Tuesday 26 February 2008

Well worth the Pneumonia

Last week, I had the privilege of attending Conner Prairie's "Hearthside Suppers." My MIL got sick the day of the event so my husband had to stay home with the baby :( but it was nice of him to offer because I was DESPERATE to get out of the house! So my brother was my date instead. It was actually nice to go with my brother and my parents. Sort of a throwback to family vacations 15 years ago. So anywho....we get there and meet the rest of our "party" (they cap the dinners at 12) and we got lanterns and walked out to our home for the evening. We were served smashed cheese or something (it had been chopped up and mixed with a bunch of other things that I couldn't see - it was very dark of course) as well as popcorn made in lard, and some spiced cider. YUM! We made small talk with each other and were then put to task in the kitchen. They gave each of us a job. Mine was to churn butter - literally - with that bucket thing and the stick. So I sat in a chair and pulled the stick up and down for about 15 minutes. The lady told me I had to sing to the butter to make it come out right. She asked me if I knew "Yankee Doodle" to which I answered, "I know God Save the Queen!" I opted not to sing at all. ;)

My dad's job was to grind the coffee, my brother had to peel potatoes with a dull knife, and my mom had to make dumplings (we grew up calling them Wolvers but that's another story) for the soup. It was nice in the kitchen doing all those old-timey things. I love to cook, but it was a good reminder of how GOOD we have it with electricity! It was actually kind of cool to feel the whip cream turn to butter, and to do things by candlelight in front of a huge roaring fire....

So we then went back to the dining room and chatted a bit and they brought out the soup course. It was some kind of chicken brothy soup which I thought tasted like a Thanksgiving turkey. I pushed it around my bowl a little. Next - the main course! We had "Shoat" which is, according to Wiki, a recently weaned piglet. (Yeah, I know) I of course didn't have any. There was also some chicken - but it was both one the bone AND dark meat so I passed on that as well. HOWEVER! I did make up for the 45 dollar price tag by stuffing myself with dill pickled green beans, mustard potatoes, and brandied peaches. The catch was - we had to "set" our own place as well as eat with our knife which they apparently did in 1836. It was a big fat steak type knife. The only thing that resembled a fork was a 2 pronged (SHARP) thing. I wasn't about to put that in my mouth. So the dinner was filled with the wonderful din of talking people and the "plopping" of food back onto the china.

After dinner we took a tour of the house which was very very interesting - and this from someone who pretty much hates American History. Afterward, we came back to the dining room for cheesecake - which tasted more like cheese than cake. (Can someone say "spoiled with processed food much?") we then played some games of the period. The first one entailed reading from cards. One was a question and the other was an answer. The person to your left asked a question and you answered with the answer on your card. For instance:

"Do you find consternation to be a problem among erudites?"
"I plant my corn in the summer"

Hahahaha opera laugh.

It was way lame and made me feel sorry for the pilgrims or settlers or Prarieans or whatever."

The second game was the "Telephone" game called something like "Village Gossip." No one could think of a starting phrase that was even remotely close to the time period. I finally came up with a Thoreau quote. "The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." (I *heart* Thoreau!) The only problem was - that I had to "whisper" this to my mother who is 100% deaf in one ear, and about 50% deaf in the other ear. Even shouting it - it ended up something like "Women are desperate!" ha ha

Thus ended our evening and we walked back in the freezing cold, lanterns lit, to the main building where we all utilized the very modern bathrooms.

It was fun. I don't know if I'd ever do it again, but it was different which made it very very nice. It wasn't dinner and a movie, or shopping, or grilling out. It was totally different than anything I'd done before and it was nice to do it with my family. So, in the end, I have to give it a thumbs up.

Everything we need right here and everything we need is enough

I have to officially say that my husband is Superman. He had been taking care of Madeline and me nonstop since Thursday! I'd been ordered to bed with no real choice about the whole thing. He took lots of time off work, made all the meals, did all the cleaning, even took Madeline to the doctor and held her during the helacious screaming that comes with the Doctor looking in her ear. (Ear infection!) He hasn't complained or grumbled ONCE! He's constantly checking on me to see if I need anything, bringing me breakfast and snacks in bed. He brings Madeline in for little visits and knows when I've had too much.

My parents kept Madeline overnight the first night, but Steve's been Momma and Daddy both since then. It's hard enough taking care of her all day - especially when she's sick and grouchy - but 2 of us that way can just be plain awful!

I know not all men are like that. He's been so loving and supportive, I hardly know how to begin to thank him. He, on the other hand, won't let me take care of him when he's sick, so it's not like I can exactly return the favour......but I do think some paella is in order!

Sometimes, we "old married folk" can get caught up in what each other does wrong, or in better words - not the way WE would do it. He did as good a job (or better actually) taking care of Madeline as I do AND was able to get other stuff done as well. I don't tell him enough that I appreciate everything he does. I am very very fortunate.

I don't get many things right the first time
In fact, I am told that a lot
Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls brought me here
And where was I before the day that I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know
That I am....The luckiest

What if I'd been born fifty years before you?
In a house on a street where you lived?
Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike-Would I know?
And in a white sea of eyes I see one pair that I recognize
And I knowThat I am.... The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you


Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties
And one day passed away in his sleep
And his wife; she stayed for a couple of daysAnd passed away
I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong
That I knowThat I am The luckiest

Saturday 23 February 2008

Every generation...

Henry David Thoreau said that every generation laughs at the previous generation's fashions, but follows religiously the new. How true, how true...
I am in love with this pair of boots.... but I am imagining Madeline going through the attic one day and finding them and saying, "Mother? What on earth were you THINKING?"

Ugly or Cute?

Friday 15 February 2008

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Fashion I can't belive is still acceptable or If you must wear fur please don't let it touch me

Yesterday my dear husband and I celebrated Valentines Day. We decided to "beat the rush" and go out early. My mom came up to babysit so we could go out.



Too bad I accidentally poisoned him with my chili. He ate it Monday night and I don't think he came to bed the whole night he was so sick... I felt terrible! (Especially since I didn't eat any myself) I kept telling him we should cancel our evening out but he insisted we forge ahead. (Surprise surprise to anyone who knows my husband). We were going to go to Outback, but decided to go to Chilis instead since he wasn't really in the mood to eat.



Afterwards we went to Emens Auditorium at Ball State and saw "Evita." I didn't know what to expect as I had never seen it. We got settled into our seats (which were fantastic!) and right after the lights dimmer I realized I felt something hairy touching my leg. Hmmmm.....



I knew it wasn't my husband so I started groping around to see what it was. I finally latched on to a handful of what looked to be Mink.



Ok, first of all, it's Ball State people, not Broadway.



Secondly - Do people still really wear fur?



I've always been anti-fur, but especially since my Junior year of high school when I did a research paper on animal rights. I couldn't believe the laws (or lack thereof really) regarding how animals were treated who were only being raised for their skin (or our dinner tables for that matter). I remember my mom supporting me, until she saw the pile of cashmere and angora sweaters that were destined for Goodwill. I mellowed out a little when I realized that at least the animals weren't killed for their fur, as other animals were.



I just thought it todays day and age that 99.9 percent of all people felt that wearing fur was cruel and disgusting - not to mention , most of it is UGLY!



But whatever, as much as I wanted to get my red pen out and sneak "FUR IS DEAD" onto the back of the coat (my paint can was at home) I know this lady has a RIGHT to wear whatever she wants. She also has the right to wear her hair so big that I have to sit on my knees like a 5 year old to see over it.



What I hated is that I couldn't get away from it. I shifted, I sat on one leg, I crossed and uncrossed - I sat like a man- and still it was drifting down on me like a Yeti snowfall.

At least the performance was good. Rather - outstanding. I wasn't sure I'd like it going in - but it was just beyond wonderful. The young girl who played Evita was truly out of this world and I suspect she'll be quite famous someday. I pretty much annoyed Steve all the way home singing my own little variations of "Don't cry for me, Argentina." (Complete with arm raising and fake crying.)

What a trooper...

Tuesday 5 February 2008

Locks of Love

I really really want this hair cut - but I am a big weenie and afraid to go get it. I am afraid it's a little too much for my skinny face. However, Ms McCarthy also has a skinny face.

I mean, hair grows back right?

Monday 4 February 2008

Just call me Oscar

Sorry for the lapse in posts, I've been busy with a grouchy baby (apparently we took her off the reflux medication a little too soon) and I think some of it's rubbing off on me because I've been a real wench latley. I think I'm becoming more sensitive with age. I found this the other day and couldn't believe how well it nailed me. *note to self - make husband teach me how to hyperlink!* I am a "Melancholy-Sanguine" personality.

Mr. MelSan is usually a very gifted person, fully capable of being a musician who can steal the heart of an audience. As an artist, he not only draws or paints beautifully but can sell his own work- if he's in the right mood. It is not uncommon to encounter him in the field of education, for he makes a good scholar and probably the best of all classroom teachers, particularly on the high school and college level. The melancholy in him will ferret out little-known facts and be exacting in the use of events and detail, while the sanguine will enable him to communicate well with students.
Mr. MelSan shows an interesting combination of mood swings. Be sure of this: he is an emotional creature! When circumstances are pleasing to him, he can reflect a fantastically happy mood. But if things work out badly or he is rejected, insulted, or injured, he drops into such a mood that his lesser sanguine nature drowns in the resultant sea of self pity. He is easily moved to tears, feels everything deeply, but can be unreasonably critical and hard on others. He tends to be rigid and usually will not cooperate unless things go his way, which is often idealistic and impractical. He is often a fearful, insecure man with a poor self-image which limits him unnecessarily.