Conundrum ... and Best Wishes for 2024!

BlogSpot, as publisher of my blog, keeps statistics on "From Pencilbox to Keyboard" including who is viewing my writing -- not specifically by individual, but by country.  Each week they provide a map of the world highlighting those countries that have someone who dropped in to take a look and then they tell you how many views from each country. It's fun to check and to wonder how they were even able to access my blog in places like Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, etc. I would think it might be difficult unless they are using Musk's Starlink or something.  I actually know very little about what technology is available in those countries so I hesitate to speculate.

In addition to those friends who access it on Facebook, I have other readers from all over the world -- most commonly from the United States, of course, but also often from Sweden, France, Spain, England, Ireland, Poland... northern European and Scandinavian mostly.  Once in a while, someone finds their way from Mexico or Japan.  At least I hope they are reading and not just glancing by.  Once in a while I hear from readers in some form of comment.  It's nice. It makes the world seem friendlier somehow -- warmer and less scary. People are people wherever they are.

I understand really why I don't have any views from places like, North Korea, Africa, and very few from the Mideast, but I simply could not understand why in all the years I have been writing this blog, I had only one solitary view from Canada and that was early December of this year. I mean, after all, we are neighbors. Then Bam! that all changed a week or so later when I logged into BlogSpot to check tracking stats and Boom! ...  1.34K views over a two day period ... about 150 of them from Canada. What? Why would that happen all of a sudden after blogging off and on since 2013 or 2014 and in all those years probably averaging 500-600 views/month. It's a conundrum.

It was all very exciting.  Wonder if it will happen again?  Was it a glitch of some sort? Anyway -- using the BlogSpot "all time" summary chart so I don't miss anyone -- Hello and Best New Year wishes to the US, and to Germany, Finland, Canada, Czechia, South Korea, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Switzerland and also ... to those countries that BlogSpot classifies as "Other". From other stat reports, I know that "Other" includes Poland, Iceland, Mexico, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, India, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Japan, and China. Thank you for dropping by.

Anyway --  May the entire world have a good 2024.  Is that possible?  Oh how it wish it would be.  In many respects 2023 has been a bit of a "dumpster fire" around the world.  We need a positive change. It's time. 

Vintage Over Old or Antiquated...

Most of the time I feel well and go about my day with an energy level to which I have become accustomed.  All is relatively easy-peasy until I see something on the floor under the couch or realize that something I need is in the basement. I remember my Mom saying that she felt like she was forty years younger that she actually was  -- at least most of the time. I also remember her saying not to make old lady noises - especially when bending over to pick up something or when getting in and out of a car. She implied, perhaps, that groans and moans put you in the wrong mindset and were annoying to others. 

So what are the reminders that time has flown by and that somehow you are now a part of the elderly generation?  Without stopping to glance in the mirror, take a comfy seat somewhere and recall that party lines were once a part of your life, and that you remember the first day when you could Direct Distance Dial. Then suddenly your phone was no longer attached to a wall and all phones were touch tone.  Then ... like magic ... Operators and payphones disappeared.  Poof!  Remember what it was like seeing TV (with 3 static filled channel options) for the first time and bearing witness to the emergence of cable TV and now subscription streaming services.  From rabbit ears to Internet. From Black and White to color. From The Ed Sullivan Show to Survivor.  Out of breath yet?

Realize also that younger generations smile at the fact that you iron or at least know people who do, balance your checkbook, love to read maps, write out phrases like "by the way", actually know proper grammar, and sometimes use a letter opener to open letters.  Be compassionate toward youth when you see that some are baffled by the mere mention of standard shift vehicles or cursive writing, and have no clue what an S&H Green Stamp is.  Remember that they are a generation who may not understand that you love plastic straws and find paper ones to be soggy, icky and definitely inferior. Know that today's youth may never know what it is like to rock your way out of a snow bank or what it is like to drive without all-weather or snow tires.

I am thinking that my grandkids might give me the blank stare if I were to mention that I once sewed/tailored a "leisure suit" for their grandfather. I also rarely use make up. (I think it clogs my pores and smothers my skin), don't think twice about eating red meat, and still keep my landline for emergency tracking purposes because my county hasn't figured out how to track cell phones yet. I also write letters because I like to stay in touch that way sometimes. I pay in cash whenever I can, and prefer my desktop HP computer to any tablet or phone because -- for one thing -- I can see what I am doing more easily.  I admit it all.

One of my grandkids asked me the other day what that "thing" was on my counter top.  It was an electric can opener that I have to pull out once in a while, because, believe it or not, not all cans have pull tabs. It got me to wondering if they would know what a phone book is/was ... I know I have one somewhere.  Will have to leave it lying around when I know they are coming by. Nana humor....

I have childhood memories of polishing silver and that's why I do not own any. I also read real books, like fake plants in high places like on the tops of my kitchen cabinets where I can't see how dusty they are. I routinely use a day planner, love my VHS and DVD player, know what SPAM tastes like, and think that tattoos belong on Popeye the Sailor Man.

Looking back on this... I am compelled to mention that I prefer the word vintage over words like old or antiquated.  I also must mention that I like my white hair and wrinkles.  I earned every single white strand and every crinkle. I would like to think that most of the wrinkles come from an excess of smiling.  For the most part, it has been an excellent journey. 😊 So much for which to be thankful.  Remember also that anything vintage or antique is valuable. We have been there and done that.  We know "stuff". 

Happy 2024!  May the Force be with you.  

Merry Christmas....

Have been reminiscing about Christmases past off and on for a while now. 'Tis the season. Not sure what triggered that, but had fun thinking about my Dad putting up lights -- definitely not his forte - or favorite pastime -- and about my Mom busy in the kitchen preparing all our family favorites from scratch ... for what seemed like days on end. Our home smelled so mouth-wateringly yummy! And then there was the wonder of the midnight church service on Christmas Eve. The candles were so welcoming.  Christmas is a season really -- weeks of special festivities -- all around exciting -- perhaps especially so for a child. 

I recalled the time I ruined my own Christmas when, after exhausting many possibilities, I discovered a hidden cache of presents tucked away on the high shelf in the hall closet.  I opened them all and then rewrapped them.  No surprises that year.  In fact it was an early dreading of having to wear the sweater that my mom had selected for me.  (We never did have the same taste in clothes.  She was a matching outfit sort of person with appropriate jewelry, and I was a jeans/sweatshirt person with appropriate socks. That was just the way it was.  It was okay. We came to respect each other's choices...eventually.)

Then came thoughts of the Sears Catalog -- the Wish Book.  Oh how I miss that catalog.  I used to go through it again and again -- wishing for this and that.  Then, after the holidays, I would cut special parts out and make a shoe box house with pictures of appliances and furniture.  Ah... the good olde days....  Bubble lights, wooden toys, good food, fires in the fireplace, falling asleep on the floor with my head on the family dog.  Ah Dutchess, you were a fine and patient dog.

Then came thoughts of not so fun wintery and holiday things  -- plastic bread bags on your feet to keep them dry in boots that always leaked, the constant smell of wet wool, as well as chapped lips and wrists. I particularly hated having to wear scratchy holiday dresses with short ouchy sleeves and bows that tied in the back. I thought, also, of breaking my wrist ice-skating in my new ice skates the day after Christmas.  That's what you get when showing off by grabbing onto the the end of a whip.  You skaters know what that is.  I was a stupid 8 year old at the time, but ...  I did get to go back to school after Christmas vacation with an impressive cast to show off...  so there was a plus side.  Ah youth... if only that were the only stupid thing I did....

Times have changed and do offer some positives.  Waterproof coats that are filled with goose down or a good substitute, clothes that are flexible and soft boots that do not leak, a veritable deluge of catalogs to browse through, improvements in food preparation that save time, ChapStick and longer sleeves/mittens .... I even learned not to grab on to the end of an ice-skating whip.  Sometimes change is a good thing.  Sometimes it is important for me to remember that.

Times also have changed though in the family who are present.  That is the way of life. These "changes" make all holidays times of mixed emotions -- deeply poignant. I want to remember all of that -- always. I want to remember that it is especially important to be kind during these times. It is a journey that we all share. We are all missing people we love. Perhaps this "missing" is especially hard at Holiday times.

I am thankful for memories of Christmases past and thankful, too, for the Christmases now and to come.  Merry Christmas! Let's hope we are all able to make some wonderful memories and especially --  to be a good part of memories for others.  

What Happened to Build Back Better???

 Feel free to add to the following list....

The entire world is in varying degrees of turmoil. US soldiers are under attack here and there across the globe and no one seems to give a hoot about Biden's "Don't". Has the US become the laughing stock of the globe under what appears to be the short-sighted and seemingly wimpy leadership of the current administration? 

Shortly after taking office (the first day actually), Biden put tens of thousands of Americans out of work (many of them from my State) and... in this made the United states no longer energy independent, but actually dependent in-part upon terrorist enemies and in-part on the importation of the "dirty oil" of South America.  He then worked to deepen our dependence upon China -- a dubious connection to be sure. He gave and continues to give American taxpayer dollars to Iran. Added to this is the concern of his family ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the fondness of the Biden family for "gifts" of money from foreign sources... and that is perhaps just scratching the surface of ugly.  It does not inspire confidence. "Follow the money." "... in the end the truth will out."  Please.

To continue... Biden pulls our troops out of Afghanistan leaving Americans and friends of America behind while, at the same time, deserting military bases and leaving billions of dollars worth of functional military weapons and equipment in the hands of enemies. Short-sighted to say the least. Shameful. Deeply shameful. Leaving Americans behind is not the American way.  

More and more the election system is found to be corrupt. New evidence of this fraud appears almost every week.  How much election tampering is acceptable?  I say none. Apparently others disagree. I heard Biden say that "they" have a fraud team. I think he said it was excellent and then smiled the way he does. Is that open to interpretation? It is. That is not his only gaffe perhaps. (That particular smile always gives me the creeps -- almost as much as his whispering for emphasis.  Can't help it.)  I feel that he is not on my side.  Isn't he to be the President of all American people?  How did he get so rich, by the way?  On his salary for the past 50 years?  Doubt it. 

Both the northern and southern borders are proven to be far too open. Hard working Americans are now paying the living expenses of and for "treats" for illegal aliens, some of whom now just want to go back home finding that this is not the American of the American Dream or because they don't like the cold of ... say -- Chicago. Where has the lawful America gone? Citizens have to follow the rules. Illegal immigrants do not. What? Biden now wants to sacrifice our National Parks to house illegals. Think of it... National Parks as camping grounds for the homeless who entered the country because they could... because Biden opened the doors and ordered them kept open. Disturbing. What is his motivation? 

Homelessness and crime metastasize under Biden.  Veterans are mistreated. Again... shameful.

Protestors glue their hands to streets, building, paintings and think they are not stupid, but righteous. Duh.... Since Biden took office, "Peaceful" demonstrations have cost at least 19 Americans their lives, as well as over 2 billion dollars in damages. Shoplifting goes unpunished as do many other more serious crimes. It's insanity. Further -- People blindly protest things they really know nothing about. If they find themselves face to face those who committed sexual atrocities, murder, and hostage torture in Israel with glee on October 7th and on, they may realize their mistake in their blind support of Hamas. Let's call it what it is. These are not just terrorists that the world is dealing with. These are people who victimize innocent men, women and children and enjoy the pain they inflict.

The bad guys seem to run the show.  They do everything that they          accuse the opposition of doing ... and seem to get away with it. You can start here with Hillary Clinton's henchmen and the whole made up story of Russian influence.  Newsom, who leads a state that has come to be  known for homelessness, filthy trash, and not enough energy to keep the lights on is now touted to be a good candidate for President.  Yikes...  Too slick Hollywood for me. Remember this is the man who sent his kids to private school during his lockdown of an entire state, and sat unmasked and laughing while eating at an expensive restaurant with his elite friends while people were wondering how they could even get food into their homes while locked in.

Many, including me, have been unsure of who is actually running the country - this since the beginning of Biden's term of office. He does not inspire confidence. He keeps himself removed from the American people. Once a basement dweller, he now doesn't talk with the American people or address them when important things are happening all over the world. He makes no attempt to be forthright or comforting to the people he works for ... and for clarification ... he works for all American citizens. That is you. That is me.  He appears to be a President of the beach chair, ice cream cones,  and naps.  I, for one, am tired of seeing the back of his head as he walks/shuffles away from important questions. It's discouraging.  Don't we as citizens deserve to know the answers to important questions?  The answer is: We Do. I personally am already sick of the fear mongering that his party is doing now in preparation for the upcoming Presidential election.  Beware... don't let them manipulate you.... They are masters at that.  Keep people afraid and they will obey.  Don't fall for it. They are coming for you... again. We all deserve better.

Those in power are trying to eliminate the free speech of those              who disagree with them. Need proof?  Check out the silencing of the farmers in Michigan. They were not allowed to speak against legislation that Witmer pushed through... legislation that affected their livelihood and the future growth of important, life-sustaining crops. 

Those in power spread disinformation in cahoots with much of the main stream media.  People long for truth and don't know where to look for it. Troubling times for the truth seeker. Some of what used to be called conspiracy theory with great self-righteous distain is now being determined to be true. 

Name calling, racism, anti-Semitism anti-Islamism are rampant -- fueled by the left -- even from the mouths of elected officials spoken from their seats of power. Half of the Democrats in our House of Representatives voted against the condemnation of anti-Semitism. Ignorance is rampant. Positions of power are filled with candidates based on characteristics that have nothing to do with competency. Gone for now are the days of selecting the person best qualified for the job.  Those in power like to chose by groups rather than by looking at the individual to see if they can do the job.  We are suffering across the board from this policy. The evidence is all around you.  Please look. 

Our country is painfully divided.  Does anyone trust anyone? Who is there to trust? How does one know who is trustworthy? Does the current administration take any responsibility in dividing the nation into groups and putting them against one another?  No, but they are the ones who focus on grouping. Example? They have put aside that all lives matter.  And while I am at it.  Where are all the voices in support of the innocent men, women, and children of Israel taken captive, tortured, and killed in October and on? The silence is deafening.

What in the world is going on?  Can we fix it?  Is there power in the vote? Area we able to Make America Great Again?  We will see.  I could go on, but enough for now.... It is overwhelming.

Thanks for "listening".  

Now I will try to put my concerns on a shelf somewhere, at least temporarily. Time to enjoy the holidays. Hope you are able to do the same. All of you. For many in the world this is a sacred time ... a time of joy and thankfulness ... a time that should draw us together in celebration and in hope. I pray that it will be so for all.

Sometimes I just get to the point that I need to vent. I cannot sit quietly by and watch. I also want to speak while I am still allowed to. Think about that for a moment. 

Moving on for now .... 

Questions of the day...

Is the pendulum beginning its slow return swipe and powerfully sweeping  some of the current insanity off the table as it makes it way?

Is the woke about to encounter the full force of the awake?

Have those who have been called crybullies exhausted their 15 minutes?

How many more days is Biden in office? Can we, as a nation, survive that long?  

~~~~~~~

It seems to me that more and more people are asking these questions so I actually was not too surprised to find that if one Googles "How many more days does President Biden have in office?", one encounters several options to view countdown clocks.  Is it twisted awful that I find this amusing for some reason?  Now there is a question. 

Middle of Nowhere...

 

According to the Washington Post Glasgow, Montana is the official Middle of Nowhere in the United States.  Glasgow, population of around 75,000, is 4 ½ hours from any other major city.

Of course there is also a town in Oklahoma that is actually named Nowhere.  Imagine saying that you are from Nowhere.  It could develop into an entire “Who’s on first” thing.

When people say they are visiting or living in a city, it is often because where they really are is near a city that people have heard of and no one has ever heard of where they actually are, so they just say they are in the bigger city.   I personally never say I am from Erie.  I just say Northwest Pennsylvania .  One time when I was in Upper New York State near the Vermont border, I said that, and the person asked me the name of the town. When I responded Corry, they got the biggest smile. They were from Spartansburg  - about 6 miles away. It was nice  -- a moment of bonding over living in the:

middle of nowhere

backwoods

wilds

you can’t get there from here

boonies

boondocks

sticks

hicksville

Now here's the thing. There is a lot to be said for living relatively untouched by the outside world.  I mean – you know the world is there, but it ignores you and underestimates you.  It is a position of power actually. Think about that for a moment, and unless you are one of those who thinks that bigger is always better or one of those who thinks you are too good to live in any one of the above list of places, you will get it.

One further point – sort of related…   It occurs to me suddenly out of the blue ... that the town of Northeast, Pennsylvania is actually in Northwest Pennsylvania.  Now I am wondering why Northeast is called Northeast.  Hmmm…  One has the time to think about things like that when they live in the middle of nowhere.   

Second further point -- you can get here from there. My small city in Northwest Pennsylvania is almost smack dab in the middle of where they say "it" is happening.  My small city is sort of equidistant from three cities people have heard of --  Cleveland is "Westish", Pittsburgh is "Southish", and Buffalo is "Northish". Personally I prefer in the middle of nowhere. No offense intended to all you city slickers or city slicker want-to-bes out there. 

It has been said more than once, actually, that "Some call it the middle of nowhere. We call it the center of everything."  I even saw that on a poster somewhere.  I think it was an America Crop Producer poster.  Where would you be without them? Grocery stores don't produce food, it comes from places listed above.

One last thing.... Just curious....  Is anyone besides me asking what happened to all the homeless people in San Francisco who where moved for the visit of Xi Jinping et al.  Did they disappear? Were they allowed to take their tents with them?  Were they rehomed under a highway overpass?  Will they come back once the VIP's are gone?  They don't seem to be in the Middle of Nowhere.   Asking for a friend.

 

 

Hurkle - durkle

 It's Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.  For those of you who have your Christmas shopping done or who would rather not brave the shopping frensy of the day, this is my advice:

                        Hurkle - durkle

Now thinking that perhaps this term is new to some as it was to me...

"Hurkle-durkle is a 200 year-old Scottish term meaning to lounge in bed long after it is time to get up.  Happiness is hurkle-durkling."

Source you ask?  This info came from a meme of im not right in the head.com sent to me by a dear friend whose name will remain a secret as she said she learned it from her crazy cousin.  She knows I love new words and she likes anonymity in general and probably especially in his case since she called her cousin crazy.

Anyway -- I think that after days of preparation for a feast, hurkle-durkling is just what the doctor ordered. I wrote this two days before Thanksgiving, so that I could hurkle-durkle properly on this the day after.   

Gobble... Gobble....

With some modifications, this is my Thanksgiving To-Do list from last year.  Some things are helpful to repeat, and ... it's a busy week. 

Happy Thanksgiving!  So much for which to be thankful.  

                    Feast Preparation To Do List

All pans and casserole dishes at the ready   ✔

Large Platter, good cutting board and carving set located ✔

Great Grandma’s little side fruit bowls washed and dried ✔

All ingredients for everything on the counters ✔

Turkey ready to go into the oven ✔

Peanut Butter ice cream pie made and tightly covered in the freezer ✔

Stuffing ready put together and into muffin pans for “stuffin' muffins" ✔

Green bean casserole all set ✔

Grandma Betty’s fruit salad just needs whipped cream ✔

Cheesy potato/bacon casserole ready to pop into oven ✔

Mashed potatoes set to microwave ✔

Table set ✔

Note written to remember the cranberry sauce this year ✔

House about to smell wonderful ✔

Local family about to arrive ✔

Smile on my face – again -- so much for which to be thankful ✔

Beware of the Phubber

I learned a new word today, so... of course I had to share it.  Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while, know that I am compelled to share new stuff about language... especially if the word has developed recently and strikes me as a perfect descriptor of our world, although I do love old, even antiquated, words as well -- if they are fun to say out loud.

It appears that this word appeared between 2010 and 2015 as a result of an experiment of sorts. Picture this.  A bunch of lexicographers, authors and poets got together to make a new word that is a combination of phone and snub. Now exactly why they set about to do this, I have no idea.  Perhaps it was because a new word was necessary to describe a relatively new, (annoying) phenomenon.  I do love the result of their work.

Picture sitting at the dinner table with a group of adults -- some of whom are on their phones ignoring the rest of the people there, or call to mind trying to talk to a grandchild while they are thumb texting.  The situations are endless and I know that you have been there.  We all have... and we know how it feels. Right?

The word?  

                    PHUB 

                                                [fuhb] verb

I think it's perfect.  

Definition: to ignore a person or one's surroundings when in a social situation by busying oneself with a phone or other mobile device.

Personally I find phubbing disturbing. Look around.  It's everywhere.  I am especially flummoxed by the situation where a person is phubbing while walking in the street.  Stupidity at its best.  Ah -- Flummoxed by Phubbing.  Say that five times real fast.

Best Gift Ever

The Holidays are almost upon us.  Time to get into gear folks.  Let the fun begin.  Halloween, thankfully, is over.  Next -- Thanksgiving... my favorite holiday of the year. I think the aroma of all the favorite foods gives this holiday the edge. Then the Christmas season slams in during which the spirit of giving prevails. I love the gentleness and good will of the Christmas season. I ignore all the stressful parts of both holidays as much as possible. I am pretty good at doing that...lots of practice at my age.

Now some are not excited about the holiday season and I do feel bad for them. They grumble-grumble and snarl about commercialization, decorating too early, etc.  I'm okay; you're okay.  I just do not let the negative ooze its way onto my turf. I think it is all about attitude and making a decision to let some things slide, put other things on the shelf to be considered later, and just get into the holiday mode... sometimes maybe easier said than done, but important nevertheless. Holiday seasons are like vacations from the bad stuff... or they should be.

Don't think I am crazy ... I love preparation for Thanksgiving.  I spread it out over several days.  There is the list making, the inventory of the pantry, the laying out of pans and in time -- a home that smells so wonderful for a few days in a row that the atmosphere is simply beyond welcoming.  Then there is the gathering itself.   Blessings abound.  I love it all. So much for which to be thankful.

Then before you can turn around twice, there is the Christmas holiday for which I have been mentally preparing since the last one.  Personally I start decorating for Christmas when the dishwasher is running at the end of day on Thanksgiving and ... I start using the special Christmas dishes the day after. (They get put away on New Year's day.)  I like to think of Christmas as a time of giving... a time when maybe people are a little kinder, gentler, etc.  Please don't burst my bubble.  The only glitch is that I have trouble thinking of what to give and no one seems to want to help me decide, and I love to give gifts.  I figure if that is my only problem, I am fortunate indeed.  As for me and gift ideas --there is this "thing" that cleans shower walls and a superb kite that I have been looking at ... but really...  I just want time with my wonderful family... always the best gift ever.  Whenever we can get together, no matter what the exact day -- huge gift. Yep -- best gift ever.

Time Sensitive Snow Alert

Now... if you do not or have never lived in snow country, you may not see the humor in this.  Just a warning also, that I may be making fun of those of you who stay home when it sprinkles a wee bit from a passing dark cloud or if there is a lone snow flake in the air… or even the potential of one.  You know if I am taking about you.  No offense. I just find your behavior to be humorous and perhaps a bit wimpy.  Remember we Snow Belt NW Pennsylvanians take pride in our ability to survive. We know how to knit stuff to keep warm. We do things like lay in supplies and carry and stack wood. We know how to build fires and how to use all different kinds of shovels. We have a bunch of different words to describe all different kinds of snow. We know people with generators. We live in Snow Country.

Today, the day before Halloween, when it is drizzly, damp to wet, in the low forties and I was moving around outside with no coat for a while thinking nothing of it, I received a screen shot of my son’s phone.  He lives a bit west of Indianapolis in a lovely town called Danville, Indiana. It's the County Seat of  Hendrick's County. So nice there! They don’t really know there about winter though -- not the way we do. I mean their annual snowfall averages around 20 inches and they get a lot of sun there... unlike here where we average around 150 inches and have been know to get half that much in one single storm. Further , we are not known for sunny days.  We notice them when we do get them. We do not take them for granted.  Anyway - The following is a direct quote of his screen shot:

TIME SENSITIVE

Snow Alert

Danville: A brief snow shower will begin around Mon, Oct 30 9:59 EDT.

Really – a time sensitive weather warning about a “brief snow shower”?  Of course it was issued by The Weather Channel – which is based in Atlanta, Georgia.  What do they in Atlanta know about snow really? I once witnessed them freaking out about potential for 6 inches of the white stuff in Boston.  We had six feet in 24-36 hours at that same time and not even a mere mention of us.  Erie ran out of lake to push it into and didn’t totally dig out until the following Spring. Seriously -- I have great friends who didn't celebrate Christmas until April that year.

Anyway – not sure how my son was reacting to this “alert”. I would like to think that he was making fun of it, but I didn't know how to interpret his accompanying emoji.  He has lived in Indiana for a long time now and maybe now has wimped out from lack of exposure to a real winter. I'm not sure he even has a real winter coat now. But -- I mean he was the kid who used to dig snow tunnels all day long, downhill ski and more than once went trick or treating in a foot or more of snow – who had to plan his costumes every single year to include warm outerwear.  He was a child of snow country, a boy who once drove from here to Stowe, Vermont in a blizzard to ski. Is it possible that he may have become one who even notices a brief snow shower? I find it amusing. I mean he lived in Rutland, Vermont and went to school in New England. He knows what snow is. BTW – I told him I was going to write about his screen shot.  He laughed.  He finds me amusing.  I am thankful for that and for him.  I find him amusing as well.  It’s a mutual thing. Actually I am blessed with an entire family of funny people.  

Note -- The forecast here today is for the possibility of snow for the next 4 days.  I will believe it when I see it. I can guarantee you that The Weather Channel will not be sending out alerts  to us... ever.  

Moments in Time

Don't know if it is age related or if it is just that the older a person is, the more time they find to think about things and the more memories there are to think about.  Moments in time just sort of pop up -- good and bad.  It's interesting. 

The other day, out of nowhere, a moment of my Dad and I walking through the woods popped up. It was a warm Summer day. We stopped at a stream and he cupped his hands together, dipped them into the water, and offered me a drink. The water was cool and ... salty.  That was probably over 65 years ago. Wow....

We all have historical moments frozen in time as well.  I was sitting in a 9th grade English class when JFK was shot. I was a Freshman in college, on my way to the dining hall, when I heard that Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.  I was sitting on the floor in front of the TV putting rollers in my hair as I watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon in 1969. I was standing in a high school hallway watching students pass by in between classes when I heard that the Twin Towers had been hit by terrorists in 2001. 

Then sometimes moments with my kids when they were little drop in.  My son used to like to drag his little sister around in a wagon complete with as many sticks as he could fit in around her.  She never seemed to mind. My daughter spent time with her Boxer puppy in what we called the fat cupboard.  I always knew they were playing in there when I found all the pots and pans scattered all over the kitchen floor. Both children loved to dress up their dogs. Lots of fun memories of patient Boxers there.  I remember every detail of the first moments of seeing my children for the first time. I remember their first smiles, steps, moments of laughter and tears. Brief glimpses of my childhood moments pop in for a visit as well. So many.... I remember the last moments with my parents and my sister ... poignant beyond words. Memories just appear unexpectedly - moments in time.

It seems to me that life is full of little moments  -- each significant --sometimes beyond words. Some are just plain hard; some are just plain wonderful. I know that I, for one, am thankful for the memories whenever they drop in for a visit. Sometimes it is the small moments that are the most important over time. I am thinking/knowing that you definitely know what I mean.

Ferris Wheels, Graham Crackers and more...

Acrostic puzzles are fun ... pleasantly and painlessly educational. Those are nice qualities. They make me feel like I am not totally wasting my time while I am working on them.  Actually, I enjoy all types of crossword puzzles. Spending time with a good puzzle can be relaxing and usually is also stress reducing.

Anyway -- I was working away on a "quiz acrostic" puzzle this afternoon.  That’s the kind where you figure out some phrase or tidbit of information by solving the two parts of the acrostic. The answer to the quiz question is then revealed by reading the first letter of each word in the first part of the puzzle.  Triple fun.  It’s hard to explain. You sort of have to be there to see what I mean. The point is though ... the following tidbit was the end result of all my work.  Here is the acrostic phrase:

“George Ferris’ first wheel was twenty-six stories high and had a capacity of over two thousand people.  For its first ride, a forty-piece band squeezed into one car. (Then the quiz question…) Where did Ferris introduce his extraordinary amusement ride?

Now the thing about all this is that I never knew that the Ferris Wheel was named after the inventor.  In fact, I never even thought about it. I totally skipped over the facts that I cannot even picture a twenty-six story Ferris wheel or that a forty-piece band crammed themselves into one car. I went right to the idea that I bet there are a lot of things named after people ... and  I didn't know it.  We should acknowledge them.  Right?  So… of course I had to hit Google.

 

Mason Jar     John Landis Mason

Saxophone     Adolphe Sax

Graham Crackers      Sylvester Graham   

Jacuzzi     the Jacuzzi brothers

Braille     Louis Braille

Heimlich Maneuver     Henry Judah Heimlich

Salisbury Steak     James Salisbury

 

Also Cardigan, Nachos, Tupperware, Leotard and I simply cannot leave out Ford.  The list goes on and on. ...not sure why I find this so amazing. 

By the way – the answer to the quiz question is Chicago.      

 

Smile.... You're on Candid Camera...

 

A few years back, my son thought it would be a good idea if I had a Google Nest aka “Ring” doorbell.  Technology challenged, it took me a while to have it installed and then to figure out how to link it to my phone. For quite a long time, I found it annoying, because the camera is panoramic and is so good, it goes off if a deer crosses the lawn at 150 paces or if a particularly large snow flake floats by. One particularly startling time I opened the app to see what was going on, and there was the face of an insect looking right at me – up close and too personal. After I caught my breath and realized that it was not an alien presence, I just turned off the sound on the app and went back to sleep.

Now, however, I have found that I can watch delivery of packages from my reading chair and answer in all honesty that the item was delivered with care.  I also have watched the driveway being plowed and the porch shoveled early in the morning when I am still all snuggied up in my fleece sheets. I confess that I have been tempted, from time to time, to turn on the sound and speak to people on my porch, but have not yet done so as I think that would be rather startlingly intrusive and not welcomed -- especially in the early morning quiet. A particularly interesting thing is that I can see what is going on at my house even if I am hundreds of miles away. 

Now I am thinking that I may install more cameras all around including one my barn – just so I can see what critters are doing during the night.  I know I have a bear visiting my pasture, but I haven’t caught sight of him/her yet and it is almost time for hibernation. I also have seen an 8-point and a 4-point buck eating my apples early in the morning and at dusk. I think they sleep in the tall grass on the sheltered side of the barn. What’s nice is you can easily "screen shot" and save the photos to your phone and then edit them. 

Then there is also the safety issue.  I wonder if the person who banged on my door in the middle of the night and ran, knows that the camera was there --awake and ever vigilant. Smile.... You're on Candid Camera.

Just so you know – in all fairness there is a sign in my yard and a decal on my door that tell a person that they are on camera. Nowadays there are cameras everywhere – a condition to which I have become so accustomed, I never even think about it.  Sort of scary, isn’t it? And along the scary lines, I also have decals on more than one door that indicate that my home is protected by Smith and Wesson. Fair warning. Have I mentioned lately that I have at times shot better than my Grandson in our shooting classes and he shoots on a champion trap team? (... a fact that really amuses me.) But seriously -- these are the times we live in. Times of security cameras and handguns. Sort of sad, isn’t it?

"Shout Singing..."

 

Just saw the term “shout singing” in a novel I am reading and wondered why I had never thought to write about that.  I mean – it is a thing that people do – usually when alone – especially when they are not recognized for their singing ability… like me.  It’s versatile… shout singing can be done anywhere, preferably when by oneself in a car or shower, but it can be and has been, in my experience, a fun collective effort as well -- especially in an impromptu situation.

I am a classic shout singer.  I started very young with songs like “You Are My Sunshine” and “Jesus Loves me”.  From there I moved on into the 50’s when “Hound Dog” and “Tom Dooley” were easy to pick up from the radio.  The 60’s offered “The Twist” and “It’s Now or Never” and in the 70’s, I shout sang an impressive “I’ll Be There” or “American Pie”.  Did you know that … a levy is a prom in New England?  Gives “…drove my Chevy to the levy and the levy was dry….” a whole other meaning.  And then – my 70’s fave – “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”.  Now there is a song made for shout singing from the heart.

I liked “Every Breath You Take” and “Billie Jean” in the 80’s, but then I experienced a bit of a drought in the 90’s and the early 2000’s  -- had other things on my mind and reverted to songs like “You Don’t Own Me”.  2018 brought one of my all time faves  in “Uptown Funk” and then with the confinement of the damncovid, I was moved to belt out “Rise Up”, a poignant song that was experiencing a bit of a come back at the time. Still is.

Perhaps the thing I find most interesting about shout singing is that it is multi-functional.  It works to let happiness burst forth and to release sadness, or sometimes even anger.  Like I said multi-functional.  Most useful.

Now in thinking about all those old songs, I realize I may be singing all day – at least in my head.  You?  Not sure I remember shout singing in a while.  It’s time. Actually, the whole world could use a pressure release valve.  What better than a good heart-felt song?

Ah , Northwest Pennsylvania...

 Ah, Northwest Pennsylvania... the land of flame orange in the Fall, lake effect snow in the winter and towns with names like Beaver Dam, Spring Creek, Horn Siding, and Hatch Hallow. It is welcoming. It is hill country where curvy, rough two-lane roads that are chewed on the edges are the norm. There is a certain charm in it all and a certain pride in knowing that you can survive here -- all the while scoffing at those who fret about a mere threat of snow.  Ha.  True grit.  Survival of the fittest. 

This is the time of year when I feel the need to check my sock drawer, and to make sure I have mittens and warm boots at the ready. Time is limited now to cut back plants before Spring when they will be slimy and even harder to deal with. Icky.  It is also a time of vivid blue skies providing a backdrop for leaves that are turning from deep green into vibrant colors... each day becoming a different postcard worthy scene. It is the time when walking paths and sidewalks include the bonus of the sounds of leaves under foot.  It is a time of mums in bloom, squash and pumpkins in all kinds of colors and sizes. It is a time of raking while wearing a sweatshirt and cozy fires. Harvest time is coming to an end. Barns are full of hay. Too bad Fall is so short lived in Northwest Pennsylvania.

The quiet cold grays of winter will be here before we know it. There is a beauty in those days as well.  But for now...

Enjoy these lovely Autumn days.  

What Year is this?

 

·             Americans are craving peace and security.

·         Unrest boils and seethes across the world.

·         People cross boarders illegally – some them with ill intent.

·         A Pandemic reappears - now in its third year.

·         Terrorists abound throughout the world.

R        Racism is a wide spread.

          The government blacklists people in many devious ways to silence.

·         A President, unfit for office, is protected by those around him.

·         Destructive riots cause harm to innocent people.

·         Workers unite and strike across the county.

·         People have become disillusioned.

          The government no longer serves the people.

T

The year described above is 1919.  

Does it sound familiar to you?

Now here’s the thing that is especially hopeful.  In the election of 1920, the American voter all across the country, tired of the “Progressive” Democratic Party, voted a lot of them out of office with a Presidential candidate of the opposing party taking over 60% of the vote. 

It’s time, perhaps, for history to repeat itself.  Sometimes that kind of repetition is a good thing.  

It’s time to start thinking about what you want as a voter and the election in 2024. Think of someone who can do the job you want done. 

 

On Hold...

Am taking a break from blogging as I am currently working on editing the work described in the Preface below.  Looking back through daily writings that began on March 13, 2020  (Friday the 13th) is an interesting journey.  Organizing and editing them is a challenging and time consuming one. Hope to be back at the weekly blog soon or to drop in once in a while here and there. 

                                    A View from Two Porches

     Preface

When researching the history of the small parcel of land on which I live, I found myself in the 1700’s where personal accounts in letters and journals offered the most realistic details of the times.  Ordinary people writing their impressions of their world and stories of their day-to-day lives offered the clearest picture of the way of life, family, and good times as well as of the challenges, stresses, and unexpected hardships.

Fast forward a few centuries and what you will see in this work is a bit of the email exchange over time of two cousins living only about 20 miles apart in two adjoining states, each caught off guard by the pandemic and each determined to come out on the other side a better, more compassionate, and stronger woman… both determined to keep their families together in the face of something no one anticipated, but all had to navigate. They wanted to do it well.

One wrote at night, the other in the morning – each responding to the other. What had been an open line of communication for many years became a lifeline to each – a way to vent, to sort out difficulties, to encourage, to plan and to share the frustrations as well as the good things. Not only do the emails selected here give you an idea of their way of surviving in a Covid world, but also of life in rural America during these times.  They began to save and print their emails as sort of a lark  -- thinking that someday, in years ahead, someone would find their account in a dusty attic bin and wonder who these two "Nanas" were who, so long ago, wrote to preserve their tale of surviving what they came to call the damncovid – uncertain and unsettling times for sure.

Like all journeys this one has its bumps, stumbles and even a fall or two along the way.  In particular you will see mistakes in judgement  -- most easily seen in believing that authorities knew what they were talking about and that those trusted authorities were telling the truth.  There were painful lessons to learn.  Perhaps still are. As we look back, we try to hang on to the belief and the hope that most people were doing the best they could with what they knew at the moment and that most had good intentions – even if that were not the case. Little did we know. We made mistakes, but we always had good intentions and were trying our best. We still do and still are. 

In the words of Isabelle Allende: "Maybe the most important reason for writing is to prevent erosion of time, so that memories will not be blown away by the wind.  Write to register history and name each thing.  Write what should not be forgotten."

Oompa Loompas, Selfies, and Eco-terrorists...

 

It seems to me that as far back as Socrates, we have a written record of the elder generations being critical of the younger ones.  Perhaps it is a side effect of age? Now that I am a septuagenarian, I am a member of this latest elder generation and I really think that I am less ornery and cantankerous than many of this group… although I do mute annoying commercials without guilt and in a rather short-tempered manner.  The thing is – I am thankful to have reached this point. Many friends and family did not. Further -- I find that …most often… I actually enjoy that the generation after me is in charge and get to make all those scary and difficult decisions.  We septuagenarians have done our time there. It’s their turn now. (Ah... remember the days when we thought our parents knew everything? Ah... the blessed ignorance of youth.)

In looking back though – at the same time as trying to keep up to date on the ways of today’s world - there are things that I find amusing in sort of a peculiar way.  Take today’s eco-terrorists for example.   They look surprisingly like many of the great American unwashed hippies of the 60s… same dirty, stringy hair, unruly beards, and frowny and sometimes self-righteous faces.  Sometimes there is even a similar tendency to move toward general irresponsibility and destruction of others’ property as their wishes take priority over everything. A major difference is the lack of Peace and Flower Power signs. I am thinking that they smell the same.

I also must admit that I find cell phone and selfie addiction to be amusing in a twisted way.  Perhaps it is because I, personally, shy away from photos.  It’s bad enough to see myself in the mirror in the morning and wonder who is looking back at me. I haven't changed my profile picture on Facebook in years. That speaks for itself.

I listen to members of two younger generations talk of concerns, of work and school and wonder if they could understand my world of yore. I think back to my Dad telling me about his younger days and wonder if I understand his.  I am not sure I ever thought a whole lot about the life my parents had before I arrived.  There were stories- highlights really, but not the day to day details... at least not enough to piece things together into a complete picture.

I find today's world to be nuts a lot of the time. One thing I know for sure though is that ... I have never ever wondered about the gender of the Oompa Loompas. In fact, I have serious concerns about those who do and about those who find it necessary to declare Oompa Loompas to be gender neutral. Who are these people who want to change the words of others or to ban books? Talk about the height of hubris and "know-it-allness". More fundamentally -- who are these people who think that the Oompa Loompas are real and would therefore be sensitive to such things? It's concerning. Rampant Ridiculosity is alive and well.  Personally I feel like just stepping over it, and moving along my way.  I have more important things to think about. As each day goes by, I am more and more sick of weirdos, no matter their chosen pronouns, trying to push their agendas in my face and down my throat. I am losing patience with all of it. You live your life; I will live mine. Personally... it would be nice to live in a less nutty world.  I am thinking that a lot of elder generations have thought that. They got by. Maybe I am more of a crabby old fuddy-duddy than I would like to acknowledge after all.

There is a lot I don’t understand, but I get by.

Out of step? Maybe.  Don’t care. (I know I am in good company. Go Boomers!)

So I can breathe...

 

In my home I have a small office that I often refer to as The Book Room.  3 of 4 walls are, at least in part, composed of overloaded book shelves. I became annoyed a few months back that the books are two-book deep on many of the shelves and it is hard to find what I am looking for. So… I called upon a local wood working genius to build additional shelves  -- small ones that wrap around three sides of my living room couch. The shelves are the same height as the couch so the two of them on either side can double as side tables. They match the dark woodwork of my home. They are outstanding.  I love them and my granddaughter tells me that sitting on that couch is now extra cozy.  Good enough for me.  Anyway – in sorting through books in order to rearrange them, I have discovered that - naturally over time - several books moved to the bottom of the must read pile, and I now have no idea why I bought them. Obviously I need to move them from the unread category to that of the read.  It’s what I do. "So many books; so little time."

Anyway -- my next soon to be read is a book about a woman’s journey through life in the early 1900’s and her ability to understand her place in her world. Of course reading that on the book jacket got me to thinking (for a few moments) about what I personally understand about myself and my life’s journey. 

The following brief comments are the result of that "scattered thought process”. I also think that I am not alone in this kind of "thing". Am I correct in this?  Here goes...

In a world that at times seems upside down to me, I am the kind of person who:

• has a brand new coffee maker in the basement - still in the unopened original box.  I think of it as the "stand by" coffee maker – waiting in the wings – essential and ready to go. I like knowing that it is there.
• makes notes in books even though I know I will most likely never go back to them.
• keeps all necessary ingredients for homemade Monkey Bread on hand -- always. You know ... in case of emergency hankerings. (Thanks again, PB, for the recipe!)
• if I sleep-in past 5 AM, feels like I am moving through the day with my shoes on the wrong feet.
• has wondered at times if Santa is ever overwhelmed by the flood of greedy letters.

Then on the more serious side... I am the kind of person who:

• wonders sometimes if raving environmentalists know that they “come off” as fascists and then wonders if they care.
• knows that all fears need to be handled carefully.
• when holding things inside wonders if it is obvious from the outside that inside my head I am screaming.
• thinks that it is never “Good-bye; it is always “See you later”.
• is amazed that life can be both simple and complex within the same moment. 
• carries a small notebook around with her most of the time -- just in case I need to write down some idea that I don't want to forget.     

And finally…. I am the kind of person who knows that writing may not solve anything, but it helps me breathe in this world that at times seems upside down to me.   

It's time...

 A few words on cancel culture.

It seems that cancel culture may have run its course, inflicted its pain, enjoyed its fifteen minutes of fame. Sometimes it even seems to be turning in on itself (... interesting). Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Oh -- and feel free to take your woke friends with you. It seems that people are finding their voices again.  This, in my opinion, is way past due.  My voice counts and ...  so does yours ... whether we agree or not ....      

                            Freedom. Above. Everything.

Now and then during the past couple of years I have been disappointed in people - just like I was back in the days of the Vietnam War Moratorium when I thought I should be able to attend my college classes if I wanted to. Others thought they could deny me this right to an education, so I had to attend underground classes in the private homes of professors. I was also held captive for over an hour in an elevator by privileged, screaming, and hysterical, young women overcome with self righteousness. All of this because they saw that I was carrying text books ... but ... that is a story for another day and one that I don't like to think about. It was not a high point of my college days, but I stood my ground. I am still standing today. I have no idea where those people are now and... don't care.

I know that I am not alone in this feeling of disappointment and isolation in these times, but it feels that way sometimes ... and it is not a good feeling.  As Martin Luther King said: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” I can't help but remember what this silence feels like. I caution myself never to go to that world of cancelling others who may disagree with me. That is not who I want to be… ever. I think I tend to build protective walls instead. Not sure that is always a good thing either. It works for now.

One more thing... it seems odd to me that the most vocal of the past few years have become the most silent. It is a stunning and unusual silence of those who were so sure that they were right about everything... those who felt that had a right to impose their will on others including those who wished to mandate an experimental drug they called a vaccine .... They now have little or nothing to say.  No one is forcing their silence though they tried to silence others and to make them comply to their will. Some still try, but it is not working out too well for them. I am not holding my breath for any expression of regret on their part. I just wish they could at least make eye contact with me when I happen to meet them along the way. I don't have cooties, after all. I never did. They don't either. They never did.

I did not understand this "need" to try to silence and to control others back in the days of the Vietnam War Moratorium, and I don't understand it now. Not sure I want to. It's ugly.