October 16, 2026- Hana decided she would help me this afternoon. When I had several items to carry upstairs, she wanted to go with me. So, I supported her, while holding two envelopes. She carried a third envelope. She was very proud of herself for not dropping the envelope-and I thanked her for being a helper.
Yunhee put a pair of pants, with a black and white cow on her, then made a mooing sound. Hana then made her own mooing sound and started giggling. Her intentional babbling has really taken off this week. She is mostly out of the playpen and walking with one of us, then playing quietly in whatever room suits her fancy.
HANA’S NOTE– I wanted to help Papa, so I took one of the envelopes and tried to hold onto a plastic bottle, but I dropped it. Papa just tossed the bottle upstairs.
EXPANDING CIRCLES:Kentucky- The Bluegrass State is one of two that stretch from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. The other is Tennessee. Kentucky has the shortest Mississippi shoreline of any state in the valley:60 miles, including the Kentucky Bend enclave, that is surrounded by the river-and Tennessee. I have been to Kentucky three times, in 1979, 2011and 2017. My focuses were on the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, the state capital, a large cavern , some friends from my Xanga days and extended family in the Louisville area, albeit across the river in southern Indiana. Family friends have moved back to Kentucky, from southern California. It’d be nice to visit them there some day.
The turf- Western Kentucky, an area known as Jackson Purchase, is the state’s lowland, lying along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, near their confluence, which is in a nearby area of Illinois. The rest of the state is upland or rolling hills: Cumberland Plateau, including foothills of the Appalachian Mountains; the Bluegrass Region and the Mississippi Plateau occupy the northern and central parts of Kentucky, respectively. Kentucky is drained by the Mississippi, Ohio, Big Sandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, Cumberland, Green and Licking Rivers, along with their tributaries. The Tennessee River has been dammed to establish two large reservoirs: Lake Cumberland and Kentucky Lake. Land Between the Lakes is a popular National Recreation Area.
First Nations- Kentucky is the ancestral home of the Shawnee, Cherokee, Yuchi and Chickasaw people. The Cherokee maintain a homeland in the Henderson area. There was considerable conflict between the Native peoples of Kentucky and settlers who began arriving in the mid-18th Century. Battles ancillary to the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 resulted in defeat of the confederated tribes. The harshest defeats were at Fallen Timbers, in 1794 and further afield, at the Battle of the Thames, in Ontario, in 1813-which saw the death of Tecumseh, leader of the Confederated Tribes. There was a period of voluntary Native American removal, during the presidencies of James Monroe and John Quincy Adams (1821-1829). Under Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren, forced removal of Cherokee people from North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky, as well as several tribes from Georgia, constituted the Trail of Tears. The expelled nations were forced into what is now Oklahoma. Some Cherokee returned to Kentucky, in time, and live in the above-mentioned community.
Where I most feel at home- Hodgenville, Mammoth Cave, Paducah, Louisville
Where I most feel at peace- Falls of the Ohio, Mammoth Cave
NEXT: Tennessee
