Monthly Archives: July 2026

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 11

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

July 2, 2026- Hana and I figured a way for her to actually enjoy beef. I tenderized the meat, more than what the food processor was doing, by heating it in a saucepan, with a little water and what was left of the cabbage. This made a mid-afternoon snack, as she was too tired to finish her lunch, and took a two-hour nap.

She is constantly on the move, inside her play pen, thus she gets tired after about ninety minutes of crawling around and doing pushups, as a means of readying herself for sitting upright. I help her to sit back, and she can keep that posture for about two minutes, without support. After her snack and 3 p.m. feeding, she went for another such round of exercise, then fell asleep in my arms, around 5:15. As soon as her parents walked in the door, home from work, she woke up and was happy to see them.

Her favourite plush toys remain Rion the Lion and Pompompurin. The little golden retriever is in the crib with her. The lion rules the play pen. She likes to lie on it, when taking a breather. Her favourite story book, at the moment is “365 Stories and Rhymes”, which has a number of g-rated fairy tales and nursery rhymes. “Four and Twenty Blackbirds”, for example, has snipped the part about the blackbird snipping off the cook’s nose. I appreciate the clean-up. Kids will experience enough hardness, soon enough in their lives.

HANA’S NOTE- I speak up for myself. When I am tired, I let Papa know it. He is good about not pushing me past my limit.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE- 1954 I made a few friends in the Lynnhurst neighbourhood. One of them liked to sneak things. I told him I would share with him if he would only ask for something. We were only three, but I already knew better. I didn’t know, though, that I was supposed to ask before just walking up to my Grandma’s, which involved crossing a street. I did look both ways before crossing, but not telling Mom where I was going, got me a hair brush to my rear end, when my uncle had to come and get me from Grandma’s.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 10

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

July 1, 2026- Hana can claim Canada as an ancestral home, along with Korea (her mother’s side); Ireland, Germany, France and the Penobscot Nation (on my side); Scotland, England, Lithuania and Romania (on Penny’s side). The Canadian ties are also on my side of the equation. My paternal grandfather’s forebears hailed from Montreal and Shediac, NB. Nana’s ancestors stopped for several years in Prince Edward Island, before heading “down the turnpike for New England, sweet New England.”-*

Canadians celebrate their National Day today. I’ve been in the country on July 1, once-years ago, in the border town of St. Stephen, NB. There, I saw a joyful parade go by, and I recall picking up a Canadian flag that had been dropped on the sidewalk, and propping it against a shop window. I’ve also been in the country on June 30, and having had to not stick around until the next day, because of the need to get to an American bank on July 1. There are all the other times that I’ve been north of the border, and had fabulous stays-in each of the ten provinces. I wish the Canadian people a grand Canada Day. It has, from my perspective, been a good year to be Canadian.

I will tell Hana lots of stories about my travels, as she gets older-and hopefully will be able to include her in a few that are yet to come. Right now, our jaunts are along neighbouring streets and Hoblitzelle Park; any place that can be accessed by a stroller. I want her to become very familiar with the neighbourhood, so that by the time she is of pre-school and kindergarten age, she will be able to find her way home, in a pinch. (The occasions when that would be necessary are likely to be few and far between, but it can’t hurt to have that knowledge.

HANA’S NOTE: I mostly fall asleep in the stroller, these days. Papa takes me out in the morning, before it gets too hot, but I still get lulled by the motion of the stroller.

YEAR IN REMEMBRANCE: 1952- Cheryl came to be with us. We moved to Central Street, Saugus. (1951, and ’53, are ciphers. I can’t think of anything that stood out in my life, those years.)