Great Trail Mix

So maybe this might be a little late for this year's Halloween, but it's still a good idea and you can use it for the rest of fall too!!

Mix Spanish peanuts and candy corn together in about equal proportions.  Then eat!!  That's all there is to it.  What you end up with is something that tastes like a Payday candy bar.  It's a good snack that is not that high in calories.

The costumes this year are strange.  Sign of the times, I guess.  It used to be that Halloween was for kids, because when I was little that's sure the way it was.  The grownups just helped eat the candy and organized things for the kids.  Nowadays everyone is in the act and adult parties are very common.  Adults dressing up is very common.

I don't remember any of the costumes I wore as a child save for one.  My sister got married when I was in the sixth grade and my bridesmaid's dress made a great costume that fall.  It must not have been too cold outside either which is good since it was a sleeveless dress.  I felt like a princess in it. 

Well, I hate to cut this really short but I have to be at Mass at 8:15 a.m. to play today.  And again tomorrow at 1:00.  And Sunday at 10:00.  So the fingers are getting a workout.

Plus, tonight is trick or treat here so I have things to do to get ready.

I'll do better tomorrow!!  I promise.

October Baby

We subscribed to Netflix a couple of weeks ago and last night watched October Baby.  I highly recommend this movie.

The lead character, Hannah, finds out as a 19-year-old that her health problems are related to the fact that as a tiny baby she survived an attempted abortion.  AND, that her parents adopted her.

The doctor treating her explains that her seizure disorder, asthma and hip joint problems are the result of the attempted procedure. 

More than this part of the plot I won't discuss because it might ruin the story for you. 

Hannah's journey from fears and suicidal thoughts to being a much more whole human being is a daunting one.  It involves many people along the route, many of them individuals who go beyond their scope of duty to assist her.

There are many other movies out there that are worthwhile.  The other night we watched a movie called The Magic of Belle Isle.  For people who love music and writing, this one is an absolute gem.  I could easily watch it again.  In fact, I sent for a CD that features Beethoven's Sonata #8 Pathetique just so I can listen to it when I write here at my creative desk or maybe in the car.

The theme of both movies is the salvation of a lost soul.  So many people are damaged, and sometimes it takes being tossed out of the comfort zone to reach an understanding of oneself.

If our own lives were a movie script, there would be stops and starts something like this that would mark the beginning of something profound, but we are often not the most objective reviewers of our own experience.  The most important thing is that we keep reaching for God at every checkpoint. 

We are off to the University today so my husband can get his hearing aids checked at their center.  He has really appreciated being able to hear better and it has made his life a lot more inclusive.  The people there are doing wonderful work and I applaud them.  There is even a program that helps children from all over via Skype. 

So have a wonderful day today -- one of the last ones before some really cold weather comes along.  Each day is a gift to us.  We are so blessed.

Talk to you tomorrow then.

Flowers

I hear that dianthus is a perennial, or at least it can be.  I didn't leave any in the planters, save one, because they don't bloom that well in my yard anyhow.  I tried again this year and the first production was great.  Then the blooms just die off and it doesn't bloom again for weeks, if at all.  Frustrating.

So the planters are cleaned out and everything is ready to go into the storage barn thing we have in the back yard.

The one flower that just did amazingly well this year was a orange/yellow zinnia.  They got tall but didn't get too leggy.  They were still blooming when I pulled them today, and I brought what was left on the plants inside for one final bouquet.  I'll definitely go with them next year.  And the other was the veritable Alyssum that kept on ticking to the very end. 

This year I just left caution to the wind and brought in a lot of different colors.  It was glorious and bright and cheerful, and just the perfect accent to the gunmetal gray deck and shutters on the house.  It just might be the formula for each year hereafter.  That will make plant shopping a lot less stressful!!

One more thing about Hartville from a faithful blog reader -- Over in the old Hartville Hardware building on the main drag, there is another great thrift shop.  Try it out when you are going about town.  Check it out.

Well, it would seem that bad news has been in play all week, doesn't it?  First, the attack on the NYPD rookies, a new case of Ebola, and today a school shooting (again).  Don't you ever wonder what you would be capable of doing if something happened and you had a chance to react?

I've thought about that a lot.  Truth is, we don't know exactly what we will do in a given situation because if we've never been tested in that way before, there is no way to know exactly what we are capable of.  Some people obviously run and hide and get as far away from the trouble as possible.  Others go towards the problem but don't want to get too involved and stay on the periphery.  And yet others get into the middle of the melee and offer their best to help others.  Adrenalin does amazing things to get a person going -- the flight or fight syndrome.

We watched a film last night called, "Hours," that tells the story of a guy whose wife just died in childbirth in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and the extraordinary lengths he goes to in order to save his infant daughter who is five weeks early and on a ventilator.  It was kind of a stuck to the armchair kind of movie where you didn't want to miss anything.  A dog in the movie was quite the star putting on a very good performance.  It was a large German shepherd. 

We think it was entirely a work of fiction, but the marauders going from place to place stealing whatever they could find had to be true.  A closed up hospital was a prime target for those interested in getting a hold of drugs to sell on the street.

The two nurses are Ebola free which is the best news of the week!!

Honey Boo Boo is off the air -- and oh boy, I am so happy about that.  Don['t know about you, but that whole thing just got to me. 

In fact, there are a lot of different shows that we don't follow, and that's fine by me too.

Take care and have a good one.  A weekend good enough to get the leaves done and a whole lot more!!

Karen

The Wonders of a Smile

This is for Thursday and Friday!!


For a while now, since Blue Bloods started running on TV, I've noticed something.  Tom Selleck just doesn't want to smile.  Whether he is Jesse Stone or the police commissioner on Blue Bloods, there is rarely a hint of a smile on his face.

He's always the flawed character that carries around a lot of baggage.  In Jesse Stone, he has an alcohol problem and has lost two jobs.  In Blue Bloods, his son died and his wife died.

See a pattern here?  You have to wonder if Tom Selleck has a secret side that he wants to portray brooding, sad people so much of the time.  I miss a smile!!

I don't care what someone's teeth look like or if they smile like Clarabell the Clown.  A smile is a wondrous thing and it brings more smiles and more smiles.  A smile is contagious.  It makes a person real.

From a quick scan of Wikipedia, Selleck seems to have a wonderful, stable life, is married and lives on an avocado farm.  Who couldn't like that?  He seems to have good health, another wonderful thing.

So maybe he is just a happy-happy-happy guy and he just happens to get these darker roles where there isn't an opportunity for humor.  Maybe there aren't as many roles available for a working actor born in 1945.  Too bad, isn't it?

From my standpoint, I think Selleck should smile more.  In both roles.  Just because someone has a drinking problem and has been fired from two jobs doesn't mean that they can't find something funny in life.  And being a police commissioner has to bring something to the table besides arguing and trouble and the mayor threatening your job.  Besides, in Jesse Stone, it doesn't seem as though he's exactly starving.  He has the most fascinating house and seems to have people around him who care, lots of reasons to smile. 

We could all do to smile a little more, I think.  A smile crusade perhaps. 

This is going to be a short post today because I've got a pretty full day ahead.

Pardon me for that.  But the take-away for today is SMILE.  Do it often and do it sincerely.  SMILE at your kids.  SMILE at your co-workers.  SMILE when you pass someone.  Make the world a little friendlier place.  Pay a smile forward. 

Even if it doesn't help anyone else, smiling will make your own mood lighten and you'll feel much better! 

Thanks for reading.

Weather Rebound

I was just thinking the other day that a lot of us just aren't ready for the colder temperatures yet.  And again, I was chastising myself for not spending more time outdoors when I had the chance.

We have a chance to redeem ourselves, my blog friends!!  Monday is going to be gorgeous.  I'm going to get myself outside and DO something for sure.  One rather sad but necessary task is to pull the annuals in my planter boxes and another planter on the deck.  Then put things away like my little angel that graces the backyard so very well.  She looks uncomfortable out there when it's in the 40s.

It's going to be in the 70s!  Wow.  I mean, you could potentially wear shorts, but that just seems ridiculous. 

So the last couple of days has been pretty rough, hasn't it?  The situation in Canada and then in the streets of New York and now another case of Ebola.  If it isn't terrorists, then it is micro-terrorists.
All of us are becoming more literate in the whys and wherefores of a disease that disappears for a time and then reappears -- and no one seems to know for sure how other than it is in Africa. 

Today we'll talk about Hartville, Ohio, a charming little village in Stark County, Ohio with a population hovering at about 3,000 in the 2010 Census.  Of course, that doesn't include the area surrounding Hartville which has grown exponentially in the last so many years.  That area is called Lake Township. 

You know, the crazy thing is that it isn't all that easy to get the actual history of Hartville, like why it was settled and all of that.  But there was definitely a lot of farming in the area and there is a farm elevator company still in operation there -- and they sell great bird seed too.  Driving around the oldest section of Hartville is fun in itself or just getting out and taking a walk would be nice.  Some of the buildings are obviously very old, dating from the 1800s.  There are mom and pop stores to be visited and enjoyed.

Then if you want to see a little more of that kind of thing, you can venture just past the Hartville Elevator Company and go down the road a bit to Quail Hollow State Park.  It is just beautiful and you can tour the lovely home there.  They have trick or treat too!  I think you can find all you might want to know about Quail Hollow online, and also check out the bog.  It must be a little like the Jackson bog with plants that have managed to survive for a long, long time.

When people think of Hartville today, the first thing tends to be the Hartville Kitchens, Hartville Marketplace, Hartville Flea Market, Hartville Collectibles, Hartville Hardware -- and now they are building a beautiful hotel on the site.  They are obviously going to market Hartville for the kind of visitors that come from far enough away that they want to stay overnight and do it again the next day!

One thing you won't see most like is the Hartville Tool Company, which is a spin-off of the hardware store.  We get all of our wood at Hartville and my son got the wood for his deck there.  They are nice to work with and very efficient.  The hardware store is quite large and has an inventory that includes a lot of unusual items, not to mention a whole house in the middle of it.

For us, visiting Hartville is a good day.  The last time we went, we visited the hardware store first to get some items we needed and then went to the kitchens for lunch.  Good food!  Not cheap, but very good and make sure to take time to check out the amazing artwork on the wall of the kitchens where people wait their turn.  You'll want to take a good, long look at each one because they are just beautiful.

The drive to Hartville is also lovely and I look forward to that part of it just as much.  There is a reason why so many people have moved to the area.

Have a wonderful day.  I hope we can learn to adjust to this different world we live in today without getting jaded, negative, and hateful.  Pray for the two policemen!!

Dogwoods

They are gone, every last one of them -- the dogwood leaves.  They are pretty enough in the summer but in the fall, they are a work of beauty in my eyes.

The colors blend seamlessly along the leaves, weaving a gold/yellow, burgundy, red, purple and gray.  What a plaid it would make it you could get the colors just right! 

Dogwoods are wonderful trees.  They don't grow to be all that tall and they like being under the "big guys" in the woods for protection.  Some call them umbrella trees because the tops fan out just like a big umbrella.  The blight that came through the area some years ago did a number on a lot of our trees (we had at least a hundred) but we were fortunate enough to be able to keep two of them close to the house.  One is by the porch window and one by our bedroom window. 

Last June's storm almost did in the one by the bedroom.  I really sweated it out when the tree company came to get the huge branch off the roof and off of the dogwood.  But it sprang back just fine and looks none the worse for the experience. 

Squirrels show up to eat the berries and put on an acrobatic show for anyone who wants to stand at the window and watch for a bit.  I've never seen one fall but it has to happen!  They are crazy, maneuvering to the very ends of the most frail branches to get the prize.  Then I presume what happens, although I have no proof, is that mother nature takes over and redeposit the seeds all about after the berries pass through the squirrel's system.  And that would explain why we have baby dogwoods coming up here and there.

The birds love the dogwoods.  There is a bird flight path along the side of the house where birds flit this way and that.  Yesterday, there were about four birds flying that schematic and then resting in the branches of the dogwood.  I've got to look up what kind of birds they are.  Small, brownish with some markings, including bright yellow!!  I'm sure they are quite common whatever they are, but I like them.  They are so agile and cute. 

Hope you put Kidron on your list of places to visit.  Life goes by so fast that it is really a joy to spend a little time where time almost stands still.  I think maybe we are ready for such a trip ourselves, and I hope we can do that before it gets much colder.

I keep telling all of you to get out and see stuff, and what do I do?  Not much of anything sometimes.  Yesterday, I made a batch of cookies because we were out of candy but we did have a half bag of chocolate chips.  Cookies ... candy ... pretty much the same.  And I've been straightening -- you know, walking around the house looking for things that don't belong and putting them away.  Or organizing -- looking at the calendar and figuring out what needs to be done and when.  Or sleeping -- I don't have to describe taking a nap to you, I'm sure.

Lauren was over yesterday after school and she brought home the neatest book.  It's called Pirateology.  Someone went to great lengths to embellish this book in amazing ways.  The cover reminds me a little of Jumanji.  Inside the reader discovers where pirates went and how they made their way here and there.  One of those places was Kracatoa -- an island near Java, I believe.  This was in the 1700s.  So for ONCE, all that watching of history paid off.  I told Lauren that the pirates could have visited Kracatoa, but that it blew up when a volcano erupted in the 1800s. 

So that spawned a visit to the computer where we saw where it had been and what was there now.  Pretty neat, huh?  We were shocked that 36,000 people died.  They heard the blast 3,000 miles away!!

Well, we are off to the store today to get groceries and that's not my favorite but we might get some candy.  I'm up for that.  Take care, everyone.

Attached Memories

Goodbye, RAV4.

My husband says I'm more sentimental than he is.  Isn't that usually true of women?

My RAV4 is off to the auction next week and so I had to clean everything out of it.  My goodness, would it never end?  I had stuff all over the place, but since it was orderly and neat, it just never seemed to add up to much until it was time to move it  There was a map, some change, my GPS system, two pairs of sunglasses, my parking pass from Akron, two umbrellas, three snow scrapers, four rosaries and a prayer book, a lion blanket, five towels, a pill box that had fallen under the seat a day before the car was towed, some peppermint candies, the garage opener, a six-pack of Honey-Nut Cheerios, and a box of Kleenex.

I just wasn't ready to say goodbye.  We picked up the RAV two days before Ella was born so I associated the car always with her, and then with Lauren and Drew.  Drew learned his ABCs in the car while we went over the RPD2L together.  We traced the TOYOTA letters.  He put on the hazards while we waited for the bus.  He climbed all over the inside of that car.

Lauren loved to pop into the back when we arrived in the cul-de-sac on the way home from her school and started down "the hill that never ends."  She sometimes curled up in that back area when I'd open it for some reason, or maybe she'd retrieve an umbrella for some outside play.

Why the towels?  Those were my famous "wash the car" towels which came in handy when I decided to get out the buckets and the hose.  And possibly for emergencies, which thanks to God, never happened. 

Why the cheerios?  The last time I went to my sister's, my nephew had put a bunch of samples in the car.  He owns a vending business.  The honey nuts were supposed to be for Drew and then the car was towed and they stayed.

For me that car meant safety and I went outside my comfort zone SO MANY times in it. 

It was nimble and such fun to drive.  It handled so that you felt in control.  The seats were comfortable for me.  The size was just right. 

Ten years ago my husband and I both replaced vehicles at the same time, and we're doing it again.  It wasn't meant to happen this way, but it did happen so I'm going to get on with it.  Enough being so whiny!!  I apologize for that.

But don't laugh at me if I tell you that I shed a few tears when I saw the RAV4 sitting in the lot and knew that it would be the last time.  And as I sat in the front seat to get all of the stuff out of the console, all I wanted to do was turn the key and take off in it once again.  Yes, I'm sentimental.  But it's okay -- it's going to be okay.

It's time for some new memories.

A Remembrance From the Past

When my sons were little, I liked to play all sorts of games with them.  One of them was just a whim, something that came out of nowhere.

I'd pretend that I was someone else -- a sad sack of a character that I named "DumDum."  I know -- it's not very nice.  But I never meant anything mean by it, honestly.  And I am sure that they never took it that way either.

The DumDum character would usually ask them if he should do his ABCs.  They'd always say that they wanted to hear him.  So I'd sing the familiar ABC song and purposefully leave out one letter along the way.

The thing is -- and this is the saddest part -- the kids kind of related to DumDum.  I could tell because they didn't laugh at all.  He almost seemed to become real for them.  And when "DumDum" would finish the ABCs song leaving out the letter, he'd ask them in an innocent voice, "How was that?  Did I do good?"  I wondered how they would respond.  Would they correct him not that correcting him would necessarily be bad?  They'd always tell DumDum that he did a good job, every single time.  Like they didn't want to hurt his feelings.  On most occasions when I'd be playing DumDum it got so real for me that I'd get tears in my eyes.  Just call it a moment but these are times I will never forget.

Even back then I imagine that I wanted my sons to have gentle souls, accepting hearts, especially for those who struggle.  And I think that they do.

The other day I heard a story about a sweet little girl who goes to school in this area.  She said she'd practiced and practiced her spelling words but still couldn't get a good grade.  This darling little thing has been struggling for a long time because of a problem that occurred at birth.  So say a prayer for her, okay.  She is trying so hard and I don't want her to give up!!! 

If everything always came easy to us, we would never know what it is to struggle.  We would tend to lose humility and empathy for others who struggle.

I once heard a definition of humility.  It's not that you don't think you have talents and abilities, because obviously everyone does.  But it is that you NEVER forget that they were given to you by God.  That tends to take the bragging out of the equation, doesn't it?   We should always give the honor and glory to God.

Note -- on the last blog about Kidron, Ohio, one of our loyal readers reminded me to tell all of you that there is a wonderful thrift store in Kidron called MCC.  She said it is a wonderful place and so clean!!  So try that one too when you take your drive.

And one final story for your enjoyment (I hope).  My granddaughter, Ella, loves routine.  Lately, we've started a new one.  She likes to eat oatmeal for breakfast, so I get out the large container with the flexible plastic lid.  Immediately, Ella starts watching me because she knows what's going to come next.  I pull up just a edge of the lid and make the oatmeal box talk.  "Good morning, Ella," it says.  And Ella just smiles up a storm and answers, "Hi oatmeal."  Today we had to open up a new one and she thought that was delightful.  If you have the wonderful opportunity of being around little kids, just recharge the little kid in you and let it go.  You can't really go wrong.  They are so willing to play along with the game.

Some of us were talking at my step-son's birthday on Sunday.  I was telling the story of how one year at Christmas my sister handed out little scraps of paper that had numbers written on them.  Then she called out, "Number six."  Someone said that they had it.  Then she handed them a prize.  (We give out a lot of little prizes during this part of Christmas.)  No one said anything, but we used to play a game to hand out the prizes so there was a good deal more effort involved to winning.  Then she called out a second number, and handed out a prize.  My niece is sitting there watching all of this happen and then she says, "THAT'S the game?"  Oh, my gosh.  We all just burst into laughter.  I couldn't tell you what the prizes were, but I remember that little episode perfectly!!  Make some new memories today.

See you tomorrow then.

Kidron

Kidron, Ohio is just down Route 30 a ways.  It's not hard to find at all.  There is a big sign indicating that the traveler should turn left and then you are on the beaten path to the main part of town.  Just down that road on the right was The Nut Tree, a marvelous furniture store that we visited a number of times before we finally bought our dining room and bedroom furniture.  It's sad that it closed but it is a sign of the times, I think. 

The Amish are prevalent in Kidron and many of the businesses are Amish or Mennonite owned. 

The place most folks go is Lehman's Hardware, a fascinating business that blends the old and the new.  On our trips there we've picked up a thing or two.  My favorites are the butter dish we use everyday that has a lovely green pattern on a taupe base.  It's large and sturdy.  Another favorite was a candle we got there that had the most wonderful orange fragrance you've ever smelled in a candle.  They have every kind of candle.

In addition, Lehman's is the place where the Amish shop from all over the country since a good chunk of their business is online.  They have been curators of interesting items that are not for sale, and also have continued the tradition of old-time tools and items by working with manufacturers to make them again.  Lehman's is the choice for Hollywood movie makers when they want something from long ago in a movie, such as Pirates of the Caribbean.  Other items are there for the Amish, such as appliances that do not use electricity.

Here is a list of stores/restaurants in Kidron.

Lehman's Hardware4779 Kidron Rd.
Dalton, OH 44618
Hours
Jan - May: Mon- Thurs. 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Fri. - Sat. : 9:00 am - 6:00 pm Closed Sunday
June- Dec. : Mon.-Sat. 8:00 am - 6:00 pm  Closed Sunday
888-438-5346
www.lehmans.com

Kidron Auction4885 Kidron Road
Kidron, OH 44636
330-857-2641
www.kidronauction.com
Sales every Thursday!

 Eastwood Amish Craft Furniture & Candle Wick Gift Boutique4722 Kidron Rd.
Kidron, OH 44636
866-857-2009

World Crafts13110 Emerson Rd. (Olde Millstream Plaza)
Kidron, OH 44636
330-857-0590

Kidron Community Historical Society13153 Emerson Rd.
Kidron, OH 44636
330-857-9111

Amish Country Furniture
www.amishcountryfurniture.com

 Restaurants

Kidron Town & Country Store4959 Kidron Rd.
Kidron, OH 44636
330-857-2131
http://www.kidrontownandcountry.com/

Cast Iron Cafe
One Lehman Circle
Kidron, OH 44636
888-438-5346

P.A.W.S. Cheese & Deli Shop
4776 Kidron Rd.
Kidron, OH
330-857-0202

The auction on Thursdays is always something to see.  We were in Kidron on a couple of Thurdsays but we didn't stay for the auction.  It would be neat.  We've never had a meal at the restaurants but it would be an interesting experience, I think.

When you go to Kidron, it is like you step back in time.  Everything slows down and life just seems a little richer.  Whether you come home with something or not, take a trip to Kidron!!

Friday Suggestions

We were conversing last week (at least there was a one-way thing going) about what else I should be doing with this blog.  I don't want to bore you and I would like even more readers to visit the site.  Let's consider what options I might have here:

1.  Write a series of articles about one theme that might have some universal appeal out there.

2.  Share with you a work of fiction that I've started and have about 12,000 words written.

3.  Ditch the blog for a while.


I could do a series about the great places to visit within a short drive from home.  Kind of like Neil Zurcher's one-tank trips.  That bit was always interesting. 

Hartville Hardware, Collectibles and Marketplace
Kidron, Ohio including Lehman's Hardware Store and the quilt shop
The McKinley Museum and Memorial
Massillon Museum
Crocker Park, Westlake, Ohio
Grove City Shops
Canton Art Museum
Arts in Stark
First Ladies Museum
Interesting shops in our area, including those in Canal Fulton

It would be a start.  I could try to write one story a week about these places and then fill in the rest of the week with something inspirational or humorous.  We could all use a little humor right about now.

Well, I do have a major announcement.  The cranberry/popcorn garlands that I started working on after last Christmas are DONE.  I have 12 of them.  Plus several others with cranberry colored wooden beads only.  They were actually a lot of fun, but tedious at times.

Another observation.  I've been trying very hard to say a decade of the Rosary at night before bed.  That means the Creek, an Our Father, ten Hail Marys, a Glory Be, and one other one.  I can get through the first two, but once I reach the Hail Marys, it is amazing how fast I fall asleep.  Or else I start having these strange dreams that I'm forgetting to say part of the prayer and then it becomes frustrating and I finally awaken to say to myself, "Stop it!  There isn't anything else to the prayer.  Just say them!" 

Doesn't sound all that holy, does it?  Well, "somebody" must not want us to say Hail Marys because this prayer is like the strongest sleeping pill EVER.  I have to really work at staying with it long enough to finish.  So remember the power of prayer in your life and in the lives of others.  Unselfishly offer prayers all day long for people, known or not known to you. 

Say the Jesus Prayer -- "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner."  You can do this while you are waiting in line at the bank or while you are driving somewhere in the car. 

If you want to be more inclusionary, say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us sinners."

So that's it for today.  I think I answered my question about what to do with the blog.  I'll start with the places.  Then once I get the work of fiction closer to completion, maybe I'll get that started too. 

Thanks for sticking around.

Dream

The other night I had one of those scary disaster dreams that really get your attention.  Eric and I were upstairs in the house and we were aware that there was some storm activity coming our way.  They were warning people (but of course, as dreams go, the details have faded now and I can't remember how we learned about it).

At some point when I looked out the window and saw the trees going crazy, I knew that the worst case scenario was upon us.  We didn't have time to seek shelter in the basement and trees started falling over all over the place and then a couple of them hit the house square on.

The noise was terrible, but the house stood the onslaught and kept us safe, even upstairs.  I was afraid that we would be buried in debris or killed by tree trunks but it didn't happen and I was happy.  We were heading outside just in case, and the damage to the house wasn't even a consideration.

So where do dreams like this come from?  It would seem to me that there has been so much bad news lately that my brain just couldn't quite deal with all of it and in my subconscious mind it had to be relieved.  So the ISIS thing, the Ebola outbreak, the Enterovirus 64, along with really awful local stories just built and built until the brain needed to deal with it at night.

We've talked before about dreams in the Bible, how important they were in the life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  Dreams can be an important indicator in our lives.  In my case, maybe I've watched a little too much news and it's time for a rest.  At other times, it might be an indicator that you've taken on a little too much and you feel vulnerable and outside your comfort zone.  Perhaps you need to ask for some help to deal with your responsibilities.

At still other times, it might mean that in your subconscious you picked up a few clues about a person in your life that you haven't dealt with in the conscious.  Like maybe it could be a woman having a dream about a new boyfriend and could actually serve as a warning to her to proceed with great caution.

When I was a little kid, I caught the chicken pox but had a very mild case of it.  In fact, there was only one lesion and it was on my stomach.  But the thing is, as the virus begins to take hold in your body, you run a fever.  So the night before the lesion showed up and apparently I was already in the initial stages of chicken pox, I had a terrible dream.  I can still remember it to this day.  I was being chased by someone named "Jack" and he had saber tooth tiger teeth in the front.  Really huge teeth and apparently he must have wanted to use them on me.  So I was running and running to get away from him.  Weird, huh?  My mother told me that it was from the fever and that may be so, but did it have to be so real? 

So that's another way that we can learn from dreams.  When a little child has a bad dream, it does bear some investigation.  Is there something that is frightening the child that you may not know about?  Is the child getting sick? 

And one other thing -- there is a tribe somewhere that I read about.  I've told the story many times but can't remember where this primitive tribe is located.  They are not in contact with "the world" whatsoever and use the same methods of dealing with life as they have for ages.  Their day starts with breakfast which they eat together and they share their dreams from the night before.  And then they discuss their dreams at great length and try to understand them in the context of their lives.  By doing this, there is virtually no mental illness in this tribe.  There are no suicides.  And they also encourage the tribe members to interact within the dreams to ameliorate the threats.  For example, as I used to tell my children, if someone is chasing you, call Superman if you don't think you can handle it.  Or just spread your arms and fly away from the threat. 

People who have studied the tribe think that by taking charge in the dream, it carries over into daily life by making problems more manageable, by making the individual feel more empowered to deal with what comes.  The only suggestion I would make is to call upon God when we are having a bad dream.  See if we can enter into our own dream and get rid of the threat with God's help.

Here's another thing -- do you dream in color?  I am pretty sure that I do all the time.  They say women dream in color more than men.  Interesting.  When you dream in color, it has to have more of an impact!!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you soon.

Karen

Another Road Trip

(Should have posted this in the morning, but I'll leave it up for tomorrow too.)

We are heading to my sister's  today for a nice lunch at Bob Evans.  She likes it there.  Then we will head home before rush hour and get back in time to possibly pick up my RAV 4 from the shop.

Saturday morning my husband told me that there was a big puddle under the car, and he was right.  Red in color and oily so that tells the story -- transmission fluid.  Here's why I am so relieved.  I had a bad feeling that the car was going to break.  Don't ask me but this happens a lot -- and I went to Cleveland last week and didn't get home the one night until 10:00 p.m.  I can't imagine how horrible it would have been to have the leak on the way home and maybe at that point even damage the transmission.

So it will be wonderful to have everything back in order.  My mechanic is Ryan who owns Rt. 21 Auto Sales at the corner of Rt. 21 and Butterbridge.  He's fixed my cars for years and years and I do trust him to make good repairs.

So today, what do I want to cover?  I'm getting to a point where we need to do something different, but I'm not sure just what.  There are several things I'm considering and I'll let you know later this week.

I guess one thing that has been bothering me is the Ebola thing.  There is something unbelievably frightening about a disease that hits very suddenly and for which there is no cure at this time (although there are some promising leads out there).  And it bothers me that a person who cared for an Ebola patient has contracted the disease despite wearing the required hazmat suit, etc.  I'm not so quick to blame her as the CDC was for breaking protocol.  Honestly, I don't think we have a clue as to exactly how it is spread, at what point it is spread, and to with what ease it is spread.  So if I had to make a decision on flights coming here from Liberia and Sierra Leone today, I guess you know in which camp I would be.  NO flights, like the French decided.  We do not know nearly enough to pull the old Titanic logic in regards to something so lethal.  You know, "The Titanic is unsinkable," that kind of thing -- "Ebola won't hit the  U.S."

That's where arrogance has gotten us.

You know what would be terribly interesting?  If you took two different prognosticators and had them come up with answers for various situations, like the Ebola one.  Have them tape their comments.  Then wait a while until more information comes down the pike and play their responses.  See who was right, or more right.   We hear from people all the time and they give their best guess as to how something might work in a given scenario, but then we don't revisit what they said again.  It would be one way of figuring out exactly who really does have the upper hand in their understanding of things, wouldn't it?  It could be a couple of years long project and who wouldn't want to know what was going on?  It would be one way to re-energize the American people about the goings-on in the country and bring some of the issues to the forefront without all of the accompanying drama.

I like the idea myself.  I'd pick, say, Charles Krauthammer on one side and maybe Joe Trippi on the other.  Or maybe Allan Combs.  And then maybe two women facing off. 

We get more information than ever in the history of mankind, 24 hours a day, and yet people don't seem to know much about anything. 

I'm doing an absentee ballot because I need time to think.  I can't just march in there and fire off my choices willy nilly.  I want to give it some thought.  So I'm working on the judgeships right now and that is not an easy category.   How do you know when someone is a bad judge?  Or how someone else might be a better judge?  Everyone is throwing criminals in jail these days; this seems to be the most common thread that runs through the campaign literature and that's fine, but what about courtroom ability?  What about working under pressure?

Like being the judge in the double murder case from Portage Lakes?  What evidence comes in?  What is thrown out?  And the gruesome photos and evidence!!  It takes a really special person to be able to do that work on an ongoing basis.

So -- I will do some research and try to find some objective information out there on the judgeships. 

Take care, everyone.  Be careful!  And if you see red, oil fluid coming out of your car, it's transmission fluid.  Oh, wait a minute!!!  This is an update.  Apparently, the red isn't always transmission fluid but might be antifreeze.  I might need a water pump.

Bye for now.

Small Town

This blog is all about faith and life in a small town.  Today I watched as some of that unfolded in front of my eyes.

At SS Philip & James School in Canal Fulton, it is sometimes as though time has stood still.  The children were playing out on their modern playground which almost spoils the picture and then I heard it -- distinct and clear.  The sound of a hand bell calling the children from their play.  Just like the Little Rascals.  I expected to see Miss McGillicuddy at any minute.  And the little kids swarmed out of their playground area towards the side door on a sunny but chilly Friday afternoon.

At precisely 3:13 p.m. two boys came out of the front doors of the school and headed for the flagpole in front of the school.  They do this every single day, the same boys.  They carefully worked the ropes and slowly and respectfully brought the flag down the tall pole, and then after removing it, they folded it military style in the triangle manner.  One boy always carries the flag inside with his arms crossed in front of his chest and the flag gently covered for its safekeeping.  The other boy secures the ropes for the next morning's flag raising.

I wanted to sing Taps.

Across the street from the school is a very old house.  White, of course, with a lovely porch.  Two stories and well maintained.  My friend, Sue, lives there with her husband.  The side of their house hugs the church's parking lot.  She has told me that on snowy evenings she always takes a peek outside to see the view of the street.  The street's old brick has been exposed and looks quaint and lovely.  The street lights here and there light up the snow, and she says it is like Currier and Ives.  She's lived there for a while and she still can't quite get over it.  The street could easily be used for a commercial.

There is a pink colonial home next to the priest's house.  And next to that is a lovely aqua colonial home.  While it might sound a little discordant, it is very pretty.

Six school buses are parked in front of the school by 3:15 each day and another two or three are on the side street waiting their turn.  Everything is methodical and orderly.  There is no chaos.

The children who are picked up by parents wait across the street from the school until the teacher crosses them and sees their parent or grandparent and calls out their name.  Safety is always first.

Life in a small town.  It just doesn't get much better than this, and I get to watch it twice a week every single week.  I'm so blessed!! 

The sign of a good school or a good family is just this:  teaching respect.

Have a great day.

No Room for Lactose Intolerance

(Now and again when I click on "publish," the dumb thing doesn't publish.  And you don't get to view my post for that day either.  So this was supposed to be for Wednesday morning.  But I'll just go ahead and leave it as is -- you'll get the idea.)

My class reunion committee wind-up dinner was last night in Rocky River, just off Detroit Road.  Good thing my sister and I did a dry run over there because the Wine Bar was located behind a group of four houses on Linda Street.  I would never have found it.  Got a parking place and arrived early but then so did some of my other classmates. 

We had a great time.  The private room was lovely and quaint and there was a gas fireplace in it.  Now -- the menu.  See, the thing is, I'm a simple person.  I eat simple food and am very happy with it.  Apparently, that is not the case in the more highbrow Rocky River area.  For sandwiches, there were tuna sliders.  That might have been all right, but it was fresh tuna, pan seared and raw inside.  Nope, no can do.  Then there were turkey sliders.  I can make a turkey sandwich at home, so nope.  There were crab cake sliders.  Pass!!

If you just went with the raw tuna, the turkey or the crab, and took a dive into it, it might not be bad but the toppings were strange.  There were jalapenos on one of them, another had some kind of sauce I've heard of in magazines before but never tasted.

There was a wino burger but we read the ingredients three times and we couldn't figure out if there was any "burger" in it.  So I passed on that.  The wino burger also had as a topping some type of red oak.  At least that's what it sounded like to me.  No kidding.  Must be cutting edge (pun intended) because I can't find any reference to red oak.  Or maybe they served it on red oak.  And then they used a lot of cheese.  Here we go with the lactose intolerance again.

I'm just a country girl living in good old Canal Fulton and I don't eat strange foods.  Tonight we'll probably have something as different from what we usually eat and that is sausage, fresh spinach, sweet potato and something else topped with a fried egg.  Looked good to me in the magazine.

I know Italian cooking thanks to my wonderful brother-in-law but it is all very understandable.  That's what I wanted for dinner, I guess.  Something like what we had in the refrigerator at home -- lasagna.  So now maybe you are starting to get my drift and perhaps a little bit of an explanation as to why I don't hanker to go out to eat that often.

Maybe there is a reason why a lot of people these days have IBD -- irritable bowel disorder.  By the time they got done eating red oak and japapenos, no wonder their inners aren't happy!!

So that's my story for today.  However, I must add that my classmates are absolutely awesome people, all of whom have a lot of talent and kindness and compassion.  I love them all.  We plan on getting together again, so it won't be three years before I see them again.  The one woman is a widow and she really wants us to be able to get together.  She deserves that!

Sticky Spot

Another sticky spot has emerged on the tile in the kitchen.  I have a rough idea as to where it is, but haven't done the necessary exploration to pin its location down yet. 

There was one a week or so ago and it drove me nuts.  It was obviously where the normal person walks ALL the time in the kitchen and then the sticky stuff would transfer to the bottom of my athletic shoes and make that squish-squash sound.  It took a while but that area was completely cleaned up -- until last night.

I'll get the flashlight out and shine it just so, and that should point out the problem.

Sticky spots appear in our lives too, those aggravating things that just jar every nerve in the body.  Sometimes it might be a "fault" in someone else with whom we spend considerable time.  Sometimes it are us!  And whatever the case may be, there is a tendency to do anything and everything to ferret it out and obliterate it once and for all.

When it is us with the problem, that's one thing.  When it's someone else and we try to obliterate, there is usually some push-back.  Obviously.  This is where a little cajoling and careful wording can be of utmost importance.  Sometimes it would behoove us to be quiet.

So, are you going along with this little exercise yet?  Thinking about those sticky spots in your life?  Identifying them would be first.  Habits become sticky spots after a while.  Like, I have this sticky spot where I open the cabinet door and grab this bag of "somethings" and eat some.  OK, I'll tell you.  Have you ever heard of Brookside's chocolates filled with either blueberry, raspberry, or pomegranate?  Don't buy any if you haven't tried them, because believe me, you will have a sticky spot in about two days' time.

So it's Thursday again, isn't it?  It's art day at my house.  It is also "go to Curves" day and right now, I'm just working on moving closer to leaving the house for that destination.  First Curves, then some breakfast as a reward.  The ladies there are fun and many have been going for years and years.  Curves apparently was sold and purchased as a stockholding company.  The Christian founder is no longer part of it.  That's probably why Jillian Michaels is paired up with Curves now. 

There is a life-sized cut-out of Jillian at the back of the Curves as a motivational piece for us, I suppose.  Jillian can do anything.  And she wants us to bring out our inner warrior.  She has these exercises that she encourages us to do in between using the machines.  Some of them are quite complex and require a degree of agility that is definitely admirable in the younger and more svelte Ms. Michaels. 

Oh well.  A person has to start somewhere in their search for fitness.  And besides, this is really important since I decided not to start using Fosamax.  Weight-bearing exercise will encourage bone growth as will some good fish oil stuff that I'm taking for my eyes. 

So -- with thinning bones in mind -- I'm going to leave you now and head over to Curves. 

Blackie, the cat, in case you were wondering, is still with us.  This outdoor feral cat is getting a bit more tame these days.  I think perhaps I will be able to touch him/her at some point.  Meanwhile, we have a lovely Styrofoam cooler with holes cut in it out front, with cozy blankets on the bottom.  Blackie is enjoying it at night now that the temperatures are going down.  And we bought him/her a new outdoor cat tent with heated bottom.  It should fit right into the Styrofoam cooler which will keep it clean and dry. 

See you tomorrow then.

My Goodness

Well, I see that the last posting was THURSDAY.  Are you kidding me?

Friday morning I left fairly early for a funeral Mass at SPJ.  So maybe that gives me a partial excuse.  But Saturday I have no excuse at all to offer.  Mental tiredness?  A brain hiccough?  A delusion that I posted on the two days?

At any rate, once again I find myself needing to apologize.  So sorry.

So today I'm going to Cleveland to see my sister and go to a dinner with the reunion committee.  We have some business to attend to, including how we are going to gift our old high school and if we are going to have a mini-reunion when we turn 70.  We also have envelopes to stuff with thank-yous and pictures.  The place is a wine bar just off Detroit Road in Rocky River.  I'll GPS it just in case.

Well, I was thinking last night about the sociology thing again.  The theory that we tend to do as others do and this normally keeps our behavior in check.

I have an extension to that theory.  It is that the social media has become a quasi-institution in its own right.  Not just like schools, churches, and government -- but an influencer of great magnitude.  So as such, people who think weird thoughts and would like to do weird things can go on social media and find someone just like they are.  And that would be fairly empowering, especially when you have a suspicion that you might not be exactly right in the head.  All of the sudden there would be a rush -- I KNEW I wasn't crazy -- see there's all these people out there who want to behead people just like me.

So my new theory is that this institution -- social media -- is a causative factor in the behavior of people in our society.  Fetishes?  Sure they're out there.  Violent tendencies?  Of course.  Anger and frustration?  Yep.  Revenge seekers?  Sure.

No matter the nature of an oddity that would normally have stayed inside someone's house, there is a good chance to find another of that same ilk.

And the good and evil that I see as a big driver of the behavior of people is also there.  It's everywhere actually.

Fr. Kevin was talking about "new age" stuff in church on Sunday.  Apparently, there is a "new age" store in town now.  They promise healings and sell crystals and candles and all of that kind of thing.  This is not real and it is dangerous, in fact.  That's what he said and I believe him.

Evil can come all nicely packaged and appear to be good.  That's the sickest part of it.  So we need to always pray for discernment so that we can figure it all out.  If we forget the basic moral code that we should live by, the trap of evil is there to ensnare us.

Well, today there could be patches of decent weather, but there is a good chance of rain.  Take care, everyone.  Talk to you tomorrow, I promise.  Early dental check-up but somehow I'll post.

A Bible Quote

My granddaughter came home from school the other day with a thick paper scroll rolled up and rubber-banded.  She said I could have it.

It was a quote from Psalms 2:9.  "With an iron rod you shall shepherd them, like a clay pot you will shatter them."  Pretty intense stuff.

So I looked it up trying to understand the meaning of it.  First of all, there were probably 20 or more different translations of this particular part of Psalms.  But then there were a few stalwart souls who tried to explain it.

What I took away from it is that God is God and He can be angry with us.  He can be very, very tough on us.  But that this is the extreme and that in some sense it is in purposeful contrast to the New Covenant entered into when Jesus died on the cross for us.  We should make no mistake about it; God is powerful and strong.  But then He offered His only son for our redemption and He shows His great mercy for his people.

I'm going to check on the quote again and try to figure it out a little further.  It's a little deep for an eight-year-old but this is what she brought home.  That's probably why she gave it to me, thinking, Grandma will get it and it will mean more to her than it does to me!! 

Little does she know that it's 10:15 p.m. at night and I'm still trying to figure it out.

If anyone else has something to add, I'd welcome it.

And I'm still reading Scott Hahn's book which is wonderful.  He has an excellent writing style and everything is very understandable.  Maybe he has written something about the Psalms and their meaning.  Hmmmm.  Good thought.

So today I am off to Curves to a work-out (especially since I ditched the idea of Fosamax) and then over to Joanne Fabrics for some supplies.  Then home and lunch and my art class from 1-3 with my friend, Peg.  You know how you take a class and then the teacher really starts getting on your nerves?  And you end up learning just as much or more from reading the textbook at home?  Well, that's the beauty of our art class.  It has evolved but at its base it is the most simple of classes.  There is no teacher!!!  It's kind of like the learning style where you learn at your own level and pace.

Pray for all of those mentioned in Mrs. Barkey's prayer list.  Once in a while, a certain intention will touch my heart and that is the person I think of at Mass or in my own prayers at home.  This is how God works in us, through us and for us. 

And please say a prayer for a special intention today.

Thanks for reading. 

Making Sense of It

In order to get a degree, most universities require students to take either Psychology or Sociology.  When the time came for me to choose, I chose Psychology because it seemed to be the more interesting of the two.

Years later, at Akron, I chose to take the Sociology course and was captivated by the subject matter.  Sociology delves into the structures of society and tries to make some kind of sense of it.  We used three theories to explain various types of societal behavior.  One was from a guy named Max Weber, a father of sociology, who studied the rationalization, secularization and disenchantment due to the rise of capitalism.  I believe his name is pronounced, "Vaber."  The second theory we used was based on the work of Karl Marx who favored class conflict as the developer of society as we know it.  And there was a third that I would have to look up but as I remember it, this theory was based on how in society we tend to mimic the behavior of others and follow social mores so as not to be ostrasized.

For some of our tests, the teacher would propose a situation and then we would have to decide which of the theories best applied to it.  It wasn't that I couldn't get the answer; it was that it just seemed as though one theory should actually explain everything. 

By the time I got done with the class and continued to think about the theories and our society's institutions, it occurred to me that the actual theory that applied to all of it was good versus evil and the presence or absence of God in the lives of people. 

Apparently, there is a movement in Christian Sociology that began around 1980 and continues that would go along with this thought. 

So what makes a guy who has been suspended at work go after a woman who apparently may have complained about him and take off her head?  Does that act flow from some understanding of psychology or does it show something different about our society today?

T.J. Lane who killed the students in Chardon did something horrific.  It didn't seem to bother him that what he planned to do would be looked upon by almost everyone as a terrible thing and that he would have to be removed from society because of it.

So the social mores theory doesn't seem to be working quite so well these days.  The conflict between the classes that Marx liked to study doesn't seem to describe it either.  And capitalism has been around long enough that I'm just not sure it has a relevance the way it did in the early 1900s.  This is just my take on it and I'm no expert!!

The guy who beheaded the woman and T.J. Lane have something in common.  They acted in a completely evil way.  They were obsessed with evil whether it conflicted with the behavior of others around them or not.  They moved past a point where they obviously don't care.

We always want to understand things.  That's the way people are.  It's part of our nature to try and make sense of something.

Not excuses -- sense.  There are no excuses for what has been happening lately, both around the world and here in the U.S. 

More prayer ... more prayer.