Memories from My Parents' Garden

I was prompted to take some time to recall my parents' garden this week.  I've got all these little snapshot memories and haven't put them down in writing before.  May I suggest you give it a try.  I started with a drawing of my parents' garden. It ended up being more of a map of memories than a map of the garden.

 

My memories of my parent's garden start early with chickens, big, huge, monster chickens.  I remember being a wee small girl and climbing to stand on a broken cinder block while holding a stick so I would be bigger and badder than the big white birds.  One of my next memories of the garden is of my father carrying my across the yard on his shoulders.  We were going to check on the plums for a snack.  We didn't know it but that day there was someone else checking the tree for snacks as well.  I came almost face to face with a big black snake draped across a limb.  I think I screamed.  I never could walk under that tree after that without checking it thoroughly for snakes.

Parts of the four acre plot changed over the years but a few features stayed constant.  There was a small pole barn, or big shed, out back.  It had 4 four rooms and an open bay. It had the old smokehouse on one corner.  I never saw that used for anything other than storage space.  There was the old brooder house on another corner.  That was where we kept potatoes spread in a layer on an old door elevated with cinder blocks.  The old hen house section was a no-visit zone for me.  It was crowded with old pieces of equipment and, I was sure, multitudes of big black snakes.  The open bay in the middle had the lawn mower, a tiller and Dad's gardening supplies. There was a big gourd hanging from the ceiling with a hole for a bird's nest. One little open storage room on the front was my playhouse.  The walls were lined with hoes, rakes, shovels, a draw blade and several other long handled tools for yard work.  There was also a wagon loaded with sand, a tiny chair and kitchen table, a doll bed an old mirrored medicine cabinet and a shelf for my own outdoor home necessities.  I made many a sand cake and sand muffins for my imaginary family there.  That's where I kept my walking sticks.  I had one made from a crooked tree just like my great-grandmothers.  I also kept a taller one or two.  My favorite was a length of bamboo from a neighbor's roll of carpet.  I took the stick with me everywhere I went.  I imagined it helped to scare the snakes out of my path.  Are you seeing a common theme there? I was NOT fond of snakes.

The vegetable garden was HUGE at least it was in my eyes.  Many long rows meant many hours of work hoeing, picking, washing, and canning or freezing fresh vegetables.  One of my favorite things was to check to see if the Four O’clocks were blooming on time. Then I'd go over to the tomatoes and find a nice, warm, ripe one.  I could sneak a tomato before supper. If I was careful with the juice, I wouldn't get caught.

My bedroom had two windows, one faced east, the other north.  We had a security light near the shed that lit the yard with an odd purplish glow at night.  I used to slip out of bed and check both windows late at night.  If I was lucky, I'd see rabbits.  Sometimes only one, sometimes several.  The best times were when I'd find a family of rabbits playing tag.  It would have been so much fun if I could have joined them.  I understood the rules perfectly.  Alas, we two-legs are no fun for little rabbits.

One year my mom decided to grow pretty little decorative pepper plants in place of flowers in a container.  I was fascinated by the compact little bushes with multi-hued peppers pointing skyward.  They looked like colorful candles of green, yellow, red and purple.  My parents liked to eat them but I had no love for the zing of hot pepper.  In the fall Mom wanted to collect seed to replant the peppers next year. My sister and I were given the job of seeding out some dry pods.  The pods were tough and I couldn't tear them open.  Being a resourceful child, I did as I'd done with many a chip bag or candy wrapper and grabbed the end of the pepper in my teeth to tear it open.  Yep, you guessed it. I got a full dose of the heat from that little packet of spicy joy.  Eight glasses of water later, I learned that water does not cool the heat of peppers.  It's been a lifelong lesson that's served to keep me away from them.

It's funny how I still take a stick with me when I go walking.  I don't mind the snakes quite so much now but I'd be happy if they go about minding their business a little distance from where I'm minding my business. I still avoid those little red peppers.

 

Ever-changing Boundaries

I hit another of my checkpoints in my progress this week.  I wanted to be able to hike by mid-March.  I know that's a vague goal but I didn't know what opportunities I'd have to put it to the test.  Spring Break for our local public schools provided the answer.  I arranged a 5 mile hike for my Webelos Cub Scout and some of our Troop's Boy Scouts at a near-by State Park.  

It seemed like a good test opportunity.  The terrain is very gently rolling hills and flat land. The trail covers hardwood forest, pine forest and wetland areas. The trail is well marked and reasonably well maintained in a woodsy sort of way.  The weather was near perfect, sunny and  cool but not too cool.  I planned a quick warm lunch for after the hike.  I recruited 2 other adults to go along.  You've got to have that two-deep leadership on all Scouting activities. It's a good thing, indeed.

I packed light in preparation for the walk. I had a day pack with a water bottle, some mixed nuts in a bag, my wallet, my phone, car keys and a hiking pole for extra support. Within the first mile I knew this was going to be a difficult walk. Even with my weigh loss, my dear old arthritic hip complained with almost every step. I walked very slowly compared to the boys. They would walk ahead with one leader and wait for me to catch up. I was discouraged, to say the least.  Bits of debris and the ever-present Sweet Gum tree balls made footing more difficult than I'd anticipated.  Minuscule shifts of position and weight distribution that would normally go unnoticed became the focus of my attention.  I couldn't enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the woods. At about the 2 mile mark there was a opportunity for me to walk back to our starting point while everyone else hiked a 2 mile out-of-the-way loop.  I walked the last of my 3 miles alone.

I had some time to think during that final mile.  I was disappointed.  I was discouraged. I wasn't completely surprised or I think it would have been harder for me to cope.  I knew this was a possibility.  If I had not found a 3rd adult to go along I would not have had the luxury of leaving the group.  Either I would have had to walk the full 5 miles with them or they would have had to cut their hike short.  I was grateful I didn't need to use either of those options.

Now I need to back up and re-evaluate my goal.  I'm still learning my limits and those seem to change from day to day.  Was my goal too far out of reach or did I reach for it too soon. Did I expect too much in trying to keep up with a group of energetic young boys?  Perhaps hiking is still a possibility at shorter distances and a slower pace.

I don't know the answer.  I'm still feeling this one out.  I've got some opportunities this week to do some walking in rougher terrain at my own pace.  Perhaps I'll get a glimpse of my answers.

A Lesson from The Gambler

First, I must offer apologies for completely forgetting to post a blog entry yesterday.  I had every intention of doing that but I was struggling with a decision and simply forgot to write.

I've got a weakness for story tellers. I couldn't get enough of having stories read to me when I was little. I'd pester my parents, grandparents and great-grandmother for stories from when they were children. As a consequence, I like ballads.

I'm not typically a fan of country music but I'll make an exception for the balladeers.  One of my favorites is Kenny Rogers. I love his not-too-perfect way of singing.  It adds an element of sincerity to the songs.  One of my favorite Kenny Rogers songs is The Gambler. 

 

I don't know that I've attempted to play poker more than once or twice but I understand the concept.  I feel like I've been playing poker with my computer and some of the software for months.  I'm trying to clear off and older machine to pass on to one of my sons.  I've been stuck half way between the the two machines for several months while I worked to get one particular program going.  I thought I had it fixed a couple of times.  I even took the drastic measure of starting over.  That meant I moved all the data and licenses I'd transfered to the new machine back to the old one.  I wiped it back to the factory settings and started over.  That didn't fix the problem but it did help me pinpoint a software conflict. I know there are some poker analogies to be drawn there.  I can imagine working with a hand of cards or giving them up and starting with a fresh set.  Yep, that's the software game I've been playing.

 

Well, I've decided to listen to the advice of the old gambler from the Kenny Rogers song. "You've got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run."  I don't think I'm running but I am going to fold on this project and walk away. I'm done all I can do. I've found an older computer that this one bit of critical software will work on.  It works beautifully there.  That's where I'm going to leave it until I find someone who can tell me what more to do.  I'm not going to waste any more time trying to get the software tech support to respond. They've not responded in two months anyway.

 

I'm done. I'm moving on with more important projects.

 

Kenny, sing to me!

The Gambler by  sung by Kenny Rogers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj4nJ1YEAp4

The Highwayman by Jimmy Webb, sung by Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Chris Christopherson and Johnny Cash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1bHaUk1CM

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, sung by Loreena McKennitt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teq2m0BN-Wo

Continuing Education

I'm running a little late with my blog this week. I've been more preoccupied than usual due to a presentation I needed to prepare to give today.

It's been a long time since I've done anything like this. It was only a 4-5 minute speech with an accompanying slide show. It shouldn't have been too difficult. I found myself agonizing over it. I wanted it to be just right. I really wanted to have it memorized so my presentation would sound natural.

That didn't happen, at least not as well as I'd have liked. I didn't trust myself to remember the material and I didn't feel I could afford to stumble over my words. I ended up reading a lot of it. I read it well because I'd practiced it aloud many, many times.

Thankfully, the project I was presenting has merit and was well received in spite of my nerves. I'm excited that, maybe, I've managed to play a small part in helping this project go forward.

Perhaps it would be wise of me to find reasons to practice skills I needed today more. I need to flex my gray cells through memorization exercises. I should probably more readily accept opportunities to get up in front of people, especially adults. That's not my nature.

It's so easy to allow oneself to get comfortable doing the same kinds of things over and over. That's fine in some ways. It's destructive in others. If we're not learning and stretching ourselves aren't we actually loosing ground? An infant begins life learning. A child continues that process. Why, as adults, do we become satisfied with less?

Come on! Let's get out there and learn something new, try something new, and live a new experience. It's time to grow a little.



Let us continue, brethren and sisters, to work in the name of the Lord our God; gathering wisdom and intelligence day by day, that every circumstance which transpires may minister to our good and increase our faith and intelligence. Lorenzo Snow

Trying and Trying Again

I'm back with a progress report.  I've not given you one of those in a while.  

First, I am more fit.  I don't know exactly how to give a measure on that one except to say that the 2 mile walk I took last week didn't wear me out.  I have to work quite a bit harder to get my target heart rate up for effective exercise than I did 4 months ago.

Second, I've lost 27 pounds.  I still need to loose a few more but it's been good to say goodbye to some of those pounds that had taken up permanent residence.  I have less arthritis hip pain and I'm more stable than I've been in several years.

Learning to play the piano? Well, that one's not gone so well.  I've got to have a concrete, near immovable goal to keep something like that on the top of the priority list.  On the other hand, I am involved with my boys 4-H Robotics and Shooting Sports clubs as well as a couple of other organizations.  Something is bound to get pushed aside.  I'm not giving up on the piano but it's just going to have to be a lower priority for now.

Genealogy research.  Oh my, I've missed a huge deadline I'd set for this.  I've got a family tree that needed updating and publishing for some very patient family members. I've been working with a computer issue for months and I've been afraid to do a lot more work for fear of loosing information. I must get the computer issues cleared and get back on track.

I've been able to continue my fiber arts education.  Thank goodness knitting and spindle spinning is portable.  I learned some new knitting techniques while making Christmas presents. Swedish Twisted knitting came easily for me.  The Latvian Braid was more difficult but was worth the effort for its striking effect.  I've gotten pretty consistent with spinning singles on my spindles.  I'm about ready to take the next step and learn to ply them into yarn.  There's no rush.  I'm enjoying the simple spinning process.

My final goal involve spiritual growth. I'm making progress there.  I'm still not where I want to be or where I need to be, but I'm making small improvements.

Overall there have been some great successes and some failures. Just having the goals spelled out has helped me have a direction and focus.  Knowing I have a goal to sit down each week and make an accounting of some sort for my  time has helped keep me accountable.

I had an opportunity to sit and watch some good, old movies with my family this past week.  One that really touched me was Shenandoah with James Stewart.  Mr. Stewart's movies are good sources for little one line bits of wisdom.  The one I remember most from Shenandoah is, "“If we don't try we don't do. And if we don't do, what are we on this earth for?”

I'm on this earth to try and to do.  The Cub Scout motto is 'Do Your Best.'   The 4-H motto is 'To Make the Best Better.'  I'm trying to live up to both of those.

As Luck Would Have It

I've had a bit of luck with my new computer this week.  It's only taken 3 months of off and on attempts to get a couple of programs to play nice together.  I've corresponded with the software manufacturer.  I've consulted my household computer guru.  I finally decided to take drastic measures.  I started over, undoing all my previous work. I kept a log of every thing I did and recorded it's effect on the software.  I'm three days into this painful process now and everything is still working well.  At least everything that I've managed to reinstall and reconfigure.

I got this little message in my email inbox a couple of days ago.

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two; 
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; 
May the hand of a friend always be near you; 
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
 But - you HAVE to send this within 1 hour 
 From when you open it!
 Now...............Make A wish!!!!!!

Do you ever get email messages like this?  It's  a sweet sentiment right up until the bit of  extortion at the end.  Really?  I need to spam my friends in order to have all these blessings?  I don't think so.

I get messages like this from time to time.  Some promise free meals or computers or some other act of unexpected generosity from some mega-corporation or in this case, Almighty God Himself.  What good luck, right?  Somebody please send me a list of the recipients of the gifts these emails promise.  I'd like to see it.

What does it mean to be lucky or to have good luck?  My definition of luck is being prepared when the right opportunity comes along. Luck doesn't just happen.  You have a hand in creating your luck.

I have a friend who has a knack for meeting incredibly interesting people.  You could call it luck but I think it has more to do with his being willing to talk to strangers and ability to put them at their ease.  It's a gift but he's worked to develop that gift.

I've known people who had a knack for bad luck as well.  Does bad luck find them or do they put themselves in situations that have a good chance of turning out badly?

It takes a lot of hard work to make good luck happen. A positive attitude is likely helpful in the pursuit of the leprechaun's gold. 

Get out there and make some good luck for yourself this week.  May the Irish blessing follow your efforts.

Keep Your Eye on the Target

It's been a week for working to overcome setbacks.  Make that two weeks of overcoming setbacks. 

I've been trying to work through a computer software conflict for several months now.  It's been difficult to diagnose with my very limited, self-taught computer skills.  I've got one program that I use frequently that does not want to work on my new laptop.  It works just fine on my old laptop with the same companion software installed.  I decided to take drastic measures, with the help of my husband.  I very carefully backed up everything I could think of to back up and loaded it all back on my older, quirky computer.  Data, software, and licenses all migrated back to the older machine. The hard drive is so crammed that I have to be careful not to have too many programs running simultaneously.  I handed my sparkly new laptop over to my husband who, with the patience of Job, wiped away all evidence of my data and restored it to factory settings.  Then he, painstakingly loaded the offending software.  It didn't work.  He applied a fix the manufacturer had suggested.  It didn't work. He applied a further fix he'd discovered.  EUREKA!!  One program loaded and a couple dozen others to restore.  The computer transfered back to my hands.

With care, and taking notes at each step, I loaded my data back on the laptop from my backup.  The questionable software still worked.  Then, with trembling fingers, I installed the suspected conflict causing culprit.  BAM!  Errors return to my computer screen.  GAH! So close and yet I still don't know how to fix the issue.  Curse you, Microsoft!  I'm going to have to find a geekier geek.  I need a ultra-superior database geek master.  I have a name. I have contact information.  Will he respond?  We'll see.

 

On a more positive side, I had my second swim lesson this week. My swimming skills are only slightly better than those of a dead man.  Even though I walk by a pool several times a week now, finding time to get in an practice has been challenging.  I'm making the effort although I still feel as awkward as a girl at her first dance.  I'm at the practicing baby-steps stage.  Put face in the water? Check.  Breath out through the nose and mouth? Check. Practice breathing out while moving arms as if swimming? Check.  Practice breathing in at appropriate times while moving arms as if swimming? Check.  You get the idea.  This is a creepingly slow learning process for me.

 

My teacher has amazing patience.  She walks with me up and down the pool while I practice gliding and floating.  She talks me through helping my feet find the bottom of the shallow pool when I stop mid-way. (How can 4 feet of water feel so much deeper?) She encourages and coaches me.  It's impossible to not want to do my best even if my best isn't very good right now.  This week, my big, drum-roll worthy accomplishment was managing to get three breaths in while attempting to put all the moves together.  Mind you those three breaths didn't come one after the other but there were three. That's three more than I've ever accomplished in my 50-ish years.  I'm excited.  I know from experience that with practice those three will gradually increase in frequency and ease.

 

About 12 years ago I was a mid-rank Tae Kwon Do student. One of the requirements at our testings was that we break boards with certain techniques at each rank level.  Hand techniques weren't typically a problem.  Foot techniques were much more difficult for me. This particular testing, I had to successfully complete a spinning side kick.  Performed incorrectly, it is a blind technique that rarely works unless you're large enough to force it. I'd practiced and thought I was prepared.  Alas, the adrenaline and nerves that come with testing will make any flaws worse. I attempted the break once. Nothing. Twice. Still no broken board.  We were only allowed three attempts.  I gathered myself as best I could and made my last attempt.  The board was still there, facing me, unbroken.  I was discouraged. My teacher gave me an assignment.  He said I needed to practice the kick 500 times.

 

There are two kinds of practice.  There's 'practice' and 'perfect practice'.  It's not practice that makes perfect, it's perfect practice that makes perfect.  I was practicing on a hanging kicking bag.  It moves in a particular way, with an almost stationary wobble, when a strike is clean.  It swings wildly when the transfer of energy is sloppy.   I set a goal of completing 500 good kicks over a week or two.  Each afternoon, I'd go out and start.  I tried to get in 50 good kicks each day.  I can't tell you how many it took.  I remember that at first I was getting one good strike every 4 or 5 attempts.  I'm sure I was well into the thousands of kicks before I reached 500.  I remember how good the last set of kicks felt. I was able to go back to my teacher and break the board with a sense of satisfaction.

What did I do that made the biggest improvement?  I learned I had to see my target in order to hit it.  I had to change my position so I could see where my foot needed to be. I've used what I learned from that experience many times since.  You are more likely to reach a goal if you can see it.  Measure it.  Touch it.  Fix it in your mind and find the path to reach it. Don't be afraid to ask for help but be a willing and teachable student.

 

If only computers were as easy to understand as swimming.