke said some unusual phrases, like " When I was a blue child." and "I can't fly." Although lack of Luke's flying ability may be obvious, why he was compelled to relay about being a "blue child" his parents will never know.

I wish to thank both Swampy for hosting this week's adventure and Nikki for hosting the fun St. Patrick's Day event. If you wish to participate in this week's alphabetical challenge, visit the Swampwitch at Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes. I trust that both Swampy and Nikki will forgive my two for one Fun Monday post.

Signs of Spring

2008-03-21T12:47:00.014-05:00

In my Sunday post on March 16, I said, "Hello," to spring. However, spring in this part of the world did not actually arrive until Thursday, March 20 at 5:48 UT. Furthermore, in our corner of the Earth, we have four seasons with vast differences in temperature and weather patterns. Spring here in Indiana is marked by rain, warming temperatures, and blossoming flowers and trees.

One phenomenon that I witness every spring and every fall as I drive to work at about 7:00 AM is the sun rising directly in the east right down the road in front of me. Although the sun shining in one's eyes is inconvenient, I find this astronomical occurrence fascinating. Our route to work is mostly down 73rd Avenue, a east-west bearing street that has been a pathway for mankind for centuries. In prehistoric times, the street was the Great Sauk Trail used by native Americans. In 1912, the street became part of the first road across America called the Lincoln Highway or US 30. This ancient path runs in a straight east-west direction, perhaps due to historic travelers following the sunrise to the east or the sunset to the west.

Yesterday, on the first day of spring as I was squinting at the gorgeous sunrise, I planned to photograph the sun rising at the east end of 73rd Avenue this morning and then to blog about this grand event of the sun rising due east on the Vernal Equinox. However, this is what our spring world looked like on the second day of spring in 2008.

I guess that the spring rains and flowers will come later.

After 5 Years - Time for Peace

2008-03-19T20:54:00.003-05:00

Good-bye Winter, Hello Spring

2008-03-16T17:32:00.005-05:00

Although the creative blogging event hosted by Elizabeth Joy at Wildflower Morning is over, I have one belated contribution. I have been sickly for the past month and unable to participate in some of the weekly events of Wildflowers in Winter. For the last week of the inspiring series, Elizabeth Joy asked us to post a picture of an early wildflower in our area. This picture taken last year at a local park is usually the first flower that I see each spring.

If are not observant, you might miss this tiny harbinger of spring, Whitlow's Grass.

Feed Me

2008-03-11T06:15:00.001-05:00

As a continuation or an addendum to yesterday's Fun Monday memorable movie quotes, I would like to add my favorite West Wing quote that Leo McGarry said to Josh Lyman after Josh's three weeks of therapy with a trauma psychiatrist.

This guy's walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so
steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey
you, can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down
in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up
"Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out
a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by.
"Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole.
Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says,
"Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.

I love this quote. Sometimes a friend can offer help when professionals struggle to offer the right kind of help.

Another quote used by a few of the Fun Monday participants that I would like to highlight is this quote from Little Shop of Horrors, "Feed me, Seymour." said by the man-eating plant Audrey II to Seymour Krelboin. Daddy D and I grow some exotic plants that produce a large unusual flower that produces a fetid odor. You can read about these plants in this entry on our team blog, Mama Said, Papa Said. This winter one of the plants has produced another stinky but fascinating bloom.

Say It Again Sam...

2008-03-09T18:37:00.002-05:00

This week's Fun Monday host is I.T. Guy from Life, IT, and Governance. I.T. Guy is asking for five favorite or memorable movie quotes. He has also requested that we identify the speaker and to whom we might say these specific quotes.

1. "You are holding my heart." said by Claire Cooper played by Jamie Lee Curtis in Forever Young. I would say this to my sweet lifemate and lover, Daddy D.

2. Who can forget the memorable, " I'd rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special", stated by Shelby played by Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias? These wise words could be said to anyone who is down and needs encouragement.

3. These words said by the dynamic teacher, John Keating, played by Robin Williams in the Dead Poet's Society is sage advice for all youth.

They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of
hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their
oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of
you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was
too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable?
Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if
you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on,
lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem,
seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.

4. These words from the opening of Love Actually are wonderful thoughts for all of humanity. These words make my heart sing.

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals
gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we
live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me
that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there-fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge-they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.

5. My final choice from The Empire Strikes Back is the dramatic declaration, "No, I am your father."Darth Vader says to his son, Luke Skywalker. These are words that my husband occasionally says to our son, Luke in jest. - although Daddy D may state the phrase more like "LUKE, I am your father."

What are some of your favorite movie quotes? To read other memorable quotes, check out the other Fun Monday participants at Life, IT, and Governance.

Thank You One and All!

2008-03-04T19:05:00.009-06:00

Dear Friends,
Thank you for the words of encouragement concerning my fall, and the great advice for handling future young teen squabbles. I envision following Karmyn's advice of using a bullhorn to startle the students to stop fighting. Or use a megaphone to follow fellow teacher, Margaret's advice to "yell sternly, "STOP FIGHTING NOW, GENTLEMEN" or if one knows the kids' names, use them as many times as possible." I will save the use of the taser that the wise Willowtree suggests for inside the classroom. The next time a student says, "Whadda I do?", ZAP. Or the little darling that says, "Is this worth points?", then ZAP. (Kidding, I am kidding, but one can dream.)

On to other matters, awhile ago the lovely Pamela of Dust Can Wait recognized me as a rocking grandma. Being a grandma may be my fondest role. I am fortunate to have two lovely granddaughters.

Our oldest is three years old. She is a ballerina (and soccer player).

Our youngest is about three months old. In this picture, she is telling secrets to her grandpa.