Reflections on the Year, or The More I Hurry, the Further Behind I Get!

I have felt like I'm behind and trying desperately to catch up all year.  So many things I have to do, keep track of, contribute to, and I am not up to speed on any of them.  Well, my goal at work is up to date, and my church giving pledge is, my bills are all paid, but stuff I need to do for me is lagging.

Haven't done much with my various journals, haven't written as much poetry as I should have.  I have kept this blog up pretty well, but the posts are not all I hoped I could make of them.

So much of the time life seems to speed by while I am trying to get myself moving.  Is it just growing older catching up, or is it a lazy nature finally expressing itself?
The weight loss has come to a standstill, but at least there has been no substantive backsliding.  Only gained a pound or two, and lost them back pretty quickly, but can't get below 137 no matter what I do.
Supposed to be finishing a Web 2.0 training at work, and still have four topics left to cover out of 12.  There are books I want to read that are on my Nook, and on my shelf, and have not been touched.  I have been reading, just not as fast as I usually do.  Got a bad case of wandering attention most days. 

Does anybody else feel like they are getting more "fruity" than "complex"?  Don't know whether the hot flashes have cooked what little was left of my brain, or if the fact that they wake me up every night several times is the cause of my absent brain feelings.

I have often mentioned in this blog the sad things that have happened this past year.  The cat died, Matt had to go to the hospital for a week, the tornadoes came through town again, my nephew died, my friend died, just lots of sadness.

There has also been some great happiness.  Like meeting two other  Perlgirls in person finally.  Of COURSE, meeting Ron Perlman, The Man himself was fantastic!
 The fact that Matt didn't have any permanent damage from his heart rhythm problem was also a cause for great rejoicing.  The changes made in our diet because of his health issues have been very beneficial.  The fact that my weight appears stuck at the moment should not detract from the fact that I lost 30 POUNDS!! 
The continuing presence in our lives of some very dear friends has also been a source of great happiness.  Good friends are hard to come by, and having Mike and Nancy for friends has been a real blessing.
 There have been many challenges this year, and most of them were met and dealt with in a satisfactory manner.  There is always room for improvement, more growth, less navel gazing.   There are things clogging up our house that we should sort through and part with some of.
I must also once again clean the fountain pens.  They are clogged up again from lack of use.  Shameful it is, the way I neglect them.  (Well, hello Master Yoda, my word order taken over you have!)

 Here are my beautiful fountain pens.  Many of them were hand made for me by Matt.  (The ones with the wood barrels and the bright green one and first blue one on the right.)


Time also to change the calendars, clear away the Christmas decorations, and clear the decks for a whole new year.  I just hope it is a year of good things, and a time to catch up, not another year of scurrying, hurrying, and worrying.

Something that always makes me smile.  Thanks, Mr. P!

Kelly and Mary, you guys are the best!  This makes me smile, too!  (And of course, Himself  brought us all together!)

Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.  Again. Already!  This year has sped by, and I have not felt ready for this Holiday season to be upon us yet.  What with Matt's hospital visit earlier in the year, the loss of our cat, the horrible storms that damaged our town,the loss of my nephew Marty,  the loss of my friend and colleague Melodie, this year has been full of difficult and NOT very celebratory times.  Yet we have the house decorated, and I have made the usual sweets, though not as many.  We have friends coming to visit tomorrow, to share food and good times.  So many blessings to help offset the sorrows.  The weather is a paradox right now.  It is so cold out that we feel like we are living inside a giant freezer.  Everything is coated in ice EXCEPT the roads and sidewalks. Every other outdoor surface has at least a half inch of ice coating it.  Many trees have lost limbs, many more are bowing low to the ground.  The ice is a worry if the wind picks up, but as it is, it is beautiful, especially at night, and in the sunlight.

This is a tree near a neighbor's Christmas lights.  Lovely sparkly effect on the tree branches from the ice.

This tree is on the street East of us. A sculpture by Jack Frost.

The street sign and stop sign on the corner about 2 houses South of our house.  It has been this way since Friday night.  See the cable television bundled cables in the background.  Let us HOPE the wind stays low!









I feel more in the spirit of the season now.  I am done with work until the day AFTER Christmas, and my voice studio recital is over.  I did pretty well, I thought. There is a link to follow that you can go to and listen to the song I sang.  The piece is Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head by John Jacob Niles.  It was performed by me, accompanied by Karen Smith-Pearson, my vocal coach, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oklahoma City on Sunday, December 22, 2013.

Katie Armistead Voice Recital - Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head


There are only a few last minute things to be done, and we will be ready to celebrate the joy of Christmas with our friends.  We sing at the late service tomorrow night.  10:30 pm Festival Music, and the service starts at 11pm.  Usually over after midnight.  If you are in the 405, and would like to join us at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, 127 NW 7th St, Oklahoma City, OK
You can find out more about St. Paul's, and hear recordings of our choirs and the pipe organ, and even download the Worship Guides (bulletins) for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services at The Cathedral's Website

May you all know the warmth and joy of the season, may you find love and caring where you least expect it, and may your New Year be filled to overflowing with good things.

Thanks for reading.
As Ever,
Katie

A Couple Of Poems

As the TV weather people have been barking again about the freezing rain, thought I'd record the words floating around in my head.  Also a little meditation about this "connected" world of ours.

 Here's hoping the ice leaves town quickly.  Many people have things to do and places to go this weekend, and I have a voice recital Sunday night!


Ice Storm Warning
By CK Armistead
12/20/13

With stealth
And menace
This precipitation
Falls and freezes
Silently coating
Roads
Tree limbs
Power lines
Hearts.
Turning some
Into hoarders
Of bread
Milk
Toilet paper
Booze.
Making many
Lose their
Holiday Spirit
Making many more
Slip, slide, fall,
Crash.
The only way
To fight ice
Is to resist
The chill,
Stay off of it,
Keep your heart warm
And  ice will
Melt.


Community
By C.K. Armistead 12/20/13

Whether right next door
Or halfway 'round the world,
You have friends.
They don't have to be
Present physically
To be supportive
Friendship depends
On a meeting of minds,
Of hearts
Even more than
Meeting face to face.
Many who reach out
Across cyberspace
Are just as close
As those down the street.
A strange paradigm
Of these times
That words on a screen
Can bring people
Closer
Give them hope
Encouragement
Laughter
And love.
And when you do
Meet them face to face
It  makes the time
Together sweeter,
More companionable
Because you are not
Strangers
But friends.

Voicing Some Views on Vocabulary

Words have long been my favorite playthings.  I learned to read very early, and so read just about everything I could find with print on it when I was a kid.  I even read dictionaries.  For fun.
 My entire career at school, from elementary through university, my vocabulary was always larger than those of my classmates.  I often had to consider before I spoke whether the word I had chosen to use would be well received in present company.  This is what happens when you are the youngest child by several years in a household of readers.  Since my parents and  siblings read news stories aloud to me (and each other) at the breakfast table, and I cannot remember a time I could not read, though they tell me I was 3 when they realized I could,  it would seem I was destined to have a large collection of words at my beck and call. 
My composition professor at university always told me that I wrote in much the same way that I speak:  very long and complex sentences.  He reminded me that colons and semi colons were my friends, and I should not be afraid to call upon them.
Here then, are a few of the words that interest me.  Only a very few.  (Winking smiley).

There are words I almost never use in daily conversation and writing, but I love them.  The sound of them, the associated meanings of them, the way they fit a particular situation.
Words like Pyrrhic Victory, which refers to a victory won at too great a cost.  (After a Greek king who won  battles against the Romans, but lost great numbers of men and equipment and animals in the process.)

Slew, which comes from the Gaelic sluah, which means "many", or "a multitude".  A whole slew o' things, is a lot of them.  It's pretty common in the regions where my ancestors settled in this country.  (In the 1780s and '90s in the hills of Kentucky,  North Carolina, and later Arkansas.)
Many in my Mom's family, who are from farther South and in the flatter lands, say "a whole mess" of things instead of slew.  One meaning of mess, according to the Oxford American Dictionary is "an untidy collection of things."  So I guess my Mom's family was more concerned with the quality of the things than the number of them.

Truncated is a word I like because it does indeed give the impression of something cut short, cut off, left unfinished, perhaps.  I always will remember a lady who wouldn't believe the "may be truncated" on a list of book titles she was given referred to the fact that the book titles were likely cut short due to the size of the field in the database.  She believed it meant SHE could be cut off at any time, either her account or her call, I'm not sure which.  I think a manager FINALLY convinced her of the truth.

I also like trudge.  "To walk laboriously."  Good old Oxford.  Use a five syllable word to define a one syllable word!  (Big smile here!)  Many are the days I have trudged through simply because I felt heavy and weary, whether of spirit or body, or both.

Twitter is a word I like.  It does indeed sound like some of the sounds birds make.  It is also, of course, the name of a social media platform that is very popular.  So, now it has even more positive connotations for me than it did before.  Bird watching was a big hobby of mine while we were in Germany.  We saw many different kinds of woodpeckers, blackbirds, starlings, birds of prey, magpies, beautiful songbirds like goldfinches, cedar waxwings, and of course, European House Sparrows.  They are ubiquitous.  (Another word I love.)  "Being everywhere at the same time" well, yes, sparrows seem to be.  Just look around.  You'll see.

Mellifluous is another word I adore.  It means "Sweet sounding".  It brings to mind a song well sung.  I love to sing, I love it even more when I know I am singing well.  When it is mellifluous.

There are words I like that are considered odd by some.  Woolgather.  I like that word, because I find myself woolgathering a lot.  It means, of course, to drift a bit mentally, be bemused. Oxford American Dictionary says "Being in a dreamy or absent-minded state."  Pretty much describes me most of the time!

Vestments is a word that sometimes makes me smile.  I have to wear choir vestments every Sunday.  (And every Wednesday evening in Advent.)  They actually fit, having been made to measure for me, but now they are lots roomier since I have lost weight.  This makes me smile. 

Just as there are words I love, there are expressions I love.  One that I learned that is Italian in origin is "Fai attenzion.  E un venditore di fumo."  (Pay attention, or watch out, he's a smoke salesman. )  He's a fake, a con man.
A good con man could seem a lot like he was selling smoke, couldn't he?  It's a very colorful and powerful image. 
Just found a book today about expressions like this from around the world.  Will have to report in once I have a chance to delve into it.  I also have a book called Wordbirds to delve into.  Talking about words coined to deal with our 21st Century lives.  (Reminds me a lot of Sniglets, but maybe more useful and less completely funny.)

The hour grows late, my energy is waning, and I must arise early tomorrow and be about my business in a timely manner, so I will bid you all a fond farewell at this point. 

"Tis The Season...

Advent has begun, which means we start getting ready for Christmas.  In our worship, in our music, around the house, and hopefully in our hearts as well.
Around our house that means putting the decorations up a little at a time, and listening to Christmas music again.  I have uploaded some of our Christmas cds to the Amazon Cloud, I also have purchased a couple of new ones, since the  old ones get cloying after awhile, even though I love them.

The music now on the cloud, the computer, and my mobile devices for the season includes:

 40 Most Beautiful Carols.  Lots of Anglican sounds here, also some by Chanticleer.  Good, traditional carols.

Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra  One like some of the ones Mom used to play.  Classics.

The Andy Williams Christmas Album
One of the several my Mom ALWAYS played.  I grew up on this one, know all the songs by heart, still love it.

Another of Mom's favorites that I also love.  The one I downloaded is not EXACTLY like this, but has all the same songs.

Have owned a copy of this album in one form or another since the year they did the TV special and the album came out. LOVE it! Little Saint Nick has to be one of my all-time favorites.  Sung by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem!

Pink Martini Joy To The World

This is one of my new finds.  Love it.  All kinds of holiday songs, including a Hanukkah song that sounds like it's mostly in Spanish.  Immediately thought of the best man at our wedding, Paul Londynsky, who grew up Jewish in the middle of Panama.  (The Canal Zone.)

The Statler Brothers Christmas    One Mom played a lot the last few years I lived at home.  Kinda corny and very Country, but I still like it.

Silver Bells, A Bing Crosby Christmas Anthology
This has more on it than the one my Mom always listened to, but is familiar enough to make up for it.  It just isn't Christmas without Bing!  (Or Frank, or Andy, or Doris!)  Not at our house, anyway.








I also put the indoor lights up in the windows this evening, since I was home.  I have to go to work tomorrow, supposedly from 9 to 1, but they have already said the earliest we would open would be 10, and it's going to be determined in the morning whether we open at all.  Guess I'll be awaiting a phone call...

Anyway, here's a picture of the lights, and one of the driveway covered with sleet that is frozen into a nice hard crust.

Since that phone call that tells me whether I work in the morning or not is going to come awfully early in the morning, I guess I better start preparing for going to sleep. 
Sure am thankful for electricity, natural gas, a sturdy house, and the means to keep it warm!

Living La Vida Loca

Yep.  The crazy life.  Any more, life seems to zoom by so fast that I never get anything done.  Even at work, where I have uninterrupted time to get things done, life conspires against me.  The phone will ring off the hook, the sorter will act up, there will be a zillion customers all at once. 
Eventually, things even out, but it sure isn't easy to keep stress at bay when you feel like you aren't doing everything you're SUPPOSED to be doing. 

Around the house, it's living la vida Twitter that gets me in trouble.  Yes, I am a social media addict.  Twitter is but the latest version.  Before I discovered Twitter, there was Facebook, and before that, email lists.  It is a good way to find and keep up with old friends, far-flung family, make new friends, expand your horizons, but it will also eat a LOT of time if you let it.  I am trying not to let it.  (But I love my friends on Twitter, and I don't want to miss them!) 

Christmas is almost here again ALREADY!!  I am glad we don't have kids who will expect presents and a big whoop de doo for the holiday.  We have already given each other (and ourselves) a lot of things this year, so I don't think we will be doing much in the way of presents. We are further breaking with tradition and having brisket instead of ham for Christmas Eve dinner. 

I am not ready.  So far, no Christmas cards have been written, the only decorations out are the Advent wreath and the stuffed animals that go in our bedroom.  I don't like to rush Christmas these days.  Directly the opposite of the way it was when I was a child, and I started campaigning for Christmas lights, and the Christmas tree and all the fun stuff to come out as soon as Thanksgiving was over.  Now I get mad when the retailers start talking about Holiday Sales before Halloween. Even madder when grown people go out the day after Thanksgiving and trample and beat each other over some stupid thing they want to buy.  Good grief.  Life really IS crazy these days.

I am also trying to participate in an online reading group of sorts.  A few of us are reading (in my case and one other girl's case, RE-reading) The Name Of The Rose. It is a LOT more detailed than the movie would lead you to believe.  The story is the same, but there is so much background material, description, and history going on that it makes for involved reading.  More like the stuff I used to read in college than the stuff I've been reading lately for the most part. (I guess I've gotten lazy and have been reading lighter books for the most part.)

Now they are threatening us with nasty winter weather again.  Not sure whether we're supposed to get snow, sleet, both, or freezing rain and both.  This is going to mess up the activities the city has planned, as well as possibly messing up church on Sunday again.  Not good.  There is also the problem of our garage that has no drywall, and the attic that needs new insulation.   Sigh.  Please God, make the stupid weather pester somebody else.  We need to get this stuff DONE. (Otherwise, we are going to own a big chunk of ONG, or at least it will feel like we've bought one.)

(Two Days Later)
The arctic air mass has arrived, Armageddon in the form of freezing rain and extremely dangerous roads is supposed to follow shortly.  Far as I know, the library is still open, so I have made a large batch of Mexican Hot Chocolate to share, and I am on my way to work my usual shift.  I hope they close us early if it looks like the roads are going to be bad.  Don't want fellow staffers OR customers in danger.  Matt is off today, so I get a ride to and from with an experienced all-weather driver!

Addendum to the Previous Post

I was not mentioning all the dishes, etc to gloat over having them.  Rather, I find myself mystified by the fact that I have them.  I know I like such things, but really, how did I end up with so many?  And this lot is greatly reduced from what I had a few years ago.  Much has been donated to charity in the name of clearing some space around here. 
Things are pleasant to have and often very useful, too.  People are more important.  A lot of the things I have remind me of the people who gave them to me.  Teapots that belonged to my Mom, especially the one she used to steep the strong tea in that she used to make iced tea in the summers of my childhood.  The wedding china, some received as wedding gifts, some purchased when Matt found a close out sale at Rhein-Main just in time for our fifth anniversary. Some of the flatware was acquired because we neglected to put any in the things we would have with us immediately upon arriving at our new duty station.  So, off to the store in order to have something other than plastic forks to eat with for the several months it took to get our household goods.

The birthday cards are all made, more than half the laundry is done, folded, and put away, I have made headway on things I need to read, and all in all, I have had a good Saturday.
Except for the news that a friend is ill.  Have added her to my prayers, and the list of a prayer group I regularly participate in. 
Our friends are the true decorations of this home, their smiles what make it bright.  Even those who only enter through their delightful presence on our social media screens.  They still matter, they are still counted friends.  May God grant my friend swift healing, and peace of mind, and the ability to retain her health.  Lord, in Your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent, the Season of Preparation for Christmas.  I am going to go dig out the Advent wreath and the candles.  Pictures shortly.

Random Saturday Stuff

Saturday after Thanksgiving.  Not doing as bad with the weight as I thought.  Only up to 138.6 from 136.6 a couple weeks ago.  Now, if I can drop again between now and Christmas, I might just make my goal weight before my birthday.  (I can dream, can't I?)

 

Above are my teapots and some serving pieces.

Some of my crystal and china in the dining room hutch.

I have more sets of dishes in this house than you would believe.  There's service for 16 in the Noritake china that we picked out when we were married.  No way will I ever be able to fit 16 people in this house for a sit-down dinner.  I have service for four in several sets of stoneware, including TWO Blue Willow sets, a Pfaltzgraf pattern that is discontinued (Grandma's Kitchen), some random stuff from Pier One, and a set of Corelle that's seen better days. When a heavy train goes by, this house sounds like a crystal chandelier in a breeze.  There is also a large set of Longchamps pattern lead crystal in the hutch.  I guess I have a weakness for dishes and stemware.  Flatware, too, evidently, as I have four sets of that.  (One silver plate, the rest stainless.)

Sorting laundry, commencing to wash it.  Thankful to have clothes to wear, astounded at how MANY pieces of clothing two people go through in one week. Five loads of laundry, not counting two loads of towels I will have to do also.  Good thing we have energy and water saving appliances.

This Saturday I feel much better than I did last Saturday.  Last week, I was just feeling down and blue for no good reason that I can identify. I had to work, but I love my job, and my coworkers, and some of our customers.  It wasn't just being at work.  Maybe it was the shifting weather and the cold.  My fingers do ache sometimes when the cold moves in.  However, my online friends and my coworkers did a lot to cheer me up as the day went on.  Funny things and messages of support and caring pulled me out of the dumps.  The one great boon of social media is that it does allow one to take one's friends along on life's oh, so daily journey. You run the risk of boring people, but your real friends won't mind, and will rally when you need them.  Blessed to have so many good friends. 

On to making birthday cards for fellow library staffers.  This is often fun, especially if I know the person fairly well and can tailor-make a card just for them.  The fact that so many of us are Whovians, Star Trek fans, and Potter heads makes it easier. There are a few interesting possibilities among the December birthdays...

Still have some Nerdy Dozen blog posts to write so I can finish this round on time.  Astonishing fact is, I finished the first ever round early, and have had to roll this term over to the new one.  Guess my Nerdy Life got in the way!  (Convention in Dallas, trip to my Mom's, I was way too busy organizing myself to get any Nerdy Dozening done.)  I should be forgiven for the convention trip.  After all, that is a VERY Nerdy activity.  AND I got to meet Ron Perlman and two of my fellow fans.  If that ain't nerd cred, I don't know what is. 

I'm off to finish laundry and birthday cards.  Thanks for reading, be glad I got the off-the-cuff poetry out of my system already today.  You have been spared.  Be thankful! :)

On A Cold And Dreary Day - A Warm and Thankful Heart

This is what I see when I look down at the flowerbed in front of the office window. I can feel how cold it is, even with the heater going and wearing my nice warm clothes.  This weather is the kind of creeping cold and dreary stuff that can really sap your energy and get you down if you let it. 
I have been trying not to let it. 

Perhaps the specter of a sinus cold has been haunting me.  I haven't developed such a thing; but since new territory has been charted in my voice work, the perverse logic of my life says that it's about time for a serious bout of laryngitis. 

So, I decided today called for some serious coziness.  I made some cinnamon spice tea, and put the #1 Soprano Album on to play.  Very surprised by how many of these arias I know and/or have studied at least a little.   I have finished reading one book on my Nook, and almost finished reading another, so my "to be read" list will soon be shorter. 
Wondering now how bad the streets will be tomorrow.  Would like to go to voice lesson, but that may not be a good idea.  Matt says our driveway currently is a sheet of ice.  Much will depend on the temperature and amount of sunlight tomorrow morning.

This kind of weather can depress me, but it also makes me grateful.  Grateful to have a house and the means to keep it warm.  Grateful for clothes and food, and books, and for friends whose electronic greetings remind me that we are not isolated here, not really.  We still have contact with the outside world. 
Also grateful that Matt is here, and not thousands of miles away like he was the first time I dealt with weather like this.  I no longer have the worry of being on my own in a foreign country with weather that I have NO experience dealing with.  I have at least a little experience with this weather now, and we have been back in the States for 20 years now, but I am still far from where I grew up.
Grateful too, for the simple kind of kitschy wisdom of Mary Engelbreit.  I love her teacups and mugs and greeting cards, etc.  This cup I was using today says "Be warm inside and out."  A nice reminder that a warm heart can go a long way toward making you feel warm all over.  And you make others' hearts warm, and the goodness just keeps going.

Grateful, too, to have work I love that gives back to the community.  It is a rare privilege to be able to do work that you love. 
This season of Thanksgiving finds me with SO much to be thankful for.  Friends of long standing who feel more like family, family that is thankfully fairly healthy, newer friends (some of whom we've never met face to face) who brighten our lives,  a church that we love that loves us back,  a community to live in that has real spirit and heart, a husband who really loves me, a chance to sing and learn more about singing.  That list is nowhere near in order of importance.  God has blessed Matthew and I with almost 30 years together, and we still can laugh together.  That is a great gift.  Grateful that God has been so generous with His grace in our lives.  Grateful for the chance to try to share the love with others where we can.
  The objective of our faith, in my mind anyway, is not to try to cram ideologies down someone's throat, to"save" them, but to LOVE them.  That's what Jesus said when asked.  The greatest commandment was to love God with your whole being, and the second to love your neighbor as yourself.  Seems to me sometimes the hardest part of that equation is loving ourselves.  Who better to know all our foibles and flaws and to be completely unforgiving of them?  I don't know about you, but I know all too well how short I fall in almost every thing I attempt to do right.  I don't like to forgive myself, either.  We're supposed to, though.  Supposed to learn from the mistakes, forgive ourselves, move on, and remember that everybody else is in this same leaky boat with us, and therefore they deserve some slack, too.
A lot to be thankful for, and a lot more work to do in order to be a better person.  Isn't that how it's supposed to be? 
I hope so.  I like having work to do and things to learn.

The Weather, It Has Changed, or Hey, wasn't It Fall Just A Minute Ago?

This afternoon, on my way into the library from my car, the wind was blowing from the south, and it was humid.  Not hot, but not cold, either. 
This evening, when leaving the library to go back to my car, the wind was out of the north, and so dry and cold that it almost seemed to have teeth.  It grabbed my clothes and pulled on my bags, made it hard walk against.
Lucky for me, I knew the weather was supposed to change.  Everyone in Oklahoma is obsessed with the weather.  If you lived here, you'd understand.  Turning your back on Mother Nature is a very bad idea.  Paying attention to the weather forecast becomes just something you HAVE to do.  I had dressed in layers, and had one of my big, soft, comfy capes with the faux fur lined hood to wear tonight.  (Didn't have my gloves, though.  My hands were complaining until the car heated up enough to run the heater.) 
When I lived in Southern California, I never even knew there was such a thing as a weather alert radio.  Now, I am  nervous if I don't have the latest model with all the county-specific warning settings available.  When I lived in Los Angeles County, I never really had to own a heavy coat.  Now I have a long wool coat. a short wool coat, a short, hooded carcoat, several lightweight jackets, THREE capes, two of which have faux-fur lined hoods, three ruanas, which are like the capes but lighter weight, several scarves/shawls, a multitude of sweaters, and at least six bathrobes that could be considered VERY warm.  I love being able to wear these snuggly things.  I love sweaters, and the soft-textured capes and ruanas that I have.  I love my soft, colorful scarves that are big enough to be shawls.  I love all my soft, snuggly robes.  Growing up where winter was only cool,  not really cold, robbed me of the chance to enjoy and appreciate a warm, cozy house, with a nice reading corner, and cuddly sweaters and throws to wrap up in and read on a blustery day.  Germany was the first place I got to experience being able to actually wear warm clothes and to cuddle up with a good book and a hot cup of tea on a blustery, cold, nasty grey day.  It is SO satisfying to be able to do that. 
Here  in Moore, Oklahoma, I am blessed to have an "office" of my own at home, where I have a little reading corner that is cozy and comfy and has a nice lamp, comfy pillows,  and throws to snuggle up in right by the window, so I can watch the wind blow through the oak tree out front, and be grateful for my cozy nook with my books.  I also have scented candles that I burn sometimes to make it feel even cozier in here. 

While I appreciate the chance to hole up with a good read and my warm snugglies, I don't relish the idea of having to get out to go to work or anywhere else when the weather is acting up around here.  Snow, sleet and ice make nightmares out of the local roadways.  Though the city plows the main thoroughfares, getting in and out of our subdivision and the various parking lots around town can be extremely treacherous.  Even at the library, which parking lot the city plows.  Getting to and from work Saturday may be extremely interesting.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, Friday, I have battles with our mortgage bank that must be fought, as they have palmed us off onto another loan management company, but this time I have to make all the arrangements for the automatic payments, etc.  Cheap bastards.  They had BETTER make our property tax payment like they are supposed to, or I will complain to the VA, who guarantees our loan. They already have the money in the escrow account, after all.   (And I'll tell anybody who's willing to listen how crappy B of A is to their customers.)  I also get to make the December birthday cards for the library, and get my December calendar together, so I'll know if I have schedule conflicts or not.  Fun, fun, fun. 

So, now that the North Wind is howling as loud as any banshee ever did, and the cold air is riding that wind down from the Arctic, I will leave you in order to crawl into my nice, cozy bed, that has the electric mattress pad already heated up and toasty for me.  Now you know where yesterday's poetry was coming from.  I had been listening to the weather reports last evening. 

A Cold Wind Comes And Other Poetic Thoughts

All poems are my original work, and composed as I sit here at my computer this evening.


A Cold Wind Comes
C.K. Armistead Nov. 20, 2013

Though today the sun shines
The horizon is thick with cloud
Though now the breeze softly chimes
Soon it will be quite loud.

One moment all is bright
The next, all is dark and cold
One dance in the spotlight
Then you are ignored and old.

Though today the breeze is balmy
And the jolly crowd surrounds you
Tomorrow's blast will come rawly
And your loneliness will astound you.

Life and weather,
Weather and life
Strife and pleasure,
Pleasure and strife.

Though today the way is clear,
Who knows where tomorrow roams.
Though now you feel no fear,
Tomorrow a cold wind comes.


Portents
C.K. Armistead
Nov. 20, 2013

The weathermen are bleating
"Tomorrow night it will be sleeting!"
Perhaps Mother Nature will deceive them
Or maybe we should believe them.

The south wind is high and howling
But the maps say the North Wind is already prowling
And before then end of another day
It will blow us all away.

Updating Some Lists: Music and Books...

First, the new music added since the last Music List update: 

Covered by Katey Sagal.  Always amazed at how many talents this woman has.  Her voice is perfect for the material she chooses, and she DOES have a voice, she knows how to sing properly.  (Unlike many a pop princess these days...)
Here's a review from the SF Gate

Songs Of Anarchy: Music from Seasons 1-4
Always pretty good music on that show.  Wanted time to appreciate it better.

Songs of Anarchy:  Volume 2  Second verse, same as the first.

Wintersmith by Steeleye Span in cooperation with Terry Pratchett.  LOVE the Tiffany Aching books, absolutely adore the Nac Mac Feegle, and so this album was a natural for me.  It is fabulous.  Have liked Steeleye Span since my sister introduced me to them in the '70s.  Excellent, excellent music, and must for Pratchett fans! 

Books to be read.  Always a long list with me these days, I find interesting stuff to read faster than I can read it.  (The hazards of working in a library!)

Still Reading:  Mole People by Jennifer Toth  Interesting reading about actual people living in the tunnels under NYC.  An obvious choice for an old BATB fan like me.  Very enlightening.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen  Interesting to read the midlife observations of someone whose life has had a lot more "stuff" in it than mine has.  I have no children, no big career, just the job of supporting my husband's Air Force career, and now his second job, and doing my own bit to make the world better by working in a Public Library. 

To Be Read:

Help Thanks Wow by Anne Lamott
The Violinist's Thumb by Sam Kean
Sweet Tea Revenge by Laura Childs
A Friendly Game of Murder by J. J. Murphy
Death of Yesterday by M.C. Beaton
Widow's Tears by Susan Wittig Albert
Redshirts by John Scalzi
The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson
Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George
Ghost Gone Wild by Carolyn Hart
The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron
It Happens In The Dark by Carl O'Connell
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
King's Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb
The Ballad of Tom Dooley by Sharyn McCrumb
I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen by Sylvie Simmons
Low Side of the  Road: A Life of Tom Waits by Barney Hoskyns
True Grit by Charles Portis
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Wordbirds by Liesl Schillinger
Stitches by Anne Lamott

Recently Read:

Through The Evil Days by Julia Spencer Fleming

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

Kiss of Revenge by Debbie Viguie


Also planning to re-read The Name Of the Rose by Umberto Eco to participate in an experiment with a couple of my friends on Twitter to have a sort of small  'book discussion' group as we all three read the book.  It's not a small book. Hope we all have time! 

That's about all I've got this time.  Certainly seems enough to me! 

Friday Fussings, Thanks and Musings

Yep.  I have a mixed bag of feelings today, and I feel compelled to write.  Live with it.  Or just don't read it.  Nobody's forcing you.  (Insert smiley face here.)

A friend posted this graphic to Face Book a while back.  It is funny, but not.  It's all too tragically true for too many of our returning vets.  I hope they get more recognition for their service than Matt did after the Gulf War.  (Considered just his regular job since he was in airlift and active duty at the time.)  My rant would be "My husband spent seven months in Desert Shield/Storm, and all I got was a lousy certificate.  He got the t-shirt, but it was olive drab." 
That said, I am very grateful he was only away seven months, even if I was alone in a foreign country for that time.  Also glad that he came home in one piece, even if he did injure his shoulder again.
 These folks today are dealing with far longer deployments and far less real support when they get back.  It's a disgrace.  

My next fuss is about the photo of bathing beauties from a book cover:

I am sure this is a wonderful book, I was just struck by the proportions of the ladies in those bathing suits.  It occurs to me that my figure is upside down by all normal standards.  Most women have at least SOME hips and behind.  They usually don't have as much proportionally on top as I do.  I have NO hips and no behind to speak of.  Boobs I got.  Too much.  Even as I lose weight, I lose what little hips I had, and nothing much off the bust yet.  There is some difference, but not much.  Not really complaining, just wondering what whacky genetics came to me to cause this oddball shape for a female.  Nobody that takes after the Clark side of my family has much of a behind, though. May be one reason the family is so fidgety.  We can't sit still too long because we have no padding to sit on!  

Now, the thanks:

  

I am thankful for coffee.  On a chilly morning, it makes so many things easier to do.  Like open my eyes.   

I am also thankful for Muscinex, Tylenol Tension Headache Formula, and Chlortrimeton. Also decongestant.  Those and the coffee are what have made my ability to function possible this morning.  

I am thankful for my coworker Sally and her marvelous giggle.  She has a lovely sunny smile, and the best giggle ever.  She is generous with her laughter.  Her attitude makes a long shift at work easier to bear, so I am very thankful to get to work with her.  

My husband Matthew's evil grin is a special source of delight to me.  I sometimes think I know exactly what he's thinking when that grin appears, and no, it doesn't always involve innuendo.  Not always.  I am very grateful for his love, his patience, his sense of humor, and that evil little grin.  

Also his particularly evil laugh.  It can be scary if you don't know him, but if you do, you know he is truly amused when he laughs that way.

Very thankful for Fiona's sense of humor.  Brings back my sense of balance some days.  So very grateful for her friendship, and thanks to Mr. Perlman, because he's the reason I met Fiona.  (Also, Mary, Kelly, Paulette, Maria, Marie, Anna, Patti, Amy, Brooklyn, well, I probably forgot somebody, but these are the friends I tweet with most often)

Thankful for the wide open, clear, heartbreakingly , breathtakingly blue Oklahoma sky this morning.  So very beautiful and expansive.

Thankful for my health and the ability to keep it.  

Thankful for my family, even if we seldom see each other.  We are all strong personalities, and it may well be that distance helps us get along better!  

Always thankful for music and for the ability to sing.  Such a transcendent joy, and such hard work!  Worth every bit of the effort, though.  Can't believe that others enjoy my singing, can't imagine that I am actually any good, but I love to sing.  I feel like I am soaring along with the music, lost in the melody and the sound, and sometimes in the emotion of the song.

Thankful for my church and all the people in it.  They are family, and we have all been through a LOT together over the years.  Being at St. Paul's never fails to lift my spirit, always makes me feel God's presence and the comfort that brings.  I know that I am loved.  Well and truly.

Musing on what I need to do vs what I want to do today.  Think I can successfully accommodate both if I get myself moving.  Need to get some errands run, do some cleaning, some laundry, and some Nerdy stuff.  Also want to read, to veg out for once, and possibly commit poetry again.  

Wish I didn't always feel like such a social klutz.  Am usually sure I have alienated someone unintentionally.  Just always lived too much inside my own head, and tend toward saying things totally out of the blue that confuse people.  (Except Matt.  He always seems to know just where I've been, and where I'm going.)  

Hoping for a good day, and wishing the best for all my friends and family, and you, Dear Reader, who are probably in one of those categories.  If not, I truly appreciate your time and attention.  Good day to you as well. 

Just me.  (No makeup, no glasses, therefore no armor against the world.)

Fall Has Fallen, Or Autumn Comes Tumbling In

There are a few sure signs that the seasons have changed around here.  Oh, yeah, the obvious ones like leaves turning colors and falling, and cooler nights, but there are other things that really mark the change for me.
This evening I put the heated mattress pad on the bed.  A major ordeal, and only undertaken after a night when crawling into bed was like getting into an icebox because of cold sheets.  (Our room is on the north end of the house, we really need to re-do the attic insulation.  SOON.)  Last night was one such night.  I was so cold at first, I couldn't get comfortable.  (Then, of course, the first hot flash of the night hit, and I threw all the covers off, but I digress...)
So, tonight, I decided I didn't want that shock when getting into bed.  The process of putting this mattress pad on the bed is not as straightforward as one might think.  It involves threading electrical cords under our bed, where some large flat items are stored, and always, without fail, I forget about the center support legs for the bed frame, and have to re-thread the cords around it or one of us won't be able to reach the controller on our side of the bed.
I managed to manhandle the mattress pad onto the bed itself, top it with another mattress pad to protect it, put the regular bedding back in place, and get the stupid thing all hooked up and working without resorting to any of my Pop's "magic words".  (Those that would work for him, but backfire bigtime if any of us kids used them. )
Doing this really made me miss our cat, Madame Skye.  She used to LOVE that heated mattress pad.  She'd crawl up on the bed as soon as I turned it on each evening, and snuggle between the pillows we pile on top of the bed to heat the top sheet as well. 

 

This is the sight I am missing tonight.  No Madame curled up on the foot of the bed, soaking in the warmth.  

I have also dug out the cold weather clothes, and wore my tweed coat for the first time today.  I have yet to haul out the big green wool coat that I have had since 1990, but the day isn't far off.  I've gotten the turtleneck sweaters out, and the sweats and warmup pants for my workouts.  Our electric bills will go down, and our gas bill is on the way up.  (Though we keep it about 66 in here during the day, 61 at night because we don't mind the cold when we're asleep.  Once we get warm, that is.) We wear sweaters and have lots of throws around the house to snuggle up in.  (And my Nook e-reader has the added bonus of producing a little bit of heat, so when I curl up to read, I stay warm and toasty!)

I love being able to wear my sweaters again.  Added bonus this year that since I have lost weight, the nice sweaters that were a little too tight last year fit really well this year.  I am afraid I do have Holiday sweaters, but most of them are not of the gaudy ugly variety.  I can't help myself, I think I taught in the primary grades too long.  

I also have a black and white Fair Isle type sweater that I wore today.  Nice and warm, and sometimes too warm.  Variations on a cardigan, and you know library ladies just can't resist cardigans.  We need them.  Too warm for a sweater in the back when moving books around, too cold without one when seated at a desk for a long time.  Yes, the cardigan is the library lady's best friend.

Just be glad I cut all my hair off.  I no longer put my braid up in a bun and stick a pencil in it.  (Oh, yes, I used to do that.  Thank God there are no pictures!)

The begonias on the front porch have finally been frost bit enough to wilt.  So soon the Autumn yard clean up will have to begin, and we'll let the oak and pecan leaves fill the herb and flower beds to provide free mulch.  Works every year so far.  

Time for me to end this post.  Another sign of cooler weather.  My body protests sitting still too long.  I get cold, joints get stiff and sore. Time for some herb tea before bed.

 

Fall Thoughts

Autumn Evening Walk
By C.K. Armistead
Nov. 10, 2013

As I walked the leaf-strewn sidewalk
Through the golden light
Of a late afternoon
I heard the leaves crunch
Under my feet
Heard dogs barking
Children playing
Cars on 12th Street
The train idling on the siding
Nearby.
I smelled the charbroiler
At Burger King
Not as nice as someone's
Backyard cookout would be
I also smelled woodsmoke
From a fireplace
On this cool late afternoon
In Fall.
I saw the changing leaves
Some falling from the trees
As I watched
Others stubbornly holding on
I saw the light doing its usual
Autumn trick
Of fading too quickly away
Causing the streetlights to glow
All too soon
And calling an end
To outdoor play
As children reluctantly
Head indoors
For supper, homework,
or just TV or reading
Like we used to
When I was a kid.
Some things
Like the fast-disappearing light
of Autumn,
Never change.



Slowly, subtly, the weather has changed.  The light is different now, seeming to come from farther away.  The air is cooler, even when the sun is bright and warm.  As our planet shifts on its axis, on its way around the sun, we are pushed away from the light and warmth of summer, toward the cold and dark of winter.  Autumn, like Spring, a season of in-between, of shifting and changing and getting used to the idea of the season to come. 
Today I walked through golden light, with a light breeze, cool, but not cold, not yet.  Soon, the wind with have sharp teeth to it, a hard, cold, edginess.  There will be more scent of woodsmoke on the air as people seek to beat back the dark and cold with light and warmth.  Darker colors, heavier fabrics, sweaters and boots will be seen on the people out and about.  Cozy throws, hot tea and good books will be more in demand as the cold, dark, inhospitable season gains in strength and keeps people indoors, where they can feel less at the mercy of the cold.
I enjoy the cozy seasons of fall and winter, because I like (and look good in) dark rich jewel tones.  I like sweaters, and shawls and boots and curling up with a cup of something warm and a good book.  I also get tired of them long before Winter is done.  By the time Spring starts poking its head up through the last of the slushy snow, I am more than ready to greet it, to shed the heavy dark clothes for light brightness, and to walk freely outdoors again.  Spring also makes me wary, though.  Spring is when the bad tornadoes show up.
I only pray that this season and the one that follows do not bring bad storms, no ice and no heavy snow.  We have had enough of weather for one year.  We could use some peace. 

Sunday Shamblings

This morning, it was sunny and bright, and I wore a pastel dress.  By the time we got home from church, it was cloudy, gray, and cold, and I am now wearing jewel tones.  (Jeans, long-sleeve tee, and one of my paisley shawls.)

I made of cup of hot tea and had some soup for lunch.  All of the sudden it went from a golden Autumn day to a dreary one.  That's Oklahoma in the transitional seasons.  Changeable weather, often turning on a dime to the great dismay of anyone trying to plan for comfortable clothing for the day. Autumn here is much tamer and more beautiful than Spring.  Nearly everyone plants mums, and so there are as many blooms in appropriate colors in Fall as there are in Spring.  We do get severe weather, but traditionally not as deadly as that in the Spring.  And the trees.  Oh, the beautiful trees, where the tornadoes of Spring have left them for us, that is.  The tree in the neighbor's yard across the street has turned golden already, and is shedding gold upon the ground.  Our oak is beginning to redden in places, other trees around town are turning orange and gold and red as well.
Perhaps this impresses me more than it would some of you who hail from places back East where the seasons change dramatically from one to another, but living in Central Germany was my first experience of it.  I grew up in Los Angeles County, CA.  There ARE seasons there, they just aren't dramatically different from one another.  It gets hot in Summer, but never all THAT cold in Winter.  Autumn and Spring can pass you by unnoticed unless you pay attention.  Out here, in the Great Plains, where the land has barely been occupied a hundred years, Mother Nature slaps us in the face on a regular basis.  We CAN'T ignore the changing seasons, because it can be dangerous to do so.  It also makes me more mindful of the passing of time, of other changes going on in life, and I enjoy it.

The changing seasons help me remember that life is not standing still, that I am not standing still, however much I might like to sometimes.  Things are moving on, and so must I.  I then reflect for a moment and see all the things I have done, and to my sorrow, the things I have not done, and feel I should.  There is a reason, I think, that one line in one of Confessions Of Sin in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer says: "...by what we have done, and by what we have left undone." Sometimes we KNOW something we could have done would have made something better or easier for someone else.  This prayer lets us acknowledge that we are lax, and that we are sorry for it.  The trick, then, is to pick ourselves up and try to be better about doing what we ought in the future.  Not easy.  Sometimes, in my own case, I am just too wrapped up in my own problems, my own needs, to see the needs of another, or even the little things that maybe aren't needs, but would make another person's life easier.  My challenge is to get out of my own head and pay more attention to others. REALLY not easy for someone who was basically an only child, and had few playmates as a youngster.  Took me a LONG time to learn to tolerate and cooperate with others in school.  (I like to think I learned to do so pretty well, but there are days...) Because I had so much adult attention at home, I learned to read and write long before most of my peers, had a better grasp of more esoteric things than my peers at a young age, and grew impatient easily with those who hadn't gotten there yet.  I really didn't know other kids just couldn't automatically decipher the written word.  I thought it was something that just came naturally.  I don't ever remember not being able to read. Before the end of first grade, though, I realized that some people couldn't do everything I could do, just like I realized I couldn't run, jump, catch a ball, or grasp the finer points of any sport as well as most of my peers.  No physical impairment, just that I always preferred to exercise my mind rather than my body.  (I have paid for that over the years, and now must exercise at least twice daily to keep myself at a reasonable level of health and fitness.) So, my peers and I learned how to respect our differing talents, and to learn from each other.  This was the best thing about school.  I learned things everywhere, not just in the classroom.  I also got my first taste of teaching, in a very informal way.

Here lately a few of the "things I have left undone" are projects related to my job that aren't really required, but would go a long way toward keeping me sharp and more useful as an employee.  I don't have time to do these things at work, as I am supposed to, so I try to do them at home.  I don't always succeed, as home has many distractions for my wandering mind to grab onto.  Going to try to remedy that this week. 

Another sign of time passing for me lately has been the weight I have lost since Matt and I changed our diet and started exercising more.  Matt made some more pictures of me today.  This keeps me motivated to stay on the program.

That's about all the rambles I have for this Sunday. 

Poetic Ramblings

A Reason To Smile
 By C.K. Armistead
November 1, 2013

So many reasons
To be sad
These last two
Seasons
Pets lost
Friends lost
A family member lost
Part of town
Eaten
By a storm
But in the midst
Of even the actual storm
I found reasons
To smile
To be grateful
To be humbled
To celebrate this life
Linked by a web
Of electronic signals
I had friends with me
Cheering me on
When things got tough
And in the midst of them
Was the one who
Brought us together,
Connected us
Also wishing me well,
Making me smile.
 At every turn
My friends have been there
Both those I know face to face
And those I have met only
In the ether.
When the chance came
To meet more of them
In person,
I grabbed it gladly.
And I am so grateful
To have had the chance
To spend time with
And hug
And thank in person
Some of those who
Have walked through
These sad seasons
With me.
Especially the one
Who brought us
Together
In the first place.
Thanks, Mr. P.
As you love,
So you are loved.
And I am still smiling.


Blues
By C.K. Armistead
November 2, 2013

The sky was so
Blue
This  morning
As blue as
My Pop's eyes were
As Richie's eyes are
As the eyes
Of my friend
Only seen in person
Once
But so very blue.
At twilight
The blue sky deepens
Deepest blue
Like the Pacific
Like Indigo
Like Matthew's
Eyes
When he looks
At me
True Blue.


Young Guardsmen
By C.K.Armistead
Nov. 3, 2013

When did they get to be so young?
These new recruits just out of basic
On their way to their specialty training.
They're just KIDS.
I have shoes older than these people!
Am I that old? Really?
Makes no sense to me that we
Are sending our children out
To fight the wars of others.
 Seems it's always been this way.
The young pay the price for those
Who stay safely at home.
My own husband
Gave 20 years of his life
To keep this nation free,
So many of us could stay safely home.
While he and his comrades flew repeatedly
Into some dicey situations
Sometimes for practice,
Sometimes with relief supplies,
Mostly just ordinary resupply
Making sure everybody everywhere
Had what they needed
In order to do the dangerous job
Of keeping America free.
They also carried mail. 
Made them really popular
At the more remote places they stopped.
Seems unreal to me that he and I were ever
So young as these kids I saw last month.
God keep them safe
Bless their families with strength and patience
And help all of us remember them
And keep them in our thoughts
And prayers
With gratitude
For their willingness
To do such a difficult job.

Updates On The Music List

Since I wrote my original post in August, I have added some things to the Cloud Player:
The Diving Board by Elton John (Old loyalties die hard.  I have always loved Elton.  Always will.)
Dog Train by Sandra Boynton (Kids music, but fun for grown ups, too.  Just love the words in these songs.)
Favorites and Rarities by Don McLean  (His Tapestry was one of the first LPs I ever owned.  Played it to death.  Love his style.)
Frog Trouble by Sandra Boynton (Another batch of kids music, but just as funny as ever, and not annoying to listen to.)
Heart of Saturday Night by Tom Waits  (Listened to a lot of his music on Pandora, and decided I really liked it.  This was the album that I decided I wanted to own.)
Highwayman 2 by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristopherson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings  (Liked the first one,  the second one is pretty good as well.)
Platinum and Gold by Lou Reed  (When I realized how many of the artists I liked over the years he had influenced, I decided to go to the source.  Listened a lot on Pandora and then chose the collection.)
Ponder the Mystery by William Shatner (What can I say?  Old loyalties die hard.  :)  )
Time Passages by Al Stewart (Had to get it when so many of the songs kept turning up on Pandora and I realized I still liked them)
Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 (Just had to get it, I had it on cassette once upon a time...)
Traveling Wilburys Vol 3 (Had to complete the set.  Love these guys.)

So many of the songs I listen to speak more to me now than they did when I first heard them, much like some poetry and some art means more, strikes me differently than it would have even 10 years ago.  Things happen in life, we learn things, feel new things, see new things, and it changes us.  Makes us appreciate some things and some people more. 
I am finding as I go along, that it isn't the things themselves that matter, but the people behind them, the memories and emotions they evoke, that make them worth something.  It has been my privilege over the last year or so to meet some very worthwhile people online.  I have also gotten to meet a few of them in person.  The love, laughter and caring that we have shared online is also present when we are together face to face.  Nice to know that this world is not the big, cold, lonely place it was just a few years ago.  Technology has made it possible to find friends all over the world.  So blessed to know you, my online friends, and doubly blessed to have met some of you in "real" life.

That's enough from me for now. 

A New Look At An Old Tradition

It was Red Ribbon Day again in Moore today.  Every year, the whole town turns out to either parade down Broadway to Main to Eastern and the high school, or to line the route and get candy.  The purpose of the parade is supposed to be to raise awareness about drug abuse, and to help prevent it.  It's a traditional place for candidates for local office to show up to campaign, for local celebrities to be called upon to be Grand Marshall.  (Gary England was one year, this year it was David Payne.) (Yes, weather forecasters and storm chasers are celebrities in Moore, Oklahoma.)
One tradition for our entry was missing this year.  My dog Bear died two years ago, and Julie's dog Mollie did, too.  Melvin is still around, but doesn't like the parade.  Julie didn't walk this year, and so the announcers couldn't make their annual joke about her Corgi Melvin.  ("See that little brown dog?  He's so short, he doesn't have feet, he has INCHES!!")
This year, the parade still had plenty of drug-free emphasis, but it had a whole lot more "Moore Strong" slogans. This year the parade takes place five months after a very nasty set of tornadoes came through and tried to wipe part of town off the map.  Just like in 1999.  People are still displaced, many no longer live in Moore while they wait for homes to be rebuilt.  Still, we had one of the largest turnouts EVER for that parade, even though it sprinkled rain. 
There was an even greater party atmosphere at the parade lineup than usual.  Everybody was smiling, people were stopping and hugging friends and acquaintances, it was lovely to see.  This is how a community is SUPPOSED to be.  Supportive, connected, ok, maybe a little bit sappy, but close and caring.  We got big waves and smiles from the crowds, not just because we had a horse and carriage with us to promote the Big Read of True Grit for our library system, but because people were glad to see us.  This town loves its library.  They cheer for us when we come out for the parade.  They really miss us when we are closed.  They ask about staff members they haven't seen for awhile.  (I was on vacation for a week recently.  I got many "good to see you"s from customers when I came back.)

The picture at the beginning of this post is of the float from Cross Timbers United Methodist Church.  They are but one of the groups that have supported the schools that were damaged in the tornadoes.  I think one thing says it all on this float.  HOME.  Moore is home.  For some of us it is an adopted home, but home it is.  Where our hearts are, where we feel cared for, where we can relax and spread out. It's a place with all the amenities of a large metropolitan area, but where I can still run into people I know when I go almost anywhere around town.  (Whole OKC Metro is like that, really.)
Many friends and family members who live elsewhere have said we should leave, but we can't.  Our church family, our library family, and our home are here.  We have a nicer home than we could afford anywhere else.  I have a job that I love, one that makes a difference in this community. We have found a church that is very close to our hearts.  We've been here twenty years now.  It's home. We have been through hell with this community.  There is a bond here, whether the hell was the Murrah bombing in '95, or the tornadoes in '99, 2003, or just this past May,we came through it together, it knits us very close here in the heart of the heartland.
Oh, I will still get frustrated with our politicians and with the willful ignorance of a few, but I will still love this place and its people.  I will still be here hoping to help connect them to the books and other resources they need for lifelong learning. 
Here are a few photos from my experience of the parade this morning.  Betsy, the Clydesdale, was pulling a carriage which held one of my PLS colleagues dressed as Maddie from True Grit. Several of my coworkers were walking alongside the carriage and our Friends volunteer (and half of my "fan club") Vickie Kelly was there as well.  (Vickie comes to all my voice recitals.  I therefore call her and her husband John my fan club.)
In order to help banish the gloomy drizzle, I led our little group in a verse of "Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'" (It is astonishing how many people in Oklahoma know the words to songs from the show.)
Here's me and Betsy, the horse. (I am skinnier than I look.  Was wearing thermals under this outfit! I am not a parade rookie! Also note the Aussie Outback hat instead of a cowboy hat!)

And here's one of just Betsy

Here's one of my coworkers handing out candy, and some of the crowd along the way.

Here's another coworker and one of our True Grit signs.

Our town really DOES have True Grit.  We've been kicked in the teeth by Mother Nature numerous times, and we always get back up and keep on going.  We were out in force today to prove that we are drug free and Moore Strong.

Yes, this year the parade felt like it meant just a bit more than it has in the past.  LOTS more entries in the parade, more people out to cheer us on, and everybody in much better spirits than I can recall seeing there in a long, long time. 
Well, got my copy of True Grit downloaded.  Guess I better get busy and read it. :-)