This is the first year that I have gone all out to make Halloween a festive, well-decorated holiday. Usually, I give out candy and do my own small ancestor, divination, and feast kind of thing. Most of the places I have lived in Lawrence have been apartments and received relatively little trick-or-treat traffic and this was also true at our rental house. For the past five Halloweens, however, we have lived in an old neighborhood next to downtown that kids from all over town visit for Halloween. That is why I decided last year to start collecting supplies when they were 75 - 90% discounted.
So, I have these plastic sheet thingies that hang in the windows and give cool silhouettes of dancing skeletons and ghosts when the light in the room is on. I have window clings of bats, ravens, spiders, etc... for the front glass storm door with a seasonal wreath with spooky items intertwined for the wooden door behind it. I have cobwebs strewn all over the front porch. Our foyer is decked out with resin figures of jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, witches, etc... that have color-changing lights as well as black flameless candles that flicker and make scary sounds. I have the same candy dish that I have used for years that is rimmed in eyeballs and I am handing out gummi body parts as a treat.
After we have our own (early) feast of curried squash soup, roast pork loin, colcannon, and maple-glazed carrots, I will put on my big velvet witch hat and (wo)man the door while J corrals our ever-curious kitty.
Then, it is time to warm up the appple crumble I am making this afternoon, make a little pouring custard, and relax to whatever movie in our collection seems right for our mood. Around midnight, I will be taking some time for some spiritual pursuits.
Now, I am off to recycle our old dead TV at the city electronics event which has been rather strangely scheduled, if you ask me.

Happy Hallows all...

All my life I've been drenched in this sense of wonder and gratitude. And yet I can also feel broad stripes of sadness, the full tarot deck of anticipated loss and, these days, a real peristalsis of worry. As we age, we face the reality of many new and impending losses. We succumb easily to our fears.
But wonder is a bulky emotion. when it fills the heart and mind, there simply isn't room for anything else. The sun rises, nature reblooms, birds pursue their own rich dramas, and Earth spins on, a rare garden in space. I have only to pay attention and my spirit levels.



(Beautiful, non?)

We have been adopted! It has been nearly 11 years of only neighborly and charitable catness, but now:

I so hope that it will be broadcast in the US or at least available on DVD. I really enjoyed the book and its sequal.

And Rufus Sewell will be playing Tom Builder!!!


A Germany-Canada co-production spearheaded by Munich-based Tandem Communications and Montreal-based Muse Entertainment in association with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Films have signed up actors to bring this historical novel to the TV screens, with the premiere set for the second half of 2010. [5] The series includes the following cast[6]:

Ian McShane as “Waleran”
Donald Sutherland as “Bartholomew”
Rufus Sewell as “Tom Builder”
Matthew Macfadyen as “Prior Philip”
Sarah Parish as “Regan Hamleigh”
David Oakes as “William Hamleigh”
Robert Bathurst as “Percy Hamleigh”
Hayley Atwell as “Aliena”
Sam Claflin as “Richard”
Eddie Redmayne as “Jack”
Liam Garrigan as “Alfred”
Skye Bennett as “Martha”
Gordon Pinsent as “the Archbishop”
Natalia Worner as “Ellen”
Anatole Taubman as “Remigius”
Goetz Otto as “Walter”
Jody Halse as “Johnny Eightpence”
David Bark Jones as “Francis”

This weekend is the annual busker festival here in Lawrence and there guys are among the performers:

Best and brightest wishes!

I am ashamed of my fellow Americans. What an inordinate number of selfish bastards we have in this country!

I understand arguing about the specifics of a healthcare plan; hell, I'm for a single payer which is not even on the table, but to oppose any change? The idea that healthcare is a privelage, a luxury even, is simply abhorrent. Give them a couple of months without a job and a several hundred dollar COBRA they can't afford and watch them beg! Fuckers. All this talk about how the system will be overwhelmed by those additional 15% of Americans is ludicrous. As if all of them either mega hypochondriacs jsut waiting for the chance to see every specialist or suffering from diseases requiring intensive and continual care. Many of them are young and healthy enough to need mostly preventative and basic diagnostic care. I truly doubt that there are THAT many folks requiring dialysis, chemo, and open heart surgery just waiting to pounce on the system as soon as they get insurance. Frankly, if someone is not able to get treament for cancer because they cannot pay for it, should we not be grateful that, as a nation, we have the resources to make sure that they get help?

Of course, one would have to see the role of government as caretaker and actually believe that we have a moral responsibility to be our brother and sisters' keepers. If only we lived in a Christian nation!!!! I saw some fundy bishop from DC spouting off that he would not have survived cancer if he had been forced to share the healthcare system with the poor. "Why should my life have LESS value than that of a homeless man?" he asked. Wow. That really clarifies their stance, does it not? So, the quality of your healthcare should depend upon your "value", which is determined by the amount of money you make. And if you lose your income because you are, for instance, SICK?!!! I guess you are not longer worth enough to get the medical care you need.

AAARRRRGH!!!!!!

I also resent their coopting of the symbols of the Revolutionary War. How dare they use the "Don't tread on me" flag. They really would be far better represented by the Confederate flag They are agitating for more of a Civil War anyway. Seriously. I have read and seen remarks and threats that are way too much like those of Southerners in the 1860s for my comfort. After eight years of Bush and with the Dems in control of Congress, I thought that, surely,at least somewhat better times were here again. I just can't take it anymore!

It is literally impossible for me to even make even a simple comment about the current situation without getting upset or angry. I've decided that I need a newsfast for a week or so. Instead of keeping up with current events, I will be watching the premiere of Mad Men, the first two seasons of Flight of the Conchords, and the last season of Dexter. Sorry Jon and Steven, but I will be soaking in a bubble bath during your hour. I hope this will help.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from a friend i knew in high school. V was my first real kindred spirit-type of friend, if you know what I mean. We had an close and intense friendship. I, for want of a better word, fucked it up with my craziness. Seriously. I won't go into it (you should thank me), but, believe me, hearing from her again has opened those memory floodgates and I seem to be unable to shut them again.

Eep.

After I read her e-mail, I clicked on CNN and found out that John Hughes died. The Breakfast Club was THE film of my particular graduation year (1985). Yes, it has a certain timelessness that transcends the 80s, but, damn, that Simple Minds song will always remind me of my best friend and the loss of that friendship and so much more that happened that year. Why my high school chose Purple Rain for a prom theme is beyond me. I guess talking, smoking up, and hanging out in the library was not such a good ideal.

So, here I am, a grown up Basket Case (see movie) thinking that life is pretty damn good these days. I have to say, though, writing an e-mail to catch up after 25 years is not an easy task. I feel as though I have made a reduction sauce while taking stock of my life.

I do hope she writes back after all the rambling idiocy I sent her way. We shall see.

German Chocolate Brownies

I just finished watching Savage Grace with Julianne Moore. It was more than a little discomforting yet rather lovely in its way as well which made it even more discomforting.

1. I havewalked among the redwoods of Northern California, the largest trees in the world.
2. I have gotten reacquainted with the Pacific Ocean.
3. I have visited Crater Lake in Oregon.
4. I have learned that Sun Brand Madras Curry Powder is to curry powder what Szeged Sweet Paprika is to paprika.
5. I have visited British Columbia.
6. I have rambled around Mount Baker at the peak of autumn color.
7. I have visited a temperate rain forest on Vancouver Island.
8. I have seen a baby beluga with her mother and grandmother.
9. I have created the H&H, a sandwich of broiled dill havarti over ham on rye toast smeared with a little mayo and dijon mustard. and a kosher dill on the side.
10. I have made goose confit and then used it to make cassoulet.
11. I have seen Interpreti Venziani perform live.
12. I have still not started smoking again.
13. I have walked in Zion Canyon.
14. I have peered over the rim of the Grand Canyon.
15. I have gotten my kicks on Route 66.
16. I have survived Death Valley.
17. I have driven up Highway 1 along the California Coast.
18. I have walked around Muir Woods.
19. I have set up an art studio for the first time in 15 years.
20. I have gotten to watch a cardinal nest from inside the window that it inches away and was able to save the hatchlings when they tumbled from their nest.

Our upstairs bath was built into a small gable space between our bedroom and the stairwell. I have included a before as well as afters:

Leave me a comment saying:
"Reel around the fountain, Slap me on the patio ".
I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

1. What is the most rewarding experience you have had and what made it so?

Moon-in-June romantic though it may seem, my relationship with my husband really does trump everything else. We began as a foursome of friends (his ex-wife was a good friend of mine). We were even involved in each others' first weddings. When those marriages failed, we turned to each other and soon became best friends. We also fell in love and kept our feelings secret. Nearly three complicated years later (now 11 years ago), we professed our feelings and have been a couple ever since. What makes this relationship so very rewarding is the truly amazing amount of closeness and understanding that we share. We are still best friends, which just may be the greatest aspect of a relationship that includes so many other partnerships.

2. If you could invite to dinner three Historical characters who would they be and why?

Jesus because, as a non-Christian particularly, I really want to know the truth about his life, his philosophy, and what he thinks of his followers.

Oscar Wilde because I have loved him and his work since I first saw "The Importance of Being Earnest" when I was seven years old. Also,he would certainly keep us all entertained.

Christine de Pizan because she just may be the first feminist, or, at the very least, the first one to have her views published. Talking to her about the role of women in the middle ages and the changes that have occurred since then would be really interesting, I'm sure

3. Where would you dream vacation be and what would it consist of?

I want to travel all over the world. I want to see as many of UNESCO's World Heritage sites as possible in my life. From New Zealand's majestic landscape to the northern lights of Scandinavia, from Karnak in Egypt to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, I want to experience it all.

That said, I do believe that certain sites may remain dreams for socio-political reasons. I have wanted to travel to the ancient sites of Mesopotamia for many years, particularly the ruins of the city state of Mari (now in Syria right by the Iraqi border). I suspect that the only sites that I will safely be able to visit in the foreseeable future will be Catal Huyuk in Turkey and Petra in Jordan.

4. If you could change one aspect of your life, what would it be?

This is the easiest question for me. I would improve my health. I live with chronic pain and related disability and it is, without doubt, my greatest challenge in this life.

5. If you could travel back to a certain time in Human History, where would you go?

I would travel to the Neolithic Age. I am absolutely fascinated by the people who created the Hypogeum in Malta, Carrowkeel in Ireland, or Stonehenge and all the other remarkable sites that I have visited or hope to visit. I would love to know more about them and their culture.

The usual Dada Mama bit.

My first use of multiple words, however, was:

BY SELF!!!

40 years later I am much the same.

This picture was taken on 23 November, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska.





(like the picture of our house, this one is cross-posted)

Our house is a very very green house:

Today is our ninth wedding anniversary.
My appointment calender tells me that the traditional gifts for this anniversary are pottery or willow and the modern gift is leather.
I think Rock Band 2 is a far better choice!

This is qutie timely for me as I just bought plane tickets and reserved a rental car for one of our Air and Road Trips.

My idea of summer vacation involves migrating to The Cool or even, The Cold.

This year, we will be visting Glacier National Park in Montana followed by Waterton, Banff, and Jasper NPs in Alberta, and Yoho and Kootenay National Parks in British Columbia with plenty of detours along the way. I have wanted to see the lake sin the Canadian Rockies since I first saw a picture of Lake Louise as a kid.

Also, we simply must see the glaciers before they are history.