some things stay the same

There's a story on yahoo today that has me freaking out. OK, I'm not really the freak-out type. But it's all about the technology that will be obsolete by the year 2020. Eight years! If I read it right, smart phones will be the ONLY phone out there. I won't be able to choose a 'dumb phone' even if I want. And I won't need to buy a GPS unless I'm planning on climbing Everest or serving in the military because it'll be built into my new car or smart phone. I won't buy CDs or DVDs because music and movies will all be digital.

This is crazy. In 1990, my son Dan came home from pre-school and held out his hands about 12 inches apart. "Mommy! They have CDs THIS BIG at pre-school !" The kid had never seen a record, even though we had a crate of them in the basement.

The speed of technological advances makes me dizzy. Think of the span of human history and how much has changed in the flash of time called the 20th century. Television, radio, telephones, advanced communication. Electricity! My own father grew up on a farm with few conveniences. Food was refrigerated in an "ice box." My mother chased the ice truck down the street and of course air conditioning was unheard of. When you think of it, the first 200 years of our country moved at a snail's pace in terms of technology. And now, in less than half my children's lifetimes, everything's smaller, faster, more efficient.

Almost. My son Mark, father of our 3rd grandchild, told me, "Mom, everything's changed since you had us." Meaning, the stuff that new parents collect before baby arrives. He thinks I haven't a clue. The 'stuff' has changed a bit, some for the better and some not.

But one thing that really hasn't changed is the babies themselves. How I love that. When I first held Ari, it felt familiar and good. The skills I developed as a mother kicked in naturally when time came to hold, swaddle, rock, bathe, and sing to my granddaughters. How beautiful that for the things that really matter in life, God gives us the ability to hone, then keep our skills for many years. I might fall behind in using a computer or learning to use a smart phone. But I really don't care. It's all a chasing after the wind. What matters is that I can love and care for my grandchildren, to be the 'Baba' God intends.

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,

everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;

nothing was gained under the sun. 

Ecclesiastes 2:11

Burger King - or designer - oatmeal?

Here's a little news item. Places like Burger King and McDonalds are offering oatmeal for breakfast. Oatmeal at the drive-through? It makes me laugh. Even Starbucks is jumping on the bandwagon and prices range from $1.99 to $4.99 for a bowl of oatmeal. I'm not taking time to do the math, but for five bucks I'm sure I could make enough oatmeal at home for 40 people!

When I was on staff at Girl Scout camp about a hundred years ago, my campers groaned on oatmeal morning. These kids had obviously never been taught how to dress up a bowl of oatmeal, so I'd swing into action. I'd run to the kitchen and ask the cook for brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and raisins. That's just the beginning. These days I add in nuts, chopped apple and craisins. Good breakfast!

It's beyond me why anyone would serve plain oatmeal to a kid. Fancy it up! Pile on the good stuff and most kids will eat it. Super economical and healthy, too.

Mmmm, think I'll have oatmeal in the morning! For just a few pennies.

wedding fit for a king

I stayed up a bit late last night, so I was tardy for the royal wedding. Thankful for DVR and Diane Sawyer, I tuned in exactly as the queen arrived at Westminster Abbey. Glorious in sunny yellow! I do wonder, though. Why does the queen carry a purse? I doubt she'd be stopping for a cup of carry-out tea.

The ladies' hats were out in full regalia! Some, like Camilla's, had elegantly lovely lines. Others, like Princess Beatrice (on the right in this photo, with sister Eugenie), comically resembled reindeer antlers. How did this girl keep a straight face?

And Victoria Beckham's maternity outfit: excessvely formless. You'd think she could smile on such a happy occasion!

The procession. The hats. Kate's dress. Pippa's dress. The balcony kiss(es). The groom's military dress attire. All fabulous and fascinating.

But then I began hearing about the 10,000 canapes. I've never been much into canapes, I don't believe. While I don't doubt the food at the royal reception was scrumptious, after reading the description, I realize I am clueless when it comes to royal food:

"They included pressed duck terrine with fruit chutney, roulade of goat's cheese with caramelised walnuts, quails eggs with celery salt, bubble and squeak with confit shoulder of lamb, grain mustard and honey-glazed chipolatas and miniature Yorkshire pudding with roast fillet of beef and horseradish mousse."

Bubble and squeak? Oh, yum. OK, my mom used to make Yorkshire pudding. Love that.

Then there's the cake. A gal the very same age as me was the royal cake-baker. Wow. Can you even imagine? Good job, Fiona. Looks like you hit a home run.

Though I don't know you, nor you me ... I am proud of you, Fiona.

Proud that you, a 56-year-old sister, baked the cake of the century.

Not a 25 nor 38-year-old, but a 56-year-old.

Age has its privileges.

And your cake looks stupendously beautiful and delicious.

Thank you, Britain, for a day of pageantry. Thank you, William and Kate.

Happy honeymoon, happy life!

what's your wedding guest name?

A friend posted this as her status on facebook:

In honor of the royal wedding on Friday, use your royal wedding guest name. Start with either Lord or Lady. Your first name is one of your grandparents' names. Your surname is the name of your first pet, double-barreled with the name of the street you grew up on. Post yours here. Then cut and paste it into your status.

I AM HENCEFORTH ... Lady Ona Kate Tippy-Fernwood

Hilarious! Come on readers ... follow the directions and tell me what your royal wedding guest name would be!

royal wedding

Alright, I admit it. I'm a little excited about the royal wedding in two days: Prince William marries Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey. If I want to see the live broadcast, I'll be sipping coffee by 5:00 a.m. on Friday.

I remember the wedding in 1981 of William's parents, Charles and Diana. I got up in the middle of the night, not having the advantage of DVR. Theirs was the first royal wedding I ever watched and it was magnificent. Diana's train was 25 feet long. Wow.

Of course, their marriage didn't last: the victim, perhaps, of a too-public and unrealistic lifestyle. Is it true Charles and Diana were together only 13 times before they married? She seemed sad from the start, the 19-year-old bride thrust into such a public life.

I hope Kate and William forge a committed, happy and lasting union.

eyes to the skies

On February 20, 1962, my mother sat me down in front of our black and white TV and said, "watch this. You will tell your children about it someday. It's history!"

John Glenn's little capsule orbited the earth three times and splashed safely into the Atlantic ocean. I'm not sure I realized what I was watching, only my mother's words echoing in my mind: tell your children you saw the first American orbit the earth. Very exciting, very impressive in 1962.

Twenty-five years ago, January 28, 1986, space travel had become so routine that I didn't bother to watch the Challenger lifting off from Cape Canaveral. In fact, I was running errands with my one and two-year-old sons when my car radio delivered the horrific news: seven astronauts, including a public school teacher, had perished as the Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after lift-off into the deep blue Florida sky.

It shook us all. Sending astronauts into orbit didn't guarantee their safe return. Christa McAuliffe, ecstatically ready to instruct her students from space, never got the chance. Those children, watching as I had years before, witnessed a horrendously different outcome. As a mother of young sons, my heart broke for the seven families left to grieve.

Today, my tiny sons now grown, I pause and remember Ellison, Mike, Christa, Dick, Greg, Ron and Judith. I pray for God to comfort the hearts of their wives, husbands, and children who grew up without them. I trust they died doing what they loved most. Why else risk your life?

I thank them for sacrificing for something bigger than self.

the can can't

I read that First Lady Obama is planting a vegetable and herb garden on the South Lawn. Bravo, Michelle!

I like most vegetables; I even love many vegetables. FRESH vegetables. The other night we had fresh asparagus. Delicate, tender green shoots, steamed for just a couple of minutes. Buttered and salted, they are divine.

Then hubby and I started a vegetable discussion. We talked about what our mothers served us as kids. What were billed as vegetables, out of a can, should be outlawed.

The peas tasted like regurgitation.
Pickled beets were candidates for prison food.
And asparagus, perhaps the worst of all, gagged me every time.

What was it about the 1950's and 60's that caused mothers to embrace canned vegetables? They were - and are - ghastly, I tell you. They tasted like cans, not vegetables, and that couldn't be nutritious. If cost was a consideration, better to buy one asparagus spear per person than to force the canned variety on us. Or grow some real vegetables, for Pete's sake. For all our sakes.

I'll eat baked beans from a can. That's about it. I'm so glad I'm a grown-up now. No one makes me eat canned vegetables and I made it my policy as a mother never to force canned vegetables on my kids. Did I?

Do you have a nasty-vegetable memory?

no, I didn't

In case you caught this story and wondered, the answer is no. I was not one of the hundreds who contacted Mr. Song's Millinery in Detroit.

But now I know where to go for a mighty fine hat.

open house??

I watched most of the pomp and pageantry of the Presidential inauguration yesterday. Politics aside, I admit the day was hugely impressive and inspiring. Over one million people converged on the Mall in Washington, in sub-freezing temperatures, to witness history in the making.

And last night it was revealed that the Obama girls would not have to go to school today because ... there's an OPEN HOUSE at the White House and Michelle wants the girls to experience that. I'm pretty sure she said it's open TO THE PUBLIC.

How disappointing. Since I've always wanted to visit the White House, today would have been my golden opportunity. But I just wasn't on the ball.

I wonder if Aretha Franklin will attend. If guests are invited based on their choice of outlandish hats, I think Aretha wins hands-down.

dreaming of the White House

The White House Christmas tree arrived from North Carolina over the weekend. The towering Fraser fir now stands in the blue room, fabulously adorned in this year's red, white and blue theme.

This week, First Lady Laura Bush gave the media a tour of the White House all decorated for Christmas. sigh. Do you know how much I've wanted to visit the White House for most of my life? Oh, I've seen the outside a few times. But I may as well be looking at a photograph. I really, really want to get inside and wander those amazing bedrooms, ballrooms, offices and halls...where Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan walked.

I don't know what it is. Maybe a psychologist could explain, but - I'm not making this up - I've dreamed about being in the White House and talking with the President. While in college, I dreamed that Jimmy Carter and I chatted over coffee in the White House kitchen. I certainly have no political or presidential aspirations, but I sure would like to spend a few hours in the "people's house."

Someday.

I'm voting for ...

... NO CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON NOVEMBER 4! Oh, please!

After picking up our van from being serviced, I stopped at Wal-mart. My list:
1. fertilizer - to use before it snows.
2. mints
3. a small leaf rake...maybe on sale?

But whoa, as I grabbed a cart, what did I hear? "Silver bells....it's Christmastime in the city?"

Just beyond the carts was a fake Christmas tree with creepy, over-sized satin balls on it. Just sitting there randomly. In the garden department: Christmas lights. Near the dog food: tinsel and stockings. There was even - no joke - an electric, inflatable see-saw with (I think) Santas on both seats. I couldn't bear to really look at it.

There's more than one reason to feel sick this election day...