Sue's Musings

Do you have special rituals you use to mark time?

At our house, there's a gorgeous dogwood tree in front of our house.   It blooms every year during the week of our daughter's birthday.   So, we call it the "Nia Tree."

The blossoms are particularly gorgeous this year.   Our little girl turns ten on Sunday, and we'll take photos in front of that tree, just as we have each year since 1998.

Those rituals are somehow comforting, even as we ask ourselves where the time has gone.

What are your rituals for time passages?

 

 

I'm tired, and I miss my Percosets, but I sure am happy to be back on Good Day!

I've been "knee-high" in emails, and it has been wonderful.    Just knowing that  "a-knee-body" noticed I was gone means so much....I mean it!

Thanks so much to Dr. Craig Israelite, the surgeon who dug in and cleaned up my meniscus issues last Tuesday at Penn Presbyterian.    I was quite nervous about this procedure, since I hadn't had any surgery since my tonsilectomy at age five.   Every single person I encountered at the Short Procedure unit was so kind...thanks for getting me through in my hour of "kneed."

I've posted a few photos of my trip to the hospital.   Of course, I brought Bus Stop Buddy with me.....I couldn't dress him in scrubs, but my daughter did color him in nicely.

Still to come....a few "knee-slapping" television reviews, since I watched a ton of tube while I was laid up. 

And for all of you who have asked about Dorothy.  I spoke to her today, and she's working hard to rehabilitate her poor back so that she can "stand tall" and be back with us very soon.

 

The first time I ever heard the word "meniscus" was in chemistry class in high school.   You might remember that we measured liquids, the teacher told us to use the bottom of the meniscus, which is the curve you see when you look at the top of the liquid in the glass.  

If you do remember that,  good for you.  I actually didn't until recently.   

 The next time I heard that word was from our former host Mike Jerrick.   He used to joke about his "meniscus issues" whenever he wanted to get out of physical activity on the show.

My latest meniscus mention was from the orthopaedic surgeon I consulted about the severe knee pain I've been having for more than a month.   He told me that the meniscus is the cartilage underneath the kneecap.    An MRI told him mine is torn.

I wish I had an exciting bungee-jumping or rock climbing story to tell about how it happenend, but I don't really know.   Bummer.

Why am I telling you all this and assuming you care?

I'm having arthroscopic surgery next week and won't be doing the weather on Good Day.   A few of you have seen me limping around with a cane, and have been very kind.   I thought the thing looked so cold and sterile that I crocheted a cover for it with fuzzy yarn.   It's goofy for sure, but that, too, has been received well.

So, it looks like it'll be while before Dorothy and I will be reunited on teevee.   We'll have to find the old Peaches and Herb song when that happens.

I'm hoping to return on April 9th.    With luck,  the joint will be jumpin' when I get back.   get it??????

As the expression goes, "you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family."

That's certainly true.   In most families, there are those you are crazy about, and those who are merely tolerated, but you're all connected.    Every so often, we find ourselves  longing to strengthen that bond by reaching out for a connection to relations far and near. 

If you're feeling the urge to round up the relatives for a reunion,  I've got the perfect place to start:

It's the Family Reunion Conference, taking place this weekend (March 15 - 18) at the Marriott Philadlephia Airport Hotel.   The conference is presented by Temple University's Family Reunion Institute, which was founded by Dr. Ione Vargus (who is the mother of our own Bill Vargus....and my mother-in-law).

At the conference web site, there are tons of workshops to help you get started.  If you're already having reunions,  there are workshops to enhance the gatherings and make them more meaningful.

I'll be conducting a workshop on scrapbooking on Thursday, the 15th at 2 pm.  You can learn about storytelling, tracing your roots through DNA, and involving the kids in the reunion.   There are presentations from numerous cities and sites that are happy to host reunions.  The luncheons on Friday and Saturday will feature Kenny Gamble and Angel Ortiz.

We all have family ties, and this weekend it a great way to keep them tight.

Use the links outlined above to find out more.   Maybe I'll see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our family is, once again, following American Idol avidly this season.   We love the losers we see during the first few weeks, and there's no shortage of cheering and criticism as the contestants become fewer and fewer.

As far as I know, my nine-year-old knows nothing about the controversy surrounding Antonella Barba and her naughty internet photos.    I'm glad the subject was not addressed during the program.  

Since Antonella was clearly the worst singer on Wednesday night, yet was voted on to the next round, it got me to thinking about fame vs. talent, and all the recent media nuttiness surrounding Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith.

Spears, Smith, and yes, Barba:   quite good-looking yet marginally talented.   Yet they are attention-grabbers.   And the more naughty they are, the more we talk about them.

One day, I'll be having a conversation about this as I continue to urge the kid to be as concerned about being beautiful on the inside as she is outwardly.

Weeks like this will make it even tougher.

 

First of all, thanks to all of you who came out to the Constitution Center for the Martin Luther King Day. It was nice to see so many families spending the day together having fun and learning about the reason for the holiday.

The three of us (my husband, my daughter and me) read the story of the 1963 March on Washington and Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech. No matter how many times I hear those words, they never fail to inspire.

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Now, to the silly stuff:

From a BBC article, "100 Things We Didn't Know Last Year:"

-Nicole Kidman is afraid of butterflies.

-Baboons can tell the difference between English and French.

-One in 10 Europeans are allegedly conceived in an Ikea bed.

-It's possible for a human to blow up balloons via the ear.

-The Queen of England has never bee on a computer, she told Bill Gates as she awarded him an honorary knighthood.

-In the United States, it's possible to subpoena a dog.

-"Restaurant" is the most mis-spelled word in search engines.

-Lance Armstrong's heart is almost a third larger than the average man's.

-You're ten times more likely to be bitten by a human than a rat.

-The children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has sold one copy every minute since its 1969 publication.

-Jimi Hendrix pretended to be gay to be discharged from the US Army.

-One in six children think broccoli is a baby tree.

-One in eighteen people has a third BLEEP.

-Bill Gates does not have an iPod.

-Musical instrument shops must pay an annual royalty to cover shoppers who perform a recognizable "riff" before they buy, thereby making a "public performance."

If you're looking for something to do with your family on the Monday holiday, how about stopping by the Constitution Center?

I'll be there with my family at 2:00 pm. We'll be reading stories about the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It would also be a good opportunity to check out the amazing experience that is our Constitution Center. You'll never take your American citizenship for granted again.

I have to blog about this thing that happened to me the other night because I think it's good information.

I came into the kitchen area from the basement, and smelled something strange. I knew I had bathed, so I went about investigating, since I thought it might be gas. I checked the burners on the stove, etc. and all was ok.

Since I knew I wouldn't sleep with the fear of my house blowing up, I called PECO's 24 hour number: 1-800-841-4141.

I was amazed at how quickly the technician got there. And I'm happy to report that there was no gas leak at my house.
And no, it wasn't a poor attempt at cooking on my part.

I appreciate the peace of mind I got from PECO's quick response. And I thought you should know in case the same thing ever happens to you.

I just returned to work after taking some time off. I caught up on some sleep....did most of my Christmas shopping...and re-watched "Rome" on HBO on demand. A good antidote to the holiday stress.

So was this:

I was in Macy's yesterday, and a very nice lady who was in front of me at the register saw that I had only one item (she was buying quite a bit) and told me to go ahead of her.

A small kindness, but I sure was grateful, and lost my cranky holiday mall mood right away.

Then, when I went to the calendar kiosk, I was in such a fine mood that I let a lady go ahead of me in line.

Paying it forward. Is that what they call "holiday spirit?"

I just realized today that it is only TWO WEEKS until Thanksgiving!!

This is the one big party that we do at our house every year.
Usually, I'm a bit more prepared than I am this year. Is it just me, or did it sneak up on you, too?

And does anybody have a good, easy cranberry recipe? I'm thinking I should do a bit more than sliding the cranberry stuff out of the can and putting it on the plate.

Hope you had a fun Halloween. The weather could not have been more "bewitching," right?

I've posted a photo of achy breaky me with my daughter, dressed as Ariel, the Little Mermaid, after she got legs. The fin thing was way too complicated......

I promised in an earlier posting to pass along useless and fascinating trivia whenever I find it.

Here we go:

Did you know that Cap'n Crunch, the mascot of the breakfast cereal, has a first and middle name???
I have to admit that I never really wondered about it until I found this out on the web site www.adjab.com.
I was too consumed with the fact that the dumb cereal never stayed crunchy.

Anyway, according to the AdJab web site, the Cap'n's full name was "Captain Horatio Magellan Crunch."

Daws Butler, the voice of Yogi Bear and several other Hanna-Barbera characters, provided the original voice of the Cap'n. The animation was done by Jay Ward Productions, creators of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

So, amaze your friends with that one....

Now that I know that blog is not a word to describe the condition of my thighs, I now am wondering how the heck people find time to write blogs!!

And read them!!!

I like surfing the web as much as the next guy, but with a full-time job with weird hours, a husband, a kid, a house, and a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Pocono, my plate is kind of full.

That being said, I am going to try and update this thing as often as I can, and as always, I love to hear from you.