My Reading Blog

First off, thanks to TWT for challenging us to write every day for a full month.  Thanks for all your time, hard work and sharing. Second, thanks to my daughter, Michelle, for inviting (encouraging) me to start this challenge 8 years ago. Third, thanks to all who have commented on my slices.  Your comments truly make a difference in my life. As I said, this is my eighth year of writing - and I said I wasn't a writer when I first began.  Guess I've proven myself wrong.  I can write, not elegantly, but from my heart.  I hope that when my kids and grandkids read these slices when I'm long gone, that they will know more about me and realize how important it is to have a voice. This March, I've celebrated my Dad's birthday, our anniversary, Michelle's birthday I've written about the weather and Spring I've written about concerns and frustrations and mostly, I've written answers to questions from our Question Jar, to give some of our history...

Last summer we enclosed our front porch and made it an "all season" room.  We had eight 5'x3' casement windows installed.  They are pretty good windows, open easily, let in the air when needed, protect from the wind, cold and heat.  But when I tried to clean them, there were a multitude of marks left from the making of these windows.  There were round circles from the suction cups used to move the glass, there were a cascade of runs where whatever liquid they used on the glass was left, there were rectangular marks from who knows what.  Now the only time these marks would show up was when I used the foam cleaning spray to clean them or when there was moisture on the windows.  I checked their website and they said to use mineral spirits sparingly.  I did, still all the markings were there.  I used it NOT so sparingly - still there. We showed our contractor and he said in typical fashion, "no problem, we'll get the window rep out and get it fixed...

I have three slices to write about every March - my Dad's birthday, our anniversary and our Baby's Birthday!  Join me in wishing  Michelle a Happy Birthday. Dear Michelle, Happy Birthday to our baby.  When you were conceived, we were delighted that we were going to have a second child.  In that era, we didn't have ultrasounds to tell us the gender, so we were pleasantly surprised when the Doctor said, "It's a girl!".  We brought a bundle of joy into our family.  Scott was delighted (most of the time).  He doted on you, but didn't like those messy diapers and I'm sure as you both got older, he didn't appreciate having his little sister hang around. Reaching back into the far memories of my mind, you were a good baby and fit into our lives very easily.  Oh, I'm sure we had moments where we wanted to send you back, but overall the early years were good.  You were very much a Momma's girl and didn't like to leave my side, even on Sun...

The Question Jar has been a great way to share stories about myself and my family.  It's helped me to remember times that have been well hidden in the deep crevices of my brain.  So with today's question, I had to really stop and think. Have you met or worked with any famous people?  Who, where and when? I'd say that most of the people I have met or worked with are "famous" in their own way, but I guess the question is really asking about "SOMEBODY REALLY FAMOUS". When I worked at Nuclear Data, a group of us went out for a drink at a lounge just down the street from our workplace,  It was a well known place, although I don't recall the actual name., but it was popular because the owner was the One and Only WALTER PAYTON.  For those who don't remember him, he was a great running back for the Chicago Bears in the 1970's.  The evening that we went to the lounge, HE was there and I got to meet him and talk to him.  His nickname was "...

The question jar has been my "go to" for this March Challenge, so here's another one: What musical instruments do you play? I'd love to say that I played many, but really can only "play at" the piano and organ.  I can read music, and probably, if I'd practice I might actually be able to play a song.  I took piano lessons for maybe three or four years from the age of ten.  I can remember that I REALLY didn't like to practice - it was like a punishment, but at least I have the basics.  I have always thought that I would take lessons once I retired, but then there's that "practice" thing.  Maybe in the future.... The other instrument that I have enjoyed over the years is my voice.  I participated in children's choir and chorus thru grade school and high school and have always loved singing - never as a soloist.  I've sang in church choirs and as a duet with my Hubby - we even did a duet for a friend's wedding. I have a ...

Yesterday, a group of friends gathered together at the movie theatre to see "I Can Only Imagine".  I'm not a movie goer.  I don't like the blood and guts or the fantasy. But,  I like good, thought provoking plots.  This movie was just that - good and thought provoking.  The story of how the song "I Can Only Imagine" came to be written.  The story of a young man who had a terrible beginning to his life until he accepted God into his life.  The story unfolds from there and this song was written and sung by MercyMe and has become the #1 hit. If you haven't heard the song, here are the lyrics: I can only imagine by MercyMe I can only imagine what it will be like When I walk by your side I can only imagine what my eyes will see When your face is before me I can only imagine Yeah Surrounded by your glory What will my heart feel? Will I dance for you, Jesus, Or in awe of you be still? Will I stand in your presence Or to my knees will I fall...

In my devotional from Faith Along the Way this morning, they gave me a journaling prompt for today’s slice: Journal a list of words that God has meant to you over the years. God is always with me (and has been throughout my life), although there is so much of the time that I take it for granted until… I needed strength to get me through difficult times in my life – the death of my parents, Hubby’s heart attack, raising kids, doing things outside of my comfort zone, etc. I needed courage to become a leader of our Stephen Ministry Program, volunteer in areas that I wasn’t sure I belonged, to fit into a group or relationship, to sit back and listen, to allow our animals to be put to sleep because they were hurting. I needed comfort to ease me through my Mom’s cancer and difficult medical treatments, to accept that my Dad was ready to “go home”, to accept medical conditions beyond my control. I find joy in the simple every day happenings – the sun...

The Question Jar has been a life saver during this March Challenge.  Not only has it made me draw from many memories, but I'm trying to give my kids and granddaughters a history that they can look back on and see where they've come from. Today's question: What is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to you? Only one?  Well, I guess it depends upon where I am in my life. Being blessed with caring, loving parents who raised me to be who I am today.  Even though they are no longer with us here on Earth, I feel their presence every day. Meeting the wonderful man, who is my husband, friend, encourager, be-all, do-all.  I don't know how I would handle life without him being by my side. Birthing two wonderful children, Scott & Michelle, and raising them to become the people they are today.  They brighten each day. Being blessed with twin granddaughters, watching them grow and develop. Retiring after almost 50 years of working. ...

SKY CLOUDS BLUE PINK BRILLIANT SUNRISE

Frustration set in yesterday (and before) when trying to print something from my old laptop.  It was working just fine and then.... Several weeks ago nothing printed, so I tried to delete the printer and reload it.  Oops.  Wouldn't let me reload - "Windows doesn't have a profile".  Tried again, same thing.  Not enough time to get it figured out, so I copied my file and took it to my new laptop and got it to print. Yesterday, I had some time so I tried again.  I turned on the printer, went to my craft room, turned on the laptop and opened Word.  What's that I hear?  Something printing?  I didn't print anything.  Besides there's no printer loaded on this laptop.  Went to check it out and voila there is the document that I tried to print two weeks ago.  Made me go "hmmmm".  Tried to print something else - "no printer found".  Now I'm really going "hmmmmm". Tried to reload the printer, put in printer set up disk....

Today is our 48th wedding anniversary.  Hard to believe that we've been married for that length of time.  But we've made it through good and rough times and continue to enjoy and love each other. Earlier this month one of the questions from the Question Jar was about my parents' wedding.  Michelle commented that she didn't know much about our wedding, so today I'll slice about that. I guess I'll start with how we met and go from there.  My roommate was Len's sister for a year or two and I had visited with his family over that time.  Len was in the USAF serving in Viet Nam.  When he came home, Carol and I picked him and a buddy from Iowa up at O'Hare and brought them back to Pontiac.  That was my first meeting with him.  His buddy and I did more talking and getting to know one another, but them he headed home to Iowa. Len & dated several times before he left for Delaware where he would be completing his four year tour.  That was in J...

Tell about a frustrating experience you have had with a car. I got my driver's license when I was sixteen and I don't remember any instances during high school.  We always took the bus to school and I'd say my driving was limited to short trips. When I was in business college, I tried to pull into a parking space with cars on each side and apparently I cut it too close and scraped the side of the car, because I wasn't smart enough to stop and back up.  I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I guess because of lack of experience I thought it would be okay to just keep going forward.  Wrong.  Lesson learned. Another time, the car was making some strange noises and Dad asked me to take it into the dealer to get it checked out.  In that time, I guess the mechanics thought that a young woman didn't know anything and they could just say it was fixed.  I drove it around the block and directly back to the dealer and told them that my Dad wouldn't be happy if t...

Question #10 was: What did your father do to support your family?  Did your mother work? Hubby and I got to talking and decided that our kids didn't know all of the jobs that we worked at when we were younger.  So today's slice is about all of our work history. Hubby: Farm work at an early age - thru high school Interlake Steel - for a short time learning the art of welding Johnson Press - for 3 months before entering the military United States Air Force - 4 years Johnson Press - 1 year Department of Defense/United States Air Force Reserves - 26 years Carpentry Specialties - 2 years Heritage Log Homes - 2 years Ahhh, retired at last Me: Babysitting at the age of 10 - 50 cents an hour! Mrs. Merrick (a business woman) - the beginning of my secretarial career - 2+ years Mobil Chemical Company - 3 years (got married and moved to Delaware) International Playtex Corp. - 8 months (biding my time until Hubby's tour was completed) Cooperative Extension Service,...

Coughing Dry, hacking, annoying Five Days Enough Doctor Heart good Lungs clear Must be ALLERGIES What? At 69? Pills Waiting Still Coughing It takes time

What better day than St. Patrick's Day to make a list of 17 reasons for thanksgiving? 1.  A wonderful husband who takes care of me, cooks for me, helps me with my slices, encourages me - the list could go on forever. 2.  A great son and daughter-in-law, an equally great daughter and son-in-law and two precious granddaughters - they all bring much joy and happiness into our lives. 3.  Good health 4.  Friends who support and are always available.  Our prayer group of four who share our concerns and problems and build each other up with prayer. 5.  Great home cooked meals - just tell Hubby what I want for that night and Voila it appears! 6.  Signs of spring all around - new growth, new birth, colors spewing out of the brown and cold earth. 7.  A clean car - it's white again! 8.  Warmer temperatures - it was 73 yesterday 9.  A good check up for Hubby from the Doctor 10.  A great vacation and safe ...

How did your father support your family?  Did your mother work outside of the home?  Doing what? When my dad came home from the Army, they moved into the farm house where my Grandparents lived and he farmed the 240 acres raising corn and beans.  They also had some milking cows.  But farming was not enough to keep up with the bills. In the mid 1940's he became a carpenter working for a contractor, Al Hendron.  I'm guessing they  built 2-3 houses a year from the ground up.  As far as I know, there were 3-4 men that worked with Al and they did all the labor - from pouring cement, to laying blocks & bricks, to framing the house, roofing, windows, building cabinets and finishing the inside.  He must have had contractors who did the plumbing and heating installation.  Dad worked for Al until he retired in the early 1980's, when he turned 62 or maybe 65.  In addition to farming and carpentry, he also sold Hulting Hybrid seed corn to the...

Spring     New beginnings Spring  Green grass Spring      Daffodils, tulips, forsythias Spring      Flowering trees Spring      Leaves bursting forth Spring   Gentle rains Spring      Warmer temperatures Spring   Sunshine Spring      Robins, cardinals, hawks Spring   Time to reflect Spring   Love Spring      Just around the corner

We saw lots and learned a lot of history on our travel in the New Bern area.  Our final days moved us to visiting a 95 year old friend in Burlington, NC (near Greensboro).  She had just moved into a Senior Living Complex and was excited to show us her new abode.  We got the grand tour, chatted up a storm and went to lunch.  She is very hard of hearing, so by the end of our visit my voice was gone.  But we so enjoyed our time with Pearl.  She's happy, healthy and well cared for. Our next stop took us to Asheville, NC where met up with Len's cousin and his wife.  They sold their home in Texas and have decided that the Asheville area is where they want to build their next home.  We stayed overnight in downtown Asheville, ate at a Cuban restaurant with a great view of the mountains and sunset and ended our day at one of the many chocolate lounges.  A glass of Malbec and dark chocolate - nothing compares! The next day they took us to Henderson...

Yesterday, I wrote about Tryon Palace in New Bern, NC and will continue on our journey.  The downtown area is quaint and well cared for.  There were many shops and restaurants and yes, the birth place of Pepsi Cola with a soda shop filled with memorabilia. We walked the streets, ambled into the shops, toured the art galleries and ate at several of the restaurants.  We would have walked along the waterfront, but the wind was blowing mightily and it was COLD.  We had anticipated and hoped that we would have warmer temps, but their weather was much the same as ours in Arkansas. So we looked at the rivers and marinas from the car as we traveled along. We had planned to take a day trip to the Outer Banks, but again the weather was not conducive to going and they had closed the roads on the Outer Banks because of the winds, waves and sand.  So we opted to go south to Beaufort and Moorhead City.  Beaufort is another small coastal town.  Unfortunately, man...

A week ago last Friday, we packed the car and headed to North Carolina for a week away from home.  Our next door neighbor has family in Birmingham and asked if she could ride along.  Birmingham was south of the route we were taking, but her son said he would pick her up south of Nashville.  So the three of us were off bright and early on Friday. The drive was uneventful (which to me is the BEST). We dropped Lavon off and continued on our way across Tennessee, stopping at several wineries along the way before we stopped for the day - 9 hours broken up with stops.. Left early on Saturday to Knoxville, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro then south of Raleigh-Durham.  No we didn't stop, just passed thru so we could get to our final destination in New Bern, NC,  where we stayed at the Fairview Harboures   New Bern is a riverfront town tucked away on the Neuse and Trent Rivers. New Bern was founded in 1710 by Swiss baron Christopher de Graffenried and is ...

What did you do as a child that got you in the most trouble with your parents?  With your teacher? I'd like to say that I was the "ideal" daughter and student, but I'm sure my parents might disagree.  I really don't remember getting in trouble with a teacher, but there was one time that I remember my parents were really angry with me. My Dad worked for a house building contractor and helped to build our house in town.  It was almost completed and my parents took us to the house to check it out (and I'm sure they said "don't go down the hallway", but...  I wanted to see my bedroom and proceeded to go down the hall.  What I didn't know was that the hardwood floors had just been varnished and were still tacky and not dry.  I left several foot prints on the floor. Needless to say, my Dad was not very happy with me.  I can't remember another time when he was really mad, but this definitely did not make me his "special" daughter...

Describe getting a Christmas tree with your family as a child.  How did you decorate it? When did you put it up and take it down? I don't remember going with Dad to get a tree, but I do remember him bringing it home and setting it up in the stand.  We probably put it the week of Christmas, but before Christmas Eve.  It was taken down after Epiphany - Jan. 6th. When we lived on the farm, the trees were never too big and as I look back at some of the pictures, they remind me of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree - not completely filled in.  It was decorated with lights - some bubble lights and larger bulbs.  There was silver tinsel - put on piece by piece.  The ornaments consisted of different colors balls, the metal spiral ornaments, some handmade ornaments and the ones that I still have are 3 fragile glass Santas.  There was always a star on top.  No matter how bare the tree looked when Dad brought it in, it was always beautiful when decorated. ...

What were your chores as a child? We lived on a farm until I was 10.  We raised chickens and I can remember gathering eggs.  I also remember Mom rounding up chickens so that we could harvest them for food and I would have to pluck the feathers for further preparation.  Fortunately, this was only done once or twice a year. Actual chores - washing or drying dishes picking up toys feeding the dog and cats cleaning my room  dusting When we moved into town, those same chores were made available, plus weeding the garden harvesting veggies hanging clothes on the line to dry mowing grass I'm sure there were others, and as I grew older, the chores increased.  There was no allowance, it was just something we did to help out around the house.

Tell about your Girl Scout experiences. Never joined the Brownies or Girl Scouts.  I'm sure they were in our area, but the 4-H Clubs were more prominent in our small farm community.  So this is the group that I joined. I'm not sure the year or how old, but I'm guessing that I was probably 10 when I joined.  We had a local group and was led by a neighbor living down the street from us, Mrs. Heminover.  Here's what 4-H is: 4‑H is a community that provides experiences where young people learn by doing. Kids complete hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and citizenship, in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors and are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles.  4‑H Pledge I pledge my head to clearer thinking, My heart to greater loyalty, My hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and ...

Tell about a favorite vacation from your childhood. I don't recall that any one vacation stuck out more than another.  I do remember that we usually took a trip some place each year. Here's some of the trips I remember: My grandparents were "snow birds" and went to Kissimmee, FL for the winter and we spend several Christmas' with them. Many years we would spend a week at a resort (not what we think of as a resort today - just small cottages) in Spooner, WI on Little Arbor Vitae Lake.  We would take the boat out and do some fishing, but mainly just hanging out. We visited family near Flint, MI.  They had a lake house, but I don't remember where it was located. We traveled to South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park. One year, we went to Niagara Falls and also visited Washington, DC. Travel was much different in the 1950's and 1960's.  We didn't visit theme parks (if they existed), no big cities, no camp grounds.  There weren't ma...

We are currently vacationing in New Bern, NC.  Our condo balcony overlooks the marina located in a cove of the Neuse River.  As I sit on the balcony, basking in the sunshine, the wind is gusting up to 15-20 MPH and this is what the sounds reminded me. Sun shining brightly in the sky Wind blowing mightily Sail boats lined up in rows Masts protruding upward toward the sky Rocking gently to the sway of the waves Moorings rubbing and pulling against the piers Wind swirling, howling around the bay Vibrating across the ropes and masts to make mournful voices singing Wood and metal coming together to join in the song Sounding like a multitude of wind chimes Calling to their owners Pleading Questioning Saying The wind is blowing The sails are waiting to be hoisted Let's go Out to sea Winter's almost over It's almost spring Time to stretch and travel But, alas No owners appear No sailing today The winds too strong The temp is ...

Each year that I have been writing in this March Challenge, I have written a slice about my Dad.  And this year is no different.  Today would have been my Dad's 101st Birthday.  Even though he passed 15 years ago, I still honor him on his birthday (and each and every day).  I'm sure if you check back to the past slices on March 5th, you will see a lot of the same words repeated, but they will all tell you how much he meant to me. My Dad was born on this day in 1917 to a farming family who made their living off of the crops they raised.  He had two siblings, a sister and brother - both older than him.  From the story that I remember, he was named by the farm hand who helped his Dad do chores.  His name was Hartwell - an unusual name and not one that I'm sure you have heard before. He wasn't one to enjoy school, but graduated and said no to college.  He lost the sight in his left eye due to a shotgun accident when he was 17.  He joined the ...

What is the most trying experience that ever happened to you? I'm not sure what "trying" means, but I'm going to take it as "difficult/scary" experience. It happened in 1996.  On a Monday morning, before 6:00 a.m..  I'm busy getting ready for work.  Scott living out on his own.  Michelle at school in Champaign.  Hubby left for work at 4:00 a.m. The phone rings. Hubby calls and says "I'm not feeling well.  I'm coming home.  Don't go to work.  I think we need to go to the doctor."  Now, he works at the USAF base at O'Hare Airport - a 40 minute drive. I asked, "Do you want me to come and get you?".  His reply, "No, I'll be fine." I anxiously waited and waited and pondered what happened the night before when he told me he wasn't feeling very good.  I kiddingly said, "Take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning." He arrived home and was the color of ashes.  We promptly got in the car...