dual personalities

Category: Weekend

January 5, 2018

Brrrrrrrr

by chuckofish

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The Mississippi River freezes solid in February 1905.

Il fait froid! There are ice chunks in the ol’ Mississip today, but I don’t think one could walk across it. I certainly wouldn’t want to try! Here are some interesting historical photos of our frozen river through the years.

I plan to stay warm at home this weekend packing up Christmas decorations. But I also have two birthdays to celebrate, including daughter #3’s, so I’ll be out and about.

I saw a fox run through our back yard early on Christmas Eve morning. Maybe he’ll be back.

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Thus by the snow I was made aware in this short walk of the recent presence of squirrels, a fox, and countless mice, whose trail I had crossed, but none of which I saw, or probably should have seen before the snow fell. Also I saw this afternoon the track of one sparrow, probably a tree sparrow, which had run among the weeds in the road. (Dec. 14, 1855)

–Henry David Thoreau, A Writer’s Journal

Since it is Epiphany,

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it is time to watch 3 Godfathers (1947)–an all-time favorite.

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What have you got on the docket?

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The OM and I are also babysitting the wee babes. Please note that the 16 lb. dynamo is now on the move for real! Keep us in your prayers.

Have a good weekend!

The painting is “Tracks in Snow” by Morten E. Solberg.

2 Comments
December 11, 2017

“Therefore we sing to greet our King; forever let our praises ring.”*

by chuckofish

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After my busy weekend I feel like the wee laddie in the photo above. Pooped. He had conked out after sitting on my lap through his mother’s graduation ceremony on Saturday morning. The wee lassie had just woken up in this picture and was a tad grumpy. If they had had a clue what was going on, they would have been very proud of their hard-working mama. Yes, daughter #3, having started an EdD degree as a part-time “night” student several years ago, persevered through her husband having cancer, the birth of premature twins and daily trips to the NICU for 100+ days, while holding down a full-time job, to finish. It can be done and she’s proof. Huzzah.

I will add that when daughter #3 went up on stage to be hooded, Lottie, who was standing on her other grandmother’s lap, said in a loud voice, “DA-DA!”

IMG_2988.JPGAfter the ceremony, the OM and I went home and I rolled up my sleeves while the OM got comfortable in his recliner. In fact, I was a whirling dervish of activity, wrapping presents to mail out of town, wrapping more presents, cleaning up, decorating the small tree,

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Not the best little tree we’ve ever had, but pretty nevertheless!

setting the table (minus one leaf which went down to the basement), addressing Christmas cards…I got a lot done. We even went out to dinner with dear friends. But I was pretty tired by Sunday evening, when I had to get dressed up again and trudge over to church for Lessons and Carols.

I read the first lesson, the one about Adam and Eve in the garden when they sew fig leaves together and make loincloths for themselves. I enjoyed reading it. “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

Screen Shot 2017-12-10 at 3.51.05 PM.pngWe sang five good Advent hymns, including my favorite, #265,  by Sabine Baring-Gould. It is in a key I can never get my voice around, though, and I always feel like I  must sound like Cyril Richard as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Well, it was quelle busy weekend as expected, but a good one. Here’s one of our favorite scenes from A Christmas Story (1983) –It makes me glad that I don’t have to go out and do more shopping! Well…not much more shopping…

Don’t bother me…I’m thinking!

*Hymn #61, Carl P. Daw, Jr.

7 Comments
December 1, 2017

Put on the armor of light

by chuckofish

Boy, this week whizzed by, didn’t it? I am really looking forward to the weekend. The OM and I are babysitting tonight for the wee babes and then we are celebrating their first birthday a little early on Saturday. Daughter #3 has poured her creative powers into planning this party.

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(I might be rolling my eyes just a little bit…)

As far as Christmas shopping goes, I am in pretty good shape and will spend some time this weekend getting things organized in my off-limits gifts closet. I will endeavor to get the outside Christmas lights up and maybe, if the weather is nice, I can convince the OM to go with me to buy Christmas trees.

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Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, but Advent Lessons and Carols are not until next weekend at my church.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

It may be time to break out the Christmas DVDs this weekend as well. Speaking of movies, last night I got to see a movie on TCM that I have wanted to see for years and years–Wee Geordie (1955), a British film starring Bill Travers in the title role as a Scotsman  who becomes an athlete and competes in the hammer throw in the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

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I remember my mother telling me about this movie when I was young. She had seen it back in the 1950s and loved it, largely because it was filmed in Scotland and the scenery is awesome. It is similar to The Quiet Man (“What The Quiet Man does for Ireland…Wee Georgie does for the Scots…”) in that it is filled with eccentric, lovable characters who live in an idyllic small village. Bill Travers plays the adult Geordie who has spent years following a body-building regimen and becomes a strapping 6′ 6″ specimen, coached by the local minister in the art of hammer throwing. He is very appealing.

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And, boy, he looked great in a kilt! Well, if you ever get a chance to see it, do so! I loved it.

Have a great weekend!

5 Comments
November 20, 2017

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

by chuckofish

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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.

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It’s a short work week! Enjoy it.

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

3 Comments
November 13, 2017

Pray, and praise thee without ceasing*

by chuckofish

In church on Sunday I got to read I Thessalonians 4:13-18 wherein Paul attempts to prepare the Thessalonians for the return of Jesus when they will be reunited with all those who have died in Christ: For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Good stuff.

The weekend was a busy one and a fun one! We did all the things on our to-do list, plus more things, like grocery shopping, laundry and vacuuming! But we never connected with the wee babes. Their parents are busy too. Oh well, c’est la vie.

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Another busy work week looms with another event at the end on Friday. Onward and upward.

*Hymn 657, Charles Wesley

4 Comments
November 10, 2017

Saddle up

by chuckofish

I have a busy weekend ahead, which follows a very busy week. I was on the radio yesterday–interviewed on the local “classical” station about our flyover institute! Also, an old friend was in town for our Veterans Day event today and I had lunch with him. Then daughter #1 drove into town because she was leaving early this morning to go to a wedding in D.C. We watched The Magnificent Seven together! Sometimes when it rains, it pours!

Tonight the OM and the boy and I are going to see Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder at the Sheldon, which is a relatively small venue that we like very much. It should be a rip-roarin’ good show.

web 900 x 600 Ricky Skaggs02.jpgOn Sunday I have tickets to see the STL Winter Opera production of The Student Prince! It is cultural overload this weekend, right?

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I grew up listening to the Mario Lanza LP, so I am well versed in this light opera. Remember that album cover? Remember this song?

Good stuff. Anyway, two musical events in one weekend is way more than my usual quota.

And as I mentioned, Veterans Day is tomorrow and we should all have a thought and a prayer for all those men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Here’s a prayer:

Gracious God, we give thanks for military men and women, both from the past and present, and for their courageous service and sacrifice to our country and its people to secure the blessings of life, liberty, and justice for all. May our remembrance be a timely reminder that our freedom was purchased at high cost, and should not be taken for granted. Give us resolve to labor in faithful service to you until all share the benefits of freedom, justice, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

And here are a few great scenes: from Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) with John Wayne as Sgt. Stryker

…and Gregory Peck in Twelve O’Clock High (1949):

…and from Life Is Beautiful (1997):

How and why we fight.

Have a good weekend.

2 Comments
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.

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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.

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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.

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IMG_2970.JPGSunday 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.

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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.

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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

6 Comments
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.

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

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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)?

cool_hand_luke_ver3_xlg.jpgFifty 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.

paint-your-wagon-movie-poster-1969-1020233870.jpgI enjoyed it a lot, especially Clint Eastwood, who is at the peak of his physical attractiveness and actually, for once, plays a nice guy.

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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?

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@ultimatelacrossestore

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

**Chan Tatum one-strapping; Jonah Hill two-strappingDF-02838-1024x682.jpg

7 Comments
October 30, 2017

Here I stand

by chuckofish

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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):

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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…

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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.

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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.

6 Comments
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.pngOn 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.

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What about that gallery wall?

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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.pngI 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.

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IMG_8913.jpegThe 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.

IMG_1920.jpegHere’s a hint of things to come on Hallowe’en.

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

Have a great week–October is almost over!

*St. Augustine of Hippo

5 Comments