Nine Grandma's Stars

Sarah Nicole Miller and Megan Emily Scott created Backwards Day in 1961. The idea is a simple one: on the last day of January, do something backwards. You might leave for work through your back door instead of the front, or put on your shirt backwards. You could add fries to your catsup or pancakes to your syrup. You could try writing something backwards, word by word or letter by letter. You could get a few friends together and play a game backwards. (Some backwards games, like Monopoly and baseball, are absolutely hilarious.) You could play a record or a movie backwards. You could read a book beginning with the last page. Walking backwards isn’t all that complicated, but backwards running is much harder. And have you ever considered how you might ride a bicycle backwards? What would happen if, just for today, you answered phone calls by saying, “goodbye?”

Another Chain and Bar

Thursday afternoons I play piano for singalongs at a local assisted living/memory care unit. We do songs the residents know well: mostly jazz standards and show tunes from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Friday mornings I volunteer on a lovely grand piano in the front lobby of a big hospital. I use many of the same songs at both venues. I don’t sing as I play at the hospital, but in my head I hear the voices of Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Dean Martin. There are a few songs, though, I’m thinking of cutting from the repertoire: “Standing on the Corner” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” by Frank Loesser, and “Wives and Lovers” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I’m sure no one would have batted an eye at these lyrics when they were new, by they seem so misogynistic now. I guess times really have changed. Thank goodness.

Four Coffin Stars

I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. You can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I’ve never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. There’s no airport; you have to be driven there. I’ve made several trips.

I’d like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I’m not big on physical activity.

I’ve also been in Doubt. It’s a sad place. I try not to visit too often.

Sometimes I’m in Capable. I go there more often as I’m getting older.

Once I thought I was in Vincible but it turns out I wasn’t.

People keep telling me I’m in Denial but I’m positive I’ve never been there before!

I’m hoping to avoid Continence.

I think of the Hereafter often - several times a day, in fact. I enter a room and think “What am I here after?”

 - Source Obscure

Sunbeam Block

Shawn Seipler used to travel a lot. In an average year, he’d stay in as many as 150 hotel rooms. One day, a thought occurred to him. What happens to all the half-used soaps he leaves behind? He called the front desk to ask, and they told him used soap is simply tossed. In 2009, Shawn started the Clean the World Foundation out of a one-car garage in Florida. With a few friends, some potato peelers, meat grinders and cookers, Shawn developed a way to recycle used bars of soap into sterile new ones. New soap is then given to homeless shelters and to families around the world who don’t have easy access to soap. The donated soap helps to protect people from deadly diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea. Clean the World has distributed more than 50 million bars of soap to people in 127 countries. It works with 8,000 hotel and resort partners, including Hilton, Marriott and Walt Disney World.

Four Grandma's Stars

“When Jesus asks you and me to repent, He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit, even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies. Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance – of doing and being a little better each day.” – Russell M. Nelson

Four Patience Blocks

Jack and Harriet Morrison went on their first date – a simple meal together in a small diner – on October 31, 1955. Six months later they were married. Together they ran a charter bus company and raised a daughter and two sons. They found time to be actively involved in local charity causes and to travel. About a year ago, Harriet was walking the dog and fell, breaking her hip. The break and dementia necessitated a move to a nearby nursing home/rehab center. Jack soon found it difficult to live at home alone. In September, he also suffered a bad fall and was moved into a room four doors down from Harriet’s. They would nap together, one in a wheelchair, the other in bed – with their hands intertwined. “Some days she knew him; other days she didn’t,” said their daughter. Eventually the staff pushed their beds together. Jack passed away two weeks ago today. Harriet joined him just a few hours later.

Coffin Star

Unless you live under a rock (that’s not such a bad idea) you’ve probably heard of the ten-year challenge. Essentially, you post a decade-old photo of yourself alongside a current picture. It’s a way to brag about how amazing you look now compared to then, or vice versa. I’m sure there are some who look fantastic in both shots, but I probably don’t know them. Or want to. Following the challenge has got me thinking about how I’ve spent the past decade. A lot of it was mundane: a few dozen dentist visits, an awful lot of dishes washed, beds made and laundry done. Some of it was awful. I wrecked a perfectly good car and broke several bones. Some was wonderful. There were four terrific cruises and five delightful grandchildren. I’ve seen nearly 400 movies on the big screen. I’ve made several dozen large quilts and many, many more tiny ones. And I’ve entered 2,661 posts in this blog. Amazing!