Family Movies and the Family

Pappa Wayne is 74, born in 1939.

Aunt Kathy is 16 years younger, born in 1955. She was 5 years old when Pappa and Grama got married. How odd to have that little of a sibling at marrying age.

Pappa is showing us the videos Pappa Wiley made.

Wayne is the first guy in a suit walking Jeff down the sidewalk.

The car is a ’51 Ford.

There’s a beautiful smile from Grama Willine at some point.

Cousin Sylvia is tall and blonde. Cousin Mildred is a brunette and is holding on to one of the boys. Maybe Larry. Don’t know who the two little girls are. Immediately after this they are all sitting around eating watermelon. Pappa said Sylvia went to the hospital to have a minor surgery and never woke up.

Uncle Otto has the horse with Jeff on the horse.

Grama Willine’s mom and Dad (Mattie and William Cater) are in the picture with Jeff and a watermelon. Wiley told him to fix his hair and didn’t tell Grama Mattie he was filming it while she fixed it.

Larry is the guy with the big ears that Jeff is riding in front of the Christmas tree. Grama Willine was expecting Kathy in that picture. Grama Mattie has a parakeet on her head.

Someone took the camera and Pappa Wiley is holding Jeff.

Jeff got a wiener dog, a truck, a football, and a wagon for Christmas.

Then there’s Aunt Kathy and Grama Willine. I recognize the smile. It’s the Davis men’s smiles. (Not my Davis’ men’s, but the older generation’s.)

Kathy has black, black hair.

There’s Pappa with the two youngest. Now here comes Grama Willine.

Then Grama Cater is holding Kathy. Ron says he remembers Grama Cater.

It looks like the Davis smile might be the Cater smile. It looks like Pappa Cater’s smile.

Then there’s Aunt Thelma, Uncle Chuck, and Bill. The little girl is Becky–Wayne’s cousin. She’s a toddler in a blue dress. She lives in Atlanta now.

Kathy is sacking out on a mat on the floor. She does not want to go sleep.

Poor Larry. One of the cousins is riding him.

Bill (older) and Bruce (younger) are waving.

Then Kathy is in the crib.

Wayne is in the suit, standing behind Jeff in a suit. Jeff is trying to hit him. Then he throws him up on the ’53 Oldsmobile Wayne learned to drive in.

Who’s the blonde in a dress? It doesn’t look like Becky.

The man hugging Jeff is Truman. One of Wiley’s friends in Russellville. It’s another Christmas.

Kathy got a baby doll that she is trying to eat.

Pappa Cater is holding Becky and Kathy is sitting in Grama Cater’s lap.

Chuck and Thelma with Becky. Thelma was 16 when Wayne was born.

Grama Willine and Pappa Wiley and the kids and Thelma and Chuck. Grama Cater must have had the camera? Nope. There’s Grama Cater and Willine and Thelma. Becky is smiling away. Kathy does not want her picture taken.

Wayne says Chuck had been married before and he lied about it. So he was divorced and Thelma didn’t know that when they got married. Chuck became a Baptist preacher.

Kathy’s first birthday cake.

The blue rocking chair that Kathy falls into was Willine’s when she was a girl. Wayne doesn’t know what happened to it.

Then his cousin Elaine and Dean. Wayne spoke at Elaine’s funeral a year or so ago. He thought Dean was so cool. Hair slicked back, fast car, and a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his shirt. Elaine and Dean drove a truck cross-country as a team for years and years.

Larry got a bow and arrows. Jeff got a violin. He’s pretending to play it.

Bobby Baker. Bill and Laura. Bill is Jerry’s uncle.

There’s Jerry. He was smiling. Then Ronnie. Then Aunt Mary and Uncle Frank.

Bobby Baker again. Then Laura and Bill. –Wayne says Bill left his wife and kids for another woman.

Frank fell and broke his hip and when he went to have surgery, he died under anesthesia.

Kathy is two.

My mom was 12 when they took these pictures. I have a picture of Mom that year.

Kathy has long hair. Jeff looks a lot like Pappa Wiley in this picture. He’s drinking tea for Kathy.

Willine is getting so gray! There’s Jerry and Larry. Larry is not not happy again.

Then that’s Wayne. I didn’t know Wayne had naturally wavy hair.

Kathy’s 4th birthday. Larry lights the cake. Wayne says he had met

Pappa Cater with the kids standing outside.

Henry and Stella Brown. She is Dad’s sister. (So Pappa Wiley’s sister.) There’s Frank. Henry was a mean one. He didn’t treat her very well.

Then Frank and Mary and Jerry. And Larry. And Ronnie. And Willine. And Larry.

Christmas again. Kathy gets another doll. Jeff gets another truck. She kisses her baby doll.

Then there’s Jeff looking like

Annice Baker. She was Jerry’s cousin, not mine. She tried to teach me and Jerry how to dance. Neither one of us did very well.

There’s Pappa’s Harding pictures. Miss Kay. She was Wayne’s girlfriend before Grama Vera. Note that they were holding hands and they are on his leg. willine is there. Wiley is filming. IT’s the college years ago… Harding would love that.

The admin office is in the back and that’s where Vera worked.

There’s my roommate Tom Ledford and his girl friend. Then some other friends. Then someone getting thrown into the fish pond. Wayne said it wasn’t a birthday tradition.

There’s Gwen Turberfield. She’s a Springdale girl.

Somebody put a carp in the goldfish pond and it started eating the fish.

There’s Miss Kay again.

And another bout with the fish pond.

“Three beauties… I have not a clue as to who they are. But they were worthy of filming. … Kay has my sweater on. There she is playing tennis.
We were on an outing of some kind. I don’t think swimming was allowed, but we improvised. It was a school outing at Wildwood or something like that.”

Then the cutie pie is Ron. Oklahoma City, wasn’t it? There’s Vera’s smile.

Ronnie’s birthday cake. His first one. Icing! Face dive into the cake. Why waste your hands when you can just put your mouth directly on the cake. He is just licking it off the cake. It was a chocolate cake with white icing.

The neighbor up the street’s little girl. She was adopted too. She was a Wilma.

Then Vera and Ron.

Then Linda Wilma. She was a pretty girl. His early girl friend. She came over to kiss him.

Christmas. The one before his first birthday. That’s the phone! Micah got the same phone for his first birthday. He enjoyed the box more than the phone but Ron is really liking the phone.

Then he is trying to eat all the fake food. There’s a little football there. It reminds me of the footballs he would get when he was watching 6-man football. Look at that boy trying to stand up. What a cutie!

Vera look alike she is in high school. But I know she’s not that young. That was ’65. She was 22 years old then.

Wow. That was fun.

Reading About Beowulf

I read some of a book’s introduction to Beowulf to my son and he said “It’s a post-modernist reading” but when I explained to him that it was written in 1837, he said it was just crap. Hmm. What does that say about post-modernist readings in his viewpoint.

I think it’s just crap, but I didn’t consider it a postmodern reading.

Steampunking Goggles

What if I took my goggles and got regular lenses put in them, so I could see out of them. I wonder how much that would cost. I like the idea.

Steampunking Gadgets

I bought a clear phone cover for my iPhone. Then it started turning yellowish. I put gears in it. Now it is steampunked.

iphone case steampunk ShD 1a
I used the same gears and a leather cover to make my iPad steampunked.

Pictures as soon as I can figure out how to get some.
ipad steampunk case 3a ShD

Spring Classes

Despite the fact that we are working a year in advance, we still don’t know till fairly late in the day what classes make.

Right now (and this is still subject to change), I have the
Old English readings course
one business and professional writing course
a second-semester first-year writing course.

We are assuming (at this point) that I will receive the CAS course reduction award. If I do, then those three courses will be my only classes. If I do not, then I will probably teach two freshman classes.

I am hoping to get the CAS course reduction award.

I need to work on the OE readings course and finish up what readings should go in the book. Really, really need to do that.

The course only has 5 people in it, but it is a required for graduation course, so they should offer it. My fingers are crossed that they will. I have been looking forward to it so much.

If the worst happens and I don’t get the CAS reduction and the OE course is disallowed, I will probably end up with 3 freshman courses and a B&P. That would be okay in one way, but in another way it would really give me a heavy load –as compared to the incredibly light load I am looking at right now.

Of course, before yesterday, my schedule was:
1 OE readings course
2 B&P classes.

So every day is a new beginning…

Dr Who Weeping Angel Costume

early version of weeping angel Suanna ShDI spent a week spraying my dress (which is a summer style) and now it will be 30 degrees tomorrow.

I spent several days spraying the wings and they still are not done. In fact, the house smells like paint because I needed to add paint and I brought it inside to dry.

Ron helped me get the wings glued together and he also helped me–actually he did it–cut the place for the strap to go through. It’s going to work out very well, I think.

He also suggested using puff paint to make the wings more textured. It looks good, but after that I need to paint it with black enamel paint. This is a bit more involved than I expected; however, I do think that it will look amazing. Or at least, it has the potential to look amazing.

Alphabetical Blessings

In 2013 I am grateful for:

A= Abilene, all the Alberts still in my life and the Albert who is in Heaven, my nephew A and my niece A, antiques, Amy C, Angie B, apples,

B= my boys, God’s beauty, books, Bible, blue, bananas,

C= my brother Chris, Christmas carols, cars, coats, clothing, chocolate, Cailler, community

D= my dad, Deb W, Darlene B, my dog, dancing, doughnuts

E= everything God has given me! eating, ears, enjoyment, emotions, English classes to teach, energy, Elijah

F= food, fun, fingers, failures (although especially when they’ve been overcome), friends, fences, fantasy

G= my grandmothers, my grandfathers, God, goodness, grass, groceries paid for, gasoline (esp. below $3/gallon!), vintage blue glass, grapes

H= for my birth family the H’s, including all my myriads of cousins and their kiddos, our house, the other house income, holidays, Houston, hair, health, hugs, hamburgers, high heels

I= ice cream (esp Skinny Cow), indoors, Indiana and Illinois and the friends and schools there

J= my sister J, my mother J, journeys, joy, the word jubilation, Jesus

K= kids, kaleidoscopes, kidneys that work, kennings, Karen C, Kim B, kisses

L= love, laughter, lilies, lyrics

M= myself, Mother, Micah, monster studies, moisture in the air, March, museums, memories, Mikee D, the moon, Mary Jo, men, Mexican Steak, mysteries

N= nourishment, nights, normal, nods of understanding, noise I can hear, new sheets, Nancy S-J

O= oranges, the ocean, the color orange, old furniture, oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, others

P= porches, potties, pony tails, pools, perspective, people, peace, presence, Paula, pizza, pork, ponchos, photographs

Q= quiet, quirks, questions for learning

R= rain, rainbows, Ron, Reagan, rational thinking, relationships, rivers, romances, romance, Ren Fair

S= sunshine, sounds, soft kisses, sex, socks, songs, singing, Steph, Aunt Stephanie, silly songs with Larry, smiles, spaghetti, shoes, skirts, science fiction

T= toes, turquoise, thankfulness, treats, trees, time, toenail polish, tickling, television, turkey, faux turtlenecks

U= underwear, the word ubiquitous, umbrellas

V= violets, vision, variety, vegetables

W= windows, wonder, willows, women, watermelon, wishes, words, wisdom

X= X-rays, xylophones

Y= youth, yards, yams, yellow, yucca flowers, yawns

Z= zeal, Zion, zoos, zebras, zippers, zombie stories

Toastmaster: An Attitude of Gratitude

I am Toastmaster this week and the topic is being grateful or expressing gratitude. I said being grateful, but I think maybe I could expand it.

Two of the speakers and one of the evaluators has bowed out. The grammarian hasn’t written, but supposedly she is in Hawaii.

I haven’t heard from the timer.

An attitude of gratitude…
100 things I like about my spouse
(Oh, maybe that story about where the couple were supposed to write down the things that bothered them and one only wrote the good things…)
This is also useful when you are having trouble thinking of things you like about them…
The blessing list… Keeping track of your daily blessings or writing down one big blessing from each month of the last year.
Counting your blessings one by one. Name them one by one. I bet you can’t. If you get started, how long could you make the list?
Facebook November traditions: a letter of the alphabet to thank God for each day or the number of the date: 3 siblings, 3 nieces or my brother Chris, church friends, cars

Found a list of 100 Things about me that you probably didn’t know and I laughed and thought about blessings I had forgotten and discovered I had goals that I have met and… lots of cool things.

24fps International Film Festival

30 short films are shown. 10 were last night. 10 in a matinee today and 10 tonight.

I have to go to the Metroplex, but I hope to be able to attend the event this evening. 7 pm. We’ll see if I can make it. So I am dressed both for a meeting and for a night out on the town with DH. The one issue is a coat. I have a beautiful suit jacket for a night on the town, but not for a day at work that covers it. I may have to take both on the trip, since I probably won’t have time to get back home before the showing.

I remember the first year that I went thinking that this is not like literature. Most of them don’t end sadly.

DH says I only remember the happy ones, but that is actually not correct. I don’t. I only remember the sad ones.

However last night, there were three maybe that weren’t sad. Four that weren’t sad by the end. So six that were sad. One, which I had hoped would be the most fascinating, was Irish Folk Furniture, but though it was well done, it wasn’t amazing. I am pretty sure one that I thought was odd, but not depressing at the end, will be the audience’s choice for last night, but there is only one choice, so…

I’m actually glad I am missing the matinee movies. They look political and depressing.

What Has Been Going On

Said I was going to wear a costume for class on Thursday (Halloween). Boss asked if he needed to vet it. I told him no, that I wasn’t going to wear anything Abilene kinky.

I was actually pretty upset about it though. He’s not one of my friends on FB and I guess that was what he was thinking of. Maybe I should un-friend all my colleagues. Or maybe what I am wearing to school is garnering comments. I don’t know. I think since he specified costume, that is what the perceived problem was.

Made me very unhappy. Like depressed. Thought I want to leave here (again). I remember feeling this way when I lived here before, prior to marriage. Maybe it is only when I am depressed. That is something to think about.

Anyway, started thinking I don’t have any friends. But then I thought of Melanie and Lora and realized that I have more friends here (even without my colleagues and “old friends”) than I had in Kingwood at any time. I mean, I had one friend at a time in Kingwood, but usually only for a semester or a year.

Then I wondered what is wrong with me that I am so bad/whatever that I can’t make friends. I’m not going to think about that because while I am not perfect, I am a good friend. So…

Got over the depression by thinking about Lora and Melanie. Thank you, God, for those two amazing women.

Halloween we only had about 1400 people come by instead of the normal 2000. 6:30-9. One thanked us for participating. Said very few people were. I know two of the houses in my block are empty. So that would make sense. Another one doesn’t open their doors and isn’t particularly friendly. The final one I’ve only seen working on his house in the middle of the day, but no other time.

So there were not a lot of people giving out candy. The other blocks going north all are poorer neighborhoods. A lot of the houses are rented. And candy for 2000 people is very expensive. Unless you are really into Halloween, someone on a significantly limited budget wouldn’t go for that. And these aren’t the neighborhood kids, since everyone drives from all over town, and some of them aren’t even kids. We have grown ups and teens, too.

I can see why someone wouldn’t give out candy under those circumstances.

Plus, people walked all over our yard, on the monkey grass, threw trash out, and pulled our stones over.

DH was Fry and I was Leela. It was fun. We still had more folks talking about the disco ball than anything else. Some of the kids asked if we were having a party. I told them, yes, they were the party. I don’t think they got that.

Had lunch with Lora today. (Melanie two days ago)

I talked a million miles an hour and she didn’t say much. She is the oldest of four. Brother 2.5 years younger. Sister 5 years younger. Brother 8 years younger. All of them are pregnant. The sister is on her third child. She and her husband don’t intend to have any kids….

She said the shelter in town is terrible. It was weird. Didn’t sound like what I have heard about.

There are too many animals folks don’t take care of. I know that, though.

Finished the laundry just now. Hasn’t been done in a week.

Going up to the office to pick up boxes to take to Ft Worth this weekend for the conference executive committee.

Still haven’t done as much promotion for Dr Who as we need to. Since we’ve paid $300 I think we need a huge turn out. I don’t care if I know people. Just want to have people come. Will have to talk to Karen and see what she would recommend.

DH said we needed to quit spending so much money. Then he bought a new (used) camera. I was fine with it, but it does feel weird when he said we need to quit spending money. … Stupid me, I talked to Amy about it. So I need to talk to him before Tuesday morning, in case she mentions it. She doesn’t always have the same spin I do on stuff I say to her. I should also be more careful about it. He’s a wonder and I love him and you might not be able to tell from what I tell her.

Picked up the house. My office is still not really “clean” but everything else looks good. I am trying to figure out what to do with office, but won’t do anything now because I need to go by the office.

Anyway, that’s what has been going on in the last few days.