Booming Banter

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

Spring break was coming and Krishna had some United air miles that we needed to use. What better thing to do than take a little trip.

Conditions we set were quite limiting. No more than a three hour flight, direct no stops from Columbus, sea and sun and most importantly somewhere we had not been before.

This narrowed the field and we ended up booking a Houston flight with a short drive to Galveston Island.

We booked an apart hotel on our favorite website Booking.com. They rarely disappoint but this one was an exceptionally good choice. When they say on the beach it was absolutely spot on.

 

We have just been here one day but cannot believe how beautiful Galveston is.

The beach goes on forever and is spotless. The historic district is so well maintained and so colorful, great choice of restaurants and the people are super friendly.

 

Best of all we have a great little apartment with a balcony overlooking the sea, a separate bedroom for Ma and Pa so they got to sleep in till 9:30 and no need to rush for breakfast as we have a cute little kitchen and all we need to make our own!

Blessing # 289 – A Surprisingly Good Choice

Yesterday we went to one of the J.A. Baker tag sales and temptation was great.

The dream of the would be guest house, ironically on Baker Street, was foremost in the mind.

The items on sale had Buy Me I’m Victorian written all over them. With fifty percent off and deals to be done we caved in.

It matters not that we have yet to make an offer on the Victoria Homestead we shopped.

We bagged literally hundreds of plates, glasses, dessert bowls, tea cups and accessories that will set the scene for the dining room. 156 pieces for $100.

Four neat little dining chairs were then snapped up for $22 and finally we cracked up completely and bought four hand carved little velvet covered chairs for $75.

It was a tight squeeze to get everything into the car but we managed. Now all we need is the house!

Blessing # 288 – A Large Garage

 

One advantage of the clocks springing forward is that sunset comes later and the days seem so much longer.

My Dad used to look forward to this so much. He’d sigh a big sigh of contentment and say “ah that’s the long nights in”.

When he came home from work and had his dinner he’d take me out each night as a child. Later when I had other people taking me out he’d sit in the back garden and just watch the world go by.

One thing I love about springing forward though is that, for a while at least, you get to see the sunrise.

Here in Ohio this seems more spectacular than anywhere else in the world. Maybe it’s because of our geographical position or that the air quality is good. Maybe it’s the climate or just because we are relatively flat.

This morning the sunrise was one of the very best. It looked like the heavens were on fire!

If the old saying is true that a red sky in the morning is a shepherds warning then we better look out!

It surely gives you a spring in your step though to see such beauty at the beginning of the day! Even if you didn’t win the lottery!

Blessing # 287 – Life’s Lights