formula shortage {october 7, 2022}

My sister-in-law lives in Cincinnati. Her nephew with a 9-month old baby lives in Cleveland and he and his wife are unable to find the formula anywhere in the area to feed their little daughter.

My SIL went on a seek and find mission in Cincy and found the formula. How to get it to Cleveland? It just so happens that we're going to Cleveland this weekend to see our little grandson, help move some furniture, cheer for the Guardians in their playoff games, and cross our fingers that the Browns don't botch their game on Sunday.

The supply train went from Cincinnati to Dayton to Cleveland and is now in the hands of the very grateful parents. Teamwork. Love it.

hello/hola {october 6, 2022}

Latino Heritage Month is here (September 15 to October 15) and Target has teamed up with Latino artists that represent diverse backgrounds across the Latino community. 

When I walked into the store, this was the first display that greeted me. At first it seemed a bit disjointed: "Proud de mi cultura," "Mås que a month." My first thought was "Why isn't this all in Spanish?" My second thought was, "Duh. The blending and celebrating of cultures." 

Target hit its big red Bullseye with this one.

wordy wednesday...buckeye {october 5, 2022}

 What is a buckeye?

A small, shiny, dark brown nut with a light tan patch that comes from the official state tree of Ohio, the buckeye tree.

According to folklore, the Buckeye resembles the eye of a deer and carrying one brings good luck. 

The first recorded use of the term Buckeye to refer to a resident of the area was in 1788, 15 years before Ohio became a state. Col. Ebenezer Sproat, a large 6’4″ man with swashbuckling mannerisms, led the legal delegation at the first court session of the Northwest Territory in Marietta. The Indians in attendance greeted him with shouts of “Hetuck, Hetuck” (the Indian word for buckeye), because they were impressed by his stature and manner. He proudly carried the Buckeye nickname for the rest of his life and it gradually spread to his companions and to other local settlers. By the 1830s, writers were commonly referring to locals as “Buckeyes.”

Here's a family story of a WWII Buckeye...my father-in-law was stationed on the island of Espirtu Santo in the Pacific. He was an air gunner and also worked in a CASU, a Combat Air Service Unit, to maintenance the airplanes. There were a number of CASUs on Espiritu Santo and the neighboring islands. When a bunch of guys had down time, they played basketball in a CASU league.

Dad's team called themselves the Buckeyes because all of his teammates were from Ohio.

A team member, Tom Grucella from Akron made the uniform. The basketball trunks were made from satin toe targets lined with parachute silk. The warm up jacket is a converted Navy undress jumper (shirt). The jersey is just a t-shirt stenciled with BUCKEYES. They wore field boots, the only footwear available.

These Buckeyes lost a total of 3 games in 16 months. They were the CASU champs in 1945.

Also, today would have been my father-in-law's 98th birthday. He was proud of his service and always proud to be a Buckeye.

national taco day {october 4, 2022}

Last year at this time, all my kids were in town to attend their cousin's wedding. It was Tuesday and my daughter's then fiance who just happens to be Mexican told me that he was taking over my kitchen and making authentic tacos. No Old El Paso seasoning, no ground beef for the tacos, "Where's the nearest Mexican market?"

Off we went to La Michoacana. Anthony knew the sauces and the corn tortilla brand he wanted, had to get queso fresco, chorizo, and skirt steak - arrechera - "Corte con la maquina, por favor." He asked the butcher to thinly slice the skirt steak.

The kitchen and the deck were a flurry of activity with making the cilantro rice, frying the chorizo and adding it to the refried beans, seasoning the meat, charring the taco shells, grilling, chopping, and taste testing the arrechera, crumbling the queso fresco, and assembling the tacos. The whole experience was so much fun and the "real deal" tacos are in a league all to themselves.

yes! {october 3, 2022}

People moan and groan about Monday but it's been my thought that Monday morning thoughts set the tone for the whole week. It's a new beginning toward living a fulfilling, happier, and healthier life. 

hoco 2022 {october 2, 2022}

Wittenberg Homecoming. 

A small .group of us gathered at the Delta Gamma tent, reminisced, laughed, caught up on news about friends who weren't able to make it to this year's event, visited the sorority house, walked around campus, and we all agreed how blessed we were to spend four years of our lives in this place learning about life and living, growing up while still under the safety net of our out-of-town parents' wings.

One of the new traditions that began in 2010, was the stomping of the seal after graduation. The classes of 1990 and 1991 gifted a University seal placed in the sidewalk a short walk up from Graduation Hollow. After the graduation ceremony, the new alums go up to the Seal as a class and each one stomps on the seal. Undergrads are supposed to walk around the seal until their graduation.

We've been alums for  40+ years but there was no time like the present to participate in this Witt tradition. The past met the present. 

october {october 1, 2022}

 October

October is the treasurer of the year,

And all the months pay bounty to her store;

The fields and orchards still their tribute bear,

And fill her brimming coffers more and more.

But she, with youthful lavishness,

Spends all her wealth in gaudy dress,

And decks herself in garments bold

Of scarlet, purple, red, and gold.

She heedeth not how swift the hours fly,

But smiles and sings her happy life along;

She only sees above a shining sky;

She only hears the breezes' voice in song.

Her garments trail the woodlands through,

And gather pearls of early dew

That sparkle, till the roguish Sun

Creeps up and steals them every one.

But what cares she that jewels should be lost,

When all of Nature's bounteous wealth is hers?

Though princely fortunes may have been their cost,

Not one regret her calm demeanor stirs.

Whole-hearted, happy, careless, free,

She lives her life out joyously,

Nor cares when Frost stalks o'er her way

And turns her auburn locks to gray.

-Paul Laurence Dunbar