An interaction with Thomas Jefferson and Friends

On Saturday  afternoon Bob and I and two other couples (who we met through Greenville Newcomers) went to see Thomas Jefferson at a Chautaugua event. This is interactive theater with “History that won’t stay in the book”.

I know  last summer the Chautaugua had many events near Greenville but life got complicated and we could not attend.

There were about 500 people of all ages at the performance with a repeat performance later in the day.   The Thomas Jefferson actor is supposed to be the best in the country and performs at old Williamsburg.  His name is Bill Barker. My knowledge of history is not good, but getting better, and for no particular reason I have  focused more on SC and Civil War history so it was  a new history about the founding of our country when Mr. Jefferson talked about George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams etc.  He was a great performer and stayed in character so well.  The setting was a conversation while he was posing for a portrait by the great portrait artist of that time Charles Wilson Peale.  This summer they have events with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Emily Dickinson and Dr. Seuss. I hope we can attend at least a couple of these events.

After the performance the six of us had a delicious Thai dinner at Lemon Grass.  Of course the performance and food were wonderful but the real power of the day was getting to know two wonderful couples (that live close to us) even better.

We have friends we can do stuff with!  How great is that?

Things your burgular won’t tell you

Things Your Burglar Won’t Tell You:

1.  Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste … and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don’t let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it’s set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It’s not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It’s raining, you’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather..

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I’ll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don’t take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.

12. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not bolted down, I’ll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alar m system. If you’re reluctant to leave your TV on while you’re out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

16.. I’ll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he’ll stop what he’s doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn’t hear it again, he’ll just go back to what he was doing. It’s human nature.

17. I’m not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

18. I love looking in your windows. I’m looking for signs that you’re home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I’d like. I’ll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.

20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation.

21. If you don’t answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.
Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs crimedoctor.com; and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.

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Protection for you and your home

If you don’t have a gun, here’s a more humane way to wreck someone’s evil plans for you.  (I guess I can get rid of the baseball bat.)

Wasp Spray

A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection.  She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you.  The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn’t attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection… Thought this was interesting and might be of use…
Wasp And Hornet Spray

On the heels of a break in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self defense experts have a tip that could save your life.

Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School .  For decades, he’s suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed.

Glinka says, “This is better than anything I can teach them.”

Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray.  The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says, “spray the culprit in the eyes”.  It’s a tip he’s given to students for decades. It’s also one he wants everyone to hear. If you’re looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray.

“That’s going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out.”

Maybe even save a life.

School closing Dilemma

Bad weather in this part of the country brought to light another challenge that I did not understand before.   On Monday Greenville County closed all the schools because of the black ice in parts of the county.  The problem is some areas are very bad and some towns are having no problems.

Greenville County is the largest county in SC, 790 sq. miles.   Hennepin County in MN is 557 sq. miles.  Imagine living in Hennepin County and having to make decisions with some of the weather is like Minneapolis and some is like Duluth?  Even 3-4 miles here can make a big difference in road conditions.  Since there are no sanding trucks or plows you wait until the sun comes out. The schools want to make sure ALL students are safe so no school.

Ice and snow storm

We experienced our first ice storm this weekend.  Just as predicted it started sleeting at 4 p.m. on Friday and kept on all night and all day Saturday and Sat. night we got snow.   Fifteen miles from us up the mountain and across the border into NC it was much worse.  Most business and schools started shutting down at 3 on Friday. Everything is covered with about an inch of ice.  No newspaper the last two days.  We actually got an email saying the paper might be late and they expected the paper to be delivered if it could be done safely.   That was not the case.   We did get UPS shipment and mail on Saturday.  Our dish TV went out for awhile Sat. morning until Bob knocked some of the ice off the dish.

Today, Sunday, it is 40 and it is melting.  Since there are no salt trucks or sanding trucks or snow plows you just wait.  I think NC and TN mountains probably have another day or two before they thaw because it is colder 2000-6000 ft.   Now the danger for our area is with all the melt and water that it will freeze over the roads again tonight because it is supposed to get down into the 20’s.   About 10,000 people in Greenville lost power but we are just fine.  I think Bob is secretly a little disappointed he didn’t get to try out the backup generator we have.

I’m back

I can’t believe it has been over a month since my last post. Did you miss me?  As you can guess I haven’t been sitting around doing  nothing. We are having our first ice/sleet storm here so frozen in.  We have power but the roads are glare ice.  Ice is covering our Dish TV so signal is not very good.   That makes it a good day to start my blog again.

Here is a quick summary of the last month:

• Christmas with family and friends in Charleston.  Lots of pens given for Christmas presents.
• Quiet New Years Eve at home
• Early January an overnight trip to Atlanta to attend the funeral of my dear friend Delorese Ambrose.
• Started weekly yoga class
• Fay doing water aerobics and Bob swimming 3 times a week
• Started weekly SC history class at Furman (really fun)
• Joined Greenville Commerce Club (you will hear much more about this) and attended several of their events.
• Bob and Fay started watching a series of college level  lectures by the Teaching Company on Values and Ethics.  We are half done and what a fun challenge it is to learn new words and concepts.   We previously took courses on  Peoples and Cultures of the World and the Psychology of Human Behavior.   We have not watched Science and Religion yet and can’t wait to start it.
• Bob finished his workshop, put in the floor in the last room on the lower level and is putting in the floor molding as I type this.
• Took 20 hours of classes on wood turning at Greenville Woodworkers Guild.
• Working on a new website for wood turning and selling some of our hand made items.
• Here are a few it the items Bob and I have been working on.

Hope your new year is off to a good start.   Ours is.

A holiday story – Have a great holiday

**True Story of Rudolph**
 A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.  His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing.

Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer.

Little Barbara couldn’t understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad’s eyes and asked, “Why isn’t Mommy just like everybody else’s Mommy?” Bob’s jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears.

Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob’s life. Life always had to be different for Bob.
 
Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he’d rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he was blessed with his little  girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn’s bout with cancer stripped  them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced  to live in a two-room apartment in he Chicago slums. Evelyn died  just days before Christmas in 1938.
 
Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn’t even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn’t buy a gift, he was determined a make one – a storybook! Bob had created a character in his own mind and told the animal’s story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling.

Who was the character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose.

Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day. But the story doesn’t end there.
 
The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print,_ Rudolph the  Red-Nosed Reindeer_ and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an  updated version of the book.

 In an unprecedented gesture of  kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from  the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story  doesn’t end there either. 
 
 Bob’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to  Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists  as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing  cowboy, Gene Autry. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was released  in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than  any other Christmas song, with the exception of “White Christmas.”
 
The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May
learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn’t so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.

                      *_MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009 _*

Wasn’t that nice?   A bit of trivia on reindeer.   Only female reindeer have their antlers in the winter so Rudolph really needs to be have her name updated!

More pens

We are getting a little fancier.  Notice new shapes and groove cut in walnut pen.  Been busy with parties, holiday lights and shopping.  Have to wrap presents now so will right more later but wanted to show you these because we are so proud of them.

From left to right we have maple, cherry, mahogany and walnut.

12 days of Christmas

My friend Janet sent this to me.  Knowing how important symbols were in this time period I expect there is some truth in the explanation. 

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won’t come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,  Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit–Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,  Faithfulness,  Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol…so pass it on if you wish.’

Tanya In Charge

Tanya has been bugging the heck out of me this morning.   Much more so then usual.   I finally decided to test out my theory of why she was such a pest.  I have had this theory for a few weeks but never acted on.   My theory is that she has decided that she will only sleep in the bed if it is made (or if we are in it).   Yep.  It’s true.  I threw the bedspread over the bed, put kitty on the bed and she curled up in her usual spot and promptly went to sleep.  That was hours ago.  Now I have peace and quiet.  Maybe she likes the satin feel of the bedspread more then the the soft fluffy blanket?  Maybe it is satin during the day and soft and fluffy at night?

Fascinating History Facts from 1500’s

Thank you cousin Larry for sharing these wonderful tidbits of history with me.

A Fun History Lesson

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery…….if you had to do this to survive you were “Piss Poor”
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot………..they “didn’t have a pot to piss in” and were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.  However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor, hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women, then the children, and finally, last of all, the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water!”

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence…

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying, “Dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren’t you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot… They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, “bring home the bacon.” They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait to see if they would wake up, hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer…

And that’s the truth…Now, whoever said History was boring!!!

So . . . get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with a friend like I just did!!!