1335 It's Peace Week at Lakeside

And therefore, my least favorite week to be here. In fact, this may be only the second or third season in 31 years that my visits have coincided with the peacenik vacationers with their long faces, home-made banners and candlelight marches. Now that I'm retired and have the whole summer to spend here if I choose, I'll probably come across them more often. These aren't the "peace in our time" folk I knew growing up in the Church of the Brethren, but the "Let's bring about peace by humming and meditating and pretending we understand Eastern religions" groupies. These are not "Christian pacifists" who seek the peace that passes all understanding, although some may espouse a syncretistic form of Christianity, but the "I won't talk to you if you aren't open minded" pacifists.

Here's some offerings this week, and I'll leave the leaders/instructors nameless so I won't be gossiping. They wrote up these descriptions, and are a good match for last week's "health and wellness" crowd (earrings, tatoos and hard bodies). Aside from the nuclear proliferation, gap between rich and poor, and beyond the rat race lectures/meetings which I think are pretty standard from year to year (nothing like 80 year olds discussing the rat race), we have these gems:

". . .gather in a circle, sing a simple song. . .connect with each person in the circle, sense the wonder and delight that comes from meditative and lovely openness to all in the circle."

". . .spiritual chants, sung repetitiously, brings the strength of spiritual power into our group as we gather together to share in our glory to the One God." Children welcome if they are old enough to sing.

". . .Look at developing more deeply our own connection with Spirit. . . Only open mindedness, positivity and solution allowed!!!"

YAWN. Sounds like 1970s left-overs.

Meanwhile, I'll be doing up the laundry from a fabulous week-end of wonderful, interesting guests, a week-end with the ballet, a concert and a little jazz flute ensemble. A cool front moved in and it was another unbelieveable thrill to enjoy the lakefront, especially Sunday with an ice cream social and a town band from (someplace nearby?). Sue and Jim have lived all over the USA east of the Mississippi, but despite 10 years in Columbus had never been here. I think they enjoyed themselves, and we certainly appreciated their fresh take on the sights, and their wonderful stories.

Here's what I'm looking forward to this week seven at Lakeside: two more lectures on China by Dr. Eugene Swanger, a class on creative writing, and a watercolor class. There's a paper making class that's back to back with the writing class, so I'm not sure I want to be THAT involved in the arts, but I'll consider it.

1334 Do you feel safer?

Martha Stewart has had her house detention extended. Golly, I sure feel better. Michael Jackson and O.J. are on the streets, but we are all protected now that Martha, charged with perjury and who has done her time with her head held high, still wears her ankle bracelet. And the NYT is really on this story, too. Captain's Quarters tallies up their stories on Martha (perjury) as against the Air American scandal (misuse of public funding--taking money meant for poor kids).

In these columns are the number of stories in the liberal media for the Air America / Gloria Wise scandal, compared to the number about Martha. NYT reporters must have waaaay too much time on their hands. Captain's Quarter's figures:

Media outlet.....AA/GW......Martha
NY Times..........0...........16*
Wash Post.........0...........10 (14 day search)
LA Times..........0...........3
CBS News..........0...........1
ABC News..........0...........4

What does this show? The Exempt Media has plenty of resources to continue coverage of a single celebrity who allegedly engaged in insider trading over 4,000 shares of ImClone stock, avoiding $51,000 in losses when bad news hit just afterwards. (Stewart wasn't convicted for insider trading, but obstruction of justice and perjury.) That amounts to 1/18th of what Air America got in misappropriated public funds by sucking money out of Bronx charity -- money intended for poor kids and Alzheimer's patients. Yet the New York Times has mentioned Martha Stewart* in 16 articles over the last 30 days, some of those in-depth reporting on Stewart and her ongoing legal struggles, but have not managed to put "Air America" and "Gloria Wise" into the same article even one time -- despite the misappropriation of public funds occurring in the Paper of Record's own back yard."

BTW, Happy Birthday Martha--best wishes for the huge comeback I know you'll have.

1333 Friday's Feast On Sunday

When I checked on Friday, the list wasn't up yet, so here it is, late. Not like me to be late.

Appetizer
Briefly describe your living room.

Fabulous view of trees, yard and creek. Peaceful decor; cream walls with khaki color crown molding; cream colored rug on dark marble; bamboo colored couch; deep blue and cream colored side chairs; antique rocker with blue and maroon upholstery and a few family pieces from our grandparents; glass top coffee table and end chairs; arts ‘n crafts style oak entertainment center; 50s modern side chairs with Frank Lloyd Wright pillows and rosewood secretary; walnut bookshelf with memorabilia and books galore; easel with painting; 7 or 8 watercolor paintings; lamps.

Soup
List 3 things you'd like to accomplish before the end of 2005.

I don’t set goals. And you can't trick me into it!

Salad
When you're online, what do you spend the most time reading/playing/doing? Suggest a site for us to visit.

I read political, religious and personal blogs and news sites. I skip entries even in my favs if they are potty mouth'd and cranky. I like Michael Yon in Iraq. Wonderful, sensitive photographs.

Main Course
What would the title of your autobiography be?

You're looking at it.

Dessert
What time do you usually go to bed?

About 9:30 or 10. Earlier if I can work it in.

1332 After stem cell, then what?

Unshelved has a good one.

1331 Do you like applause?

The caption under a photo of a musician in today's paper read, "Spencer Marks soaks up the audience's applause. . ."

For some of us, applause is the water that hydrates and invigorates and allows us to bloom more brightly. Is it the money? The sense of power over others? The memories of mom saying "good boy?" I watch performers every evening here at Lakeside, from amateurs performing in "Our Town" to professionals, some on their way up and some on their way down the important venues. Through their agents (or parents) contracts are signed, dates are blocked in on their calendars, rehearsals are set, hotel rooms and limos are reserved, and receptions and dinners in their honor are planned. But it seems to be about the applause, doesn't it? Applause pushes away the doubts of not measuring up--it comforts the grieving, warms the cold feet, and soothes the churning tummy--until the next time.

God designed me without an applause meter. I'll clap for others--even stand and cheer. But perform for applause, compliments or adoration? Never. Now, money--maybe.

1330 What I think about the new Lutheran hymnal

Not much.

Now these are readers

Occasionally I come across reader/bloggers (readloggers?), people who are such active, intense readers that I can't imagine how they have time to blog. Here is one of them. These two definitely have too much in common. What do you think?

1328 Judge Roberts and his children

There's some rumblings of outrage on the right that NYT is investigating Judge Roberts' adoption of two children from Latin America. Off limits! Outrageous! How low can they go! Well, yes, it's low, but Republicans raised (or lowered) snooping into personal lives to the level where any transaction that involves another person seems to be political grist, whether it's sex or paying social security for your nanny.

Besides, in case you haven't noticed or are not part of the adoption triad, adoption secrecy is not now, and never has been, about the welfare of the child. There have been powerful political and personal interests for as long as adoption went beyond an informal fostering system on the frontier. In Ohio, for instance, adoption records were not sealed until the early 60s. I suppose we'd have to go back and research who was in the state legislature at that time to figure out why children were more protected after a certain cut off date than before and who didn't want to be found or what estate needed to be protected.

Also, it's strictly political that you cannot keep an adoptee from his or her tribal heritage as an adult if they are some minor percentage American Indian, but you can keep them ignorant if they are African American, or Irish American or Turkish American or any other mix and match of cultures.

There is so much money tied up in the adoption process these days with people flying to the Balkans, or Russia or Central America to briefly "reside" that a mechanic and waitress who want a family by adoption are just out of luck. They'd be better off to wait for third cousin Susie to "get in trouble." You'd better have a nest egg of $20,000-$30,000 if you want a family by any of the more exotic methods.

And do you really think adoption by singles or gays is about the best interests of the child? No. It is political and social theory driving that change. It's always been about who has the power. And that ain't babies. What about open adoption? What baby ever asked for that? It's a social theory that by some miracle, children will be happier and less conflicted knowing that B-mom and A-mom exchanged addresses and colluded on this little "just as if" fantasy.

So that brings me to Judge Roberts. This is a powerful man, set to become even more powerful. There may be absolutely, flawless adoption records, but these days, his enemies would need to be highly ethical and moral people to at least not be suspicious. And when have you seen that on the left?

1327 You probably know this visitor

Cuppa at Brown Betty Brew has been battling an unwelcome visitor. You probably know him. He certainly has turned up at our household every time we move. Then drop down one and read her story about "putting the cat out." It's a hoot. I don't know if she writes for a living, but she should.

1326 Bush and Darwin

The left wing thought police are all over this one. But here's a sensible thought on the matter:

"There are those who believe that when someone has expressed his own thesis that it is only fitting that those who disagree with his thesis should be allowed to express their disagreement and objections to it. Indeed, there are some scientists who have even gone so far as to make a point of making the strongest possible case against the very theories that they have taken enormous pains to devise.

The outstanding example of this attitude was Charles Darwin. In his great book, The Origin of Species, he went to enormous trouble to set out all the arguments he could muster against his own theory. And, to his dying day, he continued to be heroically willing to entertain objections to his own carefully thought out position.

Would Darwin have objected to President Bush's seemingly paradoxical comment that both sides in the evolution debate "should be properly taught"? Well that might depend on whether he was permitted to hear the president's justification of his position, namely that both sides should be taught "so people can understand what the debate is about," and the president's further statement: "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is 'yes.'" "

Read the whole article here.

1325 What's in your garage?

Does your garage look like this one in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan? Architectural Digest is going to feature it in a fall issue.

Our garage is pretty neat and clean (thanks to hubby), but he only cleans it spring and fall. It is probably holding more "left-overs-and-will-never-use-again" items than necessary. During the winter it holds the deck furniture, which makes it a bit tight for a van and SUV. The former kitchen seems to be in the garage. The last owner in the late 1990s replaced the cabinets with a light white washed birch look and installed the old base and wall cabinets (I think they started out as dark walnut but had been painted several times) across the front of the garage. Last year I replaced the refrigerator and the old side-by-side awaits it fate in the garage, usually holding only a sack of apples or 2 or 3 cans of pop. Holding up its end for history and tradition is a rolling 3 tray metal unit from our first apartment's kitchen. In glorious ovacado green is our plastic kitchen wastebasket from the 1970s which holds a variety of tools too shy to stand alone.

We have enough old unusable rags and too short pieces of lumber stashed around to start a small cottage industry. Until the last spring cleaning, we had probably 5-10 large cardboard boxes sitting atop the cabinets--just in case we ever needed to repack a computer or DVD player or mail something really large. Hanging on to boxes until they get buggy seems to be a problem with us. Does anyone else do that?

We have several neighbors who can barely get one car in their two car garage because of the boxes and tools and "stuff" stacked to the ceiling. They seem to put a lot out on trash day, but the pile in the garage never goes down. I suspect this is a type of respectable, but almost out of control, hoarding.

This person responded at a hoarding OCD board (?) with an answer I thought showed a lot of insight: "I hoard because I hoard. It's a cycle where my home is a complete, unfunctional mess, so I believe that I will use all these items once I clean (or in order to clean) up the rest of the mess. I have known about my hoarding/OCD for a few years and have gone through much BT and it seems to have only gotten worse. I think it's because I truly believe that once I organize my house, I will finally be able to use all the items that have been 'hidden' or in piles or behind other things. So, I have blind faith that I will soon clean up, and that perpetuates the comforting and incorrect belief of future use."

It's exactly the reason we have problems throwing away empty boxes and a frig that we don't really need. Blind faith that we might use them some day. On a continuum, I'm just a hoarder-in-waiting compared to my messy neighbors.

1324 What did you learn the first year of your marriage?

Last night we went out for dinner with Sharon and Eric and Nancy and Ron (46th anniversary). Among the 3 couples, our years of marriage added up to 125. That's a lot of wisdom, Ron quipped. But no one will listen, his wife responded. The Toledo Blade wants to know what you learned during the first year, I said.

You can let the reporter know at tlane@theblade.com what you learned. I took a few notes on this at the coffee shop while reading the paper--it's a lot easier to remember that first year than any of the others, I discovered.

Setting aside the sex stuff (which nowadays everyone figures out by a series of living together arrangements), I developed quite a list. A lot wasn't even about marriage, but about life in general. Here's just a few:

• We had three apartments that first year, all with interesting and/or peculiar neighbors. One had an 80 year old landlady with whom I'd eat dinner; one had a 16 year old mother, married with a baby. Her mother was 32, I think.
  
  
• I learned to cook, budget, manage a checking account, use a laundromat, and keep a car running. I'd learned bits and pieces from watching and working with my mom, but I'd either lived at home or in some type of college housing.
  
  
• I learned to scrounge for used furniture and adjust to another person's taste more conservative than mine. One wooden cabinet with a metal top stayed with us for 41 years.
  
  
• I learned to live on one income and save the other. That plan never failed us.
  
  
• I learned I needed to return to college so I wouldn't be stuck in dead-end clerical jobs and how to file a complaint with the county and sue for my final paycheck.
  
  
• I learned contraception occasionally fails and found out I was pregnant after I re-enrolled to finish my senior year. So along with all the other new things about being married, I learned a lot about my body that year. Although both my sisters were also pregnant and we were all due the same week, we didn't live in the same town so we didn't do much sharing (no cell phones or e-mail in those days).
  
  
• I learned how to teach Spanish to high school kids who knew more than I did.
  
  
• I learned the vagaries of the pre-women's movement laws and regulations that bound women--like becoming an instant Indiana resident and losing my in-state student status because of my marriage; being passed over for a job because I had a husband "who could support me;" being denied consideration for professional work because I was pregnant so I clerked in a drug store.
  
  
• I learned the trick of getting maximum service from a wringer washer that offered 30 minutes of agitation and wringing for a quarter (in the basement 3 floors down). Later I would figure out how to coordinate that with my husband's schedule so I could wash diapers--but that was during year two.
  
  
• I learned that although I thought my parents in-law were loads of fun, I didn't like their values much (my husband loved my family's values but didn't think they were much fun).
  
  
• I learned that compromise was not a good option for us. It was easier to just watch and wait until something came along we both liked. At least I think I learned that the first year--it's possible I didn't put a name to it for 20 or so years.

I'm pretty sure I learned that my husband was focused, logical, thoughtful, tidier than most men, passive, and non-confrontational. However, it probably took me years to see his personality as my good fortune rather than something to be changed.

It took a quarter of a century to learn this: don't talk your relationship to death. Men hate that. Find a girlfriend and talk to her (i.e., but only if you are female). Or blog it if you just got to get it out.

1323 Blogging doubles in 5 months

Technorati tracks weblogs--somehow when I hit the publish button, it pings somewhere and within 5 minutes, it is recorded. The blogosphere is growing faster than I thought, and apparently world events affect the growth rate both of blogs created and the number of posts published. New features like instant messaging and photo tools also push up the stats.

"As of the end of July 2005, Technorati was tracking over 14.2 Million weblogs, and over 1.3 billion links. Interestingly, this is just about double the number of blogs that we were tracking 5 months ago. In March 2005 we were tracking 7.8 million blogs, which means the blogosphere has just about doubled again in the past 5 months, and that the blogosphere continues to double about every 5.5 months." Technorati Weblog

Because I taught a blogging class here at Lakeside, I can take personal credit for adding 6 more bloggers to the list in one week. And all are over 50, thank you. The tricky part is that 5 of these folks were not touch typists--slowing things down considerably. I'm not expecting frequent posts.

Dave Sifry at Technorati summarizes:

Technorati is tracking about 900,000 blog posts created every day

That's about 10.4 blog posts per second, on average

Median time from posting to inclusion in the Technorati index is under 5 minutes

Significant increases in posting volume are due to increased mainstream use of easy hosted tools as well as simple posting interfaces like post-from-IM and moblogging tools

Weekends tend to be slower posting days by about 5-10% of the weekly averages

During the day, posting tends to peak between the hours of 7AM and noon Pacific time (10AM - 3PM Eastern time)

Worldwide news events cause ripples through the blogosphere - not only in search volume, but also in posting volume

1322 Apple Pie Sailing Weather

My sugar-free apple pie won me a week's sailing lessons here at Lakeside. I don't even own a swim suit, so I was going to try to trade it for something else of comparable value, when my husband suggested he use it. He's had two lessons this week and just loves it.

Each day at lunch I hear about treading water with his shoes on and pieces and parts of the sunfish. Apparently he can join the sailing club for the season for $25 and can use the Lakeside boats, so he's excited about that. For years he has loved painting sail boats on the water, and also in dock (his latest painting of the sunfish lined up on their sides on shore sold for $450). Now they will have a bit more authenticity. His skin is as white as you can be and still be alive, so we have to slather his body and head with 45 spf sunblock. The cottage sort of smells like a beach.

Tonight is the opening of the Lakeside symphony season. Last night we went to the reception at the hotel to meet the symphony members (and to eat tiny, delicious snacky meatballs and cold chocolate covered desserts). I spent some time talking to the viola (i.e., the lady who plays one). She's been in the symphony for 15 years, lives in Washington, and teaches orchestra in a middle school. Her husband, who doesn't come, is a conductor. She shares a cottage with 5 other orchestra members--all men. She says they all get along great, and share all the housekeeping duties. No comment.

My husband's perspective drawing class is going well--except for the heat. He comes home about 6 p.m. just dripping. (Rhein Center has no AC.) He's quite excited about the abilities of one class member with no art training starting college this fall. He says she catches on quicker than anyone he's ever taught. The older class members have more of a struggle. I opted out since there were 9 signed up.

Instead of art classes, I've been attending the lectures on China. Gene Swanger is teaching something loosely titled Christian Response to Buddhist Teaching, and so far we are still in the basics of Buddhism. Then in the afternoon, Kerry Dumbaugh who has been with the Congressional Research Service since 1985 (and was a student of Dr. Swanger) is doing modern Chinese history. Yesterday was the late 70s, and I think today is 2003-2005 with lots of emphasis on the current financial page.

The weather should break today and we're looking forward to another fabulous week-end when Jim and Susan will be visiting us.

Lakeside, Ohio

1321 What the Bible doesn't tell you

Three Bad Fingers mentioned something today I hadn't thought about. All the misinformation of the ancients that was not included:

". . .it is amazing what is absent from the pages of the Bible. The backwards medical practices embraced by the ancient Egyptians never made appearance in the Bible, despite generations of Israelites in Egypt. The four elements recognized in Greek mythology (fire, wind, earth, and water) were never written in The Good Book. But these were all accepted truths at the time of authorship of many of the books in the Bible. Careful Biblical study even debunks the flat earth theory. " Read it here.

1320 Our town performs Our Town

Last night we joined other Lakesiders in a sweltering South Auditorium for a local performance of Thorton Wilder's Our Town, the most performed play in America. Community theater is such fun as you watch your friends and neighbors take on roles. In the case of our little summer community they only have a few weeks to put it together, build props, find costumes, and round up money and volunteers to put it on. It's sort of like those old Mickey Rooney Judy Garland movies where everyone chips in to help.

I first saw Our Town on TV. NBC's Producers Showcase offered it in 1955 with Frank Sinatra as the narrator (stage manager) and Paul Newman* and Eva Marie Saint as the young lovers, George and Emily. My high school English teacher assigned it to the class. My parents didn't have a television set--Dad said he was waiting for color. So I went with a group of friends to the Duffy home on First Street. Mrs. Duffy ran a cafe and she had two handsome sons, one of whom dated my best friend, so it seemed the ideal location for a fun "homework" night.

Last night a first time Lakesider, Josh Bayer, a senior at the University of Kentucky, played the part of George Gibbs. He's done a lot of acting in college, so who knows, maybe he'll go the Newman route. The role of Emily Webb was performed by Alison Park, a long time Lakesider and a student at Ohio Wsleyan University who waitresses during the summer at Sloopy's and clerks at the Fudge Shop. The heavy role of the narrator was done by Josh Olin, an elementary school teacher who's been coming here since he was a child. I don't know how anyone learns that many lines, mostly monologue, while squeezing in a vacation.

The director was young Kay Meyers, who will be a sophomore at Columbia College of Chicago where she studies theater. She has grown up at Lakeside (summers) and her sister runs the art center. Tom Meyers was the Producer (I don't think they are related).

Photo from Toledo Blade.

* Originally, James Dean was supposed to play the role of George Gibbs in the 1955 TV production, but Paul Newman got this role when Dean was killed.

1319 Phhhhht on fitness

What next? The President's smirk? His ears? A New Republic editor/columnist now takes the President to task for his fitness routine. Poor Dubya. He's just too dumb to get get off the treadmill.

"There's no denying that the results are impressive. Bush can bench press 185 pounds five times, and, before a recent knee injury, he ran three miles at a 6-minute, 45-second pace. That's better than I could manage when I played two sports in high school. And I wasn't holding the most powerful office on Earth. Which is sort of my point: Does the leader of the free world need to attain that level of physical achievement?" Crabby Bush Basher.

But then, he doesn't think much of the rest of over half the country either:

"A recent article of mine in ______ defending Bush hatred seems to have worked like some kind of conservative dog whistle, silently summoning drooling right-wingers out of their lairs to bay at the moon...Wait. Did I just lump David Brooks together with a bunch of incoherent right-wing knuckle-draggers?" Borrowed.

1318 The ubiquitous plastic water bottle

Although I don't recall when I first attended a public musical or dramatic performance, I can recall them as a pre-schooler. At church I watched the choirs perform at the Forreston Lutheran Church and the Mt. Morris Church of the Brethren; I attended concerts and watched musicians in the band shell in our little village at age 3 or 4; I sat in the audience at my sister's recitals; I cheered from the sidelines as the high school band performed at football and basketball games; I myself performed as a child with my siblings (we were an early version of the Jackson Five, but we were white and there were four of us); I sang in a ladies quartet and choral group and played first chair trombone in the band; I attended many programs of music and drama during high school and college; I acted in a few little productions as a student; and as an adult I've paid out a small fortune for tickets to on the road Broadway productions, picnic with the pops, community theater, and the last 31 years, have spent many hours at Hoover Auditorium here at Lakeside watching every imaginable singing, dancing, performing and dramatic hopeful who makes a living at the smaller venues of America.

But it has only been in the last 5 years or so that every performer seems to need to bring a plastic water bottle on stage. Am I the only one who thinks this looks really tacky--to turn your back on the audience and take a swig? What accounts for this surge in thirst?

1317 Why you know more about iPods than mammograms

Full Field Digital Mammography is a huge technological advancement in the detection of cancer that despite 5 years availability, isn't catching on to replace the older mammogram technology because consumer demand and manufacturer competition doesn't factor in. "Routine use of FFDM will mean:

Fewer images and less radiation overall
No lost, damaged, or mislabeled films
Portability
Reproducibility
New ways to detect cancer (manipulating the digital image); and
"Double-reads" by Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software"

CodeBlueBlog is running a three part series on FFDM and how the consumer is out of the loop on medical advancements. He compares it to another digital technology--the development of the music CD and the current popularity of the iPod. He concludes:

"If people were informed and had choices, new technology would spread like wildfire, and breast cancer detection would get better. Fewer women would die from breast cancer. All the groups who lobby so hard and work so fervently against this cancer plague could do more by advocating simple market reforms than is done with all the walkathons, pink ribbons, and think tank group seminars together."

And as usual in really thought provoking blogs, the comments are just as informative as the original post.

1316 Why you might need an architect

My husband is trying hard to retire, but when a former client or a good friend comes to him with a tale of woe, he's an old softy. As he rushed out last night, drawings in hand to meet with a widow, I said, spitting into the wind, "I thought you were retired."

He admitted it was like rescuing an abandoned puppy kicked to the side of the road. Her husband had died before their project was finished, and never saw it. She's enjoyed it all these years, but now wants a new house in her other community and didn't know how to start. So he drew up two plans and then met with her.

Next week he'll be presenting a talk to potential or current home owners here at a public program about what will go into a remodeling project. He needed a typed outline, so I reworked his chicken-scratches. Here's what you'll need to think about, at least if you are dealing with an association, a local design or preservation committee, a township, a county zoning board and your neighbors:

1. Establishing a relationship between client/owner and architect.

2. Preparing the program.

3. Contracts and Agreements.

4. Design Phase.

5. Finding contractors.

6. Working with clients.

7. Cost statements.

8. Construction Documents Phase.

9. Governmental agencies.

10. Construction Phase.

11. Examples of completed work (this will be done with slide projector--will need a projection screen)

12. Show examples of finished drawings.

13. Post relationship between client/owner and architect.

14. Questions and answers.

1315 Now she's the older woman

We squealed and hugged like teen-agers when we ran into each other after last night's program of southern Gospel. She and her family had moved out of state about five years ago, leaving a big hole in our community and church. We met when my daughter was about 12 or 13 and she was assigned to her as a "big sister" through our church youth program. At some point during the 80s she wrote me a lovely note after seeing my husband and me at a dance. Ah, I was such an 80s fashionista. That night I wore a lovely cream colored silk with full sleeves, big shoulder pads, blousy top with fitted waist, full circle long skirt, my best curly perm and full-clown make-up (mascara, eye shadow, etc.). We do a mean jitter-bug, and can fake a reasonable waltz and fox-trot. When dancing, you always look more graceful in a skirt (unless you are a guy, of course, then trousers are a good choice). Her note was so sweet and loving, but I nearly dropped it from surprise when she referred to me as an "older woman" who was a model for the young women to look up to. Older woman? That was my mom and her generation, wasn't it?

As we caught up on the kids, we both did double takes as she told me her oldest was now 21, and I told her my daughter, her "lil sis" would be 38 on her next birthday. As we talked I did the math in my head and realized she was now "the older woman." But I don't think I'll mention it.

1314 Chocolate flavored cheese

Chocolate and peanut butter, yes. Chocolate and raspberry, yes. But chocolate flavored cheese?

1313 Off label Use Causes Death

Although I'm not sure what "off-label" use would be for an abortificant, it's not safe. I think off-label means, "let's just fiddle with the instructions and see if you tolerate this." (And it's lethal for the unborn when used correctly.)

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Danco Laboratories, LLC, have warned healthcare professionals regarding the risk of sepsis associated with use of an off-label regimen of mifepristone (Mifeprex, RU-486) and misoprostol for medical abortion, according to an alert sent today from MedWatch, the FDA's safety information and adverse event reporting system.

Since the approval of mifepristone in September 2000, the agency has received four reports of septic death in patients receiving 200 mg of oral mifepristone followed by 800 µg of intravaginally placed oral misoprostol. One additional death was reported during clinical trials in 2001." Story at www.medscape.com

Even last year cases of infection with RU-486 were being reported. I'm not sure if it is that women's lives are cheap, or if the "perfect pill" for abortion can't be questioned because of pressure from the feminists, but compared to the flap about men, blindness and ED meds, I'm surprised I haven't seen more about this. But then, I don't watch much TV news in the summer.

1312 Leahy is so entertaining

Last night, Lakesiders were entertained by a musical family from Lakefield, Ontario, Leahy. The audience whistled, cheered, clapped and gave them two standing ovations, plus stood in line to get their CDs or programs autographed. Eight of the eleven siblings perform and dance Irish, Scottish and traditional tunes together (although one was out on maternity leave last night). The couple sitting in front of us were so enthusiastic I wondered if they might be the parents of the group!

Our guests, Duke and Kinga, went home this morning after worship on the lakefront pavilion and breakfast at Abigail's. Kinga is recovering from neck surgery and she said this was just the respite she needed. Last night at dinner we were talking about the possibility of them returning next year, when we suggested Duke offer a class on poetry (he writes it). The instructors in the arts program get their gate pass and a room at the artist's house, so they got quite excited about that. After dinner my husband took Duke to meet the manager of the Rhein Center, so he's going to put together an outline for a class and she'll work out the scheduling.

We went to the lighthouse at Marblehead, and the weather was so perfect and the water so delightful, we almost couldn't believe it--there was even a sailboat regatta out there for us to watch and the guys to photograph.


After the lighthouse, we drove to Johnson's Island, the site of a Civil War prison camp for Confederate officers, and a small graveyard. The enlisted men were imprisoned in Columbus at Chase. Officers were treated better than the enlisted men, and the death rate was much smaller.

1311 The Wedding Dress Obit

This morning there was a large article/commemorative in the Plain Dealer that included several photographs of the deceased, including a candid wedding photo of him and his bride running through a throng of well-wishers after the ceremony in 1955. As I looked at that beautiful white satin and net and tulle cloud that surrounded the bride, I thought it could be an obituary for the wedding dress.


Have you noticed what brides wear today? Their slips. Their nighties. Yes, that's what these strapless or spaghetti strapped flimsy whimsies look like to me. No style or elegance. What I wore my wedding night was blue, sexy and body clinging, but I think it had more fabric than some of the wedding gowns I see for 2005. You should be turning on the groom, not the groomsmen.



I think I remember reading somewhere that it was John Kennedy Jr's bride that changed the style to the barely there look in 1996. This wasnt the article, but google will find the same opinion:

"Carolyn's wedding dress was made from pure white silk. This simple dress was combined dress elegance, classiness, and sexiness into one knockout package. Woman began to realize a wedding dress could in fact look sexy. This was a whole new concept, never heard of before. For years most women had landed up looking like an overstuffed pilsbury dough boy on their wedding day. Narciso had accomplished in Carolyn's wedding gown what women thought to be impossible. She had been transformed into this bewitching sexy princess."

Glad I was MOB in 1993 and my daughter (a gorgeous woman, btw) had the good sense to cover up.

1310 Ottawa Indians in Ohio

When we were in Oklahoma last week, we met a young couple at breakfast who were actually from Bartlesville and enjoying a week-end at Price Tower which they'd won in a drawing at the Cultural Center. "Do you know how many Indian tribes are native to Oklahoma?" the man asked. We didn't, although we'd seen many Indian names on streets and towns and schools. He made a zero sign with his thumb and index finger.

The Plain Dealer (July 29) reported that Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma leaders were touring western Lake Erie and visiting North Bass Island to file a law suit for hunting and fishing rights. There are almost no pure blood Ottawa Indians--they've assimilated into the larger culture. But I doubt this is about wanting to experience old tribal traditions of hunting and fishing. I'm guessing they want the right to make everyone else around here using the water and land to pay for the privilege. If the leaders are 1/32 Ottawa, they probably want a bit more than that as a percentage of the take.

Yes, what happened to their ancestors was terrible and sad. What happened to my foremothers and fathers who had to flee Europe because the Catholics and Lutherans didn't like the religion of the Anabaptists was sad too. I wonder if there is a pasture in Switzerland or Germany I can claim.

1309 Friday's Feast #57

Over at the Buffet for your Brain, aka Friday's Feast, we're asked:

Appetizer
Name 3 people whom you admire for their intelligence.
Our president, George W. Bush, is apparently a whole lot smarter than people give him credit for. The way he does what he says is certainly disarming. I really like the way the writer of Belmont Club puts his research together. I'm reading Alexander Hamilton right now, and think he was amazing.

Soup
What's the last food you tried that you really didn't care for.
It was probably hot and spicy.

Salad
If you could rename the street that you live on, what would you want it to be called?
All the streets in our area were named for the original farm homestead which was subdivided. It is very confusing and I frequently redirect service trucks. But, it is an historical connection, so I suppose I'd keep it as is.

Main Course
When was the last time you were genuinely surprised?
I'd have to say our recent (last week) trip to Arkansas and Oklahoma. The economic boom in Arkansas and the interesting cultural sites in Oklahoma caught me by surprise. I'd never been to either state.

Dessert
Share a household tip.
Spray every pan and skillet with a vegetable oil-type product before cooking. Really saves time on clean up.

1308 First Time Visitors

My husband loves to show off Lakeside, especially to first time visitors. You'd think this place was his idea, instead of an old Methodist camp ground founded in 1873. Duke and Kinga are visiting us this week-end. The guys went to high school together at Arsenal Technical High School (Indianapolis) and were members of the SLOBS, about whom I've written here. We'll rent a golf cart today and drive around and look at some of my husband's projects, and "do" the sights. There is also a Crafts show down on the lawn of the Hotel Lakeside.



Last night's entertainment was a bit different. The Sauce Boss performed sort of bluesy, blue grass, good old rock 'n roll while preparing a big pot of gumbo which was later distributed to the audience. He was also selling his secret sauce.



Here's one of my Lakeside paintings I call "Invite three friends." This isn't our porch, but is a favorite of photographers and painters. It also has a bright orange porch swing.

1307 Just another day at the office

My best stories about work were usually about body parts--but those of animals. Sweeter than Ever works with the police (not sure of her job title): "Last night after 11pm we had a stabbing, a person who was hit in the head by a baseball bat during a fight, an injured person who claimed he had broken both arms, legs, his fingers and then advised his neck also popped, but the truth of the matter was he was intoxicated, a suicidal person who had a .45 to his head and a bottle of booze in the other hand, a runaway from another town who arrived at a party and was sexually assaulted, a vehicle containing drugs and guns outside of a motel and the usual traffic stops, reckless drivers, intoxicated persons, and domestics."

Although, we also did detective work in my library. For instance. It is 20 degrees outside with a windchill of minus 15. Library patron comes up to the desk with overdue notice in hand. "I returned this journal last week--your staff missed it and probably reshelved it." So I go to the stacks. The library's temperature is about 89 degrees because our HVAC system cooked us in the winter and froze us in the summer. I find the exact volume of JAVMA that matches the overdue notice. Yes, it is on the shelf. I reach for it to take it back with me so the computer can clear the records. It is icy cold. I hold it to my hot cheeks and return to the desk and waiting patron.

1306 Chincoteague ponies

Today is the auction of the ponies that swim from Assateague to Chincoteague, Virginia. Marguerite Henry's books illustrated by Wesley Dennis were my favorite stories when I was a child--I think I read most of them, King of the Wind being my favorite. But Misty is probably her best known. I've written about my fascination with horses earlier.

When I wasn't reading about horses, I was hanging out at the local livestock dealer's barn in Forreston which was within walking distance of my home. Charlie was probably about 57 and Raymond was the same age as my dad, maybe 37 or 38. They gave me free rein of the barn. I'd go there after school or on week-ends, let myself in, climb over the stall and sit on the horses. Sometimes I'd just go in the stall and curry the horse. I was always there to see the new animals brought in--but they weren't pets or for leisure--buying and selling was their business. This part I didn't really understand as a kid. Oh sure, sell a steer or bull, but a horse? Sometimes Ray would like a particular horse and keep it for awhile, but my equine friends would be on their way when a profit was to be made.

It didn't seem to worry me that I was playing in stalls with huge animals (I was about 10 years old). Little girls who are crazy about horses must have guardian angels.

1305 Why your boss should monitor your computer use

Because I'm paying for it. Whether you work for the government, a plumber, retailer, wholesaler, big pharm, automotive, divorce lawyers or in academe, somewhere down the line I, the taxpayer and consumer and stock owner, pay. If you are surfing the internet or playing games or posting to a chat room, you're costing me money. I'll excuse you if you are self-employed or home schooling. You I won't scold if you want to read your e-mail at 10:45 a.m. or blog when the kids nap. But the rest of you, North Baltimore, South Toledo, Juneau or over the Rhine , get back to work.

1304 Intellectual freedom for thee but not me?

IFFORUM [Intellectual Freedom Forum] is an unmoderated forum for the discussion of intellectual freedom issues among librarians. Apparently some people (probably fearing for their professional future) choose to write with pseudonyms, so a Mr. Berry [the site has no description] has come up with a new proposal:

"Since propagandists from the right wing, most of them anonymous, or pseudonymous are most of what is posted on IFForum, and are driving library intellectual freedom fighters elsewhere, it is time to change to rules for IFForum.; There is no reason for ALA to continue to support the broadcasting of propaganda by unnamed sources. When these sources engage in ad hominem attacks it may even put ALA in danger of litigation for libel. To solve the problem, why not make it a rule that all posters must identify themselves, by name, address, phone number, true e-mail address, and indicate whether or not they are members of ALA. They need not be denied the right to post on IFFORUM, but there is no reason ALA should bear the cost of their anonymous and pseudonymous ravings. Thus this would place no restraint on their freedom of expression on lIFFORUM, but it would make them accountable for their posting, and tell us who they are, and which of them has an ALA membership or doesn't. Please post what is wrong with this proposal."

I don’t read this forum, and have no idea what this flap is about. But "no restraint on freedom of expression?" I am a bit surprised that there are enough “right wing” librarians to even fill a closet. I read about this at Tomeboy.

If the comment is from the left (i.e., most librarians) it is apparently reasoned and fair, being written by a “freedom fighter“; if it is from the right it is a threat, an attack and placing ALA in danger of litigation for libel. The problem is, acknowledging who you are is no problem in ALA land--as long as you aren’t conservative. This is the group that had Michael Moore’s film at their 2004 meeting, becomes apoplectic at the mention of George W. Bush and fight filters on library computers because someone might miss an item on breast cancer while discouraging the child molesters and porn lurkers.

I’m thinking along these lines--and I haven’t a clue who she is. When kooks dominate a listserv or Usenet board, you delete them or block them. There’s an anarchist who posts at LISNews.com and I just choose not to read her/him. The ones who post as "anonymous" should choose a pseudonym so we can tell their posts apart. I also don't respond to them if they are too lazy to make up a name.

1303 You have what?

Seen at Paula's site, and Doyle's.

1302 Girl in love, fishing

My neighbor mentioned that she hadn't seen my daughter last week. My son-in-law she saw on his way down to the dock to fish. "Oh, she was in the house reading," I told her. I think she mentioned she had finished 3 books and they hadn't gone to any of the programs. Before they were married, she fished too. Here's proof. I painted this from a photo of her taken the summer before they married. I doubt if she's picked up a pole since.

Basics of Blogging

This morning I'll be teaching a Basics of Blogging class at the local coffee shop, Coffee 'n Cream, which is the only place around here with a free wi-fi connection. I learned this morning that the laptop hoards blew the power last week, so it looks like we'll need to all be battery powered. I'd intended to do that for myself anyway, because it is also storming, and last fall I wiped out everything on this computer somehow. However, because of the stormy weather, I don't want to leave it plugged in to build up the battery.

I'll use a little advice passed along by Anvilcloud about saving my template revisions in txt file rather than wp file; I'm checking out some possible URLs that haven't been used so we can move quickly from setting up the account to actually creating a post. A few I selected were already used, but I also found abandoned ones that have never been pulled. If you haven't blogged since 2001, it's time to delete the blog. Yesterday I googled "blogspot template" and found quite a few. I'm a bit bored with the 20 or so offerings at blogger.com, but to get them started they'll be OK.

The Rhein Center assistant told me 3 people had signed up, but that means nothing here. I selected 9 a.m. because the regular arts and crafts and morning lectures all start at 10 a.m. We'll see if anyone shows up.

Update:Four brave Lakesiders showed up, three men and one woman, but we only had two computers. So John has set up his blog called Soar Ahead and if Bill comes back we'll work on his. He wasn't really sure he had anything to post, but I saw some great photos of grandchildren, and blogger.com has now really simplified uploading photographs. Carol has the house tour tomorrow, but may come back on Friday. My neighbor's brother popped up to say he'd stop by tomorrow, and there is a guy from Dublin, OH who wants to set up a business blog.

"Older learners" get discouraged easily. We all miss the quick and easy way we learned as kids, so suck it up folks and plod on. Hear it, see it, say it, do it. That's how we learn--if we are over 25.

1300 Lakeside Week 5

It stormed last night, so perhaps things will cool off. I feel sorry for all those families with small children who tried to enjoy their vacation last week in cottages with no AC. I see the house across the street is for rent--can't remember seeing that in the last 3 years. However, a large crowd braved the heat last night to hear Dave Bennett's Tribute to Benny Goodman. This guy is 20 years old and is incredible. Hoover seats about 3,000 and I think it was half full, unusual for a Tuesday, and incredible considering the heat. When he started Poor Butterfly, I thought I'd cry, and he got a standing ovation for Sing, Sing, Sing. He doesn't seem to have a web site, but I see he is on the list of many concert series, including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Several times during the hot evening someone would hollar, "Take off your coat," but that would have taken him out of character, so he braved the heat in a double breasted dark suit, as did the fabulous band.

1299 On to Tulsa [Sunday]

On our way to Tulsa where we would catch our flight home, we stopped for 90 minutes at a jewel of an art museum, The Gilcrease. I would say it is a secret, but obviously since there was a crowd on Sunday morning, it isn't. It is famous for its collection of western art, including a fascinating collection of Indian artifacts. There wasn't enough time to see everything, so I stuck with the western art. I stopped at the room devoted to Thomas Gilcrease, and learned his mother was a Creek Indian so he was entitled to some acreage of the tribal land. He was a good business man and got into oil. While touring Europe he visited museums and got the idea to collect American western art, which not many were doing at that time. When his personal fortunes plunged with an oil bust, his collection was quite large and valuable. Rather than lose it to other collectors, the city bought his personal museum and collection. The museum also has unusual and themed gardens, but the heat prevented my taking advantage of that. I stood next to a large rock for a photo and could've fried and egg on it.

Our tour plan included a drive by photo op of the Richard Lloyd Jones Residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Tulsa, OK. Jones was his cousin and a newspaper editor, and he lived in the house (built in 1929) until his death at 90. The house is huge--10,000 sq. ft. on 4 acres. Privately owned, it is NOT open for tours.

We also drove through the Oral Roberts University which may win a prize for the ugliest, most ostentatious architecture in the USA (just my opinion). We said good-bye to our capable, knowledgeable driver at the airport and while checking in discovered our plane would be about an hour and 15 minutes late making it virtually impossible to catch our flight out of Detroit to Columbus. But they held the plane for us while we galloped through that massive airport in Detroit, and we settled in for a quick hop home.

It was a fabulous trip, and now we're back at Lakeside.

1298 Other Bartlesville sites [Saturday]

As I mentioned before, in the morning we met in the lobby and walked to the Bartlesville Community Center designed by William Wesley Peters (1912-1991), a sharp (or round) contrast of curves, circles, and ovals. For a small town of 35,000 Bartlesville has a wonderful musical and artistic life. It is the home of OK Mozart established in 1985, and many home-grown and out-of-town shows. The 1800 seat theater is marvelous.

Next we toured the art museum which is in the Price Tower. In addition to many Wrightean displays of furniture, there was a visiting photographic exhibit of architectural photography. Then it was back on the bus. We had lunch at a locally renowned restaurant, Dink's Pit Bar-B-Que(really yummy), that our driver Bob knew about (local boy from Fort Smith). Then we set out to see if we could spot another home designed by Wright for Price's son, but the current owners don't allow visitors.

More welcoming was the the director of operations at Oklahoma Weslyan College where we toured La Quinta Mansion, a home built in the 1930s for another oilman, H.V. Foster. He made his money in oil leases with the Osage Indians. However, it was only used briefly as a home, and since 1939 has been the main building of several different schools, OWC being the most recent (a holiness denominational college). I was particularly interested in this tour because it housed the library collection (really poor and dated in my opinion) and they were shifting it to allow the mansion to be restored in certain areas. Having shifted probably over 100,000 volumes in my library career for either dumping, wall painting or title changes, I could empathize.
Next we toured the Frank Phillips Home. It was modest as mansions go (26 rooms), but the Phillips (as in Phillips 66) had two other homes. The grounds, which included a four car garage with a museum and servant quarters and a greenhouse, were lovely. It had remained in the Phillips family a long time, but is now maintained by the historical society.

I don't know what you would have done after a day of touring in 100+ degree heat, but I went back to our fabulous FLW room and took a nap to prepare for our lovely night out (actually up, to the 15th floor) at the Copper Restaurant + Bar. Our three tables of congenial tour friends enjoyed a dinner of salmon and chicken on rice and a chocolate dessert that was to die for. If you are ever in Bartlesville, this is the place to eat, trust me.

1297 Our Tour Group

Our tour group at the Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, Bella Vista, Arkansas

1296 Bartlesville and Frank Lloyd Wright [Friday]

As we drove into Missouri to get a better road, the "boomtown" atmosphere of NW Arkansas disappeared as did the ubiquitous Wal-Mart Superstores (I did not see any other place to buy groceries). Oklahoma flattened out and we tried to remember the words of the song when we started seeing cornfields. At 6 p.m. we rolled through Vinita, and the temperature sign said 106--and that was not the heat index, but the temp. Because my family drove to California on Rt. 66 in the 1940s, it's possible this was my second visit to Vinita.

The hot, tired Ohio travelers became quite energized as we saw the Price Tower over the trees of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, home and headquarters of Phillips 66. With its green copper louvers and peculiar triangular shape, it is every bit as impressive as the magazines have reported. If you've got the time here is a really brief video clip--and our hotel room looked exactly like that as did our dinner at the Copper Restaurant. Wright actually envisioned this building for Manhattan in 1925 as a multi-use site--shops, housing and work, but it was not realized. At the end of his career, he had the opportunity to have his dream built--like a tall tree in the rolling hills of eastern Oklahoma. (For some great photos see the June 2003 Architectural Digest.) The building was completed in 1956 for client H.C. Price. The building was purchased by the Phillips Petroleum Company in the 80s, and recently restored as an inn, restaurant and art museum.

And we crazies who fly and drive around in 100 degree+ heat looking at buildings had the thrill to actually spend two nights in a Wright building. There are 21 high-design guest rooms and suites, with all the interiors done by Wendy Evans Joseph. If they find someone with deep pockets, maybe we'll go back someday to see the expanded art museum by Zaha Hadid. After unpacking and settling in our rooms, we went to Patsy's "hospitality suite" for snacks, wine and cheese, and lots of laughs. She plans these trips and always does a wonderful job.

In the morning we met in the lobby and walked to the Bartlesville Community Center designed by William Wesley Peters (1912-1991), a sharp (or round) contrast of curves, circles, and ovals.

1295 North West Arkansas [Thursday-Friday]

Nothing prepared me for the vitality, beauty and economic boom of northwest Arkansas. What a lovely place! If I were 20 years younger, or if I were looking for a wonderful retirement area, that part of the country would be worth consideration. I'd say the building boom matches the Bradenton/Sarasota area and so do the trees. I haven't checked the stats, but the architects we visited said that unemployment is about 1.5% and has been for over a decade. Remember the disparaging terms, "Arkies and Okies," the folks who fled to California during the dust bowl? Well, now it is obvious there are outsiders flocking to that area, or maybe some are just returning home. Here's a realtor's site I just picked out of the blue with some basic statistics about the metropolitan area.

We arrived at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport at 10:45 Thursday morning, loaded our luggage on our chartered tour bus and stopped for a delightful lunch at Hog Haus, a restored brewery in downtown Fayetteville. From there we went down the street to Maurice Jennings + David McKee Architects. Both had worked for E. Fay Jones (1921-2004), an architect who used Wrightean elements in his designs. The two chapels we would visit the next day, Thorncrown and Cooper are his. The architects' offices were in the Underwood Building, and the first floor is a jewelry store designed by Jones, including all the wonderful fixtures. We had a great time looking through all the lovely items, and there is obviously enough wealth in that area to support that kind of a store.

We then visited the campus of the University of Arkansas, certainly much prettier than most, and the Fulbright Peace Memorial, also designed by Jones. From there we stopped at the DePalma Clinic, a medical building designed by Jones which had fallen into disrepair and was restored by a CPA.

From there we drove to Eureka Springs, stopping in Bentonville, the home of Wal-Mart, to pick up another tour member who had arrived a few days earlier. Of course, we needed to visit the newest superstore--for ice, snacks, and a skirt for Norma. Eureka Springs is apparently a wedding mecca for the midwest, second only to Las Vegas according to a couple we met in Oklahoma who had married there. Every cute little Victorian, flower draped cottage we saw on the winding, hilly streets seemed to offer either weddings or jacuzzis--or both. The 1886 Crescent Hotel is old, creaky, and supposedly visited by ghosts, but we had a beautifully restored room, and the group enjoyed a fabulous morning brunch in the delightful dining room. The gardens host many weddings--one the night we arrived.

A group of us walked the "short cut" through a wooded area down to Spring Street, the business district, but they really do roll up the sidewalks about 5 p.m. so there were no stores open. We did find a nice Italian restaurant, but took the hotel shuttle back up the hill. The guy posing for the picture here was our waiter, I think.

In the morning we visited Fay Jones' Thorncrown Chapel in a wooded area close by, and then drove to Bella Vista to visit his Cooper Memorial Chapel. Both are indescribable and even the photos don't do them justice. You really need to sit inside and soak up the peace and beauty. Thorncrown (from the words crown of thorns) opened in 1980, and over 5 million people have visited. Our volunteer guide provided a wonderful presentation on the Reed family who purchased the land and had the vision, and their relationship with Jones.

"This exquisite chapel in the Ozark woods is small (24 feet by 60 feet by 48 feet high) and walled with glass. It rises from fieldstone floors and two low fieldstone walls; otherwise it is built almost entirely of standard-size lumber worked with the attention to detail of a master cabinetmaker. Repeating diamond shapes loft upward to its overhanging peaked roof. It has been compared to Lloyd Wright's Wayfarers Chapel...." from Sylvia Hart Wright. Sourcebook of Contemporary North American Architecture: From Postwar to Postmodern. p 63.



The Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista is different but just as lovely, and I'd have a tough time if I had to choose. John Cooper had purchased Bella Vista, a resort community begun in 1915 and reestablished it in the 1960s as a retirement community.

According to the history of the community, "Everyone was a member who bought property, a homesite or home, and was entitled to use the amenities-- golf courses, clubhouses etc. He then turned these facilities over to a Property Owners Association to own and manage. Between 1965 and 1989 the Cooper Company, known after 1971 as Cooper Communities, Inc., built five golf courses (the POA built two), seven lakes, four major club houses and other amenities. The Property Owners Association, a private corporation governed by a board of directors, owned and managed the facilities for the members. From May 21, 1965, when the first lots were sold, until 1995, CCI sold 37,060 lots or homesites, and built hundreds of homes."

The parents of one of the members of our tour group had lived there for 28 years, so we had a lot of inside information, and her aunt who also lived there invited the entire busload over for dessert after we finished our afternoon tour. Her husband who is 89 had already played 18 holes of golf that day--and the temperature was near 100 degrees. It is really one of the loveliest retirement communities I've ever seen. Of course, all the services needed to support such a large community has brought in trades and professions of all types--education, medical, social services, government services. Everywhere we looked there was a new library, or a new shopping center, or a new church. (I seem to be overusing lovely, delightful and beautiful in this entry, but I can't help it.)

We said good-bye to Arkansas and drove north briefly into Missouri to pick up a better road to take us into Bartlesville, Oklahoma and the Price Tower designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We did make a brief stop at the original Sam Walton 5 and 10 store just to pay homage to the family that has brought so much wealth and growth to this area.

1294 Spider update

A few days ago I wrote about Elmo's Cousin living in our cottage basement at Lake Erie. When our daughter and son-in-law picked us up at the Columbus airport last night, Mark reported that he bravely stood at the top of the basement stairs and dropped the Scattergories game on "Cuz." Says he had teeth. My daughter describes him as "furry." Mark's brother said, "I can't believe you slept in the same house with him."

1293 See you Monday

We're off to Arkansas. See you Monday.

1292 Bat Girl

R Cubed gives us a wonderful natural history lesson.

1291 Beauty and Grace

Gary Irving finds beauty and grace close to home--mine.

1290 The Right attacking Roberts

The Democrats just kill their young; the Republicans eat theirs. The hardest thing for me to get used to these last four years as a Republican is how they just can't stick together. Our weepy Senator Voinovich (R-Ohio) being a recent example. Here's Ann Coulter's take on the John Roberts appointment:

"It means absolutely nothing that NARAL and Planned Parenthood attack [Roberts] him: They also attacked Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Hackett Souter.

The only way a supreme court nominee could win the approval of NARAL and Planned Parenthood would be to actually perform an abortion during his confirmation hearing, live, on camera, and preferably a partial birth one."

She makes a living being outrageous, but does she think she'll get a bigger audience by handing the left the appointment by default? Are there no issues of importance in this country other than abortion?

1289 So why are you fans?

OK, all you Firefox fans. Tell me what's so great. I'm now viewing my pages in IE and everything looks fine. Switch to FF and I can hardly read the archive dates they're so tiny. Also, blogger's "Compose" doesn't work in FF (retaining all the hyperlinks I painstakingly worked on in text)--at least not for me. At one of my other blogs a reader using a MAC said that Compose was the big advantage. I periodically check my site meter for browser stats, and see that FF is creeping up in percentages, but so far it's just not turning me on. I see a divorce in our future.

1288 Elmo's Cousin

Right before we left Lakeside, my husband came up from the basement and said, "I think Elmo's got a cousin." Elmo was the name we gave an extremely large spider about 10 years ago. I'd been doing laundry in the basement for the last 3 weeks and the only spiders I'd seen were dead ones--big, but dead. "Oh, leave him alone. He'll eat the bugs," I said. "What about Mark?" he said. "We just won't tell him," I said, knowing our son-in-law's fear of spiders, "No sense spoiling his vacation."

Last night our daughter called about 9 p.m. Apparently Mark had gone to the basement to throw in a load of laundry and saw Elmo's cousin. Our daughter heard him holler, as he ran up the steps. She had to finish the laundry because he won't go in the basement. "This one's different, Mom, he just stands in the middle of the floor and watches you. I can see his eyes move."

She called again this evening to tell us they'd been seated at the sushi bar in the Japanese Restaurant (you have to leave the grounds for this) with our neighbors John and Katie and she thought that was quite amazing. We talked a bit, and asked her what they planned to do this evening.

"We're going to the laundro-mat," she said firmly.

1287 Our trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas

We’re going on an architectural tour to Arkansas and Oklahoma on Thursday. Wondering if we might be wandering into the after effects of Hurricane Emily, I looked at some weather reports for that area. Friday 97 and Saturday 98. But the humidity is low, compared to Ohio. The heat index seems to be about 110. Is that like the reverse of the chill factor?

I know we’ll see Fayetteville, Arkansas and Eureka Springs and the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa. We’ll stop at the Thorncrown Chapel and the Cooper Memorial Chapel for tours before arriving at the Inn at Price Tower, design by Frank Lloyd Wright in Bartlesville, OK. From there we go to Tulsa where we’ll see “noteworthy architecture.” If I sound a little vague it’s because I can’t seem to find my file about this trip.

1286 What's on the nightstand?

Tagged by Ayekah of the Deep South. . . .

What's On My Nightstand. . .Our “night stands” are actually two smallish, cream colored marble top end tables we purchased in 1963, which were moved from the living room to the bedroom about 15 years ago. The lamps are on the wall and came with the house. My side has a phone, a copy of Pilgrim’s Progress, a copy of Wired, a pencil and a small pink spiral bound notebook. And dust. None of these items except the phone are ever used. I fall asleep about 30 seconds after retiring or I watch TV, so it’s useless to have a book on the end table. I can't sleep with a clock.

I'll tag Rebecca, Badaunt, Doyle, and Sal.

1285 Firefox problems

Problems with the layout.

Update: As of 3:10 it looks OK on my screen. However, it did that yesterday too. I tried to delete some of the buttons I didn't need and must have elminated something important, so reloaded the template code (22 pages) I'd saved in wp before I started all this.

"Switching is easy." Yeah, tell me about it.

1284 Do as I say, not as I do: librarian's motto?

The editor of C&RL News sadly writes here:

“My children have a genetic disease. It is rare, not well understood, and there is no treatment or cure. However, the most disturbing obstacle we face is the wall around published scientific research. Information critical to health and biomedical research is held hostage by questionable and arcane publishing practices. It is time for publishers, both private and academic, to redesign their business models in response to a new age of information sharing and a stronger sense of the scientific commons.”

What puzzles me is that her journal, and most library journals, do NOT have open access (except for editorial remarks like hers) even though librarians beat the drum for everyone else to provide free information.

Yes, NIH is tax supported, but so are libraries and librarians salaries.

1283 Thirty years ago at Lakeside

We're actually not at the Lake, but I was poking around in my photo file and found this family photo of our week at the Lake in 1975. That year was one of the few where we had a cottage that overlooked Lake Erie. It was sort of a dump, but the view was fabulous, especially during storms.



That series of windows right above my head was our apartment. The huge rocks that lead to the water are about 2 or 3 feet in front of us. I think that apartment was the one where our son left the stopper in the sink and the faucet was left slightly on, filling up the sink. The overflow was clogged, so after we'd gone to the program at the auditorium, the water spilled over to the floor, which had a low spot. The water build up then soaked through the floor to the ceiling below, into the lamp fixture, filling it up, and finally dripping onto the dining room table. There it ruined the first floor tenants dog's medicine.

I'm sure our little guy got blamed--although none of it was his fault. He was such an active, into everything, kind of kid, the blame always seem to fall on him. How many 7 year olds would know not to leave a stopper in the sink? How many tenants there for a week would know that the overflow in a 75 year old house sink didn't work? Who knew Fido was a diabetic?

This photo is so 1970s--my husband's long hair and mutton chops; his fancy screened print polyester shirt and bell bottoms; my granny skirt and helmet hair cut; my son's plaid slacks; the cute dress I made for our daughter. Now they are both way bigger than we are, and our roles are reversing, with us depending on them more and more as we age. And they still enjoy being Lakesiders for a week or so.

1282 Immigration and Security

Is there some reason we can't figure out how to have legal, controlled immigration AND secure borders?

Wall Street Journal article here fails to point out how employing illegals is also bad for our security. I've met many second and third generation Hispanics (who do not speak Spanish, btw) who are educated, middle class U.S. citizens, including a few relatives in Indiana. I've never seen such hard workers as the young immigrant Hispanic men I see around here riding in the back of landscape or construction trucks and sweating in the kitchens of our better restaurants. The Census Bureau reports are positive.

"Even more encouraging news comes from recent Census Bureau data on the economic advancement of immigrants themselves. The longer that immigrants are here, the better they do financially. For example, immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than three years have a 7.4% unemployment rate. That rate of joblessness falls to 6.7% after 10 years here, then below 6% after 20 years. The income numbers show the same picture of immigrants climbing the ladder of economic success. New arrivals have a median family income of $31,930. For those who came in the 1990s there incomes average $38,395. And for those who have been here 20 years or more, family income approaches $50,000. Immigrants are economic investments with increasing rates of return over time."

But, if we need workers for jobs that Americans won't or can't do, let's set up a system, and close the borders. Mexico obviously isn't going to do anything, and why should it? These dollars flow into their economy. Sooo. . .follow the money. Illegals will work for less, and even low pay here is better than back home. In this case, American business is the bad guy.

1281 Is there really an autism epidemic?

Robert Kennedy thinks so. Good politics but bad science? His latest salvo (government plot) is in Rolling Stone and more interviews on MSM. He doesn't have an autistic child, but he does need something to keep his name out front. Medical researchers aren't finding it.

"Despite heightened media attention on the autism "epidemic," a report published in the July issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science offers three arguments against a true increase in autism prevalence. These include changes in diagnostic criteria for autism, with current criteria being more inclusive than when the diagnosis was first defined in the 1940s; methodological flaws in an unpublished California study widely cited as showing dramatically increased prevalence; and problems in using the U.S. Department of Education's annual "child count" data."

Continue at www.Medscape.com

And if you have a lot of time and a curious mind, take a read through just how we got the Bible of all disorders, DSM-III. Essentially, it's the work of one man.

1280 They miss a lot

Tony Gonzaga sang Psalm 27 at the traditional service this morning. Sometimes I think those folks who attend the "informal" (called "celebration" at our church) miss a lot. Anyway, it was like an early preview of heaven.

1279 Friday Feast (on Sunday)

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
For security, I won't post it, but no, I like it and wouldn't change it.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
Natural fabrics like cotton and wool and silk. Warm colors--cream, taupe, coral, aqua.

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Automobile maintenance.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
Our safe, secure life as we once knew it is over; and that is scary. Worry about Clinton's misadventures now seems like child's play, even though we know all the planning of islamofacism was in place then with terrorist acts being planned.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
My desk in my office. Family photographs. Books. TV.

1278 Just a brief review

Senator John Edwards said on September 19, 2002, "The only chance for Iraq to become a democratic, tolerant state -- and a model for the Arab world -- will be through sustained American involvement. We will need to help provide security inside Iraq after Hussein is gone, work with the various Iraqi opposition groups, reassure Iraq's neighbors about its future stability and support the Iraqi people as they rebuild their lives."

We're working on it, Mr. Edwards. Sustain and support for a secure and stable state.

1277 Week-end warriors

After church this morning we drove to our son's home in Canal Winchester to check out his yard improvements and garden. We were driving the speed limit on 70East when zoom, zoom, zoom, about 7 boomer cyclists went around us, weaving in and out around the cars, gray hair blowing in the wind, except one guy was wearing a helmet. He had some brains and was planning to protect them.


Update: I read in this morning's paper that there was a gathering of Christian Bikers (in a hurry to meet their maker, apparently) at Grove City Church of the Nazarene. That was probably what we saw considering the time and location.

1276 Heading home

We'll be heading back to Columbus after lunch. It's been a great 3 weeks. You sort of ease into a different mode of thinking and moving that a one week stay doesn't do. Although I've heard first timers say they notice the change of pace right away. I'm always amazed when people drive through the gates on a first visit and decide to buy a cottage. It defies everything you know about finances.

Somehow, the cat knows she isn't going with us, because she didn't try to hide when we got out the suitcases. Our daughter and son-in-law will be here (and possibly his brother), so they'll look after her.

Last night's program was a jazz singer Laurel Masse--a founding member of Manhattan Transfer. At first I didn't think I'd stay, but she got better as the evening moved along. Her encore was spectacular. Tonight is Mike Albert, an Elvis imitator. He's good and puts on a wonderful show, but I think he's getting a little chubby for the young Elvis songs. Albert has a huge fan club, and Hoover fills up with all the extra bus loads.

All around us towns are getting a much needed rain. We're dry. Maumee got 5 inches yesterday and Findlay got 2.5 inches in an hour. It's starting to sprinkle now, but we've had several teasers like that.

1275 A few tips for travel to Germany

Blonde librarian and her readers have some tips for you if you plan to relocate or travel in Germany.

1274 You used to be a liberal. What happened?

Galley Girl asks, and Bernard Goldberg answers for many of us:

GG: You used to be a liberal. What happened?

"What happened? Liberals happened. I want to make a distinction between your run-of-the-mill liberals and the cultural elite liberals, who really speak for liberalism in America today. Most liberals obviously are decent people. They go to work every day, they care about their families, maybe they give money to charity. Fine. I have no problem whatsoever with anybody in that group. But the people who are speaking for liberals in the world of politics, the chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean; or the cultural liberals, like Michael Moore; the Hollywood elites who confuse intelligence with celebrity—they think because they’re famous, they’re also smart. I listen to them and I say, I don’t want to be part of that group anymore. Even when I agree with them, which is more often than you would think, I no longer want to be seen as being part of that group. It isn’t because of their politics, which I think are misguided; it’s because they come off as snobby and elitest. I think they look down their nose at ordinary Americans."

1273 Kerfuffle: Taranto's Favorite Word

Taranto's reasoning on the Rove kerfuffle (used 3 times in this article alone) is a bit obtuse, I think, because the Bush White House rarely does things the way you would expect, and the Dems get hysterical and unglued about everything these days, especially facts:

"Let's conduct a little thought experiment, shall we? Suppose that people in Washington generally had the sense that Karl Rove was soon to be indicted in the Valerie Plame kerfuffle. How would they react?

It seems to us the White House would be working to distance itself from Rove, possibly planning for him to make a quiet exit, much as John Kerry's campaign "disappeared" Joe Wilson last summer when Wilson's credibility fell apart. The Democrats, on the other hand, would act high-minded and talk of "letting the process work," at least as long as Rove remained on the job. An actual indictment, after all, would do maximal political damage to the Bush administration.

Instead, the White House (which knows a lot more about the investigation than any of us) is confidently standing behind Rove, while the Democrats are waging a hysterical attack that would be premature if it were based on anything real. Partisan Democrats don't want to talk about the facts of the case (facts are irrelevant, as a former Enron adviser insists) or about the law. They just want to pound the table and insist that Rove is metaphysically guilty." James Taranto, July 15

One thing that has bothered me all along. Didn't Bob Novak tell the whole world about Valerie Plame? What's his responsibility in blowing her cover? Also, do Democrats assume that anyone who "works at the CIA" is an undercover agent? Don't they have secretaries, gofers and librarians?

Update--so much for secrecy--today's AP report: "Chief presidential adviser Karl Rove testified to a grand jury that he talked with two journalists before they divulged the identity of an undercover CIA officer but that he originally learned about the operative from the news media and not government sources, according to a person briefed on the testimony.

The person, who works in the legal profession and spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, told The Associated Press that Rove testified last year that he remembers specifically being told by columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of a harsh Iraq war critic, worked for the CIA.

Rove testified that Novak originally called him the Tuesday before Plame's identity was revealed in July 2003 to discuss another story.

The conversation eventually turned to Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who was strongly criticizing the Bush administration's use of faulty intelligence to justify the war in Iraq, the person said.

Rove testified that Novak told him he planned to report in a weekend column that Plame had worked for the CIA, and the circumstances on how her husband traveled to Africa to check bogus claims that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Niger, according to the source."

1272 Doesn't look good for this Lutheran

You scored as John Calvin. Much of what is now called Calvinism had more to do with his followers than Calvin himself, and so you may or may not be committed to TULIP, though God's sovereignty is all important. John Calvin 100% Karl Barth 80% Anselm 73% Martin Luther 67% Jonathan Edwards 67% Jürgen Moltmann 60% Friedrich Schleiermacher 53% Augustine 53% Paul Tillich 33% Charles Finney 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

As Karl Barth said when asked to summarize his theology: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

I always have to change the width of these quizes. Do you? Otherwise they post below all my links.