World Backup Day

Did you know that today is World Backup Day?  The day reminds us to stop what we're doing and back up all of our computer, tablet, and phone files.

I was surprised to learn from the World Backup Day website that:

• 30% of people have never backed up their files

• 29% of file disasters are caused by accident

• 113 phones are lost or stolen every minute

• 1 in 10 computers are infected with viruses each month

I sync my phone calendar with the one on my kitchen computer every week or so, and as part of that iTunes also backs up everything for me.  After a hard drive failure on his computer some time back, Hubby Tony bought an external hard drive to back up the laptops and the kitchen computer.  However, I sense he's not as diligent as he used to be, so this will be a good reminder to both of us.

I hope you'll be backing up things today, too

Five years ago today: Easter Greetings

What A Concept!

Last weekend, you may remember, I was away on retreat.  This wasn't the first time I've been part of the team planning a similar event, and each time I do I learn and receive as much as I give.

When I returned home on Sunday I pulled out a slim book called Coming Down the Mountain: How to Turn Your Retreat Into Everyday Living that was gifted to me when I participated in the event as a retreatant. The book has six weeks worth of daily meditations and suggestions for incorporating what you learned on the retreat into your daily life.

Each day's meditations are thought provoking, but yesterday's provided me a real 'ah-ha' moment. Have you ever read through something multiple times with no effect, and then all of a sudden a thought jumps off of the page at you? That's what happened to me. In the section entitled "Difficult People" I was struck by a discussion about the difference between "like" and "love".

According to the book, liking someone means that you have positive feelings about them. Loving someone means helping them, not wanting to cause harm to them, and even sending prayer their way. We can love someone without liking them.

So that means I can love the jerk who cut in front of me today with a full cart of groceries to be first at a newly-opened check out line. I can love the people who spout political views I don't agree with on social media. I can even love the people who carry out horrible deeds.

I'd like to say that my loving is automatic, but it's not. It's a really hard thing for me to do. I'll keep working at it, though.

Five years ago today: Good Friday Is The Blues

A Tale of Two Trees

I felt like Spring is really tardy this year. Now I have proof.

There is a large redbud tree next to the deck in the back yard. The photo of it on the left just popped up as a memory on my Facebook page. At this time in 2012 it was full of flowers and even a few tiny leaves at the end of the branches. The photo on the right is from today. Buds on the branches but nothing else.

And the forecast for the next ten days shows the same chilly weather as we're having now.  I wonder when those buds will actually get a chance to open?

Five years ago today: Oh No She Didn't!

This Strange English Language

An oldie but goodie...

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;
but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;
yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,
and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
but though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

                   ~~Author unknown~~

Five years ago today: A FEW Of My Favorite Things

Fortuitous Flowers

Since the beginning of the year I've been one of about 30 women planning a religious retreat at a local retreat center. Tomorrow morning after breakfast I will, in the event lingo, "head up the mountain" and not come back until Sunday morning.

One of my responsibilities for the retreat is to have flowers for one of the events. I needed 60 stems. And there wasn't really a budget for flowers. As I was trying to figure out the cheapest way to get the job done, one of the other women on the team suggested that I check with nearby funeral homes to see if they had any arrangements to give away.

That was a source I hadn't thought of!

I called the nearest one last week and asked about donations. The woman I spoke with said I would need to contact them a day or two before I needed the flowers. When I called back yesterday there were three arrangements available. They put my name on them, and said I could pick them up any time during the day.

I stopped by the parlor today when there were no visitations going on. The large building was eerily quiet. I announced myself to the attendant at the desk. He walked with me to an empty viewing room, pointed out the arrangements that were mine, then helped me carry them out to my car.

When I got home I disassembled the arrangements. Many of the flowers were past their prime and went straight into the yard waste trash can, but in the end I had about half of the flowers I needed. I also kept some greenery and filler flowers that may come in handy. After a trip to the store to buy the rest of the flowers I needed, I placed everything in some plastic cat litter buckets, then staged the buckets by the garage door until tomorrow morning.

Now my garage temporarily looks like a florist. I didn't think about how much room all those flowers were going to take up!

Spring Is Here?

Today is the first day of spring. However, when I took a walk after lunch it didn't look or feel like it. I wore my heavy winter coat and a pair of gloves (and should have added something to cover my ears).

Not too far from my house I saw these winter-looking trees:

But when I looked closer there were subtle signs of the changing season. Check out the buds:

Five years ago today: Signs Of The Season

A Tasty Potato Substitute

Hubby Tony and I eat dinner out on Saturday nights, so this year we pushed back our St. Patrick's corned beef and cabbage dinner till today.  I bought enough meat, potatoes, and carrots for the two of us to have dinner tonight and leftovers tomorrow, so when Son Donald said he was coming into town to take care of a couple of errands I had to figure out how to bulk everything up.  I was going to Aldi for a couple of things anyway, so I bought a package of sweet Hawaiian rolls and a container of ice cream for dessert.  On the way there I also had a menu inspiration.

Earlier in the week I was at the Asian market buying produce.  I enjoy trying new things if the price is right, and this time they had a sale on yuca root. I knew nothing about it, but it was only 99 cents a pound so I added a smallish piece to my bag.

I had done some research and learned that yuca (also called casava and manioc) is the root of a South American shrub that is a major staple food in the developing world, and that it could serve as a substitute for potatoes in some dishes.  Since I didn't have enough actual potatoes in the house I figured I could also use the yuca.  It could also add an exotic element to the meal.

While the corned beef was cooking I cut the yuca root into pieces about three inches long, then used a paring knife to remove the peel.  When the meat was done I removed it and added cut up red potatoes and carrots to the pot, reserving a little broth to pour over the yuca pieces in a small saucepan.  After the liquid came to a boil both pots simmered for 20 minutes until everything was fork tender.  I drained the conventional vegetables and dumped them into a bowl.  I put the yuca into a separate bowl, removed its fibrous core, and broke the flesh into smaller pieces.  Everything went on the table when it was time to eat.

We all thought the yuca was pretty good.  It was drier than the boiled potatoes, but it had taken on the flavor of the corned beef broth.  There was plenty of food for everyone, and I was able to send Donald home with some leftovers for tomorrow. 

We don't eat a whole lot of starchy vegetables, but I would definitely have this one again.

Resilience

Last night the Spelman College Glee Club brought their "Resilience Annual Spring Tour 2018" to our church. Hubby Tony and I were there.

Before last night I knew that Spelman was a historically Black college, but nothing else about it. In the lead up to the event I had learned that it was a woman-only school in Atlanta. The show program told me the school was founded in the late 1880s, became Spelman in 1924, and that the glee club had been existence since 1925. The group sings both sacred and secular music with a focus on traditional spirituals and music by African American composers.

We got there about 15 minutes before the show started and chatted with fellow parishioners and friends. The stage was a set of risers placed in front of the altar with a black curtains backdrop. Right on time the approximately 30 singers filed down from the back and took their places. The women were dressed in long black skirts, scoop neck tee shirts, and pearls. After some introductory remarks, they settled themselves and began singing.

Their voices melded beautifully, and the harmonies were amazing. All of the soloists were wonderful. There was a group of Spelman alumni there, and at the end of the second half they were invited to join the glee club on stage to sing the school song.

This is one of the songs I heard last night. (In an interesting twist, last night a huge rain storm started right before the song began. The heavy drops hitting the church's roof made for an amusing counterpoint.)

Five years ago today: Fact O'The Day

Finding First Class Footwear

Back in January my brown leather shoes fell apart when I went to put them on. It was time to replace them. My foot is weirdly shaped (I have a wide forefoot and a narrow heel) so it's hard for me to find shoes that fit. I had no idea how hard it would be, though!

Brown did not seem to be a very popular color this year. After stopping in several big box shoe stores with no success I paid a visit to a comfort shoe store that recently opened near me. I walked in and explained the situation, and the clerk jokingly exclaimed it was a shame I couldn't just stick with tennis shoes. She brought out several styles for me to try on, but nothing was just right. A store at the mall had a pair that fit perfectly...and cost $150, way more than I wanted to spend.

Finally I exhausted my options, and decided I would make do until warmer weather let me pull out my summer shoes. If I happened to be in a store that sold shoes I would glance down the aisles, but didn't expect to find anything. Two weeks ago we were running errands when Hubby Tony announced he needed new shoes. I went with him into the store, and was slightly depressed when he found a pair after ten minutes of looking.

A couple of days later I got a coupon in the mail for that very same shoe store. I told Tony, and we agreed it was a shame he couldn't have saved a little money on his purchase. The next time my errands took me towards that store I stopped in, with no expectation that I would have any luck.

Merrell

I walked through the casual shoe section and headed back to the clearance area. The first three racks didn't have anything remotely close to what I was looking for, but on the fourth rack I saw a box containing a pair of dark brown Merrell slip ons (a new to me brand). Holding my breath I tried them on. They felt comfortable, so I gave them the walk test. Hallelujah! They fit! I couldn't believe my luck.

At the cash register I learned that not only were the shoes 20 percent off, I could use my mail coupon ($10) and another $10 coupon I had cached in my account. According to the receipt I had saved almost as much as I paid for the shoes.

I've worn the shoes enough now to know they are as comfortable as my original assessment thought they'd be. They look like they're made out of sturdy leather, so I hope I get many years of wear out of them before I have to start the shoe shopping process again.

Five years ago today: Delicates

Bookmark Inspiration

A couple of weeks ago I picked out a book from a nearby Little Free Library.  Since not everything I read has to be educational or 'important', this time I chose fluff--Explosive Eighteen, one of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels.  When I got home I dove right in.

I've read most of the books in the series. They're pretty repetitive, but I enjoy the core group of characters and mindless entertainment.  When it was time to put the book down I grabbed an old page from a Thought for the Day calendar to use for a bookmark: 

Bookmark and inspirational thought

When I was done reading the book I tucked the calendar page inside, then returned the book to the library.  I hope it will be helpful to whoever finds it.

Five years ago today: No Can Do