There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Yes, I used to buy that line and I've spouted it a few times when the need arose but I've decided that there is something that I fear. I fear losing my hands to arthritis. The funny thing is I don't fear losing my eyesight or my hearing. I guess I've read to the blind enough that losing my sight doesn't scare me. However, the thought of being able to see and not being able to pick up a needle terrifies me. Maybe the reason that it terrifies me so much is that I can see it becoming reality just on the symptoms I already have. I can't crochet #10 cotton as easily as I used too. Come to think of it crocheting for over 30 minutes is painful. I used to stitch for hours on end. Now, after 45 minutes I have to take an hour break or my fingers get too numb to feel the needle. This is not good for someone who has paid for their hobby in the past by model stitching. This could explain my recent foray into quilting. I don't hold the rotary cutter long enough for it to hurt. The iron feels wonderful and there isn't much fine motor movement in holding two pieces of fabric together while they run through the sewing machine.
So, maybe I don't have anything to fear after all. If my hands get to the point that I can't do fine work anymore. I'll just make Dorky Quilts.
Disney suggests that we stay close to nature. Last week I listened to a radio show suggesting that part of the behavioural problems in children today is a lack of connectivity with Nature. Children don't know how to go outside and just lie back and watch the clouds. They don't know how to take a walk in the woods. They get anxious when in a space larger than a city park. As an avid environmentalist, he expected the main answer for why kids don't play outside to be lack of availability of open space so he was shocked when the most common thread in the answers he received back from the High school students he surveyed was parental fear. That's right, as parents we are afraid to let our kids play outside unsupervised. What a difference 20 years makes! When I was 10 I used to ride my 10 speed to my Grandmothers house. This was a 3 mile trip over paved roads, some where the vehicle speed limit was 40 MPH. There were no bike paths, no sidewalks and one one stretch, a very limited shoulder so I drove in the street. I rode my bike over at least one day a week so I could mow her 1/4 acre lawn. It had to be mowed in 2 directions so that the lines wouldn't show. Cut to today. I had a neighbor complain that she was going to turn me into DCFS because I let my kindergarten child walk home from school, less than 1/4 mile, on sidewalks with crossing guards at the 2 intersections she had to cross. I realize that it's summer but last year the kids all played "night games" which consisted of hide and seek or tag after dark. This year when my boys have tried to get night games together, they're being told that it's too late, they're watching TV, they're playing video games. Then these mothers complain in church that their kids are gaining weight! (We'll save the snacks they give my boys for another rant.) This weekend my boys are going camping with their dad (I have to work Saturday morning). The kids all want to go with my DH but the parents of the 2 boys my kids did invite are all freaking out because they can't find a state sponsored camp ground in the area where my DH is taking the boys. Yes, it's federal land. It's managed by the BLM (like over 50% of Utah), there are no developed campsites. It's part of why it's called WILDERNESS! You voted for it! You complained that I opposed the Federal govt taking more state land, but you don't want me to use it with your kids? And people think that the movie Silent Running is completely unbelievable?
"You'll be a poorer person all your life if you don't know some of the great stories and the great poems. But the actual world of nature and human nature is where you will live and work with your neighbors and your competitors. So keep your eyes open." --- Walt Disney
Unfortunately not all the great stories translate well into politically correct movies.Take The Old Man and the Sea for example or any of Faulkner’s works.In fact, since Oprah is reading Faulkner right now, let’s use As I Lay Dying as our example of a movie.Opening scene, a woman with cold sweats her hands like skeletal remains clutching the edge of an old quilt while in the background you hear the sound of a saw.Pan down to a small boy sitting on the steps kicking a rock back and forth between his feet while his older brother rocks in an old rocker his arms around himself complaining that “it just ain’t right” go to his point of view where the old man is making the coffin and hear the son complain that she shouldn’t have to listen to the sound of her coffin being made while she’s dying.Actually, this journey of discovery and betrayal would make a better movie than most of the dreck coming out of Hollywood.But then as one novelist stated at a convention, he feels the quality of writing will continue to deteriorate as the writers of today have never READ the great stories of the past, they have been raised with the visual images of television and movies.They write with the movie rights in mind not for the sake of the story. Never has this trend appeared as obviously as the summer movie fare.We have two television shows made into movies; one where the flavor of the series was kept intact and one where the new writers missed the underlying theme of the show and totally destroyed it for the next generation.We have a radio show recycled into a movie (which I won’t be seeing since I respect Orson Welles enough to know he would hate it).We have several comic books turned into CGI fests including a Disney movie that looks to be a rip off of Xmen.I do wish that Herbie had stayed around long enough for me to take my kids to it at the drive-in, the way that I remember the old Herbie movies.Now I’m not going to complain about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory even though it’s a remake; mainly because they put some of my favorite scenes from the book into this movie. They had been left out of the previous film version. So this summer although the movie theatre has air conditioning and my husband won’t let me turn mine on, I will be at home with my Netflix subscription and my well used library card.Do you think anyone will do a DVD of Bunnicula?
So last night, I'm surfing ebay and looking at figurines like the ones from my grandma's house and my DH asks me, "Why are you bothering? It's not like you cared about those. Is it just because you didn't get them? If so, that's a silly reason to spend time and money." This is one of the many reasons that I love him. He's just so pragmatic.
But it got me thinking what else am I doing for other peoples reasons. And the big one is my MBA. Growing up the goals were veterinary medicine or law school. Volunteering at the vet one day cured me of that job but volunteering in the law office was a dream. I loved it. Maybe I should be looking at going back to law school instead of the MBA program. I've often talked of changing career paths and that would be a nice change. I have enough insurance background to be a great ambulance chaser or a defender against ambulance chasers. It's a good think I have about 4 months to think more about this. After all, why law? Why not an MFA and write a book? But then, that would be just another useless degree like the one I already have.
Summer is a great time for BBQ. But when it's over 100 degrees Farenheit, the thought of light the mesquite up just doesn't cut it. I also have to admit that I worry about poultry in the summer. It's just so hot and it's so easy for fowls to go foul. I can just see a few of you saying, it's beef or pork for the BBQ non of that wimpy chicken or fish. Well my cardiologist would have an issue with the beef and my personal ethic is against eating pork.
No, I'm not Jewish and I don't keep kosher. It goes back to an ethics class that I had in college. The teacher asked us to evaluate the food codes that we had - Why did we keep them? Was there a reason beside religion that we kept the diets that we did? We had one week and then we had to write up a single sentence code and a justification for why we ate the way we did. There were the standard answers of "I'm vegetarian because I don't want to eat anything with a face." I'll admit that I thought long and hard about it and I came up with my personal food code - "I will not eat anything that I would not be willing to produce for myself."
This leaves me pretty open. I've plucked chickens and turkeys. I've helped with slaughtering beef and lamb. I've hunted for my deer but never found one that would fit my tag. I've helped with parting an elk and fishing is no problem. Slaughtering pigs however I have an issue with. Maybe it's from literature class and "A Day No Pigs Would Die." Maybe it's thinking about pig valves being the closest substitute for human heart valves. Maybe it was because my job on the slaughter of the pig I attended was helping with the "blooding" and it was not a fun job. Whatever the reason, I do not willingly eat pork. It's not an item that I would be willing to produce for myself. I think it helps that I think bacon and sausage taste absolutely disgusting too. Lboster is another problem. I just can't drop that live animal into the boiling water.
But before you think that it's only meat that is exempt from my dietary code - I don't do coconut either. I have peeled a coconut once, I have cracked them several times. I don't like doing either. So, I don't do coconut if I can help it. I also don't do okra. They are too slimy to prepare. I have yet to meet an okra that I like. Eggplant is another one. I just can't handle the smell of eggplant when I cut it. I hate cutting it so it's out of the food chain because I'm not willing to produce anything with it. Alcohol is out too. I'm not patient enough to wait that long for anything.
The 3rd quarter state of the stitching address has been cancelled due to lack of interest or progress.The state of the quilting address, however, should be coming up shortly.
It seems like the only people in a good mood today are me and the other assistant in the office next to me. Everyone I ask to give me the information that I should have had 2 weeks ago is snapping at me and acting like it's a huge imposition that I'm asking them to do their job.
You all know that I'm paranoid about security so I can't believe that I'm posting this since it gives more than enough information to locate me.
But my son's school burned down today. He so depressed, seriously he is. We won't know until next week if he'll even be able to stay in the district or if he'll be in a school with any of his friends.
My youngest is putting on pounds faster than Morgan Spurlock at MickeyD's. My 9 year old is the same weight and a larger waist size than my 12 year old. I saw this coming so I stopped buying sugar treats several months ago. There are no cookies, snack cakes, popsicles or ice cream in my house. But my son's room still has plenty of those wrappers so he's getting them from somewhere. My best bet is the neighbor across the street. Her son is always walking around with treats. I know the neighbor around the corner would only give the kids healthy treats, those I don't mind. Although, enough food and not enough exercise will still cause him to gain weight. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and I realize the problem is my son but, please, quit feeding my boy! Let me do it, please.
"We can respond to irritation with a smile instead of scowl, or by giving warm praise instead of icy indifference. By our being understanding instead of abrupt, others, in turn, may decide to hold on a little longer rather than to give way. Love, patience, and meekness can be just as contagious as rudeness and crudeness."
I have had 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours. Combined with the caffiene in my system (Diet Coke with Lime), it would behoove me to avoid all electronic devices. After all the last time this happened, I called three friends out of state and annoyed them all. One made the comment that it's a good thing that she knew me well enough to know that I don't drink because I sure sounded drunk.
My daughter got home from her orchestra tour at 2:30 am, followed by a sucky day at work. I really should avoid the computer. I've already edited this post 3 or 4 times because I was about to give you all too much information.
Remind me to talk about NDD in the future okay? It stands for Nature Disassociation Disorder and may be a cause for depression in kids and teens. My dear sweet daughter says I have to get off the net now. Good girl taking care of her twisted, demented mother. Either that or she wants to post on her board and she can't do that while I'm logged in as me.
8 days until Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp 8 days until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 16 days until the Rabbit Queen returns to my house. 42 days until my flight to Nashville 53 days until school starts for my kids.
I can understand women wanting to drown their sorrows with chocolate and a Regency romance, but please when you use library books to do it, can you at least keep the chocolate off the pages? I’ll confess; I like romance novels. As a general rule there are just a few authors that I read. Jayne Ann Krentz (including her Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle lines), Suzanne Brockmann’s SEAL team novels, Catherine Coulter (her mainstream fiction books are good too), and the early Jane Feather novels (haven’t been too happy with her work lately). However, I’m on the waiting list for the only one’s I haven’t read yet (I’m #73 for Lie by Midnight). I’ve read all the Elm Creek Quilt novels, I’m current on Monica Ferris and Earlene Fowler so I was looking for some mindless fluff to read by the pool. I figured you can’t go wrong (most of the time) with a Zebra Regency so I ended up with Elizabeth Mansfield and Shirley Kennedy. I mean just how despairing do you have to be to turn 60 pages with chocolate on your hands? It’s almost as bad as the books that you know have been dropped in the pool or the tub. People, library books are for sharing. They do not belong to you. If you wish to abuse your own books go ahead. Just do it in the privacy of your own home and don’t tell me about it. Back to the chocolate though, if you are in such despair that you are eating chocolate while reading romance, at least lick the chocolate from your fingers. Now I can understand not licking off the cheap Hershey’s or Nestlé’s crap available in the US but you could at least have a washcloth or paper towel handy to wipe off the residue. Now if it were European chocolate, you better believe I would not be leaving the residue on the pages of the book. I get so little of the good stuff that every drop is precious and definitely not to be left on the pages of a book I don’t own. Now I can also understand if the book were so engrossing you couldn’t stop and didn’t notice but please, this one really wasn’t that spellbinding. I’ll admit that Shirley Kennedy writes rather differently from most of the Regency novels published lately. It was like a lot of the old Harlequins from the 70’s and 80’s where the heroine is really stupid and refuses to see reason. Unlike the old Harlequins, she wasn’t rescued from a loveless marriage by the hero. However, the loveless marriage helps her grow to where she can finally see the hero for whom he is. At least Kennedy didn’t kill off the loveless husband in an accident. You saw from the marriage day that he was going to die soon. The question was – would she stop being selfish long enough to realize that the old man really had saved her from her own stupidity and loved her for herself and not just her pretty face? The hero helps her realize it, and to realize just how petty and shallow she acts. The only unbelievable part of the book is that the hero accepts her as his in the end. It was almost enough to send me into the freezer for what’s left of the Fazer Blue bar I got from Finland last Christmas.
