Monday, May 27, 2013

The Boys Are Back in Town



The boys were back this evening around 6 o'clock. And the first day lily opened on this soggy Memorial Day. I've seen a few of the pink roses on the bushes here on the south side of the house. The white mini roses off the back deck should be opening in the next few weeks.



Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Goodbye Sweet Tucker




I found out today from Naomi & Steve, that Tucker passed away on Monday. He was such a sweet boy, I will truly miss him.

Tucker

Article co-authored by Bishop Desmond Tutu


From The Guardian

Bishop Desmond Tutu, Jacob Lief and Sohaila Abdulali
Friday 26 April 2013 04.00 EDT


What will you discuss with your children this evening? Sports, the weather, celebrity gossip, rape?
We are from three generations (aged 81, 50 and 36), three faiths (Christian, Muslim, Jewish) and three continents (Africa, Asia, North America). One of us is a religious leader, one a writer and rape survivor and one the CEO of a non-profit organization. We come together in the wake of the recent upheaval around rape in India, South Africa, the US and the UK, because we share a passionate conviction: we must bring the discourse home to the next generation on every continent.
Why did the men in the recent India and South Africa crimes rape, torture, and murder their victims? How could Jimmy Savile of the BBC molest hundreds of people and still die a hero? Why did the gang rapists in Ohio feel safe boasting on camera about what they had done? Why do too many Indians de-humanize women, and too many South Africans believe that men are just intrinsically badly behaved and programmed to rape? Who do we think these sub-human women and out-of-control men are?

They are us and, if we are not careful, they will be our children. We do not have the answers, but we should all be asking the questions, and we should include our sons, daughters and all the young people in our lives in our discussions. We need to stop behaving as if it's all a terrible problem out there, and start talking about it with each other and with our children.
So much ink has been spilt in the media over the past few weeks. Rape has become a ubiquitous global topic, and that is encouraging since it is a global blot on our collective humanity. But hardly anyone has paid attention to how this affects the most important group of all: the next generation, which is poised to inherit our poisonous baggage.
The fact is, rape is utterly commonplace in all our cultures. It is part of the fabric of everyday life, yet we all act as if it's something shocking and extraordinary whenever it hits the headlines. We remain silent, and so we condone it. The three of us deal with this issue in different ways every day of our lives, yet we too are guilty of protesting articulately outside but leaving it on the other side of the door when we sit down to dinner with our families. Until rape, and the structures – sexism, inequality, tradition – that make it possible, are part of our dinner-table conversation with the next generation, it will continue. Is it polite and comfortable to talk about it? No. Must we anyway? Yes.

It seems daunting. But which is more painful: talking sensibly with young people about this issue, the same way we might talk with them about drugs, guns or bullying, or waiting for something terrible to happen so close to home that you have to address it in a time of turmoil?
Children can seem fragile, and adults often have the mistaken notion that telling children about harsh realities will destroy their innocence. But you do not lose innocence when you learn about terrible acts; you lose your innocence when you commit them. An open culture of tolerance, honesty and discussion is the best way to safeguard innocence, not destroy it.
Changing rape culture is family work, but it cannot be only family work. It is a public health issue of gravest concern. The statistics are everywhere, but the evidence is weirdly shadowy: like the one in four girls abused in South Africa, by the one in four men who admit to having raped someone. (But who are these girls, and where are these men? Hardly anyone is talking.) The cost in human suffering, lives decimated, families destroyed, mental anguish, and physical trauma … the cost of rape is probably bigger than any of us can comprehend. Rape is expensive. Not just families from China to Canada, but also all the important institutions in young people's lives everywhere – schools from Finland to the Philippines, youth programs from London to Laos – should spend less energy ignoring the issue and more energy helping children understand the basic concepts of respect and choice.
Yes, governments must step up. But so should we all. Why shouldn't rape be dinner-table conversation? We talk about war, we talk about death, and we discuss values with our children. But on the subject of sexual assault, we remain silent and squeamish. We leave them ill-prepared, with whispers of untold horrors and no guidance for our sons on how they should behave if one day they should find themselves in a group of boys with a girl in their power.
Rape does not exist in a vacuum, and we cannot talk about it as if it is removed from the rest of our lives. Let's teach our children that they don't need to live in little boxes defined by their gender or culture. Let's teach them that they are all of equal worth. Let's not favor our boys over our girls. Let's not tolerate bullying or stereotyping. Let's reject utterly the notion that boys will be boys and girls must work around this assumption or pay the price.
Yes, policies should change, laws should be just. But if we want to make a fundamental difference, all of us must bring the conversation home. It is our opportunity to start to create true change. It might not be polite and comfortable, but it is essential. We owe it to our children.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Dad and Mark

Big Sur - Monterey California

The picture above is one that my dad took over 20 years ago on one of his trips out west from Michigan. He would have turned 80 yesterday. My oldest brother Mark would have turned 56 today.
I forgot about it until I saw today's birthdays on IMDb.com, but Mark had the same birthday as Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo, one of this favorite bands. I saved the meme below several months ago, he would have liked it. 
The music clip is from The Old Crow Medicine Show when they were on Conan O'Brien recently. My friend Steve from work told me about them, and when I watched this clip I could totally see my dad dancing along, he always said he was a hill-billy at heart ♥





A Little Humor

LOL Cats

Yeah This Looks Familiar....

Two funny meme's from Cheezburger that I thought were best appreciated on their own, instead of in the slide show.

Anyone locally can definitely appreciate the humor of the second one ☺

Monday, May 13, 2013

A Monday if Ever There Was One



So I had a Monday today that I bet everyone can laugh at and relate to.

I usually catch the bus at 7:15, but was running a little behind, and went to catch the bus that comes at 7:30. That bus if it's running on time will get me to the Cordata Bus station just in time to catch the connecting bus to work. Well. Of course the 7:30 bus didn't get there until almost 7:40, and I missed my bus to work. 

If I had been feeling better, I would have originally taken an early bus (before 7 am) to walk to work on purpose, but as it is, I walked to work because I had to, and ended up with a bad blister on the bottom of my foot (naturally).

And while I was standing there waiting for the bus, I had to bear witness to a lovely white trash domestic dispute with a young couple, the male half of whom was a real jerk. He didn't raise a hand to her, but he had her child in the car, and was basically using it as collateral in their argument. But I didn't even know that, until he finally took the child out of the car. The child looked unharmed, and the police showed up before my bus did, so I know she was okay.

Then my trivia question for the day made me feel both old, and from another planet. For my "Name That Tune" trivia today, I asked what was the name of the Stevie Wonder song that was 'covered' quite admirably by Peter Frampton.

I had more than one person ask me who Peter Frampton was.....
Then it was hard to explain the culture significance of "Frampton Comes Alive" and its impact on the music scene at the time. Oh my gosh. Never did I feel more like an alien from another planet than today at work.

Just in case you are wondering the answer, it's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)".

I did feel somewhat redeemed by another occurrence of my psychic abilities though, because at lunch I was checking out today's celebrity birthdays on IMDb.com, and it's Stevie Wonder's 63rd birthday. (Yes! I still got it!)


SSSSSSS!

(Several times my question of the day involves someone, something, etc. that is in the news, or on IMDb the same day, or day after.)

Anyways, that's it. I hope I have an uneventful evening, and get to bed early 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Gray Skies and Nap Time

Boo

Munchkin

I am feeling much better than I was earlier this week in terms of kicking the head cold, but yesterday I took a nap with the cats for two hours in the afternoon. Thankfully I woke up and mowed the lawn before the rain came back last night.






Today has been wet, but not while I ran my errands this morning which was nice. I am going to try and get back into a groove of leaving the house early for work and walking from the Cordata Station to get more excercise.
I am going to take another nap, and will probably be asleep within 5 minutes it feels like. The gray skies are going to help for sure ☺

And to all my fellow feline mommas out there, Happy Mother's Day!


Monday, May 6, 2013

Cat Sitting at the Next Best Place to the Museum


I cat sat Tucker & Jimi for Steve and Naomi this weekend. The boys enjoyed going out every afternoon for a little while.
We had such beautiful weather, and they went to Minnesota where it just snowed. But here's an ironic twist; I caught a head cold in our 75° temperatures!
There was a lot of activity downtown this weekend - and perfect weather for it all.
The flowers are some of their rhodies' in bloom.



Tucker

Jimi

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Spring Flowers

Lilacs

Sweet Peas
I clipped one of the lilacs from the bush out front, and oh man, I love the aroma! I am so nostalgic every spring about lilacs, because of the one we had outside our front door back home in Kazoo. Smelling it every morning on
the way to school, and coming home. Ahh...







I finally got my Sweet Pea starts potted yesterday. It was interesting, the roots were actually poking through the bottom of the little peat pots I started them in, I don't remember seeing that last spring. I am hoping these do really well again this year, they are certainly off to a good start.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Vimeo short - Two Chips

Sunshine in Bellingham

We are experiencing some beautiful weather here in Bellingham this weekend. It started mid week with some glorious sunshine and warm temperatures during the day, but still some cool nights.
I was online last night catching regional news, and saw this article in the Seattle P.I. about a school here in Bellingham that closed for sunshine yesterday.

I thought it was pretty comical and shows how much we love a sunny day in the spring. But I also liked how in touch the principal is with his inner child and wanted to give his students a day off to enjoy it. Here is the Bellingham Bay webcam.