What Not to do at your Garage Sale

A friend of mine asked if I were ready to purge my belongings and join in with her for a garage sale.  While I typically do not have garage sales, I let the delusion of making a bit of spending money guide me to say, "I'd love to!"  
   
Garage Sale- an event where you display junque, trash, and other sentimental artifacts from your life so that the public may come handle them only to offer you less money than the already crazy cheap price that you deemed appropriate-- or they outright reject your items completely.  

Here are some tips I picked up from experience:

1. Do not schedule your garage sale for the hottest days of summer.  
  Even if you hold it for a half day, the heat will sap your strength. The items you have displayed will heat up to searing temperatures and you risk being sued for burns when people pick it up.

2. Do not put candles in your garage sale if it is summer.  
Within a short amount of time, you will no longer have a shaped or molded candle, but you will have a blob of wax.

3. Do not begin your garage sale too early in the morning. 
While it is cooler early in the morning, it is guaranteed that your first customers will show up an hour before your opening time.

4. Do not price your items too high.  
People will not even attempt to haggle your price if it is too high to start.

5. Do not underestimate your change needs.
Have enough one dollar bills, a few fives and tens, and many many quarters, dimes, and nickels.  You will get $20 bills to pay for something that is 50 cents.

6. Do not buy your co-garage sale participant's stuff. 
You are trying to make a little money, not take home other people's junque.

7. Do not neglect to have a plan for disposing the leftovers.  
The last thing you want to do is carry everything back in your home.  Slash prices even more, use social media to advertise, be willing to donate to charity so that you avoid keeping your things.


How did I do at the garage sale you ask?   Well, I sold everything I contributed and made a little money.  Then I promptly bought some of my friend's things.  It could've been worse-- I came home with a net profit of negative $8.50 and a trunk full of new treasures to find places for in my home.

A Greek Holocaust

We've all heard of  the Holocaust- the slaughter of Jews during World War 2.  But did you realize there were additional atrocities committed in that time frame.  On June 10, 1944 a Nazi troop invaded the Greek village of Distomo and massacred everyone.  The only villagers to survive were those who were out in the fields or away from the village for the day.

This was during the occupation of Greece.  The Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria all spent time occupying Greece during the WW2 time frame.

The reason for the German Nazi's to murder this village ? Retaliation.  They were retaliating for a partisan (Greek resistance) attack upon the Nazi troop division.  They believed some of the partisan members were Distomo villagers.

So the Nazi's came to town.  They beheaded the local priest. They shot women and children. They took their bayonets to little babies in their cribs.  They killed the men, young and old alike. And if that is not enough-- the village was looted and burned before they left.

A few days later the Nazi's returned to the village, but the villagers had received a message alerting them and the surviving villagers fled to the the hills.

Read and see more about the Distomo massacre here.

 This horror reminds me  of stories that had been shared with me when I lived in Greece.  Stories that I found difficult to comprehend because they seem to be so out of my realm of experience.

A story stating that Nazi retaliation was common place. People stayed home- did not venture out unless absolutely necessary.  If something happened to a German soldier, their troops would gather the first 5 Greeks they saw and retaliated with death.  You could be merely walking down the street to buy a loaf of bread and be grabbed and shot.  This happened in a small train station village near me.

Another story of how Nazi's came to my in-laws village.  The village knew they were coming and ran to the hills.  Some villagers stayed back and were found dead when the village returned.  Babies and children put in outdoor ovens to bake, men and women shot. The village plundered.  My mother-in-law ( who would have been around 12-13 years old at the time) tells me that her younger brother was snatched by the Germans.  They never saw him again.  They believe he was taken to be raised German.  Or maybe that is just easier for her to think that than to believe he might have been killed.  His remains were never found, so they have hope he remained alive.

And even a slight hint that my own grandfather may have had a part in the Greek resistance.  I need to investigate this more.  He died during this time period (early 1940's) from pneumonia that he caught while walking from one village to another in winter.  That was what I had always been told until recently when I was told that he did work against the Nazi's.

Really.  People I know and love personally have experienced these things.  I can hardly fathom it because the blessed life I have led on this western hemisphere of the world.  A land that has not seen the horrors of war up close and personal in our own yard.  

It is important that these stories aren't forgotten.  As George Santayana's quote says, "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it."

Time to Dye!

This is one of the important family traditions weekend.   

We hand down generation by generation our our beliefs, values, and culture with the celebration of Easter.   My parents handed them down to me, and I handed them down to my children.  Now the traditions get passed down to the grandchildren. 

Our Easter Traditions:

• Visit the Bass Pro Easter Bunny  (this is a one one started with this generation) --  CHECK 
• Dye the Easter Eggs-- CHECK 
• Good Friday service--CHECK
• Easter Egg hunt 
• Easter Baskets 
• Easter Church Service 
• Easter Dinner  

I can't wait to finish the list!  

J is for Jury Duty

Jury Duty.  Not exactly on my list of favorite things to do.

What does it conjure up ?  LA Law, Perry Mason, maybe Law & Order ?  Do you want to be sequestered?  Sounds possibly exciting.  

The last time I was called to be in the pool for jurors was several years ago.  I didn't get chosen to sit on the jury, but I did have to listen to the prosecutor and defense lawyer explain the upcoming case.  It was actually quite interesting.  A man went to a dancing bar and got angry with another over a girl. He left the bar and went out to his car where he had a bat.  He took the bat and beat the other man with it as he left the bar.   Almost a county song.

After being questioned by the lawyers, they chose who they wanted to sit on the jury.  I didn't get get to sit--but I was okay with that.

Now the opportunity was back again.  Ugh,--- don't get me wrong.  I appreciate our system of justice in the United States and I realize there needs to be a jury of peers for it to work. I just don't want to be one of the peers.  I don't want to take off work to be available.  [They do pay us $7.50 per day for our trouble Whoo Hoo! ] I don't want to hold the fate of someone in my hands, especially if the alleged crime is severe.

But I got the notice to serve.  To do my civic duty.  Show up or have a warrant put out on me.

For one week I called the courthouse every evening to see if I needed to go in.  Thankfully each night I got the message that there were no trials scheduled for the following day. Yay!

So...I was a good citizen and did my civic duty.  I served my time as a potential member of the jury pool.  And now I am done--without ever having to actually go in.   Hopefully it will be several years before my turn comes up again.

Have you ever served on a jury?   

April Fool's Day

April 1st known as April Fool's Day is a day that is fun for some people and yet strikes fear in others. Observed in many countries around the world, this day is not a holiday but a cultural tradition. How do you face April Fool's day?

As a child I used to love April Fool's Day.  I would try to think up little pranks and tricks to play on my mother and my sisters.  For some reason, I never payed any on my father!

This was back in the day when telephones were adhered firmly to the wall.  I would somehow get the phone to ring with no one on the other end.  I would then yell to my mother that it was a call for her. She would have to set down whatever she was doing to come to the kitchen (where the phone was located). I would be snickering in the next room as I listened & watched her puzzlement as she tried to figure out who was trying to call her.   Hilarious then, not-so-much now.

Or I would hide a shoe from each pair of shoes in the closet so that the wearer would have to search and search until they realized it was a joke.   Yeah, I know, I am not so creative.
 
As an adult who works with children during the work week, April Fool's Day is a day that I hope falls on a weekend. I quasi-dread it.   It is a day that one needs to be alert, to be attentive. You never know what kind of prank the children will try to pull on you.   You may find something on your chair-- like a tack, piece of gum, or a whoopee cushion.  Usually it is the latter   ~ they love to see you make embarrassing noises.   They may bring you treats--but be careful about eating them!  Who knows what the treat may contain.  

There are some great April Fool's Day tricks you can play on kids, but you have to be careful.  Some children are more sensitive than others and find it harder to take a joke than others.  It is best to play it safe and go very mild with any April Fool's day pranks.

With younger children I have surprised them by telling them I have made them brownies.  I then give each child a letter "E" that is cut from brown construction paper.  "Brown e's" -- get it?    Only because I am nice will I have some brownies of the chocolate kind  to give out later to soothe them.

I have taken children on a hunt to find the Looflirpa bird. It is a rare bird that is only around in spring. It is somewhat like going snipe hunting.  With older children one needs to be a bit more sophisticated - don't think looking for the rare bird will work with them!

Be vigilant wherever you happen to be this April Fool's Day!
There may be a cup perched precariously above the door you are about to enter, you may find the lid to the salt shaker unscrewed as you salt your fries, or you may find your tennis shoes mysteriously tied together after sitting for a time.  You have been warned!

Have you been a party to any April Fool's Day pranks ?  

Pyonghwa (Peace)

Lily              Julie              Chae-Young              Junho              Euna 

Lynn         Lucas         Jason        Younghyun    Clara    Arrina 


These former students of mine have been in my thoughts of late.   I had the privilege to teach these young Korean citizens during part of the year or so that they spent in the United States while their parents were visiting professors at the local University.  Some were fluent in English and some knew no English at all, but most could speak at least a few words when I first met them.  Each of these English language learners have returned back to their native land of South Korea, but they will forever have a special place in my heart.
  
When I see the news of North Korea's leader making threats of war and posturing his military, it makes me think of my young students who live so close.  Although I feel the North Korean leader is babbling rhetoric and idle threats, I also feel the world is in a precarious place and evil abounds. 

My students are not my only connection to Korea.  While I have never been there, my daughter lived there and taught there for five years.  It is a beautiful country.  She has visited the demilitarized zone which is the area surrounding the North and South Korean border.   It is heavily guarded by both armies.     So I pray that peace will prevail in the coming days and months; that wisdom will guide all those who are making decisions; and that God will give grace to my students keeping them safe and protecting them from all harm. Amen. 
   

While at the Demilitarized Zone 

 

Overlooking Seoul

 

You Never Know Who Will Show Up at Church



 

It just might be Snow White!

 







Lots of fun awaited the kids this morning at church.  A new Sunday School curriculum began.  To launch the curriculum, they had characters between services in the halls and meeting places greeting children and giving away some magnets.   So Snow White with her friend Cinderella, along with other kings & princesses, were at my church this morning.  You just never know who will show up!   

What's in a name

When my daughter was pregnant with her first child, we had a discussion over what my new name should be to her little one. 

Grandmother, Grandma, Granny, Nanny, Nana, Mawmaw, Memaw, Opa, Yiayia -- these are all names that I've heard used for the position I was to take.  My preference was "Grandma."  When I hear the word "Grandma," I think of love, tenderness, and good feelings.  In effect, I think of my grandmother who I called "Grandma."  That is what I wanted to be called. 

But...my daughter had other plans.  She wanted me to be called Yiayia.  Having been to Greece, I conjure up visions of a yiayia as an older woman, slightly hunched over, dressed in black or dark clothing and wearing a scarf over her head. That is not my idea of me.   By the way, that was also my other grandma -- the one from Greece.

The reason she wanted me to be a "yiayia" was that "grandma" was already taken.  Huh??   Her mother-in-law was to be called "grandma" and she gets it because she was already had that name to my new grandchild to be's cousins.

Why can't we both be "Grandma?"    Growing up, I had my Grandma and my Grandma Mary (also known as Yiayia).     The problem with this solution was that both other Grandma and I have the same name.  So unless we differentiated by last names, we would still be called by the same name.   I did not want to be known as Grandma Smith and Grandma Jones  ( I slipped in other surnames there, but you get the drift.) 

 I still didn't see the problem with us both being called grandma.  Kids are pretty smart, and they will figure it out.  But my daughter didn't want the confusion for her child.   However, she compromised with me. I could be called "Grandma Yiayia."     Ugh.  Not really what I what, but that is what we decided. 

Almost four years and an additional grandchild later , I am technically Grandma Yiayia, but I call myself "Grandma" and more importantly so does my grandson.  Without getting mixed up, he calls both his grandmothers "Grandma."

Or so I thought.  I discovered the other day that my name when I am not around is "Grandma Kitty."  Out of the mouths of babes.   We were out to lunch at a restaurant and both grandmothers were there.  His mother asked him a question and he asked, "Grandma Kitty or Grandma Gidgett?"

I have a cat named Kitty, and the other grandma has a dog named Gidgett.  That is how he differentiates us.   Grandma Kitty and Grandma Gidgett.  I was worked up over the English or the Greek name and the connotations, then last names added to the name.  But what is in a name?  It ends up that I am known by my cat! 


What do you call your grandparent? 

What do you want to be called when you are a grandparent?  

  
    

Memorial Day Perspective



Black Friday is not for me

The day after Thanksgiving.  You know what that means.....Black Friday.  Here are my reasons for not participating in this cultural event.

1. Long lines - I heard one local store had a line of 1700 people waiting this morning. Crazy!
2. Lack of sleep - Why would I want to wake up in the middle of the night to go shopping?
3. Crowds - So many people, too much to do, not enough merchandise - enough said.
4. Shopping in general - I have never been a "shopper" why start now?
5. Crazy-  I just have to wonder what the US looks like to the rest of the world.  I think we're crazy when I see the reports on the news.  I dont need any help on being embarrassed on my own.
6. No Christmas list - To be successful on Black Friday you must have a Christmas list.  My list is never ready by Thanksgiving Day.
7. Sale anger - Whenever I see sales, I always have to wonder about the time I bought things at full price.  Usually it is the week before something goes on sale.  It makes me angry to think of all the money I really didn't need to pay.
8. Stuffed recovery - I am still recovering from too much food on Thanksgiving to navigate crowded aisles.
9. Budget constraints -  Black Friday = shopping cart full of items = $$$
10. Plan B -  For those like me who choose to skip Black Friday, there is always Cyber Monday!

 Did you make a purchase on Black Friday?

I was in St. Louis recently.  St. Louis is the home of the baseball Cardinals who last month became champions in the World Series.  One of the players on the team who is well-liked and plays well is Albert Pujols. 

While in St. Louis, my friends and I came across this restaurant with a statue of Pujols outside.  The restaurant is named for the player and has memorabilia inside.  I don't know if Pujols owns the restaurant or if he has just lent his name to it.   The prices were moderate average to moderately high compared to other restaurants with the same cuisine.  I had a prime rib sandwich with fries and a strawberry daiquiri for about $18 before tip.  My taste was good.    My friend was not so happy with the taste of her sandwich.

I read that Pujols is now a free-agent and can decide to stay or move to other ball teams.  I wonder what will happen with this restaurant should he decide to leave the St. Louis Cardinals. 

**UPDATE**

Pujols did decide to leave the ST. Louis Cardinals and move to another ball team.  The restaurant has been renamed.  This makes me think his name was only lent to the restaurant and he really had little or nothing to do with it. 

Have you ever been to a restaurant named for a celebrity?    

What's Up with That?

NOT.

I stopped by a  pizza place this afternoon to pick up pizza for dinner.  I had called it in earlier and timed it so I was there to pick it up soon after the time I was given for it to be done.  It was right before the typical dinner hour and there was only one car in the parking lot as I pulled in.

There was maybe 6 or 7 employees standing behind the counter when I walked up to it.  The person standing at the cash register was talking business to one of them--something about money needed for a delivery.  Two others were having a casual conversation about the upcoming dinner hour.  The others were sort of just milling around.  I stood there for a moment waiting for the person at the register to finish her business with the delivery person and turn to me. 

I waited...and waited...and waited...and waited some more.  She finished the conversation and so I prepared to tell her that I had a take out order to pick up.  She was very engaged with the register. 
I looked to other of the other 6 people  just standing there.  No one looked at me.  No one acknowledged that I was even standing there.  I could have been invisible!  I opened my purse and got out my wallet hoping to cue them to at least say hello. 
Nothing.  
I waited some more. 
I waited.........  and waited.......and still waited. 

Finally, a server looked at me and asked if I had a take out order.  I said yes and gave him my name.  He want and got my pizza.  

How long should it take for a person to be waited on after entering a restaurant?  

I can understand if it is busy.  I have a food service back ground, I sympathise with getting everything taken care of!   But to not even acknowledge me?  These people were not even busy.  They were just standing there.  Someone should have said hello very soon after I got to the counter.   Since there was so many workers just standing at the counter, someone should have asked to help me immediately,  Even if it is not their specific job. 

Come on people!  And we wonder why business is slow.....  Show a little customer service!  Make me feel like you want me there and appreciate my business.  My time is money too,  you know.

 Is the problem a lack of training?  A lack of care?  A lack of ambition? 

If this kind of service keeps up they will have a lack of customers.

Graveyard Walking

While out walking this morning I came across this "grave."  You never know what you will find this time of year ! Some neighborhoods go all out to decorate for Halloween.

Wise Words

Take 15 minutes of your time and listen to Steve Job's 2005 commencement speech to Stanford University.   Wise words.



What can you take away from this ?

Goodbye Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

1955 - 2011

comment overheard:

"If Steve Jobs made it

       then people will buy it. "

He changed the world.

We will miss your creativity and ingenuity.

Thank you. Rest in Peace.

creator of all things Apple: Mac, I-pod, I-phone, I-pad. 



Happy National Coffee Day

Coffee is my go-to drink.  I drink it everyday and can drink it morning, noon, and night.  The caffeine does not seem to affect me although sometimes I get a feeling to switch to plain water and I think it is my body telling me I have had enough caffeine for the day. 

I drink my coffee black.  This is good because otherwise I would be racking up calories throughout the day with my drink.  I do not like drinking coffee with milk or sugar, but recently I have broadened my horizons to start tasting things like latte's and cappuccinos.   This is because I have been volunteering at the coffee area of my church and they serve these things.  I figure I need to know about them.  I think at this point I have to be in the right mood to like them.  I just prefer a nice cup of straight joe.

My sister does make an awesome frozen drink with coffee, milk, & sugar.  It is a homemade frappaccino.  It is fantastic, but lots of calories! 

September 29 is National Coffee Day.  So go get a cup of coffee ( some places are having specials on coffee and some places are giving away free cups of coffee)  and enjoy! 

American Gothic - or "What I learned on my vacation"

American Gothic  was painted by Grant Wood in 1930.  The famous couple was not  really married, but modeled after his sister and dentist although they have been altered slightly to disguise their true identity. 

Wood liked a house he found in Eldon, Iowa and stopped to sketch it as he was passing through town. He later used that house as a backdrop for the  American Gothic painting.  Interestingly, his sister never actually saw the actual house until decades later. 
This summer I was traveling through Iowa and I stopped at the American Gothic House in Eldon.  There is a nice museum built nearby with some information and a small gift shop.  Of course, if you stop you must take advantage of the photo opportunities! 

The house Wood saw and stopped to sketch in 1930.

Stoic Me - American Gothic Style. (and my man with no face! )  

Road Rage (almost)

I'm usually pretty level headed.  This morning though, I got me a taste of what road rage must feel like.  It began with a sinple trip to McDonald's to treat myself to a breakfast sandwich.  Now a few months ago, our local McDonalds remodeled and did a funky thing with the drive-thru.  The drive-thru lane splits with a bypass so there are two order boxes. After ordering the cars merge again into a single lane to pay and get tehir food from window 1 and wndow 2. 

In theory it is a good idea.  It will serve more people.  I have always wondered though how they know which car orders what.  I wonder if they ahve a little camera taking a picture of your car so they know what price to give you at window 1.  Even though I don't go to McDonald's often, since this new remodel, they have never messed up and given me someone else's order, so it must have a sytem in place to keep it runnign smoothly.  But I digress.  This blog is about my road rage.

This morning I am waiting patiently in the drive-thru lane as it was busy.  The split was 2-3 cars ahead of me.  All of a sudden a car comes up behind me, pulls along side of me (where it is clearly NOT the drive-thru lane) and pulls up behind the car ordering at the second order box.  Hello---  Does he not see that there are 3 cars waiting their turn and as soon as the order box #2 is available the next car in line will go to it?   I rationalize that perhaps this poor fellow doesn't understand the new configuration.  Or mabe he is from out-of-town ( a favorite excuse of mine for poor driving manners). 

But then.....  ANOTHER CAR pulls up outside of the drive-thru line.   I shoot the driver a dirty look and mumble under my breath....well, maybe not so under my breath, that they are not following the rules of the lane.  I had an urge to get out of my car and go explain to them exactly how this was to work.  There is a reasn for the lines painted on the road.  

If you are going to drive people, use courtesy and follow the standard rules and signs of the road!!!
Whew.   I feel better now.

New Words

A book my students like to read is Frindle by Andrew Clements. In short, it is the story about an upper elementary boy trying to create a new word after he finds out that the English language is dynamic. It is a great book--a favorite of not only my students, but of mine too.

I am reminded of Frindle this week after seeing that Merriam-Webster has released a sampling of the new words they are adding to the 2009 Update of the 11th edition of their dictionary. Just like the character in Frindle discovered, when people start using words and they become a part of the vernacular-they may just become "official" and be placed in the dictionary.

Here are some of the new words and their definition.

• staycation - staying home or close to it for vacation
• carbon footprint - the negative impact someone has on the environment
• frenemy- one who pretends to be a friend, but is actually an enemy
• locavore- one who eats foods produced locally whenever possible
• webisode- an episode that may or may not have been telecast but can be seen on the web
• zip line - a cable that is suspended above an incline, with a pulley and harness attached for a rider
• cardioprotective- serving to protect the heart

Now you can use these words formally and not be worried!

Before and After: The Story of Progress

Before & After : The story of Progress

Driving down the two lane road with no shoulders to my home used to be called the "back way." There are better roads that are used to get through town , however we never actually call them the front way. The first picture above was taken on a road similar to my "back way" because PROGRESS is coming to the back way. The route is scenic with huge trees lining it. Instead of shoulders next to the road you have ditches that threatened to swallow your car should you slide too far over. Wildlife crosses the road occasionally, therefore one always needs to drive slowly yet hardly no one does.

Welcome Progress. The second picture above is the face of progress. The powers that be have decided to upgrade the road, no doubt because the back way is now becoming a front way. Planning commissions are even thinking of extending it a few miles from here to reach to the interstate.

While it will be safer and much easier to to drive on the new roadway, someone has to sacrifice to make it happen. The most direct sacrificer ( is that a word??) is the TREES. Within a week the land was raped and violated as trees were chopped down, pulverized into huge mulch piles and bulldozed to prepare the land for shoulders and wider lanes. The scene was shocking and sad.

Progress is good, but it leaves questions:

• Where will the deer and bunnies sleep?
• Will the neighborhood get louder now that the buffer is gone and presumably more traffic will flow?
• Is progress really progress? What about the benefits of mature trees, i.e. beauty, oxygen, shade?