Life without Fireflies

How is it that I have reached this advanced age in life without knowing that fireflies do not exist everywhere?

My realization began to dawn when I read an account of a couple from California who had taken their family on a road trip across America. The were driving through the midwest on a summer's evening, passing through thousands of acres of farmland. It was dusk and suddenly they realized that the fields were alive with fireflies, blinking their morse code messages.

They quickly found a place to pull off the road and they wandered through the edge of the field, amazed at the beauty and silence of the scene. The woman stated that it was a moment that will stay with her till her dying day.

Yes, it is that magical and wonderful but how is it that I didn't realize that fireflies haven't built themselves little Conestoga wagons and made the trek out west? I'm curious as to the barriers that have prevented them from spreading.

My wish is that everyone could experience fireflies on a summer's evening. I can't even comprehend not having them announce the evening's arrival.

Here's a cool video for all my friends who live in areas without fireflies.



Actually, when we were kids we called them lightning bugs.

Did you know that a lightning bug can save your life? It's true. Here's my story, "Life and Death in the Cornfield". Many of you have read it before but I'm linking to it for those who haven't.

LIFE AND DEATH IN THE CORNFIELD

Apparently fireflies synchronize. Who knew? Here's a link to the Museum of Science which has a firefly watch and range maps.

FIREFLY RANGE MAP

FIREFLY WATCH

If you don't live in an area that has fireflies, I suggest you put this on your Bucket List.

Be sure to check into Farm and Fru Fru and read about her HOLY COWS.

I Love Your Problems

My sister and I talk quite often. Sometimes we talk away her commute into work. We have that shared view of life that siblings often possess. Many times our conversations are confirmation chats. We confer to make sure that we have our heads on straight and these days, with two super seniors (over 80) in our lives, that is not often the case.

I run my problems past her for her valued opinion and she does the same with me.

One day we were discussing some current drama in her life when she stopped and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry. I know you've got a lot on your plate and I don't mean to bother you with my problems," she said.

"Oh heck no," I answered. "Are you kidding? I love your problems!"

We both busted out laughing because she knew exactly what I meant.

"I LOVE your problems," I assured her.

"Because they're not MY problems."

More laughter.


My sister, having an Andrew Wyeth moment.

It's true. Listening to another's problems can give us some relief from our own and beyond that, the advice we give to someone else is often just the advice we need ourselves.

Having said that, I can't imagine getting paid to hear someone else's problems all day long. Although I find psychology fascinating and spent five years sitting in a therapist's office, my brain would explode listening to that stuff. And besides, I'd never be able to remain neutral and repeat ".....and how did you feel about that?", one million gajillion times.

So, how do you feel about that?

Monday Morning Staff Meeting

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Monday Morning Staff Meeting!

This morning I'll be serving German Apple Pancake. I know, I know. We've had this before but someone sent me an e-mail requesting it.



It's plenty sweet on it's own so I would suggest foregoing the maple syrup.

GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE

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About those Beekman Boys.........

I concur with all your comments. It's pretty funny to watch people move to the country with the intention of living the simple life. The problem is they'd don't realize how much work is involved in that simplicity. I haven't yet watched an episode of their TV show, I'm not quite sure if we even get the Planet Green channel.

Why is it these guys remind me of Green Acres?

Their website is very professional and looks like a ton of work to maintain. I can't imagine that they have time away from their farm chores to do all the work necessary to maintain their empire.

And that brings me to something I've been thinking about for awhile. I was so excited when I first discovered blogging. I was sitting at my job at the newspaper and I was blown away by the premise that everyone could have their say, that the "big boys" no longer controlled the flow of information. I was thrilled because I had a lot to say!!

It's like that old movie where some friends get together and say, "Let's put on a show", only I was saying "Let's put on a blog". I started writing and reading. I loved the simple feel of it all. But things started to change. Pretty soon bloggers started to get advertisers and became the equivalent of media stars. I wasn't at all comfortable with the shift.

What happened to the grass roots feel? Now there's a plethora of highly produced blogs, slick as expensively produced magazines. Bloggers have become large enterprises.

I have a couple of advertisers myself, but it's certainly not a business for me. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the issues involved but I do know that I love, love, LOVE blogs with a grass roots, unpolished look that are loaded with real life. I'm thinking specifically this morning of Yoani Sanchez who blogs GENERATION Y from Cuba. Here's a woman who has struggles that we cannot even imagine. She's at the cutting edge of change that is brewing on the island. Here's a quote that I have hanging in my workroom:

"There's a special place in hell for women who do not help other women." - Madeleine Albright

I believe this to my core. We must help other women in whatever way we can, even if it's just a supportive comment.

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If you look on my sidebar you will see a list of Peeps. My Peeps are those people who make my life easier and those who have agreed to be my in-house experts.

Hey - speaking of that, have you seen my Grammar Nazi lately? I'm sure that I've been dangling some participles but I haven't heard from her.

Anyway, I've got a new group to introduce. Do you remember the ballerinas from the Warrior Dash?


Krista, Gabby & Kim

They have agreed to be my Official Blog Ballet Troupe. They are called the Hash House Harrier Corps de Ballet.

What's a Hash House Harrier? Krista explains it as a running treasure hunt for beer. It's a little hard to explain. Read about it here:

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS

Krista practices ballet in her spare time. She's a PhD candidate in Microbiology.

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Speaking of Peeps, I'm going to mention that PAM KITTY is in danger of losing her position as Crappy Commenter.

She's commented twice, TWICE in the last week. That does not translate to crappy commenter in my book.

Pam - go sit in the corner and be quiet for awhile.

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Would you like to be a Peep? Think of a title for yourself, or some task that would be invaluable to me and let me know. I'm looking for more Peeps!

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Next week is going to be Creativity Week around here. My daughter-the-interior-designer got me involved in an art installation. It was so much fun and now I'm wanting to create art just for art's sake. You're going to be very surprised at what I put together for the exhibition.

While cruising around the web I found another art project.

Doily trees.

What are doily trees? Check it out for yourself.

DOILY TREES

Grandma might not approve of her doilies being used outside.

This woman was inspired by an art installation she saw years ago at the Toronto Zoo. Now my sister and I are inspired to create one ourselves. Stay tuned.

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I love when bloggers inform about upcoming events. There was a craft fair last weekend and we were all invited by the blogger over at MAKE DO MEND.

She's always doing wonderful, creative things. Oh my goodness, how I would love to attend one of their gatherings.

CRAFT FAIR

The only problem is, they're in the southeast.

Southeast London, that is.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have the resources to just pick and go?

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That's it for me this morning. How about you? Anything to share? I'd love to hear your opinions about anything I've mentioned this morning.

Drinking Fountains

When's the last time you saw something like this?




I thought so. That long ago.

The water was ice cold and delicious.

And it came with something else - memories.

Lemonade

The Farmer sent me flowers.



For no reason.

I get a little nervous about that. I was wondering what he was going to spring on me. But actually it was a proactive move to win over my patience and approval.

You see, the Farmer isn't just a farmer. Well, technically he isn't even a farmer anymore since the large organic herb operation informed him they no longer needed his services as General Manager.

The Farmer has two, count 'em, two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree (in entrepreneurialship). He's decided that since he's gainfully unemployed at the moment that he would return to school and get his PhD - Piled Higher and Deeper degree. In his case it's actually called a DBA - Doctor of Business Administration.

What this means is hours and hours and hours and hours of grueling study and writing. It also means that he is making himself unavailable for any Honey-Do lists that I might create.

So, while he studies....... I must make lemonade of life.



Have a wonderful Saturday. Do something fun. I'm doing TWO fun things today.

Field Trip - Shipshewana, Indiana

We're going on a field trip this morning and I'd like to thank everyone for arriving on time. I will be checking those permission slips as you enter the bus, so have them in hand.

Unfortunately, this morning we're facing a typhoon. It's a real gullywasher out there and I hope you've brought your umbrellas and rain ponchos. We're going to need them.

Everybody on the bus.

It's a fairly long ride to Shipshewana, about 3-1/2 hours. I don't think we'll have any trouble finding things to talk about during the ride.

As we enter the town you'll notice all the quaint shops lining the main highway. Be on the lookout for Amish buggies carrying families into town.

I'm happy with the fact that the bus driver as decided to drop us off in a large parking lot some distance from town. Gosh, we're going to have to walk in the downpour. Don't take you cameras out of your purses because they'll get soaked.

There's a buggy. Hop over that puddle



Let's make our way into the Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery. Maybe the deluge will let up while we're having some lunch. We've entered the door to the restaurant and look what greets us.



Cinnamon rolls with lots of gooey frosting and pecan sticky buns.

Congratulations to everyone who guessed the photo in yesterday's post. It is indeed a meringue pie - lemon meringue to be exact. This is the epitome of meringue swooshing talent and it's baked to an evenly brown perfection. I don't know how they do this. Mine gets those extra brown areas.



We're going to have a hearty Amish-style farmhouse lunch including fried chicken, pot roast, real mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans and those terrific homemade Amish noodles coated with chicken sauce. Yum. The noodles are exceptional.

Omigosh, the rain has passed and the sun has come out. Hooray! Hopefully we can dry out.



The story behind the Blue Gate is that supposedly when a young Amish man would wish to ask for a young woman's hand in marriage, he would go to the girl's home and paint the front gate blue. Is the legend true? Probably not, because if you roam the Amish countryside you will never spot a blue gate. Nice legend though.

Buggy rides are offered all over town.



Some of the buggies are small two seaters and some are quite large, holding whole families.

Look at this colorful planting across from the restaurant. I love the cart.



Meet the other members of our group today.......


Susan, Lynn, Ellen and Donna.

There are Amish working all over town. This man is making popcorn for sale.



Here's a large, fully-enclosed buggy.



More buggy rides being offered. Go ahead and take a ride, I've already been out.



A convertible Amish buggy with bucket seats.



Their animals are stunningly beautiful and very spirited. They are not spooked by the traffic.



Yes, they get stuck in traffic.



Parking lot at the animall auction barn.



Let's go into Yoder's because there's something special going on today.

Yoder's is a food/department store. Think an Amish Super Target. It's so cool. There's food on one side of the store, including that awesome Amish peanut butter and apple butter.

The other half of the store is dry goods and fabric. Tons and tons of fabric. I need to come back with more money.



There's a quilt show in town and Yoder's is hosting a book signing. There's Eleanor Burns, author of many quilt books, signing for her fans. She was selling A LOT of books. Good for Eleanor.



Look up. Flying high above the town is a vintage windmill. It's a Aeromotor, made in Chicago, Illinois.



This man is preparing the buggy to take his family back home.



It's time for us to leave also. I leave you with this.



Indeed.

We're Going on a Field Trip

Just a heads up to everyone. We're going on a field trip tomorrow. My friends and I went to Shipshewana, Indiana and I'm inviting you to come along tomorrow when we do a virtual field trip of the area.

Be sure to have the following:

- Umbrella
- Rain poncho
- Spending money
- Sturdy shoes
- Cameras
- Packed lunch
- Permissions slips signed by your parents.



Want to take a guess what this is?



See you tomorrow, bright and early. We'll be leaving at 8 a.m.

Day Trip

I'm not here. Today I'm off on a day trip with some friends. It's one of those bus trips organized by a nearby park district.

Where are we going? Shipshewana, Indiana, which is an Amish area. I don't know what's in the plans but I do know there's a quilt show. Did you hear that Pam Kitty?

How about you? Gotta any day trips planned for this summer?

See you tomorrow.

Warrior Dash

Do you remember last year when our son Evan and his friend Charlie ran in the Chicago Police Department's 5K run?

Well, this year they decided to do a 5K of a different kind.

THE WARRIOR DASH

Fasten your seatbelts, we're in for a fun and bumpy ride. This is how we roll in the American midwest.



No, the Farmer is not racing. He's here for moral support. He did say that he plans to go into training and race next year!

What's a Warrior Dash, you ask. Well, it's a bunch of people who love to run and have fun while doing so.

Here they are attaching their bib numbers and timer chips on their shoes.






Evan and Charlie are slotted in the 11:30 start time.





This race is scheduled for TWO FULL days. There are slot for 500 runners every half hour, all day long. That's alot of runners. The Saturday races filled up months ago!

They're off and running.






There goes Evan. He's on the left in the sunglasses.






Each heat is sent off with a giant fireball.






There's more fire later in the course.

The race is run through a huge paintball course outside of Chicago. There's a ghost town, junk cars that they must jump over, a tunnel and more.

Oh, and most people do this in costume.

Remember the picture from yesterday? That's the Elvis contingent. They're watching earlier heats while waiting for their start time. That's the hay bale climb on the right.






I remember thinking on the way into the venue that I better see some kilts, because what's a warrior without a kilt?






There were plenty of kilts, including this entire family. The kids were racing with dad on Father's Day. Mom had sewn all these kilts for them. Believe me, this was no small task.




It's all about the details and the details are in the back. Lots and lots of pleats. Mom did a great job!






You'll see one of these kilts later and believe me it's not going to look like this.

This picture is for my friend Leslie in California. It's all about the tutu's!!!!!



Tutu's everywhere, including a bride in a tutu. I'm not quite sure but I think a wedding took place at this event. There's a ballet troupe coming up later in this post. Stay tuned.






They run through the course of obstacles until they come to that hay bale climb. Next is the rope wall. Think Marine Corps basic training. Here's a young woman who seems to be dressed as a Scout leader, making her way over the wall.








Evan is over and coming down.






Taking off and heading for the next obstacle.



FIRE!!!!





This is a member of the LaGrange Fire Department. They had a team in the race. He has just passed through the fire jump.






Here's someone's office manager.






Evan is over and on to the next obstacle. The course was a little muddy.






Hopefully they're not squeamish about getting dirty because the next obstacle is the MUD CRAWL.

Charlie dives in, intending to do the breaststroke.






The crowd is amused by Evan's slip and butt flop.






Evan crawls through and I'm hoping that his shorts are not sucked off in the mud. This is a family event!!!






Charlie gets closer to the finish line.






Evan is almost there.






Waiting at the finish line is staff handing out bananas and water.






Evan and Charlie enjoy their well-earned reward. Beer.






Charlie finishes and mom and dad congratulate him although mom Donna is hesitant to get a hug.






Evan poses with Sister Mary Mud Pie






We get a little crazy. Just blowing off steam. (She's probably a commodities broker.)






Daugher Sarah practices her cheerleading skills with the boys.






Remember those ballerinas in the pink tutus? Here they are post-race.






And more ballerinas. These girls were stinking cute and it appears they are professionally trained. Look at that beautiful form on the hand positions. I think I'll add them to my Peep List as my Official Blog Ballet Troupe. I can't read their t-shirts but I'm sure this troupe has a name. (I think Krista is in this group. Krista..... identify the girls).



Charlie poses with the ballerinas.



Nobody knows nobody, but everybody knows everybody. Know what I mean?




Donna dances with Charlie.






The running shoes are trashed.



You think?









Seems like a waste? Not to worry. All these shoes will be picked up by an organization called GREEN SNEAKERS. They'll be thoroughly cleaned and be sent around the globe to people who need shoes!








We do believe in washing our hands before we eat our barbecued turkey legs.






Team USA.






Indian contingent.






This woman shows how to keep her man in line.






And here's that wonderful mom who did all the hard work making kilts for her family. She's not unhappy about what's happened to those kilts and she's proud of her Warrior. Notice also the cute expression of the girl in the background.






I hope you had fun with us at the Warrior Dash.




Check out their website because there's a Warrior Dash coming to a city near you.

There is no admission charge for family, friends or spectators. So even if you don't dash, you can still attend and have some good clean muddy fun.