a lesson on gay street

In May 2017, while roaming around New York City's Greenwich Village, I stumbled upon a unique street, Gay Street. It’s one of a handful of one-block-long streets in Manhattan. With a bend at its northern end, you can never really see the street in its entirety.  The three- and four-story Federal and Greek Revival-style houses which line much of its length give Gay Street a remarkably intimate feel. 

Along this street, chained to a street sign was a cross of many colors. It was in close proximity to the Stonewall Inn, where in 1969 where patrons of a popular New York City gay bar stood up to police raids and spurred protests that would become the start of the modern LGBTQ movement. Back then, I thought a creative person had made this cross and put it there as a feel good message, not knowing that each color had significance and this was a precursor to Pride Month.

This is the last day of Pride Month which honors the identity, rights and inclusion of LGBTQ people in our nation, celebrating their place in American history and future. As the month’s name implies, it’s a time of pride, affirmation and celebration for who you are, as well as political advocacy to further inclusivity. Growing up, I knew that there were girls who liked girls and guys who liked guys. I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.

Google recognized Pride Month

What brought me to understand the struggles of same sex couples are two of my nieces. Each were in a relationship and were being denied the rights of heterosexual couples. When same sex marriages became legal in Ohio on June 26, 2015, Jessi and her partner Kim were married on August 1 of that year. Kate and Felicity were married in 2017. They are the ones who opened my eyes to an understanding that love comes in a rainbow of colors. 

Love is love is love...

green zinnias {june 29, 2023}

Green zinnias...who'da thought? 

Every Wednesday, Taylor goes to the Amish market in Bainbridge, OH, to bring back veggies to sell at the family farmer's market. He has made friends with a family whose daughters grow flowers, the young girls make them into bouquets, sell them to Taylor, who then sells them to customers who come to the farm. 

This year the bouquets have a new flower in them, a green zinnia. I did a double take; I've not seen a green zinnia. Zinnias aren't exotic flowers but the green adds a unique, eye-catching splash of color to a flower arrangement. Simple and playful. 

Due to this flower's color, its name is Envy. But Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and it just doesn't seem right to name a flower after a sin. Someone could have looked at paint chips to get inspiration for the name!

Just an aside, when my son got married, T and I hosted the rehearsal dinner. I bought 12 bouquets of flowers from the Amish girls for the long tables where the guests sat. They were perfect for the occasion: fun, colorful, cheerful, and happy. A celebration in a vase!

wordy wednesday...travel words {june 28, 2023}

 

Traveling is one of the greatest joys life has to offer. It’s a chance to escape the ordinary, let go of all your worries, and enjoy being alive. So many pleasures arise from traveling: anticipation, moving around, novelty, discovery, break from routine, a heightened appreciation of home.

The joy of travel brings you indescribable feeling you get when you make the first step on a new journey to discover yet another portion of the world. It doesn’t matter if the journey is of a thousand miles or much, much less. What matters is that it makes you feel alive.

Is there a word for the feeling of heightened awareness when traveling?

Yes, there are several travel words that describe the feeling of heightened awareness when travelling. Here are some examples from the search results:

1. Resfeber: A Swedish word that refers to the restless race of the traveller’s heart before the journey begins when anxiety and anticipation are tangled together1
   .
2. Sonder: The realization that each passerby has a life as complex as one's own2
   .
3. Fernweh: A German word that describes a longing for far-off places2
   .
4. Wanderlust: A strong desire to travel and explore the world1
   .
5. Eudaimonia: A Greek word that describes a state of being happy while travelling and feeling great1
   .
6. Selcouth: An Old English word that describes the feeling of finding everything unfamiliar and strange, yet marvelous anyway.
   

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/2f3a715b-5601-4136-b1b0-655be93e9e2e?s=c&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

white sweet potatoes {june 27, 2023}

White sweet potatoes...a little different twist on a veggie and they got the best of my need to check this off my veggie curiosity list. 

White vegetables typically get a bad rap because they aren't nutrient dense. Not true with white sweet potatoes. They're an excellent source of Vitamin C, they're chock full of Vitamin A, and a good source of dietary fiber and B vitamins.

Finally, don’t let the name fool you – white sweet potatoes don’t contain the “bad” kind of sugar. The starch they contain is considered a complex carbohydrate, which helps regulate blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity, and can be beneficial to people with diabetes. 

Eat the potato.

"Potatoes are to food what sensible shoes are to fashion." ~ Linda Wells

monday's mulling: gay {june 26, 2023}

Teaching was my second career. In 2004 I was getting my practice teaching hours in a 1st grade classroom at an urban elementary school. One little boy, Jamaal, was already a handful at this young age and if he didn’t like something or someone, it or the person was “gay.” One day, after hearing Jamaal call a classmate “gay” way too many times, I said, “Jamaal. Do you know that gay means happy? It’s so nice that you think Terrell is such a happy guy.” 

The dismissal bell rang and Jamaal went home.

The next morning Jamaal comes running into class. “Mrs. H, Mrs. H! I told my mom about me calling Terrell gay and that you told me gay means happy. My mom said that Terrell is happy to be gay.” 

And then with a big ole grin going from ear to ear, “Mrs. H, are you gay?”

“Jamaal, I am so happy to be here and to see your smiling face. We’re going to have a great day!”

This is an example of what happens in the home manifests itself in the classroom. The relationship between parents and teachers needs to be a partnership for the benefit of the child. Sometimes the relationship is there and other times it isn’t. Teachers need to take into consideration the culture and the characteristics of a child’s culture such as the lifestyle and values in which the child is living. Along with academic education is values education to promote tolerance and understanding.

hello, yellow! 💛 {june 25, 2023}

If one color announces summer, it's yellow. 

Yellow is the brightest color of the spectrum and is associated with sunshine, sunflowers, canaries, and bees.

Yellow is a cheerful color that conveys youthful, fresh energy. It is the color of optimism and is associated with hope and creativity.

Yellow is holds significance in many cultures:

• In Brazil, yellow symbolizes intellect, communication, but also wealth. Locals wear yellow/gold during New Year’s Eve to attract money in the new year to come.
• In India, yellow means good fortune for merchants.
• In Japan, yellow represents courage.
• In Islam, yellow is the color of wisdom.
• In Egypt, yellow conveys happiness but also mourning.
• In Mexico, yellow is also a color of mourning.
• In Russia, yellow is used to describe the sensationalist press.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕ ⁕

"We find from experience that yellow excites a warm and agreeable impression...The eye is gladdened, the heart expanded and cheered, a glow seems at once to breathe toward us." ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

make a wish {june 24, 2023}

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I've been volunteering with the MetroParks to help keep the garden beds free of weeds. This big guy showed up along the edge of one of the beds. A dandelion nearing the end of its cycle, changing from a sun into a moon. (A dandelion mooning me? 🤣) I weeded around this ball of seeds and left it there with the hope that a child or other person would see it, find the delight of picking it, blow the seeds off, and watch their wish float away in the breeze.

 “Dandelions, like all things in nature, are beautiful when you take time to pay attention to them.” ― June Stoyer

the friday feed: made me laugh 🤣 {june 23, 2023}

On our last trip to New York, we joined the noise and mayhem and ate lunch at Katz's Deli. Katz's is known for its legendary pastrami, corned beef, and other Jewish deli classics. Their most famous sandwich is the pastrami, a seasoned, smoked, and steamed cut of beef that is cured over 30 days. Amazing. We were in line behind a lady from Australia and she said that Katz's pastrami sandwich was what she had come halfway around the world for. It's a meat lover's paradise.

The Monday New York Times has a section, "The Metropolitan Diaries," and this past Monday's attention grabber was, "What's a vegetarian doing in a pastrami palace? I thought about Katz's and maybe that's where this person was and just for one meal threw all caution and beliefs to the wind.

At Katz’s

Dear Diary:

Overheard at Katz’s recently:

Customer: “I’m a vegetarian.”

Waiter: “So what are you doing here?

— Mitchell Erlitz

(NYT, 6/19/23)

the day the disposal died {june 22, 2023}

Long, long time ago, I do believe it was ’84

How that whirring used to make me smile.

And I know if I had the chance

That I could make those people dance

And grind up all their scraps with style.

But one day the people quivered

They flipped the switch, I didn’t deliver

Bad news under the kitchen sink

Would all that gunk start to stink?

I can’t remember the words they sighed

I’d given 39 years of working with pride

“Call Plumber Dan.” “Oh no, I cried.”

The day the disposal died.

So bye, bye to the Badger 5

Drove the Jeep-o to Home Depot

To buy a new disposal to survive

The old broken thing just wouldn’t revive

June 5th was the day of the demise,

June 5th was the day of the demise.

(Inspiration from Don McLean's "American Pie)

wordy wednesday...solstice {june 21, 2023}

Today is the summer solstice and the first day of summer. As spring ends and summer begins, the daily periods of sunlight lengthen to their longest on the solstice, then begin to shorten again.

Lakewood Park, in Lakewood, Ohio, is one of the largest lakefront parks in the Buckeye State. This park was once a landfill for construction and demolition debris. Before that, it was a garbage dump that predated environmental regulations. Fortunately, the park has transformed into a safe, beautiful place and its days as a dump have faded into memory.

Lakewood Park is home to the Solstice Steps. These steps overlook the shoreline, wrapping along 480 feet of its prime spot embankments. The steps face north and curve to the northwest, offering stunning views of Lake Erie’s sunsets. The Solstice Steps’ name is derived from their placement; the steps face the point on the horizon where the setting sun reaches its northernmost point on the Summer Solstice. 

Photo: Great Lakes Construction Company

Even though the days slowly get shorter after the solstice, it is now summer. It’s more than a season; it’s an experience. Summer brings sunshine, warmth, flowers, veggies, singing birds, breezes, the smell of freshly cut grass, bare feet, vacations, beautiful sunsets, flip flops, grilling…it has a flavor like no other.

“Summertime and the livin’ is easy…” 

~ George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess)

monday's mulling (even though it's tuesday): one year {june 20, 2023}

“When a child is born, so are grandmothers.” – Judith Levy 

One year ago I became a grandma. When I held my grandson for the first time, my eyes filled with tears of joy, jolted by a wallop of love just as intense as when my children were born. I was now a grandma but my baby was now a father. The cycle of life continues and I am part of it again. 

As I hold my grandson, I think about the future, wondering what he will become. 

As he grows, changes take place every day, a personality develops.

And I marvel at this miracle of life.  A picture can’t come close to showing others the perfection of this little person: his little voice as he tries to mimic words, his fussiness when he gets tired, his chuckle when he and his dog play tug-of-war with toys, his smile that has gone from toothless to now six teeth, his joy when he sees his mom and dad come into the room, his determination to walk (he's getting close), his curiosity for the world around him, his joy for smashing his first birthday cake!

I am so looking forward to seeing the world through my grandson's eyes. Everything will be new to him and everything will be a learning experience. He doesn't know negativity so he will start off with a positive attitude when introduced to new adventures. The world is full of possibilities and we'll do things "just because." A child's imagination is limitless and I can't wait to see where it will take us. He is such a blessing for this time in my life.

whew! {june 19, 2023}

It's the Monday after a long weekend of celebrating my little grandson's first birthday and having my family all together. My brothers were there, all my kids were there. It was the best! On our way back from Cleveland on Sunday, I was formulating my "monday's mulling" post, got home ready to write it, went to the grocery store, went out to dinner, fell asleep. I was tired.

Monday morning, my daughter suggested we go to yoga. We went and it was just what the body needed. I fixed a green smoothie for my daughter and her future husband, some veggies for people to nibble on, and then went to work at Treadways. A gentle rain fell most of the afternoon and business was slow. It was a good time to take photos and just appreciate this little slice of heaven on earth.

White sweet potatoes. I bought some...time to read about them and explore recipes.

Vining black eyed-Susans. Aren't they sweet?

Such a welcoming place

The sunflower barn

Please do!

Heirloom tomato names

father's day {june 18, 2023}

An honor of being the oldest child is having the privilege of celebrating all 44 Father's Days with my dad. He died when he was 68, much too young to leave this earth, but the years he was given were good ones.

My favorite grocery store put up their Father's Day display. They do it every year and it always brings a big smile. My dad loved Dad's Root Beer and he made the best root beer floats. Dad's Root Beer and Shearer's vanilla ice cream. He made them for his four kids and later on for his eight grand children. Root beer floats are always one of the first memories that come up when we talk about Dad.

Last year on June 18, my youngest child became a dad and T became a grandpa. My son celebrated his first Father's Day the day after his son was born and his second one today, on his son's birthday. T getting the long-awaited title of Grandpa was the most unforgettable Father's Day gift.

the language of flowers {june 17, 2023}

Out at the farmer’s market, cosmos line the exit lane. They were Mr. Treadway’s favorite flower. They are cheerful, colorful, daisy-like flowers and bloom from summer to fall on long, slender stems, attracting birds, bees, and butterflies to the garden.

Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years. Cosmos are associated with simplicity, joy, beauty, order and harmony.

Order and harmony: Pythagorus described the universe as a showcase of divine planetary bodies, one that was arranged in harmony and order. Cosmos were named after an orderly universe for their symmetrical and starry petals.

Beauty: The cosmos root word can also be used in “cosmetics” to describe beauty.  The diverse colors that the flowering species represents further showcase its beauty. 

Self-Reliance: Another cosmos spiritual meaning would be self-reliance. Cosmos are very easy to grow and take care of. They require less water and even have the ability to ‘self-sow.' Because of this, the flower is viewed as a self-reliant symbol and can make us realize that sometimes, we are all we need to thrive. 

Infinity: The meaning of cosmos plants can also symbolize infinity. There are a total of 8 petals on the flower. This translates to the symbol 8 which also forms the infinity symbol. Cosmos flowers should remind you to go beyond your limits. 

Cosmos have an undeniable charm. They are easy going and low maintenance, they have an air of whimsy and natural beauty, they exude positivity and light-heartedness, and add a pop of color wherever they bloom. 

Be a cosmos.