A Little Bit of Home

I've been feeling pretty homesick lately.  I always do in the Fall ... and then there's the holidays, but we won't go there right now.  I think perhaps I long for home because I was born in Autumn on a beautiful "Indian Summer" day (except I was born at night).  This year the pull is stronger.  It could be my approaching birthday or the chill in the air or the leaves turning colors and just maybe it is because I have not been home in a year and a half.  I just have this need to spend time with family and revel in the familiarities of my childhood; though I must also acknowledge so much has changed.  There are just times when some small reminder of home would be nice and then it happens in an unlooked for place.  I've mentioned our new community owned and volunteer run grocery store.  I enjoy taking my turn volunteering there.  When entering a new establishment, it's natural to want to check out and compare the products to see what is available in our store as opposed to those in neighboring towns where we have had to shop for the past twelve years.  Everyone was oohing and ahhing over cheese curds in the dairy case.  I know cheese curds are great, but I also know we are carrying cheese from a local cheesemaker and these curds simply could not be as good as those from the Dairy State.  OK, so I'm a cheese snob; but I grew up in Wisconsin, so give me a break!  Well, the temptation was too much!  Last week when Hubby and I were shopping we had to try the curds and bought a small package.  They were really good and we were duly impressed.  Meanwhile, the weather changed, and a huge pot of soup is in order.  We needed to pick up a few items to go along with the soup.  This time we bought a big bag of the cheese curds because the smaller package didn't last long.  I ladled the soup and, after a prayer, Hubby starts reading the package containing the curds.  He tells me to read the package.  That's right.  The curds are made in Wisconsin.  I'm still homesick; nevertheless, a little bit of home helps.

Life in a Hamlet

Oh the bane of small rural towns!  There's nothing to do ... there's no place to go ... It's like a ghost town ...  How can you live in a place like this?  All are comments I have heard about the small town I live in.  Several years ago my family hosted an exchange student from Germany.  When the coordinator came to visit to inspect our family and home to ensure the well being of the visiting student we went over the various forms.  When filling out the forms, I listed the size of our town as 'small'.   The coordinator said we should more accurately describe our town as a 'hamlet'.  Ouch!  Our town wasn't always this small.  Obviously, it began small; but then grew to boast a couple of groceries, restaurants, mercantile, phone exchange, movie theatre, drug store, liquor store, shoe store, seven different churches, two gas stations, bank, grade school, high school, train station and the grain elevator.  We were actually a booming town at one time.  Then the wars happened and the younger generations decided living in a small rural town or farming the family farm wasn't the ideal for their life.  No blame is meant here.  This happened and still happens all over the world.  It is as if society goes on some bizarre diet and soon the town begins to shrink.  Businesses fail as some move away and others refuse to support what they have.  What's a small town supposed to do when it has heard the death knoll?  We can't all shrivel up and die!  The town I live in lost it's schools to a consolidated school district comprised of the students from five different towns years before we moved here.  It had lost most of its businesses and all but two of the churches as well, and one of those churches doesn't have a weekly service due to its hierarchy.  We still had the grain elevator, the bank, a gas/service station, restaurant, grocery store and one church.  A Day Care has come into town and lasted.  Other businesses have tried and failed.  We lost our Post Office.  The restaurant has struggled, opening and closing under new operators.  The grocery store foundered and died.  Through it all we had a long-time mayor who worked very hard to keep the town going.  He, too, passed away a few years ago.  Some saw a need and formed a Community Association which began working to stay the hands of time, if you will.  This group has since joined a statewide PRIDE organization which fosters the continuation and growth of small towns.  A committee formed and worked on grants to see a new park which was completed this summer.  The  restaurant is stronger.  Two years years ago one enterprising man from the community purchased and began renovating several of the rundown buildings on Main Street.  Within the past couple of months a fitness center has opened and so has a beauty/barber shop.  The community got together and worked on developing a community owned grocery store.  The store opened a little over a week ago.  It is non-profit and run totally by volunteers.  We may be small and seemingly going nowhere; nevertheless, the spirit of the community still lives and we are seeing new growth!  We are going strong after 125 years!

Goodness to the Last Drop

What a nice day it was today ... Saturday ... some might say lazy; some might say relaxing.  I would like to defend myself in saying I did actually do something more than sit around drinking coffee.  I did some yard work, washed dishes, worked on my book, picked up a few things, folded and stuffed the bulletins for worship services, prepared dinner and a dish for a potluck tomorrow and gave moral support.  It was mid day when I heard today is National Coffee Day.  I don't know why I hadn't heard this sooner.  Didn't this take place just a few months ago?  It doesn't really matter.  I was guzzling my third huge mug of the day when I got the news.  I was talking on the phone at the time.  I just nodded incredulously, smiled and took another slurp before it got cold.  I'm not really certain why we need a special day for love of coffee.  Coffee aficionados know who they are.  Many begin their lifelong love for the heavenly brew when they are mere children.  Others are led down the path out of necessity when they are deep in studies.  Some must wait until full blown adulthood when they are introduced at the workplace, a restaurant or kiosk, or simply when dining with friends.  Whatever their association is and when it began is irrelevant.  It's not as if they must attend CC (Coffee Cuddlers) meetings.  Don't most coffee drinkers ... at least the true devotees celebrate the goodness every day?  Do coffee drinkers really need an excuse to have another cup?  I think not!  Nevertheless, I drank my share and did my best to celebrate.  So, here's to coffee drinkers everywhere:  Drink up and may Mrs. Olsen smile upon you!

The Televison Season

The new season of television shows is up and running.  It's strange how the notion of season in TV Land has changed over the years.  I'm not certain how the seasons began when television was young.  I think many of the shows were presented live.  Longer ago a series seemed to run the length of the school year with time off for various specials just as students had time off for Christmas vacation.  Reruns were the select few episodes that were able to fit into the summer months when most people were busy or on vacation.  If you had a series you particularly enjoyed, you hoped to be able to see a rerun if your parents didn't have you doing something or going somewhere.  Now, a new show may premier in the Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer.  A television network may broadcast anywhere from one to six episodes before reruns are rebroadcast of at least the first episode, if not all of them.  The series may be off for several weeks as the required number of CMA shows and nauseating bachelor type "reality"shows have been shown before the networks bring back something someone might actually desire to watch.  I mean really, who makes these decisions anyway?  I do not apologize here for the failure of television networks to produce high calibre entertainment.  Even some of the History channels broadcasts have been lacking of late.  ... At any rate, at this point, we are either continuing the season or entering into a new season.  It is a bit confusing especially when previews are shown for a series that looks interesting and then you find out you don't have that channel on your plan.  Nevertheless, the Fall season has begun and I have been able to see a couple of series pick up where their cliffhanger endings left off last May.  There are a couple of new series I would at least like to give a chance.  Stay tuned for my opinions.  We now return you to your regular broadcast channels.

A Sound of Music

Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.  That's the old saying.  There's a lot of wisdom passed down in the old saws.  The actual word here is 'saw' referring to a maxim or a proverb and derived from the word 'saga'.  Interesting ... but I had intended to write about music today and that was before I heard about the passing of Andy Williams.  I loved listening to him sing and had a collection of his albums which were unfortunately lost in a fire years ago.  It was definitely one of those situations when you are more concerned about the safety of those involved instead of the objects that might be lost.  And yes, listening to Andy could really soothe one's nerves.  He had that quality about his  voice.  While baking bread today, I was, in fact, thinking about  music and it's effect on people and pets, having heard a segment on the news the other evening in which a young couple was faced with the challenge of calming a screaming infant.  Nothing worked until they played the theme song from "Star Wars".  This song alone seemed to quiet the child.  It is strange the way music can calm or irritate us.  As I kneaded the dough and prepared the loaves to put in the pans I was watching one of my cats.  She was in my line of vision as she groomed herself  and then laid down for one of her naps.  Angel is an elderly tabby and like most of the pets in our family throughout the years, a foundling.  She has grown cranky and demanding in her latter years.  We put up with her.  She is family.  We love her.  Hubby had left to make calls and the radio station he has set up on his computer was playing a mix of easy listening and soft jazz instrumentals.  It was comical to watch Angel's sudden reaction to "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".  Her ear shot up.  She was obviously listening and enjoying the music as she more or less kept time with her tail.  We've had other pets who seem to enjoy a certain type of music or a specific entertainer over another and come from wherever to to entertained.  My favorite was Olav our big Maine Coon cat or Norwegian Forest cat (we were never quite certain of his breed).  Truly my cat, Olav loved classical music.  His favorite piece was Beethoven's 6th Symphony.  The opening strains would bring him from wherever he was in the house to the source of the music whether it was radio, stereo or television.  He would knead the carpet and lay down to listen kneading the air with his huge paws.  Babies, pets, animals and most people enjoy music.  Today we lost a wonderful performer.  Rest with God, Andy.  May you find that rainbow's end, waiting round the bend of Moon River ... 

Everybody is a Packers Fan

We'd been married a little more than a month when we headed west to the state of Washington to serve my husband's year of vicarage.  He had grown up there and the assignment was a blessing in that I was allowed the opportunity to get acquainted with his family and he was able to spend time with his dad during his final year of life.  But, I digress here ... My brother-in-law, who was in his early teens at the time, greeted us when we arrived by very excitedly announcing "Mom got tickets to the Seahawks!" ... Did I mention we were newlyweds?  You try to please your in-laws, but sometimes the words innocently slip out.  "What in the world is a Seahawk?" I queried.  I honestly had no idea.  We had good seats.  What do I mean 'good'?  They were great seats, in fact.  It was a good game, though I don't recall if they won or lost or who they played for that matter, but I think it was San Fransisco.  ... Have I mentioned I am from Wisconsin?  Do you know anything about the Packers, Wisconsin, and cheeseheads?  Everybody is a Packers fan in Wisconsin even if you have no understanding of the game of football.  This is serious devotion to the game and loyalty to the team here.  I can remember the overwhelming sense of sadness when Bart Starr retired.  I was just a girl.  A card was available in the school office for all the students to sign if they wanted to wish him well.  The list of names stretched out the door and all the way down the corridor.  Yes, I got choked up when he was shown at the Super Bowl game.  I also had a classmate who was related to Ray Nitschke.  That was a real 'WOW factor' for our class!  And then there was Vince Lombardi.  What can I say?  What a coach!  Packers fever has just continued to grow throughout the years.  Now, our daughters cheer the Pack on with the best of them.  It was a thrill to tour Lambeau Field a few years ago and we proudly fly the Packers flag for their games.  Televised coverage is great if the game isn't blacked out becasue we do not live in Wisconsin and our residential state team may be playing at the same time.  The internet helps, providing coverage and instant commentary by friends and relatives all glued to the game.  Sad as it may seem, I have to admit I am one of the fans who doesn't really understand the game; nevertheless, even I could have made a better call than the refs duringlast night's game between the Packers and the Seahawks!  Oh yeah, for whatever it's worth, Hubby is a Packers fan!

It's Time to Celebrate Fall

I absolutely love this time of the year.  My affinity is difficult to explain.  The weather starts to chill and one would think there might be an overwhelming sense of ending as the harvest is brought in forever changing the lives of the plants from whence our sustenance comes.  I see a richness heightened by thoughts and colors of warmth and family.  Imagine the year in colors.  Spring with its lively step is filled with pastels and new life; summer is imbued with hearty, full shades depicting the solidity of established life; and winter is dark, crisp and cold leaving an icy starkness.  It is Autumn with its rich deep hues of reds, browns, greens and golds that speaks to a full sense of accomplishment.  Even the trees are adorned with glorious shades as they proclaim their praise of a year well served before strewing their leaves in great  accolades to be crunched under foot by nature's revellers.  The very word 'Autumn' seems elegant augmenting the notion of fall and seems to draw the mind towards a sense of hearth and home, firelight, and smells of spice.  Families and friends congregate to enjoy games, bonfires, food, and stories as festivities move between the outside and inside of sheltered estates.  Good grief ... this is a bit flowery even for you, Kathy!  Who cares about all that?  Let's just watch some football!  Nevertheless, some do care.  It's time to celebrate Fall!