Easter Eggs in all their glory

For hunting only

It was a brutal competition, with lots of screaming, shoving and pushing. There may have been some scratching and punching as well. There are no memories about who garnered the most eggs; the hunt was not so much about speed—it was about who was most devious. 

Then Easter was gone, baskets were packed away for next year, and deviled eggs were supper. With no holiday to anticipate, a veil of tedium settled over our farm in a pre-summer heat. A day or two passed, and then?

In the middle of the night, something woke me, something like a POP!  I rolled over, catching just a hint of chocolate.  Then a new smell came in waves---foul, recognizable, nauseating.

It was the distinctive odor of rotten eggs.  Rolling out of bed and looking under it, I spotted a lone Easter basket with the remains of an exploded egg.  One of my three brothers had placed it there before I went to bed. (My bedroom was that clean...seriously...even under the bed...)

Opened the window…threw the Basket out…and heard the muffled giggles from my brothers’ rooms.  They were waiting for my own explosion. 

Well, they did not get it.  I tiptoed down the stairs and slept on the couch.  The rotten egg smell did not limit itself to my room; it traveled to their room as well.

Justice and revenge would wait for another day.  I was the soul of patience.

Those bastards....

This was originally published in 2019, again in 2021 and 2023. I know most of you have read this before. But I really loved the story and the memory.

Source etsy

Laundry. The Saga.

 

I thought my attitude towards laundry was unique.  But, at a bingo game, I mentioned this, and every elderly person groaned and expressed their own thoughts.  

Then I read the history of laundry.

"The history of laundry is a fascinating journey that highlights the evolution of an essential household chore from its ancient origins to the innovative technologies and practices of today. As our understanding of textiles, cleaning agents, and machinery has advanced, so too have our methods for keeping clothes and linens clean, fresh, and well-maintained. As we continue to develop new technologies and embrace sustainable practices, the future of laundry promises to be even more efficient, convenient, and environmentally friendly.".

This might make some sort of sense to the weak and frail minded. I have spent 60+ years doing laundry. The early decades involved a wringer washer with two rinse tubs, and hours of hanging them up on a clothesline.  Our clothesline was made from heavy wire with clothespins.  I started the clothes washing when I hit 10.  I was never weak.  Week in, week out.

Mom got sick one summer and boyhowdy! did I learn a lot. Every week or so, Grandma Cardiff would appear in their car driven by Grandpa. She became the "Alpha" of laundry. But I was the labor part of the laundry process.  I became the alpha in training, continuing on this until we got a real honest-to-goodness washer when I was 16. My folks got a dryer a year or so later, when I went to college.

Then after the clothes have been taken and down to be folded, there is always some laundry that needs to be ironed.  

 

 

 

 

There are so many memes that properly state the misery of laundry.  I have spoken my piece.

Swimming with Angels

 

children in the pool having a great time. 

 

Grandma, watch me

Splash and dive

Did you

See

That?

Hands in the water

Sweeping
through the bubbles

And finding

The air.

 

 

 

 

 

 Tanned arms and hands 

Droplets on eyelashes

 

 Wrinkling

Fingers,

Shouting 

Splashing

 

Grandma heaven.

 

 

It. Is. Time

 

Pinterest.com

Time comes in all lives when a person says “That’s enough…I’m done…”  It is turning off the tractor, closing the grade book, handing over the keys, and walking away.

Point of this post:

Recognize when it is time to stop, to walk away.

You know when it is time, you can feel it.  Do not deny the hip, knee, or shoulder.  Do not ignore pain or sense of exhaustion. Growing old is serious business.

A number of issues forced me to retire from teaching, a good ten years early.  Pain took me out. Changes in state requirement were strangling teachers and education.

Mainly, joy was leaving me. 

When that joy is gone, it is time to stop, to walk away, and head to something that returns joy to you.

Have you done that? Can you do that? 

Wings on their dance shoes

      

Irish weddings are big events in a  young couple's life together. 

Not many blog readers have participated in such a wedding as witnesses, family, and share in the reception. Well, after the wedding ceremony, people head to food and drink, cut the cake, and then dance. Then they dance. Oh my do they dance!!

 At this bride's reception, some gifted dancers stir up the pot, set the kettle on to boil: Members of the Riverdance are on the dance floor.

The Riverdance performances are breath taking.  When Flatley comes on stage like a shooting star, it is impressive. See below.

   1988 was the beginning of Irish Dance Popularity Jean Buter and Michael Flatley(the choreographer and creator of RiverDance). 

          

He is not a humble man.

Enjoy St. Paddy's Day!  Avoid the garishness of canals died green in Chicago.

  Eat corned beef (not really an Irish thing), boiled potatoes, onions, and cabbage. Irish brown bread is essential. Top it all of with a "trifle", which is really a British and Irish dessert.

Guinness is up to you.

Hoist a pint, or maybe two

Pionta a chrochadh.

Dancing along the Liffey

 

 With Guinness and shepherd's pie on the line, St. Paddy's Day cannot be ignored.

My gr-daughters are Irish dancers. It is possible that our photos and dance recordings of the two of them could overwhelm you.  Instead, you will  see a world record of Irish dancers performing across the bridge, with the line wrapping down along the street.  

Riverdance on the banks of the Liffey

 Here is a write-up about that day:

"Riverdance World Record Longest Line 21st July 2013" - What a fantastic day on the banks of the River Liffey. A sincere thank you to all who made it happen - .. but most especially all the 1693 record breaking dancers from 44 countries whose enthusiasm and energy made the day and broke the record! Thank you!

Lead by Jean Butler and Padraic Moyles and over 115 professional Riverdance dancers in costume which were joined by 1000 other dancers.   the Riverdance line stretched for 1km along the north and south banks of the river Liffey, Dublin. The dancers were watched by an audience of thousands cheering them on as they danced for 5 continuous minutes in an unbroken line into the record books."

 

These are our gr-daughters in 2018 in Sequoia.  They light up every place they are.

  “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!”

Law leh Paw-drig suna yee-uv

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sushi: Love it or hate it. No in between.

 

My introduction to Sushi happened in early 2000s. We had moved back to California from Ireland, and sushi was a new thing for me. I liked it.

See what you think:

We have purchased sushi from different places.  Are they really different from each other?  I mean, what could go wrong with rice, fish, stuff?

 

Last time I ate sushi was when Stater Bros had a real sushi kitchen where sushi is made in front of the person who is buying it.  Okay, so far.  But, I had sushi with scallops and such.

 

Then it all went wrong.  The scallops were not fresh at all, and I developed a food poisoning reaction.  Diarrhea and throwing up reaction.  

 

Can't eat sushi now.  Sadly.  My daughter's family love sushi, my husband does not, and now I am sticking to pulled pork barbecue, also available in chicken. 

 

What do you think? Would you or do you eat sushi?  Would love to hear about your experiences. 

 

dragon roll

Okay. Play date. Let the games begin.

 

What does eating a sandwich tell about you?

 

Anxiety vibrated in the air as Samuel’s mother knocked on a red door.  The door was opened by an equally anxious, smiling nervously mother.   Ah.  So this is the ‘play-date’.  Interesting…

Two more mothers called out, and Samuel was dragged into the tv room where three other bewildered children sat.  Legos and action figures lay scattered around them.  An offering of some sort, obviously.

“Now, let’s have lunch!”  Someone announced, and the four children were plopped down at a child’s table in their colorful chairs.  IKEA…

Plates of sandwiches and potato chips were slid in front of each, and juice boxes (straws inserted) were set down.

Silence, long and drawn out, echoed as each child sized the other up for reference.    

So much can be learned by the way one holds a juice box, how one sucks on the deadly straw.  How the sandwich is held speaks a world of information.  Blue iced cupcakes are not meant for just eating.

By lunch’s end, it was clear:  Samuel was the Alpha, Charlie the Omega.  Clarisse—sassy deceptive girl—was a she-devil.  Buddy was easily manipulated.  The game is afoot, friends.

And then....

When the front door closed amid tears and apologies after the play-date concluded, much had happened.  The leather sofa had been stabbed to death with the plastic juice box straws.  The blood red juice stained the carpet in big drops.  The dog cowered beneath the sofa, shivering in his blue icing stripes.

 

 

 

This is from 2012 from Samuel Chronicles.  

 

Sassy? Oh, yeah.

 

 I have discovered a great site for me, for I am empress of sassiness.  Anyway, the following paragraphs are from that Sassy Senior FB site:

I found this timely, because today I was in a shoe store that sells only shoes, nothing else. A young girl with a tattoo and green hair walked over to me and asked, "What brings you in today? I looked at her and said, "I'm interested in buying a refrigerator." She didn't quite know how to respond, had that deer in the headlights look.

I was thinking about old age and decided that old age is when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it.

When people see a cat's litter box they always say, "Oh, have you got a cat?" I just say, "No, it's for company!"

Employment application blanks always ask who is to be called in case of an emergency. I think you should write, "An ambulance."

The older you get the tougher it is to lose weight because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Have you ever noticed: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are XL.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he knows when he's really in trouble.

Did you ever notice that when you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs?"

Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Some people try to turn back their "odometers." Not me.

I want people to know why I look this way.

I've traveled a long way and a lot of the roads were not paved.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up, sags or leaks.

Ah! Being young is beautiful but being old is comfortable.



Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.

May you always have:

Love to share,

Cash to spare,

Tires with air,

And friends who care.

From Sassy Senior Society.  Good place to check out.

It is serendipitous to happen onto something that is just what you want or need. This was one of those: clever with a fair amount of humor which makes me wish I had written something like it.

Stay well, work in the garden, walk in green woods, and love one another.

 

Garema Place in Canberra

 

From Elephant's Child

 

 

Billy Jim and Esther Sue had saved all their lives for this trip, and by golly, they would see as much of this street art place in Australia as they could.

The bus tour gave them 45 minutes to roam about this park in the middle of Canberra called “Garema” Place.

“Hell, Esther, if I’da wanted to look at weird metal sheep sitting on a bench, I’da made one at home,” Billy Jim stood with his big belly balanced by hands on hips.  “Mighty dumb, if ya ask me.”

‘Glad I didn’t ask.’  Esther Sue mentally responded.  She came to a lonely plaque on the sidewalk.  As she read it silently, a tear slid down her cheek.  ‘Well, at least you rejoiced when it came, Linette Bone.'

 

Billy Jim hollered, “Time to git back on the bus.  Git on over here, woman!”

Esther sighed, looking one last time at the plaque.  ‘Hope you were loved, ….’  Then she joined Billy on the bus.

 

This is a repost from 2011.  Elephant's Child provides so many photos from her marvelous country. Check her out on Sundays. 

wire sculptures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On being mindless

Some people are born with a propensity to mindless  behavior, which is developed to be an art over a life time.  How does one recognize someone who does not have a clue, who spends life in a marathon of stupid choices?

First, such a person would walk across a yard while the sprinklers are on full force, because one is playing “candy crush” something on an iPhone.

Man tears tendon after playing Candy Crush for 10 hours every day for 8 weeks

Next, one such is seldom wary of danger, like crossing against traffic, while checking local movie times on that stupid iPhone.

Screeeccchhhh!

Finally, this person, who is downloading Johnny Cash’s Greatest Hits, will suddenly develop itchy welts on feet and legs after ignoring a friend’s text message, “Hey,   My dog is swarming with fleas.  Don’t go near it…”

Source

Fact is, mindless people will find that being mindless does not serve them well. Ever.

Thanks to Elephant's Child who has provided 6 and/or 8 words for writers to use and challenge themselves.  The underlined words are from 2015.

And, many good wishes to Delores at Under the Porch Light,who created this opportunity to up the game of writers.  Delores retired from this, handing over the baton to River and other volunteers.