Does this man look 70? The question is rhetorical, because I already know he doesn't. He was lucky enough to inherit genes from his father, who was also very young-looking until he got ill in his late 70's. Mr. kenju was born on this day in 1941, making me three months older than he is. From now until October 30th, we are the same age, but after my birthday, I will be "a year older than he", or so he says. Considering the bad stroke he had 3 and a half years ago we are very lucky that he still draws breath and has his faculties (well...most of them...lol)



A side note:  Thanks to each and every one of you for the nice comments you left concerning my sixth blogging anniversary. It confirms my thinking about bloggers; you are a wonderful bunch of people!!

Birthday Brunch at Brio

Eggs Oscar has asparagus under poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, and this one has spinach and artichokes as well as bacon and red peppers.  I heartily recommend it!  Brio also has the best Italian 'French' toast I've ever eaten, with mascarpone cheese and three kids of berries. You should try it!

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Thanks to everyone for the many nice messages yesterday concerning my birthday. Between the blog and Facebook, to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement! So many lovely people saying such nice things about me! I'm trying to be humble about it.....lol. As you see above, I was taken to Brio by my younger daughter. It is currently my favorite place to have lunch. Afterward we went back to her home to watch her giant TV, but it wasn't long before her dad and I fell asleep. All it takes is a full stomach and a recliner - and some times the full stomach isn't necessary!

Our city doesn't specify which night to trick-or-treat; consequently we could have children coming two nights in a row. I really wish they would pick a night and stick with it. As a child in my hometown, trick-or-treat was always on the 30th.  I lucked out since it was my birthday, and of course I told everyone I came in contact with - and usually got an extra handful of candy for my efforts.  For the past two years, we've been invited to a Halloween party, and have not given out treats at home. This year I opted not to participate; not because I'm stingy, but because a certain mr. kenju cannot control himself when candy is in the house. I was sure to be left with extras and I didn't want to have to fight the urge to eat it myself or to fight with him about his urges. So, we are sitting in the dark, with the porch light out, hoping that no one rings the bell. Bah humbug!

All in all, it was a nice, calm, quiet birthday - just the kind I like. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and it was very good this time. The only place we can order to have food delivered is not always consistent with quality or taste, so we were pleasantly surprised. It was a good ending to a pleasant day, and that's all you can ask for, right?

            Happy Halloween!

A Reflection on Turning Seventy

You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.

Oliver Goldsmith, writer and physician (1730-1774)

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Did you ever hear the expression "We get too soon old and too late smart?" It is usually spoken in a Pennsylvania Dutch or German accent. That's sort of how I feel about reaching seventy. Why couldn't I have been smarter sooner?  The answer could be....you have to have lived long and experienced life in all its aspects before you can achieve the wisdom that common sense imparts along with book-learning. Not that I have achieved wisdom, mind you, but I am a mite smarter now that I was at 16 (and 26.) 

Why are we so impatient to experience everything that life has to offer before we are smart enough to know how to handle it?  If I knew the answer to that, I could save many a parent a lot of worry and despair, and a lot of young people a good bit of wasted motion.  Plus, if at age 16 (or thereabouts) we knew just how fast those years were going to fly by, we might slow down a bit and savor them to the fullest, instead of hoping, wishing and seeking more experiences, more people, more things or more money.

Being seventy has advantages, although it may take me a while to think of them...LOL. The main one is that you are alive - which is certainly preferable to the alternative. The disadvantage that I notice most is when my children treat me as if I might become an invalid at any given moment. Of course that could happen, I just don't want to be reminded of it so often. And while my stamina is not what it was ten years ago, I don't have one foot on the banana peel either.

Growing older means accepting that we have limitations now, as opposed to the limitless options we have as younger people. What I have always wanted and hoped to do was grow old with grace; accepting the gray hair, age spots, spare tire and whatever else life decides to give me. That doesn't mean we can't fight them a little, with exercise and good food choices if nothing else. But it is very odd to me to see a woman my age on TV who has been pulled, tucked and plumped every which way by a plastic surgeon; who has no interesting lines on her face to show that she has actually lived life - not just coasted through it.

There was a video on Facebook today that I want to share with you You can find it here:  Dancing Under the Gallows".  The woman, Alice, is now almost 107 and plays Scrabble everyday along with her beloved piano. She was spared during the Holocaust because she was a concert pianist. What a wise, wise woman (with such an active mind) - whom all could emulate to good ends. One of her quotes went something like this..."I don't hate anyone. Hatred breeds only hatred."  Nothing could be truer, and I wish that all people who evidence hatred today could see the outcome of it.She is (to me) an excellent example of growing old with Grace...and yes, it should be capitalized.

As for the quote at the beginning:   In my life, I have not always set a good example  - even though I sometimes preached a good sermon with my lips. I hope, in the future, to be setting a good example for my children and grandchildren through my way of living and not through my lips.

Happy Birthday,Millie!

A well-known elder blogger is having a fairly significant birthday today. Millie, I hope your day is wonderful and that the year to come brings you many joys. 

Here are some pretty things to look at; a little bird told me you like sunflowers, so I stole that photo just for you! I took the butterfly photo on Monday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Please go tell Millie Happy Birthday (no need to comment here, unless you want to.)

The Birthday Bash

was very nice. We had lunch at The Weathervane restaurant in A Southern Season (specialty foods store) in Chapel Hill, otherwise known as Blue Heaven in these parts.

The camera is messed up again, and I have no idea how it happened. I'll have to take it back to the camera shop soon. I took 5-6 pix and only 3 of them showed up on the memory card, and those were dark and grainy. They'll peg me as that "old lady who can't keep her camera settings correct."

One of our daughters, our son and his family and the two of us gathered in celebration of mr. kenju's birthday. The fare ranged from broccoli and cheese quiche with butternut squash soup, to eggs Benedict, Caesar salad with grilled chicken, a breakfast quesadilla, pancakes, a fried-green tomato sandwich and my plate - which was French toast with berry and fig compote. It was very tasty, and they serve some of the best decaf coffee I've ever had.

As much as we like that place, I don't think we'll ever go back on Saturday again. It was crawling with what felt like hundreds of people, making it hard to navigate the aisles of the shop. They were out of my favorite chocolate bars with sea salt, but mr. kenju found his favorite almond bark. Our daughter in law had never been there before (which is odd, since she went to UNC for both her undergrad and grad degrees), so we walked around and checked it all out. Since I have posted photos of that store before, I didn't try to take any today. They wouldn't have turned out anyway, so it's just as well.

Thanks to everyone who left birthday greetings for mr. kenju yesterday - we both appreciated them!

It's Millie's Birthday!!

Millie Garfield, the intrepid blogger, turns 84 today. Please join me in wishing her a very happy birthday, won't you?

Go here.



(This is post # 1,000!!)

Soon To Be Extinct In America

Today is mr. kenju's birthday! NO, I don't think he is about to become extinct, although he is like a dinosaur in many ways.....LOL.....Happy Birthday, Mr. kenju! ::{::}:::{:::}:: Here's another batch of information to perhaps upset your day - our ways are fast disappearing. Common Sense and some research indicate that there are: 24 THINGS ABOUT TO BECOME EXTINCT IN AMERICA 24. Yellow Pages This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodel Factors like an acceleration of the print 'fade rate' and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years. 23. Classified Ads The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craig'slist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them. 22. Movie Rental Stores While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already. 21. Dial-up Internet Access Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access. 20. Phone Landlines According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells. 19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Maryland's icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first did a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame. 18. VCRs For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well. 17. Ash Trees In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They've killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk. 16. Ham Radio Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement. 15. The Swimming Hole Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. '20/20' reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they'll sue. And that's exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post 'Keep out!' signs. 14. Answering Machines The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to No 20 our list -- the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It's logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines. \ 13. Cameras That Use Film It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment. 12. Incandescent Bulbs Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years. 11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys Bowling Balls. US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos. 10. The Milkman According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles, by 1963, it was about a third and by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed. 9. Hand-Written Letters In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter? 8. Wild Horses It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia. 7. Personal Checks According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments -- for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers' recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003). 6. Drive-in Theaters During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn't much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones. 5. Mumps & Measles Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded. 4. Honey Bees Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. 'Colony Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers -- and along with it, their livelihood. 3. News Magazines and TV News While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that. 2. Analog TV According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% -- or 13 million individuals -- who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you'll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital. 1. The Family Farm Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn't yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. FARMS are small Family Farms. Both interesting and saddening, isn't it? Can you think of anything else that is facing extinction?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Now.......what will you give me for my birthday? (Virtually, of course.)

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NOTE: Thanks to all of you who left birthday wishes for me yesterday!!

I certainly don't expect you to do it again today.

A Surprise Party & Another Cartoon

Some people just don't understand, do they?

I'm starting to see more and more references to blogging, in magazines, newspapers, cartoons and on TV. Are you?

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As you know, we were away last weekend. There was an important purpose to the trip; my birth mother's family was giving her a surprise (early) birthday party. She turned 85 yesterday. I must say that they planned it very well - she was indeed surprised and pleased. Everyone they invited showed up, plus a few more. The guests numbered about 48-50, and included some people she had not seen in 30 years. They were my birth father's nephews; the sons of two of his brothers.

We were asked to come early, so that we could all be in place and shout "Happy Birthday" when she got there. Mr. kenju, our younger daughter and I entered the room knowing only two of the people there. Martha's adopted daughter pointed out who some of the people were, and told us whom to talk to in order to learn more about the family. One of the nephews had done the family geneaology, so he was the "go to" guy. It was strained at first, but little by little we began to talk, and were soon exchanging contact information. I was interested to learn that they live in NC, most of them on the coast, and are involved in the building industry. To think that I have visited their towns, perhaps passing right by them, and not knowing we were related, is eerie, as you might imagine. The genealogist has already emailed me and sent photos of his family, and I hope to soon meet them, and the families of the other nephews.

I also met two women cousins on my birth mother's side, and one of them has offered to send me some photos she found in a trunk located in the family home. They are of my birth mother's family and my birth father. I really hope she will send the photos, as I would love to see them. I have spent a lot of time going over in my mind the people and our conversations that day. It is all a blur, really, and too much to process in a short time. One funny thing happened: a tall, thin woman walked up to mr. kenju before Martha got there and asked him who he was (meaning his reason for being at the party). He answered her and said my wife is Martha's daughter. She looked at him pointedly, and fairly shouted....."But, Martha doesn't have a daughter."

He had asked me prior to the party what he should say if someone asked him that, and I told him to tell the truth. I thought that everyone there would know about me, but apparently there were at least two who didn't.

So after she answered him, he called out to me and as I approached them, he said "Judy, tell this woman who you are." I said my name and then...."and Martha is my mother." She looked at me with great big eyes, said....."But, but...."; turned on her heel and walked away without saying anything else!

Later in the day, I saw her speaking with Martha in a fairly animated manner, and I can only imagine that conversation. I'd like to have heard.......LOL. Martha is very honest now about having had me, but that woman was one who just hadn't heard the news. Poor thing. You could see the bewilderment on her face.

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You know how my cat Storm loves to lie on or near my shoes? I discovered when we returned home, that while we were gone, she had been sleeping on my bedroom shoes in our closet floor.

They were mashed flat! Maybe I should have left a bathrobe on the floor for her.

All I Wanna' Do Is.......

Maybe it's the heat, but it seems that all I want to do lately is sleep and eat (and blog). I went to bed Friday night about 1am and slept until 8am, and took a nap Saturday afternoon that lasted 4 hours! I was appalled when I woke up and looked at the clock! It was time to start dinner. I had all sorts of plans for cleaning the house, but they fell through. It could be I need a little caffeine to jolt me awake.

The temperature has hovered around 95-100* for the last 4-5 days, with some days having high humidity and others not so bad in that respect. I used to be able to not only survive the heat, but thrive in it - but no more. Apparently when you reach a certain age, your thermostat decides it cannot be controlled anymore. At least that is my experience with it. How about you?

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In less than 3 weeks, I will meet many of the people in my birth family. I cannot tell you how surreal it makes me feel. My birth mother is being given a surprise birthday party and my family and I are invited. Only Mr. kenju and Miss kenju will accompany me; we are told there will be some of my birth father's siblings and their children - my cousins - there. I have met my birth mother, and one of her adopted children, but no one else in the family. I am not sure how nervous I will be, but if the way I feel now is any indication, I will shake, rattle and roll. I don't know if they are aware I will be there, but I hope that some of them will bring photos of my father when he was young. I have only seen one of him, and it was too dark to make out much detail. Can you imagine how strange this is? To be meeting family members at this age is really odd. I am at once excited - and scared. Wish me well.

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Wednesday is our 44th anniversary. I had no idea when we married that it would last this long, and there have been many days when that was not a sure thing - but we have persevered through thin and thick and thin again - and I really think we'll make it to 50 years, if we live long enough.

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The vagaries of the internet and this practice of blogging we find ourselves in can bring good surprises - and welcome ones - to our inboxes. I got a very nice email from a woman named Jessica, who had found my blog while searching for information on a brass doorknob in the shape of a hand. I happened to have it on my blog recently (it came to me in an email, as it did to her). She stayed to read a while and sent a nice email with links to things she thought I might enjoy. Indeed I did! She has introduced me to this artist/woodworker, who makes the most interesting works of art - which also happen to be useful. His name is John Cederquist, and you should go*gle him and see his fabulous works. I had to skip around a bit to several links, as none of them seemed to have more than one photo.

Another thing she sent was the link to this photo of an amazing arch of books in Paris. And her own flickr photos are wonderful, especially her quilts. Enjoy!

Dance, Eye Shadow and a Birthday

The reason for this photo will become clear in the third paragraph.

I watched the finale of "Dance Wars" last night; what a waste of two hours that was. Filled with flashbacks from the first 4-5 episodes, plus interviews with Carrie Ann and Bruno which proved to be embarrassingly repetitive (and boring). To top it off, the wrong team won, IMO.

During the show, they announced the new contestants on the next series of "Dancing With the Stars", and my reaction to the list was "ho-hum". The only 2 worth mentioning are Marlee Matlin and Kristi Yamaguchi. Kristi, married to a Hurricanes Hockey player, lives near us and has been seen shopping at stores around here. Mr. kenju saw her at a local restaurant recently, but I've never had the pleasure. She was a favorite of mine in the skating world and I am sure to root for her in the dance show as well. At least she will look good in the outfits. Also in the show is Priscilla Presley, age 62. Can she keep up with the younger ones? Kenny was heard to wonder if she will object to wearing skimpy costumes.....LOL. We will see.

This question came to me during the show....."Who in the world thought it was a good idea to put blue eye shadow on Kenny Mayne?" He looked surreal! And another thing....."Why does Lisa Rinna think her lips need to be the size of a grouper (see photo above) before she stops adding collagen?"

Note to Blogger: You would do us all a big favor if you would enable click and drag for photos, so they could be placed exactly where we want them to be in the post!!

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Exactly 42 years ago today I gave birth to our first child; our son, our joy, who made us burst with pride and pleasure. I remember it as if it were today - a cold, rainy night....a quick trip to the hospital (mr. kenju ran red lights and drove faster than he should have). I cannot believe it has been 42 years, and I wouldn't take a trillion dollars for him. Happy Birthday, Sonny Boy!