Blessings of 2014

January 1:  Michigan State wins the Rose Bowl!
January 2:  Colonoscopy complete, and lots of sleep afterwards
January 3:  Out to the Pub after work with Catherine
January 4:  Tom's organ books have been found and will be returned soon
January 5:  Beginning to record the blessings of 2014

Anise Drops

Anise Drops (from my mom, Eva Mary Smiley Megnin)

4 eggs
1 tsp anise flavoring
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour

Beat 4 eggs 10 minutes at high speed (setting #9 on my old Sunbeam mixer; top or second from top on Kitchenaid.)
Add sugar; beat 5 minutes (continue at high speed.)
Add remaining ingredients and beat 15 minutes (again at high speed.)

Drop on greased (generously slathered) cookie sheets.
Let stand overnight (or 6-8 hours) at room temperature.
Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes - done when slightly tan on edges, or when the top is gently tapped with a fingernail it sounds hollow, not dense.

Makes about 100 cookies.

MY NOTES:
1) Be careful; don't make too large -- about 1/2 tsp. drops are best. Don't put too close together, else will blob/bake into each other.
2) Uses about 6 cookie sheets. If run out of cookie sheets, use cake pans turned upside down. Don't use double bottomed sheets -- cookies stick to these. If tin is dark, cover with foil (shiny side up) for better results -- HOWEVER, see comment 3!
3) from 2012 -- using parchment paper works the very best so the cookies don't stick.
4) Be sure to bake long enough, else cookies will be chewy not snappy! (I have baked longer than 10 minutes.)
5) This is hard on a mixer; my old one would be smoking by the time I finished!
6) If putting a cookie tray together, keep these separate (wrapped or bagged, or on a separate plate) as the anise flavor can permeate other cookies.
7) And my own personal note to self: don't forget the anise!!!

I have thought this could be made with other flavorings, though I've never tried.

• Liz from Dexter MI

Birthday Buzz

As the first day of my sixtieth year winds down, I'm sitting here with warm fuzzies in my being.  All four of us played the "train game" (Ticket to Ride) and had a great time.  Tom isn't big on games at all, but he joined Eva, Tommy and me, and I think he enjoyed it (well, that is to say he didn't suffer through the experience!)  We had a good time, and when it was over Tommy tentatively asked if anyone wanted to play again -- which I would have but it was close to 10:30 and the game takes at least an hour.  Instead the four of us sat in the family room, TV off, the three of them finishing their beers, and talked.

What a wonderful life I have -- so many warm wishes from so many people.  I have to say FB is good for the social networking it affords in the best sense of the concept.

Day started with Mass and a birthday chorus from the 15-20 bravehearts who came to morning Mass in spite of the inclement messy slippery weather.  The next eight hours brought ups and downs; downs only because of challenges that arose during the course of the business day, ups because of wonderful co-workers, a call from Claire and Dad (I do love the sound of my father's voice, in particular of all the voices I have known), and much, much more.  And the wonderful day was bookended with a warm, delightful text from my brother, who last year started the day off with a text!

I treasure that I am sitting here with a warm heart and a smile resident on my face, and wetness in my eyes for the blessings I have.

All good things around us, are sent from heaven above, so thank  the Lord, o thank the Lord, for all [whatever the rest of the words are from the song from Godspell!]

And on and on

The de-decorating continues.  Have found decorations that didn't make it out this year (well, Christmas 2012 that is) -- mostly for the tree; Eva and Tommy decorated the tree while I was Christmas shopping.  I did know that I couldn't find one of my favorites on the tree anywhere, and Eva said she didn't remember it when they were decorating.  Putting the churches away I found a cute little snowman that niece Katie made a few years ago.  What it was doing in that cupboard is beyond me, as I don't remember it ever being part of any of the tableaux I've put up with the churches.  The biggest surprise of all was discovering one of my Swedish crystal votive candle holder that has been missing since 2010.  I've said time and again, how can a heavy crystal votive candle holder go missing???  Actually, its discovery had nothing to do with putting decorations away, but rather with Eva opening her cupboard of knick-knacks asking (rhetorically) which of her things she should move with her because she has so many.  There, in the midst of a shelf of this and that was the votive with a few miscellaneous things like bobby pins and an electronics battery in it.  She didn't know how it got there; didn't remember putting it there.  Suffice it to say I'm just happy to have solved that particular mystery.  Unfortunately, now I can't remember just where I put it when I took it from the shelf!  Too many boxes and bins are out all over the house at the moment.

In addition to "making exciting discoveries" (one of the advantages of being disorderly, to quote AA Milne) I am finding that at this late date (one month plus past Christmas) I'm more inclined to just pack things in whatever box is at hand, and not worry about finding the specific box for each item.  I think my Christmas organization is melting away ... first noticed this trend a year or two ago.  I seem to be putting decorations away later and later each year.  I ought to just make an annotated inventory of all my decorations, along with pictures, and then just put the idea of putting everything in its own box to rest.  \

Not sure I'm going to get this stuff all put away by the end of January.  Have to get the annual letters folded, combined with campaign statements, and stuffed with a notice asking for contact info update.  Thanks to my dear husband Tom for stamping 900 envelopes today; that's one less step in the process that I need to do.

Post-holiday Packing It Up

One creche down, one Santa packed away, and I don't want to go on -- tough deciding what decorations to take down first!  Guess I could just go get boxes and pack the top ones first -- love the look of the house at Christmas but really hate the process of taking it down and packing it all away ... I think the way to do it would be to bring ALL the boxes downstairs, and pack each one as it comes to hand ... just might do that ...

Neil Noel News 2012

To our dear family and friends: warmest Christmas greetings!

As Tom put it, 2012 seemed, for whatever reasons, to have been amazingly busy for all of us, and yet with very little of note to commend it. (But of course I’ll find lots to talk about anyhow!) With both kids continuing to live at home, it’s been a challenge keeping track of everyone’s schedules. I think
that’s what made the year seem so busily unproductive. Eva’s commute gets her home at 7pm, while Tom has had evening classes and band practices, and I don’t usually walk in the door much before 6pm. The mutual coordination of the schedules of four adults in a family household has taken adjustment on the part of everyone.


“Miles and Miles” would be the theme of our year. The state of the economy necessitated Tom traveling more for business than usual, and fortunately some of those trips were to southwestern NY so he was able to swing through PA and visit his mom. We spent his birthday weekend in September with her, And also visited her when his sister Margie was in from out west.

In January at the motorcycle show in Detroit he came across a deal he couldn’t resist, and replaced his Yamaha candy-apple red Royal Star motorcycle with a champagne gold Yamaha Venture cruiser. He saddled up for a 10-day trip out to Reno, NV in July. Once again the trip was in the height of the brutal summer heat, but he and a friend did the 4000 mile round trip with no complaints or incidents — well, except he left his phone at a rest
stop, and some questioned charges on his credit card resulted in it getting cancelled! But it all got sorted out in the end.

In his down time he continued to tinker with his ’47 Plymouth. Last year I thought the car was in fine fettle; just goes to show the difference between a casual enthusiast and a diehard one! Along with enjoying time as a member of the Chelsea Classic Cruisers car club, he again attended the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Tommy attends college locally and Eva commutes to downtown Detroit. She began the year working as an Assistant Manager at The Buckle but soon came to the realization that the retail environment with its intense pressure and odd hours wasn’t for her. An opportunity came up with Carat, an international ad agency that had landed the GM account and opened an office in Detroit to handle the business. She’s an Associate of Digital Operations (so the online Cadillac, Buick, GMC, and OnStar ads you see have her stamp on them.) She is enjoying the position and received a promotion six months after she started. One of Eva’s closest friends, Maggie, got married in July and Eva was the unofficial maid of honor since Maggie elected not to have a bridal party. In
mid-August Eva began to plan a two-week vacation to London and Paris in September. This is how you can tell she is Tom’s daughter; only once in my life have I ever planned that far ahead for a trip! She had an absolutely wonderful time! The highlights were Westminster Abbey, Versailles, the Louvre, and meeting Matthew Lewis, aka Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies. Recently, she signed the lease for a small house in the metro-Detroit area and will move there with her dog, Jack, in February. However, since we’ve had Jack here for the last three years I’m considering suing for joint custody! ;)

Tommy’s vacation jaunts took him camping in northern Michigan a couple of times with high school and college friends. He found Michigan’s Pictured Rocks shoreline of Lake Superior to be the most beautiful place, and has encouraged me to get in better physical shape so that next summer I can hike its gorgeous rocky trails. He also had the opportunity to work at the Dexter High School band camp once again this year, which he absolutely
loves doing. At this point it looks like he has finally decided on music education. To that end he’s completing core course work at the local community college and plans to go to Eastern Michigan University to complete his degree.


Tommy’s group, Dirty Deville (an homage to an amplifier with a grungy sound), released a CD and played several times at venues around southern Michigan, including headlining at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor a few times. Once again his parents closed the bar on occasion as the headlining band doesn’t go on until midnight.  AND I had to go back to the car to get my ID in order to get in! Talk about insult to injury! But it’s a state law that everyone has to have ID, so off I’d trot to retrieve the required card.

I traveled back to PA several weekends during the year, visiting Dad and Claire and extended family. While Tom went west on vacation, I headed east for a week of utter peace, tranquility, and contentment at Chautauqua in southwestern NY. Chautauqua can be best characterized as a lakeside cultural arts Victorian resort community with limited vehicular traffic that offers a wide range of music, dance, drama, literary, religious
and social science opportunities. I was totally refreshed and rejuvenated by the time I spent there. It’s a boring mantra to year after year say that work is incredibly hectic, but it is and Chautauqua is a balm that soothes my spirit.

The biggest story of our year was the “Ides of March” tornado that struck Dexter this spring. The weather had been incredibly warm, to the point where it was downright hot in early March. As several of us were leaving work on March 15, the tornado sirens went off and we went down to the basement of the parish office building. After about 15 minutes, the sirens stopped so I hightailed it home, watching the sky blacken menacingly ahead of me. Stopped to get the mail, and a loud thunderclap and bolt of lightning shot me back into
the car and flying up the driveway. Tom and Tommy were in the basement watching the final minutes of the Syracuse NCAA basketball tournament game, where I joined them. Simultaneously the game ended and the power went off. Rain and hail were pounding down and the wind was really howling. We kept track of the weather on our phones and saw National Weather Service warnings that there were tornadoes around us.  When the weather died down we went upstairs and outside. There was a steady stream of cars coming
through our subdivision, driving across the flooded bridge over Brass Creek. At that point we found out that tornadoes had hit Dexter and there were downed trees nearly everywhere so traffic was being routed through our neighborhood. One neighbor told us he had watched the tornado heading straight for our sub only to veer east just before reaching the front entrance.

The devastation was incredible. The path it took covered about 11.5 miles. Trees were snapped and downed, hundreds of homes sustained damage (some were leveled, others had to be demolished and rebuilt), debris was carried for miles. A block away from my office a laundromat and carwash were destroyed. And just as you hear about tornadoes, right next to it there was no damage whatsoever. Dexter was blessed, however, in that there were no deaths or even injuries.

The parish served as a food and clothing center as well as distributing financial assistance. Victims were hesitant to accept money, insisting that someone else could use it more. When I stopped by one place to drop off an envelope, I had to go to the back door as there was plywood instead of a front door. The fellow tried to refuse the money, saying that they didn’t need it. I said, “You don’t have a front door! You need it!”  While the majority of blue tarps are down and construction/repairs have generally been completed, the
physical transformation of the once beautifully canopied roads leading into Dexter is a stark reminder of those 60 minutes, and will be for years to come.

Well, indeed I have found tales to tell for two pages — but it’s nice to keep up. Our fondest wishes to you all, and hope that God’s blessings and peace will be with you in 2013.

We wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Chautauqua 47

originally begun in early September 2012

1966, 1967, 1968 ... 2011, 2012 -- 47 years.  I haven't visited Chautauqua every year, but I sure have tried.  And this year I was able to spend an entire week there.  Last year I discovered that The Catholic House has opened on the grounds, and that guest rooms are awarded in a lottery system.  I was fortunate enough to win a room for week 8 of the season.  It was a blessed week.

The spring and summer have been especially stressful, beginning with the Ides of March EF3 tornado that struck Dexter.  Work intensified at that time, working up to a fever pitch in the weeks before vacation.  It's becoming more and more stressful every year, it seems.  Originally I had planned to begin vacation on the 9th, but instead commenced at 1pm on the 7th.  Words cannot adequately convey the immense lightness of being the enveloped my spirit as I joined Jan and Elizabeth on the golf course on the afternoon of the 7th.

It was so nice then to have the next day off to move at my leisure doing errands and getting a mani-pedi.  On Friday I hit the road, heading to Seneca where Mary & Steve, in the midst of "Nanny & Papa Camp" had brought Trey, Mary Abigail and Charlie.  Stevie & Carla met us there to pick up Trey, and all of us went out to eat.  Dad was kind of fuzzy; everyone descended upon them within about 15 minutes and it was a bit overwhelming for him.  Later that evening, when everyone had left, Dad recounted his WWII experiences, pretty clearly with only a few proddings from Claire and me.  I keep on remembering the book of Ruth's that I read when I was a teenager, Limberlost, the author of which I can't recall.  The main character suffered from amnesia and couldn't remember her immediate past, however her recollections from long ago were quite clear.  By the end of the book though, only too late for her relationship with another character, her memory of more recent years had returned.

The words that perfectly describe my week in Chautauqua in August

Borrowed from Fr. John Santor's Facebook post of 9/20/12:




"All this week I am in a place of quiet & solitude, away from my normal "so busy that I'm dizzy" lifestyle.  

"Lord, it is good for us to be here," said Simon Peter to Jesus on the mountain, when Jesus was transfigured."

Spring 2012

Spring has always been my favorite season, but this year I can't seem to find it within me to embrace it.  The "Ides of March" EF3 tornado that struck Dexter was due to the unusual spring heat wave.  That in and of itself is reason not to embrace the early spring we have this year.  The blooming trees and flowers seem to be rushing through their regeneration process.  I saw daffodils blooming before I saw crocus, and at the same time as beds of snowdrops bloomed.  Forsythia bloomed two weeks earlier than the earliest date heretofore (March 24), and two days later the green leaves on the forsythia bushes began to pop out.  Seems to be we enjoy the glorious yellow for a few weeks before the green overtakes it.  Flowering pears and weeping cherries have burst into bloom, and the deep coral-colored hawthorn bushes have flowered.  There are even buds forming on the lilacs.  It seems like everything is rushing and tumbling upon each other.  Almost all of this even before the merest hint of green appeared on bushes along roadsides. The serviceberry trees haven't even bloomed!  The grass has greened up and actually needs to be cut.  And as I sit here, I see a Santa that got overlooked when things were being put away.  I can't find it in myself to sing my goofy forsythia song to my kids this year.

Underlying this malaise is the devastation wrought by the tornado.  Homes have been destroyed; lives are forever changed; the once beautiful canopy of trees along Dexter-Pinckney Road won't be restored for 100 years; this is the sudden new normal of our town.  Things we never had to deal with are now front and center, unceasing, in our daily lives.  I am not uncognizant of the reality of the fact that I have not been directly affected by the tornado; I know that; but oh, the devastating aftermath!  If this is how I feel, how must those who have directly suffered from the violence of nature feel!  It seems so wrongly self-pitying to be so tired and exhausted, but I that is how I feel.

Tuckered tootsies tonight!

Am done with cookies -- what didn't get made isn't going to get made.  Still have to finish the tree; Tom & the kids got a great start on it but we've got another bin of boxes of ornaments to go through -- at the very least the icicles have to go on the tree.  Then have to pick up and put away all the boxes, cookie sheets, baking stuff, ladder, unplaced decorations, etc etc etc.  Going to be a busy day tomorrow but I'm done for the night!  (And an aside:  after years (35 at least) of making anise drops I've discovered parchment paper is the secret to not having to lather the Crisco on the cookie sheets in order not to have the cookies stick.  Taste test tomorrow to see if they are good and snappy (another problem I have with getting them right.))

Neil Noel News 2011

Neil Noel News 2011

Warmest greetings to our friends and families as 2011 draws to a close!  Hope this finds you at the close of another year that we hope has brought many blessings and much happiness to you and yours.

The year started out with a grand celebration as my father turned 90 on January 2.  Just about all his descendants gathered in Oil City for a celebratory dinner where written memories from family, friends and former employees and business associates were read aloud.  Dad good-naturedly downplayed remarkable stories of his coming to the aid of his brother and sister when they got into precarious situations on the farm growing up, a state trooper who was being assaulted when he’d pulled someone over on I-80, a car full of teenagers who crashed into a tree, employees injured in logging accidents (lifting logs off them!) and several others.  At the end of the many tales, the grandkids exclaimed that they didn’t know they actually knew Superman!  A short six weeks later, Claire turned 90 too, and once again we gathered to celebrate.  My niece Christine spoke for all of us with her tribute to Claire and all that she has brought to the family.

Tom’s father passed away unexpectedly in April.  He had just seen his doctor who cleared him to start a moderate exercise program, but a few short days later before he could begin, we received a call that he had had a massive stroke and died.  His funeral was held in the chapel at their new home in Chambersburg, and his ashes were interred the day after Thanksgiving back in western Pennsylvania on a beautiful fall day.  Dad’s life was an example of hard work, love of family and pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.  He is greatly missed by us all.

Tom’s niece Elizabeth married Oliver Beckstein in June.  They met while both were at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Elizabeth working on her doctorate and Oli doing post-doc work.  They had a long-distance engagement while Oliver, who is from Germany, was teaching at Oxford in England.  There was a bit of a snag (to put it mildly!) with visa arrangements, but at the last minute it all worked out and the Denning-Neil-Beckstein families joyfully celebrated the first wedding of the next generation of the Neil family.  Several of Oliver’s family and many of his friends came to the US for the festivities, which were a combination of American and German traditions.  While they are currently living in Baltimore, Elizabeth and Oliver are moving to the Phoenix area where Oliver will begin teaching at Arizona State University in Tempe and developing a research lab in biophysics. 

Living in Chicago, Eva bemoaned the lack of lush green grass into which she could sink her feet, and in October moved back to Dexter.  She had really enjoyed working as a bridal consultant, but because the business was somewhat cyclical she supplemented her income working as a nanny and doing contract graphic design work.  She did take advantage of opportunities to travel to the Bahamas and to Key West during the year; if it’s a new and exotic locale, she’s ready to go!  Now, back in Dexter, she’s excited to have found a position she loves as assistant manager at The Buckle store in Ann Arbor, and is happy to be on  a managerial career path.  Before she left Chi-town, I took advantage of the free couch space and visited in September when my college roommate Deb Fetters McLane was in town.  Deb and I had a delightful visit while Eva was at work. 

In August, Tommy also returned to Dexter.  He has chosen to change schools and switch majors, and is now considering Music Education.  This year he was the senior member of the Field Staff of the Dexter High School band camp, and during the fall he assisted at marching band practices.  Tom and I both talked with the Dexter High School band director, Ken Moore, about his contemplated change of plans, and Ken was very enthusiastic.  Before classes began this fall, Ty worked for our church as a member of the grounds and cemetery maintenance crews.  It was fun to have him around during the workday. 

Earlier this summer, he went on tour in Illinois and Iowa with Tree Hut Kings, the rock group with which he had toured last year.  Now he’s playing in a group named Dirty Deville with some guys he’s known for years from the Dexter area. 

Our three-car garage now sports a service bay; Tom was thrilled to have a lift from a defunct Chrysler plant installed so he can work more easily on his ‘47 Plymouth (and the household cars as well.)  I find that it serves nicely as a mug stand when I’m leaving the house in the morning with my arms full, coffee cup in hand and I have to close the door behind me.  The ‘47 developed an electrical problem that took much of the summer to diagnose, only getting on the road in early August.  That was time enough to tick one of the items off my “bucket list” — to be in a parade.  We joined the line of classic cars in the Dexter Daze parade in mid-August, and I had a ball waving and tossing candy.  Tom good-naturedly bore with me (though no doubt he was a tad embarrassed.)  Can’t wait until parade season next year!   

                Aside from working on his car, Tom did spend time on his motorcycle, though not as much as he would have liked.  Seems like family and work schedules (and the weather) precluded him riding very often.  He did take a week’s trip to STAR Days again this year in July, which was held in Madison WI, and continues to serve as the STAR Motorcycle state director. 

My 40th (!!!) high school reunion was held in August back in Oil City.  It sure is hard to believe that four decades have passed; I am frozen in my mind’s eye as being 16 or 17.  The marvelous thing about the friends of your youth is that your friendships aren’t based on what you do or where you’ve been; you’re friends simply because you are.  Jean Deemer Gilmore once again had a slumber party for our group of 7 friends, and while we didn’t manage to stay up all night (which several of us did 10 years ago!) several of us did last until 5am. 

Following the reunion I headed up to Chautauqua, NY for a few days in the quaint lakeside Victorian community.  I had absolutely glorious weather and a wonderfully restful and entertaining time.  Tom joined me for dinner as he passed through the area on a business trip which was a pleasant addition to my mini-vacation.

He and I went to Mackinac Island in September and stayed at the Grand Hotel for a few days.  Sitting on the enormous front porch, looking out over the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet, offered quite the respite.  I can now say I’ve been “up north,” finally getting beyond the Christmas shopping destination of Bronner’s in Frankenmuth after living in Michigan for almost 15 years!

In October we once more celebrated with Dad and Claire on the occasion of their 10th wedding anniversary.  In 2001 when asked why the rush to get married after a whirlwind courtship of only a few short weeks, Dad had said, “We’re 80!”  At the rate they’re going, we may be happily gathering again in 2021 to rejoice at their 20th anniversary!

Work for me has seemed to be more hectic than ever, and my office is a testament to that.  It seems no matter how hard I try to get organized, it still looks like an egg beater went through the room.  Life in a parish office is constantly busy as we deal with people, womb to tomb; a person has to be able to juggle multiple tasks while smiling all the time.  But I continue to thrive on the chaos and love the people I work with and the 4300+ souls for whom I work.

My latest hobby is playing Lexulous online, a version of Scrabble in which each player has 8 tiles rather than 7 on the rack.  Now if I could only exercise while playing!  Didn’t hit the links as often as I would have liked (see preceding paragraph!) this year, though always had a good time when I did.  There’s always next year …

And on that note, our wish for your next year is a year of God’s blessings, full of peace, joy, happiness, good health and much contentment.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Chautauqua = peace and contentment

Just got back from a week in PA/NY.  In PA for my 40th (!) high school reunion -- had a wonderful time, especially with the Friday night visit with Don Slater & Kevin McGinty and family, and the Saturday night slumber party at Jean Deemer Gilmore's house with Chris Straub, Karen Kozek Steffanina, Jane Stubler Francis, Eileen Caffrey Riddle and TC Lauer Hull.  In both instances, it was as if we'd seen each other only days ago.  With Kevin it'd been about 38 years (ran into him in the ND bookstore while I was in college and he was visiting his cousin at ND); for most of the others it had been 10 years (our last high school reunion.)  The years vanished (I was going to say "melted away" but that would imply some time, even a minimal amount, passed, when in fact, the connections were instantaneous.)  The VCHS Class of '71 reunion was great fun; but of course, now, after the fact, I come up with all sorts of things to talk to people about and ask about.  The bane of being introverted!

I stayed in Seneca with Dad and Claire -- we went out to eat on Sunday night and took a drive out to Kennerdell Lookout.  I don't know how long it's been since I was there, but it's still beautiful, and as my college boyfriend Tim said, "Look at all the trees!"  The Lookout sits above a bend in the Allegheny River; from that vantage point (itself at a break in the woods) you can see ridges, in both directions, covered with trees with hardly any signs of human encroachment.  It's just what the Indians of the area would have seen centuries ago.

Driving up to Chautauqua on Monday, I went along the Allegheny River, past Tionesta and Tidioute (in Forest County, PA, where there used to be -- still is? -- only one stoplight in the entire county) before cutting over to Youngsville and up through the lake plain to Chautauqua.  Along the river I was immediately taken back to thinking about the Indians who lived along the river and in the forests beyond.  Didn't realize until just then just how much an essential part of me was the knowledge that I grew up in a region where the Indians had once lived.  Does that make sense?  That sense just immediately came forth as I once again drove through the area.  I have never seen the Painted Rock, however; when I am back over Labor Day weekend I will rectify that.

And eventually, I was there:  Chautauqua!  My place of ultimate peace and contentment!  That beautiful Victorian community, founded to bring the enrichment of religion and culture to those who walk the grounds.  At the Main Gate there's a board listing where accomodations are still available; probably there were more listings than any other week of the season since it's the last week.  However, I went through about seven calls before either someone answered or there was still availability.  I lucked out in getting a room in a 3 bedroom apartment at Collingwood.  It hadn't been rented for the week so the owner was renting the individual rooms.  The other two bedrooms were never rented, so I had the entire apartment to myself.  Nice to have the amenities of kitchen and laundry at my disposal (and the TV, which I turned on only to hear news of the earthquake in Virginia.)  And well-disguised beneath the genteel shabbiness of Victorian Chautauqua are modern day technological conveniences:  wi-fi all over; bar-coded gate passes required for admission to the Amphitheater.  I ended up losing mine the morning I left, so had to pay to get a replacement just to get out!  My fault; oh, well!  A minor inconvenience in the scheme of things.

 As soon as I pulled up to my guesthouse (The Collingwood) to unpack, I told the owner I want to come back next year for a full week -- I'd been in Chautauqua for all of 20 minutes.  The enchantment of the place is so dear.  Everyone is so friendly but not intrusive.  One sweet little old lady (she turned 88 on August 24) who sat in front of me for the Wednesday night performance in the Amphitheater was wearing, with great panache, a red straw hat.  She turned around to ask me if her hat was in my way (it wasn't.)  She proceeded to share several humorous stories -- including the fact that she and her friends are regular weekly attendees at a comedy club in Phoenix.  Must be a hoot see them sitting right up front!  She also pulled out of her purse several funny emails and articles (and a published book on what men know about women; it's filled with blank pages!)  Humor!  That's the way to live a long and healthy life!

It struck me on the second day I was there (checked in Monday evening at 7pm and left Thursday afternoon around 1pm) that what is so peaceful about the place is that there is no overt encroachment of the modern day; no neon signs or discordant "in-your-face" advertising or establishments.  For a while in the '80s, Chautauqua did seem to be attempting to be a "chi chi" place, a "destination," but as I then told my sisters, underneath that you could still sense the essence of Chautauqua.  I'm so happy to say that phase has passed.  I wonder if other long-timers feel the same? 

Though there are more cars parked around the Institute (at residences), traffic (though the use of that word seems to be wrong, in the most common sense of the word) is minimal and the pedestrian still has the blissful right of way.  Bicycles are used quite a bit; though walking is much more common.  No skateboards allowed, though I did see one razor scooter that seemed the most raucous mode of wheeled transport. 

The Catholic presence at Chautauqua quite startled me.  Chautauqua was founded as a staunchly Protestant place.  It used to be there was one Mass a week on Sunday mornings with a priest from a nearby parish coming in.  Now there is a Catholic House prominently situated (either near the Amphitheater or Bestor Plaza; I can't remember which), two daily Masses (at the Episcopal Chapel of the Good Shepherd), a weekly Thursday afternoon seminar (at the United Methodist Chapel) -- can't say the spirit of ecumenism hasn't extended to the Catholics! -- and a daily social hour.  There is a Jewish house on the grounds as well.  My mother would be so pleased at all this; I think that was the one objection she had to Chautauqua, that non-Protestants were marginalized.

I walked the grounds during my days there, revisiting almost all the places of my youth.  (I never did get over to Norton Hall where we attended operas -- under duress -- and plays.)  The beauty -- well, one of the beauties -- of Chautauqua was and is that it is so safe.  Mom would let us have the freedom of our days to go wherever, whenever, without fear of something untoward happening.  We were expected to surface for meals and the ensuing cleaning up (had to clean up our rooms too -- one of the indulgences of my stay there this time was to leave my bed unmade and my clothes strewn about,) and we did have chores, such as cleaning the bathroom.  Where we generally stayed we may (or may not have! depending on the year) have a private bath and shared space in the communal kitchen of the boarding house. 

The theme of the week this year was "All Men Are Created Equal," celebrating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.  There were morning lectures on emancipation (Tuesday), secession (Wednesday), and the period leading up to the Civil War (Thursday), and afternoon presentations by enactors from Williamsburg.  Concerts on Monday and Tuesday night in the Amphitheater (with the delightful opportunity to listen to the symphony orchestra practice on Tuesday afternoon -- I enjoy warm-ups and practices just as much as the actual concert); an organ concert on Wednesday in the early afternoon on the grand pipe organ (one of the largest in the US) by the great-grand-student of Franz Liszt (I always jokingly referred to Tommy and Eva as being the great-grand-students of Bela Bartok, so it was fun to hear someone else refer to his training in the same fashion.)   One morning trip to the daily farmer's market; had forgotten about it the first morning I was there.  Walking down to Heinz Beach, located in front of what had been the dance studio where Kitty took lessons, I was surprised to see that the area of sandy beach has been shrunk to a small patch about 20' by 20'.  Not being a big fan of sand, I was pleased that bathers (of which I was not one!) had a grassy "beach" on which to lay their towels and belongings. 

Didn't make it down to the Hills of Palestine (which were created in reverse of the actual geographic layout; not sure why) and the Bell Tower until Wednesday evening when I was on the phone with my sister Kitty just at 6 o'clock when the carillon was chiming away with the evening program!  Not the most ideal time to be trying to talk on the phone, but it was delightful, and actually that way Kitty could share in the experience! 

Tuesday morning when I went for coffee (the only morning I had to, since I was able to get some ground coffee and a few other staples at the little grocery store there) there was a morning talk radio show being broadcast from in front of the refectory, and the guest was none other than political humorist Mark Russell, a Buffalo native visiting Chautauqua.  Cool to see him right up close and listen to a few of his sharp observations on the current political situations.  Later on he sat in front of me at one of the Civil War lectures, but left since he couldn't hear well.  Saw Sandra Day O'Connor yesterday at the Thursday morning lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Daniel Walker Howe. 

One more observation on a change at Chautauqua:  it is no longer "dry."  The WCTU was a prominent force there since its beginnings, but apparently that 19th century cultural tenet went by the wayside in the early years of the 21st century!  Was glad to hear that, since I had a nice bottle of red wine with me that hadn't gotten opened at our slumber party.  Liquor isn't sold on the grounds, and can't be consumed on public grounds, but is now legal in private.  It was a new experience to walk past cocktail parties on porches at the dinner hour.  Anecdotally:  in my teenage summers I dated a local guy there -- quite often I've seen him in the years since, but not this time.  He was a Chautauqua cop in the summers after high school, and told me, back in the day, that there was liquor in private homes then.  ;)   Actually, that brings up one more point:  I didn't see any presence of the CPD, other than a CPD SUV as I was leaving the grounds yesterday.  Used to be the guys patrolled on foot (actually that should be "strolled" on foot.)  Hmm.  I think back in the day the only thing they ever dealt with was teenage noise and "smoochers" and probably drinking!

I was at utter peace.

Where were you in 2011

The following is from a columnist for the Miami Herald and well worth reading --

 

By FRIDA GHITIS

Stop for a moment. Look around you and make a note of this time and place, because years from now you will want to remember where you were when 2011 happened.
Moving along the path of human events, we have reached a fork in the road, a turning point in history. We don’t know what lies ahead.
As this is written, the United States has — most reluctantly — entered another war in the Middle East, ostensibly to prevent a dictator, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi, from slaughtering his people. But, it’s not just Libya. The entire Middle East is boiling.

Meanwhile, Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, has taken a punch in the gut with a natural disaster of inconceivable proportions and a nuclear crisis whose ultimate outcome remains unclear. If we had heard a month ago a story of fires in multiple nuclear reactors, mass evacuations, water too radioactive to drink in one of the world’s largest cities, radioactive vegetables and people killed by the tens of thousands in a massive earthquake and a giant tsunami, we would have thought it was a really bad movie. But this is reality.
The nuclear disaster in Japan only makes what happens in the Middle East more critical, because it highlights how unprepared the world is to withstand shocks to the oil supply.
If any part of the world underwent the kind of transformative and unpredictable upheaval we see now in the Middle East, it would count as a major development.
But when the turmoil happens in that politically radioactive region, all our lives could feel the effects. The Middle East is the source of two exceedingly powerful exports. One is oil, whose every change in supply sends jolts through the global economy. The other is ideology.
Many believe the Middle East rose to prominence only because of its oil riches. But the region triggered major global ideas and events long before oil was found. It brought the world monotheism, Christianity, Islam. It was at the center of the Crusades, the Ottoman Empire, Arab-Israeli wars and the rise of militant Islam. The Middle East has shown its ability to change the world.
We don’t know where all this will take us. Years from now we may look back and say 2011 was the year when democracy took hold in the Middle East; the year when the region stopped exporting extremism and became an example of peace, democracy, and reconciliation. We might mark it as the year when successful Arab uprisings sent a wave of democratic change to other parts of the world, helping bringing freedom to Burma and China and Cuba. We may well see the revolutions reach other corners of the world. Facebook does.
But a happy outcome is far from assured.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned that if things go wrong in the Middle East, the world “would have financial consequences that would make the last three years seem the mere prelude to much greater difficulties.”
On the shores of the Persian Gulf, in Bahrain, Saudi troops have marched in against an uprising by the majority Shiites against the ruling Sunni monarchy. Iran watches closely. It has claimed Bahrain is its territory. Tehran has hinted it could intervene to help fellow Shiites. A clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia would send the world economy into a tailspin. It could also become a much wider Sunni-Shia confrontation. In nearby Yemen, at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, the U.S.-friendly president looks set to lose power. Yemen is a hotbed of radical Islamist fervor. It is the most likely country to become another Afghanistan, but its location makes it more dangerous than 1990s Afghanistan, where the Taliban allowed al Qaeda to hatch the 9/11 attacks.
At this extraordinarily important moment in history, another enormous change is taking place. The United States appears set to relinquish its role of global leadership. The post-American world, as Fareed Zakaria termed it, may just begin in 2011. President Obama agreed to take action in Libya only after France and Britain prodded him. And even now the mission, and American enthusiasm, remains hazy.
In the end, it could turn out the way we wish, with freedom and democracy for all. We don’t know. But whatever happens, you will remember 2011.

Reluctant Organization

I do believe yesterday the final Christmas decorations came down.  Now, however, I have spent the weekend trying to efficiently combine and store the decorations.  My idea is to put them together by location and store them in LIFO order (last in, first out.)  However, I find myself ridiculously tied to the original boxes things came in or were stored in. 

Having more or less completed the task (final clean up still to be done, but that'll be another day) I'm not sure I've accomplished much more than replacing cardboard boxes that have served the purpose for lo these many years with plastic, see-through tubs that still have boxes of decorations in them.  And I'm not sure I've conserved any space; there are many things that have been stored in cupboards where they are used for decorating or put in tubs in the basement.  AND I put a bunch of stuff in a 3' x 3' box for the flea market.  Yet, the Christmas closet is filled to the gills.  What's wrong with this picture!!!

Home Alone

It's a dreary gray Saturday, and the rain has changed to snow.  Tom went up to Lansing for a meeting, and is staying to have dinner with Tommy.  Glad they've connected, but don't like being home alone for most of the day on Saturday.  If it's during the week, no problem; I love having the house to myself.  But for some reason Saturdays are a different matter.  Maybe if it were sunny it'd be a different matter.

Met with Leslie Knecht Driver today to engage her decorating services for some things.  Our family room is, as Tom is wont to call it, "a bowling alley" from front door and foyer to the fireplace.  Simple suggestions that will make a world of difference, from changing lamp shades and moving some pictures very slightly to changing out a rectangular coffee table (oak and granite; I really like it but she's got the eye) for a large round one and adding an area rug to soften the bowling alley effect.  The coffee table will replace the kids' train table in the basement that I got at a Mom2Mom sale a couple of years ago for my distant future grandbabies.  Tom should be pleased about that; he's not thrilled I got it in the first place, and doesn't like using it as a coffee table -- works for me (especially since the top flips from a kiddie town scene to a plain white top) but oh well.  Not sure where it will go; maybe the flea market, or "on loan" to someone if anyone is interested.  Will change out a kitchen chandelier and the dining room one; have always disliked both.  Will put the one of the very first pieces of real furniture I purchased back in the late '70s-early '80s -- a champagne colored wing chair with ottoman -- in the parish flea market this summer.  Tom will be pleased with that too!  We have a surfeit of furniture, and the second piano from his folks this past summer has usurped its place in the family room so it's stuck in the living room where it's rather out of place. 

I think the whole process will be fun.

Think next weekend I'll put the winter decorations (snowmen and pine trees mostly) away.  It's time to THINK SPRING!!!!

But for now, guess I'll go back to working on family finances.  (Or maybe take that chair to the basement myself first.)

On the 45th Day of Christmas ... my decorations are still up ...

On the night of January 17 I began to sneeze repeatedly and repeatedly.  And now, on the evening of February 8, I'm still hacking away and feeling fatigued.  For a few short days in there I actually thought I was getting over the flu -- I was back at my desk on January 24, and back in my bed on the afternoon of Feb. 3.  Had worked late on Feb. 2, and about 7:15 felt like I hit a brick wall.  Went home, coughed all evening and was wiped out.  Had to finish an annual report for work the next morning, but went home when that was accomplished.  Could barely crawl out of bed the next day, and was truly too sick to go to the doctor.  Finally made it on Feb. 7, got antibiotics, and VIOLA!!! (yes, I know it's supposed to be Voila! but some of us in the Megnin family say VIOLA!) Drugs are wonderful things -- am still tired and coughing, but feeling so far ahead of where I was yesterday it's not funny.  So maybe for the rest of the evenings this week I'll get after the remaining decorations.

Birthday Bonanza

Yesterday I began my 58th (!) year, having completed 57 years on this mortal coil.  The day started out with a text message from my brother Bob; such a nice beginning to my 2011 "day of note."  Tom is down with the flu, and he croaked out, "Happy Birthday.  I know this is tacky, but I ordered a cake for you from Country Market; would you pick it up, please?"  So much for dinner out, but no matter.  I decided in the morning rather than be on the receiving end, I should celebrate by giving.  Not that there was all that much opportunity, but still, it's a better perspective to have on one's birthday. 

Went to morning Mass.  My "birthday twin" Mimi (who turned 80-something) and I were remembered in the intentions, and seranaded by the congregation at the end of Mass.  In turn, the three of us ladies in the office put candles in a doughnut and sang to Mimi when she and the ladies were finished stuffing the flyers into the bulletins. Dad & Claire called and sang Happy Birthday and chatted for a bit.  Dolores stopped by with a card and carnations.  Elizabeth came in with popcorn toppings, popcorn, and a carrot cupcake.  Cindy gave me a bottle of wine and bought my lunch.  Julie brought me a potted hyacinth.  Throughout the day there were greetings on Facebook, in my email, and more text messages.

When I picked up the birthday cake, I also got a steak and some snow peas, and fixed a nice dinner for Tom and me, complemented with the wine from Cindy.  The mail brought some cards and a package from Eva.  I got some more birthday calls, and talked for quite a while with Eva.  Tom and I ended the evening with cake.

It was low-key and wonderful, all around.  I truly, truly am blessed by good fortune and blessings, and all good gifts of friends and family and people who care.

I really want to thank you, Lord.  Amen.

Wow! No longer a walking zombie!

It's amazing how you can wake up after days of being ill and realize you actually feel like a member of the human race again!  Yay hooray!  However, I continue to have a pretty bad headache in the a.m.  Wonder if it's dust -- a horrifying amount of dust has accumulated on the carpeting under the bed.  Am in the guest room (didn't want to share the bugs with Tom once he got home).  Definitely something to be said for hardwood floors -- when our ship comes in I'm going to recommend we put hardwood floors down instead of wall-to-wall carpeting.

The guest room is next to Eva's room, and for the second morning in a row a musical alarm has gone off in her room.  There are Christmas boxes all over in there (guess what my project for the week was going to be!) and when I went in I couldn't find the alarm.  It must have been going off every morning since Christmas at 8 o'clock, the last time she slept in her bed and the time to get up to begin our annual Christmas ritual of being up, opening gifts, having breakfast and being out the door by 10 for the trek to PA.

Sick in Bed

I guess the tree falling over was a blessing in disguise, otherwise it would still be up.  As it is, the decorations are laying on tables in the kitchen and family room. 

Around 4:00-4:30 on Monday I had a sniffle that I could tell was not an allergy sniffle -- how is that? but I can tell.  Got home and felt myself sliding downhill.  Elizabeth came over for sewing, but after an hour of me sneezing an incredible amount, she offered to go home, and I readily agreed.  To bed immediately thereafter, and have been there since.  Lord, I hate being sick!

A Truly SUPER Man

On Christmas evening we honored my Dad's 90 years of life by sharing memories from family, friends, neighbors and employees of Dad's. (His 90th birthday is on January 2, 2011. It's not too late to send your memories of him!)

At the end, my kids and their cousins said in amazement, they didn't know they actually KNEW Superman! Among the memories shared:

As a young teen, he had the presence of mind to direct his younger brother out of harms way when a bull charged the two of them on the family farm.

Having graduated from Syracuse University at the age of 20 in 1941, he was still considered too young to be commissioned as a 2d lieutenant in the Army, despite completing 4 years of ROTC. He went back to work the family farm for the next year and a half. During that time, he threw a drunken neighbor (his father's age) off the property when the man attempted to assault his sister.

After the War, my father eventually became a partner in a barrel stave mill. One time a tree fell on one of his employees on a logging job out in the woods. Dad lifted the log off the man and freed him. Later on, two other guys tried to move the log and were unable to even budge it.

One time in the mill, a white oak bolt fell off the conveyor belt. My father easily hoisted it back onto the belt, a feat no other man could manage.

There were many written tributes from former employees, thanking Dad for giving them the opportunity to provide good lives for their families.

My father used to have a rather heavy foot as he travelled the 65 miles between his stave mill outside of Kittanning PA and our home in Seneca PA. Unlike here in Michigan where the roads are straight and flat, and one can easily cover 60 miles in 45-50 minutes (I was late for a soccer game of Tommy's) the roads in Pennsylvania are curving and mountainous (well, hilly is what I always thought, but having now lived in the Midwest, they do qualify as mountainous.) There are no direct routes and certainly no highways, so for the approximately 5 miles of the trip on I-80 he would "put the pedal to the metal" and on multiple occasions was stopped for speeding. Once he told the cop he figured they "would give a guy about 10 miles over the limit," to which the cop replied, "Sir, you were misinformed," and proceeded to issue another speeding ticket. One day on that stretch of I-80, Dad saw a cop being assaulted by a guy he'd pulled over. Dad stopped, got out, and without giving it a second thought, slugged the assailant and effectively broke up the altercation. Sometime later he received an official commendation for his assistance to the State Police. From then on, if he was stopped for speeding, he somehow was never issued another ticket.

When I was about 11 we were visiting my grandparents on the farm in upstate NY. Sitting at the dinner table, we heard a loud crash outside when a car full of teenagers plowed into the row of trees across from the house. My dad rushed out and began pulling kids out of the wreck and administering first aid. My uncle remonstrated with him, saying that it was against the law in NY state to do that (now, mind you, this is what a young kid remembered.) My father said the heck with that, he wasn't a citizen of NY, the kids needed immediate attention, and he was going to take care of them, which he did.

In these and so many other ways, my father truly is a SUPER man. Taking care of people has been his way of life.