Some random thoughts

Apple Seeds
I haven't blogged in so long, its been ages and ages.
I guess I can blame it on getting hooked on Facebook. I find it fun to communicate with a lot of folks on a daily or more often basis without getting too deep into things.
But today I want to make a few comments that may be too much for good old casual facebook commentary.
Fact is, I question whether I should even put my neck out but I feel a need to get a few things off my chest or out in the open or something.... Guess I can always delete them if I feel I should.
Some observations -
At the time of 9-11, I remember a woman being interviewed with some others. Her husband or boyfriend was missing and presumed possibly killed in the towers. As far as I could tell from later findings, I believe he had died. I think he was a waiter or something in a restaurant up high.
Now remember, we did not yet know who had done this horrible thing. Her comment was that if he was dead, she was fairly certain that he would say that he did not want others to die because he was killed. That such would not avenge or requite his death. I was so surprised that this woman could be so together at this time of unbelievable sorrow to think that thru and utter such a thought.
I also thought that there was no way such a thing would not happen. It seemed to me our need to defend coupled with an eye for an eye mentality would explode and indeed it did.
Once we determined that the perpetrator was centered in bin Laden we went after him. But for reasons I didn't understand (or more correctly think I do understand) we went after him not where he might be, but in another country.
Now, after what, ten years, and how many lives, we finally have killed the s.o.b. I do not mourn his life. But I do mourn the many who have died because of him on and since 9-11. And I mourn all those who have yet to loose their lives because of him.
Should we hav gone after him? Of course we should have. If a varmit raids the chicken house or the lamb pen, you don't just leave it to continue its horrible habit. But could there have been a less destructive way to have gone after him? I have to wonder.
I do not intend to disrespect our military men and women with these thoughts. They continue to give their most and sacrifice their best to protect me. But I have to wonder if the direction they were sent was the most prudent.
I wonder what that woman who lost her man in 9-11 now thinks?

Easter means project viewing

I got to visit the youngest daughter and crew for Easter. We went to her in-laws for dinner. Its always wonderful! Makes me feel guilty that I don't manage to have family gatherings like that!


Besides good food and good company, I got to see the boys' animal projects, at least some of them. Brody loves his goats. Coy gets involved too but not as much as his big brother, at least not yet.


We also visited the pig pen. It was hot and those little porkers were complaining about it mid afternoon. Got a shot of Brody trying to persuade one of them to go get on the scales. Behaved like a typical woman about that!

Fair time will be fun this year, that's for sure!

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday services at our church are my favorite service all year long, I think even more than Christmas Eve. That one is so special but full of twinkling lights and lots of music and people dressed up, at least some of us. Lots to catch the eye, ear and mind!

But Maundy Thursday is so simple, so focused and without distractions! Our pastor does it alone even to playing the keyboard for the singing. Two hymns, gospel scripture about the last supper, prayer and simple communion. Broken loaf and the goblet of wine on the table at the front of our little sanctuary. Everyone goes forward when they want, alone or with a family member, breaks the bread and dips into the wine. No music, just silence! Time to really think about what it all represents without any disruption.

I took the photo as I was leaving the parking lot! Really caught the radiance of the moment I think!

The ABC's of Me

The ABC's of Me.
I'm a sucker for these things. Someone was playing tag with it among bloggers and I just couldn't resist.


A- Age: Satchel Page said something about how old would you be if you didn't know how old you are? Well, some days I think not so old, other days I think ancient! Age is a state of mind but its certainly affected by the hard facts of aging.

B- Bed size: Queen.

C- Chore you hate: Washing - dishes, clothes, just about anything.

D- Dog's name: None now, Tuff was my favorite.

E- Essential food/item: Potatoes. I love them, and they love me, all of me. My waste, my hips, my butt, my.....

F- Favorite color: Purple today, Go Cats! Beat OSU!

G- Gold or silver: Silver, or white Gold

H- Height: Like I'm vertically challenged and horizontally extended but I get along.

I- I am: old enough to know better, but it doesn't stop me.

J- Job: handler of numbers, keyboards, computer stuff.

K- Kids: Two

L- Living arrangements: Nice walk-out basement apartment secluded in the country yet close to town.

M-Mom's name: Elsie Mae. My bro nicknamed her Lamela Camela for LC. Get it?

N- Nickname: Was Sarge way back when, now maybe Grams?

O- Overnight hospital stay.....Having children, everything else so far has been outpatient.

P- Pet peeve: I cannot tolerate intolerant people! (I've always loved this oxymoron statement. Its right on.)

Q- Quote from a movie: sort of a paraphrase. I think George C. Scott asked Faye Dunaway's character, if you had your pick would you have the organ that goes out or the one that goes in. Her reply, Both! Then I wouldn't need a man for anything! Movie - Oklahoma Crude.

R- Right or left handed: Right.

S- Siblings: 2, the twins

T- Time you wake up: Between 5 and 6, the time I get up that is. And its not really by choice.

U- Unique thing about your car: Its mine.

V- Vegetable you hate: Can't think of one. I'm not real fond of squash but I'll eat it. And brussel sprouts are my favorite!

W- Ways you run late: Waiting for whoever I'm going with. I seem to travel with a lot of run-late folks.

X- X-rays you've had: Can't remember them all. Chest, neck, teeth, who knows. But no appendages that I can remember.

Y- Yummy food you make: Sweet and sour pork.

Z- Zoo favorite: Oh, that member of the giraffe family, okapi I think its called. Absolutely beautiful!

That;s the ABC of me! Think I should work on some of these, see if they can be more interesting! Or rather I can be more interesting.

Keats Lions Club

Lions President Joyce Troyer presents Lion Darrell Westervelt with his lavaliere for being a 25-year member.

I belong to the Keats Lions Club. We are small but mighty, at least in terms of boosting our own little community. We have supported the building of the local park and its improvements — a nice shelter house, a fitness trail, playground equipment, a basketball court, flagpole and flower gardens, trees, benches, you name it, if we haven't done it, we've been giving our encouragement and support to those who did.

Other things we support are scholarships for local high school seniors to get them off to higher education, funds for the KSDS service dog program at Washington Kansas, a community Christmas dinner co-hosted with the Keats Methodist Church, local highway cleanup along with the Wildcat 4-Hers. We provide the 4-Hers with recognition of their annual achievement winners. The annual Easter egg hunt will be coming up soon. Our annual consignment auction at the beginning of June raises funds to be used for community activities including a fall festival the 4th Sunday of September.

Not bad for a little group of 16 members! And we have a lot of fun doing it!

Holidays 2009

My holidays 2009 have been most unusual! I've spent every day more or less from Thanksgiving to Christtmas sick. Got the flu (probably H1N1) the day before Thanksgiving. Stayed home. The landlady brought me some turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans. That was the last meat of any consequence I ate for several weeks. Food became a chore to eat but necessary to cushion the meds. Still got sore digestive tracks. And cough! A necessary and uncontrolable evil, or was it God sent. The flu resulted in pneumonia. So much for pneumonia shot.

The only good thing to come out of it was to have my eldest daughter come and spend a week with me. Cleaned my apartment. Waited on me hand and foot. It was almost worth getting sick..... almost.

Finally managed to put in a few hours at the office over the last week. I had gotten so sick of day time tv. And I normally love tv.

I managed to get to youngest daughter's on the morning of Christmas eve before the storm moved in. Not sure when I'll make it back home. The big Chrristmas event here is that the 4-H gilts are farrowing. One litter on Christmas eve day and signs anotther will farrow sometime today, Christmas day. Grandson #1 is a very watchful hogman. Spends a lot of time in the farrowing shed. The smell comes in on the clothes and its not the most wonderful smell in the world. Smell of money? We can hope. We'll have to remember this at fair time. Its the boys first experience with farrowing so I'm sure it is worth it regardless of the financial outcome.

Christtmas eve services were canceled. The boys had speaking parts. They're to do them Sunday morning so I will probably stay until then.

I hope others are having equally unique, safe and entertaining celebrations of our Savior's birth!

Busy month

Goodness me! I see I haven't posted since the 12th of Oct. It has been busy, busy!

Mid-October I went to Cheyenne by way of Colorado to a college rodeo. The family and I stayed at The Plainsman Hotel, an old hotel in downtown Cheyenne. The younger granddaughters didn't like that it didn't have an indoor swimming pool but I thought the nostalgic atmosphere was great fun. I roomed with the granddaughters other grandma, who remembered there was a Jimmy Stewart movie about a place in Cheyenne, The Cheyenne Social Club. Seems Stewart was a cowpoke who inherited a brothel...... This couldn't have been the place.......

The granddaughter competed well, made the short go in 2 events and ended up placing 8th I think in the breakaway roping. She went for it and were it not for that calf being about 3 inches slower than you would want, she would have won that event. Rodeo builds great character!

Since then I went to Washington DC for the work convention. Spent my free day walking in the rain to see the WWII memorial. Also went to the new American Indian museum, part of the Smithsonian complex. Wow! It is most definitely worth seeing. They have a food court featuring foods related to native people in varying areas of the country. I ate salmon from the Northwest. One of my office mates ate buffalo sandwich from the Plains area, and the other had rabbit pot pie from the Northeast. Good food served in a beautiful setting.

My daughter BK, gd Annie and Annie's friend Mikki stayed with me 4 nights and saw a good portion of DC. Their favorites included the old post office building, Ford's Theater, and who knows what else. I met them at the airport the first night and we had a limo tour of DC back to the hotel. The only trouble was it was raining (rained most of the time we were there) and the windows steamed over.

Because I had to be in DC, I missed out on going to my sister-in-law's funeral. The other daughter attended for all of us. She took the youngest g-son who is 6. While at the cemetery she showed him his grandfather's grave (my husband). Bob was a farmer and a fisherman, thus his gravestone has a shaft of wheat and a leaping fish on it. Coy looked things over, then said, "So, a fish killed him?"

Its been an especially pretty fall here and I almost had time to enjoy it.