Betty MacDonald's sister Alison Bard Burnett
Betty MacDonald's mother Sydney with grandchild Alison Beck
Betty and Don MacDonald in Hollywood
Ma and Pa Kettle - and Betty MacDonald fan club fans,
Do You Often (or Ever) Feel a Wonderful, Joyous, Childhood Feeling of Expectancy?
I’m a huge fan of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books.
If you read these brilliant stories as a child, you should re-read them now; so much of the humor is pitched at grown-ups –marriage, friendship, theories of child-rearing.
After I’d re-read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for the fiftieth time, I decided to try Betty MacDonald’s adult work. In her memoir, Onions in the Stew, she remarked, “Going down to the beach after a storm is the only time in my adult life when I experience that wonderful, joyous, childhood feeling of expectancy.”
This observation struck me, because I’ve noticed that I too rarely experience a “sense of expectancy.” The fact is, I don’t have a very joyful spirit. I rarely look forward even to fun events or activities. Also, I dislike errands, logistical details, or any kind of hassle, and even when those hurdles are fairly minor, they can overshadow my sense of anticipation.
But to go through the days and weeks and months of life, looking forward to nothing, struck me as a sour way to live.
One of my aims for my happiness project, therefore, has been to boost my feelings of pleasant expectancy. First, I’ve made a real effort to add items to my schedule that I actually anticipate, to make time for activities that I really enjoy – to go to a bookstore (one of my favorite things to do) or on a smell adventure with a friend (which I’m doing today).
Thinking along the same lines, a friend told me, “I looked at my seven-year-old nephew’s weekly schedule, and he had all sorts of fun activities, with art, music, baseball, library. I thought, I like to do those things, too! I wish my schedule had art, music, baseball, and library. Now I make a big effort to do more fun things.”
At the same time, I’ve also pushed myself to revel in anticipation, to devote mental energy and time to looking forward to activities I enjoy. In what’s known as “rosy prospection,” anticipation of an event is sometimes greater than the happiness actually experienced. All the more reason to revel in anticipation.
I’ve found that I can often re-frame activities to help myself anticipate them more. Do I view decorating the apartment for Halloween as a chore or as a pleasure? Do I think it’s tiresome or fun to shop for school supplies? I’ve been surprised by how readily I can steer my attitude.
One of my rules of happiness is that to eke out the most happiness from an experience, I must anticipate it, savor it as it unfolds, express happiness, and recall a happy memory. By making an effort mindfully to look forward to pleasant experiences, I deepen my experience of happiness.
How about you? Are you a person who often feels happy anticipation? Or, like me, do you find that you have to work to have a “childhood feeling of expectancy”? How do you help yourself to do that?
I guess I have this feeling because we have so many children in our family.
My sisters and I are huge Betty MacDonald fans and so are our children.
Like Betty MacDonald we are writing funny stories and everybody in the family has a role in the play.
Author Karel Capek wrote: Childhood is so exciting because we are sailing away every day to find new treasures.
That's it. You can find new treasures every day.
Life is so exciting. Let's sail away like Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles pirate husband to find new treasures.
I own a Betty MacDonald fan club blog.
It began in 1983 when author Wolfgang Hampel founded Betty MacDonald fan club with 4 members.
We have members in 40 countries now.
As I'm in contact with so many Betty MacDonald fans from 5 continents Life is exciting every day.
I found my treasure.
Love,
Linde Lund
Don't miss this very special book, please.
Vita Magica
Betty MacDonald fan club
Betty MacDonald forum
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( English ) - The Egg and I
Wolfgang Hampel - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - LinkFang ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - Memim ( English )
Vashon Island - Wikipedia ( German )
Wolfgang Hampel - Monica Sone - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( English )
Wolfgang Hampel - Ma and Pa Kettle - Wikipedia ( French )
Wolfgang Hampel - Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle - Wikipedia ( English)
Wolfgang Hampel in Florida State University
Betty MacDonald fan club founder Wolfgang Hampel
Betty MacDonald fan club interviews on CD/DVD
Betty MacDonald fan club items
Betty MacDonald fan club items - comments
Betty MacDonald fan club - The Stove and I
Betty MacDonald fan club groups
Betty MacDonald fan club organizer Linde Lund
Angelique Kerber, With a U.S. Open Win, Solidifies Her Claim on No. 1 Status
The line can be so fine, even with all the work Angelique Kerber has done on herself and her game.
And as she hoisted her second Grand Slam singles trophy of the year (and of her career) on Saturday at the United States Open, it seemed appropriate to wind back the tape eight months to the Australian Open.
In
the first round there, she faced a match point in the second-set
tiebreaker against the unseeded Misaki Doi of Japan and escaped only
when Doi’s shot hit the tape and fell back on Doi’s side of the net.
“What
would happen had she not won that match point?” Mary Joe Fernandez, the
United States Fed Cup captain, asked on Saturday, shortly before Kerber
went out and played her latest remarkable match under major pressure to
defeat the 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in the Open
final.
Lose
to Doi in January, and Kerber would not have gone on to win her first
major title at the Australian Open, where she beat Serena Williams in a
three-set thriller. Lose to Doi in January, and Kerber might never have
found the state of mind necessary to experience this remarkable
midcareer renaissance at 28.
Such
tiny margins can have such big consequences. But the results were there
for all to see down the stretch on Saturday in Arthur Ashe Stadium as
Kerber, the No. 2 seed, won a very fine match in style, rallying from a
break of serve down in the third set to defeat an opponent who had
overpowered her, 6-3, 6-1, in the Cincinnati final just last month.
“You
saw it in the match,” Kerber’s coach, Torben Beltz, said of the changes
in his pupil. “If she’s a break down, she never gives up. I think she
never gives up. She’s the fighter she was before, but right now she
believes more in herself. You really see that she doesn’t want to lose
and wants to go for her shots. She has more self-confidence, and that’s
very important for her.”
Already
guaranteed to become No. 1 in the world this week for the first time,
Kerber will ascend to the top spot as a first-time United States Open
champion as well. After she had finished off her victory, reached up to
embrace the 6-foot-1 Pliskova and then climbed up to hug Beltz and
others in the players’ box, she descended to her courtside chair, put a
towel to her face and sobbed at length.
“It
was everything, I think, because of all the pressure in the last few
months,” Kerber said. “To win here is very special for me. Everything
starts for me here in 2011. This Grand Slam is really, really special.”
In
2011, Kerber arrived in New York with a world ranking of 92 and made a
most unexpected run to the semifinals before losing to the eventual
champion, Sam Stosur, in three sets. Though she had considerable success
in the seasons that followed, breaking into the top 10, she never
managed until this year to break through to that same stage of a Grand
Slam tournament.
Now
she has won two major titles and reached this year’s Wimbledon final,
where she lost to Williams, and she also secured a silver medal in
singles at the Summer Olympics last month.
It
all adds up to a phenomenal and unexpected season and further proof
that it is possible to make a breakthrough at an advanced tennis age.
The most recent previous example: Flavia Pennetta, who won her first
major singles title at the United States Open last year at 33.
Pennetta, an effervescent Italian, has since retired, but Kerber has every intention of continuing to ride her wave.
Always
a great defender and counterpuncher with a capacity to hit the
crowd-pleasing shot, Kerber has made her big move by getting fitter and
even quicker, by attacking with more frequency and by making subtle
improvements to her still vulnerable serve.
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She
won 51 percent of her second-serve points at the Open and 53 percent
against Pliskova despite Pliskova’s best efforts to attack on her
returns.
Kerber
will be the oldest player in the history of the WTA rankings to become
No. 1 for the first time. She is the first German woman to win the
United States Open since Steffi Graf, Kerber’s childhood idol and
occasional mentor, in 1996.
Graf
sent her a good-luck text before the match, which at 2 hours 7 minutes
turned out to be as grueling as it was entertaining. It was hot (close
to 90 degrees) and muggy (63 percent humidity), but Kerber and Pliskova,
both first-time Open finalists, kept hustling and taking chances right
through the tape.
In
the end, Kerber won it with great defense, tracking down Pliskova’s big
power in the corners. She won it by being steadier (she made 17
unforced errors to Pliskova’s 47). She won it with clever, sliced
left-handed serves at the right moments. But above all, she won it by
going for it.
“She’s
grown as a player,” Fernandez said. “She’s improved. She doesn’t just
play defense anymore. She plays aggressively. I think her forehand down
the line is one of the best in the game. She threads the needle
beautifully.”
She
proved quite the seamstress again at 3-3, 30-all in the final set with
Pliskova still pressing her. Pliskova hit a deep backhand crosscourt. It
was not an obvious opportunity, but Kerber chose to seize it anyway.
She went airborne and nailed a forehand down the line.
It
landed in the corner for a winner, and Kerber, eyes wide, pumped both
fists and went back to the increasingly familiar business of winning
Grand Slam titles — of staying on the right side of that very fine line
between contender and champion.
Ben Rothenberg contributed reporting.
Dearst
Rita Kocher und Wolfgang Hampel Congratulations!!!!
Happy Birthday Vita
Magica and all the best for the future!
All our love and best wishes
from Linde, Astrid and Lund family
Mr. Tigerli in China
Copyright 2016 by Letizia Mancino translation by Mary Holmes All rights reserved
Yes Betty, either or it seems he wanted to fly only with
Singapore Airways.
Boeing or Airbus, it’s just the same
isn’t it? Aren’t they both just fat birds with 500 passengers?
Yes, but Singapore Airlines has the
most beautiful airhostesses: delicate, fine, graceful… Mr. Tigerli had looked forward to the flight
so much!
So the little man was disappointed?
You just can’t imagine how disappointed
he was.
But thank God one of the hostesses was a
pretty Chinese girl. Mr. Tigerli purred loudly but she didn’t hear him because
the purring of the Airbus 380 was even louder.
The poor cat!
You’ve said it Betty. Mr. Tigerli was
in a very bad mood and asked me for a loud speaker.
I’m sure you can get one in 1st
Class.
“”Russian Girl” had even heard you over
the roar of the Niagara Falls” I said to Mr. Tigerli. “You are a very
unfaithful cat. You wanted to get to know Asiatic girls. That’s how it is when
one leaves one’s first love”.
And what did he say to that?
“Men are hunters” was his answer.
Yes, my dear cat, a mouse hunter. And
what else did he say?
Not another word. He behaved as if he
hadn’t heard me.
The Airbus is very loud.
I told him shortly “Don’t trouble
yourself about “Chinese Girl”. There will be enough even prettier girls in
China. Wait till we land in Guilin”.
Did he understand you?
Naturally Mr. Tigerli understood me
immediately. Yes, sweetheart, don’t worry. They will find you something sweet
to eat.
And he?
He was so happy.
No problem going through the immigration
control?
Naturally! Lots of problems. How could I explain to
customs that the cat had come as a tourist to China to buy shoes?
Fur in exchange for shoes…
Don’t be so cynical Betty!
Cat meat in exchange for shoes?
He came through the pass control with no trouble!
Is this Mr. Tigerli?
 |
Betty MacDonald's Vashon Island is a paradise.
info to: Sandra Lorinda Traci Petr Dana Jana Michaela Rebekah Swiss Charrd Tru John Darsie Darsie Toby Jeanine Carol Justin Lila Daniel Mo Nika Steve Neal Jitka Jitka Tami Pete Laurie Maia Nancy Kelly Pam Mary Jan and all our other friends
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
info to: Sandra Lorinda Traci Petr Dana Jana Michaela Rebekah Swiss Charrd Tru John Darsie Darsie Toby Jeanine Carol Justin Lila Daniel Mo Nika Steve Neal Jitka Jitka Tami Pete Laurie Maia Nancy Kelly Pam Mary Jan and all our other friends
www.bettymacdonaldfanclub.blogspot.com/
Take an illustrated day trip through Washington state’s largest city with artist Candace Rose Rardon.
gadventures.com
Linda White yes,if my health allows.I have a few problems but is something I have always wanted to do,especially as I reread her books.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 6:37pm
Linde Lund Dear Linda I'll keep you posted.
Like · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 6:42pm
Bella Dillon · Friends with Darsie Beck
I still read Mrs Piggle Wiggle books to this day. I love her farm on vashon.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · August 1 at 10:32pm
Lila Taylor Good morning...Linde Lund
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 18 hrs
