I logged over 5,000 steps today by church hopping. What is church hopping? It’s kind of like bar hopping without the hangover. Our church is looking to paint the sanctuary and four of us ladies went from church to church today looking at the colors in other churches. Here’s what we found out:
Basically, there’s only one color in church sanctuaries, and that’s white, although we saw one in light blue and cream. A couple have accented walls or recessed areas. Those were blue.
There’s only one design in sancuary lights – the ones that hang from the ceiling – cylindrical, white and gold- I’m sure you have them in your church.
There’s more variety in church seats. The modern churches have padded chairs. The older churchs have pews, some padded, some not, some with removable cushions. These colors varied the most – from red to green to beige.
Although we’re not painting our front door, we learned that Episcopal churches have red front doors because the red symbolizes the first Passover, when God told the Jewish people to put lamb’s blood over their doors to protect them from the angel of death who would kill the firstborn.
We currently have a tapestry and velvet curtain behind our altar. Other churches said they too had curtains YEARS AGO. One more sign that our church is badly in need of an update.
All in all, we met a lot of nice people - pastors, secretaries and custodians - who warmly invited us in although we had not called ahead, and who sent us on with their blessing. Not a bad way to spend a day stepping around Rochester.
One good thing about having grandchildren is that you get to go to places that people might look at you weird if you didn’t have a kid in tow. Today it was the Strong Museum to see the Wizard of Oz display. 
Let me first explain that my whole family are “Ozzies.” We love the movie and go around quoting the lines. At the museum we expected to see some of the props or costumes from the movie, but there was none of that. Instead the whole room was filled with lots of interactive displays geared to the family munchkins.
One whole wall here was a castle that kids could rock climb or rope climb. That seemed really popular with the kids.
This tree was one of my favorite displays. You could turn wheels from behind to change the eyes and mouth. 
And the pedals on Miss Gulch’s bike made the tornado spin.
The museum also had a special display of Whimsical Art, and the artists were on hand to meet and greet. My only complaint with that was that there were only one or two pieces by each artist and they were all scattered around. I would have liked to have seen more.
So what did grandson Evan think of the whole afternoon?
Oh, well, what does he know?
If you’re looking for an antidote to the gray Rochester skies, you can take a step into spring this week at George Eastman House. The museum is having it’s annual Dutch Connection display of spring bulbs, and the effect is intoxicating, a riot of colors and perfumes. The bulbs are mostly in the Conservatory – right under the elephant head – but scattered around the house, you’ll also find orchids. Orchids aren’t really my thing, but at this time of year, I appreciate any type of flower, and this one in particular caught my eye.
Better than chocolate? I’m not sure, but certainly better than complaining about the weather.
“Evan, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.” Those words have been going around in my mind all day.
I remember back to the days when parents wouldn’t take their new babies out until they had been baptized, and, in fact, a baby’s first outing was to the church for the bapism. Now we think differently, but it’s still very important to me that my kids have brought their child to the altar and publically commited him to the Lord. Of course, this is only the first step in Evan’s faith journey, but he is not setting out alone. In my mind, I see our family, friends, and congregation members pushing him and God reaching out and pulling him along.
Today was truly a full circle moment for me because I had cut apart my wedding dress to make a baptismal outfit for Evan. Even though my wedding dress was not a fancy designer item – I made it myself 39 years ago – cutting it apart was not without some trepedation. But look at the results. 
The blue vest and bowtie were sewn from new material, but the white is all wedding dress. What a blessing to be able to witness the past, present, and future all coming together like this.
God bless Evan!
If you have the opportunity, go see Shrek at the Auditorium Theatre. This is my idea of what a Broadway show should be. Lots of singing and dancing, colorful costumes, beautiful sets, a message told with humor. All of the characters were memorable, but Merritt David Janes, who played short Lord Farquaad, did an outstanding job of “walking” around on his knees. And the little girl who played young Fiona was absolutely beautiful. She had such stage presence.
So today I’m still laughing at some of the scenes and flying my freak flag high. Hope you’re having a good day too.
Yesterday we celebrated Grandpa’s 100th birthday. It was 100 years ago that Norman Steinmiller was born in Rochester, the youngest child and only son of Clara and August Steinmiller. Now, Grandpa died at the age of 93 so we started our birthday celebration at White Haven Cemetery. Luckily there was no snow – White Haven is one of those cemeteries that have only flat grave markers.
What do you bring a spirit for his birthday? Spirits, of course. Grandpa was not a big drinker, but in his last few years he really enjoyed a glass of Bailey’s before he went to bed at night, and we’d give him a bottle at Christmas, birthdays, etc. So we had a toast to Grandpa and then moved on to part 2 of the birthday celebration – Charlie Riedel’s for cheeseburgers. Grandpa never felt comfortable at fancy restaurants, but he loved all of our local hamburger joints. You have to admit that Rochester does hamburgers well, and Grandpa liked his well-done. He was from the generation that had to cook his meat to the point of being dried up and burnt to ensure that it was safe to eat. We ordered ours on the rare side and went home for celebration part 3.
While we ate cake and ice cream, we read aloud some of the messages Grandpa had written us all over the years. Grandpa was a closet poet, and on everyone’s birthday or on holidays he would write us a little poem that was usually silly, but always ended with a note of how much he loved us all.
Here’s a poem he wrote about an Easter Egg hunt he had prepared for the girls.
“As Easter is now in store,
find something and go for more.
They could be here or there,
most anyplace and everywhere.
We try to please what you might use.
If we didn’t, please excuse.”
That was Norman: faithful husband, loving father, doting grandfather, church goer, all around nice guy. RIP, Grandpa. One day we’ll be together again.
While in Detroit, I stepped into Rembrandt’s Face of Jesus exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts. It’s fun to go to this museum even if there’s no special exhibit because the main hall is covered in a huge 27 panel fresco by Diego Rivera. The fresco, painted in the 1930′s, honors Detroit’s manufacturing culture and its laborers. It combines classic with modern and makes the viewer think about how industry can be purposed for good or for evil. It’s stunning.
The special Rembrandt exhibit was equally well done, but in a quieter way. I’ve never been an art student so I learned a lot. Rembrandt is known as the first artist who depicted Jesus as a Jew and not a Greek or Roman. His art also depicts Jesus as more contempletive rather than majestic. I had only heard about Rembrandt’s oil paintings, but he also did small sketches and prints.
What I took away from the exhibit as a writer was that Rembrandt painted what he knew. His depictions of Jesus as a Jew probably came from the fact that he lived in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam rather than from religious conviction. Rembrandt used the Jewish people of his community for models.
Rembrandt also sketched and painted for his audience. When Amsterdam went from being primarily Catholic to being Protestant, the fancy icons were removed from the churchs. People wanted pictures in their homes that made the Bible stories more tangible, and Rembrandt filled that need.
Aspiring writers are told, “Write what you know,” and writers who make a living a writing certainly know how to give their readers what they want. Artists and writers – two sides to the same coin.
I spent some time last week visiting my brother and sister-in-law in Michigan. Because Detroit has basically the same weather that we have - dark, dreary and damp - I did some stepping in the Michigan malls.
Now, all malls are basically the same, and you have to look hard for some differences, but these places reminded me that I was not in New York anymore.
In Michigan they root for different teams. This store featured University of Michigan stuff – go wolverines. Their rivals are Michigan State – go spartans. In Michigan you’re either blue and gold or green and white. Kind of like the Mets vs Yankees.
Michigan has small family owned Greek restaurants like we have, but in Michigan they’re all called Coney Islands. Just one more name they’ve stolen from New York. A lot of their place names are the same as ours. In fact, my brother and I both live in Wayne County, and there is a Rochester, Michigan named for Rochester, NY.
This next store sold only things made in Michigan, kind of like the Simply New York store in Sea Breeze. www.simplynystore.com Everyone knows that Detroit is the home of the car industry and Motown, but did you know that Michigan is wild about cherries? Cherries are to Michigan what apples are to New York. They grow lots of them , and in every store you will see cans and jars of cherries all processed in different ways and with different things added. Tempting, but I think I’ll stick with applesauce.
Took a drive along Lake Rd. out to Pultneyville today. It’s one of my favorite drives, even in winter. The occasion was a writer’s seminar in an upper room at a new place called the Pultneyville Deli Company. www.pultneyvilledeli.com The Deli was built on the spot of an older deli that was torn down right at the corner of Rte. 21 and Lake Rd. Besides being new, the deli has some unique features. It has draft beer on tap and also draft root beer and hard cider. The food was fresh and delicious. 
The room upstairs was perfect for our writing discussion. We did some readings, shared info about publishing, and listened to an inspiring speech by Elizabeth Gilbert. Now for the hard part – actually sitting down and starting to write.
I spent a few hours today volunteering at a nursery program, and I had a chance to marvel at how most preschoolers throw themselves wholeheartedly into whatever they are doing, especially in the gym. When they get on the tricycles, they pump those pedals for all they’re worth, when chasing balls they dive on the floor to get them, when singing a song they know they shout the words. I’m wondering what would happen if I approached some of my work with that kind of abandon. Now, I know that I won’t be throwing myself on the floor. Today, I could barely ease myself onto the floor, and getting up was a whole other matter, but what if I put that kind of childhood enthusiasm into my writing or my relationships? Something to think about on a cold winter’s day.
