Hey Buddy

Life. It's a wonder, isn't it? Just when you think, well, just when you actually think, then that's when you realize you haven't got it figured out and the people you know surprise you once again.

This week I was surprised. Not really by who did something. Not by what was done. Let me tell you about it.

My husband has had reason to visit a VA medical facility once a week for several weeks. This Wednesday was his last visit for awhile. When he travels the 100 miles there he allows plenty of time for construction or other delays. This typically means he gets there in advance of his appointment and can venture into the Veterans' cafeteria for a quick and simple lunch.

This week he crossed the threshold about the time a World War II vet wheeled himself into the cafeteria, having been dropped off at the door by the transport driver.

The vet had $1 to his name. A single, one-dollar bill. A World War II veteran, one of the Greatest Generation, a soldier in the war to end all wars had 100 pennies. He approached the cafeteria worker and humbly asked what he could buy for lunch with his dollar.

Fortunately my double Purple Heart, Bronze Star guy earned yet another medal of service that day by telling this honorable fellow vet that he could have whatever he wanted and it would be the Vietnam vet's honor to buy him lunch.

It would be so easy to start a rampage about what's wrong with sending any elderly, wheelchair bound person out with no more than a dollar. Whoever readied him for the day's experience knew it would get him nothing. Imagine. After all those years, never totally losing the memories of the closeness, the personalness of those battles, and being displaced without the possibility of even being able to buy half a sandwich.

Rather, let's think about the brotherhood and how connected the vets are. Those of us who have never been in our country's service don't get it. We just don't grasp what it is to wake up each day wondering if this could be the last day of life.


It could be.

Maybe we should grasp that notion.

Maybe we'd buy lunch for a stranger and say a kind word more often.

The big things we complain about suddenly seem small and inconsequential; the little things we do make our hearts fly.

Yes, I was surprised. Not by what my husband did or for whom he did it.

I was surprised that we sat their across from each other with tears in our eyes. Were they tears of sadness for the situation he found? Were they tears of joy for being able to change it?

Yes.

Take A Walk With Me

Today the temperature is going well into the 90's which isn't so bad but the humidity is 100%. So it is time to go for a trip down memory lane which leads to taking a dip in the pool. That's me on the right, mouth open. That happens less and less now, I hope! Those suits are beguiling. What happened to fashion? The yard was my backyard, jungle, library, forest, parade route, theater, swimming hole, campgrounds, and playground.

I had to share it with Grandma who held title to the veggie and flower gardens, see the white picket fence? The cherry trees were hers too, as well as the chicken coop-turned-tool shed which the photographer must be standing in near. It was the cherry tree in the photo background that I used to climb to pick and eat the cherries. I managed to get some for Mom and Grandma to make pies too. I had the kettle I used for cherries, right up till last year.

Oh, and half the yard had been converted to a parking lot, or maybe always was. Pre-Kate era. Grandpa was a mechanic and had a 3 car garage. Grandma rented "tourist rooms" and there was parking for guests. My dad's truck was always parked outside.

One of the tourists was a snappy, young lad, probably 24-28 and he had a car that matched - a zippy, 2 seat red convertible. I was too young to be appreciated by him but I knew what I liked and it was that car! So I just hung around, touching it when he wasn't there. It was an MGB. Now I think Grandma should have taken his car in exchange for a place to live and in time I would have had a slick ride for myself.

Come to think of it, this may have been my first sign of a love for cars. It became an obsession: I used to lay in bed, look out the window, tell myself, "1956 Ford Fairlane", "1960 Chevy BelAir" or whatever was passing by.

So the yard sounds huge and it was then, when I was little. It is, still, in my mind. It was a full day of activity, an adventure-land to visit. Some days there was laundry hanging out to dry and dashing between sheets was a game. The next day the line would be left up so a tent could be set up over it for camping out (day camp). The day after that the tent would come down and become a screen for a play or puppet show. We'd haul out folding chairs for dolls and trapped family members. After the final performance we'd swing and spin around on the monkey bars.

Then there'd be a day of running a library and the neighborhood kids would come and we'd read. Imagine that! Soon there'd be a game of tag or ball to wear us out before dinner. The pool was obviously above ground and a source of much cool fun, as is evidenced above. When the pool wasn't "up" we'd have pet parades and every cat and dog on the block was encouraged to participate.

The garden was the best though. Row after row of carefully tended to plants that yielded beans and lettuce, tomatoes and rhubarb, parsley and probably some stuff I wouldn't eat so don't remember. I do recall weeding and the associated excuses for not being able to do it...not just yet. The excuses failed; the weeds were gone. I was outnumbered by grownups.

Well, thanks for taking this quick trip with me around the back yard. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of my only-child past. It was a close knit neighborhood where every mom was Mom, every dad was Dad, and every kid was like a brother or sister.

Or at least that's how I remember it.

The Good Life

We lolly-gagged around TWICE this week. Oh, not for entire days but for hours within each of the two days. Long enough to test the puppy's ability to stay inside and be "good". She's getting the hang of it.

The first day we drove off to the local orchard, one we have watched grow from a roadside stand to a school field trip destination. We know this because we finished up just as the loaded cars and vans were pulling in, students, cameras, and enthusiasm all bundled together for the adventure. We chose to go on our own field trip, exploring southwest of where we were at that point.


We found another orchard. They keep goats. That's so much more fun than just looking over the apples and the jarred jams, jellies, and preserves, pretty as they may be. We agreed goats would be great in our yard. Less mowing required. VERY entertaining.

On we went.

We found a house for sale and drove in to check out the setting. Lovely. Lots of outbuildings. A fenced in area for goats. We wrote down the number to call. (We got the info. We love where we live.)



Our destination was Beaver Dam State Park. Non-Illinoisans need to know we run the risk of having the State Parks and other public areas closed by our governor as a political gesture. So we're going while we can. We didn't see a beaver or its dam but we saw lots more. Picked out the best campsites for our non-existent camper. Checked out the 150 yr old RR station building. Saw the cafe/bait shop.www.dnr.state.il.us



Wednesday must be mowing day. People in almost every village, and the park, were mowing. We let it slide. We thought about the goats.

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Fast forward to today and its adventures. We went to the Farmers Market EARLY and at 10:00 I led members of a reading group to the Convent. I was the IS Mgr there. It's true. Anyway, the group had read BIRTH OF VENUS and wanted to see a beautiful church and there is one there, indeed. I love to talk about "...after I left the Convent..." Heads do turn. But I give myself away by not knowing enough the Catholic faith to uphold the raised eyebrows on those heads.www.springfieldfranciscans.org

Anyway, after the tour I swung by and gathered Ed up and off we went to see alpacas, their watchdogs and watch-llamas, and later,cars! What a delightful afternoon. We learned how time-consuming working with the fleece is. The alpacas are a breeze to work with though. They, too, eat grass.

Now we are thinking, goats AND alpacas? And, llamas. We've always loved llamas.
















The cars were those whose owners are in town for the Rte 66 Festival-quite the deal in this city. In fact the downtown area was totally blocked off for the fancy cars. See for yourself.










Yes, we put aside the ships of change that will sail from some port after November. We chose to believe life today, this instant is good and we are fortunate and grateful. We are thankful for blessings and trials both. We know the glass can be half empty but we do our best to see it as half full.

We don't live in Camelot but this IS what the simple folk do!

Look at these photos.


This little guy was with a Cobra!
Here's the Funny Car driven by our neighbor, on the national racing circuit. I was part of Web Services @ LRS.




How could the glass be anything but at least half full?

Someone's In The Kitchen With Kate

This has not been the smartest ten day span of my life but it is one of the busiest. Some of our foster dogs have come home to roost while families travel. We had one from Friday a.m. till sometime later today. Up until 8:30 today she was fine. Then she weaseled her way under the back deck, which, BTW, is closed in by lattice. I could not find her secret opening and I could not get her out until I pried off some lattice and dug a ditch for her to get out. She's fine. A little dirtier but fine.

The other two, yes, two, arrived at 6:30 this morning and are staying through Friday afternoon. They're puppies, let's see, 5 months old. One of course is the alpha dog so she will butt heads with our alpha, 14 month old Harmony. God willing, they won't meet. The other has the same shrilling whine as Harmony.

What have I done?

I thought Ed would be doing projects this week so pretty much gone and then tired when at home. But he overdid the work earlier this summer and has been told to take it easy for 10 days, 5 of which remain. He's out riding around looking for errands to run now. I suspect he may go to church and try to do something there, or just pray for my soul!

Actually it is quiet. We have doors and baby gates and a selection of crates. If these critters know what is good for them they will stay quiet and settled down in their respective spaces.

Since I'm home with them all today I decided to bake, early. Have done peach muffins and now I'm finishing the chocolate chip cookies. It may be 90 degrees outside but it's 375 degrees in the kitchen and that's where I am. Guess that tells you something.

Random Points of Light

My friend Anne has a link on the right here. Go vote for the Easter egg(s) of your choice. What a hoot. She's a true inspiration. I think that at our house I will let the dogs have a contest, most creative "leave behind" in the yard. Obviously I've been spending too much time outside, WAITING for CONTRIBUTIONS. It does give one time to think about stuff.

Whiplash, topically, that is. We had a great sermon @ church again. Don't know about any of you but without worship the week just ain't done.

All right, it's movie recommendation time. This one will be tough to hunt down but do it. "After the Wedding". It's in Danish, and a few other languages, but it is beautifully filmed and the complexities of the plot actually are presented in a straightforward manner. If anyone likes the new James Bond actor one main character in this is cut from the same mold. The 40 something woman is gorgeous. I digress. The story, which is the reason for the film, is strikingly moving, touches your heart and eats at your soul as well as your conscience. The cinematic contribution is extraordinary in places, very intimate at times. It's a long film so make plenty of popcorn.

We had one of our foster dogs for spring break, while her family vacationed. Everyone welcomed her back gleefully. Never think dogs don't remember. It's just selective. She was picked up and taken home this afternoon so now no one is eating. They are bummed.

Speaking of dogs, we've had a run on runaways in this area. Plus, there seems to be more short tempers flaring in multiple dog homes. What's that about? Dogs always seem to know what is going on before we do so I hope this is fluke-ish rather than indicative of our future! Doomsday ready, I am not!!!

Wanderlust and Ironies

We haven't been on a vacation since our trip to CA over a year ago. I'm getting ants in my pants, cabin fever set in long ago. It's time to hit the road. And, so I shall, but not until June! That will be to the opposite coast and I'll be working with wild horses for two weeks, on an Earthwatch trip. In the meantime I thought I'd share some of the CA photos.
There are always unexplained coincidences in life. As it turns out today I posted these as a draft, to work on the text later, and if you look closely you'll see the first photo is wild turkeys. After shutting down the computer I hopped in the truck to go to APL for a bit. On the way, about 2 miles from our house, was a flock of wild turkeys! The males had their tails spread. They were parading around for the females who were discreetly giving them the once over.
Spring has sprung, no doubt about it!
Oh, the closeup photo is at the botanical gardens we visited in CA. The next one is a far north shoreline. We were driving along shorelines then delving into the woods. What a sense of smallness this gave us!