January 9, 2015
I made a huge error on the last blog. Forgive me Minnie Lee Jones for incorrectly calling you Minnie Lee Rogers. Of course, I know her well and I can't imagine where my brain was when I made her a Rogers. I do know that at one time I knew a Minnie Rogers so I guess the synapses snapped on that and the fingers followed.
A few months ago a college classmate who writes class notes for our alumni magazine asked for anecdotes about our college experiences. I sent one to her which she has sent on to the editors who are gathering the stories for an article. When she thanked me in the latest alumni class notes, she called me Helen Bell. Yeah, I was a little bit miffed thinking she would remember me as I remember her.
So, Minnie, I can understand if you are upset with me. Someone once said that he or she didn't care what the media wrote as long as they got his or her name right.
Regretfully,
Ellen
Friday, January 9, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
January, 2015
Time does go much faster for me now that I have definitely hit the downhill side of the mountain. Climbing up through all those years of raising children, keeping a home running, and educating adolescents was a long slog. It took years and years and it felt like eons. Then came retirement, an expectation of a slow glide through the "golden years" of travel, reconnection with my family, and lots of great books.
Little did I know that as the work slowed down, everything else would speed up. For example, I spent at least two hours yesterday discovering how to use the U Go device that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas. Coordinating it all required the little gizmo with its impossible-to-insert battery, the cell phone with an Apple store app, and my computer. Finally, I attached the little tracker to my body ( you don't need to know how), and now I can track all my footsteps and my sleep hours. It occurred to me that now I can watch myself fail in real time. Do I really want to take 2000 steps each day and sleep 7 hours? And if I do, do I need a record of it?
With January comes FREA's drive to raise money for the state education scholarships. Since we have two local recipients right now, I think we should be very interested in helping them out. Also, the door prizes that they offer are usually terrific.
I am sure they will be announced at our meeting this month. We should not forget our local scholarships in the meantime. Although we will be concentrating now on the state promotion, MCREA Scholarships are still receiving funds if you haven't donated yet.
FELT book contributions were great in December. Unfortunately, they came in the day before school ended for winter break and that was too late to send them home with the kids. However, the books are residing under my desk waiting for the last day of school in June to be distributed. Please keep them coming in. I have about 100 books now, and there are about 400 kids in the FELT program. Remember, the students are from K to 5th grade, so there is quite a range of reading skills to serve. I grade them all quickly (no formulas or counting words, just eyeballing) and give them to Bill Evers who takes them to the backpack assembly point.
Joan Sackett, Judi Ussery, and their crew packed up the gifts you brought for the elders and took them to the retirement homes. I am sure they were much appreciated there. You brought a little cheer to some shut-in souls.
Our Christmas program was very enjoyable with Sam Lane's piano rendition of favorite seasonal music. I was lucky to sit at his table and hear about his extraordinary life. He was accompanied by his wife Anita who helps him navigate in his world without sight. Perhaps because of his disability, which he has had since birth, he is very sensitive to everyone around him and is a great conversationalist. I loved hearing his conversation with Minnie Lee Rogers about church matters. He called her "Sister Rogers" which was very sweet and respectful.
Here are some shots of the festive December group.
Our next meeting is on January 15, at 11:30 a.m., at Renaissance on 9th. If you want to avoid a line, come early. Apropos of our presenter Sam Lane in December, our speaker will be Debbie Grubb from the Florida Council of the Blind. We are still collecting for the Food Bank, so bring a can or a box or two.
See you soon,
Ellen
Little did I know that as the work slowed down, everything else would speed up. For example, I spent at least two hours yesterday discovering how to use the U Go device that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas. Coordinating it all required the little gizmo with its impossible-to-insert battery, the cell phone with an Apple store app, and my computer. Finally, I attached the little tracker to my body ( you don't need to know how), and now I can track all my footsteps and my sleep hours. It occurred to me that now I can watch myself fail in real time. Do I really want to take 2000 steps each day and sleep 7 hours? And if I do, do I need a record of it?
With January comes FREA's drive to raise money for the state education scholarships. Since we have two local recipients right now, I think we should be very interested in helping them out. Also, the door prizes that they offer are usually terrific.
I am sure they will be announced at our meeting this month. We should not forget our local scholarships in the meantime. Although we will be concentrating now on the state promotion, MCREA Scholarships are still receiving funds if you haven't donated yet.
FELT book contributions were great in December. Unfortunately, they came in the day before school ended for winter break and that was too late to send them home with the kids. However, the books are residing under my desk waiting for the last day of school in June to be distributed. Please keep them coming in. I have about 100 books now, and there are about 400 kids in the FELT program. Remember, the students are from K to 5th grade, so there is quite a range of reading skills to serve. I grade them all quickly (no formulas or counting words, just eyeballing) and give them to Bill Evers who takes them to the backpack assembly point.
Joan Sackett, Judi Ussery, and their crew packed up the gifts you brought for the elders and took them to the retirement homes. I am sure they were much appreciated there. You brought a little cheer to some shut-in souls.
Our Christmas program was very enjoyable with Sam Lane's piano rendition of favorite seasonal music. I was lucky to sit at his table and hear about his extraordinary life. He was accompanied by his wife Anita who helps him navigate in his world without sight. Perhaps because of his disability, which he has had since birth, he is very sensitive to everyone around him and is a great conversationalist. I loved hearing his conversation with Minnie Lee Rogers about church matters. He called her "Sister Rogers" which was very sweet and respectful.
Here are some shots of the festive December group.
Our next meeting is on January 15, at 11:30 a.m., at Renaissance on 9th. If you want to avoid a line, come early. Apropos of our presenter Sam Lane in December, our speaker will be Debbie Grubb from the Florida Council of the Blind. We are still collecting for the Food Bank, so bring a can or a box or two.
See you soon,
Ellen
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