I watched "Collateral" the other night and really enjoyed it. Also watched, "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" which was good, too. One thing the lead actors had in common was that I didn't see them in their characters. Jim Carrey did a great job of playing an introvert with no trace of his normal self. Tom Cruise was a good bad guy with none of that usual Tom Cruise that comes through his other parts.

In the world of dogs, though, I found out that Bully Sticks are dried bull penises. Keeps Roxie busy, I have to admit.

"Mankind, the Earth and the Plant and Animal Kingdoms are utterly dependent, each upon the other, for their own survival. None survive alone."

What a beautiful website.

Well, I found out what juvenile court feels like and frankly, I don't want to know more. I wonder what it would be like if the offense had been more than just a stupid misjudgement that will be dismissed? The boys who were already in jail went first. My heart went out to the mom who got to hug her son for a second before the judge began. Then a few others came and went. Then 2 parents stepped up to the podium to face the judge. "So your daughter is on the run?" He issued a bench warrent for her arrest. We followed soon after.

Our group was out of place. Honey, Sugar, our brand new lawyer and me plus Honey's girlfriend with parents and lawyer plus Honey's friend with mom and lawyer. The lawyers and police and families all wondering why it got this far when the kids are clearly innocent of any crime.

I don't need any more pre-Christmas dramas after this year, ok?

Where have I been and what have I been doing?

Roxie.

Raising a puppy takes a lot of attention and I even have a doting husband doing a lot of the work. She is so much fun. We all agree bringing her into our family was one of the best things we've done.

Raising Roxie and selling Christmas merchandise in stores. Today I had to listen to a grumpy Safeway manager in my lesser store that I could take or leave. The drill is: Safeway Corporate approves orders for the store, my company sends it, I put it out, local Safeway manager pisses and moans about too much product on the store. "Corporate doesn't run this store" he huffily says as he walks away. "Hey, this is between you and your boss, little man," I say. "Go complain to them, not me."
Well, I say it in my head. I had heard this manager was anti-social and he appears to be that way. His female counterpart just took the time to say it's always that way, the lack of communication is commonplace.

I'm starting to see the end of this job on the horizon. Dear Husband and #1 Son are going to be going off for training this Christmas for the second year in a row, leaving #2 Son and me behind to find some trouble to get into. Soon, I plan to be the one going off since it's about my turn.

Happy Solstice is coming up!

We are losing about 2-3 minutes of sunlight every day now. The Sun is officially setting at 4:39pm now and since we are next to the mountains, probably earlier. The good news is that I can see the sunrise now around 6am when Roxie wakes up. Several weeks ago we moved from the west side of the house to the east and now I have the dawn and Venus and full moons out my window. I can see the tops of the foothills out the other window.

My days are organized around a puppy's puddles and piles these days. Luckily, Sugar is off a lot now that the season is winding down and we can coordinate work hours so we can get her outside every couple of hours. One benefit of having her in our home (beside the intoxicating puppy breath) is that I get to spend more time outside and enjoy the leaves on the ground and the snow that's come and gone and the birds at dusk and the quiet and lovely dawn. I would have these during the summer but usually in the winter, I'm driven inside by a lack of affinity for the cold.

Life is good.

The Raw Feeding universe opened up to me when I was learning about Scottie care. Raw Meaty Bones, green tripe, and raw co-ops are all part of my vocabulary now. Someone posted a message to a list I'm on about feeding dogs chicken wings. Ok for small dogs and pups, but not enough meat for larger dogs - that was the consensus. Here's a quote:

"Dog and cats need to work to eat their food. Rip and tear. They should do their own rendering....

Feed up, not down, bigger not smaller, whole carcass and/or the largest pieces possible.
Feed the whole chicken, not just the chicken wing."

Don't the last two lines seem like a good philosophy for life? "Feed up, not down, bigger not smaller."

"Feed the whole chicken, not just the chicken wing" is almost Zen-like, isn't it?

Well, Roxy is here to stay with us. Picked her up yesterday and she is starting to own the place and us already. Lots to learn for her and us.

Something to do now that the election is over

One son left home a few months ago. Well, he moved a few miles away and he comes by alot. Before he left, I went back and forth between anticipating a void and just wondering when it would happen. We are close friends. I knew that it would be hard to be without him around so much but I was eager for him to get on with his life.

As it turns out, he left and 2 days later, I was rearranging the house. Any feeling of loss I might have had turned into "Sweetie, can you get the rest of your stuff out of your room?" We swapped rooms with Honey and made Sweetie's room into an office. Sweetie dekluged his whole area and has taken to putting his things away. The stairs have never been cleaner now that he doesn't feel the need to mark his space. I found myself straightening an area today that I had avoided for years.

Funny, having one less person smack dab in your universe opens up lots of personal space. I wonder what it will be like when Honey leaves home.

I think it's come to this:

All I'm going to be able to talk about for a while is our little Scotty girl pup.

We'll be going down to see her on Sunday.

I'm learning about a Raw Meaty Bones diet and questioning vaccinations and checking out vets.

It's not so very different from when we were expecting our first child.

Maybe if I space out the lines, it'll look like poetry and people will still be interested in what I have to say. If not, I may have to start writing in rhymes. Some times.

Early this morning I was driving in east county out in the farming area. Looking back west, I could see snow capped mountains blanketed by the 15" that came down the last few days. The sky above me was a beautiful blue then suddenly it looked like someone sprinkled pepper overhead. Hundreds of blackbirds flew up out of a field and over my head, bellies full of grain and ready to go further south.

It's turning into a long fall. Maybe soon there will be a long fall blowdown and all the leaves will be gone. But today, beautiful!

Here's the good news.

The bad news is that kids have been suffering the horrible side effects of anti-depressants for too long. Maybe there is still hope for a non-medicated society in the future?

We went to see "Fahrenhype 911" tonight with Sweetie, a showing put on by the College Republicans. A soldier who Moore used in his film, the amputee, said he had never met Moore and no one asked his permission to include his interview. The interview was with Brian Williams (NBC) and the guy was talking about the phantom pains he had as an amputee. The families of 2 other soldiers spoke, saying they were peeved at the way their loved ones had been portrayed by Moore. The soldiers couldn't speak for themselves since they are dead.

I voted yesterday and there was a line even that early. The election is over for me, just waiting for the rest of the votes to be counted.

And still waiting for that little black roly poly puppy to come into my life. And her name is Roxy, by the way, not Wennie. November 10.

Maybe I should just change the name of this blog to: " Scotties as Therapy" or "Living as Scotties".

What my attention is on:

The world of Scotties
Roy Orbison on iTunes (Blue Bayou)
Painting Honey's room
That Sweetie is doing so well on his own
Our little Scottie (soon to be)
Hoping to avoid having to hire a lawyer
Time spent with a 7 month old little prince
The fact that the colorful leaves will fall too soon
The presidential election
Work
The Business
How Wennie (the little girl Scottie soon to be ours) is doing
Finishing the season of work in the yard
Enjoying the peace and quiet that comes after teenaged boys leave the house
How like a little black baby seal little Wennie is.
Roy Orbison singing "Leah"

We found our Scottie!
I had just about decided that there were none to be found locally and we weren't prepared to travel out of state to buy one. Then voila! A Scottie mom appeared with 3 pups about 30 miles away! They are so cute - like tiny baby seals with teeny little triangular ears - but not ready to leave mom yet. We'll be bringing her home mid-November.

I'm so happy.

I have become slightly obsessed with the idea of getting a dog after living my whole adult life without one. I want a Scottie, but none have come through the Scottie Rescue. So maybe a Cairn, so I signed up with the Cairn Rescue and asked a breeder what one would cost. I don't want a dog that costs $1000 so, moving along, we went to the Humane Society and found a little white dog that would fit the bill, maybe. The dog certainly thought so. $345. $345? To keep a little dog from a life of misery and homelessness? Umm. Someone else thought that was reasonable because the dog was adopted. Another dog suited me, but was adopted an hour after the picture was posted on the website.

Yes, I know there are lots of other dogs there. We don't want to pay several thousand dollars to fence in the whole yard to accomodate a large dog. Funny looking or deranged looking dogs - I can't promise myself that I would grow to love them.
Do I really want a dog? Thinking that maybe buying some more suet for the sparrows and thistle for the goldfinches would satisfy my pet need, I went to Petsmart today and walked out with a Beta fish. He's not a Scottie, but I haven't had to change my life to suit him.

I've been spending my online time getting information about the Hurricane Ivan damage in Lower Alabama . That is a favorite vacation destination for us and we have lots of wonderful memories of warm Gulf waters in September, squeezing a few more weeks out of summer after the beaches empty. I check in on local topics at a Gulf Shores board from time to time to see what is going on. Most of the conversation lately has been about the elections and the planned development of the area. Some were heatedly against it but the city councils seemed intent on plowing ahead with condo on the water. One 40 story condo was planned - most are 3-15 stories tall.

Now, so much of it is gone or ruined. This is where we always stayed. The pool is not there.

I'm beginning to understand "Gone" in a new way.

Yesterday the drumming monk walked by my house, singing this time. Either there is something Very Significant about his return or maybe he just lives nearby.

This morning, I saw my breath on the porch outside. I was standing there next to it. I'm not ready for cool or cold weather but there is a seduction going on in the way the air is cooler and easy to breathe, the flowers are brilliant, and the shadows are getting longer. I'm being lured into a new season that it hard to resist.

I am a man, and whatever concerns humanity is of interest to me.

Terence
Roman comic dramatist (185 BC - 159 BC)

Found Magazine:
we collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles- anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life. anything goes...

Ahhh....

There are 2 fawns relaxing in our yard outside the back door. This is one of the benefits of living 4 blocks from the first eastern wrinkle of the Rocky Mountains.

I thought I noticed an area of the garden that was used for bedding recently.

I used to frequent the Astronomy Picture of the Day but after a while, got bored with planets, stars and gases and pictures of places I won't get back to for a long time. But hey! I just found the
Earth Science Picture of the Day and I like what I see. Today's was about a Lenticular and Cumulus Cloud duo. How cool is that? I figure if you're going to be here for a while, learn about the area, right?

I saw winter today. Several months ago, we booked a couple of rooms in Vail to see Lance Armstrong at a pro cycling race. The race was cancelled and our reservations could not be, so Sweetie and I took a couple of days off to ride up I-70. We've always whizzed by Vail on our way to Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Pool but never stayed there. It's fine. Reminded me a little of the European parts of Disneyworld, but it's fine. The walk along the creek is nice.
Last night we went to sleep to rain and woke up to a dusting of snow but going over Vail Pass we saw real winter. Not just a dusting of snow on the the evergreens, but a couple of inches on the ground. It cleared out a bit but picked up again at the Eisenhower Tunnel.
Luckily, the sun came out as we rolled into home sweet home.

War Making Headlines, but Peace Breaks Out

Some excerpts:
.......
The chilling sights and sounds of war fill newspapers and television screens worldwide, but war itself is in decline, peace researchers report.
In fact, the number killed in battle has fallen to its lowest point in the post-World War II period, dipping below 20,000 a year by one measure. Peacemaking missions, meantime, are growing in number.
.......
For months the battle reports and casualty tolls from Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites) have put war in the headlines, but Swedish and Canadian non-governmental groups tracking armed conflict globally find a general decline in numbers from peaks in the 1990s.
The authoritative Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, in a 2004 Yearbook report obtained by The Associated Press in advance of publication, says 19 major armed conflicts were under way worldwide in 2003, a sharp drop from 33 wars counted in 1991.
........
"Not only are the numbers declining, but the intensity" — the bloodshed in each conflict — "is declining," said Marshall, founder of a University of Maryland program studying political violence.

I lost my soldier blogger. No, he didn't get killed but it looks like the plug was pulled. No archives, nothin.

I'm gonna miss him. I hope he gets home ok.

There is a place in town called McGuckin Hardware. I read somewhere that a local designer said that whenever he is stalled in the creative process, he goes to McGuckin's and is revitalized. Funny that a hardware store would do that, but it really does. Really, it's paint and nails and garden stuff and household stuff and pet stuff and electrical and plumbing, just like any other hardware store, but it's different. I imagine it has to do with the creators of the store - somehow their vision, hopes, dreams, wishes and other magic were infused into the merchandise and the merchandising and that just makes it better.

See? I was stuck about what to write about tonight and I thought about McGuckin's and got unstuck. You gotta stop by there if you're ever in town.

Somehow, after the planes went into the buildings on 9/11, Volunteer Ministers from my church were able to get onto the site and help the rescue workers in the first few days. They stayed on and helped for months afterward locating missing people and helping victims sign up for benefits.

The general outpouring of help from all sorts of people after Hurricane Charley hit is inspiring. Here's an article about Volunteer Ministers helping those victims.

We were at Sweetie's apartment today. He was working on cleaning everything to be painted while I watched. I have offered help like a good mother, but he wants to do it himself.

While we were loading up, that monk walked by banging his drum. I smiled and looked at him and he looked back at me but I didn't feel blessed. He looked like anyone else walking by on a sidewalk, going somewhere, except he was dressed in white and yellow robes banging a drum.

Something similar happened in the presence of Tibetan monks who were doing a sand mandala at the library last year. Watching them interact while they worked and seeing them walking back from lunch at the cafe, they seemed like nice young adults having a good time. I thought they would emanate something spiritual by their presence, but it came through their art which transformed something in me.

When my kids were growing up I didn't tell them what to believe in terms of god, God, gods, goddesses, supreme beings, the Green Man or Mother Nature, Allah, Vishnu or whatever. I have my own ideas, but I figured if there is some omnipotent presence who wants to get in touch with them, it'll (he'll or she'll?) be able to do it without needing me as a via on the line. They were able to come up with some thoughtful ideas of their own.

I think distance is involved in that drum banging blessing. I see him walking down the road, I think "oh, he's blessing the town". I have some time and space to get the idea of being blessed which is what really does it. Getting the idea of being blessed is the trick.

There used to be a Buddhist monk who would walk around town banging a drum. It's a flat handheld sort of drum like the one that Phoebe Barr used to use in dance class while we ran, ran, leaped, ran, ran, leaped, etc. He dressed in white loose clothing, baggy bottoms, with a yellow sashy sort of covering. He walked all over town, steadily beating the drum at a brisk pace, clearly enjoying himself. What he was doing was blessing everyone, I think.

He's back. I saw him today talking to a man in a pickup truck. I'm glad that he's back. I'll take blessings however they come.

There is nothing like a mid summer afternoon in the 80's, big cumulus clouds in a deep blue sky, swimming laps in an outdoor pool all to yourself. Chlorine must be good for me.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
Albert Einstein

I have to link to this soldier since I read his blog every day. If you check it out, read back through the last month. It's a good read. That's where I got this quote.

I caught a glimpse of a cardinal among the loblolly pines and started swimming almost daily. When we got back, we heard frogs in our yard. I can't remember the last time I heard frogs in our yard. That was pretty much our vacation. I do enjoy travelling across America.

We leave in a day or two for our annual road trip across half of America. We leave the arid Colorado climate and wake up the next day in the moisture filled air of Topeka Kansas. What I like is the change of landscape and the greening up and the waterways that multiply as we go East. The 2nd day is more rolling hills and farmland, then through downtown St Louis and onto Paducah, Ky. Topeka to Paducah. The last day, we arrive at our destination.
The first time I took the trip 11 years ago with 2 little boys, I wondered how safe we'd really be. But we got out on the highway and saw small town America and truck stops - all the kinder, gentler America that really exists, not what is portrayed on the news. I agree: man is basically good.
Back in a couple of weeks!

'A First Derivations Dictionary' is a great tool to have around if you like to know the meaning of words without getting complicated.

I've been reading "Cold Mountain" because I decided to boycott the movie since they filmed it in eastern Europe somewhere. ?!?!?!?! Isn't there enough undeveloped area in the Smokies to film a Civil War story?????? Anyway, my point is that the author, Charles Frazier, turns a good word but often come up with some archaic terms that I have to know in order to understand the image. 'First Derivations' comes in handy for me there.

Solitude.

It seems like I would be missing everybody and craving their company but I've been relishing my own this afternoon. Honey is working with Sugar and Sweetie is moving toward Norway via Copenhagen so it's just Tweetie and me today. I've been enjoying a series of mundane tasks: cooking, reading, doing some work for the business, discouraging the squirrel from the bird feeder, watching the rain. I had determined to clean my room today, but never got there. Enjoying iTunes radio: Public radio out of LA and now Magnatunes Renaissance and Baroque music. Reading some blogs and watching the rain some more.

Somebody just walked by on the street. With a dog.

Yeah, it's probably a boring read but what a rich and full afternoon it's been in my universe.

This warrants another post today. Sweetie called! (Sweetie is my first born, Honey is #2). He sounded great and exhausted. They watched the stage final yesterday only 5 feet from the finish line so he was up close to Lance. Today after sleeping in the bus station, they walked 8 miles up L'Alpe d'Huez (6% grade), watched the race and walked 8 miles down. At least they weren't alone: I heard there were 900,000 people on the mountain. Tonight they are sleeping in the city park along with all the other cycling fans without rooms.

Sigh. Now I can have a good night's sleep.

Recently at the food bank, I took several calls from people who need food. The place where I volunteer is one that provides food to agencies who then provide food to individuals. One lady called for her mom and I gave her a list of numbers to call. Her mom then called back and said no way was she going to call all those people - she didn't know them and anyhow, she's disabled and she needs someone to bring her food now cause her daughter is at work. A guy called in and was getting food stamps that were taken away, then Emergency Family Assistance cut him off, now he needed food. A cheerful lady called to find out where to get food, too. She didn't sound down and out, just cheerfully interested.

I volunteer at a food bank because I think that redistribution of food would handle a lot of the problems on this planet. I'm a vendor in some large grocery stores locally and I see food dumped in the trash bin Every Single Day. And meanwhile, all people starve in the Sudan. The problem with volunteering in this food bank, is that most of the people I see come in are chubby or at least not thin. The two people above who called are probably worried about getting food, but they had attitude, you know? I imagine that the people in the Sudan are hungry without attitude. But I'm going to continue helping out as a push in the general direction. Maybe some of these chubby hungry people will feel satisfied enough to turn around and help some other hungry people who are not so chubby.

No matter where you stand on the war, this charity seems worthy of support:

Aid to Wounded Soldiers

Today was a first. I got my first email from Sweetie, who is spending a few days in Paris. They saw the sights today and ate lunch in a cafe off the Champs Elysees and dealing with the elements of a hot and humid city. Off to Lyon tomorrow.

Having one's first born across the Atlantic for the first time does make one pay attention to all things east of one (if you live next to the Rocky Mountains).

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Sigh::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There are times when you just have to close the door. My tendency is to leave it open a crack, but sometimes, you just have to close it.

That lovely wet, sprinkly, green, lush June is gone and Dry Heat has moved into Colorado. It's 99º outside with 13% humidity. I can put clothes out to dry on the line and they will be finished in 20 minutes. I can go places with wet hair because it will be dry by the time I get there.

We set up the tent in the back yard yesterday. It's too hot to sleep inside and I am resolutely against buying an air conditioner for 3 weeks out of the year. It was cooler and dark and just lovely until the racoons woke me up by rattling around on the porch. At least I think it was racoons. I hope.

We have a week of high temps and no rain. Thank goodness for that wet, sprinkly, green, lush June we had. The reservoirs are full.

I've decided to list my iTunes playlist. It's been a struggle deciding to do this since it's such a personal thing. Do I really want people to know that I sing along to Nas? It's time to bear my soul:

Mornin' by Al Jarreau
Embraceable You, Billie Holiday
They Can't Take That Away, Billie Holiday
God Bless the Child , Billie Holiday
'Taint Nobody's Business if I Do, Billie Holiday
Ain't Misbehavin', Billie Holiday
Stormy Weather, Billie Holiday
Presence of the Lord, Blind Faith
Beautiful, Christina Aguilera
Badge, Cream
I Believe, Fantasia
Grazing in the Grass, Friends of Distinction
I Can, Nas
Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
Killing Me Softly with his Song, Robert Flack
Soak up the Sun, Sheryl Crow
Safe and Sound, Sheryl Crow
Strong Enough, Sheryl Crow
All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
Everybody is a Star, Sly and the Family Stone
Hot Fun in the Summertime, Sly ATFS
Stand! Sly ATFS
Everyday People, Sly ATFS
You Can Make It If You Try, Sly ATFS
Love's in Need of Love Today, Stevie Wonder
Knocks Me off My Feet, Stevie
Pastime Paradise, Stevie
Summer Soft, Stevie
As, Stevie
Fishin' Blues, Taj Mahal and the Pointer Sisters,
Sweet Home Chicago, Taj and the Pointers
You Ain't Much Fun, Toby Keith
Who's That Man, Toby Keith
Who's Your Daddy?, Toby Keith
I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston
I Have Nothing, Whitney
Greatest Love of All, Whitney
the all the Al Green Greatest Hits

Whew! That was cathartic.

Maybe it's time for the child to leave home when the parent launches into a life lesson and the child finishes the sentence and the rest of the lesson verbatim.

Or when the child handles the parent, obviously trying not to be condescending and the parent thinks, "Maybe he's right..."

I've always been one who wants to know before I go. A lot of Life is, 'you'll know when you see it'. Well, I think I'm seeing that my first born is a man.

Today Lance is in the lead, wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. There were some amazing points in this race: seeing how the teams rode together, seeing them ride over cobblestones in the rain in the last leg, seeing the US Postal team ride in a beautiful, geese-like formation and seeing the smiles on George Hincapie and Lance's faces when they were at the finish line.

Tyler Hamilton and the Phonak team impressed me by coming in second after losing 4 of their team members. This was the guy who won 4th place with a broken collarbone last year, so he's one to watch.

The Tour de France started yesterday and we started watching. Lanceis off to a good start, in 3rd place as of today. He is such an inspiration.

My interest in this sport has been fueled by Sweetie - just like he got me interested in Star Wars, Hockey, and The Lord of the Rings. Last year during the Tour, he was on the Bicycle Tour of Colorado but this year, he'll be in France at L'Alpe d'Huez for part of it. Yikes! My youthful overseas travel is still fresh in my mind. I hope he stays in touch with me more than I stayed in touch with my parents.

I'm happy to find out that Honey is interested in resuming his spiritual path after a short hiatus. You never know how your children are going to turn out, what path they will follow. Thankfully, our acorns fell near the tree and seem comfortable with home as a base they can depend on.

A successful action for us has been to give our kids plenty of opportunity to exercise their own self determinism. Yes, I do offer my editorial comments free of charge but for the most part, the kids have been able to craft their own lives. They have been a joy to raise and are wonderful young adults.

John Burroughs wrote:

"The lure of the distant and difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are."

I don't have a summary explanation of who John Burroughs is but a quick search brings up the fact that he was a naturalist with a great bushy beard. I have to find out about him now.

And I got the quote from a Hallmark card. That may trivialize it to some but it also brings the point home, doesn't it? How else would I have found it but in the here and now?

I have to admit I've spent much of my life waiting for the mother ship to arrive to give me a ride home. When it didn't seem to be coming anytime soon, I decided to go ahead and mate with one of the natives here and then the urge to reproduce superceeded any interstellar travel plans I had. Now that the offspring are able to care for themselves for the most part, I have all the time in the world to daydream about other worlds and utopias from the past but I found that I've lost my taste for that. I'm too interested in the host of little goldfinches dining on the bag of thistle hanging from my eave. And that huge dark blue sky south of the birds that looks like it's going to maybe cause flash flooding again. And Taj Mahal singing "Sweet Home Chicago" on my computer.

I might still accept a ride if the ship ever showed up, but then I might just tell them that I want to stick around and make this world a better place. We still haven't achieved world peace yet.

It's raining again. Maybe this is the year for the 100 year flood? Maybe not. There isn't a lot of snow left up in the mountains. The best thing that is happening is that the reservoirs are filling again.

We got our first delivery of the season from Monroe Organic Farm. This week was simply lettuce, summer squash, turnips, garlic, and new potatoes. The new potatoes will make up part of supper tonight along with some broiled porkchops.

The garden is in bloom and the Plums and Apples are little green things right now. We are in Lavender and Roses time now. And Honeysuckle like I haven't seen before in my yard. The smell is heavenly.

This year the urge to go out of town is absent, so no trips to Crestone or Glenwood Springs so far. Glenwood Springs later, when the nights get a little cooler so we can see the misty tornados rising off the water.

Still working on "Cold Mountain" and just started "Stranger in a Strange Land" (a re-read after many years). Life is good and I'm enjoying the details immensely.

The Great Pop vs Soda Controversy

We've had Seattle like weather here for the last three days. That's unheard of in Colorado. Three days of varying degrees of wetness: drizzle, showers, plain old rain, sprinkles. The weatherman hasn't started mentioning "sun breaks" in the forecast yet. We may have a few more days of wet until real sunshine comes back. The ground seems to be slurping it all up. I noticed a little pooling of water in the walkway for the first time this afternoon. The birds seemed to enjoy getting spritzed by the afternoon mizzle.

Is the Crocodile Hunter talking about penquins? Gotta see this.

A few years ago, The Boulder Planet weekly sponsored an "Eccentric Gardens" tour which was a delight. This year someone organized another one which was just about as fun.

My favorite by far was Sherry Hart's Art Farm since you could feel her heart and soul throughout. Lots of water features, lots of yard art, a garden shrine made from a bathtub turned on end and planted in the ground, chickens, an outdoor fireplace and garden sculptures fashioned from chicken wire.

George Peters (the kite maker) was my next favorite. His was the first garden I've seen to use mirrors to open up the space. The fence around the yard is a whimsical design that gave off some inspiration for our yard.

Altogether a wonderful way to celebrate our 24th anniversary!

For the last 15 years, I've taken the boys Down South to see the Folks and relax. We used to meet at the beach the week after Labor Day but then the boys had to go and start school when they were teenagers so it's hard to make that happen. So we changed it to summer visits to a more northerly (but not by much) Southern town. I crave sweetened iced tea, barbeque correctly prepared, cornbread that isn't sweet, turnip greens cooked in some kind of ham or pork, fresh farmers' market tomatoes, high humidity offset by cold air conditioner, the multisonous noises of all sorts of creepy bugs in the night air, and mostly, the feelings of "what's the rush?" and "it's all ok."

Isn't it funny how infectious asthetics are? Contagious, almost. Inspiring would be another word, I think.

I wonder about all those people who live in those near empty towns in the middle of the country in the middle of no where. Metal and some wood thrown together and roads that turn to dirt at the edge of town. They can be depressing or you can read someone like Wallace Stegner and realize that the big sky is comparable to a big beautiful cathedral to those who live there and love the area. Talk to someone who grew up there and realize it's the way the yellow straw undulates in the wind and the way the sunsets last forever and the way the thunderstorms literally fill the sky. It's simply a matter of having an interpreter.

I guess someone did get hurt when the parachuters missed the mark. A lady got some facial cuts and was taken to the hospital - no word on any other condition.

We went to the Bolder Boulder festivities today. Sweetie ran in it while Honey slept in. Sugar and I walked downtown to the stadium to see the last runners come in and the show. I felt robbed of my annual high emotional moment that accompanies the parachuters jumping into the stadium to Lee Greenwood singing "Proud to be an American". The winds were strong enough to push them a) into the crowd b) onto the bleachers c) onto a tree in the park next door! No one was hurt and they still entertained us. My moment came later when we were singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and right as we hit "The laaand of the freeeeeeeeeeee!", the fighter jets flew over with one missing. That is always a powerful sight for me.

Another powerful sight is all the runners who participate. The wheelchair racers, the disabled people, the palsied children in strollers pushed by relatives, the way out of shape people who look like they are struggling but having the time of their lives. I love all the humanity at this event.

Ok, ok, ok. I love Fantasia Barrino!! She won me over with her early performance of "Something to Talk About" which, by the way, is here - click on the performance video list then scroll down to her name. I gotta say, I think the last girl she competed against has a powerhouse voice but when she sang the "Idol single", I didn't know what she was saying. With Fantasia, I could understand the words and the meaning and the full message.
Yes, "ART is a word which summarizes THE QUALITY OF COMMUNICATION." and she really delivers her art.

Well, ok. I did start volunteering at our local food bank again. Years ago, I worked in their warehouse a few times, went to the cannery a few times and worked in the garden raising food for other people. One day I stood up from weeding, looked around and thought, "Where are all the people I'm doing this work for? Why are they not out here helping me help them?". I put the trowel down and stopped showing up.

Years roll by and the nagging feeling remains that the help we can offer people in the way of education, drug rehab and general counseling isn't possible unless people are well fed. Hungry people have a hard time accepting advice and direction. So here I am back again helping people get their food. It's more symbolic than necessary in this affluent town, I imagine, but still, it's a contribution.

A few years ago, a man stopped me in the grocery store parking lot asking for a hand out. I said I didn't have any cash (I really didn't) but offered him some food that I had in my bag. "Nah," he said. "Food's not the problem. There is so much free food in this town." I wished him luck and he went on his way.

Maybe something I do at the food bank will end up helping truly hungry people somewhere. It's a pretty congenial place to spend some time, anyway.

Does something new and different have to happen every single day? Can't we just have a couple of days when things are pretty much the same? In a good way, that is. I've noticed that the universe is a little off balance lately and I see it manifested in the odd things that people around me are doing. When it gets like this, I have to remember to be certain about my own universe rather than focus on the bumps and hiccups going on around me. This helps:

"What is true for you is what you have observed yourself and when you lose that you have lost everything."

Meanwhile, it's gorgeous in Boulder this time of year. Looks like weather for the Bolder Boulder will be cool and clear. No, no, no - I'm not going to run in it! This year we're going to walk down to Folsom Stadium through the race route and see the festivities and get some free Power Bars. Then we'll wander over to the Boulder Creek Festival. Great way to kick off the summer.

I don't understand why northern people insist on making cornbread sweet. We got some takeout from a place called "Lulu's" in Boulder and though it was touted as down home Southern cooking, the cornbread is like cake.

Here's the recipe for the best cornbread in the world, right off the Clabber Girl Double Acting Baking Powder can:

Southern Corn Bread
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups white cornmeal
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Clabber Girl Baking Powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg

Cornbread was the one dish that I was taught to make by feel and sight rather than by measuring. I recall heating the oven up to about 450º, putting a spoonful of bacon grease in a small cast iron skillet and into the oven to heat up till it looked a certain way. Then take a scoop of this and a pinch of that and get it about that wet and pour it into the skillet to cook for about 20 minutes. Years after Mama died I was surprised to find her recipe so well approximated on the can of baking powder.

I tried to make cornbread in Colorado and it never turned out like I remember it, so I don't try anymore. Cracker Barrel cornbread tastes pretty good, though.

This time of year I can't get enough of after having too much of winter. Every year I think, "Next year - I have to go away for the winter." then it comes and it's ok and it goes by and then right at the end, I think, "Get me out of here! I need some green!"

I think the snow has stopped for the year and maybe we lost some fruit but it's ok. We still need the moisture and last year, the fruit trees overdid themselves a bit. The plum tree still seems to be recovering from the weight of all that sweet succulence, glad to just hold its leaves up. I heard some hummingbirds the other morning and put out the feeder but they haven't found it yet. The goldfinches found the thistle bag, though. Sweetie and I did some clearing and planted a lupine, a campanula, some sandwort, and some hollyhocks. The chamomile I seeded last fall has come up but no blooms yet. I discovered chamomile in Turkey near a big bazaar in Istanbul. The smell of apples filled the air but I couldn't see any around. I turned a corner and there it was, a huge plaza filled with little white and yellow blossoms.

Spring doesn't last long enough anywhere.

I thought I was some kind of artist till I went to see Julia Cameron speak. Something about her message woke me to the fact that I don't have any urgent message to share with the world in the form of some specific presentation. I do want to effect change, but not in the customary forms of art. That was that.

In some primitive cultures, art isn't considered a separate activity but is more infused into everyday living. Maybe that's what I've been doing - using my whole life as a form of self expression. But everybody does that, don't they? That would make us all artists in one form or another. One difference is whether or not it's done consciously, right?

I had lots of time for drawing and writing before I had kids. The last 2 decades, that same creative energy has been directed toward helping them orient to life. Homeschooling was great fun and gave me the opportunity to explore with them. Now that they are up and grown and independent, I've been looking around for some outlet to direct that energy toward. Feeding hungry people is what has my interest now.

potential trouble source: a person who is in some way connected to and being adversely affected by a suppressive person. Such a person is called a potential trouble source because he can be a lot of trouble to himself and to others.

Trouble like not getting enough sleep to be sharp and present for big projects, trouble like thinking one thing was said when another was said, trouble like ordering the supplies for the wrong store, trouble like never quite getting around to completing the projects, trouble like not quite stating the whole picture so that people know what you need. Yes, a person in that situation is aptly named. I'm glad to have a label for it -otherwise it could drive someone nuts.

We signed up with Monroe Organic Farms, a CSA farm in Northern Colorado. Long ago, when they were first starting, we were members, then dropped out for a few years of co-op ordering with other homeschoolers. We went back to Monroe a few years ago and shared the abundance. One thing I like about the Monroes is that their family has been farming organically for 3 generations (or maybe 2) - anyway, for a long time. They are real farmers on a real farm. The Harvest potluck at the farm is pretty fun, too.

When you have some kind of reaction to something but you don't know what is causing it, you can eliminate everything except something basic - like brown rice. Eat that for a few days, and let your body adjust to that. Then add some other food to see what reaction you get. Then later add something else, etc.

I've never had to do that with food since my body likes it all. But I do have to do that from time to time with people. I'm in the middle of an elimination diet as far as communication lines go. You know, if it's not working, sometimes it's just better to let it go and see what else is out there.

Wow. Look what the Village Voice says about Kerry

With no real stellar leaders in the political arena, choosing a president has become an exercise in choosing the lesser of the evils. With George Bush, I don't have to guess where he stands, what he is all about, or when he is annoyed with someone. He is awful at mocking up slick and glossy public faces.

I haven't been able to understand a word of what John Kerry is about or what he really believes in. To hear a very liberal newspaper express something similar is like opening a window and letting fresh air in. All this pretending that Kerry has some vital leadership capabilites is hogwash.

Here's the article in case the link disappears:

Mondo Washington
by James Ridgeway
John Kerry Must Go
Note to Democrats: it's not too late to draft someone—anyone—else
April 27th, 2004 11:45 AM

WASHINGTON, D.C.— With the air gushing out of John Kerry's balloon, it may be only a matter of time until political insiders in Washington face the dread reality that the junior senator from Massachusetts doesn't have what it takes to win and has got to go. As arrogant and out of it as the Democratic political establishment is, even these pols know the party's got to have someone to run against George Bush. They can't exactly expect the president to self-destruct into thin air.

With growing issues over his wealth (which makes fellow plutocrat Bush seem a charity case by comparison), the miasma over his medals and ribbons (or ribbons and medals), his uninspiring record in the Senate (yes war, no war), and wishy-washy efforts to mimic Bill Clinton's triangulation gimmickry (the protractor factor), Kerry sinks day by day. The pros all know that the candidate who starts each morning by having to explain himself is a goner.

What to do? Look for the Dem biggies, whoever they are these days, to sit down with the rich and arrogant presumptive nominee and try to persuade him to take a hike. Then they can return to business as usual—resurrecting John Edwards, who is still hanging around, or staging an open convention in Boston, or both.

If things proceed as they are, the dim-bulb Dem leaders are going to be very sorry they screwed Howard Dean.

"The third dynamic is the urge to survive as part of a group, with the individual himself furnishing this motivation. Any group, temporary or permanent, political or social, is part of the third dynamic, and each one is a third dynamic. "

"...the individual himself furnishing this motivation".

Somehow I had it that the group reaches out and pulls the individual in. But that would override the self determinism a person has. This makes more sense.

We weren't able to take the Scottie this time since the fence isn't up but it sounds like there is a steady supply through the year. If we get him/her around the time that Sweetie moves out, that should be ok.

Well, ok. We got a call from the Scottie Rescue people saying they have dog that needs a home. We have to install the complete fence first, though, so I'm not sure they will save him for us. We are going to try to get away with a dog run on the side of the house.

This dog will be primarily an indoor dog, anyway. What about people who don't have yards to begin with? I wonder if they are booted out of the Scottie Rescue running.

Wish us luck.

Hmmm. There is nothing like inserting a decision into a big wonder full of question marks and maybes. Yep, get that decision made and things start lining up.

Goethe agreed:

Lose this day loitering --'twill be the same story
To-morrow -- and the next more dilatory;
Each indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting o'er lost days.
Are you in earnest? seize this very minute --
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated --
Begin it, and then the work will be completed!

I want a Scottie!

We've signed up with Rocky Mountain Scottie Rescue. Wish us luck.

The scent of my Star Jasmine and Easter go together. Along with doing our taxes. The deep pink Phalaenopsis has been blooming since the New Year and is still going strong. There are all sorts of blooms on my waxy hoya. The African Violets never seem to stop blooming. Spring has finally sprung.

Thunder with snow!

We got our Spring dumping of snow. I see 7-8 inches stacked up on the fence outside and that is after the first few inches melted yesterday and that was after a day of rain. This morning we woke to more snow and thunder. Makes me laugh.

What would happen if every single person on Earth took responsibility for the state of the world today? What have I done or not done that contributed to the way things are? No one person is responsible for the chaos that reigns today. That's the problem. No one is responsible.

This week CU is hosting The Conference on World Affairs. Something about the whole thing seems rather effete in light of real world affairs. Tonight people are fighting for their lives all around the world. Bless them and keep them strong.

I discovered a new word that I love:

petrichor (PET-ri-kuhr) noun

The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell.

[From petro- (rock), from Greek petros (stone) + ichor (the fluid that is
supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology). Coined by
researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas.]

It's from the A Word A Day list. More info at:

Wordsmith


ahhhh..... pertrichor

Here's a view from the National Center for Atmospheric Research here in town. It's a wonderful place to visit, on top of a hill overlooking Boulder Valley. The locals were concerned when it was proposed but the government hired I M Pei as the designer. He managed to make a beautiful building for a beautiful site.

Once the boys and I went up to play with their tornado maker and decided to dine in the cafeteria there. It was funny listening to the scientists tell their scientist jokes that we couldn't understand. They seemed to think they were very funny.

I can't find a webcam of my favorite day of the trip but here's a view from where we slept that night. Lovely day.

SF from Sausolito

Wow. I never knew how beautiful the area around San Luis Obispo, CA was. I'd like to spend a week between Santa Barbara and SLO looking all around everywhere.

Now for a warmer view of the planet:

Hermosa Beach, CA

Click on the Picture of the Day for some beautiful scenes.

Ok, so I like webcams. I like Raoul Dufy, too, remember? He painted windows on the world. Webcams are like windows on the world. Here begins my "Windows on the World" webcam series.

Live from the North Pole

Remember this?

"Stand
In the end you'll still be you
One that's done all the things you set out to do
Stand
There's a cross for you to bear
Things to go through if you're going anywhere
Stand
For the things you know are right
It s the truth that the truth makes them so uptight
Stand
All the things you want are real
You have you to complete and there is no deal
Stand. stand, stand
Stand. stand, stand
Stand
You've been sitting much too long
There's a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There's a midget standing tall
And the giant beside him about to fall
Stand. stand, stand
Stand. stand, stand
Stand
They will try to make you crawl
And they know what you're saying makes sense and all
Stand
Don't you know that you are free
Well at least in your mind if you want to be

Everybody
Stand, stand, stand"


I heard that several artists are getting together to put out an album of Sly and the Family Stone's music. I'm looking forward to it. Had to go to iTunes to get some of that music.

"ohhh sha sha... We got to live together......"

This is an interesting clock. Worth a click.

Big Tex is coming to Colorado!!! I'm so happy that we will get to see him race! What an amazing athlete!

More information from the Pro Cycling Tour:


PRO CYCLING TOUR ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL PCT ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLASSIC AT VAIL IN SEPT 2004
07/07/2003

PRO CYCLING TOUR ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL PCT ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLASSIC AT VAIL IN SEPT 2004 Vail Named Official Resort of the 2004 Pro Cycling Tour Norristown, PA – The Pro Cycling Tour (PCT), owned and operated by Threshold Sports, and the Vail Valley Chamber & Tourism Bureau (VVCTB) announced today the 2004 PCT Rocky Mountain Classic at Vail professional cycling event. The inaugural weekend of races is set for September 3-5, 2004. Vail has also been named the Official Resort of the 2004 PCT. Top United States and international cyclists will compete on September 4th & 5th in a one-day circuit road race through Vail Village and Beaver Creek as well as a shorter criterium event expected to be held in Vail Village. A large recreational ride is being planned for September 3rd.

I'm off to buy my whistle!

Bay of Angels by Dufy
I like his window paintings.

The Active and Contemplative Life is a blog I've been checking into recently. The "Words and Pictures" link is pretty cool.

I don't read his column but Dave Barry's blog is a frequent stop when I go surfing. Lots of goofy stuff.

Something about the end of winter in Colorado that is endless. We have the harbingers of Spring - more birds singing, early pollen alerts (with snow on the ground?!), tiny shoots of iris and tulips and squirrels running circles in pairs. What holds winter in place is the prevalence of brown and bare limbs. This year has been better in terms of hard and soft ground. More snow = more soft brown dirt and even puddles in our yard. Soon there will be a smidgen of perfect weather that's not too hot/not too cold during which I'll get out and try to rearrange the yard somewhat. Then the dry heat moves in and I move to the hammock on the back porch.

I wouldn't like to be a plant or wild animal in Colorado.

Big Sur webcam
We're planning a road trip to the California coast in a few weeks. I can't wait for views like this.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

No idea where he said it, but I like the quote anyway.

We found out yesterday that Sweetie made the Dean's List for his first semester at the university. Whoa. Back up a few years ago when he was not sure if he wanted to go to college so he decided to include college requirements in his homeschooled subjects just in case. The boy never studied more that a few hours in the morning since we agree that "The secret lies entirely in the fact that education is as effective as it is pleasant, unhurried, casual, and is as ineffective as it is stressed to be important."
He took a study course and received some other study assistance that helped to clarify his goals as a student. He started taking classes at a community college at age 16 - one here, a couple there and decided that he would try going to the university. And there he is on the Dean's List.

I guess this is more of a testament to the fact that education doesn't have to consist of years of boring government school work than anything else. We're fortunate to live in a time when there are lots of viable educational alternatives that suit the various needs of our kids (without drugging them). Parents just need to be brave enough to step away from the system and find out what works for their kids.

I've been giving some thought to the willingness to communicate lately. Understanding how to communicate and being willing to communicate are entirely different fields. Someone brought to mind John Galt ("Atlas Shrugged") recently. When I read the book as a teenager, the character had a profound effect on my understanding of integrity. These days, he just seems like a grumpy curmudgeon.

At this point in my life, I'm working more along the lines of patience and understanding. A line from "Kundan" struck me:
"I beseech all the Buddhas who wish to pass away to please remain for countless eons to light the world for those who remain."
It's not a matter of getting what you can and running. That's the time to look around and see who else needs a hand.

"The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not."
This humbles me everytime I read it.

Being able to listen to and help others is a grand thing. Maintaining a state of willingness to listen and help others is where the work comes in.

Sweetie has decided to be a Classics Major. It's fitting since he's studied
Homer all these years. And people say TV is bad for you.

It's snowing again today and I'm so pleased to see it coming down. It's really dumping a lot of damp snow - not that dry powdery stuff that people pay so much to ski in. It's really saturating the ground.

Anyway, so I was listening to The White Stripes with Sweetie the other day thinking, "This song sounds so familiar..." Then I got it: Burt Bacharach's 'I Just Don't Know What to do with Myself'! Now I can't remember if Dionne Warwick or Dusty Springfield made it famous. It's funny to me to hear my kids listen to music I listened to when I was younger than they are.
Some of this remixed music reminds me of Mannerism in that they take the music of our Renaissance (60's -80's) and distort it rather than finding their own sources of inspiration. I like the White Stripes version of BB's song, but it does sound a bit tortured compared to the earlier version.

I found this great source for free webpage junk. If you want a weather forecast or "this day in history" or riddles, you can get free code. I put an Amber alert ticker that they offer on my mom blog.

Happy birthday to me!

Sugar and I took the day off to buzz down to the Denver Art Museum to use our membership but more specifically, to see Frederick Remington: The Color of Knight exhibition. "The Scout: Friends or Foe?" was one of my favorites. I was surprised to see his early night paintings were illustrations for magazines done in mostly blacks, whites and greys. I had a friend in college, a loner, who used to go out at night and paint oils of industrial areas of Tallahassee. She was brilliant and last I heard, she became a doctor working on a reservation to help her people. Lucky them. I imagine that she's painting great prairie landscapes and not so lonely anymore.

I just remembered today that things were moving too fast for me last year so I decided I wanted time to slow down. Boy, has it ever. I get so much done and look around then just to be surprised the clock has hardly moved. Still have to tinker with the process though - stuff more motion into the schedule or something like that. Sort of like working with oils, I imagine - a little bit of motion here, a little less there.
I just have to be careful what I wish for.

Gleaning today from boingboing:

Sock Puppets in Oil

And a William Carlos Williams poem that exudes summertime:

"This is Just to Say"

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

I'm experiencing an american version of ennui today. I'm trying cleaning but the place isn't messy/dirty enough to warrant a full scale attack. Yes, the snow falling outside is nice and needed but not absorbing enough attention. Sweetie took me to Homestar Runner and yes, it's always funny. Did that. Watched the Charlie Brown/Outkast video but can't figure how to link to it. Now we're listening to White Stripes on iTunes. Cowboy Cultural Society's stream was skipping.
Today my world is like a car that won't start and I'm not a mechanic. All I can do is check the oil. Thanks to Sweetie for loaning me his universe.

We're between snow storms this week with weather in the 50's. It all feels like Spring is in the air and soon it'll be time to save earthworms from sidewalk drying. Living in this dry climate, I've come to cherish any wet, sloppy weather we get. Everything is changing with Honey and Sweetie who are no longer kids and Sugar who is off to LA with his Project. And me chillaxin' in the blogging world.

CNN did a piece yesterday about homeschoolers going to college. Sweetie had no trouble going from the relative ease and freedom of homeschooling to the college schedule. In fact, it seems easier sometimes than the grind that is imposed on Honey at government high school. Many homeschoolers have the opportunity to be outside more and see what life is all about rather than sit in age/zip code segregated, adult manipulated flourescence all day long. Getting our kids outdoors and giving them access to the world worked very well for us.

Ok, it took a while but I got my chuckle for the day at I Used to Believe.

A zip code locater is the find for the day. Not that I need it a lot, but it's fun. There's a busker who performs on the Pearl Street Mall who can identify the location of any zip code the audience throws at him. Last time I saw him, he was
here on the Mall, not in the store).

Sheesh. I just read that New Hampshire leads the world in per capita use of Ritalin in schools. I'm surprised since I associate kid-drugging with metropolitan areas for some reason. Though a news story comes to mind about rural people getting more funding for their kids if they are labeled psychologically "disabled" in some way. Such a pity.

For parents who want to help their kids who are struggling, there are so many options these days. A change of environment for the child can do wonders. Homeschooling, a change of schools or teachers - whatever it takes. A change of diet can help. Making sure the child understands the words he is reading and can apply the information he learns. There are so many options to explore before making a child drug-dependent in order to live life.

I found this alternative mental health site for people who think there really is a mental health problem that needs to be addressed.

Here's hoping that the drug manufacturers won't be the ones who will be running the planet in the next decade.

Water on Mars!

George F Will wrote a good enough column recently in the Washington Post reviewing "The Progress Paradox" which made some good points. Can't vouch for the book since I haven't read it, but here is part of the article:

"American life expectancy has dramatically increased in a century, from 47 to 77 years. Our great-great-grandparents all knew someone who died of some disease we never fear; as recently as 1952, polio killed 3,300 Americans. Our largest public health problems arise from unlimited supplies of affordable food.

The typical American has twice the purchasing power his mother or father had in 1960. A third of America's families own at least three cars. In 2001 Americans spent $25 billion -- more than North Korea's GDP -- on recreational watercraft.

Factor out immigration -- a huge benefit to the immigrants -- and statistical evidence of widening income inequality disappears. The statistic that household incomes are only moderately higher than 25 years ago is misleading: Households today average fewer people, so real dollar incomes in middle-class households are about 50 percent higher today. Since 1970 the number of cars has increased 68 percent and the number of miles driven has increased even more, yet smog has declined by a third and traffic fatalities have declined from 52,627 to 42,815 last year. In 2003 we spent much wealth on things unavailable in 1953 -- a cleaner environment, reduced mortality through new medical marvels ($5.2 billion a year just for artificial knees, which did not exist a generation ago), the ability to fly anywhere or talk to anyone anywhere. The incidence of heart disease, stroke and cancer, when adjusted for population growth, is declining.

The rate of child poverty is down in a decade. America soon will be the first society in which a majority of adults are college graduates.

And so it goes. But Easterbrook says that such is today's "discontinuity between prosperity and happiness," the "surge of national good news" scares people, vexes the news media and does not even nudge up measurements of happiness."

Back to civilization. No internet, no tv, no heat besides the woodstove so Tom Cruise in "Minority Report" came in handy. I had no idea what a good movie it is so we watched it twice over the weekend. Last week I saw TC on Bravo's "Inside the Actors Studio" which was a special 2 hour interview celebrating (I think) 10 years on air for the show. It was a great interview about TC and his life and his approach to acting. In the last minute of the show, he leaned forward and shared this great quote:"A culture is only as great as its dreams, and its dreams are dreamt by artists.". It was really very moving. Great interview, great movie. "The Last Samurai" was really good but it took a few minutes for me to see the character instead of TC. Not so with "Minority Report" or "Far and Away", by the way.
Nice to be back to civilization, though.

Sweetie and I decided to take off for the San Luis Valley tomorrow for the long weekend. We have some land in Crestone but we stay at some friends' house while we're there. It's an interesting tiny little town where several spiritual groups have landed and made retreats for their members. Colorado College has a remote campus there and Naropa will be building there soon. It sits right on the northern end of the Sand Dunes National Monument (soon to be National Park). Last time we drove out to an amazing
stupa built right on the edge of the mountains overlooking that vast expanse of a valley. It's one place on earth where quiet is in abundance, except for the sound of an occasional breeze or bird singing.

lol - I just realized that the llama herd link wasn't all llama. Oh well. I am itching to get out of town but still have to work a couple of more days. Here's a video blog I like to follow but you have to have Quicktime to view them:
Daily Experience. This link is my favorite followed by a close second called, "It's cold, cold, cold". I don't know this guy, but he also runs a blogging service that I might go with if I stop being so cheap. The urge to post pictures is growing....

On busy days, I have to go out of my way sometimes to recognize the life force throughout. Today was all retailing work, getting errands done, making sure connections were being made. Sweetie and I took the back roads home from the dentist where I got my "aahhhh" moments. Just off the road over a rise, there was the herd of bison with a mama and baby. Then a few miles down the hill I did a double take to see llama herd. Ok, that was what I needed to get my mind out of flourescent lights, tiled floors and muzak.

The first blog I ever heard of was Where is Raed? but these days, when I want to read Iraqi writings I start with Healing Iraq and follow those links.

The person who told me how to start a blog was Homeschool Mum so I was very pleased to see she had linked to this blog! I have arrived!

JM actually moved me to the point of asking for advice in beginning blogging by posting a message to a list I'm on. I think JM was the 1st person who viewed my 1st attempt when I was a shy newbie.

Now I'm trying to get my friends to join us.

I finally saw Lord of the Rings today with Sweetie. I enjoyed the whole trilogy but especially enjoyed sharing his pleasure. The sense of purpose conveyed in LOTR was utterly convincing and reminded me of this Code of Honor. And yes, Sam IS the Man.

I've never read the books but have heard hubby reading them to Sweetie over and over and over through the years. The Tolkien book I enjoyed is
The Father Christmas Letters. I'm just a sucker for mischevous North Polar Bears.

Today was just gorgeous, in the true sense of the word. Oh, heck - it was dazzlingly beautiful. We dropped by our mission, had a bite with Hubby and Honey at Nick and Willy's, headed off for the Boulder Creek Path, then wound our way back to the mission on the Pearl Street Mall. Then I found this great streaming cam of the mall. There are some great cams of the area but this one probably rules over the other ones. I wish everyone in the world had dsl or cable internet (I have it but still don't know what the correct name for it is.) Everyone would probably be happier if they did.
Oh, 65º today. Finally got the Xmas tree down, 6 weeks up, and that was a record.

Driving out to DIA to pick up my guys, I saw flocks and flocks of geese in multiple "Vee" formations. Breathtaking. I hadn't been out to the airport for a while so the magnitude of the sky and endless plains captured me flat out.

The birds reminded me of a trip to the San Luis Valley to see the Sandhill cranes. We got up before dawn on a freezing March morning and took off to the fields to find the birds. When light barely started to appear above the Sangre de Cristo Mtns, we saw some motion and pulled over. It was dark but we could hear the rustling and a sort of burbling - some constant liquid sounds the birds were making. As the sun came up we could see there were hundreds of cranes resting in the fields and more flying in from the south and east. It was breathtaking and unforgettable.

My new blogging music is Slim Gaillard on MacVooty Radio. Lotta fun!

We are headed back to that life sucking schedule of public high school today but I think I have found a position to handle this. My son has the option of going or not, homeschooling, or going part time or whatever but he chooses to try out this venue. He is making noises about cutting back to part-time so he can re-claim his life. One of my favorite societal labels has been "homeschooling mom" so I would be very pleased if he backed out part or all the way.

This homeschooling site has been a mainstay for me over the last 18 years. This one: unschooling ,is a good visit, though not quite the fit the other one is for me.

Yes, I would be very happy to be making entries about homeschooling and my son living outside the boundaries of middle class existence again.

I just had to look up the word "sake" after noticing that I use it quiet a bit but didn't have a real understanding of the word. This online dictionary is a great resource.

Understanding the words you read and hear and use makes a real difference in life. Here's a good article about that. Cute animation, too.

"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Edith Wharton, novelist. I like being the mirror more often, I suppose. Sometimes the problem is finding the candles but they do exist.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...." That quote is attributed to Nelson Mandela but he was quoting : this lady

"The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not..." this is one I have to work at instead of just thinking about it

"The ideas that have lighted my way have been kindness, beauty and truth." Can you guess who said this? Here's the answer

Well, that has inspired me to do some chores.

Snow! Yippee!!!

Snowy Boulder

The best thing about the day so far is that I was able to get back to work and make some money and that makes me feel really good. Holidays are great but enough is enough. I read
this book about work a while back and found some good stuff to use to make it more of a game. That book's probably at the library.

Meanwhile, here's a great beach cam of Hermosa Beach which is one of my daydreaming locations. There are some beautiful still photos of the area. Looks like it's rainy in So Cal.

Today I took a walk around Wonderland Lake for the first time in a while and found my neighborhood again. I forgot that sheets of melting ice make a soft crackling noise when the little wind-produced waves push them around. I forgot that when a flock of birds takes off you can hear the flutter of their wings from across the water. I forgot what a great effect looking east from a rise in Colorado produces.
Here's a link to an article about taking walks:
Take a Walk