I HATE Grackles-- They are EVIL

I usually love to watch the birds in the birdhouse outside the kitchen window. Each year they carefully build their little home and lay some eggs. In no time, we have cute little baby birds cheeping away, sticking their big mouths out each time a parent bird shadows the opening of the nest to feed them. So far this spring and summer, this has happened three times. Not once have we seen a fledgling, because the evil, awful, sinister, creepy, disgusting and noisy grackles, raid the nest, kidnapping and killing the baby as it thinks its mother is back with a snack. Now, on our third round of births, we have one baby left, and I for one, would like to sit out by the bird box to protect it from the time the sun comes up, until all are asleep for the night. I cringe to walk out in the yard to find the babies who have been murdered by these awful birds. So far I've found one, half-alive, one in the garden and one in the fountain. It is really spoiling my backyard nature experience. You could claim, that this is how nature works, but I won't buy it. These hoodlums are imports from way back, and don't fit into our ecosystem. (The same is the case with the sparrows they are killing, but the sparrows are cute). We are supposed to be enjoying bluebirds, goldfinches, jays, cardinals, etc., but you can hardly find them. We are overrun with these others. Instead of waking to the sounds of cardinals and chickadees, I hear the awful sounds of the grackles, and jump out of bed to chase them away. I realize this is crazy, and very likely ridiculous, but you know what? I HATE THOSE BIRDS.

This is all you get

Destiny did not want to smile for the picture, as she was not all that happy.

Mommy's Little Girl

Today I had to let go of my little Lady-Pooh. She had a horrible cancer in a really bad area on her body, hearing problems, cataracts, blood problems, blockages and there was nothing I could do about it. I am going to miss her so much. She was my little girl, my Pooh-Bear, my Fluff-Muffin, my Baby Girl. I also called her Princess, my Girl, Fluffy, Skinny Butt and Honey.
We got Lady Anastasia when we were picking up Gene's kids for the weekend. She was long-haired, matted, smelly and so loving. She immediately surprised us with how alert she was, how much she loved eating, how she could jump up into our bed and how she rolled around on her back and did her happy dance. Whoever "owned" her to begin with, ignored her and would not allow her to come indoors. When she discovered she was allowed to live inside, she was visibly grateful. When I decided to take her home, it was her big brown eyes that took me. I loved her so much, but more than anything, she loved me.
Where ever I was in the house, Lady was sure to be nearby. She came out to the garden with me, especially during tomato picking time. She loved tomatoes, beans, strawberries, and especially, oranges! I guess she was big on acidic fruits.
It is amazing to watch an animal be so grateful to you that she seems to exist for you. I spoiled her. I tried to make her life as easy, fun and happy as possible. I made sure she could always find me and had a cushion nearby.
Tonight, when we came home, it was hard to see the spots where I normally see her -- empty. I will miss her happy little face each day, the one that looked only for me (and something to eat). I love you, Lady Pooh and I will miss you so much.

Where is the Media Now?

The media has always made me crazy, especially when it comes to disaster coverage. When the tsunami hit, that was all you could see. After about 3 weeks, you would think all that rubble had been cleared up or everyone was okay, because you sure did not see anyone reporting on it. When the war in Iraq started, there was coverage about what was going on and lots of troop support. After President Bush gave the impression that the war was over, the media acted like nothing was going on any more, and instead of continuing to see pictures of soldiers and stories of families, they switched sides and acted as if no one should support the troops or know how things were going. Now, Hurricane Katrina has had the same treatment, but worse, if you ask me. Here are opportunities to serve and care right here on our own soil, but we have a media blackout as far as what is happening. We ought to have a weekly report! I can't even find a map to show affected areas, camps, needs, memorials, or anything. It's like it did not even happen. Here is a link to an article that I could find in the blogosphere, at least. It gives you a good idea of what is going on, in a small corner. Here is JUST PART of the article:

Ten Months After Katrina: Gutting New Orleans

It has occurred to us that our New Orleans is looking more and more like Baghdad.

By Bill Quigley

source: Reconstruction Watch Thursday June 29, 2006

We are still finding dead bodies. Ten days ago, workers cleaning a house in New Orleans found a body of a man who died in the flood. He is the 23rd person found dead from the storm since March.

Over 200,000 people have not yet made it back to New Orleans. Vacant houses stretch mile after mile, neighborhood after neighborhood. Thousands of buildings remain marked with brown ribbons where floodwaters settled. Of the thousands of homes and businesses in eastern New Orleans, only 13 percent have been reconnected to electricity.

The mass displacement of people has left New Orleans older, whiter and more affluent. African Americans, children and the poor have not made it back -- primarily because of severe shortages of affordable housing.

Thousands of homes remain just as they were when the floodwaters receded -- ghost-like houses with open doors, upturned furniture, and walls covered with growing mold.

Not a single dollar of federal housing repair or home reconstruction money has made it to New Orleans yet. Tens of thousands are waiting. Many wait because a full third of homeowners in the New Orleans area had no flood insurance. Others wait because the levees surrounding New Orleans are not yet as strong as they were before Katrina, and they fear rebuilding until flood protection is more likely. Fights over the federal housing money still loom because Louisiana refuses to clearly state a commitment to direct 50 percent of the billions to low- and moderate-income families.

Meanwhile, 70,000 families in Louisiana live in 240 square-foot Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers -- three on my friend's street. As homeowners, their trailer sits in front of their own battered home. Renters are not so fortunate and are placed in gravel-strewn FEMA-villes across the state. With rents skyrocketing, thousands have moved into houses without electricity.

Public housing has been boarded up and fenced off as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced plans to demolish 5,000 apartments -- despite the greatest shortage of affordable housing in the region's history. HUD plans to let private companies develop the sites. In the meantime, the 4,000 families locked out since Katrina are not allowed to return.

The broken city water system is losing about 85 million gallons of water in leaks every day. That is not a typo: 85 million gallons of water, at a cost of $200,000 a day, are still leaking out of the system even after over 17,000 leaks have been plugged. Michelle Krupa of the Times-Picayune reports that the city pumps 135 million gallons a day through 80 miles of pipe in order for 50 million gallons to be used. We are losing more than we are using, and the repair bill is estimated to be $1 billion -- money the city does not have.

Public health care is in crisis. Our big public hospital has remained closed and there are no serious plans to reopen it. A neighbor with cancer who has no car was told that she has to go 68 miles away to the closest public hospital for her chemotherapy.

Mental health may be in even worse shape. In the crumbling city and in the shelters of the displaced, depression reigns. Despite a suicide rate triple what it was a year ago, the New York Times reports we have lost half of our psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists and other mental health care workers. Mental health clinics remain closed. The psych unit of the big public hospital has not been replaced in the private sector as most people in need are too poor to pay. The primary residences for people with mental health problems are our jails and prisons.

For children, the Washington Post reports, the trauma of the floods has not ended. A Louisiana State University mental health screening of nearly 5,000 children in schools and temporary housing in Louisiana found that 96 percent saw hurricane damage to their homes or neighborhoods, 22 percent had relatives or friends who were injured, 14 percent had relatives or friends who died, and 35 percent lost pets. Thirty-four percent were separated from their primary caregivers at some point; 9 percent still are. Little care is directed to the little ones.

The criminal justice system remains shattered. Six thousand cases await trial. There were no jury trials and only four public defenders for nine of the last 10 months. Many people in jail have not seen a lawyer since 2005. The Times-Picayune reported that one defendant, jailed for possession of crack cocaine for almost two years, has not been inside a court room since August 2005 despite the fact that a key police witness against him committed suicide during the storm.

Just Whatever

Now it is summertime. No coats to wear, no windows to shut, no socks.
Our son graduated from High School, and with any luck, we still hope to see the other two kids some day. It has been 5 years now. Gene is looking for work to earn $$ for college as well as for a camping trip to Gettysburg with 3 other buddies, much inspired by his Uncle Dave's trip out west after HS. NOW he is more serious about getting that summer job... Whatever works!
In the meantime, my husband continues to learn to be a salesman, something I think he has a knack for. We have a couple of good things that may come of it. I played secretary today and typed letters of info, thank yous, faxes, etc. Tomorrow it is back to making glass jewelry.
Wednesday and Thursday we gather to say goodbye to and celebrate the life of one of our dear friends at church, Clarence. He was rarely sick, but bacterial infections got the best of his lungs. I really thought he would make it. He was 70. Too young. My dad was only 72, and so was Bill and Frank all of which passed last year.
I wake up in a lot of creaking pain from killing my back last year and from a couple of falls (and maybe arthritis?) this year. I want to wake up and swim or work out, but I just haven't gotten there.
The Brookings made it in town and out. They look great and got around to all the people (almost) who wanted to visit them. We had a great creek walk that was marked by a mysterious buck in the woods and a hail storm.
My pup has cancer but is doing well. She is as sweet as ever.
I've NOT been to the pool yet! We have not had a whole lot of sunny days since it opened.
I miss singing.
My studio is an ignored mess.
The garden is beautiful. I had to call Ultra Lawn twice to be sure they stop shooting their chemicals into my poor garden while they "service" my neighbor's lawn. I freaked out when i first saw all those pellets. I started picking them all out one by one. My goliath aster seems to be taking it the worse. Those things go right through the covered fence.
I found out what happened to ALL THOSE SUNFLOWER SEEDS! Nothing had been coming up, so figured they were bad seeds, Heck, none of the holes seemed disrupted! But we have shrews or moles in the yard. They stole them thru the "basement" and buried them so deep, it took until just yesterday to finally see them sprout! They were all in little bunches in the garden, evidently forgotten in storage. I spread them around and hope to see them all grow up and bloom. I got red and cream colored ones this year. I guess the rest of them better be sprouted indoors...
I would love some DQ right now.
Goodnight.

PCs are annoying

My husband would get all worked up because he had an old computer. If he just had a new one, how nice that would be! After trashing a few used PCs, he found me a pretty decent Mac for $400 on Overstock.com. He used it for quite awhile, with NO PROBLEMS. A few weeks ago, he decided to finally go ahead and get that PC, and do a trial on wireless.
ACK! I hate using it!! Popups from the right hand corner are endless, and the whole system is confusing. There are endless things to restart and reinstall and uninstall.
Get a MAC, folks. I am still using it with no problems... And it is so much cuter.

Arguing or Discussing

Within my family of origin, it is known that I want to discuss issues much further past the point of comfort than others. It can be annoying and amazing to families and friends that I want to continue to discuss uncomfortable subjects when people present are either shaking their heads, cutting off the conversation or leaving the room. Typically, the topics are things like elections, abortion, philosophy, race, or sexually related issues.
Why do I go on? First, I argue, not to win, but to understand. Second, I typically have a great deal of trust in the relationship with the person I am discussing things with. I ask a lot of questions to see if they will rephrase their response, hopefully in a way I can understand what they are saying. I am also working to broaden the topic a bit, in search of some context. This can go fine in many cases, especially if I am talking to someone who knows me well enough to trust the relationship will not dissolve if we agree to disagree.
Speaking of, I am so "okay" with agreeing to disagree. Think about anything important you believe. Did you come to this belief while in the heat of an argument? Of course not. Most of us need to come to our beliefs on our own, while either thinking, praying, writing, pondering, walking, or sometimes, after just waking up after a good night's sleep. Everything needs some time to process. I really want to hear what you are saying, for the sake of knowing, not for the chance to pounce on you. I hope you are the same.
What is disheartening is when you are cut off from people because they do not have enough faith in the friendship or the process, when you really thought they would. There is a neat "hump" you get over when you go ahead and discuss your topic to a clearer understanding, working through the discomfort. It is hard to realize that your friend (or family member) cannot discuss things with you maybe because they either think you will disagree or dislike them afterwards. It does not even cross my mind, and it is amazing to me that it would cross theirs. Maybe there are other reasons, however. Sometimes the subject at hand is too personal or painful for the other person to discuss. They do not want to cross a line that will seemingly condemn them, and beg to not enter that area of discussion. Maybe the time or place is wrong. Maybe they have a headache or lost friends on this topic once. I have to be so careful not to insist on continuing. I have to be loving and sensitive to those possibilities, whether shared or not.

Only in America...(click here)

New York City Garbage is for sale! Not like I don't already have enough junk, but it is a very interesting way of making a buck... From LiquidTreat.com:

Justin Gignac is making art out of garbage. He scours the streets of Manhattan for junk and then carefully installs each array of rubbish (crumbled coffee cups, cigarette butts, pages ripped out of phone books) in sealed plastic cubes which are signed, numbered, and dated. Originally from Norwich, Conn., Gignac started collecting trash when he moved to New York to attend the School of the Visual Arts. For $50 you could have garbage shipped to your home within seven days of payment.

Reasons I am Stressed Out

1. We have a friend in the hospital, taking a long time to recover.
2. My dog has cancer.
3. I am so overweight.
4. My son just graduated, which is great, but it is a change.
5. I am switching off working 2 or 3 jobs.
6. I need exercise.
7. My husband's ex stiffed our son $5000 in child support, but since he just graduated, they figure we don't need the money.
8. My husband's ex is hateful towards my husband for no apparent reason. We have to be the recipient of her inability to deal with the truth, due to her personality disorder.
9. We still haven't seen our 2 other kids in 5 years thanks to her pranks
10. The judge still hasn't decided the case in 4 years because it sits in hicksville.
11. My house is a mess.
12. No one talks to me at the ad agency job.

Reasons to be happy:

1. There are ALWAYS reasons to be happy.
2. I have a great husband and kid and mom and sibs.
3. I have some work.
4. Gardening.
5. Hope in Christ.
6. Al-Anon friends.
7. Health.
8. America.
9. Elmo.
10. Yogi.
11. Cruise Night on Saturday.
12. Mary and John and their Flying Monkeys are coming in from Maine!
13. Swimming Pools.
14. Creek walks.
15. Beaches.
16. Music.

Ze Frank is Brilliant! (click here)

The entertainment value of this site is immeasurable! There is one link after another with valuable information such as How To Dance Properly, How To Impress Your Date, and Interactive Toys such as the one below. Be sure you have the time, cuz you won't want to stop!

More Photos, Just Because

Graduation Time

We have two graduating this year. One is on June 5th, the other happened a week or so ago. One is Gene Jr., who is 18 going on 19. His mom held him back in kindergarten. The second one is Crystal, who is 16 and will be 17 in August. She graduated early, from a school in Kansas somewhere. We got the photo of her from an email to Gene Jr. Other than that, we've not seen her or heard from her in years. It is sad.

Handy Latin Phrases Site

Wow! Do you think I am deep, using Latin? See if you know these phrases. Answers are at the bottom of the post. Click on the post title link to find some more handy phrases to impress others with!

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

Animadvertistine, ubicumque stes, fumum recta in faciem ferri?

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem

Anulos qui animum ostendunt omnes gestemus!

I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head
(At a barbeque) Ever noticed how wherever you stand, the smoke goes right into your face?
In the good old days, children like you were left to perish on windswept crags
Let's all wear mood rings!

The Box Doodle Project

If you haven't been here yet, click here. For those of us who cannot resist doodling, it is an opportunity to share a doodle with others. For the rest, there are lots and lots of fascinating drawings on boxes that are inspiring, to say the least. Note: you can scroll to the right, almost endlessly. Then they give you another page to look at. This doodle is by Tom Kane.

The Art Historians Laugh

Yes, it is just a fictional book, but amazingly, there are so many people who just take this like it is all for real. The book and movie (which I am so sick of hearing about I don't want to list it) can plant seeds of doubt for anyone, if you do not know your stuff.
For fun, check out the first video on the list (it does not take long) to listen to some art historians regarding Leonardo and the paintings that really do not have any code. The list contains MANY interesting videos!

Robert DeNiro Imagines He's Elmo!

And it works. A ha-ha-ha!

HeARTSpace Artists' Reception Tonight

HeARTSpace: An exhibit of works by the people of A Place at the Table meet and greet the artists in the Gallery at Trinity this Friday, May 5, from 6 - 8 p.m. This new gallery exhibit includes some of the works created by A Place at the Table participants and Trinity volunteers.
The show will be up through June 25 (Saturdays, 10 AM – 2 PM Sundays, 9 AM – 3 PM Wednesdays, 1 PM – 6 PM)
A Place at the Table is Trinity’s program that serves homeless people in our community. Each week, art happens as participants and volunteers come together in heARTSpace, a program coordinated by Mary Ann Breisch.The work you will see here is a compilation of the pieces we have been making since 2003.

Artisan Church

My husband and I were very honored to be delegates to the Great Lakes Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church meeting this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio. We met a lot of wonderful people and learned a great deal. It was truly a blessing.
A church plant that recently was made official was Artisan Church, in Rochester, NY. They have an interesting website and mission. I love the idea of the guilds that have formed:

Artisan Guilds
The newest way to experience community life and personal development at Artisan Church. Artist, craftspeople, and practitioners of any skill level -- from highly professional to novice beginners -- are invited to build friendships, find encouragement, and grow in their God-given gifts, skills, and abilities.
Current ‘Guilds’:
• Visual Artists: www.artisanvisual.blogspot.com
• Musicians: www.artisanmusic.blogspot.com
• Writers: www.artisanwriters.blogspot.com
• Children’s Ministry: www.emergingkids.blogspot.com
In the Works:
• Web Design: web-savvy programers and designers.
• Drama, video, movement arts, etc? Make a suggestion, offer some leadership, we’ll see where it goes!

I love this image

I believe a Japanese painter did this. When I find the name, I will credit him/her.

Mystery

Not a huge mystery, but if anyone knows why my links shrink, could you write and tell me? Thanks. I cannot see it in my coding.