Posts….

The Thanksgiving Post

Where, oh where has the year gone? It is Thanksgiving week here in the USA, and we all have much to be thankful for. Our world at large has suffered great natural disasters, but we gathered as one around computer screens and televisions to watch the Chilean miners get rescued.

We spent a year welcoming new people into our circle of family and friends, via marriage and births, we held the hands (virtually and in real life) of those who needed hand holding. We cried with and for those who life and love gave a bum hand.

Dad has given us a number of scares, but he is still with us this Thanksgiving, and for his obstinacy, we give thanks. (See, I come by it naturally. Smile ) If you are looking to check in with him, try this.)

After months in rehab after back surgery, my mother-in-law is motoring along at twice the speed and half the pain, even if she is still using the walker, and this is a good thing!

We took a fantastic vacation that showed us how incredibly beautiful this country is, and can’t wait to do it again!

And if you were following the cat saga, it turns out Gandolf has diabetes. Sad smile  So the aggravation we had regarding his peeing has abated, and for some reason (of which I know not but choose not to question since we just re-carpeted the entire house) he has taken to using the bathroom floor or other non-porous surfaces when the litter box just won’t do. He is a good patient taking his oral medicine, and goes back on Friday to see what the next step is.

It’s the little things that we show our thanks for this season!

Rules to Live By:

  1. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

  2. It’s all small stuff.

Other small things.

  1. Buddha Badges.
  2. New carpet!

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Guest room with new carpet and trundle bed. This bed (I LOVE Ikea) has three functioning drawers. When I buy the second mattress it will be like a queen bed!)

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Bed is ready and waiting for you. We’ll leave the light on.

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Cornflower blue in all the bedrooms, celadon green/tan in the living room and hall.

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We chose this cedar color for the den.

One of my favorite essays, perfect for Thanksgiving.

Desiderata

– written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s —

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

four other things.

  1. Last year’s Thanksgiving blog says all I need to say about Black Friday.
  2. Art (mine or anyone else’s) is a wonderful and unique gift for everyone on your list!
  3. My Annual Christmas Photo-a-Day is starting soon!!!!
  4. A Happy Thanksgiving birthday to my stepdaughter Michelle and my BFF, ET!

Irish need not apply (Yes, a political blog post)

 

Ok, first things first. If you agree with this, let’s just cut to the chase and say there is probably nothing of substance we agree on, and let’s not pretend to be friends any longer. Additionally, I think it might be a fine place for you to emigrate to, two thirds of the population is apparently Christian of the sort that feel The Bible should be the book used for governing the country, you’ll fit right in.  (Of course, you may need to give up some of the freedoms you have as an American, but hey, you gotta walk the walk, right?)

Ok, now my post.

Part of a Facebook post, a response to a friend of a friend of a friend on the topic of whether the ‘mosque’ should be built in NYC is the ultimate beginning of this blog post. I am not looking to call anyone out, so we will leave it at this–I don’t know the person who stated it, or the person to whom it was in response.

There is a certain level of irony however, in it and in the way she reaches  A+B=C

In a largish nutshell, the person stated these ideas—First, she is against the ‘mosque’ because a Muslim was responsible for 9/11, and we shouldn’t be giving immigrants better treatment than the victims. (The fact there are native born US citizens who are Muslim, and that not all victims of 9/11 were US citizens is of no interest here, because it would ruin her rant, so we shall forget these points, ok?) -(-and the fact it isn’t a ‘mosque’ but a community center, and that it isn’t AT ground zero but less than a mile away–and considering the island of Manhattan isn’t a mile wide, it’s not really a valid concern, EVERYTHING is closer than a mile, including the strip clubs, and other ‘unsavory’ things—)

She is European. She lives in New Zealand, (don’t know if she was born there or immigrated). She is sad to see her country, that used to be full of Maori and Kiwi, become ‘taken over’ by Asians and other nationalities– It takes away the whole flavour of the country when it becomes a veritable melting pot! If i went to Spain, I want to see Spanairds, and THEIR history… I dont go to Spain to see Italians. All these different countries are losing something of their own unique culture by allowing other cultures to literally take over.

My geographic history may not be perfect, but my understanding of the world is:

  • Maori are of Polynesian descent, and Polynesians are of Asian background, yet, she, the European, who is most definitely the usurper here– (I don’t know how many generations pass before you stop calling  yourself  European and call yourself a New Zealander)– has issues with the melting pot aspect of her country.
  • She says the whole flavor of a country is lost when too many nationalities live together, and that she doesn’t travel to Spain to see Italians, but to see Spaniards. Let’s get this straight. You go to the ZOO to see lions and tigers and bears. Italians and Spaniards aren’t animals in a cage, and one can’t identify with certainty an Italian from a Spaniard from a Norwegian from an Englishman from an Egyptian from an Israeli until they open their mouth and speak (and then only if they choose to speak their ‘mother’ tongue.)

People should not be traveling to other countries to view some mise-en-scene that the ‘locals’ are required to live by to satisfy the whims of some ethnocentric, Eurocentric tourists. They live in the country they live in because it is where they make a living, raise their children, were born or chose to move to, not to become some extras on a set of a movie that depicts authentic ‘insert nationality here’ cuisine/life/culture/value.  Travel to see the world, to witness the diversity and to admire the sameness, to marvel over the astonishing architecture or natural features of the globe, but keep zoo watching to the zoo.

  • If we are going to stand for freedom, we have to do it for all our citizens, even the ones we might not agree with. The First Amendment clearly says so.  Matthew 5; 43-48 says so as well.

Even the lapsed Catholic liberal democrat sane part of me can see value in this statement and verse, which was part of the response someone else gave to this lady.

Other points she could ponder (and we thank her for worrying so much about the ethnic makeup of a country other than hers) is that the continent of North America was wrested from the indigenous people by white Christian Europeans, who came this close to totally annihilating an entire race, in the name of their God, and their ‘superior’ intelligence and civilization.

And then, they declared this country free…

  • Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

“When they came for the Jews, I did nothing, for I am not a Jew. When they came for the Socialists, I did nothing, for I am not a Socialist. When they came for the labor leaders, the homosexuals, the gypsies, I did nothing, for I am none of these, and when they came for me, I was alone, there was no one to stand up for me.” — Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor from Nazi Germany (This links to a very interesting study of this quote, which has a variety of incarnations. The idea, however, is universal.)

So, VOTE tomorrow. Just remember, you will have to live with the results.

Many other splendid things:

  • Have you seen this movie?  The Secret Of Kells… Gorgeous animation.
  • Win a NOOK… Did I tell you I bought my nook?? I LOVE this thing!!!! Now, you can win $150 towards the new nookColor, or the original eInk one, or if you already have it, $150 for nookBooks to read!  (Ask them anything about a nook you want to know, they love to talk about it!)
  • Autumn photos…so far, the color is not spectacular, I hope I don’t blink and miss it…but here are some photos I’ve taken recently.
  • We went to the Rally in DC the other day….I was very happy, not only with the turnout, but with the behavior of the crowds, the spirit in the air, the feeling that I am not alone in thinking the way I do…

One Year…A de-cluttering tail (tale).

This week marks the end of year one with three cats in the house.

I am surprised we all survived. Seriously. I almost hesitate to mention it, as we have gone something like seven weeks without an accident. I feel we are overdue.

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(GANDOLF. 8.5 years old.)

We adopted Rory and Gandolf last October, after our Hamish died suddenly. To say it’s been an adjustment is something of an understatement. Tatiana was left alone, and Timmy was missing his good buddy. He found Gandolf, and Rory came with him (or the other way around.) Whatever, they came as a set, and we agreed, considering their past history. Gandolf settled in rather easily. It was HIS house, right? Tatiana moped and hissed. (Perfectly in character.) Rory decided under the couch was a lovely home for the first few weeks. Beyond that, nothing major. They shared food. (Well, to a degree. All food belonged to Gandolf—and three bowls made it VERY hard for him, as he couldn’t eat out of them ALL at once.) They shared a litter box. They didn’t destroy the Christmas tree. Life was good.

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(RORY 3.5 years old)

Something happened come spring. Suddenly, Tatiana was being stalked at the litter box. We got a second, removed the lid from the first, and have ultimately moved both to locations I would prefer they weren’t in. Gandolf spends his days lying in the doorway to the studio, or in the studio itself, always in view of Tatiana. Tatiana spends hers under the cutting table in the studio, or on the ironing board. Rory is off somewhere. Is Gandolf jailing Tatiana? Or, is he guarding Tatiana from Rory? We still can’t say exactly. Rory wants to play– he is a baby, a clown,  and these two sulky adult cats don’t like it. There is a LOT of hissing. There is a lot of fur flying. (Literally.) I spend my days thinking I am the mother of three toddlers, hearing in their hisses and growls, “Mommy, he’s looking at me; make him stop LOOKING at me!”

(What exactly, you are asking, may this possibly have to do with de-cluttering? Unless I am flinging a cat or three? Patience, young grasshopper. I am building to the climax.)

This, I could tolerate. Hey, who doesn’t want to be mommy’s favorite? However, suddenly our noses were getting a workout. Someone was not using the litter box. Was it Tati, because she couldn’t get to them without assault? Was it Gandolf, aggravated that Tati gets first dibs on my lap? Was it Rory for reasons un-guessed? Number 1 and number 2, but not every day, indeed, not every week. Just often enough. Gandolf had the nerve one night to go right in front of us in an empty cardboard box. The couch, the table, the floor….Someone decided since we abandoned them on vacation they should go on a pile of quilting fabric.

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(TATIANA  11 or so years old)

Yes, FABRIC. Nervy, I tell you. It’s not a happy house. They are segregated for feeding, they are examined by the vet. They all get lap time. There is no proof of it being one or the other or the third, (with three exceptions), so they are ALL to blame. I spend copious amounts of time and money cleaning, washing, deodorizing, disinfecting, and then discovering some other place someone went, unnoticed.

And can I just on the side mention Rory never learned to groom himself? I don’t know if he was taken from his mother too early, but the boy knows nothing about cleaning his own backside, or coat. It’s not a good thing when you are a long-haired cat. It’s not something I have ever dealt with before. Cats like to groom!

Ok, ok. The de-cluttering part of the post. I ordered new carpeting for the house. A risky move with pee-ers, I know. But if you could see the carpet the house has now, well… circa 1980 and gross. It is time.  Anyway, they will be installing in about two weeks, and so I have a drop-dead deadline. A good thing for me. I am trying to do this the smart way, and not end up with boxes of things I don’t need getting boxed and then having to be unboxed. (Or worse, left boxed for months afterward.) So, slowly I am working on things in the studio, because it has the most “stuff”.

I discovered a plastic tray, with sheets of sleeved negatives in it, with a layer of dried out pee. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH, I was SO aggravated, you just don’t know. This container was apparently once in a location they could aim at. (Where I just pulled it from it was impossible, even for a cat.) That means that months back they did this, I didn’t notice and moved it after it had dried. I can’t get mad at them– they don’t know why I get mad at them WHILE they have a knocked over house plant between their teeth– months is out of their scope.

The sleeves seem to have made things better than they could have been. The de-cluttering part of the story? Last week, I was up in the attic, and opening one of the totes during my flinging, discovered I still had a bunch of darkroom supplies.  (I haven’t had access to a darkroom since 2002.) I put the lid back on it to deal with it another day. Classic procrastinators move, don’t you think?

I am now slowly removing negatives from sleeves, and rinsing in Photo-Flo–which helps dry without water spots–(circa B& H Photo back when they were still a hole-in-the wall on 17th Street, NYC) and hanging them to dry. Its a long, slow process. The moral of the story?

When “flinging” I suggested you think about:

  • whether you need the object,
  • do you use the object,
  • and if you needed to replace the object, how hard to come by and how expensive would the object be to replace.

Two potato peelers? If you have two cooks, I guess you could keep two. Six potato peelers? Can you FIND that many people to put to work, let alone fit them all in your kitchen?

Photo-Flo is definitely worth not flinging, as to get a new bottle when I needed it would have been somewhat less than simple.

It’s a VERY good thing the cats are cute.