Pearly Nuggets Blog

The Soul's Book of Answers

5/27/2019

A few days ago, while at the local Goodwill, I glanced through the book section. I enjoy 'smaller' hard back books, of quotes. As I flipped through the pages of one book, it seemed to be full with short, and to the point, pieces of 'wisdom'. There are just a few words to a few lines of comments, not necessarily famous quotes.
Today, I looked closer at this book and was actually a bit amused, and a bit offended, to be honest. I will post the photos, then finish my comments.

This book is very similar to an '8 Ball', the one you ask a question, then turn it over and it gives you an answer. Now, I fully understand the catchy title for this little book,

Halloween 2017 at Creative Teacher

10/27/2018

Halloween, Kearney, Nebraska - 2017

For those who remember, last year was a very brisk, very cold, very windy evening. The Kearney Halloween 'downtown on the bricks' is typically celebrated the last Thursday of the month, from 4 to 6 pm.
Rather than candy, it's been a long-time Creative Teacher tradition to give each child a 'pencil'. Funny thing about pencils - sometimes it lights a child's face with delight - sometimes it is merely a choice of 'color', no matter what the item - and, of course, there's always the child who mimics the parent with, 'is that all there is?'.
Speaking of pencils and attitudes in life, during my employment with Creative Teacher I was privileged to help a friend purchase and send, by boat, educational supplies to a school in the jungle of the Amazon. I have a photo of those children and how thrilled they were to have 'their own' pencil and sharpener! Simple pleasures, such fulfillment for my (now deceased) friend Dean Arnold and his widow, Roxanne. ♥
You may see me periodically post memories from my decade at Creative Teacher. In no particular order, I want to thank teachers, preachers, business people, schools, churches, parents, home schoolers, students, administrators, travelers and curiosity seekers. I will forever reflect upon all of you and just know you may have only been a customer for a brief time, I loved each and every communication and opportunity to serve you.
~Nancy Larson-Lenz

My 71st Birthday ... almost ready for a new one! smile

8/29/2018

Sandcastles and Kites - Lake McConaughy

7/28/2018

The weather was questionable, overcast, and a bit cool. I was hoping to take my daughter and grand kiddos to the event but, as life happens, sometimes things don't work out. But I did go alone, met my friends and was able to spend a couple hours at the lake, enjoying this annual event.

https://ilovelakemac.com/event/kites-castles/

I took no videos today, but did get some still shots (of course). Here is a slideshow of my short road trip today. I did forget that the bridge to the lake is about 8 miles long! I like bridges; I have a fear of height. My friend, who was raised here, described it perfectly: "white knuckler" ... I would have to agree; it's only a two-lane (1 each way) plus with such beautiful vistas, you really have to pay attention.

Friendly Fun

7/25/2018

What a fun evening with OK Sisters, fans, and friends.

♥ Here is a photo show produced with still photos. My apologies for any duplicates; they will be weeded out later. I wanted to get these uploaded. ~nrl

♥ Scroll down to find videos. Enjoy. I have posted even the 'snippets'; been missing me some OK Sisters! Can you tell? Excuse the times when you can hear me for a fleeting moment or two ... *smile* ♥

I don't usually post pics of myself, but I wanted to make a point. One thing I learned from being a newspaper photographer is, 'never take just one'! You know, depending on the subject, sometimes even six or seven aren't enough. When I asked Patty's son to take a couple pics of us gals, he asked 'how many'? I told him '5 or 6; my mouth is usually open'! Now, take a good look at his results - not ONE photo with MY mouth SHUT! See what I mean? ~nrl ♥

♥ VIDEOS - in no particular order. Enjoy! ~nrl

♥ All photos and videos produced by me. ~Nancy Larson-Lenz. ♥

Learning about my new town - 7/21/18

7/21/2018

I'm not a musician, but am a lover of music, and The Arts. Being a new resident, I'm still unpacking. For breaks, I search for music venues that fall within my financial constraints.
A couple gal pals and me (I?) got together and checked out 'Espresso' on 419 N. Dewey St., downtown North Platte, this evening.
http://www.theespressoshopbycaravan.com/
Thanks to my friend Patty and her two teens for their out-of-town visit this evening. It was a fun few hours, doing something none of us has, in a very long time.
Being a former reporter, photographer and graphic designer my camera is seldom too far away. Here are some still photos I've put together into a short photo show (in no particular order), along with a few videos I took. Enjoy.
I'm excited to come back to Espresso and enjoy some more music. Looking forward to Open Mic Night venues. Oh, and we all enjoyed our drinks, too.

My Father in the Military / See tab "Ties" to see photos for this article.

7/19/2018

1973 National Archives Fire
      This photo was found on Wikipedia. The tag line about this photo, according to Wikipedia, came from Wikimedia Commons. "The 1973 National Archives Fire, a severe blow to the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, was a disastrous fire that occurred at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 12, 1973."
The Wikimedia Commons is a freely license media fire repository. You can help.  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Welcome
      Approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) were lost. They included eighty percent of Branch Personnel and Army Personnel discharged between Nov. 1, 1912 and Jan. 1, 1960; and seventy-five percent of Air Force Personnel discharged between Sept. 25, 1947 and Jan. 1, 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.). No duplicate or microfilm copies of these records were ever maintained, or produced. No indexes had been created prior to the fire. Millions of documents were on loan to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire so a complete listing of the records lost is also unavailable. However, during the ensuing years, the NPRC has collected numerous Auxiliary Records which were used to reconstruct basic military information. If you'd like to read more about this fire here is the link where I got the basic information:
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html

      There's a reason for this article, as you will see by reading the following story, about my father, his service to our country, and my experiences thus far in my attempts to obtain and find his military records. He is gone now, so I can't ask him ... as you might imagine, I was disappointed and disheartened when I received the news that his records were lost, along with 16-18 million others. My heart goes out to anyone else who has had the same response from the Records Administration in St. Louis.

Here is ... the rest of the story!
      Since my father's military records were lost in the 1973 National Arhive fire in St. Louis, I decided to search elsewhere to see if I could find at least "some" of his experiences in the Army.
      In my search, I found a document with my father's name on it. A close friend, whose spouse was in the military, has an awesome military website.   http://www.vetshome.com/  So ... knowing how saavy he is about all things military, I asked some questions this morning (through an online chat with his wife). I am not a connoisseur of military terms. He was able to enlighten me about this document as well as more about what it meant, and how it affected my father. Wow ... is all I can say, besides thanking him over and over for his knowledge and information. This is one of those "nuggets" I refer to on my homepage, that is turning into my own personal "pearl" ... yay! I'm hoping I can find more ... perhaps photos, articles, or more military documents with his name.
      The document I found was a Field Order from Merseburg, Germany. It was dated "Wednesday, 13 September 1944". It is a Debriefing Report of the 325th Squadron. Since Bob knows and understands military lingo and such, he shared this:
      My father was in the "Army Air Force". During that time, we didn’t actually have Air Force like today; during WWII it was referred to as the "Army Air Force". Bob could tell by his squadron that he was a "gunner" on an airplane. WG = wing gunner - TG = tail gunner … also that he was on a "bomber" … they are all debriefed after a bombing run. They had to do that each time, after they went out. He could also tell how high up they were - 29,000 ft up. Not exactly front line, but flew over Germany, probably Saalberg. My father ran a machine gun on the plane, shooting at the plane that had attacked them. A wing or tail gunner is what they were called. He was under the belly or on top of plane, depending on what type of plane (in the middle, where the wing is). They had 3 holes in the plane when they got back (schrapnel), from being shot at... The WG beside Dad's name designated he was a "Wing Gunner".
      Below this article, I have another document, a newspaper article. It is an article I found in his personal belongings (which were few as he was a very private man, most things were burned before he passed. I think he knew it was his time to go). The article is self-explanatory. He knew the military personnel looked forward to their correspondence from home; he was a mail carrier prior to his military career.
      If there is anyone who has information, articles, documents, or stories they want to share about their loved ones, I would be more than happy to post them here. And, who knows, perhaps I can connect with people who knew him, or have relatives who may have known him during his tenure in the U.S. Army Air Force!!

Dad knew how important correspondence from was to the soldiers. He made sure, no matter the weather, that the troops got their mail!
Well, my father was an "Iowan" who went to war, but KETV was asking for memories and stories about loved ones in the military. My story, and letter got accepted, was featured, and I received this coin medal, in honor of his military service to our country!

July 4th, 2018

7/6/2018

4th of July this year was spent with Mom Lenz, Grandpa Ike, my daughter, spouse and grand kiddos. It was a full day. I went out about noonish and stayed the night because of threatening weather in the area (near the end of the fireworks).
Kudos to the pyro captain for the day, Benjamin ... great job! Thanks for sharing your 'sparkling' personality! *smile*
This compilation 'should' include a few videos. I am going to post before I add comments, but I want to point something out, which I plan to do later.
There is one video I have a comment about. At one point, when a slight wind came up and nearly blew out Justice's 'sparkler' (long one, standing in the ground), I heard Benj tell him to 'blow on it'. My instinct was 'uh, no, but it was too late'. It works, of course, but his face got too close, the wind blew a spark back into his face (near his eye). He is fine. My point here is, "No, don't blow on any sparkler or other type to 'keep it going'." As an adult, we know not to 'get too close'; he did not.
When I got there, Benjamin and Autumn were gone, shopping. When they got home, their shopping trip included purchasing some Ninja stuff that was put up for the kids. It's a play time exercise set up that can be expanded to include a variety of physical activities. Benj also brought some flowers for Kama. It is cool.
Mom Iona came out and enjoyed the fireworks display, too! We had some good laughs, the weather held out and even the bugs were not too overwhelming either. Thanks for the fun day, family! I love you all.
These photos and videos encapsulate a 4th of July visit with family. Enjoy. ♥ 2 ♥ ~nrl

I'm not a Catholic . . .

5/8/2018

I'm not a Catholic and know little about it.

For those of you who have been following my experiences for the past six months, you'll understand why it piques my interest. Call it desperation; call it curiosity. With obstacles and brick walls with an 'as is' home purchase, I've not sat quiet or passive. I've been very proactive with all problems presented to me.

Being a participant in this game called 'life', I've had seven decades of curiosity about life and the inhabitants that roam here. 'Free will' is one of the most intriguing components of life's chessboard. I feel everyone, as I refer to the two-legged human animal, could benefit greatly ... if four-legged animals could only share their viewpoint, ways of life and its components. There is so much wisdom in just observing the animal species, if you 'stop, look, and listen' to them. Be present, without the human thought process that seems to impede the goodness of our option of 'free will' and our decision making.

Back to my curiosity of Catholicism at the current time. Often when searching and/or researching, things I'm not looking for come to my attention. In this situation, that is the case.

One day I was searching about prayer, in general ... who, what, when, where kind of thing ... it's the reporter in me. Catholic prayers and the saints was a link that came up. Growing up, I've basically shied away from the Catholic religion for two reasons ... idolatry and people I knew who left it, and not always for another religion or even a different church - many often turning to atheism.

One of the links I clicked was about the statues of various saints, what they represent, and how they are often 'buried' for help, for various things in one's life. One of the saints I read about was Saint Joseph because it related to selling real estate which, for me, is and continues to be a struggle. Since that's what I am struggling with I, of course, read on.

Once I read the basic teaching, I continued my search for feedback from people who have used this spiritual measure in this way. That in itself is interesting because of our emotions and humane thinking. Some call it idolatry; some call it faith. I have to admit that I've found more who feel it was helpful and/or successful. Hmmm ...

I'll fast forward a bit here. I now own a Saint Joseph statue, and a print out of all the prayers and the manner in which you use them (called a 'novena'). A novena is 'a nine-day period of private and/or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or make special petitions'. St. Joseph is the 'saint of workers'. You can learn more about this here:
https://www.st-josephstatue.com/history-of-st-joseph/

Since receiving the St. Joseph statue I have read and re-read different web links comparing how and where to bury it, its specific purpose, how to do/use a 'novena', and also what to do with it once your prayer petition has been answered. All this is very intense, especially for one who does not regularly practice Catholicism.

As I sit here before my screen, penning this blog entry, I find myself uncomfortable with the physical action of burying a plastic statue upside down in the dirt beneath my feet (no harm intended toward Catholics or Saint Joseph). I am, however, a proponent of prayers, faith, miracles, positive energy, etc.

Also, an obstacle I'm experiencing is someone told me the Saint Joseph statue should be 'blessed', before being buried. I went so far as to make phone calls to a few local churches, to no avail. In my searches of details about burying it, I also found that many simply put the statue in a place where its direction is so it will 'draw' positivity. I have chosen to do that. Right now it is sitting in a window, facing the highway a few blocks away from the front of my home. I also have the 'main' prayer on a card, standing up beside it. Now that I own one, I'm equally as uncomfortable about tossing it in a drawer, etc.

My own father was a self-described atheist, however, my sister would argue with him, telling him he was an 'agnostic' (perhaps a way to soothe her own heart). I just add this because I can imagine him watching my tap, tap, tap as I scribe this blog today (he had an old typewriter that he used). Wherever his soul departed to after leaving this earthly plane, I'm sure he is somewhat sorely amused with his daughter. These are times when it'd be great to have a telephone line to 'the other side'. I love you, pop!

I am ... ~nrl

Exploring the local park, Nelson, Nebraska (about a year ago).

5/6/2018

The other day while paying one of my utility bills, the gal in the office and I were talking about summer coming on so quickly (finally), and about being a bit out of shape and wearing a bathing suit. She does water aerobics at the local pool. I didn't even know there was one, let alone where it is located. Because I like the idea of water aerobics (if I am still here), she headed me toward its location. The pool is actually located next to the city park which, interesting to me, has older and newer playground sections. There is also a place for camping as well. It's a well hidden secret (for newbies in the area).

It was a nice day. The clouds were fluffy bright white highlighted with a clear blue sky. I took a leisurely walk around the grounds. As usual, I had my camera close at hand. Here is a slideshow of my walk.