Happy Anniversary

 

Today is our fourth wedding anniversary. Time has really gone by quickly, especially since I am counting each year as ten. That way, we can have our Fiftieth next year and have a party! After that, I will go back to just one year at a time, and maybe we make it to our 75th. I'll be 95 so that's not impossible. Of course, I was never very proficient with math.

A lot has happened in our few years together. Our biggest project has been moving. It took John a long time to decide to leave his beloved acreage in "God's Country." He lived there thirty three years and has lots of wonderful memories. We only moved a few miles away, and I think he really appreciates that everything is familiar. My man is a creature of habit. But there is still enough of the adventurer in him to keep me surprised. Essential to a marriage, I always think. We are a good fit,  We never would have considered that we would end up together when we first met many years ago, but I am so grateful and happy that he came into my life. 

We closed on our new house while I was still on vacation, so he started moving in first. A few days after I got home, the movers came and we started staying here. Everything has gone slowly. Moving day was the only day of torrential rain that we had all summer. We needed it, but it did make things a little more difficult. We ended up moving a lot of the small things ourselves. This happens every time, and I always say I will never do it again. But I don't seem to learn. It's not just that it was a house. We also had four outbuildings. We found all sorts of stuff that he had no idea he even had.

Our other house hasn't sold yet, so we have had time to do this slowly. The plan was to not move anything we didn't want to keep. There has been lots of selling and donating, and putting free stuff out on the driveway. People really will take anything if it is free. Almost everything is moved now, but we still have one attic to go through. As the house has emptied, I have become even more aware of how much storage we really had. It is an old farm house, the kind with nooks and crannies, and rooms behind rooms. Lots of surprises in that house, and I have already said how I think surprises are necessary. Unfortunately, most of the people looking at houses right now don't appreciate the value of an old house. Many people want new and open, and none of the homey touches old houses do so well.  I will miss it, and I will especially miss my little cottage, which John built for me because he knew it was difficult to take over another woman's house. Have I said the man is a treasure?

Quarters From Heaven

 We never knew that Rich saved quarters. But, there they were, in his apartment, thousands and thousands of them. I don't think he ever spent one. When Jim took them to the bank, he wheeled the giant jars in on a furniture dolly. I can't remember how much money there was, but I know it added up to a few thousand dollars. Everything is pretty blurry about that time, even now.

Soon I started to find quarters. At first I thought it was a coincidence. But before too long, I knew that my boy was sending me messages that everything was okay. I didn't save the first ones, but after a while I started putting them aside. Now I really wish I had written down when and where I found them.

The quarters started to show up in unusual places. There was one right outside the door of the funeral home on the morning of his service. It was September 27, 2010. It was his funeral and also his birthday. For a while I was finding them every week or two. They still show up, but are less frequent now. Usually I will find one every few months. Always when I need a little reassurance, or am missing him even more than usual, I will find a quarter. 

Often I would find them on the floor of a room I had just walked through. All of a sudden a shiny coin would just pop up. Magazines and books are a popular spot. Once there was one on a stairway, I had just crawled up while playing with a grandchild. Driveways and parking lots are popular places. One time, in a grocery store, there was a coin in a basket of boxes of crackers. I took the coin, and replaced it with one from my purse. 

There are a few rules. (I always love rules) The coin has to be by itself, not part of somebody's spilled change. When I was House Mom at the fraternity house I was always finding quarters in the laundry room because the machines were coin operated. I never counted those.

I save them all now in a wooden box. I have 102 coins and a quarter shaped button (???). I know there have been more.

Many things have happened for me during the years. I lost Jim a few months later. For a long time I felt I was living in a continual fog. I changed jobs and changed houses. I moved several times. Now I am moving again. I was lucky enough to find love again and married John almost four years ago. This is the first home that John and I have had together. On September, the anniversary of Rich's death, John spotted a quarter in our driveway. Happy Birthday, Rich. I know you are always here.

Why, Hello there!

 I honestly don't know what happened, and now I am trying to blog on my phone! I'm on my way to London by myself!!!. Meeting my friend Sherry. My traveling companion, Gerry, had to cancel this morning. Everything is just a little discombobulated. 

Excuses, Excuses

 

Hello there.

I like to think that I have been on sabbatical. I’m pretty sure this is my longest space between posting. Maybe it’s my gap year. I have actually been very busy. I just haven’t taken the time to document anything. There was a time when I journaled several times a week. And now I have dozens of handwritten notebooks that I wonder whether to keep. Or whether to discard. I really don’t want them to be read. But, at the same time, I don’t want to erase anything I’ve written, just in case it turns out to be clever. Mostly it isn’t. Sometimes I think that I write more when things are not going well. I guess that is why I am not so prolific lately. I’m just so darned happy.

REASONS WHY I HAVEN’T WRITTEN SINCE APRIL

1.  I moved my computer to my “dedicated office” upstairs. I know that should make it easier, but for some reason, if I make a change, then I completely get out of the habit of a thing. This goes for dieting, and exercising, too. I’m good just as long as I keep to the path.

2  There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I used to think I would have more time when I got older. The truth is this:  I do a lot less, but it takes more time to do everything.

3\.I go out to lunch a lot

4. .  I have been on a few mini vacations. Many more than usual. Texas with friends. South Carolina to visit my sisters. Galena with more friends. Lutsen Resort in Minnesota with family. Several times to Clear Lake (Our Happy Place) Kansas City with more family. And a trip to California is coming up soon. All of these adventures would have made beautiful blog posts. There is no excuse.                                                                                                   

5.       A First Communion, Eighth grade graduation, High School Graduation, College Graduation, Iowa State Fair, an Anniversary and a family reunion.                                                                                                                                                                    

6.      .Two major allergy attacks. I’ve given more blood and had more testing than anyone should. There are still only guesses about why this happens. I have become close personal friends with an epi-pen over the years. I have finally learned to give myself the shot at the first sign of trouble. I’m learning a lot about histamines and mast cells and thinking they might be where the answer is. I would show a photo but it really isn't pretty. John says my face turns from Dr. Jekyll to Mrs. Hyde.

7.     .I have started working a couple of times a week at Brass Armadillo. Unfortunately, I want to shop whenever I’m there. My plan is to buy less and sell more, but I haven’t perfected that plan yet.                                                                                                        

8.     I may be lazy.   

              I'M HOPING I HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE OF THE BLANK PAGE AND THE EMPTY PEN

                                                                                                                                        

9

Birthday Memories

Today would have been my dad's 95th birthday. He has been gone since 1993, but lives on for those of us who knew him. He was a great father, but not a typical one. He was a man who lived by his own rules, and I think he expected the same of his children. Most of the time when I think of him, either cars or trucks come into the picture. He dropped out of school and worked as a truck driver around the country. He loved racing, and I think he was happiest when he was at a track. I went to my first stock car race when I was two weeks old. I was in a basket in the stands. I'm sure that Mom insisted we go, because the week before, he had brought us home from the hospital, bought her a pint of ice cream, and then he went to the races. Oh, and it was her birthday. He was a great dad, but I'm not really sure how he rated as a husband.

My parents moved to Texas twice in my first two years. I spent a lot of time with an aunt and uncle of my mother's because they both worked miles away. It's strange for me to think of my formative years being with family I don't ever remember meeting. Mom hated Texas. Dad loved it. 

Finally, she talked him into moving back to Iowa, and they bought a house when I was three. She needed stability while he thrived on adventure. When I was about four he was in a serious accident. During a race, he flipped his car six times. I was at the concession stand, buying cotton candy, and when I came back they were on the way to the hospital. She made him promise to quit driving. I think he could have just as easily promised to quit breathing. He kept it up, just using another name.

He used to have a truck route for a Des Moines dairy, and took me around to collect the milk cans from Iowa farms. During our long drives together, we would play "count the windmills," and "name the license plates."  I learned all about Dizzy Dean, his favorite baseball player. Dizzy didn't like to follow the rules either. We listened to country music, and Mario Lanzo.  He wasn't a religious man, but loved to listen to old time hymns.

He had a very strong sense of justice. Once, I took a pack of gum from a store. Probaby Juicy Fruit. When I showed him my treasure, he turned the car around immediatly, and marched me back into the store to confess. That ended my life of crime.  He was very big on sharing what you have with others, and passed that on to us. He liked to tell us about airplanes that he and his brother got for Christmas one year. A neighbor child hadn't gotten any Christmas toys. His mother made him give his away, and share his brother's plane. He wasn't happy about it, but knew it was the right thing to do. Dad always had a story with a lesson. I think they were true. At least most of them.

I was an only child for five years. By the time I was fifteen, I was older sister and babysitter to four siblings. He wasn't conventional. He was never like any of the other fathers I knew. We were the only family I knew with a giant milk dispenser in our kitchen, and regulation school playground equipment in our back yeard. The things he brought home for us to play on were considered too dangerous for our friends. For many years he sold cars and trucks, and once I learned to drive, I never knew what I would be driving to school. My most embarrassing was the car with "Joey Chitwood, Stunt Driver" painted on the side. There are so many stories, now that I am remembering. When he was Race Promoter, he managed to get the governor to be the flag man at one of the races. For my dad, nothing was ever impossible. Happy Birthday, Lefty. I miss you

                 

 

Epiphany

 

This is January Sixth, the Feast of Epiphany. It marks the day that the Three Wise Men visited the Christ Child with gifts of frankincense, myrhh, and gold. It also is the final day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. 

Traditionally this is the day to remove holiday decorations from the house.  Sometimes I actually do it on the sixth. It is supposed to bring good luck. Some years, especially when I had a real tree, I would take down the decorations as soon after Christmas as possible. Now we've gone artificial, so there isn't such a rush.

This year I removed garlands, and wreaths, and all decor except Nativities and the tree, earlier and finished with the tree today. Unfortunately, it won't all be put away until tomorrow, so I am hoping that good luck is still available.

The holidays happened without any Christmas posts. I have no excuses.

This is an unusual cardboard nativity. It folds away into a box the size of a gameboard. Everything is undecorated now except for a few little snowmen. It's time to get the house back in order. Another definition of epiphany is "to recognize the true nature of something and see it for what it really is."  I seem to have a lot of epiphanies in January. I really do like these days after Christmas when I feel like there is lots of time for everything. Of course, it doesn't last, and everything gets busy again.

Happy New Year to one and to all, and may you all have epiphanies, both great and small.

Celebrating Friendships

 

Today was my second Christmas party of the 2021 season.  Time is going way too quickly for me, but then it always does. This is my Craft Nite group. We have been meeting once a month since at least 1977. None of us can remember exactly when we began, but I know it was when my daughter Bridget was still a baby.(Sidenote: It's funny how we tell time, isn't it? Not so much by the date, but by what was happening. And by the ages of our children. So much of my timekeeping in the past several years has been by "befores" and "afters". But that's another story.) 

Craft Nite began with four of us. We were all young mothers who liked to create, but felt that we hardly had time alone to make and do. At first we all worked on individual projects, but later we would make the same thing. We've never had a shortage of ideas. We had some pretty elaborate crafts for many years. There is a lot of talent evident in this group of ladies. We have met monthly for many years now, and our numbers have expanded and contracted. We have lost one dear friend during this time, and others have moved away. We've had very elaborate dinners and sometimes two desserts.We used to stay up half the night, and once we even stayed until we heard the birds singing. Now we meet during the day, and seldom make anything. And if we do, it's very simple. It isn't really about the crafting.

We have been together through many joys, and just as many sorrows. We have been able to confide in one another, and laugh and cry together. We do have some unwritten rules. There are opinions about the world situations that we will never all agree upon, and things we know will never change, so those are subjects we ignore. There are many, many other things that keep us bonded.

We met today at a restaurant. Weeks ago we drew names for our annual secret gift exchange. We also bring small tokens for one another. What a patchwork of presents we had today!

There were ornaments, purchased and handmade, candy, pumpkin bread, panettone, potpourri, gift cards for coffee, chocolate, and the newest calendar from Cindee Moyer, who is an extraordinary doll artist. Last year she had my name, and I was lucky enough to receive her original Sally Hemings. 

I made a small fabric bunting for each of the ladies with three fabric pennants. The middle one has a Christmas tree brooch. I have a large one in my front room as an Advent calendar. Yesterday when I was finishing them, I feared I would have to take the large one apart and borrow a few of the triangles. But I found what I needed at the last moment. Which is of course, part of the lesson I am always learning............Remember to Plan Ahead!

A Visit from Saint Nicholas

 Happy Saint Nicholas Day! This is the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Myra. He was an actual bishop in the fourth century. Stories of his generosity and devotion to the poor were the inspiration for our modern Santa Claus. He was known as the patron saint of travelers, the clergy, and school children. He devoted his life to serving those in need. Some stories say he often sold his possessions and gave the money to the poor. The story most often told is that he left gifts for three girls whose father could not afford to pay their dowries. Legend says he would leave gifts for children in their shoes.

In many countries, it became the custom to leave shoes outside the door on December 5, and to discover a gift the next morning. Typical gifts were often small toys, candies, and oranges to represent gold.

We are all a mixture of many customs and traditions. There is no better time than the holidays to choose and adapt these different traditions to our own families. I had never heard of this tradition when I was growing up, but I liked it so much that we began celebrating Saint Nicholas Day when the children were very young. We would all leave our shoes outside the bedroom doors on the night of December fifth. Often straw and carrots would be left for Saint Nicholas's horse. He would take those treats and leave chocolate gold coins, other candies, and a new Christmas ornament in each of the shoes.

On the next day, we would draw names for our own  "Kris Kringle". This was the parent, brother or sister that each one would be personally responsible for during the holiday season. This meant buying a present, and also doing secret good deeds for that person. Some years it worked out better than others. On Christmas Eve, we opened our Kris Kringle gifts.

               

I still have the tin and little cards that we used every year. As the kids grew up and left home, they continued the tradition with their own families. They were able to start trimming their trees with the ornaments they had received. Of course, our own trees became a little barer every year!

Just Another Regular Old Thanksgiving

 Just a little late with the picture, but the holiday was great. And we really celebrated on the actual day. All of John's family was able to be together this year after a much too long break. We were able to have a couple of days of Brafford Revelry before everyone went back to their respective states. It was so nice to see them all at one time. The baby is no longer a baby. My five bonus grands are stair stepped from ages nine til two, and as cute as can be.

                                                                  

                                                                   The Kids' Table

The Moran's had plans too, this year, but they had to change, after three of them came down with Covid, even though they have been "following the rules".  Everyone is feeling better now, and it hasn't spread any further. My children had four intimate little dinners, each probably missing some of the traditional foods. No traveling allowed. I have to say that my middle daughter and her family had their worst and probably most memorable holiday. Even though Meghan couldn't taste or smell anything, she made a dinner with last minute ingredients from online grocery shopping. Unfortunately, the oven broke and the door actually came off in Jack's hand when they were putting the cold dishes in to cook.

The dinner was transferred to the microwave. And a good time was had by all. Well, not really. Half the family was sick, and the other half was hungry. And, of course, they couldn't have any company. In a few days, I will be able to see them again.

My dream is to have everyone together this year for Christmas. So far it is looking good.

Challenge Completed

 

Here we are into November and I already feel like time is getting away from me. It sounds strange but I think everything went a little slower last month when I was writing every day! Here is my reward from PinArtWork. They have a lot of info about blogging and increasing your traffic, which I am still trying to absorb. So far it seems like all the info about increasing traffic has a big financial component.

I put away the Halloween decorations, except for some pumpkins. That's about all the decorating I do for Thanksgiving. I did buy a Give Thanks banner which I will decorate and hang. This year we will have a real family Thanksgiving again. Last year it was John and me and the Hy-Vee menu. We had two invitations this year. I wish we could visit both. I am really looking forward to a traditional Christmas. I hope it happens. 

I began this on November 4th and now it is the fifteenth. One of the things I learned last month was that I have a tendency to just float if I hadn't made a committment. Well, actually I didn't just learn it, but I did prove it. When I knew that I had to come up with something to write about every day, then I did it. There is a lesson for me there, I know.

November has been busy. John finally got to stop wearing the sling, and is now able to use his arm, even though he isn't supposed to do any lifting. He goes to physical therapy three times a week for a few more weeks. We have gotten used to having very unscheduled mornings, so that makes a difference.

We went to Galena this week and celebrated our second wedding anniversary a month late. We did see  some of the shops, but not nearly all of them. Just an FYI, many shops aren't open on Wednesdays. We also went to General Grant's Home. I had seen it several years ago. It is furnished in the same time period as my much loved Flynn Mansion. Flynn is much, much grander, although most of General Grant's house has original furnishings. We ex-museum people are always conscious of details like that. I have always said that once I started working in an historic home, I could never watch a period movie and just enjoy it. We all become very picky about authenticity. I always like to see other guides too. Ours gave out a lot of information (too much for John), but was very scripted. I don't think he appreciated questions. During all my years as an historic interpreter, I always liked to see how many ways I could say the same information. Factually, of course. And I did hear the dreaded "people were shorter back then" phrase. But it was fun to see everything. In an outbuilding they had a display of plates from most of the White House First Ladies China. I thought the most interesting was picked by Dolly Madison and manufactured in 1814.

                                                          

It was a little more vibrant and orange than it shows in the photo. The china came from Paris.

We stayed at The Irish Cottage Hotel which I highly reccomend. There is music on the weekends.

We are the music makers, and we

Are the dreamers of dreams

Wandering by lone sea-breakers

And sitting by desolate streams

World losers and world forsakers

on whom the pale moon gleams

Yet we are the movers and the

shakers, of the world for-ever

it seems.

I always thought I had quite a bit of Irish in me, until I had my DNA tested, and it was just a sliver. My children are still mostly Irish, on their dad's side, and with my tiny bit.

October 31: It is Halloween #Blogtober2021

 Goodbye October! See you next year! I learned a lot about writing this month. I now realize that I don't have to wait for inspiration. I can come up with something to say every single day for a month. I plan to have a more set schedule now than before. I think I can manage two or three times a week. Hello, discipline. Thank you to every one who took the time to read the things I've found to say, and to comment or give an encouraging gesture.

October the Thirtieth: One More Pumpkin #Blogtober2021

 

Here's a way to finish off the Halloween month. 

One medium sized pumpkin

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/3 cup chopped green pepper

3/4 cup chopped celery

 3/4 cup chopped onion

1 teasoon salt

1/4teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup soy sauce

2Tablespoons brown sugar

1 4 oz can mushrooms

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups cooked rice

Black olives

Steamed carrot

Whole cloves

Fresh parsley

Cut lid from pumpkin and scoop out seeds. In a large skillet, combine ground beef, chopped pepper, celery, and onion and cook over medium heat. Add next seven ingredients to skillet. Mix well and place mixture into pumpkin cavity. Place lid on pumpkin. Place pumpkin on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 and 1/2 hours.

Just before serving, embellish pumpkin by placing black olives (using toothpicks), to make eyes, a steamed carrot to make a nose, and whole cloves to make a mouth. Use fresh parsley leaves to make hair.

Or, just draw on a face with a marker. To serve, scoop out part of the baked pumpkin, along with the meat mixture, onto each plate.

October the Twenty Ninth: Trick or Treat #Blogtober2021

 

Many of our Halloween customs came here from Ireland and the British Isles. Samhain was a Celtic holiday celebrated on October 31. People believed that the spirits of the dead were out and about because the veil between the worlds was thinnest at this time. People dressed up to fool the spirits that might be about. By the middle ages, there was a lot more merry making with people going from house to house playing tricks and entertaining each other both at All Hallow's Eve and other holidays. The mid nineteenth century was the time of the potato famine in Ireland. Over a million and a half men, women, and children traveled to the United States, bringing their folklore and stories. Halloween or Beggar's Night activities continued here, with tricks and parties. Pranks were often  the highlight of the evening.

It wasn't until the 1930's that the activities became known as trick-or-treating. People would give out treats to keep their homes and property from being damaged. It's been called trick-or-treating since then. 

In the area where I live, it is customary for the children to have a joke, or a trick to tell before they are given a treat. I have heard that it isn't that way in most of the United States. All they need to do is dress in costume, and knock at the door, expecting a treat. Happily, the vandalism isn't a common result anymore.

Here are some examples of the jokes we hear in Iowa: