Writing and Beyond!

Reel Life

2012-02-06T00:29:00.000-05:00

The John Wayne American,
Is not truly a U.S.
Institution
Only a ghost of that
Cowboy who once was.

In truth we're

Not rugged individuals,

But rather
one of many
Who
need.

Strange Toys

2011-08-31T14:56:00.002-04:00

We all loved to go visit grandma during the summer month,but the drive seemed to take forever from our home in Muskegon up to mygrandma’s small house on West Lake. The car ride meant we had to sit quietly and read or color so Dad wouldnot be distracted. Sitting on the sticky vinyl back seat it was impossible notto start kicking at the seat in front. After all it was there and did block our swinging legs!

To my sisters being at grandma’s and away from their friendswas b-o-r-i-n-g, but to me it was an exciting escape, especially if my cousinGail was there too.

From the beginning Gail was more like my big sister and wewere the two who loved to create an imagined world that was filled with lions,bears, and snakes when we went exploring through grandma’s closet or attictogether. The closet was of coursewhere the buckskin clothing hung, but where the stories began was downstairs atthe dinner table. Grandma was oneof the best storytellers and would always begin telling tales as we all sat toeat, or even sometimes just when we all had our mouths full of food!

One of our favorite stories was about the various, “toys,”that were an everyday part of grandma’s life. From the dolls the Native Americans made her, to the oldtooth-less lion there was strange and always a fun plaything for her to enjoy in her free time.

One of her favorite toys always hatched out every springwhen the circus was in Alabama during the winter months. They usually stayed in the smallroadside cottages that were huddled along the highways all over the coastalareas of the South. Every yearthey would stop in the swamps or bayous along the roads at local fish standsand bargain for alligator eggs from the local fisherman. When they arrived at the motelsthey’d hide the eggs in the wood boxes that were always near a fireplace tokeep the eggs warm. Wrapped in oldblankets and turned often to get uniform warmth these eggs always seemed tohatch out at the most inopportune moment. Hiding them from one motel proprietor who had insisted there would be no animals in her motel was often really hard!

One year as the baby alligators began hatching and cryingcalling for their mama the landlady just happened to be at the cabin doorcollecting the monthly rent. Shewas suddenly jarred by what must have seemed to be high pitched screams andflew out the door screaming, “there wild animals there that were gonna gether!” Needless to say that was thelast time they spent the winter in that particular motel.

The best part of having baby gators for was of course thefact that for at least two weeks these slimy creatures would fit into the smallbuckskin doll clothes that the Native Americans in the circus troop had madeover the winter months for straw dolls for my grandma and her sister.

The small alligator dolls were held close, as the two girlswould walk among the wagons that held the other animals in the field behind themotel. The image of thosewriggling baby alligators dressed in buckskin was often more than we girls couldhandle and we quickly began squealing “e-u-w-w-w-w!” as grammy would tell usabout how very cold those gators felt with their constantly flickingtails!

Today when we talk about those stories we still laugh andsometimes wonder what it might have been like for us if we’d been the girlsgrowing up in the Fowler Brothers Circus.

Is There a Dragon in the House?

2011-08-12T22:24:00.003-04:00

This is a repeat of something I wrote in 2009. I find it a bit funny that many of us tend to revisit writings that touch a spot in our lives and sometimes and find it still very appropriate for the time times today as well.

A couple of weeks a go I finally capped the Potter book series with seeing the final movie with a friend. Good movie!

Dragons and castles. They really only live in fairy tales and stories from the European Middle Ages or tales that come out of early China or Japan, right? Most of the time they do, but when the days get tough and things get really hard those stories have often drawn many in our country to those great escapes where the world in those books, comics, and video games becomes different, intriguing, and on the whole a wonderfully different place to live - if only in our minds!

For me imagination is a way to find an out - an escape from the reality of our world to a place where we can all have those private dreams that really take us out of this world. There are of course other genres that fits a fantasy escape people often take advantage of, and they are found in the many of the games (computer or otherwise) that help many create those other worlds just for the fun of it!

So what drives the change for more and more people to those imaginary worlds, the economy,loss of jobs, fear or all of the above? In my world it is all of them and the need to have an escape that is right there if I turn the page is what drives my reading at the moment.

My personal escapes at the moment happens to be Harry Potter (both the books and the movies), and time period mysteries as well, books like any Miss Marple, by Agatha Christie and of course my favorite monk, Cadfael, by Ellis Peters. Are there some others I rely on for that escapism that sends me flying into outer space, or back to a time to paint the world in a vastly different hues? Of course! Discovering and creating new towns or times gives me a sense of real excitement. Constructing those imaginary worlds where that getting away from my life can be a real release valve these days.

Another great book series is the ones by Christopher Paolini which begins with Eargon, and ends with Brisingr (Thus far!). Though considered a young people's series, this group of books creates a fascinating totally new world filled some of the very best places and characters to take a little literary vacation in, and for me that kind of holiday from the world can always be found between the covers of a good book.

The Last, But Certainly Not the Least of One Wonderful Vacation

2011-07-27T21:42:00.182-04:00

I haven't written on this part of my trip, because it was the end of our time in Ireland, and who would want to let go of those kind of memories? But we all know that my finishing a story it doesn't mean that the story is over. For me it seems with each picture I get images of days and that makes for great times that can be relived as often as I want to re-explore Ireland! So here's another chapter.

The most beautiful and the most inspirational part of the journey was our visit to the Rock of Cashel. Often known as St. Patrick's Rock, this was originally the residence for the Kings of Munster. Found in County Tipperary it was an absolutely beautiful day when we visited. The Rock was given to the church in 1101. While we were there much of the site was being restored, but the tour still got us in much of the Cathedral anyway. The most awe inspiring part was the view from the Rock which was really fabulous.

This is a copy of the Cross
of St. Patrick on the Rock.
The original is inside the
main building to keep it
from weathering any more.

While we were here there was quite
a bit of restoration going on!

This is the west side
where the bishop lived.

The wall of the cathedral
has no stained glass
windows, but the wholes
remaining are the home for
many nesting birds.

I loved the arches! That
and the gravel floor gave
a real echo of the past.

The cemetery just outside
the cathedral goes back
centuries. What made this
part of the tour extra special
was the view of the
surrounding fields - we
could see for miles!

The round tower, typical
of many found in Ireland
was really beautiful.

The out side view of the cathedral.

The side chapel in the
side of the cathedral
had many murals that
because of the damp climate
are fading or mildewing.

This is one of a few of the murals
and carvings that still exist in
the chapel.

I could not get enough of the views
from the Rock.

After a tour of the Rock
we headed into the
village below. Good food
and shopping here!

More of the views from the
cemetery.

A shot of the village.

This was one of the many fields
that graced the hillsides of
Ireland. I was blown away by
the many colors of green that
the spring holds here.

The Rock has a sheer face on the
East side. There were two small
boys climbing like monkeys on the
face and it made me VERY
nervous!

Another view.

We boarded the bus and headed
out to Kinsale and the ocean. I
really love the signposts in
Ireland! (Take time to click on
the picture to see the various
places we could have gone!)

On the bus we were finally heading further West and away from the large cities of the East and into the rural farm communities and fishing villages of West Ireland.

Ireland and England (The Second Half!)

2011-05-29T23:21:00.003-04:00

One of the barrels
used for fermentation.

We spent time visiting a few places in and around Dublin City. One of the first places we got to see was the Guinness Storehouse which was a lot of fun. Arthur Guiness was a wise man. ;-) He got the City of Dublin to give him a 9,000 year lease on the Storehouse property at an initial price of 100 Irish pounds after which he only paid 45 pounds a month for the rest of the lease. While there we discovered the history of how the brew is made, and got to enjoy a free Guinness on the top floor of the building after the tour in the Gravity Bar. The Gravity Bar is a round room with a 360 view of the city of Dublin. We had a great view, and a great drink at the same time!

This is the lease that started it all.

The Guinnes Harp.

The last day in Dublin was spent traveling by our bus all around and one of the sites we saw was St. Patrick's Cathedral. The cathedral was in the center of a park where families were enjoying the day and it was surrounded with plaques that honored the writers of Ireland.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

The park was beautiful.

This is just one of the plaques that
were within the church park around
St. Patrick's.

Usually the plots between the hedgerows were
filled with sheep - after all it was lambing
season!

So after those first days we left the city of Dublin and headed out into the countryside for the first time. We got to see some of the mountains and the patchwork quilt like hillsides that are divided by hedgerows.

The drive by itself was lovely, but the destination took my breath away. Glendalough is an example of Celtic Monasticism. The graveyards were very holy and so were placed within the walls of the encampment near the church. In this lovely area there is a church and a cathedral! The buildings are all of stone - even the roofs were made of stone. Glendalough means "The valley of the two lakes" in Irish. St. Kevin established this monastic settlement in the sixth century.

The entrance to the Glendalough
community was through a stone gate
which led to one of the most intriguing
historical sites we saw in Ireland.

The site had a small museum that held
many stone crosses and a layout of
what the monastic village look like in
its early days as well.

One of the first sites was St. Kevin's
Church .

The cemetery was huge and is
still used today. In the background
is another view of St. Kevin's Church.

This is the outside of the cathedral on the site
which though it had no roof was still a beautiful
edifice.

St. Kevin's Church

St. Kevin's Cross

I think Glendalough was one of my favorite spots in Ireland. The natural beauty was everywhere I looked! It also was such a peaceful place both in the sense that it was so quiet, and that it held such spiritual peace for me while I was there. I could go back there tomorrow because while there I felt like I had truly come home.

More to come later! (I really didn't realize I had taken so MANY pictures!)

An Irish Holiday

2011-04-03T16:27:00.018-04:00

March 31^st, 2011

1:35 P.M.

We left the sunshine of West Michigan and landed in dark and dreary Newark, New Jersey for our layover before our flight to Ireland, our own land of adventure. The weather CANNOT dampen my excitement about this trip I’ve begun, though. This is a beginning, a first step toward my exploration of the Emerald Isle. Life is definitely good!

We left on an express flight (i.e. a small jet) and after an almost a two-hour flight we are here in Newark waiting for our connecting flight to Ireland. We ate at a nasty Chinese place for lunch in the terminal and now have a LONG lay over, but that’s okay since I’m doing some catch up on my journal and will do some knitting as well. I am off to read my book, or rather listen to it. I will add more later.

April 1, 2011

Dublin Airport. We got our luggage and went through customs and are now sitting and waiting. For any of you who have traveled with a tour you know it is much like the armed forces – you hurry up…and wait. We are waiting for the rest of our group to come in as we’ve all I have to admit it is good to be able to actually stretch out aver an almost 6 hour flight from Newark, New Jersey.

The skies are gray and dark, but it isn’t raining. Ah, but the trees are green!! After leaving the browns of Michigan where there is still an abundance of dirty snow it is good to see some spring colors abounding. We were shuttled to the Calaghan Davenport Hotel near Merian Square and got a chance to freshen up after being “on the way here,” from 10:05 AM on the 31^st.

We’re resting and having a bit of recouping. We will tour a bit of Dublin this afternoon visiting Trinity College, St. Steven’s Green, the Famine Memorial, and O’Connell Street. We’ve really hit the ground running!

April 2, 2011

We started this day with a ride around the city with a fascinating bit of history thrown into the mix. Dublin Castle was a fabulous place and the history lesson we had was done extremely well and was really interesting. The one thing I have discovered the wonderful wit and friendliness of the people of Dublin. We learned some of the sad history of the very resilient Irish people. We’ve also of past visits by the British monarchy and that of some important visits to come this month as well. They will be entertaining the Queen of England first, and then our own president, Barak Obama.

One of the many favorite lines from our guide that kept us laughing was, “We don’t dislike the English – we hate them!” But it was said in fun, as was almost everything our guide told us. He enjoyed joking with us and was terribly irreverent toward almost everyone from history!

Does this building look familiar?

It should! The man who designed

it also designed the White House!

This is the Irish President's residence

in Phoenix Park in Dublin.

We continued on through a very small section of Phoenix Park, which is a HUGE park within the city. This fabulous recreational area is larger by far than Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London! And besides being a park that many local people use it houses the homes of The President of Ireland, the home for the ambassador of the United States, and Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It also is home to the Dublin Zoo! There are soccer fields and lovely green lawn areas with small-forested areas within its borders, too.

This statue of justice is at the gate to

the castle's inner court. It faces

toward the castle and the British

government's representative and not

the outside and the people who he had

represented. It was said because of

the that that justice had turned her

back on the Irish people.

Many of the rooms in the Dublin

Castle were similar to those you

would find in any castle.

But unlike in times past they are

used to welcome visitors both royal

and presidential to the Irish

government and it's people.

The symbol of Ireland is of course the
Irish harp.What was interesting for
me to learn was that the

color for the country was not
green, but deep blue.

The Waterford chandeliers

were fabulous! This one illuminated

one of the fabulous paintings found

on the ceilings throughout the

building.

This is St. Patrick's cathedral in
downtown Dublin. It has the
most beautiful park all around
it and along the brick wall on
one side there are relief
sculptures of all the literary
men who put the Irish on the
map. Men like George
Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde
and so many more.

We also were given an historical
background on the Irish potato
famine and those who suffered
the horrific while visiting the
Famine Memorial. This part of
Ireland’s history still touches many
Irish families who lost members
so long ago either because of death
from starvation, or from immigration.

The staues for the memorial are all gaunt and

really emphasize the worst that happened to the

Irish people during this most difficukt time in their

history. The sister memorial found in New York

shows the poor that came to our country in less

dire straights and with smiles on their faces.

FitzWilliam Street is a real piece of the past near the heart of this grand city that is lined with many of the original gas lights as well as early Georgian row houses with their multitude of chimneys on each and every roof (One for every room in the house). The colorful doors often with brass knockers and knobs that truly adds to the beauty of this area of Dublin. From there we passed the Shelborne Hotel a very old and historical, Trinity College where the book of Kells is and more than a few pubs as well. We ate dinner at O’Neil’s Pub that evening and had some of the very best fish n’ chips I have ever eaten! This small pub with it’s dark wood interior was a real find for dinner with a wonderful feel of touching Dublin’s past.

These two Georgian Mansions were fabulous and there were at least 15 to 20 on each block. There were many with red and roayal blue doors that added to the elegance. This is the really saught after parts of town to live in for the wealthy and was even in the 1800s. Writers like Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw use to live here!

Note those chimneys. Each single one in the large

chimneys were for individual rooms in each house.

April 2^nd was a jam-packed day filled with all sorts of places to enjoy. We started off the morning early with a trip outside of Dublin to Glendalough Monastery a monastic settlement that dates back centuries to the very beginnings of Christianity in Ireland. The Solid stone church (Roof and all!) and cathedral were awe-inspiring and the huge cemetery continues to add new graves for the Irish up to today.

From there it was back to Dublin and a free afternoon which many of us filled with visits to the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, and the Trinity College Library to view the ancient Book of Kells. The evening was a huge part of the tour with a trip to a thatched dinning establishment called Taylor’s. Here we had a fabulous meal and such a treat after that included a group if Irish singers who treated us to rousing songs of Ireland both old and new as well as some extremely talented Irish step dancers. Tomorrow will hold many more excursions and a change of hotel too, but for now we are off to bed.

Friends from Around the World

2011-03-21T19:07:00.000-04:00

We've had quite a few earthquakes worldwide lately from Gulf of Mexico to all over the Southern Pacific and when it happened in New Zealand twice, many who I know online held our collective breath because for once it truly reached beyond the realm of hearing about something to actually knowing some friends who were affected by this catastrophe.

It's scary to actually make a connection when some thing this tragic can reach across tens of thousands of miles to touch you personally. One of my favorite site called Liturgy went down for three weeks, and for those of us who have followed it for a number of years we found ourselves asking across the miles online almost daily, "Have you seen anything on the news?" or "Did you hear anything about what's happened to Rev. Bosco?"

When we heard it the good news it was almost like learning a close family member was okay, and it brought home to me how close the internet had made us all feel. This has become more than a simple cyber connection, as it is often these days, and in many ways I am thankful for these friends that have come into my life through these wired connections.

So, if you're following Lent this year and are interested in checking out a Lenten study (through to Easter) check out a very New Zealand and Anglican way of discovering the Lenten and Easter Season. Check out “liturgy,” or http://www.liturgy.co.nz.

A Vacation of a Lifetime!

2011-03-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

Hi, all! I am going to try to take this blog to a whole different level beginning on the 31st of March 2011. What happens then? Well, I'm on to a trip with my granddaughter, Becca out of the country and on to fun places!

Some of you know my destinations, and the rest will discover them as we do. I will be taking a laptop to record my days (I'll still have my written journal during the days so as not to miss anything and I'm taking a great camera to capture every moment I can!! We will be gone until the 11th of course given 2 full days for travel, which should give you some hints, so stay tuned!

Sanity is Not a Computer Word

2010-09-30T23:28:00.003-04:00

Everyone has heard of golf words. Each discipline in life, or sport has their share of these colorful metaphors. Personally I have heard of sewing words (The result of getting the project all sewn together and then have to tear out all you've done!), and even baking words (no explanation needed there, I'm sure.). Well, today I discovered computer words - again.

Since this computer came to live at our house (after the death of our former computer) it has spent most of the time aggravating and otherwise driving my gentle, patient, soul beyond the point of distraction. I've spent more time fixing or re-installing programs than actually working on the thing!

So, what has it actually done to warrant this frustration and yes, even hate? Simply by allowing me to seem to fix let's say the Reader program, music program, or sundry other similar items - and then allowing those programs to either totally disappear or return to some prior setting or worse yet make the program totally corrupted and unworkable.

I am a patient person, but when you install your tunes and a reader program only to have them disappear or totally stop working all together it can be a very big frustration at the least. If I'm honest the number of times this has happened is well over 20 just in this last two weeks alone.

Remember, I am a patient person - well, at least I WAS one!

So, why am I using those dread computer words? Not simply because of the daily aggravation surely. No, it is that, and because this blessed thing always seems to break down when everything else around us is falling apart. It is that proverbially last straw way too often these days.

I think I need a vacation.

Who Done It!

2010-09-07T12:22:00.005-04:00

I love a good mystery. I have to admit though that the books I like have to be of a certain kind since I truly hate gore, and certainly don't want to know the personal details of the character's love life. I have over the years devoured mysteries such as the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, and of course the wonderful Miss Jane Marple by Agatha Christie.

After many years the number of mysteries that can still fill my personal criteria has dwindled since I've read a goodly number of them already. So this summer has been the time to look for a lighter fare to read, or what everyone seems to call a summer read. My personal reading list this summer has included the Evan Evans series by Rhys Bowen, and a whole catalog of Torie O'Shea mysteries by Rett MacPherson.

My personal criteria for any good mystery even in the summer begins with great characters, and of course an interesting story line. Some good first books in a series can sometimes end up being way too formulaic if an author continues to stay safe by using or even replicating part of the original story lines. This fixed sort of book seems way too prevalent on the market today and you have to be very discerning to discover new authors who actually create great stories and great characters too.

One way might to discover what you're looking for is to pick the brains of your friends who just might have a similar tastes in books as you. Another avenue might be to frequent sites online like Stop You're Killing Me (http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/) or Cozy Mysteries. List (http://www.cozy-mystery.com/). Both sites offer interesting sleuths who work in a wide range of places and centuries. Another place to look online, though not an exclusively mystery driven site, is Fantastic Fiction (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/). I found my own personal favorite author Candace Robb there.

If you're looking for good medieval mysteries you can't match Ellis Peters books (The pen name for Edith Pargeter) which are centered around a12th century Welsh monk called Cadfael. Another great character is the 13th century Roger the Chapman who can be found in the books by Kate Sedley. These two are just a taste of the mysteries and writers available today.

So, how do you find that just right book to read? Whether it's a a fluffy summer read, or that intensely dark mystery for those dark days of winter don't guess at what might be a good read but take a little time to find the exact one to fit the bill!

My Music in the World Around Me

2010-06-14T23:39:00.005-04:00

If you haven't noticed yet, I often tend to use titles that come from songs for some of my posts. I love the music from the 30s and 40s so the tunes from the Big Band era will often be an intro to my written thoughts here.

If I'm truly honest, all types of music fills my life through CDs, radio, and when I can get tickets - to concerts. But the best music lately has been that of the birds. It seems like every time I walk out my back door lately the cacophony of song from the neighborhood birds makes me stop and simply listen. Early mornings are always the best, but if I sit outside with my lunch I am amazed at the number of different bird songs I can enjoy.

Last night when the cold front descended I sat in our back yard and listened to them complaining - loudly! I have so many different types of feathered wonders this summer in my yard and at my feeders. A really new addition is several varieties of hawks that circle above or stop to rest on our 6 foot fence that divides our yard from the neighbors. Many bird watchers don't like those raptors, but I find them fascinating. We've had them stay for long periods of time and I've had a chance to take in their beauty.

My favorite little bird these summer days is the little screech owl which seems to be always yelling lately. I've only glimpsed it once, but his noise has haunted the area around our home for quite a while. I know we have a bard owl nearby as well since it has swooped through the yard over the dog pen off and on for the past few years. This spring I saw a huge pale colored owl that seems to plunge from the sky in the night darkness with only the moon to paint its shadow. I haven't seen it well enough to name it as a snowy owl, but I believe it is a snowy. The bird gives me the chills when it flies through because it seems to drop in from no where silently to search for food I'm sure. It's silent and is almost ghostly at times.

Listening to the owls as they awaken to the darkness each night, hearing the screeches of the hawks as they circle and land, or enjoying the calls of the many types of small birds at my feeders and around the yard for me can often be the best music of all. Life always seems to be full of music, and most of it it's alive in my yard, and in the voices of my feathered friends as well.

From This Moment On...

2010-05-22T02:00:00.003-04:00

A month ago I stopped writing on my blogs. I just was no longer driven by my love of words and I needed the time to assess whether I even wanted to continue blogging. I’m not sure that I’m totally ready to begin again because nothing seems to draw me in to explore or discover like it use to, but I think I need to at least test the waters once more.

As I sit here this evening I’m listening to Radio Celt and the wonderful traditional tunes they share all the time online. Music has always been one of the real passions in my life. The notes from the strings, the pipes, as well as the heartfelt words the balladeers and instrumentalists are the only thing holding tight to my heart and mind at the moment.

You see, that is the extent of my life today…well, not quite because I am still a grandmother and mother and I’m spending quite a bit of time serving those little ones who need the ride to school or I’m there as the occasional babysitter, too. I have only a few moments to write and I am sad to say that I really don’t miss it as much as I thought I would.

Like many these days I find my heart is in the music and usually find myself working out daily difficulties through some fiddle tunes as well as the jigs and reels that flow to my ears and heart through my iPod Shuffle.

So, this is my long way of saying that I will be by my blogs to share a note or song from my heart, but it will not be as often as I use to because my life and its purpose is in flux and changing daily. I’m not yet sure where this new path will take so I hope you’ll bear with me.

Oh, and Go raibh maith agat as do chuid ama, (Thank you very much,) - for being a listener to my past written madnesses and also for the scribblings that are to come. I hope you’ll still be with me as we move forward and try to discover how this hand plays out, together.

Friends...

2010-04-16T12:27:00.013-04:00

Friend.

We use that word so loosely today to describe anyone from a business contact, people we see at church once a week, exercise buddies, and even to neighbors we share a lot line with, but there is really little understanding for the word and what it has become over the centuries.

The word seems to have originated in the Germanic language and has had a long and varied history. The changes in what and whom the word stood for as the world entered the feudal period drastically shifted when the idea came to mean those whom a person could trust to watch your back in any fight or war. That definition carried on into the beginnings of our country's first steps and on into our expansion across a continent when the pioneers discovered a similar meaning for those who lived close by (Within 20 miles) and found that since they had no choice but to share the support system of people that just happened to be neighbors, friendships were created - often they were very strong relationships out of necessity.

Among those men and women who shared the prairies there were many close friendships that developed. Friendships that could weather calamity and distance. Quilting bees, barn raising, and dances were often the only times people who lived so far apart got together. Friends were made but they were not always the ones that might have made in a city full of people. In the end, they were friends that shared a love despite their differences, and often because of them as well.

The one thing these people had in common was a commitment to relationships that went beyond personal differences and focused on a strong respect for the rights of those people which allowed them to simply be themselves. If we are honest we have to admit there are few of us who believe exactly alike. We are not identical in most of what makes us who we are and logic suggests that most of us certainly didn't agree on everything, then or now.

So why the is there such a strong I'm right and you're wrong attitude that seems to be splitting even the strongest relationships today? We certainly aren't identical pieces in this puzzle we call life, so why is it a must that we believe everything the same to become, or remain friends? There really are no easy answers to that question. We usually believe as we do as adults because of the way we were taught and raised. Life has never created identical cookie cutter people and we seem to have lost an important part of who we are because of it. The ties that bind us together will only win out over our world's present beliefs in the end if we accept the diversity the world has to offer. Changing what we believe is not a necessity - changing how we deal with those who think differently is.

A Call For a Return to Civility

2010-02-13T23:46:00.038-05:00

These days when I see the shouting and harassment on certain television, "talk," shows and all over in the political arena I often ask myself what has happened to the respect that once ruled our lives, actions, and more importantly our mouths? The art of civility, or being courteous has truly become a lost art.

One example of that loss exhibits itself daily in many young people I see who seem to revel in using all sorts of sarcasm in their daily verbal interactions. They seldom see any reason to be civil with those in authority or with each other. Even the politicians - our leaders, are continually acting discourteously and showing their personal displeasure with opponents by shouting out their dislike for the opposition in public forums. One example of those embarrassing actions occurred in January when a few people attending the inauguration of President Obama loudly booed President Bush. This shows not only a deep disrespect for the man, but sadly also for the Presidency itself.

There is little civility being shown for those with opposing views on any contentious issues. This kind of attitude often ends up inciting tempers and can also create a deep resentment and disrespect for other people's views.

In our early history respect and civility were considered extremely important even down to the most obscure parts of daily life. In fact civility was so valued that during the early days of our country there were 110 rules that students thoroughly learned and that were based on regulations developed by French Jesuits in 1595. These were taught, and written by those students to implant and grow the idea of respect for others in the minds of the young. These were taught and encouraged to declare to the world our respect for those we worked with, or came in contact with daily and in turn it was thought to give us that precious gift of self-respect, an essential part of a healthy life.

Civil discourse is an important part of living in any community successfully and can have one other important result - it can grow that ability to really listen respectfully when dealing with people in many difficult situations. The most important of these skills in my opinion is one ability we do value, diplomacy. Without it there would be little give and take, compromise or understanding in any situation, especially in negotiating a peaceful resolution for problems in places like Northern Ireland, and of course Iran and Afghanistan.

Personally I think we need to find a way back to incorporating those little used skill of holding one's tongue or taking that proverbial high road instead of smearing a reputation, or using innuendo to persuade others of one position or another.

We need to start teaching the real value of constructive disagreement and discussion with an emphasis on a respect for the views of others - now. When good moderate legislators like Evan Bayh quit Congress because of bitter partisan divides that have dominated the House for over a decade our country has really lost our way. We need to find our way back to creating in our young that ability to communicate with a respect toward all peoples views and beliefs again. We do not have to agree with everything that would be lying, but we need to care enough to again have civilized conduct in all our conversations.

How Do We Sort Out Our Political Mess?

2010-01-20T22:04:00.001-05:00

Politics - I am so sick of the mess it has created over the past 20 years! I thought that after the elections things might gradually settle in to the regular sniping that the parties often do until mid-term elections, but instead it has turned into an attack fest since then. It has split mostly down party lines where one side is trying to get the upper hand politically, and that usually means no help for the problems that face the American people.

Michigan Radio's political analyst, Jack Lessenberry in my opinion said it best in one of his radio essays recently. ("Two Plus Two Makes Four.")

...nobody is saying what they should be saying, which is this: "Hello, people, listen up:

"We don't have any money, largely because so many people are out of work. If you want to continue getting the benefits that the state has been providing, like parks and roads and good schools and prisons to lock up the bad guys, guess what:

"You are going to have to pay for it! You want this stuff, your taxes are going to go up, by this much, right now."

I would respect any lawmaker with the guts to say that. On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop's priority is not raising taxes. Matter of fact, he would like to lower them.

Okay, fine, so tell us right now how you come up with three billion in cuts. If he did that, I would respect him, too.

It is sad that we have come to a point that we cannot, or choose to not to understand that in order to keep that which we need (health care, funding for a local project, moneys for schools) we will have to raise taxes. If prices go up as they continually do, they do so across the board - both in costs and the taxes that must cover those rising costs.

I would hope that our government would be careful with our money, but we all understand that earmarks and other like minded spending are what we pay for when we have someone try to represent differing points of view on spending (remember that bridge to no where?). But if we think we would be punishing Congress to make them actually learn to tighten the belt when it comes to spending we're really only punishing ourselves.

It doesn't matter either that they are from one party or the other because there is no monitoring system in place to make sure they are carefull with the money. Today, with all our problems of terror and financial woes, I wish there was a statesman or two to look out for all our interests and that could understood there are going to need to be compromises made for the greater good.

Are there any such self-sacrificing men or women out there willing to keep the people's interest at the heart of their greater plan of service? "Hello?" If you are out there... "Come out come out where ever you are!!"

Art Prize and a Fantastic Museum - All on My Front Porch!

2009-12-08T23:46:00.001-05:00

My personal front porch went to the big city today! Our biggest neighboring city is Grand Rapids and the city and its people have spent from September 23rd to October 10th surrounded by some really grand art created just for this incredible competition! From sculptures, to paintings of all kinds, the pieces of art took over walking bridges, sidewalks, indoor spaces throughout the city, and even the river that splits the city.

My husband and I decided to take in the city's museum, but got waylaid by the many pieces of art that were found all around the museum itself. Some were in the river, on a nearby bridge and all were being enjoyed by people and and crowds of students on the river paths and the museum front yard.

My personal favorite of the pieces of art we saw was the piece that was also drawing the attention of many young students from the surrounding area as well. The Nessie Project (including sound!) was Loch Ness on the Grand River and the kids flocked to see and hear this amazing sculpture.

From there we wandered inside and through much of the museum. The main exhibit dealt with an interesting view of Leonardo Da Vinci and his machines found in his manuscripts. The exhibit had both text, and hands on examples of the artist's many visions of working machines in wood that were really fun to play with - despite the fact that we were adults! The machines were intricately designed to assist and make easy all kinds of menial labors common during this century.

While we were in the exhibit the docents, who were waiting patiently for a group of students to guide through the exhibition descended on us and we were shown an above and beyond tour of each display - we really got the best of what the exhibit had to offer! (Talk about a fun time!)

When you think of time on the front porch you certainly do not expect an "away game," type of experience. Front porches are normally where you see neighbors, and friends while sitting and enjoy your yard. But a front porch experience can also be getting away from the labors of the day while enjoying all there is to see all around us. This day was that, and I got to share the fun which is also what the concept of the front porch is suppose to be - a small escape and a place for time with family, friends, and neighbors.

Friends, Sisters, Brothers...

2009-08-31T01:35:00.010-04:00

We collect things along each part of the path called life. So often we have to have that new gadget, or that new dress. We are constantly searching for the things that can make life complete, but we overlook the item that gives us the most joy.

It isn't the new car, or the new dress. They hold only passing dreams.

It isn't the new computer or the new iPod. They hold only passing files.

It isn't the job or the money. They hold only passing control.

It is the relationships - that of love; that of friendship, and that of joy and happiness. Without these life is simply an existence.

Front Porch Life, and the Living is Easy

2009-07-21T15:40:00.018-04:00

When I think of that old fashioned front porch it stands out in my mind as a never confining, simple way of enjoying summer days for the whole family and sometimes the surrounding neighborhood. The idea was that though a family space - the open air of this extra room was also a place for the sharing of all kinds of conversations. Those leaning over the rail discussions which often filled the time were a part of what became treasured memories. This extended living room that families shared with a neighborhood was a place where the world of the city could actually become a family.

Last weekend my husband and I went to a pig roast which really wasn't our usual weekend front porch type of activity. We sipped Coke, and beer too and enjoyed quite a few incredible musicians as they shared their love of that medium. It was a truly fabulous concert with great rock songs from a Steppenwolf piece right up to pieces from today's multi-layered music scene. There were tasty summer salads and a well roasted pig to share. But the fun was really had through conversation and sharing that special summer evening which was really grand.

I love to take time just to sit back and revel in these kind of moments every weekend during the summer. These kind of days really hold the warmth and beauty that we all long for during those dark months of winter. The days are slower, and often very warm and always perfectly illustrates the beauty of my small corner of Michigan. I really love sharing these moments with my neighbors whether they are friends from across the street, or across the state which can makes it even better.

Creative Thunder

2009-07-16T00:43:00.005-04:00

It's raining, it's pouring...and thundering like crazy too! With flashes across the sky that illuminated the road and front yard and left shadows that were wonderfully eerie in the darkness of this stormy night.

These kind of storms are difficult for me to even rest during, let alone sleep through so as this loud disturbance was racking our neighborhood with its light show I headed into the kitchen and plopped down at our table with pen and pad in hand. Listening to the fan in the window as it slowed with each gust of wind I contemplated what do read, write or simply revel in the wonders that are a thunderstorm.

Before I could think of anything the wind and rain began to press against our half-closed windows sending curtains flying and me rushing about lowering the window panes down to a crack to keep the room dry. The humidity fell in through those small openings and that sticky wet air formed beads of sweat despite the 70 degree temperatures.

I usually love the rain storms that come in the night because of the sounds and smells that accompany them. But I also like them because it can be a time to revel in the magic that is an evening's weather event. The flashlight like affect of the lightening is a great companion for reading a book or an evening scratching my thoughts onto pages of a journal.

These evening escapes from the normal summer night entertainment have often made for good memories over the years. The best thing about these summer escapes are they're mine alone because while others remain in their beds under covers while the rolling echos of thunder reverberate through the house I am enjoying a bit of time to myself. Though my bed may be calling, my love of the storm keeps me here in the kitchen.

My kitchen in such a storm is a special place to be for me because it really is a haven in this light show that is extraordinarily beautiful. It always seems to become a place where I can watch the many rivers of rain push past clumps in the lawn and through the thundering lights to become the shadows of a ghost story that I just have to get down on the page before me.

General Convention, July 2009

2009-07-12T23:11:00.007-04:00

I have been following the speakers and news briefs that have come out of the General Convention of TEC and it has been a bit exciting. I certainly wish I could be there that is for sure! Today I listened to the ECW (Episcopal Church Women) speaker the wonderful Phyllis Tickle. As I am a huge fan of her writing and have a read a number of her books, I wanted to hear her speak. Since I could not be there the video of her speech was the next best thing. Her talk was interesting, and thought provoking and was impressive as well.

I'm very proud to be called an Episcopalian.

The Real America

2009-07-01T22:10:00.016-04:00

I have been ranting and raving for years about about the lack of real statesmen in our government these days, and like many of you I listen to the political punsters and get frustrated or angry about the side I am presently against or for whomever they are these days. But today, I watched one of most literate and funny men in the pulic eye these days on a PBS television show and he made a really profound statement - When we rise to sing together our national anthem The Star Spangled Banner politics does not matter.

We usually sing it together either just before a game, or else at the beginning of a concert. If we think about it, the song truly celebrates not the country or the land, but the people of this vast land. From the very beginnings of those small 13 colonies with those rag-a-muffin revolutionaries who despite their difference came together as one nation, right up to today and those who change our world here in the 21st century.

Whether we are Republican, or Democrat we are always first and foremost Americans, together.

When Garrison Keiller said that, I heard it reverberate through my mind and it made me realize that when we all stand, no one single voice stands out because it takes all our voices to sing it together to make us sing those words as one.

Now, granted there are often just that one famous voice who is asked to sing these verses but it becomes so much more, if we sing them together and sometimes it is in way too high a key or sometimes it can also be with tears that we sing those words.

This year, as we raise our voices remember we are drawn together as one nation. Afterall, this is the season to celebrate who we are and what we have as Americans with all the fireworks, as well as in singing our national song. Let those words wash over each in our nation and help us to celebrate our diversity, and fellowship as Americans.

Happy Fouth of July 2009 everyone!

A Life of Roses

2009-06-09T00:43:00.006-04:00

Tonight, Charlie Rose spoke with Eli Wieselon PBS. The pain, even after all these years from losing his much beloved father in Buchenwald Concentration Camp is still so evident. I've read a few of his books, and his honesty dances across the pages. Those words - his words can make me cry when I read them.

It seems that reading those many words is not enough to understand the whole of the Holocaust, but his few words can march through your heart and leave such big impressions! Who we are in this world must be learned from the wise people of this world. Some of the lessons are painful, but they can in the end give so many blossoms that open the heart into some of the most beautiful roses of life.

The Winds of Change

2009-05-31T22:49:00.006-04:00

My garden is a reflection of my visions as a life painter. It shows my voice and the joys, pains and hurts that colors my life in the rolling mounds of green that are a precursor to the flowers that are to come this summer.

I love the varying shades of emerald and forest that shine through the leaves of the various kinds of flowers that populate my little triangle in our sea of grass and all that is wild in an unfertilized space of green. I also have some of the problems that go with the natural world - like an over abundance of ant hills. But it's not hard to live in this kind of place. It does not yell or change its mind as the wind changes.

Foxglove

2009-05-28T00:40:00.001-04:00

I'm waiting for these beauties to climb the stalks with those velvety leaves and pop out with those glorious pink bells! So many of my perennials did not survive this past winter and I feel these holes in my garden, severely. I've filled in many of the holes with annuals, and they're ones I've not used ever before. Sweet Peas, African Daisies and Calendulas. Mostly through seeding an area since the cost of the plants are too much so the seeds will have to do. I'm impressed with the lovely green leaves that are surfacing from those seeds now. The sunflowers look rather a lovely, sturdy green already too.

I actually counted the perennials that I lost and it is over 15 different plants! But the annuals are filling the voids rather well and that is thrilling for me.

So despite the tough times, my garden truly holds a special hope for a beautiful plot of petals and leaves by mid-summer.

Reading the Written Word

2009-05-27T01:18:00.008-04:00

I'm a writer, and a reader so when I look for material to digest I tend to do more than an ordinary person in the volumes I consume. Like food, a good book can leave a taste in your mouth that says, "I want more!" or a stomach turning disgust. Since I'm picky I tend to carefully choose what I want to sink into a comfy chair with these days.

Being a history buff I often look for authors that can take me back accurately and offer a good read too (That's a gift that many authors don't succeed at in my opinion.). Some of my favorite authors are not the ones that are often found on the New York Times Best Seller list though. But some are old favorites to many readers that I know.

Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books fascinate me as do Margery Allingham's Albert Campion series. At present the world of the mystery novel has my total reading attention and I am enjoying that delicious tingle as the book takes me between the covers and into the lives of the characters.

What makes a really good mystery novel for anyone? For me the formulaic crime novel totally fails in the long run. I really enjoy a good series where in each book we are taken in a new direction and where we can watch the main characters grow. In fact that is the best part of most stories in my opinion. In books, as in life sometimes people aren't allowed to, or cannot grow and we lose the intrigue for those life stories then. I have to have a well created yarn within the confines of a fascinating setting as well.

So right now if I had to choose a favorite mystery character it would have to be....hmmm, Hercule Poirot, no maybe Inspector Morse! So...who is your favorite mystery character?

New Arms

2009-05-20T14:11:00.009-04:00

The limbs push through
They enter sleeves
Then gently wrap arms 'round
The trunk
Embracing,
Stretching forth
To greet the sun.

Is God Really A Mathematician?

2009-05-13T13:20:00.003-04:00

A book that surfaced in January of this year has many of we math phobs (My word - those of us with terrible dread of math of any kind!)more than a bit concerned. Though much of the world has been defined and explained mathematically, the idea can send some people into that nasty nightmare about entering heaven only to be faced down by St. Peter at the Pearly Gates with the story problem of all story problems as a test to finally gain entrance into that heavenly abode - "A train left Denver at 2:00 p.m...."

There have even been cartoons about these fears of even the most basic of numbers problems, equations or formulas that touch way to close to home for those of us who struggle with that language called mathematics! For you see we know it is a kind of prose where the "letters" change with each new level of the discipline that unfolds, and as we learn each new structure of that way of communicating we sink deeper into a frozen state of fear.

From addition to subtraction, and multiplication to division we see the sum or product of the numbers change and that fear mounts as we see the hold we have on one area not seem to translate to the next. It sometimes seems to be a quite a difficulty as to how we can take those simple basics of one problem or solution and translate them from point A in one level to point B or C in other levels of the family tree that is the math we know from school today.

So to see any concept of God that might depicts him/her as a hierarchical being, and one with whom we have to deal with on a mathematical plane can be extremely daunting. I think I will have to step away and go join those who muddle over letters, words and phrases instead, somewhere far away from the very idea of a math centered doctrine!

Our Instantly Wired World

2009-04-22T00:17:00.015-04:00

Networking. This often is the bane for those of us who have had difficulty looking for work in the age of the WEB. We can attempt to create contacts, and friendships - well not really friendships but definitely close working relationships from where we can develop real work connections. Great conversational exchanges that can bring about a meeting of minds and can generate possibilities of finding a place to be creative - and getting paid for it, too.

How does anyone take that first step online when you can't talk, except through the translator of your keyboard? That's just one of the big difficulties that can arise from putting yourself and your writing out on the internet, but there are also advantages. There were very few newspapers that in the past have had the readership that could reach around the globe, but many blog sites have that capability here in the 21st century.

Writers like Mark Twain often didn't get known as much for their work as journalists, as for those early pieces of fiction. But today a single writer can become well known instantly through an article, or sometimes through the simple turn of a single phrase.

So, if I really want to become a writer with a well visited and subscribed to blog I often have to be first a good reader and responder in various other blog communities around the WEB. Staying in one community alone will probably not get you noticed in this age of instant communication, and that is where the idea of connecting with other writers and those who hire becomes so important. The forum for such communication is no longer that cocktail party where you might be able to look a prospective boss or colleague in the eye and size up your chances from the interactions and maneuvering that occurs one on one in those kind of settings.

Today, often the contacts themselves are ones that are almost unreadable - which can be good for a prospective employer, but more than a bit frustrating for any possible employee. Even through the networking online you can only get a partial picture of who you might be dealing with because there usually isn't the conversational time where you might talk about interests and jobs which can create a well rounded view of who you're dealing with to actually take that next step that might secure an interview.

Networking on the WEB is still in many ways in its infancy and hopefully through video conferencing and similar methods of communication there will soon be ways to develop a form of that "getting to know you," dance so we can get beyond that black and white of the written word and into a career reality with actual prospects.

The Comics Are Magic for The Mind and The Heart

2009-04-10T01:08:00.024-04:00

When everything seems to be falling apart in the world there is one place I can go a laugh, or simply escape. It's the world of crazy animals, kids, families, and people at work called the comic page.

My husband always has called those pages the educational pages. To him they were always the place to begin in any paper and the place to end as well and he would often read them to all of the kids around the table during homework time as I worked on dinner week nights. I considered myself too much of an intellectual to begin there when I read the paper, but gradually over the years it has also become my own start page as well. Sometimes - well honestly most of the time the news is too much crap and very little that is either interesting or uplifting.

What saddens me is as newspapers die on the printed page and move online, they seem to be losing much that made them a source for the everyday person. The local news and events, and that section that held the best in humor as well as a wonderful observation of our American culture. You can look up those daily comics individually, but it just does not hold the same wonder and awe that occurred when I opened the paper to those who populated the many boxes on the comic page.

I hope we don't lose the comics, because those are the pages that are really the heart of any newspaper. They are gifts of thought as well as laughter, and despite all the important news found in those few paper pages, they're the items that most people look to every day to lighten their mood and share with someone across the daily breakfast or dinner table. This could end up being one of the worst losses imaginable.

A New Look, and a New Hope

2009-04-05T21:59:00.003-04:00

West Michigan is that place where all those horror stories about job loss and despair begin these days. The rest of the country is in a recession, but here where the auto making world got its parts and supplies made and where the beaches are a tourist haven and a comfortable vacation place, is no longer that sanctuary for those of us who live here with our hopes and dreams.

Much of our industry here is tied closely, if not exclusively to the auto industry and has refused to desert the sinking ship called Ford, Chrysler and GM. Many people believe that idea is really a stupid one to continue to do, but over the years and through all the recessions we've experienced that loyalty to the maker of cars and it has kept jobs strong here. but along with those loyalties developed in this Northern European ethnic stronghold ripened a stubbornness and some times an inability to see change as something worthy, or even good for our communities. Many still feel if they hold out till the worst is over that all will be well.

Don't get me wrong, there are industries that have had come that are independent from those makers of the minivans, sport coupes and basic family cars. But we have to find a way to recreate the jobs and hope for our workers. We have to find a way to get beyond the fear of the crash and begin creating again. Creating jobs, secure lives...and a future for our families.

An Antique of Great Value

2009-03-23T13:07:00.007-04:00

A creature of wood and metal, a thing from the early age of motoring that can turn heads even today exists in a vehicle that isn’t worth a huge amount but always creates a smile, and sometimes even a memory. That was the car my husband brought home in pieces over ten years ago on a flat bed trailer in pieces.

When he drove into the driveway with his huge grin, and a multitude of rusty pieces of metal I was more than a bit apprehensive. After all it's just a gas tank here and an axle there and of course the frame, but this was a frame where there were no doors or roofs that makes a car. How would you be held in the car if not by the walls, roof and doors?

I soon discovered that a car can be only the frame, in the beginning. that frame, an engine, the wheels, and tires helps all automobiles move through our every day world. And sometimes in our imaginations too because those who love antique cars can see all the wonderful possibilities.

From This Crotchety Old, "Almost" Senior Citizen

2009-03-14T23:40:00.014-04:00

I'm not a senior citizen yet, but I am constantly treated like one. I'm out there in the year 2009 looking for a career change, a job that is - but it's hard for people over 50 to find anything akin to meaningful work and I get frustrated easily some days. The jobs seem to be only for greeters or cashiers but rarely for what I did for a living which was and is writing. I could be angry I suppose, or even frustrated but all in all I think I'm taking it pretty well - for now. You see I had the best of examples on how to handle any difficult situation when I was growing up.

Like me, my grandmother was told be the society she lived in that older women, "Didn't do those sorts of things!" but she did and relished being considered a rebel in her day. She certainly did not take being shoved into a category like old age lightly, in fact you might say that on that subject she was more than a bit defiant! From the time she turned fifty to well into her ninetieth year she found a way to make her mark and enjoy thumbing her nose at the boxes that society continually created for the older citizens in society.

Her real challenging the system began when she took up platform diving in her fifth decade. Her instructor thought she was totally crazy I'm sure, but admired her enough to call our local newspaper the Chronicle who sent out a reporter to see and interview this strange phenomenon of an old woman. After that every decade when my grandmother challenged herself to stretch beyond the walls of what was the box called old age she ended up as a major story for our family. People shook their heads I'm sure and wondered at the impropriety of this totally strange person.

From snowshoeing to cross country skiing she never ceased to amaze us all, and I as grew up I really came to appreciate her strength and wisdom in challenging the rules set by our society especially in the her senior years during the late 50s and early 60s. To we grandchildren, she became a person to be extremely proud to be related to, and for me especially she was a special gift as she continued time and again to be a strong example of what women really were suppose to be in life - strong, challenging the norm, and being totally themselves.

So if I think about getting frustrated today when I can't find a job, or seem to be unable to create a place for myself in today's workforce, I close my eyes and imagine that broad grin on my Grandmother's face as she again plunged into something totally out of that senior citizen mold. She took on her life daily with a most delightful enthusiasm and for that model of womanhood I will forever be thankful.

I will always enjoy working at filling those wonderful shoes and fulfilling the gift she gave me to pass it on to the next group of girls and women in my life - my granddaughters.

Southern Vacation Dreams

2009-03-08T00:11:00.003-05:00

It is bit warmer here in West Michigan today, but it's definitely still winter - so right now I am dreaming of warmth of a very special old Southern town! I can actually close my eyes and see this place where the ocean meets glorious beaches and where old Southern grace and charm is truly the center of daily life there.

I vacationed in this spot two years ago and found it a place that I probably could live (albeit in air conditioned comfort in the humidity of summer!) The special gift that this community offers is the beauty of the old southern homes and the warmth of the people is something you just don't find just anywhere. The history is fascinating in the area as well and I could spend years digging up the history and discovering the people in this intriguing town.

Ah, yes I am really missing the warmth and the alluring history that surrounds the whole community right now, and I will have to return. This community really has a hold on some wonderful memories for me.

Where is this special vacation spot? Why Fernandina Beach, Florida of course!

Respect, a Thing of the Past

2009-02-25T03:07:00.008-05:00

Have you ever noticed how the hate mongers, whether they be a Republican, a Democrat, or simply someone who feels slighted can get center stage and totally ruin a perfectly good discussion with their over flowing angry rhetoric?

I've enjoyed being on many online sites but there are always one or two who can ruin the experience with their personal rants about almost anything, or anyone. That's the thing that really bothers me about politics as well. So many politicians act like they have the ONLY answer and the rest of us have no right to believe the way we do, or worse that we're totally wrong and don't know it.

I'm not an arguer - I simply want the respect I give those same people when I give their point of view a chance to be heard. Good discussions can be had by sharing ideas. There aren't necessarily changes made in positions by either side but there certainly can be a respect for our differences if a good discussion is had over any issue.

Civility use to be important in our society, since those who would rather name call have made their presence known on TV and radio (and in other places as well) we've lost that sense of respect for the individual and replaced it with getting more press coverage for our own personal views.

It's a sad time in our country when solid debates on the issues are pushed aside for name calling and posturing.

Working for those Never Ending Bills

2009-02-19T00:12:00.010-05:00

Bills. They totally drive our lives these days. We work to pay them off, and often worry about how we'll pay them. Paying bills has been around for centuries (Think bills for the ancient Egyptians in hieroglyphics!) but today we have fine tuned the receiving and paying of these monthly pains. In fact they're often considered a purveyor of our own personal monthly doom.

The bill paying syndrome has gone from the postal service bill delivery which gave us those printed pieces of paper that told what was owed in page after page of excruciating details. When received they were often paid on the first or the fifteenth of every month twelve times every year. The quote by Benjamin Franklin really tells it all for many of us; "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes and bills!!" (My interpretation!)

So what's new for those of us dealing with those ever present bills in this age of everything digital? If you haven't begun to pay them through your bank's online service you are really missing out on a great, immediate gratification tool! Just go to your bank's online web page, sign up and the money simply disappears with out checks or stamps to get it on its way to that destination of payment. This makes the bill days much easier - but the act of payment can still be quite financially depressing.

With the progression of our bill paying evolution do you ever wonder what will be that new way to empty our checkbooks....no, probably you don't want to know anymore than me how they will discover new ways to empty our bank accounts! Personally, I think I'd like to pretend, even if only for a moment that the money in my account today is really all mine!

The Analog Boom...or Bust

2009-02-17T16:07:00.019-05:00

We who have lived with rabbit ear antennas, or roof antennas are truly in for an upheaval when everything changes from the analog signal we've known for years. When we actually get to that new digital age many of us will end up losing the channel signals because of weaker signals. This change won't stop just because of the loss of those signals that we've had for years because they will be needed for the public service signal. This change will totally affect television as we know it, and those changes will especially affect those who receive that television signal by that antenna alone.

For many of us the digital age will mean a change over to cable or satellite TV, but for others who have lived well with that old fashioned standard the aerial antenna it may mean finally turning off that little picture box for the last time. Moving ahead is an important step, but trying to drag a nation into the digital age, especially one so mired in today's economic problems could end end up creating a real catch 22 situation.

The choice could be simple - spend more money to receive decent television reception, or decide to try to remain in the analog era. The converter box at least makes receiving the signal possible, but the reception can be iffy at best in bad weather.

I remember a time when we would discuss at school who got our favorite TV programs with the least amount of "snow!" That's a term that today we see described as pixilating images - I call it that digital cloud which takes over that program you really want to watch.
Much thought has been given to the need for more public service stations, but I question how much has given to this dilemma that many now face because of that need for this new technology?

There seems to be a great many questions about the coming transition to HDTV, with very few easy answers.

Why Not Devour A Poem?

2009-02-08T14:13:00.008-05:00

What is a poem? Is it lines in meter, or rhyming words? There are so many things a poem is - and isn't. Words can be wonderful prose, but in my opinion, without a soul of its own a poem simply isn't.

For me a poem can touch the heart or can give us thought for up to the next week! One such worker of words is Wilfred Owen. His poem DULCE ET DECORUM EST, (a Latin phrase from a poem by Homer) written during World War I is graphic and poetic at the same time. He experienced the gruesomeness of that war first hand as a soldier and died as the war ended. Though uncomfortable, it puts you right in that place that many soldiers live while at war.

But why get stuck there? The light poems also give images that can give me pause. One such poem is small and descriptive. Carl Sandberg was a Chicago native with a love of his city and of nature. My favorite poem of his is centered on a weather phenomenon that many of us see but seldom envision as an animal. His poem Fog fits the silence and mystery that a cloud seeping through any city is like a curious cat that sits watching, and then walks on to somewhere else.

Small or large, visionary or grisly these words we call poems can organize into huge thoughts of a few precise words that can take someone to another part of town, or to a totally different world. For me they often give a sense of escape or of getting to know someone new - but that's why I love to devour them!

The Prickly Green of Life

2009-02-05T00:46:00.014-05:00

The green is itching to get out, I can feel it. And yet the snow remains and the cold envelopes like a hair shirt that we cannot shake. This season of ice has been painful and the roads have hurt so badly with the sores of empty asphalt and sometimes bottomless and they can devour a car or truck with one gulp.

So here we all sit watching out the window for that ride out of this cage of frigid life which holds us captive many moments of every year of our lives. Most January to Decembers hold winters that mystify and invigorate, but when they out stay their welcome a hate builds up inside and a need burns to move on and make the warmer world home.

But warm will turn to hot, humid and sticky like a wet shirt that won’t come off our hard breathing bodies. Even our breath on those days is hard to deal with as the tears of our bodies come in droves from our foreheads rather our now dry eyes.

Wishing away life to find that comfortable home can be fun in the imagination – but rarely is so in real life.

RDS and How to Survive It

2009-02-02T23:00:00.010-05:00

RDS - it will drive you crazy! I know because I've experienced it almost every day since these terribly icy cold days have kept us all imprisoned indoors.

What is RDS? Restless dog syndrome of course! My two fuzzy buddies are not usually outdoor creatures - at least not totally. But with these cold winter days they cannot be out in their run happily howling and barking at neighbors, birds and anything that floats in the air past their wired home they really enjoy driving us crazy.

They totally relish driving us to distraction by barking at the snow blowers in the neighborhood clearing their drives; trucks going past; or anyone who comes near the back door. And when they're not barking they are wrestling, or sliding down the hall and ending up peeking from under the beds. When their faces come out from under the comforters you cannot tell me they're not smiling!

This madness usually begin when our little guy wakes and begins his tail thumping. He's not much for mornings and remains in his bed as long as he can, but if you call his name he will begin thumping his tail hard at the edge of his pillow on the wood floor of our bedroom. (His name is Mac, but in winter we call him thumper!) Foxy our older pup begins with a soft, agitated and excited bark that grows as they wake the house and those of us who are trying to sleep.

This is a daily occurrence and can make for a frustrated beginning of any given day, and though I am usually a lover of the winter season, I am now really ready for the warmer temps to get my own personal Restless Dogs outside!

What a Little Fear Can Do

2009-01-28T22:26:00.006-05:00

To dream...perchance to write.

That is what all of us who type away at a keyboard pray for, or scratch away with a pen on that ever present legal pad want - words that capture people's attention. In this economic climate the value of most writers goes down and for those of us who attempt to make a living at it these times can make it not only difficult to get paid for what we love to do, but often our frustrations surface in between the lines of any column or blog we happen to be working on and that can end with interesting results. You see these written bits of ourselves often becomes a part of the way we communicate our frustrations.

I have been blogging a while now and find the written word a way to deal with the fact that I no longer have a writing job plus many other every day frustrations as well. And I'm not alone, because there are more that writers out of work these days. Fear tends to make that knot inside grow and for those of us who are wordsmiths the need to express those feelings tends to explode onto any nearby page. Not that you'd notice that because we tend to do much of our best work work under pressure.

I sure wish there was a way that we as a nation could channel some of this frustrated energy to bring us economically back from the brink. I'm not sure that we can though, and I think that frightens me more than the predicament that our nation is in today.

The Times They Are A Changin'

2009-01-25T00:40:00.010-05:00

We're in a new era. We have a new President who is rapidly making changes and the whole atmosphere in the country seems changed. I don't know if this will change the economy or the fear that seems to permeate the papers and news reports, for there are some who still don't trust Mr. Obama because of the differences in their political persuasion, but we needed a new beginning in my opinion since we weren't finding a way out of the economic and war centered mess our country has been in for far too long.

So for me it is time for changes as well. Our personal financial landscape has changed and so I've changed where I shop and what I shop for. I'm also more particular about what I cook or bake to keep costs down. I love basic recipes and simple ingredients and Italian meals mainly because they reflect the simplicity I'm looking for in meals.

The best simple meal is one that takes little time and tastes really super. Like a simple soup, or marinara sauce that gives the house that inviting scent when people walk through the door for dinner. I love the simple red sauce with just garlic, onions, tomatoes and Italian seasoning would be a great start for spaghetti and meatballs, or even a basic lasagna sauce. using either ricotta or even a good cottage cheese you can make the red sauce mixed with sauted hamburger and then layer the sauce with a ricotta mixture (ricotta, Parmesan cheese, lots of chopped basil with an egg beaten and salt and pepper), mozzarella cheese and lasagna noodles and then repeat the various layers again until all is gone.

End the layers with a coating of mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes covered with foil and then about 25 to 30 minutes more at 375 degrees and then let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. and enjoy the smell as well as the taste!

Marinara Sauce
1 large onion chopped
6 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon Basil
2 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup water
sauted 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (Lean)

Saute onions adding garlic at the end with a small spot set aside for the spices to hit the pan and smell lovely. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. This will end up being more thank you probably need, but you can always save it and add to past for lunch during the week.

Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Pasta Layers
15 ounces part-skim ricotta or cottage cheese
(1 3/4 cups)
1 1/2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 no-boil lasagna noodles from one 8- or 9-ounce package
16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (4 cups)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

3. Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt, and pepper in medium bowl with fork until creamy; set aside.

4. Smear entire bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish with 1/4 cup meat sauce (avoiding large chunks of meat). Place 3 noodles in baking dish to create first layer. Drop 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture down center of each noodle and level domed mounds by pressing with back side of measuring spoon. Sprinkle layer evenly with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 11/2 cups meat sauce evenly over cheese. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cooking spray and cover lasagna.

5. Bake about 15 to 18 minutes and then remove the foil. Return the dish to the oven and continue to bake for about 25 minutes longer until the cheese on the top is slightly brown and the sauce is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes, cut into pieces and savor the smell and the taste!

Candles Burning

2009-01-15T23:59:00.007-05:00

I’m burning the midnight oil these days! That’s something I do on a regular basis since that is my most productive time for house work and writing. It’s funny when you’re ADHD simply focusing on basic tasks can be almost impossible sometimes. But when I’m a bit tired in the evening I find there is this window of time is when I can be terribly productive and I’ve learned to really take advantage of it!

When my boys were little I stayed up late simply to create a small pocket of sanity in my busy world. I actually survived on about 5 hours of sleep a night - with 12 hours of sleep every so often when I crashed of course. Today I find that I need to either sleep in, or nap when I can which means Sundays after church has become my time for L-O-N-G naps!

But this life style can wreck havoc on friendships sometimes! My best friend is a real morning person and wants to have coffee in the early morning hours when I find it difficult to even function! I can only handle a few days like that and I then descend into the mega grouchies. So, I have developed a rather crazy pattern whereby I find hours and sometimes minutes where I can catch a few Zs in order to function and not simply end up as some sleepless vampire with those nasty circles under my eyes.

I do share some of my days with grandchildren, or helping my son on his vending route (He owns a small vending business and we fill snack and pop machines that are all over our city.). Between helping him out, picking up grandkids from school or simply enjoying their company on afternoons I find I am never bored or lacking something to do to keep from being bored.

I have friends who work and they often ask me how I can be so very busy and I simply remind them that we in our senior years have more to do now than we did while working. Personally, I never could see how those who were retired could be so busy when I was younger, but between church and family I find that I am really way too busy to work! This part of life has truly turned into quite a strange phenomenal time.

In Winter, Thoughts of....

2008-12-28T20:45:00.031-05:00

Travel is a passion of mine. I love to discover the places that maybe others wouldn't go to or even want to explore. Like my family, I love to see the hiking places, and those of natural beauty but sometimes those places aren't very easily accessed.

When I traveled to Florida recently to visit our youngest son he shared with me some beautiful spots that were a major part of his life on Amelia Island. The vistas I came to treasure from this special place were not ones out a window in one of the many elegant condos but rather ones that walked the paths that meander through beautiful tree lined rivers and swampy areas that really glow in the early evening almost every day. The algae, the small ponds, and those moss covered trees gave an almost other worldly sight to those many spots we explored.

That walk through this part of Florida wasn't one through fancy stores with all kinds of trinkets - instead it was one of those special scenes that really creates those wonderful, perfect, Polaroid memories that make truly vacations special.

So what is your favorite spot in your community? Yup, in your own community! You know, those little out of the way places that showcases your area at its best. For my own home region there are just too many to count! Like the places I was able to ferret out in Florida all it takes is a little research and a day or two to explore.

One that was really over the top small, county park along one of the many rivers in our area that is a well hidden secret and is filled with nature walks that covers meadow and forested areas all along and through an area that can take your breath away and give a real answer to why West Michigan is so diverse in its landscapes that go from fabulous beaches, to great hiking and camping spots, to so much more scenery, scenery, scenery!

What's your special spot, that escape place where you can lose that stress from the office or classroom? Is it a beach filled with huge trees of driftwood, or a river walk where the kingfishers rule? Mine are all of the above, and more! Take a walk on that wild side in your own life and discover a new passion...the lovely places right where you live!

Christmas Surprises

2008-12-23T16:19:00.005-05:00

Do you ever wonder if that old wives tale about trouble coming in threes is true? When my husband slipped and fell on the ice shattering his elbow Sunday I was certainly sure it was true!

Beginning on the Thursday before Thanksgiving I ended up in the emergency room in sever pain - my gall bladder. (Four days in the hospital because it was the weekend and only one surgeon around and he would not do it alone!) Then I had one of my big back molars crack and I ended up losing that tooth (It was dead!!!). And then Sunday my husband fell on a patch of ice outside our house and smashed his elbow, he had surgery to repair it as best they could after a terrible break.

He's home now in a splint with many weeks off of work, and I have to admit I am looking over my shoulder wondering - no, hoping nothing else happens!

Life isn't meant to be easy, but I think we're ready for a break! Merry Christmas!!

Make it a Shared Christmas

2008-12-08T23:19:00.009-05:00

A wish list...that's what we all have, especially this Christmas. I can remember as a kid growing up in a rather poor family the wish lists that I would create were changed nightly and stuffed in my pillow case because none of the wishes could ever happen. The funny thing is I wrote them every year and would sneak them down into the burning fire in our fireplace hoping somehow they'd make it all the way to the North Pole.

Today the lists aren't as extravagant and are more realistic. They have to do with many of the people I care about and know, and even some I just barely know. My list this Christmas are for those who are in need in one form or another - a son who is severely injured after a car accident to finally get the social security so his family doesn't lose everything; a bit healing for a friend with MS; a fair shake for a friend who has lost her long term disability as the sole breadwinner for her family, there are just so many in need and with economic mess we're in there are so many losing everything.

Life isn't easy. It was never suppose to be but that is where we come in as caring people in a hurting world. We Americans have the wrong idea - it's not all suppose to be happiness - that's different than pursuing happiness (The Declaration of Independence). We need to find some contentment and a little peace in our lives.

Peace isn't things, it is relationships, family, and sharing those every day burdens. Sharing the weight helps make them lighter, and laughter and fellowship are the best for healing so let's make these Holiday Season one filled with sharing, laughter and togetherness, not simply objects that people forget after the first of the year.

Faith, or Simply Hope?

2008-12-04T23:15:00.002-05:00

Faith. We all talk about it, but I see too much reliance on what we see as facts and figures for us to be truly faithful to anything. In order to have faith we need to believe in the possibilities of change...and of being able to step out and say out loud that we believe.

When I was young it was in church that I first began to understand what faith was, but as I grew I realized that in order have faith you have to trust, we need to have faith in that person, store, business or government.

So here I sit with all that has happened both personally, and nation-wide and wonder how will this affect all of us in the coming year? We all come to trust and faith through different experiences in each of our lives. For me it hasn't been an easy journey, but it has finally brought me to where I am today. From childhood with all it's pitfalls and for the the terrors of the teen years that proved to be as painful for this wallflower who tried so hard to fit in, to those early years of marriage as a military wife I was so confused. Part coming from the admonition that the family did not accept Episcopalians. I was too young and too frightened about losing the one good person I had found in my life. But part comes from the fears that I let encase me and hold me for so many years as well.

Stepping away from those pains and facing them made me stronger. I now stand for supporting those who are attacked whether it be verbal, or physical where I see it happen.

Everyone should have someone to stand for them, and behind them as support. That's loving your fellow man, and woman.

Life is Passing

2008-11-30T22:25:00.006-05:00

The holiday has passed with more of a whimper than a great deal of joy. My husband and are watching family members go down to these economic troubles. Actually if I’m honest, it began when this family member had a terrible accident that robbed him of any ability to work even a part time job at the age of 32.

How does a person help when you yourself on the edge? You give, and give, and give again…but mostly you listen and hug and pray. And if I’m honest it is happening all around us here in Michigan. Silently, lives are slipping away into poverty and it’s happening to all age groups. My own church is talking about helping with mortgage payments, but how long can we and others help as many as really needs help?

As long as it takes.

Snow, Snow Everywhere!

2008-11-19T16:07:00.046-05:00

The winter began here with a bang! We got nine inches of snow in less that 12 hours and are hovering around freezing so the snow is still here. I took some pictures of the interesting first snow fall of the winter of 2008/2009.

Here in West Michigan we usually don't get this kind of snowfall until late December or early January so this is really something. The ground's not frozen, but with constant temperatures holding in the low 30s it is definitely here to stay
for a while.

Even the birds were finding it hard to find food in our feeders!

The side yard snows collapsed the strawberry garden's cage.

The grill was hard to uncover to cook dinner, and of course all of us felt like curling up in a little ball...

but then we would all have ended up like this snow covered small bush I'm afraid!

We finally had to break out the warmth with our new warming
toy, an oil space heater! Isn't winter lovely?

Do You Take Care of Yourself?

2008-11-15T00:36:00.004-05:00

This may seem like a totally odd question to ask in this day of lost jobs and little money - you probably would answer, "I don't have time! I'm too busy trying to make ends meet!" But I've begun to understand that taking care of the family means that I have to take care for myself as well. I have had to consider what might have happened if I wasn't here and realize that taking care of my family means I have to take care of myself.

I went to the doctor's office and had to wait to get in to see the doctor - nothing unusual there. The waiting rooms always seem to have really old magazines and I sighed as I picked up one to thumb through probably the 40th time. The well worn magazine was way too familiar, that is until I stumbled on and article in the "Healthy You," section. The topic was rest, and I thought who has time to rest these days! Yawning is a major part of our daily lives, right? Well, as I read on in the rather short article one quote really struck me and forced me to focus on how important it is to take time daily to step back and let your mind and body get those moments of rest that are so needed.

"Rest is remembering to exhale and recognizing that taking care of everyone includes me too." In the article author Kathleen Parish pointed out that we need to take time time every hour, day week, month, and year to be able to refresh our minds and bodies. It doesn't have to be an hour in length, sometimes only a few minutes can be that refreshing release that makes the rest of the day possible. Two minutes of turning away from that computer, or a few minutes curled up in bed with your eyes closed and really relaxing can send you back to the world ready to take on your world.

Stress kills. It holds a person captive and can be a painful way to exist...yes, I said exist because you're not living if you're jumping from one stressful situation to another without a break to digest what's happened.

Look out a window, take a walk around the office or better yet outside for those 15 minutes of break time every day. How about lunching in your car with the radio on a station that sooths your soul??! Any little time of quiet can be refreshing. I need to take more time, it can make for a more productive work day for me and a more peaceful one as well because I don't feel quite so boxed. It can be these energizing mini-vacations that give you that peaceful center to the everyday turmoil that is life today in these United States.

A Sad Statement....

2008-11-13T22:31:00.008-05:00

The little item that bothered the political pundits back when JFK was running for president is beginning to surface with the election of Barack Obama. What exactly do I mean? Simply this, a priest in South Carolina has told all in his congregation who voted for Mr. Obama that they should refrain from Holy Communion because, "the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." He stated that, "in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote." This is an attempt to control the vote along the lines of what the church feels they have the right to do. It hearkens back to the Middle Ages and the way the church used threats of eternal damnation to control both the nobility and the peasants.

This kind of use of power makes me sick, but it is not exclusively the problem for the church, these days. What happened to voting your own conscience freely? This is an act where the parish priest seems to be using threats to get people to give up a basic right - the right to vote according their own principles and instead end up as a puppet for other's interpretation of faith.

Check out the article for yourself at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081114/ap_on_re_us/obama_catholics;_ylt=AgR52po3fKDvgZ9WukhNz5Ss0NUE.

Family Political Differences

2008-10-30T14:15:00.018-04:00

I am an ardent Obama supporter this election season. I have done my research on the candidate and his record and am thoroughly impressed with his vision for America. That is unless I am with my younger brother. I tend to be in the non-committed camp when in his presence. I'm really not as divided over who I support as that might sound, you see I have an ardent Republican in my favorite, youngest sibling, and I walk a fine line to keep the rhetoric and angry words that often go with politics to a minimum.

He is in most ways a conservative, and I am most certainly a liberal in most of the issues I have voted for and supported over the past ten years. But I'll be honest with you...I value my brother and friend and have never been one who enjoys the political fights and those, "I'm right and you're wrong!" attitudes that often prevail with those I know during presidential election years. My brother can be as stubborn as I am in his hopes for our country and I have decided that I need to leave politics out of our relationship.

Who he is came from many things he's experienced in his life. He is retired Army, and I admire his loyalty to the things he feels strongly about and that stick-to-it-tiveness that makes him someone you really want in your corner in times of trouble. In other words, I consider him an honorable man, and though I disagree with his choice of candidates I need to honor him for who he is in my life.

In these times of political malice that seems to pervade our culture during the presidential elections I see a need for civility - especially with family! Our hard thought out choices for any office don't need to be sabotaged to make anyone feel comfortable.

There is an old proverb that we need to understand with greater clarity during these times of political strife. "A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still."

So this election season, (and probably many, many more!) I will honor the man who is my friend and brother. I can remain true to who I am without having to persuade him to think exactly as I do on anything, political or otherwise.

The Flavors of Change

2008-10-12T23:54:00.013-04:00

I am contemplating the changing of a recipe to fit how I feel today! I enjoy the Italian version of that marinara sauce, but I'm up for something new. Now you're going to walk with me through this new version I'm stepping out of my personal Italian food comfort zone! But I have to admit I like Mexican and Hispanic cooking. I am just beginning to explore this ethnic cooking.

Now don't get me wrong, I have been a lover of this type of cooking but haven't explored it for myself because I am really intimidated by the jalapeno. I've tasted this hot pepper in dishes that have burned my mouth for days (Which was awful because there were literally no other flavors!)!

So, how can I enjoy the flavors but not have them overpowering? That's the fun of creating or changing recipes, and we all do it! How many of us get a recipe and eliminate or change a recipe because an ingredient isn't available, or our families don't like it? I know I have over the years, and when something worked it gave me the guts to try it again.

I know when I heard that all those top chefs were creating new recipes almost daily I got a bit intimidated at first but slowly I came to realize that I'd been doing that on a small scale almost daily for my own family. Sometimes it can turn into a wonderful meal, which is always a great thing! Don't get me wrong though, I've had my share of failures since I don't know all the spices and their characteristics well. I can remember my sons shoveling dinner in with comments in between bites of, "Please do not make this again - it's awful!" (You have to understand, my boys while growing ate anything, but were very vocal about what they liked!) It didn't stop me though and I kept trying and learning as I add more herbs and spices to my own personal spice palette.

Like a painter, You can use these spices to add layers of flavors that become the meals I serve, and I love the process of creating a tasty meal. You know...I have one in my mind right now with that marina sauce. But I really have to try it out on my family first!

A Great Simple Meal

2008-10-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

Well, the falling apart of America has begun with our life. I have no job, and my husband has been cut back to 36 hours. We're retooling our budget and wondering where we go from here. If you think this financial mess is not going to affect you - think again. This will be affecting everyone, and I know that it will be getting worse before it gets better.

So how can we save money and stay afloat at the same time? Start in the kitchen and keep what you buy to the bare minimum. Casseroles don't mean tasteless meals, but it does take creativity. Start with good basic recipes that you can make work in various ways. A great example is to have a good basic red sauce to use for both Mexican and Italian meals.

Hamburger can be a friend for these type of meals, but what can jazz it up is more a combination of meats. I use a little bit of ground breakfast sausage added to the ground beef to add another layer of flavor. Start with a pound of lean ground beef and add 1/4 pound of the breakfast sausage. Before sauteing the mixture, mix it together well, I use my hands and usually add my spices and seasoning here since I don't lose any as I sprinkle all over the stove by doing this.

So what do you want to make? How about a basic pasta meal? Begin with frying and draining the meat. put the meat in a bowl with one layer of paper towing under it to get the rest of the grease out of your meal early. Cut your basics finely for the base of the sauce, that will be one small onion and 3 cloves garlic. Get a pan over a medium high heat until the oil is is rippling, Add one tablespoon of light olive oil and the diced onion for about 3 to five minutes - don't burn it! Add the garlic just until you smell it. Add a drip more of oil and a palm full of dried Italian seasoning (about a heaping tablespoon) and a half a palm of dried basil a to the oil mix it around until you really smell the herbs bloom. Add a 28 ounces can of good crushed tomatoes to the mix and stir well. Turn it down and let it come to a simmer. This should never be over cooked! I usually only bring it back to the simmer, cover it and simmer for another 20 minutes.

This is a basic mix that can be used in a lasagna or a pasta dish. I love to add sauteed zucchini and summer squash or almost any veggie to the sauce with cooked penne pasta or linguine and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. It's really a fast meal if you prep the ingredients and can be a tasty meal. Just add your favorite bread, and voila - a family meal with little effort.

Get the best ingredients you can afford since it makes the flavor great, and remember, it usually tastes even better the second time around. Leftovers rock!

Cooking - For the Fun of It!

2008-09-09T14:12:00.010-04:00

I love to cook. I'm not a chef at all, but I love playing with my food - literally! Italian peasant food is my realm and using more and more spices has really been an exciting culinary trip. Food is a way to be creative and I love when things come together or when my experiments in the kitchen come out great.

We all need to either do it – cooking that is, or at least we hope someone in our home will be willing to do it. Some of us who love to eat good food, learn to do a bit of cooking and enjoy all that surrounds that mystique of cooking tasty dishes. Do you need to be a gourmet cook or chef to really cook good food? Definitely not!! Just be ready to eliminate the box magic and enjoy the freshest veggies and meats.

Americans are known for being a mostly non-veggie culture. But until this decade everything in the kitchen was focused on easy and a formula flavor that can be easily gotten through using a can of soup, and packet of seasoning or tons of salt. Original flavor from simple herbs spices and fresh foods can be wonderful for setting the aura for good conversation and almost any mood. Thank goodness for the excitement for using herbs and spices instead of nothing but salt and pepper. But unless you can share the great taste with someone, it may seem strange working in the kitchen simply for yourself.

So where can you begin and have little chance for failure? How about a good red sauce to coat pasta and chicken, or how about a lovely chili or soup during the cold months of the year? A little extra time can mean a wonderful meal and a kitchen that exudes the scent comfort and family. But what if you fail the first time? Good cooking is learned and you will make mistakes, but in the process probably create your own spin on a recipe.

When it comes to cooking exactness is not as a fine art like exceptional baking is and can be played with as you develop your own flavor combinations. I love to create recipes by taking an old concoction and giving it my own twist. But mostly I love to have fun creating good food for family and friends.

Those Summer Memories...

2008-09-01T00:32:00.012-04:00

I’m enjoying those last few days of summer as the new school year rolls into our lives. The funny thing is, I don’t have kids at home anymore but so much of what Fall is centered around school starting again and life returning to that daily grind.

Summer has many words and ideas to describe it, but fall has one – the end of freedom. It’s funny because though we only have a few weeks as vacation we adults fall easily into that “back to school,” mentality. It’s like the warmer weather sets the brain clock to slow with visions of beaches and slower and more laid back and lazy days that are reminiscent of our youth.

Life at this pace is set for that ever present summer beach read and I try to get lots read during this slower time of the year...but is it really slower or are we captured by an image that is pure memory and become the more relaxed, and less productive person simply because we want that time off like we had? Those endless summer days and weeks can be filled with memories, but I think what makes them what we strive for is our image of what has to be perfect in the rest of the year. We seem to be stuck in this, “I have to be and do perfection in my life; marriage; school; college or what ever drives your life.

Summer is that glimpse of the dream where you can fish, read that great summer book, or hike that ultimate spot. So, now that summer has only one more day – what are you going to do to make those last few moments the best memories ever?

Gray is The Color of My True Love's Hair...Now!

2008-08-26T22:35:00.007-04:00

Ah, the joys of getting older. No I don't mean getting old, after all I may be gray but I'm not old! I suppose I could color my silver locks, but at least now where I am in my life I am perfectly happy with these gleaming silver locks.

Though gray is on that come-back trail, it is still unusual to see in women my age. I think that is a shame since when I was young the women who had silver or gray hair naturally were in my opinion the most beautiful, and the most comfortable with who they were. That's what is so frustrating about our youth centered society for me. We miss so much of that wisdom that comes with the white hair if we spend time being "young." Besides, I wouldn't go back to my younger years for anything! Even with all the age related junk, the lack of worry and normat teenage angst is a wonderful thing.

Peace, and Life's Choices

2008-08-20T22:25:00.012-04:00

Quiet is
a bird in flight,
a smile,
in the blink of eyes.

Quiet can be
found -
alone,
or in many faces.
It
is centered on the
choices we make.

A New Story

2008-08-15T01:06:00.009-04:00

This is the beginning of a story that I'm telling. A story of someone I have known for years. The story of my grandmother from what I imagined was a truly magical place...of course with a little imagination thrown in!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The end of another week. Thursday is past, and it is the wee hours of Friday. I feel like I have been living here so much lately. Life here is quiet with few interruptions and no one to tell you how bad you were or how you might be a problem to their world.

I really love this time of the night because I feel a freedom from that culture I live in today. The one that only values money, beauty, or accomplishment. Many of us who live in the normal every day world find ourselves ignored, looked through as if we aren't even there, or ridiculed by both family members and the people those people that are our world.

Here in my office at night I can escape that world and create a small space just for me. This is where I dream and develop who I am, at least who I am on paper. It is here I develop my books, and here the dreams begin.

Some would probably say the dreams are either imaginary, or more visions than reality but I know they are visits from my past that can take me back to a time of real joy filled with the love of my Papa who always calls me back. Sitting here at the desk as I scrawl on my yellow pads I can smell the fires and all the smells of the circus that are like incense as I take them in and I can even almost touch the familiar things once more.

I can feel the wind of summer on my face and if I put my hands up to cover my eyes I know that world is there within the reach of my fingers - the fingers of that small girl in a world that seems to defy reality, and one that was totally mine. The world is my Papa's circus.

What is Your Life's Mission?

2008-08-11T23:43:00.015-04:00

What do you believe in passionately? What is a thought or idea that you would stand up for even to a best friend or parent? These are two questions that I think many of of us never take time to consider, these days. Careers, jobs, families, and fun are what we live for...vacations and relaxation are the focus when work and responsibilities are on hiatus. That was true for me for many years until I started to really face who I was. As a young person I had a passion for those who had no one in their corner, those who were different and often picked on or ignored in our society.

Until just recently I didn't see it as a real passion until one single incident brought such clarity to who I really was that I started researching as many essays and writings on kindness that I could find. And what I discovered was there are hundreds and hundreds of them many of them by those who we might know as important figures in our world and history. I was certainly surprised as to the total focus on what seemed such a simple concept. I began to really examine what my own personal raison d'etre, might be. It just seemed to me that we run, or stumble through much of life just doing things day in and day out without having a center or reason why we do anything.

Many people over the centuries and throughout the world have given their children special names that spoke to who they wanted their children to be as they grew into adults. That meaning for a given name often was a lofty aspiration that over the years was to become a personal mantle that became the center of that individual's life. I have chosen a purpose just recently for my life from now on. It's a simple idea, but I think Henry James expressed it the best when he said, "Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind."

We have way too many angry people in our world, people who hurt and belittle, or to whom the idea road rage, or any kind of rage in general is a constant mantra. Life is not simply to create wealth, or get ahead and leave a financial legacy for our families. But, it is to leave a real inheritance for those we touch every day, one that is centered in who we are to our very core. It often is thought of as patience, faithfulness, or even goodness but the best word that conveys the concept is simply kindness.

I have a long way to go to get past my own impatience and anger. Daily I still do and say things that I regret later. Though I have to admit I see the huge and gaping need for that kind of "gift" more and more in our every day lives. I'm not sure if I can pull of this major change. This kind of change can be a real challenge, but with so much hurt here it is an idea who's time has come - and it needs to be more than just a fleeting thought.

After Thoughts - Again, and Again

2008-08-08T00:59:00.012-04:00

Whoever said failure is the mother of success didn't really have to live through the agonizing pain of losing part of yourself as your writings continue to belong to the paper you use to work for - but you aren't a part of it because the paper has been "discontinued." Someone's writing is an extension of who they are - at least it is that way for me! But though my writing is still there, I'm no longer connected. It's like the umbilical cord has been ripped out of my body and I've not given birth to the words yet!

This is what I call an "UGH!" situation, and it's one I have no control over. I'd love to use some colorful metaphors, but they really don't help - even thought they are a bit cathartic at the moment of conception. It's funny, each of my previous careers started out so good and ended in a dead end road type of liberating moment. They simply spin those wheels and go absolutely no where.

Why couldn't I have had the courage to do this crazy stuff when I was younger?! This is painful to do when you're suppose to be getting in that old age rut ya know!

I think I had better just disappear for the evening before I do even more analyzing of this wacked situation.

Those Good Old Days

2008-07-28T13:32:00.005-04:00

Our area’s history holds keys to who we were, and are even today. That history gives our community and peoples a view of how the community began. Something simple like a yearly event or as simple as a walk into town could end up being the basis for a historical event through how it’s shared and recorded. When we look at history we often see it as events and people from a long time ago. That past seems far removed from who we are today, instead of being a real part of today’s world.

The Civil War like many American wars affected the whole of our country and even in Michigan the war and issues caused men to feel the call to volunteer, go off to war and return with memories and ideas that change the worlds they know.

Most of what we learn about history comes from books, and exhibits at museums. But, on August 8^th and 9^th the Holland Museum will host an event to help share living memories in the first of what will be an annual Civil War enactment at the Van Raalte Farm creating parts of the Battle of Utoy Creek, Georgia. Fought from August 5 to August 7, 1864 this battle touched many Michigan soldiers including a son of the Van Raalte family. Benjamin Van Raalte, Reverend Albertus Van Raalts’s son enlisted and fought with the company of the Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Though the battle was inconclusive, this became a part of General Sherman’s eventual thrust that assist the Atlanta Campaign and Sherman’s March to the Sea.

On Saturday, August 9th in Centennial Park the museum will continue the experience through a Union encampment at Centennial Park from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. There will be a Company drill, a look at the music from the period, the medicine of the era and a look at the clothing of that time period as well. There is a no charge for this historical event. Why not take the kids and make the weekend the beginnings of an historical encounter that can become a time to reach out and touch another time.

There is nothing like rubbing shoulders with figures from the past to help you better understand what life was like in those good old days.

A Small "i" That Melts Away...

2008-07-15T18:35:00.008-04:00

“When summer comes i’m going to…” In those dark days of winter we all promise to get out more do more when the weather is warmer. I did, and i have thus far. But the weather is turning humid and hot, and that is something i don’t do well in because i become a ball of sweat. I have since i was a skinny little kid. I don’t perspire like they say women do down South, i sweat! I can go through 3 sweat bands (of any kind!) in a single afternoon when working in my garden.

I have found that taking off my glasses helps in that it doesn’t all run into my eyes then, but it makes working in my garden a total chore. When i was little i use to hide as much of the day as i could under a huge lilac bush so as not to have to get drippy. And since i had difficulties with the multiplication tables i use to lie under my mom’s lounge chair and stay cool there while saying the tables over and over again to her while she basked in the sun. I’d do anything to stay still in the cool shade.

Today, i get out there when i can because i love my garden. I drink as much as i can during the day when working outside, but it never seems to be enough, because for the next 24 hours i inhale liquids. I also burn very easily with my lovely pale Irish complexion so the shade has become my constant friend.

With all that frustration, i continue to spend time outside. I’m often found in the shade, but make mad dashes to my garden with my head band, floppy hat and bottle of water on my hip. A garden is a place of refuge – and to have it look grand, it must be worked. So every lovely hot and humid day this summer remember to toast those who treasure gardens. Oh, and pass the glass, i’m thirsty!!

Even while walking downtown Chicago (our favorite place to visit!) i need to find every “watering” place to stop along Michigan Avenue. No not a bar, but any restaurant that serves water and ice tea! It can make for a long walk down that Magnificent Mile. I am always like a man in the desert searching for something to drink and it can sometimes prove to be really frustrating.

A Garden Walk

2008-06-26T22:09:00.017-04:00

As I've said before, gardening is a love of mine. Spring and early summer brings out some of the best of that triangle of soft earth and compost that harbors my array of the annuals and perennials. I also have a small table and window box to fill every year too! These gerberas are one of my favorites - and the bunnies too! I have to make sure they are up off the ground far enough or the daisies are chewed off at ground level.

I like the greens in the garden too, and these are some of my favorites! The texture and colors are crisp and cool on blisteringly hot summer days.

My clematis likes to play hide-n-go-seek on the trellis, and so do I when the sun's hot. I hide in the shade of one of our huge trees for a time of cool.

I think that the peonies in my garden are my favorite because they are so
delicate and hearkens back to what I remember of my Grandmother's garden.

Gardens for me are a place of work, beauty, and rest in the summer time. I look forward to planting and enjoying them every year.

Thanks for taking a walk down my garden path!

Song's that Inspire

2008-06-20T23:37:00.010-04:00

I'm upset about things that are happening in my life and when I'm upset I tend to turn to music to ease the pain. With my ethnic background that usually means I need a ballad, or a fast jig to get my heart back on track. Being Irish often means melancholy is a friend, but thank goodness never a very close one. Music has always been a source of peace and encouragement in times of trouble and my kids were often falling asleep to songs by the Chieftains, Clannad, or one of the Irish American groups from around the country.

Today there are so many good Celtic or Irish groups right here in the States and I have to say I enjoy many of them. There are songs that sooth, and those that bring on a strong sense of who I am, but whatever I like invariably ends up on my iPod today. (In the past I have been known to create by own compilation tapes to listen to, or sing along with over and over again.) I don't know when I discovered that for me music could be a force to gain strength from in any emotional moment, but I'm glad I learned of it's power in my life. I can find peace, strength, or even simply a sense of where I am in my jumbled up world on a daily basis.

Today, I need a song's power and peace because I don't feel very powerful, or very peaceful either. But for me, the songs that ring true are the songs that say that if we stand together, "shoulder to shoulder," so to speak so we can gain strength from each other's energy.

One such song has been in my heart repeating over and over lately. It remind me that I may feel alone, but I'm not. I guess you might call it my rallying cry right now, but it is also one that is the song that in the game of rugby stands strongly for a country that has separate nations but the same team that faces that sport's world. "Ireland's Call," by Phil Coulter is a real uniting force. And right now it's mine too. (http://www.irishlegendsrugby.ie/anthem.php)

Only a Few Steps Away...

2008-06-17T23:52:00.013-04:00

We all know that the economy is pushing people to take vacations closer to home, shorten the time away, or simply not take one at all because of the costs involved.

So why not try something totally radical? After over a year of writing about exploring my little part of the world for a local paper, I began asking people what they knew about their home area, and what I'm finding out is many have no clue what really is available to explore, hike through, or discover in the areas where they live.

Here's an idea...don't take a simple "one tank vacation" but start to become intimate with where you live. Almost every area has greenways where there are pieces of wild beautiful land that has been set aside for hiking and exploring the animals and plants that are native to your area. There are probably miles of places there along rivers and lakes that you never knew existed.

Not interested in that kind of discovery? Well, how about digging into history in the museums or historical houses in your town? For those who are as crazy as I am there are always the musty archives that hold a wealth of dusty newspapers and written histories along with a bevy of pictures, drawings and painting to give almost a complete picture of life from an earlier time. Hey, it's almost like stepping into a time machine!

Why not begin your own personal journey and find out about a whole "new" place. It might just be around the corner from where you live.

The Play's the Thing...

2008-06-15T22:15:00.011-04:00

The Tony Awards are on tonight. I am a real lover of the theatre, and though I've never seen a Broadway play or musical, but I have seen many locally created productions. I love what theatre can do to take you away on a trip of the imagination, or teach real truths of our world and the people who surround us.

I have to admit that one of my favorite musicals of all time is nominated for a Tony. South Pacific is one of those timeless musicals that reminds us about how painful it is when discrimination and intolerance is a real part of every day life.

But the best part of theatre for me is it stimulates thought and conversation that can change a person's point of view, or maybe even a community's.

Tim Russert, a Good and Dedicated Reporter

2008-06-13T23:30:00.006-04:00

I will always remember Tim Russert for his soft voice, tough questions and sense of family that was evident in his respect for his father and family. I have from the beginning enjoyed his style as well as his attention to detail in reporting, but what stood out for me was his primary focus in life, and that was family. Though he was one of the best political reporters and analysts in the business of government news his real everyday man persona helped us to realize that he wasn't simply an image on the TV screen but very real person, and a very good journalist.

I have followed his reporting for years. His in depth, to the point questions throughout his career have made him a force in journalism today. But I discovered another man in the book, Big Russ and Me which he wrote to honor his father's hard work and his focus on what was important - family. Within those pages I saw a man who had in many ways a childhood much like my own. His natural optimism came from hard times and a willingness to find that brighter side in all he did. I will miss his smile, his care for everything political and his willingness to not be the center of any interview. Instead he did his reporting and interviews as a gatherer of the information in a careful and decisive manner. He made it almost easy to understand American politics, as well as believe it wasn't all bad.

Our prayers are with his family and NBC where he guided so many. The hole his death has created will not be filled anytime soon.

Words....

2008-06-12T01:05:00.018-04:00

It's the sleepy, rub your eyes time of night, and here I sit gazing at a glowing screen that shifts colors as I page through the various sites I frequent daily. I think I am more than a bit too addicted to this little box and tower that stands on my desk, but I love to write, and so I expand my words from one side of this electronic world to the other.

Why do I write? A difficult question...but one I have to answer each time I sit here before the magic box to create in my own personal colors and images that all come out in black on white.

I write because the thoughts keep coming, because I need to empty my mind to be able to capture that elusive thing called sleep on any given night of the week. But mostly I write because I love the sound of the words as they bang out on that keyboard where the letters have all been rubbed off from use, and have returned back onto my own fingers to return and race around my mind only to find a new way to explode out again in those sights and sounds splashed on another page...again, tomorrow.

Breathe in Life

2008-06-09T22:19:00.003-04:00

Mondays are usually the most hated day of the week. Here in Michigan this Monday has been gray, misty and like the mood of the day, dark. But the soft quiet that comes with these gray days reminds me of why I like this usually unlikeable day.

For me, these gray days hold a beauty and quiet serenity you really can't find in the bustle of the rest of the week because it is a start - a new beginning and no matter the weather there is much to take in every moment, and actually experience the surroundings in your yard, as well as the path you take on the way to your job.

Slow down and take a breath for this new day and new start we all have each and every week of life.

Storms and Nasty Weather

2008-06-08T15:24:00.003-04:00

Weather. Here we have been inundated by some nasty storms over the past 24 hours. Rain high winds and hail have kept many people in and glued to their TVs. We got over five inches of rain yesterday - the most I've ever recorded here and we've lived here for over 30 years! I keep calling friends and family to make sure everyone's okay, too. (Thank goodness!) We live in sand mostly so the flooding hasn't been an issue here.

Life is made up of storms like these. They can be frightening and we never know how they will affect our little corners of the world. I'm fascinated by these weather events, but the after effects can be terribly devastating. We had many trees down, and roads totally washing out, but the long term repercussions can affect life all around us.

Here's hoping these nasty squalls, thunderstorms, and downpours don't make life miserable for everyone.

The Time is Now

2008-05-28T23:28:00.006-04:00

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” Albert Schweitzer

A simple thought, but a profound idea that we need desperately today. An idea that can change your life, and even of all those you come in contact with every day.

Anger and hostility, judgment and harassment are the ways that world gains control in business, and sadly also in relationships. I know because I’ve been the recipient of those climbing to the top over the top of others in many of the communities I've lived in over the years. Those propagating the hurt affect so many, but often end up harming themselves as well. Even the most beautiful and successful are vulnerable and those rich in sensitivity can offer something to those who believe they already have it all.

So how do we actually make change happen in our own little corner of the world? For me there is only one way and that is to treat others as we want to be treated or better yet to change the world we have to change how we see the world. I don’t know what will change around me…but I sure feel better about how I look at the world. I know that there are many who want to control and run my world, and that hurts sometimes. But as long as I can keep control over my actions and the way I treat others they can’t hurt me. And as long as I stand for kindness over anger and cruelty then I’ve won a most important battle – a battle that can and has made a difference in my life and maybe in some of the people I come into contact with every moment of every day. But what do I get for it? Contentment as well as and a measure of something we all crave in our modern world, peace - really small concepts that in my opinion can bring huge rewards.

Life Changes

2008-05-21T23:18:00.014-04:00

What is a it like to discover who you are and where you belong in the world...at 57 years old? It's fun, a daily discovery, and totally frightening!!! After many years of living in the shadow of an abusive parent and then spending years having that voice in my head tell me over and over again how stupid I was and being afraid of the results of that in my relationships - in the world that surrounded me, and sometimes closed in on me.

Well, now I am finding my way out of that maze having fun standing up for who I am and feeling totally alive for the first time. Since then I have made discoveries about myself that were both exciting, and truly terrifying at the same time. A scary part of the "new" me came when I saw my anger with people's negativity, as well as those who reject people - for any reason.

So I decided that I needed a mission statement - something to help me focus my energies with those feelings. My statement is simple, and yet it is the focus of my every day life today and from now on..."Kindness is the highest form of intelligence, and I need to practice it with everyone - including me, everyday for the rest of my life." I even have to remember in my zeal for kindness that I need to consider that kindness means caring about other people's feelings and not getting fanatical to the point of being pushy or angry at the person who doesn't see things my way.

I'm learning, and often see the changes but sometimes I feel like I've lost so much over the years. I have to admit that I like being where I am at this time in my life and life is a constant discovery of who I really am and how I can change my world even at my age!!!

Smile, it is Monday!

2008-05-12T15:46:00.008-04:00

Good Morning!!! Oh, it's not morning for you? Well, after writing an article all night, it is for me. I just got back from my patio where I had my first "cup a" and am enjoying the sun, even if it is a bit cool!

Enjoy the beginning of your week! I sure am!

Seasons of Color

2008-05-05T13:21:00.006-04:00

Sunday night. It's quiet now after a lovely spring day here in the Midwest. The trees are holding that spring green because we are not quite warm enough to have those leaves burst into their fullness, but I don’t mind because that green really dresses up these early crisp spring days. This is by far my favorite time of year, well next to the snows of winter that is! Spring holds such promise, and I hope it will be fulfilled with abundant flowers this summer.

I am not much for summer’s heat and humidity, but do relish all my flowering beauties and always look forward to standing in my small garden and having those soft sultry breezes whisper past my ears. I really embrace the season – that is truly when life is gorgeous!

Flowers in Spring

2008-04-28T23:03:00.012-04:00

Spring. For me means so many different things, but the thought, the picture that stays in my mind when I imagine spring after a long winter it is the first sight of a crocus or daffodil - that is spring's real statement of new life which is a totally new beginning.

Spring can be wonderfully gaudy in those new beginnings, or like when it first begins can be delicate and pastel and simple. Unlike the profusion of life in summer, spring can actually have many faces, and all new starts for that year's new season.

My paternal grandmother as she aged made a celebration of each decade of her life by doing something out of the ordinary for an "old" person. One decade she took up diving, one she took up snowshoeing but whatever she took on, she challenged herself to physically and mentally stretch. In her later years golf was one of those challenges and she always read volumes to keep up on an ever changing world. This seemed to her to be the way to the real fountain of youth.

I have taken up that same challenge - but in my own way. From this day forward I will try to find something new and lovely about life and myself with each new spring. I certainly won't wait for a new decade since I want to cherish all that I have in this life of mine. Like the flowers every spring I will stretch to touch those different and new things and embrace them.

Grandma C, here's to you and your every growing love for new beginnings!!

Family Connections

2008-04-27T20:16:00.017-04:00

In America, most of us who call ourselves Americans are really immigrants. Whether we're from some where in Europe, Asia, the Middle East or somewhere else in the world our histories are carried to this place of the immigrants. On the East Coast, Ellis Island was a door through which many families first wrote their name on the tree of this growing forest of America's new and growing family.

Many who landed new near Lady Liberty found homes within or just outside the grand city of New York, but many kept moving spreading through this expansive country we now all call home. My own history began in two areas of Europe - Sweden and Ireland, with stops to pick up relatives from Wales and the Netherlands as well of course.

Many of us know our histories, but many of us have always lived with only the knowledge of parents, grandparents and siblings but know little of those who came before us. Five years ago my mother-in-law put a yellowed wedding announcement into my hand and asked me to connect the dots for her.

I began online like many these days, but found only tantalizing bits of information - only really basic family connections but no real information. So, where does that budding genealogist turn for information and connections with those long lost ancestors? It actually began in the bowels of a local library. The smells of the old documents filled the basement space as I cranked through roll after roll of microfiche with newspapers from the period. As I began this impossible search, here I was hopeful since the bride had been born here!

My first hit on information was only a bit, but it gave a place to look for more - Washington State. For heaven sakes! I couldn't just go there, so where to begin was the question? Through the librarian there at the library I made the connection to the genealogical society in the specific area I was looking for information. After sending off a few emails and making some contacts they were going to help on some of the spots where they didn't have the information online locally yet. With that information I also began looking through what the society did have online.

After months of searching and digging through the dusty files and online I began to put together the beginnings of a history that was fascinating. This touch of research has really wet my appetite and I've really only begun the search. When will I be done? Who knows! I'm on my way to discovering connections to the old world, so I'm getting revved up for the next phase of my history treasure hunt!

For me, this is the beginnings of family connections - a connection that began long ago and connects the dots to where beginnings actually happened. What began in the late 70s with the first of the yearnings for discovering those personal histories has continued right up to today through my personal search. I love this hunt for historical pieces of my personal life picture!

Coffee is an American Treat

2008-04-21T14:00:00.008-04:00

Where do you get that first cup of coffee, or joe in the morning? I think many of us start with a cup brewed at home - no matter that how good a coffee maker you are that first cup is always a great start to any day!

I also like to discover a special place to have another cup, maybe in a comfortable booth or outdoor table somewhere local. We're lucky here in Holland to have quite a few places to comfortably settle in with a great cup of coffee. In most places you'll find students, those who like the Internet as well as those who read or simply sit and enjoy the surroundings.

Here the coffee house movement of the fifties has really had a reemergence. In the fifties it was a place to gather and have coffee, and often had poetry readings. Today the coffee is better in my opinion, there is an ambiance that is more European than in the past, and more accessible to everyone. Besides, the coffee is great!

Well, I'm off to enjoy the people watching, and some really good coffee!

Daffer-Down-Dillies

2008-04-16T22:33:00.006-04:00

The daffodils are beginning to bloom here. When I was little there was a name for them that use to make us all laugh. Those bright yellow pieces of spring sunshine were daffer-down-dillies and we use to skip along the field that led to the hill down to the creek where what seemed thousand of those golden flowers.

When we got there we'd all sit amongst the flowers and watch the wind and bees brush past them and then get up and run through them as fast as we could. Those days the blur of yellow and green gave an image of spring in the fast lane.

Today I can spend more time sitting and enjoying the daffodils, I can even contemplate the flower and it's soft crape paper like ruffled edges.

But I still call them daffer-down-dillies!

Freedom

2008-04-14T22:12:00.010-04:00

One lonely road
Once entered can
Be a lost cause.

Step out from the gray
And the mud
Onto a road paved
With much more
Than sunshine.

Moving on
Can be
Freedom.

A Room of Ones Own

2008-04-13T18:44:00.007-04:00

Blue sky today. With that touch of clue, and the sunshine I have become a sun worshiper all over again with the coming of spring! Right now I am sitting at my desk, peeking through the slats of the blinds that cover the window to see the large branches of a neighboring tree and enjoying the backdrop of puffy white clouds, and blue that almost takes the breathe away.

I consider my office/TV room the cave, it's dark and cluttered usually. I don't mind the cave feel because it's the only room that seems to catch the overflow from the rest of our house and really is a comfortable spot. The walls are lined with runners that hold shelves covered with books and miscellaneous other junk (junque!), and our computer desk is stacked with papers, and other paraphernalia that seems to slither its way down here all on it's own. We also have 2 filing cabinets, wrapping paper for gifts piled in a corner, a TV surrounded by four boxes that makes it able to be, a movie house, and receptor for the HD signals from all over.

This is all present in a room that is only about 8 X 10 feet! I love to be in it since it's often home to ideas, and to escapes from the world during any given day. Having a room of one's own to dream, write and sometimes simply ponder is truly a gift.

The other great part of this hideaway is the window which seems like a picture show too, since it is constantly changing it's views. From green to gray, from white to the yellows and gold of fall my "window-vision" gives a scene that isn't cluttered and very restive. For that the room something I am very thankful!

A Mystery that Captures

2008-04-10T23:38:00.008-04:00

Mysteries hold my attention more than almost any other genre at the moment, and the author who has captured my imagination is Kate Sedley, the author of the Roger the Chapman a series of mystery novels. I'm presently enjoying The Wicked Winter, and after our own nasty weather this winter I find it fascinating to see how those in the Middle Ages dealt with extreme winters and the problems they can create. Oh, and if you haven't guessed, the setting for the series is an England of the late 1400s. The author has closely captured the feel of the time, if not totally the language. But since I don't speak the English of the period, that's okay!

This tale centers around the death of a young noble woman and the winter that keeps everyone from the lowest to the the most wealthy together totally captured by a raging winter storm within the castle where the event has occurred - including (most likely) the murderer. From the descriptions of the life of the servants, to that of a chapman, or peddler, the author has given a good taste of the period as well as the stress surrounding the death. The anxiety that holds the mystery to who might have done the deed is there on every page too.

I found the book captivating, except for some of the language used by the main character, Roger the Chapman. At times it is a bit too modern and probably for the use of a more educated character. But in the same breath, I find that to capture the reader the dialog used is easy to follow and doesn't get bogged down with all the typical language and dialects of the period where many a reader would get stalled in the "thees" and "thous" that are usually used for books about the period.

I enjoyed this mystery and the view of the everyday people of England during the Middle Ages. Kate Sedley has an interesting character in the chapman and her stories have a depth that can truly capture the imagination.

The Times They Are a Changin'

2008-04-09T16:13:00.007-04:00

Hopes of spring are the center of attention in our area right now. We have some early spring flowers, but are a bit stuck in the "almost spring" weather. That is we're 40s and sometimes 50s during the day, and freezing temps still at night. The grays and browns are everywhere - though the grass is a bit greener, finally. I'm ready for spring...but not quite ready for summer!

Where the Wild Things Are...

2008-04-03T00:02:00.004-04:00

I had the shock of my life when I came out my back door with my dog, Foxy this afternoon...I saw something I never thought I would see in my small yard on five lanes of fast - a rather large wild turkey standing at least four feet tall! It had to be at least a 25 to 30 lbs!!

My sharpei/German shepherd mix dog which is a mid-sized dog at first dove after the bird - that is until she saw how big it was! She quickly ran behind me but the turkey had been spooked by then and took to the sky flying over the tops of our neighbors and another house as well. I never knew they could fly like that! After my close encounter with a wild turkey, I was still in awe as it disappeared.

All I could say was, wow."

Walking With History

2008-03-31T01:04:00.005-04:00

History can often be dry and uninteresting, or sometimes it can totally come alive and capture every part of your imagination. It can tell us who we are and what lives we could experience and know. In our every day walks everything could suddenly be different - it could become a world where we might walk beside people, and sometimes can even stand side by side with that day in a different time. When I think of those times in the early part of the century, I often think of my own favorite haunts in our small town. They are often those that look and feel of the town's early history. And if I tightly close my eyes I can almost see those people wandering in and out of my world.

What makes any place historical is often more than simply its age, or the nostalgia that it can call to mind. The Holland Peanut Store at 46 East Eighth Street offers an inviting combination of mouth watering aromas. From the roasted nuts and homemade chocolates that seems to permeate the air of the small store, and that's only the beginning because this establishment has a large selection of goodies for special holidays, or any kind of important occasion, but this store holds close a family history too that makes this confectionary gem a strong memory both past and present to many in our community.

The store, which has been a part of the city's fabric for over a hundred years, has so much more to offer than just tantalizing scents and memories, though. With square bins fit tightly together filled with all varieties of candies, glass cases filled with roasted nuts and specialty chocolates, colorful piñatas, storage tins, and an assortment of other small gift items. Their homemade ice cream creation the Nutty Paddle Pops are sensational!

But sometimes history here can be clothed in other forms too. Sometimes it can be found in the buildings that really have come to symbolize a city's center. One such icon here is the Tower Clock found on the corner of 8^th Street and River Avenue. Built in late 1892 this building first housed the Holland City Bank, and later the Chamber of Commerce. But the main attraction of this place is the huge clock that looks down over much of our downtown. Saved from destruction and restored by many donors including some wealthy patrons the Tower Clock in 1988 became a part of the changes that was known as the Streetscape project that brought to life our whole retail district. From an important beginning to continued life that huge time piece has continued to stand over lives, and many more stories than even I can imagine.

The First Colors of Spring

2008-03-30T20:46:00.006-04:00

And so begins spring...The first of the spring colors are arriving, from the daffodil fronds, to the purples, whites and yellows of the crocuses in my yard. I've seen to tips of tulip leaves for weeks but to actually see color is a real gift.

Tomorrow will bring rain and spring-like temperatures so I am in hope sof capturing more flowers with my lense!

Life in the Fast Lane

2008-03-26T22:50:00.010-04:00

Life here has become brighter, if not warmer. We've had temps in the high 30s, but the sun has shown spectacularly! Sun is something that we got little of this winter which is really hard for some people. I simply appreciate that golden orb in the spring because it means a new season.

So what is it about the seasons that I like? Everything! Each has a beauty all their own and like people, they have nuances within their personalities that aren't all beauty. In our world today there is no part for the things that:

1. slow us down and irritate our schedules.

The world isn't geared for interruptions like a little 'ole snow storm. Where in our drive to succeed and control our personal world did we loose the joy that comes from slowing down and marveling in the natural world? Yea, I know I'm ranting, but I wish I knew how to share the gift of seeing the natural around us instead of a seeing nothing but a huge and continuous hindrance to our way of life.

Between the Covers of a Book...Loving to Read

2008-03-25T22:58:00.005-04:00

Reading has always been an escape from my every day world. When I was young it was that mysterious destination to escape to when my learning disabilities made me feel like the class joke in elementary school. I always picked books that were from a different time period and learned through them to enjoy history and different and more exotic worlds from my own simple Midwest surroundings.

After fifth grade the world and the different cultural worlds began to fascinate me, and from then on I was more into biographies and stories of Europe, the Middle East and far East. It took many years to find my way back to fiction and mysteries, but when I rediscover them in high school I couldn't get enough of it! From Sherlock Holmes to Anne of Green Gables I rediscovered worlds that were sometimes similar, and sometimes foreign to my own American experience. I really enjoyed the world, the people, and the many places I found between the covers of my books.

As a young mother I was often confined at home with sick children a book became my only escape during a busy day, and I began reading more, and later in the evenings so as not to be disturbed. But I also read with my toddlers, and as they grew we started sharing books at the dinner table. I would quickly devour my own meal, and then read a chapter or maybe two from books I thought my boys might enjoy. From Gary Paulson to Arthur Conan Doyle we discovered together the wilds of a northern forest, or the smoggy streets in a London of the 1800s.

As they grew we also discovered that they shared my difficulties with learning and began our cooperative struggle to a path through the maze that was the school year. Though they had some difficulties that carried on into their adult lives they also had a strong love for a good story which often helped them past some of adulthood's early frustrations. Don't get me wrong - for people who have reading problems, it isn't easy to like, or even enjoy reading but a love of a good tale often helped them climb that mountain toward cracking the code of letters, and the meanings of the written word.

Now we enjoy sharing favorite authors and different genres in the book world. We don't always agree on who we like to read, but we always revel in the discussions of the ones we do. Now I'm reading with my grandkids, and loving those discoveries all over again.

A Long Drawn Out Good-bye

2008-03-20T22:23:00.004-04:00

Life has gotten more than a bit crazy for me lately, things breaking down and needing to be replaced, all the stuff that makes for an interesting spring time. I want to work in my garden!! I'm sick of snow, cold weather and simply winter in general. We washed my car today so of course it's going to snow 3-6 inches tomorrow. UGH!

Weather all over is crazy, and extreme too. So my wish for the coming week - after all this craziness is 45 to 50 degree temps and just a little bit of spring...please!

Recession and Change

2008-03-17T23:39:00.006-04:00

Monday is past, and yet we've had many changes today. Wall Street had a major drop courtesy of Bear-Sterns, and our recession riddled economy has frightened many, so what is life coming to today - tomorrow and on into the future?

Life in Michigan isn't easy now, tool and die jobs that use to be secure and something to be proud of are leaving for other countries and leaving many in this economy fearful and scratching their heads. If we send those jobs away many will retrain - but what about those who are in their 50s and will probably not be considered for other jobs because of their age? Where do they go? We have seen in our country so many different types of discrimination that we don't see it affected those who are older as a real problem. And this is only one of the many jobs that are disappearing. The jobs that are replacing them are service jobs with low salaries, with little or no benefits.

Are there answers to the conundrum we face over job loss and an economy that is sinking as fast as the government is throwing money at the problems? All these questions are are important to answer if we are to solve the financial crisis in this country. We need to look at how much we need to change our live styles to better accommodate our new economy. We need to look closely at our present consumerism driven society and begin to make changes both personally, and as a nation. Can we do it? I certainly hope so.

A Special Day

2008-03-17T00:03:00.004-04:00

It is Monday, March 17th...St. Patrick's Day!

May you be blessed with sunshine
And a spring day.
May your heart be
Buoyed with hope,
And grounded in love!

The Stirrings of Spring

2008-03-15T12:29:00.003-04:00

Winter is till trying to remain on stage, but ever so gently Spring is moving into the spotlight and making her warm personality felt in our daily lives. Today was sunny and almost 50 degrees. There are nubs of tulips peeking out through muddy gardens and even the grass has a greener tint.

I am ready to dig my fingers into the warm earth and recreate my garden again this season. Winter is a lovely season but there is little creatively that can come from that cold and white world. With the blue sky comes the first blossoming of colors this year, and I for one am ready to see, smell and touch that vibrant world once more!

St. Paddy's Day

2008-03-11T21:26:00.010-04:00

What is it like, if you’re really Irish? Is it a once a year thing that is all green beer, and a rollicking good time on that one saint’s day a year? The simple answer is of course no. Though we’re a people that enjoy a great tune and time together with friends we aren’t into green beer, that’s an American invention much like the wearing of nothing but green. We do like a good pint, but for many of us any saint’s day begins with church and ends with a meal and family.

The old fashioned word melancholy often is used to describe our attitude toward the world and that to is often part of who we are. Pain can often bring out that black side in all of us, but the small joys give strength and bring us together.

So why have the Irish become so much a part of the consciousness for many here in America and around the world? Through poverty and loss we’ve seldom lost our sense of humor, or our need for music to dance away the problems of any day.

So what makes us special? Probably the very fact that we know how to celebrate, how to put problems on the back burner and rejoice for the simple joy of being alive - come share this time, let’s raise a glass together to good music, good spirits, family, friends and all that is good in our lives!

Beannachtai na Feile Padraig!

May the blessings of light be upon you,
Light without and light within,
And in all your comings and goings,
May you ever have a kindly greeting
From them you meet along the road.

Eagles Fly!

2008-03-07T20:56:00.011-05:00

Here begins the rush to spring. By now everyone is passed even tolerating snow, slush, ice and frigid temperatures! I mean it really makes the journey in to work yucky!

Now, of course that's not true for the real winter enthusiast, they are those who wait for the ski trips and snow mobile rides that make the winter fun. But why is it that we don't like winter as a culture? If you think of the Native cultures that live up in Canada and beyond you know there are many descriptions and names for snow. So why is it that we get cabin fever? Some of it has to do with our culture that doesn't value the natural world much except in a picture frame, or if we do we want to keep out there - in the National Parks, or the wilderness areas. We're in the modern world and we cannot let this winter weather affect our commute to work, or to where ever we have to get right now.

If you died as a wealthy man or woman, but never experienced a sunrise sitting on a porch as a forest came alive you've missed the world. If you haven't watched the birds at a feeder or seen a hawk or an owl on the prowl for food you've really missed out on nature's beauty. John Denver's song is right and fits me perfectly we are so into technology and miss what makes life really tick - the gifts of nature all around us.

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin home to a place hed never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door......

And the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
I know hed be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high................

(Check out the whole set of lyrics the next time you get the chance, and appreciate the gifts all around you.)

Season's History

2008-03-06T13:57:00.016-05:00

Last night the last snow flakes of winter fell.
They're talking warmer days and sunshine,
Winter is history, they say.

When does yesterday
Become history?

The blue sky no longer
Peeks around the clouds but
Shimmers in an cloudless sky.

Now becomes something new,
And spring, dancing out into
A blinding spotlight begins that
New Day.
Yesterday, is history.

Kindness, a Necessity of Life

2008-03-05T13:38:00.001-05:00

Kindness is the highest form of intelligence. - Wayne Teasdale

Honestly, I'm not one who appreciates quotes. They touch certain people, but are usually geared more for the generalities of life. They hit home because we want so badly to be one of those people who is thought of as one who does those good, or important things. But too often our world of running at high speed all day every day, and not getting enough sleep helps to create the kind of people we really don't want to be - despite our very best intentions.

But this quote isn't encouraging or cajoling, it only makes a simple statement that in a world of high level genius, and great thinkers a simple action is truly the highest form of thought…the act of being kind to one another.

Call Me, the Accidental Tourist

2008-02-29T00:11:00.006-05:00

Visiting places, and being away from home has always been a complete thrill for me. Whether I'm on a commuter train heading toward a weekend in Chicago, or heading off to an island vacation in Norther Florida the excitement is something I can almost roll around in my hand - the feel is such a heady joy and that my friend comes from the chance to discover new places and people!

On the same subject, you need to know that I don't simply hop a train or a plane...trips are few, but they're always trips of a life time! For me me exploring new places is a gift that when opened becomes the best there ever was.

This year I got to travel to a place that was totally foreign to this Midwesterner. From the clear, crisp air of fall here in Michigan I landed in a hot, muggy place of enchantment with more history, beautiful beaches and strange creature foreign to most of my part of the world. In October I went to visit my youngest son on an island in North Florida. I hadn't seen him for well over a year and was excited about seeing where he lived and spending time in his part of the world.

The plane touched down in Jacksonville to a day that was rainy, hot and more than a bit humid. What kind of a vacation was this?? As I looked out over a group of strange faces I saw my son with the warmest smile and I knew it didn't matter - it was going to be great. But I also had a sneaky suspicion it held some real surprises too. We grabbed the luggage and walked toward the entrance and it is then I saw his car. Though old it really was well kept up. I reached down to close the window - nothing happened. I immediately looked at my son, "What's with the window?" I asked in my calmest voice. He smiled, "Oh, the car was such a great deal that I thought I'll just get new window motors with the next paycheck!"

We drove from the airport with a warm rain pelting the car and I felt the warmth on my arm. I suddenly did something that I hadn't done since I was a kid, I leaned out the window and let the rain run down my face. I felt right then that this was going to be the beginning of quite an adventure - how else would it start but with a warm rain and a wonderfully less than perfect car.

We took the highway around the city and as we came closer to the island I saw the signs for our exit. Thankfully my hotel was just a few miles down the road and after dropping the bags in my room we climbed back in his car to go get the compact car I had rented for the week.

We pulled into the rental agency and went inside only to find that the car I had rented hadn't been returned yet. "Come back in an hour." we were told, "It should be back by then." We climbed back in the car and since it was dinner time headed off to the beach and to the restaurant where my son worked to get a meal.

We pulled in on the hard sand of the parking lot and walked up the steps of a lovely old restaurant right on the Atlantic Ocean. I was tired and so hungry and at that moment the place seemed to posses the charm of an old friend with it's old Florida colors and some wonderfully tasty smells. Lovely old wood floors seemed to move in a permanant wave mimicking the nearby ocean, and the friendly faces of my son's fellow workers soon created a cozy atmosphere and a great place to really land after my flight. We sat over bowls of fish chowder and buckets of boiled shrimp and talked into the evening and watched the rain looking out at the beach and surf.

Afterward we headed back to the rental place to get the car only to pull in to an empty parking lot - save one lone car, a PT Cruiser. Where was my compact? After what seemed an eternity of being on the phone, the agent found out that the car was still not available. "How about the PT?" he asked grasping at straws. "It is a four cylinder and will be good on gas." We soon agreed on the details and suddenly I found myself behind the wheel of a car that made me feel like I'd driven into the world of Gidget and the Big Kahauna. Okay, So I know that dates me but it really felt like after all that had happened that I'd stepped into some movie in 50s California. Though it sure wasn't California, and I certainly wasn't Gidget! Something felt totally funky - and totally right. I suddenly felt a real sense of freedom and I loved it! And with that feeling was a zany sense of just what this vacation might have in store.

From that moment on this vacation world unfolded in a totally grand way, and nothing happened as I'd planned, but it happened more like the unfolding of a really special dream. We spent hours talking on beaches and in parks along the rivers and estuaries. As we walked the cement-hard sand I felt a real adventure coming on - that is if I could let go and enjoy whatever came my way. Things were bound to occur that I hadn't planned and I needed to grab everything the mistakes and foibles that came and enjoy the days.

A that moment I gave in to a sense of child-like wonder that sometimes washes over you when though disconcerting and unpredictable, the events happening were so right. What ever was to come my way that week would become experiences to remember and savor like that fine meal that had begun my own personal adventure.