Memorial Day 2015

Ohio Veterans Home, Sandusky, Ohio

Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, was started in 1865 to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers who died in battle. In 1888, the Ohio Veterans Home was opened in Sandusky to care for all Ohio Civil War veterans and has been in continuous operation since that date. Presently, there are 1,963 graves on the property and the photo above captures just a small area of the cemetery.  

Ron is often at the Veterans Home under auspices of Stein Hospice where he works as an RN assigned to the Honor Our Veterans program. He distributes to veterans in hospice,  a pin and a blanket from their branch of service, a certificate of appreciation and recognition of their service, and arranges an honor guard escort upon their death. He has heard many stories of war experiences never recorded or discussed before and of course, has promised to keep all such discussions in confidence if so requested by the veteran.  

Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of summer. Sometimes cool and rainy, this year it was warm and sunny and the perfect weather for outdoor picnics and other summertime pursuits. It is also the time when you can start wearing white linen pants, and white shoes-if you dare.

Rhubarb pie cooling in picnic basket in kitchen

Memorial Day weekend is also a time to have traditional picnic food, including homemade pies. Our neighbor brought over 7 stalks of freshly cut rhubarb from his garden. My mom used to make a rhubarb pie for my birthday (June 13) every year. I decided to give it a try myself-a few weeks early!

Most of you know I am a  cook/baker with very limited skills and even less interest in the entire subject matter. However, every once in a while I try to rise to the occasion and this was one of those rare times.

We have a fabulous Hoosier kitchen cabinet where all of the baking stuff is stored, so, it was fairly easy for me to locate my mom's recipe, get out the ingredients, bake ware, and utensils. I was just ready to start when I discovered we had no eggs. So, off to the local convenience store I went. You can't buy just one egg, which is all that I needed.  And the clerk absentmindedly rang up the sale for a six pack of beer, which is what she had been selling all day. She also seemed disappointed I didn't buy a lottery ticket or a pack of cigarettes!

Rhubarb, sugar, egg mixture

Front yard ready for Memorial Day

We spent most of the long weekend setting up the furniture on both front and back porches, finishing weeding and mulching, and planting window boxes, pots, and  arranging various garden "features." One night, I silently counted eleven areas that ached with arthritis pain and decided this might be my first and  last year for hands on gardening, so to speak.  Thank goodness we just have a small city lot and not an acreage!

Ron's at the grill, preparing hamburgers for him and a veggie hot dog for me. We having my  mom's potato salad for both of us and her rhubarb pie for dessert!  Yep, the gardens look great and the pie episode ended with success. We missed spending a weekend at the campground, but, loved our time in our little city oasis. 

New talents

Spring blossoms

In my continuing effort to become a retirement ninja, I have continued to add new skills. Frankly, this is because I  don't feel like I deserve to just sit around and enjoy myself. This past week, taking advantage of the fact that it was once again in the low 60's, I jumped into gardening mode. Once it hits 70 degrees or higher, I am  done for regarding any physical effort, and with tons of weeding and other garden chores stacking up, I knew I better do as much as possible.

On Tuesday, I pulled weeds and considered the purchase of an edger for our sidewalks. Consulting Consumer Reports, I was shocked to see that such items cost around $300. EEK, not in my budget. Instead of heading to Sears to purchase an edger, I  headed to the garden center to get potting soil to plant three large planters in the corner of our driveway. I huffed and puffed and dragged two large bags of soil and hoisted them into the trunk of my car. Heading into the center with a magazine photo of the exact plantings I had in mind, I purchased the necessary plants and sped home. Deciding to unload the soil near the planters, I misjudged our brick raised bed and slashed my back tire. PSSSSFT. That tire was flat within seconds. Sigh. AAA was summoned and within 30 minutes I was headed to the tire store. $200 dollars for outlay of new tire and I was back in the garden!!

I'm very leery, usually, of using any equipment with a sharp blade. Most equipment can be a hazard to any left-handed users since it almost always is designed for use by a right handed operator. However, I was determined to do what I could to make our yard look its best this summer sans Jim the Gardner. Still hell bent on edging our front sidewalks and back patios, I borrowed one from Bob and Paulie. I first stopped at a nearby local hardware store (the only one locally owned) to buy  a jumbo extension cord, broom, and various hand garden tools.

                       Bob's electric edger

My edging trial run

I turned out to be a quick study and LOVED the edger. I did notice that I often hit the sidewalk, sparks flying. It was really loud and quite exciting! AND, it often smelled like the dentist drilling my teeth. Huh? I have my eyes tightly shut when at the dentist, and now wonder if he strikes similar sparks. Maybe that is why the attendant is close at head with a water gismo! I don't know how many gardeners muse about the dentist while edging sidewalks. I could be the only one.

On Wednesday, I concentrated on the leaf blower. Oy. Again, take a look. The pull starter is on the RIGHT side of the blower. My technique is to put the unit on the ground. I stomp my foot on the long neck of the blower  and use my left hand to pull and pull and pull until the damn thing starts. OR NOT. I always end up called Ron (at work) and exclaim that I can't get the *&%$# blower started. He  pops over, starts the &^%$* blower and then I have a blast!

This is ironic because I hate the sound of anyone else using a leaf blower. I read that leaf blowers (and jet skis) are the major cause of global warming/ozone depletion. I feel guilty about not using a whisk broom to remove the grass clippings off of the sidewalk. Whatever. I'm not perfect.

On Thursday, I continued my household chores. At 9am, the Sears appliance dude arrived with a new microwave to install above the stove/oven. At the same time, the cleaning ladies (all seven of them) arrived. This completely freaked out the Sears guy and he took a break until they ladies left 30 minutes later. Having been at work when these ladies arrived in the past, I, too, was freaked out by the stampede of cleaning whirling dervishes. Meanwhile, I helped drag two huge Hoosier kitchen cabinets out of the way for the microwave install (we have a galley kitchen and there is not room to move, let alone remove and install a large appliance.) I unloaded what I could before trying to scoot said units across the kitchen floor without destroying the floor. Already late for a luncheon, (how retirement-ish is that) I cajoled Bob to stand in  while the Sears guy finished the install. BTW, have you looked at how HUGE microwaves are these days?????? OMG. What was I thinking.

On Friday, I awoke with the dreaded vertigo again. There is some speculation that it could be caused by arthritis in my neck, which, I am sure I aggravated by  earlier efforts (see above). Being dizzy, and nauseous, I spent the day on the couch, with a heating pad on my neck and watched a chick flick. Sniff, sniff. A Night in Rodanthe, with Diane Lane and Richard Gere, was just the ticket.  Later that afternoon, I finally called the vet to ask,  if we captured Emma, Lucy's mom and outdoor porch cat, could we have her spayed? Yep. Bring her ASAP.

Yikes, Not having thought out the logistics of adding a third stray cat into the household, we kicked into gear on Saturday, after picking up Emma. In the backseat of the car in a cat carrier, Ron and I drove around and tried to decide how to accommodate her without mixing her in too soon with the rest of the brood.

Not thinking clearly, we decided we should buy a 6 person tent and set it up in our basement to be used as her recuperation abode. Yeah. We did. We measured the space available, moved stuff around, and dashed to the sports store to find a suitable tent.

$100 tent

  Let me say, trying to install this tent, with vertigo, is not a good idea. I finally had to abandon the ship and headed back to the couch. There, I could more clearly discern that the whole tent thing was not going to work as it was much bigger than the space we measured for setting it up.  DUH. So, I suggested that we just turn over the bathroom to Emma for a few days respite for her and try to stuff the tent back in the itty bitty box it came in and return it.

Meanwhile, realizing that my blog's namesake, Kate, hasn't been featured as of late, let me say that Kate is a big fan of the kitties. She is just about their size and one and all seem to get along very well!
I think I need to take a bit slower pace over the next few days. Kate is very supportive of this resolve and plans to spend cuddle time with me. I don't think I have the retirement mojo down yet and hope Kate can help me set a more realistic pace! We'll see. Stay tuned on the Emma, Lucy, AllieCat situation.

Dear Martha (Stewart), You So do not know how to clean everything!

The April calendar page from my favorite artist, Susan Branch, has been modified by the artist, moi!

Working days have been replaced by cleaning daze at my house. I'm not complaining.  Really!  I'm very contented being home for the first spring time ever. Think about it. I was in school every April from 1959-1977 and worked until last fall! That is a lot of missed spring seasons.  Hence, my obsession, actually, with all things spring related, especially spring cleaning!

I thought it was high time to consult the guru of clean, Martha Stewart.  What? you say, she doesn't actually do the cleaning herself? I dunno about that. According to the April 2015 issue of Martha Stewart Living, she does.  Page 2 is entitled Martha's Month.  I purchased this particular issue because of an ad on the cover,  How do you clean that? 57 secrets for a healthier home.

 On her calendar for April 4, it says Plant new fruit trees.  Wow! Way to go, Martha! On Tuesday, April 7 she notes, Clean gutters. Later in the same week, mind you, she writes, Scrape and repaint chicken coop enclosure. I don't think I can keep up with this wonder woman and I don't have a chicken coop. On Saturday, April 18, she was outside with this assignment: Edge and sweep driveway, followed by a Horseback Ride.  I admire her stamina, flexibility, and sheer pluckiness. Today, Monday, April 20th, she plans to Sprinkle grass seeds on bare patches, top with salt hay to keep birds at bay,  and on Wednesday, she will  celebrate Earth Day by Gardening. This Friday, she is scheduled to  Clean baseboards with a feather duster. Next week, my cleaning marvel will be  Cleaning winter blankets and putting them in storage, making fresh ricotta, filling birdbaths with water, all the while doing cardio and core, pilates, and weight training every other day all month long.

Well, ok, Martha! I've been on my own crazy schedule this month, and I can see now, looking at Martha's schedule, I'm just a wimp. I've cleaned all of the kitchen cupboards, inside and out, cleaned three wood floors and baseboards (on my hands and knee pads), washed wool blankets, put away and put on summer quilts on three beds, washed curtains upstairs, and cleaned out 3 closets! So there.

I note that it is time  to clean out the garden beds of last year's leaves, old mulch, and weeds. I thought I had completed that task last week and I asked Paulette to come over to admire my work. Turns out, according to Paulie, I just made the first pass and need to take much more out of the beds before I can call the job done. Hmmm.

Jim Palinkas, GardenPort owner, retired in December and I decided to see if I could muster on without his crew this year. I cleared out 14 containers of debris one sunny day last week and  Ron helped with the next 14 containers yesterday. Next on the agenda is to  fertilize the roses, the lawn, and plan where to place a few more lavender plants. Oh, I have some bare patches to reseed, too, just like Martha!  Paulette suggested I get a weeding tool-with a small forked end. I notice that it has a serrated edge on the left side of the tool. I imagine this would come in handy if I were right-handed...

Meanwhile, it is also time to ready Nina for a new season of camping. Again, Martha is of no help whatsoever since I don't think that she owns an RV. Last fall, in late October, Nina became infested with thousands of Asian Ladybugs. These are orange bugs with many black spots and they bite. They eat tons of aphids particularly in soybean fields. When the fields are plowed, the insects seek out new warmer quarters - Nina was just the kind of abode they were looking for and she was conveniently  parked right beside a soybean field!  Last week, armed with a shop vac, I spent 2 hours sucking up the critters-dead and alive, after emptying every single thing from the RV first.  This is not the kind of spring cleaning that Martha Stewart advises about, so, I am on my own to decide what to use to clean every inch of the interior of the rig! Paulie suggests vinegar and water. The place will smell like a gigantic Easter egg party I fear.

All of this homework, so to speak, had me thinking about those who enjoy the opposite of home and hearth. People with......

Wanderlust: A strong urge or desire to explore or travel around the world. 

I have several friends that have wanderlust. I listen to where they have been and where they intend to go next. I muse about them, and, try very, very hard to imagine what motivates them to travel. I also read travel journals, essays, and memoirs about journeys to exotic places. I just completed, The Footloose American, Following the Hunter S. Thompson Trail Across South America. Author Brian Kevin, recently traveled in South America following the trail of Hunter S. Thompson's  trip in 1964. While I've done some traveling-( Sweden, Colombia, France, England, Germany, and Holland), I can say that wanderlust is not a part of my nature. On the other hand, I've found something that better describes me.

Homebody: One whose interest centers on the home.

Now, that is a concept that I can really understand. Martha Stewart seems like that kind of person, too. I have a friend that once showed me her Martha Voodoo doll,  kept in her kitchen. After a stressful attempt to make a gingerbread house following Martha's instructions, she paused to add a few pins to her Martha doll. I wonder if I can get one of these before the May issue of Martha Steward Living is published.

Viva Las Vegas, and all that

Elvis impersonators on the Strip (not the gal in the middle, the two dudes!)

I just got back from a trip west, which included a stop in Vegas-the site of a mini reunion of the Fairview High School Class of '72.  Weather was perfect and the entire area is one large amusement park! To end the suspense, I gambled $100 at the craps table and walked away with $175. The biggest attraction, however, was not the two Elvis impersonators in the photo above.

Dinner at Bouchon at the Venetian Hotel

It was the time spent with my best friends from high school, Anne (Smith) Hasson, left, and Amy Mellencamp (far right-in photo terms, only).  This is the second reunion I have attended with the duo. We met for the first time in almost 40 years, in 2012,  in Chicago. I missed the reunion in San Francisco and New York City, and wasn't about to miss this year's reunion in Las Vegas!

 Anne retired 5 years ago after teaching 4th grade for 30 years in Portland, Oregon.  Amy is currently a high school principal (Dr. Mellencamp, by the way) in Burlington, Vermont. Anne is a grandmother of two- her son is a firefighter in Portland.  Amy has two children. Her daughter is a successful fundraiser for the Democratic Party in D.C. and her son is in graduate school, having clerked for various member's of Emily's List in D.C.  Anne's husband is retired after a career with 3M, and Amy's husband is working on various business ventures in Vermont.

We had a great time catching up on happenings in Erie, Pa.  (Ann's mom still lives there) and sharing news about our families. We have all lost our fathers, and had many heartfelt discussions about eldercare.  If you haven't reconnected with your high school buddies, I highly recommend that you do so. There is a wonderful shorthand as part of the underlying conversation which is refreshing. These are  friends that know all about  the trouble you had with your sibling, what your parents were REALLY like, when you first fell in love, and, so on.

Each dancer charged us $5 for the photo above

Of course, on the downside, they know all about your D in Algebra and other dark secrets of youth. While  at the airport, we observed a group of college women that were gathering for a pre-wedding blitz with the bride. We stopped by to tell them that they might still be meeting each other almost 43 years hence and they seemed delighted to hear that!

We stayed at the MGM Grand. A wonderful selection made by Anne. The timing was perfect: the Grand was hosting the PAC 12 basketball playoffs and Anne's team from Oregon was there. Duck this and duck that everywhere! Not to mention it was spring break and the hotel pools were crowded with lovely co-eds and eye candy for us all.

More importantly, the Bellagio was the scene of a Doritos commercial and we just missed being in it!

After 3 nights, Anne headed back to Portland and Amy headed east to Burlington. I, on the other hand, extended my vacation by heading to California to visit family for a few more days.

View from our hotel across from Doheney State Park Campground, Dana Point, Ca.

Arriving in Temecula on Sunday, I spent the afternoon at the Mall with 13 year old niece, Kelsey. It was such fun to sponsor a shopping spree and see what would develop. H&M was a popular store for school attire.

Marine Drill Team in San Diego Depot

I didn't see nephew Kacey as he recently entered boot camp as a Marine recruit. At age 18, he was determined to enter on the ground floor of the military establishment and work his way up to officer from there. Graduation is the end of May and our family is anxious to see what assignment he draws next.

 On Monday, Mom and I headed for a short trip to Laguna Beach. My parents retired from Westport, Ct, in 1981,  and moved to LB to be closer to Aunt Alberta (see earlier blogs), Aunt Iola, and Grandmother Blanche (my mom's mom) for 18 years before they moved to be closer to  my brother and family in Temecula.

The ocean breeze hypnotized us and the next thing you know, we were both shopping for condos in nearby Laguna Hills where Alberta, Iola, and friend "Aunt Dottie" lived for many years.

Laguna Hills (formerly Leisure World) was developed in 1964 as the first gated community for 55+ residents. There are 14,000 units and currently 18.000 residents. Average age in 74.  With a 29 hole golf course, stables, 7 clubhouses with 5 swimming pools, over 200 clubs and more, it was intoxicating to consider living just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean in such lovely year round surroundings.

However, the condos are small, with the largest only 1,300 square feet!!!! I tried to imagine reducing living quarters from 3,000 square feet filled to the brim, with a full attic and basement (and I do mean full) plus a 2 1/2 garage with two extra single space garages, 2 Standard Poodles, 1 miniature schnauzer, 2 cats ( who don't like each other yet), one husband, and condensing it all into any one of the  condo's we toured. We felt like we were in  an episode of Househunters.  We loved the first house, tolerated the second, hated the third. My mom was very interested in  the first one, but, it was already sold within 12 hours-at full price! We toured four more options and decided to ponder it for a few more months.

Next on the agenda is to convince Ron, Bob, and Paulette, to spend a few days in the area and check it out with me to see if I'm California Dreaming or I have lost my mind within the first 6 months of retirement! Well, we already know the answer to that, but, to be kind, let's see if it is a temporary condition.

Stay tuned for further adventures.

Vertigo....And Not Hitchcock's Classic Film

I have vertigo, not unlike Jimmy Stewart's vertigo in Alfred Hitchcock's classic film of the same name. While my favorite film by the famous director is North by Northwest, or maybe, Rear Window, I now better understand the scenes from Vertigo. I am loathe to admit that this is an inner ear disturbance that is age-related. When I first heard about vertigo, it seemed like something that would be well suited to a Twilight Zone episode.  Imagine being dizzy and feeling woozy at unpredictable times not related to any over indulgence of alcohol. My first occurrence was on Christmas Eve, then repeated once in January, and now,  again today. If I were still working,  I'd have had to reluctantly call off for today. Being retired, I just told the dogs to chill out with me.

Marilyn was, of course, thrilled that I was staying in one place for once. She is happily snoozing beside me as I write.

Jack simply couldn't believe it! You can see he is amazed that I am actually going to stay home and hang out with him today.

Kate was so happy she was wiggling all over, hence the blurry photo.  However, she agreed to come inside and crash on the sofa in the upstairs library with me.  Lucy is at the vet today being spayed. We decided not to have her declawed and will have to apologize to AllieCat later about that change in plans. I hope there won't be shredded curtains to show for the change of heart.

One of the things I haven't gotten used to yet is being home in the daytime. The light coming through the windows is such a treat. Well, yes, you can see the dust, but, just look at colors in the Swedish glass bowl on the table! Having spent most of the past 30 plus years at work from daylight to dark, I wasn't able to appreciate some great features of daylight in the house.

Here is another example. Most of the time, the stained glass window on our front staircase landing looks dark brown. During the day, however, it shows many colors! By the way, the window is perfectly level, I'm just a bit tilted with the vertigo thing. Sorry about that, don't let it get to you.

Catching up on what I've been doing fiber-wise, here is a  sock I recently finished. Some of you know about  "second sock syndrome" in which the second sock is deemed too boring to do and so, instead, languishes of the needles for months.  I just noticed that this one is too big and I  need to rip out about 2 inches and reknit it.  This will delay the SSS for awhile longer. (Sorry, Mom, you'll still get both socks by Mother's Day).

Perhaps you can see how I am progressing with the needlepoint project I started in November.  The background is almost half finished. The red, green, and blue parts are completed. I haven't started Santa's beard or cuffs, or his face. I'm saving the white background until last-my goal is to get this completed by July. I'm taking it with me to Vegas next week. I can just imagine the looks I'll get in the airport as I tote around a Christmas project. Only other needlepoint folks will understand this seasonal disorder.

Speaking of Christmas projects, I am very excited about my next knitting project. I'm going to make a replica of my childhood stocking!!!!!! Just because I can.

My brother, David, and I, each have personalized stockings, given to us by our Aunt Marj. I don't think she knit these herself.  She was a seamstress of great talent, but, not a knitter. My great grandmother Lee wasn't a knitter, either. She did a lot of crochet and I have several of her shawls. She  was a seamstress by trade, coming over from Sweden at age 16. I digress. This Christmas stocking pattern was first introduced in the November 1945 issue of Woman's Home Companion.

I had intended to use my stocking as a guide and count out each stitch to recreate the pattern. First,  I checked on www.raverly.com. (This is a very cool site with 4 million member knitters and spinners. If you can't find what you want on Ravalry, it just isn't going to be found at all).  Discovering the info about the pattern,  I went to eBay and bid on the November 1945 issue and voila, it is now mine. True to form,  I didn't read carefully enough-it is only the ad that is in that issue, the pattern booklet needed to be ordered and, of course, it is no longer available. Well, it was still $20.00 well spent.
The pattern, now in public domain, was published and available for free download on Ravelry!

 I know very few of you are as excited about this I am.   I see that my stocking doesn't have the two kids, just the Santa and tree. I'll have to see if my brother's stocking has the kids. Note to self. If this looks familiar to you, maybe you have one of these stockings, too. It is large enough to hold the traditional orange, but pretty small overall. You can't get a doll in there, or, whatever else you might have asked Santa to bring to you.

Ok, enough about that. My next blogpost will come to you from Las Vegas. Next week I'm joining high school friends, Amy Mellencamp (currently living in Burlington, Vermont) and Anne Smith Hasson (currently living in Portland, Oregon) for a 3 night mini reunion of the Fairview High School Class of '72. It is so mini, in fact, that it is just the three of us!  According to the travel guide books, craps and poker are the only games where the gambler has at least a 4% chance of beating the house. All other games are less than 1% in your favor. I can just imagine the roulette wheel paired with my vertigo. I think I better stick to shopping-I know how to find a bargain and that is a better deal, no pun intended!

From there, my plans are to head to Temecula, Ca, to visit family. Mom and I are head down to Laguna Beach for a few days before I fly back home. Just for the record, I am not in any way tired of winter and hope there will still be some snowy days upon my return!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mary Engelbreit, artist

Happy Valentine's Day! It is snowing and blowing outside our windows on this Valentine's Day. It is a perfect time to curl up on the sofa with good books, a few dogs, and a cat cuddled with us.  Actually, we now have two cats! Last week, Lucy joined the family.

She has been an outdoor cat for her entire six months and today is her first snowstorm experienced in a warm home! AllieCat is starting to get used to the idea that she isn't an only cat. The growls and hissings have been replaced by more friendly meowing by both of the felines. This afternoon, we will continue the supervised introductions in anticipation of having one big happy family by the end of the month.

Valentine's Day especially appeals to me since I love hearts and can display them all at once for one day even though I collect them all year.

They don't have to be red hearts to please me.  The tiny delicate china heart above  is pure white. 

Paulie and I each own collections of magazines and enjoy browsing through past issues in the appropriate month of their publication. Ads and articles from the 1980s and 1990s are still fun to look at and read, giving us new ideas or reminding us of favorites as if they were only read yesterday!

Last week, I took advantage of several quiet afternoons and made a few hearts for the holiday.  These have been small enough to complete in a few hours. Expanding our horizons, Paulette and I  set up  her Featherweight on her dining room table and we sewed our first hearts.

We have started to meld our favorite crafts of knitting, sewing, embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, and collecting! An afternoon of tea, chatting, and crafting is fast becoming a daily tradition. I say afternoon because we both feel the need to justify such a luxury by first running errands, balancing checkbooks, cleaning kitchens and so forth! When we each feel we've done enough, or can't seem to face another task, we reward ourselves with time spent crafting together. We've not strayed from our houses, however, due to certain recent constraints:

                                                                                       

Yes, Paulette made a few too many trips up and down to the attic putting away Christmas decorations and ended up with a stress fracture  and must spend six to eight weeks in a cast!  I bet you wouldn't think that our recent activities would pose any risk of a fall for her. In fact, I've been spending more time at Paulette's in order to save her from slipping on snowy and icy sidewalks. Yet, yesterday afternoon, as we packed up sewing accessories, she slipped and skidded across the wooden dining room floor, just barely managing to keep herself upright! Neither of us could imagine what caused the sudden slip. I looked at her cast and discovered a large shiny button stuck to the bottom! Yes, most accidents occur at home, but, felled by a button????????? This could be a first.

Ron's Valentine's Day gift to me is a Trollbead heart fashioned from two silver porpoises and filled with two aquamarine glass beads. Paulette received a beautiful Trollbead heart and bead from Bob, too.

One of my favorite artist/authors is Susan Branch. Many of her drawings include hearts. Equally charming is artist/author, Mary Engelbreit. Both authors feature charming lifestyles of crafts, comfy homes, and loving friends and family. Susan Branch Blog - 9 hours ago

Check out Susan's Valentine's Day blog, above,  to see what I'm talking about! And if you have time, here is the website for Mary Engelbreit.  http://www.maryengelbreit.com.  Both have distinctive handwriting which I admire. My sweet friend, June, who passed away earlier this year, had handwriting that I loved, too. I thought I hadn't saved anything of hers and so I was so happy to discover a Valentine from her in my box of decorations!

Some of you who know me well will be very shocked to hear this, but, I am planning to make some cut out heart cookies this afternoon, complete with pink sugar icing. My favorite cookie recipe is my Mom's. From what I can determine, the special ingredient is nutmeg. I'm sure she won't mind if I pass this along so that you, too, can try these.

Bev's Cutout Cookies

Preheat oven to 375

2 cups sugar

5 cups flour

2 eggs   til stiff (I think she is referring to the eggs, 

I hope, or maybe this is referring to the entire mixture?)

1 cup butter

1 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Bake for 8-10 minutes

I confess I don't actually have an icing recipe, so, if you have one you can recommend, I'd be happy to have it! I hope you have a super romantic Valentine's Day 2015. Love, Lulubell

Librarian Reads in Retirement

Recent library books on my library card

A few days ago, finally freed from the post-Christmas cleanup, Paulette and I did something totally out of character for us. We went shopping......and didn't purchase anything!!!!!!! It's true, and shocking. Instead of walking miles of store aisles, we visited FOUR public libraries in ONE afternoon! I don't know what came over me. One minute we were in a jewelry store in Lorain, and the next minute I suggested we investigate the public library down the street. An hour later, we came out of there like two kids in a candy shop!

Sticking to the new books area, we each found several books to take home. Empowered by the fact that we hadn't spent a dime (well, ok, I did pay a 20 cent fine and told the clerk to keep the change from the quarter I gave her, but, does that really count?????) I suggested we stop at the Ritter (Vermilion) Library on our way home. Janet was shocked to see us-her look was priceless- and she showed us the latest additions to her collection and we came away with more books!

Now in a giddy frenzy, we stopped yet again. This time at the Huron Public Library. It was there that we found the most new books of all! Not to be stopped from our shopping madness, we visited Sandusky Library and picked up several holds we each placed days earlier. Honestly, I never took the time to browse through a library while working in one. Is that crazy or what. I selected biographies, books on education, decorating books, craft books, travel books, memoirs, computer books, and even a book on Toasts-in case someone asks me to make one sometime, I"ll be ready: Here is one for birthdays:

       May you get it together before you come apart!

Home library upstairs

This is my view from the treadmill in our library upstairs in our house. It is ironic that I can't read while walking-I get  nauseated by the motion of walking and reading at the same time. So, I enjoy looking straight ahead at our book collection. The two units on the left are mine and the two units on the right belong to Ron. His are cataloged- and the entire collection is aviation military history and mine are not in any order whatsoever!
Notice in the photo, my three pals that keep me company while I walk-Jack, Kate, and, Marilyn. They patiently wait for me to play with them and are pretty disgusted that I am walking on a piece of rubber rather than taking them each outside for a romp!

Of course, that is not the only bookcase in the house, and the rest of the collections are in order-by bookcase, actually.

Classic and collectible books

This bookcase belonged to my Great Grandmother Lee and was given to me for my first apartment. It holds books from my Grandmother Monetha Carlson's collection and a few of classics that I have collected over the years.

Dog book collection

This bookcase has gone to the dogs! It is only part of our collection and serves as a quick reference when we need to better understand our canine family members.

Knitting book collection

This case houses part of my knitting book collection. It actually is arranged by subject and has been cataloged, in part, on my site on www.raverly.com.

Knitting book collection

Another case holds overflow knitting books and yet another holds patterns and my yarn inventory.

This last case hold mysteries-just right for late night reading. Included are some of the Nancy Drew mysteries that first got me interested in reading, if not in libraries....

Oh! I forgot the cookbook collection! No matter, there are only a few on that shelf, and, rarely consulted, I must confess. Ron, however, has taken a recent interest in cooking-out of sheer desperation of starving- and is plowing through a Irish cooking book at present.

I am curious to know what my friends and family are reading at present. I could pop over to Goodreads, of course, to see who keeps a list going, but, if you have the time, send me your list. Paulie and I plan to visit libraries in the Cleveland area next and would love to have suggestions- now that we each have plenty of time to catch up on our reading. And no, neither of us have ereaders or likes to listen to audiobooks-scandalous, for sure. We are each voracious magazine readers, however, and have collections that have cracked the ceiling of our attics. 

I recently, bravely, gave up two books to the Little Free Libraries in our area. This is the most I could part with thus far and I listed 4 books for sale on half.com. I'm counting on my new library habit to keep the personal collection in check henceforth. A noble retirement resolution of sorts for a librarian, don't you think?