Jay's birthday was November 28th- same day every year. From November 12th until the 28th we are only one year apart, but then from the 28th on Jay is two years older than me...
Jay has a fair amount of badger stuffed animals, figurines and stuff- he has had an avid interest in badgers since going to England in 1978, where badgers are like teddy bears are here. On ebay in May I ran into a hinged meter cover mounted on a piece of wood that I realized I had to get for him- then stashed it in the closet, awaiting the big day. On Sunday I gave Jay some new jeans, then on Monday (his actual birthday) I gave him a lovely card at breakfast, then in the evening gave him the meter cover and got a nice reaction. To see pictures click here.
Ever see a happier man? Happy Birthday Jay :)
When you do not know what to do or which way to turn, smile. This will relax your mind and let the sunshine of happiness into your soul.- Napoleon Hill
We have a very small house, and very small lot. Even though it is small, our lot is home to many plantings, including two apple, three cherry, one apricot, one Italian plum and one fig tree. One apple tree had lots of apples this year, from which I made several pies and apple crunch stuff- I even ate a couple. This was the first year for the pear tree, but it gave us several fruits to enjoy. Two of the cherry and the apricot were planted this summer, while the other apple was planted late last year- so they are planning to give us some fruit next summer. The third cherry was here when I met Jay and has fruit each spring, although less this spring, and they are yummy.
Then there is the fig. Jay loves fresh figs and has had a passion to grow some since... well, since a long time. He planted a variety that is supposed to grow well here in 2003, but over the winter the bark was damaged all around its base- the tree died off. But (saints preserve us!) from the ground a sappling appeared and has taken hold as our blessed fig. The fig is in a windy spot (like all of Skagit County) and so Jay built a shelter for it of burlap and long stakes to protect it this winter.
The fig is an ancient fruit and comes from an ancient heritage- thus its burqa to protect its visage...
New life comes from shedding old skins and pressing through the darkness toward the light. Spring is the season of new beginnings and of growth.- Karen Kaiser Clark
Even though we have a very small home, the remodeling goes on and on because we are re-doing almost everything. I know you have been waiting with bated breath for pictures of our bedroom floor replacement...
So I don't want to make you wait any longer- click on the picture of Jay working on the bedroom floor to enter into our adventure!
There is work that is work and there is play that is play, said the comic author Gelett Burgess. There is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lies happiness.
Joke at right courtesy of my cousin, Diane.
Click on both images- very cool links!
"I am me. In all the world there is no one else exactly like me. There are persons who have some parts like me, but no one adds up exactly like me. Therefore, everything that comes out of me is authentically mine because I alone chose it."- Virginia Satir
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I ran across the image (at right) of Bush picking his nose from one of my web pages four years ago and just had to use it again, of course. Kira's former boyfriend, Jon, kindly sent me a link to an interesting joke site, so I decided to link the old picture to it... but I left it hanging at the bottom of this December page waiting for more. More arrived today from the "Onion"- go ahead, click both pictures! |
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"The enormous gap between what US leaders do...and what Americans think their leaders are doing is one of the great propaganda accomplishments."- Michael Parenti
"People find life entirely too time-consuming."- Stanislaw J. Lec
Evening, fall 2005, alley off downtown square, Mount Vernon, Washington.
"In every investigation, in every extension of knowledge, we’re involved in action. And in every action we’re involved in choice. And in every choice we’re involved in a kind of loss, the loss of what we didn’t do. We find this in the simplest situations. . . . Meaning is always obtained at the cost of leaving things out. . . . In practical terms this means, of course, that our knowledge is always finite and never all encompassing. . . . This makes the world of ours an open world, a world without end."- J Robert Oppenheimer
I have been desperate for this world to make sense for so long now. This quest, I have finally realized, will have no end, but I will continue, with a larger context for myself.
The stuff of nonsense also has no end, as my country insists on making itself the laughing stock of the world while simultaneously striking terror in the hearts of those that laugh. Science continues to look for answers to God's riddles, while those who profess to have a direct line to God insist science stop looking. And the country professing its God-given superiority continues to demonstrate behaviors heretofore seen more frequently displayed by tyrants and despots.
But what do I know? I have no direct line to God, and I have not been saved. When the time comes, I will have to answer for my own behaviors without pre-granted forgiveness.
"Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve."- Erich Fromm (1900 - 1980)
Jay goes to a doctor in Burlington that he seems to like. He came home from an appointment there once and told me that the office had unusual figures up at the top of the wall, like a wallpaper border. When Jay inquired about it he learned that each figure represents a US service person killed in the current war and that his doctor climbs a ladder to put each one up himself. The local paper carried an article on Dr. Dale Abbott and this practice of his today. Click on Dr. Abbott's photo for the article.
In the world to come they will not ask me, "Why were you not Moses?" They will ask me, "Why were you not Zusya?"- Zusya of Hanipoli
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A Note Life is the only way to get covered in leaves, catch your breath on the sand, rise on wings; to be a dog, or stroke its warm fur; to tell pain from everything it's not; to squeeze inside events, dawdle in views, to seek the least of all possible mistakes. An extraordinary chance to remember for a moment a conversation held with the lamp switched off; and if only once to stumble on a stone, end up soaked in one downpour or another, mislay your keys in the grass; and to follow a spark on the wind with your eyes; and to keep on not knowing something important. - Wislawa Szymborska (translated from the Polish, by Stanislaw Baraczak and Clare Cavanagh) |
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The newest version of King Kong was released on Wednesday. Jay has been closely following the making of this movie via the internet for some time now, fascinated with the director's fastidious attention to period detailing and the intensity of his, well, of his intensity. We went to see it today, Friday the 16th, and recommend you too go see it- but be prepared, as it is an exhausting sitting.
The movie is a little bit over 3 hours long and, as a reviewer on NPR said, they could have cut out some boring or repetitive parts and shaved it down from 3 hours 7 minutes to 3 hours 5 minutes- yes, the movie is tiring not because of its length but because of its intensity. 
It is a feast for the eyes, with the New York City street scenes beautifully done. The Skull Island scenes are every bit as gripping as the original Jurassic Park hunt and chase pieces and the interplay between man (woman) and beast, as well as Kong's apparent appreciation of a sunrise and sunset, is very well done, tugging strongly on one's emotions.
And in the end, the beast is dead and mankind is saved from its ravages... for the beasts, we know, are nothing like humans. We know this for sure, because we know that they cannot communicate with us.
Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport, but in earnest.- Bion (~100 BC), from Plutarch, Water and Land Animals
Remember all the hullabaloo raised about the dangers of importing drugs from Canada into the US even though the drugs were made here to begin with? Many politicians spread the alarm, saying they were only interested in public safety. Very interesting. It is always possible that the public good can indeed coincide precisely with the financial good of corporations. That would be nice. But, as we all know, lots of vaccines are made outside of the US and lots of all kinds of other medicines are made outside of the US. That's just the way it is. Maybe it is for our own good that our government protects big drug companies, but it sure would be nice if the discussions included an honest examination of pros and cons.
The picture of the hanging bridge links to a large manufacturer based in India that makes a couple of the meds Jay and I buy at our local, US, stores.
"To try to extinguish the drive for riches with money is like trying to quench a fire by pouring butterfat over it."- Hindu proverb
The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves.- Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC), Oedipus Rex
The end of the year holiday season is upon us once again. After last Christmas I picked up lots of wrapping paper and cards on sale- a good deal. I sent out cards with a letter talking about what I have been up to with Jay and my family, and included pictures that lots of aunts and uncles have not seen because they do not peruse my web pages. The picture of the Christmas cow is one of the cards I sent out- something about an udderly wonderful Christmas and lovely moo year...
I could rant about the commercialness of Christmas, but I do my share of buying- it really is okay to give things to people you love. I hope everyone has a good time these next two weeks, including those people who are not Christians.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes to ALL
A man's life is what his thoughts make it.- Marcus Aurelius
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious."- Brendan Gill
Linked site brought to you by my cousin Diane.
"If it's sanity you're after, there's no recipe like laughter."- Henry Rutherford Elliot
Christmas has come and gone, with the new year's adventure ahead. Jay and I spent a quiet weekend together to celebrate our holiday.
Earlier, Kira came up for dinner and presents and to celebrate the season with us- click the snowman for pictures.
There is no hope of joy except in human relations.- Antoine de Saint Exupery
I have not been very prolific this month, or very insightful. Work has been stressful, home has been busy, and now I am pooped! But today, the 30th, Jay and I went up to Bellingham, despite both having a bit of a cold. We went to a new home supply outlet store and found some laminate we are interested in researching for use in our living room/kitchen area. We also went to an art gallery to see the work being jointly shown of a mother and her daughter- the daughter being 70 herself. Their paintings were lovely and I would have liked to buy one of their originals but, too much... We browsed a couple of used book stores and then went out to eat a New Year's celebration dinner at our favorite special restaurant, The Wild Garlic- very, very yummy. It was a good day.
The wild garlic picture links to the Cal Tech site and a movie of a snow crystal forming- those snow crystal pictures have captivated me!
"How full of the creative genius is the air in which these are generated! I should hardly admire more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat."- Henry David Thoreau, 1856
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Pictures link to somewhere in the cyberworld, go ahead...click.
