Saturday, April 20th, I should have been in Lexington at 'Time Out for Sisters', a Stake Relief Society function (Church) for all the ladies in the Lexington North Stake. However, our Friends of Sadieville, of which I am the Chair, always has a Clean-up Sadieville day the end of April. We calendared this last year and have used approximately this weekend for several years now. So I spent my morning in Sadieville instead of in Lexington. Sometimes choices must be made between two very good things. I would truly have loved going to the Relief Society event but was happy to meet my obligation in Sadieville also.
Claude and I woke up at 7am and were in Sadieville ready to work at 8am. Our clean-up day was to be from 8am to Noon. When we arrived there were already several people there to help. I explained to everyone as they arrived what was going to happen and where people were already assigned. We had the Sadieville Christian Church youth coming to help. Detta would take them to the Pike Street park, then to the park across from the Rosenwald School and finally behind their church to pick-up trash in those areas. Judy headed to the Depot (City Hall) to clean the meeting room. There were two young men there to complete some community service hours for some infractions of the law. Bobbie, our policeman, was to come and shepherd their efforts. Since they were strapping young men about 17 years old, we had them help Judy and then begin walking the streets in Sadieville to pick up any trash they could find. Claude took his Jeep and headed out to clean Highway 32 as it comes into Sadieville. I went to weed the rain garden by City Hall. Omer, Virgil, Jo Carol and Cindy all set to weeding around Warring Pavilion, and around the overpass to the railroad tracks. Everyone worked dilgently and we were finished by 10:30am. Yeah us!!
Claude drove himself and me to Wendy's and we picked up something to eat at the drive-thru. Then headed home.
As we sat at our breakfast room table to have lunch together, I looked out across the back yard to the creek and up the hill on the other side. At that moment, having lunch with just me and Claude and beginning to feel the aches of the first weeding project for this summer, At that momen I felt that life was perfect. This was how it was supposed to be. Claude and me working together and then sitting down to a nice little meal together. That was what I envisioned retirement to be full of, moments of shared experience. Life was good.
After lunch we were both very tired. I had taken an antihistamine first thing Saturday morning since I have lovely pollen allergies and knew being out in the open air all morning would probably do me in. They always make me tired and combining that with the work effort I knew I was ready to try and rest. We both curled up and took a two hour nap. I'm not the best napper in the world and I must say that nap felt wonderful.
After my nap, I picked up my Kindle and started to read another chapter in my book. I was reading "The Secret Garden". I stayed reading until I finished that book. It is such a good book. I enjoyed it so much I would give it five stars. I sent Hayden an eMail suggesting he ask his mom to read it to him and Bailey.
Not wanting to waste this day that was going perfectly, I picked up my weeding bag filled with tools and gloves, put on my clunky working shoes and headed out to our front yard. I spent the remainder of my afternoon getting the flower beds weeded and ready for summer. The worst was the one around the water meter. My goodness that thing is awful in the spring. Those vines grow around and around and they are beautiful through the summer. In the winter the leaves fall off and the ends of the vines die. Spring then brings the need to cut all the dead ends of these runners and let the new growth begin again. I could see the little light purple flowers trying to come out and struggling under the weight of those vines. The vines were even starting to circle the base of the bed into the grass. That is a big no-no. I spent several hours working on this bed alone.
I couldn't help reflecting on the kids in their 'Secret Garden' and me in my very visible garden enjoying this feel and smell and work of Spring's arrival.
I finished as
the sun was starting to set. I carried my gardening bag full of tools and
gloves and my weary body inside for the night. It was the end of a perfect day.
It is so very nice to have those every now and then.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Evolution...
I remember when...
Most people were happy to have a 'party line' for the new telephone they had in their home. You shared your phone line with other people and several families took turns using the same phone line. If you wanted to communicate with someone, you usually went to visit them in person or wrote a letter by hand.
I remember when...
We had a typewriter. It did not even plug into an electric outlet. You pressed the keys really hard and you reached up with your right hand and pressed a handled to return the carriage to type the next line. If you wanted something centered, you counted the characters in what you were typing and went to the center of your carriage and backspaced half the characters you needed to type. There was one font and that was it. There was a ribbon in your typewriter that had to be flipped over so you could type on the other side, then flipped back so you might get a little more use out of it. To change it was a messy proposition.
I remember when...
To make multiple copies of something you typed on a stencil. It had a piece of carbon paper on the back with a piece of white paper on the top. You typed very carefully because there was no eraser so a mistake stayed on your work. Then you put that paper on a mimeograph machine and filled it with this alcohol based liquid and turned that handle for each copy you wanted to make.
I remember when...
We got our own phone line. There was only one phone our home. It had a special nook built into the wall in the hallway in the center of our home. There was a shelf under the nook for the telephone directory. That phone had a cord that would reach from the middle of the house to anywhere else in the house. It was a very long cord. It was a big deal when gettting your phone to state the length of cord you wanted for your phone. We all shared that one phone in our home. That phone was not the big, black, heavy, rotary-dail phone we were used to with the party line. It could not come in colors but you still had to 'dial' the number you wanted to call. Our phone numbers were all four digits long.
I remember when...
We got electric typewriters in our school for typing class. You didn't have to press as hard on the keys but you still had to return that carriage yourself and count out characters for the spacing you wanted on your paper.
I remember when...
That mimeograph machine went electric and it turned itself to make all the copies you needed.
I remember when...
The princess phones came out. How trim and pretty they were. You could even have more than one phone in your home. They were even beginning to make them so you could press a button instead of turning a dial to enter a number. Princess phones came in many colors so they could match the room in which they were placed. They didn't have to have miles of phone cords. But, you had to pay for each phone you used in your home and the telephone company had some magical way of knowing if you were using more phones in your home than you were paying them for on your phone bill. There were more people with more phones so our phone numbers went to seven digits. The three digit prefex now told what part of town you lived in.
I remember when...
We still used typewriters but the carriage automatically returned when it got to the end of the line of type. You could change the print head so that you could have a variety of fonts to from which to choose. It could even do some of the centering automatically. The touch of the keys was light and very easy to use. They even started to come with correcting ribbons in them so you could go back and type the character over the first place you typed it and it was press white correcting ink in that spot.
I remember when...
They came out with copiers that used rolls of paper which you tore off for each page as it printed.
I remember when...
Cordless phones came into use. You could walk anywhere, even outside to sit on the porch, while you talked to someone. These could even be hung on the wall instead of sitting on a table.
I remember when...
I used my first Xerox computer. Claude had used a computer at work. The processor took an entire room. To do his back-up he would have to stay after hours for hours to make a back-up of the work done that day. My Xerox computer could do word processing and a spreadsheet and had as much memory as Claude's compute that took up a room. I spent my lunch hour every day teaching myself how to use it. You could make a document and send it to the printer. You had to use a lot of "F" (function) keys to do things.
I remember when...
Copiers started using real paper. They needed to be big machines then and they only made black and white copies, no color yet.
I remember when...
I started to work and the phones in the office were connect. I could answer a phone and then put that person on hold and then contact the person in the office they needed to talk to, tell them who was calling, and connect them to the caller I placed on hold. I also remember that some of my friends parents got them their own telephone for their bedroom.
I remember when...
Everyone in the office now had a computer at their desk. These computers were all connected so we could create a document and the 'cc' it to others in our office. We didn't connect to the outside world yet. There was no eMail but we could do that 'cc' thing with others in our office.
I remember when...
We could now send multiple copies from our computer to our printer making the copy machine only needed for larger copy jobs. We could also now change the cartridges in our copier and make color copies. Literally, the first one of these I could pick one color (we had red, blue and green). I would print a document with the black ink first, then run that same document through to add what I wanted to show in red, then run it through again for each of the blue or green items I wanted on it. Very slow but such a step up from just black and white.
I remember when...
Cell phones first started to come out. It was like walking around with a brick in your hand with an antennae on it. People would get them installed in their cars and they would take up the entire center console between the driver and the passenger. Big phones they were. Not something you could carry in your pocket.
I remember when...
That computer and that copier were connected together. All the people working in my department shared a copier. Each department had their own copier. The executive office had the biggest and best color copier with a smaller copier. We could tell our computer where we wanted our document to print and how many copies and send that print job to one of the copiers. This greatly enabled my need to multi-task.
I remember when...
Cell phones became smaller and personal so people began to carry them on their person. They were for phone calls not games, calendars and huge address books. However, a lot of people were carrying pagers and would get a beep and then find a phone and make a phone call. Many of us carried Franklin Planners which were notebooks filled with paper for calendars and addresses. A big date for Claude and me each year was to go to the office supply store and each pick out the new calendar pages we would need for the next year and check out any new pages they may have come up with for our planners. They did eventually come out with the Palm Pilot on which you kept your address book and calendar for work, church and home.
I remember when...
The stand alone PC (personal computer) gave way to the lap top which you could take it with you. They even made some little portable printers you could carry so you could print if you needed from the lap top.
I remember when...
Claude got his first Blackberry cell phone. He could put all his address book in it and his calendar with work, church and home things on it. He was able to give up that pager and Palm Pilot the Peace Corp expected him to carry all the time. He loved it.
Now...
The my cell phone has my calendar, address list, scriptures, games, apps to make things convenient. I can find places with a GPS (global positioning system). I can carry lots of pictures of my family. I use it set an alarm when I need to wake up or do something at a specific time. I can text a message to someone, check Facebook and send messages there, find things on the Internet when I have a question, check the weather and the list goes on. All with a cell phone in the palm of my hand that can also fit in my pocket.
Now...
I have a lap top and it is wireless and can connect to any Wi-Fi available. I carry it with me when I work at the Family History Center so I can put my personal family history work right there as I do it. I carry it upstairs to work up there when Claude and I want to be together in the evening and then back downstairs when I want to work on my lessons and Blog. I've learned to love having a lap top.
Now...
I have a Kindle Fire which is a tablet. It is filled with books I intend to read, games to play, pictures of my family and our travels, my scriptures, and many other documents.
Is there evolution? I would say there has been a lot of evolution in my 62 years on earth. Sometimes, when I pause and think about all the changes that have happened in my short 62 years, I am blown away by the contrast. So much is so very helpful but it really also just fills up my day with things that I didn't feel I needed to take the time with years ago. I'm grateful for it, but it must be controlled or it will control me.
The thing I have also noticed is the way we communicate has changed and often not for the better.
Last night Claude and I were talking and he stated that Facebook is losing out in this communication race. They are not as popular as they once were. He said there was something else growing in popularity that was taking Facebook's place. I asked him what it was. He said, "I can't remember but I wrote it down." I just laughed. My are the two of us getting old. We try to keep up to some degree but, really, s l o w d o w n people.
I'm grateful for the good that comes of this new technology. I refuse to use the bad that comes with this new technology. Now...I'm off to stop this Blogging about it and finish my Institute lesson for tonight using that technology. Geez!!!
Most people were happy to have a 'party line' for the new telephone they had in their home. You shared your phone line with other people and several families took turns using the same phone line. If you wanted to communicate with someone, you usually went to visit them in person or wrote a letter by hand.
I remember when...
We had a typewriter. It did not even plug into an electric outlet. You pressed the keys really hard and you reached up with your right hand and pressed a handled to return the carriage to type the next line. If you wanted something centered, you counted the characters in what you were typing and went to the center of your carriage and backspaced half the characters you needed to type. There was one font and that was it. There was a ribbon in your typewriter that had to be flipped over so you could type on the other side, then flipped back so you might get a little more use out of it. To change it was a messy proposition.
I remember when...
To make multiple copies of something you typed on a stencil. It had a piece of carbon paper on the back with a piece of white paper on the top. You typed very carefully because there was no eraser so a mistake stayed on your work. Then you put that paper on a mimeograph machine and filled it with this alcohol based liquid and turned that handle for each copy you wanted to make.
I remember when...
We got our own phone line. There was only one phone our home. It had a special nook built into the wall in the hallway in the center of our home. There was a shelf under the nook for the telephone directory. That phone had a cord that would reach from the middle of the house to anywhere else in the house. It was a very long cord. It was a big deal when gettting your phone to state the length of cord you wanted for your phone. We all shared that one phone in our home. That phone was not the big, black, heavy, rotary-dail phone we were used to with the party line. It could not come in colors but you still had to 'dial' the number you wanted to call. Our phone numbers were all four digits long.
I remember when...
We got electric typewriters in our school for typing class. You didn't have to press as hard on the keys but you still had to return that carriage yourself and count out characters for the spacing you wanted on your paper.
I remember when...
That mimeograph machine went electric and it turned itself to make all the copies you needed.
I remember when...
The princess phones came out. How trim and pretty they were. You could even have more than one phone in your home. They were even beginning to make them so you could press a button instead of turning a dial to enter a number. Princess phones came in many colors so they could match the room in which they were placed. They didn't have to have miles of phone cords. But, you had to pay for each phone you used in your home and the telephone company had some magical way of knowing if you were using more phones in your home than you were paying them for on your phone bill. There were more people with more phones so our phone numbers went to seven digits. The three digit prefex now told what part of town you lived in.
I remember when...
We still used typewriters but the carriage automatically returned when it got to the end of the line of type. You could change the print head so that you could have a variety of fonts to from which to choose. It could even do some of the centering automatically. The touch of the keys was light and very easy to use. They even started to come with correcting ribbons in them so you could go back and type the character over the first place you typed it and it was press white correcting ink in that spot.
I remember when...
They came out with copiers that used rolls of paper which you tore off for each page as it printed.
I remember when...
Cordless phones came into use. You could walk anywhere, even outside to sit on the porch, while you talked to someone. These could even be hung on the wall instead of sitting on a table.
I remember when...
I used my first Xerox computer. Claude had used a computer at work. The processor took an entire room. To do his back-up he would have to stay after hours for hours to make a back-up of the work done that day. My Xerox computer could do word processing and a spreadsheet and had as much memory as Claude's compute that took up a room. I spent my lunch hour every day teaching myself how to use it. You could make a document and send it to the printer. You had to use a lot of "F" (function) keys to do things.
I remember when...
Copiers started using real paper. They needed to be big machines then and they only made black and white copies, no color yet.
I remember when...
I started to work and the phones in the office were connect. I could answer a phone and then put that person on hold and then contact the person in the office they needed to talk to, tell them who was calling, and connect them to the caller I placed on hold. I also remember that some of my friends parents got them their own telephone for their bedroom.
I remember when...
Everyone in the office now had a computer at their desk. These computers were all connected so we could create a document and the 'cc' it to others in our office. We didn't connect to the outside world yet. There was no eMail but we could do that 'cc' thing with others in our office.
I remember when...
We could now send multiple copies from our computer to our printer making the copy machine only needed for larger copy jobs. We could also now change the cartridges in our copier and make color copies. Literally, the first one of these I could pick one color (we had red, blue and green). I would print a document with the black ink first, then run that same document through to add what I wanted to show in red, then run it through again for each of the blue or green items I wanted on it. Very slow but such a step up from just black and white.
I remember when...
Cell phones first started to come out. It was like walking around with a brick in your hand with an antennae on it. People would get them installed in their cars and they would take up the entire center console between the driver and the passenger. Big phones they were. Not something you could carry in your pocket.
I remember when...
That computer and that copier were connected together. All the people working in my department shared a copier. Each department had their own copier. The executive office had the biggest and best color copier with a smaller copier. We could tell our computer where we wanted our document to print and how many copies and send that print job to one of the copiers. This greatly enabled my need to multi-task.
I remember when...
Cell phones became smaller and personal so people began to carry them on their person. They were for phone calls not games, calendars and huge address books. However, a lot of people were carrying pagers and would get a beep and then find a phone and make a phone call. Many of us carried Franklin Planners which were notebooks filled with paper for calendars and addresses. A big date for Claude and me each year was to go to the office supply store and each pick out the new calendar pages we would need for the next year and check out any new pages they may have come up with for our planners. They did eventually come out with the Palm Pilot on which you kept your address book and calendar for work, church and home.
I remember when...
The stand alone PC (personal computer) gave way to the lap top which you could take it with you. They even made some little portable printers you could carry so you could print if you needed from the lap top.
I remember when...
Claude got his first Blackberry cell phone. He could put all his address book in it and his calendar with work, church and home things on it. He was able to give up that pager and Palm Pilot the Peace Corp expected him to carry all the time. He loved it.
Now...
The my cell phone has my calendar, address list, scriptures, games, apps to make things convenient. I can find places with a GPS (global positioning system). I can carry lots of pictures of my family. I use it set an alarm when I need to wake up or do something at a specific time. I can text a message to someone, check Facebook and send messages there, find things on the Internet when I have a question, check the weather and the list goes on. All with a cell phone in the palm of my hand that can also fit in my pocket.
Now...
I have a lap top and it is wireless and can connect to any Wi-Fi available. I carry it with me when I work at the Family History Center so I can put my personal family history work right there as I do it. I carry it upstairs to work up there when Claude and I want to be together in the evening and then back downstairs when I want to work on my lessons and Blog. I've learned to love having a lap top.
Now...
I have a Kindle Fire which is a tablet. It is filled with books I intend to read, games to play, pictures of my family and our travels, my scriptures, and many other documents.
Is there evolution? I would say there has been a lot of evolution in my 62 years on earth. Sometimes, when I pause and think about all the changes that have happened in my short 62 years, I am blown away by the contrast. So much is so very helpful but it really also just fills up my day with things that I didn't feel I needed to take the time with years ago. I'm grateful for it, but it must be controlled or it will control me.
The thing I have also noticed is the way we communicate has changed and often not for the better.
- In my early years there were long phone conversations or face-to-face conversations.
- Then the letter writing went the way of the eMail. However, you could send a nice long eMail just like you might write a nice long letter to your family. I still try to send many hand-written thank you notes but often we send an eMail thank you and I do love my eCard notes.
- Blogging was a big thing. It was finally my answer to keeping some type of journal. I always wanted to keep a journal but never was good at it. With the Blog I could make an entry as the mood struck or an event happened. I could follow my families Blogs and it was like getting letters from each other. Now Blogging seems to be going the way of the do-do bird.
- Then Facebook came along and suddenly eMail's were not used as much and the communications sent became even shorter. You can send a private message to someone on Facebook but it is still usually short and to the point. No one wants to spend hours (figuratively speaking) reading some lengthy thing. Some people post things on Facebook that really should have been sent in a private message.
- Texting made things even shorter and came up with its own language which seems to me to be dumbing down spelling and writing in general.
- And there is 'tweeting' which is really short burst of thought you feel the world needs to know. I've never gotten into tweeting and Claude and I only text a little bit.
Last night Claude and I were talking and he stated that Facebook is losing out in this communication race. They are not as popular as they once were. He said there was something else growing in popularity that was taking Facebook's place. I asked him what it was. He said, "I can't remember but I wrote it down." I just laughed. My are the two of us getting old. We try to keep up to some degree but, really, s l o w d o w n people.
I'm grateful for the good that comes of this new technology. I refuse to use the bad that comes with this new technology. Now...I'm off to stop this Blogging about it and finish my Institute lesson for tonight using that technology. Geez!!!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Saturday...
Saturday, April 13th, Claude and I filled up quite nicely.
We started off with a drive through McDonald's for my favorite 'On The Road Breakfast' and then Claude pointed the mighty Jeep toward Lexington.
I spent my morning at Inservice training for all the Seminary and Institute teachers in Northern Kentucky. It was a wonderful session. Our class will cover Revelation over the next two Thursday evenings. That can be a bit daunting. I was praying for any little bit of inspiration I could glean. Bro. McArthur did not disappoint. He provided us with several potential handouts. He also taught us two of the chapters to give us an idea of how to focus our teaching of this valuable book in the New Testament. I loved that he told us not to get bogged down in the symbols themselves but to focus on the principles they are there to teach. Let the principles be the lesson not just those interesting images you get in your brain as you read those symbols. Good direction and counsel.
While I was doing this training, Claude did a Lowe's run and filled the Jeep with gas which is considerably less expensive than in Georgetown.
I hurried out as soon as Inservice was over and we headed to...
Can you read it? The answer is 'Keeneland'.
This was Toyota Stakes Day at the races. Toyota always invites Claude and me to attend this event. Claude confirmed our attendance long before we left for Ireland. We thought the tickets would be in the mail when we returned. Nope. Not a single ticket at all. This last week Claude contacted the people at Toyota to be sure they did send them. They said they did, however, they were sent to a wrong PO Box. The City of Sadieville's PO Box ends in 9. They sent the tickets to a PO Box that ends in 7. Ironically, that PO Box happens to belong to the former Mayor. Geez!! Claude spoke with our Post Master and figured out where the tickets would have been delivered but they were not returned to the post office. Claude told Toyota what happened. They corrected their data base and made new tickets and a parking pass for Claude. We were set to go.
We got there just as the horses were being led from the warm up walking track to the race track.
Toyota's guest spend the afternoon in the Lexington room at Keeneland. This is on the fourth floor of Keeneland's grandstand. This year our table was right by the window. Excellent seats. An excellent meal was served and we had all the ginger ale and water we could enjoy. Later in the afternoon they always pass out popcorn.
Our table mates were to have been Patricia Putty and her hubby. Patricia is the Superintendent of the Scott County Schools. We have never met her hubby and did not meet him Saturday. They never showed.
We perused our programs for the second race to make our picks. I always pick. I never place a bet. Love to watch the horses run. Do not like the betting. Amazingly, the horses I picked as the winners for Race 2, 3 and 4 each came in first.
We started off with a drive through McDonald's for my favorite 'On The Road Breakfast' and then Claude pointed the mighty Jeep toward Lexington.
I spent my morning at Inservice training for all the Seminary and Institute teachers in Northern Kentucky. It was a wonderful session. Our class will cover Revelation over the next two Thursday evenings. That can be a bit daunting. I was praying for any little bit of inspiration I could glean. Bro. McArthur did not disappoint. He provided us with several potential handouts. He also taught us two of the chapters to give us an idea of how to focus our teaching of this valuable book in the New Testament. I loved that he told us not to get bogged down in the symbols themselves but to focus on the principles they are there to teach. Let the principles be the lesson not just those interesting images you get in your brain as you read those symbols. Good direction and counsel.
While I was doing this training, Claude did a Lowe's run and filled the Jeep with gas which is considerably less expensive than in Georgetown.
I hurried out as soon as Inservice was over and we headed to...
This was Toyota Stakes Day at the races. Toyota always invites Claude and me to attend this event. Claude confirmed our attendance long before we left for Ireland. We thought the tickets would be in the mail when we returned. Nope. Not a single ticket at all. This last week Claude contacted the people at Toyota to be sure they did send them. They said they did, however, they were sent to a wrong PO Box. The City of Sadieville's PO Box ends in 9. They sent the tickets to a PO Box that ends in 7. Ironically, that PO Box happens to belong to the former Mayor. Geez!! Claude spoke with our Post Master and figured out where the tickets would have been delivered but they were not returned to the post office. Claude told Toyota what happened. They corrected their data base and made new tickets and a parking pass for Claude. We were set to go.
We got there just as the horses were being led from the warm up walking track to the race track.
Our table mates were to have been Patricia Putty and her hubby. Patricia is the Superintendent of the Scott County Schools. We have never met her hubby and did not meet him Saturday. They never showed.
We perused our programs for the second race to make our picks. I always pick. I never place a bet. Love to watch the horses run. Do not like the betting. Amazingly, the horses I picked as the winners for Race 2, 3 and 4 each came in first.
That was the end of any 'mojo' I may have had. From that point forward I picked the last or next to last horse in Races 5 through 10. But I totally enjoyed guessing and watching and that was worth the restful afternoon.
Will James, the President of Toyota, spoke to us and also asked the President and CEO of Keeneland, Bill Thomason, and the former President of Toyota, Steve St. Angelo, to speak to us as well.
Our favorite race is the big John Deere tractors keeping that track in tip-top shape.
A highlight of the afternoon was a race that had a photo finish for all four positions. I don't remember which race or who won. It was an unlikely pick so that those betting on that horse went away with heavier pockets than when they entered Keeneland.
We also saw an 'objection' come on the big screen after one race was finished. Never saw that before. It was one of the stakes races and the owner, friends and family were already out on the field for their recognition. Everything halted while they settle the objection. Then the horse first called the winner was still the winner.
We watched the 10th race which was the Toyota Stakes race and then we headed for home. By time we got home I was so very sick to my tummy. Claude was not, so the food was not at issue. I started our laundry, called and checked on Papa and then curled up for the rest of what evening was left. Claude curled up on the sofa and we watched Les Miserable.
It was a fun, full day. Like it when Saturday's that are going to be full are also fun!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Tickling the Ivories...
My parents loved music and felt it was very important to have good music in our home. That meant, for the most part, only classical music, country music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Everytime the Choir came out with a new album, Papa had Mr. Priest, who own the record store, call him. Then Papa would go and purchase that album.
I remember the 'Hi-Fi Stereo' cabinet Papa purchased and placed in our living room. We were taught exactly how to handle an album to play it and not scratch it at all.
My father played in a band all of my growing up years. I remember practice sessions in the evening at our home and the joy it brought my parents to have the friends over to pick and grin and sing. Papa had a radio program at one point. He also managed the Jamboree in a little town near Shreveport. It was something like Renfro Valley here in Kentucky.
My parents purchased an old upright piano at some point very early on. I don't remember the purchasing of this piano. It seems to me it was always a part of our home but I'm sure it was purchased with the intent that each of their three daughters would learn to play that old upright piano.
My piano lessons began when I was in third grade. Mrs. Arlene Herring was my only piano teacher. She lived about 7 or 8 blocks away from our home and I would walk to her home often for my piano lesson. She would also teach Junie and Neffie when it came time for them to start lessons. She didn't like to start any child before they were eight years old as she felt they needed to know fractions to understand timing. We sat at her baby grand piano in her living room and she sat at a chair beside us. "Keep your fingers curled" was a phrase I heard often.
Mrs. Herring used the Thompson piano lesson books. You started out with 'Teaching Little Fingers to Play' and moved up through the grades of those books. She also picked two pieces of music for you to learn that were special. You would play these at the piano recital held at the end of each school year at the church she attended, Cumberland Baptist Church. There pieces were to be learned and memorized through the year. I was NEVER good a memorizing. Basically I just had to play and play and play until my fingers knew where to go. Recitals were a time for a new dress. My first was very formal and my mother made it for me. Mrs. Herring also tried many times to toss in a technique book. I'm not sure how many of those were 'lost' as I walked past a big park on the way to her home. I really just wanted to play. I couldn't see any possible need for all that technical stuff. Such is the folly of youth
We had a big need for pianists at Church and it wasn't long before I was asked to play for Sunday School. They would carefully pick three hymns for me to play each Sunday; an opening, sacrament and closing hymn. I would learn these and eventually I learned all the hymns in the hymnbook. Mrs. Herring loved our hymns because she said, "They are beautiful pieces of music."
Eventually my friend, Sue Sprayberry, and I were the music people for Primary. I usually played because my skills at playing were a little better than Sue's. But we would change places and sometimes I would lead and Sue would play. This was great fun because we both loved music and were such good friends anyway.
Eventually I learned how to do the spider crawl on the organ with my fingers so that I didn't lose the sound. Then I started learning three hymns a week on the organ and playing for Sacrament meeting. I never really had organ lessons except Bibbit Pearce teaching me to move my fingers from one note to the next so the sound stayed continuous and connected. When you release an organ key the sound stops and you have no damper pedal like you do on a piano to keep it connected. I love to play the organ to this day.
All my life I have had lots of opportunity to play the piano and organ at Church. Playing the piano was my release for tension as a teenager and as a young mother. I remember putting my little ones to bed and sitting down to my piano and plowing through 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'. This was the accompaniment to the version the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings.
Now I am 62 years old with many years of piano playing under my belt. I now have the joy of singing with my father every Wednesday at the nursing home where my mother was until her death. We have been doing this since 2005. Usually Papa sings 8-9 solo numbers, then we sing 8 duet numbers, then Papa plays his harmonica and then his mandolin. This fills an hour of time. He played the harmonica because Jim Ford loved to hear it. Jim's wife was in the nursing home with Parkinson's. She passed away the end of 2012. Jim does not come to the nursing home anymore. It's hard for Papa to play the harmonica because it takes so much breathe and he just doesn't have that anymore. He will be 85 on May 3rd.
Last week Papa asked if I would play a piano number instead of him playing the harmonica anymore. I told him I would be happy to do that for him. Yesterday morning I found a version of the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" that I really like. I practiced it in the morning and again in the afternoon. Then I took it to the nursing home to play as the piano number.
I suddenly realized this was life circling around. I know my parents did not have the money for all three of us to take piano lessons. I'm sure they did without many things so that we could have that learning opportunity in our lives. I suddenly saw all those times I have played the piano or the organ to meet a need at Church, to entertain a group of people, to teach my own three kids how to play, to play for a wedding or a funeral and the list goes on. What it comes back to is helping the person who made it possible for me to sit and play the piano, my father. He does love music to this day.
I felt very grateful for him and this 'ah ha' moment in my life. As he gives up another thing because his body is wearing out (playing the harmonica), maybe I can fill that void a little by playing something on the piano once a week as I spend precious moments with him entertaining those who can't leave the confines of the nursing home. That my friends, is a lot to be grateful for.
I remember the 'Hi-Fi Stereo' cabinet Papa purchased and placed in our living room. We were taught exactly how to handle an album to play it and not scratch it at all.
My father played in a band all of my growing up years. I remember practice sessions in the evening at our home and the joy it brought my parents to have the friends over to pick and grin and sing. Papa had a radio program at one point. He also managed the Jamboree in a little town near Shreveport. It was something like Renfro Valley here in Kentucky.
My parents purchased an old upright piano at some point very early on. I don't remember the purchasing of this piano. It seems to me it was always a part of our home but I'm sure it was purchased with the intent that each of their three daughters would learn to play that old upright piano.
My piano lessons began when I was in third grade. Mrs. Arlene Herring was my only piano teacher. She lived about 7 or 8 blocks away from our home and I would walk to her home often for my piano lesson. She would also teach Junie and Neffie when it came time for them to start lessons. She didn't like to start any child before they were eight years old as she felt they needed to know fractions to understand timing. We sat at her baby grand piano in her living room and she sat at a chair beside us. "Keep your fingers curled" was a phrase I heard often.
Mrs. Herring used the Thompson piano lesson books. You started out with 'Teaching Little Fingers to Play' and moved up through the grades of those books. She also picked two pieces of music for you to learn that were special. You would play these at the piano recital held at the end of each school year at the church she attended, Cumberland Baptist Church. There pieces were to be learned and memorized through the year. I was NEVER good a memorizing. Basically I just had to play and play and play until my fingers knew where to go. Recitals were a time for a new dress. My first was very formal and my mother made it for me. Mrs. Herring also tried many times to toss in a technique book. I'm not sure how many of those were 'lost' as I walked past a big park on the way to her home. I really just wanted to play. I couldn't see any possible need for all that technical stuff. Such is the folly of youth
We had a big need for pianists at Church and it wasn't long before I was asked to play for Sunday School. They would carefully pick three hymns for me to play each Sunday; an opening, sacrament and closing hymn. I would learn these and eventually I learned all the hymns in the hymnbook. Mrs. Herring loved our hymns because she said, "They are beautiful pieces of music."
Eventually my friend, Sue Sprayberry, and I were the music people for Primary. I usually played because my skills at playing were a little better than Sue's. But we would change places and sometimes I would lead and Sue would play. This was great fun because we both loved music and were such good friends anyway.
Eventually I learned how to do the spider crawl on the organ with my fingers so that I didn't lose the sound. Then I started learning three hymns a week on the organ and playing for Sacrament meeting. I never really had organ lessons except Bibbit Pearce teaching me to move my fingers from one note to the next so the sound stayed continuous and connected. When you release an organ key the sound stops and you have no damper pedal like you do on a piano to keep it connected. I love to play the organ to this day.
All my life I have had lots of opportunity to play the piano and organ at Church. Playing the piano was my release for tension as a teenager and as a young mother. I remember putting my little ones to bed and sitting down to my piano and plowing through 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'. This was the accompaniment to the version the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings.
Now I am 62 years old with many years of piano playing under my belt. I now have the joy of singing with my father every Wednesday at the nursing home where my mother was until her death. We have been doing this since 2005. Usually Papa sings 8-9 solo numbers, then we sing 8 duet numbers, then Papa plays his harmonica and then his mandolin. This fills an hour of time. He played the harmonica because Jim Ford loved to hear it. Jim's wife was in the nursing home with Parkinson's. She passed away the end of 2012. Jim does not come to the nursing home anymore. It's hard for Papa to play the harmonica because it takes so much breathe and he just doesn't have that anymore. He will be 85 on May 3rd.
Last week Papa asked if I would play a piano number instead of him playing the harmonica anymore. I told him I would be happy to do that for him. Yesterday morning I found a version of the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" that I really like. I practiced it in the morning and again in the afternoon. Then I took it to the nursing home to play as the piano number.
I suddenly realized this was life circling around. I know my parents did not have the money for all three of us to take piano lessons. I'm sure they did without many things so that we could have that learning opportunity in our lives. I suddenly saw all those times I have played the piano or the organ to meet a need at Church, to entertain a group of people, to teach my own three kids how to play, to play for a wedding or a funeral and the list goes on. What it comes back to is helping the person who made it possible for me to sit and play the piano, my father. He does love music to this day.
I felt very grateful for him and this 'ah ha' moment in my life. As he gives up another thing because his body is wearing out (playing the harmonica), maybe I can fill that void a little by playing something on the piano once a week as I spend precious moments with him entertaining those who can't leave the confines of the nursing home. That my friends, is a lot to be grateful for.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Enjoying Country Life with the Mini's...
This was Spring Break for all our grandmonsters. We returned in time to have Hayden and Bailey bring their mother, Andie, over for Friday and Saturday of their Spring Break.
Friday we cleared the driveway and Bailey practiced riding her bike. Look at that grin of success!!
Saturday was just a gorgeous day weather wise. Bailey wanted to draw a picture of the little dam at the entry to Eagle Bend. I left the house with her while Andie and Hayden finished something else they were working on. Later Hayden and Andie would go to the bridge to explore and Bailey and I would eventually join up with them. This was one of those days I had it confirmed in my mind and heart again why we moved to this spot in the country. See if you can understand as you view these pictures and this Blog entry.
First, Bailey and I headed to the entry of Eagle Bend. There is a little dam there and Bailey felt she needed to be there and then draw a picture of it. I fitted her and Hayden with the little light back packs we got for our Israel trip so they could carry their own gear this time. Off Bailey and I walked down Eagle Bend Drive hand in hand enjoying a question and answer period.
Bailey found a nice place in the grass to sit and quickly draw a picture that satisified her artist need. Somehow in my mind I thought it would take longer. I'm thinking it may have taken three minutes.
My little bundle of energy was now ready to hike the bank of the Eagle Creek. What fun to find the Canadian Geese have returned. Two were floating on the creek honking at us at the tops of their lungs. Bailey started 'honking' back at them. Then she told me she could speak goose. She was asking them what they had for breakfast and they were saying mashed potatoes. This was followed by peals of laughter.
Bailey and I hiked all the way back to our home which is the last one on the creek side of Eagle Bend. Curiosity got the better of both of us when I saw something that appeared to be a huge dead beast at the far end of the extra lot we own. I needed to be sure some animal didn't float there and land during the last flooding of the creek. I actually think Bailey was excited about the prospect and I had to ask her not to run ahead of me just in case it was something we needed to be careful about. As we neared it Bailey determined it looked like a dead elephant. I had to agree. As we got close enough we could tell it was only a big limb from a tree that washed up and had leaves all around it. Thank heavens no dead elephants!! It sure made a good place for a little girl to climb.
For all her energy, Bailey does have some quiet thoughtful moments. Here are a couple.
Nature unfolded some of her secrets to Bailey. There was the mother Canadian Goose sitting on a down filled nest. Again, she was so still we thought she might be dead. But a little twitch told us to hike up the hill away from her so she wouldn't feel threaten as she covered her eggs.
Then there was the moss on a tree. I explained to Bailey how Papa taught me in Louisiana that moss there grows on the north side of the tree. If you were lost, you would know you were traveling north by looking at the moss on the trees.
We would walk farther down Eagle Creek until suddenly Bailey stops, looks back at me and says, "I want to see my mommy and Hayden." I think we had made it as far into the woods as she wanted to go unless mommy was with her. We turned around and I called Andie on my cell phone. She and Hayden had made it part way up the creek toward our home. I told her we were walking back and would meet them. When we met up, both kids wanted to go back and play in the water by the entry to Eagle Bend. The water was a a very low level and safe to play in and the weather was cooperating by being warm and sunny enough.
Bailey and I met up with Andie and Hayden and off we went to the bridge into Eagle Bend. There is a place on the side without the dam where the water goes around some soil that forms a tiny island. The kids loved to make their way across the slippery rocks and play on the island. At least that is where they usually play. Saturday they would venture just a bit further.
First, playing from shore to the little island.
Well, our little dears have explored that little island as much as they wanted. They have tested their skills walking on moss covered rocks with water flowing over them. They were now wet and eager to strike out to new bits of land they have never explored.
And before you know it they were back at the creek again. Our intreped band of pioneer kids and mom.
Once they were sure they were wet and cold and tired enough, we headed for home and warm clothes, hot chocolate and a good movie. When they got to the porch Andie had them take off their wet shoes and socks before going inside. They quickly figured out their feet in wet socks made great foot prints on the concrete and they enjoyed a bit of time making pictures with their wet sock feet. Then we headed inside.
After everyone was had their hot chocolate and some lunch and were curled up in front of a movie, my next door neighbor called. It seems the man cutting the wild grass off the top of the hill hit the water main with his blades and broke it. We had our old Old Faithful here in Sadieville for a while.
Later it was craft time. Andie brought some metal paper-like material and she and Hayden did some drawing on it. Hayden made the Titanic.
Claude pulled out his wooden replica of a Jeep with trailer and 4-wheeler. He and Hayden would put it together. Hayden truly loved working with the electric screwdriver.
Now, can you tell why it felt so good again in my mind and my heart that we were blessed to find this lovely place in the country to live for our retirement? What a wonderful place to build memories to last a lifetime. Thanks Andie, Hayden and Bailey for sharing a few days with us and helping make those memories with me.
Friday we cleared the driveway and Bailey practiced riding her bike. Look at that grin of success!!
First, Bailey and I headed to the entry of Eagle Bend. There is a little dam there and Bailey felt she needed to be there and then draw a picture of it. I fitted her and Hayden with the little light back packs we got for our Israel trip so they could carry their own gear this time. Off Bailey and I walked down Eagle Bend Drive hand in hand enjoying a question and answer period.
Bailey found a nice place in the grass to sit and quickly draw a picture that satisified her artist need. Somehow in my mind I thought it would take longer. I'm thinking it may have taken three minutes.
Bailey and I met up with Andie and Hayden and off we went to the bridge into Eagle Bend. There is a place on the side without the dam where the water goes around some soil that forms a tiny island. The kids loved to make their way across the slippery rocks and play on the island. At least that is where they usually play. Saturday they would venture just a bit further.
First, playing from shore to the little island.
After everyone was had their hot chocolate and some lunch and were curled up in front of a movie, my next door neighbor called. It seems the man cutting the wild grass off the top of the hill hit the water main with his blades and broke it. We had our old Old Faithful here in Sadieville for a while.
The Adventures of O'Sandi in Ireland - Day 6...
Well, this was it. Our last full day in Ireland.
Gerald picked us up on the coach and took us north of Dublin to Malahide Castle.
We strolled through the museum on the ground floor at our own pace as they waited for the tour group to fill. Then it was up the most friendly set of spiral stairs in a turret I encountered on the entire trip.
This was a beautifully restored castle. We were not allowed to take pictures inside as the artwork is on loan from their National Gallery. However, Alan the Intrepid, managed to take a few pictures and shared them with us.
This particular castle had a Abbey on its grounds. It is in ruins now but makes for a great photo spot.
There was a cemetery beside the Abbey and I noticed something I've never seen before but would see again at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Over the grave they make a flower box and fill it with colorful little flowers. I found this a very pleasant idea.
There are lots of acres of grounds through which you could walk, the stable area has been turned into a visitor's center with a cafe to eat and a shop to purchase souvenirs.
Back to Dublin our coach sped. We would have lunch at Kilkenny's where we had lunch our first day. Then we had about a hour to shop before time to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Mary was clearly excited about St. Patrick's Cathedral. She had us all pause outside where the spring is believed to be that St. Patrick performed his first baptisms. There is just this little flower bed there now. One could totally walk past and not even know it was there.
Outside I found a beautiful Celtic cross and more graves with flower beds on top.
Our final destination would be dinner at the Merry Ploughboy Pub.
This is a family friendly pub. They seat everyone at long tables and you dine on traditional Irish fare. About the time for dessert, the Merry Ploughboy's come out and entertain you with traditional Irish music. There are four guys and they are wonderful. They are well known throughout Ireland. They are great at getting the audience participating with them. When they take their break, the Irish dancers come out and fill that little stage with great dancing. Then the Merry Ploughboy's come back out and finish your evening with more music. It was so much fun Claude purchased one of their CD's for us. What a fun way to finish our week in Ireland.
Tuesday morning we all road the coach to the Dublin Airport. We were all on the same Aer Lingus flight back to the United States. Once at Chicago we would begin to split up. One couple flew back to New York City, most flew to Salt Lake City and Claude and I flew back to Lexington.
Ireland is a wonderful place. The people were all very friendly. The food was good and plentiful. Even with cold weather the Emerald Isle did not disappoint in beauty and personality. Claude and I are very happy we chose this as our destination for our big trip this year.
Gerald picked us up on the coach and took us north of Dublin to Malahide Castle.
Back to Dublin our coach sped. We would have lunch at Kilkenny's where we had lunch our first day. Then we had about a hour to shop before time to go to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Alan had us pause here for one more tour group photo.
Then Mary acted as tour guide through the entire cathedral. She had not done that before and this only served to prove her love for this particular place. Here are a few pictures of the interior.
Tuesday morning we all road the coach to the Dublin Airport. We were all on the same Aer Lingus flight back to the United States. Once at Chicago we would begin to split up. One couple flew back to New York City, most flew to Salt Lake City and Claude and I flew back to Lexington.
Ireland is a wonderful place. The people were all very friendly. The food was good and plentiful. Even with cold weather the Emerald Isle did not disappoint in beauty and personality. Claude and I are very happy we chose this as our destination for our big trip this year.
The Adventures of O'Sandi in Ireland - Day 5...
Sunday, March 31st, found our tour group headed back to Dublin. But first we would pause in the Irish countryside at Ardrahan in County Galway to visit with Frances and Fintan at Rathbaun Farm.
Fintan and Frances are standing in front of their 250 year old thatched roof home. Fintan grew up in this home. They do not live here now but they keep the home ready for visitors to enjoy a real thatched roof home with a peat burning fireplace going.
Fintan raises sheep. We were to see his sheep dog demonstration. To do that we passed through his barn where he has a sample of the different kinds of sheep you would find in Ireland. I was happy to find a Jacob sheep. I was surprised to learn that this particular breed grows four horns instead of two and sometimes can grow as many as six horns.
There was even a ewe with two one day old lambs.
Fintan took us outside by the field with his sheep dog and talked to us about sheep in Ireland. Then his dog did his practice of rounding up the sheep and getting them in a pen by the barn. This dog was ready to go and do his work. We learned that he doesn't bark. He listens to the commands and obeys. It takes a few years to get them really ready to do the work for which they are bred. Their breed is called Irish Sheep Dog.
Fintan was a very gentle man. After the demonstration he led us back into the bar and filled some bottles with milk so we could feed the lambs if we wanted. Then we went to the other side of the barn to the outside pens. There were more sheep and one pen with a very, very pregnant looking little Irish pony.
While we were doing all this, Frances was in their kitchen and eating area making us fresh scones with fresh whipped butter. Oh My Goodness!!! What Fintan and Frances have done is make a doorway from the back wall of the thatched roof home into this large room with tables to feed people or have a meeting. This part of their facility is about 25 years old. They had it constructed just like the thatched roof home so it seems like it all came from the same era and was made at the same time. However, the interior has modern fixtures in the kitchen.
Claude and I enjoyed hot chocolate with our scones. On a cold day it was even more delicious. We were invited to go through the doorway into the thatched roof home in small groups.
The main floor of the home had a main living area with the fireplace. The room behind the fireplace was the formal parlor. According to Frances you were not allowed in there except for very special occasions...like when they laid you out after you died, then you could be invited to your own funeral and be laid out in there. The other side of this main level had what would have been two very tiny bedrooms. Frances said there was enough room to open the door and jump into bed. Frances and Fintan have made these into little coffee rooms with table and chairs. We were not allowed upstairs but there would have been other bedrooms up there. Each couple posed for their Christmas card picture for 2013 in front of the turf fire.
What a treat to see this little bit of heaven plopped in the countryside. I almost hated to leave it as it was so very peaceful and friendly. But on to Dublin that coach had to head.
This was Easter Sunday. It seemed strange not to be home and at Church for a special program to remember all we need and should remember at Easter. I found myself happy to be with lambs at the beginning of my Easter Sunday. It just seemed right to remember Him as I looked at those lambs.
We passed some of the biggest bog fields on this leg of the journey.
Fintan raises sheep. We were to see his sheep dog demonstration. To do that we passed through his barn where he has a sample of the different kinds of sheep you would find in Ireland. I was happy to find a Jacob sheep. I was surprised to learn that this particular breed grows four horns instead of two and sometimes can grow as many as six horns.
Fintan took us outside by the field with his sheep dog and talked to us about sheep in Ireland. Then his dog did his practice of rounding up the sheep and getting them in a pen by the barn. This dog was ready to go and do his work. We learned that he doesn't bark. He listens to the commands and obeys. It takes a few years to get them really ready to do the work for which they are bred. Their breed is called Irish Sheep Dog.
The main floor of the home had a main living area with the fireplace. The room behind the fireplace was the formal parlor. According to Frances you were not allowed in there except for very special occasions...like when they laid you out after you died, then you could be invited to your own funeral and be laid out in there. The other side of this main level had what would have been two very tiny bedrooms. Frances said there was enough room to open the door and jump into bed. Frances and Fintan have made these into little coffee rooms with table and chairs. We were not allowed upstairs but there would have been other bedrooms up there. Each couple posed for their Christmas card picture for 2013 in front of the turf fire.
This was Easter Sunday. It seemed strange not to be home and at Church for a special program to remember all we need and should remember at Easter. I found myself happy to be with lambs at the beginning of my Easter Sunday. It just seemed right to remember Him as I looked at those lambs.
We passed some of the biggest bog fields on this leg of the journey.
We were supposed to have gone to the Merry Ploughboy Pub this night. However, that was postponed until Monday night. This meant we got back to Dublin with some time in the afternoon and evening to do as we pleased. Alan knew he was going to go to Christ Church Cathedral. He invited those who wanted to go with him to drop their luggage in their rooms and return to the bus in 15 minutes and Gerald would drop us off at Christ Church and we could walk back to our hotel or catch a taxi. If we didn't want to go there we were free to shop or whatever for the rest of the evening. We were to find our own dinner.
For Claude and me it was a no-brainer. We were going to Christ Church. We had enough of shopping.
As it turned out, this was the perfect ending to an Easter Sunday. We arrived at the beginning of Evensong, their evening service. We quietly entered and took seats in the back of the nave. They gave us a program as we entered. Thank heaven. The music was splendid but the acoustics cause the sound to rise in that cathedral and roll around and around so that words are difficult to understand in the musical pieces. It is beautiful and meant to be that way but it was great to follow every word in the program from people speaking to the words of the music. I found where they were in the program and we followed through the remainder of Evensong.
Then we were free to tour Christ Church Cathedral and take pictures as we saw fit. Here are a few pictures of the interior of Christ Church in Dublin. Check out where the organist sits in the fifth picture.
When inside the cathedral I noticed the carved work over the entrance to where the choir sits had a little lamb in the center arch.
As we left Christ Church Cathedral to walk back toward O'Connell Street, I noticed this lamb over one of the doorways.
How grateful I felt for an Easter that began and ended with lambs. I was so happy we went to Christ Church and enjoyed that beautiful Evensong service. It made this Easter truly unique.
Claude and I followed Alan as he led us like lemmings back across the River Liffey through a very questionable neighborhood and to O'Connell street where we could shop if we so desired or find a fun restaurant in which to have our evening meal. Claude and I walked a bit and then headed back toward our hotel.
As we walked we found a Viking ship of sorts. Claude climbed up in it and I got this great picture of my very own 'Great Viking'. Now that is a great way to end this Easter Sunday.
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