Valerie – Page 56 – Valerie's Voice

Button Puzzle

As I was sitting in the sunshine the other day, sewing buttons on my son’s favorite shirt, I realized I get a lot of satisfaction repairing something that is worth repairing.

And I like puzzles.

This favorite shirt of his has been around awhile… so I started sewing buttons on this shirt before he was married. And since I have a jar of buttons, he still asks me if I can repair it.

This is the third time repairing it, and it reminded me of a book we would read over and over again to our boys when they were little called Hiram’s Red Shirt. It’s a story about a man who kept trying to patch his favorite red shirt until finally he had to buy a new one. I browsed through our bookshelves and found it, so now I can read it to the grandkids.

My story would read like this…there once was a favorite shirt with a button missing. I looked in my button jar and found a button similar to the buttons on the shirt so I sewed it on, and the shirt was ready to wear again.

My button jar…not the traditional mason jar.

A year or two later another button, or two, went missing. I will mention here – these buttons are not the ordinary dress shirt buttons and it’s amazing how many types of buttons there are in this world.

So, this time I used a button off the cuffs to replace the missing button from the buttoned placket in the front of the shirt. I used a different set of matching buttons for the cuffs…although not the same buttons, they looked similar to the original buttons, and since you don’t see the cuffs next to the placket it looked fine.

Another year or two goes by, and more buttons are broken or have gone missing. The shirt is still a favorite, is still in great shape, and is still worth repairing.

So, back to my button jar. (This is fun for me.) Two buttons are missing; one from the pocket and one from the placket. I take the button from the second pocket, sew it on the placket and then hunt for two similar buttons from my button jar to sew on the pockets. I succeed in finding two that look alike – and look similar to the original – and sew all three buttons on the shirt. It’s ready for the next go around.

Here’s hoping the repair will last another year or two. I think it may require a whole new set of buttons next time, but I have thoroughly enjoyed my button puzzle.

Ruby Red

Today was my mother’s birthday. She would have been 96 years old. She died 10 years ago, in March 2009.

Ruby.
I’m not sure the date of this photo, but I like it.
I noticed she has a flower in her hair.

I wrote this note to her for her birthday in 1997.

Dear Mom,

You are a very special person and you are my mother. Thank you for the gift of life. My life has been blessed in many ways and you have stood up for me many times along the way. I know you have always wanted what was best for me. It’s nice to have come from a stable home.

You have been through many hard times, losing your mom at a young age, losing a baby and then losing your husband at age 50. I’m sure you have suffered more than we know. You have become very strong through it all and have taught me to be strong.

You have always been surrounded by many friends and that’s a blessing. Thanks for modeling the importance of friendships.

I was proud of the house on McKinley Street. It was special knowing dad built it. You always kept it looking beautiful, as you did your townhouse and your apartment in the retirement center. You are great at keeping your house in order. I know I picked up your organizational skills. You are also a good cook. I don’t think I picked up that skill. I wish I could make a roast like you do.

I have pleasant memories of our driving and camping vacations and the great times up at the trailer on Farm Island Lake. Thank you for those opportunities to enjoy God’s creation.

I love God’s ideas of families and always enjoyed the Christmas Eve and Easter celebrations with the extended family. I am glad to have shared them with my cousins and grandparents. Thank you for participating in those get -togethers.

You’ve been a ***grand***grandmother. Thanks for loving and caring for our children and being so very supportive of them.

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you.

Ruby Red

I wrote this poem after she died in March 2009.

Red was her color
Ruby was her name
Never much recognition
Never much fame

But she was a faithful mother,
A grandmother, a friend
Loved and cared by many
Generous to the end.

She surrounded herself with beauty
Both natural and man made
She had a green thumb for growing,
An eye for things that stayed.

From the house on McKinley
To the apartment at Meadowbrook
She kept her place beautiful
It was always fun to look.

Her fun sense of adventure
Took her on many fine trips
And hours of playing bridge
Kept her mind sharp and crisp.

Being with family and friends
Made her most content
She had much joy in remembering
Those times were well spent.

So here’s to Ruby
Whose color was red
God blessed her life to 86
An active life she led.

Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver, an American poet, died yesterday at age 83. I have not read a lot of poetry. Some works I find difficult to understand, but there are many poems by Mary Oliver that I do like. I plan to reread her works. In fact, when I was looking online for information about her, I noticed one site suggested reading a poem a day by Mary Oliver. I may try that.

In the last few years I have been engaged in more poetry, especially through writings of two different friends. Just last week I went to my first poetry reading, where one of the above mentioned friends read her work, along with other poets. It was an enjoyable and enriching experience. And at times, I have dabbled in writing my own poetry.

In honor of Mary Oliver here is one poem always makes me smile (link here). It is from her book A Thousand Mornings.

“Foolishness? No, It’s Not.

Sometimes I spend all day trying to count the leaves on a single tree. To do this I have to climb branch by branch and write down the numbers in a little book. So I suppose, from their point of view, it’s reasonable that my friends say: what foolishness! She’s got her head in the clouds again.

But it’s not. Of course I have to give up, but by then I’m half crazy with the wonder of it — the abundance of the leaves, the quietness of the branches, the hopelessness of my effort. And I am in that delicious and important place, roaring with laughter, full of earth-praise.”
― Mary Oliver, A Thousand Mornings

Snow Angels

When our grandchildren moved to the Minnesota from Mozambique, Africa last month there was snow on the ground, thankfully. They were so excited to see snow. With our unusually warm January temperatures and no more snow fall since they arrived, I’m glad they had the chance to experience snow, even for a day. They made their first snow angels. I wrote the poem below, after our outing.

Snow angels
All bundled up
Almost unrecognizable
Skipping down the lane
Stopping to taste and see it is good
Noticing squirrels
And planes and dogs
Screaming with outdoor voices
Running, then stopping to fall in the snow
Beautiful snow angels
Disguised as grandchildren.

We are waiting for snow to make more snow angels, and a snowman! We have bought a scarf for the snowman. It is hanging on the coat tree…in anticipation. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Mary Poppins

Last week I went to the movie theater to see the 2018 Disney release “Mary Poppins Returns”. I wanted to see it on the big screen. It was well done – it had to be, to compete with the original movie “Mary Poppins” with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The sequel had a lot to live up to, but Emily Blunt, the actress who played Mary Poppins, did a good job, along with all the other actors and actresses. It was magical.

The first “Mary Poppins” was released in 1964. I would have turned 11 years old that year. I remember I had a birthday party and three friends went with me to see “Mary Poppins”. Of course we saw it on the big screen, at the Hollywood Theater in NE Minneapolis. All movies were on the big screen at that time. The idea of watching a movie at home was unheard of.

What I remember most about the party is a gift I received. After the movie we went back at my house to eat cake and ice cream and open presents. One of the girls gave me an umbrella – which was clever of her, and memorable for me. For Mary Poppins, her umbrella was magical…and now I had a magical umbrella too.

Interestingly, this is the only birthday party I remember having as a child.

The Sixties

The Peace Sign, brought to light for me in the 60’s.

My husband and I signed up for a class through Elder Collegium entitled The 1960’s – A Shared Experience. A friend of ours teaches the class, and has taught it several times. We always thought it sounded intriguing, so now was the time to sign up.

The 1960’s was a tumultuous decade, and the hippie generation. I was just 7 years old when it began and ten years later I was in high school. Sorry to say, I was pretty oblivious as to what was happening around me at that time, outside my own little idyllic (perceived?) world of childhood memories living in a safe, wonderful neighborhood. Now I am ready, and excited, to learn more about this time period.

The class is interactive. After introductions during the first session, our task was to each share a few memories about how the 1960’s impacted us. Of course, there are the top events that we all remember from that decade… the assassinations, the civil rights movement, the Viet Nam War, and the music!!! The words people used in describing their experiences brought back even more memories for me as we shared around the room. For instance, the draft, Control Data and the first super computer, the Labor Temple in Minneapolis, roller rinks, hitch hiking, the Twist, the space program, muscle cars and so much more.

This photo of me in a field of daisies was taken in Upper Michigan in 1963. My mother had it enlarged and framed for us. Four years later, in 1967, I wore a daisy in my hair in San Francisco.

When it was my turn, I told my experience of being a flower child. I rode in an airplane for the first time 1967 and I was 14 years old. I flew with my mother to visit her sister in San Francisco. (A side note: at that time you were expected to dress up on airplanes.) The song San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) was a popular song at the time, so I put a daisy in my hair when we landed in San Francisco. Not really knowing what it meant, I was a flower child for a short time! The class laughed (and no, I don’t have a picture).

I look forward to the next 8 weeks…learning history in a way that is meaningful.

Socks and Such

Last week I was able to attend a gym session for toddlers with my 20-month-old granddaughter. It was a delight to see her playing in the room full of appropriate gym gear. There was organized time with an instructor, along with casual playtime. During the guided activities moms (and some grandmas) and children sat around in a circle on the floor entirely covered in gym mats. Of course we had to take off our shoes off to walk into the room.

My mended socks with even more holes. Tossed out.

I do have a drawer full of wonderful socks. I also received two new pairs this Christmas, so why did I put on my old SmartWool socks that… just last week… I mended the toe? (There were a couple other holes in the back that I didn’t bother with.) I am not sure why – when I dressed that morning, for spending time with my granddaughter, I figured I’d have slippers on and she would not see the holes in my socks! I did not know we would be going to the gym. Well, needless to say I was a little embarrassed when we all had to take off our shoes to go into the gym room. Hopefully the young moms did not notice. I will never know. But I did throw those socks away!

And the day continued…

That afternoon, when I got home, I was working on my computer and accepted a download that I shouldn’t have, which caused a few problems that have since been corrected. That was not fun…but that was not all…

I made a great home-made pizza for dinner, and while taking it out of the oven it flipped over, and all the ingredients, including pizza sauce, spilled to the bottom of the oven and on the oven door. What a mess! We turned the oven off, closed the door, found leftovers in the frig (and cleaned the oven a couple days later!)

At that point, I settled in for a cup of tea and an early bedtime. It was fun to spend time with my granddaughter that day, but it was time to put the day to rest…thankfully each day begins anew.

I found some fun quotes on Pinterest….

Every day is a new beginning. Take a deep breathe, smile, and start again.

Every day is a chance to start over.

Amen!

Eyes to See

I am thankful for eyes to see. I think of the alternative, being blind, and wonder what it must be like, to not see all the beautiful colors God has created, like morning sunrises. In the last couple of years I have had some special care for my own eyes and I am grateful for eye doctors who know how to care for our eyes.

In January 2016 I had surgery in my left eye for a macular hole. “A macular hole is a small break in the macula, located in the center of the eye’s light-sensitive tissue called the retina. The macula provides the sharp, central vision we need for reading, driving, and seeing fine detail.”* This problem was found by my eye doctor during a annual, routine eye exam. My wonderful eye doctor, Dr. O’Neil whom I have seen yearly since 1994, is going to retire in 2020. It will be hard to say good-bye to him. I trust him completely. (BTW- he thinks it’s great that he’s retiring, from being an eye doctor, in 2020!)

When Dr. O’Neil noticed this macular hole he referred me to a retina specialist. What I found interesting is that before I had this problem, I had no idea there were retina specialists, and so many, right here in the twin cities. My surgery was done in Edina, and I had anesthesia. Thankfully, it was successful, according to the ophthalmologist who performed the surgery.

The recovery process from this macular hole surgery was interesting…one has to keep their head down for 2-5 days. Fortunately I needed only two days. We rented a special chair – imagine a massage chair – where my head rested on a bar as I looked down to the floor and sat on the seat with knees resting on a lower bar. It was very helpful, and fairly comfortable. I could read, listen to books on tape, and use a mirror to watch TV. (On a side note, a friend came over and read children’s books to me.)

October 2018 was my last follow-up appointment for the macular hole and my left eye is back to its normal self…but cataracts are coming.

My eye (old) after the removal of a cyst.

This week I had another eye procedure, this time on my right eye. I had a cyst on my eyelid that was interfering with my tear duct, so it had to be removed. Again, I was grateful to have access to healthcare and eye specialists that can correct these problems. The cyst removal was performed right here in Northfield, in the specialist’s office. From the anesthesia injection it looks like I have a black eye, but the procedure went well and all is good.

I’m so grateful for doctors and specialists that can preform surgeries and procedures that help us retain our eyesight.

I’m so grateful for the gift of sight.

*National Eye Institute

Happy New Year!

Auld Lang Syne – this familiar song has words I’ve never really understood even though I hear it every year… A little research tells me Auld Lange Syne means “time gone by” and it is a Scottish tune written by poet Robert Burns in 1788.

In church on Sunday we sang different lyrics to this familiar tune, the title of the song being part of the chorus which reads:

Chorus
All glory be to Christ our King!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing
All glory be to Christ!

Click here to hear the entire song: All Glory Be to Christ our King

Happy 2019!

Como Zoo

It had been awhile since I visited the Como Park Zoo. I don’t remember the last time. We took our boys there when they were young, and I remember we had a winter picnic there one year. I have been back to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory since then, but the date escapes me.

Growing up in NE Minneapolis, going to the Como Zoo was a popular place for field trips at my elementary school. I remember the cages were too small for the animals. Thankfully, they have changed that. I also remember a very large, and very old, tortoise roaming the grounds. According to Como Zoo history posted online, Toby, a Galapagos tortoise, came to live at Como Zoo in 1958. Small children were allowed to ride on Toby’s back. Toby is the tortoise I remember. In 1974 Toby was moved to the Honolulu Zoo, where he still lives today!

Monkey’s are always fun to see at the zoo.

Two other cute “monkeys” – Ezra and Zoey

Last week, before Christmas, we took our grandchildren to visit the Como Zoo. It is a nice size, not too big, and it is free. We went to see the monkeys first – a request from our granddaughter. We continued to walk around looking at the other animals including reindeer…how appropriate to see reindeer this time of year. It is fun to see the animals through the eyes of a child…

The beautiful poinsettia display in the conservatory.

We took time at the end of our visit to go into the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory. I particularly wanted to see the sunken garden room which was decked out with red poinsettias, white paper whites, and purple lavender…it was warm, smelled good, and was beautiful to look at.

Lovely to see fresh flowers in the sunken garden.

We all enjoyed wandering through the warm displays of plants in the conservatory. It is a special place, especially this time of year when the weather outside is frightful…

I’m thankful for St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department who maintains the Como Zoo …I will not wait so long to visit it again.