They'll Get What They Get

From 2020 to 2022 I was the secretary for a state-wide fellowship. My duties were to take minutes at four meetings per year, compile a document containing those minutes and reports from others in the organization, and send the document to the person responsible for publishing it to the website.

By the end of my term I had a nice system set up, starting with a template showing the information I needed to capture at the meeting (such as the people who read some basic information at the beginning, if there were any absentees, who made a motion, and who seconded it). I just filled in the blanks as the meeting went along. Shortly before each meeting I sent out an email requesting reports, then copied and pasted them into my draft document. Because I knew what I had and hadn't received, during the meeting if someone gave a report they hadn't sent to me I immediately sent them a message asking for the information.

All of my pre-work made it so I could turn the final document around in a couple of weeks. When my tenure as secretary was over I purged my files (both physical and computer) and moved on to another position within the fellowship.

Several days ago I got a phone call from the fellowship's Chair. After a bit of chit chat she told me that the current secretary had stepped down for personal reasons and they needed someone to fill in at an meeting this upcoming weekend. Might I be able to do that, or did I know someone who could?

I was already going to be at the meeting, so after a little consideration I let her know I was willing to help. I could hear the relief in her voice.

Open Clip Art

I looked in every crevice of every computer file and email address, but I never found the template document I used to use. It took several sessions at the computer to recreate it, but eventually I came up with something that closely resembled the already-published minutes on the website.

The person who did the job the term after mine and the newly departed Secretary seem to have dabbled with using AI to summarize things. I will not be doing that. The fellowship will get what they will get.

Five years ago: Distressing

Missing The Announcement

I learned from a friend this morning that an acquaintance's father had passed away a couple of weeks ago. As it turns out the death was posted on her Facebook page, and later, a link to the obituary. I did not see the information in my feed. Why?

I am blaming the company's mysterious algorithms, which try to guess how interested I would be in seeing any given post. Fortunately, the funeral isn't taking place until mid-September so I will be able to attend.

I get that running an obituary in the newspaper is expensive, an extra thing to do at a stressful time, and that very few people read newspapers now. However, I guess I am an exception because I doscan through the obituaries in the newspaper (the e-edition on weekdays and a paper copy on Sunday) and have learned about the deaths of several people that way.

Hubby Tony has been told that if he has to plan a funeral for me there must be at least a minimalist notice in the newspaper (listing my name, dates of birth and death, and basic funeral service details). Of course, I won't be around to see if that happens.

Five years ago: Distractible

Tasting Tasty Tea

A while back I was gifted two boxes of tea from someone on the Buy Nothing group. The first was peppermint, one of Tony's favorites. The other one was Yaupon, which I had never heard of.

The internet told me that yaupon tea is an herbal beverage brewed from the leaves of the yaupon holly, a shrub native to the Southeastern United States. It's North America's only native naturally caffeinated plant. Yaupon has about the same caffeine as green tea and is rich in antioxidants, but it's low in tannins and doesn't have the bitterness often found in traditional black or green teas.

Because I usually drink my tea after dinner and choose non-caffeinated varieties, the box of yaupon got buried in my tea stash. Earlier in the week I rediscovered it, and tonight Hubby Tony and I had a yaupon taste test with dinner.

There were three types of tea in the box. According to the label:

• Pedernales is "Clean and refreshing, our staple green yaupon celebrates the tranquility of the Pedernales river that flows over and around huge slabs of limestone".

• Lost Maples is "Smooth and warm, our medium roast yaupon is inspired by Lose Maples, a forest unlike any other in Texas, and invites you to get lost in notes of warm caramel".

• Marfa is "Elegant and sophisticated, our traditional dark roast yaupon pays homage to the iconic West-Texas town of Marfa, where art and creativity converge. Enjoy the sweet nuttiness of this specialty roast".

I didn't realize until I opened the box that it contained loose tea instead of bags. I only have one tea ball, so following the directions I spooned one tablespoon of tea to each of three cups, then added hot water and let it steep. 

The package directions said the tea would be good both hot or cold, and I decided on the latter. I strained the tea into drinking glasses and put them into the refrigerator so it could chill.

At dinner time it was time to test.

• I filled two tumblers with ice and poured half of the Pedernales tea into each. I am not the biggest green tea fan, but this one was smooth and fresh tasting. Tony said it was his favorite.

• Next we tried the Lost Maples, using the same procedure. It took me a while, but when I got to the bottom of the sample I could definitely taste the caramel. This one was my favorite 

• The dark roast of the Marfa was obvious. I thought it would be a nice substitute for black tea, but Tony said that it was his least favorite.

Five years ago: The Hunt For Pastries

Holding In High Regard

August 17th is Black Cat Appreciation Day, which aims to dispel negative black cat superstitions, like their association with bad luck or the fact that they're witches in disguise.

My current favorite black cat, Foster Smokey Joe, had a bit of notoriety today when he was featured in a social media promotion by the shelter publicizing a ticket raffle to the Savannah Bananas baseball game next weekend. The photos of Smokey Joe show him playing with a catnip banana his cat sitter gave him a while back. The tie-in also included a link to the list of adoptable cats on the shelter's website.

Tonight after dinner Smokey Joe asked for a lap to sit on, which I was happy to do. It's sometimes hard to tell with a cat but I think he appreciated me as much as I appreciated him.

Almost Like Christmas

In 2011 Hubby Tony and I received some dark blue Fiestaware for a Christmas present. I exchanged some of the place settings so we had four colors. My goal was to have a wide variety in the cabinet, but the pieces were so sturdy that didn't happen much.

Today I was browsing through Facebook and saw a post on my Buy Nothing group that someone was gifting a large stack of Fiestaware. The photo that went with the post showed a stack of assorted size plates in the riot of colors I've always hoped for, so I responded that if she chose me I would pick out colors I didn’t have in my current dishes and add my discards to the stack and repost.

About forty five minutes later I got a message that I had been gifted the plates, and forty five minutes after that I was carrying the bags up to the condo. It was so much fun to go through them and increase the cabinet dishware palette. Now each stack of plates has eight unique colors. I told Tony they make the stacks of cereal bowls with some duplicates look blah and I might have to be on the lookout for some bowl replacements.

Fiestaware (and glass bowls on the top right)

Five years ago today: Good Old Andy

Unexpected Undertakings

Even though I don't really believe in them, I scan through my horoscope in my newspaper every morning. today's was worth a little closer reading:

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19) Do something different today.You feel the need for adventure! Shake things up a little! Travel plans will appeal. Tonight: Explore and learn something new.

Unfortunately, today was not the best day for me to be spontaneous. I had several computer tasks that had to be done. Hubby Tony had some commitments and couldn't join me in adventure. On top of those issues, the area's extreme heat warning meant that any big outside activities were off the table. I had to settle for shaking things up in tiny ways, but I did my best.

• Thanks to the weather it was yet another walk at the mall day. Tony and I both took our cars so we could head different directions afterwards. We did our normal laps before the stores opened, then he left for his meeting and I completed an additional lap, stepping into a couple of stores to see what was new.

• My first stop after the mall was at a gas station to take advantage of a drink promotion they offer when the baseball Cardinals score six runs the day before. I always get the same type of coffee, but today I sampled a flavored one before deciding I didn't like the taste and filling my cup with the usual.

• The next stop was getting a hair cut at a chain salon. When I went to the website to check in for a visit at my usual location I noticed there was a 15 minute wait, but if I drove five minutes to the east I could get a cut with no wait. Guess which one I chose?

• My last stop was the grocery store, where I walked the aisles in reverse order and looked at items I had never seen before.

• The afternoon was filled with non-adventurous tasks, but I did help Tony with some travel plans- figuring out the rental car details for our next visit to California months from now.

• Tony had a dinner meeting so I was on my own. I put together a surprisingly good meal from things around the house. I stared with lightly steamed cabbage, which I tossed with smashed avocado and topped with canned chili beans and salsa.

• After dinner I turned on the PBS News Hour, which always gives me information on current and new topics.

Five years ago: Just Doing His Job

Dry Drops

Today I had my annual eye exam. At the end of the visit I learned that the lens prescription change was so minor I decided not to bother with new glasses.

However, during the exam I mentioned to the doctor that the letters on the chart were sometimes blurry, but but would clear up when I blinked. He moistened an orange dye strip and touched the strip against the inside of my lower lid, then examined my eyes with a blue light and announced I had dry eye syndrome.

I left the office thoroughly educated about what that means. The main causes of dry eyes are increased tear evaporation (called evaporative dry eye) and decreased tear production (called aqueous deficiency). For both, the most common cause is aging. In addition to my blurry vision, other common symptoms are burning, bloodshot eyes, heavy eyelids, and eye strain during reading or screen use.

The doctor said there were quite a few treatments, but suggested the first step would be preservative-free, over-the-counter eye drops and gave me some suggestions of brands to look for. I was most surprised to learn that using a ceiling fan can be an issue, even during the nighttime when my eyes were closed. For that, he suggested gel eye drops that are thicker and last longer.

Vecteezy

Five years ago: Bicentennial Fun

Shhhhhh....

For the past 10 years Hubby Tony has attended a silent retreat. He has encouraged me to go on one, but I did one in 2008 and had no desire to attend a second. Then a woman from my church invited me as part of a group from the parish and I accepted. My four-day retreat at the White House Retreat Center started on Thursday night and ended on Sunday after lunch. The time was a great experience.

White House opened more than a century ago and sits on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The grounds are serene and beautiful, with mature trees, naturalized areas, formal, and informal flower beds. My room was on the second floor of the largest building with a nice view of the river.

The event started with dinner on Thursday, a chance to get to know the people sitting at my table. That was a good thing, because after that meal the rest of the weekend was silent until lunch on Sunday (unless you chose to attend a half-hour fellowship gathering on Friday and Saturday night). Meal times were accompanied by gentile piped-in music. I put my phone on airplane mode and used it only for a watch and to make sure I got my steps for the day. A couple of times I was tempted to take a photo of something I saw, but decided to use my mind's eye instead.

The program was based on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius. Over the course of the weekend the retreat director, a Jesuit priest, led ten conferences (talks), with a period of meditation after each. Each day also included an opportunity to participate in Catholic observances and Mass.

My days quickly fell into a pattern, starting with getting up early each morning to walk around the grounds before the day got too hot, then coming back to my room to get ready for the activity-filled day. There were a multitude of places both inside and outside to sit to pray and meditate and I soon found my favorites, but on Sunday morning when I found a new-to-me chair overlooking the river I suspected there were even more.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was being part of Nature I started to notice little details. Like the sun coming up over the river in the morning, the boats floating downstream or being pushed upstream, the deer I surprised on my walks, the places where those deer had nibbled some of the plants into stubs, the hundreds of bees, butterflies, and a couple of hummingbirds flying around the flower beds, the background drone of the crickets and cicadas, the spider webs stretching from one plant to another along a trail, and the fat Monarch butterfly caterpillars munching on the milkweed leaves.

I felt myself slowing down and getting less distracted. More importantly, over the course of the weekend I learned some important things about myself and was sad when it was time to leave. On the drive out of the parking lot I realized the car radio was making too much noise, turned it off, and enjoyed the rest of the drive home in silence.

Five years ago: Fermented Spicy Goodness

Too Soon?

I abhor seeing Halloween things when summer isn't even close to being over, but the other day in the greeting card section of the grocery store I walked by a card that looked like someone snuck into my house and used Foster Cat Smokey Joe as a model for a cute vampire cat.

It only cost 99 cents, so I thought it would be fun to send a card to each California family. But I left card-less that day because it wasn't anywhere close to Halloween. However, when I got home I realized the card might be out of stock when I wanted it, so today I went and purchased two.

The full service checkout line was long. At the self-service section the attendant noticed my purchase and wondered out loud why I would be making it so early. When I told him he just smiled and shook his head.

Both cards are now in my October tickler file, ready to address, stamp, and mail when the time is right.

Five years ago: Once Every 200 Years

Undies 😼

Today was another hot and humid day, so I was getting my steps in at the mall when I passed one of the store's marketing signs and learned that August 5th was National Underwear Day. Who knew!

The sign said that the store was giving away a free pair of panties to each customer, but when I found out I had to sign up for their rewards program I decided I wasn't interested.

Instead, I came home and organized my underwear drawer, tossing a couple of pairs that had developed holes.I remembered from years ago that the best time to buy underwear was during the August back-to-school sales, so I went to Walmart and purchased a 10-pack of all-cotton panties. They're more my style, anyway.

Five years ago: It All Comes Full Circle