143 True non-cook

A true non-cook

I am not a cook – never have been, never will be. But I do what I have to do and have always managed to get a meal on the table for the last 48 years of wedded bliss.

It has not always been pretty or appealing, but I get the job done. When the kids were still at home, it was more crucial to cook even though I worked full time and often had other obligations, including church meetings, graduate classes and more. No excuses were ever acceptable--a meal had to be served to everyone in the household.

With all the work and other obligations, my time in the kitchen was limited to I tried any shortcut when possible. I learned to throw a meal together in record time – chopping, mashing, and doing whatever else was required.

Because I have no great love for cooking, I would get in and get out as quickly as possible, taking advantage of all any shortcuts.

That is why I have been a fan of the toaster oven for decades. Quick, easy, and convenient, the counter appliance never failed me. I would look forward to the day I needed a new one when my old one died from constant use. There were many improvements as each decade progressed.

I learned to use the toaster oven for actual baking of many items small enough to fit in the limited space. This would save turning on the big oven and saving the time it would take to preheat. Frozen products, biscuits, cookies, and other products would turn out great in this small, hot device.

Of course, the microwave can be a godsend too. Baked potatoes come out in a flash, and other meals can be prepared so much quicker. Reheating is also easier with this device of convenience.

The sad part is I come from a long line of amazing cooks who took pride in every dish they lovingly placed on the table. What is even worse for me is I am 100 percent Italian, and you know what that means--a legacy of amazing food.

My grandmother and mother worked tirelessly to feed their large families, never complaining or taking shortcuts. What happened to me I will never know!

But my children luckily have not inherited my lack of culinary passion. My daughter takes great pride in the meals she fixes her family and is always trying new things. 

My son has even turned his interest in cooking into a career in catering and selling barbecue from a food truck.

Even though cooking does not interest me, I do love to bake. My friends all expect my annual pizzelles at Christmas time. It is just the daily drudge of getting a meal on the table every day that becomes so tedious to me.

So what does that tell us--I have no idea, but no one in my family came close to starving or didn’t get enough to eat. My poor husband has weathered many disasters – such as the time he referred to my pasta as “crunchy”--but he has never complained and always said as long there was food on the table!

Frances               

142 Lost skills

Lost Skills

I recently read a mystery that was written in 1997. That was just 30 years ago, but it reminded me of what the younger generation lacks in knowledge and tools.





When I read older books, I often advise one character or another, "Just use your cell phone!" But in these pre-cell books, they had only land lines and pay phones. In the book I recently finished, the heroine said she had to rent a car with special equipment. I was imagining exotic weapons, but the equipment turned out to be a car phone!

Kids can't relate to that!

On a side note, I vividly remember stretching the telephone cord as far as it would go so I could get a little privacy for a phone call. These days, kids can easily keep conversations private.

The heroine needed to buy a bunch of maps to locate the hidden hideout of the bad guy. I recently tried to buy a local atlas in Florida and could not locate one. One clerk told me no one was buying them anymore because everyone used a cell phone for directions. Maps are especially helpful when the cell phone directions lead you astray.

The main character read old letters to determine clues for the case. But who can read cursive now?





I recently watched an interesting CSpan program about John and Abigail Adams. The commentator said that the correspondence between John and Abigail was wonderful and voluminous. "Communications was transportation," he stated since letters went by horse and wagon and ship. Abigail coped with children and farm while Adams was in England.



I have never been a good letter writer so I can't be too critical. I use email for most communications, but understand that the younger generation is not using it nearly as much as our contemporaries. What kind of historical record will be left from Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc.?

I stated in an earlier blog I have been transcribing a Civil War journal. History majors will have to have special training to read cursive just as I had training to read the Elizabethan hand.

Another skill that is lost is using a cassette player. Young volunteers transcribing tape interviews at the library had to be taught how to use a player and be reminded to turn the tape over for the rest of the interview. It seems like record players and vinyl records are coming back, but I am not sure what age group is using them.

I bet there are numerous other skills that are fading away too. What ones can you name?

                   Obsolete-Savvy Trish

141 No need to be bored

NO NEED TO BE BORED!

Growing up I dared NOT say, “I am bored.” Suddenly I would have more to do than I ever wanted if I uttered these words aloud. Creative chores – matching socks, alphabetizing the spice shelf….or weeding, dusting, playing with my much-younger-than-I little sisters. 

I could find something to do really very quickly – usually an escape to my bedroom and a book. Fake homework was good, too. 

Now days, the World Wide Web and social media have become so ingrained in us that I rarely hear people complaining of boredom anymore. Not unless their batteries die.

I, too, have fallen into the web trap. Countless hours sitting in front of the computer (procrastination, maybe, or avoidance, but rarely boredom), made me want to share with you my favorite sites perfect for whiling away an afternoon or evening. 

And Facebook doesn’t count. I only check it a couple of times a week or scroll thru the pictures and rarely post anything.

And this picture was just too good not to include. I love bubble wrap. The sound is so satisfying – and perhaps irritating without saying a word! (Shame on me!) Bubble wrap and Velcro are also entertaining for a little while. Think I will categorize them in nervous habits – something with which to fiddle rather than twiddling the thumbs and not in any way comparable to the internet for entertainment. No mental stimulation required for these handheld objects. 

Here are my favorite internet sites for “intellectual stimulation.” If you don’t know these sites, I hope you will try them out. Let me know which ones you like or dislike. Should you have a favorite that I haven’t listed, send the link, please. I would love to try some new ones!

Savvy Glenne’s Favorite Internet Entertainment Sites

Sporcle.com – created in 2007, this site is packed with trivia quizzes on every topic imaginable from music and movies and books to history and science. I am ashamed to admit that the quizzes are fast paced and I often get a lousy score, but they are fun. I just got a measly 40% on hit songs “fill-in the missing word of the title” quiz. Good grief. That was embarrassing!

Whizzpast.com – fascinating links to short history lessons with many photos of the past. A great way to see history the way it was. Check out the Victorians at the beach. Not as prudish as one might think.

BoredomTherapy.com – absolutely full of clickbait ads, but some of the stories and pictures save you from reading all the tabloids at the grocery store check-out. Billed as a trending site for entertainment. Chock full of weird stories and pictures. Just fun.

TED.com – short (usually 10-15 minute) videos of talks by noted professionals in the fields of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. I enjoy these, but sometimes I can also flip through catalogs while I am listening. These are worthwhile.

DifferenceBetween.net – I stumbled upon this site trying to understand some economic terms and what they meant. I got hooked. Today I read about the difference between Islam and Muslim. It is more intellectual and scholarly than most, but a great reference site.

Wikipedia:Special:Random – this is it! My favorite! I used to rail against Wikipedia for its lack of confirmed facts. This, however, just plays with your mind. When the site is open, in bold letters near the top is Special:Random. Just click there. I could wear out a mouse on this site, clicking another random page, and yet another random page. Today, I read a few lines about the following: Kazakhstan’s Aircraft Repair Plant #405, Famous Poles with the last name Klemens, Phrynidae – also known as whip spiders, and Beaufort Castle in Scotland. And, yes, I will probably look at some more random pages tomorrow.

Happy Spring, happy web surfing.                                Glenne

140 Frightening 4-letter word

A frightening four-letter word!

A four-letter word that strikes fear and dread every spring of the year--Lent!

It may not seem that foreboding or threatening, but it can be overwhelming for a Catholic student or even adult Catholic. What will I give up, how will I do it, will I make it--are thoughts that swirl around inside your head as the season before Easter begins, and Ash Wednesday signals the beginning of the giving-up practice!

I have tried it all-- giving up food, drink, curse words, etc.! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. 

When I was a kid, it was usually my favorite foods especially any type of candy. In those days, we could have what we gave up on Sundays or holidays during Lent such as St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. Not so much these days – you have to do without.

Family members would give each other a hard time trying to tantalize them with the forbidden “fruit” so to speak. We usually would be strong knowing our parents, the nuns, priests, and anyone else involved with the church would have something to say if we were ratted out.

As a young adult, I would use the Lenten practice to cut back on passions such as shopping for items I didn’t need. That would work unless I found something I just couldn’t resist. I could always justify why I needed it or how I couldn’t live without it.

At times, I would revert back to my younger days and give up something edible or drinkable. Wine was often the target and that would usually work. I tried soft drinks this year but for some reason, I couldn’t do it. I really don’t drink that many, but they especially tempted me this year.

Last year, I took the challenge of putting items in a bag every day to give away. That

worked really well and helped out the local charities. My husband joined me in the endeavor although most of the time he didn’t know about it. We both have far more things than we ever use. Clothes, housewares, linens --- nothing was safe from my prying eyes as I gathered items from every room in the house. I highly recommend this practice for Lent but don’t start until the first week of Lent. I started too early this year and ran out before I even got to Palm Sunday.

Social media gets into the practices as a photo a day was requested to capture the 40 days of Lent. Not sure I could come up with forty but maybe next year. Pinterest boards offer a few suggestions too.

All in all, I am glad that I grew up with these practices--they do somewhat build character or teach you how to work around and revise as the forbidden items beckon.

If you have never tried, give it a whirl --- the money you save on the “given up” items will often add up to a good donation. I forgot to tell you that--you are also expected to save for a special Lenten donation. Just think when Easter comes, you are ready with a hefty donation, clear conscience, and sometimes a few pounds lost!

So don’t let this four-letter word terrify you – face it, aim for it, and try to do without something you thought you never could.

Frances   

139 Inspiring reading

Early reading that inspired me

Glenne's recent blog,135--"The 3 B's," which featured classic children's picture books, reminded me of the books that influenced me from elementary through high school.


It seems like an odd amalgamation but these were the ones that have stuck with me through life.

My first story may have come from My Weekly Reader, those great classroom newspapers. It told of John Adams, who as a lawyer in pre-revolutionary Boston took on the defense of the British soldiers who fired on local citizens in 1770 in what was known as the Boston Massacre. What struck me as a child was that although he was a Patriot and against a British standing army, he insisted that truth prevail in spite of overwhelming public pressure against the soldiers. Throughout my life, his story would come back to me time and again when popular opinion pushed  or pulled me.

I lump the Nancy Drew mysteries and Cherry Ames stories together. Most people remember the intrepid Nancy who led her cohorts in a series a mystery quests. 

Cherry may not be as well remembered, but she was also an inspiring woman who traveled the world as a nurse and also solved mysteries. Both gave encouragement to young girls that they could make their own way in the world.

My father was from Kansas and he told me about Glenn Cunningham, the Kansas miler. At eight he was so badly burned below the waist that his doctors told his parents that if he did not die, he would be a cripple forever. He refused to be a cripple, dragging himself along a fence to force his legs to work. He painfully progressed to running. 

In 1934, he ran the faster indoor mile in four minutes and eight seconds. Some consider him the greatest amateur athlete ever. I am not sure where I read the story of this inspirational runner, but as a young swimmer, no workout seemed too hard after reading his story.

In high school, my heroine was Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing. She was witty, funny, good-hearted and full of spunk! I wanted to be that clever! Portia, though smart, was too goody-two-shoes and Juliet was a love-struck idiot. (to me!)







In junior high, for reasons I cannot now understand, I read all the volumes of Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln, the War and the Prairie Years. Must have been the spark for my love of all things Civil War!

There are many more influential books I could list, but is does seem that I was drawn to the stories of strong contrarians.  And strong women--when I could find them!

What characters or stories of people influenced you? Please share.

Trish