Once More With Feeling

Note to Self

2011-09-16T07:04:00.002-06:00

When dealing with arthritis, don't let the doctor show you the x-rays. It only makes it hurt worse.

Deimos The Newest McAllister

2011-09-14T17:11:00.000-06:00

I Thought I Made This Clear

2011-09-14T07:14:00.000-06:00

I've lived through three Texas presidents. I've got no particular political statement to make on any of them, but I was finished with having Texans in the White House after the last one. Not a left vs right thing. Not a Republican vs Democrat thing. Just let's stay the heck home people.

My problem is selfish. Starting with Lyndon Johnson, I endured years of hearing all kinds of stuff about Texas and Texans. We're dumb, we talk funny, we're all cowboys and on and on and on...

I therefore issued a moratorium on Texas presidents or presidential candidates for the rest of my lifetime. I made my position clear. Now there are two of them running around. And what happens? I'll tell you what happens. I turn on the morning news to get the weather report. Do I get it? Noooooo. I have to wait through a whole group of people I don't know telling me what's wrong with us. Texans are dumb, they talk funny, they're all cowboys etc. I live here y'all. I know we've got problems. But I don't want to hear about them from everyone in the country. I've done that already, THREE TIMES. There are plenty of other southern states, western states, or whatever. Find someone else.

Bah! I've got to start my presidential election news blackout now.

Sunday at Home

2011-09-11T16:26:00.000-06:00

We've gone on media blackout today. It's important to remember, but for some reason it's not something we can view via the mass media. It feels off somehow for us. I fully respect what everyone is doing to remember. Not sure why it just seems too hard for us today.

2011-09-08T12:38:00.001-06:00

It's Been a Long Time

2011-09-08T11:18:00.002-06:00

Holy Cow! I haven't blogged in forever and Blogger sort of lost my account.

2010-08-25T10:36:00.000-06:00

Duccio Buoninsegna

2010-05-16T09:01:00.004-06:00

The Kimbell acquired The Resurrection of Lazarus in 1975. For some reason, I didn't really notice this work until our last visit in October. Since then, I've been trying to find other Duccio works that I might have a chance to see. I love this painting because it shows something of the real fear and the ick factor involved in popping open a four day old grave. Lazarus still looks pretty gnarly.

You can't tell from the image, but gold foil was used throughout making the painting very vivid. Evidence from x-rays indicate that the tomb was originally horizontal. It definitely adds to the "Lazarus come forth.." for the tomb to be vertical.

In the Gospel of John, we are told that the high priest so feared what he saw that he immediately began a plan to kill Jesus. Here is Duccio's disposition of the crucifixion. Many of the same friends and followers are depicted in both paintings. Joseph of Arimathaea and John are removing Christ from the cross and into the arms of his mother. Mary is kissing his hand and Nicodemus is removing the nails from the Lord's feet. Museo dell'Opera del Dumo, Siena.

Booking Through Thursday -- Speed

2009-12-17T12:09:00.000-06:00

Thanks for another great question. I haven't done this in awhile. It's nice to be back.

What do you think of speed-reading? Is it a good way to get through a lot of books, or does the speed-reader miss depth and nuance? Do you speed-read? Is some material better suited to speed-reading than others?

Speed usually means work when I'm reading. I can move quickly and learned some techniques years ago to help. It's work. Complex technical text usually requires me to slow down anyway but I associate speed reading with getting through massive lit assignments in college or mounds of administrative work in libraries.

Something fun: New library books are usually put on a cart of shelf in the processing area. Librarians are given an opportunity to review the new stuff. Taking a large stack of new books home or to the office to browse is just plain fun.......

Big Day

2009-12-16T13:33:00.001-06:00

Billy is 15 today! It hardly seems possible that he could be that old. He's about 8 inches taller than me now and growing steadily. He wants to learn to drive ASAP and take the wheel on his next birthday. I'm still trying to remember he's a teenager.

Here's a recent fun video of our Houston "snow" earlier this month. He and his sister were very excited. I stayed inside where it was warm.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=101201&id=632719104#/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1133067095

From the Kimbell -- I fell in love with this Donatello

2009-11-12T07:57:00.001-06:00

Bill, the kids, and other photo updates

2009-07-01T14:27:00.014-06:00

I haven't updated in months, but wanted to post some pictures. My laptop is having problems and this is a good place to back-up things.

Bill got the Director's Award a few weeks ago. They invited the kids on stage for a picture with their dad. This recognition is given to less than 3 percent of the total work-force, and we are very proud of him.

From left to right.

Mike Coats (JSC Director and three time shuttle astronaut), Bill, Morgan, Billy, and Ellen Ochoa (JSC Deputy Director and four time shuttle astronaut.) This is a nice picture of the three of them, but Bill was getting sick that day. He had a horrible reaction to a new medication that caused the lymph nodes in his neck and head to swell till he looked like he had the mumps. This was taken the first day the swelling started. He definitely looks different. This was especially nice as Coats had been Bill's boss back in his shuttle days. It has been great for him to get to work for him again

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Now playing: Elton John - Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time)
via FoxyTunes

For something completely different, the following are "baby pictures" of Phobos. He was born on Thanksgiving Day of 2008. He's almost as big as Triton now, but we are terrible with pictures.

We will have to get some big-boy stuff up soon. This first is Phobos at about 4 weeks while he was still with the breeder. He was one of 5 in a litter of all boys. In the next, Phobos is with Triton on the back porch. He is about 9 weeks old. Triton turned 5 last January. She is only about 45 pounds but pretty tall. She looks huge next to the puppy. In the last picture, Phobos is following Triton as usual. He is about 14 weeks old here.

The Space Shuttle In Our Back Yard

2008-12-24T12:24:00.004-06:00

I've been busy and not much up for blogging in awhile. There has been more productive stuff to do, and I've been thinking of stopping this altogether. Then the kids reminded me it has been a good way to remember some of the major things happening in our lives. Since it's been two months, I won't try and catch up. Instead, here's a cool thing that happened a few days back.

We turned on the news for a quick update, and they were showing a live shot of Endeavor and its 747 ferry taking off from Ft. Worth after refueling. The most recent landing had been at Edwards due to weather at the Cape. We'd had snow the night before and had no chance for a refueling stop here. (Bill also says our airport may not be suitable anymore.) So we missed a chance to see the shuttle up close, but Morgan was optimistic anyway.

Morgan: "So how long till it gets here?"
Me: "It must not be coming, or Daddy would have told us."
Morgan: "Sure it will. How long?"
Me: "Well, it would be about 30 minutes, but we would know. Really. They'd tell us. It's sort of a big deal when we have a flyby. They'd tell us."

Morgan says nothing but checks the time. I forget all about it. We turn off the news and go back to work. Morgan hears a plane and jumps up.

Morgan: "That sounds like a big plane to me. It's flying low, too."
Me: "Oh, Morgan I told you we would know."
Morgan: "OK, then what's that out the back window?

Endeavor flew over our house 3 times. We ran outside and clapped, shouted, waved and danced. She's a beauty. And the moral of this story? Listen to your kids and look for cool things to fly by your house! Merry Christmas... ( The photos are from JSC. Unfortunately, I didn't listen to Morgan and get my camera ready.)

Pink States, Yellow States, and Rainbows

2008-10-23T10:23:00.019-06:00

Everyone I know is tired of the latest election cycle, fiscal crisis, et al. Mostly I feel invaded by the loud, insistent, and seemly urgent demands for my attention.

I also hate being a demographic. Red state, middle-aged, middle-class, southern, suburban, protestant, self-employed, mother of two, married.

The loud and urgent seem to think my group needs a great deal of guidance. I have been very tired of being told what I must think/feel/do.... I don't want to be classified, or whatever the verb form for demographic might be ... demographed, demographified?
____________________________________________________________________
Then, right in the middle of Kroger, I had an epiphany. I know... Kroger... just screams middle-class/age/mom.

I blinked and the world turned pink. Shoppers and workers dressed in pink. Shelves lined in specially packaged pink products. Pink candy, yogurt, cereal, and all of those wrist bands. The whole city turns pink for the Koman Race for the Cure, and it's grown from there. Y'all, the loud and self-important doesn't always win. The world changes with the small, the modest, the quiet, and the humble things in life. I'd been swimming in all this goodness and never saw or heard. Yogurt lids, women walking together.

And in October, we also turn Yellow with Lance Armstrong and the Ride for the Roses. Every year we celebrate cancer survivors and commit to eliminating cancer from our lives forever. remembering this helps make all the noise finally go away. Good things happen all the time. Good people do the right thing.

And during Pride, we turn the whole city into a rainbow. The lights are almost as cool as the people!

So I've decided my new demographic is is Pink/Yellow/and Rainbow. Plus, we have all these cool wrist bands.

A young man, about 19-20, was my cashier at the Kroger of the Epiphany. He had pink and yellow wrist bands on one arm and a rainbow band on the other. I wanted to tell him how proud I was of him and how proud his parents must be. What a great kid. But I didn't. I doubt he would have wanted an old lady patting him on the head.

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Now playing: Big Tent Revival - The Great American Novel
via FoxyTunes

Happy Birthday NASA

2008-09-25T12:48:00.002-06:00

Evacuation Updates -- Status your out of Houston Friends

2008-09-14T17:56:00.003-06:00

We have been keeping up pretty well with everyone on our evacuation plan but did not inform all of our friends outside of Houston of our whereabouts. I also failed to factor in loved ones that do not use e-mail/blogs etc.

BIG MISTAKE. My dearest friend of the last 47 years, Darlene, was not on my list. She lives in Ft. Worth and has no idea how hurricane evacuations work or what plans we had in place. She left frantic messages that did not reach us and was headed to Houston this morning to try to find me. Thank God her husband delayed her rescue trip long enough for us to reach her before she got close to the mess. Darlene is one of the brightest and best women I know, but she won't use the Internet and never calls my cell. We very nearly had a serious problem just because we left someone out.

We've been able to check our voice mail from the house. Since the account is through the phone company and not tied to power in the house, we heard from several people we left off our call list. If you may have let someone fall through the cracks, check your address book and call those people before they send the national guard after you.

Evacuation for Ike

2008-09-12T14:55:00.003-06:00

We have evacuated to Austin very close to Henri and Suzanne. We've checked on everyone we can. Here's what we know. If you find out more or can let us know how you're doing, please leave a comment.

Everyone's cells are working if you need to reach them/us, and Bill's had a tag-up with JSC today. Short-term, we will stay in Austin and can get help from friends if we need anything. We will not try to return to the house until we know if it is habitable.

We've been watching the news and praying for the folks still in Houston. A few of our folks are part of first responder/critical services and unable to leave. Nick's grandmother is in the sheriff's office in Dickenson.

UT canceled the game with the Razorbacks and freed up several thousand beds in Austin yesterday. Gov. Perry issued orders freezing lodging costs at their lowest rates. That's saving us about $30 per night and is much appreciated. Y'all would be so proud of Texas if you could see how well everything has been managed for the evacuation. We had no problems with finding gas and the traffic was very heavy but nothing like Rita. Carol said it took about 8 hours to get to Dallas, but they left late yesterday afternoon. Even so, the road were safe.

It would be great to hear status from anyone in Houston. For some stupid reason, I can't stop crying. I'm not very upset about our personal belongings but feeling very sad about what may happen to Galveston and Clear Lake. We've heard that Galveston may be totally submerged sometime tonight. Or neighborhood could be under 15-20 feet of water. Obviously, we all love Houston, and it hurts to think of what may happen to our city. More importantly, please keep yourselves safe. Everyone is going to have a combined birthday party Saturday, 7:00 at Tomi's, God willing. Keep safe and be there. We are praying for you all.

Power/communication could go down during and after the storm. So, please leave a comment here if necessary to let us know you're OK when the storm has passed.

Love,
Donna

Dreading Fridays

2008-09-05T09:33:00.004-06:00

Several months ago, my rheumatologist prescribed an injectable medication to treat my arthritis. The medication is administered with a tiny subcutaneous needle and she therefore agreed I could do it myself at home.

I've been very happy to have the option of self-injection. However, the week in, week out toll of all of those shots has started to wear on my nerves. The needle/syringe are exactly the same as those used by diabetics to administer insulin. Those folks do this more than once a day and here I am starting to complain about one little shot once a week.

The whole thing really started to freak me out two weeks ago. I had skipped two weeks because of constant migraines. Finally the rheumatologist insisted I go back to my regular schedule. The first week was fine. No more headaches than usual. The next week I was dreading the shot, dreading worse headaches, mad about the arthritis and screwed up the injection.

It really is a tiny needle. Somehow, I put it in at an odd angle and the needle and its plastic support separated from the syringe. The medication poured out all over my leg. At first, I thought I'd broken the needle off and was in hysterics. When I realized it was safely held just as it should be, I was able to remove it and clean up. I didn't have the heart to give it another try.
So, Friday is really a gloomy day today. I think I'm going to wait for Bill to get home before I poke myself.

Oh! Then I had a nice announcement from the Arthritis foundation that certain medications, mine included, may increase my risk for fatal fungal infections!!!

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Now playing: The Beatles - Let It Be
via FoxyTunes

Booking Through Thursday -- Peer Pressure/Vampires and Librarians

2008-09-04T08:03:00.006-06:00

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them. Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading. Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I was planning to say, no. I don't feel the need to keep up with trends in popular literature. But staring me in the face is my last post for booking through Thursday in which I described the Twilight series mentioned above. So, let me say that vampires don't count. I read pretty much everything. This is a young adult series and I didn't pick it up right away. Someone at the books store suggested it. I'd finished the Tanya Huff series Bloodlines and she mentioned Twilight when I complained about being out of vampires.

I also have to say it is a bit different when reading becomes part of your professional life. I do have a sense, as a librarian, that I should at least be aware of trends. I read the best seller lists, awards lists, etc. and try to read at least some of the works. I make sure I've read the Newbery and Caldecott books every year. I also read the books from the Texas Bluebonnet list. Very often the children's books are better than the grown-ups. The NYT bestseller stuff I don't really count as personal reading. Very often I just skim them. Sometimes, I'll just take a few minutes in the bookstore and work my way through the new books shelf reading the book jackets, skimming the tables of content, etc.

Booking Through Thursday -- The Story's The Thing

2008-08-28T11:15:00.004-06:00

If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?

Or, um, is it just me?
Another great question!
Sometimes the story will carry me through. I just finished reading the young adult Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I had stayed away from this series even though it concerned one of my favorite escapist fiction topics. Vampires. I usually like my horror fiction to be, well.... horrifying or at least mildly terrifying. These books are not.
But, they are very sweet. The protagonist talks often of fairy tales. That aspect of the story did appeal to me. Vampires are part of my own personal mythology. In the Twilight series Stephenie Meyer has made one of them into Prince Charming. It works within the context of the series.

If you are willing to put your own ideas aside and join the protagonist in a gentler, more childlike tale of happily ever after, this is a nice story. The books in order are:

Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

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Now playing: Anoushka Shankar/Sting - The Book of My Life
via FoxyTunes

Booking Through Thursday -- Early Library Experiences

2008-08-21T11:15:00.002-06:00

Whether you usually read off of your own book pile or from the library shelves NOW, chances are you started off with trips to the library. (There’s no way my parents could otherwise have kept up with my book habit when I was 10.) So … What is your earliest memory of a library? Who took you? Do you have you any funny/odd memories of the library?

I love today's question! My memories of the public library as a little girl are all great. The town I grew up in was small and didn't have its own library when I was very little. Once a week the bookmobile would come and park outside the local grocery store.

This was a magic thing. A whole library on wheels. There was a little check-out desk and a small children's section. I loved it.

Years later, I got a job at a regional library in Georgia. Part of my job was to go out once a week on the bookmobile. For one whole year I got to be in the magic library and watch kids climb on board. It's one of the most fun jobs I've ever had.

Big Night With George Michael

2008-07-17T07:59:00.014-06:00

I wrote this post ages ago, but didn't manage to get it up here until I down loaded the pictures from my camera. I wanted to post it anyway because it was just so much fun.

BFF and true love, Suzanne, came as promised for the George Michael July 14th. It was hard to pick a favorite story to share but this one will go down in the long history of scandalous yet hilarious events which seem to inevitability occur when we're together.

So here's what happened. We both wanted to take our cameras to the concert. I called to make sure it was ok and ours were supposed to be just fine. I let Suzanne know and we planned on taking loads of pictures of each other and Morgan.

Here's where the fun starts. We arrive early and start looking for strangers to take pictures of the three of us. A big security guard comes out just after the first stranger has taken the first picture and says no cameras are allowed inside. I think for a minute about arguing with him since I had called to check, but decide that subterfuge is our best option.

BFF: Donna you said that I could have my camera and now they are going to take it from me.
Me: No, they are not taking your camera.
BFF: Yes they are, and I've got pictures of the boys from the awards banquet on there. They're going to take it from me, and I'll never get it back.
Me: Here take this. (I handed her a female hygiene pad)
BFF: I told you I don't need those anymore, and I really need you to focus on the problem we are having right now. We can talk more about menopause later.

Me: I am focused. Open the damn thing up right now.
BFF: Good God have you lost your mind? It's bad enough you've just handed me a Kotex in broad daylight in front of everyone in Houston, but now you want me to open it up. What the hell is wrong with you? They're going to take my camera away, and the man behind us just saw your Kotex.

Me: Just listen and do what I say. Open it up and wrap your camera inside. Try to make it look like it's been er... used.
BFF: Loud long squeal with no actual words but now Morgan knows what needs to be done and steps in to help.
Me: Look here BFF, you gave birth to two children for God's sake. Quit being such a sissy and wrap your camera up in this Kotex damn it.
BFF: I can't believe I'm doing this. What, you think Kotex can make things invisible?
Me: Yep.

We step in line to have our purses searched. BFF gets a male security guard and is out in a matter of seconds. I have a female guard made of sterner stuff. But even she wilts while digging through my substantial stash of girl stuff. (I travel prepared.) Unfortunately this is the only picture I get of my two girls.

After we make our way through the gate, BFF lets me have it.

BFF: I have never in my life, Donna, waved one of those things around in public. I am sure I've never opened one up in front of another person. How do these things happen when I'm with you? And what I really want to know is how you knew to do that? What else have you been smuggling?
Me: You have your camera don't you?
BFF: Yes, and I should have known you would find a way to let me keep it no matter what anyone else said.
Me: Well finally!

BFF: I still want to know how you got the idea to do something like that.
Me: I read about it in the newspaper.
BFF: What, huh?
Me: Well, there was a lengthy article about the numerous ways the bad guys might try to bypass security at various places. These things and diapers were high on the list.

BFF: God, librarians never forget anything do they?
Me: Nope. I love you....? (My sweetie can be won over by flattery.)
BFF: I love you two, but here's another thing I'd have never done in a million years if you hadn't put me up to it.
Me: We have the child with us, Suzanne. Do you want me to start reminiscing about all the things I'd have never done if it wasn't for your bad influence?

Morgan: Oh yes, please! Let's do that.
BFF: Morgan, I don't know what your mom is talking about. Don't believe a word she says.
Morgan: Snort, laugh, snort again then finally.......

I think it's pretty clear you two are a bad influence on each other. Thank God you brought a chaperon!

We had a wonderful time with Suzanne. It has been really hard to make time for each other while our kids were little, but we are hoping to get better at it now. I've been a bit disgusted by my total lack of wisdom in approaching 50, but if working out a way to spend more time with our friends is part of it, maybe I'm on to something after all.

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Now playing: George Michael - An Easier Affair (Remastered 2006)
via FoxyTunes

Pickup Truck Porn

2008-07-09T07:55:00.004-06:00

The kids and I were driving to the mall. I saw something hanging off the back of a truck. I decided I was hallucinating. Then about a week later, Bill comes home one day shouting.

Bill: WHAT THE HELL???????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Yeah! (I agree, because there's aways something.)
Wait, what/huh? (Because I can't find the source of this something.)

Bill: Truck pornography! What the HELL????????????

Me: Where, how, why, what, when, who????????????? huh? (I get some very vivid mental pictures that I don't want in my head.)

Bill: You are never going to believe what I saw hanging off the back of a pickup.

Me: Plastic testicles. (See earlier experience above.)

Bill: (gurgles sputers, blinks, sputters again.)

Me: Crap, I didn't think that could be what they really were.

Bill: What do you mean really were?

Me: The truck testicles. I can't believe that's what they really were.

Bill: Well, no not literally for Christ's sake. They were plastic.

Me: I know they were plastic.... I just thought they might not really look like, uh ... testicles.

Bill: You know a testicle when you see one, er two. What did you think they were?

Me: Well unless something has changed very recently, testicles are not shinny silver and the size of a dinner plates.

Bill: Oh, mine were skin colored.

Me: Thank God they're not the size of dinner plates. Where would we buy your pants? (I'm laughing like a 3rd grader.)

Bill: Very funny. Ha, ha. I'm trying to talk to you about this serious issue of truck pornography in our community, and you're making jokes.........

(Long pause while he thinks......Even in moral outrage, the man is always the engineer.........)

Maybe the size is a proportionality thing. I mean, it's a truck. They'd have to be big, right?

Me: (Still laughing but also thinking we may be losing what's left of our minds.)
Nope. Now that I've thought about it, what I believe we are dealing with here are bull testicles. Though it sounds like neither, um pair, got the color right.

Bill: You need to focus on what's important here. We've got truck porn riding up and down the streets of Clear Lake, and you're talking about size and color.

Hey, the size thing gives me an idea though. If I ever get the chance to talk to any of the little perverts wearing, uh displaying... the porn, I'm going to tell them it's to compensate for there little *&%$@.

Me: You mess with some Bubba in a truck and tell him he is less than well endowed, he's going to shoot you. The gun's probably an even bigger attempt at compensation.

Bill: I think I can protect myself from some pervert riding around town with a pair of plastic b*lls hanging from the back of his truck.

There's a link here. Yes, I googled truck testicles. Don't look unless your very brave. It made me shriek like a little girl. The add says they are an "High-quality, novelty automotive accessory."

I can't wait to tell Bill.

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Now playing: Antal Dorati: Detroit Symphony Orchestra - Copland: Rodeo - 4. Hoe-Down
via FoxyTunes

Booking Through Thrusday

2008-07-03T08:48:00.008-06:00

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

Tanya Huff has a vampire series. We found out about it because there were a few episodes based on the main characters called, Blood Ties. So far I've read all the Blood Ties books and have moved on to the "Smoke and Shadows" series. I won't give you too many details as it will give away major spoilers for the TV show and the books. In the Smoke and Shadows series the main characters from Blood Ties are still around, but another character from the books takes center stage. They still fight the forces of darkness and Henry is still hot. The spin-off series also deserves kudos for its engaging gay protagonist. Not always a well represented population in fiction.
Alison Weir, The Princes in the Tower. Speaking of the Tutors.... There's not much new here, but she does a decent job of trying to seperate the Tutor propaganda form historical fact.
Generation Ageless: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Live Today. When I think of all my very weird older relations and the shear number of us in this generation, I wonder how the world will survive our elder years. With the advances being made in medical science, we could live a very long time. If I were one of you young people, I would get going on colonizing the moon as soon as possible. Then, send us all there. It will be good for my arthritis and fulfill a lifelong dream. Trust me, you don't want several million of us wandering around causing the kind of chaos we did in the 60's and 70's. It may have been one small step for Neil Armstrong, but y'all need to sprint to making the moon one giant retirement village in the sky. Heck, Neil might be the first one to sign up to go.

Booking Through Thursday.

2008-06-26T11:42:00.003-06:00

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

Once again, thank you to Booking Through Thursday for the great question. I love all kinds of readers. There are the folks who read the back of the cereal box at breakfast and everything else they can get their hands on. Then, there are those that only read a certain fiction genera or only professional literature.

What ever they read, these are my people! Librarians get tingly all over when someone tells them they've just read something good. It doesn't matter what it is. I once went to hear a visiting lecturer at Emory who described in detail the erotica collection at the NY Public Library. Fascinating stuff.

My son is currently engrossed in the world of Menga (sp?) It only marginally involves reading. But, I still count it as there are words on each and every page and he does read them all. I've even begun comic book reading myself! Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my all time favorite TV show, has an 8th season as a comic. I get a new episode about once a month. Do I feel a bit silly? Yes. Does it count as reading? Yes it does. And, if there's anyone out there as big a nerd as I am, I'll gladly let you know all about it!

Oh yeah, I also love to read blogs.....

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Now playing: The Beatles - Paperback Writer
via FoxyTunes

More Reunion Stuff

2008-06-11T06:56:00.007-06:00

We went to our fourth, and final, Police reunion concert a few weeks ago. It was fabulous and we were very sorry to see it end. However, I'm ready to see Sting move on to something new. His last solo album was Sacred Love in 2004. It would be nice to hear something original from him now.

George Michael will be in Houston next month. Suzanne, Morgan, and I can't wait. It will be great to see him, but even better to be with my two favorite girls. Now that our kids are older, Suzanne and I are really hoping to have more chances to do things that aren't so MOM oriented. It has been ages since we had the chance to go out together just for fun.

We have decided not to make the long trip to north Texas for my music class reunion. These were kids I studied with from about the age of 10-17. We didn't necessarily take regular classes together, but orchestra, band, music theory, ensemble and chamber music, choir and vocal training, etc. I was always with this same group of about 150 students.

I was particularly looking forward to seeing our teachers again. Amazingly, they are all alive and well. Orchestra conductors are legendary for their longevity. I suppose this group of 10+ octogenarians are solid proof. But, I haven't seen most of my fellow students since I went to college. My girlhood best friend, Darlene, and I were able to get back in touch after about 15 years. That was really wonderful and we are planning to see each other sometime soon. She is a grandmother of 3 and owns her own business in Ft. Worth.

The weird part about the music school reunion was that I just don't remember most of the other students. Several have posted recent pictures, and I wouldn't know them from strangers. It's sort of a relief not to go as I can imagine embarrassing myself all evening. In the picture above, I'm the first student on the left. I remember the girl standing next to me but don't even recognize the names of the other two. I can remember composers, pieces I first learned to play as a kid, music theory, concerts which I attended and those at which I performed, as well as thousands of other details of what I learned, but not who I was with. How does that work?

I have a fairly advanced student at the moment. He is a member of a rock band, but wanted to formalize his music study. Because he is interested in composition, I've had to pull out material I haven't used in years. It all seems perfectly natural and comfortable. Yet the faces of my classmates from the time I first used these concepts aren't familiar at all. Memory is a strange thing.

At least I remember what is most important. My true love and BFF, Suzanne, my closest friend in childhood, Darlene, and of course Sting and George!

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Now playing: The Police - Demolition Man
via FoxyTunes

Shalom Jerusalem

2008-05-14T14:24:00.003-06:00

Last week, the Nation of Israel celebrated its 60th year. Tomorrow Bill and I will celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary. I can't imagine the world without Israel. It is hard to imagine all of the people who have sacrificed to make a home for themselves in such a short time.

And, here's my favorite PM. Did anyone else grow up wanting to be like her? Most of you are too young. She seemed larger than life when I was a little girl. What kind of woman could run a country and particularly a country continually attacked by its neighbors? But Golda was fearless and wise.

Shalom

Booking Through Thursday

2008-05-01T09:50:00.004-06:00

Quick! It’s an emergency! You just got an urgent call about a family emergency and had to rush to the airport with barely time to grab your wallet and your passport. But now, you’re stuck at the airport with nothing to read. What do you do??
And, no, you did NOT have time to grab your bookbag, or the book next to your bed. You were . . . grocery shopping when you got the call and have nothing with you but your wallet and your passport (which you fortuitously brought with you in case they asked for ID in the ethnic food aisle). This is hypothetical, remember….

What a great question! When stuck in the airport, I head for the news stand and buy up all the trashy magazines I normally couldn't justify wasting my time and money on. I secretly love People, Us, The National Enquirer and any other gossip/celebrate crap I can get my hands on. But I have my pride and a degree in English, so I never buy the stuff. At the airport I give myself permission to indulge. I also buy a Coke and the largest chocolate bar they have for sale.

Other people dread layovers, but not me.

Elections Today!

2008-04-22T07:25:00.003-06:00

Thinking of all you guys in Pennsylvania today. I'm glad the race has stayed competitive long enough for your votes to make a difference. Here in Texas we are having serious discussions about how to handle national primaries in the future. I can't helped but feel like Florida and Michigan voters have really been treated badly too. Most of them had no choice on when their elections would happen and now their votes don't count. Hopefully we will all learn from this and find a equitable way for every state's votes to matter.

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Now playing: The Beatles - Hey Jude
via FoxyTunes

Reunions

2008-04-14T11:30:00.007-06:00

Ok, the first and best news of the whole summer is my true love and bff, Suzanne, will be here in July for the George Michael concert. We're taking Morgan with us and going to totally rock on with one of our '80 favorites.

I've most likely told the story before, but Suzanne and I shared an office for years. Both of us work better to music, so we had a small stereo system set up in the library. When we had to work all weekend, we turned it up full blast and sang/danced to our hearts content. On one fateful Sunday afternoon, we were listening to the album, Faith. When "I Want Your Sex," came on we cranked up the stereo to the max and danced. We thought we were alone in the building, but no. At the point the Director for Medical Sciences came in, we were in the middle of a raucous hip-bump singing/dancing routine. The words "Don't you think it's time you had sex with me?" were shouted just as Dr. Poole came into view.

Since that day, "I Want Your Sex," has been our song. BFF now recalls the incident as having begun at my suggestion. I recall the rather horrendous hangover that had been entirely BFF's fault and that it was this that led to the infamous moment. I think we survived the incident, jobs intact and promotions in our future for three reasons. 1) We were by far the youngest people in the building. Virtually everyone we worked for was our father's age. 2) We were the only professional women in the building and the first professional women some of these men had ever known. I think there's a good chance they might have been afraid to ask why/how we behaved. Sort of like aliens from another planet. 3) I think Dr. Poole may have simply chosen not to believe his eyes. This was NASA and I was the chief librarian. Surly the librarian wouldn't do a Hoochie Coochie dance to a very naughty song in the middle of the library? Dr. Poole always approached me like he was talking to a nun. Maybe there just wasn't room in his universe for two rowdy 20 something librarians nursing hangovers on a Sunday afternoon.

Anyway, George, Suzanne, Morgan, and I are on for July. Morgan has been suitably warned that middle age unseemliness will ensue. She assures us she is incapable of embarrassment having grown up around the two of us. If you haven't watched Eli Stone, you are missing a great series. George Michael has been in about four episodes and is as wonderful as ever. The summer tour will be his first in the U.S. in 17 years. We'll take lots of pictures.

More reunion fun. My high school bff, and I got back in touch thanks to the music class reunion in June. I'm so excited. I've seen her many times since then, but haven't been in touch with most of these folks in over 30 years. Another friend posted this picture. Our reunion has a yahoo group and there's an all at war being waged to find the dumbest photos of our classmates. Linda is on the left, I'm on the right, and Cathy is in the drill team uniform kneeling. I'm going looking for my own photo albums to retaliate shortly. As friends have posted pictures, I'm continually shocked by the fact that everyone was taller than me. I don't remember being so short, but I am now so I must have been then too. It's funny what kinds of things you forget.

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Now playing: George Michael - I Want Your Sex, Pt. 1 & 2
via FoxyTunes

End of PT and a Musical Summer

2008-04-07T09:17:00.006-06:00

I fired the PT on Friday. It wasn't a huge deal, since she already knew she had really put her foot in her mouth. The final decision came after I heard what the kids had to say. Bill and I agreed it will be worth it to pay an out of network co-pay rather than send a message to the kids that we would tolerate that kind of bigotry. PJ, you were so right. It comes down to a profound lack of professionalism. Billy said, "Everyone has someone they love that's gay. Doesn't she know that?" For a boy, he can be quite profound. My children are, upon occasion, quite remarkable.

I'm doing better and have loads of stuff to write about. The summer is coming and we have tons of great stuff planned. The Police will be here in concert next month and George Michael in July. In June my whole music class, about 250 people in all, are having a reunion. I haven't seen most of these folks in over 30 years. Most amazing of all is that all of our instructors/conductors/directors are still alive and coming too!

Ramona and I went to see Swan Lake yesterday. It was so beautiful. My last memory of going to the ballet with Bill involved him snickering through the whole production thinking it all very silly. Thank God for Ramona! Much more fun.

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Now playing: George Michael - Faith
via FoxyTunes

Summer Misc. and Physical Therapy

2008-04-02T09:31:00.004-06:00

Yeah! We've had some actual summer weather for the past two days. The kids are so ready to swim. The pool is kind of sad in the cold weather. We turn the pump down to save energy, so the water isn't as pretty as it is now. The dog's been in twice. I suppose that's the benefit of swimming in a fur coat. It will be great to have some exercise that doesn't pound my joints.

I have been going to physical therapy for three weeks now. I don't like the PT at all but have figured it's a short term relationship, and her work seems fine. She just hasn't been someone who appeals to me personally. The last session was the worst yet. She has asked me questions about teaching and why we home school our kids every time I see her. The kids usually come with me and do their work in the waiting room. At first I was patient with her curiosity, but after the first couple of times, it has felt sort of intrusive.

Monday she asked, not for the first time, why we home school. I didn't have anything new to tell her but tried to be polite. She said she thought the public schools were terrible and launched into a story about her neighbor, a high school teacher. It seems the woman has two lesbian students who are dating and sought out this teacher to talk with. The teacher, from what the PT says, told the students they had the same rights and should be treated the same as anyone else in the high school. She then suggested that they be careful to obey all school rules about public displays of affection as someone might use a breach of those rules to single them out.

My PT was furious at what she heard and said it confirmed her bad opinion of public schools. For awhile I thought she was wanting the high school teacher to do more to help the girls. But, no. She wanted the teacher to "report" them to the principal, their parents, etc. The PT thinks they should not be "allowed" to be lesbians. Well crap. In my head I was thinking how nice it would be to turn around and slap the woman right on the mouth. Not allowed?????????? But she has her hands on my neck right at the moment, and I was pretty sure I'd be the one injured if I tried to jump her.

I finally told her that I didn't know a single high school teacher that would ever out a student, and any that did should be fired on the spot. I said the teacher must be doing a pretty good job for these kids to seek her out to trust and confide in, and she had to honor their trust. It's sad she had to warn them about displays of affection, but probably realistic. I ended up telling the PT that she should go to the waiting room and tell my kids they were "forbidden" from being gay and see what happens. "Oh," she says, "You're one of those moms."

So I'm wondering if I should have fired the PT on the spot. She's on my insurance plan and has done a decent job restoring some range of motion in my neck. But I dislike this woman intensely now, and the thought of having her put her hands on me again creeps me out. I don't think the insurance would let me go out of network because the PT is a big fat homophobic b*&%h. I've made it clear where I stand, so hopefully she will keep her horrible mouth shut. But really, I'm thinking she must not like any women very much. She thinks her neighbor, the teacher, is some kind of pervert for not outing those kids, and she thinks the two girls should be removed from school for being lesbians. That doesn't strike me as being female friendly. It's so ironic that I insisted on a female PT. I'm afraid I used up my one opt out when I asked for a woman, plus she's the only PT in the practice anyway.

Well, I have till Friday to decide if I'm going back. I've been talking to the insurance company about arranging for a home traction device that would greatly reduce my need for PT. In the mean time, it's summer! Blue bonnets, swimming pools, and sitting in the yard with a good book. Lots to look forward to.

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Now playing: Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama
via FoxyTunes

OMG Are Texans Crazy?????

2008-03-04T22:09:00.002-06:00

The four of us just got home from the post-primary caucus. It took us from 6:30-10:00 pm to vote in the caucus and have the very lengthy process be completed. Morgan and I served as precinct volunteers. This was the first time we acted as election workers, Morgan having cast her first vote only last Friday. It wasn't much different than running a fourth grade class room. Please line up here, please sign there, etc.

Republican votes were not in doubt, but the Democratic results for Texas may not be finalized until tomorrow. I've got a picture on my phone of Morgan voting at the caucus. We've lost our camera. It's somewhere in the house but not to be had tonight. The caucus folks were so cute, everyone stepped aside when it came to be her turn in line so that she could vote at my spot and even waited for the picture. I'll try and transfer it to the computer in the morning.

I have two blog friends in Pennsylvania waiting to vote next month. So far tonight, it looks like there will still be important votes for them to cast! Yeah.

Morgan and I are going to lead a campaign to stop this caucus nonsense in Texas after this year's election cycle. All totaled, it took us about 6 hours over 2 days to have our votes counted. No wonder people think we are crazy.

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Now playing: Bowling for Soup - Ohio (Come Back to Texas)
via FoxyTunes

Texas Primary

2008-03-03T09:49:00.002-06:00

Morgan and I voted on Friday during a very busy hour. The line was about about 30 min. long, still much better than it will be tomorrow. We are kind of disgusted with the news calling the elections before the polls even open.

After living in Texas all my life, I've only learned how our caucus really works. We'll have a long night tomorrow at the caucus. At least Morgan is looking forward to all the politicking. This year, vote early and vote often actually turns out to be true!

Icons

2008-02-26T12:26:00.003-06:00

Being brought up protestant we weren't exposed to iconography in church. This is a painting of Julian of Norwich by Robert Lentz. She lived in Norwich, England during the fourteenth century. Little is known of her life before she became a holy woman living in a small anchorage attached to the church. She entered church service after a nearly fatal illness in which she had a spiritual inspiration. Julian wrote of her vision and offered comfort to her community.

I discovered Lentz's work through the online publication, Methodx. If you're interested just click here. You can find several of his icons here and prints can be ordered through the bookstore. A saint with a tabby cat, I wonder if the kitty was saitly too? Probably not.

Early Voting

2008-02-25T10:55:00.002-06:00

Morgan and I plan to go vote this afternoon. I've got a doctor's appointment, and we're going by the court house on our way home. Bill went early this morning and said there wasn't a bad crowd. This will be Morgan's very first time to vote, and she is thrilled. Her voter's registration card finally came last Friday. It might as well have been a winning lottery ticket. She was so proud and happy.

We just recently learned that our primary system in Texas has two parts. First there is the popular vote, then from 7:00-9:00 there is a caucus. I've been voting in Texas for most of my adult life, and I never knew we had this evening caucus thing. All of the information about it came out because the primary race is so close on the Dem's side. How was this done all these years and no one knew? It's astounding to me to learn how very little I know.

Between the early primaries and this thing I've had a bit of culture shock this election cycle. Pres. and Sen. Clinton have been in town half a dozen times in the last week. We've been invited to see both of them but it's all very last minute, and we don't have the time. After all of the excitement so far, I'm wondering what the general election will be like. It's been a long time since anyone has even bothered to campaign in Texas.

Big Week On Space Station

2008-02-11T11:58:00.000-06:00

I went to work on the space station program in 1986. This mission is really a dream come true for me. The shuttle launch last Thursday was flawless. This week will be busy aboard the International Space Station as the installation of the Columbus Laboratory begins! This is the point in the station assembly we've all been waiting for. A real science laboratory in space. What will we learn there? Maybe a new cancer treatment will be discovered or a new energy saving invention will be created. Anyway, the future starts now. You can follow it at the NASA mission web-site. Please visit and think of where you hope we will go from here.

My kids have been asking why the German astronaut, Hans Schlegel, was unable to perform his assignment on this EVA and why NASA would not disclose the nature of his condition. Last question first. The flight surgeon will not discuss his health for the same reason your doctor doesn't discuss yours. It's private. Sometimes that surprises people, but even astronauts want their medical information protected. We've taken a couple of good guesses as to what's wrong. Since the fight surgeons have said that his illness isn't dangerous or contagious, my best guess might be space motion sickness. However, this particular astronaut has flown twice before and would most likely have had symptoms on the other two flights. If he was susceptible, he wouldn't have been scheduled for an early mission EVA. Most of the crew who experience this condition are recovered within 48 hours. So, another guess might be a small injury such as a muscle strain that impedes range of motion. At launch the crew is subjected to forces many times the normal pull of gravity and must make the transition to weightlessness quickly and begin working. Their safety is the first priority throughout but, these things might put stress on their otherwise healthy bodies. Whatever his illness, NASA has said he will be fine, and there is not permanent risk to his health. I'm sure he wishes he was outside today installing the lab!

What are you giving your sweetie?

2008-02-05T18:34:00.000-06:00

I've got nine days left to shop for a Valentine's Day gift for Bill. The kids are easy. Candy is always welcome, but I've got to shop more responsibly for poor Bill. His blood sugar was high at his last physical and we've been working to eliminate sugar from our diet. Now I have no clue what to give the man for Valentine's Day. He always thinks of something thoughtful for me, but I've been lucky that he usually wants candy and treats for his gift. He likes a really strong strong licorice and most kinds of chocolate. Also he has been a huge fan of any kind of home made baked goods. Now I have to dig deep for the first time and find something he might actually want that won't give him diabetes.

So, do any of you have ideas? He doesn't care about clothes and prefers to buy his own books. He's been walking every day, and I'm wondering if he could use a good pair of shoes. He's always been weird about wearing athletic shoes. It must be some kind of nerd fashion thing because I know lots of other rocket science types that go around in loafers with everything, including shorts. Maybe he would be open to trying a different kind of shoe for his exercise. After all, none of the other nerds would see him walking with the dog in the early morning. These guys are getting more hip all the time. It's been ages since I've seen anyone wearing a pocket protector.

I'm going to search Zappo's ... I wonder what he would think of a pair of Crocs????

News Blackout -- A Rant

2008-01-29T08:55:00.000-06:00

It happens every election cycle. No matter what my intentions, I will eventually be overcome by Pre-Election Stress Disorder (PESD-- pronounced pissed.) Watching people slowly rip each other apart, live and in color, is too much for me. When I can't take it anymore, I turn off the TV. My self-imposed blackout period usually comes much closer to November. How will a political sissy possibly make it through the next 10+ months? Well, much like the states that started the primary season early, I'm implementing the blackout now. (Anyone ever hear the Frank Zappa song on the subject of tv?)

This early onset PESD actually started before the primaries. I got the crap scared out of me when the president of Iran came to lecture at Columbia. A few years, I had an Iranian student who lost her uncle to this government. He wasn't of the same faith as the dictators. So, I was already clear that this man was a murderer. Then, he said something like, "...there aren't any gay people in Iran..."

I started screaming at the TV, "What the F*&% did you do with them you b*&%$#$d???????????"

We watched the lecture during school, and my kids just laughed at him. (They already knew Mommy has a potty mouth.) What kind of fool would believe that stuff," they asked?

"Me." No doubt Hitler said the same thing while setting up the death camps. All of these hate peddlers play for keeps.

But that's not why the blackout has come early. My big problem started about a week ago with a horrible nightmare. In it, I was visiting a church. I went into the church library and found row after row of Nazi propaganda and memorabilia. These people weren't the Lutherans, I realized. They were stinking Nazis! I ran around the church and out in the street screaming for someone to come and see. No one came. (Yes, I have Nazi fear, German fear, and Lutheran fear, but that's another story. Sorry German and Lutheran guys. It's me not you.) Since then, I've had recurring dreams about all kinds of scary people doing terrible things. A nightmare government took my kids away because they're home schooled. Then there was a whole Fahrenheit 451 thing with my home library. Another time some unknown police force killed a favorite cousin who, in real life, actually died of AIDS more than 16 years ago.

So back to my PESD. This last nightmare was after the whole "Do people vote by gender/race" thing started. Seeing both a woman and an African-American as serious possibilities for the job of president should be a happy thing, yes? Noooooooooooo. There are honest questions like who's best for the economy? Who will care for wounded veterans and those too poor for health care. Who will fight for marriage rights and keep us safe from the uber-crazy? Then there's this other stuff. Who's running a fair campaign? Are there two, or even more, Americas?

Is anyone going to talk about funding for science research? Who really will do the best for the country? Maybe it's just the PESD talking, but really y'all... a person's race or gender? It's 2008, damn it. Can you believe news reporters are actually talking about whether America is ready for a woman in the White House or a really old person? To quote Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "We've already deja'ed this vu." And just so you know if you're really young, there are tons of female, soon to be senior citizen, baby boomers out there. If somebody doesn't put us all to work, we're just going to drift into useless clumps like a bunch of dust bunnies. Nobody really wants that. I don't have a candidate or a party to promote. I just think that we should be able to rejoice over the diversity of choices this year instead of going all Jim Crow/Pre-Women's Suffrage/Generation Gap. Oh, and I don't want the federal government to build a fence around the south boarder of Texas. If we want a fence, we can build it ourselves.

Now that the PESD has kicked in, I'll have to get my information out of the newspaper but it's for the best. I can't be fighting the fascists all night in my dreams for another 10 months. Morgan has been reading lots of Emma Goldman and advocates anarchy. She plans to vote in the primary and general election but hasn't even chosen a party much less a candidate. She and her dad are immune to PESD. If anything, they're watching more TV political coverage.

Lord help us.

We Never Forget

2008-01-28T17:41:00.000-06:00

Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, Roger B. Chaffee

Greg Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Michael J. Smith, and Dick Scobee

Rick D. Husband, William McCool, Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel B. Clark, and Ilan Ramon

You are all in our hearts.

I'm Not Quite Dead... I think .... I'll go for a walk ....

2008-01-15T09:16:00.000-06:00

As my health has been steadily declining, I've had that line from the Holy Grail going through my head. I don't seem to be up for blogging, but I'm here. I have an appointment with the rheumatologist today, and I'm praying she will take me off the methotrexate. It makes me so sick plus has put my immune system in the dumper. Evidently there's a newish adenovirus which has mutated from a mildly annoying cold into this uber-cold very nasty pneumonia causing thing. I've been on three different antibiotics, and I'm still fighting to get over this crap. The doctor said many patients are ill for 12 weeks or more. Much of this depends, they assume, on how quickly the patient sought treatment. And no, I didn't seek treatment immediately since I was already on antibiotics for a sinus infection. I finally figured out there was something more going on when the pneumonia set in. Want to really see a doctor freak out? Go in with a case of pneumonia when you've already been on Cipro for two weeks.

Anyway, I've heard some really good things about Embrel from my gyn (who has RA) and I'm planning to beg the rhumy to make the change. It's about a 20 mile drive to downtown Houston, and the last time I was there I waited three hours to see the doctor. I hope it's worth it.

May not be blogging much as the plague seems to be keeping me pretty busy.

Booking Through Thursday -- Power of the Pen

2007-11-15T09:02:00.000-06:00

It's Thursday, so here's the question.

I’m still relatively new to this meme so I’m not sure if this has been asked yet, but I’m curious how many of us write notes in our books. Are you a Footprint Leaver or a Preservationist?

I had to think about this question for a few minutes. The librarian part of me wants to tell you all to never, ever write in your library books. I have "Welcome to the Library/How to be a good borrower" lessons for everyone from preschool to PhD. and my first reaction was to say, "No, No, No!"

But the truth about my own books and even how I deal with books professionally is not nearly as simple. Visitors are very diappointed when they come in and see the sad state of my personal collection. Yes, I have more books than some small book stores. (I think I read Fahrenheit 451 at an impressionable age and have been hoarding books ever since. ) However, they are not organized, cataloged, or even shelved in some instances.

The real truth is that librarians are the least sentimental people in the world when it comes to books in general. It always shocks people that we actually throw books away/recycle the paper for a number of reasons. You would be amazed how many people give us their books. They think of us a sort of like the animal rescue people only for printed materials. These are very often stained, torn, out-dated, written in, or not within the scope of the library's collection. Many are put promptly into the trash. I've decided we must be doing some kind of public service like providing a finial resting place for old friends.

Do I write in my own books? Yes. I put my name in my books because people borrow from me and don't always return my books. The name helps remind the borrower that they have my book. I have a nice little stamp and will stamp the book before lending it.

I also write in my Bible all the time. I take notes from sermons and/or Bible study, underline passages I want to memorize, etc. I guess the Bible falls into a group of books I would consider workbooks. They are there to use in someway beyond just reading. I mark in knitting books to make adjustments to patterns or record problems in case I want to use a design again. Since we have a small copier in the house, I don't mark-up the actual books as much as I used to. I copy, write on it, and save the copy with the book if there's something I need to remember.

My copy of Lance Armstrong's two books, It's Not About the Bike, and Every Second Counts are full of highlights and underlines. I even have post-its with more notes. I have read the books over again and sections over again. I struggle with a chronic illness and have found his observations on being a patient, being dangerously ill, recovering, etc. to be very helpful. Also, cancer has hit our lives hard so many times and his hopeful and courageous discussion of being a cancer survivor has changed my outlook enormously.

I don't often write in works of literature. I had to when I was in school just to keep up with important points from lectures, studying for tests, ect. So my Riverside Shakespeare, my copy of Le Mort d'Arthur, The Canterbury Tales, etc. are all covered in student scrawl. It make it difficult to share my books with my kids. The marks and underlines are distracting to them, and they also want me to explain what I wrote and why. Often I don't remember. It could be something the prof. wrote on the board, a comment from a student, my own ideas for a discussion. Some of it is as foreign to me as it is to them. I can tune it all out because I understand the circumstances in which I wrote. Still, I might prefer a clean copy for general reading. Occasionally I will find something interesting among my scribbles but not all that often. I do have to say that I am quite attached to these books, marks and all. They are very much like long time friends that offer support and a sense of self.

I also take notes in poetry at times. Very often it is simply to remind myself of a word's meaning within the context of the poem or some other bit of information I'm not likely to remember the next time I read it. I sometimes underline passages I want to think about, ask someone else about, or memorize. My favorite poet is Gerard Hopkins. For those of you that don't read him, it takes some study and contemplation to read his poems. I love the metaphorical contemplation, his unique style, and the brutal honesty of his work, but it takes effort to really appreciate him. So, I have a "working copy" that is marked extensively. But, I also have a very nice hardbound copy that is completely clean. Reading from it can give me a fresh perspective, and it is also a copy I would lend to others. I almost never lend the books in which I've written. Either because the thoughts are private or because I think my marks would distract the reader or both. Writing in a book is something I do for myself alone.

The invention of the Post-It and having an in-home copier have definitely reduced the amount of writing I do in the actual book. I like it also because I can freely change what I've written or discard it all together if I want. I love having all of the choices on how I'll use/read a book. Oh, and e-books are even better!

Creatures of the Night!!!!

2007-11-02T06:51:00.000-06:00

My kids are still very interested in Halloween. The boy's in it for the candy and the girl because it gives her an excuse to dress up. Billy, in case you can't tell, was a pirate. His sister selected his costume for it to coordinate with hers.

Who/what is she? Well, her costume has a long back story. She's obviously a member of the evil-undead. I believe she's a 250 years old British vamp. Why is her side-kick a pirate? Well in this particular guise, she is the famous pirate, Capitan Morgan.

Their father and I are a bit confused by this continued Halloween enthusiasm. I'm pretty sure we had completely stopped participation by middle school. Morgan goes with her brother as chaperon and to be admired in her costume. Then she demands some payment in candy. We have more leftover trick-or-treat candy than Billy has in his "loot," but they still admire the door-to-door candy.

Morgan says she intends to dress-up every year forever as it's her opportunity to let the goth-girl flag fly freely. Her brother sees the clothes as a means to an end, and a way to please his sister. I only got one picture of him before he ran away, but here's a couple more of Captain Morgan. I'm a terrible photographer and they were really so cute in person.

If she ever lets me, I'd love to post some of her vampire art. She likes the look of the Menga (sp) illustrations. She tells me she going to be the next Anne Rice but may do graphic novels.......... Got to admire a girl with a goal.

Later this month, we're going to San Antonio for a Police concert. She's got a new t-shirt from Fiction Plane, the opening band, that she wanted to wear. But, she very conflicted now because she loves this Halloween outfit. I told her I'm fine either way. I'm just lucky that someone else in the family actually wants to go with me, but I draw the line at going with a creature of the night. So the fangs and white make-up stay home. She's ok with that and should fit in with this crowd either way. All of the clothes in the pictures came from her favorite store, Hot Topic, and these kids wear their stuff year-round.

(I missed Booking Through Thursday this week. Our friend Elizabeth passed away and I wasn't in the mood to write. I loved the question though and will try to make it a post in the next few days.)

Our Battle

2007-10-29T18:22:00.001-06:00

Bill's former boss will die in the next few hours/days. She's battled a really deadly form of cancer for one year and four months. This lady is a proud woman who gave-up the whole idea of a family years ago. She didn't think there was a path for husband, children, and expert engineer.

The priest came a week ago Friday. According to her own DNR she is not receiving nutrition or hydration while in a semi-coma. This nightmare isn't new to us. We've lost a mother, a neice, a grandfather, two uncles and many cousins to cancer. What can we say now? F--k cancer. I hate it. I hate everything having to do with cancer. I think every man, woman and child in the world should be pissed off every time a human person dies from this sh*t.

Booking Through Thursdays -- The Rejections

2007-10-25T09:49:00.000-06:00

It's Thursday and here's our question:

I would enjoy reading a meme about people’s abandoned books. The books that you start but don’t finish say as much about you as the ones you actually read, sometimes because of the books themselves or because of the circumstances that prevent you from finishing. So . . . what books have you abandoned and why?

I routinely stop reading books that I don't enjoy. There are too many good ones to waste my time. But this question reminded me of a few notable rejections. Was there a pattern or consistent rationale? One trend is definitely my dislike of certain writing styles. I am annoyed by paragraph long sentences, lengthy descriptive passages which fail to move the narrative forward, and those books in which everyone is completely, hopelessly miserable throughout the entire work. Here are a few examples.

Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
Faulkner: As I Lay Dying
James: The Golden Bowl
Larsen: The Devil in the White City
Joyce: Ulysses (This particular book was completely unintelligible for me.)

In an entirely different category are those few works that offend me in some way. I've had a few that surpassed my gross-out level, some that I've found morally or spiritually offensive, and a few more that were rejected for ethical reasons. I particularly hate being lied to and find myself easily irked by materials of a political nature or ill disguised propaganda tarted up to look like history, science, biography, etc. I read few autobiographical works by polititions. Books written by members of the press are often rejected as well. We've lived with our work prominently in the news long enough to know that much of what is reported is simply untrue.

On the basis of moral and/or spiritual rejections I can think of only one book, Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil. I'm a huge fan of the Vampire Chronicles and have read all the other novels to the end. I'm not afraid of printed words and have a very open mind in terms of subject content for both fiction and non-fiction. For some reason this book just seemed wrong for me, and I decided to stop reading it about a third of the way through. I did cheat though and skipped to the end making sure Lestat survived. While my religious sensibilities were a bit shaken by the novel, my loyalty to the evil undead of Rice's universe remains. (I wasn't the only one to dislike the book and it is commonly called Memnoch the Doorstop among her fans.)

Temperature Drop Today Bring Winter to Houston

2007-10-22T09:05:00.000-06:00

The above is today's headline in the local paper. The report goes on to say:

A cold front began sweeping into northern Harris County this morning and thunderstorms began popping up as cold air headed for Houston. The front is expected to pass over Houston's Bush airport after 9 a.m. and drop temperatures in the area into the 60s by the lunch hour. Overnight lows into the lower 50s could persist through most of the week. The front brings not only thunderstorms but gusty northwest winds that could make the chill seem even worse . "The front will produce what would pass as a winter day in Houston," said Wong, a Bayou City native. Clouds that come in with the front are expected to persist into Tuesday and the high temperature tomorrow should remain in the 60s. Overnight low temperatures are pegged in the low 50s tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday night, according to the official National Weather Service forecast.

Yes, we are preparing for winter right now at my house. So far we have:

Turned off the air conditioner and ceiling fans
Put on pants instead of shorts
Put on socks
Turned on every light in the house because we're afraid of it being dark outside during the hours the sun should be shinning. I have a special light that will supply the needed components of natural sunlight and it's up and running.
Tried to find a sweater in case we have to go outside.... So far, we've only been able to find one ....

We'll be keeping our eye on the weather reports for the rest of the day just in case more drastic measures, such as putting on long sleeve shirts, are required. Otherwise, we're just trying to stay calm while facing the possibility of being slightly cold.

It is good to be home.

Booking Through Thursday - Live and In Person

2007-10-11T09:43:00.000-06:00

This week's Booking Through Thursday is:

Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph?
How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to?
How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and being so captivated, you bought the book?

I've been really lucky in meeting some wonderful authors. Library conferences are great because we always have guest authors. Arnold Lobel once spoke at a children's lit. round table. He had recently written his book of fables and spoke at length about the origins of fables, folktales, and nursery rhymes. He was kind enough to sign my copy of Frog and Toad Are Friends and included a lovely little frog illustration. On another occasion I was fortunate enough to meet Tomie dePaola. He as hilarious. He signed my copy of The Legend of the Bluebonnet. And on the Texas theme, I once attended a seminar with Robert Caro, the preeminent biographer of Lyndon Johnson. He spent more than ten years researching the first book, The Path to Power. We had the opportunity to discuss the rural electrification program Johnson put in place which began a boom in agriculture for impoverished west Texas.

A number of the good folks from JSC have written books. Michael Collins, Gene Kranz, and others. There are always heavily attended book sighnings for these things, and we try to make as many as we can. A few years ago Neil Armstrong was at JSC for some celebration. I wasn't invited, but a good friend was. When she met the great man himself, she was so overwhelmed that all she managed to say was, "Oh, my God, you're Neil Armstrong!"

Thanks for another great question!

Fan Girls Again

2007-10-09T12:50:00.001-06:00

I'm blaming a two e-friends for my ridiculous and besotted plan. They posted a few weeks ago that they were going to a Philli concert in the fall. I like these girls and am happy for them. OTOH I also had the dreaded SSE ... Serious Sting Envy... Then, Morgan tells me a San Antonio performance is on the tour now Crap, crap, crap. I wanted to go so bad. Morgan tempted me at every turn. Texas was the last performance on the North American tour. I went a whole month without buying the tickets.
Morgan gave me the two Fiction Plane albums, Everything Will Never Be OK and Two Sisters. We liked them both and were pleased to see the band's rapid progress. I found their blog to a link for a complete headline concert, here. I sent the link and Morgan replied with the Ticket Master link showing tickets were available. (VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Fiction Plane and its lead singer have a potty mouth. Don't watch the video if that sort of thing is hard on you.)

Bill and the boy declined to come with us to San Antonio. I could hardly blame them. I called my BFF to find out useful San Antonio info. She always knows this stuff. --------------------------------------------------------------

BFF: Yes, there are couple of great new places on the River Walk. When are you going?
Me: Two days before Thanksgiving.....
BFF: Without Bill and Billy?
Me: Uhhhhh, yes....
BFF: And why the hell are you doing this?
Me: Morgan and I are attending a concert. Bill and Billy aren't interested.
BFF: And you're telling me that the two of them don't even want to take a drive over there with you???????
(Note: She knows me too well. She knows I can't drive in the dark. She knows I don't like to drive on the freeway.)

Me: Bill's kind of fed-up with me right now and doesn't appreciate my,uh.. musical interests very much.
BFF: My God you're going to see Sting AGAIN aren't you. I thought that man went home.
Me: Yes, he went home, but he's coming back.
(Note: At this point my BFF starts to laugh so hard that she has to get a drink of water to keep from choking.)

BFF: Bill's jealous. You do know there was this whole thing about Sting in a whorehouse?
Me: Yes, Bill made sure I heard about it.
BFF: Because he knows you so want Sting, and you always have even though you try to act all intellectual and musician-like about it. You've taught Morgan to be just like you....(more laughing...)
Me: Hey, Morgan doesn't want Sting. He's way too old. I think she might like Joe a bit though. OTOH, she was way more interested in a couple of the librarians sitting behind us at the Dallas concert than any of the hot and/or old guys on stage.
BFF: Well, Morgan is unique and I would expect her to go her own way. I know you do too. Now, who's Joe, not one of the other two old guys? ick.
Me: No, he's the lead singer for Fiction Plane.
BFF: I don't know what your talking about, Donna. What's this got to do with your Sting crush?
Me: Joe's in the opening band for the concert.
BFF: You don't have a crush on him too, do you?
(Note: My daughter is watching me squirm. She's figured out what Suzanne is asking.)

Morgan: ...Shouting from across the room.... He's Sting's son, Suzanne!
BFF: Laughing, laughing, still laughing, even more laughing.
Me: OK, yes now we like Sting's son too. The band is really quite good ....
BFF: Stop, stop. I know why you're going. You don't have to tell me anymore. It's very good of you to take an interest in the man's children. Do you keep up with all of them, or only the singing ones? Just like the Von Trapp's.....
(Note: My BFF is sometimes a smart ass. She's the only person in the world who talks to me like that. It's part of her charm, most of the time....)

Me: Ha, ha. But, Bill's not happy with me.
BFF: Well he's wrong. I just read something about this in a magazine. We can all have one freebie.
Me: What, huh?
BFF: OK, you have a long standing Sting crush. Only it's never going anywhere. I love you sweetie, but we both know Sting's not going after you anytime soon. Also your love/lust/whatever isn't usually quite this much of a nuisance. I read in a magazine at my hair place that we should all be allowed a freebie. So there. You can be in love with Sting. He's your freebie.
Me: See, this is why I love you so much BFF.
BFF: We're soul mates Donna, you know that.
Me: Yes, yes we are and you are so perfect for me in every way. Now, I do have one question for you.
BFF: Johnny Depp and young Sean Connery. Good grief Donna, I can't believe you had to ask!
(Note: She's been a Johnny Depp girl since 21 Jump Street. The Connery thing is hard to argue with too.)

Me: No, Miss Smartypants that is not my question. What I want to know is exactly who's Henri's freebie??????????
BFF: Oh, no! No way! That is so not going to happen! He better not! You know good and well I meant it was a girl thing......
(Note: Henri is Suzanne's husband , and I laughed so hard I have to go get a drink of water too.)

Booking Through Thursday -- Decorum

2007-10-04T11:15:00.000-06:00

Here's our weekly question from BTT: Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them? (grin)

Oh, I can't help but smile as I write. What a fun question and so perfect for Banned Book Week. I absolutely read all kinds of literature including some very naughty things. The discussion reminded me of the chief librarian at the local public library of my girlhood. She rescued me from all the "nice" books for good little girls. You know the ones.... Black Beauty, Little Women, The Wizard of Oz, Nancy Drew. I did enjoy most of these works, but either ran out of things to read or outgrew them. Most of the older members of my family read two things on a regular basis, the Bible and the Dallas Morning News. Of course novel reading had always been held in suspicion by my good puritan ancestors.

The movie, Love Story, was tremendously popular sometime in my teen years. (I know yuck, but the overblown angst was powerful stuff back then.) I bought the Erich Segal novel upon which the movie was based, only to have my mother immediately confiscate it. She thought there might be sexual content. The incident was huge with anger and frustration in my head. This was a devaluation of my own choices for my own thoughts and mind. I was then and remain certain that no other person should ever control my reading.

At the first opportunity, I went to the public library and read the damn book. This particular library has a few secluded window seats in quite places. My favorite was at the far end of a long row of stacks in non-fiction. Sandy, my librarian friend, stopped by to say hello that day, and I poured out all the frustration, determination, and furry. I told someone what I knew it meant to be me. My good librarian was calm and reassuring. After all, wasn't I making my own choice now? Wasn't this the very reason for having libraries and librarians? She assured me that my thoughts were mine and mine alone. The noble and honorable institutions which kept and organized our thoughts and ideas and the professionals who stood guard were there for me now and always. I could aspire someday, if I wished, to join Sandy and others in protecting these important rights myself.

Then Sandy casually mentioned having some other, rather fine literary works that might interest me. Specifically, Mr. Lawrence had written a novel which was both a great work of literature and thoroughly scandalous. The earlier, rebellious and angry me still wasted an hour or two on the unimpressive "love means never having to say you're sorry" drivel. Then, thanks to Sandy, I took home the lovely Lady Chatterley. My mother had no questions about books from the library, and I was free to openly read a book famous for its most definite sexual content.

Even without the naughty bits, this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of book for me. I began to understand something about the real misery of the class system in England. I suppose we have families in the U.S. with pretensions to some form of pseudo-aristocracy. But, not much of that was around in Fort Worth. Also, I began to realize the enormous tragedy that was the "Great War." My brief education on the subject had been something like:

... Once upon a time a duke from a country I never heard of was shot. The Europeans all went crazy. Then American army in funny helmets came and fixed every thing. They were called Dough Boys and I don't know why. The End....

Why hadn't I known about all this pain and suffering? Why didn't I know of the millions of dead young men? Slowly I began to grasp something of the world the British had lost because of that war. Lawrence supplied an eloquent voice for this loss and brought me some understanding of their forever altered world. While the theme was new to me at the time, I would soon come to recognize it in dozens of other works in British literature. An entire culture died and passed through a point of no return. Decades later they still grieved its loss somewhere. While my mother worried about sullying my virginal thoughts, a world disappeared without my knowledge.

I've read all kinds of shocking and scandalous things over the years. Librarians aren't generally afraid of the printed word. But, I would have to say that very few novels have ever delighted, surprised, or enlightened me quite as much as Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Challenge Results and Roman Roots

2007-10-01T13:33:00.000-06:00

The 25 comment challenge was a great experience. There are so many interesting people sharing all kinds of talents. It was made even clearer how smart these folks are when I made the commitment to leaving a comment. If you missed the fun yesterday, why not take the challenge now?

On the language front, we've started a new curriculum. English from the Roots Up presents the Latin and Greek origins of English words. I started exploring this idea for elementary and middle school instruction several years ago. Librarians have to decode specialized terms in science, technology, and even the social sciences quickly. S/he can't know everything, but must be able to find it. That means we learn loads of short-cuts.

When I started teaching elementary school I realized my students could use the same strategies to expand their small vocabularies. It was so much fun to hear a little third grader matter-of-factly point out a word's derivation from Greek/Latin. The adults in their lives didn't really know as much as they did, and it delighted them.

Later I began tutoring students in preparation for the SAT. These were usually kids who had performed poorly on the PSAT and were in need of remedial instruction. The commercial materials and systems out there are not very effective in teaching vocabulary. So, I went shopping for a way to teach what I'd learned through library work. The Lundquist work is about the best thing I've found. It's meant for use from elementary through SAT prep. The lessons can be made very simple, or extended to the point of building a basic Latin/Greek vocabulary. My kids love this stuff, and it's fun for me too.

Todays Word: feles -- Latin derivation of Feline....

The 25 Comment Chalenge

2007-09-29T09:56:00.000-06:00

This is a great idea from Patrick's Place.

The idea is to give something back to all the great bloggers whoes work we enjoy. I'm guilty of reading through many of my favorite blogs without taking the time to let the writer know I appreciate his/her work. Mostly, I write to people I know through blogs or in person. The comment day is tomorrow. So, I'll be doing some writing. I hope to hear from you guys too.

Booking Through Thursday.

2007-09-27T15:39:00.000-06:00

Buy a Friend a Book Week is October 1-7 (as well as the first weeks of January, April, and July). During this week, you’re encouraged to buy a friend a book for no good reason. Not for their birthday, not because it’s a holiday, not to cheer them up–just because it’s a book.

What book would you choose to give to a friend and why?

I have a friend whose son is dylexic. He has support through the public school, but his parents look for ways to supplement his instruction. This week I gave her two books.

Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties by Jerome Rosner
Dr. Fry's Word Sorts: Onsets and Rimes

I love the Rosner book. He was an advocate for research into reading problems back when very little was known about learning disabilities. I was fortunate enough to see him speak about five years ago during a dyslexia conference. Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but used copies are available from Amazon.

Moths in the House

2007-09-24T14:15:00.000-06:00

Help!

The cats found two moths in my bathroom last night. The bathroom is directly attached to the closet where the yarn lives. The moths were caught and eaten, but what do I do about the closet? Some of the yarn is in clear plastic boxes and bags, but some of it is stored in open containers. What do I do now? This is the master closet, so our clothes are here to.

Bill was all for going out and getting several gallons of mothballs. I don't want my yarn or clothes to smell and I'm worried about the cats. The kitten gets into everything and Pandora follows her to watch. I should have done something about this ages ago but kept putting it off.

Ideas anyone?

OK I'm back and have Googled. I've read that I should freeze and/or bake my yarn. Following that, I should but it in a very tight/small conainer with mothballs. Yikes! My sinus hurt just at the thought of the smell.

Iran ... ?

2007-09-24T13:18:00.000-06:00

A fun part of home school is participation in important local events and the chance to view national current events as they happen.

Today we scheduled time to watch President Ahmadinejad speak at Columbia University. The kids had been following the controversy concerning his visit with interest. We have Iranian friends. and the kids know what life was like for these folks before they immigrated to Houston.

Teaching about antisemitism, homophobia, sexism, and religious intolerance isn't always easy. There are plenty of examples in our own neighborhood, but the children are sheltered from the worst of it. The biggest surprise for them was that President Ahmadinejad didn't look or sound particularly dangerous. He seemed sincere most of the time. They laughed aloud at his claim that there were no gay Iranians. Could anyone be taken seriously when they talked like this? It was amusing to them until they realized the question had been about the execution of Iranian citizens for their sexual orientation. Then came revelations... complaints against the Zionist State, assurances that Jews were well treated, insistence that the Holocaust required further study to find the truth, and assurances of the good fortune of Iranian women, and the justice of capital punishment for drug dealers.

We have a good friend who returned home to Iran for a funeral not long ago. At the airport wind blew her scarf off. Before she could retrieve it, two soldiers had her trapped and one pointed a gun at her head. Her husband covered her with his jacket while their eight year old daughter cried. She didn't speak Persian and didn't fully understand why it was so important that "Mommy dress like Grandma." Oh, a paradise for women.....

Have any of you read, Reading Lolita in Tehran?

Booking Through Thursday

2007-09-20T12:22:00.000-06:00

This is a fantastic place to get ideas for new books. So, I finally decided to praticipate. Here's this weeks question:

Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read . . .

I love Jane Austen. When I'm in a great mood and have time to read, I'll pull out one of her novels. I think my favorite is Mansfield Park. The young orphan girl living with her snotty relatives and secretly in love with one of the boys she grew up with. I love it that Fanny writes stories and takes care of her family.

My favorite line from an Austen novel is spoken by Lady Catherine De Bourgh. She's furious with Elizabeth Bennet and her parting shot, "I take no leave of you Miss Bennet. I send no complements to your mother. You deserve no such attention. I am seriously displeased."

Oh, to live in a world where something so simple would be considered a gave insult. It makes me laugh every time.

Humberto

2007-09-13T08:24:00.000-06:00

Early yesterday afternoon we were warned that a tropical storm would make landfall about 2:00 am. We usually have more advanced warning, but this one caught us by surprise. The kids and I brought in all the lawn furniture and secured the windows. When Bill came home, we made plans to have the kids close by during the night in case of an emergency. But, by bedtime the storm was tracking well away from us, and we went back to our normal nighttime routine.

About midnight I woke up with no covers. I tried to pull them back but found them wrapped firmly around one of my children. I managed to free a bit bedspread from the kid cocoon and fell back asleep. Within an hour I was coverless again. When I sat up to try and unwrap the child my poor husband mumbled, "Is that one of the kids?"

"Yes," I answered wonder who else he thought it might be. No sweetie.... it's one of our neighbors.... I'm tempted to answer.

I looked down and saw why I had no chance of sleeping. Not only were the covers wrapped around the child but the dog and cat have staked out the lower half of the bed and aren't giving an inch. The dog looked up and me and snorted.

"Which kid is it?" the father asks while trying to unwrap the sheet. I started to scold him for not being able to tell his kids apart but realized I didn't know either. They are pretty close to the same size now and all I could see was the top of a head. I pealed back the sheet from the face and saw it was the boy.

We spent a few minutes trying to wake him up and send him back to his own bed. He was in one of those kid sleeps that nothing can penetrate and he's too big now for his father to pick him up and carry him. We give up and try to sleep with a 12 year old, a standard poodle, a tabby cat. It was a long night.

When he woke up this morning I asked my son why he was in the bed. He claims to have no idea. I'm guessing he was woken up by the rain and came in to tell us. I've got a major sleep deprived headache this morning but the boy is well rested and in a fine mood. Ugh...........

Persephone

2007-09-04T14:59:00.000-06:00

We have a new addition to the family. Here's Persephone. She is a rescue kitten adopted at 4 months old. Here she's 5 months old and very naughty. She appropriated the grocery bag when I got home from shopping. The vet reports that she may be a tabby/Bengal mix. The photo's were taken by Morgan.

Persephone was sick with a cold in the first few days after we brought her home. Thankfully, Pandora didn't get it. We took the kitten to the vet. right away and kept her separated from Pandora until she was well. The vet said that some kittens can get sick as a result of stress when the environment change.

As you can see, she is ruling the house now. Triton and Pandora are fascinated with her. Unfortunately they are also pretty banged-up. The adult pets are quite gentle with the kitten, but she plays rough. We've trimmed her nails repeatedly, but the other two have a number of nicks and scratches. Group pictures are pretty much impossible. They won't sit still long enough!

Return to Normal -- Maybe

2007-08-28T09:45:00.000-06:00

After weeks fighting an upper respiratory infection, I seem to be getting better. I'm on another round of antibiotics, and the doctor has added Singular to fight off the cough I've developed. Hopefully, I'll be completely over this soon.

While I was down for the count, my family ran wild. Those three hooligans were living in the most appalling conditions. It makes a frat house look like a page out of Southern Living. The floors hadn't been swept or vacuumed, the bathrooms weren't cleaned, and the laundry situation was bad enough that I had to start a triage program.

There are four laundry baskets lined up outside the laundry room door like patients in the ER waiting room. .... clean underwear, socks, and towels; then machine washables, and finally .. if ever... hand washing. I finished off two loads yesterday and was just plain tired. I'd promised myself some time to catch up on e-mail and blogs, but I could hear the call of the washing .......................................

"Underwear, would you step this way please?" I ask. The other laundry all glares at me.

"I know Towels and Washcloths, it's been a long wait. You will be the next basket called." This pushy bunch whine that I'll be sorry when I want a shower. But hey, we all know that underwear trumps towels. "If I'm desperate I'll USE THE GUEST TOWELS" ..... Ahhhhh. That shuts those two up for awhile. Down the line another basket starts to whine.

"I'm very sorry Dishtowels, but you will have to wait for a separate wash. No, I can not squeeze you in with the underwear. We have health code standards." Dishtowel points to the mile long line of dirty laundry and smirks.

We're off to Math class for Morgan. Billy and I are doing the grocery run while we're out. I won't tell you the rude remarks coming from the pantry and refrigerator. It's best not to encourage them.

Welcome Home Endeavour

2007-08-22T09:08:00.000-06:00

What a great flight! Even with the early return, they accomplished all of their mission objectives. The classroom in space was wonderful.

Still Here

2007-08-20T07:39:00.000-06:00

Well, we have evacuation plans in place, but it looks like we may not have to use them. The forecast for this hurricane have it going into Mexico. From the news this morning, it will hopefully going into a scarcely populated area. Even though hurricane season starts in early summer, the next 4-8 weeks are the worst of it. We have better plans in place now and hope we won't have to use them.

Next Week's Plans

2007-08-18T11:32:00.000-06:00

There's a hurricane heading for the gulf. We've made arrangements to stay in Austin, not far from Henri and Suzanne. We will also be pretty close to Dr. S. The place takes pets and has 2 rooms. We will all have our cell phones with us and will check our e-mail.

For e-friends not having to deal with stuff like this, the hurricane evacuation planning takes several days. When the city attempted an evacuation prior to Hurricane Rita, a number of people were injured and a few were killed in the process. The people closer to the coast and withing the storm surge zone have to leave earliest. If this particular storm remains at a cat. 4 or grows to a 5 that will be us. The problem is compounded by the flooding in the city from a tropical storm last week.

Tomorrow we will clear everything out of the yard, put up a few of our storm shutters in strategic locations, and pack. We'll leave after rush hour Monday morning. All the predications seem to indicate we are safe. But, we won't make any decision until after the storm is in the gulf. The next month or two could be pretty hectic with this sort of thing. Hopefully we won't actually have to go this time. If we do though, it will be a good practice.

Arthritis As a Full Time Job

2007-08-15T07:50:00.000-06:00

I've lost almost a month because of illness. I've been taking methotrexate since the spring and dealing with side effects. However, I was starting to see a little bit of improvement and thought it might be worth it. Not so much now. Two rounds of antibiotics, decongestants, antihistamines, an inhaler, and two kinds of nasal spray and I'm just starting to get better.

I've stopped the arthritis medication all together. Sadly, I realized it was working as the joints have started causing trouble again. I'm taking InFeD injections for the anemia and the hematologist seems to think my immune system will improve when this is fixed. This is all so disappointing. Right now, being able to breathe seems a whole lot more important than being able to move.

So, there are weeks of summer that just didn't happen. One of the big reasons I've had for getting better has been to have fun with the kids and Bill. Here it is and my finger joints were vastly improved, writs, and feet too. But, I spent the time in bed instead of doing summer fun stuff. Now, there's a tropical depression in the Gulf and a Cat. 3 hurricane coming just behind it. Seems like that puts and end to summer. Discouraging.

What Was It Like When You Were A Kid -- Presidents Part 1

2007-07-13T06:58:00.000-06:00

My kids ask us this all the time. I can't remember wanting to hear so much about my parent's childhoods, but this stuff fascinates my kids. When we were in Dallas, Bill wanted to take them to the site where the president was murdered. I really didn't want to go, but he thought it was important for them to understand it as part of their history studies. Surprisingly, the kids didn't get as much out of it as we did. We'd both been there before as visitors always ask to go. We cringe inside because this was so not a tourist thing to us, but we will take them. Anyway it's been a long time since anyone has asked.

We were there on a quiet morning and had the area mostly to ourselves. We were able to walk around, cross the street, walk up and down the length of the route and think about what we had lived through. I couldn't really make my kids see how close to home this hit us. Removed so far by time, this holds no real fear or sorrow in their hearts.

My own reaction surprised me. As I stood there I got angry for the very first time. When it all happened, we were terrified and then deeply grieved. Now I looked at the window out of which a gun had been pointed, saw the quite street that had been filled with neighbors that day, and really registered the wrong done to us all.

We also learned something new about the book depository. There is a historical marker which explains the history of the building itself. The depository was a municipal building constructed in 1901. This means it was built by someone in my family.

Our grandmother's family were all stone masons. They worked every turn of the century municipal project in the city, because they were the best. I don't know which ones would have worked on this building because there were dozens of them; great-grandfather, great-uncles, cousins, etc. I know most of their work, because they would point out the buildings and talk about what they had done. My great-grandfather loved to just drive around the city pointing to the family's work. He said they were "built to last."

Why didn't I know about this very famous building? I'm guessing they wouldn't have wanted to talk about it, wouldn't have wanted any of us to be reminded of it. But I stood there and read the plaque and knew for the first time. This made me so angry at the evil of the thing done here that I shook.

Another Texas historical marker down in the park area explained that this was the original site of the first settlement in Dallas. I didn't know that either. The park had been there long before the terrible events in 1963, but I never thought to ask why. So, school kids don't go there to picnic and learn about the history of the city. Families don't sit on the benches. Old men don't feed the birds. There was once a reflecting pool. It's been drained and stands as an empty white hole. It would have reflected the surrounding buildings and who wants that? Instead of park goers, there are conspiracy freaks prowling around with ghoulish glee, crawling across our childhood. A man approached with a lurid color photo showing the whole ugly thing, silently screaming its horror. The young wife crawling across the back of the car, the young leader gone. I asked the man why the hell he thought I would need his picture to know what happened in my own home. He retreated quickly, and my kids just looked at me wondering why I was so upset. They'd seen similar photographs their whole lives. Why so angry?

The kids were more interested in hearing about the family's work building the zoo, the red bricked streets in the historical parts of town and the university. They are fascinated by the mansions with their wealthy owners. All built to last.

I wanted to write about Lady Bird Johnson today but found I couldn't without thinking through this other thing first. I'll write about that sweet lady tomorrow.

Hating Dallas and Other Pastimes

2007-07-06T11:33:00.000-06:00

One thing that unites most of the state of Texas is our hatred of the city of Dallas. All the major cities have a gentle rivalry. We compete over which city has the best food or music, which has the best rodeo, or even where the real cowboys belong. But almost everyone will agree that whatever good there is in any city, Dallas is not it. The only time the city starts to have virtues in our eyes is if we add non-Texas cities into the mix.

Our very short trip to Dallas and back has resulted in some very interesting discussion about the city to our north. My favorite encounter has to be the one Bill had with our friend and physician during his physical. Bill told the doctor he had just come back from taking Morgan and I to see the Police in Dallas. Our doctor became very upset.

"Why did Donna and Morgan have to see the police?" he asked. " Why the Dallas police of all things? Why did you have business in Dallas in the first place?" he wanted to know. " I would think you folks would know to stay away from Dallas. Was Donna hurt, or Morgan? Why wasn't I called before you all went off to Dallas of all places?????"

OK, so here are the two great things about that conversation. One, my doctor didn't have a clue that there's a band called The Police. Two, even when Bill explained it to him, he still thought it didn't justify a trip to Dallas. I also have to admire the nerdly complete lack of concern that he hadn't heard of one of the biggest bands from his young adulthood. (He owns a ranch in Round Top not far from Willie Nelson. I'm guessing he would sure know who that is.)

Another interesting conversation was with the very nice lady who is my usual cashier at Kroger. Bill and I stopped at the grocery store to pick up snacks for the drive. It was mostly junk food, and the cashier teased me a bit about it. When I told her we were driving up to Dallas, she completely stopped ringing up my order. Then she looked me right in the eye and with steely determination declared "I HATE DALLAS," while jabbing her finger in the air for emphasis.

I was so appalled that she might think that I was from Dallas that I quickly explained that I was from Ft. Worth and equally hated Dallas. She relaxed somewhat and nodded knowing that the people of Ft. Worth hated Dallas even more than it was despised by the good people of Houston. Like our doctor, she also stated flatly that we were wrong to go there. When I told her we were going to see The Police, and she answered that we should have stuck to seeing them in Houston. "Nothing good comes out of Dallas," she warned me ominously.

By the time we got home everyone had at least one, "This is why I hate Dallas," story. Even my very mild mannered and soft-spoken husband found himself in a hot dispute with one of the natives. Morgan and I, ironically, had a run-in with a traffic cop on our way to the concert. He had made some confusing hand directions and got really mad when we misunderstood him. We both apologized but he continued to yell as we stood on the curb in the rain.

I finally told him, "We're from Houston."

It worked exactly as I thought. He said he should have known that was what was wrong with us. Then, he looked me in the eye and snorted, "I ... Hate .... Houston!"

Sometimes life's funny that way.

(P.S. The photo above is from the Ft. Worth livestock show. At least twice a year they take some cattle through the city streets. I love it. Guess where I think the really cowboys live?)

Police Reunion Tour Dallas and Houston

2007-07-01T07:23:00.000-06:00

After I've gone on about these concerts for weeks, we've finally done it. We saw the Police in both Dallas and Houston last week. The rest of the family is glad it's over and hoping we'll stop singing old Police songs every chance we get. Morgan and I definitely got a bit obsessive about the idea of getting to attend two concerts in the same week, but I think we're now bigger fans than ever. The concert in Houston on Friday was fantastic. We loved the Dallas concert Tuesday, but there were some pretty big problems. Most of the things we noted had been cleaned up on Friday, and we saw the band perform as they should. These are three gifted and experienced musicians who should be held to a very high standard. Friday, they began to approach that level of quality.

Here are a few of our observations.

Stewart Copeland is an amazing percussionist. We never really got it before we saw him live. This guy is so focused and dedicated, the perfect rock and roll drummer. He never overwhelmed the trio, as I thought he might and showed a mastery of timing and precision in the Houston concert that is unrivaled in my experience.

Andy Summers is a fine guitarist, but some of the problems we heard in the Dallas concert were, we think, a result of his rushing the beat and taking off on his own. He had some rather fine solos in which he performed magnificently in both concerts. , and his Houston performance was much tighter. I think, in part, this was because Stewart stayed very focused no matter what might be going on with the guitar, so Andy couldn't take them off. Andy had some amusing interactions with Sting and Stewart in both concerts.

Sting was energetic and in good voice at both concerts. However, we both thought he was much better in Houston. After seeing him so many times, we've concluded he is always better if he's been off the night before. When he's performing night after night, he falls into an kind of economy of working that is no doubt necessary. Having a chance to rest, he will inevitably come back with more strength the next night.

He danced and interacted with the other two band members on Friday in a way that gave them more of a feel of a band than just three guys playing together. We sat close enough to see a few interesting things on Friday as well. Sting broke a string toward the end of the evening. Morgan was quite impressed in how he adjusted and continued to play. We both winced too, knowing how much it hurts to get hit by a guitar string. When they came back for the first encore, Sting had put on a jacket. We thought he may have been hurt. Cuts from a string hurt like hell. Then Andy went to the final song on the first encore early and again we wondered if it might be because of an injury, but they came back strong for Next to You, the final song. On the way off the stage, Sting thumbed his nose at Andy. I don't know if it was because of the confusion at the end of the first encore or something else entirely. I've never seen Sting work so hard. In fact, it's the first time I've seen the effort really show on him physically. By the end of each concert, I thought the three of them had gone as far as they could go. The last song was one of the best, but the strain on their faces was clear.

I've read some reviews which complained of the ticket cost. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't more than we are accustomed to spending on an important concert. We might very easily pay the same price to see the Houston Grand Opera or the Ballet. I guess the value question is really up to the individual. Tonight, all four of us are going down to Galveston to see the tribute band, Killer Queen. These tickets are only $15 and we can just go home if it's not any good. They are supposed to be one of the best, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to watch someone else look and sound like Freddie for any of us. Over the years, I've sort of trained myself to forget that he's gone when I listen to their music. Morgan was put out over the Queen with Paul Rogers tour for much the same reason. So, we'll see.

Morgan's Music

2007-06-28T14:05:00.000-06:00

When I was expecting my daughter I read an article suggesting that pregnant mothers sing to their babies. That way the baby would hear and recognize comforting sounds after she was born. I loved the idea and found about 12 songs I thought would be perfect. The Yellow Rose of Texas was on the list, but I also pulled out sheet music and shopped for more so that I could play the piano for her as well. I sang for her any time I was alone for most of the pregnancy. The advice turned out to be very helpful as she had colic and need the comfort of music and moving.

I sang her our baby songs but soon needed more. We started singing every song I'd ever known and some we made up. Before she could walk, we started playing piano together. Once she was able to get up to the piano on her own, she started to work out little bits of scales and simple melodies like "Twinkle, Twinkle..." This picture isn't very good, but I had the chance to take it one day while she was busy playing and didn't know I had the camera. In it she's two years old.

I didn't know she was unusual until she started kindergarten. Her teacher asked about her "music studies" in our first parent/teacher conference. Bill and I didn't know what the woman was talking about. She kept insisting Morgan was receiving music/piano lessons and we both said no. Finally, I described the kinds of fun things we did at home thinking there must be lots of kids who did the same things. Her teacher had a certification in music and felt Morgan was very gifted. I was so proud of her, but still thought her interests weren't all that unusual until our son was born and I got to know a child with other interests and passions.

We talk about our Scottish heritage often in our family. These people were highlanders. All hard working, serious, courageous, and pious, the Scots define us. But the other Celts, our Irish ancestors, have given us magic. This is my father's family, full of music, stories, art, dance. Full of what they'd call Blarney. They are all musicians in one form or another. (My dad had a rock and roll band during the 50-60's) They all play piano and sing. Many of them play several instruments and can't get together without eventually dropping everything to make music. These people share the stories of fairy rings and superstitions, stories of dancing girls with red hair and green eyes. These other Celts that gave us music are part of what makes Morgan so very wonderful.

Here's a picture from Tuesday night. We went to Dallas to see the Police reunion concert. The highlight of the night for me was Morgan's company. She sang and danced, laughed and cheered, clapped and stomped her way through the concert as if she were made to be wrapped in music. She made insightful comments on the performance, noted things she thought could be improved, and made friends with the row of librarians sitting behind us exchanging e-mails with one when it became clear they had many common interests. We are beginning to know the woman our daughter will become and are delighted by her. She is kind and generous, funny and smart, and magical. We're going back tonight for the Houston concert. She says she thinks this one will be even better because we will be at home. I'll write more after the concert.

(PS The black hair in this picture is from a bottle. She decided to dress up for the concert and wanted to change her hair too. She looks great, but I walked right by her in the crowd without recognizing her on Tuesday night!)

The Jedi Carry No Spare Change

2007-06-13T08:55:00.000-06:00

On occasion, teaching my own children gives me delightful glimpses of their thoughts and character. One of our favorite parts of learning together is having the time for real conversation. So here's a fun one from last week.

We were engrosed in a fairly deep, or so I thought, conversation about freeing oneself from the past to make one's own future. Since we are also total nerds, the philosophical merged naturally with the geekly and landed in discussion of Anakin Skywalker's decent from Jedi Knight to the Sith Lord. Yes, we really did have a very deep discussion of past and future running alongside our opinions of how Anikin Skywalker's life went so terribly wrong.

My son, sometime into the discussion, became quite solemn. He listened carefully to Morgan's insights and even looked up a few facts in one of our many "Guides to Star Wars." Suddenly he held up his hand to silence all further conversation. He sat-up straight, and told us both, very seriously, "I know exactly why Anikin turned into Darth Vader."

"Why?" we asked. I waited eagerly to hear what he had to say. He looked into my eyes and, with a gesture of his hand looking very much like Obi Wan, he said, "A Jedi carries no spare change." Morgan and I nodded along, quite impressed. Yes, a Jedi must free him/herself from worldly concerns, from the past, from personal attachments. We were very excited at the metaphor of "spare change" and thought it well represented all of the entanglements which destroyed the young man. We talked of the man's fears and how these were used against him and how we too have the experience of being limited by fear. At the end I was delighted, feeling very satisfied with the youngest child's progress. I found his ability to appropriate images from a modern repackaging of the heroic tragedy and use them meaningfully was quite impressive.

Then I shared the wonderful story with my spouse. He stopped me saying, "I've heard his idea about Anakin before. " I prattled on awhile more and he said, "Yes, yes, I know he's concerned that the Jedi didn't have any extra emergency money."

"What??? He didn't mean that the Jedi needed more money. He was speaking metaphorically. The "change" was a representation of how our past can drag us down. You just don't understand, husband. My boy's a genius; nerdly as we all are, but a genius." (I glared some at that point and gave him the teacher stink-eye."

"Ask him," was his arrogant reply. I did.

The boy's not a philosopher blending modern and ancient mythology into a metaphor for our own lives. The boy's a capitalist. He really did mean the Jedi should go about with more money. In that way, Anakin could have bought his mother out of slavery. She wouldn't have died. He wouldn't have descended into that whole "fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side" thing because he could have bought himself out of the problem. My son. Not a good Scots for nothing.

Happy Father's Day weekend. There will be large amounts of beef in our celebration, but otherwise I'm not sure. I'm up to the full, horrible, deadly dose of methltrexate now and will likely be in the fetal position on the bathroom floor for about 48 hours, but I did find a cool gift. Hopefully wondrous combination of cool gifts and food will compensate for my lack of visible signs of life.

Gratuitous Sting Trivia: This time two weeks from now, we will be seeing The Police in concert for the second time that week. Morgan and I are totally obsessed. My new favorite Police number is Next to You from Outlandos d'Amore. I wouldn't have tolerated this song in my teens, but Morgan has had her way with me and I'm more and more open to the loud boy rock star stuff.

Girl Drama

2007-06-09T06:40:00.000-06:00

We canceled all of our premium cable channels several years ago. We had HBO and there was some serious sex and violence. I found out on late night that they show some serious porn. I have an adolescent boy and don't want him getting the wrong idea from the porn. So much of it is female exploitation that we just don't want him getting into this mind-set.

But, we got HDTV in February and upgraded our cable service. We went with Showtime because they had the new series on the Tutors. (Yes we are geeks, get over it.) We found some other wonderful stuff too. There's a police procedural "Dexter" with the most amazing twist. I won't give it away, but it is so worth it. Then I started watching "The L Word," and got completely addicted. They are showing season four, and I watched it all in two days. Then Bill got the earlier seasons from Blockbuster for me. I've just finished season two, and boy did I have the wrong idea about some of these characters. Those women are so not in the same place now where they were in the first two season. TV just never takes the time and effort to do this kind of character development. Bill won't watch it with me because it's a "chick show, " and I can't let the kids watch it with me. Even so, I'm a huge fan-girl now. Even though I enjoyed the show, I pretty much figured all the huge drama was strictly "tv magic."

Here's what I found in the last week. There are straight women out there with crap going on that makes the stuff on "The L Word" look like a women's Bible study group by comparison. There's such a generation gap between me and all the females under 30. Way back in the olden days, when one of us was having a problem we all got together drank ourselves sick, told evil stories about every man we'd ever known, and went home to kick our husband's ass just for good measure. Evidently now, we vent our frustration and disappointment on each other. WTF? We're supposed to gather as sisters, drink, eat ice cream, and trash every man that ever lived. If we're feeling really low, we play the blues. But, the men are the enemy, and we hurt them hard.

I've never been on the receiving end of the "hell hath no fury" stuff before. When I got home, I shook my husband's hand and thanked him for 32 years of taking my crap. I don't know how they do it: PMS, we kick their ass; bad day at work, we kick their ass; we're worried because the dog is sick, we kick their ass. Holy crap! The man has lived with this s*%t for 32 years. I don't even want to think about what happens when two women in a committed relationship need to vent on someone. Oy!

Gratuitous Sting Trivia: This is a cross post as I left it as a comment on Isorski's Musings, but here goes.

I heard about the unplugged work (for the Police reunion) too and am totally excited I've often wondered why Sing never went there. He could so kick Clapton's ass in that venue. At his first solo concert, here in Houston, his first encore piece was "Message in a Bottle." He came out in total darkness, then bamm, he's standing there, alone, stripped down to nothing but a pair of black pants and black army boots, with an acoustic guitar and a single spotlight. (Yes ladies, I said stripped down to nothing but his britches.) I was totally blown away. There has never been a rock star, in my experience, perform with that level of virtuosity. I was more impressed by that single song than by the entirety of Plácido Domingo's performance as Othello.

New Setlist from Isorski:
Set List:
--Message in a Bottle
--Synchronicity II
--Spirits In The Material World
--Voices Inside My Head/When the World is Running Down
--Don't Stand So Close to Me
--Driven to Tears
--Walking on the Moon
--Truth Hits Everybody
--Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
--Wrapped Around Your Finger
--The Bed's Too Big Without You
--Murder By Numbers
--Dee Doo Doo Doo Dee Da Da Da
--Invisible Sun
--Walking In Your Footsteps
--Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta De Blanc
--Roxanne

encore one:
--King of Pain
--So Lonely

encore two:
--Every Breath You Take
--Next To You

More Sting Than You'd Every Want, The Joys of Arthritis, Atlantis Launch and Hubble

2007-06-08T08:56:00.000-06:00

For the one or two e-friends who actually care, go Isorski's Musings for a great review of the Police tour and an updated setlist. It was cool to hear from a real-live musician about the concert. Morgan continues to master the guitar bits for all the songs on the setlist and even Billy has started singing. He's growing into a lovely tenor. All the Irish side of the family are musicians, but my poor geekly rocket scientist husband is tone deaf. It's a thrill to be back to living in a house with real musicians. I got out my clarinet Thursday night, and Morgan and I jammed on guitar, piano, flute and clarinet until about 3 in the morning. We are so psyched. Those of you who visit me for other stuff, hang in there. It will all be over at the end of June.

I'm on my second week of methotrexate. I've stopped the oral iron, but I'm still sick as a dog. I'm so praying it's not the methotrexate. I got an anti-emetic from the hematologist that's doing the iron injections. It's helped some, and he's got other treatment options since he's primarily in oncology. Maybe I just need some time for the damage done by the oral Fe to heal? There's an option to get the methotrexate by infusion, so I could try that if the oral med. is the cause of all the nausea. So far, the only thing that's made a dent in the pain is the prednisone and narcotic pain medication. Neither is a long-term solution.

Please take a moment today to pray for the Atlantis crew, the beautiful vehicle, and the success of our mission to further the construction of the International Space Station.
To the left, the crew of STS-117 pose for their official portrait. From left: Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer Clayton C. Anderson, mission specialists James Reilly II, Steven Swanson, Commander Frederick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and mission specialists Patrick Forrester and John D. Olivas. (Image credit: NASA) These good people are our neighbors and coworkers willingly putting themselves in harms way to serve their country and further the progress of science. This is a scary launch for me because of the hail damage done to the external tank. NASA believes this has been resolved, but we are in uncharted territory. We didn't have the luxury of swapping out the ET because of the damage done at Stennis Space Center during Katrina.

I'm afraid that the rollback of this launch has pretty much doomed the possibility of a Shuttle service flight to the Hubble before her orbit begins to decay. For so many of us, she's a dear friend and represents a lifelong dream. We hate the idea that she will meet her end breaking up on entry. She deserves better. NASA hasn't made any kind of announcement canceling the service flight, but we have a very limited time frame to complete the station assembly, and a delay in any launch means we will have to establish priorities. To the right, "Pillars of Creation" columns of cool interstellar hydrogen which will be the incubators of a new star systems. Released in 1995, this is a Hubble image of the "Eagle Nebula."

Police Reunion Set List

2007-05-30T20:03:00.000-06:00

Like the good fan-girl, I've been stalking Police sites for a setlist. So here's the one from their premiere show! There are a few sunrises and disappointments, but it could certainly change by next month. The reviewers report that the set was 2 hours long and was absolutely flawless. Three seasoned musicians revisiting a body of work from their youth, sounds like the makings of a great concert.

The Setlist:

Message in A Bottle
Synchronicity II
Don’t Stand So Close To Me
Voices Inside My Head/When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around
Spirits in the Material World
Driven to Tears
Walking on the Moon
Truth Hits Everybody
Wrapped around Your Finger
The Bed’s Too Big Without You
Murder By Numbers
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking in Your Footsteps
Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne
————-
King Of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
————-
Next To You

Misc. Stuff

2007-05-21T08:59:00.000-06:00

I haven't been blogging much lately. I think the whole thing with having to delete my old blog and having my mom still find my home address has freaked me out. But, we've had loads of fun times and great things happen. So, I'm going to try to get back to focusing on those things and not let the intrusions into my privacy change my life so much. Here goes...

We've been able to swim some. It's still not quite warm enough for every day, but it will be soon. I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for daily exercise when I can't walk or swim. There's a Curves about 3 blocks from our house, but from the description it sounds like too much stress on for my joints.

I've got a brand new rheumatologist and finally a plausible diagnosis. She thinks I have, among other things, psoriatic arthritis. I started a once a week dose of methotrexate last week. Today, I'm up to the full dose! I've felt much better in the last week, but she also prescribed prednisone. so it's hard to know if that's the reason for the improvement or not. I've gained five pounds in the last week. It's almost certainly the prednisone. I've stopped it today and hopefully my weight will go back down soon. The rheumatologist has threatened to take it away from me all together if I gain weight. Five pounds or not, I'm so grateful to have a doctor who will listen to me and not just follow along with what the others have done in the past. She says the new medication has a good chance of working too! I do have to find some way to get my anemia under control. I'm going back to the hematologist to see if he will do the infusions again. I've been taking iron supplements for a week, but I won't last much longer.

We went to see the new Pirates movie over the long weekend and liked it very much. It was a little too long for me. I had to get up and walk around a few times, but I loved the Johnny Depp/Keith Richards scenes. It was great fun. Later we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. We sat on the water and watched all the sea birds come and go. Great fun for a post Pirates dinner! This was our postponed anniversary dinner. For several reasons, the 15th just didn't work, so we did all our celebrating over Bill's four day vacation. Everyone has been going around the house saying Arrrr, avast, seadog, bilge rat, ....... Very much fun.

Suggestions?

2007-05-17T07:30:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, most of you know, I had to shut down my old blog. I'd never worried very much about privacy because the kinds of stuff I post are too boring for anyone to care. Knitting a new pair of socks or seeing a new movie are not likely to generate outside interest from creepy strangers. What I didn't factor in was it might make it very easy for creepy relatives to find me.

On my old blog, I talked a few times about being an adult survivor of child abuse. As far as those things go, my situation wasn't as bad as many. I wasn't ever sexually molested and the outlandish stuff like kids being starved, locked in cages, etc. didn't happen either. But my house was full of violence. My parents were violent toward each other and my mom was terribly violent towards me. She is mentally ill and used me as a place to vent her rage for years. I was beaten, stabbed, choked, bitten, smothered with a pillow, cut, pushed down in the bathtub in an attempt to drown me, had guns pointed at my head, etc. This went on right up until the day I married Bill.

So why am I blogging about this now?

When we moved home, I didn't give my parents our new address. We made sure all of our phone numbers were unlisted too, and I felt kind of safe. My parents were able to get Bill's number at work, but there's a limit to the trouble they can cause from that. He's on a federal facility and the laws about how things are done there are very clear. Even crazy, I don't think my mom wants to mess with the feds. I know for sure they could never get any information about where we live from Bill's work.

Then, last night, a Mother's Day card arrived in the mail. It was from my parents. How did they get my address? Every few months, I search online phone books, etc. to make sure we don't show up. Even though they know we are in Houston, it's a city of more than four million people. So, how did they find us? I'm so freaked out about this. My son goes out to play in the cul-de-sac every afternoon with his friends. They could just drive right up. I guess that an unlisted phone number doesn't keep people from being able to find an address, but how? I'm also totally freaked out by them sending a Mother's Day card too. Of all the things to send, why would they send their daughter a Mother's Day card? It said something about my kids being their "little angels." The last time I let them near my kids, my mom beat M. with a coat hanger. We called the police, and it was a whole horrible thing. Now my kids are their angels?????

I don't want to over-react or scare my kids, but I feel so weird about this. Any of you with stalker suggestions?

A Very Blessed 31 Years

2007-05-15T08:27:00.000-06:00

When I was a girl, getting married the day after I graduated high school seemed foolish to most everyone who knew Bill and I. We caused something of a scandal and almost everyone thought I was pregnant. Since we didn't have our first child until 14 years later, I assume most were reassured that ours was not a "shot-gun" wedding. In addition to our youth, many of our friends and family were scandalized by the fact that Bill and I our cousins. Our parents were appalled. An uncle declared we would most certainly have terribly deformed, idiot children, and my brothers-in-law were completely freaked out that their brother was going to marry one of their most annoying girl cousins. Bill had a semester left for his BS and I hadn't started college. Our educations were also declared to be ruined by getting married. We put ourselves through school, earning masters degrees and post-graduate certifications.

Today, our 31sth anniversary, I think we take some perverse delight in having proven everyone so very wrong. In fact, we know few couples who have shared so many happy years with one another. Since today is a work/school day, we will save our big celebration for Saturday. We're going to see Shrek 3 and eat at Bill's favorite restaurant. Perhaps not so romantic to some, but a celebration well suited to us. The pool is beautiful, and weather permitting, we will have dinner outside and swim tonight.

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Summer Stuff

2007-05-10T11:18:00.000-06:00

We've officially opened a swimming pool and are back to having a joint-friendly exercise for me. I've had to be careful of which stroke I used because of my sholders and neck. Still, I'm moving and that feels good.

We have 7 weeks to go till our Police/Sting fest. I broke down and admitted to my bff (who lives in Austin) that we were going to be spending the last week in June following the band. She's always given me a hard time about my major rock star crush. When I told her, she laughed and said, "You think I didn't know what you'd be doing? I'd already crossed that off as a week for us to meet." Do people ever really grow up? M. says she'll be taking me in my wheelchair to see Sting perform in his. Maybe?

We've made the perfect plan for our 50th birthdays in 2008. Suzanne's family and ours are all going to Disneyland. B's birthday is on Sept. 9, Suzanne's is on the 10th, and mine the 19th. Before we both had kids, we did big vacations every September to celebrate all the birthdays. Since then, our kids were either too little, in school, I was teaching, etc. and we gave up our tradition. But for year 50, we are going to bring it back for good. We've all been to Disney World, but B's the only one of us to have gone to Disneyland. We're doing a car trip with a stop at the Grand Canyon for the kids then on to California. For some reason she also thinks spending our 50th birthday in Disneyland is hilarious. She says she doesn't plan to get old, and I have to remind her she'll always be 9 days older than me! Oh, and I'm sure Suzanne would want you to all know were aren't actually as old as Disneyland itself. We're a full four years younger.

I haven't done any Sting facts in ages so here's my proposed set list for the concerts. I've been looking everywhere to find the real one, but no luck. Plus, it's almost certainly going to change after the first few concerts.

Play These Please!
Bring on the Night
Next to You
Hole in my life
Walking on the Moon
The Bed's too Big Without You
Can't Stand Losing You
Synchronisity II
Walking in Your Footsteps
Roxanne
Don't Stand So Close to Me
Voices Inside My Head
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Spirits in a Material World
Every Little Thing She Does
Invisible Sun
Demolition Man
Rehumanize Yourself
King of Pain
Wrapped Around Your Finger
Murder by Numbers
Message In a Bottle
Every Breath You Take

Fear, PTSD, and the Dentist

2007-05-04T17:02:00.000-06:00

About two weeks ago there was a hostage, murder, and suicide at my husband's work.

I got a call from B. at about 11:00 that morning. He started out with, "I know you are going to get news very soon from someone and thought you would want to find out from me......" My heart started beating so fast I couldn't think. He went on to tell me the whole center was locked-down, and there was at least one gunman on site. No one had been able to learn what the armed man wanted, shots had been heard, and there were at least two people missing.

The lock-down was about 5 hours long. We got conflicting information from B's office, the local/national news, and the center public affairs office. The Virginia Tech. incident was running through my head along with all the safety training I had been given. B, on the other hand, was calm and almost casual about the whole thing. I worried he would take unnecessary risks, and I kept calling him back with instruction on what I wanted him to do, making sure he was still there, etc. I most likely scared the crap out of my kids as I started calling all of our friends to make sure they were safe too.

The following Monday, when B. went back to work, I couldn't stop crying. I finally called the doctor and went in because I was a wreck and didn't want my malfunctions to spill all over my kids any more than it already had. She tells me I have post traumatic stress disorder. During the day of the incident I broke my bite-guard and shattered two molars. I've spent most of the time since then at the endodontist and/or dentist repairing the damage I did from the stress. Both of them told me their offices were full of similar patients.

I feel like such an ass. Suzanne's baby sister was in the building, had to run for her life, knew the hostage, murder victim, and murder/suicide person. She's back to work in the same building and has been so amazingly brave. She found out the murder had no family in the area and even went to his funeral to make sure he had someone. But Suzanne, big sister and my best friend, reacted the same way I did. What we saw on the TV was not what we were trained to do. She also started calling friends in their offices or on their cells to remind them of center processes. Everyone we talked to on-site said they were doing exactly what they were supposed to, but it looked very different on the news. Suzanne's mom is the early stages of Alzheimer's and had to be shielded from the news until D. was able to get there hours later.

B. never believes anything bad will happen and was very calm throughout. On the other hand, both of my kids have had horrible nightmares and even the 17 year old has had to come and get me to lie down with her after bad dreams. Our 12 year old slept next to his father 2 nights holding on for dear life. I can't help but think my reaction had to have made their situation much worse. I'm just not built to sit, watch, and wait. I've always been at work when danger was near in a big way. I had things to take care of, people to protect, procedures to follow. When did I stop being the calm and capable leader and turn into a trembling Victorian female with a fit of the "vapors?"

I finally had a chance to see my wonderful friend, Carol, today. She was on a mission trip to Honduras while this was all happening. I made poor B. call over to her husband's office and make sure they were following center protocols. Poor B. He wasn't happy to have to make that call. Even though Carol and I are very close, both of our spouses are pretty much of the nonverbal engineer variety and don't make "Hi, I'm just checking on you...." type phone calls to anyone.

All of this stuff happened shortly before I quit my job and really made me impatient with anyone disreputable. But, I also lost my temper with my dishonest employer and can't help but think that was part of my whole over reaction to the events of the previous week. I'm still trying to collect myself. Seeing my girlfriends face-to-face has been a big part of getting back to normal. The kids and I have talked through things. The doctor had great advice for talking with them. My total dental disaster has finally calmed down after two root canals and a new bite guard. B. still seems so sure he was never in any danger. It makes me mad that he's so laid back. Is he trustworthy to act carefully if he's in danger? I also keep thinking of what the world is going to be like when my kids are my age. Raging murders, terrorists, child abusers have me all feeling very pessimistic today.

I'll try to find something more positive to write about soon.

Disappointment

2007-05-03T08:08:00.000-06:00

I wrote some about my tutoring job and then got so busy with work that I couldn't post at all. Sadly I had to quit the job two weeks ago. I was having a great time with my students, but the company I was working for was not honest. It's sad, because; I had to leave my students with no warning or explanation. Once I realized what was going on all I could do is quit. The teachers aren't allowed to talk with parents, so no one is likely to ever know their kids aren't getting the help they promised. If you ever decide your children need tutoring, make sure that you hire a professional educator and are allowed to speak directly to the teacher concerning your child's progress and needs. Parents are paying thousands of dollars to essentially have their child sit for hours filling out worksheets.

On the good side, my kids are glad I'm not working, and it's finally warm enough to swim. It's been great to use the pool and have a great time with the kids and the poodle.

Windhover -- Gerard Hopkins

2007-04-08T19:20:00.000-06:00

12. The Windhover

To Christ our Lord


I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king-
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,	5
As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion	10
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion. Happy Easter

A Season With the Elizabethians

2007-03-22T21:27:00.000-06:00

Have any of you watched the new Showtime series, The Tutors? Morgan and I have seen the first two episodes and are completely hooked. It seems like we've been inundated by the Elizabethans in the past several months. Morgan took an honors class covering the literature, art and music of the period. Since then we've been reading the excellent biographies by Allison Wier.

Even our fan-girl devotion to Sing has joined in our studies because of his album, Songs From the Labyrinth, a collection of the works of the Elizabethan composer John Dowland.

I've even managed to work my knitting into our interest thanks to Knit Picks. They had a great set of lace scarf patterns derived from Elizabethan fashions. I'm knitting the "Dainty Bess," which was adapted from an actual design in a pair of stockings belonging to the queen. I have to say, so far, the "Dainty Bess" has been kicking my not so dainty rear-end, but it is so exciting to see something of that time period come to life with just my two hands, yarn, and needles.

I think most parents try to imagine what kinds of people their children will grow to be. Having a child whose old enough and interested enough to share all of these things with is truly the most fun of all.

Dog and Cat

2007-03-22T07:43:00.000-06:00

We had an interspecies incident last night. The cat decided to wage an all out attack on the dog. Triton was on my bed sleeping while I read. Pandora jumped up asking to be petted. Then, out of the blue, she decided she'd had enough of the poodle. She sank her teeth down on poor Triton's leg, wrapped all four of her little kitty legs around it, and bit and clawed her hardest. I could just tell she was getting out all her pent up frustration over months of dog stupidity. All of the butt smelling, the interruptions of cat naps, the monopolizing of the pet toys were going to be avenged.

What did the pup do? She lay there, watched, and wagged her tail in a friendly way. She thought it was some kind of idiot cat game and tried her best to play along. Their size difference is so great that the cat never even reached skin on the big dog. Pandora came away with a mouth full of poodle fur and nothing more. When she moved to leave, Triton scooped her back up with the same giant paw inviting her to play more. Oh, the cat was mad. She launched into another vicious attack, this time on the wagging tail. Triton didn't enjoy this nearly as much and moved out of the way. Pandora did a victory lap across the bed and left with her innate sense of superiority intact.

Now if I could only get the kids to work out their differences......

Saint Patrick's Day and Spring Weather

2007-03-19T10:14:00.000-06:00

We knew we were definitely into spring last week when the big thunderstorms started. Last Tuesday, the wind was up to 55 miles per hour and hail slammed down on the house like thousands of bullets. I made the kids sit in the closet during the worst of it. We chose a house with lots of windows to let in the sunlight. But, but on bad days it makes almost every room in the house dangerous. The dog and cat went in with them and drove each other crazy. When it was over, I found most of the lawn furniture in the pool. Otherwise, there wasn't much debris., but seeing chairs sunk to the bottom was sort of creepy. The kids can't wait till it's a bit warmer and they're back in the pool. I'm going to have Triton clipped really close this week. It's so much easier to get her dried off after swimming, and she seems to enjoy the summer without so much fur. She's definitely shaggy right now.

Other than the storm, spring is very welcome. We had a quiet St. Patrick's Day, no green beer! Bill took the kids out to get a webcam. M. has to video some lessons for Texas Tech, and she seems to be looking forward to it. Today the sun is out and the weather is perfect. Our high is supposed to be 78 degrees. I'm really wanting to get some new flowers planted but can't seem to make time for it. Maybe I'll see if the kids will help this weekend. We have load of landscaping we want to do in the back, but I'm thinking our budget won't go much farther than having trees planted. It's amazing how much a small tree costs, and we need several for the back yard.

My part-time teaching job is going alright. I like the kids I'm working with, and it's good to know I can still teach. Now I have to work on getting my husband and kids to quit going out for junk food while I'm gone. If DH beats me home, they will all have eaten some sort of garbage for super. He calls from the car and takes orders for McDonalds, etc. I've made M. and B. promise to stop asking, but something tells me they aren't going to turn it down if he calls.

Sting Fact #5: The song, "Fortress Around Your Heart," from the Dream of the Blue Turtles, was the first Sting song I really noticed. I don't think it was ever released as a single, but I was struck by something in it. Sing made a documentary about the launch of his solo career called, Bring On the Night, and I found it particularly interesting to watch how this song was put together. He released one of his few live albums under the same title.

Daylight Savings Time

2007-03-12T07:09:00.000-06:00

I hate moving the time around and often wonder what would happen if were all able to vote on this practice. In teaching, I've observed that young children really suffer by the time change. It may take two weeks for them all to be back to normal, and we do this to them twice in the school year. Why, at least, couldn't the time shifts happen when the children are out of school for the summer? This morning DH and I forced ourselves out of bed at are regularly scheduled time. But, I'm keeping the house quiet for the kids. Even the pets went back to bed. Pandora scolded me at length and then disappeared, while Triton is snoring loudly on the couch. If even the poodle and the cat find this mess offensive, why do we keep doing it?

M. is sick and on antibiotics for a sinus infection. She's been out of sorts for several days, and the doctor said it could be two or three weeks before the infection is gone entirely. I took B. to see the doctor during the same visit. He's been limping for a few days, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. She examined him and took X-rays. He's grown an inch in the last month, and his legs are uneven. I completely freaked out about the leg thing. We are going to see a pediatrician's orthopedic surgeon down at Texas Children's Hospital. Have any of you ever heard of something like this? I'm not sure what they can do about it or if there's a chance he will outgrow it. B. is mad at me right now because I won't let him go run around with his friends. The doctor is afraid that he could cause some kind of permanent injury. Who knows how long it will take to get an appointment with the surgeon. It could be well into summer before he has an opening. The boy is going to stage a revolt if I don't let him out of the house soon. Thankfully, it will be warm enough to swim soon.

Sting Fact #4: M. and I got tickets for the Houston concert too! We debated about this, since it is such an extravagance. If we'd known they were going to perform here, we wouldn't have bought the Dallas tickets. But now, we are going to see Sting/Police twice in the same week! We're pretty pleased with ourselves, and the poor husband suffers in silence.

Teaching Stories and More Sting

2007-03-07T09:12:00.000-06:00

I am starting to get to know some of my students, and I really like them. My family laughs because it's nothing new. I'm continually amazed by watching a human beings learn. They come in not knowing how something works, what it means, or how to accomplish a task. We have class, and they learn. It's a miracle every time I see it happen. I come home with stories about all my genius students, all their accomplishments, the funny things they've said, the difficulties they've overcome. My family has heard it all before and mostly thinks I imagine it as all so amazing because I am a teacher. Is it really quite ordinary to everyone else?

I recall learning to do some things as being quite difficult. Long division, converting fractions to decimals, finding percentages, and diagramming sentences were all a nightmare to me. Then, I show the same skills to a student, a light goes off and they just know it. How is that not totally amazing? I found out last night that one of my 18 year old high school students is paying for her own tutoring. She isn't failing anything, but she knows she can excel. She thinks it's worth paying for out of her own small earnings from her part-time job. I wanted to cry. I would gladly have tutored her for free.

Sting Fact #3: Sting was part of the first series of READ posters published by the American Library Association. In his, Sting was posed leaning against a stone wall in period costume (18th century?) He held a book, I believe it was Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and an English castle loomed in the background. There were a number of very fine posters in that first series, and I bought them all for our library. But, Sting's was my favorite and I hung it at the end of a row of stacks where it would face my desk. I later bought my own copy and kept it in my office throughout most of my library career.

Under Construction

2007-03-06T07:49:00.000-06:00

We've been back home for well over a year now, but I still have moments when I'm struck again by how good it is to be here. I was out running errands before work yesterday and saw so much going on in our part of the city. First, spring is making itself known with beautiful weather, flowers and trees blooming everywhere, and gardeners coming out to plant on almost every street. We have some kind of flowering bush in our front bed. It was unremarkable last summer when it only had its leaves, but this spring it has these amazing red flowers. What a nice surprise. If I get the chance, I'm going to plant some begonias this weekend.

The amount of construction going on is absolutely crazy. I must have seen thirty different projects between here and the grocery store. This kind of thing used to bother me. It's loud, ugly, and gets in the way. But now I've seen what a town looks like when no improvements are made in decades. Today I took some pleasure in all of the widening roads, renovated businesses, and new buildings.

But then the road was blocked on the way to work, and I started to get very irritated. It is almost impossible to know which roads will be open and which will be closed on any given day. It makes every simple drive complicated and I never know how long it will take to get anywhere. When I finally made it past this particular bottle neck in traffic, I saw that the city utility folks were trimming trees near power lines, something so simple but so important. We were without power for 3 days in freezing temperatures back in West Virginia because this kind of maintenance isn't done. It snowed in mid October, the tree limbs grew heavy and fell on the lines. Here at home, I'd seen crews doing this kind of work and never even realized how lucky we are. I felt all enlightened yesterday, like in one of those movies where the wise Zen Master finally gets through to the student.

I work all week, and I'm starting to remember why it is so hard to work, have kids, and a home. My students are fun though. I also remember why I rarely knit unless I was on vacation. Teaching is exhausting.

Sting Fact #2: From the Dream of the Blue Turtles album there is a song called "Moon Over Bourbon Street." It is the last track on the record, and I went back to it several times. Something seemed very familiar about the song, but I couldn't place it. Finally I read the liner notes and found he based the lyrics on the novel, Interview With the Vampire. I was so excited, one of my favorite books set to music. I've never had a chance to see him perform this song live.

Don't Mess With My Bedtime!

2007-03-05T23:07:00.000-06:00

I'm really awful about changes in my schedule. The same weakness irritates me in others, but I can't stand having my routine changed unless it was my idea. I worked late tonight and now I can't go to sleep. I should be home, have dinner, bath, quite time to read, quite time in bed with lights out to watch the evening news, and then sleep. this job has me doing things in the wrong order and now I can't sleep. Argh.......

I've decided to try and write one personal Sting fact per day between now and our big Police reunion concert in Dallas on June 26. This may be way more than you want to know. So, I'll either put it at the bottom of posts with other content, or warn you in the title that it is a Sing only post.

Here we go. Fact #1: The first album I ever bought was Dream of the Blue Turtles. It was still in the vinyl days. I never purchased any Police material until after the first Sting solo album. The song that made me want to buy the album was, "Fortress Around Your Heart."

More on this album tomorrow.

No Knitting, No Blogging

2007-03-03T07:28:00.000-06:00

I have been busy and very distracted this week. School is going well enough for the kids, and I'm getting a little better at working through the part-time job thing. But, everything seems rushed to me. I think I got very used to working according to my own time table or DH's work demands. He has had several very hectic weeks in a row at work. His boss is seriously ill with a rare form of cancer, and his group is trying to make sure she isn't working to much. They were getting ready for the next shuttle flight to the space station, which has now been delayed. I'm not sure it will make any difference in their workload though.

The weather damage to the vehicle is a huge disappointment for everyone. I heard a reporter ask, "Couldn't they have put the shuttle somewhere safe. Even I would put my car in the garage if there was a hail storm...." I wanted to cry. I suppose it isn't easy to get an idea of how huge the shuttle is or how dangerous and complicated it is to move it. The hail storm wasn't sending out announcements 3-4 days ahead of time saying it was on its way. Moving the shuttle,once it's ready for launch, takes time. We should know something more this week about the extent of the damage and what it means for the station assembly. If you want to know more about the work they are doing, go here.

Knitting and blogging have fallen off my schedule in the last few weeks. I miss talking with e-friends and having a place to note the interesting things going on. The kids like to read about the things we've done or are planning. I thought that working part-time wouldn't make much of a difference in all of these things, and maybe it won't once we get used to a new schedule. I'm working a couple of hours today. It should make much difference to my family as they have their own Saturday morning and afternoon plans. But, this is usually a time when a have an hour or more alone in the house. I'm going to miss that. I need to get my blog-rings all fixed, but I'm not sure what to do about that. Any of you that have switched sites have suggestions?

We did get our Police tickets on the first day of the presale. We'll be in section 111 row J on July 26! M. and I have been playing all Police cd's in preparation for the big event. There are quite a few songs I didn't know. My guess is it will be strictly "Best of..." stuff. In their press conference announcing the tour, Sing said they would not be performing any new material. (Yes, I watched the press conference. I've warned you all of my geek factor.) I know there are tons of people that are really excited about the reunion thing. I would have rather seen Sting with his own band. Dominic Miller and Jason Rabello are wonderful musicians and some of the other artists like Chris Botti and Branford Marsalis are amazing. Of course, it was always a privilege to attend a live performance with the great Kenny Kirkland. So, I guess we just have to give his exs a chance. ...

Complete Geek

2007-02-27T12:40:00.001-06:00

Do any of you remember the episode of Friends where Monica got the great boots, but they hurt her feet so bad Chandler had to carry her? At the same time, Phoebe finds out that Sting will be performing shortly in NY, but the concert is sold out. She then learns that Ross has a connection to the family as his son, Ben, is attending a preschool with Sting's son. She begs Ross to try and get tickets and sings "Ross Can" to the tune of "Roxanne" When that doesn't work out, Phoebe starts stalking Ben's school and pretends to be one of Ben's moms to get into Sting's house. There she meets Trudy Styler who, upon discovering Phoebe's a stalker, tells her "the police are on there way..." Phoebe jumps for joy at the news of a Police reunion. Sadly, such was not to be... Until NOW that is. The Police will perform in Dallas this summer, and M. and I are so there.

I never saw the group and frankly had little interest until Sting went solo. At the time there seemed to be so many crazy, bleach blond, British rock/punk/whatever running around that I didn't bother to differentiate. I was in school, never had any money, and was too busy working, studying, and going to class for much to penetrate the fog of battle.

But Dream of the Blue Turtles was a fine work. From that point on I became the fan girl I am today and passed my devotion on to my only daughter. God bless her, she's learned or tried every cool riff and knows more about the Police compositions than I do. She's slowly built up my CD collections of actual Police albums over the course of Christmases and birthdays. The only two things I'd bought from those days were "Synchronisity" and a "Best Of..."

I'm not sure how I feel about the Police as a group. We're going because it's Sting. It was weird to see him interacting with two musicians who are evidently his peers. Normally, he either performs with someone not part of his band and behaves like they're his guests or simply as the band leader for his employees. Hearing Stewart Copland smarting off at him and Andy Summer sort of laughing, I thought wow. This is going to be something totally new.

Now, I'm going to prove to you what a complete and total nerd I really am.

The first Sting song which interested me was due to his use of alliteration and irony. "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" juxtaposed to "Poets, priests, and polititions...." Very funny. Also, I loved the use of literary allusion in Wrapped around your Finger " Mephistopheles is not your name....."
I'm a member of "The Official Sting Fan Club"
Membership in the above cost actual money which I pay annually.
I pay the money each year because I get an exclusive CD of Sting stuff and presale on concert tickets.
I remember all the details of the above Friends episode.
I'm willing to go to Dallas.
I actually knew the name of Mrs. Sting
I'm planning to make a playlist this afternoon representing my ideal Police concert set list. Then I'm sharing it with everyone I know. I know at least one person who will actually be interested.

If you think you're a bigger nerd, top that!

R O X A N N E................................S T I N G .........................

Tired

2007-02-26T08:08:00.000-06:00

I'd forgotten a number of things about working. First of all, getting dressed for work is work. I know one e-friend that gets to wear scrubs most days. Another lady from my knitting group is a pathologist and does the same. I wish teachers got to wear scrubs. I wouldn't need hose, several pairs of shoes to match outfits, several purses to match shoes........ Some people could say that I don't need to bother with those things at this job either. On the other hand, my students are coming to me after a full day at school. They're tired, their teachers are tired, their parents are tired. I decided that I should be fresh and ready to go. I need it and so do they. So now I have to do the work clothes thing again. Yuck.

I'd also forgotten about work place drama. Teachers have this going continually. Colleagues with differences, students with rivalries, parents with teachers, parents with children, parents with parents, everyone with the principal. I'd just forgotten. I remembered the teaching part really clearly, because I love that part. I even remembered the teacher/student issues that arise as part of learning. However, the adult drama I had pretty well wiped from my mind.

Today I'm tired and have a flare. I'd also forgotten what it's like to go to work during a flare. I may not have to go in today. Since it wasn't a teaching day anyway, I'm hoping I can stay home. I'm waiting for a call from another new Rheumatologist. This time, my own doctor has spoken with these folks at length about what I need and expect from them. So far, it's taken three days of waiting just to speak to someone about making an appointment. I'll call my own doctor back in a day or two if I don't hear from them.

Do you guys have prescription plans with lots of rules? We always opt. for the highest level choice was, but this year they've dropped Celebrex from our formulary making it unbelievably expensive. I'll have to find out today how we we are to proceed. Evidently there is some way to get preauthorization and it will then be charged at the highest rate i.e. $45 for a 30 day supply. I don't know if that took it out because of the newly discovered risks or because they weren't making enough money off of it.

I knit for a little while last night. Most with fat needles and easy patterns. Now I'm remembering why I knit so little for several years. It's a peaceful activity though, and I'm going to try to make time even when I'm tired and hurting. I'm way behind or blog reading and miss my pals. Something else to make time for.

Good Dog, Good Man (Spoilers for Gray's)

2007-02-22T22:37:00.000-06:00

I worked tonight. I'm leaving work after dark, and I don't see well enough to drive easily. So, I try to call Bill and let him know when I leave. That way, he doesn't waste as much time worrying I'll drive myself into a ditch. The kids worry too, because we aren't much for going out at night. Like a bunch of hibernating animals, dark means sleep and light means wake. Winter really kicks us in the butt with so few hours of light. We, good Puritans all, actually celebrate the winter solstice. From that day forward, we will have more daylight and shake off our slowing minds and spirits. The doctor would call our problem Seasonal Affective Disorder. My favorite description is from Christy at Rainbow Chills who calls it may "SAD story." A daughter of the sunbelt, I well and truly hate the dark. We use one of those photo-therapy lights on really dark days. Thank God, we don't see dark now till after 6:00.

The man and children always worry when I drive in the dark, but aren't alone in waiting faithfully. Triton worries the entire time I'm gone. Do any of you know a standard poodle? (These are the really big ones.) Poodles are smart to the point it's hard to remember they're just dogs and not people. I know everyone says that about their pet, but poodles are scary smart, and even among a race of intelligent animals, Triton is uber-smart. When I called, she knew it was me and that I was on my way home. The man calls like this when he's on his way home too. She's used to hearing us talk about getting dinner ready and doing other small chores while "Daddy" is on his way. She's always waited and watched once he called. Now, she sits for me too. Triton was the first to greet me tonight and hasn't left my side since. The dog considers bedtime as the highlight of her day. The man calls her a "rack hound" which is evidently some archaic man-speak for a person who sleeps more than others. Triton's choice spot is in bed is sleeping between the man and myself. But on these late nights for me, she sleeps patiently in the family room, either at my feet or up on the couch with her head resting on a pillow. She would rather be in the bed, but she's my late night companion staying with me no matter how long it takes me to get sleepy.

RW taped Gray's Anatomy and bought Jack-in-the-Box tacos for me tonight. When I got home, the tacos and Gray's were ready to go. The new digital service lets us do that record it, watch it, pause it at will thing. The man loves using his new TV superpowers. With both the tacos and the Gray's waiting, I have to tell you all that my husband is a total stud. Thank you sweetie!!!!

One of the fantastic things about being married for so long, is we can, at times, truly communicate love to each other. I've definitely observed that Romance means different things for different couples. One of my blog pals made amazing cookies for her wife. I thought it was an awesome gift but not likely to come my way, since the man doesn't do baking. If he did bake, it wouldn't be yummy cookies with a lovely filling and heart shaped cut-out on the top. Even so, 30 plus years have given the man insight. He knows what does it for me. So, it was a fine evening. He sent his usual dozen yellow roses to my work place. I'll have to explain the reason why these are incredibly romantic on another day. He picked a card to go with it showing two children, dressed in adult clothes circa 1935. The girl holds a bouquet of roses and the slightly older boy leans down to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek. The card spoke as much about us as did the roses. The man has celebrated every important event in our lives together with one dozen yellow roses (Think "The Yellow Rose of Texas.") The card meant, to me, he also understands of our link growing from childhood to adulthood, to middle age together. To grow-up with one's mate is a fine thing. I was greatly touched that he, in his own way, showed he got that too.

Our female child (age 17) is sometimes at a loss when it comes to our own version of the romance. This Valentines' Day, I bought our first HDTV. The girl was disgusted by the lameness of our shared gift. "How could this be romantic?????? You just bought a TV for Christ's sake!" The boy (age 12) was more open minded about the purchase. If it plugs into the wall and delivers television, it's all good. Plus, he's at the age where the idea of love between his parents is best ignored. He's enjoying the high-def but prefers we keep the gushy stuff ourselves. The man set up the TV, upgraded the cable, and played with the new functions for hours. While he and I cooed words of endearment to one another watching The Chronicles of Riddick in high def, we managed to disgusted both children. We had this incredible moment as perfect mates, a perfect understanding, a sympathy only we knew.

The children think we are old and sad at times like this. For our 20th anniversary, my husband gave me my first laptop. It was, in 1996, an incredible extravagance. I brought it to work with pride to show my girlfriends. They all recoiled in horror at the complete lack of allure they perceived in such a gift. I, on the other hand, felt it was one of the most loving gifts I've ever received. He went to a jeweler and had a gold inscription affixed saying RW and DK forever. I was moved to tears while my girlfriends looked on in horror thinking of large and fine pieces of jewelry or perhaps an expensive automobile as fitting tributes for 20 years of marriage and the gift of both a son and daughter. I don't even remember what I gave the husband. It was nothing compared to the laptop. Of course, there were also yellow roses.

I must confess that there are days when we are not perfectly attuned. I wake some days wondering how I married this creature who seems sometimes a fool of a husband. Being a fine southern gentleman, the man would never expressed such sentiments toward me. However, all long lived couples must have days of doubt. In fact, there are days when I'm ready to move him out to live in the garage.

Sometimes, on the other hand, there comes a day of perfect understanding, and I know that our 31 year old decision to be together was exactly right. The man does not ponder relationships. If I understand his opinion corectly, he considers that to be my job. At times I envy my blog pal and her wife. Surly, both of them do the girl/relationship thing together? The man does manly things like take out the trash, mow the yard, and serve as our 24/7 tech support guy. He also kills all critters which disturb his wife,.and offers to deal with any person who causes me the least distress. I have to say, this is a fine thing after 31 years. He is, even at 52, more than ready to fight for my honor with all challengers. It is a mighty thing to find one's spouse so devout and faithful after such a time.

Dog sighs, tacos, and Gray's made me feel like I'm someone who matters. My family loves me and wants me. We are together and even the pets care about us. I finally have a job again and students!!!! It's a fine thing to live with one person long enough to create a unified family. Our My dear daughter commented this week that my work was inconvenient but well worth the pleasure I seemed to gain from rejoining our capitalist economy (i.e. having my very own money.) That she also knows me so well seems a blessing beyond my comprehension. The boy, on the other hand, misses the conveniences of a 24/7 maid, cook, teacher, chaperon, and driver. Such is life.

Saturday Morning

2007-02-17T07:48:00.000-06:00

My house is quiet. I woke up at 6:30 (damn) because my husband wasn't in the bed. By the time I got up and found him, I couldn't go back to sleep. He had gotten up in the night because youngest child had a bad dream. He slept on the couch the rest of the night so the boy would feel safer. What a sweet guy! Now he's tucked in bet sleeping soundly.

That means, I'm the only one awake in the house. Oh, the possibilities of having time for myself! What do women do that actually have that in their lives? I could read, knit, look at knitting magazines. My mind is reeling with possibilities. OTOH, I'm might just go lay back down now that my sleeping partner has returned. Robert Heinlein's character, Lazarus Long, once said, "Never miss a chance to eat, sleep, or go to the toilet. You just don't know when you'll get the opportunity again."

Work Adventures Con't

2007-02-16T19:17:00.000-06:00

I finally had my first student last night. All the hassle of starting back to work, trying to reorganize our lives to allow for a few hours away from the house, having to get dressed in work clothes....

I was kind of regretting going back to being a productive member of society, but I had a student last night and was actually teaching. I had so much fun, I would have done it for free. So I'm tired, I'm flaring like crazy, and our house is a wreck, but I have a job and my student learned. I'm not down about it anymore.

Tomorrow is our charity knitting group: From The Heart of Texas.

This will only be my second meeting, but I'm really going to try and make it since I'll most likely work on some of the Saturday meetings/times. On the other hand, I'm feeling guilty about leaving the kids and husband after I already was out of the house two nights this week. It will be good when we develop a new routine and know what's going to work. In the mean time, I really had fun yesterday!

Sting, the Police and Gray's Anatomy (Spoilers)

2007-02-15T08:46:00.000-06:00

First, and most importantly, Sing will be in concert here in Texas on June 26. My daughter and I will, once again, have the pleasure of yelling ourselves hoarse in shear fun. It's a Police tour. I'm not sure why they're doing the whole old guy reunion thing, but it means we get to hear/see Sting so we fan-girls are happy. I don't know why I was never all that interested in the Police at the time they were so popular. I've only learned to like many of the songs because of hearing them live at Sting concerts. But, still..... so happy.

I'm going to miss some, if not all, of Gray's tonight. I have to work. Meredith is there drowning in the icy cold water. No doubt McDreamy, McSteamy, or someone else interesting is going to have to bring her back from the dead, and I'm going to be missing the whole thing. Damn. Y'all, I'm ashamed to admit that the whole "house wife" thing had its perks. (cringe) Both husband and daughter have sworn that 1) the eppy will be taped in its entirety and ready for my viewing pleasure and 2) I have a back-up as it will repeat on ABC online this week.

Thank you to PJ, Woolwinder, and others for finding your way back to me after the big move from typepad. I'm still getting the hang of this whole incognito thing. It seems weird not using our names, but you know us anyway, so just insert at the proper places. And, if you have any suggestions, for making it less lame, please let me know.

Work

2007-02-14T09:12:00.000-06:00

I've always said, "You know you're at work when they pay you, you don't pay them." The last couple of work days have definitely been of the I wouldn't do it for free variety. After three years of staying home, just the having to get dressed part was too much like work. My morning beauty routine has mostly been basic hygiene and very comfy clothes.

Today, I have real students and teaching, but I've had to ditch my Valentines for the evening. We did our cards and gifts last night, so it should be fine. My hubby rightly pointed out that I like teaching kids lots more than the other bits of being a teacher, so hopefully tonight will be great.

My kids have been a bit cranky since all this working business started. I think they miss me! Yeah to that, but it's also occurred to me that they also be finding it a tad inconvenient to have me unavailable for my full-time services as chief cook and bottle washer. ...

No knitting, no reading, and not much else going on. Even for working part time, it's sucking up a lot of my "me" time. I'm off Friday-Monday, so we should have some time for fun then. My daughter and I are going over to the wonderful Ramona's house for a total Saturday girls night. Her house is a boy-free zone and it's so beautiful. Everything is clean and pretty and so girly. We love it there.

Going to Work!

2007-02-12T07:35:00.000-06:00

I'm going in to tutor some today and it will be my first day of earning money type working in almost three years. It feel kind of good to have a job. That Protestant work ethic thing dies hard among us. I know everything I do at home for my husband and the kids is work too, but somehow I just feel more me with a job.

I may regret this if a few weeks, especially if I have a bad flare, but for now I'm happy. I got new shoes, a pretty purse, and a few new work cloths. Get this..... my old clothes were too big! Ha! That may actually be my favorite part of yesterday. M. got new shoes too. I'll take pictures when I can. Not of mine, but hers for mine look like the granny shoes you would expect a teacher with bad knees and hips to wear while standing all day.

The picture above, is one my kids took in the midst of unpacking chaos last year. They are concerned that I not forget they are my students too. When B. was little, he thought I had another family somewhere. One day, he asked me something about my "other sons" and I realized he didn't know the kids I talked about so often were my students. So, I'll be on the watch for our own teacher version of sibling rivalry.

Teaching

2007-02-11T08:32:00.000-06:00

I've been super busy for a few days working out a plan to take on some students for tutoring. I still don't know how many and the exact schedule, but I'm pretty well past the biggest hurdles. It will be nice to have some new kids to teach and also to work with a few other teachers.

My latest bout of joint problems cleared up nicely on prednisone, but the doctor flatly refuses to prescribe it long term. So, once again, I'm off to a new rheumatologist to see if there is a new magic rabbits to pull out of the hat. I do have some hope that a more experienced person might be willing to experiment with low doses of the prednisone. Also, my own doctor has talked with the new woman and made it clear that I'm to receive no lectures on weight loss. They gave me the number and name for the nurse so that I can talk out my expectations ahead of the visit.

I've been thinking about what I want to do most, knit socks, walk the dog and kids, shop till I drop, go to Bandera and ride horses. The possibilities of a normal life...... I'm trying to keep my expectations low, but darn.

Still Here

2007-02-06T10:29:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to my wonderful e-pals for checking on me. The move to Blogger was a sudden decision and a long story. I'll be working to get at least some content up right away. Everyone is fine, but we're going to a more privacy aware format. Those of you that know us, don't worry. I think I was rather naive about the big wide world of the web and just needed a wake-up call.

I'm still working out this whole pseudonym thing. So stick with me as we experiment on that front.

Where Do We Go From Here?

2007-02-04T22:06:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm a Joss Wheaton geek. Deal with it. This won't be the last BTVS, ATS, or Firefly speak. I'm resolving some blog world issues and will need to come to some decisions soon. I'm trying to figure out a change in the blog title as a start and will need to find a nom de plume that doesn't make me want to barf. Don't give up on me just yet. I love a challenge.

And, just to prove it's still me, here's the poodle who must not be named modeling the Branching Out Scarf.

The currently nameless knitter.