Day: March 22, 2018

Water Water Every Where

Today is World Water Day.

Water is a subject always on my mind. About thirteen years ago, I read a disturbing article that stated the next war would not be fought for oil, but rather for water. Potable water. That was scary. I wish I could find the article again, but although I’m fairly savvy on the internet, no luck.

Now I read that Cape Town, South Africa is due to run out of water on July 9 of this year.

Living near the Great Lakes (the planet’s largest basin of liquid fresh water), I am careless with my water consumption. Fresh water is there for me. I should know better. The California drought conditions are eventually going to impact the entire country–an awful lot of our food is grown in California.  I wonder silly things, such as when I’m rinsing my recyclables which have to be clean before I put them in the bin for pick up, how do Californians clean their recyclables when water is a rare and precious commodity?

The city in which I live is located on one end of one of the most polluted bodies of water on Earth. Yes, much progress has been made in cleaning up Onondaga Lake, but there are days when you can still gag from the stench when driving past the lake. Eating fish caught in the lake is strongly discouraged.

I grew up only hundreds of feet from the banks of Onondaga Creek. Clean water is in my consciousness.

We once took clean water for granted. It’s time to realize we need to work to make sure we have enough clean water for future generations to survive.

 

 

Childhood Treasures

Who remembers S&H Green Stamps? They’re still around, but they now call themselves S&H Greenpoints. For uninitiated, they were given away as “value added”  at service (gas) stations, supermarkets and so on. The more one spent, the more stamps one earned. One then pasted them into little books. The books could be redeemed for merchandise.

A trip to the S&H store was always a treat. (Okay, I lived in the middle of nowhere with a mother who didn’t drive. A trip anywhere was a treat.) There are two visits to the S&H redemption center I vividly recall. The first was when I laid eyes on a lamp. A beautiful lamp. A lamp any little girl would adore. I begged, pleaded, cajoled, etc. And the next trip to the store–after the family had accumulated enough stamps–was to procure that lamp for my bedroom.

You see, the girl on the swing actually swings. It moves. I was fascinated.

And yes, I still have the lamp. Right now, it has no shade. The original shade is long gone, probably scorched from tilting to get more reading light. The second shade is also gone. I believe I tossed it because it was in tatters. I’ve been looking for a replacement, but no luck yet.

The lamp has history. I shared a room with my sister. One morning, I woke up to a nasty smell and a weird crackling noise. I sat up and saw the cord sparking. I screamed for my sister to unplug the lamp (she was closest to the outlet). Then I screamed at her not to touch it. Back and forth until my father came into the room and handled the situation. He discovered a puddle near the sparking portion of the cord. After a brief examination, he concluded the cat had bitten the cord and had the pee shocked out of him. Dad replaced the cord and all was well.

My sister wrote her name on the underside of the little girl’s skirt in a misguided attempt to the claim the lamp for herself. Ha! I’m the one who gave birth a daughter, and my daughter had the lamp in her room for many years. It now resides in my office with a black light bulb in the socket.

A lamp with a swinging girl was a big deal back then. A treasure. My parents saved to get the lamp for me. We didn’t have computers, electronic games,  or even more than one television in the house (and only two channels at the time). I had decks of cards, board games, a back yard, and cousins.  And it was all so very, very special.

 

Favorite Childhood Books

#UpbeatAuthors are remembering their favorite childhood books this week.

I’m a reader. I have always preferred to read over watching television.  But given my status as a bookworm, I did not have a difficult time picking a favorite book or two. Both had a lasting impact on me. One is frequently mentioned by other authors. There was even a movie made when my children were younger.

However, I never hear–or read–about the second one:

Alvin’s Secret Code taught me a lot about the English language: frequency tables, doubled letters, common letter combinations, and so on. Apparently it is one of a series of books, but I never read any other installment. As you can see from the photo, my copy is well-loved, a sure sign of being a favorite.

 

 

 

 

 

A Cranberry Relish Day Recipe

Happy National Cranberry Relish Day!

A former co-worker gave me this recipe when I was looking for a festive side dish.

IRMA LEE’S SALAD

Ingredients:

  • 1 package orange (or cherry) Jell-O
  • 1 container cranberry orange relish
  • 1 can mandarin oranges

Directions:

  • Set Jell-O per package instructions
  • When slightly firm, add relish and oranges
  • Mold in muffin tins.
  • Chill until firm.
  • Unmold, serve on lettuce leaves.

Color!

#NationalColorDay

Yes, it is a day to celebrate color. I love color. Bold, bright, vivid color. Color makes me happy.

I live in a place where many months the landscape is nothing but shades of gray and brown. Sometimes the sky is blue, but not often. It’s depressing. One of the best things about spring is the bursts of color when flowers start to bloom. And fall. Autumn in my corner of the world is stunning, as if one last hurrah before the bleakness of the winter months.

If I had my way, my house would be filled with color. I have a Pinterest board where I keep pictures of the world in which I would love to live.

Color is the world’s way of giving us a great big hug.