Friday Five: Funny Papers

Bill Watterson

After an exhausting election here in the states it's time for some spirit lifting! Join me with a nice cup of tea or coffee or cocoa and let's sit back and read the Funny Papers!

1. What was your favorite comic strip as a child?

I loved reading comic books, especially all the Walt Disney ones.

2. Which comic strip today most consistently tickles your funny bone?

Zits! It describes my life as a mom.

Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

3. Which Peanuts character is closest to being you?
Probably Charlie Brown, because I am pretty insecure, though growing out of that, too. He tries so hard even when prospects look poor.

4. Some say that comic strips have replaced philosophy as a paying job, so to speak. Does this ring true with you?

For ordinary people, this is probably true. It's a way to reach more people. Like Jesus, comic strips can often speak as a parable--leaving one to wonder and question, sometimes in outrage.

5. What do you think the appeal is for the really long running comic strips like Blondie, Family Circus, Dennis the Menace as some examples?
Basic experiences of life, especially middle class family life.

Bonus question: Which discontinued comic strip would you like to see back in print?
Look at the top of this post and that will tell you--"Calvin and Hobbes."

Marriage Equality in CA

Vote No On 8 issued a final statement, which I endorse by posting here:

The road to freedom is a difficult, hard road. It always makes for temporary setbacks.
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tuesday’s vote was deeply disappointing to all who believe in equal treatment under the law.

All Americans are harmed when any of us are discriminated against or have our fundamental rights taken away.

Make no mistake, this fight is not over.

We remain committed to ensuring full equality under the law, just as the thousands of same-sex couples who joyously married in California are committed to each other.

While it is understandable to be angry that a deceptive campaign could lead to such an unfair and wrong outcome, we need to keep focused instead on the progress we have made.

Thousands of volunteers and contributors gave selflessly to this fight for equality. Political leaders—Democrats and Republicans alike–took strong stands and spoke out against the distortions against us. Clergy, labor, educators and business leaders eagerly joined our cause. And we came within 4% of making history and protecting marriage equality in California.

The momentum is clearly on our side.

So, as disappointed as we are, we know that there is still hope and there is still love and, yes, there is still work to do. With our continued effort and by building on the support generated in this campaign, we will prevail. There will be equality. For us all.

Ultimately, America’s answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired.
—Robert F. Kennedy

~~~~~~~~~~~

Even better is a blog posting at Caught By the Light.

Advent Conspiracy

Advent Conspiracy

Catherine of Come to the Table blog invited me to join the "Advent Conspiracy" on Facebook, which caused me to look up the above site. These are the stated positions:

1. We should worship Christ more meaningfully.

2. We should refuse our culture's hunger for consumerism.
3. We should give relationally to our friends and family.
4. We should love all by giving to those most in need.

This sounds like that book about unplugging the Christmas tree (or Christmas machine!)--for less consumption and more relationships. A few years ago I read Bill McKibben's book, Hundred Dollar Holiday. All this reading seems to indicate that I read more than putting what I've read into action.

It's good to get these thoughts into consciousness at this time of year, weeks before Advent and Thanksgiving.

A challenge!

We are the ones for whom we have been waiting.

Hopi Elders To receive such quotations every day, subscribe to Word for the Day at Gratefulness.org.

To check data about the election

FIVE THIRTY EIGHT

"What is the mission of this website? Most broadly, to accumulate and analyze polling and political data in way that is informed, accurate and attractive. Most narrowly, to give you the best possible objective assessment of the likely outcome of upcoming elections."

Guess I'll be checking this frequently tomorrow, Election Day

Thanks to Watergate Summer for this website!

And remember Hope--Hold onto the Hope!

One More Day! Here's Les Misbarack!

Old, Fat, Naked Women for Peace!

From a dear blogging friend:



And I am an old, fat, (not) naked woman for peace!

Getting up early!

I need a good alarm clock for this Saturday morning, when I have to get up at 5 am. I will be picked up my EFM friends to take me to the mystics talk in San Antonio, so I need to be ready by 5:45 am. (Going by myself, I would leave at 6:30) It will be nice to travel with some friends. The talk will be on Meister Eckhart, which I really want to hear.

Will of God

Often we anxiously seek the will of God,
as if God had gleefully hidden dreams for us
deep in unfathomable places.
As if it were God's intention
that our whole lives be spent
in endless searching for signs and directions
buried in obscurity.
The will of God is that which brings us
peace and fullness of life.
The will of God is the seed of our dreams
ever gestating with possibility
and longing to leap forward
scattering new and surprising blessings
in our gray reality.

~~Edwina Gateley

Source: A Mystical Heart

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.

Insomnia

Carve a pumpkin!

CARVE YOUR OWN PUMPKIN!

Hope--Hold onto the Hope!

From Inward/Outward today. I am touched and holding on.

"They were nothing more than people, by themselves. Even paired, any pairing, they would have been nothing more than people by themselves. But all together, they have become the heart and muscles and mind of something perilous and new, something strange and growing and great. Together, all together, they are the instruments of change."

~~by Keri Hulme

Source: The Bone People

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND did you know that on Monday Inward/Outward quoted one of Mike's posts from his Mercy Blog?

I voted!

I voted today in the early voting offered in TX. I'm glad to be done with it!

Still, I worry about these voting machines. Where is my vote stored? Also, that dial on the right is tricky to use; I hope it didn't slip for someone so that when he/she pushed "enter," the wrong choice was selected. There were various elderly people there who seemed confused. And now there's even people writing about malfunctioning voting machines.

Have to remember (and hope and pray that) "...All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well" (by Julian of Norwich, 14th century mystic).

350 Still Images of John McCain's Anger Management

A friend emailed this to me, and I had to post it here:

Thanks to Andrew Sullivan again, here's a spot to visit. TPM (Talking Points Memo) displays various public figures, reporters, and newspapers with their latest opinions about Sarah Palin. Click on the person and his/her comments come up. Click: (and scroll down)

The Palin Effect

10 Reasons for Conservatives to Vote for Obama

Andrew Sullivan of "The Daily Dish" wrote TEN reasons for conservatives to vote for Obama!

10. A body blow to racial identity politics. An end to the era of Jesse Jackson in black America.

9. Less debt. Yes, Obama will raise taxes on those earning over a quarter of a million. And he will spend on healthcare, Iraq, Afghanistan and the environment. But so will McCain. He plans more spending on health, the environment and won't touch defense of entitlements. And his refusal to touch taxes means an extra $4 trillion in debt over the massive increase presided over by Bush. And the CBO estimates that McCain's plans will add more to the debt over four years than Obama's. Fiscal conservatives have a clear choice.

8. A return to realism and prudence in foreign policy. Obama has consistently cited the foreign policy of George H. W. Bush as his inspiration. McCain's knee-jerk reaction to the Georgian conflict, his commitment to stay in Iraq indefinitely, and his brinksmanship over Iran's nuclear ambitions make him a far riskier choice for conservatives. The choice between Obama and McCain is like the choice between George H.W. Bush's first term and George W.'s.

7. An ability to understand the difference between listening to generals and delegating foreign policy to them.

6. Temperament. Obama has the coolest, calmest demeanor of any president since Eisenhower. Conservatism values that kind of constancy, especially compared with the hot-headed, irrational impulsiveness of McCain.

5. Faith. Obama's fusion of Christianity and reason, his non-fundamentalist faith, is a critical bridge between the new atheism and the new Christianism.

4. A truce in the culture war. Obama takes us past the debilitating boomer warfare that has raged since the 1960s. Nothing has distorted our politics so gravely; nothing has made a rational politics more elusive.

3. Two words: President Palin.

2. Conservative reform. Until conservatism can get a distance from the big-spending, privacy-busting, debt-ridden, crony-laden, fundamentalist, intolerant, incompetent and arrogant faux conservatism of the Bush-Cheney years, it will never regain a coherent message to actually govern this country again. The survival of conservatism requires a temporary eclipse of today's Republicanism. Losing would be the best thing to happen to conservatism since 1964. Back then, conservatives lost in a landslide for the right reasons. Now, Republicans are losing in a landslide for the wrong reasons.

1. The War Against Islamist terror. The strategy deployed by Bush and Cheney has failed. It has failed to destroy al Qaeda, except in a country, Iraq, where their presence was minimal before the US invasion. It has failed to bring any of the terrorists to justice, instead creating the excresence of Gitmo, torture, secret sites, and the collapse of America's reputation abroad. It has empowered Iran, allowed al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan, made the next vast generation of Muslims loathe America, and imperiled our alliances. We need smarter leadership of the war: balancing force with diplomacy, hard power with better p.r., deploying strategy rather than mere tactics, and self-confidence rather than a bunker mentality.

Those conservatives who remain convinced, as I do, that Islamist terror remains the greatest threat to the West cannot risk a perpetuation of the failed Manichean worldview of the past eight years, and cannot risk the possibility of McCain making rash decisions in the middle of a potentially catastrophic global conflict. If you are serious about the war on terror and believe it is a war we have to win, the only serious candidate is Barack Obama.

Only nine days ago did I write about my daughter AE and her partner KA getting a little cocker puppy. Today on AE's blog was posted this darling picture of Morgan (the puppy) after her first bath:
Poor Morgan didn't like it. Isn't she cute?

Morgan is my third grand-puppy!

Remember Opie?

Maybe because it's my birthday and I am feeling nostalgic, but I laughed and enjoyed this video I found at Fran's featuring Ron Howard reprising his roles in "Andy Griffith" and "Happy Days." If you're old enough to remember those shows, watch this! (Even if you're not, the message is for Obama!)

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Cheesecake Story

My children and friends know the story behind my annual cheesecake on my birthday. When CB was in grad school at Oregon State University in the 1970's, we were good friends with Steve and Gayla. Steve was in the chem department graduate program along with CB; Gayla and I were both elementary school teachers; and we all lived in married student housing. That's when I learned that Steve always baked Gayla a cake for her birthday! That seemed like a good idea, so I suggested it to CB, and for the past 34 years he has done this for me.

My cake of choice is cheesecake, and CB bakes the best one I've ever had. He follows Craig Claiborne's recipe as adapted by Maida Heatter (in Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts), and he has a few changes he's put in, himself. It is simple and GOOD:

2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 eggs

Beat and add to springform (cheesecake) pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 90 minutes.

All these years, I've been pleased and proud of my husband (with the children's help) making me a birthday cake every year. MJ came home from college last night and participated in this annual cooking event. I'm glad my children have seen their dad, my husband, make this effort, even during the times that our marriage was strained. What a gift to us all!
~~~~~~~~~~~

But what is really sad is the news I received from Gayla yesterday in a birthday card. (Our friendship has fallen to exchange of birthday and Christmas letters in cards every year.) She wrote to tell me that Steve asked for a divorce in the past year, and it is now final. She still sounds overwhelmed and confused. I'll be calling her today for the first time in about 30 years; she wrote down both her cell and (new) home phone numbers.

The Birthday (or Cheesecake) Cake story is still a good one, especially as CB continues the tradition. Even if Steve doesn't.

I feel ever fortunate, even though today I turn:

CROP Walk 2008

About 36 hours ago I learned that the Corpus Christi CROP Walk was scheduled for Nov. 9, and I knew nothing about it. I've walked in the annual CROP Walk for 13 years, since moving to Corpus Christi. Last year was the first year All Saints Episcopal Church participated in the CROP Walk, and we raised almost $3,000! In fact, I blogged about it last year.

However, NO ONE contacted All Saints or me about participating this year. I was very irritated about this until I realized that I've wondered off and on for several months when the CROP Walk would be, but did nothing about that. So I can't really blame everybody else. . . .though it does seem like the organization should care about including a church that was just beginning its participation to encourage persistence. . . ."Shoulda' - woulda' - coulda'!"

Finally, I contacted several people who arranged for walk packets for volunteers, posters, and info about the CROP Walk to be delivered to All Saints. As I wondered if there is enough time to get people involved, the only two people I've mentioned this to signed up to walk! The church secretary, who happens to be a Quaker, is helping me out with publicity and her enthusiasm. So the way seems to be becoming clearer. . . .

AND now if any of you blogging friends want to contribute to the CROP Walk, go here. In each area that a Walk occurs, 25% stays in the community and the rest goes to alleviate worldwide hunger through Church World Service.

Freecycle!

Freecycle: Changing the World One Gift at a Time

When I was in Canada, the daughter of my cousin Margaret (and thus my third cousin, I believe) NF showed me how she "freecycles." While I was there she picked up a stack of exercise books that were all pretty new on someone's porch, absolutely free! There were even duplicate copies, so she gave me one!

I am a clutter person and somehow have a hard time giving things away unless it is for the "right" person. That's very self-defeating, which is why I have so much junk, especially in my closets. Though I'll continue to drop off stuff at Goodwill and the Women's Shelter, this seems like an excellent idea for the uncertain items, like a rarely used onion chopper.

Go here for the history and background of the movement that was started in 2003 in Tucson, Arizona, and now its current numbers are:

Number of Freecycle™ Communities:	4,121
Number of Freecycle™ Members:	3,890,000

"The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them's good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on the region on the left. You may then go directly to your local group by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works. Can't find a group near you? You might want to consider starting one (click on "Start a Group" for instructions)." From their "Welcome"

(This is one of their bumper stickers--sounds perfect for me.)

A World of Prayers

A World of Prayers

Written by Mark W. Muesse

"Belief divides the religions of the world, but prayer unites them.Across ages and cultures, prayers of Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and even non- theistic Buddhists have been strikingly similar in form, substance, and intention…apart from their names for the divine, people throughout the world pray for the same things and in much the same ways."

Various prayers are given as examples.

Read more from A World of Prayers

Palin on Federal Marriage Amendment

Tree of Progress!

I love trees. What a symbol of life and growth.

Via Border Explorer, I just found Watergate Summer, who has this poster on her sidebar. I vividly recall the "Watergate Summer," because that was the time that CB and I packed and moved ourselves from VA to OR so he could go to grad school at Oregon State University. Right before that we spent several days in the gallery of the U.S. Senate watching all the arguing about Nixon.
~~~~~~~~~~
I have since learned that this was a limited edition poster designed by Scott Hansen for the Obama campaign in May 2008. I do not know if it is still available, but this is what I could find out about it:

"The official Barack Obama store commissioned another great campaign poster, this time by Scott Hansen (aka ISO50). It is a massive 23″ x 40″ lithograph, has an edition of 5000, and is $70. If this one is anything like the Shepard Fairey version, the large edition will do nothing to detract from demand on this."

An Election Guide

I am taking the second year of EFM where we end each session with a TR (Theological Reflection).

Today's reflection was suggested by the two leaders, who are each strongly in favor of different candidates for President. They felt that the column by Joan Chittister from Sept. 2, 2004 was apolitical and could apply to either political party.

Were we all surprised when one member of the class kept hammering at the rest of us with points from the column that she said were biased:

"The truth is that there are more than enough poor that we as a country no longer count: The unemployed who drop off the welfare rolls, the underemployed who get no benefits, the children without health insurance, the fetuses being disposed of for the sake of convenience, the Iraqi civilians being killed for the sake of macho, the elderly who are facing even more poverty in years to come as Social Security fizzles in the wealthiest country in the world while we go on investing more money in death these days than we do in life?

"I think we better listen, as well, to the cries of the poor of other countries who, because of our economic or foreign policy plans, get poorer every day, fear us more every day and hate us more every day.

"The list goes on and on. Tell me again, who is "pro-life"? Where is the morality of saving life at one end only to starve it in mid-flight or kill it off cavalierly at the other?"

What's funny is that when I read the entire column, I liked it so much that I thought I would post the entire "guide" on this blog. Instead, I realized that I did not consider it to be a biased writing until I heard this other member of our class pick it apart. Since I agreed with Chittister's conclusion that one should vote for someone who has positions supporting the poor, I had not realized other people would feel differently. An "a-ha" moment!

The conclusion is:

"If you want to cast a moral vote, print out one of the many comparative lists of the issues espoused by each candidate. Ask yourself the question, "Will this proposal, this position, affect the poor of this country or the world positively, negatively or neither? Ascribe to each of the items in the platform or on the proposed legislative agenda a plus, a minus or a zero. Now count up the pluses. The program that will bring the most aid to the poor is the moral position. That is the way you and I are really expected to vote this year.

"How do I know? Easy. You see, what God says to Moses at the burning bush after "And I mean to deliver them" is this: "So I am sending you to pharaoh to say, 'Let my people go.' "

"That's the most direct election guidance I've seen so far -- including what we're getting from bishops and campaign committees.

"From where I stand, sending that message to pharaoh is the only real reason to vote."

After four more years of war and worsening economic conditions, this column is even more relevant than it was in 2004.

Go here to read the column!

The Sound of Silence

Non-Duality Cartoons

Before the Goldrush

Jiff posted this at her blog An Orientation of Heart:

"Happy Art" by Caroline Blum

Jiff writes:
"I'm in love with the music on a new project called "Before the Goldrush".
It's a project to benefit Teach for America. New artists with wonderful talent cover songs from artists such as James Taylor, Jim Croce, the Beatles and more.
You can learn more about this terrific project here."

I went to look at the link and am so impressed with the repertoire and it benefiting Teach for America that I wanted to order it, but am discouraged because I do not have an MP3 player, though all my children do. . . .

Do You Live in a Pro-America State?

I'm a little slow on the latest news, but from Oct. 17 it appears that Sarah Palin talked about "Pro-America states" of the USA. I wonder which ones are NOT??

"Check out this little nugget buried in a report about a fundraiser Sarah Palin spoke at last night:

Palin also made a point of mentioning that she loved to visit the "pro-America" areas of the country, of which North Carolina is one. No word on which states she views as unpatriotic."

by Greg Sargent

UPDATE: The McCain campaign offers some context for the quote.

Ginger the Cat for President!

Though almost 7 minutes long, this video about engineers, cats, and the election is a funny way to start the day! You'll be smiling and laughing. Thanks to my daughter AE for sending it to me.

Remembering Joe

I've gotten early birthday presents from my two oldest children and their partners--multiple presents but the best from each are See's Bordeaux milk chocolates, which I'm trying discipline myself to ration, and a book entitled Borderlands: The Best of David Adam's Celtic Vision. I've wanted this book ever since I read from it the last time I was with my friend Joe before he died. The following is the prayer that Joe spontaneously echoed after me, a prayer that continues in my heart and memory. I wish I could live it as Joe showed me.

An Oblation (94-95)

I place my hands in yours Lord
I place my hands in yours

I place my will in yours Lord
I place my will in yours

I place my days in yours Lord
I place my days in yours

I place my thoughts in yours Lord
I place my thoughts in yours

I place my heart in yours Lord
I place my heart in yours

I place my life in yours Lord
I place my life in yours

All that I am I give you Lord
All that I am I give you

All that I have I share with you Lord
All that I have I share with you

All my life is yours Lord
All my life is yours

All my desires are yours Lord
All my desires are yours

All my hopes are in you Lord
All my hopes are in you

All I want is you Lord
All I want is you

Jan in Banff

Two weeks ago I was in Banff. That's hard to believe. Tonight I am one of the co-hostesses at a wedding shower for a friend of my oldest son DC and the best friend of DC's wife. (This couple met each other at DC and AA's wedding two years ago, and now they're getting married!) DC and AA are in town, though not right now at home--their huge and snuffling (sweet) bull dog, Sampson, is lying on the floor next to the desk.

I haven't posted my trip pictures yet, but here's one of me taken at Banff that I've put on my Facebook page:

Surprise puppies!

I've been feeling burdened with all the negativity I posted yesterday about Bush, Palin, and the election. They were funny/sad posts and so I will not delete them.

To lighten my mood, here is a picture of daughter AE and partner KA's new cocker spaniel puppy:I am jealous that they got this cute puppy the day after I left Seattle! She's named Morgan. Still, I am happy imagining AE walking into KA's office at the end of the day, holding this little black bundle as a surprise!

About 12 years ago, when MJ was in first grade and AE was in high school, AE surprised me with a little blonde cocker spaniel, who is our elderly, deaf Baillie today.

MJ and Baillie 1996

Friday Five: Coin Toss Edition

Songbird at RevGalBlogPals writes:
Well, Gals and Pals, this weekend we'll be rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and that has me thinking about coinage.

1) When was the last time you flipped a coin or even saw one flipped in person?
I don't remember.

2) Do you have any foreign coins in your house? If so, where are they from?
Yes--from Japan, South Korea, Germany, Zambia, and Canada.

3) A penny saved is a penny earned, they say. But let's get serious. Is there a special place in heaven for pennies, or do you think they'll find a special place in, well, the other place?
I don't think pennies matter that much or any other coins in the afterlife. I know my mother said as she aged that what mattered more and more to her was the love she felt with and for others.

4) How much did you get from the tooth fairy when you were a child? and if you have children of your own, do they get coins, or paper money? (I hear there may be some inflation.)
I think I got coins, but I don't remember how many.

Our older children received coins and later bills.

The story that stands out was when my third child BJ lost a tooth in 1992 at my parents' house when my mother was dying of pancreatic cancer. He was only 7 years old. The night before I'd convinced my mother to drink some high-protein drink because she could eat very little; this caused her to vomit repeatedly. I was so worried about her that I did not sleep and completely forgot about my little boy's tooth. When I woke up the next morning, BJ and the other kids were sitting around watching tv. BJ sadly said that tooth fairy forgot him, and my restrained father leaned over him, asking him, "How much does the tooth fairy leave? $5? $10? $20?" I finally said $5 was enough, while I felt terribly guilty as a mother. I know that's the day BJ stopped believing in the tooth fairy. Only now can I appreciate my dad's concern for his grandson. This is the story I always think of in relation to the tooth fairy now.

5) Did anyone in your household collect the state quarters? And did anyone in your household manage to sustain the interest required to stick with it?
Daughter MJ is still collecting state quarters.

My dad (who died in 2002) hoarded silver quarters and dimes, which are in a safety deposit box somewhere. I guess his grandchildren will get them someday.

Good Night, Bush

One of my favorite books to read to my children was Good Night, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. They grew up looking for the little mouse, who moved to different locations in the colored pictures.When I was in Seattle, my daughter AE gave me a copy of an "unofficial parody" of this classic children's book--Good Night, Bush!


This sarcastic adaptation even has its own website. It's relevant to the past eight years, with such phrases as "Good night, Constitution."

Palin for President?

Possibly our future president??

Go here and see what the future could be. . . .And click on various objects to be surprised.

Campaign Symbolism

My sister-in-law JT sent this to me. I especially like the last one.

Church banners I endorse

I saw these banners on the front of the University (of Washington) Temple United Methodist Church in Seattle. Perhaps I would have stayed in the Methodist Church if these were endorsed at my former church.

Happily at home!

I'm home! I was very pleased to cancel my flights from Austin to Houston to Corpus Christi, because daughter MJ drove from San Antonio to pick me up at the Austin Airport and then husband CB met us in San Antonio for dinner! It was wonderful to be with both of them and to get back home about an hour ago.

I was lucky enough to have friend JJ drive me to the airport very early this morning. Instead of Pacific time, I hope that I will quickly adjust to Texas time again, because I had to awaken this morning at 4:15 am! Amazingly (for me!), I learned how to use my cell phone as an alarm clock on this trip. I'd only "heard" of such a thing before but now can finally use it.

With easy access to my own computer at home, I look forward to blogging again and visiting my blogging friends. Tomorrow.

Trip almost over

My trip north is almost over. Friend DJ continues to loan me his car, so today daughter AE drove her partner KA and me to Bellingham for my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary! It was a happy coincidence that my husband's family decided to celebrate the anniversary on the one weekend I would be in the northwest. It was a happy day with much laughter, talking, and eating. Three-month-old Hayley, the first great-grandchild, was also there--the center of everyone's attention as only a baby can be. And I was happy that I could be there with my two daughters.

Last night we went to a play in Capit0l Hill in Seattle called "God's Ear." Our prime reason for going was that the daughter of friend NM (who was one of my bridesmaids long ago) had a part in it. It was funny and thought-provoking and was about a couple whose son accidently drowned and how they coped afterwards with their surviving daughter. Libby was wonderful in her part. We got to see her after the play, and she was surprised that we had come to this small, bare theater. That was a happy moment for AE, KA, and me to greeted by Libby, a star!

Capitol Hill was also where husband CB and I first lived when we had graduated from college. Until he got a chemistry job, he painted houses and I was a substitute teacher. We moved there because I had a long-term sub job while the teacher I'd student with went on maternity leave. Soon after, CB was trained in Oregon, and later we moved to VA!

Seattle!

I am in Seattle, which is much warmer than Calgary. My good friend DJ picked me up at the airport and now has taken his two dogs for a walk, leaving me with a computer that allows me to log on to my blog--yay! The one that I got to use sometimes in Calgary usually did not let me log on to blog or to make comments, but then there wasn't that much time to spend on the computer, either.

It is much warmer here than it was in Calgary, though not as warm as it currently is in Texas (80s F.). The weather was quite nice for most of my stay in Calgary. What was interesting was that when I arrived the trees were full of bright yellow leaves, but by the time I left, most of the leaves had fallen. Temperatures drastically fell yesterday so that it even lightly snowed, with nothing sticking. Last night it got down to -3 degrees C. (26.6 degrees F.) and was expected to stay around 5-7 degrees C. (41-45 degrees F.) for the rest of the week.

I had a wonderful time and will write about my trip when I return home on October 14 when I can also download some pictures.

DJ and wife TFJ (my friend since high school and who accompanied me to our 40th high school reunion in August) are always gracious and hospitable. DJ is retired, and TFJ still works. DJ has offered his car to me for my entire four days. Although when I told him how much I dislike Palin (when he proudly showed me McCain/Palin posters in his house windows), he teased me and said he didn't know if he'd let me use his car. . . .

So I am driving over to Ballard around noon to meet my daughter AE at her apartment. We'll go out to lunch and spend the day together. I've brought her a book about Canada (Canadians: a Portrait of a Country and Its People by Roy MacGregor, because she is always talking about emigrating there. Though I'm supposed to have dinner with TFJ tonight, I am enticed by a lecture AE told me about that will be at the University of Washington tonight--how religion is affecting this presidential election!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But now at 5 pm, it's 50 degrees, and I'm cold. Maybe I've turned into a "Texan" after all. No lecture for me tonight, so the book may be added to my reading list for the future: The God Strategy: How Religion Became a Political Weapon in America.

Calgary!

This is my third beautiful day in Calgary, where they are experiencing a sudden Indian Summer. The fall leaves, mainly yellow, are magnificent, and it is wonderful to be outside! It has been in the high 70s each day, with cool, cool mornings. I am having a difficult time converting Celsius to Farenheit--husband CB always quickly calculates temps with a complicated formula that I never can remember. Don't tell me here; I don't really want to know. So cousin Margaret has a broken thermometer that has both ways of reading the temperature, and I can cheat by going to look at the scale and choose the corresponding temp.

Being her reminds me of living in RI and NJ, with the fall leaves, tall trees, and two-story houses (not new). The University of Calgary is only a few blocks away, so students with backpacks are always walking by. There are many rooms rented in this neighborhood. In fact, my cousin rents out the basement to a college student.

Margaret's daughter NF, who is living with her while finishing her master's in engineering, left her laptop out on the kitchen table for me this morning. I get up before everyone else, so I am using it while Margaret and NF are still in bed. (I also go to bed much earlier than they do.)

This laptop has been iffy about logging on. I hadn't been able to comment on any blogger blogs or sign in here, until just a few minutes ago. So I thought I'd better grab the chance.

The Canadian Premier debates were on last night at the same time as the v-p debates from the US. So we had two tvs going, so we could each watch our respective country's shows. Go read Fran, the Quaker Agitator, and Angry African, among others for good observations about the debates. All I can say is that Biden convinced me overwhelmingly to vote for him and Obama, even though that was my original intention.

My trip begins today!

Here's a map of Air Canada routes. If you look way down in Texas for the one red line going northwest, that's the route I'll be flying to Calgary today. I'll be visiting Cousin Margaret and her family for the next nine days; then on October 9, I will fly one of those red paths from Calgary to Seattle! I will be seeing daughter AE and partner KA in Ballard.

I am not sure if Cousin Margaret has a computer at her house; I know she does not communicate via email at all. So I may not be on a computer until I get to Seattle. . . so no blogging until then.

I will return to Corpus Christi, TX on October 14.

Supporting the military?

Our local newspaper is pretty sad compared to bigger cities'. However, today they printed a letter from a local Navy wife who lives at the Navy Base here. This is a REAL person who has family connections with the military and tells, giving LINKS, of Obama and McCain's history of supporting (or not) military personnel.

Military's support

I am a Navy spouse and a proud member of a Blue Star and Gold Star Family. My husband is a JAG, and my brother-in-law was a pilot and one of three sailors killed in the Navy helicopter crash in January 2008 in Corpus Christi. I am proud to support Barack Obama for president.

Blue Star Families for Obama is a grass-roots movement of military families that has formed a collective voice in support of Obama's comprehensive plan for supporting our troops. We respect John McCain's military service, but his voting record is less than honorable when it comes to supporting our troops and veterans.

Most recently, Obama was a co-sponsor for the brand new GI Bill enacted June 2008, which McCain campaigned against. Obama has an 80 percent overall rating from the Disabled Veterans of America in comparison to McCain's paltry 20 percent. In addition, McCain received a "D" grade from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.iava.org).

If you are surprised by McCain's lack of veteran and military support, visit the Blue Stars Web site at www.bsf4o.com for more info, and join the online community choosing Obama as our new commander in chief.

Michelle Gross

(Corpus Christi Caller Times, September 29, 2008)

Blogging Awards!

Thank you to Ruth for this sweet blogging award:

As a recipient of this award, there are rules to follow. I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and one word only! Then I must pass it on to seven others!--I already blew the one-word rule, so do what you want!

The questions are as follows:

1. Where is your cell phone?
Amazingly, next to me on the desk.
2. Where is your significant other?
Gone to work on the house he's remodeling two houses down from ours.
3. Your hair color?
Brown and gray.
4. Your mother?
Deceased
5. Your father?
Deceased
6. Your favorite thing?
Books!!
7. Your dream last night?
Being in a doctor's office.
8. Your dream/goal?
Write a book.
9. The room you're in?
Sunroom, which is like a family room.
10. Your hobby?
Blogging
11. Your fear?
Insecurity
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?
Home
13. Where were you last night?
Home
14. What you're not?
Unkind
15. One of your wish-list items?
More books. . . .
16. Where you grew up?
Everywhere
17. The last thing you did?
Read the Sunday newspaper.
18. What are you wearing?
What I wore to church: khaki linen skirt and blouse.
19. Your TV?
Off
20. Your pet(s)?
Sleeping
21. Your computer?
OK
22. Your mood?
Content.
23. Missing someone?
Always
24. Your car?
Celery green (though it's "official" name is fancier).
25. Something you're not wearing?
Socks
26. Favorite store?
Container Store
27. Your summer?
HOT!
28. Love someone?
Always
29. Your favorite color?
Green
30. When is the last time you laughed?
Today
31. Last time you cried?
At Joe's funeral.

I nominate the following bloggers:

(This is always hard to do, because so many have already received this award, and I love many, many blogs.)
1. Katherine E. at Meaning and Authenticity, who brought me into the blogging world and into connection with RevGals. She honestly shares her struggles and insights with work, church, politics, and her life. The title of her blog tells what she strives for, ever since I met her at the Spiritual Formation Academy in 2001 BB (Before Blogging).
2. Jiff at An Orientation of Heart, who doesn't blog as frequently as I wish she would. Still, I find each post worth the wait. Jiff has directed me to many books I have appreciated, both concerning spirituality and mysteries, my current craze.
3 & 4. Ellie at Does Not Wisdom Call? which features meditations, quotations, and prayers combined with beautiful art. Ellie has two other blogs, too. She collects great political cartoons, quotes, and news stories at Child of Illusion.
5. Sherry at A Feather Adrift, who brings passion and intelligence to her posts about politics. I always wish I could write as eloquently as she does. And a special bonus is that on Fridays she collects multiple pertinent posts from various blogs of interest, and not just politics--there are even some good recipes!
6. Seething Mom, who expresses the anger and frustration a mother feels about the injustices towards her gay son and the homophobia rampant in the USA. Since I have a gay daughter, I identify with how she writes and wish I could be as vocal!
7. Jaliya at Pushing fifty. . .gently. . . if I can find my glasses, who has a wonderfully eclectic blog. She refers to other blogs and websites that I would never find unless she posted. She has a sense of humor I like and an inquisitive mind!

I appreciate Missy giving me the Brilliant Brilliante award (see sidebar). Selfishly, I'm glad I already received it before, because it's too hard to choose bloggers to honor, especially "new" ones! She said if I'd already gotten it, to give it another person, so I can manage just one more:

Angry African on the Loose, who uses language elegantly to espouse the African philosophy of "UBUNTU"--"I am because you are." He talks family, politics, anything with passion!

Trip coming up!

On Tuesday I am flying from TX north to AB, Canada!


My cousin (really my mother's cousin) Margaret just called me from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where I am traveling to on Tuesday, September 30. She is graciously planning events for us to attend and was asking how well I can walk and/or climb stairs after my knee arthroscopy. What's also exciting is that she asked her family to celebrate her birthday on October 2 in Bannf! I have always wanted to go to that beautiful area of the Rocky Mountains!

Bannf, Alberta, Canada

My underlying urge to visit Cousin Margaret was to get her to tell me family stories--I even bought a digital voice recorder for that purpose. I am realizing she is welcoming me into her family so as to help me know that they are all my family, too. I'll be meeting her children and grandchildren, too, whom I've only seen pictures of.

I will visit in Calgary until October 9 when I will fly to Seattle to see daughter AE and her partner KA. This way I'll spend the weekend with them there, when they are off work. This lonely only child suddenly has a lot of family to visit up north.

It will be a shock to return to hot weather again on October 14!

Flowing, Changing

The bulletin for Joe's funeral today had a profound quote from Border Lands: The Best of David Adam's Celtic Vision:

"Everything in this life is visited by its tides and seasons. This world is in a state of constant flux; all is flowing, changing. The more alive and alert the creature is, the more likely it is to be changing regularly. All of us are caught up in the pull of the ebb and flow of the whole of creation. In each of us thee are many strong currents at work. We are a very small and frail craft in a mighty ocean. Yet we may be privileged to discover, in the ebb and flow, that nothing is lost, only changed."

"Flowing" 2006
Michelle Martin McDulin

Praying Our Distractions

Praying Our Distractions

Martin Smith

You can't say about praying: "Practice makes perfect; gradually you will get to be really good, so be patient with the messiness of your beginner's results. In time you will be proud of what you achieve." Instead, the advice might go something like this: "Honey, prayer is God's way of getting you to meet the cast of characters you call your distractions. God knows we spend a lot of time disowning them and pretending we don't know them. They are family. Prayer will always be messy, because they are. Those 'distractions' are our mess. They're the mess we are in. So prayer is our rendezvous with them and God is present to introduce us. Maybe what you call your distractions are really the main event."

Source: Newsletter of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

From Inward/Outward. Subscribe here.

In Memory of Joe

"TESTAMENT"

by Wendell Berry

1.

Dear relatives and friends, when my last breath
Grows large and free in air, don't call it death --
A word to enrich the undertaker and inspire
His surly art of imitating life; conspire
Against him. Say that my body cannot now
Be improved upon; it has no fault to show
To the sly cosmetician. Say that my flesh
Has a perfect compliance with the grass
Truer than any it could have striven for.
You will recognize the earth in me, as before
I wished to know it in myself: my earth
That has been my care and faithful charge from birth,
And toward which all my sorrows were surely bound,
And all my hopes. Say that I have found
A good solution, and am on my way
To the roots. And say I have left my native clay
At last, to be a traveler; that too will be so.
Traveler to where? Say you don't know.

2.

But do not let your ignorance
Of my spirit's whereabouts dismay
You, or overwhelm your thoughts.
Be careful not to say

Anything too final. Whatever
Is unsure is possible, and life is bigger
Than flesh. Beyond reach of thought
Let imagination figure

Your hope. That will be generous
To me and to yourselves. Why settle
For some know-it-all's despair
When the dead may dance to the fiddle

Hereafter, for all anybody knows?
And remember that the Heavenly soil
Need not be too rich to please
One who was happy in Port Royal.

I may be already heading back,
A new and better man, toward
That town. The thought's unreasonable,
But so is life, thank the Lord!

3.

So treat me, even dead,
As a man who has a place
To go, and something to do.
Don't muck up my face

With wax and powder and rouge
As one would prettify
An unalterable fact
To give bitterness the lie.

Admit the native earth
My body is and will be,
Admit its freedom and
Its changeability.

Dress me in the clothes
I wore in the day's round.
Lay me in a wooden box.
Put the box in the ground.

4.

Beneath this stone a Berry is planted
In his home land, as he wanted.

He has come to the gathering of his kin,
Among whom some were worthy men,

Farmers mostly, who lived by hand,
But one was a cobbler from Ireland,

Another played the eternal fool
By riding on a circus mule

To be remembered in grateful laughter
Longer than the rest. After

Doing that they had to do
They are at ease here. Let all of you

Who yet for pain find force and voice
Look on their peace, and rejoice.

Our next president. . . .

I can't get this Thomas Friedman editorial out of my mind, in the midst of grief and concern over Joe's death. Maybe I'm connecting stuff to the meditation upon Jonah 3 and 4 yesterday in our EFM class, where I realized our entire country needs to repent and turn around--and sacrifice. Give up using so much gas, less air conditioning (AAK--in Texas, too???), buying, consuming more than we need. . . We all would have come together after 9/11, but were not challenged to do so. Now we're fighting over side issues like a pig wearing lipstick when the economy is finally showing its true state of being.

I don't always agree with Friedman, but I think this editorial hits where it should about the next president. He ends with:

"The last president who challenged his base was Bill Clinton, when he reformed welfare and created a budget surplus with a fair and equitable tax program. George W. Bush never once — not one time — challenged Americans to do anything hard, let alone great. The next president is not going to have that luxury. He will have to ask everyone to do something hard — and I want to know now who is up to that task."

Go here to read the full article, which is entitled "No Laughing Matter."

A Good Death

Today is a very good day to die.

Every living thing is in harmony with me.

Every voice sings a chorus within me.

All beauty has come to rest in my eyes.

All bad thoughts have departed from me.

Today is a very good day to die.

My land is peaceful around me.

My fields have been turned for the last time.

My house is filled with laughter.

My children have come home.

Yes, today is a very good day to die.

From Many Winters by Nancy Wood

This is the way Joe died on Monday. I wish my parents had experienced such deaths, but still I know they were welcomed in love to their new lives. I hope my death will be like this someday.

Chuckle