blog updates

A few housekeeping issues: I updated the links for Road Kill Cafe and MYOB Gulch and Freedom Outlaw. Sorry to be such a lazy housekeeper of late, Morrigan and Taran.

I'll be unable to blog for 10 days, starting on July 5th. I'll try and post my long overdue "Let's Yak About Art" on Albrecht Durer before I'm sans computer on the lovely lakes of a canoe circuit far, far away. If I run out of time, it'll be first on my list after I get back.

Please keep Tee and me in your thoughts while we're gone. Here's to no capsizing or running into grizzley bears =).

Another situation of Nanny State child abuse

Tina Carlsen has been accused of neglect, kidnapping and treated like a potential pedophile by being ordered to stay away from her child, her child's father and any other child. She's spent five days in jail, bail set at $500,000. She was featured on the"America's Most Wanted" website.

What was her crime? Not agreeing with the doctors who saw her son for a kidney problem and wanting to seek a second opinion rather than putting her baby through a possibly unnecessary operation.

You can read about her story here, here and here. The Amber Alert that was sent out when Tina Carlsen removed her son from Children's Hospital was based on lies. Riley wasn't in a life threatening situation and in dire need of this operation. He wasn't on his death bed. Yes, the baby has kindey problems, but it only became an issue when the child's mom didn't agree with the doctors and sought other medical opinions. The nanny state tromped in and took a breast feeding infant from a loving and caring parent.

Attention Western WA Firefly Fans

There's going to be a Firefly Mini Marathon at the Kirkland Performance Center (scroll to the bottom of the page for the info). It's July 22nd, starts at 5pm, and costs $12.

~garden update~

I have some food growing in my garden (YAY!). The zukes have 4 blossoms (one started forming a zuke-y, oblong dealie as of yesteday); the tomato plants have 2 tomatoes and lots of blossoms. The plum tree sports a bazillion fruits, each the size of a large grape. The sugar peas are finally climbing some string, and flowers a'plenty. Pumpkin plants have sprouted EVERYWHERE. Darn jack-o-lanterns. Maybe one will give rise to a showman squash, for the fair. Onions seem content, and the corn hasn't died yet.

The stuff that didn't come up: squash, the other peas I planted, cukes, dill, beans or carrots. Either the birds ate the seed, or they were too old.

My peony plant blooms were delicious. I'm sad to see them go, but already look forward to next spring . "The coolest rose bush that refuses to die" has three luscious blooms on it. The minituare roses not only pulled through, but three out of four have flower buds on them. The poppies are done, and I was treated to a plethora of daylilies when I got back from Eastern Washington.

I have strawberry flowers, but some critter (I suspect a racoon) is eating the berries before I get to them. Sage, thyme, mint and oregano are all flourishing. The cilantro quickly went to seed, and the roly-poly bugs chewed up the basil, yet again.

Everything needs to be fertilized, so that's on the to-do list for the morning, before it gets too hot. Oh, and the weedy, grassy stuff invading my gardens must be pulled up.

TCF meetup in WA

Yesterday was such a breath of fresh air. Lew and I participated in the TCF WA area meetup. It was supposed to be the WA/OR meetup, however no one from Oregon showed up =(. Oh well, they missed out on some spectacular company.

We travelled to Cape Disappointment with Kirsten and Gospazha. Kirsten was gracious enough to drive, and I'm very impressed with Penny, especially since she recently recovered from abuse by a mechanic.

Besides the four of us, we were joined by Max, another TCFer, and a mystery guest. This guest gave us permission to reveal identities and all that, but it's much more delicious to leave things at this level: this particular guest was not only marvelous, witty and fun to be around, this guest brought some grubbin' treats.

I think it's fair to say that fun was had by all, and the day melted away as we conversed and shared a bit about ourselves. We couldn't have asked for better weather, except for the wind. Each of us took turns running after errant napkins, plates and various lids.

After the meetup, Kirsten, Gospazha, Lew and I walked down to Waikiki Beach and put our toes in the surf. Then we headed up to one of the lighthouses and took the tour. It cost one FRN, but was worth it. We took the stairs all the way up to the revolving light, and heard the tragic stories of the lightkeepers of yesteryear.

On the way home, Kirsten played the B-52s. It's a rule in her car that when Love Shack comes on, everyone sings. It turns out that Lew does a terrific impersonation of Fred Schneider. I didn't know all the lyrics, but knew enough to sing back up to Kirsten's Kate Pierson. Gospazha refused to comply, but I saw her smile a few times as we sang.

Thanks for the magnificent day, Kirsten, Gospazha, Max and Mystery Guest.

Sunday's Non Sequitur

Tee spotted today's Non Sequitur comic. It's a repeat from a few years ago. I clipped it out back then, and have it hanging up on my bullentin board in my room as a reminder of those who are brave and valiant. It is my opinion that we must never forget those who've struggled before us, and it will help us be brave when our time comes to face oppression.

I'm a bit surprised that he remembered I have this particular comic hanging up. It's amazing, and hopeful, the things that our kids pick up through osmosis. I clip things out from time to time, and pin them up for the kids to see, but this is one of two that I've hung on to for years, and I've held on to them because they are meaningful to me. I'm encouraged that it means something to Tee as well.

Please don't knock me back to "blog on hiatus."

My poor, little, neglected blog! It's already the 10th of June, and my last post was on the 24th of May. Ack!

A few things-- our business is picking up more potential clients (yay!!!), so we've been busy quoting jobs, meeting with people, your basic schmoozing sort of thing. I tell you what-- I'm hungry here. I want to pick up a client by my own work, my own inititive, that I've been in overtime mode. It's on my mind all the time. In the past two weeks, the amount of times I've been driving on muscle memory, the times I've had to turn around and back track to my actual destination has been enormous. It would be so nice to get Lew out of the wage slave culture. And the bonus would be he couldn't tease me anymore about being the best money spender, instead of the best income provider =).

Last weekend I went on the last shakedown outing for our canoe adventure in Canada. We have 24 days to go before we leave. I came home with more confidence, tired muscles and numerous bruises. We did capsize and rescue drills, and I have a bruise on my thigh with a three inch diameter. I must have hit a paddle when I capsized, or smacked it extra hard when I swung my leg into the canoe to try and get back into it. My bruises are now a nice shade of yellowy-purple, so they are on the mend. We did six portages (without wheels), and I was whupped by the weekend's end. But, the memories of this trip should serve me well when I'm portaging with wheel support in Canada.

Now, I have to work on getting the weight down further in my backpack. My pack weighed 38 pounds, and that's still too heavy. Our leader, L, said it should be closer to 20 pounds, but before I put in any clothes, my pack, dry sacks, sleeping bag and thermarest weigh almost 17 pounds. I'm also bringing a chair (a highly recommended luxury for this trip). It weighs about 2 pounds, and was so lovely on our last outing. Those without a chair would look longingly at those with one, and beg with their eyes, "Please let me sit there for a minute. That looks so comfy. Pleeeaaassseeee."

I take Rosie in to see an endocrinologist next week. When I took her in for a physical, the concerns I had were more serious than I originally thought. I hope we'll know more after her visit to the specialist, rather than play more waiting games. She's been through two rounds of blood tests, other tests, blood pressure checks and so on. I've been trying to not think about it, but I have an over-active imagination.