Rearranging the Furniture

Even though the temperature has been mild (in the 60’s) it’s beginning to feel like winter. The leaves have almost all fallen from the trees, and this morning it’s a brisk 38 degrees!
Fall and Spring always signal a new furniture arrangement in our kitchen. It may sound odd, but when headed towards winter I always rearrange the table and a small sideboard so that the sideboard is placed in front of the window and the table goes East-West. For Spring and Summer the sideboard is placed along the wall, so that the windows are easily opened and the table goes North-South. What started many years ago as changing the arrangement out of practicality (because the window is on the North side of the house and so that wall is very cold), has now become our family’s signal for doing other things, such as getting the house ready for the holidays, etc.
Funny how doing something for one reason winds up becoming a signal for something else entirely…

Snow, Hard Frost, and Halloween Ball in October!!!

Brrrr.... Saturday morning snow brought huge snowflakes and by Sunday morning snow covered cars, grass, and rooftops! Snow in October??? This was record setting.

While Mother Nature was busy blanketing us with snow, I was busy trying to keep the yellow bungee cord which was strung around the outside of my car in an effort to keep the front door of my car tied to the back door so I wouldn't fall out while driving! The mechanic was able to get the door closed, but said I shouldn't be taking any sharp left turns at high speeds! The way to get into my car was through the passenger side door and climb over the console. Can you just imagine how graceful I looked while doing this Saturday night all dressed up to go to a Halloween Ball?

American Klompen: CROCS!!!

I've made a GREAT discovery!!! CROCS are the American version of klompen!!!

Klompen are Dutch wooden shoes that are great for wearing out in the garden. They get wet and muddy and you simply just hose them off. I've often thought of buying them for my family, but travelling with carry-on luggage changes the way you do things. Plus, klompen aren't cheap!

Now I know that CROCS have been around for a while, but they are ugly, and I just didn't see the sense in them until recently.

I discovered CROCS down at the beach-- there's actually a CROCS outlet store. We now all wear our CROCS outside, and leave them at the door. Three cheers for the American version of klompen!!!

More on Sit-A-Spell

Very quickly the weather has turned from a balmy 80-plus degrees in the morning to a cool fifty-something. Drinking coffee outside now requires wearing a sweatshirt or jacket. How quickly things change! I've also done a little research on the origins American Southern expression meaning to sit with someone and visit. Since I first heard the expression in the US North, I dub this more as an American colloquialism, rather than a "Southernism." In any event, I do enjoy those minutes outside while Fawn goes

parktime and I drink my cofee and sit-- gathering my thougts and enjoying the sunflowers :). Some of the trees are already losing their leaves, and the Old Farmer's Almanac has forecasted a wet and stormy winter season for Winter 2012-- so we will wait to see what's in store for us.

The Grace of Silence

Book Review
One of the joys of attending ASA is the new books I find among the book vendors at the conference. This year I found, and read on a cross country plane ride, The Grace of Silence, by NPR's Michele Norris.

Both history and research have shown that as time passes, significant events fade from memory unless something intervenes to keep the events in the forefront. Michele Norris’ family memoir uncovers family knowledge of experiences most family members know about but kept hidden, or silent, throughout the years. It was only after talking to her relatives that Norris discovers her grandmother once worked as an Aunt Jemimah doing pancake cooking demonstrations, and that her father had been shot by a white policeman shortly after he returned from serving in the Navy.
The strength of Norris’ storytelling is in the explanations, and explorations, of the context of the times. The Civil Rights movement changed American society for the better, and Norris’ descriptions of the times is a reminder of the struggles for equal rights. This book should be read by everyone under 25— hopefully, these lessons from the past will be remembered as the future generation forges society to its making.
For a more detailed complete book review, please see:
http://www.statesman.com/life/borooks/review-of-the-grace-of-silence-a-memoir-951794.html

Remembering 9/11

Sit-A-Spell

The warmth of summer days naturally brings us outside much more than the rest of the year. One of the joys for me is to sit outside and drink my coffee, sit outside with the dog close by, or just sit outside to ponder my thoughts.
That last phrase alone made me think about what it means to ponder one’s thoughts… does that mean:
• To think about thinking?
• To stare into space and think nothing?
• To gather one’s thoughts so as to plan a day, think through a problem, or think about something?
I guess it means all of these things. But then again, does one have to sit and think? Can I just sit and be? I wonder what others have to say about this.

While the weather allows and the mosquitos don’t bite I will continue to “sit a spell” and eventually work on an explaining of what that means and how I came by that phrase .