We worked on this shaped puzzle this holiday. We are really enjoying what for us is a new kind of jigsaw puzzle. My husband bought this at a puzzle store in Shipshewana. Because it is 1000 pieces, it was challenging yet enjoyable. I was constantly discovering critters in the picture: moths, damsel fly, butterflies, humming bird, ladybug. There are enough color "zones" to allow different people to concentrate on specific areas. The red cart was the hardest part.
I have been overseeing the Grace Village Library for over 7 years; next February would have been my eighth year. I worked on the library committee for 6 months before taking over management of the library with my husband. (He discontinued his efforts after 2 years). During the 6 months on the committee I worked extensively on the LibraryThing input project, sometimes putting in 5 hours a day 3-4 days a week. I see that data base as my biggest accomplishment. Our 4,000 books are now searchable by author, title, series, subject headings, keywords. You can even browse the "shelves" by book cover. Sadly, few residents use LibraryThing.
I have been growing weary of some of the tasks. Now that I have pelvic and back problems, I can no longer haul off unwanted donations and weeded books to donation sites; too heavy. The past few months I have been putting them on the book truck and taking them to Give 'N Take table, but I know the housekeeper who is in charge of that table is not happy when I fill it with books because she has to get rid of any that the residents don't take.
Right now the pc is unable to connect properly with the wifi so there is no internet. It has been almost 2 weeks since I talked with the administrator in charge of computer service. People can use the Telekin computer, which is actually easier to use but novel to most so they avoid it. Yesterday the monitor of the pc was inoperable; users can still use Microsoft Office 2010 and play games on the pc, but not without a working monitor. I spent time checking on cables, etc. and finally got it to display. I also cleaned the grime (including food stains) off of the Telekin keyboard and mouse. These are the types of things I don't like doing. As of December 1st, they will be somebody else's problems.
I liked seeing the books we added to the library. When I received monetary donations I even actively bought used books to fill fiction series gaps and an occasional new book. I think it is a diverse collection that seems to meet the users' preferences, especially the fiction section.
My replacement is the man who was librarian before my husband and I took over. He will be assisted by the lady who did shelving and bulletin boards for me; she will now take over "cataloging" (adding to LibraryThing) and end processing (labels, stamping) while a new volunteer who has already started will take over shelving.
I spent some time with the new librarian 2 weeks ago. From his comments, I can see making decisions about which donated books to keep and which books to discard to make shelf room is going to be his biggest challenge. He asked me, "How do you know which to keep and which to get rid of?" My new shelver is an avid fiction reader so maybe he will get input from her. Other than obvious condition problems, a librarian has to use his/her best judgment. That is not something I can teach him; he will have to learn through experience, just doing it.
I am looking forward to some more free time and not having to go over to the main campus in winter cold and snow. I can stay in my cozy condo working on jigsaw puzzles or reading.
I received another email from AncestryDNA with refined results. They claim that the techniques for determining ethnic/region percentages have changed to give better more defined breakdowns.
Now my results show 56% Great Britain (specifically England) and 44% Germanic Region which includes Holland. I don't know what happened to the Norwegian element from previous analysis, but it has been dropped. Since I know from family history that most of my relatives came from England, Holland, and Germany there are no surprises in these results.
Those TV commercials with people being excited about new things they have learned about their families don't really apply to me now. The Norwegian was a surprise, but now I apparently don't have any of that ethnicity. I am glad I did the test because it made me focus more on my maternal grandmother's branch and realize that it was mostly British. I had been focused on Germany and Holland. So I am your run-of-the-mill Anglo-Saxon.
We ate lunch at Burger King today. Our whole purpose of going there was to try the meatless burger. At Burger King, the Impossible Burger is available as a whopper.
I thought it tasted like beef and was textured like meat; the only difference to me was that the meat seemed a little dry. I added some ketchup to the bun.
The liner on our tray gave nutritional information on the backside for Burger King products. The Impossible Whopper has not yet been added to that list. I have read elsewhere that most of these meatless burgers are heavy in sodium. But since I got the "meal" and was eating French fries, I guess sodium wasn't an issue for me today.
The meatless burger cost $1 more than the regular burger. It would be nice to see some coupons to use on this product. We don't eat fast-food burgers much except when traveling; then we often stop at McDonald's. I have seen some frozen patties at Kroger; I think there may be some frozen "crumbles" as well for tacos and things like that. Right now the price rather than taste or quality would keep me from using these products often.
My husband and I watched a documentary on PBS last week about The Violins of Hope. The show shared about the violins, the restorer, and the 2015 debut performance in the United States in Cleveland in a synagogue remodeled to be a concert hall.
Amnon Weinstein's father Moshe escaped to Palestine, leaving behind all his family (about 400 relatives) who later perished in the Holocaust. Once he was established in Tel Aviv, he opened a violin shop where he built and restored string instruments, primarily violins. Amnon worked with his father and eventually took over the store. He had a few people bring in violins that had survived the Holocaust either in the camps or left behind in the ghettos. Most of them did not want the instruments back, they just wanted them not to be destroyed.
Pretty soon word of mouth spread his mission of preserving these violins. Most needed extensive repair and restoration. They had once been treasures in their communities, played at weddings and other events, and passed down through the generations. Some were basic, some were fine violins with intricate insets of the Star of David. They piled up in storage in his shop.
A vision of what these violins could become arose in Amnon. After years of painstaking restoration work by him and his son, he launched his dream. The now playable violins would give voice to their owners who had perished. Some he had extensive background on, others because of their age he knew had been part of European Jewish communities during the Hitler years. The violins also were a way to remember and honor his own perished relatives.
The documentary told of how orchestras were formed. The Jews who could play were saved from death in the concentration camps, but at a great price. They survived physically, but at great torment to their souls. They played twice a day as the train cars arrived, serenading the people who were marched off to the gas chambers.
Often they arose and went along side the victims. One violin in Amnon's group belonged to a musician who finally laid down his instrument and joined the line of condemned people. He could no longer bear the part he played in their demise. Suicide of violinists was not uncommon. The Nazis were masters at destroying bodies and souls. However, the music allowed the Jews to cling to their humanity and to their community bonds.
For those who survived the camp, when they moved to permanent residences, they often put the violin in the attic. To play it brought back all of the horrific images of the camps. The music haunted them. One of the families who brought such a violin to Amnon, gathered in Israel to hear his daughter-in-law play it. Its owner was deceased, but his violin gave his voice back to his family.
Amnon's dream came to fruition. The violins have been played by youth orchestras, symphonic orchestras, professional musicians. Many communities have used them to educate people, especially the post-war generations, of the Holocaust. The violin voices continue to offer the hope of healing and understanding.
Fort Wayne, Indiana, is now one of the host communities. They have displays, lectures, concerts in many venues. You can see the schedule at the website. Be sure to click on the tab about violin stories to see some of the instruments and learn about the musicians. Some of the displays run thru December 1st.
Sometimes life can throw you some curve balls. Friday afternoon we received notice from Grace Village that the well water to which the condos are hooked up tested positive for too much coliform (bacteria). The level is unacceptable for human consumption. We are under a boil water order. Any water we use for cooking, drinking, washing fruits and vegetables, brushing our teeth must be boiled or alternatively we can use bottled water. Because my dishwasher has a sanitizer rinse option, I have been told I can clean my dishes that way. Otherwise, I have to put dishes washed with tap water in a tub of rinse water to which bleach has been added, then air dry. Likewise fresh fruits and vegetables can be soaked in a weak bleach and water solution. Daily life has suddenly become much harder.
We had to do this for 4 days previously when a part in the well water system broke. This time we have to do it for 7-8 days. The governmental authorities who must certify the water is once again potable don't work on the weekend nor on a holiday (Veteran's Day). They won't even look at the results of Grace Village's efforts until Tuesday at the earliest; there is a 3-day period of retesting until we will be given the OK.
Thursday I went to the Physical Therapy Department at the Parkview medical complex off of Dupont Road in Fort Wayne. The last time I went to Women's Health Advantage pelvic rehab I was feeling so bad I told her I didn't want to continue with what we had been doing. It seemed to be making things worse, not better. I asked if she had any other options or suggestions. She did not. She referred me to Parkview.
I told the pelvic therapist at Parkview about what had been tried. She asked about symptoms. I wasn't too surprised when she suggested we needed to focus on relaxing my pelvic floor. She did a very thorough exam which backed up her first impression. No more Kegals for me; no more electrical stimulation. Those two modalities were nice in that they didn't take much time, but they are not right for me. The sets of pelvic exercises at home will be time consuming. Some of these exercises are like the ones on the sheet I received from the previous rehab therapist, except she would say I could try them but didn't really need to do them. I will also do some massaging. I am supposed to do a tension check of my body several times a day; if I feel tense anywhere I am to lie down and do some diaphragmatic breathing.
Certainly having to follow a boil water order is not conducive to calmness. I may be lying down a lot in the next week to combat stress.
With a few exceptions, the trees have not been very colorful this fall. A lot of the leaves turned slowly and are dull and quickly turning brown. Now lots of leaves are on the ground already. My fothergilla bush has lessened the disappointment a bit. This is its second autumn, and it really looks nice this year.
The two small mums I put on my porch looked tasty to a deer I guess. I went out one morning, and most of the blooms had been eaten off the plant.
So it has not been as colorful an autumn as some years.
Next week the highs are predicted to be in the mid-20's and low 30's, way below the normal for this time of year. I sure appreciate my electric blanket that keeps me warm through the cold nights.
I didn't have success in finding some of the kinds of things I usually put in my Operation Christmas Child box for a 10-14 years old girl.
For example, Walmart had inexpensive bandanas in pretty prints and bright colors in the past. This year all I could find were camo prints, black traditional print, and Mickey Mouse designs. I think Hobby Lobby in Fort Wayne has a variety of bandanas, but I didn't get to that store, and there is no Hobby Lobby in Warsaw.
I ended up kind of heavy on purses/bags. The burgundy velvet one I bought at KMart which was going out of business in our area. I didn't see much that impressed me at the craft shows last weekend and today, but I did buy a little blue and yellow purse. I like to include something the recipient can share with others. In previous years that would be individually-wrapped candy. Candy is no longer allowed. This year I included a package of combs. The little bright "wedges" are clips with magnets on the back. I have never sent that sort of thing before. Maybe they can be shared with a friend or sibling.
It would be nice to know in what kind of climate the box will end up. Mittens and scarves work better for cold places.
The lady in our church who heads up Operation Christmas Child has shared some stories, like the boy in an orphanage who loved his bar of Irish Spring soap in his Christmas box. The whole orphanage went to public baths once a month and shared one bar of soap. The older boys were last to take baths, and the sliver of soap wasn't much help. But rather than use his bar, he had a bigger boy store it for him and protect it. He would come and smell it when he wanted a bit of joy. Finally, the orphanage added showers to its facility. The boy and his friend who stored the soap asked the janitor to let them into the locked showers. At last, the gift was used as intended. But he only did it a few times before he was adopted and went to reside in the United States where he could have lots of soap. The soap was his symbol of hope. As long as he had the bar of soap, he could envision a brighter future. God answered his prayer.
I will take my finished box to church tomorrow. God will get it to the right child. Have you finished your box?
We braved the cold air and newly falling snow last night to go to Grace College where the Actors From the London Stage were performing Twelfth Night by Shakespeare.
Five actors portrayed 15 different characters, assuming the role of various characters by wearing a hat, taking off a coat, putting on a apron, changing a collar, etc. Sometimes the actor's character talked to his/her other character, quickly switching roles with a flip of a wardrobe prop and turning the other direction. It was quite humorous at times.
We attended Measure for Measure last year. I do think the quality of acting was better in Measure for Measure. Twelfth Night had more puns and bawdy jokes which I didn't always understand, though mainly because some voices projected and enunciated better than others, not because of naivete. Measure for Measure had a more serious story. Twelfth Night mostly centered around romantic infatuations. It was just silly in some places.
I found it more difficult to understand the words this year than last. The lines seemed rushed and not easily discerned, especially those of Olivia/Maria and the fool.
You can read the synopsis if you want to know the plot. There were characters who pretended to be someone different or masked their identities in the play; that made it harder to follow the story since the actors were already flipping from character to character.
The small theater was almost full. We saw several people we know, though most of the attenders were college students. It was a pleasant night away from home.
