May 25, 2009
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After nearly three months of not posting on xanga, of feeling frustrated with being too busy to write, and then of feeling unspired when I did find the time, I now feel a strong urge to make a change. Did you ever just want to be someone else, to leave your old skin behind and start fresh? In our dreams and in this cyber-place we call xanga, we have that option! So I’m starting over, with a fresh new identity. From now one, you can call me American Janet…if you want to call me. :) I’m taking my name from a cheery, fresh fabric line called American Jane, sort of based on the old Dick and Jane books.
It reminds me of how exciting that time was…to watch letters turn into words and to match those words with charming pictures….and then, to have the words tell a story!
The Dick and Jane books started it all. How I wish I could see a list of all the books that followed, down through the years! The good ones, the sorry ones, even the ho-hum ones….I wish I could remember them. I think of all those millions of words, being absorbed by my brain, filling it up with images, dreams, conversations….words, magical words.
When I was a kid, I remember spending time thinking about this question: What would I keep if I knew I had to give up everything except one special thing? If someone came to me and said, “Pack one suitcase; you’re going to a desert island and can only take what will fit inside,” what would I pack? Several changes of clothes? Who would care, if I was the only one there. Photographs to remind me of home? They’d just make me homesick. A radio to keep me company? Probably no signal out there in the South Pacific.
The answer for me would always be straightforward: I’d have to negotiate for a steamer trunk because my bag needed to hold my books. I can imagine life without many of its pleasures, but books are the one thing I would truly hate to give up. So my new identity is simply a salute to the start of a lifelong love of reading.
So what has American Janet been up to lately? She still lives on the Ozarks farm, and this is a busy season.
We had a terrific storm a couple of weeks ago that reminded us of how closely our lives are connected to nature. Thankfully, the damage was minimal, but cleanup is still underway.
When life gets a bit ho-hum, some special visitors are sure to enliven things.
When things are calm and peaceful, we enjoy watching the birds outside our kitchen window.
I was thrilled when this rose-breasted grosbeak came to breakfast two days in a row. And although I was unable to capture an image, a painted bunting made a brief, colorful visit.
One magical evening just before dark we were able to get up close and personal to an owl who was sitting in a tree beside the road. How fascinating to see his head pivot 180 degrees and to have him look us right in the eye!
We call it Decoration Day here in the Ozarks, and I like going to the cemeteries, walking around and reading the monuments. With roots deep in this place, it is possible to find five or more generations of my family buried in one cemetery.
This stone marks the burial place of my paternal great-great-grandparents, Dr. George and Sarah Ebrite, who began life in Lancaster County, PA. They made their way to Ozark County via Illinois. George was a surgeon in the Civil War and left his family a valuable legacy, a letter he wrote in 1885 detailing much family history. In it, he described both of his grandfathers who were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. I’m remembering these (and other) ancestors on this day of remembrance.
An unwelcome visitor recently came calling; he took the form of a wily coyote, and he managed to carry off four of the “girls,” almost before we knew what was happening. Sadly, as a result the flock is now confined to their chicken yard, and they have let me know of their displeasure with the state of things.
Delbert defied confinement by flying out and encouraging his girls to follow his lead, so one morning his wings were clipped; it was a painless procedure but his pride was greatly injured. I’m now in the market for some young hens if one can guarantee they are hens and not roosters. Somehow, I just cannot tell the difference. Perhaps that is because I choose to not look very closely.
In the meantime, Bertha, Twin, Speckle and Ruby are still giving us enough eggs to eat.
I have joined Facebook recently, and I’d be happy to have you visit me there (Janet Taber). But somehow, the brief entries just are not as satisfying as the ones I find on Xanga, so I will be making a new effort, along with my new identity, to keep this connection strong. I’ve missed you all, and it feels good to be back….hope you’ll find something fresh and new here when American Janet speaks!
Comments (12)
It was good to hear from you again. I’ll check you out on Facebook.
Welcome back and I shall also look into FB. A very nice post. You have great pictures. I loved Dick and Jane and remember vividly how wonderful it was learning to read.
Sorry about the storm damage. We’ve cleaned up and repaired after floods and tornadoes. No fun!
Oh I’m so glad you’re back! I”ve missed your “winsome prose.” =) I share your limited enthusiasm for FB, much preferring (prefering?) xanga’s style! I’m on FB too (Sue Kauffman) but don’t really go there that much. My 17 year old daughter, however, finds it quite her cup o’ tea!
I still enjoy blogging on xanga too, even though I have Facebook. You are right, they are are different. I loved those Dick and Jane books too, and over the past 10 years or so I have been able to find some of the old ones at antique malls.
Love your new name! First you had the ice storm and now Spring weather is taking it’s toll. My grandson has three chickens and collects his three eggs each day and sells a dozen each week to a local coop. He was a little anxious to get his little basket back to the house one evening and fell, losing all three eggs! He learned the old adage at a young age!
I am glad to have you back! I don’t do Face Book, so I missed your xanga posts! Sorry for the storms you had. It is quite a job to clean up, I know !
Miriam
Nice to see you! I’ve been working on your gift. Hopefully it will be finished and in the mail soon! Your rooster is very handsome.
Hey – thanks for your comment – much appreciated. Yes, I should be pleased with damp weather, but still - I do long for brilliant sunshine. Yes, I too read books from an early age – lots of books. Somehow my ‘sewing skills’ have become dismal….must do more, then I will improve again. I am on FB, but for writing, Xanga is good, and I prefer this. love your new name, and yes, I so understand about shedding an old skin, bit like a snake, or a chrysalis, and appearing as your alter ego….
Will the name change automatically show up on my subscriptions list? Don’t want to lose you.
@TheSunnyC - I believe so! Just saw weather, and it is finally going to get hot in MO. Haymakers are happy! Hope you have a good rest-of-the-week.
It’s nice to see you post again; I’ve missed reading your entries. If you were concerned about not having enough to say, I think you had enough material in this entry to expand into five different posts! I also learned to read on the “Dick and Jane” series. It looks like you had some storm damage…you said it wasn’t too bad, but if those out buildings are yours, that was a significant amount of damage. Roof damage often doesn’t look like much but can present serious problems if the repair isn’t quite right; it always seems like it’s water that makes the most problems in a building. I was glad for an update on Darlin Delbert. Your grands are as adorable as ever.
Thanks for your comment. I love to get recommendations for good movies and books.