Alert…this just in on my news feed: More black widow spiders being reported in the Denver area this year.
The other night as I turned out the light, I saw a little black spider navigating the wall under the window. My first thought was, ”I hope I don’t get bit.” That was followed by, ”Turn the light back on and swat it.”
I was able to sleep soundly, even though the possible window widow was in hiding. My larger question has always been, ”Who is going to turn a spider upside down to view the underside of its abdomen in a search for the reddish hourglass shape identifying the widow?” That was a larger question, wasn’t it?
For your edification. Thank you, ”Pindy.” Since camping, my brain has not consumed much in the way of new information, sans newspaper and television news.
I’ll be at the family reunion overmorrow, so look for some entertaining stories.
“Missing-my-granddaughter-day” means missing the bubble wand. My son-in-law found this and I laughed heartily. (Hearty laughs are cathartic.)
This little truism has played out on my family room carpet. However, I did not cry, I rejoiced. I will be hunting for new rugs soon and dragging ”Pann” with me. I figure the bubbles only helped speed up the process.
Two friends have just returned from land and sea expeditions, being out of communication for a time. (What a blessing that can be!) The same could be happening here for a few days as I take time to recharge in the hills with the uncertainty of consistent wi-if.
While perusing one of my feeds I came across this somewhat blurry optimistic note, and I thought it should be enough to keep us going through the week, should I be unable to share these highly important blogs. Happy Week!
…a luminous balloon. Anyone else have that example given to them in school when explaining the difference between similes, metaphors and personification? The moon is ”like” a luminous balloon, the obvious simile example. The moon, smiling at me, provided perfect light for my path.
It’s amazing what the memory dredges up on a beautiful pre-Autumn moonlit evening. Once I grasped that literary business I personified to no end and extended many a metaphor. Yes, I’m back at it, trying to finish my book of poetry.
Poetry, a decorated vase. Poetry is like an ornate vase. Poetry smiles with us on the journey.
My vehicle has become a recycling-and-returning center on wheels.
I haven’t had a day in weeks where there wasn’t clothing to be redeposited to one of three appropriate centers, or odds and ends that needed to be given back to people. I thought I was free yesterday afternoon, and that I might vacuum my transport. Nope. My friend forgot the bridge ”equipment” and I have to get it to her now. That’s okay. My sister-in-law left her shoes here, too. They’re going back today.
What would I do if I had to ride my bike everywhere? I suppose I’d need a little trailer or bigger basket. I could even haul a kid in this one. Something to consider?
School supply shopping is fun for those who can afford to do it. Every year our church, like many others, promises to supply kids with the necessities for beginning school. Of course, with no school-age child in the near vicinity, our family adopts a backpack or two and fills it with the items on the list. Here are the comments made while procuring said items:
“There is no way this kid will use those binder dividers!” – dividers have been on supply lists since the turn of the century. My children returned them unused. Correction: one child returned them unused, the other had them colorfully delineated in a binder.
”How many composition notebooks? They’ll be lucky to fill five pages in one!” – another purchase which resulted in a few pages inked, but never a quarter of a book used.
”Graph paper. I think one sheaf would do for the class.” – there must be two assignments a year which require graph paper. Although, returned-to-my-home graph paper always got used by me. I thought it was fun for making notes.
”Pocket folders? Why?” If it goes in a pocket, it’s bound for the trash.
“Colored pencils.” Sigh. These also were returned every year with most still unused and pointy. However, ”If you didn’t have them for the two assignments, you were screwed. No one shared theirs.” (Direct quote from my son.)
My biggest problem in shopping is ”the fun stuff.” Sniff. I never had the Crayola crayons with built-in-sharpener and hundreds of colors. I had the 16-pack. The ”Trapper Keeper” binder! Wow. That would have made all the difference in my education! And a fun pencil case that I could zip and unzip daily was never in my supply chain. Now they have ”flexible” rulers that wobble back and forth, which I gleefully purchased, imagining the kids whacking each other with them.
Thus, the Bic crystal pens came into play years ago when I first found them, all because of that serious school supply deprivation I experienced. (I think we really only had to start school with a pencil and paper back then, didn’t we?) Thus, today’s comic strip gave me a chuckle and memories to share. Thank goodness we can help someone else prepare for an education.
There is a lot of transitioning going on around here, so moving boxes have been in demand for the younger family members. My daughter sent me this photo – which cracked me up! A sense of humor is always in order when moving the contents of your abode.
Not everyone can exhibit 95 years of age as gracefully as my mother-in-law. She was dancing to her grandson’s music, partnering with her granddaughter and husband, and managing to stay out of the path of the great-grandchild who is, ”a very busy little girl.”
It is such a joy to have another generation of memories and encouragement in our home. She continues her adventures to the cabin of her children’s summers, the one she and her husband built. She is supported by her three children who flew through two time zones to retrieve her, helped her acclimate, and will relive memories in their cabin home. She is the living example of Pope Francis’s catechesis on aging. They both live in wonder of the world, and acceptance that they need the assistance of others. It is truly humbling to be in her presence.
Thankfully she is staying with us two nights and enjoying three generations. Her son and I are proud of the love showered on her by our children during her stay at this altitude. She has to feel some of the fruits of her life.
It was a fun experiment – taking a recipe and making it work with different ingredients. The first challenge came when my daughter queried, ”Do you even know how to peel a mango?”
Obviously, the answer was, ”No.” Thus, my dear girl procured mango slices for my use. Next, the grocery store did not have the juice concentrate I needed. Substitute. One diner didn’t eat pork. Substitute. No Allspice to toss in. Forget. No hot sauce. Borrow from daughter. The only ingredient I actually had on hand was honey.
The kebabs turned out great, and the dipping sauce amazing! High marks from all and thanks to my daughter, who obviously learned how to cook from the best.
