Merry Month of May

Last night was our annual meeting for Friends of Rochester Public Library and I have turned over the presidency to new leadership! Certainly this has been an enjoyable experience but I firmly believe that one person should not "own" a volunteer position or it will not only belong to that person for life but the efforts will suffer, energy will be drained from the organization. We need fresh ideas and we need them often! Our library staff is the greatest and look what they did to celebrate Nat'l Library Week (yes, it was in April). There are posters all over the library! Soon they will be taken down and a new bunch will go up for the Summer Reading program. This is a simple software program they got, probably through a library-only resource. They do amazing things to encourage use of the library.

It's tougher and tougher to find "highlights" in each day. The newspaper, radio, TV - all seem to thrive on negativity. Yes, belts are being tightened across the country. Yes, we're not sure what government at the federal or state level is doing or if those in charge now or in the future have a clue. Sorry I cannot get my arms around any presidential candidate. And, never having had any enthusiasm for the current Illinois governor I now find myself totally disgusted by his pushy, whiny power plays. England had its mad king. We have a raving idiot governor. When he's done (and most of the state wants him out ASAP) he's going to have to change his appearance and leave the state. The exception will be if he's jailed. He'll probably do time in Illinois and we'll still be paying his way.

Thinking about all these challenges and more needs to be limited! Instead I go outside and observe how green and rich everything around us is! We have plants growing beautifully that were damaged in years gone by. They stayed dormant for a year and maybe popped up the next then were hit by the weather again. But everything seems to be surviving and doing well. I take that as a reason to slow down and appreciate what is right before me. It doesn't cost a darn thing to do that either!

Each Year In Tremont, IL

Tremont, IL is up the road a piece. It's the home of the Tremont Turkey Festival (June 6-8 this year) but also we go to their Methodist church once a year to hear a great friend of ours perform. He's a widely acclaimed tenor, best known for oratorio and early music but he impresses us with what he does with classical and spiritual. He's been all over the world to sing but we knew him first in a work environment. He is someone who never would have been told "keep your day job" but he has! He lives in Chicago and treks down to do this annual benefit. His heart is so very good! Just go to the web site by clicking on this article's title. There's audio there. And if you ever get a chance, go someplace to hear him. He also performs with a nine-voice group that is tremendous: Chicago a capella.


Lebst du um Liebe,
O ja, mich liebe!
Liebe mich immer,
Dich lieb' ich immerdar.

Thank you Trevor, for a wonderful Sunday concert!

pupdate

Harmony didn't debut as a Donation Dog yesterday. The event was "weathered" out - too windy. Then it rain. Then the sun came out but everyone was gone so it was too late.

My cousin has sent me his recipe for Basic Sweet Dough which he turns into cinnamon rolls.
(I love my cuz a lot and hope I don't get in trouble with him for this.) The recipe calls for measurements in 1/6's. Who is he kidding? Here he is, on the right, with older bro, Norm. Granted, this was taken a few yrs ago. Back to the rolls. The recipe mentions a DASH of milk. How does one get that? Maybe a SPLASH but aren't dashes for dry items, quite like a pinch would be? Are pinches now not PC so we are to use dashes? Or, is a dash bigger/smaller than a pinch? In a pinch can I use a dash? Or am I required to make a mad dash for the needed ingredient? This recipe only gets more interesting as one reads further, proving the old adage that it is wise to read the whole recipe before embarking on a new kitchen adventure. The guy wants me to use 5/3 T butter at one point and I guess the remainder later, when I lightly spread butter over dough". This total amount translates - ready for this - to " (2 2/3 T)" or 1/6 cup. I haven't figured that out. Is it 2 x 2/3 which is 4/3 or is it 2 full T and 2/3 T, or is is 1 T (3/3) and 2/3 T? I'm easily confused so if/when I use this recipe I'd go with the 1/6 cup. and wing it on how it is divided out. And, then I am to use broken pecans. Is this because they cost less or was a it a family thing that when these were first made all that was left were broken ones? If all I have is whole ones do I need to break them? Wouldn't it be all right to chop them electrically? I fear this is way too much for me. It involves using yeast and I am not gifted in that area. Nor am I willing to do the conversions on the rest of the recipe to get the 1/6's figured out. Something tells me he is passing along what he was handed years ago - the recipe that started out calling for 25 lbs. of flour - now modified. I'm going to hope that RT comes in from TX on one of his motorized bikes and bakes up a batch of these for me to nibble on, or we have a bake sale, all the while Harmony will be taking his wallet and making a big donation to APL.

It's True: Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

OK, how does it happen that back to back a person (namely me) can read two completely unique, unrelated, over-sized novels, one by a woman who changed her name to a man's name and the other by a man who was just getting started and wrote non-fiction and called it fiction, and find that they share in common topics such as the toy of choice, Etch-a-Sketch, and trips to Russia that they didn't take? Huh? You tell me. One was written before 9/11/01, the other since then. One takes place primarily in California, after starting in Illinois. The other is set in London, with visits to New York.

But, it's not just books, is it? How often do we find ourselves included in a conversation or going someplace or doing something that connects to something we just said, did, saw, or someplace we were? It's downright eerie. You know - it's Twilight Zone stuff. Maybe you've just come from a new restaurant and had some exotic meal and the next call you get is from someone who wants to go there and have that and you have to wonder...or perhaps you were thinking about someone and the phone rings and it's that person or there's an email from them...

The book thing is a bit unusual though. One thing mentioned in two books I can see, even when those two books are read back-to-back. But these two oddities? Hmmmm.

Well, both are good books: THE POST BIRTHDAY WORLD by (Ms) Lionel Shriver and THE HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS by Dave Eggers. He's got a new one out about the lost boys who walked across Africa to get out. I haven't read it. Suspect it tugs at the heart. Their plight is too filled with struggle to wonder whether they got Etch-a-Sketches or have been to Russia.

High Sea

Well, Ed and I just spent 4 evenings in class and consequently four days studying as we took a crash course in "Boating Safety". Just as when I went skydiving, these instructors, like the jump instructors, regaled us with the dangers of their sport of choice. I suppose it is worth it but I have come close to only participating in a new sport, born out of this last class: Trailer Boating.

You see, one chapter covers trailering. Mind you, this was a sit-stay-read class, no practical application stuff going on here. But, in my twisted mind way, when the guy who was talking about it, who was himself rather funny, put up the words Trailer Boating I went to work with that phrase. Of course I blurted out that I thought he was talking about a variation of boating that we could all enjoy in spite of the gas prices. Other benefits would include never having to back the boat/trailer up, not fearing that some 13 year old driving an uninsured boat while his/her 18 year old sister/brother drinks the family beer would run into us, never having an Asian Carp jump up out of the water and hit you, never getting lost in the fog. There is a substantial list of things that you don't have to buy if you have a boat that never sees the water. Mainly that would be the tools for taking care of the trailer and boat and hitch. Well, you wouldn't need the hitch, now, would you? My point is made.

Additions to just sitting in the boat could be that you pay a neighbor kid to move the sprinkler around while you sit in your boat so you get the nautical spray, you CAN overload the boat with people, stuff, pets and no one gets sick and nothing sinks. You're never far from the home head either. Those who wish may go bravely into the world and perhaps do their trailer boating at a dry dock, rest stop, roadway park, boat sale parking lot, Farm & Fleet, church or post office lots. You could host an Open Boat, maybe have a fundraiser for some needy causes, actually use the boat earlier in the year and through late fall. The boat would not need to be registered with the state so our hugely unpopular governor wouldn't have to concern himself about what pal to give the money to in this case.

There, I've done it, ruined a perfectly good story with a political comment. I'm just going to go look for a photo of our boat and if you see one posted you'll know I found it. Ah! Another benefit of trailer boating: you always know where your boat is and can take a picture of it when you need one!

Having a Humane Childbirth Experience- Is It So Much To Ask?

Studies have determined that women are strongly affected by their childbirth experience, even long after the event has passed. If you’re a mother, you probably remember everything about your birthing experience down to the smallest detail- regardless of whether it took place 2 weeks ago or twenty years ago. Why is it then that so many women are pushed through an unnatural birthing process? We end up being pumped full of drugs to speed labor up or take away pain being told that the side effects aren’t anything to worry about. Well the next thing you know, the baby’s heart rate has dropped and you find yourself on a table under bright lights being sliced open…what went wrong?
Childbirth doesn’t have to be like this. Educate yourself before it’s too late. Hire a doula to help you through your fears before your labor and to help advocate for you during your labor. Yes, cesareans are sometimes necessary (and can still be beautiful birthing experiences), but they are becoming an all too common way we’re forced to give birth. Take a stand and take back your birth experience ladies!




-Danielle Griffin
www.Holistic-Doula.com

Earning Our Keep

Earth Day has turned into Earth Week and we certainly have toiled in the earth these past few days. Enough so that my allergies have me housebound for a few hours. Time to blog!

Here's a photo of Tripp, me and 6 yr old future veterinarian, Hannah, at the Take Your Children to Work program at one of the local state offices. I talked about the importance of no-kill animal shelters. Tripp is living proof of their successes. He had a busy month, making journeys to pre-school classes also! He has earned his keep.

He'll be back on the road as a donation dog tomorrow, at the Upscale Sale being held by Animal Protective League. Then Harmony makes her debut on Saturday, doing an Arthritis/Arfritis Walk as a donation puppy. She'll need a nap afterwards. We're not sure what I'll need. Merlot? A nice Burgundy?

But wait, there's more - I've got Ed talked into helping give dog baths to 14 dogs who were part of a "evacuation" of a kennel. And, he's taking a shelter dog to the adoption Saturday while H and I walk.

So PETS are part of the family. And, helping critters is a FAMILY thing. Sure beats slouching around in front of the television. As I used to say to a couple of young boys, "You rarely see the people on TV watching TV.". I'm not so certain that's true anymore. What a sad observation it is if you do see that!

As we enter the merry month of May it will be good to "earn our keep" by being more earthy, tee-hee!