Big as a Cat

I don't know how well you can see these, but that little spot behind the doe in the photos below is a newborn fawn.

The little thing was about as big as a cat!

I took them through the window (which includes a screen and affects the quality) with my old Canon Powershot.

Thursday Thirteen

Here are 13 things about me that you might not know:

1. I bought a sippy cup for myself and use it on the bedside table at night. I didn't like using an open glass and so I used bottled water for a while, but I didn't always drink all the water and it seemed wasteful. A sippy cup won't spill if I should knock it over in the night and it doesn't hold as much water.

2. I used to journal every single day, writing by hand in spiral bound notebooks. I stopped doing that in the last 10 years. Sometimes I miss it and will pick it up and do it again for a while.

3. My bones have been cracked or broken in many places over the years. I broke my wrist when I was in the 7th grade. I cracked my ankle in 1995. I've also broken a finger and a couple of toes.

4. I have a three-inch scar across my chest. The doctors cut out a huge mole when I was five years old.

5. My favorite colors are blue and purple, but the older I grow the more I like yellow.

6. My favorite poem is by Christopher Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love. This is the first stanza:

Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.


7. My favorite poet is Sharon Olds, however. I have read most of her books of poetry and I once met her in person at poetry reading at Roanoke College.

8. I do not have a favorite book. I have read so many books that I cannot pick a favorite, though some are better liked than others. I enjoy mysteries, literature, science fiction, and fantasy but I read very little romance. I read young adult literature, particularly fantasy books. However, so long as the story is good and the characters well-written, I will read most anything.

9. The fantasy genre is among my favorites, but not all fantasies are equal. I am more of a Tolkien girl than anything. Unwarranted violence, zombies, and vampires are not my thing.

10. I have traveled over my area in a hot air balloon and in a single engine plane.

11. One of my secret desires is to find something old and interesting, like arrowheads or gold or diamonds or the site of some ancient human encampment.

12. I can recite The Night Before Christmas poem from memory.

13. I know the secrets to immortality.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 195th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Haying Time on the Farm

Books: Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures
By Tracy Chevalier
Copyright 2009
312 pages

My book club met last night and Remarkable Creatures was our read this time.

It is a wonderful book.

The story is a fictional account of a real life event: the finding of dinosaur bones at Lyme Regis in England.

It is also the tale of two women, of varying social classes and ages, and how they connect through a love of the past. They are also both searching for truth, and in this they run up against the conventions and bounds of the day.

Mary Anning is poor and uneducated, but she has a knack for finding treasures on the beach. The treasures are fossils. She and her father and brother hunt the fossils and sell them to tourists. When we meet her, she is but a child.

Elizabeth Philpot is a middle-class spinster who moves to Lyme Regis with her two sisters at the behest of their brother. As male of the household he has determined they should move from London (and his new wife) and settle elsewhere, happy with the stipend he provides.

Elizabeth finds herself drawn to the beach and soon to the fossils. Of course it is only natural that she strike up a friendship with the younger woman.

The book is told in the first person by both women, and this allows the reader to feel comfortable with them. Elizabeth takes on a sisterly role with Mary and is keen to help her and her family after her father dies. However, Mary's mother, Molly, has a strong will of her own.

When Mary makes a major find, unearthing an entire skeleton of a prehistoric fish, the men come out of the woodwork to purchase the beast  - and to take the credit for the find. It only through Elizabeth's persistence that Mary is eventually acknowledged as the real archaeologist.

I read this book when I shouldn't have - I was in the middle of writing final papers for my graduate courses. I needed a break and picked up this book, thinking to read a few pages to clear my mind and then put the book down. Six hours later, I realized I needed to get back to work.

Chevalier has brought to life a character in history who was completely unknown to me. Mary Anning really existed, as did Elizabeth Philpot. You can find information about both women online. It is also worth looking up Lyme Regis to learn more about the fossils found there.

This book is HIGHLY recommended.

Thursday Thirteen

Last week I saluted my husband for his birthday and did not recite my list of good things that happened in May, so I will do that now.

1. I received As in both of my classes for final grades. I have a 4.0 with two classes and a thesis to write to graduate. I am really hoping I can keep the grades up!

2. I joined Weight Watchers in late May and began seriously dieting. As of Sunday, I had lost four pounds.

3. I read a few books, including Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, which was great, People of the Book by Gwendolyn Brooks, and Stuck by local author Becky Mushko.

4. My friend and I went to the Green Valley Book Fair and The Cheese Shop and had a very nice outing. I did buy a few books.

5. My roses bloomed full and wonderful. I enjoyed taking pictures of them and watching them fill the backyard with spectacular color.

6. My irises bloomed early in May and as always I thought of my great aunt, who loved the iris. Some of my plants are from flowers she gave to my mother.

7. I attended a lecture on Harry Potter. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it did make me think about book organization.


8. The world did not end. It was supposed to have done so on a Saturday but we're still here. I personally am rather glad of that.

9. The columbine was especially lovely in the garden this year.

10. I walked on the treadmill 20 times during the month. I am pretty happy with that, as that was my goal.

11. I finally put my planner together and made a long to-do list and set down some goals. I have hardly opened it since but I think the activity was very good for me, as I've been trudging along marking off items in my head. "This is on the list, so do it," seems to work well.

12. I took care of myself by getting a massage, seeing my doctor, working on my eating habits, exercising, and meditating.

13. I found a Nikon L22 pocket camera on the clearance table at OfficeMax for $50. I thought it was a great buy.

There you go. Thirteen things that happened last month that make me feel good when I think about them.

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 194th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I am 48 years old. I am heading into old woman territory. I am definitely in that area where you have lived more years than you have left. Middle age!

Here are a few shots of me through the years:

Me at age three with my baby brother.

 

Starting school, I think. Around six or seven.

 

Age nine or 10.

 

Age 20. Getting married!

 

Me at 47.

The Dance Recital

Saturday, my niece, Zoe, had her dance recital with Floyd Ward School of Dance. She is into clogging and apparently is very good at it.

The recital is an astonishing 12 hours long. It took place over two days, with a show Friday night and two on Saturday. All were at the auditorium at the Roanoke Civic Center.

The theme was "Circus Zircus" and many of the tunes were dances related to circus activities. The costumes were fantastic, the very small girls were darling, and the older girls made me wish I were 16 again.

My niece danced in several routines during the four hours I was there. This was her outfit for the opening number:

Below, that's her in the middle with the purple hair. We weren't supposed to be taking pictures during the event; however, I turned off the flash and attempted to sneak in a few shots. This is the only one that turned out, though.

She danced really well. I could hardly believe it was my nine-year-old niece up there doing all of that tapping and moving. It was quite exciting. I'm very proud of her!

Jumbals and Paper Pancakes

Thursday evening, the Botetourt County Historical Society hosted a talk called Jumbals and Quire of Paper Pancakes: Food & Family in Mid-19th Century Fincastle.

The talk was presented by Professor Gail McMillan, Director of Digital Libraries and Archives at Virginia Tech, and Dr. Jean Robbins, R.D., retired from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. (She said during her talk that she was 82 years old!)

Professor McMillan told a story of Nannie Figgat and her marriage to Charlie Figgat, both of Fincastle. They lived in the 1800s and at the turn of the 20th century. Theirs was a love story with a rather bad ending. After more than 30 years of marriage, Charlie Figgat absconded with a sum of money from his empoyer, the Bank of Lexington, in 1895, and vanished. He left his family behind.

I thought that was very sad. Typical, maybe, but still sad. Woe to those for whom the almighty dollar has more power than love.

 During Dr. Robbins' volunteer work with the Botetourt County History Museum, she became intrigued with Nannie Figgat. Eventually she found that Figgat's diary and cookbook were in the holdings at Virginia Tech.

Turns out, Nannie Figgat was a well-to-do gentile woman who kept house, oversaw her servants, and took care of the children. She also lived through the Civil War.

Dr. McMillan became intrigued with the story as well, and many hours of research later, they began showcasing recipes from Figgat's cookbook and telling her life story. They are still piecing the woman's life together. They've spoken about it several times: here is a little write up about another of their events.

The little brochure they handed out included a recipe for jumbals, a type of cookie. The Historical Society served them after the talk and they were very good. Many of the recipes have brandy or other alcoholic beverage in them. Professor McMillan theorized that because the water was not always potable in many places, alcoholic beverages were used in cooking for health purposes.

Because I didn't ask permission, I won't print their version of the jumbal recipe. But I will print the version of this cookie found in The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph. This is one of the first known cook books, written in 1835. The book is available in its entirety for viewing through Google Books.

This version does not include brandy, alas.

Jumbal

Put one pound of nice sugar into two pounds of flour; add pounded spice of any kind, and pass them through a sieve; beat four eggs; pour them on with 3/4 of a pound of melted butter, knead all well together, and bake them.

How's that for easy, eh?

Thursday Thirteen

Today is my husband's birthday, so in his honor, I am going to offer up 13 terrific things about him. If you're a new reader, we've been married for 27 years.

1. He's a very hard worker. He has three jobs - he is a battalion chief with the fire department, he installs septic tanks and does backhoe work, and he runs a farm.

2. He loves me regardless of what I do. I am not very wild and crazy anyway, but I can be moody. He is very understanding.


3. He has a great laugh. He finds laughter in so many things - antics on the farm, stuff on TV, my personal twisted sense of humor. He's a great fan of Monty Python and can repeat almost word-for-word the dialogue from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

4. He loves to watch NASCAR races and always has. He rooted for Bill Elliot for many years. Now he doesn't seem to have a favorite and mostly roots against certain people, like Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.


5. He has a motorcycle that he calls a "crotch rocket" which he enjoys riding when the weather is warm.



6. He likes to deer hunt and is very happy when he is out in the woods hoping to bag his big buck.

7. He can run any piece of machinery there is, I think. He fixes them, too. His hands are always dirty and marked with grease.



8. He loves to mow the yard. He is always satisfied when our "estate" is mowed and trimmed.

9. He has spent his entire life here on the farm and his roots are deep and long.


10. His family always comes first.


11. Learning new things is not out of the question for him. I've gotten him sort of up to speed on computer and he is even doing a little of his bookkeeping work these days.

12. He joined the fire department 28 years ago and rose up through the ranks to become chief. I can't tell you how proud I am of him for being so successful.


13. He's a good and great guy in all areas. I am so very lucky to have him! Happy Birthday, baby!




Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 193rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Trillium

Hidden in a little valley on the farm is a stand of trees. In April, the forest floor takes on a lovely white or lavender color.

Trillium is in bloom.

Trillium is a native perennial. I like to think that my ancestors found the wildflower as lovely as I do.

The flower can be damaged if picked and take years to recover. I never pick them. I just go look at them and take pictures.

My Mother's Soul

As a girl, I was full of questions. My mother received the brunt of these, and she usually answered with patience. My inquiries ranged from "why is the sky blue" to "what happens when we die?"

Our conversations throughout 37 years together often sounded like Philosophy 101. I never ceased to question, and she did her best to fulfill my curiousity. "Because" was not an answer I ever accepted.

We debated alien beings, the meaning of God, the legend of Big Foot, and the Loch Ness Monster. We talked of faith and logic, emotion and intelligence.

We rarely reached conclusions, for these are unanswerable questions, after all.

In 2000, as my mother rested in a hospital bed, her body giving way to the cancer that was eating her up from the inside, she drew me to her.

"I want you to know that life goes on," she said. "What can I do to show you that? I will answer your questions. How can I do that?"

I thought about this. If there was sentient, conscious life beyond the grave, how then would I know for sure I was receiving a message from my mother?

Finally, I gave her an answer. "Send me something orange," I said. I didn't want to make it a difficult task. But there was nothing orange in my house, no orange furniture, no orange quilts, blankets or towels. Orange was not my favorite color, so anything entering my house that was orange was sure to get my attention.

She nodded when I explained my reasoning for this request. I can still see her leaning back against the pillows, her mouth moving as she whispered to herself, "something orange."

My mother passed away in August of that year. Months passed. Soon it was June, with spring giving way quickly to summer. My birthday came and a dear friend showed up at my doorstep with a present.

She brought me a rose bush. I was surprised because June is a little late to be planting roses and my friend is not a gardener. "I found this one plant and thought of you," she said. Something told her she simply had to buy it for me.

And every year, when the thing blooms, I have the most exquisite orange roses you ever saw. What can I do but look up, and think of Mom?

Books: People of the Book

People of the Book
By Geraldine Brooks
Read by Edwina Wren
14 hours unabridged
Copyright 2008

I adored Brook's novel Year of Wonders and People of the Book proved to be just as intriguing.

Hanna Heath, an Australian book expert, goes to Sarajevo to look at and fix a book called a haggadah, a Jewish prayer book that is 500 years old. It is one of the earliest Jewish books to have illustrations and thus very rare and priceless.

While she is working on the book, she falls for the librarian who saved it during the Bosnian war. She also discovers some tiny artifacts within the book: an inset wing, wine stains, salt crystals, and a white hair.

The story then takes the reader back in time to explain how each of these items ended up in the book, giving the readers characters and story. It is smartly and deftly done, and the reader eventually learns who made the drawings and how the book came to be made and saved.

Additionally, if one knows little of the Jewish faith, and I confess that I am ignorant of it, for the most part, there might be something to learn here. Details of the Spanish Inquisition, for one thing, were rather horrifying as presented in this novel. The author is so detailed and exacting that I feel certain the things she wrote about must have some truth to them.

There is also a little present-day mystery to be solved, as well as much character-building with Hanna and her mother. That in and of itself is an interesting second plot line.

This novel was inspired by a true story, which made it all the more interesting to me. While I enjoyed the audio, I did get lost once or twice (maybe the result of the passage of time as I listened to this in the car), so the print version might be a better venue.

Highly recommended.

A Day at Green Valley

Last week my friend and I headed toward northern Virginia to the Green Valley Book Fair.

We make this trek at least once a year.

It's not like I need more books, mind you. I have shelves full, and a pile of books to read that is larger than any I've ever had before.

I seriously considered making a huge purchase of Nancy Drew books, as they had a large selection. However, I could not remember which ones I have here at home. A very long time ago I had thought to collect them all, but I never did. They were $2.50 each, which is more than I would have paid for them at the time I was collecting them (it was a long time ago). But it is a lot less than they sell for now.

My friend told me not to take her picture, so I can't show you what she looks like. She said a side view was good enough.

We also stopped by The Cheese Shop, which is near Stuarts Draft. This is my favorite place to buy certain spices. I also purchase a lot of McCutcheon's Apple Butter here, as it is my husband's favorite.

It was a good day.

Thursday Thirteen

Upon learning recently that ABC will offer a remake of Charlie's Angels in an upcoming season, I thought I would list 13 TV shows that I liked and might watch if they were to be remade. One hopes that such shows would be well-produced and well-acted in order to keep the viewer watching.

Sometimes when I am watching an old show, I think about how the plot lines might be different because of technology. Today we have cell phones and no phone booths. I wonder where Superman changes his clothes? How does this impact these old shows when they are being remade?

Please remember that I don't watch a lot of TV, so I might have to reach back a ways to come up with 13.

1. Cagney & Lacey. This is one of my favorite all-time TV shows. Great acting, excellent scripts, lots of drama. It made me cry, it kept my attention, it gave me goose bumps.

2. Hunter. I enjoyed this show tremendously because of the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stephanie Kramer. Could two new actors pull it off?

3. Magnum, PI. I honestly didn't watch this much - I couldn't get the channel - but I think I would like to see it updated, with some cute yet down-home guy in the lead.

4. Scarecrow and Mrs. King. I am a big Kate Jackson fan, so I watched this because of her. I would like to see the show updated with someone like, oh, I don't know, Drew Barrymore or somebody like that.

5. Moonlighting. Another show with character chemistry.

6. L. A. Law. Another show I watched because I was a fan of an actress. This time, it was Susan Dey, who I loved as a Patridge.

7. X-Files. Okay, I confess. I have never seen the original of this, not even one single episode. I could not get the channel when it first came on and never caught it afterwards for unknown reasons. It always sounded like something I would like, though. So let's remake it so I can catch up!

8. Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Yes, I like cartoons. I liked this one in particular. By all your powers combined, I am Captain Planet! The power is yours!

9. Whose Line Is It Anyway? This was an improv show that kept me laughing. I enjoyed it in all its incarnations. It was the first show I watched on Comedy Central.

10. Star Search. The forerunner to the American Idols and their ilk of today, this show was more of a variety show and it didn't have evil judges.

11. Quantum Leap. This was a show about a doctor lost in time. He'd jump into the body and life of someone else. He'd have to solve a problem or set something right in order to leap out. Lots of variety and interesting acting.

12. Sliders. This show bombed out around season 3, but its first two seasons showed such promise that it deserves a revisit. The characters in the show visit parallel universes in search of their own, with each universe different from their own world.

13. Wonder Woman. This actually was slated to return, but this article indicates the show was not picked up by NBC as anticipated. Wonder Woman is a superhero with a golden lasso and an invisible airplane. I read the comics and followed the TV show religiously when I was (much much) younger.

There are, of course, a lot of other shows that I enjoyed but might not want to see updated. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess come to mind. I am not sure I want to see those shows improved. I would also like to see a new Star Trek series of some kind. I want less reality TV and more story, but I am wondering if story is a thing of the past where TV is concerned.

Anyway, that's my TT for today! Hope it brought back a memory or two.

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 192nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

In Love With Iris

I think the iris is the most loveliest of flowers. I love them in all colors.

My mother also loved the iris, so the flower reminds me of her.

Some of my irises are from plants that she planted.

She obtained them from Aunt Susie, my maternal great aunt, who passed away a few years ago.

They are all in the family, so the flowers' blooms give me warm fuzzies sometimes.

They grow strong and tall here at my house.

I love to watch them swaying in the breeze.

This iris is at the rental property I own, which is where I lived as a child. I don't know if this iris was there when we were or not.

I think maybe this one was there, though, just because of where it is planted. That makes it a very old plant indeed, if my mother placed it by the fence row.

Don't they make you want to dance?

Removing the Clutter

After I returned to school, I found that the space that I use for my official business office became the catch-all for magazines, newspapers, and other items. They began piling up in February and then they multiplied and had babies for the next 12 weeks.

Yesterday, I could bear it no more. I began tossing things and straightening up. If I tossed out anything less than 50 pounds of magazines and paper, all headed for the recycling bin, I would be surprised.

I found no great mysteries lurking beneath the piles, but did manage to locate the top of my desk. This is what it looked like after I was done.

Maybe not a great change from where you sit, but I assure you, it is!