Tiptoe Through The Tulips

My husband John always likes to be early for things. I think we've had to make a few adjustments since I like to be right on time but have a tendency to be late. Now I ask him what time he wants to leave. He tells me, and I think he is learning not to expect me to be ready to go until that very exact time. For quite a while after we got married he would suddenly announce that he was "ready to go" with no advance warning whenever we had to be somewhere. We finally discussed it and I found out that he thought he was making a joke. It was a line from some television show that I had hardly heard of and never watched. So he wasn't really trying to irritate the heck out of me. He thought he was being funny. I thought this marriage might end before it even really got started.

I tell you this story to explain why we are at The Tulip Festival more than a week before it even begins. 

Pella is a quaint little village about 45 miles from Iowa's capital city. It is a great place to go for a day trip or even a couple of days any time of the year. Cute shops, good restaurants, a town square and, and museums make it a good place to visit at any time.

There are probably tulip celebrations in many little towns with a Dutch heritage, but I'm pretty sure that the one in Pella, Iowa is one of the best.

We visited eight days before the official start time. There were quite a few people around, but nothing like it will be next week. I think we started going early because one year we couldn't find a place to park without walking too many blocks. And I really don't like big crowds.

It takes a lot of planning to make something like this happen. This is the ninety-first year for the festival. The Parks Department and volunteers are responsible for planting over 120,000 tulips bulbs every fall. There are at least seventy different varieties. A sample of each is planted in the Avenue of Tulips, so visitors can see them all at one time. This year our spring weather started too soon, so some of the flowers have already peaked, but there are still many to see. I remember one other time when some of the flowers bloomed too early. There were rumors that more tulips were brought in to fill any gaps. After tulip time ends, the bulbs are dug up every single year. People are allowed to collect them. I hear that is a really crazy time. They do this so that there is a different variety every year. I hear that tulip blooms are the prettiest the first year. After the blooms are gone, annual flowers are planted. We don't have any tulips yet at our house, but want to get some this fall.

I felt a little under the weather today, and was even more bedraggled than a few of the tulips, so we didn't stay long. 

There is always a lot to see, during Tulip Time and beyond, so you can visit the website and also pick up one of the free magazines which gives a lot of information.

Fun Facts: The boyhood home of Wyatt Earp (Brave, Courageous, and Bold!) is in the Pella Historical Village.

Don't forget the Klokkenspel. It was made especially for Pella and is part of the large town clock. The musical bells and mechanical wooden figures "perform" several times a day.

The windmill is also very picturesque. It is one of the tallest working windmills in North America. I have never been inside, but tours are available which include all five floors.

The Opera House is definitely worth visiting. And the canal is very pretty. There are parades and street sweeping twice a day. The costumes are very authentic. The Tulip Queen and her Court make a big appearance.

There are many, many things to see and do in Pella all year long. If you can make the trip, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

TO TELL THE TRUTH

                                                                             

        Last week I had jury duty. It was a very long and  intense week. It was much more physical than I am used to anymore. I know I need to walk more than I do now. My fitbit doesn't often hit those numbers. I had to be out of the house earlier than I usually wake up.

Sometimes I think our system makes this as difficult as possible. In the three days before I was supposed to find out if my number was in the chosen group I got six text messages. One told me that I had been picked and needed to report in February. (This is April). Another said that was a mistake. The rest alternated between saying I had been chosen to report and that I may be expected to report. All said to be sure and call the night before. So I went ahead and cancelled appointments that had been scheduled weeks ago-just in case.

This was my third time. The first time I was only there for a couple of days while we decided who would pay for the hood ornament of a car for a minor accident. It was exciting because I was a stay-at-home mom to several little ones and I got to go have lunch with grown-ups! The second time my number was high and all I had to do was call.

This time was the real thing. We spent all of Monday listening to them pick the jury. The lawyers asked all sorts of questions. I didn't think I would get picked, because they didn't ask me very many. Often I think I have a tendency to be invisible in groups. We were cautioned against showing any sympathy or empathy or using our intuition. That's really very difficult. I live by my intuition!

Several were eliminated because they said they couldn't be unbiased. One man said he believed in "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". He went home right away. Another said he couldn't listen and pay attention all day, and that he would need naps. That got him off too. 

A lot of jury duty involves sitting around and long waits. One day we had a surprise three hour lunch break. That was the day I bought cheese and crackers at the Dollar Store because I couldn't find a place to eat. Most of them brought their lunches or didn't mind walking several blocks. I think I was  the oldest juror. I was happy to take the elevator while most of them cheerfully took the stairs to the third floor. The Courthouse is beautiful and has wonderful and magnificent stairways. Ever since my unfortunate encounter with an acorn just a few days before my trip to Italy, stairs have been difficult for me. Especially so many of them eight times a day! 

It was a very emotional case and I am sure it will stay with me. Did we make the right decision? I hope so. It was hard listening to the evidence and knowing that life can change forever in a split second. And that what we decided will affect some person's life forever. I will be very grateful if this is my last time as a juror.

What I'm reading: I have always been fascinated by early Rome and Pompeii. Lately I have just finished a trilogy called Wolf Den by Elodie Harper. It is about the Roman caste system and slavery and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Since I have been there, it was especially interesting to me. The language is sometimes crude, but the scenes are not explicit.

TRADITIONS

Our country has often been compared to a melting pot. It's filled with many cultures, customs, and traditions.  A lot of our citizens have kept the traditions alive from their native histories. Especially now, with genealogical information readily available, it is easy to celebrate our histories. We can add or eliminate what we want. 

Even though I can trace my family tree through many generations, my own family never thought of themselves as belonging to a specific background. So as I grew, I was often one to pick and choose. I don't really remember a lot of specific traditions, except for an Easter lamb cake that a favorite aunt would make and bring to our house. It wasn't religious. My religion was always whatever the neighbors were. I think they may have thought it was an obligation to see that I got to church. It must have worked. By the time I was an adult, I had been baptized three times. While I chose the one I thought I wanted to stick with, I've always been referred to as a "convert"

I think it's wonderful how families have specific foods and food traditions for the holidays, but ours was always pretty generic.

I married into an Irish family and have always loved the history and traditions. As I raised my family we took a lot of the music, literature, food, and customs as our own.

My own bloodline is primarily English, with a little bit of French, German, Swiss, Irish, and Scandinavian. I always wanted to be something exotic, but I guess the English bit says a lot about who I am. Anyone for tea?

Lately I have been reading about the Swedish system "Lagom". Some books say that Lagom is the most Swedish word there is. It means "not too little, but not too much". It is also living in harmony, with a steady balance and moderation in all things. It may be a little like Marie Kondo's "spark joy", but it isn't all about simplifying and living with the minimal. It's more about choosing what you need.

I was recently having lunch with a friend and I noticed that she never completely finished her food. Since I've always been a member of The Clean Plate Club, I asked her why she always left part of her meal. She told me she was taught that you should always leave something to show that you had eaten enough, and that plenty of food was served to satisfy you. I had never heard that before, but I thought that must be an example of Lagom. Oh, and she is Swedish.

So once again, I think I am becoming a convert.

I'd love to hear about any family traditions that you have. 

Reading: I am still reading books my Lindsey Davis. I just finished "Pandora's Boy".

Wearin' of the Green

 

It's almost time for St. Patrick's Day, which is an American holiday where everyone is Irish. And if you're not, then you should be. St. Paddy's Day was a holy day in Ireland, to honor St. Patrick, who actually wasn't Irish at all. He was originally from Britain and from a wealthy family. As the story goes, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates as a young man and ended up in pagan Ireland. He eventually became a missionary and Bishop in the Christian church. Legend tells us that he used a shamrock to teach the concept of the Trinity. He is also said to be responsible for driving all of the snakes out of Ireland.  He is thought to have died on March 17, in the year 470 or 471. That became his Feast Day. It didn't become a public holiday until 1901. It remained a religious day for many years. The pubs were even kept closed on March 17 until 1970. The first official government sponsored St. Pat's Festival was in 1995 in Dublin. The original purpose was to promote tourism and boost the economy.

There is a very large Irish population in the United States, and most of them love to celebrate this day. It is customary to wear at least a little something green. That will keep you from getting pinched by a leprechaun. It's better to be safe than sorry.

The first Irish parade that was recorded in North America was in New York City in 1762. Irish soldiers in the British army marched to Irish music on March 17 to honor their heritage. Now there are parades on this day all over the world.

In my own family, my children claim to be nearly one hundred percent Irish. That isn't possible since Ancestry.com claims that only  about six percent of my blood is green. The rest they got from their dad. We all know just about every Irish song, so I'm sure that qualifies. And I think every one of us has an Irish sense of humor.