Company's comin!

Paul and Barbara, my niece and nephew are coming to visit. I'm delighted, of course, but my culinary skills seem to have gone astray.

We all cooked for families (in our former lives) but what happened to us here in Florida.

I dunno! I watch all the cooking shows and I'm really interested..but then...I don't know what happens.

I get stymed when the actuality comes. I don't know when they're coming in tonight...so many variables...but I'm making an old dish that I made in the 50's.

Baked spaghetti...healthy and good..with lots of celery, onions, mushrooms and peppers.

My friend Ruth loaned me her chopper-uper...it's great but not so good for the palms of your hands. Maybe I'll even be black and blue.

Anyway...Barb wants to play Maj...Paul wants to ride a bike...and I'm trying to coordinate all schedules...and it's clashing in my old brain.

Help!

Younger than Springtime

My oh my...the years have been a blink of an eye. I was 17 years old when I was singing that song...and it fit then.

The thing is...I didn't think it would never not fit. I wanted time frozen...and just enjoy everything that was happening then.

Then decades rolled by and for some of them I can't even account for. They also were gone in a heartbeat.

I guess I was always in la la land...didn't want time to move on.

Now...in my later years (and it did take all this time) I realized that time waits for no one...it just goes on.

Now I look back on these moments with such nostalgia...because I truly remember most of what occurred.

Not all up...but not at all down either. I lost dear ones in my family..but I didn't have a choice...now I know for sure that God is in control.

So...I'll just keep on smiling...and enjoy life with a sense of humor.

The Written Word!

We are so fortunate. When I go to the library, it's like a magnificent buffet...so many books just to entertain me and also to make me a little smarter.

I just got to thinking about books because when I was very young, my first enrollment was in our free public library. Also my son's first connection with the outer world was his library card.

When I pick up a book, I hold it reverenly in my hands. I look to see how heavy it is...how many pages...and then I wonder about the author. Did the author think long and hard about the storyline...or just sit down and begin writing. Did he spend much time searching for the perfect verb or adjective to give the sentence the punch desired. Was it put there for shock value.

So much to wonder about and what a thrill it is to open the flap and read a little bit about the story. If it's a thriller, I immediately return it to its shelf.

After I've finished reading and digesting a good book, I love to discuss it with someone...I like to lie in bed or in the bathtub and think about it some more...such enjoyment.


The earliest dated printed book known is the "Diamond Sutra", printed in China in 868 CE. However, it is suspected that book printing may have occurred long before this date.
In 1041, movable clay type was first invented in China. Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany, borrowed money to invent a technology that changed the world of printing. Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal letters in 1436 (completed by 1440). This method of printing can be credited not only for a revolution in the production of books, but also for fostering rapid development in the sciences, arts and religion through the transmission of texts.


So..thank God for the printing press. The Egyptians used hierglyphics which is still preserved in the pyramids today.

I believe this is the greatest time in history for upcoming authors.

First of all...they can do all their research on the internet which really lightens their load. Now, all they have to do is weave a delightful storyline around it...and there you have a novel.

I make is sound so simplistic. Who am I kidding!! And I'm also grateful for paperbacks...so much easier to hold.

no one complains about their portfolios!

It's absolutely amazing to me. When I go to the pool the conversation is not very stimulating.... Look at the cloud formation..do you think it's going to rain...should they cook or go out to dinner....was their game good last night.

Nary a word is being said about our freefall on the stock market. Maybe everybody was smarter than me and put their money into cd's.

I'm in mutual funds...growth and balanced funds...and no matter how diversified I am...they're all going down.

In Charles Dickins time they talked about going to the poor house.

Where is the poor house. Is it the street people? I really don't know.

Or is the poor house h.p.3...because we're living here as cheaply as we could possibly live anywhere.

When we're not driving and someone picks us up, is it right to offer a buck toward the gas...since it's shooting skyward?

I think it is! And when we go to the Boys and we see big bags of peppers and apples and eggplants outside for a buck, should we buy this...or is this their spoilage soon?

Is that like buying food that's reached its expiration date? I need some help on these things.

What to do! What to Do!