Oh Holy Night...

I belong to Saint Paul's Episcopal church. This is a scene from our service on Christmas Eve. Music, candles, and prayer made our Christmas worship experience meaningful.

Altrusa International of Evansville Celebrates Forty Years!

Altrusa recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary. This picture was in the Evansville Courier on Sunday. Dr. Maria Hoover (honored guest), Birdie Harrison, Mary Winstead, Barbara Barrett and I are posing for the picture at beginning of the party.
Many people ask me, "What is Altrusa?" So I thought I'd quote the Principles of Altrusa written in 1917 by Mamie L Bass, the first President of this organization.

Altrusa is a builder of women.
Altrusa is an expression of the search for the best in character, in business and in citizenship.
Election to Altrusa is an evidence of confidence which imposes upon the recipient the obligation to strive to be true to the highest standards of life in her personal and business relations.
Altrusa,in the very derivation of its name, is committed to the philosophy of unselfishness, of the joy of giving rather than getting, and to the search for that happiness which is based upon spiritual worthines.
Altrusa is practical idealism. Its service consists not in saying great things, but in daily earnest practice of its principles.
Altrusa commends to its members an active interest in public affairs, realizing that the State is but the individual writ large.
Altrusa develops true leadership, concerned with accomplishment and not with recognition.
Membership carries with it no obligation to transact business with other members. It makes no promise of returns in any commercial species. Its rewards are in proportion to the loyalty, the unselfishness and the character of the member herself.
Altrusa expresses goodwill for all mankind. It emphasizes the good and lets the evil sink into the oblivion it merits.
Altrusa is democratic; it knows no class, no favorites, but is founded upon merit alone.
Altrusa believes that the way to progress lies not in emphasizing the faults of men and their failures to give proper recognition, at times, to women in business, but rather in arousing women to their responsibilities and their possibilities, so that their accomplishments will blaze the trail for greater things.
Altrusa believes it is not enough to be good; Altrusans must be good for something. Each member must be doing the piece of work that is hers in a way that puts her in the front ranks of accomplishment."

To find out more, you can go to www.altrusa.com or seek us out on Facebook and even on our blog http://altrusa6.blogspot.com . Altrusa does many wonderful things for others, and I can tell you the club here in Evansville is full of some of the warmest, most compassionate people you'll ever find.

Napoleon Peacock was at Washington Square Mall

Napoleon Peacock was at the mall and so were Evansville children with their parents and/or grandparents. Don't tell my kids this, but I've decided I'm looking forward to being a grandmother. Little kids are so much fun! Of course when my children were young there were some days I felt like I'd been hit by a truck I was so worn out. For the most part, though, I had wonderful time. Kids love stories. So do I. Reading with my children was very important to me. I read to them all individually as well as together. They grew to enjoy books and read to this day. We sought out storytimes at the libraries and "Events" similiar to Napoleon Peacock's B.E.S.T. for the Brain Party. B.E.S.T. stands for Breakfast, Exercise, and Sleep Time. Napoleon's party had something for children to do in each of those areas. When people first arrived they were greeted with Create A Breakfast and a Breakfast Walk. There was Scarf Dancing, an Obstacle Course, and the game "Napoleon Says". They also had a Story Telling Tent and a Play Acting Area. That's the sort of thing to involve children in; it means more than you'd think. The kids even got to take home a free book. Napoleon Peacock books are especially nice for those young families living in Evansville because the setting for the stories are from our local area. All I can say is, my children would have loved that! I think Daycare Providers should pay attention to this too! After all, a lot of children spend a fair amount of time at Daycare... Encourage reading and other good habits when they're young and they'll embrace them and treasure them for the rest of their lives.

Thanksgiving

"Burp" Excuse me. I may be a glutton, but at least I'm a polite glutton. I say things like "excuse me" and "Would you please pass the mound of potatoes in that huge heavy bowl while I grab the gravy by my plate?" and "thank you for the pie." Then, I'm always politely quiet during the meal because my mouth is full. Miss Manners that's me.

It is Thanksgiving Day. I feel heavier.I am heavier. Pondering the new layer of flab I recently discovered on my body, I realize it exists not only because of the Thanksgiving meal I gorged myself on,but because I had the flu on Halloween. Yeah, it was a nasty case of stomach flu. Usually people lose weight, right? And I probably would have too if I hadn't turned out my light. If I hadn't ignored the Trick or Treaters that came to the door. Instead the Trick or Treaters were turned away and I ended up with with about ten bags of miniature chocolate candy bars and M & M's. So, naturally I ate them. "Burp" Excuse me.

Tribute to Opera

Last night my husband and I had the privilege of attending a Evansville Philharmonic concert, Tribute to Opera. It was a wonderful night for both of us, but especially for me. First of all, I love musicals and operas! Music expresses emotion and when you put music together with a story, well, there's nothing quite like it in my opinion. And so we were entertained with music from La Traviata, Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Boris Godunov, Le Nozze di Figaro, Porgy and Bess, Carmen and La Boheme. It was fun listening to the various characters sing. I'm always impressed at how strong a human voice can be when used properly. When I use my wimpy little singing voice, I call it fantastic if I manage to hit most of the notes right on.

I was in my lucky seat again. This time the man on my left was Richard Kagey, the stage manager. This is what the Philharmonic program book has to say about him. "Richard Kagey, Director/Designer, has directed and/or designed over 150 productions of operas, musicals, and plays for professional regional companies, national tours, and universities..." Pretty impressive. We were able to talk a little before things got started and in course of our preconcert conversation I learned that very recently 19 different opera companies folded. When I asked why he thought that was, he said, "Operas are very expensive to put on." He said there are a lot of costs that add up. Stage Managers must be paid, musicians, costumes, hair and make-up,stage crew, etc.

I, for one, do not like to hear about opera companies folding, orchestras having difficulties, and musicians in general having a hard time. Let's do what we can to help out! Treat yourself to a couple holiday concerts. Give tickets away as presents. What we have in Evansville, is wonderful! Let's keep it that way!!!!

Australia

These flowers are originally from South Africa. My husband, Bruce, took a picture of them when he was Australia so I could see the flowers he wished he could bring home to me. They are a strange kind of pretty; sort of remind me of sea anenomies.

Thank You!

Today is Thank A Youth Worker day. I imagine some people are shaking their heads at this. I, on the other hand, feel it's good to have a day set aside to acknowledge someone/something. I know there are those that grumble when they're buying roses on Valentine's day or roll their eyes at Secretary's day and a good number gag if they hear about any new day set aside to recognize anything. I'm not one of them. I think it's important because life gets busy and complicated. How many husbands would buy flowers for their wives or mothers if there wasn't a day set aside to do so? It's not just the card companies and flower shops that benefit. We all do. We do feel grateful for the people who work with our youth,however, we may not have opportunity to thank them unless a day is set aside for that purpose.

The first person I want to thank is Parri Black, the Executive Director of Youth First. Not only does she make a difference in the lives of all the youth connected with Youth First due to her excellent leadership skills and sincere desire to help, but she has been there for my own kids as a leader in the program Journey To Adulthood at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and a chaperone for their trip to Rome (both my girls went). I've appreciated her patience, respect for my kids and their opinions, and her caring open mind.

Katherine Savia is another person who has made an impact on our lives. She was my daughter, Janine's, violin instructor here in Evansville and went that extra mile for her. She also directed the quartet my girls were a part of. See what I wrote on Carver Community Organization...


Our children are our future! Think of the impact these people make on our lives! The individuals I've mentioned genuinely care and that makes them great!

How could I possibly forget to thank Altrusa? They do storytimes and give books away! I believe that, along with Altrusa's spirit of giving, the books can be life changing. Thank you Altrusa for all that you do to make the lives of our youth a little better!