sometimes, there is anger...

Yesterday being a day of laziness, which was fine - even though the sun went into hiding well before noon and didn't "come back", but segued into a rainstorm, I made that adjustment. Later I had a meltdown, though. After Chuck got home, I really wanted to walk the yard with him and talk about stuff, but he was preoccupied with what he wanted to do and not paying attention to me. So I freaked. i slammed every door I could get my hands on, and broke the sliding door in the bathroom. Yeah. It happens. But, not just that, I was screaming about it. And after all that, I gave myself a time-out over next to the garden shed. Then I made dinner (cheese enchiladas, yummy! and refried beans in the cast iron frying pan) and went back to reading - first, the paper and then Michael Sheuer's book about America & Islam after Iraq. Well, Sheurer is so right about everything he is saying about our government's approach to Islam & bin Laden, he should know- but the thing is just how angry he is in this book. I see his point about various organizations being a problem on the battlefield, but wonder about his anger at and hatred of environmental and feminist organizations. Anyway, that odd anger does not detract from the purity of his argument that if the U.S. would just remove itself from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and cease to blindly back everything Israel does, that al-Queda would cease to be a threat, they would leave us alone. Actually that is not even HIS argument at all, it is simply all that bin Laden has ever stated in his messages to us, the American people. If only our elected "employees" would heed the message. ---So, this morning as I was drinking coffee and looking around the yard, with my lovely Rhiannon by my side, I could feel my sorrow and knew that I just had to relax and let it be. As the day went on I was alright. At work, I had a few people give me some kindness which went far. When I got home, Chuck was full of love and hugs. On to Melian's drum lesson and then some shopping! Ha!

6/3/2008

I am sitting out on the patio reading 'Swimming Against the Current' (by Hightower & DeMarco) when a grasshopper starts jumping against the door of the greenhouse. This activity draws the attention of Tyga, who had been napping underneath the picnic table. She chases after the grasshopper for a little bit, then the grasshopper leaps away from that area and goes hopping and flying up above the picnic table and on past. This gets Lenah's attention. She gets up from her comfy spot and chases the 'hopper on into the grass behind the swing bench. This is all beyond cute, seeing Lenah get frisky. She might be 15 years old, but she knows how to work her inner kitten!

And so there you have it, one of life's perfect moments. Fleeting, but so deeply satisfying. Sunny day in June, reading in a lawnchair, happy cats...A sudden smile and a strong sense of completeness and contentment.

What I've Been Reading update...

'The Making of the Atomic Bomb' by Richard Rhodes, 1986
'Dark Sun' by Richard Rhodes, 1994
'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollan, 2008
'World Hunger-Twelve Myths' by Lappe,Collins,Rosset & Esparza, 1998
'Stolen Harvest' by Vandana Shiva, 2000
'Blue Covenant' by Maude Barlow, 2007
'No Way Home' by David S. Wilcove, 2008
'Water Wars' by Vandana Shiva, 2002
'Swim Against The Current' by Jim Hightower & Susan DeMarco, 2008

Praying Mantis Birthing...

These Mantis babies are now getting to be about one inch long, as they spread throughout the garden...I was really lucky to catch this egg-case emergence before I left for work one morning back in March...Chuck had attatched this egg-case from a broken raspberry cane onto a part of the garden fence for the winter...

feline cannibal dream segment...

it is night time, i am in the kitchen, a young woman comes in and alerts me to a crisis outside ...there are three kittens cannibalizing two adult cats outside on the patio! (none of these cats are mine) the cats appear to have been alive when the kittens started eating them...it's so gross, fur and entrails all over...so i sort of spring into action as best i can...the idea is not to just chase them off, for they could just do it again...i intend to get out the kitty-carriers and take them to the pound...i begin with one of the cardboard carriers which was broken down...i am trying to re-construct it using tape, but it's in bad shape and the tape i am trying to use is not sticking well at all...i try a few different types to no avail, each is worse than the previous...at first the woman (30's, long brown hair, caucasian) is trying to help...later i am trying to get Melian to help, with little luck...i am getting really frustrated and somewhat stressed, for it feels like time is of the essence! i give up on the cardboard carrier and look for another...i find a metal & plastic one which i had forgotten that i had!! getting it ready for use is easier...i begin to try to assemble the kittens, it turns out that there are 5 of them!! Melian is not helping at all, and i'm getting upset about that also...as i get some of the kittens into the carrier, i notice that the two cats; whom i thought were dead, get up and walk/stagger away across the vegetable garden (no fences)!! this amazes me, as they certainly appeared to be dead earlier...

Barrel Oak Winery grand opening!

Today was the grand opening, and it was tremendous fun. I did a full tasting which consisted of twelve different wines, and ALL of them were quite delicious. Here's what I had: BowHaus White, 2005; Seyval Blanc, 2007; Viognier, 2007; BowHaus Red, 2005; Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005; Merlot 2005; Norton, 2005; Petite Verdot; Tour'ga Franc; Cabernet Franc Reserve; "Chocolate Lab" dessert wine; "Late Harvest" Viogner...I bought 6 bottles to bring home. Everyone was so nice, it was great to finally meet Sharon & Brian, and take the informal tour. Another highlight was meeting the new puppy Justice, just 8 weeks old! My co-worker & pal Linda went with me, and she had a great time as well, the first time she'd ever visited a winery! Also, I did a book release while there...

dream snippet...

i am at the computer when i hear a noise at the door...as i am naked, i dash into the library and look around the corner at the front door so as not to be seen...there are a few state police at the door trying to see in/get in...after a while they walk around the house looking in windows and checking out stuff...i can hear them talking...as it is late evening i am hoping that i am well hidden in the shadows as i do not want to talk to them...finally they leave and i go into my bedroom...

dream segment...

i am sitting on the couch in my living room, knitting...two guys come in and attack me...i stab the one aggressor with a knitting needle and then whack him upside the head with a jar of spaghetti sauce...that knocks him out...he's lying on the floor, i call the police but they don't show up...

Call the cops, I'm listening to Joni Mitchell again...

One of my neighbors has a thing against me. She used to call the police on me every Thursday a few years back. Complaining about my music at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The cops would ride up and say that they couldn't hear the music from down at the end of the driveway, so I was cool. The last time it happened, I was listening to Joni Mitchell's 'For The Roses'. The cop told me the neighbor's full name and told me I should file harassment charges. I never did, I figured that her misery was her own. So here it is a Thursday, and I am off from work AND I am listening to Joni! I recently splurged and bought a CD version of 'Blue', which is the very first Joni Mitchell album I ever heard, back when I was 14, in 1972. My LP version is so worn, I thought that this would be a fitting purchase. The first CD I've ever purchased for which I also own an LP. Yeah...excuse me now while I play some air dulcimer...

The Bigger Lights acoustic set...

dream segment...

i am at a school fund-raising function, lots of people there, walking down one crowded hallway i stop and talk with one of the organizing "Moms", i am going to help by selling books of postage stamps...talking with other moms...in the cafeteria, there is a food buffet and a wine bar...at one of the tables i meet Jimmy Carter!!!, when i go to get a glass of wine, he wants me to get a roll of nickels for him...when i come back to the table, i have forgotten the nickels, so i go back to get them...i'm getting another glass of wine, but the first bottle i pour from is really gross and filled with some nasty decomposed matter, so i dump that out and go to another bottle...the roll of coins that the guy gives me has dimes in it too, so i figure that might be o.k. and head on back to the table...

What I Am Reading...

I have just begun reading 'In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, and on page 100 i found what is my favorite wording thus far: "Renner documents how Price eventually came to see the problem of diet and health as a problem of ecological dysfunction. By breaking the links among local soils, local foods, and local peoples, the industrial food system disrupted the circular flow of nutrients through the food chain. Whatever the advantages of the new industrial system, it could no longer meet the biochemical requirements of the human body, which, not having had time to adapt, was failing in new ways." This passage sums up a large part of my world view, and food is a major facet thereof...i love food and what it means for all of us animals, and worry endlessly about the industrialization of our "food-production"...

Check out 'evolve happy'...

One of my favorite bloggies, 'evolve happy' has published a manifesto, and is looking for input, comments and the like...these critters are my pals, and i would love for you to check them out and give them some love, criticism and stuff like that...yeah!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak sighting...

Our first ever rose-breasted grosbeaks came to visit this week, three of them, all males...decades ago Mom & i enjoyed a few winters with Evening Grosbeaks, but they haven't visited since, much to my dismay...this fine photo is thanks to "birds eye viewer" on Flickr...
wait, hold on! Chuck & i just looked at the feeder, and there is a female also, yay!

dream snippet...

we are all in the kitchen, and suddenly Dale comes charging in the door! i yell out, "DaleBert's home!", and both Chuck & Melian say oh wow, yay! and come into the kitchen to see him; he's hungry, so Chuck gets a small bowl of crunchies just for him...Dale is next to where the cat crunchies used to be, so i call him over next to me, and put the bowl down for him in a secluded spot so he won't be all freaked out, and i hand feed him the first crunchie...after he's eaten some he walks around a little, and some of the other cats come up to check him out, all is going well, and we are all so happy that he is home...

Local church updates their look...

Here is the new sign up at Olive Branch Baptist Church. Not sure what the deal is with this message either, but at least it's not quite as obscure as the previous one (see "Religious Marketing" post from 2/16/2006). Can't wait to see what the new one might be!

Because it's just not enough to cut off our clitorises...

This article and video at Feministing is a mind-blower. I had never heard of breast-ironing before. Notice how once again the girls are being punished, that is to say tortured, for the imagined (presumed) sexual appetites and approaches of the males. I laugh (yeah: ha-a-ha) every time I hear someone say that female genital mutilation is equivalent to male circumcision. That argument just doesn't "cut" it, HAHAHA. Let's see, boys: can you still have an orgasm after circumcision? YES. Can a woman still have an orgasm after clitoral removal? NO. And let's say that it's not even about orgasm, o.k.? Can a woman even stand to have any kind of sex at all after having her labia and clitoris removed? NO NO NO. And let's say that it's not even about intercourse, o.k.? Can a woman even stand the pain involved in urination after genital mutilation? NO. Yeah....

Again, this is why i absolutely adore Twisty Faster @ IBTP...

"I hate Komen because they’ve brainwashed millions of people into believing that if they buy pink shit they are “making a difference.” Snap out of it! All you are doing is buying pink shit. Komen is a marketing facilitator. They do not reduce breast cancer occurence. They do not reduce breast cancer deaths. All they do is hook up sanctimonious shopaholics with corporate leeches who want to shine up their tarnished public images."
Read this post....

dream segment...

i am riding a motorized skateboard down a major highway, about to merge onto a superhighway when the power to my board dies...i skate to the shoulder and take out my cell phone to call for help, the battery to my cell in dead, too...as i stand there for a minute trying to decide what to so, two other people walk up to me and ask if i need a ride, because they do too! then a guy walks up ans days he can give us all a ride, so we walk, RUN! across this big road over to the other shoulder to get to his car, it's a VW bug...as i'm trying to climb in, i slip in the snow and slide down in the ditch, the snow is really deep there and i'm thinking whoah! i'm going to get buried in this snow, but i manage to climb part way out and one of the people gives me a hand so i can climb all the way out...

see it while you still can...

I drive by this fabulous rock formation on my way to work every day...recently, this area was "approved"by the county for a new housing development ...i despair the fate of this compelling earth form, soon to be the site of a new McMansion???