What to Wear for Easter?

High of 37 for Easter Sunday!

As you know, Easter can be in March or later in April, and whatever the weather, the old rule is that you lighten up for Easter, with shoes and coats and with brighter, even vivid spring colors.

Dressing my little girls up for Easter back in the day was always a daunting task ... all the shopping, plus the strain on the budget. And then checking the weather and whether they would freeze in their frilly frocks.

Rules (even unwritten or imagined) have changed (relaxed) in 30 years, but it still can be challenging to anticipate the weather for Easter in West Michigan.

Below is a weather chart for one recent March when I actually traveled to Florida on the day it was 87 degrees! That year Easter was on April 24. But in 2008 it fell on March 23. So even if spring weather were predictable in Michigan, the calendar date for Easter can be all over the map.

As I have previously referenced, I have been singing in the church choir lately. The rule for black bottoms and solid tops is more flexible for Easter. If people wish to wear their fancy Easter best, it is sometimes allowed. I have a long sleeved dusty pink top as my default Easter wear. I hope to do a little shopping yet before Easter. So who knows.

On Words with Friends, I discovered just this week that peacocky is a word. Maybe I will go all peacocky for Easter!

But I will most likely stick with the dark bottoms and shoes rule--maybe even boots. Just look at the weather chart--a high of 37 and possible flurries! It will probably still be below freezing in the early morning when we gather to rehearse.

I am not stressing out over my wardrobe choices. I am getting too old for that.

And I would not wear a fancy spring dress anyway, even if I had one!

Some Days Bad Stuff Happens

I am reeling from recent very bad news which involves a few extended family members.

Yesterday my brother informed me that his daughter's husband had passed after a long hospital stay. He was 33 years old. I did not know him personally (attending a wedding does not allow for much getting-to-know) but I do know that this is totally devastating to my brother's family. One can only try to imagine if it would happen in your own family...

Last week we were informed that a son adopted in Liberia years ago by my husband's older brother had lost his wife. Living part-time in Minnesota and part-time in Africa, she was bludgeoned to death by a robber. Again, while I know this adopted son, I do not know his wife.

A niece-in-law by adoption and a nephew-in-law--both essentially strangers to me. Two souls with a long life still ahead of them, taken too soon ... a terrible reminder of how precious life is. And how fragile.

I wish I knew better how to make more of each day I have.

Some Days Good Stuff Happens

My last post was about spring cleanup and the opening day at the free city yard waste facility. I actually mistakenly put that up on the gardening blog--and it really belongs there. But if you want to find out how I get rid of all my spring debris (how exciting!) check it out here:

https://agardeningrose.blogspot.com

We are advised (by the Bible ... and therapists, and friends) that it is good to "count your blessings," to approach life with an attitude of thankfulness.

So yesterday morning began with the appearance of a small white bloom from an orchid which I have neglected (but not killed) for a little over three years now, since the day I took 2 orchids home from my Aunt V's kitchen window following her funeral.

To see even a single bloom arising from the ungainly orchid leaves after all these years, and all these days of cold winter weather, is a sign of something ... it must be!

It warmed into the 50's yesterday, dry and sunny. (The husband golfed without doing too much damage to his knee). And I was "in the garden."

I pulled out the dusty Husqvarna mower that I purchased used from a neighbor who moved some years back. I don't think I ever used it last year. I brushed off the spider webs, filled it with fresh gas, and with one pull, it roared to life (with a little blue smoke).

I used it to mulch some piles in my yard that might contain sticks. I don't like to dull the blade on my newer mower.

What a joy that a neglected, un-serviced motor worked perfectly well!

Then after a break, I went to my uncle's property and starting working on the giant hosta/daffodil patch. After making some huge piles and picking up the larger sticks, I filled his old basic mower (which he bought just for me and my mulching) with fresh gas. That mower has remained outside, subject to the elements now for a few years, and I don't remember if I used it last year. Well, it took about 10 pulls and multiple pumps of the little red button that fills the line with gas, but it also roared to life and never killed.

So I mulched the dry piles into pulverized leaf compost. The old mower helped to reduce the pickup work for this old bag lady.

And then...

While I was resting up at home on the couch watching the news, there was an unusual, rhythmic knock at the front door. Thinking that it must be the husband, I opened the door wide to find a good-looking young man on the porch. "Hello, my name is Carl."

Carl bought a house last December, and is now my back fence neighbor.

Carl had a chainsaw in his pickup and was going to cut a fallen limb that was hanging into my yard. Yay!

I had a 20 foot and a 30 foot dead tree limb down in the yard as well. We paid him $20, which he reluctantly accepted, to saw them up, and he said he could use them in his backyard fire pit. I told him I could haul the wood away myself to that favorite dump site (now that it was in shorter segments), but he tossed them over his fence.

Never let a young man  at your front door with a chainsaw  go to waste!

He might just be our new handyman!

Today there is a light rain and it is not a good day for mulching. Or perhaps any work outside. My back hurt a little last night, but I felt like I was really getting my spring groove on around here.

And yes, I felt blessed by the "old things" that came to life once again, and the "young thing" who appeared at my front door to help.

 It was a good day!

Time to Unplug?

Trillium - one spring day at Aman Park

Some are warning us that our phones, social media use and constant news exposure (fake or not!) are contributing to our anxiety and/or general unhappiness with life.

Think about how much better you (might) feel after an unplugged walk in the woods on a sunny spring day ... perhaps scouting out patches of trillium, Virginia bluebells, Dutchmen's breeches and other wild spring ephemerals.

I don't become overly emotional about every new tragedy around the world. Bad things happen. All the time.

But we need some distance from it all once in awhile.

Our cars may be the most dangerous things in our lives--potential missiles of death! We use them every day and love them, and they will never be banned or taken away, along with our guns.

But we have to live our lives...

Falling is a risk. I have talked about that before. Especially now that I am well past 65! When I had a TGA (transient global amnesia) incident for like, 3 hours, I was given a wrist band in the hospital--FALL RISK. That was before I was 65 and it made me smile (once I regained my mind and was just fine).

But falling is no laughing matter!

I grab the hand rails now. And wear sensible shoes.

Speaking of falling, Hillary is a walking fall risk! She usually has help from a burly bodyguard or two, but she keeps falling! I think she has something seriously wrong with her. But why is she risking her life going up and down slippery steps in India just to see an ancient harem! And did you see the photo of a typical bathtub at that India Palace place where she supposedly slipped and broke her wrist?

Many of us would like her to just stay out of the public eye and take lots of walks in the Chappaqua woods. If Hillary falls in the woods, does anyone hear it ... or care? Lol.

One cannot take in all the trouble around the world!

War in Syria is harder to comprehend than a natural disaster like a hurricane--which we have no control over. But both are far removed from most of us.

When a tragic event occurs in an area near where I have traveled, I do pay more attention. When a terrorist attack happened last fall on a bike path in the area by the World Trade Center, when I planned to ascend the Freedom Tower in just a few weeks, I looked up exactly where it happened on a map.

On our recent trip I saw lots of broken trees and damaged roofs from the latest hurricane that hit Florida. Fortunately there is advanced warning now and people sought shelter or evacuated.

I just referenced the beautiful bridges I saw while in Florida. Now a massive pedestrian bridge has fallen down on a highway in a spot very near to an expressway we used on our way from the Keys to Sebring last month. It was not an old crumbling infrastructure bridge, but a brand new (unfinished) bridge! Can you imagine having a 950 ton concrete bridge fall on your car?  Cars can be dangerous!

Most of us find the shooting of innocent children in school to be the most intolerable kind of tragedy.  And when so many systems failed the students in the recent incident in Parkland, Florida, it is even harder. If a hurricane had blown down the roof on top of the students it might be easier to process...

We should probably be paying more attention to the shootings on the streets of Chicago--and the daily overdose deaths in the current opiod crisis. Every life should be valued.

It is all just too much!

So, I am talking to myself here...

As soon as the weather improves, take a walk in the woods. Unplug for a few hours and tune in to the birds who are now getting really excited about mating and nesting prospects.

Meanwhile, we (three) have been watching episodes from Planet Earth. The incredible beauty of the earth, even on the big screen, is renewing.

And the husband and I have just finished the latest Mozart in the Jungle series. It was CRAZY, with some great music, and great acting--very absorbing and real-world-escaping.

Also, I binged on episodes of Naked and Afraid. Why do I like that program? The husband wants to know!

Yes, I occasionally turn off FOX NEWS!!

Today I am still in hibernation mode here, but spring is coming, ready or not. So throw off your worries, shut down your smart phone, and join me for a walk in the woods!

Founders KBS 2018

After My Year of Beer, I haven't said too much about the craft beer scene, which continues to explode  here in "Beer City" and all over the country almost as fast as Amazon, with a staggering and seemingly unsustainable pace.

5 oz samples of KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) at Founders Brewery Co.

I have learned a lot about beer since 2015 and don't want to forget everything I know--so I stay moderately tuned in to what's happening around town.

I am not crazy about beer or anything, but try to keep learning about food and drink. The variety of beverages (even bottled cold coffees and kombuchas) is simply impossible to keep up with.

E. recently started purchasing SToK cold brew coffee. This black un-sweetened brew has 2 mg. salt, 2 grams of carb and 10 calories per 8 ounce serving, with 0 everything else (along with an appropriate amount of caffeine, I trust). It is really good!

Anyway, a girl's night out was scheduled at Founders with the goal of tasting the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. This seasonally brewed imperial stout was recently brought up from a full year of storage in oak bourbon barrels, kept cool in the caves down under the city in the old gypsum mines. It was KBS week at Founders Brewery, and before this year's batch is bottled and/or depleted, I thought I should have a taste, at the source.

Well, instead I had to go to a wake in Marshall, Michigan. After the wake we dined at Schulers, which is very close to Dark Horse Brewery, which I visited with O. in My Year of Beer! I ordered no beer in Marshall (what a pretty town!) since the choices did not intrigue, although the husband enjoyed a Bell's Porter draft.

So the next day, in the middle of the afternoon, with nothing else to do, I not only had a sample 5 oz. glass of the KBS 2018 batch, but I sampled the featured 2016 and 2017 as well. This beer was so heavy and bourbon barrel-y that I not only could not distinguish the difference in the three brews, I could barely recognize the load of coffee it purportedly features. And was there chocolate in there, too? The 2018 was supposed to be a bit sweeter. I thought one had a hint of maple. Maybe it sat too close to a barrel of the maple-y Canadian Breakfast Stout, released last fall!

I think I will be fine with just settling for their basic Oatmeal Stout, once the KBS (with all the hype) runs out for the year. The ABV for the three samples varied slightly, but was all on the high end of the scale, the 2018 coming in at 11.8%.

Are all these seasonal Breakfast Stouts an excuse for those who are addicted to starting with a beer in the morning? That would be an expensive habit, and certainly not prudent--for anyone.

I ordered a Reuben to pair with the beer samples, although the Reuben sandwiches are not authentic at Founders. The husband had a salad with a smokey porter, after asking for a taste. We found paid parking for the hour, right out front at 3:30 in the afternoon, with snow/sleet falling outside and a sparse crowd inside. I paid all the bills for the two of us, which was my bribe to find someone to go with!

This heavy stout was probably great by most standards, but it was just too much for a Tuesday mid-afternoon. I was disappointed that I had nothing profound to offer to distinguish these 3 sample drafts. I have no future as a beer taster, that is for sure.

But I am always willing to try a sip or two of any outrageous new brew!

For now, my go to beer is an occasional Founders Sumatra Mountain Brown and even less frequently, a New Holland Brewery Dragon's Milk, a pricey 11% milk stout. I recently left a bottle of this brew on Uncle J.'s kitchen counter for him to try, with a warning that it was potent!

Spring Fling in the Big Apple

Postcard came in the mail ... now I'm going!

I'm getting a little excited...

We (yes, the husband, too) are booked to fly to NYC for a weekend, including a hotel in the financial district ... with the first night already planned. We just scored some cheap seats (report later) to see the Grand Rapids Symphony and Chorus perform in Carnegie Hall. How crazy is that?

M. suggested that the new Eataly is a short walk from our hotel, for a pre-concert dinner. I briefly scouted out this Eataly, which is on the third floor of building #4 of the World Trade Center complex, last November--and having a drink or a meal there became a new bucket list item. It opened in August of 2016, and is the second Eataly in NYC. It is beautiful, with some great views looking out  of its large windows.

The rest of the weekend is yet open. I will (try to) go along to get along, and relinquish any more bucket list items!

Yes, we are staying in FiDi. The kids have moved! To the 33rd floor ... with a bay view. So the trip is partly to see their new digs. I will miss the familiarity of their UES neighborhood, but look forward to becoming more familiar with lower Manhattan.

I can handle the dreary doldrums of this cold late-winter weather in West Michigan if I can look forward to some more fun in my future!

A Wish Granted - Winter Returns

Automatic Google-enhanced photo of the remains of stump/veggie garden, taken 3/7/18

We are back to winter ...  with just two weeks or so now until spring. No more back-breaking raking today. But is this really what I was welcoming last week?

The snow erases all the flaws of the early spring landscape and provides cover for the emerging bulbs, but it also brings a chill to the spirit.

Giving me a little respite from yard work for now, the snow will not be long for this world; but meanwhile, I'm keeping those Uggs handy by the garage door.

I escaped a whole month of winter this year and really cannot complain about this fresh blanket of gorgeous winter white!

Demons and Saints

While I am open to believing phenomena arising out of both realms--heaven and hell, I don't dwell on such things and certainly do not open myself up to the influences from the underworld. I gave up dabbling (briefly) with a Ouija board long ago, in high school, and don't seek out books or movies that deal with such subjects, that is, those that are associated directly with demons and devils.

Many movies, of course, contain themes of evil vs. good, and evil is certainly of the devil.

The Darkest Hour (which one best actor at the Oscar's last night) portrayed Winston Churchill at the time in history when he was having to make decisions about confronting Hitler, who remains our favorite modern personification of evil. The 1517 to Paris movie memorialized the story of three brave young heroes who subdued an evil Muslim terrorist, saving a train full of people. The only other movie I have seen in a theater in the last few months was Selma, a movie from 2014 which portrays the evils of racism in our country's history.

But yesterday, on a sunny Sunday morning when my only goal for the day was just getting up early enough to shower, blow-dry and curl my hair, and be dressed and ready for a choir rehearsal by 8:15 AM in order to practice an inspirational version of "How Great Thou Art," I was subjected to a sermon about Jesus, as recorded in the gospel of Matthew, casting out demons from a tormented soul and sending them into a herd of pigs ... quite a dramatic story!

When I toured Israel years ago I saw the peaceful grassy hill (knoll?) where this miraculous event purportedly occurred.

It is still hard to believe the story.

I have a certain fondness for pigs, as they helped to put food on our table literally (well, sort of) and figuratively back in the day. I assisted my father with the birthing (farrowing) process for years. I even had a pet pig one summer named "Skippy" whom I abandoned in the fall, shedding no tears on the day he went off to market along with all the other grown up hogs ... off to a graphic slaughter, yes, but providing bacon and chops for many other tables.

So, especially for me, the extraordinary phenomenon of 2,000 devil-possessed pigs streaming and screaming down the hill to their death in the sea paints a very graphic image! And a complete waste of bacon!

In total contrast, part of the worship service included remembering the Reverend Billy Graham, who passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 99. We sang three verses of "Just As I Am" with and without accompaniment, with solemn familiarity. And the choir performed that rousing version of "How Great Thou Art" which I will always associate with George Beverly Shea of the Crusade.

Billy Graham was for me the best representation I know of a saint on earth. Rev. Graham was a humble man who embraced his own sinfulness and need for grace, but never debased himself with even a hint of scandal.

Already reminded of demon possession from the morning sermon, we book-ended the day with a Sunday night movie--The Exorcism of Emily Rose. It is not a totally terrifying movie, but included a frightening portrayal of what demon possession might look like, based on a true story.

If I were in charge of the world, there would be more Billy Grahams and fewer Hitlers.

But so it is--good and evil evident in the world and all around us ... until that day when all the saints gather in heaven beside the "glassy sea." And perhaps we will hear from Billy Graham and George Beverly Shea, together once again.

*********
Billy Graham would have been 100 years old in November, a few days before Grandpa VR's birth date. Grandma VR would have been a 100 about two weeks before that. Graham came to national prominence with a crusade in L.A. the year I was born ... and I am old!

Three long-lived servants of God born in 1918 are now gone, all very ready to have been moved on up ... to sainthood in the skies! (♫movin' on up ... to a deluxe apartment (mansion?) in the skies♫)

Grandma VR was once in close proximity to Rev. Graham. She claimed to have sensed a "presence" around him (like a holy aura or something).

Somehow I don't find that hard to believe.