Blog Revival!

Yah. I know. I haven't posted since April. I won't bore you with the details, but it isn't just one thing. Multifaceted problem, you know. Anyway, I MISS YOU ALL!!!! So I'm going to try and pull myself together here and start posting and visiting again.

Thanks to Eva at A Striped Armchair and Memory at Stella Matutina for their recent cheerleading on Twitter. I appreciate the encouragement to get this blog going again! This is why I love book blogging. Book bloggers are the best!

OK. Off to write a book post today and get it up within the next couple of hours.

A Non-bookish Post

Since I still haven't written any book reviews to share with you, I thought I'd share some food thoughts instead. Food is indeed the next best thing to books ... right? *smile*

Have you ever had cucumber water? No ... really ... hear me out on this one. Some restaurants serve a slice of lemon in their water, but there is a bistro near my house that serves it with a slice of cucumber. I know it sounds weird, but it really is good (unless, of course, you despise cucumbers). I like it so much that I decided to make up a pitcher here at home. I sliced four very thin discs off of the cucumber (wash first and leave the skin on) and tossed them into a 2-quart pitcher. I let it sit for about an hour in the refrigerator before serving into a glass with ice and another thin slice of cucumber. You might like it with either more or less cucumber.

Summer is the season for berries and we are having an excellent strawberry year here in California. I went to the farmers market this week and came home with all manner of fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are the strawberries I brought home; all sliced up and ready to eat.


They are so sweet this year that they don't need any sugar sprinkled over them.

Do you have any foods you especially like to eat in the summer? Are you having a good summer fruit year where you live (those in the Northern Hemisphere)? Do you grow any of your own fruits and vegetables? Do you have a farmers market near you?

The Trail

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the lovely trail that I've been spending much of my time on lately ... instead of blogging. And it's just a short walk from my front door!

(Click pictures for larger views.)

The eucalyptus trees near one of the trail heads.

Homes border much of the trail, but you rarely see them. Some of these nice folks maintain gardens with benches and water spouts for the enjoyment of those using the trail.

One of a number of trail branches.

One of my favorite old shade trees. The trail is just covered with oak, eucalyptus, and elm trees.

You've got to watch out for horse traffic when you're on the trail. This nice neighbor stopped and posed for the camera.

Miles of loveliness. You can forget you're in the city.

Total Sobfest

I stayed home with a sore throat yesterday and decided to watch this:



Just looking at this picture makes me want to start sobbing all over again.

Have you watched Masterpiece Theatre's Tess of the d'Urbervilles?

My First Vlog!

Following the vlogs are links to websites and books mentioned. I thought I added captions to the vlogs, but they disappeared into the ether. Maybe next time!

TBR Vlog Pt. 1


TBR Vlog Pt. 2


Links to the websites I mentioned:

Dolce Bellezza (Bellezza) Hosts the Japanese Literature Challenge
In Spring it is the Dawn (Tanabata) "Reading Japan" titles
Stainless Steel Droppings (Carl V.) Host of the R.I.P. Challenge
Things Mean a Lot (Nymeth) John Green reviews
Musings of a Bookish Kitty (Literary Feline) Reviews of Walt Longmire mysteries by Craig Johnson

Books mentioned:

Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson
Coin Locker Babies by Ryu Murakami
Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse
Japanese Gothic Tales by Izumi Kyoka
Snow Country by Yasunari Kowabata
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Akinari Ueda
I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
The Seance by John Harwood

The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman
Looking for Alaska by John Green
Silk by Alessandro Baricco
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist
The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson

Vlogging: A Saga

I decided to create a little vlog where I chat about some of the books on my TBR pile, and about books I've set aside for the Japanese Literature Challenge (hosted by Bellezza) coming up soon, and the R.I.P. challenge (hosted by Carl V.) that I hope will run again this Fall. I've been told this is easy to do. So ... what do you think I've been doing for the last 2 whole days??? Not so easy, at least the first time.

Recording the video was easy enough ... after I adjusted the lighting so you could see me, after I recorded the video 3 times since the first 2 times I didn't seem to have any audio, and then recorded the whole thing yet again since the phone rang, the trash truck arrived, and several people decided to bang on my front door during recording. I finally had a video that I was mostly happy with, though I will be working on things like not closing my eyes while talking, looking at the camera instead of the screen and not saying "um" or "ah." The things you learn from watching yourself on a recording!

The next step was to upload the video to YouTube. Problems? You bet! I learned that I must first "publish" my video so that the software can turn it into something with a file extension that YouTube accepts. Also, a 9 minute and 58 second 2GB video is just too big for YouTube (even though the upload page says it will accept 10 minute 2GB videos). The video looked like it was uploading (all night), but it was not. Lying computer. So, I decided that maybe I should split the video into two shorter bits. That entailed a learning curve with my software.

Anyway, here I sit waiting to see if YouTube will indeed accept my new, shorter uploads. Hope, hope, hope ...

I'm Back ... Kinda

I've made it back from my interstate travels and am trying to ease myself back into day-to-day life. My blog reader was insanely full, so I simply marked everything as read and will start afresh even though I feel like I'm jumping into the middle of conversations without knowing what is happening.

The interstate trip included Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. The first stop was Flagstaff, Arizona where I was the matron of honor at my sister's wedding. It was lovely and so was she. Also lovely was the opportunity to eat at Macy's European Coffee House each of the five mornings I was in town. If you are ever in Flagstaff, you really should stop at Macy's for a coffee, at the very least (and, no, it doesn't have anything to do with the department store Macy's).

After the wedding in Flagstaff, Mr. Distortion and I continued on to visit family in Colorado. Colorado ... sigh. Let me just say that if Mr. Distortion wasn't bound to his job by the golden handcuffs of future retirement income, I really think I'd be blogging from Colorado rather than California. Our time in Colorado was much too short.

We started home via Utah and spent a day in Cedar City, Utah (Shakespeare Festival anyone?) so that I could visit the used bookstore (Braun Books, for those familiar) and eat at the rustic Rusty's Ranch House where I was surrounded by mounted deer and elk heads while I ate my steak (my apologies to those who find this distasteful). Utah was followed by a drive-by of Las Vegas which sizzled at 111 degrees and was then upstaged by Baker, CA at 116 degrees. I was rather happy to come over the Cajon Pass and wallow in temps that were only in the mid 90s.

My reading took a back seat to people during our trip and so I don't have any book reviews at this time. I came home from our trip craving some reading time and so haven't checked into blogland until now. I managed to finish Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell last week (I couldn't believe how LONG it took me to read it; nearly 4 weeks) and spent this last weekend reading Breaking Dawn so that I wouldn't stumble into any spoilers. Next I'll be reading some books from my 1st in a Series Challenge list in order to catch up.

I hope to catch back up with regular blog visits soon!

Lot's of tagging goin' on ...

Tagged again! This time E. Peevie at The Green Room tagged me with the following questions:

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
Pretty much what I'm doing now. I'm boring. Same job, same home, same trips to Colorado. That was the year I bought my first car; previous to that Mr. Distortion and I walked, rode our bikes (as in the self-powered kind), took the bus, and shared one car.

2.) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Today, which is almost over ...watch Dr. Who, watch Battlestar Galactica, write a book review, sleep. Tomorrow morning ... shop for a dress to wear at my sister's wedding.

3) Snacks I enjoy:
Cafe latte, something chocolatey, Trader Joe's fake cheetos.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Buy a house on a mountain lake, get Mr. Distortion set up with his own recording studio, make sure my mom is financially secure, invest, donate.

5) Places I have lived:
Toledo, Phoenix, Glendale, Fullerton. I've spent so much time in Colorado that I feel like I've lived there too.

6.) Jobs I have had:
Tutor, waitress, CRT operator, administrative assistant, wire operator, assistant operations manager, interim operations manager, library paraprofessional, librarian/professor, consultant.

6 Random Things

I was tagged by Rose City Reader to write 6 Random Things about myself. "Random" suits my mood tonight, so this meme is quite timely.

1. I thumb through magazines from back to front. Mr. Distortion is constantly amazed at this "talent."
2. I read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (unabridged thank-you-very-much) when I was eight years old.
3. I like to shop and eat dinner at the San Francisco airport.
4. I'm a first-born and stubborn, as is Mr. Distortion. This makes for interesting marital relations at times.
5. I like old tube radios. I have an old Zenith. It should only play old timey music and old timey radio shows and old timey news. I could write a Twilight Zone episode around this thought.
6. I wrote 8 Random Things about myself in September 2007. I know that you can't wait to read it if you missed it the first time around. Smile.

Bonus random thing: I love sarcasm.

If you've not done this meme before, then I TAG YOU!

A Credible Bookstore

I've had occasion to be in a number of airports during the last 5 years and I've noticed something interesting. The shopping and dining available at airports has gotten ... well ... better than I remember it in the past. This is particularly nice if you have any kind of layover or wait.

The San Francisco Airport is one of my favorite airports to hang around. I actually schedule my flights out of SF later than necessary just so I can meander around the place (shopping and dining guides). I usually get sushi or a noodle bowl at Sankaku. Then I head over to Boudin's Bakery for a loaf of bread to take home to Mr. Distortion. After that, it is onward to Peet's Coffee for a latte that I take with me to Compass Books.


Compass Books is no ordinary airport bookstore. In fact, the Books Inc. website calls it "one of the few credible airport bookstores in the world." And they aren't kidding! On my last trip, I went into the store with a list of books in the areas of classic literature, crime fiction, history, technology, and young adult fiction. I found each book on my list. Then I browsed the science fiction section, the popular culture section and the magazines. I had to catch my plane before I was finished browsing ... and yes, I must admit, purchasing.

So now my little secret is out. I keep the most patient husband in the world waiting for me to come home so I can dine and shop at the airport. Hence the guilt offering from Boudin's Bakery.

Does anyone else out there have this strange compulsion to spend time at the airport? If so, what is your favorite and why?

What's in a Name

Found via BookNut

1. Your rock star name (first pet, current car): Midnight Bimmer

2. Your gangsta name (fave ice cream flavour, favourite type of shoe): Coffee Naot

3. Your Native American name (favourite colour, favourite animal): Pink Kitty

4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Lynn Toledo

5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name): Bogte

6. Superhero name (2nd favourite colour, favourite drink): Blue Juice

7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): Ernie Jack

8. Stripper name (the name of your favourite perfume/cologne/scent, favourite candy): Coco Chanel Milkyway

10. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Gordon Georgetown

11. Spy name (your favourite season/holiday, flower): Winter Iris

12. Cartoon name: (favourite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Cherry Denim

13. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favourite tree): Bagel Spruce

Latest Obsession and Baking Mishaps

Cupcakes! I really like cake, but with just two of us in our household I don't really like to have an entire cake laying around. My waistline doesn't need that much cake and Mr. Distortion must limit sugar and carbohydrates to keep from going into diabetic shock. Enter mini cakes ... more commonly known as cupcakes! Lovely little individual cakes that can easily be shared with others.

I consulted my Fannie Farmer Baking Book a couple of months ago in search of a good cupcake recipe. A friend was having a birthday and I decided that he needed cupcakes. Of course, there was the expectation that he would share [smile]. Fannie Farmer provided several yummy sounding recipes and I settled on a yellow vanilla cupcake with a butter cream frosting. I pulled together the ingredients and began baking.

I must admit here that I hadn't done any baking in awhile, but I was confident that my baking skills would return ... just like riding a bicycle. After allowing the little cakes the appropriate amount of baking time, I pulled them out of the oven. They smelled heavenly. But ... they were a bit on the short side. Hmmm. I really expected them to, you know, rise more than they had. I chalked it up to the 1800s recipe I'd used ... maybe people preferred short, chewy cupcakes in the 1800s? So I made a notation next to the recipe that these were dense and chewy and not really to my liking.

Fast forward to Christmas. The baking bug struck again and I decided to make a pumpkin roll as my contribution to Christmas lunch. I have made this recipe many times in the past and am the go-to-girl when someone in the family gets a hankering for pumpkin roll. I once again gathered my ingredients and began baking. The house was quickly permeated with the smells of cinnamon and pumpkin. I whipped up some cream cheese frosting while I waited for the thin cake to finish baking. I couldn't wait to slather on the frosting and roll it up into a log. When I took the cake out of the oven I had the most amazing sense of deja-vu -- the darned thing didn't rise. Yes, it is supposed to be thin enough to roll up into a log, but it also needs enough loft to make it flexible and cakelike. I wasn't sure what to do, so hoping for the best I frosted it and attempted to roll it up. Guess what ... a wee bit on the stiff side. Really, you shouldn't need to strong arm your pumpkin roll. Once rolled, it looked like a dehydrated log with gaps between its inner rings. Hmmph. Merry Christmas.

What was going on?? Had I lost my ability to bake? What did the cupcakes and the pumpkin roll have in common ... besides me? I started looking over the recipes to see what ingredient or process might keep things from rising and cause the baked item to be dense, tough and chewy. I finally narrowed it down to the baking powder. It was the baking powder. Did you know that baking powder expires??? I guess I didn't realize it has a shelf life. Apparently I've never had baking powder expire on me. I think I've had the same can forever, but at some point in "forever" the stuff just went way past the limit. So ... if you've got baking powder that expired in 1991 (Yes. You heard me correctly. I hang my head in shame.), GET RID OF IT!

[Sidebar] I did discover a test you can perform to see if your baking powder is still effective. Add a teaspoon of baking powder to a cup of hot water. It should start bubbling right away. If it merely fizzles a bit (or if it just sits there congealing like mine did), hie thee to the nearest store for new stuff. Fortunately it's cheap. [End Sidebar]

I am happy to report, dear internet, that after replacing my baking powder I found that I can indeed still bake. This leads me to the "latest obsession" part of my post. I know ... you thought I forgot that part of the post since I got sidetracked onto the mishap part for so long. Sooooo ... back to cupcakes!


I found this cookbook while wandering around in Williams-Sonoma fondling all of the beautiful kitchen items that would really look swell in my kitchen. But ... I digress. I found this specialty cookbook and decided that I want to spend the next year perfecting my cupcake baking skills and trying out all of the yummy possibilities. From Chocolate Mousse Cupcakes to delicate Spring Bouquet Tea Cakes, 2008 will be the year of the cupcake.

The Blank Page

Ever faced one of those scary monsters called The Blank Page? Yes, I thought you might have. You've probably guessed by now that I've brought this up because I've recently faced The Blank Page and need support. I am in recovery from the terror of staring down A Blank Page.

The most recent Blank Page Monster was attached to a work project. Of course it was a very, very important work project. It seems to me that the size of The Blank Page Monster grows with the importance (real or perceived) of the project. This one seemed pretty large to me. You know, full-grown dragon sized. These monsters also seem to grow bigger the longer you stare at them, so after 3 weeks this one was really huge. And really blank.

Well, Internet, guess who finally won the stare off? Yup, that would be me. That old Blank Page is just covered with lovely words now and has submitted to my control.

I feel like I should be knighted or something.

Of Knives and Shoes

Terri B. to Mr. D.: [while browsing at Williams Sonoma] "So ... I see you found the knife section ..."

Mr. D.: "Mm-hm" [he is a man of many words]

Terri B.: "We're not buying knives today ... right? I mean, we have two 8" chef's knives, a meat slicing knife, a meat cleaver, a boning knife, a bread cutting knife, at least two paring knives, and several more knives with mysterious specialty functions. So, you really don't need anymore knives ... right?"

Mr. D.: [looking at me while thinking]

Terri B.: [looking back and trying to appear authoritative]

Mr. D.: "You don't need anymore shoes ... right?"

Score one for Mr. Distortion and the kitchen knife collection. Sigh.

Let It Snow!

I was surprised by two things this weekend: snow and the response of other freeway drivers to the snow. If you know anything about Southern California, you know that it rarely snows. Heck, it rarely rains. So it is always a surprise when the white stuff appears, as it did on Saturday.

Mr. Distortion and I took a trip out to an area at the base of some seriously big mountains (around 12,000 ft.) that separate the ocean from the high desert. We tend to forget that we have such large mountains nearby since the smog and haze often obscure the lovely view of said mountains. I know ... sad. So we weren't thinking snow. We knew about possible rain, but the temps weren't supposed to get down to freezing. Almost freezing, but not quite. Apparently the "not quite" was enough to turn the light rain into lovely white sugar snow. As I stared out the car window on the way home, I was startled to see an empty lot covered in white. This took a moment to register. Snow! Then I noticed it on the roofs of buildings. I began bouncing in my seat and practically yelling at my husband: "Snow! Look at the snow"! A moment later I noticed that the snow was covering the freeway. I went from sheer excitement to an immediate sense of dread. Oh no. It's snowing and we're on the freeway. We're on the freeway with a bunch of other Southern Californians. In the snow. Driving in the snow.

Why this sudden fear? I've experienced So. Cals. driving in the rain and it's scary. Few drivers slow down. I can only assume they prefer to hydroplane their way down the road. They don't drive more carefully, but rather continue to drive as though they are merely playing a video game. They forget the laws of physics (did they ever learn them?) and drive 90 mph as they dart from lane to lane within inches of other cars. After all, in the video game you get a new "car" if you "wreck" and of course no one dies. So. Cal. drivers finally pick up on the idea of adjusting their driving habits to the weather and road conditions after about 3 days of wrecks and freeway closures due to fatal accidents. About the time the drivers adjust to WEATHER, the sun pops out and everything is back to normal. The lessons learned do not stick. It can rain again 2 weeks later and So. Cals. have to start all over with the hydroplaning and car wrecks and freeway closures. So you can see why I shuddered in sudden fear when I saw snow on the freeway.

My husband slowed our speed to accomodate the snow and possible ice and I waited for the cars to begin zooming past us at top speed. And I waited. No one was tailgating. No one was hysterically switching lanes in their quest to gain an advantage. No one was driving down the shoulder of the road spewing gravel and muck in their wake. All was calm and all was white on the interstate. I can only guess that the other drivers were as stunned and as pleasantly surprised as we were to see the snow. It was a true gift of the season to see some snow and, even more, to see my fellow Southern Californians driving carefully as they enjoyed the wonderful scene.

Peace.

Sleeping With Bread Mondays on Thursday

Mary at Life, the Universe and Everything started the Sleeping With Bread meme awhile back. This meme is usually posted on Mondays, but I really, really feel like baking my bread today ... right now ... Thursday. I'm sure Mary will forgive me for doing this on Thursday. [smile] If you don't know about this meme, go here to read about it.

As I sit here snuffling (yes, snuffling) and hovering over my hot tea, I find that I'm simultaneously miserable and filled with joy. The misery is simple. I've got a sinus infection that has now moved down into my chest. All of the smoke from the fires here in Southern California have made the whole thing worse. I really want to be able to breathe without wheezing. I really want to be able to taste my food again. Soon ... I'm sure I'll be feeling well soon due to modern medicine that will kick this thing in the butt.

So you may ask, "But where is the joy in this?" The joy has a name. I call him Mr. Distortion here in blogland. He is my husband of 26 years. He is my bright spot. He has brought dinner home each evening this week and cleaned up afterwards. He has brought me decaf-nonfat-lattes on demand. He has done the grocery shopping and has made extra trips to the store for essentials that I was too fuzzy headed to remember to put on the list. He has rubbed my shoulders. He has brought me my book when I've gotten myself all tucked in and then realized that I left my latest read in the living room. He has put up with my sick, grumpy self. But here is the best part ... he is like this whether I'm sick or not. I have a lot to be grateful for.

8 Random Facts

I was tagged by Mary at Life, the Universe and Everything to give you 8 random facts about myself. I think I can come up with 8. The rules for this meme are:

• Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their random facts at their own blog and include these rules at the head of the post.
• Choose people to get tagged and list their names at the end of the post.
• Don't forget to leave those you've tagged a comment telling them they are tagged and to check your blog for the rules.

8 Random Facts About Terri B.

1. I love to people watch.
2. I also love to appear to be reading while actually eavesdropping on conversations.
3. I read a lot. I average about a book a week.
4. I'm a librarian and I'm on the faculty of a private university.
5. I do not get nervous when speaking to an audience.
6. I have an inordinate fear of getting lost. The only time I've ever been lost was at age 3. I have a great sense of direction and the fear of getting lost means that I'm always hyper-prepared with maps and directions. When I've occasionally not had maps and directions, I've proven to be incredibly resourceful and always found my way. I should really not have this fear.
7. I really like to eat cake; if cake is not available I'll eat pecan pie. Either sweet must be accompanied by a cup of strong black coffee.
8. I do not like sweet stuff in my coffee. Milk is OK (as in latte or capuccino), but no sweeteners or flavorings.

OK, I tag .......... anyone who read this and wants to be tagged. If you are tagging yourself, please leave a comment advising me and other readers and let us know where to find your 8 Random Facts!

"Bull" revisited

Mr. Distortion: "Hey ... T ... I just read your post about bull riding."

Terri B.: "You're just getting to that?? That post is old!"

Mr. D.: [ignoring my commentary on his failure to keep up with my brilliant posts] "I know why you like to watch bull riding."

Terri B.: "What?? Tell me! I have no idea why I like to watch insane men ride crazed bulls."

Mr. D.: "The bulls. You like the bulls. You're always cheering for the bulls."

Thank you to Hubby for solving the mystery of "Bull" ... I think.

Language Barrier

Thursday I did one of my one day commutes from L.A. to San Francisco for a meeting. Except for the getting up at 3 or 4am thing in order to make a 6 or 7am flight, I really don't mind ... especially if I'm going to San Francisco. I love that city.

This trip I needed to take a taxi from the airport in order to make it to my meeting on time. So I went out to the taxi stand, hopped into a cab and told the driver I needed to get to Front Street and Broadway. He had a very heavy Asian accent and kept chattering something at me that I couldn't quite understand. Eventually I determined that he was telling me what route he was going to take to get me to Fourth Street. So I dutifully corrected him saying that I needed to go to Front Street, not Fourth Street. His reply? "Yes, taking you to Fot Street." OK. Was that Fot as in Fourth or Fot as in Front? Hmmm. I was pretty sure that he still thought I needed to go to Fourth Street. So I tried again. "You are taking me to Front Street aren't you? FronT not FourTH." I tried to articulate the "T" as clearly as I could. Again I got, "Yes, taking you to Fot Street." Fighting back imminent panic, I started digging through my bag for the handy plastic-coated-folding San Francisco street map I'd brought along. I hovered over the cabbie's shoulder and pointed at the spot on the map where Front Street and Broadway meet. I held my breath as he glanced at my map. Had I broken the language barrier? "Ahhhh ... you want FOT Street not Fot Street." Success.

Mizpah

A few of you have noticed that I haven't been blogging lately. I've left a few comments on various blogs, but I haven't been posting at my own. So I thought I'd break my blog silence and update you.

It was a long summer between work and four separate out of state trips. I'd like to say that we had a lot of vacation fun, but our trips out of state didn't have much to do with fun. Let's just say they were purposeful and unforgettable. The main reason you haven't seen me "blogging about" is my inability to find words to say much of anything. I've had a lot of emotional processing and the emotions and words have gotten so tangled up that ... well ... it's better to just wait until things have sorted themselves out a bit.

In June we went to Arizona to see my Grandmother for her 90th birthday. (I've written about my Grandma here in the past ... after reading through her diaries from the 30s and 40s.) It was a bittersweet visit since she was in the end stages of Alzheimer's, but it was so good to just hold her hand and give her hugs and kisses. In July we had just arrived in Colorado when I received a phone call that my Grandmother had passed away. I could do nothing by dropping everything and running back to Arizona, so we remained where we were for the week and tried to stay focused on our reasons for being in Colorado. After a quick trip home to wash clothes and re-pack, we headed back to Arizona for my Grandmother's funeral. It was a beautiful service that paid tribute to a beautiful woman who was loved and lived a long life.

One of my many memories of Grandma is a word that she would write at the bottom of every letter and at the top of every card ... Mizpah. The writing of this word was shorthand for a verse from the Bible: "The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another" Genesis 31:49. I believe the original biblical meaning was meant more as a warning to "behave," but many have viewed this verse as a blessing. My Grandmother saw this verse as a blessing and used it as such in all of her notes to family and friends. You see, she hated being separated from those she loved. Now that she is gone, and we are separated for an unknown period of time, I hold that blessing close to my heart.

Mizpah.