A November Day At Another School

 

      Chrissy and I went to Another School's library yesterday to check out some books on Bach (Beth needs them - I don't read about Bach on a regular basis).  There were shelves of books on that composer alone!  I finally just grabbed six that sounded good.  Then we stuck around and split a calzone outdoors - because it's beautiful out there.

      This school has a special place in my heart.   My parents both took classes there, and I took a class there last semester.  From when I was 12 to 16, we came here every Wednesday to run, swim, or play racquetball (with our own rules, of course) in the athletics center.  Many of my friends attend or teach here, now.  I love this place - it just feels like home.

      Also, I think part of the reason why I love November so much is because of all the textures that pop out!  The bark, the evergreen foliage, the bricks and wool and fallen leaves and sweaters.  I just want to drink a cup of tea and slowly enjoy this month and all its blessings.

Freckles

Photo courtesy Oregon State University Archives.

Mila's Daydreams

This is one of the most clever photo blogs I've seen.  So cute, and so creative.

Enjoy.

Orchids (Again)

Near Dr. Wonderful's office there's a jewelry store.  The owners are very unique people, and I like them.  They scuba dive all over the world, have a decidedly German last name, enjoy underwater photography and make beautiful jewelry based on the things they see (like anemones).  Their store's atmosphere is mainly based on fountains and orchids, and the tropical music always playing in the background.

The other day, I was picking up a package for the office that had been dropped off there, and mentioned how their orchids always look beautiful.  Mr. Jeweler casually mentioned that they propigate their own, so they can bring in the ones that are in bloom at the moment.

Yes, they propagate their. own. orchids.

I don't know about you, but when I think of orchid propagation, I think of greenhouses in the 1930's, lined with rows upon rows of benches of delicate plants that won't survive even slight changes in humidity, and can only be obtained at the highest costs.  Not a very accurate view, but it's what I think of.  Perhaps you don't think of orchid propagation often.  Ever.  You lead a normal life.  But bear with me here.

When I recovered from my initial incomprehension ("you what?") I got to step over the bamboo fencing into the much-revered garden area and smell the Oncidium Sharry Baby.  It smelled like chocolate.  And they propigate orchids.

Of course it did.  Of course they do.

Life is full of interesting, unpredictably-predictable people isn't it?

This is Chrissy

The girl who puts a poster on her wall which compares plant and animal cells, and hangs girly white poofs from her ceiling.  And loves them both.

Memorial Day

This is my 100th post.  That's cause for a celebration!  Be looking for a giveaway in the very near future (i.e. sometime this week).  I'll give you a hint.  No, I won't.  I'll leave you in suspense. 

Yesterday was a very relaxed Memorial Day.  When I was younger, we used to travel to my grandparents' house for Memorial Day weekend,  and on that Sunday we'd go to an old Norwegian Church by a lake in the middle of miles and miles of fields.  My grandma grew up on a farm across from that lake, and her grandfather originally owned the land that the church was on.  My grandparents were married there, and their parents were married there, and their graves are there.

Back to Memorial Day.

All the veterans in the area  would dress in their uniforms or suits, and there was a cannon.  They shot off a cannon.  That's all I remember clearly, the uniforms and the cannon, and standing in the church yard, shivering and excited.  Then there would be a service inside, where all the veterans would stand,  and a lunch in the church basement (enter cheese whiz and olive open faced sandwiches).
 
No cannon this Memorial Day.  I have been pretty sick this week, so took it easy.  I sewed some this weekend, baked some,  and read some on Sunday. I finished an Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None.  It was depressing, well written, and I like the 1940's movie better.  Yesterday morning we went to the fabric store for their Memorial Day sale.  It was so funny - people lined up outside the door, and once we got in, I saw three ladies in a row pushing their shopping carts down three parallel isles, headed to the notions section as fast as they could go!  It was as if I was watching a comedy.  That's the way life is - I love it!

Beth and her college friends had a game of ultimate frisbee at the camps last night, then came here.  We ate brownies and chips, had a time of prayer and sharing, and then played Mafia.   Her friends are all so sweet and friendly - it was fun!

What a rambling post!  But I'm just going to leave it that way.  It adds character to the blog.  Or something.

Bocce Balls in the Rain

There is something wrong with this photo, and I just don't know what it is.  Anyone have an idea?  We brought the balls out for a party Beth hosted for a Christian group at her college, and David decided to keep playing with them for a while.  He and our Neighbor had some wild games.  Well, as wild as bocce ball can get (which isn't very).  Lest you think that he and his friends always play dignified games like golf and bocce ball, let me disillusion you right now.  The wrestle, play football in the mud, and shoot at innocent squirrels (no wounded yet, though!).  Sometimes they shoot at each other (that gets, um, unpleasant).


Today was my last day of highschool.  And home school.  But then, once a home schooler, always a home schooler.  So I'll survive, and I'm sure college will be fun!

A Vintage Album

I'm posting from our church. The building was built in the 1930's, and there are a lot of things from that era still here. Like this wonderful photo album! Sorry about the photos - my computer's camera isn't the best. To give an idea of just how colorful this album is, the shirt that I'm wearing is the actually as bright as pepto bismal, just more purple-ish.

Now, look at the photo in the middle on the left. That's right. This lady is pointing a gun at her (I assume) friend. There are several shots like this in the book. Now, this photo album has a label on the front attaching it to one of the church bible studies. Either someone had a little too much sun, or we were learning interesting things in church back then, don't you think?

I love the history of this church! The candid photos in this album just go to show that people have always been people, and they weren't as stodgy as their formal portraits made them look, either. In fact, they were downright silly, sometimes! Haha!