family | dual personalities

November 22, 2017

Come, ye thankful people, come

by chuckofish

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Today I am taking a half day at work, followed by a 4-day weekend. Huzzah.

My nephew Tim is driving in today from Crawfordsville, Indiana, and so is daughter #1 from Columbia. I will be in the kitchen cooking–terra incognita, for sure. But maybe we will have a dance party.

8f6180883df0ad438082a92665a38151--vintage-thanksgiving-thanksgiving-dinners.jpg As you are celebrating Thanksgiving with your family and friends tomorrow, keep in mind what Joyce Meyer says: “Go home, and let all your relatives off the potter’s wheel. You are not the potter!”

Relax. Have a great day. Watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

or Miracle on 34th Street (1947).

Count your blessings. Life is good.

Don’t look so surprised!

Glorious things of thee are spoken,
Zion, city of our God!
He, whose Word cannot be broken,
Formed thee for His own abode;
On the Rock of Ages founded,
What can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s walls surrounded,
Thou mayst smile at all thy foes.

–John Newton, Anglican Hymn

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November 20, 2017

“Fling wide the portals of your heart; make it a temple, set apart”*

by chuckofish

Thanksgiving is upon us. If you were out shopping at all this weekend, you know that Christmas is upon us. I made the mistake of going to Target, which was very crowded, and then going to Home Goods, which was crazy! Well, I managed to find gold tapers, so all was not lost.

The OM and I went out to dinner on Saturday night with some old friends. When we got home we watched a terrible movie–Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017). Charlie Hunnam couldn’t save this CG insanity which reportedly cost $175 million to make. Why, Lord, why?

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The double feature of two funny movies–The Great Outdoors and Uncle Buck, which we watched on Friday night, was much better. At least there was a discernible story in each.

The rest of the weekend I cleaned a lot at home in anticipation of multiple guests later this week. I ran over to the boy’s house after church to see the wee babes, whom I had not seen for two weeks! They are as brilliant as ever, but I didn’t take any pictures.

The OM made soup on Sunday night. (It’s that time of year again.) I washed the dishes.

It’s a short work week! Enjoy it.

*Hymn #436, George Weissel (1590-1633)

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November 17, 2017

Friday? Oh hell yes

by chuckofish

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The end of another week. After a big work event today, I will be ready for a low-key weekend and a tall glass of wine tonight.

As it is November and we are approaching Thanksgiving with alarming rapidity, I have been thinking about gratitude. I am grateful for and proud of my scholarly academic relatives, including daughter #2 who just had her first scholarly article published in a scholarly journal: “Sentimentalism and Secularism in Pierre” in Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies. (I cannot even spell “sentimentalism”…spellcheck corrected me.)

She has been working diligently to finish her dissertation and we are praying hard for her. She won’t be home for Thanksgiving, but we’ll be thinking of her and looking forward to seeing her at Christmas.

I am also grateful for Dierbergs Market which will be cooking our Thanksgiving turkey for us.

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I’m sure they will do a heck of a job. I will be doing my best to rustle up my cheesy potato casserole and open a can of cranberry sauce ee99e6f9-eb1a-430d-a68d-0558cefba577_1.402270de716c2fe121299c317d2d79cc

and pop some crescent rolls in the oven.

Screen Shot 2017-11-17 at 6.27.35 AM I will be counting on others to bring the rest. I am grateful for the ten adults who are coming and for the two wee babes who will join us at the table.

Did someone say cranberry sauce?

So this weekend I will be readying the house for overnight guests (daughter #1 and my nephew Tim from Indiana) and the dining room for the feast. I am grateful for the opportunity to do this. Time to get out the china and the crystal and the festive tablecloth. Time to iron the napkins and arrange the centerpiece.

I am looking forward to our annual viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) on Thanksgiving, so tonight my movie pick is for something else from the John Candy/Steve Martin oeuvre: Uncle Buck (1989) or The Great Outdoors (1988); Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)–something along those lines that will help us get in the holiday state of mind.

Also, this obit for a flyover collector was interesting.

Have a great weekend!

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November 6, 2017

“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God”*

by chuckofish

As you know, Sunday was All Saints’ Sunday when we remember those who have gone before us in the faith. It is a long service, made longer this year by three baptisms and it was also Pledge Sunday! I didn’t mind, especially since we had a piper and a cake afterwards.

My busy weekend flew by as expected. I got up early on Saturday morning to meet one of my oldest BFFs from high school who was in town. We gathered for coffee with a few other HS friends that I see infrequently and a gabfest ensued.

After returning home, daughter # 1 arrived and we headed out to a few estate sales and lunch. We were successful, picking up some wooden cup and saucer holders and silver trays–the things no one seems to want anymore, but for which I am always looking. I also bought this very cool photo enlargement of the St. Louis levee in 1869.

How cool is that? I’m not sure where I will put it, but for $5, I’m not worrying.

We headed over to babysit the wee babes at 5:00 p.m. The boy and daughter #3 left for their wedding and we settled in with the wee babes. Daughter #1 had brought her bluetooth speaker/phone and we played the soundtrack to Peter Pan, entertaining the wee babes with our singalong and dancing talents: I’ll just call on Tiger-Lily! I’ll just call on Peter Pan! We’ll be coming willy, nilly, Lily! They were duly impressed. Anyway, all this gaiety wore them out and put them in the mood for eating dinner and bedtime.

We watched a little Moana and they were soon down for the count.

Indeed, the evening went quite well except for one huge diaper blow-out with green poop up Lottie’s back to her neck. That onesie is toast.

The grownups started to watch Miss Congeniality II and then I fell asleep. Par for the course.

Daughter #1 headed back to Columbia before church the next morning. I puttered around after church, catching up on laundry and dusting. I put away my halloween candles and got out my pilgrims and indians.

Sunday night the OM and I Ubered to terra incognita to see an old friend perform a cabaret to a sold out audience of friends and family.

She sang a lot of old standards–Sondheim, Porter, Nelly, and my favorite–a Guys and Dolls medley–with witty chatter in between songs. I have known Cindy since I was in second grade and we went to school and church together and college too. She has been a successful banker and headhunter, but always in her heart, wanted to be a Broadway star. So for one night she was.

More power to her for her courage and chutspah! She gets the “You go, girl!” award this week.

I leave you with this classic snap of the wee babes, which the boy texted me yesterday.

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Haha. Enjoy the day!

*I John 3:1

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November 3, 2017

“Hand me down that can of beans”*

by chuckofish

I have a busy weekend ahead with a bigger helping of social events than I am used to. How about you?

In addition to the aforementioned social events, the OM and I are also babysitting for the wee babes while their parents go to a wedding. This will entail sticking around for longer than two hours, so daughter #1 has kindly agreed to come into town to help. Phew.

The King of Cool: one-handed non-chalance; he will be one-strapping** a backpack soon…

Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Here’s hoping the three of us can handle these two goofballs.

In other news, did you read that November 1 was the 50th anniversary of the release of Cool Hand Luke (1967)?

Fifty years?! Zut alors, that makes me feel old. Not that I was actually old enough to see it at the movies, but almost. I remember my older brother going to see it and hearing all about it afterwards. Of course, he thought it was great, and he couldn’t believe the ending. I couldn’t wait to see it–a few years later and on television. It is one of my Top Ten favorite movies and it is my Friday movie pick. Even if you have seen it 50 times, watch it again. Paul Newman is at his tip-top best and he is ably supported by a terrific cast of up-and-coming actors. The only woman in the cast is Jo Van Fleet and her one scene is very memorable, although the Academy failed to nominate her for an Oscar. As I have said before, Paul Newman was also robbed.

By the way, last weekend I watched Paint Your Wagon (1969) which I had not seen in many years.

I enjoyed it a lot, especially Clint Eastwood, who is at the peak of his physical attractiveness and actually, for once, plays a nice guy.

No wonder I fell behind in all my eighth grade classes–I was daydreaming about him! Sigh. In fact, I never caught up with Math and French and was forever relegated to the A1 sections thereafter. (This was fine with me, but I blame Clint Eastwood.) I also was surprised that I still knew the soundtrack backwards and forwards, having listened to it ad nauseum back in the day.

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Good to know we don’t forget everything.

Have a great weekend!

BTW, if you are wondering who takes all those great photos of the wee babes, it is their pater, the boy.

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He’s pretty good, right?

@ultimatelacrossestore

*The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on the Paint Your Wagon soundtrack

**Chan Tatum one-strapping; Jonah Hill two-strapping

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October 30, 2017

Here I stand

by chuckofish

I spent most of Saturday getting ready for a dinner party that was part of a church “progressive dinner.” It is my policy when asked to host something like that to try to say yes, but I understood when the OM grumbled at 4:30 pm, “Why are we doing this?” Because we can, is usually my answer. I knew, as well, that we would be assigned all the “widows and orphans” in the church, and I laughed when this lady showed up first (and early):

But as it turned out, we had quite a lot of fun.

The next morning in church, the rector began his sermon with a question: Tuesday, October 31 is a big day-does anyone know why? And I don’t mean Holloween…

Crickets.

Anyone? he said. I was proud of my timid self for speaking up and saying, loud and clear, “500 years!”

He chuckled. Yes, And what happened 500 years ago?

“The REFORMATION!” I said.

(I’m sure he was thinking, of course, Katie would know that answer…and for once, he was probably glad I was there.)

He went on to preach his sermon on Martin Luther and the Reformation. I was very pleased. He even told us he was wearing his Here I Stand socks, which he had bought in Wittenberg, Germany. This made me jealous–I want Here I Stand socks! The best I can boast is a “Saved by Faith Alone” mug which I use at work. Not exactly a conversation starter.

Meanwhile, the wee babes are all set for their first Halloween. They tried out their costumes at the “Boo at the Zoo” event earlier in the week.

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How cute are Dorothy and the Scarecrow? Darn cute.

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What do you mean, we’re too little for candy?

We went over to their house Sunday night for chili. The little guy was up on his feet and on-the-go constantly until he tried to eat dinner and conked out.

Lottiebelle, who is much less mobile, knows how to pace herself. She was awake and ready to go when we left.

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Well, all this talk of Standing (see above), reminded me of this classic from 1990:

That should get your week started off right! Have a good one.

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October 23, 2017

“Let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.” *

by chuckofish

Well, the weekend flew by as expected and was jam-packed with fun and plenty of good conversation. While I was hard at work on Friday, daughter #2 went to the zoo with the wee babes and hung out with Phil et al. Screen Shot 2017-10-22 at 2.22.22 PM.png On Saturday the two of us drove to Columbia to check out daughter #1’s new apartment. Here are a few iphone pictures, which I’m afraid do not really give you an idea of how great it is.

What about that gallery wall?

We also took a lovely walk in the nearby nature area and bird sanctuary. (We did not venture into the town or near the campus as it was Homecoming Weekend.) Then we drove to the Les Bourgeois winery in Rocheport and ate lunch at the blustery blufftop Bistro overlooking the Missouri River. It was beautiful and I highly recommend it. I mean what could be better than this view?

Screen Shot 2017-10-22 at 2.21.48 PM.png I could have happily sat there all day (drinking wine) but we had to get back to town to our flyover home and have dinner with the whole gang.

The wee bud is now pulling himself up and starting to cruise along furniture. He is a 14-pound dynamo.

Daughter #2 departed in the early morning rain and daughter #1 left in the afternoon. Sigh. But the wee babes and their parents returned on Sunday night and we ventured over to the Pumpkins and Pizza party at church.

Here’s a hint of things to come on Hallowe’en.

Daughter #3 has mad skills…yes, she made the costumes!

Have a great week–October is almost over!

*St. Augustine of Hippo

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October 20, 2017

Weekend forecast

by chuckofish

The boy picked up daughter #2 at the airport yesterday and dropped her off at my office where we hung out until we could reasonably escape. Then we sat outside and drank margaritas at Club Taco.

Today she is going to the zoo with the wee babes and daughter #3 (who has a day off) while I am at work.

How much fun will that be, Lottie?

On Saturday we’re getting up early and driving to Columbia to see daughter #1 and check out her apartment and her new couch and go to Les Bourgeois Vineyards and have lunch at the blufftop bistro overlooking the lovely Missouri River.

Forecasting super fun in central MO.

Enjoy your weekend too!

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October 16, 2017

“Oh Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you…”*

by chuckofish

It was a stormy, gray Sunday and I contemplated staying in bed and reading Ivan Doig, but I was a good girl and got up and went to church. I was rewarded with great scripture readings and one of my favorite hymns. I mean, how great is Philippians 4:1-9:

Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

²I entreat Eu-o′dia and I entreat Syn′tyche to agree in the Lord. ³And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. ⁶Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.

There you have it.

Our final hymn was #624, Jerusalem the Golden, which always makes me cry. I was kind of a mess, mascara running all over, etc. Oh well. I am just a sentimental/crazy old lady who cries at hymns.

Most of my weekend was spent catching up on house maintenance and the like, which I do not mind. Life becomes a romance when you can learn to enjoy your everyday tasks and routines. Didn’t Oswald Chambers say something about that? (I think he was talking about our relationship with Christ, but it works here too.) Enjoy your home, I say, and part of that is taking care of it.

The OM and I babysat on Friday night while the boy and daughter #3 went out on the town…haha…they were home before 9 o’clock! The wee babes were great–a hand full–but great. I had forgotten what it is like to try to change a diaper on a boy-child who, when put on his back, immediately flips over. What a wrestling match ensues! Zut alors! I managed to get the little bud into his jammies, but I’m afraid they might have been backwards…C’est la vie. They were tuckered out but too wound up to go to bed, and when their parents arrived home, it was in the nick of time as Lottiebelle was having a meltdown and the OM’s patience was wearing thin. We headed home and I had a large glass of wine. They all came over for the last barbecue of the season on Sunday night.

In between I went to a work-related fundraiser–a “Hootenanny”–where a bunch of aging hippies and old communists plus President George H.W. Bush’s former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service sang 1960s folk songs accompanied by a ukelele band. I’m telling you, truth is stranger than fiction. It was more fun than you would think and the story of my life.

Now it is Monday already and it’s back to the salt mine. Enjoy the day!

*Isaiah 25:1

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October 13, 2017

Fly sideways FRIYAY

by chuckofish

Just as I unpacked my turtlenecks and black tights, they are predicting broken records for heat this weekend! Good grief! No matter what people say about global warming, it has always been thus in flyover country.

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Que sera sera.

This weekend I plan to finish Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes which I started last weekend. It is a straight up detective novel which someone left in the giveaway basket at work. I am enjoying it. Next on the docket is This House of Sky by Ivan Doig, which came highly recommended by someone whose opinion I value.

I have a work event on Sunday afternoon that I have to attend, and after that, the boy and daughter # 3 will come over. Can’t wait to see the wee babes, especially Lottie who decided to stand up this week!

She has hitherto been reluctant to put her weight on her feet, but seems to have decided it is okay now. You go, Girl!

Her brother has been very encouraging.

BTW, on a historical/literary note, 138 years ago today Walt Whitman came to St. Louis to visit his brother, Thomas Jefferson Whitman, who was the city water commissioner. How about that? He liked the great river town, but wasn’t fond of the smog. In honor of his visit, and because it seems appropriate, here is a little bit of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry:

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These and all else were to me the same as they are to you,

I loved well those cities, loved well the stately and rapid river,

The men and women I saw were all near to me,

Others the same—others who look back on me because I look’d forward to them,

(The time will come, though I stop here to-day and to-night.)

5

What is it then between us?

What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us?

Whatever it is, it avails not—distance avails not, and place avails not,

I too lived, Brooklyn of ample hills was mine,

I too walk’d the streets of Manhattan island, and bathed in the waters around it,

I too felt the curious abrupt questionings stir within me,

In the day among crowds of people sometimes they came upon me,

In my walks home late at night or as I lay in my bed they came upon me,

I too had been struck from the float forever held in solution,

I too had receiv’d identity by my body,

That I was I knew was of my body, and what I should be I knew I should be of my body.

…

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Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide!

Frolic on, crested and scallop-edg’d waves!

Gorgeous clouds of the sunset! drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me!

Cross from shore to shore, countless crowds of passengers!

Stand up, tall masts of Mannahatta! stand up, beautiful hills of Brooklyn!

Throb, baffled and curious brain! throw out questions and answers!

Suspend here and everywhere, eternal float of solution!

Gaze, loving and thirsting eyes, in the house or street or public assembly!

Sound out, voices of young men! loudly and musically call me by my nighest name!

Live, old life! play the part that looks back on the actor or actress!

Play the old role, the role that is great or small according as one makes it!

Consider, you who peruse me, whether I may not in unknown ways be looking upon you;

Be firm, rail over the river, to support those who lean idly, yet haste with the hasting current;

Fly on, sea-birds! fly sideways, or wheel in large circles high in the air;

Receive the summer sky, you water, and faithfully hold it till all downcast eyes have time to take it from you!

Diverge, fine spokes of light, from the shape of my head, or any one’s head, in the sunlit water!

Come on, ships from the lower bay! pass up or down, white-sail’d schooners, sloops, lighters!

Flaunt away, flags of all nations! be duly lower’d at sunset!

Burn high your fires, foundry chimneys! cast black shadows at nightfall! cast red and yellow light over the tops of the houses!

Have a great weekend! Try to get out and look at a river and “people watch”. What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us? Not much, I think.

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