Through the Window

Some days, the deer come right up to the house. They are so close they are looking in through the windows.  I start to wonder if I'm the animal in the zoo cage and they're the ones visiting.

The other day, a mother doe and two of her fawns appeared.

Mother and Junior grazing in my yard. The photos were taken through the window with my Nikon D40. The glass created a bit of a glare.

Apparently this little one was in need of attention. Mother Deer stayed with it for quite a while. 

 Mostly she cleaned the little fawn's ears.

 Apparently they were very dirty!

Here's a shot to show you the window, so you can see how close they come to the house. That's about 10 feet away.

Thursday Thirteen

I have been thinking about careers. My career path has been rather erratic. For 10 years I worked in the legal field as a legal secretary. I don't think there are legal secretaries any more.  During that time I also freelanced and wrote articles. Then in 1993 I began freelancing full time, and that's all I did up until I started back to college last year.

Oh, there were a few little things here and there - one year I worked as a substitute teacher in the lower grades, which I absolutely hated. Occasionally I worked as a temp worker and that was always interesting. But writing was my passion and while I haven't followed it exactly as I planned (there is no book to show for all of that work, after all), I did manage to make a living at it for almost 20 years. And that's more than many folks.

But now I am wondering what I might have done had writing not been the thing driving me. So here are 13 career options that might have worked out for me:

1. College professor. Obviously, I would have to have gone to college right out of high school and then went after a Ph.D. to have managed this one. I think, though, of all the things I might have done, this would have suited me best. I have my bachelors and my masters is within my grasp. The Ph.D.? not so close.

2. Lawyer. This, too, would have required a great deal more schooling, but I enjoyed the legal profession when I was working in it. I wasn't too keen on the personality of the some of the lawyers, because many of them were jerks, but I like the idea of the law. I  particularly enjoyed estate work and I could see myself doing that.

3. Forest ranger. I tested high for this job when I was in high school. I was offered a summer internship as a park ranger but my parents would not let me go. But I think I would have liked it.

4. Psychologist. Another job that requires a great deal more education. I have a lot of empathy, though, and I have been told that I give good advice and I am a good listener.

5. Artist. This requires talent, which I do not have, in that I cannot draw very well at all. I have taken a few art classes in my time and I have never been successful at it. I am not very crafty, either.

6. Photographer. Actually, I have done this, so perhaps it doesn't belong here, but I never really considered myself a professional photographer even though I have published and been paid for many, many photographs. I'm more of an auto-setting sort of girl when it comes to the camera, though I do play around with the F-stops and such occasionally. But mostly I fly by the seat of my pants and any really good photos I've managed to take have been the result of luck, not talent.

7. Sociologist. After my sociology class last spring, I thought this would have been an interesting field of study. I am particularly interested in the field of women's studies, and probably would have gravitated in that direction.

8. Musician. Here again, talent is key. I played guitar well enough, and I have a good musical ear, but I never felt I had the true talent necessary to be a professional. I lacked the drive, I think. But it would have been an interesting life.

9. Private investigator. Now this would be exciting, wouldn't it? Even though I think in real life, PIs mostly investigate things like insurance fraud. The cloak-and-dagger stuff really doesn't happen, but I like to solve problems and use my intuition to figure out the next move, so this might have been a really interesting line of work for me.

10. Historian. I consider myself an amateur historian, of sorts, and have written many articles about the local history. However, I don't dig around in the archives and I'm not much on musty old buildings because of my asthma and allergies. So maybe not, but not something to toss aside because I do have an interest in the subject.

11. Video game creator. I don't even know if this is a job, but I think it would be cool to work in the video game industry and create video game story lines.

12. Town Manager. I think I would like some kind of job with a small government like a town. It would be detailed and interesting, changing every day.

13. Librarian. This would require more schooling, too, as most librarians today must have a masters degree in library science. But I think it would be fun.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 208th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday

Music: In Your Dreams

In Your Dreams
Stevie Nicks
2011
13 songs

Music is not something I blog about much, but I love it and I listen to it daily. What I don't do is buy it. I tend to listen to what I already own, turn on the radio, listen to the music on the DirecTV satellite, or listen to Pandora on the PC.

However, Saturday I purchased Stevie Nicks newest CD after reading a review of it in the newspaper. I have always liked Stevie Nicks. I have several Fleetwood Mac albums and a couple of her solo efforts.

This newest album is very smooth. If I wanted to mix it with the music I already own, I would not hesitate to toss it in with my Fleetwood Mac, Melissa Etheridge, and Sheryl Crow albums, for it flows much like their songs do.

My favorite song on this newest album is Annabel Lee, which is taken from the poem by Edgar Allen Poe. How cool is that? Very cool!

Lots of nice guitar sounds, and Nicks hasn't lost a thing with age. Her timeless, haunting vocals are still full and strong.

If you click on the Amazon link, you can hear a preview of the songs. I highly recommend a listen if you're curious. The preview is free, though you might have to poke around a bit to figure out how to make it work.

Remembering 9/11

Art Everywhere

Tuesday when I pulled into the parking lot at Hollins University to go to my first class of the semester, I found this row of decorated trash bins.

The college had held  bin decorating contest earlier in the day, I think.

I thought this was a wonderful sight.

Last night when I was back on campus, I saw that the trash and recycling bins had been placed all over the campus.

Way to go Hollins Women!

Thursday Thirteen

Today's Thursday Thirteen offers up some numbers. I think you'll see the connection by the time I'm done.  The numbers pertain to the United States and the first sets of numbers were tabulated in 2009

1. 3,010 - the number of deaths by fire

2. 1,348,500 - the number of fires


3. 17,050 - the number of civilian injuries caused by fire


4. $12,531,000,000 ($12.5 billion) - property loss by fire

5. 26,534,000 - the total number of calls to 911 for assistance

6. 50 - the average weight of a firefighter's gear (helmet, coat, boots, gloves)

7. 25 - the average weight of a firefighters SCBA gear (oxygen, breathing mask)

8. 75 - the average weight in pounds that a firefighter carries when rushing into a burning building

9. 24 - 30 - the average length in feet of a fire truck

10.  107 - the number of floors in New York City's World Trade Center's largest building



11. 8:50 a.m. on 09/11/2001 - the time an incident command was established by firefighters after a plane flew into the World Trade Center building. The first plane hit at 8:45 a.m.; firefighters were on the scene and entering the building within five minutes of the attack.

12. 9:59 a.m. on 09/11/2001 - the time the first building collapsed at the World Trade Center

13. 343 - the number of firefighters who lost their lives when both towers collapsed on 09/11/2001.

I am the wife of a firefighter. These people go out every day and risk their lives to save people. When you are running away in fear of your life, these people are running in to help you. Whether it's flood, tornado, fire, hurricane, downed powerlines, or a sore toe, when you call 911, these people come.

On the upcoming 10th anniversary of the attack on New York City, please remember the sacrifices of these brave men and women.

Thank you.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 207th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday

Watching the Storm

When I was a small girl, one of my favorite things was to sit out on the back stoop at my grandmother's house in Salem when a storm was approaching.

My grandfather would often sit with me. He'd light up a cigarette and together we'd watch the lightning as it danced across the sky.

He was not a demonstrative man, but if the thunder cracked loudly and I jumped, he would sometimes put an arm around me, and chuckle.

I still love to watch storms, but we seldom see lightning streaks anymore. We're not situated in a good spot.

However, Friday evening a storm came up and settled over Stone Coal Gap. Stone Coal Gap is a cut in the mountains, and I have a good view of it out my front door.

Capturing lightning on film has eluded me, and I have given up doing so with a camera. But I did want to try it with the video camera.

I placed the camera out on the porch and I went back in the house to watch from the safety of the glass door.

Here's 20 minutes of video distilled down to about a minute. You can hear the thunder and see a few lightning bolts. It's not a tornado or hurricane or anything spectacular like that; it's just a storm. But it brought me great memories of my grandpa.

Upcoming Author's Signing

This coming Saturday, September 10, from 1 - 3 p.m., Amanda Cockrell, Director of Hollins University’s Children’s Lit Grad Program, will be signing her book at Ram’s Head Book Shop in Roanoke.

Her book, What We Keep Is Not Always What Will Stay, is her first young adult novel. It's billed as "a quirky, surreal, and peculiar story of 15-year-old Angie, her relationship with two war-damaged men and her connection with God."

A review by the Center of Children's Books called it, “An utterly engaging narrative with a witty and thoughtful protagonist.”

I've had numerous classes with Amanda and I've read several of her books, including all of her Deer Dancer series. She is a solid writer, great with descriptions, and her characters are always believable and well-done. I have not read this book (that's why I'm going to her book signing, to obtain a copy), but knowing Amanda, I can't imagine that it is anything less than wonderful.

Amanda has published critical essays, poems, articles, and books for children and adults. She is the founding director of Hollins University's graduate program in children's literature and managing editor of the university's literary journal, The Hollins Critic. She has received fiction fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

Visit the link above to her website and read her essay on why she writes and what she has learned in her many writing jobs. It's an interesting read and a little look at what makes us writers do what we do.

Maybe some of my fellow bloggers will join me at this event? I do hope so!

Deer Pictures From Game Camera

The thing I like best about shots from the game or trail camera is the angle and the closeness.

So far all we've photographed are deer. I'm hoping for something different, like a bear or coyote, but not so far.

Thursday Thirteen

Happy September 1! It's a brand new month! That means it's time for my Thankful Thursday Thirteen, where I list 13 things that happened in the previous month that I feel were blessings.

1. My class reunion. Wow, this was a big one. Our 30th reunion was a smash. I enjoyed every minute of it.

2. I discovered that I want to learn to dance. At my reunion I did dance but I can't dance, so I would like to rectify that. Maybe by the time we have our next reunion, I will be able to foxtrot or something.

3. I reconnected with several old friends. This has been an interesting time for me. Some old high school chums I have seen out and about regularly for these 30 years, but others I literally had not seen since the day we graduated. I am back in touch with a few of these folks on a more regular basis and we're in the process of becoming friends again. It's nice.

4. I received my grade for the graduate class I took this summer. It was an A-, which I was not so happy about, but that was better than a B+ so I can't really complain.

5. I continued to make squash casserole and refined the recipe. Since I do not consider myself a cook, this was an accomplishment.

6. My husband and I took a day trip to West Virginia. We visited the New River Valley Gorge Bridge, and other places, and had a wonderful day together.

7. As of last Sunday, I have lost 13 pounds since June. Weight Watchers is good for me!

8. I visited my asthma doctor and received a thumbs up on my breathing tests. The asthma inhalers are working and I am breathing much better.

9. I read these these books: The Way, by Kristen Wolf (highly recommended!), Ladies of the Lake, by Haywood Smith, and Rescue, by Anita Shreve. It is such a blessing to be able to read!

10. I had lunch with my friends BS. and LS. and we had nice visits.

11. I wrote about 13 pages on my thesis.

12. I saw a golden sunset and was thankful for the beauty of nature that is all around me.

13. My computer crashed but I was able to fix it and get everything working again. I was so relieved!






Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 206th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday

Why My Flowers Won't Grow

Alas, the flower pots on the end of the deck are looking sad these days.

I wondered why.

The other morning I glanced out the door and I knew.

Three deer eating on my flowers!

Here are two of the culprits, laughing at me!

Darned deer.

The Art of Letting Go

I keep a tight rein on my thoughts and feelings about 99 percent of the time. It reflects in my writing, even on my blog. I seldom  just "let it go" and write, but when I do the results are often surprising.

Deb over at Greener Pastures let loose a whopping blog entry that was ostensibly about another blogger, Ginger over at landuvmilknhoney but was more about how alienated she feels as a northerner in the south, and as a progressive living in the south amidst a bunch of right-wing bible thumpers.

Oh how I envy that entry, and Deb's ability to say what she wants to say without worrying about who she might offend. Because she believes her opinion is as valid as their criticism. And I find that remarkable, for I sit here in my timidity with my butt planted on a very solid line between absolutely nothing. I am fence sitter extraordinaire even though I know which side I think is the more appropriate one.

Not that I don't have opinions, because I do. I just don't share them often. Regular readers know that I am not a member of the conservative party, or the tea party, or the libertarian party. Nor do I always countenance what the progressive party sanctions, mostly because these days it is rather hard to tell the difference between parties. They're all out for profit, for big business, for control and military, and they have very little to say about regular people, the little person who sits behind a computer and plugs away trying to make a living. They care nothing for the living cogs behind the machinery, just the machines.

I feel alienated from any political party because none of them represent me. Maybe we need a Creatives Party, one that represents people who believe in the creative process, who believe in the greater good of society. A party that believes people everywhere have basic needs that government can and should meet, one that doesn't allow people to become homeless because their spouse had a heart attack and can't pay the medical bills. A more benevolent society that sees people as human beings and not as paychecks.

Ginger was a homeschooling, homesteading mom who lived about eight miles from me. She and her family were making a go on 20 acres of land - just 20 acres! and were doing well until her husband unexpectedly passed away. She stayed for a year - a year longer than I thought she would, to be sure - and then she moved to Texas to join her parents. She left the farm unsold and packed up and went. Deb admired that, and I admire that, too. I admire Ginger's ability to take care of herself and her family, to do what is necessary without fear of what others might think, without worrying about the financial end of it because she is sure God will take care of it all, in the end.

Deb wants to go back home to New Jersey, but she is staying until her place sells. She laments her inability to simply move back home like Ginger did.  She is bound here financially and she feels those bonds keenly, and aches to be free of them.

We all have our bonds, I think. We are tied up in our lives, wrapped so tightly that we can never be free. I am bound here. My family goes back generations, two hundred years of blood, sweat and tears building and creating and moving and making things more, or sometimes less, than what was here when they came. I have a farmer husband with those same ties, a fellow who would no more think of moving away than he would of tearing out his right eye.

So many days I feel simply alien in my own skin, but who wants to read that? Besides, this is a blog, not a diary, and that kind thing doesn't belong here. Not day after day, anyway. Maybe just this once, or once in a while.

But the letting go? The being free and easy with the words, the laying down of ideas and the tossing around concepts and communicating with an effortless, uncontrolled touch of a finger to the keyboard, that does belong here. Saying what I really think, without wondering if someone will sue me, accuse me, or abuse me, that does belong here, and I'd like to see it here, somehow.

I'd like to be so out of control that I know my opinion counts, and is worth something, and that its value lies in putting it out there, and so what if somebody disagrees. I sit on the pot same as they do, and so what if their pot is guilded while mine is porcelain? They do the same job.

Letting go. Being free and easy, tossing off the ropes that bind. Why O Why is it so damned hard?

**This entry has been edited.**

Books: Rescue

Rescue
By Anita Shreve
Read by Dennis Holland
Unabridged
Copyright

Peter Webster is a young paramedic when he saves Sheila Arsenault after she flips her car. He is smitten, and soon the two are a couple.

When young Rowan is born, Peter's life is complete. Unfortunately, Sheila has problems with alcohol. She is a troubled young woman and Peter cannot save her.

Fast forward 15 years. Rowan is now a troubled young 17-year-old, and Peter is uncertain how to deal with his daughter. Things happen quickly.

Fortunately, it's a happy ending.

This is a sweet little book. Most of it is spent on the relationship between Peter and Sheila, and they are interesting characters.

Recommended summer beach reading.

Deer Photos

I've been taking deer photos again!

This was taken with a game camera.

So was this.

The other morning I walked into the kitchen to see this scene out the window. It had an autumn look to it. I grabbed the Nikon and snapped.

Same scene, just a little different cropping and settings. For some reason this looks more like a painting than a photo picture to me.

Thursday Thirteen #205

I'm running late with my Thursday Thirteen today!

Here are thirteen small things that I consider blessings.

1. New socks. I absolutely love the feel of new socks on my feet. Soft and cushiony!

2. A massage. Getting a massage is just about the best pampering a body can have.

3. A touch. You know that touch from a friend, spouse, or child can be loaded with meaning. Just a touch on the shoulder can say volumes. We should all touch more often.

4. A cup of tea, and the time to sit and drink it.

5. The view out my window. I look out on a pasture field, trees, and the Blue Ridge Mountain. What could be more lovely?

6. Chocolate. Okay, I am a chocolate addict. It is one of my biggest weaknesses. I am learning to savor one piece instead of eating the whole bag, though.

7. A glass of water. Now can I get more mundane than this? But it is so cooling. It quenches my thirst. It fills me up so that I stop eating. It gives me something to do with my hands. Getting a glass of water gives me a reason to get off my duffus and away from the computer. It's wonderful!

8. A coolish day with low humidity. On a clear day I can nearly see forever, looking miles and miles across the terrain to the tops of the mountains. On such a day, you can be outside without sweating or breathing too hard.

9. Phone calls and emails from friends and family. I enjoy knowing that someone has thought about me.

10. A good book. Nothing like spending time reading, lost in a story.

11. Writing. Yes, this should have been way up on the list. It is a great joy to be able to write, to know how to write, and to actually do it.

12. The smell of roses. They make me sneeze but I love to smell my roses in the mornings when I walk outside for a deep breath of fresh air. They have such a delicate fragrance about them.

13. My cameras. I love being able to photograph the world around me and share it with others. Photos are a wonderful legacy to leave behind.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 205th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday

11 Years

Eleven years ago today, August 24, my mother died. She was 56 years old. I am 48 years old. She was not old at all.

Regular readers know she passed away from pancreatic cancer. It is a terrible disease, and I'm sorry to say, one that took my husband's aunt in January of this year.

This is my mother. The picture was taken on my wedding day, and this is pretty much how I remember her. Dark hair, lovely, all made-up and ready to take on the world. My grandfather always said she looked like Elizabeth Taylor.

My mother gave me irises when I built my house. She told me when she dying she would send me something orange so I would believe in the afterlife, and she did.

She could curse like a sailor, my mom, and she could yell loud enough to make bees freeze in midair. She would go on the warpath and we'd all know we'd best get to doing something.

Mom taught me to act like a lady when it counted, and to always wear good underwear. And to never go out in public without my makeup.

My mother could sing. She could paint, sew, and dance. She could cook anything out of nothing and make it taste good, too.

Some days I miss her.

You can read more about my mother at this entry, if you like.

Thanks for reading.

Books: Ladies of the Lake

Ladies of the Lake
By Haywood Smith
Read by Cynthia Darlow
Abridged
Copyright 2009


Four aged sisters must spend 90 days together in order to inherit their grandmother's fortune.

Of course, they do not get along. But now they're in their 50s and 60s, so its time to act like grown ups.

Some hilarity, a budding romance, a few life lessons, a little family drama. If you have a fondness for the sister relationship (whether you have sisters or not), this is a nice read.

30 Years Ago . . . Today

So last night was my 30th class reunion. When the class graduated, there were about 230 people marching for their diplomas.

We had  44 classmates and 23 guests sign up, and a few people dropped in, for a total of around 70-75 people for our big evening.

The event was held at the Kyle House in Fincastle. This is an old structure that once was a grocery store. It is now used for weddings, reunions, and other events.

The food was catered appetizers consisting of some fish things, BBQ biscuits, cheeses, crackers, spinach dip, etc.

This will be my favorite picture from the evening, I think. Not because I am in it (I'm the one in the pink) but because all of us went to Breckinridge Elementary School together. So we have known each other since we were small children. From left: Alan, Chris, Ramona, Me, Kathy, and Ann.

This is Ann. We talked a lot about our days in the rock band, Almost Famous, and our misadventures.

Ramona. I was quite impressed with how wonderful she looked. I give her many thumbs up for making positive changes in her life.

Donna and I shared a few adventures in high school, too.

Greetings at the door.

Gale (in black) saying hello to Ramona.

The memory table featured the yearbooks, a copy of The Interloper, which was a school paper of sorts, somebody's report cards, photos, etc.

We went outside to take a picture. Originally they wanted us on this balcony but some of us worried that we'd end up crashing it to the ground if we all gathered on it. Not wanting to die or be injured, we insisted on moving the photo op to the courtyard below.

This was accomplished via a circular staircase at the rear. I did not get a group picture but am hoping to steal one from someone's Facebook page later.

Our classmates who have passed on. There are 8 that we know of.

The event was very nice. I behaved myself, except for dancing. Greg wanted to dance and no one was dancing with him, so I did. The only thing is, I can't dance. I look a bit like Elaine from Friends when I dance. This has immediately gone onto my bucket list as something I want to do - learn to dance.

It was a nice time. I was home by 10 p.m. I hope to keep in touch with a few of these old friends. Back to the present day now.

Down Memory Lane

I dug out some old photos as I did a little reminiscing, what with my class reunion tonight and all. Here are a few shots of me as a younger person.

This is me in the 8th grade with my math teacher. This photo is the way I tend to remember myself, and apparently still think of myself sometimes. Long hair, jean jacket, and blue jeans. And a lot thinner than I am today. It can be quite a shock when I look in the mirror, because this is certainly not what I see!

Here's proof of that rock band I have mentioned a few times in the past. That's me on the guitar.

Another rock band photo. This was the New Year's Eve gig at Hotel Roanoke. I'm the smiling girl with glasses on the far right. I'm not naming other names out of respect for their privacy.

 Me and that guitar again. That band had a big impact on my high school years and was a big part of my life for some time.

 Me and a friend during a July 4 parade. I played flute, as you can see. This would be either 9th or 10th grade, I'm guessing.

This would be me about two years after my high graduation, since that is my husband's old pick up truck in the photo.  I can't believe I was once that little!

Ah, memories! They may be beautiful ... and yet ... sometimes painful to remember! Maybe I should choose to forget!

Looking forward to exorcising demons tonight at the ball.

Thursday Thirteen

My class reunion is this Saturday, and I am planning on going. I attended Lord Botetourt High School in Daleville, Virginia. I graduated in 1981.

So here are 13 things I remember from high school. Thirty years ago. Wow. I am old!

1. The food fight. The class of 1981 started a terrible food fight near the end of the school year. The principal, who was new that year, called in the police. The local paper wrote a story about it that ran all over the country, as my grandmother in California sent me a copy of the story from her paper. The fight was actually planned by the seniors. The new principal was very stern. It had been tradition for the senior class to pull a prank, and he was having none of it. He'd have been better off with the senior prank, which according to the yearbook was the theft of water cooler handles, though I don't recall that at all. In case you are wondering, I did not participate in the food fight. In fact, I was nowhere near the cafeteria when this happened. But I certainly saw the residue from it, and it wasn't pretty.

2. Band camp. I was in the high school band and we had summer camp at Ferrum College. I had trouble with my knee and it swelled up so that I couldn't walk on it. I eventually had to leave early, which I did not want to do. I played the flute, if you want to know.

3. Being in a Top 40/Rock Band. I played guitar in a band called Almost Famous. The band was comprised of me, Glynn Loope, Beth Arrington, Ann Jones, and Joel Woods. We started out with two others who did not stay with us long. The band stayed together for three years, and it gave us all spending money for those years. We even played a New Year's Eve gig at Hotel Roanoke (the swankiest place in town). Of the five of us, only Joel went on to do something with his music, though I lost track of Ann so she could have done something, too, I suppose.

4. Taking up for my brother. Trouble found me once because some boy was picking on my brother, who was a freshman the year I was a senior. I went after the boy in the hallway about the time a teacher turned a corner.

5. Detention. Even though I was a good student (I graduated 5th in the class), I tended to skip band class. Finally Mr. Lowe, the band director, told me if I skipped one more time I would be in trouble. I did, and I was. I remember most of my teachers were mortified. Straight A students just didn't get detention.

6. Telling off a boyfriend. We were standing in front of the library. I spat out a lot of big words. He finally told me he had no idea what I was saying. I stalked off, through the jeering crowd. How embarrassing.

7. First chair. In band, we competed for the glory of first chair. If you were the best, you were first chair. That meant you played the hard parts and you could play the piccolo. Angie Cundiff and I swapped the first chair seat back and forth for years.

8. High school football games. As a band member, I went to most of the games. I remember long bus rides back from some godforsaken place like Alleghany County after midnight, with stops at a Dairy Queen or something in Clifton Forge. But the high school game that counted the most was the game I attended the year after I graduated, for that was when I met my future husband.

9. My Datsun. This was  my first car. It was a horrid brown and it was a hatchback. I don't remember what year it was. My father gave it to me; I don't know where he got it. I drove the crap out of the thing. Backed it into a post. Took it around where the Pagan motorcycle group was camping one time, and a big knife that was in the road jumped up and poked a hole in the gas tank. I had to lie about that one as I wasn't supposed to be in that area of the county. Oops.

10. Alegebra. My favorite teacher was Tina Flippin. Many other students did not care for her. She was  a hard teacher and expected you to do your best. I loved her. I aced her classes and while I can't even figure percents today there was a time when I could do trigonometry and all of that stuff, and do it well.

11. English classes. Of course I loved my English classes. However, I remember being incredibly embarrassed once when I was reading aloud per the teacher's instructions. The sentence had the Leaning Tower of Pisa in it, which I mispronounced as pizza. The teacher laughed and asked me if I was hungry for lunch. I nodded and she pulled out a big bag of candy bars and passed them around. That was Ms. Dee Jones. What a great teacher.

12. The prom. I was a sophomore when I attended a prom at Hotel Roanoke. The thing I most remember about this was dressing up and then having my date drive me all the way to Salem so I could show my grandmother my dress. She cried.

13. Losing my retainer. I had braces and then a retainer. I threw that thing into the cafeteria trash twice, and both times I had to go outside and hunt through huge trash cans in search of it. I found it, but what a trial. It was always fine because I would wrap it up in a napkin, but the hunt sure was messy and stinky.



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 204th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday

Summer Squash

This year we've had an abundance of yellow squash. The zucchini did not do well, but the yellow squash has more than made up for it.

I've fried it, sauteed it, baked it, grilled it. By far the favorite, though, has been a yellow squash casserole. This casserole is 3 points per serving on the Weight Watchers Points Plus plan.

I don't add salt and paper but use Mrs. Dash instead.

Here's the version I am using:

Squash & Rice Casserole

3 cups of squash
3 egg whites
1/2 cup low fat milk
1 cup low fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup onion
3 cups of cooked white rice
1 can of low fat cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup fat free Miracle Whip
Mrs. Dash
Greased casserole dish
Oven 350 degrees

Cook the squash however you like. Sometimes I boil it, sometimes I fry it up in a few tsp. of olive oil. The boiling is probably better for calories and fat. However you cook it, add liberal sprinkles of Mrs. Dash for flavoring.

Combine all the ingredients except squash. Blend in squash. Spread in casserole dish. Top with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

This is an easy recipe for substituting ingredients. You could use cream of mushroom or cream of celery soup, for example, to change the flavor a  little. And of course you can use regular instead of low fat items for something that has a bit more fat to it. And two eggs instead of egg whites.  You could add bread crumbs or stuffing, even.  However, it's pretty good without all of that other stuff.

Go ahead, call me "liberal"

"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.' . . .

"I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves. . . .

"I do not believe in a superstate. I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal bureaucracies in this administration as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them. . . . liberalism is our best and only hope in the world today. For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies." 

  ~ John F. Kennedy, September 14, 1960

Wild Wonderful West Virginia Part VI

Part VI - Sandstone Falls

Sandstone Falls are the largest falls on the New River. They span 1,500 feet.

The National Park Service offers the Sandstone Visitor Center just off Interstate 64. About five miles from there, one can see the falls from a mountain overlook that is 400 feet above the falls.

A boardwalk allows you to access the falls. However, we did not go down there. To reach the boardwalk required another 30 minutes of driving, following the river south and then across at Hinton, WV, and then back north. We elected not to take that drive this time.

Even from a distance, the falls were very impressive.

Here is a site with more information and much better photos: Click Here.

The National Park Service has photos, too: Click Here.

That pretty much covers our trip! Thanks for reading about Wild, Wonderful West Virginia as seen through touristy eyes.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia Part V

Part V - The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame is located inside Tamarack. We didn't even know West Virginia had a music hall of fame. The exhibit at Tamarack is permanent, but according to the website, they also have a traveling museum!

As you might expect, many of the records reflected country, bluegrass, and Appalachian folk music.

An impressive number of musicians hail from West Virginia.  They have a virtual hall of fame of their inductees at this link. However, I confess, that, aside from Kathy Mattea and Bill Withers, I haven't heard of very many of them. However, I don't listen to much country or bluegrass so of course I would be ignorant of the contribution of these folks.

That guitar is a Martin, played by Bill Withers. He is a successful singer-songwriter. His songs include Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone, and Lean On Me. Those songs were successful in the 1970s.

We enjoyed this exhibit as much as we did the display of arts and crafts at Tamarack.

Next: Part VI - Sandstone Falls

Thursday Thirteen

This week I have been writing about our trip to West Virginia. But it's Thursday Thirteen, so I will interrupt my journey - but will still write about West Virginia!

So here are 13 things about West Virginia. Sort of.

1. My father is originally from West Virginia and has family there. So as a child, we would sometimes go visit Carmen and Helen. They lived somewhere in Summersville. I could not find her house today if I had to.

2. Uncle Carmen and Aunt Helen's house was haunted. We stayed overnight many times. Rocking chairs moved. Clocks chimed that weren't supposed to be working. Banjos played music in the middle of the night. Water spigots turned themselves off and on.

3. We also used to camp in the Monongahela National Forest.  One time a bear tried to get into the tent. I think that was the place, anyway.

4. Another place we visited was Cranberry Glades. This is a 750-acre bog in West Virginia. A boardwalk allows you to walk through the area, examining the unique flora and fauna.

5. Some of my ancestors are buried near Union, WV. This is not far from the Virginia state line.

6. My grandparents lived most of their young adult lives in West Virginia. When my father was a young teen, they moved to Salem, VA. A year after I was born, they moved to California, where they remain.

7. In 1992, my husband and I attempted to vacation in West Virginia. It rained buckets. We finally gave up and came home. Until this past weekend, we had not been back. It rained while we were in West Virginia this time, too. But not buckets.

Having run out of semi-personal things to say about West Virginia, here are a few other facts to fill out the 13:

8. West Virginia is the only state to have been created by presidential proclamation.

9. It has the oldest population of any of the states. The median age is 40.

10. West Virginia had the first state sales tax, beginning in 1921.

11. The first major land battle between the North and South in the Civil War was fought in West Virginia - The Battle of Phillipi, June 3, 1861.

12. Organ Cave in West Virginia is the third largest cave in the U.S.

13. The Golden Delicious apple originated in West Virginia. I guess Johnny Appleseed stopped there, eh?

That's it. A little more about West Virginia for my Thursday Thirteen. I hope you have enjoyed learning about my neighboring state.


Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 203rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia Part IV

Part IV - Tamarack


Tamarack, in Beckley, WV, is a cultural center/showcase of art. The art has been carefully chosen (juried) and so is some of the best around. It's named after the Tamarack tree, which is a kind of conifer tree. It is unusual in that it loses its leaves or needles.

The structure is supposed to look like a quilt from the air.

Inside we saw 59,000 square feet of lovely things. I was greatly impressed by an $18,000 coffee table, though a $270 rocking chair, made with a mix of dark and light colored wood, was more in my price range. They had some really nice items and it is a shame that we brought nothing home.

The work of many jewelry makers, photographers, painters, and woodworkers was on display. The Greenbrier has a shop there, and there is a nice place to have a meal, too. It is cafeteria-style.

This would be a great place to go Christmas shopping. I suggest taking the girls and leaving the husbands behind, though!

Next: Part V - The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

Wild Wonderful West Virginia Part III

Part III - The New River Gorge Bridge
The New River Gorge Bridge is on US 19. It crosses The New River and spans the huge gorge carved out by those ancient waters. The arch bridge is 3,030 feet across, and is the third largest of such structures in the world.

Before the bridge was built, it took 45 minutes to get around the New River gorge. Now it takes about 49 seconds to drive across it.

About 16,500 vehicles go over the bridge every day.

The structure cost $37 million to build. It was constructed in the 1970s.

The bridge is 876 feet above The New River.

The National Park Service has a series of decks which one might venture down to see the river and the bridge. However, it was over 20 floors or levels (more than 200 steps) and neither the husband nor I cared to make the climb back up. We both have bad knees.

The arch that creates the base of the structure is quite incredible. Photos in the museum in the visitor's center showed men walking along these steel beams like they were out for an evening's stroll.

This bridge will count as one of the most amazing feats of man-made genius I have ever seen. This was produced during a time of greater vision, when we had real statesmen and visionaries in office.

I could have looked at the bridge all day.

Go see it!

Click here for a google images link to amazing photos of this bridge.


Next: Part IV - Tamarack