R.J.'s Place

Bring it On

2020-12-14T09:36:00.003-05:00

As a believer in science, I am eager to be vaccinated against the corona virus. I have taken every vaccination that has been available to me and I am one of the lucky people who have no bad reactions to shots. Therefore, I will contribute to herd immunity and make sure I take this vaccination. If it turns into an annual necessity such as is the case with a flu shot, I will take it too.

Oh, So Clever !

2018-01-15T13:59:00.000-05:00

The collected works of Jacqueline Winspear is such a great companion for the cold, winter months. After a friend recommended the author, it has taken me three years to finally get interested.

I won't take time to review it, I would rather read the books than write reviews. Plenty of reviews are available online. To get to the bottom line, I highly recommend the series. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction will enjoy it.

The first book in the series is Maisie Dobbs. I was so intrigued, I quickly continued to the second book in the series titled Birds of a Feather.

While reading this volume, the reader discovers this odd piece of history:

http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWfeather.htm

I am looking forward to the rest of the series. To date, there are fourteen books and I hope Jacqueline Winspear continues to follow the adventures of Maise Dobbs.

Serendipity

2015-10-02T11:48:00.001-04:00

My part of the world has been obsessed for the month of September with the visit of the Pope. Many hours were spent on the local media talking about all the preparations and traffic plans. Now that it has concluded, they have continued to talk about the recovery and how it affected the region in the traffic, public transportation and local businesses. It became known as "coping with the Pope." It was good to see that people were willing to look at it with humor and interest even if they weren't Roman Catholics. It was good also to see that nothing undesirable happened and people were safe. Many positive things occurred as a result, and there were warm, fuzzy stories that left people feeling that it was worth the complications.

We watched segments of the event on TV and we didn't even consider moving from the couch to participate. We had already had our moment of Serendipity in April 2013 shortly after Pope Francis was elected and began his Papacy.

On a Sunday morning, we were taking a tour in Rome on April 21, 2013 and stopped at the Vatican. We went into St. Peter's Square and it quickly filled because the Pope was due to speak. We could see the window in the building where the banner was hanging and where he would speak.

It was a very crowded square and people had brought many very small children because there was a celebration of youth on that day. Everyone seemed so excited and they were very well behaved as a large crowd. When the Pope entered the window, a cheer went up, then the crowd became very silent until he finished speaking. He spoke to the crowd for about 15 minutes and we recorded a movie of the event.

It was a very exciting day, and not one we had planned. We just took a tour of Rome and that was where we happened to be at the time the Pope spoke. We aren't Catholic, but it was very uplifting to see so much good will among so many people. It was an orderly, respectful, well-behaved crowd. We were very fortunate to be there at exactly the time the event occurred so it was a once in a lifetime experience. We enjoyed it even more because we had not planned it. We were just in the moment going with the flow.

High Roller

2015-02-26T11:25:00.001-05:00

On our last trip to Las Vegas, we were eager to experience the world's tallest observation wheel. The trip on The Linq at the Quad takes 30 minutes and each pod can hold up to 40 people. There were only five in our pod on a Tuesday afternoon. We paid $25 each for the ride. It was a spectacular structure and I don't mind heights, but now that we have done that, I doubt that we will do it again for a long time. We saw it during the day, but I suppose night views are very different.

Each pod didn't seem large, but it could hold a lot of people. We were fortunate that we could move around and see each view in all directions. As we boarded, the wheel kept moving and we jumped on board through the open doors. I suppose they stop it if a handicapped person is boarding.

It seemed quite roomy inside the pod because we only had five people in our pod.

The view from the top of the circuit looking to the north at the hotels on the Strip.

The structure to hold the apparatus was every superlative I could remember.

Cars and buses on the ground seemed tiny.

The view to the South along The Strip.

Pictures taken through the pod glass often had reflections.

I like how they developed the new area that approaches the structure because it sits back from the main street, Las Vegas Strip. There are shops, restaurants, and hotel entrances along the two blocks that are pleasant to see as you walk toward the High Roller.

Pennies For............

2015-02-22T10:13:00.000-05:00

The educator in me roars to the forefront when my grandchildren visit and I do my lesson plans to have activities for them, hoping we can spend some memorable time together. Thanks to a very bright lady's web site, I found an activity involving pennies.

We collect spare change in a plastic container in my kitchen, so I separated the pennies into two groups--the shiny pennies, and the dark pennies. I put them into different dishes and my granddaughter who is nine has a great curiosity about stuff so I asked her how they were different. She quickly saw that some were shiny, and some were dark. Then I asked her why they were different but she didn't know. So I asked her if we could make them the same. She thought that the dark pennies could be made shiny also.

I asked her how to make the dark pennies shiny and she said we should wash them in soap and water which we did, but it didn't change the pennies. I asked her if there might be other ways to change the pennies. Since her mom cleans things with vinegar, she suggested vinegar. We tried vinegar and nothing happened. She suggested that we separate them into two different dishes and try different things on them and keep in mind what worked and what didn't. According to my "lesson plan," salt should be added to the vinegar and I asked her if that might work. She thought that would be a great idea so we added salt to one container and let it soak several minutes. We had not measured quantities in either dish. We let them soak and some pennies became brighter, and some did not.

When I asked her why, the whole family got involved. My hubby was a metallurgist in grad school, and told her about the metallic content of pennies. My son was a chemist in grad school and looked online which showed us how that the metallic content changed with different dates of production so she started looking at the dates of all the pennies. He told her about the oxidation process and why the Statue of Liberty is green. Her mom was a business major, so she told her how much it costs to produce a penny and how it isn't worth what it costs to make it. Her younger brother played with the shiny pennies and counted them to be part of the event.

They had to go home before we finished the whole project, and she asked me to leave the pennies separated into groups so we can analyze the experiment and draw some conclusions. We will also go into some web sites that suggest other methods like Tabasco sauce, lemon, or coke for making pennies shiny and the chemistry gets really interesting when combined with a nail.

I had already printed some sheets listing the Scientific Method for elementary school children so when she returns, we will go through the process and she can see what we did and how to present the results. I did not want to introduce the paper in the beginning, I just wanted to get her involved in the process and analyze it later. She was very good at suggesting variables and we will recap those details later. She will be learning a new vocabulary based on a simple activity. She had a really exciting experience, and I loved how the whole family got involved. I enjoy working on these projects with her because she is so excited to explore new experiences. I like to make learning fun for her and kitchen chemistry is cool.

Klutz of the Week

2015-02-09T12:21:00.002-05:00

It has not been a good week for my right hand. When I was sewing a new set of kitchen curtains, I had put pins in a hem, and caught a finger with a pin--still gives me chills when I think about it. I hate sticking myself with pins, but it happens when one has a sewing project.

Next day, another finger got a plastic cut like a paper cut, but it was from the sharp edge of a plastic bubble form that fits over my calligraphy box. I don't think of my self as a klutz, but stuff keeps happening. I always try to be careful, but I will have to try harder.

I reached over my desk to pull the cord to open the front curtain in my office this morning. My hand slipped and I impaled my thumb on a sharpened pencil in one of those cups where you store pens and pencils. The grandchildren like to use the electric sharpener to sharpen pencils, so every pencil they could find now has a very sharp point. I'm great with 20/20 hindsight. I took them out of the cup and stored them in a desk drawer but too late to save my thumb. I turn pens down with the points at the bottom, but the pencils were sticking up--not a good plan.

As if that wasn't enough, I returned from the gym and proceeded to make coffee in the coffee maker. I was washing the carafe before putting water in it when I started to move it from the sink to the counter top and caught the edge on the sink. It just popped a hole into the bottom where the glass curved. It wasn't very thick glass for sure, and the carafe is a pain to wash because the top doesn't detach. It fits against the coffee basket so it depresses it enough that you can remove the carafe enough to pour one cup of coffee before the whole carafe is full. I had another carafe in the basement with a different coffee maker that I didn't like and it is kind of similar, but not quite. It isn't quite as tall. It works, but I have to hold it up about an inch to get it to depress the coffee basket enough to drip the coffee. What a pain.

I will have to see if Mr. Coffee sells a carafe replacement. I got it at Target and have to return something else tomorrow. For that very reason, I refuse to pay tons for coffee makers because it isn't the first carafe that has been broken in this house and the carafe is the secret to their ability to sell so many coffee makers. They make them with lids that attach to the carafe which makes it harder to wash them and then they get broken more often. If you can't get a replacement, gee, you have to buy another whole coffee maker. Also the carafe is different shapes and sizes for all the coffee makers even if they are all 12 cup carafes. More than anyone wants to know about coffee makers. I had three old ones in the basement and not one had the same size carafe even though they all hold 12 cups. I gave one to Goodwill and it might have been one that would have fit--can't win. I may have to just buy another coffee maker because the carafe will cost as much as a new coffee maker. The coffee maker I was using is so new I haven't even cleaned it with vinegar yet.

So I hope my right arm and hand don't fall off from all my injuries. I often laugh at the Sunday column that Lisa Scottoline writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer, because she finds a lot of humor in all the crap that happens during her week, but I have a harder time writing about it in the humorous way that she seems to write. I haven't found the humor in it yet, but it must be there somewhere.

January: A Photo Essay

2015-01-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

The photos chosen look best when viewed full screen. Click the double window to the left of the words "Make a Photoshow" to view full screen.

An Art Show

2014-03-01T15:58:00.004-05:00

Between snow storms, we attended an art show for Delaware Charter Schools, one of which is the school our eight-year-old granddaughter attends. It is astounding to see the variety and quality of works produced by student artists.

A shark vacuum.

I am encouraged to see that the schools continue working with students in this area along with the basic academic programs. Kids greatly benefit from the time they spend on these projects and learn incredible lifetime skills. It is all too easy to cut the arts programs first when school budgets falter, but it is at great expense to the future of students. Art shows give the kids an opportunity to show their work, but also to build greater support for the concept of learning through art.

Man on a snail climbs a mushroom.

Our granddaughter is in 3rd grade and she had three entries in the art show. It was a large exhibition of student art work and I took a few pictures of some of it. The students were very proud of their efforts, the show was well-attended, and everyone was very supportive of their works. I wish I had taken more photos. We were caught up in the moment and enjoying it with our family.

When our grandchildren visit, we work on projects like mobiles, sock puppets, pinwheels and paper airplanes. They like to paint, but creating simulations of rocket ships or dioramas are more interesting to them. People learn in different ways and the arts give kids many choices to develop their creativity. We enjoy the time spent working on projects and talking about them. It is a great way to spend time with our grandchildren. Recently, my granddaughter and I created this aquarium diorama.

One Summer

2014-02-14T12:50:00.000-05:00

One Summer by Bill Bryson was my blizzard book for 2014. It kept me amused, entertained and informed through a winter like we haven't had in a long time. I don't often look to nonfiction and especially a historical treatment of 528 pages for my reading material. I've enjoyed parts of his previous books so I thought I would try this one as it was available to download from the public library. I wasn't bored, but it was a bit slow in places. I enjoyed his sense of humor about the historical characters and how they influenced history. I will never again think about his cast of people in the same way.

After reading the book, I read a number of reviews of the work from Amazon, New York Times, Boston Herald, Barnes and Noble and others. I was interested to see how professional book reviewers reacted to the book. I wanted to get a reading on how One Summer would stack up as a "classic." To refresh my memory from my literature classes of fifty years ago, the web makes research extremely easy. I found some interesting discussions of the requirements of a "classic".

What is a Classic?

"A classic usually expresses some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty.

--A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic.

--A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings--partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses.

--A classic makes connections. You can study a classic and discover influences from other writers and other great works of literature. Of course, this is partly related to the universal appeal of a classic. But, the classic also is informed by the history of ideas and literature--whether unconsciously or specifically worked into the plot of the text."

It is my personal opinion that a "classic" provides inspiration or is a springboard to further interest in a topic. It inspires and is thought provoking. It allows us to learn something new about ourselves. One Summer certainly influenced my previously held impressions and assumptions on a variety of subjects. My notions about certain people in the America of the 1920 years were permanently altered. I suspect if high school students took the opportunity to view history through reading One Summer, they would find American History far more interesting.

As a retired research librarian, I can appreciate his bibliography spanning 119 pages. A lot of work went into One Summer. The importance of quality of sources is a major requirement of any respectable book of this genre. The resulting flow of information in his discussion seemed more than adequately objective to me. Even so, some reviewers disputed some of his statements. I haven't vetted every one of his sources, but it occurs to me that he consulted numerous primary source materials printed with copyright dates like 1917, 1920, 1925, 1931. I read through his list and the primary sources would have been the older materials rather than works with recent copyright dates. I was impressed with the number of respectable reference books he mentioned throughout the book. I have visions of him rolling through decades of the New York Times archives of microfiche. I hope he used the National Digital Newspaper Program archival materials from the Library of Congress for first hand accounts of events and interviews of witnesses to history as they occurred in the news. He has a discussion at the end of the book about visiting the Smithsonian Museum--National Air and Space Museum to look at The Spirit of St. Louis and his interview with the curator. His list of sources are available on his web site.

Even though One Summer (October 1, 2013) has not stood the test of time, I think it more than meets the other requirements of a "classic."

One Summer was a very exciting account of that historical summer of 1927 along with the historical background and followed by a "what happened to..." section. I enjoyed it so much, I am considering buying a copy and reviewing parts of it again. When reading the digital version, I missed all the pictures which are also documented and footnoted. Reading One Summer was more restful than shoveling snow.

The Conversation

2014-02-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

Since the late 1990's, I have maintained an ongoing "conversation" through e-mail with a friend. We call it a "conversation" because it is conducted like a conversation. We "talk" back and forth several times a week and sometimes several times a day. It is a fun experience with many benefits. It is very cathartic in many ways, newsy in other ways, and it keeps an ongoing friendship without having to live near each other. We live on opposite sides of the U.S. and over the years, we have kept in touch through many geographic regions.

We first met in 1968 when the husbands were in graduate school together. Our children were born around the same time and we kept in touch over the years through several moves but they have moved around the country more than we. As the children grew older, and we were busy with careers, we lost contact for years except through Christmas cards. Due to a family illness in the late 1990's, the "conversation" began as a way to keep updated on the circumstances. In order to respect the privacy of both parties, the details are being glossed over with superficial information.

When stressful situations enter the lives of people, it is hard to know what to do, how to help, and saying a few words are helpful, but we always want to do more. Years ago, I read an article in the old Reader's Digest about a situation where one person wanted to help another but the traditional cards and flowers just didn't seem to be quite enough. The main idea of the article was that people can be there for each other, not just for a crisis, but over "the long haul", through thick and thin, to also share the good times with people. I have read that widows have a continuing problem through their circumstances whereby people are there during the crisis and slowly fade away. The ensuing loneliness of being a widow can become problematic. No longer part of a couple, the widow experiences the loss of friendships as well as the loss of the spouse. My take away from the article was that if people really want to do something for others, just being there for the long haul is the most meaningful thing one can do for others. The author of the article talked about sending cards to the other person and keeping in touch over many, many years.

The circumstances of my pen pal and myself find us beyond the initial illness that was treated successfully with families intact and the addition of several grandchildren. The conversation has continued over the years and could have produced quite a few books, but we have not attempted to produce hard copies. It is like a conversation because it covers many topics and through thick and thin, we are there as a sounding board for each other. It is certainly cheaper than therapy but it is very effective in that respect.

The conversation always respects boundaries because with a long friendship, we know the areas where we agree and the topics about which we disagree. So we just avoid the hot button topics and "agree to disagree". We tend to agree about politics and religion but seldom discuss either. Mostly, we discuss families, hobbies, the day's events, weather, day-to-day life such as clothes we like, shopping we have done, recipes we like and so it goes on and on--like any other conversation. When we discuss decisions we need to make, it is helpful to type about ambivalence on a subject to clarify how we feel about it. However, when we offer how we might handle the other person's situation, we make sure it is just a comment that respects the fact that the other person's decision will be their own. We are very careful to respect the boundaries of the other and just say, "Let me know how you work out that one." Even if we might feel strongly about certain issues, it is necessary to let it go in respect for the friendship and recognize that the other person may need to handle something differently. The give and take of a long friendship can be very rewarding, but respecting those boundaries will allow it to thrive. We don't feel the need to be "right" at the expense of the friendship. People have the right to independence in their choices.

I have a family member who is 94 and maintains a friendship with another lady she met around 1940. I have read that siblings are the longest relationship a person can have. When a person is an only child, that relationship isn't possible and it takes special effort to maintain long-time friendships. Years ago, there was a song sung by Dionne Warwick called "That's What Friends are For".

"Knowing you can always count on me for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for"

It has been many years of fun to keep our friendship and conversation going. No matter what we are doing on any given day, we keep in touch and share our experiences. Even when we travel, we support each other through the most mundane things--the dryer broke; the grandchild won't eat; the MRI was perfect; the furniture needs new covers... It has become an experience that we would greatly miss, and so we continue the conversation. I could continue that conversation as long as I am able to type and the computer works.

Springtime Under Glass

2014-01-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

We knew a blizzard was on the way today, Tuesday, Jan. 21 so we had a good reason to go to Longwood Gardens on Monday. A balmy day near fifty degrees was a huge contrast to today's snowstorm which is forecast to accumulate over a foot of snow. The conservatory was decorated with all the springtime favorites. It's always gorgeous and makes everyone smile.

Since temperatures are dropping rapidly today, it makes me wonder how much heat loss they sustain to produce a springtime atmosphere in the conservatory. The plants were thriving as usual and the aroma of jasmine and gardenia greet you when you enter. The springtime colors of yellow, pink and purple were abundant alongside some winter favorites like amaryllis, poinsettia, and cyclamen reds.

The silver Mediterranean gardens and desert landscapes kept very arid conditions even with dew on the windows. It is always a feast for the senses to visit their beautiful displays.

Mr. Magoo

2014-01-14T12:31:00.000-05:00

There are days when I venture out into the wide world, I wonder if I should be like Mr. Magoo, classic cartoon character from the past. His wide-eyed optimism and “who gives a flip” innocence is so appealing when considering what happens in the world of today, it would also be helpful if everyone had a “Cholly” to save us from our own challenging situations.

I began thinking about Mr. Magoo when I was driving home this week to be confronted with a lady heading toward me on a one-way street. Long story short, we managed to avoid catastrophe, she went on her way and I mine, no harm, no foul. It could have ended far differently.

Also this week, I was driving into the local post office on a one-way street entrance when I had to wait for a lady pulling out of a parking space in the wrong direction and trying to exit the parking lot by going out the same direction that she had entered, which was a one-way street. I went on my way and paid no attention to how she finally exited the parking lot. It was doubly annoying since I had just waited through a very long traffic light behind a fellow who was so busy with his cell phone, he ignored the green light and a line of traffic behind him had to wait through two cycles for him to stop using his phone and pay attention to his driving. Yes, yes, at least the car was stopped while he was on his phone. He could have pulled into a parking lot rather than choosing a traffic light stop to use the phone.

Actually, I am beginning to feel more like the “Cholly” who has to patiently wait out the Mr. Magoo, clueless drivers of the world, and save them from their carefree approach to traffic laws or patterns.

I live near a very busy north/south highway that is divided in several areas and it seems to confuse some drivers. However, a left turn lane into a shopping mall should not be a mystery and when the light goes red, traffic is required to stop. I had to sit waiting under a green light waiting for five, yes five drivers, to continue in the left turn lane while ignoring the red light in the left turn lane. Oncoming three lanes of traffic had the green light, but the five drivers didn’t care. Cholly had to save all the Mr. Magoo drivers that day. Three lanes of traffic sat blowing their horns while five people continued to turn left into the mall. “Blocking the Box” is being taken more seriously in some areas thankfully.

When the headlines scream “man shot in theater over texting argument”, I’m not surprised. Cell phone use in theaters have made it such an unpleasant experience that I have become a fan of Netflix. I watch movies in my own home rather than putting up with inconsiderate people acting like they are at home when they are in theaters. When among the public, we never know who is mentally ill, carrying guns, high on drugs, physically impaired, or just plain criminals looking for trouble. We have more people in the “Cholly” category in the population thankfully, and all we can do is try to work around the situations, while Mr. Magoo blows it off with “Oh, Magoo, you’ve done it again.”

Wallander

2014-01-07T12:49:00.002-05:00

We have been having fun with the Wallander Series from Masterpiece Theater because it is available on Netflix. The series we like has Kenneth Branagh who does drama very well with his Shakespearean background. I have not read the books written by Henning Mankell, nor have I seen other productions of the series such as the one with Swedish actors. It is about a Swedish detective who deals in dreary murder mysteries, but it is a very compelling mystery series. The environment is very dark, depressing and moody. The people are very somber and they seem so depressed and almost afraid to be cheerful.

I don't know why, but it is almost over the top and makes me smile because it works so hard to set a dreadful atmosphere. We always laugh when his cell phone rings because it is such an annoying ring tone. It is like scraping finger nails over a chalk board. It just makes my skin crawl.

I highly recommend it because it seems such a relief when it ends and the perps are revealed and arrested or contribute to their own demise in the attempt. It is very absorbing and like a lot of British productions in that it isn't like action adventure American films. This series is about people and the endless nuances of human nature. Guns show up once in a while and sometimes a car is trashed, but it is mostly about the people and the agony of their lives because, after all, they live in a most depressing part of the world. At first I thought it was in Denmark, the land of Hamlet, but it is Sweden. All the same, those Scandinavian countries have the most wonderful vegetation, but it is always cloudy, foggy, rainy and dreary in the land of the midnight sun. Obviously, the sun occasionally comes out to produce all those nice greens and flowers, but they rarely show it--that would be much too cheerful, I suppose. We all need a little vicarious pathos in our lives to remind us how much better we find our own existence.

I notice so many things in that series beyond the plot. Something has to be very absorbing for me to notice something other than the plot. I am such a plot junky. I am hooked on the presentations and trying to decide if I want to tackle the written version. We have seen three of nine episodes that are listed. I will have to see if there are more that we haven't found yet. They are very long for each episode but there are no commercials or breaks. I would be thrilled if they continued the series and produced a few more seasons with Kenneth Branagh.

The Thieves of Manhattan

2013-06-13T13:20:00.000-04:00

The title drew me to this book and it is as mysterious as the plot. It is about a young aspiring author, Ian Minot, who can't get his work published by a world of publishing that is rapidly changing and doesn't respect him or his work. He learns more than he wanted to know about how books really get published and what really sells from an older, cynical, ex-editor, Jed Roth, who teaches him about life and writing.

I didn't know if I would like the book or even finish it, but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It is a fascinating read about distinguishing fact from fiction in the literary world and in the characters who cross the path of the young writer. He sees how people can change personas and perceptions as easily as they change coats. He starts to suspect that no one is who they seem to be and that everyone is lying about not only their true identities but also the validity of their published writings. Even though he is jealous of published writers, he is scornful of the nature of the publishing world of people who are far too impressed with themselves. People are "gaming" other people and everyone has an agenda.

Especially intriguing are the sections when the seasoned editor, Roth tells the neophyte, Ian, that his work is too ordinary--ordinary people with ordinary lives where nothing exciting happens. However when Roth shares his own writing with Ian, Ian realizes that he is a much better writer than Roth. They form an uneasy partnership to polish a work of fiction and get it published as Ian's memoir since that seems to be what excites the publishing world. Ian wants to be published; Roth wants revenge on the publishing world for perceived slights.

Ian begins to suspect that the memoir is about crimes that have been committed and that he is being set up to take the blame. It is a satisfying, intriguing adventure full of surprises and as exciting as the world of publishing would have it to be. The life of the main character takes a few turns I had not expected which I always like in a good summer beach book.

Looking for Me

2013-06-13T08:04:00.000-04:00

On the day that the first tropical storm of the new season arrived in my region, it was easy to justify a day in front of the computer while the rain poured through the trees in the window behind my screen and the laundry was chugging away without my help. The hours fly when surfing the web is a trip into dozens of worlds unlike my own. It is entertaining, amusing, appalling, and fascinating to visit the inner workings of the minds of other lives. Some are very foreign, some are very familiar. I wondered how many other people were doing the same thing across the globe. Why do we do this? What are we looking for? Why is it so absorbing?

We can visit Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and endless other popular places to connect with other people to glimpse whatever they will reveal of their lives. We accept, discard, and consider what it all means to us. We are looking for ourselves. Who are we? Why does a certain life experience appeal to us while another is discarded as unacceptable? I have to decide if playing games is a worthwhile activity to include in my life. I have to decide if taking pictures will be rewarding for my personality. Do I really want to spend my time reading a book about World War II that someone just reviewed? Will it give me any insights into my psyche; will it make me feel good or will it make me feel bad? Yes to this, no to that. So many questions to be answered.

I grew up in an era when so many technological toys were not available and the quest into self-discovery was a different journey. We had to seek out the company of people in our geographic area to see how we could garner some wisdom through their lives to pick and choose what made us comfortable in our own skins. It was a much slower journey to become ourselves. These days constant noise across the globe 24/7 can be overwhelming. I begin to doubt if I can find myself in the middle of so much over-stimulation.

I can't decide if all our technology is better or worse for today's generation. Perhaps this global village will provide companionship to the lonely, insight to the confused, comfort to the infirmed and entertainment to the bored. Considering the number of people addicted to self-destructive habits, all of us need something to fill our lives.

At times when I am the only person in my house, I am glued to the computer screen. That probably says a lot about me. I'm still stuck to the computer rather than walking around permanently attached to a smart phone. Will the time come that I drop the land line, cancel cable computer and live my life on a smart phone communicating with 5,000 BFF that I've never seen face to face?

Chunky Monkey

2013-06-10T13:43:00.000-04:00

This is a tasty summer dessert. It can be a smoothie, or refrozen into soft ice cream consistency or you can drink it with a straw like a milk shake. It is very cold and delicious but very nutritious. It is dairy-free, and gluten-free. I made a few personal adjustments, but I found it on http://fastpaleo.com/chunky-monkey-ice-cream/

Chunky Monkey

1 banana
1 can 13.5 oz. coconut milk
1/2 C. chopped pecans
1/2 C. chopped strawberries
1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips or 2 Tbs. cocoa powder

2 Servings

Cut the banana into chunks and freeze it. Put the other ingredients into separate containers and refrigerate them until the banana is frozen.

The amounts of the ingredients can be adjusted to personal taste. I sometimes add other fruits and leave out the chocolate chips.

Put all ingredients into a blender and I use the "aerate" setting until it reaches the consistency I like. Sometimes I pulverize it until everything is the size of specks and drink it like a shake/smoothie.

At times, I like to leave the ingredients in pea-sized chunks and eat it with a spoon. It can be eaten in a variety of ways.

Sometimes I put it back into the freezer for an hour until I can eat it with a spoon as I would eat ice cream. If it is left in the freezer too long, the ingredients separate and the coconut milk freezes as hard as ice. It has to be thawed at that point and remixed in the blender if it freezes too hard.

Know Thyself

2013-06-04T13:51:00.001-04:00

I tried to read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, but I did what he did. I didn't read all of the book and he skipped hiking parts of the Appalachian Trail. He began his quest to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine with a lot of optimism and naive assumptions. It quickly became an exercise in survival. It was a good lesson in geography and history of the regions where the Appalachian Trail meanders through the Eastern part of the United States. Along the way, it became convenient for him to begin skipping parts of the trail for various reasons. The trail was never fully developed to the extent that the planners had intended which made it very difficult in some regions.

It had some interesting moments and was a little funny at times, but I kept wondering why he was doing it. Maybe it is like "why they climb the mountain..because it is there." I've read that people in Europe walk a lot and hike a lot and I think he got into that when he was living abroad. I know there are folks who like to hike, but I think they don't take too long to figure out a little goes a long way. I don't need six hours in the wilderness to remind me how much I enjoy a hot shower, clean toilets, clean beds, and warm food cooked on a stove.

I found parts of the book to be tedious and boring, so I skimmed big sections of it. It is a good "how to" manual for those who want to commit a few months of their lives to hiking the Appalachian Trail. I have to wonder if the book would encourage or discourage anyone seriously considering such an undertaking. I have a lot of respect for his research and his list of suggested readings. I enjoy his folksy style of writing layered over some well-considered advice on the topic of serious hiking.

I stopped reading it before page 300. I skimmed over the rest. I went to the last chapter and read how he felt about the whole experience, but I thought it could have come a lot sooner. Generally, it was too much information, that I didn't need or want. I preferred mining for his nuggets of "self-realization" as I read how he reacted to various situations. His revelations about other hikers that crossed his path would have been a red flag to me. There are criminals in nature as much as on a big city sidewalk.

He learned a lot, and I suppose he wanted to know all of those things and wanted to write a book, but I didn't really care about most of it. I found the lesson about hypothermia to be good to know and a word to the wise to those who should stay out of the wilderness. I also thought the notion that it is dangerous to wander off the trail was a good piece of advice. Everyone has their levels of tolerance and I glaze over at the idea of spending that much time in the woods. Mention bears, snakes, insects, challenging weather conditions, and mind-numbing exhaustion, I could be quickly cured of the impulse to wander into the woods even with a GPS and a cell phone. I think he discovered the stuff of which he is made and sounded a bit sad about it. I'm sure he found some parts of the experience to be very rewarding. Whatever they were, I'm okay with not having that experience. I'm not willing to pay the price he paid. He did a respectable amount of hiking the Appalachian Trail, and wrote a book which I could vicariously enjoy without making such a huge commitment. I enjoyed his Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid more than his Walk in the Woods.

Microwave Multitasking

2013-06-03T14:13:00.000-04:00

Everyone has a microwave that is used often in the course of a day. It's great for making a cup of tea or coffee--two minutes to heat water on high heat. Defrosting freezer items can take longer such as some frozen meats might take ten minutes on medium to low heat. Frozen items like precooked chicken can be heated in two minutes. Cooking a raw potato quickly can take only 6-8 minutes in a microwave. Microwaves are often used around my house to heat some leftover foods like vegetables, or spaghetti, etc. Snacks like popcorn or pretzels are easy to heat in a microwave.

So with all that stuff taking time to prepare, what to do with the two minutes that it takes the microwave to heat something? It's not enough time to go back to reading my book. It's not enough time to go back to preparing other things for a meal. After all if a cup of soup is in the microwave, it might boil over, so there I stand watching the turntable inside while the soup heats. It became obvious that it was a perfect opportunity to do a little multitasking while keeping an eye on the contents in the microwave. It isn't multitasking in the truest sense of the word, because I'm just watching the microwave do something and I want something to do while I watch it.

In the two minutes that it takes to heat a cup of water for tea, it is possible to do 50 lunges. Jumping jacks make a good choice, because one limits the time one does those anyway. Squats are easy to do in place while watching the soup or cup of water rotating around inside the microwave. Stretching exercises are quick and easy to keep busy and make good use of the time spent watching the microwave. I like put my hands behind my head, which bends my elbows, and lift the opposite knee to touch elbow to knee, alternating sides to see how many I can do in one minute. Sometimes for variety, I side-step back and forth across the kitchen and count how many I can do in the two minutes before the tea is ready.

Pushups are not a favorite of mine. I would rather use the set of dumbbells that weigh ten pounds each, which I keep in my kitchen corner. I can pick them up and do curls, or lift them over my head, or any number of movements while standing far enough away to watch the activity in the microwave and still move freely. Any activity that keeps me moving and using energy is acceptable. I don't have a formal list of activities that I do during that time when I babysit the microwave, I alternate with my mood. Sitting in a chair is the only unacceptable option. I already sit too much when I am reading. I need a counter where I could stand to read or work on the computer which is what I did when I worked. Exercising when I take a break helps.

Nouns to Verbs

2013-05-21T11:10:00.000-04:00

We have become so accustomed to quickly looking for information that Google has become a verb--"Google it". It is amazing to see what they can produce to answer questions. In the same way that we "Google it" for information, we now "Amazon it" for shopping. I used to think of Amazon as books and music. Recently, I see that I can also find amazingly unusual products for sale by searching a few key words on Amazon.

I saw this t-shirt and of course it makes me giggle. Naturally, it is for sale on Amazon. This isn't a commercial, but I have found that I can shop at Amazon for many items that I can't find in drug stores, department stores or even hardware stores. This week my household has ordered three times from Amazon for items that aren't books. I ordered undies and lotions. Hubby ordered car parts. Before I jump in the car and run around town looking for weird stuff, I now consult Amazon. Not only do they sell many things also available on company web sites, the Amazon price is often better. When I order, it is delivered to my front door within a few days. Can't beat that for efficiency.

Next week I am shopping for a hummingbird feeder, exercise pants, a coffee maker, and this tiny medicine cup (Medline Plastic Medicine Graduated Cups) which I haven't been able to find at drugstores. I have many ways I use those tiny cups, but they came with other products and now I want to replace them. A hundred for under $4. Imagine that. "Amazon it."

April Tapestry

2013-05-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

During the month of April, we visited many places and shot many photos. We flew to New Orleans where we set sail for 22 days on a cruise ship. Along the way, we crossed through the Gulf of Mexico, across the Atlantic Ocean, and into the Mediterranean. The ship was the hotel and we stopped at nine ports where we spent the days on tours. It was a great trip with many good memories. I kept a daily log, but we were too busy to find time to post it. I will have to edit and see if there are any worthwhile thoughts that are noteworthy to post here. The ship's Wi-Fi was .40 per minute and I conserved my time to sending brief e-mails to family. Below is the second of two slide shows that I have completed at this point.

Fracture

2013-02-13T13:24:00.001-05:00

Why would I watch a movie from 2007? I can't remember how I missed such an intriguing movie when it first emerged in the theaters. I didn't even know the movie existed until I ran across it at my gym. I go to a neat gym that has a "cardio theater". Eighteen cardio machines in front of a big movie screen, what's not to like? I'm not on cardio equipment long enough to see a feature length movie, but it is a fun way to exercise. If I find a movie I like well enough to want to see all of it, I can always see it at home on my Verizon On Demand which I did with Fracture.

I was hooked on following this intriguing plot to see where the contorted chess game between the prosecuting attorney and the accused murderer would finally reach a conclusion.

It's about an attempted murder by a brilliant, successful scientist who is determined to show that he can commit murder and get away with it. The district attorney put his most successful prosecutor on the case, but Willy, interesting choice of names, is ambitious and distracted by his impending move to a more lucrative job at a big-name law firm with a huge new salary. He thinks conviction will be a slam dunk because he has a signed confession so it should be easy to move on to his new job. He doesn't bother to do his homework or due diligence and should have been suspicious that it was just too easy.

It becomes clear that the murderer is playing him and the young prosecutor finds out that there are details he overlooked. He has to go back to basics and actually produce enough evidence to convict the murderer in order to put him away. The murderer has carefully planned his crime and has planned to get away with it. The murderer isn't a lawyer however, and Willy is determined to preserve his near-perfect record of convictions with his superior knowledge of the law. It is an interesting contest of wills in a legal drama.

The cast is filled with famous names, and some recognizable faces from the best of the acting world is on the job. It is good to finally cross paths with this movie because it was worth the time we spent watching it. I wish there were more movies of this variety. I will have to see what is playing in the cardio theater tomorrow, because they show a different film each day.

Triangle of Balance

2013-02-10T10:19:00.001-05:00

When our children are small, we parents sign up for many sports and activities to give them a chance to sample various skills until they find things they enjoy and want to continue. We took our son to gymnastics, skiing, swimming, t-ball, tennis, and so forth. Of the many lessons in which we participated when my son was young, one of the most useful turned out to be ice skating.

We had no grandiose goals and did not want to achieve high levels of performance on the ice. We never planned to become performers or even learn to do spins or any of the showy moves we see on television. Our son was six and it seemed like a good idea for him to learn some sense of balance on slippery surfaces. We also rented skates and tried to survive without any broken bones.

We had an instructor who taught about a dozen adults and children in class and he took us through some basics. Of course, staying on our feet was the most important thing. We knew how to snow ski, but the point of balance on skiis is different from ice skates. We were absolute beginners and needed to be able to stay vertical on ice. He explained how we were to put out our arms, somewhat forward about 45 degrees, with the palms open and down while imagining the palms of our open hands gliding over the ice. Those open hands would form two points of a triangle and our bodies would form the third point of an imaginary horizontal triangle which we would proceed to glide over the ice.

We were instructed to keep in mind that our weight was to be centered on the skate, somewhat under the ball of our foot, but not too far forward because the toe pick would catch and flip us on to the ice. Of course, weight too far back would result in the skates slipping forward and we would fall backward. We were to concentrate on moving our triangle over the ice and not think so much about balancing. The body would take care of balancing itself if we thought more about the horizontal triangle.

Amazingly, it worked as we pushed off while imagining that horizontal triangle that we had to keep level as we glided over the ice first on one foot, then the other. We would glide from one side of the rink to the other even if it was a bit shaky. We got stronger and more confident so that we could begin to circle the rink with the other skaters. Before the half dozen classes ended, I could even skate backwards. We didn't learn any spins or jumps, we just wanted to avoid falling while we moved over the ice.

He would point to various skaters on the ice around us and point out what they were doing right or wrong. When he saw someone with their hands at their sides, or even behind them, he would declare very strongly, "Too casual." When I watch ice skaters on TV today, I can still hear him saying "too casual" if their arms aren't out and away from their bodies. When I see their hands and arms out to the sides in a balanced position, I remember his triangle of balance concept.

We worked very hard to learn just a few concepts, but other things came along and we didn't continue it as a family recreational activity which I regret. However, I'm a little too old to risk my bones again. The idea of a triangle of balance has stuck with me all those years and anytime I cross an icy parking lot during the winter, I remember to put out my arms, form my triangle of balance to walk across icy patches on sidewalks, slippery floors or any place where I don't want to lose my balance and fall.

They don't know what they don't know.

2013-02-09T11:19:00.000-05:00

The Dunning-Kruger Effect abounds today in the Information Age. In a previous life, I was a librarian and most of my job was research. To those who claim "everything is on the Internet," I must respectfully disagree. The fact is that only a small portion of mankind's knowledge can be found on the free Internet according to assessments by academicians.

Much of mankind's accumulated information will never be available on what we know commonly as "the free Internet." The reality is that it would be too expensive to digitize everything, not to speak of time-consuming. Much of mankind's knowledge can only be found in archival libraries that will not be scanned into digitized versions. One must visit the source where the information is housed. "A significant amount of archival material held by The New York Public Library is not yet represented anywhere online." An essay written by a librarian at Harvard is also very revealing.

When I refer to the "free Internet," I mean those sites that can be searched through Dr. Google. When we consider the expensive subscription databases available through University libraries, Public Libraries and specialty medical, legal, scientific libraries, or government collections, they can't be searched through search engines. Anyone doing serious research must go to those specialty collections sources to find accurate, reliable, peer-reviewed, well-researched data. Joining a local public library gives patrons access to extensive, and expensive databases that have unique search tools. Access to University libraries often require membership fees if one isn't a student.

Some primary source databases are only available through the "Deep Web" or the invisible web unless you want to pay for a private subscription. We've all heard the axiom, "It's worth what you pay for it." That is a good maxim to keep in mind when we are looking at information. When we evaluate information, we need to consider from whence it came, especially in secondary sources, lest we get led down the garden path to wherever propagandists wish to lead us.

To make a long story short as we like to do in the information age, it is always useful to ask ourselves who wrote the information, what are their qualifications and what is their agenda? Primary source or secondary source? Sources, sources, sources--some are better than others.

As Dr. Samuel Johnson said,

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it."
Samuel Johnson, quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson
English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

Rejects

2013-01-22T14:27:00.001-05:00

In January, 2012, I wrote an entry called "Doors Unopened" and I find it still applies today. I reject posting a great many ideas that come to mind for various reasons. So here is a list of the current rejects:

I won't write about the following subjects unless I get some great inspirations or queries to hear more about--

--My December cruise was outstanding. I'm a big fan of cruises and I could write endlessly about the things I enjoy about them. We meet legions of interesting people and see great places. We always take several Gigs of photos. People who love to cruise have those too. People who don't love to cruise don't care, or hate the whole concept. I could live on a ship and never get bored.

--My holiday with my family and grandchildren was superb. I never tire of talking to my grandchildren who are extra special to me. They light our lives in a million ways and I will always enjoy time spent with them. I think it is a great unspoken compliment to their parents that they can share their greatest contribution to the world with us. I think they can feel successful and accomplished as adults when they can leave the grandchildren to visit with us while they take some time off.

--The holiday display presented annually by Longwood Gardens always tops their previous efforts and makes the holidays extra special to set the stage for our celebrations. It too, produces tons of photos.

--The Terabyte hard drive that I needed to add to my desktop to store travel photos can be summed up in this sentence and one word--necessary.

--My new gym makes me feel good and gives my days structure. It centers me like nothing else.

--Religion and politics are still on my reject list. I just don't go there. People think what they think without my input. My opinions are in stone and I don't need to argue with anyone.

--My frustration with my constant quest to find "mature" slacks and workout pants will be restrained. See previous angst-- Venting on Vetting Jeans

--The number of books I read is numerous and anyone who wants to read book reviews can check Amazon. I try to keep up to date with a number of my favorite fiction authors and their current offerings such as John Grisham, Stuart Woods, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, Tess Gerritson and others. I'm too busy reading to write yet another review. Kudos to the public library, without whom I would go broke feeding my reading addiction.

The subject that I do find noteworthy is that of a gift that I received this year. I have a new Nook which is most interesting. Never having felt the need of an e-reader, I find that it has been a revelation. I thoroughly enjoy reading books with it and find that I can use the wireless connection to my local public library and check out epub books to my Nook without leaving my easy chair. When I finish reading it, I can return it wirelessly to the public library and delete it from my Nook. It automatically expires in 14 days so there are no overdue fees. It can store books, magazines, newspapers, music, photos, movies, and games like Sudoku and crossword puzzles. So I will have to load it with entertainment before I travel again.

I can purchase any number of things from Barnes and Noble online with their web connection as well as surf the web and check my e-mail. It is such a handy little toy that I never knew I needed. New paradigm.

Christmas Crafts

2012-12-09T10:51:00.000-05:00

Unique Christmas cards have always been a favorite for me and this one just arrived in the mail. It is hand-stitched by my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter. This is a keeper. The amount of time and effort that an item like this takes makes it very special to the person receiving it. I understand that each card they sent this year has a variation on this motif. The stitching is very meticulous.

The inside of the card is as neat as the outside. The green backing covers the back of the needlework that is on the face of the card.

It is an honor to receive such a special Christmas card, so it will have a special display spot in my house where we can see it daily throughout the season. It will also become part of my annual Christmas decorations display in my house.