Winter cacti...

Shnazzy holiday songs!

a hilarious site for all of your christmas song caroling needs...

Longest Night...

Winter Solstice full of light and love and a very happy black lab, jalapeno peppers and cats... pumpkin chocolate brownies and sweet potato-ginger soup...fire in the woodstove and a glass of Caramel Porter...candy cane cupcakes and Frankenstein Latkes...

ramble o'woe...

awaken anxiety ridden from my personal failings which largely involve money & laziness...i spent $15 on cupcakes & coffee at 'Cupcake Heaven' yesterday (but wait! cupcakes are a thing of beauty, are they not?), and $48 on dinner at the 'Outback' (Melian & i were hungry and needed a boost after a disappointing show) ...i only got two things done (finished reading 'The Pornography of Power' and got the jalapeno christmas lights down from the attic) from my list of stuff to do on my day off...i'm going to have a cuppa joe and try to soothe my sorrow in front of the fire...then i have to get ready for work...so now i have partaken of some hydrotherapy, and gotten my mind rebooted by a short walk around outside in the yard...i can do this...

robert smith knows what i'm talking about...

7:00 a.m. on Thursday...

poem 12/15/08...or: "Just Forget About the Coffee Pot"

i can't wash dishes after
i've dropped acid the dishes
never
get clean enough
scrub in between the tines of the forks and
try to let the rainbow sheen
out

dreamie - dream...

i am driving out of the town i have been visiting...going through the downtown area...i pass under a pedestrian bridge, watching the people walk across...as i am on the other side, i am really noticing the people there, most of them are tourists...(soon i am walking, not driving anymore)...i notice that almost all of the many people there are older...they are shopping...there are many, many stores & stalls & kiosks filled with touristy stuff and junk, like at an oceanfront boardwalk...i am wondering what part of town the "cool" people frequent, (where are the "hipsters", in other words!) would that be the mall??? i laugh to myself...i notice that there are a lot of very happy and snappy old people walking around, looking at all the stuff...one woman in particular stands out in my mind as she walks up to, and then passes by me: she is a short white woman wearing a lacy top, blue glass bead & silver jewelry and a snazzy light thread crochet cloche with glitter; she is dancing and smiling as she walks, she makes me smile and feel good...

yesterday's dream segment...

i go into a hair salon to get my hair cut, and i decide to get my hair dyed also...i tell the stylist that i want my hair to be red auburn...she chooses a box of color and dyes my hair...my hair has gotten longer, and it is quite full and curly...we talk about that and decide to not cut it...i sit in one of the styling chairs afterward and talk to another woman there...

Childhood Dream Memory: Early 1960's...

i am in my room, i look out the window and see a white horse, i go outside and more white horses are coming up the driveway and milling about in the yard, i am patting them and it is wonderful...they are beautiful, and i am happy...

dream segment...

i am in an older townhouse community; the streets are nice, many trees and sidewalks in good repair...i have a electric grill-type thing that i am going to make sandwiches with, but i am concerned about sparking, as the appliance is somewhat old...but i walk around the block to the place where i am going to plug it in...i do so, and walk back to the other place as the grill warms up...i am thinking about the panini as i walk...i get a metal tray to use and then it begins to rain lightly at first, then more heavily...i am smiling as i walk back, walking in this rain...

Ben Floeter...

Check out Ben's reggae artist paintings. Beautiful stuff. This one is of Bongo Sylly, on a suitcase with various media. Floeter has a show which opened 11/22/08 at "Art Whino" in D.C.

see this Washington Post article...

salivation...

If you have not already done so, my fine brew-loving public, hie thee quickly to your nearest purveyor of said fine brews and purchase THIS! Samuel Adams "Chocolate Bock". It's a rich sipping beer not to be missed.

Also in beer news: Red Hook is making their "Double Black" again! This is cause for celebration, without a doubt. Imperial stout with coffee and dark malt. Yeah, baby...

a study in dichotomy...

Gwynne's recycle bin doth contain some interesting finds.

"Films Viewed" update...

The Road to Perdition (Sam Mendez), 2002
The Cinderella Man (Ron Howard), 2005
SherryBaby (Laurie Collier), 2006
Sweeney Todd (Tim Burton), 2007
Romance & Cigarettes (John Turturro), 2007
The Ladykillers (Ethan Coen), 2004
Juno (Jason Reitman), 2007
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Elections
Charlie Wilson's War (Mike Nichols), 2007
The Missing (Ron Howard), 2003
The Talented Mr. Ripley (Anthony Minghella), 1999
Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith), 1997
The Weight of Water (Kathryn Bigelow), 2001
Fur (Stephen Shainberg), 2006
The Dark Knight, 2008 (in the theatre)
In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis), 2006
The Good German (Stephen Soderbergh), 2006
21 (Robert Luketic), 2008
Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrl , 2006
Brick (Rian Johnson), 2005
Amores Perros (Alejandro Inarritu), 2000
Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright), 2007
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams, 2005
Amazing Grace (Michael Apted), 2006
Trade (Marco Kreuzpaintner), 2007
Who Killed the Electric Car? (Chris Paine), 2006
The Man From Plains: Jimmy Carter (Jonathan Demme), 2007
Bush's War ( Frontline documentary), 2008
Factory Girl (George Hickenlooper), 2006
The Weather Underground (Bill Siegel & Sam Green), 2002
Constantine's Sword (Oren Jacoby), 2007

What I've Been Reading: Literary Ingesta...

• Diane Arbus a biography by Patricia Bosworth, 1984

• Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar, 2007

• Come Hell Or HIgh Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster by Michael Eric Dyson, 2006

• The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi, 2008

• Fooled Again by Mark Crispin Miller, 2005

• The Green Collar Economy by Van Jones, 2008

• American Made by Nick Taylor, 2008 "The Enduring Legacy of the WPA"

• Bushworld by Maureen Dowd, 2004

• American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips, 2006

dream segment...

i am at a car repair-type place, and i see chuck drop Old Blue off there for some work...as he is walking away to exit the building, i holler out his name twice...he hears me, and comes over to me...he has been working out and is very defined, especially in the upper body region, he has two really colorful tattoos on both of his knees (and surrounding area) which are of a beautiful tribal motif...we kiss, we talk a bit, and then hug...our hug goes on for a very, very long time, we even turn/sway as we hug, and i can see other things going on in the place, but the hug is so good and comforting that none of it matters at all...

i am driving my old Ford van, and there are many mechanical problems with it...the steering is off, as i am attempting to turn left onto Rt. 15, i do not get into the lane correctly, i must back up and try again, there are two other drivers who are very courteous and wait as i do this...as i am driving, the brakes malfunction also, i am stomping down on the pedal without much braking action at all...i am on a dirt road and there is a dead man in a puddle in the road! i run over him and hear bones crunch...i am out of the van and climbing up a small rock face to try to get out of the low-lying area i am in, it's difficult going, but i make it...there are two other people at the top who speak to me as i make my way out...


i look in the bathroom mirror, and there is a horizontal red line of blood in my right eye...

Buddha's Hand Citron...

We saw these for sale at the 'Kroeger's' in Richmond yesterday, and were very intrigued, but did not purchase one. We were there for ginger with which to make Sweet Potato-Ginger soup, and of course, BEVVIES.

Biorhythmically Speaking...

So, yesterday was a triple critical for me. Wow! I am still flummoxed by my emotional cycle being so high last week. My week of major depression. I still feel like the low pressure before the rain began had a lot to do with it all. I do feel much better, although i don't seem able to concentrate on any one thing today, "Short Attention Span Theater"!

Dog dreams...

Rhiannon just had a very intense dream: she did two sets of rapid, deep breathing followed by two low growls, then a lot of paw flipping. Has anyone invented the electrode brain hook-up that would allow me to see her dreams? That would be so very awesome.

3/7 ths of the Crew...

Rhiannon, Buddy & Tyga go strolling with photographer Melian. She had borrowed my camera and gone on a major photo shoot...

dream segment...

i go to the dentist's office to have some work done...i wait in the office for a long time, other people come and go, but i never get called in for my appointment...so as the office is about to close, i walk up to the receptionist and ask her if i'm going to get called in, or should i come back tomorrow? i'm being kind of sarcastic, but sincere at the same time...later; another day, i am back, and have something done, but the procedure is really simple and doesn't address my dental problem, i discuss this with the dentist: he is Indian with glasses and longish brown hair...he sort of waffles on an answer, but more appointments are in my future to fix my dental dilema...so i'm in the waiting room, and there are a lot of people there and it turns out that there is a jazz history thing going on, it's fascinating! there are people playing music, mostly African-American; photos on display, books to look at, short films, recordings to listen to & buy; it's really a fabulous experience! i make some new friends...

magnet therapy needed

cold shards of fear ice while tears
start and stop behind my eyes of
dismay and sorrow takes me to
fetal position
mind shaking

word of the day...

horripilation

goosebumps, the feeling of your hair standing up...from fear or cold or excitement...

The Enchanter...

Melian's awesome photo of my Halloween costume this year...it was said by many that I was quite scary...at one of the homes where we trick-or-treated, a guy asked me what I was...when I told him, he asked me was my name "Tim"!!... that was a delightful moment...

Oh, and a thought almost too beautiful to put into words!!!

NO MORE 'W' ...NO MORE BUSH DOCTRINE...NO MORE LIES AND OBFUSCATION...NO MORE CHENEY!!! now let us set about regaining our civil liberties...

Our President...

12:15 a.m. and Obama just finished his victory speech..well, that was beautiful...perhaps now we can regain the respect of the rest of the world...

Yeah!!!!! Obama '08...

Our new President is Barack Obama...it's real!!! 11:56 p.m. and it's 338 electoral votes/47,764,579 citizen votes...(i listened to McCain's concession speech, and it was a fine one, good job on that John, amazingly enough!) Oh, and way to go VA with 1,613,151 Obama votes, damn right!!!

dream segment from two nights ago...

i come home and find that all the kids have been naughty, and Miss Ethel is in a lip-stuck-out funk about the misbehavior...i am upstairs in the big room, and find Ethel crouched down near the desk, & i ask her just what is her problem??? she shows me the papers detailing all the kid misbehavior, but i cannot read them because the kids have all gotten their papers wet, and the print has run...Miss Ethel gets ready to leave...i try to tell someone else what has happened, and the telling is quite lengthy & detailed, but i keep getting interrupted, so i must begin again...that's when i wake up, and the telling plays over and over in my head for quite a long time...

Zappa Plays Zappa...

I just got home from seeing ZPZ at the Birchmere in Alexandria. My goodness was that a tasty treat, or what!?! Dweezil is astounding. And, he smiles the whole time.

Fangs Up! in the green room...

some Good News for a change!...

I cannot even imagine the destructive scope of this project. Thank goodness the EPA struck this down. Read this piece from Grist:

Yazoo Keeper
EPA puts kibosh on wetland-destructive Army Corps project

The U.S. EPA has vetoed a giant, expensive plan to build the world's largest water pump in the Mississippi River delta. The so-called Yazoo Pump flood-control project would have sucked 6 million gallons of water a minute from 67,000 acres of wetlands along the Yazoo River. The scheme, proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and first authorized by Congress in 1941, would have cost $220 million. The EPA concluded that maybe, just maybe, sucking all that wet out of the wetlands would have been damaging to fish, wildlife, and migratory birds. "The EPA truly deserves our thanks for killing this unnecessary and economically wasteful Corps of Engineers project," says the Sierra Club's Ed Hopkins. "The natural, and free, flood protections offered by these wetlands are far more effective than an expensive pumping project." The veto was only the 12th time since 1972 that the EPA has put the kibosh on a Corps project; the last was in 1990.

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: Associated Press, National Audubon Society, U.S. EPA, Sierra Club
get the backstory, in Grist: EPA set to kibosh Mississippi Delta boondoggle
see also, in Grist: A special series on the Army Corps and the Mississippi River

Orangealicious...

Buddy is just so adorable.

two "work" dreams...

i am at work and getting ready to set up a display...in the back room i find a large white cardboard display box, and go ask dax if i should use that for the display set-up...he says, "no! i told you to use that", and points to a deflated inflatable pool...i say, "oh yeah! that's right", and get it from off the floor...(later) dax, todd & i are in the office drinking beer...todd starts to twist open a bottle top, but i snatch it away from him and use my bottle opener...

dax & i are done working for the day, he gives me a ride to his house, but i am so tired that i fall asleep in the car, he goes on inside...later when i awaken i too go into their house...i realize that i need to get ready to go to work, but i'm wearing yesterday's clothes & have no way to get home to change unless dax drives me there...he is unconcerned about this, and goes into another part of the house...they have a new dog, a mastiff & as i am standing talking to valerie, the dog pees on my left pants leg...this is bad because now i really need some clean clothes! i ask valerie if she has a pair of "fat pants" that i could borrow...she looks but doesn't find anything, then says she will give me her credit card...as i am about to leave, she says wait, i'll take you to the store...so we get in her car and go to the mall...

dream from 11/18/1977...Moon in Pisces...

james, frederick, thomas & i are swimming in the ocean. thomas becomes very angry at me for something about a penis (this involves him and an extra and/or lost penis). we get out of the water onto a pier-like structure. thomas is complaining to me. he is going up the ladder before me.

james & i are less than enthusiastic members of some mafia-esque group. we are in underground rooms, a basement. james & i have witnessed a murder and we try to tell/show the leader about it. there is a screen where we watch a "replay" of the murder. the killing involved a woman who was shot in the middle of her forehead. (the picture shows lines like this: ---- going to her forehead) then, she shoots someone. the leader does not come over and look at the screen. he is talking to some men who are other members of the group. after james & i have viewed the "replay", we decide not to show it to the "don", and he does not recall us mentioning the problem, so we all walk into other rooms. the don tacks a note up on a bulletin board as he passes it by. i read the message. it is a note to "sandi & james" reminding us to think up some ideas for some project the group is doing. i lie, telling the don, "yeah, i've been trying to think of that all day. it's hard." he understands. all over men are working on the project, using different mediums. there are some paper mache things hanging form the ceiling. some cloth, stuffed things... i comment on how nice all the stuff is.

james & i are running around a suburban home/wooded area. we are playing. james finds a kite string buried under some sand behind one house. he digs it up. we run on...then james & i are sitting at a long table, like at school. there are other tables and a lot of other people sitting around. at one table there is a girl who knows us, i go over to talk to her. she tells me to say "hello" to james for her. (still in "school") i am sitting at a desk with a lot of other people ( all women, i think) around. one girl & i start to sing. we start out with 'Joy of Cooking' songs. i do not know all the words, but watching her closely i can do it. i look up and see a girl across the room lift her head and sing with us a bit. good feeling! the teacher (female) comes over- the girl i am singing with starts another song, sounding like the instrumental part. the teacher motions me to start singing the words. but i do not/cannot. this is o.k. we go on and sing together some more. i am pleased with my voice. ever so often i really belt the song out. on another song i know the words very well, and sing with such energy! we are waiting for school to let out, for the buses to arrive. we are in the lobby of the building, there are glass doors opening to the street. the streets/the city is very busy. some of us go stand outside by the side of the building to wait. as i stood there waiting, two women walk by with huge cowrie shells for earrings. i am amazed and excited and say, "cowrie shells!!!" out loud. a few of the people in this group suddenly run over to the church across the street. the rest of us chase after them. this is a game, and we're having fun. we get to the church, and the others who ran there first jump up from fake graves they've been hiding in to scare us! we go inside the church. it is old, falling apart and musty. across the street at the school, kids are getting in trouble for standing outside on the sidewalks to wait. authorities herd them back inside. at first i peek around the corner of the church, hoping to not be seen, so that i can watch. then we all go back and mingle with the crowd. school is finally let out. the girl (who knew james & i) and i are going to leave together, but the bus does not come. so we decide to walk home. after we cross some highway, we get separated. i try to get home to james on my own, but cannot because i do not know the way from here, she knew...i am then flying in what is understood/supposed to be a private plane, but it is a big round cushion on which i can reline . i look down as i fly, soon realizing that i am flying over NYC! i am lost, and the sun is going down. the moon is in the sky. after a while, i decide to turn around. as i am going back, i encounter some people who help me. we work out the direction i need to go on a calculator which also has a little picture screen. i calculate back to the highway, and see what number i need to get me there...

Postscript: looking through a copy of the 'National Geographic' later, i come across a photo page which contains quite a few cowrie shells, and it sparks a segment of dream memory. i tore the page out, and tucked it in my dream diary...

Eve Ensler on Palin...

My friend Kitty (thanks!!!) just sent me this article titled "Drill, Drill, Drill" by Eve Ensler. It's on the Huffington Post blog. And I say, "Wow". Ms. Ensler pretty much nails it as far as I'm concerned.

And while you're at it, read this little gem about white privilege vis- a- vis McCain & Palin from Tim Wise on AlterNet.

a nice word o'the day...

Merriam Webster's "Word of the Day" is euphony. Similar to another favorite word of mine: mellifluous. Enjoy, and may your day be euphonic!

no sleep for me last night...

So, I get an e-mail from my daughter's language arts teacher alerting me to the fact that my daughter has an "F" in the class right now. This being the 10th day of the school year, mind you. Two of the reasons are from assignments not turned in. There is a zero tolerance policy on homework/assignments not turned in on time. This I understand. ( "It's in my locker.", is not an excuse. ) What I don't get, and what was driven home to us at "Back-to-School Night" last Tuesday; is that THIS year they have changed the grading system to "match" the high school grading system so that we don't stress out our ninth graders next year when they hit high school, and their grades show up on their transcripts which will be looked at when being considered for college. O.k., let us take a breath here, and look at this more closely: instead of just having a grading scale which remains the same through all 12 years of school, we apparently now have a separate one for high schoolers...and we are worried about stressing the new 9th graders out with this...so we deal with that instead by stressing out our 8th graders with this new high school grading system NOW, because we don't want to screw up our 9th graders chances of getting into college by having crappy grades from all the stress...SO: we are stressing out our 8th graders about something that is FIVE YEARS IN THE FUTURE...you know, instead of just instilling a love of learning in them NOW...and of course the deeply personal irony for me here is that I believe in public education...

dream sequence...

i am riding a subway train , and as we near my stop i walk up front to pay my fare...the Asian male driver sits at the controls and waits as i go through my money to get the correct fare amount; i have a dollar bill, some coins, and a twenty...he just takes the twenty... when i ask for my change he says that drivers don't carry change! but the he will take the twenty because he trusts me...i get off the train and go into the big metro hub, ride up the escalator and then get a bike to ride...as i am pedalling i realize that i never did get my change, so i stop and go back into the transportaion hub to find that driver and get my change...i ride this escalator and that escalator, trying to find the one that will take me back to the platform for that train...i find two lower floors dedicated to gambling, a floor with shops, and quite a few other floors, riding up and down these escalators, and walking the steps; but no train platform...there are many people there, and i stop to ask one man who is wearing a station uniform about my predicament; he basically says my search is futile, that i won't get my change back from that driver even if i were able to find him...all the while i've been searching i knew this, but kept looking anyway, feeling rather foolish for having allowed him to take that $20 to begin with!

Organically Farmed Since 1974...

It's almost 9 o'clock in the green room...

Reading Update...

• Marching Toward Hell by Michael Scheuer, 2008...Scheuer is angry, but seriously; he does have a right to be...this book is intense, and informative; if you can get past some of the vitriol, you will learn a great deal about the way our country is still not truly dealing with the Osama bin Laden/radical Islam jihad question, and our government's stupid misconceptions about Islam in general...

• Nixonland by Rick Perlstein, 2008...grew up in this era, but of course this book taught me a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff that I never knew as a young person...what a well-written book! with a dry humor and sarcastic bite that fits perfectly...

• The Family by Jeff Sharlet, 2008...a nice expose of one of the more extreme christian groups in this country...I laughed, I gagged, I got angry...

• A Russian Diary by Anna Politkovskaya, 2007...Anna was an amazing journalist...if you don't know much about the way life is in Putin's Russia, you must read this book, quite an eye-opener...

• Duma Key by Stephen King, 2008...another good one from King...

• Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand, 2007...punk photography & a mystery in Maine! what more could you ask for? great stuff once again from Ms. Hand...

Good Times.....

RAIN (by Rusted Root)
Hit upon ‘em Joe,
Raise the barn yourself
Hit upon ‘em Joe,
Raise the barn yourself
Rain’s gonna fall,
Rain’s gonna fall.
Rain’s gonna fall,
Rain’s gonna fall.
Rain, rain
Gonna fall, down on your head
Rain, rain,
Gonna fall.
Rain, rain
Gonna fall, down on your head
Rain, rain,
Gonna fall.
Don’t get out.
Hit upon ‘em joe,
You can raise the barn yourself
As you’re kickin’ in the sun, yeah
Hit upon ‘em joe,
You can raise the barn yourself,
As you’re kickin’ in the sun yeah.
Rain, gonna fall.
Rain, gonna fall.
Rain, gonna fall.
Rain, gonna fall.
Rain, rain
Gonna fall, down on your head
Rain, rain,
Gonna fall.
Rain, rain
Gonna fall, down on your head
Rain, rain,
Gonna fall.

(c) 2002 Island Def Jam MusicShredder says, "Just remember; if you're at the VCU campus, check out the fabulous burritos to be had from my Mom's cart!"

Feel It

another quality photograph by Melian...

"Copulating Bunnies"...

Joonie gets caught up on her alternative press reading...

Mantis Update...

Remember the Mantis babies born back in the Spring? Well, here is one of them grown to quite the young lady this past July. She has made this Zinnia plant hers, and catches lots of delicious comestibles from this locale. Alas, that does include quite a few butterflies...

Melian took this wonderful shot of some discarded wings:

Harper's Ferry, WVA

my swim suit still smells like the Potomac, let's go tubing again!!! but this time without drowning the Coolpix...

7/31/2008...

My face feels sideways, like I am a painting by Picasso.

deer dream...

Chuck and I are out behind our house in the woods working on something. As we walk over to one area, we flush a deer. I laugh and point this out to him. Then we see that it is actually a fairly good-sized herd of deer. As I watch them tail up and scamper off, I notice something odd, and say, "Look! That deer has a pair of work gloves in his back pocket!". Chuck stops what he is doing and watches as the herd moves off. The "work glove" deer seems to be the leader of sorts, he turns into a cowboy/trail-rider sort of character, on a horse! I say to him, " I love you!" and he replies something to the effect that he finds friendship everywhere. Chuck and I laugh at this, but I worry did Chuck think that I really "love" this deer/guy?

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!