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 My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| Our very able pianist went to a conference today and couldn't get back in time. So we all got text messages that we could cancel tonight, and the director will either do a solo or find someone who would. We have a very small choir. Those of us who still attend do not have outstanding voices and are aware of that. However, we blend together fairly well. No show-offs are in our group. The director is very patient and tolerant and tries to select numbers we either have done when we were more than twice as many or is just plain simple sight reading. We are self-conscious of the meekness of our sound. The piano we are now using in the sanctuary is on loan from an elderly member now in a home. Her granddaughter will get it next year. It's a beautiful old grand piano with excellent sound. Even with the top down, it is extremely loud and drowns out the choir, which is fine with us. The audience has complained that they can't hear the voices. A few weeks ago, we did a very simple song in 4 part harmony a capella. We were surprised at the compliments and cheers. They liked the harmonies. I listened to the tape, and it was subtle, but on key and all together. We proved we didn't need the piano to carry us (sometimes we really do). I miss choir when we don't meet. It's not just the singing, the discipline of following the musical rules and the leader, but the fellowship. Some weeks it's only five of us, plus the accompanist and director. and some of us are aging and losing our singing voices. But we keep trying and trying to recruit. |
| This one was not unexpected. She was only 2 weeks short of her 101st birthday. She was full of energy. She would not allow her son-in-law to cut her grass until she was 99 1/2. She attended hymn sings (we call them that, but they include She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain, My Bonnie, and songs we all sang as kids) when we went to senior homes. She was older than some of the people to whom we sang. I have known this woman since I was a toddler, too many decades to admit. She was the mother of a good friend who was my college roommate one year. In recent years, since moving back to my hometown after my divorce, we were in the same Sunday Bible class. I moved to a first name basis when we worked on so many things as equals. She was well respected and well remembered. We should all be remembered and respected so much when it's our time to go. Of course, that means being a good person now and doing good things for others. I am a generation behind her, and I do not have the energy that she had when she was my age. It makes me sad to see so many of my friends and family passing on. It also inspires me to walk in their steps and live life to the fullest while I have a chance. |
| I saw a comment on a Newsfeed that only humans can adapt or change their environment. I don't accept that. In my Forestry class, we learned that plants are adaptable in order to survive. They develop ways to survive animals (deer nibble at lower branches or bears scratch their backs). And anyone who had tried to keep an area of the yard or farm clear, knows that some plants are invasive and choke out desirable plants and trees. The invaders are very hard to clear away. In fact, a whole forest can change and land can recycle itself every fifty to 100 years. I could never figure how to predict that like the professor could. Animals can adapt their behavior to get shelter or food. Block the mice from getting into your storage bins, and they will find some other way rather quickly to get soap, candle wax, cheese or crumbs. In fact, business trainers used mice as an example a few years back for companies to follow in adapting business operations to modern conditions. I would conclude that all living creatures, plant or animal, are adaptable and capable of changing their environment. Humans are not alone or different in this way. |
| I have had a smoothie made by a nutritionist that wasn't bad. (I don't buy them ready made.) The healthy homemade one had almond milk, fruit, greens, maple extract and crushed ice. It wasn't bad. The banana was a little overpowering. But we only had small samples. She told us to use any fruit, substitute any milk or Greek yogurt and blend. I have tried this before with The Magic Bullet, but none were memorable or worth repeating. Today, I tried her version. I didn't have kale or spinach, so I used leaf lettuce, which is flat, thick and firm. I used a few baby carrots, grapes, blueberries, 1/3 banana, 1/4 red pear, with a spoon of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of nutmeg. It was drinkable, but next time, I will stick to a recipe. Lettuce was not a good blend. I have learned when making my own soup to keep the portions small. I can't waste food, so I have to consume whatever I mix up, as long as I don't burn it. I usually start with a recipe but make substitutions on some ingredients. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, not. I recently leaned how to poach fish. So I have experimented with that and have found success, using the cheaper varieties. So not all my experiments fail. I predict I won't be fixing a lot of smoothies. |
| I have known some people who were certified Master Gardeners, not professional, just by hobby and classes. I don't aim to work that hard, but have decided that in some things I am a master gardener without a certificate. I decided this today as I pulled up my 3rd harvest of poison ivy. This one was the biggest haul yet. It really grows in the spring. I not only have an abundance of poisonous plants, but tons of dandelions, something that resembles a dandelion but with out the deep roots and a smaller leaf, buttercups,and creeping charlie. I saw in Southern Living that there is a dreaded ground cover called creeping Jenny. I have something in my lawn that must be akin to creeping charlie and creeping jenny, but it looks different. It is invasive, prolific, and crawls along like a vine on the ground. I don't know the name but it is a creeping cousin. Then there's periwinkle or vinca; it has a lovely purple or white flower in the spring with an ivy like leaf. It has a tuber, like a tiny potato for a bulb, and attaches to other flowers or grows independently. Its job is to choke out whatever it can. Did I have an abundance of those purple flower weeds?! Also, a no-no per Southern Living horticulturists. Yes, I have English ivy. So does everyone else in the region. It cracks open brick walls and lives on tree bark, destroying gigantic trees. I also have invasive vines that nature lovers are trying to get out of the region because they are destroying native plants. These vines will grow across the ground, magically jump up 2 feet to wrap around a cable and twist around it until it can get into a tree or shrub. I had one behind the shed that had climbed up the rope on an extension ladder tying it to a tree. I couldn't move the ladder, even after I cut the roots and detangled it up to my height. Someone had to come with a saw to cut the ladder free. I may not have a bumper crop of luscious tomatoes or prize winning blooms. My climbing rose has climbed over to the bird feeder and wrapped around it and through it. I am going to take credit for growing weeds and whatever Mother Nature sends to me. |
| I was flabbergasted. I discovered a TV channel this afternoon called So Yummy. It has only minimal commercials, which is a plus. But it intended to be somewhat educational. Short videos showing the making of snacks, using a pastry dough and fruit, no sugar added, were shown in rapid fire succession. No printed recipe or ingredient list appeared. I tried looking it up online. I only found general information, not the specific items featured today. There were quizzes about food, about French dishes, about Italian food, so, I had to watch those. Then came a special documentary. A young reporter narrated and demonstrated wild rice in Canada. No cooking directions given, only the how's and who's of harvesting. The wild rice seed is not native but introduced in the 1800's to Saskatchewan. Over 50% of wild rice comes from here. Indigenous people make their living caring for and harvesting the rice and carrying it to the processing plant. The video makes it appear that women are very involved in this harvest. They use air boats to harvest the rice. It can grow in water inches deep up to six feet deep. The front of the boat has something that looks like a dump truck loader. They explained you have to go along at the right speed, not too fast, not too slow to avoid damaging the rice beds. They take a load to the bank where a clean canvas or tarp awaits them. One on the ground, the workers use a lightweight special shovel (looks like a snow shovel) to scoop up some rice and put in a big bag. The bags will weigh around 60 pounds and are placed on a scale. Each person harvesting has his or her own number. That number is put on the bag, then the bag goes on a wheeled pallet. When that is full, it goes to the 18 wheeler. I'd like to know a little more about the processing and what happens to it before it gets to market. How many human hands will touch it? How does it get clean? Important stuff like that. I appreciate the comments about growing in the pristine waters of the lake and the cool temperatures. The harvest takes place in August and September. The same area can be re-harvested 3 or 4 days later. One air boat driver did say the rice keeps feeding itself and growing while being harvested. They all claimed they like being close to nature and the calmness of the lake. It is very satisfying work for them. It makes me want to support them by purchasing wild rice. Not only is it better for us according to nutritionists, but is a way of supporting the indigenous people and carrying on their traditions of the last 100 years. |
| We are talking about getting older and wiser in Sunday morning Bible study. I am leading for now. Last week, using the first chapter of James, we connected wisdom to maturity and completeness. No one ever becomes wise or "complete" all the time. We have our moments. We thought about the wisest people we have known and described them. Calm was almost a universal adjective. That wise person who always seemed to be in control, at least of himself, in the midst of a crisis. The wise people I have known were excellent listeners, so I would add knowing when to be quiet and when to speak. Leo Buscaglia, very popular writer a few decades ago, claimed that in a time of grieving, not speaking, but sitting down to cry with the mourner is the kindest way to help the mourner. You don't have to fill in all the silences with empty words. Yet. we all try so hard to say the perfect things to give comfort. Maybe wisdom involves knowing a time to cry and a time to make speeches. A wise person is not judgmental. You don't tell someone their feelings are silly, or they shouldn't feel a certain way. Their feelings are theirs, and our place is only to acknowledge them. We might offer an alternative, but without invalidating that person. We are talking about getting older, and that makes people think of mortality. So a wise person won't say something like, "Oh, no. You're going to live a long time." When did we become fortune tellers? No one can predict the end, so we can't scold someone for thinking about that. Again, it seems that wisdom means knowing when to keep our mouths shut. With this subject in my mind, I watched an episode of The Andy Griffith Show, where Opie is a key figure. He really wanted to win a foot race and get a medal. He exercised and trained for it, but had a very poor showing. He lost so badly, he walked away instead of watching the awards. He moped for days. Finally, Pa had a talk with him about sportsmanship. The first one didn't work, so a second more serious one came up. Andy told him that winning didn't matter to him, but he was disappointed that Opie couldn't congratulate his friends, that he was so surly with everyone and not eating. The talked about being mature. That word triggered my thinking. Maybe the wise person knows how to be a good loser, even if she really wants to win. Maybe in our description of wisdom, we need to include good sportsmanship. The wise people I've known may have had some intense emotions, but they never let those emotions get the best of them. They were gracious in all circumstances. |
| Some shows I never saw the first time around include M*A*S*H*, The Virginian, Desperate Housewives, Reba, and Tales of Wells Fargo. I really got hooked on Housewives. There were two episodes every day. I was between jobs and watched them all in a short period. Then I was done. I don't wish to see them again. I discovered Reba late last year. Never knew she had a TV show. I loved it but overdid it. Can't stand to watch it now. And I hate her newest show that just started: Pappy's Place. The magic just isn't there this time. Some shows I can watch over and over, like M*A*S*H*, the Andy Griffith Show, Tales of Wells Fargo, Seinfeld, Frazier. There are some I liked the first time around, but can't stand the reruns, like Designing Women, The Golden Girls. and the Carol Burnett Show. I seem like a simpleton, even to myself, considering how I can spend time watching silly shows and predictable westerns. A few of them are objectionable and chauvinistic, products of their time. In a way, it's comforting to have familiar sounds and characters. And I'm one of those people who likes to do two things at once, like pay bills or sew while watching. I mostly like old movies, the older the better. I watched a British film the other day, didn't know a single star, but loved it. I suppose this has been a blessing in my old age and my infirmity. Now that I'm getting stronger, I will be spending less time in front of a TV set. At least if I get some ear phones, I can listen to books on tape. |
| Anyone who has read a few of my blog entries knows I am a TV addict. Hard to believe, as a young adult, I didn't even own a TV. I guess I am making up for lost time, since I mostly watch reruns. I have to see Zorro whenever I can. It was a Disney show that my brothers and I watched as children. We only knew he always won and made a Z with his sword. Now I see that there is an ongoing theme. I record them so that I don't miss any episodes when I am out and about. Then I binge watch! I don't know how I missed Guy Williams all these years. He was so handsome and genteel. He has passed away, but had two mega hits, Zorro and Lost In Space. He retired to Argentina after the second show, saying he had made enough income from two successful shows that he and his family could live happily the rest of his life. I had to research him, and discovered he was an excellent horseman and swordsman, perfect for Zorro. He couldn't sing though. Disney uses music from time to time, and there are some cute songs on the show. After the first time Zorro sang, they never let him do it again. He took guitar lessons from a world famous guitarist, but his singing was done by one of the men singing the theme song. Zorro means fox. I was inspired to read a book written decades after the Disney version by Allende, a South American. It was very interesting and gave more of the history of California, throwing in a little history of Spain, and New Orleans. It is not a book for children, too much violence and horror. Disney apparently got their idea from a novel titled The Prisoner of Capistrano. |
| This is a movie starring Willie Nelson. I have never been impressed with his acting, but he's a good ol' boy who can sing and write songs. So I watched it, but found it very entertaining. It also starred a lot of older actors, once star attractions. There they were with white hair, extra weight, wrinkles and double chins. I had fun identifying stars as they appeared, then had to keep them straight throughout the film. Chuck Conners was very handsome and athletic during his career, but at the time of this film, he was still lean, though worn out looking. Some of the appearance was costuming and make-up, but all of them had seen better days. Richard Widmark was always a fine dramatic actor in my book, and his part in it was the main reason I decided to give it a try. Included was Stuart Whitman, Jack Elam, Royal Dano, Richard Widmark, Dub Taylor, Ken Curtis, and Harry Carey Jr. Angie Dickinson appeared only briefly in a few blurry memories, then made an entrance at the end, The movie was made in 1988, and although it had a serious plot, there were many comical elements. Near the end, they actually stood in a line together so you could see the whole line-up. If you don't like westerns, this one won't win you over. However, if you love old movies and seeing older stars, this is your film. For the slightly younger adult, Shaun Cassidy, who was not unattractive when he grew up, plays the only real "bad guy" in this film about crime and going straight in your twilight years. |
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