Veteran's Day Part IV

A Nation's Strength
Walt Whitman

Not gold, but only man can make
A people great and strong;
Men who, for truth and honor's sake,
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly --
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

Here's to the Heroes: A Military Tribute

Veteran's Day Part II

There is a story I want to tell that has always, for me, summed up the reality of what it is to be a veteran, the reality that most of us don't hear.

I was an Optometrist (before health issues forced me into early retirement) for many years. I was also the third generation in my family in Optometry and I practiced with my father until his death in the early 80s.

My Dad served in World War II in the Army. He spent his wartime at a remote small base in Greenland where they did weather forecasts for the naval convoys crossing the Atlantic and also supplied some of the information for the D-Day landings.

In November of 1994 I had a routine office visit with a 70 year old patient who had been with Dad from the time he opened his office- he was a high school classmate of Dad's. We chatted, as we always did, about how my kids were and what was new with him. He started to tell me about his visit to Normandy the previous June for the 50th anniversary of D-Day; he had landed at Omaha Beach in the first wave. He told me of seeing men he'd known 50 years before and of visiting the cemeteries there.

Then he began to cry. He told me that although he and Dad had been friends for years "I have always been jealous of your father because he never had to kill anyone".

My heart broke at that moment. In that one sentence he had summed up all the suffering, pain, trauma and regret that millions of men have had to live with all their lives. We take young boys, train them to be killers, and when their service is done they are sent back to live "normal" lives. In that moment I understood why all my uncles who had seen combat never told "war stories".

Everytime I remember that story I think of all the wonderful men I have known who were not blessed, as my father was, and who did, indeed, "have to kill people". I think of how they adjusted, raised families, were kind and loving husbands and fathers, and were good men in whatever they chose to do after their service.

My father and my uncles served, my brother and my cousins and my friends served and now my children's friends and my former students are serving. Thank you to them and to all who do now or ever have worn the uniform.

Veteran's Day

On SCS, there is a thread encouraging everyone to send a card today to "thank a veteran". This is the one I sent to a wonderful teacher down the hall from my classroom.

Sunday night report

Obviously, this is the Beatrix Potter's Quaker Sampler. I stumbled across it a while back, and found a Stitch-a-long that is starting on January 1st. I can't say exactly why but the piece really appealed to me.

So, I joined the group, got the chart- an ebook version as this beautiful version is long sold out- dug out some special fabric I've been saving for years and just last night ordered the silks.

You can see lots more details at some of the links in my sidebar. The gorgeous ivory linen came from Brunner Haus- which I just heard will be closing (or already has) due to the retirement of the wonderful owner. What a loss- their linens are incredible! The group is the Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler SAL. The silks came from HDF- I ordered the Tiger Lily which is close to the originals called for but much richer as it is variegated. I even bought new, GOLD needles!

I spent part of the weekend doing some (of the inevitable, interminable) re-organizing in my so-called craft room. Made a little progress. Other weekend work included laundry and getting all the summer "stuff" (the table and chairs from the patio, the grill from the alcove- you know the routine) put in storage in the garage to await the return of warm weather.

We didn't have a good "house" day. I'm increasing the amount that goes into my retirement account each payday significantly starting with the next paycheck. (Put us in the category of those who are now forced to rethink our timetable for retirement after the last few weeks.) So, I've been shopping and spending like crazy in anticipation of less money and Christmas coming. Have you heard that timing is everything? Well, last night the microwave finally gasped it's almost last- about which there are no complaints as it was 24 yo in July!- and today the pipe under the sink sprung a leak! So, we need a new microwave AND a plumber in the immediate future. Yeah, timing is everything!

I got my twinks into their new storage box today, got a big dent made in the Thanksgiving food shopping and got some paperwork done.

The Eagles are playing, and already losing, and I am exhausted from a bad case of insomnia last night. I think I'm going to make it a really early night and head to bed with a good book.

Hope everyone reading has a good week!

YOUNG AT HEART - DORIS DAY SINGS....

One of the most under-rated singers ever.

Some GORGEOUS Christmas stamps

I got an email this morning from OnyxXpresssions, one of my favorite stamp companies. I cannot believe that I didn't have them on my sidebar, but that will be rapidly corrected!

Anyway, they were announcing their Christmas stamps release. So, I clicked the link, and WOW!!!! Their new Christmas stamps are absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

The stamp I copied here is one of my favorite quotes so I could not resist putting it here. It is a lovely stamp but does not hint at the beauty of their other Christmas stamps. To see the new stamps, check HERE. Make sure you check out all the stamps in their "winter wonders" category- or better yet, if your wallet and budget can stand it (mine couldn't but I ordered a bunch anyway!) check out the whole catalog!

OnyxXpressions makes great quality stamps and their designs are marvelous. They have a really unique look. I already have a bunch of their stamps and like them a LOT! Now I can't wait for all my new Christmas stamps to arrive!

Reading Confessions

My very favorite book of all time is most definitely Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. No contest!

My favorite series of books is the Williamsburg novels by Elswyth Thane. These are seven wonderful books that trace two families from the American Revolution until World War II.

The first book of the series, Dawn's Early Light, was assigned reading the summer before my freshman year in high school- by a very smart teacher. She introduced us to good historical fiction- the kind where the history is accurate and woven into the story in such a way that you learned without being aware of it. It was also my first "romance novel".

Ever since, my favorite reading has fallen into two categories- mysteries, and historical/romance fiction.

Now I don't think I am either a wimp or a prude, but I like my mysteries without a lot of blood and gore- the kind that are usually referred to either as "classics" or "cozies"- and I like my romances without a lot of sex. I read for the stories, not the "action".

One of my most favorite historical romance authors is Patricia Veryan. She wrote several series of books and a lot that are not exactly "series" but with intermingling characters. Her writing is wonderful, her characters are compelling, her plots are fictions with strong historical backgrounds and her romances are truly heart-engaging. The Unoffical Patricia Veryan webpage has tons of information.

An entire category of historical romances has developed around the period of "The Regency": 1810-1820 in England, when King George III was incapacitated and his son, who would become George IV but was either affectionately or derisively known then as "Prinny", was the Prince Regent, king in all but name. Jane Austen's novels are basically "Regencies"- she did much of her writing during this period and about her contemporaries.

The time period is fascinating. The War of 1812 is being waged lethargically by the British because they are far more involved in the Napoleonic wars in Europe. The economy of England is in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, and drastic and permanent changes are coming to the British Empire. Social mores are changing but the strict social rules are still in effect. The profligacy and escapades of the Royal court are creating an environment that will result in the backlash that comes with Queen Victoria.

Georgette Heyer is the generally acknowledged Queen of the Regency Romance. Her stories are charming with delightful characters and a lot of wit and fun. If you are interested in trying this genre, there is no better place to start.

There's a lot of junk out there in the historical romance world, but there's also a lot of good, fun reading. Check out my sidebar for some links with more information!

The Notebook

Sunday night check-in

Bee sting update: while there is no more swelling and no more redness, the arm both hurts a lot and itches like crazy. Hope this goes away SOON!

Today was a typical Sunday of laundry, some cleaning up, sorting out etc. The summer shoes (including the worn-everyday-for-32-days Phillies Crocs) are all put away and the boring winter shoes of navy, brown and black are all ready for the new week. It's also time to finally start wearing the normal clothes to work- the Phillies shirts will all get packed away soon. Feels like winter is coming.

There's been lots of good news lately. My favorite uncle was near death a few weeks ago but pulled through and just came home. Our friend who suffered a serious stroke will be leaving the hospital for rehab tomorrow. It is great to be able to plan to spend another holiday season with them- something we feared would not be only a short time ago.

This is always the weekend I go into holiday planning mode. I totally bombed on the Holiday Houseworks plan at Organized Christmas, but that's okay because I usually do pretty well with the Christmas Countdown plan. For those who want or need someone to tell them "right now you should be doing this to get ready for Christmas", this is a great website and program.

As for the house, Thanksgiving is our "get ready" deadline. For years now my DS's friends have visited after dinner each Thanksgiving for dessert, coffee and a long evening of fun. As usual I will be making cranberry bread, pumpkin and coconut custard pies and the famous (infamous?) peach cobbler.

Also in use this Thanksgiving will be our new Showtime Rotisserie. I bought one of these about 6-7 years ago. DH came home, saw the large box, asked what was in it and when I told him he went nuclear- "you did NOT buy another kitchen gadget!!!!" (Confession- I love to cook but also love all the toys; I am dangerous in a good kitchen supplies store!) Since I bought it from QVC, I could use it and still return it for up to 30 days. The following Sunday I made a turkey in it. About 5 minutes into dinner, DH announced "you are NOT to send that thing back".

A couple of years ago my mother was having company for dinner. She put a large roast in the oven, turned the oven on and walked away. About 3 PM she decided to check the roast and discovered that her oven was broken and had never come on. She called me asking if she could do a roast in the microwave- to which my answer was NOOOOOO!!!!! I carefully put my showtime in my car, drove to her house and transferred the roast to it. The dinner party was a big success- and the meal was ready almost on time because this thing cooks so fast!

Unfortunately, the bottom support piece got broken on the trip home. We've been doing a rube goldberg on it for the last couple years but the last time we used it, a few weeks ago, DH (who LOVES to help when I cook in it) thought it was getting really annoying and potentially dangerous and said "buy a new one". I said "it's expensive". He said "I don't care, buy a new one". Those of you who know my DH- who is never cheap but ALWAYS frugal- know that this means that this thing is FANTASTIC!

Tonight's dinner was a ham with which we "tested" the new Showtime. It was FABULOUS. I don't understand why everything cooked in this thing comes out tasting so good, but I don't worry about it, I just use it!

Well, it's time to steam my clothes for tomorrow, double check the schoolbag, keys, etc and get ready for bed. I'm almost done my current book so I might even go to bed before I'm ready to drop and try to finish it.

Have a good week, everyone!

Early weekend update

Yesterday was WONDERFUL!!!

The Phillies parade caused all kinds of chaos. Work was nuts with about a 50% absentee rate. The mayor kept asking everyone to use public transportation- and apparently EVERYONE listened because SEPTA was overwhelmed. The parade lasted hours longer than expected. The wildest thing- or one of them, lol- was that people poured into the street after the parade passed them and then followed it to the staduim- leaving Broad Street a sea of people for hours longer than anyone planned for. They estimate that TWO (2) MILLION people were there!!!

It was GREAT!

I watched the parade from a local restaurant with a couple of my favorite colleagues. Had a great time!

Today was even MORE fabulous!

This morning was the celebration of the 50th Jubilee for a wonderful Franciscan Sister who is a friend of mine. The Mass was beautiful and the reception after was as good a party as any wedding I've been to. It was terrific to see so many old friends we used to work with. I was thrilled and honored to be invited and had a FABULOUS time!!

I'm home a little before the party is over because, as usual, the weird stuff always happens to me. Between the Mass and the reception, a bee got up the sleeve of my jacket and stung me. I am allergic to bee stings. Fortunately, a Sister at the next table had some benadryl, and that, combined with a lot of ice from the bartender, kept the reaction to a minimum- meaning my arm is still very red and swollen and HURTS- yeah, that means a LOT!!!!- but the reax was controlled enough for me to stay and enjoy most of the party.

It was such an such inspiration to see a church and then parish hall crowded with Sisters. These women who have given their lives to God, to the Church and to all of us, do such good work with joy and dedication. The renewal of vows was a short ceremony in the Mass- and to see soooo many women, all standing and marked by the candles they were holding, renew their committment to God and to the world that NEEDS them was awesome. Watching them party afterwards was such a joy that it brought a spontaneous smile- it was just a delight!

So, in spite of a sore arm, it's been a FABULOUS day!

When October Goes

No sleep here tonight!

It's gonna be a L-O-N-G night around here.

As I posted earlier- when they won the NLCS- I live 2 1/2 city blocks from one of the main intersections where people gather when big things happen.

Well, as for tonight, I might as well live IN the intersection!

There are helicopters overhead- I've lost count, but a lot of them. There is no place to park for, I'm hearing, more than a mile. Cars are parked on corners (yeah, I mean ON the corner), IN smaller intersections, ON sidewalks. Horns and other assorted noisemakers are drowning out the TV- with all the doors and windows closed. Fireworks are going off all over.

And the people? Well, the TV folks aren't even trying to estimate how many are deluging our neighborhood!

I walked up to the celebration right after the game and it was great! At that point it was still just the locals from our neighborhood- lots of little kids with parents and grandparents, lots of folks my age, local teenagers. The big highlight was people doing the "Let's go Phillies" cheers over and over. Everyone was just smiling and laughing and talking to everyone whether they knew them or not.

Now there are people pouring in from all over this end of the city. They are still arriving in droves and getting louder rather than starting to settle down.

My DS is on the phone with his high school buddy who now works in New England. They were talking about the parade on Friday. Friend was obviously hesitating about coming down when DS (remember that the last time this happened DS and friend were toddlers) said "Well, if you wait til next time you might be watching from a wheelchair". That seems to have convinced him, lol!

Well, time to go iron another Phillies shirt for tomorrow- by Friday I HOPE to have the World Series Champions shirt!- and at least go through the motions of getting ready for bed. When SLEEP will actually be available is anyone's guess.

YAY, PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!

THEY WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A little down time

I am actually just sitting here, catching up on all my sidebar blogs. Amazing!!!

I've been in a LOT of arthritis pain and having significant problems with my Fibromyalgia due to the weather change and the coldness of the building at work. One of the worst parts of FMS when it gets out of control is the devastating exhaustion which is really setting in the last few days. Add in the FMS headaches and the stiffness, and taking card of DH, and I've been pretty miserable.

The good news is that once I get really warm- which takes a couple hours each day after I get home; that "chilled to the bone" feeling takes a while to shake- then I start to feel better- just about when it is time to go to bed and start the whole cycle again.

Other good news? DH is finally recovering well. His cabin fever hit such a point last night that I agreed to "let him" go out of the house, if HE agreed to go out to dinner to one of the Philadelphia Blue Day participating restaurants. It was a good decision for both. He clearly cheered up dramatically and I got a good dinner I didn't have to cook. Since it was "for charity", I even went for the crab appetizer and a MARVELOUS dessert called "Lava smores".

I got a new video about Hawaiian Quilting the other day from Make Hawaiian Quilts.com. It is a homemade video but does a really good job of going over a lot of the details specific to Hawaiian quilts. I watched the whole thing already and was reminded of several things I'd forgotten and even picked up a few tips I had not heard before. It gives enough information that even a non-quilter could make a small Hawaiian quilt from the video instructions.

This inspired me to pull out a small quilt that I started hand quilting a while ago (QUITE a while ago, lol!). The major result of this exercise was to remind me why I get so little crafting, stitching or quilting done in the winter. By the time I sat down with the hoop after dinner: my eyes were straining looking at the fabric, my hand hurt when I tried to grip the needle, it was not so much enjoyable as a big effort to concentrate on trying (and NOT succeeding) to make the stitches a similar length. All in all it was WAY more trouble than pleasure. It made me remember that there's a reason I do basic (scarves and afghans) crochet in the winter- it's not the warmth of the yarn, its the monotonous but easy work with a large, easy-on-the-hand hook and stitches that can be felt and don't need to be seen. Guess its time to start on another scarf!

Time to go make a healthy dinner (DH- or more accurately, DH's missing gall bladder, lol- is forcing us all to eat healthy!) and get ready for Game 5/Part 2 of the World Series!

GO, PHILLIES!!!!

On a more somber note- where are you having dinner tomorrow?

There have been four Philadelphia police officers killed in the line of duty in the last year.

Tomorrow is Philadelphia Blue Day.

School students are wearing blue to honor the officers and many restaurants and businesses are donating part of their proceeds to the Police Survivors Fund. The fund has been severely depleted by the events of the last year.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, October 28) would be a GREAT time to go out for a meal- lunch, dinner, a snack after work- or place an order with one of the non-restaurant businesses involved. THIS LINK will take you to the Philadelphia Blue Day website, where you can find a list of participating restaurants and businesses.

A big response will not only financially aid the families of the officers who have been killed, but also show the entire police family that this city supports them.

Not "You gotta believe" but "Can you believe???"

The worst umpiring in the history of the World Series has just reached new depths.

How this disaster is going to play out is a mystery, but it certainly will be one for the record books no matter what.

I'm going to sleep, while DH and DS are going to take turns sleeping, in the HIGHLY unlikely event that play is resumed tonight.

It's NOT a happy night at my house, or anywhere in Philadelphia!

Sorry to use a sales pitch logo- but it says what I wanted.

GO, PHILLIES!!!!

Crazy Philadelphia

The Eagles won, the PHILLIES won, and the crazies at Frankford and Cottman- 2+ full city blocks away- are keeping me awake!

I'm going to TRY to go back to sleep now because, with luck (crossing fingers, toes, ankles, knees), there will be NO sleeping tomorrow night!