Moonwritings

Yes We Can!

2008-11-04T22:40:00.000-08:00

As I watched television tonight-- just the puppy and I, but of course, we weren't really alone-- there was a tremendous sense of witnessing history. I grew up in the midst of the civil rights era, and to reach this moment, to be watching seconds after 8:00 pm and to hear CNN say, "We project Barack Obama as the next President of the United States," well, I cried. I wept. And I laughed, and danced around the room, and then I opened the window and screamed O-BA-MA! at full voice, out into the cul-de-sac. That this election could happen, that this presidency could become possible, fills me with joy, and wonder, and a sense of yearning I've not known for decades. Life feels renewed. Anything feels possible. Today, and it's been a long time since I've said this, I am proud to be an American. I am filled with hope.

They're Engaged!

2008-01-22T21:47:00.001-08:00

Jan. 21, 2008 ... Martin Luther King Day ... Cousin Beth's Birthday ... a Full Wolf Moon ... Hearts wildly open!

Starting 2008

2008-01-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

One of my 2008 Pezolutions is to do a little better maintaining this blog, especially since I lately tend to be busy for days at a time and don't keep up the family chatter too well.

So, here I am. **applause**

I thought I'd share my winter altar space, set up to look like a snowy tableau (right).

I'm teaching five days a week this term-- three classes:

1. At PSU, I'm teaching a freshman composition class. Lots of teachers don't like this class, but I really enjoy it. The students are like blank slates, and you really have a good chance to influence them as writers, and to help writing become effective and enjoyable for them. Which is cool, if you're a teacher sort. They're hard workers, too, and really work at their assignments. At 20 students, this is my smallest class.

2. At PSU, I also have an upper div composition class-- "writing as critical inquiry." This is a really fun class because the students are juniors, seniors, and grad or postbac students. They're bright and experienced and not afraid to jump into class discussions, and their writing is lots of fun to read. Which is good, as I have 28 in the class and they're each writing 5 essays, each of which will be revised at least twice.

3. At CCC is a mid-level class on argument and rhetoric. It's an interesting class and probably the most challenging one to teach, as it goes beyond writing and into the realm of formal structured arguments. We're focusing on the classic Aristolian model, the Toulmin argument, and the Rogerian method-- each of which is hard enough to understand, let alone to teach. I have 30 students in this class.

So, that's two jobs (i.e., teaching jobs at two colleges). My third job is working in the CCC writing Center for 3+ hours week, as a one-on-one writing tutor. It's fun, and I have a couple of "regulars" that I've been working with since fall term-- it's nice to be able to see them progress.

My fourth job is working for the Grey School, which pays me a modest-- but increasingly important-- monthly stipend.

And the fifth job consists of selling bits of writing here and there. I haven't sold anything for awhile now, but have a manuscript under consideration. Stay tuned!

It's been a wet, cold winter, and it's gone too fast for me, someone who enjoys winter. I expect I'll look up one morning and find that spring has come. Indeed, I have bulbs beginning to erupt around the yard. Kind of scary when you consider it was 25 here this morning.

That's the news for now....

Hail, 2007: The Year in Review

2008-01-08T17:39:00.001-08:00

January Snowfall-- twice!

Publishing my first book....

Invited to attend Celilo anniversary-- 50 years since the flooding of the ancient site. Bittersweet.

Seeing the restoration of the tunnel at Oneonta Falls....

Ernie's last picture. R.I.P., sweet boy.

Defending my M.A. Thesis....

Finishing my Masters degree in nonfiction writing!

Visiting Mom and Joe....

May: Knee surgery.... again. Bleh.

Graduation-- and my M.A degree!

Farmer's Market.... a summer Sunday routine.

Ill-fater, disastrous, aborted trip to New York Summer Writer's Institute. This is me at about 3:00 am, in a hotel in San Francisco. Yeah, I know.

Nacho!

Harry Potter-- the release of book #7!

Prof. Moonwriter, handing out flyers....

The book arrives on Saturday morning!

I was one of 10 reviewers chosen to review the book for the Oregonian!

With Scott, Rebecca, and Moose at Smith Rock.

Early August: Grey School Conclave in Washington, near Mt. St. Helens.

August: Grey School California Conclave: Redwoods National Park

Headmaster Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Prof. Moonwriter!

Moving Mom into Cougar Springs:

Mom and Maria....

August 27: full lunar eclipse.

September trip to Mt. Rainier....

Hunting trip....

Scott turns 29....

A mama squirrel dumped her barely-weaned babies in our yard. So of course we fed them.

Erin turns 26....

Katie visits....

Thanksgiving-- and everyone together!

Hoska.... Erin's rookie year....

Dear friend Valerie....

Baking with Amanda....

Katie turned 31....

Christmas, Everett-style....

Happy holidays!

Katie celebrated at the North Pole....

Snow at Cascade Locks....

And at home....

Belated Christmas and Happy Birthday #78 to Mom in Redmond....

I'm putting the boat photo in twice, because Blogger is doing something weird where it is inserting a blank video block on top of it, which blocks the image. Weird.

A White Christmas!

2007-12-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

It hardly ever happens here in Ory-gun. In fact, the last time was 17 years ago. But yesterday, on Dec. 25, we had about four hours of a white Christmas! Big fluffy flakes began falling around noon and did so for a couple of hours. It wasn't much, but it was glorious, and Erin and I bundled up and joined the neighbors and kids and dogs that spilled out into the cul-de-sac. What a wonderful gift it was!

Oh! The snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and the earth below,
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of people you meet.
Dancing,
Flirting,
Skimming along,
Beautiful snow! It can do no wrong;

Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicksome freak;
Beautiful snow from heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!

Oh, the snow, the beautiful snow,
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go
Whirling about in maddening fun:
Chasing,
Laughing,
Hurrying by.

It lights on the face and it sparkles the eye;

And the dogs with a bark and a bound
Snap at the crystals as they eddy around;
The town is alive, and its heart is aglow,
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow.

--Joseph Warren Watson

"Cause it's Christmas, All Over, Again....

2007-12-26T08:09:00.001-08:00

This year, we decided to celebrate our family's version of ChristmaYuleStice on Sunday, Dec. 23. This ended up being the optimal time in terms of work, travel, etc. Our celebrants included Bill, Erin, Scott, Rebecca, and Yours Truly. Katie and John flew to Barrow, AK, to spend the holiday at the North Pole with John's parents. (We planned to travel over to see Gammie and Joe on the 26th; this plan was foiled when Gammie's residence complex fell into the grips of a Norovirus epidemic. Stay tuned....)

Yulestice morning....

Opening a myriad of present-- Santa was generous this year.

Scott sniffs my new wooden ladle (carved by Bill). Most likely Scott is trying to see if there is any food sticking to it.

More presents....

Bill brandishes gun-shaped hand warmers. He's packing heat!

Rebecca indulged Scott's aspirations to Rocky-dom:

Some music in the aftermath....

On the 25th, we called Katie in Barrow. Here is Erin, talking to Katie while pretending they're sitting on the couch together.

Scott and Rebecca headed home on Dec. 25. Here's Scott stretching Rebecca, while the Pookie Moose waits patiently by the door.

Happy Yule to all!

Preparing for Yule!

2007-12-26T06:09:00.000-08:00

Erin came to visit on the weekend of Dec. 14, and helped me decorate the house for Yule.

Here's the "before" shot-- all boxes ready for unloading. I think the living room looks scared.

Erin hooked this rug a few years ago, while recovering from knee surgery.

On the 15th, Erin joined Valerie and I for Hoska Day. Hoska, for my newer readers, is a traditional Czech holiday bread. It has a rich eggy dough-- much like Challah-- but is flavored with almonds, mace, and lemon peel, studded with almonds and raisins, and decorate with candied fruits and poppy seed. The women on my mom's side of the family have made Hoska for generations, and it was time for me to teach the ropes to one of my kids. Valerie and I used to make Hoska with Mom, and for the last few years have gotten together here to make it. It was great to have Erin join us. (Katie and Scott? Next year, maybe?)

It begins with the miracle of the yeast....

Stirring it all together....

Valerie gives approval to Erin's first batch of dough....

Forming the loaves....

Decorating....

The pride of accomplishment-- and a new Hoska maker is born!

Fuel for the bakers: eggnog! (Pizza would follow....)

The gorgeous end result. We made sixteen loaves!)

Happy bakers!

The next day, we headed to our favorite nearby tree lot to pick out a tree. Erin is wearing dark glasses because she thinks she might have had too much wine last night.

We ended up with a lovely little Noble fir, which we stuffed into Xena (Warrior Car). And yes, those are Christmas lights inside my car-- that's one of my most fun traditions. This year I used multi-colored LED lights.

One the way home, how could it be Yule without a stop to see the Milwaukie Pig?

The finished tree-- with our Raven tree-topper!

On Tuesday, Dec. 18, my friend Amanda came over for more baking. She made Anadama bread and cinnamon rolls-- I did just cinnamon rolls. YUM!

Fred

On the 21st, a few Grey School friends came by to help celebrate the Winter Solstice. We shared food, did a candle project, and had a firelighting ceremony. It was a good time.

And then there was the Solstice itself....at 10:08 pm (Pacific) on Dec. 21. Rejoice in the return on the unconquered Sun-- sol invictus-- and the symbolic return of light and life to the earth!

-----

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas.
Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Turkey Day 2007

2007-12-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

In years past, we've always gone to Mom and Joe's for Thanksgiving, where Mom has been chief cook and bottle washer. Obviously that's no a no-go, given the conditions imposed by her stroke. It had been many years since all of us-- including the kids-- were together at Thanksgiving, especially with Katie living in Alaska. But bless the kid's hearts.... They all rearranged their schedules so that we could convene for an all-family Turkey Day.

Katie arrived in town a few days early, after visiting her sibs in Seattle. She, Bill, and I spent a really nice day in the Gorge. It was sort of cold, damp, and foggy-fuzzy, but for anyone who loves the gorge like we do, you know that there is no such thing as a bad day there. If anything, winter is an excellent time to see the gorge-- the waterfalls are huge, and with the deciduous trees bare, the view is terrific. Here's the postcard view from Women's Forum State Park:

Here's Katie, at Shepherd's Dell....

Katie and I at Wah-Kee-Nah: "Most Beautiful."

Turkey Day.... Katie and I drove over on Wednesday, after I got home from work. Scott and Erin were going to arrive early on Thursday. Bill had other obligations on Thursday morning, and then would drive over around noon. (Rebecca was ill and stayed in Everett with her kitty and a pizza.)

Joe and I had decided that Mom might enjoy a real breakfast for a change. So be picked her up from The Home and I made a brunch-type breakfast. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep her out of the kitchen, and after Joe brought her to the house, one of the first things she did was wheel right up to the stove to check on what I was doing. Apparently it looked okay, because she stayed out of the kitchen after that, thank Goddess.

For those surprised to see Gammie standing, she stands fairly easily now, and walks with assistance. She also walks with help.

Gammie also spent time hanging out with Gussie....

Joe Comito, Kitchen Wench.

Erin and Scott arrived right on time. Scotty came ready with a cooler for leftovers! (His life priority hasn't changed.)

I put the kids to work as scullery crew, although in this photo, Erin is more interested in sampling the vino.

Scott mashed the potatoes. Nice to have a strong arm around for that....

(Note that at this time, Bill was stuck on Mt.Hood with a damaged tire rim, and was unable to make the trip over.)

Here are the three kids and their Gammie (Erin is 26, Scott 29, and Kate almost 31):

And here I am with my kidlets. Katie was knitting-- she keeps the family in toasty hats and scarves. Note that Scott has just finished eating something.

More cooking....

As the feast hit the table, Mom looked impatient!

Preparing to dig in....

We had a great meal, and I think Gammie enjoyed having her kids together. Scott and Erin left in the later afternoon, as they had to be at work the next day. Katie and I stayed overnight and drove back the next day. I was exhausted! So was Gam-- when Joe took her back to The Home, he said he kind of tossed her into bed and she conked out even before her shoes were off.

What better to end this post with than the requisite cute cat picture?

Birthdays, Baby Squirrels, and Pop Culture Irritation

2007-12-14T07:11:00.000-08:00

I have finally emerged from fall term teaching and a host of other deadlines and company and being sick for 2.5 weeks to decide it's time to catch up on this blog.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

And that BEGINS with a 3-days late shout-out to my first-born child. Katie Marie Pesznecker celebrated #31 on Friday, Dec. 14. Kate was born at 8:37 am, the same 'minute' I was born on twenty-two years earlier. (Given that there are 1440 minutes in a day, this is pretty cool!) Above is a photo of Katie, Erin, and I taken last Christmas-- we're all sporting scarves knit by Katie.

Katie lives in Alaska with her sweetheart, John. Travel to and from is pricey, and so we don't see much of her-- but she was home at Thanksgiving and we had a really nice visit.

Anyway, Kate.... Happy Birthday! And here's to many, many more....

-----

Okay-- let's play catch-up.

First, back on Oct. 5, Scott celebrated B-day #29! Here he is, home for the weekend and enjoying a plateful of cupcakes and mini-birthday cakes. And Rebecca's right-- somehow he manages to keep looking younger, even as he gets older.

A couple of weeks later, Erin was home to celebrate birthday #26. Wow! Once again, tiny cakes and squiggly candles. (Am I in a rut? No-- just having fun with a set of mini cake pans that I'd purchased.)

Somewhere in mid-October, a mother squirrel brought her three babies to our yard-- in fact, our back deck-- and left them there to fend for themselves. These were tiny squirrels-- the size of chipmunks, and probably only recently weaned. Squirrels don't normally have litters this late, something we can thank global warming for. Anyway, I knew that these bitty squirrels wouldn't make it through the soon-to-be-freezing winter without some help-- they barely knew how to climb a tree, let alone forage for food in the wet, cold months. So, we filled up a small feeder with corn and sunflower seeds and peanuts, in hopes of helping them fatten up.

Addendum: as of Dec. 19, all three babies are alive and well and are now the size of small squirrels and looking quite healthy. They also are all still hanging around the yard, but that's fine with me.

-----

I continue to be irritated and somewhat nauseous regarding Britney Spears' apparent hold on the American pop psyche. I just don't see it. Whatever she once had-- in terms of a youthful dewiness kind of thing-- has been replaced by a hardened, trailerish, heavy-faced unattractiveness. And she's a bad mother to boot, having committed unpardonable antics in terms of her children. And she pregnant again. AUGH! As if this isn't enough joy, her 16 year old sister has also just turned up pregnant, leaving her parent TV company, Nickelodeon, trying to to clean-up. (And wow-- did Brit and Jamey's mom do a great job of raising them or what?) This all led to the following newspaper headline, which at least made me smile:

Nickelodeon considers Spears pregnancy special

What they meant to say in this headline was that they're considering developing a special program to discuss the delicate issue. But.... Um, people over at Nick.... Who's on proofreading detail?

Just for fun.... (Halloween fun, that is!)

2007-10-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

One-minute compressions of some famous horror flicks:

http://www.amctv.com/videos/monsterfest/
?bcpid=988092858&bclid=1231025209&bctid=1243554670

(long URL split in two: cut and paste into browser window.)

HPY PPY BTHUTHDTH, Erin!

2007-10-22T10:01:00.001-07:00

My baby is 26 years old today! In her honor, a montage is offered. Please pause thoughtfully as you consider the moody stylings of Erin Pesznecker.

Happy birthday, baby....

Happy Birthday, Scott!

2007-10-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, 29 years ago....

(Do I look scarily like Erin in that last picture?)

Happy birthday, Scott boy!

Happy Banned Books Week!

2007-10-04T07:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's Banned Books Week once again, the annual American Library Association's tribute to literary censorship.

Check the link above for all sorts of ways in which you, too, can engage with the task at hand. The very best thing I think you can do? Read the books!

In fact, let's try something for fun. (You like fun, don't you?)

Below is a list of the 100 most "challenged" books between 1990-2000 (from the ALA site). Now, here's what I want you to do.

Make your own copy of the list and paste it into your own Blog. Bold all of the books you've read. Italicize those you started but never finished, either because you lost interest or just didn't like them. Change to bold green font those you fully intend to read at some point.

And by the way-- if you're interested in why Where's Waldo is on the list, look here for a possible answer.

1. Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
2. Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite
3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
4. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
7. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
8. Forever by Judy Blume
9. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
10. Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
11. Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
12. My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
13. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
14. The Giver by Lois Lowry
15. It's Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
16. Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
17. A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
18. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
19. Sex by Madonna
20. Earth's Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
21. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
22. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
23. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
24. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
25. In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
26. The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
27. The Witches by Roald Dahl
28. The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
29. Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
30. The Goats by Brock Cole
31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
32. Blubber by Judy Blume
33. Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
34. Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
35. We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
36. Final Exit by Derek Humphry
37. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
38. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
39. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
40. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
41. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
42. Beloved by Toni Morrison
43. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
44. The Pigman by Paul Zindel
45. Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
46. Deenie by Judy Blume
47. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
48. Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
49. The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
50. Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
51. A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
52. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
53. Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
54. Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
55. Cujo by Stephen King
56. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
57. The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
58. Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
59. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
60. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
61. What's Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
62. Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
63. Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
64. Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
65. Fade by Robert Cormier
66. Guess What? by Mem Fox
67. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
68. The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
69. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
70. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
71. Native Son by Richard Wright
72. Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women's Fantasies by Nancy Friday
73. Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
74. Jack by A.M. Homes
75. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
76. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
77. Carrie by Stephen King
78. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
79. On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
80. Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
81. Family Secrets by Norma Klein
82. Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
83. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
84. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
85. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
86. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
87. Private Parts by Howard Stern
88. Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford
89. Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
90. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
91. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
92. Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
93. Sex Education by Jenny Davis
94. The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
95. Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
96. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
97. View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
98. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
99. The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
100. Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Hunting Week!

2007-10-02T21:30:00.001-07:00

Bill's off hunting on his annual retreat to the southeastern Oregon high desert. There he is at left, at about 5:30 am last Friday, showing off his annual apple cake (which I made). I always have grand plans for enjoying the peace and quiet in his absence, but it's not to be this time. Erin visited last weekend and Scott and Rebecca are coming next weekend. I'm also up to my eyeballs (and then some) in school and worrying about dealing with Mom's car and furniture outside of that. Not exactly restful! However it's always nice to see the kids, and besides, "hunting week" traditionally turns out to be far from the restful oasis I so carefully plan. It's kind of like my own little compressed annual version of Murphy's law.

School is going along fine, and it's been nice to meet my students and to be back in the classroom once again. The research paper writing class is especially interesting so far.... I've also been offered a part time position in Clackamas Community College's Writing Center, which is terrific. That officially means that I have three jobs right now, plus my GSW positions. Woo hoo!

Fall is officially underway, and we're having a lovely, dark, cool siege of rain. This is my favorite season, and I'm happily settled into cozy clothes and turning on the little electric fireplace in my home office-- Ernie used to love curling up in front of it. Bill objects to eating lamb (as a boy working on the Z-X Ranch, he recalls baby lambs cavorting and can't bring himself to eat lamb now; if I order it in a restaurant, he baaaaaahs softly at me throughout the meal). So, I went to Costco Monday and bought a small boneless leg of lamb roast, and roasted it with garlic and rosemary and olive oil. And oh man, is it good. Just another reaffirmation that much as I love eating vegetarian, I am a devout carnivore.

No big plans this week-- student stuff, catching up on paperwork, and the like. Pretty exciting stuff, huh Jan?

School's in!

2007-09-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

College classes started today in Oregon, and today I started my 'career' as a college teacher. Well, actually, I taught a summer class for PSU a couple of months ago, but I was technically still (according to PSU) a GA when I started, so I'm not counting that.

Today, I dressed up all teacherly and loaded my briefcase and drove to the Clackamas Community College campus and parked and found my way to my new office, which I share with a couple of other adjunct teachers. I taught one class (WR 121-- college composition) at 8 am and a second section of the same class at 11:30: 27 and 26 students, respectively.

After class I went by Fred Meyer and bought a couple of new sweaters and two new pairs of shoes. (Have to have real teacher clothes now.) Then I came home, checked my email, and fell asleep on the couch for two hours!

I'll be teaching at CCC M-W-F mornings, and teaching at PSU on T & Th afternoons. I also am teaching an online class at PSU. It'll be a reasonably sane schedule.

Stretching ahead is an evening of lesson plans and student diagnostic essays. It's a good feeling to be back at it.... and really cool to be teaching at CCC, which is where I started taking classes when I returned to college in the fall of 2007. The English faculty at CCC is wonderful and welcoming. I just know this is going to be great!

On the Cusp of the Equinox....

2007-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

It’s been a busy few weeks!

First of all, most of you probably know that I’ve taken the plunge into digital broadband cable for my computer access. Can I afford it? We’ll find out—I was able to get one of those really cheap for six months deals. Along with that comes six months of cheep channel-zilla digital television for the same six-month period. I don’t really have a lot of time to watch TV, but it’ll be nice to have the channels over the holiday period. So far, I haven’t watched much, because by the time I scroll through the channels to see what’s on, I’m out of time! I will confess to some fondness for BBC-America. Fun to watch those potty-mouth Brits, it is.

I also broke down and bought a cell phone. I got a really cheap plan, so don’t send me photos or text messages, as I am unwilling to pay extra to read them. I am still trying to bond with my phone. I think it’s name is Arthur. Why did I get a phone? Now that I’m teaching for two colleges, as a “real” teacher (rather than as a grad student), I need to be able to get messages, call them if I’m stuck in traffic, etc. So, there you go. Will I ever use my phone while driving? Absolutely not. Too dangerous. Not unless it’s a drop dead emergency. Otherwise, we’ll be leaving the phone off when in the car.

Shocker of the week: Skippers (the seafood chain) has gone out of business. I have many fond memories of dinners there with the kids when they were little, including the one memorable night when a teen-aged Scotty ate 11 fish filets and all the trimmings.

I’ve been busy this week getting ready for the start of fall term on Sept. 24 (i.e., in 2 days!). I’m teaching four classes: two at Portland State and two at Clackamas Community College. At PSU, I’m teaching a section of research paper writing and a special critical reading prep class for students taking graduate exams, like the GRE and MCAT. At CCC I’m teaching two sections of freshman composition. Since the most classes I’ve ever taught at one time before is one, the jump to four is a little scary—especially since I’ve had to write all four classes from scratch. This past week I’ve gotten all of my syllabi copied and my lesson plans ready for week one. One of the classes—the test prep class—is online, so I’ve also had to not only create the materials but build the class. They give you an html format, but you have to arrange and edit everything, etc. Kind of scary but I think it’s all working now.

On the 17th, Bill and I drove over to Redmond for the day. Mom is settled into her apartment and doing well. She seems remarkably cheery about it, which makes me wonder if she at least feels a little more secure being in a place that’s easy to navigate and filled with people who can help her get around. Joe’s been hard at work decorating her digs, and it all looks nice.

Mom is still thin, but she looks better than last time I visited. She even posed for the picture below!

Joe's looking much better, too-- it's amazing what getting sleep will do for you! He's busy getting the house ready to be put on the market.

I will soon be busy selling some of the extra furniture, and her VW Touareg. If anyone is interested in a nearly-new 2005 Touareg for $26 K, let me know! *winks*

Oh—one other big piece of news. I paid off my mortgage! Now that I say that, I don’t even remember what day it was, but it was early this month. Or maybe late last month. For such a big moment, it was surprisingly anticlimactic. It’s great timing though, because I have to begin paying back my students loans, so this will be a big help. Especially since I’m a low paid, part-time, adjunct teacher who has to buy her own medical and dental insurance. But, I’m not complaining. The teaching thing is wonderful, and it’s working out even better than I’d hoped. All is good!

Tomorrow is the fall equinox. For us Pagan people, it’s a time of balance, a time to consider what one has harvested in the past year and what one may need to let go of. Important thoughts to ponder as we face the dark sleep and introspection of winter…. Many blessings, everyone! (And don't forget to balance a couple of eggs....)

Mount Rainier Trip; Sept. 14-16, 2007

2007-09-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

This past three-day weekend turned into a lovely getaway to Mount Rainier National Park!

Day 1. We left Portland in the morning and reached the park in mid-afternoon. We stayed at the Gateway Inn, a collection of cabins just outside the Longmire entrance to the Park. JUST outside. Literally. Maybe 50 yards or so away.

In this picture--taken on Day 2-- you can see that the cabins were rustic and very clean. Shiny, even.

The decor was a bit... eclectic. See below image in which, if you're careful, you'll find at least 9 different prints, patterns, or styles of decor. We liked it, though-- it added to the charm, and the price was right.

After we got settled, we did some exploring. Here's a gorgeous waterfall just off the road above Longmire. Note the turquoise color of the water, caused by glacial dust and sediment from the glaciers only a mile or two up the mountain:

We headed up to Paradise, hoping for some incredible views of the mountain. It wasn't long before we go our wish! Some people took this photo of us, just below the Paradise road.

The weather was interesting-- down at our cabins, everything was socked in with fog. But as we drove up the mountain, the fog faded and suddenly Mount Ranier loomed before us, lit up with full sun. Very cool.

Here are some views from our first hike, a 1.6 mile, late afternoon climb to a gorgeous waterfall in the upper meadows, just below the snowfields. Thanks to a long, cool spring and a late summer, many wildflowers were still in bloom. That, combined with the autumn colors of huckleberry, maple, and alder made for gorgeousness at every turn:

Right around the time we reached the terminus of our hike, the fog started rolling up the mountain (figure that one out!) and so we started down. Here I am, with the fog in the background and a series of glaciated peaks and arettes that Bill called 'Mordor.'

Here's a view of the trees through the ascending fog....

On our way off the mountain (I was driving), I screeched to a halt when Bill started yelling about maybe spotting a wolverine. What he saw was even cooler: a fox, splendid in black and grey. The little canine sat and watched us for a moment before taking off. It turns out that this was a red fox, showing a startling variation in color. It's the first fox I've ever seen in the wild-- a wonderful moment!

We had dinner at the really funky diner in Elbe, Washington. The diner is located inside a train dining car, with the bar in an adjacent club car. A string of nearby cabooses are a hotel (called the "Hobo Inn.")

Day Two. We drove toward the east side of the park, stopping to see the mountain's reflection in Reflection Lake. Clever name.

We stopped at several falls and streams. In the image below, you can see that this water appears a milky beige; this is because of glacial "flour" in the water.

We drove all the way east to the Ohanapekosh campground, hoping then to head east and drive up to Sunrise, the northweastern visitor center and the highest drivable place in the park. Alas, the torrential rains and flooding from the fall of 2006 had washed out multiple places in the road-- including one 60-foot stretch that fell away to form an 80-foot deep canyon. Needless to say, we had to turn around. Above you can see Xena (Warrior Car) reentering the park through the southeast gate near Ohanapekosh.

After touring around, we stopped at an amazing hairpin turnout that we'd stopped at several years ago when we visited. Bill brewed up a pot of coffee and got out our camping chairs and I laid out a picnic....

... and we enjoyed lunch from what we believe to be the best view of Mount Ranier in the park! Seriously, there's a sheer mountain on one side, a thousand-foot or so drop into Stevens Canyon on the other, and Mt. Rainier filling the sky. What could be better?

Here's a view, looking at the road on the other side of the canyon, and showing two of the major landslides from the winter before:

(And yes, we drove along that road.... Scary....)

After lunch, we drove back up to Paradise-- once again driving into heavy, wet fog, and then breaking through into sunshine. Bill wanted to do some hard hiking (my knee still isn't 100%), so he took off for a quick sprint up the Glacier Vista Trail, while I walked up Alta Vista about 1/2 mile and took some photos:

As I waited for Bill to return from his hike, the fog once again rolled in.

Below is a shot of the Sun, obscured by waves of fog. (Note: never look through a camera lens at the Sun, or for that matter, straight at the Sun! This was safe only because of the dense fog.)

We splurged on dinner at the Longmire National Park Lodge. It was a wonderful meal.

Day 3. We went back to the Longmire Lodge for a small breakfast, that drove up the old Westside Road-- mostly closed by the floods. I was hoping to see a bear. We didn't find any, but we did see a spotted owl, which is considered an "uncommon to rare" bird sighting in the park. So that was cool. (It happened too fast to get a photo.)

We also stopped to take a couple of pictures of the devastation from the 2006 floods. Much of the park's road system and one entire campground were destroyed. Only the work of dedicated crews and a phenomenal outpouring of volunteer effort has seen the park largely rebuilt.

We left before lunch on Sunday and were home by mid-afternoon. A whirlwind trip, and a good one!

A Day in the Gorge

2007-09-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Today-- Sept. 9-- Bill, Erin, Scott, Rebecca, and I headed off the the Columbia River Gorge for some sightseeing. The kids were in town for the weekend. It was a sunny, mild day-- perfect for a gorge trip. Although, as we all agreed, there's no such thing as a bad day in the gorge!

Here are the Pookies (with moose) at Women's Forum State Park:

The view from Crown Point. It was very windy-- 30 mph+ winds with higher gusts. Hard to hang onto hats, sunglasses, etc. This picture shows the view looking east down the Columbia River-- the paleness in the river bed is a sand bar. I have never seen the river this low, with so much sandy river bottom exposed.

Latourell Falls:

Erin and Scott wave from the Shepherd's Dell overlook:

Multnomah Falls, the second-highest continuously-flowing waterfalls in the U.S.:

A final stop at Oneonta Gorge, to check the latest work on the reopening of the Oneonta Tunnel blasted through the rock. Once home to automobiles, it's scheduled to reopen in the spring of 2008 as a hiker-biker path.

Last but not least, check this wildlife video:

It's alive!

2007-09-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to update this blog for a long, long time. My daughter, Erin, is visiting, and today she said that she looked at my blog every day, and was sad to see it not updated.

The guilt trip worked. Here I am! I'm going to give a quick update, and hopefully then get back on track with keeping the blog up and running.

So, on July 21, I spent the entire day reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It arrived via USPS that morning; I read through the day, taking breaks now and then, and finished aorund 11:00 pm. As best I can recall, this is the only time in my life I've ever read a book start-to-finish in a single day. And a 759 page book at that!

As you may recall, the reason I did this was that I was one of the winners of the Portland Oregonian's HP #7 review contest. I had to turn in my review on Wednesday morning, so wanted to get the reading done as fast as I could. It was a great book, and a good experience. Go here to read my review. (Note: the reviews were limited to 300 words, and we weren't allowed to give any key plot points or spoilers. Note also that in its on-line format, the intro and reviews take 8 pages; mine is the last one, and you might want to read the book editor's into on page 1, as well as the other reviews. Fun stuff!)

I taught a summer class from the middle of July to the middle of August-- one of those 4-week kamikaze college composition courses that runs Monday through Thursday for 3 hours each day. Class started at 8 am! We all slogged through, and had a pretty good time in the end. Check the class blog if you're interested; our theme was "travel," and the students posted some pretty interesting images.

On August 2-5, Aaran (Grey School) and I drove up to Lewis and Clark State Park (Washington, near Mt. St. Helens) for the Grey School's Washington Conclave. The weather was lovely and we had a fine time with our wizardly friends! High points included a session on the magick of chocolate, by Kalla, and some incredible energy sessions with Flamekeeper.

Camping among old-growth cedar:

Magick trees....

Hikers:

Lunaris and a BIG tree:

Campfire magick....

the group:

Last year I planted a container "fire garden" on my deck-- one of the requirements for a Grey School class on elemental gardening. This year it resurrected itself! Every plant-- even the annuals-- came back, having overwintered successfully. (Global warming, anyone?) See below:

As if one Conclave wasn't enough, Aaran and I also took in the California Conclave in mid-August. Held at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, this event also featured our very own GSW Headmaster, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Once again we lucked out with the weather, and camping amongst the ancient trees was incredible.

Below: the Pacific Ocean, just north of Crescent City, CA.

The redwoods!

Making runes (Aaran, Treeotter, and Oberon):

A hike through the "Founders Grove." A dozen of us were inside of a hollow tree, with room for more!

Preparing for ritual:

Oberon directs the campfire (and the fire itself!):

Oberon and I:

The group:

August 23: I officially began my Practicum in Wortcunning in the Grey School. Check my Wortwritings blog to follow my progress. This is my final step in earning a Journeyman's certificate from the GSW. It should take me 2-4 months.

On August 25, we visited Mom at her new digs, Cougar Springs Assisted Living in Redmond, OR. Here are a couple pictures of Mom's new apartment and of her caregiver, Maria.

August 28: A total lunar eclipse, visible start-to-finish on the west coast. I got up at 2 am to watch and stayed up the rest of the night. It was spectacular!

Here's the moon entering totality:

During totality-- blood red!

Emerging from Earth's shadow....

That's it for now, but I'll write more soon. I promise to be a better blogger!

Shhh.....

2007-07-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows....

shhhhh......

Susan C. Pesznecker, M.A. in Writing

2007-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

It's true: after two years of hard work, I've finished my Masters degree in nonfiction writing!

Commencement was today-- June 16, 2007--at Portland's Rose Garden Arena. Almost 2000 students took part, and the Arena was almost completely filled.

Here are Erin and I getting ready in the morning:

Here are Bill and I outside the house at about 8:15 am, getting ready to leave:

And here's the kids.... (l-r: Erin Rebecca)

Inside the Arena:

After the Event:

Presents! Lots of goodies, including an ivory salmon necklace from Bill, a beautiful basket with hand-written quotes from Erin, a beautiful blue moonstone ring from Scott, and a hanging planter filled with stonecrop (note: Grey School "Stones Lodge inside joke") from Rebecca.

Dinner at the outback Steak House. Here we are, making a toast:

And here we are, having trouble making it to the car.

A lovely day! It's been quite a journey:

Sunset High School: 1972
Linfield School of Nursing, 1975: R.N. (Honors)
Clackamas Community College, 2003: A.A. (English; Honors)
Portland State University, 2005: B.A. (English; Summa Cum Laude)
Portland State University, 2007; M.A. (Writing; Phi Kappa Phi national scholastic honorary)

Now I can officially sign myself as Susan C. Pesznecker, R.N., M.A.!

An Elegy for Ernie; January 8, 1989- May 2, 2007

2007-05-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our sweet poodle passed into the poodle Summerlands on May 2, 2007 at about 6:20 pm. He died at home, with the loving help of his vet, Dr. Stemper; one of her helpers, Donna; and yours truly, a.k.a., Mommy. His passing was completely peaceful, and although it comes with much sadness, there is joy in knowing that this was the right time, and that he’s now gone on to something much better.

After a long, joyful, and enthusiastic life, Ernie’s body finally begin to realize its age. Plagued by failing vision and hearing and by increasingly severe arthritis, we all knew that it was time for him to take the grand vacation. Right up until the end, he tried bravely to enjoy his life, playing and wagging his tail a little bit every day and being cheerful and good natured. In the week before his death, I was able to spend a lot of quality time with him, curled up on the couch and just hanging out together.

Ernie was a good dog. He wagged politely at company, loved to be outside with me in the garden, and kept the yard cat-free.

Ernie was a devoted family member. He always knew when to expect the kids or Bill or I home from work, and would wait happily for us to arrive. On his last night—May 1—he was at the top of the stairs waiting for Bill when he arrived home.

Ernie was handsome. He was always strong and slender. As a young dog, he had sleek, bluish-black glossy wool and clear eyes. As he aged, his wool took on more of a charcoal tinge and grew thin, and his eyes clouded with cataracts. Toward the end, he lost the hair off of his ears and most of the hair from his back. Thanks to his arthritic back, he began to resemble a small black camel (thankfully, his discomfort was controlled with medication). To us, he was still gorgeous.

Ernie was an athlete. In his prime, he ran so fast that only a black streak remained behind. He could jump high enough to have his choice of anything on the kitchen counter.

Ernie was a nurse. When anyone in the house was sick, had surgery, etc., he would curl up next to them and rest quietly, as if lending comfort. When I went through years of near-deafness after my ear surgeries, he somehow understood and made himself into a hearing ear” dog, coming to the back of the house to get me whenever the phone or doorbell rang or a timer went off.

Ernie was very brave. Once when we were camping, he treed a bear that had come up behind Erin. He may have saved her life. On another instance, he shredded the hand of someone he believed was attempting to break into the house. (It turned out to be an unannounced contractor, but he was a good sport about it, after we paid the emergency room fees to have his hand and arm sewed up!)

Ernie was my devoted companion. With the exception of my family and a few friends, there aren’t many people I’ve known as long as Ernie. We saw each other almost every day—with only a few breaks—for more than 18 years. He slept in his little dog bed in a corner of my room every night. I’ve been in school for the last five years; in the evenings, when I studied, Ernie would settle into his little dog bed and keep me company in my home office. (This got even toastier after Bill bought me a small electric “fireplace” for the office—Ernie adored it.)

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I will miss this dear little animal. It is incredible, the bond that can form between human and dog. It’s been not quite 24 hours since he died, and the house feels soulfully empty. I know that the mourning will lessen with time, but right now, I’m just plain sad. Still, I know it was the right time to help Ernie cross over, and Ernie’s beloved doctor agreed. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and yet I am glad that we could do this final thing for him. As he died, there were three of us there, talking gently and stroking him, and telling him what a good dog he was. He didn’t struggle—simply lay peacefully there in his little bed and slipped away.

Ernie died on a full Moon day and one of storms: thunder, lightening, rain, and hail. Right around the time of his death, the sun came out. Shortly after, a glorious rainbow filled the sky above Milwaukie.

Ernest, you were such a good dog. I love you….Thank you for making my life so full.

Zub zub, Ernest.

As a special tribute to a wonderful poodle, see a rerun of his “Flying Dog piece, below.

Dogs Who Fly (and the people who love them)

2007-05-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

This morning, in those bleary moments of first-wake, sounds of the sleepy neighborhood seeping through the bedroom window, it suddenly occurred to me that Ernie had once again resumed efforts at learning to fly.

Ernie’s attempts at flight go way back. As a pup, he once launched himself from our 12-foot backyard deck, managing several seconds of flight before hitting the ground, unscathed.

He likewise made practice jumps from furniture, stairs, the front porch, and even from people’s arms, each time seeking the exhilaration of foiling gravity and soaring into the sky. It’s a noble calling, and one that many have pursued, both as hobby and avocation. The lore* of Poodle Flight is strong—some simply can’t escape its pull.

*For example, see: Collins, Roland, photographs by W. Suschitzky, The Flying Poodle (London: Harvill Press, undated, probably 1950's; might be pre-war), approx. 32 pp. Poodle named Mandy who talks to goldfish, misses Christina, a kitten friend. Or, the 'flying poodles' scene in UHF. A persistent Hollywood rumor suggests that the flying monkeys of The Wizard of Oz were almost replaced with poodles in the film version. Also, for historical completeness, don't neglect the stories of Snoopy and his Sopwith Camel, which have given inspiration and impetus to dog-fliers everywhere.

But as we know, gravity inevitably wins, and for a while Ernie seemed to internalize this lesson and turn back to earthly pastimes, keeping all four feet securely on the ground. This was especially true in the last year or two, as his eyesight failed and the infirmities of age began to settle in.

Things changed a couple of weeks ago. One night after I’d come home from school, Ernie followed me down the front porch, stopped midway, and then suddenly gathered up and launched himself into the black night. The landing didn’t go well. He crashed on the concrete walkway three feet below, limping and yelping with lip bloodied. The next morning he was good as new, but the incident made me wonder whether he’d finally give up and turn in his wings.

But a couple of days later, he tried again—this time launching himself off the corner of the bed. Alas, he hit the wall. The bedroom wall. And then sort of slid to the floor as if in one of those Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons.

He’s been quiet since, rethinking the situation. It’s a hard thing to readjust one’s dreams in the face of reality. But given his advanced age (going on 18) and poor eyesight, it may be time to leave the pursuit of flight to the younger poodles. That doesn’t mean he won’t still dream about it. Yesterday I caught him deep in a doggie dream that had him whining softly, all four paws stirring the air and his tail ruddering behind, no doubt steering him through the clouds.

I'm still here....

2007-04-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

Are you all passed out now, seeing me post?

WAKE UP!

There.

Truly, I look forward to the time when I once again have a nice, normally busy life. The last five years have been anything but. Thought I'd try to catch up, anyhoo (yes, I meant to write "hoo").

So, the last time I wrote a real post was almost two months ago. Yikes.

Let's start with Mom. I get over to see her every couple of weeks. She and Joe have settled into a reasonable routine. They have a nice woman (from one of the local caregiver agencies) who comes over every day for about 4 hours to help Mom shower, dress, and just hang out. her name is Maria and Mom and Joe seem to love her, which is great. As for Mom, last time I was over I was surprised at how much 'brighter' she seemed. Her walking is improving, although she still needs a great deal of assistance. For the most part, she mostly only walks when a therapist is helping her; Joe and Maria help her a bit, but worry about her falling. Not much change with her right arm/hand, or her speech. The physical therapist comes a couple of times each week. The speech therapists gave up because (a) Mom wasn't making any progress, and (b) Mom was not cooperative. Ahem.

I'm going over there next week-- will report then.

Latest very cool finding: LibraryThing. Catalog your books online. The first 100 entries are completely free-- after that there's a $25 lifetime fee. Check it out.

Gargoyles is out, and doing well. At right is a picture taken from Erin, Bill's and my visit to our local Barnes & Noble, where we found it on the shelves.

Oops, wrong book. Below is the real book. Ahem. And go here to see my Library of Congress listing, which is the coolest part of the whole thing.

On March 10, I was invited to attend a blessings ceremony in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Celilo Falls. The invitation came round-about from the Celilo essay I published a year ago. It was an amazing day-- sunny and warm. Bill came, too. Native American Elders from all of the Columbia plateau tribes led us in procession to a speaking area at the water's edge. Each tribe spoke, and led blessings. It was incredibly moving, and even more so to sit next to what was once a roaring waterfall and find it now a placid piece of lake. A salmon and frybread reception took place after the event. Yum!

School is very busy. Last term I taught a creative nonfiction class, which was a lot of fun. I had 20 students and they all worked really hard. This term I have a class of 38 (gulp) students in literary fiction. A little trickier, and lots more grading, but going fine, too.

Latest films seen (over the past 2-3 months; gotta love Netflix. I tend to watch these 15 minutes at a time, when eating, or drying my hair, etc.):

Eragon: Pretty to watch, standard heroic quest plot; definitely weak when compared to any similar films, but fun to watch. Loved the dragon. (2.5 out of 5 stars)

United 93: WATCH THIS FILM. Absolutely incredible. I can't do it justice with even a mini-review. Just go rent it. Now. (5+++ stars)

The Departed: Best picture winner and director this year, and I see why. Dark, a little artsy, violent, and what a cast! (5 stars)

Shut Up & Sing: Dixie Chicks retrospective/documentary. The filmmakers have set up a great little piece that shows beautifully how everything the Chicks said was right, while everything Bush and Bush supporters said was, well... you know. (4 stars)

Little Miss Sunshine: Weird, funny, great acting. One of the strangest ensemble casts you'll ever see. (4 stars)

The Devil Wears Prada: Meryl Streep is my hero! Nothing hugely special about this film, but it was a fun chick flick. (3 stars, 5 for Meryl)

Batman Begins: Cool! Nice creation of the "how did Batman get started" thing. Great sets. Love the Newsies boy. (4 stars)

Jesus Camp: TERRIFYING. Another one that I'm asking you to rent and watch. The Army of Jesus is being trained up, as we speak. (5 stars)

Quinceñera: Great film, set in east LA, about a young Hispanic girl approaching her 15th birthday, which is the time for the big coming of age celebration/pageant/party known as the
Quinceñera (which is pretty interesting in itself). The fact that she happens to be pregant and is thrown out of the house by her preacher father adds some, um.... conflict to the plot. (4 stars)

Thank You for Smoking: A filmic lampoon of both the cigarette and lobbyist industries. Aaron Eckhart (dazzling in the older film, In the Company of Men-- another must-see) was chilling in this, playing the lobbyist-conman to the hilt. (4 stars)

New TV addiction (which is rare, for me): The Riches. An awesome show-- Monday nights on FX. I figured that with my possible Eastern European "gypsy" heritage, a show about Irish Travellers would have to be pretty interesting. This is a darkly comedic drama in which a family of Travellers assume the identities of a very rich (and very dead) upper class couple, while simultaneously being pursued by rogue elements from their own Traveller's band. The writing and acting are incredible.

I'm also still working as coordinator of the graduate writing association-- WEGO. Look here for our blog. We just finished a "Call for Papers" and now we're ramping up for our springtime reading. We're in the process of hiring next year's coordinator

My knee is better. I finally had to have a big honking cortisone shot into it, which supposedly interrupted the inflammatory cycle. I think it worked, because it's almost pain-free now.

Spring break at the end of March was quiet. I spent lots of it working on my thesis and Bill and I managed a "Gorge Day." Below are a couple of images looking across to Cape Horn.

And here are a couple of shots showing the latest progress on reopening the tunnel at Oneonta Gorge.

It had been warm and rainy for the last week-- the falls were HUGE. Horsetail Falls was so monstrous that it was splashing water all over the road. You literally would have been killed if you went swimming that day. I got some good photos, although it was so misty, my camera lens kept getting all wet and soaked.

I am in final grad school mode. I'm taking 10 credits this term: a 4C class on Romanticism (my last requirement for my MA in English) and a 4C master class with the writer Charles D'Ambrosio, plus my 1C teaching College Comp class and a 1C thesis credit.

My thesis is due next Wednesday, April 15. The oral defense is set for May 10. AUGH! No stress here....

My current book-- Writing Down the Moon-- is going well. I'm using the first half for my thesis. The whole manuscript is due to Llewellyn by June 30, which'll be just before I go to Skidmore (see below).

GRADUATION is June 16. I plan to be in the ceremony, and I'm hoping a few of the local family members will be able to come down (hint! hint!).

I had some really awesome news a month or so ago. I am one of 9 college students nationwide to win a full scholarship to the New York Summer Writer's Workshop at Skidmore College. It's the first two weeks in July-- I cannot wait! I'll be studying creative nonfiction writing with some of the biggest names in the craft. It'll be like a post graduation vacation. Lots of work, too. I hope to take the weekend in the middle to go into New York City!

The Grey School is busy, as always. Lots to do there during the summer-- for now, my student work and any writing of new classes have been set aside while mundane school occupies my time.

And, there's Ernie. He's thin, and achy, and old. Very old. He's lost all of the hair from his ears.

His doctor was called away this week with her own family emergency, but next week, when she's back, she will be paying us a house call, and the wee dog will go on vacation. It's time. For now, we hug him a lot, and give him lots of good food, and use the SpotBot on the occasional indiscretions. We're essentially doing dog hospice care. It's going to be hard to lose him, but it is time. He's still pretty dang cute, though.

2007-03-17T07:33:00.000-07:00

From The Onion

Area Pagan Dreading Big Family Vernal Equinox Celebration

March 12, 2007 | Issue 43•11

MEDFORD, OR—Despite evidence that the planets are aligned in his favor, local pagan Jeff Birch, 27, said Monday that he would "rather have a peaceful weekend at home" than attend his family's Vernal Equinox celebration on March 21.

"I realize it's supposed to be a festive time of conception and new growth in the womb of Mother Earth and all," Birch said. "But I just know that within an hour of arriving, things will get so bad that I'll be reverting to my 12-year-old self, hiding in the rec room downstairs, wearing my Iroquois false face mask and fingering my runes for comfort. It's not worth it."

Enlarge Image

The Birches try to have a "nice, sacrificial meal."

"Anyway, wasn't I just back home for Mabon?" Birch added.

Most pagans look forward to marking the Vernal Equinox, when the hours of sunlight equal the hours of darkness. Yet for some, like Birch, this sacred springtime celebration of balance and harmony means contending with family infighting and undue stress.

"Talking to Mom the other day, it was the same old manipulative 'You're coming home, right?'" said Birch, referring to a recent phone conversation with his mother, Freyja Birch. "If I hesitate for even a second, she piles on the guilt—like how this may be the last year Nana Hippolyta can perform the garden fertility ritual, or that without my masculine energy, the yin-and-yang balance will be thrown off—until I finally give in."

"But I don't want to have to use up my vacation time and travel almost 300 miles to Portland just to listen to Grandma Moon Odin Rhiannon complain during the sunrise ritual that Mom's not putting enough rose petals in the cauldron or is letting the bonfire get too low," Birch continued. "That will just set Mom off bitching at Grandma for constantly trying to undermine her spiritual relationship with the Pagan Goddess of Dawn and then no one will speak to each other until nightfall."

Birch said he has little sympathy for his perfectionist mother, who reportedly tries to do too much and invites too many people. He says she is known to spend countless hours weaving thistle wreaths and sun-drying her own currants for hot cross buns in preparation for the Equinox. "It's hard to feel sorry for her when things don't go exactly according to her elaborate, impossible plans," Birch said. "And she knows better than to invite Aunt Isolde, who always has too much mulled mead and starts moaning about the lack of a good high priest in her life."

Besides the usual maiden-mother-crone conflicts, the strained relationship between Birch's sister, Pythia, who recently converted to Wicca, and his father, a devout Dionysian, is another source of tension, according to Birch. "Last year, Pythia brought her covenmate home, and Dad's still having a hard time with it," Birch said. "It's obvious that he doesn't approve of her lifestyle. He's always asking her why doesn't she find a nice warlock to settle down with, or telling her maybe what she really needs is a good old-fashioned bacchanalia. Are other pagan families like this?"

Pythia isn't the first family member to stray from the fold. Fifteen years ago, Birch's uncle Jack married a Presbyterian and has raised two children in the faith. While he is still included in family celebrations, his eccentric monotheism is the source of much awkwardness, Birch said. Two years ago, the black-sheep uncle almost didn't get invited back.

"Having a celestial deity worshipper in our home angered the Goddess Eostre and she punished us with an April freeze," Birch said. "My mom was barely able to salvage her herb garden."

Of all the unpleasant experiences, however, Birch said he dreads the "inevitable" questions about his love life most. "My folks can't wrap their heads around the idea that a man in his late twenties isn't handfasted yet and is okay with it," Birch said. "There's always some new Church of the Sacred Pentacle virgin or a cute single witch from the last Full Moon ritual who they just have to set me up with."

While he treasures happy memories of Vernal Equinoxes from his childhood, Birch said he comes away from today's holidays a few pounds heavier from the rich holiday food, several hundred dollars in debt from buying gifts "that will probably just get returned or regifted at Samhain anyway," and reeling from a fresh family conflict bound to last for months or years.

"I just have to learn how to say no," Birch said. "Maybe I'll skip Beltane this year. I want to lose some weight and work on my six-pack before Summer Solstice."

2007-03-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. I haven't blogged much lately, but one thing I can and will do with my blog is to do my part in spreading horrors such as this. I've loathed Ann Coulter for a long time-- now I'm gratified that other people can come to share my revulsion. This story is from the AP wire.

-----

From the weekend: Uproar over Coulter

Not many stories from the weekend are getting more attention than the offensive slur that conservative commentator Ann Coulter aimed at Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

Candidates from both major parties and bloggers of all political persuasions are condemning Coulter and her choice of words. (File photo of Coulter by Jim Cooper of the AP.)

In case you're just catching up on this, here's what Coulter said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference:

"I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I -- so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

She later told The New York Times that "c'mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean."

Among the reactions:

• "Ann Coulter brought hate speech to a new low," said the Edwards campaign, which launched a "Coulter cash" fund-raising effort "to fight back against the politics of bigotry."

• "The comments were completely inappropriate and there should be no place for such name-calling in political debate," said Republican presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.

• "When Coulter employed the f-word to abuse a candidate, she made herself radioactive because the word is a simply invitation to hate. It was repulsive," wrote Hugh Hewitt at the conservative Townhall.com Blog. "I cannot imagine Coulter being invited to any panel or television appearance on which I would want to appear. Colleges and universities must also stop inviting her to appear as a representative of the conservative movement in America. She is not."

• "She's a bully, has been for years, and is egged-on in her bullydom because her shtick appeals to a certain element in American conservatism," said Nancy Scola at the liberal MyDD.

• "Bottom line: Coulter's remark was indefensible," wrote conservative Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters. "She had the right to say it, but that doesn't make her right for saying it, and she deserves every bit of criticism she's getting."

Coulter does have a defender or two:

• "So the liberals are upset with Ann -- how come I could care less? I will tell you in a few words. Because they take the truth and twist it and lie," wrote conservative Layla Gonzalez at The HILL Chronicles.

• "She's a bomb-thrower and a loose cannon, but I'm inclusive enough, I believe in diversity enough, that I can accept her for who and what she is and value her uniqueness and her contribution to our political world," said Jay Tea at the conservative Wizbang. "I just wouldn't want to EVER see her with any kind of real power."

Whew-- catching up!

2007-02-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad, bad blogger. Mea culpa. Or mea blogga. Or whatever.

Let's see-- the last time I really wrote was on Jan. 16. We'd had a glorious snow day-- 5-6" of snow, ultimately, that managed to shut Portland down for a couple of days. Great fun while it lasted.

On Jan. 29, I came home from school to find a cardboard box on the porch.

I opened it to find....

My book! Gargoyles! The publisher sent me 50 advance copies-- I guess for sending out to reviewers, etc. The book wasn't due for official release until Feb. 15, so this was quite a surprise! I have to admit, it's pretty cool to actually hold in your hands a book that you wrote.

Feb. 3-- I celebrated Imbolc with a couple of Grey School friends. We did a very simple firelighting ceremony and then made Brighid's crosses. Go here to see photos. The crosses came out really nice.

Feb. 15-- Gargoyles officially hit the shelves. Bill and I actually went downtown to Powells to see if we could find it on the shelves. And we did! Bill took pictures of me pointing to the book-- I'd post them here, but they're still stuck on his camera. (Soon....)

And yes, I will make royalties from book sales, so buy copies for your friends, please. (My publicist tells me that, as an author, I must become comfortable with shameless self promotion.)

School is fine. Busy. I'm teaching a class in creative nonfiction, which is going well. And trying to get my second book written-- it must be finished by mid-April. I'm on schedule to finish my first MA (writing) this spring, and the second MA (English lit) next fall. Keep fingers tightly crossed. Magickal efforts also appreciated.

I'm also still working as coordinator of the graduate writing association-- WEGO. Look here to see the blog/listings I'm responsible for. Lots of good stuff there, if you're a writer-- feel free to grab onto anything that looks interesting.

I'm also trying to keep track of Mom. She's hit a plateau, recovery-wise, and Joe and I are trying to puzzle out what would be the best next step. She is home with Joe right now. I send out an every-so-often email update about her. If you want to be on the list, email me at 7dotmoon@teleport.com.

The picture at the top was taken a week ago as Bill and I drove home from a visit to Mom; the picture is from the high desert, just southeast of Maupin, about 15 minutes before sunset. It was gorgeous.

My knee is recovering slowly. I'm still going to PT every week or so. Funny how recovery slows down as you get a little older. *frown*

Wish I had something more exciting to say, but that's about it for now.

2007-02-03T09:28:00.001-08:00

Harry Potter has, um.... grown up!

2007-01-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

Enjoy these images of Dan Radcliffe, opening in a London stage production of Equus. Yes, as you've probably heard, he appears in the buff. But his acting, for the record, is getting rave reviews. More info (and images) at the Leaky Cauldron site.

Cause it's Christmas, all over.... again!

2007-01-16T17:58:00.000-08:00

Here, albeit a little late, is a final holiday tribute.... This time to "Yule #3," which was held on Jan. 4, with Katie, Scott, Erin, Rebecca, John, Bill, and I, in various combinations. Honest, I can non longer remember who was here, or when.

Here's the kids in Seatlle, before they came south. Rock star picture.

Here's the tree, ready for its third round of gifts.

Uh, I don't know how to caption this.

Or this.

Katie and John.

Working on the latest Gammie gift.

John, knitting?

New scarves!

The boys....

Mr. Horse!

Valbo and the kids....

Still life, bathroom, c. 2007. Note cold medicine, aspirin, and hand sanitizer. Yes, everyone was sick.

The boys again.

Rock star family. (Even the poodle.... Rebecca is taking the photo.)

And an early dust of snow....

Finally-- the holidays are over.... It was fun while it lasted!

SNOW DAY-- and a SNOW NIGHT!

2007-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Earlier this morning....

And now....

4 inches by 11 am-- Portland State closed!

The poor barbecue is probably hoping for a better gig....

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

Catching up on December

2006-12-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

(Can you find the Pookie Moose in the above photo?)

November ended as the wettest one ever in Orgeon's recorded weather history. Ernie just wasn't impressed at all.

Dec. 1 brought a new visitor to our yard: a gorgeous, huge red-tailed hawk, who took to sitting on the power lines and perusing our back-yard feeders as if they were an all-you-can-eat hawk smorgasbord. Now, I’m all about nature and food chain and all that…. I just don’t want to see carnage in my own back yard. He’s a beauty, though.

Early December kicked off with fall term Dead Week and Finals Week. Here I am (right) in a classic overworked grad student pose. The rest of the desk looks pretty much like the corner. Final exams went fine, thank Goddess. The gpa is intact. No pressure.

Dec. 7: Having turned in my last piece of finals work, I drove to Eagle Crest for the day. Took cookies and some other goodies to Mom and Joe. The drive over was a little scary, thanks to some ice and snow atop Mt. Hood. But I arrived at the Redmond Health Care Center to find out that Mom had just walked 30 feet by herself, using a walker-cane thingie. Wow! I then got to watch her PT, and was there to watch her move her fingers for the first time (!), curling them into a fist. Pretty amazing. Before leaving, I strung colored holiday lights around her room—a bit of holiday cheer.

Dec. 8: Visit with my orthopedist, Dr. Colorito. The MRI showed suspected bilateral tears--i.e., of both medial and lateral meniscus cartilages in the right knee. I was put on the surgery schedule for Dec. 15. (Dr. Colorito is a sports medicine specialist—did I mention that he also played for the Denver Broncos? It makes sense when you know that, because he is a huge man—probably 6’5” or 6’6” and massively built.)

Dec. 9: Valbo and I (right) had our annual Hoska-thon. Scroll down to the Dec. 17 entry for details.

Dec. 10: Party at Scott K’s in Vancouver. In attendance—the first and second year GAs and their families. Hildy, too. It was a lot of fun—a great post-finals kick-off to the holiday season.

Dec. 12: I went in to Emanuel Hospital to have preop bloodwork and an EKG, the latter mandated by the fact that I’m now in the over-50 group. All seemed well, until the EKG tech looked at me and said, “You’re a nurse, right?” I nodded. “Then you might want to know about this.” She showed me the instant computer reading of the EKG trace. “ABNORMAL EKG. CANNOT RULE OUT ANTERIOR WALL MI.”

For those who don’t know, an ‘MI’ (myocardial infarction) is another word for heart attack. Every so often, an EKG picks up a silent MI—an MI that occurred without symptoms.

I freaked, of course. Could I have had a silent MI? Could that, rather than the stresses inspired by school and Mom and never enough sleep, explain why I was always so tired? I drove home, my life passing before my eyes in steps, thinking, “This is what I’ll do if….”

Dec. 13: Saw Dr. Colorito again for a pre-op visit. I told him about the EKG and he chuckled. (Chuckled!) “Not to worry,” he said. Apparently the computer reading is often (make that 'usually') wrong. Twenty-four hours of worry for nothing. My heart was completely normal. While it was a HUGE relief, I can’t tell you how angry I was at the tech who dared give me that information. Shame on her.

Dec. 14: My first-born, Katie Marie Pesznecker, was born 30 years ago today. I can’t even believe that! We talked on the phone (I’d already sent my gifts to her in Alaska). I don’t have a birthday photo of her, but below is a 4-generation picture taken on her first birthday: Dec. 14, 1977. Katie was 1, I was 23, GG was 77, and Mom was 47. Isn’t Katie adorable? (*waves to Katie*)

Dec. 15: Knee surgery. Scroll down to Dec. 15 and 16 entries for a couple of photos.

Dec. 21: The Winter Solstice—“Yule,” in Pagan-dom—fell at 4:22 pm Pacific time. I watched the sun set and celebrated quietly with an in-house ritual of candles and light.

Dec. 22: Did the holiday grocery shopping. When I arrived back home, I found the galley proofs of my Gargoyles book waiting on the doorstep! The proofed galleys are due back to the publisher by Jan. 8. Publication is set for February. Go here to pre-order!

Dec. 24: Scott, Erin, and Rebecca arrived in the wee hours of the morning. While everyone else slept in, I got up in the early darkness to greet the day and to snag some good photos of the tree, the lights, and the little village.

Dec. 24 was our family Christmas/Yule. We had a late breakfast (featuring a massive loaf of hoska), opened gifts, and feasted on prime rib for dinner.

After dinner, the kids went out with friends, and Bill and I went to bed. I was exhausted and after two days of being “holiday Mom,” the knee was throbbing. But it was a good kind of pain.

Dec. 25: Bill left in the morning to take in holidays with his family members. The kids and I made cookies and hung out until around 3 pm, when they headed back to Seattle. I was sad to see them go, but unfortunately they had to work the next day. So much for a long, relaxed vacation.

Rock star photo:

Dec. 26: Bill and I drove to Eagle Crest (Redmond) to see Mom and Joe. Joe fetched Mom from “The Home,” and we had a lovely day opening gifts and enjoying yet another prime rib. For those who don’t know, this kind of major beef eating is a once-a-year occurrence, and having prime rib twice in two days was quite extraordinary! I cooked the roast really rare. Bill kept threatening to get a gun and put the roast out of its misery. Mom loved it, and scarfed a whole plateful of blood-rare meat. Bwahahaha….

Joe had their house fixed up really cute. And Mom really got into the Groucho glasses (thanks, Rebecca!).

Dec. 27: Today I went to my third PT appointment, plus I visited the doctor for my post-knee follow-up. The PT is going very well and the ortho was so happy with my progress, he said I didn’t need to see him again. Yowza!

He also gave me copies of the photos from my arthroscopy. In the upper left panel, the shreddy-looking stuff is debris and “bone tatters” from the underside of my kneecap, and the metal thing in the right of the photo is a little bone-shaver that they used to trim away all the debris. In the upper right photo is a really cool (I think it is, but I’m a nurse, so sue me…) picture of my torn lateral meniscus cartilage. While it’s icky to know that the cartilage was torn, it’s good to know that there was something wrong and that the surgery was worthwhile. Dr. Colorito said I wouldn’t have been able to manage without the operation. There would have been progressive pain and immobility. So, I guess it was worth it.

Still to come.... Dec. 28-31. More PT, housework, and hoped-for progress on my second book, Writing Down the Moon. Also a quiet New year's celebration here with Bill. On Jan. 1, Katie and John arrive! John will be here for almost a week, Katie for two weeks. Can't wait!

Annual Hoska-thon

2006-12-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

Dec . 9, 2006. An all-day hoska-baking session with my dear friend, Valerie.

Valbo arrives!

Before coffee....

Measuring, scalding the milk, melting the butter....

The bread bowl goes back for at least four generations in my maternal family.

Behold, the miracle and magick of the yeast!

After coffee.... (Maybe coffee is to tired women as yeast is to deflated bread dough?)

Adding flour....

Ernie seemed unimpressed. But can this position really be comfortable?

Eggnog-- nothing like a bit of energy mid-way!

After a lot of kneading, the first batch of dough was ready to rise. We used my office as our rising room, thanks to the toasty wee electric 'fireplace' in the corner.

During the first rising, we dashed to Albertsons for eggs and a couple of extra lemons-- a quick jaunt. Little did we know it would be the first of three store trips we'd make that day.

By the time we put the dough down for a second rising, we'd realized that we didn't have any candied pineapple. Horrors! This time, we headed to Sheridan . Could we have gotten away without using pineapple to decorate the loaves? Nope. Mom would have noticed. It was fun, though. Sheridan is this really amazing greengrocer on Portland's industrial east side. Lots of wonderful produce, artisan cheeses, imports, good wine, etc.

On the way home, we picked up a Papa Murphy's pizza for lunch.

The risen dough was punched down and shaped into loaves. You start with "ropes," and braid these to form the main loaf. Smaller braids top the larger ones.

The loaves are decorated with nuts and fruit, brushed with an egg wash, and sprinkled with poppyseed.

Pizza break.... Funny that Ernie work up right about then.

We made four batches, so repeated the whole process four times!

When the loaves came out, they got a nice brush with melted butter and a rest under a clean towel.

We had to return to the store for a third time, when we realized we needed plastic bags and a couple of other things. By then it was very dark outside.

Those of you who know me won't be surprised at all by knowing that I always put up holiday lights inside of 'Xena, Warrior Car.'

Here are some of the fnished loaves-- we made 4 batches, or 16 loaves.

And of course we had to have a sample.

Valerie's Bill brought Thai take-out. My Bill poured eggnog all around.

Bye, Valbo. See you next year....

For those of you who survived this photo essay and might be interested, here's the recipe.

Hoska

2 C. milk
1/2 C. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated fresh lemon zest (peel)
1/2 tsp. mace
1/2 C. warm water (110-115°)
2 packages fresh dry yeast
1/2 C. unsalted butter
1/2 C. cold water
4 eggs, well beaten (reserve 1 T. for glaze)
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 C. raisins and currants
1 C. chopped, peeled almonds
10+ C. flour (all-purpose, bread flour, or a combination of both)
Candied pineapple (green) and candied cherries (green and red), for garnish
Whole almonds, peels removed, for garnish
Poppy seed, for garnish

Scald the milk. (Do this first and it will scald and begin to cool while you get other items ready.)

Combine sugar, salt, lemon peel, and mace in a very large bowl and set aside.

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, stirring thoroughly. Set aside.

Add the butter to the scalded milk. Stir until melted. Add this mixture to the sugar-salt mixture. Stir well. Add the 1/2 C. cold water and stir again.

When this mixture has cooled to below 115°, add the yeast mixture, eggs, and lemon juice. Stir well.

Begin adding flour, 1 cup at a time. Stir in with a wooden spoon. After 6 C. of flour have been incorporated, add the raisins and chopped almonds.

You’ll likely use at least 10 cups of flour, but don’t be afraid to use a bit more or less—aim for a dough that remains sticky enough to almost—but not quite—stick to the surface as it is kneaded. After all the flour has been added, turn the dough out and knead for 5-10 minutes. You may actually have to “knead in” the last cup or two if stirring becomes too difficult. The end-point for kneading is when the dough is satiny, barely "tacky" to the touch, and blistery.

Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl, turning the dough so that all sides are oiled. Cover with waxed paper and then with a clean towel. Leave to rise in a warm room until doubled*, 1 1/2-2 hours.

When doubled, punch down** and let rise again for about 45 minutes, until close to redoubled.

Divide the dough into four portions. Each of these will make 1 loaf of bread. Cover portions 2-4 with a towel so they won't dry out.

Divide portion 1 into fourths—we’ll call these A, B, C, and D. Set D aside covered with a towel—this will become the small braid that sits atop the loaf.

Roll and shape A-C into three "ropes" of the same length (12-16" long). Braid these, squeezing the ends together so they won't spring apart when the dough rises. This will form the large braid that makes up the bottom of the loaf. (Note: if you aren’t happy with your braid, start over! Bread dough is very forgiving!)

Take portion D and divide it into three pieces. Form each piece into three “ropes” of the same length (about about 12”) and braid them into a small braid Arrange this braid atop the larger one. You should now have a finished load that looks like a big, plump braid topped by a very small decorative braid.

Repeat with the reserved dough (portions 2-4). In the end you will have four finished loaves.

Place each loaf (as you make it) on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Decorate by pushing almonds and candied fruit into the "holes" in and between the braids. Be liberal with the decorations—they will make the loaves festive. Push the almonds and fruit deeply into the dough, so that they don’t “pop out” as it rises; however, be careful not to crush the braids.

Brush the finished loaves with the reserved beaten egg*** (thinned with a dab of water) and sprinkle lightly with poppy seed.

Cover loaves with waxed paper and towels and leave in a warm place to rise until they appear doubled (don't stick your fingers in to test!).

Bake at 325° for 40-50 minutes. Turn cookie sheets around once, midway through the baking. Check at the 35 minute mark—if already a dark golden, cover loosely with a shield of foil to prevent over-browning.

The loaves are done when they are a deep golden and smell heavenly. If you lift one and thump with your finger on the bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow.

Notes:
Hoska stores at room temp for at least a week, and also freezes well.

* To test, poke two fingers deeply into the dough. If the dough has doubled, two deep holes will remain.

**To punch down, literally punch and hit the dough with your fists, driving out all of the air and air bubbles (which is exactly the point--this is how out pioneer forebearers took out their frustrations!). You can also pick it up and slam it down on a countertop.

***The egg yolk wash gives the bread its golden color. Make sure to spread it over every nook and cranny for a uniform glaze.

Right knee, two days postop

2006-12-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's been 25 hours since surgery, and here's the result.... Still swollen (I mean, come on. It's only been 25 hours! Have someone whittle on your knee and see how good it looks the next day!), and still yellow (thanks to some seemingly indelible Betadine that didn't come off in this morning's shower). But overall, I am doing great. Minimal pain-- probably less than I had preop. Slept very well last night. I'm up and walking today (full weight-bearing is encouraged) but am spending most of my time on the couch, with the knee elevated and packed in ice, and will be doing so until Monday. The eight-sided steristrips cover the three suture sets (one for each arthroscopic entry port). PT starts Tuesday.

It is alive.

2006-12-15T17:30:00.000-08:00

Surgery went well. Two meniscial tears-- lateral and medial. All fixed now.... Must sleep.... Enjoy weird photo-- odd perspective making my leg look bigger than the rest of me.

A Dickens of a Story....

2006-12-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Those who know me know that one of the things I do every Yule is read Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Something about it feels just right admidst December's cold dark nights. Especially if you read it by the fire, sipping a cup of cocoa. Ahhh.....

And by the way-- it's available on line, in its entirety.

Anyway, in today's Portland Oregonian was a piece by storyteller Garrison Keillor-- a wonderfully funny take on the Dickens story. I've pasted it below. Enjoy!

-----

I've a Dickens of a story to tell

By Garrison Keillor

(From the AP Wire)

And so Mr. Scrooge kept Christmas in his heart and made his clerk Bob Cratchit a partner and found an orthopedic surgeon who fixed Tiny Tim's gimpy leg.

Scrooge was a friend and benefactor to all and he also got his hair and eyebrows trimmed and bought a new suit, a blue pinstripe. People called him Ben. When he died, the entire city mourned.

The firm of Scrooge & Cratchit became ScratchitInc, and it got out of the countinghouse business and into condominiums. Old blacking factories and woolen mills and foundries were converted to luxury apartments with wood-burning fireplaces, eat-in kitchens with marble countertops, and hot tubs on the balconies.

Vast gritty industrial sections along the river were made over, with ethnic restaurants and health clubs with acres of treadmills - and Bob Cratchit, or R.W. Cratchit, was in the forefront of it all.

Tiny Tim was no longer good as gold. He'd become a hulking lummox and shaved his head and gotten a spider web tattoo all around his neck. He was now called Spike. His band, the Demented Beggars, recorded songs like ''Go Take a Pill'' and ''God Help You, Everyone.''

The other Cratchit children, Peter and Belinda and Martha, were employed: Peter in product resourcing, Belinda in process imaging, Martha in production processing, but they were - how should one say it? - rather stupid.

This can happen when you spend eight hours a day staring at a screen. Your brain turns to bran flakes. And for Christmas, they all went to the beach and lay in the sun.

R.W. got awfully depressed on Christmas Eve.

They lived in a penthouse atop the old barrel factory and there, late at night, brooding (despite his anti-brooding medication, Welloft), R.W. saw the ghost of Scrooge. He was with his old partner, Jacob, helping him carry a load of chains. Scrooge looked terrific.

''You'll be visited by three spirits,'' he said. ''You know the drill. Just do what they say and you'll be fine.''

And then at midnight, a spirit appeared. Not the jovial spirit with the crown of candles or the fatherly one in the long white cassock, but the spook in the hangman's hood, with the long bony fingers - everybody pays attention when he comes to talk to you.

(The jovial spirit had gone to a party at Fezziwig's and danced a jig and his hair caught on fire. The fatherly spirit had taken a wrong turn and gone to Spike's room, who sprang out of bed and reinjured his leg.)

The hangman told Mr. Cratchit that the condominium market was heading south and that ScratchitInc stock was headed for the toilet.

''What can I do?'' whimpered R.W.

''Not much. You're in hock up to your frammis,'' said the spirit. ''Try Chapter 11.''

R.W. waited for hours for the other two spirits and then went to sleep. When he awoke, it was Christmas. A fat lumpy stocking was plopped in a chair. A note said, ''Bob.'' It had licorice in it, and a rubber ball, a puzzle, a book and a big Christmas orange.

It was a proper large navel orange with thick skin, fresh, fragrant, and the smell brought back all the jolly Christmases Past when they played whist and laughed and the bubble lights twinkled and the radio played carols.

Grief and misery tend to be amorphous and make everything taste bitter, but small things, such as a well-turned sentence, the chorus of a song, a cup of peppermint tea, Jane Austen, an orange, have some power to break the spell.

The injured Spike took the visitation as a sign from the Lord that he should become a Christian pop singer. He took back the name Tiny Tim, acquired a sturdy crutch and a passable Cockney accent, wrote 10 rather similar songs that all said, ''God, you made me a shining star and rich and famous, and hey, thanks,'' and he toured the country doing sold-out shows in hockey arenas to ecstatic teenagers, but that's his problem, not yours or mine.

Let me get us an orange and we can split it. If you want to sing ''Silent Night,'' I'll sing with you.

GARRISON KEILLOR can be heard Saturday nights on public radio.

Yummy cookies!

2006-12-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

I’m driving over to see my mom tomorrow, and as a treat, decided to make a small batch of cookies for her. Our family does a lot of baking at the winter holiday season—this is one of our favorite recipes.

It’s an unusual cookie in that there are no eggs, which make sit a good one for people who are sensitive or allergic to eggs. You can also eat the raw dough with no worries about salmonella!

It’s also an all-butter cookie, so no evil trans fats. Best of all, the bright flavors of orange and cranberry and the chewiness created by the coconut make it perfect for the winter.

Enjoy!

-----

Coconut-cranberry chews

(Originally printed in Sunset magazine, Dec. 2001; credited to Nancy Jamison of Woodside, CA.)

Ingredients:

1 ½ C. (3 cubes) butter (preferably unsalted)
2 C. sugar
1 T. freshly grated orange peel
2 tsp. vanilla
3 ¼ C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 ½ C. sweetened flaked dried coconut
1 ½ C. dried cranberries (e.g., Ocean Spray “Craisins”)

In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, blend butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth and slightly fluffy.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt to mixture. Beat on low speed until dough comes together into a smooth mass—about 5 minutes. Important: the dough must form a mass. If still crumbly, beat it longer until it comes together.

Stir in coconut and cranberries.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place on lightly buttered or cooking sprayed baking sheet. Flatten balls slightly with the bottom of a glass (they will flatten a little more as they cook).

Bake for 8-11 minutes, just until they begin to show a bit of golden color around the edges.

Cool on a wire rack.

Note: you can frost these, if desired, with a mixture of 2C. powdered sugar, a bit of fresh orange peel, and with orange juice added to create the desired texture (around 1 ½ T.); however, this isn’t necessary. I prefer them plain.

Makes 6 dozen. Store in tight containers at room temperature.

Finals Week

2006-12-03T18:34:00.000-08:00

Not much to write about, but rest assured that I am alive. On the action item list right now....

FINALS WEEK. Big seminar paper due no later than Thursday. I'm hoping for sooner.

Bunged up knee-- MRI tomorrow. Like I can afford it.

Holidays coming! Hoska-baking next Saturday with Valbo. (See December 05 archives)

Need to go see Mom, but the doc has had me housebound and off the knee until the MRI.

Gargoyles galleys should be coming any time now! When those come, everything else will be dropped so that I can attend to the proofreading.

Cute poodle picture above. He was almost killed by a pancake today, but survived.

P.S. Mark your calendars now for 10 pm on Dec. 13-- the Janice Dickinson Christmas Special!

Thanksgiving Two: The Gamminator

2006-11-25T18:26:00.000-08:00

Bill and I drove over on Thursday, Nov. 24, for a turkey day celebration with Mom and Joe.

While I cooked, and Bill made a last minute run to the store, Joe vacuumed and tidied up. We got out some of Mom's 'Spode' dishes for the meal.

Gussie watched.

Joe took the Grape to fetch Mom.

Trying out the new front ramp. (Joe almost dumped her out on the first try!)

Joe poured champagne to celebrate the occasion.

The feast! (Turkey, sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes with a sugared pecan crunchy topping, rolls, fresh cranberry sauce, olives, and cranberry salad.) (And pumpkin pie with heavy cream for dessert.)

The diners....

Even Gussie had a plate of turkey.

Happy turkey, everyone!

A lovely garnish for your turkey....

2006-11-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

As if the world isn't weird enough... and just in time for the holiday gift-buying season... comes a wonderful new gift: The Dr. Laura talking action figure!

You, too, can buy one for your misogynistic, judgmental, women’s rights-hating, homophobic, holier-than-thou friends—it’ll be the best gift they ever received!

The website is suspiciously silent on where the profits for these dolls will end up. This is odd, as in the past, the good "doctor" (in physiology-- not psychology!) has been most vocal about her funds ending up supporting abstinence education or other right-wing conservative causes.

Anyway, I suggest you use the doll to stuff your turkey. Stuff it right up the turkey's... Well, you know. Kind of unfair to the turkey, though.

Happy Turkey Day!

2006-11-21T18:03:00.000-08:00

Or as my Spanish teacher taught us, "El dia del massacre del pavo!" (pavo = turkey)

More later, but see above for the picture of our early family celebration on 11-19. L-R: Erin, Ernie, me, Bill, Scott, Rebecca, and Pookie Moose.

Stay tuned for more photos....

Toasty warm

2006-11-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

Bill got me a really neat early Yule gift the other day: a portable heater that looks like a little fireplace. It's very cute and also a very effective heater, and it heats for only pennies. We put it in the corner of my home office; I spend most evenings in there, working, and this will keep the room snug.

I moved Ernie's dog bed over in front of it, and... well, you can see the results.

I drove over to see Mom today. Not much to report-- she's having some pain relief from the Celebrex. However her therapy has been slowed up by her problems with atrial fibrillation. She wore a portable cardiac monitor/recorder for two days, and Joe is now waiting to hear from the doc re: the results. She may need a pacemaker to stabilize her heart. Stay tuned on that. Anyway, it was good to see here-- she was cheery, although tired. Joe seems to be hanging in, too.

Weather watching

2006-11-13T07:43:00.000-08:00

It's a helluva day at sea, sir! (Trivia buffs... name that film!)

In the last week or so, we've had something like 8 inches of rain here in Portland. In the last two days, we had a windstorm (gust to 70+ mph) and more rain; the same storms are dumping feet of snow in the Cascades. It's a mess-- flooding, trees, down, power outtages, roads washed out. Hwy 35 on Mt. Hood lost 23 miles (!) of roadway, completely cutting off the Mt.Hood Meadows ski area from humanity; repairs will cause many millions and will take many months (interestingly, said ski area continues to sell season passes. Hmmm....) The gorge is on landslide watch, and the old highway is closed.

Milwaukie is only 39 feet above sea level, so flooding always gets my attention. But thanks to the French drain bill installed aorund the foundation we've stayed snuggly dry. Yay!

Anyway, I've stayed close to home. Was going to go see Mom yesterday, but didn't think it was wide in terms of the multi-dimensional horrible weather.

That's the report. Boring, I know.

2006-11-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Another interesting few days.

Nov. 2: Went to the Schnitzer to see Stephen King, in one of his very rare public appearances and readings—this one a benefit for Literary Arts in Portland. It was everything I hoped for, and more. He’s one creepy guy—and funny, too. He walked on stage in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, hair sticking up all mohawkish, and then started saying how he didn’t want to scare us, but he hoped we’d remembered to lock our cars before coming into the concert hall, and that when we went back to our cars, he hoped we checked the back seat before we got in. Because insurance statistics say that one in twenty people forget to lock their cars. And sometimes crazy psychopaths hide on the floor in the back seat. And sometimes they have knives.

Nov. 4: Chris Anderson’s funeral. Our family knows Chris (and family) through a combination of the Milwaukie community, school, Boy Scouts, and his photography studio. Chris took all of my kids’ senior pictures, and a month ago handled the photography for Lora (Spencer) Reilly’s wedding. We camped together on many a Boy Scout family trip, and bumped elbows at school, and he and his wife Debbie gave Katie her very first job—a receptionist position at their photography studio. Chris was one of those people who has a truly kind, sweet spirit, who seemed to delight in people, and who made you feel a little easier just because he was there. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost a year ago, and given a couple of months to live. He lived almost a year. Toward the end, he stopped the chemo and spent his remaining time fishing and just being with his family. The love of the Milwaukie community for this man was shown in the hundreds of people who attended his funeral, spilling out of the church and into the reception halls, where cameras with video feed had been set up for those who couldn’t fit into the sanctuary. You couldn’t find a parking place in downtown Milwaukie. It was something. The world was better for this man having been here. I can’t imagine the sadness of his family. I am glad I was able to know him.

Nov. 5-6: I went to Redmond to see Mom. She’s in what Joe and I call “The Home” right now. It’s kind of nursing homey, but really pretty decent. They are keeping her clean and shiny, and she’s having regular rehab. But the rooms are small, it’s noisy, the food is so-so, etc. Joe is starting the process to get her moved home as soon as he can. This will mean arranging in-home care for several hours each day, bringing in therapists, etc. Also making some modifications—he’s already installed a wheelchair ramp outside the front door. The shower needs modification, the bathrooms need grab bars, the bed needs lowering, etc.

Mom looked stronger and more Mom-ish when I was there. No huge jumps in her overall status, but her speech is better and she’s able to reply more intentionally to conversation, which is great. She seems cheerful about being where she is, which is good, and seems more aware of the world.

Today, Nov. 7: It’s raining here in Portland. I mean, really RAINING. We’ve had 5.5 inches in the last two days and are supposed to have another 1.5 inches today. See the picture below, taken in Tillamook, where they’ve had almost 9 inches in the last day and a half. Everything is flooding. And it’s really warm out, too. In the 60s. And dark. And windy. Thanks to Bill’s fine ditch-digging last summer, and his extension of our French drain, our basement is (knock on wood) still dry. Cross fingers….

Good Samhain to all!

2006-10-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

--Thanks to Wm. Shakespeare....
And ably sung in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

Catching Up

2006-10-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

After dropping off the face of the blogosphere for the last couple of months, I thought I should at least drop a note.

So, it’s been quite a time, here.

Sept. 17-22, Mom came for a long visit. Erin, Rebecca, and Scott were also here between Sept. 16-18, and we had lots of good family visiting time. We also had a great visit with Mom. An all-time visit. She saw a bunch of her friends, she and I shopped, we went out to eat a couple of times, we watched movies, and she and Bill and I hung out a lot. Bill earned major brownie points by showing up after work one day with a mess of fresh trout from Bull Run Lake—we had a fish fry the next night. What a treat! On the 20th, Mom took Bill and I out for an incredible steak dinner at Ruth’s Chris to celebrate my book being finished. That was the best steak I have ever had in my life. I’ll probably never be able to afford to eat there again, but it was amazing.

That takes me back to the Gargoyles book. It had been due on Sept. 15, but I ran two days long with the final formatting. On Sunday evening, Sept. 17, I finished it. Bill and Mom were watching TV when I came out with all 299 pages atop one hand, and pronounced it done. Hoo-ah! [Update on the book: the editor is working with it, and I should have galleys soon. She “likes what she sees,” which I think is good news. It’s still set to come out in February 2007. You can preorder it from Amazon, where I'm proud to say it is currently #1,010,635 on their sales rankings-- not bad when you consider it hasn't been published yet. (grin) I am also so very, very glad that Mom was sitting in my living room that night, and got to see me carrying out the finished manuscript, and knew that I had gotten it done.]

On Sept. 18 and 19, I left Mom to her own daytime devices as I was on a workshop team for ten new First Year English GAs at PSU (right) . The workshop went well, and Mom kept busy in my absence. [Update: The Firsties are doing great!]

Also note that on Sept. 16, Loro was married, becoming half of the Lora & Mike Reilly team. Erin was in the wedding, and she and I attended together. It was a perfect Loro wedding—held out in the woods, on a beautiful autumn afternoon. We had a very good time, and also enjoyed seeing old friends from Scouting, who we’ve lost touch with except for events such as this that bring us back together. [See really good photos on Erin's blog.]

And, on Sept. 7, Ernie had eye surgery to remove a cataract and replace it with a replacement lens. This was in response to his increasingly destructive efforts to fly (see older blog entries for details). The surgery itself turned out to be the easy part. The hard part was taking care of an elderly postoperative dog who needed routine, round-the-clock drugs and eye drops for 4+ weeks after the surgery. [Update: He did very well, except for that one “eye juicing” episode, which—fortunately—caused little or no permanent damage. The surgery has definitely improved his vision, although it is mysteriously better and worse at times, a selective process apparently characteristic of old dogs. By the way-- he's subsequently bought a set of leathers and it looking for a canine Harley group. he's thinking of heading for Sturgis.]

Mom headed home midday on Friday, Sept. 22. We hugged, and I waved as she drove off. That was the last time I talked to her, at least in terms of her normal voice, the one I’ve known for so many years.

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, I got home from my evening classes to three messages from Joe, each one truncated by the stupid answering machine. Mom had had a stroke. A bad, devastating stroke. By the time I got all of the news it was late and dark, and those of you who know me know that I can’t/don’t drive in the dark. So I left early the next morning (Bill staying to take care of the poodle) and drove over to Bend—where she was hospitalized—myself. I spent three days, then came home, then went back again two days later with Erin and Scott, who had come down for a quick visit.

It’s been horrible since then. (By the way—I sent out email updates on Mom’s condition once or twice a week; I’m not going to go back through the details here, but if anyone wants to be added to that list, email me at 7dotmoon@teleport.com and let me know that you want to be added to the list). Mom is improved, but she’s still very ill, and very impaired. At this time, there is absolutely no way to know how well she could recover, and what recovery she does make will take a year or longer. It’s very, very slow.

Mom spent a week in the IMCU at St. Charles in Bend, then moved to their inpatient rehab department, where she has spent the last 3 weeks. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, she’ll move to the Redmond Health Care Center, a multi-disciplinary facility in which she will continue her rehab and recovery. We (Joe and I) talked about bringing her home, but had to face the fact that she is simply still too ill, and would require an extraordinary level of nursing care beyond what Joe could manage. Mom still has very little movement of her right side, can't swallow easily, is aphasic, and sometimes can't understand what people say to her. The care center is a great place—checked out carefully by Joe and recommended by the St. Charles people—and it seems like the best option for both Mom and Joe right now. It’s also covered by her insurance, which eliminates one worry.

Mom had a clot-type (ischemic) stroke of the left hemisphere. She didn’t receive the “stroke miracle drug” (tPA) that they often give people in the ER immediately after it happened; she had also fractured her eye socket when she fell, and they were afraid that the drug might combine with the skull injury to cause bleeding into her brain, which would only make things worse. Bad luck for Mom…. They think that the stroke was caused by clot that settled in her heart in response to an irregular atrial rhythm that she’d been going in and out of for months, maybe even years. But, there’s really no way to know why it happened.

I have been driving over every week or so. In Mom’s more lucid and clear-speech moments, and on at least three occasions now, she made it very clear that I wasn’t to interrupt school. So, I’m hanging in, because I believe it really is what she wants. She’s always been my greatest fan, after all. And if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.

As for school…. Through a fortunate twist of fate, I’m not teaching this term but am instead serving as the “Assistant Director of Writing.” It’s been good, because it’s meant that my schedule is very flexible, and that I can be free to see Mom, or deal with social workers, etc. on the phone, or squeeze in homework, etc., as able. Next term I’ll be back to teaching and the schedule will be tighter, but since Mom is now more stable, it should work fine.

I am still on track to finish both MAs this spring, and I’m going to try hard to do so, because the tuition is free until the end of spring term; after that point, I’ll be back to paying full price. Most of my work now is centered on finishing my MA in writing thesis and the MA in English portfolio. The thesis is in the form of a book—Writing Down the Moon—that is on contract with Llewellyn Publishing. The manuscript is due the end of June, which is a powerful motivator to get it done.

Otherwise, I’m just hanging in. Mom’s illness hit me hard. Some days I feel like I’m in a very dark place. Other times I can forget about what’s happened for a moment, and find that I don’t feel that bad. It always comes back, though. I know it’s a grieving process we all have to go through. Mom’s still with us, but everything has changed. It’s a struggle to understand that life will probably never be the same. And yet, life goes on. It keeps going on.

Keeps on tickin'

2006-10-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here they are in all their glory: Mom and Joe-Honey.

This photo was taken in Mom's room in St. Charles' rehab facility. The window looks out on a little alcove with trees and tons of adorable little birds. Pine siskins, I think. Here's another look at M&J. You can see the remnants of Mom's black eye. She fractured her orbit (eye socket) when she had the stroke and fell, but it's healing well.

Below are a couple more pictures of her rehab room:. She had a roommate, but they moved that woman out a few days ago, so now Mom has a private space.

Looking down the hall... even though the rehab place is "homey," you're still most definitely in a hospital.

The rehab facility has private rooms, nursing spaces, offices (for the social workers, therapists, etc.), and lots of "gym space." Mom spends up to 4 hours a day in active therapy right now, but in reality, every aspect of her day-- eating, dressing, using the bathroom, etc.-- has a rehab motive. She has rest periods throughout the day, but in between she's really busy. Here's a look into one side of the main gym. Mom and her therapist are in the parallel bars, while Joe watches.

Some closer looks (note that the gym looks out on a courtyard.... trees, plants, more birds, horseshoe pit, etc.):

Right now, one thing they do with her is put her in this standy-uppy-thing. It starts out as a chair, and gradually stands and stretches the patient (does this sound kind of like a vertical rack, or is it just me?) until they're standing. This helps circulation and strength, and helps the body remember what it's like to be upright.

Official "Barny Caption Contest." Barny is thinking.... " __________________."

More therapy. (We're not sure about the dart board. They also have a set of boxing gloves in one cupboard. One therapist reassured us that these were only used for staff meetings.) The therapist put the foam blocks down on the floor and had Mom pick them up and toss them into the plastic tub. Joe said that her free-throw average made her better than any of the current Trailblazers. (nyuk nyuk)

Here Mom is working on posture and shoulder-shrugging. Therapy is often done in front of the mirror, so that the patient can see how their body is working.

Here the therapist has her paralyzed arm strapped to a kind of skateboard, and she's asking Mom to work to move the arm across the table. Mom was actually able to move it a bit, which is progress!

She practices writing, too. Left-handed. The therapists believe that Mom's abilities to speak, write, and read were all tangled up by the stroke. So a good part of her treatment is helping all of this sort itself out again. In this session, the therapist first had Mom trace, then copy, and then generate her own letters. It was really interesting. Mom works really hard and (amazingly!) doesn't seem frustrated.

Here, the therapist is helping her stretch her leg muscles so that they don't tighten up. He had her lay on her back, knees bent and feet flat on the mattress, then asked her to move her legs/knees from side to side. And she could do it! In other words, she could move her paralyzed leg! This was great news....

Driving back and forth between Portland and Bend or between Eagle Crest and Bend, I was always guided by Mom's mountains-- The Three Sisters. According to Mom, Grandpa Joe (her dad) gave her these mountains when she was a little girl.

For me, it's helped to see the mountains, and the forests, and the animals on those long drives to Bend and back. No matter what else is happening in our lives, these things endure. It comforts me.

About Mom.....

2006-09-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Most of you know that my dear Mom, the Auntie Mame clone, the toughest woman I know, has had a stroke. A rather severe stroke.

She is already making progress, but it will be a long and difficult road to recovery. Not that I think she can't do it-- au, contraire! If you doubt this, you've never met her.

Send energy, prayers, cards, wishes....

St. Charles Medical Center — Bend
2500 N.E. Neff Road
Bend, OR 97701
Main Number: (541) 382-4321

You go, Mom.

I'm an English nerd!

2006-09-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

My MA advisor would be so glad to hear this....

True English Nerd
You scored 76 erudition!

Not only do you know your subjects from your objects and your definite from your indefinite articles, but you've got quite a handle on the literature and the history of the language as well. Huzzah, and well done! The English snobs of Boston salute you.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on erudition

Link: The Are You Truly Erudite? Test written by okellelala

The book is done!

2006-09-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

10:48 pm, Sunday, Sept. 17. All done, all printed, all ready to mail to the publisher tomorrow.

Breathing sigh of relief!

Loro is married!

2006-09-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Consider this a teaser entry-- more to come. Loro's wedding was tonight. She was beautiful.

2006-09-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Wicker Man

2006-09-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am posting this as part of my Pagan-ly duty to the rest of the world.

-----

Two hours of my life, gone forever….

A review of The Wicker Man, by Moonwriter (that's me!)

I saw the reviews (below) come in on the Druid list this morning, but I set them aside and didn’t look at them. Bill and I were planning to see the film today, and I didn’t want to know any details before we went.

Then I got home after the flick (still shaking my head), read the reviews, and wished I’d done so sooner, so save the two hours and the $6.

What a disappointing film.

As a fan of the 1970’s original version (which I own), I was worried about them trying to craft a remake. I tend to think that remakes are usually a bad idea, and in this case, my feelings were well founded. Please read the other reviews below—I don’t need to waste your time by restating them, and they actually summarize my thoughts pretty well. I can’t disagree with anything that Ellen or Donald said. But I have some fresh thoughts, too.

First of all, the opening scene. I won’t tell you exactly what happens, but it’s quite shocking—probably one of the best sock-your-breath-away things in the entire film. Unfortunately, it also appears to have nothing to do with the rest of the story! It may serve the purpose of unseating the Nicholas cage character psychologically, leaving him ready to fall prey to the women of Summerisle. But the film could have just as easily worked without the opening. My S.O., Bill, thinks that at one point the director maybe had a couple of story lines in mind, and simply forgot to delete one. Could be….

Second…. The story depends on Nicholas Cage being lured to the remote island of Summerisle under weird circumstances. His character is an experienced cop, and throughout this film (and especially in the first half hour) he repeatedly does things that no police officer would ever do, like deliberately antagonizing people, acting hostile and rude, skipping out on his department without actual permission, heading for the island without establishing any backup, losing track of his weapon, conducting searches without warrants, etc. The list goes on and on. Having a character act in a way that you know is patently impossible makes it equally impossible to believe anything that’s happening. Only 10-15 minutes into the film they’d lost me.

Even more, Nicholas Cage breaks just about every rule of “horror movie safety.” You know, the ones that say things like, DON’T GO INTO THE DARK BASEMENT WHEN THE LIGHT IS SUDDENLY BROKEN—that kind of thing. Another huge loss of credibility.

The acting is…. Well, it’s not acting. It’s bad. Nicholas Cage and Ellen Burstyn—two faves of mine—are terrible.

The women on the island are a matriarchal community taken to excess. These women are mean. They are evil. They are sociopathic. Imagine an island full of Diane Downs-clones. Now, anyone who writes knows that in order for a character to be believable, she or he must be fully “round.” That is, they can’t be 100% good or 100% evil—no one believes that! You have to be able to find some redeeming value in even the most heinous character, and some horrible flaw in the most angelic—this is a tenet of creating authentic characters.

I found myself being grateful that the word “Pagan” wasn’t mentioned in the film—at least not that I heard. It gave me hope that filmgoers would see the islanders as a really weird fanatical sect of some kind, and might not link it to modern Pagan practices (which it isn’t!). The word “goddess” is mentioned, but mostly, the women just talk about how they’ll no longer be subservient to men, etc. There are men (and a few boys) on the island; however they’re silent and enslaved—“kept for breeding,” we learn. I wanted to feel even the smallest crumb of empathy for the women, but I couldn’t. I had a momentary early glimmer that they might be something like a warrior race of Amazons, but even that didn’t work. They had no nobility about them, and no goodness—just anger and hate.

I must confess that I loved the doctor’s house, which was full of herbs and arcane goodies, and was something of a natural history museum. That is, until we entered the back room, an abortionist’s set-up that featured glass jars of aborted male fetuses. Did we really need to see that? (Rhetorical question. Nope, we didn’t. We know they hate the men way before that. No need to see dead babies, many of them near birth-size.)

The film is also full of goofs. At one point Cage is sitting on the dock, next to a pile of lobster traps. Lobster traps, on an island in the Puget Sound, just off Seattle? Come on. Crab pots, yes. Lobsters, no. There’s a curious mixture of modern and medieval clothing that is probably supposed to represent an arcane culture, but seems all over the place. There’s a central theme of bees, with enough honey supposedly being made on the island to create a supporting business and trade economy, but this is a heavily forested island, with only a few open meadows, and this is a northern location with long, wet, cold elongated seasons that encompass fall-winter-spring. Those must be some bees!

I agree with the comments in the other reviews about the lack of music. In the original Wicker Man, the people were happy, and always bouncing around and singing traditional (if sort of over-the-top) songs, etc. Not only that, but the film was full of built-in explanations about Pagan holidays and celebration. In this film, there are no explanations—the woven Maypole, the people in odd masks and garb, the disintegrated church and overgrown graveyard, and the harvest rites all go unexplained and just kind of hang there in mid-air. And there’s no music, no joy, no celebration. Not until the end, when the women all grin from ear to ear as poor Nicholas Cage…. Well, you’ll have to watch for yourselves. The ending lends a new angle to the idea of the sacrifice that is “freely given.”

If you consider yourself a member of the Pagan community, this may be worth watching, just so you’ll know what the chatter is about. But I’d wait until it hits DVD or shows up on TV—it should run well on TV, as there’s little that would need editing out. Theater tickets are expensive these days—this one isn’t worth it.

-----

From Ellen - - - , Druid priestess and a teacher at the Grey School:

Unfortunately I agree with everything he says below. However, I feel duty bound to attend these movies to keep tabs on what the public is seeing, and thinking about us. This is pretty scary fare. For example we are shown as abortionists who collect male fetuses in formaldehyde jars. Idiotic and sad considering that among the cultures that abort fetuses for sexual preference, all abort females.

-----

Review of The Wicker Man by Donald - - - .

If it's not too late, I would advise skipping it.

The original film, The Wicker Man, is one of my favorites. It presents an isolated Pagan society coming into conflict with modern times, and their solution to problems through the reenactment of the Divine King myth. In some ways, it is ethically ambiguous. Sgt.
Howie was given chance after chance to escape his fate, yet he always chose to follow the myth. However, his part in the recreation was unknown to him. Was it fair? Many Pagans have debated both sides of the issue. Combined with the marvelous songs (including a final rousing version of "Summer is a comin' in," the oldest popular song for which both music and lyrics remain), it has remained popular among Pagans and become a "cult thriller" among non-Pagans for almost 35 years. I have three or four different edits of the movie (the U.S. version cut out much of Sgt. Howie's back-story, including his extreme form of Christianity) and a first edition of the novel based on the screenplay (some people think it went the other way).

But the film was definitely a low budget effort, and it shows—although that's part of its charm. So with that in mind, I was looking forward to the new version staring Nick Cage. This new version was not just a disappointment, it was a disaster.

The Pagan culture--and it's clash with Christianity over everything from sex to death—of the original has been replaced with a sort of inbred, pseudo-feminist, man-hating cult. The only thing men are needed for, according to Sister Summerisle (replacing Lord Summerisle/Christopher Lee of the original) is breeding, and the men are virtually silent, 2nd-class slaves. Are malformed inbreds part of Paganism? I don't think so. The way the island's society is presented would typify the controlling women as the mythic "feminazi" of a certain drug-addled right-wing radio voice.

In the oiginal, we are drawn into a truly Pagan culture, one that uses natural remedies, has joyous celebrations where the people make their own primitive (in the art-oriented meaning of the word) costumes, and where concepts of love, caring, community, religion, sexuality and sexual initiation are taught to their loved and well cared for children. When asked for the meaning of the Maypole in the original film, the children raise their hands excitedly, not even waiting to be recognized by their teacher before exclaims, "Phallic symbol! Phallic symbol!" The new version replaces the question with "What is the meaning of man?" and the same response, in context, makes little sense and is not as exuberant.

In the original, the people have fun preparing for the coming festival. In the new version the people morosely and silently (where are the songs????) collect wood and poles. In the original the product of the island is apples, while in the modern one it is honey, leading to a scene where the Nick Cage character, Edward Malus (perhaps a reference to Edward Woodward who played the original lead as Sgt. Howie), is stung by bees to which he is highly allergic and almost dies trying to get out the epipen that he keeps with him for just that situation. The scene tries to add excitement, but does nothing to move the narrative of the film. It should have been shortened or cut. Likewise the entire beginning sequence, looking like a bad imitation of M. Night Shyamalan, does nothing but give a sudden shock and distract from the narrative. Was it related to the plot to bring Malus to the island? If so, it is never clarified.

One of the major problems is the focus on the morose gathering of wood instead of the joyous preparation for the parade and rite. In the original, the masked procession is one of awe at the strange, primitive, ancient costumes, a bit of humor, and some terror for what will happen. Here, the costumes appear with no set up, and for a modern audience they are simply ridiculous. The audience I saw this with responded appropriately and broke into laughter repeatedly. The Cage character, after punching and kicking some women around as if he were Bruce Lee, moves into more heroics trying to rescue a missing girl. Unfortunately, he has disguised himself by wearing one of the most awful bear costumes in the history of film, again to laughter of the audience. His trying to get around in it reminded me of the truly hilarious scene in "One Crazy Summer" where Bobcat Goldthwait is trapped in a Godzilla costume, smashing a small model of a building development, or the false bravado of Kurt Russell in "Big Trouble in Little China."

In the original, Sgt. Howie, realizing that escape is impossible, follows his god with singing to his doom. The juxtaposition of the songs of different religious traditions is symbolic of the entire film. Edward Malus has both his legs broken and is hung upside down.

The director, who also wrote the screenplay, clearly did not understand what was going on in the original, and has brought superficiality, wooden acting, terrible dialog, and unintentional humor to what was an intriguing and enjoyable original. If you feel you must see this, wait until it's on TV. In the meantime, go back and view the original for a truly enjoyable experience. And for silly, mindless fun, take in "One Crazy Summer" or "Big Trouble in Little China," too.

Oneonta tunnel reborn!

2006-08-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

After being plugged for more than sixty years, the Oneonta Tunnel is being reopened and restored. Look here and here for details.

This makes me very, very happy.

Dueling quotes

2006-08-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.""

--M.K. Gandhi, 1958

"You never know what your history is going to be like until long after you're gone."
-- George W. Bush

Okay, now you choose.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair!

2006-08-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

(Tip of the hat to Sue Barrette on that....)

Bill and I went to the Oregon State Fair last night. We had great fun! We saw....

Goats in coats...

An angry rooster...

A black poodle chicken...

Huge horses! This Belgian's back was almost 7 feet above the ground!

The Oscar Meyer Weinermobile...

A mother pig who needs a shoe to live in (9 piglets!) ...

The midway, as dusk fell...

Food consumption this year was sedate: really yummy chicken teriyaki with yakisoba and veggies, a huge butterscotch sundae (shared), and cotton candy (duh). No deep-fried Twinkies this year, thanks.

This makes me happy....

2006-08-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Barbaro remains a happy, comfortable horse

August 22, 2006

KENNETT SQUARE, PA — Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro remains comfortable according to veterinarians at Penn’s George D. Widener Hospital . “Barbaro is doing well on both hind limbs,” said Dr. Dean Richardson, Chief of Surgery. “Because of this, we do not plan to change his right hind cast in the next two weeks.”

The colt’s left hind foot has laminitis, but Barbaro seems comfortable with that foot as well. “He needs to continue to improve over the next few months before we will have a better idea about his long term comfort.” said Dr. Richardson. “Barbaro’s appetite and his attitude right now are phenomenal; he attacks his feed and when he goes out to graze, he acts like he thinks he could train.”

Doctors remain cautious about Barbaro’s prognosis because, according to Dr. Richardson, there is no assurance that he will surmount all of his medical problems. “Right now, he is a surprisingly happy horse,” he said. “He is gaining weight and has had his pain medications reduced without any effect on his well being. His strength and overall appearance have been improving since he became well enough to be walked outside each day.”

Barbaro remains in the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Pennsylvania’s George D. Widener Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries suffered at the Preakness on May 20.

The next update will be posted on Tuesday, August 29 unless there is a significant change in Barbaro’s condition.

This makes me sad....

2006-08-23T09:17:00.001-07:00

I've been avoiding writing this letter for weeks, but it must be done. It saddens me to inform you that there will be no 2007 edition of the Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac. It simply has not sold enough copies to cover its costs and I can no longer afford to cover the losses.

I've loved editing and publishing the almanac. I've learned things I never imagined knowing—about the rhythms of the sun, moon, planets and stars, the workings of the weather, and the wondrous habits of various urban flora and fauna. I've savored the wit and wisdom of countless poets and pundits. I even learned some important urban survival strategies, like how to un-stick a stuck tongue. And many of the people I've met, both contributors and readers, have become friends for life.

The 2006 Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac is still available in many bookstores, or you can order online. We think it's beautiful, naturally, and chockfull of things to intrigue and delight you, like a revolutionary exercise program, a guide to clouds, tips on how to tap your backyard maple tree, charming advice from a French household almanac, urban survival strategies, like "How to sound intelligent," and of course Doc Weather's predictions and our signature seasonal poems. Perhaps it, and the 2005 premier edition, will now become collector's items.

We've also introduced a "Boomer Edition" this year—the same content in a slightly larger format with a nod to the diminishing eyesight of a certain generation. It also happens to be a practical size for newsstand sales and you can find it at most Whole Foods stores. If you don't see it displayed at the cash register, please ask them for it.

Cosmo may live to see another day, perhaps as a quarterly magazine, supported by ads. Or as an insert in a Franklin Covey or Day-Timer calendar. Or, as a daily, web-based information service. Or, or...who knows? If something does happen, we'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks for your interest and support,

Still yours for a greener, kinder, and more rhythmic world,

Yeah, I knew this.

2006-08-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

These quizzes were posted on the Grey School site by one of the students....

be sorted @ nimbo.net

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

Although recently I test out more on real Meyers-Briggs as an INTJ, but it's close enough. And I'm all about McGonnagall!

Your Quirk Factor: 48%

You're a pretty quirky person, but you're just normal enough to hide it.
Congratulations - you've fooled other people into thinking you're just like them!

How Quirky Are You?

See, kids-- I'm not as odd as you thought!

Trying to make up for the Janice Dickinson post

2006-08-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Words of wisdom, from a Druidry list I subscribe to:

In the eating hall, a stuffed parrot hung from the ceiling, and from its golden beak dangled a card that read, "We are in training to be nobody special." I had often repeated this to myself, working against my need for achievement and recognition, and the discontent that could engender. "I am in training to be nobody special." Saying the words in my mind, I felt how they redirected me from a certain seductive struggle and excitement and disease, into a more stable focus: forget what others think of you, forget the future goal of achievement; arrive instead in this body/mind, attending to this present moment. This is is the whole of practice.

--from Sandy Boucher, "Hidden Spring"

My guilty pleasure

2006-08-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months, I've been enjoying a shameful, guilty pleasure.

Yes, it's the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. There she is, left, at her... ribbon cutting. (This guy should probably look a little more worried, given that a hopped-up person with an apparent mood disorder is holding that giant pair of scissors awfully close to his, well....)

And tonight is the season-ender. Pink slips, my friends, for all those little model wannabes who don't measure up to Janice's "standards." Here's a taste.

(P.S. Don't worry Erin and Katie-- I'm taping the whole series for both of you.)

Now I must hang my head in shame and return to my writing.

Writing, writing, and more writing

2006-08-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I have nothing to report-- I spend most of my day writing, doing research for writing, or thinking about writing. And then I write about that. Really! My book is due ONE MONTH FROM TODAY. And actually, while it's feeling really good, I'm not kidding myself-- I know I'll be working and reworking on it right up until the last minute.

Right now, my typical day involves 1-2 hour sessions of writing, interspersed with periods of housework, yard work, walking, etc., to make sure my blood doesn't clot up or anything. (You think I'm kidding?)

What else is bugging me right now. Let's see....

Kate Hudson and her husband are splitting up. Why is this considered news?

According to the newspaper today, the obese now outnumber the hungry. You do the math. Obese isn't as simple as it used to be, either. It used to be matter of looking at some hugely overweight person and thinking, "Now they are obese!" Now it simply means that your bmi exceeds 30, which can apple to people who are even 20-25 lbs. overweight in some instances. I'm trying to do my part-- have lost 9 lbs in the past 5 weeks. For those of us who are overweight, is it becoming an issue of environmentalism? If I need to lose 30 more pounds, do those 30 pounds represent my ridiculous overuse of the grazing land, water, and fossil fuels that it took to create all of that extra food that I shouldn't have eaten?

Dell is recalling a million and a half laptop batteries, a repair needed to keep the laptops from bursting into flame. Wouldn't you love to see that? (Buy Apple, people... buy Apple.)

Finally, an end-of-summer movie tip: Wicker Man, with Nicholas Cage. The original Wicker Man was a grade-B British cult classic (I own a copy) and the remake should be interesting and entertaining. And anything with Nicholas Cage, well-- he's great. Plus Ellen Burstyn will play the bad guy, er... gal, so we're in for some fun. Go here for the trailer. And here for a cool picture.

First Fruits, Weird Dogs, and a Write of Passage

2006-08-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lughnasadh came on August 2 at 1:46 am-- it's the first of the harvest holidays, and a good time to honor the season's "first fruits."

The turn of August also means the arrival of Tilton apricots at my greengrocer. These are just about the best possible 'cots for canning or making preserves.

Above are my 40 pounds worth... a bargain at $29!

Take out the pits, add a little bit of lemon juice and some sugar...

Boil quickly in a wide pan. No need to add pectin-- these apricots thicken as if by, well... magick! Double double, toil and trouble....

The result? Apricot preserves! Perfect for spreading over toast or scones, and also wonderful when cooking chicken or pork, or making curry. There's also something inherently rewarding about working with apricots-- maybe it's their sunny, gold color, invoking the Sun.

In any case, my freezer is rich now with preserves, dried apricots, and apricot halves, frozen with sugar for later use in desserts or stirred into yogurt.

Okay, now about weird dogs. This picture speaks for itself. What it doesn't show is that one of his hind legs is right under his face. I just don't know....

And finally, as many of you know, I'm writing my first book, Gargoyles. It's due to the publisher in 1 month and 8 days, and I'm thoroughly immersed in it, spending several hours per day writing, researching, revising, etc.. With no school, no teaching, and no crises of any kind (knock on wood), I'm discovering what the life of a writer is like, this idea of sinking into a task to the point that you seem to enter another world. I'll sit down to write and find, when I look up, that 3 hours have passed, silently. It is a true write/rite of passage, and so far, a nearly spiritual experience.

Pirates and Potter

2006-08-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention one thing.... When we go to a film, Bill and I always (always!) stay through the credits. You'll see all kinds of interesting things there, because most filmmakers seem to have taken to sticking some sort of goodie or easter egg in the credits. And there's a GREAT one in Pirates, one that you have to sit through the entire list of credits to see.

Well worth it!

Also, one of my favorite actresses is joining the Harry Potter crew! See below, from USAToday:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Helena Bonham Carter has signed on to play fanatically evil Lord Voldemort devotee Bellatrix Lestrange in the next Harry Potter film.

The Oscar nominee joins incoming composer Nicholas Hooper, who will create the score for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth film adaptation of author J.K. Rowling's epic series, according to a statement released Wednesday by Warner Bros.

Directed by Hooper's longtime collaborator David Yates, the movie also includes newcomers Imelda Staunton as frumpy Dolores Umbridge and Evanna Lynch as Luna "Loony" Lovegood.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return as teen wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"It's going to be a really cool cast," said Carter's publicist Jay Waterman.

Carter's film credits include 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and 1997's The Wings of the Dove, for which she received a best actress Oscar nomination.

Happy Lughnasadh!

2006-08-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

In the traditional “Wheel of the Year,” Lughnasadh—also known by the Wiccanized name of Lammas—is the first of a triad of harvest Sabbat celebrations (the other two being the fall equinox/Mabon and Samhain). Lughnasadh began here in the Pacific Northwest at 1:46 this morning.

Lughnasadh is the time to consider our personal harvest. What have we grown, manifested, and harvested in the past year? What have we nurtured to fruition? What do we look to create and produce in the year to come?

It’s traditional to celebrate this day by feasting on the “first fruits” of the harvest: grains, fruits, veggies, herbs, etc. Corn and wheat are significant symbols of the Sabbat. Last night, Grey School friend Aaran and I shared a small “feast” of organic peasant bread with an olive oil/herb dip, fresh blackberry preserves, blackberries picked in my yard, raspberry cordial (thanks, Valbo!), and hot apple cider. Mmm….

Above is my Lughnasadh altar, paying homage to seeds and herbs and growing things, and always, always with GG’s little cauldron at the back.

Many blessings!

"My message is give up your nucular [sic] weapon and your nucular [sic] weapon ambitions. That's my message to Syria. I mean to Iran.

2006-07-29T07:45:00.002-07:00

Yes, those are the words of our Commander in Thief. But you knew that, didn’t you?

I actually had to truncate the quote because it wouldn't fit in the title block. Here's the whole thing:

"My message is give up your nucular [sic] weapon and your nucular [sic] weapon ambitions. That's my message to Syria. I mean to Iran. And my message to Syria is, you know, become a... active participant in the neighborhood for peace.

And here’s another shrubism:

“I think -- tide turning -- see, as I remember -- I was raised in the desert, but tides kind of -- it's easy to see a tide turn -- did I say those words?”

These witticisms and more can be found on Dubyaspeak.com. You, too, can amaze your friends!

(By the way, I also added the “Dubya” button to this blog. Scroll down to see it. But I can’t figure out the HTML command to add some extra space between the Wunderground and Dubyaspeak buttons. Any suggestions welcome!)

It's the end of a very crazy month, which included my trip to the writing workshop at Cannon Beach, finals week, posting final grades for my students, wizard school Conclave, a week of 100-degree weather, and chaffeuring and spending time with my Mom. It's been hectic but fun.

Above is a picture of the group--minus a couple of people--from the Grey School Conclave. We had a BLAST! It was also great fun to be able to camp with Scotty, Erin, and Rebecca.

Last night Bill and I saw the second Pirates film. It was fun to watch, but because of my hearing loss, I was stymied by my inability to understand more than about 9/10 of the dialog (if that). Any pithy thoughts on the film--other than noting that is was long, at 151 minutes--must thus wait for the DVD release.

Haystack Day Two!

2006-07-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

Day Two began with a drive back to Cannon Beach, past funky fish places….

And then through Rockaway Beach, where I found gnomes….

Moose….

and birds. Does anything beat beach hokiness?

I drove back over Neahkahnie Mountain—what a view!

Our class was to meet at 9:00 am at the foot of Haystack Rock. Walking through Cannon Beach, I passed a Christian Conference Center where 95% of the cars in the parking lot were mini-vans. Does anyone else but me find that humorous?

And there were more cute gardens….

And funny signs…. (Can you see my reflection in the shot?)

And even funnier cars!

It was low tide, and there was so much to see. It was a “fragile marine garden area”—we were only allowed into certain areas.

We saw mussels—some of which were 80 or more years old, and about the size of my forearm!

There were lots of anemones—these were about 4 inches across.

We also saw sea stars (a.k.a. “starfish”).

In the afternoon, we went to a different beach to look at rocks and lava fields. This is an example of a basalt intrusion (colored reddish form iron pigments) in a sandstone field. The sandstone is baked hard and black on either side of the basalt, from the high heat of the melted rock.

And here’s another basalt intrusion, under a sandstone cliff. This part of the beach was once under a few hundred feet of water. Of course, that was a few million years ago!

It was a wonderful time…. I definitely hope to return next year.

Haystack Day One!

2006-07-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

(Yes, I took the above picture! This morning!)

Thanks to their free wireless, I’m writing this from my hotel in Tillamook. I ended up here because by the time I made my reservation, everything in Cannon Beach was full. It took me 45 minutes to drive here from Cannon Beach, but it was a beautiful drive--over Neakahnie Mountain and around Oswald West State Park--and well worth it.

Anyway, I got up this AM at 5:30, showered, waved bye-bye to Bill and Ernie, and was on the road at 6:10. Notwithstanding time lost backtracking after I pulled an Erin and accidentally took the US-26 turnoff to Tillamook instead of Cannon Beach/Seaside, I arrived in Cannon Beach at 8 am. Classes didn’t start until 9 am, and Xena (Warrior Car) and I were the first ones to arrive at the Cannon Beach Elementary School, a.k.a., Haystack!

I decided to grab my camera and take a walk on the beach before class. On the way, I walked through one corner of “downtown” Cannon Beach. There were flowers and beautiful gardens everywhere—literally every yard had flowers, and the businesses had them tucked into pots out front, or sidewalk plots. There were lots of sprays of Crocosmia luciferi…

And lots of pretty multicolored gardens, like this one full of nasturtiums and gladioli:

I found the beach access, featuring the obligatory “Tsunami Warnings.” Cannon Beach is absolutely flat—if a tsunami came along, we’d be screwed.

My first look at the ocean, as seen past a really cool whale sculpture:

And here’s Haystack Rock, one of the most photographed sights on the Oregon Coast….

Before long I had to head back for class. My class has nine people in it. Our teacher is Ellen Morris Bishop, a geologist and writer who wrote In Search of Ancient Oregon. We spent some of the time in a classroom, but most of the day down on the beach, working on observation exercises. Below is our outdoor “classroom.” Ellen Bishop is on the left.

We all did our own thing for lunch. I found an amazing seafood place and had just about the best crab melt I’ve ever had. There must have been a cup of fresh crab on it, and thick slabs of Tillamook cheese. It looked so good, I took a picture of it. And then I ate it!

We finished the day inside, with a lecture on the geological history of Oregon. I really hated that. (snort)

Before long, our class was over and I headed for Tillamook. I pulled over about a dozen times to catch all the different viewpoints. Here’s a shot looking back toward Haystack:

And a seamount, even further south….

The view toward Tillamook Head….

As you can see, it was a gorgeous day at the beach—sunny and about 70 degrees. It’s only about 8:30 pm right now, but I’m beat. I have reading to do, and then go to bed. Must be up by 6 am so as to find breakfast and get back to Cannon Beach. The class is meeting at the bottom of Haystack Rock at 9:00 am—low tide. Class goes until 4:30 or so, and then I head home!

P.S. The summer edition of the Grey School newspaper, Whispering Grey Matters, is available here! (Look for the "Summer 2006" button.)

Heading for the beach tomorrow

2006-07-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Haircut this morning, house-tidying and reading this afternoon, dinner this evening and early to bed.

Tomorrow morning I'll leave very early for Cannon Beach (above), and my 'landscape geology' seminar. I'm excited! Should be home late on Sunday. It looks to be gorgeous weather at the beach, so the whole thing is going to be one big treat-- a mini-vacation.

Then next week will be the last week of the summer term, and there's light at the end of the tunnel!

I watched 'Sideways' this week-- interesting movie. Quirky, touching, and stupid all at once. The acting was top-notch, but while I was entertained by the story, I didn't believe most of it. And I don't really get the title, other than in the most obtuse way. So, there you go.

Pretty quiet here

2006-07-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

All's quiet here-- I'm in week 3 of the 4-week term, both teaching and taking classes. It's been fun and gone fast-- two important requirements for summer classes!

Not much else happening. Next weekend I'm going to the PSU "Haystack" summer arts program at the beach, to take a class in writing about Landscape. The weekend after that is the wizard school campout, which should be lots of fun.

Also, I set up a second blog page so as to have a place to post Grey School info.

Happy Fourth!

2006-07-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

How's everyone? Staying out of trouble?

We've had a nice holiday. Went to Mom and Joe's on Saturday-- Ernie house-sat for us. We had a nice visit with Mom and Joe and Gussie (left, with catnip).

'Ate good barbecue and watched the first half of an amazing film that I highly recommend: The World's Fastest Indian, with Anthony Hopkins. A motorcycle flick, a helpful transvestite, biker gangs, creative use of kitchen tools, and land speed records on the Bonneville salt flats work with quirky, wonderful characters to make a movie that's just plain fun to watch. Thumbs up!

It was a beautiful drive home across the high desert. Mt. Jefferson (top) looked especially gorgeous.

Yesterday was a work and schoool day, which felt odd. Today was an out-in-the-yard day, which felt like Saturday. Tomorrow it's back to work and school, but only for two days. then I'll have Fri-Sat-Sun off. I'm really going to be screwed up.

What D&D character are you?

2006-06-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Although it's been years since I played D&D, this meme is scarily accurate in terms of my present... urm... abilities.

I Am A: Chaotic Good Elf Ranger-Mage

Alignment:
Chaotic Good characters are independent types with a strong belief in the value of goodness. They have little use for governments and other forces of order, and will generally do their own things, without heed to such groups.

Race:
Elves are the eldest of all races, although they are generally a bit smaller than humans. They are generally well-cultured, artistic, easy-going, and because of their long lives, unconcerned with day-to-day activities that other races frequently concern themselves with. Elves are, effectively, immortal, although they can be killed. After a thousand years or so, they simply pass on to the next plane of existance.

Primary Class:
Rangers are the defenders of nature and the elements. They are in tune with the Earth, and work to keep it safe and healthy.

Secondary Class:
Mages harness the magical energies for their own use. Spells, spell books, and long hours in the library are their loves. While often not physically strong, their mental talents can make up for this.

Deity:
Solonor Thelandria is the Chaotic Good elven god of archery and the hunt. He is also known as the Keen Eye, the Great Archer, and the Forest Hunter. His followers respect nature, and only hunt when needed, but are quick to defend the forest from intruders. Their favorite weapon is the bow, and they tend to be extremely talented with it. Solonor Thelandria's symbol is an arrow with green fletchings.

Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Not much happening here

2006-06-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm approaching the end of my first week of summer session. So far, so good. I'm teaching an introductory comp class of 20 students, who--at least during this first week--have done a good job of looking awake at 8 o'clock in the morning. The class is four days a week for four weeks-- as of now we only have 11 classes left!

The recent record heat abated, thank Goddess. Life is good otherwise. Not much else to report-- reading lots of Hawthorne and Mellville for school and trying to get an Oregon Literary Fellowship application written by Friday. Also am making prepartions for wizard school Conclave, which happens in about three weeks.

The above is a corner of my deck, with pretty flowers!

HOT HOT HOT

2006-06-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

It is 8:22 pm on Sunday, June 25.

It is 90 degrees outside right now.

It is 84 degrees inside right now.

It reached 103 here today.

I am in hell.