1197 Unattended children will be sold

Shoe doesn't really mean it, but she'd like to announce it. She writes about unattended children in libraries. That wasn't a significant problem in an academic library where I worked from 1986-2000--although I did keep coloring books and crayons in my office for children of the occasional negligent parent who would lose herself in the stacks reading about nematodes or cryptorchidism.

1196 Borderline problem

I scored a 49 on this internet addiction quiz. That's end of the range for average. "You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage." Check yourself at Center for Online and Internet Addiction, just another site in pathologizing our fun!

Tip from Ilyka who's way beyond me.

1195 Stereotypical behaviors

Speaking of stereotypes, (we were weren’t we?) Ilyka Damen has a few choice words for feminists who are cranky that conservative women are blogging together at The Cotillion. It has always been annoying to me that feminists think only their sisters and daughters should be the judges or senators or CEOs, and apparently that has splashed over to blogging. If you think unborn babies are actually part of the human race, not a disposable scab on a woman’s body, or that capitalism is a force for good and not a pox on our flag, you are suspect of being anti-woman in many circles. She writes:

“Yes, some conservative women don't see anything to "gloat" about when it comes to sexual promiscuity. Yes, some conservative women like pearls and pumps. Yes, some conservative women do have copies of The Surrendered Wife at home. Yes, some conservative women have the awfully annoying habit of simultaneously reaping the rewards of feminism while denigrating the progressive women who blazed that trail for them in the first damn place. I'll back you up on that last particularly.

And some liberal women do have overgrown armpit hair and do wear no shoes but Birkenstocks and do smell horrid from bathing in environmentally-friendly "natural" products that don't contain any actual "soap" and do view men with suspicion and mistrust, if not actual loathing . . . but it wouldn't be very helpful of me to harp continually on that stereotype, so guess what? I don't.”

I get irritated that both groups of bloggers--liberal and conservative women who should have better vocabularies--think they need to write and sound like street walkers to get their point across. But oh well, isn’t that part of being included in the old boys club, and that‘s what they all really want? Male approval? Really, sometimes you just gotta move on for all the cursing and cussing and sexual topics. Hey, when you've spent your best career years in a veterinary library, you've heard enough of reproductive body parts! Even some Christian conservatives are potty mouths.

Or is it just that I’m old enough to be their grandmother? ‘Spose?

1194 The Unfiltered Library

Stop by Greg's site Shush [June 26]and learn all about pimps and hoes. So even if you watch what games your kids play at home, they can learn the economics and values of the underworld at the local public library. Sweet.

1193 Water and the brain

Before I forget what I learned in memory class today, let me tell you. Sally Kriska, the instructor, is a visual and physical learner/teacher, so she demonstrates some of her basic principles and she has us doing little memory exercises. To show us this morning the importance of water to our entire system, she asked for a volunteer from the class who had not yet had any water today (it was 11:30 a.m.). A gentleman using a cane came forward. Sally had him extend his arm while she exerted force to push it down. She had no problem. Then she gave him a glass of water, and he drank about 6 oz. I'd guess. Then he extended his arm and she could not push it down. Less than 30 seconds, and the water had affected his body that quickly. While this was going on a woman was adding teaspoons of sugar to a glass of ice tea to record how much sugar the average person takes in drinking and eating a typical American diet. It was truly appalling, even when you already knew it.

Yesterday she did the arm extension demo with a woman thinking sad and stressful thoughts, and then thinking powerful thoughts (I am woman hear me roar, etc.) Same thing. While thinking negative stressful thoughts, Sally could easily push her arm down, but by switching to positive thoughts, Sally couldn't move her arm.

We also did a "heads and shoulders, knees and toes" type thing to learn a healthful grocery list, starting with blueberries on our heads and tomatoes between our toes. Sally was a principal for 15 years and says that often when a child was having behavior problems, they learned the family didn't eat breakfast, and he might have a coke and chips for lunch. But apparently, the school breakfast programs aren't all that good either.

To stay awake during class or the sermon, eat the protein portion first, Sally told us. I did see someone sleeping during the class--she must have started the day with a hot, fresh cinnamon cake donut from the Patio Restaurant, which so far I've avoided.

1192 Burn Out!

Stop by and read what Elizabeth Elliot has to say about "burn out," but then promise to come back. She's a very wise lady who raised her child in the jungles of S.A. after being widowed.

But for some reason, maybe 5 years of retirement, I can't recall much "burn out" in my life. I'd like to say it's because I followed a plan like hers, but I think it was really that I have an extremely well-developed, or over-developed ability to say, "NO." Can you join this organization that will only take one more evening a month? NO. Would you take my turn for 3 weeks in the car pool? NO, but I'll do one day. Would you add this task force to the three you're already on? NO. Could you watch my kids for me while I go (do silly things I didn't believe in). NO. Would you "loan" me money. NO, but I'll give you what I can. Would you bake a cake for the fund raiser? NO, but I could do a pie. Would you walk down to the lake? NO, I'm blogging.

Many people can't say NO because they are afraid--of being disliked, of not being needed, or missing all the fun, of losing power. None of that mattered more to me than not being at peace (instead of in pieces). So, although I'd like to say with Elizabeth, it is the yoke of Christ, it isn't. It is the personality I was born with.

1191 Where do you cut costs?

A very frugal school teacher has left his alma mater a gift of over two million.

"Whitlowe R. Green, 88, died of cancer in 2002. He retired in 1983 from the Houston Independent School District, where he was making $28,000 a year as an economics teacher.. .[He] was so frugal that he bought expired meat and secondhand clothing left $2.1 million for his alma mater, Prairie View A&M -- the school's largest gift from a single donor." CNN story.

Everyone seems to "cut costs" in different ways. Here's my list of non-cuts.

Economically, it makes absolutely no sense for me to leave the house every morning at 6 a.m. and drive to a coffee shop. If you don't do this, you could exclaim, "But that costs you nearly $600 a year, when making it at home is about five cents a cup." Very true. But I read 2 or 3 newspapers, and see 4 or 5 people I know, chat with various folk, so as a social informational event, it's pretty cheap. Compare that $600 to a golf hobby, and you can see it is really pretty cheap.

We eat out about once a week--it's called our Friday night date. When my husband started his own business in 1994, this is one thing we cut for awhile, until we could see how our finances would be, but reinstated it quickly. Sure, I can fix the same thing at home for about $3.00 that costs us $30.00 at the pub, but again, it isn't food, it is R&R and time to focus on each other. It is also a line in the sand dividing the work week from the week-end, and when your office is in your home, you definitely need to keep this ritual (he also dressed for work each day, including a tie). About $1500 a year just to eat one meal. Ridiculous!

I could save about $400 a year if I stopped coloring my hair. That will come, but for now, I prefer to fool Mother Nature and the clerks who ask for ID when I request a senior discount. Brown hair turning gray is not pretty like a brunette turning gray (but prettier than a blonde or red head going gray--just a tip).

We usually get a glass of the house wine (red for the cardiovascular system) with Friday night dinner. I suggested to my husband that we just drink a glass of wine at home afterwards--saving Oh, maybe $500 a year (cheap wine), but he didn't go for that. Frugal, but not romantic.

We really don't need two cars now that my husband is retired. I suggested we get rid of his Explorer and keep my van, but since both cars are paid for (and he really likes his better than mine but his hurts my back). That would be a one time boost to the income, of say $6,000 (resale is the pits even on nice, well kept autos) plus a savings of maybe $300 a year in insurance and $200 in maintenance.

Pets are expensive. Kitty litter, cat food, vet bills, etc. I've not looked at the figures recently, but I think it is something like $6,000 over the life time of a cat, and more for a dog. If your daughter or neighbor won't stop by and look after the sweetie-pie when you're gone, you've got to add in huge boarding bills. But I'm not even going to think about that savings. Pets are good for all sorts of health benefits.

So you see, I could be saving and investing this to leave to our Alma Mater, The University of Illinois, but they didn't graduate any dummies, so we're spending wildly while we've got the chance.

1190 The Mind and Memory Class

Yesterday I went to Sally's Mind and Memory Class. It was very good. She's a great teacher--comes alive in front of a group. I think she used to teach theater. About twice as many people showed up as she had prepared for, but that often happens early in the season, early in the week. By Friday there will probably be only twenty or so.

Met Mary, an aspiring writer. They are everywhere, aren't they? She told me the basic idea of her novel. I gave her the same advice I'd give anyone my age--don't wait to be discovered, self-publish. Helen Santmyers don't come along often.

Off to the coffee shop and the morning news.

1189 Rove v. Durbin

"Why would the press ignore (for several days) a speech by an elected US Senator [Durbin] comparing American detention facilities to Nazi concentration camps on the Senate floor, while a minor speech by a White House staffer [Rove] to a state-level political action group drew immediate national attention?" Captain's Quarters
Yes, why indeed.

1188 The do not call list

I'd forgotten how effective that do not call list really is. Since we arrived around noon on Saturday the phone has rung about every two hours--and since we have no answering machine, we don't know what is happening when we're out for dinner, or walking along the lake front, or attending a program. I've been offered a subscription to the Toledo Blade, a summer resort vacation package, several new phone plans, a lower mortgage rate, and possibly waterproofing something, but I hung up too quickly. We never added this phone to the list--indeed, we may get rid of the land line altogether and just use the cell phone, as many do here. We're probably getting a huge share of the calls, since so many people's numbers are not accessible.

What is wrong with blogger.com today?

At one site I couldn't leave a comment because of "content." The objectional word was "32" in my e-mail address, so I used an old one that's a spam bucket. Another block was the word "mus" which I hadn't used, but I did use "must." So I changed that, then it objected to "the". I give up. No comments today.

I'd ask you if you're having trouble, but I probably wouldn't be able to get the comments.

1187 Abysmal savings rate

Jane Galt always has interesting things to say at her blog Asymmetrical Information. This one about the savings rate of the average American is very telling, not so much for what she writes, but her readers' comments. There were 71 comments when I read them. One person (a woman I presume) took a home equity loan to pay for her wedding. How's that for short sightedness? Or how about the one, "I used to be poor and now I'm in the upper 5% and want all the toys" (my paraphrase).

Like many sites, she is recommending Castle Coalition concerning that recent Supreme Court decision on eminent domain. It's the only decision I can recall being villified by both the right and the left.

1186 A Lakeside Wedding

This is a lovely spot to have a wedding--if you don't mind strangers gawking wearing bikinis and towels. After we parked our bikes yesterday and strolled along the lakefront, we noticed a photographer taking photos of a wedding party in front of the hotel--in the fountain! True, the temperature in Toledo was 98 yesterday so it was probably near 96 here when I saw them, but I sort of shuddered when I thought of the extra charge for cleaning those rented tuxes. But they did take off their shoes and socks and roll up the pant legs. Even the bride in a fabulously beaded gown was in the water.

The bridesmaids were wearing scarlet red gowns and the groomsmen all wore scarlet vests and ties. So what's a little water in a party that spectacular?

1185 Librarian unhappy with MSM

Bryan (Off the Wall) says he is a former systems analyst and lingerie salesman working as a reference librarian. So he knows the inside of a lot of topics. I thought his article on "Top 4 reasons I'm disgusted with the MSM" pretty much reflected my own thoughts (although I didn't have the specific articles to quote and he does). He cites: 1. Anonymous sources, 2. Overuse of "allegedly," 3. Repeated denials of bias, and 4. Inability to learn. To that I would add hostility to people of faith and snobbery. And all the media folk, left, right and center, seem to build stories on anecdotal evidence instead of taking the time to go the library and do some solid research.

1184 Spectacular Week One opening at Lakeside

Last night's program, Mark Nadler, was fabulous--even his publicist couldn't have prepared us. Such energy. In a tux and tails, and it was sooooo hot. I'll bet he lost 10 lbs. It's hard to explain what he does, but as a closing he sang 'S Wonderful (Gershwin) while he played Rhapsody in Blue. There was a reception after the show at the Hotel but we didn't go. We'd already had ice cream (Moose Tracks) at the new coffee shop. Of course, I could have passed on the dessert and just stood in line for 30 minutes to meet Mr. Nadler, but I knew I wouldn't. If you ever get the opportunity to see him perform, be sure to go. Lakeside Schedule here.

Looking through the weekly newspaper, I see Sally Kriska is going to offer a class on memory and aging called "Mind Matters." I might go. I knew Sally when we had kids in pre-school together and we were all members of First Community Church. No art classes this week that look good to me: glass painting; marionettes; rose soap petals (??); chair caning; 2 different stained glass classes; and scrapbooking for rookies. But Neil Glaser is doing a watercolor workshop on Tuesday evening only that we'll probably go to. We bought one of his paintings last summer. "Women Working out with Weights" is offered 3 mornings, but it looks like you need your own weights. That's not something I ordinarily travel with. This looks like it might be on-going, so if you're coming to Lakeside during one of the other weeks (there are 10 weeks in the season), bring along weights.

This morning we'll attend worship overlooking the lake. I'm not particularly fond of informal, happy, clappy church, but in a camp-like setting with sea gulls and bugs, it is just perfect for praising God.

I'm heading out to watch a sunrise over Lake Erie and get a fabulous cup of coffee at the new coffee shop.

1183 We're finally here

We're finally in Lakeside, rolling in about 11:15. And the cat didn't poop or puke. Good trip! The gates are down, the lines are long, and it is hot, hot, hot--about 94 I think. One more hour and our flowers would have been dead. We've watered twice, and they are starting to perk up. Dehydration is a painful way to die.

Tonight's program is Mark Nadler, described as a "young Victor Borge," outrageously entertaining and funny. Hoover is not air-conditioned, so I think the crowd will be light. I'll wear a dress. Much cooler than slacks.

We took a bike ride and sat in the shade and watched the swimmers. The haze was so thick we could hardly see the islands. Took a stroll through the business district--all three blocks--and stopped in the book store. My husband's paintings are hanging at the Patio Restaurant--they look really nice.

1182 Down memory lane

Shelly is a 50-something librarian who has a number of blogs (more even then me) and devotes one of them to nostalgia. She does a very nice job, too. She calls that blog Retro-Spective, but if you check her "about me" link you'll see she also has some nicely formated blogs about books. Can't tell for sure but she might also have blogs at Live Journal.

1181 Dancing with the Stars

We've never gotten into the reality TV mode. Most of them look pretty silly--eating bugs in the jungle, picking spouses in mansions, etc. But when Dancing with the Stars began on June 1, we were definitely tuned in. By the third week, the rest of America had discovered this delightful show and 15.7 million viewers were watching, according to USAToday.

Our first date was for the St. Pat's Ball at the University of Illinois. That's when he told me he planned to marry me. And I told Sally, when I returned the red lace dress I'd borrowed, "You won't believe the line I heard tonight." On my to-do list for retirement was ball room dance lessons, which we did, two or three sessions I believe. We've tried a few new moves for the jitterbug and I think we can move around the floor in a fox trot, but unless you have a place to dance and go frequently, you lose it pretty quickly. The learning curve and physical demands for the non-pros in this reality show must have been incredible.

Armory House Spring Dance, 1959

1180 Friday Feast 53

These questions come from Friday Feast and you're welcome to answer them and then let the site know.

Appetizer
What time do you usually wake up each day? If you could choose your wake-up time, when would it be?
I wake up about 4:30-5:00 a.m. I never use an alarm clock (keeps me awake), so it must be perfect for my internal clock. Even as a young child, I was always the first one up.

Soup
When was the last time you bought groceries? What store did you go to? Name 3 things you purchased.
I usually buy groceries on Monday morning at the Meijer store, because it doesn't have loyalty card silliness. Apples. Cat food. Cheese. Also stopped at Trader Joe's which is near by. When I'm in my "old" neighborhood I enjoy using a family owned, neighborhood grocery store, Huffman's Market.

Salad
How many books have you read so far this year? Which was your favorite and why?
I've probably read 6 or 7 this year. So far, Alexander Hamilton is my favorite. However, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder was also wonderful. Hamilton is probably our most amazing "founding father," and one can't imagine the United States without his influence. Ship of Gold was just extremely well written with an amazing wealth of information about the ocean, American history and the odd way some people have of drawing others into their plans.

Main Course
What is something you consider to be very elegant? In particular, what about that item/place/person conjures up the feeling of elegance?
Although I'm certainly no fashion expert nor do I worry much about my own clothes, I'm always very impressed by the elegance of the women's fashions in the 1930s and 1940s movies. They really put today's fashions to shame.

Dessert
Who taught you how to drive?
My mother was the first. However, I did take Driver's Ed in high school, and I believe the teacher was the P.E. instructor. I've never had nor been in an accident. I've had two speeding tickets, both for going 45 mph in a 35 mph zone. My father drove from age 14 to 88 and had one accident, and that was caused by the other person.

"This makes it all worth it"

That was my husband's comment as he came in the door, and handed me this piece of paper, completing his week as a fourth grade Bible School teacher. He said virtually every one of his 16 students came up to thank the teachers today. Yesterday they were chosen to lead the Lord's Prayer in American Sign Language for the entire VBS (his co-teacher interprets for the deaf). Every year he tells me it was his best class. Same for this year.

Thank you note from a fourth grader