An Easter Memory

Happy Easter!  I've always loved this picture -- taken in 1987 (our first Easter in Columbus, Ohio).  The guys were 7, 4 & less than a year old.  Good times!

Prairie Home Companion in the D!

On Saturday night we went to see A Prairie Home Companion at the Fox Theater in Detroit. It was WONDERFUL, with everything one would expect from Garrison Keillor and company. If you're not familiar with PHC, it's hard to describe it -- it's a live radio broadcast in the tradition of the old ones from the 1920s and 1930s (complete with corny commercials, sound effects and radio 'drama'), but with current entertainment and humor. If you love it, you love it . . . if not, oh well.

We got our tickets back in November (my Christmas present) and the show's been sold out since then. When we were in line to go in, one of the Fox doormen asked me "What radio station plays this?" I answered "NPR -- WUOM -- Michigan Radio." He wanted to know when it would be on and if many people listened to it, so I explained that it would be broadcast live that night and rebroadcast on Sunday. He said he couldn't believe all the people that were there and that Garrison Keillor must be a big deal (Yes!) to sell out the theater! Of course, the Fox is just beautiful. I'm including downloaded photos since none of ours (taken with a cellphone) turned out well. It makes the evening special just to sit there and soak up the atmosphere.

The show was great, with everything I'd hoped for (we got 'Guy Noir', but NOT the 'Lives of the Cowboys') and, as usual, great musical guests. We saw "Sir" Mack Rice (who wrote Mustang Sally), the Steele sisters, Bettye LaVette (not my personal favorite) and John Lauter (who played the Fox's pipe organ) and we heard some great Motown songs. The humor, radio stories and sing-alongs were a little bit corny, but LOTS of fun!

Of course, it was all topped off with the 'News from Lake Wobegon'!

We ended up at Buddy's in Livonia for a salad and a pizza -- altogether, it was just a GREAT evening! Thanks, Jim, for my Merry Christmas in February!

Catching Up

I haven't posted in a LONG time (as all 3 of my faithful readers already know). I've decided it's time to catch up a little.

2009 ended in an ugly way. In October my mother-in-law (whom I dearly loved!) passed away and things went downhill from there. We didn't have a family Thanksgiving, though there was a definite bright spot by having Thanksgiving at our house with Danny, his girlfriend Angela and her sweet little boy, Owen. That was a real pleasure!

We had no family Christmas Eve or celebration the week after, as we have in the past, but rather went to Cincinnati the weekend before for Christmas with my family and, sadly, ended up not seeing Jim's family at all. The change in routine put a definite pall on the holiday. Again, though, there was a bright spot -- Jim and I went to Florida with Dan & Jim 5 to celebrate with Charlie and Sarah. We all had a great 5 days together and had a lovely family vacation -- precious time shared!

So what's on tap for 2010? Who knows! Lord willing, it will be better than 2009 which, overall, I'd put down as a pretty bad year... One of my friends, who also had a bad 2009, said she hoped 2010 would be gentler to them -- I like that turn of phrase!

I've begun knitting again and am still sewing, crafting and antiquing (though I'm getting rid of more now than I'm buying). You might see more pictures of projects I'm working on, links to sites I like and, perhaps, field trips I'm taking.

Here's the first one: I'm knitting this bowl to be felted and then decorated with needle felting.

'Reading Rainbow' is no more

I'm really sad about this! 'Reading Rainbow' is coming to an end after 26 years on the air. I have so many memories of that show and my 3 guys sitting STILL for RR -- it was a great showcase for children's lit.
But you don't have to take my word for it . . .

Facebook & other stuff

I haven't updated in months! I've been sending more time on Facebook and less blogging. For some reason, I really DO care about what all my friends are doing, even though I don't think they care about the minutia of my daily life. Facebook is a great way to communicate something with lots of people quickly, though.

In March, I was able to learn about an urgent prayer need for the son of a couple we had known when we lived in Ohio. He had a flesh-eating Strep infection, lost both legs and had an absolutely miraculous return from what the doctors were saying was certain death. Blake Haxton is a living miracle & a witness to the power of prayer and an awful lot of people learned of his prayer need through Facebook. If you're interested, you can find the Columbus tv stations' and Glenn Beck's stories about him on youtube.

On the lighter side, Facebook also allows me to know what my friends eat for breakfast and when they leave to go grocery shopping.

Oh well...

This weekend we were in Cincinnati for Don's annual golf tournament. Cindy, Crit and I were also able to go with Aunt Gene to tour the living arrangements available at the retirement residence she'll be living in. What a wonderful thing to find a 2-room suite with a great view! She's genuinely excited about it and, rather than look at her broken hip and new home as the end of something, she's looking at it as a new beginning.

Our entire family got to spend time together at a cookout at Paul's house & it was wonderful to see everyone and just hang out. I hope we can do things like this more often, but since we're spread out over 4 states, I don't think that's likely.

When I get some pictures from the weekend, I'll post them.

Dance, Snowball, Dance!

Wow -- two posts in two days! If you didn't read about our very old oak tree, check out yesterday's post.

Anyway, I heard this story on Talk of the Nation Science Friday and had to look at the video. Apparently, Snowball was a youtube sensation, but I missed it (of course). Some scientists didn't, though, and decided to find out if Snowball was really dancing by changing the tempo of the music.


You can see the video results and read the rest of the TOTN Science Friday story here.

Pictures from Florida

I've finally put together a slideshow of pictures from our trip to Florida. They're mainly pictures of birds taken at Corkscrew Swamp and pictures of our afternoon at the Everglades. If you're not into birds and alligators, you might be bored, but check them out anyway!

Thanks for visiting!

For those of you who think I'm a weird trekkie, here is a couple who put me to shame! By the way, the new movie opens on May 8 . . . 54 days (but who's counting).

Happy Square Root Day!

Have a great day & party like it's 3-3-09! There won't be another square root day until 4-4-16.

I saw a bumper sticker I liked the other day -- on a car with a big shaggy dog in the back. It was just a small oval that said "Wag more, Bark less". I need to hear that these days.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should be very logical in handling our money. . .I think he's a Vulcan.Live Long and Prosper!

The Agony of Defeat

Okay...get ready to laugh at me.

I have never liked football or understood anything about it.

After years of having a fantasy football team and watching to see how my players were doing, though, I've gotten to know some of them (like 'my' Hines Ward) and have even come to understand the game a little.

So last night I watched the Super Bowl for the first time ever (except for the year that I had to watch it because the Bengals were in it) . . . and my team LOST! I was so disappointed that the Cardinals didn't win! I really drank the underdog and wonderful-Kurt Warner-comeback-story kool-ade and now I'm very sad. I thought it was a really exciting game -- who ever thought they'd hear ME say THAT!! There were even some times that I was yelling at the TV and Unc wasn't. Strange times. . .

I Love America!

Presidential elections and inaugurations always fill me with pride and a real sense of patriotism. I know that America takes a beating from many people throughout the world (and many in our own country). It's become fashionable to hold our system of government, the principles we were founded on and just national pride in disdain. Patriotism is uncool!

We have a great country, though. The peaceable resolution of the controversy over the election 8 years ago and the transfer of power that followed was one example of that. The smoothness of the transition from the Bush White House to the Obama White House and the spirit I saw at today's inauguration are others.

I wasn't a Barack Obama supporter and will never agree with him on some of his core beliefs -- abortion, to name one. Most of the people I know aren't Obama supporters. They are, however, (and I am) President Obama supporters. I've heard diehard pro-life 'religious right Republicans' pray, sincerely & from the heart, for Mr. Obama and for his success in the next 4 years. I've heard them be sincerely pleased that racial differences here have diminished to the point that we have elected our first black president.

I watched the inauguration today and saw people who are political enemies and who were trash-talking each other during the election smiling, laughing and greeting one another. I saw everyone there in a mood of celebration at this watershed event in our nation's history. Am I naive enough to think that they've all become best friends or have stopped disagreeing (and possibly disliking) each other? Certainly not. It was, however -- as it always is -- a civil (even gracious) and peaceful transfer of power. That's remarkable, it's American, and it never fails to make me proud.

Why doesn't anyone update?

I have many blogs I check every day (mostly friends and family). None of them have been updated in a while! Where is everyone? I've updated. . . I find this mildly amusing, as I am by far the oldest person among all of us and I've updated the most lately. So much for the younger, blogging generation.

Could this mean that I don't have a life?

Roseanne Rosannandana

We're getting pretty handy lately!! Last week we replaced a pendant light AND an under-cabinet xenon light, both of which were (surprisingly) not hard to do. Then our dishwasher broke and we got a new one. Our friend Mark helped us take out the old one and showed us what to do to install the new one -- which we did ALL BY OURSELVES!! That's the good news.

We finished the install and turned the water back on. The new hose we'd just connected was great, but the hot water (which had just been working fine) started gushing water as soon as we opened it up! So now we have to call a plumber to fix the leak that developed for no reason at all!!

As the thought went through my head "Well, it just goes to show you -- it's always something! If it's not one thing, it's another", I thought of Roseanne Rosannadanna. . . Enjoy!

Never forget

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the 'war to end all wars' was over.

This is the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day, now called Veterans Day. These days, WWII is becoming a dim memory, some people are even denying the Holocaust, and few people alive even remember WWI. Most people in America are totally unaware of the loss and suffering it caused worldwide, but especially in Europe. Last year, I quoted some great poetry about WWI, but this year I think I'll leave it to the images (don't worry -- no stacks of corpses) & numbers.

The United States suffered 57,476 casualties, Britain lost 703,000 and 1,663,000 were wounded.

Worldwide, both military & civilian, over 20,000,000 died and 21,000,000 were wounded.

We can't even imagine numbers like that and, God willing, won't ever have to again.

Remember remember the fifth of November

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!
(Made known to millions of Americans in the movie V for Vendetta)

Guy Fawkes & the Gunpowder Plot
Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.

The Tradition begins...
The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. Lancelot Andrewes delivered the first of many Gunpowder Plot Sermons. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten! Hence the words " Remember , remember the 5th of November" The poem is sometimes referred to as 'Please to remember the fifth of November'. It serves as a warning to each new generation that treason will never be forgotten. In England the 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes (the guy). The 'guys' are made by children by filling old clothes with crumpled newspapers to look like a man. Tradition allows British children to display their 'guys' to passers-by and asking for " A penny for the guy".

Credit to: www.rhymes.org.uk

Have a Happy Mole Day!

Having missed 'Talk Like a Pirate Day', I vowed not to miss Mole Day! Mole is 6.02 x 10^23. I'm no math-head and I can barely understand what that means, except that it's a big number and mathematicians use it to calculate big things. Mole Day is (for obvious reasons) October 23 from 6:02 am to 6:02 pm -- that much I can understand.

To celebrate the occasion, here's a cheerful, geeky video for you:

Happy Mole Day to You!

Walking the Bridge - Labor Day 2008

Well, I finally have put together all the pictures from our trip up north to walk the bridge. I'm still waiting on a few pictures, so some might be added later.

On Saturday we went across the bridge to St. Ignace and, as a birthday treat for me, Kally, Carla & Mark W's mom, Jean, decided to go up to Cedarville. We used to go there every summer and rent one of the cottages at Patrick's Landing in the Snows Channel (the Les Cheneaux Islands). That area ranks right up there with London and Hawaii as a favorite place for me! Anyway, visiting Patrick's again (and going to have a cookout at Mark W's parents' campground later on) made it one of the best days I've had in a long time. Patrick's hadn't changed much at all and the whole day brought back many really happy memories of wonderful vacations going there and then (at the campsite dinner) camping with my family. The pictures from Patrick's will really bring back memories for Cindy (make sure she sees them Christy -- I know I can't count on Don) but no one else will care about them at all. Thanks for looking anyway, though!

The rest of the pictures are from the ferry to Mackinac Island and walking the bridge on Monday.

Thanks for visiting!

Strange Days Indeed!

These are strange days! I never thought the day would come when I would:

1. Intentionally watch a Hillary Clinton speech
2. Applaud part of the Hillary Clinton speech (she DID do something historic for women in politics!)
3. Feel moved by Bill Clinton's obvious pride in and affection for his wife
4. Admire Hillary Clinton for her determination and class
5. Believe that Hillary Clinton would have been the right candidate for the Democrats to nominate for either president (which should have been their first choice) or vice-president (which should have been their second choice)
6. Feel bad for Hillary Clinton because, after garnering 1/2 of the Democratic votes, she's being discarded and forced into 'unity'
7. Believe that Hillary Clinton should have stayed the course and NOT conceded
8. Dislike another woman in politics more than Hillary Clinton (I'll leave my 2 or 3 readers to guess what woman that is)
9. Publish a political post on my blog

Yet all of these things have come to pass. Strange days . . .