Cabbages and onions. Those two vegetables forever remind me of my Grandpa Clevenger. Not so much the sight of them, but the smell. His barn smelled of cabbages and onions with a hint of apples. He sold vegetables and some fruit out of his barn that opened up into the road. Even after he had left the property and before it was sold (and I think torn down), the barn smelled of cabbages and onions. He had been working out of that barn for so long, the scent was a permanent part of the wood and atmosphere. What wonderful memories those two vegetables invoke.
I loved my Grandpa. He was 81 when I was born. He was bald, skinny, had incredibly blue eyes and smelled of soil and country air. He always seemed to be smiling about something. My favorite thing was to jump up and sit in his lap. By the time I was six or seven, he couldn't handle that anymore. It saddened me, but I learned to be content with just sitting next to him or following him around.
He had a very small farmette, probably about an acre. The patch of ground in which he raised his vegetables was nothing more than a really big garden, but he knew how to get the most produce out of that area. There was also a small apple orchard and a permanent spot for rhubarb, a spot for corn and another spot with blackberry vines. In one corner of the property, my Dad's Mom had a flower garden. It was not tended in my memory-she passed away when I was about 2 years old. There were so many places to explore and hide.
Visiting Grandpa was my only real exposure to rural life as a child. I grew up in a city. The first time I ever saw a cow was at the zoo. Yes, even though I am Kansas born and bred, I did not grow up on a farm! Grandpa's place was on the southern edge of a small Nebraska town. The town was about a quarter mile long and maybe 3 or 4 blocks wide. The grocery store was an old building with a wide wood-planked floor and had the same kind of feel as Grandpa's barn. So many decades of living leaving its mark forever.
Grandpa was moved out of there when I was about 13 or 14. I am certain my memories of the place are skewed by youth, but the memories of Grandpa and my Dad's family are real enough. After he passed away, at the age of 99 years and 8 months, I realized I had so many questions to ask him; so much I wanted to know about him. Some of my questions have been answered through genealogical research. Those answers have only led to more questions. One day, when it is my time to go, I will be able to jump up into his lap again and have forever to get to know the man I call Grandpa.
18!!
On this day, 18 short years ago, our daughter surprised us and the world with her arrival. It was a big surprise-she was not to due to make her appearance until March 27! Unbeknowst to me, I had been having contractions just about the whole weekend and had no idea. I had been having little twinges and did not realize they were contractions until after my water broke! We still had 3 more childbirth classes to go, my bag was not packed and neither my husband nor myself were mentally ready for labor and delivery. As I sat on the toilet while my amniotic fluid leaked out along with tears from my eyes, my wonderful husband made the call to the hospital and quickly packed a bag as I talked to the nurse. We made our way to the hospital, 30+ minutes away in record time (with a stop by the Kansas Highway Patrol). A mere 6 hours later, at 5:20 a.m. CST, I grunted and there she was. Our lives were changed instantly and the world became a better place with her departure from the womb. My dearest, eldest daughter, I love you more than you can ever imagine. Happy Birthday!
Footnote: Just as it was 18 years ago, winter weather is making an appearance on her birthday. My in-laws braved a four hour drive both ways in freezing rain to meet their first grandchild on the day of her birth. They are not on their way now (just in case you are wondering).
Sisterhood of the Traveling Basketball Socks
It started with this picture:
I played 2 seasons of basketball in high school. We were issued new socks every year and I still have both pairs. I wear them in cold weather, usually when there is snow on the ground. The socks are thick and keep my feet warm and dry and since they come up high on the shin, I don't feel any cold air that tries to sneak up the cuff of my pants.
I was going out to shovel the driveway the day I took the picture and posted it on Facebook, tagging all of my former teammates with whom I still keep in touch via Facebook. Someone came up with the idea of sending the socks out to each team member and posting a picture for all to see. I have 2 pairs, not like I will be missing one pair all that much. So we are.
The socks have been sent and a photo posted.
Now they are on their way to the next teammate. The ties that bind. As teammates back in the day, we got our butts kicked in marathon practices, bonded on the bus rides to away games and hung out at school before the home games. Now, we have a pair of socks to revive those good times and remind of us how funny life can sometimes be. Pretty cool. Go Sumner Sabres!!
I've "Bee"n Quilting
I've mentioned what my hubby calls my "funeral shroud" in a previous post or two. This is it:
Hers is much bigger. I found plans online and somewhat followed them. Hers is big enough to cover a queen size bed and then some.
Now I am working on JMW's. She has been patiently waiting and will be waiting another year or so. It takes a couple of years from start to finish. The easy part is assembling the blocks and the backing. What takes so much time is the quilting. Hence, the quilting bees of the past-the detail work is painstaking and requires a lot of stitches and time. I know JMW will be happy with the end result. It's looking pretty cool so far. 4 rows assembled, at least 4 more to go! The finished quilt will be about 8 feet by 8 feet.
It's a bunch of t-shirts from concerts, places I have visited, etc. The back is fleece and it is super warm. When it's cold, I wrap myself up in it with just my face peeking out and have a nap in my recliner. Or you might find me wrapped up in the corner of the couch reading a book. Sometimes, I'm wrapped up in it napping in the hammock. It's my cocoon.
I completed one for SAW a couple of years ago.
Now I am working on JMW's. She has been patiently waiting and will be waiting another year or so. It takes a couple of years from start to finish. The easy part is assembling the blocks and the backing. What takes so much time is the quilting. Hence, the quilting bees of the past-the detail work is painstaking and requires a lot of stitches and time. I know JMW will be happy with the end result. It's looking pretty cool so far. 4 rows assembled, at least 4 more to go! The finished quilt will be about 8 feet by 8 feet.
A "Miserable" Date
It was a date in 4 Acts. Act I started out the evening right. We went to a Saturday evening worship service at Crosspoint UMC at their South Hanover location. It's in a strip mall and fronted by a coffee shop, Perking Point. Nice place, nice people and good worship. Off to the movies for Act II and then dinner for Act III. The movie, Les Miserables is nearly 3 hours long and we went for dinner afterwards. I can't remember the last time we had dinner at 10:30. Probably not since we left Kansas City 16 years ago. Looks like this part of the world is starting to grow up. Dinner in a restaurant that didn't close the kitchen before 10 p.m.! My daughter couldn't believe we were just getting to dinner that late. I told her this is what life is like before children and when children are big enough to handle Mom and Dad going out for a good time. Hey, we are still young enough-dinner at Luby's Cafeteria at 4:30 can wait!
Les Miserables is a must see. For those of you who are hibernating in a cave for the winter, it is a filmatic opera, released Christmas Day. Not a musical. Huge difference. A musical is action and dialogue interspersed by sudden bursts of song. An opera is action and sung dialogue, with very little spoken word and interspersed with arias. Opera in film is quite different from operatic theatre. For one, close-ups allow all to see the emotion in the singer, not just hear the emotion. Another is the obvious difference in scenery, just as in any play or musical turned film. This particular opera is not just a take your wife or girlfriend out kinda movie. My husband liked it so much, he is reading the unabridged novel by Victor Hugo (he also wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Les Miserables is an emotionally charged story. The short version: parole breaker Jean Valjean is running from the law, in the form of policeman Javert, while raising and protecting an orphaned girl. The story begins at the end of Napoleon's reign in 1815. The story ends following the June Rebellion of 1832. The movie is well cast, with powerful performances from all. There is very little happiness (get a clue from the title!). I can only imagine how physically drained the actors must have been after a day of filming.
The film has won 3 Golden Globes and is nominated for 9 BAFTA awards and 8 Academy Awards. It's really good. I will watch it again some time. But not any time soon. I need to recover. I can't handle that much emotional intensity again so soon.
So, Act IV of date night? A lady never tells.
Les Miserables is a must see. For those of you who are hibernating in a cave for the winter, it is a filmatic opera, released Christmas Day. Not a musical. Huge difference. A musical is action and dialogue interspersed by sudden bursts of song. An opera is action and sung dialogue, with very little spoken word and interspersed with arias. Opera in film is quite different from operatic theatre. For one, close-ups allow all to see the emotion in the singer, not just hear the emotion. Another is the obvious difference in scenery, just as in any play or musical turned film. This particular opera is not just a take your wife or girlfriend out kinda movie. My husband liked it so much, he is reading the unabridged novel by Victor Hugo (he also wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Les Miserables is an emotionally charged story. The short version: parole breaker Jean Valjean is running from the law, in the form of policeman Javert, while raising and protecting an orphaned girl. The story begins at the end of Napoleon's reign in 1815. The story ends following the June Rebellion of 1832. The movie is well cast, with powerful performances from all. There is very little happiness (get a clue from the title!). I can only imagine how physically drained the actors must have been after a day of filming.
The film has won 3 Golden Globes and is nominated for 9 BAFTA awards and 8 Academy Awards. It's really good. I will watch it again some time. But not any time soon. I need to recover. I can't handle that much emotional intensity again so soon.
So, Act IV of date night? A lady never tells.
Happy New Year!
I can still say that. It's only the 8th of January. There must be a grace period allowing for the New Year greeting for at least a couple of weeks after January 1st. If there isn't, there should be. For people like me. You know, procrastinators.
I've only delayed writing my first post of 2013 because I haven't been sure about my subject matter. I have composed many posts as I lay in bed at night instead of sleeping. I think I should have just gotten out of bed and written them since I have now forgotten most of what I wanted to write. Does that mean I'm getting older? Nah, couldn't be.
I lie. This is the year for me to feel over 40. My oldest turns 18 in March, graduates high school in May and goes away to college in August. My husband and I celebrate 20 years of marriage in June. It seems impossible that my husband and I could possibly be married 20 years and my first born has been on this side of the womb for 18 years. It doesn't seem as if 20 years have passed. 20 years ago, 20 years was a long time away. And it was only a short time ago that we found out I was pregnant. Please don't mind my occasional outbursts of crying as those realities hit me every now and then.
The end of 2012 had us in the air traveling to St. Louis and KC to visit our families. Ahhh, the joys of air travel. I truly believe some passengers forget they are going to be in an enclosed, self-contained tube with wings, sitting practically in the laps of the other passengers. Fellow traveler, eating beans with onions and washing it down with a beer isn't always appreciated by your seat-mate. Save that for when you get to your destination. And did you know, they sell breath mints in most of the airport shops? If my eyes are closed, that doesn't mean I'm trying to better concentrate on the narrative about the ails of the five hairy cats you acquired from the pound. To the passenger sitting in front of me, did you know, suddenly reclining your seat right after the flight attendant has been around with drinks causes wet pants? And it is always amusing to see the passengers who just have to be first to get off the plane, at the baggage carousel waiting with everyone else, including those of us who got off the plane last. I witnessed on one flight a woman who practically walked over people in her hurry to get off the plane. Maybe she was claustrophobic or refuses to use the plane's restroom. Who knows? Whatever the case, if you are in the back of the plane, you won't be getting off with the passengers in first class, so just cool your jets.
Despite all that, (and the seat-kicking kids) I still like to travel by air. It beats being on the road for 10 hours one day and still having to face the same the next day. I like wandering around the airports, too, when there is time. What a great place to people watch. Maybe I'll share those observations later.
Blessings in 2013 to you and your families from me and mine.
I've only delayed writing my first post of 2013 because I haven't been sure about my subject matter. I have composed many posts as I lay in bed at night instead of sleeping. I think I should have just gotten out of bed and written them since I have now forgotten most of what I wanted to write. Does that mean I'm getting older? Nah, couldn't be.
I lie. This is the year for me to feel over 40. My oldest turns 18 in March, graduates high school in May and goes away to college in August. My husband and I celebrate 20 years of marriage in June. It seems impossible that my husband and I could possibly be married 20 years and my first born has been on this side of the womb for 18 years. It doesn't seem as if 20 years have passed. 20 years ago, 20 years was a long time away. And it was only a short time ago that we found out I was pregnant. Please don't mind my occasional outbursts of crying as those realities hit me every now and then.
The end of 2012 had us in the air traveling to St. Louis and KC to visit our families. Ahhh, the joys of air travel. I truly believe some passengers forget they are going to be in an enclosed, self-contained tube with wings, sitting practically in the laps of the other passengers. Fellow traveler, eating beans with onions and washing it down with a beer isn't always appreciated by your seat-mate. Save that for when you get to your destination. And did you know, they sell breath mints in most of the airport shops? If my eyes are closed, that doesn't mean I'm trying to better concentrate on the narrative about the ails of the five hairy cats you acquired from the pound. To the passenger sitting in front of me, did you know, suddenly reclining your seat right after the flight attendant has been around with drinks causes wet pants? And it is always amusing to see the passengers who just have to be first to get off the plane, at the baggage carousel waiting with everyone else, including those of us who got off the plane last. I witnessed on one flight a woman who practically walked over people in her hurry to get off the plane. Maybe she was claustrophobic or refuses to use the plane's restroom. Who knows? Whatever the case, if you are in the back of the plane, you won't be getting off with the passengers in first class, so just cool your jets.
Despite all that, (and the seat-kicking kids) I still like to travel by air. It beats being on the road for 10 hours one day and still having to face the same the next day. I like wandering around the airports, too, when there is time. What a great place to people watch. Maybe I'll share those observations later.
Blessings in 2013 to you and your families from me and mine.
It's That Time of Year...
When the world falls in love. Every song you hear, seems to say: Merry CHRISTmas, may your new year dreams come truuuuuuee...."
I love that song. The version of it that I have is Robert Goulet and Ann Margaret (you know her, the Mom in "Tommy"). Before we moved 1200 miles from my hometown I recorded a bunch of my favorite CHRISTmas songs from my Mom's albums. I get the tape out and listen to it over and over (in my ancient mini-van because no one manufactures tape decks anymore), reminiscing about CHRISTmas' past. I'm eventually going to wear out the tape. I don't what I will do when that happens. I did take a precautionary step and found Johnny Mathis' "Merry Christmas" album on CD. But there are some albums I may never find...
More and more, as I mature physically and especially spiritually, what CHRISTmas means to me has evolved. I am more aware of our physical separation from our families. I really don't care about the gift exchanges. I care more about spending time with our families and friends. There isn't any gift more important than that. And the time with our f's and f's is a gift. I realize that now. We take for granted that our f's and f's will always be around. As I see my nieces and nephews grow up from afar, I hate that distance keeps us apart. We keep up virtually, but it is nowhere near the same as face-to-face. Cherish the time you have with your loved ones. I do every chance I get.
John 1:1-5,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.*
This passage from John is more revealing as to God's reason why He joined us here on Earth than any other version of the story of Jesus' birth. Jesus was sent to shed light on all the darkness in the world, revealing the evil that hides in the darkness. God knew we had to have living proof of his Glory and Majesty because we are mere humans and have to have living proof to believe. We are a stubborn, pig-headed lot, arguing with God at every turn. Kinda reminds me of my 14 year-old daughter. There is very little she won't contradict. God calls us His children for good reason! : )
Perhaps this hasn't been the most cheerful CHRISTmas message, but this is where I am this year. I wish for you to have a very Merry CHRISTmas-enjoy the time off work and school and most importantly, enjoy your families and friends. I know I will. I am excited about seeing our families very soon.
Many joys and peace to you in 2013.
*Bible Gateway.com New International Version
I love that song. The version of it that I have is Robert Goulet and Ann Margaret (you know her, the Mom in "Tommy"). Before we moved 1200 miles from my hometown I recorded a bunch of my favorite CHRISTmas songs from my Mom's albums. I get the tape out and listen to it over and over (in my ancient mini-van because no one manufactures tape decks anymore), reminiscing about CHRISTmas' past. I'm eventually going to wear out the tape. I don't what I will do when that happens. I did take a precautionary step and found Johnny Mathis' "Merry Christmas" album on CD. But there are some albums I may never find...
More and more, as I mature physically and especially spiritually, what CHRISTmas means to me has evolved. I am more aware of our physical separation from our families. I really don't care about the gift exchanges. I care more about spending time with our families and friends. There isn't any gift more important than that. And the time with our f's and f's is a gift. I realize that now. We take for granted that our f's and f's will always be around. As I see my nieces and nephews grow up from afar, I hate that distance keeps us apart. We keep up virtually, but it is nowhere near the same as face-to-face. Cherish the time you have with your loved ones. I do every chance I get.
John 1:1-5,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.*
This passage from John is more revealing as to God's reason why He joined us here on Earth than any other version of the story of Jesus' birth. Jesus was sent to shed light on all the darkness in the world, revealing the evil that hides in the darkness. God knew we had to have living proof of his Glory and Majesty because we are mere humans and have to have living proof to believe. We are a stubborn, pig-headed lot, arguing with God at every turn. Kinda reminds me of my 14 year-old daughter. There is very little she won't contradict. God calls us His children for good reason! : )
Perhaps this hasn't been the most cheerful CHRISTmas message, but this is where I am this year. I wish for you to have a very Merry CHRISTmas-enjoy the time off work and school and most importantly, enjoy your families and friends. I know I will. I am excited about seeing our families very soon.
Many joys and peace to you in 2013.
*Bible Gateway.com New International Version
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