"Whale of a Tale"

 The other day, I said to a acquaintance, "We have whales breaching in our backyard." My listener made a bit of a face, in disbelief, so I had to qualify my slight inaccuracy. My next statement was, "We have whales, breaching IN THE OCEAN, directly off our back patio, during whale season." The season for whale migration in the Caribbean, is from January to March. That's when we choose to travel South.

It's true. Whales are amazing. They are, of course, big. Really big. They can weigh up to 40 tons, as adults, and they are typically 14-17 meters in length. And they do make quite a show, when they flip-up and out of the ocean (breaching).

They travel slowly, usually in groups. Average speed in 5-10 mph. With a pair of binoculars. or the naked eye, it's possible to see them travel across the horizon, or closer, just swimming and breaching, swimming and breaching. They seem to be enjoying their travels, and they can live up to 90 years.....traveling the same route.

For some bizarre reason, this whale information reminds me of a Kermit the Frog song, "Caribbean Amphibian", about a frog in a coconut tree. There are lizzardy and froggy things running around on our back patio, too. You may look up the words, to this ditty, but for now, just be assured those lyrics will be running around in my head, for the next day or two.

Via con dios.

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Creator of all things, tame and wild. We are thankful for the immense beauty of this world. We appreciate Your creatures, both great and small.

Hasta la vista, Frosty.

On my honor, I promise that this will be my last post about SNOW, this winter. Oh yes, we had a snowstorm this weekend. The headlines were:

             SNOWMAGEDDON......SNOWCASTROPHY...........SNOWPOCALYPSE........... 

We had a total of 4.5 inches of the fluffy white stuff. Woo-Hoo. It wasn't even enough to cover my boot tops. Today, one day after the snow ceased to fall, our street is cleared. The major street down the hill is snow free and the sun is shining. Except for the bitterly cold temps, it's a beautiful day. 

I'm betting all of that hoarded White Bread, Milk and Toilet paper wasn't even touched, let alone used up. It's over. Stick a big unused snow shovel in it. It was, as usual, "Much Ado About Nothing", or at least much ado about very little.

But, by golly, we were prepared here in Middle America. Being prepared is a good thing. Boy and Girl Scouts have been prepared, for over a hundred years.  I'm in favor of being prepared, but stripping the grocery aisle of essentials (as if white bread is essential), for 2 days of "staying home" is freaking crazy. That's just what we all do.

Tomorrow, will probably be a No-school Snow Day, due to the single digit temperatures. It would be extremely cold for those kids, who wait at the bus stops. Most kids, out here in the burbs, are personally driven to school by parents. And, we all know that the walk, from the car to the front door of school, is pretty brutal ;). And, all of us old folks walked miles to and from school, in several feet of snow,...uphill both ways.

But, here's the deal. I don't really care. Because, tomorrow I start my packing for the tropics. In a little over a week, I will be watching the surf and sitting in a deck chair on a sandy beach. No more snow storms for me.

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We all have many blessings. God is Good.

 

REBOOT

 By Golly, it's winter in Kansas City. The weather forecasters are predicting anywhere from2-145 inches of snow, over the weekend. We don't expect more than 5-6 inches, at most. That counts as a big snowfall here. Anyway, I came across this really old post and thought (since I am getting ready to go and "stock up" for the oncoming weather), you all might enjoy the recollection.

 Saturday, January 23, 2016

The Big Three

Storms are coming. Everyone in town has been or is planning to rush to the grocery store and buy these items. Yes, everyone stocks up on the big three in preparation for an up-coming "snowed in".
Why do we (yes, my family is guilty, also) choose these items?
Who knows? Maybe it's inbred, pun intended, or perhaps we are all just a tiny bit crazy.
But folks, this tee pee, moo juice and sliced bread tradition is senseless.
First of all, most of us desperate grocery store looters live in cities. City ordinances say.....the roads must be plowed, in a timely manner. No one is truly "snowed in" for days, anymore. Hours maybe, but certainly not days. So, if we are in possession of only one extra roll of toilet paper, we're going to be fine. And, who doesn't have some extra magazine pages taking up space?
Now then, there's milk. How much milk do we need? Milk for dry cereal, I suppose. Well, did we buy cereal? Didn't think about that, did we? And, if our power goes out, the milk is going to go bad pretty fast. A better buy would have been canned tuna, peanut butter, canned soup, chili or even canned or powdered milk. Best choice of all would have been bottled water.
Now, how about that white bread, the squishier the better. We all know that whole wheat is better for us, but we're going to get what we like, when we're faced with carbo-starvation. What are we going to do with three or four loaves of white bread? And, of course, we forgot to get anything to eat with it. Plain bread, folks, is not very filling, healthy or appetizing. And, it gets moldy pretty fast.
Planning for an emergency is wise. Running out to the grocery store, in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, to stock up on the big three, is pretty silly.
I need to stop doing it.

Well, Lord, here we are again. We are allowing our lack of Faith and common sense to get the better of us. We know better.You have given us great biblical examples of both preparedness and trust.
Help us to get our lives on the right track. Help us to remember that your way is the best way. Remind us to get ready, to trust and  to obey.

"Clowns on the left of me, jokers on the right"

I have a friend, who occasionally signs his notes, using only his middle name. It's unusual enough that we all know the identity of Overton  And, for absolutely no reason at all, it got me thinking about middle names.

Names have always been an interesting subject, to me. My middle name is the same as many of my aging female contemporaries, and I rarely use it. Instead of using Nancy Ann, as my given name, I have opted for using my maiden name initial K., in my signature. My mother elected to name me Nancy Ann, because she thought NAK would look good on luggage. Strange, I know. And stranger yet, my married name also begins with a K. (I have been told "to change the name and not the letter, is a change for the worse, not the better.) Oh, well.

And, speaking of strange, the 1960s diplomat, Robert McNamara, was legally Robert Strange McNamara. 

Royalty has been using Middle Names, since the 1700s. According to Wikipedia, they were first used in the US, in the early 1800's. Well, think about it. George Washington has no recorded Middle Name.

In my generation, girls were generally given the Middle Name of Ann, Sue, Mary or Rae. Guys were given something equally as short and easy to remember. Sometimes Middle Names honor relatives or families. And, if you are of some historical importance, folks are going to write down your WHOLE name......for posterity. John Wilkes Booth and Robert Lewis Stevenson are excellent examples. 

Honestly, as most of my readers will acknowledge, Middle names...except as legal signatures or in obituaries, are rarely used.  When it came to naming my four children, I thought long and hard about the final choices. But, the bottom line is none of them go by their complete (3-word name). Just like their mother, the only use of both of their given names was in an urgent request....."Nancy Ann. Come in here, right now."

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 Dear Lord. Whatever we are called, You know who we are. We praise Your Holy Name.

 

Ludwig's Lesson

 As I have stated before, life is an adventure. Today, tomorrow or just around the next corner, something unusual could and is most likely to happen.

The other night, at exactly nine p.m., we were checking out important data (probably what was for sale on Amazon, and what Lady GaGa wore to the latest Award Show), when I was surprised to hear the first few notes of a very familiar tune. Looking around, I determined that it was not coming from the double computers in front of me, and it also wasn't coming from a nearby silent television. None of our appliances play the particular tune I heard. ...the Fridge just dings and the washing machine plays "Au- pres de ma blonde", and the Roomba just mumbles something unintelligible. A true mystery was occurring.

I was the only one to hear it. What was the source of this music?? I distinctly heard the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Was this the being of some weird form of Music Dementia? Were Terrestrial Aliens trying to contact me? Angels, perhaps?

Over the next few nights, the same thing happened. Same time and same tune. Da da da daaaaa, da da da daaaaaa. Fate. Ah ha. I determined the music was coming from my left hearing aid. I have been wearing hearing aids, for years, and this set of devices is about 2 years old. You see, my phone rings and I hear my incoming calls, through my hearing aids. Now, I'm hearing classical music.

According to the technicians at my trusty Costco Hearing Center, the battery in my left hearing aid, had bit the dust. These particular hearing aids are rechargeable ( I carefully place them in their recharging case every night, before retiring), however, I was told that they still have batteries. Anyway, the techie offered to replace, them free of charge.  Marvelous.

But, it's going to take up to ten working days. It's not that I don't normally tell everyone to speak up and talk slowly. I know I'm deaf. But seriously, 10 days of half-assed hearing. I had no choice. To hear or not to hear. That is the question. I did ask her if the right one was going to fail, also. She said there's about a 50% chance. 

What did you say? 

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Holy Lord. Calm us. Give us patience and courage. Not on our time, but Your's. We ask these things in Your Name. 

 

"What's up, Doc?"

I've got "High Hopes" for the 2026. It's an opportunity to highlight several anniversaries and milestones. I am looking forward to observing and celebrating these events and I hope that you will join me. 

Here are just a few: 

The United States turns 250 years old. Officially called the Semiquincentennial ( I think). A remarkable milestone, when you stop and consider the youthfulness of most nations. Most of us can remember when Russia was formed. Mexico, China, Canada, are all youngsters compared to the U.S. Yet, according to reports and data, 50% of the folks residing in this country hate it, along with the folks in charge and the other half of the population. The other 50%, don't. There you go. 

The one and only, National WWI Monument and Memorial, of which I am a proud member and volunteer, is celebrating the 100th year since opening. There will be several new exhibits, and many dignitaries making appearances. Perhaps, during my volunteer shifts, I will have the occasion to meet someone famous or shake hands with a dignitary or two. Certainly, there will be many opportunities to spontaneously entertain visitors, with my poetry recitations or an acapella verse of "Over There".

The World Cup is coming to KC, in July. The city will host six games. Chaos, crowds, a whole lot of nonsense and a reason to avoid traveling Downtown. The "Paris of the Plains" will put on it's best face. Oh, but don't expect me to try a Bicycle Kick, to celebrate.

Finally, about one hundred of my oldest friends will all turn 80 years old, this year. Post War Baby Boom!!!! The Original Baby Boomers, you know. One by one, my remaining classmates, from the Pittsburg High School Class of 1964, will become Octogenarians. Whoopee!!!!!! 80 is the new 60, I have heard. Me, I plan to concentrate on growing older gracefully, enjoying life and celebrating all year long, with my fellow Purple Dragons. Cheers!

Happy New Year.

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Dear Lord. Life is a blessing. We thank You for so many things. Your Steadfast Love Endures Forever. 

 

 

 

"You've always had the power my dear......."

This will be my last post of 2025. I have already BESTED my production quota for the year, and if I do too many more posts, the goal will be set too high for 2026! So stick a fork in it. I'm done until the calendar changes.

Meanwhile, I saw a Facebook Post of a harried cat (aren't all Facebook posts Feline related?) crocheting like mad, with the script that read. "Me starting homemade Christmas gifts on December 23rd." Well, I'm not quite that last-minute, but late last night, while I was working feverishly to untangle the biggest mess of yarn I've ever made, I had a bit of a melt-down. I grabbed for my scissors and almost cut the yarn, mid skein. I stopped just in time, when I remembered a feisty lady friend, who once told me "no yarn-tangle is too hard to straighten out....if you work at it long enough."

If you have ever tried to untangle a skein of yarn, ball of twine or string, knotty mess of netting, fishing line or even a tangle in your child's hair, you'll know what I'm writing about. It just takes time. Just when you think that mess will never, ever be straight again, remember if you work at it long enough, everything will just fall into place.

I'm adopting my friend, Maria De Ferraris' philosophy, for the New Year. When the going gets tough, I'm going to relax, put away the scissors and work a little bit harder. Oh and the stocking cap was completed.....in one piece. No joining yarn, mid-project for this wise woman.

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  Lord: Your Wisdom comes to us in hundreds of ways and at all times. Help us to recognize Your intervention into our busy lives. Your Steadfast Love Endures Forever. Happy Birthday Jesus.