Red Shoes

Sometimes we find treasured items we  thought we had  lost forever.  When we find these items, we experience joy.  It is extremely cool when we find an item we were not looking for at the time; it simply shows up. It's like the item says to us, "See, I was here all the time.  You looked every place else but here!" Sometimes we find an earring we thought we would never see again.  Sometimes we find a favorite article of clothing, or a pen, or a book,  necklace,  or ring.  This week, I looked at the lapel on my jacket and noticed that my favorite pin,  a pair of bright red glittery shoes with pump heels, was missing.  I have retraced my steps from the last time I saw it, but so far it is still missing.  It probably fell off my jacket when I tossed it somewhere.  I am not stressing over it, though.  When I least expect it, my red shoes pin will probably turn up. I will be happy to have it again.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Treats

I just returned from the university, where I picked up and returned my teen.  Nothing major, we simply needed to have a catching-up-with-you chat.  We talked (I mostly listened) as we went to a couple of stores and we also did some window shopping.  Then, we went to one of our favorite shops: Carl Fischer Candies.  The enticing scent of quality chocolate caressed our senses  as soon as we entered.  I absolutely enjoy the look, scent, and taste of good chocolate!   This shop makes their own chocolate treats, and they do it so well.  They also have other delightful candies.  Before we left the shop, my  teen bit into a dark chocolate- covered piece with a raspberry jelly center and went into a trance.  Before I sat down to write this post, I enjoyed a chocolate-covered caramel marshmallow treat.  It was so good it made me want to sing!
Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of chocolate.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Dead Squirrel

There was a show on recently that showed video clips.  Most of them were of  adorable babies and animals.  I guess they were submitted by the public, because I'd  seen a few of the clips on UTube.  The babies were precious, but one clip showed a cute little girl who looked like she was about 3 to 5 years old.  She was cuddling a dead squirrel  while responding to the person (her dad?)  who was recording the video.  She said that the dead squirrel was her pet.  She seemed happy as she repeatedly cooed, stroked the dead squirrel, and chucked its neck.  This made the head of the squirrel  bob up and down. She played with the squirrel's tail and nuzzled the lifeless animal. The squirrel was just being, well, dead.  After a while, the  little girl was instructed to put the squirrel back on the ground. 
Although I would not let my child have such close contact with a dead squirrel, I was impressed with the gentleness and innocence of the little girl.  I had to shudder after I saw the clip, though.  A dead squirrel?
Take care,
Sylvia

Car Care Place

At a car maintenance place, as I listened to one worker tell  me what things needed to be done to my car, another worker walked up and said softly, "Lend me five dollars."  I thought he was talking to his coworker, so I ignored him.  He looked at me, repeated the sentence, and I jokingly replied, "Why don't you lend me  five dollars?"  He said, "That's not a yes or a no."  I laughed and said, "I'm a  retired teacher and I am broke."  He jerked his head at my remark, smiled at me and said, "You know, you look like a teacher."  Then he walked away.  I finished my business there and left, but I now wonder how he meant what he said.
What does it mean that I look like a teacher?  I wasn't wearing a school uniform.
What does a teacher look like?
Why is he asking customers to lend him money?  Is he joking?
Does he mean lend or give?  One you pay back and the other you don't.
All I know is, the car maintenance place was all the way live that day!
Smiles,
Sylvia

Gotta Go

I was at the gym earlier. At the end of her workout, one of the members decided to use the restroom at the gym before leaving.  She said, " I'd better use the restroom here because I'm going to this new place and I don't know where the restroom is located there."   I cannot remember what place she was going to, but her remark reminded me of something I am in the habit of doing.  Whenever I go to a new restaurant, mall, theater, store, etc,  I always check to see where the restrooms are located.  Maybe I do this because of my elementary teaching experience.  On class trips, teachers have to quickly find out where the lavatories are located.  This is because as soon as you get your 20-plus students off the yellow school bus, one of them will say, "I have to use the bathroom."  This prompts the others to chime in with the same need.  I guess this training developed my skill of restroom detection.  As my sister will tell you, "If you want to know where the restroom  is in this place, just ask Sylvia!"
Smiles, and have a great weekend!
Sylvia

Decisions Made

Sometimes we make decisions without thinking we do.  When we receive time-sensitive mail offers which we don't open or read, we have made a NO decision about those mail offers.  When someone asks us to call and we do not commit to doing so, we may have already made the decision not to call.  When we continue to write the same task on our daily task list until it is too late to do the task, we have made the NO decision about that task.  When we bring home a sweet treat that our current diet does not allow, we have likely made the decision to have that treat anyway.
Happy decision-making today!
Smiles,
Sylvia

Missing Forks

This is what I call a house mystery.  In the kitchen drawer where I keep the spoons, knives, and forks, something happens.  Every few months, I stock the drawer with a set that has the same number of tablespoons, teaspoons, forks, and knives.  Mysteriously, there  always fewer forks in the drawer after a period of time.  I ask my family members, "What happened to the forks?  I know I put in the drawer the same number of forks as I did spoons and knives."  My family members always respond, "I don't know."  Somebody knows.  The forks do not just walk away. 
Do you have any house mysteries?
Smiles,
Sylvia

Weekend Away

It is so refreshing to take a break from your daily routine and get away.  Even if you escape your schedule for a weekend only, you can feel renewed.  Last weekend, I was able to take a trip to upstate New York's Finger Lakes region.  Most of my New York experience is with NYC, but there is a totally different flavor in the Finger Lakes area.  Views I enjoyed: green, perfectly-cut grass, livestock, farms, crops, clear bodies of water, fresh air, open spaces, quaint Main Streets, and quiet. We stopped in Corning, NY, where we toured the Corning Museum of Glass.  Next, we went to Waterloo, NY, where we did 2 overnights.  We journeyed on to Canandaigua, NY, where we toured Rose Hill Mansion and the NY Culinary Center.  Then we went to Casa Larga in Fairport, NY and had dinner in Belhurst Castle in the evening.  Our last day of the weekend trip included a boat excursion on Lake Skaneateles-pronounced Skinny-AT-tel-lis.  Except for Waterloo, I had never heard of these towns.  There was lots of history and lots of relaxing fun in a different environment.  Nice...
I am back in my routine now, trying hard to keep the relaxed feeling.  So far, so good!
Smiles,
Sylvia

My Talented Brother, Alfred

I have one last sibling to tell you about: my brother Alfred.  He and I are are the closest in age; I am the oldest and he is about a year and a half after me.  Al is intense and analytical.  We joke that he will read every word in a newspaper.  He also has a wry sense of humor. He is gifted with machines and tools.  He is gifted with computers.  In fact, he just saved my laptop from the crazy things I inadvertently did to it.  He very patiently explained to me, in terms I could understand, what I now need to do to keep my laptop running efficiently.  If you want to tell him something, be prepared to  be precise in your delivery.  He will usually recall the details even if you do not.  If Al tells you that he will do something for you, trust that he will put forth his best effort to make it happen. My brother Alfred is another one of my blessings.
Take care,
Sylvia

A Magic Pill

I know I am late to the party, so to speak, but I just viewed the movie, Limitless. The gist of it is that a small, clear pill allows one to use the 70 or so percent of the human brain that we do not use.  As a result, people who take the pill become super creative, successful, and productive.  They even get enhanced physical abilities. The pill is not on the  mainstream market and has not been tested.  The lead actor takes the pill, stops dragging his feet, and immediately completes his first draft of what becomes a best selling novel.  He becomes a genius in the stock market and business.  He becomes rich and sought after by both good and unfortunately, bad people.  It is later revealed that  if you develop a habit of taking the pill, then you stop taking the pill, you get sick and die.
At first, I wondered if I would take such a pill, even if temporarily.  I could finish my next few novels in a couple of weeks.  I could learn to speak several languages in one day. I could make lots of money to pay all my bills, travel and buy property, and donate to family, the church, others.  Yet, when I weighed the consequences of an untested substance in my body, and what I might have to do to get a steady supply, I concluded I would not take the pill.  Would you?

Eating in the Dark

Is low lighting one of the marks of a restaurant's exclusiveness?  I have dined at a few fancy establishments and found they had low lighting in common.  At one such place, the lights were so low that I had to use my mini-key chain flashlight to read the menu.  When the food arrived, I had to peer closely to determine if I was about to fork a mound of fancy mashed potatoes or squash.  I thought it was just me, but each of my dining partners felt the same way.  Part of the dining experience is the presentation of the food, so it seems strange to have to peer at your plate to identify your food.  I will say that the meals at these dimly-lit restaurants were delicious, as well as expensive.  Maybe they could use some of their profit to bump up the lighting.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Grace

I chuckle to myself as I write this post because my pupils are still dilated from this morning's  eye exam.  Everything is so bright that I squint to make sure I type the correct letters. What is that yellow solution that eye doctors use, anyway?  The effects last so long...
We recently made it through Hurricane Irene and the flooding of the Delaware River.  Fortunately, the street where I live did not get any water, but the section near me  was flooded and people had to be evacuated.  They have been able to return to their homes.  During worship service yesterday, we offered prayers for the many in our area and in other towns who lost loved ones and property.  Many have to start over again.   We also prayed for our country and  all of those whose lives were touched personally  by the 9/11 tragedy.  Ten years  ago yesterday, I was in a third grade classroom with my students, watching in disbelief at the events unfolding on the television screen.  Even though my mind raced, I had to be calm so my students would be calm.  They looked to me to make sense of it.  It was hard.
When we think of all the situations we have been brought through, it makes us marvel and give thanks for His grace.
Take care,
Sylvia

White Pants

 I wear what I like to wear.  I ignore lots of fashion trends and rules that state when one should wear what colors.  For example, there is a  rule that you should not wear white skirts or pants after Labor Day.  I do not know who made that rule, but I remember first hearing it when I was a teenager.   What are the consequences of being caught in violation of  that rule?  A fashion violation ticket?  An order to turn in all one's white clothes by August 31st of each year?
I recently purchased a pair of white denim jeans; they were on sale, of course.  I got them to wear to an  event  this coming Saturday, 5 days after Labor Day.    When I got home, I checked them out and discovered that the clerk had not removed  the security device on the jeans after I paid for them.  The warning written on the device announced that a black dye would burst out  if I tried to remove the device  myself.  This would ruin the white jeans.  For a minute, I thought about the no white pants after Labor Day rule.  Then, I took the pants back to the store and had the device removed.  I still plan to wear them this weekend.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Talking

Have you ever been in a mostly one-sided, but friendly conversation that you needed to end?  Maybe you needed the conversation to end because you had to meet a time deadline, or you had to complete another task, or the person was talking you into a coma.  What's a good and polite strategy?  You could say,  "Nice talking to you, but I have to run."  Then you could start walking away from the talker.  Imagine if the talker then says, "I'll walk with you to your car. I have plenty of time. We can keep talking on the way."  I guess you could walk to your car, but what if the talker continues talking while you get into your car?  Maybe you could say, "See you later. Take care."  Then, you could start your car and drive off slowly.  If  the person gets it, does not continue to talk and follow after, and does not get offended, you can consider this strategy a successful one. 
Smiles,
Sylvia

Hair Theft

Last week's news reported on a new trend for thieves: hair theft.  Thieves break into hair supply stores or hair shops and steal weaves/extensions made from human hair.  The video showed one theft in which thieves drove a car through a glass door of a hair shop, got out of the car, crawled under the beam of an anti-theft device, skipped the synthetic hair, and grabbed packages of human hair weaves/extensions.  A few wigs were taken, but mostly hair extensions.  One shop owner was not surprised at this new trend, due to the popularity of these hair styles.  Owners of hair supply shops are ramping up their security measures.   I guess the thieves sell the hair to individual customers or to other  hair store owners.  I do not wear a weave/extensions, and I think how a woman wears her hair is her business.  However, if I were interested in getting a weave/extensions put in my hair, I would be mighty suspicious if someone on the street tried to sell me hot hair.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Charges

During the recent storm news, a reporter in a  major city showed a video clip of two young men.  They looked to be about college age.  They were dressed in yellow rain slickers, rain hats, and boots.  They were on  a flooded main street, carrying inflatable canoes.  It looked as  if they intended to have fun by paddling down the main street. The camera showed police officers warning the young men to retreat from this dangerous area.  The water was rushing and  visibility was not good.  Next, the clip showed  the two young men getting handcuffed and put into a police wagon.  The reporter said the police officers charged the young thrill-seekers with lack of common sense. The reporter said the officers probably released  the two young men  later, and that there was no such charge as lack of common sense.  Can you imagine if lack of common sense was a legitimate legal charge?   Lots of people would probably be arrested daily.
Smiles,
Sylvia

Fruit of the Loom

Have you seen the Fruit of the Loom commercials for ladies?  The ads feature 4 pieces of fruit/produce that sing, play musical instruments, and chant.  The lead performer is the man in the apple suit.  He actually has a nice singing voice, and he looks so sincere.  He also plays the piano, and one of the characters plays a bass in one commercial. The man in the grapes suit is quite serious.  I have not been able to identify the man in the green suit, produce-wise.  He may represent lettuce or an artichoke.  I think the other produce represented is a smaller and different cluster of grapes. The commercial message is one of support and praise for women of all types and sizes.  They term they use is: flawless. 
Smiles,
Sylvia