Jabberwocky

Book Meme

Rosemary from A Catholic Mother's Thoughts tagged me, so here are my responses.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

The closest book: Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Birds

Page 123 is all bird illustrations, so I'll do page 122. Fifth sentence (and the next three):

Note: A musical whistle; pee-wee-ah or o-we-ah.

Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus pp. 120 121
Mud brown; dark tail with white borders.
Note: A plantive upward-slurred chi-we or too-li.

Not particularly exciting to most people, but I have my Peterson's handy for watching the myriad birds at our feeders. This time of year we have the following: tufted titmice, cardinals, blue jays, Carolina chickadees, slate-colored juncos, cedar waxwings, hairy woodpeckers, mourning doves, European starlings, and a lot of sparrows. A red-tailed hawk has a nest nearby because we see it hunting in the meadow next to our house.

As far as passing this meme along, I don't have any faithful readers, so I tag anyone who happens here by accident!

'thann

Retircation!

How does it feel to be retired? So far it feels like vacation, hence my new term, "Retircation"! I don't know what to do with all this "free" time, but whatever I'm doing, the time is getting filled up. Certainly part of it is that I'm doing all my Christmassy things, shopping -- baking -- cleaning. Come mid-January I'm sure I'll get to the things I'd planned to accomplish after retirement.

I suppose that I'll eventually have to return to work in some capacity. Even though contractually I cannot be an EDS employee again, I was told I can be a contractor or consultant, so I may consider that on a part-time basis. We'll see what transpires.

Teddy College News

Teddy has been accepted to U of M's College of Engineering, and was awarded the U of M Regents Merit Scholarship. He finds out about Massachusetts Institute of Technology at noon on Saturday. Since a good many MIT applicants are international, they make their admissions announcements on the Web and mail official documentation afterward. Teddy is counting down the days! If he is accepted to MIT (a good likelihood), he isn't sure which decision he'll make. U of M doesn't require an answer until May, but MIT will sooner, I am sure. While MIT's tuition is twice U of M's, I told Teddy not to let that be a consideration -- we'll find a way to send him there if that's his choice. We may end up in a refrigerator box on the corner!

I pray that if he is admitted to MIT, that he is guided to make the best choice!

Giving Thanks and Cooking

God is so good!

My retirement approaches. This week I am in "retirement training mode." I managed to sneak four vacation days before I leave EDS for good, and was off last Friday and this whole week. It is a strange and wonderful feeling -- I am almost giddy.

I have accomplished so much, just things around the house, trying new recipes. My husband is thrilled with my efforts, as am I.

For the first 25 years of our marriage I was a hit-and-miss cook. I dreaded cooking in general, and couldn't put a proper meal on the table. The individual dishes would, for the most part, be successful, but they were never done at the same time. We'd eat dishes piecemeal. It's a wonder Ted put up with me all those years! (LOL!)

As I may have posted elsewhere, while Ted was deployed in Guantanamo Bay, I "discovered" the Food Network, particularly Alton Brown's show Good Eats. FINALLY! I began to understand the science of cooking, and now I can cook anything, and cook it well. I even bought Julia Child's masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and have made several excellent dishes. Last Friday I made roast ducking a l'orange. mmmMMMMmmmm

Tonight I am organizing my recipes for Thursday. I am making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, which we will take to my in-laws' house. Instead of dreading making all of those dishes, and trying to get them done at the same time, I am excited and anticipating the tasks, now that I understand the science behind it all.

God is so good -- He always amazes me with his unending mercy. I am so blessed.

Thank you, God!

'thann

Retirement Countdown!

Identity Crisis

One week ago I celebrated my 22nd anniversary with my current employer. In six weeks I will be accepting an early retirement.

How strange to end a relationship that seemed to define who I was day and in day out for more than two decades. But it's time to leave -- the job climate in Michigan is a little iffy, and my customer has always been the auto industry, making it iffier still. I'd rather leave under my own steam than be unceremoneously booted out the door. I feel particularly blessed to be offered an early retirement -- my company does not offer them often (last time was nearly 10 years ago, and I was not eligible at that time). There is no guarantee that they'll offer another, so I'm grabbing the opportunity.

My career has seen me through one miscarriage, my difficult pregnancy with Teddy, Ted's two active-duty deployments, and countless positions, managers, coworkers, and friendships. The one constant is that I identified with my company, a huge global information services corporation.

I won't remain a lady of leisure -- with Teddy in Catholic high school, and heading to (expensive!) college next year, I need to work. (Well, the truth is, poor financial planning and some major financial mistakes in my past make it imperative that I have an income.) I will, though, take a couple of months off to regroup and discern where God wants me to be.

The company I work for has always been very good to me. I have learned so much about business, especially about my particular field (instructional design), and I am confident that I can carry those skills with me wherever I go. I'm not really sad, just a little stunned.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow..."

Ruthann

Letting Go Just a Little

Teddy wasn't one of those teenage boys champing at the bit for his drivers license. In the summer of 2006 he was eligible to take driver's ed and obtain his level 1 license (Michigan has a graduated drivers license system). Interestingly enough, both Ted and I were "late bloomers," too. So I was chauffeur for an additional year, driving Teddy to and from his myriad activities.

Two days ago Teddy took his driving test, and yesterday he and his dad made the visit to the Secretary of State where he took one more step toward manhood and independence.

Teddy's inaugural solo drive was to school this morning, which is nearly 30 miles one way. I thought I would be anxious, but as I watched him drive out of the driveway, I knew that his Guardian Angel was on the clock!

Teddy was supposed to call me as soon as he reached school, but when I hadn't heard from him within 45 minutes, I called his cell phone. He answered, realizing his mistake, and apologized. So now I sit here waiting for him to come home. I imagine I'll do the same thing for a year or so -- each milestone causing some concern (snow, ice, torrential rain, fog, etc.).

I feel so superfluous! I keep looking at the clock, thinking, "I will have to leave to get Teddy soon," but I don't any more! Teddy has his wings!

Today say a prayer for all new drivers, and for their parents who are getting grayer by every turn of the wheel!

'thann

Too Beautiful Not To Share

I saw this on Mark Shea's blog some time ago, and wanted to share it here. There is beautiful accompanying music, so put on your headphones or turn up your speakers. Isn't technology cool?

'thann

Indigo Bunting

When Ted was deployed to Cuba for a year in 2003, I was quite despondent. So many things went wrong before and after he left that I sometimes wondered whether God was still there. I think we've all had those days, and I think we've all said the following prayer, "O Lord, if you are there, please show me a sign!"

One particularly bad day right after Ted left, I found myself saying that prayer. I decided I wanted to really put God to the test, so my prayer not only asked that God show me a sign, but it ended, "Please send me an indigo bunting." (Pretty specific, wouldn't you say?)

My chair looks out over our front yard where we have several bird feeders. I usually have Petersen's Field Guide to Eastern Birds at hand (along with binoculars), and we are used to seeing the typical birds in our area: sparrows, cardinals, tufted titmice, etc. I had never seen an indigo bunting, but the color plate in Petersen's really attracted me for some reason. I desperately wanted a sign from God, and I wanted that sign to be an indigo bunting.

Within 15 minutes of making my desperate plea, an indigo bunting came to one of the feeders, where it stayed for quite a while. I sobbed and prayed a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Of course I never once doubted that God had always been there! I was being Doubting Thomas.

I didn't see another indigo bunting after that year until this summer. This year I've seen two indigo buntings on and off, and they always remind me of God's great goodness. Yesterday Teddy was sitting in my chair and called me to the window. There was a bunting on the window sill looking in at us. It stayed for 10 or 15 minutes, enough time for me to take the photos below.

God is good, all the time!

'thann

VACATION!

My soul is refreshed by living water
While my heart flows with love each day.
~Tom Zart~

Forgive my absence, O Loyal Blog Readers (LOL!). I was on vacation for a week, and then spent the last week catching up with work and personal stuff.

We just returned from a perfect vacation. We rented a cottage on Lake Michigan in Union Pier, just north of the Indiana border. The cottage has been newly renovated and has every amenity possible. Unbeknownst to me, Union Pier is considered a posh vacation spot for wealthy Chicagoans, so rentals there are not your average sandy, delapidated cottage. This cottage was larger than my own house, has two full bathrooms (compared with our single bathroom), and has air conditioning. It also has a dishwasher, which I've never used. Teddy's friend Sean had to instruct me on its use. I decided after one load that dishwashers are highly overrated. I can get my dishes washed a LOT faster myself! Seriously, I had to wait hours before the dishes in the dishwasher were back in circulation! And as far as AC, we don't have AC, either -- and I had no clue how to turn it off. I was freezing most of the time inside when it was 95 outside! The photo below is of the cottage front door, and part of the wrap-around veranda with pergola.

 

But the place was gorgeous, complete with real artwork throughout, and lovely furnishings. We hope to return next year if we can plan another family vacation. (It's so hard with Teddy's play schedule, plus next summer he hopes to go to Germany.)

One of the loveliest features was the beautiful landscaping -- flowers and ornamental grasses at every turn, and a lot of sculptures outside. And just beyond a little gate was the pathway to the beach. Sean and Teddy spent most of their days there, swimming, surfing, playing Frisbee, building sandcastles, and beachcombing. We are so thankful we brought a friend for Teddy -- Sean is a very nice boy, and they had a great time. The photo below is Teddy and Sean during one of the glorious sunsets.

 

More than once Teddy commented that the whole experience reminded him of our Julys on Marco Island in Florida, at my mom's house. The sunsets were so similar, and the sand in the beds was familiar! I was surprised at how different the sand on Lake Michigan beaches is, though -- not only in color and texture, but how different it is to walk in. I found myself winded walking just from the path to the water's edge -- it was like walking in quicksand to me. The photo below is the beach the day after a terrific thunderstorm. Yes, those colors are accurate!

I really enjoyed cooking with high quality appliances -- and eating homemade meals is so superior to eating out all the time! My sisters thought I was nuts when I was so excited planning our daily menus. We ate out exactly one time the whole week, and we ordered pizza the night before we came home. Otherwise I had fun making great meals which were scarfed down by my hungry men! The photo below is of the kitchen (you can't see the lovely GE Profile gas stove -- what a luxury!). That chopping block is ancient. I need to ask the owner where it came from. It must have seen hundreds of years of use, based on the condition of the surface.

Teddy celebrated his 17th birthday in Union Pier. For breakfast I made his favorite breakfast meal, southern biscuits and sawmill gravy. For dinner, I made his favorite dinner, shepherd's pie. We invited Ted's brother's family. Thomas and the girls, Ivy and Zoe, came, but Jule was working on a job in Chicago (they're both artists). Early in the week we had given Teddy a board game called Carcassone for his birthday -- it was a huge hit, and we played it several times while there (and several times since coming home!). We also gave him the 5th season of Monk, his favorite TV show.

Southwest Michigan is noted for its vineyards. We could have spent all day every day visiting various vintners, but we chose just one, Round Barn Vineyard in Baroda. Below is its namesake. The wines we purchased are simply wonderful -- Michigan excels at white wines.

While Union Pier was idyllic, one week was enough. I think we were all happy to return home and resume our "normal" lives!

'thann

'thann's Journey With Weight Loss Surgery

Some time ago I made reference to myself as being "morbidly obese," and Rose was kind enough to refute that comment. Well, truth be told, I am definitely categorized as morbidly obese according to medical standards.

I have had a serious struggle with my weight for about 20 years, and I have decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery (GBS). I'm chronicling my weight loss surgery journey in a separate blog, which you can read here: http://ruthannzaroff.typepad.com/gbs/. I just made my first entry today (yesterday I had my first GBS consultation), including my "official" before photos.

It's hard to go public with one's weakness, but I know this is the right thing to do, and it's the right time to do it. Please keep my journey in your prayers!

'thann