Thursday, December 23, 2010

THE Christmas list, and other goodies.

HARLEY's OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS LIST 2010:
1- Leggos
2- Train layout (Maybe North Pole Express)  
3- Toy Christmas tree, including star on top and lights
4-Toy SUN, to go with the hanging glow in the dark planets
5-Toy Farm (Cows, chickens and coop ah, hem, barn, pigs)
6-Stuffed Monkey
7-Train tunnels for Thomas layout (straight green preferred)
8-More cardboard blocks
9-New Train Puzzle
10-Train video
11-Train picture on a candy cane (?)  (Ah, yea, ok.)
12-Toy washer and dryer (Really?)  
13- A castle, with a King
14- Toy light and light switch (?)  My kid is so odd!
15-Another Snow Globe (A little more snowy than the last one and with white snow).
16-Five plastic plants (WHAT is this kid ON??!)
17-Compass 

So there it is.

I've written a million posts in my mind the past month or so, but I guess the writing thing is not as much of a relaxing outlet for me as I'd like.  I mean I do enjoy doing it, but I can't do it when my head is spinning.  Some people can, and it helps to clear things up for them.... me?  I just babble incoherently.  I opt to not share the babble too often, so my posting has become very intermittent.  If you are reading this, thanks for sticking around....

This is going to be what Ms Moon calls a brown bag post.  Just a little of this and a little of that.  Currently I am watching Sesame Street with my boy, Harley.  Well, I am half watching it.  Ironically, Elmo (Melmo) is on.  Ms Moon posted about her grandson's love for the red furry guy this very morning.  Mr. Noodle is on.  I hate that guy.  He is just so annoying and mentally challenged... I can't imagine why Elmo keeps asking this man to answer the big life questions, like:  "How do people eat"?  But, I suppose the preschool set enjoys slapstick and being smarter than a grown up once in a while, so there is that.

Our tree is lovely.  Just lovely.  I am also stealing glances at it, since it is right next to the TV.  There is something wrong with that, but it really just fits perfectly in that corner.... What can you do?  The boys decorated it this year without my assistance.  I was baking.  They did a marvelous job and the kitty has already knocked off a few of the bottom ornaments to "Christen" the holiday season.  It has officially begun, so says the cat!

The past week, I've been dodging mad texting drivers and pedestrians donning Santa hats, as I'm sure all of you have as well.  For some reason, I've only had a few seasonal melt downs... mostly in the traffic.  The stores, although crowded, were not at all horrible.  In fact, this year the Dollar Tree got it down!  They had plenty of cheap ass merchandise and cashiers a go-go.  No waiting.  Me likes.  I had one of the best random holiday moments to date on that trip.  So, there I was at the damn Dollar Tree, zoning out in front of some Whinnie the Pooh doo dads, when all of a sudden three beautiful black girls stroll up to my isle and one of them poses the question: "Why are we here again"?  To which another replied: "Um, I forgot."  Well, that was it for me.  I peered at them over my glasses, and busted out laughing, which started the lot of them chortling and belly laughing too, which I'm pretty sure spread down the length of the isle.  We were all just shellacked in an extra thick coating of seasonal glaze.  I finally replied as they were wandering off aimlessly, "You girls sound like I feel".  More laughter.  I have to say, that was hands down my BEST Dollar Tree experience EVER!  And to top it off, I got lots of stuff that I couldn't find in regular stores like: dollar Christmas wrapping paper, 2$ Christmas Snow Globe WITH a TRAIN inside (BONUS!!), holiday goody bags, mystery grab bags, a 1$ pairing knife, stocking stuffers galore, and oh so much more!  I got out for about 25 bucks.   UNbelievable!  Sigh.  Life is good.

In other more important news, nobody has had so much as a runny nose, much less the usual winter asthma.  This is a blessing more valuable than any other.  As far as we know. we and ours are in good health and of reasonably good cheer.  This is highly unusual, and much appreciated.

Harley and I were folding clothes today.  His job is to match and fold all the socks.  I taught him how and he adores doing it.  For some reason today, he got the notion to stuff ALL of the socks down his pajamas bottoms....  I am only mentioning it because it is so insanely goofy and inexplicable!   So, of course, I had to take a picture, because how can you not preserve that holiday moment?  I don't think it would be appropriate to post said photos, but they are quite hilarious in a twisted kind of way.  Kids these days.

I'll leave you all with a holiday greeting I received from my very conservative cousin.  I think it's quite funny and reaches across the table or the isle or whatever they call it.  Happy Holidays ya'll!


To My Liberal Friends: 
Please accept with no obligation, implied or explicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011 but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America  is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America  in the  Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.
To My Conservative Friends:
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Friday, December 10, 2010

If you have a few minutes... watch this.

If you're lucky, it will make you cry.
just a little

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Blank


Hey ya'll.

There's been a whole lot to post about, but honestly I think I'm just in shock.  Nothing serious, just sort of the impending holiday ADHD overwhelmed kind of shock.  I cannot concentrate long enough when I'm sitting still to make any of it sound interesting or coherent even.  But I figured if I didn't at least throw something up here, ya'll would abandon me for sure.  That would be sad.

Ok, so here's the insanity report:

Harley is as cute as ever.  His party went great.  He is now 5.  He told me yesterday as we were dining on egg sandwiches at Borders (3.50 for egg, spinach and cheese sand... Deal of the century!), he says,
"Mom, I have a hypothesis.  I think I'm going to LOVE Kindergarten!"
God I love this kid.

My hub is having hernia surgery today.  It's outpatient.  It's supposed to be no big deal, but you never know.  You just don't.

We acquired a litter of baby mice over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Our cat killed the mama.  Then, one by one, the babies were getting caught.  As this happened over the course of a 24 hour period we were quite astounded and humored.  Each one was discovered before kitty could put the fear of death into them... well, except one.  I think she punctured it and we didn't know about it.  He/she died after a few days.  Anyway, the hub was really patient with me waking him in the middle of the night to go catch yet another "customer", as we affectionately refer to them.  I have been meaning to call St. Francis to see if they'll take them as I just cannot bear to set them out in the cold.  I know they belong there, but still.  I want someone else to do it!  They are cute as the dickens!  They are really tiny and gray with big ears and eyes.  Very sweet.  I have to mention for those of you who do not know, my cat has only three legs.  I find it incredible that she can hunt so well.  Better in fact than when she had all four.  Life is weird.

My nephew and his wife got into a bad car accident.  They are ok, but her grandma was in the back seat and she died.  This is very sad for us all.  Grandma was very sweet, and it's all really tragic.

I'm looking for work as my feet have been dragging through the process of "building my business"  It's so odd to me, because when I worked at a bar, I had NO problem with the marketing and promotion thing... it was just like inviting everyone to a huge party where you are the hostess and you know it will be great because there are endless supplies of yummy food and libations and and fun people and fine music... but this whole encouraging people to spend money on my services, sans alcohol, sans music, sans food, sans any props at all?  Well, that just don't seem right.  I'm clearly not as interesting or confident as when there is booze involved.  Is anyone?  I'm pretty confident about my bar tending skills, but I'm too old for that shit.  I am.

Well, I have to go now.  The Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About THAT is coming on.
Ta.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I'm sick and grouchy.

That's all.  Just sick and grouchy.

Hope you all are doing well.
pf

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Baby Love 4-Ever,a virtual Ethridge-Curry love fest!

Flux capacitor (fluks / -ka-‘pa-si-ter)  
The core component of Doctor Emmett Brown’s time travelling DeLorean in the movie Back to the Future .  The Flux Capacitor requires 1.21 jigawatts  of power to initiate time travel.  This power may either be supplied by a plutonium-powered nuclear reactor  or bolt of lightning channeled directly into the flux capacitor. Brown states, "The flux capacitor is what makes time travel possible." ~

I've been blogging for almost 2 years, and been visiting Maggie at her blog, Flux Capacitor for about that long as well.  She is an amazing woman.  It seems as though everything she is about is “getting it right”, (whatever “it” is in the moment) and enjoying her family and friends and giving wherever she can.

Maggie and her family are expecting a new member… very soon!  Her name is Ever Elizabeth.  She is expected to make her entrance sometime this month.  So today, several friends are honoring Maggie and her family by way of dedicating blog posts to them.  We are calling this celebration a virtual baby shower.  I’m elated to finally have an opportunity to give something back to Maggie.  And as a fellow Maggie-fan, I am also thrilled to help provide all Maggie’s readers, and the blog community at large this opportunity to participate in the celebration of Ever’s arrival.  So without any further ado let's get this party started!!! 

As most of you know, besides being a devoted wife, mother, teacher and all around bad ass, our Maggie is also an incredibly talented writer and poet.  Her voice is strong and kind and true, and I'd recognize it anywhere. Her words resonate with the passion of a driven artist.  One who needs to express with her words as much as she needs food or air. She can lift you up, or rip your heart out with a grapefruit spoon. Her blog includes poetry, prose and also serves as somewhat of an interactive online journal.   The honesty and tenderness with which she writes has been a blessing to me in the last few years.   Many of her challenges and victories are familiar, her words steady and soothe me.  This is why I could not resist including some of Maggie’s poetry...    This first was written for Maggie’s Mother and Grandmother Elizabeth. It is in honor of Grandmother Elizabeth, who is also Ever’s namesake. 

All grips come loose.
All waves let to water.
All that is whole falls apart.
All that was Mother, Is daughter.

On your skin, my skin.
(In your breath, my own.)
With your tears, my tears.
(In your heart, my home.)

All connections disconnect.
All planets turn to dust.
All that is now becomes the past

All we love; We love so fast.          ~Maggie May Ethridge
                                  **************

This second one brings the circle back to the start… anticipating new life.

the light around the house dims 
sewn in, or sewn out. a sealed rabbit hole.
we meet the evening-tide with bright eyes.

November brings it's dusky murmurs,
some stories of gypsies and stolen children
of pots full of bone and skin.

i watch carefully the flight path of birds
across the lucid flash of sunset, 
to see what they are afraid of, how they clutch black claw.

baby stills in the oblong stretch of my stomach.
rabbit in the hole, unborn in Winter's hibernation;
borne into wild compassion and thoughtless instincts-

she will always be hungry
she will always find beauty a flame on the end of the branch;
be tempted to flee with wild things, burrow her babies far away.

i am too, November infant- first wail to a darkening sky
first cries to the silent forest and flash floods of Mississippi:
responsible to nothing but the heartbeat of my mother

her breast and her hold and my wandering heart.
the eagle stretches his dark wing over the windows of home.
even at this distance, i can see how he eyes my unborn.

everyone is hungry.
everything needs, though its wilding may not speak the word.
i close the sliding glass door on the darkening world

and touch my husband's warm neck with frozen fingertips.
the light blazes from the seams of our home,
gaping at the dirt and roots

we feed our children and break bodies against one another.
this November is collecting stormfronts: a birthing is coming: 
with the light spilling yellow at the corners of our mouths.       ~Maggie May Ethridge
                               **************        

 And what would a party be without photos?? So yea, I swiped these from the Flux Capacitor so we can all feel extra festive and connected.
This photo of Maggie and Lola is from Maggie's actual Baby Shower last month.  You can read about it here.

Mr. Curry, Lola and Maggie... The caption reads: "Lola was a flower for her end of school play.  A very very energetic flower". :-)

Here are the Curry kids looking cute:  Ian, Dakota and Lola

 This caption reads: Uncle Carl with sleeping Jacob making peace over Mr. Curry, Dakota and Ian

I adore this picture.  It belongs in the love hall of fame!

Maggie, reading your words daily for the last few years, has added such joy and richness to my life and the lives of so many others.  I know this because I read the comments section  :-p  The way you continually reach out to your family, your community and even strangers, inspires me regularly.  I love the way you soak in and experience life so fully and you care so deeply about others and the earth and life itself.  Thank you for all that you do and all that you are.  Thank you for helping me to appreciate more, to reach out more and to keep going even when I'm wretched and exhausted. And thank you for taking us all on your travels.  I love you and appreciate you every day. 

Mr. Curry, you're going be a great baby daddy. Anyone can see that.  Congratulations to you!  

Ian, Lola and Dakota, your little sister is very lucky to have the three of you to help care for her, and show her the ropes.  Having a little sister is a great excuse to play and be silly... even if we think we're too old for that stuff.   wink. 

Congratulations Currys!

To continue the party please see the "OTHER PARTY ACTIVITIES" list below, and don't forget to dance on over and visit all of today's hostesses: Elizabeth, Ms Moon, Terresa, and Stephanie.  

~  OTHER PARTY ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
  • You can choose to read our posts and just feel the love
  • You can leave a beautiful wish for the Curry family at Flux Capacitor in the comment section for their memory book
  • You can send a gift by clicking on the BABYSRUS link upper right on this page. (It will take you right to Ever's registry list)
  • You can help offset the cost of early parenthood by contributing an amount comfortable for you to the  BABY LOVE 4-EVER MATERNITY FUND (See the DONATE button on the upper right side of this page)  
  • You can combine any and all of the above choices.
I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: The greatest area of support is needed in the Maternity Leave Funding.  The family income will be hit hard by Maggie not working during the momma/baby bonding period. (Having gone through this myself not too long ago, I am all too familiar with the importance of this kind of support). The bonding time should be a time of love and joy, not anxiety and worry.  So my hope is that the "donate" option will be a popular choice~  (major credit cards accepted) The amount does not matter... there are enough of us, and I know we can put a dent in this thing!  One dollar at a time...  I will keep the donate button on my blog at least through the end of the year (possibly longer), so if now is not a good time for you to participate in this way but you'd like to, don't panic.  You have time.

Welcome to the world Ever Elizabeth, we can't wait to meet you. 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Baby Love 4-Ever starts Monday Nov 15th!

Most of you know and love Maggie May Ethridge from Flux Capacitor.  She is a tender heart, a wife, mother, teacher, friend and to say she is a talented writer is an egregious understatementy. Today is her birthday.  Happy Birthday Maggie! I am so happy you were born and that you are here being and doing all that you are.  As we are wishing Maggie a happy birthday, we are also preparing for another celebration... A cyber baby shower!

You may have noticed I've added a few elements to my layout here at PF's place.  I've added a paypal "donate" button and also a link to Baby'srUs.  These are just two of the ways I and others in blogland will be honoring our friend Maggie and her family this coming Monday, Nov. 15th.  

We (Elizabeth, Terresa, Ms Moon, Steph and myself)  are throwing a Cyber shower love fest for the Curry Family and all of you are invited!  You are invited to participate in any way you'd like, and there are many ways that you can do this~  YOU CAN:
  • You can choose to read one or all of our posts and just feel the love
  • You can leave a beautiful wish for the Curry family in the comment section for their memory book
  • You can send a gift by clicking on the BABYSRUS link upper right on this page. (It will take you right to Ever's registry list)
  • You can help offset the cost of early parenthood by contributing an amount comfortable for you to the  BABY LOVE 4-EVER MATERNITY FUND (See the DONATE button on the upper right side of this page)  
  • You can write your own post in honor of family inspired joy and include it in our 4 Ever Curry Love Fest!  And please let me know by leaving me a comment here, so I can let others know who and where you are in time for Monday..
  • You can combine any and all of the above choices....!!
The greatest area of support is needed in the Maternity Leave Funding.  The family income will be hit hard by Maggie not working during the momma/baby bonding period. (Having gone through this myself not too long ago, I am all too familiar with the importance of this kind of support). The bonding time should be a time of love and joy, not anxiety and worry.  So my hope is that the "donate" option will be a popular choice~  The amount does not matter... there are enough of us, and I know we can put a dent in this thing!  One dollar at a time...

This cyber fiesta is going to be loads of fun!  I love babies and children of all ages, and family, and giving, and reading, and writing, and interacting with others who love those things too!  I especially love to read what others write about their experiences, stories and anecdotes about family.  It reminds me that the world is mostly a wonderful place... that we really are all the same at the core, and it restores my emotional and spiritual set points to the happy place again.  I hope it does that for you too.

See you all Monday... No RSVP needed :-)  Please remember to visit all of us party throwers :ElizabethTerresaMs Moon Steph  They are the real writers!  I promise you, they are magnificent.  They are true jewels and pure joy to read.  And who knows, maybe by then one or more of you will want to write a dedication post!  See you then!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

YOO HOO! (An encounter with my brother's ghost)

I recently took a poll to see what anyone wanted to hear about on my blog since I am mostly dazed and confused and cannot concentrate worth a damn lately.  The overwhelming majority of you wanted to hear the story about my brother's ghost.  So, I will tell it.  It does need a little background for it to have the full impact, so I'll give that to you briefly.  Also, I did email many people in my family about it the night it happened because I couldn't sleep.  Since it is a really strong part of the punch for me, I left it in there.  I colored the text purple so that it wouldn't be too confusing what with changing voices and all...  I thought it would make more sense to you that way.  Also, I changed most of the names in the story except my brother's. (Not that it matters, but...)  Ok, so here goes...

BACKSTORY-- .My family has been semi famous in certain circles for a very long time... Not so much anymore because all of the famous ones have died and not many people remember them anymore, unless you go to S. Florida.  My dad was a musician.  He and my uncle had a musical comedy trio that toured for years and some TV shows like, the Mike Douglas show and etc... WAAAY back in the day.  They finally settled in S FL to raise their fams and quit touring.  They were quite the big deal in Miami Beach for years.  Oddly I googled them one evening because I was missing them, and I found a blog post about one of their albums and re-posted it HERE on my blog back in May.   ---  I have 3 brothers.  One of whom passed away from pancreatic cancer back in '99.  I moved back down to S FL at that time to help him through the chemo  and to be closer to him.  Ray was also VERY famous or infamous however you see it, in S. FL because he wrote for the Ft. Lauderdale News for decades.  He started out in sports, then entertainment and finally did a LifeStyle column 3 days a week.  He was well loved and when he became sick, we could hardly keep up with all the mail and notices of prayer circles and well wishes and stories of how his writing has helped in some way or has been a big part of (insert person)'s life for  so many years, ect...Ok, that's the short version, but it's enough to make the story I'm about to tell you make sense.

Now, more recently, my husband, Marc, got a job with our local PD's office.  He adores it.  It is a laid back department and most, if not all of the people who work there are VERY liberal, like minded and super cool.  (Lots of old hippies, you get the picture?)  The people who work at this office have a tradition of getting together once a month on the Friday just prior to payday, they call it Final Friday  (As you may recall, I recent'y blogged about that too: FINAL FRIDAY). It's a family affair, and it is also where I felt my brother's presence.  This is where the actual story takes place.

FLASH FORWARD TO THE FF PARTY: Not long after we arrived, I moved outside to the porch area and took a seat.  Griffin was playing with other kiddos, Marc was talking (I know, shocker!) and I was just enjoying the background noises and a cold beer on my own. Most of the others people were migrating through the porch area between smoking outside, and going inside to munch or get cooled off  So, I'm sitting there, when this family arrives.  One of the attorneys, we'll call her Bonnie, brought her parents.  Her mom walked onto the porch drinking a Yoo Hoo.... As soon as I saw the Yoo Hoo bottle, I could hear my brother Ray saying "I could really suck the balls off a Yoo hoo right now"! (He said this when he was undergoing chemo for Pancreatic cancer in '99)  I sort of snickered to myself at this memory, because, well, it was so classic Ray...  Anyway, the lady, who we will call Martha, sat in the chair nearest me, Yoo hoo in hand, so naturally we struck up a conversation. 

I thought about saying how my brother used to like those... or whatever, but I didn't want explain that my brother was deceased and go through all that stuff, I mean, we just met.  So I just said something like Wow, Yoo hoo, don't see those much anymore.  I used to love that stuff"!   We chatted about Yoo hoo for a while, then we moved on to other topics.  She and her hub are travelling the US in their car, so they have lots of great stories about quirky stuff they've seen and great food they've eaten along the way.  While we're chatting away, and Martha's daughter, Bonnie, (the attorney), comes by and tells us of a "dress malfunction" she's just had.  I won't go into it, but it was kind of funny... reminded me of times it's happened to me...  All of a sudden Bonnie looks over at me and she says, "Did you used to work at CABO'S? (A local restaurant)  "Yes I did I said.  Followed by my usueal apology: "Please tell me I wasn't mean to you! I was in a very bad mood for about 10 years once and I could be pretty grouchy back then".  She says:  "No no no, I get it now, you're Ray Recchi's sister"!  I was like HOLY SHIT! in my mind anyway...  How does Cabo's equate with being Ray's sister?  And who in the hell was she and how did she know this???  Hmmmmmm...?  So, she tells me that her brother Michael used to be good friends with my nephew (Ray's son), and they were in gifted together...  Wow, I know most of my nephew's friends, but I'm not coming up with a Micheal...  I racked my pea brain trying to think of who this kid was/is, and I could NOT for the life of me remember him. sigh.

So, of course they asked about Joe and the rest of the fam, etc... then Martha told me that she raised her children as a single parent, and that she really appreciated the way Ray took an interest in Micheal.. and that he was really good to him.  She was tearing up as she said this.  Martha, Pat's hub and Tracey all expressed to me how much they loved Ray and missed him.  Yea, me too.  ME TOO!  They began to look at me differently, like I was some one really dear and special, like an old friend they just recognized.  It was sort of sweet.

So, as per usual, I get home,  and I'm lying in bed thinking about the whole thing and how odd it all was.... and it hit me... she was talking about MIKE!!!  DOH!  I can't believe I didn't put that together, Micheal/Mike, but I did not.  So, I feel a little badly that they think I don't remember Mike, because I so do!  I'm just dull with connecting the dots somehow. 

Now, you must realize that I come from pretty pragmatic stock, science is king kind of thing.  There's been really no belief, religion or talk about anything that cannot be proven scientifically... but over the years, I've changed. I do believe that God/the Universe AND the dead are real and they do speak to us... or they speak anyway. Only they use symbols or pictures/images, like the subconscious,. This makes the "Yoohoo"  really important in my book.  There were many cosmic messages for me from that little encounter.... and I thought there maybe one or two for some of you also.  Maybe for you, the message is just "YOO HOO"! or "Hello, I'm thinking of you"  or maybe it is deeper.  It's always very individual.  One of the messages that I always get when someone remembers Ray or my dad or the uncs is:  "Remember who you are, where you come from and the people you are part of, whose blood runs in your veins too".  This is always an especially good message when I'm feeling insignificant and unmotivated or need to cowboy up.  It makes me remember all the intense passion and fire, and smarts and tenacity, and creativity and talent that runs in our family.  How fully they lived and still do...and what a strong impact they made in the lives of others.  Suddenly I feel a surge of energy running through me, and I'm proud to be me and part of them, and this, and you.  

The thing is that I don't think the message was just for me.  It was coming through me, or to me, to take what I need and to pass on to everyone else so they can get what they need.    So, take whatever you want from it, but if nothing else, Ray told me to give everyone a big"YOOHOO"!!!!!!!!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Too many things

I've known for years that I should carry around a tape recorder.  Just a little one that I can use to record my thoughts and  ideas as they occur to me.  I did for a few days once, but I'm short on discipline and probably a little insane. (You know, "doing the same behaviors and expecting a different result" thing.) I  get all these feelings and thoughts about all manner of topics, I'd like to express or speak out about or muse about or rant about or simply share or get feedback about... but it seems that life just travels too quickly for me.

I'm an oddball.  A late in life child, my mind caught between nostalgia and cultural/familial closeness of years gone by, juxtaposed with the surrealism and insane pace of living now. A gypsy trapped in suburbia.  That is the best way I can describe it.

I do get these fabulous ideas for projects and social evolution... acorns of wisdom whiz at me from the Oaks, konking me in the head, or through the silver thread of dreams or when I'm driving or listening to my son prattle about something.  Times when there is no pen or paper at hand.  And so, I forget.  This is nothing new.  My kind have been doing this since we wore bones in our hair, that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Well, the same goes for my posting.  I have a laundry list of subjects, events, anecdotes, adventures, happenings, ideas, etc... that I've wanted to post about.  Only, at the end of the day, I'm tired, and/or I've forgotten, or I'm sick or I realize I haven't actually spoken more than 3 words to my own husband in days.... and then it gets pushed back near the bottom of the list again.  Then, time goes on, more stuff occurs that I want to write about, but when I find the time, I'm too clogged up with thoughts to flush anything out.  My brain shuts down and, more frustration.

So, this post is a list about what I want to post about.  If there is anything that appeals to you, please leave a note in the comments and I will get to those first. By writing things down, I will not forget.  By not having to choose now, I buy myself some more time.  By getting feedback, I get more fun out of it and hopefully you get to hear about what you prefer.  Win - win?

Ok, here's my list:
  • Harleyisms
  • Visitation from my brother's ghost
  • Child mental health scare
  • Getting my business going  AKA Getting out of my way

---LIST TIME OUT.... See, now I'm going blank again..  This is so UN-FAIR!!


     -----LIST RESUMED-----

  • Gospel according to Judas
  • Gospel according to Mary (Magdelene)
  • Joseph Campbell, Ram Dass and Carl Jung
  • Funky dreams about the center.
  • Prayer mantraing and prayerful meditation
  • What's up with all the dead Fox and Owls?
  • The Great Turtle Rescue!
  • Garage Sale Madness

There are more, but this is it for now.  Please let me know if any of these appeal more than the others.
Cheers..... and thanks for all the fish.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Retraction

In my last post I called the party a First Friday party.  In reality it is called Final Friday.

I feel like a small wrong has been made right now.

I had a sort of oddball synchronistic experience there.... I've been meaning to post about it, but I've not been in the mood, and now I'm sick.

I will though.  I will. Eventually.
Ah choo!

Friday, October 1, 2010

First Friday


I'm not sure why, but this clip cracks me up.

Why did I post it? Well, I will tell you.  The fam is attending it's first office party for Marc's new job at the local PD's office this evening.  I'm sure it will not be nearly as whimsy and exciting as this clip, but it will be WAY more fun than the office parties I remember from the local Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association that I used to work for.  (DAMN! Those were some BORING parties) I get bored just thinking about them.  Anyway, this will be the closest I've come to an office party in over 5 years.

Fortunately I know many of the people Marc works with because he worked with a handful of them at his last real job, investing capital cases for the State.  Anyway, they are a lively and liberal group so I am actually looking forward to it, and since I have nothing else of note to say at the moment, I'm saying this.

It's funny that if you Google First Friday you will get many links to different cities promoting their local art and art districts with a monthly celebration.   The reason this party is named First Friday is because it's when the State workers get paid.  They feel that this is worth celebrating...  I do too!  I also think it's cool that they do this each month at a different person's house and that occasionally they even get a few wanderers from the DA's office!  That is very encouraging!

It's good to stay cohesive and celebrate the little things, the good things or just getting together because you can.  I think it's also great office policy.  People who party together, STICK together!  They pretty much have to don't they?  I mean they know too damn much about each other not to...

Life, ain't it grand?

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Cravings Truck...

There is a lovely young couple in the panhandle area who have started a business that I found to be quirkily and deliciously different.  When I say young, I mean VERY young... like 20's young. 

I met them at a downtown farmer's market.  I had just eaten a huge vegetarian meal from the local Vegan Krishna vendor and was stuffed!  But I saw that truck, with the words "Red Velvet Waffles" painted on the side... how could I refuse?  So I trotted over to order some, and unfortunately, they could not oblige.  It seemed that they had everything else BUT those.  They were mostly just getting out there so people would know who they were.  Since I really was stuffed, it was probably a good thing.  :-)

So, I chatted with the lady whose name I cannot recall, and she told me all about their plans for the business.  It's really smart and yummy, and hip and cutting edge.  They have this beautiful kitchy truck (really no pun intended) and very very fun and creative menu items, some of which are secret family recipes!  I love that.  There is a small kitchen like area where they whip up their yummy wares and they travel around the city selling them.  The really cool thing is with today's technology you can find them on twitter or the internet, so you know exactly where they are going to be and when!  There is even a map provided with the route if you want it!  I think this is so fabulous.

Visit their website, check out the menu and see what I mean: The Cravings Truck
Good luck to you guys~  I'll see you next Sat....I've been dreaming of those Red Velvets Waffles!


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Blogger Blues. :-(

Hey ya'll,

I cannot get Blogger to upload any photos.  I'm thinking it could be my Google Chrome needs an update, but I was just wondering if anyone else had this issue...?  I know lots of people, myself included have been having trouble with other Blogger components like the commenting, so it may just be Blogger...?

Any suggestions appreciated!
Thanks,
pf

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Respecting Mother... Every day.


"Mother Earth, you are my life support system. 


As your child, I drink your blue water, live inside your red clay and eat your green skin. 


Help me to balance myself as you hold and balance the Earth, the sea and the space environments. 


Help me to open my heart knowing the universe will feed me. 


I pray my boots will always kiss your face and my footsteps match your heartbeat. 


Carry my body through space and time. 


You are my connection to the universe and all that comes after. 


I am yours and you are mine. 


I salute you."


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was a prayer/mantra/morning greeting to our mother.  I first heard it in "Men Who Stare at Goats"  I did change one part in the beginning.  I took out the word soldier and replaced it with child.


Honestly, I think it is the true Hail Mary.


Namaste ya'll.

Monday, September 20, 2010

C'mon, laugh at my fears...!

I came across this video and it made me face in a goofy way why I am dragging my feet on launching my new business fully... or at all.  The reason being, I'm afraid this will will be the male version of my services.  Watch and laugh your ass off! (Or just shake your head in disbelief.  Whatever.)


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Men Who Stare at Goats

This movie tickled my funny bone, and as whacky as it is, I'll bet the truth is even stranger.  Two big toes UP!
PS The whole cast is great, but Jeff, well, he takes the cake!

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Danielle!

Wishing you a genuinely silly and fun filled birthday, and everything grand for your future!


Love you, pf

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Love this!

I found this on another Blog and I think it's my most favorite version of this song next to Harley's school singing it all together.  Have a great week ya'll!

Monday, September 6, 2010

The worst memorial day weekend EVER

We are all sick here at Chez Levi.  We are sleep deprived and cranky.  Harley was running a fever and is coughing non stop because I guess Fall has arrived in Tally.  (He gets asthma at the change of seasons, like clockwork)  So whether or not it's consistent or official or whatever, I know FALL has fallen.  Poor little guy.

Hub and I fought and made up yesterday.  Besides Harley's asthma, we all have a bug.  At the end of the night last night, hub and I were discussing what we had hoped to do this memorial day having so much time off together.... Then he said it:

 "This is the worst memorial day weekend EVER!"

We both just cracked up laughing.

Hoping yours is better.
pf

Monday, August 23, 2010

Our new favorite show... and other antics


and it does not even premiere till Sept 6th!

Harley is already hooked on this show.  We have viewed every sneak peak video on the PBS site...  This weekend we played a game called the cat family wherein I am the mommy cat and he is the baby.  He hides under a blanket, which is his egg.  I sit on him (not really), and then he hatches.  I was informed that he had a little kitchen in his egg which consisted of an oven and a sink, and some food.  He made himself kitty kibbles,  wet food and saucers of milk.  He also drank lots of water because, you know, it's good for you.

Another little unrelated quirk that has us entertained lately is that Harley has picked up on a saying that I sort of resurrected lately.  I had a work partner that used to get so tickled at himself when he would call somebody a "Fish eyed FOO"!  (Like Fred Sanford used to call Aunt Esther...) Then we'd start cracking S&S jokes and reminiscing about all the fun characters. (My fave is Grady) But anyway Ahem, as I was saying, I said it for some reason lately and Harley latched on to it.

If there is anything funnier than a 4 year old saying "Fish eyed FOO"!  with the perfect Ebonic inflection, I'm not sure what it is.

Have fun out there.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Stoned me just like Jelly Roll

         
Morrison, in 1985, related the song to a quasi-mystical childhood experience: 
        I suppose I was about twelve years old. We used to go to a place called Ballystockart to fish. We stopped in the village on the way up to this place and I went to this little stone house, and there was an old man there with dark weather-beaten skin, and we asked him if he had any water. He gave us some water which he said he'd got from the stream. We drank some and everything seemed to stop for me. Time stood still. For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this 'other dimension'. That's what the song is about.
         During this song Morrison sings: "...Stoned me just like Jelly Roll. And it stoned me." 
         That lyric is thought to be a reference to jazz musicianJelly Roll Morton, whose 
         recordings Morrison listened to with his father as he was growing up.
I know what Van is talking about....


This Tuesday, Harley, my 4 year old, said the inevitable during a particularly intense temper tantrum.


"I don't love you ANY-MORE!"


I knew it was coming, someday, but it still stoned me.   My offending behavior, turning off the television before Word World because we had somewhere to be.


Then yesterday,  as I'm puttering around the kitchen, this conversation takes place:


H--"Mommy, you look old".


Me-- "Really?   How so"?


H-- "Well, it's not your skin, it's more on the inside".


Me--"Oh".


H--"Well, mommy, it's only because you ARE old"!


Me--"Yes, I am... but I'm not THAT old"!


H--"Well, you're not a kid mom".


Me--"That's true... I'm not.  What about grandma, does she look old too"?


H--- giggling-- "No!"


And there you have it.  I may be old, hated and stoned to the bone, but not, as yet, in the way.
Some weeks you take what you can get.

Friday, August 13, 2010

The Universe Speaks...


...And for once, I am listening.
I have been wanting to post about this for some time, only the words and the time never seem to coincide with my plans.   I wanted to make this a well thought out piece because it deserves that kind of attention, and yet, my life requires me to live in the now, so I don't have that luxury.... but irony's good too, no? 

First I want to tell a story about a friend of mine, who I have only known a little over a year, and never met in person.  I always believed that our paths were meant to cross, now in hind-sight, I know it.  Like many of us, we met on the internet.  Her name is Jenny, and she has helped me to change my life in such a profound way, I can't imagine my life without her in it anymore.  While I know there are millions of stories out there about this kind of phenomenon, this one is mine

The most incredible part of it, well, besides all of it...is that we met in a very bizarre, happenstance manner.  Or was it?  The way we met was through this short little post: Dexter Mania that I almost DID NOT write back in July of last year.  The post was not even two paragraphs long, and if I had not posted it, I may never have crossed paths with Jenny, which I can't even fathom.  How strange the universe is?  I mean, (For those of you who are not acquainted with the Showtime series Dexter, it's about the life of a serial killer).  Much of it happens in the first person wherein you get to hear Dexter's thoughts as the story unfolds.  I think that this was a big part of our mutual fascination with the show... that, and it is extremely well done.

So, Jenny comments on this post, and she invites me to her blog about.... Dexter!  (Which I still go back and read now and then, it's that good!) We are both fascinated with human behavior and the mind, and we both find it important to consciously strive at furthering our respective personal evolutionary processes.  Neither of us likes or condones violence... much, and yet we are both rather obsessed with this show about a serial killer!  Maybe this is not as strange to anyone else, as it is to me, or as unlikely anyway.  

After visiting her blog, and her visiting mine, we became pen pals.  I knew by the way she expressed herself in words so beautifully and purposefully, (which by extension is the way her mind works also) that she was extraordinary.  Then we began skyping and sending photos and etc and really getting to know one another.  During  this time is when she re-introduced me to the idea of Life Coaching, among other things.  We talked and talked and wrote and wrote.  She was so intuitive and supportive of my interest in Life Coaching that I finally was able to break through the brick wall, which is my head, to see Life Coaching as reality for me.  I began to relax and loosen.  I began to give myself permission to  change and to grow and to do something I wanted.  Nobody else.  No matter how  uncomfortable it was for me or anyone else, I knew it was what I wanted. I knew I could be good at it, and then I saw it.  I saw myself being very very good at it.  (futuristically speaking.)  The potential is there, and although nobody in my family would likely ever approve of it, I was going to do this.  Which, at 47, should not be such a big deal I suppose, and yet, it was.  Jenny helped me figure that one out too! (Thank you J.)

I talked my hub into heaping yet MORE debt on our already hefty credit card balances so that I could get certified.  This was not as hard as I thought it would be considering.  He could see I was committed to it, and at this point, another thousand clams or so wasn't going to keep us from bankruptcy, if that was our destiny... That is what we came to anyway.  So, I did it, I got my paper and I was FREE!!  Free to get my business license that is.  And so I did that.  And all through out this process I was being supported by both Marc and Jenny.  They kept me sane, kept me moving and even volunteered to be Guinea pigs for my coaching homework assignments...  All along the way the universe has been whispering, and doors have been opening.  Things that I thought would be so hard, were not nearly as hard in practice, as they were in my head.   And it continues at my own pace....

I originally wanted to begin my business asap.,as in this summer.  However, Harley is still on summer break, so I decided to wait...  As serendipity would have it, without really even trying, I got my very first professional gig about a week ago~  It was scheduled (not by me!) for Sept 1st, right after school starts!   AND then.... in the interim, the hub gets a great new job, so the urgency to begin was lifted right around the same time anyway....  Perfect!

The Universe is still speaking, and I am perched on the edge of my chair!  
...To be continued.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

For SB: Rod's rod and Willie's willie.

 I was sent the below information and photo yesterday in an email, and thought about posting it.... Then when I saw your post about Rod today, I knew I HAD TO!

So, now the question is, is it better to retire your wormrodpeckerwillie before you outlive it, or what?  It sounds like a problem that may be best left for aging musicians to ponder!  :-)

Willie Nelson commenting on his 75th Birthday... Whether or not you are a country music fan, these are truly the words of a deep thinker.  So simple, yet so profound.  Only a man with such wisdom and maturity could be so concise in phrasing his feelings at this turning point in his life.


"I have outlived my pecker."

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I spy things that never end...


I spy a road.

I spy the sky.

I spy grass.

I spy numbers.

I spy railroad tracks.

I spy outer space.

I spy the wind

I spy trees.

I spy love.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Pump up the volume

This is Harley's new favorite song.

He sings it throughout the day and when we are driving, I'm instructed to please put "Way UP" on repeat...  Who is this kid?  I mean, yes we expose him to what we believe to be good music, art, ideas, etc... but it doesn't mean he has to like it, or to respond to it as he does.  He is as obsessed or more with this song as I was the first time I heard it.

One day this week, I was instructed to please take out the "Steve Songs" CD (Mr. Steve is a PBS kid's star)and put in the Dean Martin CD.... Oh LORD!  He used to also do this with his compilation CD:  featuring Dylan, the Beatles, Cake,  Keb Mo, Harry Conick, etc...  so this is not entirely new.  However, by instructing me to take out the kid icon CD, Mr. Steve, and replace it with the Dean Martin CD was unprecedented! (He adores Mr. Steve~)

Yesterday, we spent the whole day swimming at a public pool.  Griffin went from singing an old Dean Martin standard, "Dance with me"  to "Way UP!"   Nobody around us knew what he/we were singing, but we did. And our glee was uncontainable.   We finally cooled off (it's been rather hot in these parts) and were able to do it OUTside!   The only way it could have been better is if they sold ice cream.  They do not.

.If you have a few minutes, watch this clip.  It's the ending to the Divine Ya Ya movie, and it's precious.

I sometimes get a little wistful wondering how many other kids would love these kinds of songs and keep them alive, and sew a thread from  our shared artistic/cultural history to our present... and future.  And if it will happen..?  I hope so.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Hallelujah! Sela!, Glory BE! AND AMEN!!!

The legal team that fought to save California's Proposition 8 from history's scrap heap practically dared U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to rule against the 2008 ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the Golden State.

Led by attorney Charles Cooper, who stumbled and bumbled his way through closing arguments, these defenders of "traditional" marriage presented virtually no evidence to support their case during the months-long trial in San Francisco. Instead, they kept telling the veteran judge that legal standards and precedents were so clear and unambiguously in their favor that virtually no set of facts could support the arguments offered by their prime-time opponents, Ted Olson and David Boies, who led the fight to ban the ban on same-sex marriage.


But federal judges don't buckle to dares. And they rarely rush to endorse litigants who fail to present plausible (much less compelling) cases in their courtrooms. So for those of you just now tuning back in to this unfolding legal drama, Walker's landmark136-page ruling Wednesday is not nearly as surprising as you might think. As he suggested he would during closing arguments, the judge, an appointee of the first President George Bush, wholly rejected the dubious rope-a-dope strategy employed by Cooper and Company. Indeed, if the trial and the ruling were a boxing match it would have been an early TKO.


It is hard to overstate the significance of the ruling. For the first time in the nation's history, a federal judge has identified a right under both the equal protection and due process clauses of the federal Constitution that precludes a state from banning same-sex marriages. Just six years after Massachusetts charted its own course and recognized same-sex marriage on a state level, the matter is now squarely before the nation's judiciary. Within a decade the whole matter might be resolved. And all those people (like me) who blasted the dream team of Boies and Olson for rushing into this case before America was ready for it now are left to wonder what they missed.

Walker's opinion was detailed, intense and relentless in its rejection of the arguments offered by proponents of Proposition 8. For example, the crucial "findings of fact" contained in the ruling roll on for more than 40 pages; a paean to the dogged work of Boies and Olson and a vitiation of many of the beliefs and prejudices held by so many in and out of California when it comes to same-sex marriage. During the trial, Walker practically begged and cajoled the Prop 8 lawyers to do better for their cause. He asked them written questions to draw them out. He scolded them during closing arguments to make more persuasive arguments. They simply didn't or couldn't or wouldn't respond. And so, based on the evidence at trial, Judge Walker found:

1. "Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation. No credible evidence supports a finding that an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation."

2. "California has no interest in asking gays and lesbians to change their sexual orientation or in reducing the number of gays and lesbians in California."

3. "Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions. Like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples have happy, satisfying relationships and form deep emotional bonds and strong commitments to their partners."

4. "Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals."

5. "The availability of domestic partnership does not provide gays and lesbians with a status equivalent to marriage because the cultural meaning of marriage and its associated benefits are intentionally withheld from same-sex couples in domestic partnerships."

6. "Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriages."

7. "Proposition 8 places the force of law behind stigmas against gays and lesbians, including: gays and lesbians do not have intimate relationships similar to heterosexual couples; gays and lesbians are not as good as heterosexuals; and gay and lesbian relationships do not deserve the full recognition of society."

8. "Proposition 8 increases costs and decreases wealth for same sex couples because of increased tax burdens, decreased availability of health insurance and higher transactions costs to secure rights and obligations typically associated with marriage."

9. "Proposition 8 singles out gays and lesbians and legitimates their unequal treatment. Proposition 8 perpetuates the stereotype that gays and lesbians are incapable of forming long-term loving relationships and that gays and lesbians are not good parents."

10. "The gender of a child's parent is not a factor in a child's adjustment. The sexual orientation of an individual does not determine whether that individual can be a good parent. Children raised by gay or lesbian parents are as likely as children raised by heterosexual parents to be healthy, successful and well-adjusted."

Even if the appellate courts ultimately find that Walker got his legal analysis wrong, they cannot wash away what same-sex marriage proponents surely will call these 10 "points of light." Based upon those findings -- based upon the utter lack of a rebuttal by opponents of same-sex marriage -- Walker concluded that Prop 8 was so blatantly unconstitutional that it could not pass muster under any of the relevant legal standards that judges routinely apply in these cases -- even the one called "rational basis," which is a very low bar indeed. This was a rout, in other words, and there is virtually nothing in the language of Walker's ruling that suggests otherwise.

As most judges do in these sorts of situations, Walker immediately stayed the effect of his ruling pending an appeal. Soon the dispute will move to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where the Prop 8 lawyers will try to convince the appellate judges that Walker wrongly applied the factual record to existing legal precedent. I suppose it's possible that the 9th Circuit will overturn the ruling. But if it does, it will be forced to largely discount the testimony and conclusions of dozens of witnesses presented by opponents of Prop 8 while enlarging beyond all recognition the impact of the two -- and only two -- witnesses presented by Cooper and his team. It's clear what Walker thought of those defense witnesses; he ruled in his order that the testimony of one of them, Don Blankenhorn, was so inapt and contradictory that it was rendered inadmissible. You don't see that every day in a high-profile case in federal court.

Based upon Walker's factual findings, therefore, there may not be enough factual bedrock for the 9th Circuit to grab on to even if its judges are inclined to reinstate Prop 8. And the same goes for the U.S. Supreme Court. In any event, playing possum in a case of this magnitude -- laying in wait for the conservative Supreme Court to save the day -- is certainly not a risk most sensible litigators would have taken.

This is true especially since a high court ruling -- if and when it comes one day -- will almost certainly be determined by the sole remaining Californian on the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who always seems to cast the fifth and deciding vote in social cases like this. Like every other judge who now will look at this record, he will scratch his head and wonder: Where did Prop 8's case go? And how and why should it be rescued at this late hour?

Indeed, it is unclear and nearly unfathomable today why Prop 8's supporters would have been and remained so confident in Justice Kennedy's jurisprudence to have ceded so much ground at trial to their opponents. It is inconceivable that they would not have even attempted (much less succeeded) in rebutting the many strong facts and arguments offered by same-sex marriage proponents, who saw Prop 8 as an unlawful exercise of majority rule. Perhaps Cooper and Company will have more answers now than they had during the trial. Perhaps not.