Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Rising to the morning routine, simple pleasures

It is one of those crisp winter days this morning. We wake up, immediately turn on our respective computers, catch up on what's new or better said, more of the same, and as the sun comes up, we are drawn like a magnet to beginning the day. Husband goes about the business of morning preparations to go to work. I, on the other hand, mentally lay out the plans for my day. I send him off in our usual morning routine. What that looks like is stepping out on the porch into the bracing chill, calling for our dog Jake, to make sure he is around and not off chasing an adventure somewhere in the neighborhood, and locating our cat, Lance.

Jake, as usual, comes trotting out of where-ever he chose to sleep for the night, sometimes on the porch, sometimes outside. Lance is either inside, curled up someplace or outside and ready to come in. I give Jake his morning "treat" and he waits patiently, wagging his tail. He knows the routine...Daddy will go get in the truck and Mommy will give the dog a bone.

Our little entourage then waves Daddy off as he heads down the street and I take in the morning sights. I take a look at the sunrise to see what kind of day we will have, look over to the bay water to see what color it is this morning and how the water is moving or not moving. I look to the neighbors' houses to see who is up and about, who has left for the day. I check to make sure the cat has food in his dish and then am reminded to remember whether I fed the two beta fish last night. I often forget to remember to feed those two, as it's hard to have a relationship with a couple of fish swimming in vases. The two beta fish and the cat are inheritances, acquired when my daughter's family was finally able to move to Germany.

So quietly my own day begins. Which is exactly the way I like it to be, for the most part. I used to be part of that morning preparations to get ready for work and remember well that "morning rush" which I rarely enjoyed. The hair, the grooming, the make-up, choosing the clothes, putting on what I called the "uniform" constricting the flow to focus on the taskings as set forth by employer/employment. Rushing to the car, checking the time, flying down the road so we wouldn't be "late" and then arriving, stepping into the office, and that whole aura of 9 + hours and this place owns me.

This quiet and leisurely way to start the day is a contrast which I still relish and savor. As the sun finishes it's rise, I now know the tone of the weather for the day. I decide if I will open the blinds and curtains or let it remain awakening time a bit longer. Today it is sunshine, and light streams in, so the blinds and curtains are opened. We get a fair amount of rainy days here and sometimes I like to open the blinds where I sit at the computer to watch the rain fall and listen to it hitting the metal roof.

Lance isn't sure what he wants to do, and Jake has a strange gift to attend to outside. I closed up the porch last night, meaning to keep him in only long enough to eat his food, since he likes to share it with all the neighborhood dogs, and forgot to open the porch door last night before going to sleep. Jake then was rather locked in then last night, not his usual routine. So I know he could not have brought that hooved deer leg into the yard, yet there it is this morning. Where did it come from? Which dog brought it and now, of course, Jake is seriously interested.

Meantime the birds are busy on the metal roof making a racket and doing whatever they do on the roof. I take Lance outside to do his bird-monitoring thing and he is busy now prowling on the deck railing trying to keep up with the movement of the birds. And I thought I'd just blog about how our mornings begin. I'm so weary of blogging my other blogs and the war and the politics which have highjacked my daily life simple wonders in my own consuming focus to try to influence getting our troops home, thus hopefully ending some of the carnage and destruction that go on daily in Iraq. See how those thoughts creep in even as I write to the simple pleasures of my morning wake-up routine.Well time to start the day..............

Rising to the morning routines, simple pleasures.

It is one of those crisp winter days this morning. We wake up, immediately turn on our respective computers, catch up on what's new or better said, more of the same, and as the sun comes up, we are drawn like a magnet to beginning the day. Husband goes about the business of morning preparations to go to work. I, on the other hand, mentally lay out the plans for my day. I send him off in our usual morning routine. What that looks like is stepping out on the porch into the bracing chill, calling for our dog Jake, to make sure he is around and not off chasing an adventure somewhere in the neighborhood, and locating our cat, Lance.



Jake, as usual, comes trotting out of where-ever he chose to sleep for the night, sometimes on the porch, sometimes outside. Lance is either inside, curled up someplace or outside and ready to come in. I give Jake his morning "treat" and he waits patiently, wagging his tail. He knows the routine...Daddy will go get in the truck and Mommy will give the dog a bone.



Our little entourage then waves Daddy off as he heads down the street and I take in the morning sights. I take a look at the sunrise to see what kind of day we will have, look over to the bay water to see what color it is this morning and how the water is moving or not moving. I look to the neighbors' houses to see who is up and about, who has left for the day. I check to make sure the cat has food in his dish and then am reminded to remember whether I fed the two beta fish last night. I often forget to remember to feed those two, as it's hard to have a relationship with a couple of fish swimming in vases. The two beta fish and the cat are inheritances, acquired when my daughter's family was finally able to move to Germany.



So quietly my own day begins. Which is exactly the way I like it to be, for the most part. I used to be part of that morning preparations to get ready for work and remember well that "morning rush" which I rarely enjoyed. The hair, the grooming, the make-up, choosing the clothes, putting on what I called the "uniform" constricting the flow to focus on the taskings as set forth by employer/employment. Rushing to the car, checking the time, flying down the road so we wouldn't be "late" and then arriving, stepping into the office, and that whole aura of 9 + hours and this place owns me.



This quiet and leisurely way to start the day is a contrast which I still relish and savor. As the sun finishes it's rise, I now know the tone of the weather for the day. I decide if I will open the blinds and curtains or let it remain awakening time a bit longer. Today it is sunshine, and light streams in, so the blinds and curtains are opened. We get a fair amount of rainy days here and sometimes I like to open the blinds where I sit at the computer to watch the rain fall and listen to it hitting the metal roof.



Lance isn't sure what he wants to do, and Jake has a strange gift to attend to outside. I closed up the porch last night, meaning to keep him in only long enough to eat his food, since he likes to share it with all the neighborhood dogs, and forgot to open the porch door last night before going to sleep. Jake then was rather locked in then last night, not his usual routine. So I know he could not have brought that hooved deer leg into the yard, yet there it is this morning. Where did it come from? Which dog brought it and now, of course, Jake is seriously interested.



Meantime the birds are busy on the metal roof making a racket and doing whatever they do on the roof. I take Lance outside to do his bird-monitoring thing and he is busy now prowling on the deck railing trying to keep up with the movement of the birds. And I thought I'd just blog about how our mornings begin. I'm so weary of blogging my other blogs and the war and the politics which have highjacked my daily life simple wonders in my own consuming focus to try to influence getting our troops home, thus hopefully ending some of the carnage and destruction that go on daily in Iraq. See how those thoughts creep in even as I write to the simple pleasures of my morning wake-up routine.



Well time to start the day..............





Morning meditation on Our Life on Willapa Bay

It is one of those crisp winter days this morning.

We wake up, immediately turn on our respective computers, catch up on what's new or better said, more of the same, and as the sun comes up, we are drawn like a magnet to beginning the day. Husband goes about the business of morning preparations to go to work.

I, on the other hand, mentally lay out the plans for my day. I send him off in our usual morning routine. What that looks like is stepping out on the porch into the bracing chill, calling for our dog Jake, to make sure he is around and not off chasing an adventure somewhere in the neighborhood, and locating our cat, Lance.

Jake, as usual, comes trotting out of where-ever he chose to sleep for the night, sometimes on the porch, sometimes outside. Lance is either inside, curled up someplace or outside and ready to come in.

I give Jake his morning "treat" and he waits patiently, wagging his tail. He knows the routine...Daddy will go get in the truck and Mommy will give the dog a bone.

Our little entourage then waves Daddy off as he heads down the street and I take in the morning sights.

I take a look at the sunrise to see what kind of day we will have, look over to the bay water to see what color it is this morning and how the water is moving or not moving. I look to the neighbors' houses to see who is up and about, who has left for the day. I check to make sure the cat has food in his dish and then am reminded to remember whether I fed the two beta fish last night. I often forget to remember to feed those two, as it's hard to have a relationship with a couple of fish swimming in vases. The two beta fish and the cat are inheritances, acquired when my daughter's family was finally able to move to Germany.

So quietly my own day begins. Which is exactly the way I like it to be, for the most part.

I used to be part of that morning preparations to get ready for work and remember well that "morning rush" which I rarely enjoyed. The hair, the grooming, the make-up, choosing the clothes, putting on what I called the "uniform" constricting the flow to focus on the taskings as set forth by employer/employment. Rushing to the car, checking the time, flying down the road so we wouldn't be "late" and then arriving, stepping into the office, and that whole aura of 9 + hours and this place owns me.

This quiet and leisurely way to start the day is a contrast which I still relish and savor. As the sun finishes it's rise, I now know the tone of the weather for the day. I decide if I will open the blinds and curtains or let it remain awakening time a bit longer. Today it is sunshine, and light streams in, so the blinds and curtains are opened. We get a fair amount of rainy days here and sometimes I like to open the blinds where I sit at the computer to watch the rain fall and listen to it hitting the metal roof.

Lance isn't sure what he wants to do, and Jake has a strange gift to attend to outside. I closed up the porch last night, meaning to keep him in only long enough to eat his food, since he likes to share it with all the neighborhood dogs, and forgot to open the porch door last night before going to sleep.

Jake then was rather locked in then last night, not his usual routine. So I know he could not have brought that hooved deer leg into the yard, yet there it is this morning. Where did it come from? Which dog brought it and now, of course, Jake is seriously interested.

Meantime the birds are busy on the metal roof making a racket and doing whatever they do on the roof. I take Lance outside to do his bird-monitoring thing and he is busy now prowling on the deck railing trying to keep up with the movement of the birds.

And I thought I'd just blog about how our mornings begin. I'm so weary of blogging my other blogs and the war and the politics which have highjacked my daily life simple wonders in my own consuming focus to try to influence getting our troops home, thus hopefully ending some of the carnage and destruction that go on daily in Iraq.

See how those thoughts creep in even as I write to the simple pleasures of my morning wake-up routine.

Well time to start the day..............

written by Lietta Ruger

Thursday, January 27, 2005

My online Neo Pets = My many, many blogs, feed me, feed me.

Wow, been feeding all my other blogs, and overlooking this one. Well ya know, if the President would just shape up, I wouldn't be so busy with all the other blogs. Enough about that, see my other blogs for stuff like that. Here is where I try to post family stuff. Which is not to say that the war deeply affects our family, but once in a while, I gotta take a light break.....it's such serious business, the war, the troops, Iraq, our country.

So Lance, the cat, has made himself at home, is doing real well, adapting well and has rather taken charge of the house. Now Jake, on the other hand, is just still pouting over the whole business. We put a pillow and the food dish for Lance on top of the freezer on the porch. He likes that cause he jumps up there and can lord it over Jake, who looks at me with those sad eyes and an expression of "Why, Why, why me, what did I ever do to you?".

When I take ol' Jakers for a walk or better yet a drive, he is all excited once again and knows I love him best. Lance doesn't seem to know though, that Jake comes first, he thinks he comes first. Now Lance follows me around everywhere, including when I walk Jake...what kind of cat follows you around like a dog does? But no car rides for Lance. That is special only for Jakers.

Our small village entertainment: We threw old bread out for the birds, well, okay, the crows then. There are a lot of crows that live around here and they won't let the smaller birds get to the bread. We threw out three loaves, not torn up. So Jake goes over and sniffs them and decides they are not edible for him. But he somehow thinks they are his, so he sits down in the road and stands guard. The crows won't come down with Jake sitting right there. We are watching out the windows, and it's getting pretty amusing as Jake takes his job of guarding the bread loaves very seriously, it seems.

Along come some of the other dogs that live on our street, sniff the bread and decide it's not for them either, and walk off. Jake continues guarding the loaves. The crows hover all around but won't fly down to snatch the bread. After a while, another stranger dog (means doesn't live around here) came along, sniffed the bread, decided it was for him and picked it up in his mouth and walked off with it. Well Jake is seriously offended and puzzled and looks at the stranger dog and then back at the loaves and is confused about what to do. If he leaves his guard spot the crows will fly down, but he also wants to retreive the bread loaf from the stranger dog.

In his confusion, he decides to get up and go after the stranger dog, and the crows start circling downward. The stranger dog drops the loaf about 50 feet down the road, decides he doesn't want it after all. Jake, meanwhile has drifted over to the neighbor's place across the street as one of them has come out of the building and Jake knows they give him real and fun food treats. While he is over there begging for a goodie, the crows then spot the loaf the stranger dog dropped and see that Jake is occupied, so they swoop down and start having a feast. We are watching out the windows, laughing and being thoroughly entertained, wondering what Jake will do when he turns around and sees the crows are at the bread loaf.

Sure enough, Jake turns, sees the crows, dashes after them and chases them off, picks up the bread loaf and isn't sure what to do with it. He wanders back to the other two loaves, wanders back to the neighbors with the loaf in his mouth, wanders back home, just carrying that loaf of bread and not sure what to do with it. He decides then, that the best thing to do is to bury it. So he digs a hole and buries one loaf. Meanwhile the other two loaves are sitting on the road and the crows are still hovering, waiting. We are by this time laughing as we watch from the windows as this drama of nature unfolds. Lance has taken an interest by now and has been running from window to window trying to keep up with the birds.

It had all the markings of being a long afternoon's entertainment for us dull, boring people in our dull, boring village. The neighbors decided to take a walk, and Jake usually accompanies them, so he was delighted to go for a walk, and after all that careful sentry work guarding the bread loaves from the crows, he just walked off as if it never happened, and the crows then were free to feast. But no, two more stranger dogs came along, sniffed and decided to eat the two remaining loaves which they proceeded to do in short order, leaving nothing for the crows.

And that is life in the Village.

Now, about me and my blogs. I have, let's see now, 8 blogs at blogger, and 6 blogs here at blog-drive, 1 blog at live journal, 1 blog at blog city, another blog at bloglines, another at msn spaces, so that is 18 blogs. Plus I have also a few websites that I have built. And I have a list of about 6 more places where I could build other blogs. So ...... that is tooo many blogs, for sure, and I have to feed them all. That is why I call them my online neopets, cause I have to feed them and some get fed every day and some don't get fed for weeks at a time and lately, some don't get fed at all.

Lastly, let me recommend 2 movies for ya to watch. 1) Open Waters, it's an independent film and very unusual...different and we enjoyed watching it. 2) The Village, M. Night Shymalan which we enjoyed watching this one because the ending surprised us and it's nice to be surprised. There wasn't much in the way of clues along the movie to tell us what to expect for the ending, which is why it was a surprise. We liked it. Now, if you watch these two movies, let me know what you think, ok?

Till next time.............this is Gram offering up a gem.......

It's another anniversary for us today, Jan 27 and I'm including a photo of me from our last year anniversary get away retreat, to a tree house in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It was so serene, peaceful and quiet. Of course January is not the high tourist season in Oregon, so it tends to be quieter in the winter months anyway. This year we are not spending $$ on get away locally, we are starting a special account to save for an anniversary trip to Europe! I'm excited. Daughter and her husband have been to Europe couple of times now, Son has been and another daughter with her family lives in Germany now. Europe, here we come!  Posted by Hello

Anniversary Getaway Photo


It's another anniversary for us today, Jan 27 and I'm including a photo of me from our last year anniversary get away retreat, to a tree house in Cannon Beach, Oregon. It was so serene, peaceful and quiet. Of course January is not the high tourist season in Oregon, so it tends to be quieter in the winter months anyway. This year we are not spending $$ on get away locally, we are starting a special account to save for an anniversary trip to Europe! I'm excited. Daughter and her husband have been to Europe couple of times now, Son has been and another daughter with her family lives in Germany now. Europe, here we come! Posted by Hello
by Lietta Ruger

Saturday, January 22, 2005

He's going back to Iraq, 2nd Deployment + Stop Loss

I had hoped to retire this blog, it served it's function at the time, yet, I have not lived easily knowing that the potential for another Bush administration was a possibility. While with every fiber of my soul and being, I worked against such an outcome, knowing it would mean more war in Iraq, more war in other countries, it looks like we have four more years with Bush at the controls. My kids, who already served in Iraq, will be sent again, I feared, and this blog has not yet seen it's end time.



I left it, rather unattended, to serve as a placemark and prayed never have to pick it up again and resume entries into this blog. It is a tragedy that I have to keep it going, as my loved ones are being sent back to Iraq for 2nd deployments.



My dear son-in-law, the mainstay and backbone of his family which are my daughter and their three children, my grandchildren....he's just received orders for redeployment to Iraq. On top of a second deployment, he also now is under Stop Loss orders. He was due to have his enlistment completed in 2005 and now with Stop Loss he would not be able to get out of military as scheduled. He has already served in Iraq 2003-2004 in a 15 month tour, 1st Armored, and was caught up as was all of the 1st Armored troops in a last-minute extension in April 04, at exactly the time he was scheduled to come home. NOT. Another three months in Iraq.



His cousin, my nephew, is awaiting orders now and is himself a husband, a father and they are expecting their second child. He also served 15 months in Iraq, 1st Armored, and was extended at same time as my son-in-law. He has served previously in Bosnia. He is awaitng his own orders for a 2nd tour in Iraq. Another tour in Iraq, and this is more war and combat than a young person should have to see or bear.



Both will do their mission, and I do not speak for them but I do speak up on their behalf and not necessarily with their permission yet they do know I have been doing all in my limited power as a military family, a mother, a civilian, to do what I can to halt the carnage and destruction that are the features of collateral damage, words used so impersonally to describe the stink and death of war.



What is appalling besides everything about how the troops needs are under-met, and how badly they are being exploited is that his choices now look like this:



Re-enlist in March. No, you don't want to re-enlist? Well you already have orders to redeploy to Iraq and you are already under Stop Loss orders so you won't be getting out any time soon anyway. If you don't re-enlist, you'll be serving anyway and in Iraq, while the rest of the guys get their bonus for re-enlisting, you won't be getting yours and will be serving beside them anyway.



What limited choices are these and does our public know that the all-volunteer military has fallen through trickery and deceit, misleading to even false information into an entrapment. They can't get out! That, friends, is a long way from "volunteer".



The troops cannot be recycled over and over again to Iraq without grotesque expense to themselves and their families which seemingly, if I am to judge by the civilian response in our country, is just fine so long as no one else in our country but the military families and troops have to bear the burden. That argument, "well they volunteered didn't they" doesn't carry water anymore. It may have started out that way, but so much has changed along the course, that this is a long, long way from anything resembling an "all volunteer military".



Not unlike the Iraqis themselves, our troops are trapped in a war-torn country in a war ordered and sustained by our own government and seemingly a majority of this country's citizens. Please, please tell me, WHAT is the reason now?



Having lived through almost 3 years of lies and deception spouted by the administration, I have endured listening to the citizens catch hold of propaganda and repeat it ad-nauseum with little thought to the words they are gleefully repeating . I have seen our mainstream news turn itself away from it's origins as news reporting to become more of the propaganda, lies, deception and treachery which keeps our kids (and our old men hauled back into active duty) in Iraq. But one by one the lies have come to light, yet our citizenry champions the newest and latest excuses for why we are there and why the troops must stay.



I had hoped to retire this blog when my son-in-law and nephew came home from Iraq. I built it only to give them a record to look at when they returned. Now they will be returning to Iraq in second deployments, in large part, thanks to the deliberate ignorance and willfulness of our own citizenry, my fellow countrymen, my neighbors. I do not thank you or excuse you for your part in casting the death warrant vote but I also know the singular accountability and responsibility lies at the hands of our own President and Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush.



So picking up where this blog left off, I will be recording again the conditions in our country, in our politics, in our citizen mindset, as our two loved ones are marched back to Iraq. To those so willing for this war, and the wars yet coming, as promised by the President in his Inauguration speech, I say, send your own if you are so committed to this man you cheer as your President, and bring mine home.

Dying to Preserve the Lies: The Quiet Dignity of Dissent

Watching the Inauguration as broadcast by an incredibly classless and toadying media - ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, led by our national broadcast embarrassment FoxNews - I have found the best source of news and recovery to be our blogosphere.

Not all the blog voices are national or well-known.

Not all the blog voices scream headlines and fire off rhetorical torpedoes.

Some come from quiet backwater Amercian homes and powerfully demonstrate the quiet dignity of dissent. One such is blogger, Wonderwander whose postings consistently reflect that very dignity and legitimacy that Right Wing hacks fear the most and attack with a most outrageous and terrified irrationality.

Wonderwander has yet to make the attack list and because she quietly insists on maintaining an occasional honest and truthful commentary amid the more frequent copy and pasting of pertinent articles, may never be known outside a small circle. It's that quietness that penetrates her writing and touches the conscience within.

Dying To Preserve The Lies

She wrote the following 3 days after the election:

-------

I feel like voters just signed the death warrant for our kids

He's going back to Iraq, 2nd Deployment + Stop Loss

I had hoped to retire this blog, it served it's function at the time, yet, I have not lived easily knowing that the potential for another Bush administration was a possibility. While with every fiber of my soul and being, I worked against such an outcome, knowing it would mean more war in Iraq, more war in other countries, it looks like we have four more years with Bush at the controls. My kids, who already served in Iraq, will be sent again, I feared, and this blog has not yet seen it's end time.

I left it, rather unattended, to serve as a placemark and prayed never have to pick it up again and resume entries into this blog. It is a tragedy that I have to keep it going, as my loved ones are being sent back to Iraq for 2nd deployments.

My dear son-in-law, the mainstay and backbone of his family which are my daughter and their three children, my grandchildren....he's just received orders for redeployment to Iraq. On top of a second deployment, he also now is under Stop Loss orders. He was due to have his enlistment completed in 2005 and now with Stop Loss he would not be able to get out of military as scheduled. He has already served in Iraq 2003-2004 in a 15 month tour, 1st Armored, and was caught up as was all of the 1st Armored troops in a last-minute extension in April 04, at exactly the time he was scheduled to come home. NOT. Another three months in Iraq.

His cousin, my nephew, is awaiting orders now and is himself a husband, a father and they are expecting their second child. He also served 15 months in Iraq, 1st Armored, and was extended at same time as my son-in-law. He has served previously in Bosnia. He is awaitng his own orders for a 2nd tour in Iraq. Another tour in Iraq, and this is more war and combat than a young person should have to see or bear.

Both will do their mission, and I do not speak for them but I do speak up on their behalf and not necessarily with their permission yet they do know I have been doing all in my limited power as a military family, a mother, a civilian, to do what I can to halt the carnage and destruction that are the features of collateral damage, words used so impersonally to describe the stink and death of war.

What is appalling besides everything about how the troops needs are under-met, and how badly they are being exploited is that his choices now look like this:

Re-enlist in March. No, you don't want to re-enlist? Well you already have orders to redeploy to Iraq and you are already under Stop Loss orders so you won't be getting out any time soon anyway. If you don't re-enlist, you'll be serving anyway and in Iraq, while the rest of the guys get their bonus for re-enlisting, you won't be getting yours and will be serving beside them anyway.

What limited choices are these and does our public know that the all-volunteer military has fallen through trickery and deceit, misleading to even false information into an entrapment. They can't get out! That, friends, is a long way from "volunteer".

The troops cannot be recycled over and over again to Iraq without grotesque expense to themselves and their families which seemingly, if I am to judge by the civilian response in our country, is just fine so long as no one else in our country but the military families and troops have to bear the burden. That argument, "well they volunteered didn't they" doesn't carry water anymore. It may have started out that way, but so much has changed along the course, that this is a long, long way from anything resembling an "all volunteer military".

Not unlike the Iraqis themselves, our troops are trapped in a war-torn country in a war ordered and sustained by our own government and seemingly a majority of this country's citizens. Please, please tell me, WHAT is the reason now?

Having lived through almost 3 years of lies and deception spouted by the administration, I have endured listening to the citizens catch hold of propaganda and repeat it ad-nauseum with little thought to the words they are gleefully repeating . I have seen our mainstream news turn itself away from it's origins as news reporting to become more of the propaganda, lies, deception and treachery which keeps our kids (and our old men hauled back into active duty) in Iraq. But one by one the lies have come to light, yet our citizenry champions the newest and latest excuses for why we are there and why the troops must stay.

I had hoped to retire this blog when my son-in-law and nephew came home from Iraq. I built it only to give them a record to look at when they returned. Now they will be returning to Iraq in second deployments, in large part, thanks to the deliberate ignorance and willfulness of our own citizenry, my fellow countrymen, my neighbors. I do not thank you or excuse you for your part in casting the death warrant vote but I also know the singular accountability and responsibility lies at the hands of our own President and Commander-in-Chief, George W. Bush.

So picking up where this blog left off, I will be recording again the conditions in our country, in our politics, in our citizen mindset, as our two loved ones are marched back to Iraq. To those so willing for this war, and the wars yet coming, as promised by the President in his Inauguration speech, I say, send your own if you are so committed to this man you cheer as your President, and bring mine home.

written by Lietta Ruger

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Our very own This ol' House



Our ol' house in a small village off the beaten path. Built 1892 originally in saltbox style and modified by the different owners over the years. Photo taken by daughter, a bit of a photography buff, she worked it in sepia tones. Posted by Hello

Winter Breezes

Here in my quaint old fashioned home, in the Village, as I wander from room to room going about my daily business (whatever that might be on any given day), I am continually struck by how this house was put together. There are windows everywhere, in great part, due to the continually remodelling and upgrades over the years.



We didn't do the alterations, we bought the house as is, so to speak. I can look outside everywhere I wander in this great ol' house. It never ceases to catch my breath. I open windows and doors to let in the winter breezes and love the feeling of fresh air on my face, letting the outside in. I feel like I'm in the control center of our little neighborhood when I'm in my house, as I can see outside in every direction and know what is going on out there.



It's taken a couple of years to get the house put together in a satisfactory way that accomodates our furnishings and our lifestyle. What that means is that I've rearranged the rooms in this house so many times now, it's taken on it's own life since we moved in a little over 2 years ago. I can now remember when this particular room housed the grandchildren, and before that it was my painting studio room, and before that it was a guest room. It goes like that for each room in the house.



Today the winter winds are blowing, and I've got Tim Janis CD playing as I type, life is a good as it can get in this moment. Those are the small wonders I am trying to look for now in a world gone over to the dark side.

Our very own "This Old House."


Our ol' house in a small village off the beaten path. Built 1892 originally in saltbox style and modified by the different owners over the years. Photo taken by daughter, a bit of a photography buff, she worked it in sepia tones. Posted by Hello

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Wonderwander has changed it's look and theme..

I've been giving my blogs a work-over and updating or otherwise improving their look and Wonderwander is the last of my blogs to get a new look. I have a fondness for Wonderwander, as it was my first entry into blogging, so my first blog. I didn't have a clue what I was doing really, and didn't start to get a clue until I'd made several blogs.



Life went on, the two in our family were deployed to Iraq for 15 months, and my life altered considerably. I felt pulled in different directions as being opposed to the war from the beginning, knowing my daughter and her 3 children would be alone to fend for themselves, and the nature of my employment with the State required a neutral position on politics, well at least, nothing that could be spoken aloud one way or the other. I did not feel I could keep all the balls in the air and the feelings of disconnect were powerful for me from the beginning. I left my career employment, devoted myself to being the support for my daughter's family, and finding outlets where I could indeed find expression for my feelings against the war.



Being a military family now, with 2 loved ones deployed, and being a military brat, I knew the culture of military life is to keep silence regarding policies and public statements of the Commander-in-Chief. Yet, I felt from the beginning that his CIC did not have the high value, respect and dignity of the code of military troops and would not be an ally to them once he deployed them. How unfortunate that my early gut was so correct along the progression of the last 2 + years in what we have seen in Iraq.



I found Military Families Speak Out and a place to exercise my unique voice in calling attention to the un-met needs of the troops deployed, the wrongness of the war in Iraq particularly, and the incredible impact the devastation and carnage would have on our own troops as well as untold civilian families in Iraq. I spent all of the early 18 months of Iraq in speaking out which brought us to the campaign for Presidential election. I watched along, with the rest of the country with intense interest as to who would best handle the deterioration of Iraq, knowing Bush could not or would not, leaving Kerry as the more likely alternative.



Towards the end of the election though, I came to find that while I had some unsureness about John F. Kerry, I well remembered his courage in the 1960s, upon his return from Vietnam. I heard what he had to say and came to admire his courage even more. I threw myself into helping in the campaigning for John Kerry and believed without question that he

received more votes and would be our new President and Commander-in-Chief. Till that evening when something shifted, rather suddenly, and rather surprisingly. I saw the look on Bush's face earlier in the day and I knew he knew ... it was over. Yet by late afternoon, evening, he was holding an unprecedented and surprise press release in the White House with his family gathered around. I knew at that moment, in my heart, that something behind the scenes was going on, something we would likely never really get to know about, and the election had been tampered with in ways we could only imagine and guess at, but my heart sank in recognition that Bush was not leaving. Iraq would continue, as would the carnage and devastation as would the young troops continue to be in combat without leadership, without a leader who had their heart as his own.



I worked after the elections for the long 7 weeks, morning till late into the night, in the blogging communities, on what was coming to light in voter disenfranchisement, voter suppression, and election fraud. Representative Conyers held the Congressional Hearings and I waited for the electoral vote to be presented in Congress, knowing there would be a challenge to the Ohio vote. Representative Tubbs-Jones and this time One Senator, Sen. Barbara Boxer did go on record with a challenge/contest to the Ohio elector vote. It will now be part of the Congressional Record, part of our country's shame, but there for the young and future generations to view and make of it what they will regarding this period in our history as a nation.



The two in our family who have already served extended tour (15 months) in Iraq, have heard they will be re-deployed now for second tours in Iraq. I have never felt so utterly helpless to have some impact in helping my loved ones, and I did everything in my limited power that I could do these past 2 + years to not have to come to this day, where our two young ones have to face the reality of second tours in Iraq in seriously worsened and even more dangerous conditions. I feel "old", very "old" suddenly. The immediate future is in the hands of the citizens of this country, and those of us who cried out loudly and went unheard for the most part, can't do it without the rest of our countrymen.



I've organized my blogs to take care of differings aspects for how to get along now in a 2nd Bush term as he goes about cannibalizing what is left of our country for reasons no one but he seems to know for there is no rationalizing or explaining away his decisions or policies. Blue Tones will be my blog then for political wanderings. Emerald City will be my blog for living life with a broken heart and that sick feeling in the soul of my being, as each day will pass no matter my broken heart or the nature of my soul. Dying to Preserve the Lies, will continue to try to advocate for the troops, for ending this war, for getting them home, and then truly, God only knows now how or if Iraq will be put back together having suffered so much damage for no reason anyone can now point to specifically. God, how I hate what our country has become.



In a throwback to a time past, I have also Back in The Days, everything 1950's and 1960's as I was a child/teen during those eras and despite the travesties of a difficult life in a family making poor choices, I have fond memories of some of the things that brought me comfort in those eras. Although the 1960's brought me my young husband, drafted and sent to Vietnam, I was still young enough to be naively aware (if that makes any sense). And with Wonderwander then I will go back to where I started with this blog, which is just to mark the daily wonders when I find them.

Martin Luther King Day, Monday.

I will share something from Dr King that isn't as well known, below. First though, I want to thank my guests and visitors to this blog, and I made some fixes because I didn't like how long it was taking to load, and it was distorted. Please let me know if it is not showing up well on your browser/screen.

Gram's Gems is a blog I made to share with family, but I'd sure like to have folks take a look at my other blogs. I have done a serious over-haul to 5 of them, and I'm really pleased with how they are looking. I used fresh, new, updated templates that I had to install myself and then make adjustments, additions and what not, so I was in a learning curve for several days. So please take a look at the blogs; Wonderwander, Blue Tones, Emerald City, Dying to Preserve the Lies, and Back in the Day, Everything 1950's and 1960s. The links are over to the left on the side bar.

Oh and Sweetie found this wonderful website, Jesus on the Family, and I looked it over and am Highly Recommending it. Link is also over to the left on the side bar.

Oh, and please do visit the discussion forum that Lica, Bree, Randa and I have been working on, called Talking Stick. There is a cute box with the words Talking Stick over to the left, just click on it.

Now, in honor of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, here is one of his more little-known speeches, but very, very relevant for the times we find ourselves in now.

"A time comes when silence is betrayal."

snipped........

The truth of these words is beyond doubt but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movement well and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.

snipped.....

more at this link

Hopi Elders Prayer

From the Hopi Elders

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour. Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.

Here are the things that must be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships? Are you in right relation? Where is your water?

Know our garden. It is time to speak your Truth.

Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel like they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off toward the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. See who is there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves! For the moment we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lonely wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we have been waiting for.

The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona, Hopi Nation

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Catching Up on Cold Winter evening

I'm wiped out. Where did I leave off, oh yeah, New Year's. Well let's see, since Sweetie has his new computer, we are happily engaged now in our mutual hobby, him online with his puter and me online with mine. Now I've got him thoroughly addicted to blogging and he's making em left and right.

Joy is blogging now too, so got several in the family blogging away. I have done change-overs to many of my older blogs, and I like what is happening. Dying to Preserve the Lies has a new template, that I installed! I was so pleased with that I made another brand new blog, installed my own template and liked it too. It's called Back in The Day, Everything 1950's and 1960's.

Then I worked over another old blog, used a lot of new tricks on it and am liking it too. But aside from some major workshop activities on blogs, we installed the Mozilla modem and so I was having to adjust some to how it works. We both reallly like how it works, and then I talked Lica into using it on her puter too. I think she likes it, but I haven't heard back from her. It's the tabs, you can open so many pages simultaneously!

So then I started getting the extensions, and got bloglines. It stores up the rss feeds so you can be in one place and read blogs, news, just about anything all in one place on your bloglines. We also got G-mail so was adjusting to that new email and sharing the invites around. Then I installed the companion email to Mozilla, which is Thunderbird and liking it well enough to make it my primary email instead of Outlook Express.

We aren't using then Internet Explorer or Outlook now, but keeping them both installed. So it's been a whole new computer landscape while I've adjusted to all the new goodies. Now I'm here back at blog-drive and it looks like they've changed the environment. I'll be catching up with all the blogs I made at blog-drive, but not for a bit, I'm tired.

Oh, and then there is the discussion board I made, and it's been sitting there not doing anything, but I talked to Randa in chat today and got her in there, she'll probably get something going with it in Teenz and Poetry. Next I have to go back to all my thousands of blogs (I exaggerate, but there are like 20 or more) and tie them all together. Oh, and yeah, I was also working on a new website too, so will have to link all these pieces up into one large networking.

It's like having a lot of children, and they each need different attention. Guess it's a Lietta version of neo-pets. Lance insists on jumping up in my lap while I'm online, so it's Lance, me and the keyboard and Sweetie across the way happily engaged in his online entertainments.

Drop in the temperature here, so it's chilly, downright cold, but I'm not complaining, cause Lica tells me it's like in the teens where they are, and that's frigid. Then there is is Sis in Utah and I'm sure it's cold there, not sure what kind of temperatures they get there, but colder than here.
Okay, enough for now, got to keep up this blog, been neglecting it.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

I love the way advertising portrayed kids in the 1950s.


I love the way advertising portrayed kids in the 1950s. While I never had this brand, we did have Spam and potted meat....yuck! Took many a lunch to school that had sandwich made with potted meat or spam. And unlike these happy little children in the ad, I didn't like or look forward to my sandwich. Posted by Hello

How to Be a Good Wife

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Language (How to Be a Good Wife):

"The following is from a 1950's home economics textbook intended for high school girls, teaching them how to prepare for married life:

1. Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal - on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him, and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospects of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

3. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift, too.

4. Prepare the children: Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces if they are small, comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

5. Minimize the noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of washer, dryer, dishwasher or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

6. Some Don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day.

7. Make him comfortable: Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest he lie down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and "

Saturday, January 1, 2005

New Year 2005, we quietly again rang it in

Happy New Year, 2005! Well, guess we are getting older, we fought to stay awake till midnight this year. Quiet at home, watched the annual showing of series The History of Sex, and another channel was showing Law and Order episodes back to back. We are dorks when it comes to New Year's celebrations, have been for good many years now.

I did have a nice hot chocolate spiked with Peppermint Schnapps, yummy and warm tummy. Our young family neighbors did fireworks and poor Jake, he just can't take it! Broke the door down trying to get inside, scurrying around trying to get his big dog body under the bed or computer station. I let him go into my closet, which has space for him and is his haven in the fireworks storm.

Lance, on the other hand...hmmmm, BAD CAT. Seems he does like his home here with us but hasn't let go of his bad cat problem, with not using litter box. Surprise, surprise, we found the evidence and spent some time scouring and cleaning and now Lance will be banished to the outside for awhile, till he learns where he is supposed to take care of business.

So reversal last night, Jake inside and Lance outside. Too funny. I have 2 traumatized pets, wouldn't you just know. Both need "special" attention for their fears. Jake, mostly okay, till the fireworks or gunshots go off and he is immediately cowering and terrified. Lance, traumatized by loss of his owners and home for years and so has developed behavior problems.

We watched, again, on tv, the firework display at the Seattle Space Needle. Just gets bigger and better every year. This year, with that many explosives all around the Needle, I wondered if it was gonna blow up! Guess they know what they are doing, and the Needle still stands. The same Needle I saw iwhen I was a child in the 1964 World's Fair that was meant to be temporary and has become the permanent landmark of Seattle. Awesome!

Conyers to Object to Ohio Electors, Requests Senate Allies

Okay, as you well know, all I've spent my time and energy on this last 6 weeks is election/vote fraud. Conyers has moved it along, and now it's time to act if you want to see anything come of it. The electorate vote goes before Congress Jan 6th, and Conyers has written letters to all the Senators and Representatives calling for a challenge to the electorate vote. Please, take a few minutes to contact congress and request they stand up for the challenge in this election.



You remember movie, Farenheit 911, and you may remember the scene where not one Senator would sign or stand up with the Representatives? Please not again, please take this small action to let congress know it matters.



Article and link to easily contact congress follows:



Looking specifically to these Senators as potentially likely to sign;The Senators who shall receive the greatest focus from Conyers in this matter are Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Byrd, Clinton, Conrad, Corzine, Dodd, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Harkin, Inyoue, Jeffords, Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Mikulski, Nelson (FL), Jack Reed, Harry Reid, Rockefeller, Sarbanes, Stabenow, Wyden and Obama.



Link to Contact Congress http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm



Article:http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/123104W.shtml



Conyers to Object to Ohio Electors, Requests Senate Allies

By William Rivers Pitt

t r u t h o u t Report

Thursday 30 December 2004



Representative John Conyers, ranking minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, will object to the counting of the Ohio Electors from the 2004 Presidential election when Congress convenes to ratify those votes on January 6th. In a letter dispatched to every Senator, which will be officially published by his office shortly, Conyers declares that he will be joined in this by several other members of the House. Rep. Conyers is taking this dramatic step because he believes the allegations and evidence of election tampering and fraud render the current slate of Ohio Electors illegitimate.



"As you know," writes Rep. Conyers in his letter, "on January 6, 2005, at 1:00 P.M, the electoral votes for the election of the president are to be opened and counted in a joint session of Congress. I and a number of House Members are planning to object to the counting of the Ohio votes, due to numerous unexplained irregularities in the Ohio presidential vote, many of which appear to violate both federal and state law.



"The letter goes on to ask the Senators who receive this letter to join Conyers in objecting to the Ohio Electors. "I am hoping that you will consider joining us in this important effort," writes Conyers, "to debate and highlight the problems in Ohio which disenfranchised innumerable voters. I will shortly forward you a draft report itemizing and analyzing the many irregularities we have come across as part of our hearings and investigation into the Ohio presidential election.



"There are expected to be high level meetings with high ranking Democratic officials next week to coordinate a concerted lobbying effort to convince Senators to challenge the vote. The Green Party and David Cobb, as has been true all along, will be centrally involved in this process, as will Rev. Jesse Jackson.



The remainder of the Conyers letter reads:



3 U.S.C. §15 provides when the results from each of the states are announced, that "the President of the Senate shall call for objections, if any." Any objection must be presented in writing and "signed by at least one Senator and one Member of the House of Representatives before the same shall be received." The objection must "state clearly and concisely, and without argument, the ground thereof." When an objection has been properly made in writing and endorsed by a member of each body the Senate withdraws from the House chamber, and each body meets separately to consider the objection. "No votes...from any other State shall be acted upon until the (pending) objection...(is) finally disposed of." 3 U.S.C. §17 limits debate on the objections in each body to two hours, during which time no member may speak more than once and not for more than five minutes. Both the Senate and the House must separately agree to the objection; otherwise, the challenged vote or votes are counted.



Historically, there appears to be three general grounds for objecting to the counting of electoral votes. The language of 3 U.S.C. §15 suggests that objection may be made on the grounds that (1) a vote was not "regularly given" by the challenged elector(s); and/or (2) the elector(s) was not "lawfully certified" under state law; or (3) two slates of electors have been presented to Congress from the same State.



Since the Electoral Count Act of 1887, no objection meeting the requirements of the Act have been made against an entire slate of state electors. In the 2000 election several Members of the House of Representatives attempted to challenge the electoral votes from the State of Florida. However, no Senator joined in the objection, and therefore, the objection was not "received." In addition, there was no determination whether the objection constituted an appropriate basis under the 1887 Act. However, if a State - in this case Ohio - has not followed its own procedures and met its obligation to conduct a free and fair election, a valid objection -if endorsed by at least one Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives- should be debated by each body separately until "disposed of".



A key legal aspect of this is the second clause referenced in the letter. Rep. Conyers and the other House members involved do not believe the electors have been lawfully certified. They believe that there has been too much illegal activity on the part of Blackwell, other election officials, and Republican operatives on the ground and therefore, as stated in the letter, the electors were not "lawfully certified" under state law. Next week, the House Judiciary Committee Democratic staff will release the report referenced in the letter, which is now still in draft form, and which led Mr. Conyers to this decision.



The Senators who shall receive the greatest focus from Conyers in this matter are Biden, Bingaman, Boxer, Byrd, Clinton, Conrad, Corzine, Dodd, Dorgan, Durbin, Feingold, Harkin, Inyoue, Jeffords, Kennedy, Kerry, Lautenberg, Leahy, Levin, Lieberman, Mikulski, Nelson (FL), Jack Reed, Harry Reid, Rockefeller, Sarbanes, Stabenow, Wyden and Obama.



William Rivers Pitt is a New York Times and international bestseller of two books - 'War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn't Want You to Know' and 'The Greatest Sedition is Silence.'



http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/123104W.shtml

Linked within

Related Posts with Thumbnails