FOTO FRIDAY: 50 YEARS AGO

FOTO FRIDAY this week had me going through old correspondence, yellowed newspaper articles and falling apart scrapbooks looking for my 1970 confirmation class pictures with this weekend marking its 50th anniversary. 

Last night the holiday of Shavuot which historically recognizes  when Moses received the 5 Books of the Torah on Mt. Sinai, began.  Confirmation traditionally takes place on this holiday weekend.  

We were a small confirmation class that year at Temple B'nai Israel in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Weren't there were 10 of us?)

1970 TEMPLE B'NAI ISRAEL'S CONFIRMATION CLASS 

top row (l to r)Terry, Ronnie, Ann, Lynn, Keith, Frankie 

bottom row: yours truly, z"l Rabbi Palnick, Stan  and z"l Ms. Etheridge  (Brad not present)

It's difficult to believe it was 50 years ago and my honor to read in Hebrew the torah portion with the ten commandments.  

Being a pandemic year,  the times demand caution and 2020 confirmands wisely and responsibly are Zooming their confirmations. Yesterday in Little Rock almost 300 new cases of Covid 19 were reported... Besides best wishes being sent to all the confirmands, hopes for recovery for those afflicted by the virus.

Do you have any confirmation photos to share? Send them my way. Be sure and include the date. Thanks Brenda for sharing your confirmation class and reminding me of my 50th!

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was MOTHER NATURE SMARTS

TBT: THEY DON'T MAKE THEM LIKE THEY USED TO...

TBT  this week is prompted by a high school friend's posting of her 46 year old Sunbeam electric skillet dying and bemoaning the fact next on her list is replacing her vintage 1960’s era Frigidaire Custom Imperial stove/oven combo. When I saw her photo and read about her loss it brought a twinge of sadness... Men might get attached to their cars / boats but for women it's more likely her washing machine/dryer/ a kitchen appliance which sustains the abuse of household demands and time...

I personally grew up with a 1950's Monarch electric stove which still resides in my childhood home in Little Rock. It has a built in salt & pepper shaker and light which illuminates the stove top and serves as a great kitchen night light..

When I first visited the End of the Rainbow Valley in '05 I couldn't believe my eyes when upon walking into  Natureman's kitchen there sat (and still sits) a vintage1950's Monarch; only  this one was a combo wood burning electric stove. What are the chances? Some 40 years previously Natureman had inherited this gem from his closest neighbors down the road a 1/2 mile away. I wonder how in the world they ever lifted and transported it to the back of the End of the Rainbow Valley much less fit it through the small door opening...

Actually, it was such a gem that the builder had an alternative plan for our new house for adding a lower level which would have the house bermed on one side with a walk-in lower level to a summer kitchen utilizing this stove for canning. But, practicality won out as it was more prudent to forego the lower level and keep all the living on one level considering we weren't getting any younger...

The Monarch remains in the old house 12' behind the new house. In the last 18 years there really hasn't been much need for the extra ovens nor burners as there's a double oven in the new abode.  But the Monarch still works!

As  the saying goes 'they don't make 'em like they used to...'

They Don't Make Them Like They Used to... (via YouTube)

FOTO FRIDAY: MOTHER NATURE SMARTS

FOTO FRIDAY this week is one of my favorite sights and it's the way plants catch the morning dew. 

My personal excitement is to see the return of the front garden's lupines and this year is no different even though it'll be a while before they send up their flowering stalks. But just look at how they catch that morning dew. All those dew droplets just run down the leafs to the center of the small fronds to feed the plant. Mother  Nature is just so smart!

Little do the plants know rain is on its way this weekend and they'll have plenty of water. Sorry Wisconsin humanoids, it being a holiday weekend and all your picnic plans but maybe you can find an open park shelter to use. 

Be safe...

Last week FOTO FRIDAY held MISSING KODAK MOMENTS

TBT: FINALLY

Back in March I shared with you the lovely evening we shared at FIESTA 2020  UW-L Latin American Student Organization's (LASO) celebration.  Little did we know that weekend would be the last weekend we went out as Covid 19 brought with it social distancing... 

Being an immuno compromised household - No more public dances nor dinners out with Natureman. :( We'll be anxiously awaiting that vaccine.


BUT, finally I can share the powerful student produced video we viewed back in March at FIESTA that is now on Youtube sharing the evening's theme of the same name I am, I Belong. To provide anonymity of these personal stories, students told these 'real life' immigrant stories. ..

Thank you and kudos to LASO for sharing and a job well done! Your message needs to be heard by others. I'm hoping my readers will share this link with others also. The vilification of  immigrants is not a new story but a story that must be retold as we all must speak out against this present societal divisiveness. It is not okay.

Here's the youtube video:I AM , I BELONG

AIRBORNE

One thing our household certainly knows is we won't be airborne, as in flying anywhere, any time soon. Why? Because Covid 19  is airborne. 

If the Supreme Court was going to rule to open up our communi-ties for business, it's reprehensible that informed guidance was not provided. Guidance about the importance of the wearing of masks. Leaving it up to individual businesses to decide policy offers little security for customers.  

Until testing is available to all of us, the virus will continue. The truth is we have no clue as to who its carriers are until its too late.  States like Georgia and Florida which opened up early are already starting to experience increased cases. 

1,532,889 Americans have been infected with coronavirus,
91,094 Americans have died as a result of the pandemic.



If you are going out and about, please don a mask. This pandemic does not discriminate.

Be safe...

THE BRAVER ANGELS AMONG US...

Whenever possible Natureman and I like to attend the community dinner discussions sponsored by the .be organization. Unfortunately,  these gatherings like others can not take place due to social distancing. So in addition to .be,  Great Rivers United Way, LeaderEthic Wisconsin and Braver Angels are sponsoring 2 Zoom programs entitled Depolarization Within: Becoming a Better Angel in Your Own World.

Our first presentor, Cameron Swallow, a Braver Angels's coordinator, spoke of: Recognizing One's Inner Polarizer, Making Depolarizing Distinctions and How to Talk about the Other Side in a Non-Polarizing Way.

In recognizing one's inner polarizer 6 questions were to be answered by each participant with regard to the 'other' group with either often, sometimes/ never.



For making depolarizing distinctions and 'telling  the story' one needs to challenge one's stereotypes when one makes depolarizing distinctions between positions and people, policies and core values, and inconsistency and hypocrisy. 

The third section of How to Talk about the Other Side in a Non-polarizing Way covered : What to avoid... ie the use of pejorative labels, criticizing the idea or the policy, not the motives of everyone who holds it, criticizing your own side too, saying something positive about the other side and trying an “eavesdropper” experiment.

Section 4 are the skills for depolarizing conversations with like-minded people which include listening, acknowledging, pivoting and offering perspective.

Dear friends, it is not easy work to unite Red and Blue Americans to depolarize America.  I am looking forward to this week's program.

If you are in the La Crosse area and would like to join us this coming Thursday you just need to register as spaces are limited. Here's the link:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/braver-angels-depolarizing-within-pt-2-tickets-104474159022
fbclid=IwAR1xrbc03jnK4GZgODP2Ag903rnYbo30oggXZG8_t5Svwv6cIlcBJxVn2KA

MONDAY MUSINGS: EXTRA HOSPITAL VISIT

There's one place you really don't want to go to at this pandemic time and that's an unnecessary hospital visit.  All I can say is I tried ... A week's worth of avoidance crossing my fingers that it was the right decision.

You see a week ago a 5 pound exercise barbell weight rolled off my bed onto my bare foot. (No, I don't sleep with barbells nor have them on my bed usually but I had moved my late afternoon on line exercising into the bedroom since Natureman had already been subjected to a morning class.) 

The weight fell on the very same  previously broken foot that had 3 fractures. Let's just say, it smarted and yet, somehow I was able to put weight on it. After taking tylenol and icing it for the evening there was minimal pain. On that pain scale I'd say a 6)  The following days the bruising changed, covering a third of my foot. ( Natureman says that doesn't mean much since I have small feet) We continued our walks, me wearing shoes that weren't laced up. 

My hopes of recovery were squashed when the pain just concentrated on a visual 1/4 of an inch raised red area on a vein Friday night. Was it a blood clot/ something else needing medical attention. 

The thought of medical advice seemed the route to go. A nurse returned my call and told me blod clots are deeper and not visual. Her concern was that I had a fracture and should come in to have it checked out and x-rayed. 

Urgent Care was only open another half an hour which it would take me to arrive but would reopen at 7am . Opting for the early morning visit, I headed out at 6:15 Saturday morning and arrived a bit early. 

After being greeted by a masked young man, waiting on the receptionist who was away from her acrylic shielded area and another masked worker bee needing her also,  I was the only patient in the waiting area!  

The wait was minimal and I was ushered into a room. Another masked fellow did the triage, in came the sympathetic masked nurse who oohed at my bruising and then the masked doctor entered. 

Bottomline is that even if it is fractured, the mere fact I can walk on it was enough to indicate the injury is not a break and an x-ray would serve no purpose.  Nothing would change its healing. The raised area is probably a hematoma and the blood should be absorbed within the next week. That was that... Another masked young man came in with paperwork and the visit was over.  Total of 16 minutes and seeing 7 people, I left. 

Well, for my ease of mind it was worth checking it out. I disposed of my gloves once out of the building and removed my mask once back in the car heading to the End of the Rainbow Valley where Natureman was just awakening... A new day with maybe one less worry.

FOTO FRIDAY: MISSING KODAK MOMENTS FOR THE BIRDS

FOTO FRIDAY and now you are going to say, where's the pic Chaseburgmama? 

I have to admit that this week is dedicated to all the 'missed' Kodak bird moments this week. 

This morning's pic doesn't hold a candle to sight
we beheld earlier in the week...

First there was stunning sunset sunshine showing off our new bird feeder's attraction being used by 2 rose breasted grossbeaks and a gold finch. The symmetry of the birds was perfection with one grossbeak clinging to the feeder's hanging wire, a grossbeak in one corner and the bright yellow of the finch in the opposing corner. After admiring the stunning colors the gold finch left and so did the Kodak moment...


Then, there were the 8 grossbeaks both male and female in the main feeder while the remainder were socially distanced in the sculptural dead Japanese Maple as they awaited a space at the feeder.

Next the red male cardinal, a red bellied woodpecker and oriole showed off their stuff fighting over the jelly at the same popular feeder. 

Yesterday we took Balto for a walk in Goose Island where all the main roads are being recovered but that didn't deter 2 V flying flocks of pelicans overhead. Very awesome.   

An iridescent blue indigo bunting showed up this morning at the main feeder . See below*

Yep, I am missing a lot of bird 'Kodak' moments... I must be slipping.

* Since this posting a purple finch which we haven't seen in eons show up and an additional indigo bunting!

Long time no see

Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was A MOVING

TBT: A MILESTONE WEEKEND

TBT and milestones is on tap this week as there are many different milestones in our lives and with whom we share them...  Today I should have been waking up in Little Rock, Arkansas as this is my niece Becky's college graduation weekend...

I never thought I would have the opportunity to ever get to know my nieces/nephews firsthand but fate actually had one of my moves back to my childhood hometown as an adult. Hence I was around for my brother's marriage and the birth of his children. 

Visits have kept us close once I moved away to Wisconsin...
I also happened to be visiting  in Little Rock to be able to attend a college recruitment with Becky about Hendrix College.  After listening to the program I told her it sounded so good that I was planning to apply and be her roommate. Wink, wink...

And I was visiting when it was time for Becky to move into Hendrix dorms her freshmen year. My brother and I even ate lunch with her that moving day in the cafeteria which would be feeding her the next 4 years-

Brother Marc and Freshman Becky

Those four years really flew by...

IT's not the weekend anybody envisioned as we as will be zooming.  The college is planning on recognizing  special achievements of students and faculty on a dedicated page of the College website and mailing awards. This weekend a video honoring graduates and featuring their photos will be available on the Hendrix homepage. 



No matter where you are, best wishes to all you 2020 graduates! If  nothing else, your graduation memories will be very different due to these Covid times... May you always have what you need to face the world.

OUR TIN CONTAINER OF POSSIBILITIES...

 Today, we should have been on a plane heading south for my niece's graduation. A week of activities besides the family celebration was planned including a side trip up to northern Arkansas for Natureman to experience  Crystal Bridges, its world class museum and grounds.  But we all know all had been cancelled due to this pandemic. AirBnB deposits returned, mental notes made for rebooking flight reservations for up to 2021 usage. We 'had' hopes of being able to fulfill family time by 'driving' down in August to celebrate my Dad's 95. Yet, it doesn't look like those plans will germinate with the recurrence worldwide of Covid.

As previously mentioned in other entries Natureman had more immediate goals of  his traditional garden this spring.  We weren't exactly sure how that large traditional garden would come to fruition. Would we be able to obtain the necessities without going to garden centers?  A phone call to our local farmer's co-op had onion sets and seed potatoes set out for us. Natureman was determined even with less stamina to have the ground prepared and rototilled and by golly, purchases in the ground... 

Of course, there was the 'tin' with previous years's purchased seed packets but like our vacation plans would they germinate? Last week the pea fence went up and in went the peas, lettuce and chard seed. Best wishes little seeds...

Our immediate neighbor generously dropped off a tray with eggplant, pepper, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprout plants he had started with tomatoes to follow and from farther down the road neighbors produced these gorgeous plants of tomatillo and basil yesterday. 

Since the herb planter tubs were still inside, the basil was added to a space left by the winter's harvested herbs. The washer tubs will be groomed and after moving back outside, repainted by week's end. 

Time will tell if those tin's seeds will germinate but as with everything else we'll  hope for the possibilities...


And to all you 2020 graduates your 'tin' of life holds numerous possibilities...

BEAR WITH ME...

I thought I knew what was in store for me living in the middle of nowhere recognizing living out in the country has both its advantages and disadvantages. During a pandemic, social distancing falls under the advantage column as we certainly don't have to worry about running into anybody/do we?

There are other critters that one might see unexpectedly. Look what turned up very close to our End of the Rainbow Valley yesterday.

No, we didn't run into each other yet but we definitely could have had we been down the same road/ this is where we left Romeo one time for boarding- Eegads!

You know even without a mask  I don't think he's been exposed! 

MONDAY MUSINGS: BECOMING

We do have choices in how we approach our lives. If nothing else we can choose our attitude each morning when we wake up. Of course it can be affected by circumstances but it is up to us how we behave and what we become...

Yesterday was a crummy cold weather day for Mother's Day.  Fortunately following that rule of not putting plants outside before this weekend was working in their favor. BUT, they weren't going outside yesterday either. So, gardening was out and instead of curling up with a good book, Netflix won out as my afternoon activity choice with watching the documentary Becoming about Michelle Obama's 2018 book tour by the same name.

31 stops must have been harrowing but our former First Lady's poise, grace and intelligence shone as she dealt with filled convention center spaces to intimate round table discussions. Her intentions to continue her work with the youth of our country is so needed.  Michelle Obama is a true mentor as she leads by example sharing her life's narrative. 

The critiques vary but this viewer came away feeling a loss of the Obama White House leadership but also with hope of what can be instilled in the leaders of tomorrow,  their potential of what they can become, class acts in their own rights... 

MISSED A DAY AGAIN...

'So glad I'm not a patient in the hospital right now having to answer daily mental check questions asking what day it is because I think I would fail. I posted TBT on Wednesday and Foto Friday on Thursday. Only one of my friends mentioned it. So have you noticed the days sliding into one another?  

I'm a morning person honestly inherited from my Dad. My day starts with that online jigsaw puzzle, finishing a blog entry, checking email, reading some, doing a couple chores (all before breakfast)     Jazzercise daily with  Zoom coffee with Jazzerbuddies 2x/ wk now.






Natureman and I then usually walk to the mailbox before lunch, admiring 
whatever is in its glory blooming that day. 

Wednesday it was the colonies of swamp marigolds that grabbed our attention.


Upon our mail return it's time for lunch and perhaps a little gardening afterwards. Thursday it was morel hunting for Natureman while I took a nap, another Jazzercise class and dinner prep.

So having 'scheduled' quarantined days is not keeping me straight on the calendar but in the whole scheme of things, it really doesn't matter... Thank goodness for phones and computers for calendars as long as you look at them!

FOTO FRIDAY IS A 'MOVING...

This week's FOTO FRIDAY is actually a little movie clip...

Another artist buddy is moving from the area... I actually met Laurel my glass artist buddy through my doll artist friend Cheryl.  Whereas Cheryl now spends most of her year in Arizona and the hot summer months in cooler Minnesota, Laurel is not leaving the state but moved yesterday for the other coast, of Wisconsin that is, Door County. 

When I moved from Milwaukee 15 years ago, I shared plants with friends. There's a bit of continuity by leaving a little of ourselves in a place we called home. Laurel like Cheryl couldn't take their yard art with them and I was one of the fortunate ones to receive pieces which will continue to remind me of them. And when they return to visit the area, they can always come visit them.

After a little WD40, Laurel's whimsical metal moving sculpture brings a smile to our faces as the strumming guitarist and dancing girls really get a workout with the breezy days we've had...

Welcome our newest shakers and movers in the End of the Rainbow Valley. 

Thanks Laurel for leaving a bit of you with us not only with the metal sculpture but the decorative votive piece's on the screened in porch and the bird feeder which is busy with birds practicing social distancing waiting on nearby tree limbs... 

Best wishes on that other coast. 


Last week's FOTO FRIDAY was  La VISTA

TBT: SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...

One just never knows what will happen in the End of the Rainbow Valley and we did have a very unexpected surprise appear in front of the house. Our neighbor dropped it off...

Lo and behold our mailboxes which had been washed away with the last flood were found. Inside was just some dried up mud. They are now perched atop an old milk can in the front garden a mile from their original location until they are needed again...

We're holding on to these in case our newest mailboxes depart with the enviable next flooding. Infrastructure issues. The dam still has not been fixed due to FEMA monies never arriving..


If the mailbox is the only thing we lose, we consider ourselves lucky. Meanwhile drop us snail mail anytime so the mail lady and man have good things to place in those mailboxes we keep investing in...

Take a listen to YouTube's: SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE...

A SECRET LOVE

Remember  your mom warning you about PDA? You know what other people would think of you if you were seen even holding hands in public much less kissing? Public Displays of Affection were frowned upon when I grew up. Well, for some couples it was mandatory to be more secretive for a myriad of reasons...

If you want to see a beautiful true love story that lasted over 60 years treat yourself to " A Secret Love" with the couple, family and friends, documented by wonderful home movies and photographs.

We watched it on NetFlix.

Thank you so much Jayne for suggesting it.

 *BTW Be sure and have kleenex nearby.
Remember this oldie? You tube's Doris Day :A Secret Love

MONDAY MUSING: WINTER INTEREST- BYE, BYE, BYE

What a gorgeous weekend and opportunity to get some air. And in the End of the Rainbow Valley, a perfect reason to be out working in the garden. It was time for me to start working on removing all that 'winter interest - translated: dead brush from the flower beds. 

While Natureman put in 2 long days rototilling and planting seed potatoes, onion sets, peas, chard, lettuce and spinach seed, my mission was to fill the large cart with old plant stalks, dead grass and leaves which was then all dumped downhill.  

By the end of the second day neither of us was moving as quickly as the day before but we made the most of both 70 degree days as temps will be dropping.  (We even had a light frost last night and the low will be 31 on Friday night with a hard frost. )

Glad the winter interest is gone. My next endeavor is pulling out the stuff I don't want growing - like weeds. And no that's not 'summer interest' unless you like dandelions and invasive plants taking over...

Bye bye winter interest!

FOTO FRIDAY: LA VISTA

Bored? We're anything but bored as we don't have too far to go to see something new.

Maybe this quarantine has you checking out new vistas as a result ...


Look at these two catching a new view in a boggy area atop a piece of work perhaps created by a beaver ...

Any vistas to share with us this Friday? We all love seeing what you have seen...

Joan's sharing  a vista from her wild flower nature walk along Root River trail...

Here's last week's in case you missed it:
FOTO FRIDAY