That Time Of Year........

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Thanksgiving

Reblogged from Incidentally:

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It’s that time of year again! Thanksgiving! The time when the toilets back up, the kitchen sink clogs and the gas pressure in the oven mysteriously drops. The time of exploding apple pies, scorched buns (the bread kind) and burnt fingers. The time of sweating and slaving over the stove, praying that no-one comes down with salmonella the following week. The annual argument over whether I’m cooking too much food.

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Busy with lots of projects just recently so I haven't had much time to write. I do want to wish everyone "Happy Thanksgiving" however and, just so you know I'm still around I've reposted my Thanksgiving blog from last year. Nothing changes!

Fight For Air

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American Lung Association, health, smoking

Yesterday I joined in the American Lung Association’s Fight For Air Walk. I’ve lived with secondhand smoke all my life so I consider this cause very close to my heart as well as my lungs. My participation was, however, spurred not so much by how all this smoke has probably affected my health as well as that of the smokers in our family but by the fact that our daughter, who is currently studying at the UIC College of Pharmacy,  was leading a team of fellow students who have recently undergone training in smoking cessation techniques.

The walk itself, held at McDonalds Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois, was only a 3 mile event, which for me is no problem.  I walk quite a bit when I go to the nature center or the Botanic Garden and some of the treks that I’ve been on with my daughter and her husband in downtown Chicago, especially after a heavy meal when a long walk to aid the digestion was called for, must have gone well beyond the 3 mile marker.

The weather was perfect which was fortunate because not only was there a walk involved but also the setting up of information booths and several hours of pre-event activities.  I was pleased to see so many people stop by to pick up pamphlets and could sympathize with those concerned participants who were trying unsuccessfully to drag unwilling spouses to view the latest aids to help give up smoking. My daughter has tried for years to get my husband to quit with no success so I knew how important this event was to her.

The ICHP team looked very professional in their white coats and did a great job assisting people with their questions. Their fund-raising efforts were extremely successful too, raising double the goal they had set for this event. I was so proud of them all.

The walk around the campus, now tinged with autumn colors, was most enjoyable although tempered with a little sadness as we filed past all the names of those loved ones who had succumbed to various illnesses associated with lung disease. I heard so many stories while I was there of people whose health had been affected by smoking. I just hope that all the young people who were present took these tales to heart.  I cringe every time I see a youngster ‘light up’ because I know just how hard it is to quit once you get hooked. It may seem like a cool thing to do now but in years to come they may unfortunately have to come to grips with the term Fight for Air on a more personal level.

Chinese Lantern Festival

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Chinese lanterns, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Story Challenge

For Frizztext’s Letter L challenge this week at http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/  I give you Lanterns. 

Last month, when we paid a visit to St Louis, we were lucky enough to see the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  This was a double treat since the lanterns looked just as beautiful during the day with the sun shining on the colorful silk arrangements as they did at night when they were illuminated by thousands of twinkling lights.

I knew it was going to be an awesome sight but wasn’t prepared for the spectacular display that awaited us.  The only Chinese lanterns that I’d ever seen before had been those small ones hanging up at parties or the plants that we used to call ‘Chinese Lanterns.’  But the lanterns at the gardens were something else entirely.  Many of the striking 26 set pieces towered above us.

The Porcelain Dragon pair, made of more than 40,000 pieces of blue and white, hand-tied porcelain dishware was the centerpiece and, as the sun went down, their heads began to move back and forth as smoke billowed from their gaping jaws.

As we wandered around the gardens we were greeted at almost every turn by a new and more elaborate presentation depicting Chinese legends such as the butterfly lovers and the patient fisherman. Other representations of Chinese life and culture such as panda bears, lotus flowers and dragons lined the pathways.

Thousands of people attended the Chinese Lantern Festival in St Louis during its three month visit and I, for one, would love another chance to see this beautiful exhibit again but I have a feeling it may have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Kite Flying

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Chicago Botanic Garden, kites, Story Challenge

Frizztext’s Letter K Story Challenge at http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/ this week prompted me to write the following post about kites.

For the past 8 years the Chicago Botanic Garden has been holding its annual Kite Festival in the meadow west of Evening Island.

I think most people have attempted to fly a kite at one time or another. What kid doesn’t love to launch one of these colorful playthings high into the air! But apparently it’s not just a children’s pastime.  Some folks take it very seriously and there are even kite-flying associations.  This year, members of the Chicago Fire Kite Team and the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois were on hand to give demonstrations. Participants are usually invited to bring and fly their own kites on the field during the intermission between performances and there is also a children’s kite-making workshop.

I recall, when our girls were still quite young, we would load up the car for a family picnic and would always be sure to include a couple of kites along with the usual bat & ball as well as sandwiches and the like.

Later on, when our two older grandsons were growing up, I actually went to a kite shop to buy them a fancy one which was promptly usurped by my husband and son-in-law. Now I am waiting for my two youngest grandchildren to reach an age when they can appreciate the joys of kite flying. (One of the great things about being a grandparent is the ability to re-live your childhood through such pleasant pursuits.)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Near & Far

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Chicago Botanic Garden, gardens, landscape, near & far, travel, weekly photo challenge

Near & Far, the subject of the current Weekly Photo Challenge set by the folks at The Daily Post at  http://dailypost.wordpress.com/  was not as easy as it might at first seem.

My first question was, how far is far? We live in a place where you can’t see for miles and miles around, unless you’re at the top of the Sears Tower (whoops, sorry! Willis Tower.) So I had to make do with what was available and went out to the Chicago Botanic Garden to see what I could come up with.

If I understood the challenge correctly there should be an object of interest in the foreground and also a reasonably clear shot of the distance in the background.  I believe it involves something called depth of field, a process that I have absolutely no clue how to induce from my camera (I hate reading instruction manuals) so I just kept twiddling all the moveable parts until I captured what I hoped might be a decent representation of near & far.

I also went back through my picture files to see if there had been a time in the past when I’d accidentally caught the effect of near & far. The picture above was taken at a rest area in Chamberlain, South Dakota.  You don’t see too many poisonous snakes in Chicago so the sign naturally caught my attention. It also turned out to be a fairly clear shot of the Missouri River in the background.

The only other image that I could find that could reasonably be considered a depiction of near & far was one that I took some time ago at a balloon launch carried out at our local grade school.  It was amazing how quickly the balloons soared high above the playing field carrying greetings and messages of goodwill from the excited schoolchildren below. Some of the balloons unfortunately got snagged in the trees nearby but others went up, up and away, traveling far into the distance.

Travel Theme: Red

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colors, red, travel theme

Thanks to Ailsa at Where’s my backpack for setting us the Travel Theme challenge of Red, this week. If you want to see some beautiful examples of this subject go to her blog site at http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/09/07/red/

Most people who have an interest in photography have a number of images that include the color red.  I recall a member of the camera club, to which I used to belong many years ago, telling me that whenever they went on a field trip they always made sure one of the party was wearing either a red jacket or shirt in order to add color to what might otherwise turn out to be some dull pictures!  Fortunately on these two visits to the Union Railway Museum in Illinois and Volkening Farm at Spring Valley I didn’t need the assistance of a red jacket.

Red certainly stands out in a crowd whether it’s a solemn occasion like a religious procession attended by The Knights of Columbus or a fun event like a parade in Columbus, Indiana.

It can be something man-made such as a sculpture in Skokie or nature’s work of art like a field of poppies in Cantigny Park.

Maybe it’s a colorful part of a dancer’s costume like those of these young ladies performing at Ballet Folklorico and the Japan Festival.

It can dominate the scene as in the former home of the Illinois Supreme Court in the State Capitol, or stand out as a single object like this umbrella at the Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford.

The pictures below show part of a display at the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Chinese Dragon Dancers at a parade in Indiana. Such vibrant shades add an intensity to any picture and undoubtedly draw the eye towards the subject in red.

Jockey Shorts

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Arlington Park, colors, horse racing, jockeys, Pat Day, Story Challenge

In response to Frizztext’s Story Challenge, Letter J, this week on Flickr Comments at  http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/  I thought I would write a little piece (no pun intended) about Jockeys. Not the kind you wear but the ones who ride horses.

Every year since 1985, the year that the grandstand burned down, we’ve made at least one or two trips to Arlington Park to watch the horse racing.

Mum loved going there (not that she was a betting woman) just because it was a nice day out. My youngest daughter enjoyed the excitement of the race and the fact that we used to let her pick a horse which, if it won, usually netted her a whopping prize of 50 cents. I know! We weren’t exactly setting a good example but it never went to her head. Her method of picking the winner was invariably whichever horse jockey Pat Day was riding and he quite often came up trumps!  In 1989 he won on 8 of 9 mounts in a single day at Arlington and  has ridden winners of US Triple Crown races 9 times so he seemed like a pretty safe bet.

Pat very often got a mention in E’s daily journal at school along with another favorite, Earlie Fires, and I’m sure her teacher must have got the impression that we frittered away a good deal of our time at the track.

After Pat Day reduced his number of rides at Arlington and later retired in 2005, with a total of 8,804 winners to his credit, we were rather at a loss to know how to go about picking likely winners. That was when E suggested that we select the jockey with the most fashionable colors!

Now we peruse the program, not to check out form, but to see what the jockey is wearing! Never mind if the horse looks like its next stop might possibly be the glue factory, so long as his rider is attired in something eye catching!

“Oooh, look!  He’s wearing a pink shirt with green stars and an orange hat!  Cool!  He’s sure to win!”

Sometimes it works but mostly not! Where’s Pat Day when you need him!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Free Spirit

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free spirit, travel, weekly photo challenge

Free Spirit is the current Weekly Photo Challenge set for us by the folks at The Daily Post at  http://dailypost.wordpress.com/

I always think of my youngest daughter as a bit of a ‘free spirit.’  I suppose by that, I mean that she, unlike her chicken-hearted mother, doesn’t seem to let fear of the unknown get in the way of living her life.  She certainly has enough nerve for the both of us, doing things that I can only dare to dream of, attaining accomplishments that I could never hope to achieve in twenty lifetimes.

Whereas I can’t even whack up the courage to get on a plane, she and her husband travel the world; they recently got back from a trip to Peru where they helped out at a local clinic in the Belen district of Iquitos. She has spent time trekking through the hills of Thailand and immersing herself in the culture of Ecuador. She got engaged in Westminster Abbey in London and honeymooned in Paris.

She received Illinois’ prestigious  Lincoln Laureate award before graduating from college in 2010 and is now beginning her second year of studies in pharmacy school, all of this after having been hospitalized with spinal meningitis and later undergoing surgery for chiari malformation, a condition in which the stem of the brain is herniated, allowing it to press against the flow of spinal fluid in the cavity of the skull.

She is a beautiful person both physically and spiritually; caring and considerate, who always strives to ‘do the right thing’ yet retains that certain freedom of spirit that makes her the wonderful woman she is.

Travel Theme: Curves

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curves, Gateway Arch, monuments, St Louis, travel theme

Ailsa’s Travel Theme challenge this week on Where’s my backpack at  http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/08/31/travel-theme-curves/ is  Curves.  Great timing Ailsa!  We recently paid a visit to one of the largest man-made curves that anyone is ever likely to see; The Gateway Arch in St Louis, Missouri. And you can bet I took pictures of that baby from every possible angle while I was there!

The Arch, designed by architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947, began to take shape in 1963 and was completed in 1965 at a cost of, what would have been then,  $13 million dollars.

At a height of 630ft and comprised of carbon steel, stainless steel and reinforced concrete, The Gateway to the West, as it is sometimes called, is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River and overlooks the city of St Louis.

It opened to the public in 1967 and it’s possible, if you’re so inclined, to take a tram to the top of the Arch in order to get a really awesome view of the city. Although I’m not a great one for heights I thought, since we were there, that I would pluck up the courage and travel to the top.

What really threw me a curve was the little ‘pod’ that takes you there. Of course it had always amazed me that you could possibly travel inside a structure that looked so thin but I really wasn’t expecting that tiny cubicle, only large enough to squeeze 5 people inside, sitting uncomfortably knee to knee and the taller  occupants having to bend almost double to avoid hitting their heads as they got in. There was an audible intake of breath from the people waiting to go to the top as the doors slid open to reveal  this unusual mode of transportation but we all stepped bravely forward and hoped for the best. To be absolutely fair, they do ask you if you have a problem with claustrophobia when you purchase the tickets.

It takes 4 minutes to go to the top and 3 to come down. Although you don’t see the outside as you ascend (probably just as well, as far as I was concerned) it was comforting to get a glimpse of the stairway used inside the Arch for maintenance and emergencies and know that if our little capsule  got stuck, there was a way out.

 Arriving at the apex of the Arch we looked out at the scene below and felt it had all been worthwhile.  Looking over the city we were treated to a birds-eye view of a place where you may possibly see a curve ball or two; Busch Stadium, home of the St Louis Cardinals and arch (forgive the pun) rivals of our Chicago Cubs.

Robert W Duffy wrote in the St Louis Post-Dispatch in 2003;

“The Gateway Arch packs a significant symbolic wallop just by standing there. But the Arch has a mission greater than being visually affecting. Its shape and monumental size suggest movement through time and space, and invite inquiry into the complex, fascinating story of our national expansion.”

I think that sums it up pretty well.

Icing On The Cake

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birthdays, cake, food, Story Challenge

Frizztext’s Story Challenge this week on Flickr Comments at  http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/  is the Letter I, so bear with me here, while I get to the point.

Over the years our family has done as much as anyone to keep the local bakers, not to mention dentists, in business. Whenever we get together to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations or weddings, the star of the show invariably turns out to be, not necessarily the celebrant, but the cake.

As much as we may hover around the birthday boy or graduation girl with gifts, cards and balloons, one eye is always watching and waiting, if truth be told, for the cake to come out of the box. Of course the real attraction is the icing on the cake.  Will it be pink or blue, school colors or favorite colors? Will it be adorned with pictures of Sponge Bob or Hello Kitty? Will the wording be perfect? Or will the lady who usually decorates the cakes be rushed off her feet and accidentally squeeze ‘Happy Brithday’ out of the icing bag? Is it buttercream, whipped cream or royal icing?

Will people like Uncle Alf or Auntie Doreen, who don’t care about their weight or sugar intake, actually eat it or, mindful of their health and well-being like thin-as-a-rail cousin Rita, cut that part off and leave it on the side of their plate?

No matter. It may not be good for the waistline, teeth or cholesterol count but what would parties be without the icing on the cake!