Mama’s Birthday

 

Today would have been my mother’s 85th birthday. However, she died of colon cancer four weeks before her 62nd birthday. I spent some time today making pumpkin pie and beef stew. My pie is not as good as hers – I did not acquire her light hand with piecrust and also just haven’t had as much practice. It was common for us (a family of seven with an occasional guest) to have a dozen pies at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My beef stew is thicker – hers was more like a really hearty beef/vegetable soup, whereas I use the recipe from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook I’ve had for nearly 40 years.

A few more things about my mother: she taught me to read when I was 2 1/2. She made homes for us in Army quarters and rented houses as far away as Texas and Germany, and then back in Maine in the house she and my father built together. I also failed to acquire her skills in knitting, crocheting, sewing and quilting, and gardening, among many others. She taught me my multiplication tables and, with her memories of the Palmer method, changed my handwriting one summer from illegible to not-too-shabby. When I talk with other women, or read memoirs or stories, about mothers who are difficult, judgmental, demanding or otherwise cause problems for their daughters, I can’t really relate. What I got from my mother was unconditional love and support.

Here are some pictures of her.

I still miss her a lot.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

The folks at NaBloPoMo suggested that those of us attempting to post every day in November do “Wordless Weekends” to make it a bit easier on ourselves. Wednesday is a busy day for me so I’m planning on Wordless Wednesdays.

Here are a few photos from our trip to California for the ordination of the Rt. Rev, Cordeliaknits.  I was too busy and emotional in church to take pictures, so these are from Saturday and Monday when we did touristy things.

Farmers’ Market in Santa Cruz: note price on scallops (almost twice what I would pay here). They did have local fish, which was less.

Cordeliaknits, Salt Lake Liz, and Sisterfilms on the Wharf in Santa Cruz.

With so many changes on the Monterey Peninsula, I was surprised this place was still here – Onkel Hankie Pants and two buddies lived here in a one-bedroom apartment for much of their Army service.

We took the 17-Mile Drive and Cordeliaknits found her dream house! Only several million dollars away….

The Lone Cypress still stands (albeit supported with ropes and cables.)

Tuneful Tuesday: All I Know about Math and Science I Learned from Songs

Well, that’s not quite true. But it did occur to me that there are some fun songs dealing with math and science, two subjects about which I actually know fairly little. I’d be happy to hear suggestions about some more songs in this vein.

As young teenagers, my friends and I often listened to Tom Lehrer records. My friend The Decorator’s claim to fame was that Lehrer had been her father’s math TA at Harvard. (In the second clip, Lehrer speaks amusingly about his job.) He must have been a good instructor, since said father had a successful banking career. The first Tom Lehrer song, however, deals with chemistry, in fact, the Periodic Table. (Click on link to go to YouTube.)

Tom Lehrer: The Elements

I actually did study a form of New Math, the subject of the next song. In 9th grade, we learned algebra from Mr. Spencer and the SMSG (School Mathematics Study Group) from Yale. (Yes, kids, even though we were so much smarter in other ways, we didn’t get algebra till 9th grade.) In 10th grade, it was geometry from Ball State in Muncie, Indiana, with Mr. Swett. But in 11th grade I was in a different school and had a “normal” Algebra II text, and Mr. Reisinger, who came from Pocatello, Idaho to teach in Germany. My experience with college math is one I would rather not discuss.  Here’s Lehrer on

New Math

Back to chemistry, here is a great song about what happens when two elements combine. I believe the late Kate McGarrigle wrote this song, and sings it here.

NaCl

I couldn’t think of any songs about biology or physics or geology, but there are two fine songs about astronomy.  Why Does the Sun Shine? was written by Tom Glazer (who also wrote On Top of Spaghetti). This rather better-known recording is by They Might Be Giants, who have also issued an update song with more current scientific information, The Sun Is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma.  And now for something completely different (well, not that different really) -- The Galaxy Song  by Eric Idle of Monty Python, but done here with some fine scientific photos by Dave Hardy and Colin Farrow (about whom I know nothing else.)  I hope someone enjoys this Tuneful Tuesday.

Undeserved Blessings and Other Random Thoughts

 

It's been a while, but I'm determined to restart this blog during NaBloPoMo November. Here are a few of my random thoughts to be going on with.

Recently I've been sorrowing with several people, some of whom I know only or mostly through the Internet, over various losses. On Hallowe'en afternoon I was walking Rusty down Maine St. and was offered hot chocolate and candy by some teenagers at a card table set up on the sidewalk. Of course, there was a price: the adult with them wanted to talk with me about where I would go if I died today. I'm afraid I wasn't very articulate in explaining my ideas about God's grace. She gave me a tract with a "Sinner's Prayer" at the end so that I could be sure of spending Eternity in heaven. I know, none better, that I am a sinner. And I know that God's grace is sufficient for me and for everyone, and that I get it even though I don't deserve it. That's a lot like the good fortune I have had in my life. For example, thinking about the people who are grieving right now, I am fortunate that my three children all lived through infancy and childhood to productive adulthood. I did my best for them, but so did the parents who are grieving now that their babies have died. It's also hard to articulate what I believe about bad things happening to people; I certainly don't believe that "God wanted another angel in heaven" or any such meretricious baloney. I don't believe God punishes people on earth in this way. I guess I think God set some things in motion, including the laws of nature, and does not randomly or readily break those laws. And sometimes those laws break hearts.

Since I last blogged, Onkel Hankie Pants and I have had two wonderful short trips: one to California to participate in Cordeliaknits' (henceforward the Rt. Rev. Cordeliaknits) ordination, and one to Minneapolis to celebrate the centennial of our long-time church home there and incidentally, the premiere of a hymn and anthem with text by OHP and music by a friend and fellow churchmember. Both events were truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences and I can't think of any complaints (except the flying part, never much fun these days, but well worth it).

I could actually manage a blog post every day this month just by listing the things I'm grateful for. Here's one: after Christmas our younger daughter, Sisterfilms, is moving East to live with us for a while, not because she has to, but because she wants to. We are all looking forward to this, although with some trepidation about how Rusty will get along with Sisterfilms' aging but still lively cat Winifred (and vice versa).

More tomorrow as we reinstitute Tuneful Tuesday!

Friday Five: We Who Sing Pray Twice

Mary Beth at RevGalBlogPals writes: "Music is a part of the human experience, and part of religious traditions the world over. It is evocative and stirring, and many forms of worship are incomplete without it.

Our title comes from a quote popularly attributed to St. Augustine: "He who sings prays twice." A little Googling, however, indicates that Augustine didn't say exactly that. In fact, what he said just doesn't fit well onto a t-shirt. So we'll stick with what we have.

"Singing reduces stress and increases healthy breathing and emotional expression. Singing taps into a deep, age-old power available to all of us. When we find our voice, we find ourselves. Today, sing like you mean it." And let's talk about the role music plays in your life and worship. (quote on singing from The Green Children Foundation blog)"

1) Do you like to sing/listen to others sing? In worship, or on your own (or not at all?)
Absolutely. I sing lustily and with good courage, and wish more people would. And believe me, I'm not someone you would pay to hear sing.


2) Did you grow up with music in worship, or come to it later in life? Tell us about it, and how that has changed in your experience.
I think my first worship memory is learning "Jesus Loves Me" at the Bowdoinham Baptist Church's Vacation Bible School. Then singing from the Armed Forces Hymnal at the Hainerberg Protestant Chapel in Wiesbaden; "Blessed Assurance" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" are a couple that stay in mind from that time. The little Sunday school in the firehouse in Milford, Connecticut, had a choir for a time and I was in it! I got a ride to rehearsals from the divinity student in his three-wheeled Messerschmitt car, and we learned Fauré's "The Palms", quite ambitious for a bunch of 10-year-olds. When we moved to Fairfield and I started going to First Congregational there, a professional organist and choir director enhanced worship and I learned a lot of new hymns. In college, thinking hard about Judaism, I learned to appreciate Jewish cantorial music. Later, back in the fold at First Church, Waseca, MN, our wonderful choir director Penny Peters gave us a wide variety of music -- Bach to Bernstein to what I can only describe as cowboy music. It was then I became an occasional "choir widow." I've enjoyed hanging around with choir people ever since, aided by Onkel Hankie Pants and our two daughters. Music continues to be an important part of worship for me.

3) Some people find worship incomplete without music; others would just as soon not have it. Where do you fall?
Well, as I said, I can't imagine worship without it. I have met a few of those people and I don't "get" them at all. Even Quaker Cousin goes to a "programmed" meeting where they sing!

4) Do you prefer traditional music in worship, or contemporary? That can mean many different things!
I love traditional music of all kinds -- Bach and the old hymns, but also "roots music" -- black and white gospel and even those sawdust trail hymns my father used to sing bits of. "Contemporary Christian" and praise music -- not so much. But I've heard examples of both that were good. And I like Taizé and some of the newer hymns that have shown up in the hymnals I collect. Also "foreign" hymns add a lot to our worship, such as "You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore" and "Toda la Tierra."


5) What's your go-to music ... when you need solace or want to express joy? A video/recording will garner bonus points!
Trying to come up with one I haven't shared before, I thought of this one. There's little or no information about the singing group and I'm not even sure where they are, though a tag "sda" suggests they may belong to a Seventh-Day Adventist church somewhere. I listened to several others, some with lovely photos of lighthouses, but this is the one that dampened my eyes. After a long absence from Friday Fives, I need all the bonus points I can get!

Friday Five: Decisions, Decisions!

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals says:

"Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them."

Hey! I can do this! I probably could have done it even without the unscheduled day at home because the car is in the shop. Here goes:
Here they are:

1) Cake or Pie: PIE! Not that there's anything wrong with cake. But pie is better. My father used to say "Cookies are for children, cake is for ladies, pie is for men!" And pie is for breakfast too, where I come from.
2) Train or Airplane: Train
3) Mac or PC: PC
4) Univocal or Equivocal: Equivocal. I guess.
5) Peter or Paul: Peter

Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-)

Friday Five: Hot Fun in the Summertime

I promised a blog post and here it is!

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals has had some summer troubles. She writes:

“It's possible I may have a bad attitude about the arrival of summer. On the eve of the Solstice I left for a mission trip to a town in Maine bordering Quebec. Beset by a swarm of bloodthirsty black flies, and a "classic allergic reaction" according to the PA at the Urgent Care, I had to return the next morning to a week of Benadryl and ice packs. (If only I had known about Bug Band *before*...)
But I don't want that to ruin summer for the rest of you. So I invite you to share five things you love--or don't--about summer. The tone is up to you!”

1. LOVE: West Denmark Family Camp! We’re going there next week! We will have group singing, watch the folk dancing, listen to interesting people speak and discuss, see cousins real and honorary, have wonderful meals cooked by local organic farmers with some of their own produce, and of course be with Sisterfilms and The Traveller. After that we will go to City of Lakes to see SonShineIn and The Collector and a lot of old friends. WDFC has been part of nearly all our summers for 33 years now and we hope it continues for many more.

2. HATE: excessive heat and humidity. The heat is not so bad here as it sometimes was in the Midwest, but we do sometimes get a humidity that makes 65 degrees feel like 95. The doors stick, salt and spices lump up in their containers, and no one feels much like doing anything.

3. LOVE: summer fruits and vegetables. Onkel Hankie Pants, as we speak, is picking strawberries for the church Strawberry Festival. Maybe after he’s picked his quota he will have time to pick a quart for us! Later there will be raspberries and blueberries, eventually tomatoes, summer squashes, and all the other bounty of the farmer’s market.

4, LOVE: flowers. Walking Rusty, I get to enjoy my neighbors’ gardens with daylilies, peonies, old roses, new roses, etc. OHP has planted some new flowers on the sunny north side of the house, and a lupine and irises have already bloomed. We expect gladioli and maybe even dahlias as well as lilies. Hoping for peonies next year, as we bought some at a garage sale along with more hostas for the mostly-shady parts of our yard.

5. LOVE: Rusty’s new summer haircut. I like him as a shaggy dog and with the classic Springer cut, but this cut (built for exploring woods and beaver ponds!) makes his hair so satiny ! It was a bit disconcerting at first though, as he looked like a whole different dog. Here is a picture. I was pleased to not that (although it doesn’t look that way in the photo of him sleeping) he had not really gained weight over the winter.

So, although summer isn’t my favorite season, I’ve found more “loves” than “Hates” for it. Now for your listening pleasure, two renditions of a song my father used to sing to me:

(He may have learned it from someone who heard this recording!)

And from another icon of my childhood days: