My new church lady dress

PRODUCT DETAILS:

Light, breathable chiffon
Ruffled mandarin collar with picot edge
Keyhole neckline with self-covered button and elastic loop
Long sleeves with shirring at the shoulders
Elastic waistband with self-tie belt
Tiered maxi-length skirt for effortless movement
Pullover style for easy wear

That's what it said in the review, and it looked blue so I thought it might be nice.  However, it was very sheer and the weather had turned cold.  I looked for a jacket, but instead of blue, it really looked dark gray. My solution was to wear a very dark gray, long sleeve t-shirt underneath it. I was nice and toasty, and no one knew the difference since it was exactly the color of the dress. It's definitely a "maxi," and goes to the top of my shoes.  But I look about 20 lbs. heavier.

  

Happy birthdays, anniversaries 2025

After being delayed by colds, we finally got to celebrate two birthdays and two anniversaries at Hyde Park Restaurant. Upper Arlington | Hours + Location | Hyde Park Restaurants | Steakhouse in the US

 

I'm wearing my new birthday jacket from my kids--navy and white

The little people within the grant system

I woke up this morning thinking about the "little people" at the bottom rung of these government (USAID for instance) grants who have no idea what's behind the paycheck or where the program has gone. Government work is considered "secure" even if you are part time and temporary as I always was in the 80s. I think about the agricultural credit grant that paid me for 3 years, everyone above me, and a few below. I still see my publications pop up on the internet. 40 years. Later, I helped with grant writing workshops. We probably brought in coffee and bagels for the class. For years I know I worked on grants or attended meetings supported by grants--and there was always good food at our events.

 
Even when I was hired to work in a program (STEPS) to retool senior citizens who'd lost their jobs in the 1980s, we subcontracted out to building owners who supplied the spaces and the computers, and the food services, and probably the local senior organizations who supplied the clients. We travelled around the state--the money coming in was going out and helping the local economy. I'm not saying we didn't do any good or people didn't benefit, but it was mainly me who benefitted--the skills I learned, the publications that moved me ahead in my career path, the friends I made, the information I learned--I even wrote speeches on labor for a politician to give on the road (she was later killed in a plane crash). Mainly I'm talking about funding that had already had about 60% taken off the top by whatever state or local agency/organization had gotten from the federal agency. You can imagine all the people who are paid along the way. From file clerk to janitor to van driver to the lowly researcher who wrote and assembled the learning materials and arranged for it to happen.

It's difficult to track what became of USAID money--I went into the WayBack (?) archive and read the 2016 annual report. The photos are wonderful--lovely black faces beaming over experimental agricultural plots, or happy children in bright clothing raising their hands in class. You can see the model programs, and many did benefit. The report was so vague about actual costs, my eyes glazed over. Having worked in the system, I knew how to write like that. A few words about DEI goals, but minimal. Not like you would read today where each chapter seems to need a paragraph. USAID was established as an independent agency to infiltrate and influence the local culture, but probably not with drag queen shows and sex change operations. Its purpose is to maintain our interests over Russia and China's. Instead, we're creating chaos in the local culture which benefits our enemies.

And I also thought (at 6 a.m.) what $9 million to the Leftist media during the Biden years could have done for the people in North Carolina. Yesterday it was reported that "Politico received at least $8.2 million from the U.S. government in recent years, with $44,000 of that coming from USAID, according to USAspending.gov." The Department of Energy has given Politico $1.29 million, the Department of Agriculture has given $552,024 and the Department of Commerce has given $485,572.
Sigh. No wonder the Democrats are screaming and rioting. Someone is draining the gravy train.

Interesting Congressional hearing report on USAID reporting for 2011. USAID: Following The Money : Committee on Oversight and Government Reform : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive  from Internet Archive.  Obviously, Congress has known for many years what was going on with wasted tax money funneled through USAID.

Kamala's Karrot--$25,000

Is that $25,000 wealth transfer for first time home buyers making any traction for Democrats to choose Harris instead of Trump? Only if they know nothing about real estate. Of course, the entire housing industry has a stake in that, from the land developer to the builder to the home furnishing industry. The best down payment break is a thriving economy instead of raging inflation, and Harris' plan is inflationary. It just inflates the cost of a low end house $25,000 and moves up from there. The original first-time home buyer tax credit was created by Congress in 2008 during the burst housing bubble and ended in 2010. And that bubble too was created by government money. Remember the bundled sub-prime mortgages for people who were a poor credit risk? Your government did that.

Does it make sense to offer $25,000 for a first home credit if there aren't any being built in your price range? It's local and "green" regulations that are driving up the cost of acreage and building--and for that we can thank Harris' party and the scare tactics about global weather cycles. Where we live used to be under a glacier, so we know about that warming stuff in Ohio.

 
We bought our first home (of 5) when we were 22 and 23. We haven't had a home mortgage since our 40s. If you talk to other people our age (80s) most bought homes in our 20s instead of 35 because we married younger in those days, and parents are more willing to chip in if the couple isn't just living together. We also didn't have college loans to pay off. We also didn't have nice cars, didn't live in apartment buildings with "amenities," didn't have manicures, didn't have vacations, we didn't even have shopping malls. We all had parents who had lived through the Great Depression and WWII, knew a few things about saving money and were more than willing to tell us about it!!

That Kamala-carrot on the stick is rotten to the core. She'd better come up with something other than spending money the government first has to take from someone else.

Good-bye Summer

Good-bye summer.

 
That's what I think on September 1. It's my favorite month, though. It was the start of school (in the old days) and I loved school. It is the month of my birthday and anniversary of our wedding (64 this year). Did you know that Good-bye is a contraction of "God be with you?" Think on that each time you say good-bye. You are blessing them with God's presence and protection. It's the basis of that old hymn, "God be with you till we meet again." 

“God Be With You Till We Meet Again”, which was written by Jeremiah Rankin, was simply composed so his church choir could have something to sing when they parted each week. Rankin was the minister for the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. and said this about the hymn, “Written…as a Christian goodbye, it was called forth by no person or occasion, but was deliberately composed as a Christian hymn on basis of the etymology of “goodbye,” which is “God be with you.” He got the idea for the first stanza of the song when he saw the dictionary definition of “good-bye” was short for “God be with you.” The song was written in 1882 when Rankin was 54 years old."

Additional details in  Discipleship Ministries | History of Hymns: 'God Be with You Till We… (umcdiscipleship.org)

Children and exercise--the gym or outdoors?

I go to Lifetime Fitness (I call it the gym) about 5x a week. Sometimes parents bring their children--I think they need to be 12 to be a guest. They are well-behaved and no trouble--but I do feel sorry for them, especially the young girls who are probably already a little over concerned about their bodies.

No one wants to hear that we knew better in the "old days" but here it is. I hated school PE classes, I admit it. I did avoid all organized summer sports although the town had community leagues. But I certainly had a lot of exercise. Watching a little kid on one of those machines today I recalled:

• climbing trees
• riding horses
• biking on no-speed, manual brake bicycles
• playing hop-scotch
• raking leaves in the fall
• mowing the lawn in the summer
• pulling weeds in the garden in the summer
• digging dandelions in the yard in the spring
• running during recess
• swinging on the monkey bars in the school yard
• roller skating with strap on skates on the sidewalks
• catching tadpoles and frogs in creeks
• playing softball in the street with neighborhood kids
• delivering newspapers on a morning route
• running just because
• and we walked because our mean mothers wouldn't drive us everywhere we wanted to go!

Most of these with the exception of newspaper delivery were social activities--done with friends or a group.

Speaking memories at lunch

Lunch today was nothing incredible--rotisserie chicken, alfredo sauce, with macaroni, asparagus, fresh spinach, toasted French loaf with garlic butter, fresh pineapple with blueberries, and a homemade chocolate cookie (for him, I was full). No photo was taken. But we had a lively conversation. I try to tell stories he hasn't heard before (and that I haven't heard either). 

He gets sort of mixed up on the dates. I do remember those. We met in March 1959 and married in September 1960, so it's been 65 years since our first date. We both remembered what we wore because we went to the St. Pat's Ball. He wore his grandfather's sport coat and I wore a friend's lace red dress. 

 I think what started the conversation at lunch today was a photo I had of him in 1975 when he was super skinny. He had propped his painting up against our Ford Pinto in the drive way so I could take a photo.  And he then looked like the guy I met in 1959. In those days some of us didn't know each other very well. I went to summer school in Maine that summer, and he worked in Indianapolis the fall of 1959 while I was at U. of Illinois, so actually, we were practically strangers. We had both been engaged before, and to my knowledge they are also both alive.

I can't seem to find the photo I showed him today in his skinny days, but I remember I bought him this suit in the boys' department at Lazarus. 1974. And that helmet hair I was wearing was all the rage.

Seat belts--early memory

"Click it or ticket. Buckle up." That is the banner at the intersection of Tremont and Kenny Rds. Golf course on the west. Lutheran church, apartments and city building on the east. And a memory flashes of the first time I wore a seat belt in a car. Does that ever happen to you? Useless memories pop up out of nowhere, but I can't remember how to use the TV remote. I don't have any grandchildren to bore with my stories (however, I loved my grandparents' stories).

I was the receptionist/secretary/labor at Foxbilt Feeds in Mt. Morris, IL. I've forgotten the name of the owner, but he had a fantastic red Ford convertible, probably 1955. I answered the phone and copied down orders for delivery. The car had seat belts, not sure if they were required then or were an add on option. But I must have gone on some deliveries to farmers, otherwise I wouldn't have been in the car. It was a part time, summer job, and my mom took me to work since I was too young to drive. I looked online and Foxbilt does seem to still supply feed and fertilizer.

Google search algorithm

"Google’s search algorithm is perhaps the most consequential system on the internet, dictating what sites live and die and what content on the web looks like." Sure is. When I go back and reread some of my blog entries whether it's about Memorial Day, a recipe, family memories, or how bad Obama was, I can see counts of 150-200 per entry. Now, it's about 17-20. Part of it was change in social media choices, but also it's the algorithm. Commercial sites now get top space. And of course, during the pandemic and lockdown, it was simply censored.

Google won’t comment on a potentially massive leak of its search algorithm documentation - The Verge

Mother's Day Painting

 

  

On the lakefront by the Hotel Lakeside

Antiques Roadshow pt. 4, the purse

On an Antiques Roadshow rerun (possibly 2018) I saw a lovely, 19th century beaded purse. I was surprised it was valued at only $385. It was beautiful. I wouldn't carry it, but I do have an antique purse. I get a lot of compliments on this purse--a few a week. I'd buy another one if I could find it. A faded denim which can hold my i-pad or phone, with two nice side pockets. Walmart--$9.00. I purchased it about 6 years ago, although I really don't remember, so it could be older. Since it began life faded and worn, it's hard to tell, but it's starting to develop some holes from my pencils.

A tiger by the tail

 The clerk said there is a tiger face on this sweater, but we had to take a photo to find it.

From shoes to uncles

There's an editorial in WSJ today from a woman who had been told by her doctors she had to give up high heels. There's a pay wall, but I know she finally opted for good health rather than be crippled. I was never a shoe fanatic, but I did wear high heels, probably 3" in high school and college, then 2" in my 40's, then sort of wedgies, and now flat Mary Jane's. After I retired in 2000 at 60 I was always well dressed when I went out in public--like to the coffee shop, grocery store or various club meetings. Until about 2010, I always wore high heels with my slacks. After exercise class I would go home and change clothes rather than appear in the grocery store in my athletic clothes. Somewhere after 70 I decided that was probably wasted energy. These memories are included in the blog I wrote in 2015 about "What I used to do and don't anymore." If I hadn't written it, I might not remember I ever wore high heels.

My grandmother Weybright held out as long as she could. Born in 1876 she was still wearing sensible high heels and a nice dress when I would drive her to cattle sales or the state fair (she managed her farms) in the late 1950s. Women were stronger and smarter in those days. I think she also wore a hat in public.

In the photo below (1949) my grandmother is in the back on the right and I can see she's wearing heels with a strap; her sister-in-law, Alice Jay, who was older is seated on the left and is also wearing heels. It was a terribly hot sticky day, and I was very uncomfortable as I can see from the look on my face.

  

The person taking the photo was my uncle, J. Edwin Jay, the retired president of Wilmington College in Ohio. I decided to check the internet, and found that a younger faculty member had decided to publish in 2015 Jay's story of his years at Wilmington on the internet from a typed manuscript he found in the library. So I looked up Prof. McNelis who had retired, and sorry to say he died about 6 months ago, so I can't thank him for that nice gesture. Uncle Edwin and I corresponded for years, and I made a special trip to see him before he died in Detroit in 1963. And we know all this because some journalist has given up her painful shoes.

James I. McNelis, III, Ph.D. (teachingtolkien.org)

James McNelis Obituary (2023) - Eureka, CA - Times-Standard (legacy.com)

History and Tradition - Wilmington College (Wilmington, Ohio)

Here's What "Trendy" Shoes Looked Like In Every Decade Of The 20th Century (ranker.com)

Inflation 1973-2023 in my recipe box

Today I was looking through my recipe box (sort of a historical archive now since I rarely bake) for something cobbler like/lite and found a recipe for cheesecake that serves 12 by my cousin Judy who lives in Winnebago, IL and grew up in Byron. It was dated August, 1973, so I have no idea why we were exchanging recipes. Our big family reunion was 20 years later and for that she contributed some from her mother, Aunt Gladys (d. 1976). Anyway, I'm not going to make a cheesecake, but on the back of the card I noted the prices. Things have changed a bit in 50 years. Pie filling (for topping) .59; Dream Whip .26; graham crackers .23; cream cheese .55. It seems I didn't count the sugar, eggs, and butter because I probably had that on hand (called homemaker math). It's in my handwriting, so I probably copied it to fit in this tiny box for 3 x 5 cards.

Some on FB are old enough to remember the nightmare of stagflation of the 1970s--high inflation, high unemployment, and low growth. In 1973 the average rate of inflation for food prices was over 13%. In August 1973 when I noted the prices, the food inflation rate was 18.2%! That may be why I noted the costs on the card. Compare that to 2023 food prices which was 5.8% for the year. The killer rate we all remember (and blame Biden for) was about 10% for 2022. I blame this primarily on the lockdown which really messed up all levels of the economy as well as health.

Data are from https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/food-inflation-in-the-united-states/? 

The Mentor magazine

It was snowing in Columbus, OH, on January 19.  I'm recovering from back strain and much improved, so was tackling the laundry. My adult ADHD kicked in and I noticed something on a top shelf peeking out, calling to me while the washer filled. Debating whether to stress my back, I reached for it and found a May 1929 "The Mentor" magazine.

"The Mentor magazine was published from 1913 to about 1931 by The Mentor Association. The Association was founded by William David Moffat in 1912 and included experts in various fields. Each issue was devoted to a single subject augmented by fine photogravures (photogravures are prints produced in such a way as to mimic the richness and subtle range of tone found in photographs). . . http://archives.dyclibrary.net/?p=206

I've searched this computer for the data base of my grandparents' library, but I can't find it.  I created and printed it back in the 90s, but my back will not allow bending, stretching and lifting. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have picked this up anywhere unless I recognized it. Both my maternal grandparents attended college in the 1890s and although they subscribed to many practical and farming magazines, this looks like it would have appealed to their interests.  This issue concerns wild animals (birds, bears, elephants) and travels, particularly the American west.  Also articles about animal artists. Robert L. Dickey, Grace Mott Johnson, Louis Jonas

I particularly enjoy the advertisements in old magazines. There's a full-page ad for Woman's Home Companion (Springfield Ohio) which promised serialized books for only $1.00 a year. Last year (1928?) the subscriber could have enjoyed The Story of Religion, What is Wrong with Marriage, Mareea-Maria,  The Foolish Virgin, The Quart Eye, Mamba's Daughters, Troupers of the Gold Coast or the rise of Lotta Crabtree, Keeping off the Shelf, and The Father. Of course, on the back, there is a full color ad for Camel cigarettes, "a Miss is as good as a mile" with an attractive young woman offering cigarettes to a handsome man.

30 plus years of smut for children

I came across a folder of letters today and found one I'd written to Chrysler in December 2009 praising my new Town and Country. But that wasn't the point.  I was chastising the corporation/group/CEO for being a donor to GLSEN, an organization for LGBTQ+ children--or pushing and promoting the gay lifestyle to children. So, you see, this corruption of our children goes way back. GLSEN was about 20 years old by then (created by teachers). My specific complaint to Chrysler was that GLSEN "produces a list of pornographic recommended books for children. I've read some excerpts on the internet, and it's truly disgusting. Do you really think fisting and fellatio need to be part of elementary school education?" I then included the internet link. Apparently, it flew out of my mind, and my next van was also a Chrysler!

I looked at GLSEN's front page today (carries a warning) and didn't see Chrysler, but I did see Walt Disney, Target (of course--it's been a real leader in attacking all manner of values and traditions), Wells Fargo, Pet Smart, Gucci, YouTube, New Balance, Amazon and many others

Remember please, those children GLSEN was corrupting with the help of major corporations for the last 30+ years are the adults now occupying jobs in academe and the corporate world. Which is why there is such a tsunami of this nonsense.

Greeting the neighbors at 6:30 a.m.

 On my morning walk I noticed a DIY moving truck and my neighbors loading personal belongings into their car.  So I stopped to chat.  They are moving to Florida.  I don't think this is political or financial because they bought a smaller home 4 years ago, and are just hoping for a nice retirement on the beach. Covid and the lockdown messed up their timetable, but now they are on their way.  They've lived there 13 years, and although we've chatted at parties, this was the longest conversation we've had.  I remember it used to be a 4 generation household.  His mother, their daughter and a granddaughter. Now it's just the 2 of them in 3700 sq. ft. But that's a lot of boxes, memorabilia and stuff to move. Safe travels Barry and Kathy.

  

St. Maria Goretti and Alessandro Serenelli

I'm not one who has visions or dreams* about Jesus or spiritual events. I just plod along reading one of my 10 Bibles, 20 reference books, or miscellaneous articles in magazines for insight. However, occasionally God puts before me the story of Saint Maria Goretti to remind me of his command to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Lord's prayer). I've come across this story numerous times. Today there she was again on p. 81 of the July issue of Magnificat. Maria was a young Italian girl sexually assaulted and stabbed to death by Alessandro Serenelli. He was arrested, tried and jailed, all the while blaming others and society for his sins. Maria appeared to him years later in a dream in prison, and she forgave him. Although he was still denying he was to blame for his deeds, his life changed. He was released from prison after 27 years (probably in part because of his changed life) and was also forgiven in person by Maria's mother, who was still alive. Unlike the 5th century or 10th century martyr stories, this all happened in the 20th century, so there are accurate reports, even photographs. Alessandro lived out his life as a Capuchin lay brother serving others, and lived long enough to attended Maria's canonization in 1950. There are churches and parishes named for her, and I'm always moved by this story of forgiveness.

 I have such a struggle forgiving Joe Biden that I hope someday I can be as forgiving as Maria and her mother. I'm not there yet.

* I did have one dream, very special, in 1974 when Jesus appeared, but it's been so long I'll need to go back and look for my notes. I've noticed (and you have too) that people my age either forget or embellish important events. I have 20 years of blogs and a lot of notebooks, so somewhere I probably have it recorded.

Twenty arguments for the existence of God by Peter Kreeft

 Twenty Arguments God's Existence by Peter Kreeft (& Ronald K. Tacelli)

Peter Kreeft is a philosopher, and maybe the most famous Christian philosopher of our era.  He published this theme of 20 arguments for God's existence about 30 years ago.  I can't remember not believing in God, so I didn't have to be convinced and never debated it. I've also never taken a philosophy class. So 20 arguments is impressive.  My earliest memory of this was when I was about 4 or 5, and I thought God looked like our mailman, Mr. Bechtold, and wore a blue gray uniform. He was older than my parents, and I certainly knew other people who had uniforms (it was WWII and just about all the men I knew were in uniform, including my father and uncles). But I do remember sitting on the front steps of our house on Hitt Street watching him walk by and deliver the mail from a brown bag.  I must have been a very deep thinker at that age. Later around age 7 I recall lying in the grass at night looking at the sky with all the stars and realizing there was something much larger than my family, town, church, friends, school and pets, in short, bigger than my little universe.

If I had to choose one of the twenty, it would be number 5, Design. This awes me every day, every minute.  I notice it all the time.  The other 19 might be fun for philosophers to think about, and some or most of Kreeft's list I don't even understand.  Design is easy.  Works for me.

New Easter frock

 https://www.talbots.com/talbots-effortless-jersey-tie-detail-floral-dress/P231036224.html?

  

Update:  I wore this on Easter Sunday, and purchased a dark navy short jacket to wear with it at a resale shop--for $2.00, although I'm going to look for something else.  Fits well, and I'm glad I bought it.  Perhaps the best thing was it didn't cost me anything.  It was on sale, with "take another 25% off, and I had a $20 off coupon and a store credit from a Christmas gift, so it came to zero.