family | dual personalities

February 2, 2026

Another weekend: postcards from the frozen midwest

by chuckofish

February is here, so can spring be (too) far behind?

How was your weekend? Mine was very quiet. Daughter #1 was out of town, laughing it up with the prairie girls…

…and the boy and his family were all down with the flu.

I had lunch with a friend on Friday, but otherwise I was on my own. So I was extra glad to go to church on Sunday–even when it was 8 degrees outside. I donned my vintage fur coat for the third week in a row and braved the elements. We had a hardy band of believers at the 8:30 service. I noted that there were more men than women in the choir! We also ordained and installed new elders and deacons.

But my reading glasses were not in my purse, so I had a challenging time. I managed, but I was definitely playing the trombone. Getting older is not for sissies.

This is a thoughtful post about doom-scrolling: “The internet gives us a false omniscience, presenting everything from everywhere to everyone at any time. But we are not God. We were not designed for omniscience. Not even the digital imitation. Yet here it is. Everything. All the time.”

And in memory of Catherine O’Hara, who died last week, here’s a classic scene from Best In Show (2000):

God does love a terrier.

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January 29, 2026

A good name

by chuckofish

Today my women’s Bible Study group starts up again. We are reading I and II Thessalonians. Our study guide was written by Kathleen Buswell Nielson, with whom I went to school 50+ years ago. I am looking forward to it! (Not to mention the prospect of human interaction which I have missed over the last 5 days!)

It is also the birthday of one of my favorite ancestors, John Wesley Prowers, the cattle king of southern Colorado.

I was very pleased when I heard that daughter #2 and DN had decided to name their baby after him.

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.” — Proverbs: 22:1

Usually I watch Red River (1948) or another cowboy movie in honor of JWP’s birthday. We’ll see how I feel tonight. It is a whole new world not having the OM to watch certain movies with.

Well, onward and upward. This article about how the two ‘wills’ of God profoundly shape how we should pray was quite thought-provoking. “May we all pray more and may the Lord bless our prayers.”

Happy Thursday! The weekend is just around the corner.

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January 26, 2026

Once upon a storm

by chuckofish

Well, I got a few things done on Friday before the storm hit–like everyone else who was out and about buying bread and milk and salt/ice melt. I went to Trader Joe’s early and bought flowers and then went to church where I arranged them for Sunday, which I knew might be cancelled, but what the heck, I did my duty.

I will note that as I drove around and made my various stops, people were very nice and polite, even cheerful. Part of this is because I have gray hair and look like an old lady, so people are usually quick to assist me when they think I need help. I am always a little taken aback by this because I feel like a completely capable woman, but again, what the heck–if someone wants to take my grocery cart back to the cart corral for me in the single digit weather, have at it.

The boy came over in the afternoon to pick up some stuff and to have wine time with me since daughter #1 had many errands to run after work. Everyone was in a tizzy about whether various events would be cancelled. Well, I had no plans to worry about so I just concentrated on hunkering down…

Church was cancelled after all–I certainly couldn’t get out of my driveway. And this was the scene in Wildwood…

While admittedly there is no substitute for worshiping together in person, we were encouraged to watch a previously recorded service on our YouTube channel or watch the recorded adult ed classes.

Daughter #1’s church was also closed as was daughter #2’s. Central had already recorded their sermon to be viewed…

So Mr. Smith heard the word of God on Sunday morning.

All Souls suggested reading a book of the Bible and praying or watching a previous sermon. So many options. I listened to an old sermon given at Central by Dr. Dan Doriani last October on James 3:1-12, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

In the afternoon the twins had fun frolicking in the snow…

And so did the prairie girls…

Now it is Monday and I am waiting for the yard guys to come plow my driveway.

All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well…

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January 22, 2026

ephemera /ĭ-fĕm′ər-ə/

by chuckofish

I was going through some boxes yesterday and I found this photo taken in 1927 (nearly 100 years ago!) of my mother and her older sister and it reminded me so much of daughter #2’s two girls. I mean really. I hope their Mom gets their portrait taken together so that 100 years from now someone can find it and put it in a frame.

I also found letters my brother wrote to us in the fall of his freshman year in college (1969)–“Don’t worry I’m not turning into a hippie.” (Um, oh yes you were.) I am sending those letters to him so he can share them with his children.

I found clippings from 19th century newspapers and magazines, cut out by ancestors to keep.

I will keep those along with various ancient Valentines…

(Recognize the Peanuts gang from 1967?)

I found a lot of stuff from my Mother’s years at Middlebury College, including the bills. It cost about $500 a semester in 1946-47. Also lots of letters, sometimes with illustrations:

Quite a treasure trove…and I admit I threw away very little. The best I can do is get it all a little better organized/labeled for my children.

Don’t judge me!

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January 21, 2026

Of gods and generals

by chuckofish

There was a small earth quake in central Illinois yesterday morning, but it didn’t amount to much and there was no damage reported. The magnitude 3.8 quake, we are told, struck at 1:27 a.m. Central Time, about 3 miles north-northeast of Ohlman, Illinois. The shallow tremor was felt across parts of Christian and Sangamon counties. According to daughter #2 they didn’t feel a thing in nearby Champaign County.

Today we toast General Ethan Allen (1738-1789) on his birthday, who is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War. Fun fact: A descendant of Ethan Allen, Ethan Allen Hitchcock Shepley, was the chancellor of our flyover university from 1953-1961, following Arthur Holly Compton. I always liked the story my mother told of the time our Labrador Retriever ran away and she got a phone call from the chancellor’s wife saying they had our dog. So she walked over to their house across campus and picked him up. She said Mrs. Shepley was very nice and said Teak was a good dog. My memory may be off–it might have been Mrs. Eliot, the wife of a later chancellor, who was nice, but whatever. It’s a good story.

We also toast Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863), Confederate general and military officer, on his birthday. He has always been a favorite of mine, even though he fought on the wrong side.

And speaking of generals, it is also the birthday of J. Carrol Naish (1896-1973), the character actor who memorably played General Phil Sheridan in Rio Grande (1950) which starred John Wayne.

Naish, although of Irish extraction, was one of those capable film actors who played an array of ethnically-diverse characters during his long career, including Sitting Bull twice.

Yes, Naish played lots of Italians, Hispanics, Native Americans, Jews, Irishmen, and even Wasps–because it is after all, called acting.

The world is more than we know.

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January 19, 2026

Could see some snowflakes

by chuckofish

Boy, did they get the weather all wrong on Saturday! We had no idea there was a veritable blizzard coming…

My iPhone camera never shows snow falling–but believe me, it looked like a fake movie scene with big, fat soap flakes coming down. It stopped pretty soon and didn’t amount to all that much, but it did take us by surprise. Luckily our January DAR meeting was already scheduled as a Zoom meeting, so I could just stay home. Daughter #1 is one smart regent!

It was super cold on Sunday morning again but we faithful made it to church. We heard another good sermon on Joshua–we’re up to chapter 3, verses 1-17–crossing the Jordan River. After the service Lottie asked me if she got an A+ and I said, ahem no, not today. She said, Yeah, I guess I was more of a B+. Our adult ed class was part two of Intro to Covenant which I am enjoying so much. How great is it to sit in a room with 200+ people who are all in the process of being sanctified! We went to the Sunny Street diner afterwards and the twins had dinosaur pancakes and the boy tried something new–loaded hash browns. I had my usual #2 on the seniors’ menu. Everyone was happy and content with their choices.

Today, it should be noted, is my dear mother’s birthday–her 100th! My oh my, she has been gone for 38 years. I think about her every day. Time is unreal, or as Borges says,

And yet, and yet… Denying temporal succession, denying the self, denying the astronomical universe, are apparent desperations and secret consolations. Our destiny … is not frightful by being unreal; it is frightful because it is irreversible and iron-clad. Time is the substance I am made of. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire. The world, unfortunately, is real; I, unfortunately, am Borges.

It is also Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday (!) and she is still going strong–here’s her new song, ably assisted by Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Reba, and Queen Latifa:

You go, girl! Everything’s going to be all right.

Precious Ida B had a wonderful birthday on Saturday…

And this sign on the neighborhood Catholic church makes me laugh every year…

Enjoy your Monday!

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January 14, 2026

This and that

by chuckofish

We have been experiencing mild temps here–63 degrees yesterday–but we are told to expect them to “crash” today. Zut alors, I don’t like to hear that. But it is January so I guess we shouldn’t. be surprised.

I had lunch yesterday with the boy at another of our favorite diners, Uncle Bill’s, which is out near his store. I sure am grateful to be able to spend time with my adult children, because they are, after all, my favorite people.

If I were younger, I might try this!

This is an amazing video from the John 10:10 Project:

Praise the Lord!

And RIP Scott Adams…

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January 12, 2026

Lay your worries down

by chuckofish

Well, I had quite a weekend, starting Friday night when the twins came over for dinner and a movie and spent the night. Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined us for pizza from Dewey’s and we watched one of our favorite movies, The Court Jester (1955).

After they went home, the twins and I went to bed. I have four bedrooms and plenty of beds, but unfortunately, as the night wore on, we all ended up in the same bed (mine) and it was like trying to sleep with squirrels. Hopefully we will do this again soon, but I will have to make sure everyone is prepared to stay in their assigned space–my life is not a Shirley Jackson story, after all! Right? Right?

The boy picked them up in the morning. I spent the rest of the day recovering from getting no sleep, but daughter #1 and I did manage to meet for margaritas and visit our favorite antique mall and re-sale shop where we got some DVDs and books.

It was 25 degrees when I left for church on Sunday morning, so I wore my vintage fur coat. The wee bud asked me what kind of fur it was–bear? I said, no, mink. He said, oh, like a ferret? I said, no like a mink. He said he would like to have a ferret for a pet…Anyway, church was good. We heard a great sermon on Rahab (Joshua 2:1-24), a story I’m happy to say I was familiar with. Rahab is one one of those great women of the Bible–a Canaanite prostitute who does the right thing and believes in God, the one God of the heavens above and the earth beneath. After church I went to the new adult ed class which is for everyone and is the Intro to Covenant class, in other words, the newly developed new members class. They want everyone to take it and I think that is a great idea. It is a wonderful reminder of what we believe and why we go to Covenant. It made me very happy.

In the evening I returned to church for our annual meeting. Once again I was very impressed. Our session has a strong grip on things and boy, those Presbyterians can handle money. We send 25% of our budget to missions! And no deficit!

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

all I have needed thy hand hath provided–

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

And now it is Monday. Onward and upward!

P.S. It was an amazing week for memes, but my favorites are still all the Marco Rubio ones.

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January 8, 2026

“It took me a long, long time to learn my elbow from a hot rock.”*

by chuckofish

Things are starting to get back to “normal” here. But I have a lot of bins to take down to the basement. I am going over to church this morning to help take down the Christmas greenery. More bins. And my community group starts up again tonight, so it’s back to Matthew. I am slowly getting back into the swing of things.

I thought this Open Letter to Scott Adams in response to his possible deathbed conversion was interesting. “Hopefully you understand that no one means to discourage you. They only want you to know how good the good news actually is.”

And I liked this answer to the question “What are your plans for the new year?”

I like the idea of “Pray more. Pray better.” Beyond that, my plans for the new year are pretty vague.

But I’ll keep reading, keep watching old movies, keep showing up. You do the same. And pay attention. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

Thanks for keeping me company.

*Vin (Steve McQueen) in The Magnificent Seven

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January 7, 2026

The sky is low/The wind is gray/The radiator/Purrs all day.*

by chuckofish

I continue to take down my Christmas decorations and to tidy up my house. I am also working on the Kirkwood Historical Review and getting it ready to send off to the printer. But I like to take a break on the yellow antique loveseat in my office and read the internet or poetry and listen to the woodpecker outside in the tree by my window.