Pissed

I just spent over 35 minutes writing this morning's epistle on "Change."  I left the site for a second to search the wording for a saying.  I returned and my entire blog was gone....unsaved, kaput, history!!!  You cannot do that to an old person..Certain thoughts only linger for a shortened time.  I'm pissed!!!

Thawing out

Too busy to think or write today.... It's 58, the snow's gone and winter's returning tomorrow.  I was actually sitting on the porch earlier with my Kindle.    I think 60 is my new lucky number... When your age and the thermometer reach the same number and both are more than satisfying.....you're good to go....or stay!

"YOU TUBE"

Gotta love Girl Scouts! Yesterday afternoon the Daisies joined the big girls and about 45 girls (and their families) scouted their way to Greek Peak for an afternoon of tubing. It was cold (20 degrees) but sunny. The hills were slick and fast, the shrills were loud and plentiful and the thrills were abundant.. Bailee had been anticipating the festivities all week while Jess had been stressing over attire. B was good to go and J was not feeling the hunting camo she'd be wearing. Warmth trumped fashion! Bailee made the height requirement and could tube on her own. No fuss, no muss.... they were off. Luckily their leader......the big Kahuna of girls scouts without whom this area's scouts would not be thriving, was there to snap some photos and even a short video.  The girls arrived home with tired bodies and pink cheeks.  The hills were certainly alive yesterday:-)

Chicken Porn

Last night's early TV offerings were less than stellar so I decided to curl up with my new favorite book, The Backyard Homestead or as I like to call it, 50 Ways to Lay....my own redneck porn...chicken porn!  In a very short time, I became a backyard aficionado of chickens.  I learned way more than I really needed to know but I was mesmerized and couldn't put it down.  I'm once again showing my age. While everyone else is bedazzled with the escapades of Anna and Christian, I am reading about the life and loves of hens and cocks. Let me enlighten you with just a few paragraphs of...50 Ways to Lay!  Firsts, let me preface by saying that not all hens are good layers...If you really want to know your shit...chicken shit....you must examine your hens and weed out the "lazy" ones.  Personally, my goal is to run "the Best Little Henhouse in Moravia!"

1. Look at their combs and wattles.  Lazy layers have small combs and wattles.  (This is doable...Mine are sporting large combs and can waddle with the best of them......Oh!  wattle!
2. Pick up each hen and look at their vent(?????? FYI...hens only have one "vent"...All their business is handled with this one orifice) A good layer has a large, moist vent. (be still my heart).  A lazy layer has a tight, dry vent! (duh)
3. Place your hand on the hen's abdomen. It should feel round, soft and pliable (ahhhhhh)....not small and hard.
4. With your fingers, find the hens two pubic bones, which are located between her keel (breastbone) and her vent. (obviously a form of fowlplay) In a good layer, you can easily press two to three fingers between the pubic bones and three fingers between the keel and pubic bones. If the pubic bones are close and tight, the hen is not a good layer. ( I suggested Lee do this.......we don't believe we have enough scotch)

After a few chapters, I was spent! My heart was racing, my mind was spinning and my hormones were engaged.  I had never felt such a closeness with a farm animal.  I was subconsciously yearning for Book 2 when I headed to the bedroom and gazed in the dining room mirror. Depression set in as I realized this chick's wattle was small and my comb was nowhere to be seen.... It's official...my laying days are over.... shocker!

Structure...it's a gift!

I happened upon this presentation made by Colin Powell. In general:-), I believe he's a very wise man!  He talks, in the video, about the need for structure in children's lives.  He believes, as do I, that this begins the minute you hold your child.  They need structure, they thrive on structure and they deserve structure. He believes that every child deserves the "gift of a good start!"  That doesn't mean toys and trips and all the fluff that money can buy, it means discipline, love, rules and responsibility...from the get go.  And all of those things also need to come through community as well as through the home. One thing he stressed is reading....he hooked me there.  You cannot send a child to first grade who has no appreciation or association with reading... You've already set them up for failure.  Sounds pretty harsh but oh so true.  He believes that by 3rd grade if you're not on the mark, you're destined for failure.  Scary huh?  He also believes that all the money you throw at education needs support and structure from home or it isn't gonna work!  He knows it's hard work to raise a child and he stresses that's why it takes a "tribe, a family, a community!"  Enough preaching.... I really do have a point:-)  Maybe a little far fetched for some but this is exactly one of the reasons I love Face Book. ( or maybe just one of my pathetic excuses for my dependency on it.)  In our little community, and it is compared to Powell's inner city community, we really do care.  We care about our own kids, of course, but we care about your kids and their kids.  We are genuinely proud when we see a picture on Face Book of this week's "student!" or of Susie learning to tie her shoes, Johnny shoveling the walk or Mary smooching her sister.  There is nothing I care to do less than quote Hillary Clinton but it absolutely "takes a village to raise a child!!"  Every day I marvel at the remarks we, as a community of friends, make about the little things in our kid's (or grandkid's ) lives that we are proud to share.  That is what will contribute to helping these children be successful.
So simple when we realize that each of us can be part of giving the gift of a good start.... not just for our kids but for all kids in our neighborhood and our community. We're pretty lucky to live where we do, have the school system we have, and live it a place that really does care about their neighbor. And we're lucky to have a venue to share our "gift!"

Sing it sista!!

One of our goals for the cottage was to learn an appreciation for music...."my" music, Broadway music.  The fact that I'm "old" is solidified every day.  At least once a day I'm addressed as "Old Grandma!"  I've come to realize it's an endearing term and I'm adjusting.  When I'm spoken to as "Old Grandma with a mustache, I get cranky! Old Grandma wants to show young Bailee that there are some pretty cool songs other than Call me Maybe.  BC (before cottage) I introduced the Sound of Music to Miss B.  Do Re Mi was an instant hit.  Thankfully her reading abilities allowed her to read along with a song sheet and she loved it... We danced and so'd, drank our ti and ran fa!  No just sitting and singing here, we're an animated team.

Upon moving into the cottage, classic Broadway began.  We've been working on West Side Story.  There's a current TV commercial using "I Feel Pretty" so we began our trip to the west side with that one.  I try to explain the story of the show so she actually understands a little about each album (yes folks, this a step back to 33 rpm's and a turntable.)  I decided the gang mentality wasn't exactly what I wanted to portray so we just stuck with a love story and a dose of reality that not all of them end happily.

Our next musical adventure sent us straight to River City. Oh we had trouble, right there in River City, that starts with T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool. A new instant favorite.  Call me Maybe is h-i-s-t-o-r-y!!  We've decided that she needs to learn how to snap her fingers. That's "super important if we're going to do these songs correctly!" ( What 6 year old says correctly?) Old Grandma's fingers don't allow for the proper finger snapping volume so this is on the top of our "to do" list! We only had time for one Music Man tune before supper so we'll revisit River City soon. Others on our list include: Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, South Pacific, Cabaret and even Hair....Old Grandma and her old classmates sang Aquarius (from that show) at their graduation.  It'll definitely be a fun off Broadway season for us and maybe, just maybe, a couple of tickets for the Merry-Go-Round theater are in our future.!!

The Inauguration

As I was perusing Face Book yesterday there was a post from one of the news agencies offering the menu for today's inaugural luncheon. The usual...lobster and its companion side dishes.  I made a comment (shocker) something like, "Can you spell deficit?" and I was immediately answered by, "Can YOU spell private donations?"  ..................game on!  So our two-way debate became a 3, 4 and so on.  Some people understood my angst about those private donations and the fact they they were the helpful soles who bought him the presidency in the first place. Others were appalled that some couldn't grasp the fact that public works employees, police, etc were working double and triple time (on our dollar) to keep our Capitol all safe and pretty for the parade and the cameras..  Others were just plain disgusted that it was even a conversation.  "Couldn't we just leave it alone and be happy for the President?"  Probably not!  To me, it so reeks of just another award show.  I'm sure if I looked hard enough, I'd see a red carpet somewhere.  Lots of reports about who FLOTUS is wearing and doesn't her new hairdo look wonderful.  I think we might be losing the reason for all the hullabaloo. I must admit I did watch 4 years ago but I'll also admit I won't be watching today.  "Old Grandma" (as Bailee calls me) believes that Inaugural festivities and celebrations are much like baby showers, You only get one for the first baby...when and if the second arrives, you continue using the old stuff.

Award Season

We're in the midst of Award Season.  January and February will tell us the People's choices, we've already seen their Golden Globes and we'll soon hear their music and see the best of the best in movies. That's all lovely but if you're interested in seeing real life, hard earned awards....feast your eyes on these:

Do you even understand the blood, sweat and tears that go into caroling?  The heavy coats, the scarves, boots and gloves not to mention the carols where the other Daisy Scouts only seem to want to sing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle  all the way" and completely ignore the "Dashing through the snow part." Do you even understand the stress that puts on a 6 year old who's holding the song sheet in her shivering little hands.

The preparation for the Alpaca visit was less intense but the actual visit was fraught with the realization that this adorable, long necked hunk of fur, that you'd only seen and read about and longed to actually touch......merely wanted to spit on you......the disappointment;-(

And actually building a gingerbread house....especially when you hadn't done it since......................last year!!  The decisions of where to place what and whether or not you should actually use the candy or just eat it..The angst involved was palpable.

But thankfully being a scout meant these goals and the awards associated with them were lofty enough to strive for.  It was a proud night when the patches lined the leader's table and the girls were called, one by one, to receive what they had worked so hard for.  The accolades from friends and family were many...(OK, Mom and Grandma were tickled pink). Who knows what lies ahead in the careers of these wonderful Daisy Scouts.....sledding, s'mores, sewing maybe even signing..

The future and the red carpet awaits them:-)

That's what I "ment"

Here's a post (and comments that followed) that I wrote after returning from a presentation to the community on the doom and gloom projections for our local school district in the coming year 2013/14:

Just returned from an educational, community enlightenment. Remember yesterday when I was ranting about my grammar focused pet peeves? A mere pittance of the rant I'll share if the there is no longer a teacher to teach or a building in which to do so. If anyone believes our (school) taxes are excessive, we've been on a cake walk...It's time for everyone to pay attention....instead of merely just paying. We've gotten a pretty good bang for our buck. If it's to continue, we need to be involved and fight for what our district has and what it provides. It provides a fine, cost effective education for our children, it provides our largest employer, it provides a center for socialization and it provides stability for our small, rural community.... And in case we haven't noticed, it's managed by one of the most compassionate administrators I've had the pleasure of knowing. We are lucky..... but now we need more than luck....It's time to be informed and be responsible!

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• Renee Ryan, Kendra Hart, Carolyn Nye and 29 others like this.
• 

  Marcia Clark Completely agree we missed the meeting because of a game do they have ideas of what they want us to do
  Rock and a hard place for all schools these days

  12 hours ago via mobile · Like
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  Heather Wood Well said, Sandy! And this not only applies to Moravia, but ALL schools. Our children's education is sooo important and it seems that's where cuts are always made first 

  12 hours ago via mobile · Like
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  Marcia Clark This Gov seems to be overboard on his views on school funding rural areas don't have the same tax base as cities we get hit hard

  12 hours ago via mobile · Like
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  Lori Brown Is it budget time? State or local?

  12 hours ago · Like
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  Faye Hatfield Thank-you Sandy for your candid comments. Vote for our kids.

  11 hours ago · Like
• 

  Faye Hatfield Vote "Yes" for the kids.

  11 hours ago · Like
• 

  Johanna Nye Well put! We are very lucky to have an administrator fighting so hard for us. I pray for some good numbers at the end of the month!!

  11 hours ago via mobile · Unlike · 2
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  Sandy Hewitt Hatfield From your lips, Johanna to Albany's ears:)

  10 hours ago via mobile · Like · 2
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  Sandy Hewitt Hatfield @ Lori, Hopefully if the Governor can possibly focus on education (which he obviously believes won't lead him to Pennsylvania Ave.) instead of gun legislation, we'll be seeing a State budget soon which in turn will lead us (school officials) to being closer to pull a rabbit out of Cuomo's _ _ _! hat!....

  10 hours ago · Like · 2
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  Leslie Houghton Walker I remember going through the stack of information for my school budget last year before voting time to actually see how it was all divided up. All of it was well justified in my mind. I think sometimes people don't understand the needs in the communi...See More

  2 hours ago · Like
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  Kendra Hart remember when people were complaining we had too much in reserves and what was the point of letting money set in a just in case fund...don't we wish we had listened and let it build over the years..saving accounts are always a good thing both for the h...See More

  54 minutes ago · Like
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  Nancy Brown All I can say is keep at it - involvement is key and great that you are spreading the word.

  20 minutes ago · Like

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

taradiddle.....?????

Remember last week when I discussed those little white lies that we were all told ( and hereditarily passed on?) Well thanks to the wealth of information the Internet, and Yahoo, holds and shares, this morning I learned they have an actual name.....taradiddles.  I thought I was a pretty well read individual but taradiddle is a word I've never read or heard. Here's the skinny on my new "Word of the Day"...

Word of the Day

• taradiddle
• 
• \tair-uh-DID-ul\

• DEFINITION

noun

1

: a trivial or childish lie : fib

2

: pretentious nonsense

• EXAMPLES

"Even parents with the very best of intentions find themselves telling taradiddles to their offspring." — From a blog post by Ben Schott at nytimes.com, November 12, 2010 

"

• DID YOU KNOW?

The true origin of "taradiddle" is unknown, but that doesn't mean you won't encounter a lot of balderdash about its history. Some folks try to connect it to the verb "diddle" (meaning "to cheat"), but that hasn’t been proven and may turn out to bepoppycock. You may hear some tommyrot about it coming from the Old English verb "didrian," which meant "to deceive," but that couldn’t be true unless "didrian" was somehow suddenly revived after eight or nine centuries of disuse. No one even knows when "taradiddle" was first used. It must have been long before it showed up in a 1796 dictionary of colloquial speech (where it was defined as a synonym of "fib"), but if we claimed we knew who said it first, we’d be dishing out pure applesauce.
As I have asserted many times.... we're never too old to learn....and that's no tardiddle!


Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/01/14/#mP2FgszsHwOXpObD.99