Author: boomingbanter

If you were asked to choose one sport that spells USA what would it be? For me it has to be BASEBALL.

When Aaron was little we had his Mud Dogs and that was great fun. The coaches were such lovely men and their wives too. They dedicated so much time to the team and organized all the little snacks and parties for the boys. The games were quite long so we all got to know each other quite well. It was so very wholesome.

Yet in all the years we have lived here we’ve never been to a professional game. Each year when the season starts, which it did just yesterday, we say with conviction that “this year we are going”

In Columbus we have a good team The Clippers and a fine stadium so it’s not like a game is not accessible. Yet we postpone.

One thing about keeping a blog is that it records commitments and plans as well what has happened so this year there is even more reason to make it happen.

We will wait though till the sun comes out!

Blessing # 299 – Bucket Lists

Our local TV station NBC 4 is celebrating their 70th birthday. Most of us can’t remember a time without  TV.

In our home we feel close to the team who help us wake up each morning.

Even if we only see them for a few minutes we know their names and follow their major life events.

They have bright smiles and interspersed with the serious stuff they bring us lighthearted stories to kick off the day and give us a laugh

The team who bring us the evening news are respected for their cool calm demeanor and to the point reporting.

Many of us probably remember the anchors on the programs we grew up with as kids. They were like our teachers and helped cultivated an interest in what was going on outside the boundary of our homes. They gave us broader perspectives on the world at large and at the same time gathered the family around the box together.

With cell phones and constant updates from social media you got to wonder how relevant the traditional programs will be for the adults of tomorrow.

Lets hope the human touch and the face of journalism will stay strong. Maybe we need to make a point of watching the news together again!

Blessing # 298 – Connectors

 

For sure Aaron is not the only teenager to do this. He springs things on us at the last minute.

This morning he came rushing downstairs saying I need dark trousers! Hurry hurry!!!

Now this same lad goes to school in shorts when it is minus twenty. It’s impossible to get him to wear trousers. So why the panic this morning?

Seems that in French class everyone has to dress a la français! So blue shirt, dark pants and then the brainwave struck to find his French scouts béret.

We got it and he put it on and then things quickly deteriorated into a full blown take on being French. A baguette we need a baguette! We found that too and had a good laugh!

This brought back memories of a time our friends Michael and Lorraine came to stay with us in Switzerland. While we were at work they took the boat across lake Geneva to Evian France.

They were to buy a baguette for dinner that night so they bought two or three. Armed with le pain they must have looked like locals because someone came up to them and started babbling away in rapid fire French.

They knew enough of the language to know the person was in a hurry asking for directions but didn’t now where the person wanted to go!

They tried to explain this but the person just got angry with them and marched off!

How we laughed about this! It was like a skit from a comedy show!

Just the sweetest thing and a reminder that……….

La vie et dur sans confitures! Et plus amer san pomme de terre! 

Blessing # 297 – Sugar and Spuds!

Today the news tells us there is a battle going on at the polling stations in Chicago.

There well may be but a victory has also been won.

Come what may by the end of the  day the great city of Chicago will have a new mayor and the great news is it will without doubt be an Africa American Woman.

The candidates Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle have quite different political stances but each has already made her mark in history.

Who knows what they will go on to achieve. One thing is for sure though they will have inspired many with their courage and determination to climb the mountain and see the promised land.

Blessing # 296 – When Everyone’s a Winner

 

 

April Fools Day brings the chance to play a trick or too. Did you play one this morning?

The tradition is said to date back to the time of King John of England. The man was not popular with his subjects and so when he planned to build a hunting lodge in a particular village they played a trick to make him rethink.

The townsfolk pretended to be crazy. Among other things they showed the kings men, who came to visit the on April First, how to Drown Fish!

This may have given rise to the French term used on this day Poisson D’Avril. In any case it led to a tradition that the British media has cultivated over centuries and that never fails to give us all a chuckle.

When you look back at classic April Fools pranks the one that often ranks highest is the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest Story. The threads of pasta being plucked from trees was shown on the very series BBC Documentary Program Panorama. In those days pasta eating was reserved for the upper crust in the UK who’d been to Italy so many people believed the story!

I wasn’t born when this was shown so it made no impact on me but I remember my Dad would always mention it each April Fools Day.

Some classics that fooled me stick with me to this day and make me smile.

The first was Smelly Vision on a popular kids program closely followed by the report of the discovery of the skeleton of the Lough Ness monster.

Stories about self driving buses are becoming a reality so who knows what might happen!

Hope it’s not the aliens landing!

The best though was when April Fools Day fell on a Saturday. Half the UK was glued to the TV watching the sporting program Grandstand when a fight seemingly broke out in the background as the announcer read the sports headlines.

Ah the BBC did good that day.

Share your favorite if you can!

Blessing # 295 – Jokes that Stick

Just before we left for Texas our local Meijer grocery store had a sale on frozen turkey. Sixty nine cents a pound that’s about fifty pence in the UK. We bought one and stuck it in the fridge to thaw while we were away.

It was just right for cooking yesterday. Nothing in the world easier than a frozen turkey. Just wash it and stick it in the oven.

It turned out great and made a good celebratory end to the vacation too. It will also keep us going in left overs for a day or two!

Who remembers though the days when turkey was only for Christmas or Thanksgiving if you happen to live in the USA.

The BIG BIRD as my Dad called it really made a statement on the table. Norman Rockwell captured this so well in his painting Freedom from Want.

We don’t have those eye popping expressions these days because thanks be to God we never know hunger unless self imposed.

I never cook a turkey though without seeing my Dad’s face in my minds eye smiling and licking his lips each time he saw one.

Blessing # 294 – Plenty of Memories

The return to Ohio went off without a hitch and we got to The Four Paws Resort and Spa by six to pick up Dibs.

Ami and the team had, as always, taken great care of the furball and even managed, thanks to a last minute cancellation, to squeeze him in for his spring haircut as well as his bath.

So we can now gaze into his eyes and see his little curves in all their glory. The pot belly has shrunk just a little but he is still way above his normal weight. In fact it is hard to imagine how his skinny little legs can carry him. No wonder he doesn’t want to walk far!

Aaron had to run to see his girlfriend as soon as we returned but when he came home Dibley got back to his favorite business of foot licking. He provides this service exclusively to Aaron.

He also got back to the business of giving us a wake up call at five thirty this morning. Krishna did the duty of getting up and letting him out then we all went back to sleep.

When I surfaced at eight o’clock it was so cold and grey and dreary and wet outside that the energy needed to get ready for Zumba let alone do it left me completely. Amazing how dull everything can seem after a few days of sunshine by the sea!

Instead a couple of cups of coffee, a cuddle with a clean critter and a bit of banter seemed like the best idea to brighten the day!

Blessing #293. – Slow Start Saturday

Galveston is a large port where among other things the massive cruise liners dock.

We decided to do a little cruising too so we took the ferry from Galveston Island to the Bolivar peninsula.

The boat trip gave us great views and as with all things in this area the ferries were very colorful.

This journey took us well into the countryside where we saw lots of small oil wells and lots of cattle. The prairie skies were indeed big and bright Deep In The Heart of Texas!

Humming the theme tune of Dallas we expected to see a star shoot by at any minute. Miss Ellie, JR or Ray Krebs would not have been a bit out of place! All we saw though were two old cowboys hanging over a fence smoking cigars!

While no sightings of the Ewing’s were made we did have a few surprises

We encountered of all things buffalo and elk and a sweet little boy who’d escaped his fence!

Onwards then to T-Bone Toms to finish the day in Texas style and pack the bags for home!

Blessing # 292 – Big Country

Yesterday we drove west all along the length of Galveston Island to Freeport. The Gulf of Mexico is on one side and the bayou on the other. Aaron said it was like being in the Great Gatsby and in many ways it was like Long Island.

We went in search of longhorns. We found a some fields of cattle but the horns weren’t long enough to make the grade for Aaron.

Brightly colored houses on stilts adorned the route with views to the beach or the bayou. Must be a delightful place to live except perhaps in hurricane season.

At the end of the island we came to Freeport with signs of the industry that surely funds the opulence of the coastal homes. Texas tea as they say is really brewing here and what would we all do without it?

The loveliest part of the drive was seeing all the wild flowers bloom. In parts there were carpets of color alongside the sea.

We have no clue what these flowers are but like the houses they are very bright. We have pick a few in hope of havesting seeds. Who knows maybe we’ll have a little bit of spring in summer back in Ohio!

Blessing #291 – Colorful Country

 

 

On vacation we like to throw in just a little bit of sight seeing. We checked the surroundings of Houston and decided space was not for us.

So we did the sky scrapers with a spin around the downtown and then headed out to see something special. The beautiful BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir.

This Hindu temple was built by the followers of the guru Bhagwan Swaminarayan who was born in northern India 1781. The marble came from Italy but was carved in India in the traditional Hindu temple style. The opening was in summer 2004.

The temple is very beautiful and a the grounds are pristine. There is also a great little museum explaining all about Hinduism and about BAPS.

It was a great experience for all of us but especially for Aaron who is currently studying world religions as he was able to hear directly from his Dad all about the religion and philosophy.

Blessing # 290 – Sharing Tradition