Thursday, January 22, 2004

She's no lady
When did "lady" become a verboten term? I fought against the moniker "girls" when I was young and now it is a almost a term of endearment. Now, it appears that the term "ladies" cannot be used.

About a year ago, a very gracious and gentle friend asked that she not be called a lady. She was raised in a genteel upper crust family and her mother was always admonishing her to "act like a lady" when she was in high spirits. OK. I understand and respect that.

Then the young females (is that OK?) in one of my husband's college classes insisted that they not be called ladies because it was prissy. Is this a trend? Did I miss something here?

When I was very young (before seatbelts), I leaned over the front seat of the car and asked, "Daddy, what's the difference between women and ladies?" He glanced at my mother and replied, "All females are women, but your mother..." pregnant pause, then "Your mother, she's a lady." Mom glowed. I glowed. And you can call me lady whether I'm acting like one or not.

Wednesday, January 21, 2004

Extreme Joy, Extreme Sorrow
A teenager from my church gave birth to conjoined twins yesterday. The girls are not expected to live. The mother is so young. How is she going to withstand the media circus?

Sunday, January 11, 2004

Oh Deer
I've lived in deer country for almost 20 years so am savvy about how to avoid hitting them with my car. Sometimes, though, it is unavoidable, and the odds caught up with me Saturday night. A quick trip with Rick to the grocery store resulted in the death of a doe, $2500 damage to the 'burb, and a son who decided that he didn't want to hunt after all.

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Christmas
We had an especially nice Christmas, but I still enjoyed taking down the tree and decorations.

We went to Mom's on Christmas Day and stayed until Monday. It was a nice visit, but too short. Before we left home on Christmas morning, we gave the boys the presents they found earlier. They were so surprised to get the rest of their presents at Mom's late that night. Ron told me it was the best Christmas ever!

Mom totally surprised me by giving me the corn picture, which I will cherish like she has. My great-aunt painted the corn which was grown by my great grandfather. This corn won a prize at the 1904 World's Fair at St. Louis. It is a work of art in itself as she was very talented, but the farmers in my family always said, "But look at those full ears of corn!" Mom got the picture when Grandmom died in 1965. I'm still looking for the right place to display it.

While in Arkansas, we went to the Flat Creek Dulcimer Shop in Hardy and bought a hammered dulcimer. It has a beautiful sound despite our fumbling during the learning process. Our more musically-talented friends tell us that we are trying too hard, but I've never been one to play by ear. Steve's using the tablature method to learn and I'm trying to transfer my piano method to the dulcimer. Rick picked up a harmonica but has just played with it so far.

Steve and I gave each other 6 windows for Christmas. When we remodeled we had them insulate the front screened porch so that someday we could make it a four season room. And that day has come! The windows should arrive any day. Steve is searching out freestanding corn burners for the new room, but I'm thinking flooring, furniture and window treatment.
SpyWare
My PC was so totally hosed by spyware I had to take it to someone to clean it up. I'm at the library now using their computers.