What Are We Reading Today?

I loved reading to my kids. I hope I taught them, that when they were reading, they could go anywhere they wanted and be whoever they liked. When they were young they preferred adventure stories and young detectives and mysteries. There were several series that they liked. We would go to the used book rack at the library and they could pick what they wanted. If they found one that was part of a series, we could sometimes check out others at the library.

When they were in grade school, we did a chapter a day at bedtime. Sometimes they would be so eager for what happened next, they would take the book and do the best they could to read ahead. When activities and homework started to interfere, we had to stop. We were all sad when it was over.

As for what I like to read, give me something so compelling that I will stay up all night to finish it. I read non-fiction or religion on occasion especially biography or fiction, but I would rather be engaged in a fantasy or sent to another world. Or give me a good romance or mystery.

There is no need to choose wisely. I am not one of those persons who has to finish one book before starting another. If I don’t like what I’m reading, I quit. There are always other books waiting to be read. I also no longer read paper books. I prefer my Kindle – I can have many books downloaded and choose which one I want to read on a given day. I also like audio books. I became fond of them on long drives going to Minnesota for regular visits with my mother.

Actually, I’m not in the middle of reading anything right now. But my Kindle is always handy for some time to escape. And my wish list is ready and waiting.

In Search of the Lefse Stick

It’s tradition to serve lefse at holiday meals in my husband’s Norwegian family. My mother-in-law learned to make it from her mother, and children and grandchildren learned to make it from her.

Lefse is a traditional flatbread made with riced potatoes, flour, milk or cream and butter, rolled thin and cooked on a large griddle. Karoline, my mother-in-law heated the griddle on her gas stove, but there are electric ones available now. Special tools are needed to make the lefse, including a potato ricer, a long wooden turning stick (18″ or more), and a special rolling pin with deep groves.

I never saw her make it. It’s not something that I was interested in eating or learning to make. I don’t find it disgusting, I’m just not interested. I tend to agree with my father-in-law who called it wallpaper. My family loves them however, and after Karoline died, I started buying them at the store for holiday meals. Recently, my children have decided that the homemade ones are better and I should learn to make them.

So, I’m looking for the equipment. I love riced potatoes and I have Karoline’s potato ricer. I think it’s the oldest utensil in my kitchen. As for the griddle, my nephew says I can try making them smaller and use a regular pancake griddle or fry pan. That leaves a rolling pin and stick to find.

After she retired, my mother took Scandinavian baking classes and she had a similar rolling pin that is around here somewhere. I wasn’t sure what it was for. Apparently the grooves are needed to help roll the dough very thin and eliminate all the air pockets that would bubble up with a regular rolling pin.

As for the stick, I’m still looking. No one knows what happened to Karoline’s. I refuse to pay $15-25 for a stick on amazon, so I’m contemplating an alternative. Maybe since I will be making them smaller, at least at first, I could use a spatula? My husband says you need a stick. I guess I’ll figure out why when I try it.

All this is complicated by my Celiac Disease. I’ll have to use an alternative flour which is sometimes tricky. I have found a gluten free recipe on-line which might help. On-line recipes are hit and miss, so we’ll see. I have a while to practice before the next holiday, and if all else fails, I’ll buy lefse at the store. The tradition will continue homemade or not.

My ruling pin is white with red handles. My mother-in-law said they always have red handles. She didn’t know why. It was the custom, I guess.

The Dog Ate My Homework

Not sure where the phrase came from originally, but the excuse “the dog ate my homework” is currently used as a silly excuse for why work isn’t finished. It would be unusual for someone to say, “the dog ate my homework” and expect it to be taken literally. In my case, the dog really did eat my homework.

Charlie, our golden retriever/chow-chow mix, chewed up paper. He liked most paper, but had a preference for yellow legal pads and on occasion chewed up my work notes and ideas. I also like yellow legal pads and had a habit of not securing them in best places to keep them out of his reach.

Charlie was a rescue that we fostered for a week and ended up adopting. It was a good match for both of us. We were ready for a new dog, he needed a new home.

^{Charlie with his unusual black tongue}

Charlie needed training desperately. He was aggressive to strangers and other dogs, and chased everything that moved. He ate or chewed everything. After working with a trainer, we discovered his aggression was fear. Eventually he was better, especially when he was around us and felt safe.

As for chasing, that got better too and he learned to walk on a leash and obey commands. For a long time, we carried a spatula smeared with liver sausage when we walked. When we saw a car, bike or scooter, we would take out the spatula and when Charlie sat and looked at us, he was allowed to lick. Eventually we were able to walk without the spatula, and used treats as incentives. He was very responsive to treats.

Because he loved to chase so much, we took him lure coursing at a local track. No one had to show him what to do, he just took off. He loved it so much. He couldn’t wait for his turn, and he would have run forever if we had let him.

Although training cured most of his bad habits, we never could stop him from chewing on paper. Even a piece of cheese and a little patience with lots of toys and attention didn’t help. I think he did understand, but just couldn’t help himself. Just like some people, he had poor impulse control.

What’s in a Name?

My first name doesn’t have any particular significance. My parents heard it when mom was pregnant, liked it and gave it to me. There was no thought to what it meant, or where it came from, they just liked it.

There’s no tradition in either of my parents families of naming a child after a family member or someone they admire. My branch of Christianity does not celebrate a christening ceremony, so there was no thought to a significant christening name.

Parents choosing a significant name for their child is common in many cultures and religions. Ashkenazic Jews traditionally name children after relatives who have passed on as a way to keep the memory of that person alive and to inspire the namesake to live up to their predecessor’s better qualities.

I recently attended a Jewish naming ceremony. This is a ritual during which the baby is given his or her Hebrew name. The chosen Hebrew name could be a name that sounds like the baby’s secular/English name, or one that begins with the same sound as the baby’s secular/English name.

During the ceremony, there was an opportunity for the parents to explain their choice of name. In this case her name began with the same sound as a great-grandfather with qualities of humor, compassion and strength. Her middle name honored another great-grandfather who survived the holocaust.

Blessings were recited for the baby’s well-being. A traditional blessing was offered and hopes that she might grow into a life of study of Torah, of loving relationships, and the performance of good deeds.

Jewish naming ceremonies can take place either in the parent’s home or the synagogue. This one was in the parent’s home with just the grandparents attending in person. About 100 others attended via Zoom.

My take away is that cultures that place great significance on choosing names have a beautiful and meaningful tradition. Does naming a baby after someone affect their personality? Probably not, but some studies show that a name can have an effect on self esteem and the way we are treated.

That doesn’t mean that my parents were wrong in just choosing a name they like. For some people a name is just a name.

Playing in the Pit

What is your dream job? What’s on your bucket list?

I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life, which at this point is much closer to the end than the beginning. Most of them were not dream jobs. More like nightmares. Mostly just a way to get from one place to another. Like opening cans in a photo processing plant, or selling license plates at the DMV. And there were short order cook, bank teller, and secretary/gopher at a trailer sales place. And the most awful of all, dishwasher at the college cafeteria.

The last job was the longest. It used my skills as a librarian and communicator and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a job that I dreamed about when I was young.

One dream/bucket list item I have had for a long time is playing in a pit orchestra. I love musicals and have always wanted to be part of making the music. Even in high school, it was something I was interested in, but not brave enough to try out for.

A few years ago, after my retirement, I revived my interest when the community band I play in put out a call for pit players for a local theater group. At that time, they didn’t need flute layers and it didn’t happen. Since then I’ve been playing with more groups and my skills are greatly improved. I think I have the confidence to audition, but I’m not sure I play well enough to be accepted. And many of the local groups require flute players to play the sax also. And I don’t. I also wonder if I have the quickness it requires. A pit player has to be on their toes all the time and you can’t rely on just counting to be in the right place. Sometimes the actors/singers make mistakes and you have to be ready to go with the flow. Not sure I’m up for that.

So, playing in the pit is probably not in my future, although I might audition some time. After all, it can only happen if I try.

Elephants and Leadership

How do you decide who is a good leader? What are the traits and qualities that make a leader great?

We can learn a lot about good leadership by studying elephants. Elephants are prime examples of good communicators. They are known for their empathy and compassion and are very self aware. They live and travel in herds and a female is usually the leader. The matriarch teaches the others how to find food, protect the herd and gives them information they need to survive. They don’t keep this information to themselves, they share. They do not lead by dominating others, they value others and share responsibilities. Although large and strong, they are gentle and kind and have the welfare of the group as their major concern.

So, what does this means for us? Often, people think of good leadership as the strongest dominating the rest. I think good leadership is gaining influence by listening and empathy and then convincing others to follow. There is a saying, “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets other people to do the greatest things.”

Un-Invent

If you could un-invent something and make it go away would you? And what would it be?

I vote for spam. No, not the food kind, although I don’t like that either. Phone and email spam are my choice along with robot calls and mass texts.

Spam is bad at all times, but with the election season picking up, everything is getting worse. Over half of the calls on my phone are labeled spam already, and there is a long time until November. The mass texts have not started yet, but during the last election cycle, I received a record 35 texts soliciting donations in one day. I block the callers, but it doesn’t matter much because they come from so many numbers.

Do you think the creators of the technology that enables spam anticipated its malevolent use? I doubt it and I’m sure there are many good uses for it. Like all technology, a small number of people will figure out an evil use. Overall I think the good outweighs the bad.

So, how do we stop just the bad uses? The spam filter on my email is very good. I get very little spam and my caller ID lists calls and voice mails as potential spam. There are laws about sending mass solicitation texts from the same number, but marketers have gotten around this by calling from multiple numbers. I hold little hope for new rules.

So, with the election coming, and the anticipated texts and calls increasing, I really only have one option. My delete thumb is at the ready.

Clutter

Is it clutter or is it a mess?

Maybe it can be both. My basement is very messy. It is filled with clutter. We are looking to clean and organize it in anticipation of downsizing in the future.

Where did all the junk come from and how do we get rid of it? It seems like when we moved into a bigger house 30 years ago, we acquired a lot move space to fill. And when the children moved out it got a lot worse.

I try to keep the living areas, especially my desk area organized and clutter free, but the rest needs help. Although downsizing is a good idea, and I will love the results, the motivation is just not there. I don’t want to leave it until I have to move and organize in a rush, but it’s going slow.

What do I do with the things I don’t want, but am having trouble giving away? Like some of my mother’s treasures that came home with me after she died and have been in the spare room for 15 years. Or the odd gift from one of the children?

And what about the closet? Clothes that are out of style? But they might become fashionable. I have some that are so old they could work for a theme party. And shoes. I only wear a few pair, but I can’t seem to throw any away and they accumulate.

I’m making slow progress. This week I have four boxes ready to donate and two large bags loaded in the garbage.

Cardinals Are Feeding

A pair of cardinals came to the feeder this morning. Cardinals are a favorite. They are such beautiful birds. The sun is shining, but it is very cold out. After a big snowstorm, everything is white outside, and the bright red color of the male is noticeable.

Even though the male is beautiful, I think the females are even prettier. Their warm creamy color on their backs and sides, and rusty red on their wings, tail and crown with a black mask and orange beak make them beautiful in their own way.

^{Female Cardinal. I tried to take a photo, but wasn’t quick enough.}

Cardinals are love birds and usually mate for life. They come to our feeders all year round, but are really noticeable in the winter because of the color. They really like sunflower seeds, but will eat other seeds and berries as well. Today’s sighting of a pair at the feeder is not unusual.

Many people believe the sighting of a cardinal can be a sign of good luck, loyalty, or even a spiritual message. A cardinal coming to your yard is said to give you comfort, security and peace of mind. During my cancer treatments, I always felt comforted when I saw a cardinal. Some people believe that seeing a cardinal is a sign that a loved one who has passed is nearby.

Cardinals usually come early in the morning and at dusk. Our children gave us a bird feeder with a camera for Christmas. It alerts us when birds are on the feeder. It has been great fun with the stormy weather lately. With all the snow and the trees iced over, we are keeping the feeders well stocked.