New post at RRR

Runnemede Remembered Recipes, November 7, 2010 -- new posting. http://www.runnemederememberedrecipes.blogspot.com


Love my new knives. I bought a ceramic knife and one of those new Yokio (or whatever) knives. Boy do thy work great. I love a sharp knife. And while I take good care of the knives I do have, I only have a couple of other ones that I use frequently.

One is a knife I received from my mother for a wedding shower gift, and it is the sharpest large knife I own. I also have two of her knives -- handed down to me after she died, both are small paring knives, but they are great for pealing skins off peaches or apples, and cutting celery into small pieces. But they are not good for smashing garlic or slicing meat. They are too small, but I do love them.

They were always in mom's knife box, which hung on the wall of the kitchen cabinet right next to the sink. The cabinets were blue -- a blue that came to be known as Williamsburg blue. Who knew we were in style before it was the style to be in style. And the knife box was only one row deep, but it hung on the wall and each slot had it's own knife and boy did we hear about it if we got the wrong knife in the wrong slot.

No such luck in my kitchen. I'm still waiting for my knife magnet board to be put up -- it's only 5 years. No nagging in this family!!!

ttfn

Election Day

We always had election day off -- a school holiday. How wonderful. I don't remember much of what I did during those days, but I remember the reason why we had a holiday -- the schools were used for voting places.

Well, when we moved to Ohio, I found out -- after keeping my kindergartner home from school on election day -- that in Ohio they didn't close the schools, because 35 years ago, they didn't use the schools for polling places, or at least not in our community.

However, that has changed. I found out this year that after all those years of either teaching on that "holiday" or sending my children to school on that holiday, that, in fact, Ohio finally caught up with other places in the USA and made election day a holiday. Lots of offices were closed also, which makes voting NOT AN OPTION as far as I'm concerned. If you don't have to work on that day, you have absolutely no excuse for not voting.

Yes, I voted....

And.... let's reminisce.

In 1994 I received a phone call at 2:00 a.m. (the morning after election day) which woke me up and I was told by the election board that I had won as Representative to the Ohio State Board of Education from the 3rd District (that would be Cincinnati and a few of its neighboring towns, approximately 1 million people). After doing the happy dance, I went back to bed, but didn't sleep. I received a phone call the next day and was invited to attend the next meeting of the Ohioe SBE in Columbus and would I be there-- they needed a head count for lunch!

That said, I was remembering that campaign. I campaigned in Warren county with John Boehner -- and I'm sure he remembers me (NOT). And I campaigned in Cincinnati with both Rob Portman (new US Senator from Ohio), and Steve Chabot, newly elected Congressman from Cincinnati west -- taking over a Blue Dog Dems seat. Yeah!

I have to say that all three men were back then fiscally conservative and consistently received high marks from the government waste people -- high meaning good, so they might actually have received low marks. Whatever. They got the marks for being cheap!!!!! Don't you love it?

All three are back in Congress. I campaigned with those men, and can honestly say that I think all three men are good men.

I recall the children of Mr. Chabot and Mr. Portman being tiny, almost babies. Now they will be almost 20. I recall Mr. Portman rushing from the airport to a rally, being greeted at the rally by his then two-year-old, him picking up his son, and keeping him on his shoulder for most of the rally.

I have to tell you it brought tears to my eyes. I have always loved to watch the interaction of men with their sons, no matter the age. Men being kind and loving to their sons.

So, election day passed, and since I was thinking of the "holiday", and while it's a bit late to be getting this entry posted, I needed to reminisce about that "holiday" that I don't remember, except that it was a day off from school, and probably cold, and most likely rainy.

My job as an SBE rep? I loved it. I did what my constiuents asked of me. I had a two-day turn-around personal agenda. If I got a request, I determined to settle the matter in two days, for the good or bad. Mostly good. I loved that "job." I loved serving the people, working hard for no pay (except for actual meetings) to keep anyone who called me happy. Best job of my life.

I think I've said that before (best job of my life). Seems I loved most of my jobs, didn't I?

ttfn

I wish I'd written that.

Check out the posting at Dead Reckoning written by a man who grew up in Runnemede about the time I did. What he said, what I wish I had said about October. Enjoy.

Christmas is coming

I know it is. And it's coming fast.

Answers in Genesis is getting their Christmas Village ready.
The stores are putting up their Christmas decorations.
I am beginning to panic because there are only 11 weeks left until Christmas.

What brings all this angst about the upcoming holidays about?

I posted something on Runnemede Remembered Recipes (click on link) which will explain why I am thinking about Christmas, and yes, it does have to do with Runnemede which is why I'm posting the link on RR.

Mt. Calvary has some special events planned for the season, and I wish I could head back East and enjoy the fellowship. Alas, I have my family here, and we will have something all together during the season -- other than church activities.

So, read RRR and let me know if you have any ideas on my conundrum posted at the bottom of the BLOG.

TTFN

Another celebration

Just got word that Mt. Calvary is having another celebration Sunday in honor of their 100th year. Wish I could be there.

I pray the service will be a blessing to all who attend. Pastor Cook is delivering the message on Sunday. He was pastor after my father. I enjoyed listening to his sermons on the several occasions I had to return to the church on our visits back home.

ttfn

Another year

Well, Alan and I are celebrating another year together -- we will have been married (tomorrow August 27, 2010) for 44 years.

It was a lovely, almost fall-like day. It was one of the happiest days of my life, and one I had dreamed about for several years. We were engaged for only a year -- the longest year of my life in some respects, but the shortest in others.

I remember when I told my mom the date we had set. We had been engaged for several months and hadn't decided on a date. We knew we wanted to get married while Alan's parents were on furlough from a missionary stint in Kenya, and that end-date hadn't been set yet, but we knew they would be returning to Kenya in early fall. We also knew we wanted to be married before he started his junior year at Rutgers because we needed to line up student housing. So mom should have known that we'd be getting married some time in late summer of 1966.

Well, I came home from a date with Alan, and he had told me he had gotten us student housing and we would get married two weeks before school started and would start paying rent on our housing in early August, getting married in late August, 1966. Mom got this news in late March 1966 and told me it would be impossible to get a wedding ready in six months. I told her it wouldn't.

I'm very organized, and I had a list of things to do before I got married, and mom didn't even have to do anything but give me names for invites. By the time the next week was out I had purchased my wedding gown and veil and shoes. I had decided on my bridesmaids. Arranged for a date at the bridal shop in Runnemede to purchase bridesmaids gowns, purchased my invitations, arranged for a cake and caterer, and thought I was all set.

Then mom dropped the bomb. She said I hadn't asked to use the church. Excuse me? Dad was the preacher. I knew the date was open and no one else was getting married (in the church family) that date. She said I still had to formally ask to use the church. I felt so silly doing that. So, I wrote a note to the deacons and trustees requesting the use of the church for that date. I knew mom was putting me on, because I knew that when people wanted to get married, they only had to ask my father to use the church and they got married. But mom was adamant that I was to ask permission from the "powers that be". Dad had already given his permission and written the date on his calendar.

I waited on tender hooks for several weeks, asking the head of the trustees each Sunday if I they had decided I could use the church. Believe me, by the time I finally got permission, I was about to find another church in which to have the wedding. They were all pulling my leg, and it wasn't a leg I wanted pulled. I wasn't amused by the joke they were all pulling on me.

Other than that little bauble, the wedding went off without a hitch. And we lived happily ever after. Yeah, right. However, I have to say, that I remember the good times more than the bad times, and while Alan and I "fight," it's really our way of communicating, a way our children can't understand.

Do we still love each other? You bet we do. And it seems that we are getting nearer to our "first love" feelings the older we get. I guess it's because we know that today might be our last day together on this earth. Ouch! Did I really say that?

Well, we are getting older and older and older and more frail as the days progress. Time is flying by and can you believe it's almost Christmas again? So, we make sure we greet each other in the a.m. with an "I love you" and end each day with an "I love you," praying that we'll both see each other in the morning.

We won't do anything to "celebrate" our anniversary. We've tried for the past few years to do something special but something always comes up and interferes, so this year we're just going to REMEMBER the day. Look at our album. And relax.

ttfn

Home-going

My dear friend Dawn lost her battle with cancer and is now safe in the arms of Jesus. I shall miss her, but I know I shall see her again when I, too, meet my Lord some day.

I wish I could go back to Runnemede for her funeral, but I cannot because of other family obligations.

Dawn taught children -- she told me once she was not a school teacher, she was a children teacher, and I had to agree. She taught the little ones (K-3) and retired a few years ago.

The last time I saw her on May 22, she looked beautiful and didn't let on that she was suffering at all. She did admit to being tired, but then with all the chemo and radiation she'd had in the previous days and weeks, that was expected.

Contributions can be made to Mt. Calvary Union Church for the stained glass fund.

ttfn