Reunion and Remembering a Dear Friend

In 1997 a dear friend of mine died after a valiant 16 year fight against breast and ovarian cancer. Several months following her death, I was giving a talk in Relief Society entitled “Be of Good Cheer”. In preparation for the talk, I began to write down some of the adventures my girlfriends and I shared with Marcia. When I finished writing, I knew I had written the talk I would share on Sunday. Marcia must have been looking over my shoulder because so many memories came flooding back. I had lots of pictures to accompany the stories as well. We played lots of practical jokes on all the friends in our group – always in good fun, but always with the thought that one day, we’d be arrested for some of our antics (deeds we did in the middle of the night, fondly called “night raids”).

Fast forward to 2010 – I recently reconnected with one of Marcia’s daughters. She is the youngest of three girls – her older sisters are married and have children. She is single and still finding her way in this world. Many things have led to our reconnection and Facebook played a big part in our reunion. Although it took a few months, we recently met for dinner with another one of her mom’s close friends. After dinner we came back to my house, and I gave her a copy of the book I had created in memory of her mother. We sat together and laughed at the stories of the adventures we had in the past. I have made several copies of this book and plan to send her sisters their own copies. I’ve even made copies for the girlfriends who are part of these stories as well. I hope my friends will do something similar or add onto the book that’s already been created. I know her daughters love to hear about their mom’s adventures.

We always talk about keeping journals and sometimes that is hard for some of us. This book was a journal of our combined experiences. It really wasn’t that hard to do and it brought back so many great memories, and it certainly helped me pass the time while I was recuperating from my recent knee surgery.

So, if you’ve got some stories to tell, take the time to write them down. It’s easier to do this right after they happened instead of years later, when the memories begin to fade. What a great ride down memory lane.

I Love a Parade

Today is the annual City of Hyattsville Parade. It's the 124th anniverary of the founding of our city. You never know what the weather will be and today the rain began the spit a little about the time the parade started. It's an election year and a lot of the politicians who are running for office in our county are in the parade, shaking hands with the city residents and passing out their flyers.

What is the coolest thing about this parade? It comes down the street, right in front of our house! Politicians, local city officials (the mayor and members of the city council), county officials (House of Delegate representatives, Maryland General Assembly members and Registrar of Wills [that's an interesting job]), civic groups and matching bands, just to name a few.

In honor of my children who were not able to attend this parade this year, I took quite a few pictures so they could get the flavor of the parade. In past years as they were growing up, some of them were in the parade at various times.

Mounted Police and the flags

Here's the Greenbelt Dog Training group who are regulars in the parade.

Waiting for the parade to start up again.

Check out the big dog on the roof of the car

Northwestern High School Marching Band - this band has grown into a very successful high school marching band (more polished than when my children were in high school and they are always fun to watch.

Here come the drummers!

Of course, we have our fire trucks and ambulances, police cars and garbage trucks represented. Our police force even has police personnel in the parade on their Segways! We always have a military presence and the Junior ROTC represented. McGruff the Dog is also a participant.

As you can see, we have a large group of classic cars every year. This year, some of the residents wanted to have a Prius car entry, but they apparently couldn't get their act together to get enough vehicles to participate - maybe next year.

This is our Mayor, Bill Gardiner.

A local Harley Davidson Motorcyle Group - this crew was really noisy.

Here's the Hyattsville Mount Rainier and Brentwood Boys and Girls Club.

This year there is a 3 day festival with a carnival at Magruder Park. Normally, I would walk down to the park and get my favorite funnel cake as a treat. Alas, that is not happening this year (but I will say there has been one benefit to the knee surgery - I've lost 8 lbs- so much for the funnel cake).

Of course, it is one week past my knee surgery so I was sitting on my front porch, not at the end of the walk where I normally sit (which means I didn't get any of the candy that is thrown out as the politicians walk by). But I was impressed that a number of them actually walked up to me on the stoop, shook hands and gave me their campaign materials - I guess the crutches had an effect on them.

Isn't it great to live in a small town?

Now That I Have Some Free Time, I Guess I'll Post Something.....

I recently turned 60 and things have gone downhill since that day. Just kidding - we had a birthday celebration with lots of close friends and it was catered by The Omelette Man who created made-to-order omelettes for the guests, and served up crepes for dessert. Everyone had a great time, and it was so nice not to have to worry about food preparation. It did this for my 50th birthday also. Now, I'm not promising the same thing for the big 70.

Yesterday (April 16) I celebrated the day after filing our 2009 tax return (of which we paid Uncle Sam a pretty penny) by having knee surgery. Alas, there appears to be more damage than we previously thought and that may necessitate further surgery down the road (but as far as I'm concerned it will be way down the road). Anyway, I'll discuss that with the doctor on my visit with him Thursday. I'll be home for a month and have plans to catch up on some projects - cleaning, jigsaw puzzles, sewing, reading, just to name a few. All in good time - I need to spend some time recovering and I plan on taking it easy before I tackle those lofty goals.

I had another goal, which I'm not sure I'll attempt right now, but maybe in the near future. I have two collections - penguins and cookbooks. I have over 125 cookbooks and find I'm always interested in perusing new ones at they are published. I recently bought The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook and Worldwide Ward Cookbook. And then I looked in my pantry, which is full of various food stuffs (cans, boxes, bottles, etc). Then I had this epihany. Using the vast number of cookbooks I have, I should be able to create some glorious recipes from the things already in my pantry. So, at some point, I'll be putting the cookbooks to the test. I'm not making promises on when this will happen, but just the idea of it is quite intriguing to me. We have far too much food in the pantry for a family of two. Maybe I can start in a few weeks when Kim and her family arrive from England for a visit. Kim, if you are reading this, make sure you let me know if there is something you don't like to eat (although you have always been the best eater of my three daughters - willing to try most things put in front of you.

Hope this post makes sense -these pain pills haven't helped me on my usually perfect spelling. So, forgive me readers if you catch a misspelling. Only one more day of heavy pain meds and then I'll be back to normal.

On Turning 60

When I was a child I used to categorize decades by how the number of the decade sounded. Back then I thought 60 sounded terribly old for some reason, but 70, 80, and 90 didn't sound old to me. Well, I hit the big 60 on St. Patrick's Day and guess what? Sixty isn't old sounding anymore. Despite a few medical issues I deal with (sore knee and back), I feel pretty good, still have a lot of energy (confirmed by the fact that I am writing this at 1:10 a.m.), and still am excited about life in general. So, for those of you who may be approaching this decade, it really isn't so bad.

A couple of other observations. We had the adult session of our Stake Conference tonight. It was really uplifting. The talks were wonderful and there was a lovely musical number by a couple from one of the wards in our stake. The closing song was "Because I Have Been Given Much", which is one of my favorite hymns. I love the words to this hymn and how it touches my soul.

Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live;
I shall divide my gifts from thee,
With every brother that I see
Who has a need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by Thy good care,
I cannot see another lack and I not share.
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof's safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord
I'll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I'll show that love by word and deed;
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

These words from Grace Nowell Crowell are so meaningful and a philosophy for one's life.  We are all so busy that sometimes we forget to take time to see what's really important. The music to this hymn goes so perfectly with the message. It has always been a favorite of mine.

We have seen much tragedy in the world since the beginning of 2010, with earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. How many of us pondered the devastation in these two countries and thought, "how can I help"? How many of us went about our busy lives and continued to read about the suffering these people were going through? How many of us "divided our gifts from thee" and shared them with those who had "a need of help from me"? How many of us showed our "love by word and deed"? It's been weeks since these earthquakes hit, but the devastation and destruction continue. If you haven't already, contact the American Red Cross and see how what you can do to help.

I'm going to try to be more regular at posting on the blog. As I visit other blogs, I am sometimes amazed at how many times people post something. We are counseled to write a journal, and I'm thinking that blogging is another way to keep a journal. Some of my friends have compiled a book at the end of the year with all of their blog posts. Maybe this is a goal I'll try to attain this year. I'm also going to try to do some things which I enjoy but haven't done for a long time (sewing and quilting). There is such a sense of accomplishment when finishing a sewing project, and I find it very relaxing so I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things and become more creative this year. Now, a challenge to you all (well, those who happen to come across my blog) - try something you'd like to do and set a goal to try to accomplish that this year. Maybe we can report on these goals later in the year. The year of being creative - I think I like that challenge. How about you?

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010 - Part III

No, I'm not going to tell you we are getting more snow, although snow is in the forecast for early next week. Today I thought I'd share the aftermath of the historic snowstorms we've just experienced. Road crews have to truck the snow out of our area, especially in Washington, DC. There is just too much snow to plow to the side of the road and let it melt. It takes time for snow "removal", so the road crews have been doing a yeoman's job with plowing and trucking the snow out of town. That being said, picture this - at best there are 1 to 1-1/2 lanes of road to drive on and it is Friday and the federal government announces there will be a two hour delay in opening, but the government workers will report to work. Private industry workers are probably, in all likelihood, just returning to work as well. So, what happens with this combination of factors? MASSIVE RUSH HOURS in the morning and the evening and thousands of commuters who are very unhappy. Reports from commuters of 2-3 hour drives to/from work. If you don't have the normal lanes available to drive in, thousands of people need to merge into one lane. Then, there are those commuters who need to make a LEFT TURN when there is no turning lane. Consequently, morning rush hour lasts until 2:00 p.m. and evening rush hour went until almost 9:00 p.m.

Guess what? Saturday the 13th was no better and because Valentine's Day is February 14th, you know what that means - the malls were jammed with cars, with far fewer parking spaces to contend for because of the mountains of snow in the mall parking lots. So we now have experienced a rare Saturday rush hour. And it's musical as well, with the sounds of horns honking at every stoplight or as driver's try to merge into mall traffic lanes. And don't forget the conductors of this music - I've seen more than my share of a middle finger gesture today than I have in several decades put together.  Our news media is calling this "The Big Dig Out."

I know, people from other parts of the country who are used to getting mass quantities of snow are shaking their heads in amusement at how the people in the Mid-Atlantic states are coping (or not coping) with these weather anomalies. They wonder why our schools are shutdown for a week (although with the lack of sidewalk shoveling I've witnessed near our local elementary and middle schools, I wouldn't want my children walking in the streets to try to get to school). Now state school officials must decide what to do - do they extend the school year, add time at the end of the school day to try to make up for the days already lost, eliminate some school holidays already on the calendar, or declare a special dispensation from the 180 school day requirement? I'm glad I don't have to make that decision.

We will carry on to the best of our ability. In a few months we'll continue to relate our snow stories and maybe even get a chuckle out of this situation we find ourselves in, but we will never forget February 2010 and the power the weather has over each and everyone of us. Note: Someone needs to remind me of this post in the middle of the hot and humid summer we will have in a few short months.

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010-Part II

So early in the evening on February 9th, the snow began again and continued through much of the day on the 10th and then the winds arrived. We were in blizzard conditions and ended up with an additional 12" of snow on top of the 30" we had received five days earlier. This is a picture I took during the storm looking out of our front door.

This is a view of the driveway of my car and Jimmy's car during the storm (taken from of the den window). Note: we did not clear off Jimmy's car after the weekend storm, but we had cleaned off mine, so you can see how much snow we received on Wednesday. My car is on the left side of the picture. Once the snow started, it began sticking immediately and accumulated very quickly.

Thursday we awoke to a glorious sunny day, and I decided to brave the elements (the wind was still blowing a little) and take some pictures. This is our backyard. If you look on the snow slightly to the right of the tree on the right side of the picture, you can see a twig from the rose bush that is now buried in snow.

I went upstairs to get a sweater and noticed the snow accumulation in the alcove outside one of the windows in Kim's old room. Yes, we did get a lot of snow.

This has been an incredible year for snow, and we've heard a rumor that we might be getting more early next week (it's just a clipper, the weathermen are saying; it should only be a couple of inches). That's what they said about yesterday's storm. Schools have been closed all week, and there's a holiday on Monday in honor of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. At the rate we are going, the children may be going to school through most of June. I recall a similar storm in 1979, when I was pregnant with Kim and the kids missed two weeks of school. Keeping our fingers crossed that we've seen the last of winter's calling card for this year. Another note: with the help of a good friend, I was able to place these photos where I wanted them. Hey, this publishing thing isn't too complicated, now is it?

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010

We'd been warned about the upcoming storm for almost a week, but living in the DC Metropolitan area, sometimes we get complacent about the snow predictions - not this time. The storm was coming from the south and we DC natives know what that means - we can really get slammed by a storm from the south and guess what? This storm was no different. The snow began to fall on Friday, February 5th about 2:00 p.m in Bowie, Maryland where I work. I finally left work around 6:30 and realized that the road conditions were such that I would have to drive a lot slower than usual (25 mph, if that). My normal 25 minutes drive home took more than an hour, and the only time I had a problem was when I turned onto the side street to get to my garage - a little slipping and sliding before safety arriving in my driveway.

Once inside, Peter and I hunkered down for the duration. The storm was predicted to last through 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 6th, and we were anticipating about 2 feet of snow. Around 10:30, Peter decided to rev up the snowblower for the first of what would be five or six times over the course of the next 24 hours. At this point, it looked as if at least 10" of snow had fallen. We had an earlier snowfall that week, and we got about 6", but the snow was light and easy to plow through. The snow was heavy and taxing on the snowblower. Our next door neighbor was out shoveling his sidewalk as well. Peter told him not to shovel in the morning and that he would use the snowblower on his sidewalk in the morning.

A little after 11:00 p.m. the satelite dish was covered with snow and we lost TV service. It wasn't restored until Sunday morning, February 7th, once the sun was out and melting the snow off the dish. We listened to the radio through the computer as well as the radio in our bedroom, to try to keep abreast of what the weather conditions were and if the forecast was changing. It wasn't, except that through all indications, we might be getting more snow than originally forecast. We ended up with 30" in our area.

Due to the impending snowstorm, we received notice that church was being canceled (the decision was made on Friday). Sunday, February 6th began as a beautiful day, with vivid blue skies, and we ventured out to document the effects of this storm. A beautiful crape myrtle, in the front of our house, was badly damaged by the weight of the snow. A magnolia tree in our back yard was lost as well. We began walking the streets and taking photographs of the snow and its impact on our neighborhood. As you can see, we did get a lot of snow.

I'm not going to jinx myself so I'm only posting 3 photos. Since this is the first time I've posted photos to my blog, I'll have to learn the ins and outs of photo positioning in feature posts. Despite the amount, it was a beautiful snowfall. Now, are we really getting another storm on Tuesday, February 9th?