Note to Self

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

Deimos The Newest McAllister

I Thought I Made This Clear

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

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.

It's Been a Long Time

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

Duccio Buoninsegna

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

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

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

Bill, the kids, and other photo updates

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

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

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

Evacuation Updates -- Status your out of Houston Friends

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

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

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

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

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