Today I am 44/Random Stuff

It's my birthday today--I'm 44. Which means that the kids made me homemade cards yesterday with my husband's prompting, hid them in their rooms, and when they woke up this morning, they got them and gave them to me in bed. It was very, very sweet.

It also means that I had to go and get my drivers license renewed as it expired on this day--why did I not do it last week, or the week before that, or before that?! I'll tell you--because that's not how I roll.

I wait.

I procrastinate.

I stall, and push aside and forget until I can't any more.

Oh, and I'm none too pleased with Obama either (yes a non sequitur...) Where's the Change?! Did we close Gitmo yet? Not only are we not out of Iraq yet, we're increasing our military presence in Afghanistan. Because Russia was so successful there and we can turn to their experience as an example, right? Why are Monsanto people in any kind of position in the government--can you say fox guarding the hen house?

I want a fierce proponent for all of the liberal stuff I believe in and thought we had that with Obama. I'm hoping he has some sort of secret hidden long term plan that will all come right in the end. But for right now I'm worried.

We have rats, but not the invading, uninvited kind. We purposely went and got them as pets. Not ones from the pet store as we learned from all of our google research they would not have been properly socialized. No. I had to find ratterys in the Northern Illinois area and find ones that had babies. Ones that had female babies (the males mark a lot and get really big--we didn't want that.)

I finally found a rat breeder--and can I just say here that I didn't realize there was such a thing as a rat breeder or that they breed Fancy Rats. I love sub cultures. There's so much in the world--I will never be bored. We went almost to the Wisconsin border and bought our rats, a giant cage, a running wheel and brought them home.

My kids are ecstatic. It turns out that a fancy goldfish doesn't really elicit any kind of affection or feelings of fun from my children. After my daughter's ancient calico goldfish died, the kids started lobbying for some sort of mammal. Our 24 year old cat won't tolerate another cat or a dog, and I don't blame her. The search was on then for a small caged mammal.

My son told me that he had heard that rats make good pets. Yeah, OK. But they're creepy, and while I know that the plague wasn't their fault but that of their flea passengers, still, they were involved. Plus, there's that hairless tail. Ugh. *shudder*

I googled, "which is a better pet a rat or a mouse?" The result was dramatic and almost completely one sided. The rat won. It is smart, trainable, affectionate and unlike mice, hamsters and gerbils doesn't bite. What?! Who knew? It will come when called, and can learn tricks. It doesn't smell and is social, so needs companions.

We got four rats.

I am a sucker.

My kids are all the more happy for it.

What's new with you cyber people? Tell me the good news!

And lastly, Team Conan.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Me: What's the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? The meteor is glowing in the sky and the meteorite is the rock once it's landed? Is that right?

Husband: Yes. And if it lands on the other side, it's a meteorleft...

Big yucks.

Que Sera, Sera

I didn't like reading The Hobbit. I know that is sacrilege for lots of people. And, how is it even possible?! What's not to like in the twisting, turning plot of tiny Bilbo Baggins and his little Dwarf compatriots as they come under attack from goblins, spiders etc? It's high adventure I tell you--how can I not like it?!

Yeah, except I don't.

I liked reading about Julia Child's time in France in her book coincidentally titled, My Life in France. My mom knew I would like the book she gave me because we had spent many a half hour watching The French Chef together during the 70's. From a very young age I knew how to flute a mushroom (although I can't do it very well), how to take a giant mallet and break up bones (although I haven't done this either... but, I could if I had to--that's how clear Julia's instruction was on her TV show), and had a basic understanding of what wine to pair with a cassoulet or a lobster bisque.

I'm currently reading Bill Bryson's hilarious book, A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. His writing is soooo good. Read this excerpt where his son warned him off of embarrassing him when purchasing backpacking equipment for his upcoming trail hike:

My first inkling of just how daunting an undertaking it was to be came when I went to our local outfitters, the Dartmouth Co-Op, to purchase equipment. My son had just gotten an after-school job there, so I was under strict instructions of good behavior. Specifically, I was not to say or do anything stupid, try on anything that would require me to expose my stomach, say, "Are you shitting me?" when informed of the price of a product, be conspicuously inattentive when a sales assistant was explaining the correct maintenance or aftercare of a product, and above all don anything inappropriate, like a woman's ski hat, in an attempt to amuse.

Oh my God. I can reread that passage over and over again and still have tears streaming out of the corners of my eyes it is that funny to me. Simply hilarious, and I hope I have the good grace to recognize the humor in my own life when my children are teenagers and are filled with not a little contempt for how queer my husband and I are to them. 'Cause it's going to happen on some level somehow. The whole homeschooling we-are-such-an-intimate-family-so-close-knit lifestyle that we have will not preclude our kids from seeing us as fools from time to time, I'm sure of it.

These are the books I read and thoroughly enjoy. I do see, however, how someone could like The Hobbit. I get that. And I think it's great that my own son has recently discovered it and is devouring it as I would have devoured fluted mushrooms with my mother if I could have held the paring knife correctly.

He loves it. He finds it compelling and exciting and thrilling. What more could one want from a book? He really doesn't understand how I could not like it. It's a mystery and will probably contribute to some bit of contempt in his teenage years.

Oh well. Que sera, sera.

What a Surprise--I am Procrastinating

I should be calling people. I should be getting them to commit to hosting one of a jillion children's workshops that I am responsible for setting up for the homeschooling conference that is in March.

March is right around the corner, people--it is not that far away! Besides, we need to get contracts sent out and returned, signed, so we can hand it all off to the people who will print up brochures and get it all entered in the database for the conference site.

If I don't post here for a while, it is because my attention is turned to organizing workshops for little children to enrich them and illuminate them and expose them to the big beautiful world out there.

Or, I am procrastinating...

I am Selling Out... Kind of...

I started this blog as a challenge for my family and myself to see if we could live in a simple way and not buy new things. I thought it would be interesting to see if we could live through the limits that The Compact would impose on us. I wondered what we would discover about ourselves and about our neighbors and the typical consumer lifestyle that we are all pressured to live. Would we be able to live a year without buying any things that are new? Would the kids feel out of step with other kids? Would I pine for anything? Would I chafe under the restriction?

My husband makes a good living *knocks on wood* and we have always lived fairly simply, but if I wanted to get a little something from Williams Sonoma I could have. If I felt like getting a Hanna Andersson outfit for my daughter, that was no problem. I ended up not doing that very much, because I ended up not buying very much for any of us, even before The Compact. It was an easy switch to make to just buying used things from Goodwill or the Salvation Army and we found lots of nice, gently used things from Eddie Bauer (for me), and The Gap and every other place I used to shop when the kids were little and I wasn't a bit concerned with them outgrowing their clothing in a 2 month time... That was a little frivolous of me, but the clothes were very cute and 100% cotton. I felt that was important for tender new skin.

I found all sorts of decent clothing that was perfectly good. It didn't matter to my kids, or me or my husband either, if things were a certain brand. The Compact would have been far more difficult if that had been the case, or if we had cared if things were part of a current trend. Trendy, we are not.

So The Compact has continued to be a part of our lifestyle. We have purchased new things and then I have confessed to you all right here on this blog. We've gotten a water heater and a manual lawn mower and shoelaces and goldfish and leotards and props for performances and new toys for the kids at museums and gifts for them at X-mas and at birthdays. We've gotten used things too, but we have not been pure, just very conscious about our purchases. We haven't really been frivolous.

I started this blog as a way of tracking our lifestyle and seeing how we progressed and then realized that if we weren't purchasing new things, I could show you what we were doing instead. If you don't buy it, what in the world do you do? For many people buying is a form of entertainment or even sport--the challenge of finding and then getting the great deal. On one of my April Fool's Day posts I put up a Google AdSense banner and explained that we would now be carrying ads. I wrote:

See the ads over there, at the top of my blog? They pay me to run them here. That's a good thing. Why wouldn't I want to make money here? What would be the possible point of making all of these posts? Really, I don't get it. People only do things for money. That's what makes the world go round. Why would I sit here writing things for no reason? If I'm not getting paid, what's the reason then? I'm not tracking on that, really.

That was a joke. I write here because I feel strongly about many issues and want to share what I know. I write here because I like to write and hope to share something good with others: political outrage, unschooling joy, ways to be healthy with raw milk, kefir, the seminal book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, my hilarious husband... My secret ambition is to be a paid writer somewhere, somehow. It would be ideal if it was on my terms wouldn't it?

I feel like when I grow up, this is what I'll do as an adult. And then I realize that I am grown up and I am a writer, of sorts. So, why not now? What the heck am I waiting for? As my father quoted Hillel to me when I was an emotional teenager, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?" Sage words there.

So you know what? I am going to continue to write here and get money for my writing from having ads!! What?! "But, Laura, what about your whole 'We don't buy it. We're living on The Compact. We think new things are bad. We are holy and pure and think serious thoughts all of the time...' What about that stuff?!" you argue indignantly with me. Ah. I see your confusion and concern. Seems a little hypocritical doesn't it? Well, you are wrong! Wrong I tell you!! Because you know why? I'm going to have ads for stuff I believe in. Ha!

Food. Whole nutritious food! You have to eat, even on The Compact. I am a huge fan of kefir and kombucha, and yogurt, sourdough starter and dried foods that retain their enzymes and... and... and all of the stuff that Cultures for Health sells. So guess what. I am now an affiliate of their site and every sale that they make, linked from here at We Don't Buy It, I get paid for. Hurray!

I will now have some ads here. Also, I may have product giveaways. Have you ever wanted to try and make yogurt, or kefir, or sourdough bread? It can seem like a lot of work and it can seem overwhelming, but it's not if you have easy starters and quality ingredients. Maybe you'd like to try one out. Maybe you'll win a contest and get some for free and then you can.

I will review products too. I'll let you know what I think. (Yeah, that's a new one, because I've always been shy about sharing my opinions, haven't I?) *snort*

I am selling out sort of. But, as it turns out, not really.

Again, Why There are Two Parents...

My husband and I bring different things to the parenting table. Some of that is just because of who we are--our different abilities, sensibilities and approach to our kids. Some of it is because of gender differences (yes, I said that...) But, some of those gender differences are there because of how we ourselves were parented, and the time we came from. (I must share here that my parents were pretty good about raising us to realize whatever we wanted to do regardless of gender. I portaged canoes, my brother made lasagna, etc.)

My husband will build an 8 ft. trebuchet with my son in the summer. That would never in a million years occur to me to do. Never. However, I did build our kids' wooden swing set with my husband's guidance and help when he had carpal tunnel syndrome and could not do drilling and hammering... or so the story goes...

My husband would cut the pieces to length and then tell me how to put them together and hammer them or drill or sink or counter sink--220, 221 whatever it takes.

In any case, he and I built a pretty fine swing set for the kids. That particular project was also the first time I had ever handled a drill. I don't think that's so rare, but it seemed flagrantly ludicrous to my husband. My husband, who had once coached me on how to change my own damn tire and be my own knight in shining armor. You know why? Because, I could, that's why.

I think he feels that everyone should be able to do everything. Handling a drill is not just for men or boys. We are not crippled by past ideas--we can do what we want. We have brains and hands and our gender doesn't preclude us doing certain things.

My son helped my husband build our compost bin, and then my husband thought my daughter should help as well. He asked her if she'd like to, and she was wanting to help too. Take a look at these pictures of my daughter helping my husband build our compost bin.

Here she is drilling holes. Maybe not the best way to hold a drill, but she has control, so that's what counts.

At a slightly different position...

Putting some giddyap on it...

Eyeballing the position...

In total control...

I would never think to let my little girl handle a heavy drill. Never. My husband told her what to do and then stepped back, and worked on something else while she did it. He didn't hover. He just let her go.

I, on the other hand, saw the great photo opportunity and tore into the house to get my camera to take pictures of her from across the yard. I was impressed by her drilling ability and her fearlessness.

Do you need a picture hung? I've got two kids that can handle the job.

It's All Been a Joke--Suckers!

God are you guys push overs! Again, you have fallen for my ruse here. This is all a joke. I don't really not buy new things--that would be impossible!!

I've been pulling your legs. I buy new stuff all of the time. I get things on sale, I get full priced things--it doesn't matter. I just love to shop and feel I deserve whatever I can get. Doesn't everyone?!

Who would espouse such a hard way of life? Who would actually suggest that Americans, Americans (!) should deny themselves anything?

Aren't we in hard economic times now?? Don't we need to spend our way out of it? If people stop spending, won't that put all sorts of people out of work? It's not the behavior of the guys at the top that have messed up this economy--no, it's people who have slowed down their buying.

Come on people. Step up. I don't really care about my neighbors and the larger community any more than you do--selfishness is really self-interestedness--there's a difference! But, if you buy for yourself, you're really helping someone else too. It's a win, win...win.

So, on this April Fool's Day, I want you to think about what junk you can go out and buy today. Maybe you're in difficult economic straits yourself. You can still buy a blouse you really don't need. Just go charge it. You can still go out and buy the scented candle on sale that you'll throw out in 6 months 'cause it doesn't burn evenly, and now looks ugly. Those things don't have to cost too much.

The point is I think you should go buy, buy, buy! Oh, and while you're at it, eat a lot of junk filled with chemicals and mercury tainted corn syrup and genetically modified corn starch. That doesn't effect health and it tastes soooo good! Also, I think you should slather on a bunch of sunscreen and not let the sun touch you at all.

Follow every piece of conventional medical advice--even though it might not make a lot of sense when seen through the perspective of evolution or history or anthropological norms around the world. Just blindly follow what the doctors say...

And speaking of experts, I think I'll enroll my kids in school today, because I'm not a trained teacher--how can I possibly educate my kids?! They're not learning enough about bullying or arbitrary institutional rules that serve only the flow of group management and have nothing to do with learning. My kids should learn at this tender age about red tape and busy work and a dulling of their curiosity. It's sink or swim kids! That's how the world works and you're not learning enough of that here in the confines of your loving home. It's off to school with the two of you.

Daughter, you can no longer grab your Harry Potter book and read it for however long you want in the morning. You can't have a playdate with Unnamed's kids in the middle of the day while I take Son to a lesson. Son, you can no longer build robots from kits your grandparents bought you for Christmas. No--go learn things on the school's timetable and in the school's way.

I've been joking around about my concern about pollution and ice caps melting too...It's fine! The world has been around for millions of years, billions of years, only 6,000 years (Hello young earthers! Nice of you to visit my blog!!). How arrogant of us to think that we are actually affecting the very climate of the earth! Besides, lots of religions feel it's all in God/Allah/Jesus's hands. Don't worry!! Let God take care of it. We are nothing and as the nothing beings we are, we really should not care about pollution or anything having to do with ecology.

If there's an eminent domain issue where a development company wants to build a mall and they need to knock down the last habitat of a mouse or a butterfly or an owl, I say "When will the mall be open and where's the nearest Forever21 store!!!"

You see what my true feelings are here. I've just been kidding. I want everyone to do whatever makes them happy because isn't that the best thing we can all do for oursleves? If everyone is happy, would there really be wars? Would there?? So, ultimately, if I worry about the soldiers still in Iraq, it doesn't help to end the war. Whereas if I shop, then I will be happy and that will help the world be more peaceful and then that will end the war. See??

Whatever...

The point here is to just go buy and not worry your little heads about things. "We Don't Buy It" now buys everything: stuff, mainstream ideas about health, ideas from women's magazines about how we should look as women, commercials that show us what products we should use to wash ourselves, our homes, our kids (what's a little formaldehyde in bath products?...afterall it's in vaccines...dont' you think they would've taken it out if it causes cancer or something...oh, they don't test if it does...well, any way what's a little formaldehyde??). We're not questioning anything else around here any more. Who am I to question anything?! Where do I get off?!

Have a happy day shopping today. Enjoy your various swiffer products! Just use 'em and throw them out--what could be easier??

Be happy. Shop...

Squirrel Nut Zippers

My husband and I went into Chicago for a rare date night--my parents watched the kids and had a good time--and we saw the Squirrel Nut Zippers perform at the House of Blues.

This group is so tight and play live pretty much the same way as they have recorded their CDs.

I liked their choices in grouping songs. They played Bad Businessman followed by Hell. I think there's some editorial comment in the lineup choice.

Bad Businessman lyrics:

There's a man going around town
Spreading lies
Hes the bad businessman
Does his business while he can
He just does his business bad.

Hes a clown
Gonna get bounced around
If he dont keep his business underground
Hes a player
And everytime he deals a round
Its just a bad hand
What a bad man.
Beware of what he sells
Surely go straight to hell.
Taint no bottom in that wishing well.


That's timely.

Hell lyrics:

In the afterlife
You could be headed for the serious strife
Now you make the scene all day
But tomorrow therell be hell to pay

People listen attentively
I mean about future calamity
I used to think the idea was obsolete
Until I heard the old man stamping his feet.

This is a place where eternally
Fire is applied to the body
Teeth are extruded and bones are ground
Then baked into cakes which are passed around.

Beauty, talent, fame, money, refinement
Top skill and brain
But all the things you try to hide
Will be revealed on the other side.

Now the d and the a and the m
And the n and the a
And the t and the i-o-n
Lose your face, lose your name
Then get fitted for a suit of flame

I'll share a live youtube video of them in New York last year playing Bad Businessman and then you can watch an MTV video of them doing Hell.

Let these songs serve as a warning to all of you Bad Businessmen out there...

And Speaking of Reading--A Confession...

OK.  That last post wasn't really very light reading.  But, I do think it's important reading.  I think it gives an inside view as to how the scientific community speaks to one another about problems in medicine and research and vaccine production, hidden away from the public's eyes. It was very candid, wasn't it?

Not light reading, but illuminating.

This post, however, is not about that post.  This is its own post and is not dependent on some old-timer post.  This is new blood.   This is one of the smartest and brightest.

No it's not.  Joking!  There's actually no pressure on this post.   It can just be without judgment--at least no judgment from me.  It may be judged harshly by others, but that's between the post and those people--not really my business.

Here is this post:

I must confess.  I just read the first part of The Hobbit and skimmed the rest,  because--this is difficult, but I will just let it gush out in one agonized admission--I HATED it!

I know!!   How is that possible?!

I don't know what to tell you, but I couldn't care less about poor Bilbo Baggin's adventures.   I didn't care when he was stuck in the mountain.  Couldn't care less.  I didn't care when he was in the forest and there were spiders everywhere--I had faith that he'd get out of it somehow.   But, I was not worried or concerned.

I knew his compatriots would fare OK too--even the big one who had to do things by himself.

I never read about the dragon--I assume they managed it--right?

I just blithely, and without a twinge of regret or guilt in my conscience, carelessly skimmed to the end and read that Bilbo got back home and they were impudently selling all of his stuff! But, even then I didn't care...

I felt great sympathy for when Bilbo was hungry--which was a lot of the time.  But then they'd be a guest to someone and eat some roasted haunch and drink up water or mead or ale.

I liked the character of Bilbo Baggins.  I hated the story of The Hobbit.   

There, I said it.  Do with it what you will.  As I said, it's between the post and you--leave me out of it.

P.S.  If you must know, I also hated the first Batman movie, the musical Chicago, feathered hair in the late 70's and early 80's, The Bridges of Madison County...

Go ahead, chew on that!

I Don't Have a Thing to Wear

You know what? I don't have a thing to wear to the homeschooling conference--nothing! No kicky blouse to wear over smokin' hot jeans. No interesting hand painted silk scarf to casually throw over a shoulder like a Parisian woman. No. I'm going to wear frumpy mom jeans and a linen tunic I got from Goodwill a few months ago.

It will have to do. No one is going to care about me, the talent show MC, they're going to see the kids and enjoy the show. Does a kicky blouse a show make? I think not.

Will post when we get back from the conference.

Enjoy your fashionable weekend. Maybe you'll wear a short skirt and a long jacket...

Homeschooling Conference or Everyone in Their Underwear

I still have a few things to do to get ready for our upcoming annual homeschooling conference. I have to write up a flyer about our super duper supportive and fun homeschooling group and recruit more fabulous people. I have to make copies of all sorts of things and I have to figure out what I Am Going To Say...

I HATE public speaking and yet I will cheerfully MC a talent show at a homeschooling conference year after year. What am I thinking?! Why?!

The kids all do such a great job and this is the end of the whole thing--it wraps up everyone's experience of the conference. People are receptive. It's not like I have to pitch a stimulus package or something. I don't have to give a report about glacier retreat, or spreading contagions, or tell everyone that their banks have failed and the FDIC no longer covers anything.

No. This is fun and everyone is on my side. We're on the same team! They know I'm just a mom homeschooling my kids. They know I'm not a professional speaker. They know I don't get paid to speak--what a sweet gig that would be though, wouldn't it? I'm just an amateur up there along with their hopeful, slightly nervous kids ready to perform.

Last year my daughter told me to imagine that everyone in the audience are all my friends. Then, it's easy! This is probably what she and my son do as they perform with a little acting troupe they're in. They have NO stage fright whatsoever. They are completely poised and confident. They get energized to perform and then they do and they are great, absolutely wonderful. I love watching them on stage. They are so calm and ready to do what needs to be done.

Got to get to work. Got to go write now. Got to try and be like my kids, except without the bathroom humor and the weird clothing combinations and the refusal to eat certain vegetables...except brussel sprouts--I'm going to skip those too.

Help Me!!

My daughter just put me in "..personal diamond crystal jinx!" Which means only she, and she alone, can get me out by saying my name. My son can't help me. My husband can't help me. My friends can't help me...


What am I going to do?!?

She's smiling a sly smile as she sees me typing this right now. OK. Now it's a grin.

Help!! Help me!!! Let me talk!

Look how big that font is--that's a LOUD yell.

My Kids are Hippies

My kids are hippies. They are free and fun and feel comfortable in the dirt. They love nature, they have sympathy for animals. They feel protective of Mother Earth. They cry about poverty and injustice.

All of that is true. But, I must say there's a bit of a rigidity in there somewhere. They're not completely live-and-let-live, as much as we try to instill that very loving virtue in them. Frankly, they're kind of uptight about MY HAIR!

I have almost always had long hair, because I'm a bit of hippie myself. It kind of went along with the territory. If you can imagine a tall, angry, long haired teenage girl who wore embroidered gauze shirts while Reagan was in office, you pretty much have an accurate image of me in the 80's. How fun was that? I knew the Brazilian rain forest was being cut down to make room for cattle grazing so people could have their Big Macs, but my peers didn't seem to be too interested in that. Huh. Go figure...

My husband wore an army jacket and also had long hair, because he was cool like that.

When my kids were babies, I either had my hair up in a twist with hair sticks or clips, or up in a pony tail. If I had it down, it got in the way of our marathon nursing sessions. Did you know that an infant can nurse for 45 minutes, take a 10 minute break and then want to nurse again? No? Well, they can. Any way, mine did. I was of the belief that what a baby wants is what they need. They don't know about manipulation or the idea that they should be more independent. Who thinks like that any way? Shouldn't a baby be dependent and feel that constancy and trust so that they can become independent when they feel ready? Isn't that the path to independence? I thought so. If they wanted to nurse, they needed to nurse. If they wanted to be held, they needed to be held. Case closed.

My kids were used to my hair being up. My son particularly would get upset if it was down. A little bit uptight there, I think. A little bit possessive and territorial about what is after all my hair. I know he just was in love with his mommy. Mommy looks like that, that and that. But, not like that.

I don't want to have long hair. I grew it out for a couple of years to give to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program that collects donated hair and turns it into wigs for women undergoing chemotherapy. I felt good doing that. It was easy and then I got a cute haircut. I haven't been back for a haircut since and the kids were thankful that my hair was growing back out. Lately, I've been talking about getting a haircut again.

My kids are not having it! "NO!! Don't cut your hair!" "NO--Mom, you can't cut your hair!!" they both wail. My husband gets in on it too. "I don't think you should cut your hair." But, he says that calmly, even if he's also wailing inside.

Hippies, the lot of them.

Date Night

My husband and I have a date tonight. Can you even believe that?! I can't. Our lifestyle is so simple and we're both homebodies--perfectly happy to do stuff with each other and the kids around the house. But, tonight we have a date.

We're going out to dinner, haven't figured out where yet, and then to a play at a local theater. Doesn't that sound like a proper date? It is!

I don't live near my family. We're all within a couple of hours of each other, but not quite close enough to have them babysit frequently. And, when they were babies and toddlers, I nursed my kids constantly and neither one of us in the nursing dyad felt comfortable apart--that darned attachment thing...So, we never really established a babysitter. My husband and I never got into the routine of a date night.

What will I wear? I don't think I can quite get away with my jeans. Black pants and a blouse of some sort?

When my husband and I do go on a date, we get relaxed and happy and giggly and crack each other up and laugh--a lot.

We should do that more...

Hey, friends in my homeschooling group--how about a babysitting co-op? Who wants to trade with me? We'll watch the kids while you go have a proper date. Any takers?

I am Paul Williams...or Cher...

Me, at the top of my lungs: "Just an old fashioned love song; something, something, something, some thing!!" with a kind of Cher vibrato.

My husband, calling out to me from the other room: "You nailed it, Babe."

Thanks husband.

Let's hear the real thing now, shall we?

President Barack Obama--Congratulations to All of Us!

Doesn't that sound good? It is almost so momentous as to be overwhelming: The first black president; the first thinker in a loooong time; the first really well regarded president by the world.

At this point, anyone taking office would be fantastic in that the only way we can all go is up from here. Bush absolutely ran this country into the ground. I don't know how anyone could do a worse job if they intended it. But, the fact that Barack Obama is a brilliant, compassionate man with solid ideas and good people surrounding him makes his ascent all the more incredible and reassuring. To think that as a collective, the American people said, "Enough!" We voted for reason, and calm, and thoughtfulness, and a spirit of mutual respect and common decency.

Today is a day of great pride for America. We can all look at each other and smile and meet each other's eyes and realize that we are truly one people and together we can accomplish a lot. Obama's presidency makes real the abstract ideas of unlimited possibility in America, of pursuing your dreams and them coming true regardless of racial background, ethnicity, socioeconomic standing.

Congratulations Barack Obama. Congratulations fellow Americans. Congratulations to all of the civil rights workers who gave so much decades ago to open up our society to the equality expressed in the Constitution that went unenforced for so long.

We are one people. All of our lives are intertwined for the good and for the ill. When we all have rights and opportunity it helps us all. When segments of society are kept down, it injures us all. Every one's own brilliance ennobles each one of us and creates further opportunities and connections that serve to strengthen our families, our communities, our relationships with the rest of the world. If we all are allowed to shine, we all are made greater.

John Dunne expressed it well:

No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

John Donne, Meditation XVII
English clergyman & poet (1572 - 1631)

Well done Mr. President. We are so proud of you and your family. Good luck and all of our good wishes for your success!

Happy inauguration day everybody!

I. Am. Procrastinating...

I am procrastinating because I feel overwhelmed. Nice response, eh? And, I feel overwhelmed because the time to get things done is slipping by--so I procrastinate. Mind boggling isn't it, but this is one of my long term foibles and huge character flaws.

My mom is a huge list maker and does not procrastinate to my knowledge. She gets things done quickly, especially things she hates doing, and gets on to the good stuff. She checks things off and moves on. Admirable.

I write up a list, look at it, get overwhelmed and think about what else I can do instead. Flawed.

Rock out Friday.

Espero que disfruten de la musica, and I'll see you soon when we get back.

Bunting, Bunting, Crane, Crane...Wait, What?

A flock of cranes landed on my living room floor yesterday. There are about 21 of them. These are the small ones. My son made them and was so inspired by his own new-found folding ability that he taped 16 sheets of white paper together and made a giant crane--simply humongous. He is a folding demon now.

He then taught my daughter, who can now make a delightful crane, and me, who maybe can make a delightful crane now.

Later in the day he told me that he really likes cranes..."What?" "I like cranes a lot.", he said. I was completely confused by this and positioned my arm with my elbow cocked way up high and my hand dropped down. "You mean a crane?", I asked, puzzled, thinking of a crane at a construction site. "No! A crane like what I folded!" "Oh!!!! Yeah, I do too. Those are great."

Words are tricky sometimes.

Another time, years ago, my husband and I were watching a baseball game on TV. There, behind the batter, was a low brick wall draped with bunting. I could see it, but still my head was elsewhere. "I like bunting.", my husband said. "I do too, it's cool." I agreed. "I wouldn't say it's cool." my husband replied. "Yeah it is! It's so difficult." I replied indignantly. "There is nothing difficult about bunting." My husband countered, sort of irritated with my idea. I was shaking my head in disbelief. "God! How arrogant of you! Of course it's hard! Bunting is very hard!" "No it's not. Not in the least--what are you talking about?!" my husband asked exasperatedly. "Bunting. What are you talking about?" "Bunting. You know, the drapey stuff on the wall." my husband clarified. "Oh!!!! I was talking about bunting--the batting action. You know!" All was revealed.

Words. Tricky.

New Guestbook--You Can Contact Me!

I have a new guestbook up on the left there. Do you see it? If you want to contact me now, you can! You can keep it public, and others will see it--the default setting. Or, if you want to say something privately to me, be sure to click the "private" box when you sign in the guestbook.

Sign in if you'd like to. Ask a question. Angrily react to that unbelievable jive post I put up there the other day--just kidding, that would never happen! Say anything you want.

You are welcome here!

My Husband Knows Things

My husband surprises me all the time. He knows things and it sneaks up on me. I don't realize he knows the things he knows. You know?

Today, as I was knitting, he asked, "Could you please go do x, y and z after you finish the row?" He knows that I always need to finish a row of knitting before I leave it, or I might get messed up.

"finish the row"--my husband knows that!

He also can expound at length on: why breastfeeding is normal and healthier for baby and mother both, why homebirth is safe and natural, how unschooling works and why, why we support a farming co-op where we get raw milk.

I think he's not listening, but he is. He hears me...mostly. *Charlie Brown's Teacher's voice here*