166 The week that was

The week that was

The house is still and quiet as the chatter of young voices is gone. The house is almost back to normal and the routine in place that was interrupted the week before.

The week the grandkids came to visit without parents is over for another year. Order has been restored, but I really don’t want it to be. I love the excitement, giggling, cajoling, and all the other trappings they bring.

We started this annual visit several years ago. At first, it was just the older grandchild who could handle being away from home. Then three years ago, the youngest made the transition and has been coming ever since.

The two from out of state join the older two who live here, and it makes for an exciting, rousing time. As the older two have entered the teenage years, they can’t spend as much time with us, but we do as much as we can.

The week is very full, and they don’t let you forget any activity that we have done in previous years that needs to be repeated, including drive-in movies, miniature golf, museums, parks, shopping, playgrounds, tree climbing, and more shopping.

They also don’t let us forget if we did not get to do one of the revered activities and insist that a promise be made that it will be done next year.



Making slime has been a highlight for the past two summers--we started out disastrously but improved over time. Hopefully, slime will go out of popularity soon!

Trips are also part of the activities including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Last year, we took a cruise around Baltimore to learn all about the history of the area. Museums in Washington were a big highlight with possible return visits.

When we visited the George Washington Office Museum, the highlight of the trip was a lock of hair included in the exhibit. Never sure what will stick with them!

Dinosaur Land is definitely a must see but not every year. It is great for adults too.

The Family Drive-In Theatre provides a great evening of entertainment. What could be better than relaxing in the back of a pickup truck and watching a movie?

My favorite activity is when I can bring them here or take them home on the train. They give into my passion for trains when it is feasible. Free wifi is a real attraction for them as well as the café car. The trip can be a little long but usually worth the time.

We are so glad we can still keep up with them. Of course, when it is all said and done, we spend time afterward totally resting and relaxing.

For those grandparents who have never tried this, please give it a whirl if at all possible. But be prepared--it takes a tremendous amount of energy and some recuperation time after they leave.

For those who have, keep it up as long as you can. We hope to keep it up for many years. One thing for sure is having and raising children is for the young, but the old get to enjoy them in short doses and that is the way it should be.

Rest up, get your house ready, put everything else on hold, stock up on food, and have a ball!!

Frances                       

165 Brush up your quotes

Brush up your quotes

In ninth grade English, the teacher required the students in my class to maintain a notebook with our favorite quotes from the plays from Shakespeare that we were reading. 

It made quite an impression on me. I continued adding quotations after the class was finished. Those quotes come to mind so often.



What about this one when standing on a scale?

O, that this too too solid flesh would melt

Spoken by Hamlet, Hamlet Act 1, Scene 2

Sometimes the line is sullied instead of solid. That could work after eating an entire ice cream container! Or bag of chips!

Anytime I see a skull, preferably human:

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him. Hamlet: Act 5, Scene 1

There are several I remember when I have messed up mightily:

Lord, What fools these mortals be

Puck, Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene 2

Act I, Scene III

Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise

Fool, King Lear, Act 1, Scene 5

When I have trouble believing a tale of woe from man or woman
 (especially when I was working):

The lady protests too much, methinks.

Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 2It is usually misquoted by starting with methinks.

So perhaps you should Brush Up Your Shakespeare--you never know what situation will arise! Enjoy that great classic song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIpp2Jj8AQ

Farewell!

Trish

164 What a week

What A Week!

Hello, there, dear readers. It’s August and some of the local schools are in session already. It’s been hot, humid, rainy, weedy, and with a touch of mildew. As you know, I am not a fan of summertime!

So this blog starts off with a big old whine! Besides following the two excellent, informative blogs from Savvy Trish and Savvy Frances, I did not feel I could write a blog of equal stature.

So this blog starts off with a big old whine! Besides following the two excellent, informative blogs from Savvy Trish and Savvy Frances, I did not feel I could write a blog of equal stature.

Sit back; roll your eyes; and laugh along with me! Just a recap of this week--so far.

• One of my car tires is low yet again. It has been checked out. Nothing is wrong. The little orange “tire low” light is off for a day or two and then on again. I think I may put duct tape over the little tire picture. Poor dear husband still cannot drive after his back surgery. Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho…off to Physical Therapy we go. 

• The driveway which crosses Abrams Creek overflowed again this week. This is the second time this summer and the second time in 25 years! 

• We had the two Schnauzers groomed. Pup Bogie with the curlier hair was so frizzed from the rain, he was matted and looked like he needed to be sheared. Aaah, that costs extra. A lot extra. Two dogs $168. 

• We had a teenager (younger brother of one of the farm employees) to weed the front and to trim a couple of low flowering trees. He asked to be paid by the hour. I was fine with that but shouldn’t have been. He did not know a weed from the ground cover and trimmed the wrong trees. DUH! I guess I am still naïve! Our twice-monthly cleaning lady has moved to Richmond. Did I say it’s only Thursday as I write this?

You may remember, too, that I really enjoy Google trends pages, analytics pages, and, in general, some plain old “if it pops into my mind, let’s see what Google says.” Here is what I found for the upcoming week. It can be a week of celebrations if you would like it to be!

• August 12 is Middle Child’s Day – if you are a middle, remind family and friends to celebrate you! You are the family peacemaker. And middle siblings may be extinct in the generations to come as family size decline. 

• August 13 is Left Hander’s Day--IT’S MY DAY--along with Obama, di Vinci, Whoopi, Oprah, and Bill Gates! Only 10% of the population is left-handed. Remember: Lefties have rights, too. (HA!)

• August 14 is National Creamsicle Day. Now only the orange covered vanilla ice cream on the stick seems to be available, but once there were a variety of flavors--grape, raspberry, lime, and cherry. 

• August 15 is Relaxation Day. DO NOTHING – or if that doesn’t fit your schedule, postpone anything that can cause stress. A good day to golf or binge-watch tv!

• August 16 is Tell a Joke Day. Bad jokes, silly jokes, corny jokes. Here’s one: A guy walks into a bar with a large piece of asphalt under his arm. The bartender says: “What’ll you have?” The guy responds: “two beers--one for me and one for the road.” (badda boom!)

• August 17 is National Thrift Shop Day. According to the Yellow Pages, there are 42 thrift shops or second-hand shops in our area. 

• August 18 is Honey Bee Awareness Day. There too many articles to begin to list about the Honey Bee – but I think it is most important to remember that they are the only insect that makes food for humans (utahcountybeekeepers.org)

• August 19 is National Potato Day. Yeah! Hmmm? Fries, chips, mashed, baked? One of the largest vegetable crops in the world, potatoes are thought to have been cultivated in Peru about 6000 B.C. 

This celebration list comes from a children’s website called www.holidayinsights.com. Check your birthday and see what’s celebrated besides you on that day. Fun to do! Outrageously, my May 20 birthday is Millionaire’s Day. Yea, right!

Stay cool, stay dry. 

Not so Savvy Glenne 

163 Hidden memorial

A hidden memorial

We have lived in Winchester for 50 years and forty-some of those years have been around the Handley High School campus. We have worked there, jogged around there, attended countless events there, and explored the entire campus.

We have admired the trees and plants, savored the view from our front porch, and appreciated the green space. We have even come to the realization that schools are good neighbors especially when 

the campus covers about 40 acres.

We even protested when some of our beloved trees were destined to be chopped down--the powers that be ruled that they were dead. This was not true, but we did manage to track down some of the wood and a kitchen table was created. We can enjoy it every day but we do miss those trees!

Thus, what a shock and surprise it was to read that a WWI memorial had been part of the campus since the 1920s. A neighbor found evidence of the memorial--a plaque dedicated to a Winchester soldier was found along the sidewalk in 2015. Evidently, that part of Handley Boulevard had been designated Memorial Avenue in honor of the soldiers.

That started a quest by history buff and local resident Gene Schultz to delve and dig into the details of this memorial. Not only were bronze plaques placed to honor 49 local veterans, but also trees were planted to remember these heroes.

It has taken several years and a great deal of research to figure out the puzzle surrounding these plaques. As publicity spread in the local newspaper and by word of mouth, more neighbors came forth with other plaques they had found; more stories were uncovered through reference works and newspaper accounts, as well as family records.

For the rest of the story, there is a detailed account in the latest journal of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society plus an exhibit in the society’s office building where some of the plaques are on display.

Both sources give compelling and visual evidence of these amazing stories of local men. Some died in the war, some died from disease, some died from injuries and disease suffered in war, and others died from natural causes.

The project to find out more is ongoing with any leads and new information pursued thoroughly. My point as I read the journal, viewed the exhibit, and attended two lectures Gene presented on the memorial is how did those of us who have lived here all these years not know about it or find remnants of it.

I suppose wear and tear and time kept the memorial hidden in the crevices of the campus and the surrounding streets. The names of the soldiers were engraved on the plaques so I am sure many residents knew them.

Some of the trees remain but one of them was chopped down recently on the corner of Washington Street and Handley Boulevard (Memorial Avenue). We had no idea what it stood for all those years. A countless number of cars and pedestrians passed it each day on the way to everyday tasks with no idea of what it once meant. Many events such as the Great Depression and the onslaught of WWII probably contributed to the neglect of this monument, but what a shame.

A special thanks to Gene and the historical society for pursuing information about this avenue so important in Winchester history. And an apology to those men and their families that we did not keep the memorial intact and ongoing.

Maybe the plaques that have been retrieved and are presently on display could find a permanent home where the community could honor them once again. I wish we had known so we could have visited these memorials all the years we explored and walked the campus land. 

Sad savvy Frances                  

162 Whither mental maps?

Whither mental maps?

Over 30 years ago I wrote an article in which I explored the psychological literature on cognitive (or mental) maps to help librarians design the best library floorplan maps (known in the literature as YAH, you-are-here maps). 


The idea was to help students develop cognitive maps as a way to help them find their way around a complex college library.

Having a cognitive map enables individuals to see themselves in a building or landscape and therefore be able to find their way easily through the environment.

Ziggy always expressed it in a more existential
manner!
 

So my question is: Will anyone in the future be able to develop mental maps?

Last summer I was in a small town in Florida and wanted to find an atlas of the Orlando road system for a trip to the hospital for which we had to be on time. I wanted to be able to find alternate routes if I40 became blocked. The town has a Walmart, multiple drug stores but no Staples or bookstore. No store had a map or atlas! The store clerks universally explained to me that all you need is GPS.

I went on Google Maps and Mapquest and was able to print out step by step directions but the maps were too small (or too many if enlarged) for me to envision the route.

We all have heard many stories of GPS leading folks astray. So we took the trip with trepidation and, aside for a little misdirection in the route, got there in plenty of time. But I have little knowledge of the geography we passed through except that Orlando is east of the interstate and Disney is to the west. (Even though I40 is an east/west road, it runs north/south through Orlando--important to know!)

I did a recent search for research on cognitive maps and found no recent literature. Everything I found on mapping, in general, was only about computer maps.

I recently took a Facebook quiz on geography. I could not believe how easy it was. Maybe it was that way so we will all feel good about our geographical knowledge, but I'm not sure. A 2015 U.S. News & World Report article stated that kids geographical knowledge was bad and is getting worse.

Since my dad was in the military, we traveled across the country a few times. I loved to follow the trip on a map. But I bet nowadays there are no maps in cars for most kids to follow.

Does it matter that our cognitive mapping and geographical skills are rapidly declining? I don't know. But I would like to think so.













But give me a map any day over GPS instructions!

                             Wanting to be geographically savvy, Trish

161 Hating summer

5 Very Valid Reasons I Hate Summer!

*Mosquitos
I checked on Google. There is little to show that mosquitos are actually an important part of the food chain. A recent NPR podcast said that we could actually do without mosquitos!

If there is a mosquito in on our farm, she will find me--little bloodsucker! Yep, I have even tried the “hack” of a dryer sheet in my pocket. HA!

*Fair Skin and Sun Tans
Okay! Neither of these pictures is the perfect healthy summer look. Seems resting beer cans on one’s chest in the sun is not a bright idea, nor am I as pale as this gal.

Even I get slightly browner than the redhead on the right--but not by much. My most beautifully tanned feature is my left hand and up to my elbow from driving with the window down. Otherwise, I must strip for anyone to tell I have been out in the sun. 

Here is a true story: One summer our family went on an Aegean cruise. It was one of those with lots of historic stops. When I got home and went back to work a couple of weeks later, the office secretary greeted me with: “oh, Glenne, did it rain the whole time?” No, I did not hit her but I did not give her a souvenir miniature Greek vase either.

*Humidity

If the humidity edges up to 70% or higher, my body feels it. I feel like a sponge and according to my doctor, I sort of am. I perspire very little so all that extra moisture in the air just settles in me. My arthritis is worse, my fingers and joints feel tight. If it is REALLY HOT along with the humidity, my stomach hurts. Really hurts. Not a nice feeling. And it gives me a headache.

I see so many things out my window I want and should do--prune the roses, cuts some dead branches off the lilacs, whack out a partially dead boxwood, and, generally, just pull weeds. Okay, 15 minutes at a time with a bottle of water. That’s it!! Break time!!

And when my two pals, the other Savvy Broads, want to go for a walk--I am like whom are you kidding? Have a nice time!! I appreciate nature; I just don’t much want to be in it.

*Summer Foods and Markets--doesn’t that sound appealing? 

Fresh fruits and vegetables from a local garden. Yeah, uh-huh! Who is going to wash them? Prepare them? Clean up the mess? Get rid of the trash so we don’t have ants or those little pesky fruit flies. 

OH, YES, corn on the cob is a tasty treat. But I only buy it from one little stand where they will shuck it and clean off the hairy strands before I bring it home. And our Schnauzers will play with corn cobs and bury them if they can manage to snag one. Frankly, a rediscovered once buried corn cob is disgusting looking…all brown, dirty, and shriveled. 

I really am not entranced with “from garden-to-table.” And that is a lie in itself. Garden grown, then buy, bag, put in fridge, take out of fridge, clean, prepare, serve, and clean up! Many restaurants have great salads and good local food! Garden-to-table – literally!? Wouldn’t that be a hoot!!

*Parties, Summer Weddings, Family Get-togethers

So you know I am basically a non-summer miserable human being, I am reminding my friends and family to PLEASE not expect me to attend all of their events – planned or impromptu. I like seeing friends and family. I do not – ironically - do not want to not be invited. Just please understand if I don’t stay long. Not if they are outdoors! My stomach does not to like eat al fresco. Then the bugs will come find me. The children will rip and race and squeal as children should do but it bothers me when it is 95 degrees and with a heat index of 104! If I disappear, I hope you understand!

Good old Maxine cartoons always seem to say it for me:

Stay COOL! I will be inside reading a “beach” book!

                                     Glenne

160 Many happy returns

Many happy returns

Ordering online has become way too easy! With a few clicks of my fingertips, tons of items can be delivered to my front door very, very quickly. It sometimes feels like magic. See an item, click on it, and before you know it, it is on the way.

While it is super convenient to shop this way, I find that I can be a little too quick on the draw. I don’t always take the time to analyze facts such as need, price, etc. That results in returns!!

Lately. it seems as if I am returning more than I keep. That is okay when the business has a local presence but not if it takes shipping the item back. The advantage of ordering from a store in our community is (you guessed it) returns can go back to the store to skip the hassle of mailing or shipping. 

Sometimes I am not even looking or shopping online when an item will just pop up. It looks like something I can’t live without. It can be a keeper or a dud--a recent example was a cute black portrait neckline top. I thought it was a sweater knit but it ended up being woven and more like a blouse. Sorry to say it wasn’t a keeper even though the price was great. The woven fabric was a disappointment. Luckily, it went back to a store that has a physical presence in the area. It was a bargain but not at all what I wanted.

I do like to go to the actual stores and browse to see what I like. But I have found I can order if they don’t have my size. This results in free shipping since the store did not have what I needed.

Recently I had purchased sandals for a granddaughter. Somehow, we bought the wrong size. When we went to the store and they didn’t have what we needed, they gladly ordered it and had it sent to the house with no shipping cost. Makes life much easier.

I have to be careful though with the timing. Often we are headed out of town when a package is on its way. I sometimes even forget I ordered an item when it will suddenly appear on the front porch. I am trying to do better, but it usually works out especially with the help of my neighbors and cleaning lady who will stop by.

Another avenue of shopping has been an online auction site that offers amazing bargains around the clock. The app is on my cell phone, and I can take part in the auction at any time. I do pace myself so I won’t be in over my head. There are many items I am not interested in, but often the jewelry is enticing. The site will ask you to review the item, and if you are not satisfied, then they refund the money and tell you to keep it or they provide return shipping and packaging.

I have always loved shopping but now it is at a new level. If someone in the family has a birthday, I can look for the item I want to send or one that has been requested and have it shipped to his or her home in a matter of days.

I remember the days when the Sear and Roebuck catalog would come out, and the excitement was overwhelming. In the Sears Archives, the 1943 Sears News Graphic wrote that the catalog “serves as a mirror of our times, recording for future historians today’s desires, habits, customs, and mode of living.” This is certainly true. Kits to build houses were even sold through the catalog.

My mother was not a fan of ordering. She preferred going to the local department store and buying what was available. I talked her into ordering one year and it was a disappointment. The dress didn’t look at all like the photo in the huge catalog. Also, it was time-consuming to order and write a check (no credit cards at that time), and it took forever or so it seemed. Plus, returns were painful and also were as slow as a snail’s pace.

The wish book was the Christmas catalog where toys were displayed in enticing photos and made us all dream for every one of them. Of course, we got nowhere near the amount we wanted.

Later on, stores such as Sears and JC Penney offered catalog counters in the stores to order and pick up. Now there are no catalogs or counters for orders. I guess this online ordering has replaced all those practices.

Not sure where all of this will end. We have seen the evolution of catalog to online shopping. There probably won’t be any catalogs in a few years. It is exciting to think of what will be next. Drone deliveries seem to be on the horizon!

But no matter what happens, the consumer will always get that certain thrill when a package arrives on the doorstep whether he or she remembers what was ordered!!

    Savvy Shopper/Returner Frances