What A Difference One Letter Makes

Today I volunteered to hand out information at a vendor booth during a domestic violence awareness walk.

Last night the booth organizer and I were emailing back and forth about the details. I asked her for the address. She gave me a location. Google Maps recognized the address, but said it was in a completely different part of town.

I did some internet research on the event and found out that the actual address needed to include an S (as in SOUTH). With that information I was able to find it just fine.

 (And when I pointed out the discrepancy to the organizer, she apologized for forgetting that detail.)

Was It Something I Said?

I've subscribed to dozens of blogs, which means that every day quite a few posts show up in my feedreader. I go through all of them, and try to comment on as many as I can. More and more of the blogs I visit have enabled comment moderation, so my thoughts aren't visible until they're approved. It makes sense; I've noticed that I'm getting more spam comments, so I'm sure others are too.

I also like to find out if someone has commented on my comment and so will revisit the post a day or two later. In the past few weeks there are a couple of blogs where nothing from me is showing up! I like to think that I leave constructive comments but maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe Blogger is up to its old tricks again and sending things to Spam folders?

Feline Ferrying

The cat shelter Hubby Tony and I foster through has an active Facebook group for volunteers. Last week the office posted that they needed a couple of Kitty Taxis (which is taking a cat a vet appointment and bringing it back to the shelter). One of the times fit our schedule, and I said that we would be happy to do it.

The taxi was this afternoon. When we arrived at the shelter the Operations Manager brought the carrier up from the building's Isolation room in the basement. The carrier held David, a sweet orange tabby who didn't look happy to be there.

The shelter prioritizes cats with special needs, and our passenger today certainly qualified. He had recently arrived from another location after his front leg had been amputated. Today's visit was the first one with the shelter's partner vet, who would do a physical exam, take out the staples from the surgery, and put in a microchip.

This is our second time ferrying a cat to this vet. Both the front desk and the medical staff are friendly and professional. After an initial consultation in the examination room the technician took David into the treatment area. Fifteen minutes later he was back, and happy to return to his carrier. The trip back to the shelter was uneventful. 

When David gets a clean bill of health he will get to go to a foster house, and (fingers crossed) eventually to a forever home. He deserves it.

Five years ago today: He Done Her Wrong

Serving Supper For A Slew

Last year Hubby Tony and I headed up the kitchen at our church's Sausage Supper. When it was finished the chair asked us if we would consider doing the job again this year with an eye to finding and mentoring someone to take the job over in 2025. We agreed.

There were multiple planning meetings over the summer and early fall, and the event was yesterday. Some things (like the menu) were the same. Some things were quite different. The biggest change was the assistance of a new church employee. He's the head janitor, but also a caterer with years of experience who operates out of the school kitchen. Early on Tony and I met with him and got some great ideas for simplifying the cooking process. Based on our conversation I typed up recipes, and made copies to tape to a shelf over the kitchen countertop.

Last year our kitchen crew prepared the sauerkraut and green beans. A group of volunteers grilled the sausage. The chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy were outsourced to a restaurant. Over the course of the 2023 event there were some issues keeping the serving trays filled with outsourced dishes, so this year we cooked the mashed potatoes and gravy in house.

There was nothing gourmet or fancy about the food. The sauerkraut and green beans came from a can. The potatoes and gravy started off dried, but each dish was enhanced with extra ingredients. We heard several compliments from diners, and no complaints.

The final numbers won't come in for a couple of weeks, but it will be interesting to see how many people ate. The caterer did all the purchasing, so I don't know how many commercial sized cans and containers we went through, but we cooked more than last year when we used 56 cans of green beans and 27 cans of sauerkraut.

And most interestingly, one of the kitchen workers indicated he might be interested in heading up the kitchen team next year. If he commits, Tony and I will take a step back and act as consultants.

Five years ago: Come See It!

What A Difference A Little Nature Makes

It takes me a while to get going in the morning (ideally, at least an hour at the kitchen table for breakfast/reading the newspaper/checking in on email, social media, and blogs) but after that I find the AM hours are the most productive. After lunch I lose my drive.

Today a fellowship member needed some supplies that I had. She lives an hour west of my house so we arranged to meet halfway. However, when she threw out a meeting time of 3:30 pm I was annoyed; that's right in the middle of my least productive part of the day. However, she really needed the supplies so I agreed.

My route to the meeting location took me west on Interstate 44. Because I'm never out at that time I didn't realize that it was the beginning of rush hour traffic. Another annoyance. Traffic going eastbound was gridlocked for several miles, and decided I would not go home that way.

I gritted my teeth as I navigated around multiple semi trucks and a pickup that was weaving in and out of traffic. The first four miles going west on 44 is lined with development, but all of a sudden you enter the Forest 44 Corridor and there is a dramatic change in the scenery, with rolling hills lined with heavy greenery and no development. That change completely changed my attitude.

Continuing several miles down the highway I passed over the Meramec River, which is straddled by the former city of Times Beach (the site of a major environmental disaster and now a state park). No development here!

In two more miles I was at Eureka and exited the interstate. 

My destination was a strip mall just off the highway. The acquaintance was waiting for me, the supply hand off only took a few minutes, and then it was time to start home.

I had made the decision not to get back on the highway. Fortunately I knew the area well enough to take surface streets-first going north and then east. The trip ended up being just what I needed. The first half consisted of two lane roads that wound up, down, and around the rolling hills. Even though there was very little traffic I didn't feel safe stopping for a photo, it was very similar to this:

Pxhere

After a turn that took me down a subdivision-lined street, the next portion of the drive skirted the perimeter of a state park. Once again there was nature to the right and left of me. I was bummed when the park ended, because the next two turns were onto heavily traveled, four lane roads. Instead of looking at the wonders of nature around me I had to concentrate on the traffic.

Five years ago today: Polite, Pleasant, Personable

Weight Walking

This week I crossed getting a screening mammogram and a bone density scan off my list of things to do. The tests were back-to-back, and the technician told me I would get the results quickly. She was right; before the end of the day the information was in my patient portal.

The mammogram was normal. The bone density showed that my bones needed some improvement. I was sad but not surprised; I'm Caucasian, female, old-ish, with a thin build - all risk factors for osteoporosis. The best way to improve bone strength is with weight bearing exercises. However, when I try to do any type of weights at the gym my left shoulder lets me know that's not a good idea. Time to find a different solution.

I don't know about you, but my mind remembers things and spits them back at random times. Weeks ago I read an article about rucking, which is the act of walking while carrying a weighted backpack. I suspected that would help build bones, and an internet search confirmed my suspicion. I also found out that a good starting point for rucking would be 3-5% of my body weight for either one mile or 20 minutes, whichever is shorter.

I dug around in the coat closet and found a backpack. I dug around in Hubby Tony's pile of hand weights and put an appropriate-sized one in the backpack. Then we went for a walk. The weight on my back was obvious but not particularly pronounced. It was easy to carry, even up the hills.

My friend Google said I should aim to ruck two or three times a week and eventually increase my weight or walking speed. I suppose doing both wouldn't hurt either.

Five years ago today: Flip Flops Lost And Found

Please Do Your Research Before Sharing!

Several Facebook friends have shared this. However, mixing hydrogen peroxide and vinegar can create peracetic acid, which is toxic.

No one takes the time to figure out if things are true or false before the pass them on.

AARGH!

Five years ago today: "I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille"

My Bad

The local district of a fellowship I belong to puts together a page-a-day calendar as a fundraiser.

The orders are placed online. I volunteered to coordinate the order distribution. That means I pick up the calendars at the printer, print out the invoice, and put the orders into an appropriate size bag/mailing envelope/box. The local orders get picked up, and the others are mailed.

Since the beginning of September I have fulfilled dozens of orders with only one problem. It was a doozie.

The errant order was for both shipped and local calendars. When I was packaging them I flip-flopped the numbers, and instead of mailing one I mailed ten! I didn't realized my mistake until the woman who was picking up the local order contacted me to ask why there was only one small package instead of the larger one she was expecting. I was embarrassed, but the woman was considerate about my faux pas.

Ultimately, she took the correct number of calendars from my inventory, and asked her out-of-town friend to refuse the large package so it would come back to me. I put the friend's mailing information on the singleton package and sent it on its way.

Today the postal carrier dropped off the incorrectly mailed package, which looked like it had been through a lot. The plastic envelope had ripped, so the Post Office placed everything in a Damaged Mail plastic bag and used quite a bit of tape to close everything up. When I took the calendars out of the packaging I noticed that a couple had come apart at the top where they were glued together, but I think that can be fixed.

I can guarantee I won't make the same mistake a second time!

Five years ago: Just Me, Myself, And I

Cosmopolitan Caffeine

I don't know who is in charge of coming up with 'days', but it seems like they could coordinate better. Sunday was National Coffee Day. Today is International Coffee Day

The day was very well publicized. My morning cup of coffee hadn't even kicked in when I saw this comic in the newspaper. After finishing the paper I moved over to my email, where Starbucks touted their commitment to "farmers, roasters and baristas who work relentlessly to craft the perfect cup". My next stop was Facebook, where the Nathaniel Reed Bakery invited me to come celebrate the day with them. When I shared the information with Hubby Tony he thought that was a great idea.

We combined our trip to the bakery with some other errands. It was a beautiful day, so after the last stop we left the car and walked the rest of the way. Earlier in the day Tony had wondered out loud what the most popular coffee drink was. I asked my friend Google, who suggested an article called "The Most Popular Coffee Drinks: Comparing Data for Countries Worldwide" on the Coffeeness website. In the interest of international affairs, instead of getting a cup of black coffee we both ordered a cappuccino (which is the most popular coffee drink in 24 countries).

It didn't take long for the associate to have our drinks ready. I enjoyed the perfect combination of espresso and steamed milk with a thick layer of milk form on top, and thanks to the caffeine I was extra energetic on the walk back to the car.

Caffeine Café

Last week I was leafing through the flyer at one of the local grocery stores last week and found out that National Coffee Day was September 29th. I quickly texted the information to Hubby Tony, and we agreed we would have to do something to commemorate the  day.

Boynton

This weekend Tony and I attended a fellowship convention at a resort halfway across the state. It was a lovely event. This morning we checked out of the hotel before today's events started, so as soon as things wrapped up we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

Halfway home I was ready for my afternoon cup of coffee. Tony researched the options at the next exit...two gas stations and a local bakery/deli. Guess which one we chose?

The bakery was getting ready to close for the day, so the associate let us fill our large travel mugs for the price of a small. We also purchased a large homemade chocolate cookie to share. Between the caffeine, chocolate, and sugar I had enough energy for the rest of the drive.

Five years ago today: WHY Is It So Hot?

Masking Up And Moving On

My recent retreat ended on Sunday. On Monday the director sent an email to the team members reminding us about a wrap-up meeting on Thursday night.

The first two responses came quickly--an enthusiastic "I'll be there!" and "Sorry, but I'll be out of town visiting family." The third response was two hours later, and said "Sorry, but I tested positive for COVID". After that, between Monday and Wednesday three other women reported they were also positive.

(For some reason, the past two years the women's fall retreat has turned into a super-spreader event. The men's spring version of the same retreat has had no problems. It's not fair.)

I have had no symptoms. If I had contracted COVID from the retreat, the last day it could have happened was Sunday, so according to CDC guidelines that is my Day 0. Today is Day 5. Following the same guidelines, as long as I am symptom-free I can go about my business as long as I wear a mask in large groups.

Hubby Tony and I are scheduled to attend a fellowship convention this weekend. 

 I waffled over the Thursday wrap-up meeting. Should go and be around others who might be asymptomatic for the virus (and maybe start my clock over again) or stay home in respect for the weekend people?

Thursday morning a team member sent a message that she was not attending the wrap-up, because she going out of town soon and avoiding large crowds. That gave me permission to do the same. I responded to the group with my regrets.

This morning my suitcase includes masks and COVID tests. Just in case. It's a new world.

Love, Wealth, and Success

Rawpixel

 

 

 A woman saw three old men sitting outside her house for a long time. The woman went outside and said, "I don't know you, but I saw you sitting here. You must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

One of them asked, "Is the man of the house at home?"

She replied, "No."

"Then we cannot come in." said the men.

The woman went inside. When her husband came home she told him all that had happened. He told his wife to go and ask those men to come in and have some food.

She went out and told them, "My husband is home. He is inviting you to come inside and have some food with us."

They replied, "We do not go inside a house together."

When she asked why, one of the old men pointed to one of his friends and said, "His name is Wealth. If he goes with you, your home will be filled with wealth always." Then pointing to the second old man he said, "He is Success. If he goes with you, you will always be successful in any endeavor you start." He then introduced himself as Love, and said "If I go with you, then your home will always be filled with love."

Then Love told the woman to go in and discuss with her husband which one of them they wanted in their home.

Her husband was overjoyed hearing about the men and said, "Let’s invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth."

His wife disagreed and said, "Why don’t we invite Success?"

Their daughter was listening to them and suggested, "Wouldn’t it be better if we invite Love in our home? Then our home will be filled with love forever." Her parents agreed.

The woman again went out and said, "Love, please come in and be our guest."

Love got up and started walking toward the house. Just then the other two also got up and started following him.

The woman asked, "You said you cannot all can come together. I invited only Love. Why are you all coming in?"

The old men replied, "If you had invited Wealth or Success then the other two would have stayed outside, but since you invite Love, wherever he goes, we go with him."

Wherever there is Love, Wealth and Success will follow."

~~Author unknown~~  

Five years ago: Childhood Clutter Clearing

"Combat Con Artists Of World War II"

Hubby Tony and I belong to the Missouri Historical Society. One of their locations is the Soldier's Memorial in downtown St. Louis. Today we went there for the opening of their latest exhibit, entitled "Ghost Army-The Combat Con Artists of World War II".

The Memorial's website described the exhibit, which came from the National World War II Museum, as:

Ghost Army: The Combat Con Artists of World War II explores the story of the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, a top-secret unit who waged war with inflatable tanks and vehicles, fake radio traffic, sound effects, and even phony generals. This carefully selected group of artists, engineers, professional soldiers, and draftees—armed with nothing heavier than .50 caliber machine guns—saved thousands of lives and played an important part in Allied victory in World War II.

There is no free parking around the museum, but several blocks of on-street spots were reserved for attendees. Tony and I got there early and walked around downtown until it was time to go in. The event started with opening remarks in the auditorium, including from the daughter of one of the Ghost Army members who had St. Louis connections

After the remarks there were three options to choose from. We could go immediately to the exhibit on the basement level, stay in the auditorium and watch a PBS documentary from 2013 called The Ghost Army, or go down to the hall and partake of the complimentary breakfast. We chose the last option, which was a nice buffet that included an egg casserole, pancakes, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage patties, and fresh fruit. 

We took seats at one of the large round tables, and were soon joined by others. After we finished eating we walked back to the auditorium, and joined the video in progress. It moved back and forth between interviews with Ghost Army members and historical perspectives. I learned that the unit operated all over Europe, and used four tactics to confuse the Nazis:

• Visual deception (inflatable tanks, jeeps, airplanes, trucks, and cannons to create the illusion of camps, airfields, and formations)
• Sonic deception (sound projection to produce noises intended to mislead the enemy)
• Radio deception (impersonating Morse Code radio operators from real units)
• Atmosphere (using insignia of actual units to make the enemy think the unit was there)
  

Information about the Ghost Army was classified until 1996. In 2022 members were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

After the video Tony and I went down to the actual exhibit, which had written, audio, and three-dimension components. There were quite a few docents to answer questions and provide additional information. 

The exhibit will be there until the middle of January. If you're in the local area you should really think about going.

Unit insignia sticker

Five years ago: Adventures In Flexibility

Great To Go Away, But Great To Get Home

The retreat I helped plan this past weekend was a great success. It started on Thursday evening and ended on Sunday morning back at the church. Each morning both the team and the retreatants got up before sunrise and didn't go to bed until after dark. Unfortunately the weather was hot and humid and we had to move some of the activities inside, but other than that everything went according to plan.

The retreat center used to be a school for men studying to be religious brothers. When it was first built the area was completely rural, and the center is still surrounded by green space. The dormitory building is more than a hundred years old. The bedrooms are small (with a twin bed, small desk and chair, tiny closet, and sink), and reflect their original purpose as simple sleeping quarters for communal living, but I didn't spend much time there. The rooms have been updated for this century with ceiling fans and window unit air conditioning. The bathrooms and showers are down the hall. The area has been updated with new tile and fixtures, but are still pretty spartan.

It was great to be away, but also great to get home. I chose to turn off my phone for the weekend and came home to a slew of emails in my inboxes and dozens of posts in my reader. In addition to electronic clutter there is also a pile of retreat paperwork to wade through because as the weekend went on I just tossed things in a pile to bring home instead of organizing it onsite. 

I know I will eventually wade through everything.....starting tomorrow 😫.

Five years ago today: Life Lessons For Aging

Be Back On Sunday

By the time you read this I will have left for a weekend retreat organized by a group of women from my church. The event officially starts tonight, but the organizing team gets there early to set up. (Last year, you may remember I tried to do the same thing, but ended up being exposed to COVID and backing out at the last minute.) 

We've been planning the retreat since July, but this past week has been a flurry of last-minute activities for me. One of those activities was packing. By the time I was ready to load the car one corner of my bedroom was filled with multiple piles of things to take-clothes appropriate for this weekend's warm weather and cover up options in case the conference room or bedroom is chilly, snacks for the snack room and paperwork for some of the activities, and just-in-case items like a flashlight.

It will be a real accomplishment if I didn't forget anything!

A Capricious Cat

Pimento the foster cat came to live with us in April, but it took until June for him to start getting comfortable with me and Hubby Tony. Since that time he's made great progress. He's a cat, so of course he likes his alone time, but unless a stranger comes into the condo Pimento no longer feels the need to hide.

Life with him hasn't been without challenges, though. Eventually we noticed that Pimento's nails were getting long. With our previous cats we had a procedure for nail cutting. Tony got to be the cat holder and I wielded the clipper. We tried the same procedure with Pimento. It didn't go well. By the time I finished the first paw Tony had a couple of large scratches on his arm and let the cat go free. 

Later the same day Pimento made his peace with Tony and cuddled up with him daily on the couch. He avoided me like the plague.  If I tried to pet him he'd just run away. After several days of being snubbed I started daily laser pointer play sessions with treats at the end. Slowly Pimento's attitude changed. Instead of running from me immediately he'd let me give him a pet or two before he would slink away. 

Last night Tony was out for the evening. I was sitting on the couch when Pimento walked by and looked like he wanted to socialize. I had no expectations but encouraged him to come up. Before I knew it he was curled up on my lap.

Unfortunately, just about the time he got situated I realized it would have been better if I had gone to the bathroom first. We stayed on the couch for a half hour until I really had to pee. When I moved the cat jumped off my lap onto the floor, where he gave me the stink eye before sauntering off.

Not Just For Students

Did you know that today is National Online Learning Day? The term online learning is most associated with students, but now that so much information can be found on the internet it's easy to learn things online.

I headed to the AARP Staying Sharp site, logged in, and chose the learning activity called Building Resilience. 

The introduction said:

"Resilience means having the ability to rebound from hardship and approach each day with determination that you’ll do more than survive, you’ll thrive. Some resilience comes from within, but you can learn ways to build resilience through practice. This challenge will allow you to explore tools you learn about boosting your resilience."

The activity started with a pretest. After the pretest there were ten sections, each organized the same way. There was a video, then written information to back the video up. The third step had some practical suggestions for applying the information. After all the modules there was an opportunity to take the quiz again. 

I actually learned a lot about how to become more resilient, and I'm glad I did it.

Sudsy Swag

Several months ago Hubby Tony and I ate dinner at a pizza restaurant across town. I really liked the food, so I filled out a card to get on their customer list. At this place my marketing list birthday was in September.

The other day I received an email from the restaurant. Every other restaurant birthday offer I've received in my inbox has been for a menu item. This one was for a pitcher of beer.

I'm not inclined to drive across town to take advantage of a coupon for a pitcher of beer, but the more I thought about the promotion the more clever it seemed.

The people that don't drink, or would prefer another alcoholic beverage, won't show up to redeem it but the restaurant can still claim they offered something. The beer drinkers will show up, claim their pitcher, and probably order food to go with it. The restaurant will recoup more than the cost of the beer. Either way the restaurant wins.

Five years ago: Flies Be Gone!

For The Better

Even though it's months away, Hubby Tony and I have already started planning for our next trip to see the California kids and grand kids.

When we started making regular trips out that way in 2016 we were almost always able to find a non-stop flight. However, in the past few years Southwest (our preferred airline) has fewer of them, meaning that we have to change planes somewhere. This latest flight is no exception. On the way home, in order to get a departure time that got us to St. Louis at a reasonable hour we chose to go through Dallas.

This morning Tony got a message that the airline had made a change in the trip due to flight schedule shifts. That's usually bad news, but this time we struck gold! The departure time is an hour later and we actually arrive earlier. Why? THEY CHANGED US TO A NON-STOP FLIGHT!

Flaticon

The change email messages always end with a boilerplate statement that if the change works for us we don't need to do anything. However, I am going to do something....which is cross my fingers and pray that the change doesn't get re-modified between now and then.

Five years ago: An Assortment Of Apples (Redux)

Playing Garden Hooky

Sometimes, it turns out that making the best use of my time means running away.

Right now I have so many commitments I don't know if I'm coming or going. Logically, the last thing I needed was to add another thing to the busy schedule, but today a morning trip the Botanical Garden with Hubby Tony ended up being just what I needed. After walking through the grounds I came away relaxed and ready to jump into everything that was waiting for me.

Twenty minutes after the Garden's doors opened I was parking the car in a almost-full lot. There was a large group milling around the entrance area, and when I got closer I noticed it was related to some type of event, but Tony and I walked past the mess and went straight to the ticket-scanning booth in the lobby.

Once we were in the garden, I was surprised to see that as full as the parking lot was there were very few people walking along the paths. The temperature was still cool, and perfect for a morning stroll.

We stopped to see this statue of a young girl. The sign next to it said it was entitled Cora. It indicated that the model was three years old, and the sculptor got her to hold the pose by mounting a television to the studio ceiling. The huge Japanese garden area was practically empty, with only two groups of people visible. One was three women who told us that they walked in the garden every Tuesday. The other was a mother and her children feeding the ducks and koi fish from the bridge. The rest of the large area was calm and serene.

Calming

The other morning I stopped by Walmart to pick up some mailing tape. As I walked through the store something seemed different, but it wasn't until I made my way to the back and saw the sign on all of the television screens in the electronics department that I figured out what it was. The piped in music was missing!

I looked at my watch and noticed there were only ten minutes until the time frame was over, so I decided to be there when the changeover happened. It took an extra two minutes; at 10:02 the music came on, and when I passed the electrical department every television was turned on.

I didn't see anyone who looked like they might be benefiting from the extra calm, but when I left I saw a sign that said the hours were intended to be calmer for those with sensory sensitivities, autism, and PTSD. I know many of those conditions are hidden, and I could have been the only non-affected one in the store.

Five years ago: There's A Guy For That

Purple Pepper Picking

The last time I was at the farmer's market they had large bins of green and colored bell peppers. In addition to the everyday red, orange, and yellow varieties I saw some unusual ones. Some of them came home with me.

In my experience, the flavor and texture of most colored peppers is interchangeable, and depends on if they were allowed to completely ripen on the plant or picked early. I have no experience with white or purple varieties. However, I found that the purple ones had thick, crisp flesh and a sweet taste. The white one was crisp, but there wasn't much sweetness to it.

If I ever see another white one I would buy it again and see if it's any different.

Five years ago: Many Hands Make It Fun

In Honor Of Labor Day

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday that recognizes the American labor movement. It is celebrated each year on the first Monday of September.

In the early 2000s, Son Tony went to college at a university three hours northeast of St. Louis. There were two routes that would get us there. One went north and then east; the second took us east and then north.

Whenever I took the north/east route (or came home via that way) I would see a brown tourist sign advertising the presence of the Mother Jones monument at the Mt. Olive exit. I knew that was a left-leaning magazine. The internet was much less robust back then, but I was able to learn that Mother Jones the person had some type of connection to union activity. I always thought about detouring to see the monument, but it was never convenient, and after Son Tony graduated there was little reason to go that direction. 

However, when Hubby Tony made our recent trip to Chicago one of the Route 66 attractions we stopped at was only a couple of miles from that Mother Jones monument. I was able to cross it off of my list of things to visit.

Mary Harris Jones (AKA Mother Jones) was a labor organizer and activist who co-founded the Labor unionist trade union the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, collqually named the Wobblies). She is buried in the Union Miners Cemetery alongside eight miners who died in the 1898 Battle of Virden mining riot.

We followed the signs that led to the Union Miners Cemetery, parked the car, and walked towards the monument at the back of the cemetery. The monument had an oval bas-relief portrait of Mother Jones flanked by two miners dressed in their work clothes. (One of the miners had a cloth bandana tied around his neck, which was a nice added touch by someone.)

In front of the monument was the grave and tombstone of Mother Jones.

There was no one else in the cemetery, and it was very peaceful. Tony and I read the placards, but we didn't linger. The day was hot and the sun intense.

A Rhythmical Literary Piece

I had forgotten about the delightful poem "Ations" by Shel Silverstein until a Facebook friend posted it on their wall.

Ations

If we meet and I say, “Hi,”

That’s a salutation.

If you ask me how I feel,

That’s a consideration.

If we stop and talk a while,

That’s a conversation.

If we understand each other,

That’s a communication.

If we argue, scream, and fight,

That’s an altercation.

If later we apologize,

That’s reconciliation.

If we help each other home.

That’s a cooperation.

And all these actions added up

Make Civilization.

(And if I say this is a wonderful poem,

Is that exaggeration?)

I Was Probably The Only One Who Didn't Know This

I have quite a bit of technology in my house. Each serves a different purpose.

• The Mac Mini in my office is what I consider my 'main' computer. It's connected to a nice-sized monitor and has a wireless keyboard. All of my important files are saved both to its hard drive and to the cloud.

• My Windows-based laptop is a nightly accessory when I sit on the couch after dinner, allowing me to interact with the blogs I've subscribed to. It also goes on trips with me so I can keep up with all the computer things I usually do at home

• Ostensibly, the Iphone is for making calls, but more often than not is pressed into service for texts, apps, and internet searches.

• The larger screen on the iPad is helpful for reading the online edition of the newspaper with breakfast, and playing online games the rest of the day.

Often I want to compose an email that straddles the line between business and personal. Even if it's a professional message, if I know the person well I sometimes include an emoji. That's easy to do on a phone or tablet, because all you have to do is click on the icon. On bigger devices, not so much.

But I recently learned that there's a way to use shortcuts to have an emoji keyboard pop up on a real computer. On a Mac the sequence of keys is Control + Command + Space. On Windows its Windows logo key + . (period).

Five years ago: Disconnect

The Unwritten Rule

The last thing I did before leaving for a chiropractor appointment this morning was to grab a pair of comfortable white sandals and put them on. In the treatment room the doctor noticed the color of my shoes and asked if I was trying to get extra use out of them before the unofficial end of summer this weekend.

That led to a conversation about the fashion rule about not wearing white after Labor Day in the United States and where it started. By this time his assistant had entered the room, but none of us had an answer to the question. I decided to come home and ask my friend Google if it did. I learned that there was no definitive answer, but several sources provided parts of one.

The Farmer's Almanac had a couple of thoughts. The first was that lightweight fabrics like cotton and linen are neutral-colored in their natural state, and reflect light, so they were cooler in summer heat. Another was that wealthy people were able to vacation in places were light, breezy clothes were appropriate (and have the means to have a second wardrobe when things cooled off). The ability to box up white clothes turned into a sign of sophistication.

Source

Vogue added that those wealthy people had the means to leave the city for ocean or lakeside locations in the summer. In the early 19th century "uniforms" for popular sports like tennis were always white because it hid sweat. It also did not hide dirt, so wearing white was a way of showing you didn't need to do manual labor. When the weather cooled off and the privileged returned to their cities the dirt streets they had to walk on would quickly soil white clothes, and by the time the streets were paved the habit of putting the white away was ingrained.

Source

The folks at Southern Living pointed out that if white clothes are a sign of summer, and Labor Day signaled the end of the season it made sense to put them away and start wearing something more practical.

Camera Roll Curiosities

It's too hot to go outside. Instead I stayed in the air conditioning and went through my phone's photo app looking for interesting ones to post. Here ya go.

• I know this was in an airport, but can't remember which one. The hydration area has a water fountain for everyone, no matter what their size. There's even a bottle filler.

• This sign was posted next to the cash register of a small business. I'm pretty sure it's a joke, but the store was in a very laid-back rural area, so there might be some truth in it.

• This restaurant is serious about their table management. The sign says "They will not seat you until your whole party is present...I'm still waiting for my wife."

•   I've never thought about it this way before, but there's some real truth to the saying.

• But think carefully about what you do with those dirty clothes from your memorable day.

• These two shelf signs were made out of Scrabble tiles. Who wouldn't want to promote Friday?

Coffee Nap

I was recently introduced to the concept of a "coffee nap". It involves drinking a cup of coffee and then taking a 20 minute nap. Some researchers think that the combination is more effective than relying on just coffee or napping by itself.

The theory is that caffeine works by blocking a neurotransmitter called adenosine (aka "tiredness" chamical). It takes 20 minutes for caffeine to enter your bloodstream, so by napping during that window you wake up both restored and stimulated.

An effective coffee nap is most beneficial in the early- to mid-afternoon. That's late enough in the day that the body has built up a supply of adenosine, but early enough that the caffeine won't interfere with nighttime sleeping.

I tested out the coffee nap theory this afternoon. At 1:15 pm I carried my cell phone and afternoon cup of coffee into the bedroom. After I turned on the ceiling fan to circulate the air and the radio to provide a little background noise I got comfortable in bed, slurped the coffee down, and used my phone to set a timer for 20 minutes.

At first I was convinced I wasn't going to fall asleep, but when the timer went off it took me a while to figure out what the noise was and turn it off. Often when I nap it takes me ten minutes to fully wake up and get out of bed, but today there was no wake up period. I was able to hop out of bed and go about my business with extra energy.

Five years ago: Clean, Clean, Clean

I Don't Have What They're Looking For

Two weeks ago Hubby Tony and I traveled to Chicago so I could complete a diagnostic imaging test as part of the Parkinson's Progressive Markers Initiative. After the test was completed, I learned that the initiative would follow up with me in two weeks.

Yesterday, exactly 14 days later, I received a call from one of the research associates. She thanked me for my time and effort, and said that at this time I am not eligible to continue (but that may change as investigators review more data).

This is a double blind study, where individual test results are hidden from both the participant and the researchers. However, the associate did tell me that if the test had discovered something horrible they would have reached out to my doctor.

Even though I won't be traveling to have imaging tests done I am able to participate the study's online portion. I'm not sure exactly how that will work but I've enrolled. I guess I'll find out soon.

Mustard Yellow Thoughts

This week we're having a run of un-August weather. Instead of the normal hot temperatures, it's been cool enough that we've been able to turn off the air conditioner and open up the windows to let Mother Nature in.

The pleasant temperatures have meant that Hubby Tony and I are back to walking outside. Last night we went to the grocery store to purchase a couple of items. We were halfway there when I saw something yellow on a flat-topped fence post.

When I got closer, I saw the yellow thing was a mustard bottle that had words written on it.

When I got right next to the bottle I saw the words were alluding to the biblical Parable of the Mustard Seed, along with the books, chapters, and verses where you can find it.

In case you're not familiar with the parable, it says (Matthew 13:31-32):

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.

It would be interesting to know the bottle's backstory. Who felt compelled to put their sentiments out into the universe, and why did they pick that particular place?

Five years ago today: MLS4TheLou

My Top Six

I maintain this blog because I enjoy writing and it's nice to have an online journal that I can refer to if I want to figure out when something noteworthy happened on my life. I rarely look at the blog stats, but today I was clicking from one section to another and ended up on that page.

Blogger seems to have changed things up since the last time I was there. Halfway down there was a list of my most-visited posts. I was amazed at how many times some of them have been viewed. 

• The highest count one is still a post from 2011 titled Conversion, which has lapped all the others a couple of times in its number of views. 

• The second is New York, New York (Big Apple Chronicles--Introduction) from 2013, which for some reason was a huge spam comment magnet until I turned them off. (The one and only time I've done that.)
  

• Next comes My Sentiments Exactly from 2012, which talks about navigating some changes made to the Catholic Church English mass translation

• In fourth place is Float or Sink, also from 2012, about cleaning up my tomato garden bed and processing the green fruits.

• Next in line is Snow, Snow Go Away from the snowy winter of 2014 and the frenzy one storm caused at the mall customer service desk I worked at. 

• Last but not least, A FEW Of My Favorite Things from 2013 talked about finding out my favorite activities and relating them to my talents.

Five years ago today: Generate And Fabricate

Technology Isn't Life

(I can't find the author of this. If you know please pass on the information.)

I had spent an hour in the bank with my dad because he had to transfer some money. While we were waiting for the banker I said, "Dad, why don't we activate your internet banking?"

'Why would I do that?' he asked.

'Well, then you won't have to spend an hour here for things like transfers. You can even do your shopping online. Everything will be so easy!"

He asked, "If I do that, I won't have to step out of the house?"

"Yes!" I said. "Amazon delivers everything."

His answer left me tongue-tied. He said:

"Since I entered this bank today, I have met four of my friends. I have chatted with the staff who know me well. I like to come to the bank. I have enough time; it is the physical touch that I crave. 

"Two years ago, I got sick. The owner from the produce market came to see me, sat by my bedside, and cried. When your mom fell down a few days back on her morning walk, our grocer saw her and immediately got his car to rush her home because he knows where I live.

"Would I have that human touch if I did everything online? Why would I want everything delivered to me and force me to interact with just my computer? I like to know the person that I'm dealing with and not just the seller. It creates bonds of relationships. Does Amazon deliver all this as well?'

Spend time with people, not with devices.

Walk And Read

Several months ago a series of roofed frames appeared in front of the YMCA I go to. Eventually the frames held pages from a child's picture book, and I learned that the installation is a Story Walk.

The goal is to start at the first frame and walk along reading the pages. However, I'm usually scurrying into the building for a fitness class and don't take the time. Today, thanks to light traffic I had a couple extra minutes and did exactly what the installers intended.

After crossing the street from the parking lot I doubled back to the start of the walk. (The frames are covered in glass, and it was hard to get a good photo without a reflection, but I did my best.)

The next frame held the cover of the book.

As I moved from frame to frame I turned the corner from one street to another, passed the entrance to the building, and almost made it down the block to the next intersection before the story concluded. I enjoyed the story of Jabari and his decision to jump off the diving board. After his initial decision he needed a little encouragement from his dad, but (spoiler alert) in the end he did it.

The last frame said another story will be coming soon. I can't wait to see what it is.

Five years ago today: Generate And Fabricate

Phew! Saved by An Internet Search

It seems like recently my blog has had a lot of spam commenters, who leave the same junk comment on a dozen or so posts.

I was going through the latest batch of spam and deleting the comments, but got carried away and deleted an actual comment by an actual person who reads here. I was horrified, because I knew there was no way to undo the mistake.

Or was there?

I started poking around on the internet and came up with an interesting solution. I have my Blogger settings configured so that when someone leave a comment I receive an email that lets me know who left it (their name and URL), on which post, what they said, and the date they said it. I also have my blog's settings such that anyone, including anonymous users, can leave a comment.

Undoing my mistake was relatively easy. I opened the post with the missing comment and chose to comment with a name/URL. Instead of using my own information I added the lost commenter's name and blog address, copied and pasted the comment as received via email, then hit Publish.

Seconds later the information appeared on the post. The time stamp wasn't correct, but I doubt anyone would notice.

Wikipedia

Five years ago: My Computer Is Nothing If Not Helpful

Roadtripping

Hubby Tony and I returned home yesterday from a whirlwind trip to Chicago, where I participated in the next step of my journey with the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative Study.

A normal trip to Chicago would take somewhere between 5-5 1/2 hours. We added three hours to that, because we hopped on and off the Interstate to search out things that were originally on Route 66.

Many of the cities we stopped at had banners or signs:

During our trip we visited quaint restaurants and had some good local food:

In every city we stopped to see the attractions our guidebook pointed out. Some of them included:

Tony and I also made the most of our time in the Windy City. On Tuesday night we went to Navy Pier and looked out onto Lake Michigan. On Wednesday morning we walked to and around Millennium Park before arriving at the hospital. From start to finish the testing process took a little over five hours, but it included more waiting around time than hands-on time. At one point I was able to leave the hospital for four hours. We got lunch, went back to the hotel for a nap, and walked to a beach along Lake Michigan and stuck our feet in the water. After the test was over we walked around some more, then got dinner. At the end of the day my phone step count was four times higher than a normal day.

Thursday morning we left town shortly after breakfast, and except for a bathroom break and stop for lunch drove straight through. It was good to get the first glimpse of the top of the Gateway Arch-that meant we were almost home.

In two weeks I will hear from the researchers, who will let me know if they're interested in me participating in a longer term study. I have no idea what will happen.  I'm keeping the Route 66 guidebook and map, just in case. We just scratched the surface of Route 66 things to see. If I do end up making additional trips to Chicago I want to pick a new set of experiences.

Five years ago: Revamping Lamps