Hero at the Next Table

Friday evening we sat just one table over from a hero. 


He looked just like many of the other men in the restaurant, in his early 80s, silver-haired, suntanned, wearing bermuda shorts and a polo shirt, eating and talking with five other vibrant senior citizens. 

These seniors can be found all over Florida, but Friday evening we were near The Villages, where most of the residents are retired, all the landscapes are manicured, and shopping centers and grocery stores have parking places designated for golf carts.

The lady seated next to the hero, a much younger retiree, chatted with him, and, as folks do at a large table in a busy restaurant, they turned toward each other to speak, which directed their conversation in my direction.  I tuned in when the lady said, "...ya know, like in Saving Private Ryan? The movie?  You were there?  On D-Day?"


The man answered, "In Normandy? Oh, yeah.  I was there."  Their conversation within my earshot continued long enough for me to hear that he was on the beach that first day, D-Day. I sat,  a little awestruck.  An American hero.  Part of the push that won the war.  So THAT'S who he was.


Yes, I know there were thousands there that day.  I know that this man, and many, probably did not want to be there, but were simply following orders.   He may have been no braver than soldiers who were back in the states, filing paperwork, driving trucks, casting off ropes on troop transports.  They are all my heroes. 



A few of them are in my family - less now than a few years ago. 



Every few months lately, our community has sent off an Honor Flight.  A plane full of elderly veterans and their escorts takes off early in the morning for Washington, DC, where they visit several locations, including the World War II Memorial. They are saluted as heroes everywhere they go.   They fly back the same day.  These flights are publicized ahead, and the community is invited to meet the returning heroes.  Hundreds show up each time.  Our community is patriotic like that.



The schedule has not worked for us yet, but maybe next flight, in October, will find us in the crowd forming a cheering line.  Cheering the heroes.

December in St. Augustine, FL

Remember the cape I was making for a Spanish maiden in historic St. Augustine, FL?

When we read Felicity - An American Girl, we learned that the caps they are wearing are called 'mob caps.'  I don't know why. 

The tall handsome British Redcoat is her brother. 

When he was only about 6 years old, the first time they went as a family to an event in St. Augustine, his parents looked around and realized he was gone!  Someone pointed out that their son had joined the reenactors, who motioned that it was OK.  He marched along with them, very serious, having a great time.  Afterward, they invited him to join them next time.  He has been reenacting history ever since!

You never know when an encouraging word to a child may ignite a passion.  Those men, who could have shooed away a little boy, instead welcomed him and began to build a young man who would carry on their traditions.

Our next project:  gaiters!  The dress white gaiters he is wearing in the picture (white button-on canvas that runs from shoes to above the knees) are loaners - he needs his own black ones and white ones. We'll be working on those in 2011, and I look forward to posting pictures in uniform.

Recreating history

I am awash in a sea of brown fleece today, making a cape for a Spanish serving girl.

Our young friend goes to St. Augustine to take part in recreating history.  I'm embarrassed to admit that though we live less than 2 hours away from this historical city, we have yet to really do a history fieldtrip to St. Augustine.  

.

She'll have the cape at bottom right, but calf-length.

Our friend goes to St. Augustine every year to carry a lantern and be a part of history.  Her brother, a re-enactor since age 6, even gets to fire a musket! Since I did a little dress-up-and-play-history when I was young, I think it is really cool.  Because of the time I spent being an 1850's girl, I feel very confident about that period of history in south Georgia, at least, the everyday history of the doctor, the lady who spun cotton and wove it, the quilter, the potter, the syrup-maker, the shoemaker - I spent time in all their houses, showing them to visitors.  From age 9 until I was grown, I always had a long 1850's dress or skirt. 

We lit real candles on the tree in this stagecoach inn at Christmastime.  Over the years, we drank wassail, hung the greens, ate the yulelog cake (I never was the one who found the good luck pea), and in spring, danced around the Maypole.  I did not chase the greased pig on July 4th, though. 

Thinking about what I learned through my involvement there and how it enriched my life makes me wonder where and how I can help my daughter have some of this kind of experience. 

I hope to post a picture of the Spanish serving girl (a well-dressed serving girl), and maybe her brother the soldier in a few weeks.

Greeting at Our Front Door

Warning!  Creepy crawly pictures follow.

Do you see her?  She has chosen an unfortunate place to build her home.  Each time we open and close the door, her home shakes.  And when we open the door inward, she is hanging over our entry rug, which gives some of us the willies.

She's beautiful, and she made a pretty zipper for her home (see it, under her right front legs?), and we appreciate that she is grabbing bugs that want to crawl and fly in,  but she simply cannot stay there.

I think she is Argiope aurantia. I understand these spiders are not particularly venomous to humans - they seldom bite, and their short fangs may not even pierce skin.  Their venom is weak enough to not be a cause of concern.  Mostly they just sit in their pretty webs waiting for a hapless bug to fly by.  These are about the only spiders I can look at without getting the heebie-jeebies.

Our friendly front-door spider has been relocated.

What they are reading

Earlier this month I helped during our homeschool group's standardized testing.  (Here in Florida, standardized testing is not required for homeschoolers, but is one option to meet our state's requirement to evaluate our students.  This was Earthgirl's first time going through the testing process.)  Seventy-five 4th-12th graders took the CAT tests in our room. 

Our test coordinator encouraged the students to bring something to read in case they finished a test section before the time limit.  Almost all the students finished every section with time to spare.  I peeked over shoulders to observe what they were reading  during my walk-around.  Here are a few titles:

Bloomability
Twilight - New Moon
Twilight - a different one, I didn't see the name
Chicken Soup for the Soul
The Tale of Despereaux
Blink of an Eye
National Geographic Magazine
Treasure Island
Spiked
Only You Can Be You
Personal Journal - art and words
Dragonspell
Nancy Drew (2)
Banner in the Sky
Graphic novel, wordless cover featuring a teen girl with big, sad-looking eyes
Lord of the Rings

I was surprised that only one or two teens texted when they finished their test sections.  Along with reading, some drew (Earthgirl was fascinated with artwork being drawn by a highschool boy at her table), some wrote, some decorated their namecards, and one quietly made paper airplanes, which, of course, went flying during each break. 

I might be crafty...

Kimbo over at A Girl And A Glue Gun posted a fun little list titled, "You might be crafty if..."  Loved the list.  I relate.  I qualified under many of her items, though I am more prone to sewing than glue gunning. 

Remember the 17 projects?  I also still have red paint smudged on the front door from spraypainting the metal chairs.

To her list I might add this one:

You might be crafty if...

You VOLUNTEER to teach crafts at your daughter's Gymnastics camp in an un-air-conditioned gym in June in central FLORIDA during a week of record-setting high temperatures.

Excuse me - I have to go get the rest of my tie-dye supplies ready,  and check on the labels soaking off the recycled glass jars, then run to JoAnn's for more Mod Podge.

 Do you want to see "real"?  Here is my dining room table, sporting 2 sewing projects, a scrapbooking for a friend project, and the aforementioned Gym camp crafts supplies.

Made for the Shade Revisited

Earthgirl has learned how to make a picture Black & white, then color back in portions. 

Made for the Shade

Red smudges decorate our white door.  I cannot blame anyone but me - those fingerprints match...me.  And the evidence mounts:  my feet wear a misting of red paint, the spray paint can - and the poor, outmatched paint thinner can are in my laundry room.  And in the garage, progress is being made toward a fresh seat in the shade for this summer.

Happy summertime, y'all.

Snow!

It's snowing in central Florida!

My garage roof, which is dark gray, this  morning is smattered with snow

{Side note:  My spell check thinks "smattered" is not a word.  "Smattering" is OK, but not "smattered."  Obviously, Mr. Spell Check has never been to Waffle House.} {Whoops!  Pluto Boy informs me that Waffle House uses "Scattered, smothered, and covered."  I guess it has been too long since my last visit to Waffle House, where I usually eat a waffle, not a hash brown contraption anyway. I still think "smattered" should be a word, and I am leaving it in.}

(Wandering mind side thought:  If I were to ever be clever enough to write a book like The Eyre Affair: A Thursday Next Novel, I could have a character named Mr. Spelchek.  Ha! Mr. Spell Check did not like my typing that one!)

Christmastime in Florida

Children who have lived their lives in the era of widespread digital cameras have a hard time grasping a time when we bought film and then paid to develop it.  When I was growing up, it was expensive to practice picture-taking. It was not easy to learn from your mistakes, because often weeks or even months went by before you could see your developed pictures.  I love that now we can take dozens of pictures, scroll through them deleting at will, and only develop or leave on computer the pictures that turn out well. And editting!  I edit pretty much every picture - red eye?  Click. - off center? Click. -washed out? Click. 

Earthgirl loves taking pictures.  She grabs the digital camera, takes dozens of pictures of the cats, dolls, stuffed animals, clouds, and I just smile benevolently, knowing we will delete most of them.  Lately, she has taken to photographing blossoms.

Gerbera diasy

Even way up north here in Central Florida, we have plenty of blooming flowers at Christmastime. Since we have usually had a cold snap followed by a warm spell, the azaleas decide spring was here last week and burst into full bloom.Freezing temperatures this week have nipped these buds, but they are now preserved digitally, along with Earthgirl's budding photography skills.

 

Answered Prayer

Did you ever pray asking God for something, think He answered, "No," but realized later the answer was, "Yes," but in a different way than you imagined?

As I sit here tonight, I realize that today God answered me, but in a way I did not expect.  Today. This very day that I prayed.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
       neither are your ways my ways,"
       declares the LORD.   "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
       so are my ways higher than your ways
       and my thoughts than your thoughts. 
                                    Isaiah 55:8-9

Earlier today I was a part of a great big community Christian outreach/help event where those in need received food, clothes, lunch, haircuts, popcorn, the gospel, family Christmas photos -- there was a lot going on, and I was one of the little cogs in the wheel. I had prayed before and during that I'd be able to minister HELP that someone needed, and that I'd be able to COMFORT someone who needed it.  As my pastor would say, "just love on them."  Now, I did get to speak to a few dozen folks, and had a good experience, but I did not really think I had seen my prayer answered - not really.  Now, plenty of folks received help and comfort, but I just did not feel I had really gotten that definite ANSWER.

And then tonight....

We live 2 streets away from a Christmas cul-de-sac.  You know, the kind they list in the paper as a local Christmas decoration destination. All the families on the short street decorate, and even string lights across the empty lots.  There are blow-up figures, Santa who sing and dance, wooden reindeer, lighted reindeer, Santa in a race car, Grinch, a cross, North Pole signs, everything and more.

Tonight, just after dark, our family took a stroll to see the lights.  As we strolled up our street, a young teen on a bicycle called out to us - he was lost!  Only 3 days in our neighborhood after moving from another state, he could not find his new home, even after looking for a half hour. (Anyone local can back me up - the street names are terribly repetitve here - think Oak Street, Oak Lane, Oak Run, Oak Circle, Oak Run Circle, Oak Run Drive, Oak Pass - I am not exaggerating).  We took him back to our house, got on Google maps, while he got on my cell phone with Mom and Dad, got him on the right path, invited them to church tomorrow and Christmas Eve.

When we arrived on the Christmas street, a lady who lives there was outside. I spoke with her to ask about her Dad, who had passed away some months ago, and to offer our sympathies. We stayed much longer than we planned, as we reminisced about her father, a retired carpenter, how he loved to decorate, how he made all those wooden reaindeer, how he just met us on the street the first year we lived here, how he had invited us inside to see all his Christmas decorations, how he gave our daughter an ornament, what a special person he was.  We had never met her, but knew her father.  We probably talked together for 20 minutes.

 

 On the way home, I hit redial on my phone to call and check to make sure the young man on the bicycle made it home.  His parents both got on the phone to thank us for taking care of him.

Some hours later it struck me - my prayer for the morning had been answered in the evening!  I prayed to be able to minister HELP and COMFORT, and God gave me opportunity to do both these things right in my own neighborhood. Tonight I am thanking God for answering in His own way.

Here is the ornament our kind neighbor gave Earthgirl.  We remember him fondly. He loved to decorate for Christmas. Like Jesus, he was a carpenter.  Like Jesus, he let the little children come to him.

Yummy Beginnings, and a sad ending

Though it still feels like summer outside (inside, too, if the AC wasn't running for all it's worth,) but it can smell like fall!  Saturday I made Crock Pot Apple Butter using this recipe from Southern Plate.  It is easy, spicy, yummy, and smells heavenly.  I made a half-recipe, which yielded 3 pints (well, maybe 3 1/2 before taste testing.)

--and now for the sad ending--
After I looked at this picture on screen, I decided to take another shot at a better angle.  When I picked up the jar and my camera, I dropped the jar and broke it, spilling out all that spicy yumminess onto the hard floor, the carpet, and up against the refrigerator.  Ah, well, that leaves me one partial jar (my third jar went to friends).  I guess I'll need to fire up that crock pot again soon! 

Lemons and Lemonade

Lemons:

The predicted high for today here, and every day this week, is above 90 degrees F.  The predicted lows all week are in the 70s.  The LOWS.  70s.  On Sunday, blessed Sunday, we expect the highs to plummet to 88 degrees, with lows a frigid 69 degrees. 


Lemonade:

Out comes my solar clothes dryer to make up for some of the energy we are wasting on AC in October.

It's too hot to play basketball anyway.

Something New for Me

Come visit me over at Sm'Arties and see what we are creating!

I can hardly believe I am featuring a boy wearing a UF shirt.

September in Central Florida

First day of autumn. 90 degrees. Sigh.

Discovery!!!

The view from my front yard at midnight.




The dark shapes are pine trees. The moving light is the security light at my uphill neighbor's home. The bright light is Discovery space shuttle, heading up to meet the International Space Station. It is moving from right to left, and in a moment or two will burn off a stage, and take off - just a white light streaking into orbit. We can follow it for about 10 minutes with naked eye.

After almost two decades in Florida, I still thrill to see launches from the Cape.

My friend Zoran, a patriotic man who loves the United States as only one born somewhere else can, added the message below to his Facebook page. I share it here with his permission.

Lest We Forget....

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 11:25pm

So easy these days to be disappointed with the state and direction of our nation...

We seem to not be able to find our bearings... We feel like the greatness of the USA is a thing of the past, while so much of what makes this country great is being taken apart...

Still, glimmers appear here and there, reminding us that while there is a lot to be cleaned up; still, this is the USA that the founders held as worth sacrificing for...

I go out or my way when I see those glimmers, to catch them, understand them, and share them to the best of my ability. They are an encouragement and a reminder that a light shines brightest in the darkest of times.

It may not interest most of you, maybe not even one... Still, I saw glimmer, so here it is...

On January 19th 2006, a launch took place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It carried on board a complex 1000 pound spacecraft destined for the far reaches of our solar system. The name of the spacecraft, and the mission, is New Horizons.

At this same Space Center, in 1969, the Apollo astronauts departed on their journey ultimately reaching the Moon's surface... It took them four days to cover the distance between the Earth and the Moon...

The New Horizons is the fastest spacecraft launched by NASA... With top speeds of 50,000 miles per hour, it reached the Moon in only nine hours.

In 1989 NASA launched its Galileo mission which reached Jupiter in 6 years as its final mission destination.

The New Horizons craft reached Jupiter in just 13 months, used Jupiter's gravity as a slingshot, for a speed boost, and continued on its way to Pluto.

The New Horizons uses no engines to propel itself on its journey to Pluto. It uses the boost from the launch vehicle, combined with a slingshot effect given by Jupiter. A few small engines are used to make minor course adjustments which are only occasionally fired.

The craft only communicates with NASA's control center twice a year, to report any malfunctions, send images and data taken on its journey and receive new commands.

For the remainder rest of the time it uses cameras to navigate itself using position of the Sun and stars as navigational points.

When it reaches Pluto, in 2015, it would have traveled 3,000,000,000 (Billion) miles on less energy that two 100W incandescent light bulbs use in the same time period.

Once near Pluto, in order to accomplish its mission, it will have to stay within a 190 mile wide path, so that it will have optimal position for its measurements and photography.

All of the images and information New Horizons gathers 3 Billion miles away from us will be available to the NASA scientists within 4 hours of it being recorded near Pluto. The best pictures of Pluto will depict surface features about 328 feet across, or the size of a football field.

If you are not in the least bit amazed, this note again... the entirety of the mission was accomplished for $2.30 per US citizen.

Why is the New Horizon a glimmer?

We are constantly told of how many things are just not working in the US: the deficit, health care, illegal immigration, the tax system, education, defense, the list goes on...

We are being told other countries have figured those problems out and we just have to be like them and everything will be fine...

I say no! I say a country whose 300 Million citizens prosper to an average income of $40,000, is the ONLY country whose citizens will reach the Moon in nine hours for $2.30 per person. Try that on an annual income of $500.

The New Horizon is one of those glimmers that seem so rare nowadays. A reminder of how much we are still destined to achieve...

A reminder that the US is the one to achieve it.
Z

More details:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/news/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/139889main_PressKit12_05.pdf
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/168024main_011607_JupiterPressKit.pdf

A Visit to the Conch Republic

Cousins stand on the last rock, just before you fall off the United States. Cuba is 90 miles to their right.

The Florida Keys stretch like a string of pearls off the tip of Florida. Once you leave the mainland, it is a 150-mile drive on the Overseas Highway, US 1, to Key West, Mile Marker 0, and the Southernmost point of the continental United States. When you stand on that Southernmost point, you are closer to Havana than to Miami.

Tropical architecture in Key West

The term Key is from the Spanish word cayo, or islet. Key Largo, Upper Matecumbe, Islamorada, Lower Matacumbe, Long Key, Conch Key, Duck Key, Grassy Key, Fat Deer Key, Key Colony, Marathon, Vaca Key, Boot Key, Bahia Honda Key, Big Pine Key, Little Torch Key, Middle Torch Key, Ramrod Key, Summerland Key, Cudjoe Key, Sugarloaf Key, Saddlebunch Key, Big Coppitt Keys, East Rockland Key, Boca Chica Keys, Stock Island, Key West - these are most of the isalnds traversed by US 1 travellers. There are other islands, some not connected by any bridge, with picturesque names, like Half Moon keys, Dredgers Key, Knockemdown Key, and Shark Key.

There are conch shells, homes to the little conch animals, and then there are Conchs, or Key natives. Those Conchs made the news a few years back when they seceded from the union, declaring the Keys to be the Conch Republic.

Southernmost Point Marker - where you make friends with
the German tourists behind you and hand over your camera

We were blessed to have a week at a friend's beautiful house in the lower Keys last week. What a great week it was. One SIL and niece drove 14 hours to join us. Though the sun is intense, it is often cooler in Summer there than in central Florida because of the ocean breezes. We were awakened by the sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico daily, and were in the pool by 7:30. It was one of the most relaxing vacations (not just relaxing - downright lazy!) I have ever had.

Sunrise from the porch

Field Trip!!! or, Hair Nets, A New Fashion Statement

Last week we took a field trip to our local grocery store. Now, there's something I never would have thought of, but when Science Geek invited us along, we jumped. In an unusual turn of events (a combination of small families plus childcare), I tied for most children. I had three with me. Yes, with this group, our child:adult ratio is usually 2:1 or better. Stop groaning, you mothers of many. When we are all old, my poor only daughter may be struggling with two ancient senile oldsters, while your children will say, "It's my month to ride Mother around to her doctor visits and store."

At any rate, I have bookmarked a site that talks about the many Factory Tours one can take. Their blog right now features a local favorite, Kennedy Space Center. We have not been there since Earthgirl was a baby, so it's about time to go back. In their archives, I found out about a cool-looking tour of Sally Corporation in Jacksonville, FL. I think we will just have to ride up there for that tour.

We loved looking down on the store from upstairs behind one-way glass.

Fun School

Earthgirl loves art. I find some of the best ideas for art from real live art teachers like Patty at Deep Space Sparkle and Kathy at Art Projects for Kids. The latter is where this kimono project originated. Like most homeschool mamas, I am reveling in the education I am getting.


Today we went to a wonderful presentation called Wilderness Tabernacle. We ran into my friend Science Geek there, along with the unpredictable J.D. and the effervescent Jax. (I love unpredictability and effervescence.) Her post shares all the important stuff better than I can, except for the rain delay. See the dark clouds? This post was after the rain.


Just to keep it real, I confess that we did not have a deep spiritual conversation on the way home, as they did. Our group (2 Moms, one of whom had to go to work, and 3 children, one of whom had the sniffles) conversed all the way on whether we should run by Chick Fil A or Sonic.

Spring Thunderstorms

It's raining cats and dogs.

Here are some of the cats.