"This Little Girl of Mine"

I am a typical grandmother.  I am absolutely crazy about my granddaughter.  She has always been smart, funny, witty, and clever.  She is special in so many ways.  Those of you who have followed along with the Musings for a while. probably read about her entrance into the world as a preemie (a tiny preemie!) and her encounter with Hepatablastoma (a malignant tumor on the liver) at the age of 3 1/2.  She came through both of those experiences with flying colors and earned the title of Our Miracle Baby because of them.  And now at two months shy of her 13th birthday, she is a completely healthy and a pretty  normal pre-teen.  She loves to read.  She plays violin in her school's Symphony Orchestra. She's a Girl Scout.  We are very proud of all of her accomplishments in the last 12 years.

Like most kids she has a few things she struggles with.  She has a temper, she gets frustrated easily, she is interested in a gazillion different things, she doesn't like being the center of attention (but she's getting better at it).  She is a huge Dr. Who fan (and I mean HUGE) along with a group of her friends.  When she's cranky, she is world-class cranky!!  She is an individual who follows her own drummer and does things according to her own time schedule.  

She's a great and unique kid and we love spending time with her (when she's not cranky!!  lol!)

I mentioned that she is smart.  We've known that for a long time.  I could give you multiple examples of things she has done and how great her grades have been.  She attends a magnet Middle School with am academic program for bright kids.  She is now in the second half of the seventh grade and she is doing just great.  She loves the school and finds it challenging but not impossible.  They seem to have enormous amounts of homework, and all the kids complain, but they get it done.  That's okay, kids always complain about homework and the older you get the more there is!  

Okay, there you have it...."This Little Girl of Mine" (okay, she's OUR girl) our granddaughter, is Maddie-the-Great and we love her to pieces, just like every grandparent feels about their grandchildren.  We don't love her because of her gifts.  We love her because of who she is!

Nevertheless, there are times when her special-ness stands out in a way that is hard to miss.  For instance.....

Duke University (along with several other colleges and universities around the country) has a program for identifying academically gifted kids and offering them opportunities to attend special summer courses exploring all sorts of fields and topics.  The way they identify these kids (at least in Texas) is by having high scorers on the Texas STAR test are given the opportunity to take the S.A.T.s while they are in 7th or 8th Grades.  Yes, that's right, they take  the regular S.A.T. exams when they are in the 7th or 8th grade, right along with the regular administration of the tests to high school juniors and seniors!  7th graders are 12-13; juniors and seniors are 17-19 that's 4-5 more years of maturing and schooling  received!  The 7th graders take the exact same test, which is scored in the exact same way.

And then they wait for the results.  So, as you might have figured out (because you are pretty bright too!!  LOL!), Maddie-the-Great was one of the kids to take the test back in January.  

Just to be clear, there is no penalty involved if the child doesn't do well.  The test results do NOT stay on the record if their score is below a certain level.  There is no stigma attached, after all they are only 12!  Most kids don't take the S.A.T.s for several more years.  No pressure to do well, no embarrassment, no bad consequences.  Participation is completely voluntary.

Okay, so M-t-G was one of the 7th graders.  She was pretty relaxed about it given the circumstances and the lack of "expectations" both at school and at home.  When she talked with us after the test she said that the Math was kind of hard, but the rest wasn't too bad.  She felt okay about the test.  Good!

The sponsors of the program, Duke and other schools, offer two levels of summer offerings for these kids depending on their test results.  "The Academy" offers classes to the kids that rank in the top 5% of participants' scores.  "The Center" offers classes to the kids who have the highest academic achievement scores.....that's all it says.....just the "highest"....I think these are the uber-smart, almost genius level kids, but it doesn't exactly say that. 

Last Thursday they got the results.  Maddie scored a 500 in Math, 520 in Writing, and 580 in critical reading, which puts her solidly in The Academy group....the top 5% of her peers!!  That gives her a composite of 1600....1500 is the average score for High School Juniors who take the SATs!!!

Just like any grandparent I am very proud of her ability and how well she did.  That's nothing new!  But now when I say, she's pretty smart, she's got the SAT scores to prove it and she got them at  age 12! 

"This Little Girl of Mine(/Ours)" did it again!!   Maddie-the-Great, indeed!

(In the interest of complete disclosure, I did not do extensive research on this program.  But this is what Ratchlet and Maddie said and I sort of confirmed it on Duke's website.  So I'm pretty sure I got it right, but I could be off a bit.)

"Come Saturday Morning"

Like most little girls M-T-G was/is really attached to her mom.  In fact, so attached that she didn't want to do sleep-overs with friends (or even with grandmothers!) because she would get really unhappy, homesick and miss her mom.  Once or twice when she did finally decide to try staying over for a birthday party or something, Ratchlet got a call to go and pick her up  and take her home because she just was so miserable. Once she hit 11 (or so) she mostly got over that and she has gone to several sleepovers with her friends without incident.  

This isn't unusual in the world of children.  I remember being picked up a time or two myself when I was around that age.  That homesick feeling is really tough to deal with for a child.....well for anybody, I guess, but for little girls it is a devastating feeling.  I don't know of any adult who is unable to spend the night away from home.   So eventually we all grow out of it, but try to tell a miserably unhappy little girl who misses her mom that she'll grow out of it!! Can we say they do not believe you?

Now M-t-G  is over 12 and she took tje next step in that growing up process this week.  She spent a week away at Girl Scout Camp.  A whole week!  She had been to this camp with her troop a couple of times, but that didn't really count because Ratchlet is one of the troop leaders, so she was there!  That's a whole different ball of wax!

But this time no Mom, no Dad for a whole week.  The camp is pretty close so if M-t-G needed rescuing, it wouldn't take long to get there.   Ratchlet did hear from the camp, because M-t-G had a tummy ache one day (nothing serious and the next day she was fine.)  The counselor did say that M-t-G had been a little homesick, but only when they weren't doing something. lol!  The thing is though, that M-t-G didn't ask to go home!  She didn't have a meltdown or anything.  Once they were busy again she was fine.  Such progress!!

"Come Saturday Morning" (tomorrow) she'll be home, so we'll see what her overall reaction to being away at camp really was!  Still, I have high hopes she had a great time and before long she won't remember that she didn't see or talk to her mom for a whole week.  Fingers crossed!

She's growing up, but she's doing it at her own pace, just like everything she has ever done!  

"Long, Tall Sally"

There aren't any really tall people in my Mom's family.  My Gramps was shorter than my Gram. My mom was about 5'2".  She had two brothers that were around 5'11", but her other siblings were all fairly short.  I don't remember exactly how tall they were, but all of her sisters were somewhere around 5' 1' or 2" and the other uncles probably 5'6" or so.  On Dad's side, he was about 5'8" (even tho his dad and his uncle were over 6'.)

I hit my top height as a freshman in H.S. topping out at 5'' 2 1/2."  I wasn't exactly a "Long, Tall Sally", but I was taller than my mom and my sister too.  I couldn't swear to it, but I think my niece is about my height.  When Rachlet was growing up I used to tease her that if she ever got taller than I, she would have to move out.  She never did think that wa s very funny, nevertheless, she topped  out at only 5'2";....a full 1/2" shorter than me....so her place in our house was secure until she was ready to move out on her own!   lol!   I remained the tallest woman in our immediate family.  Perhaps that is why I never felt particularly short!  Because I had family that WERE short and I was taller.

Rachlet's hubby, T.A. is 5"11".  His dad was about the same.  His mother and his sister are both around 5'5" or so.  His aunts and uncles are all over the map, but none very, very tall or very, very short.  Just average.

You may remember that when our Maddie-the-Great came along she was a tiny preemie....only 1 lb. 14 oz. and 13" long at birth!   She stayed in the lower percentiles for weight and height for several years.  Nothing all that unusual, she was just on the low side of normal.  I never really gave it much thought, but I guess I assumed she would be on the short side....like the rest of the women in my family.  I remember when she was first born, I was talking with an acquaintance (no one I knew well), and this woman told me her son had been a tiny preemie too but now, as an adult, he was over 6' ft.  That just confirmed for me that being a preemie only affects children when they are young and there was no correlation to being a small adult.  It didn't occur to me, that M-t-G could be tall!

Well somewhere about 3 or 4 years ago M-t-G began to have growth spurts that would add several inches to her height over the course of a year.  Her place in the percentile rankings began to inch up (pun intended!)
That was reassuring.

It's also a little disconcerting!  It seemed like she had grown every time I saw her!  Well, it finally happened!  When we saw her last weekend, she had grown again and when we stood back-to-back, it was clear that she was as tall as I was!!  There is very little chance that she will stop growing right now and never get any taller.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she nudged past me during the last week and when I next see her she will be ......(sob)....taller than her Grammy!  (Which means she would be taller than her mom too.)   She's still only 11 (6th grade) and won't even be 12 until April.... and she is as tall as a grown-up!  (Okay, a short   grown-up, but a grown-up just the same!!)

I wasn't finished with growing until I was 14.  If she does the same that means she still has two whole YEARS of growing left to do!  She could end up not only taller than her mom and I, but taller than her other Grandma and her aunt!

Either way it's pretty much the end of my reign as the tallest woman in my family!  Of course, it's ridiculous to talk about being the tallest anything at only 5' 2 1/2"....that isn't tall by anybody else's definition.   A fact that I am reminded of every times someone stands next to me and says, "Boy, are you short!"   Still, it was my one claim to fame in our little family, I was the tallest woman.

So our M-t-G could be a "Long, Tall, Sally" before long, depending on how tall she actually gets before stopping, after all kids are bigger these days.  But it's okay for her to be tall, tall women have a stronger presence, they are harder to overlook, and tall people have more self-confidence....all good things!

When I look at the photos of M-t-G when she was tiny, I am so grateful that with all she had to go through, that she is so healthy today.  Our double-miracle grandchild continues to beat the odds in nearly every aspect of her life.  I do have to giggle just a little though, we were all so worried when she was born and it took her 9 weeks in the NICU to grow to reach 5 lbs, so she could go home.  It seemed like forever back then!  I guess we needn't have worried quite so much,  growing seems to be one of her very best things!

"Bits and Pieces"

As I am wont (don't you just love that word?) to do from time to time, here are a few Bits of this and a couple of Pieces of that from the hodgepodge of thoughts that run through my mind on any given day....


1.  I lived in the state of Illinois for something like 30 (non-consecutive) years of my life.  Although all those years were in Chicago (which is almost like a state all by itself), I learned to sing the State Song...."By thy rivers gently flowing, Illinois, Illinois...," I know the State Motto is "Land of Lincoln", I know that Abraham Lincoln lived there for most of his early years.  What I did NOT know until our recent trip to Chicago, is that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is in Springfield, the State Capital.  How could I not have known this?  I lived there for 30 years and I never once heard about the Lincoln Library??  So consequently, I never WENT to the Lincoln Library!  Lincoln is one of my heroes and I still missed it!!  How is that possible?




2.  There is a phenomenon of the human body that I don't understand at all.  Well, actually there are many phenomenon that I don't understand, and come to think of it, the particular phenomenon I am going to write about (if I ever GET to it!) very probably applies to most species in the animal kingdom as well as humans.  So finally to the point, have you ever had a splinter that was rather deep and was impossible to remove without digging around in your rather sensitive epidermis until you bled?  But it remains stubbornly embedded in you! Or have you ever had a food particle get stuck "in" a tooth and no matter how much you floss and poke and rinse, you can't remove it.  You know that it is still there because it's the size of the Rock of Gibraltar, and it hurts every time you chew in that vicinity.  Still, it will not be moved!


In both of those situations, I remember my mother saying to me, "Just leave it alone.  It will work itself out."  And it generally did, eventually.


What I want to know though is HOW?  HOW does this not so little piece of detritus actually "work itself out?"  There are no moving parts in those areas that could be pushing out the strange intruder.  There is no freely flowing liquid that could swish it along with all the other waste.  There is no little teeny, tiny person sent in to do a search and rescue, no Navy Seals who make a daring raid to kidnap and eject said intruder, no handheld laser or phaser, or transporter (if you're into Trekdom) to break it down into molecules and recreate it outside of you!  


So how does it WORK ITSELF OUT??  Or is this another of those unexplained mysteries that drive researchers (and ME) crazy??




3.  It occurred to me the other day, that M-t-G is now 11 and going into the 6th grade.  I believe that I was in the sixth grade when I had my very first  "crush" on a real, live....(gulp)....boy!   Yowza!  If memory serves, at 11, Ratchlet too, began to be aware of boys as something possibly more interesting than dirt!  As far as I know M-t-G has not yet shown any interest in the male of the species, but that could (and probably will) turn on a dime any minute!  Oh boy!  Or rather oh, BOYS!   


Of course, our girl has always had her own schedule for when things happen.  For instance, she didn't walk until she was 18 mo. old....but then she just stood up and walked like she had been doing it all her life.  Sooooo, she may not discover boys until she's 18 YEARS old!!  Or it could happen next week!  


Either way, I'm pretty sure we'll all have to fasten our seat belts!




4.   After 46 years of married life, one  make that two grownups accumulate a LOT of stuff.  As I look at several rooms in our house, I realize that we are only one or possibly two Christmases away from Critical Mass!  Purging is desperately needed.....but not today!  I think I feel a headache coming on.




5.   Summer has already made its presence known this year.  We hit 95F one day last week.  As the heat looms for the rest of the summer, I am (once again) struck by the idiocy of our HOA (I'll blame them, because I'm not sure who else to blame!)  Despite being an upscale development with home values ranging from $250,000 all the way up to $2M+, there is NO community pool!!  Oh there is the pool at the Country Club, but it is restricted to use by members only....and membership costs mega-bucks!  There are somewhere over 400 homes in the "neighborhood" at least 2/3 of which have multiple children.  Some homes have their own pools, but many, many do not (including us.)  Most developments, even those at the low end of the economic scale, have a pool, sometimes several!  Yet we do not.  We pay a reasonable amount in our annual HOA dues, so I think most of us wouldn't mind a sensible increase if it were used to finance a pool for the non-Country Club set!  However, one simple phrase keeps running through my head as I think about this.  Does "FAT CHANCE" tell you anything??




6.   Have I ever mentioned that I love a pretty yard?  Lovely landscaping can make your home just sparkle!  Unfortunately, I have neither the talent, the money, nor the commitment, for making it happen where I live.  Sigh!  When we lived in CA, our yard was small, beautifully landscaped by the previous owners, and reasonably managed.  We had roses, jasmine, a couple of small fruit trees, and close to the front door, hydrangeas, a gardenia, and a gorgeous hot pink azalea!  In the eight years we lived in that house, I managed NOT to kill them!  Remarkable!  


We have lived in this house for 11 1/2 years and we inherited none of those beautiful flowering plants and my yard, while presentable (mostly), is certainly never going to be a contender for "Yard of the Month!"  It's times like this when I really wish I could just wave a wand, or twitch my nose, or do a little hocus-pocus and make the yard gorgeous with lots of beautiful blooming plants....and a pool!




7.   Have you noticed that there is a growing trend in blogging for writers "taking a break?"  This is a real shame, because most of those who take a break, essentially disappear.  Oh there may be a sporadic "update" that will appear, but in fact, they never really come back.  And their friends and fans are left wondering what happened and if those MIA are all right!  


The sad truth is that blogging is a very draining experience!   It drains your free time.  It drains your creativity.  It drains your stash of "stories."  It drains your excitement about having your very own blog!!  


And sometimes life just gets in the way!  I can understand that....we never know what obstacles will suddenly pop up  as we travel the roads we have chosen and some of them are just too overwhelming to write about.


However, as Ross and Rachel (remember them??) found out to our infinite amusement, "taking a break" really means the end of a relationship!  


So, even though I can understand why some bloggers feel the need for a break, I will try very very hard never to type those words in relationship to my own blog.  For it surely would be the kiss of death!!  Even though several days may separate my postings, I remain a committed blogger!  I'd never leave my friends just hanging like that!!  


Heck, I was raised Catholic, I'd have way too much guilt about unfulfilled promises!!  LOL!




And, there you have it, "Bits and Pieces" of life inside my head!!

"There's A Girl In Texas"

"There's A Girl in Texas" who is, by almost any definition, really special.  She has been special since the moment she was born.  She is our family's pride and joy and Sunday, April 8, she turned 11 years old.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

This special girl is, of course, our double miracle girl, the light of our lives, our granddaughter,  Maddie-the-Great.   Before you go any further, I strongly urge you to take a few minutes and read her story in the following posts.  After you read her story, you'll understand a lot better, why I go on and on about this special girl.  (Go ahead, read.....take your time, I'll wait!)


Part I:  Against All Odds
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds.html

Part II: It's NICU time!!
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_09.html

Part III: Life in the NICU and Beyond
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_10.html

Part IV -- The Week When Time Stopped
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_13.html

Part V -- Our Second Miracle
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_14.html

Part VI --  Addendum
http://mellodeemusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/against-all-odds_1208.html

So, are you back??  Did you read it all??  Do you see why she is so special, at least to us?  Of course you do!  She is Maddie-the-Great for good reason!

Those health issues are all over with now and we are grateful.  M-t-G is completely healthy, suffered no consequences of being a preemie and on top of that she has been cancer free for eight years!  There are other ways that she is special too.  She is extremely bright.  Seriously bright, not just proud- Grandma bright!!

At the end of this school year she will "graduate" from elementary school and will be promoted to Middle School (6th-8th grades).  Kids in Austin have several options for Middle School.  Most of the kids go to one of the public Middle Schools as assigned according to the School District boundaries, but in addition to parochial or private schools, there are four other options.  There are three Middle School Magnet schools which focus on different areas of interest.  One is performing arts, one is law and international studies, a third (KMS) is an academically rigorous program, and the fourth is the Anne Richards School for Girls.  Application to these four consists of academic records (grades), special needs (gifted kids), and individual essay. 

M-t-G applied to KMS and Ann Richards.  Ann Richards School is a program established by the late Texas Governor, Ann Richards, to provide educational opportunities focusing women and opportunity.  Richards was also specifically established to provide opportunities for the financially disadvantaged girl.  Their enrollment is structured to be 75% from economically depressed neighborhoods in the city and the remaining 25% of the enrollment is selected by lottery of eligible applicants. 

Our girl was accepted at KMS and  was accepted/eligible at Ann Richards.  Whoo-Hoo!!  That's our kiddo!!  Although accepted/eligible at Ann Richards she was not selected in the lottery.  She may reapply next year or any following year, but I don't know that she will because she is REALLY excited at being accepted at KMS!  It was really her first choice.  There were 800+ applicants to KMS, of which about 200 were accepted and our Maddie was one of them! 

I think it will be a good choice for her.  She needs the challenge of being with other very bright kids.  School has been easy for her, straight As more often than not with not much effort.  KMS has an interesting curriculum and many electives are offered that challenge the kids in unusual ways (e.g., Physics through Cooking).  For the first time M-t-G may have to work a bit harder, but that's a good thing!

Of course, we are extremely proud of her!  She has already taken her Math placement test and she is awaiting the results.  She also has auditioned for the KMS Orchestra (she has been studying violin for four years) and it was indicated that she will most likely be accepted.  She's looking forward to that too!

Maddie has such a broad range of interests....she loves American History (especially WWII and the Civil War eras), she loves math, she loves music, she likes to be physically active, she is taking Tae Kwan Do and has already achieved several different colored belts (I've lost track of what level she is at currently), she is still in Girl Scouts, she loves to swim and roller skate (not at the same time!)  She wants to take up archery!  She loves horses and riding.  Nine times out of ten, when she watches TV, she watches the History or Discovery channels. Her vocabulary is outstanding.  She reads constantly (when she's not doing any of the other things she does!)  Her reading comprehension level has been identified at the High School Senior level and above!  As I said, she's an interesting kid!!

She, like every other kid, has some things she struggles with.  She likes to be in control.  She is feisty.  She has a temper that can get nearly out of control.  She is also approaching the time that hormones kick in and put her on that emotional roller coaster of the Tween/Teenager.  Every parent of girls has experienced that time when all of a sudden their happy little loving sunshine girl into a sad, miserable unhappy lump!   We have seen glimpses of that with our girl, and the next few years could be challenging for us all.

A few weeks ago M-t-G was upset about something with her mom and dad, and it slid into a melodramatic meltdown mode, with yelling, and tears, and "nobody likes me, I have no friends, you don't understand, you won't let me do anything, you don't love me!"  In between the dramatic sobs and the litany of being unloved, she paused, then sobbed out, "I am, of course, speaking metaphorically!!"

Oh yeah, she's our Maddie-the-Great!  She's a pistol!   I mean, really, how can ya help loving a kid like that??!! 

Wordless Wednesday

Easter, 2007

This is what Easter morning looks like in Texas

-- white gloves and a cowboy hat --

at least it does when you have a Texas-born Maddie-the-Great, like we do!!!

"Mona Lisa"

Arguably, the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa (technically it is named La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo) was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in1503-1506.  The painting is owned by the French Republic and hangs in the Louvre Museum.  It is a relatively small painting and yet it has been the object of much discussion, study, and imitation for centuries.  I have only seen photographs or reproductions, but never the original.

Now of course, you know that the lovely lady does not really wear a green top hat nor is there a rainbow in the painting....but as it was just St. Patrick's Day when EVERYONE (apparently including the Mona Lisa) is IRISH.  I thought it would be a great CLUE #1 for the post to come.

Portrait of an Italian lady wearing an Irish hat

"Why??"  you ask....Well, here is CLUE# 2:

Here is a charming photograph of Maddie-the-Great taken last week by her Mom.

Portrait of an (1/8) Irish Girl drinking

You +1'd this publicly. Undo

chocolat chaud

So what do these two beautiful ladies have in common??   Can you tell??  Do you know??

No?  Well, I'll tell you tomorrow!  I promise!

"Things I Couldn't Say" (aka Dear So and So)

It's a long time since I have posted a new batch of "Things I Couldn't Say" or Dear So and So.....but today is the day!! 

Dear Makers of....uhhh....Stuff ,

The other night I was sitting in my house, piddling and puttering around, minding my own business. when I realized I could hear someone talking.  The TV was not on, the computer was muted, it was too clear to be coming from outside.  It being nighttime, of course, I was home alone.  Needless to say, I was a bit frightened...uhhh... intrigued, and I had to track it down immediatly before panic set in....uhh...I called 911..uhhh...to identify the source.

Using my precise and keen sense of hearing....uhhh....By the process of elimination, I realized it was coming from the master bedroom.  Hmmm, that's odd.  There is no way in or out of that room except by the doorway from the small hallway off the family room.  I gingerly opened the door and immediately realized that the voices were coming from the new clock/radio the Big Guy just got.  For whatever reason, it had turned itself on.  (I want you to know that I am using great restraint here in not taking this post off in a completely different direction brought to mind by that phrase!!)

Okay, well, mystery solved, no intruders, no danger Will Robinson, nothing but an alarm set to the wrong time!  Wheeew!!  Relief.

So, you might say, why am I bothering you about this??  Aha!  We come to the crux of the matter!!
Pay attention, this is important.

The little clock radio in its rather attractive, yet sleekly techno looking design, had 7 "buttons" that were the controls.  They were labelled with very small letters chiseled into the metal of the case.
In a dimly lit room, by a set of 65 year of eyes, these letters were nearly impossible to read.  Not to worry, one of them had to be the power switch to turn the darned thing off.

EXCEPT THAT NOT ONE OF THOSE LITTLE BUTTONS DID ANYTHING TO TURN OFF THE RADIO!!!!  This wasn't brain surgery here, I just wanted to get rid of the noise!  I tried all sorts of combinations, different sequences, whatever I could think of.  I was nearly at the point of picking it up and hurling it against the wall!  Finally, after ten minutes of the damn thing blasting in my ears, something I did (I have no clue what) finally turned it off.  Ahhhhhhh!

My question?  Would it really be so detrimental to your "design concept", to CLEARLY MARK the on/off, power button???  There was nothing on the thing that was of any help at all!  Nothing!  No little red light, nothing that even said "start here, dummy"  Nothing, Nada, Zip!

It seems to me to be a perfect example of design over function run amok!  It really shouldn't take a Masters degree in electrical engineering to just turn the damn thing off!

I have just two more words for you.....FIX THIS!!

Disgustedly,
Mel

************

Dear Whomever,

I don't know who made the decision to completely eliminate the concept of a person on the staff of gas stations being there to help motorists re-fuel their cars, but it was a sucky decision!  Yes, yes, I understand about saving money by pumping it yourself, but there are times when having someone around who was there to HELP their customers (i.e., in bad weather, when a driver is impaired by an injury, in a real hurry, whatever) would be worth a few more cents a gallon!  Especially since we are already paying nearly $3.50 a gallon!!

Little old-ish ladies shouldn't have to stand outside in freezing temps, with a sharp wind, blowing icy sleet particles which feel like little shards of glass, directly into one's face just to get gas in their tank!

Just seems like good customer service to me!  You remember when that was a goal of every company, don't you?  I do!

Frozenly,
Mel

***********

Dear E-Bay Users,

Could all of you who are looking for the perfect art deco stained glass lampshade just go outside and play for a while?  My Mikey has been looking for days for just the right shade for a vintage lamp he bought.  He keeps getting outbid at the last minute (second??)  He is getting discouraged.  Mikey has very little patience and when he wants something, he wants it NOW.  All you last minute bidders are spoiling his fun.  He's getting a little testy....in fact, he's almost snarky.

So, could you all just go do something else for a while so that he can get the right shade and put us....uhh.....him out of his misery?  Please??!

Pleadingly,
The Big Guy's Wife

************

Dear Judges of Science Fairs (Austin version),

Tomorrow is the Regional Science Fair for grammar school kids (ages 8-11) in the Austin School District.  I am asking, as the grandmother of one of the exhibitors, that you please give close attention to the effort of one fifth-grader whose project (relating to reading facial expressions....i.e., real vs fake smiles) is dear to my heart.  Actually, it's not the project that's dear, it's the exhibitor!

It would be lovely for that smart, not so little 5th grade to take home a ribbon for her effort.  It was an interesting concept and she executed it very well.  She deserves a ribbon.  Doesn't matter which one (3rd, 2nd, 1st, even Honorable Mention), any of them would do.

After three years of projects, this is the first one that has advanced to this level.  It would be a real boon to her to be recognized! 

So what do you say?  Give the kid a ribbon, huh?  She would really be happy!

(GO M-T-G!!)

A Loving and Proud Grammy,
Mel

************

Dear Users of E-readers,

I just have a quick observation to share with you. 

I think it's a real pity that all the various e-readers, like the Kindle and Nook, are not made, marketed, and sold by companies other than booksellers.  Perhaps then the e-book offerings would be priced more reasonably and the selections offered for "free" or at least inexpensively, would be more than just a clearing house for self-published, poorly written, poorly edited, dreck!

And could someone please explain to me what the hell is the point of a Kindle Single, and why I should want to buy one???

I read quickly and go through books like water.  Buying best sellers would break the bank in the blink of an eye!  It is very clear that the e-reader is not for the convenience of the reader, it is for the profit of the publishers and booksellers!

I'm beginning to miss the Library!

Mel

**************

Dear Blogland,

If you like Dear So and So, and want to give it a try, just pop over to Kat's Place at Three Bedroom Bungalow ( http://3bedroombungalow.blogspot.com/ ), hook up with her Linky and add your own! It's a great way to blow off steam, and you can read lots of other letters even grumpier than mine!!

Your friend,
Mel

Silent Sunday

I'm trying something new for me -- Silent Sunday.  Obviously I'm not supposed to say anything, Just let the photo tell the story.  So  for the very first time in the history of the my world, I will now shut up!



http://www.mochabeaniemummy.com/silent-sunday/

"The Party's Over"

It's over....my boos! have turned to boo-hoos.  Yep, "The Party's Over!"  It makes me sad every year to take down my outside ghosties and ghoulies.  In spite of the spooky nature of Halloween decorations, houses that are decorated feel and look light-hearted to me.  Its a happy time and I'm sorry to see it go.

After the flood of kids we had last year, we were not sure how much candy we should stock in order to meet the demand.  Ultimately, we went with the "More is better" concept and it ended up with huge bags of candy all over the kitchen.  But we had enough!  And most of the stuff that's left (I hope) will go with the Big Guy in to work where they will scarf it down in short order.

So how did it go??  It was great, We had nearly as many kids as last year.  Although we didn't get an accurate count exactly but as near as we can figure,  about 180 kids come to our door.  They came in a fairly steady stream from about 6:15 until about 9:15 p.m. and then it was done!  It was as if somebody turned off a switch and all the kids were pulled off the streets.  Odd!  No dwindling down. Just chaos then nothing!  

One of the candies we gave out was candy corn and some of the kids were really excited about getting that! You would have thought it was something really special!

There were adorable little kids in sweet costumes, medium sized kids in funny or scary costumes, at least six Cleopatra's, lots of "The Scream" faces, some with oozing blood (REALLY spooky), a few older kids in really imaginative and clever costumes.  They were all fun to see.

Every single one of those kids was polite, happy to get what we gave, and each one said thank you! (Except for the really little ones who had pretty much no idea what was going on!) There were parents in costumes. I saw nothing sleazy or in poor taste. They, too, were polite, complimentary, and supportive of their kids. Not one bad incident, not one!


So Halloween will continue here for another year in its Spooky, Funny, and Traditional way. It's all about the kids and that's a good thing. That is how it was here.  Halloween is alive and well in Austin!

Just to finish up my Halloween report, here are some photos I promised to post.  I don't know why three of them are turned sideways.  I tried several things to make them post correctly but Blogger wasn't cooperating (Ha!  There's a surprise!)   The first one is from a cell phone, and just not very clear.  I'm sorry, but I think you can at least get the idea of what they show.

Oh, by the way, if you get a craving for something sweet, come on over.  We've even got some candy corn left!!  I'd be happy to share!

Maddie the Spy!
(Turned out pretty cute, didn't she?)



What happens when you get caught in a web! Watch out!
(Wish this picture was right side up!!) 



The Mantle Barnyard




"I took my troubles down to Madame Rue,
Your know the gypsy with the gold capped tooth...."



This is the rooster my mom embroidered years ago. 



The Big Guy in Costume!
(Even his closest friends would never recognize him!  LOL!)

Well, there you have it....Halloween 2010.  It was a HOOOOOOT!     

"Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing"

An important milestone has been reached in Maddie-the-Great's life!!  It probably wouldn't rate all that much attention in most families, but for us???  It's a biggie!

M-t-G participated in her very first Choir Concert!!  Whee!  Hmmm, I know what you're thinking, oh yes, I do.  You're thinking "So what?"  Well, music and singing are a major portion of our lives in this family.  We are, after all, a show-biz family!!  Two employed theater professionals, three who have been singing all our lives (kinda), four who play or have played a musical instrument, one who knows an enormous number of songs....well, actually it's two but the songs we know are from different eras, two who performed off and on for a significant portion of their adulthoods.... and that's just the immediate family!  (Um, just to clarify, there are a total five people in the family, so who does what is kind of mix and match!)

Okay, maybe I'm over-blowing this whole thing just a bit!  (Hyperbole is my greatest fault!!)

The thing is that for a period of about four years, M-t-G REALLY didn't like being in the spotlight (so to speak).  She wouldn't let anyone sing Happy Birthday, because she didn't want people to "look at" her.  She very nearly didn't join the softball team for the same reason.  She wouldn't participate in the recital the first year she was taking violin lessons.  Those kinds of moments scared her and we hoped she'd grow out of it, but it lasted a long time!

The funny part of it was that when it was just one or two of us (family folks), she loved being the center of attention!  She would put on "shows" for us to watch her!  She had the Cowboy show (she can "Yee-Haw! like nobody's business), the Knights show (complete with English accent!) and the Pirate show (Arrggh!  Aye, Matey!)  She would dance, she would sing, she would "play" the harmonica.  She had costumes and props!  One of us would have to introduce her, "Presenting Miss Maddie, doing her interpretation of Cowboy Joe.  Let's hear it for Miss Maddie!"  Then we had to applaud wildly and make the "roar of the crowd" sounds and then she would make her entrance, take a bow, and begin her show!  It was really a hoot!   Clearly, she understood the concept of entertaining, she just didn't want to do anything in front of people she wasn't completely comfortable with, so her audience was limited to her mom and dad, Poppa (sometimes) and me.

It was obvious from these shows that she had a generous portion of "ham" in her personality, but she hid it most of the time!

This year (4th grade) is when the elementary schools around here invite interested kids to join the choir which if made up of 4th and 5th graders.  150 of them, as a matter of fact. 

At first, M-t-G didn't want to do it, even though she loves music and loves to sing!  (She told me she "didn't love it all that much!"  Ha!)   The hang-up was that the kids had to "audition" for the choir and standing up and letting somebody she didn't know hear her sing, was just too scary for her.  Her mom had to work really hard to reassure M-t-G that she wouldn't have to sing alone (2 at a time for try-outs) and all the teacher was listening to was whether she was an alto or a soprano.   Well, she finally agreed to audition.  She told me her mom was "making her" do it!  Double Ha!!

When the day arrived, she did the audition and she survived to tell the tale.  She came home after the first rehearsal all atwitter because she "loved" it!   Triple Ha!!!  She told me after that first rehearsal that they wouldn't have a concert right away but they would have one soon.  She actually sounded excited about it!

So tonight was the first concert.They all wore black skirts or pants with white blouses/shirts and a bright blue bowtie.  The even had a name....the K Keynotes!   They used taped instrumentation to accompany them and they only sang four songs (they've only been singing for about a month!)

But oh my goodness!  They were adorable!  They sounded good, although if the key they were singing in were any higher, there would have been dogs howling all over town!!  I give the music director a lot of credit.  Trying to get 150 kids to memorize 4 songs (one with harmony and motions) and then sing them in front of their parents while behaving themselves as a choir should, that is an accomplishment for any teacher!

And Maddie-the-Great?  She did just fine!  Her movements were "full out", she was animated, she watched the director, she didn't fidget (well, not too much).  And when it was over, she was so excited she was nearly bouncing off walls!!  She LOVED it.  She had picked up the mantle of choir singer just like the rest of us!   The family tradition goes on!  Yeah!  "Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing!"  Who knows where she'll land! 

None of which came as any surprise to either her mom or to me!  Not at all!  After all, we were big fans of M-t-G's Cowboy Joe!! 

"Dear Hearts and Gentle People"

In my lifetime I have personally known four victims of childhood cancer....

Julianne -- Leukemia -- Died at Age 11
Jenny -- Hodgkins Disease -- Died at Age 15
Stacy -- Brain Cancer -- Adult, Survivor, Cancer-Free 25+ years!!!
Maddie -- Hepatablastoma -- Age 9, Survivor, Cancer-Free 5+ years!!!

Four girls, 2 Survivors and 2 Fatalities == That is unacceptable, or at least it should be!!

Every day 46 children are diagnosed with one of the 12 kinds of Childhood Cancers. EVERY DAY!

For 9 of those kids the diagnosis is a death sentence. That is, 20% of those 46 children will die at some point as a direct result of that diagnosis.

Childhood Cancer is the leading cause of death of children from infancy to 20 years old.

The treatments and drugs aimed at children with cancer are, in and of themselves, toxic and debilitating with terrible side effects. Unbelievable as it might seem, there has only been ONE new drug developed for treating childhood cancers in the last 20 years!! ONE DRUG! Meanwhile, children continue to die!

If you are on Facebook you may have seen that there is an effort going on to gather people together who support asking Oprah Winfrey to do one of her programs on Childhood Cancer in an effort to increase awareness, increase funding and increase research for a cure! In the last three weeks, 26,700+ individuals have joined the cause. That's amazing, but there are millions of folks on Facebook, we need more to join up to support this. Attention must be paid and Oprah is powerful and influential enough to bring about great things. We need for her to do this because no one else has that same influence.

“Dear Hearts and Gentle People who populate my  bloggy world, PLEASE read through the posting below. If you want to support the effort, make mention of it in your blog!  Then go to the Facebook page link (below) and hit "Like" and "Share" to add yourself to those 27,000+ followers. Won’t you please help? We need more RESEARCH! We need a CURE! We need less TOXIC treatments! We need these kids to LIVE! We need YOUR HELP!

Oprah Please Do A Show On Childhood Cancer - Our Kids Need Your Help

How can it be that childhood cancer is the NUMBER ONE disease killer of children under the age of 20, yet we hear almost NOTHING about it? It kills more children than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. There are no national telethons to bring awareness to it, no major celebrities that we automatically 'connect' to it and most people don't even know what a gold ribbon represents (yet we ALL know what a pink ribbon represents!)


Statistics bore me. They usually just go in one ear and out the other. Then in December of 2007 one of my best friends ended up in the emergency room of Children's Mercy Hospital. (see their story here: http://www.unitedweridekc.org/braden.html) Her 3-year old son, Braden, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma. Horrible odds - and if it relapses - no known cure. He DID relapse. By the Grace of God he is still with us today - but we don't know how much time he has left. His mom got diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer recently, too. She learned more in her first one-hour doctor's appointment about her breast cancer...than she has in almost THREE YEARS about Braden's cancer! She's thankful for all the research and treatment options available to her - as they will likely save her life. But doesn't Braden and all the other kids who have cancer deserve that same shot at life? Statistics on childhood cancer mean something to me now. (please go to the left-hand side of this page and down to Photos and look under "Wall Photos" where I have posted some VERY eye-opening statistics!)

Along this journey we have met MANY brave children, parents and families who have fought.... or are still fighting this awful disease. Their stories are HEARTBREAKING and their courage is AMAZING. Our mission is plain and simple. We're hoping that OPRAH, during her last season on air, will do a show on some of the heroes who are currently fighting and some who have lost the fight with this nasty disease. The world needs to hear about their courage, their fight, their families and their lack of treatment options because of the lack of funding and awareness. In doing this, we're hoping that a light can finally be shone on something that NEEDS to be seen!

Our hope is that through the power of social networking - we can show the world...and Oprah...how important this issue is! In that light - we are trying to use Facebook AND Twitter to make this happen!!! If you're on Twitter, we appeal to ask you to follow us and help us spread the word. There are 5 of us working toward this cause and you can find all 5 of our Twitter addresses at the top of this info! Follow our tweets and retweet every, single tweet you can!! On Facebook - we hope you share this with EVERY, SINGLE PERSON you know so we can grow this page FAST and show an AMAZING amount of support for this cause! There are many independent childhood cancer causes, pages, foundations, etc. We need to ALL band together now and focus on the BIG picture for childhood cancer in the same way the Susan G Komen Foundation did for breast cancer! We are stronger, collectively, as a GROUP....there is STRENGTH IN NUMBERS! If Facebook can get Betty White to host Saturday Night Live - let's see if it can get Oprah to spotlight childhood cancer!

"School Days"

Many of you already know about Shell's "Things I Can't Say" blog. She writes about her family, her kids, certain...uhhn, "types" of moms, a wide variety of other topics of her choice. She does giveaways and contests and participates in a bunch of different memes. She is funny, informative, caring. She is what I consider sort of the penultimate blogger!

Her button is here to take you right to her page if you've never been there. You should go, she's one of the best.

Anyway, the reason I am promoting her site today is that my post, which will follow in a minute, was directly "inspired" by Shell's post today. She does product evaluations from time to time and today, in preparation for "Back to School", she was doing one about backpacks for kids. 

And that reminded me of one of my very favorite photos of Maddie-the-Great.

It so happens that this photo is already downloaded to my computer and with a minimum of fuss I was able to find it. So I thought I'd share.

There she is our Miss Maddie at about age 3 (give or take a little) with her very first back pack! Obviously, this wasn't for real "School Days" yet. But she did like to take a bunch of things with her to day care. (You just never know when you might need a few books or an extra "lovey" or two!) She wanted to be like the big kids!

But first she needed to figure out the balance thing! There is a definite lean to her posture! In fact, she looks like she's just about to topple right over. Of course, she did figure it out, didn't topple at all, and she used that backpack until it was just too small to fit, but this first time photo captures the happy moment perfectly!

There might be a lot of kids with better balance, but I seriously doubt there is a cuter backpacker anywhere!!

Ya' gotta love this kid!

"Teach Your Children Well"

Austin is really an interesting town.  With it being the state capital, the main campus of the University of Texas, all the music events and venues, the galleries and museums, Austin has a lot to do.  One of the best treasures of Austin is the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library on the campus of UT.   I've been there a couple of times and the Big Guy has been there more often than that. 

It is the only Presidential Library I have ever visited.  It is particularly meaningful because we lived in that turbulent time.  I was 17 when John Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson became President on Air Force I that same day.  I lived in Chicago in 1968, one of the most turbulent years in American history (Democratic Convention in Chicago, MLK assassination, Robert Kennedy assissination,  Riots, Viet Nam, Civil Rights, and so much more).  LBJ was President throughout the whole thing.  His life was interesting and his Presidency fascinating.  Going to the Library is like reliving that era.  There are TEN floors of Exhibits, history, documents, archives, traveling exhibits, research all about Lyndon B. Johnson's place in history.

The reason that we've gone so often, aside from it being a fascinating place, is that it is one of Maddie-the-Great's favorite things to do!  Go figure!!  She has loved going there since she was about six.  She is nine now and still enjoys it every time she goes.  She looks at just about every exhibit, she reads all the narratives, watches all the video clips, she asks questions, she is quiet, polite, respectful, doesn't seem to get bored, and seems to retain what she learns. 

We went again over the weekend.  It was about the fifth or sixth time M-t-G has gone.  We all enjoyed it again.  It is so large with so much to see, although much of it not open to the public, I'm not sure we've actually seen it all and we were there for three hours this time. 

Our family has always enjoyed American history and museums and the like.  Now it appears M-t-G is following that path as well.  And it is not just LBJ or Texas that intrigues her.  She is enthralled with WWII, particularly the South Pacific and Pearl Harbor. 

Just South of Austin by about 90 minutes is the town of Fredericksburg, a small community with a strong German background.  Its one of those towns that works hard to attract tourists with restaurants with really good food, craft shops, boutiques, and has been a Texas landmark destination for many years.

Johnson City and Stonewall, Texas, where LBJ was born and raised, lived, and is buried, is just up the road from Fredericksburg by about 20 miles.   Fredericksburg is the home town of U.S. Navy Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.  And so, logically enough, I guess, Fredericksburg is also home to:

The Admiral Nimitz State Historic Site in Fredericksburg is the only institution in the continental United States dedicated exclusively to telling the story of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and World War II in the Pacific Theater.

Located on a seven-acre site, the Center includes The National Museum of the Pacific War George Bush Gallery, the Japanese Garden of Peace, the History Walk of the Pacific War, the Plaza of the Presidents, the Surface Warfare Plaza, the Memorial and Victory Walls, the Veterans Walk of Honor and the Center for Pacific War Studies.

In addition to nearly 24,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space, the museum boasts an impressive display of Allied and Japanese aircraft, tanks, guns and other large artifacts made famous during the Pacific War campaigns.

The museums many fine exhibits highlight the story of early Fredericksburg, the Nimitz Family, Chester Nimitz from his birth in 1885, his early childhood in the old Nimitz Hotel, his appointment to the US Naval Academy to his role during World War II until his death in 1966.


http://www.wintertexansonline.com/nimitzmuseum.htm

We went a few weeks ago....with M-T-G.  She was thrilled!  There was a Japanese mini-sub that had been captured.  There were individual exhibits for each of the major battles and campaigns in the South Pacific....Guadacanal, Corregidor, Tarawa, New Caladonia, and of  course, Pearl Harbor.  It was wonderful. We were all amazed and impressed. If you ever have the opportunity to visit this museum, I strongly urge you to do so.  I learned a great deal that I never knew before.   It is a very moving museum filled with things and information about a war that I've heard about all my life.  (My dad spent over 5 YEARS in the South Pacific in WWII.) 

M-t-G was so excited but just like in the LBJ Library, she was quiet, respectful, and read every word!  Again we were there for a couple of hours and  didn't see it all.  We will go again someday soon.

It is important to remember the history of our world. There are lessons that need to be learned.  It is even more important to "Teach Your Children Well" about the history of the world they are inheriting. 

And sometimes, if you are very lucky and you have a really special kid, like our Maddie-the-Great,  they teach themselves!  She's some kid!

"Goody, Goody"

My mother always told me that its not nice to  gloat, but sometimes you just gotta say, "goody, goody!" 

One of the blogs that I visit regularly and enjoy is "navel gazing at its finest" .  A couple of days ago she wrote about her young daughter's problems making friends.  (The link will take you to that posting.)  It was a very wrenching post in some ways, partly because it struck so very close to home.  Evidently it struck close to home for a lot of people, because she received 91 comments (!) from other women, nearly all of whom had had various and similar experiences themselves when they were around that age....including me! 

It's a very, very hard thing to go through, thinking no one likes you....not having a close friend....or having a friend turn into an enemy overnight....any of these can seriously affect self-esteem and self-image for YEARS after.  When you're 8 (or 10 or 13) having any type of related problem can be DEVASTATING.  At that age and into the teenage years emotions are right beneath the surface and it doesn't take much to send a sensitive kiddo into despair.  

And for a mom, watching  their daughter go through it is heart-breaking.  It's heart-breaking because its awful to see your child in pain and its made worse because nobody has a good idea of how to handle it.  Banging a few 3rd grader's heads together is totally out of the question!  But its tempting!!

It seems to be a huge problem, much more wide-spread than I ever thought.    Go and read the original posting and comments and you'll see what I mean.  (link above)  Post after post from women who said, "I thought I was the only one" or "This could have been me."  We all pretty much thought it was unique to us!  But I'm beginning to think it happens to every little girl in some form or other.

* No one came to my sister's 7th birthday party. No one! 

* I was the victim of the betrayal and cruelty of my former best friend at age 11.

* My daughter cried and cried because no one liked her in the 5th grade.

*Maddie-the-Great went through not having a best friend and thinking no one liked her in the early part of the 2nd grade.

As serendipity would have it, it's turned out that M-t-G was have a problem again.  She had met a Best Friend late last year and they were as close as girls can be at that age.  At the beginning of this school year, another girl joined the mix.  So now there were three best friends.  Well, a triad friendship is not easy to maintain at that age, there always seems to be jockeying for position and frequently two of the three will suddenly decide they don't want to be friends with #3 anymore.  There will then be some incident where hurtful or mean things are said and #3 goes home devastated and in tears, often more than once. 

Moms struggle to comfort, console, support, protect, and help their little one deal with the situation.  Often the moms' just feel  helpless and like a failure.  Its only natural. 

When M-t-G talked and cried to her mom, Ratchlet felt no different from all those other moms.  She didn't know what to do to help her little girl either.  But my Ratchlet, is a mom extraordinaire and she didn't give up.  I'm sure she researched it and then she advised M-t-G to confront the friends and tell them that what they did (whatever it was, I don't remember that part) wasn't very nice and that "friends didn't make friends cry".  The advice, in and of itself, was not that unusual.  Most moms probably try to get their daughter to stand up for herself.  But most little girls who are on the receiving end of this kind of thing are not able or willing to do this.  Confrontation doesn't come easy to 8 year olds. 

But, (and now here is the part where we can all stand up and sing, "Goody, goody")  Maddie-the-Great did it!!!  She went right up to them and said (paraphasing here) she didn't want to play with them anymore because what they said was mean and hurt her feelings.  Then she said, "Friends don't make friends cry!"  

WHOO HOO, MADDIE!!  Way to go.  I'm so proud of her I could burst!!  I am thrilled that she didn't just roll up and fade away like so many of us did.  Oh, she was scared, and nervous, and still upset and unsure what would happen but nevertheless, she stood up for herself and told her friends how they had made her feel and she walked away!  She didn't let the bullies win!  That's an enormous accomplishment.  She chose not to be the victim!  It was a very courageous thing to do. 

As a postscript, it appears all three girls are back to being friends.

Maddie-the-Great ....What a kid!