To-Do Lists

A lot to do at home, in the gardens, and for storytelling in the next few days. I think I need to get some lists together.

At home:

*Put away the puppets and other storytelling stuff from the last few gigs. (This weekend I needed a suitcase to pack for the family reunion, and all were full of puppets!)

*Get Derek's house and yard cleaned up and ready for his return.


The little garden--just right for lettuce, radishes, snow peas and such.


In the gardens:
*Hoe out the new strawberry patch.
*Mulch the new berry canes.
* plant herb seeds, and cucumber and squash hills.
*plant tomatoes and peppers.
*Hoe the little garden.


For storytelling:
*research stories about races/racing for 4-H camp
*research insect stories for Summer Reading programs
*get the newsletters labeled, stamped and ready for mailing

This weekend:
*go to the Vandalia Festival at the state cultural center this weekend.
*get up early Friday to go to the Ripley on Sale event in town.
*enjoy grandkids James and Michaela (and their parents, of course, who are coming to help with Derek's house).
*visit Larry's family graves and decorate with flowers.
*enjoy my family, my home, and the incredible variety of my life.
*do not think about work.

I think this list is long enough! Do you think I'll get it all done? (of course not, but I can try.)

What's on your to-do list for this weekend?

Poppy for a Veteran

The sign in front of John's Lube lists soldiers' names,
those who are soon returning home.
And every day I drive past I wonder
if I will ever see the name of my son
posted in celebration.



Today I checked the sign and here is what I saw:






my son, listed first, with the others all returning soon.


Nothing fancy, this sign.

But to the families of soldiers, a blessed sight.




In the garden at my home, the poppies seem to know
it's time to bloom.

The Devil’s Nine Questions

Child #1
(a variant of Riddles Wisely Expounded)

This is the latest ballad I've learned. The Devil says he has nine questions. What's the ninth one?

You must answer my questions nine
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
Or you’re not God’s, you’re one of mine
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

What is whiter than the milk?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And what is softer than the silk?
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

Snow is whiter than the milk,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And down is softer than the silk,
And I’m the weaver’s bonnie.

What is higher than a tree?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And what is deeper than the sea?
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

Heaven is higher than a tree,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And Hell is deeper than the sea,
And I’m the weaver’s bonnie.

What is louder than a horn?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And what is sharper than a thorn?
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

Thunder is louder than a horn,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And Death is sharper than a thorn,
And I’m the weaver’s bonnie.

What is more innocent than a lamb?
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And what is meaner than womankind?
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

A babe is more innocent than a lamb,
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And the Devil is meaner than womankind,
And I’m the weaver’s bonnie.

You have answered my questions nine
Sing ninety-nine and ninety
And you are God’s, you’re not one of mine
And you’re the weaver’s bonnie.

For more about the Francis James Child and the Child Ballads, or just ballads in general:

Leslie Nelson’s site Contemplator is one of the very best. She offers lyrics, a bit of history and background, and a midi file of the melody. Her site includes Child ballads as well as songs of the sea and American folksongs.


The Book of Old Ballads selected by Beverly Nichols was published in 1934. Like many other out-of-print titles, it is available online on many sites. This site seemed more accessible than most.


Ancient poems, ballads, and songs: Of the peasantry of England, taken down from oral recitation, and transcribed from private manuscripts, rare broadsides and scarce publications by James Henry Dixon. Ah, to be able to own the real thing! However, this rare book is available to us online.


The Child Ballads offers information about recorded versions of a large number of Child ballads.

Memorial Day Service Respects Troops Lost in Iraq

An ecumenical, interdenominational Peace Memorial Meditation Service will be held on Monday May 26 at 2 p.m. at the Rost family farm on Rost Road exit off of Route 50, located 9.6 miles east of the I-77 interchange near Dallison, just outside of Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The John Rost farm maintains a field of white crosses as a Peace Memorial to over 4,000 soldiers killed in Iraq in the last 5 years. (Those who have read my blog may remember the photos of Mr. Rost and the field of crosses.)

Area speakers include: Pastor Dave Jackson, Devola OH Congregational; Rev Kathryn Hawbacker, Marietta OH Unitarian; Rev. Jim Lewis Charleston WV Episcopal; Mr. Art Gish, Athens OH Christian Peacemaker Teams; and Fr. John Finnell, Ravenswood WV Catholic Parish. Each is a peacemaker in their own way.

The service will have an inter-faith focus with moments of silent meditation, on desires for peace and diffuculties in achieving it. It will honor those patriots who have paid the ultimate price in service to their country. Sponsor is Mid-Ohio Valley Peace Initiative (MOVPI), a regional secular peace advocacy group whose mission statement addresses the issue of the war in Iraq, and is dedicated to local, national, and global peacemaking.

The public is invited to attend, no charge, and are asked to bring their lawn chairs. Those wishing to bring an optional picnic lunch are welcome to set-up on the lawn before or after the service. Those who are able are asked to stay after service to assist in a work party to help maintain the thousands of crosses in place. For more information, contact Lynn Cady in Marietta at 740-374-2969 or Ray Foss in Parkersburg at 304-428-5056.

Poor Little Green Car

Poor little green car! Innocently she rested under the tall trees at Lost River State Park after a long and mountainous journey across West Virginia. And what should happen?

A branch! A villainous branch fell from a tree and shattered the back window. Here lies the villain, the Perp:

Helpful park staff cleaned up as much glass as they could, and with creative use of tape and trash bags fixed it well enough to keep the rain out.

Tomorrow Little Green Car goes in for surgery and a replacement window. Glass is still everywhere in the car--today it mysteriously showed up in my lunch bag, even though I packed it in the house. Go figure.

What happened to the villainous branch?

See below. I celebrated the memorial service and cremation with a good glass of Grey Ghost Winery's Reserve Chardonnay.

Take that, branch.

(I'm wondering...with 231,000 miles, do ya think they'll total it? I mean, it's just scratched paint, a few very minor dents and a broken window, but...)

What a Family!

This isn't everyone, but most of those at the family reunion this weekend, gathered for a photo to send to Derek and Brian, two of our family members who are currently serving overseas.

What a family!

A Single Drop of Honey: A Folktale

(from Yiddish folklore and also from the Thousand and One Arabian Nights)

A hunter walked into a village marketplace with his dog, and saw a man selling honey.

The honey looked rich and golden, so the hunter bought some from the merchant. As the merchant was filling the hunter’s jar, a drop fell from his spoon to the ground.

The hunter saw it fall, but he thought, this is the merchant’s problem; he will clean it up. It’s not my job.
So he walked away.

The merchant saw the honey fall to the ground. What a mess, he thought, but, it’s not my job. The hunter owns that honey; he can clean it up. He walked away too.

The honey grew warm in the hot sun. Its scent attracted a honeybee.
As the bee settled down to eat the honey, a bird flying past saw the bee and dove down to eat it.

A cat saw the bird and jumped on it.

The hunter’s dog saw the cat and pounced on it with all four feet.

The cat and dog began to fight.

The hunter and the merchant rushed over and tried to separate the dog and the cat, and ended up fighting with each other.

The ruckus and noise attracted the attention of everyone in the marketplace. The cat squalled, the dog barked, the men shouted and knocked things over. The other people selling in the marketplace got angry when the men knocked over their things.

Now the hunter and the merchant were from two different villages. The other people in market were from those two villages, so when those people joined the fight they picked the side of the man who was from their village. Soon everyone in the market was fighting.

The king heard the fighting and called, “Guards, guards! Call out the soldiers!”

The soldiers rushed in, but since they were also from the two hostile villages, the soldiers joined different sides. Soon the fighting spread from the market into both villages, and finally the whole country was involved in a huge battle.

When everyone grew tired of fighting, the kings came together to try to figure out what had caused the fighting in the first place. Here is what they found out:

The villages joined because their soldiers were fighting the other village.
The soldiers were fighting because people from their villages were fighting each other.

The people from the villages were fighting because the hunter and the merchant were fighting.

The hunter and merchant were fighting because their dog and cat were fighting.

The dog and cat were fighting because the dog jumped on the cat because the cat jumped on the bird that tried to catch the bee that was eating the honey—the single drop of honey that had fallen from the merchant's spoon.

And it all happened because no one thought it was their responsibility to clean up one little drop of honey.