The Friday Five Good Things

photo courtesy of Morguefile.com

Five good things that happened this week.

1. The Young One's friend's flight was delayed because of thunderstorms. Instead of going out to dinner after dropping them off at the hotel, we sent out for Five Guys before we left for the airport.

2. Saw a new bird in the yard. Brilliant red with black wings. Bird site listed it as a Scarlet Tanager

3.  Because the Young One was away, the Eldest cooked dinner. Baked chicken with a delicious, mushroom pilaf. The Young One doesn't like mushrooms. So not a Hobbit.

4. We had a craving for ice cream. Himself wanted something "bright" but not sherbert. Yeah, I don't get what he was looking for so picked up strawberry ice cream for him. I found Breyer's Samoa, based on the Girl Scout Cookie, caramel and coconut with a fudge stripe and pieces of Samoa cookies. So good.

5. The Nephew's bride extended an invitation to see their new home.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

from 864 Humorous Cust from the Twenties and Thirties
selected and arranged by Carol Belanger Grafton
Dover Publications

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

I kept going to the Center evenings. One night, Charlie Arnold saw me. He approached me and said that after July 4th, he would be running a program for young children and wanted to know if I would help out.

The children would be doing class work and would also have lunch there. And I and another boy would be needed to help in the kitchen after lunch washing and drying dishes. We would also have lunch. At the end of the Summer, I would get a stipend of $10.00 as a thank you. He said it wasn't much but that was all the Center could afford.

That got me out of the house and I would be out of the way. Although neither my father or mother pushed me to find a job, they did express their desire that I should consider going back to school. And there was no pushing on this issue. It was dropped. Years later I discovered that I had been had.

On July 5, I showed up at the Center and things began "play school". The children had been signed up well before the opening. Things worked out well the children were assigned to their teachers which were college Sophomore or higher level. They were hired by the Center Director and he certainly knew how to pick them. All girls and nice lookers.

I was called Lefty as I was a lefthander player and the other boy was called Righty. Other than washing and drying dishes we had a lot of time and we helped the girls out. Or to be more correct, I went nuts and couldn't make up my mind which one I wanted. They were all lovely and because I went from one to the other they said I was fickle. But I was having fun.

About the end of July, Charlie began approaching the subject that I should consider going back to school. He said consider it. And asked if I would think about it. I said I would. He also said that during the regular Center season, I could help after school with the games, dances, etc. And he also mentioned that while I was a big help at the playschool, there were a lot better jobs out there if one had at least a high school diploma. And of course even better if like the teachers a the playschool as they would be able to get good jobs because they were all going to be [ed: college ] Juniors or Seniors when they went back in September. Some would graduate in the following Spring. They had resumes and some also had experience at other places.

After playschool, we went swimming or on a picnic, voyages down the harbor on one of those water trips as the ship was docking I was at the forefront and who was getting ready to dock, my cousin, Alfred, Angelina's youngest child.

The after hours were fun.Naturally, Charlie kept after me and I finally told him that I would go back to school.

That September, I did return, I was directed to a teacher who was interviewing dropouts like me. Evidently, they were ready for anyone who returned. He went through a list of report cards and he said "your marks are good. Wait here while I go talk with the supervisor and see if he will let you go into the third year class instead of the second".

He came back after awhile and said the supervisor said no. If you are serious, you will do your second-year class over. I said I would and I wound up with more study periods as I was given credit for some of the courses.

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands for Summah

It all started when Himself told me he had stopped on the way home from work at Kelly's Roast Beef. Kelly's has some great sandwiches and now that it's Summer (pronounced Summah in Boston) fried clams and lobster roll. Well, that started a craving and a search for a lobster roll because Himself whine he didn't want to drive all the way to Kelly's. Yes, you did, too whine. My blog. My story 😸

I checked out a few restaurants in the area. Either they didn't have lobster roll on their menu, or the sandwich was overpriced or it was fu-fu. One restaurant served lobster with mayonnaise and celery on a pita bread! That is not a lobster roll. Not even close. A lobster roll needs to be served on a hot dog bun, preferably buttered and toasted. Also, it should be over-filled with lobster (claw meat). Mayonnaise and celery make the lobster into lobster salad and usually there's more mayonnaise than lobster. Finally, I remembered the 99 Restaurant was close by and served a decent lobster roll.

We went early (4:30 PM) to avoid the rush as the 99 is a popular spot. Imagine our surprise when we had a 20 minute wait. As the table is ready buzzer states, it's worth the wait.

We ordered drinks. A Pepsi (like a Coke only better) for Himself, a strawberry Marguerita for The Eldest, and another Summer favorite of mine a Raspberry-Lime Rickey. My mother-in-law made a mean raspberry-lime rickey. While waiting for our meals, the restaurant served popcorn and Himself ordered Loaded Potato Skins (melted cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, crisp Applewood bacon) with a side of sour cream.

Himself and I ordered the Down East Lobster Roll combo which included cole slaw, fries, and a cup of New England clam chowder (chowdah). I almost finished my chowder before I remembered to take a picture.

The Eldest ordered Stacked Apple BBQ Ribs and since we had potato skins for an appetizer, she skipped the fries for pasta with butter (As an Italian this is a mortal sin to me as pasta must be smothered in gravy (tomato sauce)) and a veggie for her sides.

The Lobster Roll was a normal portion (usually restaurant food portions can serve a small town). I didn't finish my fries, and the Eldest didn't finish her ribs so I moved my fries to her plate to be boxed up so she would have an awesome dinner to take to work.

To celebrate Summer and the first lobster roll of the season, I made a garden flag.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Cacciatore

In the middle of the backyard, Cacciatore has been sitting as still as a chocolate bunny. He's been sitting that way for over a half an hour. He's out standing in his field.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

While working in the sunroom, I caught something large move by out of the corner of my eye. When I turned I saw a red-tailed hawk had landed in the yard. I'm always amazed at how large the hawk is. Usually, I've only seen them riding the thermals high overhead. The hawk sat for a minute then lifted with a strong beat of his wings in a cloud feathers. Sadly awesome. Looks like mourning dove became lunch.

Hard to see, but someone dug a shallow depression behind the birdbath.

Cacciatore likes to stretch out in the sun. I almost caught him lying on his back, but I startled him when I opened the window screen to get a clear picture.

Wild strawberries grow among the rocks along the driveway.

Morning glories and moonflowers getting taller.

Scattered showers and downpours yielded an inch and half of rain.

So much for planting the morning glory in the pot. Looks like someone nibbled the leaves.

The overgrown area by the front steps. These were plants were here when we bought the house and took over when we moved the front steps. Not sure what the variegated green leaves in the foreground are. Some sort of ground cover. Queen Anne's Lace is in bloom. Orange Day Lillies soon to follow.

Hidden Letters

I mentioned that we had watched the movie, Hidden Figures.  I really enjoyed the history and a glimpse into the lives of these amazing, women pioneers.

One clip that jumped out at me was the woman lettering John Glenn's capsule, Friendship 7. I wonder who the calligrapher was that did the lettering? And did she letter all the Mercury 7 capsules?

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. The hummingbird stopped by. Rested on the morning glory cage before flitting off. He was too fast for me to get a picture.

2. Himself went out early to buy donuts and a chai for me before I left for Reggie's class.

3. Gorgeous weather for the Solstice.

4. After hearing people give high marks to Hidden Figures, we rented the movie. All those who gave it thumbs up didn't steer us wrong. A really interesting story of the African-American women who broke gender and race roles at NASA in the 1960s.

5. I lost the magnetic sunglass clip for my glasses. Got a call that the replacement was in, and I could pick it up.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

In fact, when I was 14 years old I was singing the aria from Pagliacci and Uncle Vincent came to visit and he heard me as he was coming down the hallway. Mama opened the door and he came right in with that's a voice! Then and there he offered me a scholarship at the Conservatory in Boston. He said he wanted three things from me. No smoking, no drinking, no women.

Uncle was a singer in his own right, like Grandmother T. [ed: Dad's mother], and his brother, Louie (Louis). He was a lawyer at the time and doing well. And the reason for his three things I had to steer away was due to the fact this his brother-in-law was a Director with the New York Opera Company. He was in charge of the music, sets, costumes, and hiring extras, of course, he had workers under him. And whenever the company came to Boston once a year they would go on the road so called. His name was Ernesto and he would come to visit, and my father, Uncle Michael, and Uncle Vincent were in their glory. My father loved operas he knew all the arias, all the plots and where things would happen. He and Uncle Mike would watch backstage. Uncle Vincent would be on stage as an extra. My cousin, Ned, called him, The Spear Bearer.

At Ernesto's visit the talk wold be about the operas and the divas and the men singers and who was sleeping with whose wife when the husband was on the road and vice versa and also who was ruining his career with partying and ruining his voice with drinking, smoking, and women. Hence this condition for my scholarship. I would have liked to do this. But this meant Uncle would pay for the lessons, but my parents had to come up with the books, transportation and any other things I needed. This was how things were done. So I said no go.

I was not going to go through the same things I was at school. It would only make things worse.

In a way it did. Because I began to hate the life I was living. There was very little I could do. The money for extras was not there and I just went to school and stood aloof as usual. I began to hate school at sixteen I began to think of dropping out.

In 1935, with 26 days to go to the end of school. I was fed up and I dropped out. Of course, this upset Father and Mother.

While I was sitting on the curb in front of my house, the truant officer came across the street to me and said I should be in school. (The school sent him). I told him that I didn't have to be in school. He asked me what made me think I didn't have to be in school. I told him that I checked the statute and it read that at 16 years one could leave school. I was 16 on March 17. He made a note in his book and left.

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands for Cowboy Cookies

Besides calligraphy and related arts, calligraphers also excel at snacking. At workshops, everyone brings in snacks to share. My tablemate, L,  in Reggie's class made some delicious, oatmeal cookies. She called them cowboy cookies. They were loaded with pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut and are sinfully delicious. They were also extremely popular. I asked her for the recipe, and she told me the recipe was Laura Bush's Cowboy Cookies.

On Sunday, L, surprised me with some cowboy cookies of my very own. I have no idea why they are called cowboy cookies other than you can make giant-sized cookies or regular size. No matter. Big or small, the cookies are so good. Help yourself. You'll want the recipe, too.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

All That Glisters

Another busy Reggie weekend. The third session of the year-long course. We began the class with gilding. During the second session, we had done some gilding using a Instacoll as a base. It yielded good results but was a little fussy to work with as if you weren't careful with brushing it on, the brush strokes would be seen through the gold. Not very pretty.

During this session, we used two different kinds of bases to give a raised effect. In the photo, the small vial on the left was a bit of gesso colored Pepto pink. Gesso is usually used to seal canvas before painting. Traditional gesso (slaked plaster of Paris, fish or rabbit glue, and white pigment) is also a base used in traditional, raised gilding, but it is fussy to work. Enter acrylic gesso.

The first thing we did was to use Golden Extra Heavy Gloss Medium Molding Paste on the heart. This was used so the gilding would have texture. A bit unusual. The steps we did are hazy for me as we had to work quickly so there wasn't enough time to take detailed notes.  So after the molding paste dried, the gesso was applied to the heart and to the compass points. After the gesso layer was dry, a layer of clear Instacoll tinted red or dark pink, was applied over the gesso to raise the base. The coloring was added so it wouldn't blend with the pink gesso. There's a small window of opportunity to gild on the Instacoll. It needs to be dry, but still tacky. If it dries thoroughly, then the metal leaf won't stick.

We got to try out various metals. 24 Kt. Loose Gold, 23 Kt. Patent Gold, 18 Kt. Lemon Gold, Palladium (used in place of Silver as Silver tarnishes over time and  Palladium doesnn't, Aluminum (used in place of Silver. Aluminum doesn't tarnish, but it's very thick and hard to work with, Variegated Gold, and Moon Gold which looks a bit like Pewter) Reggie didn't have any 23 Kt. Loose Gold so the dark pink Instacoll base still shows.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The honeysuckle has started to bloom. Honeysuckle is a favorite of the hummingbirds. Haven't seen any hummers yet, but we did have a new visitor to the garden. I heard a very pretty, bird song coming from the honeysuckle vine. 

This handsome fella made his appearance. He's a Grey Catbird. He also kept going after his reflection in the kitchen window.

 When I fill the feeders I toss some seed on the ground for the ground feeders. This little gal decided to stop by for a snack at the front feeder. That's a turkey hen by the feeder.

I planted some more morning glories and moonflowers in a bucket by the sunroom door. The tomato cage will give them something to climb on.

I planted another morning glory in a small pot at the base of the gazing globe hook. The pot should protect the plant from the weedwhacker.

Absolutely gorgeous weather this week. We started the week with a heat wave (3 days of temps of 90o F. + ) My kind of weather. Mid-week temps and humidity dropped.  Some areas closer to Boston had a severe thunderstorm with heavy rains, high winds, and hail. No rain for us.

How does your garden grow?

Reggie Homework Warts and All

This is the third Reggie weekend. My teaching schedule and commission work made it difficult to fit time to do the homework. Again, I marched to my own homework drummer as there were things I needed to work on. After all, that's the purpose of homework to reinforce skills. The homework this time around focused on pressurized Romans and again working with gouache.

Since time was growing short, I opted to skip working with gouache. I tried, but too many other variables to worry about mixing gouache went very low on my totem pole. That and I realized I don't like writing with gouache. I also had lots of difficulty with the pressurized caps. I still wasn't confident with a plain Roman so that was my first assignment. A stream of consciousness calligram. Done on Arches Watercolor paper, Winsor Newton Ink and a Brause 2 mm.

We were to make an exemplar of pressurized caps with serifs. 1 inch tall with a Mitchell  #2 . We also were to do a short quote. I combined the two assignments. I had a flash on inspiration instead of writing out the entire alphabet, I'd pick letters that represented all the shapes. Straight, angle, curve, circle. This fit with the quote ANCORA IMPARO. Translated as I am still learning and may or may not be attributed to Michelangelo. Pressurized caps require a very light touch. I'm ham-fisted. Since I was having some problems making delicate serifs, I opted to skip the wasp-waisted letters for a more plus size letter with serifs. I also had problems working so large so decided to work at 1/2 inch. Scribes don't have a patron saint. We have a patron demon named Titivillus. Titivillus happily waits for the scribe to make an error, and then he scoops the mistake into his bag. When Judgement Day arrives for the scribe, the errors in Titivillus' sack are weighed against the good deeds the scribe did. The scale would determine whether the good outweighed the bad, and the scribe could be admitted to Heaven. ANCORA IMPARO - I am still learning.

We had to make another exemplar of pencil drawn caps with serifs, 1 inch tall on grid paper. then we were to cut and paste these letters to make a layout and do a short quote. The layout was to be transferred to black paper, underpainted with white, and then painted or gilded the letters. Another assignment involved mixing 5 values of intermediate colors of gouache. We were to paint the quote with a color from the mixing assignment that appealed to us. Again, mixing colors very low priority for me, and as I'm partial to blue that was the color I opted to work with.

Translation of the quote was gilded along with the dots. The lines in the illuminated "I" were painted with shell gold. The gold was burnished using a Letraset (shoe) burnisher and glassine.

Lots of things I need to work on. Spelling for one. At least, I have pieces to turn in for confession show and tell to prove I wasn't a total slug. ANCORA IMPARO Titivillus will have a field day with this one. I am still learning.

The Friday Five Good Things

Five good things that happened this week.

1. A. sent me a postcard from her trip to Ireland. The cottage reminds me of White O'Morn from The Quiet Man.

2.  We finally got caught up with Game of Thrones.

3. Saw a new bird in the honeysuckle vine, a Grey Catbird.

4. Enjoyed the early morning quiet while weeding the Zensical Garden.

5. Phone call from sister-in-law

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

The thing that kept me on a level balance was that in 1933 I ran into a fellow named Charlie Arnold at the schoolyard of Daniel Webster School.  [ed: Dad would have been 14 years old]

In the Fall I went to the Marginal St. Center of which he was the recreational director. He was at this Center for a year when he was transferred to Central Square Center. I enjoyed the activities, games dances, dramatics.

I would rush through my homework and make sure that I was fed to get to the Central Square Center. I enjoyed this place, especially on school vacation.

I took part in a Christmas drama. The name of the drama escapes me but it had to do with "Heart" the second word. It was about the Three Wise Men on their way to find the newborn child that would be a Savior.

I was given the part of the strong king and had a beautiful dialogue to give. In the play, when I came upon a man on the ground and covered him with my cloak. The play went well. It was well received. Afterward, we went to the Center's Directors House for a party after the play.

I received a number of compliments and one woman said I did not think you had it in you to carry that part which was difficult and she was surprised that I was able to project strength that the part required. She said I projected the part to be regal and strong. Considering my reputation as a little ruffian.

While this part of my life was interesting, the other was getting worse for me. [ed: school]

It was getting hard to come up with the carfare which was a dime roundtrip. I could not participate in the extracurricular activities as it cost money. I was lucky to be able to get a uniform for the military drills we had. And in the Spring the Boston schools would hold their annual parade. 17,000+ schoolboys. Bands and march. The drills were run by the U.S. Army officers. We had a major and a captain drilling us.

Wordless Wednesday

T Stands For Qi (Chi)

Himself has been having problems with his back. Besides going to physical therapy, he's also been doing some energy work on Fridays at the dojo. Last Friday, he invited me to tag along, but first we stopped to have breakfast at Friendly's in Framingham.

We ordered out drinks. Coke for Himself and a cup of tea for me. I was really looking forward to breakfast.

I ordered Cinnamon Bun pancakes with bacon. Himself had ordered the Big Two Do. Two scrambled eggs, two Brioche French toast, two sausage, and he also got an order of home fries. The waiter brought his breakfast, but my breakfast was no where to be found. Color me disappointed. Several minutes after his breakfast was brought out. The waiter came back and told me they ran out of the frosting that is drizzled on top of the pancakes. What? If you're going to offer menu items, the least you can do is have everything as listed. Otherwise make it known that a certain item is not offered when someone is placing the order.. And to be honest, it's not that difficult to make a frosting. 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, a couple of teaspoons of milk. Ta-DA! I decided to have the Cinnamon Bun pancakes without the frosting.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought my breakfast, but with sausage instead of bacon. I told him I ordered bacon, and he went back and brought me a plate of 3 strips of bacon. We were the only people in the restaurant at this time, but the waiter clearly wasn't happy, didnt want to be there.

The restaurant has a table kiosk to pay your bill, but the kiosk wasn't working. The waiter took another kiosk off another table for us. I was only able to eat half of my pancakes. They were delicious, but huge.Three of them at least 6 inches in diameter. The waiter asked if I wanted a take home box. Sure! He went back to the kitchen and we never saw him again...We waited for the box. Himself decided to use the men's room. Still no box. We left. We've had great service at the Worcester and Auburn locations. We'll skip the Framingham location from now on..

We were early when we got to the dojo. Master Beef was running his Master in The Morning Class. He works one on one with students. D, a second degree brown belt was working on a scythe form that he would perform at the annual regional tournament in November.

Karate Scythe

I helpfully told D, he could use the scythes to make shishkebab.

Master Beef gives pointers and direction.

Setting up in the CJ Kennedy Gallery

Himself works with Bob, not to be confused with Bob. Bob is owner, of SimplyQiGong. His practice focuses on Meditation, soft stylized movements, and breath work to promote deep relaxation, stress relief, pain relief and more.  Bob's program has been developed through practices and training in Guided Meditation, Reiki, QiGong, Tui Na, G-Jo, Myotherapy, Acupoint Tapping, Trigger Point Therapy, and continued research and practice.

 They started with some good mornings.

Bob sounded like he was coming down with coughing up a lung. His wife had been ill with bronchitis which morphed into pneumonia, and Bob was worried he had caught it, too. He asked Himself if he would do a Tui Na exercise to get his chi moving in his lungs. This included a move that looked like slapping the back. Similar to burping an infant, but with a little more force.

Hugging the tree

Holding Buddha's belly

The Drum (tapping kidneys)

They did some floor exercises for back and sciatica. After all the stretching and ramping up of chi, it was time to go home for some horizontal meditation.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.