Modern Day Library

I posted this on Facebook 12 years ago.

Modern Thanksgiving

Here's what our 2023 Thanksgiving dinner plate looked like. And it tasted good, too.

Here's the "before" picture. I pretty much used a can opener and read on-box instructions. Except for the sweet potato. I peeled it and stuck it in the oven.

We have learned to FaceTime, and we conversed with family. Here P and J are singing Alouette to C. It's a French-Canadian song, part of J's heritage.

To tell the truth, I'm thankful that this Thanksgiving was a normal Thursday: easy meal preparations, no traveling, no one invading our space. I think maybe it was the kind of Thanksgiving that our dad would have enjoyed.

 

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Alouette's French lyrics depict plucking the feathers of a lark bird. The song's chorus is: Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette je te plumerai (lark, nice lark, lark I will pluck your feathers).

For each verse, an additional body part gets added (head, wings, back, tail), somewhat similar to the English kids' song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."

Grocery Mix-Up

I decided to try a new recipe for tonight's supper. It includes sour cream which we do not have. But I figured J would be out running errands so he could stop by the grocery store. I clearly explained sour cream and described what it looked like and where it would be found, near cottage cheese. I even told him above the cottage cheese and possibly slightly to the right. I didn't want him hunting everywhere and not know what he was looking for.

He came home with cream cheese. Uh, no.

I asked him if he found it near the cottage cheese. He said "no." Well, I already knew that -- it is nowhere near the cottage cheese.

So, I guess tonight's recipe will not have sour cream. It's not crucial, but it would have added a nice flavor.

Meanwhile, I guess I can make Pudding Dessert sometime next week with the cream cheese. Maybe that's the silver lining.

A Poem for Autumn

poem by Brian Bilston

It's Hot!

Last week was the hottest for the summer. Temps were in the 90s all week. I went outdoors once when I finally had to break down and go to the grocery store.

Record highs were set on August 24. Those first two temps -- Willard and IL Water Survey -- are for our city.

The meteorologist also commented that our city hit a record for the hottest "feels like" temperature ever.

It finally cooled down yesterday, but the forecast is for more 90° temperatures in a few days. Just in time for our Labor Day Sunday family "pizza in the park."

Barney's Sidecare

Andy: "I wish we had a psychiatrist in town. I bet Barney would be a real study."

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The Andy Griffith Show - Barney's Sidecar - S4, Ep16 1964

2023 Free Birthday Rewards

This year's free birthday rewards.

4/17	Denny’s	Free Everyday Value Slam	$6.49
4/19	Panera	Free pastry – bear claw	$3.99
4/20	Perkins	Free Magnificent Seven	$9.99
4/20	Portillo’s	Free slice of chocolate cake	$3.89
4/20	CVS ExtraCare Card	Cash reward	$3.00
4/23	Ye Olde Donut Shoppe	Free 2 donuts	~ $3.50
4/23	Moe’s	Free burrito	$11.18
4/24	Arby’s	Free large shake – jamocha	$4.99
4/25	Red Robin	Free burger – guacamole bacon	$14.99
5/11	Jimmy John’s	Free sandwich	$6.69

I received more rewards -- free appetizers or desserts -- but I did not bother redeeming them. Wasn't worth the effort.

"I Will Turn Methodist"

The title of this entry is one of my favorite lines from "The Waltons."

Grandma is explaining to Reverend Fordwick that she will not share playing the church organ with another woman:

"I cannot share with that woman. I will not resign my organ playing to just anyone. And if you toddy to that Zelma Maynard, then I will resign from this church, Reverend Fordwick."

She walks away, and then turns to the preacher and says:

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The Waltons - "The Rebellion" - S5, Ep14 1976
Note: Grandma Walton was in the next episode.
Then Ellen Corby suffered a stroke and was in
limited appearances in future episodes.

First Day of Summer

I just liked this art.

The Only Property That Will Last

I read this on Facebook.

When you die, don't worry about your body .....
Your relatives and funeral staff will do it. I know this first hand. I've done it myself .....

They will take you out of the house and deliver you to the funeral home of your family's choice.
     They will take off your clothes  
     They will wash you
     They will dress you up
     They will even apply makeup to make you look presentable
Many will come to the funeral to honor you.
Some will even cancel their plans and ask for leave to go to the funeral.

Your things -- things you hate to be borrowed -- will be sold, donated or burned.
     Your keys
     Your tools
     Your books
     Your CDs, DVDs, games
     Your collections
     Your clothes 

And be sure the world won't stop and cry for you.
The economy will continue.
You will be replaced in work. Someone with the same or even better ability will take your place.

Your property will switch to heirs.
And don't doubt the small and big things you have done in your life will be spoken of, judged, doubted and criticized.
People who only knew your face will say, "Poor thing!"
Your good friends will cry for a few hours or several days, but then they will laugh again.
Your pets will get used to the new owner.
Your pictures will be hanging on the wall for a while, then they will be put on furniture and finally stored at the bottom of the box.
Someone else will sit on your couch and eat from it.

Deep pain in your home will last a year, two, maybe ten ..... Then you will join the memories and then your story will end.
It will end among people, end here, end in this world.

But your story begins in a new reality ..... in your life after death.

The things you once have will lose their meaning. You cannot bring your earthly possessions here.
     the beauty of your body
     last name
     property
     loans
     working position
     bank account
     the house
     the car
     academic titles
     classmates
     trophies
     friends of the world
     man / woman
     the kids
     the family .....

In your new life, you will only need your soul.
The only property that will last is the soul.

Two Old Ladies

April 2018 - I emailed this to my sisters 5 years ago.

Two old ladies just came to the door, Kay and Ruth. And Ruth was definitely old.

Kay asked "Where do you find a happy life?" I said you find it "within yourself." Kay: Have you ever tried the Bible? Me: I've seen it.

Then she wanted to read from the Bible to me. I told her I was "right in the middle of something." She indicated the 1st Psalm, and I told her I'd look it up.

Bye-bye.

And they'd better get out of my way because I'm heading to the grocery store in a little bit.

They seemed nice and harmless, but ..........

P.S. I hope they didn't get too close to me -- well, I know Ruth didn't because I don't think she was able to step up on the porch. I haven't brushed my teeth yet this morning!

Today's the Day

Céline Morrigan

April 10, 2023     2:16 p.m.

7 lbs. 2 oz.     20 inches

Movie: The Two Popes

P gave us a Roku remote thing-a-ma-bob for Christmas in 2019. I do not have enough tech-intelligence to describe how it works. It just allows us to watch movies, etc., on Netflix. (We have a paid account.) And I've recently discovered I can view YouTube content, too. It probably has other (fee-based) streaming services, too. Our remote is not exactly like the remote pictured here. Among a couple other things, the two buttons on the right-side bottom of our remote say ESPN and Sling.

Thankfully P and JF installed the necessary whatever for the Roku to work on our TV. Then he set us up with the Netflix account.

JF and P install the Roku and Netflix

One of the first movies that I watched on Netflix was "The Two Popes." I mostly liked it. There was some political action in Argentina (birth country of Pope Francis) which I did not understand. And more than likely, there were other scenes throughout the movie that I did not pay a lot of attention to. I possibly dozed off. But one scene which really caught my fancy was as the movie was coming to a close:

Pope Benedict, the German one, is saying his confession to the next pope (not pope yet), Francis. Benedict says "It's been 8 days since my last confession. Several venial sins. And I'm getting too old and forgetful to remember what they are." Benedict looks surprised and says "Can you say that? I didn't know that you could say that. That's useful."

Child-Dog

I am a member of a "neighborhood" facebook-like group. I put neighborhood in quotes because there can be posts from all over C-U so I do not understand the neighborhood aspect of it. Altho I am a member as a resident of a SW neighborhood. But anyway .....

I do not delve too deeply into the posts. They can be just as stupid as FB posts -- rants and rude comments. Every now and then something will grab my interest. Such as this post. I took a look because I wondered what the issue was with this GoFundMe request. Sounds like her baby boy is suffering, doesn't it?

It's a dog. I've seen other posts like this. Such as, "Our little girl was playing the yard and has wandered off." Etc. Really catches one's soft side. Then turns out to be an animal.

I do not mind people making these posts. Maybe they're helpful in resolving whatever is going on. OK to think of their pets in this manner, but it is misleading and annoying to learn that their child is not human.

Translator Needed

I walked into family room. J says: Neum uck, neum eral.
I said: Huh?
"Need milk, need cereal."
He talks like a stroke victim.
I told him I'd go to the store tomorrow morning.

The other day he mentioned "lunch" a couple times totally out of context with eating. He was talking about the NASA launch. OK, now I understand.

He needs to have other people than me to have scintillating conversations with.

(Originally a text sent to sisters Sept 2020, year of the pandemic.)

Birthday Freebies - 2021

Looks like I really raked the treats in.

2021 - Birthday freebies

4/12	Portillo’s	Free slice of chocolate cake	$3.19
4/14	Texas Roadhouse	Free appetizer: ribs	~ $7.99
4/20	McAlister’s	Free cookie	$1.69
4/20	Denny’s	Free “breakfast slam” (4-choice build-your-own Grand Slam)	$8.69
4/21	Red Robin	Free burger	$13.89
4/21	Panera	Free pastry - bear claw	$3.99
4/25	Culver’s	Free turtle sundae	$4.09
4/27	Ye Olde Donut Shoppe	Free 2 donuts @1.75	$3.50
4/29	Moe’s	Free burrito	$8.79
4/30	Subway	Free cookie	$0.79
5/06	Arby’s	Free shake 2.99 + fries 2.29	$5.29
5/07	Perkins	Free Magnificent Seven	$7.99
5/16	Jimmy John’s	Free 8” sub	$5.95

Grammie's No-Bake Cookies

my grandmother's writing

Back when I was in junior high or high school, I used this actual recipe from my Grandmother B. to make these cookies. I followed it exactly.

I put   2 cups sugar

          1 cup cocoa

          2 cups milk

          1 stick of butter

in a saucepan and heated it on the stove.

Then I looked at the other scribbles and finally figured out what the measurements really said.

What I was heating was a total screw-up. How do you correct 4 times the amount of milk that I'd put in the 3-quart saucepan? I would have needed to use 4 sticks of butter. No way.

So, how to dispose of the catastrophe and start over?

The garbage disposal did not seem wise with the melted butter. Nor the toilet.

So I walked the hot saucepan out to the garbage barrel in the alley and dumped the contents there.

I don't think I ever told Mom.

I started over. Since I had broken the code, I knew to use 1/2 cup peanut butter and 3 cups oatmeal. And I ended up with perfectly delightful No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.

Here's the easy-to-read recipe:

February 2022

Big snowfall event on Groundhog Day 2022.

J usually waits until the snow stops before shoveling. But I think one or the other of us had an appointment so he was shoveling while it was still snowing. He topped it off the next day.

February 3, 2022

February 4, 2022

January 3rd

January 3rd always makes me think of my third grade teacher.

I received a thank you note from Mrs. Farnsworth -- came addressed to me through the U.S. postal service. I believe it was probably the first letter I had ever received that was not a birthday card from a grandparent. 

Our room mothers collected money from the class -- probably 50¢. I remember that she thanked me for perfume, maybe Chanel No. 5. And then she signed off: See you January 3 -- Mrs. Farnsworth.

I wonder if Mrs. Farnsworth ever used the perfume. She told our class early on "Please do not wear perfume" because she was sensitive to it. More than likely she just thought 8-year-olds apply it too liberally. Can't say I blame her. I mostly dislike any scent that anyone wears, particularly if it is strong.

I kept that card for years. And I must have re-read it from time to time since I remember it so well.