Hidden "Talents"

In the last year, I have been twice asked to share something that people might not know about me. On the first occasion, I was to write three sentences on a paper about myself. Two were supposed to be true and the other one false. Then people had to guess which was the false one. On the second occasion, I was just to write something that was true, but not well known, and see if people could guess who wrote it. I always have a hard time coming up with stuff like that, because either I keep nothing hidden about myself, or else I have no strange talent or hobby that I would dare to share in public.

It did get me thinking, though, if there was anything unique about me that would be worth sharing. I thought of one thing but it is kind of silly: I remember birthdays. Not just family member's birthdays, but everyone's. If someone tells me when their birthday is, I will usually remember it. I will admit that as I have gotten older, I am not quite as sharp as I used to be. I have a lot harder time remembering the actual date but I still usually remember what month the birthday is in.

When I was younger, I didn't realize that it was unusual to know when all your acquaintance's birthdays were. Often a conversation would go like this.

Friend: "Do you know how old ___________ is?"

Me: "I believe he will be ______ in April."

Friend: "How in the world do you know when his birthday is?"

Me: "He told me one time and I remember it."

Gradually I realized that this was not information that was generally stored in everyone's head and that my brain must be wired a little differently. It wasn't like I tried to remember people's birthday. I just did.

I don't talk much about this "talent" but of course my family knows about it. I think the funniest thing was a few years ago, when Megan said, "Mom, I have just realized that I remember people's birthdays just like you do." We had a good chuckle over it. Nothing like passing our quirks on to the next generation. I really hope there are a few other more beneficial genes and talents that I have endowed her with as well.

Family Traditions



What is a family tradition? Dr. Susan Coady of Ohio State University says, "There's no limit to what a tradition can be...Families do have everyday routines, such as who sits where at the dinner table, or reading a bedtime story every night, but we don't really consider those to be traditions. Traditions are usually something that is a little more special — something that's anticipated and that you're greatly disappointed if it doesn't happen."

 I used to say that our family didn't have any such traditions. At least it didn't feel like it when I compared us to other families. However, as I thought about it more, I realized that we do indeed have a few that our children look forward to. One that I started when Shawn & Jay were small was making a Christmas cake and putting candles on it and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus as part of our Christmas meal. I don't think I realized how much everyone looked forward to this until one year when Megan was in her teens and we had no small children at our table, I suggested that we wouldn't have to put candles on the cake and sing Happy Birthday. "But we always do that. We can't stop now," was the unified chorus. I gladly put the candles on, we sang "Happy Birthday Jesus," blew the candles out, and everyone was happy. I never suggested again that we eliminate this part and now our grandchildren eagerly look forward to it too.

 

Another tradition that actually goes back a generation is making homemade doughnuts when it snows. If a big snow was forecast and it looked like we might not have school the next day, my siblings and I would beg Mother to make homemade doughnuts. She would mix up the ingredients and knead the dough into a big ball before she went to bed and then put it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, the dough would have at least doubled in size and look like a big basketball. She would roll out the dough and we children would help to cut the doughnuts out. We would carefully put them on cookie sheets and place them in front of the fireplace to rise and would keep lifting the tea towels placed over them to peek and see how plump they were getting. After they were deemed to have risen enough (usually about 2 hours), the fun really began. We would form an assembly line. Someone would lift the soft dough carefully from the cookie sheets and place them in cooking oil to fry. Another person was in charge of the frying and would turn the doughnuts at just the right time when one side was a perfect brown. The other side was done to perfection as well and then the doughnuts were taken out of the oil and put in a colander to drain. Someone else took them out of the colander and dropped them into a glaze and then lifted them out of the glaze and slid them through their holes onto narrow sticks placed over bowls so the excess icing could drip into the bowl. They would stay on the sticks until the icing was dry and then the doughnuts were removed and placed on wax paper. Not much beats the taste of a freshly homemade doughnut and we would all eat as many as we were allowed and then Mother would freeze the rest and we would enjoy them for weeks to come. My brothers used to steal them from the freezer and eat them frozen. (Okay, I might have done it a time or two as well.) They even tasted wonderful frozen.

 

After Steve and I were married, we found this to be a fun tradition to carry on. At first, my mother was always available to help and she would mix and knead the dough for me. I was always afraid of the kneading process and so was glad to let her do it. I don't know when the first time was that I did the entire process without Mom. Of course, my doughnuts never got as good as Mother's. I remember one time, they didn't rise at all. The kids didn't care--they ate them anyway and thought they were delicious, but I was frustrated. Why couldn't I make them just like Mom?

 

I think what I have learned through the years, is that it doesn't matter that my doughnuts don't get like my mother's. To my children they are perfect and delicious and something they look forward to. So, I continued the tradition and usually at least once a winter, when the children had a snow day and were home from school, we would make doughnuts together.

 

The last couple of winters were relatively mild and we really didn't have any substantial snow days, so the doughnut making didn't happen. This winter was a different story and snowstorm followed snowstorm. Even though none of my children are living in my house currently, when a big snow was predicted I would always get the question, "are you going to make doughnuts?" I kept coming up with an excuse but finally I sent the memo out that I would be making doughnuts last Saturday. Megan was home and Shawn & Melissa came to help as well as Jobeth Kreider. It was a fun day and I thought the doughnuts turned out really well. I will never think they are as good as my mother's but I suppose if my children ever carry on the tradition, they will think that theirs don't turn out as well as mine did. :)

 

Here are some pictures of the doughnut making process:

 

 The dough 

Cutting out the doughnuts

All cut out, ready to rise



Most of the doughnuts raised beautifully

All glazed and ready to eat

Cable Interruption

Like many around me, I have become accustomed to the "luxuries" that are available to us through technology. We have cable in our home which gives us instant Internet access whenever we want it and a multitude of programs and channels to choose from on TV when we so desire. I also have a Smartphone so (as long as I have it with me) I immediately get text messages and emails and I have the ability to Google and browse any website with a few touches on my screen.

As I wrote on my previous blog, last Wednesday our area was hit with an ice storm that knocked the power out of many homes, ours included. We lost electricity and cable simultaneously. As we went through the next several days, I was very thankful for a small generator that allowed us to take hot showers, use the stove/microwave, and have lights on in the house. I was also very glad for my Smartphone which kept me connected to the Internet world and enabled me to keep up with emails and Facebook (so important, right?).

We have a data-plan for my Smartphone but not an unlimited one, so I tried to use it as sparingly as I could. I was happy to head to work each day, where the electricity and Internet had been unaffected by the ice storm. By Friday afternoon the electricity at our house was restored and we began to eagerly anticipate our cable restoration as well. We called the cable company and got the standard recording that "many in your area have been affected by the recent storm and are without cable and crews are working hard to restore it." They also gave an anticipated time when connection would happen again. On Friday, they said it would be back by 11:00 pm Friday night. Saturday morning, the recording said that it should be restored by 11:00 pm Saturday night. On Sunday morning, when we still didn't have cable but the recording assured that us we would have it by that evening, we were skeptical. However, on Sunday afternoon, I received a voicemail from our provider telling me that cable had been restored to our area. We were elated and I immediately texted Megan with the good news. She got home first and soon discovered that indeed we did NOT have cable. Exasperated, we called the cable company to inform them that our cable was still not working and were told that they would have to send a technician out to see what the problem was. The earliest time they had available was Tuesday morning. To make matters worse, after talking with our neighbors, we realized that we were the ONLY ones without it. Whatever the problem was, it was directly in our line somewhere.

As all this was taking place, I realized just how much I depend on cable and how my days revolve around it. My online Scrabble games were interrupted because I couldn't get the Internet on my desktop to play them. My plan for watching the Olympics was thwarted because the TV just sat there with a blue screen that said "your program will resume shortly." And of course my beloved Tennis Channel was unavailable.  Watching the Olympics or tennis on my Smartphone was really not an option since I am over 50 and don't like watching programs on small screens. Plus, as I said before, we don't have an unlimited data plan so to continually use my Smartphone seemed unwise. However, on Saturday, I began to think that it might be worth going over our allotted data plan if it meant we could have the Internet on our desktops. I realized that I could turn my Smartphone into a hotspot and connect our desktops to the World Wide Web through it. What was a little extra money if it allowed us use of our desktops? We really needed them, right? But after I did it I suddenly felt guilty about doing this. Why was I so impatient? Why couldn't I just wait? Did I really need to be on my computer? I turned the hotspot off and just decided I could live without cable until it was restored.

So what did I do with my "extra" time that I had because I couldn't be on the computer or watching TV? Well, I did a little more reading than I normally do. I cleaned some areas of the house that don't often see a dust cloth or sweeper. I made some food and organized some cupboards. I watched a couple of videos including "The Hiding Place" (a tremendous story of forgiveness and dependence on God's strength and love to get through horrific and terrifying circumstances) and "Homeward Bound II" (a great comedy, stress reliever). However, always in the back of my mind was the thought that something wasn't quite right. It was an unsettling feeling and although I tried to ignore it, it never quite went away.

Finally, this morning a technician came out and located the problem and our cable was restored. With a sigh of relief we got back to our "normal" life. Steve especially was happy to catch up with emails and the news (he doesn't have a Smartphone).

Suddenly, everything seems right again. We have become so used to this way of life that we are uncomfortable and grouchy when it is not available to us. Yes, we probably could have handled our weeklong disconnection more cheerfully but it is difficult when a part of your everyday existence is taken from you. In some ways, it is like a mini-death and your mind is consumed with it and you can hardly think of anything else. I want to believe that I could live without the Internet, computers and Smartphones but since I do have them, is it wrong for me to feel like my world is only upright when they are working properly?

Icy Blast

Well, this winter has certainly been one to remember. It has been cold...really cold...unlike anything we have had in the last several winters. We have also had more snow than we have been accustomed to in the previous couple years. Schools have used all of their built-in snow days and parents are moaning every time they have another day of kids home from school.

For the most part, I honestly don't mind the bitter weather. The house is warm and I don't have to be outside in the elements much and I am loving not having any outdoor work like mowing and weeding. It's almost like a mini vacation for me, because during the summer months, the huge yard takes so much of my time that in the winter I feel liberated from having the constant pressure of lawn and flower garden care.

Yesterday, however, we got an ice storm that even I got tired of pretty quickly.  It started overnight on Tuesday while we were sleeping. I kept waking up to the noises and clicks that a house makes when the electric is blinking on and off. I drifted into an uneasy sleep until daybreak. The electric was still on and I quickly made myself a cup of coffee. It was not a moment too soon, because within 15 minutes Steve and I heard a loud noise, kind of like an explosion, and we looked out our office window just in time to see the electric pole halfway up our road (between us and Josh) topple and lay across the road. Simultaneously, our electric blinked off for the last time.

I do not do very well without modern conveniences. I miss the internet and water and lights when I don't have them. Fortunately, our propane heat is not run through electric and so the house stays warm when there is a power outage. We also have a finicky small generator, which Steve hooked up for a couple of hours so I could make a pot of soup and wash a few things, but we can't turn the computers on and of course we didn't have cable anyway, so even if we could have, we would have still been without internet. After a couple of times of the generator blowing fuses, at 7:00 we turned it off and sat in the dark for the rest of the evening. I did get a flashlight out and do a little bit of reading, but I was happy to go to bed at 9:00.

All over Lancaster County, people are/were without power. Basically, it had snowed for a little bit overnight and then changed to freezing rain, which turned everything into ice. It was beautiful but dangerous. Trees fell and branches were scattered everywhere. When I went out to take a few pictures, it was almost scary because the trees in the neighbor's woods were breaking and falling and there was a constant popping and cracking noise. It was unsettling and I kept looking up to see if anything was going to fall on my head.

When we first called PPL to report the power outage, a recording told us that we could expect to have our power restored by Saturday evening (this was Wednesday!). However, when we called again this morning, the recording told us that "most" in our area would be back on by 11:00 pm tonight. Hopefully, that most includes us, but I am not holding my breath. In the meantime, I was more than happy to leave my electricless home and go to work, where I could enjoy several hours of the luxury of internet and could use the bathroom without worrying about the tank refilling with water.

If nothing else, the storm gives people a lot to talk about. This winter will be remembered for its cold and snowy weather as well as the Ice Storm that hit on February 5. Here are a few pictures:

This is looking up our road. You can see the telephone pole about half way up the hill that Steve and I saw fall across the road.

Downed power lines in front of our neighbor's woods where I heard all the cracking and popping.

Close up of the fallen power lines. This is our neighbor's trash can.

Beautiful but dangerous. This is along Pinnacle Road.

Close-up of the thick ice.