Proud grandmother

What a fun day! Yesterday I had a massage from my amazing massage therapist daughter ~ 

~ watched my granddaughter - age 4 - climb a tree as far as the tree would allow ~ 

~ watched my grandson - age almost 7 ~ play, explore and sit very still in a theatre audience

~ watched my grandson - age 16 ~ give an improvised (in the sense he didn't know he would be doing it) Renaissance fencing lesson to an audience twiddling their thumbs while a cast member's accident was treated. What Grandson didn't know was that his fencing coach was in the audience. Both coach and the Grandmother were Very, Very proud. It was really a neat thing to have happened too - because when we saw the sword fights in the play, we understood a bit more of what went into them. The young woman who was hurt did well too - if we hadn't known the accident happened to her, we would never have known which actor was hurt. I drove home to another amazing Tahoe sunset -- and a gorgeous rainbow. Forgive me for no pictures of those phenomena. I wanted to be home before dark - blessings

Sonia Sotomayor

By now you have all read it: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." (Sonia Sotomayor, in a speech seven years ago)

This one sentence has raised the ire of white males from all walks of life - not just congressmen. I realize we are talking about interpreting the law - at least I guess we are. No one bothers to share the whole, in-context speech she made. I will have to find that for myself. And - if I were to tell you that my husband makes a better decision than I do about where and what friends coming to visit might see because he has visited and lived here years longer than I have - you would agree it was nice to have his experience to draw on. 

I am a 66 year old white woman whose father told her when she was 13 that "the law was no place for a woman." By the time I was in my early 20s, he had women lawyers in his firm and was telling me I could be the first female president of the US if I so wanted. The idea that a woman just might be able to bring knowledge and experience to an important job like interpreting the law is a relatively new one. 

Only in the hallowed halls of Congress when voting for a new Justice is it assumed that a person needs to be so neutral that he or she will interpret the law without any reference to how they feel, what they know from experience or have witnessed for themselves. I imagine that once in a while, they do look at the law and choose to interpret it beyond their own personal feelings. Remember "separate but equal"? Some Justices looked at that and at the Constitution and realized "separate but equal" was not constitutional. Was that a neutral opinion? Or did they draw on their experiences as they thought through this momentous decision? 

I have no idea if Sonia Sotomayor has what it takes to be a good Justice or not. She needs to be vetted. She needs to be questioned. And Surely we can find questions to ask and issues to probe beyond One Sentence in a speech made Seven Years Ago. Please, I will Never be judged by anyone for one sentence I said in 66 years of life ~ and nor I hope will you ~ blessings  

Tahoe Sunset

For your pleasure ~ just enjoy and grin ~ blessings

Hike to Sage Hen Meadow

Our little friend, Simone, enjoying the meadow.

Dee and me in the meadow. What a delightful day! ~ blessings

Memorial Day

In Memory of those who fought and died ~

  ~ and in Honor of those who fought and lived and those who are still fighting ~ 

all that we might live in safety.

~ and in praise of all those families who sacrifice what we call normal life so that their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, and other loved ones might serve us so well. 

Belief in the right or wrong of the war has nothing to do with supporting the troops who are sent to fight it ~ and so with blessings

Adult Children

I'm reflecting on the delight of adult children (daughters in my case). How amazing to see the little one you bore, nurtured, nourished, taught, loved and tried to influence for the best, grow up to be talented, competent, contributing adults. Often they have children of their own and are watching the same process themselves. There is a pride in a parent's heart unmatched by any other. Coming close is the pride one has in one's children's friends who spent the night, ate suppers, played and now are also competent, contributing adults. Wonderful. I like the way world works. ~ blessings

Advantages of a Food Plan

I want to take off a few pounds ~ get back in some jeans ~ stay fit for my walks and hikes. So I am on a 6 weeks food plan: 5 meals a day, 1/2 cup of carbs, 2 oz protein, lots of veggies. Simple, easy and if I really want or need to, I take a meal off or even a day off occasionally. 

Here's the part I find interesting. Because the meals are small and the tastes rather simple, I am Really enjoying them more - savoring them as it were. If I have a little sugar on my morning cereal, that sweetness is Wonderful because that is the only sugar I have all day. If my morning snack is turkey and half a banana, I Taste them: the saltiness of the meat, the sweetness of the banana. I can make that snack last a long time. When I stir fry some veggies to put on a tortilla with salsa - Wow! So Tasty. And no cheese? How can I do that without cheese? Easily - and suddenly I am Tasting the veggies, the salsa and even the tortilla because nothing is overwhelmed by cheese, one of my favorite foods. 

I've been doing this long enough now that I think I also understand this way of eating is helpful in learning to set portions, eat more slowly, and take time to enjoy whatever food I am eating. Even desserts. :) So even when the six weeks are over, I hope I will continuing eating in this delicious, savoring way ~ blessings

Remembering Mamoo

My daughters called their paternal grandmother Mamoo. Mamoo was 4'11" with a lyric soprano voice that was 6 feet and soaring. Although chosen to audition for the Met, she knew that having one leg shorter than the other would keep her from the roles worthy of her voice. So she gave that voice to the church. Papa was a preacher and Mamoo sang in and directed most of the choirs of their ministry. 

I was raised in a rather progressive church with the newest hymnal of our denomination so when I entered Mamoo's family, she taught me to love and appreciate some of the older, more traditional hymns of the American frontier. This morning I was listening to a pod cast of "The News from Lake Wobegon" (Garrison Keillor) and it closed with Garrison having the audience sing two verses of "It is Well With My Soul". I sang along and wept. I wept in the sadness of times gone by. And I wept with the Joy of remembering all the good times of this delightful lady and her magnificent voice. I also wept for the simplicity of faith that can say, no matter what happens, "it is well with my soul". May we never lose the ability to believe that no matter what our faith, religion or spirituality ~ with blessings

Morning

This morning is the one we have been waiting for: still chilly enough to have a fire and now warm enough to walk out on the deck with a cup of tea and breathe in the sunrise. No shock to the system. No shaking from the cold. Just the pleasant cool of the morning. Undoubtedly we will eat breakfast on the deck ~ and every other meal between now and October. :) Delightful ~ blessings

The Perfect Visitor

Monday night while dressing for dinner with our business guest, here for a meeting, I realized we had a Huge bear way up the hill. Cinnamon had returned. At dinner I mentioned to Dee - who was sitting across the table from me - that the bear had made an appearance. One man was ready to cancel the meeting and I gathered from some comments he made (always with a smile and a laugh) that he was not at All happy about the idea of a bear. 

I really wanted him to see a bear from the safe presence of our home or deck. So we checked with Cinnamon's agent to see if he might be available for lunch. Sure enough, we had just sat down to lunch on the deck when who should wander by at the top of the yard but Cinnamon (all 600 pounds of him). He stopped for a photo op, looked down, nodded hello, and then kept moving down the trail. It was amazing. Our business guest saw his bear and although he was not happy about it, he was safe and in good company. And I took credit for the manifestation as if I really had had something to do with it. Because I think I did ~ blessings

Mother's Day Thoughts

First and foremost, it has been a Lovely day! Dee's son was with us. One of my daughters and her family were here. Dee and I took a delightful hike with two little grandchildren (ages 4 and 6). My pot roast was Delicious ~ it has been a while since I made one and I haven't lost my touch. I took my bows with no false modesty. It was yummy. It was warm enough that we were able to eat and hang out on the deck. It was a wonderful day. 

Having had the "I would never be on Face Book" conversation about three times in the last few days, I received an email from an old friend saying he had set up a FB group of folks from the theatre where I used to stage manage. So ~ I am now on face book and eager to find the group. One daughter has already told me some of the most important news and that's ok. I am ready to share with all these folks now. 

We have a big meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday ~ so laundry is being done tonight as tomorrow will be spent getting the house and office in order for the meeting ~ all the family have washed their own sheets and towels so that helps put me ahead of the game. 

I am tired. Everyone napped except the Tahoe Mom and the two little grandkids. We oiled a new desk in the office. That's ok ~ it is a tired born of the blessings of family. (And due to a glitch in my internet connection, I am publishing this Monday morning anyway so having had a good night's sleep, I am Fine now!) ~ blessings

Awash in Jane Austen

I have the six-hour A&E special of Pride and Prejudice - the book itself of course - and another book series, written by Elizabeth Aston: starting with Mr. Darcy's Daughters - The Second Mrs. Darcy, The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy, and The True Darcy Spirit. 

All of these really put me awash in Pride and Prejudice. And over the last several weeks, I have indulged. Watched the tv series, read the book, and read all of the stories about Darcy and Elizabeth's daughters. To enjoy that series it helps to know the original book, but it is not entirely necessary. The original characters only show up in the very distant background. It's been fun. I have thoroughly enjoyed it all. And it will probably be months before I do this again ~ still it is a nice option to have. Find your own series to wade into and enjoy ~ blessings

One Click

Learned this from my daughter. Every morning I go www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

One click on the purple square helps provide free food and care to an animal living in a shelter or sanctuary. The money is provided by the site's sponsors and is generated by my morning click. Then I just go right down the line: one click apiece for ~

~ Rainforest: providing money to purchase rainforest land

~ Literacy: provides a book to a child

~ Child Health: provides simple and very effective preventatives and treatments for children

~ Breast cancer: one free mammogram

~ Hunger: one and a half cups of stable food (rice for instance)

This takes about 5 seconds per click and moving to the next site. The sites offer a lot more than just a chance to donate by clicking. Each one tells its story, has products you can buy to support the cause and other information. Mainly I just click. Once a day per site every day. So easy. And a lovely way to contribute to the health and well-being of the entire planet. Start to click today ~ blessings

Amazing Legacy

Happy 90th Birthday, Pete Seeger! 

You have blessed us, inspired us, prodded us and entertained us - all to the purpose of making us think and feel and just maybe become better human beings! What a legacy!

~ Thank you and blessings ~

Time for My Opinion

Last week Miss California, Carrie Prejean, during the Miss America pageant, stated her opinion that she is against same-sex marriages. Since then we have heard from people who want to crown her like an angel or from people who believe she is the devil incarnate. *sigh*

Where are people like me? I say that any two people who love each other enough to want to enter into the messy, funny, frustrating, loving, life-long effort we call marriage should be able to do it. Blessings on them. AND ~ I believe in freedom of speech, the constitutionally given right in this country to say what you feel, believe or mean without being killed or imprisoned for it. There may be other consequences of course: tell a teen he or she is grounded and they may slam the door and yell that they hate you. That's exactly what has happened to Carrie. Some folks have "slammed the door" in her face and called her names. OK. They have a right to say what they believe too although they have not been Nearly as gracious stating their opinion as she was. 

I disagree with her opinion. There are plenty of folks with whom I disagree. She disagrees with me. And my guess is, given the chance, we could sit and visit, have a cup of tea, talk about all sorts of issues (maybe even same-sex marriage) and never raise our voices nor lose respect for the other as a decent human being. It isn't the difference of opinion that I mind. It is the hateful, angry diatribes from both sides that bothers me. Have we lost the ability to have meaningful, civil dialogue? I hope not ~ and one more thing: I have been represented for 8 years by a president I disagreed with. I think I can handle being "represented" by a Miss California or Miss America I disagree with as well. ~ blessings

May Day

May Day celebrations have a long history, back into the dim reaches of history as folks in the northern countries celebrated the first warmth. With the Haymarket riots of 1886 it became associated with the labor movement and remains a Labor Day in many parts of the world. My first thought this morning was: 

It's a misty, moisty morning

and cloudy is the weather.

I chanced to meet an old man

clothed all in leather.

He began to compliment and 

I began to grin:

"How do you do?" and

"How do you do?" and 

"How do you do?" again. 

We don't get a lot of misty, moisty mornings here in the mountains. It is either snowing or clear and sunny. It was fun to wake to a morning that reminds me of that delightful Mother Goose rhyme that I used to sing to my daughters when they were very young. Nice memories and a nice morning ~ blessings