4th of July Holiday Weekend

GOOD NEWS!

Baby Boy/Girl Hicks

Our daughter Barbara is expecting a baby December 28th! The neat thing about that is that the 28th is Dave's AA anniversary (32nd), and it's also our grandniece, Dana Pagano's, birthday!  We're hoping that the baby will be a boy. There are a majority of girls in our family, and a majority of boys in Andy's family! Barbara teaches 5th Grade at Wadsworth Elementary School in Palm Coast, FL. She has a daughter, Morgan, who is going to be a Junior in the fall. Morgan, Barbara and Andy are very excited, as are we all!!!

The "new" Food Plate

SUMMER YUMMY
Dr. Andrew Weil sends a newsletter every week and I thought this summer soup sounded wonderful:

Ingredients
4 cups ripe cantaloupe, cut in 1-inch pieces (about 1 large melon, rind and seeds removed)
4 cups watermelon, cut in 1-inch pieces (rind and seeds removed)
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
1-2 teaspoons honey, liquefied (20 seconds in microwave)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely minced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Instructions

1. Purée the cantaloupe and watermelon together in a food processor or blender. Add the lemon juice, honey, salt and jalapeños to taste. Chill for up to 4 hours.
2. Garnish with fresh blueberries and serve
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Cool & Refreshing Beverage
Lime (fresh or the "squeeze" kind)
(Limeade-optional)
Seltzer water or Club Soda
Ice cubes

Dave  and I don't drink alcohol, so it's nice to have something around besides iced tea and iced coffee. You can use as little or as much of the lime or limeade, whole ice cubes or crushed ice, and fill to the top of a tall glass with Club soda or seltzer. Add a slice of lime and you have a nice refreshing drink.

(I think I'll make one now...it's a very warm day!)

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From The Book Shelf

(Ones I'm reading right now, or have recently finished or are on deck!)

1 Star="Fageddaboudit";

2 Stars=Okay, if you like that genre;  

3 Stars=I liked it.

4 Stars=Highly recommend it;

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I understand that this book, the author's first, is being made into a movie.
(Coming out August 12th) Read the book, just in case they choose to leave something out for brevity's sake. As To Kill a Mockingbird became the early
1960's symbol of race relations in the deep south for many of us, The Help is going to sit near Mockingbird as another literary symbol of how black people (mainly women) were treated by their "employers" (mainly women)  at that same time. The question I asked after finally putting the book down: I wonder: Is the author "Miss Skeeter?" Read it and let me know what you think!

I loved The Help and give it 4 Stars-Highly Recommended.

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, United States of America!

Memorial Day

Monday, May 30, 2011

When we were little, our mom used to take Margie and me to the Memorial Day parade!  It was so exciting anticipating the high school band, especially if we knew anyone playing!  I especially loved the way the bass drum vibrated in my chest.


Everyone had flags, Main Street was decorated patriotically with bunting and banner! It seemed like EVERYONE marched in the parade. 

There were survivors from World War I, many former soldiers from World War II, (later, Korean Conflict) and the Gold Star Mothers (those who had lost sons & daughters).  Women who had been nurses marched together. The American Legion and VFW.  There was usually a pretty girl, the Dairy Queen (see where it gets its name?), or Home Coming Queen, waving from a convertible driven by a smiling guy who probably owned it. 

Some people rode horses, kids rode bicycles with wheels decorated, and everyone wore a red paper "poppy" sold to them by a dedicated Gold Star Mother, Annie Morrow who spoke with such a brogue you'd think you were "in the old country!"

I never wanted the excitement of a parade to end. Yet we all were tired from standing in the sun, getting sunburns on faces and shoulders, and in need of ice water or lemonade when we returned home! 

After the parade, everyone went to the town park, where we heard the Gettysburg Address recited by a young orator, and two trumpet players play "Taps."


As the years went by, my sister and I marched in the Memorial Day parades as Girl Scouts ( Girl and Boy Scout troops marched). Mom was a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader for years and marched, too. No doubt those leaders felt that it was like "herding cats" to get all those little kids to march together, let alone "in step!"

(NOT our band!)

High School years, and Marge and I were marching in the band ourselves. Margie played flute and I, trombone.  Most likely we used the sheet music the band played 10 or 20 years back! Marches don't change however, and although we grumbled, I loved music and playing in the band was fun.  But we had rules: our blue ties had to be tied properly, our pants needed a crease down the front and, we ALL had to wear WHITE SOCKS and white sneakers. Of course, there was always ONE non-conformist with a compulsion to wear red socks. If we had been able to march straight and play instruments, we'd have been all set!

I attended one of my last home town Memorial Day parades with my own child, Laura, who was a year old.  Like Ricky Nelson's lyrics (from Garden Party) "It didn't look the same." Nor was it.

Things had started to change in our society, and I was getting wound up politically.   It was not that I lacked respect for soldiers, they were diligently doing their job for the Commander in Chief, yet I did not agree with our government.(The Viet Nam Song by Country Joe and The Fish) The same young men who sat in classes with me, both in high school and college were being drafted to fight an un-win-able war Viet Nam.  I feel bad that those men (and women) were left-out, ignored, and unsupported when they came home.
The Nixon administration made sure that a warped message was sent to the troops. (At that time, I thought that Nixon was "as bad as it was ever going to get.")

Memorial Day was once called "Decoration Day," when graves of soldiers were decorated with flags and flowers in the cemeteries and began in the years after the Civil War. Memorial Day became a National holiday in 1971.   The red poppies harken back to Flanders Field where soldiers were killed in Europe during WW I. These poppies, considered weeds, grew on the battlefield in spite of the ground having been torn up by soldiers and war equipment. The link tells a bit about the meaning of the red poppies.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

May the Creator/trix of Your Understanding Bless You & Yours

on This Day of Remembering Family Members & Friends, Military or Otherwise.

May Your Hearts be Healed.

May you stand proudly and have tears in your eyes whenever the

Stars & Stripes Forever is played (as I do).



The END of the world? Not here.

To: those who are expecting the last train to Clarksville ( my euphemism for The Rapture) today: maybe you will go somewhere..(?) I don't know, maybe. Theological discussion TBA.

However, my family and friends and I are looking forward to a beautiful day, a nice evening, and (my daughter) Debbie Culver's birthday tomorrow.  Therefore, any rapture we experience here at our house, will be from the taste of the pork roast cooked on the grill (tomorrow). Debbie and Brian (Collins) are visiting The Glen Curtis Museum in Hammondsport, NY before they come over to our house. Curtis is called "The Father of Naval Aviation," and the museum (and the site!) are really worth seeing.

Finally stopped at Matt and Andrea Reisen's yesterday! They run an incredible business called "Healing Spirits Herb Farm," and are good friends. Last weekend they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a big party! Friends and relatives came from miles around (Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, etc.) to help them have a great time! I was sick last weekend, so Dave and I missed the festivities. Many of the friends I've made at events they've held were at the party, too. (And Kerry, Judith, and others, I'm very sorry I missed you.) 

I used the word "finally," as I've promised one or the other of the Reisens that I'd be "stopping by" (they live about a mile from our house) for months! or maybe it's been a year? That's what's been happening to me. Not to say that I haven't been "busy," I have.  All of sudden, time has elapsed, and I've fallen into a "behavior rut." I don't like that happening in my life.  Some people say that it's "supposed to be" like that (monotonous?) as we get older. I don't think so. Certainly we can't run around like 25 year olds, but I feel that I still have enough energy most days for most things. My mind thinks I do, anyway! I have Ibuprofen in the cupboard these days for aches & pains, but that comes with the territory. When I do make an effort to change my direction, I can! Andrea, Matt and I caught up on all kinds of news, and it felt so good to be sitting in their house sipping hot chocolate. I PROMISE it will not be as long in between visits the next time I stop. Don't laugh.

Most everyone knows that I usually read 2 or 3 books at a time. I just finished the recent autobiography by Ashley Judd, "All That is Bitter and Sweet." I'd give it a 5 out of 5 stars, because I'm a fan of hers. The story she tells is not only her extreme dedication to fighting AIDS around the world, but also her recovery (and rehab) from Co-Dependence.  I'm especially happy to promote her book because I, too, went to rehab for Co-Dependence in 1986. After 6 years of sobriety and recovery, I was nearly suicidal. How can that be? Although our stories are different, the "disease" manifests similarly, and the feelings are the same. (As the 12 Step programs say, "Don't compare, RELATE.")  Her book is full of TRUTH and open-mindedness that I laughed and cried "relating!"  I saw her in "The YA YA Sisterhood," and thought to myself at that time, "A.J. knows EXACTLY what it's like to be around alcoholism, addiction or mental illness." She portrayed her character so well.

Another book I'm reading is by Alexandra Styron, daughter of author William Styron, called "Reading My Father."  Styron, along with being one of the great 20th Century authors, suffered from the disease of depression. Probably his most well-known work to the general public is "Sophie's Choice." This work is an autobiography/biography and we're given a look at Styron's life  by the family's youngest child. (Interestingly, so is Ashely Judd's)   Styron was an alcoholic and was hospitalized many times for mental illness. In 1985, he stopped 40 years of drinking, and went into a terrible depression. No one expected him to ever write again, but he did, about his illness: "Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness."  Haven't finished it, but am drawn to children who are now writing about growing up with alcoholic, addicted and mentally ill parents/relatives/friends.

News on Shatzie another time.
Bright blessings & Good vibes....
(I haven't figured out how to link the above books to my Amazon Associates yet.)

German Shepherds: Power Dogs

(This is actually the first blog I wrote, this past Wednesday.

Blogger was having problems and I thought I'd lost it! p.)

We have a 12 week-old German Shepherd puppy named "Shatzie." "Shatzie2" is her official name, because we had a "Shatzie" years ago.

For those of you who have experienced the "puppy scene," I need say no more. 
Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) calls GSDs "power dogs," and they need strict rules and schedules in the beginning in order to have a good dog-friend later on. (Think of Rin Tin Tin, definitely a "power dog!" Shatzie is black & tan.)

Lately,there have been hurt feelings, torn clothes, and on Mothers' Day, little knife-like teeth ripped my right index finger and I had to visit the ER. (It all worked out fine; instead of stitches, the wound was "super-glued!")

A Dog Obedience Class is starting nearby on May 25th, so I called first thing Monday morning. We were lucky to enroll for the class,as they fill up fast, and to have a private class this very afternoon!

Denise Smalt, from Canandaigua,NY, ( formerly of Bath, NY), raises and trains German Shepherds and other dogs as pets, Search & Rescue, competition and therapy dogs. Her business is Willow Creek Dog Training. She is an impressive trainer, easy going, and she sure knows her dogs! 

First we were reassured that our dog was going to be a good pet (although a bit rambunctious and will-full!) She had instant rapport with Shatz, and introduced her to a "pinch collar." The collar pinches the puppy just as its mother would a  nip or bite from the little one.
This training tool, which Denise uses on all her dogs, and suggests to all her classes, almost immediately, took care of 95% of the problems we were having with Shatzie.  Now we shall practice until Dog Obedience class begins in a couple of weeks.

After all that work, it was imperative that we stop at Twin Kiss for an ice cream! (Then home where we all took a nap!)

Weather Report from 12 Mile Creek

As happens almost every year, Mother Nature switches "winter temperatures" OFF, and flips "summer temperatures" ON.  It's been between 75F - 82F for the past few days.

Oh, I am NOT complaining, it feels wonderful.  Our backyard is an orchard with apple, pear, cherry and peach trees. There are also wild apple and Choke cherry trees; Dave has planted blue and blackberry bushes.  The buds have been flowering, and the scents wafting from that area are heady! The lilacs will be out any day!

It's almost a guilty pleasure with the Mississippi River flooding, and draughts in other parts of the country. We have had some flooding too. The creeks and rivers here came close to causing damage. As far as I know, most of the damage had to do with basements and cellars filling ...most folks have sump pumps, though.  However, we are having a wet, but beautiful, spring.  The farmers may be one or two weeks behind. It was difficult for them to get out on their fields to plow and plant.

Dave and I moved "down" to the southern tier of NYS from Rochester, NY,  because we'd had enough of city-life. Not to say that when the children were growing up and we were working, it wasn't convenient. It was.

 However, our "quiet neighborhood" was being turned into apartments. A single residence which used to have one or two cars now had three or more vehicles! It started to become noisy at all hours.

So here we are. The weather, for the most part, is moderate. We still have "lake affect," but now its a combination of Lakes Erie and Ontario!  We sometimes get more snow than other areas, and depending on the wind, or the Alberta Clipper from Canada, it could miss us by a mile!

Yes, we have a tractor with a snowblower, bucket, and lawnmower!

Right now it is 4 p.m. and 75degrees...a soft breeze is coming through the open window to my right.

It feels like rain. The dog heard the thunder before we did (and is telling us about it).

Bright blessings to all!