Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I’m Ready to Leave Behind This Summer

1. Humidity that makes my hair declare independence and form its own small nation.

2. Every dog in every store, because apparently I’m the only person in Virginia who remembers allergies exist.

3. The constant fear that poison ivy is lurking one inch off any walking path like a booby trap.

4. Ticks acting like they’ve been personally invited to the backyard.

5. High wind warnings that make me mentally rehearse my obituary.

6. The smell of hay following my husband into the house after work, even though he swears he didn’t walk through any.

7. The annual “Am I stuck in barbed wire?” panic whenever I’m near a fence.

8. My electric bill behaving like it’s auditioning for a horror movie.

9. Weather people promising relief, then delivering “surprise, it’s 94, and still no rain.”

10. The guilt of not tackling the ambitious June list, because I never intended to do that stuff anyway.

11. Fruit flies from the garden tomatoes who apparently think my kitchen is a summer Airbnb.

12. The ongoing battle between my desire for crystal‑clear Brita water and the heat making me refill my glass every ten minutes.

13. The belief that August will ever be anything but a sweaty, dramatic diva. Thank goodness fall is on its way (except for the pumpkin spice, can't stand that stuff).

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 973rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Currently

 

Currently, I am:

Reading . . . Desperation in Death, by J.D. Robb

 

Watching . . .  Same as before because the new seasons haven't started yet: JAG, Reacher, Password, The Eye of the Storm, Deadliest Catch.

Listening . . . to Dolly Parton's album, Rockstar Delux, because the country music legend passed away yesterday, and yes, I do own this album. I bought it because she has a duet with Melissa Etheridge on it. I also gave a copy of it to my father for Christmas the year it came out.

 

Eating . . . nothing at the moment. I am chewing gum, though.

Thinking . . . that the field out front looks better with the golden rod mowed down. 

 

Feeling . . . hopeful that I'll get to see the lunar eclipse tomorrow night, although the forecast is calling for overcast skies.

Celebrating . . . the fact that I've been able to pick the guitar up again, after dealing with a shoulder impingement for months. I can't hold it for long, but I'm getting there.

 

Thankful . . . for good people in the world like Dolly Parton. In a world full of jerks, be a Dolly Parton. 

Enjoying . . . a jigsaw puzzle, the new Atlantic magazine, and a new pair of shoes.

Fawns

 

Maybe There Are Witches

Twenty-six years ago today, my mother passed away.

I've acknowledged this date most years. Since I've been doing this blog for 20 years, there isn't much new left to say.

What I have is one small moment. It doesn't need to be more than it was.

Some background. At my elementary school, there was a weekly Bible study class. I was in the fourth grade when the instructor handed out books for this hour of religious indoctrination. After six weeks, she wanted to see everyone's books and how often we went to Sunday school and church.

My family didn't attend church. My father was Catholic and my mother was Baptist, and apparently when I was born, never the twain shall meet. The instructor picked up my very empty book and held up for all the class to see what a sinner I was, I who had no way to get to a church, living out in a rural area as I did. And at 10 years old, what was I to do?

I sat and cried the whole hour and then went home and told my parents what happened. One of them must have said something to the school officials, because the next week I was sent out of class to go to the library when Bible study hour came. That suited me fine. I learned the Dewey Decimal System, how to shelve books, and had the chance to sit and read when I was done with the library duty. 

So, I didn't mind the library. I minded what came after, though. The other kids made fun of me. They already thought I was strange because I was an A student and called me names like "computer head." Missing the Bible study class meant I was even weirder than they thought. Someone to laugh at. They made fun of me for the books I read, too, because I liked dragons and fairies and worlds that weren't this one.

It bothered me a lot, and one evening I grew very quiet. The next day was Bible class day. I started crying about it. I remember standing at the window, looking out at the stars, tears on my cheeks.

My mother noticed something was wrong. I told her the kids made fun of me because I didn't go to Bible class and I read books about witches and ghosts and fairies. I don't remember the whole conversation, just the one thing she said, because I've turned it over so many times since: Maybe there are witches and ghosts and fairies. They don't know. Don't cry.

Mom didn't fix the school, or the other kids, or the years that came after. But for one evening, she didn't tell me the world was right and I was wrong to be hurt by it. She let the possibility stand: maybe there's more to things than the people who were laughing at me understood. Maybe I wasn't foolish for believing in something bigger than what was in front of me.

I don't know that she meant it as comfort in any deep way. I don't know that she thought about it again after that night. But I did. I still do, because I never forgot it. I still read - and sometimes write - about worlds that aren't quite this one that we inhabit. 

I still like the idea of magic.

Maybe there are witches and ghosts and fairies. I will never know the truth of that. But I stopped crying that night, and some nights, that's the whole job of a mother, to wipe away the tears.

Sunday Stealing

 

Wikipedia Meme

First, what is your birthday (month/day)?

June 8

Now, go to Wikipedia and list:

1) Four historic events

A.  452 – Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome.

1191 – English forces under King Richard I arrive in Acre, joining the already arrived French and German forces of the Third Crusade.

1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.

1949 – George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published in the United States

2) Three births

A. 1593 – George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (died 1648)

1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (died 1959)

1951 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter (died 2026)

3) Two deaths

A. 632 – Muhammad, the central figure of Islam. (born 570/571)

1795 – Louis XVII of France (born 1785)

1) One holiday or observance 

A. World Oceans Day

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

  __________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday9: Shoo Fly Pie

Saturday 9: Shoo Fly Pie (and Apple Pan Dowdy) – 1946

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

This month Saturday 9 will be tasty, featuring songs with food in the title.

1) Shoo fly pie got its name from Shoo Fly the Boxing Mule. After the Civil War, the mule who could box was such a popular circus attraction that a molasses manufacturer started featuring him on their packaging. Since molasses is the key ingredient of this pie recipe, homemakers just began referring to it as "shoo fly pie." If we looked, would we find molasses in your kitchen?

A. I don't think so. I eat it sometimes but haven't bought any in a while.

2) Apple pan dowdy is another uniquely American recipe from the 19th century. It's like apple pie, except it only has a top crust, which is broken up. Apples are a good source of fiber, Vitamin C and antioxidants. Do you consider nutrition when choosing a dessert? Or are you just all about how it tastes?

A. Oh, who cares about nutrition? Just make sure it tastes good.

3) The lyrics describe these two desserts as the ultimate comfort foods, able to make "the sun come out when the heavens are cloudy." Do you find that the foods you crave change with your mood?

A. Sometimes.

4) Singer June Christy pleads with her mama to whip up this "wonderful stuff." Did your mother have a dish you often requested?

A. My mother did not, but my grandmother had a macaroni and cheese recipe that was vastly different from any I've ever tasted elsewhere.

5) June was born in Springfield, Illinois' capital. Have you been to your state's capital city?

A. I have been to my state's capital, yes. That would be Richmond.

6) June spent years singing with Stan Kenton's Orchestra. At one point, she gave 38 performances in 35 towns in 35 days. That's a busy schedule! Do you thrive on activity? Or do you find yourself rejuvenated by quiet time?

A. I prefer quiet time with some activity thrown in occasionally.

7) In 1946, when this record was popular, bikinis were first seen in Paris fashion shows. How often have you worn your swimsuit this summer?

A. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Not at all.

8) Also in 1946, Elias Tupper invented Tupperware, a plastic container with an airtight top that's great for preserving leftovers. Are there any leftovers in your refrigerator right now?

A. Actually, no. We cleaned them out earlier in the week.

9) Random question: Is there a day of the week that goes by faster than the others?

A. Now that I am older, it seems like the whole week goes by in a flash. I change the linens every Saturday and it seems like I just did it yesterday.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however. 

Thursday Thirteen

Thursday 13: Holidays I’d Declare If Anyone Put Me in Charge

1. National Frog‑Catching Day. For people who enjoy nature but not enough to actually keep the frog. Nor do they want to eat the frog's legs. Just catch and release. For the fun of it.

2. National Throw a Hissy‑Fit Day. One sanctioned meltdown per person. No rollover credits. Hissy-Fit may involve verbal frustrations but no physical abuse, please, although jumping up and down in utter exasperation is completely allowed.

3. National No‑Cussing Day. A challenge for some, a vacation for others. Give the four-letter words a break and see if you can recall those usages from childhood, like "Son of a Sea Biscuit" or "Oh fudge!"

4. National Eat Chocolate All Day Day. Self-explanatory and what's not to like? Doctors may file objections; they will be ignored.

5. National Don’t Call Me Unless You’re on Fire Day. A holiday with clear boundaries. Informally called "Leave Me Alone Day." Same sentiment, just less forceful.

6. National Pants Quality Control Day. Manufacturers must explain themselves and tell us why pants legs are not always the same length, ladies pants come without pockets, and why inseams never actually are what the measurements say they are.

7. National Stop Using My Email for Your Spam Accounts Day. Justice at last. Maybe the folks who use my email for their spam would get theirs?

8. National Root Beer Appreciation Day. A&W gets a parade. Stewart's root beer comes in second. Mug root beer brings up the rear. Maybe it doesn't even get in the parade.

9. National Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading Day. Mandatory quiet hours. Violators face stern looks. Everyone turns into a librarian going "shhhh" while reading a book. Imagine the absolute quiet. 

10. National No Bossy Robot Voices Day. Pharmacies must use humans or silence. They absolutely would not tell me to move picking up a prescription to the top of my "to do" list. Additionally, all customer service calls would be answered by real people for once without going through a menu of 17 different items.

11. National Drought‑Be‑Gone Day. Rain encouraged to behave and come again, like every day for at least a week or more.

12. National Rainbow Spotting Day. Morning or evening, whichever your house allows. Nothing like brilliant colors in the sky to remind one that the heart is full and overflowing even on rainy days.

13. National Mind Your Own Business Day. A holiday with immediate national benefit. No one would be on social media. Opinions would be quashed, voices silenced. Congress might actually pass a bill.

What holiday would you invent?

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 972nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Red Roses (for a Blue Lady)

 I took these photos with my iPhone SE at the physical therapist's office.

Turkey Buzzard or Vulture?

 

The other day, I saw that a turkey buzzard was sunning itself on a dying if not yet dead pine tree. Later, I saw a vulture there.

But I didn't see them together. Honestly, this is the first time I've seen a turkey buzzard in quite a long time. The vultures moved in and the buzzards moved out.

They do the same thing - eat dead animals - but the vultures will kill live small animals, like newborn calves, while turkey buzzards are not so vicious.

I don't recall seeing the vultures when I was growing up, only turkey buzzards. The vultures allegedly came to roost here after some were released from the Radford Arsenal sometime in the 1990s. Why did they have them? I don't know.

Anyway, they are all over now, and I thought they'd run the turkey buzzards off, but maybe not.

According to my brief research, a turkey buzzard is actually a turkey vulture, us hillbillies just call it a buzzard. The other is a black vulture.

We don't like black vultures. They have killed some of our calves. I've gone and stood guard over newborn calves before to keep the black vultures away.

Sunday Stealing

 

This week's meme was stolen from Country Dew (that's me!). A decade ago, she shared these "get to know you" questions she found on Facebook. Let's use them to go to know you better.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ...? 

1. Flavor?  - Sweet. 

2. Movie? - The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

3. Piece of jewelry? - My wedding band.

4. Place to be? - Home.

5. Boy's name? - James

6. Girl's name? - Susan

7. Candy? - Chocolate

8. Sports team? - The Indiana Fever (WNBA)

9. Color? - Blue

10. Month? - September

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

  __________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.