Ginger

Today is Ginger's 13th birthday. Her hind legs don't work too well anymore, so we carry her around. She does use her dog door herself during the night, if she needs to go out to potty. She has been on Prednisone and Tramidol because of her arthritis. Her front paws are deformed from the arthritis, but she is able to pull herself along, and she now gives us verbal signals when she wants to go somewhere else in the apartment, and when she's hungry. She lives from meal to meal and snack to snack. We have a mobile carrier when we need to take her to the Veternarian and she rides in it like a queen. She had her annual checkup last week and passed with flying colors, except for the arthritis. Good heart, strong mind. A loving and loyal companion.

Clean as a Whistle

Well, I drank the 17 gallons of Trilyte, went through a case and a half of toilet paper (unscented), ran a life test of the flush mechanism of our toilet and now have as clean and shiny an intestine as a chrome plated grill on a chauffer driven Rolls Royce. All in preparation for a colonoscopy this morning. When the technition gave me the "gown" to put on, I told her about a comedian I had heard describing it as an apron. After the "procedure", the Doctor said all was well - just 2 small polyps and some minor diverticulitis, typical at my age. So I don't need to return for another 3 years. Yipee! It's not that the "procedure" is painful (I'm totally unconscious), but the thought of having to drink all that liquid turns my stomach (and other parts of my anatomy). But don't let me deter you; if you haven't had one by age 50, talk with your Doctor.

It Wasn't The Pollen

The mini-trampoline and the Aloe Vera juice arrived yesterday, so Grandma and I are on the road to better minds and bodies. We tried out both during our visit to son, Mark, and his fiancee, Karen, last month. We spent a few days with them and their families, seeing the sights around Melbourne and Cape Canaveral, before driving to Tampa to visit our great-grandson, Chase, and his parents. When we arrived in Tampa, we were sneezing and sniffling, which we thought was caused by the pollen being blow around. Subsequently, we found we both had the flu, probably caught from the sneezing and coughing passengers on our flight to Florida. Then we did our share of coughing (but not sneezing!) on the flight back home. We spent the first week back home in our apartment, ordering our main meal by room service. We still haven't regained our full energy, but know it will happen soon. We think that trip will be our last by airplane for quite a few years to come.

A Good Day, Sorta

Today, Grandma and I celebrated our 31st anniversary by having lunch at Macaroni Grill. A glass of Riesling and an Italian feast - what could be better! Then off to the movies to see "Frost/Nixon", a movie by Ron Howard of Opie fame. You do remember Opie and the Andy Griffith Show, don't you? We arrived home to find Ginger at her usual place by the front door. This morning, she had an upset stomach and we weren't sure we would be able to go anywhere, but she recovered quickly. And I had a large envelope from the Green Free Library in Wellsboro, PA with newspaper articles about an Aunt and Uncle who were buried there and about other members of their families. I haven't had a chance to digest it all, but I'm sure it will help fill in some blanks in my family history (www.Ancestry.com, then look for the "Miller/Mann/Goebel/Steinmetz" family tree).

The "Sorta" part of the good day is really sad for me because I finished the last pages of Rick Watson's book "Remembering Big" and won't have another of his to read until he writes it and gets it published. (Hurry, Rick!) It's a great book and it brought back lots of pleasant memories from my past lives. I highly recommend it.

A Man's World - UPDATE

Leona Helmsley went to prison for failing to pay back taxes. Tom Daschle gets a Cabinet post for failing to pay his. Who says it's not a man's world?

UPDATE: Earlier today, Daschle withdrew his name from consideration. What a patriot! But will he volunteer for a room in federal prison? Stay tuned.

Art Workshop Update

Thursday, about 7 people showed up, so I gave a short demonstration. Some were already working on a painting before I finished. That's good; they were familiar with watercolors. The Activities Coordinator tried to talk me into taking responsibility for the group, but I refused. I only want to paint. I did offer to share my knowledge with people, if they ask, but I won't act as their teacher. I was able to finish a painting of some penguins that I've been working on for 4 or 5 weeks. Here it is.

Our New Art Workshop

Thursday was the first session of our new art workshop group. There were about 14 people there, all of whom had painted in years past, most in oils. Because Westminster Village doesn't allow the use of the chemicals needed, oil painting is not allowed, so most of the attendees agreed to try painting with watercolors. Janet, one of the Activities Coordinators, and I tried to give some basic information about the medium, and I was talked into giving a demonstration next week. I've prepared a fairly simple drawing of Poinsettia, one that I used for a Christmas card design in years past. I plan to have one finished painting to display, and then go step by step to demonstrate how easy it is to use watercolors. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year

Grandma and I wish one and all a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

And congratulations to Rick Watson for downing that anchovy. (See link to Life 101 at the right.)

States Shapes

Why is your state shaped that way?
Did the various English kings have much to do with it?
What about Congress? How much did they get into the detail of your state borders?
Why is there only one spot where four states meet?
Why is there a jog in the border between Massachusetts and Connecticut?
Why is Idaho that shape?
Read all about it in "How the States Got Their Shapes" by Mark Stein.
Verrrrrry interesting!

Golden Age Gardens

I ran across a blog about flowers and gardens that I like, so I added it to the list of links. Check it out and see what you think of it.

Glass by Chihuly in Phoenix

On Friday, Grandma and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix with the group from WMVAZ. Dale Chihuly has an exhibition of glass in the Garden that is absolutely beautiful. Here are a few photos from the trip.

A Couple of Good Books

If you are interested in world history, I highly recommend "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond and "1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus" by Charles G. Mann.

Christmas Trees

Yesterday was decorate-the-trees day here at Westminster Village. There were quite a few residents helping get the ornaments ready for hanging. The large tree in the reception area had been installed, so it needed decoration, while the small tree in Nuernburg Hall needed assembly as well as decoration. The end result of all our efforts came out quite well, don't you think?

Care to Live in Scottsdale, Arizona?

If you're interested in a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath patio home in a quiet community, I have just the place. It has just under 1600 sq. ft., with 2 master suites, laundry room, formal dining room, breakfast area, laundry room and pantry. Patio is tiled. The community includes a pool, spa and tennis court. And the front yard maintenance is taken care of. Grandma and I have moved out, so it is ready for the right person to move in. Think about it! No snow to shovel, blue skies, little rain. What more could you want?


If you're interested, let me know and I'll pass on your information to our realtor.

A Storm To Remember

"The storm king..., with a loud, ear-piercing crash of thunder, and a hissing flash of white lightning, gave the signal to the elements to begin the attack. We cowered helplessly under the shock, sensible that human strength was insignificant in comparison with the power of the blast which roared and yelled and shrieked about us.
"For hours the rain poured down - either as heavy drops which stung by their momentum; as little pellets which drizzled through canvas and blankets, chilling our blood as they soaked into clothing; or alternating with hail which in great, globular crystals, crackled against the miserable shelter, whitened the ground, and froze the air. The reverberation of the thunder was incessant; one shock has barely begun to echo around the sky, when peal after peal, each stronger, louder, and more terrifying than its predecessors, blotted from our minds the sounds and flashes which had awakened our first astonishment, and made us forget in new frights our old alarms. The lightning darted from zenith to horizon, appeared in all quarters, played around all objects. In its glare the smallest bushes, stones, and shrubs stood out as plainly as under the noon sun of a bright summer's day; when it subsided, our spirits were oppressed with the weight of darkness. No stringing together of words can complete a description of what we saw, suffered, and feared during that awful tempest. The stoutest hearts, the oldest soldiers, quailed."

This was written in 1891 by John G. Bourke in his book "On the Border with Crook" about a storm a group of soldiers encountered near the Yellowstone River. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the history of General Crook's campaign to bring the western tribes onto reservations peacefully.

Over, At Last

After sixty trillion days of campaigning, or so it seems, it's finally over. Except for the dissection by the media, that is. I don't know how you feel about the campaign and the results, but I sure am happy that I won't need to listen to all the rhetoric, most of which was negative. To think of all the money spent by all the candidates boggles the mind. Why can't we be civilized and limit the campaigning to about six weeks? Maybe even less. Give the candidates four weeks to present their positions, then give the voters two weeks to ask questions and decide who to vote for, then let 'em vote. Would save a whole bunch of money that could be put to better use. Why not?

Charles Albert Barnhart

We were in Rochester for the second time this month to lay Grandma’s brother, Charles, to rest. He suffered from Parkinson’s disease, was hospitalized for pneumonia, then his heart gave out. He was 81. He died on the 23rd. We were at the funeral home for the private service, then went to the cemetery for the service there. His wife and two sons were devastated by his death, as they were a very close family. I liked Charlie. He had a great sense of humor. Every once in a while, I’d call him an old fogey, and he’d say that was the pot calling the kettle black. I always had to agree, since I’ve had my old fogeyish moments. He called his sister “Brat”, and she came right back with “Rat”; they talked every Sunday. Toward the end, he was losing his hearing, so Grandma would have to shout into the phone. When they were done, she would tell me about the conversation and I’d have to remind her to stop shouting. We’ll miss him.

A Promise To Keep

Grandma and I are about recovered from our trip to Rochester, NY for the funeral of Uncle Henry. While at the Memorial Service, I stopped to talk with a cousin, Clarence Carman, Jr. and his wife, Ana. We talked about our great grandmother, Wilhelmina Steinmetz Spies Plock (nee Kell), and the circumstances of the death of her first husband, Wilhelm Steinmetz. Clarence had a theory, from something he heard as a child, that Wilhelm had been murdered by a soldier who was in love with Wilhelmina and wanted her for himself. Somehow or other, the soldier was killed, resulting in Wilhelmina having to quickly leave Germany with her three daughters. Clarence and I had had this conversation before, and last Saturday I promised to do everything I could to find out the truth, and then let him know. Unfortunately, Clarence died on Monday, the 13th. I'm sure he has since learned the truth of the matter, but so far has not been able to reveal it to me. I'll keep on researching the question, though, because I had made a promise.

Unc

Of all my uncles, I favored Bill Miller and Henry Goebel. As a young boy, I wanted to be named Bill, and I also wanted to be as tall (over 6’) as Henry, “Unc” to my brother and me. Occasionally, when I worked at Xerox Corporation, someone would mix me up by calling me “Bill”, but I never attained the height of Unc; close, but I stopped at 5’10”.

Unc was the fourth child of German immigrants, only two of whom lived to adulthood. In his youth, he built model airplanes powered by rubber bands and entered them in contests. One contest in Cleveland, Ohio resulted in second prize - a check which was signed by Orville Wright; he never cashed the check because he felt the signature to be worth more than the money. He told me the story about winning second prize. It seems that his airplane flew a long time and finally flew out of sight. The judges held a quick conference and decided that they should try to keep the planes in sight, so they followed the next planes, resulting in someone else winning first prize.

He and a friend built the first glider in the area in his parent‘s attic, and took it to a local park where they flew in it. The part I enjoyed hearing about is how they had to remove a double window and frame in order to get the glider out so they could assemble it.

He was the Secretary of the Left Handed Golfers Association, now defunct. In the 40s, I remember him using the stationery for correspondence. He won tournaments around the area, and I had the pleasure of caddying for him occasionally when he belonged to Brook Lea Country Club. Between the 9th and 10th holes, we stopped at an ice cream store adjacent to the course for refreshments. He had the honor of golfing with the great Walter Hagen, but never boasted about beating him. His nickname in his prime was “Hammerin’ Hank”, and, in his later years when I called him that, he laughed and said “Not any more”; but it brought back pleasant memories.

He was a sports nut and enjoyed relating the story of his honeymoon when he found there was a golf tournament in the area. He checked with the tournament director and found there was an opening, so he signed up and spent the weekend golfing. I don’t remember whether or not he won anything. He did have a nice collection of prizes and trophies that he accumulated over the years. As an amateur, he wasn’t allowed to accept any large monetary awards.

At his funeral and memorial service last Saturday, we heard many wonderful comments about his life. The positive effect he had on others will stay with us for years to come, and will echo through the generations of his descendants.

DNA Test

Ancestry.com had an offer last month for half price to have one's DNA tested, so Grandma and I signed up. We received the swab kit last week, swabbed three times, and returned the swabs in the enclosed envelope. Now to wait for the results. Will I find I'm related to Cain or Abel? Time will tell.