In Search Of The Front Yard

Do you remember not too long ago I showed you how the tree in my front yard looked? It was still full of green leaves.
Well, now that same tree looks like this.

And the front yard looks like this.

The back yard here and the yard at my mother's house look the same way.

My husband has gone to Chicago for the weekend. My son has plans with his friends to go bowling and to a Halloween party. So, I think I better put my hoodie on, get outside, and do some dancing with a rake to see if I can find the grass again.

While I am out there, here are some guys from the Czech Republic doing a rake dance for you which I'm sure will be more entertaining than watching me rake leaves.

Actually, it is more like a percussion instrument performance than a dance, in my opinion, and they are using what looks to me like garden rakes instead of leaf rakes, but it will have to do.

I wonder what I would look like wearing yellow capri pants, black boots, a white shirt and a red kerchief around my neck? I don't think I could pull off the look quite as well as these guys manage to do it.

Also, I'm pretty sure if I tried to do what they are doing, I would knock myself in the head with the stick (or whatever it is called) that they use to hit the rake and end up with a big goose egg bump for my troubles.

The Beetle Invasion Is Over!

Well, the beetle invasion is over. No, not THAT Beatle invasion. I'm talking about those little red bugs with the black spots. I call them ladybugs, but they are more properly known as Asian Lady Beetles.

The ladybugs that were here last week have finally gone. They come here every fall for a few days in a big swarm and land on the outside of our house, on the doors, and around the windows. They also land all over any humans that happen to be walking about in the area where they are swarming.

Although they aren't poisonous and don't inject venom into your skin, they do "bite" sometimes when they land on you. It feels like a tiny little pinch. It's not much, but it is just enough for you to go, "Hey!" and to react by trying to brush the creatures off of you. Supposedly, when they give you those little nibbles, they are "taste testing" you to see if you would be good to eat.

Although I didn't get any pictures or videos of the swarm when they were here. I did get a picture of the aftermath from one of our upstairs windows. I wrote a poem to go with the photo below.

Ladybug Lemmings

Red beetles with black spots come every fall
to swarm on the doors and windows.
Red clouds of them billow about,
stirred up whenever the wind blows.

Step outside---for even a moment,
and they're on your hand, your arm, your elbow.
You'll be brushing and swatting and shaking,
doing all you can--- just to make them go!

Like lemmings heading for the ocean,
they crowd toward the crack under the screen.
One by one they squeeze past the window frame,
only to be trapped in a suicide scene.

Later, I find them inside the window.
Their dried, crispy, crunchy carcasses all in a heap.
Their quest to find a spot of warmth for a moment
has instead led them to the fate of eternal sleep.

* * * * *

This is a video of a ladybug invasion as reported by CNN. Luckily, the swarm that came here to my house was nowhere near the size of the one in this video.

Music Monday---Knock Knock

This song is sung by Lenka. She is an Australian actress and singer-songwriter perhaps best known for her song, The Show, which I also enjoy. I like her voice. The title of this one is "Knock Knock," but my favorite line in this song is "Nothing works like you."

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Always, Always, Always---Truly Grateful Series

No matter what kind of day I am having, no matter what is going on, if I stop and think for even just a few minutes, I can always think of things for which I am grateful.

During the day, throughout the day, I try to make a mental note to myself when I happen upon something that makes me feel gratitude. I wanted to share just a few small moments of gratitude from my day today.

* * * * *

One of the best moments was when Dan gave me a smile, a nice big broad one. All I did was tell him to have a good afternoon as I was leaving, when I went to visit my Mom at the nursing home today. He gave me a big smile and said very simply, "Thank you." That is the first time I've ever seen him smile.

* * * * *

Poor Charley the Lizard is shedding his skin again. I am grateful that humans don't shed their skins the way lizards do. This just looks very uncomfortable and itchy to me. Additionally, after these lizards shed their skins, they eat them. That strikes me as a very unappetizing and disgusting thing to have to do (to say the least!).

* * * * *

I learned today that the hospital that I have been telling you about is planning an open house/reception/tour of their new addition in November and that my son's string quintet has been invited to provide the music for the event. The quintet members have been asked to play for an hour and will be paid for their performance. My son and his friends are quite excited about this--their first "paying gig." They have another one scheduled in December for a Christmas program at an area assisted living facility.

My son also told me that for an upcoming concert with the Toledo Youth Sinfonietta, there is a part in one of the songs they are performing for an electric bass. He is thrilled that the director has asked him to play that part. He is looking forward to playing his green bass with the group.


I am grateful for these opportunities for my son and for the fact that he gets so much happiness from playing his music.

* * * * *

I am grateful for these flowers cut from a plant in our yard and put in a vase to sit here by my computer for me to enjoy.

* * * * *

I am grateful for this little dog who keeps me company every single day.

* * * * *

I am grateful for the fact that we had bandages in the house because I needed one to cover a blister I made on my thumb from raking leaves today.

* * * * *

I'm grateful I don't have to rake the leaves in the park because they are very BIG!

In fact, they are so big, I think I could probably wear one as a hat!

Lord, for always, always, always giving me things to be grateful for, please let me be truly grateful.

A Sunday Concert

This past Sunday I traveled to Toledo, Ohio to the Peristyle Theater of the Toledo Museum of Art to hear my younger son play the upright bass as part of the Toledo Youth Sinfonietta. It was an exciting day.

In the photo above is the program booklet which has MY son's name in it. (Yes, I'm boasting and grinning. Thank you for reading this and kindly indulging a mother's pride.)

This is what the stage looked like before the musicians came out on it. Click on this link: Peristyle Theater, to see a view of the inside of the theater from the rear of the auditorium taken by a photographer who obviously knows what he is doing. It is a spectacular place.

The members of the Sinfonietta made sure their instruments were tuned and spent some time warming up before the concert started.

My son was second chair upright bass. He is the one standing second from the right with the glasses and red hair in the photos below .

The concert is about to start.

I made videos of the songs they played if you would like to listen to them. They pause in between the movements of the pieces, so wait for them to continue when you are watching. I thought they did an extraordinary job (but I may be a little biased).

After the video I took of the high school orchestra, my son told me that I should record the whole orchestra and not just him, but I didn't listen to him. HA! Well, I did pan across the stage a time or two, but mostly the camera is trained on him. He's the one I was there to see, after all.

Capriol

St. Paul's Suite

After the concert, there were some magnificent clouds for us to see during the trip home. I took a couple of photos while I was driving. My son scolded me for doing that, saying I shouldn't take pictures while I was driving. He was right, of course.

So I said, "OK," and handed him the camera and told him to take some pictures of the clouds for me.

Then he took the next two pictures.

I don't know what you think, but they don't look much like clouds to me.

He laughed and then took the next two pictures for me.

I got the camera back a little later and took this next one which is my favorite of the clouds from this trip.

We stopped to get a quick bite to eat on the way home. The sun was setting which added some pink to the sky. I took this last picture while we were stopped there before we headed for home.

So Sweet

These kids are talented and charming--overwhelmingly sweet. Watching them dance should get your day started off on the right foot.

Let There Be Peace

My friend, Michelle, who writes the blog, Crow's Feet, created the following video to promote the upcoming Blogblast for Peace 2009 event on November 5, 2009 when bloggers all across the world will blog for peace. She would like to encourage and invite all bloggers who are interested in peace to join in and blog for peace on that day. If you'd like to join in, please visit Mimi's page here to find out how. Blogblast For Peace was created by Mimi, and it has inspired thousands.

Music Monday--Here's One To Jump Start Your Week

Here's one to jump start your week. As my sons would say, "That's one of those old time songs, isn't it, Mom."

Hmmmpf!!

I haven't had you up and dancing for a while. Music Monday seems like a good time to do it.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen!!

Twice this week I found my younger son in the kitchen cooking. This may not sound like anything unusual to you, but it is a bit out of character for him. I'm not complaining, mind you. I am delighted that he is venturing into the kitchen on his own. Over the years, I have taught him and his brother the basics of cooking and how to follow a recipe, but neither one has taken much of an interest in it.

Some of you may remember the grape salad that he experimented with a while back. That was unusual for him. Most of the time he doesn't cook much of anything except very simple foods like eggs or hot dogs or a grilled cheese sandwich at most.

So what was the occasion this time? He is a member of the wrestling team which is taking a trip to Florida this December. They have been working on numerous fundraisers to make money to pay for this trip. This week the wrestlers were asked to bring in something for a bake sale to be held during a chili supper before the Friday night football game.

I came home from work on Thursday night, and he was in the kitchen. There was a mixing bowl and a mixer on the counter along with an egg carton and some cooking oil.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"Fudge," he said.

"Fudge?"

"Yeah, I found a mix for it in the freezer. It's baking now."

I raised my eyebrows. Anyone who has ever made fudge knows that you don't bake it. You cook it on top of the stove or in the microwave. I also knew there was no mix for fudge in the freezer or anywhere else in the house.

"We don't have any mixes for fudge," I said.

"Yea, I found one," he answered and then picked an empty box off the counter and handed it to me.

"You're baking fudge?" I said still trying to figure this one out. Then I looked at the box he handed to me. It was a chocolate fudge flavored cake mix box!

"You're not making fudge. You're making cake."

"No," he said, "I'm not making cake. I'm making fudge. See it says right here, chocolate fudge." He pointed at the front of the box and then apparently for the first time noticed the picture of the cake on the box. "Oh."

He grinned and said, "Oops!"

We both had a good laugh. It worked out fine. He had followed the directions on the box how to make the cake, and it turned out nicely. He just thought while he was doing it that he was making fudge, not cake. He took the cake in for the bake sale the next day.

This morning I got up and found him in the kitchen again. He announced that he was getting ready to make pancakes. His girlfriend (Have I mentioned how much I love that girl?) had given him a recipe for peanut butter pancakes that he wanted to try. It was just a basic pancake recipe, but it had peanut butter chips added to the batter.

He showed the recipe to me and asked if I thought it would be enough for the three of us for breakfast. (My husband is out of town on a camping trip this weekend until tomorrow morning, so it was just myself and my two sons here this morning.) I looked it over and told him that, yes, I thought it would be enough for us.

He went about the kitchen gathering ingredients and utensils while I made myself a cup of tea and watched him work. I have learned that it is best for me to not offer advice when my sons are cooking. I prefer to just let them do things on their own, in their own way, unless they ask for advice (or unless I see the possibility of a fire hazard).

The recipe he was using called for two teaspoons of baking powder. He hunted but couldn't find the teaspoon measuring spoon. I am pretty sure it was in the drawer he looked in, but he didn't want to take the time to find it. He found an eighth of a teaspoon measuring spoon and said he would just use that instead.

I tried not to giggle. Really, really I did, but it was just so funny to see him standing there at the counter measuring out sixteen spoonfuls of baking powder into the bowl using that little tiny eighth of a teaspoon measuring spoon. I couldn't keep it in. I had to laugh. Oh well, at least he got the math part right. That's something, isn't it?

The pancakes, by the way, were delicious. Apparently, doing it his way worked just fine. Even better, it gave me a laugh.

Forgive Me For Beaming, But...

I hope you all will forgive me for beaming with pride, but I wanted to share with you some of the music I heard this past Sunday. My younger son played his upright bass in the local high school orchestra concert that day, and I was in attendance. His girlfriend, also in the orchestra, played the violin. They were in their formal wear for the performance as you can see.


I made videos of three of the four songs they played during the concert. My son is in the back on the right hand side of the stage playing the upright bass. You can see just the top of his head occasionally above one of the music stands. His girlfriend is seated, playing the violin, just to the left of the director in the middle of the stage if you want to watch for her when I turn the camera over in that direction.

The quality of these videos, taken with our inexpensive camera by me---the one with NO camera skills, is poor at best. I think I managed, unknowingly, to cut off the beginning of one of these songs and the ending of the other. Oh well. It is what it is.

The music is good, though, so maybe you will prefer to just listen instead of watch these. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. I hope you will enjoy the music too.

My son will be performing with the Toledo Youth Orchestra this coming Sunday for the very first time. He is quite excited about it. (I am too!) I'm out the door now to go and pick up my older son so he can come home from college for the weekend. He wanted to come home so he could go to his little brother's concert too.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Dan

This is another character sketch of one of the people at the nursing home where my Mom lives. I did earlier sketches of Vivian and of Harold.

Dan

Dan is a rather short man. When sitting in his wheelchair in the nursing home dining room, it seems like his head is barely above the edge of the table. However, he always sits leaning forward and way over to his left side. So, perhaps, that is part of the reason he appears to be so short.

Dan has a round head that looks disproportionately large for the rest of him. He also has a large nose and large ears. His eyes, however, are very small. One might even say they were beady looking. He wears little, round, gold, wire-rimmed glasses. His hair is just a fringe of dingy gray strands above his ears and around the lower back part of his head. His bald head has several large brown liver spots which are quite noticeable. His hands are slender and delicate looking, held together with paper thin bluish skin. They too are covered in liver spots.

I've never once seen Dan smile. It isn't that he appears to be particularly sad or angry either. He just is very docile and placid. He seems content with life and just keeps taking each next day as it comes for what it is. He is calm and quiet and keeps to himself. He doesn't make eye contact with the others. He speaks rarely, although he is able to speak. He answers the questions of the aides when they speak to him, but he doesn't initiate conversations on his own.

"I can feed myself," he says in a matter-of-fact tone when one of the aides tries to assist him. He can feed himself too, but he often moves very slowly when doing it. It is almost as if his life and everything in it is in slow motion. It can't be hurried. He has two speeds, one slow and one stopped, as the old joke goes. He sometimes will fall asleep in the middle of his meal. He leans so far to the left that his head rests on the arm of his wheelchair, and he will doze for a bit in between bites.

He generally wears a checked or plaid, dark- colored cotton shirt with long sleeves. The cuffs of his sleeves will sometimes drag through the food on his plate as he reaches for his glass of water. The water has been thickened with a lemon flavored substance to make it easier for him to swallow and lessen the likelihood of choking. The substance gives it a texture that makes it seem more like a thick glue rather than a glass of ice water. Many of the residents drink liquids that have been thickened in this manner because they have swallowing difficulties.

Most of the time when I have visited, Dan will eat about half of his meal and then sigh. He is done. He wants no more. It is as if it is just too much of an effort to eat. It tires him out. Halfway through, and he is exhausted from the effort. He takes the cloth napkin from his lap and leaves it neatly next to his plate. Then he slowly pushes away from the table in his wheelchair using his feet to maneuver his way out of the dining room, into the long hallway of the facility, and off on his journey back to his room for an afternoon nap.

Let's Go For a Ride

This post is mostly for the benefit of any of my readers who drive on the Ohio Turnpike across the northern part of the state. The following information written by Robert Higgs is from the Plain Dealer.

"Electronic tolling on the Ohio Turnpike begins Oct. 1, but drivers may want to shop around before signing up.

They can establish an account with any of 13 states that will be compatible with Ohio's system.

The cost for the required transponder ranges from free in Massachusetts to $21 in Maryland, plus a $1.50 monthly service fee.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission, which is accepting E-ZPass applications online and by phone, charges a $3 shipping and handling fee for the transponder -- a special windshield tag -- and a 75-cent monthly service fee. The E-ZPass system allows drivers to cruise through toll plazas, where antennas pick up account information from the transponder. Customers establish a $25 account, generally with a credit card, and tolls are deducted."

Having the E-ZPass transponder device installed in your car saves you from having to stop to pay the toll fee whenever you drive on the turnpike as the tolls are deducted automatically from your account. This list of benefits below is from the Ohio Turnpike Commission site.


"E-ZPass Benefits

No more searching for loose change.

Electronic toll lanes cut down wait times at tollbooths.

Discounted fares are offered on the Ohio Turnpike.

E-ZPass is easy to install -- no tools required.

Use helps reduce emissions, conserve fuel, and ease traffic congestion."

If you are interested in using the E-ZPass and wish to save a little bit of money, you can obtain your transponder from another state. Although the fees required to register an Ohio account aren't huge, they can add up if your family has more than one vehicle and if the transponder is used for several years.

If you want to learn more about this program and obtain the necessary forms to request a transponder for free, you may do so from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority site here. We have already obtained ours.

* * * * *

Saving a little bit of money seems like a good reason to dance, especially in these economic times.

Since we're going for a ride, we might as well be dancing while we're doing it. Come on, get into my car.

Music Monday--You've Got A Friend In Me

Randy Newman is singing today. This one is for my blogging friends.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Escapee

Escapee

The cricket taunted me from the corner of the living room.
I couldn't tell if he was under the couch or under the chair.
He stopped his singing whenever I got close.
I knew he was there...I just wasn't sure where.

I went to the kitchen to get a broom,
and from the bathroom, I brought a paper Dixie cup.
Then I swept the broom under the couch,
chasing him out so I could scoop him up.

I hereby give formal notice
to all crickets who come to live here,
that if you escape from the cricket box,
you are considered to be a volunteer.

That's right, you're next up as lizard food.
Thanks for bravely stepping to the front of the line.
Snapped up by the lizard's jaw with a defining CRUNCH,
YOU are the next lizard lunch,
when it's time to dine.

Glimpses From Around the Neighborhood

I took a walk through the neighborhood this morning. It has been quite cool here for several days now--back to hoodie weather. It was 38 degrees this morning. It is 53 degrees here now.

I took a few pictures to share with you. Some of my neighbors have decorations up for Halloween. I remember when I was a kid, a pumpkin carved into a jack-o-lantern was the only decoration we ever had for Halloween. Here are some of the things I saw.

Hmm...wonder who died? A bird or squirrel, maybe? HA!

A skeleton hanging up and a Frankenstein head on the porch

If you look closely at the bottom of Frankenstein, you will see chicken feet. That made me laugh. They put a Frankenstein mask over a statue of a chicken on their porch.

There were lots of homes that had mums.

And there were some pumpkins.

Not too many trees have started changing color yet, but this beautiful red one was the exception. It stood out against the other trees and caught my eye.

The leaves in the trees in front of my house are all still green, but in no time, they will be turning to yellow and then falling to the ground. Then I will be out here with a rake instead of a camera. I hope they hang on for a while yet. I'm in no hurry.