Sunrise from My Lady's Bedroom

My writing: 4/19/1998

The bright red ball appears slowly over the watery horizon - the sun playing a sly game with the small linear clouds. The clouds though small were brave - thick enough to stand in front of that crimson orb and block its light for only their small perimeter. Inexorably, the sun climbs into the sky in and out of the pencil and crayon thin cloud lines. Finally it is high enough to make its rosy path on the calm lake waters - but still too morning young to blind the observing eye. A little higher, and that orb sinks behind some braver and stronger clouds -- still a round globe visible but weakened. Now its glory is reflected in a pathway always leading from me to the sun no matter where I wander on that lakeside. Now as the sun rises further behind the clouds, even that pathway dims -- its light reflected off of the tiny waves like fires burning , flashing, and flickering to guide me along that path. These signal fires can be seen all the way to the horizon, flashing and guiding, even where the lake surface is one with the sky. No one could mistake the way with such brilliant guidance.   

Have you ever seen such a path? If you do see one, follow it with your mind and you will no doubt be rewarded in nature's fashion.  

                    

Another unusual sunrise occured also in 1998 from my bedroom window. There were lots of clouds around and then there was every so temporarily a rainbow to the south of the sun extending from one cloud to the next in a small short arch. A very interesting sunrise indeed. Like some religious picture or a fantasy art piece.

Pesach: A seder for a Schikza

      My husband wanted to go to a seder at Congregation Shalom this year, since they were offering it on the second night. Some friends also wanted to go so they put together a table of 8 for this event.

Arkansas Mother to Arkansas Son:

     One of my sisters found this treasure in amongst other papers at our mother's home in Illinois. I don't think I need any permission to reproduce this here. Try reading this outloud to friends or relatives. I guarantee you will break out in a belly laugh. Our family laughed until we cried together on Easter. Then I seriously began to think what it might be like to actually think like this???

Dear son,
     I'm writing this slow 'cause I know you can't read fast. We don't live where we did when you left. Your dad read in the paper where the most accidents happened within twenty miles of home, so we moved. I won't be able to send you the address as the last Arkansas family that lived here took the numbers with them for their next house so they wouldn't have to change their address.

     This place has a washing machine. The first day I put four shirts in it, pulled the chain, and haven't seen 'em since. It only rained twice this week, three days the first time and four days the second time.

     The coat you wanted me to send you, Aunt Sue said it would be a little too heavy to send in the mail with them heavy buttons, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

     We got a bill from the funeral home, said if we didn't make the last payment on Grandma's funeral bill, up she comes.

     About your Sister...she had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether it is a boy or a girl, so I don't know if you are an aunt or an uncle.

     Your Uncle John fell in the whiskey vat. Some men tried to pull him out, but he fought them off playfully, so he drowned. We cremated him, and he burned for three days. Three of your friends went off the bridge in a pick-up. One was driving, the other two were in the back. The driver got out. He rolled down the window and swam to safety. The other two drowned. They couldn't get the tailgate down. Not much more news this time. Nothing much has happened.

      Love, Mom


     Are you feeling any better yet?
    

The Leather vs Persian rug tradoff.

An interesting light hearted story about marital bargaining and a new updated great room.

New blog: Check it out!

I have posted new photos on my other blog at www.aarp.org/community/renrae

That blog contains my birding journals. I am currently taking two weekly bird walks at either Havenswood State Forest, in Milwaukee, WI or at Kletsch Park along the Milwaukee River in Glendale. This is the first year that I have followed the spring migration weekly. It is interesting to note the chronology of bird arrivals.

My husband's photo of Iguasu Falls in Argentina (above) got bookmarked by the communityhost of AARP blog site.

Among my world wide travel photos at that site, the elephant photo got the most hits, nearly twice as many as any of the other photos in that album. I wonder why! I have a whole series of elephant photos leading up to this one. Perhaps I should locate the whole series on the aarp site. Check it out and let me know if you want to see more of these anatomically correct photos. Interestingly, our guide told us that these two elephants were both males, because they were in a herd of young males, traveling together. Females and their offspring are in other herds and a male and female only is together long enough to mate. This photo raises a question about that or else young male elephants are like dolphins and humans.

The farmer and the Jew story.

     I am a frustrated writer. That means for years I have scribbled all sorts of thoughts, dialogues, smidgins of plots, and fictional scenes. I have a large trunk full of these scribblings. I have even come up with a title for my dreamed of book -- "Jewish Stories by a Schikza." I am a schikza and I certainly have the stories from my 43 years of marriage to an Israeli sabra. I have been working on this book to some degree lately. The following story which, I think, shall appear in the book,  is true and speaks to the stereotypical thinking that would provide the background and guts of my "Schikza" book.
     Click on Read More below to read one of the stories from my future book.

Havenwood: Nature Notes: Patterns

Here's a site I found which shows a wonderful view of nature. There's a nice poem on it right now, and some great photos. Posted by an Indiana couple, I think written by the wife, after moving to a farm and therefore really appreciating nature.
Havenwood: Nature Notes: Patterns

Also, VERY IMPORTANT! I have established another blog. I seem to have been overcome by this blogosphere thing. What happened was -- I got on the AARP site and discovered that I can put a blog on that site for free. I have decided to make that site my Birdwatching journal and also a photo album of some of our travel shots and eventually some of my hubby's shots of birds of the world. Here is the new site:

http://www.aarp.org/community/renrae