Signed puck and other news

Here's the signed puck that our friend, the referee, gave us. What a hoot! It's sitting in a place of honor in my bookshelf alongside my mini-Asterix, my French troll and my baby troll. (My Cajun troll, Mr. Polycarp, and Obelix are on another shelf.) I really enjoyed my job as a schoolteacher some days. Kids loved my trolls and my Mardi Gras beads and my stuffed animals. I think the two squeaky dinosaurs, Abelard and Heloise, were general faves.

It was pretty enough yesterday to get out and do stuff without a coat. And the Relief Society sisters put on an amazing party last night. I posted the invitation a few blogs ago. It was the girliest room you ever saw with decorated cupcakes, tiny pink paper hearts and pink balloons everywhere. It was supposed to be an unbirthday party for all of us. It was awesome. Even finger sandwiches. What is it about finger sandwiches? I adore them.

Tonight we go to see Man of La Mancha at the Little Theater. We may not be able to travel because of Michael's work schedule and my bad leg, but at least we're doing some cool things. And one of Michael's fellow managers is in the production along with his boys. I'll let you know how it comes out. And that's another thing I miss about Denton. The high school productions were better than most professional plays. It's been a year and the pros and cons of living here versus there are really coming into focus. I feel a big blog post coming on as my anniversary nears.

Les Pingouins Oh la la!

We went to see the Wilkes-Barre Penguins on Wednesday night. Michael was given tickets by one of his vendors. It was my first time ever at a hockey game. First time for Michael too. We really had fun. We took Cheryl, the executive admin at Michael's work. She's French Canadian and her husband is a hockey ref. He just happened to be working the Wilkes-Barre game which was really sweet. Cheryl said the most important part of the game is when the refs skate out. So we were glad not to miss that.

I've never liked watching hockey on television. Frankly, I can't follow the puck. But you can see everything in person right down to the player's expressions and the spin on the puck. And we had awesome seats about fifteen rows up right behind the goalee. It was a pretty high scoring game (5-3 and the home team won) so we saw lots of action. This is the American Hockey League which means they're the last step before the National Hockey League. So the skating was amazingly good. I enjoyed the whole experience including the two Zambonis, the mascot (a French Canadian friend of Cheryl's) who does a dance with all the children, and the Finnish cheering section. One of their best players is Finnish so we saw lots of blue and white flags.

So it was really fun speaking French and watching great skating and playing. I'm almost totally ignorant about sports, but I actually know a little bit about hockey after watching Zach play lots and lots of roller hockey games at Spinning Wheels. And I really appreciated the quality of the skating. But the fastest skater I ever saw or ever will see was a former French student of mine named Jordan Malone who now skates with Apolo Ohno as a world class speed skater. He started as an online skater and he actually played against Zach's team at Spinning Wheels. He must have been about eight. He was only a blur. But Zach's team won. Something Zach should probably brag about from time to time.

Yesterday, Cheryl presented Michael with a winning game puck autographed by the referee! How cool is that?

Funereal thoughts

This is the second funeral I've played organ for since I've been here in Wilkes-Barre. The lady today was obviously a lovely person and I heard thoughts expressed that maybe it was just her time to go, she'd led a good life, etc. But when I read the program, I noted that she was 64. Whoa! That's a tad young to be moving on, don't you think? This hit a little too close to home.

One trend I notice here is that in both funerals I've played for, a son-in-law has delivered the eulogy. (Actually I've seen it done once in Texas too.) It gave me pause. A long pause, in fact. And so I mused on the way home about what kind of eulogy ZT, NL or DS would provide for me. My first thought was that whatever they would contain, they would be diverse. If you know my sons-in-law, this goes without saying. My second thought was that I love my sons-in-law very much and it amused me to think of what they would come up with. My third thought was that ZT has seniority rights. He's been around the longest. I can envision several scenarios of what might happen if the job were assigned to ZT. A considerable part of his charm is that I wouldn't lay money on any of those scenarios being close to what he would actually do.

The first funeral I played for here, the son-in-law remembered that his mother-in-law had given him a rock from Elvis's driveway for a present. That got a big laugh. The son-in-law today compared his mother-in-law to the Gestapo, but in a nice way. He also remembered her years as a fan of professional wrestling. He didn't get quite as many yucks but maybe it was his delivery.

So to my sons-in-law out there, be saving up some good stories. Who knows? You may get a golden opportunity to do some stand-up comedy at my passing.

25 degrees!

I notice that it's snowing in Provo today and that it's going to be below freezing in Prague today as well. How did all us Texans end up in this kind of mess? It was 25 degrees when I left to go to Physical Therapy this morning at 9:30. There's nothing wrong with 25 per se but my brain knows it's March 23rd. The low for today is 14. Only by the grace of the weather gods are we not knee deep in snow right now. I can deal with an anomaly but it's been colder than average for days and days.

I saw this poor robin in my front yard as I was driving off to PT. You know how they fluff up their feathers to keep warm? Well, there he was, puffed up and miserable, standing by my front steps. He wasn't even attempting to look for food. I can relate.

I've tried to be a good sport about the weather here. But this is too much. Looks like March will be another 400 dollar natural gas bill. You see why these folks become snowbirds when they retire.

Springtime and music

It's official. Spring has sprung. There are a few crocuses and one little snowdrop blooming in our yard. I moved here in April of last year so I know there are lots more lovely flowers which will pop up in our yard this season. I also know it won't be that warm. So I'm not putting away any sweaters yet.

The NEPA philharmonic was a nice evening. The trumpet player from the Pittsburgh Symphony was as good as we expected him to be. The Pittsburgh brass section is legendary. And I felt the orchestra did a really good job accompanying him on the Hummel. The Beethoven 7th was well done too. One of my music teachers used to say that Mozart was the hardest thing of all to play because it was so transparent. I think she's right because the Mozart symphony was the least well done. The Kirby center is this amazing venue built in the late 30's. I think my dad probably just missed it.

But I've been kind of spoiled listening to the Dallas Symphony and the UNT symphony. Let's think about the UNT symphony. These kids are the best of the best and are on their way into the music world as teachers and performers. No wonder it's an amazing experience to hear them. And I've always wondered how you could get a whole lot better than the Dallas Symphony. I've been to concerts in the Meyerson where the music was so good it was life-changing. I always wondered if I would be able to detect any difference between them and the biggest names of them all. Now I may get to find out if there is indeed a difference between the Dallas Symphony and a handful of legendary orchestras. Living so close to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, I hope I will be able to hear some of these groups. Of course, our first big orchestra will have to be Philadelphia because Michael has a thing for their tuba player. Her name is Carol Yantsch. Check out her website here.

The NEPA Philharmonic

We're going to the symphony tonight at the Kirby Center. I've not been there before. I'm excited about the program. It's called Mozart in Paris. This is as close as I'm gonna get to Paris this spring so I'm hoping it's great.

The Reubens didn't get eaten until last night so the guacamole and the German food were separate meals. Probably just as well. Michael just went to see a friend's pig cooker today. He says it's held a 350 pound pig but that the one they're doing today is only 175 pounds or so. Interesting. I guess Pennsylvania guys are just as excited about a festival of meat as Texas guys are.

I applied for two different teaching positions today. I probably won't get all my recommendation letters in time for one of them and the other is a total shot in the dark. But I can keep trying. There are any number of colleges around here. Don't know if the nepotism system works as efficiently at the university level as they say it does in the public schools around here. I would certainly hope not.

Family-wise, we talked to my Prague daughter for an hour this morning and got to see little E smile and gurgle at us. I also talked to my folks, GL, and her husband DS, and ZL this week. It's nice and comforting to hear people's voices. Plus, GL posted new pictures of her baby girl and her youngest boy. Pictures of my grandkids make me both happy and sad. Sad because I realize how much I'm missing. But the happy always wins out so please keep posting them.

German Mexican Food Day

The writing goes well. Life goes on too. The weather is warming up some although it's 28 degrees now at 10 o'clock in the morning. As a pre-Saint Pat's Day celebration, we had corned beef and cabbage last night. It was delicious. But this is only the prelude to the Reubens which we will enjoy tonight. If you have somehow missed out on Reuben sandwiches in your otherwise rich and fulfilled life, the recipe is simple. Heat up a can of sauerkraut. (Or you can use that fancy deli sauerkraut if you want.) Lightly toast two pieces of rye bread or pumpernickel. Put Dijon or German mustard on one slice and add thin slices of corned beef. On the other piece put sliced swiss cheese. Broil in the oven until the corned beef is hot and the cheese is melted. Pile on the sauerkraut and make a sandwich. Awesome! The weird thing about tonight's meal is that I found nice cheap avocados at the grocery store the other day. They have reached perfect ripeness today. So the menu tonight at Chez Denney will be Reubens with guacamole on the side.

I have finally cranked up my new writing blog. If you're interested in writing, please check it out. There's a link to it on the right hand side of this page.

Future Spelling Bee Champ

In our house, spelling bees were just something the kids did well. We had quite a run, in fact. I was reminded of spelling bees the other day when I saw this photo in the paper. It is charming that the Times-Leader still publishes kids' birthday pix for free. I figure that if this cute little number manages to spell her name by the end of kindergarten, she's got a career in the spelling world. Today in the paper there was a column about the Scripps spelling bee in this area. So she'll have a place to compete.

I went to a job fair today looking to turn in a resume about an adjunct position they're advertising at the local junior college. I found when I got there that the person on hand wasn't an HR person at all, but instead a recruiter for their courses. So I wasted a bit of time. I'll have to just send it in by mail if I decide to go for it. Adjunct positions usually pay very poorly. But I am missing teaching and it would be fun to go back as long as I don't have to be full-time.

200th post

I note that my last post was my 200th. I guess I should celebrate a little! This is a cute invitation to a party at church for the women's organization, the Relief Society. I just got it today and I liked it so much I wanted to share it.

If this is my 201st post, it means I've spent far too much time blogging and far too little time writing for dollars since last April. But that will have to change. I am in the middle of some interesting articles and will be sending out some queries for some magazine articles for children.

The big adventure yesterday was sending Morgan's birthday box. She needed me to send her a swimsuit she had ordered from Land's End. She swears you can get the best-fitting suit from a mail order catalog. And so it was good timing to send her birthday stuff and some Easter stuff at the same time. But it's a big hoop-de-doo. The customs form is quite detailed and the cost of the postage is pretty daunting. She's certainly worth it, but every time I mail her family something, I wistfully think how easy it is to order presents for my other kids via Amazon or some other mail order company here. No need to find a box!

Michael went grocery shopping with me which was a good thing. My leg gave out before I'd finished. We did find corned beef briskets really cheap. Since this is the only time they're on sale all year, we bought a couple. Saint Patrick's Day is right around the corner. They do it up big here with a huge parade in Scranton. Michael's company's float will be covered with Irish Elvises. Needless to say, he chose not to participate! And, I'm sure there will be some kind of raffle. It just goes without saying around here.

Yankee Gumbo

Whoa! It's been a while since I've posted. This is because I'M WRITING AGAIN! Yes, I'm shouting. Maybe it's rude. But I am excited to be working on articles and stories again and interviewing great folks like Fiona Bayrock and Nancy Robinson Masters who write nonfiction for children. I am doing a series of articles on this topic for my friend, Dan Case, who publishes Writing for DOLLARS! (Yes, I know that was more capitals but that is the name of the publication.)

News on the Pennsylvania front is that we went out to dinner the other night at this really cute place we like in Dallas, PA. It's called Really Cookin' and they have cabaret singers from time to time and live music. It was just piped in music on a weeknight (albeit awesome music by Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and Tony Bennett.) We both had a crock of red seafood chowder. Red means that it has a tomato base as opposed to a cream base like the clam chowder you might think of. It was great. It had scallops, clams and shrimp and other good stuff. I prefer to call it Yankee Gumbo. Then we splurged on huge desserts. Michael had peanut butter fudge cake and I had croissant coconut bread pudding with vanilla sauce. I had had it before and it is truly memorable.

My physical therapy is doing some good but this is a slow recovery. I'm still pretty hampered in the things I can do. Standing for more than a minute or two can be excruciating. Sitting, walking and lying down are all pretty good though. Go fig! So what am I having trouble doing? Grocery shopping. You'd think that involved walking. But it's a lot more standing than moving. And, of course, making dinner and washing dishes. Michael helps as much as he can even though he's still working a lot of hours because he is a true prince of the universe as anyone who knows him can tell.

How would I live without Skype?

Our Czech family just called for Michael's birthday and we got to see Baby E, M, V and of course, MF and N. Awesome. I don't know how I'd manage if I couldn't see and talk to those kids once in a while. Sometimes MF and I get to talk after the kids are asleep and that is wonderful too.

We just talked about retirement a bit and I remarked how good it would be if I could squeeze in a few years more service in Texas before I retired as a schoolteacher. I would get a lot more per month. I asked Michael if he had thought about staying here or moving somewhere else when we retire. He said that he likes it here but that other than apples in the fall, he hasn't found one thing here that doesn't cost more than it does in Denton, Texas. How true. I just hadn't realized it, I guess. The grocery store prices still stun me and our heating bills in the winter are pretty steep. And real estate is so much higher. Plus there's state income tax to deal with. So even if we wanted to stay, we probably couldn't afford it. We would have a much higher standard of living back in good old Texas. Or Louisiana, or Oklahoma or Arkansas for that matter. And it's not like we weren't happy in Texas. Some decisions are just made for you, I guess.