Happy 4th of July

Happy Boomer Day Everyone. Actually it is the boomer part of the 4th I dislike the most, not to mention the 2nd , 3rd and 5th as the boomers continue to light up the night with color, sound and smoke. If you drive through Kearney tonight it will look like bombs have been going off it is so smoke covered. Not a good time for those war veterans with PTSD nor those with asthma. I keep waiting for a really good rain/wind storm to take out all the fireworks tents in the days leading up to the 4th. It would not break my heart to see those products drenched in water, but alas no such luck in past years or this one. I guess I am a 4th of July Scroogette.

It was good to see everyone. Sharon thanks for hosting. the house is always so welcoming and comfortable and the food everyone brought and that which Sharon prepared was wonderful as usual. Carol, Ben and Jerry better watch out. You could open your open shop. Homemade ice-cream between two sugar cookies with half dipped in chocolate. I think it would be a winner. That just came to me-----inspired. Honor you looked especially cute in that little hat of Dads. He would be pleased. July 11th wear the hat and have a beer or a scotch, or wait in true Francis tradition have both and then go toss some bird seed to the birds. Katie, Princess Eloise is a sweetie. I can see how Trent could fall in love with her. I suspect that every volunteer has one animal that really touches their heart in such a way that they fall in love with and need to save it and then they can move on and be content to just do the best they can to make life easier for the pets that will come and go in shelters. It is not an easy job to volunteer at a shelter it takes a strong and compassionate soul to do that work. I will be excited to see pictures of your new home as you start the renovation & move in process. It is nice to feel like you are "Home".
Well enjoy the day off everyone, stay cool and be safe if you are hitting the road, now that Kansas believes it is safer to drive faster. That's Kansas for you, everyone else believes that higher speeds kill, but Kansas says go for it----thinning the herd perhaps. You gotta love being on a highway with a semi flying down the road and 75-85 miles per hour, hopped up on caffeine and who knows what else while texting their ETA to someone. Ok that was a holiday buzz kill.
Happy Boomer Day one and all!

Free Dog Jack

Well Jack was at it again; out on another "walk about". A couple of weeks ago I sent Annie and Jack out into their yard for their last puppy break for the day. The time was about 9:15pm. I go out about 10:00 to bring them in and lo and behold, no puppies. Now once in a while Annie has popped one of the white vinyl pickets and dashed out in to the wide open yard, but she always comes back when called. Jack has always stayed in the yard. He is not one to go through narrow spaces. What if one of those other pickets touched me. He is like that about other things in the house. He doesn't go down stairs to the basement if the door is partially closed. He doesn't go behind a door to get a toy and especially not behind the rocking chair---yikes! Did you see that? The chair moved! That is how he got his name Chicken Jack. So you can only imagine my shock when I see Jack streaking across the backyard and into the deep dark dense woods. Annie was gone too, but quickly returned when I called her name. I guess this night, two pickets came off and the lure of being a free dog was too much. He made a run for it. Chicken Jack grew a brave heart. The sights and sounds of the night were too much. He was on some heady drug. He was at Disney Land. He was gone into the night. Now in the past when this has happened he returns in about 20-30 minutes. He is usually panting and covered in stick tights. In the past his great escapes have been during daylight hours, now it was night and time for dogs and humans to be in bed. I stayed in the yard calling to him with my "happy voice", calling out to him with the tempting names of his favorite toys "purple ball", "rope toy", and "lime loop". Jack knows his toys by name, but the lure of the night was too much. John got in the truck and drove down to the meadow and up to the pasture calling his name. We hoped that Jack would see the truck lights and think "Ok a ride". Again the lure of the night.....
John came back to the house and decided to grab a flashlight and trudge a path into the woods in search of his buddy. I heard him calling his name. Then to my left I hear noise in the woods. I call Jack's name. I spot him. He is about 10 feet away. He sees me, turns and runs back into the woods. The stinker. I call to John. He makes his way back to me. I tell him I saw Jack. This of course was a big relief, because honestly we didn't know if Jack was on the scent of something how far he would go. A border collie can cover 5 miles in no time and even though highway MM is not busy it only takes one unsavy dog and one car to have a tragedy. So big sigh of relief, mixed with frustration/aggravation. John heads back into the woods calling his name. Then there is silence. John turns off his flashlight. We listen to the sounds of the woods and see the darkness lit with little glows of lightening bugs. Then I hear a woof and John's voice low. A few moments later man and dog are walking into the yard. John and I give each other that look, "Can you believe that dog". We are relieved. Jack is exhausted, but happy. It was 11:45pm.

Sawing logs

I have never posted photos to the blog before, but John and I are going to give it a try, hope it comes out ok. John cut down some trees on the property, some were dead, others were damaged from storms, anyway he found a guy in Liberty who owns a portable saw mill. This guy brought it out to the property and they spent the day sawing logs. One of the logs was about 36 feet long. A neighbor had to help John pull it up to the pasture with his tractor. It was an all day event. John was pretty tired at the end of the day, but also pretty darn proud of his bounty of boards.

Summer Reads

Well I made my most recent trip to the public library for a bit of light reading material. I thought I would share a couple of my selections.

The first is a book titled The Daily Coyote, by Sherve Stockton. It is a true story about a woman who on her cross country journey to move back to New York City from San Fransisco fell in love with the state of Wyoming. She is given a 10-day old coyote pup from a boyfriend who works for a wildlife management department who's job is basically to exterminate coyotes for the farmers and ranchers. I admit that it is tough to read parts that talk about that aspect. She makes it brief and glosses over it somewhat. She lives in a community of 300 people so it appears she is careful not alienate her neighbors who have a different view point of coyotes. Anyway the book chronicles about the first year of this coyotes life with her. She also has a blog. She is a photographer and some of the photos are sweet and beautiful. If you like animals it is a good summer read. It is cheap on Amazon and is available on Kindle, but I checked it out from the library. Katie I think Trent would like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Coyote-Story-Survival-Wyoming/dp/B003JTHSFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305809641&sr=1-1-catcorr


The second book is The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, now there are many books out there titled The Alchemist so be watchful to get the one by Paul Coelho. It is a simple tale of a shepherd boy who goes off in search of his personal treasure and the people he meets on his way, as well as the lessons he learns. It is a very easy and short read. Coelho does not get rave reviews from literary reviewers for his works, but for simple enjoyment and simple thought provoking messages it has a sweet quality.


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+alchemist&x=0&y=0

OK that is it for now. Enjoy all your Summer Reads whatever they are!

Tact, anyone?

Saturday was WSU's graduation for the College of Education, and I had the pleasure of shaking the hands of 14 of my 16 graduates after they left the stage. It was wonderful. After commencement, the COE held a reception for graduates and their families. It wasn't particularly well attended, and only 2 of my students showed up.

One of them, whom I'll call Betty, introduced me to her mom. Her mom whispered to her, "Is this the one you were telling me about?"

Betty replied, "She's one of them. She and Dr. B--- were my favorite professors."

The she turned to me and conspiratorily added, "But I liked Dr. B better."

Sometimes I have to wonder about my students' sense of audience and purpose. :-)

Norma's Advice

I recently went through my old autograph book. It was a present for my tenth birthday. This book is 53 years old. I can still read the messages people wrote in it. Since today is Mother's Day, I thought I would share what our mom had to say. It is advice she probably gave to each of us at one time or another.

My dear daughter,
After all these years I have decided to write a few lines.
Be Patient, Be Kind.
Have a smile on your lips
a pleasant word for your fellow man.
Give a helping hand,
you will always be remembered and loved.
your Mother

I treasure these lines Mother wrote. I hope this Mother's Day is lovely for all my Fiddler Kin.

secret life of grandma

Everyone needs to encourage Honor Louise to post about "the secret life of grandma". Intrigued?

Happy Mother's Day Everyone, be it to the two legged or four legged variety! Enjoy the spirit of the day.

Spring photos

What a fabulous Easter weekend! I'm so glad I got to chat, laugh, and play with my wonderful family last Saturday!











I particularly enjoyed gathering eggs, blowing bubbles, and playing catch with Jacob and Isaiah. The Easter Bunny's handwritten messages for egg finders were the highlight of the egg hunt. The Easter Bunny says, "Do a dance. Dance, I say, dance! Dance like you've never danced before."









My cousins' families are growing and making all of us feel young and playful. I can't remember the last time I hunted for Easter eggs. Thanks to Jacob and Isaiah for allowing me to join in the fun. (I didn't include photos of Isaiah on the blog or Facebook out of respect for the Kepkas' wishes that they not be shared in that way, but I did send out a link on Kodak Share that includes more cute photos of him. Thomas, let me know if you want the link.)












And here are a couple of photos from our day trip in central Kansas in March, along the Scenic Prairie View byway. We dined in Lindsborg and took in the view from Coronado Heights before visiting Kanapolis Lake, where the water was mighty choppy on a windy Kansas afternoon.

address correction

matthew fiddler 202 S. commercial emporia ks 66801

address

Bursada lemosa
202 commercial
emporia, kansas 66801

bad news

Matthew called me today to tell me that Bursdas' Mother had died of suffication in the night. She had epilepsy. Please pray for them.

Spring and New Orleans

Hello, family! I hope you’re all enjoying this first gorgeous day of spring. The wind may be gusting, but the sun is warm, and the trees are beginning to bud. I just got back from a walk in the Great Plains Nature Center, which is only a 20 minute walk from our apartment. While there, I had the pleasure of seeing 18 turtles sunning themselves on logs in Chisholm Creek. Eighteen at the same time – all different colors and sizes, some nuzzling each other.

Last week and weekend, I got to spend some time in New Orleans for a conference for work. The last time I was in New Orleans, it was on a family vacation the summer before my 7th grade year. I remember Bourbon Street and the Superdome and the unfamiliar feeling of the being in the minority when the four of us boarded a bus downtown. This time around, I took in more sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. It was sensory overload.

When my colleagues and I went out the Thursday after Mardi Gras, we soaked in the sights of decorated verandas, performance artists, sex shops and strip clubs on Bourbon Street, art galleries on Royal Street, and people, people everywhere.



We enjoyed the sounds of live blues, jazz, and Zydeco music, as well as the performances of street musicians of all ages – a family band performing “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” a violinist and guitarist performing “The House of the Rising Sun,” a middle school age boy blasting on his trumpet.

We breathed in the smell of cigar smoke and waffle cones, and we feasted on gumbo, pralines, red beans and rice, and beignets. In fact, on our third night there, we dined at Emeril’s NOLA Restaurant where I indulged in shrimp & grits and three kinds of crème brulee, including mocha and coconut. It was heavenly.



By the time we left on Sunday afternoon, however, we were all ready to get away from the crowds of people (who’d arrived for St. Patrick’s Day) and stench that had overtaken the French Quarter – a foul mix of garbage, horse crap, and cigarette smoke. It feels good to be back in Kansas where the air is fresh and the people are not right on top of you.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you at Easter!