Cooking the NYTimes and Other Assorted Retirement Activities

There are those teachers who made an indelible mark on your educational career--some for the better, others for the worse.  I've been fortunate to have more of the former than the latter.  Lately, I've been revisiting memories of Miss Sheila Creighton (aka Mrs. Perrone) and the class I was extremely lucky to take from her at Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago.   The class was U.S. History.  Miss Creighton had the highest standards of about any teacher at NDHS.  It was lecture with sidebars where she shared her extensive knowledge of the subject.  She outlined her presentation on the blackboard and it was a challenge to keep up with her.  I loved it, especially when we studied the US Constitution and the branches of government.   Any surprise those memories have been popping up? Many reasons currently exist to question what the hell is going on in our government these days.  Recalling what I learned about the Constitut...

When I plant my garden, I talk with the plants.  First, I welcome them to the garden, introduce them to their neighboring plants.  They are warned against the rabbits and deer who after lo these many years, still have not gotten the message that meals and snacks are plentiful in other parts of the yard.  I assure the plants they will be well cared for and thank them for all they will provide this season.  During the summer, I frequently encourage them, saying, "Good job!" when seeds burst into plants or plants put forth flowers, then fruit.   When I pick the tomatoes or beans or dig up the potatoes, I say, "Thank you, God, for the garden."   The vegetable garden is pretty much in the driver's seat as far as when the show is over for those plants.  We enjoy the bounty as long as it continues, never taking it for granted.  In my opinion, nothing tastes better than something which goes directly from the backyard to the dinner plate. ...

Earlier today, on NPR, Mitt Romney, the sole Republican willing to say that what the President is (and has been) doing is "troubling," was asked why none of his Republican colleagues are speaking out against the President's words and actions.  Paraphrasing, here's what he said: "Power.  Republicans control the White House and the Senate.  They don't want to give up their power. Mitch McConnell, the Majority Level, gets to say which bills will and will not be heard.  That's a lot of power." My heart sank, in similar fashion to when I attended the Presidential Forum on Gun Safety.  There, Democratic candidates for their party's nomination, one after another, confirmed that when the President says, "We need to pass laws on improved background checks," Wayne LaPierre, President of the NRA, tools into the Oval Office the next day.  Wayne tells Donald, no, you're not going to pass laws on improved background checks, Donald says, oh, o...

This has taken me over a week to write due to the intervening of life. Many segments of our society mark the passage of time with an interesting combination of the change in seasons and activities associated with that.  Retail, in my opinion, takes this to the extreme.  For example, following the 4th of July, all summer apparel and merchandise goes onto the clearance racks and shelves.  Whoa betide those seeking sleeveless garments in August!  And don’t get me started on the real Pass Over: Thanksgiving.  Should you spy any turkey related items in the stores, my suggestion is you purchase it immediately because by next week it will have been shoved aside for everything Christmas. The Education Community has 3 seasons: school in session, breaks and summer.  They have been seen to avert their eyes in denial when passing by the Back to School displays in July.  Yet there is a palpable, electric excitement at the back to school convocations and especia...

I've been meaning to write this all week, but was a little busy.  I did take my computer over to Bridget's where I was on Sloane and Ace patrol for a couple days.  What was I thinking?  I used to write after my kids went to bed, but that was back in the day when I was a Mom, not a Grandma who crawled into bed with the baby as soon as Sloane was tucked in for the night. Onward. Last Saturday, Jeanie (I'm going to stop referencing her as my friend Jeanie because by now you should know she's my friend) and I attended the Presidential Gun Sense Forum, sponsored by Everytown for Gun Safety; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I was overwhelmed at the event, not so much by the messaging (all the candidates are in favor of stricter gun laws) but by seeing one after another after another of the candidates in person, maybe 50 feet away.  Gillebrand.  Buttegieg.  Klobuchar.  Hickenlooper (...

I've been arguing with myself all day about writing this and finally decided to go ahead, but try to keep it short. Yesterday was our 46th wedding anniversary.  The weather was pretty close to perfect.  Our daughters and their children all came over (He Who Must Not Be Named and family are at the Jersey shore with my daughter-in-law's family).  We sat in the backyard, ate, laughed, played with the kids, held the baby boys, watched the kids play with each other.  It doesn't get too much better than that. Other than, around 5 p.m., I found that I was feeling short tempered and crabby.  Crabby enough that I wondered if I had taken my daily antidepressant; I had.  Everything was getting on my last nerve, especially things that absolutely shouldn't have. And then it dawned on me, and it felt like a smack upside the head. The shootings in El Paso and Dayton (regardless of what Ohio city POTUS thinks the shootings occurred in). Yep.  PTSD. (If int...

We're on the home stretch of this Excellent Field Trip, having made our way from Italy to Belgium where we're staying with our exchange daughter, Elena and her family.  I'd like to report that we navigated the Pisa airport without our typical Silly American Tourist shenanigans.  We didn't, but we arrived here just the same.  If I were to rate the airports we've been through this trip, Brussels is the top of the list, bar none.  Easy to navigate, designed with what felt like common sense in mind, beautiful, clean, filled with light.  In every airport we have been aware of the presence of armed security and police.  Such are the times we live in. Since our last visit, Elena and her husband George have had a son, Nikitas (Nikki), 3.  They were waiting for us and Nikki literally jumped into my arms and hugged, hugged, hugged me.  How did I come to be so blessed?  Elena is originally from Moldova, George from Greece, they both speak Dutch as the...