Random Posting

Today I was slightly late for both tutoring appointments because the Armco steel plant in Middletown was having an extra wide and tall thingy delivered to the plant. IN the morning I had to wait while it turned a corner onto Stahlhaber Road. And then in the afternoon I saw where they were going to block off ST.Rt. 73 to get it closer to Middletown. Sheriff and state patrols every where. There were also all kinds of power line people and cherry picker trucks every where. People were standing around holding up wires on very long aluminum poles. It must really be heavy and all to go such a short distance in such a long time. Of course you don't know about these distances and roads but take my word for it they are all in this county where I live, Butler. And driving 45 it doesn't take but 35 minutes at the longest. Driving home I actually saw it where I guess it is stopping for the night at the corner of 127 and 73 before you get to the hill where Howard flipped a car in the snow. The thingy is as tall as a house and as long a the house I lived in on Elm Drive. It is a prism shaped white block like thing and is towed by a ridiculously large truck cab and on an extra wide bed.

OK so that was a random story

Remember

Today is Memorial Day and on this day we remember those who served our country in all the wars. So today I remember Uncle Keith, Uncle Dick,  Big Grampa and Howard and well as Paul Wagner, Jr.. Thank you for helping to keep our country one where you can walk down the sidewalk or ride up the street and go into the fields and woods and not fear for your life. Thank you that we can express our thoughts and ideas and not be afraid. Thank you that we can choose to read books and articles and watch news reports. thank you that we have elections and discussions about politics. Thank you that we can have leadership.

Important things

The most important thing about shoes is to wear the right kind when you hike, or mow, or bike or walk or dance or swim. But the most important thing is to wear them.

The most important thing about buying a car is to know what you want. When you are 59 and can't get easily out of a low slung car, look for ease in getting out of the front and back seat.  YOU also need to consider price and dealerships and new verses slightly used and mileage and gas to miles  ratio. But the most ismportant thing is to know what you want.

The most important thing about crocheting an afghan is to have a date to finish. It is good to know what stitch you want and it is good to know the colors you want and it is even good to know the number on your hook. But the most important thing to know is by when you need it finished.

The most important thing to know about baking cookies is to set the timer. It is good to know what ingredients you need and it is good to know how to mix and the proportions. It is even good to know if you grease the pan or not and at which temperature to cook them. But the most important thing is to set the timer.

The most important thing about planting flowers is to use gloves. It is good to consider sun light and color and to dig up mulch. It is helpful to have miracle grow and  a hose to use when you need to water. But the most important thing is to wear the gloves so dirt does not get under your newly polished nails.

I cannot believe it!

Well, Lita went to see her Dad on Wednesday and take him to the store. He has a new girl friend. That seems really fast to me, but I am glad if it keeps grandma from having to deal with his weirdness.
I on the other had seem to attract strange men only on these dating sites. The other day I got a match with someone named James. He seemed nice and honest. However as we communicated on line, I realized that something did not add up. The chat sentences were not as thoughtful as the e-mail ones ones. So I took one of the sentences about his job and Googled it. Low and behold the sentence came up as a scam line. So I confronted the man and he never chatted or wrote back to me again. So you know you can't be to careful in any thing in this world. It is especially true for on line dating where anyone can truly say anything.

Mother's Day 2012

 Opened a disguise!   And hid in a circle after the lack of game.

Secret Agent Mother's Day
Beginning last night we had a secret agent mothers day. I had random phone calls from random people all day long. I recognized J J's voice and Kathleen's voice.  Each message led us on a treasure hunt with crazy fun activities.  what kind of activites? Oh, like a baseball game in the rain, wild lips and glasses, and squirt gun fights. Some like the chalk and the squirt guns will have to be used on Mother's Day part two. It was too rainy for them and for the Reds game so we came home. Then we jetted to Miami 
 (on Jono's company jet) and watched  the Pacers loose to the Heat and LeBRon James (Boo hiss). Let's just hope that Tyler Hainesboro is in better form next time. For our Mother's Day dinner we had Chinese from Phan Shin. Then every one left and I watched the Time Traveler's Wife--very sad, I cried.

A Fiddler on the Roof

Tonight I saw a production of Fiddler on The Roof done by the home schooled children from Oxford. It was marvelous. Sure some of the singing was pitchy but the kids were great.. They built all the scenery and it was very professional.There were even a few marvelous dance numbers. I liked it better than the little plays by the Cincinnati Children's theater that come to Kramer or at least on the same caliber.






I was thinking about the messages in the play and came to realize that the theme was: Life is about changes. Nothing remains the same. The end of one thing is the beginning of another. So true dat! 
Wish the computer could play music because I would download a version of Sunrise sunset here! Mozel tov!

These Shoes aren't Made for Hikin!

Hello fellow hikers. I went on the first real hike of the 2012 year, and was it a doozy? Yes it was. I never knew that Miami University  had such great hiking trails. I knew there were some but not ones like this. Up, down, and through some lovely woods, I hiked with 22 elementary school students members of the Earth Club and 6 adult women. My shoes were awful, and I fell 5 times but I did get up and persevered. I felt an enormous sense of accomplishment at finishing the hike.

We walked across this swinging bridge at about the middle of the hike and it had a delightful

rushing stream/creek called 4 Mile creek running  under it. Originally we were going to wade across it but the water was too muddy and swift so we didn't.

Another high spot was the pond were we saw and caught frogs and snails and dragonflies and a black snake. At this point I realized that most of the children had never been on a hike like this before. How could that be?

But the most challenging place for me was the steps up the side of the hill. We climbed several of these and I found a stick to use as a third leg. that helped. Though this particular set had a rail. most of the ones we climbed did not!

So another piece of the adventures of the yearly goals has been done. Katie could not join me as she was in Raleigh, but I did have company. Thank you to Gail and Allison who helped me up when I fell. And thank you to the others who loaned me a shoulder to lean on as I struggled to place each step carefully.

One day soon I am going to go out and buy some good hiking boots. I should have done that first!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining... Perseverance

So today I am continuing on this topic the silver lining.  A very new friend Rose graduated today, from Miami with a master's degree in social work or family living or what ever it is called these days. In her honor there was a party at Tutu and Ayo's house. We sang a praise song from Africa for her. While there I made some new friends. In talking with these new friends I met someone who was from Liberty and knew a teacher friend Barb Cox. It is a small world.
"Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." That is the words of an old song from Girl Scouts.  I am thinking that I may not be able to keep one of my oldest friends dear to my heart. There is too much emotional conflict. I long to keep that friend but struggle with things.Because of the struggles I long to be in Heaven and then I wouldn't have to struggle with anything- work or taxes or anything.
So what is the silver lining?  Do not throw away your confidence you will be richly rewarded. You  need to persevere. In struggle with friendships, work, and life. Persevere.

On-line dating

Well first of all I just want to say, I live in a college town. I love Oxford, but there are some disadvantages. The first one is that  many (like 15,000) of the people who live here  are between 18 and 21. That being said, it is hard to find someone who is your age and has your experiences to date. I really didn't know who  to meet and how to find someone to meet. My last date was with John, and we all know how that turned out! so I joined a dating site. My initial reaction was why do all these foreign guys keep trying to meet me? Do I look foreign? then my next excitement was someone sending me flowers. Only the flowers never came because the credit card was denied. And then someone wanted me to send them a cell phone.My word on-line dating is weird. I was terribly excited last Sunday, a man asked me out for brunch, only one problem it would take me two days to get there! Ok!!
Yesterday, I finally went on my first date it was not amazing and it was not with someone with whom I felt an instant connection. It was with a nice man and I liked having adult conversation. FY I some men like watching the Bachelor and Bachelorette!
So there you have it. Me stepping into the 2012 dating scene.