November Book Report

A lighter reading month for me, only eight books.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson is an interesting book, but most of it was way above my level of understanding.

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd. I love these mother-son, co-authored books. Bess Crawford is a field nurse with the Brits serving in France during WWI. This was one of my favorite books this month Appropriately, I thought, I finished reading it on Armistice (Veterans) Day.

You'll Never Know Dear by Hallie Ephron is a 40-year-old mystery about a little girl who disappeared when she was 4. Well written, but one I had figured out before the end.

I Know A Secret is Tess Gerritsen's latest Rizzoli and Isles mystery (#12). I always enjoy this series.

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall is a finely wrought novel about what happens to a family when the father/husband, a beloved teacher, is arrested for sexual misconduct with students. Was he guilty or was he set up? The reader does not know until the ending. Somewhat relevant to today's news.

News Of The World by Paulette Jiles was different for me because it is classified as a Western. The story is based on a real person who traveled around small towns in North Texas in the 1870's, reading the news from around the U.S. and the world. It was recommended on Facebook by a book reviewer from Portland, OR. Jiles writes poetry as well as novels, and it shows in her lyrical prose. She is a new author to me and I'm happy to note that the library has three more of her books. This was another of my favorite reads in November.

The Story of Arthur Truluv is Elizabeth Berg's newest book which just came out last week and which I got to read first because she is one of my adopted authors at the library. Obviously, I like her novels. They are usually heart-warming stories about love and friendship. I always glean nuggets of wisdom from Berg's writings.

Quarantine by John Smolens is based on the yellow fever outbreak of 1796 in the trading town of Newburyport, Massachusetts. As the epidemic grows, fear and greed change its citizens. It makes me wonder what would (will?) happen in our lives if/when another pandemic strikes.

Wish I Could Be Like Grandma Moses

Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) was 78 before she began painting, so I guess theoretically there's still time for me. It's not that I want to get rich (though maybe that wouldn't be so bad, her paintings now sell in the millions), it's that I really wish I could draw or paint - be artistic.

I remember sending away for a chance for a home study art course and the reply that, while I didn't win a scholarship, my drawing showed promise and for a mere $$$?? they could help me learn to draw or sketch.

I'm always tempted to buy something whenever I look at art supplies. Even though I have these on hand which I've never used:

Payons? What are painting crayons? And how do you use them? Obviously, a garage sale purchase. (There is an old set like this for sale on Etsy for $15.00. A new set is less than $8.00.)

Never used. But the instructions are there. Sounds like fun. So why don't I try them?

Or how about my colored pencils, also barely ever used. Why do I have them if I'm not going to use them.

I don't use the ones I have, yet I covet a set of these which cost almost $14.00. Silly, isn't it?

If I could just be more like my daughter and so many other journal keepers and not be afraid to add color and pictures and sketches while journaling!

Even my children's paint set, purchased years ago for $1.49, has barely been used. Only the red, green, blue and brown have been touched - and those most likely by one of the grandchildren when they were young.

I remember also having a set of charcoal pencils, one of graphite drawing pencils, and a sketch book or two. They're probably in a box somewhere in the garage.

It's not like I couldn't take a chance and take a class, maybe even learn a thing or two about drawing. So why don't I? Fear that my attempts would be laughable? The idea that as long as I don't try, thereby proving that I can't, the possibility that I could still exists?

Or do I believe that it's too late? That you're either born with talent or you're not? I wish I knew what Grandma Moses thought when she first started painting. Obviously she didn't think it was too late or she was too old. I wish I could be more like her.

Leaves on Water

"All day I have watched the purple vine leaves
Fall into the water.

And now in the moonlight they still fall,
But each leaf is fringed with silver."

(Autumn by Amy Lowell)

Believe It Or Not

It was playing in my head when I woke up in the night and it was still there this morning.

"Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air
I never thought I could feel so free
Flyin' away on a wing and a prayer
Who could it be?
Believe it or not it's just me."

 Believe it or not, I have been waiting for our first snow! because I had a poem I wanted to use this month. It's the one that starts out:
"November comes
And November goes
With the last red berries
And the first white snows"
I even had the photos picked out to go along with the stanzas - all I needed was this November's first snow picture. Then I realized I had already used the poem in November two years ago.

Believe it or not, our November high temperatures have been 25 to 35 degrees above average. One day last week, a new record high of 70° was set. It's to be in the 60's again today, so whether or not you believe in global warming, I do.

Believe it or not, I once came '_' this close to a job at the post office. I was reminded of this yesterday when I read of the death of one of our former rural mail carriers. Frank was one of the nicest men you would ever meet. When the kids and I moved back 'home' after my Dad died, I did so without a job lined up. There was an open position advertised at the post office. I had to go to Des Moines to take the postal exam.
I didn't get the job. Frank was the one who told me my test score was the highest, but the man who did get the job was a veteran and veterans were given priority.

To think, I could have had years as a federal employee (I was in my 30's at the time) and comfortably retired with a very nice pension - not to mention all the money I would have earned over the years.

"Believe it or not, I'm walkin' on air
I never thought I could feel so free
Flyin' away on a wing and a prayer
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it's not me!"

Russet Marcescence

Russet is a word I like to say. It is a color I love. It is a potato I eat. It is an apple I never see in the grocery store. It is an archaic word for rustic. It is a coarse, reddish brown, homespun fabric and clothes made with such fabric. It is the color of hair I wish I had been born with.

And while the leaves of the maples, willows, cottonwoods, birches and ash trees nearby have come down in the wind and rain, the Pin Oak's russet leaves still shine in the sun.
Which is how I discovered marcescence. I wondered why the oak leaves stayed on the tree until spring. Marcescence is the retention of dead plant organs that are normally shed. There's a whole science attached to that if you're interested.

So now I not only like saying russet, I have russet marcescence to roll off my tongue.

Water Bucket Memory

I had forgotten all about the water bucket and dipper that sat on the kitchen sink before we had running water in the house. A bucket of water would be pumped at the well outside the back door and brought in for use in the day's cooking and to drink from.

I was reminded of that enamel pail and the dipper by a beautiful passage in a book I just read. I'll comment about the book and author at the month end book report, but to put the passage in perspective, the book is set in 1870's Texas.

"Here had been people whose dearest memories were the sound of a dipper dropped in the water bucket after taking a drink and the click of it as it hit bottom. The quiet of evening. The shade of the Devil's trumpet vine over a window, the scattered shadows gently hypnotic. The smell of a new calf, a long bar of sun falling into the back door over worn planks and every knot outlined. The familiar path to the barn walked for years by one's father, grandfather, uncles. How they swung the bucket by the handle as they went at an easy walk down the path between the trees, between here and there, between babyhood and adulthood, between innocence and death, that worn path and the lifting of the heart."

I don't remember what year the line was run from the well into the electric pressure tank which pumped cold water up to the kitchen sink faucet. I would guess it was 1948 or 49, so when I was around 5 or 6. It would be two or three more years before a hot water heater was installed. Until then, water still had to be heated on the stove.

The house well never ran dry in all the 65 years she lived there, but Mom was still careful about wasting water. When Dad was alive, there was always a bucket under the well spout because he would pump out quite a bit of water until it came out good and cold for a dipper full to drink. You can still see a wire around the top of the pump where a dipper used to hang. When the bucket was full, the water was carried out to the chickens or to water plants in the garden. In later years Mom kept a pan under the spout to water the cats.

It is funny what will trigger a long forgotten memory - a passage in a book, a smell, a song......

Revisiting Another Old Sunday Drive Spot

On the way home from Winterset in October, after driving through Pammel State Park and recalling the last time I had been there, I told Bud "Someday I want to go over to Mt. Pisgah again". It was something my family and I did when I was a senior in high school - on that same Autumn, Sunday drive day in 1960 when we had gone to the Roseman covered bridge and Pammel Park.

Before we even left for Thanksgiving dinner in Winterset yesterday, I told Bud I thought it would be a good day to take that side trip to Mt. Pisgah on the way home.

There had been one other time I was there after the 1960 family trip. I think it was with my oldest son when he was small, so around 1967 or 68. I knew there had been changes made since then, like the addition of this replica log cabin, built to represent the types of dwellings built there between 1846 and 1852. Also present now is a picnic shelter, bathrooms and interpretive signage.

But in 1960, the only structure on this quiet hillside was the monument placed there in 1888. The names of some of the 300-800 pioneers who died there are on the monument.
If I ever find the photo of me taken next to the monument in 1960, I will add it to this post. If I remember correctly I was standing on the left side back then.

The sign explains how Mt. Pisgah was founded as a way station for the 13,000 Mormons who were following the trail from Nauvoo, Illinois to their new settlement in Utah.

Bud had never been there. He found it quite interesting. That fence and those benches were also something new to me.

I think if I had been one of those pioneer travelers, I would have opted to stop and settle in Mt. Pisgah. The view from this ridge, with the fertile, flat land of  the Grand River valley below would have been too tempting. One of the members was even quoted as describing Mt. Pisgah as : "the first place that I felt willing in my heart to stay since I left Nauvoo."

Sunset On Another Thanksgiving

The sunsets have been so gorgeous this week. I can't resist taking photos.

It was a great day. I'm still full. Tired, but glad to have seen all five grandchildren and two great-grandsons of my youngest son's family. I took the most pictures of the two little ones:

Greyson playing with the trains.

Ayden crawled into the cat tree like he was ready for a nap.

Both boys love being outside and today was nice enough they could. Greyson is putting gravel in his Grandpa Preston's old Tonka truck.

I pushed Ayden in the swing for quite awhile, then Bud took over. "Push me! Push me!" he cried if we stopped pushing. Ayden's Dad, Ki, is talking with Bud.

I took Kathryn's pillow to her. It is one on which her great-great Grandma Delphia did the candlewicking. She was so happy to have such a treasure. I am so happy to have granddaughters who appreciate such mementos.

This picture was taken just twenty minutes after the top one. The sky changes so quickly. I hope your Thanksgiving was as beautiful as mine.

Freedom From Want

According to Good Housekeeping, this is what Thanksgiving looked like the year I was born.
Norman Rockwell's painting, Freedom From Want, was one of four he created for a war bond campaign. It was one of the freedoms outlined by FDR in a State of the Union Address. The other three were: Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Fear and Freedom of Worship.
Freedom From Want became the symbol of Thanksgiving in 1943. I was exactly one week old on that long ago Thanksgiving. Mom and I were still in the Creston hospital. She may have had turkey, but I know I didn't. 😉

As we have the last several years, we will be going to Winterset for Thanksgiving with my son and his wife and family. Today I made the above dishes to take and share. Bottom is a Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting. The yellow topped one is Pineapple Pretzel Salad and the one on the right is Raspberry/Cranberry/Pineapple Salad. I did not plan it that way, but both salads have pineapple and cream cheese in them.

Best Wishes for a..........

Sunset in Kansas

This is one of seven photos of last evening's sunset posted on Facebook this morning by a cousin living in Kansas. 
I commented "Gorgeous sunset and photos. (We must be related, I'm always out taking sunset photos.)" [Followed by winking smiley face.]

This is one of eight photos I took of last evening's sunset. In both our photos I noticed the wind in the clouds.

Her reply back to my FB comment was: "These are even from the car, so not very good quality. I love the simple things in life that are beautiful.....we could be related. (lol)"

My reply back to her: "That is so funny - coming home from Des Moines last Wednesday evening, I was taking sunset photos from the car - going 70 mph down the interstate. It amazes me how well some of them turn out! (P.S. Someone else was driving. Ha!) The above photo is one of those I took from the car.

I find family connections surprising and gratifying. I too, love the beautiful and simple things in life.
(Marianna's Dad, Kenneth, and my Dad, Louis, were first cousins - eldest sons of brothers William and George.)

Celebratory Food

When we went to the big city last Wednesday to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary, we ate at one of our favorite places, Applebees. Bud had the Franwich (he loves Philly Cheesesteak) and I chose a lunch combo of Oriental Chicken Salad and Chicken Fajita Rollup. The salad was great; the rollup only okay.

For my birthday Saturday, I had one of my very favorites, Coconut Shrimp. Bud doesn't care for shrimp, so I fixed fish for him.
Sunday for our anniversary, I made omelets. When I asked Bud what he wanted for his birthday today, he chose breakfast foods.

French toast, hash browns, sausage links and eggs. Note that all four of these meals were for lunch. Tomorrow it is back to 'normal' which means I cook whatever I feel like and Bud thanks me and tells me it is good. I am one lucky and spoiled wife. I can't imagine what it would be like to be married to someone who complains.

I Want You To Know

On our 32nd wedding anniversary, this poem by Pablo Neruda -

  If You Forget Me


"I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine."

All my love forever,
my sweet man.

          R

Thoughts About Being 74

All day I have been thinking about, discarding, thinking of, discarding, thinking on, discarding, what I want to write on this, my 74th birthday. And I still haven't decided on anything. So instead of gems of personal, old age wisdom, I give you some recent pictures.

Thursday morning I saw these three coming down the hill. I tried to slip quietly out the door and along the side of the house so they wouldn't spook and run, but even being stealthy, they were still aware. Their heads came up, they froze in their tracks and watched to see what I would do. "Pretty does, all I want is your picture. The only thing I would shoot you with is my camera."

The deck has been littered with leaves. They blow away, their imprint stays.

Thursday sunrise.

Thursday sunset.

Bud commented, "You don't realize how close we are to Lake McKinley until the leaves fall."

Maybe in a few days, after I settle into being this new age, I'll have something to say about being 74...........

Some Shopping? Of Course!

I had my $10 birthday gift from Kohl's plus an extra 15% off, plus another $5 Kohl's cash - so of course there was some shopping involved when we went to West Des Moines Wednesday.

Thinking ahead to the expected great-grandson in January, I almost bought this 3-piece outfit for him. With the hooded, toggle-closing sweat shirt top and matching pants and a cute white onesie to complete the outfit, it was perfect. (In my eyes.) Plus it was on sale, $40 full price, $24.00 + another l5% off. I held off buying anything though until after the little one is here and I know more what Alyssa wants for him. But isn't it the cutest?

Then there was this adorable furry, pink, hooded capelet with Brynley's name all over it. WHY didn't they have clothes like this when my babies were little? Kari would have rocked this cape. (She still could.)
I forget what the price was on this, but I just realized they probably did have clothes like this back then, I just couldn't afford them.

My list for what I wanted was very short, only two items. I found them both.

I needed a new pair of spa socks. My old ones are about worn out. I found them packaged in pairs, but couldn't find a price. I found an associate to ask where the price scanners were and she happened to be standing near one. "They are $13.00, on sale for $6.50."
My other want was a hat similar in style to the one I liked at Celtic Ranch in Weston. I settled on this gray wool one. It too, was on sale; marked $30, not quite half price at $18. When the birthday money, Kohl's cash and discount was taken off, my total was $8.55. That's got to be the smallest amount ever for my Kohl's charge - my kind of shopping spree.

A Run On The Wild Side

First clue:

This carpet would make me dizzy if I had to look at it every day.

Second clue:

Santa arrives amidst fireworks and the tree lighting tomorrow evening.

Yep. We went to West Des Moines yesterday for lunch followed by a movie at Jordan Creek Mall. An early birthdays/anniversary observance.

We hadn't been there for two? three? years. I was surprised when we were asked to select our seats when we bought the tickets.

And what seats they are! Also new to us - recliners in the movie theater. I have always preferred sitting in the last row. Unless the movie is sold out, we usually have almost the entire row to ourselves. Yesterday, at a 2:00 p.m. showing, in the middle of the week, with only a dozen or so people in the theater, where do you think most of them sat? Next to us. Go figure.

We both enjoyed the latest remake of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express. I knew I would like it because I love period pieces. The trailers I had already seen on TV showed how lush the costuming and set designs were. And who doesn't love a mystery?
It took me a while to get my mind around Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, used as I am to David Suchet in that role, but Branagh is such a superb actor. It was a treat to watch his performance.

There was a gorgeous sunset as we drove home.

It still amazes me that my pictures can turn out as well as they do when they are taken from the car at 70 mph.

It was late and getting cold, but I wanted to stop and see the new Clarke County Freedom Rock at Murray. Their's is the largest (26 tons) county rock I've seen so far. And the total setting is the nicest. Behind the rock is a black granite wall inscribed with the names and dates of service of Clarke County veterans. This Freedom Rock was dedicated last Friday, just in time for Veterans Day.

It was a perfect day for a run walk on the wild side.