Is It Rocket Science?

I was never really good at science, but I could always get basic concepts, like cell division and
how molds and fungi spread. I can't figure out though how these things can show up
OVERNIGHT!
I don't know what kind of mushrooms they are, but my Grandma Ball
always said not to eat anything you are not sure of. Not that I would eat
anything that would spring up overnight in my mulch. On the other hand
Grandma Ball also said, "If it's poisonous, even the bugs won't eat it.".
Bugs have definitely eaten these.

There is more. When I came home last week, I thought that a dog had buried a bone in my front yard. A really weird bone. Then I thought what if there has been some kind of alien invasion and these are alien pods. Actually I didn'tbelieve it could have happened, but it crossed my mind. Come on, you read comic books. It looks alien, doesn't it? Check out the other ones. I found out online that they are a cup fungus. I think that they should change the name to pod fungus. I also found out that if you get this stuff in your mulch you just have to put up with it and not try to remove it . It is a fungus, it will spread more spores when it is moved. It is science, not rocket science. YIKES!

If anyone reading this knows any scientific names for these particular fungi, please comment and let me know. After all if it is aliens, I want to know.

Expanded Yard!

Well, I have expanded on my yard. You know that more is not enough! I have added more beads plus milagros! You can see that this is more estheticly pleasing. Plus I have added milagros for Lenore's bad foot and stomach. Plus Lois' heart and Fred's lungs. Also John's heart. I think it is worth a shot! Not only that, but it is really visually pleasing to have something on either side of the Virgin!

Yard Work

I have always disliked chain link fences. I also noted that the manufacturers of these fences usually try to make them less offensive by putting weird decorative accents on the tops of the gates. I have two separate decorations on my two gates and decided that they needed some more embellishment! Here is the front gate. Pictured are:Lenore( eldest sister),Lois(older sister), and me,Ellie(youngest sister). I made them out of wooden finials. I painted them wired them with beads and wired the whole thing to the front fence. I love them almost as much as I love my sisters.
Lenore is the redhead who looks at least 15
years younger than she did before her new
haircut. She is called Queenie and is wearing a crown so we all know. Lois has a new haircut and her newly highlighted hair looks lovely. She is wearing her First Communion cross that was missing for so many years. Ellie has a new haircut and she loves that she can wear it so many ways including with a bandanna all kind of 40's ish! DON'T WE LOOK LIKE DOLLS?
I need to tell the guys who invented chain link fences that they can add stuff that's way cooler than those goofy metal things.

AND IF THEY ARE RELIGIOUS

This is Our Lady of Guadalupe for whom I have a fascination. She looks like a DOLL too!

I am the Mother!

It dawned on me yesterday that I am the Mother. Now that my Mom is gone, I don't have to worry about finding the perfect gift for her. Not that I don't miss her(that is for a whole other blog!), but I can actually get the perfect gift...and I did!

Last month I mentioned to Sarah that I wanted to get a ring I saw on Etsy. She gave me $40 towards that purchase...and is giving me the rest on her next payday! She was very specific as to what that money is for...the ring and nothing else. So the next time anyone sees me I will be wearing this beautiful ring!

Andrew on the other hand is into ShrinkyDinks. He made me a card and then shrunk it! I would not have thought of that for sure. Then I opened the box and inside was the cutest little bird!

I Love that I have two good kids with excellent
taste. They get it from me and I got it from my
mother. And she got it from her mother and so on...Happy Mother's Day!

The History of Me

I talk to my sisters often, but I don't see them as often as I'd like. I did see my sister Lenore last week and she brought me the most wonderful present. Pictures of my grandmother Frida, my dad's mother and some pictures of my grandfather William Sr. (Wilhelm) taken before they were married. To those of you who don't know the history, we're talking pre 1912!

My grandfather was born in 1877 and came to the U.S. when he was 16. OK, that was 1893 the year of the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. To put into perspective... the year that the Museum of Science and Industry opened...the year that the Field Museum was completed. And for you lovers of spooky non-fiction the year of The Devil in the White City.

Although my grandmother died when my dad was four, she has had a great impact on our family. We have fantasized about her our whole lives. Looking at these pictures, you can see why! Frida is second from the right in the suit picture. She belonged to either an acting or singing society. My guess is singing because why would everybody dress the same for a play?

She must have been quite a gal. I was so excited to get these photos because I look very much like good old Frida. Actually good young Frida, because she died when she was about 30 in 1918.
She looks like a doll in the picture below. She is the second from the left in the middle row.

My grandparent were both from Germany. Frida was from Stuttgart and Wilhelm was from Bremen and 400 miles was a greater distance back then. But they met in Chicago when they were both working at Kranz's candies. She was a waitress and he was the ice cream and candy maker.

I guess she recognized his voice when she saw him at the bus stop and asked if he was Wilhelm. The rest is history.

I had never seen the inside of Kranz's, but I have heard stories about how elegant it was. I was told that ice cream was $1.00 a pint during the depression and that certainly was a point to be made!

Arts of Life

"The Arts of Life Band makes danceable party music with a rock edge. It is an ongoing collaborative project between disabled and non-disabled artists in the Chicago area, based out of the Arts of Life community of artists and Reversible Eye gallery. The Arts of Life is an artistic community that provides adults with developmental disabilities an environment to experience personal growth. The Arts of Life Band performs at local events and fundraisers, and does rock concerts at venues such as the Empty Bottle and the Double Door."

The Arts of Life Band was recently featured on ABC7-news, performing songs from their debut, self-titled CD.

My son Andrew is in a band called Reddelicious and he also volunteers and plays with The Arts of Life Band. I attended one of their performances and what a good time it was. There was an art show at a gallery next to the Old Town School of Folk Music and they did a set at the School. They put everyone present in such an up mood! My favorite song was "Shark Attack" but I can't get "Puppies and Babies" out of my head! The music they perform for the most part is written by them. They choose the type of song, the beat they like and write the lyrics. The band then puts it together! You can link to their My Space by clicking their logo! Then listen to some of the songs from their CD.

Can't Get Enough

While I was looking for the complete "Little Orphant Annie" I found something amazing! She was a real person, who inspired Mr. Riley to write the poem. If you can stand to read 19th century writing without getting bored (good for you!), read what he has to say about Mary Alice Smith. Just click on her photo. "Allie" as the children called her, lived with the Riley family, having been dropped off by her uncle. She was none too keen on that uncle or his wife!
read the poem
Right before "Jim" (Alice's name for Riley) died, he initiated an extensive search for Orphant Annie, advertising in the newspaper. Her daughter saw the advertisement and they were reunited.

Evidently, because of reading James Whitcomb Riley's poems, Little Orphant Annie and
The Raggedy Man, author JohnnyGruelle named his daughter's homemade doll---Raggedy Ann!

I read in Wikipedia that Mary Alice Smith was also the inspiration for Little Orphan Annie but that seems like a stretch to me. Maybe just the name...

click here to read her obituary
The name Hoosier makes me want to spit!