Wacky Wednesday # 23 – National Tailor’s Day / Drive-In Movie Day

Hooray for tailors who make off the rack clothes work for those of us without off the rack shapes.  My complaint is that only good men’s stores seem to offer tailoring any more.  In my youth I never was allowed to wear a dress or skirt until it had been to the seamstress  and properly ‘hung’ and hemmed.  I had the shoulders and sleeves of jackets altered too.  The aunt who raised me had grown up with a maiden aunt who was a seamstress living on the farm as part of the family so even though there might have been a depression going on her clothes for school and going out were all properly fitted.  Years ago I bought a nice Ralph Lauren suit at a Nordstrom store while on a trip largely because the clerk said they offered alterations and would ship it to  me.  I think that was the last time I found in store tailoring offered with women’s clothes.

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I am of an age and from a rural area where during my childhood the only place to see movies was an a drive-in during the summer.  There were no multiplex cinemas.  I never when to many drive-in showings.  I think Jungle Book during elementary school was my first.  And I remember that I saw the first Star Wars film with my brother at a drive-in.  That may have been the last film I saw at a drive-in.  No, I can tell no tales of dates at the drive-in or of not seeing the film because of back seat activities but …. I am betting I just might have a blog follower or two who can not say the same.  Not asking for any confessions here.

Those are the wacky holiday observances for June the 6th.

skipping Wacky Wednesday

We are into the 18th week of the year and I have decided not to stick with my list of “Wacky Wednesday” topics today.  Just not into it.  The framework is useful but I am not a teen or 20-something who needs to follow the syllabus for a course to pass.

I have noticed a great number of emails already arriving in my inbox over the pass couple of weeks promoting buying things as Mother’s Day presents.  This is the first year that the date comes along without me needing to purchase a Mother’s Day card for anyone.  In fact my Mom’s internment date is a week from today, four days prior to Mother’s Day here in the U.S..  Now I am not going to going on a rant about the commercialism of the vendors sending out those emails, or the ads that will probably be airing shortly on most TV programing.  If they remind some husband or child to purchase someone for a mom and it makes a woman on the receiving end feel special and appreciated I do not want to stand in the way of it.  I just wanted to say that this year seeing those Mother’s Day prompts is not doing much for me.  But don’t fret, I have broad shoulders and will get over it by May 14th.

Meanwhile if you do have women to honor on Mother’s Day add an extra word or hug to your sentiments for me, and in memory of my mom.  Thanks.

Once Again A New Look

I have changed my background and header once again.  This time it is to honor my two new cat companions Thunder and Lightening.  They were pictured on the website of a local humane society.  My husband and I went to meet them on Tuesday.  We ended up bringing them home.  They are adjusting well to being members of our household.  There is a lot of love and affection being passed back & forth between the felines and humans here.

 

Wacky Wednesday #2 B – January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

Glaucoma is disease in which damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss.  Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness & it is the 2nd leading cause of blindness in the world.

Everyone is at risk for glaucoma from babies to senior citizens. High risk groups include: people over 60, family members of those already diagnosed, diabetics, people who are severely nearsighted, & African-Americans.

Glaucoma runs in my family.  My paternal grandfather went blind from glaucoma.  My father & both of his sisters all developed glaucoma.  The earlier the disease is detected and treated the better.  So far I am glaucoma free but I get screened very six months.

What to learn more?
Visit  www.glaucoma.org

Thoughtful Thursday #1 – Looking Forward

“Describe what you are looking forward to doing this year?”

In 2012 I am looking forward to

…enjoying the little pleasures of each day, be it crisp & cloudy, or sunny & bright.

…accepting that my efforts in the areas of exercise and healthier eating are worthwhile even if the results are not monumental.

…doing some small organization chores each week and taking joy in both the process and the results.

…keeping a smile on my face even if some of the antics of my aging cat or darling husband make me want to throw my hands into the air and scream.

…staying in closer touch with my sister and hoping that she makes more time for herself this year after the stress of care giving to our mom during her final illness.

…making more contact with my brother now that he has changed jobs and will be working more regular hours in addition to being geographically closer during the work week.

…appreciating the kindness of my friends and neighbors and giving back to them too.

…some travel, be it short weekends to nearby locations, or longer get-a-ways to more distant points.

I could, no doubt, go on but I think keeping a short focused list is right for me in 2012.

Word for 12/24 – Marry

Weddings can be simple or elaborate.  Hopefully when a couple marry it is for love and many years together.  I never knew the groom in this photo.  He died young.  The bride in the photo was the aunt who raised me from the time I was five.  It has remains my favorite wedding photo of all time to this day. 

Word for 12/15 – Engraved

The way gravestones are engraved was changed over the years, as these photos show:

20th Century

21st Century

Word for 12/10 – Huge

Fayleen,  12/18/1930 – 12/10/2011

The photo above is my mom, age 21 in 1952,  around the time of her college graduation.  She died today at about 1 pm.  I find myself at a huge loss of words.  Little about our relationship was typical.  Due to an illness she experienced I left her care at the age of 5 and was raised by an aunt on my father’s side.  Looking at the photo above, which I only obtained relatively recently,  I did not inherit her looks.  However I think we shared much of the same temperament.

My sister, and her daughter (my niece),  managed to care for my mom at her home (an old farmhouse) with assistance from hospice workers.  It was a long hard road.  Now they & my mom will hopefully have rest and peace.

The aunt who raised me was married to a funeral director.  I like to think I deal better with death than illness.  However my mom was the last of that generation of my relatives.  The loss does seem huge.  I am now the eldest remaining ‘child’.  It is not a role that suits me.  I am sure my mom knows and understands that fact.

Word for 12/3 – Hail — and the Kreativ Blogger Award

Hail to a few of my favorite bloggers:

1- I have to mention Nancy at My Life in Photos who nominated me for this pass it along, tag you’re it award.

2-  Jen of Cabin Fever in Vermont who is a new mom, a RN, has a Firefighter husband, and takes fantastic photos of her baby Emily, landscapes, and is a generally inspiring.

3- Andree Sanborn, another Vermont resident, who has a number of blogs.  My favorite is ‘meeyauw’s recipes‘.  She is yet another fabulous photographer.

4-hugmamma’s MIND, BODY and SOUL because she posts the most delightful pics of her “four-legged family” that make me smile and giggle. She also writes amusing and thought-provoking posts along with those photos.  She has some eye-opening, and to me mind expanding opinions — what can I say (?- I’ve led a rather sheltered life-?).

5- I’m going to end my list with perhaps the ‘Queen’ of all women bloggers, Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, the ranch wife who has also become an author, a Food Network cooking show star, & who knows what else as result of her blog.  And she sponsors more  terrific give-a-ways than you can imagine, but beware she receives thousands of entries for most of them.

Now the terms of the Kreativ Blogger Award state: “To accept the award, one is to share a little about oneself that might draw the interest of others (and encourage them to check out your blog) and then pass it on. It’s a great opportunity for community building; and to find others who are just as sane (or not) as you, is an added bonus.”

So, like many things in life, I have approached this backwards, by first mentioning some favorite blogs.  Hopefully one or two of them will find the time to pass it on.  Now, what might be interesting about me?        A–I think the fact that I was able to log an average of 2 trips per year ‘across the pond’ from 1998-2010 was great.  I took a lot of photos of places I went.  Thanks to digital photography (better than sliced bread & right up there with chocolate) I could click, & click, & click.     B–I’m a life long Vermonter.  That isn’t all that interesting to me.  I have had plans at many points in life to plant myself in some other soil.  But I seem to make choices, or submit to the choices of someone near & dear,  that result in staying within my little state’s boarders.  C– While my birth certificate says Kathleen the nickname ‘Kitty’ has stuck to me like glue.  At age 52 it is way too late to change that.

Gee, I think this word a day thing is a photo challenge, so I better find one.  Then bid you adieu.

Wells Cathedral, England - August 2005

Word for 10/28 – Cave

Everyone talks about ‘man caves’ these days.  My husband does not have a ‘man cave‘, he has the master bedroom suite of our home has his office because the owners before us built a ton of book cases into the master.  We use what was meant to be the en-suite guest room as our bedroom.

Our home has a down stairs ‘den’ that I used as my studio’s waiting room during the years that I taught piano in this house.  After closing my business that ‘den’ has become my ‘girl cave‘ –TV & computer center.  To minimize glare I have the old venetian blinds closed most of the time.  That makes it ‘cave-like’ even though it would be a bright ‘non-cave‘ if I opened them.