Nifty Galifty

I'm having one of those precious moments when life makes sense. Things I've always wanted but was afraid to reach for or say are now de rigeur. I have the kids. I have my writing, and I have my studies. I'm going to read my way through the Great Books starting by alternating ancient and modern until they meet at medieval, hopefully Shakespeare. The medieval is my favorite period, so I wanted to save it for a reward at the end. I'm going to skip the scientists with the possible exception of Darwin. Instead I'll be working in masterworks of literature and philosophy from the East. For back up I have way too many Teaching Company Videos. I'll only need one on Eastern thinking to be confident I can meet whatever challenges I may face. Final exams will be children's stories based on one of the Great Ideas. I'm making it all up as I go along, but I needed something pseudo-official to hold it together. I consider myself enrolled in the Owl Correspondence School. I even have our little X puppet up in my room to inspire me.
Reach for the things that matter, even if you have to do it yourself.

Nothing's As Cute As a Button. :)

What might have been. Just after number four came along I got all excited about aprons. I wanted my grandmother's housecoat and I couldn't find it anywhere except on specialty websites. My longing was so strong that I contracted to pay quite a bit for an apron of my own made from scratch. I like to sew, but I'm not terribly good at it. The apron, when it arrived was a marvel, and I knew I would want more. Vintage or new, I didn't care. It stood to reason that there were more women like me. I worked up a business plan with the creator of my apron where I would sell and she would sew. It didn't work out, so I went to work developing a business of my own--Button Aprons. My inexperience got in the way and I sank my initial capital into an unsellable design. We paid off the loan and went back to our regular life and a new baby.
Yesterday, walking through Meijer I came across one the apron styles that were hot back then. The price was 13 dollars. How can anyone compete with that? I ran my fingers over the fabric and wondered what might have been.

Why I Love Oprah

I knew about Oprah before almost all of you. I grew up in Maryland and my grandmother loved her show out of Baltimore. We watched it because it was so obvious that Oprah was better than her co-host and she was just great tv. I don't think that alone would have made me a permanent fan. It was the way she was so concerned about the person in front of her. The moment I decided to back Oprah came the day a bridal store was giving away free formal wear to a couple the station had chosen. I can't remember the details. What I remember is that someone who hated Oprah put her in the ugliest ruched dress I've ever seen. If there could be a worse dress that that one especially on Oprah's body at that time, I don't know what it would be. You could see the discomfort in her face. She was doing everything she could to get off camera. When she succeeded, her co-host began to point out flaws in the wedding gown and bridesmaids dresses. He was having such an off day and the bride began to freak out. She was on the verge of tears when Oprah came charging back forgetful of that horrid dress and busy trying to rescue the bride from a total tv meltdown. That's when I became a life-long Oprah fan. She cares about the person in front of her.

Mariah, Come Home!

As a child, I was a huge Strawberry Shortcake fan. It was one of the few things my sister and I could enjoy together despite the five year age gap. To be perfectly candid I was more of a Blueberry Muffin fan. She has long blond hair and blue eyes like me, and she wore a very cool muffin paper for a hat. Marked on the calendar was a Strawberry Shortcake TV special that Karen and I couldn't wait to see. I knew Strawberry would steal the show as always, but Blueberry would get some time in. The day arrived and I don't remember if Blueberry Muffin was in it at all as a new friend was been introduced--Orange Blossom. She was smart and beautiful and Strawberry Shortcake would have been in the soup without her. She was also African-American. There were no Orange Blossoms in my life.
My daughter has had better luck. Right around the corner lives a smart and beautiful girl who's been a wonderful friend. When all the Blueberry Muffins were too busy, Mariah filled in. Recently she ran away. My daughter is wearing her hand-me-downs as we wait and hope together that Mariah will hurry home.

A New Conversation

Anyone who has known me at all is usually pretty clear on how much I hate typing. It didn't matter so much until I started writing a novel, and now I struggle to keep up. You wouldn't think so, but I had a terrific typing teacher. She was a local secretary who volunteered to teach typing at the church school I attended. It meant freshmen would be offered an elective, previously that age had a mandatory study hall. I was not the most well-behaved study hall student (remind me to tell you about the Dead Lady's Coffin), so everyone was glad that there was an alternative. I liked typing. We were working on old-fashioned typewriters and rather old ones at that, but I earned a solid "B," and I was sure I'd do better the next quarter. The next quarter my performance remained the same, but the standards went up. I earned a "C." We were all certain I'd get it next time. Next time, my performance still hadn't improved--at all--earning me an ego flattening "D." My very kind typing teacher quit rather than give me the inevitable "F" in the final quarter.
It still isn't better. I've been typing for years, but I bet if I sat down to the old exercises and tests I'd come out right where I was at 13. It's even worse in some ways because this is my creative work and I decide what goes where. The more I monitored my internal complaining, the more I wanted to start exploring other possibilities. I considered the Fly Pentop, but it didn't seem to be well-established. I hate getting into a rhythm and then discovering they aren't making or supporting the product anymore. Dragon voice-recognition software has been around and will be around, so I gave it a shot. I like it. I need to make a lot of corrections, but that's much easier for me. My speed has doubled and may get even faster as the software and I get "trained." It's a good thing.