Keeping a light in the window

A very long time ago a lamp sat in my father's grandfather's mother's parlor.

My father's grandfather is the one with the splendid mustache in this picture, the young man is his father, and the baby his older brother.  The lady on the end of the couch is his great-grandmother, and the lamp was hers.  It had a bright orange base and glass globe that glowed when the oil wick was lit.

When my father was growing up, the lamp was in his grandfather's house in Lexington.  Here, beside his grandfather, is the lady he called grandmother, his grandfather's second wife "Miss Mattie".  The lamp was now in their living room, and at some point in the early part of the century had been wired for electricity.  My father and his sister loved to see that old lamp shine in the window when they visited.

At some point, alas, the globe cracked.  The lamp was tucked away in the attic of  my grandfather's house, where it did not shine for many years.  

When my grandfather died, the base was found, with the chimney still intact but the globe broken, and my father brought it to his house.  He hunted through junk shops and antique stores until he found a globe that almost matched the base, and he plugged the old lamp in.

It stood on a chest by the window at the top of the stairs for years.

When my turn came to have the lamp I did not dare plug it in.  The old two-wire cord had once been wrapped in silk that now hung in stringy hanks.  The round plug with its fancy embossed design of leaves had exposed wire going into it.  The amazing tube like light bulb had tiny fragile bits dangling inside.
Still, I set it on a bookcase by the window where it could be admired in the sunlight.

Then we met the Handyman.

Among the many things that the Handyman has done for us is to rewire the old lamp.

He was even able to reuse that fancy round plug.

So once again the old lamp shines in a window to welcome everyone home.

Blue Skies Indiana

...and if you look closely at the maple limbs behind the pine, you can see buds swelling.  True.  Snow will melt, sap will rise, Spring will arrive!

There's a first time for...

This is the time of year when, honestly, we've been inside far too long.  We're tired of weather and predicted weather and talking about the weather.  We've done all the usual passing time activities and we're bored.

 We need novelty!

So it was absolutely the perfect time for me to attempt to make sushi for the first time.

Got to work on my veggie slicing techniques, but I do think the rice turned out perfectly.

The ones where the filling fell out?  No problem, I just ate all of those so...

the platter looked pretty good!

Of course sea weed, cucumber and avocado made for a rather monochromatic presentation,

so the red cabbage salad with miso-sesame dressing livened up the plate.

The afternoon cooking went quickly, I enjoyed trying something completely new...

and Granddad even asked for seconds!

Now there is a lot of dull February yet to come --

 what shall I attempt next?

Happy Lunar New Year

Here's one of the things I love about the school where I volunteer : the kids come from all over the world.   On Friday there was a celebration for the Lunar New Year-- with costumes and songs, with first graders from China singing in Mandarin,

with fourth graders from Indiana dancing a traditional dragon dance,

and with a group storytelling with the Japanese kamishibai theater.

Every one, no matter what their cultural background, was in a good mood all morning, ready to begin the year of the Horse.

"Yeah," says Scotty, "MY year!  Bring it on!"