Helen Mathey-Horn's Blog, page 3

Two-fer Day

Several places are making mention that today is 2(Month) 2(day) 22(year), but I’m referring to my writing a second post. (The first was bird related)

This is the Insecure Writer’s Support Group day of the month and this month’s prompt is…

February 2 question – Is there someone who supported or influenced you that perhaps isn’t around anymore? Anyone you miss?

Brought to you by…The awesome co-hosts Joylene Nowell Butler, Jacqui Murray, Sandra Cox, and Lee Lowery!

Easy peasy – My mom. After reading a gazillion romance novels (okay 3 per day for several days) one summer vacation when we were up at their trailer (no running water or electric, but bottle gas for a stove) I made the comment that I thought I could write a book as good as any I was reading.

The gauntlet was thrown; and my mother picked it up and threw it right back at me.

The rest of the summer I worked on a ‘bodice ripper’ novel (never published) on her computer. 8-10am (after my mom left for work and my dad got up – he worked night), then a quick visit with my dad as we did errands. 1-3 while Dad did his Dad stuff, then visited/helped as he got ready to go to work. Then 3:30-5 at which time my mom came home and we did supper and visited, then 7-9 and then to bed.

I’ve written about this before. It was (for me) the perfect schedule of intense writing and breaks. I’ve never successfully maintained any schedule like it since.

Aren’t moms the best? They look at their kid, hear the dreams and then give them that nudge or perhaps kick to get moving.

And the second part, yeah, I miss her.

Click the picture to see other answers to the monthly prompt.

Keeping Warm

Doesn’t look like anybody is going to be seeing their shadow today. It is overcast, which is good in some ways as clouds act like a thermal blanket to keep the heat in. Potentially auroras in the northern hemisphere over the next night or two, Aurora Borealis Map: Northern Lights May Dance In Several States | Across America, US Patch but it does not look like they will get as far south as Oklahoma. Drats, I would like to see them, however with cloud cover, that’s a moot point.

We may still be on for snow this afternoon, 26*F right now. Just saw a few flakes.

I’ve got a ‘heated’ birdbath and it is doing a landslide business. Robins, a flicker, goldfinches and lately starlings. They are not my favorite bird. They were introduced to the US by Eugene Schieffelin, idiot. Had a red-headed woodpecker and sparrows, always sparrows. There are some interesting types of sparrows but mostly I cannot tell the differences. After a look on-line perhaps, the stripy headed ones might be song sparrows, which would be nice.

I’ve kept the feeders topped up and as they are somewhat squirrel proof, nothing is ever fully squirrel proof, I’m seeing some interest from the birds there too, but open water first.

Makes me think of the four necessities of life; air, water, food, shelter. Air takes care of itself on earth. I’ve provided the other three. This time of year, those three do become important.

If you are interested in making your backyard more animal friendly, most usually think birds, but bees and butterflies and invertebrates should be included, then here are a few links.

National Wildlife Federation

Audubon’s Certified Backyard

National American Butterfly Association

and

Penn State Pollinator Garden

Next year I think I’ll buy a second ‘heated’ birdbath for the front yard.

You can buy your own sign from here.

The sign may seem ironic at this time of year, but even on warm days I’ve get some insect action on my winter honeysuckle.

Lonicera – ‘winter beauty’, it smells so sweet.

Maybe time to make scones! Keep warm.

Here We Are February again

Boy, February was a good month for them to set the movie “Groundhog Day” in. So what is on the DeJa’Vu recording.

Yesterday it was a 4.6 earthquake. Yep, right in the heart of America. Is it due to fracking? Won’t know immediately as the state will have to ask the oil producing companies for their records. They can get daily records from the companies, but apparently have to ask and they haven’t asked in several months, so who knows (currently) how much wastewater was being pumped into the ground. I was at my computer and jotted the time as 11:10 and yes, that is what the USGS (United States Geological Survey) recorded as the time. I tried to locate it immediately after it happened on the USGS map, but unlike the Japanese who record such things immediately, I could not find it. I remember dining in the Japanese mess hall one evening and there was a quake, the people there immediately switch the tv to the information channel and there was the data and location already. They don’t waste time. Of course, there is the potential for ‘aftershocks’ and ‘tsunamis’ so they do want to know.

Starting tonight it is to be a snowstorm with up to 8 inches of snow. Yes, Oklahoma in February. That old saying about if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. I remember the year we invited my parents for Christmas from Illinois, so they would have a break from the cold and snow…hah. We got 8 inches of snow the day before Christmas. It was a mess for driving in as the side-streets were not cleared immediately and cars were abandoned where drivers got stuck. Then we got freezing temps and anything not cleared that first day (we did our driveway immediately) froze into hard mountainous ruts.

So, a trip to the grocery store for some ‘staples’ and a hunker down (after dinner tonight with out-of-town guests — welcome to Oklahoma) with a warm house. On a side note, they (Oklahoma utilities) are still trying to figure out how to bill customers for the emergency gas bill they had to incur last year this time when we got the deep freeze. Apparently, we will be paying for it for the next several years.

And, it is currently 10:25 and 70*F. Yeah, just wait five minutes.

Disappointment

I’m not sure this post will make it to the internet. Oh, what the hell, I’m still mad.

My son and daughter-in-law have January birthdays. I wanted to give them something they would enjoy but, yeah, they are at that ‘difficult’ age, adulthood. Then I saw that the new Discovery Center in Tulsa was offering memberships. Oh, cool! They are both nerdy and they would probably love something like this and if I tack on ‘2 kids’ they can take their friends’ daughters too (as they frequently watch them for the parents.).

And it opens in mid-January, perfect.

And then it was not. Apparently, I did not understand that discovery is only for children! (Don’t let any of the scientists and explorers out there hear this.) I am not allowed get a membership for adults without children, because it is the world it is, and adults without children are not to be trusted in places with children.

So, if you are over a certain age, you are no longer allowed to enjoy discovery. You are no longer trusted with children that are not your own.

This whole thing makes me remember when my son was in 5th grade. His teacher had to be ‘out’ for a period of time because the principal didn’t think she was ‘able’ and was pressuring her to retire. The union was involved and it was not pretty. Meanwhile the principal’s replacement teacher told the children that they would be studying rockets. They were to build a rocket to launch.

Now this information was being told to me by an excited 5th grade boy.

His interpretation was: he was, over the weekend, to research and build a rocket to launch and he knew bottle rockets would do the trick and mom, could he just borrow the volleyball pump and would I let him have one of the rubber stoppers from the science lab? He had the list in his head, the air pump, a plastic liter bottle, a rubber stopper and water.

He put together the materials and he proceeded to test it (good scientists test) in our driveway. It was so cool. That thing took off like…a rocket! Multiple tests, and okay we got a little wet, but it worked and it was all him.

Monday he heads to school prepared.

Monday afternoon, “How did it go?”

“She didn’t want to see it. It isn’t the kind of rocket she is talking about.”

“What?!!”

OH BOY DID I SEE RED! Talk about shutting down a kid’s enthusiasm for something, especially science! I think I managed when I talked to her to say something civil to the ‘substitute’ teacher, whom the principal thought was such ‘hot stuff’ he was planning to have her for the rest of the year. His real teacher would have found time to work his rocket in even if it wasn’t in her lesson plan or the ‘right’ kind. And later when his class did their ‘rockets’ there was nothing ‘active’ involved, just paper research.

The real teacher did retire at the end of the school year…a shame. Where the sub went, I don’t know or care.

Every school I’ve taught in has had a mission statement. (Being around the military that is usually the term they use. In stateside schools I’m not sure what wording they use.) And almost every school’s statement has had a term ‘life-long learners’ as a goal for the students. We have wanted to make education and learning a part of a student’s desire to continue to learn wherever and whenever they are in life.

My son is a ‘life-long learner’. I am so proud of that. And I am so angry with the Discovery Center for limiting ‘discovery’ to children or children who happen to have parents along. Okay, stop…I get why adults without children might be ‘suspect’. But really, you make that decision with no other thought? Perhaps there are adults that might like to discover and learn also, maybe you should widen your scope to life-long learners?

So, I’ve had the money refunded and I’ll put it towards either passes to the aquarium or the zoo and it will be a very cold day in #$!! before I visit the Discovery Lab! Oh wait, I’m the wrong demographic.

P.S. they (The Discovery Center) did change their posting to make it clear that only adults taking kids are welcome. It was not there when I signed them up…at least I helped them clarify their mission.

How about a flower for some pretty?

The teacher-in-me has to make a ‘correction’ here. These are dogwood ‘flowers’ although the flower part is the little ‘ball’ structures in the center, the petal looking parts are really leaves. Hopefully it will not be long until my tree out front produces this year’s crop.

And here we are almost 2 weeks later!

Have I gone anywhere? No, just hibernating.

I did bake the other day. “8 perfect scones.” To be said in the British BakeOff voice, the one part of their baking contest I might ‘win’, as in not get sent home. They maybe don’t look too ‘pretty’ below, but I didn’t give them their ‘glamour’ shot on a pretty platter…presentation, presentation, presentation. (Like Location, location, location for realty.)

Honest I made 8 scones, but two were eaten before I thought to take a picture.

They are my basic scone recipe with walnuts and dried cherries added. No drizzled icing this time. And now I’m down to 2. Two went home with the ‘kids’. Technically offspring, as being past the age of being ‘kids’. And another two were eaten last night

A cappuccino and a scone sound pretty good for a chilly January afternoon. Okay, just talked myself into it.

Hope you are staying warm (or in the case of California and the SE coastal areas, safe from Mother Nature).

Small side note, when I was still living in Japan, my mother said something about, “She would be glad when her children didn’t live in areas with potential natural disasters.” I pointed out that there really isn’t a part of this world that doesn’t have some type/form of natural disaster. Afterall she was living in Illinois which is known as part of Tornado Alley and we all learned from an early age; when the sky turned a weird green and things got ‘quiet’ to head to the southwest corner of the basement.

My point being, is there any place that doesn’t have some form of nature reminding us we are only human?

Enjoy your current moment. I think I’ll go have a scone.

The Hard Times

I might have mentioned this before, if not you are hearing it here first. I do not like the middle of winter. January and February are the hardest months for me. I’m pretty sure I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I was aware of this as early as junior high. My 3rd quarter grades always slumped (okay A’s to B’s – I should complain?) and I paced the house looking for things to do and not wanting to do any of them.

In Illinois (where I grew up) this time of year was always cold, snowy and/or icy. I did not want to go outside. I did not like winter sports, partly I blame that on a touch of frostbite as an elementary child either from ice skating, or more likely waiting outside at school for the doors to open after walking the 1/2 mile there. Pretty sure it was 1/2 mile, and no it wasn’t uphill both ways, this was northern Illinois, we don’t have hills.

I honestly tried to learn to ski in high school in a unique PE class where we ‘did things’ like learn to sail in small 2 man boats, rock climb and one of the activities…ski. This class was structured so that you did these activities outside of school hours and you had to show up for enough hours for the credit. I was all in for the sail boating in the fall, but I only went on one ski night and that was it.

The temperatures were low enough that you were only supposed to be out in the weather for about 10 minutes (yes that cold) and it was man-made snow as we hadn’t had any real snow. I got my skis and went down the hill. (I will not call it a mountain any more than Turkey Mountain in Tulsa, or Mt. Scott by Lawton, OK are mountains.). I came down the hill the safest way I could as it was more ice than snow and that was to sit down on my skis and coast. At the bottom of the hill I took off my skis, turned them in and waited inside in the warmth until it was time to leave. That was the last time I even thought about putting on a pair of skis, even when I went with friends to ski in Italy. Nope, Nada, Niente. After that as I did not need the credit for graduation, I dropped out of the class.

So, January and February became the sit inside, watch winter sports on tv (I love you figure skating, and I would physically help push the ski jumpers into the air with my body motion) and go stir crazy.

The only thing I can say is it is a good thing I never had to live in Alaska or such places where winter is much longer. One of my aunts lived in Alaska but moved to Illinois at one point and on her end table was a book on stories about living in Alaska. Killing time on one visit I was looking through it and found this little snippet about how Alaskans reply to a question about where someone is. They were either Inside (in Alaska), Outside (in the lower 48) or Morningside (a mental hospital in Seattle for those that went stir crazy.)

Yep, that would have been me, Morningside.

Hello New Year!

Like many others, I’m hoping it is a better year for everyone/the world. Last year was like that curse, “May you live in interesting times.” No, let’s live in boring times, please.

Now is IWSG time!

And this month’s prompt is…

January 5 question – What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it? (The awesome co-hosts for the January 5 posting of the IWSG are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken!)

Regrets? Well, it would be nice to have more readers, but as I’m lazy about promoting, etc…I’ll just let it be. So, to the second question, I guess the answer is “No, I’ve not overcome lazy.”

It is WORK to be a writer. No sitting in your ivory tower listening to the grateful hoards beating a path to your door. And after 30+ years of the former ‘day job’ and burning the candle at both ends doing that, I’m content to drift along and loaf. No burning flame urging me on. I write when I want to and mostly for my own satisfaction. So there, lazy writer.

On the same note, I gave up doing New Year’s Resolutions a long time ago (in a galaxy…), because if I was going to change, I would change, not because of some date on the calendar. Usually, I made changes at the beginning of school years, i.e. things I wanted to do differently, or try in my classrooms with a new school year. I’ve written elsewhere about how September is more of a ‘new year’ in my psyche than January 1.

One piece of information I do remember from classes on changing/shifting how you teach is to do/try about a 30 percent change, or 1 thing new out of 3 things you do. Don’t plan to change everything at one time. And a reminder that you have to stick with something a while before it becomes an embedded habit, so there is that also.

So, Happy New Year and let’s get on with life straightening itself out, please.

Year in Review

Using an idea from Knitorious taking the 1st sentence from the 1st post of each month and a picture from the month. Comments under the pictures are my current thoughts, not related to the time the picture was posted. And the picture above is one of my irises…It is ‘just because’.

January – “Sorry I fell off the ‘radar’.” (Jan 15th!)

Other than “Bernie” memes, January pictures were orchids.

February – “In the movie Ground Hog Day…Bill Murray’s character keeps reliving February 1st.”

March – “Why? Why, February?”

I need some here color after that last picture

April – “Take a drive to the Tall Grass Prairie!”

Yes, the buffalo roam in Oklahoma

May -” The summer of 1995 or 1994 (I cannot exactly remember and I’m not going to dig through papers to find out) I got to spend 6 weeks at a NASA workshop in Maryland with other teachers.”

The blog story explains the bottle above.

June – “The Insecure Writer’s Support Group question of the month is…

HOW LONG DO YOU SHELVE YOUR FIRST DRAFT?”Our sweety

July – “I feel like the Ray Bradbury story “All summer in a Day”.” 

Yes, I am probably one of very few that would find Milkweed an interesting flowering plant.

August – “Time for the Insecure Writer’s Post.

August 4 question – What is your favorite writing craft book? Think of a book that every time you read it you learn something or you are inspired to write or try the new technique. And why?“

So happy to see bees.

September – “The Insecure Writers Group question for September is…How do you define success as a writer?“

Big spiders, lol

October – “Before the weather decides to go south, it is time to bring in my orchids.” 

“Come From Away” The Musical

November – “There are several things that are bouncing around my mind today.”

Wovember Prompt List

December – “The Insecure Writer’s Support Group prompt for this month is December 1 question – In your writing, what stresses you the most? What delights you?“

My gingerbread construction (a kit)

So what do I see looking back…

I was not as good/consistent at blogging as I thought (for a couple of the months).

However –

Lots of flower pictures. Lots of Orchid pictures.

74 posts total which might be an all-time high? – November had 31! I did 30 Wovember posts and one Insecure Writers Support Group post, Yea Me! If I discount November, my average is about 4 per month/1 per week. For someone who is retired and not punching a clock I think that is pretty good. I hear you saying I should have more with all that ‘retired time’. Trust me, you find ways to fill it up.

Regarding Insecure Writers Support Group, it looks like I responded to 11 prompts and as they take January off that should mean I am 100%! A first for me.

The highest number of blog responses were to the Insecure Writers Support Groups posts, but as we are supposed to read and respond to a minimum of five other’s posts each month, that makes sense. (At least someone is looking at my blog?)

And I like having someone else’s prompt to follow. It seems to motivate me to post.

I’m wishing you a Happy New Year as I can’t count on my doing a post again before the 1st…however…you never know.

Ghost of Christmas Past

“Long past?” “No, Ebenezer, your past.”

As some might say, “Christmas is done and dusted.” It was a great day.

We had most of the day to ourselves. Relaxed morning, but then it was ‘get in gear’ time.

We had my kids over, with a couple (their friends) and the couple’s 2 young girls. The young girls meant putting the dog up in the bedroom.

The request was for roast beef. I will confess it was not my best (tender fall apart) roast beast. The vegetables were great and I made crusty bread (another request) which turned out just as it should. It was (isn’t it always) about the timing. The bread has to sit/rise oven night and get in the over early enough to clear out the oven for the rest of the meal.

One thing about pot roast is it is pretty much a one-pot meal. Well, a ‘pot’ and a ‘pan’ as I was making double what I usually make and I had to figure out what I could fit in my oven. Then it was peel and cut up the vegetables and brown the meat and make sure I had it in the oven around 3 so it would be done by 5 (or so).

No complaints about the food, but honestly, I don’t think it was my best job. However, no one complained and the food was eaten.

We took a small portion to a cousin who lives in town, who was staying home out of an abundance of caution. She’s had her shots and so have we, but even so…

I’ll end with a tree in our neighborhood we see on our way home in the evenings, (if we are out).

I wonder what it costs to wrap a tree in lights like that (not a small tree), but not enough to call around and find out. I’ll enjoy the ones that are done.

Sorry about the blurriness, but this is the best of the three pictures I took.

Merry Christmas, moving on to Happy New Year!

Christmas is coming, the Goose is getting fat,…

I’ll have that song stuck in the head for the rest of the week, lol.

So, what is the to do list?

Food Shopping – Done this morning…although not everything is ‘put away’

Clean/tidy/put away mess – Ahh, well, what I would not give for a big box to pile the yarn in to clear one of the rooms (or two)

Pull out and prep what dishes we are going to use. – Bought some Christmas-y paper ones, but I’m waffling about using good ones – but that means washing them (by hand) because I don’t remember the last time they came out of the cupboard.

Wrap gifts – um, should not be a problem, just do it.

Thursday – I need to start the ‘crusty bread’ because it sits overnight to rise.

Friday – Pot Roast and Vegetables, Bread and ??? another vegetable like green beans?

So most of this is going to happen on Friday (Including the cleaning/tidying up probably – procrastination is us)

That means hubby and I can sleep in late on Saturday (Christmas Day) and eat leftovers. Sounds about right.

And because pictures are great, and my Orchids are being GREAT…

See all those buds and several others are also putting out bud shoots! Christmas GIFTS from my plants.The reason these are ahead on the blooming game is that they are a recent purchase.

And gratuitous Gingerbread construction pictures not previous revealed. (There were two more buildings, but you have to stop somewhere.)

One of the ‘pretty’ ones from Gingerbread Construction Day.Gingerbread Train