Friday Five: Child's Play Edition

Kathrynzj writes: Today’s Friday Five celebrates the spontaneous child in all of us… ar at least the one that we admire in someone else:

1) On a scale of 1-5, with 5 being "I can’t do this now I am about to jump into a pit of plastic balls at the mini-mall" and 1 being "I can’t do this now until I can get all of the fonts on my blog to match" – where are you?

I like to think I'm at the good balance point of 2.5. (I'm not saying I'm there; I'm just saying I like to think that!)

2) What is the silliest/most childlike thing you have done as an adult?

Hmm... I tend to go for "small sillies" rather than big ones. One thing that comes to mind is our now annual Thanksgiving pie festival with the Dust Bunny family which I've previously posted:



Another thing that comes to mind was stealing a friend's chair and writing ransom notes.

3) Any regrets?

Only that I wasn't paid a fair sum to return the chair. :)

4) What is the silliest thing you have ever seen another adult do on purpose?

Someone at the clinic likes to dress up for holidays. For example, on St. Patrick's Day she wore an over-the-top green outfit including a bright green wig.

5) What is something you wish you did when you had the chance?

I thought it would be fun to skydive when I was younger. I'm not fond of heights now so I definitely would not be interested in doing that these days. Although perhaps Presbygal could talk me into it. (Click to enlarge)

new career?

I usually buy old postcards only if they are from the Dakotas, Montana, or Minnesota -- or if they feature roads. However, I just couldn't resist this one. It's basically a business card done as a postcard, and it made me smile. Plus it got me thinking. If I ever tire of the practice of optometry, I could surely become a Singing Evangelist just like Mary T. Louthan of Toledo, Iowa!



The fine print says "Terms Reasonable / Testimonials Furnished". I understand that Mary was assuring people she wouldn't charge an arm and a leg. However, I'm a bit confused on the "testimonials furnished" part. Was she saying "references furnished upon request" or was she saying "I will furnish my testimony as part of my evangelizing"?

Either way, I'd have to leave that phrase off my business card. I'd be pretty shaky on the 'testimonial' part and it would be a stretch to scrape up any references who would vouch for me doing that line of work. However, the "terms reasonable" is no problem (which you would know if you heard my singing).

Here's the back. I'm thinking Letitia Marquardt was a potential recipient of Mary's singing-evangelistic services. Perhaps there was a special event on January 20, 1911.



Just for the heck of it, I googled Mary and found half a dozen relevant websites. I learned she was born on May 21, 1858. It looks as if she never married. Mary was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church (hadn't heard of that merger before), sang "The Star Spangled Banner" for Iowa Day on September 21, 1898 and sang "Face to Face" at the funeral of Lorena Sheldon Raines Swearingen on June 13, 1929. (She was reportedly a life-long friend of the Raines family.) Mary joined the heavenly choir on December 20, 1931.

(So I guess if the singing evangelist thing doesn't work out, I can fall back on internet detective.)

this sunday morning

Hubby and I rode up the road a piece this morning and set a spell to hear some toe tappin' bluegrass music. (Sorry, but the bluegrass has me talking like Andy Griffith.)

You can get a taste of it here:
(Not the best video -- shot with my little camera)

purrrr-meow-purrrr

Here's an interesting tidbit from Current Biology. Researchers conducted an acoustic analysis of cat purrs and found that hidden within mealtime purring (so-called "solicitation purring") is a high-pitched meow. This hidden meow is reminiscent of a cry which signals urgency and exploits our "sensitivity to acoustic cues relevant in the context of nurturing offspring".

I think Mr. Tumnus uses this purr quite effectively when he wants to be fed. Marble, however, doesn't bother with the solicitation purring and goes straight for the mealtime howl. This is also quite effective, albeit more annoying.

Friday Five at the Perfect Church

Today's Friday Five (by Singing Owl) was "Tell us five things that the perfect church would have, be, do...whatever."

I'm getting at this late, because I worked an extra clinic today. Rather than ponder 5 things, I'll just say that, for me, the perfect church would encourage more of this:




If they take the youtube down, you can still watch the video here.

picture for purple

I rode my bike down to the lake after dinner. They were having one of the "Summer Concerts at the Lake" and the weather was darn near perfect for it. Tonight's entertainment was The Beatniks, a group out of Seattle. They were really good -- did mostly 60's and 70's music.

Anywhoooooo... on my way home I noticed these flowers and thought of Purple!

"painted canyon in the bad lands"

We had a beautiful sunset tonight, which made me think of this postcard. The view out of my 'computer room' window looked something like this: (minus the men on the horses. And minus the badlands.)



There's nothing written on the back of the postcard, but (in the interest of being complete) here it is anyway:

took a break from the attic...

...and played around with Marble's picture.



Do I have to go back up to the attic now?

stuff in the attic

One of the goals Hubby and I had this year was to sort through the stuff in the attic above the garage. There were boxes we had stuck away when we moved into this house 16 years ago -- and hadn't looked at since. So yesterday I lit a candle and slowly climbed the stairs...



Actually, Ned Nickerson just turned on the light. And so far we've found some old treasures -- like my high school and college yearbooks. Yay! I had been worried they were lost!

This picture was found loose in some old papers. It was taken during my freshman (or perhaps sophomore?) year of college by my erstwhile boyfriend. (I think that's an inorganic chem lab book, so that would make it freshman year.) Anyway, I'm in his dorm room and am wearing his sweater and cap. The point of that was... ? Dunno. But here I am:



I look... um... well, the adjective escapes me.

concert snapshots

Before the concert:





During the concert:



Typical "demographic" at the concert:



But I'll admit the ol' geezers put on a good show.

still singin'

There is only time for a short post today, as Hubby and I are meeting Offsprings #1&2 in Seattle to hear Chicago and Earth, Wind, and Fire in concert. We were excited to learn they are letting both groups out of their respective nursing homes for the evening to perform.

dust bunny is squeaky clean

Dust Bunny went to Olympia this past weekend to see her son play in a baseball tournament. When some of the games were rained out, she went to an antique store and brought back 4 old postcards for me.

Her favorite one was this old bathtub from Medora, North Dakota.



It's a nice postcard, but it could use a little pizazz. I think you'll agree it looks much better with Dust Bunny in the tub. Click to enlarge!

(I'll admit this isn't Dust Bunny's usual attire -- but it fits so well with the tub! The picture was taken a couple of years ago during Thanksgiving, when our families dressed up as Native Americans and Pilgrims for our "pie fest".)

eco-prank

I'm sure everyone has read or seen the story about Greenpeace activists scaling Mt Rushmore on July 8th and unfurling a large banner beside Lincoln's face with the message: "America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming." (They should have placed it by Teddy; he would have appreciated it more.)

Photo: Kate Davison/Greenpeace/AFP/Getty Images


You can see the Greenpeace climbers do their thing here on youtube.

My first thought when I read the news articles was, "Wow, how did they pull that off?!" And I'll admit I also thought "Well, at least that's a message I agree with." (I allow myself to end sentences with prepositions when I'm just thinking.)

However, I also found their actions disconcerting. If Greenpeace could breach security, another group could do the same. Our famous national monument could be host to a variety of political messages and even stupid ads, perhaps something like this:

photoshopping by me

Plus I don't want people damaging the monument. (At least the Greenpeace climbers used anchors already installed by the Park Service for cleaning and repair.)

In any event, I think the National Park Service needs to rethink their security system. (I'm sure they are.) I also think that Greenpeace might want to rethink their strategy, because while their actions might have helped energize the base, they also probably turned most other folks off. For one thing taxpayers probably won't be too happy about footing the bill for the cost -- probably in tens of thousands of dollars -- of prosecuting the climbers and beefing up security.

Also Mt Rushmore is such a beloved national monument that most people (including myself) object to defacing it in any way. (Although I'll admit that Mike G. of Greenpeace raises an interesting point: "Mount Rushmore was built on a mountain stolen from Native Americans. Adding insult to injury, we then carved a bunch of white people’s faces into it. So you gotta ask yourself: What does Mount Rushmore really represent?)

I hope that all of this doesn't impact the plan to open new hiking trails in the Mt Rushmore area (because I want to use them!)... and I also hope that the planet isn't too hot to enjoy them if/when the trails actually do open.

as a follow up to the exercise friday five...

Go You Chicken Fat, Go was actually on youtube! Apparently 1961 was the first year this song was used in PE classes, but it went strong for many years. Mrs. Scherbenske (my gym teacher) would probably still be using it if she wasn't retired.

It was weird to hear it again after all these years. I remembered a lot of the lyrics -- apparently they were seared on my brain.

Friday Five: Exercise

Sophia offers up this week's Friday Five!

1. What was your favorite sport or outdoor activity as a child?
That would depend on the season! In the summer I loved riding my bike, playing baseball with the neighborhood kids, and water skiing. In the winter I loved ice skating, sledding, etc.

2. P.E. class--heaven or the other place?
I suppose it was mostly heaven because we did some fun things like jump on the trampoline and play basketball. But the hell aspect was wearing goofy uniforms and doing warm up exercises to a song that had the words "Go you chicken fat, go"

3. What is your favorite form of exercise now?
Riding my bike. (Although I like hiking and snowshoeing too.)

4. Do you like to work out solo or with a partner?
I don't think what I do can be called 'working out' -- but if it's bike riding I mostly go solo and if it's hiking or snowshoeing I go with Hubby.

5. Inside or outside?
OUTSIDE!

Bonus: Post a poem, scripture passage, quotation, song, etc. regarding the body or exercise.

In the words of Grover (whom I truly love), "tickling is also exercise":

Cecile and Ella

This week's postcard is one of my "road" ones. It was sent on September 30th, 1907 by Cecile (if I'm reading the writing correctly) to Mrs. Ella Gilloway (or is that Silloway?) in Bradford, Vermont.

Here's the front. (I find the road intriguing.)



Rec'd your postal and thank you very much for it. How are you? I am (a) good deal better. I should like to see you. Cecile

Hmmm... I wonder what the problem had been with Cecile.

And here's the back:



I like how no street address was needed for Ella. It was either a small town, or Ella was really well known!

the 4th and fleas...

It was great to have Offspring #1 & her boyfriend Doug and Offspring #2 & his girlfriend Tien home for the holiday weekend. Longview traditionally puts on a big July 4th celebration including parade, live music, fireworks, etc. (This year they had a cardboard boat regatta too.) We usually take time to go poke around the annual 'flea market' that they have down at the lake.

Here's a picture of the fearsome foursome at the flea market:



After seeing some of the things for sale at various booths, I decided I should hand out some 'awards' for the tackiest items.

In 3rd place is the Super Jesus baseball cap. (Who would wear this? And does it come with a cape?)



In 2nd place is the "real frog" purse. Gee, frog populations are declining around the world due to habitat destruction, pollution, etc. It seems like the last thing the poor frogs need right now is to be made into handbags. (Although I'm pretty confident this won't become a hot new fashion trend.)




And in 1st place is this vintage tin sign. Words fail me. It is just wrong on so many levels...

Happy 4th...

...from Garbage Puff (and, of course, me).



Garbage Puff is proud of his great-great-granddaddy, who you may recall was immortalized in a famous painting.

Friday Five: It's All About the Look

In readiness for her upcoming move, Sally sorted through her wardrobe (closet) and came up with 3 large sacks of clothes to be given away. This inspired her to ask:

1. Are you a hoarder, or are you good at sorting and clearing?
I tend to follow the same pattern. I let new clothes slowly accumulate in my closet. Then when things become too jam-packed (usually every few years), I get rid of the stuff I no longer really wear. (By the way, the picture on the upper left is, sadly, not my closet. Mine is not nearly so stream-lined and organized.)

2. What is the oddest garment you possess and why?
Back in the day, I used to be into wacky socks. I never could bring myself to get rid of the Fonzie socks. Here they are:



3. Do you have a favorite look/color?
I go for the casual, outdoorsy look. I recently bought some comfy Privo shoes which I've even been wearing to work. They look like this:



4. Thrift/Charity shops, love them or hate them?
I love giving my old clothes, etc. to them. I don't usually buy there unless I am looking for a specific costume-type item.

5. Money is no object, what one item would you buy?
Ah... but money IS an object! I am thinking about how my daughter and I wandered into a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Portland a few weeks ago and saw a pair of shoes for $450.00. We both commented on how ridiculous we thought it would be to spend such an amount on shoes -- and couldn't one really buy lesser shoes and give the rest of the money to a good cause?

camping 1909 style

This postcard (sent May 26, 1909) is from Leech Lake, Walker Minnesota. (Hmmm... Leech Lake doesn't necessarily sound like a body of water in which you would want to swim.) Anyway, I love the huge camping stove. Bet you wouldn't go hungry if you camped with this guy.



Here's the back of the card:



Is Kate and Rily back from Texas yet? When will you be up here? Lakes are all open and the fishing is fine. Love to all, Ethel

Perhaps Ethel should spend less time fishing and more time on grammar lessons. (That was kind of a cheap shot. I'm snarky today.)