So here's my idea-- What do you think?

So first of all, the pictures have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with my blog today. The first is a guess what this is picture. The third is me on our anniversary trip to Philly. They had a cool display where you could just walk into Norman Rockwell paintings. The second is what you get for $1000. Yes, gentle readers, we paid one zero zero zero to get two trees pruned. They hauled away half the Norway maple in three big truckloads. I got a major migraine from the chainsaw massacre.

But enough about the joys of home ownership, I had a brilliant idea during all these snow days. Michael said that many of his employees would have been able to get to work but had to take sick days to take care of their school age children. I have mentioned that they call off school at the drop of an icicle here. I can't blame them. The country roads are fierce I am sure. But some days you have to wonder why they couldn't have just started a little late.

So here's my brilliant idea. (Probably stolen from the movie "Holiday Inn"). Why don't I start a neighborhood "snow school." The plan is that I only teach on snow days. The parents bring the kids here when school's closed and they have to go to work.  I teach them some creative writing, we do a few crafts, engage in a little kitchen chemistry by cooking up lunch and snacks and let them have P.E. in my wonderful back yard. And if the parents wanted the kids to do real homework, I am certified teacher after all. I might only  have to work five days a year. This year it would have been about ten, I think. I could also do teacher inservice days if they have them here. I would sign up the kids at the beginning of the year and make sure I had a manageable number and reasonable ages. It would be a long day with two first graders, a sixth grader and a senior in high school.

So what do you think? Would this fly?

Big Blizzard of 2010

Here in the happy Wyoming Valley it was not quite the big blizzard they predicted. We are protected here in the Wyoming Valley evidently. So many of the big storms either pass us by or are much milder here. We didn't get the big winds for example and though they got three feet of snow just an hour or so away, we probably got a foot. So here are a few photos of what it looks like when the snow starts to take over.

This is the view from my upstairs window screen. There's a rock garden out there, some huge slate outcroppings and some steps down to the road, but you can't see any of them now.

The rolling stock. I helped Michael get the Subaru Outback unburied this morning and did some shoveling while he got dressed. His only close encounter on the way to work was a National Guard Humvee parked in the middle of the expressway. They were helping folks out of ditches but had parked in the one clear lane on the road. He still got to work safely. Besides managers, only about fifty employees made it to work though. Many of them have to stay home with their kids who have no school.

To give you an idea of just how fast the snow was coming down today.

This is one of the former snow pictures when everything was just frosted. Thought I'd share because it was pretty. Now there are just huge mounds of snow balanced precariously on every surface. The rhododendron looks like a mountain range.

Say what you will about winter weather, this is nature at her most gorgeous.

Photo credits: Susan Denney

This is a former French student of mine from Denton, Texas, Jordan Malone

Long Distance Birthday

Michael's day started with a Skype call from the Czech Republic. He got to see two of the grandkids (one was sadly home sick) and talk to his little girl. The breakfast I had planned had to be canceled due to my migraine. And bad weather prevented our meeting for lunch so although it had started well, it was not running according to plan. He had to wait until dinner to celebrate some more.

I made salmon in lemon caper sauce. It was good. And one of his favorite foods, mashed potatoes. Then he opened presents while talking on the phone. This is the way you  have to do things when your kids live so far away. While he was talking, I made "his" cake. The white cake with fudge icing. This year's icing came out really well as it did last year. I cannot believe that I have actually figured out the trick to this icing. I think it has to be snowing for the fudge to set up right.

Three telephone calls during the evening and he had made contact with our whole brood. They were so thoughtful to remember him. It was fascinating to hear one end of all these conversations. Our children are so amazing. The range of topics was so wide--everything from Triumph sports cars to poetry. Best part of his birthday was that he had miscalculated and had already been telling people he was the age he turned yesterday. So he got a freebie birthday and didn't get any older!

This morning, Michael called me to the window. Everything had been flocked. The wind really doesn't blow here very often, but there was a little wind last night because horizontal and vertical surfaces were covered in snow. It looked like someone very busy had taken a can of that flocking stuff and sprayed our entire yard. Too cool for words. I downloaded a large file so you can click on it and see the amazing detail.

(Photograph credits: moi.)

Have your kids buy this book!

So, I'm prophetic. Last year, when my great friend, Bryan, told me about his second book coming out with Henry Holt, I emailed back and said, "Now, all you have to do is get in the Scholastic Book Fair, and you can retire."

So, guess who's in the Scholastic Book Fair this year? Yes, yes, yes! I can see into the future! Bryan's first book, Lunchbox and the Aliens, will be included in Scholastic book fairs all over the country.

I am so excited for him. The plot is simple--a Bassett hound is abducted by aliens and endowed with super human intelligence so that he can provide them with a factory to produce their favorite food, Froonga, which is made from garbage.

So if you know a child who will be attending a book fair, you can highly recommend this very funny book.  If you don't have access to a local Scholastic book fair, you can order the regular edition here at  Amazon or at Barnes and Noble. You can also find Froonga Planet, the second book in the series, at either store.

I wish this blog had a billion readers so that this plug would mean something, but I am just so excited that a good thing happened to a friend.

Michael's birthday is today, but I'll post about that tomorrow. So big congratulations to Bryan and Happy Birthday, Michael.

Must Post New Picture

I couldn't stand looking at my living room messed up any more. So here's a random picture for those of us who remember the days when dresses were A-line and boys were starched and pressed. Our clothes were just cute. That's all I have to say. We wouldn't have been caught dead in something as ugly as a pair of Ugg boots. And we wouldn't have been seen anywhere with a man who had forgotten to shave. Being pretty and attractive was the goal and we succeeded royally. I was so lucky that my two older girls also grew up in an era when dresses were feminine and lovely. Even the last one caught the end of that era when she was in middle school. Their dresses were more romantic than the ones you see in this pattern. They had big dreamy sleeves and full skirts. But all of us were able to make our own clothes and look good doing it.

Valentine's Day Box

Notice anything different? Yes, the living room is a mess. If you look on the sofa you can see the wrapping paper from the big box.  And is that...Bill Cosby?...on the coffee table?

Yes! And look, there's more! Julie Andrews. George Gershwin with a fro. And Dave Brubeck (well, a girl's legs on a Dave Brubeck album.) And the reason for all this?

Voila! The Valentine's present. It has been years since we have had a working turntable. We had such a blast on Sunday opening up those LP boxes and finding records we had no memory of owning. You'd think we'd remember each and every one. But I think we bought a lot of vintage ones in latter years at Recycled Books and Records. Hence, the dim or non-existent recollection of these LPs.

We've been reading how vinyl sounds warmer and how the things are making a comeback. One of my kids even put an LP on their Christmas list this year. And, you know, it does sound grand. And there's that delicious moment of anticipation when you hear the needle hit the record before the music starts to play.

Michael had so enjoyed watching A Hard Day's Night from Netflix, that I felt it was time for him to revisit these old friends. It was a lovely Valentine's Day. Going to church on V-Day was actually fun. All the little girls dressed up in froofy red outfits. And, of course, the veal, spinach salad and dessert crepes I made helped. But honestly, it was the present that made the day.

Notice anything different?

Notice anything different about the living room? Okay, I know the poinsettia is a weird decoration for Valentine's Day, but ours always last and last and they are red, after all.

But how about that big red box? I wondered if Michael would spot it. Ha, ha. But something strange happened. Those who know the man intimately are aware that he will not shake a box. So he goes right up to this big box and starts to lay hands on it and says, "Can I shake it?" And the answer is no. Because of what it is and the way it's wrapped, it cannot budge from the coffee table until the moment of unwrapping. I figured I wouldn't have to tell him. Then he sticks out his finger and budges it. He absolutely cannot resist messing with it.

So I asked. "Why do you want to shake this one? You never shake packages!" Truly, his Christmas presents stay untouched for weeks.

He says, "It's so big!"

You have to understand that Michael likes big things. He owns the biggest bass tuba ever made. He fell in love with the Big Boy locomotive on display in Scranton. He zeroes in on the basses in a string orchestra.

Now what I have never understood is why he married me. I weighed 85 pounds soaking wet on our wedding day and I top out at 5'2". Maybe it was my big vocabulary?

Publish Post

Happy Birthday!

You would think we had enough birthdays this month what with my son, granddaughter and husband celebrating. But today marks a very important milestone and I, for one, am totally disappointed there wasn't a Google Doodle to celebrate it.

Today is the 100th anniversary of the Boys Scouts of America. This fine program has benefited my own family greatly. My dad became an Eagle in this valley in the 30s. He has fond memories of Camp Acahela which is still around today and is used for Cubs, I think. Michael loved Scouting and regrets that his troop disbanded while he was a Life Scout. Michael was one of the best Scoutmasters ever with many of his Scouts going on to get their Eagle Scout award. My son is also an Eagle Scout. One of the proudest moments of my life was when my dad gave my boy his Eagle award. And I would be remiss if I neglected the Eagle Scout who married into our family. Our N, who lives in the Czech Republic, is also an Eagle Scout and has already served in the Scouting program as a leader. His dad was also a fine Scoutmaster. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention my daughter and son-in-law in Utah who served as Cubmasters for one of the biggest packs known to man.

The picture? My son and his two buddies who all got their Eagle award. Michael started these three off as their eleven-year-old Scout leader. The dad of the young man on the left then served as their Scoutmaster. And the mom of the one on the right was in charge of advancements for our troop for many years and made sure these guys were on track right up through their Eagle board of reviews. What a great set of young men. 

The Scouting program touches many lives, not just the ones who attain the highest award. But once an Eagle, always an Eagle. It's good to know that there are men out there who can administer first aid, survive in the wild, practice water safety and other cool stuff. It's also good to know that they understand what citizenship, honor and integrity is all about.

So happy birthday, BSA. You deserved a Doodle, for sure.

Mondegreens and other idle thoughts

I learned a new word--mondegreen.

According to Wikipedia:
A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase, typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric in a song, due to near homophony, in a way that yields a new meaning to the phrase.

Um, that's a mouthful, but we've all done it. You hear a song and not quite understanding what the words are, your brain makes something up. One of our children, bless her, came up with "from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white befoam" in the song "God Bless America." Another thought the words to Annie's famous song were "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow. You're only a day awake."

But we adults do it too. My fave, that we still use in our family, was the puzzling song from "The Phantom of the Opera" which I thought was "Awesome Day" but, in fact, is "Masquerade." But I like "Awesome Day" better.

And so, without further ado, I'd like to wish an awesome day to my last-born, not baby. How little he looks like a baby today at almost six feet tall. I had a great chat with him today and he's going to spend the evening with his sister. They are both really fun people so I am sure they will have a good time.My son thought that sushi might play a role in the festivities.

And our darling V had her fourth birthday in Prague yesterday and I got to see her open her present on Skype.What a doll!

I really don't like living so far away from my family. It's a lovely sunshiney day in Wilkes-Barre, PA today. But I would much rather be in the rather dreary weather in Denton, Texas today making a big dinner and probably cheesecake for Z's birthday. Our children always got to pick their birthday dinner. And type of cake (or dessert), of course. One child picks lemon meringue pie which works just fine for me. One son-in-law has the dessert first and then the dinner. How clever of him to know what's really important.

I'm missing a lot of awesome days with my family. Which means I just have to make the most of every minute I get to spend with them. So I'm off to take a walk in the sunshine which we don't get a lot of. It will make up somewhat for the birthdays I've missed this week.

Art Freak

I can't imagine a better day than walking through an art museum. Of course, I like some art museums more than others. I well remember a trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art when we were first married. They had evidently sunk their whole budget into a glorious new building. But there wasn't any art. Not kidding. A few paintings and some Chinese vases. I'm sure they have some now.

Sometimes the art is great and the location is not. The Kunsthistoriche Museum in Vienna has one of the most glorious paintings of all time stuck in a crowded corner room. The portrait of the Infantin Margarita Teresa by Velásquez  is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen. But the only way to appreciate that blue velvet dress is to take a few steps back from the painting. Which you can't do because the room is too small.

Sometimes the location is great but the art is something I just don't get. Witness The Winged Victory of Samothrace in The Louvre. The location is superb. It took me a while to appreciate the statue. If you haven't seen Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, the statue makes an important appearance in it.

Which brings us to the Philadelphia Museum of Art that we visited on Saturday. The huge Calder mobile is dramatic in that huge space between the staircases. It becomes more dramatic when you learn that you can see sculptures by Calder's father and grandfather by looking through the windows behind you. Who knew? Pas moi.

The Philadelphia has a very comprehensive collection. This rainy Van Gogh is breathtaking. And we went to this small town on our thirty-fifth anniversary trip.

There are a few artists I always look for in a big art museum and I wasn't disappointed.

Here is the Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun portrait of Madame du Barry. She's one of my favorite artists. I love her paintings and the story of her life which you can read online

They also have a Caillebotte. Not many people have those as Caillebotte was wealthy and sold very few of  his paintings. His heirs sold many of them in the 1950s. He loved to play around with perspective and there is so often a strong diagonal line in his paintings. The Wikipedia article on his life is worth a read. It's pitiful how a big part of his collection ended up in Pennsylvania when it should have been left in France.




So it was a grand trip. And we'll be going back. We certainly didn't see it all. And now we have some new favorites which we will want to visit again and again.

Photographs: Michael and Susan Denney. All rights reserved.

Success!

Success! We made it! Thirty nine years being happily married. Okay, so the picture's not the greatest. But we didn't take it, did we?

It was freezing cold. Even so, there was a constant stream of folks who had to get their picture made with Rocky. The lady who took this had us take her and her friend's picture too. We just beat a whole busload of folks to the statue.

Believe it or not (and I really couldn't believe it until I saw it), this statue is at the base of the staircase of the grand and venerable Philadelphia Museum of Art. I can only imagine the lengthy discussions among the richissimo art patrons who had to vote on whether or not to allow this statue on the museum grounds.

The museum itself is a wonder. So many gorgeous things in it.  And the night before we had visited the King of Prussia mall. Truly the King of malls. We looked through the windows at Tiffany's, gawked at the red dresses in the Jessica McClintock store and had some very good gelato. Romantically, we bought new towels for our anniversary. (Michael had said that the state of our unmatching towels made him feel poor. How pitiful his tale!)

More pix tomorrow. Just wanted the world to know that we have reached our Jack Benny anniversary. Whether or not the number ever gets higher is completely up to us. I'm thinking we will go on to 40. But lingering at 39 wouldn't be terrible. As it is, I have to tell folks that I got married when I was three.