I Wish I Could Keep Summer

The summer has flown by too quickly, just like the rest of life. With my 50th high school approaching in late September, I am only too aware of how precious a commodity is time.

And I am so good at wasting it!

Then there is the question, "What activities are really a waste of time?" I could say I wasted time today staying an extra 15 minutes to play with little Zoe and Evie, or spending an early evening hour outside with Julius talking over the day in our snazzy "gravity" lawn chairs, or I could even say that writing this is a waste of time.

But the older I get, the more important moments like those above seem, and the less important it seems to (1)organize my files (2)pay bills or (3)catch up with the laundry, for example.

Did you see the lovely sunset and the tawny moonrise last night? We saw it with Jennifer. Grandpa and I took her to Lucchese's for dinner before she headed back to Indianapolis for the start of her final year of school. Good luck, Jennifer. We love you sooo much.

While I continue to lament the end of summer, "Back to school" is in the air. Middlebury Corporation kids begin on September 3, later than usual due to the opening of the new high school. I guess it's part of getting old; all the young parents and kids in the family are now in the mode of readying for the new school year. Most excited of all is Hunter, who is starting kindergarten.

Therein is my message: I need to borrow some of that enthusiasm.

How dare I ask summer to linger?

P.S. So far only 3 people have visited the blog. I will not change the photo yet until more have seen it. I am so hoping to hear from you. Please post a comment so I know you were here. Or at least send me an email.

Happy Tuesday

Last night I notified the family of the blog. It doesn't look like anyone has visited yet, so I am leaving the photo of the day there for now. It is so pretty.

We watched the Men's Gymnastics Olympics last night. It was dazzling. Also, men and women's swimming competition. The Americans came up from behind to get the Bronze in Men's gymnasitcs, and it was so great to see the way they interacted with each other. The Chinese were of course ecstatic over getting the Gold, especially since they won over Japan and the U.S.!

Julius was having fun reliving his days on the parallel bars, the horse and the rings. Factoid: Does anyone remember that Rudi also did some gymnastics. Rings, anyone?

Oh yes, and Chris, we did watch the water polo!

I spoke to my old college roommate, Lorraine, last night, just to see how her husband's health is after quadruple bypass surgery, and to see if they might come to the reunion. Her husband is fine, but they are not coming. A very strange item came up...the only novel I have read all summer was "The Kite Runner." Anne Toth really wanted me to read it, and I am so glad I did.
Well, what do you suppose Lorraine said to me? "Julie, I don't read novels a lot, but I just finished one last weekend that I couldn't put down. It's not a new one, but was on the best-seller list a few years ago."

You guessed it..."The Kite Runner." Serendipity, or what?
Lorraine was my very best friend through high school and college years; Anne is my closest friend now, and also one of the most consistent friends in terms of constantly keeping in touch over the last 28 years. I love them both a lot. By the way, Kite Runner has been made into a film. It is a very moving tale which will help you connect emotionally and even spiritually with those in a completely different culture...set in Afghanistan during and after the Russian invasion and the rise of the Taliban, but deeply personal. Keep the Kleenex by your side.

PLEASE let me know if you have seen our blog!

Second Day of the Blog

Hi Everybody,
Well, today I learned how to put You-Tube videos on the blog, and how to put photos on the blog.

Julienne, here is your easiest way to get your jewelry on the Internet. It is soo easy. And so much fun. Thank you Fran, for giving me ideas of what to put on the Blog. Yours is still the star of all blogs, though! Julius and Bruce are out and about, and I am working for my one client, Randy Graber. Put out a news release this morning, so hopefully it will be picked up by the local and RV press.

Today I will need to make a reservation for our week at the Resort On Cocoa Beach. Please answer the poll. I will also need to make a reservation for the J.S. Morton High School 50th Reunion on the 27th of September. I have already heard from the Mags. We are going to have a brunch on Sunday the 28th. The whole thing is very expensive and will be at the Oakbrook Drake. Looks like those classmates of mine have some champagne taste. It certainly did not surface while we were in high school. Life was pretty frugal for most of us back then in the old neighborhoods.

Thanks to the hard work and brains of my dear husband, materially I have come a long way from the old bungalow on Cuyler Avenue, sewing my own clothes (and the living room drapes, too), and working all through my last two years of high school and my 2-1/2 years of college.

I need to remember those days when I hanker for more "things" and "luxury." We also ate a lot more macaroni and cheese in those days! And I had no driving privileges. I took the "el" to work, the bus to school, and walked 1-1/2 miles to church on Sunday mornings (alone).

One thing Julius and I have in common about our frugal early years is that we both ate a lot of potato soup! It was filling and all you had to do was wave the bacon over it to get a nice smoky flavor.

Summer vacations were also frugal. Trips to Florida were not in the budget at 2840 Cuyler, so our vacations were at McClellan's Resort, in a fisherman's log cabin in Northern Wisconsin. But that is where I began to appreciate Native Americans and their art and legends (the resort bordered the Lac Du Flambeau Indian Reservation), so I am thankful for that. I also learned to touch worms, clean and filet fish, and enjoy lightly breaded and panfried bluegill and crappie, fresh from Lac Du Flambeau (Lake of the Flame). I can still recall the piney aroma of the air, the towering evergreens and birches, and the long dark gravel road through the forest which led into the resort bordering a deep blue glacial lake. It truly did look ablaze at sunset! Gorgeous.

Hope this isn't putting you all to sleep. Bye for now.

What Everyone is Doing Today

It is a beautiful day in Northern Indiana. The sun won't set till 8:30 or so, since we are on the far west side of the Eastern time zone. We are still getting used to that since we only last year changed from staying on standard time in the summer!

Julius and I are having a quiet weekend, watching the Olympics off and on, and I have been surfing, and have just decided to try my hand at creating a blog for family in friends.

Please be interactive and post to the blog or send me an email and let me know how you like it.
We'll be reporting on family events and activities, so various family members can keep up with the news. I would like to try the transliteration feature and see if I can make this available to the family in Germany. I would send it to Julia Ruthenberg, our great-niece, who speaks and writes English.

Bruce is returning today from a visit to see Rudi, Hannah, and Nadia in Long Beach, CA, and Chris and Fran and the babies are on the beach in North Carolina until Thursday. Julienne is working as usual selling her jewelry at Tesuque just outside Santa Fe, Connie and Sid have been super busy welcoming their new pastor, since Sid has been search committee chairman. Tom and Melissa and the boys have had a quiet weekend at home. Thomas just finished his class in Lego Robotics last week.