Easter Bunny Rap

Easter Bunny Rap

The Easter bunny he did hip-hop,

Uptown and downtown he did shop a lot.

Bought eggs and chocolates at a mom and pop,

Joypops and gumdrops at a sweet-shop.

Hopped past bake shops, book shops, shoe shops,

Bopped past dress shops, gift shops, toy shops.

He shopped his way to a traffic stop,

Had a photo-op with a traffic cop.

He hid eggs all day for tots nonstop.

Eggs in places where kids would look not,

In shoes, under steps, flowerpots, and doorstops,

In tiptops of treetops with the fling of a slingshot.

At the end of the day, he was tired as a wet mop,

He propped up his ears so they wouldn't flip-flop.

When his work was done and he was ready to drop,

The tired little bunny landed on his bed----plop!

Ron Paul's visit to Jamestown

We went to the Ron Paul rally in Jamestown on President's Day.  He spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of about 400 at the KC Hall.  Several House candidates were there and spoke briefly before Paul spoke--Tim Koppelman, Bette Grande, Shane Goettle, and Brian Kalk.  Thoreson (running for Public Service Commissioner), Paul Sorum (running for  Gov.), and Rep. Rick Berg (running for Senate) were there also but didn't speak.  Gov. Dalrymple introduced Ron Paul who stood near me for some time while waiting for the others to finish their talks.  Paul was dressed informally in jeans and a plaid shirt and tan jacket.   He talked about issues like getting rid of the Federal Reserve, regulation on agriculture, and that we need to cut out foreign aid and military interventions.  This was on the replay channel later.  On the news a friend of ours, Susan, was interviewed about her views on Ron Paul.

This was the fourth time I had seen Ron Paul. Our son and I went to see him in 2008 when he ran for President in 2008 in Fargo where there was a standing-room-only crowd with lots of college kids at the NDSU ballroom.  There was a lot of chanting going on then which was exciting.  They would chant such things as "End the Fed!" and hold up signs.

We saw  Ron Paul at the book signing and speech at the 50th Anniversary of the John Birch Society in Appleton, WI, Oct. of 2008 and then at the Free Market Forum dinner put on by the North Dakota Policy Council Nov. 5, 2010. 

If Paul is successful in getting the GOP nomination, it wouldn't surprise me if someone like Donald Trump came forward to run as a third party candidate to spoil his chances.  Almost anyone should be able to beat Obama, it seems, due to the terrible unemployment, high gas prices, etc.  We need to get back to the  Constitution.  This would cut out most of our overspending programs, military interventions, and debt accumulation.

Something New

Scientists say that we need to be learning and doing new things to keep our brains plastic and to stave off mental decline of one kind or other.  So I have been trying to do some new things now and then.

I have been studying Russian and have made a little progress.  It is fun to learn some basic vocabulary and perhaps be able to communicate somewhat with my daughter-in-law's mother when she comes to visit again.  Perhaps we can do better than to point and play charades and then give up in exasperation after trying to communicate the simplest thing.  It's been interesting just for some appreciation of the language, if for no other reason.

After Christmas my husband and I went to the open mic night at an ice cream parlor uptown and listened to the music.  I even played a simple piano piece that I had composed for the 6 or 10 people attending.  To do that was something new for me.  Might do it again sometime.

I've got to go out and plant potatoes today.  I cut them in pieces yesterday, each piece with an eye or two and most had already started to sprout.  I've never planted potatoes before so had to Google how to grow potatoes to get some tips.  

I entered a haiku contest recently that an independent newspaper in our town put on.  I hadn't written a haiku before either so decided to and won 2nd place.  Yay!  My prize was a gift certificate from Pamida.

I have been thinking lately that the older you get, that doing something that you haven't done before seems to be harder, especially anything that involves a major commitment.  Partly it's that you've got about all you can do to just keep up with all the things that you need to do on a daily basis.  You've joined a few organizations each of which takes a certain amount of time.  You have some hobbies and skills to maintain and that take time.  You have people in your life who need your help (husband, children, grandkids, etc.) and when something new comes into your life, it just piles on top of your load.  You are less and less  likely to want to take on anything ELSE and unfortunately that includes doing very many things that are new!

When we were first married I recall how when we were on our way to Pine Ridge, SD, where my husband had landed a teaching job and stopped in a gas station in Chadron, NE, about 40 miles from Pine Ridge.  A guy was showing us a litter of baby toy poodles which he needed to give away.  We decided right then and there, "Sure, we'll take one!"  The man said to come back in a couple of weeks when the one we picked out, a gray one named Sherman, was ready to be taken from his mother.  We didn't think ahead of the responsibilities of feeding, training, grooming, finding someone to care for him when we would be gone--all that might go on for years.  I suppose the dog's adoption was mostly a good thing even so.  We had him for seven years and was a dear little pup.  Finally he died after several months of having some kind of seizures.  I know we wouldn't do such a spontaneous thing now!

Also when we lived in Pine Ridge, a town on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, we got a phone call from an organization called Youth For Understanding that was looking for homes for two foreign exchange students from Chile.  One of them,  Erik, was 15 and Carlos was 16.  We thought that sounded exciting so became the "parents" of Erik.  We were only about 28 and 26 ourselves!  Carlos went to another family in town.  This was right about the time of the 1973 Wounded Knee skirmish when the American Indian Movement, a terrorist group, burned down a church in Wounded Knee, a tiny town on the same reservation, ransacked and destroyed a general store owned by an old couple, and generally disturbed the peace for many months on the whole reservation.  This was another "Sure, why not? --sounds-like-fun" decisions, hardly a time to take in a foreign exchange student but we did.  Due to the general instability of the reservation at that time they both moved up to Hot Springs, SD, and stayed with another couple until the school year ended and in the summer they both took a trip with us to Winnipeg, Canada.  

Spontaneity can be a good thing and trying something new rejuvenating to the mind and spirit.  But on the other hand, it can lead one off onto unproductive tangents so we need to consider if a new thing would fit into our life's vision and priorities and, I suppose, leave some room for worthwhile new things. 

How They Used to Live

What a long way we have come in the past 100 years!  It boggles my mind to think how modern inventions have transformed our lives--even in my lifetime but certainly in my parent's lifetime.   Whenever I think of this, I feel so blessed and wonder why I was lucky enough to live in this modern age.

My dad was born in 1914 and people generally lived quite primitively, although some who had a bit more money had a few more conveniences.  In Fosston, MN, his father worked in the new electric power generating plant which supplied electricity to homes.  People, of course, mainly used electricity for lighting and didn't have many electrical appliances at first.

His father died in 1922 after complications from the 1918 flu epidemic.   As a seven year old boy, Dad, his mother, and two aunts moved in to live with his grandmother in her house.  (An uncle who was single sometimes lived there too.)  It must have been very crowded as the house was fairly small.  In that house they didn't have electricity but kerosene lamps.  The wicks had to be regularly trimmed, kerosene filled, and lamp chimneys cleaned.  

There was a large stack of "wash ice" (blocks of ice from a lake) out in the back yard which was taken inside, placed in a tub to melt, and used for washing purposes.  Drinking water was carried three times a day from the neighbor's. 

They grew chickens in the back yard and a garden on someone's property down the block.  To keep garden vegetables they had a root cellar that kept things cool in the winter, although they may have also done some home canning. 

Dad recalled that they ate a lot of salt pork in the winter which was cooked in a salty brine.  The fat came to the top and when cooled hardened at the top of the container making a seal of fat much like one would use wax on top of a jelly jar.  This would also go in the root cellar.  The salt pork must have been boiled again to remove some of the salt as the salt content would have been high and unhealthy to eat.  Summer sausage was a staple in summer but contained salt peter which was also unhealthy.  Of course, in the winter a lot of foods could be kept outside in a frozen condition.  They may have had an ice box but buying ice may have been costly. 

The women had some income from working in stores, the hospital, restaurants, etc. and they had some rent money from the  house his mother and dad lived in before his dad died.

The grandmother spent quite a bit  on liquor, tobacco, and patent medicines such as Dr. Kuriko's and Lydia Pinkham's.  She often used ether on a sugar cube for arthritis pain and used asifetita (giant fennel) leaves to make a heart medication.  But she probably felt she deserved it as she furnished the house and they took care of her in her old age.  

People suffered routinely with "summer complaint" due to food borne diseases.   People feared TB which was common and shunned those who had anyone in the house who had it.  People's homes were often plagued by bedbugs and scarlet fever, and childhood diseases, diarrhea, were often deadly.  One childhood friend of my dad's died after getting a foot infection due to blisters from ill-fitting ice skates.   

They had a carpet in their living room but the only way to clean it was to hang it on the clothesline and beat it with a carpet beater.  For picking up surface dirt a non-electric carpet sweeper was used.  Old clothing was cut into strips and woven into throw rugs.  A loom was fashioned with nails on a frame on the wall and one of Dad's jobs was to weave when he had some spare time.  Other articles were knit or crocheted by the women.

An outdoor toilet served their needs and at night they used a small enameled pail (thunder mug) which could be emptied later. 

They burned wood in the cook stove and this also heated the house, although it wasn't especially warm except in the kitchen so everyone wore warm sweaters indoors in winter.  The upstairs was not heated except for heat rising so was fairly cold at night.  Heavy blankets and feather ticks were often used.  Baths were a weekly luxury and water would be heated on the wood stove to fill a small tub.

They must have walked wherever they needed to but it was a small town and got a ride occasionally with others for any out-of-town trips.  A small sled was used to carry things from uptown, perhaps a wagon in the summer.  When the depression came they were quite self-sufficient and accustomed to living a spartan life so may have been more well prepared than some.

A Blank Sheet of Cyber Paper

I'm trying to think of a single thing to write about today.  Maybe I'll write a limerick.  I see that one of the local papers had a limerick contest.  Should have entered it!  Let's see...

I sit at the 'puter to type,

And all I can think of is tripe,

'Tis unappetizing,

Dull, unappealing,

But at least the paper's not white!

Si's Home Run and Other Antics

I was just eating my breakfast when one of our two cats, Si, came running at full speed into the kitchen, then couldn't stop  himself and slid about three feet as if sliding into home base as he couldn't get enough traction on the linoleum to stop.  He ended up smashing into his dry food dish and the food went flying in all directions!  I cleaned up the mess which made me almost late for church.  

Si enjoys fishing out two or three pieces of dry cat food from his dish and scooting them across the floor and down the basement stairs.  He doesn't necessarily eat them.  I'm always sweeping up the kitchen from his playful episodes.  The other day we moved the fridge and found a lot of it under there along with other small objects that the cats probably played with.  He has plenty of cat toys but playing with food is his favorite thing right now.

Si has begun to shut the bathroom door on himself and I'm sure it's not for privacy!   We finally have had to use a heavy doorstop to prop it open so he can't do that, as who wants to get up at night (or anytime) to let the cat out of the bathroom? 

It is strange how much Si and Sam have lost interest in certain things that used to interest them.  We have a red laser light which they used to chase up and down the stairs but now will only chase around for a very short time on the floor.  There is no novelty to it any more, perhaps.  We are not sure how old they are but must be at least two years old now and when we got them they were probably about a year old.  So their kittenish behavior has changed.  Thank goodness!  

A year ago when we got them nothing was safe.  The first night we had them at about 3 AM I heard a crash.  I had left a deep fat fryer on the kitchen counter next to the fridge with about an inch of oil left in it.  The cover had long since broken so I had covered it with a Correlle dinner plate to keep out dust as I thought I might use the oil again.  Si (the most active of the two cats) was the culprit with one oily foot.  He had hopped on top of the plate (probably on his way to jumping on top of the fridge) and it slipped off and broke into shards of glass all over the floor which were mixed with oil tracked all over.  Imagine me coming to investigate a scene like that in my bare feet!  One would think a the trauma of such a loud crash would have cured Si of his jumping on the counter immediately, but no! 

Si has improved a great deal, though, and at least now and has a lot less interest in jumping on things.  He has respect for a spray bottle of water with a little vinegar mixed with it.  All I have to do now is to show him the bottle and he knows to get down.  At first he would also jump on my back at every opportunity.   I had to get rather mean to him about it and he finally gave up.  I even had him jump on my back one time while I was standing on a step stool trying to do some drywall plastering.  He is long and lean and able to jump up at least five feet high in a single bound.  All he lacks is a Superman cape.  Sammy, our other cat, is too stubby to jump that high and enjoys more lap sitting.  They are both pretty good boys now.

Gum-wrapper Chain Craft

I have discovered a neat craft lately, making "gum-wrapper chain" out of crisp heavy plastic bags such as from potato chips, raisins, cat food or whatever comes in these plastic bags.  To do it I cut a 2-inch by 5-inch card for a pattern and cut out pieces of plastic that size.  They are then folded lengthwise, opened and each side folded in toward the center fold and folded under toward the center.  This strip is folded in half, opened up, and each end folded in toward the fold.  Each link of the chain in inserted into the previous one making a zig-zagged chain.  Then strips like this are laced together on both sides using yarn and a blunt needle. (The yarn can be any color as it doesn't show.)  Flat items like picture frames or placemats or they can be worked in circular fashion to make purses baskets, duffel bags, etc. The printing and colors from the bags or whatever material is used--paper from magazines, wallpaper, calendars, wood contact paper-- you name it-- will create an interesting visual texture.

Here is a video of an example of purses made this way.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=7HmdlmD5Hd0