Who knew?

Recently, I wrote about viewing a very fine documentary series on Abraham Lincoln. My goal for the remainder of this 250 Anniversary Year, is to "discover new facts about American historical persons" and put a "Nansense" spin on them.. Here's what I've learned...so far. 

* James Garfield (20th President) Historical Drama-mentary Movie, "Death by Lightening", features a really scary assassin. The actor, portraying the shooter, puts the D in deranged!! Disappointed in the frequent use of the F word. I don't think 19th Century farm wives spoke like 21st Century teenagers.

* Jefferson (3rd President) Interesting discoveries about his relationship (six children born) with a very young, enslaved person, Sally Hemings. Most important accomplishment, of his Presidency, was the Louisiana Purchase. Died on the same day at John Adams (#2), the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

*Theodore Roosevelt (26th President). Proof that a hyper and perhaps emotionally unstable person can become a great and charismatic leader. National Parks are his legacy. Before his occupancy, the White House was called the Presidential Mansion.( I think he gave it a fresh coat of white paint.) Had one son who died in WWI and another in WWII. 

* Franklin D. Roosevelt (#32) served in each government job, previously held by his Uncle Teddy....Governor of NY, Asst. Secretary of the Navy, President.  Wish I had asked my grandparents and parents about the Great Depression, of the 1930s. Never gave up trying to cure his paralysis from Polio. FDR understood German, and listened to the speeches of Hitler, without translation.

* Washington (#1) Had previously served as a Officer in the British Colonial Army and was forty-four when he took command of the Continental Army. He only had two and a half years of retirement, at Mt. Vernon, before his death, at 67years of age. Unlike all other slave-owning Presidents, who followed him, he emancipated his human property, upon his death.

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All-Powerful God: Allow us discernment as we navigate the world around us. Sometimes we need reminders to think before we speak and act. Amen. 

 

 

 

 

"Happy Birthday to You"

So, there are a few perks of having 100 or so, of your closest friends, all turn 80 years old this year . 

• First of all, there are the parties (I tried to count up the ones we've attended so far, but it was so many, I got slightly confused). It started last December, and since January, it's been one or two celebrations per month. Praise the Lord, none, of ones we've attended, have been "SURPRISE" events....so far. I mean, if you're 80, you certainly don't need any "heart stopping choruses" of the Birthday Song, and at 80, we all want to do a little prep to look our best at a party. All of the  parties, so far, have been planned with advance notice. Besides, at our age, we could never squat down behind a couch and then be expected to jump up yelling, "Surprise", on command!
• The Food. Birthday Cake is essential, but I've also tasted some particularly fine appetizers and quite a few glasses of white wine. Actually, I'll eat whatever is offered, at these soirees. Problem is, of course, I may be forced to buy an entirely new wardrobe, in 2027, due to my increased caloric intake.
• Memories. My Birthday buddies and I have been friends for a long time. Some of us traveled the halls of the same elementary, junior high and senior high school. Others were college friends. Living this long, has made us survivors. It's fun remembering how we have interacted over the years. And, it's even nice to recall those fellow Boomers, who didn't make it into their 8th Decade. We miss their presence in our lives.
• Schedules. None of these Birthday Parties caused us to alter our bedtime. Most 80 year olds don't stay up past 10 p.m. Most of the Birthday Parties have been afternoon or early evening events. Well, of course, none of us want to drive after dark! 

And now, I've got to go and get ready for another party. I'll wear something nice. My outfit may be a repeat, from the last Birthday Party. I can't remember. But then, neither will anyone else.

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 Kind and Loving Lord. We hope that our lives have been an honor to You. Guide us through these next years and bring us safely to Your arms. We cherish our many blessings.

 

 

"Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes"

Sometimes a girl just needs a bit of a change. A change in scenery, a change in attitude or just a change in background of her BLOG. So, I did it. Voila!!!

For the new background, I have chosen a forest-like/woodsy theme, in honor of the woods/pond/river in our backyard area. The city is fast encroaching on the property, but for now, it appears like we are in a smallish National Park.  There is always something wild and interesting to view, from a window, the two back decks, or boating on the pond.  Frequent visitors are deer, turkey, a variety of birds, and two blue herons that have chosen the tallest trees to call home.

And, we are blessed to have a steady stream of human visitors, to help us share this rural oasis. Rick is in charge of entertaining the outdoorsy folk and serves as the chief grilling expert. I handle the indoors group and all of the side dishes. We share in the clean-up. As I check the calendar, I think our total of day and/or overnight guests, so far this season, is right at 21. 

Our big new attraction here, at the homestead, is the newly completed (is any creative project truly complete?) walk-in Terrarium, that Rick has constructed (think room sized aquarium) in part of the basement. He has added a waterfall, sprayers, pond, plants and critters. Trust me. It's absolutely stunning.We've even had some of the young visitors put down their phones, to watch the chameleons do their "changing color act ".

We plan on being home, mostly, for the rest of the summer. Drop by or give us a call, and we'll pencil you in. We'll put some burgers or tenderloins, on the grill.  Bring your swimsuits, the zip line over the pond is all hooked up.

See ya soon.

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 Holy Lord. Your Creations are without number. The beauty of Your world is boundless. We cannot even begin to count our blessings. We praise Your Holy Name.

 

 

 

"Pick a litttle. Talk a little. Cheep, Cheep......."

Picture this.....two folks sitting on the back deck, on a perfect summer evening and an owl starts hooting, in the near-by valley. One person listens to the sound, remembers and carefully recites, word for word, a poem that was displayed, on the wall of a science classroom, around 60 some years ago. 

Amazing, you say. Well, of course I thought so, since I was the one who had memorized the poem. Actually, I thought my companion would be favorably impressed by my elocutionary skill.  Certainly, Mr. Ernie Nelson, our Junior High Science Teacher, would have been. He was the one who had hung the posters. Let's face it, Science was of very little interest to me, which is probably why I memorized the the poems on the walls of the classroom.

The reason for writing this particular blog, was my companion's reaction, to my compelling recitation of the Owl Poem. He said something like, "You didn't much follow that advice, did you?"

I was, only briefly, taken aback. He was right. I talk a lot. I really talk a lot. Years ago, About the same time, I was sitting in Science Class memorizing that poem, another teacher told me, "You talk so much, you don't even know when you're talking." He was right. Today, I can phone my friend Judy, and we can talk for an hour or so, barely taking time to breathe. We have a lot of opinions. We have a lot to say, to each other.

That's the reason, of course, that I write this Blog. And, have written it, weekly since 2008. My musings are what I believe and what I'm thinking about. Oh, I'm awfully glad that you are reading them. 

Life is a Hoot.

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    The wise old owl he lived in an oak. 

    The more he saw, the less he spoke.

    The less he spoke, the more he heard.

    Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

      

 

Honest Abe

 

I've spent the last few days viewing, on Netflix, a very fine documentary on the the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The presentation was enhanced with commentary from experts on Lincoln, military strategy and emancipation. As I watched this fine and in-depth critic of the years of Lincoln's life, little did I realize that I would be once again "slapped-up-the-side-of-my-face" by stupidity. Ignorance is bliss, I've heard all my life. But, how can experts screw up two simple words???? (Well, actually the words I am writing about have 3 syllables, so I guess they are not exactly simple words.)

We have a very highly rated institution of military training and history, close by, at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. It's formally called the US Army Command and General Staff College. They train folks to wage real war, etc. One thing, I assume they do not do, is teach religion. That's why many of the well-educated military personal, who graduate from institution, say " Calvary" instead of "cavalry" when referring to mounted troops?  Granted, the only place you actually see troops, mounted on horses these days, occurs when you see "The Trooping of the Colors", telecast from England. But, how can these supposed experts not know that those mounted soldiers are CAV alry, not CALvary???? Jesus, reportedly, died on a cross on Mt. Calvary.

So, back to that documentary and actually dozens of politically based interviews that I have watched, over my many years.  Chiefs of Staff confuse the words. Three-Star Generals confuse the words. People actually determining military strategy, for our country and dozens of our allies, apparently are not taught the difference between those two words. And, it's for sure that our heathen politicians don't know the difference either. Folks, that scares me. 

Just about now, you are saying to yourself....she needs to find something else to worry about. You're right. Next, I am going to tackle the difference between Nuclear and Nucular!!!!!!!!! 

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All Knowing God. Excuse our ignorance.  

 

 

" Do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?"

 Like thousands of other folks, I am the recipient of quite a number of "new" recipes on my Facebook and email feed. I write "new" because like the phrase "everything old is new again", there are no "new" recipes out there. My theory is that they are considered "new" only because all the people who used to make them, X number of years ago, are now dead.

I've already blogged about Wacky Cake, a WWI recipe, which I've baked for years. Another oldie is Bess Truman's Ozark pudding. Oldies, but Goodies folks. Yummy.

Well, here's another one....circa 1970. Do you remember Jello Poke Cake? Do you even remember Jello? My mother and grandmother made Jello deserts, Jello salads, Jello side dishes and the occasional very odd Jello main dish. My own four children ate something I made called Jigglers. They were made with couple of packages of Jello and very little water. That recipe was famous for making Jello (usually soft and very wet) into a "finger-food".

However, it must have been the early eighties, when Jello fell out of popularity. Those same four kids, all but forbade me to allow anything resembling Jello, access to the kitchen table. 

Well, recently the Poke Cake Recipe popped up on my computer. I made it, served it to company several times, and consistently received compliments. Trust me it's easy to make and very tasty. Dare I tell anyone that it contains the heretical Jello? Maybe not. I'm going to smile and thank the Lord, that I am still alive to make it.

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P.S. Interested in any of the above mentioned recipes? My email is: BriarKin@aol.com. I'll email you a copy. Remember. Don't mention Jello. 

Where are you going?

How did your ancestors get to America? Do you know if you are a descendant of someone who arrived here, before the Revolutionary War? Did your great-great-great grandpa fight in the Civil War? Maybe your people were 20th or even 21st Century immigrants. Or, were they already here, before our country became official, in 1776!

Every family has a different story. Many of us have relatives that came into this country through the immigration process, at Ellis Island, New York. Taking the time, to make a visit there, is well worth the effort. Perhaps someone in your family is listed on the Wall of Honor, located on the grounds of the large complex. I was impressed by the size of the facility and the acoustics, within the refurbished halls. I imagined that the sound of the different languages being spoken and the number of people being processed, must have been overwhelming, to the immigrants passing through.

Genealogy may not be your thing. Maybe you don't care who your fore fathers and mothers were, or what they did. But, the popularity of TV shows like "Who do you think you are?" and "Finding Your Roots", seems to be holding steady, season after season. We've all heard the expression "History repeats it's self." I believe that our ancestors would not want us to repeat their mistakes. Therefore, I think that it's important to learn the facts of their lives. Our ancestor's stories just might influence our life choices. After all, as the great philosopher Berra once opined, "If you don't know where you're going, you might take the wrong road."

Good luck in those archives, folks. Who know what fabulous stories you might find?

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 German passenger ship, The George Washington (ID# 3018), commissioned in 1908, sailing from Bremen, to New York Harbor. In 1914, Jacob and Eva Keller, German speaking Hungarians, were steerage passengers on the George Washington. They arrived at Ellis Island, according to the Ship's Manifest List, at Ellis Island, in January 1914. Michael F. Keller, their eldest son, was my father.