Tosca

Today I attended a streaming from the Metropolitan Opera which is held at  a local theater. It was like we were in the front row.  The opera was Puccini's Tosca.  It actually was great despite it having a suicide, murder, attempted rape, etc.  I believe these performances can be seen around the world.  Check out
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/liveinhd/LiveinHD.aspx to see it near you.  This absolutely would not be for my husband and I would not have gone if my friend had not invited me.   So as you can see I am going outside of my normal comfort zone.  Not having attended many operas I am amazed at the emotion that the performers show.  Not only are they extreemly talented musicians, but they show a lot of emotion in their acting.  If you were sitting in the back of the Metropolitan Opera, you would miss it.  But seeing in in the theater is great.  That was a treat for myself after days of painting the bedroom.

G's travels

G went to Nebraska to attend his uncle's 90th birthday party.  One brother and three sisters, along with some of their spouses, also attended. He was able to see cousins that he had not seen for years.  After the party, he headed to Minnesota where he is visiting my mother, and some of my family, and is seeing more of his relatives. He will be gone over two weeks.  It reminded me of a trip his mother took when she was a bit younger than him, where she took a  trip by bus around the US visiting relatives.  That was an extremely courageous thing for her to do.  I guess he learned the importance of keeping connections with family from her.

I have found plenty to keep my days filled.  The Fall outside work is pretty much completed. I have mowed lawn, mulched, pulled weeds and even planted some last minute shrubs and perennials.  They were on sale at 75 % off so it is worth the risk that they may not all survive the Winter.

The second big project is to paint a bedroom.  I have put two coats of primer on the walls, and painted the ceiling yesterday.  Today the goal is to do one coat of regular paint on the walls.  I would post pictures, but it is just dark blue walls changed to light beige.

Positive vs negative thoughts

At our last AAUW meeting, the speaker was a woman in her 40s who decided to write a book on her life for her family and friends.  She realized she did not know much about her parents, especially their thoughts and feelings about what they had experienced in life.  So she is writing this book for her sons who are in their 20s.  She expects they will not be too interested now, but hopefully will be when they are older.  She divided the chapters by decade, then by topic.  She was just talking about her motivation and the process.  She also gave a snapshot of herself:" I am getting my PhD, I am a Christian, and the book on my bedside table is The Secret."

I think I would find it difficult to write a book on my life, as there is so much I do not recall.  Guess I would have to talk to my friends and relatives and they could remind me of events.  I am also currently reading The Secret,  She said she would not talk much about the "bad" things that had happened to her.  I thought it would be helpful to learn how she coped with those events, but then I look at the ideas in the book, and it teaches to think positive, not negative thoughts.    Anyway, that is just my thinking for today.

Choosing our pain

G and I both are complaining of aching bodies.  G was riding his dirt bike on the Hatfield-McCoy trails for the last four days.  He went down a couple times, once when stopped and once in the mud. And bouncing up and down on the dirt trails is hard on your body too.

I spent a couple days shoveling mulch from a trailer on to my flower beds and staining the floor of the deck. That involved being on my knees and getting up and down from the floor many times.  I actually got it finished before the cold weather will arrive.  But my thighs are complaining.  This week I hope to finish the mulch.  There always are more projects to complete before winter arrives.

Nature in many forms

Yesterday I went out to my garden where I found an iris in bloom.  It is not the season for them to be blooming so I was thrilled.  As you can see I have tilled most of the garden already.

Irises are my favorite flower, so this was a wonderful gift.

Looks like there is something interesting in the weeds. When Ada gets to walk in our fields and woods she is in heaven. We do walk on the road for at least 30 min twice a day for real exercise.

This is her favorite place to be.  There are so many wonderful smells.  But the smells win out over our calls for her to come back.  We have to bring her back with the leash.

What's for dinner?

When our son and family packed their belongs and moved to CA, we were the recipients of food from their refrigerator and freezer.  When I came back home from MD, there were a lot of surprises:  half containers of salad dressings, ketchup, maple syrup;  frozen lasagna, turkey burgers, a pizza just to name a few things.  I am planning some of my meals around these.  Thank you to them.

I went outside of my comfort zone in cooking when I bought arugula from the local Amish auction.  The challenge then was to find a recipe that Hubby would like.  I found one where you sauteed onion and garlic, add chicken broth then cook the arugula and dried cranberries in the broth. Slivered almonds were added before serving,  I thought it was a keeper.  He ate it, but I am not sure he is a fan.    

Dog Days

The term "dog days" originally meant the hot humid days in late summer.  For me it is each day of my life.
When I was staying with RM, I usually walked Ada twice a day and did other care of her.  She asked that we take Ada so she can give her energy to other things in her life.  So Ada is now at her country home.

I assumed when she was loose outdoors, where there is lots of room to run, she would.  No, she likes to stay close to  me.  She will wander around the buildings, sniffing for critters.  Well, she did go visit the neighbor dog.  I decided to not allow that.  What I have found is that she is a very well trained dog.  Andrew put a lot of time into her training and it shows.

Since she does not get her exercise running around the yard, as I just assumed she would, I take her on a 30-40 minute walk on the road on leash.  Since she is very happy to go at a brisk rate, I am getting some needed exercise.

So "dog days" is a very positive phrase in my life.

A Saturday with RM in MD

Today, Saturday, is busy for RM and me.  We were up and had breakfast early.  At 9:00 am we set off flea foggers in the house.  There is a serious infestation on Ada.  We had to be out of the house for two hours.  During that time we took Ada on a wonderful long walk.There are many miles of paved trails close to her house.  We then came back and opened up the windows for two hours to air it out.  During that time we sat on the front porch where we flea combed Ada and had our lunch.  Hopefully this will help with the problem.

Later this afternoon we will meet up with friends of RM at a historical house three blocks from here.  There is some kind of reenactment of a battle, so we will learn of some history in the area. In the evening a neighbor invited us for dinner.  My part was to bring dessert so I made chocolate mousse.  We are keeping busy which is good for us.

In the event that any reader has not heard the news, our Son-in-law died on July 25.  This was completely unexpected.  DH and I are still with daughter.  I have been here the entire time, he had to go home to work for three days.  He will go back home on Saturday, but I will stay.  A's family left on Tuesday.

We are now working on various financial, legal issues.  Friends have done research and DH is helping daughter with these.  It is actually going quite smoothly, which is what she needs.  She will go back to work for a half day tomorrow and Monday and then full time.  I know this is rather factual, but it is impossible to put emotions into words now.  But we are hanging in there and daughter is trying to do normal living as much as possible.

Visit from Grandchildren

Our grandchildren visited us for four days last week.  K has a fascination with horses.  A friend let them ride her horse, whose name was Charm.  

Another activity was blueberry picking.  This seems to be an annual event. We have a lot of blueberries frozen now.  

Then there were chores to be done and someone needed to drive the tractor.  

As usual, the visit was much too short.  

Post about Peru trip

Someone left a comment on a previous post about the lack of pictures or posts about our trip in
South America.  This trip was more stressful for me that I realized. My emotional state was a bit of a mess for about a week.  I think I am better now, but not completely.  Nothing I need to see a therapist about, but it is just taking time.  I will not go into details about what contributed to the stress at this time.

Then there was a lot of catch up to do around home:  A huge stack of mail, weeds taller than the plants in the garden, work to do for the two organizations where I have the position of treasurer.

Next let me tell you about the pictures that were taken on the 14 day trip.  There were 11 people on the tour, all taking pictures.  I was concerned that some of my pictures may not have been the best, so asked for copies of the pictures of the others.  One man in the group had his laptop along and everyone downloaded their pictures to it.  He brought them over a couple days ago and put them on my external hard drive where I have my pictures.  There were over 9,000.  He figured if I looked at each one for 3 seconds, used one second to click to the next, it would take me over 9 hours (without bathroom breaks)!!   So I have my work cut out for me.  We are leaving on another motorcycle trip on Wednesday, for 10 days, so this will be put on hold.  I really do have hopes of putting something together later.

Visit from Son-in-law

Our Son-in law has been visiting us for the last week.  During the day he does his work (which is looking at the computer monitor for eight hours at a time).  Other times he follows us around attending dinners with our various friends and groups (G's motorcycle buddies) and assists G with projects.  Two biggies this week were 1) the Audi was loaded on a trailer and taken to the scrap yard where, we received $350 for it and 2) getting G's favorite motorcycle running again.  He had a little mishap several months ago where it started on fire and he could never get it running again.  S-i-L made a suggestion that it be taken off the center stand when trying to start it, as there is some kind of switch there.  It worked.  They spent several hours getting all the parts back on and last night it passed the test drive.

Today the two of them are attending a motorcycle swap meet, and tomorrow will go to an antique car show.

Since he and RM live within driving distance (6-7 hrs) we will see them more often.  I am happy about that.

We are in Chili today, where we have been for three days.  Today we get on the bikes for the first time and ride to 14,000 ft. to start to get aclimated to the height.  We spend the past two days in Santiago where we toured the area as a tourist.  Just got the notice I need to run.

Lots done today

Today DH and I spent the day in the Cleveland area.  It is an hour from our house by car, so we made a day of it.  I had an appointment from 10-11am, we then had lunch with our son after touring his work place.  Then we stopped to see a coworker of DH from where he last worked.  He is supportive of DH because he knows the workplace environment there.  Following that we shopped for protective clothing for our upcoming motorcycle ride in Peru.  After spending hours in two different stores, I found an armored  jacket and pants and DH got a new helmet and jacket.  Following the drive home , I read two applications for scholarships that a club we belong to awards.

Tomorrow, following our exercise class,  we are taking the bike to Columbus to return a helmet that I previously bought but do not find the fit comfortable enough.  I will take pictures of me wearing the new clothing.

Grandchildren activities

Over the weekend the grandchildren visited.  K rode the little four wheeler, while her brother who is 4 rode the big four wheeler.  He said, "Dad will ride with me, but I will take over" and that is what he did.  He actually was in charge of the accelerator and steering.  You can see his Dad hanging on for his life.

Today was Grandparents Day at grandson's preschool.  DH had driven to Detroit, MI with the Toyota. I was going to take the Audi, but the starter is not working, so I drove this car.  Isn't  it a perfect "Grandma car"?  I actually was able to go 65 mph with it.  The biggest adjustment is that it does not have power steering or power brakes.  Grandson was quite taken by how you have to roll the windows down by hand.

It made it 100 miles in all.  My other choice would have been to take a motorcycle, but at 40 degrees and raining, I passed on that.

Life goes on

The last couple weeks have been emotional, an adjustment and even at times good.  A week or two ago DH was told his job was being eliminated.  So we have been spending our time doing a lot of research and paperwork to deal with that.  Working out what do do about Medicare, health insurance and taking care of loose ends with work issues.

We have been able so spend more time with our family because he does not have to get home early so he can leave at 6 am in the morning.  RM visited from Miami and DH had time to spend with her and her brother and family when they visited.

When RM was here we went to garage sales and had a bonfire two nights (good thing because it has been cold and raining since).  Grandchildren were able to ride the four-wheelers and even help mow the lawn.

A "me" day

Today I had three things scheduled:  exercise class, Book Club, and dinner with our Motorcycle group.  I have decided to skip all three.  Instead I am tilling and preparing flower beds and my garden.  That seems to be my first love.  I would post pictures, but so far it is just tilled dirt!!  I planted onions, peas, spinach, and lettuce.  They will all do fine if we don't get frost.  Actually saw a picture of spinach growing up through snow.  Don't know if they actually survive that or not.  But I will keep you posted.

Grandson is four

He actually had two celebrations - the first on his actual birthday when he received the bike.

The second was on Easter Sunday when his other Papa could be there.  

He is ready to take trips with his own suitcase.  

 His sister received her gift early.  Guess she will have to grow into the pjs. 

                                               

This cake was decorated by his dad.  Grandson is into dinosaurs.

Weekend post

It was a full weekend at our house.  On Friday, we hosted our FFF (Fabulous Friday Feast) which is a group of 4 couples who get together once a month for dinner.  We started with hors d'oeuvres of vegetables and dip, followed with a green salad, then lasagna and steamed asparagus with a citrus sauce.  Dessert is a Lava Cake with ice cream. Actually we had only five as three called off the day of due to illness.  It is a cool way to get to know these friends better.

On Saturday, G had breakfast with his usual with a group of biker friends.  The breakfast morphed into lunch at another location.  I don't know what time he actually came home as I had left for a photography class.  The class was on taking pictures at gatherings (reunions, or just groups) when you are asked just because you have your camera with you and they know you are into taking pictures.  It was a beginner course so I would not be considered a professional by any stretch of the imagination.  On Sunday the photo club met and there was an hour long tutorial on how to take Macro pictures.  For those of you not into photography, that is taking really close up pictures like of small flowers.  Since Spring wild flowers time is upon us it was perfect timing.

I was all fired up to get out in our woods, but alas, this morning when we woke up there is several inches of snow on the ground.

Evidence of Spring

The speaker at the women's club I attend is from a "organic farm" in our area.  He raises goats for people who cannot drink cow's milk, but cannot legally sell it to them because it is not pasteurized   So the law permits them to buy part of the goat in exchange for getting the milk. He brought this kid, who needed his dinner.  As any of you are photographers know, getting a good picture of an animal or child is really difficult. This kid drank very fast and moved around while drinking.  While the owner talked to us, his wife just held the kid on her lap.  They have several green houses for vegetables, so I would like to visit them in a month or so (to buy some).

This robin was seen outside my window this morning.  It is hazy because I took the picture through the screen so as to not scare it away.  

I recently returned from an eight day trip to Minnesota where I spent time with my Mother and lots of other relatives.  My three sisters had planned a weekend in the Minneapolis area to shop at an outlet mall and antique stores.  I was invited to join them so I did.  I am not a big shopper but enjoyed their company.  My total purchases were: $15 for lovely chocolates, $10 for a new top, and $5 for a new camera case.

On my mothers's side of the family I visited her sister who is 94 and two of her daughters. One of these cousins is in the brown vest in the picture with me and my three sisters.

My aunt who is 94 and her daughter.

All in all I was able to see my mother, all six of my brothers and sisters as well as two of G's siblings. I also attended the funeral of last sibling of my father's, where I was with several cousins.  Wow, that is a lot when I start making the list.

 These pictures were taking from out of the car window as I drove to the airport.

Now that I am home, it is catch up time:  Laundry, cleaning out the refrigerator, paying bills, and of course posting on the blog.

Family time

A week ago we went to visit S & S and the kids.  K had come home from school with a temp.  Her cat, Humphrey, was trying comfort her.  She only missed one day of school and was able to go back to attend her Valentines party.

  B and I spent time putting a puzzle together. 

 Then Shawn decided he needed a mental challenge so he put the puzzle together with the printed side down.  Better him than me.  I think we went home before it was completed, but I am sure he did it.

Weekend roundup

On Friday night G and I attended a play, "Flyin' West", at the Weathervane Theater near Akron.  The story is about four Black women who homesteaded in  Nicodemus, Kansas in the 1800s.  It was interesting to me having just read the book on the migration of Blacks from the South during that time (see last post).  Both groups moved to escape the Jim Crow laws. February is Black History month so that explains the theme.

On Saturday, G spent several hours repairing a ladder (that he had picked up on the side of the road).  We had been using it and I asked, "Why is there Duck tape on the legs?"  He pulled it off and found cracks on the legs.  He reinforced it with steel so now it probably is stronger that when new.  He looked up how much a new one would cost. It was less that $150 but he said it was relaxing to him to work on that project.  And knowing G, he would be much happier fixing up a find from the side of the road than buying a new one.

On Sunday we were invited to a "Chocolate" party.  Each guest was to bring something made with chocolate.  I made chocolate eclairs filled with whipped cream and mascarpone and flavored with rose syrup. But the most interesting item was chocolate crackers, which were flavored with smoked paprika. These were served with cheese.

Book Club

On Monday my book club had a discussion on The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It is about the migration of Blacks from Southern states to Northern states from about 1920 to 1970.  Millions moved North to escape the Jim Crow laws. The book follows the lives of three families and has a lot of history in it. I am amazed at how little I knew about that time in our country.  The book is extremely educational but at times a hard read when she describes the torture and lynchings that took place. It was a good picture of how life was without any protection of your safety, not being able to vote, and living in substandard situations.  One reason I am in the book club is to read books like this that I would not normally know about.

Keep the Audi alive

I may have mentioned previously that the estimate on the repair of the exhaust system on the Audi (220,000 miles on it) was in excess of $1200, which is more that it is worth.  So G decided to repair it himself.  A metal sleeve holding to pieces together had rusted away, there were holes in parts and bolts were completely rusted in.  He found an acquaintance who machined the sleeve for him, then he cut off the bolts and had to drill the remaining part out.  This drilling took a few hours because the bolts were hardened steel and he could only drill for a minute or so before sharpening the bit.  He also welded the holes.  On Saturday we worked on this in the shop from 3 pm to 2 am the next morning.  He  reports it sounds much better, but still has a rattling sound and maybe a small exhaust leak!  So it is driveable.

We  did have second thoughts though because on Saturday we looked at a used car (Mazda Miata) which cost $3500, sometimes wishing we had bought it.  But the Audi seems to have a good engine and transmission yet and goes great in the snow, which the Miata would not.

Another Feast

G and I attended the Ambassador's Dinner sponsored by the Friends of International Students at Wooster College.  We are a "Host Family" for a young man from India.  This dinner was for students and their Host Families.  It was held at the Wooster Inn, where their chef made dishes from China (Egg Drop Soup), Uganda (Ugali with Tilapia), Zimbabwe (Peanut Butter Stew - Dovi), Sierra Leone (Beef Stew with eggplant) and Pakistan (Lamb Biryani and greens).  Included were drinks (8 Treasure tea, and Ginger Beer) and desserts from these countries. I noted no chocolate in the desserts. Students from the countries would tell about the dish they chose.

The main courses had a lot of starches in them so we were stuffed.  I am tempted to make one of these for our Fabulous Friday Feast.  But it will take a lot of research.  

FFF

FFF stands for Fabulous Friday Feast.  This is a group of 8 (four couples) that I invited to get together once a month for a dinner.  We rotate between the four homes.  The host is responsible for the entire meal, as opposed to each family bringing something.  That way it is a real night of relaxing for the guests.  It has been going on for about a year now.  During that time one couple dropped out and another joined.  This last Friday, it was a Swedish dinner.  There was herring on crackers, two kinds of meatballs, a potato salad and an escalloped potato, followed by three types of desserts.



This is the host and hostess.  She had a Swedish hanging above the table.

The potato salad was served on red cabbage which was a pretty presentation.

After the meal we saw some pictures of their visit to Sweden a few years ago.

I meant to start documenting the dinners but in the past it would be over before I thought about it. So this is the first in pictures.  Hope to do better in the future.

Last night at our AAUW monthly meeting the program was a few members sharing an interest or hobby.  We saw presentations on pottery made on Ohio,( mostly from a century ago), how to make items like a purse from old book (you won't see me carrying that), and a young woman spoke of her journey of learning (by reading and internet) how to garden, can, make jams, raise chickens, rabbits, alpacas, and bees.  I did not do a presentation, just brought a few photos that I have taken.  I don't think I would have shown them at my camera club, but most of the women in AAUW appreciated them.

Loud muffler

G heats his shop with a large waste oil furnace.  At least that is what is supposed to happen,.  This winter it was not working properly.  He has spent many hours on it.  And yesterday he finally go it working without billowing smoke all through the shop.  He was thinking of just trashing it!  So we spent most of the day cleaning and organizing in the shop.  The car lift is now cleaned off so he can put the Audi up there and look at the exhaust system.  It is at times very loud.  I was even wearing earplugs when driving.  (Lucky I have not gotten a ticket yet) I took it in for a repair estimate, which was over $1200.  The car is not worth that much.  He had already worked on it when I took it in for the estimate.  The man asked me" Who last worked on this?"  I said it was my husband.  He just laughed and said, "Actually he did a pretty good job."  So hopefully in the next week, it will get fixed.  In the meantime, I continue to drive it.

Opera

Today I saw the opera , Maria Stuarda which was being preformed at the  Metropolitan Opera.  It was  live beamed into movie theaters world wide today.  I saw it at a theater in Akron.  My ticket was $22, where as a ticket at the Met would have been between $200 and $400.  Seeing it is the theater was like having a front row seat.  I have not seen an opera for some time and have forgotten how the deep emotions come out in the singing.  A friend goes to these performances frequently.  I probably will be going again as I really enjoyed it.  

The usual New Year's Activities

Can't say what got me motivated- but I have spent the last two days editing a drawer in the filing cabinet.  It was the one with all our financial records.  One thing that helped was looking online to see if the information was available there.  Then I could shred the paper.  I also spent time requesting digital statements instead of a hard copies. Just so I don't think I have to print them all out now!  That would be counter productive.  I will add two garbage bags of shredded paper to the trash pick up this week.  In the past I have put some shredded paper in the compost, but don't want to put too much ink in it.

I also started a stretch exercise class.  It is for an hour two times a week and the third day they do line dancing.  I definitely have a ways to go with getting in shape and learning to dance.  But I must start somewhere.

Another change in our life is that G gets up at 5:30 AM each day so he can be on the road by 6 AM to beat the rush hour traffic.  I get up with him (but usually have to sneak in a short nap during the day).  I haven't told him that so will see if he reads my blog.

Christmas Part 2

K was in my office for a long time.  She then appeared with a "stage" she had built with paper and paper puppets.  She presented us with a play with three characters: Her cat Logan, Renee Michelle's cat Phi, and a bird.  She need the help of several people to hold the "stage".

Papa G with his two favorite grandchildren.

It seems that one of the activities was photography. Note that another person had to take this picture.

Ada's first Christmas with us was peaceful.

This really needs no explanation!

Grandson helping

This post will be mainly our grandson helping others (to open their gifts).  A future post will show his sister's activities.

A is happy with a Physics book.

B checking out a gift.

We decided a magnifying glass is necessary for a budding scientist. 

Papa, let me read it!

Let me help by tearing the paper off.

Christmas Part 1

In order to show pictures of our celebrations, I will do several posts.  The first is food preparation.

For breakfast there was homemade sticky rolls and for dinner dessert, Andrew's favorite - apple pie.

On Christmas day itself, there was just Gerry, myself, Renee Michelle, Andrew and Shawn.  I made two lasagnas, one with meat and one vegetarian. Gerry decided he did not like ricotta in his lasagna so we looked up a recipe without it.  I found this one, which took the person who posted it on her blog six years to perfect.  She recommended taking two days to make it.  I tried to do it in four hours: talk about stress.  Still it probably is the best lasagna I have made.   recipe here   Shawn helped by stirring the two sauces.  Renee helped by sitting in the recliner with a timer and the recipe.  (She was not felling well, so was excused.)

Happy New Year

For several years now, G and I have welcomed in the New Year at First Night Akron.  We invited another couple, who went with us two years ago.  G's favorite was listening to a group that dress and sound like the Beatles. He also likes the University of Akron Steel Drum band.  My favorite was a 40 piece Brass band that played an hour long concert of classical music and marches.  They played one of my favorite pieces by Leroy Anderson called "Buglers's Holiday".  Solos were played by various instruments where I heard the Flugle horn with it's mournful but beautiful sound.  There was another hour of the concert, but since there were four us us, all with different tastes, we all had to compromise and go to the ones others liked too.

First Night celebrations are at various cities in the US.  They are "family friendly" which means not a lot of alcohol and loud parties.  I am sure some of this was going on in the bars, but the various venues are in public buildings. There is one fireworks at 10:00 pm for younger children who need to go home and to bed early.  There was another at midnight.  So we got home around 1:00 AM.  It was a great start to the new year.