Saturday, May 31, 2008

Yard Work

I am supposed to be painting the upstairs bedroom so we can turn it into Mom's new office, so what do I do today? Yard work, of course! It was such a beautiful day I could not resist being outside. So what started out as mowing the lawn turned into some trimming and then weeding the flowers and then removing some more raspberry plants and then planting some bare spots in the lawn and then tilling the flower beds and then planting flowers in the beds. Did I mention that I didn't get any painting done today? The yard looks very good and I ache all over!

We planted two kinds of flowers today. Just off the front porch in the small flower bed next to the garage door we planted columbine seeds that Mom harvested from the plants she already had. I'm not sure how long it will take these to grow and bloom, but it will be fun to wait and watch. We were down to a single plant (the others didn't survive the winter weather), so we are anxious to have more. The columbine flower is such an interesting shape, with long "tails" coming from the back of the blossom. The flowers Mom harvested were red and blue, so I hope some of both colors grow for us.


We also planted marigolds, again with seeds Mom harvested from a couple of years ago. Marigolds are particularly hardy and seem to thrive in our area. One season with a long, mild fall our marigolds actually bloomed a second time. I believe you can for subsequent blooms if you pick off the heads, but Mom usually wants them to go to seed so she can harvest the seeds for planting in subsequent years. Marigolds are also supposed to keep away rabbits. Perhaps we will have to plant a row around the garden.




Friday, May 30, 2008

Disaster in Iowa




By now you've undoubtedly heard about the tornado in Iowa over Memorial Day weekend that took seven lives in and around Parkerburg. In addition to the incalculable value of the lives lost and families shattered, the preliminary damage has been estmated at over six million dollars. This figure will surely rise.








The wind speed was estimated at exceeding 200 mph, which would give this tornado a rating of EF5. Apparently the tornado was over one mile wide and stayed on the ground for over 40 minutes.









I've included a couple of photos, which I'm certain do not do justice to the swath of destruction and scope of the damage. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in Parkersburg. And we are certainly grateful that we are not in the position of literally picking up the pieces of our lives as they are.




Thursday, May 15, 2008

Iris

This week our first iris blooms appeared in the back yard. Our spring has been so wet and cold this year that the growing season is delayed. I'm not certain if or when we will see all the irises bloom.

When I was a boy, on Memorial Day my Mom would cut iris blooms of all colors from her garden, wrap the stems in wet paper towels covered in plastic bags or foil, and drive to the cemetery in her hometown to decorate the family graves. For the longest time I called this holiday "decoration day" rather than Memorial Day. I looked forward to decorating the graves and hearing stories about the names chiseled into the stones.

We carefully placed the fresh cut flowers at the headstones in what we called Mason jars, canning bottles we had emptied during the winter. I can still see the bright colors of the flowers and American flags brightening the graves in the otherwise drab cemetery. This is where I learned about my Mom's parents losing their first baby to pneumonia. This is where I realized how many soldiers had been cut down in the prime of life fighting in far away wars.

When we moved to Iowa, I no longer had family graves to decorate. So one year I cut my iris blooms to decorate the various war memorials near the capital building and grounds in Des Moines. This turned into a tradition for my own family, honoring the sacrifice of the war wounded and dead who fought to preserve and protect our country and freedoms.

I particularly enjoy the World War II memorial here. The history of the progress of the war for both the European and Pacific theaters is literally cast in the concrete walk, year by year. I tried to explain to my children the magnitude of the war and the heroism of those who fought in our defense. I had them place blooms at the memorials as a small gesture of thanks for a debt we can never adequately repay.

Even though the children are gone, each year I continue our Memorial Day tradition. I am humbled and thankful every year when I think about what others have done and have given for me. I will never forget and I will never cease being grateful. I hope my children enjoyed leaving flowers at the war memorials. More importantly, I hope they remember those who have made it possible for them to enjoy the freedoms and prosperity of this land.

A little history about the iris flower ...

The goddess Iris of Greek mythology was a beloved messenger of the gods, especially of Hera, who became Juno to the ancient Romans. She had golden wings and was the goddess of the rainbow. Iris traveled on the rainbow's arc, carrying commands and messages from the ancient gods to mankind. Iris married the west wind, Zephyrus. To this day, the Greeks plant irises on women's graves, believing that the goddess Iris will guide the souls of women to their last resting places. (from herbs2000.com, "History of Irises)

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Tall Bike

When I was 12-13 years old, my dad created an unusually tall bike for me and my brothers to ride. He did this by turning the bike frame upside down and welding extensions for the seat and handlebars so that we were sitting five or six feet in the air. The only way you could get started on this bike was to lean it up against a tree or wall and climb up onto the seat. Then you had to pedal hard enough to get started without falling over, or have someone give you enough of a push to send you on your way.

This photo gives an idea of what our bike looked like. As you can see, this is a girl's frame turned upside down with the seat and handlebars opposite of where they are normally located. In this photo, the original seat is left "underneath" the bike. We relocated the seat to the other side, so we didn't have a spare. And instead of a handlebar, Dad welded on a steering wheel from a car. While the bike was a little clumsy to ride, we looked unbelievably cool (okay, dorky). We certainly attracted a lot of attention. Everybody wanted to take a turn. And everybody wanted to know where they could get a bike like ours.

Because the center of balance was so high while riding this bike, it was always a little awkward to ride. You couldn't turn too sharp or you would easily tip over. And if this happened, you had to time your jump from the bike so you wouldn't get tangled in it when it fell over. I remember a few scrapes and bruises learning to master the tall bike. But, oh, what fun it was!


Monday, May 12, 2008

On the road again

For the first time this year I was able to ride my bicycle to work today. My timing is good, because this is "bike to work" week. My route is 3.1 miles, mostly downhill on the way to work and mostly uphill on the way home. This works out very well because I arrive at work relatively fresh. By the time I reach home, I know I've had a workout.

I'm always surprised at how out of shape I seem when I start biking in the spring. I am fairly active, working out regularly and playing basketball weekly. But I obviously use different muscles riding my bike, as is apparent when I resume riding each year. Riding home today was an added challenge because a stiff wind was blowing from the south, meaning that it was working against me most of the way home.

I like getting some exercise going back and forth to work. I guess I save a little money, also, but probably not enough to make the next van payment. Let's see, AAA calculates that in 2008 the cost of operating a minivan is around 60 cents per mile. At 6.2 miles for my round trip, this saves me $3.72 per day or nearly $82 a month if I bike every work day (22 days) during the month. Hmm, more than I thought. But I don't ride every single day, so I can probably realistically save $50 monthly for the five months I am able to bike to work. I guess I can nearly make one payment on my van after all!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Woeful Wodents

For a time as a teen I raised hamsters and sold the babies to local pet stores. I was under the delusion that this could be a money making venture. Had I ever bothered to calculate the cost of cages, food, and bedding compared to how much I made selling baby hamsters, I would have been very clear that I was hopelessly in the red. And that didn't even count "accidents."

For example, one time my female hamster, Katy, somehow escaped her cage. I put out food and kept watch for her, thinking that sooner or later I would find her. And I was almost right. My Mom found my hamster ... making a new nest in her vacuum bag, through which Katy had chewed a hole to gain access. In her cage, Katy's bed was an old sock put over the end of an empty tissue core. Katy would crawl through the tunnel into the sock and sleep there. When she was out of her cage, I suppose the vacuum bag had a simlar texture and feel and Katy made her own tunnel to fashion a new bed.

I believe the new vacuum bag cost $45, which in 1967 was more than I could have ever hoped to earn selling baby hamsters. When Mom found Katy she said to me, "We won't tell your Dad about this." Thanks, Mom, for saving my life.

Another experience still makes me laugh when I think about it. Our South Jordan house had a very small closet just off the kitchen. One day my Mom opened the closet door and saw a mouse. The mouse, frightened out of its wits, took off running through the kitchen and into the living room with Mom in close pursuit with a broom. In the living room, the mouse ran behind the full-length curtain to hide and actually started climbing the curtain fabric as Mom tried to swat it with the broom. When Mom shook the curtain, the mouse fell to the floor and raced back across the living room, through the kitchen, and under the closet door to its original hiding place. Mom readied her broom and flung open the closet door to face her nemesis. The mouse, desperately trying to escape, ran straight at Mom in a frantic effort to get past her and find a safer hiding place. Mom jumped straight up in the air and came down right on the mouse, which promptly declared her the undisputed winner and never moved again. Mom immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Color Blind

It's always dangerous when I start painting because I am partially color blind. Once during a college break I went to work with my Uncle Bob and brother Gary for a couple of weeks. At that time Bob was finishing some pre-fabricated houses. These are built in two sections (imagine a house cut in half lengthwise) and the two pieces are set on the foundation and "stitched" together for a finished house.

Bob sent me to paint the seam of one house he had stitched together the previous day while he and Gary worked on another house across the street. The exterior siding is already painted except at the seam. When the two halves are connected, an unfinished strip of siding is installed over the seam and is then painted to match the rest of the house. Simple enough, I thought. So I went into the house, dutifully got the painting supplies, opened a can of paint and worked very hard painting the unfinished strips at both ends where the two sections were joined. When I finished, I went across the street to tell Bob I had completed the painting and to ask what he wanted me to do next.

When Bob came out of the house where he was working and looked across the street at my handiwork, he stopped dead in his tracks and was speechless for a moment. I had painted the entire exterior seam with the interior finish paint, which was a different color. He asked, "Couldn't you tell the difference between those colors?" Actually, no, I couldn't. So that ended my painting for pay career. Bob found something else for me to do.

I suggested to Mom that we hire someone to paint over the avocado green in Lindsey's old room, but she was reluctant to spend so much money when we could paint ourselves. So I covered the old paint with primer and told Mom to pick the color she wanted. She decided on a two-tone scheme, with the back wall a slightly darker contrasting color. Remembering my earlier experience with Bob, I decided to buy only the darker color and do the back wall first. But I promptly forgot and painted not only the back wall, but the doorway and adjoining side segment. Apparently there is no protecting a paint job from the likes of me.